"I want to go on record, you said it wouldn't be a volcano, this looks a lot like a volcano."
"I said, 'surely it won't be a volcano'. You're right, this does look like a volcano."
"You don't think I actually have to throw myself into it do you?"
The professor didn't respond.
"Professor?"
"I don't know."
"That's it?"
"Till, I want to help, but short of pop culture references there is very little I can provide here."
"Pop culture… I'd forgotten that about you."
"I actually thought you were similar, in the beginning, because of your love of anime."
"One anime, just one. Outside of that…"
"Tell me you got more hobbies after university, Till. Please tell me the Department didn't consume you like your degree did."
"I can't, the only reason I'm out here is because my Captain, my boss, forced me to take leave for the first time in seven years."
"Till… I'm sorry."
"Don't be, I am who I am. There are worse things to be addicted to. Archaeology and fire fighting are pretty low on the list of problem addiction."
"They are, but still. Has there been anyone special since Maddy?"
"Please don't bring her up."
"Alex, are you ok?"
"Right now?"
"Were you ok? Before the Initiation."
Alex stared at the talking Tome that was filled with the knowledge and memories of his Archaeology Professor from seven years ago.
"What do you want from me? No! No, I wasn't ok, no I'm not ok. When Maddy died, part of me died with her and it's not something I can ever get back. You, or the real professor, blames herself. I survived, I had to- I had to- I had to listen to her and Ben burning. I heard them scream, I heard her, she… she… asked me to kill her in the end. I couldn't, but she was in so much pain. It broke me. All I got was this bloody scar."
Alex ran a finger from just below his jaw, to his shoulder and onto his chest.
"That isn't all you got, Till. Did you speak to anyone?"
"Speak to anyone? About hearing the love of my life and Ben… my best mate, burn to death? About Maddy begging me to end her pain. About Maddy's parents hating me now, blaming me for everything." Alex rubbed a hand over his face and looked up at the volcano while blinking rapidly. "No! Damn it Professor, I haven't talked about this since… I don't know when. I locked it away, on purpose."
"Till-"
"No. That's enough, professor."
With that, Alex walked towards the micro-volcano and didn't look back. The floating Tome shimmered and for a moment it was replaced by a tall older woman whose hand extended after Alex and tears flowed down her face. Moments later the Tome was back and all signs of the woman were gone.
Alex walked up a rough track that ran around the outside of the Volcano, quietly simmering with anger and shame. He'd kept his emotions locked away since Maddy and Ben had died, but the professor had torn the locks off.
Entered - Fire Attunement Zone
Attunement - 0%
Alex reached the lip of the volcano and looked down into the lava.
Attunement - 1%
"1%, for walking up the outside?"
"Anything on your HUD?"
Alex looked at the debuff section of his HUD and spotted a small flame.
Passive Attunement Rate - 10 minutes:1%
"That isn't amazing…"
"Till… what are you planning?"
"Why do you sound so nervous?"
"You have a look in your eye that I've never seen."
Alex started down the inner track.
"Till?"
Alex didn't reply.
"Alex, what are you planning?"
"I need to improve my attunement and my resistance, so I'm going to do that."
"How?"
"Swimming."
"Swimming? In the lava?"
"I can't think of a better place right now."
"Alex… that doesn't seem… that seems reckless."
"What isn't reckless these days?"
"Still. There's recklessly fighting spine variants, then there is recklessly swimming in lava to speed up your attunement."
"I need to get stronger. It's that simple. I'm trading pain for strength, or Inner Fire."
"You could die."
"Then I die. I have no illusions about the System and my part in it. I fight until I'm done. If I die getting stronger then… then my fight is over. If I don't get stronger then I die anyway."
"I guess. But, don't you want to stay alive?"
"Of course. I also want to get stronger."
Alex stopped at the edge of the lava and looked down.
"Shouldn't it be hotter, this close to the lava I mean."
"Your Attributes and your elemental connection to fire seem to already be providing resilience."
Alex held the head of his axe over the lava then watched fascinated as motes of fire lifted from the surface and were absorbed into the axe. Without thinking about it Alex stepped into the surface, his boot cracked the crust on top and broke through, releasing a small fire plume which instantly turned his boot and jeans to ash.
"Till!"
"It's OK…"
Alex took another step and fire coursed up his legs, leaving him wreathed in fire from the waist down. With another couple of steps he was up to his knees, his shirt and jacket went the way of his jeans and boots.
"I was going to suggest you take those off."
