Exhausted, Ark collapsed on the ground, staring up into a dark sky framed by the gathered drones surrounding him. END’s many faces showed a range of expressions, all of them centered on him as he lay there, feeling the daemon settle within his netlink. He got the sense that the transition took just as much out of the daemon as it had taken out of him, and did not try to engage it further. He would have time for that later.

“It is done,” END said, the many amber heads nodding in unison.

“Yeah, you got what you wanted,” Ark said, voice hoarse.

Making several faces of displeasure, END said, “No, I did not. I got just enough to make the trip worth it.”

“Tough luck.” Ark wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep. He knew he could not, though—he still needed to face Vanguard’s test and receive his job.

“It will pay off in time, trust me,” END said, faces returning to their usual grin, “I never make a losing move. Now, I’ll send Vanguard the combat data from our little spat—that should satisfy her unlinked requirements. You’ll still have to perform a linked test, but I assume you can handle that?”

“As long as I don’t have to deal with you, I can,” Ark said with a sigh and sat up, “Anything else I should know before we become enemies again?”

“Are we enemies, Ark?”

“I think we are, yes,” Ark said, shaking his head, “I wasn’t kidding about killing you. Give me the chance to do it, and I will.”

“Very well,” END said, sighing, “I guess I’ll accept that for now. Just keep in mind what I told you; in time, you will come to see things my way.”

“Yeah, yeah… Can you leave me alone now?”

“As you wish,” END’s many faces grinned as the humanoid forms of the drones began to melt into the floor. Much like how he had appeared, pools of red slime grew all around Ark filling the endless horizontal around him. “See you around, Ark.” The amber orbs merged with the slime, then the amalgamation drained out of the virtual world as if someone had pulled the stopper from a sink, leaving Ark all alone.

All alone, except the still-frozen form of Vanguard’s subroutine, which had remained standing at attention in the room, awaiting time to move forward. Unsure of how she would react, Ark dragged himself up in front of her. The moment he came close, she jerked and flickered, returning to the action she had initiated when she froze.

“—me to the Neural Network System, Subject 042, Ark.”

“Hi,” Ark waved his hand, tired from his previous exertions, “Can I take the next test now?”

Her blue eyes blinked, turning their attention from the vast horizon to Ark in something approaching confusion. “You have completed unlinked combat…?” She stopped, then returned to staring into the distance, eyes furrowing. “Your logs have been recorded. The use of virtual environment manipulation should not have been active…”

“Well, it was,” Ark said, understanding that he probably should not have been allowed to use the surroundings like he had done against END.

“This is… unusual.” Vanguard’s eyes became harder, and she seemed to be searching for something, anything to explain the discrepancy.

“Can we move on, please?” Ark said, biting his lip. He did not want to give Vanguard too much time, in case END had left some trail behind.

Snapping back into a dispassionate expression, Vanguard nodded. “As you wish. Your logs have been accepted and analyzed. You will now be paired with the suggested job-setting. Please select your template.”

She waved a hand, and three windows appeared in front of Ark, each with a brief description of their function.

Squire

Combat oriented job that progresses into more advanced jobs focused on the martial aspect of warfare, whether close quarters or ranged.

Scout [recommended]

Information oriented job that progresses into more advanced jobs focused on intelligence gathering and battlefield awareness

Conduit

Support oriented job that progresses into more advanced jobs focused on empowering allies and inhibiting enemies.

Looking at the options, Ark could not help but be curious. “What are the recommendations based on?”

“Your combat logs, along with an analysis of your proficiencies and talents.” Her answer was crisp, spoken without a hint of hesitation. “You have shown a keen awareness of your surroundings, as well as adaptability in utilizing the battlefield to your advantage, rather than meet the enemy head on.”

“Alright… How does progression work, then? Do I just… level up?”

Her eyes flickered briefly onto him, then back to the distance. “Progression works through experience. The more differing and intense experiences you can share with the Neural Network, the greater access will you will be granted to the cognitive resources that are connected to your specific job. For instance, a scout will receive boost to observation and situational analysis, while a squire will increase their motor functions and physical growth.”

“And a conduit?” Ark said, eying the last option.

“A conduit receives a boost to pattern recognition, in order to recognize opportunities to aid allies and hamper enemies,” Vanguard said without blinking at the interruption, “Once certain thresholds of access have been attained, you may progress to more advanced jobs that grants further access to additional resources as well as skills that your netlink may employ.”

Nodding along, Ark said, “And these jobs are permanent?”

