《Herald of the Apocalypse》


 Prologue

    Eternal Recurrence?


    She was the daughter of the Goddess Umbra, though she looked nothing like her mother. Her mother with her Velvet black hair, smoke-grey eyes, and a smile that could melt anyone''s heart. If Mom wasn¡¯t angry with you, then she¡¯d just rip it out. She smiled. Her mother had a temper, though she was pretty sure she¡¯d inherited it from her father. Unlike her mother, she was blessed with bright red hair and a complexion that radiated warmth, although she could also take on a form similar to her mother¡¯s umbral dragon form. Still, the Multiverse was changing which required her to talk to her father.


    For want of a better description, she teleported into her father¡¯s living room. It wasn¡¯t teleportation in the sense that the 20th Century earthlings would define it as instantaneous travel between two points within what they termed the Universe. No, the power she utilized to travel from where she¡¯d been to where she was now crossed vast distances between more than seven dimensions and three universes. It also helped that her father allowed her access to this place, or she wouldn¡¯t have even been able to enter his Domain.


    She looked around for a moment and then felt her father out on the balcony overlooking the desert below. This was the place she found him almost every time she visited. It was one of his historical homes up in the Rocky Mountains in North America, circa twenty twenty-something. She remembered the white sands off in the distance and the city below, though he¡¯d long ago removed the people he¡¯d allowed to live there. They¡¯d moved out into the Multiverse, lived, and died a long time ago. Her Father¡¯s Domain was empty except for sunlight or starlight, the wind, and the rain if he allowed it. She didn¡¯t think he even allowed insects in this place, though she couldn¡¯t be sure.


    Her Father turned from his contemplations on his balcony and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She knew he would have thought of it as imitating a long-dead actor from the 20<sup>th</sup> century. Then again, that actor could exist again, couldn¡¯t he; she wasn¡¯t sure.


    ¡°Yes,¡± her father asked.


    ¡°An Eternal Recurrence has happened?¡±


    ¡°Already? Has it been that long?


    ¡°I have your memory and abilities, Father. I know you know exactly how much time has passed, and I know you remember.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± he said with a gentle smile.


    ¡°This one is different, though.¡±


    ¡°It would be,¡± he agreed.


    ¡°But aren¡¯t Eternal Recurrences supposed to be an exact copy of what happened before?¡±


    ¡°Chaos and change, dear, there are always changes. Besides, you know the SYSTEM you grew up in has undergone changes as well. The ones I instituted and even more over the eons and millennia that have passed. Also, if change wasn¡¯t part of the process, we would have run into copies of ourselves when this all started.¡±


    ¡°As I remember, from your memories, you did,¡± she pointed out.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t count; those were alternate realities, not Eternal Recurrences. A copy is just that: a copy. Something that spontaneously reappears because the electrons and protons happen to line up, for lack of a better description, not the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Still, Dad, with what you told me, an Eternal Recurrence couldn¡¯t have happened. Each iteration started after everything had been wiped from before. Actual infinity without entropic cycles was not possible back then,¡± she pointed out.


    ¡°Very true. Especially since we both know the Universe in which we originated has expanded and contracted as quantum events have occurred within its domain repeatedly for a long time now.¡±


    ¡°This Eternal Recurrence is not within our SYSTEM. It¡¯s in one of the newer ones. It is also trying to expand into the various SYSTEMs we already know about and probably some others we haven¡¯t discovered yet,¡± she said.


    ¡°Is the Eternal Recurrence spontaneous or Artificial?¡±


    ¡°Spontaneous, as far as I can determine. There is no hint of anyone creating the Universe where the Eternal Recurrence emerged.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± her Father said as he looked thoughtful before he asked, ¡°If you are bringing this to me¡­did Earth return?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Primore?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°A shame,¡± her father said. ¡°Already changes in the tapestry are evident.¡±


    ¡°Are you showing an interest?¡± She asked. It had been so long since he showed interest in anything.


    ¡°I am curious,¡± he said with the hint of a smile.


    ¡°Order dominates Chaos within that SYSTEM,¡± she explained.


    ¡°Order has begun to dominate all the SYSTEMs, you know this,¡± her Father pointed out.


    ¡°Will you intervene?¡±


    ¡°No, not yet, maybe never; let¡¯s see what happens.¡± When he noticed that she really wanted him to intervene because she thought the forces of Order were overstepping their authority, he continued, ¡°What was the quote, ¡®The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers,¡¯ or, in this case, Universes.¡±


    ¡°Dad, that¡¯s so outdated, and I¡¯m not even sure if that movie exists on this new Recurrence of Earth yet. Wait! You believe it will self-correct?¡± she said thoughtfully. ¡°So you are interested.¡±


    ¡°Just call it Earth; if it has spontaneously reappeared, the planet has earned its name. Also, I¡¯ll agree that I am moderately curious.¡±


    Her father hadn¡¯t shown much interest in anything, as far as she could tell. Maybe this Eternal Recurrence would pull him out of this self-imposed exile.


    ¡°It was good seeing you, Dad, but I need to go talk to Mom. She just sent out a request for contact just before I came to see you.¡±


    Her father smiled, ¡°Please let her know I might come by later.¡±


    Her father must have noticed her look of surprise because he laughed at her reaction: ¡°I do not plan to stay in this place forever, dear.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Dad, I¡¯ll let her know,¡± the shock in her voice that he might actually venture out of his domain was evident in her voice.


    She gave her dad a hug and then returned to her Domain. Neither her father nor herself were classified as deities by any SYSTEM, which wasn¡¯t to say that they were just as, if not more powerful than, the most powerful deity within any SYSTEM they¡¯d encountered. They had come across hints of others like themselves over the eons, but none had sought either of them out. The changes that were occurring could be a change in the status quo, though.


    As she walked up to her estate, her mother¡¯s voice interrupted her thoughts, ¡°You could have asked him to join us?¡±


    ¡°He said he might stop by to talk to you later. That would be better than him sitting in that domain and sulking,¡± she said.


    ¡°Actually, he doesn¡¯t, but that¡¯s his secret to tell,¡± her mother stated with a sly grin.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°How many Replicants do you have out in the Multiverse?¡± her mother, The SYSTEM¡¯s designated replacement for the Goddess Umbra, asked.


    ¡°A lot,¡± she admitted.


    ¡°Your father can do everything you can do, including change his form and mimic any person or class because of his class and abilities. Even with the changes the SYSTEM has undergone over the eons, you two reside outside its authority and ignore its mandates.¡±


    ¡°I know this mom.¡±


    ¡°I know you do. I wonder when you forget that he had Replicants also?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him anywhere but in his Domain in hundreds of millions of thousands of Earth years."


    ¡°Exactly. Now, be a darling and join me for some tea. We have much to discuss.¡±


    As her mother created the table, chairs, and tea they¡¯d share with a wave of her hand, she admonished herself: When had she forgotten what her father was capable of?


    ***


    Eternal Recurrence, also called Eternal Return, is a philosophical concept which states that time repeats itself in an infinite loop, and that exactly the same events will continue to occur in exactly the same way, over and over again, for eternity.


    Connor looked up from his Wikipedia page as Professor McDonald began speaking


    ¡°Why did Friedrich Nietzsche consider this a valid theory?¡± Professor McDonald asked. When no one spoke up, he pointed to Elizabeth Henley. Elizabeth was the one girl in this college that everyone wanted to know. She was beautiful beyond description, nineteen, and every jock''s target for awkward conversations. Connor didn¡¯t even think he had a chance to talk to someone who was most obviously a 10, yet somehow, since the class started a month ago, they had talked, in class at least. He still didn¡¯t approach her outside the classroom, which had more to do with his studies and how busy he was than anything else.


    Elizabeth gathered her thoughts and then answered the Professor''s question, ¡°I don¡¯t know if he thought it was a valid theory, professor, but there is evidence in the material you had us review stating that the theory may have originated in part with Pythagoras. I would think that if Nietzsche knew this, it would cause him to think of the theory as at least partially valid.¡±


    ¡°Very good, Miss Henley. I do appreciate it when our students take the time to read the material and think about it. Yes! There was evidence in the material I assigned you¡­¡±


    Connor tuned the professor out. The idea that events would repeat themselves endlessly on a personal, world, or even universal scale was utterly preposterous. That would mean all the political crap that had been going on for years would repeat. Or that Stalin would kill between 700,000 and 1.75 million people. All the wars would be repeated, and everyone here was just a copy of someone who had come before. That was just dumb.


    Professor McDonald must have seen the look on his face because he turned to Connor and asked, ¡°Something to add, Mr. Nash?¡±


    ¡°Nothing important. I was thinking about what you said, Professor.¡±


    ¡°I bet. Just remember, that¡¯s why it¡¯s called philosophy. These ideas are supposed to get you thinking.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Professor,¡± the class intoned just as the bell went off.


    ¡°And with that, our time is up. Read Chapter 13. Next time, we get to discuss logical thinking.¡±


    Conner stood as the Professor called out the assignment and made his way out of the auditorium where the lecture had been held. For some reason, Introduction to Philosophy had a lot of students and a much bigger class size than most of his other courses. Now that the class was over, he was almost free for the weekend. He had one more thing he had to accomplish for his biology course, but it was a relatively easy task. He needed to go on a hike in the local area and find and document specific plant and animal life if he could find it. Once he was done with that, then he¡¯d be free for the weekend. He¡¯d decided that a hike up to Mt. Kimball would be a great way to accomplish the task. A picture from the peak should allow him to prove to his professor that he¡¯d actually done as required instead of just looking up the information online.


    Mt. Kimball was on the north side of Tucson, Arizona. He would hike up to the peak from the trail that started at the Finger Rock Trailhead at the end of North Alvermon Road. There is even a small parking area where he can park his car and a couple of rest areas along the path. What made this trail ideal was that it was only seven and a half miles from the University.


    At two o¡¯clock in the afternoon on a Thursday, it only took him fifteen minutes to get to the parking area, put on his hiking boots, and pull out his pack, which had everything he¡¯d need to survive for a day if he had an accident or became delayed. His mom knew he was going up the mountain and expected him back around 8 p.m. for dinner. If he was more than an hour late, without calling, she knew to send help.


    The Finger Rock Trail was about five miles long. He¡¯d walked it before and knew that it should take him about two hours each way, with an hour set aside to enjoy the view.


    He¡¯d asked Elizabeth to join him for a ¡°nature¡± hike, but she¡¯d declined. She worked at the local mall in one of those designer outfit outlets in the mall. Was it Express or Forever 21? He wasn¡¯t sure, nor had he visited her there; that would have made it seem like he was trying too hard. He liked her, but he wasn¡¯t going to stalk her. If she were interested, she¡¯d ask him. In what universe? A small part of himself whispered in his mind. He told that part of his mind to shut the hell up.


    The hike up the mountain was uneventful. He did come across three other hikers, one man and a couple, who were headed down the trail back to the trailhead. He said his hellos and then returned to cataloging the plants and animals he was observing. He found some Desert Willow, Saguaro Cactus, and even a Velvet Mesquite that someone had planted near the base of the trail. Of course, there were also Creosote bushes and Palo Verde shrubs, which were both familiar to the area.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    His Professor had said to watch for Juniper, Oak, and Sagebrush, and if he found them, to make sure to be able to describe where he found them accurately for bonus points on this task. He didn¡¯t see any of the plants he was looking for near the start of the trail, but as he neared the top, a footpath led off around an outcropping and remained level while the trail to the mountain peak continued up the side of the mountain. He followed the footpath north along the ridge.


    As he came around the outcropping, he found a small oak. It hadn¡¯t been planted too long ago, but it looked like it was thriving. He considered the placement and realized that the Oak would receive a good deal of sunlight in the morning but would become shielded by the outcropping in the late afternoon. In Arizona''s desert environment, the shade from the outcropping would make all the difference for plants that didn¡¯t normally grow in such environments. Connor pulled out his phone to get the coordinates when he felt like he was being watched. He heard movement off to his left above and behind him on the outcropping. Just as he looked over and up, a coyote jumped at his face.


    Years of fencing kicked in, and the walking stick that he had in his right hand came up to block and knocked the coyote¡¯s attack off to the left as he stepped to the right. Simultaneously, he also heard a crack as if something had shaken the whole world. He heard the crack of what he thought was thunder but stayed focused on the Coyote.


    He put the sound out of his mind and followed the coyote with his eyes as it continued out over the edge of the drop-off. It was such a quick and devastating strike that the Coyote flew past the safety of the footpath, and while it wasn¡¯t a steep drop-off, the Coyote sailed through the air at least a hundred feet before it slammed into a huge rock further down the mountainside. It did not get up. From Connor¡¯s vantage point, he could see blood pooling around the Coyote¡¯s body. If it wasn¡¯t dead, it soon would be.


    Just then, the world around him went dark. There was a moment of silence and darkness. The change lasted for only a moment before everything returned. The air around him shimmered as if he were looking at the pavement during the middle of a summer day in July. As he looked through the haze, he noticed that nothing was moving. Nor could he hear the wind. A quick check of his surroundings verified that the haze surrounded him and that there were no other animals, especially coyotes, nearby.


    As he considered what was happening, he noticed that even the noise of the city below had stopped. He looked toward the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and was shocked to see one of the military C-17s, a cargo aircraft, frozen in the act of taking off from the runway. Nothing was moving except for him. Before he could even consider an explanation for what was happening, a pane of energy that looked a lot like the blue screen on his home computer appeared within the bubble of haze he found himself in directly in front of him. Words in English began to scroll down the screen like an old DOS based computer as it booted up.


    SYSTEM Integration Commencing.


    Identification and Cataloging Commencing.


    WARNING! Non-SYSTEM entity detected.


    Subject: Connor Orion Nash is receiving active updates.


    Subject: Connor Orion Nash should not be receiving updates, elevating.


    Working


    Connor Orion Nash is responsible for the death of a rapid Coyote .897 seconds after the moment of SYSTEM Initialization on the world designated as Earth.


    Working


    Herald Protocol requirements met.


    The blue screen disappeared as his vision flickered. The words resumed scrolling through his vision. He didn¡¯t know how he knew that the blue screen was no longer physically visible in front of him but he knew that if others were around they wouldn¡¯t see what he was seeing.


    Welcome to the SYSTEM:


    While the residents of your world are not scheduled to be inducted for 364 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds, you have been awarded an early opportunity.


    SYSTEM Integration Begins, Now!


    Congratulations!


    You have gained the Title:


    Herald of the Apocalypse.


    You have seen that which you should not have seen. You have witnessed that which should not have been witnessed.


    All Base Attributes +10.


    Passive Skill Gained. Uncanny Perception


    This is a unique skill that fills your initial racial skill slot.


    Uncanny Perception. You perceive that which should remain hidden. You now have a chance to detect invisible creatures and objects as well as notice camouflaged creatures and items effortlessly. This skill may be upgraded.


    World First!


    You are the first to kill a creature designated as a monster upon SYSTEM Integration.


    Congratulations!


    You have gained the following Titles: Head of the Line


    By being the first, You have proven that you have what it takes to leap to the front of the line, even if you don¡¯t know why you''re doing so


    All Base Attributes +10


    Experience Award and Reward are doubled for your initial kill.


    Congratulations!


    You have gained the following Titles: Deflector


    With no thought and very little training, you were able to deflect a rabid monster with a death blow during your first SYSTEM-registered combat.


    Agility and Dexterity +10


    Passive Skill Gained ¨C Enhanced Dodge


    This is a class skill and will automatically be slotted after you have chosen your class. +10 to Dodge.


    Experience Award and Reward are doubled again for your initial kill.


    Congratulations!


    You have gained the following Titles: It¡¯s Not the Fall that kills you. It¡¯s the Sudden Stop.


    Coyotes can¡¯t fly. You, however, decided to test this the moment the SYSTEM integration began.


    Color me impressed.


    You may now safely fall up to 100 feet without taking damage. Falls from a higher distance have All Falling Damage reduced by half.


    Experience Award and Reward are doubled again for your initial kill.


    World First


    Congratulations! You have killed the first Master rarity Monster.


    You have gained the following Title:


    Big Game Hunter


    If earned correctly, the recipient of this Title is the first to kill a monster of the appropriate category in a newly integrated world. These Titles are one-time awards per level and garner +10 to all attributes per rarity category.


    You gain +50 for all attributes.


    Experience Award and Reward are doubled again for your initial kill.


    Uncanny Perception has been activated. SYSTEM Notes Available.


    Subject: Connor Orion Nash killed a non-SYSTEM Registered Rapid Coyote before it could be classified within the SYSTEM.


    NOTE: Newly integrated SYSTEM Worlds can generate Common monsters anywhere between levels 1 and 100. As zero is not a legitimate level to garner an Experience Point award, the creature¡¯s level is determined randomly


    Subjects adjusted Luck rating of 118 will adjust this randomization.


    Luck Result: Any result above 100 will increase the effective rarity of the kill.


    Randomizing a value between 1 and 100.


    Result is 23


    23 is being adjusted in accordance with title adjustments.


    Result 23 will be doubled four times.


    New value: 368


    What the hell was that? Did he get to read the process the SYSTEM used to enforce its SYSTEM rules on him? It looks like he did.


    Congratulations, you Have killed the equivalent of a Level 368 Epic Rapid Coyote.


    Uncanny Perception has activated


    Common creatures range from levels 1 to 100. They are worth 10 XP per monster level.


    Uncommon Creatures range from levels 101 to 200. They are worth 100 XP per monster level.


    Rare Creatures range from level 201 to 300. They are worth 1,000 XP per monster Level.


    Epic Creatures range from levels 301 to 400. They are worth 10,000 XP per monster level


    Base Experience Award: 3,680,000 XP (368 x 10,000 XP)


    Base Award Doubled, Doubled Again, Doubled again, and Doubled a final fourth time.


    Total XP Award: 58,800,000 XP


    Common Core Not Detected


    XP Banked until the Class is chosen.


    His Uncanny Perception let him get a feel for what was going on in the background. It sure was helpful. Though, It seemed to have turned off for now, though. Connor went back to reading his Notifications.


    Treasure Gained:


    Ten Common Core Crystals.


    Ten Uncommon Core Crystals


    Ten Rare Core Crystals


    Ten Epic Core Crystals


    Ten Master Core Crystals


    Inventory, Uncommon.


    You have been granted a dimensional storage area that may hold up to 100 slots worth of equipment.


    Each slot may hold up to 5 pounds of a single hand-sized item. Multiple Slots may be required for larger items. The number of slots required for any specific item is based on its weight.


    Items summoned from your Inventory will appear either in your hand or on the ground in front of you, as you desire.


    Regardless of the weight of the items you carry, they do not increase your weight.


    Named Common Longsword: Fang


    Fang


    +1 to Hit, +1 to Damage against all targets.


    This magical blade is incredibly durable and can cut through most non-magical metals.


    This weapon is Soul-Bound to Connor Orion Nash. If dropped or removed from you, it will automatically return to storage within your Tattoo at the beginning of the next day.


    You have been Marked. A tattoo has appeared on your chest. Fang may be called into either hand or stored within the tattoo with a thought. This does not take an inventory slot in any magical storage devices you might acquire.


    As a named weapon, this sword will develop a will of its own.


    This Sword is a semi-intelligent Growth Item. As Core rarity increases, so to will this sword.


    This weapon has a durability rating of 100 and recovers one durability every hour.


    You have acquired enough Core Upgrade Crystals to improve your core to Master rarity. Would you like to do so now, Yes or No?


    Conner thought about it. As far as he could tell, he was in a temporal bubble with everyone frozen in time outside of it. There was no one around as far as the eye could see. If he wasn¡¯t losing his mind and these crystals were like essences in that one series he¡¯d read, then there was a good chance his body would expel some gunk if he accepted this process. If all this was really happening


    Time to test what was real then.


    Connor willed his backpack into his inventory and was pleasantly surprised when it disappeared from his shoulders. Next, he tried to view his inventory and the contents of his backpack. A list of contents and the slots they occupied appeared in his Mind¡¯s Eye. It also listed everything within the backpack, which took up two slots.


    As he was playing with the inventory functionality, he noted that his inventory had a wardrobe function. He assigned a t-shirt and shorts to a wardrobe slot. The slot didn¡¯t list a maximum number, so it looked like he could create another wardrobe slot if needed.


    Conner quickly created another wardrobe slot for what he was wearing and swapped wardrobes so that he could wear his shorts and his t-shirt. One moment, he had on jeans, underwear, and a long-sleeved shirt. The next moment, he was in shorts and a T-shirt. It had happened so fast that he almost couldn¡¯t tell. The two sets of clothes had just exchanged. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d even been nude for a moment; it happened so fast.


    Conner then willed his Cane into his inventory. When he did so he noticed the 50 Core Crystals, which took up five of his inventory slots, one slot for each rarity, but he didn¡¯t see his sword. As soon as he thought about the sword, it appeared in his hand. When he dismissed it, it vanished. He opened his shirt. Sure enough, there was the tip of a sword tattoo sitting over his right breast. He couldn¡¯t see the whole tattoo because of the angle and where it was on his chest, but it looked like it had been there for a while. When Mom saw it, she was going to lose her mind. She didn¡¯t like tattoos.


    As ready as he could be, Conner opened the prompt again and selected ¡°Yes.¡±


    He thought he¡¯d be okay for a moment when all 50 core crystals appeared around him and began circling him faster and faster. Suddenly, ten of the crystals plunged into him. The pain wasn¡¯t that bad when the first ten crystals dove into him. When the second set of ten dived into him a moment later, there was a spike of pain as the world faded to black.

 Chapter 1, Unfettered

    While Connor lay on the ground in the filth that had been ejected from his body, his Uncanny Perception skill activated as his unconscious mind absorbed further input from the SYSTEM. After a few moments, even more of the sludge began pouring from every orifice of his body until he lay covered and surrounded by a black sludge that equaled his body weight at the beginning of the process. The smell was horrendously awful and smelled like a cross between an outhouse that had been sitting in the summer heat and a rendering plant. Luckily for Connor, the changes his body was undergoing kept him unconscious so that he could not properly appreciate how foul the gunk he laid in was.


    The group that found him three hours later was not so lucky.


    ***


    Automatic Audit Initiated.


    Subject: Connor Orion Nash XP award of 58,800,000 XP on Newly SYSTEM Integrated world requires investigation


    Working


    XP Award Valid.


    ERROR! The subject has not formed a Core


    Update: Core is forming


    Common Core has Formed


    ERROR! Common Class NOT chosen


    ERROR! Common Racial Upgrade has NOT occurred


    Uncommon Core has been Formed


    ERROR! Uncommon Class upgrade NOT chosen


    ERROR! Uncommon Racial Upgrade has NOT occurred


    Rare Core has been Formed


    ERROR! Rare Class Upgrade NOT Chosen


    ERROR! Rare Racial Upgrade has NOT occurred


    Advanced Core has been Formed.


    ERROR! Advanced Class Upgrade NOT Chosen


    ERROR! Rare Racial Upgrade has NOT occurred


    Master Core has been Formed.


    ERROR! Master Class Upgrade NOT Chosen


    ERROR! Master Racial Upgrade has NOT occurred.


    Severe Soul Core Imbalance detected.


    Soul Core dissolution is imminent.


    SYSTEM Intervention Required


    Mandatory Racial Evolution Required


    Mandatory Racial Evolution Initiated.


    Origin Race: Humans have evolved to Master Ranked Human.


    Variations during Race Evolution are suppressed.


    Adjustments have been made: +150 for all Attributes. Perk: Regeneration, Rank: Master.


    Mandatory Class Choice Required


    No Class Choices Present.


    Scanning Subject.


    Multiple Inherent Class Synergies and Interests Detected.


    Querry, What is LitRPG?


    Warning: possible SYSTEM Influence detected?


    Disregard SYSTEM references received from Fiction.


    Origin?


    Possible Recurrence Influence.


    Preferred Class Not Evident,


    Class interests detected within Science Fiction, Fantasy, and LitRPG subset knowledge: Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, Mage, Wizard, Sorcerer, Druid, Ranger, Jedi, Superhero, MechWarrior, Necromancer, Axeman, Hunter, Clive¡¯s Wi¡­ Error, not a class.


    More classes of interest were detected. All are variations on previously listed interests.


    Primary Synergy with any detected Class?


    Negative: Class Interests vary too widely for the SYSTEM to make an accurate prediction of the best class choice for the Subject.


    Possible Candidate for Unfettered Configuration?


    Affirmative.


    Working.


    Unfettered Configuration is Acceptable.


    What is the probability that Soul Core will be stabilized with Unfettered Configuration?


    100%


    Classes Configuration Initiated.


    Common Rank Unfettered Configuration


    Attribute Bonuses: Hit Points, Stamina, Mana, Psychic Energy, Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Endurance, Constitution, Perception, Intelligence, Wisdom, Willpower, Charisma, and Luck +1 per Common Unfettered Level


    This Class does not receive Free Attributes at this Rarity


    Common Rank Class Skill Slots: Sacrificed for Class Bonuses, See Malleable Skill Class Bonus


    Class bonuses (5):


    Malleable Skills


    This is a skill


    Skills, like Spells, are typically acquired through discovery or training.


    Not for you.


    An Unfettered individual may focus their intent and modify their skills as needed.


    To acquire a new skill, you must rest and focus on the outcome you desire for one day. If the result you want is possible, the SYSTEM will assign the appropriate skill to an empty skill slot. To increase the power of any skill you already possess, assign another skill slot to it. Skills may only be improved until their power is equal to your Core Rarity.


    The Unfettered may learn any skills in this fashion, including those that utilize Mana or Psychic Energy.


    Spells.


    You receive a number of Spell Slots equal to your current Class Rarity plus your Intelligence Attribute divided by ten rounded down. To acquire new spells, you must either discover them or receive training. Spells may be removed and added as desired when not in combat after resting for at least eight hours.


    Note: Spells take up a number of slots equal to their Rarity. Spells must be slotted before they may be cast unless cast from a scroll or spell book.


    Stealth


    This is a skill. This Class Skill does not require Skill Slots.


    Stealth skill allows you to vanish from sight. Those with special skills or a high perception may pierce your Stealth Skill. Class-based stealth has both mental and physical aspects. Skills and Equipment of equal or greater rarity are required to pierce your stealth.


    Backstab


    This is a Skill


    When attacking an unaware target, you receive a bonus damage multiplier equal to your class rarity level. This is in addition to the base x2 multiplier.


    Current Backstab multiplier: x3 at Common Rarity.


    Enhanced Weapon Proficiency


    +1 to Hit / +1 to Damage with a single hand-held weapon. The Bonus can be swapped to another weapon once per day while not in combat. The bonuses increase by one each time the Rarity of this Class increases: +2 at Uncommon, +3 at Rare, etc.¡­


    Uncommon Rarity Unfettered Configuration


    Attribute Bonuses: Hit Points, Stamina, Mana, Psychic Energy, and Willpower +2 per Uncommon Unfettered Level,


    Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Endurance, Constitution, Perception, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and Luck +1 per Uncommon Unfettered LevelStolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    This Class does not receive Free Attributes at this Rarity


    Skill Slots: 2 + 1 Skill Slot per 10 Uncommon Unfettered Levels.


    Rare Rarity Unfettered Configuration


    Attribute Bonuses: Hit Points, Stamina, Mana, Psychic Energy, Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Endurance, Constitution, Perception, Intelligence, Wisdom, Willpower, Charisma, and Luck +2 per Rare Unfettered Level


    This Class does not receive Free Attributes at this Rarity


    Rare Class Skill Slots: 3 + 1 Skill Slot per 10 Rare Unfettered Levels.


    Advanced Rarity Unfettered Configuration


    Hit Points, Stamina, Mana, Psychic Energy, and Willpower +4 per Advanced Unfettered Level,


    Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Endurance, Constitution, Perception, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and Luck +2 per Advanced Unfettered Level


    This Class does not receive Free Attributes at this Rarity


    Advanced Class Skill Slots: 4 + 1 Skill Slot per 10 Advanced Unfettered Levels.


    Master Unfettered Configuration


    Attribute Bonuses: Hit Points, Stamina, Mana, Psychic Energy, and Willpower +4 per Advanced Unfettered Level,


    Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Endurance, Constitution, Perception, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and Luck +3 per Advanced Unfettered Level


    This Class does not receive Free Attributes at this Rarity


    Master Class Skill Slots: 4 + 1 Skill Slot per 10 Master Unfettered Levels.


    Race, Class, and Core modification complete. Soul Core Stability achieved.


    Changes to physical form underway


    ***


    Connor came to with cold water being sprayed all over his body. Besides the fact that cold water was being sprayed all over his body, there were two other things definitely wrong with the situation. Well, three. First, he was no longer up on the mountain. Second, he was butt-ass naked. Third, someone was scrubbing his body.


    ¡°Make sure to get that shit off him. Whoever did this was a complete asshole,¡± A gruff voice called from above his head.


    ¡°You got it, Chief, though I want extra pay for this. Also, The Station is paying the cleaning expenses on my gear.


    ¡°Hey, his eyes opened, a female off to the side called out.¡±


    ¡°Wait! What?¡± The guy that had been scrubbing said as he stopped and backed away from Connor¡¯s prone body.


    ¡°Where am I,¡± Connor asked in a much steadier voice than he figured he should be able to call out. His voice sounded deeper, more masculine, with a hint of something he couldn¡¯t quite define.¡±


    A woman stepped forward, knelt, and touched his shoulder, ¡°We¡¯re at the base of the trailhead to Mt. Kimball. Some hikers found you around 8 p.m., called for help, and dragged you down the trail to this point. The medics won¡¯t let you onto or in their equipment until you''re clear of the black gunk, so we¡¯re washing you off.


    ¡°What time is it now?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s after midnight. Your mother has already been notified. She¡¯s on her way here.¡±


    ¡°You said I had crap all over me. What exactly was it?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°We have no idea, but we gathered a sample. We¡¯ll let the labs test it. You don¡¯t know what it was, do you?¡±


    ¡°Nope, the last thing I remember was being attacked by a Coyote. ¡± My fencing skill saved my life,¡± Anton said as he noticed that he was lying in the middle of the street beside a firetruck.


    ¡°The hikers are over there making a statement to the police. The officers will be over here to talk to you in a minute, I¡¯m sure. Why don¡¯t we get you cleaned up now that you''re awake? We can hose you down quickly. Trust me, whatever that gunk is, it stinks, and it does not like to be scrubbed off. Sanders has been trying to clean you up for the better part of an hour.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t smell it; must be used to it or something; what do you need me to do?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Cover your eyes with one hand and your package with the other. We¡¯re going to hose you down and push the gunk on the ground toward the drain. Then we¡¯ll turn you over and repeat the process,¡± The Chief said.


    Connor followed the instructions. While the water was cold, it didn¡¯t hurt. When they were done, someone helped him stand and handed him a towel. He dried off quickly and was handed a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. As he was putting them on, the fire crew began packing up, and an officer with the last name Clark on his name tag walked over with his mom.


    ¡°Mr. Nash, is it?¡± Officer Clark asked.


    ¡°It is?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s my son. He¡¯s been hurt. Can we stop with the 50 questions so I can take him home? his mom called out.


    ¡°I got this, Mom; they¡¯re just doing their jobs. Besides, I¡¯m really grateful that someone found me and called you,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Nonsense, I would have called¡­¡± His mom started to say before she took a deep breath and settled down.


    Once Officer Clark was sure his mother had calmed down, he tried again, ¡°Mr. Nash, can you tell me what happened?¡±


    ¡°I was hiking up to Mt. Kimball looking for various plant and animal life for one of my college courses when a coyote attacked me. The next thing I know, I¡¯m receiving a scrub down from the fire crew.¡±


    ¡°The group that found you didn¡¯t find anything except you, the dead coyote down the mountainside, and the sludge you were found in. Do you know where your gear is? I assume you have gear?¡± Officer Clark asked.


    Connor kept his face neutral as he considered the question. After the Coyote had attacked, had that all been real? Connor sent a mental command to open his inventory and immediately found his backpack and clothes. He closed his inventory and turned back to Officer Clark, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I was wearing pants and a long-sleeved shirt. I also had my cane and a backpack when I headed up the mountain,¡± All things that Officer Clark, if he was even partially competent, already knew.


    ¡°That¡¯s what a couple of the eyewitnesses that came down before you said. I also checked the footage of the cameras that watch the parking area. This brings what happened to possible assault and mischief since you weren¡¯t seriously hurt. Do you have any idea who would want to strip you down and leave you in a pile of sewage?¡±


    ¡°No officer,¡± which was the truth because that hadn¡¯t happened.


    The medics checked him over and determined that he was in excellent health. Officer Clark asked a few more questions, filled out some paperwork, and then placed a sticker on his car so it wouldn¡¯t get towed. His mother would have to take him home so he could get his spare key to the car. Then, she¡¯d have to bring him back out tomorrow to pick up the car.


    Connor signed the paperwork Officer Clark handed him and followed his mom to her car. From there, she took him back to her home. His Dad had passed three years ago, but she still had the house he¡¯d grown up in. His room was still set up for him, so he had a place to sleep whenever he came to visit. As moms are wanting to do, she fussed over him for a bit, but not for too long when they arrived at her house. It was late, and they were both tired.


    Once he was in his room alone, he willed his car keys into his hand, just to make sure everything that happened wasn¡¯t a dream and then put them back into his inventory. He purposely chose not to open his status or any of the stuff that he seemed to be able to and laid back on the bed, with his mind thinking about a thousand things all at once. He was afraid he wouldn¡¯t fall asleep, but before he knew it, he was out.


    He woke to the smell of bacon, eggs, and toast and made his way to the dining table where his mother had set everything out. He wasn¡¯t incredibly hungry, but he ate everything she¡¯d set out for him. It was weird. He wasn¡¯t hungry, but he could eat. Also, when he was done, he didn¡¯t feel hungry, but he wasn¡¯t full either. It was a bit weird.


    He knew that he¡¯d need to play with the interface for a bit and try to figure out what was going on. Especially since a portion of his mind remembered something that he didn¡¯t recall reading, but it reminded him of the messages he¡¯d received on the mountain. Something about being Unfettered: he¡¯d need to look into that. A look at the clock showed that it was already 11 a.m. So, this late Friday morning. In late August.


    During breakfast, his mother kept looking at him as if she wanted to ask him a question, but she didn¡¯t. After breakfast, he took a quick shower, noticed that the sword tattoo was still on the right side of his chest, and got dressed. He still had some clothes in the closet here, so it was nothing for him to put on some jeans and a dark shirt so the tattoo wouldn¡¯t show through.


    Maybe the system was real, perhaps magic existed, and all evidence pointed to the fact that he had a dimensional storage area where his backpack and clothes were stored. What he knew with absolute certainty was that his mom disliked tattoos, and he did not want to be the target of one of her religious tirades about being influenced by the devil again. Shoot, if the Apocalypse were coming, the ¡°I told you so ¡°would come often with emphasis. She had become quite religious after Dad had passed.


    Connor made sure to grab the spare key to his car and followed his mother out of the house. As they sat down and his mother began driving, he asked, ¡°Any plans today, Mom?¡±


    ¡°After I drop you off, I¡¯m going to meet Debbie at the mall. We¡¯re going to do some early shopping for Christmas.¡±


    ¡°Mom, it¡¯s only August,¡± Connor pointed out.


    ¡°It''s the end of August. There are only four months until Christmas,¡± she said with a smile, ¡°You could come with us?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. You have your friend time with Debbie. I have to rewrite what I saw yesterday and then turn in the assignment. Since my backpack is missing, I have to start from scratch.¡±


    Just then, she pulled up behind his parked car and stopped., ¡°Okay, Dear. Here you are. You get what you need to get done; I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be staying in the dorm tonight. Everything that was on my phone would have been downloaded onto my cloud, and my computer has access to those files,¡± Connor explained as he exited her car. His mom waited as he walked around to the driver''s side and unlocked the car with the spare key. Once he was in the car and buckled in, His mom gave him a wave and drove off.


    Connor headed back to the University Campus. Now that he had a little bit of time, he noticed that he felt different. The world seemed crisper. Keeping track of traffic seemed easier, and his reaction time seemed a bit faster. As he drove, his mind wandered, and before he knew it, he was stepping out of his car and heading toward his dorm room.


    He stepped into his room and closed the door behind him. He sat down at his computer. He did a search for strange occurrences yesterday at 6 p.m. As he pulled up information about yesterday, he reviewed the information in his status; he marveled at how much it resembled a character Sheet from one of the Massively Multiplayer Online Games he had played.


    Name: Conner Orion Nash


    Birthday: October 15th, 2007


    Apparent Age: 22


    Race: Master Ranked Human


    Core: Master


    Classes


    Common / Unfettered / 100


    Uncommon / Unfettered / 100


    Rare / Unfettered / 100


    Advanced / Unfettered / 100


    Master / Unfettered / 53


    Epic / None /


    Hit Points: 1,368


    Stamina: 2,167


    Mana: 2,110


    Psychic Energy: 2,210


    Strength: 1,267


    Agility: 1,277


    Dexterity: 1,277


    Endurance: 1,257


    Constitution: 1,267


    Perception: 1,267


    Intelligence: 1,267


    Wisdom: 1,267


    Willpower: 1,620


    Charisma: 1,267


    Luck: 1,267


    Chaos: 0


    Order: 0


    Skill Slots: 49


    Spell Slots: 141


    Running Speed


    MPH: 801


    FPS: 1175


    > Abilities <


    ?


    ?


    > Titles <


    Head of the Line


    Deflector


    It''s Not the Fall That Kills You, It''s the Sudden Stop


    Big Game Hunter


    Head of the Line II


    Head of the Line III


    Head of the Line IV


    Head of the Line V


    > Perks <


    Common Core


    Uncommon Core


    Rare Core


    Advanced Core


    Master Core


    Common Racial Evolution


    Uncommon Racial Evolution


    Rare Racial Evolution


    Advanced Racial Evolution


    Master Racial Evolution


    Regeneration


    Connor looked over the information and froze. Then he went through his notifications, subtracted all of the modifications to strength, and realized that yesterday he¡¯d only had a Strength of 8. Now, it was 1,267. That was 158.375 times as much. Wait, that number had just popped into his head. Did these attributes make it easier to do math too? A higher intelligence made him better at math, which was awesome. He¡¯d been struggling with Intro to Calculus, but maybe now he¡¯d be able to understand what the professor was saying.


    He needed to get a better idea of what the numbers meant, so he whispered, ¡°SYSTEM, what is considered an average attribute for an adult human male?¡±


    Connors'' perception focused on Strength, and a Tooltip box appeared.


    Non-Integrated Average Human Strength: 10


    Connor quickly went through the rest of the attributes. All except for Chaos and Order, which offered no information. The average for each was 10. The average Hit Points for an adult male was 9. Connor wondered how much harder it would be to kill him now or for him to kill someone else, which he¡¯d never done before. Damn, that went dark quick. Of course, there was no way for him to tell what was considered deadly. He needed to know how much damage a gun or¡­wait. He pulled up the information on Fang and checked its Base Damage.


    Base Damage: 6


    If a person¡¯s average hit points was 9, a critical strike that did double damage would reduce an average man¡¯s hit points to -3 with one hit. A longsword could kill an average person with one hit. Of course, if he swung the sword, his base damage was listed at 133*. Connor focused on the ¡°*.¡±


    Durability


    Melee Weapons add a strength-based bonus from the wielder. This is the maximum possible damage that can be added to a weapon. A weapon may normally add up to double the base damage with no harm done to the weapon''s durability during the attack. If a person¡¯s full strength bonus is more than double the weapon''s base damage, the weapon can take durability damage when used in an attack.


    If wielded properly, bladed weapons take durability damage equal to one-half the damage inflicted when exceeding the double damage limit.


    Example: Fang may do up to 133 points of damage but will take 61 points of durability damage.


    Blunt weapons and Bladed weapons that are not appropriately wielded take full durability damage. In the above example, Fang would take 121 points of Durability damage.


    When Durability reaches zero, the weapon shatters. Only magic or reforging can replace durability lost by a weapon. In the above example, Fang would be destroyed.


    So, while he had 1,267 strength if he used Fang, he had to limit his swings, so he was only adding 6 points of damage. However, Fang did regenerate durability at a rate of 1 per hour. As long as he didn¡¯t go crazy, he could get in up to 24 points of damage extra a day without having to worry about the blade too much. It was kind of lucky that he¡¯d decided to look at this information before he used the blade. It would have sucked to swing it once and be afraid to swing it again.


    Finding the information about Fang gave him an idea. Connor looked for the notifications while he¡¯d been unconscious. They weren¡¯t hard to find, but he had to ask to see them. He found everything he¡¯d thought he¡¯d dreamed about. His mind must have absorbed some of the information while he was unconscious. The SYSTEM had assigned him a class called unfettered because it couldn¡¯t decide if he had a favored type of action or synergy because of the games he played and the fiction he read. It had even picked up on a fictional character from one of his favorite series. That was hilarious.


    Then he focused on Malleable Skill.


    He could create skills just by focusing on his intent. For someone with an average Wisdom score of 10, that might take a while. How about for someone with a Wisdom of 1,267? The description said that he could create skills that he could develop skills that ran on mana or Psychic Energy. He could run pretty fast. What about cloud running or flying? A teleport or blink-type effect might work, too. His ability to activate Stealth and fly might come in really handy at some point. If he could get the ability to fly, he could probably get the ability to teleport, too. Of course, he was limited by the number of slots he had, but if that were true, it meant everyone else was too.


    Connor sat down in the middle of the floor and cleared his mind. Then, he concentrated on acquiring the ability to fly at least as fast as he could run without needing wings. As he focused, two branches appeared in his Mind¡¯s Eye. The left path was sealed to him, and he realized that it was the hint of a spell that would grant him what he required. He followed the other path, and before he knew it, a notification filled his vision.


    Congratulations! You have acquired the Psychic Skill: Flight.


    Flight. At a cost of 10 Psychic Energy per second or 100 per Combat Turn, you may move through the air as you move on the ground. This is a mental skill, though it doesn¡¯t require concentration.


    Connor jumped to his feet and jumped into the air with the desire to hover a foot off the ground and activated Flight. He hovered. He didn¡¯t even have to concentrate. He spent the next five minutes running around the room. He ran along the wall, stood upside down on the ceiling, and even moved around with just his mind. It was awesome. Then, he activated Stealth. Stealth worked off of his Stamina. He hadn¡¯t seen the cost for Stealth anywhere, but it looked like it required 10 Stamina per second or 100 per Combat Turn. His Stamina Regeneration rate was 13 per Second, and his Psychic Energy Regeneration rate was 16 per second, so he could activate Flight and remain under Stealth, which brought him to his next question.


    With his attributes this high, how fast could he run or fly now?


    He opened his information and went digging.


    801 miles per hour.


    His Status sheet stated that he could fly 801 miles per hour! Now, a better question: could he survive traveling that fast? There was only one way to find out. Connor opened the window to his bedroom, which was on the third floor of the dorm, and with both Flight and Stealth active, jumped through the window and accelerated upward.


    Connor played with his SYSTEM interface for a moment until he had an accurate speedometer in his vision that showed his current speed and altitude, which it seemed the SYSTEM was keeping track of anyway. He also willed an icon of a human body to appear on the left side of his vision, which would solidify when he was visible and become an outline when Stealth was active.


    When he reached cloud level, he headed south. If what he read before was accurate, nothing on Earth could detect him. His Stealth skill was tied to the maximum Class Rank, which was Master or Rank 5 if he was using numbers. Earth¡¯s technology, as far as he could tell, was at Common or Rank 1. Of course, the SYSTEM could be lying, but he didn¡¯t think so. Something that could affect the world didn¡¯t need to lie.


    As he reached 200 miles per hour, he started to do a bit of damage to his clothes, which he¡¯d forgotten about. He was going to need to either create force screens around himself or find a way to become incorporeal, or else he would rip apart any clothes he was wearing and might even damage his skin. Connor slowed down and realized he also needed a way to survive in space.


    Connor turned back toward Tucson. As he flew back into his Dorm room, none the wiser to his escapades as far as he could tell, he deactivated his Skills and sat down on his couch. He had a lot to think about and consider.

 Chapter 2, Big Brother is, In Fact, Always Watching

    ¡°How is he doing that?¡± Sarah asked herself for the 100<sup>th</sup> time as she watched the feed from the University of Arizona in Tucson.


    ¡°Sarah, What do you have for me?¡± her Supervisor asked.


    ¡°The A.I. flagged someone floating around their dorm room at the University,¡± Sarah responded.


    Jack Oglin, her supervisor, brought his tablet up to eye level, drew the information from Sarah¡¯s terminal, and began reading.


    ¡°Name: Connor Nash¡±


    ¡°Occupation: Student at University of Arizona.¡±


    ¡°Major: None declared.¡±


    ¡°Test Scores: Unremarkable¡±


    ¡°IQ tests are on record, slightly above average.¡±


    ¡°Father: Deceased¡±


    ¡°Mother: Brenda Nash, Widowed and Retired.¡±


    ¡°Siblings: None¡±


    ¡°Children: None¡±


    ¡°Romantic Interest: None¡±


    ¡°Grandparents: All Deceased.¡±


    Once he was done reading off the information, Jack turned to Sarah, ¡°Some kind of prank or practice for a college prank?¡±


    ¡°No, and watch,¡± Sarah replied as Connor opened the window and vanished. Sarah turned up her speakers as they watched an empty room.


    Eventually, Jack¡¯s patience wore thin, and he asked, ¡°What am I watching?¡±


    ¡°I believe he flew out the window,¡± she said as she pulled up another monitor from an external camera that showed the outside of the dorm. Connor¡¯s window clearly opened, but nothing exited it. They sat there and watched until the window closed, and Connor reappeared in his room.


    ¡°How sure are you this isn¡¯t a stunt?¡± Jack asked Sarah.


    ¡°I had the A.I. scrub the audio from the room for any ambient sounds after the window opened, and he disappeared. Just before he reappeared, the microphone picked up someone breathing. Otherwise, while he was gone for just over five minutes, no sounds were picked up except sounds that could be cross-analyzed with the camera outside. They all matched. The A.I. is 99% sure that no new sounds were created inside the room.


    ¡°How about the sensors at Davis-Monthan? Did they detect anything?¡±


    Sarah pulled up another feed and cross-referenced the data with the time Connor was active. ¡°Yes, there is something.¡± There¡¯s a vertical displacement of air directly over the University that levels out at five thousand feet and then shoots off south. Five minutes later, it returns and descends back to the University. Radar and Infrared show nothing, so it didn¡¯t flag the sensors as a threat. The change in air pressure and displacement was detected but flagged as an anomaly.¡±


    Are you saying this kid has some form of stealth tech that we can¡¯t detect except by air displacement after the fact?¡±


    A beep drew Jack¡¯s attention to the tablet in his hand.


    Sarah received the same notification on her screen.


    Subject: Connor Orion Nash Sample Analysis Results:


    90% Connor Orion Nash DNA,


    10% DNA of unknown origin.


    Jack pushed a button on his Tablet. There was an audible click as every door into the analyst''s room locked simultaneously.


    ¡°Jack turned to Sarah,¡± Secure your hard drive and follow me. Everyone else, keep working on whatever you''re working on. Security will be by in a bit to make sure none of your terminals have been compromised, ¡°Jack said to the other analysts who were still working,


    Sarah hit a few buttons, shut down the system and then her monitor before she removed the Hard Drive and stood. She unplugged the computer from the wall to make sure any information in the RAM chips disappeared as well. Once she was satisfied that her terminal was secure, she stood and followed Jack into his office and out through a door in the back wall.


    ¡°Where to now?¡± Sarah asked.


    ¡°Now we brief my boss.


    ***


    During the rest of Friday and Saturday, Connor didn¡¯t leave his dorm room except to get something to eat. It was really weird. Everyone was looking at him funny. He could swear the girls all looked like they wanted to eat him, and the guys, well, except for a few, looked like they were either angry at or jealous of him. He wasn¡¯t sure what it was all about, well, unless having a high Charisma score affected the women, of course, which meant that the guys that didn¡¯t look at him angrily were¡­


    Whatever. He couldn¡¯t help how he looked, and while it might be interesting to chase the girls, he had a lot on his mind right now. So, he kept to himself and remained in his dorm room. He had a couple of assignments to finish, even if something weird might be going on. He finished all of the assignments he was supposed to do in record time while continuing to search the internet for any other strange occurrences at the time he was inducted into the SYSTEM. He didn¡¯t find anything.


    At 4. p.m., that changed when six simultaneous reports went live. Twenty-five miles above Mt. Kimball, Arizona, Morocco, Japan, China, Russia, and somewhere near Easter Island, Bright lights appeared above the world. Each was clearly visible from the ground. The images that had been recorded showed small pulsating lights that alternated in color as they grew bright enough to be visible in full daylight. Connor realized that the four points were equidistant around the globe while the point in Russia and near Easter Island seemed to be about the same distance offset from the North and South Pole as the lights above the other four points around the globe that were offset to the north of the equator.


    As he was pulling up the information, Connor¡¯s attention was drawn to a notification that filled his vision.


    Uncanny Perception has Activated


    SYSTEM Intrusion Detect¡­


    SYSTEM Edit in Progress.


    SYSTEM Induction Countdown set to 10


    Just as suddenly as the lights appeared, they vanished. He considered trying to search for further information when the last notifications he received demanded his attention as they brought a new question to the forefront of his thoughts: Ten What?


    Just then, every piece of electronics worldwide failed. He¡¯d read enough end-of-the-world fiction to recognize an Electromagnetic Pulse, or a failure of all technology caused by a SYSTEM were the most likely culprits. He also knew that this was bad. If this were worldwide, things would get out of hand quickly. He also realized that being in the third story of a building as planes fell out of the sky was probably not a good thing. He needed to be in the open where he could see any threat that might appear.


    Connor moved to his dresser and deposited the whole thing into his inventory. Then he went to the closet and did the same thing. Since nothing electronic seemed to be working, he also stored his mini fridge. There were a few cold drinks in there that might keep. He could also drop the fridge off somewhere later. The minute he spent taking things now would save him some heartache later.


    Connor activated Flight and Stealth. It didn¡¯t look like there was any restriction that caused him to appear when he interacted with his environment. He walked over, opened the window, and flew up into the sky. It was Saturday; Mom should be home, which was to the northeast of the University.


    BOOM!


    A colossal explosion billowed up off to his west. The explosion had come from the general direction of the Mall. His concentration faltered for a moment. Both Stealth and Flight failed. He¡¯d dropped fifty feet before he was able to reactivate both skills. He doubted anyone was going to notice, though; everyone was running from the spreading fire, which was generating heat he could feel from half a mile away.


    It was four in the afternoon on Saturday. Shit! Elizabeth was probably in the mall working. Before he could go down that rabbit hole, a new notification appeared.


    Uncanny Perception has Activated.


    Connor waited for a moment to see if there would be any more notifications. When none appeared, he looked around and saw¡­his mom floating in the air five feet in front of him. It wasn¡¯t his mom, though. It was a transparent, dare he say it, ghostly copy of his mom. ¡°Mom?¡±


    ¡°Connor! Connor, I can¡¯t see you. I know you¡¯re there, but I can¡¯t see you.¡±


    Connor deactivated Stealth, ¡°I¡¯m here, Mom.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re flying,¡± his mom pointed out.


    Connor ignored the question, So are you? What happened?¡±


    Before his mother could answer, Connor watched as she was yanked toward the mountain to the North. With a thought, he activated Stealth and shot after her. As he headed after his mother, who was rapidly pulling away from him, he could see streams of ghostly images racing toward a glowing structure that was floating directly above Mt. Kimball. It hadn¡¯t been there this morning; he was sure of it. He also noticed some men and women stepping out of vehicles and looking up at him from various locations around his dorm but put them out of his thoughts as he chased after his mother¡¯s ghost.


    Before he could increase his speed, his mother had disappeared into the structure that had appeared on the mountain. If he was being honest, it looked like a very large bug zapper. What the hell was it? As he drew closer to the ¡°Bug Zapper,¡± the sky above the mountain ripped open. It looked as if a horizontal doorway to another place with a different sky had just opened, and floating Gallon-style ships began dropping through the opening like the monsters had in the moving Ironman, slow and graceful. It wasn¡¯t just a few ships, either. There were a lot of ships armed with hundreds of people on each of them that he could see. He¡¯d been so caught up in going after his mom that he¡¯d forgotten to slow down and had to dodge to the side of the ¡°Bug Zapper.¡± He adjusted his flight to the east and turned to make his way back toward the mountain.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    He had no idea what had happened to his mom, but if he were to read this from context, A group of beings had initiated the SYSTEM Integration so they could harvest souls somehow. His Mom was dead, probably Elizabeth too. Then his mind went into hyperdrive. Agents, there had been agents around his dorm room, which meant¡­Damn, his computer had a camera, and it hadn¡¯t been secure. Could it even be secure? This meant that if the NSA actually had the ability to monitor every device in the United States, they would have picked him up, moving around the room like Spiderman and then disappearing. Could they have detected him flying? The notes from the SYSTEM said no, but he had agents on the ground around his dorm room, which indicated he could have been wrong. Again. None of that mattered if there were forces invading his world to steal humanity''s souls, though. That was some next-level evil shit right there.


    His mind circled back to Mom was dead.


    Why didn¡¯t he feel worse about that?


    Maybe because it¡¯s the end of the world, and a lot of people are dying right now


    Just as Connor was thinking about what to do about the SYSTEM, this invasion and the Agents, a bright light was emitted from Structure at the top of the mountain. And he lost all sense of his surrounds as his mind could only perceive the notifications that were scrolling down his vision.


    WARNING! You have been attacked by Stun Spell. Rank Epic


    You have been Stunned


    Stealth Deactivated


    Flight Deactivated.


    He realized that as the words filled his vision, he was falling toward the ground at approximately 100 miles per hour. 101, 102. Shit! Gravity sucked.


    Connor didn¡¯t even feel the impact when he slammed into the ground. The only way he knew he¡¯d hit was through the new Notifications he received.


    Falling, Impact Damage: 1,200


    The Title ¡°It''s Not the Fall That Kills You, It''s the Sudden Stop¡± does not apply while Stunned.


    Current Hit points: 168 of 1,368


    Stun Timer Epic: 6 Turns.


    One minute later, Connor came to. His body had regenerated 30 Hit Points already. However, that did him absolutely no good. He was underground, halfway buried under rocks. Rocks surrounded his lower body, but his upper torso was in a relatively big open area. A mine tunnel, maybe? He was able to drag himself entirely out of the rock pile before shockwave rushed through the rock.


    Reacting without thought, Connor rolled up against a wall of the small cavern and pulled the fridge, cabinet, and dresser out of his inventory around him to try to make a cavity a place where he could survive in if there was a cave him. It was a crap plan, but he had to try something so he didn¡¯t get crushed. A moment later, the ceiling was falling all around him. He couldn¡¯t see it in the dark, which was both lucky and terrifying. At least he wouldn¡¯t see the stone that turned him into goo.


    Now, to try to assess his situation, Connor summoned the flashlight from his backpack into his hand and switched it on. It worked! It was probably because it had been in his inventory when the EMP had gone off.


    He looked around. Yes, he was in a mine shaft that had collapsed entirely around him. The ceiling beam had fallen from behind him and created a triangle he was under, which had been given a little more room from the furniture he¡¯d pulled out. He had just enough space to sit cross-legged on the ground, but he couldn¡¯t stand.


    As the dust began to settle, he considered how lucky he was. Some wouldn¡¯t consider him lucky, but he knew that if not for the reinforcement beam, the dresser, cabinet, and minifridge he¡¯d taken from his room, he¡¯d probably be pasted under a rock pile right now. The damage he¡¯d taken from the crash had broken a lot of bones in his body. He¡¯d been lucky to even be able to roll and get the items out of his inventory in the first place.


    He sat there and allowed himself to heal while he considered his options; he hadn¡¯t tried to create a skill today yet. It looked like that was the next thing on his ¡°To Do¡± list. Hopefully, the air wouldn¡¯t run out. His mind told him it would definitely run out, while the gamer and fiction fan in him pointed out that if his body had evolved, maybe his body was more magic than physical, or maybe he could survive on less oxygen.


    Regardless, he wasn¡¯t going to get out of this with his current ability or skills, so he sat down, closed his eyes, activated Malleable Skill, and focused his intent on acquiring a skill that would get him out of being buried alive under who knew how much granite and stone.


    At least he tried to. When Notifications popped into his vision, he had another option.


    ***


    Commander Gibson looked down on the Earth from the cockpit of the X-101, the military''s response to the Space Shuttle. Unlike the shuttle, this craft did not require rockets to get into orbit. Also, unlike everything else in low orbit, the X-101 still worked, which was a stroke of luck.


    A few minutes ago, the three of them in the small shuttle were in a high orbit when they received a priority one message.


    ¡°Commander. I have a priority message from NORAD: Alien Incursion underway. I say again, Alien Incursion underway. Coordinates follow,¡± Second Lieutenant Briggs read off the message screen.


    ¡°Did you say Alien Incursion?¡± Technical Sergeant Nichols asked.


    ¡°He did. Now shut it and give me a targeting solution for any of the coordinates that are within our current range,¡± Commander Gibson said.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Tech Seargent Nichols said as the mirrored targeting screen on his console showed an image of the Phoenix and Tucson area. The image then zoomed in on the mountain range just north of Tucson.


    ¡°I recognize the area,¡± Commander Gibson said, ¡°That¡¯s Mt. Kimball, and that structure on top of it¡­.Whoa!¡±


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Lieutenant Briggs asked.


    Commander Briggs looked up from his monitor at the Earth below him. From their altitude above the planet, he could see five stars of rapidly flickering lights that were oscillating through every color of the spectrum. One of the objects had blinded their targeting computer. Commander Briggs adjusted the filters, and the image cleared.


    ¡°Looks like a star, ¡° Tech Seargent Briggs answered.


    To Commander Gibson, the structure on top of Mt. Kimball looked like a giant bug zapper. He couldn¡¯t see the color from this angle, but it looked like it had a flat plane at the top and bottom with four panels on the corners. In the center, there was a glowing cylinder.


    ¡°Another priority message, Sir. Take them¡­¡± Lieutenant Briggs started to say as a blue flash enveloped the planet, and everything on the planet and in low Earth orbit went dead.


    ¡°I¡¯ve lost comms to everything in low orbit and on the planet,¡± Lieutenant Biggs said.


    ¡°We have our orders. Link to God¡¯s Hammer. We¡¯ll target Mt. Kimball first,¡± Commander Gibson said.


    ¡°But..¡± Lieutenant Briggs started to say


    ¡°We have our orders. Whatever that structure is, it can¡¯t be good for humanity, not after whatever is attacking us decided to utilize an EMP that wiped out everything below. Remember your training. Let¡¯s do this, people. Also, I want fire solutions on the next target that will be in range.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir.¡±


    The new satellite they¡¯d placed in orbit was meant to test gravity-driven, non-nuclear attacks from orbit using tungsten rods. It was just a prototype, and it wasn¡¯t supposed to be fully operational, as they had more tests to run. Today, however, It looked like today was to be that first test.


    Commander Gibson and Lieutenant Briggs knew their duty and authenticated the launch. They tracked the rod as it entered orbit and streaked toward the mountain. While en route, a dark oval appeared one mile above the mountain. From their vantage point, it was just a black flat oval floating above the mountain. They couldn¡¯t see the floating galleon sailing ships that were dropping through the portal on the opposite side.


    The tungsten rod slammed into the ground with a force of 20 tons of TNT. That explosion wouldn¡¯t have done much. It was the equivalent of a small nuke going off without the radiation. Except for flying debris, it wouldn¡¯t have done much to Tucson. The Structure on the mountain that it struck dead on, however, exploded with an equivalent force of 10 megatons. Energy shot in all directions, but because of the crater that the tungsten rod created, it mainly reflected up into the portal directly above where the structure had been. Directly through the portal into the invading fleet.


    The hole in reality above the mountain closed, as did all the other portals around the world. The explosion had ejected enough material through the portal to level Mt. Kimball and obliterate any nearby ships. Within the portal, all the nearby ships were obliterated as well, including all the ships that had held the mages who had opened the portals around Earth.


    Commander Gibson was already switching to his second target when the dark disc above it winked out of existence before they could target the second structure. Ironically Commander Gibson, the individual that the SYSTEM designated as the initiator of the attack would have earned a crap ton of XP and rivaled Connor for the right to be the highest leveled individual on Earth if he¡¯d survived long enough to receive his rewards. Instead, Commander Gibson, Lieutenant Briggs, and Technical Sergeant Nichols had just enough time to see a flying Galleon orient its nose in their general direction before a light grew brighter and swatted them out of existence.


    The few astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) who saw the explosions in higher Earth orbit weren¡¯t worried about what was happening out in the higher orbit where Commander Gibson had been. The ISS was in a lower orbit, and whatever had taken out all the electronics on Earth also crippled the ISS. They were in the process of trying to save themselves, so they had much more pressing concerns, though some of the crew saw the flash of light reach up from the planet and destroy something in a higher orbit.


    The Crew of the X-101¡¯s last act in this life ensured that the souls of their home planet would remain free, in North America at least. While the three crew members wouldn¡¯t benefit from their act in this life, the SYSTEM recorded the Deed, and Karmic Luck appropriate to the deed was awarded to each of them as they entered the Cycle of Reincarnation.


    ***


    Elizabeth Henley hadn¡¯t been at her job when the plane crashed into the food court. The electricity had gone out, and she had rushed to check on Mrs. Perkins, who worked at the other end of the mall in JC Penny. She¡¯d known the old woman for years and knew that she had a pacemaker attached to her heart. If the power had gone out everywhere, including on battery-powered devices which she knew had happened because her cell phone didn¡¯t work, Mrs. Perkins was going to need help.


    She¡¯d run as fast as she could but had already been too late by the time she¡¯d arrived. One of Mrs. Perkin''s fellow employees was trying to do CPR on her to no avail. Nothing worked. That¡¯s when she heard the explosion from down the hall behind herself, jumped through the door, and went off to the side. A pressure wave had blown everyone over.


    When she made it back to her feet she looked down the mall corridor, everything was on fire.


    Someone called out, ¡°Away from the fire, everyone out of the building now!¡±


    Elizabeth made sure someone had picked up Mrs. Perkins and then followed. Tears streaming down her face as she followed.


    When they made it outside, she saw the structure up on top of Mt. Kimball. Then she saw the portal open like something out of a Science fiction movie, right before something moving at incredible speed streaked out of the sky from the south and slammed into the structure, destroying it and the mountain. A moment later, another blast wave washed over her, and she was blown down the parking lot away from the building, as the whole mountain effectively disappeared in a blinding gold light.


    She was bruised and scrapped, but she was alive. As she picked herself up off the ground, something flickered in the corner of her eye, like a strobe light coming on for the first time. As she concentrated on it, it opened like a tooltip on her smartphone, and text appeared.


    Welcome to the SYSTEM


    Individual Evaluation Underway


    ***


    ¡°What happened to the Mother,¡± Jack Oglin asked his assistant Sarah.


    ¡°One of the operatives was able to contact us before the power went out,¡± Sarah said. They were out in the parking garage, where there was at least a little daylight shining in.


    ¡°I know that. Now that we''re outside, fill me in on what you learned.¡±


    ¡°It seems that Mrs. Nash had an allergic reaction to the tranquilizer they administered. ¡°


    ¡°Seriously, no one checked her medical records before¡­¡±


    ¡°We did; it was undocumented,¡± Sarah said, cutting him off. Just then, each of them received the same notification Elizabeth had in Tucson.


    Welcome to the SYSTEM


    Individual Evaluation Underway


    After verifying with everyone nearby that they had all received the same messages in their vision, Sarah asked, ¡°What do we do now?


    ¡°You saw the reports right before the power went out.¡± Jack pointed out, ¡°The other five sites have some invaders that made it onto the planet. We accept the reality that is. Then, we try to reconnect with those in charge. Finally, we make sure that whoever these invaders are, they pay for the crap that happened today.¡±


    ¡°And Connor Nash?¡± Sarah asked.


    ¡°If he¡¯s part of it, he pays first. If not, we bring him to our side because I have a feeling we¡¯re going to need all the help we can get.¡±


    Just then, new notifications appeared in everyone¡¯s vision around the World.


    Before Class Selection is offered, A choice must be made.


    WARNING! This Choice will not be offered again.


    A Tutorial is available.


    The Tutorial is not safe, but it will teach you about basic SYSTEM functions and offer opportunities to discover classes of higher rarity.


    For those who take full advantage of the Tutorial, Death is a likely possibility.


    Would you like to participate in the tutorial? Yes or No?¡±


    You have one minute to decide.

 Chapter 3, Welcome to the Tutorial

    With a pop, Connor appeared in an open field surrounded by trees with a couple hundred men and women around him. As he took in his surroundings, he saw people in blue and others dressed in red, like gangbangers in Los Angeles. In one area, he saw quite a few people dressed like bikers. In another area of the clearing, he saw Latino and Hispanic people dressed as bodyguards with tattoos visible above their collars or on their faces.


    After a few moments, his perception allowed him to determine that there were precisely 999 people near him and that all of them were criminals of some sort. Near him were individuals that he¡¯d categorize as Italian mafia or maybe members of a Cartel. Why the hell was he with a bunch of criminals? He watched as everyone looked around, sizing one another up. Those who looked his way discounted him immediately, which was precisely how he wanted it.


    Before anyone could say anything, an elf, an actual elf in flowing brown robes, appeared above the clearing. He was floating in the air, which surprised everyone else. Connor just watched while he also remained cognizant of his surroundings. The elf looked around the crowd of humans until his eyes came to rest on Connor. A frown creased his brow, but then his gaze moved on. When the elf was done, he spoke in a loud, soothing voice.


    ¡°First, Let me welcome you to your new life in The SYSTEM.


    What is the SYSTEM? Think of it as a neutral entity that watches over and governs all aspects of existence. You are here to learn how to access the basic functions available to everyone and then choose a class before you are sent back to your planet.


    ¡°What is this horseshit? How are you floating?¡± A large man in biker gear started to exclaim before he was cut off.


    ¡°Silence!¡± the elf declared. Connor could tell by pressure that the word created that it was more of a directive than a request. It didn¡¯t affect him but everyone else in the clearing shut up instantly.


    ¡°If and when I wish for questions, I¡¯ll let you know. Otherwise, remain silent and listen!¡±


    When no one responded, the elf continued, ¡°Due to circumstances beyond your control, the SYSTEM Integration of Earth scheduled for 362 days and some odd hours from now has been accelerated. The typical method of induction is to subject the population to an ever-increasing level of mana over a year so that the change is slow and steady. There is some disruption, but not as much as was required today. Unfortunately for all of you on Earth, someone decided to change that in an attempt to¡­you know what? You don¡¯t need to worry about that. What you need to worry about is figuring out how to access the SYSTEM and choose a class.


    The elf paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Let¡¯s get this started. Everyone either thinks or says ¡®Status.¡¯¡±


    Connor listened as the elf went through the basics of controlling the interface with a thought or using a holographic interface that only the user could see. He warned everyone that while you could work that way to make things easier for themselves, learning to focus their minds and control the interface with their thoughts would allow them to utilize the SYSTEM without anyone else knowing. This went on for about an hour, by which time Connor had tuned him out.


    Connor¡¯s attention was brought back to the elf when he started talking about leveling, ¡°Now we get to how to become more powerful. To get to a point where you can cast spells like the one I¡¯m using to float or fight higher-level monsters, you will need to improve three portions of yourself: your Class, your Core, and your Race. Race evolution usually takes the longest and is subject to evolution and mutation. Killing monsters and completing quests is the easiest way to acquire the materials needed to evolve your class.¡±


    One of the girls in the back raised her hand.


    ¡°Yes, girl, you may speak. What is your question?¡±


    The girl raised her voice a little so that she could be heard, but it was nowhere near as loud as the elf, ¡°Mr. Elf, Sir, did you say monsters?¡±


    ¡°I did say monsters. First, though, you may all address me as Initiate Ellron if I allow you to ask a question. As for your question, young miss, Monsters and Magic are real. When you return to your planet, you will find that it has been saturated with mana, the energy that fuels magic, since your departure. There will be monsters and other challenges to overcome on Earth when you return.


    ¡°Thank you, Initiate Ellron,¡± the girl said as she stepped back.


    Initiate Ellron looked around to make sure there were no more questions and then continued, ¡°Now, as I was saying, You have three aspects of yourself that you must improve. Each improvement in your Race and Core will increase all of your base attributes by a minimum of 10. A common core will garner 10 points for each of your attributes. An Uncommon Core will garner 20. Each rank of the core increases the award.


    You improve your Race by Evolving it. You strengthen your Core by finding a Core Shard and absorbing it. It requires 10 Core Shards of a specific rank before you can absorb a Crystal of the next higher rank. You don¡¯t really need to understand the specifics except that improving gives you more base attributes, and attributes allow you to fuel more spells and skills.


    Improving your class is a bit easier. You accept a class that you have qualified for and then level that class. When you reach level 100, the process starts for the next category. You can keep the class you have, or you can try to improve by multiclassing. Each time you Evolve your Class, you may make this choice. But I¡¯m getting way ahead of myself. Most of you won¡¯t live to see level 20.¡±


    The Initiate Ellon paused for a minute to see if his words had any effect. When he saw that all he received was flat stares, he continued.


    ¡°It should go without saying that the higher someone''s level is, the more powerful they are. For instance, none of you here should have a single attribute above 20 yet. Most of you won¡¯t have any above 10. When you choose a class, that class will improve your attributes and resource pools. Resource Pools are Hit Points, your ability to take damage, and Stamina, your ability to make your body do things. There is also Mana; everyone can use it, but it is vital for mages to cast spells


    Now, To give you an idea. Because of my completed evolutions, my minimum attributes in each category are at least 300. That is before adding class-level bonuses. That means if I flick any of you with my pinky, you die.


    Connor held his breath. Of course, there had to be one. One of the Bikers shook his hand at the elf. It was obvious he was trying to say something, but the compulsion the elf had laid on the group at the beginning was still affecting him. The elf looked at the biker in his leather jacket with obvious disdain as he said, ¡°Yes,¡± while making a gesture with his hand.


    ¡°Big words from a tiny man, even if you can fl..¡± The biker yelled up at the elf.


    Before the biker could even finish his sentence, the elf had moved, appeared in front of the Biker, lifted his right hand, pointed at the pinky on it with his left hand, and flicked the man in the middle of his chest. The blow caused the biker to fly up and over the group, until he came crashing down into the ground beyond the trees in a very obviously ¡°dead¡± heap.


    ¡°What a waste. The XP wasn¡¯t even worth the mana I had to use to float down in front of him,¡± Connor heard the elf mutter as he floated back up above the group. He looked around quickly to make sure that he had everyone¡¯s attention before continuing as if nothing happened, ¡°Now. Returning to the topic, As you kill monsters and complete quests, you receive Experience Points and may receive class shards. To create a Class Crystal, you need 10 shards of the rank you desire. Please note that the class crystal that is created is based on the shards used in its composition. As an example, when I formed my Common Class Crystal, I utilized two Fighter shards, five Mage Shards, a Cleric Shards, and two Rogue shards. When combined, my Common Class Crystal ended up being a Mage Crystal because more Mage Shards were utilized. It wasn¡¯t as good as if I had utilized just Mage shards, but it allowed me to upgrade my Class Core.


    You should also know that besides the four common classes I¡¯ve mentioned, there are shards for uncommon and rare classes as well. Such shards significantly influence the type of Class Crystal that forms. I only added one Uncommon Light Mage Shard to my Uncommon Class Crystal, and that uncommon class crystal allowed me to learn the Mage of Light Class, which gave me significant bonuses when casting light magic.


    None of that matters to you right now, but the information may help you as you move forward.


    Initiate Ellron paused for a moment, ¡°Okay, I can see that this is boring you, so I¡¯ll get to the important stuff. All of you are uninitiated human mortals. As such, you only have the attributes you have earned on your planet until now. You may also choose one of the basic classes, which will give you some bonuses as you make your way out into the forest and work to improve yourself before heading back to your world.


    The woman raised her hand again. When he pointed at her, she asked, ¡°How long will we be here?¡±


    ¡°Thirty of your Earth days. Why thirty days? Because there is another way to become more powerful, you may earn Titles. Titles offer unique upgrades and may only be earned during unique opportunities. During your 30 days here, earning Titles, choosing a class, and leveling that class are the quickest and easiest ways to become more powerful, even before forming your Common Core, which is the goal ALL OF YOU should set for yourselves before you return to Earth.


    If you decide to choose a class at this time, the SYSTEM will provide one weapon and some very limited basic survival gear.


    If you choose to go out on your own, kill some monsters and complete some quests. You will form your core the way you will need to for every level after Common. Going that route may award you with unique class opportunities.


    Until you receive a class, all Experience Points that you earn will be banked.


    What are Experience Points? Experience Points are used to level your classes. For now, all you need to know is that you will need 1000 XP to reach level one, 2,000 more XP to reach level two, and 3,000 more XP to reach level 3. Each new level will cost that level times one thousand XP to earn.


    Initiate Elron¡¯s head cocked to the side as if he was listening to something before he said, ¡°My time here grows short.


    Choose your class, or don¡¯t.


    Group with others, or don¡¯t


    Explore, or don¡¯t.


    Make your decision and go forth.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    May the SYSTEM Guide you.¡±


    Before anyone could ask Initiate Ellron any more questions, he vanished.


    Uncanny Perception has Activated.


    Connor noticed that Initiate Ellron was now hovering invisibly 1,000 feet above the clearing. That was weird; Uncanny Perception let him know exactly how far whatever he was seeing was away from him. In addition to seeing where the SYSTEM Guide had gone, he also heard others talking.


    ¡°What should I do?¡±


    ¡°Who was that guy?¡±


    ¡°Was he an elf?¡±


    Those were just some of the questions that were uttered aloud. Another thing Connor noticed was that the woman who had asked the questions in a meek manner seemed to change right before his eyes. Her eyes had glazed over for a moment and then glazed over for a few moments. When her eyes focused she activated Stealth and vanished.


    Connor could see her clearly. No one near her could, though. He watched as she zeroed in on someone toward the edge of the clearing and drew a dagger from a scabbard she now carried. The burly man she was making her way toward looked around as he pulled a longsword from a scabbard he now wore on his waist. Connor was sure he hadn¡¯t had it a few moments ago.


    ¡°Fuck Yeah! I¡¯m a Fighter,¡± he declared. ¡°Sasha, where are you? I have a bigger stick to poke you with this time,¡± He called out tauntingly as he looked around for her. Other people nearby realized something was going on and moved away from the man. Connor watched as she came up on his left side and waited until he raised the left arm to point.


    Connor considered what was about to happen and wondered if he should intervene. Then he asked himself a better question: did he care about human criminals killing human criminals? It was a bit callous, but unlike one of his favorite characters, he wasn¡¯t going to hem and haw about whether he was doing the right thing if he killed someone or allowed them to die because of a choice he made. He fully intended to kill whoever the fuck had killed his mom. If that ended up being the SYSTEM, that just meant it was a long-term goal. If not, that meant that goal was going to be a bit easier to achieve.


    Connor watched as Sasha, if that was her name, moved with the brute until, finally, he raised his arm to point. She appeared from Stealth as she drove her dagger up under his left arm and into his heart between his ribs. It was a perfect blow. The brute stopped moving like a puppet with its strings cut. Without a whimper, the brute fell to the ground, dead.


    Unlike Connor¡¯s version of Stealth, Sasha became visible as soon as she struck, which caused a few people nearby to scream. It also set off a chain reaction throughout the clearing. Connor watched as everyone drew guns and other weapons before a single word rang out from Initiate Ellron.


    ¡°FREEZE!¡±


    Initiate Ellron became visible and floated down until he was 20 feet above Sasha. Then, he made sure everyone could see him before he continued, ¡°Very good, Sasha. The First Rule of the SYSTEM, Strong Rule, and are rewarded. Please tell everyone what Title you earned is and the benefits it provides.¡±


    Connor felt the pressure of the spell that had been cast, which hadn¡¯t affected him, release. He saw Sasha consider ignoring the request, then thought better of it, ¡°I received the Title ¡°Murderhobo -You have killed a member of your race during an Integration Tutorial. +1 to Strength and Agility.¡±


    ¡°Did you receive more than one Title,¡± Initiate Ellron asked.


    Sasha nodded and continued, ¡°The second Title I received was Human Slayer 1. Normally, you do not receive a slayer title until you have killed at least 100 creatures of the species. During a Tutorial, this is modified. You receive +1 to hit and +1 to damage per rank of this title. This title may be upgraded to a maximum of Human Slayer 10,¡±


    Sasha paused as her eyes glazed over. When she spoke again, there was a hint of excitement in her voice, ¡°I also received another Title just now, ¡°Instructor¡¯s Pet ¨C You have helped a SYSTEM Instructor teach a vital lesson during a SYSTEM Integration Tutorial Charisma +5.¡±


    Initiate Ellron nodded, ¡°The last lesson I have to teach is that during this Tutorial, titles are available for almost any accomplishment. While I¡¯m not allowed to tell you how to get them, you can help each other out with anything you wish. I will offer you this word of warning, though. You might be able to kill anyone with this tutorial without repercussions. I would warn you that the Multiverse is large and that any thoughts you might have of killing indiscriminately once you leave here can lead to dire consequences. What is that Earth phrase? Do not bite off more than you can chew.


    This time, when he vanished, Connor couldn¡¯t see him.


    ¡°You BITCH, You killed him, a woman said as she successfully shoved her longsword through Sasha¡¯s chest, killing her instant.


    That attack started a free-for-all as attacks rang out throughout the clearing. Connor wasn¡¯t surprised when a weasel-looking man near him tried to backstab him. Connor had been watching everyone and moved when the man moved in for the attack. He dodged to the side so that the blow wouldn¡¯t be fatal, which proved unnecessary as his attacker and he both heard the blade hit his skin with a ¡°TINK.¡±


    Connor wasn¡¯t wearing armor, nor was his skin made of metal; what the hell? Connor activated Flight and Stealth and jumped up into the air. The weaselly man below stood there in shock until a dagger pierced the back of his skull from a different attacker, which killed him instantly.


    Connor moved up until he was at least 1,000 feet above everyone. He pulled up his message log and checked to see what had happened.


    WARNING! You have been Backstabbed


    Base Damage 4


    Strength Bonus 0


    Critical Multiplier x3


    Total Damage 12.


    Armor: None


    Physical Damage Resistance 13


    Damage negated; Attack has no effect.


    He had a Physical Damage Resistance? That would explain why the few rocks that dropped on him in the mineshaft hadn¡¯t done any damage. That was interesting but not relevant right now. Connor looked down and couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. Everyone was either attacking someone, standing there, trying to run away, or dying. Connor saw one guy cast a spell that killed someone who was pointing a gun at someone near him. As far as he could tell, no one saw him. As he was looking around, a flash appeared out over the forest about a mile away. It was just above the treetops, which meant it wouldn¡¯t be visible to anyone on the ground. Connor flew over to where the light had flashed and found Initiate Ellron sitting at a table with a single chair opposite him. He looked to be sipping a cup of tea as he looked up into Connor¡¯s gaze. ¡°Normally, I wouldn¡¯t be able to see you, but as the Administrator of this Tutorial, I can see everyone from Earth who is here automatically. Please join me,¡± the initiate said as another cup of tea appeared.


