"Hail and well met denizens of Earth 972," said the man who magically appeared before Charlie's eyes as he watched hours go by slowly, patiently waiting for 8 AM and the end of his shift.
Afterwards, Charlie would be hard-pressed to remember exactly what that man had looked like, but three features would immediately come to mind: a strong, square jaw, a fiery red mane of hair and burning, incandescent even, eyes that felt like staring at the sun.
Charlie Thatcher was a nobody working as a Night Security Technician for Rakeson Investment, a glorified title for someone who sat behind a wall of CCTV screens deep inside Eastfield Shopping Centre, one of the largest malls ever built in Western Europe. He was tired after another long night of doing nothing but staring at the dozens of monitors in front of him. Twelve months of this gig and nothing ever happened, except him putting on weight and smoking double what he used to. Still, the pay was enough, and Charlie didn't have to interact with anyone, which had been the main reason for taking the job in the first place. Charlie had the strongest belief that the past years had slowly but irremediably turned him into a misanthrope, loathing his fellow humans' stupidity and greed, among other things. All because, 5 years ago, he had been emotionally crushed by the 2 people he thought he loved the most in this world.
Back then, Charlie had been an up-and-coming solicitor in one of the top law firms in the city, winning cases left and right, on track to making associates in the next round of promotion. He worked alongside his best friend from Uni, whom Charlie deemed the second-best solicitor after him. There was friendly competition between them in most cases, but it was always fun and good-hearted. Last but not least, Charlie was engaged to be married to Jenny, a freckled bundle of joy who worked in the nearby hospital as a pediatric nurse. He was living the life right until it all came crashing down one fateful day.
Coming home early, Charlie had surprised Chad–yeah, his best friend's name was Chad, doubling down on the shame and insult– butt naked banging his beloved Jenny in their dining room, right there on the acacia table like animals in a rut. Their faces as he walked in on them were still engraved in his mind. The lust, the bestiality, the sweat, everything. As fate would have it, before he could yell and punch Chad–not necessarily in that order, mind you–he had received a phone call from Robert, one of the managing partners at the firm, informing him that Chad had been promoted to legal director and would be supervising him starting the next day. Chad's billables were better, and everybody loved him, Robert had explained. Charlie's were good but not as good, and like Robert had emphasised when concluding the call, everybody loved Chad. In the span of five dreadful minutes, Charlie's world had come crashing down. Had it been a movie or a TV show, Charlie would have laughed at the simultaneity of both events. Alas, it was real and hurt like never before.
His childish reaction had been to flee the house, never to speak again with either Jenny or Chad. Ashamed and enraged, he had cut off all ties with his former social circle, barely explained the situation to his family and moved to another city where he had fallen off the map. Cue a string of menial and lonely jobs until he had landed this security gig.
The only reason Charlie was still trudging on in this rackety life of indecency was his catholic faith. Suicide was a cardinal sin, and he was not ready to damn his soul for eternity because of shameful treatment by his fellow humans. Instead, Charlie kept faith in God and waited for any kind of sign that his life would get better. Truth be told, he felt like the waiting period was getting longer daily.
"I am Senior Warden Eospheros, acting Lord Arbiter of Fate for the Seventh Court of the Seventy-Seventh Expanse of the Omniverse. Following a petition filed by the Fravashi Clan of the Corona Borealis Empire for the Seeding of the planet AD279-972, also called 'Earth 972', it is my duty to inform you that the System Court has ruled in favour of the Fravashi Clan, thus granting the claimant full ownership and Seeding rights of AD279-972." The man explained calmly. Charlie moved his hands through the projection to try and dissipate it, but to no avail. He tried to move his head, but the display stayed firmly fixed before his eyes as if he were wearing those 3D goggles he had read about on the net. "It means that in 10 minuta, Earth 972 will begin its Seeding process, all the Mana wells opening simultaneously to flood and evolve all carbon-based environments into Mana-based ones more suitable to the System's rules and the Omniverse's needs. As I speak, all competing lifeforms are retrofitted with a PSION, a Personal Sentient Interface to the Omniverse Network. Your PSION will allow you to interact with the System and learn all the information, skills and powers you will need to survive and hopefully thrive... On that note, per the Progenitors' will and the System's oversight, a finite number of Foci of powers will be disseminated on Earth 972 surface," different objects started floating around the man's face. Rings, belts, earrings, sceptres, circlets and some other items Charlie couldn't identify. "Those items will grant many benefits to their bearers, more often than not representing the difference between life and death in the trials to come. Finding and holding onto them should be your absolute priority..." The intense man paused for effects, seemingly moving closer to the apparatus transmitting his image. "Beware earthlings 972. This will also start a 2-lustrum observation period, allowing Earth 972 to fully transition, shielded from all outside interference... As Acting Lord Arbiter, I will be the judge, jury and executioner of any attempt to thwart or break the System's rules henceforth. Ignorance of said rules will never be deemed a valid defence argument, and all transgressions will be met with the swiftest and harshest punishment... Hail and well met, earthlings 972. May the Omniverse be plentiful and the Progenitors merciful."
