Rachel swung her stick aimlessly through a clump of ferns; she still couldn’t get over the way the plants swayed to avoid being touched. “I don’t understand how magic is a thing here. Are we in some kind of alternate reality or mirror universe like in sci fi?”
Ket stopped and turned their head to stare down at her. “What do those terms mean?”
“Okay, never mind that.” The conversation kept hitting speed bumps like this; the translation created an illusion that they were speaking the same language, but missing so many references. She tried a different route, “If we got in a spaceship could we fly from this planet to my home?”
“Of course.”
“So it’s the same universe. Then how can magic work here and not there? Doesn’t that defy the laws of physics or something? Gravity and conservation of energy type stuff.”
“Ah, I see what is causing the confusion.” Ket resumed walking. “There are no universal laws of physics. The System determines what will happen when it integrates a planet.”
“But what about science and mathematical proofs? Don’t all planets have to exist under certain universal truths before System changes?” She really wanted to hear that her past understanding of how things work wasn’t complete fiction.
“Maybe, or maybe not. We don’t know. Although, some theorize that there are no places untouched by a System, just ones where it has gone dormant, withdrawn, or expired somehow. Then a new System arrives and applies its own reality. It’s a fascinating topic and the debates get quite heated.” They sounded quite cheerful and Rachel had to fight the impulse to kick her companion in the leg.
Instead she sighed and changed the subject. “In video games we would have a display showing levels and stats, maybe armor and magical items. How do I know how close I am to the next level? Or even my current level?”
A movement of the ferns off to the side caught her eye. “What is that?” she asked just as something moving quickly enough that even the plants couldn’t avoid it rushed towards Ket’s rear leg. They tried to swing away from the attack, but it was too fast and a mouth full of teeth latched onto a knee joint.
“Aaaeee!” The pained whistle jerked Rachel out of her frozen state of panic and she jumped forward, smashing her stick across the creature’s back. It released Ket and turned hissing at her. When it lunged for her, Ket struck with their mid-legs and it swung back to face them.
Part of Rachel’s mind felt detached from the violence and observed details: the creature was about knee-high, covered with thick, mottled purple and black fur, and had six legs. It also had slowed down after the initial speedy attack, but the fur seemed to be blunting her blows. If Ket wasn’t equipped with sharp, claw-like toes on their mid-legs, they both would have been in a dire situation.
Needing to make more of an impact in the fight, Rachel adjusted to a batter’s stance and aimed for the head. Simply stopping herself from backing away made it easier for Ket to keep the animal in striking distance. Finally, Ket managed to snap something in its spine and moved to dispatch it.
Rachel couldn’t tear her eyes from the dead animal; how could it go from terrifying to something almost pathetic? And why were her hands shaking so badly now that the danger was over? The teeth, those were going to haunt her sleep for a long time. That reminded her of Ket’s injury and she hurried over to help. They weren’t very flexible and couldn’t even reach their own rear legs to tend the wound. She found the chitin was deeply scored and punctures in the joint were oozing a clear liquid.
“What should I concentrate on? Is it better to apply a bandage first or go straight to healing?” She noted a tremor in the leg and her worrying moved up a notch.
“Healing first. Attempt to stop the leaking. We don’t have anything to seal the wound and too much hemolymph loss may cost me the leg.”
Drawing up the healing blue light, she focused on patching the holes and saw a film form before a wave of exhaustion swept over and knocked her to her knees. “Whoa!” she panted. “That was brutal. Is it always going to feel like this?”
Ket’s delicate hands turned her arm and pointed to the blue outline. “Only when you completely deplete your mana stores. This is why you must keep healing and build up how much mana is available.”
“Look! I’ve got a little yellow now in my third bar.” Her brow furrowed as she realized she didn’t even know what her secondary class was. “How did I increase that without knowing?”
“Probably when you struck the rodent from behind.” Ket sounded distracted while carefully moving the injured leg. “I don’t think I’ll be able to travel on this.”
“No, not without tearing the punctures open again. I want to know what my other class is and why I wasn’t told.”
“It’s not a secret; I didn’t think it was a priority while we’re in a forest and there is so much information you still need.
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“When one reaches level 10, a selection of secondary classes is available depending on experiences, need, and, apparently, our own desires. I don’t know what your options would have been, but the System chose your secondary class as Assassin. That should increase your dexterity and stealth once you’re fully integrated. That is, if human classes match what other species have experienced. Sneak attacks will give you progress in the class.”
“Uh huh, I’m an assassin. Right. How is that in any way a sensible choice for a healer?” Flinging her hands in the air, she spun away and almost fell over the carcass. A sudden thought sent her back to Ket, “What are your classes? And what’s your level?”
“I am level 14 and my classes are Manager and Adventurer.” Ket stated this in a flat, factual voice, but something triggered Rachel’s ‘mom instincts’ that there was an issue to be discussed. Then the actual words sunk in.
