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(Worm) A Systematic Tale: The Hero 3
🕑 Added 2025-03-25 05:37:59 +0000 UTCChapter 3:
– Silas –
"What kind of magic is that?!" one of the prisoners shouted, staring at the glowing screen floating directly in front of me.
My eyes widened in shock when I realized everyone else could see the damn thing, too. Clearly, none of these guys had any clue what a system or a quest was, but it had definitely caught their attention.
"What in Oblivion…?"
"Shut up back there!" barked a voice from the front of the cart. I turned my head to see an Imperial soldier riding beside us, sword at his hip and eyes narrowed in suspicion. Next to him sat another guard, who was clearly assigned to keep watch on us prisoners—especially on a gagged man I immediately recognized as Ulfric Stormcloak.
The second guard’s gaze snapped toward me, locking onto the floating screen, and his face instantly twisted in fear. "Sorcery!" he screamed, rising unsteadily from his seat. The cart rocked violently beneath him as he drew his blade, pointing it directly at my face. "You're not escaping, Stormcloak dog!"
Oh shit—this escalated fast.
He raised his sword to strike, and I instinctively leaned away, but before I could even attempt to defend myself, Amy lunged forward. Her bound hands clamped around the bare skin of the soldier's exposed forearm. He jerked violently, eyes rolling back in his head, mouth open in a silent scream as Amy's power rushed through him.
"Dumbass," Amy spat bitterly, letting go as his body went limp. He collapsed forward, already unconscious.
The man in blue armor didn't hesitate—he surged forward, shoulder-checking the unconscious soldier off the cart. The man's limp body hit the ground with a sickening crunch, his sword clattering loose onto the wooden boards beside us. Blue-armor grabbed the fallen blade instantly, his movements sharp and decisive.
"Oh fuck," I muttered nervously, realizing we were seriously doing this. Apparently, we were making our great escape before we even got to Helgen. Probably for the best, honestly. This wasn't a goddamn game anymore—it was real life, and I was painfully aware I wasn't some chosen Dragonborn hero. Judging by the blonde beauty still trying to shake off her disorientation beside me, that role probably belonged to her.
I shook myself free of the initial shock and quickly scooted closer to Ulfric Stormcloak, grabbing hold of the gag tied around his mouth. I yanked it loose as fast as I could.
He coughed a bit and then grinned at me. "Thank you, young Nords!" he said to us.
I blinked at him, startled. Nords? Seriously? I mean, I guess I kind of looked like one with my blonde hair, and Amy would fit in as well with her red hair.
Before I could correct him, Ulfric turned to glare fiercely at the small contingent of Imperial soldiers now staring at him with pure terror from horseback beside our cart.
"FUS ROH DAH!" Ulfric roared at the top of his lungs.
An invisible wave of raw force exploded from his mouth, shaking the entire cart and nearly knocking us over. Amy let out a startled curse, gripping the wooden boards for dear life, as the Imperial soldiers and their horses were violently thrown into the surrounding forest. Bodies slammed into trees with horrific, bone-cracking impacts.
"Oh god," I whispered, nausea rising in my throat. Did I just help Ulfric Stormcloak straight-up murder a bunch of people?
My thoughts shattered as a loud scream came from the front of the cart. The carriage driver had just been impaled from behind by a sword, his body falling off to land lifelessly on the ground.
Blue-armor hurriedly climbed toward me, extending the bloody sword he'd stolen. "Hold out your hands, young man!"
I hesitated, staring uneasily at the blade covered in fresh blood. My heart was hammering in my chest.
He seemed to sense my anxiety. "Relax, lad," he reassured me firmly. "I'm not going to hurt you—I'm cutting you free. Hurry!"
I took a shaky breath and held my bound wrists toward him, and he carefully sliced through the ropes. Relief surged through me as the restraints fell away. He quickly moved to Amy, doing the same for her and then for the others, including the blonde woman who was finally recovering her senses.
"Thanks," Amy muttered grudgingly, rubbing at her wrists before immediately whirling around to glare at me, eyes blazing with fury. "Silas, what the fuck is going on?! Did we seriously just help some psycho Viking villain cape commit murder?"
I winced, glancing nervously at Ulfric—who thankfully didn't seem offended. If anything, he looked amused. "You've got quite the mouth on you, lass," Ulfric said, giving Amy an amused look.
Amy scoffed, clearly unimpressed, and turned sharply back to me, her glare still firmly in place. "Silas, I'm serious. Start talking."
I held up my hands defensively, already feeling a headache building. "Look, Amy, I'll explain everything—I swear—but right now, we really shouldn't stick around here. Trust me, things are about to get really fucking bad."
The guy in blue armor—Ralof, I finally remembered—nodded slowly as he wiped the blood off his stolen blade. He turned toward Ulfric, clearly anxious. "My Jarl, what should we do next? Should we still head for Helgen and try to free our captured comrades?"