As the face disappeared from Charlie's sight, a numerical countdown for 10 minutes appeared in the left corner of his vision. Moving his head randomly didn't shake the countdown, which kept inexorably ticking closer to 0. To say that Charlie was befuddled would be an understatement.
Right then, he didn't know if he had fallen asleep and was dreaming or awake and hallucinating. Still, the words pronounced by the man, Senior Warden Eospheros, as he recalled, deeply resonated within him. He had no idea why, but Charlie accepted everything that happened to be the truth. This had not been a hallucination.
Moreover, Charlie believed this to be the sign he had awaited from God that his life would change for the better. A smile, the first in months, appeared on his face as he laid back in his chair and waited for the countdown to end. His life was about to get much better. He just could feel it in the air. Glee and anticipation filled him, and Charlie began to pray to thank God for finally showing him the path forward.
…
"Lord, give me strength," Charlie mumbled as he bashed another large insect's head in with his security baton.
The chitin cracked, and the insect was repelled a few metres back. It paused and used its mandibles to click and clack, probably calling its brethren for help. The thing looked like a black and grey striped cricket and was the size of a puddle. Charlie had learned the hard way how annoying those buggers could be.
After the countdown had hit 0, all electronics and mechanics had stopped working, creating chaos and mayhem everywhere in the city. Charlie had taken to the streets and encountered many confused people still trying to make sense of Eospheros's message. Rioting and looting had also been frequent on its way back to his apartment, and people were trying to help or harm each other indiscriminately everywhere as if the Seeding had brought humanity's rawest nature and emotions to the surface.
Fear. Greed. Envy. Violence.
Pure chaos.
Some policemen could be seen running around, trying to bring order around them. Still, as often as not, those same officers tasked with protecting society were also the first among the looters and aggressors. As the sun shone in the cloudless sky and the temperature rose to the summer's standards, so did the rampant bedlam inside the city.
Upon reaching his one-bedroom flat on the city's outskirts unharmed, Charlie wisely holed himself up inside, waiting for night to come and, hopefully, tempers to die down. He used this time to inventory whatever food and tools he had at his disposal. The haul was small since it was Friday, and he usually did his groceries on the weekend. Two cans of baked beans, 3 bottles of mineral water accounting for 1.5 litres, 4 cans of tuna, 5 boxes of cookies and 3 packs of cigarettes. The water situation was alarming since tap water had ceased functioning with the rest of the amenities at the end of the countdown. On the tool front, Charlie didn't fare much better. He had his security baton, a few screwdrivers, a roofing hammer, and his prized possession, 2 ice climbing axes, remnants of his past life.
Having seen the violence outside, Charlie trusted that would be enough to defend himself, primarily since nothing resembling gun violence could be heard outside. Seeing as everything else man-made had stopped working, he was confident guns had followed the same logic. For all intent and purpose, it felt like humanity had gone back to the Dark Ages. Blinds closed and his door locked, Charlie spent the rest of the day sitting on his kitchen floor with his back against the wall to watch the front door. He held his baton in one hand and one of the axes in the other, ready for anything.
