Chapter Two: Baby Steps to the Heavens
“Our profiles indicate we begin at Level 0 with some basic magical potential since we’re already at the Chi Condensation stage, which is really good. It woulda sucked if we had to spend days, weeks, or months researching how to embark on the path of cultivation. I think—hope, really—that we just have to begin sensing and manipulating Chi in order to use basic magic. For that we—”
Before I could continue prattling, Malachi put his hand up and spoke over me, frowning.
“Cool, cool, cool, you sound like you know what you’re doing. But we don’t know. So, explain?”
I froze as dozens of classic Chinese cultivation fantasy novels and many modern American takes on the genre flashed through my mind. I wanted so badly to go in-depth about Chinese mythology, the LitRPG variants, and how Buddhism related to xianxia, but I held my tongue. They didn’t need a college lecture. They needed as simple an explanation as possible so that they had a baseline understanding of the basics that their personal experiences could modify as we learned more about the multiverse and our new planet. If I said too much and turned out to be wrong I would have failed them, because misinformation could get them killed out there in the wild.
“Good point. Sorry.” I cleared my throat, and my skin itched from the sudden realization that my words had weight. Like, a lot of weight. I thought I’d already recognized that fact, but only now that I was potentially beginning three students on their cultivation paths did I feel the burden of responsibility lay upon my shoulders.
“Okay, umm… If I’m right about the basics, then there is a magical energy called Chi everywhere. It’s in the air, it’s in the ground…it’s everywhere, and it is the source of magic…for the most part. But, uhh, typically we don’t start off able to sense and control it. We have to meditate on its concept and…reach out with our minds and willpower. That’s just the start, but it’s enough for a goal right now, I think.”
“So that’s what you meant by ‘It’s time we meditate for magic’,” Kate groaned, throwing her head back in exasperation. “I wish you’d said we need to fight spirit whatchamacallit beasts instead. I don’t meditate!”
“Well, I did say it’d be boring,” I reminded.
“Meditation, is that all?” Sam scoffed with a smile, crossing his legs and closing his eyes. “Better than something dangerous. I’ll be punching holes through steel soon enough.”
Malachi shrugged and followed Sam’s example.
“Do I reeeeally have to?” Kate continued glowering. “Are you sure there isn’t a potion we can brew that’ll awaken my magic?”
“If you want to miss out on the possible Title, then sure, feel free to sit this out and go do something else,” I said with just a little bit of annoyance in my voice. “It could very well be the case that I’m wrong and we have to brew potions, after all. In that case your time wouldn’t have been wasted.” Saying my piece, I joined the other two dudes in meditation.
“Ughhh, fine…” I heard Kate mutter before she went silent.
‘I’ve got this,’ I thought to myself, recalling all the references to controlled, steady breathing in the books, and I began to take deep breaths.
At first I tried clearing my mind completely in order to sense what I was sure was just outside of my reach, but I struggled. There was a reason meditation wasn’t something a lot of people did in developed countries. Normal life was so hectic and full of stimuli, and most people’s attention spans suffered because of it. Instead of creating a blank void, I only managed to make my imagination even more vivid as random thoughts sprouted to mind and tugged at my concentration.
Now that the previous civilizations had collapsed, would I be able to crown myself as the first Emperor of Humanity if I advanced my cultivation quickly enough? Was the Dao a thing here, and should I focus on that next after gaining control over Chi? Now that the grocery store was without electricity and most our stocks of meat would probably go to waste, what would we do with all the leftovers? Could the inedible meat be used as fertilizer for crops we might plant, or something? What kinds of monsters and natural treasures would I discover on my adventures?
I also wondered about how my three ex-coworkers were internally dealing with the System apocalypse. Were they alright, mentally? After all, they’d been separated from their families, friends, and everything they’d ever known. It could very well have been the case that Earth’s landmasses and people were now scattered randomly across the new planet, and they could go searching for decades without finding anyone they loved.
Thankfully I didn’t really worry about my relatives. I knew that my parents and my only other sibling who hadn’t moved out yet were at home today, while my best friends were also at their respective places. Because of how the grocery store and its neighboring buildings were all isekaied together I inferred that the same would happen to my neighborhood. And since all of us lived on the same street I had trust that my friends would take care of my family.
