*Welcome to the new Earth. Many changes have been made to both the wildlife and planet as a whole. This introductory period will help you adapt to any changes made. To start, please open your menu, a guide will be provided on how to do so.*
Just as Mike finished reading the notification, a second one appeared, and disappeared just as quickly. This happened several more times as he guessed they were in reference to opening as pursuing the stat sheet, which he already did. Hailey and John, who had both apparently had their notification windows forced open, both sat on the ground, going through the same process he had when opening his menu.
Martin didn’t sit, as he too had already gone through and looked at his stats. Mike and Martin waited, giving John and Hailey time to look through their stats and notifications. Once they were done, they waited for more instructions to come about the introduction.
*You will next be instructed to look into your soul, the location where all fragments are stored. A guide will now be provided on how to proceed.*
With that, another notification was forced open on Mike’s menu, showing him how to look into his soul. He still wasn't sure how literally he should be taking the term “soul”, but he proceeded anyway, following the instructions.
*To peer into your soul, you will first need to be in a state of meditation. Then you will feel the state of your body, sensing everything that is part of you. Once you have awareness of your being, look into yourself, and further instruction will be provided.*
Mike followed the words of the system, sitting down to once more enter meditation. Like before, he once more tried to feel himself, to really be aware of his position in space. Consciously feeling every part of your body simultaneously was not very easy to do, and it took him almost 10 minutes to accomplish. A few times he had fallen out of what he would consider meditation due to the frustration.
When he finally felt he had done it, he tried to look into himself, as instructed. He found it surprisingly easy, as his vision seemed to shift, and he felt like he wasn't just looking at the backs of his eyelids anymore. He was in a pitch black space, staring at a whole lot of nothing, when his system menu opened once more, again in his vision.
*This is your soul. All fragments will be stored, collected, and shaped here. Fragments are a metaphysical representation of your accomplishments. This can range from levels gained, to foes slain, to items created. Currently your soul is empty-*
“Story of my life.”
*and is not currently holding any fragments. This portion of the introduction is now complete. The world introduction will begin once you leave your soul.*
Wanting a moment to process everything that was just dumped onto him, Mike stayed in his soul for a few minutes, contemplating what he had just read. The first thing he was wondering about was what these “fragments” would look like once he got one. If they could be earned through accomplishments, he was guessing that Martin probably got one for getting his profession. A bit jealous, he exited his soul, ready to absorb more information again. As soon as he did, the ever intrusive menu popped up once more, which was starting to get a little irritating to Mike.
*Earth is now home to many powerful creatures, many adapted from the legends and myths from the cultures of Earth. Others have been adapted from the already existing creatures of the planet. Currently, a portion of the planet is protected and forbidden for all outside forces. This protection may be left and entered at any time by its current occupants. The protection will fall once the average level of humanity rises to 25.*
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Once again, Mike had a lot to absorb. He didn't know what kind of protection the system had put in place, but he was glad for it. If he was to believe the part of monsters being adapted from myths and folklore, then he was utterly terrified of what could be out there. He imagined krakens of immense power tearing apart the land, killing anything and everything in their path. Hopefully there wasn't anything like that, but he wasn't too sure.
The blue screen in front of him finally seemed to be finished spitting out information, so he closed it and looked at the people around him. Martin looked to still be deep in meditation, probably playing with whatever fragments he had. John, surprisingly, was just leaning against a tree, looking like he was practicing magic. He had a little speck of glowing blue energy flowing back and forth between his hands.
“Done already?” Mike called out.
John flinched a bit at hearing his voice, causing the speck to fly away and leave a small scorch mark on a nearby tree. They both looked at it for a second before John replied.
“Yeah, it was pretty easy for me to feel out my body, since I have more mana running through it than you and Hailey. I think Martin has even more than me, since he got that profession. Speaking of Hailey, she is still struggling to even fall into meditation.”
“Shut up, I need to concentrate.” Hailey said, clearly frustrated. John and Mike walked a few dozen yards away to give her some peace and quiet, and sat in the grass, using trees to lean against.
“She doesn't seem as shy as before.” Mike noted, happy she was opening up a bit, even if to just tell off the young man.
“She does seem to be warming up to us a bit, hopefully she opens up even more.”
They chatted for a bit longer, John talking about how it was controlling his magic, while Mike listened, trying yet failing to replicate some of the things John showed him.
“You should be able to get it eventually. My class came with a skill called Basic Mana Manipulation, which just makes it a bit easier.”
“I hope I can, though I hope even more that I don’t hurt myself. That was impressive damage you did to the tree considering the small bit of mana you threw around.”
“It does seem to be powerful, but the focus it takes to do it at the moment still requires me to be standing still.”
They chatted a while longer, and after a few minutes Martin walked up, Kenny hopping alongside him.
“Thought you two ran off.” He said in a teasing tone.
“Just giving Hailey some space to meditate.” John said.
“Seems to have worked, she looked deep into it when I woke.”
“What took you so long?” Mike asked, curious since he had gone into meditation before even John had.
“I was just messing around with my single fragment, seeing what it could do. The answer is not much, since I have just one. I’ll leave you to see what they are like when you get one.”
“Buzzkill.” Mike said, wanting more details, but also not wanting to press further.
They chatted a bit longer, with Martin sharing what it was like to just be stronger. He had gained some stats from getting his profession, and in relative terms it had raised them considerably. He was already stronger and faster than some of the most athletic people Mike had known before. They were a bit worried that raising intelligence and wisdom would affect their minds and how they think, but apparently Martin didn't feel any different than before.
After a few more minutes, Hailey walked over having finally finished her introduction. They filled her in on some of the things they had talked about, and then they headed out to go explore a bit more, and hopefully find something to eat. Mike didn't have his hopes up for finding some fast food out here.