The lone figure laid sprawled out surrounded by pristine white stone. Four pillars rose to the sky, the absences of a sun gave no indication of what time it was or how long he’d laid there. Shadows remained unmoving as Ethan lay there, drowning in self-hatred. The slight breeze traveled through the surrounding trees, if he wasn’t so numb, he may have felt the slight chill in there. Not even the auroras over head could pull him from the darkness he wrapped himself in. Finding protection in the familiar depression, he was pulled from his thoughts as Joe finally spoke.
“Ethan, I think you should take a look at your notification.”
“…Not right now…” Not what Ethan wanted to hear right now. Not even close.
“Please.” Was all Joe said. He knew nothing else would help.
Joe had never said please before. Taking note of that, Ethan made an effort to comply. His curiosity peaked.
Opening his notifications, Ethan stared in disbelief.
[SUBJECT][REBECCA SOXE] WISHES TO ALLOW YOU TOTAL AND COMPLETE ACCESS TO HIS SOUL REALM.
[WARNING: ACCESSING SOMEONE'S SOUL REALM WILL OPEN THEMSELVES UP TO YOU. ALLOWING YOU TO NURTURE, OR DESTROY THAT PERSONS SOUL.]
DO YOU ACCEPT?
YES/NO
“Holy. Fucking. Shit. It WORKED!!! It FUCKING WORKED!!!” Quickly accepting the request as a second notification came in.
[SKILL][SOUL CONNECTION]
LEVEL UP!
LEVEL 2
Scrambling to sit up, questions formed faster than Ethan could get them out.
“It worked; how do I get them? How do I get to them? Can I summon them? Can they summon me? You said I could show them the sky, how do I do that? Can I use the skill to show them my location? Can it show them mine?”
“Ethan.”
“What if we meet in the middle somewhere? Like a hub, or I don’t know like space train station or something?”
“Ethan?”
“Yeah, yeah sorry. Lay it on me, where do I go?”
“I said it was highly. HIGHLY ill-advised. And I meant it.”
“Joe, she got my message, there is no way I can leave it at that, I have to get to them. This whole thing, everything is wrong.”
There was a long pause before Joe said anything. Ethan could tell there was something Joe wasn’t sharing. Something even Ethan wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
“It is dangerous here. Where they are is… safer.”
Alarm bells rang like at a fire station on New Year’s Eve.
“Safer… Not safe? I thought you said they were protected. What aren’t you telling me? You aren’t bound by the System. You can say whatever you want. I need to know.”
“They are protected. But only if they are left in the Training Facility. If they leave, they, they aren’t. The Endless Plain’s aren’t meant for them.”
Ethan knew that, but something wasn’t adding up. A small voice in the back of his mind gnawed at his fear raising. Coaxing it to ask a question he had avoided until now.
“Joe, what is the Grand Experiment?”
“…”
It was odd having a second soul in his body now, certain feelings were shared. Others were impressions. This one was a whisper. Like even Joe wasn’t aware he was feeling it, but Ethan had known it for so long he would never forget it. Fear.
“Joe, come on. Tell me.”
“The System was created for one purpose. To find the path to Godhood. True Godhood. Unbound by the laws of magic. Many may have the Title or Achievement, claiming them to be Gods. But they pale in comparison to True Godhood. The System is just the most efficient way to find the secret to True Godhood.”
Ethan was lost, what the hell did this have to do with his family, and getting them to find him.
“The Grand Experiment, Integration, Assimilation. They are all the same thing. Human’s make up a bulk of the subjects. Sometimes called Players, or something similar. It depends on the rules of the System. Most Systems are hands off, and rarely if ever make direct contact with individuals. But Humans always come from Earth. Or whatever the planet is called by its people. Always the same planet. From the same Milky Way as you call it.”
Questions formed in Ethan’s mind, and faded just as quick as the information was shared.
“Over and over, your Race is seeded, and reaped. Always the same way. The arrival of the System. Being on the edge of your solar system, the tears in reality are much more frequent. Much stronger. Information. Ideas. Stories of Gods, and heroes leak out. Into your societies. They mold you as a people. And once the stories of the System reach a peak, you are harvested.”
Joe continued. He could feel the panic raising once again in Ethan. Not wanting another barrage of questions, he laid it all out for Ethan.