As for my two siblings who’d already moved out? I didn’t give them much thought. They might be important to my parents, but with our age differences we hadn’t grown up close. Whatever happened, happened.
For a minute I bathed in nothing but the acceptance of my cold detachment; I didn’t give much of a shit for the blood relatives I didn’t know well, but so what? Why was I required to care? Just because we so happened to have been born from the same pair of people I needed to devote some of my emotional energy to them?
Yeah, no.
It was the realization that I’d finally cleared my mind by accepting my indifference for my two oldest siblings that caused my empty head to fill up with thoughts again.
Was this the path forward? Was focusing on introspection the only way to find mental peace? Was that what I needed to do in order to reach a meditative state? If so, was it a personal discovery, or a universal thing I could teach everyone else so that they could also meditate? Was I just learning how to meditate without making progress on my cultivation?
The questions just kept piling up with no end in sight, and my frustration reached a tipping point. I opened my eyes to check how much time had passed on my phone—just four minutes—when I noticed Malachi staring forlornly across the parking lot at the birch forest…
‘Wait.’
Before the integration he’d lived just a few minutes from the grocery store in that direction.
Malachi caught me looking, to which I raised an eyebrow and titled my head questioningly, wanting to know if he wanted someone to talk to. Contrary to my expectations, the usually friendly and open Malachi just closed his eyes and returned to his attempt at meditation.
That wasn’t great, but also not my business, for now.
When I also closed my eyes I did not attempt to clear my mind again. It was boring and difficult. Instead, I opted to try a different strategy in case I’d been going about it all wrong. With little effort I focused on two things: my breathing and ambient sounds. I heard the crowd of customers huddled around the grocery store entrance chatting, complaining, sobbing, and shouting. I heard the wind blow against my ears, the chirping and clicking of what I hoped were normal birds and other forest creatures.
Then I built a mental image of the parking lot around me. I had opted to sit us down between two empty parking spots instead of the middle of the road so that if anyone had the bright idea to waste gasoline they wouldn’t run us over. Beside us were two vehicles, a car and a truck. To my left was Kate, to my right was Sam, and directly across was Malachi.
I let myself look upon that mental image for a minute before I introduced a new element to the setting—one that I hoped was there. The air in my mind became tinted with light blue, as that was the most commonly depicted color for neutral magic in fiction. I pictured the ambient Chi pervading everything around us like a fog, something we could see but not interact with. I relived the many dozens of scenes from so many progression fantasy novels of main characters feeling the ambient magical energy for the first time, and I allowed myself to soak in that feeling of wonder and awe until I convinced myself that it was real…
Because even without opening my eyes I knew I had succeeded, and in my excitement I jumped straight to the next step. I extended my awareness outwards from every part of my body, treating my awareness like a vacuum or something sticky that pulled the Chi into me.
Nothing happened. Or, more specifically, very, very little happened. I could sense the surrounding magical energy be tugged, but it was barely moved and it simply continued chugging along as though I’d tried catching the wind in my hands. Or trapping a grown adult in a tiny spiderweb.
So I hardened my resolve, focusing harder and harder and ever harder, weaving threads and then ropes out of my willpower before forming an even stronger net. Or an ever stronger vacuum pull. The metaphors were getting mixed up in my head but the specific imagery did not matter, only the strength of my intent.
The surrounding ambient Chi bent a lot more, but I still lacked the strength to tear it free from its natural course.
But I’d made progress, and that knowledge invigorated me. I cast out another net of willpower, satisfied with its durability, but looking to pull on the Chi it caught with much more force.
My mind felt like a muscle being flexed to its limit as I saw the energy near, but it wasn’t yet enough. I was sweating from the exertion, and my face felt hot from the strain, but the power with which I commanded the magical energy was insufficient.
What was I lacking? Was I just not strong enough? What—
‘NO!’
I stopped my doubts in their tracks before they could build up momentum. Now was NOT the time for doubting myself.
I brought to surface the fresh memories of pain and unbelievable agony from my encounter with the bearcat. It was basically just a normal animal after being wounded and probably spending all its magical energy in its previous fight, and yet it had almost cost me everything, its sneak attack only foiled by my elbow accidentally swinging into its face.
I needed power, and I knew how to get it. I simply needed to push harder.
