Renner’s eyes were locked onto the flashing screen in front of him. He started to take deep breaths in and then at the apex of his breath, he slapped himself in the head.

“Fuck!”

Renner did his best to stop himself from panicking and looked back at the screen. Even if this was some unbelievably realistic dream or if it was reality he decided either way he did not want to die. Understanding that the reassembly of his atomic structure and an absolute risk of death was not something he wanted to deal with, so he turned around and ran for his life.

The screens, seemingly understanding his intentions, followed his vision and slid away to his periphery as he sprinted. Occasional casting glances to his right made the screen with the warning slide back into view, giving him an idea of his distance from the “leak”. He tried his best to traverse the literally alien landscape and dodge bizarre rock protrusions from the ground. While he was running Renner noticed it was slightly easier to push off from the ground, noting it was most likely due to a lesser gravity. He glanced back over to his position on the screen

[Distance: 150m]

Renner kept his pace until he broke out of the “forest” of rocks, finally having a good view of where he was going. In front of him laid a valley of different rock formations and open gravel-filled clearings. What surprised him the most was the different pools of bright blue water spread out at different locations and heights in the valley. Some of the pools flowed via miniature waterfalls into other pools. He might even say it was beautiful but the run from imminent death detracted from his perception of the view.

Looking back at his screen again he noticed the likelihood of death meter had gone down from Absolute to likely. Renner breathed out a sigh of relief and gave himself time to think.

If what he gained from the earlier message was true, then somehow this was planned. Someone had signed off on sending random people to outer space. Even if this is all true, why the hell was I taken to somewhere where I could instantly die? Why is there no one else around here to guide me?

As if the screens were listening in on his thoughts, a corrected version of the first screen he saw swung into his vision.

[Welcome Conscripted]

[You have been stationed at the first front on planet Sarion. You have been chosen to be a soldier as a response to primordial incursions that are corrupting your planet. As per the agreement your species signed, your people are to be given training and protection against the coming CHARRED. In return, your species agreed to allow randomly selected people from your planet to fight at different battlefronts across the Intergalactic Species Coalition star systems. You are looking at a highly advanced Artificial Intelligence called THE INTER-COALITION SYSTEM. Currently, you have been teleported into your basic training session. This will teach you navigation, exoplanetary adaptation, and basic system usage. To return to your planet you must complete your basic training and obtain one rank at one of the battlefronts.]

Renner stared in disbelief at the screen, who the hell just signed off on me being thrown into some alien war? It hadn’t hit Renner just what type of situation he was in. Once he made it out of whatever training situation this was he couldn't possibly imagine the war front was safe. More importantly, what was his dad or Michael thinking, to them he just never showed up to his last class. Would anyone on earth have known what had happened, from what the system said there should have been more conscripted humans. There was just so much going through his mind for him to properly compute, and right now he had to focus on what to do next.

Looking forward at his screens he wondered where he was supposed to go or if there was some objective. Like before the system reacted by manifesting two screens in his view. One was a screen with different tasks, and the other was a map. On the map screen his immediate surroundings were displayed, including the valley in front of him. It seemed like anything he did not see or was not fairly close to never appeared on the map. Looking over at the objective screen he was finally able to gain some direction.

[Current Assignments]

[Command Directives]

* [BASIC TRAINING: Navigate the current planet and kill 5 lingering CHARRED(information on charred available through search feature). After completion, you will be sent to your station.]

* [System Familiarization: Navigate and interact with all system menus and features. (Status, Objective, Map, Skills, Search, Comms *underlined items completed.)

[Self-issued Objectives]

* None

Renner did a double take at the first objective, kill five charred. All he knew was that even a chance of them appearing meant absolute death for him. According to the system, he didn’t even meet the basic requirements to fight them. However, now that he thought about it the system specifically told him he didn’t meet the skill requirements. Going off of his previous experience he thought of the word skill, and on queue, another screen appeared.

[Skills]

[Equipped]

* Contra Slot: Empty

* Knowledge Slot: Empty

* Augmentation Slot: Empty

[Unequipped]

* None

[Ready to learn—Unassigned PEP: 2]

[Contra Skills]

-Resonance

-Weapon Fabrication

-Entrapment

..scroll for more

[Knowledge Skills]

-Battlemind

-Multi-Threading

-Perception Expansion

..scroll for more

[Augmentation Skills]

-Strength Enhancement

-Structural Enhancement

-Agility Enhancement

..scroll for more

Renner stared in disbelief as he read the different skills presented on the screen. Some of them he did not understand, but some he understood very well, like strength or agility enhancement. It looked like you could only equip one skill per category, and there were quite a few basic skills to choose from.

