[49:12:45]

A few hours later the shambling form of Buck stumbled into the graveyard.To any passerby, he would have looked like a rotting corpse clawing its way out of the earth to haunt the living. His skin was stained with dried blood, his jorts torn and caked with dirt from where he’d been dragged through the forest by the coyotes. The shallow cuts had healed, but he was surprised to see that even at 16 Endurance the deeper wounds had still not stitched themselves back together.

“Evander! William!” Buck croaked, his voice hoarse and ragged. He collapsed next to a grave in the outer ring of his Kingdom, cradling his left arm. It was a mess. During the fight, he’d made a split-second decision: the source required to hold [Guard] was too high, so instead he had sacrificed his arm. Now, it hung limp and mangled, the fingers swollen and useless, like overcooked sausages dangling from a butcher’s hook. That [Adult Coyote] had torn into it with a vengeance, leaving deep gashes that pulsed with every heartbeat.

Buck’s vision blurred as he slumped against the cold stone. The last thing he remembered was the sound of tiny paws scurrying toward him before everything went black.

—

When Buck awoke, he was lying on the cold, hard surface of the Apothecary table. The smell of herbs and something faintly metallic filled the air. His body ached, but the sharp, searing pain had dulled to a throbbing ache. He tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness forced him back down

“Good, you’re awake,” came Evander’s squeaky voice. The hamster stood on a hereby stool, his tiny arms crossed. “You’ve almost healed up. Time to get back out there.”

Buck groaned, his vision still swimming. “Back out there? I just got torn apart by a pack of demon coyotes, and you’re already sending me back to the slaughterhouse?”

Evander shrugged. “The Root does not care about your feelings, Blackwood. It only cares about results.”

Before Buck could retort, his blurry vision caught movement to his left. A pair of sharp, yellow eyes stared back at him. His heart leapt into his throat as he rolled off the table, hitting the ground with a grunt. He scrambled to his feet, his fists raised, only to realize the coyote wasn’t moving. It was dead, its grotesque body splayed out on the table.

A high-pitched crackle broke the silence. “By all that is unholy, Blackwood, you gave me a good laugh!” Evander said, hopping down from the stool. “I was glad to see you had the sense to grab those corpses before you stumbled your way back into the Kingdom. These are called coyotes? They look quite fierce. Was there more than the three you brought back?”

Buck blinked, his mind racing. How had Evander gotten his hands on the corpses? When he’d tried to remove anything from his Inventory he received that infuriating Error message. Did Evander have some secret way to access Inventories?

“Do you have access to my Inventory, Evander?” Buck asked, his voice tinged with suspicion. “I might have been getting ripped apart by those godsforsaken beasts, but I seem to remember adding them to mine, not yours.”

Evander gave Buck another blank stare. “I keep forgetting you missed the entire Tutorial. Inventories are not player specific. Your Nexus holds all items you or any Citizen of your Kingdom picks up. You have the ability to restrict certain items to different people, and once populations get real big, most Rulers create a Contribution system so that Citizens can get access to different Inventories. It promotes the growth of the Kingdom over the growth of the individual.”

Buck frowned. If what the hamster was saying was true, it was no wonder he had such a low opinion of the Old Gods. That would mean that any Citizen would be at the absolute beck and call of whoever was their Ruler. Why would anyone join a Kingdom at that point? Why would anyone willingly place themselves under the rule of a Tyrant?

“Wouldn’t that create massive amounts of friction?” Buck asked. “It sounds like Citizens are effectively the slave work force for their Ruler?”

Evander nodded. “I see you're catching on. There is a balance that is built into the system. The first being that any Citizen may challenge their Ruler for stewardship of the Kingdom. That’s why it's so important that you continue training. Second, as I explained to you earlier, the AI that is assigned to you decides what Skills are available to its Citizens. Every Player must weigh the pros and cons of joining a Kingdom. Often Citizens think of their contributions to the Kingdom as a price for access to a higher number of skills.”

