"On the surface, magic and reality bending both allow you to do otherwise impossible things." Rusty began. "However, the two disciplines go about it in opposite ways.

"Magic uses mana, a kind of energy that every mind generates, to bind symbols and meaning and impose them upon the world. It allows you to ignore the rules of reality because you use a different set of rules instead; one of thoughts and references. The problem with this is that sustaining most effects requires a constant supply of mana, otherwise the spiritual realm - the part of reality in which souls and other immaterial concepts reside - recedes, and with it the rules that govern it, and regular laws of physics apply once again.

"Reality bending, on the other hand, is forcing the laws of physics themselves to change in a given area. While a mage would make themselves lighter by, say, imbibing their body with the concept of weightlessness, a reality bender would force gravity to affect them to a lesser extent. The problem with this method is that it requires the user to have a stronger Presence than the area they are in, and aside from spending Attribute points, there aren't many easy ways to gain more, and to actually bend reality in a meaningful way you need quite a lot of it."

"So magic ignores the rules of reality, while reality bending overwrites them?" Acacia summarised.

"Essentially, yes."

"In that case, I don't understand why casting with low Presence could kill me."

"Presence is a measure of how 'real' you are, as far as mundane physics are concerned. The lower the Presence, the weaker your ties to conventional reality, and magic further erodes that connection. Specifically, stray mana does. System-provided spells come with knowledge on how to cast them on an almost masterful level, meaning mana loss is negligible, and won't affect you. But trying to learn a spell on your own will initially be very wasteful, and that wasted mana gets released around you, bringing the spiritual realm closer. And if you lack Presence to anchor yourself, move the spiritual recedes... you will leave with it. Stuck as a pure concept until your very being erodes to nothing but a cloud of stray thoughts."

That sent a shiver down Acacia's spine.

"I thought you said you don't know much about this stuff." She quickly changed the subject.

"Yes, this is basic education for new rifters and any children born here. We refer to those as locals, by the way. Since the system provides many different avenues for one's development, Citadel's government decided to introduce people to all the available paths."

The two were now passing by a street lined with multiple-story apartment buildings. Despite that, Acacia only spotted a couple of people - half of them what could more or less be described as humanoid - walking the dark grey walkways.

She had a more pressing question than that first, however.

"What even is the system? I understand that here it's a fact of life, but on Earth things like this were only present in games or other fiction."

Rusty's features lit up, which was impressive considering she possessed no face.

"Time for a history lesson! So, from what we know, the Barren wasn't always, well, barren. It was a chaotic mess of materials and creatures rifted in from millions of universes, constantly changing. Naturally, this meant that surviving here was incredibly difficult. The creator god wanted it to-"

"Hold on, god?" Acacia interrupted her. "So deities, or, at least one deity, are real, confirmed phenomena? Or is this a creation myth you're telling me?"

"Gods are real, in quite a few worlds." Rusty confirmed. "In short, they are very powerful mages and reality benders in one. A god is someone who has entrenched themself so deeply in both the spiritual and the physical layers of existence that they are impossible to truly destroy. The vast majority of worlds were created by some god or another.

"Anyway. As I was saying, the Barren's creator planned for this world to be a deity breeding ground of sorts. Adversity requires adaptation, and with power comes more adaptability, so in a constantly shifting world, people would have no choice but to get progressively stronger. Until they would achieve godhood themselves. Or die, of course.

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"To aid in this, the god set up the system. It's... the simplest way I can describe it is an angel factory that produces a dedicated being to monitor and aid every sapient. What we call 'the system' is actually a myriad of angels, each serving as an incentive and reinforcement for their assigned person."

"Angels." Acacia deadpanned. "Like, with wings and dozens of eyes. Those angels?"

Rusty laughed in that grinding, chortling way again.

"An angel is an sentient creation of a god, a spiritual machine given a specific purpose. In this case, the system angels manage enhancing you, embedding skills and traits into your body, mind, and soul, and rewarding you with more resources to do all of that for you pushing your limits and becoming more skilled with what you already have."

"So, train, fight, and otherwise advance, and my guardian angel will reward me with more power."

"Exactly!"

Acacia nodded. "Okay, time to address the elephant in the room, or rather, the lack thereof. Where is everyone? This is a metropolis, how come there's no one on the streets? No traffic?"

Rusty seemed to tense up, even as the two kept walking. "I suppose it is the time to explain the... socioeconomic situation in Citadel. We are now in what's called the inner city. Most people live on the outskirts. To live in the inner city, you must rent a home here, which is usually too expensive for most. Additionally, about three months ago we had a particularly sizeable dust mite stampede, which dealt a blow to our population. Still, the colony endures."

"So, there's thousands of buildings sitting empty, just because the rulers decided to charge a lot of money for them? How different are the accommodations between here and outskirts, anyway?"

"The dwelling on the outskirts are much simpler, shops have less luxury goods, and the bare minimum sustenance is 'bland' from what I heard. Inner city is much more comfortable in comparison, and provides more opportunities of entertainment like theaters or restaurants. This is to encourage people to make greater contributions to our economy."

Acacia was rolling her eyes. It seemed to her like a caricature of the already despicable capitalistic practices from Earth, with the notable exception of not having to work just to survive. Then again, considering that people didn't age and "greying out" was instead the leading cause of death, barring entertainment behind a hefty paywall was similar.

"What's the government like?"

"The most influential rulers are twelve Councillors forming the Council of Citadel. Their rules are final, but even people as strong as them have cognitive limits, so in their stead, Directors are appointed to take charge of the various sectors the colony is divided into. Directors decide the law in their appointed sector, subject to the Council, of course, and are replaced every fifty years."

"Fifty?!" Acacia repeated, shocked.

"Yes. A Director may not be re-appointed to rule again in any sector after their term is over, though."

"What if the Director is clearly unfit to lead?"

"Then you are free to move to a different sector. Right to decide which sector you live in is protected by the constitution. Or, if you really want to, you can kill the current Director to take their place. And yes, it is an official policy. If you can prove you're the one who killed them, you take their position. The official reason is to support the original purpose of the system, that being strife driving progress."

"And the unofficial reason?"

Rusty moved her orb close to Acacia's face and lowered her voice. "To make sure revolutions gather against the lower management and not the Council."

Acacia widened her eyes, surprised at the sudden honesty and the seriousness in her guide's tone.

"I've introduced thousands to Citadel, I get a good read on people. You're smart enough to know how this type of system works, and idealistic enough to try do something about it given the potential that the System gives you. You'll stir something up, sooner or later. Good. I'm no combatant, I won't join whatever riot you cause. But I can give you some advice. The Council are a bunch of old monsters. 'Turn the whole city to rubble in an hour' level monsters, each and every one of them. You need to get strong, though they'll notice when you get too strong yourself. So you also need people. Lots of them, strong themselves. Your best bet is signing up as a scavenger. Dangerous job, which means you'll grow fast, and your coworkers will too. Until it's go time, try to stay low."

Acacia slowly nodded. "I'm surprised you're so amicable to... my plans. And you are right, if I can do magic I do want to explode a rich dude with my mind. A full fledged revolution, though... sounds scary. And tempting. I might do it, I might not. Thanks for the tips. I'm assuming they're from experience?"

Rusty bobbed her orb up and down to emulate nodding. That the mechanical woman didn't elaborate was telling enough.

Acacia took a deep breath. "Alright, I'm just gonna act as if these past few minutes didn't happen, then. So, organisation. What's the currency, how do yall tell the time, the sort of things necessary to participate the day to day life here."

Rusty launched into a long explanation, her tone cheery as if no suspicious exchange occurred.