Ben stroked his chin.

The offer from Le’Vieux made sense. He needed help to survive in the new world, and he had already nearly met his demise if it wasn’t for Blue. After hearing about his magic being blocked, he doubted he would always be able to come to the rescue, so he figured he should, at the very least, be able to take care of himself. Making friends and forging relationships would be one way of achieving that.

From the reactions of everyone in the room, he understood that his class, when combined with the vehicle system, could be a vital asset to their order. But he was certainly not going to let anyone take advantage of him.

Let the negotiations begin.

“Thank you for the offer, Grand Marshall.” Ben nodded, “As much as I appreciate your hospitality so far and Blue for saving my skin, I still don’t know much about you people. We just met today. I can’t just blindly trust you and have nothing to show for it.”

Le’Vieux grinned. “Ben, you are a smart man, I’ll give you that. You must think I am a fool if I don’t know what you are trying to do. Our time is pressed, and we have much to do. I normally wouldn’t do this, but I can sweeten the deal for you. As you know, the system rewards a skill point whenever you level up. If you agree, I can offer you three of these skill points… That will save you some time with whatever skill tree you want to progress.”

Alfred’s mouth nearly dropped to the floor by the end of the Grand Marshall's sentence.

Ben thought what he was being offered must be very valuable and would allow him to unlock the [Refuel Mk1] skill, not to mention the other skills that would unlock in the tree. He knew they would be invaluable when facing his next challenge, especially if other creatures were as powerful as those scorpions.

I'd like to know if I can squeeze more skill points from him.

“Again, you have my thanks for the offer.” Ben nodded, “Back on earth, I wasn’t a soldier, nor am I any good at fighting. That’s why I had to run those scorpions over with my van. I will be putting myself and my van in harm’s way, and I don’t know what to expect when out there in the world. I need to be as prepared as I can be… I believe a few more skill points would fulfill that requirement.”

Le’Vieux slammed his hand on the table. He started to get flustered and turned to Blue, “The steel pair of bollocks on this one.” He said while disapprovingly shaking his head. “The next time we have negotiations with the enemy, you should bring him along.”

Blue started to chuckle. “Don’t look at me. This is between the two of you.”

Le’Vieux turned to Ben, “All right. This is my final offer, so I suggest you decide what you want to do quickly. Otherwise, I will be inclined to kick your steel bollocks out of my castle. The most I can offer you is five skill points, as that’s all I have left in my system. You mentioned you have no combat experience, but that won't be a problem. I will instruct Alfred here to teach you the basics when he can… Before you say anything, he is one of the finest knights in my order.”

Blue coughed and cleared his throat before turning to Ben, “I can’t wait all day for you to decide. If you don’t mind, you should quickly think about what you want to do and give him your answer. A little advice from me… It’s the best offer he’s ever given anyone, so you should be grateful and accept it.”

Ben nodded, “All right, this sounds like something I can agree with. And you are right… I need to learn combat in case things get hairy.” He then moved towards the desk and put his hand out, “Where I come from, it’s customary to seal the deal with a handshake.”

Le’Vieux stood from his seat, grabbed the hand tight like a vice, and shook it. “I still need verbal confirmation that you accept the offer. Blue and Alfred will act as our witnesses to this contract.”

Ben heard a few cracks and started to regret the idea of the handshake. He should have known better… Le’Vieux had decades of training in war and combat. The negotiations not going his way culminated in the most powerful handshake he had ever felt.

I should’ve seen that coming!

Ben cleared his throat, holding back the pain, and he gave him a nod. “All right, I accept your offer.”

“That’s great… You can tell a lot about a man by shaking his hand. You do not complain when hard times arise.” Le’Vieux cheekily smiled before letting go.

Yeah, you can also tell who the idiots are too!

Ben shot his hand back, moved it around in various motions, and checked to see any broken bones. All seemed well, and he put it back down.

Le’Vieux then shuffled through his system when a notification popped up.

[Grand Marshall Le’Vieux has gifted you +5 Skill Points.]

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Now, before we get into the gist of things, you must officially become a member of the order. I need to give you access to our system, but there will be some complications because you already have a system courtesy of the artifact.” He turned to Blue and asked, “Do you have any suggestions on how to get around this pitfall?”

“Hmm… I may have an idea. Try letting him use one of your crystals. The procedure will start the integration process but will ultimately fail. There is usually a failsafe with the older artifact systems that allow them to integrate the features they do not possess from newer systems.” Blue explained.

“It won’t hurt to try.” Le’Vieux shrugged. He then raised his hand when suddenly a crystal resembling the stem of a small tree materialized. Its surface started gleaming with an aura as white as snow. Small particles dispersed off it like a water sprinkler before they whizzed out of existence.