    Connor floated down and deactivated both Flight and Stealth as he sat opposite the Administrator. Then he picked up the tea and sipped it. When it didn¡¯t immediately taste awful or poison him, he allowed himself to swallow. It reminded him of sweet tea, which had probably been sweetened with honey.


    ¡°If I might ask, Why do you run these Tutorials?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Because SYSTEM Generated Quests pays quite well. Depending on how it goes, my reward is variable. My turn. Why are you in this Tutorial?¡± Initiate Ellron asked


    ¡°Because I integrated into the SYSTEM with everyone else on my planet?¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Truly? But you don¡¯t have a class. At least I can¡¯t determine what it is.¡±


    ¡°Can you determine my Core or Racial ranks?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°No, I just knew you were special because when I scanned you, I only received question marks?¡±


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s good to know,¡± Connor mused.


    If I had to guess, though, you''re definitely some kind of Rogue. You used Stealth easily enough, and you flew without spending mana, which means you''re some sort of psychic caster.¡±


    ¡°Close enough,¡± Connor agreed. ¡°I have a question: why was I put in a tutorial with a bunch of criminal types?¡±


    ¡°The SYSTEM does sorting and placement. If I had to guess, it¡¯s probably because of your physical attributes. As you saw, the Tutorials can turn into blood baths in some cases.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t all the Tutorials be like this one?¡±


    ¡°Heavens, No. Speaking of which, would you like some information for a boon?


    ¡°Boon?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°There are various levels of boons. For this information, I would ask for a minor boon. As there is only one rank below minor, trivial, I believe a minor boon for the information I¡¯m going to share would be fair.¡±


    Connor''s intelligence was well over 1,000. In a moment, context and word association cross-referenced themselves with what was going on back in the clearing and his meeting with the Initiate, which brought the psychopathic character from one of his favorite series to mind, William. Connor laughed, ¡°Let me guess, you going to tell me there is a special Title awarded for being the last person alive when this Tutorial ends?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes. How could you possibly know that?¡± Initiate, Ellron asked.


    ¡°Lucky guess,¡± Connor said with a smile as he made his counteroffer, ¡°What I would agree to pay a Minor Boon for is the knowledge of how my mother died as the integration started. I want to know who killed her.¡±


    ¡°She was alive at the start of the SYSTEM Integration?¡± Ellron asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°A simple request. I agree,¡± Initiate Ellron said as he sat back from the table and pulled out a tablet. A moment later, he spoke, ¡°An Agent of your NSA, Jared Davis, was given credit for your mother''s death. He is currently in a different Tutorial.¡±


    ¡°Is that Tutorial on this planet?¡±


    ¡°No, The Tutorials are scattered throughout the Multiverse.¡±


    Initiate Ellron said.


    ¡°So I have to wait to kill him until I¡¯m back on Earth?¡±


    ¡°It would appear so,¡± Initiate Ellron agreed.


    ¡°Okay, then. Thank you for the information. Is there anything I need to do so you can find me later?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be in this Tutorial for the next 30 days. Try to level up and find new skills. After that, the survivors will be returned to Earth if you haven¡¯t found other opportunities. Then, the fight for your actual survival begins then.¡±


    ¡°Where will you be during the next 30 days?¡±


    ¡°My job here is done. The only reason I was able to talk with you now is that I forfeited one of my quest rewards that I didn¡¯t need so that I could talk with you for a bit. I was curious. My curiosity earned me a Minor Boon. Whether it will be worth what I gave up, remains to be seen. I will close this encounter by saying, May the Suns and Moons guide your path.¡±


    ¡°You as well,¡± Connor said as Initiate Ellron stood. The innate nodded to Connor and then vanished with all of his furniture and accessories.


    Connor activated Stealth and Flight. He had a few things to think about. While he did that he was going to go what the other people in the tutorial were doing.


    ***


    ¡°Sin, did you see the experience we got for killing those guys. And the Quest we completed. This is insane. I¡¯m already level 3,¡± one of the younger gang members called out to his friend.


    ¡°Will you shut your mouth? This won¡¯t work as a trap if you don¡¯t shut your mouth,¡± the young woman known as Sin said. Both had been living on the streets in L.A. when they¡¯d accepted the prompt to join the Tutorial.


    ***


    ¡°Noobs,¡± Jason Monroe muttered under his breath as he looked at the cave entrance. He¡¯d tracked these two back to this cave after the chaos in the clearing. It wasn¡¯t his fault he played Table Top games on the weekend, and The SYSTEM allowed him to get a fireball spell as his first spell, which he cast into the cave. Fuck those gangbangers


    ***


    Yang saw the orange glow, heard the explosion and screams, and moved toward where the flame had originated. The idiots that had chosen mage as their class should have picked spells that didn¡¯t give away their position. He moved in with Stealth active and found the mage hunkered down with his eyes glazed over as he looked at his menus. He was spending his XP right after he killed someone while hostiles were still in the area. What an idiot. Yang came up behind him, grabbed his head and slit his throat.


    Unlike his target, Yang fled the area and activated Stealth as soon as he could. He would find a safe space a long way from here before he looked at all of his gains.


    ***


    Connor watched the mage kill the two that had been hiding in the Cavern. He¡¯d actually been in the cavern when the fireball went off. It had singed him, but his Physical Damage Resistance and Regeneration worked to heal the wounds quickly. He still wasn¡¯t fully healed from his fall, but he had healed 900 hit points in only 30 minutes. That left him with 1,115 of his 1,368 Hit Points.


    The Fireball had been weak. It had only done 10 points of damage to him. Yes, that could have killed a normal person, but he was beginning to understand that he was anything but a normal person anymore. Now, he had a choice. He could kill these people, or he could leave them and look for better opportunities. If they came after him after he left, that was their choice. Their last choice, but their choice.


    If this was a game, he was the equivalent of a level 300 to their level one. There was no challenge, and he doubted he would get any XP. Sure, he¡¯d miss out on a Title for killing everyone in the Tutorial, but that wasn¡¯t something he really wanted anyway. Connor floated above the clearing, watching the idiots below, and looked for a Sun, no Suns. There were two Suns, or was that a star and a moon, or a planet that was really close to the star that he could see from a planet''s surface? How close were they to that star?


    Connor watched the star for thirty minutes to make sure he knew which way it was moving while it set. Once he was sure he had a direction, he began flying in that direction. Maybe he¡¯d find something more interesting than dumb human criminals trying to kill each other. He sure hoped so.

 Chapter 4, Troublesome Neighbors

    Connor flew away from the other members of the Tutorial he¡¯d been assigned to by The SYSTEM. If they all wanted to kill each other, he¡¯d let them. He might be powerful, and he might regenerate, but if enough people tried to kill him at once, he¡¯d have issues. It was a good thing he could hide with Stealth and that it suppressed anything his other Tutorial participants could possibly have to see him.


    As he flew away from the clearing, he noticed a group of creatures moving through the forest toward the clearing. Connor altered his course and flew a large circular path around the clearing to see if anything else was being drawn toward the stupid humans who were making a huge ruckus. As he flew around, he saw that groups of various creatures were making their way there.


    The larger creatures and groups of creatures that Connor saw were genuinely terrifying, even to him. He saw large, dog-like creatures that were about the size of what he¡¯d expect a small bear to be. A snake that blended in with the forest. If not for Uncanny Perception, he wouldn¡¯t have even seen it. It was at least as long as a bus and at least three feet in diameter, and even a large cat that also had a stealth or camouflage-based ability. The large feline had the ability to change the color of its fur, allowing it to blend in with its surroundings. Connor¡¯s Uncanny Perception picked up on it easily. Connor was intrigued by the cat, so he flew down to get a better look.


    The large cat was about the size of a small brown bear and probably weighed between four and six hundred pounds. Its eyes were grey with a silver sheen around their Irises. Its claws were the size of small daggers and easily dug into the trees it was jumping through on its way to the clearing. Connor¡¯s perception allowed him to focus on the details of the cat with little effort, while his Stealth skill kept him unnoticed.


    When he approached the cat within 10 feet to get a good look at its eyes, two things happened. The cat shook its head as if it smelled something but couldn¡¯t quite track it before turning back toward the clearing and continuing on its way. As he followed above, the notification appeared.


    SYSTEM Message.


    All creatures start with the ability to learn one Skill. Skills take up a minimum of one Skill Slot. Once a class is chosen, you will earn an additional skill slot for every 10 levels you earn in your class.


    What are Skills? The ability to perform normal tasks, even tasks that require some training and skill, does not automatically meet the requirement of a Skill for The SYSTEM. The ability to perform complex actions that some would deem to be a skill relies on gained knowledge and your attributes to determine whether something you try to do is successful.


    Skill Slots within the SYSTEM represent SYSTEM-assisted abilities and powers that supplement the standard everyday skills you have, spells you can cast, or physical actions you try to take. For instance, the creature you just encountered has a skill that helps it remain undetected.


    An example of skills that you might possess are as follows: Rogues gain the Class Skills Stealth and Backstab. Mages gain a Skill that allows them to cast spells. If a skill is earned as a class benefit, the skills do not take up a Skill Slot. For instance, If a mage were to try to learn Stealth, it would take up a slot. Additionally, it should be noted that the rank of a skill can be improved as your Core improves. The Rogue Skill, Stealth, automatically improves as your Class Rank increases.


    Information on Ranks will be provided later. For now, the ranks in order are Common, Uncommon, Rare, Advanced, and Master. There are ranks higher than master level, which you will need to learn for yourself in the future.


    Skills that are not obtained as part of a Class must be slotted. One Common Skill takes up one Skill Slot, One Uncommon Skill takes up Two Skill Slots, and so on. If a Mage wishes to improve their Stealth Skill, they must meet the minimum requirements, find the upgraded version of the skill, and have a free Skill Slot for the upgrade. When the new skill is slotted, it will replace the original lower-rank skill and take up an additional slot.


    NOTE: Skills cannot be of a higher Rank than your Core.


    During this tutorial, Common Skills will be offered after specific, much less stringent criteria have been met. Be aware that spontaneously discovering skills outside of a Tutorial is practically unheard of. This is one such instance.


    Congratulations!


    You have scrutinized a creature to try to discern its offensive and defensive capabilities. You have met the criteria to learn the Common Skill, Identify.


    Identify (Common): You may learn general information about any creatures within your range by focusing on them. Only one creature may be targeted at a time.


    Range: 10 Feet


    Mana Cost: 10


    This Skill will provide the Name and Level of all Common Creatures.


    Would you like to learn the Common Skill Identify, Yes or No?


    Connor read the notifications while he flew above the cat below him. As he read, he smiled. This would come in handy, and with a bit of time, he could quickly increase the rank of the skill with Malleable Skill.


    Connor chose ¡°Yes¡±.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Common Skill, Identify.


    Connor moved back within range of the cat and activated Identify. A tooltip popped up above the cat''s head.


    Ghost Panther


    Level: 53


    There was not much in the way of information, but at least he knew what to call the creature now. So, the Ghost Panther was level 53. Connor quickly flew over to the largest dog and the Giant Snake. Identify worked on both.


    Forest Mastiff


    Level 35


    Nettlewood Viper


    Level 87


    Connor watched as the monsters continued toward the clearing. He considered stepping in but decided that if the criminal types wanted to draw attention to themselves, this would be a perfect opportunity to see how well human weapons fared against monsters. The Panther and Viper were headed toward the group of humans from two points of an equilateral triangle, while the Mastiff and about 20 small versions of the creature were heading in from the third point of that triangle.


    The Mastiffs were heading fast, and the Panther was not far behind. The Viper relied on its camouflage, so it wasn¡¯t going to be within range until well after the Mastiffs and the Panther arrived. Connor floated back up over the clearing and looked around. A lot of the gang members lay on the ground dead. Two groups, a set of what looked like oriental businessmen and the group near Connor when they first arrived, had retreated to the trees, utilized cover, and set up a perimeter. They seemed to be working together and were doing pretty well for themselves against the other people who hadn¡¯t fled.


    The people who had run off were now encountering other monsters that Connor hadn¡¯t Identified yet. His Perception allowed him to pick up the screams and combat, but the trees around the clearing prevented him from seeing what was happening directly.


    Suddenly, he heard rushing wind coming from above him and turned to see something that looked like a cross between a giant eagle and a Pterodactylus diving toward the group below. Connor made sure to stay out of its way as it rushed by, but he moved within 10 feet so that he could Identify it.


    Vesnar


    Level: (Uncommon) 35


    A small man who had thought he was being sneaky crawling through the grass only had time to scream once before the Vesnar¡¯s claws pierced his chest and silenced him forever. Without missing a beat, the Vesnar pulled up, lifting its prey with it, and began flying over the trees. Connor flagged the information for future reference. A few people nearby shot at the Vesnar, but they either missed or the bullets didn¡¯t do anything.


    An Uncommon creature well within the range someone that had just arrived could achieve, which would make it a quest reward for the tutorial. Yep, he wasn¡¯t waiting. Connor shot off after the Vesnar as the Mastiffs arrived in the clearing, and chaos ensued below him. They had their enemies to fight. He had his.


    While the Vesnar was fast, it was flying while carrying a man that was almost half as big as it was, not including its wingspan. Connor wasn¡¯t carrying anything. As he drew close, Connor drew Fang from his inventory, positioned himself above its back, and drove the blade down as he willed himself to stop. Fang was an extremely sharp two-sided blade. It ripped down along the body and out between its legs, causing it to drop its catch and lose control as it died in midair before it fell into the forest below.


    Congratulations! You have killed a Level 35 Uncommon Vesnar


    XP Awarded 3,500.


    Congratulations! You have completed the Hidden Quest ¡°Kill the Terror in the Sky.¡±


    XP Awarded 10,000.


    Connor watched the Vesnar come to rest on the forest floor. As he watched, two yellow crystals formed, floating directly above its head. He¡¯d been right; there had been a hidden quest. The XP wasn¡¯t going to help him out too much, but every little bit helped. Connor checked his HUD. Stealth and Flight were still active. He moved down to the yellow Crystals and touched one. A Notification filled his vision.


    Congratulations! You have found a Common Ranked Tutorial Skill Crystal.


    Tutorial Skill Crystals may be utilized to teach you one of the following Common Skills, provided you have an unused Skill Slot.


    Identify ¨C This skill will allow you to identify monsters and their levels.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Analyze ¨C This skill will allow you to Identify any Magic Spells, barriers, or items that you encounter.


    Dodge ¨C Once per hour per rank at No cost, you can dodge any attack of equal or less Rank. Additionally, your normal chance to dodge is increased by one for every rank in this skill.


    Inventory, Common - You have been granted a dimensional storage area that may hold up to 10 slots worth of equipment.


    Each slot may hold up to 5 pounds of a single hand-sized item. Multiple Slots may be required for larger items. The number of slots required for any specific item is based on its weight.


    Items summoned from your Inventory will appear either in your hand or on the ground in front of you, as you desire.


    Regardless of the weight of the items you carry, they do not increase your weight.


    Eye of Eris, Common ¨C Range: 10 Feet. This is a 360-degree spherical perception skill. You may now perceive everything within 10 feet of you. This Skill Negates all Levels of Stealth, though Incorporeal Opponents that are also invisible may not be detected.


    WARNING: Each rank of this skill multiplies the current range by 10. If any of the following attributes: Perception, Wisdom, and Intelligence are lower than the current range, you will suffer information overload and receive the debuff ¨C Distracted


    If any of the following attributes, Perception, Wisdom, or Intelligence, are lower than the current range by more than half, you will suffer information overload and receive both the debuffs: Distracted and Pain-Racked.


    To utilize the Tutorial Skill Crystals, you must have a Skill Slot available.


    Note, Tutorial Crystals may NOT be utilized to increase the Rank of Common Skills.


    Connor closed his notifications. Inventory was a no-go; he already had the uncommon rank version of the skill. Identify was also out because he already had it. He¡¯d like to pick up Analyze, but Dodge and Eye of Eris were really calling to him. The ability to Dodge without spending Stamina or using one of his attacks sounded powerful. Eye of Eris looked like that ability in that Hunter series he¡¯d read. That could come in really handy, especially if it would allow him to see through Stealth, no matter what rank it was. Then again, if the uncommon version of that skill had a range of 100 feet and the Rare version 1,000 feet¡­Advanced would be 10,000 feet, and Master Rank would give him a range of 100,000 feet. Could he even get his attributes that high? Anyway, if he could increase Eye of Eris to the Rare rank, his current attributes could handle that for sure. Maybe another skill would allow him to process all the information.


    Connor used the crystals to slot Dodge and Eye of Eris. Connor felt the energy from the crystal pouring into him and unlocking the potential of the skill, which then locked up one of his Skill Slots. While he stood immobile and considered how those crystals would have allowed anyone else from Earth to learn one skill and that there was no way for them to have a second skill. Then again, his class had stated that he didn¡¯t receive extra skill slots at Common Rank. Maybe the other classes did. Even so, he couldn¡¯t see any class giving more than one or two more open Skill Slots, which would make a total of three. There were five open skills for the Tutorial Crystals. If everyone received an additional Skill Slot every 10 levels, then there had to be other creatures in the area that would allow people to level, at least up to level 50.


    Sure, there had been an uncommon creature, and with a reward of 3,500 plus 10,000 XP for the quest, that would raise anyone¡¯s Common class to level 4, but that wouldn¡¯t get another skill point. The only reason he was able to slot the two skills he¡¯d just learned was because his titles and perks had required the SYSTEM to increase his Class and Race to Master Rank, which had allowed the XP he earned to level him artificially.


    Connor had a feeling that while he had a ton of stats compared to everyone else from Earth, if and when he ran into other sentient beings of the multiverse, his class was going to prove lacking in specific areas. However, it did look like it made up for the lack of specialization in the ability to learn and utilize skills from all four main classes.


    Connor was brought out of his musing when a gunshot rang out nearby as a bullet slammed into his forehead.


    WARNING! You have received a Surprise Attack.


    9 points of damage have been inflicted to your forehead.


    Physical Damage Resistance negates Damage.


    Connor looked around and saw someone trying to dodge back behind a tree. He caught the telltale signs of a handgun being pulled back. If he¡¯d used a pistol to hit him in the head from what looked like 100 feet away, that was a pretty impressive shot. What was more impressive was the fact that his Uncanny Perception hadn¡¯t activated, and he thought he was still Stealthed. Maybe he¡¯d become visible when he¡¯d accepted the skills. If he¡¯d glowed for even a moment, that might have been enough for the man to see him. Also, he was at least a half mile from the clearing, what was this guy doing this far away from everyone? That was a dumb question; he wasn¡¯t fighting everyone else; that¡¯s what he was doing, which meant he was at least partially intelligent.


    Connor¡¯s thoughts came back to the fact that the man must have a skill or ability that allowed him to hide from Uncanny Perception, and his Stealth must have a weakness he wasn¡¯t aware of. Luckily for Connor, he could move up to 1,175 feet in a second, and the guy with the answers was only 100 feet away. In a moment, he was standing behind the man as he tried to activate his Stealth skill. Because Connor was looking directly at him, he felt the power of the skill wash over him and fail. The weird thing was that Uncanny Perception still didn¡¯t activate.


    Connor reached and locked his hand around the man¡¯s neck as he pushed him up against a tree. He noticed that his Stealth was still active, but he also knew that the man in front of him could see him. It was weird. If someone else could see the man he was holding and not him, so much the better. Connor made sure not to squeeze his neck and instead thought of his hand as a shackle holding the man to the tree.


    The man brought the gun in his right hand up and tried to shoot Connor with it. Almost lazily, Connor reached out and placed his hand over the other man¡¯s hand on the gun and slid his finger behind the trigger, preventing him from pulling it.


    ¡°Do you really wish to draw attention to yourself, friend?¡± Connor asked. He could get into this whole overpowered villain role, but no, he wasn¡¯t going to do that, at least not yet.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Say, What again?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Connor laughed as he halfheartedly said, ¡°Say what again, motherfucker¡±


    ¡°Are you quoting Pulp Fiction to me?¡±


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re going to die, seems kind of appropriate,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Me, die? Why kill me? I¡¯m¡­.¡±


    ¡°Did you not just shoot me in the head?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah, but you did just completely destroy a fucking dinosaur,¡± the man said.


    ¡°Point taken, which brings me to the questions I actually have. Answer them honestly, and I¡¯ll let you go. Lie, and you die?¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Fine, fine, what do you want to know?


    ¡°Simple, what skill or title do you have, besides Stealth, that allows you to remain undetected?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°And you¡¯ll let me live if I tell you?¡±


    Connor looked around to make sure no one else was sneaking up on them before he answered, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t noticed, I wasn¡¯t fucking with anyone else when you shot me in the head. The only reason we¡¯re talking is because you brought my attention to you. So, the consequences of your action are to answer my very simple question or not¡ªyour choice. Perhaps we can be friends in the future, perhaps not. But at this moment, you''re immobilized, and I¡¯m not going anywhere until I have an answer. Eventually, the creatures that are attacking the rest of the tutorial participants are going to come this way¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine. Fine!¡± The rogue hissed, interrupting Connor, ¡°It¡¯s not a skill or title. I have an ability called Personal Shroud. It makes my Stealth skill much more powerful. It also makes it so I don¡¯t show up on anyone¡¯s minimap unless I want to.


    ¡°An ability, you say?¡± Connor quickly checked his Status and noticed that the only information displayed under his Ability tab were two question marks. ¡°Last question, then we part ways. What¡¯s your name, or the name you¡¯re going to want people to call you in this new SYSTEM-run world?¡±


    ¡°Sam. It¡¯s short for Samuel. I don¡¯t plan to change my name because the world is changing.¡±


    ¡°Well, Sam, I¡¯m Connor. This was your freebie. If you can survive the Tutorial and we run into each other in the future, you owe me. If we run into each other in the future and you attack me again, there will not be a third time, one way or the other,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to stick around and fight to be the top dog?¡±


    Connor raised his eyebrow and looked at Sam before Sam caved, ¡°I concede the point.¡±


    Connor leaned back and removed his hand from Sam¡¯s throat, ¡°By the way, Sam, That was an awesome shot from at least 100 feet away.¡±


    ¡°Must not been good enough. I must have missed.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t miss,¡± Connor said as he shot up into the air and headed in the direction the Vesnar had been flying. When he was over 100 feet away from Sam, he felt the flaw in Stealth, which was weird. He could feel that someone was piercing his Stealth Skill. Anyway, once he was over 100 feet away from Sam, his Stealth skill felt whole again, and he continued on his way.


    Connor smiled as he thought about the look of shock that came across Sam¡¯s face before he was out of range and speeding away. He could hear the combat happening in the clearing, but he ignored it. If any of them were going to survive, they¡¯d need to work together or have skills and abilities like Sam.


    Connor kept his speed down to around 200 miles per hour as he flew above the treetops. He had to pull up a bit to dodge some birds that were floating on the currents above the treetops, but that was the only encounter he had as he sped in the direction the Vesnar had been traveling. Just normal-looking birds, no monsters. After he¡¯d been traveling for about 30 minutes, the forest dropped away as he flew out over a cliff that dropped into the clouds far below. As far as he could see to his left and right, there was a cliff face with complete cloud cover below him.


    Connor ran his gaze along the cliff and found a giant cave about 500 feet below the forest line that was still above the clouds below. He flew over for a closer look and found a nest with three large eggs in it. Also present were a bear cub corpse and a few smaller mastiff corpses. Connor landed and looked around. The cave wasn¡¯t that large, only about 50 feet wide and about the same distance into the back. He could leave the eggs, or maybe he could sell them.


    Connor touched one of the eggs and activated Identify.


    Vesnar Egg


    Level: Viable


    Connor placed the egg in his inventory. He left the egg in her inventory for a minute and then removed it and checked it with Identify. It was still viable. Connor replaced the egg in his Inventory and then added the other two as well. Maybe he could sell them to a beast tamer or something if that was a thing. He checked his inventory and found that each egg only took up one slot.


    As he looked through his inventory, he realized that he was going to have to find more clothes. Everything that had been in the closet or the dresser was in that mineshaft buried under who knew how much earth. Connor looked around the cave but found nothing except for bones and the three caresses.


    He picked up the bear carcass and dropped it over the edge. Then he watched as it fell into the clouds and disappeared. Once he was sure there wasn¡¯t a barrier above the top of the clouds, Connor exited the cave and dropped toward the cloud layer. When his HUD told him he¡¯d dropped 500 feet, a New Notification appeared.


    You are exiting the Common Tutorial area. Uncommon Challenges await.


    NOTE: You must return to the Common Area before the 30-day Tutorial Limit expires, or you will be left in this dimension to find your own way. There are exits to other planes and Universes, which may or may not lead back to your world.


    Connor closed the notification, so he was leaving the Tutorial area. Cool. Connor continued down into the cloud layer while staying close to the cliff face. As he came out of the clouds, the cliff disappeared and became the underside of a cave ceiling that was not really a cave.


    Connor stopped and looked around. As far as he could see, in all directions, there were flat rolling planes with grass, trees, small oases, and rivers spread throughout. In various areas, columns of stone rose from the ground to the underside of the landmass above but they were spread out as far as the underside of the upper area extended until the ground below fell into darkness. At the cliff face, the clouds extended out as far as she could see and allowed the light from above the clouds to filter down, bathing the ground below in a hazy twilight. If he had to guess, it was about a half mile from the bottom of the underside of the cliff to the ground below. If someone jumped from above without the ability to fly, it would be the last thing they did.


    At various places along the cliff face, she could see rivers of water dropping from the clouds to the ground below and forming small lakes and rivers that led off into the distance under the sun. So, if he followed one of those rivers downstream, he should be able to follow it back to this location and then travel back up into the Tutorial area, hopefully. One thing was for sure. That water would be fresh. With half a plan on how to spend the next 29 days, Connor headed toward the biggest lake he could see. Time to find out what was so special about this lower area.


    ***


    Sam watched Connor go. He said he¡¯d hit him with that shot. Truthfully, he was pretty sure he¡¯d hit him right where he aimed, the middle of the outlined figure''s head, though he had a hard time keeping his eyes on Connor, even while looking directly at him. Sam looked around and thought he saw movement back toward the clearing where the shooting and screaming had slowed down.


    He looked around quickly, found a tree, and climbed up until he had a good vantage point from which to watch. He only had five bullets left. He¡¯d used four so far. He¡¯d killed three others who had tried to attack him first. The fourth bullet had bounced off Connors''s head. He¡¯d chosen the Rogue class and received a short sword, dagger, and small pack which had a canteen and some dried meat in it. Besides those items, he only had clothes on his back, a gun, a small survival knife, and his wallet. Maybe he could use the dagger or sword, but using the gun would have been a lot easier. Dad had made sure that he received training with all kinds of weapons while growing up.


    Sam made sure Stealth was active and settled in to watch. He didn¡¯t have to wait long as three people came into the area and moved up on the carcass of the dead Vesnar.


    ¡°What the fuck killed it?¡± the first man to the Vesnar asked as he poked it with his long sword.


    ¡°No idea, it¡¯s dead,¡± The second man called out as he continued looking around


    ¡°Ralph is over here,¡± The third man called out from 30 feet away


    ¡°Boss isn¡¯t going to like that. Did he have anything else on him?¡± The first man asked.


    Sam continued to listen to the three men as they grabbed Raph¡¯s gear and then ran back toward the clearing. Another thing Dad taught him was how to survive on the land. He was going to let the groups continue fighting back in the clearing while he made his way to somewhere he could create a bow and some arrows to give himself another range weapon he could use. Hopefully, by the time he returned, he¡¯d be able to thin out the herd. Then again, why even fight the other participants? He¡¯d felt the power radiating from Connor. He could go after some of the smaller creatures he¡¯d seen until he became more powerful.


    Sam wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with Massively Multiplayer Online Games and understood that leveling his class would allow him to get more powerful, which meant he had to earn Experience Points. That meant that he needed to kill monsters. Sam was about to drop from the tree when he paused. Something didn¡¯t feel right. A moment later, a lithe form appeared next to the Vesnar. The figure walked quickly around the Vesnar, whistled, and pointed in the direction the three men had walked off in. Then, it followed something on the ground until it came to the tree Sam was hiding in.


    Sam drew his gun and pointed it at the humanoid below him. Before he could think of doing anything else, sparks lit up around the tree and then moved to swirl around him. They didn¡¯t hurt, but he knew that anyone looking at the tree would be able to see him in a second. Before he could even consider fleeing, his body locked up, and he slipped off the branch and fell toward the ground headfirst. He saw two figures that had appeared out of nowhere, waving their hands and pointing in his direction.


    You have been affected by Faerie Fire


    Stealth Negated


    You have been affected by Immobilize


    You take 8 points of falling damage


    You have been Concussed


    You are Unconscious.

 Chapter 5, Uninvited Guests

    Sam came to. He was incredibly uncomfortable as he lay on the ground with his face in the grass. It took him a moment to remember where he was, or at least where he thought he was. Adrenaline shot through his body as he tried to activate Stealth.


    Pain wracked his head, and he puked.


    ¡°Hey, watch where you¡¯re hurling that crap,¡± someone nearby called out before the same voice yelped as Sam heard the sound of flesh on flesh.


    ¡°No talking,¡± A gruff voice called just before Sam felt a tug on his arms, which he now noticed were tied in front of him. The voice spoke again. This time, his speech was directed at Connor, ¡°None of that, Boy. We know you¡¯re new to the SYSTEM, so you get that one for free,¡± a gruff male voice called out, ¡°You¡¯re collared. You can¡¯t use any of your abilities, talents, perks, skills, or spells while it¡¯s around your neck, so don¡¯t try, or you get that nice little zap to the brain.¡±


    Sam kept his mouth shut and opened his eyes. He was surprised to see what he could only describe as a green-skinned orc with tusks looking at him.


    ¡°Get your ass up off the ground and prepare to move out!¡± The orc-looking creature yelled into his face.


    Sam looked around, confused. He was in the clearing they¡¯d all appeared in. All the people that were left, who had been trying to kill each other only a little while ago, were lined up, shackled, and guarded by a variety of races. He saw reptilian humanoids as well as some short and stout people who looked like what he¡¯d expect dwarves or gnomes to look like. There were also some humans and elf-looking humanoids who weren¡¯t shackled.


    The people who weren¡¯t prisoners were rushing to and fro, checking on the prisoners and making sure their charges weren¡¯t trying to escape. All were armed with both ranged and melee weapons and didn¡¯t look like they would put up with crap from anyone. As he watched, a male elf in a tan robe with golden lace trim walked over near a pile of weapons that had been gathered from all the prisoners. He started chanting and making gestures with his hands at an area five feet in front of the weapons at the center of the clearing. As Sam watched, he worked on freeing his hands from their binding while everyone, including the guards, paid attention to the elf. Just as he freed his hands enough so that he could slip free when he wanted, a flat plane of darkness appeared and then opened into an area filled with large cages that were definitely not in the forest he was in. Was that a Portal?


    Sam watched as line after line of prisoners were led through the portal until his line started moving. It wasn¡¯t long before they reached the portal and stepped through. There had been a slight tingling sensation as he¡¯d stepped through, but that was it.


    Sam found himself in a clearing. To one side was a cliff face. Outside of the clearing were bushes and trees of all kinds, though to say it was a small clearing would be incorrect. The cliff rose at least 100 feet vertically, as did most of the trees around the clearing. As he looked around and tried to measure out distances, he figured that the tree line was at least three football field lengths distance from where he stood in all directions. The clearing was huge. As he took in the sights, he also noticed that the air was dryer, and though it smelled like pine and oak and a few scents he¡¯d never smelt before, it all smelled of sweat, blood, and all the other smells associated with an outhouse.


    Once everyone was through, the portal closed, and a notification appeared in his vision.


    You have exited the Tutorial prematurely. No rewards awarded.


    When he closed the notification, a woman who had been standing behind the portal was revealed. She looked vaguely human with a few alterations. Her skin had a blue tint to it, and her eyes were bright fluorescent green, almost like the color of the blood of that alien in the movie Predator. She waved her hands, and a ripple of energy exploded from her hands and moved through everyone in the clearing. She looked around with obvious disdain, which was evidenced in her voice when she called out loudly, ¡°Do Not Speak! ¡°


    She paused and looked around as if daring anyone to speak. When no one did, she continued, ¡°Good, you can follow directions. Keep doing that; you get to live; fail to do so and die!¡± She said as she pointed off to the side where a being was shackled to the wall. A humanoid figure in a black robe, who wore a faceless black mask, stepped forward and touched a crystal to the prisoner''s chest. The prisoner''s mouth opened as if to scream but released no sound. Sam heard a sucking sound and could have sworn he heard a scream as the color in the prisoner''s skin faded, and the corpse became desiccated and dehydrated in a moment. As the sucking sound stopped, the almost skeletal figure against the wall seemed to flash for an instant before it turned to dust, which was also sucked into the crystal. Sam¡¯s attention focused on the Crystal, which now glowed with a white pearlescent light.


    The prisoners around him gasped, but no one spoke as the woman addressed them again, ¡°The glowing crystal in my Acolytes hands is called a Soul Crystal. It can do many things, None of which you need to know about now. All you need to know is this. You are all slaves. Slaves who will do as they are told. If you do, You will be fed, and you will have a place to sleep. If you do not work, We will trap your souls, and you will work for us anyway. Today, you begin earning the right to die without being turned into a Soul Crystal.


    With that, she turned and walked down a passage directly behind where the portal had appeared. Other slaves, because he knew what to call them now, came and directed everyone toward the various cages around the open field. His group was led to a cage, where each person was uncuffed from their shackles or untied and guided inside. Everyone remained quiet, most of his fellow prisoners looking shell-shocked.


    Sam, however, paid attention to everything. He also looked at the collar on one of the other prisoners'' necks and noticed that it was just a piece of leather with what looked like a small black gem embedded in it. A moment later, he learned what happened to those who tried to take the collar off.


    One of the older prisoners, dressed like a biker in a nearby cage, reached up, undid the collar, and removed it. Immediately, a red crystal on top of the cage flared to life. The guards in the area rushed to the cage with their weapons drawn. Sam knew that if he had any chance to get out of this, he needed to do so now. He moved over to one of his fellow prisoners whom he had seen kill someone in cold blood when this all started and moved up behind him. As everyone was watching what happened in the other cage, including the guards, Sam pulled the collar off the asshole in front of him and dropped it to the ground while simultaneously pulling his collar off and storing it in his Common Inventory. Once done, he stepped toward the middle of the cage and activated Stealth. He used the crowd of bodies to break the line of sight for anyone outside of the cage.


    As he suspected, the red crystal above his cage activated as he stored his collar in his Inventory space. Once Stealth was active, Sam moved over by the door into their cage. Shortly after, their cage was surrounded as the guards rushed in and checked every prisoner they could see until they found the patsy he¡¯d created with his missing collar. A moment later, they found his collar on the ground.


    Once the guard touched the collar, the red light above the cage winked out. Sam had been right; the cages couldn¡¯t detect a collar that had been removed and was inside an inventory. The man he set up looked down at the collar and began to deny that he had taken it off. As they led him out of the cage kicking and screaming, Sam followed closely behind, trusting in his skill and ability to help him remain undetected.


    He found a place by some crates that were being filled with the weapons and equipment that had been recovered from the Tutorial area. Sam decided to help himself to a few of the guns and ammunition since no one seemed to be watching the area. He also watched as the man from the other cage and the patsy he had set up were approached by two men in robes and turned into Soul Crystals. Most of the prisoners gasped, and Sam realized these assholes weren¡¯t fucking around. If he was caught, he knew he was dead.


    As he quickly, but very quietly, looked through the weapons and equipment, he remembered that his Inventory Skill only had 10 slots. His sword and dagger took up two slots. The pack he¡¯d been given when he accepted the Rogue class took up another slot. The collar took up the fourth slot. Two of the Handguns he¡¯d picked up of the same model, a 9mm Browning, took up the fifth slot, and the 10 clips of ammo he¡¯d found for that specific model took up the sixth slot. He considered taking another weapon but knew that he needed some space for more food and water.


    As Sam went through the weapons, he was cognizant of anyone who came too close. When a couple of the guards or slaves did venture to close, he paused. While he waited for a pair of orcs to walk by, he noticed men and women being taken from the cages and led to another area of the clearing where they were stripped and examined, almost like livestock. Ironically, after the deaths of the last two who had removed their collars, no one else did so, and no one else argued with their captors.


    Once the examination was over, the slaves were given a simple white robe and led to an area where they were provided with a bowl of stew and told to sit. After an hour, Sam left the area near the pile of weapons and began looking for what passed as a latrine. He didn¡¯t have to go far; There was an area that looked like something out of the Roman era. The ground was lined with buckets set on the ground where various people were doing their business into said buckets. There was another area with sectioned-off areas where people could do their business privately. He found one of the empty, cordoned-off areas and snuck in. He chose an area that was a bit farther back from the other private areas and quickly took care of his business.


    As he left the area, a collared, elvish female slave rushed in with an empty, clean bucket. A moment later, she left with the bucket he¡¯d just filled. How had she known he¡¯d been in there? After a bit, he had his answer. Like the cages, a crystal above each private area had a yellow crystal that lit up when someone went into it. He watched as the slaves waited for a few minutes and rushed over to change out the buckets. As he watched, he noticed that another group of slaves was rushing down a small corridor that had been cut into the rock face to the side of the main tunnel that the green-eyed female had walked down. Slaves were heading into the corridor with the dirty buckets and coming back with clean buckets.


    If they were taking the buckets to a stream to clean them, that might be a way for him to get out of his hell hole. Sam followed the next slave that headed down the tunnel. As he made his way forward, the corridor he was in dropped away, and a small stream came from his right, flowed about fifty feet in front of him, and continued off to his left before it turned back to the right and moved directly away from the outcropping of rock he had just emerged from


    Sam could see guards stationed around slaves that were working near the stream, though they looked more like protection detail that was keeping things from coming in after the slaves. The slaves were rushing around, washing clothes upstream from where the buckets were being cleaned. As he looked back to his right he noticed that three streams of water were rising from the river up into a¡­Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Sam froze. There was a floating wooden ship in the air above him. A floating wooden ship with sailing masts and a crew running to and fro. It was floating over the river and pulling water up into it. A wooden boat was floating over the river, and a couple of streams of water were rising, unaided, up to the ship hovering just above the trees.


    Sam also realized that from the clearing, the trees would have blocked any sight of the floating ship. Another thing that had caused him to freeze was the two moons he could see hanging over and above the boat. It was the middle of the day, wherever he was, but he could still see the two moons easily as the sun reflected off their surface. What was more impressive was that the moon, which looked closer, had areas of blue and green with clouds on it. The second moon was smaller and either orbited the moon he was looking at or had a similar orbit around the planet he was on unless he was on a moon and all three were orbiting¡­


    Sam stopped himself from getting lost in his thoughts. No matter what, he knew he was on another planet and that he needed to get away from these slavers. Sam stayed on the path as he made his way down to the water. He could have stepped off the path, but he figured the slavers probably had traps, detection devices, or magic that would light up if they detected someone. The path and the stream should be relatively safe.


    Sam reached the water line, stepped slowly into the stream, and, keeping his feet in the water, moved with the flow until it was deep enough for him to lower himself into the water and float downstream. He made sure to keep his mouth closed, as the nastiness being dumped in this river was disgusting.


    Sam made sure that his Stealth skill remained active as he allowed the current to carry him downstream. When he came close to the guard line, he let half the air out of his lungs and sank until he glided along the bottom of the stream, which was only five feet deep. He held his breath for as long as he could, which was right around two minutes. When he surfaced, he was past the guards and surprised to find the blue woman from before and the figure that had caught him standing on a disc of energy over the water 10 feet in front of him, looking at the water and glancing upstream as if waiting for someone.


    Sam wondered what they were waiting for when he passed through something that tingled, and an outline of blue fireflies surrounded him.


    ¡°You were right?¡± the woman said casually as she pointed at Sam,¡± You, get out of the water now!¡±


    As he made his way to the shore, the woman handed the man beside her a gold coin. The disc that carried the two of them floated over next to Sam and stopped 10 feet from him. The woman and man stepped off and looked at him.


    Shit, Shit, Shit, were the only thoughts running through Sam¡¯s mind as the woman and man looked at him. That¡¯s when he noticed that neither of them looked angry. In fact, the woman was looking at him with something that Sam could only describe as interest. Once she saw that Sam had calmed down, she spoke again, ¡°We need to talk,¡± she said.


    Having no choice but to see where this went, Sam stood quietly and waited.


    The woman turned her attention to the man beside her, ¡°So, he escaped the cage, took the time to recover weapons, used the latrine, my latrine area, and then made it all the way to this point without any of our guards detecting him?¡± The woman asked the cloaked man.


    ¡°Did you see him before your barrier of fireflies detected him?¡±


    The woman smiled, ¡°No, I did not. Something that should not be possible from someone from a newly inducted world.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, Even I was lucky to capture him. If he hadn¡¯t climbed into the tree, I never would have been able to catch him in the time we had,¡± The man said.


    ¡°Fine, what do you want to do with him?¡± the woman asked.


    ¡°Recruitment?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Very well. When I¡¯m done here, explain it to him,¡± She said to the cloaked warrior before she turned to Sam, ¡°Human, today is your lucky day. Understand, if you run again, I will not kill you and use your energy to power a Soul Crystal; I will instead mount you, like a prized kill, trap you in your stuffed body, and place you on display in my home. You will be fully aware of everything going on around you without the ability to move or do anything about it until the vessel you are placed in is destroyed. How long could that be? I don¡¯t know. What I do know is that my magic is very good at repairing corpses.¡±


    Once she was sure that her message had been fully understood, as the look of horror and shock crossed Sam¡¯s face, she nodded and vanished. The warrior chuckled as he pulled back his hood and removed his mask to reveal a very lithe human male, ¡°She can be a bit intense, but never make the mistake of thinking that she cannot carry out any threat that she makes. Now, let''s get a look at you. Drop your Stealth skill now. Do not activate it again until I say you can, do you understand?


    Sam dropped his Stealth skill and nodded.


    The warrior smiled, ¡°Good choice. Like she said, today is your lucky day.¡± When Sam didn¡¯t respond, the warrior leaned forward and whispered, ¡°You get to join a secret order of Assassins.¡±


    ***


    Connor floated above the river as he followed it away from where he dropped on down to this Uncommon area, tier? This could be the World of Tiers. What an awesome book. It was one of the first fiction/fantasy books that he¡¯d read. However, it didn¡¯t look like this was technologically driven by narcissistic creators who had nothing better to do. Then again, maybe?


    As Connor floated above the river, he saw fish and other creatures in the water, as well as various creatures along the riverbank. The smaller creatures would dart in, get a drink of water, and then dart away quickly. After a little while, he found out why. Something that looked like a cross between a hippopotamus and an alligator launched up out of the water, grabbed a gazelle-like creature and retreated into the water. A few minutes later, the typical pattern of the river returned. There was no evidence of the gazelle-like creature or the monster that had attacked it.


    Connor was never able to get within 10 feet of the creature, so he never learned what it was called. The gazelle-like creatures were common, ranging in level from 1 to 30. The area he floated through reminded him of the pictures of the African Sahara he¡¯d seen. There were even monkey and baboon-like creatures in the few trees he saw that were a bit farther back from the river.


    After three hours of following the river at 100 miles an hour, the area in front of him changed. He had been constantly traveling downhill at a very light slant and watched the river empty into a huge body of water. In the distance, though, he could see a slight haze on the horizon. Connor rose above the ground to see if he could see over the mist, but it blocked his sight in an area that had to be at least five miles wide.


    Connor flew toward the mist until he was only about a mile from the edge of the drop-off, which created a waterfall into a void he couldn¡¯t see the bottom of. He flew over the hole and noted immediately that it was spherical, like a drain in the world, that disappeared below with water falling off the edge of this level at a steady rate. As he flew over the hole, the only question he had was whether he would go down the hole.


    Connor flew until he was level with the waterfall when unexpected Notifications appeared.


    Congratulations! You have vanquished all members of the Tutorial


    Error: No members of the Tutorial were defeated by your hand.


    Congratulations! You have Earned the Title Resolved Pacifist.


    Resolved Pacifist ¨C Out of 1,000 Tutorial Participants, you defeated them without killing a single one. Your dedication to your path garners a clarity of mind and spirit that should be emulated by many.


    All Resource Pool Regeneration Rates are increased by +10


    Congratulations! You have earned the Title Last Man Standing.


    Last Man Standing I - Out of 1,000 Tutorial Participants, you are the last one alive. Endurance, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Willpower, and luck +10


    Congratulations! You have been offered a quest, Thwart the Slavers.


    A Group of Slavers is attempting to abduct all newly integrated members of your Tutorial.


    Task: Remain free until the end of the Tutorial


    Rewards:


    Automatic Transportation to your Planet of Origin at the End of the Tutorial, regardless of location within this dimension.


    New Title:


    New Uncommon Tutorial Skill Crystal, which can be used to upgrade one Common Tutorial Skill to Uncommon. If Skill Points are not available, a Skill Point debt can be taken to utilize this Skill Crystal immediately. The first Skill Point earned will be utilized to offset this debt.


    Slavers? Connor hadn¡¯t even considered that someone might be trying to track him. He turned back toward the direction he¡¯d come from and saw three small flying craft that looked sort of like the skiffs from Return of the Jedi rushing his way. With his high perception, he could see a robed man holding a green crystal on the bow of each skiff.


    Connor took in their positioning and flew across the hole in the world. As he suspected, when they reached the hole, they veered to the left and right, staying over the water as they made their way around the outside of the hole. Connor smiled; this was going to be fun.


    Connor summoned Fang into his hand and moved back to the other side of the hole just as they reached his position. The three skiffs paused for a second as the three mages looked at their green crystals and then continued around the hole along the outside again.


    Connor did this three more times before one of the skiffs decided to brave the opening in the world and flew toward Connor across the gap. So these slavers wanted to play, huh? He couldn¡¯t use Fang. It hadn¡¯t had a chance to recover the durability Damage he¡¯d inflicted on the poor blade. Currently, Fang is at 39 of 100 durability. The strike against the Vesnar had done 67 points of Durability damage to it. Fang needed to continue recovering that durability. At one point of durability per hour, it would be two and a half days before its durability was back to normal, two days before he could use it once at full strength. He needed to find a blade that could handle his strength or upgrade Fang. Connor stored Fang in his Inventory and decided to take care of them in the old-fashioned way.


    Connor flew toward the mage and flipped in mid-air so that he could hit it with his feet. At least, that was the plan. Instead, Connors''s right foot led the way as he looked like some idiot kung fu hero flying in slow motion toward his target. Also, the mage had a barrier that took a significant portion of the damage.


    Connor suffered 266 points of damage to his leg, which was reduced to 253 points due to his physical damage resistance. 100 points of that damage were absorbed by the mage''s physical shield, which his foot continued through and slammed into the man''s chest as a surprise attack. That attack inflicted 332 points of damage on the mage as his invisible foot went through the mage''s chest, which kicked the mage''s heart into the void below as the mage''s now dead body hung from his invisible leg.


    During the attack, Connor sustained 585 points of damage to his leg, which shattered his bones and turned the inside of it to jelly. The mage slithered off as Connor lost control of his flight and began to fall toward the waterfall, coming over the edge. The damage and shock to Connor''s system were so significant that he also lost his concentration, as both Stealth and Flight failed.


    You are in Agonizing Pain


    You are Stunned for 114 Turns (18.9 Minutes) or until fully healed.


    Stunned, You are unable to maintain concentration. You cannot activate or maintain any active powers.


    Connor only had enough presence of mind to notice that he¡¯d fallen into the spray of water and began tumbling with the water flowing down and away from the edge of this level of the world. While he found it impossible to concentrate and activate Flight to slow himself, he had enough presence of mind to pull his shirt up over his head and create a place where he could breathe as he tumbled through the water spray while he every ounce of his willpower to keep from puking.


    The last thing he saw as he tumbled down into the darkness below were two notifications that lit up his vision. It took him a couple of tries, but finally, he was able to read and understand them.


    You are exiting the Uncommon Tutorial area. Rare Challenges await.


    NOTE: You must return to the Common Area before the 30-day Tutorial Limit expires to return to your Planet of Origin.

 Chapter 6, Puny Hunters!

    Six minutes later, Connor sighed, activated Flight, and stabilized his fall. It took a moment to recover from the queasiness, but soon, he was back to normal. If the two ships were following him down, he didn¡¯t want to stop and give them an easy target. He adjusted his flight and emerged from the spray of water closer to the shaft wall. He was still being hit by mist, but it was a lot easier to breathe.


    Now that he had a moment, Connor pulled up his HUD to find out how far he¡¯d fallen. He¡¯d been falling at a rate of about 20 miles per hour. After six minutes, he¡¯d fallen just about two miles. Now he was wondering why he still wasn¡¯t in excruciating pain when the last Notification he¡¯d received said he¡¯d be out of commission for 18.9 minutes?


    Connor made sure the skips weren¡¯t anywhere close and then pulled up his Status. He needed to look it over and see what changes had been made to him.


    Name: Conner Orion Nash


    Birthday: October 15th, 2007


    Apparent Age: 22


    Race: Human


    Evolution: Master


    Core: Master


    Classes


    Unfettered: Level 100 at Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Advanced.


    Unfettered Level 53 at Master


    Hit Points: 2,704


    -Health Regeneration: 15


    Stamina: 3,702


    -Stamina Regeneration: 145


    Mana: 3,248


    -Mana Regeneration: 136


    Psychic Energy: 3,248


    -Psychic Regeneration: 172


    Strength: 1,267


    Agility: 1,277


    Dexterity: 1,277


    Endurance: 1,257


    Constitution: 1,277


    Perception: 1,267


    Intelligence: 1,267


    Wisdom: 1,277


    Willpower: 1,630


    Charisma: 1,267


    Luck: 1,277


    Chaos: 0


    Order: 0


    Skill Slots: 61


    Spell Slots: 257


    Running Speed


    MPH: 800


    FPS: 1,174


    Flight Speed


    MPH: 800


    FPS: 1174


    Abilities


    ?


    ?


    Titles


    Head of the Line V


    Deflector


    It''s Not the Fall That Kills You, It''s the Sudden Stop


    Big Game Hunter


    Resolved Pacifist


    Last Man Standing I


    Perks


    Core, Master


    Racial Evolution, Master


    Regeneration, Master


    Inventory Skill


    Weapon: Fang: Common, Durability 40 of 100


    Skills


    Uncanny Perception: Master


    Class: Malleable Skills: Common


    Class: Stealth: Master


    Class: Backstab: Master


    Inventory: Uncommon


    Flight: Common


    Identify: Common


    Eye of Eris: Common


    Dodge: Common


    Spells


    Connor noted the changes to his status, especially the 15 points of Regeneration per Combat Turn to his Health. That was probably why he was able to act after six minutes instead of nineteen. He also noted that all of his Resource pools, such as Hit Points, Stamina, Mana, and Psychic Energy, were a little bit higher than he remembered them being. He opened his Event Tab to check what was going on and sighed. The numbers he¡¯d seen before were his regeneration rate increasing his max hit points. It seemed that when his attributes and levels had been added all at once, the change in his maximum hit points didn¡¯t automatically adjust. They filled to their new levels based on their regeneration rates.


    Connor did some quick math. Yep, that was about right. If he had to regain 2,690 Hit Points from scratch, it would have taken about 30 minutes. Add that he hadn¡¯t been paying attention¡­maybe he shouldn¡¯t have set his hit points as a red line based on the percentage of his maximum Hit Points when the max total kept increasing. Doing so had shown him at 100% Hit Points since right after he killed the coyote, even though that 100% was constantly growing.


    Connor sighed and adjusted his HUD so that it still had the red line to represent Hit Points, a green line to represent Stamina, a blue line to describe his Mana, and finally, a silver line to represent his Psychic Energy. Then he added the number that the line represented, which he had appeared in the middle of the line. So, he could see his percentage at a glance and focus on how many points of each resource were available if he needed to.


    As he adjusted the visual representations in his HUD, a scene from one of the first LitRPG novels he read crossed his mind. Was there a way to get this information without needing to read it? Hadn¡¯t there been this idea to allow the information to flow into him without resistance and just absorb it? When he¡¯d read that scene, it made sense because not everyone could read. They would need to intuitively know what everyone they could see in their vision meant.


    Connor checked his surroundings. Above and outside the waterfall a couple of hundred feet above him in the vertical shaft, he could see the two skiffs floating down with him, trying to keep pace with him, but no one on board was trying to attack him. Even so, he activated Stealth and started randomly changing his angle of descent, just in case they wanted to try something.


    Now that he had a moment, he started looking at the side of the shaft and noticed that here and there, he could see caves scattered throughout. After he¡¯d flown down another mile, he noticed what he could only describe as a landing area that extended out from one side of the path. It also looked like there was a covered path from the landing area, through the waterfall, and into a cave in the shaft wall.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He could continue to run from these assholes, or he could take them out. Maybe he was being stupid, but honestly, being hounded by these pricks when everything the SYSTEM was sharing with him told him he had a lot more advantages than anyone else. Yeah, it was time to end these assholes.


    Connor altered his course and flew down to the landing. The area was lit with glowing orbs of soft white light. He didn¡¯t see anyone as he came to land and moved down the passage, which extended into the rock face at least 100 feet. At the end of the cave, he found a tunnel that went off to the left of the entryway and went down it. The path with the landing area looked like natural stone. Once he was ten feet down the side tunnel, the walls became tiled, and the lighting intensified a bit until he came up to a set of closed metal double doors.


    Connor looked at the doors. They were plain and dull gray. They looked to be made of some metal. A simple push and then a pull revealed them to be locked. He was about to consider breaking his way inside when his perception picked up the sound of feet coming closer. It looked like his pursuers had arrived.


    ***


    Azren had no idea how the third mage in their hunter crew had been killed, but his loss and the loss of their ship, which was a massive investment by Mistress Morana, would need to be answered for, and both he and his fellow mage, Zatar, knew this. Each used the tracking crystal they¡¯d been given to track the inductee down the vertical shaft into the Rare portion of the Tutorial, which he had never seen before.


    Azren possessed a Rare class, so he wasn¡¯t too worried. With four other hunters on his skimmer and Zatar and his four hunters on the other skiff, they should be able to handle one lone inductee and any rare monster that appeared. No, what he couldn¡¯t believe was that a newly indoctrinated Tutorial member had made it into the Uncommon area and then found the entrance to the Rare area in under 12 hours and then chosen to enter it. That was unheard of.


    Just as they were getting close enough to try to capture their target, he killed one of the mages, which had caused the four hunters with it to disappear down the shaft with the dead mage and the skimmer. As soon as they¡¯d looked at the tracking crystal they¡¯d realized that their target had also gone below. They had followed and kept pace with their target as he hid in the waterfall. Azren had thought about taking the skimmer under the waterfall to get closer, but he was having a hard enough time controlling the craft in the center of the shaft. That was until their target shot off horizontally away from them and he saw the landing area.


    The tracking crystal showed that their target had fled down the tunnel attached to the landing area. Azren waved at Zatar and signaled for them to both land on the platform. They proceeded toward the covered roof that kept the path clear under the waterfall and into the cave. The falling water made it hard to hear anything, but that was okay. Their target was running, which would make this a good hunt.


    As the two teams came together a little further down the tunnel where they could hear again, Zatar called out, ¡°As senior, I claim first rights.¡±


    Azren nodded and held up a hand to his four squad members. They waited as Zatar and his squad moved into the tunnel. Once they were about fifty feet in front of his team, Azren motioned for his team to follow. Azren watched as two of the hunters entered a side tunnel. A few moments later, Azren heard two thwapping sounds just before the second hunter came flying out of the corridor. He slammed into the wall opposite the opening with a moist splat before sliding to the ground, dead.


    A moment later, Azren¡¯s tracking crystal pointed directly in front of him, but there was nothing to see. Zatar was looking down at his crystal, just like Azren, when Zatar¡¯s eyes went wide. Azren heard a voice from directly in front of Zatar, ¡°Force shield, figures.¡± If Azren could hear the voice from fifty feet away, he was sure Zatar also heard the voice.


    Zatar started to look back toward Azren when the third hunter in his squad was grabbed by his leg and swung into the fourth member of their squad like a bag of potatoes. The force of the blow sent the fourth member of Zatar¡¯s squad into the tunnel wall with a SPLAT as the third member of the squad¡¯s direction was reversed, and he was swung around in a horizontal arc until he slammed into Zatar.


    Zatar¡¯s shield shattered. As the backlash locked him up, the third hunter was released, and both Zatar and the third hunter were sent into the wall right next to where the fourth hunter hit. Azren couldn¡¯t be sure, but it looked like both were dead. The fourth hunter of Azren¡¯s squad pulled out a hand crossbow and fired it in the general direction of where Zatar had been attacked. A moment later, Azren understood that they weren¡¯t hunting prey anymore. They were the prey.


    The bolt was plucked from the air. A moment later, the Crossbow wielder dropped to the ground with the bolt feathers sticking up out of his torso beside his neck between the neckline of his armor and his throat. As the crossbow wielder started to drop to the ground, he was swung like a sack of potatoes into the third member of his squad.


    Before Azren or the other three soldiers could react, the crossbow wielder slammed into the squad member beside him. Both flew into the wall. The two squad members directly in front of him, still unable to move because less than a second had passed, met the same fate when the one on Azren''s left was swung into the hunter beside him and released into the wall. This all happened within two seconds.


    Azren saw all of this and considered that he should put up a shield to protect himself. By the time that thought crossed his mind, it was too late. They had severely underestimated their target¡¯s abilities and combat skills. All of those thoughts passed through his mind as his right ankle was yanked. The world twirled as he was brought up in an arc over the invisible inductee before Azren was slammed into the ground. He survived that first blow, which did just shy of 800 points of damage. Azren was lifted into the air again and swung down to slam into the Earth where he¡¯d been standing a moment before. He did not survive the second blow.


    You have Died!


    ***


    Puny God played through Connor¡¯s mind as he released the foot of the last Slaver and wiped his hands. Good riddance. Also, He couldn¡¯t believe that worked. He¡¯d known he couldn¡¯t use Fang; it was too damaged. Then it came to him: he could use his targets as weapons because it didn¡¯t matter if their durability was destroyed. Connor did have some training in Aikido and Judo. Not anywhere near a Master¡¯s level, but when everyone was moving as if they were in slow motion to him, it was horrendously easy to use the techniques he had been taught.


    Another thing that helped was that his Flight skill allowed him to anchor himself anywhere he wished, which gave him another anchor point that seemed to be governed by his will. Connor was sure picking someone up and swinging them like a bag of potatoes when they had more mass than himself shouldn¡¯t be possible, so he didn¡¯t think about it too hard and kept it strictly within the category of ¡°it¡¯s magic, baby.¡±  Connor quickly made his way back to the landing area and found two empty boats. Both were deactivated and sitting on the landing platform that hung in the middle of the shaft. He went through both of them and found a few water skins and packages of dried food. There was also a small box of slave collars on each craft. It looked like there was enough food to feed a five-man team for up to one week on each craft. In total, there were 10 water skins on each boat that were filled with water. That should last him a bit. He tossed all of it into his Inventory.


    Once he was sure both boats were empty, Connor pushed each off the landing and watched them continue their fall down the shaft. Next, he went over to the second mage he¡¯d killed and looked at him. Damn, what a mess, Connor thought. Could he put the body in his inventory and remove its items without making a mess? No time like the present to try. Connor touched the mage and willed him into his inventory, and it worked!


    Connor opened his Inventory Tab and saw that one human mage took up 40 slots. The description had said each slot could only hold five pounds and that larger items would take up a number of slots based on the weight of the object. That was fine. He quickly moved all items off of the mage into the number of slots required. Clothes, Jewelry, and a dagger only took up three slots. He wasn¡¯t carrying anything else, though. Wait, there were new items in his inventory that hadn¡¯t been there before.


    Skill Upgrade Crystal, Uncommon (8)


    Skill Upgrade Crystal, Rare (2)


    Well, shit, Connor pulled one of the uncommon crystals out of his Inventory into his hand.


    You have found a Skill Upgrade Crystal, Uncommon. Unlike Tutorial skill Crystals, Normal Skill Crystals can be utilized to increase any currently known skill up to the rated rank of the Crystal as long as the skill to be upgraded is one Rank lower and your Core is of the same level or higher.


    Would you like to use the Skill Upgrade Crystal, Uncommon now, Yes or No?


    Connor chose ¡°Yes¡± and directed the upgrade toward his skill Malleable Skills.


    You have upgraded the skill Malleable Skills to Uncommon Rank.


    Malleable Skills


    This is a skill


    Skills, like Spells, are typically acquired through discovery or training.


    Not for you.


    An unfettered individual may focus their intent and modify their skills as needed. To acquire a new skill, you must rest and focus on the outcome you desire for one day. If the outcome you desire is possible, the SYSTEM will assign the appropriate skill to an empty skill slot. To increase the power of any skill you already possess, assign another skill slot to it. Skills may only be improved until their power is equal to your Core Rarity.


    The Unfettered may learn any skills in this fashion, including those that utilize Mana or Psychic Energy.


    At Uncommon Rank, you may increase the rank of any skill you have acquired up to your Core Rank, provided you have the Skill Slots available to do so. You may also reduce any skills you have down to Common Rank to recover Skill Slots at will. You may only reduce or increase a single skill¡¯s rank during a single combat turn.


    ¡°Hell yeah! Connor exclaimed. That was precisely what he needed. He could keep a skill at Common Rank and increase it as needed. That would give him a bit of versatility if he could learn the right skills. He was about to pull out another Skill Crystal and then stopped. He had a surplus of Skill Slots right now. Also, the Skill Crystals might be worth trading if they were required to increase skill Ranks. Connor smiled and then assigned some of his unused Skill Slots.


    The first skill he increased was his Inventory Skill. Three more Skill Slots increased it to Master Rank and increased the number of inventory slots to 100,000. He did some quick math. If a body took up 40 slots, he could store close to 2,500 bodies now. That should be plenty of room.


    Next, he increased Eye of Eris to Rare Rank for two Skill Slots. That would increase his range of perception to 1,000 feet. He couldn¡¯t go further than that; his attributes were too low to take the strain, but 1,000 feet should give him enough of a warning if anyone came within range.


    The last skill he increased for now was Dodge. He used four Skill Slots to increase Dodge to Master Rank. The ability to dodge up to five attacks per hour at no stamina cost was just too nice to pass up. That could come in really handy if he ran into situations like his current status.


    Connor double-checked his HUD. Yep, he¡¯d spent 3,250 of his 3,704 Stamina to make 14 attacks within the same Combat Turn. He¡¯d only used four actions during the first Combat Turn, which cost 100 stamina. His Stamina regeneration replaced the stamina before the end of the Combat Turn. At the end of the second Combat Turn, he had just over 400 stamina left and was a bit out of breath. He was regenerating 145 Stamina per turn, so he should be fine.


    Before he¡¯d seen that there were ten of them, he¡¯d planned to take things nice and slow and not drain his stamina. That plan went out the window when he saw the two slavers who looked like mages and knew that the only way he could win would be to flee or take them all out at once.


    His epiphany that he could use his targets as weapons to kill other targets also made things much easier. He hadn¡¯t had time to appreciate the irony of what he did because it was so outlandish, but it had worked, and now he had 10 corpses to loot, which he did.


    With his Inventory Upgraded, he had plenty of space to store the other nine corpses. He put them into his inventory, and while he walked back to the entrance where the waterfall was, he removed all of their belongings and set them aside within his Inventory. Then, he looked for a way to automate the process, which was as simple as making his desire known. A moment later, he had 10 bodies in their skivvies in his Inventory. All of their gear and equipment was separated and sorted within other slots with his inventory.


    Longsword, 8


    Shortsword, 8


    Rings, 5


    Leather Boots, 7


    Leather Boots*, 1


    Leather Armor, 8


    Robe*, 1


    Robe*, 1


    Crossbow, with shoulder strap, 4


    Quiver, 20 Bolts, 4


    Short Bow, 4


    Quiver, 20 Arrows, 4


    Small Backpacks, 8


    Clothes, Various Sizes, 8 sets.


    Lockpicks, 3 sets


    One thing Connor noticed that he thought was weird, there was nothing that looked like money on any of them. Also, the * indicated that the item was in some way different than the other items that had been found. Did that mean they were magical? What he wouldn¡¯t give for a Tutorial Crystal. He needed to pick up that Analyze skill.


    As he thought about what he¡¯d found, Connor made his way back to the platform in the Vertical Shaft. When Connor was back at the edge of the landing and looking down the vertical shaft, he held out his hand and summoned the first corpse in front of his hand. It appeared and fell into the shaft. Soon, it was lost to darkness below. He did that nine more times and then walked back to the two double doors he¡¯d found. Luckily, he¡¯d found a set of lock picks in the gear, and he¡¯d recovered. When he came back with the range of the double doors, he discovered that the upgraded version of Eyes of Eris allowed him to perceive everything within 1,000 feet as if he was looking at the world with X-ray vision, though it was a little bit more nuanced. He could choose to see things as solid if he wished to but could still perceive everything behind a wall if he made the wall visible. It was weird to know what was there without being able to see it.


    When he reached the double door, he found that the locking mechanism was in the wall beside it. He could pick the lock, which was very easy when he could see the tumblers within it. He summoned a set of lockpicks he¡¯d just looted off one of the corpses and went to work on the keylock. With the ability to see the tumblers, it was simple to unlock. He already knew what was on the other side of the doors, but it was still nice to see when he opened the doors. He¡¯d stumbled onto someone¡¯s secret hidden lair.


    Connor stepped into a room that reminded him of the entryway at a museum. While not extremely large, only fifty feet square, everything within was exquisite and expensive. There was gold and silver trim everywhere. In the center of the entry room was a waterfall that fell into a pool. The water came from a catch in the ceiling above and drained down a pipe that led back to the vertical shaft. Two corridors exited the room on the other side of the pool. With Eyes of Eris, he could see that the hall to the right led to a small dining area that could seat six people comfortably with a small kitchen behind it and some storage areas for food which looked to be stocked.


    The left-hand passage exited into a room with cushions along the floor and a raised dais with what looked like a gas fireplace, yet there were gas lines, so it was probably lit with magical fire. That room exited into an area that was obviously a lavatory of a design he was unfamiliar with and a bedroom with a large round mattress that would put anything on earth to shame. It also had a few furnaces of a small design. The bed had to be at least 20 feet in diameter. The bed was also covered with a good amount of pillows.


    Connor looked around for a moment before he called out, ¡°Hello?¡±


    He waited for a few minutes just in case someone was taking their time to answer. When he heard nothing after a few minutes, he allowed the door to close behind him and locked it before he made his way into the kitchen to see what kind of food the owner had. There were various dishes with fruits laid out on the counters and even a cold box where various portions of meat and drinks were kept chilled, but nothing that looked like it was from a technological era, so it was probably not from Earth.


    As he continued to look around the secret lair of whoever owned this place, he considered his next actions. He could continue down the vertical shaft into the next area, or he could rest here long enough to try to create a skill that would allow him to fly faster. He needed some type of force shielding so that the friction of flying quickly could be ignored. Creating such a skill would allow him to travel quicker and evade the Slavers for the full month. With the upgrade to Malleable Skills, he¡¯d even be able to keep both Flight and the new skill at Common Rank unless he needed to move a lot quicker.


    With Stealth and the ability to fly fast, he should be able to keep ahead of any more Slavers that came looking for him. Yeah, he was going to stay here long enough to rest and create that new skill. Connor made his way to the bedroom and lay down on the ground on the other side of the bed from the entrance into the bedroom; that way, if someone came into the room, he¡¯d have a chance to wake up. He closed his eyes and quickly fell into a dreamless sleep. Unknown to Connor, Eyes of Eris remained active the entire time he was unconscious and would awaken him as soon as someone appeared within range which he learned about the skill while sleeping for the first time.


    ***


    Morena looked at the notifications again. Zatar, Azren, and Delan were all dead. More importantly, the 12 members of the three squads that had been assigned to them, as well as their skimmers, were all missing. Worse yet, He hadn¡¯t finished his quest.


    ¡°Zimmer!¡± she called out.


    A moment later, a small gnome dressed in simple leather armor teleported into the room ten feet in front of her, ¡°Yes, Mistress.¡±


    ¡°What do you know of the disappearance of three of my Hunter Squads?¡±


    ¡°The three squads in question were left in the Tutorial area to hunt down the last inductee.¡±


    ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I informed?¡±


    ¡°Your standing orders require three squads to be sent out to support one another when less than 20 inductees are missed during the initial round-up; there was only one inductee, Mistress,¡± Zimmer said hesitantly.


    ¡°So I have,¡± Morena stated as she tapped her finger on her chin, ¡°because in the last 10 Tutorials, we have never needed more than that to deal with individuals new to the SYSTEM. Today, we have discovered one human who can activate stealth and not be detected, and now three of our most promising mages are dead. Are the fates testing us, Zimmer?¡±


    ¡°No, Mistre¡­¡±


    ¡°It was a rhetorical question. The Fates are always testing us, Zimmer,¡± Morena said as she cut him off. ¡°How long before we can open a portal to that Tutorial Domain again?¡±


    ¡°We can open the portal at any time; the SYSTEM will charge us, of course,¡± Zimmer said.


    ¡°Understood. Get six squads this time, and pay this expense out of my personal account. They are to hunt down capture if possible, but definitely kill the individual that has become a nuisance for us.


    ¡°Yes, Mistress,¡± Zimmer said as he teleported to the staging area. He let loose a very specific whistle, which drew activity in the clearing to a stop. Once he was sure everyone was looking at him, he continued, ¡°We have new orders. I need six of our best Hunter Squads to head back into the Tutorial Dimension. Who wants to earn a bonus?¡±

 Chapter 7, Assumptions Can Kill

    Eight hours later, Connor woke. He ate some food, took a drink, and realized he didn¡¯t need to use the bathroom. Before he could think about how long it had been since he had used the bathroom, he stopped that thought and concentrated on what he needed to do now. Connor activated Malleable Skills and stopped. Why hadn¡¯t he increased the Rank of this Skill? With a thought, he tried and failed.


    Warning!


    The Skill Malleable Skills cannot modify itself, even for an unfettered.


    Well, that did make a sort of sense. It was a good thing he had Rare Skill Upgraded Crystal, wasn¡¯t it? Connor summoned the crystal into his hand and applied the upgrade to the skill Malleable Skills.


    Congratulations! You have increased the Rank of skill Malleable Skills to the rank of Rare.


    Malleable Skills


    This is a skill


    Skills, like Spells, are typically acquired through discovery or training.


    Not for you.


    An unfettered individual may focus their intent and modify their skills as needed. To acquire a new skill, you must rest and focus on the outcome you desire for one day. If the outcome you desire is possible, the SYSTEM will assign the appropriate skill to an empty skill slot. To increase the power of any skill you already possess, assign another skill slot to it. Skills may only be improved until their power is equal to your Core Rarity.


    The Unfettered may learn any skills in this fashion, including those that utilize Mana or Psychic Energy.


    At Uncommon Rank, you may increase the rank of any skill you have acquired up to your Core Rank, provided you have the Skill Slots available to do so. You may also reduce any skills you have down to Common Rank to recover Skill Slots at will. You may only reduce or increase a single skill¡¯s rank during a single combat turn.


    At Rare Rank, The amount of rest required before trying to create a class can be achieved through meditating for a time equal to eight hours, reduced by one hour per Willpower Attribute Modifier. Additionally, the amount of time it takes to create a skill after resting is reduced by one hour per point of the Intelligence and Wisdom attribute modifiers.


    Note that once the time is reduced to one hour, the reduction converts to being reduced by one minute per attribute modifier.


    NOTE: The time to meditate and create cannot be reduced to less than one minute.


    Example: If you have an attribute modifier of +10 for willpower, the amount of time you must meditate before attempting to create a new skill will be reduced to 58 minutes.


    Amount of rest required: 1 Minute


    Amount of time to create a new skill: 1 Minute


    While he didn¡¯t need to rest for eight hours, his recent rest met the first requirement to use the skill. Before he started creating skills, though, he needed to check his notifications. He¡¯d received the skill crystals for killing the hunters; had he received any XP?


    Congratulations, You have killed an Uncommon Hunter Level 1, 10,100 XP Earned.


    Congratulations, You have killed an Uncommon Hunter Level 1, 10,100 XP Earned.


    Congratulations, You have killed an Uncommon Hunter Level 1, 10,100 XP Earned.


    Congratulations, You have killed an Uncommon Hunter Level 9, 10,900 XP Earned.


    Congratulations, You have killed an Uncommon Hunter Level 5, 10,500 XP Earned.


    Congratulations, You have killed an Uncommon Hunter Level 5, 10,500 XP Earned.


    Congratulations, You have killed an Uncommon Hunter Level 6, 10,600 XP Earned.


    Congratulations you have killed and Rare Mage Level 15, 215,000 XP Earned.


    Congratulations, You have killed a Rare Mage Level 18, 218,000 XP Earned.


    Congratulations, You have Reached Level 54.


    Congratulations, You have Reached Level 55


    Connor looked over the Notifications and smiled. Those Rare mages had earned him a lot of XP. The Uncommon hunters weren¡¯t bad, but one Rare kill was worth more than twenty Common ones. Also, he was starting to get a handle on how the XP awards worked. It looked like a level 100 Common monster would be worth 1,000 XP, but a level 1 Uncommon monster would be worth 10,100. It was like the 100 levels were added for each Rank before figuring out how much XP was earned.


    The award appeared to be 10 XP per level at Common, 100 XP per level at Uncommon, and 1,000 per level at Rare. If he had thought of the Rare level 18 monster as level 218 before multiplying by 1,000, the math worked. He had earned 218,000 XP. Maybe he was missing something, but he was pretty sure he was right.


    If the XP awards for Rare-ranked monsters were this good, he needed to come up with something that would allow him to take on the Rare and higher monsters more efficiently. That meant he needed to come up with skills that helped him do more damage, in addition to the other ideas for skills he wanted to create that he had.


    Connor closed his eyes and focused on the first skill he wanted to make. Now that he could rest and create a skill in one minute and then create another skill every two minutes after that, he had a couple of different skills he wanted to make based on ideas from a tabletop game he¡¯d played in high school. The first skill was, of course, something that would allow him to fly very fast without worrying about wind shear or friction damage, especially if he was entering an atmosphere. However, he was pretty sure that was going to require a skill that reduced fire and heat damage. Such a skill was not at the top of his list, but eventually, he might need something to reduce elemental damage. It was something to consider, at least.


    Connor brought his racing thoughts under control and focused on just one skill: a skill that would allow him to cover himself entirely in force-based screens that he could control the shape of. As the idea for what he wanted to create solidified, his perception of the room fell away as he became one with the process.


    ***


    Elizabeth Henley stealthily crept through the forest, away from the group of fighters, rogues, mages, and clerics who were trying to track her down. Why were they chasing her? What would they do when they caught her? Liza, the nickname her father had given her when he was teaching her some uncommon skills that most people wouldn¡¯t think a tall, blonde, blue-eyed, beautiful woman would know. No, she wasn¡¯t going to think about what they might do to her if they caught her. What she was going to do was evade and, if necessary, fight with brutal efficiency, something her father had taught her to do.


    Thoughts of her father, Commander Henley, helped Liza focus. Her father had taught her to be self-sufficient, independent, and able to defend herself. This SYSTEM Tutorial, however, sets things up for the true monsters of humanity to emerge. Worse yet, the leader of the assholes, someone named Derrick, had been one of those sneaky assholes that struck while you had your back turned. Liza reviewed what had happened as she continued to move through this thicker part of the forest as quietly as she could.


    Like everyone in camp, she had accepted the Tutorial when she¡¯d been offered it back on Earth. After a few moments, she¡¯d appeared in an empty clearing. One thousand people from Earth had arrived here together, wherever ¡°here¡± was. They were in a clearing surrounded by trees with a stream off to one side. Right after they had appeared, she¡¯d seen birds and small wildlife fleeing the area.


    There were a couple of system notifications about choosing one of four basic classes: Fighter, Rogue, Mage, or Cleric. If you didn¡¯t choose one of those classes, you might get an opportunity to earn a special or unique class, but nothing was guaranteed. As everyone was reading their Notifications, an older man, who later introduced himself as Robert Manchester, took charge and began organizing people. At first, some people resisted, but when everything Robert was asking people to do made sense, people listened and went to work.


    Robert categorized people by ability, and he put everyone to work, including himself. Those who chose a class were separated into groups with members of the same class. Many people had chosen to be fighters. Half as many decided to be rogues, and some had chosen to be mages. Some even decided to become clerics and pledged themselves to abstract gods of healing or nature. None of the Gods that had been selected had names, which she found a bit weird.


    The day had been busy as Robert had the rogues scout the immediate area while everyone else went to work creating walls and ditches to act as a defense against wild animals. Luckily, some of the people chose mage as their class and then focused on Earth-based magic. A few received a spell that allowed them to shape the earth. It could only affect a 10-foot area, and they had to rest to recover their mana, the resource that fueled their magic, but the five Earth mages they had made construction go a lot quicker.


    The Nature-based mages also received a very cool spell, Nature¡¯s Gift. While the spell didn¡¯t only work on trees, when used on a tree, that tree would gift a portion of itself once per week in the form of boards, arrows, and anything else they might need that could be made out of wood. The first time the spell had been cast, Liza gasped when a bow and 20 basic wooden arrows dropped out of the tree trunk to the ground below the trunk.


    With the Nature mages creating needed materials from the forest and the Earthen mages able to shape the earth, it didn¡¯t take them long to create a small offshoot to the stream that wove into the clearing for a bit before reattaching to the stream. Near the beginning of the inlet, the mages made a small water wheel that lifted water into a wooden basin. A drain hole that had been formed into the basin when it was created from a tree allowed the water to drain back into the stream. Within minutes, they had a makeshift sink with running water, which improved morale considerably. Now, they could quickly fill their water skins and retrieve water for cooking.


    Once they had created a source of clean water, the group of mages moved on. At the far end, right before the diverted water stream reconnected with the mainstream, the Earth and Nature mages created rudimentary outhouses with toilet seats that hung over the stream. Robert seemed to understand that simple necessities like toilets, places to sleep, and fresh water made a huge difference to people. Liza noticed that everyone she talked to went from being scared of what had happened on Earth and their new predicament to being focused and even a little bit hopeful.


    Robert also set up another area for people to sleep and designated a group of people to take first watch during the night. Those people laid down to rest while everyone kept building the camp up. Luckily, it was nice out, and the grass proved quite soft, so a sleeping area was set up by simply choosing an area and blocking it off.


    One-third of the warriors and rogues remained in the camp and kept guard while the last-third of the warrior types went hunting. Luckily, they had some people who were able to dress and prepare wild game for cooking; she was one of them. She was also part of the fifth group of people who hadn¡¯t chosen a class yet. Sure, she¡¯d read the notifications about the four basic classes, but none of them appealed to her. She could fight, and she had some rogue-like skills her father had taught her. While the mage and cleric class seemed neat, she was still having a hard time believing in magic, even with everything that happened. So, she didn¡¯t choose a class, and for that first day, she worked on preparing food with a few others while the camp was built around them.


    Robert''s leadership had been invaluable when the first monster appeared. It had been a bear, larger than anything Elizabeth had ever seen before. It had been drawn to the smell of cooking meat. When the bear was finally dispatched, no one had died, but a few people had been hurt. The clerics proved their worth when they waved their hands, and gashes and bite marks healed right up. Magic was real; she¡¯d seen the proof.