Only when the sun started to go down did he hear new noises coming from outside. Destruction and rampage with the assorted yells and cries of rage and anguish had been replaced with chirping, trilling and rattling and, above all else, screams of horror followed by disgusting munching sounds. At one point, Charlie had peaked under the blinds to find a monstrous fly the size of a small bird hovering on the other side of the glass pane. He had muffled a scream and let the blind fall back as fast as possible, not wanting to attract this monstrosity's attention. Luckily for him, the fly had been more focused on finding carrion for its next meal than what happened behind the curtains.
The insect ruckus had become deafening as the sun had set on the horizon behind the tall downtown buildings. It felt like being in the jungle if the volume had been cranked to the max. Strangely, human screams were far fewer. All the while, Charlie prayed to the Lord for mercy and salvation as he tried to tune out the cries for help, shaking and sobbing like a leaf on the warm tiles of his kitchen floor. He suspected he would have stayed like that if it had not been for the sudden and violent thump against his flat door. The sound broke his trance. Charlie stood up with baton and axe in hands, getting himself ready to face whatever was on the other side. Three more thumps and the door was unhinged to fall inside his flat.
"What the f–?" Charlie yelled as he focused on the insect-like aggressor, trying to determine what it could be, and a tag appeared above the weird black and grey striped bug facing him.
Hearing his voice, the insect moved his antenna towards Charlie and pounced. Instinctively, he brought down his telescopic baton on the creature's head with as much strength as he could muster, one-shotting it with a loud and sickly crunch. As a result, his weapon and right hand were drenched in green ichor.
A wall of text appeared in front of him, blocking his field of vision and whatever threat might be lurking in the hallway outside. "Arghh! Fuck! Move wall of text, go away!" Hearing a shuffle on the linoleum floor outside, Charlie rolled to the side, trying to escape the wall of text and regain a vision of the outside world. A split second later, he heard something thumping against the wall that had been his recliner all day. That and the sound of breaking tiles. Scrambling on all 4, Charlie tried to get away from the surprised chirping sound but only managed to bang his shoulder on the door frame as he had trouble seeing behind the text still floating in his sight. Right after, he had something relatively lightweight fall on his back. Before he could dislodge it, he felt mandibles breaking his cloth and back skin to sink a few centimetres in his upper back. A yell of pain and surprise escaped his lips. On instinct, Charlie got up and violently slammed his back against the wall, effectively crushing whatever insect was lodged in his back. More ichor started trickling down his back and legs. Charlie fought the urge to vomit as he racked his brain to get the wall of text to disappear. He could hear his heart beating loudly in his chest. His breath was ragged, and his body felt sore already from all this exertion, while his back was burning where the attacker had bitten him. Luckily, no new sounds could be heard from the hallway, hopefully giving him enough time to get rid of the message obstructing his vision. He slid down with his back still leaning against the wall and landed his butt in an ichorous puddle of chitin and flesh. Disgusting. Bloody hell. "How am I supposed to choose without a description?" Charlie muttered under his breath. "Lord, help me..." A spark of hope rose inside Charlie's chest. It seemed like the text had replied to his cry for help. Thinking back on it, it felt like the name of the insect had appeared when Charlie had tried to find out what kind of insect it was. Did it mean that whatever was sending him the text would react to his thoughts or voice? To answer that question, Charlie thought the word Display and was rewarded with a new window opening right next to the wall of text, obscuring whatever vision he had left. "Close Display! Close it, for Heaven's sake!" He yelled in frustration, closing his eyes. When he opened them again a few seconds later, the Display window was closed, but the text remained. Trying to keep his cool, he used the combination of the word Close with the 8 menus he had been offered. When he reached #Logs, he finally got his uncluttered vision back. Charlie fought the urge to cry in relief. Getting himself under control, he then proceeded to explore all menus available to try and glean more understanding of his predicament. … The Before he could get lost in his mind again, Charlie dodged the incoming insect and brought down his left hand, firmly gripping his trusty ice-climbing axe. The pick broke the chitin effortlessly, pinning the insect to the ground. Before it could react, Charlie crushed its