"I'll tell you what I'm doing," the skinny, terrified horse thief suddenly shouted, cutting everyone off. "I'm getting the fuck out of here and going straight back to Rorikstead where it's safe!" Without waiting for anyone to respond, he leaped off the cart and bolted into the forest. In seconds, he vanished entirely among the trees.
There was a brief silence as we watched him go, before Ralof shrugged dismissively. "Coward."
A few of the other stormcloak prisoners moved around quickly, looting the corpses of the imperials of their weapons.
Ulfric turned back to me, fixing me with an intense stare that made me uncomfortable. "Why exactly do you think things will get worse? And what in Talos's name was that strange blue magic you were using earlier?"
Amy immediately folded her arms and narrowed her eyes, obviously expecting an explanation as well. Fuck me—this wasn't exactly the time or place for total honesty. I might trust Amy enough to come clean later, but definitely not in front of these guys. Not when they’d just casually slaughtered soldiers without blinking.
I swallowed hard and quickly scrambled for a believable lie. "It's, uh...divination magic," I lied as convincingly as I could manage. "It warns me about upcoming danger. And right now, it's telling me that Helgen is going to be destroyed by a dragon."
There was a stunned silence. Amy raised a skeptical eyebrow, clearly not buying it completely. The Nords around us, though, reacted far more dramatically.
Ralof looked genuinely horrified. "Impossible. Dragons haven't been seen in thousands of years!"
Ulfric's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you lying to us, lad? Dragons returning—surely you jest."
I sighed deeply, shaking my head. "Look, it's insane. Believe me, I know how crazy it sounds. But that’s just the kind of day we're all having right now, isn't it?"
Ulfric stared into my eyes for a long, intense moment. Then, unexpectedly, he chuckled—a low, resigned sound. "Yes," he admitted, sounding tired but amused. "I suppose it is that kind of day..."
He turned to Ralof decisively. "We still go to Helgen. If a dragon truly comes, we might not be able to slay the beast, but we can at least rescue our brothers and sisters from execution. We owe them that."
Ralof nodded firmly, gripping his sword with renewed determination. "Agreed."
Ulfric then turned to face the rest of us, eyes serious. "We could use your help, friends. Will you join us?"
The beautiful blonde Nord woman beside me—likely the Dragonborn herself—finally spoke up. "I didn't expect any of this when I returned to Skyrim, but yes—I'll help however I can."
Ralof smiled warmly at her, clearly pleased. "That's the spirit, sister."
Everyone's eyes shifted toward Amy and me, expectantly waiting for our answer. Shit.
I exhaled nervously, glancing down at my trembling hands. "Look, I've never actually been in a real fight before…" I hesitated. I knew this wasn't a video game. If I fucked up here, I'd end up dead, or worse—I'd get Amy killed. But… I had been granted a SYSTEM. The HERO system. Could I just really stand around and let people die? I knew I wouldn’t be able to save everyone in Helgen obviously, but we could at least save some. "But," I continued slowly, feeling oddly determined, "I'll try my best. I'll help however I can."
Amy sighed dramatically beside me, throwing her hands up in exaggerated frustration. "Fuck it. Fine. Let's go rescue some people from an actual dragon. Why the fuck not!?” she snarked. “And if we die horribly, I'm haunting your ass forever—and I swear to god, Silas, I'm siccing my sister on you!" She paused briefly, suddenly nervous. "Wait, it's not Lung, right? Like, you didn't teleport us back home near Lung somehow?"
I laughed softly despite myself, shaking my head reassuringly. "No, Amy. Definitely not Lung."
It was worse… So much worse. I didn’t have the heart to tell her.
"Oh, thank fuck," she muttered, visibly relieved.
Ralof and Ulfric exchanged confused looks. "Lung?" Ralof asked cautiously, frowning deeply. "Is that another dragon?"
I quickly waved him off. "Don't worry about it. Just…someone nasty from back home."
Ulfric stared at us strangely, then shrugged. "Very well. We should move swiftly. Whatever the truth of your 'vision,' Helgen still holds our captured brothers and sisters. Follow me!"
Ralof and Ulfric immediately broke into a run through the trees, leading us toward Helgen. Amy gave me one last accusing glare as we started moving, clearly promising a serious conversation later. Great, something else to look forward to.
The blonde woman suddenly matched pace with me, shooting me a curious glance. "Your name is Silas, right?"
I nodded, feeling awkwardly self-conscious. "Yeah. And you?"
"I'm Hildra," she said, smiling faintly. "Seems like we'll be sticking together for a while."
I swallowed nervously. If my suspicions were right, Hildra was about to have a far more dangerous life than even she expected. "Yeah, seems that way."
Ralof called back to us sharply. "Keep up, you three! Helgen’s not far, but Imperial reinforcements could be here any minute when they realize our transport didn't arrive!"