So my entire being focused on the singular task of reeling in the catch. Not asking, not persuading, not telling, not commanding. I FORCED my foe to their knees through sheer willpower alone, and finally I sensed a prompt appear in the back of my mind.
I pushed it away for now, keeping my attention on the ambient Chi now drawing closer…wondering what was supposed to happen next. Usually in xianxia novels the characters were born with a spiritual organ called the dantian a bit below and behind the belly button that stored Chi, or at least acted like a heart in that it pumped the energy through one’s energy channels. But I didn’t think we had anything like that because we’d evolved without the presence of Chi—plus, even if the System could have implanted us with that stuff, I just couldn’t sense anything like that in my body so I didn’t rely on that possibility. In some stories the characters stored magical energy in their brains or hearts, but I didn’t want to risk damaging my most vital organs…
So I had to separate fiction from what was real, and the most realistic scenario I could think of was simply storing the energy everywhere; in all my cells. We didn’t seem to have any specialized spiritual organs, and though we might have been able to accomplish the same thing in a real, specific vital organ, I didn’t think it was worth trying first. And if I was wrong, then I’d only hurt myself a little bit everywhere instead of a lot in one place.
So I drew the ambient Chi through my breath and into every part of my body. The energy had no trouble entering and passing through me…in fact, it had probably always been doing that, but only now that I was controlling and commanding it directly to do so did it suffuse into and become one with my cells.
The change was immediate. I now had several instinctual understandings that had not existed before. I had gained a new sense, or at least had an old one supercharged. My proprioception—the sense of knowing where and what your body parts are doing—was suddenly providing me with a lot more knowledge. I could basically see my body and every part of it inside and out just by focusing! I understood that my breakfast was half digested, that I was very dehydrated from sweating and bleeding so much within the last twenty minutes. I could see how the muscles in my feet, legs, and back were already tired from standing at the cash register for just a couple hours.
Additionally, I could sense my new ability to cycle Chi throughout my body and I could feel how my cells were nowhere near saturated. I now intuitively knew that to advance my cultivation I needed to condense my Chi—as if the name for my cultivation stage wasn’t obvious enough—by continuously forcing more and more energy into my cells. It was thankfully a very simple task…but not at all easy to do, I knew.
I could feel two different…“progress bars”, for lack of better words. The first one was how much total Chi I could hold at once, while the second bar was very similar but ultimately completely different. It was my Chi’s density—how condensed it was. I knew that condensing my Chi by packing my cells with more energy than they could hold would make the energy thicker, and it would NOT increase my total energy reserves. It would only allow me to refill my energy stores again with the same amount of energy that packed more of a punch, though it would take longer to do so.
It was like if in an RPG game I had a total of 100 mana points, and when I got stronger my abilities did more damage, but I only ever had 100 total points.
Beaming with euphoria I finally reopened my eyes and immediately jumped to my feet, pumping my healthy arm to the sky and releasing a cheer that resounded across the parking lot. My ex-coworkers were startled by my excitement but soon also began smiling when they realized what I was so delighted about.
“Did you—” Kate began to ask, but stopped when I projected my new Title.
‘Wait, TitleS???’
To my amazement, when I projected my rewards not one, but two Titles appeared.
[Titles]
Baby Steps to the Heavens: Every journey begins somewhere. Begin to sense and manipulate ambient Chi before receiving instruction from the Tutorial. +10 Attribute Points and early Quest opportunities.
Ahead of the Learning Curve: You are the thirteenth of your people to begin sensing and manipulating ambient Chi. +20 Attribute Points and early Quest opportunities.
HOLY SHIT!” I shouted in shock and elation. “10 and 20 points?! And for being the thirteenth? Apparently the System values how fast you figure out cultivation. You guys gotta work on this HARD before that reward drops any more!”
I also took notice of the mentions of “the Tutorial” and “early Quest opportunities” but said not a word. My acquaintances didn’t need to be distracted by stuff that would only become relevant later.
[New Quest: Reach Level 1 by the end of the day.]
‘Speaking of which!’
I could not have been happier. So much progress in just twenty minutes was almost enough to make me explode with ecstasy. The high that came from tangibly achieving something in this new world was like nothing I’d experienced before. Even my favorite webnovels had never made me so happy I thought I’d pass out!
