Name: Ra’mon

Age: 0

Level: 0 + 1

Body: peak mortal

Mind: superhuman

Soul: magic initiate

Traits:

Void brushed

Cognito-hazard resistance

Skills:

Silent step – level 49

Fortified mind – level 69

Languages – level 45

General knowledge – level 46

Visualize – level 56

Parallel processing – level 65

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Focus magic – level 30

Improvised implements – level 40

Meditation – level 54

Digestive system – level 28

Pressure resistance – level 0

…

Spells:

Distort Spacetime

Well then, that’s ten skills. Maybe eleven, depending on how you count tiers, but based on how the System shows it, I’d guess ten. And if there’s a limit on the number of skills, ten seems like the number to put it.

Then again, a lot of the stuff about the System hasn’t been completely up to my expectations, so who can really say? Someone who’s been living with it the entire time, that’s who! So, I guess it’s good that I finally met some people like that. Too bad that I’m their prisoner and can’t leave.

Yeah, they locked the door behind them as they left. Or, more like it vanished. That’s probably the reason why I hadn’t spotted it when I woke up here.

Is it a really advanced skill or magic? My guess is on magic, but then again, I do already have some weirder skills that seemingly accomplish the impossible.

And, since I’m still recovering from my stupid stunt with gaining my newest skill, at least mentally, I might as well try to see which one it is. Which means meditation. Or rather, honing my mana sense, which meditating helps with.

Settling down into a comfortable position, I begin. By now I’m very familiar with the whole process and I almost instantly slip into the right mindset.

While I’d like to say that my world suddenly becomes awash with indescribable colour, it’s not that impressive. Either mana isn’t that prevalent in the world or I’m not good at sensing it, but the most that happens is that I slowly become aware of the slightest, barely visible, mist around me.

Who knows how long I spend like that, but before I manage to find the door, it is revealed to me. By someone opening it and walking inside. Which also interrupts me.

Standing in front of me is younger man, maybe even a boy, in much simpler clothes than the previous group of people. Not saying a single word, he gestures for me to follow him.

Which I promptly do. It’s not like I wanted to be in that room in the first place. He leads me through many twisting hallways. All of them out of pure stone, almost as if carved into the mountain itself.

Eventually, even I can’t handle the silence. “Quite the maze you got here, huh?” I know, I know. He can’t understand a word I’m saying, and neither would I be able to understand him, but at least I tried.

Which can’t be said for him. Such rudeness, to completely ignore a guest. Or prisoner, I guess. In that case it’s understandable.

It takes us a while, enough for me to get completely lost, but we do eventually arrive at our destination. Whatever it may be. I still have no idea what’s happening.

We’re standing in front of a pair of large stone door. Or maybe marble, I never really could tell the difference.

And when I large, I really means huge. And when I say huge, I really mean giant. And when I say… You get the idea. They are really fucking big. Definitely at least ten meters high.

It is therefore quite funny when, while I’m staring in awe at the ginormous work of art, a small door opens at the base of the bigger ones. And the second, smaller, door is only small in comparison to the other one. When we get closer to it, I realise that it’s actually rather normal sized.

Inside awaits us a hall appropriately sized for the huge door. It’s probably big enough to fit a smaller mall inside!

The sides are lined with finely carved pillars and at the end of the room, on the opposite side from which we entered, is a throne. Which is also of a similar size to the door. And atop the throne sits a lifelike statue of a giant.

Ah, now the size of this all makes sense. Still a bit weird to do that all just to accommodate an artwork, but whatever. Some people are just weird like that.

Maybe it’s a former ruler of some kind? Wouldn’t be that unusual. I think something like that also happened back on Earth, though maybe not quite as grand.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

We walk along the length of the hall, which puts its size into even more perspective. It takes at least a couple of minutes to cross the entirety of it. And it’s only once I’m almost in front of the throne that I realise my guide had disappeared somewhere along the line.

Oh well. Must be the protocol or something when guiding someone to meet, who I presume, is the ruler of this place. But I’m still yet to spot them.

As I near the end of my, unexpectedly longer than I expected, journey here, I see that the area around the throne is populated by some people. I identify the first humans I saw on this planet. So, the rest of the people are the crowd I couldn’t take a proper look at back in my room? Or cell.

None of them really stand out to me, other than the assassin-guard. It’s the only person fully concealed in dark clothes and also the only one to be in some form of battle gear.

I stop when I feel I reached an appropriate distance from the throne. Which, under normal circumstances, would be maybe a dozen paces. But, seeing as the sizes here are out of whack, it ends up being significantly more than that.

And I wait. Yeah, I still don’t see anyone obviously in charge here to address.

A couple minutes pass. Man, this is becoming awkward. And all the people are staring at me.

“Are we waiting for someone?” I ask. I’m getting sick of being made to wait over and over again.

That’s when something unexpected happens.