We pushed ourselves harder, sprinting through the dense forest toward Helgen, where—if my memories were correct—a fucking dragon was about to attack and turn the entire place into an inferno. And here I was, running straight toward it, because apparently, I'd lost my goddamn mind.
I briefly glanced back at Amy, who was glaring at me the whole way. "I swear I'll explain," I shouted breathlessly. "Just don't kill me yet!"
She snorted loudly, managing a faint smirk despite her obvious irritation. "No promises, asshole."
…
Unlike in the game, Helgen wasn't just a small handful of buildings tossed together. This place was significantly larger—maybe close to a hundred houses and businesses clustered tightly in the middle of a forest clearing. Unfortunately for everyone here, every single one of those buildings was built from timber. Wood that would burn very easily when a certain legendary, world-ending dragon started roasting everything in sight.
Ulfric quickly turned to Ralof and his other soldiers, keeping his voice low but authoritative. "We don't have many warriors, but that might actually work in our favor. The Imperials foolishly split up the prisoner transports—something I'm sure they're deeply regretting right now, seeing as our cart hasn't arrived yet."
Ralof nodded sharply, clearly eager to follow whatever plan Ulfric had in mind. "Your orders, my Jarl?"
Ulfric gestured toward the village. "I’ll lead our men to quietly infiltrate the village, freeing as many of our captured brothers and sisters as possible. After that, we'll kill as many Imperials as we can manage and spread the word for the villagers to flee immediately."
Then he turned to Amy, Hildra, and me. "Your task will be simpler but I fear may fall on deaf ears. Never-the-less you should still try. Move through Helgen quietly, staying out of sight of the Imperials. Warn as many villagers as you can to escape immediately. Understood?"
Amy frowned. "How exactly are we supposed to convince them to leave their homes? I doubt they'll believe us if we just say, 'hey, a dragon’s about to barbeque you all.' Who's going to believe that kind of bullshit? I barely believe that kind of bullshit…" she huffed.
Ulfric grimaced slightly, clearly agreeing with her. "Fair point, lass. Just tell them an army of goblins has been spotted heading toward Helgen instead. That's been known to happen once in awhile, and they can be a real nuisance."
At the mention of "goblins," Amy's eyes widened dramatically, and she sucked in a sharp breath. She immediately grabbed my shoulder and shook me, panic obvious in her voice. "Holy fuck, Silas! You didn’t teleport us near Nilbog’s territory, did you!?"
I quickly shook my head, gently grabbing her wrists to steady her. "Amy, relax. We're nowhere near Earth Bet anymore."
Her expression shifted from panic to confusion. "Wait, is this Earth Aleph?"
"No," I said carefully. "We're somewhere…much further away than that, I imagine."
Hildra glanced at us both with curiosity, clearly overhearing our strange conversation. "The two of you speak as though you hail from some strange and distant land."
I chuckled softly, shaking my head at the absurdity of it all. "You don't even know the half of it."
Honestly, I barely understood it myself. I had a lifetime's worth of memories crammed into my skull from two separate existences. Hell, technically I was now Silas Thorn from Earth Bet, even if my original self was from somewhere else entirely. It was still incredibly fucking weird to think about.
Hildra gave me a playful smirk, eyes sparkling with interest. "Well, handsome, perhaps later you could tell me all about this fascinating homeland of yours."
Amy immediately rolled her eyes and gave me an exasperated look. "Jesus Christ, Silas, do you seriously need to flirt with every pretty girl you meet?" She asked, almost sounding a little bit jealous as her eyes darted between myself and the possible dragonborn.
I held my hands up defensively. "Whoa, calm down—I wasn't even flirting!"
Hildra glanced back, giving Amy a mischievous smile. "Don't be jealous, beautiful maiden. I'd be more than happy to get to know you better as well. After all, your quick thinking and decisive actions back on the cart saved all our lives." She topped that comment off with a playful wink directed right at Amy, whose cheeks instantly turned bright red.
Amy sputtered in surprise, glancing away nervously. "She wants to get to know me better...?" she muttered softly to herself.
I smirked slightly at her reaction. Apparently, the Dragonborn had some serious charisma—enough to throw even the snarky Panacea off her game…
…
…Convincing these people was not nearly as easy as I thought it would be. It turned out the Nord mentality was exactly as stubborn as it was portrayed in the game—maybe even worse, honestly. After several failed attempts, we eventually gathered a crowd of about twenty villagers, and all of them were staring at us with varying degrees of skepticism and annoyance.
I had just finished warning them about the supposed "goblin army" heading towards Helgen, but instead of panicking, they seemed utterly unimpressed. If anything, they looked irritated that we were wasting their time.
One large, grizzled Nord stepped forward with his arms crossed over his chest. He gave me a dismissive sneer. "Goblins? You dragged us away from our work to warn us about goblins? Do we look like frightened children to you, lad?"
Several others grumbled in agreement, muttering insults about outsiders and weaklings.