    The bear had been moved over to where a refuse pit had been created and the skinning and butchering began. She looked at the monster and tried to figure out how to prepare it for dinner, she was missing most of the ingredients she¡¯d need to soften up bear meat. Also, while she was considering the bear another thought crossed her mind. They had other people out in the forest who could have run into something like it. Robert must have had the same idea because he issued an order that everyone was to travel in groups of at least five.


    When darkness came, she was exhausted, but not so exhausted that she hadn¡¯t found a place near a torch with plenty of other people sleeping nearby. She also had the pocketknife she always carried. She was a young woman in a strange place, and people could be assholes. As she lay down and closed her eyes, she realized that she¡¯d been far more tired than she had thought. She immediately drifted off to sleep.


    A little while later, a scream woke her. She listened intently and heard muffled voices and another muffled scream. She lifted her head just a little bit to look around and see what was going on. A group of men and women had started rounding up the cooks and a few of the guards and leading them over to the cooking area, which was the only lighted area in the clearing.


    Staying low, Liza crawled away from where she¡¯d been sleeping and moved toward the outside of the camp near the stream. As she made it to the edge of the tall grass near the stream, she heard a voice near where she¡¯d been sleeping.


    ¡°Where is that bitch? I¡¯ve been looking at her all day. I want her.¡±


    ¡°She was there just an hour ago, Derrick¡±


    ¡°Find her!¡±


    Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and then slipped quietly into the stream, allowing it to carry her away from the camp and into the forest. She stayed in the water for a while and was well within the forest when she heard a shout.


    ¡°She¡¯s in the river. Get after her!¡±


    That had taken a lot less time than she¡¯d figured. She had no idea why things were happening the way they were, and she didn¡¯t want to find out. She began to swim actively with the current. When she grew tired, she rested. When she had energy again, she swam. After a little while, the stream she was deposited into a shallow river. She crossed the river under a moonlit sky and emerged into a thicker part of the forest. She was about to slow down and relax when a voice called out.


    ¡°Across the river, there!¡±


    What the hell was wrong with these people? Elizabeth ran out of the river and into the forest. Once out of sight, she slowed down and moved slowly and quietly. A method of movement her father had taught her during one of their hunting trips. Sure, she was a pretty woman, others thought so anyway. But she wasn¡¯t only a pretty woman. Her father had made sure she understood that and understood that another¡¯s assumptions could be used to her benefit if she needed to. He¡¯d also made sure to let her know not to use that ability. She¡¯d been grounded for an entire month when she turned 15. Her father had found out that she¡¯d been cruel to a boy at school. He hadn¡¯t been furious at what she did exactly. He¡¯d been furious that she¡¯d used her womanly wiles, as he called them, as a prank for no better reason than she could. That kind of ruthlessness should be used sparingly and only against people who had proven themselves her enemy. The boy had been so distraught that he¡¯d changed schools.


    Her father had made sure she understood that there was a time and a place for such viciousness. Picking on a shy boy was not an appropriate use of that skill. In addition to the use of an enemy''s psychology against themselves, her father had also made sure she received physical training. If her enemies wanted to assume that she was just a dumb, pretty blonde and underestimate her, she¡¯d let them. Her dad had been a Navy Seal before he became an officer. Unfortunately for whoever was after her, they were about to find out what that actually meant because while she¡¯d never been through seal training, her father was sure that she could probably have passed BUD/S, Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training. She had fitness and combat training of all types since she was six years old and a physical strength comparable to a six-foot man. She was slightly weaker in her upper body strength, but not by much. She presses 220 pounds quickly and runs a 5k route without losing her wind.


    That¡¯s why her training and decisive decision not to be taken prisoner surprised the rogue who tried to grapple her from behind out of Stealth. One moment, nobody was near her; she¡¯d stopped to get her bearings and see where her pursers were, and the next, an arm was reaching up and around her neck. Unfortunately for the rogue, he hadn¡¯t braced himself against her back as he grabbed for her throat. That lack of proper technique allowed her to step backward and to his left. She quickly brought her right arm over his neck and bent him backward as she dropped him onto her right knee. A quick left jab to his temple with her left hand stunned him, which was the only thing she needed to gain total control of the situation.


    Unfortunately for the rogue, Liza had been trained not to pull her punch, and a combination of factors combined so that her strike stunned him long enough for her to shift her arm, which forced the rogue to tilt his head back. Without muscle training and a little practice, a left-handed chop usually wasn¡¯t very strong. Unfortunately for this asshole, she was ambidextrous. She brought the heel of her left hand down on his larynx in a single brutal blow, crushing it. As the rogue''s eyes bulged, one of the lessons Liza¡¯s father had taught her came to mind. ¡°If in enemy territory and you make a mistake, don¡¯t make it worse by allowing that mistake to draw attention to you.¡±


    She didn¡¯t know why they were after her, though she had her suspicions. It didn¡¯t matter. Before the rogue could start thrashing and choking, she struck his temple again, which caused him to go limp. Stunned or knocked out, she wasn¡¯t sure in the darkness. What she did know was that he was limp, which was all she needed to adjust her position, grab him by both sides of his jaw, and lift slightly. She yanked and rotated the rogue''s head as hard as she could to the right and then to the left, which snapped and crushed the vertebrae in his neck. Her dad had said she only needed to apply five pounds of pressure. She might have used a bit more than that.


    Liza was sure she¡¯d killed the Rogue when a Notification filled her vision.


    Congratulations, you have killed a level 3 Common Rogue


    XP Awarded 30.


    No Class Present, XP is banked until Class is chosen.


    As she watched, a crystal appeared from the corpse, glowing in the night. She reached out and grabbed the crystal with both hands in an attempt to cover the light so it wouldn¡¯t give away her position. As she did so, new notifications appeared.


    Congratulations! You have found a Common Ranked Tutorial Skill Crystal.


    Tutorial Skill Crystals may be utilized to teach you one of the following Common Skills, provided you have an unused Skill Slot.


    Identify ¨C This skill will allow you to identify monsters and their levels.


    Analyze ¨C This skill will allow you to Identify any Magic Spells, barriers, or items that you encounter.


    Dodge ¨C Once per hour per rank at No cost, you can dodge any attack of equal or less Rank. Additionally, your normal chance to dodge is increased by one for every rank in this skill.


    Inventory, Common - You have been granted a dimensional storage area that may hold up to 10 slots worth of equipment.


    Each slot may hold up to 5 pounds of a single hand-sized item. Multiple Slots may be required for larger items. The number of slots required for any specific item is based on its weight.


    Items summoned from your Inventory will appear either in your hand or on the ground in front of you, as you desire.


    Regardless of the weight of the items you carry, they do not increase your weight.


    Eye of Eris, Common ¨C Range: 10 Feet. This is a 360-degree spherical perception skill. You may now perceive everything within 10 feet of you. This Skill Negates all Levels of Stealth, though Incorporeal Opponents that are also invisible may not be detected.


    WARNING: Each rank of this skill multiplies the current range by 10. If any of the following attributes: Perception, Wisdom, and Intelligence are lower than the current range, you will suffer information overload and receive the debuff ¨C Distracted


    If any of the following attributes, Perception, Wisdom, or Intelligence, are lower than the current range by more than half, you will suffer information overload and receive both the debuffs: Distracted and Pain-Racked.


    To utilize the Tutorial Skill Crystals, you must have a Skill Slot available.


    Note, Tutorial Crystals may NOT be utilized to increase the Rank of Common Skills.


    Would you like to use the Common Ranked Tutorial Skill Crystal, Yes or No?


    Liza looked over the choices, chose ¡°Yes¡± and then chose ¡°Inventory. Common.¡± Her attributes couldn¡¯t handle the Eyes of Eris right now, and she only had one Skill Slot. She needed to get a skill that could help her out right now. That skill was the Inventory Skill.


    She also chose the skill so that she could take everything off of the rogue. There was a pack, a short sword, and a dagger. She knew how to use knives so that the dagger would be helpful. The shortsword she could use, but she wasn¡¯t as proficient with it.


    Liza closed her notifications and then set them not to display unless she called for them. She didn¡¯t need the distraction while she was trying to evade capture. She left the body where it lay, another lesson from her father taught her. She didn¡¯t know how many of the people were part of the coup because she couldn¡¯t believe Robert would allow this. With that thought, she moved further into the thicker forest.


    Half an hour later, Liza heard a scream through the woods that ended soon after. Another scream followed a moment later. She continued to move slowly and quietly among the trees. She kept her breathing under control and tried to maintain her heart rate at a slow and steady pace so she wouldn¡¯t wear herself out. She had an idea that something was hunting the ones hunting her, but that wasn¡¯t something she had time to worry about. She continued moving slowly and carefully.


    As she walked around a tree, she froze. Directly in front of her was a black kitten. No, not a kitten, but it was a baby cat of some sort. What type, she wasn¡¯t sure, but it was happily chewing on something that looked a lot like a human leg bone. The baby cat looked up and locked eyes with Liza. At that moment, something connected with Liza¡¯s mind. She was unsure of what the feeling meant, but she felt a kinship to that of the Shadow Panther. She knew it was a baby Shadow Panther. How did she know that? Liza focused her thoughts and took in her surroundings. Nothing was in her immediate area, but she thought she had heard something close by. She checked the baby panther one more time, but it was still gnawing on the leg bone. If not for the fact that it was a human leg, it would have been cute as hell.


    Just then, the sounds she thought she heard solidified into sounds she definitely heard as someone crashed through the bushes on the right side of the tree. A scrawny human burst into the clearing with his sword drawn, completely focused on the baby Shadow Panther on the ground. He raised his longsword above his head, preparing to strike.


    ¡°YOU FUCKING CAT, YOU KILLD CHAD, BUT THAT¡¯S OKAY BECAUSE I KILLED YOUR MAMA, AND NOW I¡¯M GOING TO KILL¡­¡±


    Before he could finish that sentence, Liza pulled the dagger from her Inventory and took two quick steps. She reached out with her left hand and grabbed his right wrist to keep the sword held high while she stepped in close right between his arms with her face only inches from his, her eyes locked on his, as she drove the dagger up through the bottom of his mouth and into his brain as she verbalized, ¡°Shhh.¡±


    She continued her forward motion as the warrior fell backward. She looked behind herself to make sure the baby Shadow Panther was alright and noticed that it was moving up along the other side of the man''s body, which wasn¡¯t quite dead yet. Before Liza knew what was happening, the Panther jumped forward and bit into the man''s neck and ripped sideways, tearing out his carotid artery.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Notifications bypassed her settings and began to fill her vision.


    Congratulations! Your party has killed a Level 10 fighter


    Party XP Earned: 50


    XP banked until a Class is chosen.


    Congratulations! A Unique Opportunity has presented itself.


    Prerequisites:


    Participant in Tutorial during System Integration.


    Shadow Panther Bond formed.


    Kill a Creature with your Bonded Pet.


    Prerequisites Met.


    Class, Claw Mother, is offered. This class is a combination of the Rogue, Beast Master, and Ranger classes.


    Skill Slots: One plus One per 10 levels.


    Class Skills


    The following Skills do not require Skill Slots and rank up with as you Core, Class and Evolution do.


    Stealth


    Stealth skill allows you to vanish from sight. Those with special skills or a high perception may pierce your Stealth Skill. Class-based stealth has both mental and physical aspects. Skills and Equipment of equal or greater rarity are required to pierce your stealth.


    Backstab


    When attacking an unaware target, you receive a bonus damage multiplier equal to your class rarity level. This is in addition to the base x2 multiplier.


    Current Backstab multiplier: x3 at Common Rarity.


    Shadow Panther Bond


    Unlike a normal Beastmaster, a Claw Mother is a class that focuses on Pet Bonds with large cats, preferably Shadow Panthers.


    Unlike a normal Beastmaster, you are not limited to the number of beasts you can bond with, only to the type of creature. The only requirement to add to your Claw is that the pet must be a large cat of some sort: Shadow Panthers, Tigers, Lions, etc.


    Every member of your Claw lends their strength to the Claw Mother. Your Strength, Agility, Endurance, Constitution, and Luck are increased by 10 per member of your Claw. If one of the members of your Claw leaves, the bonus attributes are lost. If the member of your claw dies, the bonus remains and may improve all surviving members of the Claw.


    Additionally, each member of the Claw may heal another member of the Claw by touch at a rate of one hit point gifted per point of mana per Combat Turn.


    Instead of the typical 10 attribute points and one free attribute most Common Classes receive, the Claw Mother receives the following:


    Hit Points and Stamina +3 per level


    Mana +1 per level


    Psychic Energy, Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Endurance, Constitution, Perception, Intelligence, Willpower, Charisma, and Luck +1 every 4 levels.


    Finally, if you accept this class, all members of the Claw form a sort of Hive Mind with the Claw Mother. While not a telepathic link, all members of the Claw will be able to share their senses and general feelings on a subject and receive information from the Claw Mother up to a range of feet equal to your intelligence Attribute. Outside of this range, the general direction of the Claw member is known, including whether they are alive or dead, but nothing else.


    This Bond will always be active and can never be removed without sacrificing the class.


    Would you like to accept the Class Claw Mother, Yes or No?


    Liza chose ¡°Yes¡±


    Congratulations! You have chosen the Class Claw Mother


    Your Core has been upgraded to Common Rank.


    Evolution advancement to Common is required before Core, Class, or Evolution may be upgraded to Uncommon.


    Shadow Panther Bond Detected.


    Shadow Panther, Uncommon Level 0 has joined your Claw.


    A moment later, Liza¡¯s mind exploded as she was wracked with pain from not very far away as another Notification appeared.


    Shadow Panther, Uncommon, Level 61, has joined your Claw.


    Other notifications filled her mind as well, but the pain was overwhelming, and a sense of urgency filled her mind. Through the notifications, she could see that the baby Shadow Panther had stopped chewing on the dead fighter''s throat and was moving off in the direction that the pain seemed to be emanating from.


    Liza closed her notifications and followed. It was only thirty feet or so from where they¡¯d been. A larger Shadow Panther lay on its side sticking out of some bushes. It had been run through with a sword and had the presence of mind to drag itself into a bush to try to hide. The cub sprinted in and started nuzzling the other Shadow Panther, whom Liza intuitively knew was her mother. Liza also moved in a bit more slowly until her eyes met the adult Shadow Panther. She reached out and allowed the Shadow Panther to sniff her hand before she placed her hand on her jaw and willed her to heal.


    She wasn¡¯t sure how that ability described in the Class description was supposed to work, but when she felt a drain and saw the wounds start closing on the larger cat, she smiled. Liza closed her eyes and listened to her surroundings as she allowed her mana to heal the large cat. Ten minutes later, the flow of energy stopped, and the large cat shifted to stand on all fours before a very wet, sloppy lick was given to Liza on the side of her face.


    The baby shadow panther was looking around, a bit confused because there was blood on the ground from when her mother was bleeding out, but now she was excited to see her mother moving around. The feeling of overwhelming pain was gone, but now Liza felt something else, almost like a voice in her mind giving her thanks.


    As Liza stood, the baby shadow panther pulled on the paw of the larger cat and then moved back toward where the fighter had died. Liza followed both panthers and watched as the young shadow panther proudly displayed its kill. Liza actually smiled at that. It was pretty hilarious to see a baby shadow panther, which was about the size of a domesticated cat, showing off its kill.


    A moment later, the large cat chuffed just before five more panthers dropped down to surround the three of them. A Shadow Panther that had landed next to the one she¡¯d healed moved forward and sniffed Liza. Liza felt no malice from the large cat, so she stood her ground until the cat licked her and stepped back as a new notification appeared.


    Shadow Panther, Uncommon Level 9, has joined your Claw.


    This happened four more times, prompting four more notifications.


    Shadow Panther, Uncommon, Level 10, has joined your Claw.


    Shadow Panther, Uncommon, Level 15, has joined your Claw.


    Shadow Panther Uncommon, Level 21, has joined your Claw.


    Shadow Panther, Uncommon Level 25, has joined your Claw.


    Liza looked around at the five new members of her Claw as the changes to her body took hold. Another sensation occurred as well. The minds of the cats synchronized and submitted to her will. To say she had complete control would be incorrect. Instead, it would be better to say that they had a hive-mind mentality, which allowed them to react simultaneously based on their instincts and Liza¡¯s desires. They could choose to ignore her will, but doing so in the middle of a fight could be deadly, and they knew that. Liza was the alpha in their Claw structure, and they intuitively knew that. This combination and control, as well as the desires associated with instinct being fed into her mind, hadn¡¯t been described in the class description.


    Just then, Liza heard a sound through one of the panthers'' ears. Each cat and Liza activated Stealth, even as the cub jumped into Liza¡¯s arms. Liza couldn¡¯t see the six adult Shadow Panthers, but through their senses, she knew approximately where they were in relation to her position.


    A minute later, Liza found out there was a party of five humans moving directly toward her position. She¡¯d been holding the cub while the baby¡¯s mother stayed close as the other five Shadow Panthers fanned out around the party. Unfortunately for the two rogues scouting ahead of the main party, the Shadow Panther''s perception was outstanding, and they detected the two additional trackers before they detected the Panthers.


    One of the Shadow Panthers in a tree above the party overheard the party¡¯s conversation, which allowed Liza to listen.


    ¡°Why is Derrick obsessed with that bitch?¡± one of the fighters asked the other people with him.


    ¡°Did you see the body on her? She was something straight out of Sports Illustrated magazine,¡± The second fighter said.


    ¡°Are you okay with our new fearless leader taking young girls and doing what they want with them?¡± the mage asked the only female in the party, who looked to be a cleric.


    ¡°He isn¡¯t coming after me, so I don¡¯t give a shit. Besides, what girl doesn¡¯t like a good shag?¡±


    ¡°Obviously, the one we¡¯re chasing,¡± the first fighter responded, which garnered a chuckle from everyone.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, the trouble this bitch is putting us through, I might shag her myself when the boss is done with her, of course,¡± the female cleric said.


    Liza put the baby shadow panther down and pulled the short sword from her inventory. With a thought, she implemented her plans. The primary threat was the rogues, though the cleric could be troublesome. One of the Shadow Panthers dropped back about fifty feet behind the party, and two more moved off to each side of the party. Two of the Shadow Panthers moved in on one of the rogues while Liza positioned herself near a tree the second rogue was about to walk by.


    She told the two panthers that one should go for the rogue from behind and grab it by the neck while locking down as hard as it could. The other should go for the rogue''s leg, and then they should back away from each other while still holding on. As she sent out instructions to the various Shadow Panthers, she knew that she was going to need to learn their names or name them herself to keep them separate in her mind.


    Liza¡¯s thoughts were brought back to the present as the rogue stepped directly in front of her, which was weird. The only reason she knew he was there was because the Shadow Panther nearby was watching him. She moved her short sword back and forth in front of her body until she could see that she was lined up with the rogue¡¯s back through the Shadow Panther¡¯s vision, which was an incredibly weird sensation, almost like playing one of those third-person games like Diablo or StarCraft. Then, she sent the signal to the other members of her Claw, and the attack commenced.


    Her shortsword slid into the back of the rogue, who went still in shock before pitching forward, dead. Simultaneously, the other rogue was attacked and ripped in half by the other two Shadow Panthers, while the other three Shadow Panthers off to the sides and behind the main party let out a roar, which distracted the other five members of the party.


    Congratulations! You have killed a Level 6 Common Rogue


    Party XP Awarded to a party of Eight: 8


    Reward: Common Tutorial Skill Crystal has been placed in your inventory.


    A moment later, another Notification appeared


    Congratulations! You have killed a Level 8 Common Rogue


    Party XP Awarded to a party of Eight: 10


    Reward: Common Tutorial Skill Crystal has been placed in your inventory.


    All the Shadow Panthers retreated and faded away as they activated Stealth again. It wasn¡¯t even fair. Liza decided to call the baby shadow panther Rene and her mother, Bella. Liza hadn¡¯t particularly liked the Twilight series but utilized the female names from that series to keep the large cats separated in her mind. So, Baby and Mama were Rene and Bella. The other five females were Rose, Alice, Jess, Rachel, and Rowan, though Rowan was from a different series. If she were able to learn their true names at some point, she would change their names, but for now, this would work.


    Seeing how easily the cats had killed the rogue, Liza decided to take out the party, especially the cleric. Rose, Alice, and Jess were each assigned to one of the fighters. Rachel and Rowan were assigned to the mage, and that cleric was hers. As she considered how to attack them, Liza led the Claw back toward the camp. If she knew anything about bullies, as soon as their nose was bloodied, they¡¯d tuck tail and run. They¡¯d expect the threat to be in front of them, not back along the way they¡¯d just come.


    Liza had Rene and Bella watch the corpses of the dead rogues. She wanted to know when the enemy party found them. It didn¡¯t take long. After a quick but concise argument, the rogue bodies were looted, and the party was headed back toward Liza and the five Shadow Panthers in her Claw waiting for them. As the enemy party grew closer, Liza adjusted her position until the Cleric was going to step by her. The other Shadow Panthers were already in position.


    When the cleric stepped in front of Liza, she reached out casually with her dagger and slit her throat. Liza miscalculated her strike, probably because the extra strength gifted to her through the Shadow Panther Bonds with seven Shadow Panthers was five times the maximum strength of a human. The cleric''s head popped off and dropped to the ground, and her headless corpse fell forward. Liza may have been covered in a bit of arterial blood spray as well.


    While she killed the cleric, Rachel and Rowan killed the mage using the same technique they¡¯d used to kill the rogue. Alice and Jess took down their foes easily enough, but Rose missed her target. The Fighter had struck her once. As she turned and prepared to try to pounce him again, he brought up the sword to bring it down on her head. Liza saw this all happening in slow motion and was next to Rose, blocking the downward slash from the fighter with her short sword in one hand while she drove the dagger in her other hand up under his left armpit and yanked forward.


    The attack entered his chest cavity and ripped his left side open, exposing his destroyed heart. Her strength was getting to be a bit ridiculous if she could shred a human body like this.


    Congratulations! You have killed a Level 11 Common Fighter


    Party XP Awarded to a party of Eight: 14


    Reward: Common Tutorial Skill Crystal has been placed in your inventory.


    Congratulations! You have killed a Level 10 Common Fighter


    Party XP Awarded to a party of Eight: 13


    Reward: Common Tutorial Skill Crystal has been placed in your inventory.


    Congratulations! You have killed a Level 9 Common Fighter


    Party XP Awarded to a party of Eight: 11


    Reward: Common Tutorial Skill Crystal has been placed in your inventory.


    Congratulations! You have killed a Level 13 Common Mage


    Party XP Awarded to a party of Eight: 16


    Reward: Common Tutorial Spell Book has been placed in your inventory.


    Congratulations! You have killed a level 11 Common Cleric


    Party XP Awarded to a party of Eight: 16


    Reward: Common Tutorial Spell Book (Divine) Crystal has been placed in your inventory.


    The Crystals had been deposited into her Inventory, but that spell book crystal intrigued her. She summoned the Spell Book Crystal into her hand.


    Congratulations! You have found a Common Tutorial Spell Book Crystal.


    Tutorial Spell Books may be utilized to teach you one of the following Common Spells, provided you have an unused Spell Slot.


    Shield ¨C Spend 10 mana to create an opaque shield in front of yourself that can take 10 points of damage. This shield can be placed anywhere within 10 feet of yourself, so it can be used to stop other attacks as well. The Shield does not move. A shield may be cast multiple times and will persist for one minute after casting. This skill will allow you to identify monsters and their levels.


    Force Dagger ¨C Spend 10 mana and create a dagger of force that will last for one full minute. Base damage: 3. Durability is 100. The Force Dagger will persist until durability reaches 0 or one minute has passed. The Dagger can be thrown, but must be retrieved.


    Magical Bolt ¨C Spend 10 mana and create an Arcane bolt of energy that inflicts 6 points of damage on any target within 10 feet. The spell ¡°Shield¡± will not block this attack. The spell ¡°Armor¡± does reduce the damage of this attack. This spell does not miss its intended target.


    Light ¨C Spend 10 mana and create an orb of light within 10 feet. The Orb of light will generate illumination equivalent to a 100-watt light bulb. This orb of light will persist for one hour.


    Armor ¨C Spend 10 mana and create magical armor on yourself or someone else within 10 feet. This armor reduces all physical damage directed at you by 10 for 1 minute. The armor moves with the caster. Additionally, this spell may only be cast once on any target. Recasting before the spell expires resets the duration to 1 minute.


    To utilize the Tutorial Spell Crystal, you must have a Spell Slot available.


    Note, Tutorial Crystals may NOT be utilized to increase the Rank of Common Skills.


    Would you like to use the Common Ranked Tutorial Spell Book Crystal, Yes or No?


    Liza chose ¡°Yes¡± and picked the Spell ¡°Force Dagger.¡± The ability to summon a weapon out of nothing sounded extremely useful.


    Next, she pulled the Divine Spell Book Crystal out of her inventory


    Congratulations! You have found a Common Tutorial Spell Book (Divine) Crystal.


    Tutorial Spell Books may be utilized to teach you one of five Common Divine Spells, provided you have an appropriate class and an unused Spell Slot.


    You do not have the appropriate class.


    You may NOT utilize this Tutorial Spell Book (Divine)


    Notifications END.


    That was disappointing. Liza had one more thing to do before she headed back to camp to confront Derrick and free the rest of the people he¡¯d captured and abused. She sent the Claw out to scout the surrounding trees while Bella and Rene made their way to his position. With only 10 slots in his inventory, there wasn¡¯t too much else she could take with her, so she chose to take the two sets of lockpicks she found on the rogues, the food, and three water skins. When she was done moving things around, she pulled up her inventory tab and took a quick look


    Inventory Slots: 8 of 10 Filled


    (1) Back Pack (1) Dried Meet One week¡¯s worth and Sleeping roll.


    (2) Water Skins (3)


    (3) Tutorial Skill Crystal, Common (5)


    (4) Tutorial Spell Book (Divine), Common (1)


    (5) Lockpicks, 2 sets


    (6) Daggers (8)


    (7) Short Swords (2)


    (8) Long Sword (1)


    Next she opened the notifications that had appeared when she first accepted her class. It seemed like they¡¯d been important but she¡¯d been in such a rush to save Bella.


    Congratulations! You have Earned the Title ¡°Unique.¡±


    You have accepted a Unique Class. All Attributes +10


    Congratulations! You have earned the Title ¡°Cat Lady¡±


    You have accepted a unique class dedicated to Cats. Predominately Shadow Panthers but all cats are welcome. +10 to all Attributes +10 Levels


    Congratulations! You have earned the Title ¡°Defender of the Defenseless I.¡±


    You protected an innocent life from certain Death with no thought of the consequences and, more importantly, no regret. +10 all Attributes


    Next she pulled up her Status screen and took a look at it for the first time since she chose her class.


    Name: Elizabeth Henley


    Birthday: September 16th 2007


    Apparent Age: 19


    Race: Human


    Evolution: -


    Core: Common


    Classes


    Common / Shadow Panther Claw Mother / 10


    Hit Points: 172


    -Health Regeneration: 5


    Stamina: 111


    -Stamina Regeneration: 12


    Mana: 71


    -Mana Regeneration: 3


    Psychic Energy: 33


    -Psychic Regeneration: 3


    Strength: 110


    Agility: 110


    Dexterity: 40


    Endurance: 30


    Constitution: 110


    Perception: 40


    Intelligence: 40


    Wisdom: 40


    Willpower: 40


    Charisma: 40


    Luck: 110


    Skill Slots: 3


    Spell Slots: 4


    Running Speed


    MPH: 67


    FPS: 98


    Abilities


    ?


    ?


    Titles


    Unique


    Cat Lady


    Defender of the Defenseless I


    Perks


    Claw Bonus


    Skills


    Stealth


    Backstab


    Shadow Panther Bond


    Spells


    Force Dagger


    Liza looked over her Status. Her attributes had increased by quite a bit. Also, the 10 levels that she¡¯d been awarded seemed to be helping her out quite a bit. She had three Skill Slots left, so she could use the Tutorial Skill Crystals if she wanted to, but she was going to wait. Waiting had allowed her to get this awesome, unique class, so holding off sounded like a good idea.


    She piled the equipment and gear she couldn¡¯t carry near a tree and tried to remember the location. Each member of the claw grabbed a corpse, carried it off about 50 feet, and dropped it before moving away from the corpse and marking the area. Through their bond, she was assured that they could find this place again if they needed to.


    Liza started making her way back toward the camp. She wasn¡¯t sure what the attributes meant exactly, but she knew she had a major advantage over anyone still in the camp, all because she saved Rene. What did her father always say? ¡°When life gives you lemons, make that lemonade!¡±


    Liza didn¡¯t rely entirely on her Stealth skill. She was pretty sure that the skill ¡°Eyes of Eris¡± could detect her, so she made sure to warn the Claw to stay at least 10 feet away from every human they saw. As they made their way back toward the camp, she had time to think even after they found another party. The Claw had dispatched them without much effort. What had that one author called the disparity between ranks, ¡°The Tyranny of Rank?¡± While it didn¡¯t seem as profound, it did seem to exist within this SYSTEM.


    Liza had shared her thoughts with the Claw and worked on their communication while they moved until she¡¯d been able to convince Rose to share her status sheet with her. Once she¡¯d understood that Rose, the lowest-leveled Shadow Panther besides Rene, in the Claw, had a Strength of 128, she stopped worrying. These Shadow Panthers were monsters. After seeing Rose¡¯s Status, Liza had wondered how Bella could have been almost killed until Bella shared with Liza that there had been another party of humans that had attacked her while she was hunting.


    Bella had been caught when two of the rogues had been able to sneak up on her while she hunted for food for Rene. One of them must have had the ability Liza was warning them about now because Bella did remember moving close to the party of humans as she made her way along a wildlife trail following the scent of a doe. The other members of the Claw had ranged out to see what was making all the noise in the forest and had ignored the humans as a non-threat. When the humans had attacked, Bella had been severely wounded. She¡¯d been able to evade most of the attacks, but the mage and the cleric had made things extremely hard for her. She¡¯d run and called out for help as she tried to protect Rene. Bella had killed one of her attackers, but she¡¯d been hurt. When the rest of her sisters returned, their primary focus had been to destroy those who had attacked Bella. The reason Liza hadn¡¯t seen the bodies was because they¡¯d been a little farther to the north while the lone fighter had chased Rene when she ran off with her snack. Also, there hadn¡¯t been much left of them.


    Liza had chuckled at the irony of the situation. She¡¯d received the unique class, a title that improved her to almost maximum human standard, and another title that, while a bit demeaning, gave her 10 levels as a reward, all because this guy Derrick had this fantasy about turning her into his slave. Someone was going to get poked, and it sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to be her.


    With the Claw watching for patrols and sentries, it was a simple thing for Liza to make it all the way back to the edge of the camp, where she climbed a tree and looked in. The people who hadn¡¯t chosen a class, like her, were in the sleeping area, which had four guards posted around it. The clerics were in the area where the wounded were taken. Right now, it looked like they were resting, though. The Nature and Earth mages looked to all be sleeping in the guarded area also.


    From where she was, she couldn¡¯t hear what people were saying, but she could see that some were bullying the others around. After she looked on for a bit, she found the area that had been created for the leader, Derrick. There was a small building that even had a makeshift roof on it. Nearby, a couple of the young women in her age group were being guarded by a couple of guards.


    It was almost dawn, and Derrick''s reign had to stop. Maybe she was overestimating herself, maybe not. But she wasn¡¯t going to stand by and let a dirtbag make the end of the world even worse than it already was for everyone.


    Liza pointed out all of the apparent targets to the rest of her Claw. Attack and fade, attack and fade. Anyone that she didn¡¯t point out ignored if they could, strike with retracted claws if they couldn¡¯t. Liza let them know that even their paw attacks without claws could kill most of the humans here. Rene stayed by the tree line while the rest of the claw spread out and prepared to attack. The guards around those who didn¡¯t look to be cooperating in the sleeping area were the first targets.


    Liza snuck into camp and made her way to the entrance to Derricks area before a voice called out from within.


    ¡°About time you fucks finally brought her to me. Get her ass in here!¡±


    Liza walked in past the two stealthed rogues that Bella had noticed when she¡¯d checked the area a few minutes ago. She was about 20 feet back from the back door and waiting for the signal to go in and end Derrick. As Liza entered the room, she could tell through Bellas''s vision that it was just Derrick and the two rogues. It looked like he¡¯d been going over a map laid out on a table that the Nature mages had created when Liza moved. One of the Rogues was fast; he¡¯d tried to dodge and roll away, but only to find a very precise cut decapitating him at the beginning of his roll. As the second rogue moved in to attack, a quick flourish with her blade reversed her grip, and she stepped back and up, driving the sword in through his bellybutton, up under his ribcage, and through his neck into his brain.


    Such precise control and specific placement wouldn¡¯t have been something she¡¯d have been capable of even six hours ago. The first rogues movement had seemed slow. As he¡¯d tucked his head and come out of the role, it had been laughable for her to lunge down, angle her strike, and remove his head. She¡¯d been able to do that while still keeping track of the other rogue through Bella¡¯s senses as he drew his shortsword and tried to thrust it at her. She hadn¡¯t even turned to face him but moved slightly to the left and stepped back and up with her sword. She attacked behind her with such a strong, precise strike that her short sword was lodged through his neck and into his brain.


    That had all happened within a single moment, which concluded with a large crunch and a shriek as Bella pounced forward and her jaws clamped down on the back of Derrick¡¯s neck. Even as she stood and moved in front of Derrick only seven seconds had past. The last action of her Combat Turn was to take a dagger out of her Inventory, shove it into his heart, and then savagely rip it down, disemboweling him as she stepped back. The look of indignation turned into shock and then fear as the light fled from his eyes and notifications appeared in her vision.


    Congratulations! You have Killed a level 25 Common Commander.


    Party XP Awarded to a party of Eight: 32


    Reward: Common Tutorial Skill Crystal has been placed in your inventory.


    Bella crunched down on Derrick''s neck, decapitating him.


    Liza was about to consider why she was becoming so brutal when a spike of alarm shot through the entire Claw except for herself and Bella. When she looked at the door, Liza saw that the predawn sky had lit up with a brilliant white light. Liza activated  Stealth as the other five members of the Claw that had just finished killing their targets disengaged and bolted toward the tree line. They didn¡¯t make it.


    As Liza looked out of the doorway and up, she saw a woman in a flowing black robe. Above her, an opening in the universe led to another place, with the noonday Sun shining through. Before Liza could react, the ground rushed up to fill her vision before everything went dark, and a new notification appeared before the world faded away.


    You are Unconscious!

 Chapter 8, Necessity Drives Improvement

    For one minute, Connor¡¯s focus became absolute as what he wanted the skill he was creating to do came into focus. As he came back to himself, a Notification filled his mind.


    Congratulations, your focus and will have created the unique skill ¡°Force Barrier.¡± Unlike a spell that could link with the fundamental magic of the universe and draw on that energy to create barriers of force, you have acquired a skill that allows you to draw mana from yourself to create barriers of force. The efficiency with which this is accomplished is determined by the rank of the skill.


    One Skill Slot has been allocated.


    You have gained the Common ranked Skill ¡°Force Barrier.¡±


    Force Barrier


    Rank: Common


    The Skill Force Barrier allows you to create tangible screens of force that may be transparent or opaque. Opaque barriers can still be seen through


    The size of the Force Barriers is limited to an area no greater than a 10-foot radius sphere at Common Rank.


    The Force Barriers may be created anywhere within 10 feet of yourself or locked into a position that moves with you. The Force Barrier is considered one uniform structure, no matter how it is configured. Damage to one portion of a Froce Barrier is damage to the whole Force Barrier.


    Each Force Barrier has a maximum amount of mana that can be invested into it. The rank of the skill determines the efficiency with which the mana invested blocks damage.


    Common Rank:


    - A maximum of 10 mana may be invested into each barrier


    - Each point of mana can block one point of damage.


    It takes one action to create a single barrier. Multiple barriers can be created and layered. The maximum number of Barriers that can be created at one time is equal to your Wisdom divided by 10.


    Barrier Breakdown: Once Created, a Force Barrier weakens each Combat Turn by one mana. When a barrier takes enough damage to reduce the mana invested to zero or the mana has depleted on its own to zero, the barrier dissipates.


    Barriers can be maintained by feeding Mana to them as long as they are within 10 feet of you. Effectively, each barrier is maintained by one mana per Combat Turn once created.


    If upgraded, the following changes are applied.


    Uncommon Rank:


    - Maximum Size: 20-foot radius sphere.


    - A maximum of 100 mana may be invested into each barrier


    - Each point of mana can block two points of damage.


    - Barriers can be created and maintained up to 100 feet away from you


    - No change to Barrier Breakdown


    Rare Rank:


    - Maximum Size: 30-foot diameter sphere.


    - A maximum of 1,000 mana may be invested into each barrier


    - Each point of mana can block three points of damage.


    - Barriers can be created and maintained up to 1,000 feet away from you


    - No change to Barrier Breakdown


    Connor smiled. This was exactly what he¡¯d wanted. He floated up into the middle of the room with Flight and then created a 10-point Force Barrier as a bubble locked into position around him. Once created, he realized he still had a link to the Force Barrier and that he could adjust it with a thought. One moment, it was invisible; the next, it was opaque. So, he could set one up, and no one would know about it. Or he could create a barrier that everyone could see, declaring to everyone that he was protected. That could come in handy.


    Connor dedicated two more Skill Slots to the skill and then put 100 mana into the bubble surrounding him. He expanded and contracted the bubble of force. He even went so far as to make it skin-tight around his limbs so it fit like a glove. Once he was done manipulating the Force Barrier, he set it to a radius of 10 feet. Next, he lowered himself to the ground and allowed the bottom of the bubble to flatten out so that it would rest and not try to roll away. Could it roll around him? He¡¯d mess with that later. It was now time to create his second skill, which would require one minute to meditate and another minute to make the skill. The Force Barrier would lose six mana per minute while he worked on creating another skill. Since each point of mana would block 3 points of damage, he should be fine if someone broke in.


    Connor found it easier to drop into a meditative state. Once he¡¯d cleared his mind, he focused on creating a skill that would allow him to adapt to his natural environment.


    Congratulations. Your focus has created the unique Psychic Skill ¡°Environmental Adaptation.¡± Unlike a spell that could link with the fundamental magic of the universe, you use your will to adjust your anatomy to adapt to any environment.


    At Common Rank, you can recirculate the air within your lungs. This allows you to effectively breathe underwater or in a vacuum, though pressure and vacuum damage are still a concern. Cost 1 Psychic Energy per Combat Turn


    At Uncommon Rank, you can adjust your body to survive extreme pressure and temperatures. The following costs are cumulative with all other costs.


    For every 100 degrees Fahrenheit above or below 0 degrees, One Psychic Energy per Combat Turn.


    For every 30 atmospheres of pressure, One Psychic Energy per Combat Turn.


    If Atmospheric Pressure is less than.35: One Psychic Entergy per Combat Turn


    At Rare Rank, you can reinforce your body with Psychic Energy to stave off the effects of Time and Gravity.


    For every ¡°G¡± of gravity, One Psychic Energy per Combat Turns to act normally.


    To remain unaffected by Temporal Fields and spells 100 Psychic Energy Per Rank of effect per Turn.


    At Epic Rank, all upkeep costs are reduced by 10 times to a minimum of 1 psychic energy.


    At Master Rank, all costs are reduced by 100 times to a minimum of 1 psychic energy per combat turn.


    At Epic Rank, all costs are reduced by 1,000 times to a minimum of 1 psychic energy per combat turn.


    At Legendary Rank, all costs are reduced by 10,000 times to a minimum of 1 psychic energy per combat turn.


    At Mythical Rank, all costs are reduced by 100,000 times to a minimum of 1 psychic energy per combat turn.


    One Skill Slot has been allocated.


    You have gained the Common ranked Skill ¡°Environmental Adaptation.¡±


    Connor read the description and immediately assigned four more Skill Slots to it. That skill would come in extremely handy.


    Before he could think of doing anything else, Eyes of Eris detected that someone was landing on the platform outside the lair¡ªsix sets of someone, each with a five-man crew just like the last three skimmers. Without hesitation, Connor activated Stealth and moved with Flight toward the exit. The only thing that slowed him down was the door. He had to retract his Force Barrier and allow his hand to reach through so that he could grab the door handle. He guessed he was going to create a telekinesis skill next.


    Even with that slight pause at the door, he made it out of the secret lair and down the tunnel to the edge of the tunnel before it led out onto the platform before they exited their skimmer. He hopped over the side of the platform and dropped into the vertical shaft.


    The mages had started to react as he rushed down the tunnel toward them, but before they could do anything, he was already over the side. He¡¯d been able to get out of the lair and back into the vertical shaft in 10 seconds. He realized that he was a lot faster than those hunting him.


    Once below the platform, he moved out from under the waterfall into the center of the vertical shaft, which had plenty of space. He dropped one mile from the platform. When he waited, sure enough, a minute later, he could see the skimmers moving toward him. The skimmers were tilted at about a 45-degree angle and following a corkscrew flight pattern down. It must suck not to have safety harnesses or a Force Barrier. Connor was going to make sure some of them knew exactly how much it sucked in just a moment.


    When they were a half mile away, Connor began heading down again. He increased his speed incrementally until they were all moving at about 70 miles per hour. He was moving just a little slower than they were, so he could give them the illusion that they were catching up to him.


    When the closest skimmer was just under 1,000 feet away from him, and he could detect them within his Eye of Eris perception bubble, Connor picked one ship at random. He created a completely invisible Force Barrier thirty feet directly in front of the lead six skimmers. Because he was limited to the size of the barrier he could create, and he wanted to make sure to catch at least one of the skimmers, he centered the Force Barrier he created on the lead skimmer.


    Connor created a 30-foot radius transparent Force Bubble at the edge of his range that was concave with the opening of ¡°the cup¡± toward the front of the Skimmer with 1000 mana. That would allow it to take up to 3,000 points of damage, which would hopefully kill everyone on the skimmer.


    At 70 miles per hour, his mind told him that it only took one-third of a second for the skimmer to reach the Force Barrier he¡¯d created. What happened next was absolutely catastrophic to the Skimmer and everyone on it. Connor remembered watching a video on YouTube that showed a test of what happens when an F4 Phantom crashes into the ground. They¡¯d simulated it by crashing the fighter into a concrete block. What had once been a metal fighter became small shards of metal. What happened to the skimmer looked exactly like that.


    Congratulations, You have killed an Uncommon-ranked Hunter Level 25.


    12,500 XP Earned.


    Reward: Two Common Tutorial Skill Crystals have been placed in your inventory.


    Congratulations, You have killed an Uncommon-ranked Hunter Level 24.


    12,400 XP Earned.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Reward: Two Common Tutorial Skill Crystals have been placed in your inventory.


    Congratulations, You have killed an Uncommon-ranked Hunter Level 18.


    11,800 XP Earned.


    Reward: Two Common Tutorial Skill Crystals have been placed in your inventory.


    Congratulations, You have killed an Uncommon-ranked Hunter Level 15.


    11,500 XP Earned.


    Reward: Two Common Tutorial Skill Crystals have been placed in your inventory.


    Congratulations, you have killed Rare-ranked Mage Level 35.


    235,000 XP Earned.


    Reward: Three Common Tutorial Spell Book Crystals have been placed in your inventory.


    Congratulations, You have Reached Level 56


    The Tutorial Spell Book Crystals looked interesting but he didn¡¯t have time to look at one of them right now. Connor disabled the notifications; he didn¡¯t need distractions while he was fighting five other hunter parties. He also couldn¡¯t use that kind of attack that often. The Barrier had disintegrated as it destroyed the Skimmer, meaning it had taken at least 3,000 points of damage. Unfortunately, the 1,000 mana he¡¯d invested into that skill had been one-third of his total Mana.


    With only 2,272 of 3,000 mana remaining and a mana regeneration of 137 per turn, he could recover the mana in under a minute, but he didn¡¯t think they¡¯d fall for it twice. As that thought crossed his mind, he watched as each mage activated something Skimmers. Along the front edge of the skimmer, his Uncanny Perception picked up a ripple of energy. If he had to guess, it was probably some Barrier bypass spell. If it wasn¡¯t on before, that must mean that it took a lot of energy, which meant they wouldn¡¯t keep it up all the time. Connor noted that and ignored the other skimmers for now while they pulled away from the cloud of dust that was once a skimmer and its crew continued falling down the vertical shaft behind and above the skimmers chasing him.


    Connor made sure the Force Barrier around him was active and activated Environmental Adaptation, just in case traveling really fast made it hard to breathe. Or the bubble cut off his supply of fresh oxygen. Then he accelerated. This time, he wasn¡¯t worried about wind shear as he increased his speed to 800 miles per hour. He pulled away from the other five skimmers with ease.


    A minute and a half later, he had to slow down as light appeared below him. The water from above still fell all around him. He was surprised when the vertical shaft vanished as he passed through a dimensional barrier. Once below the horizontal barrier, the only thing he could see was water dropping out of an invisible area above him in the sky. The water raining down created a perfect circle that rained into a body of water not far below him, no more than a mile, he was sure.


    Connor tried to go back up and flew into the sky above the point where the circle of water appeared. He did not re-enter the Vertical Shaft, which meant that it was a one-way passage. Great. No getting back to the Uncommon or Common Tiers of this Tutorial that way, then.


    Connor did some quick calculations. The Vertical Shaft had been about 20 miles long. A trip that took him two minutes at 800 miles an hour was going to take the skimmers at least 20 minutes at 70 miles per hour. He had some time to get away from where they would emerge.


    Connor looked around and saw some mountains off in one direction. With no other landmarks to speak of, it was off to the mountains for him. A minute later, Connor was over the coast, and a minute after that, he was over the mountains. He changed his course and moved vertically so he could take in the area from above. He was still traveling 800 miles per hour, which made his progress quick. A minute later, he was thirteen miles up. After two minutes, 26 miles. That¡¯s when he realized he was on a huge planet or a plane, like something out of a science fiction or fantasy novel.


    Connor looked down at a mountain range that went in two directions. The Sun was shining from the right side, seeming to come up and over him, so he was going to call that direction East. To the east of the mountains was a flat plain that eventually reached a huge forest. The trees had to be huge if he could see them from 26 miles up.


    To the west of the mountains was the ocean he¡¯d come from. From this height, he could see where the water was dropping out of the shaft because it was creating a weather phenomenon that spread out and affected the area. There was cloud cover reaching all the way to the leeward side of the mountains.


    He double-checked his status. Environmental Adaptation was using one Psychic Energy per turn, Flight was using 100 Psychic Energy per turn, and Stealth was using 10 Stamina and Mana per turn. His regeneration rates were more than enough to keep up with the combined upkeep costs at this point.


    Sure that he was okay for a moment, Connor summoned one of the Common Tutorial Spell Book Crystals into his hand.


    Congratulations! You have found a Common Tutorial Spell Book Crystal.


    Tutorial Spell Books may be utilized to teach you one of the following Common Spells, provided you have an unused Spell Slot.


    Shield ¨C Spend 10 mana to create an opaque shield in front of yourself that can take 10 points of damage. This shield can be placed anywhere within 10 feet of yourself, so it can be used to stop other attacks as well. The Shield does not move. A shield may be cast multiple times and will persist for one minute after casting. This skill will allow you to identify monsters and their levels.


    Force Dagger ¨C Spend 10 mana and create a dagger of force that will last for one full minute. Base damage: 3. Durability is 100. The Force Dagger will persist until durability reaches 0 or one minute has passed. The Dagger can be thrown, but must be retrieved.


    Magical Bolt ¨C Spend 10 mana and create an Arcane bolt of energy that inflicts 6 points of damage on any target within 10 feet. The spell ¡°Shield¡± will not block this attack. The spell ¡°Armor¡± does reduce the damage of this attack. This spell does not miss its intended target.


    Light ¨C Spend 10 mana and create an orb of light within 10 feet. The Orb of light will generate illumination equivalent to a 100-watt light bulb. This orb of light will persist for one hour.


    Armor ¨C Spend 10 mana and create magical armor on yourself or someone else within 10 feet. This armor reduces all physical damage directed at you by 10 for 1 minute. The armor moves with the caster. Additionally, this spell may only be cast once on any target. Recasting before the spell expires resets the duration to 1 minute.


    To utilize the Tutorial Spell Crystal, you must have a Spell Slot available.


    Note, Tutorial Crystals may NOT be utilized to increase the Rank of Common Skills.


    Would you like to use the Common Ranked Tutorial Spell Book Crystal, Yes or No?


    It looked like spells were a lot more restricted. He didn¡¯t have any spells, and he had 261 free Spell Slots. If Spell Slots acted like Skill Slots, that meant that he could have up to 52 Master ranked spells. First, though, he needed to get spells.


    Connor chose ¡°Yes¡± and picked up the spell ¡°Magical Bolt.¡± Then he pulled out the other two Tutorial Spell Book crystals and chose ¡°Force Dagger¡± and ¡°Light.


    He was beginning to see a pattern to what the ranks did for skills and spells. It looked like all the common skills and spells had a range of 10 feet. When they were upgraded to uncommon rank, the range was increased to 100 feet. If the Rare Mages could actually get a bead on him, he might have some issues, but as long as he stayed outside of the 100-foot range, the hunters probably couldn¡¯t hit him with anything except weapons, which he seemed to be able to dodge quickly enough.


    Since he couldn¡¯t do anything about the spells, he assigned two more Slots to Flight and Identify, which upgraded both skills to Rare Rank.


    Identify (Rare):


    You may learn general information about any creatures within your range up to Rare Rank by focusing on them. Only one creature may be targeted at a time.


    Information Provided increases with Skill Rank:


    Common: Race, Rarity, and Level


    Uncommon: Hit Points


    Rare: Mana, Stamina, and Psychic Energy.


    Range:


    1 - 10 feet ¨C 10 Mana.


    11 ¨C 100 feet ¨C 100 Mana


    101 ¨C 1,000 feet ¨C 1,000


    Regardless of distance, information gained is based on the Rank of the Skill.


    Flight (Rare):


    At a cost of 1 Psychic Energy per second or 10 per Combat Turn, you may move through the air as you move on the ground. This is a mental skill, though it doesn¡¯t require concentration.


    Identify gave him more information and allowed him to decide what range he wanted to use it at. Since he would hardly ever throw 1,000 mana into using the skill, he didn¡¯t see a point in upgrading its rank to Advanced or Master until he saw something at that rank he needed to Identify. Connor felt that Identify simply represented him asking the SYSTEM for Mana, and the SYSTEM would charge more if he was further away. Flight, on the other hand, reduced its energy cost. At Uncommon rank, it had been reduced from 100 PE per Combat Turn to 50 PE per Turn. At Rare rank, it took that cost down to 10, which Connor felt was going to be as low as that cost went. So, if he put another Skill Slot into Flight, it might increase in speed. Connor did so.


    Flight (Advanced):


    At a cost of 1 Psychic Energy per second or 10 per Combat Turn, you may move through the air at double the rate you move on the ground. This is a mental skill, though it doesn¡¯t require concentration.


    Connor put one more Skill Slot into Flight.


    Flight (Master):


    At a cost of 1 Psychic Energy per second or 10 per Combat Turn, you may move through the air at triple the rate you move on the ground. This is a mental skill, though it doesn¡¯t require concentration.


    Conner tested as he flew toward the forest. At 26 miles above the ground, he broke the sound barrier three times outside of a vehicle. While he flew along, he wondered if he could summon force daggers and throw them in the same combat round. He altered course and headed to the shoreline to the west of the mountains as he flew back toward the surface. When he was 1,000 feet above the ground, he came to a stop and hovered as he cast Force Dagger and threw it at the beach with his full strength.


    There was a THUMP as the Force Dagger hit the sand and created a small crater. So, the Force Dagger could travel further than the 10 feet a Magical Bolt could. He then tried moving and throwing Force Daggers without running out of Stamina or Mana. He quickly learned that his limiting factor was his Stamina. He could take four actions in a single Combat Turn without going over his Stamina Regeneration rate, which meant that he could summon a Force Dagger and then throw it two times for each Combat Turn.


    Next, he tried moving and attacking. He picked a stone on the ground, moved, and threw a Force Dagger. He moved again and threw another Force Dragger. While the first Force Dagger was on the way, the Second Force Dagger was released, which was pointless. The First Dagger hit the large rock with a loud CRACK, which destroyed it. The second Dagger buried itself in the ground beneath where the rock had been.


    As he was flying around and attacking the ground, he noticed something. There was a flock of very large creatures heading his way from the mountains at high speed. Had the sonic booms he¡¯d created brought unwanted attention? Then he looked at the clock on his HUD. It had been fifteen minutes since he started practicing with his spell and skills. The Skimmers would be here soon, and he had some aerial adversaries heading his way. Would those adversaries follow him? There was only one way to find out. Conner launched himself toward the flying creatures; he closed to within 100 feet and activated Identity for 100 mana.


    Race: Mountain Drake


    Rank: Rare


    Level: 45


    Hit Points: 444


    Stamina: 474


    Mana: 433


    Psychic Energy: 433


    Connor quickly identified the other Mountain Drakes. The lowest level was 31, while the highest was level 45. All were Rare Monsters. Connor backed off to about 2,000 feet away from the Mountain Drakes and dropped Stealth. When they saw him, one of them beat its wings and almost teleported in for a strike, only to miss, as Connor lazily dodged the attack. His agility and the fact that he could move in three directions as if running and jumping made it almost impossible for the flyer to get him.


    Connor utilized Eyes of Eris to keep track of the seven Mountain Drakes as he dodged each attack and slowly made his way back out over the ocean. Connor made sure to keep an eye out for the skimmers while he continued to dodge the Mountain Drakes. Whenever the drakes got bored and looked to be turning away, he increased his speed to just over the speed of sound and flew by them. While it didn¡¯t seem to hurt them in the least, it pissed them off and forced them to direct their focus back onto him.


    Four minutes later, the five Skimmers came into view. As soon as he saw the hunters, he activated Stealth and accelerated at full speed toward the Skimmers. He could move over 3,000 feet a second at full speed, so he did. He¡¯d traveled 2,000 feet forward, stopped, and reversed course 1,000 feet as he brought his Force Barrier up to 1,000 mana. If he was correct, the mages using the locating crystals only received his general direction and distance.


    As for the Mountain Drakes behind him, he was sure they¡¯d seen the Skimmers by now, and in a moment, the shockwave he had just created was going to spread from a point 1,000 feet in front of him. While it might not be overly damaging, it should piss them off as it shook things up.


    BOOM!


    Connor¡¯s Force Barrier held, only taking 10 points of damage, but it was loud. The skimmers were unaffected as whatever enchantment they had on the leading edge of the ship shimmered, and the shockwave visibly washed around each skimmer. The Mountain Drakes paused for a minute and then sped up. As they came close, Connor dropped below them and then came up on their tail. Connor followed the Mountain Drakes and watched as the Drakes; all riled up because of his Sonic Booms, moved in to attack the Skimmers.


    ***


    Zavrous, bringer of fire, was the last man standing out of the six hunter parties that had been sent after the last member of this cursed Tutorial. Why the hell had they followed this maniac down into the Rare layer and then engaged a flock of Mountain Drakes? There had been five rare-ranked mages left when they¡¯d started, but all of the hunters had been of uncommon rank with nonmagical weapons.


    The mages had cast their most potent spells while the hunters tried to help. The mages had seemed somewhat effective until each tracking crystal was systematically destroyed by an attack they couldn¡¯t see from an adversary that was weaving in and out between the Mountain Drakes and the Skimmers. The hunters had been useless and died each time a Mountain Drake attacked. Since there were seven Mountain drakes, at least seven people died every turn. With only 20 hunters and five mages to begin with, it didn¡¯t take long for the Mountain Drakes to kill everyone else. Worse yet, their actual target¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t break his Stealth, and he was staying outside the range of any of their perception skills.


    That isn¡¯t to say they didn¡¯t detect where he¡¯d been. Zavrous had felt the objects he was flowing enter his perception range just before they struck whatever they were thrown at; Tracking Crystal, hunter, mage, and even the Mountain Drakes. The tracking crystals weren¡¯t weak, but neither were they as strong as a diamond. The tracking crystals were all shattered within the first 30 seconds. Each time one exploded, it released a small explosion that did very minor damage to the mage holding it. After every tracking crystal was destroyed, the attacks started to be more opportunistic instead of focused. Within three minutes, the fight was over.


    Their target had helped both sides until it was just Zavrous, his target, and the last mountain drake. That three-way standoff only lasted for a moment because the Mountain Drake¡¯s head caved when it was struck twice by the same things that had killed his fellow hunters and the other drakes. Their target had killed 24 hunters, five mages, and seven Mountain Drakes. Mistress Morena needed to know about this monster because there was no way he was less than Advanced, probably Master Rank.


    With no way to track their target, Zavrous activated the recall ruin on his skimmer and waited for it to activate. Energy started to swirl around the Skimmer, which was growing denser by the moment. As the energy built up, the world outside of the skimmer began to change. Just before the world vanished, Zavrous was surprised when five force daggers appeared from the other side of the ¡°empty¡± skimmer. The one that hit him between the eyes ended any further thoughts he might have had.


    You Have Died


    ***


    Before Connor could check his gains or review his notifications, everything except him froze. A moment later, a screen appeared in the air in front of him.


    Quest, Thwart the Slavers,


    Upgrades to


    Destroy Mistress Morena


    Task: Mistress Morena has violated the SYSTEM, Destroy her.


    Accepting this Quest automatically extends the Tutorial area to include anywhere you tread and allows tutorial-based awards appropriate for the threat faced until 30 days have passed. If you do not complete this Quest before the allotted 30 days for the Tutorial, this Quest will fail and be lost permanently. You will NOT be returned to your Planet of Origin.


    Additionally, if successful, you will receive the following rewards:


    Automatic Transportation to your Planet of Origin at the End of the Tutorial, regardless of location or dimension.


    Two New Titles


    One Perk


    One Bonus Ability Slot ¨C Ability NOT included.


    New Master Rank Skill Crystal. The Skill will be Beneficial to your class


    New Master Rank Spell Book Crystal. The Spell will be beneficial to your class.


    Would you like to accept the Question Destroy Mistress Morena, Yes or No?


    Connor chose ¡°Yes.¡±


    Time resumed as Connor was teleported across dimensional boundaries for the second time in his life with the Skimmer.

 Chapter 9, A Mothers Wrath!

    Sam continued to practice with his sword form with Mr. Black, the name Mr. Black had chosen to give him. When they finally took a break, Sam sat on the edge of the plateau he was on. Below him was the main area where the slaves were processed before being separated and either used to fuel soul crystals or sent off through portals to locations unknown. The peoples of Earth were being farmed as resources, even him.


    As he drank water and munched on a piece of bread and cheese, Mr. Black walked over to talk with someone at the edge of the plateau. Sam looked back down onto the salve pens and saw one of the most beautiful women he¡¯d ever seen being wheeled in on a cart with six large panthers behind her. There was a seventh Panther that didn¡¯t look to be much larger than a house cat held by the scruff of its neck by an armored man. The small cat was obviously unconscious.


    ¡°Get them out here now!¡± the armored bellowed.


    Within a minute, seven young people, in finer attire than Sam had seen thus far emerged from one of the side tunnels. None of them could have been older than 12 or 13. The children rushed out and took positions next to each of the panthers as the slaves were led or dragged away. The oldest stood by the biggest cat, while the youngest stood in front of the man holding the kitten.


    ¡°Before you are seven uncommon beasts that your families paid for us to procure,¡± he said as he put the kitten down before the young girl in front of him, ¡°Pull out the crystal you were given, touch it to the panther in front of you and say the incantation you were taught the armed man said.


    Each teen pulled out their crystal, touched it to their panther, and as one, the children recited something that sounded a lot like Latin,


    ¡°Per hoc sacrificium mihi datum est¡±


    The crystals flashed and began to brighten as the panthers withered and turned to dust as Sam watched. Just as the panthers vanished, an inhuman scream came from the slave pens where the woman had been taken just before one of the cages exploded.


    ***


    Mistress Morena looked into the image projected from her Communication Crystal as one of her contacts and old friends in the Sect spoke to her.


    ¡°How are the acquisitions coming?¡± the Zanthen women asked through the communication device.


    ¡°You know exactly how they are coming, Kess; also, Still jealous,¡± Morena said.


    ¡°It is not my fault that the planet I come from makes a variation of humans with golden skin and aquamarine eyes as the standard evolutionary expression of our species. Besides, if memory serves, you know all my secrets?¡± Kess said with the hint of a smile.


    Morena smiled at their shared memories of a beach and the vacation they¡¯d shared when they were younger. ¡°While I would love to catch up on old times and even take you up on the offer, I called for an update.¡±


    Kess returned Morena¡¯s smile before she grew more serious, ¡°You should consider yourself lucky.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°90 percent of everyone at the primary staging area was killed?¡±


    ¡°What!¡± Morena exclaimed.


    ¡°You heard me. One of the mortal stabilizers was destroyed by something which also created a shockwave that translated up through the open portal into the staging area.¡±


    ¡°Wait, the ships were supposed to be shielded, and spread out?¡± Morena asked.


    ¡°They were, yes. Maxim¡¯s grandson wanted everyone close together to be able to coordinate across the globe more easily.¡±


    ¡°The planet should have been hit with an EMP to knock out whatever technology they had. Our reports don¡¯t show them having magic¡­How?¡±


    ¡°The report I¡¯ve received from a few of the ships that were able to survive in five of the six locations indicates that a ship outside of the field that disabled all the technology fired a kinetic weapon from orbit. The captain of that ship was able to report that they were able to destroy one of the craft that initiated the attack, but the damage was done. Some of our initial attack ships made it through their portals at the other five array points, but the primary fleet was crowded together, and the explosion from the Soul Catcher Array and the Earthling''s weapon in North America killed most of our ships.¡±


    Morena tapped her finger on her desk, ¡°Well, that explains why our timetable for the Tutorials was moved up. You do know that we were never meant to pick up people from tutorials that were full of actual threats. We expected to find the dregs that we missed during the initial invasion.¡±


    ¡°Morena, what are you getting at? All of your forces are Tier II or Uncommon if you use the old naming convention. They should be able to handle anyone from this new world with no issue?¡±


    ¡°Really? Then explain to me why I¡¯ve lost three Tier III Mages, twelve Tier II hunters, and three skimmers to one member of the tutorial?¡±


    ¡°Truly?¡± Kess asked.


    ¡°Truly.¡± Morena


    Just then, Morena received a notification that another Mage had died. She didn¡¯t recognize the name, but Elaine Daverack had been another one of their Rare Mages she¡¯d sent after the last Tutorial member in the first Tutorial Dimension they¡¯d raided.


    ¡°Kess, I need to cut this short; I just lost another Skimmer team led by Elaine Daverack,¡±


    ¡°Daverack? Shit!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recognize the name. Was she Important?¡± Morena asked


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know who her dad is, but you could say that she is important. Her father is one of Maxim¡¯s major supporters in the council,¡± Kess explained.


    ¡°Shit,¡± Morena agreed.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to keep a lid on this. You do know that the major families have a way to track their progenies'' welfare?¡±


    ¡°I do. Let me let you go so I can handle this personally,¡± Morena said.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± Kess said as her image vanished.


    Morena stood from her desk and headed to her information-gathering section. A short walk down the hall within their base led her to a room with the conveniences of a 20th-century office on Earth, except that electrical wiring wasn¡¯t a thing, the light and air conditioning were provided by magic, and the terminals that people were viewing weren¡¯t actually terminals. The images displayed were projected from a simple flat base with an embedded crystal that was linked to another crystal in another location. The receiver could receive multiple inputs from various recording crystals, which were embedded in the skimmers. The mages also had hand-held versions that they could use to contact them. A different operator off to the side and behind some sound-dampening spells took those calls.


    As she walked into the room, one of the images caught her attention, A man could be seen flying away as the skimmer chased him in a downward spiral. Off to the side, she could see a curtain of water falling beside the skimmer. She¡¯d seen that location before. A conduit between two levels of the Tutorial Domain, The Uncommon and the Rare levels.


    ¡°What is the Skimmer doing there?¡±


    The elven communications mage started and then answered, ¡°Mistress. This specific skimmer followed the target down the vertical shaft in the tutorial domain with the final tutorial participant. We¡¯re not sure what happened; it¡¯s coming up.¡±


    Morena watched the image that suddenly ended. The mage rewound the playback back by 10 seconds, and they watched it again.


    ¡°Did you check the other five skimmers with that one?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mistress,¡± the male elf said as he sent a mental command to the display base. The image changed and showed an image of a vehicle slightly off to the right of the center of the image. They watched as they continued down the shaft in a spiral until suddenly, the skimmer just stopped and turned into scrap.


    ¡°It looks like the skimmer slammed into something it couldn¡¯t see; a force wall, perhaps?¡± Morena offered.


    ¡°That was my thought as well, but the pieces of the skimmer dropped immediately,¡± the elf said.


    ¡°That¡¯s easy enough to explain. The collision did enough damage to break the barrier. If it had been a Tier I barrier, the skimmer could have survived, even a Tier II. So, whatever the skimmer hit was at least Tier III,¡± Morena mused.


    ¡°My thoughts as well, Mistress.¡±


    ¡°And the other five skimmers?¡±


    ¡°They are emerging from the vertical shaft now; the target has fled toward the mainland; they should have him back in their sights within the next couple of minutes.¡±


    ¡°Very well, let me know when they get him.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mistress.¡±


    Morena turned and started back toward the area. She needed to check in on the seven noble children. They¡¯d been lucky enough to capture seven Shadow Panthers in a different Tutorial Dimension. No one knew what they were doing in the common area, but one of her requirements would be met. Anything to offset the loss of four hunting parties would only help her when she had to make her report to Maxim.


    As she came out of the tunnel into the main slave area, one of the cages exploded. Morena went back into the tunnel, activated Stealth, and then double-checked that all of her defensive measures were still active. While she did that, something streaked from the cage, and in the time it took her to activate Stealth and check her defenses, the seven noble children were slaughtered. No, they were ripped apart.


    She¡¯d watched as a whirlwind went into their midst and, with a single swipe, ripped heads from shoulders, arms from sockets, and legs from torsos. Morena was barely able to keep up with the movements, and she was a Tier III warrior, thief, and mage. Morena cast another spell to beef up her defenses and then a spell she really didn¡¯t like to use because it sapped her life force. In that time, the devil of a woman had killed eight more of her personnel that had reacted and were trying to stop her. One had done a little better, but she¡¯d ripped him apart with two swipes of claws that extended from her hands and feet.


    Morena drew Soul Drinker, one of her unique treasures that absorbed the energy of her enemies. Before she stepped out, she verified that the thief they¡¯d captured earlier, Sam, was it. She made sure he was in the upper training area, and then she moved. Within 20 seconds, this woman had made her life tenuous. The only way forward for her now that might appease Maxim would be to capture this calamity or kill it. Her mind set on her new course, Morena moved.


    Morena blocked the next strike swipe and the next as she looked over her opponent. Her eyes had changed to those of a Panther¡¯s. Had this woman been bound to the Panthers? Then, her focus changed to prevent this woman from killing her. Each attack was bone-shattering and unique. She used her arms and legs as weapons with solid shadow claws projecting from the ends of her hands and feet. Additionally, Morena noticed that she was attacking more like a Panther or a lycanthrope in their hybrid form, even though she appeared to be a human woman, except for the claws.


    Morena took a chance and activated Identity.


    Elizabeth Henley


    Class: Claw Mother, Common


    Level: 20


    Hit Points: 211


    Stamina: 155


    Mana: 97


    Psychic Energy: 52


    Active Powers: Cat Reflexes, Shadow Claws, Wrath of the Claw Mother.


    Active Defenses: None


    Physical Damage Resistance: 1


    Every member of the tutorial was analyzed, and their information was recorded before they were brought to the staging area. The power her current opponent displayed had not been present in any report she¡¯d seen. Still, her class was only Tier I, so she should be able to be detained without needing to be killed. What Morena was seeing looked a lot like a berserker power, and like all berserker powers, it probably had a duration. How had she picked up the power, though? Had she been bonded to the Panthers? Had their death caused a spontaneous evolution? Whatever this Wrath of the Claw Mother was, it was a devastating power that no one wanted to be the target of. Morena¡¯s stamina was getting low, so she pulled out a Stamina Potion and downed it.


    Morena''s use of the stamina potion and inattention caught up to her as a swipe bypassed her armor and struck her magical defenses for 81 points of damage. Since the Armor spell she¡¯d cast on herself only stopped 100 points of damage, she knew she¡¯d been lucky. What was more worrying was the fact that her armor had done nothing to protect her. Even the parts of her armor that were magical. The Shadow Claws she was using were bypassing her armor and shredding her flesh here and there.


    Morena refocused on the battle before her and remained completely defensive as she parried each attack. A minute later, as her stamina started becoming scarce, she noticed that the girl''s eyes had come back into focus, and the number of attacks she was making slowed down considerably.


    ¡°And your back with us. Cease attacking now, and I may let you serve in my ranks.¡±


    ¡°FUCK YOU, BITCH, You killed my¡­


    Morena cut her off with a feint that forced the girl to dodge toward her left. Morena shifted to the girl''s right as she brought the blade of Soul Drinker against her neck and poked the dagger in her left hand into her back. Elizabeth Froze.


    Once frozen, Morena casually asked, ¡°You were say¡­.


    Just then, a loud crack filled the air as one of the skimmers appeared 100 feet above the clearing. Morena kept her hold on Elizabeth while she looked up to see that one of the skimmers had used the emergency recall rune. Morena looked up to see the man her reports said they were hunting in the first Tutorial Dimension she¡¯d raided. Her eyes met his from over 100 feet away. She recognized the look. It was the one she gave someone just before she killed them.


    ***


    Connor teleported with the Skimmer and appeared above a clearing filled with cages and people below him. As he quickly looked around, his eyes were drawn to a woman holding a dagger to a woman¡¯s back and a short sword up and across her throat. Two daggers would have been better. Then his mind caught up with what he was seeing, and he recognized Elizabeth Henley from College. Her eyes looked like she¡¯d been crying, and her clothes were splattered with blood. That¡¯s when he received his second shock. There were at least sixteen bodies scattered all around her on the ground.


    Connor¡¯s Eyes came back to Elizabeth, and the woman holding her then used Identity on her.


    Morena Darkspear


    Class Fighter, Rogue, Mage


    Level: 85


    Hit Points: 1,179


    Stamina: 1,482


    Mana: 1,098


    Psychic Energy: 998


    Active Powers: ???


    Active Defenses: ???


    Physical Damage Resistance: ???


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Well shit! Connor thought as he activated Stealth and flashed down within 10 feet of Elizabeth. He formed a Force Barrier around Elizabeth¡¯s body. The only places that weren¡¯t covered were the soles of her feet and where the two blades touched Elizabeth¡¯s body. Where the blade rested against her back and her neck, he wedged the Force Barrier right up against the blades as he invested 1,000 mana into the Force Barrier to ensure that the blades couldn¡¯t be pushed into her. Technically, the blades still touched Elizabeth¡¯s neck and back, but Morena shouldn¡¯t be able to push the dagger into her back or slice the sword across her neck.


    Just then, Uncanny Perception detected the person who had been on the plateau above the clearing who had looked to be watching that kid he¡¯d run into in the Tutorial. The kid, Sam was it, had activated Stealth and was hiding up there while it looked like the person that had been next to him had used some form of teleport or dimension door power to appear behind Connor and try for a backstab.


    Connor utilized one of the free dodges he received from his Dodge Skill to sidestep the attack while simultaneously grabbing the teleporter''s wrist and crushing it. Connor caught the blade with his left hand and guided it into the shocked throat of Morena at an upward angle. Yes, Morena had a lot of hit points, but a lesson that Connor was going to learn at that moment was that hit points were a gauge, not an absolute.


    Unknown to Connor, at least in that moment, Mr. Black had a very special dagger. While not an artifact, the blade was Tier III and had a few very special qualities. First, as a Tier III Weapon III, its durability was 300. Second, an enchantment had been placed on the blade to make it completely immune to magic. Just the blade. So, a strike up to the hilt could be made through any magical barrier, though it would be stopped at the hilt. The third and final thing about the dagger was that Mister Black kept one of the most toxic poisons ever discovered applied to the blade and only pulled it out when he absolutely wanted to kill someone.


    The blades in Morena¡¯s hands went slack, but Connor didn¡¯t trust it. With a yank, the dagger he¡¯d buried into the back of her throat exploded out through the front of her face.


    Mister Black, whose right wrist was being crushed and held by the man who killed Morena, only had a moment to realize what had happened before the man pivoted, dropped, and hurled him at a nearby wall with such force and surprise that he didn¡¯t have a chance to blink away. Mr. Black¡¯s head slammed into the rock wall, and he dropped to the ground unconscious.


    Connor watched dispassionately as the target of his quest started to fall forward dead. He reached out with his left hand and touched her as he dropped her body into his inventory, along with her sword, dagger, and the dagger he¡¯d taken from the man he¡¯d just tossed into a wall. While he did that, he expanded the force Barrier around Elizabeth and sealed it off so she¡¯d be safe for a few moments while he took in the surroundings. Connor was sure there had to be other members of these slavers here somewhere.


    As for the Notifications, he left them minimized for now; he wasn¡¯t in a safe location. On that note, Connor activated Stealth and flew up to the Plateau, where Sam was watching.


    ¡°Sam?¡± Conner asked from beside the kid.


    ¡°What? Where are you? I can¡¯t see you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it; when you upgrade your core, you¡¯ll be able to do the same thing, probably even to me with that Personal Shroud you have. For now, Did you take an Oath or anything like that that will require you to go after me or the woman down in the clearing I just helped?¡±


    ¡°What are you?¡± Sam asked with a bit of fear in his voice.


    ¡°Answer the question please.¡±


    ¡°No. No!. I tried to escape and they caught me. Mister Black, the guy you threw into the wall. He was testing me to see where I¡¯d fit in.¡±


    ¡°Okay then. Do you want to get back to Earth?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Sam said indignantly.


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll talk more later. Now, I want you to help. Take this,¡± Connor said as he pulled out Morena¡¯s shortsword and set it on the ground between them, where it became visible to Sam, ¡°Now pick up the sword and then use your Stealth to your advantage, strike and kill a single target, then move on.¡± Do not engage more than one target at a time. Your Stealth is strong, and only someone like me would be able to see through it.


    ¡°You want me to kill people?¡±


    ¡°Sam, we met because you tried, no, you did shoot me in the head. Kill every one of these slaver fuckers you see. Use that bitch¡¯s sword to do it. If you can bind it to you, Do so. I don¡¯t need it, or if I do, I can live without it. I¡¯m going to get Elizabeth, the girl downstairs, somewhere safe, and then I¡¯m going to help you. We are going to kill every slaver fuck int his camp. Every single one of them.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­Okay,¡± Sam said with a little bit of fright in his voice as he picked up the blade before his eyes lit up.


    Before Connor could say anything else, he noticed that Elizabeth had vanished from the Force Barrier he¡¯d placed her in. She appeared ten feet behind someone who had been moving up with a sword to poke at the bubble. Connor watched as she appeared, and black claws extended from her hands like the blades of Wolverine from the X-Men right before a double swipe lopped off his head.


    Just as Sam turned to leave, Connor said, ¡°Stay away from the woman I helped. She seems to be working something out right now in the form of¡­yep, there goes the second one. Just stay away from her until she calms down.¡±


    ¡°No issue there, Sam said as a grin appeared on his face. I saw what she did to the kids that killed those Panthers and the others that were nearby. I¡¯ll make sure to stay clear of her.¡±


    Connor watched Elizabeth for a full minute as she teleported and attacked guards who came for her. While he saw a bit of rage in her movements, he also realized that every attack was tactically sound. There was just something about her movements and the placement of her feet as she vanished and reappeared. It was absolutely impressive how easily she was killing people.


    He even took a moment to Identify her before and after an attack and noted that her mana regeneration must be at least ten because her Mana dropped to 87 whenever she blink-stepped but was back to 97 before she tried to blink step again. If she could get her mana regeneration higher or improve that skill or spell to Tier II she¡¯d probably be able to increase its range. Of course, the mana cost would probably go up, but that would give her versatility like he had. Unlike her, he was able to move so quickly and so far because his attributes were so high at this point.


    With Uncanny Perception and Eyes of Eris, Connor followed Sam¡¯s progress down into the base below him. Sam was systematic and brutal if just a little slower. In the same amount of time that Elizabeth killed six slavers, Sam only killed two. Now that he was sure they were both doing okay, he could take care of his needs.


    Connor checked to make sure Stealth was active and then toggled his Notifications.


    Congratulations! You have killed Morena Darkspear, a Level 85 Rare Mage.


    You Have Earn 285,000 XP


    Congratulations! You have reached, Level 57.


    Congratulations! You have found one Rare Ranked Tutorial Skill Crystals.


    Tutorial Skill Crystals may be utilized to teach you one of the following Skills or upgrade a Common or Uncommon version of the Skill to Rare Rank provided you have three Skill Slots available and your Core has been upgraded to Rare Rank.


    Skills Available:


    Identify (Rare):


    You may learn general information about any creatures within your range up to Rare Rank by focusing on them. Only one creature may be targeted at a time.


    Information Provided increases with Skill Rank:


    Common: Race, Rarity, and Level


    Uncommon: Hit Points


    Rare: Mana, Stamina, and Psychic Energy.


    Range:


    1 - 10 feet ¨C 10 Mana.


    11 ¨C 100 feet ¨C 100 Mana


    101 ¨C 1,000 feet ¨C 1,000 Mana


    Regardless of distance, information gained is based on the Rank of the Skill.


    Analyze (Rare) ¨C You may learn general information about any spells, runes or magical items within your range up to Rare Rank by focusing on them. Only one creature may be targeted at a time.


    Information Provided increases with Skill Rank:


    Common: Name of Item or Spell and Rarity


    Uncommon: Type of Magic and Damage or Healing capability.


    Rare: Resource Pool Cost to use, regardless of type: Hit Points, Stamina, Mana or Psychic Energy. If used on an item, how many charges are left within the item.


    Range / Cost


    1 - 10 feet ¨C 10 Mana.


    11 ¨C 100 feet ¨C 100 Mana


    101 ¨C 1,000 feet ¨C 1,000 Mana


    Regardless of distance, information gained is based on the Rank of the Skill.


    Dodge (Rare) ¨C Once per hour per rank (3 Times) at No cost, you can dodge any attack of equal or less Rank. Additionally, your normal chance to dodge is increased by one for every rank in this skill.


    Inventory (Rare) - You have been granted a dimensional storage area that may hold up to 1,000 slots worth of equipment.


    Each slot may hold up to 5 pounds of a single hand-sized item. Multiple Slots may be required for larger items. The number of slots required for any specific item is based on its weight.


    Items summoned from your Inventory will appear either in your hand or on the ground in front of you, as you desire.


    Regardless of the weight of the items you carry, they do not increase your weight.


    Eye of Eris, Rare ¨C Range: 1,000 Feet. This is a 360-degree spherical perception skill. You may now perceive everything within 10 feet of you. This Skill Negates all Levels of Stealth, though Incorporeal Opponents that are also invisible may not be detected.


    WARNING: Each rank of this skill multiplies the current range by 10. If any of the following attributes: Perception, Wisdom, and Intelligence are lower than the current range, you will suffer information overload and receive the debuff ¨C Distracted


    If any of the following attributes, Perception, Wisdom, or Intelligence, are lower than the current range by more than half, you will suffer information overload and receive both the debuffs: Distracted and Pain-Racked.


