“Be quiet.” Emmeth said, as he reached down and grabbed the irritating stone.

“...” The stone immediately silenced itself, shocked by the sudden development. 

In hus view, a window saying that it had gained the skill [Soul: Projection] appeared, but the undead dismissed it quickly afterwards.

Meanwhile, the stone had had a window saying it gained the skill [Soul: Interpretation].

“So, what exactly are you supposed to be?” Emmeth asked. 

It took a moment for the stone to answer “... A rock?”

“Why was that a question?”

“... I faintly hoped that you might say that I’m not a rock.”

“You are not a rock.”

“Oh, thanks for letting me know.” The stone said sarcastically, understanding that the man was lying. “Are there any other deep and thought provoking revelations you wish to bestow upon me?”

“...” Emmeth let go of the stone and began to walk away.

“Wait, uh... HEY, WAIT!” The stone called after him. “Where do you-- Don’t leave me here!”

Emmeth kept walking. 

“I’m sorry for annoying you, just please don’t leave me here!”

Emmeth paused and looked back at the rock. “Why not?”

“Because, uh, you believe in helping the poor and unlucky find their way in the world?” The stone could sense a distinct lack of amusement from the man in response. 

The stone wracked its “brain” for a more suitable response. “I, uh, well, I’m helpful! I can help you!”

Emmeth considered this simple, panicked, and probably false answer for a moment. Then he walked back to the rock, picked it up, and returned to the road.

There was a long pause as neither of them said anything.

“So…” began the stone. “What’s your name?”

“It’s considered rude to ask someone’s name without properly introducing yourself first.”

“Well, there’s nothing to introduce. I don’t have a name.”

“... Really?”

“Yes, really. No name. No nothing. So, now that the nameless rock has introduced itself...?” 

“Emmeth.”

“Emmeth, huh?“

Emmeth decided it was his turn to ask the stone a question. “Did anyone travel down this road recently?” 

“Travel down… We’re on a road right now?”

“Yes.” Emmeth held up the stone to eye level. “Were you unable to see that?”

“... Tell me, Emmeth… Do I have any eyes?”

Emmeth looked at the stone for a moment before discerning what it was implying. “... Then, are you able to sense anything?”

“Souls.” The stone answered. 

“I see.” Emmeth said.

“I don’t.” The stone retorted.

Emmeth put his hand back at its side, still holding the stone.

The stone spent a moment, considering something, before it spoke again.

“I may not be able to see anything, but I felt the ground shaking some time ago. If we’re by a road, it might have been galloping horses or something like that.”

“Ah.” Emmeth exclaimed. “Thank you.”

The two continued onwards in silence for several minutes before the stone spoke up again.

“So, uh, where are we going, Emmeth?”

“I am following the path left behind by those that took my wife and killed my son and I.”

‘Well, what the fuck? Wha, where the fuck did that come from?’ The stone thought to itself. 

“So, you’re doing some kind of revenge mission?”

“That is exactly what I’m doing.”

“... Then why the hell are you bringing me along?”

“You said you could be helpful. I figured you could make an excellent distraction if you scream at the enemy loud enough, though I doubt they’ll be able to hear you very well unless they’re dead too.”

The stone was unable to discern whether or not Emmeth was telling the truth or joking and was terrified.

“... Wait, you’re dead?” 

“Yes.”

“... As in, your heart has ceased beating and your body is cold?”

“Yes.”

“As in, you are a dead person that is still walking around.”

“Yes.”

The stone was unsure how to feel about this, but it figured that since it was a rock, it was in no position to talk about someone’s state of existence. “... Well, okay then.” 

“You are a stone.” Emmeth said.

“Yes.” The stone responded.

“As in, you, yourself, are made of dirt.”

“Ye- Okay, I get the point.”

“Good.” Emmeth said before resuming the silence.

After another long pause, it was Emmeth’s turn to break the silence. “I heard somewhere that golems are able to feel the earth around them.” 

“Oh,” the stone said, intrigued, “and where did you hear that?”

“I read it in a book.”

“So, you think that as a rock, I should be able to do that as well?”

“It is a possibility.”

“Well, I can’t sense any earth around me except for myself.”

“Have you attempted to?”

“Well, no, but if I was able to, shouldn’t I be doing so already?”

“Should you?” 

The stone considered this. It had been unable to sense souls until it had made the mother of all attempts.

“... Probably not.” The stone conceded.

“Then maybe,” Emmeth continued, “you should make an attempt at it.”

The stone did not respond as it got to work “sensing the earth”. Following the line of pseudoscience bullshit it used to learn magic so far, it figured it had to do some “one with the world” or “one with earth” kind of shit. At least, that was what it was going to try. After all, it didn’t have any better ideas.

So, it got to work at becoming “one with earth”. 

…

‘Technically,’ the stone considered, ‘I’m already one with earth. I’m a rock, for fuck’s sake. If I’m not one with the earth, then what the fuck am I?’

Either way, the rock decided it was time to actually try some shit until it started being able to sense earth.

“I am one with the earth…” The rock intoned. “One with the earth…”

“I remember the earth being more silent.” Emmeth stated.