Buck mulled this over. It wasn’t slavery, exactly, but it was close. The Citizens that joined his Kingdom would gain access to a much more varied set of Skills. This would allow himself and any followers to ascend to a much higher level. Then the Citizens could either leave and claim a different Kingdom for themselves, or assist the Kingdom they were in, helping it grow in strength that may eventually rival the Old Gods themselves.

As Buck pondered the situation, he began to see a path forward. The previous battle with the coyotes was just the first step. Without his advanced Attributes there was no chance he would have survived. He had been given a massive boost by Bev, but he still had no idea what he was doing. He had effectively created a pay to win character, he was powerful, but he didn’t truly understand how to play the game. It was time he started learning.

“Evander?” Buck asked, “I can only use my [Punch] ability twice before I use up all my source. Is that because of my level?”

Evander looked at Buck with a confused face “Usually at your level you have a much higher pool of source to pull from. I can even use my abilities at a higher rate. My guess would be you need to rank up your [Abilities]. As they rank up, the percentage of source required will be reduced as well as your pool of source increasing. The more [Abilities] you have the more source you are allotted.

“This is why it is important to not become a one trick pony. Eventually, you will plateau as other Citizens catch up to you. Vary your fighting style and do not ignore the other skills. By the way, the coyote fight? Did you level up?”

Buck’s eyes went glassy as he looked into his status screen, and after a moment he willed the screen to appear in front of him. Evander hopped onto the table, peering at the screen with his tiny, beady eyes. A smile spread across his furry face.

[Name] Blackwood

[Race] Human (Basic)

[Class] The Pugilist

[Level] 14

[Strength] 17

[Dexterity]16

[Endurance] 17

[Intelligence] 0

[Charisma] 12

[Luck] 13

[Titles] Amphibian - Buckets of Blood - Explorer -Race to the Top - Lucky - Massive Cheater - Attribute Collector - First Citizen - Coyote Assassin

[Skills] Spelunking 11 - Sneak 1 - Walking 3 - Breathing 4 - Gathering 3 - Grappling 1 - Hand to Hand 2 - Hunting 1

[Abilities] Basic Caver - Punch - Step Forward - Guard

“These are incredible gains in just one day,” Evander said, his voice tinged with approval. “It looks as if you have reached your first Skill Limit. From now on, it will cost you 10 skill points to level up, but with this number of Skills, it will be no time before you will fully conquer your first Kingdom.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Skill Limit? This vocabulary was getting out of hand. Buck couldn’t help himself “What's a Skill Limit? And do you have that paper I asked for?”

Evander’s little beady eyes rolled as he slid a stack of paper across the counter. Buck grabbed it, along with a little quill, and wasn’t surprised at how the ‘paper’ felt more like thin layers of skin than any wood based paper he had felt before. Just another thing to get used too.

“I don’t have any ink. What am I supposed to write with?” Buck asked.

Evander sighed. “That is Necromantic Paper. You write with blood you buffoon. Now poke yourself and start writing. I have a lot to say.”

Buck shrugged and followed suit, it wasn’t any weirder than anything else. With simple poke, Buck pricked his finger, and felt a small trail of blood get pulled into the tiny quill. Yet, as he pressed it down onto the ‘paper’ a shiver shot down his spine. It was soft.

Evander sighed, looking as if he was explaining basic arithmetic to a particularly dense child. “Each Echelon has five Skill Limits—one for each five levels. The first Skill Limit is 5 Skill Levels, then ten, then fifteen and so on until you reach level 25 and move into the next Echelon. At that point, it starts over, but the first Skill Limit is increased to 10.

“A reminder though, once you reach level 25 you will have completed the first echelon. After that, only Skill Levels earned in the second echelon will count toward levels. What I mean to say is, you need to get Skills to level 25 as well before you can start earning levels in your second echelon.”

“Evander, this is deeply confusing.” Buck groaned, trying to write down everything he said. “Let's just focus on the first echelon, or whatever, for now. How many skill Levels do I need to earn to reach 25?”