“The System is designed for one person to raise to the top. Faster, and stronger than anyone around them. Everyone, and every thing else is there for propel them to the top. Every one else supports them, unknowingly. Every resource, every kill, every minute of every day. They are the last, left standing alone. When that happens, they are swept away by the System. They are separated from their body’s, and every human left alive is as well. The souls of non-combatants, children, mothers, every soul except the individual at the top is absorbed into the System. The bodies are used to breed and seed the Earth once more. Over and over, throughout time. The True Gods watch over it all, uncaring, unwavering. When a System proves themselves, they are given the Secret. Then… Their trials are wiped from the face of reality. No trace is left behind. New systems are born. The cycle repeats. Always using humans…”
“We’re cattle, sent to the slaughter…”
“I didn’t want to tell you, until I thought you had a chance at survival. If you had died early on, your family would have gone to sleep, never to have awoken. Forgotten by anyone who had met them in the Training grounds.”
“How… how do I stop this?” Ethan was in shock. He, no everyone he’d ever known was just living in a stupid ant farm. Waiting to compete in some twisted game to find out who could be studded out for some races to godhood.
“In a way… you already have…” Joe replied. Apprehension clear in his voice. Ethan knew he didn’t want to tell him more. But felt obligated since he just dropped everything else in his lap.
“What do you mean?”
“The System has literally deemed you ‘The Father of the End’ of the Endless Plains. The Endless Plains is meant to weed out the lesser stock. As time goes by more and more men would be killed off, the System is confident you will make it to the end.”
“No. This doesn’t make any sense.” Ethan fought internally against what he was learning.
“Only women and children are taken to Training Facilities. The protection they receive is absolute. To the point where if they left, they would be ineffective in fights. It is meant to dissuade others from leaving. Everything is provided for them. If you manage to see them, you are made to feel inadequate by comparison. Leading you to try more and more dangerous things. Killing off the weaker ones quicker.”
“No. NO. It wouldn’t make sense to tell people they are being tested, then kill them off.” Ethan didn’t know how much more he could take. But Joe kept going.
“If you bring them to the Endless Plains, they will be targeted. They will be hunted down. In an attempt to sever any ties, you have with anyone. Making survival your only thought. Your only hope. Your only motivation.”
Ethan realized why he hated the System, it was all a lie from the get go. Every second with the System had been forced upon him. Every lie was too good to believe. He didn’t have a choice, it burned him inside thinking about it. This new reality had been thrust upon him, and he had no choice.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He was done not having a say…
“How do I get them here?”
“Ethan… I just told you why that is a terrible idea. Do you understand there is no way to save them?”
“How. Do. I. Get. Them. Here?” Ethan didn’t care anymore. System or not, he would protect them. He would carry them on his back until the end of time if need be. He was done rolling over.
No more. No more running. No more fighting myself. The System has to pay for what its done.
“Joe… How?”
“…”
Ethan stood there in silence. Even the breeze had stopped, watching the him wait. Wait for an answer to his needs. Because that is exactly what it was, Ethan needed to get to them. Deep in his soul he knew that.
“Every Safe Zone, except this one, allows for a portal to be opened upon entering it. The Portal leads to the Training Facilities of someone with the strongest Karmic Bond. For you… it will be the one where your family is, once you pass through, you will have 24 hours until you either leave on your own, or are forcefully expelled.”
Get to a Safe zone. Got it.
“How big is the portal at one of these Safe Zones?” Ethan had shut down. No longer feeling anything. He was planning for real this time. His mind raced. Information was all he needed.
“The portal spans the Safe Zone, the runes carved in the pillars will active as soon as you enter. The timer will begin as soon as you enter the portal.” The pillars were about 10 meters tall, and 15 meters apart.
Big. Got it.
“Can I send something through beforehand, like a message, or note?” Anything could be helpful, Ethan grasped at any straw he could think of.
“No. Only living organisms, and any gear equipped.” Joe sensed Ethan’s cool rage, but said nothing about it.
“I’m assuming there are Guides there as well, will they try to stop me?”
“Even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to do anything. They lack physical forms, much like I was in your soul realm.”
A plan was forming, a grin crept its way across Ethan’s face. He wanted to destroy everything the System had created, and he was beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.
“One last question.”
“Okay…”
“Show me how to use my skill.”
Joe complied. Explaining that all Ethan had to do was lay his hands on something he wanted to consume, open his Internal Well and pull it in. He explained that the Internal Well, was the opposite of a Mana spring. A Mana Spring would fill you up with Mana, and an Internal Well was meant to be filled. In the case of [Missing Link] it could be filled with anything that contained Mana. Then once it was filled, he could send it anywhere in his body, or soul, since whatever was consumed was sent to the space between the two. Waiting to be absorbed, or used as construction material for his body or soul.
A lot of it went over Ethan’s head, but he grasped the basic. Place hand on shiny, open up, and eat. From there he figured he’d have to experience it to figure the rest out.
