“…That’s when I used the teleport crystal to get back,” Daria finished the incredible tale as Myrial examined Rayna.

“Well,” Jerom said. “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but that sounded like a load of Koralle dung. Are you really asking us to believe that a Level 9 Initial not only fought a C-10 monster, but killed it?”

“Believe it or not, it’s true.” Daria pulled up the kill notification and showed it to her brother.

A member of your party has killed a Level 4 Ursivul.

+4,000 Exp

+4,000 Coins

Daria actually felt guilty for stealing so much of the girl’s Experience over the last few hours. She didn’t want to lose track of her, so she kept the party active.

She was glad she did, because they needed a way to keep track of Rayna’s status.

“How is the girl’s Health?” Myrial asked.

“Same as before,” Daria said, glancing at the window with Rayna’s status. “Still flickering back and forth between 1,410 and 1,510. Whatever she is using should have worn off by now, shouldn’t it have? Or do you think this is a species trait?”

“I’m not sure,” Myrial said. “Jerom, can you leave please. I need to check the girl over for hidden injuries.”

Jerom looked away from the kill notification, turning to Rayna with a newfound respect. He nodded at Myrial. “I’ll be outside if you need help with anything.”

He exited the room, leaving Daria, Grana and Myrial alone with the girl.

Daria helped Myrial remove the girl’s tunic so she could check her over for any hidden wounds. There were situations where a long-lasting injury could keep leeching a person’s HP for months or even years after it should have healed. They propped the girl into a sitting position so they could remove her jewelry.

She wore two necklaces. One was a pendant that looked like a pearl or magic stone of some sort. The other was a large amulet studded with glittering gems.

If Daria thought the girl was a noble before, now she was sure of it. Those items looked like they could buy a whole kingdom, and she had been casually wearing them on a stroll through one of the most dangerous areas in Helia.

Myrial lifted the necklaces over Rayna’s head. As soon as they were off of her, the girl’s HP started dropping rapidly.

“Put those back on!” Daria said.

Myrial didn’t argue, slipping the necklaces back over Rayna’s head.

Her HP jumped from a third to full in less than a second.

Daria let out a sigh of relief. “It’s an item,” she said. “That’s why the healing spell hasn’t worn off yet.”

“She must be a noble,” Grana said, coming to the same conclusion that Daria had. “No one else could afford something like that.”

“I can’t imagine a noble would let one of their Initials just wander around the forest like that,” Myrial commented.

“And yet,” Grana said. “We have a young girl with an obscure race and an item strong enough to counter Ursivul blood.

“Which family do you think she’s from?” Daria asked. “She’s speaking Helian, so it must be one of ours, right? But that doesn’t narrow it down much.”

“It has to be one of the high families,” Myrial said. “And they’re probably better equipped to handle this situation than we are. Grana, can we use the scry stone to call Lord Emery? He might recognize her, or at least be willing to take her back with him.”

Grana nodded. “Daria, you go with Myrial to talk to the Lord, I will keep an eye on the girl.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one staying here?” Daria asked.

“No, they may wish to see proof of her actions in the forest. Choosing to party with her was the right decision.”

“Send for us if she worsens,” Myrial said. “We’ll be back soon.”

* * *

Lord Enalus Emery sat at his desk, going over the numbers for the last great hunt. They hadn’t killed nearly enough monsters to meet their energy quotas, and now a useless batch of Chosen were going to come their way, likely expecting to have their hands held through the whole ordeal.

It was going to be a long and dark winter if they didn’t come up with something soon.

There was a knock at the door.

“Enter,” Enalus said, putting his papers aside.

Jayn entered the room, bowing politely.

“Lord Emery,” the butler said. “We received a message from one of the border villages that requires your attention. They have a girl that they believe to be a lost noble.”

“Them and every other village in the region,” Enalus said dismissively. “Do they have any proof?”

“The girl was found wandering the Obsidian Forest, but they don’t know her origins. Additionally, they claim that she single-handedly took down a Level 4 Ursivul. She is being treated for Ursivul blood poisoning, but according to them, it is actually a high-tier item that is keeping the poison at bay and she needs a higher level of healing than they can provide.”

Enalus’ lips formed a thin line. “I know any number of people who can kill an Ursivul at that level. Do they have anything more substantial?”

If this was just a case of a border village trying to save one of their players by spinning a story, he would send the antidote and be done with it. Anyone who can take down a beast of that class was worth keeping alive, but he couldn’t take in every promising player in Helia.

The butler hesitated. “If they are to be believed… the girl is an Initial.”

That got Enalus’ attention. Did they seriously expect him to believe such a tale? But what if it was true? A girl with such potential couldn’t be left to rot in a border village.

“Prepare an antidote for Ursivul blood,” Enalus said, grabbing his coat from the stand. “I will go see if there’s any credibility to their story. Send a carriage as well. If she truly is an Initial, she won’t be able to keep up with me for the return trip.”

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Jayn bowed out of the room and left to do as he was told.

Enalus found his wife before leaving, letting her know that he would be gone for a day or two.

“Was there an attack?” Nali asked, rising from her seat.

“Nothing of the sort, my love,” Enalus assured her, placing his hands on her shoulders to gently press her back down as he kissed her forehead. “One of the border villages claims they found a child of great talent who may be a lost noble. I am going to investigate the matter.”

Nali frowned. “It’s likely just a ruse to get one of their Initials into our household. Is there a reason you are going yourself?”