head with his baton, ending the fight with the now usual message appearing in smaller-than-before characters in the lower left corner of his vision. Charlie made sure no other Gryllus were in the vicinity before heading back to where he had established his base of operation after his first battle had left his apartment in shambles. That morning, after killing the monsters and tinkering with the Tabs offered by his PSION, Charlie had picked the Fighter Archetype based on the description: the fighter is always in the thick of the battle, taking and dealing damages in equal amounts. The fighter's primary characteristics are MIGHT, ENDURANCE and WILLPOWER. Thanks to the Omnibase section of the Help Tab, Charlie had found out that in the System, every being equipped with a PSION was called Originator. Each Originator was divided into 4 Attributes: -Body-, -Mind-, -and -Soul-. In turn, each Attribute was split into 3 characteristics, giving the System a grand total of 9 characteristics to define Charlie's strengths and weaknesses. -Body- was built upon Might, Endurance and Coordination. -Mind- was Insight, Memory and Willpower. -Soul- was Senses, Instinct, and Faith. There were also his Hit Points and Mana Points, whose values seemed to derive from a mathematic formula based on the characteristics. Finally, Charlie also had access to skills he could activate with a thought, consuming a bit of his Mana Points each time. When Charlie had reached level 1, the System assigned numerical values to his characteristics based on his past life, according to the Omnibase. By calling the Display section, Charlie could see what his 29 years of life on Earth had amounted to. And the tally found him wanting. Might: 2 Insight: 2 Senses: 1 Endurance: 2 Memory: 2 Instinct: 1 Coordination: 2 Willpower: 4 Faith: 5 It also translated into 22 Hit Points (HP) and 44 Mana points (MP). Finally, over the last 2 days, he had acquired 1 general skill -Identify- and 3 combat-related skills: -Charge-, -Powerful Blow- and -Combat Senses-. The first 2 were active combat skills. -Charge- allowed him to cut the time needed to cover the distance between him and his enemies in half the standard time. -Powerful Blow- dealt double damages to an opponent. -Combat Senses- was a passive skill that helped him feel his opponent's position on the battlefield whenever he was in combat. So far, it only reached a 1-metre radius around him, but according to the Omnibase, as the skill grew, so would the field the skill would encompass. In his Display, he could see the following stats in the upper right corner of his vision. Name: Charlie Thatcher Archetype; Fighter Class: Level: 3 Might: 2 Insight: 2 Senses: 1 Endurance: 2 Memory: 2 Instinct: 1 Coordination: 2 Willpower: 4 Faith: 5 Hit Points: 36/36 (100%) Mana Points: 57/57 (100%) Skills: -Identify- 3 - [C](a) {General} -Charge- 2 - [C](a) {Combat} -Combat Senses- 4 - [Uc](p) {Combat} -Powerful Blow- 3 - [C](a) {Combat} From his reading of the #Omnibase, the characteristics were pretty self-explanatory. Might related to physical strength and power combined. Endurance was physical resistance and Coordination a mix of agility and dexterity. Insight was supposed to be linked to his capacity to understand, learn and grow his knowledge. The higher the value, the faster the Originator would comprehend his place in the Omniverse. Memory was the capacity to remember everything he learned, which seemed simple and underwhelming, especially compared to the others. Willpower was mental resistance and fortitude wrapped into one. Unsurprisingly, it was his second-best characteristic after all he had been through in his prior life. Sadly, Charlie had no idea if he should be proud or ashamed of that one. Senses reflected how attuned and efficient his hearing, vision, smell, taste and haptics were. Instinct was a bit of an odd duck since it was supposed to be another layer of senses not covered by Senses. Charlie viewed it as the fabled sixth sense for lack of better understanding. Finally, Faith was, as advertised, the value of his belief in Gods–plural, which shook him quite a bit– and other beings from higher planes of existence. Charlie had been proud to see that his Faith was his highest characteristic. It felt rewarding, in a sense. The Class section would stay unlocked until Charlie reached level 5. According to the OB, the System used the first levels to find and tailor the best classes for each Originator. On getting level 5, the System would propose between 1 and 5 classes to an Originator, ranking from [C] Common to [L] Legendary. In between were [Uc] Uncommon, [R] Rare, and [S] Singular ranks. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Each class would come with a bunch of skills also ranked according to the same criteria. Obviously, the rarer your classes and skills rank, the more potential for power and growth for the Originator. Except that, after a little bit of reading into the #OB, Charlie had discovered excerpts and testimonies from past scholars arguing that having an intimate comprehension and mastery of his class and skill would more often than not surpass rarity alone. It seemed this argument had been going on in the Omniverse for a long time without any side winning. The only shared view in these arguments was the reason the System existed. Its sole purpose was to spur Originators' growth all throughout the Omniverse. The System pushed and shaped you to become as powerful as you could be in the event of the Bespoken's return, whatever that meant. Charlie didn't care enough to dwell further on that point. Finally, the interactions with the System were all based on keywords he could speak or think to himself once he had found them. It felt clunky and unhelpful most of the time, and Charlie couldn't keep himself from wondering why something seemingly so sophisticated and advanced as the System would interact in such an archaic manner with Originators. All this explained the serious headache brewing behind Charlie's brows as the third day started. He finally ascended the last stairs to his new retreat, none other than the security room where he used to waste away his nights. The place had enough space for a sleeping cot, the one steel reinforced door that could be barred from the inside, the useless monitor bank and a chair. It was on the last level of the mall, which meant less chance of insects finding it. The mall was a treasure trove, even after being amply looted in the short window of time before God decided to test humanity's strength with His Plague of Critters. Charlie felt all of this was a divine trial to cull the feeble from the strong, and he was entirely devoted to making it through. To assist in his survival, he had found more canned food and bottled water in the supermarket wing of the mall. To replace his broken security baton–the metal rod had snapped while he hit the back of another Gryllus the day before–he had grabbed a few sturdy gardening tools in the appropriate shop. A wood axe, a rake and a long mace. So far, he hadn’t been using them, though, because his ice axes did the job pretty well. Sadly, he was still lacking in the armour department, having only found regular clothes wherever he looked. He wore thick construction pants and a vest over his work clothes to give him an extra layer, just in case. His feet were still protected by his trusty combat boots. With a sigh, Charlie left for a morning round of the mall levels. There was a double objective to walk these passageways and corridors. Firstly, Charlie was always looking for an item that could increase his survivability, even though he lacked situational experience and wouldn't know what he needed unless it fell on him. Secondly, having embraced his current predicament, he had determined that instead of waiting to be attacked by all those crazed giant insects, he would take the fight to them and try to decrease their numbers on his own terms. Hence his scavenging/patrolling routine. Charlie only needed ten minutes before hearing the familiar chirping of a Gryllus around the corner from his current position. He gripped both his Ice Axes tighter and started reciting a prayer for fortitude in combat. "Fear not, for I am with you...," Charlie half-mumbled, half-chanted under his breath as he picked up speed, taking a wide angle to give him enough space to activate -Charge- as soon as possible. Uncaring about the sounds of his boots on the stone floor, his little jog became a medium-paced run that finally activated into a proper -Charge- with a 10-metre gap to cover. As soon as the thought left his mind, his skill activated and propelled him forward so fast that everything blurred around him except his fast-closing target. Targets actually. Three similar-looking Gryllus seemed to be having a chat around the corner, the way they moved their antennas around, brushing and rubbing them together. Charlie smiled greedily as he crashed into the middle one and activated -Powerful Blow- to strike its head. The unwary insect's head exploded under the impact, covering his fellow in ichor and insect brain matter. Charlie quickly scanned his #Log to make sure the critter was dead. His momentum took him a few metres further before he could stop and turn around to face the other 2. His MP were down 10%, the cost of using -Powerful Blow- a bit steep but well worth the expense. His -Combat Senses- screamed that one Gryllus was incoming towards his mid-section, giving him the half second he needed to execute a rolling dodge to the side. Without thinking nor looking, as the soles of his feet were in contact with the floor again, he raised his left arm and struck down hard in front of him, his -Combat Senses- telling him about the other bug's approach. Before the bug could disengage itself, Charlie brought his second axe around in a circular horizontal motion and smashed the insect on the side of its chitin. He executed another rolling dodge to avoid the last one's attack, and as the