[https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2023/02/26/07/18/warrior-7815005_960_720.jpg]

She had just finished putting on her holster when the notification appeared before her eyes. Welcome to the System? A jerk was her only reaction. Ambre was familiarized with the idea. Not directly, but Sarah, her partner, was a big litRPG and anime fan. Such a kid... She smiled. Then frowned, the next second. A System Apocalypse was not a joke.

Her first instinct was to pick up her phone to check on Sarah. No signal. Around the police station, everyone talked, voices over voices. Her ears were buzzing, fear amplifying the noise. The decision was taken immediately. She squeezed herself between the loud groups, shoving or elbowing when necessary, and went out. Marc, her teammate, was giddily cleaning the windshield of their patrol car. Pushing him aside without a word, Ambre took the front seat, started the engine, and dashed out of the parking lot with tires screeching.

"Hey, are you mad?" Marc's cry reached her, but she ignored it. All she could think about was Sarah. Some orc, zombie, or Notre Dame gargoyle could eat her. Sarah. Her love. Her life.

The traffic looked normal, not entirely bad, but increasing as rush hour approached. It was early morning; she was supposed to start her shift now. Abusing her position, she started the sirens and lights. It went well for a while, but then she hit a traffic jam. She cursed.

There were alerts all over the tablet's screen on the board. Riots and manifestations. Robberies. Vandalism. French were lively, and Parisians even more. An Apocalypse on top of that? An appeal from the President to keep calm and stay indoors. The police were ordered to disperse into the neighborhoods and stop any problems. And the Gendarmerie too. No monsters were signaled, but she had never seen that level of rioting before.

Ambre parked her car and continued on foot, at a light jog, but not before she took out a shotgun and her secret stash of dumdum bullets from the back. She knew better than most of her colleagues what a real threat looked like. She charged the shots in the gun on the run. Five minutes later, she was home.

The alley, a dead end in the Montmartre area, was empty, too narrow for cars. The shock hit her like a hammer. The house was gone. Sarah's parents' old bookstore, small and cute, with their apartment behind, was nowhere. Empty ground. Only one thing remained. The back wall of Sarah's room– their room–with the dressing table and the prop spear the little sweet thing used in her adventures as a pretended elf at cosplay events. Because she did look like an elf.

"What have you done?" she sneered, pumping the shotgun at the ready. "Where is she?"

There were three men there, and she knew all of them. The Caïd, the mafia boss of the neighborhood, ruled over a petty crime syndicate of twentyish people. Daoud, his enforcer, a two-meter-high brute, and her cousin. The shame of the family. Finally, a small and frail man whose name she had forgotten, the bookkeeper of the whole shady business. And he was the one to speak.

"We did nothing. The System did... his pals, sorry, he says his pals did. They transported people away for whatever reason. He asks why you ignore his notifications. Pick your class. We're all on the same side now."

"Don't. Touch. That." Ambre growled as the short man opened a jewel box. Inside was a corsage flower Sarah had worn at her high-school graduation prom last year. Ambre's gift.

"It's an artifact," the bookkeeper answered, furrowing his brows like: it's obvious, duh.

"I said: don't touch that!" she yelled, putting her shotgun in line.

"Stop your bullshit, or I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget," Daoud hissed, interposing between the gun and his companions. "We're fed up with you, whore. A Gouine, and screwing a Jewish girl on top of that?" he insulted her, and it hurt. "Where's your fucking pride? Put that down, or else."

"Don't make me shoot you, Daoud, because I will," she sneered back.

"Calm down. We're all on the System's side now. The New Boss in town," the Caïd said. "Pick up your class already."

She dismissed the obstinate screens assaulting her sight and the voice in her head.

"I'll make her see reason," Daoud said and jumped her.

She fired. Instinct. She would have knocked or tased Daoud out in a normal situation, but her nerves were over the limit.

"I'm sorr–" she tried to yell in a panic, but Daoud's slap threw her in the air like a rag doll. She hit a wall, and the air was knocked out of her lungs. She fell to her knees.