Evander chuckled “That is fair. The standard Player will require 375 Skill Levels to reach the end of the first echelon. That means you need to max out 15 Skills. You will require significantly less as you got a head start, but that doesn’t mean you will have it easy. You still will not be able to level into the second echelon until you max out some of your Skills. Bev has given you a jump start, but your journey has just begun.”

Buck stared at the hamster, his mind reeling. “So, what you’re saying is, I need to grind like hell to get stronger, but even then, I’m still at the mercy of this insane system?”

“Pretty much,” Evander said with a shrug. “Welcome to The Cracked Kingdoms.”

All of this was just too much. His Spelunking skill was quite high but there was no chance in hell he was going back into the cave anytime soon so Buck would need to focus on his other skills. [Walking] and [Breathing] were obvious choices, but there was a slim chance he could just walk around the forest without getting attacked again.

“I only have eight Skills. Am I missing something or is Bev just not giving us enough Skills?” Buck questioned

At this point, Evander had started working his way over to the other side of the stone slab in front of him, clearly getting bored with the questioning. “As you level up your Skills, more Skills will be unlocked. Basic Skills can unlock Common Skills, and Common Skills can unlock Uncommon Skills, and so on and so forth. I know you have seen the rewards you receive as each Skill reaches the end of an echelon.

“If Bev just gave you everything in the beginning there wouldn’t be any room for growth. As you reach the end of an echelon you will be rewarded an [Ability] and access to a [Specialization]. For example, William found the [Cooking] skill from trying to jerky some of that coyote you brought back. As the [Cooking] skill levels up and reaches the second echelon, I wouldn’t be surprised if it specialized. Adding say, a [Baking] or [Grilling] skill to your repertoire. This continues on forever, or until Bev gets tired of giving us skills.

“However, each Skill will have a hidden fourth reward that Bev can provide to you whenever she feels like it. What you need to look out for anything that has Mastery in the title. They are abilities that are provided when you level up Skills high enough and are usually a sign that there will be more rewards if you can max out those Skills.”

[Congratulations! Your Writing skill has increased to 1]

[Writing] (Basic - Cultivation)

Level 1

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. But how would anyone know the journey even happened if no one wrote about it? I mean, it’s not like Kingdoms have developed their technology to points that you, a simpleton, would consider it to be not unlike magic. I mean look at me. I’ve been recording everything this whole time. But sure, write down your silly little notes. I’m sure it’ll help.

Leaning against the embalming table, Evander smiled and sighed. “All of this experience and for such a little sacrifice, most Players have to endure much worse hardships on their path to ascension.”

“Sacrifice?” Buck asked

With a point of his little paw, Evander motioned towards Bucks left hand. Looking down, he gasped. A perfectly healed nub sat where his left ring finger used to be. How had that happened? Up until this point Buck had thought that his regeneration was near perfect. Gods, as he looked closer he realized something else as well.

His wedding ring was nowhere to be seen.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had taken it off. A simple band of gold that had accompanied him over the last decade, carved into the metal a simple phrase. “Till Death” Looking at his now disfigured hand, he couldn’t help but find it funny that the loss of the ring was affecting him more than the loss of his finger.

It was a reminder of his true goal. Return to his family, and return before they get hurt. But now it was gone. Lost in the viny undergrowth of this changed world.

Buck’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of spectral footsteps. William floated into the Apothecary, his ghostly form shimmering in the dim light. The old man’s eyes softened as he saw Buck sitting on the table, his left hand still cradled protectively.

“Hey young pup,” William said, his voice warm but tinged with concern. “Glad to see you made it back in one piece. You need a moment to rest before you head back out there?”

Buck hesitated. Back out there? Back to find some new infernal beast to kill so that he could gain levels in this cruel game? The thought made his stomach churn, but he couldn’t afford to rest for long. The Root didn’t care about his pain or his fear. It only cared about progress.

“In a moment,” Buck said, deflecting. “What have you been up to here? How are you holding up? I realize I haven’t asked.”