“That’s fucking amazing!” Sam shouted, eyes wide and mouth gaping. “Now teach us! C’mon, hurry! Time’s a wasting! We need those Titles too!”
I pursed my lips, holding in my smile and internally gathering up all my happy feelings. It was good to celebrate, but Sam was 100% correct. The longer it took my acquaintances to take their first steps on the path of cultivation the more rewards they would lose out on.
“Okay guys, here’s the deal. Don’t bother trying to clear your mind. Imagination is key in order to start sensing Chi,” I began, instructing my eager students as well as I could.
……
Several hours passed since I truly became a cultivator and the star in the sky that I had decided to continue calling “the sun” out of laziness was approaching the end of its journey for the day. It would only be another hour or two until darkness found us.
In the time immediately following my ascension from a normal mortal into someone capable of walking the steps to the Heavens, I imparted all my wisdom onto my students before concentrating on filling my cells and condensing Chi, but none of them had yet reached their goal. Kate had gained Chi “sight” and could now sense me drawing in energy, but she hadn’t found the strength to begin controlling it. It didn’t help that every few minutes she stood up, walked around, and found people to talk to out of boredom and impatience.
Sam was definitely the most eager to follow in my footsteps and claim the same Titles for himself, but having barely consumed any fantasy media he had a hard time imagining Chi. As for Malachi…he hadn’t been acting normally since we first sat down to meditate. He was usually all smiles and constantly trying to make others laugh by being wacky, but after having some time to think, he was in a poor mood. My guess was that being kept busy had helped him chug along like usual, but now that he’d given his future after the System apocalypse some thought, he was understandably in a slump.
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I hadn’t expected that kind of reaction from him. It’s not that anything was wrong with being sensitive to tragedy, but his strong physique and usually vivacious personality didn’t suggest he would have trouble coping. I worried for him but didn’t know what I could do to help. The last time I’d seen him troubled like this he’d been despondent and unwilling to broach whatever subject was bothering him. He was the same way now, so I left him to his own devices. All I could do was hope that giving him more time would help him work through his thoughts on his own.
‘Almost halfway to Level 1. I can feel it. But I have others things to do, as well.’
I stood up from the circle just as Kate returned from her latest procrastination session.
“I’ll never understand how you guys can focus so hard for so long. So you finally going to the pharmacy?” Kate said as I walked past her.
“Yep. I’ve made enough cultivation gains, for now.”
I walked the relatively short distance back to the front of the grocery store, which had completely changed since the System descended. Dozens of customers were still sitting around without much to do, but by now everyone had retrieved what they wanted from their cars and the surrounding stores. Some people played games on their phones to pass the time, some were eating from our still-growing stockpile of cooked meat, and still others were just chatting with old and new friends. One guy had even taken a tent kit out of his car and set up camp amongst the store’s selection of potted plants.
Many eyes regarded me as I entered the store. I’d seen quite a few people notice my little clique meditating out on the parking lot, but nobody had approached us. Of interest to me was a group of young adults who’d definitely been sneaking glances at us and even spoke to Kate but had done nothing else. At my behest, Kate had freely told everyone who’d asked what we were doing the truth, but kept to herself the existence of Status Menus.
Once I entered the store I grabbed a plate of a random cooked meat with a side of fresh fruits and vegetables that had been laid out for everyone, then I addressed the employee who had been told to stand there and encourage people to eat.
“Yo, Victor, can you find Agatha and tell her Niko’s looking for her? I’ll meet with her in roughly twenty minutes.”
The older man who used to stock shelves looked between me and the platters of food he was supervising before shrugging to himself.
“Uhh, yeah sure.”
“Great, thanks.”
I knew that Agatha was somewhere helping cook all the hundreds of pounds of meat but because I didn’t immediately see her at the front of the store I didn’t want to bother searching for her. Next, I left the building and began making my way west to the pharmacy, where I knew from one of Kate’s reports was the head pharmacist holing themself up because they refused to believe that the apocalypse had begun.
When I arrived at the pharmacy I kind of hoped that the door would be locked so that I could feel cool punching through the glass with my new cultivation powers, but alas, the entrance was not only unlocked, but also held slightly ajar by a doorstop, and I entered without issue. The door opening fully caused a mechanism to ring a bell on the ceiling, alerting the pharmacist who was far in the back to my presence.