I glanced at Amy nervously. "Shit. This isn't working."
She gave me a flat stare. "You think?"
I turned pleadingly toward Hildra, hoping maybe another Nord would have better luck convincing her own people. "Help us out here?"
Hildra sighed in irritation, clearly losing patience. She stepped forward boldly, glaring fiercely at the gathered villagers. "Alright, fine! We lied about the goblins, you stubborn fools! It's not goblins—it's a giant fucking dragon that's about to burn your entire village to the ground and kill every last one of you. You all need to get out, right now!"
A stunned silence fell over the crowd for about two seconds before the villagers burst into laughter. They shook their heads, openly mocking us.
"I knew they were lying!" shouted a woman near the back.
Another man pointed accusingly. "They're probably Stormcloak spies trying to distract us!"
"Yeah, I bet they've got friends breaking the rebels out right now!" another yelled angrily.
I winced, feeling a bead of sweat drip down the back of my neck. I wouldn't exactly call Ulfric and Ralof my friends, but the villagers weren't exactly wrong about the rebel breakout. Paranoid bastards had accidentally guessed the truth perfectly.
One older man raised his voice above the crowd. "Someone call the guards! Have these three idiots arrested before they cause more trouble!"
Amy threw her hands up, clearly exasperated. "I am not getting fucking tied up again, Silas! We tried. We failed. These idiots are obviously too stupid to survive anyway."
I grimaced, hesitating. Could I really just give up and let these people die? Before I could make a decision, an earsplitting roar tore through the air above us, causing everyone—including myself—to freeze in fear.
"Rooooooooaaaaaaarrrrrr!"
The noise was deafening, vibrating through my bones and making the very air around us ripple violently. I'd never heard anything like it in either of my lives.
It was painfully obvious what was coming next.
"The dragon's here," Hildra said grimly. "We're out of time." Before I could even react, she grabbed me roughly by the collar of my shirt, pulling me back toward the outskirts of the crowd. With her other hand, she grabbed Amy by the arm, yanking her along as well.
"We need to get clear, now," Hildra urged urgently, dragging us both away. "We're too close to the village center—we'll die here if we stay."
A wave of scorching heat suddenly engulfed the buildings behind us. Terrified screams filled the air, followed by deafening explosions as the first structures ignited into blazing infernos. Alduin had arrived, and the village was being rapidly reduced to burning rubble around us.
Panic surged through me.
The damn tutorial had truly begun, and all we could hope for now was to somehow survive!
"We need shelter!" Hildra shouted desperately. "Now!"
"The prison!" I yelled suddenly, memories flooding back to me clearly. "Head toward the prison—there are underground cave tunnels there that'll lead us safely out of Helgen."
Amy shot me a startled look even as she stumbled to keep up. "How the fuck do you know that!?" she demanded breathlessly. "And shit—I really need to stop cutting gym class!"
She suddenly let out an adorably startled yelp as Hildra effortlessly wrapped one strong arm around her waist and hefted her bodily over her shoulder, running full speed toward the prison. Amy looked embarrassed as hell, face bright red as she was carried like a sack of potatoes.
Unfortunately for me, Helgen's layout was nothing like what I'd remembered from the game. Every street looked unfamiliar and chaotic in the smoke-filled panic. Luckily, Hildra had apparently been to Helgen years earlier, and I gladly followed her lead through the winding, debris-strewn paths.
"There!" Hildra shouted, pointing ahead at a stone building that looked vaguely familiar. "That's the prison!"
We were almost there when I heard crying nearby. A pair of twin children, a young boy and a girl, around 4 years old were standing in the street crying loudly for their parents. I didn’t even hesitate as I quickly scooped the both of them up. I was thankful Silas Thorn worked out occasionally and they didnt slow me down much as I followed after Hildra and Amy.
At least I was able to save two people…
Outside the heavy wooden door stood Ralof, waving frantically at us. He looked absolutely terrified, face pale beneath the soot coating his cheeks.
"There you are!" Ralof yelled urgently. "Get inside, quickly, before the dragon turns his sights on this place next!"
We sprinted toward him, barely pausing as he pulled the heavy door open. "Move your asses!" he screamed. "Inside—now!"
We didn't need to be told twice. Hildra shoved Amy through the doorway first, practically tossing her inside before running in after her. I ran in last, barely clearing the threshold with the screaming kids as a wave of intense heat blasted through the doorway behind us, nearly singing my back as Alduin flew overhead, raining hellfire upon the street we'd just left behind.
Ralof slammed the door shut, bolting it securely. For a moment, all of us simply stood there in the dim interior of the prison, gasping for breath and staring at each other in wide-eyed shock.
Amy was bent over, hands on her knees, trying to regain her breath. "This...this isn't fucking real," she gasped weakly. "We seriously just escaped a dragon attack. A real fucking dragon."