    To utilize the Tutorial Skill Crystals, you must have three Skill Slots available.


    Congratulations! You have found a Rare Tutorial Spell Book Crystal.


    Tutorial Spell Books may be utilized to teach you one of the following Rare Spells, provided you have three unused Spell Slots.


    Spells Available:


    Shield (Rare) ¨C Spend 1,000 mana to create an opaque shield in front of yourself that can take 1,000 points of damage. This shield can be placed anywhere within 10 feet of yourself, so it can be used to stop other attacks as well. The Shield does not move. A shield may be cast multiple times and will persist for one minute after casting. This skill will allow you to identify monsters and their levels.


    Force Dagger (Rare) ¨C Spend 1,000 mana and create a dagger of force that will last for three full minutes. Base damage: 3. Durability is 300. The Force Dagger will persist until durability reaches zero or three minutes have passed. The Dagger can be thrown but must be retrieved.


    Magical Bolt (Rare)¨C Spend 1,000 mana and create an Arcane bolt of energy that inflicts 600 points of damage on any target within 1,000 feet. The spell ¡°Shield¡± will not block this attack. The spell ¡°Armor¡± reduces the damage caused by this attack. This spell does not miss its intended target.


    Light (Rare) ¨C Spend 10 mana and create an orb of light within 1,000 feet. The Orb of light will generate illumination equivalent to a 100-watt light bulb. This orb of light will persist for 1,000 hours.


    Armor (Rare) ¨C Spend 1,000 mana and create magical armor on yourself or someone else within 10 feet. This armor reduces all physical damage directed at you by 1,000 for 1 minute. The armor moves with the caster. Additionally, this spell may only be cast once on any target. Recasting before the spell expires resets the duration to 1 minute.


    Congratulations! You have Completed the Quest, Destroy Mistress Morena


    Rewards:


    Congratulations! You have unlocked One Bonus Ability Slot.


    Congratulations! You have received the New Master Rank Skill Crystal ¨C Malleable Spells.


    This is a skill; It may not be taught, transferred, or acquired by another. Spells created by this skill can not be inscribed into a spell book or learned by another. The unique way this skill creates spells precludes their use by anyone else save yourself or a Creature of Chaos.


    Spells are typically acquired through discovery or training.


    Not for you.


    With this skill, you may focus on their intent and modify their skills as needed. To acquire a new spell, you must rest and focus on the outcome you desire for one minute. If the outcome you desire is possible, the SYSTEM will assign a Rank to the spell and attempt to add it to your Grimoire.


    If Spell Slots are unavailable or the SYSTEM determines that the desired effect is impossible, The attempt fails.


    If Spell Slots are available, the Spell Slots are allocated, and the Spell is added to your Grimoire.


    The Mana Cost for this skill is based on the rank of the Spell sought.


    Common: 10 Mana


    Uncommon: 100 Mana


    Rare: 1,000 Mana


    Advanced: 10,000 Mana


    Master: 100,000 Mana.


    This Skill cannot create spells above Master Rank.


    Note: If the Spell sought is known to the individual and already exists within the SYSTEM, the Mana cost is reduced to 10% of the listed cost.


    Amount of rest required to use skill: 1 Minute


    Amount of time to create a new Spell: 1 Minute


    Congratulations, you have discovered the Master Rank Spell Book Crystal ¡°Force Daggers of Throwing.¡±


    Cost: 1,000 Mana


    At will, the caster can draw 100 Rare Ranked Force Daggers and throw them one at a time. The Spell creates the dagger as desired. The ability to call forth the force daggers will last 100,000 minutes (69.44 days), until 100 daggers have been drawn and thrown, the spell is dispelled, or the spell is canceled.


    Each Dagger has a durability of 300.


    Once Thrown, a dagger dissipates at the end of the next Combat Turn.


    Connor stopped for a moment, took the time to use the Master Rank Spell Book Crystal, and then Cast Force Daggers of Throwing. This spell was a game-changer for him. He checked the clearing below really quickly; Elizabeth was still going at it. It had only been about five minutes, but she was still going strong. At the edge of his perception, he saw a couple of groups that she might have some problems with, but it would be at least another couple of minutes before he needed to help out. Sam had taken out 15 people in the facility below and was going strong. Connor went back to his notifications.


    Congratulations! You have earned the Perk ¡°Intellect of Eris.¡± This perk allows you to utilize Eyes of Eris as if it were one rank lower than it is.


    Congratulations! You have earned the title ¡°Karma Collector I.¡± You have completed a quest given by the SYSTEM for the death of an individual who had earned more than one hundred thousand negative Karmic Luck. Let this serve as a warning that, eventually, debts will be collected¡ª+10 to all Attributes and all resource pool regeneration. This bonus includes +10 for both your Order and Chaos Attribute.


    Congratulations! You have earned the Title ¡°Sect Assassin I.¡±


    You have accepted a quest from the SYSTEM to assassinate a high-ranking member of a SYSTEM Recognized Sect. +10 to all Attributes. The SYSTEM guarantees that you¡¯ll need them once people learn of this title: Good Hunting!


    Finally, for defeating Mistress Morena, you will automatically be transported to your Planet of Origin at the End of the Tutorial.


    Time Remaining: 27 Days,12 Hours, 15 Minutes, 34 Seconds


    Connor finished reading the Notifications as he added another Skill Slot to Eyes of Eris and increased it to Advanced Rank, which increased the sphere of Perception to 10,000 feet. That was about 500 feet shy of two miles. The headache he expected never appeared. Intelligence of Eris was a hell of a perk!


    Still, it took Connor a moment to sort through all of the information he was receiving. When he came back to himself, Mr. Black had moved deeper into the facility below him to a large cave that was just over 1,000 feet down. It was just a bit further than someone with the Rare version of Eyes of Eris could detect.


    Shit! Mr. Black was trying to make his way to a portal where crates, cages, and skimmers were driving through to another place. If he made it back and reported, that could be very bad for Connor. It was a simple matter for him to find the person controlling the portal. He had no idea how it was powered or how to turn it off, but he did see one man sitting there with a look of concentration near a glowing crystal that the man was touching. Connor pulled the dagger he¡¯d killed Morena with from his inventory and then rushed into the complex and down into the depths of the facility until he reached the shaft that dropped into the cavern. Three Seconds later, he shoved the dagger into the back of the mage¡¯s head and stabbed him twice more before he fled back toward the shaft.


    Connor had reached the mage before the person he¡¯d taken the dagger from made it to the portal, though he¡¯d been really close to the portal when Connor killed the mage controlling it. Though he wasn¡¯t dead yet, Connor watched as the mage began to glow, and the portal flickered like a TV changing its channels randomly. Ironically, the first flicker happened just as Mr. Black stepped up to the portal. Through the portal, a red-orange landscape of mountains and lava with creatures that Connor could only describe as demons appeared.


    Knowing the throw wouldn¡¯t kill the rare, classed warrior, Connor willed one of the daggers into his hand and tossed it with his full strength. Mr. Black had a shield; it blocked the damage, and instinct ground into Mr. Black''s psyche took over as he rolled forward through the portal into the landscape just before the image flicked away.


    Next, Connor created a Force Barrier around himself for 1,000 mana as the intensity of the magic bursting through the mage he¡¯d stabbed brightened until he was blinded. He blew 1,000 mana to place one more Force Barrier within the one he¡¯d just created as he was blinded.


    The Mage exploded.


    Everything within the cavern was destroyed. Luckily, the shaft wasn¡¯t directly over where the mage had died. The facility above only received minor damage on the lowest floor. Sam and the other above were fine.


    Connor, on the other hand, had been very lucky. If he¡¯d only had one barrier up, he¡¯d have died for sure. As it was, the blast destroyed the first barrier and two-thirds of the second barrier.


    Eyes of Eris allowed him to see that the Cavern was now empty, except for him. Since it looked like he needed to let his eyes heal, he toggled his notifications and paused.


    You have received 10,453 new notifications. Would you like to sort and prioritize them before viewing them? Yes or No?

 Chapter 10, Reunion, of a Sort?

    Elizabeth woke to a pain unlike any she had ever felt before. Seven spikes of agony shot through her soul as she felt like seven things that she couldn¡¯t describe were being ripped away from her. Liza received multiple Notifications in that instant and an influx of energy, so much so that it rippled space-time around her as a bubble of power flexed around her. The energy did not affect the people around her, but the slave collars, clothes, and the cage that held her were destroyed. Liza and the two slaves with her were left standing nude on the floor of a cage that was no longer a cage.


    As she looked around, not even worried about being nude, One Notification that flashed by a moment ago caught up with her mind, and she remembered what it said.


    ¡°Jesra Thayne has killed Claw Member Rene.¡±


    Liza¡¯s mind began to crack as a thought crossed her mind. She hadn¡¯t even known her sisters for a day before these monsters killed them! Rene had been a baby, you little shit¡­


    Liza moved to the closest slaver before she finished that thought.


    SLASH!


    Congratulations! You have Killed Jesra Thayne, Uncommon Cleric, Level 4


    10,400 XP Earned


    Reward:


    Do not fucking Congratulate or Reward me! Liza thought as the crystal the little shit had been holding fell to the ground and was quickly shattered with the stomp of her foot. She felt her sister¡¯s soul release and flow into and through her before it left this plain of existence. A sense of righteous gratitude added to her soul as her sister moved on to the next life.


    As her eyes took in her surroundings and the other six people holding glowing crystals, another Notification of her failure flooded her memory.


    ¡°Brey¡¯an Jes¡¯ron has killed Claw Member Rowan¡±


    These fucking monsters deserved every sing ounce of pain I can give them!


    CRUNCH!


    You have Killed Brey¡¯an Jes¡¯ron, Uncommon Fighter, Level 5


    10,500 XP Earned


    Like before, Liza shattered the Soul Crystal holding her sister, and she was flooded with gratitude and a sense of righteous anger that added to what she¡¯d already received. Her purpose solidified into a need to destroy those who had done this to her sisters as another Notification appeared.


    ¡°Krillian Krooper has killed Claw member Rose.¡±


    I am going to rip every single one of their souls out!


    SWIPE, RIP!


    You have Killed Jesra Thayne, Uncommon Fighter, Level 3


    10,500 XP Earned


    You have Earned Level 11


    Tears streamed from her eyes as she killed every person holding a crystal that carried the souls of her sisters. She also made sure to shatter those crystals. Her purpose to punish and destroy built upon itself with each released soul. How did she know who held her sisters? Her vision had lit up tethers of pearlescent energy that reached from her to the seven gems held by the little shits standing over the corpses of the slain Shadow Panthers.


    Liza paid only enough attention to get the nobles'' names. She would remember the last names of every one of these fuckers. Next, she commanded the SYSTEM to show her only the names and, finally, only the levels that she was gaining as she went through the Nobles and then the nine slaver guards who tried to stop her.


    You have Killed Krillian Krooper¡­


    You have earned Level 12.


    You have killed Jasmine Daverack¡­


    You have earned Level 13.


    You have killed Liam Hendren¡­


    You have earned Level 14.


    You have killed Oliver Agnor¡­


    You have killed William Erickson¡­


    You have earned Level 15.


    Liza did notice one weird thing. In the time it took her to kill the seven noble teenagers and one guard, no one had responded. They were all moving as if in molasses. The same was true for the next eight soldiers she killed


    You have earned Level 16


    You have earned Level 17


    ~


    You have earned Level 20


    As she started to get into a rhythm and began to look around, a woman with raven black hair and emerald green eyes dressed in a combination of leather armor and lacey black materials that hung and flowed from the leather pieces to make her look like some nerds¡¯ fantasy female crush appeared before her,


    ¡°And you¡¯re back with us. Cease attacking now, and I may let you serve in my ranks.¡±


    Not quite settled, Liza''s anger flared as she yelled, ¡°FUCK YOU, BITCH, You killed my¡­


    Liza was interrupted as the woman lunged at her, which caused her to react. The attack was a masterful feint. Her attacker seemed to be trained and much faster than her, and before she knew it, Liza suddenly had a sword across her neck and the tip of a dagger above her kidney. The women started to say, ¡°You were say¡­.¡± As a ship appeared above them, Liza looked up with her eyes and saw¡­Connor? Was that Connor from school? Just before he vanished.


    Liza felt a field envelop her entire body as someone popped into existence five feet in front of her. She watched as a dagger was thrust forward into empty air toward her, and then the impossible happened. The hand holding the dagger was crushed at the wrist, causing the dagger to drop out of the new attacker''s hand as the dagger vanished.


    Liza heard the Woman behind her say, ¡°What a waste,¡± as she watched her draw the blade across her neck. She felt nothing as she watched with her peripheral vision as the woman froze, gurgled, and then her face exploded, though she couldn¡¯t see what had caused it. A moment later, the new attacker, still held by his hand, was picked up like a ragdoll and hurled into a nearby wall with a loud THWAP. He came to rest on the ground and lay there in a heap.


    Even as she wondered, "What the hell is going on?" Liza felt the field around her expand away from her skin and into a bubble. As that happened, the Notifications she had disregarded began flooding her vision as if they were trying to show her something.


    Will to the Claw Mother from Bella:


    Strength, Agility, Endurance, Constitution, Luck, and Running speed +10.


    Perception, Willpower, Hit Points, Hit Point Regeneration, Stamina, Stamina Regeneration, Mana, Mana Regeneration, Psychic Energy, and Psychic Energy Regeneration +1.


    Liza read over the next six messages, which were the same. Each member of the claw had gifted her as they passed on into the next life. Then, the notifications that she¡¯d minimized when they had been killed scrolled through her vision.


    Warning!


    The influx of energy from seven Uncommon Shadow Panther Soul Gifts while possessing a Common Rank Core has permanently changed you.


    Shadow Panther Core Affinity achieved.


    Core upgraded to Uncommon, 100% Shadow Panther Affinity.


    Uncommon Core Upgrade 60% Complete. 60% Shadow Panter Affinity.


    Uncommon Core 60% complete toward an upgrade to Rare Core.


    NOTE: Class and Evolution must also be Upgraded to Uncommon before Core can be upgraded to Rare.


    Shadow Panter Evolution Affinity achieved.


    Evolution upgraded to Shadow Panther Divergent Uncommon Evolution.


    Warning! Racial Evolutions that are divergent from your original race will permanently change you.


    Congratulations! You have gained the Perk ¡°Cat Reflexes.¡±


    Having absorbed the will of a Shadow Panther Claw, You gain +10 Strength, Endurance, and Agility. You are also highly sure-footed on ledges and branches.


    Congratulations! You have gained the Perk ¡°Shadow Panther Affinity.¡±


    Shadow Panthers, upon meeting you, will automatically treat you as if you are one of their siblings or Claw, provided you treat them in kind. Attacking a Shadow Panther negates this Perk concerning that specific Shadow Panther until amends are made.


    Congratulations! You have gained the Perk ¡°Shadow Claws.¡±


    Claws of shadows extend from your hands and feet just like the claws of a Shadow Panther. These claws can be used to climb and attack others. All Attacks with these claws receive +2 to Hit and +2 to Damage


    Congratulations! You have gained the Perk ¡°Wrath of the Claw Mother.¡±


    To protect or avenge her Claw, the Claw Mother can draw on the power of the Claw and burst forth with explosive force and power. Once activated, this Perk will last a number of Combat Turns equal to the number of Claws that have sacrificed themselves for the Claw as well as any current member of the Claw. The Claw mother may make a number of attacks equal to the number of Claw Bonus Perks she carries plus the number of current Claws. Each attack carries a +10 to Attack and +10 to damage and bypass all nonmagical armor as well as any armor that is not made out of Light or Fire. No extra attacks may be made while under the influence of wrath, but there is no Stamina cost for each attack as they are fueled by the spiritual remnants and the link she carries with other members of the Claw.


    This Perk may only be activated once per number of days that the perk will activate for.


    Current Use Rate / Number of Attacks / Duration: Once per 8 Days / 8 / 8 Combat Turns.


    You have earned the Perk, ¡°Shadow Affinity, Common.¡±


    You have an affinity to Shadow Magic. All Darkness Based Magic (Including Shadow Magic) Damage is reduced by 10. Additionally, Any spells or perks may be used as if they were one rank lower than they are. For example, the skill Shadow Step at Uncommon Rank normally costs 100 mana to move 100 feet. Someone with this Rank of Shadow Affinity can Step 100 feet for a cost of 10 mana.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Uncommon Skill ¡°Shadow Step.¡±


    At Common Rank, you can instantaneously teleport between two points through the Shadow Plane. Shadows are not required to utilize this skill. Powers that block dimensional travel will block this skill. This is considered movement and does not require an action to activate. Range 100 feet. Mana Cost: 10


    2 of 4 Skill Two Skill Slots Allocated.


    As Liza read, she understood why everything was dying. She hadn¡¯t even realized that she was using Shadow Claws. They had just felt like a natural extension of her. As she considered this, Liza looked around and saw other guards moving toward her, which began to fuel her anger.


    Congratulations! You have earned the title ¡°Rage Rider I.¡±


    You have ridden the wave of unbridled rage and come out on top. With the help of your Claw sisters, you have learned to control the rage, not let it control you. When enraged, you will no longer lose control. Berserk and Frenzy status conditions no longer cause you to lose control. Additionally, while enraged, all attacks receive +10 to damage.


    As rage filled her mind, the tears leaking from her eyes slowed and then stopped. Liza smirked and activated Shadow Walk for the first time to appear directly behind one of her would-be attackers. Before he could turn, his head was lopped off by a double swipe with her Shadow Claws. This was going to be fun.


    For the next five minutes, Liza would Shadow Step behind a target, lop off their head and then move on to her next target. While she wasn¡¯t watching her Status Screen, she was aware that her Stamina and Mana Regeneration kept up with her attack sequence without issue.


    As Wrath of the Claw Mother subsided and her attack rate slowed, she became more cognizant of her actions as she continued to kill slavers all over the clearing. Suddenly, the ground below her feet rumbled as new Notifications filled her vision.


    You have received 10,453 new notifications. Would you like to sort and prioritize them before viewing them? Yes or No?


    Liza chose ¡°Yes.¡± As she activated, Stealth and Shadow Stepped to the Plateau above the clearing, where she pulled up her notifications.


    Congratulations! Your party has killed 4,191 Level 1 Common humans.


    Congratulations! Your party has killed 2,861 Level 2 Common humans.


    Congratulations! Your Party has killed 1,881 Level 3 Common humans.


    Congratulations! Your Party has killed 1,023 Level 4 Common humans.


    Congratulations! Your Party has killed 209 Level 1 Uncommon Minotaur.


    Congratulations! Your Party has killed 143 Level 2Uncommon Minotaurs


    Congratulations! Your Party has killed 94 Level 3 Uncommon Minotaurs


    Congratulations! Your Party has killed 51 Level 4 Uncommon Minotaurs.


    What the hell? When did she join a party?


    ***


    Sam found a place to hole up for a moment while he opened his Status Screen and checked the Notifications he¡¯d just received. He¡¯d been moving through the base, killing anyone that was off by themselves and did not have a slave collar on them, well, except for the cooks. He wasn¡¯t sure if they were slavers or slaves, but they made food for everyone. He wasn¡¯t going to mess with them unless he had to. In the last seven minutes, he¡¯d killed 21 people with Soul Drinker, the sword that Connor guy had given him. The first skill he¡¯d picked up with a Tutorial Crystal was Analyze, so he could see what was up with the sword.


    Soul Drinker


    ` Advanced Short Sword


    Durability 400 of 400


    +4 to hit / +4 to damage


    All Kills feed the sword, which regenerates the Durability by an amount equal to the damage done.


    Additionally, durability can be sacrificed to add damage to the target if backstabbed successfully.


    For example, the wielder could sacrifice 300 points of durability to inflict 300 points of damage. If the attack is successful, the damage inflicted will replenish the durability up to the total damage inflicted. If the target only has 50 Hit Points, it only returns 50 durability for a net loss of 250 durability.


    If the attack fails, the durability is lost.


    Durability can be replenished through combat and corpse absorption. One point of Durability can be replenished by planting the blade in a corpse. One durability is returned to the blade per full 50 pounds of the corpse. Soul Drinker can absorb four points of durability per Combat Turn in this manner. When finished with a corpse, all that is left is a dried-out corpse.


    Sam defaulted to adding 100 points of durability to each backstab he performed. That turned out to be more than enough. Every person he killed had between 215 and 330 hit points. With his Backstab multiplier from his Rogue Class, each of his attacks from Stealth inflicted 336 points of damage and returned the 100 durability he¡¯d sacrificed for the attack and then some. If he¡¯d been utilizing a normal dagger, he¡¯d have had no chance against these Uncommon Slavers. With Soul Drinker, though, he moved quietly from target to target and left their bodies behind. Of course, he checked them for loot, but his Inventory skill only had 10 slots at Common rank.


    Sam found a quiet room with no one in it and sat down to look through the notifications he¡¯d received. There was a Notification informing him that his Core had upgraded to Uncommon rank. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what that meant. He¡¯d received that notification after the 10<sup>th</sup> kill notification. There was a second Notification that also stated that he could improve his Evolution to Uncommon, which he accepted. He wasn¡¯t sure what an evolution upgrade was or how they worked, but if he had to earn it, it must be good, right?


    Finally, he received two Uncommon Skill Crystals, which were deposited into his inventory. One was for Uncommon Identify.  The other Skill Crystal was for the Uncommon rank of the skill Inventory. Sam saw that, pulled it out of his current inventory, and activated it.


    Prerequisites Met: Core is at Uncommon Rank


    Would you like to use this Skill Crystal to learn or upgrade the Inventory Skill to Uncommon for two Skill Slots, one Skill Slot if you already possess skill Inventory, Common, Yes or No?


    Sam checked his available Skills Slots, saw that he had three Skill Slots available, and chose ¡°Yes.¡±


    You have upgraded the skill Inventory to Uncommon Rank


    You have been granted a dimensional storage area that may hold up to 100 slots worth of equipment.


    Each slot may hold up to 5 pounds of a single hand-sized item. Multiple Slots may be required for larger items. The number of slots required for any specific item is based on its weight.


    Items summoned from your Inventory will appear either in your hand or on the ground in front of you, as you desire.


    Regardless of the weight of the items you carry, they do not increase your weight.


    He wasn¡¯t going to go back and grab everything from the bodies he¡¯d left behind, but now he could at least pick up a few more things. As he considered this, his mind exploded with Notifications, which he auto-sorted and then ignored. Except for the fact that he had been added to a party and that he was now level 63, which was crazy. What the hell was going on?


    ***


    Just before the explosion, Connor added Elizabeth and Sam to his Party. It was a last-second thought that the SYSTEM honored, as the experience he received was divided by three. He probably could have received more than ten levels, but that was fine. Helping Elizabeth and Sam so they could help others seemed like a good plan. He wasn¡¯t quite sure why he¡¯d added Sam, but he¡¯d just felt that it was the right thing to do. Helping Elizabeth had been a no-brainer.


    While he was still blind from the explosion, a timer had been added to the Blind debuff in his vision. He had about two minutes left. Also, his skill Eyes of Eris seemed to work just fine. Of course, floating in an empty cave while his mana regenerated and his eyes healed from a blinding flash gave him a little bit of time to think. Connor pulled up the information on Eyes of Eris.


    Eyes of Eris


    Range: 10,000 Feet. This is a 360-degree spherical perception skill. You may now perceive everything within 10,000 feet of you. This Skill Negates all Levels of Stealth, though Incorporeal Opponents that are also invisible may not be detected.


    If any of the following attributes: Perception, Wisdom, and Intelligence are lower than 10,000, you will suffer information overload and receive the debuff ¨C Distracted.


    If any of the following attributes, Perception, Wisdom, or Intelligence, are lower than 5,000, you will suffer information overload and receive both the debuffs: Distracted and Pain-Racked.


    His Perk Intellect of Eris really was a game changer. The skill and the perk gave him an insight into the difference in power between each rank. That power variance had to be logarithmic. It also seemed like people would have to pick or earn perks and skills that would allow them to focus and use the higher-ranked skills and spells. If he¡¯d only attained Rare rank, there was no way he could have had the attributes needed for Eyes of Eris to function at Advanced, let alone Master Rank. The Perk, Intellect of Eris did let him utilize the skill at Advanced Rank. Maybe there was a way to upgrade that Perk so he could improve Eyes of Eris to Master Rank.


    Connor was beginning to see that the class Unfettered was both a blessing and a curse. He wouldn¡¯t be able to focus his attributes so that he could utilize specific skills before other skills, nor would he receive the class-specific skills. Of course, he had a skill that allowed him to create skills and another skill that let him create spells, but if form followed function, if he created a Master level spell and its costs increased logarithmically, it would require 100,000 mana to cast. Connor pulled up a truncated version of his information from his Status and reviewed his Resource Pools, Regeneration rates, and attributes.


    Hit Points: 2,800


    -Health Regeneration: 40


    Stamina: 3,834


    -Stamina Regeneration: 1,347


    Mana: 3,352


    -Mana Regeneration: 160


    Psychic Energy: 3,352


    -Psychic Regeneration: 198


    Strength: 1,317


    Agility: 1,327


    Dexterity: 1,327


    Endurance: 1,317


    Constitution: 1,327


    Perception: 1,317


    Intelligence: 1,317


    Wisdom: 1,327


    Willpower: 1,690


    Charisma: 1,317


    Luck: 1,327


    Connor thought about how he could try to cast a spell that required 100,000 mana. Maybe there were magic items that could act as batteries, and then he thought about what had happened in the Cavern he was floating in. There were definitely magical items and tools that could hold that much mana. Could there be a skill that did the same thing?


    Even if some skills and items could hold and channel that much mana, it would still take him about one hour and forty-four minutes to create that much mana with his regeneration rate. But if a Master ranked spell did 100,000 points of damage¡­damn.


    As Connor¡¯s eyesight returned, he thought about how lucky he¡¯d been that the item anchoring the portal only did 5,000 points of damage to his Force Barriers. One hundred thousand points of damage would have vaporized him. That meant that someday, he would be able to use spells that could vaporize others. However, it looked like the SYSTEM put some severe limits on any one person getting that much power before they were ready for it.


    Force Daggers of Throwing was a Master level spell. It lasted for 100,000 hours but only cost 1,000 mana, which seemed to be the amount of mana it would cost to create an item with a durability of 300, which the force daggers had. It looked like there was a structure for how the mana cost and damage of spells were figured out. He could almost comprehend how the SYSTEM required a sacrifice in one area to allow the maximum rating for a specific Rank. Force Daggers of Throwing maximized Duration, which required him to sacrifice durability.


    Force Daggers of Throwing, in particular, was really good for him because it allowed him to draw and throw a dagger instead of having to cast and then throw the dagger on his following action. Before he¡¯d received the spell, he''d been throwing five daggers every combat turn. Now, he could throw ten. Also, because their durability was 300, he could put his full strength into the throw and inflict a minimum of 136 points of damage.


    Connor blinked rapidly to clear his eyes. Next, he made sure Stealth was active, and then he flew up into the lower levels of the base. He quickly made his way to the clearing where Elizabeth had stopped killing slavers. She¡¯d walked over to a barrel of water, drawn some out with a cup, and was rinsing herself off. He checked the immediate area. The only people still moving were some people running down an escape tunnel. He couldn¡¯t tell exactly where Sam was but tracked him by the trail of dead bodies he was leaving.


    Connor landed 50 feet from Elizabeth on the other side of the barrel from her and deactivated Stealth. He waited until she looked up, noticed him and then dumped more water over her head.


    ¡°You okay, Elizabeth?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°First, just call me Liza. Elizabeth died with my sisters. As for your question, No, I¡¯m not alright.¡±


    Connor noticed that Sam had appeared and was about to exit the entrance to the tunnels into the base in the mesa, ¡°Liza then. A man is about to step out of the tunnel behind me. The man is from Earth, like us. Please don¡¯t kill him on sight.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. Connor, is it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me.¡±


    Just then, Sam stepped out of the Tunnel.


    Connor looked at Sam as he asked, ¡°Is there a reason you didn¡¯t have your Stealth active when you stepped out?¡±


    Sam looked at Connor with a look that conveyed just how stupid he thought the question was, ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot. I already came up and took a peak, then backed down a little so I wouldn¡¯t startle the two of you. While you seem to be pretty powerful, your friend is on a whole other level of ¡®Do not piss off¡¯¡±


    Liza looked over at Sam and was about to argue when Sam cocked his head and then made a sweeping gesture to all the dead bodies lying around. Liza froze for a moment and looked around again. Her expression changed to a smirk, and then she just nodded.


    ¡°Now that we have the who is the bigger and scarier person out of the three of us figured out, do either of you know what happened below, and why did I just get so much experience?¡±


    ¡°Liza turned back to the water basin and rinsed her hands off as she said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me; I didn¡¯t kill that many people¡­What I meant to say is I didn¡¯t kill over 10,000 creatures in one attack.¡±


    ¡°It was me,¡± Connor admitted. ¡°There was a staging cavern below us. I killed the mage that was controlling the portals, and he and it exploded.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Sam said.


    ¡°What about the rest of the slavers up here?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re running away,¡± Connor and Liza said together.


    ¡°Okay, so what do we do now?¡± Sam asked, quickly adding, ¡°And while I appreciate the view, might I suggest, Liza, that you put on some clothes?¡±


    Liza blushed slightly, then casually walked over to the area where the slavers were handed togas. She picked up a couple, which she stored in her inventory as she put one on before she came back over. While she did this, Connor continued.


    ¡°Now, we release the slaves so they can help us, and then we try to find all of you a way back to Earth.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Sam said, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go back?


    ¡°At the end of 30 days, I¡¯ll return automatically. It was a reward for a quest for killing the leader of this place,¡±


    ¡°Quest?¡± Liza said questioningly.


    Connor proceeded to tell them about the first quest he¡¯d received back in his Tutorial. As he did so, he went around to each of the cages and opened them. The locks were made out of a soft metal, which he snapped with a simple yank. Sam and Liza walked with him and listened as he went about freeing the slaves. Once released, the three of them removed the slave collars. Sam then let them know that there was a place to get food in the caves under the mesa. Most went for the other food. Other more practical people went over to the stacked weapons and armor and equipped themselves after they removed their Slave collars.


    ¡°You seem to be adapting to this relatively quickly, ¡°Sam said, which was more of a question than a statement.


    ¡°Yeah, before the Tutorial kicked off, I¡¯d already been affected by the SYSTEM, so while I still don¡¯t know how this all works, I¡¯ve had more time to adapt. Besides, if we don¡¯t adapt, we die, right?¡±


    Connor was about to continue when he detected a portal opening nearby and watched a glowing red gem appear behind a row of crates near the stack of equipment before the hand withdrew and the portal closed.


    ***


    Kess Hendren watched through her scrying crystal as the human, Connor, was it?, explained to his two friends how he¡¯d received a SYSTEM-sanctioned quest to kill Mistress Morena. The SYSTEM had issued an assassination quest against her former friend and lover. What had she done to piss the SYSTEM off that bad? She hadn¡¯t done anything more heinous than anyone else in the Sect, which meant her Sect had pissed the SYSTEM off¡­Shit!


    There was nothing she could do about that now, so she focused on what Connor was saying and watched the other two as well. Kess had seen the report concerning Sam. He had some new ability that prevented anyone of the same rank or lower from detecting him. The Girl, Liza, was an unknown, but she had decimated Tier I and Tier II assets with little effort. And then there was this Connor character. The way he was talking about what happened on Earth¡­it was almost like he was there when the blast that destroyed their invasion fleet had gone off, or he had something to do with it.


    Kess couldn¡¯t Identify Connor through her scrying crystal. Still, she¡¯d been around long enough to know that if the SYSTEM gave him even 10% of the credit for killing 4,000 Tier II assets, 1,000 Tier III Assets, 100 Tier IV Assets, and the three Tier V assets that had been destroyed on the Command ship, he¡¯d have enough experience to reach Tier IV, maybe even Tier V. Which meant that the only reasonable thing to do would be to kill him now before he was able to improve his Core and Evolution ranks.


    Kess summoned a glowing Opal from her Ring of Holding. The Opal of Destruction was an incredibly powerful Magical Item. At Master-rank, the Opal held 100,000 mana in a spell matrix that had been inscribed into the crystal. The material component and spell would take the mana, convert it into an elemental configuration, and release it on such a scale that everything within one mile would be obliterated. The mage that created it had claimed that when detonated, it would amplify the invested mana in such a way as to increase its destructive power at least threefold. He¡¯d also claimed that if the Opal was detonated at ground level, it would create a 100-foot diameter crater and vaporize anything within 1,000 feet. She had three of the powerful Opals that were to be used to cover the Sects tracks if a contract or job went sideways. This clusterfuck had gone sideways and was now spiraling out of control. It was time to cover those tracks.


    With a thought, Kess modified the target of the scrying crystal until she found an area that was just over 100 feet away from the three Earthlings, who were still talking. Kess focused on the location and cast her spell, Reach Far. Reach Far allowed her to open a hand-sized portal to any location she could see within range. In conjunction with the scrying crystal, she could see quite far, which made passing along information relatively easy for her. In this case, it made placing an item that would destroy her enemy and any evidence of her sect''s involvement very easy indeed.


    Kess passed her hand through the small portal and placed the Opal of Destruction on the ground as she gave the mental command to activate it. She withdrew her hand from the portal and ended her spell. Next, she altered the location of the scrying crystal to a point one mile above the target and waited. It should detonate within the next 30 seconds. The loss of resources would be devastating, but it would be better to destroy the three humans that could prove to be a liability later than have them become an issue later. As for all the slaves and personnel left at the base, including those that were running away from the monsters that had just killed their sect brothers and sisters? They had allowed her little brother to die at the hands of that Liza woman. Kess really wanted a personal crack at her, but business was business, and whether she ripped her heart out personally or reduced her to ash, she¡¯d still be dead. As for the members of the Sect, she was killing. If they¡¯d done their job, they should have been able to stop the three Earthlings or have died trying. She was making sure they met one of those two fates. Their weakness would soon be cleansed from the Sect.


    As she waited, she thought of her friend. She would miss Morena. Perhaps she was responding a little too harshly¡­ No, Morena had failed. She would not. That man Connor had left nothing but a ruined face on his friend. He would soon join her as no more than flakes of ash on the wind.


    A moment later, something zipped away from the ground, almost faster than she could see, as the image flashed and a shock wave expanded out in all directions. She saw the test footage that had been recovered from Earth of their technologically based nuclear tests. This looked like that. She couldn¡¯t tell if there was a mushroom cloud, but there was definitely a blast wave expanding away from the center of the explosion. Whatever the blast wave washed over was obliterated. As Notifications started to fill her vision, she deactivated the Scrying Crystal and smiled. There was no way that little shit outran that explosion. Even if Kess was pretty sure that had been him trying to get away right before the Opal of Destruction exploded, she was sure that he was dead. She¡¯d have confirmation in a moment. Kess opened her Notifications and began reading.

 Chapter 11, Hold On!

    Connor noticed the glowing jewel, and a spell from one of the Tabletop games he played came to mind: Delayed Blast Fireball. Except that the spell he was thinking about didn¡¯t require a gem, which meant it was an enchantment. While he didn¡¯t understand enchantments, he was pretty damn sure they could be more powerful than a cast spell and left or presented as traps.


    Connor wasn¡¯t even close to fully recovering from the blast underground when he activated Force Barrier and yelled, ¡°Hold On!¡± as he grabbed both Sam and Liza and started flying up and away from the clearing. With a thought, Connor expanded the Force Barrier Sphere he¡¯d created as he invested 1,000 mana to beef up its ability to soak damage. He¡¯d regenerated 1,000 mana in the last two minutes, so he still had just over 1,300 mana in reserve. While he beefed up the outer shell of the bubble so that it could take more damage, he solidified the inside of the bubble around each of their bodies so they became stuck like bugs in resin.


    The thing about having an intelligence that was at least 65 times higher than the maximum human normal of 20, if that was normal, was that placing the three of them inside a force bubble and then launching at three times the speed of sound before he knew about magic would have been bad. Maybe not as bad as the Enterprise going into warp without inertial dampeners bad, but pretty damn close. He was sure he¡¯d be fine because it was his flight power, and it seemed like things that should create enough G force to turn him to past didn¡¯t affect him but the other two. If they weren¡¯t supported, they were going to slam into the back of the force bubble at approximately 2,400 miles per hour.


    The placement of that glowing opal outside what they expected his detection range to be if he only had Eyes of Eris to Uncommon Rank, as well as how close to the center of the clearing it was, presented only two logical possibilities. First, they were going to wipe the clearing clean. Or the second possibility was that the detonation from that opal was going to wipe out the clearing, the mesa, and a large portion of the surrounding area.


    While the force bubble was solidifying, Connor shot off at approximately 800 miles per hour. This generated 30 ¡®g¡¯s, which would have caused most humans to black out. After one second, they were over 1,000 feet above the clearing and flying away. The next second, he increased his speed by 1,000 feet per second again, which brought him up to 3,000 feet away from the clearing. During the third second, Connor increased the speed yet again by 1,000 feet per second¡­


    Connor¡¯s thoughts were interrupted when the world exploded around him.


    ***


    Liza felt immobilized as every part of the front of her body tried to join every part of the back of her body as she accelerated forward at 30 ¡¯g¡¯s. She was just barely able to hold onto consciousness as she felt her bones creak. She couldn¡¯t move her arms or legs, and her lungs felt like they were being flattened against her back on the inside, which made it hard for her to breathe. This went on for almost three seconds before the world turned white, and the hair on the back of her neck rose a split second before searing heat began to burn her. Her new Shadow Panther Evolution kicked in, and instinct took over as she activated Shadow Step to try to get away.


    ***


    Unlike Connor or Liza, Sam was just along for the ride, or so he thought. He felt something solidify around him as the ¡®g¡¯ forces crushed him almost to the point of unconsciousness as they launched into the air away from the clearing. He fought for as long as he could, but just as he saw a bright light that seemed to flash from everywhere around him and felt the searing heat hit his back, Sam lost consciousness.


    ***


    Connor was the only one of the three still conscious when the Notifications appeared.


    Warning! Mana Saturation has reached 5,966.587112%


    Interconnected Dimensional Travel Activated within Spell Matrix¡­Absorbed


    Interconnected Personal Shroud active¡­Absorbed


    Unfettered Status active¡­Absorbed.


    ¡°Three as One¡± Title Gained.


    Three as one


    Due to an extreme influx of energy during a magical accident, active and passive powers have been imprinted upon you from adjacent and interconnected sources of mana.


    The class Unfettered has unlocked the ability Unfettered within you.


    Ability: Unfettered ¨C Temporal and Dimensional origin designations have been removed. You are unfettered within the SYSTEM. What this means exactly is for you to discover. Additionally, the class unfettered is now available at each rank to those who do not have the class, though it does not need to be chosen during class selection.


    You have gained the ability Personal Shroud.


    Ability: Personal Shroud


    Personal Shroud is a passive ability and is always active. When actively concealing yourself or using Stealth, it is much harder to detect you. Anyone trying to detect you must be at least two ranks higher than you. Also, you do not appear on mapping skills or spells. Additionally, for spells that scry, They must be at least two ranks higher than the rank of your Core to detect you.


    You have gained the Perk ¡°Shadow Affinity, Common¡± gain it.


    You have an affinity to Shadow Magic. All Darkness Based Magic (Including Shadow Magic) Damage is reduced by 10. Additionally, Any spells or perks may be used as if they were one rank lower than they are. For example, the skill Shadow Step at Uncommon Rank normally costs 100 mana to move 100 feet. Someone with this Rank of Shadow Affinity can Step 100 feet for a cost of 10 mana.


    You have gained the racial Skill ¡°Shadow Step.¡±


    Racial skills automatically level with the Core of the individual and do not require skill slots.


    Shadow Step...


    Error!


    Shadow Step attempt includes the entire connected Matrix


    Energy Influx has destabilized Matrix


    Unfettered Status has decoupled Temporal and Dimensional Location


    Unfettered Status reset to starting point


    Three as One has Decoupled. Individual entities reset to their origin point.


    Personal Shroud has taken effect.


    SYSTEM Connection Lost


    SYSTEM Connection Lost


    SYSTEM Connection Lost


    Connor felt the Force Barrier vanish around him, and Liza and Sam both vanished from his perception just before everything went black.


    Reality reconfigured around Connor. He was on a tiled floor when a man nearby called out, ¡°One more Push!¡±


    Another man called out, ¡°Who is that?¡±


    The woman who had first screamed called out, ¡°Security!¡±


    Connor had no idea what was going on, was still quite confused by what had happened, and had no idea where he was. What he did know was that until he figured this shit out, he didn¡¯t want to be detained.


    Connor activated Stealth, Flight, and Shadow Stepped straight up 1,000 feet where he found himself floating in the air above a hospital. He looked around and recognized the mountains around Tucson. Was this?


    Connor flew down to street level, where he could see the sign for the hospital, ¡°St. Mary¡¯s Hospital,¡± where he¡¯d been born. As that thought entered his mind, Connor heard someone call out, ¡°Congratulations to the Nash Family!¡± which automatically drew Connor¡¯s attention to an RV with two people sitting on top drinking a soda next to a third empty chair with a white robe laid over it. When he looked back at the two people, he recognized Sam and Liza. They were dressed differently, but it was them.


    Connor flew down, landed, and deactivated Stealth


    ¡°Thought that would get your attention,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Welcome back!¡± Liza said with a smirk. Then she said, ¡°Nice Ass!¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Connor said as he realized that almost the entire backside of his clothes was missing.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Connor asked as he grabbed the robe and put it on before hastily sitting in the third chair.


    ¡°Long version or short version?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Short version, long later,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Okay, short version. Whatever you did with that Force Bubble intermingled our powers, and we gained from one another. When the energy wave hit us, we all got shot back to the point where we were born. You¡¯re the last to arrive. That about it, Liza?¡±


    ¡°Well, except that you¡¯ve been here for more than a year and only picked me up a month ago,¡± Liza said


    ¡°Yeah, that also,¡± Sam agreed.


    ¡°How did you know where I¡¯d be?¡± Connor asked. ¡°Forget that; Liza knew where I was from and my last name. Sam, how did you know where to find Liza?¡±


    Sam smiled before he answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t. But, like she said, I¡¯ve had a year to acclimate to this time period. Do you want to know how hard it is to walk away with money and anything else you want when you have inventory skills and stealth? I may or may not be wanted in California, Nevada, and Arizona for grand theft¡­No, I definitely wanted it if they knew it was me,¡± Sam said with a grin.


    ¡°Besides, I didn¡¯t make it very hard to find me, did I, Sam?¡± Liza asked with a smile.


    ¡°At least you had the Stealth skill; if you hadn¡¯t, it would have been a bigger mess.¡±


    Sam looked at Connor, ¡°As I was about to say, when I arrived, my sudden arrival made the news. It took me a little while to figure out that I¡¯d been sent back to this time and place, so I escaped and tried to blend in. Sure, I took a few liberties and took a few items, but for the most part, I just hung out and waited. I didn¡¯t think I was older than you two, but now I know that I am because it was a year before Liza showed up. I was in Las Vegas, living off the strip, when there was a story of a woman appearing and disappearing in a hospital maternity ward here.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Yeah, it was a real shit show for me. I was naked, too. With Shadow Step and Stealth, I was able to stay off the radar while picking up some clothes and spending money for basic things from various convenience stores. I thought about going into a bank, but Sam arrived and found me before I tried,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°How did you find her? I saw the Notifications right before I passed out and appeared here. We should all have a Personal Shroud active, but with Stealth, we shouldn¡¯t be able to see each other. Well, I can see you two, but you shouldn¡¯t be able to see me or each other.


    ¡°Party Chat,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Party Chat?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Party Chat¡± There¡¯s a tab in our status title, ¡°Three as One.¡± We can message each other through it,¡± Liza explained.


    ¡°Connor opened his Status to a large pulsating Notification.


    SYSTEM Connection re-established during Pre-Integration. Some functionality may be unavailable. Please wait until SYSTEM Integration has been completed.


    Unfettered Status Recognized. Limited SYSTEM Link established.


    Mana Regeneration in Mana Deprived World is currently at 5%


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Connor exclaimed


    ¡°Oh yeah, those first Notifications sucked. Also, count yourself lucky; when I arrived, the Mana saturation was at .1%. It increased by 5% over the last year, so at least now we will get some mana back,¡± Sam explained.


    ¡°Did this affect anything else about us, attributes, skills, and such? Connor asked.


    ¡°Not as far as I can tell. I tested most of my other powers, and they all seem to work just fine,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Shit, so we really are before the SYSTEM Integration, and this is my literal Birthday. If that¡¯s all true, it¡¯ll be 22 years before the integration happens,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Looks that way. First things first, though. We need to get you inside and out of here, and then we need to discuss what we¡¯re going to do to get back,¡± Sam said as he stood and dropped down into the RV through a hatch in the roof. Liza handed him the lawn chairs and the cooler and then followed Sam down. Connor followed last.


    ¡°Some sweats and a T-shirt should fit on the back bed,¡± Liza said. We¡¯ll need to go shopping for you soon.


    Connor went to bed, transferred the remains of the clothing he wore into his Inventory, put on the sweats and T-shirts, and stored the robe in his inventory.


    ¡°So, is this our true timeline or an alternate one?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s asking if what we do will affect our past and, therefore, our future,¡± Sam answered.


    ¡°You mean like that Grandfather Paradox idea they talked about in physics?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Connor agreed. ¡°Have either of you noticed your memories changing or being changed?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t work like that, no matter how much Marvel wants it to,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yeah, Bruce¡¯s explanation of time travel was pretty pointless.¡± Connor agreed. ¡°Besides, if we are in the true past, all that¡¯s going to happen is that we¡¯re going to fuck something up. One or more of us won¡¯t be trying to get away from a huge explosion that forces me to wrap us in a bubble of force that links us all together somehow and then, because of my class and Sam¡¯s ability, decouple us from the timeline, to which the SYSTEM reset us. Then, because it didn¡¯t happen, the original timeline continues, and since our new selves don¡¯t go back in time when we did, None of the stuff we did to fuck up the timeline happens, and it continues as normal. There might be minor variations the second time through because, well, quantum theory, but we should travel back in time again, and we get a do-over as we start the cycle over.¡± Connor looked at the other two, ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but being caught in a time loop is not something I really want to do for all of eternity, not that I¡¯d know I was in a time loop, of course.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know; if we are unfettered, wouldn¡¯t we know when something wonky is going on with time around us,¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s neither here nor there,¡± Liza said, interrupting. ¡°Right now, a version of myself that is less than two months old is on the other side of town; Connor is in the hospital, and you¡¯re somewhere as a one-year-old. What are we going to do for the next 22 years until the integration. Because we know it¡¯s going to happen. In fact, it looks like it started right when Sam first appeared. Does anyone else see that as a coincidence, or like me, do you all think maybe we caused it?


    ¡°Well, there are a couple of things we can do. The first thing, though, is to limit our interactions with anything that¡¯s happening near where we lived in the past, I mean now, or around any events that we could accidentally change. Of course, I could try to create a skill or Spell that would allow us to get back to our time frame¡­¡±Connor started to say¡­.¡±


    Sam interrupted, ¡°Okay, I¡¯m completely on board with not changing anything. We¡¯ve all gained too much to want to go back to the way we were. If you can create skills and spells, how about a skill or spell that gets us back to the planet we were just on? Not in the future, right now?¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°It seems to me that the three of us now have a unique possibility to learn about the people that invaded Earth, which, as you explained, the SYSTEM didn¡¯t like. Well, they just tried to kill us. We¡¯re still around. Maybe we should use this as a chance to get some intelligence on our enemy and then strike right after whatever threw us into the past happened.


    ¡°What do we do about the people on Earth?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t too much we can do. Though¡­Connor, why are you handling all of these changes so easily. Aliens, the ability to fly, time travel,¡± Liza said as she moved her hands around expressively. ¡°I mean, when I figured out I was in the past, I felt so far out of my depth that if Sam hadn¡¯t been around, I¡¯m pretty sure I would have lost it.¡±


    Connor looked thoughtful for a moment, then he smiled, ¡°You remember how I was always reading online or listening to books?¡±


    ¡°Sure, you always had an earpiece in.¡±


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t do any web novels; that didn¡¯t come around until 2014, I think. But Audible exists. It was founded in 1995. We could write short stories, like the LitRPG novels that were out, just a different story so that we don¡¯t affect those stories. Anyway, those stories helped me keep the mindset that anything is possible. If that¡¯s true, then I need to accept what is and move on. Remember that one phrase from that book I showed you back in college, ¡°What is, is.¡± Damn, the author won¡¯t even publish that until 2017, I think. I always loved that story. Mom didn¡¯t like me reading it; she said I was too young, but I liked it.


    ¡°What, you were ten when you read that?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°Nah, I listened to it as an audiobook in 2018, but that¡¯s 11 years from now,¡± Connor said.


    Sam attempted to get the conversation back on track: ¡°So, how are we going to do this, then?¡±


    ¡° I think we are going to go to the other side of the world and make life very hard from some very bad men. While we''re doing that, we hone our combat skills, maybe see if we can find Liza more large cats to hang out with,¡± Connor offered.


    ¡°Pointless,¡± Liza interjected. I¡¯ve had about a month to get over the loss of the Claw sisters. That said, I can bring large cats into my Claw, but Shadow Panthers are my best choice.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I could summon one or teleport us to them?¡± Connor offered.


    Liza looked thoughtful, ¡°If you could do that, that would be great!¡± Liza said happily.


    ¡°If you can summon Shadow Panthers for her, can you find a way back to that planet? Maybe I can hook up with the enemy?¡± Sam offered.


    Connor clapped his hands. ¡°Definitely on the ¡®We will try list.¡¯ First, though, we have a few things we need to do. Sam, get us on the road to Vegas. We¡¯re going to need money. I am going to try to create some spells, which could take a while. Therefore, we need money to purchase a place where we can stay with minimal interruptions and distractions. For that, we need money.


    Sam moved into the driver''s seat while Liza sat in the passenger seat. Connor went to sit at the dining table and settled down. He quickly checked his resource pools. He was only regenerating eight mana every 10 seconds, which meant that if he needed to create a Master level spell, it would take him 35 hours to generate enough mana to do so. He needed something he could store mana in and then call on it later without needing to rely on his regeneration rate.


    Or, he needed to find the source of the SYSTEM Integration¡­.Connor froze and then said, ¡°Change of Plans! Head to Mount Kimball, which is the mountain over to the east on the north side of town from here. Right there,¡± Connor said, pointing out of the front window of the RV.


    ¡°Why?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°I think one of the locations where mana is being fed into the planet to fuel the integration is over there. I think it will have more mana from us.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t stop it?¡±


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t stop it, but I bet the ambient mana in the area is higher.¡±


    ¡°How do you know about that place?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°In 22 years, that is where one of the soul-catching devices is going to be,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re not sure, but it¡¯s the best guess you have.


    Yes.¡±


    ¡°I can respect that.¡±


    ¡°Keep heading that way along this road. I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Connor said as he activated Stealth and Flight and jumped up through the open hatch in the roof as Sam drove out of the hospital parking lot. Connor flew toward the mountain. It was about 10 miles from where he was to Mount Kimball. Also, this was the first time Eye¡¯s of Eris had been used in such a cluttered space, but he handled it fine. When he came with 10,000 feet of the mountain, however, things changed.


    Uncanny Perception has been activated.


    Directly in front of him on the mountaintop was the structure he¡¯d seen so long ago. Also, his mana regeneration shot right back to normal, almost two miles away from the mountain. Even more worrying, he could see creatures walking around a catwalk on the side of the structure that he was sure he hadn¡¯t seen before. Something that looked like a cross between a lizard and a human. He was also sure that he saw gnomes floating around the structure working on it. Gnomes? None of them had been there when he¡¯d seen the structure the first time back in the future.


    Connor slowed and pulled up his Status Screen. Then he backed up and watched his Mana Regeneration rates to see when they dropped off. Right when his ability to see the structure fell away, his Mana Regeneration fell off. Connor looked around and noticed that there were no houses in the area¡ªjust the path up to the top of the mountain.


    Connor made his way back to Liza and Sam. He landed inside the RV and deactivated his skills, ¡°Back.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Well, the structure is up there. It looks like it¡¯s still under construction.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything up there,¡± Liza said


    ¡°It¡¯s under a Concealment or Stealth field of some kind. It¡¯s there, and it has guards. We could probably go up there and do some damage, but I think that¡¯s a bad idea. Let¡¯s leave it alone and head to Las Vegas. We¡¯ll get some funds. Also, it¡¯ll give me an opportunity to find us a way back to that slaver planet. Some portals in the underground area led to other places. If we can get there, maybe we can get somewhere that will tell us how to get access to the Shadow Panther, just in case I can¡¯t. ¡°Sounds good to me, ¡° Liza said with a smile, ¡°More money means I can go shopping!¡±


    ¡°You know you''re playing into the stereotype,¡± Connor said


    Black claws extended from her right hand as she looked back at Connor, ¡°Would you like to see my claws up close and personal,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Are you flirting with me?¡± Connor asked as he clutched his heart. ¡°Hell must truly have frozen over.¡±


    ¡°Your such an ass,¡± Liza said with a smile.


    ¡°Yes, I can be. On a more serious note, at some point, I would like to take a look at your claws to see if I can copy them or create something to mimic them.


    ¡°Is that part of your Unfettered Class, ¡°Sam asked.


    ¡°It is, but it¡¯s not cheap,¡± Connor said. ¡°Hey will you two be alright if I go try to create a spell really quick?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll drive. Liza has the map,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Okay then, I¡¯m going to try to meditate in the back and create something to help us. I¡¯ll check on you two in a bit. Give me about five minutes.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°You got it,¡± Liza said as she pulled out a map and opened it.


    Connor went back to the bedroom, activated Force Barrier, and molded the barrier to strap him to the bed as he lay down, just in case Sam got them into an accident. He dropped into a meditative state relatively quickly and then activated Malleable Spells. He focused on something that would allow him to store mana with a specific focus on items like what he thought a mana battery would work like.


    When he was done, a minute later, Notifications appeared in his vision.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    Searching Spell Database


    Only spells of Core Rank or lower will be noted.


    Ritual: Mana Battery Creation, Common


    Ritual: Mana Battery Creation, Uncommon. Does not possess Prerequisite Spell


    Ritual: Mana Battery Creation, Rare. Does not possess Prerequisite Spell


    Ritual: Mana Battery Creation, Advanced. Does not possess Prerequisite Spell


    Ritual: Mana Battery Creation, Master. Does not possess Prerequisite Spell


    Ritual: Mana Battery Creation, Common


    Requirements to learn ritual.


    10 Mana


    One free Spell Slot.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Ritual: Mana Battery Creation, Common.


    Required Material: Chalk, salt, or blood, and any small-sized gem or quartz is acceptable.


    This ritual imparts the knowledge required to create a SYSTEM Linked Ritual Circle that is utilized to transform any small gem into a common Mana Battery.


    The Ritual requires 100 Mana, which is used to empower the ritual circle. Once complete, the gem is transformed into a Common Mana Battery, which can hold and discharge up to 10 Mana. There is a 10% chance per use that Mana drawn from the battery will cause the Mana Battery to turn to ash.


    Connor read the description, immediately meditated for another minute, and recast the Malleable Spell with the same focus. However, this time, he wanted an Uncommon Mana Battery ritual. When he was finished, he learned his second ritual in less than five minutes.


    Ritual: Mana Battery Creation, Uncommon


    Requirements to learn ritual.


    100 Mana


    Two free Spell Slots.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Ritual: Mana Battery Creation, Uncommon.


    Required Material: Chalk or blood and any medium-sized gem or quartz is acceptable.


    This ritual imparts the knowledge required to create a SYSTEM Linked Ritual Circle that is utilized to transform any small gem into a common Mana Battery.


    The Ritual requires 1,000 Mana, which may transfer into the ritual circle at any rate. Once complete, the gem is transformed into an Uncommon Mana Battery, which can hold and discharge up to 100 Mana. There is a 9% chance per use that Mana drawn from the battery will cause the Mana Battery to turn to ash.


    Connor released the Force Barrier, holding him down, and made his way back to the front of the RV just as they were getting onto the highway to head north toward Phoenix.


    Liza looked over at him as he walked up to the seat behind the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡±


    Connor smiled, ¡°Just as I thought, I can now create mana batteries, though I¡¯ll need to find some gems.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy enough; we can hit up the pawn shops on the strip once we get there after we acquire some money,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°What does a mana battery do?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°They¡¯ll allow me to store mana for later use, so I don¡¯t have to wait on mana regeneration to complete skills, spells, or rituals that take a lot of mana to cast.¡±


    ¡°Those sound really useful; how big can you make one?¡±


    Right now, I can make uncommon mana batteries that can hold up to 100 mana. I want to get the rare version, which will take 10,000 mana to learn. That one is going to take a while, 3.4 hours to be exact, with the slow mana regeneration we have going on,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°And that will hold?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°It¡¯ll hold 1,000 mana.¡±


    ¡°That size sounds like it would be extremely useful.¡±


    ¡°Extremely useful and highly deadly if it explodes while charged.


    ¡°How deadly?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°Can you take 1,000 points of damage?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°I have just over 500 hit points,¡± Liza said, ¡°So, no.¡±


    ¡°I have fewer hit points than Liza,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°So deadly,¡± Connor restated. I¡¯ll be working on learning that ritual for the next three and a half hours. If we stop, grab me a drink and some chips or something. If I get really hungry, I¡¯ll fly off and get something when I¡¯m done.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m going to head back to the back of the RV, lay down on the bed; see you in a few.¡±


    Connor made his way onto the bed, strapped himself down with Force Barrier again, and started working on learning the next Rare Rank of the Mana Battery ritual.

 Chapter 12, Highway Robbery, Not!

    ¡°So, how powerful do you think Connor is?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Powerful enough that even in the meditative state that he is in, he can probably hear us up here and in the front of the RV,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Sam admitted. ¡°How far are we from Vegas?¡±


    ¡°A little place called ¡°Nothing¡± is right up here on the east side of the road in about five miles, if this map is correct. From there, it¡¯s another one hundred and fifty miles.¡±


    ¡°Any idea how he¡¯s making those spells? It looks like he sits down and thinks about it,¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°No clue, but I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find out if we earn an Uncommon class and choose that as our second class.¡±


    ¡°Do you think you will?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The ability to create skills and spells would be nice, though,¡± Liza mused.


    ¡°Heads up! There¡¯s a barricade across the road up ahead.¡± Sam called out as he pointed at the road ahead.


    Liza looked up from the map and saw three cars stopped on the road, a moving truck parked off to the side of the road, and a group of men moving from car to car. They weren''t officers; they looked more like someone they¡¯d see on the news out of Mexico.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s the cartel or a gang getting people to take across the border,¡± Sam said.


    Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and one of the people who had been pulled from their car fell forward. The RV was still about 200 feet back from the stopped cars when he pulled to the side of the road and stopped. He whispered, ¡°Sniper,¡± and vanished. Liza heard the light pop as Sam activated Shadow Step. A moment later, the windshield shattered as a bullet hit the seat where Sam had just been sitting as the driver side of the windshield shattered. At that moment, a man broke the passenger door window with the butt of his shotgun.


    This was the point where the highway robbers would have scared the pretty girl who had just had the driver beside her killed. She¡¯d be more malleable, in shock, and unable to react. ¡°Yeah, that wasn¡¯t going to happen,¡± Liza thought dryly.


    With a thought, Liza activated Shadow Step and appeared directly behind the man who had struck the window beside where she¡¯d just been sitting. She did a flat palm strike into his back. A loud crack was issued from inside his back and chest as blood exploded from his mouth into the passenger and driver¡¯s seats of the RV.


    ¡°Shit,¡± was all Liza had time to say before she activated and Shadow Step again to a point 20 feet off to the side of the road behind a low bush that would hopefully mask the sight of any dirt she might kick up. She was still over 100 feet away from the other cars, and the sniper that had shot at Sam was on top of the moving truck.


    Liza only had 278 mana, and her mana regeneration was shit right now at only one point every two Combat Turns, so she had to be careful with how much mana she used. Still, she could get into position and wait for Sam to make his move.


    Two Shadow Steps later, she was on the other side of the picket line the robbers had created, with one on each side of her 10 feet in front of her. Counting the man whose chest she crushed, there were only six robbers. Three men lay dead on the side of the road where they¡¯d been pulled from their vehicles. Two men sat in the truck, while two men with rifles sat behind the barricade that was blocking the road. They had their rifles trained on the RV, though neither had fired yet.


    Her Party Chat pinged,


    Sam: On the truck, taking Sniper, be ready.


    By the barricade, Ready, Liza sent back.


    Liza extended her Shadow Claws and waited. When she heard ¡°PFFT¡± followed by another ¡°PFFT¡± in quick succession, she struck out simultaneously into the chests of each man. The one on the left took the strike under the right arm, which was bent while he held his rifle. The robber on the right took the claws under his left arm, which was bracing the rifle he held. In one fluid motion, she stabbed out and brought both of her arms upwards.


    The strike that killed the man that had been beside the road, waiting right where they¡¯d stopped, should have clued her in that her strength was a little bit over the top. When her motion with the claws entered the two robbers'' chests and then turned them into minced meat as they sprayed blood, guts, and brains everywhere, including onto her, it really brought the point home.


    ¡°Double Shit!¡± Liza exclaimed as she became visible.


    Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the man in the driver''s seat of the truck pull a pistol and aim it at her. The truck was over 200 feet away from her. She¡¯d seen Sam drop off the top of the moving truck when he¡¯d appeared after putting two bullets in the head of the sniper. Sam would take care of the passenger, she was sure. It was up to her to take out the driver.


    Luckily, she was fast. In a second, she was at the truck door. Her left hand hit and pinned the driver''s gun hand to the ceiling while her right hand extended her claws through his neck. She¡¯d had a month to get over being squeamish about killing people. Also, while these assholes weren¡¯t slavers, they were obviously human traffickers. They deserved what they got. They were trying to pull this shit three hours north of where she¡¯d been born just a month ago. If they didn¡¯t jump back in the future, she was going to talk to Connor about heading into Mexico and ending this shit permanently.


    From the other side of the truck, she hears Sam say, ¡°Okay, dipshit, who do you work for?¡±


    Liza retracted her claws. He was already unconscious and would be dead in a moment. Good riddance. Liza reached past the driver and grabbed the keys out of the ignition. Sure, enough, the key to the padlock on the rollup door was on the key ring. She walked back to the back of the truck and rolled up the loading door. The back had 10 people, all women, and girls, in the back.


    Just then, she felt a presence filled with rage come up and land softly behind her, ¡°Just me, Liza,¡± Connor said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing within 10,000 feet except desert creatures. Get them out of the truck. I¡¯m going to run up the road and find a phone to call the police. Where are we at?


    ¡°We¡¯re about four miles south of Nothing Arizona. There isn¡¯t much there on the map, maybe a gas station,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Four miles? I¡¯ll be back in about two minutes after I talk to Sam.¡± Connor said.


    Liza watched as Connor walked around the side of the truck. She heard him tell Sam, ¡°Don¡¯t kill him, I¡¯ll be back in a minute,¡± before there was a ¡°WHOSH,¡± and dust drifted up into the sky. Liza looked at the terrified people and asked them to come on out.


    ***


    Connor had finished creating the spell Mana Battery, Rare, and woke up to an empty RV stopped on the side of the road. He¡¯d immediately seen what was going on with Eyes of Eris, but now he knew that while he was making spells and probably skills, he wouldn¡¯t be able to watch over his surroundings as well. At least not at the moment. He had a memory of what had happened, but while he was focused on creating the spell, it hadn¡¯t entered his conscious mind. That was really good information to know about creating skills and spells going forward.


    He''d flown over and landed behind Liza, talked to Sam before he¡¯d killed the last highway robber, and then run north. He should be able to do four miles in about 20 seconds. Of course, that required him to break the sound barrier, which he did after erecting a simple wedged-shaped force barrier in front of him. He only invested five mana into the small barrier because creating that Rare Ritual had reduced him to 200 mana. He¡¯d kept just enough to allow him Shadow Step if he needed to. Of course, for him, activating Stealth and just moving 100 feet in a second cost a lot less mana.


    Connor made sure Stealth was active as he ran north. As he came within range of Nothing Arizona, his perception picked up a car and semi-truck with a trailer sitting next to four call boxes. It was 11 a.m. in October in Arizona. So, while it wasn¡¯t freezing, it wasn¡¯t warm. Connor could tell that the people in the trailer of the semi were sweating. The four people in the car were just sitting there listening to the radio while the two in the semi-cab did the same. With the two vehicles parked beside each other, it wasn¡¯t even going to be close to a fair fight.


    As Connor continued toward the parked vehicles, he cast Force Dagger for 10 mana into his right hand. The Force Dagger would only last one minute, but honestly, he shouldn¡¯t need it for more than one Combat Turn. His spell Force Daggers of Throwing would have to be recast, which he didn¡¯t have the mana for right now.


    The six men died without knowing what had killed them within five seconds. Connor¡¯s status showed that he could make up to twelve attacks for 1,050 stamina. Even with the mana saturation at only 5% normal, his Stamina seemed to regenerate normally. Since his stamina regeneration was 1,347 every combat Turn, stamina wasn¡¯t going to be an issue. He could keep up this rate of attack for quite a while if he wanted to. Since his Stealth didn¡¯t break when he attacked, the six men died without even seeing what killed them.


    Connor didn¡¯t waste energy or time. He used a precise thrust of the Force Dagger into each man''s brain stem, being careful not to put too much strength into each thrust. When each man lay slumped in their seat, he quickly checked his Notifications.


    You have killed an Unclassed Human, Level 3, and 30 XP awarded.


    You have killed an Unclassed Human, Level 5, 50 XP awarded


    You have killed an Unclassed Human, Level 7, 70 XP awarded


    You have killed an Unclassed Human, Level 3 30 XP awarded


    You have killed an Unclassed Human, Level 9, 90 XP awarded


    You have killed an Unclassed Human, Level 10, 100 XP awarded


    He closed his Notifications and tried to place each body into his inventory so he could loot and dispose of them later. That¡¯s when he learned that what kept him from being able to put a corpse into his Inventory immediately was whether the soul had released their hold on the body or not. Four of the soldiers went into his Inventory immediately; two corpses did not. The bodies had ceased to function, but his Uncanny Perception let him know that the souls of the two had not let go yet.


    He''d give it another minute.


    Connor went over to one of the Call boxes and dialed 911.


    ¡°911, What is your Emergency?¡±


    ¡°Multiple deaths and a semi-trailer filled with abducted individuals. Send help now to this location, which is four miles south of this call box on I 93. Also, send food and water¡­Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°Sir, who am I talking to¡­¡±


    Connor left the phone off the hook, then drew a 357 magnum he¡¯d taken off one of the corpses from his Inventory and fired it toward the hillside off to the west side of the road three times.


    ¡°Sir! Are you Okay, Sir!¡±


    Yep, that should stir the hornet''s nest. Connor went over and put the last two corpses into his Inventory, then searched for the car and Semi-Cab. Everything, including the keys to both the truck and the car, went into his Inventory. There wasn¡¯t much, but there was a go-bag with some cash, guns, and extra ammo in the trunk of the car. As for the Semi-Cab, not much was in it either, though Eyes of Eris let him find the safe and open it with little effort. Inside it, he found a couple of stacks of hundred-dollar bills. One thing he learned at that moment was that he knew exactly how many bills were in each stack. He had two stacks that contained 50 bills each, or $10,000.


    When he finished, he had only been there for a minute. Before he left, he went to the back of the truck, yanked the padlock to the back door, and opened the door. He was still under Stealth, so the people didn¡¯t see him as he ran back south.


    Connor was back with Sam and Liza in two minutes; he¡¯d been gone for about six minutes. As he arrived, he went to the body next to the RV and put it in his Inventory, then the body on top of the RV, the two in the truck cap, and the two that¡­Damn, what a mess, he thought as he placed the last two bodies that Liza¡¯s claws had shredded in his Inventory.


    Liza had kept the survivors in the back of the truck while the two of them had kept watch. Connor dropped Stealth as he walked up so as not to startle Sam or Liza.


    ¡°Your back?¡± Liza called.


    ¡°Yeah, cops have been called. They¡¯re on their way.


    ¡°What are we going to do about the RV?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Is it going to lead back to you?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°No, which is to say it will show up as stolen when the cops get here.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh,¡± Connor said as he pulled the map out of the RV and double-checked it, ¡°Stay Stealthed, and head north. We¡¯ll meet at the Hoover Damn. Do either of you need some water?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Me Too,¡± Sam said. ¡°Is there a reason you¡¯re not flying us there?¡±.


    ¡°Yeah, I need to get my mana back. It took a lot to create that third ritual. While Stealth might protect us from cameras and even radar, I think if I make a big bubble and fly it at speed, the radars in the area might pick it up. Not sure, but I think so.¡± Connor said as he pulled out three full waterskins for each of them and handed them over, ¡°Three waterskins take up one slot in your Inventory. I had twenty water skins; now I have fourteen.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, ¡° Liza said before she took a drink and looked thoughtfully at Connor, ¡°Exactly how big is your Inventory?¡±


    ¡°I can hold a lot in it,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Okay, keep your secrets,¡± Liza said as she cocked her head, ¡°I hear a chopper getting closer.¡±


    ¡°Me Too,¡± Sam said


    ¡°I hear it, but it¡¯s still more than two miles away. The sound must be reflecting off the hills and mountains. Regardless, that should be our cue to get out of here,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Meet you at Hoover Damn,¡± Sam said as the three of them vanished and began running north.


    ***


    FBI Agent Matthew Wood slowed and came to a stop behind a parked police car. Fifty feet in front of where he came to a halt, he could see forensics personnel standing off to the right, taking photos of the passenger side of the RV. About 200 feet in front of the RV, he could see a roadblock that was being swarmed with all kinds of personnel who were taking photos of the area. Off to the right was a small group of people taking pictures of the ground. From where he was, he couldn¡¯t see anything, but he was sure that¡¯s where the bodies of the dead had been thrown.


    Agent Wood walked past the RV to the Sheriff, who was standing next to the Police tape that had been put up across the road. Agent Wood looked around to make sure. Yep. They were an hour and a half north of Phoenix in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. Why the fuck did they put up Police Tape?


    As he came up to the police tape, the Sheriff lifted it for him to walk under. Once Agent Wood was on his side of the tape the Sheriff introduced himself, ¡°I¡¯m Sheriff Jason Collins. Did you have a good drive north?¡±


    ¡°It was pleasant,¡± Agent Wood said, though he didn¡¯t really like to waste time with pleasantries, ¡°How long have you all been on site?¡±


    The Sheriff nodded as he led Agent Wood back toward the barricade as he talked, ¡°We had a chopper crew verify the information received by the operators within fifteen minutes of the call. They did a quick flyby of here and up north at the call boxes. We found survivors in both locations. Some dead, too, though the dead up north have been there for more than a day. Everyone here was killed within the last twelve hours.¡±


    ¡°And the attackers? Or the person that called it in?¡±


    ¡°We have evidence in both locations of people that were killed, but it¡¯s really weird. My forensics guys say that it looks like there were dead bodies, and then they were gone. There is no change in any of the evidence to indicate that the bodies were moved. The blood isn¡¯t smeared. Where there¡¯s dust, and there¡¯s dust everywhere out here, nothing was disturbed. It¡¯s like they were just vaporized or disintegrated, although if that did occur, there¡¯s no extra dust to indicate that happened either,¡± Sheriff Collins explained.


    ¡°What are they looking at,¡± Agent Wood asked as he pointed to the passenger side of the RV.


    ¡°One of the missing attackers was crushed with such force that he spewed blood, guts, and bones into the passenger and driver''s seat.¡±


    ¡°What now?¡± Agent Wood asked.


    ¡°One of my best forensics techs, who likes science fiction just a little too much, said it looked like someone that had superhuman strength punched him hard enough to deform the door, crush his chest, and force everything out of his mouth and nose.¡±


    ¡°What did he show you to prove his point?¡± Agent Wood asked.


    ¡°In the door, there is a specific area that is approximately hand-sized that is slightly deeper than the rest of the deformation. He also said the body fell to the ground, but like all of the others, it just vanished.¡± Sheriff Collins said.


    ¡°So what happened?¡±


    ¡°As far as we can tell, it looks like a group of men, six as far as we can tell from the blood patterns, set up an ambush point until the RV arrived. Then, the men who had stopped and killed the men and old women from the other cars tried to take out the occupants of this RV. That¡¯s the other thing. There is a bullet hole in the windshield in front of the driver¡¯s seat. It didn¡¯t hit anything, and as far as we can tell, but someone was sitting in the seat, and then they weren¡¯t. In fact, the seatbelt is still connected. The shot was taken from on top of the moving van, though the guy that was up there was definitely killed before he also disappeared.¡±


    ¡°And the survivors, what do they say,¡± Agent Wood asked.


    ¡°It was a roadblock. The men they saw all reminded them of gang or cartel types, but they couldn¡¯t remember what they looked like. I should say that the descriptions are so varied that they are useless. As for the people who saved them, there were three people: two men and a woman. We did get pretty good descriptions from them for those three.


    ¡°And you, what do you think happened?¡± Agent Wood asked.


    ¡°It was probably the cartels, though this is a little too far north for their normal activity.¡±


    Agent Wood nodded, ¡°My thoughts mirror yours. I¡¯m going to take a quick look around and then head North to check what happened up there. Do you need anything?¡±


    ¡°Nah, we¡¯ve got it. We should be able to take down the blockade in the next 30 minutes or so. With no bodies besides the victims that the survivors have already identified, we¡¯re almost to the point of just cleaning up as is.¡±


    Agent Wood nodded and walked around to get a first-hand look at things but didn¡¯t talk to anyone else. As he viewed each location where an attacker died, he could see what the Sheriff meant. The guy on top of the truck had been shot and bled out, but the blood stains hadn¡¯t been smeared when he was moved. There was blood and guts in a circle around where the two people at the barricade had been standing, but no sign that anything had moved through the circle of blood; that was just weird. There was blood in the driver¡¯s seat of the moving truck that had been used to hold the survivors. The passenger had been executed at point-blank range, which had splattered his brains against the back of the cap, but again, there were no signs that the bodies had been moved from where they must have slumped in their seats other than that they were gone.


    Agent Wood walked back to his car and drove North. Thirty minutes later, he headed back to Phoenix. This was honestly the weirdest shit that he had ever seen. He thought about what he¡¯d seen while he drove back to Phoenix. When he was thirty minutes out, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number he¡¯d been required to memorize. The person who had briefed him had been as vague as possible but made sure to give them some pretty solid examples of what to look for. Feats of Strength and items missing from where they could easily be found, without seeming to be moved where two of the items had been mentioned.


    ¡°Yes?¡± A voice asked on the other end of the connection.


    ¡°Evidence of what I was told to look for has been documented 150 miles north of Phoenix near Nothing Arizona..¡±


    ¡°Thank You,¡± the male voice said before the line went dead.


    Agent Wood put the phone down and put it out of his mind. That was the other instruction that had been part of that briefing. Once notified, the conversation never happened, and they would look into it from there. It was still early. He¡¯d stop by the office and file his ¡°official¡± report, and then he might be able to get out of the office early today. Maybe he could hook up with that Nurse again.


    ***


    Veliron put the phone down. It was interesting to receive a call at this late stage in the project. It had been a simple thing for the Sect to infiltrate this world''s governments and get the Soul Collecting facilities in place and built. After all, the Sect invested a phenomenal amount of resources. Since these earthlings responded to money so easily, it had been laughable to subvert the government and specific agency personnel in the governments they needed to with their ¡°dollars.¡± Which were worthless in the greater multiverse.


    He''d been on this planet for the last 10 years, and today, after the facilities were phased out to wait for SYSTEM Integration, he received this call. If a mana fluctuation or a random monster was spawning, it was more than 200 miles north of where he was. Nope, he was going to pretend like the call never came in. Send everyone back through the portal and then put this facility in stasis until it is time to activate it.


    Veliron looked at a clock. It was just after noon local time. It was time. He reached over and taped a crystal on his desk. Instantly, red crystals attached to every wall began blinking. Veliron stood and walked over to the portal room. He could see that almost everyone was there. After a quick headcount, only two were missing. He mentally linked to the security of the facility and saw that the last two gnomes were heading toward the portal room. Then he remembered they¡¯d been fixing one of the regulators that had basically blown, like a fuse, earlier when there¡¯d been a surge.


    He turned back to the gathering, ¡°All right, people settle down. Yes, it¡¯s time to head home. The portal will open in about 30 seconds. After it does, I want to see an orderly progression through the portal. Once on the other side, Turn in your identification for this facility to get your pay. We shouldn¡¯t have to come back here for a while, so enjoy your time off. However, be aware that the Sect might need your services again as we move into the final stages of this project. Remember, ¡°Hard Work for Good Pay is the Malicore Sects way!


    Veliron watched as the portal opened and the workers made their way through. The other reason he hadn¡¯t wanted to investigate the report he¡¯d just received was because his facility personnel were the last to go home. Everyone else on the planet had already left. It would be at least 20 years before his Sect made it back. The reports he¡¯d seen said the Integration could happen anywhere from 20 to 25 years from now.


    Veliron watched the portal close and then headed up to the control center. The only person left in the facility was him. It was his duty to activate the spell that would move the facility into an adjacent dimension, which would wait until the integration and invasion began. Then he¡¯d be back, and all the work he¡¯d put in would pay off.


    Because he¡¯d been in charge of setting it up, he would receive a flat 10% of the profits. He¡¯d been assured that, at the bare minimum, he¡¯d receive the resources required to reach Tier III even if the facility produced nothing. Ten years of his life for a Core and Evolution upgrade, as well as enough monster cores to level his class up to the minimum for the next Tier? Yeah, the last 10 years and the 20-year wait would be totally worth it.


    Without hesitation, Veliron activated the Phasing Array. The facility, with him in it, winked out of the physical universe and entered an eternal darkness. He checked the readouts and settings. He made sure the facility could still detect the ambient mana levels of Earth and that the Phasing Array would turn off the area when the Ambient Mana reached 100% globally. When he was satisfied everything was in order, he pulled his Personal Recall Crystal out of his Inventory. Once activated, it would teleport him back to headquarters. He looked around one last time, activated the crystal, and vanished.


    ***


    Connor arrived at the Hoover Damn two hours after he¡¯d left Nowhere. He¡¯d considered slowing down but decided to make a very weak Force Barrier in front of himself and cruised along at about 150 miles per hour. The simple wedge kept the wind off of him as he ran down the road at almost 200 miles per hour.


    When he came to a stop on the Hoover Damn, he was pleasantly surprised when a Notification popped up.


    Mana Saturation in the local area has increased to 100%


    Mana Regeneration has returned to normal while in this area.


    Connor checked his status,


    Seriously?


    Nice!


    He made sure Stealth was still active, and it was. Next, he activated Shadow Step and appeared on top of the cliff right above the Exhibits building on the west side of the damn. He could have flown up, but he didn¡¯t want to press his luck quite yet. Stealth was supposed to prevent him from being recorded, but that might not be accurate. So he used Shadow Step and looked around the cliff he found himself on. There was a small shaded area back away from the cliff. The damn was well within his range, so he¡¯d detect the other two when they arrived.