“If you’re here for a prescription, then welcome! But if you’re here to tell me the world has ended, get out!” I heard an older lady shout.
“I’m here for both!” I replied with a smile as I made my way through the store to her. When I reached her line of sight I was unsurprised to find an old, frowning white lady whose blond hair was turning platinum.
I got the impression from her face that she was ready to order me to leave, but as soon as she caught sight of my left arm her eyes lost their anger and she gained an air of professionalism.
“What, when, and where did it happen? Follow me to the back.”
I was a bit excited following the pharmacist past the reception and into the back because I’d never seen this part of the building and I was curious of what it looked like. She led me past many counters, drawers, and shelves full of items into the breakroom, where we sat at the table, I placed down my food, and she began inspecting my arm. The blood had partially soaked through the bandages but had long dried up, sealing my injuries, and still making for a grisly sight.
“I was bitten and clawed by a large mammal just minutes after the message about the System descending after I’d gone out to explore the birch forest we’re in.”
The pharmacist frowned at the mention of the System but maintained her composure. “So this happened to you several hours ago, but only now are you seeing me? Did you at least seek assistance from a different professional before now? These bandages weren’t skillfully wrapped.”
I shook my head. “Nah, one of my coworkers just washed my arm a bit, cleaned it as best he could with rubbing alcohol, and wrapped it. Since we’re no longer on Earth I couldn’t just call an ambulance, y’know. Have you been outside? Also I had more important stuff to do than deal with my arm.” I took a bite of the mystery meat, finding it tasteless because it hadn’t been seasoned, but not undercooked like I feared.
“Yes I’ve been outside!” she snapped at me while unwrapping the blood-stained bandages. “God will…fix everything. And what could be more important than getting this treated?”
“Well…”
I opened and shared my Status Menu, causing her flinch and squeal in surprise, accidentally jostling my arm and wince from the pain.
“W-what was that?!” she demanded, eyes wide as she stood and backed away. “What did you do?!”
I dismissed the screen and simply responded, “Say or think the words ‘Status Menu’. Find out for yourself .”
For a moment the two of us simply stared at each other, her with confusion and me with anticipation. Finally, she flinched again, and I knew she’d thought the words.
“What is this? What’s happening?!” she demanded again, glancing behind her at the door, to which I gestured for her to sit down.
“How about you continue looking at my arm while I explain?”
I could see the indecision in her eyes, but curiosity—or perhaps fear—eventually won out, and she sat down with only a hint of her previous panic. She picked my arm up off the table again and continued unwrapping.
I took a moment to think about my wording, deciding that I should probably stay clear of too many mentions of books that just so happened to feature similarities to the multiverse’s System in functionality.
“Do you remember what the first System message said, earlier?” I began, carefully watching her reactions because a person whose flawed worldview was confronted usually didn’t behave logically.
“No, and I don’t care to know,” she said a bit weakly. So, it was fear after all.
“Well, too bad. If you want to live, you’ll have to listen to me,” I said just a bit mysteriously, relishing in the power that came from the pharmacist’s false impression that I was dangerous. It was a feeling I wasn’t used to…and might feel a lot more of in the future.
“Is that a threat?” she asked meekly, eyes focused on my arm.
“No,” I admitted freely. “It is simply the truth because we—as in, this strip of stores and everyone in them at the time of the System’s descent—have been transported together to a new planet. We no longer have access to the luxuries that living in a developed society used to provide, like electricity, the internet, or even just paved roads connecting everyone to each other. We only have each other for support against the many dangers this new world presents. Do you think a normal animal did this to me? No; it was magical!” I technically lied emphatically.
The doctor’s expression didn’t change as she looked my mauled arm over, but her hands trembled as she silently shook her head, seemingly rejecting my speech. I didn’t say anything about that. I so dearly wanted to have a “checkmate, theist” moment, but that would have been too disrespectful and pointless. She wasn’t going to be convinced in a day. Even if I showed her some cool magic right then, she would probably only accept the multiverse and the System for what they were after seeing people die to a spirit beast attack, or something.
“Look, Dr…”
“Wakefield.”
