Alyssia had just smirked when Arthur asked her where the locus of power was. “You still have a lot to learn,” she’d told him. That was why Arthur was staring intently at what it was that the alverin woman was doing. Despite his best efforts, however, Alyssia looked like nothing more than a stationary woman daydreaming, her gaze fixed on the empty air in front of her.

When three minutes of inactivity had passed, Arthur began to think that the woman was probably just pulling his leg but he still refrained from disturbing her. She was doing something nigh impossible after all, judging by everything he'd learned in the past ten minutes.

Closing his eyes, Arthur once again tried to focus on the magic Alyssia was casting. Unless he was on the completely wrong track, the item she was no doubt using operated on Ether. He tried to do something different this time, however. Instead of trying to focus on the ether Alyssia was releasing-which was absolutely nothing if his prior observations were anything to go by- Arthur tried to detect the ambient ether present in the world around him instead. It had always been there, since the creation of the planet and even before that momentous event, primordial energy as old as time itself.

Maybe even older.

Arthur focused and focused till he felt the veins in his forehead begin to throb and a dull ache began to form within his skull. Come on, Ether's supposed to be everywhere god damn it. It’s the damn building blocks of existence, he cursed as all his efforts proved to still be to no avail. Arthur however was nothing but stubborn and he ferociously endured his growing headache. Maybe he wasn’t so advanced at magic yet that he’d be able to understand the spell that Alyssia was currently casting but for heaven's sake he should at least be able to see what it was she was doing.

Redoubling his efforts, Arthur brought his 92 perception to bear and directed all his willpower behind the attribute. Something suddenly clicked inside Arthur and he opened his eyes wide in shock. The world before him was nothing like the one he had closed. His vision presented a sight, unlike anything he had ever seen before. If he was asked to describe what he saw, he would never be able to, unable to even form the words to explain the sight before him. The language hadn’t yet been invented that could do so; at least he didn't know of any.

‘Let there be light.’ The biblical phrase suddenly came to mind as he surveyed the scene before him and he agreed the words were an apt description for how he was currently feeling. It looked like creation lay before him, in the moments before it had been given form, still a thought or an idea, a phantasm of what would one day be.

It was the beginning of everything and the ending of all, the ephemeral chaos of energy and emotion, endlessly interacting. Within it lay the entirety of what was present in the infinite spectrum of reality, the source code of existence itself. Arthur tried to look further into its secrets, to see what it was that Alyssia was doing but try as he might, this was as far as his vision would take him.

With a sudden stab of pain, Arthur felt himself lose consciousness for a split second, or maybe he had blinked, he wasn’t too sure about anything at the moment. What he was sure of, however, was that the world had returned to normal, no longer laid out before him. He had a splitting headache and felt a twinge of nostalgia as if he’d remembered a friend he’d somehow forgotten. Damn, that shit really messed with my head. It was like I was high or something. He couldn't trust any of the conclusions he'd come to. What even was that?

Arthur had no idea what exactly he had done, or if he could ever repeat that feat, only that he had a whole new level of respect for the Alverin woman. He knew, at least, that whatever she was currently doing had somehow interacted with the energy within the vision he had just seen and though Arthur hadn’t a clue as to what that was, he was certain that it displayed a level of skill unheard of on tier-two planets. Instead of trying to ‘see’ again, Arthur chose to wait and recuperate from the throbbing pain in his skull.

Looking down at his watch, he saw that it was 4:43 am, a full eight minutes since Alyssia had entered her trance-like state. In the end, it turned out that Arthur didn’t have to wait that long as suddenly Alyssia gasped out loud and took a step backwards. Arthur was immediately weary that something must have gone wrong, but he needn’t have worried.

A shimmering blue portal popped into existence in the place Alyssia had fixed her gaze on as if the woman had somehow torn a hole in reality with her glare alone. Maybe she had: Arthur wasn’t too sure how the magic worked. Deciding to let the obviously exhausted Alyssia rest for a bit instead of bombarding her with questions like he wanted to, Arthur instead chose to identify the blue portal in front of him. At least that was what he thought it was. When he used the skill, he couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

Gateway to the Locus of Hercules (Unstable)- An entrance to the Locus of the great Hero Hercules. Within lies the trials the demigod once bested. Note: The gate is unstable and will close shortly.

Level restrictions- 200

Participants: 1-4

It seemed Alyssia had been successful in finding and infiltrating the Locus of Power and going by the place's restriction, they would both be able to challenge it. Arthur was a little surprised at the mention of Hercules however. A famous individual of Greek mythology, Arthur had of course heard of the powerful demigod.

Despite Alyssia’s warnings that the Locus of power would be based on the lore and legends of Earth, he hadn’t expected her words to be so literal. Still, I know at least a little about his stories- well maybe not so much, Arthur thought worriedly. It was a shame he didn't have his phone on him, not that there would be any signal this deep in the forest. A quick Google search would help them a lot for the upcoming trials.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Alyssia had already told him that information would make their lives much easier once they went into the Locus and Arthur was pretty sure his knowledge wasn’t quite up to scratch. After a minute of rest, Alyssia seemed to have finally recovered from her ordeal and she straightened up, using some dextrous use of magic to remove the sweat from her brow. Arthur wasn’t as surprised with the great display of skill as he would have been a few days ago- he’d come to expect such things from the dimensional traveller.

