Life had, in fact, very quickly gotten very weird. This was unquestionably true, and a recurrent thought in moments of quiet since this System weirdness had begun. It was also a useful thought and reminder. This was not Dan's element; none of this was natural or familiar. He had no training, instincts or habits to fall back on now. Those he left Earth with were now liabilities. There was still a moment of hesitation at times before he remembered his legs worked again and he should move them. He'd faced immediate, mortal danger and the need to react decisively to not die. This was not a thing he was used to, unless one thought of driving that way - which didn't seem like a psychologically relevant comparison. His newly super powered body had nearly boundless energy, but his mind was tired. And maybe his soul, if that was a thing.

"Ray, let's take a bit to rest. I need to get my thoughts clear."

"Wise. Your home is a soft world, is it not? You are unaccustomed to violence or danger."

Oddly perceptive of the Raven to guess the direction of his thoughts. Or perhaps not. Twilight Ravens were a perceptive species, though it was not particularly intuitive that that extended to human psychology. Quite a feat, really, for Ray to be able to conceive of what it would be like to live so differently and the way leaving that life might effect a human.

"Uh, yeah, I suppose my home is a soft world. Or at least the part of it I came from is pretty peaceful. Other parts, not so much."

"How are you?"

Dan thought. An interesting question.

"I'm physically well. I am mentally tired, stressed, somewhat afraid, and somewhat disassociated. I know this is real, and it in one way all feels perfectly real, but in another it all seems like a vivid dream."

"Natural, but concerning. This is not a healthy state of thought to carry through a dungeon, particularly nearer the dungeon's end. Do you know of exercises to clear and focus your mind? If not, I could suggest one, but a familiar method will be more effective."

Dan considered this. He had no formal training in mindfulness techniques or meditation or anything. He did have a series of simple questions that sometimes helped him pick through thickets of muddled complexity.

"Well, I'm not sure I've got what you'd call a method or technique, but I do have some questions I like to think through when my mind starts to go off the rails. What has changed? What matters right now? What will matter later? What is important to keep in mind?"

"Those are good questions. How would you answer them?"

"What has changed: I am no longer on Earth. I have been selected as one of a small number of people from my world tasked with proving we're worth saving. There is a quasi-omnipotent System that has granted me super powers, which I am supposed to use to gain power, presumably by fighting monsters, who also have super powers and are a thing that exists, for the next seven years. I met you and we now have a master/familiar relationship even though you are older, stronger and vastly more experienced. I am currently in a dungeon, and we need to fight our way through or die. If we do so, I gain improved super powers. I am no longer physically disabled. My super powers are especially super, as I've apparently been Chosen and put into the trial world, your world, in near perfect circumstances, and I've got a massive bonus to a powerful class in Esper. I think that about covers it?"

"More or less. What matters to you right now, Dan?"

"Right now? We've got to stay alive and fight through this dungeon. That's the goal that matters. To achieve that, I've got to use my super powers to fight well, which is a problem because they're so new that I'm clumsy with them and they all require conscious thought to use. It's as if I had to think to breathe or something. I also need to work well with you and learn as much as I can to benefit from your experience and expertise to try to mitigate my ignorance here. I leveled up to 8, and that means I've got an attribute point, a perk point, and an aether ability to pick or to choose to save, but I'd really like to find something good I can just use them on this time. Scent the Blood is some kind of tracking ability, which I can put off, but please don't let me forget to experiment with that when we have more time. I need to regain mental and emotional equilibrium and focus on what we're doing. It's not as if I'm a wreck currently or anything, but I'm pretty sure this dungeon is meant to push us pretty close to our, and especially my, limits. I want to be as close to my best as I can get."

Ray bobbed his head in a way that Dan could somehow tell was approving, though he couldn't put his finger on how he knew that. "I agree, that is a good summation of what we should think and do now. What will matter later?"

Dan sat down and leaned heavily against the stone wall. He thought for a long moment, resting his hands on his knees. "That's difficult. A lot of things are going to matter. Too many. I need to find a place in your world once we get back from this dungeon. Get to Weaverton, the city you told me about, and integrate into sapient society as quickly and well as I can. I need to learn pretty much everything. How to fight, how the System works, local culture, geography, ecology, monster types and behavior, combat, more about what equipment is available for fighting and how to use it, history, politics, how the economy works, law... There's just an enormous amount I don't know, that I guess I took for granted knowing back in my home. I need to continue to level up, but I also need to plan out as best I can what path to take as I level, in perks, attributes, aether abilities, and which of those I need to prioritize practicing. I'll need to find a safe place to live, ideally that would also be a safe place to store belongings. I guess to sum it up, I've got to learn as much as I can as quickly as I can, and figure out what I need to learn first."

"Good. You are very right. In my world, you could be compared to a bright child, with intellect but little experience or knowledge. I will do my best to protect and teach you as you learn, until you know what you must to make good choices yourself."

"I'm not gonna lie, while I understand, agree, and appreciate that, it still feels a bit awkwardly paternal."