Hildra chuckled dryly, her expression equally stunned. "This wasn’t quite the adventure I was expecting as soon as I returned to my homeland..."
Ralof glanced at the two crying children I was holding, his face immediately softening into a sympathetic frown. "Are these two all you managed to save?" he asked quietly, his voice tinged with regret.
I sighed heavily, adjusting my grip as the kids squirmed in my arms. "Yeah, unfortunately. By the time we got people to listen, it was already too late—the dragon was already on us."
Ralof nodded solemnly, clearly understanding our frustration. "Aye, lad. Your magic prediction rang true, though we didn't fare much better. General Tullius was furious when he discovered Ulfric had escaped. The bastard started executing prisoners on the spot rather than risk losing them. We freed a handful, but not nearly enough. I just hope Ulfric made it out safely by another route…"
Before he could say more, another roar shook the building, rattling the heavy wooden door behind us. Dust trickled from the stone ceiling, reminding us that Alduin was still busy annihilating Helgen.
"We need to hurry before the dragon turns its attention to this prison," Hildra urged sharply, and we all nodded in agreement.
She gently lowered Amy back onto her feet, and Amy immediately flushed bright red, her expression an adorable mixture of embarrassment and annoyance.
I couldn't help but smirk a little. If Amy was anything like her canon counterpart, beautiful blonde women—like Vicky, or Hildra—were exactly her type. Then again, she'd blushed pretty fiercely when I'd flirted with her back at the hospital, too. Maybe this alternate version of her liked both but was still too tsundere to admit it?
My thoughts snapped back to reality when the children suddenly burst into tears again, struggling wildly in my grip.
"I want Mama!" the little girl screamed, kicking and clawing at me. The boy joined in immediately, shrieking and squirming in panic.
"Hey, calm down," I pleaded, wincing as tiny fists and nails scratched at my face and neck. "I'm trying to help you. It's dangerous out there!"
"No!" the boy cried. "You're a bad man! Put us down!"
"Let us go back!" the girl wailed desperately.
I gritted my teeth, completely at a loss. How the hell was I supposed to convince two terrified toddlers to trust a stranger carrying them away from their home?
"We don't have time for this," Amy snapped impatiently. She reached out and touched both kids on the arm, her power instantly causing them to slump unconscious in my arms. Their small bodies went limp, and the crying abruptly stopped.
I shot Amy an uneasy look. "That was a bit harsh."
She folded her arms defensively, looking irritated and uncomfortable at the same time. "Look, we didn’t exactly have a choice. It's not like they'd listen. We have enough problems right now without two kids screaming their heads off and drawing attention."
Nearby, Hildra quickly began searching through a large wooden chest in the corner of the room. Her eyes lit up with satisfaction when she opened it. "Oh, thank the gods!" she said happily, immediately pulling her ragged clothes up over her head and off her body without hesitation, completely exposing herself in all her naked glory. Wow, she had a killer body...
Those legs and her chest… And I probably shouldn’t be staring so blatantly. I felt my face immediately heat up and forced myself to look away, though my eyes lingered a second longer than they probably should have.
"W-what are you doing?!" Amy sputtered, blushing an even brighter red as she awkwardly turned her back.
Hildra glanced back at us with a casual shrug, completely unconcerned by our embarrassment. "There's decent clothing and armor in here. Who knows what's lurking down in the caves beneath this place? It's better to be prepared." She began quickly pulling on clothes and within seconds she'd dressed in some sturdy leather armor, looking every bit the warrior. She then drew out a sharp steel sword from the chest and strapped it firmly to her waist, looking completely at ease.
Hildra turned to me curiously. "Silas, can you use any magic like Amy? That trick you did earlier might come in handy again if nothing else."
Amy and I exchanged a quick glance. By now Amy seemed to finally realize we weren't on Earth Bet anymore, and while her cheeks were still glowing red, I could see she was rapidly adjusting to the situation. Still, neither of us wanted to correct Hildra's assumption that Amy was using magic, and we definitely didn't want to explain our actual abilities. Not yet.
"Sorry," I told Hildra honestly. "No magic for me, I'm afraid. I can only use my…divination… a few times a day."
Hildra nodded thoughtfully, grabbing a small dagger from the chest and handing it to me. "Take this then, just in case."
I stared down at the dagger awkwardly. Both of my arms were already occupied, straining under the weight of the two unconscious children I was determined not to abandon. My muscles were already burning, but leaving these kids behind wasn't an option for me. "Thanks," I said uncertainly, awkwardly tucking the dagger into my belt. "I doubt I'll be able to use it very effectively while carrying the kids, though."
She gave me an approving nod. "We'll manage."
Ralof quickly geared up as well, grabbing some weapons from nearby and keeping a wary eye on the ceiling as another roar echoed above us. "Time to move, friends. Ralof opened the heavy wooden door leading to the next room, and we immediately found ourselves face-to-face with two Imperial soldiers.