Unfortunately, his analysis of the system was cut short when the system warning screen appeared again.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

[LEAK Event]

[You are still within a potentially dangerous range of a leak, please leave the area immediately. A safe route out of the area has been placed on your map.]

[CAUTION: Three rank 4 CHARRED have manifested 200m from your position.]

[Odds of Discovery: Medium to High]

Renner decided that was a good time to continue his mad dash. With a quick thought, he pulled up his map; it wanted him to descend into the valley. Now he wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea, but having to scale down some smaller cliffs did not seem appealing. Unfortunately, Renner did not have any other choice, unless he believed his judgment was better than an AI that an alien space coalition uses. Long story short, he decided on the alien AI.

Shortly after starting his descent into the valley, he faced his first obstacle. It was a large gap that spanned over a crevasse that went very, very far down. It was also nice to see the system show a small window containing the estimated depth. Which gave him the confidence to sit down and reconsider his options.

There is no way in hell I’m ever clearing that gap. He let out a cry of desperation, either he stayed and possibly died to whatever a “charred” is, or he very likely fell to his death. Neither sounded like a satisfactory option to Renner.

He sat in deep thought until he realized he could have something think for him. Hey system, what exactly should I do here?

The system responded with a window showing each option, accompanied by their respective lethality rates. How… encouraging. Under the jump option, it had a solid 50% chance of death, while staying and doing nothing had a 77% chance of death. Carefully weighing each option, he decided on just going for the jump. So he doubled back a couple of feet to get a head start, and he shot forward. Renner wasn’t extremely athletic, but he prided himself on keeping in pretty good shape. And he hoped that would all pay off in this moment.

He sped up as much as he could and launched himself off of the ledge, he could almost feel the gigantic chasm below him threatening to suck him into its depths. Fortunately for him, he made it. Well…more or less, he hung off the other ledge while he did the best muscle-up of his life. Once he finally pulled himself entirely up onto the ledge he realized that his hand had been cut, and it was bleeding quite a bit. It wasn’t a large cut, but it would most likely need stitches.

The system decided it would help out by showing him a graphic diagram of an odd-looking four-armed creature tearing off what he assumed was his clothing items and tying it around a cut. Renner gladly followed the tutorial as he tried his best to get back up and moving. He realized he still had quite a while to go, but luckily there were not any more stunts for a little while. Only a few rock climbs required the dexterity learned from climbing a playground rock wall. Mostly due to the rock protrusions he assumed were everywhere on this planet.

After a long while of running and maneuvering the warning screen faded and my chance of being found decreased until it was close to zero. Renner breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down sweaty and tired.

Now, he wanted to know what the Charred were and why they were so deadly. He pulled up the search screen to hopefully gain some information on what was going on here. When he pulled up the search screen it wasn’t anything too alien. It was just a simple search bar. Unsure of how to interact with it he fiddled around with the screen, tapping the search bar, making hand motions, just something to let him search. Then he decided to say it out loud, “Search: Charred”

In response, the system booted up a screen that held the word CHARRED at the top.

[Charred, or the closest earth equivalent “monsters” are spontaneously created life forms made when primordial energy interacts with matter. It is important to note that primordial energy is the very essence of creation. So when a trans-reality incursion(commonly known as leaks) occurs this energy can change any matter or atoms into any other atom or type of matter. Though most curiously this change typically has what is known as an intention, or some type of commonality to the changes made. One leading theory is that when a leak occurs the primordial (approximate translation: collective consciousness) has a negative “emotion”, and since leaks are fractures in the natural process of creation, this negative intention leads to the creation of a Charred. These creatures can come in almost any form and almost always have blackened, cracked patches of skin or surface membrane. This blackened surface resembles charred meat which is where these creatures gain their name.]

[Charred are very dangerous lifeforms and are only engaged with the proper equipment and contra wielders. These creatures tend to be abnormally strong and have abnormal abilities. These abilities and strengths are unique to the creature, examples include and are not exclusive to electric impulses, combustive projectiles, and enhanced camouflage. Their relative strength and power level are categorized into classes. Starting at rank five and ending with rank 0 being the strongest and rarest. Similar rankings are given to soldiers of the coalition to estimate what type of leak events they are capable of handling. Overall, Charred are equally fascinating as they are deadly, always be prepared when facing one of these creatures.]

