“Haah, haah.” Ethenia breathes out heavily, hands on her knees and sweat dripping from her forehead. Looking around at the remaining survivors. Of the around 40 that began, only 12 are left.

“Who the fuck thought putting orcs with magic resistant skin in the tutorial was a good idea?” Michael curses, and Ethenia snorts out loud.

“Good thing Ethenia figured out it was only the skin. I would never have thought of using piercing body arts to embed weapons into the orc, so she could use them as conductors for electrical currents, frying them from the inside.” Marcus mentions, as he claps Ethenia on her shoulder, almost making her stumble due to the increased strength of the [Gladiator]

Name: Ethenia Vermillion

Race: Human

Class: Elementalist (Electro)

Level: 8 (86%)

Tier: 1

HP: 73 / 100%

MP: 9 / 100%

Physical: D

Magical: C

Mental: C

Talent: Battle Mage

Ethenia takes a look at her status. The last wave of orcs was a close one. A few people died during wave four, wolf riding goblins, but the majority died in the current wave, as only Body Arts or Ethenia’s magic had any effect.

“Haah, well I hope now that the tutorial is over, we’ll be brought back to Earth.” Chris says hopefully, as he wipes blood from his face. He turned into support for the last round, with two of his [Tamed] wolves from wave two. Ethenia looks over at their corpses, mentally thanking them for being good meat shields.

[System Notice]: Congratulations on clearing wave 5, and the tutoria¤̵̨͇̹̠̮̈́̾͌͒̍#̷̞̙̣̠̱̈́̆̇͌͠@̴̬̱̦̺̬̓̎̓̍̋/̷͉̥̪͉̥̈́͗̽͑͂/̸͚̦͓̩̹̿̈́̑͠͝Ǝ̸̨̼͉̙̅̉̈̈́͗ͅɿ̶̛̪̠̭͍̞͆̓͂̆ɿ̷̙͎̫͎͗̄̉̓̕͜ỏ̸͍̩̥̪̭̈́́̐̈́ɿ̴͚̝͕̼̺͗̂̐̋̋/̵̛̩̠̯͚̟̾̽̈͆/̷͚͚̣̖̜̉̓̉̃̕Ǝ̷̨̲̝̤͙̇́̉̓̓ɿ̷̺͍̗͓͉̿́̽͂̋ɿ̴̗̤̹͓͚͋̃̏̀́ȯ̵̮̪̖̭͇̊̾̈͝ɿ̷̨̘̮̥̞̅̅̌̈́̈/̴̛̲̰̣̞̬̍̿́͝/̴̡̛̭̩̪͇̍̓̏̚Ǝ̷̢̺̗̩̙̀̐̀̌̓Rn̴͚͉̤̼̊̿̄̉̊ͅɈ̸̡͍̜̥̘̇́̇̑́ĩ̷̢͔̩̝̳̆̐͌̉UɈ̴̻̫̲͈͙́̏̌͝͝γ̴̡̰̺̯̘́͛̍̌͝ႧNɘ̴̖̬̫̯͎̆̏̈̍͊Ɉ̷͈̗̪̙̹̎̅̅͝͝ɘ̶̠͎̰̞̮͐̒͛̀̈ɔ̷͈̣̭̦̥͗̂̒̑̕#̵̧̡̢͍̘͑̉̋͊͝¤̵̹̲͚͖͕̌̏́̏̎ḃ̸̫̰̮̭̯͊̊̈̈́.

“What the fuck?” Michael exclaims, grabbing the attention of everyone else. A deep rumbling emanates from the ground, before everything goes silent.

Ethenia looks at the rest of her group, and nobody makes a sound.

The ground explodes into lava, and a fiery, demonic hand reaches up and grabs Marcus down into the newly formed ravine.

Heat emanates from the crevices made in the meadow, and the air becomes thick and heavy. Ethenia feels the effect of her talent calming her mind, letting her know a being is the cause of the event, as if the demonic hand wasn’t enough.

Trying to move away, she stumbles slightly as more and more cracks appear along the surface, and from the ravine what can only be a massive head rises. Ethenia looks at the head, and it looks like something out of a horror movie. It’s so black it barely reflects any light. Her attention is drawn to two crimson slits that narrow when they gaze back at Ethenia. The bottom half of the face splits wide open, and strings of tar-like substance connect the top and bottom, with splashes hitting the ground making it sizzle.

