TEKI

To his surprise, the village already awaited him. As it turned out, they had already been informed by the system about the race to the top and even received a quest about it, where the reward was three level 1 skills to the depository. He was not much of a land creature, but was able to teach the village about things that matter no matter where you are: Mathematics, the scientific method, and much more. However, what the villages loved most was learning to swim. Many Scorpions-of-Tsanh gained Level 1 skills and had been able to improve them. When Teki was teaching, he saw an unexpected visitor: Sarah Greenland, or Skips-one-Step. He greeted her happily: “Skips!”

Skips hugged the creature: “You go by Thrives now?”

He nodded: “I guess so. At least in Solidarity. You can still call me Teki. Don’t tell my boss, however!”

Skips stifled a laugh: “I get that sentiment. I think my parental unit had a cow if he found out that I go by Skips-one-Step now. I mean, eventually, he has to accept that, but I would hope that I had built up something by then. He can be an ass.”

Teki nodded: “I understand what you mean. What are your plans?”

Skips made a vague gesture: “I guess for now, trying to keep the Tsanhians save from the Unlimited Potential. I fear that some brilliant mind is trying to speedlevel. Come what may in terms of monsters and dungeons. So I ran dungeons with level ones until they have somewhat of a basis. I feel for the people here and so I try to protect them. To give them a chance to fight back. The fact that I gained a few ‘first clears’ from that isn’t really related, but appreciated...”

Teki smiled: “Good to see you levelling up. I am actually under restrictions in both systems right now, so I can’t level up right now. Just improve skills.”

Skips shook her head: “You’re not thinking with Solidarity. Solidarity doesn’t have levels, but the highest level of your skills is actually rather analogous. It allows you to select more skills from the repositories. So if you level up skills, you level up, technically speaking.”

Teki looked at her questioningly: “But… don’t skills require changes to your body?”

Skips breathed in, paused, chewed on her lips and responded: “These can be emulated given good enough magic and stable enough skills. It’s like… an overlay that comes with skills either from the repository or from your own learning.”

Teki looked at her in a shocked manner: “So, if I understand it correctly, if pre-integration, Gletkin is much stronger than Brielk, but after the integration, Gletkin learns a skill that requires strength to level 3, but Brielk to level 4, Brielk would be better at it than Gletkin, despite, if this was Unlimited Potential, Impact would be a huge limiter?”

Skips paused for a moment again: “I see about 5 different edge cases where this might be different, but if everything else would be the same: yes.”

Teki was obviously shocked: “How‽”

Skips made a vague gesture: “Systems are designed for purposes. Unlimited Potential is based on the different potentials of creatures, causing elites to arise naturally. Solidarity is based on versatility and equality. These are different metaphors that govern progression. That takes getting used to. Basically, as long as you have the skills, assume that the relevant part of your Unlimited Potential status has a high enough number.”

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Teki bristled: “That sounds unnatural!”

Skips shook her head: “Not really. I mean, every system is manmade. Every system is a manmade interface to magic and to improvement. It’s just that we have lived in Unlimited Potential for so long that we think it is how things should be. But I am sure that if you spend enough time here, it comes just as natural.”

Teki nodded: “I guess, I have a lot to think about… and I guess that I finally understand why Solidarity decided to limit me.”

CVETKA KRALJ

It was night on Tsanh when Cvetka met a slightly drunk Rush and handed him his tablet: “Rush, thanks for allowing me access. I have good news and bad news: The good news: The resetting of your conversations should not happen anymore, the bad news: You have been under a lot of magical manipulation – or as the system loves to call it – influence. And I can only temporarily make you evade it. Yanigalean Resistance at the current level removes existing effects but it cannot work like a shield. I can notice when someone tries something because it breaks the effect onto you, but I would then need to mosey over and re-apply it and that is not always possible.”

Rush looked at her angrily: “What the fuck makes you think that‽”

She handed him a piece of paper: “Read! And look at the handwriting, I would assume that you know the person behind it.”

He looked at the piece of paper. It had his handwriting on it. Reading the chicken scratch, he frowned: It was a will that he never wrote, willing all his worldly assets to Cvetka Kralj in case of his demise. It was dated with the current date. He never remembered writing this. “How‽ What did you do to me‽”

Cvetka smiled sadly: “I kinda had to do it so you can believe me. I am sorry for that.”

He looked at her: “Okay, I believe you… but how‽”

She made a vague gesture: “I had to make it seem that specific communication comes from your grandfather and had to use a specific phrase. Someone has put a vulnerability into your literal mind.”

Rush looked shocked. “What can we do against it?”

Cvetka smiled sadly: “Not communicate with your parents. I hope that some of my level ups come with a way to remove the effect. We should work on getting ourselves to get up to level 50 as fast as possible. Most of the build-related stuff comes before that.”

Rush nodded sadly. “I have one request though: We burn that will, won’t we?”

Cvetka nodded: “Keeping it would make me a target. Of course! Shall we try to delve the grade 9 dungeon?”

JAARU ANIIK

Jaaru had a miserable day at work and wanted nothing else than a good night’s sleep, however, she was waiting for her sister so they could go home together. Today, she took her goshdarn time.

As she was waiting and considering to just ditch her and to go ahead, Init arrived in a rush. “Thrive, Jaaru! Sorry that there was a delay. We had to look into a miserable issue.”

“Thrive, Init!” Jaaru responded and went for a hug.

After the two sisters hugged, they started walking home. This time, Init steered her onto the most desolate route. Normally, the two had the tacit agreement not to take this route at night. Jaaru wanted to complain, but the stern expression in Init’s face stopped her. Only when they were in the wilderness, Init spoke: “I encountered something that I cannot talk about. I need you to trust me about it. If things go right, we can get an immense boon, if things go wrong, we lose our vacation days for the year under the guise of bereavement leave and work manual labour in that time all for no reward.”

Jaaru raised an eyebrow: “Manual labour?”

Init nodded: “We need some way to get to Tsanh after all and ships always need grunts.”

Jaaru shook her head: “Tsanh? Do I want to know why you want to go to the ass-end of stellargraphy?”

Init smiled: “You do, but I am not sure, I can communicate this without triggering… things.”

Jaaru’s expression turned serious: “This is real?”

Init nodded: “Real as the system.”

Jaaru realised something: Tsanh, the system, the one particular person they both dealt with… She gulped: “So, I take it, you will buy respec crystals?” Respec crystals allowed people to gain a different class, but they would lose some of their levels.

Her sister shook her head: “I hoped you can get them.”