Dren stood at the doorway fidgeting slightly. He had finished his enchanting with more time than he expected left. Having gotten impatient and used several mana potions rather than waiting to regenerate his mana passively. Dren had hoped to get to level five. After all, that would be another plus one to every attribute. But no luck. Everything he could enchant, including his second sock and even his belt was fully enchanted. It still hadn’t been enough. There was no experience bar either which he found annoying.

He had enchanted his gambeson with the drain rune instead of the empower rune. Managing to get most of the chest area covered. So it would absorb an amazing one point of damage each time he was struck. Still, it was better than nothing.

His dagger currently had the drain ability coating most of the blade’s edge as well as the point. Using up two hundred of the three hundred capacity. The veins in the dagger were much straighter and more uniform. But also the glow seemed to spread far less than in his other items. His only guess was the material an item was made out of impacted how enchanting it worked. Then he linked the empower rune to the network of veins he had already filled. Sadly, he got no update on the weapons statistics. He wasn’t sure if his empower rune was just too weak or if it didn’t update the description of the weapon.

It did change the name when identified to “Empowered Draining Dagger” Which he thought sounded better than it probably was. But any bonus was better than nothing.

Now he was just watching the countdown, his body practically tingling with excitement.

When the final second ticked down he flung the door open and stepped out. Cool fresh air greeted him. Filled with the scent of moist earth and green things. Dren looked around taking in the forest he found himself standing in. Glancing behind him he wasn’t too surprised to see the door wasn’t there. Taking in several long deep breaths he couldn’t help but smile. Then he got his game face on as he took in his surroundings more intently. Realizing how careless he had been just then. The trees towered over him but not obscenely. Broad leaves blocked out most of the daylight, causing it to filter in lightly. Giving the forest a gloomy shadowy appearance but not enough to impact his perception.

Listening intently as he gazed around him he sensed nothing nearby. With the area seeming safe he relaxed again. “Now where do I go?” He muttered. Checking his menu for hints he found nothing. No maps or quests. With a sigh, he simply started moving in a random direction. Doing his best to sneak along. His drain-enchanted boots did help muffle his footsteps at least.

*****

Dren eyed the man standing in the small clearing. Based on his actions, they were blatantly lost. They looked to be a fair bit older than himself, in their mid-twenties. Wearing a dark red robe with a cowl that was currently down. Letting him see the nervous face of the first human he had run into since the integration. They stood there muttering to themselves as they turned one direction or another seeming to debate on which way to go. They even shielded their eyes as they glanced up to the sky visible thru the small opening in the canopy made by the clearing. Squinting slightly Dren activated his identity from his hidden spot.

Human (N)

Mage (1)

Scribe (1)

Adrenaline pumped thru Drens veins. Meeting others was something he had been both excited about and nervous about. This was always an intense part of every story. The first encounter with another human. Part of him was terrified of how it might go. But he knew he had to have that first encounter sometime. Rubbing his fingers together he flexed them, the tips tingling from all the endorphins flooding his system. Then without any further hesitation, he stepped into the clearing.

“Hello.” He said as calmly as he could, doing his very best to hide his nervousness. Would they attack him on sight? That happened a lot in the stories.

The man jumped and though he had a wand in his hands didn’t point it at Dren much to his relief.

“Shit! You scared the hell out of me.” The man panted slightly as if the fright had left him out of breath. He reached up to push the glasses on his face up but stopped. The hand he had tried to use was holding the wand and he shifted it to his other hand before pushing them up. Dren resisted the urge to frown. He would have expected the system to have fixed issues like poor eyesight. It had cured his useless body. Looking closer he noticed the glasses the man pushed up didn’t even have lenses.

“Oh um.” The man seemed to notice his staring. “I um well.” He chuckled nervously. “I took the lenses out. I just… I’m too used to wearing them you know.” He gave another nervous chuckle. “Did you have glasses before…” he waved his hand around before breathing out the words. “This happened?” His voice slightly trembling

Smiling awkwardly he focused on Dren again when he replied. “No.” Dren answered truthfully. Still standing a decent bit away from the man.

“I see. I see.” He said before reaching up to push the glasses back up his nose despite the fact they hadn’t moved. “Um, do you know where we are?” He asked with a nervous smile.

Dren shook his head. “I was actually going to ask you that. Or if you knew maybe where a city or something was?”

The man laughed nervously. “No, I’m afraid not. I… There was a room and these um… pop-ups? I just.” He looked at Dren and smiled nervously. “Followed them” He said hesitantly. “Then a door appeared. It wouldn’t let me out until…” He chuckled nervously again as if the whole story was just too much.

Dren just nodded. “Same here.” Dren was glad his first encounter was going well so far. Though he was sad they didn’t have any more information than he did it seemed.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Oh. Sorry. My name is Jeremy. Sorry. I should have introduced myself. Sorry.” The man wiped his empty hand on his robes before holding it out as he moved forward to offer his hand to Dren.

Dren nodded and opened his mouth but stopped before any words came out. His gaze slid past the approaching man to look behind him. His eyes widened in horror. Something the approaching man noticed instantly. He spun around to look behind him. His wand was not even raised or at the ready. Not that it would have done him much good as blood sprayed into the air not a moment later.