A pressure, not that dissimilar to that of the eldritch horror beyond the summoning portal, descends on the area. But it’s stronger. Or more focused. I don’t know, it’s hard to tell on account of, you know, being crushed under my own weight.

Fortunately, I had just acquired the perfect skill to counter this. It takes a little while for it to level enough, but once it does, I manage to just barely raise my head.

The statues eyes are glowing a bright, ethereal blue. And I begin to realise that perhaps it isn’t a statue after all. Perhaps it isn’t even a golem. Rather, if asked now, I’d say that this is the ruler of this city.

The statue, golem, whatever leans forward slightly, studying me. I feel like an insect. A lab mouse about to be dissected. An ant next to an elephant. Tiny, in one word.

After a moment that feels like an eternity, the giant leans back and the pressure fades away. But the glow in its eyes remains, even if weaker.

Then, a thunderous voice echoes out from it. “You are not of this world, young advena. And yet, you are not one of those abominations.” Its voice is deep, like the mountain we’re probably in.

“You speak my language,” I reply instinctively, shocked. I suppose it wouldn’t be strange to see someone in a ruling position to have language skills, but it’s still surprising.

I almost feel as it the giant is smirking at me. But it’s face remains as cold as stone. Because it is made of stone, literally incapable of moving. It’s already a miracle that it was able to lean forward, or move at all!

“We’ll get to that later,” the giant speaks again, “For now, some other matters need to be attended.”

Every time it speaks, it feels as if the entire hall is shaking. I’d be very surprised if that isn’t some kind of skill.

Also, what does he want with me? What are these ‘other matters’?

“Uh, I’m sorry… my lord?... but I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I haven’t done anything wrong.” I try to say with as much conviction as possible. Judging by some of the faces around me, I don’t quite manage it.

“No, I suppose you haven’t,” the giants voice once again pulls all of the attention in the room towards itself, “but you do have, or know, something that we would want.”

The voice itself doesn’t sound threatening, but the words… Let’s hope it’s just poor word choice. And that my face doesn’t give anything away.

And, just to be sure, I stay silent. I’m not sure what it is they’d want, but it can’t end well for me. Hopefully, whatever it is, it is knowledge, so that they won’t be able to just kill me to get it.

The moment stretches on. Maybe we’ll stay in this staring contest till eternity and I won’t have to continue with this debacle.

“Sigh, fine, I guess I’ll have to be straightforward,” the giant mutters under its breath. Which doesn’t work at all with how loud it is. “How did you survive in the presence of the bests?”

Oh! That’s what this is about? I guess that makes sense.

“Is it some kind of skill of yours?” the stone giant continues.

Oh well, might as well tell them. It isn’t that big of a secret anyway. “A trait, actually. Cognito-hazard resistance.”

This pulls the room into a deep silence. Oh c’mon! Do I really lack that much common knowledge? How can that be so shocking to hear?!

“Oh…” even the giant appears to be surprised, “And would you mind telling us how you acquired that trait?”

“Oh, um… Well, you see… I would. I would mind.”

Shit. I hadn’t counted with that. How am I supposed to explain that the System granted me it for living in the Void for some time. Judging by the distaste visible on everyone when the scroonusi were mentioned, I may just be killed on the spot once they find out.

The giant, along with everyone else, stares at me.

Okay Ra’mon, you need to come up with a plan. Think Ra’mon, think! Aha!

“Actually, I’m not quite sure. About my trait, nor traits in general.”

“That is… disappointing.”

Oh, thank the System. Crisis averted. Now just to get back and I can put all of this behind me.

“I suppose we’ll just have to find out then,” the now bored voice of the giant breaks me out of my daydream.

Huh? What are you talking about? How do you want to find out? You won’t dissect me, will you? I assure you, I’m not very dissectible. Damn, that line only works when talking about eating.

“Is that even possible, your highness?” a person from the crowd asks. Oh, thank you kind stranger.

“It should be. The advena here will just have to upgrade it to its next stage. The conditions for that should be similar to acquiring the trait in the first place.

So, what do you say, young advena. Will you assist us? You’d be helping a lot of people.”

“Just one thing before I answer that,” the giant raises one eyebrow at that. Huh, I guess the face does move after all. Anyway, “What does advena mean? My name is Ra’mon.”

The giant responds almost in laughter, “It’s someone from the outside. A title given to those who travel between worlds.”

Huh, should I take that as a compliment? Yeah, why not.

But more importantly, should I help? They do seem have managed until now without the trait, but that could be just an illusion. And maybe I shouldn’t take the hope of saving their planet from them. If they truly can’t get close to the scroonusi without succumbing to the eldritch aura, they have no chance of fighting back.

And in addition to all that, I’m still suspicious of what they’ll do to me if I refuse. So, yeah, might as well.

“I, Advena Ra’mon, will assist you in searching for a solution to the eldritch aura,” I proclaim, hopefully in a semi-honourable manner.