“How do I use it?” Ben asked, taking a few steps towards it. He could feel his magic buzzing the closer he got.

“You need to come closer and hover your hand above it.” Le’Vieux motioned with his other hand.

[Integrate Stem Crystal with system: YES/NO]

Without a second guess, Ben hit the ‘YES’ command.

The magic encompassing the crystal began to pulse on and off. The speckles that dropped out of it ceased before small threads emerged. They inched out before shooting and wrapping themselves around Ben’s hand.

Ben felt another buzzing sensation, different from the one he had felt when he had chosen his class. The way it acted inside of him made it feel like it had a different personality as if he had changed the magical radio to another channel.

[Seedling System Initializing…]

[Integrating…]

The threads began to tingle, similar to a jellyfish sting. That feeling transformed into something that resembled getting an electric shock from a short house appliance. Ben felt its energy start to torrent in like a tsunami as it started to meld with every fiber of his body. The process made him feel lightheaded and high, like riding a rollercoaster.

This is weird!

A moment passed, and the intensity of the crystal's magic started to fade before vanishing. The magic it had injected inside Ben’s body continued to change his very being. Suddenly, the process stopped dead like a rollercoaster hitting a brick wall. The change made Ben feel like he was about to puke. The only thing that halted it was his lack of food that day.

“Something’s wrong,” He muttered.

“Don’t worry, you should be getting another few notifications any time now,” Blue said.

[System error…]

[Seedling system unable to integrate completely. Existing features of the system cannot be replaced. Only new sub-systems can be added.]

[Canrich Kingdom Currency has been unlocked.]

[Profession sub-system has been unlocked.]

[Faction sub-system has been unlocked.]

Ben turned to Le’Vieux, “All right! It’s unlocked a whole bunch of new stuff now.”

“Not so fast,” Le’Vieux stated, messing around with his system.

[You are now affiliated with the Hollow Moon faction.]

[Hollow Moon Rank: Cadet.]

“With that done, you are now a member of the Hollow Moon.” Le’Vieux nodded, “This will allow you to receive faction-approved quests and progress through our skill tree. But before all that, you will first need to be taught how the system works… Oh, and while you are here, you can take one of the guest quarters.”

“Thank you for the hospitality, but I prefer sleeping in my van, where I’m comfortable.” Ben nodded. But really, he just wanted to get to his van and unlock those other skills.

“What? You sleep in there as well?” Le’Vieux asked with a frown.

Ben scratched his head, “Well… It is a camper van.”

Le’Vieux stroked his beard. “Interesting… sounds like you have an entire camp in there. Alright, be ready at first light. I will begin your training… plus it will allow me to see what this van of yours can do… It did cost me five skill points, after all. Now, I need to discuss something privately with Alfred and Blue.” He then turned to Blue, “I don’t suppose you mind opening a portal to the courtyard for him?”

Ben was about to object as he still had a few more questions, but it was too late. Blue had already started casting the spell.

Damn it!

The air around him spun like a merry-go-round and brushed against his skin. The faster it went, the more his vision blurred as a small vortex formed. He felt the spell's magic tingle his skin before the scene shifted like a movie transition. He went from being in Le’Vieux’s office to standing in the courtyard when the swirling stopped. A cool breeze swept past him as the remaining magic of the spell dissipated.

Two guards stood near the van. They glanced at each other and bobbed their heads before their gauntlets clanked on the hilts of their swords.

They must not have recognized him from the first encounter, and Ben was about to identify himself, but an uneasy feeling filled his body. His head started to spin like a yoyo, and his legs got all numb. His vision started to black out when one of the knights sprang forward and tightly wrapped his steel gauntlets around his arm, preventing his face from slapping the cobbles below.

He took a few deep breaths and got himself together. With the side effects of the spell regressing, he could stand on his own again and nodded at the knight who had saved him a bruised face.

“Thanks for that!” He nodded.

The knight shrugged before his helmet bobbed, “You're welcome, stranger. We weren’t sure who you were for a moment there… And it’s not like you’re a familiar face around here, so we must be careful… Speaking of careful, you should be too. I’ve seen grown men die falling over and hitting cobbles like you were about to.”

Ben scratched his head. “It’s alright… I wasn’t expecting it to feel like that.”

“Anyhow, now that you’re back, we must return to our usual duties. If you need anything, ask one of the guards around the courtyard, and they will assist.” He motioned towards the castle entrance and the gatehouse at the opposite end, where armed sentries stood.

Ben nodded again, his face flustered and looking a little red. “That won’t be a problem. I guess I’ll see you around.”

“We’ll see you next time then.” The knight finished with a bob of the head.

They both turned and went to the castle entrance as Ben turned his attention to the van.

Now, Let’s see what this other skill can do.