    Now, though, his Mana Regeneration was back to 160 every 10 seconds. In the two hours it had taken him to get here, he¡¯d almost emptied his Mana Pool. Now, though, he could keep Stealth active and regenerate his Mana pool completely in under five minutes. While he waited for Sam and Liza, he could work on creating a couple more spells or skills. That meant that, if needed, he could make a rare spell or skill in about 12 minutes. An Advanced skill or ability would take almost two hours, however.


    His first idea for a new skill was to find a way to dispose of the bodies in his inventory and maybe convert them into Mana or something. Maybe a separate skill called Incinerator or something? If he could get mana from corpses, he could use the bodies of his enemy to fuel their destruction. Maybe the SYSTEM had something like that? Connor dropped into mediation for a minute and then activated Malleable Skills; in 12 minutes, he¡¯d have his answer.

 Chapter 13, Misdirection and Bait?

    Eleven minutes later, Connor was pleasantly surprised when a new skill became available.


    Congratulations!


    You have learned the Skill, Mana Composter.


    Mana Composter


    Rank: Rare


    Skill Slots: 3


    You have been granted a dimensional storage area that may hold up to 1,000 slots worth of organic matter. When organic material is placed within Mana Composter with inorganic matter attached to it, the inorganic materials are automatically transferred to your Inventory. If there is no room in your inventory, the organic material will be rejected.


    Each slot of this specialized Inventory may hold up to 5 pounds of organic nonliving biomass, be it animal or plant. The number of slots required for any specific item is based on its weight.


    Biomass is broken down at a rate of 10 pounds per Combat Turn. The process generates one point of mana for every eight pounds of biomass. The mana generated from this process is collected in a 1,000-point Reserve Mana Pool. When the Reserve Pool is full, the biomass is held until the Reserve Mana Pool is used, and then the process continues.


    Unlike a normal Inventory, once biomass is placed within the Mana Composter, it cannot be removed. For all intents and purposes, the Skill Mana composter opens an extradimensional storage location outside of the influence of your Soul. Biomass can be placed within, but only mana can be drawn out.


    NOTE: Being cut off from dimensional travel or extra-dimensional spaces will shut down your ability to draw mana from your Mana Reserve Pool. As soon as the interference is removed, the link is re-established automatically.


    Additionally, nothing with a Soul may be placed within a Mana Composter. No, undead may not be tossed into the Inventory created by this skill.


    Connor read over the new skill and then checked to see if Malleable Skills would allow him to increase the rank of the skill or if this was one of those skills that couldn¡¯t be increased. When he received a reply to his inquiry, he smiled.


    Would You like to Increase the Rank of your Skill Mana Composter from Rare to Advanced or Master Rank?


    Connor considered the question for a minute. He had twelve dead bodies in his inventory, which is currently taking up 523 inventory slots. That was 2615 pounds, which would generate 326 mana. If the Rank determined how much mana he received as well as increased his Reserve Mana Pool and the number of slots that could hold biomass¡­damn.


    Connor quickly checked to see how many Skill Slots he had left. He had 24 left out of 62 total slots. Connor pulled up his skill list.


    Unique Title Skill: Uncanny Perception: Master ¨C 0 Skill Slots


    Class: Malleable Skills: Master ¨C 0 Skill Slots


    Class: Stealth: Master ¨C 0 Skill Slots


    Class: Backstab: Master ¨C 0 Skill Slots


    Inventory: Master ¨C 5 Skill Slots


    Flight: Master ¨C 5 Skill Slots


    Identify: Rare ¨C 3 skill Slots


    Eye of Eris: Advanced ¨C 4 Skill Slots


    Dodge: Master - 5 Skill Slots


    Force Barrier: Rare ¨C 3 Skill Slots


    Environmental Adaption: Master ¨C 5 Skill Slots


    Malleable Spells: Master ¨C 5 Skill Slots


    Shadow Step, Racial: Master ¨C 5 Skill Slots


    Mana Composter: Rare ¨C 3 Skill Slots


    If he increased the skill Mana Composter to Master Rank, that would leave him with 22 skill slots. But, the one really cool thing about his skill, Malleable Skills, was that if he discovered another Skill that he really wanted, he could always reduce the Rank of one of the skills he had or drop it altogether. With that thought, he increased the skill to Master rank.


    Connor quickly skimmed over the upgraded skill.


    Mana Composter


    Rank: Master


    Skill Slots: 5


    You have been granted a dimensional storage area that may hold up to 100,000 slots¡­


    Each slot of this specialized Inventory may hold up to 5 pounds of organic¡­


    Biomass is broken down at a rate of 10 pounds per Combat Turn. The process generates one point of mana for every six pounds of biomass that is broken down. The mana is collected in a 100,000-point Reserve Mana Pool¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Connor smiled. The changes to the skill couldn¡¯t generate a lot more mana quickly, but he now had an appreciable Reserve Mana Pool, and he¡¯d be able to¡­Connor thought about and tried to transfer one point of mana into the reserve; it worked! That wasn¡¯t mentioned in the skill, but it made things a whole lot easier. He could move mana into his reserve when he was in areas of high mana saturation that filled his normal mana pool quickly. He could divert the excess and save it for later.


    Connor hadn¡¯t refilled his mana pool because he¡¯d been maintaining Stealth and putting all of his mana into this Skill. With the ability to move mana into his reserve, he could put any excess mana regeneration into the Reserve Mana Pool with no issue. Granted, if he were cut off from that extra mana, that would suck, but unlike a Mana Battery, it wouldn¡¯t explode and annihilate them.


    Now, it was time to try out his new skill. He picked up one of the bodies in his inventory that only had clothes, a wallet, and a gun on it. He willed the body to transfer into the Mana Composter. Its clothes, the weapon, and the wallet appeared in his Inventory in their own slots. Then he checked his notifications.


    Slots Filled 42 of 100,000


    Converting Biomass to Mana.


    Mana Reserve:1 of 100,000


    Mana Reserve: 2 of 100,000


    Mana Reserve: 3 of 100,000


    Yep, this was going to work just fine. Connor transferred the other eleven corpses into the Mana Composter. He could have kept the leader''s body so he¡¯d have the biometrics to open his smartphone, but he decided against it. He had an idea about how to get around any security that the phone might have. Connor called the device from his Inventory. As he suspected, it was locked.


    As he¡¯d run north, he¡¯d looked over his Inventory a couple of times and saw the two smartphones in it. One had been in each of the two groups abduction groups. Then he¡¯d wondered if he could find out who those monsters were working for. Another thought intruded: if magic could shut down all technology, couldn¡¯t it also be used to subvert or hack technological items? That thought had brought up memories of a discipline in another tabletop game he''d played, Technomancy.


    Technomancy, the idea of taking control of computers and computer-like technology, would be a cool skill to create for sure, but he had another idea. His Skill Slots were getting a bit low, but he had 253 open Spell Slots. If there were spells to shut down a planet¡¯s electronics, there had to be a spell to hack computers, tablets, and smartphones. He didn¡¯t want anything fancy, just something that would unlock any electronic device that he came across that was locked when he touched it. Yeah, that would be great.


    Connor stored the smartphone and meditated for a minute before he activated Malleable Spells. He then focused on a spell that would enable him to hack electronics.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    Searching Spell Database


    Only spells of Core Rank or lower will be noted.


    Spell: Hack, Common Rank meets the criteria of the requested spell.


    Requirements to learn Spell:


    100 Mana


    One free Spell Slot.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Hack, Common Rank.¡±


    Hack


    Required Materials: None


    With a touch, expend 10 mana and disable and unlock any electronic security features on a single device that is not magically shielded.


    That worked. Okay, then maybe a spell that would let him control electronics at range should be his next spell. He considered his options, but The further away he was from the device he was trying to control, the more expensive the mana cost would be, so why not focus on a short-range spell to control electronic devices? If he wanted something long-range, he could always create it later. Also, it was a lot easier and quicker to create Common spells; they only cost 100 mana, which was less than his mana regeneration rate per turn. However, he wanted to have a little bit of range, so he decided to go with a range of 100 feet. That should make the spell cost 1,000 mana to create.


    Connor meditated for one minute to settle himself and clear his mind before he focused and activated Malleable Spells.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    Searching Spell Database


    Only spells of Core Rank or lower will be noted.


    Spell: Control Technological Device, Uncommon Rank meets the criteria of the requested spell.


    Requirements to learn Spell:


    1,000 Mana


    Two free Spell Slots.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell: Control Technological Device, Uncommon Rank.


    Required Materials: None


    Range: 100 feet


    Mana Cost: 100 Mana per device.


    This spell may target any Technological Nonmagical Device within 100 feet. Once cast, you gain mental control of any one Device and all of its components within 100 feet of your location for the next 10 Combat Turns (100 Seconds).


    Line of Sight is normally required to establish control, but perception-based skills and spells can negate this requirement. Once control is established, a Line of Sight is not required as the device is controlled mentally.


    During the duration of the Spell, you may issue new commands to the Device as long as you are within 100 feet of it. Should you exit the 100-foot range and return, you may continue to issue mental commands until the duration of the spell expires.


    The duration may be extended if within 100 feet, and another 100 mana is dedicated to maintaining control of the device.


    At Uncommon Rank, you can control up to two devices at one time. A separate casting of the spell is required for each device.


    Connor looked over the spell and smiled. It was another spell that would come in quite handy, especially on ATMs and similar devices. He was literally turning ideas from the games he¡¯d played into reality. This was going to be awesome.


    It had only been about 15 minutes since he started creating spells. He had a little time before the other two arrived. He had a few more things he needed going forward. Food, water, and the ability to talk to his friends are at range. A form of telepathic skill would be really nice, as it probably wouldn¡¯t need to be cast all the time. But he wanted some range on the skill, which meant that he needed to make that at the highest rank he could. That would cost a lot of mana, though. Maybe he could cheese the hell out of making that skill and then transfer Slots into it to raise it to Master Rank?


    Two minutes later, he¡¯d created a Common version of the Skill ¡°Telepathy I.¡± It had a very limited range at 10 feet, but it only cost one mana to establish a connection. Additionally, he could establish a number of connections equal to his Intelligence divided by 10. Each connection would cost one mana while maintained, but that shouldn¡¯t be a problem for him. Additionally, he could re-establish the connection to anyone he¡¯d previously connected to as long as they were within range. The cost to establish a connection to someone out of his line of sight was 10 mana.


    Then, as he hoped, his skill Malleable Skills allowed him to upgrade ¡°Telepathy I¡± by just assigning Skill Slots to it. He did so and reviewed the changes.


    Telepathy I


    Rank: Master


    Mana Cost: 1 Mana each Combat or 10 Mana each Combat turn if not within Line of Sight.


    Maximum Range: 100,000 Feet or 18.9 Miles


    With a thought and one mana, you can establish a mental connection with any sentient creature that you can see within range. Both you and the target must be willing. Once the connection is established, you can maintain the connection as long as your target stays within your line of sight for one mana per Combat Turn. If the Target moves out of your line of sight, the mana cost per Combat Turn increases to ten mana per Combat Turn to maintain.


    A number of connections can be established and maintained equal to one-tenth of your Intelligence attribute, rounded down, provided you have the mana to maintain the connections.


    Note: The Skill ¡°Telepathy II¡± allows for mental connections over much larger distances at a higher Mana Cost. Unlock this skill to improve the range of your mental communications.


    Connor finished looking over ¡°Telepathy I¡± and smiled. Almost nineteen miles should be good enough for now. Now, all he needed to do was create a spell that could create basic food and another spell that could either generate water or create an object filled with water. Connor went to work.


    ***


    While they were both invisible, Liza had to drop Stealth two minutes after Connor bolted off to the north when her Mana ran dry. She only had 120 Mana total. Ten Mana per Combat Turn made sure it didn¡¯t last that long. Sam dropped Stealth and joined her as they continued walking north. Liza watched her regeneration rate, which her Status Screen showed as five every Combat Turn. It wasn¡¯t that high. She only regenerated one point of mana every four Combat Turns or about one every 40 seconds. At that rate, it would take 80 minutes for her to 120 points of Mana.


    On top of that, her top speed was about 64 miles per hour. Sam could travel a bit faster, and his mana pool was slightly higher, but he¡¯d still run into the problem of running out of mana if he kept Stealth active.


    ¡°So what do we do?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t like the idea of running low on mana, especially when regeneration rates have been affected so much, so let''s jog at about 30 miles an hour. If we see any cars, it¡¯ll be a simple thing to slow down for a bit, and we can use Stealth if we need to bypass a lot of cars. When we do go into Stealth, we only keep it active for at most a minute; that way, you should never drop below half of your mana pool. I can keep up with that pace,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get to it,¡± Liza said as he considered the problems they¡¯d just run into. Instead of the almost three-hour trip Connor thought they¡¯d take, it was going to take closer to five hours. Nothing for it, Liza began to jog with Sam beside her.


    ***


    Ten minutes later, Connor had just finished creating Create Food and Create Water.


    Create Food


    Mana cost: 10


    Requirements: One pound of Physical material.


    Converts one pound of nonorganic material into one pound of food that you desire within 10 feet of the caster. As to what food can be created. Any typical food that the caster desires. Note: This spell can be utilized to return food to a pristine state if it has gone rotten or soured. This Spell can be used on liquids as well.


    Create Water


    Mana Cost: 10


    Requirement: A container that can hold up to one gallon of liquid is recommended but not required. If desired, liquid can be created in midair.


    Summons one gallon of water from the Elemental plane of air that will appear as desired within 10 feet of the caster. Only water may be summoned with this spell.


    He was satisfied with both spells. He didn¡¯t have a container that could hold a gallon of water. He¡¯d need to stop by a store and pick up a gallon of water or milk, and then he could reuse the container. So that was forty-five minutes. Maybe he should allow his mana to regenerate and do something else.


    Connor opened the Party Chat.


    Connor: How¡¯s the trip going?


    Liza: Ran into a snag. I Can¡¯t keep stealth active for more than two minutes without needing at least an hour to regenerate half that.


    Connor: I do have some good news then. Mana Regeneration rates are normal here, by the Damn.


    Sam: A mana Oasis, cool


    Connor: Mana Oasis?


    Sam: It¡¯s what I call them. I¡¯ve come across a couple of places between California and Arizona where the mana saturation is 100%, so I called them Oasis; Mana Oasis just seemed appropriate.


    Connor: Makes sense. So how long before you two get to the Damn?


    Liza: At this rate, about five hours.


    Connor: Alright, I''ll be down to get you two in a few. I¡¯m going to go get us another vehicle.


    Sam: You¡¯ve only been here for a couple of hours. How will you get a vehicle, pray tell?


    Connor: I¡¯m kind of lucky, and there¡¯s a Casino just west of the Damn.


    Liza: So what you¡¯re saying is that when we get there in five hours, just head to the Casino because you¡¯ll be gambling.


    Connor: @#%$@%$@ @#$!#%!%! Just pretend that¡¯s me putting static in my voice as the connection drops¡­.See you soon, seriously.


    Connor closed the Party Chat and double-checked his mana and his Reserve Mana pool.


    Mana: 3,352/3,352


    Reserve Mana: 19,200/100,000


    That should be plenty of mana for his purposes. Connor activated Flight. It was only two miles from where he was to the casino. He landed on a hill on the backside of the casino, out of sight of anyone. He picked a dirt path to land on because he had some blood splatter on his clothes. He picked up some dirt, rubbed it into his clothes and face to make it look like he¡¯d been hiking for a while, and then summoned ten one hundred dollar bills from his Inventory and put them in his front pocket. That should be enough for him to get started.


    Connor checked himself over with Eyes of Eris, which allowed him to see himself from all directions; it was better than a mirror. Yep, he looked dirty, and there may or may not be blood stains on his clothes. Also, his Mana Regeneration was still better than it had been at Nowhere. Currently, he was regenerating 40 mana per Turn, so two miles from the Damn, mana saturation was about 25%.


    As Connor walked down to the Casino, another spell idea came to mind. A type of polymorph spell that would let him change his appearance. That would come in really handy. He thought about what he¡¯d want such a spell to do as he walked up to the entrance of the casino. As he stepped through the sliding glass doors, he felt the attention of everyone nearby shift, look him over, and then shift away, except for the Receptionist, who looked at him with interest. He did a very good job of hiding his surprise at his state but kept a calm, professional demeanor as Connor walked up.


    ¡°Welcome to the Hoover Dam Lodge and Casino. May I help you?¡± The Receptionist asked.


    Connor saw that his name was Michael from the nameplate on his chest and smiled as he answered, ¡°It¡¯s been a hell of a day, Michael. Do you have any rooms available?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ll need a photo ID and your vehicle information.¡±


    ¡°Well, my vehicle is being towed, and my ID card was taken by some thugs that robbed me a couple hours south of here. You should hear about it in the news in a couple of days. Luckily, I had a stash of casts in a hidden pocket, and someone was nice enough to drop me off here while I waited for insurance to figure things out. If I pay cash up front, can I complete the paperwork tomorrow?¡±


    Michael smiled, ¡°Of course, sir. Also, if you have no other clothing, might I suggest that you visit our General Store? They carry an assortment of clothes and supplies you might need after we get you checked in, of course.¡±


    ¡°That sounds great. What do you need me to do next?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°I will need to do a minimal check-in. I¡¯ll need your name and verify that you are 21 so that you may enter the Casino. If you¡¯re paying cash, There is a $100 security deposit plus the room rate, which is $80.¡± Michael said


    Connor pulled out three one hundred dollar bills and handed them over. When Micheal looked up Connor spoke before he could, ¡°I did hear you. My name is Conrad Baker, but my friends call me Connor.¡±


    Michael picked up the money, made a couple of notes on the computer, and smiled, ¡°Mr. Conrad Baker, thank you for showing me your identification. You¡¯re all set in the system for now. You''re in room 327,¡± Michael said as he passed a black credit card to Connor. ¡°This is your room key. There is a stairway and an elevator behind you. Just head up to the third floor and follow the signs.¡±


    ¡°And the General Store?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s back and behind me on my left or just around the corner to your right,¡± Michael said.


    Connor picked up the key card and headed to the General Store. He picked up a pair of jeans and a nice collared, open-button blue shirt. When he was done, he made his way to his room. Once there, he took a very quick shower, which gave him the idea of creating a spell to clean himself. That would come in really handy. He put on his new clothes and stored everything else in his Inventory except for the ten one hundred dollar bills; he summoned three more from his Inventory.


    Once done, he went down to the Casino floor. He walked up to the teller and purchased one of their Players Club cards, which he put the full 1,000 dollars on. For the next five minutes, he played various slots around the room and kept an eye on everyone working the machines. He went through over 100 dollars before he decided to try out his spell Control Technological Devices. The mana cost was no joke, but he¡¯d still get the 100 mana that he spent to activate the spell back before its duration expired.


    Connor would like to say that it was difficult to control the machine, but it wasn¡¯t. He willed the spell active, spent his mana, and intuitively knew exactly how to control the machine. He could control the spinning wheels and cause the wheels to spin faster, slower, or even stop where he wanted. He could also detect the Wi-Fi signal that it was transmitting and automatically understood the information it was sending, mostly a number of pulls and whether or not a card was inserted. He also knew that that information was being monitored by two different sources that were transmitting a request for information command. One was from Casino Security. The other was from a server dedicated to the Nevada Gaming Commission. He also understood that he could block incoming commands and alter the information being sent out with a thought. All good information to have, but not necessary for what he was going to do.


    For the next minute, he guided the slot machine''s every move. He learned how to stop specific reels on particular symbols. He even walked away from the machine he had control of and watched as someone else came up to take their chance on the machine he¡¯d just left, which was precisely what he was doing. An elderly woman had just left and was heading to cash in her winnings.


    As Connor placed his Casino Player¡¯s Club Card in the slot machine, he willed the machine that he still had control over to pay a Jackpot. The Jackpot was sitting at 13 million dollars right now, so it should make the guy who had moved in really happy. As he did so, he placed the maximum bet, activated Control Technological Devices on the machine he now sat at, and willed it to give him a minor jackpot, which was a flat 1 million dollars.


    As the Slot Machines lights went off, Connor smiled. Like most casinos, he had to wait for the jackpot to be confirmed by one of the attendees or floor managers. Connor had given the big win to the other gentlemen so his little win wouldn¡¯t draw too much attention to himself. Because of the commotion of the big jackpot, Connor had to wait a couple of minutes for an attendant to come by and verify his win. As he suspected, once confirmed, a man in a suit came over.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Baker, is it?¡± the man said, addressing Connor.


    ¡°Yes, and you are?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m Mr. Pinkerton, the Floor Manager. The Casino Manager is currently busy with the Jackpot winner.¡±


    ¡°I saw, and on the machine I was just on. What a lucky piece of work.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, as are you. You just won a million dollars.¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± Connor said with a smile.


    ¡°Well, Sir,¡± We¡¯d like to offer you a complimentary suite, our treat.¡°


    ¡°That would be awesome!¡± Connor said with genuine happiness. Of course, he was overdoing it a bit because he¡¯d hoped for something like this to happen, but a Suite was just awesome.


    Mr. Pinkerton allowed Connor to regain his composure while he politely waited.


    Connor visibly suppressed his excitement and continued, ¡°I have a question: Do you have a shuttle service or someone who can pick up some of my friends who are making their way north on I 93? I was lucky enough to get a ride, but they were held by the police a bit longer, and no one else was heading this way.¡±


    ¡°We have someone that can fetch them. You don¡¯t need to do so yourself, Sir,¡± Mr. Pinkerton offered.


    ¡°I¡¯m willing to give a thousand dollar tip to the driver and pay for any gas that might be used, from my winnings, of course,¡± Connor offered.


    ¡°There are just two friends?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Connor watched as Mr. Pinkerton whispered into his throat mike. A minute later, a young, physically fit man came running over from the front of the Casino, ¡°Yes, Mr. Pinkerton.¡±


    ¡°Jason, our guest needs two of his friends picked up who are making their way north up I-93 on foot. Do you think you can handle that?¡±


    ¡°One hundred miles?¡± Jason asked.


    ¡°Jason, May I call you Jason,¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Of course, Sir.¡±


    ¡°This would be a huge favor to me, and as your boss can verify, I just won big on this slot machine. I¡¯m willing to give you 1,000 dollars of that payout to you.¡±


    Connor watched as Jason¡¯s interest perked up. Connor reached into his pocket, pulled another hundred-dollar bill from his Inventory, and held it up: ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t want you to worry about not having enough gas to get there and back. I¡¯ll give you this $100 upfront.


    Jason nodded, ¡°I can get them for you, Sir.¡±


    ¡°What kind of car are you going to be driving so I can let them know?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°I have a Honda Accord, which is dark silver,¡± Jason said.


    Connor nodded and handed over the money. Jason walked away with a smile on his face as Connor sent a quick message over Party Chat, to which Sam responded.


    Sam: So we will find you gambling when we get there?


    Connor didn¡¯t dignify the question with a response.


    ¡°Mr. Connor, here is your new room key. You''re on the 8th floor in the reserved portion of the hotel,¡± Mr. Pinkerton said as he pulled Connor¡¯s thoughts back to the casino and handed him a platinum-colored room key.


    ¡°Thank you. I think I¡¯m going to cash out the money for Jason and leave the rest of my winnings on the card for now. I want to go check out this suite you¡¯re giving me and wait for my friends to arrive before we really start gambling. It¡¯s been a crazy day,¡± Connor said.


    Connor left the Casino and headed to his new room. When he walked in, he was pleasantly surprised to find a suite with a jacuzzi tub and a minibar and two rooms connected to it. The couch could also serve as a bed. It looked like a really expensive suite he¡¯d find in a Holiday or Hampton Inn.


    Connor walked over to the end table near the sofa with a remote on it and turned on the television. He checked the news to see what was going on locally. Now that he had money, and the other two would arrive in the next two hours, Connor pulled the smartphone he¡¯d picked up from the individual he considered to be the boss who had been sitting near the call boxes in Nowhere.


    As soon as he pulled it out of his Inventory, it began ringing. Connor cast Hack, which unlocked the phone and answered the call.


    ¡°Where are you?¡± a male voice asked in a heavily accented voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, where are you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re where¡­wait, who is this?¡±


    ¡°Your boy went the way of the dodo bird. I¡¯ve got his phone. Have a nice day, dick head,¡± Connor said as he hung up.


    He had a very good idea of who he¡¯d just pissed off. Well, not who exactly, but the type of person that it would be. Now it was time to actually go shopping for a cash supply that wouldn¡¯t run out and make connections to get some fake IDs. To make sure they¡¯d have no trouble backtracking the phone, Connor put it on the kitchen counter after he changed all the passwords and biometrics to himself.


    If they were close, this could get fun quickly. If they were down by Phoenix or Tucson, it might be a bit. Of course, they could send some of their bodies from Vegas. He was sure that if it were the cartel or mafia, they¡¯d have people in the city for sure. Connor settled in to wait and allowed his mana reserve to fill. He had more than enough mana, which reminded him¡­


    Connor spent 1,000 mana to cast Force Daggers of Throwing and replaced the mana he used with mana from his reserve. Then he settled in to wait for Liza and Sam to arrive. If he were lucky, the assholes who had ordered the abductions on I 93 would find him before they arrived. If he wasn¡¯t so lucky, things could get a little dicey. It didn¡¯t matter to him, though. He¡¯d heard about abductions growing up as a sort of old wives¡¯ tale. To find out they had actually happened¡­ For him, it wasn¡¯t about justice; it was about taking everything they had. Besides, he had all this power; why not have a little fun dishing out what he considered some much-deserved karmic payback?

 Chapter 14, Wolves Hunting Sheep?

    Casper Nevens looked down at the text he¡¯d just received at his desk in the AT&T cooperate tech support office.


    LSP 555-xxx-xx76?


    Casper checked the number the text had come from and recognized it as one of the numbers he¡¯d been given by the people who had made this job possible for him. ¡°LSP¡± meant ¡°Locate Smart Phone.¡± Casper pulled up the number and inputted an inquiry for a location. Within a minute, he had the information.


    Casper pulled out his second cell phone and texted the number that had just texted him.


    ¡°36.010260410550515, -114.78463502702051 E144¡±


    Casper closed the phone, took the sim chip out, and put a new one in it. After that, he erased the inquiry he¡¯d just made from the servers and initiated a backup to replace any backup that had happened within the last 60 seconds. Now done with whatever he¡¯d just done for the people who had helped him get the job, Casper returned to his normal duties and answered the next call.


    ***


    ¡°Mr. Pinkerton,¡± the voice said on the other end of the phone


    ¡°Yes,¡±


    ¡°This is Donald.¡±


    ¡°Donald wh¡­,¡± Mr. Pinkerton started to say before he recognized the voice. The man''s name was not Donald, but he knew exactly who it was, ¡°Yes, Donald, how can I help?¡±


    ¡°Do you have any new guests that arrived today on one of your top floors?¡±


    ¡°One of our regulars won the Jackpot and we comp¡¯ed him the top floor suite. We had another million-dollar winner that had a bit of bad luck turn into some good luck?¡±


    ¡°Bad Luck?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he said that his car was being towed from somewhere south of Hover Dam on I93. In fact, I have Jason, one of our ¡°new¡± hires, going to pick up his friends. He should almost be to them and back within the next three hours.¡±


    ¡°Do I know this new hire?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir.¡±


    ¡°Good, and the individual that won one million dollars?¡±


    ¡°Conrad Baker, he¡¯s in VIP Suite 2 on the 12<sup>th</sup> floor.¡±


    ¡°Good. The 12<sup>th</sup> floor is off-limits for the next, let''s say, four hours. I¡¯ll call again if we need longer.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir.¡±


    The line died, and Mr. Pinkerton took a deep breath. As this pertained to the Casino, this was good news. After 30 days, the funds that had been put into Mr. Baker''s card would be released back to the casino. If he returned within 11 months, the casino would pay out his winnings. Mr. Pinkerton didn¡¯t think he¡¯d need to worry about Mr. Baker returning, though.


    ***


    Jason was heading south to pick up Mr. Baker¡¯s friends when his cell phone rang. He looked at the phone, recognized the number, and answered, ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re on your way to pick up two people?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember where we met right before you were hired?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Your boss has already been contacted. Bring your guests back to that location.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Jason closed the cell phone and put it down on the passenger seat. He was almost to where the two people he was supposed to pick up¡­There they were. On the opposite side of the highway, he saw a man and a woman walking in the opposite direction he was heading. They saw him and waved. Jason waved back. He went down to the next crossover point in the four-lane split highway and used it to make a U-Turn. A minute later, he caught back up to them and slowed down. He came up to the two and pulled over to park in front of them. They walked up to his car on the passenger side.


    That¡¯s when he noticed that the woman was one of the most beautiful creatures he¡¯d ever seen. It was too bad he was taking them to the property where people were disposed of. Someone as pretty as she was probably didn¡¯t deserve the fate her friend had made for her. Not his problem, though. He received the call that these two would be delivered to San Felipe Drive in Boulder City, so that¡¯s where they would be delivered.


    Jason waited until they came up to the passenger side window, which he¡¯d rolled down. He unlocked the back doors and said, ¡°Hello, are you waiting for a ride from the Hoover Dam Casino?¡±


    ***


    Lopez led his team of four up the side stairway to the twelfth floor of the Casino Hotel. The fifth member of their team was bringing an empty cleaning cart that would allow them to move Mr. Baker out of the Casino without issue. All Lopez had to do was get to the target, acquire the target, and deliver the target. Diego, the man who had sent him to do this, was not someone he wanted to disappoint.


    There were only two suites on this floor, and Suite 3 was empty, so the four of them met with their fifth at the elevator and moved toward the door to Suite 2. They left the cart by the elevator as the five of them went to the door. Lopez pulled out the master key and stepped up to the door as he heard.


    THWIP


    THWIP


    THWIP


    THWIP


    This was followed by crashing into the wall on each side of him. Lopez looked left and noticed that the two men on his left seemed to be hanging from their heads against the wall. Anything they had in their hands dropped to the ground, and their fingers twitched or went still. He looked to the right, and the other two were doing the same. What the hell?


    Lopez¡¯s mind was pulled from the four hanging dead bodies as a voice behind him said, ¡°If you reach for your weapon, I¡¯ll break your arm; if you do so a second time, I¡¯ll break the other one. Now, Turn around slowly.¡±


    Lopez turned around slowly to find their target standing with his back to the wall across from his door. He didn¡¯t look to be armed, so Lopez went for his gun. Before his fingers even reached the pommel of his weapon, his hand was yanked forward, and a solid CRACK resounded when his forearm was bent and snapped like a twig. The pain froze him for the instant it took the man to reach past the broken arm and touch his weapon and holster. Suddenly, the weight of his weapon and holster disappeared.


    Lopez barely caught the change in weight because the pain shooting through his brain had shocked him into silence. Their target waited for him to catch his breath before he said, ¡°You were warned.¡±


    ¡°You idiot, there are security cameras all over this corridor! Security will be here in a moment.


    ¡°Honestly, not my concern. Besides, how can the cameras work when the system is off?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t turn it off, Moron!¡± Lopez said.


    ¡°I know. I did.¡±


    ¡°What, you can¡¯t possibly think you¡¯ll get away with this?¡± Lopez asked.


    Instead of answering him immediately, the target walked up to each dead man and touched them. As he touched them, they vanished. When he was done, he looked directly at Lopez, ¡°Get away with what exactly? Oh, there they are,¡± Connor said absently like he wasn¡¯t even thinking about Lopez for a moment before he focused his gaze on him again, ¡° I was going to ask you where my friends are, but Jason just drove by with them.¡±


    Before Lopez could even process the information, the world went dark.


    ***


    Connor reached forward and twisted the man''s neck and then transferred him into his Mana Composter with the other four people he¡¯d just murdered. Next, he activated Stealth and Flight as he walked back into the suite and over to the balcony. He left the balcony door unlocked in case he needed to return at some point. He couldn¡¯t do anything about the four puncture marks in the wall, which his force daggers made when they pined the attackers to the wall, but that was okay. Mr. Pinkerton and he would talk after he was done tracking down the trash that had come after him.


    Once he was outside, he used Eyes of Eris to keep track of Liza and Sam as he flew to catch up to them. In moments, he was about 100 feet above them. He followed the car Jason was driving as he continued along Highway 11 until they reached Business 93 in Boulder City. Jason left the Boulder City Parkway and continued south onto Buchanan Blvd when the parkway turned west. At Adam¡¯s Blvd, Jason turned east and followed the road until he turned right and headed south on San Felipe Drive.


    Connor watched and listened as Sam and Liza allowed Jason to bring them to their doom. Doom? Connor laughed. There was going to be doom, alright, but it would not be Liza or Sams.


    As Jason pulled into a driveway and then up into the left slot of an open double garage, Connor followed the car in and moved over to the empty right slot. He stayed near the garage door and floated up near the ceiling as he sat and waited. He almost felt sorry for the idiots who were about to step out into the garage.


    ***


    They¡¯d passed the Casino a couple of miles back. Then, their driver, Jason, had come into Boulder City before they pulled into the garage of this large house. Sam and Liza had been sitting in the back seat of the car as it drove along the highway, and she¡¯d taken in the sights. They¡¯d both been quiet because they couldn¡¯t really talk about what was going on. They were both in the past twenty-two years before SYSTEM Integration. What the hell were they not supposed to do? Could something she said change the course of history? Could something she didn¡¯t say? She actually liked Science, and anything about time travel resonated with her, so a lot of different ideas were going through her mind. So she¡¯d sat quietly and enjoyed the ride while Jason drove.


    As the car came to a stop and the garage door started to close behind them, Liza asked, ¡°Why are we here? I thought you were taking us to the Casino?¡±


    Jason just looked at her with a blank stare, all hint of warmth gone, like she was a slab of meat.


    Sam looked at Liza and then at Jason before he tried to open his door; it was locked. Liza did the same on her side of the back seat and found her door locked as well. Before she could ask a question, the Garage door finished closing. Masked men and women exploded out of the door into the house. What was truly a surprise was that everyone was wearing rubber suits with rubber aprons covered in¡­blood. Three of them stayed on Sam¡¯s side of the car while the other three rushed around the back of the car to her door.


    Liza¡¯s brain worked just a little faster than the most intelligent human on Earth at the moment, besides Connor, of course. In a fraction of a second, she realized they looked like they were dressed to get messy, almost like butchers. She wasn¡¯t even surprised at his point. Angry, though. Oh yes, she was starting to get really angry as rage began to simmer within her core. The girl that Liza had been just days before would have probably frozen at the naked hostility displayed by the team and the fear of what they were going to do to her. Now, though? Liza sighed and then said softly so that only Sam could hear, ¡°You take your three, and I¡¯ll take mine; Jason is last.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Sam nodded and vanished as he activated Stealth.


    Liza activated Stealth and then Shadow Step to appear behind the three people in front of her door on the opposite side of the garage. A moment later, she felt the pressure beside her shift and knew that Sam appeared beside her. The two people closest to each door shot their pistols through the rolled-up windows where Liza and Sam had just been sitting.


    ¡°What the Fuck!¡± Jason cried out as he looked into the empty back seats, ¡°Where did they go?¡±


    ¡°Unlock the doors, the man closest to the door into the house called out. ¡°


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± a voice called from the cell phone in the leader''s hand.


    ***


    Connor¡¯s attention was drawn from the voice coming over the phone to the matching voice almost a half mile away in the parking area of an apartment complex on the corner of Capri Drive and Georgia Ave. One thing he was still getting used to was the range of his Eyes of Eris. How it used magic to show him everything within range was amazing. The ability to sort and categorize information was astounding as well. Still, even with his Perk Intellect of Eris, it did strain him a little to keep the Skill at its maximum range.


    The man on the other end of that phone call was his true target. Liza and Sam could handle these nine people. Before he left, though, he should set up a Telepathic link with them. Connor opened their Party Chat and sent a message while the morons in the garage looked for the two invisible people standing on the opposite side of the garage. Damn. Magical Stealth was overpowered.


    Connor: Hey, you two, I¡¯m in the garage with you.


    Sam: What?


    Liza: What he said.


    Connor: I can see you, and I picked up the skill of Telepathy while you two were walking. The connection has to be voluntary, and no, I can¡¯t read your minds¡­Okay, by definition, that¡¯s what it does, but this version I created is supposed to allow us to communicate like we¡¯re talking. Do you two want to try it?


    Liza: Sure.


    Sam: I guess.


    Connor targeted Liza and activated Telepathy. A moment later, Liza¡¯s voice entered Connor¡¯s Mind.


    That wasn¡¯t so bad, Liza sent. The skill even gave me the ability to decline communication. Holy hell, I can even hear my voice talking even though I¡¯m not saying a word.


    Connor smiled, which she couldn¡¯t see, so he said, I can see that. Sorry you can¡¯t see me, but I can see the two of you just fine. Let me get Sam in here.


    Connor focused on Sam and activated Telepathy again.


    This is so cool, Sam sent.


    I know, right, Liza agreed.


    Okay, you two focus, Connor said as the six people in the double-car garage moved around looking for them. With Stealth active, Liza and Sam easily dodged them. Connor even rotated so he was floating horizontally near the garage door so he wouldn¡¯t have to move. Once he knew he had their attention, he continued, The basement of this house looks to be a place where they torture and then dispose of people, complete with a set up to film such work. There are also a few hidden rooms and a tunnel that leads down and then to a location outside of my range. That entrance is in the basement behind the washer and dryer. There¡¯s a latch, and it looks like the whole wall rotates. So, be aware that someone could show up from that direction. We¡¯ll explore that tunnel when I get back if you two don¡¯t take care of it first.


    Where are you going? Sam asked.


    The asshole on the other end of that phone call is within range, and he¡¯s wondering what he should do. Me, I¡¯m going to go visit him while you two clean up this mess. Leave them where they drop. Try not to make too much of a mess; I¡¯ll clean them up after I get back.


    Are You Sure? Liza asked.


    I am 95% positive that these people are tied to a terrorist organization, the mafia, or the cartels.


    So, you deal with the big bad boss, man, and we get the dregs? Sam asked.


    Oh no,¡± Connor said, ¡°you deal with these dregs and the two in the basement that look like they''re disposing of something or someone, and I¡¯ll go find us some more targets¡ªone thing. If you two have any of those Tutorial Crystals, pick up the Skill Eyes of Eris. If you have at least 100 in the attributes it lists and you have an upgrade crystal to Uncommon, I¡¯d suggest upgrading the skill immediately so you¡¯ll be able to see each other while you¡¯re stealthed. You¡¯ve had a couple of close calls already. Do the same for the skill Inventory, Common. You¡¯ll only be able to hold 50 pounds of equipment when you first get it, but that will increase to 500 pounds with the upgrade. It comes in extremely handy.¡±


    ¡°About the skills, I have six of those crystals, so we should be able to get those two skills easily enough. As for these scum, they are no better than slavers. Let¡¯s kill them all,¡± Liza said with barely controlled rage.


    I¡¯ll maintain Telepathy while I remain in range. Now that we¡¯ve established contact the first time, I¡¯ll reconnect whenever I come back into range, which is just under 19 miles.


    With that statement, Connor activated Shadow Step and appeared 100 feet above the house, still under the effects of Flight and Stealth. With a thought, he was over the leader''s car.


    ***


    Sam felt the rage in Liza¡¯s words through telepathy just before there was a soft pop-up near the ceiling by the garage door¡ªtwo of their attackers near the spot looked around while the back seat and the back of the garage were searched. As the people searching the garage moved around, Sam stayed out of their way until he could see past the man in the door. Then, he activated Shadow Step to appear behind him.


    I¡¯m in the hall behind the leader; let''s do this, Sam said through Telepathy.


    Liza struck. She used her Shadow Claws to rip out the necks of the two attackers closest to her on the opposite side of the car from Sam. Sam kneeled and fired one bullet up through the head of the man holding the phone to make sure he wouldn¡¯t accidentally hit Liza as the exit wound ejected blood, bone, and brains into the ceiling of the garage. Stealth deactivated, but no one had moved yet, so he took careful aim and put a second bullet through Jason¡¯s head, which sprayed blood and brain matter all over the inside of the windshield.


    From the level of rage that he could feel emanating from Liza through their telepathic link, he had no¡­Holy shit! Liza became visible. Before anyone could react, she moved to the door where she¡¯d been sitting. She practically ripped the spine out of the one who¡¯d been leaning into the back seat of the car as he tried to back out of the seat and stand up. As Sam considered what to do, Liza jumped and flipped through the air over the car to land between the woman trying to back out of the driver''s side passenger seat and the man trying to come around the back of the car who had seen her and was trying to follow her with his gun.


    As the woman backing out of the seat backed up, her head came even with the top of the doorframe. Liza pushed her head into the frame with her left hand as she bent sideways and kicked the man to her right. Two loud ¡°CRACKS¡± went off in rapid succession. One was caused by the woman¡¯s face caving in against the car doorframe and the metal buckling slightly, and the other was caused by her foot compressing the man''s ribs so hard they broke before he flung away from her into the garage door at his back.


    From where Sam was inside the house, blood rained from the woman, whose face was lodged into the car. He couldn¡¯t see the man she¡¯d kicked anymore, though.


    ¡°Liza, make sure they''re dead; I¡¯m going to find the stairs to the basement and wait.


    Unfortunately for Sam, the phone was still active.


    ***


    Connor watched as the man listened to his phone. He tapped the driver of the car he was in on the shoulder three times before picking up another phone and calling one of the men in the basement. Connor watched the cell phone in the basement ring twice before the man in the bathroom touched the speaker function of his phone.


    ¡°Yes,¡±


    ¡°Gael, You know who this is¡± You have someone in the house; I think they just killed everyone upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Gael said as he dropped the body he was holding back to the ground and went over to pick up some serious-looking hardware before he went over to the other man with him and tapped him on the shoulder.


    What happened next was anti-climactic. Liza checked to make sure everyone was dead, and then Sam and she went to the basement door. Liza opened the door to see two men waiting to shoot her from cover at the bottom of the stairs. She Shadow-Stepped behind them, grabbed both by the neck, and squeezed. Both necks snapped, and the bodies went limp as Liza dropped them to the ground. As Sam came downstairs, he noticed that one was still struggling to breathe. He pulled a dagger from his inventory and stabbed him through the heart.


    ¡°Anyone Else?¡± Liza roared.


    ***


    Connor listened through the phone and kept his eyes on things in the house as he watched the man in the car below him. Connor had stayed above the vehicle as the driver pulled out onto Georgia Ave and headed South. When they reached the Boulder City Municipal Airport on the South side of town, Connor realized they were still within range of Eyes of Eris because he could still track Liza and Sam as they went through the house. Connor reached out with Telepathy.


    Hey, you two, I¡¯m headed back. I¡¯m going to clean those bodies up. Then we¡¯re going to jump in a bubble and get over to the plane these idiots are going to get into, Connor said.


    Do you have enough time? Sam asked.


    Connor Shadow Stepped into the house and appeared before Sam, ¡°Plenty of time. This won¡¯t take long,¡± Connor went downstairs and added the two bodies there, plus the wall safe, to his inventory. Then he made his way upstairs, absorbed all of the bodies into Mana Compactor, and tried to add the car to his inventory. It worked. It took up 860 Slots, but it worked. Damn.


    His skill, Eyes of Eris, showed him two hidden rooms with nothing in them, with a viewing room between the two. There was also an industrial washroom complete with a grated floor and huge shower heads. This was probably where they¡¯d just leave a body for easy cleanup afterward; these people were just depraved.


    When he stepped back into the house, he found Liza and Sam waiting by the back door, ¡°Alright, here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do. We¡¯re going to Stealth, Step into the backyard, and then I¡¯m going to create an opaque bubble with seats so you two can sit down, and I can strap the forcefields over you. Then I¡¯m going to get us to the airport in quick order. Once we know what plane this asshole is going into, we¡¯re going to board as he walks up. Depending on the size of the plane. Then we just hang out in the plane and remain stealthed for a bit.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s going to be a problem,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°How¡¯s that going to be a problem?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Well, my stamina regeneration can keep up with the Stealth requirement of ten per turn, but my mana regeneration is only five per turn right now, and Stealth requires ten. I could remain Stealthed for about four minutes. That¡¯s not enough time to remain invisible for a whole flight to who knows where.¡±


    ¡°Change of plans then,¡± Connor said as he pulled two random smartphones from his Inventory. He¡¯d picked up a couple from the people they¡¯d killed. Connor quickly cast his spell Control Technological Device to unlock each smartphone before he handed it on to Liza and then Sam, ¡°Okay, they¡¯re unlocked; lock them to yourselves and text this number with your phone number.¡± Connor pulled out the phone he was using and showed them his cell phone number.


    While they installed their security on the phones they were using, Connor pulled out the one million dollars that had been in the safe and gave half to each of them, ¡°I suggest You two use those crystals you have and then store this in your inventory,¡± Connor then pulled out four of eight Uncommon Skill Upgrade Crystals he¡¯d picked up and handed them over, ¡°These should help you upgrade those skills. Remember, do not upgrade Eyes of Eris unless you meet the requirements. You¡¯ll get information overload, and then you¡¯ll be done. Once you''re done upgrading your skills, head to Las Vegas and get a room in a good hotel. Preferably a suite. Sam, you have Identification, right?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Good. We need some also, ¡°Do whatever you have to do to get us some. ¡°I¡¯m going to follow our asshole, who I¡¯m pretty sure is fleeing the country back to wherever he came from. You two, have fun in Vegas and live it up. Also, try to pick up three new phones as soon as you can and text me your two new numbers. Do not answer any calls from anyone but the number you just texted. I would also store the phones in your Inventory so they can¡¯t be tracked. Just pull them out once in a while to check for messages. Hopefully, I won¡¯t be gone for more than a day, a week tops.


    ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡± Lisa asked.


    ¡°There is no way any of these assholes get to live,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Does it matter, though? I thought we were heading to the future?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°We are, but we still need a safe place to work out of. I¡¯m going to go obtain us some of the capital we¡¯ll need to survive until we¡¯re ready to try to get out of here,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°What¡¯s really going on,¡± Sam asked.


    Connor smiled, ¡°Can¡¯t get one past you, can I?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± Liza and Sam said together.


    ¡°Alright, so traveling through time is obviously possible, but it may not be something we can do with magic. By that, I mean I might not be able to cast a spell that jumps us through time. What I can probably do is come up with a spell that will put us in Stasis if we don¡¯t want to live through the next 22 years, and we¡¯ll wake up just before or after the SYSTEM Integration starts.¡± To have a safe place where I know we won''t be disturbed, we need capital. Who better to steal from than criminals who no longer need that capital?


    ¡°So you¡¯re working on the Backup Plan first?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°It did kind of fall into our laps, or did you not realize they brought you here to kill you and probably worse.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I knew as soon as those fuckers showed up in those rubber suits. No, I¡¯m completely cool with this; It¡¯s just¡­I wish I could go with you,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°You probably could, but you two should stay together. I can remain Stealthed for as long as needed, so I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sam said. I¡¯ll text you when we''re in a city and if we have to change cities, but I¡¯m not going to give you an address. Text messages can be pulled up and searched. Just head to whatever city I last texted you when you''re done and ping us with Telepathy when you''re in range,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Sounds Good,¡± Connor said. ¡°They¡¯re on the plane, and they¡¯ll be taxing soon. Do you two need help out of here?¡±


    ¡°No, we should be good?¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s a church about a half mile north; take a right when you leave the driveway. You should be able to call a taxi from there.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good. Also, thanks and good luck,¡± Sam said


    ¡°Yeah, good luck,¡± Liza parroted.


    Connor nodded, reactivated Flight and Stealth, and then stepped out into the backyard and launched into the sky toward the airport to the southwest. Within a minute, he was at the airport and near the plane his target was in. That¡¯s when he finally heard the leader''s name from the Pilot as he walked up to where he was seated and asked.


    ¡°Senior Diego, Where are we headed?¡±


    Diego looked up from his phone for a moment and then back down, ¡°Cuernavaca International Airport.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. Make yourself comfortable. We¡¯ll be on our way shortly. Our flight should take just over three hours,¡± The pilot said as he turned and walked back to the cockpit.


    Connor reviewed the plane and saw that there was plenty of room in the cargo compartment of Diego¡¯s Learjet for him to settle down. A quick Shadow Step and minor use of Force Barrier, and he had himself in a comfortable location on an invisible bed of force. He reached out with Telepathy one last time.


    ¡°All right, you two, I guess I¡¯m on my way to Cuernavaca International Airport. I¡¯m on the plane, and we¡¯re about to take off. On my own, I can make it back in about a half hour, but on this plane, the trip down is going to take about three hours. You two don¡¯t have too much fun,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°You too,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°What she said. Good luck,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to save energy and turn off Telepathy now. See you soon,¡± Connor said, ending Telepathy with Liza and Sam. He had three hours to meditate and create spells or skills. He had 17 free Skill Slots remaining and 248 free spell slots. He knew he needed a spell to maintain an environment for people he put in a bubble to fly with him at altitude or even in space. A spell to Teleport, and¡­. He had three hours. He had plenty of time to think about all the spells he¡¯d ever heard of in books or games and try to create them with his Malleable Spells skill.

 Chapter 15, Making Due with the Resources at Hand.

    After Liza handed two of her Common Ranked Tutorial Skill Crystals to Sam, she activated the first for herself.


    Congratulations! You have found a Common Ranked Tutorial Skill Crystal.


    Tutorial Skill Crystals may be utilized to teach you one of the following Common Skills, provided you have an unused Skill Slot.


    Identify ¨C This skill will allow you to identify monsters and their levels.


    Analyze ¨C This skill will allow you to Identify any Magic Spells, barriers, or items that you encounter.


    Dodge ¨C Once per hour per rank at No cost, you can dodge any attack of equal or less Rank. Additionally, your normal chance to dodge is increased by one for every rank in this skill.


    Inventory, Common - You have been granted a dimensional storage area that may hold up to 10 slots worth of equipment.


    Each slot may hold up to 5 pounds of a single hand-sized item. Multiple Slots may be required for larger items. The number of slots required for any specific item is based on its weight.


    Items summoned from your Inventory will appear either in your hand or on the ground in front of you, as you desire.


    Regardless of the weight of the items you carry, they do not increase your weight.


    Eye of Eris, Common ¨C Range: 10 Feet. This is a 360-degree spherical perception skill. You may now perceive everything within 10 feet of you. This Skill Negates all Levels of Stealth, though Incorporeal Opponents that are also invisible may not be detected.


    WARNING: Each rank of this skill multiplies the current range by 10. If any of the following attributes: Perception, Wisdom, and Intelligence are lower than the current range, you will suffer information overload and receive the debuff ¨C Distracted


    If any of the following attributes, Perception, Wisdom, or Intelligence, are lower than the current range by more than half, you will suffer information overload and receive both the debuffs: Distracted and Pain-Racked.


    To utilize the Tutorial Skill Crystals, you must have a Skill Slot available.


    Note, Tutorial Crystals may NOT be utilized to increase the Rank of Common Skills.


    Liza used the first crystal to learn Inventory, Common, and the second crystal to learn Eyes of Eris. Then she touched one of the Uncommon, Skill Upgrade Crystals.


    You have found a Skill Upgrade Crystal, Uncommon. Unlike Tutorial skill Crystals, Normal Skill Crystals can be utilized to increase any currently known skill up to the rated rank of the Crystal as long as the skill to be upgraded is one Rank lower and your Core is of the same level or higher.


    Would you like to use the Skill Upgrade Crystal, Uncommon now, Yes or No?


    She used the first Uncommon upgrade to increase her Inventory to the Uncommon rank and then the second crystal to increase Eyes of Eris to the Uncommon rank. That left her with two unused Skill Slots. When she was done, she looked over at Sam, who was looking back at her, ¡°All done?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± Sam said; I already had Inventory to Uncommon rank, so I picked up Eyes of Eris at Common rank. My attributes can¡¯t handle the Uncommon Rank of that skill so I increased Shadow Step from Common to Uncommon with that upgrade crystal. Then I picked up Identify and increased it to Uncommon. I figure being able to know what something might be a good thing.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. I don¡¯t have Identify. How many Skill Slots do you have left now?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°Just one,¡± Sam answered.


    ¡°I have two,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like we get a lot of Skill Slots,¡± Sam said


    ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t, which means we should probably hold onto them for now. Let¡¯s pick up the cash Connor left for us and then head up to the church.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a good idea. I think we can both make it there. One question: Can you use your Shadow Step up to 10 feet for just one stamina and one mana?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Yep. And I can step up to 100 feet for just 10 mana and 10 stamina,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Me Too. How The SYSTEM treats the differences between Ranks¡­I mean the woman you shoved into the door frame. Did you mean to do that?¡±


    Liza looked a bit sheepish, ¡°Yes and no. Yes, I meant to kill her. No, I didn¡¯t mean to have her skull crunch the door frame and end up with it halfway through her brain. My strength was a bit much, for sure.¡±


    ¡°When we get a chance, we¡¯re going to have to test out our strengths and learn to pull our punches if we don¡¯t want to stand out too much,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Agreed. Hopefully, Connor will find a way to get us back to where we belong so we can kick some slaver ass.¡±


    ¡°Once last question: Did your Mana Regeneration go up and then come back down as we passed Hoover Dam?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Sam looked thoughtful for a moment, ¡°Okay, so as long as we limit mana use, we should be fine because it will regenerate. If we need it to regenerate quicker, though, we know of two locations it will. Well, three locations.¡±


    ¡°Three, where is the third,¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°The first is Mount Kimball near Tucson. The Second is Hover Damn. The third is near Tonopah, Nevada. I passed through there when I headed this way to find you.¡±


    So, these Mana Oasis, as you call them, appear in various places all over the world,¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°Not sure, but if we¡¯re on the run and need to take full advantage of our abilities, we have a location we can flee to.¡±


    ¡°Good to know. Let''s make Tonopah our emergency backup location if we get separated,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°That sounds like a good idea,¡± Sam said with a smile as she pointed at the money Connor had left them, ¡°Let¡¯s pick up this money and get going. We have a taxi to call and a ride to catch,¡± Sam said.


    Liza reached down and placed the five hundred thousand dollars Connor had left for her in her inventory. Sam did the same with his half of the million dollars. They both activated Stealth and left the house through the back door. While they might have left evidence in the home, such as a hair or skin cell sample, Liza was pretty sure they wouldn¡¯t be able to identify them for quite a while to come.


    As they made their way to the front of the house and then north along the street, Sam stayed within 10 feet of Liza so he could see her with Eyes of Eris. As they were walking up to the third house up the road, Liza detected no one within 100 feet and noticed an area that looked to be a blind spot for the security cameras for one of the homes they were passing.


    Liza stepped into the blind spot, followed by Sam, and dropped Stealth, as did Sam. Then she stepped back onto San Felipe Dr and continued to head north. Anyone wondering where they had come from wouldn¡¯t know if they came from inside the house or how long they¡¯d been there as they could have arrived from the road on the backside of the property.


    ¡°We should be good now. Let''s get to that church and then go up to Las Vegas,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± Sam agreed.


    ***


    Almost immediately after takeoff, Connor felt Liza and Sam drop out of the range of Eyes of Eris. Now that he was underway, the first thing he had to think about was how much mana he had to make new spells. Currently, his Mana Regeneration was back down to Eight Mana Per Turn. His Skill Elemental Adaption was reducing his Mana Regeneration by One Mana per Turn, as was Force Barrier. Stealth reduced his mana by Ten Mana per Turn for a net loss of four per turn. At that rate, he would have spent about 4,320 mana by the time they reached their destination. That was unacceptable.


    Connor cast his spell Control Technological Device and checked to see if there were any cameras in the cargo compartment. There weren¡¯t, which put his mind at ease. Connor deactivated Stealth, which gave him a net gain of six mana per turn. With a maximum mana of 3,352 and a current mana reserve of 19,199, the only thing that would limit his ability to create spells was his mana pool. For now, if he wanted to utilize the time he had efficiently, he could make up to 19 Uncommon rank spells for 1,000 mana a piece or one Rare ranked spell and nine uncommon spells if he just utilized the reserve mana to do so. Of course, he could make 33 common spells or three uncommon and three common spells with his normal mana pool. If he was earning six mana every 10 seconds, that was 36 mana every minute, 360 mana every 10 minutes, or 2160 per hour. Over three hours, that was 6,480. So, he could create nine uncommon spells and seven common spells over the next three hours and still have his mana reserve, which he really wanted to hold onto just in case.


    Each uncommon spell would take up two Spell Slots. Each common spell would only take up a single Spell Slot. With 248 unused Spell Slots, the 25 he¡¯d use over the next three hours wouldn¡¯t be too bad. Now the question was, What kind of spells did he want? Also, if form followed function, the higher rank a spell was, the more mana it required to cast, so he needed some versatile low-rank spells that he could use to make their lives easier. Uncommon spells would probably cost 100 mana to cast, which, at his current rate of regeneration, would take approximately four minutes to regain the mana just to cast one. Granted, he could cast them a few times, but once his mana was gone, it was gone. He could use uncommon spells with his mana pool, but if he was low on mana, he might run into some problems.


    Connor thought about all the spells he¡¯d seen in the games he¡¯d played, and one of his favorite low-level and definitely over-powered spells came to mind, Sleep. Connor meditated for a minute and then activated his skill, Malleable Spells. He focused on a common spell that would put his target to sleep.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    Searching Common Spell Database


    Spell: ¡°Sleep, Common¡± meets the criteria of the requested spell.


    Requirements to learn Spell:


    100 Mana


    One free Spell Slot.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Sleep, Common.¡±


    Sleep


    Required Materials: None


    Range: 10 Feet


    Mana Cost: 10


    Duration of successful: 10 Turns


    Choose a single living target within 10 feet. By the force of your will, you can overcome your target and force them into a deep sleep for 10 Turns. This is a test of Wills. Your Willpower is compared to the targets.


    If your willpower is more than double the targets, they will immediately fall asleep.


    If your Willpower is less than double but greater than the target''s willpower, they must make a willpower resistance check or fall asleep. If your Willpower is less than that of your targets, the Spell has no effect.


    Targets affected fall into a deep, almost Coma-like state. Even minor damage won¡¯t wake them up. A single attacks that inflict more than 50% of their maximum hit points will automatically wake up the target. Repeated minor wounds will not, even unto the point of death.


    If the target falls asleep, once the duration of the spell has expired, the target will transfer into normal sleep and may wake or be woken up normally.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Available Spell Slots: 247 of 267


    Nice! This version of sleep was only a single target, but with a willpower of 1,690, he would be able to put any Common and Uncommon rank individuals to sleep with a thought. The range was crap, but his Stealth skill made this a handy spell.


    So, what next? He quickly looked over his Common Spells. He had Magical Bolt, Force Dagger, Light, Hack, Create Food, Create Water, Sleep (Common), and the Ritual: Mana Battery, Common. Connor considered the various spells he¡¯d seen in multiple games, and three beneficial spells came to mind. All three spells conjured creatures. That begged the question, could he conjure things? Which one first, though, Find Familiar, Mount, or Unseen Servant?


    The ability to get a mount might be nice and possibly something he would need when they returned to the other world, but he could fly with the power of his mind, so that spell wouldn¡¯t be helpful now. Find Familiar? He had an idea that spell wouldn¡¯t be a common spell, or if there were a common-ranked version, there was probably a higher-ranking version of the spell as well. Besides, if he was going to get a familiar, he wanted something like a dragon, golem, or something equally cool. He¡¯d wait and try for either an uncommon or rare rank version of the spell. That left Unseen Servant as a possible spell to look for.


    Connor meditated for a minute and then focused on a common spell that would summon a small invisible creature or construct to act as his servant.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    Searching Common Spell Database


    Spell: Wizard Hands meets the criteria of the requested spell.


    Requirements to learn Spell:


    100 Mana


    One free Spell Slot.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Wizard Hands.¡±


    Wizard Hands


    Required Materials: None


    Range: 10 Feet


    Mana Cost: 10


    Upkeep: 1 mana per turn


    Duration. While Maintained.


    This spell creates a pair of invisible hands that act as if they were your regular hands. Control of Wizard Hands is automatic. Wizard Hands act as another set of hands to the Wizard and will remain with the Wizard while maintained. Each hand can lift up to 25 pounds and can be utilized in combat, though doing so requires an action and an expenditure of stamina to do so.


    If used to strike an opponent, a Wizard hand will inflict one point of damage. They do not receive the caster''s Strength Bonus.


    Not a thinking servant, but an extra set of hands could be nice in certain circumstances. He quickly cast the spell. The hands were invisible, but he could see them easily with the Eyes of Eris. When he chose not to pay the upkeep cost, the hands vanished after one turn. The initial 10 mana allowed the hands to stick around for only one turn. Good to know.


    While he was testing his new Wizard Hands spell, Connor thought about his next spell. Divination spells were useful, and one that would be extremely useful would be something that could detect magic. Of course, there was a Detect Magic spell, and he soon added it to his Spell List.


    Detect Magic


    Required Materials: None


    Range: 100 Feet


    Mana Cost: 10


    Duration. Instant


    When Detect Magic is cast, any magical item, object, or active spell within range and eyesight will glow for one turn. This spell does not determine what type of spell or effect is active; it is just that there is magic present.


    Another useful low-level spell that he remembered was copy. That spell might have some physical requirements, though. Besides a copy spell, he had a few other ideas. He¡¯d like a spell that could create scrolls or magical books so he could share some of the spells he had with others. Maybe a spell to create spell crystals? Obviously, he¡¯d probably need a crystal of some type, so a spell to help find gems and crystals would be nice.


    A spell to find gems or crystals would need to have some range to it. So, it would need to be Rare or Advanced. No, Master Rank would be the best for that spell if the ranges of spells increased by ten for each rank. To learn a Master-ranked spell would require a million mana, though. Shit, if he sat on Hoover Dam, it would take his normal Mana Regeneration rate of 160 mana per turn just over 17 hours to generate. If he wanted to create such a spell he needed to create some mana batteries first before he tried to make that spell.


    A spell to create Common Spell Crystals, though, could be useful, and he could probably find gems or crystals easily enough. A quick clearing of the mind, focus of intent, and a new spell, though this one ended up being uncommon rank.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    Searching Common Spell Database


    No Spell matching desire effect was noted


    Searching Uncommon Spell Database


    Spell: ¡°Create Common Spell Crystal¡± meets the criteria of the requested spell.


    Requirements to learn Spell:


    1,000 Mana


    Two free Spell Slots.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Create Common Spell Crystal.¡±


    Create Common Spell Crystal


    Required Materials: Medium size Crystal or Gem


    Range: None


    Mana Cost: 100


    Duration. Permanent


    With Create Common Spell Crystal, you can imbue a medium-sized crystal or gem with the knowledge to learn a common ranked spell that you know. Once created, the Spell Crystal may be utilized by another to learn the spell imbued into the Crystal so long as the individual trying to learn the spell has one free Spell Slot.


    That was exactly what he needed, Nice! Of course, he needed to find crystals and gems, but he could do that. The next spell he needed was something he could cast on another person so they could breathe and stay comfortable when he put them in a force bubble with him.


    The next spell was also Uncommon rank.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Sphere of Environmental Protection.¡±


    Sphere of Environmental Protection


    Required Materials: None


    Range: Self or Touch


    Mana Cost: 100


    Upkeep Cost: 1 per Turn, Paid by Target.


    Duration. Until Upkeep isn¡¯t paid.


    When cast, the target is surrounded by a 10-foot diameter bubble of air that provides a breathable atmosphere and maintains the optimum temperature for the target. Others within the radius of the spell are also protected by it.


    Note: There is no physical aspect to this spell. If cast underwater, the target will fall to the bottom of the body of water. The bubble of air stays centered on the target. It is not buoyant unto itself.


    Note: While active, the target is immune to Gas ¡ªor liquid-based attacks that attempt to suffocate it or deliver a toxin or poison by inhalation.


    That would do nicely. The last spell he was going to make before he gave his mana a chance to regenerate was something to heal himself and others with. The Environmental Sphere of Protection would allow people to survive the lack of oxygen and low or high temperatures, but if someone were hurt, he didn¡¯t have anything for that, so how about a spell that healed people?


    Connor meditated, focused, and was rewarded with a new spell.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Healing I.¡±


    Healing I


    Required Materials: None


    Range: Self or Touch


    Mana Cost: 10


    This spell allows you to heal yourself or another. Each application of this spell will heal one hit point of damage. This spell will stop bleeding and fix cuts and scrapes. It will not heal broken bones. This spell may be utilized on the same target multiple times but will become ineffective when used on someone with full hit points.


    This spell would come in quite helpful. He might even be able to save someone¡¯s life, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to mend bones. Maybe the Uncommon version would allow him to? Well, he¡¯d just spent 2,400 mana. It was time to take a break while his mana was restored. Then, he could unlock Healing II. Connor relaxed into pure meditation and relaxed.


    It was boring down in the cargo compartment, but with his Force Barrier chair and Environmental Adaption active, he was pretty comfortable, a little too comfortable. While he waited, he made sure to listen to the people on the plane, but for the most part, they were quiet.


    After an hour, he unlocked Healing II.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Healing II.¡±


    Healing II


    Required Materials: None


    Range: Self or Touch


    Mana Cost: 100


    This spell allows you to heal yourself or another. Each application of this spell will heal 50 Hit Points and any broken bones the target might have. This spell may be utilized on the same target multiple times but will become ineffective when used on someone with full hit points.


    If more hit points are healed than the target''s maximum hit points, the excess is lost.


    As he finished learning Healing II, Connor wondered if there was a spell that would help him regenerate Mana. Conor mediated and then focused on his desire. He needed the ability to provide him with a location that had 100% Mana Saturation.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    Searching Common Spell Database


    No Spell matching desire effect is available


    Searching Uncommon Spell Database


    No Spell-matching desired effect is available.


    Searching Rare Spell Database


    Spell: ¡°Astral Pocket¡± meets the criteria of the requested spell.


    Requirements to learn Spell:


    10,000 Mana


    Would you like to spend 10,000 Mana from your Mana Reserve to acquire the Rare Spell ¡°Astral Pocket¡±? Yes or No?


    Connor chose ¡°Yes.¡±


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Astral Pocket.¡±


    Astral Pocket


    Range: 10 feet plus Special


    Mana Cost: 1,000


    Upkeep Cost: None


    Duration. Up to 10 Hours


    This spell allows you to create a portal into a unique Astral Pocket that is attached but separate from the Astral Plane. This pocket dimension is a 100-foot diameter sphere. Inside, you will find twilight lighting in an open sphere where you will enter through a portal at the center. Upon entering, you will float at the center, though you may move as you will within the Astral Pocket.


    An Atmosphere compatible with the caster is provided and refreshed, and the temperature is kept at a comfortable 75 degrees Fahrenheit.


    Items left in the Astral Pocket will remain until removed.


    Entry into and out of a portal is made through the portal created when the spell is cast. The portal can be closed from the inside. If closed, the door in the material plane vanishes, but an anchor to the Astral Pocket remains where it was created. When reopened from the inside, the door to the Astral Pocke will reappear where it vanished from.


    Note: Portals to other planes are tied to the magical ley lines of the plane they are created on. As such, Portals opened in moving vehicles will lock to the location created within the network of ley lines, not the car they were made in.


    Mana Reserve 9,199 of 100,000


    That had cost a lot of his Mana Reserve. Granted, he had a way to get mana back quick now, maybe. He still had to test it out, but with the note that the spell had, activating it in this plane while flying would be a terrible idea. So, now, it was time to relax, read over his new spells a couple more times, and wait until Mr. Diego made it to wherever he was going. To be able to follow him and not be seen once they arrived, Connor needed to replenish some of the Mana Reserve he¡¯d just utilized to get Astral Pocket. With that in mind, Connor relaxed and decided to meditate while he waited.


    Two hours later, they came in for a landing at Aeropuerto de Cuernavaca. Connor had transferred the 4,320 mana overflow he received into his Mana Reserve, which brought it back up to 13,519. That should be more than enough to follow this asshat. Connor relaxed in the cargo compartment until Mr. Diego exited the aircraft. Then, he activated Stealth and Flight. A quick Shadow Stepped to a point fifty feet above the plane, and he was ready to follow this guy. At a net loss of 6 mana per turn, he could remain stealthed and flight-capable for at least nine hours, much longer if he tapped his Mana Reserve.


    ***


    ¡°Diego just landed,¡± the voice on the other end of the phone said.


    ¡°Bring him here. Send the others the plant,¡±


    ¡°As you wish, Senior Perez.¡±


    Juan Perez waved the man away and turned back to his computer screen. His contacts within the local police force up north had sent him a picture of the two people who had been at their ambush, a man and a woman who didn¡¯t show up on any files anywhere, which was saying something. He switched to the next image, which showed Conrad Baker, who had a one-million-dollar win at the slot machine. The team that had been sent to get him had disappeared. The snuff team they had in Boulder City had also gone offline. Over twenty people had vanished in less than a day. Still, the first two teams to disappear had been successful in their missions before they disappeared.


    The reports he was going over were very clear: no bodies had been recovered save the bodies of the victims. The politician they¡¯d been after had been killed, but the second part of his contract for the mother and daughter wasn¡¯t handled¡­yet. He had more teams to send after them, but it would be at least a week before things surrounding the politicians would calm down enough for him to target the women again. He¡¯d been hired to send a message to the Americans; that was what he was going to do. If all of the men and women he¡¯d lost were dead, that would be a significant loss to his organization north of the border. He did have assets in California he could call on, though.


    As he reviewed the information he had, he was hopeful that Diego would have more answers. What he really wanted to know, though, was where Conrad Baker had come from. He would have to thank his counterpart in Las Vegas for the information they¡¯d provided thus far. Even so, it was still lacking.


    Juan walked over to his bar and poured himself a drink. When Diego arrived a half hour later, Juan had reviewed the information he had repeatedly and still couldn¡¯t figure out where they¡¯d gone wrong. Everything appeared to be working as he¡¯d planned right up until the RV stopped. Then, the first team disappeared, followed almost immediately by the second team. The third team in the hotel disappeared next, followed by the snuff team. Juan couldn¡¯t blame Diego for bailing on the operation; he would have to. There were too many unknowns happening to quickly for him to have stayed around.


    Still, Diego might have some new information.


    Suddenly, the computer he¡¯d been using to review the information started flipping through pictures and screens. He tried to stop it by hitting a couple of keys before he finally unplugged the computer from the outlet, and it went dead. Juan heard the door to his study open as Diego walked inside and saw him holding the power cord to his computer.


    ¡°Everything okay, Boss?¡±


    Juan looked from the power cord to Diego before he set the cord down and leveled his gaze at Diego, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­.¡± Diego started to say before he pitched over where he stood and fell to the ground.


    Juan was about to call out when he felt something settle over his mind, and the world went dark.


    ***


    Connor walked over to the computer and plugged it back in before he retook control of it. The hard drive had a lot of information, including information about Liza, Sam, and himself. With Eyes of Eris, he kept track of everyone in the estate he was in while he stripped Diego and Mr. Perez of all of their weapons and then used some of the zip ties he¡¯d picked up from the other assholes he¡¯d killed to secure their hands and feet in front of them. Finally, he gagged both of them. He¡¯d come back to them after he finished going over the information on Mr. Perez¡¯s computer. He had to admit that the Sleep spell worked beautifully.


    It had been incredibly easy to follow Diego to this location, even with the course changes and underground passages he¡¯d used to change cars. Connor¡¯s skill Eyes of Eris had a range of 10,000 feet. As long as he remained within range, Connor never lost track of Diego.


    When Diego finally pulled up to Juan Perez''s house, he accessed his computer remotely and went through the files until he unplugged the computer. Then he popped in and hit both with Sleep. They¡¯d be out for a little while. If they woke up before he was done reviewing the files, he¡¯d just put them back to Sleep until he was ready for them.

 Chapter 16, A Relaxing Evening

    The estate or villa Connor found himself in was just east of Cuernavaca near a mining area. There were twenty guards on site. Six looked active on the perimeter, four were in the house, and the other ten looked to be in a barracks of sorts where they were sleeping. That didn¡¯t include Juan Perez and Diego, who were zip-tied and gagged on the floor before him.


    After reviewing all of the information that Juan had about him, it was obvious that there were competent individuals within his organization throughout the United States. That said, he needed the ability to get information from these two without worrying whether he was being lied to or not. Sure, he could go on a killing spree and take out all of these people, but he was still considering the possibility that he might cause a paradox, so he wasn¡¯t going to go too wild if he didn¡¯t have to. But there was one thing he wanted to try.


    Connor activated Astral Pocket and threw Diego inside before he closed the door. He tried to will the door open again, but he couldn¡¯t access the Astral Pocket once it was closed from this side. He moved to the other side of the room and activated Astral Pocket again for another 1,000 mana. Sure enough, a door appeared. When he looked in, Diego was still lying on the ground. So, he could put people in the Astral Pocket and then go somewhere else with them.


    Connor picked up Juan Perez, Cartel boss and lowest of the low human beings, and unceremoniously tossed him into the Astra Pocket before he closed it. After he closed the door, he walked over to a computer and deposited it into his Inventory. Next, he went over to the wall safe behind a painting on the wall and cast Hack to unlock and open it. Inside, he found¡­holy shit, there was a bag of diamonds and another bag of various gems; rubies, sapphires, emeralds, opals, and a few gem types he didn¡¯t recognize.


    Then, he moved a cabinet and used Hack to open the safe on the floor. The second safe was a bit larger and contained two briefcases; each filled with 100 dollars U.S. A quick count allowed him to estimate that each briefcase contained approximately one million dollars. Both went into his Inventory.


    Connor closed both safes. Now, the only evidence that someone had been in the room was the missing computer. With Flight and Stealth still active, Connor launched into the late afternoon sky and headed northwest toward the forested mountain. He found a place behind a tree near the peak in the nearby mountain range, activated Astral Pocket, and stepped inside for the first time. He closed the door behind him. Both Perez and Diego were looking at the opening with malice in their eyes as Connor closed the door and checked his Mana Regeneration, which was the whole reason he¡¯d created this spell. Sure enough, his mana regeneration had returned to 160 mana per turn.


    Connor deactivated Flight and Stealth and became visible to the two tied-up floating men, who immediately started yelling into their gags. Connor looked at them both with disdain before he cast Sleep on both of them again. While they were unconscious, he mediated and then activated Malleable Spells to create a spell that would make a sphere of sound suppression.


    Congratulations! You had discovered the common spell ¡°Silence.¡±


    Silence


    Required Materials: None


    Range: Self or Touch


    Mana Cost: 10


    Upkeep: 10 Mana every 10 turns.


    This spell allows you to create a bubble of silence centered on you or the individual you touch with a diameter of 10 feet. This spell will last for 10 Turns. The Duration can be extended by another ten turns for 10 additional mana. If extending Silence on another, the target must be touched before doing so.


    Perfect! Connor cast Silence and then shut his eyes and began meditating. Now he wouldn¡¯t have to listen to these assholes moan and whine for the next couple of hours while he worked on trying to create a spell or skill that would allow him to get the information he wanted from someone. He thought that a more intrusive version of telepathy might be nice, but another thought occurred to him as well. What if he drained his target memories into a crystal so that he could review them at will later? Such a spell might destroy the mind it was copying, or it could just make copies. He wasn¡¯t really sure.


    What he was sure about was that he could replace the 3,000 mana he¡¯d just used in less than four minutes inside this Astral Pocket. He could also fill his Mana Reserve in one hour and forty-five minutes. This meant that over the next 10 hours, he could create up to four Advance-ranked spells or skills. The first thing he had to do was fill his Mana Reserve just in case a spell to create a memory crystal required 100,000 mana to make. As for the other two, they could stay tied up. In this space that made them all weightless, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get the leverage they needed to get free, and even if they did, they couldn¡¯t hurt him.


    Connor set himself up to pay the upkeep cost for Silence every 10 turns and then closed his eyes to meditate. While he meditated, his Mana Pool and Mana Reserve were filled by his natural regeneration rate of 160 mana per Turn.


    ***


    Liza looked out from the Suite Sam had rented in the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. The last couple of hours had been a bit of fun as they went shopping, and she bought a few outfits so she could dress nicely for dinner. Each of their rooms had its own bathroom, which she¡¯d used to take a luxurious shower before putting her hair up and putting on the light summer dress she¡¯d found.


    As she leaned on the balcony looking out over the Las Vegas Strip, she watched Sam get dressed in his room, as well as everyone else within 100 feet. Her Skill Eyes of Eris was something else. She knew what was going on everywhere within 100 feet of herself. She felt slightly embarrassed about seeing Sam naked, then realized that Connor and Sam would both be able to see her and any other woman within range. She¡¯d never seen Connor act embarrassed, which led her to believe there was a way to filter what she was viewing directly. As she started to practice with the skill, she realized that unless she specifically focused on something, she could ignore the specifics of what was going on.


    Liza watched Sam step out of his suite and walk up behind her before he asked, ¡°Are you ready to head down for dinner?¡±


    Liza turned to look at Sam, who had put on a nice pair of pants and a light blue polo shirt, ¡°Sure. How do you think Connor is doing?¡±


    Sam laughed before he said, ¡°Did I tell you how we first met? No? I shot him in the head during the tutorial.¡±


    ¡°You did what?¡± Liza said, shocked.


    ¡°Yeah, I thought I had the drop on him. I should let you know that Eyes of Eris is not all-seeing. If someone is moving in the open, you will see me, but if someone like me is also hiding within cover, Eyes of Eris doesn¡¯t detect me. It¡¯s because of one of my abilities.¡±


    ¡°Truly?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°Yep. That¡¯s how I got the drop on him. Once I was visible, though, he had me.¡±


    Liza nodded, ¡°Good to know. Let¡¯s get something to eat.¡±


    Liza walked toward the door to the suite with Sam close behind. It would be nice to sit down and have a proper meal. Today had been exhausting.


    ***


    Agent Smith tried again. Neither Mr. Diego nor Mr. Perez answered his calls. He¡¯d come back to the office to find out what had happened on I 93 and walked right into a clusterfuck, as his fellow agents liked to call it. Yes, the target was dead. No, the secondary targets were not dead, and now, anyone that he could ask was missing. Well, he knew Lopez, and if Diego had any say, Lopez should be at the property in Boulder City.


    Agent Smith logged off of his computer and stood. Before he left, he checked out and listed the destination he was going to. Once he was back, the information would be scrubbed. If he didn¡¯t come back, though, his fellow agents would know where to start looking for him. Though, if the shit hit the fan, he did not doubt that they¡¯d never find his body, well, not intact, at least.


    He left the nondescript building in western Las Vegas and drove down to Boulder City. The Sun was going down as he pulled into the driveway and walked up to the door.


    Agent Smith rang the doorbell.


    When no one answered for five full minutes, he pulled out the key Diego had given him and entered the house. As he walked into the house, he looked down the hallway to the garage door and noticed that there was blood spray on the ceiling.


    Agent Smith drew his weapons and began looking around slowly and carefully. Afterward, he searched the garage, where he found indications that something had happened, but no bodies or even a vehicle, though¡­it was weird. The little bit of blood splatter he found showed where the blood stopped as if a car had been there but behind where the wheels would have been parked, where he did find blood splatter, it had not been run over by tires when the vehicle left, yet there was no vehicle in the garage. It was just weird.


    Another weird thing he noticed. He could see where it looked like six people had died in the garage, but there were no bodies. While some footprints seemed to walk around in the blood, where the bodies had fallen showed no signs of being dragged. It was like they¡¯d been on the ground, and then they¡¯d just vanished. It was peculiar.


    Agent Smith went into the basement and found the partial remains of someone in a stainless steel tub who had been erased from existence. Again, the people working here had vanished. What the hell was going on? He knew from the files that he¡¯d read and the conversation he had with Diego that the girl and the guy should have been brought here, but there was no evidence of them or the car that had been sent to get them.


