I’ve given up on school and friends. All I once had is now poison to my soul. It is very much like the slow drip of chemo into my bloodstream, an ever-present reminder I’m dying. They only serve to poison me with false hope.

It is impossible to have normal friendships when everyone else has the potential for a future, and my body is eating itself alive. My bones are eroding, and my “friends” are busy playing sports, attending class, and dating girls. They will all be around longer than the year or two I have left. So, what do any of our interactions mean, and why do I still need to do homework? Aren’t they pointless? It’s best I not waste their time or mine.

I know it’s not their fault and not my parents. But I can’t help but hate all of them for their freedom and hope. I have desires, but right now, I only crave an end. It’s purely morbid, but how long must I suffer?

My hope is the dark passenger whispering sweet words and inviting me to my end. More and more, my craving is for death more than for life.

What would I even do if they healed me? Could I jump back into being “normal?” Wouldn’t school still be pointless?

My life will end sooner than everyone else I know. But I remind myself that they, too, will all be dead in a hundred years. Man, why does the cancer eat more than just my body? It’s destroyed my hope and soon my soul.

Journal entry of Jordan’s, one month before his 17th birthday

######

Option Selection must be confirmed.

Choice of:

4: Crave Class - Zancara Class (Unique Rank), Level 1

Please confirm your choice.

Warning: choice is irreversible.

“Wow, now you’re trying to talk me out of it?” I scoffed but couldn’t lose my actual excitement. “Yes, I want to confirm my choice.”

Crave Class (Unique Rank) Level 1.

Unlocked abilities:

Loot Exchange - Level 1

Collector - Level 1

“Sweet, where’s the flavor text or description? Tell me what that means,” I shouted excitedly.

I'm sorry, Jordan, but the ability descriptions show they will be available after you meet the unmentioned requirements. There is a situational block on the additional details. The only reference to an answer is the following message.

Enter the void and earn your rewards.

######

I almost wanted to skip down the hall as I left my room for the stairs. I was just loving this new life. I overlooked the frustration of not having all the details for my class. The important part was I now had a class!

Sure, there were new life and soul-threatening dangers everywhere, but I was also becoming exponentially more powerful than the 18-year-old I was less than a week ago. Now, I get a fresh chance at school even if I’m coming in like some odd exchange student.

I considered how weird my last week was when on Earth, it was September 7th—only five days after my 18th birthday and my initiation into the Arcana System. Then, on the third, I was at the ceremony, slept for three days, and met the administrators. Yesterday was the most extensive blur of a day. Now, here I am going to classes, all cancer-free, strong, and maybe handsome.

Who knows what aliens with their power and systems considered attractive? At least I liked not seeing a skinny skeleton or even the wimp I was after I healed. After my bathtub of beautification, yeah, that’s how I should view it. Not the bloody...anyway, look at this view.

Eld led me back to the academy grounds after just a few minutes of walking from my new home. The gates were still impressive. I marveled at their height and the details of the creatures carved into the walls surrounding the academy’s expansive grounds.

The sprawling buildings, grassy lawns, stadium, and towers were impressive. The whole place was at least as big as Earth’s most prominent universities. I hadn’t seen it all yet; it could be much bigger than I imagined.

We walked mostly in silence. I held off telling him about the class. I hardly knew anything, and it was Unique, so I didn’t think he could help me piece much together yet.

There were very few people walking around the academy. Almost none my age. I had a lot on my mind, so I just walked behind and to the side of Eld, taking in the view. We stopped outside an open wide entrance that peeled from the center to both sides and curved back towards the center, cutting off the view inside. There was one sign describing what was inside, but I didn’t know the context of “Staging 2A.”

“This is where you go next. Inside are the lockers and preparation area for Temporal Gate Basics. Go in and change, and then I’ll meet you at Staging. We got a late start, so you missed your morning classes. I needed to handle some things, and you needed the rest.”

“I have messaged your instructors. You are earlier than the others for this class; the class change is in 25 minutes. Here is the key for your locker,” he handed me a card that evaporated and added a glowing dot that slowly dimmed on my finger.

Locker 75. I’ll show you.

Skit displayed the way to go, and I started to say goodbye before Eld continued.