“Dr. Wakefield, I don’t want to cause you too much distress. As a doctor you are incredibly important to us—far more than you currently understand. The reason I’m telling you all this even though I usually wouldn’t care what you believe is because the longer you take to accept that things have changed, the more you’ll be left behind.”
I gently pulled my bloody arm away from her and stood up, making my way to the fridge where I found an apple after rummaging around. I held the apple up on top of my palm before wrapping my fingers around it and squeezing. Being an apple, it was tough, and my fingers did nothing but wrinkle the skin a little bit. Dr. Wakefield saw me strain against the fruit and looked at me questioningly, to which I smiled and allowed a bit of the Chi stored in all my cells to begin circulating. Slowly, at first, but then as the seconds passed it gathered momentum until it felt like a river coursing through me. Then I emptied that river into my hand and fingers…which sank into the fruit a little bit, but ultimately didn’t have the effect I was hoping for.
Before that river of Chi I’d pulled from all my cells was exhausted I quickly allocated 5 Attribute Points into Strength with just a thought, and immediately my fingers sank completely into the apple before causing it to explode and for chunks of the fruit to scatter across the floor.
‘That was embarrassing,’ I thought while managing to keep a straight face. Level 0 Chi wasn’t even potent enough to allow me to crush an apple with my base Strength, much less easily shatter a thick glass door unharmed.
Dr. Wakefield gulped as she studied the apple remnants.
“That’s all the proof of magic I’ll give you for now. The world has ended, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can start getting stronger. Though, it’s not like anyone will make you fight monsters,” I laughed. “We’ll need you to gain magical healing powers to complement your precious medical knowledge, which will make you one of if not the most valuable members of the community we build.”
After saying my piece I helped Dr. Wakefield clean up the mess I’d made, and then she returned to taking care of my arm in silence while I ate.
……
With a pristine and properly applied bandage around my newly cleaned arm I left the pharmacy and returned to the grocery store, taking note of the people walking back and forth from the pet supply store. I guessed from the pet supplies in their arms that they were planning on passing out the dog and cat beds and blankets to be used as bed stuffs. The cat and small dog beds looked like they’d make fine pillows.
“There you are!” Agatha shouted from the store entrance, where she’d been leaning against a wall and presumably waiting. “What is it you need?”
“Now that I’ve had my arm seen by the pharmacist it’s time to give everyone the speech so that they all know what’s going on,” I said, getting straight to the point. “It’s important we spread the same information to everyone as soon as we can. I’ve gotten even more Titles since I showed them to you because I wasted no time.”
I flashed both my Status Menu and my Titles screen, while at the same time realizing that only the Title I earned most recently appeared on the Status Menu, though it seemed only cosmetic.
Niko Tess
Strength: 15
Endurance: 11
Chi Condensation (Level 0)
Agility: 10
Vitality: 15
Race: Human (Tier 1)
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Attribute Points: 29
[Titles] Ahead of the Learning Curve
[Quests] Reach Level 1 by the end of the day.
[Titles]
Early Murderous Bird: The early murderous bird gets the worm. Be among the first ten of your people to kill a higher-leveled spirit beast after your world’s integration into the multiverse. +5 Attribute Points.
Punching Up: Level doesn’t mean everything. Slay a wild spirit beast at least 5 Levels above your own without assistance. +5 Attribute Points.
Baby Steps to the Heavens: Every journey begins somewhere. Begin to sense and manipulate ambient Chi before receiving instruction from the Tutorial. +10 Attribute Points and early Quest opportunities.
Ahead of the Learning Curve: You are the thirteenth of your people to begin sensing and manipulating ambient Chi. +20 Attribute Points and early Quest opportunities.
I watched Agatha’s eyebrows raise in surprise as she read the new information. “This…”
“This means a lot, Agatha,” I interrupted. “I’ve learned a lot since we last spoke and it’s crucial we get the ball rolling. My Titles mention Quests, and more importantly, an upcoming Tutorial. I don’t know when it’s going to happen but I don’t want anyone entering it without being prepared, because it will most likely represent opportunities to acquire more power, and the faster we move the stronger we’ll become. Understood? The same goes for Quests—in case anyone gets one, I don’t want them to be confused.”
After a brief pause, Agatha nodded. “Right. I agree. We can put the cooking on pause for a little bit and round everyone up.” She took her phone out of her pocket, unlocked it, and handed it to me on a note-taking app. “Write down everything relevant you know and I’ll quickly put something together.”