Both men stared at us in shock for a split second before their instincts kicked in.
"Die, Stormcloak scum!" one of them shouted, drawing his sword immediately.
"Oh, seriously? Now is really not the fucking time!" Amy complained loudly, glaring at the Imperials.
Her words fell on deaf ears. Ralof surged forward, swinging a heavy mace he'd grabbed earlier, while Hildra swiftly drew her sword, lunging straight toward the second soldier. Their weapons clashed violently, echoing loudly in the stone corridor.
Ralof smashed his mace brutally over one soldier's helmet, the force of the impact sending him crumpling to the ground. At almost the same moment, Hildra drove her sword cleanly into the second soldier's gut, his eyes widening in shock and agony as blood spilled down his front.
Just as Hildra moved to finish him off, Amy shouted urgently, "Wait! Don't kill them!"
Hildra paused mid-swing, blade inches from the man's neck, clearly startled by Amy’s intervention. She hesitated, glancing back at Amy with confusion written plainly on her face. "Why not?"
Amy quickly pushed past us and knelt beside the two wounded men. "Just trust me, alright?"
She placed one hand on the first soldier—the one Ralof had struck in the head—then reached her other hand toward the soldier Hildra had stabbed. I watched closely as her power instantly healed their injuries. The man who’d been stabbed gasped deeply, clutching his gut in disbelief as his wound closed rapidly beneath Amy's hand.
Amy shot him a firm glare. "I don't heal brains, so you'll have to watch out for your buddy. He's probably got a nasty concussion."
The Imperial soldier stared at Amy in disbelief, grimacing as he slowly sat up. "Why did you save me, mage?"
Amy scowled at him, planting her hands definitely on her hips. "Because I'm a goddamn hero, asshole! You idiots shouldn’t even be killing each other in the first place! I don't know what the fuck is going on between your stupid factions, but right now there's a fucking dragon outside burning hundreds of innocent people alive!" Her voice shook with anger, and a few frustrated tears formed in her eyes. "Get your shit together, seriously."
There was a tense, awkward silence as Amy's furious words sank in.
Surprisingly, it was Hildra who broke the silence first. She lowered her sword slowly, looking genuinely remorseful. "Apologies," she murmured quietly to the Imperial soldier she’d nearly killed. "In the chaos, I acted rashly."
Ralof simply snorted dismissively, clearly feeling zero remorse. He crossed his arms and glared down at the Imperials. "Fine then, Imperial dogs. For now, let’s agree to a truce. Can you manage that much?"
The Imperial soldier pushed himself slowly to his feet, clearly still shaken by the near-death experience. After a tense moment, he reluctantly nodded. "I can accept that—for now."
His eyes suddenly landed on the two unconscious children still cradled awkwardly in my arms, and his expression immediately shifted from suspicion to shock.
"Wait," he said sharply, moving a bit closer. "Are those Tina and Lucas? The twins?"
I looked down at the sleeping kids, surprised they’d been recognized. "I don't know their names," I admitted honestly. "I grabbed them off the street when the dragon attacked. They were crying for their parents."
The soldier's expression softened, his eyes darkening with sadness. "I knew their parents...as did my friend here." He motioned toward his comrade, who was still swaying slightly, clearly dazed from his concussion despite Amy's healing.
He took a cautious step toward me, extending his hands slowly and non-threateningly. "I can carry them. They're familiar with me—my sister lives next door to their family. They know me. They'll be calmer when they wake."
I hesitated, feeling instinctively protective of the children. Normally, I wouldn't even consider handing two unconscious kids over to some random stranger—especially a soldier I'd just watched nearly kill us—but my arms were seriously burning from exhaustion, and realistically, I didn't have a better option. Besides, Amy had saved his life. That had to count for something.
"Alright," I finally agreed, carefully passing the sleeping twins to the Imperial soldier. "But you two need to follow after us into the tunnels quickly, before the dragon destroys the rest of this building."
The Imperial soldier nodded solemnly, gently cradling the children in his arms. "We'll be right behind you. Just give us a minute or two to catch our breath."
Amy and I quickly followed behind Ralof and Hildra as we descended deeper into the dungeon tunnels. My arms still burned from carrying the kids earlier, but the pain gradually faded. I nervously rested a hand on the dagger strapped to my waist, suddenly remembering what the hell actually lived down here. Oh shit—weren’t there giant, man-eating spiders and at least one angry bear lurking somewhere ahead?
Amy nudged me sharply with her elbow, interrupting my anxious thoughts. She leaned closer and whispered urgently, "Alright, Silas, we're alone enough now. I've waited way too fucking long—what the hell is actually going on? Seriously."
I hesitated briefly, glancing around to make sure Hildra and Ralof weren't listening. I quickly waved my hand in front of her, desperately hoping the system would respond again. To my relief, it did, and the glowing blue message from earlier reappeared right in front of us:
[Tutorial Quest Initiated: You and your partner must survive the tutorial and slay a dragon! Rewards will be distributed based on performance and heroic deeds accomplished.]
