Leif stared at the figure made of crimson light, a sketch of a smile stretched across their otherwise undetailed face.
“Who- or what are you?” He asked, both on guard and alert at the figure's sudden appearance.
“Hmmm, little me? Give it a few seconds, you’ll remember. I think so at least.” The red ghost said, its smile widening.
“I don’t- wait…” Leif said, a veil that had been placed over his memories being drawn back. He remembered his first evolution, of going over the different options and ultimately deciding to go with [Amber Blight Spriggan]. But a second, previously hidden layer to that memory was now revealed, Leif saw himself engaging in conversation with the entity that now stood before him, how he had been congratulated, consoled, and told that he wouldn’t remember. “You- you put me down this path.” He half stated, half accused.
“I did no such thing! I am an overseer, I can only observe, measure and record.” It said, raising the bare outline of what could be arms as if in defence.
“Yes… You said the same exact thing last time.” Leif recalled, unwilling to lower his guard. It was highly unnerving to realise that his memories had been altered, doubly so now that his ability to recall past events had been further enhanced by a skill.
“You don’t believe me, do you? Harsh, a little rude, but fair. A lot of the beings I interact with don’t understand me, it’s one of my life’s great tragedies.” The ghost mumbled, dejectedly.
Leif’s vision briefly flicked to the system notifications he had received, the ones repeatedly declaring that an error had been made. “What does the system mean that the trial rewards may be nullified or altered? Is this your doing?”
“No, no. That’s a standard message, everyone in your kind of situation sees it. Though I do think it’s worth pointing out that it's quite rare for anyone to actually get to this point. You are almost unique in that regard. Madness, death, those are the most common outcomes. I know you have many questions, but before you barrage me with them I should point out that my ability to share information is heavily restricted. It is my nature I’m afraid, believe me when I say that fact upsets me more than it does you.”
Leif took a step back, mentally readjusting to the conversation. “I kept thinking that there was something wrong whenever I re-entered the space the system uses for evolution and promotion. I kept thinking that something was missing, that was because you were absent.”
“That’s sweet of you. And it’s as I said during our first meeting, it’s because of cracks, metaphorical cracks. Sometimes I can slip through, sometimes I cannot.” The overseer said.
“Cracks…” Leif said, his gaze returning to the system notifications. “You mean the errors? Are those the cracks?”
“They are.”
“Is there something wrong? With the system I mean. I know errors are relatively common, common enough that people study their appearances at places like the Academy. But I’ll be honest, the idea is kind of terrifying.”
“What’s scary about the omniscient working that governs our reality having a few glaring holes? That’s crazy talk.”
Leif just stared at the overseer.
Silence hung between them, then the overseer continued. “Is there something wrong… that is quite the loaded question my tree-friend. I cannot say, I am not at liberty to share certain aspects of the system’s workings. It exists, and for the most part it works fine. So don’t worry about what you can’t change.” The crimson ghost said with a shrug.
“You mean there are certain rules you cannot break?” Leif said.
“Rules… not quite the correct term, but it’s close enough. It’s all very complicated, magic at a certain scale always is, or so I believe.”
“You're saying that it’s too complicated for me to understand.”
“It’s too complicated for me to understand. It was too complicated for the d̷͚̈͛e̸̢͈̋s̶̨̍́i̶̝͍̔̌g̸̗͐͠n̷͙͂͒ȅ̷̤̟r̸̪̗͆̒s̵̭̘̽ to fully understand. So don’t feel bad about it.”
Leif blinked. There was a part of that sentence that his mind skipped over.
“Whoops, you’re too low level for that talk, it gets easier to forget with every passing year.” The overseer said, laughing awkwardly. “Anyway, shall we get down to business? Our time isn’t infinite so let's not waste it!”
“Yes… let's.”
“Okay, so, do you understand what’s gone wrong here? Actually, that’s too soon, do you know what would have happened, if you were normal?”
Leif considered the question. Unless his knowledge was way off the mark, at level fifty monsters split into one of two different paths. They either incarnate, or awaken. With both paths having different bonuses and reasons to be picked. “I think-”
“Yes, that's right. They’re the two paths monsters can walk down, though only rarely will something be given the option to pick. It takes a certain type of mindset and life experience to awaken, and the same is true for incarnation. I should point out that most monsters who reach level fifty incarnate, an overwhelming majority in fact. So you’re quite special, in more than one way.”
“I’m not getting a choice, am I?”
“You are not.” The overseer stated. “As I’m sure you’ve already figured out, you have already awakened. There are certain… problems with how you did it. Certain options only become available after you have reached a specific level… a specific level that you have not technically reached, even though you are level fifty.” He said, wringing his hands together.
That brought Leif up short. What does that mean? How could I not meet the level requirement… oh. “Do you mean-”
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“I do, yes. You need to have reached level fifty in your monster class to gain the full benefits of awakening. Same with incarnating but nobody gets to this point and can’t incarnate properly, just doesn’t happen.”