“No thanks, I don’t need help writing the speech. I just need you to round everyone up so I can say what I need to.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, giving me that look she usually reserved for when she thought someone was working too slowly. “I’m going to do the talking. Now hurry up; you’re burning daylight.”
I froze, then looked up at her with incredulity because she seemed to think her past leadership position meant more than it did.
She seemed to think she was still my boss.
“No,” I said firmly, bringing up my hand to wag my finger at her, expressing my irritation as calmly as possible, uncaring of the fact that people were watching. “Before today I was just a nobody who worked a shitty job under you, but things have changed, Agatha.” She frowned. “Let me be clear here: if even a small portion of what I suspect about this System apocalypse is correct, then you all don’t stand much of a chance of surviving without me. I am not so far up my own ass that I think I am Humanity’s sole savior or anything, but I will undoubtedly become one of its vanguard or die trying, not only because I was lucky enough to have an idea of what’s going on before most other people, but because I am willing to do anything to get stronger. I don’t fear adversity. Now that I have a chance of being a somebody, I only fear being irrelevant and failing to help people. Capiche?”
I was breathing roughly by the end of my little tirade and was already so used to being a cultivator that I had to actively stop myself from cycling any Chi in my frustration.
Agatha seemed conflicted between keeping her mouth shut and arguing with me, ultimately choosing the latter.
“You’re willing to do anything?”
I cringed. “Poor wording. I meant that I’m willing to put myself in as much danger as possible in order to stay ahead, not that I’m going to tear others down to stay at the top.”
My ex-boss nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer. “But just because you’re educated or capable in one area doesn’t mean you are leadership material,” she countered. “And when a leader makes a mistake, the repercussions can spread wide, hurting many people.”
I almost laughed at the irony of her statement, given the fact that the basic mistakes of the grocery store chain’s old leadership caused so many employees so much pain from standing all day.
“I am well aware, Agatha. I am ambitious, not stupid. I’m open to all criticism and wisdom others have to share. However, until everyone’s on the same page, I am the wisest person here.”
Just to amuse myself, I placed one point into Wisdom so that my statement was true in more ways than one. I’d already confirmed earlier that everyone started with 10 points in every stat—though I didn’t know what that meant for children, the elderly, and everyone else with differing statures and states of health.
Agatha looked like she had harsh words on her mind, but only took back the phone. “I hope you’re right. I’ll spread the word to gather outside.”
I nodded. “Good. Thanks.”
I watched Agatha head back into the store, instructing every employee she passed by to gather as many people as they could.
When she left, one of the young adults from the group I held special interest in approached me, her friends looking on but staying back. They’d been within earshot the whole time I spoke with Agatha.
“Hi, I’m Annice, and you are?” the girl with rainbow hair asked with a smile, putting her hand out for a shake.
“I’m Niko.” I accepted the handshake but wasn’t in the mood to smile. “If you have questions about magic or the apocalypse we find ourselves in, your questions will be answered soon enough.”
Annice’s smile didn’t change, and I could read nothing from it. “Me and my friends were just wondering if we could join your clique. It’s clear you know what you’re doing, and since we don’t want to be left behind, it seems the best idea is to follow you, for now.”
I stared unflinchingly into her eyes, and she did the same…
I blinked first, then smiled. “You and your friends are smart, but what exactly do you have in mind? I’m going to give everyone the same information. Whether anyone succeeds as I have will be dependent on their own talent, and only after someone performs well will I show them favoritism.”
Annice put a finger to her cheek cutely, holding that arm up with her other. “We figured as much, so after a bit of thinking we decided to offer our loyalty, asterisk.”
“You want to be my servants?” I asked, internally laughing at the word “asterisk”.
“We want to be soldiers, Niko. Everyone saw your confidence and your arm after you came out of the forest. Clearly something attacked you—or you attacked it—and despite it doing that to you…here you are. You won that fight. I’ve watched a bit of anime; I have no doubt that there are monsters out there. After all of us being teleported like this, the existences of magic and monsters are a given.”
I nodded and chuckled with satisfaction. “I didn’t give you guys enough credit; you’re intelligent, and I’ll accept your offer. After my speech and before everyone turns in for the night, find me again.”