Renner was less than impressed as continued to read the screen. They really think I can kill one of those things!? He laid down with a groan on the rocky ground and stared up at the sky. The mountains cradled his vision as he looked up at the stars and moons that were still visible even in the day. It was a strange sight to see, especially since the only way he should see that was if the atmosphere was very thin, but he was breathing just fine. He assumed it was the system since that managed to explain away most of the oddities on this planet, and of course, the system popped up a screen titled “Yes” and followed with an explanation about a contra-based life support system. He suddenly sat up realizing he had something to search for.

“Search contra”

[CONTRA]

[Contra is the common term for (Best Earth translation: contralegemology), a study of phenomena that are against the laws of science. Even though these phenomena go against the common laws, they are a science all on their own. Contra can be used for the benefit of all and it can be used for destruction. With a contra “circuit” or “spell” almost anything can be done. The most widespread use of contra is regulated by the system since most species do not have the natural capability to use contra. This is due to the strict set of criteria, like specific visual and audio sequences, that compose a contra circuit. Most commonly known among these species are the Yrtum, who notably have complex skin and auditory organs that allow the formation of contra circuits. The system provides each coalition soldier with a set of enhancements and circuits that can be mastered in their use against the great incursion.]

Renner didn’t believe he could get even more confused, but he was wrong. Alongside the monsters, well Charred, he had to kill—there was also some type of magic that he had to figure out how to use. This day just keeps getting worse and better at the same time.

A screen appeared [No. Not Magic. Magic creates effects without any cause or prior matter needed. Contralegemology is a Science this is an important distinction.]

“I mean can you make things appear out of thin air and can you blast someone with a fireball?”

[Yes, items can be fabricated and combustive projectiles are used in combat.]

Renner looked surprised as he realized he got the system in some type of conversation.

“So if I can make stuff appear and shoot fireballs, I would say that’s magic”

[No. it is Science.]

“How do you know that magic isn't science like contra is.”

[OK. It is a science that operates and looks similar to “magic”.]

“So it’s magic.”

Surprisingly, the system never responded to that statement. Feeling satisfied with what he learned and his little argument, Renner pulled up the skills screen and looked through the [Ready to Learn] section.

Based on what he read he had to get skills to kill a Charred, and so far that was the only way off this strange death trap. He decided he would spend his PEP, whatever that meant, on-

[Primordial Energy Points, are a unit of energy that is used to either augment bodily function, modify the mind, or activate a spell circuit. These points can be accumulated after gathering enough siphoned primordial energy from Charred kills. Note: to swap or reactivate contra circuits primordial energy must be used. Primordial energy can be contained and used to power a circuit, but if it is deactivated more energy will be needed to either start another circuit or reactivate the same one.]

“Wait, so I can only use a spell once before I need to get more points?”

[No. Most contra circuits are “active” meaning they are always powered. The usage of a skill is similar to pressing a button on the circuit causing it to produce the desired effect. Only high-rank circuits need primordial energy points for each use.]

Renner nodded, as he came to understand what it was saying and cleared his mind. He had to pick two skills, and he had to pick carefully because it quite literally meant life or death.

—-----Earth—-----

Michael was walking home as he came home from an after-school debate club meeting. It was strange walking home alone, normally he walked home with Renner but for some reason, he never showed up to Math class, and he never saw him afterward. He figured Renner must have gone home early, he probably got sick. There had been a stomach bug floating around his school so he had been making sure to wash his hands more and keep himself clean. He had been expecting one of them to get sick eventually, shame it had to be during his math club fundraiser.

What he didn’t expect was Renner’s father to come running out of his door as Michael passed by their house. He had a concerned look on his face like he was expecting to see something.

Mark spoke timidly, “Hey, have you seen Renner? He should've been home already, I figured he might be doing something with you.”

“No, I haven’t seen him since math class I thought he had gone home early because he was sick” Michael replied.

Mark’s face looked crestfallen like I had just stomped on his last bit of hope.

“Oh, I’ve called the school a couple of times, apparently they have no idea either.”

Something was wrong, Renner had never just gone off by himself like this. Hopefully, nothing bad happened to him.