Amy stared at the message floating inches from her face, her eyes rapidly scanning over it. Her face paled dramatically, and she turned to me, looking incredulous. "A tutorial? ‘Survive and kill a dragon’? Are you fucking serious, Silas?" she hissed. "What kind of crazy, bullshit sentient-power did you trigger with?!"
Ah—right. Amy still thought my system was some bizarre parahuman trigger. Honestly, I couldn't really blame her, canon Worm had some incredibly weird powers, so it wasn't exactly impossible. Maybe passing the system off as some kind of insane Thinker/Trump power would be believable enough…at least for now.
Amy shook her head vigorously, her eyes wide with panic. "Silas, there's no fucking way we can kill that dragon! You saw that thing—it was massive! That bastard looked scarier than Lung fully ramped up!"
I leaned closer, keeping my voice down. "Relax, Amy. We don't actually have to kill that dragon—just a dragon."
She stared at me, her expression shifting from shock to angry confusion. "Wait—you're saying there's more than one!?"
"Oh yeah," I confirmed grimly. "There's a lot more. But thankfully, the next dragon we run into should be way, way weaker than that monster outside."
At least…I really fucking hoped it would be. This world clearly wasn't exactly the Skyrim I remembered from the game, and I had no idea how accurate my assumptions would actually turn out to be.
Amy scowled at me suspiciously. "How the hell do you know all of this stuff anyway, Silas? Are you hiding something from me?"
I sighed awkwardly, scratching at the back of my neck. "It's just, uh…random power bullshit? Weird Thinker intuitions, I guess. Sorry, Amy."
She narrowed her eyes dangerously, clearly unimpressed by my flimsy excuse. "I seriously hate you right now," she muttered, pouting furiously.
I smirked slightly, unable to resist teasing her a little. "Aw, come on—I really don't want a cute girl to hate me."
Amy's face instantly flushed bright red again, and she shoved my shoulder roughly, glaring at me in embarrassment. "Urgh! And now you're flirting with me again! Do you even know how to stop?"
I chuckled weakly. "Sorry, I think this might just be my default when I'm stressed."
Amy rolled her eyes dramatically, but I noticed the corner of her lips twitch slightly upward despite herself. "Whatever," she sighed irritably. After a brief pause, her voice softened just a little. "Fine. If you can't explain the weird-ass powers you've apparently developed, can you at least tell me something useful about this crazy fantasy world we're stuck in? You clearly know way more than you're saying."
"Uh..." I hesitated, suddenly remembering our more immediate problems waiting just ahead in the darkness. "Are you by any chance afraid of spiders?"
Amy blinked at me slowly, her eyes narrowing with suspicion and mounting dread. "What the fuck kind of question is that, Silas?"
"Oh, you know," I said sheepishly. "It's just…you might find out why I asked in about two minutes."
Amy's jaw clenched, and she turned sharply toward Ralof and Hildra, who were now waiting for us impatiently further down the tunnel.
"If we survive this bullshit, I am going to fucking kill you," Amy muttered darkly.
I swallowed hard, gripping the dagger tightly. "Fair enough."
…
…In the game, the giant spiders in the Helgen caves were honestly kind of pathetic. Sure, they spat venom and bit your character every few seconds, but their poison barely hurt at all, and their attacks were weak.
Yeah, that was complete bullshit.
Hildra was lying on the cave floor, twitching uncontrollably, foam bubbling from her mouth as her eyes rolled back into her head. One of those massive fucking spiders had managed to bite deep into her leg before she and Ralof finally took it down. I'd even managed to help—a little—by awkwardly hacking off one of its creepy, hairy legs with my dagger.
But now Hildra was convulsing violently, her skin turning pale. Shit. Was this world's actual Dragonborn seriously about to die in the goddamn tutorial dungeon?
"Amy!" I shouted desperately, dropping down beside Hildra's shaking body. "Do your thing, quick!"
Amy rushed forward, kneeling next to Hildra and pressing both her hands against the woman's injured leg. Her face twisted in concentration, and I watched, fascinated and slightly nauseated, as the sickly green poison literally poured out of the bite wound, splattering onto the stone floor and sizzling quietly.
After a tense few seconds, Hildra suddenly gasped sharply, her eyes snapping open as Amy finished healing the wound. She sat up slowly, breathing heavily, looking around in confusion before focusing on Amy’s flushed, irritated face.
"You're welcome," Amy said pointedly, clearly annoyed we’d nearly lost our strongest fighter this early.
Ralof stared at Amy with open admiration, shaking his head in wonder. "Magic truly is amazing," he breathed. "I've only witnessed it a handful of times in my life, but you're by far the best healing mage I've ever seen."