“Jim is a bit…crazy for an instructor. But he was a successful warrior in that he survived some of the messiest engagements I’ve heard of. He is overqualified as your teacher by any measure of an Arc fighter and TG combatant. He also wrote a few great series of books based on his exploits,” Eld smiled as if telling a secret.

“He wouldn’t want me to tell you all of that, but you’d learn it eventually, and as to why he teaches, I can only guess. He’s a friend of mine and is expecting you.

We both want you to give your maximum effort and attention to catching up with the curriculum. This will be your second time in a TG, and I will be there with you, unseen but near. Try to keep it uneventful for us, all right? I expect trouble will find you, but don’t count on me bailing you out unless your life is in danger.”

“Sure thing. And is it okay to use all my abilities? Or should I hold back anything?” I didn’t want to cause more of a scene than necessary.

“I would tell you to focus on Arc here, but honestly, just accomplish the tasks given to you however you are told to. If they don’t ask you to limit yourself, go for it. Everyone will know something about you after the ceremony. You are famous here and infamous to most of Zancara. Still, I recommend making some friends here. Good luck.”

Eld walked away, and I entered the Staging 2A entrance. It reminded me of a gym locker room: bathroom, sinks, benches in front of lockers. The lockers were significant, though, like walk-in closets. There were also enclosed weapons in cages at the far end with glowing bladed weapons and armor inside.

I followed the route to my locker and reached for the front-facing surface. Like many of the doors so far, its opening was surprising. The front split in the middle and retracted like it was on a flexible retracting rail going into the sides and along the side wall hidden interior.

Inside the closet-sized locker were clothes similar to what I wore into my first TG.

I found and dressed in padded light armor, pants, long sleeves, and undershirts and topped it off with a leather vest reinforced with padding and rigid inserts around the vitals.

The base layers were elastic enough to fit my new size, and the vest had some straps to adjust before I could get it on. I finished changing and exchanged my dress shoes for the black boots resting inside.

Time to meet the instructor.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Leaving the locker room, I arrived in a large gymnasium. Some stands could seat about 50 people to the right side of the room. The rest of the room was split between a cushioned floor, much like wrestling mats from Earth, and the other half was filled with connected metal bars. They formed scaffolding to intersperse platforms, leading to a platform almost half the size of the gym. The platform was forty feet in the air, and light shone around the edges, indirectly lighting the rest of the gym.

To get up there, you had to be able to fly or traverse a series of bars and small platforms.

Just as I was about to approach the bars, I saw Eld and a big man dressed like me. The similarities stopped with the black pants; the padded knees were the only matching armor.

His chest was covered with gold that tapered down his abs but stopped at the navel. Where the skin would be exposed, there was a scaled armor.

On his back was a medium-length spear with a short sword blade attached to it. When they saw me walk towards them, the man I suspected was Jim broke away from Eld.

After two quick steps, I didn’t follow with my eyes, but my brain processed after he arrived right before me. His eyes were Arcana gold and swirled with stars in the pupil.

“What are you looking at?” He barked, and I jumped. Despite being a beast compared to my former self, this guy was bulked up and, according to Eld, a killer. Of course, I jumped; that’s a healthy reaction to this man.

“I was wondering what that’s for?” I asked, finding my voice caught, so I cleared my throat.

“That?” He didn’t bother looking at where I’d pointed. “You have to prove you won’t break anything before you get to train up there. But now is a great time to prove it. Get to the top however you want.” He paused, waiting for me, then, still staring me down, he shouted, “Go!”

That was all the instruction I needed, so I took off. Skit pulled up a couple of options for traversing the bars and platforms. I liked having options and went for one that looked challenging. Skit had color-coated my overlay, with green being the accessible routes, yellow being more demanding, orange being a stretch, and some red paths that were considered beyond my capabilities.

Taking a gamble since I hadn’t explored my abilities yet, I jumped for a bar. Skit said it was yellow. Skit was predicting I could reach 15 feet in the air.

When I jumped, I had to catch it at my waist as my efforts overshot the bar. But rather than arrest my upward momentum, I guided my jump, lifted my feet to balance on the bar, and stood up straight. My increased strength, flexibility, and cognition allowed me to balance on a 2-inch diameter bar easily.

The next goal was a bar hanging five feet underneath the edge of a platform, another fifteen feet straight above me. I jumped with less force, catching the bar near the apex of my upward movement.