The center shot had torn her cousin's clothes in taters but didn't make a scratch.

"You shot me, bitch?" Daoud said coldly. "Very well, I show you what 25 in Body can do."

Ambre barely had time to move her head away. The man's fists smashed the bricks where she had stood a second before. No normal person should have been able to move that fast or strike so hard. She rolled on herself, dazed but frantically trying to find solutions. At 1.85 meters in height, a martial artist, and with police training, she had already put some sense in Daoud's head before, but now... It was different.

Pick a class, fast... Here, warrior, your stats will be–

The voice in her head was smashed with another of Daoud's fists. He had barely grazed her, but it was enough to make her kneel again. She took out her pistol with her right hand and shot the man in the groin from point-blank range.

"Balls of Steel... Nice... I like the nickname..." the man laughed with contempt.

In one motion, he picked her up from the ground with one hand and stabbed her with a folding knife with the other, crushing her ribs and the right lung from the force of the impact. Then, he threw her at the single remaining wall of Sarah's house. She fell over the dressing table, and both failed, broken.

Ambre was dying. Voices, in her head or around, deplored or relished in her demise. It didn't matter. With her last strength, he touched the wrist corsage. She wanted to remember to her last breath. How she met Sarah, ganked up in a gang while returning from school, to be probably raped, when she appeared like an angel of vengeance, smiting the assailants–young themselves–under the might of her police baton and fighting skill. Checking on her for a while to see if she was OK, becoming friends, and more, as soon Sarah turned eighteen. Her parents, civilized and agreeable. Her delicious pale and soft skin against her darker one at night. She cried as she died.

"What a waste! You idiot!" the Caïd yelled. "This was a good chance to recruit her."

"Eh, there will be more people," Daoud shrugged. "Good riddance. A pervert, the shame of our family."

"What is, is," the tiny man said. "Let me finally check on those artifacts. They screamed loud in my radar. Aaaaah!" the man yelled, jumping back.

"You don't have to really scream," the Caïd laughed, then stopped, gasping.

Daoud was grabbing his chest with his hands, the head and half of a spear's shaft emerging from his sternum.

"B-bitch..." he said his last word and collapsed.

"Wait, the System is sorry! It's a misunder–" the mobster rushed to say, but fell down gurgling, his throat slit.

"What are these?" Ambre asked. Her tone, somber like the darkest amber, had carried no inflection.

"Ar-artif-facts," the short man mumbled, trembling. "I can read you their description. I can find you more," he added, begging for his life. "I'm an Artifact Hunter."

"Then read."

"C-can I touch... them?"

"Touch."

The man tentatively approached her, his hand stretched as far as possible. His fingers met Ambre's arm. An armor was enveloping her now, in full. Strange, looking material at immaterial at the same time.

"It's c-called t-the Power of L-love... I can read the f-full description... or we can party, and I can share the screen, if you have a class."

"Read."

"The Power of Love (Mythical). Anatopism (out-of-place). Bonded to Ambre. It cannot be ceded or unbound.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Sarah got transported away, yet this object remained behind as a token of her love for you.

Perk 1: Love's Protection (Legendary). The item can transform into an armor for 5 minutes per level. Cool down: one hour. The armor will behave as an artifact of Legendary quality, soaking half the damage received.

Perk 2: Love's kiss (Legendary). When not an armor, the item will double Ambre's health's regeneration after a fight. It will also chase away bad dreams and offer hope whenever Ambre thinks about Sarah.

Perk 3: Love's Hug–All-rounder with a pretty name–(Legendary). The item bestows a +10 to each stat. Legendary.

Perk 4: Love's Tears (Mythical, Unique). Once per day, the item will restore Ambre to full health if she takes lethal damage. This does not depend of Ambre being a Gifted or not.

"Hm..." Ambre nodded, dismissing the armor with a simple thought. The flower wrapped itself around her wrist.

"You better take a class... it will exponentially help."

"The voice is gone... and the screens. They disappeared when I died."