‘It’s smiling?’ Ethenia can’t help but think.

“““F̺̗͉̹̱ͬ̌ͯͨ̍ͪͨ̿õ̡̙͖̆u̵̱͉̟͗̉̿ͭn̰̻̖̰̖̆͊ͫ̐̕d̤͇̣̮͕̝ͦͬ̒ͧ͌̽ͣ̏͒͟ ̹͖̦͐̀̀̾̒y̷̰̙͈̰̜̟̱̪̿͒ͣͧ̊̌̀͜o͇͒̅̐̀̚͘͡ǘ̝̭͐͢””.

The voice of the being is just as demonic as the sight, bursting Ethenia’s eardrums. She can feel the blood trickling down from her ears, as all she can hear is a ringing sound. Her vision blurs.

✧ ⋄ ⋆ ⋅ ⋆ ⋄ ✧ ⋄ ⋆ ⋅ ⋆ ⋄ ✧

Michael looks at the scene in front of him. Wanton destruction with no regard for anything. The corrupted system notice, the earthquakes, Marcus’ and Chris’ death. He feels lost and disoriented, and then it speaks.

His attention shifts to Ethenia, even as his ears bleed from the grating voice of the being, yet Michael still notices that the being is now hyper focused on Ethenia, and he starts running towards her.

He doesn’t know what drives him. The crush? A noble goal of saving a damsel? It doesn’t matter. All he does is run, and as he reaches Ethenia, he can feel the heat of the being getting closer. Casting a quick glance behind him, he sees the horrifying grin of the thing that wants Ethenia. Looking back at her, he notices a portal opening behind her.

His Talent suddenly gives him insight, and now he knows why he needed her on his team. He needed to form a connection, to stay close, to have his body respond on instinct to save her. Despite the short while they spent together, he came to see the cold and introverted girl blossoming into a woman that exudes confidence and dominance. Guiding him and the class.

It was all for this. There were never supposed to be any survivors, besides her. It was no accident that the portal opened in that classroom. Nothing has been a coincidence, and he knows that for certain as he can feel the unfathomable cosmic being, letting him know in his final moments that his purpose has been fulfilled.

Despite his entire life only culminating in this, he feels content, as he catches a glimpse of the future the cosmic being has seen, he can’t help but feel proud that he has been a part of the Empress of Blood’s story.

He closes his eyes, as heat envelopes him.

✧ ⋄ ⋆ ⋅ ⋆ ⋄ ✧ ⋄ ⋆ ⋅ ⋆ ⋄ ✧

Ethenia feels herself being pushed, before the sensation of a portal washing over her. Despite only having felt it once, even in her muddled state she remembers the welcoming sensation of being transported somewhere else.

As she’s spat out on the other end of the portal, the temperature difference hits her, and the last thing she sees is a frozen tundra, and a castle on the horizon.

Ethenia doesn’t know how much time has passed, and while she knows she’s unconscious, some part of her mind is awake. She feels something happening to her, connections being made.

One is faint, but could become stronger, binding her to someone on earth.

One is strong, but blocked, binding her to someone far, far, far away.

The last one is the strongest, and the person is very close.

“Ethenia.” A gentle voice wakes her up. Opening her eyes she looks into the golden pupils of the woman who’s lap Ethenia is lying in.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

She closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath. The scents of tea, grass, and books fill her nostrils, and the she inhales feels crisp and fresh.

Opening her eyes again, she looks up into the smiling face of the woman above her. Slowly, with the help of the woman, she sits up.

Making herself comfortable, she looks at the other person, no, not a person, being in the room. She can feel the woman is so much more than herself, but it doesn’t feel scary, it almost feels. “Sister?” Ethenia voices out as she tilts her head, and the woman’s smile widens, but remains gentle.

“Hello Ethenia. I’m Athena.” Athena says, and her voice soothes Ethenia’s frayed nerves.

Ethenia’s brain catches up, and the last moments before unconsciousness comes back. “I’m the only one who made it, aren’t I?” She asks, and Athena nods, but she doesn’t seem sad.