    He made his way upstairs and pulled out his smartphone. He sent a quick text to their Standby clean-up crew.


    Location 3, Sanitize


    Once the message was sent, he locked the front door and left. As he drove back to his office, he tried one more time to contact Diego or Perez. At the office, Agent Smith did a quick search for Conrad Baker or the two people that driver Jason picked up off I93. Mr. Baker had vanished. The last anyone saw of the man was when he went up to his suite at the Hoover Dam Casino. The other two had been spotted at the Wynn Las Vegas Casino. They checked in under the names Sam and Lisa Wick. The names didn¡¯t mean anything to him, but they were in the hotel and were currently dining in the VIP area.


    Agent Smith went to his locker, pulled out a dinner coat, and put it on. Next, he updated his destination before heading to the Wynn Casino and Hotel. Once there, he made his way into the restaurant and immediately noticed the woman he was looking for. She was gorgeous. Even with her hair up, she was beautiful. He was actually thankful those morons hadn¡¯t caught her. Now that he¡¯d verified they were here, though, he needed to call in an abduction team.


    Agent Smith took his seat, ordered a drink, and then made his way to the bathroom. Once he was sure the bathroom was clear, he dialed the office.


    ¡°I need an arrest team at the Sky Lounge restaurant in the Wynn Casino and Hotel.¡±


    ¡°Target?¡± his counterpart asked.


    ¡°Sam and Lisa Wick,¡±


    Sam felt the air move at his back just before the phone was plucked from his hand. As he turned to see what was going on, his phone vanished, and Lisa Wick looked at him and said, ¡°Well, hello there.¡±


    A moment later, the bathroom door crashed open, and Sam Wick crashed through the door into the bathroom.


    Agent Smith started to reach for his weapon. Before his hand moved an inch, his wrist was gripped as if by iron while a similar grip grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground slightly.


    Agent Smith started to reach for the sheathed blade he had stored at his waist with his left hand when he froze as the grip on his right hand squeezed and his right wrist felt like it was about to break, even though he didn¡¯t think wrists could be broken.


    ***


    Liza looked at the man she was holding with disdain. She¡¯d been enjoying her meal when the names Sam had checked them in under were used from the male bathroom. Her attention had focused on the man and his phone conversation. Once she realized he was calling for someone to come arrest them, she looked across the table and whispered, ¡°Bathroom,¡± before she vanished with a Shadow Step into the bathroom behind the man who had just spoken their fake names.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    He''d reached for his sidearm; then he¡¯d reached for his blade at his waist, which had caused her to squeeze his right wrist while she held him up by the neck. Just then, Sam came through the bathroom door.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°This guy just called the police on us?¡± Liza said with the hint of a smile.


    ¡°Really?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°What is this? Do you have any idea who I am?¡±


    ¡°I do believe he¡¯s going to tell us that he¡¯s either FBI, CIA, or some other member of the Government and that we must do as he says?¡± Sam said with a touch of sarcasm that was most definitely noticeable.


    ¡°Hmmm, still, I don¡¯t see how that matters,¡± Liza said thoughtfully.


    ¡°If anything happens to me, the government will hunt you down¡­¡±


    ¡°This is tiresome,¡± Sam said, ¡°The only way you know who we are is if you are working for the assholes that tried to snuff us earlier¡­or¡­you are part of a government agency that knew of the terrorists within the border of the United States and did nothing to step in and help two of its citizens.¡±


    ¡°You''re not American! You''re not in any¡­¡± the man Liza held tried to say before she squeezed just enough to stop him from talking. When she allowed him to breathe again he stared daggers at her but didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°Jack Smith¡±


    ¡°Well, Mr. Smith, You have ruined our chance to have a little fun, so we¡¯re going to ruin your night,¡± Liza said as she pushed him up against the wall with a shove and activated Stealth while Sam did the same. Liza activated the Shadow Step and appeared outside of the bathroom within Sam¡¯s range of perception. A moment later, Sam appeared beside her. She indicated for him to follow her and walked out of the restaurant. When they were close to an empty closet, she pointed, and then Shadow Stepped inside. Sam followed her in.


    ¡°Okay, what¡¯s the plan?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°We need to know who this guy is working for. We also need a place to stay off the grid until we figure out who he works for.¡±


    ¡°How are you going to do that?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Easy enough. I¡¯m going to stay within 100 feet of him and follow him for the rest of the night.¡±


    ¡°And what am I supposed to do?¡±


    ¡°Head to a different Casino, blend, and if the cops show up, remain free until Connor gets back. I¡¯ll stay in touch through Party Chat. Alright, the first thing I¡¯m going to do is change my clothes. I suggest you do,¡± Liza said as her clothes changed to tennis shoes, jeans, and a cute blue blouse.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d you do that?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Play with your inventory a bit; you can assign outfits and then swap them as needed as long as you have an empty inventory slot or slots, depending on how heavy the clothes are.¡±


    Liza watched Sam concentrate for a moment, and then his clothes changed, ¡°Cool!¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. Now, get going. I¡¯m going to remain out of sight up here and watch through Eyes of Eris.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t have too much fun,¡± Sam said.


    Liza checked the room for cameras and then deactivated Stealth once Sam was gone. Then she watched,


    ***


    Agent Smith was still rubbing his wrist, which he knew was going to bruise, when the police arrived. A moment later, two policemen burst into the bathroom with their guns raised. When they saw him, they relaxed and lowered their weapons.


    ¡°Agent Smith, The ma?tre d said you¡¯d been in here for a while and that the woman had vanished just before the man you wished for us to pick up rushed in here. Where is he?¡±


    ¡°I do not know. No one saw them leave this room?¡±


    ¡°No, sir. Ben, the ma?tre d, was adamant that no one had come into or out of the male bathroom since the man rushed from this table to the bathroom.


    Agent Smith pulled out his phone and dialed 911. After Identifying himself with Identification and authentication codes, he said, ¡°We have fugitives on-site at the Wynn Casino and Hotel; lock it down.¡±


    Six hours later, the building had been searched from top to bottom. They were gone. The security camera footage from the hotel and every nearby camera that pointed toward the Wynn Casino and Hotel had been reviewed. The two had vanished, just disappeared like that Conrad Baker guy.


    When everyone was done and packed up, Agent Smith returned to his car and made his way back to the office. Once inside, he sat down at his desk and began filing a preliminary report. What had started as a follow-up on individuals that had something to do with the disappearance of Cartel/CIA assets had now turned into something out of the X-Files. He had the bruised wrist to prove the woman had been in the bathroom. The surveillance showed the woman disappearing from her table and then the man standing and moving at some estimated over sixty miles per hour to the bathroom. Then they¡¯d just vanished. He¡¯d even had the team check the walls of the toilet to make sure there was nothing behind the walls.


    When he was done filing the report, he left the office and headed to his apartment on the north side of town. By the time he walked into his living room and then into his kitchen, it was after 2:30 a.m. He poured himself a glass of Whiskey and sat down in his recliner as he turned on the news to unwind. As he finished his glass of whiskey and put the glass on the stand beside him, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He felt as if he was being watched. Like someone was in the room with him, he started to rise to his feet and pull his gun as everything started to go dark. Just before he fell into unconsciousness, he realized that he was falling back into a comfortable recliner.


    ***


    Connor looked down at the sleeping agent as Sam and Liza stepped in from the balcony. They all remained Stealthed as Connor talked with them through Telepathy.


    ¡°Let me check for hidden cameras or mics,¡± Connor said through their Telepathic link.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°As you say,¡±  Liza said.


    Connor cast Control Technological Device, which allowed him to take control of any device he could perceive within 100 feet¡ªa nice synergistic effect he¡¯d discovered. With Eyes of Eris active, any hidden devices within 100 feet were automatically detected. Every device popped up in his notification window and asked if he¡¯d like to take control of it. Since he could only take control of one at a time, all of the electronic devices within range were listed. After a quick check, he could see if there were any small electronic cameras or microphones. There weren¡¯t any. Connor chose Perez¡¯s Smartphone, took control of it, and then picked it up as he reset all of the security settings to himself before he placed the smartphone in his Inventory.


    This next part was going to be very nice. Once Conner had finished filling his Mana Reserve and regular Mana Pool, he created a new skill, Memory Download, Rare.


    Memory Download, Rare


    Required Materials: None


    Prerequisite: Telepathy II


    Range: Dependent on Telepathy II


    Mana Cost: 1,000


    Duration: Permanent


    Memory Download: Rare is a supplemental skill to Telepathy II. If your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Willpower attributes are high enough, this skill allows you to quickly download the memories of a target into your mind. You may download the memories of those whose Intelligence, Wisdom, and Willpower attributes are 1,000 or less. Once activated, the target is rendered unconscious for a number of Turns equal to their age.


    You may hold the memories of the individual or transfer them into a memory crystal. The choice to Retain or Transfer the memories is made when the skill is activated.


    NOTE: This Skill is synergistic with the Spells ¡°Create Memory Crystal, Common¡± and ¡°Create Memory Crystal, Uncommon.¡±


    If the memories are retained, they become part of your mind and will fade over time, as all memories do.


    If the memories are to be transferred into a memory crystal, they are drawn out and transferred into the crystal immediately.


    If retained, the memories are your memories. You can recall any knowledge and technical skills available to the individual. For instance, if the person you downloaded the memories from were a pilot, you would gain the ability to fly aircraft precisely like the target of this skill was able to. The memories will remain vibrant for a number of days equal to your Wisdom Attribute. After that, they will begin to fade as normal unless the knowledge is reviewed or used regularly.


    Creating the skill cost him 10,000 mana.


    Next, he¡¯d used Malleable Skills to create Telepathy II at the Rare rank for another 10,000 mana.


    Telepathy II


    Rank: Rare


    Mana Cost: 1,000.


    Maximum Range: 1,000 Feet. The target must be within the Line of Sight or Perception Range.


    Unlike Telepathy I, permission from the target is not required. Telepathic Contact can be made with any Target within range. Once connected, you may listen to the target''s thoughts, which includes all sensory input.


    This skill is automatically successful on anyone with a Willpower Attribute less than yours. This skill does not affect anyone with a willpower equal to greater than yours.


    Once a connection is established, supplemental skills and spells may be utilized.


    Once he was done creating the skills, he verified that he had 11 Skill Slots remaining. Then, he used his skill Malleable Spells to make the spells Create Memory Crystal, Common, and Create Memory Crystal, Uncommon.


    Create Memory Crystal, Common.


    Required Materials: Small Crystal or Gem


    Range: None


    Prerequisite: Skill or Spell: Memory Download, Common rank or higher.


    Mana Cost: 100


    Duration. Permanent or until destroyed. The Crystal is destroyed if it takes 100 or more points of damage. Damaged crystals will regenerate naturally at a rate of one hit point per day.


    With Create Memory Crystal, Common, the caster prepares a crystal to store the memories of anyone who has Intelligence, Wisdom, and Willpower attributes of 100 or less are stored within the memory crystal. As the memories are being transferred from the caster to the crystal, the process is automatic. Crystals may be prepped for storage ahead of time.


    Once created, the memories of the individual may be accessed with a touch. Unlike memories, which are downloaded and retained, the ability to utilize the associated memories can be utilized to use technical skills to perform technical tasks. You may use the information stored on the memory crystal to learn technical skills, but you will not immediately know how to do so.


    The amount of time it takes to review all of the information stored on a memory crystal is equal to the individual''s age divided by the intelligence attribute modifier of the individual reviewing the memories. For example, if someone with an intelligence of 100 were to review the memories of a 20-year-old man, it would take them approximately 81.1 days to do so. If, however, the individual only wished to review 24 hours of information stored within the memory crystal, that would take 16 minutes.


    The spell Create Memory Crystal, Uncommon, required a medium crystal or gem and 1,000 mana to create. It could hold the memories of anyone with Intelligence, Wisdom, and Willpower attributes of 1,000 or less.


    Connor had used the mana from his Mana Reserve, which brought him back to down to 80,000. At 160 mana per turn, it was only 55 minutes before the mana returned. Well, it was closer to 65 minutes because he created four of each type of memory crystal with the diamonds he¡¯d recovered. The process had been enjoyable. As the spell was cast, the mana altered the diamonds and changed them until they were no longer diamonds but instead large clear crystals. The Common Memory Crystals were the size of a golf ball, while the Uncommon Memory Crystals were the size of tennis balls. Juan Perez¡¯s eyes had bugged out when Connor cast the spell repeatedly.


    After the memory crystals were ready, Connor utilized Memory Download on Diego to retain the memories. For a moment, he was Diego, but then his will shoved the memories aside. He could think about what he¡¯d just learned later. Diego now lay unconscious. He tried to activate Memory Download again but received a different notification.


    The Skill, Download Memories, Rare may only be utilized against a single target once per year.


    Connor considered what was going on for a moment and then utilized Telepathy II and Download Memories, Rare on Juan Perez. It took a moment to recover. He quickly reviewed the memories coursing through his mind and realized that both of these men were complete and utter monsters. Some of the¡­Connor pushed those memories aside. There was nothing else he could learn from these two monsters. With a simple twist, he killed each man and deposited them into his Mana Composter.  He wasn¡¯t even going to bother questioning the morality of what he¡¯d just done. The world was much better off without them.


    Over the next three hours, Connor recovered the mana he¡¯d expended and also used his Create Common Spell Crystal spell to create spell crystals for Liza and Sam. The spells he created for them were Create Food, Create Water, Light, Force Dagger, Hack, Magical Bolt, Wizard Hands, Detect Magic, Healing I, and Silence.


    He also used the diamonds to create three Rare Mana Batteries and charged each with 1,000 mana. The Mana Batteries should help them maintain their Stealth for more extended periods. He also used the diamonds to create ten Common Mana Batteries and charged them each with 10 mana.


    Once he had fully recharged his Mana Pool and Mana Reserve, he activated Stealth and Flight and stepped out of the Astral Pocket. Once he was above the mountains, he surrounded himself in a force bubble and rocketed north at his maximum speed of 2,498 miles per hour, or just over Mach 3.


    Just under an hour later, at around 11 p.m. local time, he was over Mt. Kimball near Tucson. When he flew within range of the mountain, the facility was gone. He moved closer until he was right on top of where it should be. There was nothing within two miles of him that wasn¡¯t human-made. The facility was gone. His Mana was regenerating normally as he landed on the mountaintop. As he looked up into the sky, he noticed that a few fighters were flying back and forth across the sky.


    Connor considered their presence for a moment. They had detected the Force Barrier or the shockwave; he had been traveling quite fast. Just in case, Connor kept Stealth active but deactivated everything else. He rested for a few minutes while his Mana Pool was refilled. He also checked his Mana Composter. Everyone he¡¯d thrown into it was gone, and all of their equipment and supplies were now in his inventory.


    Connor activated Flight and jumped back into the air. This time, he stayed low to the ground and kept his speed at about 400 miles per hour. His body easily handled the speed, and it also gave him plenty of time to react to anything that might get in his way. An hour later, he was within range of Las Vegas, and he used Telepathy I to reach out to Liza and Sam to find out what was going on.


    He met up with Sam, first creating a Force Barrier around both of them and then took him to meet Liza. They filled him in on what they¡¯d been doing through Telepathy while all three of them watched Agent Smith as he made his way back to his office and then home.


    Which brought him to now. He¡¯d Shadow-Stepped in behind the Agent and hit him with Sleep. He knew who this man was from Diego and Perez¡¯s memories. This was Agent Smith, A CIA operative and their liaison with the U.S. Government. He was the man who had passed on the target for today''s operation that resulted in the death of a politician. Perez hadn¡¯t known where the orders had come from, but Connor was sure that this asshole did. He probably also had a lot more information that Connor could use.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°While I was gone, I created a new skill that lets me download someone¡¯s memories. I¡¯m thinking that having this guy''s memories would be very useful,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Will the process kill him?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Nope, but he will be unconscious for a while.¡±


    ¡°Then do it. We can review what he knows and make plans from there,¡± Lisa said.


    ¡°Okay then, close the curtains and give me a moment,¡± Connor said.


    Lisa closed the curtains, and Sam checked to make sure the door to the apartment was locked. Once they both gave him a thumbs up, Connor activated Telepathy II and then Memory Download. Unlike Diego or Perez, Agent Smith, whose actual name was Gregory Alan Foster, was not a monster. He was a patriot who could commit monstrous acts when necessary. As the agent¡¯s memories flowed into Connor''s mind, he wasn¡¯t overwhelmed with the information. Still, he was a bit surprised when one of the memories he received contained a meeting with a female elf by the name of Silvana.

 Chapter 17, Five-Fingered Discount

    Connor finishes absorbing the memories and stabilizes himself before he reaches out with Telepathy I.


    ¡°Alright, I have what we need,¡± Connor sent.


    ¡°Where to now?¡± Liza asked.


    Connor considers for a second and then sends, ¡°Let¡¯s get some breakfast,¡±


    ¡°What about this asshole?¡± Sam asks.


    ¡°I have his memories, and we know where he is. Leave him. Besides, he¡¯s going to sleep well into tomorrow. That should give us plenty of time to get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Sam sends, but there¡¯s a feeling in Sam¡¯s mental connection that indicates he thinks it¡¯s a bad idea.


    ¡°Remember, we¡¯re in the past. The less we actually change, the better. Now, isn¡¯t there an IHOP on the north side of town as you leave along Interstate 11?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s still there,¡± Sam sent.


    ¡°All right, One Connor Bubble Shuttle outside of the Balcony coming up,¡± Connor sends as he Shadow Steps to the balcony and uses Force Barrier to create the lower half of the Force Barrier Bubble, complete with two seats. He makes it with a slight opacity so they can see where to sit until they sit down. Then, the force bubble conforms to their bodies as the bubble closes over the three of them and becomes completely transparent. Connor waits for the bubble to become completely transparent while he floats up and behind Liza and Sam.


    Connor lifts the three of them into the night sky and then heads northwest toward the IHOP. Luckily, there is a bridge over a highway right next to the IHOP Parking lot. Connor brings the bubble underneath the highway and lands under the overpass where no one can see. Connor deactivates the Force Barrier and then drops Stealth, ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±


    Sam drops his Stealth first, followed quickly by Liza, who adds, ¡°Yes, we are.¡±


    Connor leads the two to the IHOP. They make their way inside and find that while it is the middle of the night, they¡¯re still moderately busy, though there is no line.


    The receptionist rushes over, grabs three menus and the napkin-wrapped silverware, and asks, ¡°Welcome to IHOP, Party of three?¡±


    Sam and Liza look to Connor, who looks at the receptionist and says, ¡°Yes, if we could have both away from the door, please.¡±


    The receptionist looks down to their seat planning, nods to herself, and smiles at Connor, ¡°Yes, Sir. If you¡¯ll follow me, I have a booth toward the back that will do.¡± She turns and leads the three of them down and around the aisle to a booth near the hallway to the restrooms.


    Jen, their receptionist, sat them and took their drink order before heading off to load the order into their tracking and billing computer. Three minutes later, their waitress, Alice, walked out with their drinks and took their orders. Once she¡¯d left the area, Connor smiled, ¡°So, did you two have fun?¡±


    ¡°You could say that,¡± Sam states with a grin, ¡°How about you?¡±


    ¡°Well, I found the leader of the people that targeted us. He won¡¯t be a problem anymore. We can go over that elsewhere. While I was out of town, I had a chance to make you these,¡± Connor says as he pulls two sets of crystals out of his Inventory. He places a set in front of each of them. Each set of Crystals contains one Common Spell Crystal for the spells: Create Food, Create Water, Light, Force Dagger, Hack, Magical Bolt, Wizard Hands, Detect Magic, Healing I, and Silence.¡±


    Sam and Liza take their ten Common Spell Crystals. It takes them a minute to identify all of them. When Liza finishes, she looks up, ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°If you like those, you two will love these,¡± Connor says as he pulls out a Rare Mana Battery and sets one down in front of each of them. Sam and Liza reach out and immediately cover the glowing crystals with their hands. A moment later, both sets of eyes go wide just before all the crystals disappear into their inventories.


    ¡°There¡¯s 1,000 mana in that Battery,¡± Sam hisses excitedly


    ¡°Yes,¡± Connor agrees.


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Once we¡¯re somewhere somewhat safe, I¡¯ll show you. For now, would you like to know what I discovered from the Agent?¡±


    Connor pulls up Agent Smith¡¯s memory of the meeting and quickly reviews his meeting with the Elf Silvana. He¡¯d been on assignment on the West Coast and had taken a trip up Highway 101 to Klamath. The other Agent he¡¯d been with, an older man who went by Agent Black, had driven them into the Redwood Forest until they came to the Foresty Department. From there, they made their way into the forest until they came to a giant tree with a man-sized archway in it. They¡¯d stepped through, the lighting had changed, and Agent Black had told him to wait by the Archway while he talked to the nice lady. Agent Smith had seen her pointy ears and knew that this was either a cosplay set up of some sort or a set for a movie, that was until he saw the two suns in the sky through the trees.


    Agent Black had talked with the woman for a while before he returned. He¡¯d led Agent Smith back to the Forestry Department, where Agent Black made Agent Smith promise never to mention what he¡¯d seen that day. Connor snickered. It was too bad for them; Connor had full access to Agent Smith''s memories, which included him creating a ¡°Deadman¡¯s File,¡± which would be released 30 days after his death.


    Connor was pulled through his thoughts as Liza asked, ¡°Connor?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I remembered where we needed to go next.¡±


    Sam cleared his throat before he said, ¡°You mentioned that you were going to take his memories; how¡¯d you learn to do that?¡±


    ¡°Another skill. Anyway, let''s dig in and eat, then hit a Walmart before we head out of town. We need to pick up some sleeping bags and possibly some snacks if you want.¡±


    ¡°Where are we staying tonight? You know they¡¯re looking for us,¡± Liza pointed out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about that; I¡¯ve got it covered,¡± Connor said with a smile.


    A minute later, their food arrived, and they ate while Sam and Liza informed Connor about what they¡¯d been up to all day. When they finish catching him up, Connor smirked, ¡°So, you''re wanted by the authorities. It¡¯s a good thing they won¡¯t be able to track or find us soon.¡±


    ¡°How do you figure,¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you. Now we need to go shopping.¡±


    Connor waited for Alice to return to the table and handed her a $100 bill. ¡°That¡¯s for the meals. Keep the change; we need to be going.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir! Thank You, Sir!¡± Alice stated enthusiastically as the three of them stood and then made their way out of the IHOP. As Connor walked outside, he realized that a spell to temporarily interrupt technological devices might be handy. Of course, if he did that to all technological devices, that could cause problems for those with medical implants and the like. Also, vehicles and buildings. But it was magic, so maybe there was a spell out there that would interrupt only cameras? It still might affect the new cars with front-mounted cameras, but in 2007, there shouldn¡¯t be too many of those on the roads.


    Since he doesn¡¯t have that spell right now, he walks. The closest Walmart is just west of the IHOP, less than a quarter of a mile away. It¡¯s the middle of the night, so it should be open. Also, there are a lot more people on the road. Wait, it¡¯s 2007, that¡¯s twelve years before Covid 19. The lockdown hasn¡¯t happened yet. So yeah, the Walmart is probably open in the City that Never Sleeps, a nickname it shares with New York City.


    As they walk down the street, Connor asks, ¡°So, how are the two of you on funds?¡±


    ¡°We still have most of what you already gave us,¡± Liza answers with a smile.


    ¡°Good, get some supplies. I suggest getting the food and drinks that you want. The Crystals I gave you will allow you to make your own food and water, but you¡¯ll need something to hold anything you create if you¡¯re not going to store it in your Inventory. Also, any clothes and tools you might think that you need that you can carry in your Inventory. I will also be picking up such items, but first, I¡¯m going to sneak over into Sam¡¯s Club and pick up a few more practical things before I go into Walmart. I¡¯ll meet you inside.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to sneak inside?¡± Sam asks


    ¡°You¡¯ll understand why I did when we leave here,¡± Connor states with a smile.


    ¡°Alright, I guess,¡± Liza says.


    As the three of them walk between two buildings, Connor hangs back and walks over to the wall, taking note of all the cameras in the area. He steps behind a dumpster, Activates Flight and Stealth, and heads over to the northwest side of the parking lot where Sam¡¯s Club is. A quick Shadow Steps inside. A few people are stocking the shelves and isles, but not many.


    Connor floats above the floor as he looks over the large warehouse. While Astral Pocket is very beneficial, the lack of any foundation will make it hard for anyone but him to orient themselves. If he put a shed or some other structure inside the Astral Pocket, Sam and Liza might subconsciously orient the floor of the structure down. Since up and down are determined by the mind of the person within the Astral Pocket, that should help them rest a bit more easily, at least, he hopes so.


    Connor immediately found what he was looking for in the middle of the floor. They¡¯d set up a 15¡¯ x 8¡¯ shed that would do nicely. To show how much it could hold, they¡¯d placed various pieces of equipment inside it, including a riding lawnmower, a pallet of fertilizer, and various gardening tools hanging on the sides.


    Connor floats down next to the shed and waits until no one is nearby. Then, with a touch and a flex of his will, the shed and everything in it are added to his Inventory. Connor quickly checks his inventory and notes that all of the items inside the shed take up 86 inventory slots while the shed itself takes up 18, most likely because of its size.


    Next, he floats along the top of the aisle shelves and picks up pallets of various items. He starts with boxes of plastic spoons, forks, and knives. Then, he picks up the most essential item: ten jumbo packs of toilet paper. Of course, he also picks up ten pounds worth of paper plates as well. As he moves to the next aisle, he notices sleeping bags and picks up six of them. That leads him to the clothing aisle in the middle of the room, where he picks up packs of underwear and socks of various sizes for men and women.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The most inventory slot expensive items that he picks up are pallets of soda and water. Each pallet takes up 400 of his inventory slots. He picks up one pallet of Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew, Sprite, and Pepsi. Then he picks up one pallet of sixteen-ounce water bottles and one pallet of one-gallon water bottles. Just in case spells don¡¯t work, he also picks up a pallet of Granola Bars and another Pallet of Beef Jerky.


    There¡¯s so much more he wants to pick up, but what he¡¯s taken has been noticed, and people are rushing around now. That¡¯s fine; he has most of what he needs right now. Connor makes his way to the front of the store. Shadow Steps out of the building and returns to the dumpster, where he drops Stealth and Flight. As he makes his way to Walmart, he checks to see how much inventory space he has used.


    4,824 of 100,000 Inventory Slots


    Connor made his way through the parking lot and over to the Walmart entrance. As he walked inside, he noticed a police car pull into the Sam¡¯s Club parking lot. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how they were going to explain the missing items. Connor put that out of his mind as he reached out and established a connection with Sam and Liza with Telepathy I.


    How are you two doing? Connor asked.


    Good. Is there anything specific we need to pick up?¡± Liza asked.


    I grabbed generic packs of underwear and socks from Sam¡¯s Club. If you want something specific, I¡¯d pick that up. Also, please provide any cooking utensils or handheld tools you think you might need.


    Why? Sam asked.


    I¡¯m thinking more about the future and not right now. But with Magic in play, I thought that maybe we should be like Boy Scouts and ¡®Be Prepared.¡¯


    So, you want us to grab anything and everything we think we might need if we were going on a long trip, such as clothes, toiletries, simple tools, and the like?


    We don¡¯t have a lot of room in our Inventory, Liza offered.


    Get what you think you need. We¡¯ll separate it into immediate supplies that you can carry. Don¡¯t worry¡ªwe¡¯ll have a place to store everything else, trust me.


    How are we going to take this stuff with us? Sam asked.


    Don¡¯t worry; my Inventory has space. Connor said.


    How much space? Liza asked.


    Well, I¡¯m not sure how it plays out exactly, but if every inventory slot can hold up to 5 pounds, I can carry 500,000 pounds. But that¡¯s not where we¡¯re going to store most of it once we rest for a bit. Anyway, I have it covered, so get anything you think you need, and we¡¯ll meet up front when you¡¯re all done.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Liza said.


    Connor kept the Telepathic Link active for both of them as they all went shopping. The first thing Connor did was grab a shopping cart and head to the clothing department. He picked up 10 sets of sweatshirts, shorts, and jeans, as well as 30 different types of casual shirts and T-shirts. In addition, he picked up a couple of sets of tennis shoes. He¡¯d have to pick up some boots from either a military outlet or the supply depot on a military installation.


    Once he had finished picking up various clothing items, he made his way to the sporting goods department and picked up ten Swiss Army Knives, ten Survival kits, three more sleeping bags, four small tents, and six small pillows and pillowcases. The last thing on his list was some alcohol and snack food. For these items, he grabbed another shopping cart and went through the food aisles. He picked up a couple of bottles of wine, some Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. For now, he only picked up one bottle of each. Then, he picked various types of candy and cookies. When he was done, the second shopping cart was as full as the first.


    Satisfied for now, Connor made his way to the front of the story and was lucky enough to get in line with only one person in front of him.


    Just so you two know, I¡¯m checking out now. I¡¯ll meet you out front. Connor sent telepathically.


    He received confirmation from Liza and Sam and then brought his attention back to the Cashier. Connor watched as the items were scanned, bagged, and put into a new cart at the end of the checkout counter. Luckily, this Walmart wasn¡¯t strict about ID checks, and he was able to purchase the alcohol without issue. It might have also helped the cashier''s decision to check his ID when he saw Connor add one more hundred than was necessary. When the cashier was done, Connor pulled out nine hundred-dollar bills and paid his bill.


    The Cashier kept the extra hundred like he thought she would and handed him back his twenty-three dollars in change. Connor smiled and moved his carts toward the exit to wait. As he waited, he reviewed everything already in his Inventory. He had a lot of stuff and a lot of money. Subtracting the million dollars he¡¯d given to Sam and Liza, he now had 2,064,480 dollars in his inventory. As he was going through the equipment, he thought he¡¯d forgotten matches but found some within the survival kits. Though, creating fire might also be a good spell to look at adding to his spell list. Maybe a Firebolt spell or something. Well, a spell that shot Firebolts would be good, but perhaps something a little less combative that let him create flames and control them. That could be really useful.


    Connor pulled up his Status Screen. He only had eight empty skill slots and 234 of 267 spell slots left. He¡¯d have to make any fire control power a spell because he was saving his skill points to either boost a skill he already had or get something that would be really useful. He also needed to figure out why people were given fewer skill slots than spell slots. Were skill slots more powerful somehow?


    Connor was pulled from his thoughts as Liza and Sam both rolled up to him with two carts each.


    ¡°Where to now?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Out to our car,¡± Connor said, which caused Sam and Liza to look at him strangely.


    Connor led them out into the parking lot toward the back, where a Van and RV were parked a space apart. The vehicles had cameras on them, but there was a dead spot between them. Connor answered Sam with Telepathy. As we step into the dead zone, I¡¯m going to put all of our carts into my Inventory. We¡¯re each going to Stealth, and then I¡¯ll bring back a bubble for you two to ride in. I want to head west toward California. Once we reach the mountains, we will stop and transfer to our resting area for the night.


    Where is that exactly? Sam asked.


    It¡¯s a surprise that I think you¡¯ll like. Connor said.


    The three made it out to the edge of the parking lot. Connor monitored the area with Eyes of Eris to see if anyone was looking their way and then added each of the shopping carts to his Inventory. Once all six Carts were in his inventory, the three of them activated Stealth and stepped into a slightly opaque force bubble he created with Force Barrier. Connor made two seats for them and then buckled them in with a force harness that would keep them secure in their seats after they sat down. Once they were secure, the force bubble became transparent as Connor activated Flight. They smoothly lifted into the early morning skin with no issue. Once they were one thousand feet above the ground, he flew west.


    Connor didn¡¯t waste time as he accelerated to his maximum speed of 2,498 miles per hour. After only four minutes, the mountains were in view, and he detected a sign that read Deer Mountain. It was more of a high hill, really, but it had trees, and they could land and step into his Astral Pocket there.


    Connor brought the Force Bubble in for a landing at the bottom of a small valley, where he came to a stop and dispelled the Force Bubble before he activated Astral Pocket. As the other two quickly stood from their seats as they evaporated, Connor pointed to the portal that had just opened, ¡°That¡¯s the surprise. Follow me in, and I¡¯ll explain what it is,¡±


    Once all three of them were inside the Astral Pocket, Connor closed the portal as the three of them floated next to a door, ¡°All right, if you don¡¯t have the ability to fly, all you need to do here is fixate on direct as down, and you¡¯ll fall toward. For instance,¡± Connor said as he pointed in front of them, ¡°that way is down.¡±


    Immediately, Connor started to fall in that direction, and almost immediately afterward, the other two started falling in that direction as well.


    ¡°Why are we moving,¡± Liza asks.


    ¡°I would assume that, at some level, you both believed me, especially once you saw me float in that direction,¡± Connor states with a smile. ¡°Now that we''re here, let me get this all set up. Also, check your mana regeneration rates.¡±


    Connor pulled the 15 x 8-foot shed from his inventory and placed it in the middle of the Astral Pocket. As soon as he did that, a notification appeared.


    A Structure has been added to your Astral Pocket.


    Please note that physical structures do not need to be brought into your Astral Pocket.


    While the majority of the Astral Plane does not conform to any specific environment or structure? There are regions where beings of significant will can alter the Astral Plane with a thought.


    The Skill Astral Pocket creates a region where the owner of this skill may do so automatically.


    Huh? A minor application of his will? He had a 100-foot-diameter sphere that he could shape internally as he desired. Connor put the shed back in his Inventory and floated over to Sam and Liza, who were still looking at their Notifications and Status. ¡°Hey, you two. I just received a notification. Let me guide you back toward the entrance while I try something.¡±


    Without shifting her focus, Liza muttered, ¡°Sure,¡± which was quickly followed by Sam doing the same.


    Connor guided both of them back to the center of the Astral Pocket and floated there while he created a structure in his mind. The lowest floor would take advantage of the bowled shape of the sphere and allow them to step down into a pool of water surrounded by a ledge that had a stairway on it to the next level, which would serve as the basement level. Another stairway would lead up to the main level, which contained the entranceway from the portal door. This main level would have communal areas and a place to store food and drinks. The fourth level, or the first level above the main level, would hold four equally sized rooms with frames for a bed, desk, and chair. Each room would also have a sink and shower. The fourth level was open to the top of the sphere and held an area to hang out and eat, as well as an outdoor kitchen complete with shelves and a place for food and supplies. He also added cold boxes and freezers to store food items, just in case.


    Once he had a general idea of what he wanted, a prompt appeared.


    Would you like to alter your Astra Pocket to meet the specifications you have supplied? Yes or No?


    Connor chose ¡°Yes¡± and watched as the swirling clouds of energy from the edge of the pocket streamed into the sphere and began taking the shapes he desired. A slight adjustment in position put the three of them in the main entryway where the door to the portal was. The gaseous substance thickened and then changed to resemble marble stone. The process was quick and finished in about five minutes.


    A side effect of the structure''s creation was that they all came to settle on the floor as everyone believed one direction was down now. Connor walked over to the stairway and looked down to where the bottom of the Astral Pocket was filling with water. It also appeared that the kitchen on its current level had a sink complete with a faucet. He walked over to it, and sure enough, when he turned it on, water came out of the tap. Next, he went upstairs to one of the rooms and checked the sinks, toilets, and bathtubs in one of the rooms; they all worked.


    Connor was pulled from his thoughts as Liza came into the room he was in, ¡°How did you do this?¡±


    ¡°I have a skill, and before you ask, I do not have the ability to make Skill Crystals yet. Also, it¡¯s a rare-ranked skill.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. Why don¡¯t you two take a look around while I unload some of the stuff I picked up from Sam¡¯s Club.¡±


    ¡°What do you have?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°You know what? Just follow me around.¡±


    Connor led Sam and Liza around as he deposited most of the items he¡¯d picked up from Sam¡¯s Club in the basement. He even chose a room almost directly off the entrance to store all the personal items and clothes he recovered from the dead bodies that he¡¯d tossed into his Mana Composter. When he¡¯d removed as much as he thought he needed to, only 763 of his 100,000 inventory slots were in use. He still had the Dark Silver Honda Accord and the shed in his inventory, which individuals took up the most slots. Also, either could be used as an immediate shelter in a pinch. Finally, He kept most of the weapons, rations, water skins, and a few one-gallon containers of water, just in case.


    When he was done, Sam looked at him wonderingly, ¡°You took all of that from Sam¡¯s club?¡±


    ¡°Most of it, Yes.¡±


    ¡°Pallets of soda, water, beef jerky, and granola bars?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t know what we¡¯d be able to create with the Spell Create Food. I wanted to be sure we had other things to drink and eat, just in case. You all saw all the snacks and Alcohol, didn¡¯t¡¯ you?¡±


    ¡°We did,¡± Sam said before he asked, ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°Now, you grab a pillow and a sleeping bag, pick a room and go rest. Also, you might want to use your spell crystals. Oh yeah, if you used your Mana Battery, you might want to recharge it before you go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to try to find out why this Astral Pocket has a duration of 10 hours and see if there¡¯s a way to increase it. Does that mean everything in here disappears in 10 hours? Do people in here become trapped, or is it just referencing the door in the real world? Does the location lock for the door disappear after 10 hours? I probably need to figure that out or invest more skill points into the skill to make it permanent. It¡¯s nothing either of you two have to figure out, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Just let us know if we need to get out quickly


    ¡°Will do,¡± Connor said as he turned and headed toward his room. He had a lot to consider, which included the memories of Diego and Juan Perez.

 Chapter 18, Travel Preparations

    Connor made his way to his room. He was about to take a shower and realized he hadn¡¯t purchased any towels, which brought about an automatic verbal response, ¡°Well, Shit!¡±


    He created a spell to conjure food and water; could he create a spell to create simple items? He meditated for a minute and then activated his skill Malleable Spells while focusing on a spell that would allow him to create mundane items.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    Searching Common Spell Database


    Spell: ¡°Create Item¡± meets the criteria of the requested spell.


    Requirements to learn Spell:


    100 Mana


    One free Spell Slot.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Create Item.¡±


    Create Item


    Rank: Common


    Required Materials: None


    Range: 10 Feet


    Mana Cost: 10 per pound of material created. Maximum Size: 10 pounds


    Upon casting this spell, you can create any basic nonmagical, nonmechanical, nontechnological item made with natural products.


    Basic weapons, like swords, hammers, bows: Yes.


    Guns, Beam Weapons, and Magical weapons: No.


    This spell is very useful when creating simple tools and items.


    Connor smiles as he created three five-pound bath towels and three Plush Turkish Robes. While he couldn¡¯t put patterns on the towels or Bathrobes, he could change their colors. The Towels were all white, while the bath robes were dark blue and pink, respectively. He kept a dark blue bathrobe and one of the towels for himself and took one of each to Sam and Liza.


    Once back in his room, he meditated again and looked for a spell that would let him create, and hopefully control, flames.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    Searching Common Spell Database


    Spell: ¡°Create Flame¡± meets the criteria of the requested spell.


    Searching Uncommon Spell Database.


    Spell: ¡°Control Fire¡± meets the first and second criteria of the requested spell.


    Note: The Spell Control Fire requires that the spell caster learn ¡°Create Flame¡± first.


    Requirements to Learn


    1100 Mana


    Three free Spell Slots


    Would you like to learn the spells ¡°Create Flame¡± and ¡°Control Fire,¡± Yes or No?


    Connor chose ¡°Yes.¡±


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Create Fire.¡±


    Create Fire


    Rank: Common


    Required Materials: None


    Range: 10 Feet


    Mana Cost: 10 plus 1 mana per turn maintained.


    Upon casting this spell, you can create a small flame at the target location. The flame cannot be moved and only lasts as long as the spell is maintained. Any material set on fire does not add to or help maintain this spell.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Control Flame.¡±


    Control Flame


    Rank: Uncommon


    Required Materials: None


    Range: 100 Feet


    Mana Cost: 100 plus 10 mana per turn maintained.


    Like Create Fire, the caster creates a small flame within range. Unlike Create Fire, The flame created with Control Flame acts as a link between the caster and any flames it is in contact with up to the maximum range of the spell.


    While Control Flame is active, you may cause the flame you control to propagate one foot in any direction as long as doing so does not exceed your range of 100 feet. The flame only grows if there is fuel to do so. Once the fuel runs out, the flame reverts to the size of the initial summoning.


    Additionally, the controlled flame can be used to attack as follows:


    Less than 1 foot in radius / Range 1 Foot / Damage: 1 Point per attack or turn in contact with the fire controlled by you / Radiant Damage: 1 < 1


    1 ¨C 5 feet in radius / Range 5 feet / Damage: 3 Points per attack or per turn in contact with the fire controlled by you / Radiant Damage: 3 < 2 < 1


    5 ¨C 10 feet in radius / Range 10 feet / Damage: 5 points of damage per attack or per turn in contact with the fire controlled by you / Radiant Damage: 5 < 3 < 1 < 1


    10 ¨C 20 feet in radius / Range 20 feet / Damage: 10 points of damage per attack or turn in contact with the fire controlled by you / Radiant Damage: 10 < 5 < 3 < 1 < 1


    20 ¨C 40 feet in radius / Range 40 feet / Damage: 20 points of damage per attack or turn in contact with the fire controlled by you / Radiant Damage: 20 < 10 < 5 < 3 < 1 < 1


    40 ¨C 80 feet in radius / Range 80 feet / Damage: 40 points of damage per attack or turn in contact with the fire controlled by you / Radiant Damage: 40 < 20 < 10 < 5 < 3 < 1 < 1


    80 ¨C 160 feet in radius / Range 100 feet / Damage: 80 points of damage per attack or turn in contact with the fire controlled by you / Radiant Damage: 80 < 40 < 20 < 10 < 5 < 3 < 1 < 1


    Note: Radiant Damage Radius is as follows: 1¡¯ < 2¡¯ < 4¡¯ < 8¡¯ < 16 ¡® < 32¡¯ < 64¡¯ < 128¡¯


    Warning: Only the flame within your sphere of control, 100 feet, counts toward the damage generated. Flames outside that radius may or may not generate as much heat as the flame within your sphere of control.


    Warning: You are not immune to Radiant Damage


    Connor looked over the spells. Create Fire would be very useful for starting a fire. It seemed to cost a bit to cast, but then again, it didn¡¯t require any materials, so if it cost 10 mana to create a simple flame that could be used to start a fire, so be it. Control Flame, on the other hand, was a spell that produced some possibilities. Of course, he wasn¡¯t an idiot. If the source of the fire were more than 100 feet in radius, he would be in the fire, taking that 80 points of damage per turn. There was also the fact that he could move the flame, so he could use the spell to start a larger fire as he had the flame move around under the firewood.


    Also, he could take control of a flame and have it reach out and touch someone or ignite something nearby. Oh, the possibilities. Connor was lost in thought as he thought about the various ways he could cause everyone in Juan Perez¡¯s memories to have ¡°accidents.¡± Of course, he couldn¡¯t go around killing indiscriminately because of the whole grandfather paradox thing, but, damn, how he wished he could.


    Connor focused on his last idea while they¡¯d been shopping. He needed a spell or skill that would stop electronic devices from recording him. The spell would need to focus on electronic devices that made visual recordings and had a range of at least a mile. He meditated and then activated Malleable Spells.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    The range requirement automatically sets this as an Advanced Spell


    Searching Advanced Spell Database


    Spell: ¡°Surveillance Gap¡± meets the criteria of the requested spell.


    Requirements to Learn


    100,000 Mana


    Four free spell slots.


    Mana Cost has been taken from your Mana Reserve


    Mana Reserve: 0 of 100,000


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell ¡°Surveillance Gap.¡±


    Surveillance Gap


    Rank: Advanced


    Required Materials: None


    Range: 10,000 Feet


    Mana Cost: 1,000 mana


    When cast, a pulse of magic goes out, targeting all electronic camera-type devices within 10,000 feet. They are immediately shut down and do not automatically turn back on. It should be noted that the spell''s magic does NOT keep the cameras shut down; it merely shuts them down once.


    The cameras can be turned on manually or remotely immediately, though the outage usually takes a minute or two to be noticed. Therefore, the ¡°Surveillance Gap¡± lasts at least one turn but may last longer.


    Connor smiled; this spell was going to come in extremely handy. Connor looked at his zeroed-out Mana Reserve and realized it would be almost two hours before his Mana Regeneration of 160 a turn refilled the Mana Reserve. That was fine; he¡¯d created the spells he needed. He could rest now. Connor crawled into his sleeping back and went to sleep.


    A knock on his door brought him back to consciousness. A moment later, three more knocks sounded, ¡°Connor, are you awake?¡± Liza called.


    ¡°I¡¯m up, I¡¯m up. Come on in.¡±


    The door to his room opened, and Sam and Liza stepped inside. Before he could ask a question, Sam said, ¡°The entry door vanished.¡±


    ¡°The entry door vanished?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I said,¡± same answered.


    ¡°How long was I asleep? Connor asked.


    ¡°Just over 10 hours,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Ten hours? Shit,¡± Connor said as he remembered he had wanted to see what that ten-hour limit meant.


    ¡°Yep, the door just disappeared at the 10-hour mark. I didn¡¯t receive a notification or anything,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Me either,¡± Sam confirmed


    ¡°Let me check,¡± Connor said as he pulled up his notifications. Nope, there wasn¡¯t any message there either, ¡°I don¡¯t have a notification either,¡± Connor said as he pulled himself out of the Sleeping bag. ¡°Let me go see if I can open another door,¡± Connor said as he sighed mentally with relief that nothing happened to the internal structure he¡¯d created or all the supplies he¡¯d brought into his Astral Pocket.


    A quick walk downstairs found him at the edge of the sphere where the outline of the door stood but nothing else. Where the door had been, there was just a flat pane of the edge of the Astral Pocket. The Marble wall that surrounded the door had an empty rectangle where the door had sat. Connor activated his skill Astral Pocket, and the door reappeared. He quickly opened the door and verified that the door still opened onto Deer Mountain; it did.


    Connor closed the door and turned to Sam and Liza, who had followed him to the entryway. ¡°So, the 10-hour limit is how long 1,000 mana will hold a portal open from this side to the material plane or wherever I opened it. After the 10-hour limit, it looks like I just need to spend another 1,000 mana to create another door that opens to the last fixed point we entered from. At least, that seems to be the way that it works now.


    Liza looked intently at Connor before she asked, ¡°How long will it take you to regenerate that 1,000 mana in here?¡±


    ¡°Just over a minute.¡±


    ¡°And if you were out of mana stuck on Earth and needed to get back in here,¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Around 21 minutes, but I have the Mana Battery and another reserve to pull from, ¡°Connor said.


    ¡°Okay then,¡± Liza said as she thought about what to ask next.


    Sam asked, ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°Did you two get a chance to learn spells from the spell crystals?


    ¡°Sure did; even cast the Create Food spell just to see what I could make,¡± Liza said happily.


    ¡°And?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°And I created an apple. And then tried a cupcake. Both came out exactly like I wanted. It can¡¯t create a lot of food, but it can create whatever you want within the spell''s weight limit. I made a cupcake the second time.¡±


    ¡°What did you use for the physical material?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°That was the weird thing. It used one pound of stone from the floor, which immediately refilled with the substance that makes up the true walls of this place and then reformed into marble, almost immediately.¡±


    ¡°So, we have an unlimited supply of material in this Astral Pocket of yours. It''s good to know,¡± Sam said with a smile.


    ¡°Did you try to make something that was cooked?¡± Conner asked.


    ¡°Not yet, but it¡¯s on my list of things to do,¡± Liza offered.


    ¡°As for me, I only had six available Spell Slots. I picked up everything except for Hack, Magical Bolt, Wizard Hands, and Detect Magic,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Why did you take Force Dagger instead of Magical Bolt?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Because using a practically invisible knife from stealth is a lot better than a flashy ranged magical spell.¡±


    Connor nodded, ¡°Yeah, I can see that. I guess it also ensures that you will always have a weapon so long as you have mana.¡±


    ¡°It does,¡± Sam agreed.


    ¡°Okay, well, now that we¡¯re all awake, feel free to empty your inventories of anything you don¡¯t want to lug around in your rooms and go through all the stuff we picked up and make sure you have survival gear. I would suggest grabbing at least one of the one-gallon water containers so you can refill it with Create Water. Also, you need one or two survival kits, a tent, one of the spare sleeping bags, and a pillow if you want one. There¡¯s also a pallet of Beef Jerky and Granola Bars you can use to supplement the Create Food spell. Take as much as you want. If we need more, I¡¯ll grab it later.¡±


    ¡°And after that,¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°After that, we make our way to the Forestry Department in the Redwood Forest.¡±


    The three of them went through the supplies he¡¯d dropped off and picked up what they thought they might need. Connor grabbed 20 pounds of Beef Jerky and 20 pounds worth of Granola Bars. He also grabbed two one-gallon bottles of water as well as four six-packs each of the Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, and Sprite he¡¯d picked up. Once he had the food, he picked up a tent, sleeping bag, pillow, underwear, and a spare set of shoes. Lastly, he picked up a Swiss army knife, survival kits, and a spade. If they ended up in a new world this time, they¡¯d be able to survive for a little while, even if he didn¡¯t have access to his Astral Pocket.


    While he walked around grabbing supplies, Connor verified that his Mana Reserve was full and that his Mana, Stamina, and Hit Points were all maxed out. He was ready to go.


    ¡°Have you two topped off all your resource pools?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°I am,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Me too,¡± Sam agreed.


    ¡°And your Mana Batteries?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t used it?¡± Liza said.


    ¡°I did, and I was able to recharge easily,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Good. Then, if you are both ready, let''s go check out where Agent Smith saw an Elf on Earth more than 20 years before The SYSTEM integrated this planet.¡±


    Each of them activated Stealth before they stepped out of the portal and waited for Connor to create the Force Barrier Bubble they¡¯d all be flying in. Once they were airborne, Connor rose above the low-hanging clouds and headed west at speed. Once they reached the west coast, he¡¯d follow the coast north until he reached the Redwood National Forest, which was about 260 miles north of San Francisco, just south of Klamath, California.


    ***


    ¡°Sir, the bogey is back,¡± Airman Lewis said as he looked at his radar terminal at Travis Air Force Base.


    Master Sergeant Rodriguez walked over and looked at the terminal, ¡°Show me.¡±


    ¡°Radar detected the object rising above Deer Mountain and then accelerating west at an estimated 2,200 miles an hour,¡± Airman Lewis said.


    ¡°Estimated?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir. Whatever it is, it is relatively small, and the radar is having a hard time keeping track of it.¡±


    ¡°Do we still have the F-111¡¯s here still?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir, the crews each got their eight hours of rest in the Alert facilities and are scheduled to take off in ten.¡±


    ¡°Scramble them. I want them in the air as fast as possible on an intercept course.¡±


    ¡°Sir, the object is accelerating; they probably won''t catch it.¡±


    ¡°Scramble them now!¡± Master Sergeant Rodriguez declared with a hit of exasperation and irritation, which he clearly conveyed by the tone of his voice.


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡±


    ***


    Connor made it to the west coast without incident and then started following the coast to the north. As they passed over San Francisco heading north. A moment before the barrier was stuck, Connor detected something traveling incredibly fast as it streaked in toward the force bubble. One second was all he needed, though. Connor reached out with the Control Technological Device and shifted the control fins while also disabling the proximity fuse so the missile flew up and over the Bubble they were in.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Liza asked as Connor shifted their vector and brought them closer to the ground.


    ¡°It was an air-to-air missile,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°And it caught us?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Yep. I read somewhere that missiles, on average, travel at about Mach 6. That¡¯s a bit faster than I can move us.¡±


    ¡°So, what now?¡± Liza asked with a hint of anxiety in her voice.


    ¡°Now, I bring us closer to the forest, then I slow down and take us into the trees for a while. They shouldn¡¯t be able to detect us, and once we¡¯re below the radar, they shouldn¡¯t be able to; you know what, I have a better plan,¡± Connor stated as he changed direction slightly and came to about 100 above the Pacific Ocean, without reducing speed.


    A half mile off the coast, traveling at about 2,500 miles per hour, or just about Mach 3.5, Connor dropped down to less than 10 feet above the water. The shockwave shoots water into the air behind them and creates a wall where the next missile slams into it at six times the speed of sound. Have you ever been driving down a road at 70 miles per hour and then run into one of the cloud bursts that dumps buckets of water all at once? Connor had. The water created a considerable amount of resistance and slowed him right down, which is precisely what happened to the missile, which fell back and dropped into the water when the rocket ran out of fuel.


    Four minutes later, they¡¯re far enough up the coast that Connor can detect the Redwood Forest with Eyes of Eris. He slowed down rapidly, but not so fast that Sam and Liza couldn¡¯t handle it, before he dropped them below the surface of the water. Once they¡¯re about fifty feet deep, he moved them toward the coast.


    ¡°Alright, when we¡¯re close to the coast, Shadow Step onto the beach and make your way into the trees. I¡¯ll be right behind both of you,¡± Connor said.


    Once they were within range, Liza went first, then Sam, and finally Connor followed as he ended Force Barrier. Once they were under the trees and had made their way further inland for about 15 minutes, they released Stealth and continued.


    ¡°Alright, you two hang out for a few minutes and rest. I¡¯m going to go find out how far away from our target we are. I couldn¡¯t really tell where we were underwater, but I know we were pretty close. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Connor said before he activated Stealth and Flight.


    Through Eyes of Eris he¡¯d noticed a creek just north of their position about a mile away. The creek flowed toward the coast from the east and had multiple signs planted along it, which named it Johnson Creek.


    Unfortunately, cellphone service wasn¡¯t up to the level it was 20 years from now, so he¡¯d have to do this the old-fashioned way. He rose until he could see a reasonable distance in every direction. Up and to his north and a little east, he could see city lights with nothing to the south. He dropped down to about a mile above the ground so he could use Eyes of Eris to make sure he could still detect Liza and Sam and then moved toward the lights.


    The city of Klamath was only four miles away, which told him he was really close to where he wanted to be. Using Agent Smith¡¯s memories, he backtracked his way to the Foresty Depart and to the tree, which was now surrounded by camouflage netting. From there, he flew along the mountain paths back to where he had left Sam and Liza.


    Fifteen minutes later, Connor landed and dropped both his Flight and Stealth skills.


    ¡°That took a little bit,¡± Liza said.


    ¡°Finding the place went quickly. What took so long was making sure I could get us there along the ground.¡±


    ¡°So, how far away are we,¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°About four miles.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°Shoot, I can run a mile a minute. We should be able to make it there pretty quick,¡± Sam offered.


    ¡°We need to make it to a creek about a mile north of our position, and then we can follow that east until we reach a coastal road. From there, we head north and take the first right. It¡¯ll lead us right where we want to go,¡± Connor explained.


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± Liza said as she looked north and then started jogging in that direction, Sam and Connor following behind her.


    Four minutes later, they came to a spot where Connor called for them to halt. ¡°About 500 feet down the road is the Forestry department. We¡¯re not going there. Where we need to go is through these trees,¡± Connor said as he led them toward an area that seemed unnaturally shaded.


    ¡°Are those camo nets above us?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°Yep,¡± Connor said distractedly as a guard he¡¯d noticed stepped out. Before the guard could utter a word, Connor cast Sleep on the man. One second, he was stepping out. The next, he was falling face first into the ground.


    ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°I noticed him when I flew by before. He¡¯s already called in to say that we¡¯re here, so we¡¯ll need to hurry. Come on, it''s just over here.¡±


    Connor led the other two around the trunk of one large Redwood tree until they were looking at the trunk of another tree, where a shimmering line of sparkling energy spread between the splint trunk of a giant redwood. A moment later a notification filled their vision.


    Ambient Mana is 100%. Regeneration rates have normalized.


    ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yes, it is,¡± Liza agreed.


    Connor nodded as he said, ¡°The Elf was on the other side of this portal. Be ready for anything. Let''s go.


    Connor led the other two through the portal. They emerged into a clearing where the portal they just stepped through sat with nothing around it. The Portal was in the center of a clearing covered in grass which was surrounded by what looked like pine trees. He couldn¡¯t say what was different about the trees at first, but then he realized that they didn¡¯t smell exactly like Pine trees. He hadn¡¯t noticed that in Agent Smiths memories. As they looked around, a few Notifications appeared in his vision.


    SYSTEM Connection Re-established.


    WARNING! You are chronically misplaced.


    Status ¡°Unfettered¡± Noted.


    Automatic relocation to the original time period has been halted.


    Before they could consider the trees too deeply, he detected four individuals moving stealthily toward their position at speed. They were garbed in typical ranger garb as if they were playing a tabletop or computer game: green cloaks, leather armor, a bow, and what looked like a long sword and short sword at their waists. Also, they were moving very quietly.


    ¡°We have incoming,¡± Connor called out softly.


    ¡°How many,¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Four that I can detect,¡± Connor said.


    Connor watched as three took positions behind some trees and drew their bows. The fourth pulled back her cloak to reveal a young elven face. She had deep green eyes and light brown hair. A moment later, she stepped out with open hands and called out, ¡°Halt,¡± in highly accented English.


    Connor halted and looked at the elf, who was NOT Silvana. Sam and Liza waited patiently beside him.


    ¡°You are trespassing in our lands.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an Elf,¡± Connor stated.


    ¡°I am. Specifically, I am a wood elf. You are a human, though I can¡¯t get any more information about your identity or skills. Your two friends thought, a level 69 Claw Mother and a level 63 Rogue. How? Earth shouldn¡¯t have the ability for humans to level yet.¡±


    Connor looked thoughtfully before he said, ¡°True. May I ask you a question?¡±


    ¡°Please.¡±


    ¡°Are you with the Sect?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Which Sect? There are many.¡±


    ¡°Malicore.¡±


    ¡°Malicore!¡± the female elf said with shock as the other three elves shifted slightly in agitation. ¡°How do you know that Sects name?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m willing to answer your questions if you¡¯ll answer a few of mine. First, though, I¡¯d like to introduce myself. I am Connor Nash, and these are my friends, Liza Henley and Sam Wagner.¡±


    ¡°I am Brielle of the Lightfoot Clan,¡± Please follow me to a place where we can speak more freely.¡±


    ¡°Of Course,¡± Connor agreed as Brielle turned and led them deeper into the forest while the other three elves stayed close and followed.

 Chapter 19, Elder Vinlan

    Liza, Sam, and Conner followed Brielle of the Lightfoot Clan deeper into the forest and away from the obvious path that led away from the portal. Connor easily picked out the multiple paths, pitfalls, and traps they were being led through as they made their way toward a small village, although ¡°village¡± would be a generous designation. There was a water well and four structures made to blend into the forest under the canopy of the trees and only three other elves in the buildings.


    Connor had detected the village when they were 10,000 feet out with his skill Eyes of Eris, though the path they took to reach the village took just over an hour as Brielle tried to confuse their sense of direction. There was no way the elves could know that so long as something was within 10,000 feet of Connor, he would know where it was immediately. He did consider the path they had taken and realized that it had been a roundabout path with more than 1,000 feet between various locations along the path. It looked like they were cognizant of perception skills but didn¡¯t expect anyone to have one above the Advanced Rank or fourth tier, depending on how they named their ranks.


    As they moved into the village, Connor noticed another thing. Nine thousand feet to the north of his current position, the information he received from Eyes of Eris ended. At that point, there was a barrier he could not see past, and it stretched off to the left, right, up, and probably down as the ground went right up to that point. Could they be in something like his Astral Pocket?


    Connor¡¯s attention was brought back to Brielle as she walked up to a more regal-looking male elf. He wore a light brown robe with green highlights and looked at the three of them with a bit of interest as he asked Brielle, ¡°Who are our guests?¡±


    ¡°The one in the middle is Connor. The woman is Liza, and the third is Sam. They came through the portal to Earth, though they seem to have already been integrated into the SYSTEM.


    ¡°I can see that,¡± Elder Vinlan said as he answered Brielle. He then turned to Connor, ¡°Connor, I am Elder Vinlan of our small group. If I might ask, how did you find the entrance to this Realm? Or are you associated with the government of the country our portal opens into?¡± Elder Vinlan asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll answer that question if you answer a question for me first: Are you part of the Malicore Sect?¡±


    Every elf that he could detect flinched before Elder Vinlan asked, ¡°Where have you heard that name before?¡±


    ¡°Based on your reactions, I¡¯ll take that as a no. They are the Sect that will lead the integration of Earth into the SYSTEM in 22 years,¡± Connor stated matter-of-factly.


    ¡°You sound very sure of yourself when you state that,¡± Elder Vinlan said.


    ¡°I am. And my question concerning the Malicore Sect?¡± Conner asked.


    ¡°They tried to invade this Pocket Realm about 10 years back. We were more than capable of pushing them back out. For the most part, that sect is comprised of a bunch of common Thugs and Thieves. There are a few Uncommon and even Rare Classes back on their Capital planet, but as far as I know, that planet isn¡¯t even in the Galaxy Earth is in.


    Liza made a movement or gesture with her body that Connor noticed, but he couldn¡¯t really describe it. Elder Valin immediately noticed and asked, ¡°Yes, Liza, do you have a question?¡±


    ¡°I do. If you¡¯re saying that the Malicore Sect are from another Galaxy and that they¡¯re going to invade us during the SYSTEM Integration, how did they find, let alone get to our world?¡±


    Elder Vinlan Noded, ¡°We were lucky to find this Pocket Realm, though we didn¡¯t enter it through the portal you did. On the opposite end of this Pocket Realm, from where you entered, there is another portal. We came through it, some 100 of your Earth years ago.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve used that term twice now, Pocket Realm. Are you to imply that this is like an Astral Pocket?¡±


    Elder Vinlan nodded, ¡°Yes, this is a Pocket Realm. It is attached to your Universe and is much like an Astral Pocket. Do you not know about the various Planes and Realms?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± Connor answered


    ¡°No,¡± both Liza and Sam said simultaneously.


    ¡°Very well, but information is not normally free. I can see that both Sam and Liza here have Common or Tier I classes. I cannot determine what class, race, or core level you have, though, Connor. If you¡¯ll answer that question, I¡¯ll answer any questions you have about this Pocket Realm and how we arrived here.¡±


    ¡°Can we find a place to sit down, maybe?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Elder Vinlan said.


    ¡°Very well, I am considered Master, or Tier V rank.¡±


    Connor felt the change in the elves around him as they all shifted into a more defensive posture. He could also sense the three that had been shadowing their group since they arrived move into a more advantageous position and prepare to attack.


    ¡°Hold!¡± Elder Vinlan declared. He waited a moment to make sure everyone had stood down and then looked at Connor, ¡°How did a Master rank individual end up on Earth?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s part of the story. For now, could you let the three who were with Brielle know they can drop their concealment or stealth and relax? I have no intention of attacking anyone who does not attack one of us first. Besides, based on everyone¡¯s reaction when I mentioned the Sect Malicore, I believe we share mutual feelings towards that Sect, at least. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that.¡±


    ¡°When did you know you were being shadowed?¡± Elder Vinlan asked.


    ¡°The moment we passed through the portal.¡±


    ¡°Ah...Very well, ¡°Elder Vinlan said, making a hand gesture. The three scouts became visible and relaxed. Now, if you will follow me, I believe you have asked for a place to sit. We will, of course, provide refreshments as well.¡±


    Connor, Liza, and Sam followed the Elder toward an area where a table and six chairs had been set up near the well. The area was near the center of the village and outside, though the canopy of the trees sheltered it from direct sunlight.


    Once everyone was seated and drinks had been handed out, Elder Vinlan nettled his hands and spoke, ¡°First, On my Honor, all food and drinks are safe for everyone to drink. While we might be able to affect Liza and Sam, I somehow doubt that if you are Master Rank, you will be affected by much.


    Connor nodded and lifted his glass before he took a sip of the water they¡¯d provided. He quickly checked his Status Sheet but found nothing had changed. When he was satisfied it was safe, he nodded to Liza and Sam.


    ¡°Additionally, I would like to apologize for our reactions. Master Ranks are rare throughout the Realms and Planes. To run into one in a Pocket Realm, unless it was their Pocket Realm, of course, is almost unheard of,¡± Elder Vinlan saw that Connor was about to ask a question and raised his hand, ¡°As I said, I would like to apologize. We will go first during this exchange of information.¡±


    Connor nodded in acknowledgment, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Elder Vinlan took a sip from his glass and then started in a tone that left the listener with no doubt that he knew what he was talking about, ¡°The First thing to understand is that this Iteration of the Multiverse is young, very young. Before you ask, an iteration is the cyclic pattern that the Multiverse follows of expansion and contraction. The Planes and Realms that make up the known Multiverse did not have the SYSTEM until, well, no one living, save maybe the Gods knows how long ago the SYSTEM integration of this region of the Multiverse started, but in the history of the Multiverse it was a recent thing.¡±


    Elder Vinlan paused for a moment as he took another sip of water. While he did so, Connor noted that even the other elves were listening intently to what Elder Vinlan was sharing. The Elder set his drink down and continued, ¡°As with anything new, it took a bit of time for the sentient races to figure out what the SYSTEM was doing to them and even longer to figure out how to take advantage of those changes. Now, Connor, may I ask you a question before I continue?¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± Connor said with a smile.


    ¡°By your demeanor and presence and my observation that the three of you are hearing this information for the first time, can I deduce that you are from Earth?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Connor asked truthfully.


    Elder Vinlan smiled, ¡°Then, by your comment that Malicore will begin the Integration in 22 years, can I also deduce that you are from that era?¡±


    ¡°We are.¡±


    ¡°So, the three of you are newly integrated. Based on your reactions concerning Malicore, are my assumptions correct that you have seen the Sect for the monstrous entity that it has become?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Liza growled through clenched teeth as Sam reached out and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.


    Were they a thing? Shit, it didn¡¯t matter. Connor thought before he brought his thoughts back to Elder Vinlan and answered, ¡°Yes, we have.¡±


    ¡°So, how are you here, 22 years in the past?¡± Elder Vinlan asked.


    ¡°Honestly, we have no idea,¡± Connor said questioningly.


    ¡°Did the SYSTEM, by chance, give you any Notification before you appeared in this era?¡± Elder Vinlan asked.


    ¡°It did. From your tone, I take you wish to see those Notifications, and if it will help us understand, I¡¯m willing to show them to you, but only to you,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Elder Vinlan said as he made another gesture. All the elves in the area backed away from the table, leaving only Elder Vinlan and Brielle sitting at the table with the three of them. ¡°Brielle will not let me remain in a privacy screen with the three of you alone; she must remain.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Connor agreed as both Liza and Sam nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Elder Vinlan said as he spread his hands, and an opaque bubble surrounded the table, ¡°This bubble will not allow sound to enter or exit, and the opacity of the field prevents lip reading. The Magic of my spell will prevent Common or Uncommon level magics from scrying our conversation. Though Rare magics may be able to penetrate the protections, they must overcome my skills and level to do so.¡±


    Connor nodded, ¡°That¡¯s fine. Let me pull up the information and share it with you,¡± Connor said as he pulled up the SYSTEM Warning Notifications. He edited the output and kept out the Ability, Title, and Skill he¡¯d received during the explosion.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Warning! Mana Saturation has reached 5,966.587112%


    Interconnected Dimensional Travel Activated within Spell Matrix¡­Absorbed


    Interconnected Personal Shroud active¡­Absorbed


    Unfettered Status active¡­Absorbed.


    Error!


    Shadow Step attempt includes the entire connected Matrix


    Energy Influx has destabilized Matrix


    Unfettered Status has decoupled Temporal and Dimensional Location


    Unfettered Status reset to starting point


    Three as One has Decoupled. Individual entities reset to their origin point.


    Personal Shroud has taken effect.


    SYSTEM Connection Lost


    SYSTEM Connection Lost


    SYSTEM Connection Lost


    SYSTEM Connection re-established during Pre-Integration. Some functionality may be unavailable. Please wait until SYSTEM Integration has been completed.


    Unfettered Status Recognized. Limited SYSTEM Link established.


    Mana Regeneration in Mana Deprived World is currently at 5%


    Elder Vinlan looked over the window Connor had created and took his time reading each line. After about five minutes, Elder Vinlan spoke, ¡°What caused the Mana Saturation Event.¡±


    ¡°An explosion, a very BIG explosion,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°And the Dimensional Travel?¡±


    ¡°I tried to Shadow Step away from the explosion; I was sure we were going to get hit,¡± Liza offered.


    Elder Vinlan laughed with a hint of mirth in his demeanor, ¡°Liza, is it? There is no ¡°were¡±; you were all hit by the explosion. As for the Personal Shroud, I¡¯ve seen that ability before. It is rare, but I understand it was active when the explosion hit, which brings me to Unfettered; why is that line in the SYSTEM Notifications?¡±


    Connor considered how to respond but decided that if he was in for a penny, he was in for a pound: ¡°That would be me.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Elder Vinlan asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s my class, Unfettered¡±


    ¡°Truly? Your Master Class is Unfettered?¡± Elder Vinlan asked.


    ¡°All of my classes are?¡± Connor answered truthfully


    Elder Vinlan looked contemplative, while Brielle looked shocked. Connor had no idea why she was having such a reaction, but he noted it and would ask her about it later if he had the chance.


    After a moment, Elder Vinlan shuddered slightly before he spoke, ¡°I have an idea about what happened to you, but it would only be mere speculation to voice it.¡±


    ¡°Please, any insight would be helpful,¡± Connor said.


    Elder Vinlan took a moment to compose himself before he explained, ¡°The amount of Mana available, in addition to the Dimensional opening that connected to the three of you traveling together? Yes, this would have only worked if you were traveling together. Anyway, the opening created a crack that the three of you should not have been able to escape through; the Personal Shroud, at the energy level mentioned, became supercharged and probably had an effect that it should not have, coupled with the unfettered designation and class you carry. I believe that the SYSTEM lost track of you for a moment, and when it reset your Matrix to try to draw you back, that linked to your individual origin points, which is what forced you to travel into the past. There was plenty of energy to do so, after all. The only question I have is why you weren¡¯t immediately transported back to the future when you stepped back into a SYSTEM Integrated Realm. The SYSTEM would have noted the Temporal displacement and automatically moved you back to the future?¡±


    ¡°It tried,¡± Connor said as he pulled a more recent Notification and shared it with Elder Vinlan.


    SYSTEM Connection Re-established.


    WARNING! You are chronically misplaced.


    Status ¡°Unfettered¡± Noted.


    Automatic relocation to the original time period has been halted.


    ¡°So, the Unfettered Class of yours protects you, but that does not explain the other two?¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± Sam said; when we arrived, we also had those SYSTEM Notifications as well as the ability, Title, or Perk, which we didn¡¯t have before. I received Personal Shroud and Unfettered, ¡°Liza said.


    ¡°I received Shadow Affinity, Shadow Step, and Unfettered,¡± Sam offered.


    Elder Vinlan looked at Connor. Connor sighed and said, "Yes, I received a Shadow Affinity, Shadow Step, and Personal Shroud."


    ¡°So, your Class provided an Ability then,¡± Elder Vinlan said as he looked at Connor?¡±


    ¡°I believe so, yes,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°At those energy levels, there¡¯s a good chance that the changes are permanent, BUT they could be temporary,¡± Elder Vinlan said.


    ¡°Temporary?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Temporary, I¡¯ll use unfettered for my example. As that is your class and now ability, it is most likely a permanent change for you. For the other two, however, if unfettered fades from them or is combined into another skill or spell, then normal SYSTEM functionality for chronically misplaced beings will be initiated.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean exactly,¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°It means they¡¯ll the SYSTEM will remove them from this era and return them to their own, generally in the same place they are taken from, though the person I heard that from kind of laughed it off as something he¡¯d heard of, but never witnessed. He was sure that they were returned to their original timeline, though.¡±


    ¡°And me?¡±


    ¡°If Unfettered is your Class and you also have the ability, it should be much harder for the SYSTEM to impose its rules on you,¡± Elder Vinlan explained.


    ¡°Why is that important?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Two reasons. First, The SYSTEM limits time travel. If you are Integrated within the SYSTEM, you have been marked by the SYSTEM. If the SYSTEM detects that you are from another time, it will try to return you there as quickly as possible. If the Time Traveler is in the past, it can do that quickly enough by placing you in stasis and storing you until you have returned to the moment you left your original timeline. It takes a lot less energy, and the chance of a paradox happening is reduced. Now, if the Time Traveler has traveled to their future, it becomes a little more problematic. Still, I was assured during my course at University that the SYSTEM could return individuals to their past if necessary.¡±


    ¡°Did you say University?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Of course, where else would we learn about Advanced Magical Theory,¡± Elder Vinlan said with a smile, ¡°The world we came from wasn¡¯t as technologically advanced as Earth. That brings me to the second reason, which is that the system takes such harsh measures against time travelers. No one really knows; it¡¯s just the way it¡¯s been as far back as anyone can remember. I should quantify my statement, though. Some spells and skills allow individuals or creatures to make short hops through time. The SYSTEM does not care about such short hops through time, especially if they remain within the same solar system and are limited to no more than two weeks. Individuals who have moved through time more than two weeks, however, see themselves returned to the moment they left their original time.¡±


    Connor cleared his throat to interrupt Elder Vinlan and then asked, ¡°Is that a cumulative effect?¡±


    ¡°How do you mean?¡± Elder Vinlan asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say that I can jump 10 days into the future. If I immediately jump another 10 days into the future, will I be returned to the original time, or will I be returned to the point after my first jump?¡±


    ¡°I understand. The tests that were conducted and recorded showed that an individual jumped two weeks into the future and then immediately tried to do so again. They ended up returning one second after their original departure through time. A second test was conducted. The test subject jumped two weeks into the future and then waited two weeks before traveling forward again. The test subjects stated that they were not returned to the original point. Where the world had aged four weeks, they had only aged two,¡± Elder Vinlan stated


    ¡°And traveling into the past?¡±


    ¡°The SYSTEM monitors traveling into the past much more stringently. Most Spells and abilities, even Epic and Legendary Skills, cannot travel farther back in time than 8 minutes without the SYSTEM stepping in and returning them to the future. Certain Abilities, Titles, Perks, and classes can prevent this, as you know, but as I¡¯ve said, those safeguards can be circumvented.¡±


    ¡°So, in short, the SYSTEM does not like Time Travel?¡± Connor said.


    Elder Vinlan nodded, ¡°Do you intend to return to your original era?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Do you have any idea how you will return?¡± Elder Vinlan asked.


    ¡°Some, but it really wasn¡¯t on the top of my list of things to do right now; why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°That brings me to your question about how we came to be here. For approximately 120 years, we left our home through a portal to explore. As your world will be, our world was newly integrated into the SYSTEM, but with our low population and magic to rely on, the monsters that appeared were easily dealt with, and we acclimated to the SYSTEM quickly. When a stable portal appeared near our forest city, a group of us went to investigate.¡±


    Elder Vinlan smiled sadly. ¡°We lost a few along the way and discovered that while the portals might appear stable, they sometimes change destinations, or a portal might lead you into an area, and if you step back through it, you¡¯ll end up somewhere else entirely. We still do not understand how they work exactly, but we soon discovered that we were lost with no way to get back to our world.¡±


    ¡°Why did you stay in this place if you can continue to search for your world??¡± Sam asked.


    Elder Vinlan looked at Liza before he answered,¡± Before we stepped through the portal into this Realm, we had stepped through a portal into an area very similar to this one. It was heavily forested and also contained large open planes and tundra where translucent beasts could be seen from miles away. Once we saw their translucent nature, we realized that we were in one of the middle planes, either the Astral or Ethereal plane and that we were within a Pseudo or Phantom Realm within the Astral Plane. In that place, the environment had copied a nearby physical universe. Before we could even think about staying in the area to set up a camp, one of your numbers was attacked and dragged off by a translucent tiger as large as a cart.¡±


    ¡°Liza¡¯s eyes lit up; it was a large cat, are you sure?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°One tiger dragged off one of our members; the rest of the pride chased us until we fled through the portal that led here. As you can surmise for yourself, we were not followed through the portal and found ourselves in this small Pocket Realm, which acts as a bridge between Earth and the Astral Plane. Unfortunately, the portal that we came through still exits into that area of the Astral, and we¡¯ve been stuck here for over 100 years.¡±


    ¡°Why not travel to Earth?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Until recently, it was primarily a mana-dead world. Besides, we did travel into the world, but we never made it further east than the Rocky Mountains, and of course, your Pacific Ocean is to the west of the entrance,¡± Elder Vinlan explained.


    Liza looked at Sam and then at Connor excitedly, ¡°We could clear the way for them.¡±


    ¡°Do you think your class will allow you to influence the tigers?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Possibly, but even if it doesn¡¯t, Elder Vinlan, You stated that most creatures throughout the Multiverse are Common, Uncommon, and Rare, yes?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°When we encountered them, most of the tigers we saw were uncommon while a few had attained the rank of rare.¡±


    ¡°See, if the cats don¡¯t listen, me,¡± Liza said as she looked directly at Connor, ¡°you can handle a couple of cart-sized kitty cats, can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine, it¡¯s settled. When we''re done speaking with Elder Vinlan, let''s clear the way for them so they can leave if they wish to.¡±


    ¡°We may not be able to get back to Earth if we step through the other portal¡­Shoot, we may not be able to get back to Earth from here if that portal changes its destination.¡±


    Elder Vinlan interrupted Connor¡¯s statement, ¡°Actually, that¡¯s one of the things I still needed to mention. A Pocket Realm that is attached to an Anchor Point on the Prime Material Plane, or Universe, is one of the most stable portal types that exist. As long as we¡¯ve been here, the portal to Earth hasn¡¯t fluctuated. While the portal to the Astral realm could fluctuate its destinations, it hasn¡¯t in the last 100 years. We check on it almost daily to make sure nothing from the Astral Plane has wandered into this Pocket Realm.¡±


    ¡°I do have to ask: if we clear the way for you, will we earn anything from you?¡±


    ¡°Are you asking to be paid?¡± Elder Vinlan asked as he looked thoughtful and then made a pushing motion toward Connor. ¡°


    A New Quest has been offered.


    Clear the Path!


    Elder Vinlan of the Lightfoot Clan has asked that you Clear the Path for his clan into an adjacent Realm for him and his clan.


    Reward: 10,000 XP.


    Accept, Yes or No?


    Connor, Liza, and Sam all accepted the quest.


    Elder Vinlan smiled. ¡°If you succeed, I would love to hear the story about how you attained a Master Rank Class during a SYSTEM Integration.¡±


    ¡°When we succeed, I, too, would like to learn a little bit more about the SYSTEM, Clans, and Sects.


    Elder Vinlan smiled, ¡°Then let me wish the three of you a successful completion of the quest you just accepted.¡±


    Connor, Liza, and Sam stood, ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Connor said as he unerringly led the way toward the location that had appeared on his internal map when he accepted the quest.

 Chapter 20, Naughty List

    Connor led Liza and Sam through the forested landscape as they made their way toward the Astral Portal. As they made their way, the two Suns he¡¯d seen in Agent Smith¡¯s memories appeared, but he now knew, at best, they were magical constructs or possibly a projection that was coming through a dimensional membrane. Who knew? This magical crap was changing way too quickly for him to keep up with.


    ¡°So, when we find the cats, we¡¯re going to try to let me get one to join my Clowder, right?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care unless they attack. Besides, if the cat somehow becomes tied to you and can be summoned to your side from the Astral, like a black panther in one of my favorite series, that could be really useful,¡± Connor answered.