With an effortless pull-up, I was onto the bar, and then, reaching the rest of the way, I was rolling up and over the platform’s edge above it. The landing was about the size and shape of a coffin.

The final stretch from where I was required to jump ten feet straight out and a couple of feet higher from my “coffin” and then run up stair steps made of bars around the corner and onto the platform.

I made the jumps and ran across the ladders to finally make the last jump, another ten-foot leap that had me landing on the platform. I had only noticed at the last moment how high the view from that previous jump had been.

Jim was at the top edge, watching me make the final landing forty feet above the ground floor. The light I had seen while on the floor came from a skylight above this high platform. It provided natural light and some warmth. I could see a large circle marked out with lots of space outside the circle.

“This is where we will warm up and prepare for the class delves, but I said I need to ensure you don’t break something, right?” Jim waved me over and pointed to Eld standing on the floor. “Jump down, and if you don’t break anything, you can participate in today’s delve. If you get hurt, you watch or go to the infirmary, depending on the damage.”

“You want me to jump from here? Can I grab a bar on the way down?” I asked hopefully. He only shook his head.

I walked to the edge and looked down. I immediately second-guessed this command. I stood looking down. There was a brief feeling of vertigo that passed. I looked back at my instructor and down at Eld.

This is one way to test my new body. They have magical healing that can fix up broken bones, right? I just don’t want to land on my head.

With that, I took a determined hop over the edge. My cognition rapidly increased as my body adjusted and made micro-adjustments in the air. I saw the ground approaching and prepared to absorb the impact.

I hit the mats hard, but surprisingly, I kept my balance. It was like an action hero had just arrived on the scene. I felt incredible as I took a quick evaluation of my body.

The impact on my legs didn’t cause anything to break, which I considered exciting in my increased perception of time. The time returned to its regular ticking as I bounced on my toes, excited by this new revelation.

I can land safely from a forty-foot fall if I land on my feet.

“Well, he didn’t break into pieces,” Eld said and smiled, looking over to Jim as they smiled at me. But each smiled differently, “I told you I think his body is D-Rank.”

“That is not the same person at the ceremony,” Jim firmly stated, “Either you swapped him, or he went through something to get that upgrade. Do you think the incident at the ceremony did all that? And besides, I trusted you, so I just wanted to see his face as he dropped.”

“No, he has gone through a few evolutions since arriving,” Eld stated proudly as he patted me on the shoulder.

“Guys, I’m right here,” I felt like a little kid in front of these two, present yet unheard amidst their conversation.

“Yeah, but on the way down, you looked so concentrated I thought you’d pooped your pants. Enhanced senses can be a curse, you know. Thankfully, you either wore scented diapers or avoided emptying your bowls on that top-tier landing.”

“Don’t be a dick, Jim,” Eld said,

“Yeah, Jim!” I added

“No, you don’t. You,” he pointed at me, “You call me Instructor Gamble,” then he whirled to face Eld, “You can’t use my number one rule against me! It was training.”

“Anything else I have to do to prove I’m able to be a part of your class,” I said, but he raised an eyebrow and added, “Instructor Gamble.”

“Better, and yes, you have much to prove, but you survived the fall, and I’m a man of my word. You are in for today’s delve. Feel free to warm up and spend some time gathering up in the sunlight,” Jim said, waving me off and turning back to Eld as they continued talking.

I took the dismissal and headed to the bars. I noticed the paths going up the bars to the top had all been downgraded in color. There were more green and the red ones were all new.

Did you adjust those based on my landing?

Yes, you are more durable than I previously could measure. You will survive most falls, and your movement is improving. With time, the current red paths will be possible, if not easy. Keep improving.

At the top, I sat in the middle of the circle under the sun’s warm rays. My body and muscles are warm—time to gather.

Sitting comfortably with legs crossed, I dove into the Source. At first, I just inspected my body. The smoky Zan and Arc density in my body was lighter than the last time I was here. I gave my body a quick scan. I noticed that my right palm and arm down to the elbow were glowing like I could see veins wrapping like spiraling cords around the bones.

What? Is that Insatiable?

At the mention of the supposed Image, a fuzzy glowing outline rose out of my arm.

What are you doing to my arm? Can you speak?