Tilting her head. ‘As a matter of fact, neither do I?’ She thinks. Before shelving those thoughts for later, wanting to know more about Athena.

“I have a feeling I’m right, but I want you to confirm. You’re Athena, the Greek Goddess of War?”

Athena lets out a snort, and Ethenia is hit with a sudden bout of cognitive dissonance due to the Goddess acting so, human.

Athena noticing this, addresses it first. “As you’ve surmised, I’m your sister. I’ll explain that part later, but for now, due to our relationship I’ll just be myself in front of you. Yes I am the Athena you’re thinking of but I’m not a Greek Goddess, but we’ll get back to that later as well.”

Ethenia is slightly dazed. Portals, monsters, skills, classes, systems, and now deities? ‘Anyone would feel slightly overwhelmed right now. Sue me.’

Slowly nodding as she processes the information, she looks back up at Athena. “How did we become sisters, I’m fairly certain my mother never had a child before me, and no offense, but I have a feeling you’re slightly older than mother.”

Athena snorts again, before chuckling. “Again, I’ll explain the sister part later, as it requires additional information. To begin, millions of years ago the deities were very much a part of Earth, maybe not physically roaming, but we were a guiding hand, for better or for worse. A certain battle between cosmic forces knocked an asteroid loose, hitting the Earth and shifting it, losing all contact with the divine realm, and other worlds.”

Ethenia mulls over this information for a few seconds, before something Athena said catches her attention. “Wait, you’re telling me that the asteroid that killed all the dinosaurs was caused by a fight between cosmic beings?” She asks incredulously, barely believing what she hears.

Athena laughs, before nodding. “Indeed. We’re not sure what happened to Earth, but until recently it has been lost.”

“Recently? So I assume the portal bringing me here wasn’t the only phenomenon happening?”

Athena looks sadly at her. “I’m not allowed to say more than that Earth has been reconnected and shifted back to its proper place, which may cause changes to the Earth as you previously knew it.”

Ethenia raises an eyebrow. “Allowed?”

“Indeed. Normally none of this information would be provided to a normal mortal, but you’re special.” Athena says in a teasing voice, before becoming more serious. “The system, the same that you’ve become familiar with, is an entity above the cosmic forces, and governs all of creation, even us of divine nature. As you progress in tiers and levels, you will be able to know more information, but only upon reaching certain events, or milestones.”

Ethenia nods, but a few questions come to mind. “If the system is an entity above almost everything, how come it became corrupted by the being earlier? How did that intrude upon what I assume was simply a normal tutorial?”

Athena’s face becomes solemn, and Ethenia feels that her sister isn’t usually this open. “I can’t completely answer, as some of the information is forbidden. Let me just say that the same being that connected us as sisters, is the one that brought you here, but another being, a rival you can say, wanted to ruin the plans that were made. Regarding the system, the one you have is just an offshoot, any divine being can alter certain aspects of your system, and it’s one of these allowances that the enemy being took advantage of.”

Ethenia’s mind is whirring. So much information in such a short time, but things are starting to fall into place. Things regarding the entire tutorial, the portal, are starting to make sense. “If I was the only one supposed to be affected by the portal, why not wait until I’m alone?”

Athena shakes her head. “No, that would only cause more suspicion to other divines. This scenario was the best, simply a miscalculated occurrence that can be shrugged off as a mistake or natural occurrence due to Earth being shifted back. If it was only targeting you, and someone investigated it could cause issues later, but we’re talking on a much larger scale than what you need to concern yourself with at the moment.”

Ethenia digests this, and muses out loud. “Huh, around 40 others died, simply so I could be brought here.” For some reason she doesn’t feel sad, or guilty. While yes, she will somewhat miss Chris, Marcus and Michael, it will probably pass in a day or two.

Noticing this, Athena explains. “When you were brought here, and we were connected, a seed was planted in your soul, and system. If you open your status you should see it.”

Race: High Elf, Progenitor (Seed)*

Progenitor: It is simply a seed, hidden by forces beyond your understanding. Cultivate it to gain the Progenitor race.

“[High Elf]? [Progenitor]?” Ethenia tilts her head.

“Your race should have been changed into a [High Elf] upon entering the portal, I’m not sure why you remained human. It was manually altered when you were brought here.”