“The changes performed to your netlink are permanent,” Vanguard said, “The jobs are not. You may change jobs within a template as you wish, and even change template. The changes will remain, as will your access to already achieved resources and skills. Be aware that certain skills may empower each other, or adversely affect one another, depending on the situation. Make sure you only employ combinations that you have tested.”

“Understood,” Ark said, “Can I see the skills that are available to each template?”

Vanguard shook her head. “The skill options will be generated in accordance with your experience. Your first skill will be based on your performance in the linked testing. You may look through the available jobs that belong to each template, instead.”

Sighing, Ark studied the three templates in front of him, seeing both opportunities and traps in each of them. Choosing ‘squire’ would be useful to grow his physical specs, but making up for his weakness would only elevate him to average—and Ark did not want to be average.

That left the recommended ‘scout’ or ‘conduit’, both of which he thought suited him. His ability to map his surroundings would pair well with the greater analytical abilities of a scout, but as he looked through the other jobs connected to the template, it quickly became clear that his progression would either be as a soloist, moving in front of a party to survey the area; or he would expected to take command of a larger force.

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Conduit, on the other hand, was reliant on allies. It looked like it would synergize well with his mindweaver abilities, but it would not grant him much individual power. Looking through the more advanced jobs, it looked like he could either go a medical route or become a force-multiplier to his allies.

Mulling it over, Ark ultimately considered what was most useful to him right now. If he could always go back and change, the decision here was not about what he might become, but what he needed the most in the immediate future. He needed to prove himself useful to the team, in order for them to accept him, and he saw one way that would empower him to do so.

Selecting his option, he barely got a twitch from Vanguard’s perfect eyebrow for his trouble. “You have selected ‘conduit’ as your initial template,” she said, staring out into the distance, “Prepare for netlink synchronization in 3… 2… 1…”

Blinking, Ark barely had time to prepare himself for it, when he saw his netlink re-establishing its full connection to the Neural Network, and felt its immediate presence in his mind.

With a gasp, he staggered backward, eyes rolling into his skull as tendrils of influence shot down his spine, hooking itself to his mind. The first touch felt invasive and demonstrably alien, but then the jagged experience smoothed over, turning into a soft caress of his troubled psyche.

Breathing in deeply, Ark felt the gentle touch of something grand connect to the end of his nerves, settling itself as an extension to his self. The exhaustion he had felt mere moments ago was gone, replaced with an indescribable energy that seemed to pour into him from above. It washed over him, through him, down his spine and into his every cell, filling him with an intense desire to move and use his body.

Though he had never felt the touch of a mother, Ark imagined that this was what it was like. The experience washed over him in a moment, filling him for an instant and smoothing over all the worries and fears he had experienced over the last couple of days.

If this is the leash that END was concerned about, Ark thought to himself, as the initial rush faded, and he slowly acclimatized to the feeling, I’m not sure he’s right about it. Regardless of how Ark felt about Vanguard and his general situation, the experience of linking back up with the Neural Network had felt like a homecoming—a return to a safe harbor. It felt right.

“Link to Neural Network has been reestablished,” Vanguard said, her monotone voice cutting through Ark’s emotions like a knife through butter, “Prepare for linked combat simulation. As a conduit, you will be paired with a simulated combatant for testing purposes.”

Beside Ark, the air shimmered, until a perfect replica of himself stood there looking into the distance, much like Vanguard had done.

“You may direct the simulated combatant for the duration of the test. You have one minute before battle commences.”

Ark turned to the simulation and studied it for a moment, unnerved by seeing himself like this. The exact same hair, the posture, even the facial expression was the same—even when it was expressing nothing. Shuddering, Ark fired up his netlink and sent a link request to the simulation, finding it had a tangible presence in virtual space that he could connect with.

The request was accepted instantaneously. Knowing he had little time, Ark queried the simulation. —What weapons do you have?—

In response, a voice without any inflection spoke directly in his mind. —Please specify your desired loadout of weaponry—

So, he could make it equip whatever he wanted? Ark looked down at the gun and dagger he had, and immediately sent back —Sword and shield, basic riftwalker armor—

The simulated combatant shimmered, and the requested loadout appeared on its form, along with the weapons in hand. Nodding, ordered the simulation to stand in front of him, awaiting the virtual world to change.

“Simulated combat begins in 3… 2… 1…” Vanguard’s form was gone, but her voice reverberated through virtual space, eliciting the change that occurred immediately after her countdown. Ark saw two forms appear directly in front of him—two exact replicas of himself, one with a sword and shield and one with a gun and dagger.