    Sam just smiled, ¡°Whatever. You do you. If it attacks, I¡¯ll help as much as I can.¡±


    The rest of the trip was made in relative silence as they enjoyed the walk through the forest. Connor saw squirrels, rabbits, deer, and an occasional bear, which looked their way and then headed in the opposite direction. Connor wasn¡¯t sure if it was Liza or himself that scared them away.


    Connor felt the moment the portal entered his perception range and noted that portal was in the side of the bubble that housed this Pocket Realm. Eyes of Eris picked up the physical barrier that enclosed the area, but the membrane acted like a view screen showing more forest and an open sky beyond everywhere except where the ten-foot-high archway stood. In that location, a flowing cloud of pink mist swirled on the other side of a barrier that he couldn¡¯t see, but it seemed to hold the flowing mists to the other side of the barrier.


    ¡°I can see the portal. It¡¯s set against the wall of the barrier,¡± Connor said to his two companions.


    ¡°Can you see on the other side?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s clouded over with a pink hazy mist that blocks any vision.¡±


    ¡°How long until we get to it?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°At our current walking speed, about five minutes.¡±


    ¡°All right, then, what¡¯s the plan?¡± Sam asked.


    Connor brushed aside a branch that was sticking out from one of the trees as he thought about the different ways they could do this. If he went first, he should be able to handle most things that popped up. If he let them go first and there was a cat on the other side, Liza might have had a better chance at taming the cats or at least convincing them not to attack the three of them.


    ¡°Hey, you two, I¡¯m going to go first. Give me about a minute, and then step through. I¡¯ll stay by the entrance if nothing is going on. If there is something, I¡¯ll draw whatever it is away from the portal."


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to step through together to make sure we don¡¯t get separated?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve mentioned it, That¡¯s probably a good idea. The portal is wide enough that if I step through first while each of you has a hand on my shoulder, we should be okay, especially if we all activate Stealth,¡± Connor said.


    As they neared the portal, Connor noticed that no creatures seemed to be within one hundred feet of it. When they crossed the one-hundred-foot threshold, he immediately understood why when he received two new notifications.


    Mana Density has increased to 200%.


    Mana Regeneration Rates have doubled.


    ¡°Nice!¡± Liza whispered.


    ¡°Why would this area have a higher Mana Density? I mean, even the portal off of Earth only increased to 100%. That area didn¡¯t really extend onto Earth,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°I wonder if the Astral Plane has areas like Ley Lines or Mana Nodes?¡± Connor offered. Regardless, let''s take advantage of this and recast any spells we have or might need,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Sounds Good,¡± Liza said, followed almost immediately by the Sam when he said, ¡°Sure.¡±


    Connor recast Force Daggers of Throwing and slowed down a bit so he could recover the 1,000 mana he¡¯d just used in just over a minute. Every other spell he had he could activate if he needed to. The three walked up within twenty feet of the portal and waited.


    After two minutes, Sam said, ¡°Ready.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± Liza offered.


    ¡°All right. I was waiting for you two. Step in behind me, and each of you put a hand on my shoulder. Then we Stealth and step through together. I¡¯ll give us a verbal count and then activate telepathy on the other side so we can communicate privately,¡± Connor explained.


    They moved into position, activated Stealth, and Connor gave them a count. By the time they¡¯d taken three steps, they were moving in sync as they approached and stepped through the portal. Connor stepped through. He felt their hands on his shoulders and could see them Eyes of Eris even though they were stealthed. As they stepped through the portal, the tactile sensation of their fingers holding his shoulders seemed to lessen, and Connor watched as their bodies seemed to turn red and then fade into and through the infrared spectrum until they were gone.


    Connor stood still. He¡¯d watched them step through the portal. He¡¯d felt them touching him, and they¡¯d vanished. He quickly took in the area on the other side of the portal, and as Elder Vinlan had said, this area of the Astral Plane resembled the forested area he¡¯d just left, even though it felt a bit different. Three large tigers were resting on the branches of a single tree well within his 10,000-foot perception radius, but they seemed to be napping. Otherwise, the forested area was clear of everything save birds, squirrels, and rabbits.


    As he turned to look at where Liza and Sam had just been, he noticed that his Notification icon was blinking but hadn¡¯t allowed the information to pop into his vision yet.


    SYSTEM Connection Re-established.


    Temporal Displacement Noted.


    Temporal Displacement is not authorized for individuals with Unfettered Ability


    Unfettered Master Class Rank Noted.


    Temporal reintegration halted.


    Connor looked back through the portal and sighed before he very loudly said, ¡°Well, Shit!¡±


    Before the tigers could react to him, Connor stepped back through the portal and found himself once again in the Pocket Realm that should Contain Elder Vinlan. He quickly activated Flight and then made his way back to the elven village before heading on to the portal and exiting the Pocket Realm through the portal back to Earth.


    If what Elder Vinlan had said was accurate, Both Liza and Sam had been flung forward to a moment after their removal from the original timeline or to time after the explosion that accounted for the time they¡¯d spent in the past. It had been what, two days, maybe three. Still, if they appeared in the Astral Plane at that point, he could try to meet them, but he¡¯d be taking the long way to get there. It was one of the reasons he¡¯d left immediately. He didn¡¯t want to alter the past of the area they were about to appear in.


    Additionally, he didn¡¯t want to upset the balance with the elves any more than he already had, so back to Earth, he would go. There were a few loose ends he wanted to tie up and a few more things he might try to do to help Earth prepare for the SYSTEM Integration. With that in mind, Conner surrounded himself in a needle-like force barrier projection and headed toward Hoover Dam. He needed to talk to Mr. Pinkerton again.


    With his increased Endurance, Constitution, and Agility, as well as his high Perception, Connor remained under five hundred feet and flew just under the speed of sound at about 650 miles per hour. The military had sent an interceptor before; they¡¯d probably do it again, so he stayed low and subsonic. He also did this to give himself time to think about his next course of action.


    He headed east just above the trees and mountains until he came out on the east side of the Shata Trinity National Forest by Tennant, California. From there, he stayed away from the mountain ranges and followed the roads to the southeast. He¡¯d follow roads where he could and stay away from airports. That isn¡¯t to say there weren¡¯t a few close calls, but Eyes of Eris ensured that anything that could have possibly collided with him was either dodged or, if their rate of closure was just a bit faster than he liked, he simply used Shadow Sept to appear on the opposite side of the vehicle. That only happened once then when it could have only been a spec ops military vehicle without running lights lit up his perception field on a direct head-on course. Still, he had a full four seconds to react and could have dodged but decided that the head-on wind shear was going to be bad enough.


    For 1,000 mana, Connor Shadow Stepped 10,000 feet. His Common Shadow Affinity let him move as if he was one rank higher than the mana he spent. Theoretically, he could spend 10,000 mana to move 100,000 feet or even 100,000 mana to travel one million feet or 189 miles, but there was no need to burn up his Mana Reserve. He only needed to dodge the aircraft, which he did.


    Except for that near miss, the flight was rather relaxing. He allowed the information he picked up to flow into his mind without really concentrating on any one thing. At the same time, he looked at road signs, checked maps in rest areas he came across, and continuously updated his internal map, which he suddenly realized wasn¡¯t tied to a skill. He was holding this idea of a map in his mind and adding to it with his mind. Mapping skills would be incredibly useful, especially with Eyes of Eris.


    Connor pulled up his Status Screen. He still had eight unused Skill Slots and 233 unused spell slots. A mapping function would be better as a skill, and it would have to be as good as Eyes of Eris, which was currently at Advanced Rank or Tier IV. At least he knew what he was going to create next.


    Next, he reviewed all of his current Titles, Perks, Skills, and Spells. He could visit the Department of Motor Vehicles or Social Security Office and use the computers there to create a fake identity with all appropriate paperwork. He was going to need that to move the funds from Juan Perez¡¯s Cartel accounts to himself. Of course, if he somehow were forced back to the future, this would all be moot, but if he were stuck in the past for the next 22 years, having more money than Elon Musk almost 20 years before he was named the wealthiest man in the world officially would make it a whole lot easier to live off the grid while he tried to prepare humanity for what was coming.


    Connor brought his attention back to his flight path and continued southeast toward Las Vegas. He passed to the east of Reno, Silver Springs, and Walker Lake. After that, it was mostly bluffs and desert landscapes with the mountains west and south of him. From that point, it was relatively easy to follow I95 south into Las Vegas and over the Sam¡¯s Club and Walmart they¡¯d visited before leaving town. He slowed down considerably and dismissed his Force Barrier construct while keeping Stealth active. Twenty minutes later, he was over the Hover Damn Casino and watching as Mr. Pinkerton saw to the management of the Casino.


    A quick use of Shadow Step put him into an empty male bathroom on the Casino floor. He dropped Stealth and stepped out. Agent Smith was still asleep, even if it was after 1 p.m. locally. That had nothing to do with the Memory Download he¡¯d performed; at least it shouldn¡¯t have. It was at least twelve hours later; he should have been back up within 10 minutes. That was fine, though; it gave him more time to get out and check on things.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Connor walked onto the Casino floor and headed directly for Mr. Pinkerton. To Connor, the look of veiled surprise that showed on Mr. Pinkerton''s face was easily discernable, though he had to admit he did a very good job of hiding it.


    ¡°Mr. Baker! Back so soon,¡± Mr. Pinkerton said.


    Connor smiled like the cat who was about to eat his cream, ¡°Yes, I believe we need to go somewhere and talk,¡±


    ¡°I would be happy to bring you to my office so we can talk,¡± Mr. Pinkerton said as he pushed one of three buttons on a remote in his hand. With Eyes of Eris, Connor watched as four men in security uniforms moved into Mr. Pinkerton''s office to set up an ambush. Connor smiled; Mr. Pinkerton was making this too easy.


    As they walked to the office, Connor waited until they were within one hundred feet of it and cast Control Technological Device. With Eyes of Eris, he located and targeted the Security System in Mr. Pinkerton¡¯s office and turned it off. As they stepped up to the door, Connor gestured to Mr. Pinkerton, ¡°Please, after you, I insist.¡±


    As Mr. Pinkerton turned to the door, opened it, and stepped through, Connor activated Stealth. Shadow Stepped into the room behind his desk and cast the Sleep Spell four times, once on each security guard, which knocked them out. Before they could even react, the guards fell to the ground unconscious. Next, he cast Wizard Hands and had his right hand close the door while his left hand grabbed Mr. Pinkerton by the back of the neck and squeezed.


    One of the ironies of having a disembodied hand grab you by the back of the neck was that any counter moves to break out of the neck lock would not work; Mr. Pinkerton moved quite fluidly and with training as he made a counter move that would have worked on most regular humans if there had been a body attached to the disembodied hand. Instead, it looked pretty comical as Mr. Pinkerton turned to grab his opponent and found nothing while the hand was still grabbing him by the back of the neck and the other hand was pressed against the door, holding it closed., just in case Mr. Pinkerton tried to open it to leave.


    ¡°What?¡± Mr. Pinkerton asked confusedly as he saw his four security men slumped against the wall and the hand floating in the air pressed up against the door.


    Connor dropped Stealth and whispered, ¡°Over here,¡± in his best Predator imitation.


    Mr. Pinkerton pivoted and saw Connor standing behind his desk. His eyes went wide. ¡°What¡­How¡­What?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve said that; sit down before you fall down,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°You should be dead?¡± Mr. Pinkerton said as he sat in a seat usually reserved for hotel guests in front of his desk.


    ¡°On which subject, Juan Perez or Diego will not be saying hello to you ever again.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who you¡¯re talking about?¡± Mr. Pinkerton stated flatly.


    ¡°So, if I were to tell you that I had all of his bank accounts and information and that all I needed to transfer all of Mr. Perez¡¯s illegal wealth was an account to transfer that wealth into¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d call you a liar,¡± Mr. Pinkerton said smugly.


    Connor turned the computer monitor on the desk to him. Next, he cast Control Technological Device. Connor bypassed all security protocols, pulled up Juan Perez¡¯s account, and succinctly transferred all of the money into his Conrad Baker account with the Casino. His funds available went from one million dollars to 237 million dollars within seconds.


    Mr. Pinkerton¡¯s eyes went wide, ¡°We¡¯re dead men.¡±


    ¡°No, Juan Perez and Diego, as well as everyone at their house in Boulder and the team that tried to take me out of my room, are dead. You, for now, and I are very much alive, and I would like to keep things that way if we can come to an accommodation.¡±


    ¡°What kind of accommodation.¡±


    ¡°I need the best fake IDs on the market. Something tells me you know who to talk to,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°And why would I do this for you?¡± Mr. Pinkerton asked.


    ¡°Aside from self-preservation,¡± Connor said as he pulled out one of Juan Perez¡¯s suitcases with one million dollars in it and set it on the desk between them, ¡°This is one million dollars. It is for you to use to get me a fake Birth Certificate and driver¡¯s license and to set up a bank account with 1,000 dollars in it. Whatever is left over is yours. Also, while you¡¯re setting up my documentation, I would suggest that you also set up a bank account for yourself in Switzerland, specifically UBS AG or, as they¡¯re also known, UBS Global. Once I have my papers in hand, I will transfer half of the money that was in the account here into your account in Switzerland.¡±


    Mr. Pinkerton looked at Connor disbelievingly. ¡°You¡¯re going to give me 118.5 million dollars for a Birth Certificate, Driver''s license, and a bank account set up for Conrad Baker, for which you¡¯re giving me this one million dollars and an additional 118.5 million dollars from the money you just stole from Juan Perez? That sounds almost too good to be true.¡±


    ¡°You''re right; it does sound too good to be true, and yes, I can do this without you; it¡¯s just going to take longer. I would prefer to have contact in the game. Additionally, no one, and I mean no one, is to know of our deal. I can understand how you couldn¡¯t say no to the Cartels; I don¡¯t even begrudge you that, but make no mistake. Very soon, you''re going to realize that everyone who attacked me and my friends today is dead and gone. Everyone. No one will ever find their bodies. Their families will never know where they went, and after discovering what Diego and Perez have done throughout their miserable lives, no one should.


    ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± Mr. Pinkerton asked.


    Connor smiled, ¡°Because, while you never personally attacked me, you were part of it. That was one. If you ever reach two, no one will find you either.¡± Connor let the silence fill the room for a moment before he continued, ¡°So, which will it be: stay on my good side, get rich, and maybe come out ahead of the mess you were involved with, or remain loyal to a dead man?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just it,¡± I don¡¯t know that he¡¯s dead?¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± Connor said as he transferred the briefcase full of money to his inventory, activated Stealth, and Shadow Stepped to the roof. He could have killed Mr. Pinkerton; in fact, he really wanted to. Instead, he added his name to a list he was putting together. When he returned to the future, everyone who survived the Integration would die. But right now, he did not want to create a paradox that would force him forward in time. Nope, right now, it was all about making as few ripples in time as possible. So, the hard way, it was.


    Connor activated Flight and moved over to the hills just south of Callville Bay Park and the marina just north of Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. Behind the hills was a nice little spot that was out of sight of the houses and the water. People on the other side of the river, almost due east of his position that was up high, might be able to see him, but they were at least four miles away if the map he was using was accurate. Connor landed, cast Astral Pocket, and stepped inside.


    He could worry about Liza and Sam, but they were on the other side of a barrier that he would eventually reach, and there was nothing he could do about it right this second. Maybe later, but not right now. No, now he was going to do two things. The first was to activate a skill that acted as a Personal Map or Mapped everything around him. The second was to create another skill that would allow him to morph and change his physical features so he could change Identities whenever he wanted. He didn¡¯t want it to be an illusion; his body actually needed to change, so it would probably have to be a skill.


    Connor moved into the dining room and sat down as he mediated, focused on the skill he wanted to create, and activated Malleable Skills.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    Searching General Database


    Skill: ¡°Basic Map¡± meets the criteria for the requested skill.


    Requirements to learn Skill:


    100 Mana


    One free Skill Slot per level of Core, Five Skill Slots required.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Skill ¡°Basic Map.¡±


    Basic Map


    Rank: Master


    Required Materials: None


    Range 100,000 feet (18.9 miles)


    Mana Cost: None. It requires 100% mana density of the environment within range. A low mana density will have an adverse effect on his skill.


    In the areas of Low Mana Density, this skill will not update your internal map.


    This skill creates an interactive map that may be accessed and reviewed at any location you have previously visited after the skill is acquired. The map is updated whenever your perception sweeps over the area.


    Areas outside of your perception range or that are blocked by your perception have not been updated.


    Typically, the map can be viewed as an overlay that does not block your vision. However, you can move your point of view onto the map and view anywhere you have visited as if you are in the area. In this mode, odors and sounds that were present during the last update will be present if you witnessed them originally.


    Connor reviewed the new skill and then opened it, which contained information concerning the entirety of his Astral Pocket. Activating the interactive aspect of the skill was as simple as making it happen. Suddenly, he was within the map and able to move to every position and take a look at it. That function could come in really handy when Eyes of Eris was involved. In the heat of the moment, he might shunt critical information to deal with combat, but later, he could review the area and look for anything he missed.


    Connor returned to his senses and fell into Meditation again before focusing on a skill that would allow him to alter his physical form as he activated Malleable Skills.


    Unfettered Status Noted


    SYSTEM Link established.


    Searching General Database


    Searching Common Skill Database.


    The skill available does not meet the criteria sought.


    Searching Uncommon Skill Database


    The skill available does not meet the criteria sought.


    Searching Rare Skill Database


    The skill available meets 75% of the criteria sought.


    Note: Current Skill Points available: 3. Higher Database Searches are not available at this time.


    Rare Skill: Transfiguration


    Requirements to learn Skill:


    10,000 Mana


    Three free Skill Slots. This is NOT a Growth-based skill.


    This skill allows you to make superficial changes to your appearance. These changes are physical in nature and will hold up to all physical examinations:


    You may adjust your appearance by spending 1,000


    Adjustments that this skill allows you to make:


    Hair may be lengthened or shortened as you desire.


    Height may be adjusted by three inches.


    Facial and body features may be adjusted as desired and may even mimic other races, though you do not take on the genetic aspects of the race. Tracking based on sent will still identify you as human. You still require Oxygen to breathe; You are predominately a land-based entity, etc.¡­


    You may also Molt, which will remove any foreign DNA or materials from your body.


    The changes will last until this skill is activated again.


    Would you like to learn the skill Transfiguration for three Skill Points, Yes or No?


    Connor chose yes and activated the skill. His point of view shifted to a room where a copy of his body stood before him, and a disembodied feminine voice spoke.


    Welcome to the Modification Chamber. You may enter this area as you wish to set up the preset configuration for your Transfiguration Skill. Here, you can detail the modifications and changes you would like to make and then store up three different preset configurations in addition to what you usually look like, which will be referred to as your default from this point forward. Think about the changes you would like to see, and they will be added to your simulacrum. When you are ready to accept the changes, save the configuration and implement it, and you will change to the new form within one turn, provided you have enough mana to activate the skill.


    When Connor was finished, he¡¯d created three different presets; one was black, one was Asian, and the third was a man who looked nothing like him but was the same height. He chose that form to activate. He felt a moment of haziness in his senses as his hair grew to shoulder-length hair, blue eyes turned blue, and what some women would call a Brad Pitt-like look; no one should recognize him when he stepped out of the Astral Pocket. First, though, he was going to rest for an hour or so and recover the mana he¡¯d spent flying to Las Vegas.


    Of course, while he waited, he might as well try his Create Food spell out. He created a T-Bone Steak and then the sides to go with it. Sure, it required him to cast the spell multiple times, but inside the Astral Pocket, that wasn¡¯t a problem. As he sat down to tuck in and eat his meal, he modified the wall in the dining area so that it resembled a whiteboard with ¡°Naughty List¡± at the top. Directly underneath the title, ¡°Agent Smith¡± and then ¡°Mr. Pinkerton¡± appeared.


    Connor was going to make a list, and he would check it twice when he didn¡¯t have to worry about creating a paradox. While he ate, he combed through Diego and Perez¡¯s memories and added a plethora of names to his ¡°Naughty List. None of those monsters deserved to live in a world with magic and superhuman strength. He¡¯d make sure of it if they ever crossed his path.

 Chapter 21, Breakfast Guest

    George sat down with what was sure to be the next hottest role-playing game he¡¯d seen in years. ¡°Surviving the Apocalypse¡±, a new core game guide promised that it would change your life. He looked over the cover, which held a glowing portal with various creatures on the other side drawn in such a way that it implied that they were making their way toward the person looking at the cover. The monsters and creatures were recognizable from other games he¡¯d played. There was a beholder, a floating head with tentacles, Minotaur, goblins, orcs, and even a black dragon. Then he noticed that at the top of the portal in the background there were ships. Some looked like floating galleon-type ships that had discovered the Americas, while others looked like something out of a science fiction novel. Was this a cross-genre game? That would be so cool. He couldn¡¯t wait to see how the author incorporated magic and science.


    George opened his book excitedly and began reading.


    Congratulations!


    You have taken your first step toward learning about the truth of this reality.


    First, let me say that everything you read within the pages of this rule book is very loosely based on reality. What you discover within these pages and the types of events and encounters you read about DO occur every day somewhere within the multiverse,


    You¡¯ve been warned.


    So, while this is a game, also think of it as a training guide. Try to learn as much as you can about the SYSTEM governs this game and us all. Your exposure to these truths is a lot closer than you think.


    George continued to read his new Core rule book, lost in the excitement of learning about a new ¡°Game¡±


    ***


    Connor smiled. He¡¯d been monitoring the game store for a while, and he¡¯d noticed the teenager pick up the new rule book for the game he¡¯d created over the last year. He had to be careful with the ideas he introduced. Still, creating another game along the AD&D third edition style with a few modifications and additions, because let''s face it, there were more than seven attributes that The SYSTEM tracked.


    He remained Stealthed and followed George back to his dorm room at the college, where he sat down and started reading. Connor floated above the door where he could monitor George and keep an eye on the surrounding area. He¡¯d traveled back to Atlanta, Georgia for the official launch. Sure, a digital version of the game was available online for download, but digital products weren¡¯t as big as they would be in twenty-one years. Besides, he wanted to see how someone who had bought a physical copy reacted. He could tell by the attention he was paying to the pages that George was well and truly hooked. The seed had been planted; now it was time to get back to planting more seeds across the globe.


    Over the last year he¡¯d moved the Perez fortune away from his shell companies and hidden accounts into shell companies and hidden accounts Connor had created. He¡¯d also added another 121 names to his Naughty List which brought the total to 123 dirtbag humans who needed to die, as soon as he was sure it couldn¡¯t affect him somehow.


    To facilitate the funds transfers, Connor had created various identities and tied multiple million-dollar accounts to them all over the world. The ability to change his body and hack any computer system in the world with a thought made doing so too easy. Connor could go into the minutia of how for the first week he¡¯d sat and watched individuals at the Social Security office and Department of Motor Vehicles so he could learn how to utilize their SYSTEMs so he could create those false identities. He could also break down how he created driver''s licenses to match those identities after he¡¯d made sure to list addresses that no longer existed or had been recently demolished with no forwarding address given. But, he had accomplished those tasks on what he could only describe as an autopilot. While he was working on those tasks, he was considering what other spells he could create that would make his life easier. For now, he was out of Skill Slots, unless he dropped a skill, so he¡¯d need to develop spells if there was anything else he needed. He had a few ideas, but he was sure they were going to be mana intensive.


    He also monitored Agent Smith and all the other agents he worked with while he was creating his false identities. Then, he moved his base of operation to Washington, DC, where it was much easier to break into and make a false trail of documentation utilizing his spell Create Item. With that spell, he could generate paper documents that looked authentic and would pass any ageing test. It was almost too easy.


    The only issue he ran into was taking all, well a majority anyway, of Juan Perez¡¯s funds and trying to place them in a single bank account. The man had 123 billion dollars spread throughout various banking institutions. Putting that much money into one account in early 2003 would have been problematic. Besides, others had access, well, they¡¯d had access, which had been cancelled when Connor flagged all the accounts as under investigation for identity theft. In the 72 hours it took the banks to investigate and clear the accounts, the money had been transferred and all records of those transfers had been deleted. That had taken a bit of work on his part as he¡¯d had to fly to the main branch in the Cayman Islands and access the computers during the night.


    Still, once everything had been set up, it had been easy for him to establish each of his identities as just another American millionaire living on their mom or dad''s money who liked to travel the world. He stored each of his IDs and credit cards in his Inventory, which made swamping identities extremely easy.


    At the end of the first year, he had bank accounts all over the world with at least one million dollars in the accounts associated with over one hundred different aliases. Sure, he could only save three preset body styles with Transfiguration, but it was simple to make slight alterations here and there so that each of his identities was unique. It also helped that his memory was literally superhuman.


    Remembering each identity''s fingerprints was a bit of a chore, so he created information cards that he stored in his inventory. Eventually, changing his identity was as simple as removing a card from his inventory, and willing himself to take on the characteristics shown on the card. He¡¯d even added a couple of names from his favorite books; Paul Atreides, Jason Asano, Paula Myo, though he wasn¡¯t very good at acting like a woman. A fun fact, he didn¡¯t know what Paula Myo looked like, but he had an idea and went with it. He didn¡¯t talk much in that form, which actually mimicked that character perfectly, and while he couldn¡¯t turn into a woman, he could alter his body enough so that it looked more female than most cross dressers. That little trick of switching sexes and having multiple outfit assembles in his inventory helped him considerably the few times he¡¯d run into problems with the local criminal element or the police. Each card also had all the information he needed to help him remember which bank accounts and locations that identity was known in for quick reference.


    For instance, today, he was Harold Jenkins, a stock market investor, who was trying his hand at becoming a Writer and Author for a brand-new role-playing game which he¡¯d used his mother and father''s money to develop and publish. Satisfied with how this had turned out, Harold flew back to the Hilton Atlanta and landed in a nearby parking structure where he dropped Stealth and walked into Trader Vic¡¯s, a little caf¨¦ in the Hilton Complex where he was going to order some breakfast. He was shown to a table looking out onto the street and ordered a coffee while he waited.


    ¡°How interesting,¡± a beautiful redhead said as she sat in the seat across from Connor.


    ¡°Excuse me, do I know you?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Not exactly, but I know you. I¡¯ve been watching you for a bit. It would seem that you are a bit out of your temporal comfort zone, as some call it.¡±


    Connor froze, ¡°Watching me?¡±


    ¡°Of Course. It¡¯s not often someone unfettered by a SYSTEM pops up. If I might ask, why are you creating a role-playing game?¡±


    Connor considered not answering the woman, who had yet to introduce herself, but decided against it. Something was exceptionally off about this woman. His Uncanny Perception was screaming at him that she was incredibly dangerous, ¡°If you know about the SYSTEM, then you know that when it arrives, it will take most of humanity with it. I¡¯m trying to give a few more people a better starting chance.¡±


    ¡°By creating a game?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think wearing a sign declaring that the world was doomed and walking up and down Central Park West in New York, was going to get the word out. At least not to anyone that it would help. This way, some of the geeks might pay attention and then get the word out,¡± Connor explained.


    ¡°As ways to get the word out, it¡¯s not a bad plan,¡± she agreed, ¡°but it won¡¯t be enough and even you have to be careful of the ripples you''re causing. Ripples attract attention,¡± she said as she pointed a single finger at herself.


    ¡°And who are you exactly?¡±


    ¡°I am someone who is visiting an unfettered individual in a world which has started to be integrated into a SYSTEM. Ironically, the universe this is occurring in is a natural Universal Eternal Recurrence, the first in a very, very long time,¡± she said just before the waitress returned to take their breakfast order. Connor ordered orange juice and a refill on his coffee, as well as a western omelet. She simply ordered a black coffee. When the waitress left, she continued, ¡°Also, before you ask, I cannot help you directly. My father might be taking action to fix some of the issues this SYSTEM has so that it can be more easily integrated later but at this moment, I cannot help you.¡±


    ¡°So, you can¡¯t help me. Can I at least know who I¡¯m talking to?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Connor. My name is Pandora. My father is Admantadine and my mother is the Goddess Umbra¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of them, or you,¡± Connor said truthfully.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have. My mother serves as a Goddess for another SYSTEM and my father, well, the Gods, if they¡¯re smart, listen to his counsel when he gives it or pretend like he doesn¡¯t exist.¡±


    ¡°That still doesn¡¯t answer the question, why talk to me. Why even show yourself?¡±


    ¡°Because, while what you¡¯re doing is noble, it will make almost no difference in the scheme of things. Changing your past almost always leads to unintended consequences. It¡¯s one of the reasons Father expressly forbids it within our SYSTEM. Too many have tried to rewrite history, or end problems by destroying another creature''s origin point. Dad doesn¡¯t tolerate that ¡°horseshit¡± as he calls it.¡±


    Connor paused, He was traveling through time, why hadn¡¯t her father come after him yet.


    ¡°And before you start going and getting worried. First, you are not within the SYSTEM my father works within. Second, you did not intentionally throw yourself into the past, I checked. That was a lucky break, actually. I estimate that if you¡¯d remained in the area of the explosion for approximately a half of a second longer, we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation. Also, you should probably buy Liza a fruit basket when you see her again.¡±


    ¡°A fruit basket, did you seriously just quote¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have all of the pop culture references you¡¯re used to. Anyway, the only thing you need to worry about is upsetting the timeline and forcing time to fix itself, which is never pretty. Since it seems like you¡¯ve gone out of your way not to mess things up, I just wanted to come in and ask why you don¡¯t head back to your own time.


    ¡°I can¡¯t just go back¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can,¡± Pandora said.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t¡±


    Pandora sighed, ¡°Connor, as you saw with your friends as soon as the SYSTEM was able to overcome their ability, which is quite powerful, just not against time traveling, they were yanked forward to their appropriate time. What would happen if, say, you found a way to suppress that aspect of your class that designates you as unfettered to the SYSTEM?¡±


    Connor¡¯s eyes went wide, ¡°It can¡¯t be that simple?¡±


    Pandora smiled, ¡°It is that simple. While The SYSTEM is not a computer program, it does function like one and various functions can be turned off and suppressed by interfaced users. You are one such user. I will give you a hint. Meditate and look within yourself.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the advice, but that doesn¡¯t answer the question as to why I shouldn¡¯t try to save as many people as possible?¡± Connor said.


    ¡°There are some Universal truths that each of us must discover for ourselves; this is one of them. Just trust that those who die serve a purpose, just as those who live do. Whichever happens, everyone serves the tapestry of existence.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you mean the Tapestry of Life?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°I said what I meant,¡± Pandora said with a smile.


    ¡°What will you do, if I head back to the future?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°I am not here as far as the SYSTEM is concerned. When we¡¯re done talking, I will leave and watch to see what you do.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re not just waiting for me to leave so you can take over?¡± Connor asked with a smile that was meant to imply that he was joking.


    ¡°If I wanted to take over, no one could stop me in this Universe, and I¡¯m including the few Gods who exist here in that statement.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Connor said as the waitress walked up with the orders.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re a god then?¡± Connor asked, which drew a look from the waitress, who realized that she¡¯d stopped and began placing the food and drinks again.


    Pandora patiently waited for the woman to finish. As she turned to leave she said, ¡°No¡­I¡¯m much more powerful than that. But what I am doesn¡¯t matter. You still have a lot to learn about the various levels of power in your SYSTEM. You don¡¯t need to worry about another SYSTEM¡¯s power levels.


    Connor nodded as he dug into his omelet. He was talking with a woman who said she was more powerful than a god, which meant that either she was crazy or nothing he did mattered, so if this was going to be his last meal, he was going to enjoy it. After he¡¯d taken a couple bites and Pandora had taken a few sips of her coffee, Connor asked, ¡°So, where are you off to after you''re done talking to me?


    ¡°I will probably go transfer the information I¡¯ve collected to my primary and then be sent on another mission. The Multiverse is infinite after all.¡±


    ¡°And you honestly don¡¯t care what happens to the people on this planet?¡±


    ¡°I care but my hands are tied. The only reason that the SYSTEM that is integrating into this planet hasn¡¯t kicked me out yet is that I am speaking with an unfettered person. So long as all we¡¯re doing is talking, the SYSTEM¡¯s hands are tied about how it can respond.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say that the last time a SYSTEM disobeyed the rules they agree on once they meet my dad doesn¡¯t usually go well for that SYSTEM. Across infinity, certain bits of news travel fast. The destruction of SYSTEMs is one such item.


    ¡°So, I just need to trust that what you¡¯re telling me is true?¡±


    ¡°Would you like to see the other side of reality? To see what awaits everyone and everything?¡± Pandora asked.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°I would,¡± Connor said without hesitation.


    Pandora smiled. Very well, finish your food and I¡¯ll show you. Just a heads up, when you re-enter this SYSTEM you will automatically shift to where you¡¯re supposed to be in the timeline. It¡¯s a safety measure that was instituted a long time ago and that most systems have adopted.¡±


    Connor had so many questions. Multiple SYSTEMS. Leaving the SYSTEM, returning to the SYSTEM. Who was this Pandora? Connor finished eating his breakfast, took one last drink of his coffee and smiled at Pandora, ¡°I¡¯m you ready to go when you are.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ready as well,¡± Pandora said as the world around them shifted instantly. Connor found them standing on the dark side of the moon in a breathable atmosphere.


    ¡°How?¡± Connor asked as he looked around and moved his hands and feet in the lowered gravity.


    ¡°I am an aspect or replicant of my true self with only a portion of the power I¡¯ve accumulated over a time frame that is hard to conceive of. In the SYSTEM, my Primary resides in my levels are far above anything a normal mortal would have, no matter their Class Rarity or in your case their Core Rank. If you want to quantify it though, think of my power level at Divine plus plus plus. It¡¯s as good a designation as any other. This body would be the equivalent of a Master rank, three times over, if the SYSTEM hadn¡¯t nerfed the hell out of your Core bonuses. You should have received plus 10 attributes for Common Rank, 100 for Uncommon, 1,000 for Rare, 10,000 for Advanced, and 100,000 attributes for Master rank. That means that you should have at least 111,110 points in each attribute at your current core rank, instead, you have what, a total of 300 points to each attribute for your rank of Master in your Core and Racial Evolution.¡±


    ¡°You can see by Status Screen?¡± Connor asked in shock.


    ¡°Please, Connor, what did you not understand about being above the rank of Divine? After I talk to Father, I¡¯ll ask him to have a conversation with this SYSTEM because trust me, there is a reason the other SYSTEMS level their populations the way they do. Yes, like this SYSTEM, there are very few individuals above the rank of Rare, but those who are have a logarithmic advantage over everyone else. While you are powerful compared to anyone you¡¯ve come up against, you are not ready for what you will face when you enter the multiversal arena.¡±


    ¡°Uh, okay. Since I can¡¯t do anything about that, you said you wanted to show me something?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°I do. I want to show you our home, and when I say our home, please understand that while my Father and I can claim to be denizens of the Realm we are about to visit, everything sprouted from it at some point. I should also point out that some individuals that are exposed to the Realm have a very adverse reaction to it.¡±


    ¡°What kind of adverse reaction?¡± Connor asked suspiciously


    ¡°Did you ever see that moving Supernova when the characters came inside and evolved?¡±


    Connor smiled, ¡°Actually, yes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that. Think more like the thing, except you explode into a mist which evaporates instantly,¡± Pandora said with a grin.


    ¡°Are you being serious?¡± Connor said, as a look of horror came over his face.


    ¡°Actually, yes, but whether that¡¯s going to happen to you or not has a lot to do with luck. Currently your luck is 21,600% better than most others. So I guess the question you have to ask yourself is, Do you feel lucky?¡±


    Connor was quiet for a moment as he considered Pandora¡¯s words. None of his skills activated to warn him against accepting the offer. Uncanny Perception was tranquil. Connor weighed the pros and cons in his head and finally decided to go with his gut, which was saying this wasn¡¯t going to be that bad, ¡°Yes, I feel lucky¡±


    Pandora reached out and grasped his hand, and a cocoon of pearlescent milky white energy surrounded them. Then, they were elsewhere. All around the bubble, they were encapsulated in swirling mists of all colors that mixed and threaded through the pearlescent milky mists. Was it a liquid or a solid? It was changing constantly as he watched. ¡°Where are we?¡±


    ¡°Welcome to the outskirts of what you would call a Realm of Chaos. This region is a bit more stable than most. Now is your moment of choice though. Once I drop the bubble surrounding us, the environment will rush in, over and through us. While it will have little to no effect on me, those that are not designated as creatures of chaos are weighed and judged, that¡¯s the best way I can describe it, either you survive or you do not. I have a strong feeling about you and believe you will be okay, but the choice is not mine to make. You are a guest in what I consider my home. As my guest, it is my duty to protect you until you depart. If you wish to see if this will change you, that is a choice and request you must make of me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll just send me back if I ask,¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°I will. But I believe the possible benefits of being exposed to raw chaos will only benefit you due to your luck, unfettered ability, and Unfettered class progression.¡±


    Connor reached within himself and still felt nothing from Pandora or his surroundings. If this substance was as deadly as she said, his Perception was high enough that his instinct for survival should be kicking in. He felt no sense of dread or danger, ¡°As I said, I feel lucky, Let¡¯s do this!¡±


    Pandora smiled as the barrier surrounding them vanished and Chaos flooded over, into and through him. It didn¡¯t hurt a little bit, it hurt a lot as every nerve within his body exploded in pain just before all inputs of perception vanished and he dropped into blessed darkness.


    ***


    Pandora smiled as Chaos flooded into Connor and he vanished. To anyone looking onto the event without paying attention, it would look like Pandora dropped the barrier around them, the chaos flooded over and through them, and then Connor popped. That¡¯s not exactly what happened though. Connor was kicked out of the Realm of Chaos to a point where he felt safest in his original Universe, which the SYSTEM would have intercepted since he was in a state of flux. Connor was going to end up back in his original era in a place he felt the safest since the SYSTEM couldn¡¯t place him in an area outside its influence.


    Before he vanished, Pandora had felt the changes that were taking hold, one of which was the conversion to what her father called the Forge SYSTEM since he forged it, sort of. Maybe she wouldn¡¯t rush back and let him know what was going on. Connor was a kindred spirit after all, and letting him keep the advantage he would gain wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing. However, it would affect his ability to earn experience, but that was okay, for the people he¡¯d be dealing with as he came to terms with what was about to happen, he''d still gain levels quickly.


    Pandora, or more appropriately her Replicant in this sector of the Multiverse, exited Chaos and traveled away from the SYSTEM Connor resided in. There were other areas to explore and other SYSTEMS to find and prepare for assimilation. The Forge SYSTEM was constantly expanding and always in need of new elites to step forward and prepare for the coming war, because it was coming, the strings of fate and currents of chaos whispered of the enemies expansion and unlike her father, she was indeed a creature of chaos and shadow, she could hear those whispers. However, they were so far away that they were hard to make out, but they were growing closer, ever closer, she just knew it.


    ***


    Connor woke to the feeling of something gnawing on and licking his leg and arm. As he opened his eyes to the sunlight, he noticed two very large gray hairy masses sitting on top of him and could hear scrapes as if something was scraping its teeth along metal, which coincided with the feeling he was getting that something was gnawing on him.


    Connor expanded his Perception with Eyes of Eris and found that he was lying in the bottom of the crater that used to be Mt. Kimball with two Elephant-sized Dire Wolves chomping down on his arms, legs, and even his head. While he couldn¡¯t feel anything, it looked like he¡¯d become their favorite chew toy as the gnawed and slobbered all over him. To make matters worse, he was also naked. What the hell was going on?


    Connor noticed an empty valley within 1.7 miles, the range of Eyes of Eris, and activated Shadow Step. He looked around to verify that what Eyes of Eris had shown him was accurate and then equipped some clothes and shoes. Notifications flashed in his peripheral vision as they tried to pull his attention to them. He would get to the notifications in a moment. First, he wanted to make sure he was safe where he was.


    When nothing exploded out of the ground toward him, Connor activated Stealth and sat down with his back to a canyon wall. He opened his Notifications to see what had happened.


    You have been exposed to unfiltered Chaos.


    Exposure to Chaos results in random effects and mutations across all aspects of most beings that come into contact with it.


    Ability activated: Unshackled.


    SYSTEM-based class and attribute restrictions will not work for you. Previous Core and Racial Evolution attribute bonus restrictions are removed. The attribute bonuses granted are increased to match the Forge SYSTEM''s modifiers. This change will affect future upgrades to your Core and Racial Evolution.


    Common Rank: +10


    Uncommon Rank: +100


    Rare Rank: +1,000


    Advanced Rank: +10,000


    Master Rank: +100,000


    Next Rank (Epic Rank): +1,000,000


    Unfettered has Evolved to Unbound


    Your body has been inundated with Chaos. During this process, the ability Unfettered, which gives you some freedom compared to the way your original system evolved. General governing parameters of any SYSTEM you enter will affect you to some extent, however, target constraints will not. Rules for all affect you. SYSTEM changes that would only affect you do not.


    Temporal Travel Constraints are not affected by this Ability. Forge SYSTEM Constraints still apply.


    Ability modifiers have been adjusted.


    Uncommon Core Attribute Bonus has increased to +100 Attributes, from +20.


    Rare Core Attribute Bonus has increased to +1,000 from +30.


    Advanced Core Attribute Bonus has increased to +10,000 from +40.


    Master Core Attribute Bonus has increased to +100,000 from +50.


    Uncommon Racial Evolution has increased to +100 Attributes, from +20.


    Rare Racial Evolution has increased to +1,000 Attributes, from +30.


    Advanced Racial Evolution has increased to +10,000 Attributes, from +40.


    Master Racial Evolution has increased to +100,000 Attributes, from +50.


    Constraints on the Chaos and Order attributes are lifted.


    Rapid Attribute Growth initiated.


    Attributes adjusted to the following values:


    Strength: 223,297


    Agility: 223,307


    Dexterity: 223,307


    Endurance: 223,297


    Constitution: 223,307


    Perception: 223,297


    Intelligence: 223,297


    Wisdom: 223,307


    Willpower: 223,670


    Charisma: 223,297


    Luck: 223,307


    Chaos: 10


    Order: 10


    While Chaos and Order Attributes have been unlocked and may grow in the future, the exposure to chaos did not garner further growth at this time.


    Hit Points: 446,910 / PDR: 2,232 / Armor: 0


    -Health Regeneration: 10,043 per turn


    Stamina: 558,784


    -Stamina Regeneration: 223,327 per turn


    Mana: 447,312


    -Mana Regeneration: 22,358 per turn


    Psychic Energy: 447,312


    -Psychic Regeneration: 22,396 per turn


    Skill Slots: 62 / 0


    Spell Slots: 22,459 / 22,425


    Congratulations! You have gained the Title ¡°Head of the Line VI¡±


    All Base Attributes +60


    Title ¡°Karma Collector I¡± has activated and affected the outcome of plunge into the Realm of Chaos


    Congratulations! One of your two Primary Abilities has been Unlocked: Quantum Flux.


    Quantum Flux.


    All matter within the Universe is in a state of probable placement. The likely location of your body may or may not be the actual location of your body.


    As this pertains to your interaction with your environment. You are solid. You can affect other objects and other objects can affect you, however, when moving, you leave no evidence of your passage other than visual. You can run through the center of a city at your top speed of Mach 39 and nothing will happen to your surroundings.


    Note that a Unique interplay between Stealth and Quantum Flux exists. If a sentient creature cannot perceive you, they can not affect you with any physical or lower-based magic or skill. Higher magics and Mythically, or higher, rated items will affect you normally.


    Congratulations! You have Gained Chaos Affinity.


    You may learn and cast spells from the Magical Sphere of Chaos with no chance of spell failure due to the inherent instability of chaos. Also, there is very little chance that doing so will draw attention from the higher planes to yourself.


    Congratulations! You have Gained Order Affinity.


    You may learn and cast spells from the Magical Sphere of Order without drawing attention from the higher planes to yourself.


    Perk ¡°Master Regeneration¡± has evolved.


    Master Regeneration adds +10,000 Regeneration per Combat Turn (10 Seconds). Cauterized wounds must be removed to allow regeneration. Magically healed wounds, including severed limbs, will regenerate normally. Decapitation CANNOT be regenerated if the head is removed from the body. Attacks that severe the head but leave it in place will regenerate instantly.


    Perk: Fang has evolved.


    Weapon: Fang has been upgraded to a Growth Item


    Fang


    +1 to Hit, +1 to Damage per Core Rank


    This magical blade is incredibly durable and can cut through most non-magical metals.


    This weapon is Soul-Bound to Connor Orion Nash. If dropped or removed from you, it will automatically return to storage within your Tattoo at the beginning of the next day.


    You have been marked. A tattoo has appeared on your chest. Fang may be called into either hand or stored within the tattoo with a thought. This does not take an inventory slot in any magical storage devices you might acquire.


    As a named weapon, this sword will develop a will of its own.


    This Sword is a semi-intelligent Growth Item. As Core rarity increases, so to will this sword.


    This weapon has a durability rating of 500 and recovers five durability every hour.


    If destroyed, Fang can be reconstituted by spending 100,000 mana to resummon it.


    You are being returned to your Origin Point.


    Temporal Error Noted. Your Unbound and Unfettered Status have been temporarily deactivated due to infusion of Chaos.


    Temporal Restrictions imposed.


    You are being returned to your appropriate place and time.


    Location Mount Kimball crater, North America after SYSTEM Integration.


    Date: September 4<sup>th</sup>, 2029


    Current Time 1:31 p.m. Local


    Connor reviewed the notifications again as his perception checked his surroundings for danger. Within no obvious threats present, he read through the notifications one more time. It seemed that his exposure to Chaos had made some changes to him. Some were modifications to what he¡¯d already possessed, while others, his new ability Quantum Flux, described a new functionality that sounded awesome and terrifying. A top speed of Mach 39? Holy heal that was like 28,000 miles per hour. If he ran into something at that speed, then again, could he run into anything at that speed anymore?


    What the Hell had just happened to him? Then again, if he had all of this power and he was back where he belonged¡­He had a naughty list and a Sect to teach some lessons to.

 Chapter 22, Commerce

    Sept 4th - 5th 2029


    Connor ensured Stealth was active and then activated Flight before he exploded into the air. He stopped at cloud level and looked back at the ground to see if his new Quantum Flux ability worked as advertised. It was weird. One moment he was on the ground, the next he was 52 miles above the ground looking down. Connor activated Environmental Adaption before the almost nonexistent air or freezing temperatures could become a problem.


    Connor continued to look at where he¡¯d come from, sure that a cloud would have swirled or a shockwave would have rolled out. He hadn¡¯t felt any friction from the air, there were no swirls in the clouds, nor had a shockwave been generated. It looked like Quantum Flux worked as advertised. He also double checked his regeneration rates to ensure that he could maintain the skills he¡¯d activated. He need not have worried. His newly modified attributes made it extremely unlikely that he would have to worry about any of his regeneration rates in areas of normal mana density.


    All of his resources were topped off and as he watched his Mana Reserve increased to 29% capacity in 10 seconds. So, in an area with 100% mana density it looked like he wasn¡¯t going to have any mana issues. Shoot, once he earned some more Skill Slots, he might be able to look at creating some advanced and master-level skills. Of course, he could start with Spells whenever he wanted. He had 29,763 Spell Slots available, and he wasn¡¯t afraid to use them. Connor laughed. It was a silly phrase, but it seemed appropriate.


    Before he could do anything else, though, he needed to check on Liza and Sam. Ten seconds later, he was over the location of the Forestry Department and where the portal had been. That had been fast, and it hadn¡¯t felt like flying, not really. He¡¯d wanted to be above the portal entrance, the world had blurred by as he moved, and then he was there.


    Sure, Eyes of Eris allowed him to pick up and categorize the landscape he¡¯d transversed. He¡¯d picked up a few pockets of humanity and a few loners. Mainly, though, he¡¯d detected giant scorpions, snakes, beetles, undead, and various other creatures that he¡¯d only ever read about in fantasy literature littered the cities and towns he¡¯d passed by. Far too many people were either corpses or missing.


    Now that he hovered over the Forestry Department, he could tell that the area had been attacked by a swarm of something that had come from the south and continued north toward Klamath, California. The buildings had been decimated and he couldn¡¯t detect a single living human within 100 feet. Additionally, the structure that surrounded the location of the portal still existed, but the portal was gone. There didn¡¯t seem to be any evidence of recent activity in that area. Bushes and branches littered the area, and they were covered with moss and spiderwebs, so if Liza and Sam had appeared on the other side of the portal, they wouldn¡¯t have come back this way.


    If he remembered correctly, a report from the internet on the day of induction. There were five other locations on the planet where the Sect had broken through. The good and bad news was that there was only one other location where the Sect had set up near North America. It was down south near Easter Island. The closest highly populated area, where he had the best chance of running into Sect Slavers, was in Japan near Mount Fuji.


    Connor set off toward Japan. 98 seconds later, not even 2 p.m. locally, he entered Japanese airspace and flew toward Mount Fuji. As he made his way toward the mountain over Tokyo, he noticed that the few printed calendars people were using had put today as the 5<sup>th</sup> of September just before dawn. He happened to catch a mamasan marking the 4<sup>th</sup> off of her calendar as she prepared breakfast.


    As Connor moved to float above Mount Fuji, he looked at what he could only describe as a floating city that was just above the mountain and off to the north. The floating city was at least a half mile in diameter and consisted of metal and wood. There also seemed to be an invisible field surrounding it which he detected because it refracted the morning light. Floating airships of all sizes flying to and fro as the smaller ships landed and the large ships docked with the floating city. Once docked, men, women, and children were unloaded and escorted to a portal that hovered above the deck. Connor peered through and noticed that they appeared to be stepping into a highly guarded area where they were processed.


    If his time sense was correct, it had only been four days since the orbital strike in Tucson, which had destroyed the Sect¡¯s foothold there, and a lot of the ships that were set to invade. Even so, it looked like the Sect had been able to set up this staging area and had the ships going out to acquire slaves and bring them back for processing. The Sect was still collecting slaves, which meant that they had another staging area, which meant¡­that he should be able to get to where their headquarters was.


    Connor floated down to one of the ships heading out to pick up more people and moved through the ship until he found an out-of-the-way place where he could observe what was happening. While he watched, he maintained Stealth but deactivated Flight and settled in. The ship headed west to Nagoya and then southwest to Kushimoto, looking for slaves. The ship was 300 feet long, but bigger on the inside. Now that he was on board he could detect the true size with Eyes of Eris. The Ship was more than 1,000 feet long, with holding cells and guards everywhere.


    Over the next three hours, Connor watched as people were brought on board and placed in cells. He paid specific attention to the guards as he watched for the most depraved evil individual he could find. After a bit, he noticed a slimy-looking, blue-skinned, human-looking male, who screamed rogue because of the way he moved. Connor watched as he escorted a group of men and young men into the hold. When one of the girls moved just a little too slowly, he used that as an excuse to cuff her and knock her unconscious. While he left her where she dropped, he put everyone into the cage, locked the door, and then went back and picked the young woman up.


    Connor watched as he took the young woman to a what could only be described as a sex room. He made sure that everyone in the cage saw what was in the room and how he laid her on the rack before he closed the door. Connor activated Shadow Step and appeared behind the rogue. The rogue reacted, but not fast enough. Connor reached out and lifted him off the ground by the back of his neck. While the rogue struggled to breathe and fight back, Connor activated Telepathy II and then Memory Download which rendered his target unconscious. Since he didn¡¯t have a memory crystal, he added his target¡¯s memories to his own.


    The dirtbag in his grip was a Derban named Nix. The Derban were a race of people from some highly aquatic world. Nix, was an absolute piece of crap and further solidified Connor¡¯s desire to destroy the Malicore sect. Connor quickly reviewed Nix¡¯s memories and realized that he¡¯d picked a perfect candidate to replace. Nix was a true monster and his most recent thoughts included doing things to this poor girl that¡­best not to think about this sick fucks delusions.


    Connor placed his hand on Nix and activated Transfiguration, which shifted his form into an exact duplicate of Nix¡¯s. The process was almost instantaneous as Connor¡¯s body shifted to look exactly like Nix¡¯s within 10 seconds. Once he was sure that he had worked by inspecting both himself and Nix with Eyes of Eris, Connor snapped Nix¡¯s neck


    Congratulations! You have killed a level 75 Common Rogue.


    750 XP awarded.


    246,060 to next Level


    Note Recent Conversion preset Treasure Awards to Credits.


    .75 Credit Earned.


    Total Credits Available: 54,325


    Killing Nix had required no effort whatsoever. A quick check of his combat log indicated that Nix only had 26 hit points and that his squeeze had done more than 10 times that amount of damage and he hadn¡¯t even been trying. Also, that he¡¯d only earned three fourths of a credit for killing the man meant that whatever treasure people picked up probably needed to be from their target¡¯s inventory, which he didn¡¯t have the ability or spell to access¡­yet.


    Connor willed the body into his Mana Composter and then took all the gear Nix had been wearing and equipped it. Now he looked precisely like Nix had. He just had one last thing to check. He¡¯d heard Nix speak. Hopefully Transfiguration changed his vocal cords as well.


    ¡°Testing. Testing. Get your ass moving you waste of flesh,¡± Connor said in Nix¡¯s voice.


    Connor Smiled. The skill had changed his voice box as well when he copied the body. That probably wouldn¡¯t work if he were mimicking a body without touching it first, but if he had access to the body, he could change his own body to match. Luckily, the skill considered changing his vocal cords a minor change.


    Now that he was ready to go, he picked up the unconscious woman, opened the door to the collective scream of the newly acquired slaves, and tossed the girl in with the slaves he¡¯d arrived with. He couldn¡¯t do anything for them now so he stayed in character as Nix and said, ¡°Let that be a lesson to you, Next time, whoever takes you in that room may keep you in there for much longer. If I hadn¡¯t been called away, the girl and I would have become much more¡­intimate. Now, SHUT UP!¡±


    Connor turned from the cages and walked back toward the upper deck. His job as Nix was to grab slaves captured by the slaver teams and get them below deck until they returned to the staging area above Mount Fuji. Once there, they¡¯d drop off their cargo and do it all over until the end of his shift, when he could head home to a place called Commerce. For Nix, this meant that he¡¯d head back, spend some of the money he made on a meal and a wench, and then find some out-of-the-way place to hole up and wait for his next shift. The Sect didn¡¯t really care what its people did as long as they showed up on time and did the jobs they were hired for. Nix¡¯s shift would end in another six hours.


    Connor marveled at how helpful Memory Download and Transfiguration were. That coupled with Stealth and Shadow Step should allow him to move through the Sect as he worked his way to a place where he could officially join and then work from within. First, he had to make it to one of their headquarters locations, wherever that was. So, Connor made his way up to the top deck and began doing what Nix had done, just without the additional depraved liberties he took with the prisoners on a daily basis. The Multiverse was better off without that monster.


    ***


    Sept 4th 2029


    Liza felt the environment shift around her before she came to her senses with Sam still beside her. They seemed to be in the same forested region of the Astral Plane, but they now stood in a small compound surrounded by wooden walls and a minimal living area. As she looked around, she noticed the elves they¡¯d met in the Pocket Realm surrounded them. As she took this in, Elder Vinlan stepped out of one of the small huts and looked them over.


    After verifying who they were, Elder Vinlan smiled, ¡°We had wondered what happened to you?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean we just left?¡± Liza said.


    ¡°No, you¡¯ve been gone for over twenty years,¡± Elder Vinlan said with a sigh.


    ¡°If it¡¯s been twenty years, why are you here now?¡± Sam asked. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t come into this area because of the large cats?¡±


    Elder Vinlan nodded, ¡°Back then, that was true. Things changed. About a year ago those Malicore Sect monsters sealed our portal to Earth. When it closed, we had a choice to stay in the pocket realm as the portal into the Astral also started to close. We had a choice, step through the portal to this place or try to survive in the Pocket Realm.¡±


    ¡°Why would the portal from the Pocket Realm into the Astral Plane close?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°We have no idea, but we noticed that it was shrinking as soon as the portal to Earth closed. So we were either going to stay in a sealed off Pocket Realm, where we would have been stuck until another natural portal opened, or the pocket realm was reabsorbed by the Astral Plane, or we could try our luck here. We chose to come here.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ve been able to survive here for the last year with no issues from the cats you mentioned before?¡± Liza asked.


    ¡°They don¡¯t come over here. They¡¯ve been staying a little over half a mile away. It¡¯s like the territory is marked or something. They don¡¯t venture to close,¡± Elder Vinlan explained.


    Liza and Sam looked at each other before Sam continued, ¡°Have you seen Connor?


    ¡°Not since you departed our Pocket Realm,¡± Elder Vinlan said.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re stuck here, Connor isn¡¯t with us, and we can¡¯t get back to Earth. Also, if it¡¯s been as long as you said, the Integration should have started,¡± Liza said.


    Elder Vinlan looked thoughtful, before responding, ¡°That sounds correct. We think that¡¯s why they closed our portal,¡± Elder Vinlan said.


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Sam said, ¡°You said you haven¡¯t left the area because of Astral Cats. If you didn¡¯t have to worry about them, would you head out and try to find your way home?¡±


    ¡°I intend no offense, but are you saying that you think you can take care of the Astral Cats? Elder Vinlan asked with obvious disbelief.


    ¡°I think I can,¡± Liza said determinedly.


    Elder Vinlan looked thoughtful, ¡°The cats hold territory all around us. We have sent out hunting parties but they all stay well away from the cat territories. We stick to the smaller prey and a few of our scouts can remain hidden so they can fetch water and plants without issue. Not everyone is as skilled, so we haven¡¯t been able to move out as a group. If you can help us begin our journey back home, you will have our eternal gratitude.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Liza smiled, ¡°We would like to travel with you when you leave, so let that be our agreement. We will help you get past the cats, and you bring us with you,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°That sounds more than fair, ¡°Elder Vinlan agreed, ¡°When will you start?¡±


    ¡°No time like the present,¡± Liza said.


    ***


    Sept 4th - 5th 2029 cont.


    Connor, as Nix, finished his shift and made his way through the portal to the staging area. At the staging area, he walked through the halls as if he knew them, which he had done from Nix¡¯s memories, and made his way to the personnel portal below deck. There was a specialized slave sorting floor below the main portal. This area was for the slaves the Sect was keeping for further review. Beautiful women and men, as well as anyone who showed a magical affinity, were stored here and would be moved later.


    The Main Portal led to the staging area in the City of Commerce on the planet Vesper. The personnel portal led to the same city, just a different area within the Malicore compound. From Nix¡¯s memories, Connor knew that the planet Vesper was considered both a magical and technological world. It was fully integrated into the system, and the technology was adjusted to take advantage of it. That meant that there was a magical and technological scanner. Nix knew nothing about the technological scanner, he hadn¡¯t known about the magical one which Connor found out when he stepped through it.


    The identification bracelet he¡¯d taken from Nix¡¯s corpse and put on identified him as Nix and that information appeared on a monitor in the Security room which then flashed green. Beside that security guard was another guard with another monitor. Connor had noticed him, but hadn¡¯t considered why there would be a second monitor until it turned red and flashed ¡°Identify IV has Failed, No information Available.¡± Connor considered the Roman numeral four for a moment, if that indicated that it was a Tier Four magical scanner of some kind. That meant that identity had been used on and failed to identify him, which meant that the Sect had better resources than he thought they would.


    Connor mentally admonished himself, it made sense for them to go all out on their staging bases. With the majority of the other sects consisting of Common, Uncommon, and Rare-ranked personnel, they would purchase a level IV magical scanner. It would flag most people moving through it and those it couldn¡¯t. Well, that would also be a positive result if it were set up correctly.


    Connor watched the hornet''s nest that was the base begin to go into lockdown and Shadow Stepped into a mop closet 3 floors below his own. Once there, he activated Stealth and then used Shadow Step to appear next to the personnel portal, step through and then Shadow Step to a back alley in Commerce over a mile away from the entrance to the Malicore facility. He also activated Transfiguration to return to his original appearance as he stored everything Nix owned back in his inventory and brought out his gear.


    With a thought, he activated Flight. One second later, he was 52 miles north of the City, floating in the air a mile above ground. From where he was he could see the lights of the city he¡¯d just flown from, but that was all. The edge of the city had ended some thirty miles back. As he looked around he immediately noticed the three small moons, each of which appeared to be in a different orbit, the third, quite far out.


    Within his Perception area, he could distinguish various creatures and plants that reminded him of a tropical jungle area. There were large snakes, cats, ants, and other animals one might find in a jungle, but he also detected groupings of monsters, specifically lizardmen, which seemed to be coming out of a cave under a huge tree. With Eyes of Eris he could detect that the cave system reached down into the ground far deeper than the 3,500 feet he could detect below ground level from the height he was floating at. Also, while there were only aboutt fifty of the creatures on the surface, there were hundreds below the surface.


    Connor lowered himself to 1,000 feet and activated Identify.


    Trae¡¯nor (Lizardman)


    Rank: Common


    Level: 35


    Hit Points: 35


    Stamina 215


    So, these were very weak monsters. Connor rose until he was about a half mile above the ground and headed back toward the city. As he drew close, he lowered himself to the ground near a tree close to the road. Once he was sure he was out of sight of the road, he activated Astral Pocket, stepped inside and closed the door. He moved to his room and removed everything that belonged to Nix from his inventory. Then, he began casting Create Item to create clothing he¡¯d seen to help him blend in. Nothing fancy. Just clothes that fit the theme of the world he was on. Dusty pants, a leather coat, and shirts in the styles he¡¯d see some of the ruffian types wearing. If someone analyzed the materials, they probably wouldn¡¯t match what was on this planet, but that was easily explainable as created by magic, which they were.


    He also allowed his Mana to recharge, which took a full two minutes. Utilizing Shadow Step at ranges over 10,000 feet had cost 100,000 mana each time. He now had over 500,000 and a reserve of 100,000, so he still had half his mana left, but better safe than sorry in an unfamiliar environment. Once he had topped off his resource pools, he was ready for this world, or as prepared as he could be. Connor opened the portal to his Astral Pocket, stepped back onto Vesper and released the portal as he deactivated Stealth.


    Connor stepped onto the road and began walking toward the city gate. He¡¯d landed about five miles away, so it was not far for him, but he didn¡¯t want to appear too powerful, so he started jogging at a casual six miles per hour. This would give him time to¡­


    At the edge of his range about three miles from the gate and ten thousand feet in front of him he picked up five people near the road. All were humanoid, with light blue skin, just like Nix. Three were males and two were females. Two of the males were obvious melee specialists, while the other male and one of the females were either mages or ranged weapon specialists, or both. The second female was in a tree off to the side of the road and had a weapon beside her that looked suspiciously like a sniper rifle.


    It looked like there were highway robbers near a city. Well, he¡¯d have to see how this played out. Connor continued jogging down the road, acting as if he was oblivious to everything around him. As he rounded a corner and came into range, the female sniper whispered into a communications unit she was wearing, ¡°Company.¡± The other four reacted instantly. Each activated Stealth and moved into an Ambush position.


    ¡°Just one, Dez?¡± the first melee type asked.


    ¡°You see what I see, Zax¡± Dez the sniper responded.


    ¡°Dez, any stealthed individuals around him, is this a Malicore hit squad?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anyone with stealth, nor does he look like one of the Malicore¡¯s stooges,¡± Dez, the sniper responded, ¡°He¡¯s human. They don¡¯t employ to many humans in Commerce.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this one boss,¡± The second female who looked to be a mage whispered.


    ¡°How bad Cree?¡± the ¡®Boss¡¯ who was also the second male melee type asked.


    ¡°On a scale of Cake Walk to We Are So Fucked, Worse,¡± Cree said.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± the Boss asked.


    ¡°My Future Sense sees nothing beyond two minutes from now if any of us attack?¡± Cree said.


    ¡°Stand down,¡± the first melee specialist, most likely the ¡®Boss¡¯ whispered into his comm unit as Connor jogged past their ambush position. He¡¯d learned three of their names, but he¡¯d really like to talk with them at some point, especially since it sounded like they weren¡¯t fans of Malicore. Maybe he¡¯d run into them in the city.


    Connor continued toward the city. Once he was 1,000 feet away, the ambush group dropped their stealth and began talking.


    ¡°Cree, did you get to identify him,¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Cree said. She noticed that the Boss was going to say something and continued, ¡°I had a powerful feeling that doing so would be pointless and cause more problems than we wanted.¡±


    ¡°He was a human, correct?¡± Dez asked.


    ¡°Yep, but I have a feeling he was a bit higher ranked than we¡¯re used to seeing, that¡¯s why I waited until he was over 1,000 feet away from us.¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯s as powerful as you think, he might still be able to perceive us.¡±


    ¡°Nope, he¡¯s still jogging toward the gate. If he could hear us he should have reacted by now,¡± Dez said.


    Connor kept his attention on the group for a few more minutes but switched his focus to the gate in front of him where old-fashioned carts and hover vehicles were entering and exiting. There was a four-way stop just outside of the gate and it looked like most of the traffic headed to and came from the west or east. It appeared that he was the only person coming from the north.


    Connor watched the guards look him over, nod and then ignore him as he made his way through the gate. He wasn¡¯t sure why they hadn¡¯t stopped to question him but he¡¯d take it. The gate looked like something out of Star Wars. The walls were at least 100 feet high and the doors to the gate, while open, each lane wast least 30 feet across.


    As he stepped through, he understood why. This section of the town was the industrial sector. Along the main road there were a couple of places that reminded him of Quick Stops or Allsup¡¯s where he could spend money and pick up snacks and drinks and even some refueling stations that contained classic gas pumps and something that he¡¯d never seen before.


    As he watched a vehicle with a trailer bed pulled up. The Dwarf in the driver''s seat jumped down and opened a hatch. He pulled out a dim crystal and stepped over to the¡­pump which was more like a slot machine. He placed the crystal in the slot, waved his wrist over a scanner and watched as energy surrounded the crystal and it began to glow brighter. It was a mana battery. The car ran out of the main battery, and it looked like it had filled it up quickly. That made sense. Common and Uncommon individuals wouldn¡¯t have a fast Mana Regeneration rate, so a way to recharge the mana batteries quickly made sense.


    Connor was a bit confused by the need to wave their wrist in front of the machine until a sign on his side of the street caught his attention.


    Welcome to Commerce.


    You must register with a local bank to utilize services or purchase goods within the City of Commerce.


    To register, place your hand in the handprint on this sign. The local bank charges a registration fee of 10 Credits.


    Note: All information gathered about you is confidential and only known by the Banking Guild.


    There were many pros and cons to allowing himself to be scanned, but if he didn¡¯t, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to blend in or try to infiltrate Malicore. Besides, what was the worst thing that could happen? With that thought he reached forward and placed his left hand on the handprint on the sign. A moment later, he started receiving notifications.


    Welcome to the Bankers Guild of Commerce


    Ten Credits have been deducted from your SYSTEM Account.


    Origin Point Noted.


    Core Rank Noted


    Racial Evolution Rank Noted


    Class Rank and Level Noted


    Be Welcome Master Connor Orion Nash


    If you have any questions or need any assistance, please visit a Bankers Guild location near you.


    A Credit Line of 1 million Credits is automatically available to you


    A monthly fee of 1% of the borrowed amount or 10,000 credits, whichever is less, will be deducted from your SYSTEM Account or added to your credit debt as an interest payment per month while you maintain a balance on this credit line.


    Usually there is a 10% fee per transaction within the city of Commerce.


    Your fee has been reduced to 5% due to your Rank.


    NOTE: Locale Map Update halted. No Compatible Skill noted.


    Connor closed the notifications and thought about the last one he¡¯d read. No Compatible Skill? He quickly looked over his skill list and realized that he didn¡¯t have a mapping function. Honestly, he didn¡¯t need one because everything within 10,000 feet was known to him. If he could get a mapping skill and then add that to Eyes of Eris though¡­.


    Damn he needed to start earning experience again so he could earn more Skill Slots. He had a target, Malicore. Now he just needed to figure out what was actually going on in this city. At the end of his perception range he detected a building that appeared to be a hotel of sorts. He walked in that direction as he took in the sights and sounds of the city. It was a melting pot of races and businesses, with well over 10,000 people within his perception range, which made keeping track of all of them taxing.


    Still, he could do it and made his way to the hotel, where he checked in and went to his room. At 105 credits a day, it wasn¡¯t bad for the price, though he only had a bed in his room. He had a communal shower on the second floor, which he shared with five other guests. He had his Astral Pocket where he could take a shower and use the bathroom in private if he wanted to. Still, for the price, the room and set up were adequate.


    Besides the bed, there was also a monitor and a remote that carried eerily similar channels to programs he would have found on Earth. After fiddling with the controller for a bit, he picked a news channel and sat back to get a feel for the local news. Local weather, city events, and crime were all discussed, as was the recent influx of slaves on sale at the Malicore Facility, which was presented as an ad during one of the commercial breaks.


    Two hours later, he had a handle on the local politics, as described by the news anyway. He¡¯d also seen ads for various vendors, a couple of which had intrigued him. Just then, a female human in a business suit entered his Perception Range. She was walking determinedly toward the hotel. With bright red hair, sparkling green eyes, and a supermodel¡¯s figure, she stood out and caught his attention immediately. Connor watched as she walked with purpose to the Hotel door, stepped in, and walked up to the Front Counter.


    The clerk stopped what he was doing when he saw her and gave her his full attention, ¡°Mrs. Anya, what brings you here?¡± the front desk clerk stammered.


    ¡°One of your guests. Could you ask Mr. Nash to come down?¡±


    Without waiting, Connor Shadow Stepped into the room next to Anya


    Anya turned to Connor and raised an eyebrow; ¡°I was wondering if you¡¯d noticed my arrival?¡±


    ¡°Of course, and you are?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°I am Anya, a Tier IV associate with the Bankers Guild. With your arrival I was tasked with requesting your presence and escorting you to a time-sensitive meeting at our headquarters¡±


    ¡°In regard to?¡±


    ¡°In regards to something you may have witnessed concerning one of our account holders.¡±


    ¡°Can you be more specific?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Not in public unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± Connor said as he opened a portal into his Astral Pocket against the wall opposite the front desk. He gestured, ¡°Please step into my office.¡± Connor then looked to the clerk, ¡°Please do not place anything where this portal is. We will be back in a moment,¡± Connor said as he stepped through and waited.


    Anya stepped through and Connor closed the door to the portal behind her.


    Anya looked around and nodded, ¡°An Astral Realm, interesting.¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± Connor agreed, ¡°Now, can you discuss why you were sent to fetch me?¡±


    ¡°Yes. One of our account holders has been less than forthcoming about the current status of a project for which they requested a loan.¡±


    ¡°Is that account holder Malicore?¡±


    Anya looked at Connor with a hint of interest, ¡°It would seem you know of them. Yes, Malicore took a large loan and has not reported on their gains or losses.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then I would guess this concerns a loan they took concerning Earth. It¡¯s been, what, like four days. Surely they have more time to report than four days?¡±


    ¡°For an itemized account and standard loan, yes. However, the loan that they requested and the contract they signed, while not technically in breach, indicates that daily updates should be logged. We have yet to see a daily log from any of the facilities, besides the one here in Commerce. As your Origin Planet when scanned listed you as from the Planet Earth, the planet which Malicore took the loan to secure for further investment, I was sent to ask you to meet with my supervisor.¡±


    It would be crass to ask how much their loan was for, so instead I will ask this, what sort of favor or payment can I expect from the Bankers Guild for submitting to this request?¡±


    Anya smiled, ¡°I have been authorized to increase your Credit limit to 10 million credits and offer the following amendment to your account. At any time, your account is reduced to zero. The first interest payment of 1% will not accrue until the beginning of the 13<sup>th</sup> month after purchase. For example, let''s say you utilize your full credit line. And pay it back within twelve months. If you were to utilize your credit line again, it would be another twelve months before interest would accrue. This deal will continue into perpetuity.¡±


    Connor was wary, and that sounded way too good to be true, ¡°That sounds like a great deal. I wonder, thought, how does the Banker¡¯s Guild make any credits off that deal? If I pay back the 10 million credits every twelve months, the guild will get nothing,¡± Connor pointed out.


    ¡°Two things, first, my supervisor feels that the information you might provide us with today is worth the loss of interest. Second, if and when you are ready to increase your credit limit to 100 million credits, the terms of your credit line will be renegotiated,¡± Anya said with a smile.


    ¡°And you will not arbitrarily raise or lower my Credit limit to adjust the conditions of this Amendment?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°No changes will be made to your account without your express permission, we¡¯ll even write that into the amendment,¡± Anya said.


    ¡°Very well, it looks like I¡¯m coming with you,¡± Connor agreed as he opened the portal door. Anya smiled and stepped back into the hotel with Connor close behind. Connor closed the portal and then followed Anya out of the hotel and south along the main road. He had a feeling that this next meeting was going to be both informative and fun.

 Chapter 23, Unexpected Trip

    Liza and Sam


    September 4<sup>th</sup>, 2029 / Day 1 within the Astral Plane


    Liza worked her way through the forest. Sam was working his way along the obvious path to scout it out while she went in the opposite direction from the Elven Camp. Liza had activated Stealth and moved off toward the area where Elder Vinlan had indicated the largest astral tiger had set up its territory. Without Connor nearby, they couldn¡¯t remain in contact, so they had to be careful. Personal Shroud was a potent ability; as long as they didn¡¯t run into anyone above their rank, they should be okay.


    Liza and Sam had talked with Elder Vinlan for another hour before they¡¯d headed out. They¡¯d discussed the surroundings and both Sam and she had shown the Elder that they had access to spells that would allow them to create food and water, which should make them both valuable to the elves when they set out to head home. She could cast the spell once every 10 seconds with no issue as her mana regeneration rate was 17 points in the same period. Sam was a bit slower with a regeneration rate of 5 mana per turn. Since it required 10 mana to cast Create Food, they could create meals for everyone within five minutes as long as the magical density was high enough. Of course, their spell Create Water was immediately useful and they¡¯d spent 10 minutes filling the reservoir for water the elves had set up. Connor might not be with them, but the spells he provided for them were showing their worth.


    Liza brought her attention back to the forest around her and perked up when she heard a roar and then a scream. Switching into high gear, she began moving through the forest, allowing her Cat Reflexes to take her up into the trees. She then started pushing forward. She could Shadow Step up to 100 feet for only one mana, which allowed her to pass quickly through the forest like a ghost.


    As she came to a small clearing in the foliage, a roar that reverberated passed over her. At an instinctual level, it was a call for her to help, and she knew that the other cats would be coming soon. That didn¡¯t matter, though. What mattered to Liza was the fact that the Matriarch of the Astral Tigers had been covered in a magical net and one of the six bipedal creatures near the cat was moving toward her with a spear. The fifteen creatures appeared to be human-sized, sort of. Their skin was made of reptilian scales and they had tails. Tails?


    That was the last thought that made it through the intellectual part of her mind before instinct took over. Later, when she checked her Combat Log, she would come to understand that her various Cat Related Titles and Perks worked on her as well as all the cats she encountered.


    You are Enraged!


    Title: Rage Rider I has activated


    You have ridden the wave of unbridled rage and come out on top. With the help of your Claw sisters, you have learned to control the rage, not let it control you. When enraged, you will no longer lose control. Berserk and Frenzy status conditions no longer cause you to lose control. Additionally, while enraged, all attacks receive +10 to damage.


    Perk: Wrath of the Claw Mother has Activated. The following eight attacks require no Stamina and receive +80 To Hit and +80 to Damage each.


    ***


    Sam had done as requested and started following the path the elves had indicated. There was no North or South in this place but the light came from one direction so maintaining a path in the same direction hadn¡¯t been that hard. He¡¯d kept Stealth active and stayed off of the trail while he kept it within visual range. About thirty minutes after he¡¯d left the camp, a roar had echoed through the forest, and an explosion of movement had erupted from his left, right, and directly in front of him.


    Sam shifted his position to the side of the nearest tree away from the eruption and waited. A moment later, he watched as three huge Astral Tigers sprinted through the tree tops and headed toward the camp. Unlike Liza, Sam¡¯s Shadow affinity only allowed him to Shadow Step ten feet for one mana, not 100 feet. But it was still enough to allow him to Shadow Step to a tree branch and begin running after the cats.


    Ironically, he found that he was almost as fast as they were and that he was able to keep up with the tigers as two of them went around the elven camp to the right and one went to the left. Sam followed the two tigers around the right side of the camp as they continued past the base and zeroed in on the roar. Within two minutes he¡¯d traveled the distance that had taken him 30 minutes and reached a point on the opposite side of the camp that was just about as far away.


    One of the cats staggered from the branch and fell to the ground when an arrow struck him. A second arrow struck the second tiger. At that moment Sam caught sight of a small clearing where a group of humanoids was falling apart. With his Perception at about five times normal human, Sam noticed that claws were ripping the creatures, which were attacking the largest Astral Tiger he¡¯d ever seen, apart. After the first attack, Liza became visible as she tore through the six bipedal creatures near the largest Astral Tiger. He¡¯d seen something like this before, when Liza had lost control. Anyone that appeared to be a threat to those cats was going to die.


    With that thought, Sam decided that coming in behind the cats was probably not a good idea and spent 10 mana to Shadow Step to the highest branch that he could where he remained Stealthed and held his position. As he did so, he looked for where the arrows had come from and found two more creatures with bows in trees on each side of the clearing. Well, he saw what was left of the archer type creatures because they were falling out of the trees in pieces. Just then, three Astral Tigers entered the clearing near the largest tiger as Liza appeared between the two fallen tigers. She pulled a single arrow out of each tiger and then placed a hand on each. Sam watched as she healed both. When she was done, she whispered under her breath, ¡°Sam, I can sense you in the tree. I¡¯ll make friends with the tigers. Why don¡¯t you go find where the creatures that attacked them came from?¡±


    Following her lead, Sam whispered, ¡°You''re sure, that¡¯s a lot of tigers,¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure. Just be careful.¡±


    Sam watched for a moment longer as the two tigers Liza healed woke up, shook their heads, and moved into a defensive position between the matriarch and Liza, before they backed away slowly. Sam turned his attention to the ground around the clearing and found where the brush had been broken near the ground. A quick Shadow Step to the location and he was moving through the growth as he moved away from the clearing. When he didn¡¯t hear the tigers attacking or roaring after thirty seconds, he put them out of his mind and began following the tracks he¡¯d found.


    While Sam didn¡¯t have tracking skills, his perception was 132, which seemed to make a big difference. The tracks almost called out for him as he began to follow them through the forest, even in the areas where it looked like they¡¯d doubled back and tried to set up places where it would be tough to follow them. The tracks led him to an area of rolling hills where the path led to a spot where a break in one of the hills that had formed a path which led down into darkness.


    There were two of the bipedal creatures near the entrance. If he attacked, Stealth would drop. So, he might be able to take out one of the creatures, but the second would get a chance to react. Then he remembered that he¡¯d picked up Soul Drinker, an enchanted Longsword, and this looked like the perfect time to test it out.


    Soul Drinker


    Advanced Short Sword


    Durability 400 of 400


    +4 to hit / +4 to damage


    All Kills feed the sword, which regenerates the Durability by an amount equal to the damage done.


    Additionally, durability can be sacrificed to add damage to the target if backstabbed successfully.


    For example, the wielder could sacrifice 300 points of durability to inflict 300 points of damage. If the attack is successful, the damage inflicted will replenish the durability up to the total damage inflicted. If the target only has 50 Hit Points, it only returns 50 durability for a net loss of 250 durability.


    If the attack fails, the durability is lost.