Ethenia nods at this, feeling like her body is more right than her previous human one, but that isn’t the important part for now, something about the [Progenitor] feels important.

“Now, regarding [Progenitor]. It is something you must never, ever, ever disclose to anyone without consulting with me. It is the highest form of the Vampire race, the same way [High Elf] is the highest form of the Elf race.”

Ethenia looks back at her status for a second. ‘Hidden by forces beyond my understanding, huh.’ “Why is that so important?”

Athena looks to be thinking for a few moments, before responding. “While the Vampire race is strong in itself, it’s one certain ability that is so threatening, and has turned it into a kill on sight race. I’ll need to explain a bit more before then. Do you know how experience works?”

Ethenia thinks back to the goblins during the first wave. “I have a theory, but no, I’m not certain. I noticed that after only a few goblins, the experience gain stopped, but for the monsters such as the orcs, I gained experience from every one. I did notice I only gained experience from the ones I killed, and the most from the ones I killed single handedly.”

Athena nods at her, before standing up and opening a refrigerator Ethenia hadn’t noticed until then. “Drink?” She asks, while stretching out a hand with a soda can. Ethenia blinks owlishly at her sister, before nodding, and the soda can floats into her hand. Making Ethenia blink again.

“You’re on the right path. Experience is something comprised of multiple elements, but the easiest way to explain it is that you siphon their knowledge. Mental, Physical, Magical. For beings such as goblins, they are fairly simple in all three aspects, and there’s only so much you can siphon from them. The more complex the entity you kill, the more experience you gain, and the longer you can slay that enemy and keep gaining experience. You won’t directly gain their knowledge, but sometimes certain aspects can manifest. If you slay particularly complex dragons, you may end up gaining a dragon's pride, or a need for hoarding an item. Usually you only gain aspects that would be beneficial towards you.”

Ethenia nods at this. It was in the direction she was thinking, but she’s glad that Athena could explain the details. A thought enters Ethenia’s mind, and without thinking she exclaims out loud. “Oh.”

Athena smiles at her. “Yes, you see the problem? When killing something, it’s not the blood spilt, it’s the life force, the essence of the being, what your world calls the ‘Soul’. A Vampire lives on life essence, and gains more concentrated and more efficient experience by siphoning the life essence of a being directly, instead of doing it indirectly through combat or other means.”

Ethenia nods, but tilts her head as a question comes to mind. “I can understand why others would want to hunt Vampires, but why do I feel like it’s a bigger deal? I mean considering the circumstances and everything.” She gestures with her hands to the surroundings, being Athena’s domain.

“A Vampire of sufficient strength can not only siphon life force, but divinity. The difference is that life force can be regained by rest, potions or other means. Divinity is harder to come by, usually it is gained by extraordinary feats, or by the collective faith of a large number of followers. This is why the higher your tier, the more wary you become of Vampires.”

“Then what’s the difference between a [Progenitor] and a Vampire?”

“A [Progenitor] can create other vampires, and has the ability to temporarily raise thralls of the dead, as long as their tier is the same or below. In rare circumstances, with certain conditions filled, a [Progenitor] can even raise a thrall of a being a tier above them.”

‘Okay I’m starting to understand how much shit I could be in. [Progenitor] sounds ridiculous.’

“What happens to me being a [High Elf] and how do I awaken the seed?”

Athena takes a sip from her soda, which to Ethenia looks comical. A Goddess drinking a soda can.

“[High Elf] and [Progenitor] have physical similarities, so we will use that as a cover. You will keep a few key aspects of a [High Elf], but your race will completely become a [Progenitor]. Don’t worry, the same being that brought you here will do the heavy lifting of concealing everything. To awaken the seed, it simply needs to be fed a large amount of life force. Hence why we brought you here. The tutorial was to get you accustomed to the system and your abilities, before you were going to be brought to a small world under my jurisdiction, that I have kept secret since Earth disconnected from the divine realm. There should be enough beings there that you can awaken your seed.”

Athena stands up and claps her hand. “Now then, enough chit-chatting about unimportant stuff, let’s have some sisterly bonding time!” She exclaims as she moves faster than Ethenia can comprehend, before she’s enveloped by her slightly crazy sister.

‘Unimportant stuff, right.’