“Huh?” Rachel’s mind went blank as she tried and failed to fit that information into what she understood so far. Instead of explaining, Ket moved around her and began to butcher the animal using their sharp mid-leg feet. “Um, do we have a way to cook that?”
“I should be able to start a fire. Can you locate dry kindling? I would prefer not to move much. Also, a rodent of this size needs an easy and reliable water source, so locating that will be very helpful.”
Deciding that unraveling the meaning behind Ket’s unusual classes could wait, Rachel began her search in the direction the rat-thing had come from. Discovering a game trail put her on high-alert; how could she possibly survive another attack alone? Her mana level was trickling back up, but not enough to heal herself if injured. After walking about ten minutes the path opened up to a small clearing with a spring-fed pool of water. The ferns ended at the tree line where hanging vines draped from the branches. Close to the water were small bushes covered by seed pods full of puffy down. A rattling noise all around made her jump and peer into the undergrowth nervously. Then she spotted clumps of gourds hanging from the vines that were shaking in the breeze. When she tugged on a gourd, it snapped off its stem revealing a hollow interior, almost as if it were designed to carry water. Shoving handfuls of pod fluff into her pockets and cradling a full gourd in one arm while the other kept her stick up and ready, she headed back.
Ket had arranged chunks of meat on sticks and gathered all the nearby fallen branches. Using dry leaves and twigs, they already had a fire burning and the first pieces of meat cooking. “Before you ask, although it may not taste good, any meat is safe for consumption by all who are part of the System.”
Handing over the water, she asked, “Are animals in the System?”
“Yes and no. Only sentients have levels and classes, but animals are integrated, altered, and used as needed. Some animals seem to cross the sentience threshold also. The unexpected tends to happen at that point.” Laying down awkwardly with the injured leg stretched out behind, Ket shifted the cooking food before continuing, “You were asking about levels and how the knowledge is conveyed; many of the planets adapted by the System do not have a written language. The color bands are used by all, although not all see the same spectrum so those can be different. Somewhere on you should be a line which indicates level ten. Additional marks will be added with each level until twenty when they will be replaced with a second line. You probably also want to know why my classes are so different from yours. This is beyond the basics your son and the others were told.
“The System makes use of the different peoples within its influence; each serves a purpose. As you were told, the natives of this planet host trials. Another species recruits trial participants and yet another does transport. My people monitor the trials. There are currently five separate trials for the humans plus similar numbers for two other new species happening. Thus, fewer than 500 of us working directly for the System is normal. It is a great privilege to be selected for this and brings prestige and honor to family and clan. The only way into the program is having Manager as base class, but it is also commonly used to begin other life paths, so many start with it. My parent-group desired that I follow this path.”
“But what if you wanted to do something else with your life?”
Ket made an agitated chittering noise that didn’t translate before answering, “Defying your parent-group’s wishes is considered shameful and reflects poorly on the clan. That almost never happens.
“I chose Manager class, spent the following cycles studying the histories of the trials, training and testing with other students, and was selected for the program. When I was assigned to Ktikikt’s team, I learned about humans until it was time for the trial to begin.”
“So, were you sent as my companion because of your secondary class? Or is Adventurer also a common choice?”
“Ah, no. Mediator would have been the logical path for me. Only a deviant would choose to be an Adventurer.”
Rachel recognized this last statement as a direct quote from someone who felt entitled to comment on Ket’s life choice, probably a parent. “Could a mediator start a fire? Or kill a rat-thing? I think I might be fortunate you picked an unusual class.”
Ket stared straight at her for a long moment before making a complicated gesture that was meaningless to her; the translator apparently only applied to spoken words. “My skills should be more advanced by level 14, but this is the first time I’ve been able to gain actual experience. A weapon that keeps attackers at a distance would help in our next encounter.”
“What about a staff or spear? Or is there something else that you’ve used or practiced with?”
“Why would I have ever used a weapon? There is nothing to fight on my home world.”
“No wars or mock battles for competition?”
Ket drew back sharply, hissing in a way that made Rachel feel like she had said something repulsive in polite company. She hurried to apologize, “Sorry! I’ll follow your lead.”
They settled back down, somewhat more stiffly than before and handed her a stick of cooked meat. It was tough and stringy, but the hardest part to stomach was an odor reminiscent of antelope. Although the unpleasantness was mitigated when she saw how quickly her mana bar refilled as she ate. Showing this to Ket, she asked, “Will this happen whenever I eat or is there something special about this beast?”
“Again, I am unable to answer your question. The foods available to the others did not seem to affect their mana replenishment, but there could be something locally that saturates animals with mana, or maybe it’s just this kind.”
By this time the daylight was beginning to fade, leading to a discussion on the dangers of moving closer to the game trail and the water. In the end, Ket cooked the rest of the meat while Rachel dragged the carcass away and gathered more wood to keep the fire going. One final healing of Ket’s leg drained her enough to make sleeping on the ground possible and she let her first day on an alien world come to a close.