"I'm sorry... What?" Felix read the message over and over again, his eyebrows threatening to climb off his face. "How is it restricted? And what outcome? My survival? Is that it?" With each question that crossed his mind, another followed it. The string of questions made his head spin. "Alright, alright." He waved away the window and it blinked out of existence. "For now, let's see what you can tell me."

  With a thought, his character sheet appeared. He quickly noticed some major changes.

  Character Sheet

  Name: Felix Murphy

  Race: Human - Wandering Vagrant

  Rank: E

  Attributes

  Strength:E - 0%

  Agility:E - 0%

  Mind:E - 0%

  Soul:E -0%

  Magic Cores

  1 of 6: Core of Earth

  Abilities

  Core of Earth:

  1: Grasp of Faultstone -E

  Incantation: N/A

  Duration: N/A

  Cast time: Instant

  Mana Consumption: Negligible

  Envelopes the user's hand in a gauntlet of stone. When shattered, stored force is violently released, expelling stone shrapnel capable of damaging nearby entities. Expending mana reduces cool down.

  Progress to next rank: 0% (Conditions unmet)

  "Ok, ok, ok!" Felix said, his excitement building. "Now this is some real fantasy stuff." A wide grin spread across his face as he read the ability, his hand flexing in anticipation. "Alright let's give this a shot!"

  Felix waved away the window and closed his eyes, feeling a gentle power swirling around his chest. While he was given no guidance on how to activate his new ability, as he focused, it called out to him, like an old friend.

  As he accepted the call, he opened his eyes, and his hand began to change. Slowly, his skin began to crack and harden, bulging out to create a thick layer of coarse skin around his hand and forearm. Faint lines of molten earth ran through the cracks before it hardened, creating a black accent between the deep browns and ashen grays of his new skin. He watched, eyes widening with each passing second. "No fucking way..." he was getting giddy now, jumping from foot to foot.

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  When the transformation came to an end, he held his arm up to the new dawn light. "I can't wait to mess up some monsters with this." His smile faulted, images of the horrors he'd faced so far peppering his mind with doubt. "On second thought, maybe we try and avoid them."

  As he examined the change, he had a thought. With almost no mental effort, he summoned a window before him.

  Grasp of Faultstone -E

  Incantation: N/A

  Duration: N/A

  Cast time: Instant

  Mana consumption: Negligible

  Cool down: 60 seconds

  Envelopes the user's hand in a gauntlet of stone. When shattered, stored force is violently released, expelling stone shrapnel capable of damaging nearby entities. Expending mana reduces cool down.

  Progress to next rank: 0% (Conditions unmet)

  "Yeah, I thought it said it was supposed to be instant." He waved off the window and scratched his chin. His gauntleted hand felt wrong. It was heavy and distant, like it had fallen asleep. He felt the pressure of contact, but not the touch itself, as if his fingers were wrapped in thick cloth.

  A second later, he dismissed the gauntlet. The transformation ended in the blink of an eye. Molten lines flared as the craggy skin flaked away, like years of erosion happening at once. "Guess I need some practice... before using it gets me killed."

  He tried to activate his ability again, only for his hand to remain unchanged. He stared, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Did I do something wrong?" Then he realised his mistake. "It has an actual cool down? How? Why would it need one? Games only do that for fairness so why would real magic do that? Did someone sit down and give abilities cool downs?" more and more questions piled onto each other as frustration built in his voice and he frantically rubbed his head. "Ahhhrgh! Fuck it no more questions, maybe when I'm out of this shit hole I'll get some answers."

  After he was sure the cool down had ended, he tried again. He could feel a slow building of power inside him as his hand slowly changed.

  Looking around, he noticed a jagged stalagmite off the side. Glancing down at his transformed hand, he strode over and tapped his knuckle against it. There was no sensation of touch, only a gentle vibration that tickled his numb hand with a faint clacking sound. "This is either going to be super cool, or fucking suck..." Bracing himself, he shifted his body into a fighting stance. Learning martial arts at a young age made it a natural and instinctual action.

  Felix swung his gauntleted fist with power and speed he knew he wasn't capable of. A thunderous crack echoed through the clearing as chunks of stone chipped and scattered and pelted him, leaving superficial cuts along his face and torso, causing him to stumble back.

  "Holy..." His jaw hung open, threatening to fall from his head. A fist sized crater now lay embedded on the stone, pieces still crumbling away as he stared. "Ok, that was fucking sick!" His usually neutral accent slipping to his rural English. He bounced on his feet, his excitement overflowing. "Who da man? I da man!" He shouted, pumping his regular fist into the air. "I'm fucking unstoppable, I... am a god..." he said with awe. Lifting his gauntleted hand, he examined it. There were thick, molten cracks spider webbing through his hand as it hummed slightly, tiny pieces flaking off. "Guess it wasn't enough damage to explode, I wonder if-"

  At the first trickle of power, the gauntlet cracked, then detonated. Shards and magma tore outward in every direction, the blast ripping Felix off his feet.

  A low groan escaped his lips as he rolled onto his side. Wincing, he clutched his ribs as a faint smell of burning hair wafted into his face. "Well that fucking sucked..." his voice was strained as he tried to right himself, a dull pain shooting up his arm.

  Felix sat hunched over, his eyes clenched shut as his mind whirled. "That might actually kill me..." He murmured, his hands gently massaging his temples.

  After the throbbing in his skull passed, he let out a heavy sigh. "Not so unstoppable I..." the words died in his mouth. Now that his mind was clear, his senses returned.

  An enormous weight shifted behind him, so slow and careful, he wasn't sure he heard anything. Without a second thought, he whipped his head around.

  The colour left his face as his body trembled. Every hair stood on end as he stared, eyes agape, body rooted, at a somewhat familiar face.

  A reptilian head twice the length of his body lay buried in the grass. Halfway between him and the edge of the clearing, two predatory green eyes bore into him. It stalked forward, scales shifting colour, almost erasing it from view.

  A forked tongue, thicker than his arm, crawled out of its mouth as its body began to coil.

  A moment later, he broke from his trance. He bolted without looking back, adrenaline pumping in his ears.