“Oh, shit,” Ark said out loud, unable to stop himself. Of course, rather than a random enemy, Vanguard had just collected his combat data, so why not pit him against himself?

It was such a typically devious move that Ark could not help but wonder why he had not foreseen it.

Then their surroundings changed, with blocks of cover appearing in between them, allowing for both Ark and his clone to keep behind cover while the two melee combatants kept each other at bay.

“Begin,” Vanguard said, releasing the restraints that Ark had not even noticed he was under.

Springing into action, Ark commanded his ally to advance, as he moved from cover to cover behind it. On the other side of the arena, the melee clone did the same, but Ark had lost sight of his own clone. That was bad. Just to be sure, he tried to manipulate their surroundings, but he was rebuffed. There would be no playing with the environment this time, it seemed.

Considering they would probably have the same abilities, Ark tested his opponents response by firing a few virtual spikes at the melee clone, using his gun. The programs were caught before they could get anywhere, but it gave Ark an idea about what he was working with.

While constructing his virtual defenses and mapping his surroundings, Ark started firing at the melee clone, forcing it to hide behind its shield, halting its advance. That meant his own melee combatant could move in and attack with momentum, while the opponent had to turtle against attack from both angles.

Ark’s clone still was not making an appearance, even though it was attacking with a few spikes, or defending against Ark’s own, but other than that, it appeared to disregard its ally completely.

Thinking back on the battle he’d had with END, Ark was pretty sure he knew what the aim of his clone was, and he therefore redoubled his efforts to bring down the melee clone before his opponent’s plan could be put into action.

He managed to hit the melee clone in the shoulder, as it fought of his companion’s attack, making it stagger. It was the perfect moment to make a decisive blow, and therefore the perfect moment to turn the scales. Ignoring the battle in front, Ark turned to the side where a red dot appeared on his mini-map.

His clone came running out of cover, firing with one hand, while brandishing the dagger in the other. It forced Ark into cover, while the air between them grew saturated with virtual attacks.

Ark fired his gun twice, leaning out of cover before his opponent forced him back with suppressing fire. Circling around he block he was hiding behind, Ark took out his own dagger and leaped out of cover just as his clone advanced, aiming for its side.

This dance of cover and fire continued for a while, neither able to gain advantage over the other, not until Ark had maneuvered his opponent away from the melee battle.

—Now— Ark commanded to his simulated combatant, which had been dragging out the melee fight ever since Ark had hit the melee clone first. Now, with a hard push of its shield, it forced the opponent to stagger back, and Ark place himself behind cover from his own clone and fired at the melee clone.

Two shots in the chest, and a final one in the head, and the melee clone went down, shattering into pieces as it fell. Ark commanded his combatant to immediately turn, as his clone laid down fire, trying to take it out, but it was too late.

Now, two against one, Ark slowly but surely cornered his clone. It managed to take out Ark’s combatant at the end, but at that time Ark had circled around it and put two shots into the back of its head.

Exhaling with relief, Ark felt the joy of victory. He had done it. It was such an unusual feeling that he almost leaped into the air, but managed to contain himself. With a satisfied grin, he watched as the virtual world returned to its initial state, and Vanguard spoke again.

“Congratulations, Subject 042. You have successfully completed your netlink synchronization.” She appeared in front of him, a towering image of perfection. Though she still looked into the distance, her eyes flickered with the hint of calculation. “Your skill options will now be generated. Please pick a suitable option, and remember that your choice will be permanent.”

Not sure what to expect, Ark saw a window appear in front of him with a list of different skills. Each had a name and a description, along with a cost at the very end. One of the first that came recommended was:

Electric touch [recommended]

This skill is deployed through physical touch. Empower your netlink to send an electric jolt through to your enemy, electrocuting them in accordance with the cost you have paid.

This skill is charged whenever you have external, electric current put through your own body. The stronger the power of the current, and the longer the duration, the more powerful the touch will be.

Ark dismissed it almost immediately. Sure, it might be powerful, but it was also limited by the restrictions in its use, and he really did not want to have to electrocute himself just to keep charging the skill.

Reading through the options, he dismissed several for the same reasons, as either their uses were limited, or their cost prohibitive. At the very bottom, he found a skill that was not recommended, but which immediately piqued his interest. It had clearly been generated on the basis of this simulation and Ark’s experiences with it.

Smiling as he read the description and costs, he made his choice, mind already brimming with ideas about how he could use it.

Just you wait, END, he thought, imagining the stupid look on the amber orb’s face, I’ll let you have a taste of your own medicine.