Williams' ghostly softened further. “Why thanks for askin’ young pup, I find myself growin’ used to my new ghostly form. Though Evander has me workin’ hard as a dog to keep up. He had me purchase you a few things from the Nexus with the money you earned from killin’ those coyotes.” He reached into the air and pulled out a small, brown bag, handing it to Buck.

“What's this?” Buck questioned

“That my friend is a Bottomless Bag, from that you should be able to gain access to your Inventory from anywhere. You’ll be able to remove a certain number of items from it before you have to recharge it at your Nexus or start funneling your own source into it. That is, according to our tiny teacher.”

Buck took a moment to look at the bag. It seemed like any normal brown sack. It was about the size of his fist, and with a little effort he was able to tie it snugly through a belt loop in his jorts. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it, but what the hell? He tried to activate it the same way he would open a menu in his vision and was surprised to see his Inventory open. He navigated to the Food tab and selected a raspberry and to his amazement, one of the fist sized red berries popped into existence in front of him. Though Buck thought for a moment.

“You said you purchased these William?” Buck asked as he saw Evander start working on the coyotes, and by ‘working on’ he had pulled a small knife from his Inventory and was cutting into the beast.

William smiled and motioned Buck to follow him as he started floating outside. As Buck pushed open the stone doors of the Apothecary he noticed that his Kingdom had changed. The area around the Nexxus and the Apothecary had been meticulously cleaned, the stray sticks and leaves replaced by neat, river stone paths. It looked… peaceful. For the first time since he’d arrived, the graveyard felt less like a cursed wasteland and more like a place someone might actually want to live.

“This looks incredible, William,” Buck said, stepping outside. “Is this what Evander had you doing?”

William floated beside him, a proud smile on his ghostly face. “Ah well I appreciate that young pup. Evander told me I need to start leveling up. Turns out [Cleaning] is a skill. And, less surprisingly, so is [Mercantilism], which increased when I purchased those bags from the Nexus. I’ll show you”

Buck raised an eyebrow. “Mercantilism? What, are you running a shop now?”

William chuckled. “Not quite. But I did find something interesting. Here, take a look.” He motioned for Buck to place his hand on the Nexus.

When he did, his vision filled with a new screen. Across the top of the menu, [Shop] was highlighted in bright letters. As he went to explore the screen he was surprised to see the only thing that was available to him was the Bottomless Bag and it was priced at 5 Bronze. Guess the Root used some medieval currency. As he continued to explore he found that his balance was only 1 Bronze. Had Evander and William spent all his money?

“All we can get are those bags?” Buck asked, frowning.

“For now,” William said. “Evander says our shop will expand as our Kingdom grows. Sometimes, Events can add special items too.”

Events? So once again Bev seemed to be in absolute control of everything he would be able to gain in this world. Though thinking about it. He realized he hadn’t taken a look at his new [Title] that he gained from the battle with the coyotes.

[Coyote Assassin]

Beset upon by an ambush of fierce coyotes, you have come out the other side in ‘mostly’ one piece! The Coyotes of the Wind River Kingdom will forever fear the name of Blackwood, the Fingerless Pugilist (They won’t actually, though, as a heads up)

Reward: +1 Strength +1 Dexterity.

Buck couldn’t help but laugh. The Title was ridiculous, but the rewards were solid. More Strength and Dexterity would make the next fight a little easier. But the explanation hinted at something else, it seemed like there would be more of the beasts if he continued to explore around his Kingdom.

He also did not receive the First! Reward that he had from his previous Titles. Was that because someone had already earned this [Title]? The thought warmed his heart, and sent his mind racing. Did that mean there was another Player out in his Kingdom? Another human who found themselves beset upon by the System?

He glanced down at the stump where his finger used to be. The loss still stung, both physically and emotionally. But it was a reminder of what was at stake. He couldn’t afford to hesitate. Not if he wanted to survive this world and make it back to his family.

With a deep breath, Buck stepped out of the graveyard and into the forest. This time, he’d be ready. No more ambushes. No more surprises. Just him, his fists, and the will to survive.