INIT ANIIK

The group had worked hard, but eventually, she had a break. She sat on a rock and waited for her exhaustion to cease at least a bit. As she sat there, she saw her sister carry a box into the nearby storage room. She was quite surprised how easy it seemed for her to do so. “Hey Jaaru!” she shouted, though with her level of tiredness, this was more of a slightly louder speech.

“Hey Init, didn’t see you here! Have you respec-ed already?” Jaaru asked.

“I wanted to just now, why do you ask?” Init responded.

Jaaru stopped and looked at her intently: “Respec and ask for integration at the same time. Then, mention your association with me.”

Init looked at her in shock: “What‽”

Jaaru nodded: “I can’t explain in detail. Just trust me on this, can you?”

Init nodded vaguely: “Okay, I will. I guess it’s my turn to trust you now.”

Jaaru continued to carry the box inside and said: “Grand! Take care! See you on the ship!”. The storm seemed not to bother her at all.

Init felt uncertain and breathed a few heavy breaths. She then realised that she had to do what her sister told her to. She was not certain about why she should ask for integration but upon using the respec crystal, she said: “I respectfully ask for integration.”

Immediately, her surroundings changed: She wasn’t in the hot, sandy storms of Tsanh but in a temperate, serene, green void. It was actually pleasant. Like taking off what seemed like years of low-grade sensory discomfort, that she thought that she got used to. She felt fully at ease, her pain and even her weariness removed. As she relaxed, she noticed white letters appearing in front of her. “Do you seek integration out of your own free will?”

She nodded and said: “Yeah…”

The letters reconfigured: “What do you seek from Solidarity?”

There was a pause, Init had not heard of that last term. Her heart started beating faster, then she realised what her sister said: “Jaaru Aniik, my sister, told me to ask for it and I trust her that it is the right step.”

There was a pause. After a while, the letters formed: “Have you ever learned any Sigya-ha-Sygia language?”

She stopped in her tracks, then she nodded: “I have, but the system doesn’t permit me to write or speak it.”

The words reformed: “Please try.”

She nodded and tried to pronounce the words: “Hanjaak ti muriiar…” she felt a dread in her soul but continued: “...suuaniki ti laaniar.” (Unafraid to die, I must speak)

There was a pause. Then the letters created a sentence that shocked her: “Understood. Due to inherent issues, restrictions cannot be removed. When the second system is deactivated, restrictions will be lifted. Until then, spread Solidarity.”

She found herself again on the ground. She still felt better though. There was very little physical discomfort. She didn’t feel particularly weakened after the respec that would have reduced her level to 2. She checked her status and gasped: “Holy sheet in the wind!”

Name: Init Aniik

Species: Sigya-ha-Sygia

Level: 4

Class: Solidarity’s Technologist

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Coordination: 2

Impact: 3

Resilience: 5

Skilled Practice: 7

Synergy: 4

Please be aware that the average of an unlevelled Sigya-ha-Sygia is 3

HP: 23/23

MP: 42/42

Skills: Query and establish state, spark of inspiration, interconnect, whiteout

Name:

Init Aniik

Home repository:

City-of-Travelling-Soul-on-the-Planet-of-Wildrun (Level 1)

Species and state:

Post-integration Sigya-ha-Sygia (optimised for Wildrun)

Skills:

Technological Aptitude (Level 1)

There was no decrease, there was a new class, and, more confusingly, a second, red status. In addition, there were 2 more skills that she previously had no access to. She smiled. This had absolutely ended up working.

After the working day, which was quite hard and left her barely awake enough to take off her shoes before she fell into bed, she moved to allow Jaaru to share the bed.

Jaaru also was tired and fell into bed next to her. She rolled to face Init and whispered: “You did it?”

Init nodded silently, then asked: “I did. What happened?”

Jaaru explained: “Remember the story about the second system? That’s Tsanh. I integrated there and suggested that you do so as well. You did, right?”

Init said: “I... guess. I have a red entry in my status screen.”

Jaaru smiled: “Grand! We are spreading Solidarity to Wildrun! When we can establish it, we can throw out Unlimited Potential.”

TEKI

The keani was in the village as the notification was seen:

As the first five people reached level 10, the status of the planet is upgraded.

Welcome the new dungeons and adversaries!

He gasped. He felt uncomfortable about it. The village had been protected by a wall made out of stone and wood, coated with poison. The villagers did what he suggested: They rushed onto the walls, they threw spears and rocks at the invading creatures. They were not good at throwing, but they learned fast in the recent days. Their Throwing skill reached Level 7 already, so they actually were able to push back the Glimmericks, who massively struggled with the weather. Teki smiled as he also snaked up and half-threw and half-dropped stones on the glittering snake-like creatures. The secret to defeating Glimmericks was not to target the head. It was quite formidably armoured. Instead it was advisable to hit just behind it. These creatures were probably originally intended as a way to give natives a disadvantage over drop bears. However, in this case, the natives knew the tricks thanks to one very fast drop bear and one integrator who is secretly part of the second system. Teki threw rock after rock at the creatures, and ignored the red notifications. Then, he heard a noise, a loud gong, that he at first didn’t recognise. Only then, he realised that this was a priority phone call and snaked into the sea to the pod and took it: “Teki?”

There was a pause, then the boss talked: “I have not received any status reports from you. What is the reason for this?“

Teki was surprised: “I sent them, so, I'm not sure what happened. Have you checked if you filtered them incorrectly?”

Another pause. Then there was a response: “Is that insubordination?”

Teki gave a negative response: “It is not intended as such. It is intended as troubleshooting.”

The boss responded after another pause: “I don’t appreciate this… it implies that you see me as incompetent. Now, please tell me why you didn’t send the documents.”

Teki decided not to insist on his pride: “I might have had issues with the relay back to earth, I will reissue the reports imminently.” He crawled into the pod and sent the reports anew: “I have re-sent them.”

“It has not arrived. Stop lying to me!” he responded, far too fast. Then, there was a pause: “Oh, they were filtered into the folder of your colleague Tekiswa. That is where they are. Anyways, there is a reduction in force that has been announced. Your job should be safe, but I am not sure. You will hear in a week’s time. So, what’s the status of Tsanh?”

Teki responded: “We have just reached our first level 10s and the rollout of stage 2 is working well. Can you please put in a good word for me? I am currently stuck in a pod on a planet that opposes my very existence with all its might. I would hate it if I was brought back with nothing to show for it.”

The boss smiled: “Don’t worry! If you were let go, we would not bring you back. Technically, this is an integrated world.”