She turned around to look at him. “Look, this is your last chance to turn back. Once we go through that gate, the only way we can come back is by conquering the Locus,” Alyssia stated gravely. "We can do your reformation training elsewhere if you wish, though it'll be far harder to achieve the same results."

Arthur didn’t take the time to consider her words, lest he start doubting the decision he’d already made. He wasn’t going to turn back now. “No, I already decided to see this through to the end,” Arthur replied convincingly. "And I don't want you to squander this opportunity for my sake.

Alyssia graced him with a brief smile when she heard his conviction. Though She'd never say it aloud, Alyssia had feared that Arthur might get cold feet when push came to shove and she was heartened that the powerful healer had defied her expectations. Alyssia wasn’t stupid enough to think she was strong enough to challenge a Locus of power alone and this was also the perfect opportunity to find out more about Arthur's abilities.

She knew already that he wasn’t a mere healer and her goal first and foremost at this moment in time, even more than the Locus itself, was to understand and get to know Arthur better. Only then would she be able to help him with his problems. It wasn't all altruism on her part though.

After all, she was certain that her own growth and power would be significantly increased if she attached herself to Arthur and the man would probably one day become her best chance of finding a way back home.

Oh shit, I’m doing it again, she cursed herself. Stop being a leech. Just because she was far from home and different from everyone else, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t be able to form any worthwhile friendships whilst she was here. That was a far healthier relationship, both for herself and her younger brother and Alyssia didn’t want to repay Arthur's kindness by abusing it to better her situation.

He deserved better than that and though the young man always seemed to appear happy and content when around her, Alyssia noticed the burdens he carried, even the ones he himself didn't acknowledge. Auras didn't lie, or at least not those as inexperienced as Arthurs own. Her smile became a little tense.

“This gateway will only hold for another minute or so…” she said, indicating to the blue portal. She didn't have to finish the sentence. The meaning was plenty clear enough. Turning around, the alverin woman stepped forward, through the shimmering gateway. There was no fanfare, no incredible moment of magic, she was just gone, disappeared into thin air.

Arthur swallowed the saliva gathered in his mouth as he felt the wild thrum of his heartbeat. Despite the bravado he’d shown earlier, he was a little scared and took a moment to centre himself. Come on Arthur, this is nothing. Or is Alyssia right? Have you become a bitch? He psyched himself up. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the portal. It felt like he’d been dipped in freezing water and yet his body was somehow simultaneously burning up. Arthur had no idea how teleportation worked, or if his current mode of transport could even be described as such but if it was, he knew that he’d never be a fan of the magical method of movement.

His stomach wasn't happy with him and someone was throwing a party in his guts. It took a few seconds for Arthur to get his bearings, and when he did, he carefully opened his watery eyes to survey his surroundings. A system message greeted him.

Welcome to the Locus of Hercules.

Number of challengers: 2

Layer 1 of 3.

You are currently in the Grasslands of crystal lakes. To advance to the next layer, you must capture the steeds of Diomedes and return them to their rightful stable. You must not bring any harm to them, or there shall be consequences.

Horses captured 0/9

Arthur blinked in surprise at the game-like quest he had received. The Locus of power was turning out to be far from his expectations, defying the more fatalistic conventions of the post-system world. I mean, I do remember hearing how Hercules had to do something similar, but do we just have to replicate his feat,’ Arthur wondered in suspicion. It seemed too straightforward and a little too easy if he was being honest.

Hey, hey- don't get ahead of yourself, you idiot. The horses could all be level 300 for all I know, he chided himself. Lady Luck had probably heard his vote of confidence loud and clear, however, and she’d probably be putting it to the test shortly. He’d definitely jinked himself right now, and the task before him would be anything but easy. That was something he was almost certain about. Still, Arthur hadn’t expected the Locus of power to work quite like this.

Whilst the system presented itself as a game-like interface, he was certain that a Locus was something altogether separate from it which was why he was a little confused with the quest-like format it had. Is it a regulatory effect from the system? Arthur shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to try and work out the intricacies of how this place worked, there would be time for that later.

All he had to do now was conquer the place, however difficult that may prove to be. And get some training done. For the first time, Arthur tried to get a feeling for his surroundings. The system called this layer the Grasslands of Crystal Lakes and looking around, Arthur had to agree that the place was aptly named if a little on the nose. As far as the eye could see- which was quite considerable considering he had nearly a hundred perception- there were rolling hills of the most natural shade of green he had ever seen. It was as if the colour of the grass was what green had always intended to be but never quite managed to achieve.

It was breathtakingly beautiful and Arthur marvelled at how peaceful and scenic the place appeared. The area was well-lit like it was mid-day but Arthur could see no sign of a sun when he looked up at the sky, leading him to believe that this was the perpetual state of these grasslands, frozen in time. It unnerved Arthur a little and reminded him that no matter what he might see, this place was nothing like the real world.

Alyssia thankfully had also arrived at the same spot as him and she too was surveying the area. Arthur had worried that they would be transported to different places when they went through the unstable gate and he was grateful that he had been mistaken. You had to appreciate the small mercies in life or you’d never manage to cope with reality when shit hit the fan.

“Oh shit, this is going to be a lot harder than I thought,” Alyssia cursed next to him. She didn’t offer any explanation for her statement and so Arthur followed her gaze to where she was staring at something in the distance. It took him a moment to realise that she was actually looking at one of the horses they’d have to capture. It was practically invisible with how well its green fur camouflaged with the land around it. When he identified the beast, Arthur had to agree.

This would take a lot of work.