"If we find another Guide, they can bestow classes," the man said, looking at the dead Caïd. "Please... if you spare me, I'll help you figure–"

"What about this?" she forwarded the spear. "It was plastic before, yet–"

"It's another artifact... Can I?"

After she nodded, he gingerly touched the shaft.

"Wow... The Might of the Imaginary Elves..."

"Typically, Sarah," Ambre snorted and giggled at the same time, tears beginning to fill her eyes anew.

"Another Mythical... Much of the same. Token of her love. Bonded to Amber.

Perk 1: All-rounder (Legendary) +10 to each stat.

Perk 2: Aura (Legendary). No matter Ambre's class, this item will help her behave like a Legendary Hero. Ambre can invoke an energy shield to protect herself or others. If Ambre does get a Legendary class, it will double her shield's strength.

Perk 3: Death by a Thousand Cuts (Legendary). Any wound inflicted with this weapon cannon be healed during combat as long Ambre holds the weapon.

Perk 4: Equal Retribution (Mythical, Unique). If Tears of Love had been activated, the next hit against the one that had dealt the lethal damage to Amber would also be lethal damage, no matter the stats or attributes of the enemy. I'd say everything is totally OP, but... Please, no!" the man gasped as Ambre approached.

However, she passed him and approached the Caïd. Kneeling down, she closed his eyes. For Daoud, it was another matter. With a sickening noise, she crushed his skull under her police boot.

"You're alive as long you work for me," she said curtly. "Now stay put until I say otherwise."

She went to the last vestige of the wall and kissed it, then touched it with both her palms open.

"I swear, I will find you," she whispered.

You need my help with that, a voice said in her mind.

"I thought you were gone," Amber smirked. "You want to manipulate me like you did with them?

No. I'm not that System. I'm a part of you, a fragment of your personality. I can help you progress and understand your powers. Create a unique class for you from the Mana around. You deserve it. You have the potential to awaken to the Mana.

"I don't know..."

That man's Body attribute was at 25. At level 1. He could stop bullets up to medium caliber. Your Body is 18 as is. Almost double the average, but there will be a lot of stronger individuals who will kill you for the artifacts. Even if they are bonded to you. They'll believe it's worth a try. Maybe I'll find a buyer or a way to undo the bond. That's what they'll think.

Tell me how it works.

It's easier to follow the rules, for now, and use what's available until you can evolve properly. Sarah would call this System a poorly balanced one, as it offers power too early, but it's for our advantage. Three attributes. Body, Mind, and Spirit. Body will cover the Health Pool, x10 HP per point, but will also represent your regeneration power, resistance to damage, and so on. Mind will cover your ability to understand and learn stuff, among other things, and Spirit, your will to fight, the degree of immunity to mind conditions, and the powers that depend on esoteric aspects. Mind has Will as a pool, and Spirit has Mana, both x10, like for the Body. You will use those pools for you skills or perks, depending, and every class uses them differently.

"I understand."

I can do a simulation if you want.

"Go for it, but keep it simple."

Give me a moment.

As the voice paused, Ambre touched the wall again after checking the Artifact guy was still there. In one minute, the voice returned.

Done. If you'd have, let's say, a few available attribute points, where would you put them for now?

"All in Power... I mean, Body?"

Here we go. Better to show it to you directly, OK?

Name: Ambre Nickname: to be determined

Class: Valkyrie (Mythical). Starts at lvl.10. Body and Spirit. You can mutate your class into more advanced specializations at levels 15 and 30.

3 attribute points are to be freely allocated at each level.

Perk 1: Hasta la vista, Bambi! (Mythical). As a Valkyrie, bringing the joy of the afterlife to Heroes and Gifted is your pleasure. You gain a +5 bonus to all attributes when fighting Gifted, +1 per level of rarity of the enemy, common being the base.

Perk 2: Guardian of Peace (Legendary). Maintaining order is in your blood. You can make opponents lower than Epic faint just by projecting your aura if they are in a context where they break the law. Any lawbreaker will suffer a - 10 debuff to Body.