Amy visibly straightened up, clearly enjoying the praise. "Damn right I am," she replied smugly, crossing her arms with a satisfied grin.
Hildra smiled at Amy gratefully, leaning in unexpectedly to kiss her right on the cheek. "My hero," she purred teasingly.
Amy’s eyes widened dramatically, and her entire face flushed bright red as she sputtered incoherently, clearly flustered by the sudden affection. She quickly looked away, unable to form any sort of comeback, and nervously rubbed at her cheek as though trying to wipe away the blush itself.
I laughed softly, holding my hand out to help Hildra get back onto her feet. "Come on, Hildra. Please try not to break our healer's brain before we've even finished the damn tutorial."
Hildra chuckled as she accepted my hand, pulling herself upright and giving me an exaggerated sigh. "Fine," she relented, though the mischievous glint in her eyes remained. "I was only teasing. Besides, now isn't exactly the best moment for flirting. I’ll save that for when we’re not trapped in a cave filled with giant, evil spiders." She shuddered visibly at the thought.
With everyone back on their feet, we continued carefully through the cave system. The tunnels felt darker, colder, and far more oppressive than I’d expected, making it nearly impossible to avoid stepping into occasional streams of freezing water that soaked right through my shoes and chilled me to the bone.
Another weird thing was that the torture chamber from the game seemed to be completely missing, which honestly made me nervous.
What else had changed in this version of Skyrim?
We were approaching what I thought was probably the end of the tunnels when something lying near the cavern wall caught my attention.
"Hey—hold on a second," I said, slowing my pace and squinting into the shadows. "Is that a body?"
Amy groaned dramatically, giving me a flat stare. "Oh god, you're seriously stopping to loot corpses now?"
I ignored her comment, quickly moving toward the dead figure. It was a skeleton covered in ancient, rotted black robes, sprawled out on the cold stone. Right in front of its skeletal fingers was a leather-bound book, glowing softly with an unmistakable bluish light.
Wait a second—was that a goddamn spell tome?
I immediately crouched and picked it up, feeling a strange, tingling warmth radiating from its pages. Amy rolled her eyes again, muttering something about grave-robbing, but I ignored her, too fascinated to care. With excitement building inside me, I flipped open the tome to the first page.
A blinding white glow instantly enveloped the book, illuminating the entire cavern for a few intense seconds. Everyone behind me gasped sharply, clearly startled. Then my system interface abruptly appeared, floating clearly in front of me once again:
[Downloading Destruction Spell: Sparks…]
[Successfully Downloaded and Installed!]
The tome in my hands literally crumbled into dust and slipped through my fingers, scattering onto the cavern floor, as a completely new sensation surged through my body. It was strange—like knowledge and power simultaneously settling comfortably into place within my very being.
I stared at my hands, feeling energy thrumming gently beneath my skin. Without thinking, I raised my right palm, aiming directly toward one of the nearby stone walls. I knew I was probably grinning like a complete idiot, but honestly, who wouldn't? With barely a conscious thought, a vivid, crackling arc of blue-white lightning burst from my fingertips, slamming violently into the stone and illuminating the cave in a bright flash.
Holy shit. I could shoot actual fucking lightning now!
XXX
Silas has now become Sidious! Damn, this was a longer chapter than I usually write but it just kept coming to me.
Comments
Dark epyon
With the fact that he can learn spells, Amy is in theory part of his party. Does that mean she can as well it’s time for Amy to start studying the restoration tree a powered up white mage Amy would be a fascinating read
Dark epyon
Love the premise will definitely be looking forward to the next chapter of this
Xi
He’s the big bad dragon boss at the end of the main quest line who is trying to revive his regime’s dragon enforcers that were slain centuries/millennia ago by dragons siding with humans that were their servants at the time. He wants to ascend and devour the souls of humans in Valhalla and wants to eat everything, thus, ending the world.
Xi
UNLIMITED PROTAGONIST POWERS!!! 🫳⚡️⚡️
Lil LightSkin
Oh ok
WhatAFungi
Never got to the end of the game, but he’s the big bad of the main game. He’s either and evil dragon that will eat the earth, a demon, an evil god, a really strong dragon, or any combination of the above. I only got half way through the game
Lil LightSkin
Nvr played Elder Scrolls, the fucks alduin
Erik Houk
Tell us the truth. Did you name the character Silas just so you could make that sidious joke?
NoRest
Nice, nice. I like it.
WhatAFungi
I can’t tell if Any is just that easy, the dragon born is just that hot, or if the Silas put that many points into his rizz. I was wondering what could be gained for easy power in Skyrim… And somehow completely forgot about spell books. *facepalm* I really hate when characters keep things from each other like this, so I hope Silas tells Amy the truth much sooner than later. Emotional maturity is so much more attractive. Thanks for the chapter. I’m REALLY hyped for this story. And CAN NOT wait to see Amy’s reaction to the lightning.
Blake
WOOH, LIGHTNING!