“Stop doing-.” Leif said, annoyed, only to be cut off again.
“Doing what?”
“Answering my questions before I’ve finished saying them.”
“I’m doing that?” The ghost blinked. “Sorry? I didn’t notice. Anyway, you now sit in the awkward crossroads of power, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Leif looked down at himself. “I’m going to be stuck like this for, what, another few years, decades?”
“You may never trigger the conditions to transmute your body, even after reaching level fifty.”
“There are conditions? What are they?” Leif asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice. He didn’t succeed.
“This is one of those situations where I could tell you, but shouldn’t. Self discovery is an important part of growth.”
“That is not helpful at all.”
“True, true. Let me make it up to you by sharing something else! You have officially caused enough errors in the system that your existence has been flagged! Isn’t that great?” The overseer said, quickly changing the topic.
“I don’t know, it doesn’t sound great.” Leif said, more than a little alarmed.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be erased from existence or anything, that’s not how this works. No, instead you have been flagged as a ‘splinter’, which isn’t actually a pun, things just work out like that sometimes.”
“I don’t-”
“It means your existence has been deemed one likely to cause more errors in the future. And you are likely to make others around you do the same. Basically you’re a troublemaker, and the system knows it. And because the system knows it, I know it.”
“It’s not exactly intentional.” Leif said flatly.
“Right, it’s more an interesting fact than anything you should probably worry about.”
“Probably?”
The overseer waved the question away. “The world is massive, far larger than you know. The system touches all of it, and a little beyond. There are monsters, humans, animals and plants, and each and every one of them uses the system, albeit in different ways. Most non humans use the system instinctually, without ever seeing any screens or numbers. That’s another way you’re an exception. What I’m trying to say is that it's a big, incredibly complex web of magic and information. Errors happen constantly, you just make them happen more than most.”
“The way you speak makes it sound like everything is going to come crashing down at any moment.”
The ghost’s crimson outline flickered, disappearing for a moment, before returning. “Not my intention. And it isn’t true. I can’t tell you why though. Rules, you know? But suffice to say, this whole operation is both incredibly stable, and incredibly fragile at the same time.”
Leif took a deep breath. There was far too much information being thrown at him all at once. There were dozens, hundreds of questions he could, and probably should ask the entity before him. But he needed to prioritise what was important to him at the moment. “So what can you tell me? What is going to happen when the trial finally ends?”
“You are going to gain a bunch of new toys. In some ways you will be getting more than you should, and in others, way less. There will be a bunch of error messages, just ignore them. And then you’ll need to get used to how much stronger you’ve become.”
“What do you mean by more than I should?” Leif asked.
“You have more classes than normal, but I thought you already knew that.”
“Oh.”
“Oh indeed. Normally an awakened monster gets access to two standard class slots at level fifty. You already have three, and are about to gain a fourth. It’ll slowly even itself out, you won’t have so much of an advantage over your monstrous peers as you get higher in level.” The overseer said, his voice crackling with distortion. He looked up, a frown appearing like a crimson smudge on his face. The space around them was beginning to fall apart.
“Quickly, before this ends. What is incarnation, what am I missing out on?” Leif asked, following the overseer's gaze.
“Oh it’s simple. You’re missing out on a second monster class. And the ability to pass down evolved traits to your descendants.”
“Is that it? I think I was expecting more.”
“Yeah that’s it.”
“What about the Amber, who were they?”
“Monstrous trees.”
“I already knew that.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“Why-”
The world broke apart, and everything faded away.
===
Congratulations! You have completed the level fifty advancement trial!
Error! You do not meet the prerequisites for certain advancement rewards!
For resonating with possible alternative versions of the present, and comprehending the lives and choices you could have made your trial completion grade is: Very High!
No additional rewards based on passing grade!
For passing this milestone you may now advance your level beyond this point!
Banked experience will be awarded after rewards are finalised!
Your general class limit has increased from 3 to 4!
All attributes have their efficacy increased by 10%!
For achievements earned and difficulties overcome up to this point you may further increase the efficacy of a single attribute of your choice by 30%!
===
Attributes:
Free: 0
Might: 67 (+20%)
Alacrity: 63 (+20%)
Intelligence: 69 (+20%)
Willpower: 77 (+20%)
Spirit: 80 (+20%)
Charisma: 147 (+100%)
===
The advancement chamber within the receiver temple was a welcome sight, though Leif found it difficult to make it out past the onslaught of system messages. He was alone, his clothing no longer destroyed. From experience he knew the system wouldn’t continue until he had selected an attribute to increase the efficacy of, so he took the time to let out a long sigh.
Power pulsed through him, the changes made by the ten percent increase to all attributes a welcome addition. He looked up at the ceiling, allowing everything he had just seen, experienced and learnt to wash over him like a wave. It wasn’t overwhelming, though maybe that was because he hadn’t taken the time to process everything.
Okay, let's pick an attribute and see what comes next.