The little wiggly creature rose above my arm and hovered before my eyes. At the closer distance, I could make out greater detail.

Insatiable didn’t say a word, but I started to get mental impressions. Like you might have when looking at a pet cat or dog trying to tell you something. Yet I knew this creature was far beyond me in power.

The first image was that of a warm blanket or a hug. It was a soothing and protective impression. That was followed by an inflation of my body, like growing full after a Thanksgiving meal. But the last was a strong impression of pain followed by strength.

Great, so you can’t talk. Is that because you can’t, or are you too powerful and would melt my mind? I said the last part as a joke.

The impression I got was a resounding yes.

Oh, sorry, I should have known. Are you an Image like the Lady said?

After my question, Insatiable lowered and dove back into my arm without a response. I decided to get busy gathering.

Mentally, I looked at the sun and tried to picture the Arc and Zan around me.

The first layer is Base, where A and Z are thin and cloudy. I want to go beyond that. Not as far as where the Prince and beings like him reside.

I was pushing my will toward imagining the substance around me solidifying and leaving the rest to whatever controlled my depth. I still lacked practice and understanding. I just wanted to fill up my reserves.

At first glance, the Arc and Zan were thin in the air around me. Then, I felt a shift.

That must be me leaving Base.

My guess was correct when the thin clouds around me drastically thickened and formed creatures. At first, there were birds of gold and black. But then I noticed smaller, densely packed patches of arc that were jumping around the air on invisible platforms like they were running on the clouds.

I pulled with my will towards the Arc beings, both bird and smaller creatures, while also reaching for the Zan ones with a desire for partnership.

They both were reluctant. At first, moving closer but then stopping as if losing interest, they moved away on their paths.

I pushed harder with my will, yet I wanted to draw both forces simultaneously. Balancing the gathering with Arc and Zan would be the best way forward.

I focused on my right hand, extending it toward the creatures before me, and pulled with my desire and will for the Arc. I repeated the same with my left hand but with more confidence and assurance to provide a partnership.

And it worked. The little creatures began filing toward me, forming into a funnel condensing into my extended palms.

As the funnel began reducing the density of small creatures around me, a different impression caught my senses. It was similar to when I first saw the dragon- and snake-like forms. This was just a magnitude more massive. As that presence increased, I stopped my pull. I didn’t want to draw something far beyond my ability to control.

Unfortunately, whatever I had been noticed by was still getting closer, and a pressure-like increased gravity began to press down on me. I couldn’t see beyond the room into the Source, but a golden head the size of one wall poked through and into my view. I wanted to leave the Source immediately. But I received a hungry, satisfied impression from Insatiable.

At the same time, a filament shot like a wire straight from my extended hand and into the enormous creature’s head.

I don’t know what scared me more, the roar that hit me or the fact that it was a cry of fear.

Insatiable began reeling in the massive beast. I saw it fighting like a fish on the line as it neared me. Insatiable crawled out of my arm and faced the squirming beast whose front half filled my view while the rest was outside my perception.

It was similar to a shark-faced lizard. The mouth was that of a great white shark, and the body of a Komodo dragon. That was my guess based on its front half.

Insatiable, measuring about four inches in length, stared down a beast that even I was merely the size of one of its teeth. A projection appeared in front of me. I couldn’t make out any form or shape, only that of a wall or sphere. It was like standing right next to a giant stadium filled with a roaring massive crowd. There was a sense of grand scale, scary power, and hunger.

The feeling lunged away from me, and I went from fear to satisfaction. The beast was funneling down without resistance toward my palm. I was already feeling full of Arc and Zan, but this was not impacting that as the funneling went toward my now glowing forearm. The wrapped bones were burning with intensity and pulsing with a soft repetition every other second. The cords around the bone were growing like they were swelling.

The swelling ended and contracted as the glow disappeared.

You received an updated description of your class ability.

Collector - (Unique) This Zancara Class accounts for your Arcana class abilities.

“You will always hunger; if one is good, more will be required of you.”

What does that mean?

Collection Vault added as Source Vault Space.

Current storage: 3 Spaces.

1/3 in use

Conversion will unlock additional spaces, upgrades, and more.

Stored Collections can be used to power Arc cultivation Zan skill suit paths.

Upgrade for additional options.