Imri stared into the eyes of a person he recognized. It was the nurse who had been taking care of him. Emelia was her name, and she wore the same strange robes, dagger, and potion satchel Imri had been given. Imri quickly gathered up his robe, which was still slightly damp, and put it on, along with the rest of his equipment. He felt embarrassed that she had seen him almost completely naked, even though she had helped him shower when he was a patient.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. I was just relieved to find someone else in this forsaken place,” she said with her hands up placatingly. Mr. Padar, is that you? How can you get around?” she asked as she recognized him a bit late. She had undoubtedly been thrown off, not expecting her hospice patient to wander around.
“The integration seems to have healed me, and just call me Imri,” He said with a shrug. His Primordial Intuition didn’t give him any insight into his recovery; he just counted his good fortune and moved on.
“Integration?” She asked
“The system didn’t explain it to you?”
“System? What system?”
“You know, the system that integrated us into the multiverse,” Imri explained, receiving a blank, uncomprehending expression from the nurse.
“One moment, I was helping you, and the next moment, I’m here in this weird forest. I have this vague sense that I learned something, but I don’t know what it was,” Emelia explained. Imri stared at her and used Identify.
Emelia Fields Heritage/Class Tier/Rank Level Description Human 1F 1 Humans are a sapient species with a diverse range of specializations, yet are masters of none. Empathic Healer 1F 1 Empathic healers can use their compassion for life to heal others, especially effective at healing those with whom they have a shared connection. They are also able to understand and manipulate the creature’s emotional states.
“Does an Empathic Healer ring a bell?” Imri asked. Emelia pursed her lips.
“Yeah, though I’m not sure how I know that.”
“You don’t remember picking your class? No disembodied AI voice explained that Earth had been integrated into the multiverse?” Imri asked. She shook her head.
“Nothing like that. I just suddenly appeared here.”
“Try focusing on yourself, mentally commanding your character sheet to surface in your mind. You won’t see anything visually, but all your traits, skills, spells, or attacks should surface in your thoughts. You can also see your stats, status, quest progress, and probably a few other things I haven’t discovered yet,” Imri explained.
“You’re right,” She said. She sat there for a while, mentally processing all the information that Imri had been parsing through as he went. “Do you know what all these 1F’s mean in front of everything?” She asked.
“It's the tier and the rank within that tier. So, 1F is tier 1 rank F. When it upgrades, it will improve to 1E and so on until it reaches tier 2 rank F, which will be a bigger jump than a rank up,” Imri explained.
“How do you know so much about this system, and how did you know that I was an Empathic Healer?”
“I have a trait that gives me a basic understanding of most things, especially regarding the system. I also have a skill that lets me identify properties of things. I used it on you, and it told me your name and that you were a level 1 Human level 1 Empathic Healer,” Imri explained.
“I’m not sure I like being identified. It feels kind of like when my ex-boyfriend went through my phone,” Emelia said with a shudder.
“I'm sorry. I didn’t think about that,” Imri said, mentally berating himself for his casual skill use.
“Just don’t use a skill on me without asking,” She said.
“Yeah, sorry. It won’t happen again,” Imri said, mad at himself for violating her trust. He was two minutes into interacting with someone in this new context, and already he was fucking it up.
“Don’t beat yourself up. I’m sure it was an honest mistake. Besides, it's not like we have social norms for magic skill usage. How about you make it up to me and let me use Identify on you? Then we’ll be even,” she requested.
“I guess that's fair,” Imri said after a brief hesitation. His only concern was what she would think of his heritage. Did being a Primordial mean he wasn’t human?
“That’s weird. It didn’t work. How about you tell me instead?” she asked. Imri suspected his Enigmatic Being trait protected his heritage from being discovered. He also wasn’t sure how effective the average Identify was because he was more effective thanks to his Discerning Eyes.
“Yeah, that’s fine. I’m a level 3 Relativity Mage, a class specializing in space and time spells. I have one practical spell right now, and it lets me compress space within an area, essentially crushing things,” Imri explained.
“You’re level 3? How did you manage that?” Emelia asked excitedly.
“I was attacked by a monster called an Ulfr Hound, which is kind of like a hyena. I managed to defeat it with that spatial compression spell,” Imri explained.
“Wait, there are monsters out here? I’ve been wandering around, and I could have been attacked by a hyena. This is so fucked up,” She said as she had a small panic attack. She grabbed Imri's arm as if he were about to run off into a crowd and leave her behind.
Imri stood awkwardly, conflicted about being touched by the attractive woman. He had never liked being touched, even handshakes, yet he enjoyed Emelia’s touch, even if it was platonic. Emelia seemed to notice his discomfort. She was Empathic, and he wasn’t exactly a smooth operator.
