JAARU ANIIK

Technically, the area belonged to someone, but whoever that was had let the area fall into disrepair. The warehouse that the group passed by on their way from work had long since collapsed from the winds of the planet. Nature had mostly reclaimed it and on the back, some of the metal roofing had fallen down. Init led Jaaru to the back wall where the metal slates of the roof had fallen down, creating a small crevice that was protected from the elements. On the ground were some beer cans and some wrappers of, well, items to prevent pregnancy, strongly hinting at the fact that this place was known to people with recreational intentions. “They are not going to disturb you here! I will make sure of it. I brought water and something to eat. So, whatever your class demands of you, you can do it now.” Init stated. “No one will see that you’re barefoot in here.” She put a jacket over the entrance to the shelter. She then took out a portable loudspeaker and moments later, it played back the moaning and heavy breathing of a very unambiguous act.

“Why are you playing back that?” Jaaru asked, clearly annoyed.

“Because no one is going to disturb that kind of act.” Init said matter-of-factly.

“You mean… some creep would not try to join in?” Jaaru was not convinced.

Init looked at her, eyes wide in shock: “You think they would not have a sense of privacy?”

Jaaru responded: “If they were decent beings, they would have. But… I am not sure many of those are still around. My view on people can be a bit cynical.”

Init turned the sound off. “I understand. In that case, I will just keep an eye out for any intruders. Just do what your class compels you to do.”

Jaaru sat down on the ground and removed her shoes and socks, she used her shoes to move the upper layer of the soil, the one that most likely contained shards and the like. Then, she placed her feet onto the ground and moments later, magic was being released. Jaaru saw something akin to roots of magic anchoring to the soil. She knew that she should feel concerned about it, but didn’t. It felt completely natural and something resonated in her soul that this was the correct thing to do. It felt almost like… like gaining experience after a battle. As she pondered this weird situation, she suddenly felt a flash euphoria and moments later, a notification popped up welcoming her back in level 3.

Init asked: “Did you just level up?”

Jaaru nodded: “I returned to level 3, so at least that is not a total loss. At least I regained my stat points. I didn’t gain anything else. No skills or spells or something like that.”

Init smiled: “If you can gain levels for just putting your feet onto the soil, you probably soon have enough stat points that you can just brute force things.”

Jaaru returned a crooked smile. She felt the magic dig deeper and wider, like the roots of a large, beautiful tree. She had no idea how deep this structure went, but she realised that it formed shapes and started to do complicated magical things that she did not understand. She still had the feeling of happiness. That everything was how it was supposed to be, that she did just the right thing for coming here. Moments later she felt another moment of euphoria. Another level up.

Init looked shocked: “Really?”

Jaaru nodded: “There is a huge magic structure that is being constructed under my feet. I am not sure what this structure is doing, but it is something huge. Like, bigger than a person in any direction.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Init looked confused: “I didn’t think that you had magic since your class change.”

Jaaru nodded: “Me neither. I have no idea what this is doing, but this feels right in a way no skill ever did.”

Init bit her lower lip for a moment. “Can this be what the second system is doing?”

Jaaru nodded: “I assume so, yeah.”

Init smiled: “Maybe this is establishing the red system here on Windrush. Wouldn’t that be awesome?”

Jaaru nodded. “Maybe. It would be awesome if we could regain our traditions and our language again.”

Init silently nodded.

They sat for a while, Jaaru just feeling for the magic that was rushing out of her, Init using her commlink to read things. When it became late, Init took out food and water and offered some to Jaaru who gladly but wordlessly accepted.

Afterwards, Jaaru covered both of them with blankets and they tried to sleep. Jaaru didn’t move from her seated position, she just covered herself in her blankets. Init laid down on the floor, using her blankets to wrap herself in.

When Init woke up, she realised that she had moved in her sleep and her head was on top of Jaaru’s feet, just on top of the blankets. She moved up quickly, hoping that she had not caused any discomfort to her sister.

“Just stay if you want to, you’re warm.” Jaaru insisted.

“You’re already awake?” Init asked.

“I got little sleep. I woke up a lot, not only from the cold.” she explained.

“How much?” Init asked.

“38. Still nothing but attribute increases,” Jaaru said.

Init looked shocked: “I guess you get up to level 100 when you are done. How are the attributes?”

“They are well-rounded, so they aren’t even that high.” Jaaru said, “I mean, I probably am quite a bit stronger, but… not like any other level 38.”

Init stared at Jaaru: “As I never imagined to get over level 10, I… don’t feel that bad for you. You are still probably more powerful than I will ever be!”

Jaaru shook her head: “With my level, we can get into some better dungeons and you can level up. I might be still crap at anything there, but I can assist.”

They chatted a bit while Init took out bread and nut butter and they had breakfast. Then, Jaaru tried to catch up on sleep while Init returned home to do chores and prepare meals for the next week. Eventually, she returned to Jaaru who was reading and she herself immersed herself into a series she could binge on. To watch it for free, she had to use a 50:50 plan: 50% of the time show and 50% advertising. Whenever the ads played, she looked at Jaaru who was busy distracting herself from whatever her class did to her and the world around her. They had dinner that once again was bread and nut butter, with some dried fruits as a desert. At night, they again hid in their blankets and tried to have some sleep. It was again a cold night, and again, the two didn’t get a lot of sleep, though Jaaru’s levels had slowed down to a more sedate pace. They spent most of the next day alike, eating, chores for Init and distraction for Jaaru, then returning to the abandoned warehouse.

It was in the evening, when Jaaru let out a shout and twitched for a few seconds. Then, Init saw a message:

Repository Breezeplains-Windrush has been established. Do you wish to join?

Jaaru saw a slightly different message:

Repository Breezeplains-Windrush has been established. As Established Founder, you have automatically been added to it.

Init looked at Jaaru in shock and confusion: “So, that is what your class does? It allows you to found a foothold of the red system?”

Jaaru nodded: “Looks like it, yeah!”

Init smiled, then she joined the repository.