Ray looked at the human quizzically. "My apologies. I do my best, but the workings of human minds are still opaque to me at times."

"No no, it's fine. I mention it only because I'm trying to clear my head, and one thing that's been troubling me is that it doesn't make sense, given the purpose of the trials, for me to be able to just ask you what to do in nearly every situation rather than figure things out and make decisions on my own. But as you said, I'll be able to make informed choices once I've got my feet under me in your world. My near total reliance on you should be temporary."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Just so. What is important to keep in mind?"

"First thing is to trust my danger sense and tactical precognition. I know they work, but the fact that they do goes against how I was sure the physical laws of the universe functioned in a way that screws with my head a bit, and that results in a small delay before I can process what they're telling me and react. I must get to where I can use those senses without getting distracted by the fact of their existence. Second thing, I need to remember the tools available to me in a fight. I've got super senses, some perks to partially make up for my lack of combat experience, Dark Bolt thanks to you, my sling which seems a bit underwhelming against monsters of this level, and moderately enhanced speed to go with slightly enhanced strength and constitution, and a Naga spear that I have no idea how to use. I'm still probably better off with the spear than trying to fight things up close with my feet, fists or knife though, or the tire iron. I'm not sure I should keep carrying that tire iron everywhere, trying to club monsters close to my level seems like a bad thing to be doing. I'm rambling."

"Yes, the last point is very important to keep in mind. Have your questions helped? Are you feeling better?"

"A bit, yeah. So, perk point, attribute, and aether ability to spend. I assume the perk goes to Enhanced Evasion 2 and the attribute to Agility like we talked about earlier?"

"I believe they should, yes."

Dan made the selections.

"What about the aether ability? I assume that none of the non-Esper options are a good idea because of my penalty to those schools and low Aether Attunement?"

"Yes, you should focus on your strengths. Your main strength is the combination of your Esper abilities and unreasonably high Perception. Your lesser strength is moving out of danger's path. To that end, has the aether ability Kinesthetic Enhancement become available to you?"

That sounded quite interesting. Dan quickly searched through the menu of available aether abilities and found it. It seemed to be a straightforward ability that improved the user's awareness of their body in space, and the effect improved with the perception attribute. Perception already boosted that, and it had been enormously helpful. Kinesthetic sense was so easily overlooked, but Dan had seen how world class athletes moved with unearthly grace and control, and felt the difference in his own physical abilities. Also, it was an Esper school aether ability that directly improved his ability to fight. Most importantly, Ray recommended it. He spent the point, then immediately tried out his new tool. It had a ten minute duration, and could be used once every one hundred-minutes, and the sensation was difficult to describe. It was almost energizing, a feeling that he knew exactly how his body could move and how it couldn't, aware of every option he had. It'd be easy to juggle blindfolded, or do parkour even without training or experience. He took a moment to review his status.

Name: Daniel Martin

Age: 29

Species: Human

Class: Esper

Level: 8

Health: 324/324

Aether Pool: 316/316

Health Regeneration: .151/minute

Aether Regeneration: .53/second

Attributes

Strength: 24

Constitution: 28

Agility: 35

Perception: 116

Aether Attunement: 27

Available: 0

Skills

Sling Marksmanship, Level 5

Perks

Brain Cage

Enhanced Evasion 1

Enhanced Evasion 2

Universal Translator

Aether Contractor

Familiar Mind Link

Poison Resistance 1

Combat Instinct

(2 available)

Aether Abilities

Unerring Aim [self] (R5, Esper): Level 1

Sensory Locus (R5, Esper): Level 1

Peer Through Past [recent, item focus] (R3, Esper): Level 1

Minor Restore Health (R2, Restoration): Level 1

Minor Aether Bolt (R1, Evocation): Level 1

Detect Monster (R3, Esper): Level 1

Sense Deceit (R6, Esper): Level 1

Eagle Eye (R3, Esper): Level 1

Universal Compass (R9, Esper): Level 1

Penetrating Sight (R4, Esper): Level 1

Cleanse (R1, Alteration): Level 1

Contract Familiar (R5, Esper/Conjuration): Level N/A

Dark Bolt (R5, Evocation - Familiar Link): Level N/A

Lesser Cure [self] (R2, Restoration): Level 1

Track Prey (R4, Esper): Level 1

Roving Eye (R5, Esper) : Level 1

Scent the Blood (R4, Esper): Level 1

Kinesthetic Enhancement (R5, Esper): Level 1

(3 available)

Putting all of that together, it was just like Ray said. He had incredible senses and Esper abilities, and was quite good at not getting hit. As far as offense went, Dark Bolt was his big gun and after that he had a few options, none of them particularly good. Which was fair. It'd be unreasonable to be great at everything all at once. But just the fact that it was fair didn't mean it wasn't a problem. If he and Ray ran into something they couldn't finish off with a volley of fourteen dark bolts a piece, that would... not be good.

"Alright Ray, that's enough of a break. Ready to get going and see what the dungeon throws at us next?"

"Of course. Dungeons are such delightful little puzzles, aren't they?"