Perk 3: Bling (Mythical). You can simultaneously use multiple artifacts, but only two can be Legendary or Mythical. The cap is 10.

Perk 4: Aura (Mythical). The better version of the Heroes' Energy Shield. It can take irregular forms and be used to grab things. Its power and abilities scale with Spirit.

Condition 1: True at Heart (Unique). Your survival and class are due to your true love, Sarah. You will instinctively feel if your actions are attuned to her beliefs. A positive or neutral act will have no benefits, but something she'd consider wrongdoing will make you sick.

Condition 2: Soul Sickness. A Valkyrie needs as much Spirit as he needs Body, for her fight is one of conviction. Therefore, if your Spirit is lower by more than 10 compared to your Body, your Body will be lowered to match the difference allowed.

Condition 3: High-tier. Unable to select a secondary class.

And now, your attributes at level 10. You'll be VERY close to leveling up. In dire circumstances, you slew an Epic Warrior-Champion and a Legendary Leader-Guide while being a commoner, so to speak. Lots of XP.

Body 46 (-22)

Mind 31 (+20)

Spirit 36 (+20)

It's a little... unbalanced, the voice noted. That debuff... but it's only a simulation.

"Then make the necessary. But keep Body the highest."

Body 56(+20)

Mind 31 (+20)

Spirit 48 (+20)

I think it's better not to have too much of a difference in the long run. One wrong ring on a finger, and you'd be debuffed severely. Do you accept the class?

"I accept," she nodded.

"You got a class?" the Artifact guy asked.

"Yes, I did," she replied without offering more details. Somehow, the changes in her body and mind felt natural. No crawling in pain, not bulging muscles. Something else.

She concentrated on making her aura appear. Sarah watched many Animes that covered that aspect, so it wasn't too hard. The only thing Ambre didn't expect was to rise in the air, like on an air cushion.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, and so did the man.

With some manipulation, she got down, spreading the aura around the ground. She picked her guns from the ground, holstered the pistol, and kept the shotgun in the left hand, the right holding the spear.

"If you ever tell anyone, I'll kill you, OK?"

"S-sure," the man said, looking around at the bodies and the pools of gore and blood, some belonging to Ambre.

"Not that. My car is far enough, and I don't think you could keep up with me. Get on my back."

"S-sorry?"

"Legs around my midriff, hands around the neck. I'll count to three; you're dead if you're not up by then."

The man rushed to obey, but it took more than three seconds. He was clumsy, but also she had a bit of nausea from threatening him. The True at Heart debuff. She sighed.

"Hold tight."

That said, she rose up and leaned forward, accelerating on her aura. It felt like riding a motorcycle, and she put some speed on it. The streets were almost empty. The people had probably parked their cars as best as possible and continued by foot or Metro. Maybe it was still working. In no time, she reached the car.

"Get in the back," she opened the door, closing the man in the prisoners' compartment, and squeezed her spear into the front right seat. Then, she looked at the tablet.

The number of alerts had diminished considerably. However, there was a ring of red dots in the vicinity. Set in strategic places, blocking access to the Elysée Palace. The Presidency. A flashing text: Alert! Alert! Any available forces, please help l'Elysée. We are surrounded by groups of people with superpowers. They have a handful of level 5 and vastly outnumber and outpower us. We have until noon to surrender, or they attack. Alert! Alert!

"Noon... Plenty of time... Should I eat something first?"

The coffee shops and restaurants around looked closed, though. She grabbed the radio.

"Gardien de la paix Ambre Alaoui. I'm about two kilometers north of l'Elysée. Can reach the Presidency in five to ten. Please confirm."

"What?" a startled and confused voice replied.

She rolled her eyes and threw the radio away. Then, she massaged her face, opened the glove compartment, and put on her sunglasses. Starting the car, she activated her horn for a couple of signals, scaring a bicyclist who was taking his time to turn and was in the way.

"Degage, connard!" She opened the window and yelled. "I have to save the Republic."