“Sorry, I have issues with physical contact, ” Imri explained, then mentally berated himself for calling more attention to it.
“It’s alright, I understand. I shouldn’t have just grabbed you like that,” Emelia said as she awkwardly put her hands behind her back as if having them in front of her would cause issues. “You are really not scared of those monsters, of this weird fucked up reality?”
“It’s not like I’m brave or anything. I just don’t care,” Imri said with a shrug.
“What the hell does that mean? How can you not care?” she asked in an accusing tone.
“It’s not like I had anything worth living for, so who cares if I die?”
“I care, so don’t ever say something like that again,” she demanded.
Her intensity surprised Imri, and he unconsciously nodded in agreement. “I won't,” he promised.
"Good. Now let me see your arm," she said. She took several minutes to check the wound and then redid the makeshift bandages less haphazardly. "How's that? It should feel tight but shouldn't cut off the circulation."
Stolen story; please report.
"It's good. Thank you," Imri said.
"Don't mention it. So what do we do now?" Emelia asked.
“I’m focusing on learning new spells and hopefully evolving my class as soon as possible. You should also focus on learning spells. I don’t think it would be wise to wander around the stone forest without any means to defend yourself,” Imri suggested.
“How do you know I can even learn spells?” She asked.
“I’m not entirely sure, but an Empathic Healer sounds like a class that should get healing spells.”
“And I’m just supposed to think about healing to get healing spells?”
“Just ponder the nature of healing. Look for insights around you. The same thing with empathy,” Imri explained. She nodded and sat down a few meters away from him, imitating his pose. It quickly became apparent that she had never practiced meditation before, as after about ten minutes, she was fiddling around. After fifteen minutes, she stood up and began pacing around. Imri sighed and stood up, gaining all his insight from meditation.
“I’m sorry, I’m not good at sitting still,” Emelia said.
“It’s fine. This probably isn’t the safest location,” Imri admitted.
“Why is that?”
“Everything needs water, so this is a one-stop shop for predators.”
“Yeah, let's get out of here,” Emelia said, looking back and forth nervously. “I did spot a strange black pyramid with a beam of purple shooting from it while I was searching the forest, about an hour's hike from here. Think that would be worth checking out?”
“You're joking, right?” Imri asked.
“Is that a dumb idea?”
“Maybe, but why didn’t you say something earlier?” Imri asked.
“I don’t know. Most people don’t see a strange alien pyramid and think that it would be a cool place to check out. Most people see it and think, 'hell no, I’m going to go anywhere but here.' Are you sure this isn’t your 'fuck it, who cares if I die attitude'? Because I do not want to die,” Emelia said.
“No, this is my Isekai protagonist attitude, where I want to get stronger at any cost. Just wandering around and meditating won’t get me there, and fighting random monsters would be slow and boring. This pyramid thing might be an important clue or some sort of dungeon where we could level up,” Imri explained.
“I don’t know if boring would be the word I would use when describing monster attacks,” Emelia sighed. “I guess I’m somewhat curious about what's in there, but I’m also equally terrified. Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“No, not really, but you wouldn’t have brought it up if you weren’t at least considering it,” Imri pointed out.
“Fuck it, it’s not like I have any better ideas,” Emelia conceded.
They made their way through the forest, Emelia leading the way. At first, Imri was worried she would set too slow of a pace, but it quickly became apparent that she had better physical abilities. She outpaced Imri despite being a full 30 centimeters shorter.
The hike took longer than the hour Emelia had mentioned. She wasn’t exactly sure where it was located, having only a vague general direction. After about an hour and a half, they stopped to take a rest, Imri having lost over half of his stamina.
“Sorry, I can’t keep up,” Imri said as he breathed heavily between gulps of water.
“You were in hospice less than a day ago. The fact that you're walking at all is miraculous,” she pointed out. “Besides, I think we’re close.”
Emelia was right, shortly after their break they came to the structure. Imri would describe it as a temple, and it reminded him of the structures the Aztecs had built, somewhat pyramid-shaped with a massive set of stairs that ran up what was presumably the front of the structure, with a doorway-shaped entrance near the top at the end of the stairs. From the top, a purple beam of energy emanated out, spanning up as high as he could see before being obscured. The structure was entirely pristine, not a scratch or blemish in sight. The material it was made out of reminded Imri of obsidian, being nearly unnaturally black and polished. As he felt the stone, he could tell it wasn’t obsidian but some unknown material.
