Sam found himself back in his cot. He got out of it, and entered the front room. Jeffrey was still sleeping. Immediately, he was filled with suspicion. If Jeffrey had just been there at the System announcement then why was he still asleep? A glint of something shiny was visible on his wrist and Sam stealthily moved over. There was an intricately designed bracelet that shone with power to his vision. Making sure that Jeffrey wasn't awake, he took it off. A patch of orange started spreading from the wrist and soon, the man was revealed not to be a human at all. He was some sort of bird human hybrid and he had a large coxcomb on his head. Jeffrey continued to sleep, oblivious to Sam’s intrusion.
Sam picked up the shotgun from next to Jeffrey, and cocked it loudly. Jeffrey awoke with a start and saw that Sam was standing over him with the gun.
“Hey Sam. What… Why are you holding that gun?”
“Cut the crap. Why were you concealing your appearance?”
Jeffrey snorted as if to dispute what Sam had said, but then he noticed what had happened.
“Oh. Shit.” He said as he looked down at his skin.
“Yeah. Now tell me what the hell you are before I send your ass back to KFC.”
Jeffrey sighed and sat back.
“Are you sure? It's a long story.”
Sam sat down as well.
“I have time to spare.”
“Fine, it all started a long time ago. I'm quite a bit older than I look. My family is from another universe, one that has been part of the System for much longer than this one. They were part of the ruling class in the Salvinii System and I was the heir to my father’s estate. Unfortunately, I was not the model noble that they were looking for. I was inclined to various depraved tendencies, most of which nobody cared about. However, I had a proclivity for going after women of all sorts, and eventually, I made the mistake of trying to seduce the king’s daughter. The problem was that she was already engaged. Her fiance, a monstrous Enlightened cultivator, dragged me in front of the king and made me confess to what had happened. To save my own skin, and the reputation of my family, I chose exile. Not only from the Salvinii System, that was too little for those bastards, but to a non-initialized universe. As a result, I went from the peak of F Rank straight down to level 1. I knew that it was only a matter of time before this universe was initialized, and luckily I retained my extended lifespan that my Rank had given me. I adopted this persona of Jeffrey, and well that's where I am now.” Jeffery stopped talking, letting Sam digest his words.
“Well,” he sighed, “ you haven’t done anything that makes me not want to trust you, other than the concealment and I understand the reasons. As long as there aren't any other hidden bombshells, then you can remain with me. There will be a price to pay though.”
Jeffrey nodded eagerly.
“Name it, and I will pay it if it is within my means.”
“I want you to tell me more about how the System works.”
Jeffrey raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“That's it? Oh, you really don’t know anything about it, I am still used to my old universe, sorry.”
Sam nodded, to hurry the man along.
“Well, where to begin? I should probably start off with the next thing of import that you will have to deal with. At level 25, you gain a class. You have a choice between three different options. The first one is based on your personal experiences, the second one is also based on your experiences, but on a different one, and the third one is System Battery. That last one is only visible for the first class selection process, after which another normal option is unlocked.”
“System Battery? What’s that?”
Jeffrey laughed.
“The System is very aggressive when it comes to expanding its power. The System Battery class is one that seems good on the outside, but it's really a thinly veiled trap. You gain what is essentially unlimited mana, hence the name, but all of it is inaccessible to you and you merely act as a recycler to channel the affinities out of the mana and back into the universe. The System is unable to process anything other than pure mana so it uses these batteries to do so. In addition, you turn into a vegetative blob, incapable of complex thought or movement. Because of this, the System only gives it as a choice to the weakest of cultivators, the newly initialized, so as not to waste ones who have the potential to reach the second class selection process. It would be very unlikely that someone who had reached that stage, while already having encountered that class, would end up picking it, but the System is a bit paranoid, I guess.”
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Why the hell would anyone pick that class?”
Jeffrey shrugged.
“Some people are just idiots. The System uses this fancy language to disguise the true nature of the class and some people don't read past the first line, which of course says that you gain unlimited mana. That is akin to the juiciest of baits for new cultivators. Then there are the zealots. I wouldn't expect there to be any in this universe, but in the higher ones like my own, the influence of the Grand Unified Church of the Sacred System can be felt.”
Sam snorted at this.
“What kind of ridiculous name is that? It sounds like something a scam company would call itself.”
Jeffrey laughed.
“Hit it right on the head on the nail. That’s exactly what it is. I would be careful about who you said that to though, if any of those maniacs heard that then they would lead a purge of both you and your home planet.”
“Oof, well I gotta be careful then. How do things like that happen though? I would have expected something like that to have had widespread resistance against it.”
“Ah, the idealistic attitude of the newly initialized. All that matters in the cultivating world is power. The reason that there aren’t any resistance movements is that they have all been purged, and the few ones that do exist are too small to have heard of.”
Sam’s Dao started to pulse to the wild beat of a battle hymn. His mind filled with righteous anger and his gaze must have unsettled Jeffrey because the man flinched.
“Everything alright there, Sam? You look disturbed.”
“It was nothing. Just my Dao responding to what you told me.”
Jeffrey choked.
“You already have a Dao? But it's been less than two days since the System came! It normally takes months for someone to make a Dao. Only the greatest of prodigies can make one in any less time. I’ve never heard of anyone, let alone someone new to the System, getting one so quickly.” Sam clapped his hand to his mouth, but it was too late. At least he hadn’t mentioned the Mark. Jeffrey looked at him and the bird man raised a placating hand.
“It’s fine, I won’t tell anyone. Just remember me when you’re the ruler of the universe, ok?”
Sam laughed at the ridiculous statement.
“What? That Tantalos guy is the ruler of the universe, not me. I think you’re making a big deal about nothing.”
Jeffrey shook his head solemnly.
“No, I’m not. Tell me, did you get a title for gaining your Dao so early?”
Sam nodded.
“How much power does it give you? Or if you don't want to tell me that, is it over Mythical Rarity?”
Sam shrugged.
“I have no idea what the rarities are. It's Celestial, whatever that means.”
Jeffrey fell off the edge of his bed. Sam walked over to check on him, the man was foaming at the mouth. He slapped him a few times and he got up.
“Are you alright?”
“How… How is that even possible? That sort of rarity is like a myth! Nobody in my System ever had even a Mythical rarity title, except for the king, and that was only a temporary one. Celestial Rarity is something that only Ascendants have.”
“Uh, sure. It really doesn't seem that special to me.”
“Open your System and tell me what kind of stats you have, then we’ll see if it's special or not.”
Sam complied, opening his interface.
Sam Atlas
Human
Mortal Tier
G Rank
Class:None
Level 9
(6 stat points unspent)
Strength
22
1.325x
Constitution
16
1.325x
Resilience
15
1.325x
Dexterity
12
1.325x
Intelligence
12
1.325x
Wisdom
15
1.325x
Health 160/160
Mana 120/120
Stamina 220/220
Dao:1
Skills:3
Titles:1
Temporary Titles:2
Marks:1
Party:1*
Sam looked over the numbers, surprised at their new level. He hadn't really had a chance to test the effects of his title yet, but it seemed good.
“How many total stat points do you have?” Jeffrey asked.
“Uh, wait a sec. Ok. I have 92 points plus 6 unspent ones.”
Jeffrey whistled.
“Yep. That confirms it. That is way more points than someone at your level should have. You should only have about 55 to 65, accounting for your original stats. You’re going to be a monster when you get more powerful.”