giant pest careened into the wall, Charlie closed the distance and kicked it in its soft underbelly, lifting it like a football before he brought around both axes simultaneously on its chitin. Charlie put one knee down, panting for breath as he focused his Senses on his hearing to ensure no other threats were coming. He let the axe lay on the floor for a few seconds as he waited for the bug's corpses to disappear in a mist of micro-particles, to the notable exception of the chitin bits and ichor drips stuck on his weapons and clothes. Charlie had no explanation for this phenomenon. Every time he killed a bug, a few seconds to minutes later, it would turn into this semi-transparent dust and disappear. Only what was on him would stay and need to be cleaned later. It had cost him quite a few packs of bottled water to keep his clothes from getting stiff and rancid. Charlie even had found an entry in the Omnibase explaining that once a creature was killed, the System would tally its worth and decide whether to leave something of it behind or not. This explained the time corpses needed to disintegrate, or "poof," as it was sometimes referred to. Charlie read the message a few times before diving into the #OB to find new entries available regarding Events and Quests. But before he could read further, his hearing picked up a stridulating noise further down the passageway. A faint clicking. He picked up his axes and moved as silently as possible, staying close to the shops' windowed panels. As he was closing on a junction thirty metres down, his -Combat Senses- flared, and Charlie had to throw himself to the side to barely avoid the enormous pincers violently slashing through the space he had occupied. He landed hard on the floor and decided to roll away so that he could try to get some distance between himself and this new aggressor. He thanked God for his Instinct when he saw a foul-smelling yellow, acrid liquid hose down the place he used to be seconds ago. He finally stopped his tumbling around to face his attacker. It was a new kind of insect it hadn't seen before. Long with a taunt, elongated body covered in chitin, the bug was the size of a shepherd dog and vaguely resembled a deformed, giant earwig. That thing was the highest-level monster Charlie had faced so far. It should have scared him to death, and Charlie should already have been running for his safe room, hoping to outrun this hellish-looking creature. It would have been the most logical reaction expected of him. The world as Charlie knew it had been wrecked and remade into something out of a science fiction movie of the lowest calibre. He was alone, tired and underfed. He was battered and bruised all over. He had to fight daily to survive and not become insect fowder. Yet, in the face of this new monstrosity, all Charlie did was smile and intone a new prayer for strength. He was full HP and 90% MP, as good as possible under the circumstances. Charlie activated -Charge- and took the fight to this oversized earwig from hell. He brought down his right axe while triggering -Powerful Strike- aiming at the bug's thorax. Since he had no idea about the critter's weak spot, he played it safe. Right before making contact, the Dermaptera twisted his whole body to dodge the blow and counterattack with its sharp, large pincers. Charlie's -Combat Senses- were of invaluable help and allowed him to stop his attack just in time to bend a knee and parry the incoming threat with his left ice axe. His arm shook under the force of the bug's attack, and he felt something tear in his left arm. Thanks to the adrenaline rushing through his veins, the pain didn't hinder his next move. Notifications appeared in his #Logs, but he wisely decided to keep them out of sight for now. With a yell of rage, Charlie moved further inside the pincers, getting up close and personal with the giant bug's abdomen, and struck a -Powerful Blow- on what appeared to be one of the appendage's joints. The Dermaptera let a thrilling screech of pain and indignation as its right scythe-like mandible was torn apart under the strength of Charlie's blow. He felt the hit taking its toll on his ligaments and muscles again, but the pain remained manageable. Charlie's -Combat Senses- warned him a headbutt was incoming a full second beforehand, allowing him to easily sidestep the attack. He used the critter's overextension to counter with another - Powerful Blow - to the creature's neck, bringing his MP down to 50%. In response, it reared back and disengaged, moving deeper towards the end of the corridor from which it had ambushed Charlie. His smile grew seeing the higher-level bug fleeing from him. It was time to finish this. Charlie used -Charge- combined with 2 consecutive -Powerful Blow-, the first to the thorax, the second to the head. His MP went down to 20%, but he couldn't care less as the creature lay dead at his feet. Breath panting, glowing pain throbbing through his arms, Charlie checked the notification he had missed