“Are you sure about this? This place creeps me out,” Emelia said with an unconscious shudder. Imri frowned. He could understand how she felt; the temple and its beam gave off an ominous feeling.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” Imri said. Emelia nodded but didn’t immediately begin ascending, instead letting Imri take the lead. Imri obliged, ascending the steps of the dark temple.
The ascent took longer than expected, and Imri carefully made his way up the stairs, which were polished smooth enough not to give his boots a good grip. When they neared the top, almost fifty meters up, Imri looked above the tree line. The stone forest stretched as far as he could see, only broken by the waterfall several kilometers away. He still wasn’t able to discern where the water was coming from.
Together, they made their way to the zenith, and the temple’s entryway came into view. Hovering above the floor was a several-meter-tall indigo crystal, its point nearly touching the structure's pinnacle. It gave off an eerie glow, bathing the entire room in an unnatural purple color. The top of the structure was open, allowing the beam emanating from the crystal to ascend to the heavens.
A creature stood vigil near the crystal, roughly humanoid in build but with scaly skin and a slender, wiry frame, slightly shorter than Emelia. It wore dark robes with embroidered shapes that were foreign to Imri. It held an ornate serrated dagger made from black metal with an encrusted gemstone resembling a miniature version of the massive crystal. Blood dripped from the serrated blade, a drainage system leading away from a lifeless corpse on the ground.
Heritage/Class Tier/Rank Level Description Chixel 1F 6 The Chixel are a sentient species known for their agility and soul rituals. Soul Priest of Ulzo 1F 6 Soul priests specialize in converting souls to mana, powering rituals in a rite to the god Ulzo.
Item Tier/Rank Quality Description Serrated Dagger of Soul Capture 2F 11 A ceremonial dagger that is used to capture the souls of the lives claimed by the dagger.
“Blasphemers! These ones' souls shall be offered to Ulzo. It is an honor these ones do not deserve, but it would be a shame to waste willing sacrifices,” the Chixel hissed. Somehow, Imri understood it, even though it spoke a strange language he had never heard before.
The Chixel was fast, faster than any creature Imri had ever seen. He closed the several meters of distance between them in a few graceful steps. Imri panicked, casting his Compression spell where he thought the creature would be. It compressed nothing but air as the creature moved too fast for Imri's Spatial Compression. In a fluid motion, the Chixel lashed out with the dagger, scoring a light gash across Imri’s arm. Despite the cut being superficial, it burned with an agony that felt worse than what the hound had done to his arm, and he nearly dropped his weapon
The Chixel continued to dart back and forth, easily avoiding Imri’s clumsy strikes with his dagger. With each strike Imri made, the Chixel scored another light wound, each burning with white-hot agony nearly unbearable. The Chixel grinned a smug satisfaction in knowing he was the superior fighter. Despite this, the creature was cautious, only taking large openings to deliver minor injuries before jumping out of reach.
Every instinct in Imri’s body screamed at him to avoid the dagger the Chixel wielded and the pain it inflicted. The physical agony was nothing compared to what the dagger would do if it managed to kill him. That would be a fate far worse than any death before the system; it would be a true death, with his soul sent into the crystal. Despite every instinct telling Imri to get far away, his rational brain asserted itself. He would die if he tried to run, as there was no way he would outrun the far faster Chixel.
When the Chixel made its next strike, it was caught off guard as Imri didn’t bother to avoid the slash. Instead, Imri stepped in closer, taking a deeper gash across his arm. The pain seared into his brain, far worse than anything Imri thought possible. Imri ignored it, reaching desperately to grapple with the slippery lizard-like creature. Despite its superior agility, the Chixel’s momentum and surprise worked against it. Imri managed to grab the creature, his shoulder slamming into its waist while he used his hands to lift its legs, tackling it to the ground. The two hit the ground hard, with Imri’s weight landing on Chixel’s slight frame. The Chixel struggled to breathe as the impact knocked all the air from his lungs. Imri took advantage, hammering his opponent's face while he held onto the Chixel’s hand with the soul-stealing dagger. Imri got in a few good blows, but eventually, the lizard creature recovered, using its agility to evade the clumsy blows Imri attempted. It squirmed around, struggling to free itself.
Imri’s strength waned as the Chixel thrashed and squirmed about, slowly wriggling its way free from the amateur wrestling moves Imri had employed. Imri desperately held on, knowing he would die if the creature freed itself. Despite his determination, his body and soul failed him, as it was too damaged to move how he wanted it to. The priest managed to reverse positions, getting on top of Imri. If it were only a matter of strength, Imri would have held, but the creature was fast and slippery, slowly gaining a better position. At that moment, Imri knew he was doomed.