Walking over the nearest pillar, Ethan reached out placing his hand on the pillar. It took him a minute to figure out how to open himself, his Internal Well, and consume the pillar. It was like breathing in, if you didn’t actually breathe. And instead of your lungs filling it was your stomach. But as soon as he figured it out, the pillar in front of him began to shrink, and shrivel. Like a California Raisin. Glancing around the starter Safe Zone he saw the other pillars do the same. Wisps of powered stone drifted through the air, and into the palm of his hand.
Then without warning the stone floor he was standing started melting into more fine powder, and drifting faster and faster towards his hand. A mere 60 seconds later, and the entire Safe Zone was gone. Leaving a hairless, naked man standing the middle of a half meter by 15-meter hole.
Heh, Terminator. I’ll be back.
Ethan chuckled at his joke. He knew no one else, even if they were there, would find it funny. But he enjoyed it for a moment before moving on to his next task. Moving the Safe Zone that now rested inside his body. It was odd. He could feel the entire Safe Zone as if it were whole, and unbroken, inside him. Smaller, and yet not.
The way Joe had explained it, you imagined the material layering inside, and within whatever part of you body you wanted to change. So, he focused on his skin, spreading the stone like wet clay in his mind fusing with his skin. His skin began to turn the same spotless white as the stone, it was hard to the touch, but felt soft and malleable, like normal skin. He could move around just fine, but he noticed his body was under a lot strain.
His bones creaked and groaned when he moved. Next, he fused the rest of his body with the stone, making sure to strengthen, and not just jam rocks in his veins. A stroke was less than ideal for his plans. Soon he began to fell like he normally did, moving freely about the hole, he stretched, did a few pushups, and jumped around a bit. It was his body. Just made of stone, and extra white. Almost albino. He didn’t see any other the runes carved into the stone. Which made sense, in a weird new reality way.
Finally finished with his tests, Ethan stepped out of the circular hole that once was a System created Safe Zone, and heard a couple notifications go off. Checking them he saw [Missing Link] and [Soul Connection] had leveled up.
Huh, weird?
“Hey Joe, do you know why [Soul Connection] leveled up? Was it because [Missing Link] leveled up?”
“It is most likely due to Rebecca sending her feelings to you for the last few days.”
“Days? I’ve only been here for, what, maybe a day?”
“Yes, you have. But time flows different in the Train Facilities. It is designed to maximize their training, to further discourage you when you visit them. Making you want to get back to leveling up sooner. It is about a 10:1, 10 being them, ratio.”
“Can you send her emotions? Or messages?”
“If the skills level were high enough, you could, yes. Me, no. I do not have access to your Core. I can however send your emotions to her until that time. Would you like me to do that?”
Ethan mulled it over. He was coming up with a second plan. One that would hopefully pay dividends.
“How about I make you a deal, you do what you can to level up [Soul Connection], and you help me get my family to safety. And then I help you get out of my body?”
“…”
Ethan thought it was a pretty good idea, he didn’t see why Joe wouldn’t immediately accept. But he had, and it concerned Ethan.
“It is… a possibility. But not with your current skill set. And knowing how to acquire the skills necessary would only make getting them harder…”
“Okay, just don’t tell me how to get them. Just ‘Guide’ me to them, and I’ll handle the rest. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Without asking Ethan could feel Joe doing something to his soul. It felt like all of the anger, rage, depression, confusion, and sadness were balled up in his soul. Then just like that they were gone. He had hoped Joe didn’t just airstrike Rebecca with all of his emotional baggage. But he had to trust him to do what he was tasked with.
As much as he wanted to hate Joe, he couldn’t. There was of course the whole thing with hating part of yourself damaging your soul. But in all honesty, it was because Joe had somehow gotten an even worse deal that Ethan, and was only pulled along with Ethan because he had been acting childish, and lashed out. A double unfair deal in Ethan’s opinion. Despite all of that, Joe had helped him. More than Ethan could repay, and had promised to do more.
Finally done with preparations, Ethan looked out over the softly curving upwards landscape. The forested area around him got darker to one side, and thinned out on the other. With no real reason other than lack of dark vision skills, Ethan started jogging towards the lighter side. Heavy foot prints marked his path as he slowly ran away from the crater he’d made. The first of many, he hoped, fuck you’s to anything the System created.