    Durability can be replenished through combat and corpse absorption. One point of Durability can be replenished by planting the blade in a corpse. One durability is returned to the blade per full 50 pounds of the corpse. Soul Drinker can absorb four points of durability per Combat Turn in this manner. When finished with a corpse, all that is left is a dried-out corpse.


    Yes, his Stealth skill would drop after his first attack, but he could spend enough durability to ensure that each attack was a one hit kill, if they didn¡¯t have too many Hit Points. Sam moved within 100 feet and activated identify for 100 mana. Luckily his stealth skill utilized his Stamina pool so this shouldn¡¯t cause him to become visible.


    Race: Saurian / Rank: Uncommon


    Class: Guard / Level 15


    Hit Points: 115


    It was going to take him at least three minutes to regain the mana he¡¯d just spent, so he¡¯d have to trust that the other Saurian was also a guard and not much higher in rank or level than the one he¡¯d identified. Sam drew Soul Drinker as he looked over the Saurians'' placement. Both were posted beside the entrance to the cave, one on each side. Same moved within striking distance of the Saurian he had identified, imbued 100 points of durability in the strike and attacked.


    First Attack: 10 Stamina


    Weapon: Soul Drinker imbued with 100 durability, +100 to next attack.


    Surprise Attack Successful


    Critical Hit: 363 damage.


    Base Damage 121 x3 Backstab Multiplier


    Uncommon Level 25 Guard Killed


    Durability returned to Soul Drinker: 100


    Current Durability 400 of 400.


    12,500 XP Earned


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    125 Credits Earned


    Congratulations you have reached Level 64 as a Common Rogue


    54,199 XP to next Level


    Attributes Adjusted


    Second attack: 20 Stamina


    Defenseless Attack


    Weapon: Soul Drinker imbued with 200 durability, +200 to next attack.


    Attack Successful


    Base Damage 221


    Durability returned to Soul Drinker: 115


    Current Durability: 315 of 400.


    11,500 XP Earned


    42,699 XP to next level


    115 Credits Earned


    Sam looked down at the two dead Saurians. That had been a lot easier than he¡¯d thought it would be and they¡¯d been worth a nice bit of Experience as well. Sam quickly went over their bodies and placed anything they were carrying in his inventory, which consisted of two swords, 23 silver pieces, and two rings. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have any spells that could detect magic or analyze magic items so he placed the swords and rings in his inventory. He left their clothes because they were sized for creatures with tails. Once done looting the bodies, he took Soul Drinker and stabbed it into the first corpse''s chest.


    Sam watched as the body of the Saurian shriveled into a desiccated corpse which turned to dust. The dust was then drawn into the sword. When he checked the durability after the first corpse vanished, Soul Drinker had 320 of 400. It had taken almost a minute but the corpse and everything it had been wearing was absorbed. He did the same to the second corpse, which increased Soul Drinker¡¯s durability to 325 of 400.


    He hadn¡¯t heard anyone coming to investigate, so Sam activated Stealth again and entered the cave. It turned out to open into a tunnel¡ªnot a den¡ªjust an opening with a tunnel that led downward at a pretty steep angle. Once he was about thirty feet in, he realized that it was getting very dark. That was fine, Eyes of Eris allowed Sam to see out to 100 feet.


    Sam continued down the tunnel until he came to a branch. Off to the right was a small cave with a camp containing three Saurians in it. There were sleeping mats for thirteen creatures. There had been six Saurians attacking the large tiger, two archers, two at the cave entrance, and three here. Yep, that was thirteen. The other branch led deeper underground. The fact that there was a ground here in the Astral Plane was concerning, but not something he could worry about right now.


    One Saurian was cooking something in a cauldron while the other two were sleeping. Sam remained under Stealth as he moved in and used Identity on the three Saurians. The first two he checked were the sleeping ones.


    Race: Saurian / Rank: Uncommon


    Class: Soldier / Level 33


    Hit Points: 123


    Race: Saurian / Rank: Uncommon


    Class: Commander / Level 65


    Hit Points: 135


    The third, who was cooking, was actually a cook.


    Race: Saurian / Rank: Uncommon


    Class: Cook / Level 3


    Hit Points: 111


    Sam started with the cook. He imbued 50 points of durability, moved into position and backstabbed the Saurian with Soul Drinker. The strike did 213 points of damage and replaced 61 durability. He also earned 369 Silver, 36,900 Experience, and only needed 31,599 Experience to reach level 65.


    For the two sleeping Saurians, he only utilized 50 durability for each coup-de-gras. Within thirty seconds the three Saurians were defeated. Within a minute, the equipment they¡¯d been carrying, which consisted of three rings, three long swords, and a bracer that looked ornate, were all in his inventory. He also picked up all of their water skins and packs.


    Just as he was finishing his search of the cavern his skill Eyes of Eris picked up a predator like chameleon effect directly behind him as a dagger appeared within six inches of his back directly over his heart, far to close for him to dodge, Sam activated Shadow Step as he spent 100 mana to put himself down the passage and within ten feet of the cave entrance. That had been the plan at least. Even with his heightened agility and dexterity, the tip of the blade pierced his back a full inch before he vanished,


    WARNING! Magical Interference Detected.


    Shadow Step Activated


    Common Shadow Affinity Detected


    Target Destination¡­ERROR!


    You have taken 10 points of damage.


    Blade of Wounding has inflicted a Bleeding; 1 Hit Points per turn until magically healed.


    Sam found himself floating in the middle of nowhere completely weightless. Gaseous clouds of various colors surrounded him. He quickly cast Heal on himself to recover some of his hit points and stop the bleeding effect. Then he activated Stealth while he looked around. How far had he traveled with that Shadow Step?


    ***


    As Sam investigated his surroundings, Liza began a telepathic conversation with the matriarch, while the other members of her claw ranged out and set up a perimeter. Two Astral Tigers stayed near to guard her. It had taken a few minutes for the tigers to calm down, and only after they¡¯d each sniffed Liza and she¡¯d sat outside easy range of the Matriarch had the Astral Tigers reduced their threat response to her presence. She only waited for a moment before, Liza felt pressure against her mind, not unlike when Connor used telepathy. She allowed the link to be established..


    Thank you, Human


    You are welcome, I am Liza, do you need healing? Liza sent back.


    No, I am uninjured. Humans are not natural to the Eternal Forest, the Matriarch sent.


    No, we¡¯re not, Liza agreed.


    Again, thank you for the assistance Claw Mother. Where Claw?¡±


    My Claw? Killed by Sect.


    Anger, Vengeance? The Matriarch asked.


    Vengeance, yes, Liza agreed.


    At that moment a stealthed Saurian passed under one of the tigers holding the perimeter. Liza activated Shadow Step, appeared behind the rogue, and attacked with  Shadow Claws. Before the rogue could react, she¡¯d attacked four times, inflicting 168 points of damage. The first attack was considered a critical hit and resulted in 84 points of damage. The subsequent three attacks inflicted 28 points of damage each. The Saurian dropped a dagger he¡¯d been carrying as his arms and legs were removed until he fell dead to the ground in five different pieces.


    As the Tiger nearby jumped down to investigate, Liza cast Detect Magic and checked the Saurian''s equipment. That¡¯s when her high perception and Eyes of Eris picked up blood on the tip of the magical dagger. Liza did not have the Identify skill, but she had smelled Sam¡¯s blood various times and detected his scent on the Saurian''s body. Liza picked up the dagger, activated Stealth and began following the Saurian¡¯s trail.


    It didn¡¯t take long for her to find the entrance to the cave Sam had entered, follow his trail down to the camp in the cave and see where he had vanished. With Eyes of Eris, she could detect everything within 100 feet, but he was nowhere to be found. As she searched the cave, she detected the Matriarch above her as she made her way into the cave and down to the cavern. Two of Matriarch¡¯s Claw stayed at the branch and guarded against any creatures that might be coming from deeper down. The other tigers must still be above ground. Liza deactivated Stealth and waited for the Matriarch. Once she was within Line of sight, Liza felt the request for a telepathic link and allowed it.


    Thanks to you again, the Matriarch sent.


    You are welcome, Liza sent back. Sam was nowhere nearby and it couldn¡¯t hurt to ask so Liza sent another question, Can you detect another human anywhere nearby?


    The Matriarch sniffed the air. She looked thoughtful for a moment before she sent, "Another human was here. Chaos, Shadow, and Space magic are here also. It feels like your friend teleported away. Yes, teleported.


    Do you know where to? Liza asked.


    It smells like the destination was the Deep Astral. Far away from here.


    How far? Liza asked.


    Suddenly an image of traveling for weeks, if not months, entered her mind. Through the Eternal Forest to a mountain range, into the mountain range and through a portal that exited into the deep astral plane. Liza considered what she¡¯d been shown and decided that there was nothing she could do for Sam at the moment. Instead she would try to help the elves. Besides, he hadn¡¯t traveled into the Deep Astral the way the Matriarch showed. No, he¡¯d reached it by accident. Their last accident had sent the three of them back in time, which meant he was probably well out of range, and that meant that he could be anywhere. She would have to look for Sam once the elves were safe, if she could make a deal with the Matriarch. Sam would have to take care of himself for now.


    Do you know of the elves in the camp? Liza asked.


    Yes, they camp at the location where we first detected your scent; that¡¯s why we left that area to you.


    ¡°Left the area..¡± to me, Liza smiled. That made sense. If she had traveled through time, perhaps they had detected her presence through the temporal barrier that had held them. Would you allow me to escort the elves out of your territory, they wish to return home?¡± Liza asked.


    We thought they were yours, so we haven¡¯t attacked them. Of course, you may escort them through our territory. Is that all?


    At the moment. After I have helped the elves, I will try to return to look for my friend. Liza sent.


    We have his scent, and if he returns, we will help as we can. However, the Eternal Forest, like the Astral Plane, is vast and ever-changing; he may never return.


    Understood. I appreciate your consideration.


    How could we do otherwise for a Claw Mother. Go now, and see to your people. We will defend this entry point into our territory. These lizard folk chose poorly when they attacked me.


    Liza nodded and made her way out of the tunnel. Once she was above ground again, she activated Stealth and used Shadow Step to return to and move through the treetops. Shortly, she was back at the elven camp. After she spoke with Elder Vinlan, they could be on their way.


    ***


    Sam, Day 7 within the Astral Plane.


    Well, there were a couple of good things about being trapped in the Astral Plane. First, the temperature was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, the mana density was good so his mana was regenerating normally which allowed him to Create Food and Create Water as he needed to whenever he wanted to. Also, the requirement to utilize nonorganic material was rescinded here. The spells drew what they needed from the environment directly.


    He thought using the bathroom was going to be embarrassing, but the first time he did, he noticed that anything that traveled away from him just evaporated after a bit. He knew something was up when, for the first time, the smell had disappeared within minutes, and then any evidence of his biological waste was gone. He didn¡¯t understand what was going on, but he definitely appreciated it.


    So, for the last seven days, he floated in an extended twilight without a sun or stars and only gaseous clouds around him. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to move through the Astral or how to find his way home. One thing he did have was time, so he started exploring his affinity with Shadow and his Shadow Step Skill. He could use it, and he felt as if he¡¯d moved, but where he stepped to and from felt the same. He knew he had moved because of Eyes of Eris, but he couldn¡¯t determine how. He needed to get back to the Prime Material Plane. A thought crossed his mind. Maybe if he could get to the Plane of Shadow he might be able to get to the Prime Material Plane a bit easier. With nothing else to do, he started.


    Sam, Day 31 within the Astral Plane.


    It took a bit, but Sam was eventually able to perceive and then step into the Shadow Plane from the Astral Plane when he spent his last Skill Slot to pick up the Skill Step into Shadow.


    The Uncommon Skill Step into Shadow has been forcefully learned at Common Rank due to the Ability Unfettered.


    Cost: 1 Skill Slot, 1,000 Mana, and a Test of Will


    Success!


    Step into Shadow


    Rank: Common


    Mana Cost: 100


    This Skill allows you to shift your physical body into the Plane of Shadow at the location of transfer from a Prime Material Plane or the Astral Plane.


    The Plane of Shadow mimics the Prime Material closest to it or the Astral, whichever has an environment that might produce shadows.


    Note: that not all locations are linear and that there might be vast distance separation on the Prime Material Plane that is only one foot across in the Shadow Plane.


    Note: Stealth does not work within the Plane of Shadow.


    Sam spent 100 mana and vanished into the Plane of Shadow where he appeared in an empty sky and began to fall. He knew this because within seconds he could feel a breeze against his face. As he looked around in the perpetual twilight, he could see stars all around him as he fell toward a large round dark sphere. He could breathe and it wasn¡¯t cold. He was technically in space, but he wasn¡¯t in a vacuum. If he had to guess, he figured he was somewhere between the Earth and the Moon and he was falling toward a planet. Hopefully, that planet was Earth.


    Sam felt wind resistance, so he tried moving his body and found that, if he was careful, he could use his hands and legs as ailerons and elevators. Of course, as soon as he streamlined his angle of attack so that he was falling head first with his legs and arms at his side, he began to speed up. It seemed that gravity was a universal force with the Plane of Shadow as well.


    Over the next 12 hours, Sam fell towards the Earth until he saw a moon come into view. After a couple of more hours, which allowed him to compare his distance at different angles to the Moon and the planet, he estimated that he was halfway between the two stellar bodies. The moon was about 240 thousand miles from the moon, which meant that he was about 120,000 miles from the planet. Suppose he was falling at terminal velocity, which was about 220 miles per hour. That meant it would take about 546 hours to reach the earth or just under 23 days. 23 Days? Well, at least he had time to try to figure out how to try to survive the fall.

 Chapter 24, The Banking Guild

    Connor


    Day September 5<sup>th</sup> 2029 / Vesper Day 1


    Vesper Day 1 Corresponds to Day 1 in the Plane of Shadow for Sam and Day 1 in the Astral Plane for Liza.


    After a short walk, Connor found himself sitting in a meeting room on the 5<sup>th</sup> floor of the Banking Guild. He was sitting on one side of a massive table with Anya beside him and at least fifteen people of varying races sitting around him. At the head of the table, an Elderly Dwarf sat in a dark blue suit. Opposite him, a gnome with a monocle over his right eye and a light blue suit sat. The individuals across from Connor and to his left and right consisted of humans, elves, lizard men, and a few races he¡¯d never seen before, including one that looked like what he¡¯d imagined a dolphin would have looked like if it evolved into a humanoid. A light shimmer of magic surrounded that individual and seemed to wrap everything but its face in a layer of mist, giving the skin below a wet, glistening appearance.


    Connor and Anya had arrived about thirty minutes earlier and sat down. He sipped at the coffee that had been provided as the last person, a golden-skinned woman, entered the room and sat down. Once everyone was settled, Anya stood up and addressed the table.


    ¡°Good Day, I am Assistant Director Anya Thayne. This director-requested meeting has been called to hear the testimony, if any, of Mr. Connor Nash from Earth concerning the whereabouts of Brey''an Jes''ron, Jesra Thayne, Krillian Krooper, Jasmine Daverack, Liam Hendren, Oliver Agnor, William Erickson, as well as all personal, asset and equipment located on Planet JXR-087, nicknamed Jax. A planet in which Malicore indebted themselves to the Banking Guild for investment. Since Mr. Nash has volunteered to provide such information to us voluntarily, as per our Guild Charter, Mr. Nash will receive compensation for all actionable intelligence gained at fair market value.


    Connor¡¯s eyebrow rose when he heard this. He was going to get paid, Awesome!


    As Anya finished, the dwarf at the end of the table to Connor¡¯s left stood, ¡°As everyone here knows, besides Mr. Nash, of course, I am Director Lodstone. Mr. Nash, You are from a planet that was recently integrated into the SYSTEM. We believe you might have some information we need. We understand that there were over nine billion people on your planet at the time of integration, so you might not know anything. As a show of good faith for volunteering to talk to us, even if you do not know anything, one hundred thousand credits will be provided to you.


    You have received 100,000 Credits from the Banking Guild.


    Connor shifted as he said, ¡°Thank You. I have to ask¡­if you can add credits to my account, can you also remove them?¡±


    Director Lodstone laughed, ¡°I see you have a shrewd mind. You are currently in one of our Primary facilities. As Director, I can add credits from the Guild to anyone within the facility. Only those with specialized skills or spells can take credits from someone else''s SYSTEM account. As a SYSTEM Certified Guild, this is also true for any Credit Line we offer, though hacking does happen, and we pay a fee to the SYSTEM to cover such losses.¡±


    Connor nodded, ¡°Thank you for the explanation. As I do not know what a fair price would be for the information you are requesting, I will trust that if I have the answers you seek, you will deal fairly with me.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Director Lodstone said.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Connor said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he continued, ¡°I was on a planet that other humans from Earth were taken to. There, I saw a lot of aliens and other races. I also saw members of the Sect Malicore. I do not know what the planet was called, but I have a good memory. Do you have any pictures of the people you named?¡±


    ¡°We do,¡± the gnome at the opposite end of the table said. ¡°I am the Senior Financial Analyst, Kelbis Glitterreach. These are the seven individuals that were named,¡± the Financial Analyst said as he waved his hand. Seven holographic images appeared above the table that looked like profile pictures you¡¯d see on a social media app.


    Connor recognized the seven immediately. They had been the seven bodies next to the members of Liza¡¯s claw. She had killed all seven just before he¡¯d arrived at the Staging area on the flying skimmer. He also had no reason to lie, so he accessed his SYSTEM interface and shared his memory of their corpses as a holographic image. He made sure to leave Liza or Sam out of the images but shared them. Each broken corpse appeared above the photo of their faces, which Kelbis had supplied.


    Seven people sitting at the table gasped in shock while Anya, Director Lodstone, and Kelbis Glitterreach sighed. Director Lodstone looked at the images one more time and then asked, ¡°Did you kill them?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Do you know who did?,¡± the last person to arrive asked. She looked almost human except for her dark golden skin. As she leaned forward, Connor noticed that she had a costly tailored business-type suit on.


    Director Lodstone glared at the woman until she leaned back. ¡°Mr. Nash, that is Mrs. Crey¡¯nar, a lawyer representing the Malicore Sect. While her outburst was unwarranted, her question stood: Do you know who killed the seven nobles?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I do, though it doesn¡¯t matter. The individual is under my protection.¡±


    Mrs. Crey¡¯nar scoffed, ¡°Do you think you can stand up to the resources of five noble families? Five System Integrated Noble Families?¡±


    Considering what I learned a little while ago about this SYSTEM and how nerfed everyone within it is,¡± Connor shrugged, ¡°Yep!¡±


    ¡°Then you will die,¡± Mrs. Crey¡¯nar declared.


    ¡°Ishrail, please, you are not helping. Mr. Nash, I apologize for her outburst,¡± Director Lodstone said with a hint of exacerbation, ¡°While the question of your protection and what that means will need to be addressed, the location of the nobles is indeed the location we are most interested in as all communication with the holder of our Loan was at that location.


    ¡°Oh? Are you saying that the individuals who ran that slave processing camp are the individuals you¡¯re most interested in?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Director Lodstone said.


    ¡°Are you speaking of Mistress Morena?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I received a SYSTEM quest to kill her.¡±


    ¡°You what?¡± Mrs. Crey¡¯nar exclaimed.


    ¡°Yep, I received a quest to destroy her,¡± Connor said as he pulled up the quest and shared the first two lines of the quest with the room.


    Destroy Mistress Morena


    Task: Mistress Morena has violated the SYSTEM, Destroy her.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I completed that quest,¡± Connor said as he shared the Notifications that he¡¯d received after he killed her.


    Congratulations! You have killed Morena Darkspear, Level 85 Rare Mage.


    You Have Earn 285,000 XP


    Connor watched as the eyes around flittered back and forth. He was sure telepathy was being used so he better head off any claims they were about to try to make, ¡°And let¡¯s not pretend for a second that I owe anyone anything. I do not consent to her debts being transferred to me. I may be new to the SYSTEM, but I understand that there are things the SYSTEM does not abide by. Obviously, Mistress Morena crossed such a line, and a correction was needed.¡±


    Mrs. Crey¡¯nar stood, ¡°I don¡¯t know who this slave thinks he is, but I, for one, will not tolerate¡­.¡± She started to say before Connor cast Sleep


    Mrs. Crey¡¯nar¡¯s head hit the desk before she slumped to the ground with a loud ¡°THUD. ¡°


    ¡°Did you just attack her?¡± Director Lodstone demanded.


    Connor shrugged, ¡°I put her to sleep. It should only last a minute and a half or so.¡±


    ¡°You put her to sleep with a Common Sleep spell?¡± Anya asked from beside him, aghast.


    ¡°It was that or kill her,¡±


    ¡°Young man, she is a Tier IV¡­¡± one of the people who had been silent until now started to say before he was cut off when Director Lodstone made a chopping motion with his hand.


    ¡°Yeah, that crap doesn¡¯t mean anything to me. Attacks against me or claims that I am some slave will be met with decisive force. So, get that piece of shit out of my sight, and let''s continue, or Pay me for the information I¡¯ve provided, and I¡¯ll leave.


    ¡°You would just kill her?¡± Director Lodstone asked as he looked at Connor carefully.


    ¡°The SYSTEM integrated my planet. The Sect Malicore is strip-mining the planet with whatever they have left to try to make as many slaves out of the survivors as they can. While I¡¯m not out to protect every single human, I sure as shit will avenge my fellow Earthlings, and fortunately, I have the power to do so. Those that cross me out here in the Multiverse are going to find that out pretty damn quickly. More simply, if you play nice, I will. She did not; please remove her, or I will.¡±


    The room went silent as those within the boardroom looked at Connor and then a Director Lodstone who looked to be contemplating Connor¡¯s words. Before anyone could comment or ask a question, Connor continued, ¡°Now, don¡¯t take this the wrong way; I¡¯m not psychotic or crazy. I do understand that the SYSTEM would have initiated the integration no matter what Malicore did, BUT that¡¯s not what happened, and I hold Malicore and its members responsible. The only reason Mrs. Crey¡¯nar is not dead is because she is a lawyer representing scum bags. Now, if you would please get her out of her so we can continue.¡±


    Director Lodstone nodded, satisfied with his answer as he whispered into a wand. A moment later, a portal appeared, and two men in security uniforms stepped in, picked up the lawyer, and left through the portal, which closed behind them.


    A different man sitting next to where Mrs. Crey¡¯nar had been sitting cleared his throat.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mr. Slyne,¡± The Director asked.


    ¡°Since my colleague has been escorted out, it falls to me to ask the next Question. My name is Breen¡¯ mar. I am a journeyman lawyer with the same firm as Mrs. Crey¡¯nar. If you killed Mistress Morena for a quest and the nobles are dead, do you know what happened to the facilities where this took place?


    Connor laughed, ¡°Know what happened? I don''t know what happened. I have a good idea, though. Someone placed a gem that exploded and took out at least half of the base, probably more. When I came to, I was elsewhere. So, while I cannot say with certainty that I saw the location destroyed, I would guess that there isn¡¯t much left.¡±


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Can you share an image of the gem you saw with as much detail as possible,¡± Director Lodstone asked.


    The images of the dead nobles and their profile pictures vanished and Connor placed a three-dimensional rendition from his memory, as observed with Eyes of Eris.


    One of the men who had not spoken, another gnome, stood and looked at the gem. He climbed onto the table to get a better look before he returned to his seat and said, ¡°I know this item.¡± After a moment of silence, Director Lodstone made a gesturing motion for him to continue: ¡°That is a master-level Apocalypse Gem.¡±


    The intake of air around the table clued Connor that his thoughts that the gem had to be like a delayed blast fireball spell from his role-playing game days had been accurate. Before his thoughts could derail completely, Kelbis Glitterreach cleared his throat, ¡°Mr. Nash, are you saying this device detonated while you were within a mile of it?


    Connor nodded, ¡°I was just over 3,000 feet away when the gem detonated.¡±


    ¡°Kelbis, what is the significance of a mile?¡± Director Lodstone asked.


    Kelbis looked at Connor and then to Director Lodstone, ¡°At the very least, all assets loaned to Malicore at that location will be destroyed. The knowledge Mr. Nash has provided makes plain why Malicore has refused to see us on this matter. As for another issue I have thought of, let''s compensate Mr. Nash and then speak privately. The Board has a lot of paperwork to prepare with the local government before we can file a petition for reimbursement from the Sect.¡±


    Director Lodstone looked at Connor and continued, ¡°Very well, Mr. Nash. You have verified the death of seven nobles. As per SYSTEM requirements, you will be paid 100,000¡­What? Mr. Nash, are you Master-Ranked?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± Connor said as Kelbis Glitterreach nodded to himself as if something he¡¯d thought had just been confirmed.


    Director Lodstone brought himself under control before he continued, ¡°Very well. As per SYSTEM requirements, in acknowledgment of your rank, you will be compensated 700,000 credits for the information concerning the nobles now. Concerning the destruction of the base run by Malicore. Once a second confirmation is achieved, you are entitled to 100,000 credits or 1% of the recovered assets, whichever is greater. Upon verification, you will receive 100,000 credits immediately and your share of the 1% if it exceeds 100,000 credits as the Banking Guild gets it.¡±


    ¡°So I guess telling you that one of the stations they placed on Earth was destroyed during the integration, and the backlashed seemed to destroy a lot of vessels that were preparing to cross through a portal to Earth is also something you¡¯d like to know?¡±


    Director Lodstone looked at Connor disbelievingly, ¡°Are you serious?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, I think our little world made the Sect really mad with that one. Oh, and I destroyed eight skimmers and their crew. I did steal a ninth, but that gem probably destroyed it,¡± Connor said nonchalantly


    ¡°You what?¡± Kelbis Glitterreach said disbelievingly.


    ¡°I believe you heard me,¡± Connor responded flatly.


    ¡°We did,¡± Director Lodstone said, ¡°Can you provide images of what you just claimed?¡±


    ¡°Of Course,¡± Connor said as they brought the memories to mind and then shared them with the room. He even included images of the area the skimmer brought him to before he killed Mistress Morena, though he made sure to either blur or remove Liza and Sam from any images he shared. They knew someone had killed the nobles, but nobody should be able to figure out who from what he shared.


    The board members watched the images that Connor supplied, which showed them how he¡¯d destroyed the first three skimmers and the hunter teams on them. He¡¯d done that in the shaft between uncommon and rare sections of the tutorial area. Then Connor showed them how he¡¯d decimated the following six teams, rode the final one back to the staging area, and skipped ahead until he noticed the crystal and tried to flee.


    Everyone in the meeting room looked stunned. Director Lodstone recovered first and said, "The going rate for the information you have provided would be 100,000 per asset that you show us that was destroyed. Eight of the skimmers were undoubtedly destroyed, either by you or gravity, when they fell out of the sky in the Tutorial area. That last skimmer was most likely destroyed in the explosion, as, by your memory, it was well within 500 feet of the gem when it exploded. I am also going to make a director-level decision and state that the information you provided us verifies that any other assets at that base that would have been in the staging area were also destroyed. While you might not be able to identify gear that the Banking Guild loaned, I do not doubt that it was there. Therefore, instead of only the 900,000 credits you would have received thus far, I am authorizing 10 million additional credits to be paid out to you. Anya will escort you to her office, where the transaction will be completed. Do you have any questions?¡±


    Connor looked thoughtful for a moment before he asked, ¡°Why the sudden change? Why not try to strong-arm me?¡±


    Director Lodstone smiled as his eyes twinkled, ¡°First, that is not the way our Guild works. We are a non-combat guild. Whatever class you are, by the evidence presented, you are capable of combat. Two, you put a Tier IV individual to sleep with a common spell. I have that spell, and what you did with it indicates to me that your Mental attributes must be incredibly high and well above Tier IV norms. Third, I am an excellent judge of character and do not believe strong-arming you would be in the best interest of our guild. Four, however, you became the way you are, you are still new to the SYSTEM. I hope to garner some goodwill with you toward myself and the Banking Guild.¡±


    Connor nodded along and had to say that this was a change from how he was usually treated. He expected threats or being taken advantage of, but it seemed that Director Lodstone wasn¡¯t going to do that. He¡¯d still be careful, though. If something was too good to be true, it usually was. There had to be a catch somewhere.


    Connor¡¯s thoughts were interrupted as the Director continued, ¡°Now, our Guild Board, the people in this room, need to discuss what we have learned and figure out how we are going to move forward. Anya is going to transfer the credits to you, make sure the line of credit we promised is set up, and then take you to our VIP Suite in the Kraymore, which is an executive-level hotel chain throughout the Multiverse. We will cover the cost of staying there for the time being. Anya will also provide you with her contact info, and if you need anything or need to find anything, please feel free to call on her to ask for assistance. You are new to the SYSTEM, and there is plenty for you to learn. She can point you in the right direction if you¡¯re looking for specific knowledge or items you might not even know you need yet.¡±


    Connor smiled and nodded as the director spoke. When he paused, Connor asked, ¡°I understand that you want to garner goodwill; what exactly does that good will look like from your perspective?¡±


    The Director smiled, ¡°That is an excellent question. Simply put, we will agree to help you for the foreseeable future, and if we need you to testify against Malicore in any legal proceedings, you will be available.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying the Multiverse has a court system and the corruption that such a system entails?¡±


    ¡°Like on Earth before the Integration? Not exactly. The SYSTEM acts as the judge. The lawyers act as agents. Actions against the SYSTEM, well, those never pan out well for whoever brings an idiotic claim against the SYSTEM. The lawyers are present when individuals, Guilds, or Sects come into a legal conflict. There are, of course, planetary governments, but our Banking Guild is a SYSTEM Registered Guild, which means that we are recognized anywhere within the SYSTEM. This city is run under SYSTEM rules, not some local government.¡±


    Connor nodded, ¡°That¡¯s good to know, and it gives me an idea of the knowledge areas I need to pursue. Thank you for the information. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll follow Anya out and leave you to your meeting.¡±


    ¡°Nothing else at the moment. Thank you for coming in and speaking with us,¡± Director Lodstone said as Anya stood and led Connor out of the room to an elevator. They went down one floor, where Anya led him into a corner office with a beautiful view of the park.


    ¡°Please have a seat,¡± Anya said as she gestured to a comfortable chair. I need to transfer 10,900,000 credits into your account and set up that Credit Line, and then I get to take you to your new home away from home.¡±


    The process of setting up the credit line and getting Connor paid was rather simple. The Guild verified that he had a Master Rank Core, which is what set the payment amount. Common-ranked individuals could earn a minimum of 10 credits per transaction, while Master Ranked individuals earned a minimum of 100,000. Some skills and classes would automatically increase that minimum amount, but he didn¡¯t have either.


    Once they were done, he checked his Status Screen. Anya had also converted all of his coined treasure: Copper, Silver, Gold, or Platinum, into credits. Most of the civilized Multiverse didn¡¯t use coins. After talking with him, she pointed out that if he needed something to trade in some backwater area of the Multiverse that didn¡¯t use credits, he could make it with his Create Item spell. When she was done, he had 10,954,315 credits.


    After they left the Banking Guild, she led him through the park toward a building off to one side. It didn¡¯t look very impressive, as it was only a single-story building. ¡°Is that it?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°Oh yes,¡± Anya said enthusiastically, ¡°Don¡¯t let its appearance fool you. That single building is guarded by one of the best Security Guilds in the city. Inside, there is a reception desk and then a door, which is actually a short-range teleportation portal to one of the habitable moons around this planet, the second moon, to be exact. Once there, you will have a villa that will be yours for as long as you like. Some of the big shots in town own their properties on the moon, but Kraymore purchased most of the moon and started this business. The cost to rent the villas is not cheap, but Director Lodstone has five such properties available at any time for special guests.¡±


    ¡°I guess that brings me to my next question; I know I can just make stuff and trade it in, but wouldn¡¯t doing so put me on the wrong side of some Merchant¡¯s Guild or Deity or something?¡± Connor asked.


    ¡°You are correct; it would. If you wish to explore or try to earn experience or treasure, you will need to go off-world.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, you could stay on the planet and join the Adventure¡¯s Guild, and you will gain experience and find treasure here. However, there are no dungeons above Tier III or the Rare rank. If you want better experience and treasure, you will need to go to another world with higher-ranked threats or even a Dungeon planet.¡±


    ¡°I can do that,¡± Connor asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.


    Anya nodded; yes, you can; the easiest way to do so is to join the Adventure¡¯s guild and go through one of their portals, but you can also use the natural gateways and portals to go on an adventure. Local Merchants sell maps to known locations throughout the multiverse. Some people want a romantic getaway and go for a stroll. Others wish for random adventure. There are also tour companies, but those are usually used for vacations, and the high-end destinations would use up most of the nest egg of credits you just acquired.¡±


    Anya looked up as they walked up to the double doors of the Kraymore Executive Suites. They stepped through a glass door into a room with force barriers along all of its walls. Connor felt a high-intensity scan wash over him before the inner door opened. As they stepped through, a golden-skinned woman called out, ¡°Anya, it¡¯s so good to see you again; who is your friend?¡±


    ¡°Hello again, Darline. This is Connor. He will be staying in Villa Five, please.¡±


    ¡°Villa Five, you¡¯re sure?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely, Director Lodstone was quite clear.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Connor, is it? Please place your hand on this plate. It will sync your biometrics to the technological and magical security systems in this building.¡±


    Connor did as requested. There was a slight buzzing sound, and his hand tingled slightly before an audible ¡°DING¡± chimed.


    ¡°Very good. To enter the building, walk in, you will be scanned, and then the inner door will open. To get to your villa, go up to one of the six doors at the end of the hall, place your hand on the plate in the middle of the door, and a portal will appear. Once you step through and move more than 10 feet from the entrance, the portal will close. On the other side, if you step within 10 feet, a portal to this building will open. If it doesn¡¯t, that means all six are busy. Just wait a few moments, and a portal will activate as soon as the path here is clear,¡± Darline explained.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be accompanying you this first time to show you around. After that, no one except staff can enter the property without your invitation,¡± Anya said.


    ¡°Thank You, Darline. I¡¯m ready whenever you are, Anya,¡± Connor said as he walked to the first open door frame and placed his hand on the plate in the center of the door. A moment later, it vanished, and a portal appeared. Connor stepped through the portal onto a moon that felt like it had one-sixth the gravity Earth did, with Anya close behind.


    The tour only took an hour. The villa was a large house with approximately 10,000 square feet. It had at least 10 large bedrooms, a meeting room, an entertainment lounge, a bar, a kitchen, and even a room that looked a lot like a dojo. It was fully stocked, and a cook and two staff members were assigned to the villa to see to his needs. They were assigned to the villa and had personal quarters within 100 feet of the main building. Security consisted of a high wall and a magical barrier. When they were done and Anya was preparing to leave, Connor asked, ¡± Anya?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mr. Nash.¡±


    ¡°Are their information crystals concerning the significant guilds, sects, factions, customs, and courtesies within the multiverse? Also, Divine beings or gods?


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Could you send someone out to pick up the most information crystals you can and charge them to my account? I am willing to invest up to two million credits into such information crystals.¡± Also, known major planets, planes, and the like and classes. I don¡¯t need you to do it; send someone, and feel free to give them a generous trip from my funds. Once you have them, have someone bring them over, I¡¯ll use them here.


    ¡°You wish for the crystals with the automatic memory download function?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll get it done. Are you calling it a night, then?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. I¡¯m going to explore this moon a bit, and then I¡¯ll probably call it a night after. If you can¡¯t find me, it¡¯ll be because I¡¯m in my Astral Pocket.¡±


    Understood, I¡¯ll have the staff leave the crystals on the kitchen table for you.


    ¡°Thank you, Anya.¡±


    With that, Anya turned and walked back down the path to the entrance at the end of a short sidewalk. Connor looked around. There were a couple of things he needed to do. He needed to learn about the factions within this Multiverse. He needed to gauge precisely how powerful he was compared to everyone else now that Pandora had unlocked something in him, and he needed to find a way to get to and from Earth with little or no effort. He had a feeling he could create a spell to cross dimensional barriers and teleport from one location to the next with a spell. He couldn¡¯t do either of the first two things on his list until the crystals arrived, so he¡¯d do the last. That is after he took a quick flight around the area to see what was near him. Besides, in this location, he was a sitting duck where people knew where he was supposed to be. If he used his Astral Pocket twenty miles up, he should be fine.


    Connor activated Stealth, Flight, and Environmental Adaption. Next, he Shadow Stepped 18.9 miles up for 10,000 mana. Once there, he shot off at his maximum speed of 186,872 miles per hour and made it back to his starting point in less than two minutes. That ability Quantum Flux was coming in handy. Not worrying about the friction of wind shear was nice. When he was done, he verified that he was on a small moon about one-fourth the size of Earth. Unlike the moon around Earth, it has an atmosphere and life on it. It was temperate, with forests and lakes covering the surface.


    Connor used his Basic Map skill to return to his starting point and activate Astral Pocket while he was 20 miles up. He did this just in case there was another Master ranked individual around. Everything seemed to work in multiples of 10. Master rank ranges were 100,000 feet, or 18.9 miles normally. This should be high enough above the surface to avoid immediate detection. Connor entered his Astral Pocket and moved into the living room to meditate and get to work, trying to create a spell that would let him teleport home. As he sat down, he added one more thing to the list of items he wanted Anya to look into. A Way of finding specific people within the Multiverse. He needed a way to track down Sam and Liza since it was apparent they were trapped somewhere in the Astral Plane.

 Chapter 25, Am I a Memory Broker Now?

    Connor


    Planet Vesper, Day 2


    After a minute, Connor settled in and activated his skill Malleable Spells to look for spells that would allow him to travel to and from Earth with little effort.


    SYSTEM Link active


    Unfettered Status Noted


    Searching Spell Database for Master Rank or lower level spell that will allow teleportation between Realms


    Two Spell Found ¡°Teleport, Master Rank¡± and the Ritual ¡°Teleport Circle, Master Rank.¡±


    Requirements to learn the spell ¡°Teleport, Master Rank¡±


    1,000,000 Mana


    Five Free Spell Slots


    Requirements to learn the ritual ¡°Teleport Circle, Master Rank¡±


    1,000,000 Mana


    Five Free Spell Slots


    You currently do not have enough mana to learn either the spell or the ritual without channeling your mana regeneration into the effort.


    Would you like to begin the process of learning ¡°Teleport, Master Rank¡± or ¡°Teleportation Circle, Master Rank¡±?


    Connor chose the spell ¡°Teleport, Master Rank.¡± Instead of spending the mana from his Mana Pool or his Mana Reserve, he directed his Mana Regeneration to pay the cost to learn the spell. To generate one million mana took him almost six minutes. When he was done, he was rewarded with notifications.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell: ¡°Teleport, Master Rank


    Teleport, Master Rank.


    Required Materials: None


    Range: Effectively Unlimited.


    Mana Cost: 100,000 Mana.


    Time to cast: At least one full turn. It may take longer if the caster channels mana at a lower rate.


    The Master Ranked Teleport spell allows the caster to teleport to any place they can see or have visited.


    WARNING! Teleportation to a location that is not clearly visible may be dangerous.


    Base Chance of Success 50%. The caster''s intelligence attributes will modify this chance. The spell does have built-in safeguards and will typically alter the target location to a point above the target destination. If something solid is in the area the spell tries to teleport you to, you may find yourself in the Astral Plane or an adjacent Elemental Plane.


    Once cast, Travel is instantaneous.


    Connor smiled. That would be extremely helpful for getting back to Earth and also back to Vesper from Earth. He quickly checked how many Spell Slots he had available and laughed. With only 29,755 of his 29,797 total Skill Slots still available, yeah, he was going to take the time to pick up that second Teleportation spell. Connor meditated for a bit and reached out to the SYSTEM to learn his next spell. After six minutes, he opened his Notifications.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell: ¡°Teleportation Circle, Master Rank.


    Teleport, Master Rank.


    Required Materials: Crushed Master Core dust.


    Range: Effectively Unlimited.


    Mana Cost: 100,000 Mana per circle. 100 mana to activate and use the circle once cast.


    Time to cast: Variable. It takes a length of time to create the magical circle the caster will step on. Once created, it takes a single action to activate the teleportation function of the circle.


    The Master Ranked Teleport spell allows the caster to teleport to another Teleportation circle that is active and available.


    WARNING! While teleportation between each created teleportation circle is 100% safe, teleportation circles are not invulnerable and may be damaged unless steps are taken to protect them. Damaged or destroyed Teleportation Circles cannot be teleported to with this spell.


    Once the Teleportation Circle is activated, travel is instantaneous.


    Connor smiled. That spell would be extremely useful, though he was going to have to pick up some crushed master ranked core dust. Before he could do that, he¡¯d need to wait for the crystals for the information, though. He had some time, so maybe he could create a few more spells. The first question he had to answer was how he was supposed to target Liza and Sam. The only thing that he could target that all three of them had was the ability ¡°Unfettered.¡±


    He focused on creating a spell that could detect individuals with the Unfettered abilities throughout the Multiverse and received an error.


    The requested spell falls within the realm of the Divine. No Spell is available.


    Damn! Okay, well, he could go for something easier and improve his Control Technological Device spell to Rare and possibly Advanced Rank. Deciding to do that, he meditated, and a couple minutes later, he had improved versions of the spell


    Control Technological Device


    Rank: Rare


    Required Materials: None


    Range: 1,000 feet


    Mana Cost: 1,000 Mana per device.


    This spell may target any Technological non-magical device within 1,000 feet. Once cast, you gain mental control of any one Device and all of its components within 1,000 feet of your location for the next 100 Combat Turns (1,000 Seconds, 16.6 minutes).


    Line of Sight is normally required to establish control, but perception-based skills and spells can negate this requirement. Once control is established Line of Sight is not necessary as the device is controlled mentally.


    During the duration of the Spell, you may issue new commands to the Device as long as you are within 1,000 feet of it. Should you exit the 1,000-foot range and return, you may continue to issue mental commands until the duration expires.


    The duration may be extended if it is within 1,000 feet, and another 1,000 mana is dedicated to maintaining control of the device.


    At Rare Rank, you can control up to three devices at one time. A separate casting of the spell is required for each device.


    After reviewing the spell, he rested, focused, and worked on learning the Advanced version of the same spell.


    Control Technological Device


    Rank: Advanced


    Required Materials: None


    Range: 10,000 feet


    Mana Cost: 10,000 Mana per device.


    This spell may target any Technological non-magical device within 10,000 feet. Once cast, you gain mental control of any one Device and all of its components within 1,000 feet of your location for the next 1,000 Combat Turns (10,000 Seconds, 166.6 minutes).


    Line of Sight is normally required to establish control, but perception-based skills and spells can negate this requirement. Once control is established Line of Sight is not necessary as the device is controlled mentally.


    During the duration of the Spell, you may issue new commands to the Device as long as you are within 10,000 feet of it. Should you exit the 10,000-foot range and return, you may continue to issue mental commands until the duration expires.


    The duration may be extended if within 10,000 feet and another 10,000 mana is dedicated to maintaining control of the device.


    At Advanced Rank, you can control up to four devices at one time. A separate casting of the spell is required for each device.


    He thought about picking up the master ranked version of the spell but decided that he didn¡¯t need it. He now had four different spells to control technology. It wouldn¡¯t cost a lot of mana to do so at close range, but if he wanted to reach out and control something a little farther away, he could now. A master version of the spell would be a bit of overkill. He could see himself needing it because it would open up options he didn¡¯t have at the moment. Yeah, he was going to pick it up.


    Seven minutes later, he had the Master Ranked version of Control Technological Devices. It was expensive to use at 100,000 mana to cast, but it had a range of 18.9 miles and a duration of 27.7 hours. His mana regeneration rate of 29,690 mana per turn ensured that he¡¯d be able to cast and maintain the spell if he desired.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    As he finished researching spells, he begrudged the fact that he didn¡¯t have the free Skill Slots to increase his skill Eyes of Eris to Master Rank. He definitely had the attributes to support the skill, and if he could sense everything within an 18.9-mile radius¡­First, it would be awesome. Second, it would be tough for others to sneak up on him.


    Connor stood, walked to his room, and lay down. He wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything until morning, anyway, so grabbing a good night''s sleep would be a good thing. Besides, if he was a betting man, and he was, the Malicore bitch lawyer was going to do something and he might even have someone waiting for him when he returned to the villa in the morning.


    ***


    The Assassin had picked up the contract in the middle of the night from the Assassin¡¯s Guild at his normal drop point. The target, a Connor Nash, was staying at Kraymore Villa number 5 on the moon. Normally, it would be impossible for someone to attack the villa because you would first have to infiltrate Kraymore and then get the portal open. Unfortunately for this Connor character, the assassin had actually stayed at one of the other residences on the moon. After making a few preparations and a quick teleport, he pulled out a magical carpet and rode toward the Kraymore region of the moon. Within an hour, he was within range of the villa.


    He remained invisible and stealthed as he made his way into the villa and even watched as the portal opened and a staff member was handed a package from Anya at the Banking Guild. He¡¯d watched the three staff members go about their duties when the sun rose. Ironically, the days on the moon were identical to the days on Vesper. He knew that was due to some magical spell or artifact that one of the older guilds hinted at.


    The assassin searched the Villa but could find no trace of his target. He must have returned to the city, which was entirely possible. There were shops and various businesses open, despite it being the middle of the night. But he would be back. He would just have to settle down and wait for him. The assassin moved over to a corner in the entry room and settled into a battle meditation stance, allowing him to remain aware of his surroundings. At the same time, his body conserved resources and rested. Another skill he possessed, Spring, also helped with this, as it allowed him to remain in the same position without moving, thereby preventing muscle fatigue or cramping. Additionally, it added a bonus to the initial attack he made, which enabled him to kill his target with a single strike. Now, he just had to wait. However, he usually didn¡¯t kill his target with the first strike. He had a much more interesting fate in store for Mr. Nash.


    ***


    Connor smiled as he went through the memories of the unconscious assassin. The Assassin hadn¡¯t even had a chance. With his skill, Uncanny Perception, which scaled with his Primary Core and Eyes of Eris, Connor detected the assassin as soon as he was within 10,000 feet of him. With his Stealth skill active, the assassin didn¡¯t even notice him when he Shadow-Stepped into the Villa near a cracked window so he wouldn¡¯t hear or feel the pressure change as the air shifted. With Flight, Connor floated through the building until he had a line of sight on the assassin and established a telepathic link with Telepathy II. Once the link was established, he activated Memory Download which caused the assassin to seize up and fall unconscious.


    Connor took a moment to review the immediate memories of the Assassin to make sure there was no one else with him and then followed his memories back and found where he¡¯d received his orders from. How he, in turn, contacted the Assassin¡¯s Guild and how he could access their contracts. There were an impressive 435 assassins in the city of Commerce that this Assassin knew of.


    Connor touched the assassin and activated Transfiguration to add the configuration of his body to those he could transform into. As he continued to go through the assassin¡¯s memories, he realized that Jacob Irvine was a false identity of the Assassin known as Death¡¯s Messenger, whose true name was Trevor Alorne. As Connor continued to review the Assassin¡¯s memory, he realized that most of his treasures and very valuable items were in his Inventory, which he would lose access to if he killed him. Lucky for Connor this asshole was going to be out for quite a while which gave him time to learn a spell that would allow him to open up someone else¡¯s inventory.


    Connor picked up the information crystals off of the table and the assassin. He activated Astral Pocket and stepped inside. Once in his realm, he closed the portal. While the Assassin lay on the floor directly in front of where the portal would appear, Connor meditated and then focused on obtaining a spell that would remove everything from an inventory and deposit it within his own.


    SYSTEM Link active


    Unfettered Status Noted


    Searching Spell Database for a Master Rank or lower level spell that will allow Inventory Withdrawal against the owners'' wishes and without their knowledge, if possible.


    One Spell Found: ¡°Plunder¡±


    Requirements to learn the spell ¡°Plunder¡±


    1,000,000 Mana


    Five Free Spell Slots


    Connor accepted and allocated his mana to learn the new spell over the next six minutes.


    Congratulations! You have learned the Spell: ¡°Plunder¡±


    Plunder


    Required Materials: None


    Range: Requires that the caster touch the target


    Mana Cost: 100,000 Mana.


    Cast Time: 5 Turns (50 seconds)


    Duration once activated: up to 10,000 Turns (27.7 hours). The spell can be deactivated at any time.


    Once cast, Plunder remains available to the caster until activated. Only one instance of this spell may be held at a time. To use the spell on a second target would require that the spell be recast after the first casting was activated.


    When touching a target, the caster activates the spell.


    Once activated, the spell will remain active until the caster stops touching their target or they voluntarily end the spell.


    While active, the caster gains access to the inventory of the target as if it were their own and may transfer up to five (5) items every turn into their inventory or allow them to fall to the ground around the target. Multiple items that are considered bundled or the same are removed as if they were one item. For Example, if the target was carrying 115 gold, 30 silver, and 10 copper, all the coins could be removed as well as two more items during a single turn.


    Additionally, this spell will automatically defeat any protective measures placed on a target''s inventory of a lower rank. Skill or Spell Protections of equal or higher Rank must be defeated before Plunder will be able to access the target''s Inventory.


    Plunder was an extremely useful spell. It was expensive to cast but valuable. On that note, another useful spell would be something that let him scan other people''s inventories without being sensed, at least from those lower ranks than himself. First things first, it was time to Plunder Death¡¯s Messenger¡¯s inventory.


    From the assassin''s memories, he knew that he was wearing a Ring that protected his inventory. The assassin knew it as a Tier IV Lockring, which simply locked any extra dimensional storage skills he had from outside scrutiny or pilfering and would not stop his new spell. Even so, Connor reached over, slid off the Lockring and put it on. Damn that was another spell he needed, something that could identify magic items. He had the skill Identify for monsters. A spell to analyze magical items would be extremely useful.


    The thoughts that had popped into his head were all things he could deal with after he took care of a bit of business and then took out the trash. Ironically, he had to cast Plunder three more times. The assassin had three different skills that Connor wouldn¡¯t have known about if he hadn¡¯t downloaded memories.


    The first was his Personal Inventory, which could only hold 1,000 slots worth of items or 5,000 pounds worth of equipment. Trevor did store items in it, but they were primarily mundane. He had rations for at least a month and enough water skins to last him for at least 7 days. A tent, three sleeping bags, and a lot of various types of equipment that took up 100 slots of storage: Pitons, chalk, lanterns¡­ Shoot, this guy had every single item listed as recommended in the Scouting handbook. He also had flashlights, both battery-powered and a magical variety. Connor just made a mental reminder to himself that in addition to everything else he had, he now had even more as he added the items to his inventory. There were 351 separate items that occupied 561 slots of his inventory. It required almost 12 minutes to transfer everything.


    Next, he accessed a class-specific inventory that held specific weapons, poisons, and grenades. From Trevor¡¯s memory, he was able to identify everything he had: 100 smoke grenades, 20 common grenades, 10 uncommon grenades, 20 Common Throwing Daggers, 10 Uncommon throwing daggers, and 6 Rare Throwing Daggers. Additionally, this guy had hundreds of poisoned darts with various types of poison: 100 Poisoned Darts that added inflicted one point of damage and one point of poison damage per turn for 10 turns, 100 Poisoned Darts that inflicted 1 point of damage and 10 points of poison damage immediately. He also had 20 poison darts with an uncommon variant of the poison that added 100 points of poison damage at a rate of ten points of damage per turn for ten turns. The last five darts he had in his inventory carried a poison that would do 10 points per turn for 100 turns and was almost always a guaranteed killer for anyone lower than Rare Rank. The last things in the inventory were two daggers and two short swords, both of which were considered spares to his primary weapons. Within 30 seconds, everything was in his inventory.


    The third casting of Plunder opened Trevor''s Trophy Case Skill, which was disgusting. As Connor reviewed Trevor''s memories, he realized that there was something odd about the trophies the assassin had collected. Within the inventory, there were 78 heads. Most sentient races of both sexes that Connor had ever read or heard about and both sexes were represented by the head of the assassins victim. Additionally, the head held the souls in limbo within the inventory, preventing them from passing on. This assassin had the Class Skill Soul Prison, which allowed him to lock the soul into a body part permanently. Then he had the Trophy Case skill, which allowed him to pull up and taunt his targets indefinitely.


    Connor considered for a moment. Through the assassin¡¯s memories, each of the individuals in this trophy case was prominent in some way, which meant that they had information. If they had information, could he pull the memories from the mind of a soul that was artificially held to the material plane? If he could do that, in addition to the information crystals he had, he would also have 78 additional sources of information, which should give him a much better idea of the layout of the organizations within the Multiverse.


    Connor transferred the 78 Soul Prisons into his inventory. He removed all of the assassin''s equipment, including the ring that would let the Assassin¡¯s Guild know he was dead. Unfortunately, once removed, his guild would know something had happened to him, but as he slid it on, once they saw the ring on his finger, they¡¯d assume something had happened to it. Once he had all of the assassin''s equipment, Connor snapped the man''s neck with no effort. He wasn¡¯t going to kill every assassin, but this one had come for him directly and planned to turn his head into a Soul Prison. Nope this asshole was going into his Mana Composter where he would be broken down, turned into Mana and his soul released to the ether. With a thought, the assassin vanished.


    Before he could continue, he spent the next thirty minutes using his skill Malleable Spells to create the ritual spells that would make the five ranks of memory crystals he might require. He¡¯d been putting that off for a while. Each rank was needed to hold the memories of someone who held that rank of Core. It looked like the more powerful they were, the stronger the memory crystal needed to be. Because all of the assassins'' targets and pretty much everyone he might encounter on Vesper or Earth was Rare rank or lower, he was going to create the Ritual Circle to produce Rare Memory Crystals to begin with.


    Ritual, Rare Memory Crystal


    Materials Required: One pound of nonorganic matter.


    Mana required 1,000


    This ritual converts one pound of organic matter into a memory crystal that can store the memories of any creature with a Wisdom score of 1,000 or less, provided a skill or spell is used to transfer those memories into the crystal.


    Once created, the memories held within can be accessed by holding the Memory Crystal and viewing them as if on a video screen. Memories can be observed and controlled; they can be paused, skipped, rewound, and viewed again.


    Note That Memories stored in this way, while not offering an immediate bonus to a skill or task, will improve the individual who reviewed the memories'' chances of succeeding in a task familiar to the individual whose memories are stored.


    The rate at which the memories can be searched and viewed is a product of the viewer''s Intelligence and Wisdom divided by 10. For every 10 points in each attribute, you can increase the review rate by one. Normal speed at 10, double at 20, triple at 30, and so on.


    Your current review speed for a memory crystal is 29,662.3 times faster. You could review one full day in 2.9 seconds, a month in 1.5 minutes, or a year in 17.5 minutes.


    NOTE: Memory Crystals cannot convey the muscle memory required for physical tasks.


    The nonorganic matter that was needed was easily sourced with his Create Item spell. As long as he could name the substance he wanted to create, the spell pulled the information from the SYSTEM and deposited it in front of him. Honestly, it was a bit overpowered, but he liked it. He had a feeling that spells like Create Item weren¡¯t supposed to work that way, instead pulling the information from the caster, but because of his Unfettered class, the link to the SYSTEM he had was ¡°hacked¡±; that¡¯s the best way he could describe it. That hacked link allowed his spell to remain tethered to the SYSTEM and enabled him to do a little more with his spells.


    Connor went to work. First, he created the ritual circle, which required 10,000 mana and the materials he created with Create Item. Luckily, he didn¡¯t have to draw out the ritual circle; the spell did that for him. He placed the ritual circle on the lower floor of his Astral Pocket in one of the empty storage rooms. Once the ritual circle was ready, all he needed to do was provide the materials that would be converted into the Memory Crystal and 1,000 mana. The substance glowed and formed into a clear handheld crystal. He could set the color of the crystal if he wanted to, but for now, he just kept them clear.


    Thirty-four minutes later, he had 102 Rare Ranked Memory Crystals. Twenty crystals filled one slot of his Inventory, so 102 crystals only reduced his total inventory slots by six. He quickly reviewed his Inventory and saw that even with 78 Soul Prisons; the heads with the souls trapped in them, all the equipment he¡¯d taken from the assassin¡¯s inventory, which included five platinum, 100 gold, 47 silver, and 35 copper, only filled 1,439 of the 100,000 inventory slots he had available. Moving most of the other equipment and supplies he¡¯d picked up at Walmart and Sam¡¯s Club back on Earth into the Astral Pocket had been a wise choice.


    Now that he had the Memory crystals, it was time to try to transfer the memories from one of the heads into a memory crystal. Unexpectedly, the process was straightforward. Connor pulled one of the heads and a memory crystal out of his inventory and touched the crystal to the head as he activated Memory Download. The crystal and the head glowed, and then the head crumbled to dust in his hand.


    From the Assassin¡¯s memories, he knew that he could have spoken to the heads or communicated with them if he¡¯d established a telepathic link. Connor didn¡¯t do that. He hoped that downloading their memories and the destruction of their heads would release their souls. He didn¡¯t want that kind of bad karma coming back on him. Connor checked the Memory Crystal to make sure there was nothing more than the memories of the imprisoned soul.


    The first person he¡¯d chosen had been the leader of a small guild with 87 members. He¡¯d been a fighter who excelled with the sword and shield and had fundamental knowledge of blacksmithing. A cursory look at his life showed a lot of monster-hunting, tavern-hopping, and not much else. He¡¯d been human and only 35 years old when he¡¯d been killed. Connor didn¡¯t get the feeling that his soul was still around, but just to be sure, he set the memory crystal down and tried to establish a telepathic link with it. Nothing happened.


    So, the mind and soul were gone, with only the memories remaining. Hopefully, the soul had been released. Now he had 77 more Soul Prisons to break, memories to download and review. After which, he had some Information Crystals to absorb. If his clock wasn¡¯t off, it was midday. By the time he was done, it would be late afternoon. Then, if the information he acquired didn¡¯t contain any devastating information, the Assassin¡¯s Guild was going to get a new Client that had a massive target for them to go after that could create as much money as he needed. All he needed was a way to access the Guild, which the memories of Trevor and his ability to look and sound like the assassin would allow him to access. This was going to be fun.

 Chapter 26, Contracts

    Connor


    Planet Vesper, Day 2 (Late Midday)


    Connor¡¯s mind settled after absorbing the last information crystal. Transferring the memories into the Memory Crystals took less than an hour. The information crystals, however, took a bit longer because there were more than he¡¯d expected. The box Anya had sent them was a dimensional storage device. She¡¯d made sure to fill it with as many crystals as she could for the two million credits he set aside.


    One thing he noticed while he reviewed the memories from the Soul Prisons was his ability to understand languages. Before he continued with the memory review, he opened the box of information crystals, which also included some language crystals. A lot of language crystals, which included multiple dialects of Common, English, Elvish, Dwarvish, and a lot of other languages he¡¯d never heard of.


    Using the language and knowledge crystals was as easy as touching the crystal and willing it to activate. Once activated, the crystal disintegrated after it downloaded the information into his mind. As he used each crystal, a slight feeling of vertigo would arise as his mind absorbed the new information, and then the knowledge became a part of him. As he absorbed more knowledge, the vertigo seemed to last just a bit longer, but even after he¡¯d absorbed the last crystal¡¯s knowledge, he still recovered within a few seconds. Once he stopped, though, his brain sorted and compared all the information he¡¯d downloaded into his mind, and when he came back to himself, a full 10 minutes had passed.


    One problem with absorbing so much information was that it was a bit overwhelming to focus on any specific subject. Another problem was that he didn¡¯t know what information he was still lacking, and he wouldn¡¯t until he became aware of it and realized that he didn¡¯t know what he was learning. He had learned a bunch of information, though, and he should be able to pass for a citizen of Vesper and the small community of realms that were interlinked in this section of the Multiverse. One truly interesting fact that he learned was that Malicore was just one of many such organizations, whether they were governments, sects, guilds, or variations of these.


    The planet Vesper did not have rulers. The closest thing to an actual ruling body was the Banking Guild. While it was linked to other cities on the planet, it also had connections to other cities in different planes and realms. One handy bit of information he¡¯d received was a map of the town. Now that he had a basic understanding of this new Multiverse and his place in it, he began pulling out memory crystals he¡¯d created from the Soul Prison.


    Unlike the information crystals. The memory crystals he¡¯d created would not disintegrate when used. Instead, they acted as a storage device that he could review and then put away, returning to it later as needed. Connor wasn¡¯t going to go through all the memories right now. If he tried to do that, it would probably take him at least 93 days, assuming every crystal had 100 years of memories or less. Instead, he was going to review the individual''s last year of life, which should only take about 18 seconds. If he reviewed the individual for a year, he should get a good sense of who they were. It was amazing how similar reviewing the memories was to watching a video. He could fast-forward, pause, and skip sections. That last function was very useful every time he came across intimate memories. He really didn¡¯t want to see what these people had been doing.


    One interesting fact: not every target was innocent. Twenty-one memory crystals were, for lack of a better term, repugnant. After reviewing the memories from those crystals, he placed them in the box that the information crystals had arrived in and stored it in the room within the Astral Pocket. The others he put in his Inventory. He was not going to carry that repugnant crap around. Almost every one of those individuals had been an assassin who had been targeted because of someone they¡¯d offended by the very Guild they worked for, which was ironic because now that he had the information that he did, he was going to use the Assassin¡¯s Guild to target a sect that had offended him.


    Connor made sure everything was ready for him to head out. His resource pools were full, and all of Trevor, the assassin¡¯s, equipment was equipped. He put on the clothes Trevor had worn to blend in with the crowd, which he had pulled from his inventory. Next, he activated Stealth and Flight and then brought up Trevor¡¯s memories of the room he had in a nondescript inn on the shady side of town. Connor focused on the room until he could visualize everything in it, chose his target location as next to the bed in the room, and activated his Master Ranked Teleport spell.


    Since he was in his Astral Pocket, he needed to utilize the teleportation ability that would allow him to cross dimensions. He thought that the transition would be rough or that he¡¯d have to put some serious effort into it. He need not have worried. The teleportation, while costing 100,000 mana, felt no different than if he¡¯d used Shadow Step.


    Connor appeared next to the bed in Trevor¡¯s room, looked around, and stepped to the door. Before he stepped out, he deactivated Stealth and Flight. He wouldn¡¯t need either skill at the moment. If he walked at a normal rate, it was going to take almost half an hour to get to the Guild Hall. He brought Trevor¡¯s memories to the forefront of his mind and allowed the mannerisms and demeanor of Trevor to wash over him as he unlocked the door with the key he¡¯d procured from Trevor and stepped out into the hall.


    Connor recognized some of the people he passed from Trevor¡¯s memories, but no one approached him as he walked downstairs and out of the hotel. After a short walk, he came to a nondescript building. As he stepped inside, one of the men he¡¯d noticed skulking in a shadow stepped close,


    ¡°Jacob?¡±


    ¡°Yes, John.¡± They both used the names of their fake identities here.


    ¡°You¡¯re tag went dead a little bit ago?¡±


    ¡°It did,¡± Connor said as he held up his hand with the ring which had ¡°The Tag¡± on it. ¡°As you can see, I still have it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll need to have it reactivated.¡±


    ¡°I know, I made the asshole pay in kind for removing it,¡± Connor said.


    ¡°Good. Good. So, the contracts done?¡±


    ¡°If I said yes, I¡¯d be lying, so I¡¯ll say I think so, or it soon will be. I hit him hard, and he didn¡¯t get up.¡± Both statements were entirely true, just not about hitting Connor Nash, of course.


    ¡°You used one of those.¡± Doesn¡¯t that poison cost close to 30,000 credits a dose?¡±


    ¡°It does, but you didn¡¯t see him move. He was fast. I couldn¡¯t take the chance, though he disappeared right after he was hit. I think he teleported.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame, if you can¡¯t kill him and retrieve proof of your kill, that¡¯s gonna suck. So, what are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°Well, today I¡¯m going to get the ring reactivated, and then I¡¯ll be trying to confirm that my contract has been completed.¡±


    John nodded toward the backroom. ¡°The Enchantress is back there. She¡¯s in the back,¡± John said as he glanced behind him.


    ¡°Thanks, John,¡± Connor said as he stepped past him and walked down a short corridor to an open room with a female Dervish in it. From his Information crystals, Connor knew that the Dervish were a goblin-like race that were just a bit taller with more elf-like features. No large nose or ears. As the enchantress looked up, her eyes locked onto the ring on Connor''s finger. ¡°I see. That¡¯ll be 10,000 credits or 100 gold.¡±


    Connor knew that the price was set, so he just nodded and pulled out the 100 gold Trevor had kept in his inventory for that purpose. Next, he placed his hand on the table in front of her and watched as she cast a spell that linked the ring to his mana signature. This next part was what he wasn¡¯t sure about. Was the ring going to register that he wasn¡¯t actually Trevor and fail, or would the spell work and link the ring to him?


    The spell work. He felt the ring link to him and glow faintly before the glow faded, and the Enchantress said, ¡°There you go. While I do like to make gold, remember that if this happens again within the next month, it¡¯ll be 1,000 gold.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± Connor said as he turned and walked back to the main room where the Job Board sat. Technically, it wasn¡¯t a Job Board. It was a location where anyone could access a SYSTEM-sanctioned job board for Assassins. From Trevor¡¯s memories, he knew that there were actually two rooms. The room he was in was where the Assassins checked on and accepted contracts. Nearby, there was a Bar where the booths held both magical and technological devices that allowed anyone to submit a contract to the guild if they were willing to pay the price. While he slowly walked out of the assassin side of the building, he cast Control Technological Device and reached out to take control of one of the empty technological terminals.


    Since the terminal was SYSTEM-controlled, it was relatively protected, so when it asked him how he¡¯d like to register as a Client. Doing so anonymously was an option, for a price. For one million credits, he could get this party started. Connor created a system-sanctioned contract to kill members of the Malicore Sect at the standard rate. A bonus of 10,000 credits would be paid for every Malicore Slaver team member that was killed. He deposited eight million credits to get things started. It was an open-ended quest, which meant that he would need to continue depositing more credits until he withdrew the contract.


    He hoped that the idea that the funds would run out, at least at the beginning, would create a frenzy among the Assassins as they tried to be the first to bank in on killing Sect members. Spending nine million credits would only leave him with just over one million credits, but it was definitely worth it. Malicore was targeting Earth; Now it was time for them to be targeted.


    As for the issue of getting more credits, buried in the information he¡¯d absorbed was the location of a Tier IV Dungeon that had appeared almost a year ago. The dungeon had started overflowing a month ago, and calls for someone to clear it had been coming in almost daily. The Requests had been forwarded to other sectors and planets, but individuals of sufficient rank to survive the dungeon were few and far between. It was almost as if the SYSTEM was encouraging people to advance faster. Unfortunately, they weren¡¯t.


    For Connor, that wasn¡¯t going to be an issue. He was sure that there would be good rewards and XP if he went to the Dungeon. Connor finished with the contract and walked out of the building as he deactivated Control Technological Device. Once he was sure no one was watching, he activated Stealth, Flight, and Environmental Adaptation before Teleporting 1,000 miles straight up. Then, he shot southward at his maximum speed.


    The Tier IV Dungeon had appeared on the southernmost continent at the center of an ice-locked continent, much like Antarctica on Earth. As he flew, he replaced all of Trevor¡¯s gear with his regular clothes and switched his outer appearance to that of a nondescript human male with short brown hair and eyes. As he came upon the entrance to the Dungeon, he found a small camp outside the entrance, which had people set up in a circle around it. As he watched, a horned bunny¡­ A horned bunny, really? It exited the dungeon, sniffed the air, and then exploded toward the defensive lines. A mage¡¯s telekinesis spell caught it and lifted it off the ground. A moment later, it was turned into an arrow pin cushion as arrow after arrow flew into it until it was very dead.


    Bunnies, even the horned variety, didn¡¯t look like they would take all that long to clear. Connor ignored the people guarding the entrance and flew directly into the Dungeon Portal. Once inside, he found himself mashed on all sides by hundreds of horned bunnies. Even though he was stealthed, he felt the bunnies that were touching him turn and attack him immediately. They did nothing. He quickly checked his combat log as attack after attack landed because they couldn¡¯t miss. Each attack did between 16 and 32 points of damage, which was automatically resisted by his 2,966 points of Physical Damage Resistance.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    He now understood what Pandora had meant. If these bunnies were tier IV, they should have attributes in the 10,000-point range. Instead, it looked like they were somewhere under 200 points. The Bunnies couldn¡¯t hurt him, but he could and did reach out and started breaking their necks with a squeeze. Once dead, he deposited them in his Mana Composter because he couldn¡¯t just leave them there or he¡¯d never be able to move.


    For the next 70 minutes, Connor let loose and put his new strength to the test. Connor made his way through the dungeon, killing Tier IV Horned Bunnies at a rate of 33 per combat turn. Unfortunately, there seemed to be an XP penalty because his attributes were so much higher than the bunnies, which he discovered when he reviewed his gains after clearing the first room. Each Horned bunny was supposed to be awarded 10,000 XP per level. Due to his physical attributes being more than 1,000 times that of the Horned bunnies, the award was reduced to 10 XP per level. His treasure award may have been affected, but 675,000 copper pieces was still quite a substantial amount. Of course, that only converted to 6,750 credits. In addition to the coin, he found core shards.


    Congratulations! You have found 1,350 Master Core Shards,


    Congratulations! You have found 725 Master Horned Bunny Evolutionary Core Shards


    Congratulations! You have found 1,710 Generic Class Shards.


    He¡¯d also gained some levels.


    Congratulations! Master Ranked Class Unfettered has increased from level 63 to 82.


    He¡¯d gained levels! Had he gained skill slots as well? A quick check showed that he had two more skill slots available. Yes! With a thought, he added one Skill Slot to Eyes of Eris and increased the skills range out to 100,000 feet or 18.9 miles. The rest of the dungeon was already within his range, so the increase had no effect at this point, but he was sure when he stepped outside of the dungeon he¡¯d notice the change.


    Connor brought his attention back to the dungeon and looked at the four levels he had to travel through. The rest of the first floor was filled with more horned bunnies. The entryway had been filled with 13,500. The rest of the first level, which was huge, seemed to be filled with at least four times that amount. The level was packed, and even now, the bunnies were starting to spill into the entryway. Connor went back to work and begins killing rabbits. Utilizing hand-to-hand attacks and Force Daggers of Throwing, it took another four hours for Connor to clear the first level. It wasn¡¯t that killing any specific horned rabbit was hard; there were just so many of them.


    Four hours later, the first floor was clear, and the head of the sizeable razor-tusked hog about the size of a rhinoceros charged up the stairs. A single force dagger killed it as three more rushed up the stairs. Connor landed and became visible for a moment, which allowed the three to zero in on him and charge. Connor braced himself and waited. The three 2,000-pound hogs broke their tusks against his arm and slammed to a stop before Connor gave the middle one a push and sent it into some more hogs that had been coming up the stars. He killed the other two beside him with the flick of his wrist, which imbedded a force dagger in their brains.


    Connor reactivated Stealth and began using Force Daggers to kill the hogs as he moved forward. He stepped into a rhythm. He¡¯d cast Force Daggers of Throwing, kill a hog with a thrown dagger, step forward, and toss it into his Mana Composter. He continued doing that as he moved down onto the 2<sup>nd</sup> level and went to work. He had only been busy for about a minute when it happened. After his 182nd hog kill, his Mana Composter was full. That meant that the 100,000 slots in his Mana Composter held 500,000 pounds. At a breakdown rate of 10 pounds per turn or 60 pounds per minute, it would take almost eight days to break down everything. Of course, it would only break down and add to the reserve mana pool if¡­Damn, he was going to need to find a way to increase his mana usage so that his Mana Reserve would continue to refill.


    Connor had plenty of room in his normal Inventory. He put the next 112 hogs into that inventory and realized he¡¯d cleared the floor. Connor realized he needed to allow his Mana Composter to break down the corpses within it, and to do that, he needed to empty his Mana Reserve of 100,000 mana. He immediately stopped directing Mana Regeneration to the Reserve. At 31,590 mana regeneration per turn, he¡¯d refill the reserve much faster than the Mana Composter. Maybe there was a way to speed it up, but right now, he needed a way to kill the beasts within this dungeon and get them out of the way¡­


    Maybe¡­.


    That might work, and it was mana expensive.


    Connor moved back up to the entryway, focused on memorizing the location where he stood. He even pulled out some chalk and drew a stargate on the wall in front of him so that he could more easily focus on this location to return to. He could always return to Trevor¡¯s room and make his way back here, but he wanted to be able to return to this dungeon to clear it out if he could.


    A minute later, he activated Teleport and appeared 100 feet above the bottom of the crater where Mount Kimball used to be near Tucson, Arizona, exactly where he¡¯d wanted to. Before he could do anything else, he was inundated with information concerning everything within an 18.9-mile radius. Tucson looked like Lebanon. Fights and fires were going on everywhere. People were killing monsters and other people. Connor thought about helping others, but he knew he needed to get back. Before his Mana could start to regenerate, he transferred the 100,000 mana from his Mana Reserve into his Mana Pool. That done, he dropped the 112 Bladed hogs out of his inventory and into the crater below. Then, he teleported back to the Entryway of the Dungeon.


    A moment later, he reappeared in the Dungeon without issue. He¡¯d spent 200,000 of his 631,228 mana to teleport to Earth and back to Vesper. His Reserve had returned 100,000 mana, and his mana regeneration would return the other 100,000 in the next four turns. He quickly checked his level and realized that he¡¯d reached Level 100, which unlocked two more Skill Slots. The XP awards had capped out when he reached Level 100 at Master Rank, and the XP was being banked until he ranked up his core, evolution, and class. That¡¯s right; he needed to upgrade his Core to Epic Rank and his Evolution if he had enough shards. One of the things he¡¯d downloaded in the information Crystals was the fact that lower-rank cores could be combined to create higher-rank shards, and those shards could create cores at a 10:1 ratio.


    To upgrade to an Epic Core, he would need to convert 10 Advanced Cores to one Master Ranked Shard. Next, he could take ten of those shards to on Master Ranked Core and then ten of those Cores into one Epic Shard. Once he had 10 Epic Shards, he¡¯d be able to make an Epic Core. He did not have enough Advanced Shards yet, though. He had more than half of what he needed with 6,780 Advance Core Shards. He had more Advanced Class shards, though, with 8,590 Generic Class Shards in his inventory.


    With a shard drop rate of about 10%, the 444 creatures left on the third and fourth levels probably wouldn¡¯t supply him with enough, so he might as well get the dungeon done and then go try to either buy or find more shards and cores. He could try to purchase Common Class shards and upgrade them, but it was a bit crazy to do so. The charge he¡¯d absorbed showed that it would take one billion common class shards to create one master ranked core. At an average cost of 100 credits each, it would cost him 100 billion credits, which was way outside of his current price range. It was going to be easier to go out and find the shards and cores.


    Connor recast Force Daggers of Throwing and made his way to the entrance to the third floor. Unlike the upper two floors, there was a door at the bottom of the stairs, and it looked like there were human-sized bipedal creatures on this floor. Connor made sure his Stealth and Flight skills were active, and then Shadow stepped to the other side of the door, where he found what he could only describe as albino dwarves with copper beards and red eyes.


    None of the creatures noticed him as he used Identify on the first one he saw.


    Deep Dwarf, Advanced, Level 35


    450 Hit Points


    325 Mana


    437 Stamina


    275 Psychic Energy


    Connor reviewed the information and smiled; it was no challenge at all. Since there were 443 creatures on this floor and only one on the fourth level. With Stealth and an overwhelming strength, he grabbed a three-foot dwarf and pushed him into another over and over until the floor was clear within three minutes.


    The final level of the Dungeon had a Dragon in it. As Connor made his way down to the lower level, the dragon smiled and nodded, ¡°Come human, come to your death!¡±


    Connor, feeling a bit cocky, deactivated Stealth and floated down the stairway and into the giant chamber where a mirror reflected its image from directly above the entrance. He turned around and floated up until he was level with the dragon''s eyes and just outside of an easy reach for it. ¡°What was that?¡±


    The dragon reacted quickly as it struck out with one of its front claws and tried to eviscerate Conner.


    CRACK!


    One of the dragon''s claws broke against Connor''s body as he remained locked in place, his Master Ranked Flight Skill more than sufficient to hold him in place from a swipe that only did 423 points of damage.


    Connor made a motion like he was brushing himself off and asked again, ¡°What was that?¡±


    Instead of responding, the dragon took a breath and tried to launch acid at him. The actions made by the dragon were slow. Before the acid left its mouth, Connor had shifted his position to a point directly at the dragon''s head. As the stream of acid began, Connor grabbed the top of the dragon¡¯s head with his left hand and punched through the back of its skull with his right hand.


    Connor released the head and watched as the dead dragon fell to the ground. He whipped the gore off of his right arm and floated down to the chest that had been seen with the Eyes of Eris. The chest turned out to be a mimic, which exploded into action when Connor landed in front of it. Tentacles lashed out and grabbed him as the mimic opened its mouth wide. It pulled itself up and over as it tried to swallow Connor head first. He was so surprised that it was a mimic that he didn¡¯t move when it attacked him.


    The teeth in the mouth of the mimic shredded his clothing but did nothing to him. It was also making a ¡°Nom Nom¡± sound as it tried to chew on him. While he found that amusing, that was enough of that. Connor Teleported to the other side of the room and threw a force dagger at it.


    The Mimic exploded as treasures fell out onto the cavern floor. The Mimic had a dimensional storage area that held its treasure until it died, and it wasn¡¯t lost to the Astral Plan? Damn, that was cool. The sound of tinkling coins as they landed on the ground was also excellent. Connor took in the scene and noticed that all of the coins were gold.


    Connor Cast Wizard Hands and had them start touching and storing the coins in his inventory. Next, he went over to Mimic, which now looked like a deflated sack of flesh. He put that in his inventory and then went to the Dragon and put that in his Inventory as well. He¡¯d left the Deep Dwarves on level three, but these two creatures might trade for more coins.


    That¡¯s when he noticed that he had a Notification waiting and pulled it up.


    Congratulations! You have cleared the first Advanced Dungeon on this world. You have earned 100,000 XP.


    WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT!


    Connor Nash has cleared the First Advanced Dungeon on the World known as Vesper to its inhabitants.


    Congratulations! The World¡¯s Upgrade Challenge has been completed.


    Advanced SYSTEM Integration will begin in one year.


    Rank based SYSTEM Integration? There was a rank-based SYSTEM Integration? What did that mean exactly? Connor searched through his memories until he found a tidbit of information that was added as a note. Worlds could increase their Rank if the power level of the inhabitants surpassed the average dungeon level by at least three levels, but if what Pandora had shared with him was true, all that meant was that this world was going to upgrade to Uncommon rank.


    Then, Connor smiled. If these underpowered worlds could upgrade, that meant that somewhere out in the broader Multiverse, there were worlds where he would find challenges that were equal to him. It also meant that some worlds and realms were greater than him, at least for now.


    Connor brought his thoughts back to the treasure he¡¯d collected. He¡¯d picked up 37,250 Gold. There was also a dagger made out of shiny metal that seemed to be quite durable, but that was the only other item that he¡¯d found. He still needed a spell to analyze items. He put the dagger in his inventory. He¡¯d have one of the merchants in Commerce appraise it for him.


    Connor activated Stealth and made his way back up to the surface. Once outside, he noticed that some people were moving toward the entrance, probably trying to see if this was the dungeon that had been cleared. Connor ignored them. As he lifted off the ground and shot north toward Commerce, he considered that he now had another 3.7 million credits for the Assassins Guild contract. Every little bit helped.