"That would've been smarter. Do you have any other clothes?"
"Street clothes, not working clothes."
"Damn."
Attunement - 22%
With another few steps the lava was at his waist.
Fire Resistance Increased To 5
With a deep breath, Alex sank down until he was completely submerged.
Attunement - 67%
Fire Resistance Increased To 8
"Till? Are you nearly done?"
That was when Alex made a mistake, he opened his mouth and lava rushed down his throat. His scream was stolen before it emerged and he lost consciousness submerged in lava.
Attunement - 100%
Fire Resistance Increased To 13
Fire Attunement Zone - C-Grade (Level 20) Complete
Inner Fire Increased by 7
Constitution Increased by 2
Experience Gained - 2179
Level Up
Level Up
Attributes:
Strength: 166
Constitution: 93
Inner Fire: 68
Agility: 39
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 11
Available Stat Points - 6
Alex pushed the 6 points into Agility.
Agility: 45
Available Stat Points - 0
Emerging from the lava Alex winced, while his skin glowed with an ethereal light some patches had been burned away. The injuries healed quickly, the healing from a level-up having already returned him to full health, the physical damage taking more time to be wiped away. He opened his mouth to speak then realised that his throat and tongue were the last parts of his body to heal. Instead, he pulled up his Map and marked the next Fire Attunement Zone.
Fire Attunement Zone - C-Grade (Level 30)
Waypoint Set
Setting off up the track Alex noticed that small rocks were pulverised by his footsteps, his Strength plus what must be a rather considerable weight meant his bare feet hit the ground like piledrivers.
"Feel better?"
"Much. Seven points in Inner Fire! Not something to complain about."
"A good reward for stupidity. But I'll accept that two levels and increases to Inner Fire and Constitution are impressive gains."
Alex broke into a run and the Professor clothed him from it's inventory.
"Thanks, Professor."
"You're welcome Till. Are you going to do that again?"
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
"As soon as we get to the level 30 Attunement Zone. I think I can stay in for longer next time, which should increase my Resistance and Inner Fire further."
"What then?"
"Then level 40 so I can push for the level 40 Attunement Zone."
"Dare I ask…?"
"Level 50."
"And the Attunement Zone."
Alex increased his running speed further while scanning everything in sight.
"Vance was level 129 and that was nothing to him. Earth 0 is late to the Multiverse so every day I'm not progressing I'm falling further behind. I need to level and I need to improve."
Alex pulled up the leaderboard.
Planetary Leaderboard
Jäger (36)
R34P3R (26)
Aisha Patel (24)
Brigette O’Driscoll (24)
Gina Kritsotakis (24)
Gareth O’Driscoll (24)
Dave (24)
Lars Andersen (23)
Jamerson Dean (23)
Eduardo Santos (23)
Li Yingchao (22)
Angel 92 (22)
Olivia Mendez (22)
Darth (22)
Liu Zheng (21)
Ji-hyun Kim (21)
Matia Silva (21)
Kaneko Kiyoshi (21)
Akira Nakamura (20)
Min-jun Park (20)
After reviewing the leaderboard Alex pulled up the Map which showed a hunting quest close by.
"Slight detour for a quest."
Hunting Quest
Kyrn Rats have spilt through a Multiverse Tear from Earth 39, eradicate these pests before they reproduce
0%
"Kyrn Rats?"
"No idea… oh my! Actually, I have the records from a dig site. They look like a cross between a rat on steroids and a bear. Surely that's an ancient variant."
"Nope, Roid Rat Bear is a fair description."
Kyrn Rat (Level 34) x11 - This rat has evolved from the offspring produced by illegal experimentation on Earth 39. Using large Water Rats and Grizzly Bear variants the scientists produced what was meant to be a cavalry alternative for rough hilly terrain. The Kyrn Rats reproduced and soon decimated all other life on Earth 39. They have since developed a low level of intelligence forming small communities. Susceptible to Slashing damage.
"They look like roided out bears with rat heads… they're hard to look at."
"They really are unpleasant, more so with flesh. The skeleton was bad enough."
"I guess I'm up."
Alex withdrew his axe, instantly feeling more relaxed as he felt the Volcanic heat warm his hands. The rats growled and issued low roars as they charged.
"Primal Fury! Blazing Fury!"