Annice nodded and made her way back to her friends to report the news and no doubt give her updated thoughts on me, the guy who killed a monster minutes after the System descended while everyone else was still finding their bearings. I chuckled at the image I’d built of myself.
With that out of the way I found my three acquaintances and led them to my car, which I moved to the most empty spot in the parking lot with their help by having them point the way. Driving with just one arm was more difficult than I thought. With my car in a good spot I turned it off, got out, locked it, and jumped onto the hood.
Mistake. Jumping agitated my injuries a lot. But the pain didn’t change anything as I carefully made my way from the hood onto the roof. The car may have basically become obsolete without the presence of roads, but I still felt the need to not damage it unnecessarily…
Which I quickly realized made me a hypocrite, because I was so eager to break a very necessary glass door not too long ago.
My skin crawled at the realization that I’d already begun letting my newfound power get to my head, and while I waited for everyone to gather in front of the grocery store I worked to internalize the fact that, for now, I was still just a normal person on the inside.
Still standing, I closed my eyes and meditated, condensing my willpower until it was strong enough to tear the ambient Chi away from the world for myself, refilling my cells from when I spent a tiny bit of energy crushing the apple proving my point to Dr. Wakefield. My energy reserves quickly topped off, and I proceeded to continue making progress toward Chi Condensation Level 1.
After an indeterminate amount of time I was nudged out of my meditation by a familiar voice.
“Niko!”
I opened my eyes to find Agatha by my driver side window, looking up at me with her arms crossed, surrounding by people.
‘Well, I guess it’d be more precise to say I’m the one surrounded.’
All around me were over a hundred, maybe two hundred eager faces looking up at me. Agatha had delivered.
I scanned the crowd and located everyone I was even a little familiar with except Dr. Wakefield, which was unsurprising.
“Well?” Agatha asked impatiently. “Sun’s setting soon. Please tell us what you know, oh mighty one.”
A dozen customers reflected the same opinion, but Agatha hushed them, saying what I had to say was important and to not speak over me.
I smirked at her before turning in a circle on my car’s roof, meeting as many gazes as possible, only slightly disappointed that I was wearing the grocery store’s uniform instead of something more commanding.
“The System has descended, the old nations have fallen, and a new world order is up for grabs,” I began dramatically. “What I suspect happened is that a higher, artificial intelligence-like being called ‘the System’ has integrated our planet’s population into the wider universe. Multiverse, actually. We Humans of old Earth are not the only people in existence. We are not the only life, and your religions and spiritualities are wrong…unless you believed in the System.”
I gave a long pause, watching everyone’s reactions. Lots of people were confused. Some younger faces were amused. Some were angry. Most showed nothing, simply listening intently.
“What matters most is that this ‘System’ completely upends our old ways of living. There used to be nothing but us and our planet—what we could detect, what we could interact with physically using our hands and machines. But now…the System brings us potential power. The air on this planet we’ve been transported onto is full of an energy that only our mind’s can interact with—or maybe its our godless souls; we’ll find out the difference eventually. This energy, called Chi, makes us stronger if we can control it. The Chinese have mythology very similar to it.”
I was losing people. I noticed more and more faces display incredulity and the willingness to call bullshit, so it was time to bring out the big guns.
“Some of you clearly don’t believe me,” I said simply, before summoning my Status Menu and Titles screen over my head facing downwards and enlarging them until they were each as wide as my car.
Gasps and shrieks resounded, but Agatha was quick to call order. Some would say their reactions wasted a minute, but I knew that it was a minute well spent, because their shock would only make their future belief that much stronger.
“Everyone has a Status Menu, or Character Sheet, or whatever you want to call it. Simply will it to appear and it shall. Allow other people to see it and they will. Study your screens, then compare them to mine.
“Goddamn!”
“There’s no way…”
“But how???”
The bewilderment and chaos I was causing in everyone’s minds filled me with joy, but I held myself in check. I may have acted like an angel who descended from Heaven to guide their souls or whatever, but I was just a lucky man making the most of my situation and trying to convince everyone of something they needed to know.
“Hush now and listen!”
Agatha and I quieted them again.
“I still have one more demonstration before I go into detail about what I have learned,” I said cheekily. “Does anyone have an apple?”