Alaric now headed off to get some gear. He would like to find a sport and game store that would likely have everything he would need.
Big sport and game stores were a godsend from the modern society.
Alaric began to reflect about modern society.
"Man, technology is tough." he thought.
Society was pretty advanced, steam power was already invented. But time moved slower. Due to the power of wild beasts and monsters, and evil humans tearing down society with extreme powers, society advanced very slowly, and sometimes regressed.
"one step forward, two steps back" would be an accurate way to describe the world.
Currently, it was year 17,270. Usually due to extreme powers, civilization often reset every five thousand years or so. It was a shame, in a world with people with extreme powers, it was natural that they would take advantage of their strength to tear down society.
Time was measured from when magic came to the world. Magic came to beasts first, thus leaving humans behind. There was a time of prosperity before magic arrived, humans advancing greatly.
But humans ended up getting gapped by the magic beasts, effectively resetting society from its peak, thus years started to be measured differently.
Once humans figured out magic, a new age of power was ushered in.
"From my influence, I will bring the age of fishing." Alaric thought.
Every time he thought about fishing a large smile spread over his face. He wanted nothing more than to crush magic users under the flopping body of a fish.
"Ehh, I don't hate mages. I just see them as a rival faction. Becoming powerful through the hard road will ultimately be worth it. It has to be worth it." Alaric convinced himself again.
Half a tear streamed down from each of his eyes, adding up to one total tear shed.
Alaric was questioning his path.
"How, can I be truly powerful through fishing?? Is this really worth it?" Alaric thought.
"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes." He heard a voice.
Alaric saw a vision. Out of his left eye he felt something.
"Ah shit!" Something was coming out of his eye.
Flop Flop
Something thick was coming out of the surface of his eye.
It felt like he was giving birth to something out of his eye.
"I'm not the father!!!" Alaric said unintentionally.
Flop Flop
It was a fish. A black fish with red scales on it.
The fish kept coming out. It felt like a giant rope. At this point, he could see the mass. It was a giant rope-like black fish crawling out of his eye.
It stopped coming out. It was still attached to his eye.
The head than looked towards Alaric and spoke.
"This is YOUR path. Experience doubt under fear of death." The fish uttered.
"The fuck!?" Alaric screamed.
He then understood.
"Yes." There will be now more doubt in my mind. He reached towards the head of the fish to shake its head.
He liked shaking hands to certify deals, and fish don't have hands.
He grabbed the head of the fish and shook it, feeling the slime in his hands.
Shwoop!
The fish flew back into his eye, regaining the form of his pupil.
Alaric wasn't sure if it was real or not.
There was no one in the direct vicinity so he couldn't verify.
"It doesn't matter. All that matters is fish." Alaric finialized.