The stone wisely shut up.

[ ) ( ] [ ) ( ] [ ) ( ]

It took a while for the stone to discover its earth sense. Turns out, becoming “one with the earth” really was a bunch of bullshit. Who would have guessed?

Instead, the stone had to imagine that it was asking the earth for information, asking where it was and what it was doing. It wasn’t “one with the earth”, it was more like “the earth is my bitch and it will tell me what the fuck is up.”

A bad comparison, but the stone found it amusing and so it decided to keep using it.

“Alright.” the stone said after it managed to grasp its earth sense. “I did the earth sense thing.”

Emmeth didn’t respond.

“So, I’ve been looking for someone to talk to about this, but what actually are these windows I keep seeing?”

Emmeth proceeded to answer several questions the rock asked of him. Yes, everyone could see the system window. Yes, the potential section referred to what you could improve. Yes, the bigger number was your potential and the smaller number was how much of your potential you fulfilled. Yes, you could evolve. No, you didn’t suddenly transform into another creature, it took time and it was a subtle change usually.

“No, people themselves do not have levels.” Emmeth stated.

“Huh. How do I improve my potential then?” The stone asked.

“... To increase your potential, the most common ways are to evolve or absorb the potential of a being you killed. There are others, but they are difficult, elaborate, and many of them are possibly made up. The two I mentioned are the most well known.”

“My skills haven’t been leveling up at all anymore. Why is that?”

“Either you are untalented in that skill or you lack the requisite ability.”

“Requisite ability?”

“There is something referred to as the skill growth pattern. As you gain levels in a skill, the ability required to increase the level of the skill increases as well… This will be difficult to explain properly, so give me a moment.”

There was a pause as Emmeth searched for the right words.

“A skill will usually be unable to level further if the requisite statistic is less than the sum of all of the levels of the skill combined.”

“... What?”

“If you have a level three skill, and you wish to level it to level four, your requisite statistic must be ten, as the sum of all of the levels of the skill would be ten, level one plus level two plus level three plus level four.”

“... That sounds like math and I don’t support it.”

“Then just understand that it will take more and more of the requisite stat in order to increase your skills.”

“Yeah, but what is a requisite stat?”

Emmeth looked down at the stone.

“A requisite stat is the statistic that the skill relies upon. For example, a craftsman may have many abilities that rely on strength and dexterity to be effective. If he wishes to increase his skills further, his base ability must be high enough to match it.

“However, there have been cases where people have been able to level up their skills without the requisite stats reaching the point they need to. This is done through hard work.”

“So, how do I figure out which skills rely on what?”

“Think through it logically. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

The stone spent a few minutes making a valiant attempt at it, but failed.

“... So, what would Earth: Conceptualization rely on?”

“... I am unfamiliar with the skill. However, conceptualization skills usually rely on a combination of comprehension and memory.”

“Oh… I guess that makes sense. Thank you.”

They proceeded to work through the details for a while longer.

[ ) ( ] [ ) ( ] [ ) ( ]

“So, do you know anything I could evolve into?” The stone asked.

“Perhaps a dirt or pebble golem.” Emmeth said. “Or maybe a slightly bigger rock.”

“Oh, really? I’m sure one day I’ll evolve into a boulder or a mountain.”

“Such a thing might be possible, pebble, but I doubt you could achieve it anytime soon.”

“Eventually, I could. Eventually.”

The conversation died off.

“Peak.” Emmeth said. “Peak would be a fitting name for you.”

“Peak?” The stone now called Peak responded. “Why Peak?”

“It’s the smallest part of a mountain, the only part you could ever compare yourself to.”

Peak began to angrily shout at Emmeth as they continued down the road. 

[ ) ( ] [ ) ( ] [ ) ( ]

"Wait, how am I even talking to you?"

"We have been talking for several hours and you have only thought to ask that now?"

[ ) ( ] [ ) ( ] [ ) ( ]

Something had been bothering Peak for a while now, especially after talking to Emmeth for a long time.

“So, uh, awkward question, but are you really on a revenge mission here?” It asked.

“They’ve destroyed my home, stolen my wife, and killed my son.” Emmeth said. “What more is there to say?”

“Despite your decision to kill them, you don’t seem very angry at them.” Peak replied. “It almost seems like you’re just acting like how you think you should be acting. Playing the part of the revenge driven father.”

Emmeth stopped in his tracks. He lifted the stone to chest level and stared down at it. His fist clenched it tightly. 

“There are no words,” he began, “and no conceivable way to display the anger I feel. Just because I have chosen to answer your questions does not mean I have forgotten my feelings. Just because my rage does not cloud my mind does not mean I do not feel anything at all.”

Emmeth let his hand hang at his side once more.

“And do not believe that I am not petty enough to leave you on the side of the road where I found you for insinuating otherwise.”

Peak became silent at Emmeth’s response. Emmeth continued trekking down the dirt path and Peak resumed training its skills.

Neither spoke again until they reached the village.

HURGMCGURG

Well, here we are. It's the beginning of a magical adventure. Our two protagonists walking forth towards adventure, ready for whatever will come at them.

What could possibly go wrong?