Strength - 362*
Alex swung down, cleaving into the Earth between himself and the ground of Kyrn Rats, instantly creating a Firestorm which consisted of gusts of fire which hammered at the Rats, burning their flesh and setting their fur on fire. He cleaved into the first Rat, splitting it in half then Smouldering Embers kicked in, creating the Ring of Fire under him and extending the ethereal chains to each Rat. Another ten of the roided creatures clawed their way through the Multiverse Tear.
Kyrn Rat (Level 34) x20
"Flame Whirlwind."
The Volcanic Axe swung like it had a mind of its own, slicing into flesh and bone like it was butter and Alex laughed, he laughed and his eyes burned with blood lust. Small Fire Elementals erupted from his axe like fiery meteors and splashed against the living Rats and burned them further. The chains tightened pulling the creatures closer and Smouldering Embers increased the damage the creatures sustained from fire. More rats appeared, appearing into his maelstrom of blood, fire and fury. Body parts smouldered in the flames. The combination of Blazing Fury and Flame Whirlwind meant that all the rats saw was a spinning flame, all they heard was terrible laughter. The roars turned to terrified screeching and still Alex came, like an inevitable storm of fire and death.
"Till?"
"Yes professor."
"You enjoyed that, didn't you?"
"A little too much I think."
"You laughed as you slaughtered them… some of them killed each other to get away from you."
"Really? I didn't notice."
"You worry me Till."
Alex smiled then grimaced and spat.
"Rat blood."
Primal Fury II Fades
Blazing Fury Fades
Loot received:
3100 C-Grade Credits
"Not a bad haul, considering they're Rats."
Hunting Quest
Kyrn Rats have spilt through a Multiverse Tear from Earth 39, eradicate these pests before they reproduce
100%
Quest Completed
Quest Rewards
3700 C-Grade Credits
5350 Experience
Level Up
Level Up
Level Up
Name: Alex Till
Race: Human (Earth 0)
Class: Fire Warrior
Titles: Planetary Forerunner 100, Multiverse Forerunner, Multiverse Dungeon Diver
Level: 39
Attributes:
Strength: 175
Constitution: 99
Inner Fire: 74
Agility: 45
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 11
Available Stat Points - 9
Alex pushed one point into Constitution and eight into Inner Fire.
Constitution: 100
Inner Fire: 82
Available Stat Points - 0
"So close."
"Level 40?"
"Of course. Do you think I'm Levelling faster than normal?"
"Yes. Vance said to stay solo as it increases how quickly you advance."
"I haven't really had a choice. But I prefer it this way."
"With Charisma at 11 I don't blame you."
"Are you… Attribute Shaming me?"
"That's not a thing."
"That's totally a thing."
"This is why you have no friends."
"That's cold professor."
"You can take it."
"Because I've dealt with worse?"
"Because you have Inner Fire."
Alex just looked at the Tome and shook his head.
"On that note, I think we're done here."
----------------------------------------
Entered - Fire Attunement Zone
Attunement - 0%
"That took a day and we didn't run into anything. This area seems bigger than before the Initiation."
"It's possible. I'll review archaeological records to see if there are any verified accounts related to geographical anomalies after Initiation. A lot of other Earths were Initiated early, it's rare for one to develop as far as Earth 0."
"I wonder why it happened."
"It's possible we'll never know. Unless you visit another Earth or Vance pops in for another visit."
Attunement - 1%
Alex and the Professor made their way down into the volcano's lava-filled interior.
"I can tell that this is going to be worse."
"This Attunement Zone is ten levels higher, Till."
"Getting back in the lava is going to be rough."
Alex approached the edge of the lava and-
"Till, clothes!"
"Right, right. This is the last of it."
After removing his clothing he stepped onto the lava surface and as soon as the crust on top cracked he knew it was going to be a lot worse. The fire coursed up his leg and he screamed as his skin started to melt. Gritting his teeth he followed up with several more steps until he was up to his knees.
Fire Resistance Increased To 11
"God, I needed that!"
Alex shuffled further into the lava until the surface went past his waist.
Fire Resistance Increased To 13
"Till, you can stop."
"Not… yet."
Attunement - 36%
Crouching down he slipped his body into the lava until he was completely submerged, making sure to scream silently and not open his mouth.
Fire Resistance Increased To 17
Attunement - 68%
The pain was increasing, his body couldn't hold back the fire and lava coursing around him and he submitted completely, feeling his bones liquefy and his blood evaporate.
Alex came to with the professor hovering over his face.
"Till! Till!"
"Waaa?"
Alex couldn't move and his tongue would barely respond. Looking around his HUD he saw three flashing notifications.