With a gurgle Jeremy’s hands reached for his throat, his wand having been dropped. His hands barely made it to his throat before a second blow struck him. His chest was pierced striking him right in the heart. Dren’s eyes were still wide, wider than even when Jeremy had seen them last. His heart thundered in his chest as he took a step back. Jeremy’s form collapsed to the ground face down in front of him and he started down at it. A moment later he let out the breath he had been holding as he flexed his fingers around the handle of his bloody dagger before checking the message pop-ups.

“Human (Native) Level 1 Mage. Level 1 Scribe. Slain.”

Another message popped up to replace that one.

“Quest received. Invasion Conquest (Head Start) Part One.

As one from an already integrated universe, you have been allowed to participate in the invasion of the newly integrated universe. Having no levels or skills you qualified for and are allowed to participate in the head start.

This is a great chance to get ahead of others seeking to claim wealth and power from the newly integrated universe. While this head start allows you to enter the newly integrated universe six months before the first wave of invaders. You do so with the same limitations and starting point as the natives.

Claim your destiny and write your own legend.

Part One:

Slay ten natives.

Status: 1/10

Reading the quest it was more or less what Dren had expected based on all the stories he had read about system integrations before. Part of him felt mildly sick when he looked down at the body laying before him. But that was quickly washed away with just a few memories of his life before. Being stuck in a bed with a body slowly turning into a prison had been hell. Worse the rare disease was one not easily cured. Definitely, not something his low-level family could have cured. His only hope had been a system integration happening during his lifetime. It was something he dreamed and hoped for. As it was one of the few situations someone like him could get a second chance.

Now that he had that second chance he was more resolved than ever. He wouldn’t squander it. While hiding away and just surviving until this new universe opened up was an option. That wouldn’t be good enough. New universes meant a chance for explosive growth. In older universes moving up levels was hard. They were too well tamed. Monsters didn’t roam around. Dungeons were mostly on lockdown by the more powerful forces. And system quests were so rare most would go generations before they could meet someone that had actually gotten one.

So, Dren was resolved to get the most out of this. Even if he had to take the role of the invader. Most of the stories he had read about system integrations were written about the native champions who fought off the invaders and rose to legendary heights. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t do the same as an invader. Especially since he was on equal footing with the natives. He wasn’t sure how many other head starters there were. But he doubted the knowledge they would be faced with invaders to deal with. Would be common knowledge right away. He needed to get the most out of his head start before the natives were fully on guard. The fact that this planet had humans also would make that easier.

Shaking away his thought Dren closed the quest menu and was delighted when another pop-up appeared.

Ruthless Invader. Slay a level-one native.

As an Invader you are merciless in your conquest of the newly integrated universe. Not even the weak are spared your wrath.

Critical Damage increased by fifty percent.

Dren made a face but nodded at the notification. He would take any bonus he could get. With his assassin’s eyes ability, he had seen a faint glow on the native’s body where his strikes would be critical for sure. Once he committed to the attack it was almost like his hands moved on their own finding the spot. With his back turn it had been easy to rush up and slit the native's throat. With his arm already wrapped around the man’s body, it had been a smooth transition to stab him in the heart. The impact of his dagger thrust into their heart had pushed the man’s back into Dren’s chest. A sensation he found unnervingly intimate. Making him feel almost as if he had hugged the man from behind with one hand.

Based on his calculations two critical strikes would have done just under a hundred and thirty damage. If the mage had taken anything that gave vitality it wouldn’t have been enough to kill him in just two blows. Now Dren wished he had confirmed all the classes and professions that gave vitality and toughness. It would give him a better idea of who he could kill quickly and who he couldn’t. Now he could only guess at it, something he felt was a terrible mistake.

Pushing away the what if thoughts he knelt down and started looting the mage. They had a belt around their waist over their robe just like his. Complete with a pouch. Working it free he looked inside and found five of each potion identical to his own starting ones as well as fifteen biscuits. Nodding he attached the pouch to his own belt before pushing the man over to retrieve the wand from under his body. Identifying it while ignoring the bit of blood splattered on it.

Wand: Fire

A basic wand attuned to the fire affinity. Generates a small short-range bolt of fire that does eighty percent of intelligence as fire damage.

Dren flicked the wand a few times trying to get it to work but found that nothing happened. He wasn’t sure if it required the mage class. Or a skill? Maybe it was the bit about fire affinity. Either way, it appeared he wasn’t going to make use of it. When he opened his enchanting menu on it. It showed it had a mana capacity of just one hundred. With an asterisk by it. Focusing on that he was provided a bit of knowledge. The wand could only accept certain runes due to the affinity tied to it. What runes he could and couldn’t use he didn’t know. But he got the feeling that the drain rune wouldn’t work while the empower would. That wouldn’t do him much good since he couldn’t use it but it would at least give him something else to raise his enchanting with.

Thinking about that he looked down at the body and the remaining gear. The already crimson robe was turning darker with spilled blood making him a bit squeamish to take it. Nor did he really want to strip the dead man of his clothes.

“I wouldn’t even have anything to carry them in if I did.” Dren said out loud as much to convince himself he wasn’t just being squeamish as stating a truth.

After a bit of hesitation, he did search the man a bit more thoroughly but found nothing else worth taking.

Breathing out a final breath after cleaning his hands of blood on a clean section of the dead man’s robe. He looked around before just shrugging and picking a direction. He needed to make the most of his head start.