----------------------------------------
Thirty or so minutes later, he spotted a herd if deer like creatures grazing in an open clearing. Roughly 100 meters long and wide, he crept up to the edge of the clearing. There were maybe 30 or so deer. He used [Identify] on them, and discovered they were name Swap Cervine. Which made sense, once he had gotten close enough to identify them, he noticed they didn’t have fur or antler like normal Earth deer. No, these horrible creatures looked like a small child’s Christmas art project made of interwoven sticks. If the sticks were oozing black tar. Oozing was the right word too, as even though he saw the tar like fluid move about, he never saw it drip, or fall off them. It looked like black flowing blood, but on the outside.
“So, I just kill them, and then move on? Seems kinda simple. Feel like I am missing something here.”
He wasn’t. Ethan was just over thinking it. Joe had spent the last 30 minutes while Ethan ran to catch him up on a lot of the details his tantrum had cut off. Like how everyone was supposed to be transported to the Endless Plains with an F grade body. The lowest tier body. Ethan had sorta managed to circumvent that, so his stats where ahead of the curve in some places and still average in other. Or in the case of Charisma, below average.
Ethan had learned that Subjects get +1 to every stat, per level, until [Grade E], at level 25. Ethan’s to-do list was expanding by the second.
1. Get to the Safe Zone.
2. Open portal.
3. Destroy the Training Facility.
4. Get Rebecca and the Kids out of there.
5. Somehow get to level 25 asap
6.
Ethan had other plans but wasn’t sure if he had time to fit them all in the timeframe, he had created for himself. He figured he had to get to the Safe Zone, sooner rather than later, if the time dilation meant anything it’d be harder to convince his family to come with him. He also was worried when he got there if the System would try to stop him from talking about what he’d learned.
He’d also learn that the stats page could be expanded to show detailed stats instead of the dumbed down version. He didn’t have time to check it just yet, but he planned to do that as soon as he dealt with this heard of gross popsicle stick deer. He felt more than he knew that his stone skin would protect him. Now he just needed to make sure they didn’t scatter to the wind when he tried to attack them.
Edging closer as quiet as his stone body would allow, he got closer. Closer. Closer. Moments before he attacked all 30 deer stopped and looked up at him. Eyes glowing red they charged.
“At least they didn’t scatter.” Ethan said as he stood and charged at them.
His feet pounding the dirt beneath with resounding booms.
Guess I’m not getting any sneak skills or achievements anytime soon.
The first of the deer reached him, and reared up on its hind legs. Bring its head down to smash Ethan with its sickly goo horns. Ethan didn’t even try to dodge. He had to test his new skin, and this first deer was perfect. The horns came crashing down a moment later, shattering against his shoulder. Ethan and the deer were shocked, motionless for a second. He felt nothing. The deer had attacked him, and took all of the damage.
Oh, this is gonna be a slaughter.
Ethan spun around back handing the deer right in the side of its face. Checking a swinging back hand off his bucket list. The deer’s head exploded it wet shards, and collapsed, dead.
Ding.
Another deer came around his now dead friend and tried the same tactic, failing miserably. Again. Then another, and another. Before Ethan realized it, he was surround by deer, all trying in vain the same tactic. He tried using the grappling moves he’d learned when he served. But quickly found them to be a waste of time, as he more often got stomped and kick when he took a deer to the ground. Not that it did much damage, it was just harder to get back up and keep momentum going.
Instead, he just went into brawler mode, swinging and punching anything that got close enough to need a free punch to the face. Face shots worked the best. The few body shots he tried just ended up punching small craters in the deer’s large abdomens. They just kept coming, no matter how many died, they just kept coming. The only sounds they made were like wet sticks rubbing against each other. In the middle of the silent field all that could be heard was Ethan’s strained breathing, and squelching punches to the faces of the enraged swamp deer.
It was eerie, the lack animal noises was doing more damage to Ethan than the deer. Now down to 15 or so, they still made no effort to run away. Mindlessly they threw themselves at Ethan has he thrashed and bashed his way across the clearing.
Ding
Ding
Ding
As the last one died, Ethan fell seated on a pile of dead sticks, naked, tired, and grinning ear to ear.
“Level 1 mobs are fun. Is it always this fun?”
“You killed a herd of female Swamp Corvine. They were barely considered monsters.”
“Ok, someone has clearly never gone on a Murloc rampage for the fun of it.”
Just then a thunderous, hollow bleating noise came from the tree line.
“Ah there is the Alpha Buck. I am sure it’ll put up more of a fight than your Murloc’s” Joe said, clearly not having as much fun as Ethan.
“Whelp, no rest for the wicked. Let’s get to it” Ethan said as he got up and turned towards the noise.
Standing 5 meters tall at the shoulder, where the doe's only stood 2 meters tall at the antlers, the buck stood there eyeing his dead herd.
“I think I’m fucked” Ethan said as he laid eyes on the Buck.