Fire Attunement Zone - C-Grade (Level 30) Complete
Inner Fire Increased by 9
Constitution Increased by 4
Experience Gained - 3179
Fire Resistance Increased To 23
Level Up
Level Up
Bonus Quest - Reach Level 40
Quest Complete
Quest Rewards
Title Earned - Multiverse Elite
Be the first on Earth 0 to reach Level 40
Each stat is increased by 10
Class Change Available
Class Enhancement Available
Name: Alex Till
Race: Human (Earth 0)
Class: Fire Warrior*
Titles: Planetary Forerunner 100, Multiverse Forerunner, Multiverse Dungeon Diver, Multiverse Elite
Level: 41
Attributes:
Strength: 191
Constitution: 114
Inner Fire: 96
Agility: 55
Wisdom: 22
Charisma: 21
Available Stat Points - 6
Alex pushed his available points into Constitution.
Constitution: 120
Available Stat Points - 0
Looking down he could see no change in his body from the first one after the Initiation. Running a finger over his old burn scars proved they were still there.
"You made it to 40."
"Pushing for 50 now."
"No rest, Till?"
"No rest."
"Class change?"
"Not a chance! This Enhancement should be interesting."
Opening his class screen he looked at the options.
Class Change
Yes/No
"No."
Class Enhancement
Yes/No
"Yes."
Class Enhancement Options
Increase Fire Damage
Yes/No
Learn Skill
Yes/No
Learn Ability
Yes/No
"Thoughts professor?"
"They're all good options. Historically speaking… an additional Skill or Ability will be more beneficial. It may increase your Fire damage, or it will provide another benefit."
"That's true. What to choose… the Skills gave me some good defensive options, while the Abilities were really exciting. I'm pretty strong Skillswise, the utility of a new Ability… I think."
Alex started walking away from the lava, then froze, really taking the area in.
"Where is all the lava?"
"Oh, noticed that did you? Before you woke up from your nap your body turned into fire, or plasma, I don't know which and burnt away all of the lava."
"I… what? I was hotter than lava?"
"Yes."
"That's… I don't even know."
"Leaving the volcano?'
Alec looked around and nodded slowly before walking to the path while staring at his hands.
"Yes, learn Ability."
Initiating
Initiating
Ability Learned: Flame Manipulation: Manipulate and control fire, shape it into various forms for offensive and defensive purposes, more powerful if Smouldering Embers is active
"That isn't what I would've picked, but it'll do."
"What did you want?"
"Ember Form, or the Multiverse travel option."
"I should've known. You can still get them. Eventually."
"I know. It's just, popping over to another Earth would be amazing. Turning into flame… that would be incredible."
"We talked about the Multiverse Ability, at your level it would be too dangerous. What if you ended up on Earth 39 and-"
"The Kyrn Rat Earth?"
"Yes. What if you ended up there? The Rats have taken over that planet. What level would the Kyrn leaders be, what level would any of them be? Levelling up is necessary, but you need to be smart about it."
"I hear you Professor."
Alex scanned the map around him, looking for another Attunement Zone and more quests."
"I'm thinking we hit some more quests then a Level 40 Attunement Zone…"
Alex trailed off.
"What is it?"
"Home. The next Attunement Zone is a day from the city."
"This doesn't look like Nevada."
"No… it's almost like the Initiation completely altered local geography, extending the Jarbridge Wilderness to the city, just deleting the desert..."
Alex trailed off again.
"What's wrong?"
"I hadn't planned on going back, at least… not yet."
"You wanted to stay out here? On the knife edge?"
"Why not? This new world suits me, it's less complicated."
"No, the world isn't less complicated, quite the opposite. It's far more complicated and out here, alone, you can hide from it."
"I…". Till let out a deep shuddering breath. "I don't know if I'm ready to go back to the city."
"Till, you weren't ready to become an archaeologist, so you became a firefighter. You weren't ready to talk about what happened in the accident so you let your new work consume you, hiding from your emotions. Your life has been a series of 'not readys', maybe it's time to fake the readiness and just do what it is you're afraid of."
"Don't be too gentle, professor."
"I'm an AI, not a psychiatrist, Till."
"True." Till released another suffering breath and crumbled in on himself then stood up straighter. "You're right. But, not yet. I'll get to level 50 and clear the next Attunement Zone, then I'll head into the city."
"Is that all?"
"Fine, I'll also kill an Elite. Two at most."
"Is that all?"
"Yes, that's all."
"Good, now, that's 9 levels, a volcano and two Elites. What could go wrong?