during what counted as his most taxing fight so far. Charlie noticed for the first time how low were his HP, down to 35%. Coupled with his low Mana, he decided that a strategic retreat to his safe room was in order. The earwig's corpse disappeared quickly, and upon a summary search of the corridor that had been its lair, Charlie found the reason for the ambush: a dozen sickly yellow eggs the size of a rugby ball. The bug had attacked to defend its offspring out of maternal instinct, probably. Or, it could have been to prepare a larder in order to feed them when they hatched. Luckily, Charlie would never know the truth of it. But the discovery reminded him that humans were not the only ones to sometimes fight for something greater than themselves. Animals and insects all over the globe would be battling it out to give their offspring, heck, their species, a chance at survival. Hopefully, the plants wouldn't be involved. Charlie was not looking forward to battling it out with giant carnivorous flowers or trees. The horrifying thoughts occupied his mind until he locked the saferoom's door behind him. Charlie put his axes down on the security console and sat down with a tired sigh. He called forth his Display to see what those new skills were about. Name: Charlie Thatcher Archetype; Fighter Class: Level: 3 Might: 2 Insight: 2 Senses: 1 Endurance: 2 Memory: 2 Instinct: 1 Coordination: 2 Willpower: 4 Faith: 5 Hit Points: 15/36 (40%) Mana Points: 20/57 (35%) Skills: -Identify- 3 - [C](a) {General} -Charge- 2 - [C](a) {Combat} -Combat Senses- 4 - [Uc](p) {Combat} -Endure Pain - 2 [C](p) {General} -Powerful Blow- 3 - [C](a) {Combat} -Soft spot- 1 - [Uc](p) {Combat} Charlie focused on each skill, calling up a description in his logs. -Endure Pain- Common passive skill that raises the user's pain tolerance while injured. For each level gained, the user will feel 2.5% less. Warning: This skill is not a {Healing} skill. Any injuries sustained will worsen if not treated accordingly. -Soft spot- Uncommon passive skill that helps the user to feel a chink in his opponent's armour, both artificial and natural. Also increases the chance of inflicting a critical hit when landing any kind of damage. 1% chance increase per level gained. The -Endure Pain- seemed pretty basic as it was of the [C] rarity and only helped to do something humans had been doing since the dawn of time: ignoring pain. The fact it already went up to level 2 showed Charlie's natural predilection to tolerate trauma of any kind. It was sad, in a way. -Soft spot- on the other hand, felt like something much more helpful in the long run. Sensing where to better hit monsters would help Charlie tremendously. The 1% chance of landing a critical hit appeared to be trifling at first glance, but thinking about it further, Charlie realised that having a chance at double damages once every 100 attacks was still better than nothing and that this number would increase with usage and quickly reach a double-digit number. All in all, this fight, while being the toughest so far, had also been the most rewarding. It made Charlie think about the way old RPG video games used to work. The higher your opponent, the greater the chances to see your skills progress fast and, more importantly, the higher your experience gains. Charlie mulled over the little details the System gave him about this quest. "A place of my own" and "official" implied being granted ownership of the area around the security room he had chosen as his shelter, as the Quest's name also suggested. The next part was both tricky and pretty straightforward. "Defend your Sanctum from all Challengers" was pretty much what he had been doing for the last 48 hours. The real unknown was how many "Challengers" would he have to kill to make it through the next 4 days. This last bit of trickiness was the only reason he didn't accept the Quest straightaway. Charlie mulled it over a few more minutes before thinking Yes, thus accepting the quest. <[Sanctum Sanctorum: Any port in a storm] is now accessible in your Quest Journal.> A timer with 96:00:00 appeared in the top right corner of his vision and started to slowly count down. A few seconds later, another counter started to load next to the timer. It was written like a fraction, with the denominator growing with every passing moment. After twenty seconds of watching, it was already reaching 45 and still going up. Charlie had a bad feeling about all of this. Trickiness indeed. While waiting for the counter to stop, he checked his health and Mana. HP were at 60% and MP at 70%. After a quick calculation, he estimated his HP recovery rate to be around 20% per hour out of combat state. Two more hours and he would be full. Apparently, it was faster for Mana since he had gained 35% in the same hour. Charlie fervently prayed to be left in peace for 2 more hours. … The frigging hound-sized critter died in an explosion of ichor and chitin as Charlie landed a final -Powerful Blow- to its bulbous head.