“If it is such a falsehood, then I will be there and back before dinner. It would take a messenger at least a day to make the trip.”

Nali shook her head. “Very well, but hurry back. Eugenia’s gathering is only a week away and I don’t want to listen to her prattle on and on about how you are failing your duties as a husband, as if we weren’t all too busy for tea parties.”

Enalus smiled. “Of course. I shall be back before you know I’m gone.”

Jayn was waiting at the edge of Enalus’ estate with the antidote and directions to the village.

Enalus left at a full run, eager to meet this girl for himself.

He reached the village in a little over an hour, even faster than he had been expecting. The village elder met him at the gate, bowing respectfully.

“My Lord! We were not expecting you to come personally. I would like to stress that we only suspect the girl of being a noble, we do not know for certain.”

That was a good sign. If they were trying to sneak one of their own into Enalus’ house, they would likely have insisted that they had some proof of her lineage.

“Take me to her. I brought an antidote with me.”

“Yes, My Lord.” The woman led Enalus through her village, taking him to a small cottage in the center.

Inside, a girl lay on the bed, her black skin covered in sweat and her clothing ripped and bloodstained. Her long white hair was almost ethereal, seeming to glow faintly in the dimly lit room. Next to her, a young woman was watching something intently, likely a screen related to the girl’s Health.

Enalus’ eyes were drawn to the two necklaces that sat on the girl’s chest. He couldn’t blame these people for coming to the conclusion that she was a noble. The items looked expensive. He wasn’t sure even he could afford such fine pieces.

Assuming they were real, that is.

Enalus used his appraisal skill, trying to determine the items’ origins.

The Fountain of Life Pendant (Soul Locked Artifact) [Legendary]

Detailed appraisal failed — a higher level is needed to appraise this artifact.

Phira’s Necklace (Soul Locked Item) [Legendary]

Detailed appraisal failed — A higher level is needed to appraise this item.

Enalus’ eyes widened. Soul locked? He definitely couldn’t afford these items. And they were too high for him to appraise as well.

Enalus handed the woman the antidote. “It’s for the poison,” he explained. “It can be absorbed through the skin, but it will work faster if she drinks it.”

The woman nodded. “We’ll have to go with the skin, unfortunately. It’s been hours since she last woke.”

“Hours?” Enalus frowned. “Are you sure about the origin of the poison?”

The woman didn’t answer, apparently used to not being believed by now. She shared a screen with Enalus, focusing on administering the antidote.

A member of your party has killed a Level 4 Ursivul.

+4,000 Exp

+4,000 Coins

“I was there,” she said, pouring the antidote over the girl’s hand so that it settled in a pool on the girl’s palm. “It was an Ursivul. She… bit it… I don’t think she knew it was poisonous.”

Enalus blinked. She bit it? Was she feral?

Regardless, he was taking her with him. He didn’t care if this child was noble or not, if the story was true she had more potential than Enalus himself.

“How long will it take?” the woman asked.

“A few hours to heal the damage,” Enalus said. “But she won’t wake up for a day or two. She should be back at my estate by then.”

The woman blinked up at him. “So, she is a noble, then?”

Enalus shook his head. “Not to my knowledge. But she has a some expensive soul locked items hanging around her neck, which means she might be the daughter of a visiting dignitary that I have simply not been introduced to. In either case, I will take her back with me and help her find her home.” He paused. “She does speak Helian, yes?”

The woman nodded. “And she doesn’t have an accent. I don’t think she’s a foreigner.”

Enalus nodded. “Good. I thank you for your assistance in locating her. I can take it from here.”

When the girl awoke, Enalus could try to gauge her strength. If she had as much potential as they seemed to think, then he would take her under his wing and make sure she reached that potential. There were too few strong fighters at the moment, and Enalus wouldn’t let one of them slip through his fingers. He would convince this girl to work with him, whatever it took.

* * *

Emma paced, biting her nails. It had been more than twelve hours since Rayna went into that trial, and she hadn’t returned. What was she doing? It shouldn’t have taken her this long to kill the monster. Did the System Administrator do something stupid again?

Emma checked her Stat Sheet, assuring herself that Rayna was fine.

Plus One — You brought an uninvited guest to the initiation without prior approval. This person is of great importance to the world of Ember. Keep her safe and help her grow.

Duration: unlimited

Reward: Teleportation back to Earth for you and anyone else from your planet who wishes to return

Penalty For Failure: The continued existence of the System and the eventual fall of Ember

The quest hadn’t changed. It would have been nice if it gave Emma some indication of why she was supposed to be sabotaging the System that had given her the quest in the first place.

It didn’t really matter, though. If the requirement was to keep Rayna safe, then she was going to do that anyway. The possibility of going home was just icing on the cake.

Rayna certainly wasn’t making it easy, though.

Emma closed her Menu and left the room, taking the stairs three at a time to get to the courtyard.

Janet was in the training section, practicing with her bow. The targets were just a series of circles drawn on mattresses that were propped up against a wall, but it was better than nothing.

Janet had marked out several distances on the ground so people with ranged weapons could practice consistently.

“Janet, can you look something up for me?”

The Tutorial Leader released her arrow, hitting the bullseye on her target before turning to Emma. “What do you need?”

Emma tried not to look as worried as she felt. “Rayna’s not back yet. Can you check her status? She went in this morning.”

Janet pulled up her Menu without hesitation, making it visible to Emma as she scrolled through their tutorial group. Emma’s heart sank a little further every time she saw the word ‘deceased’ next to one of the names. They hadn’t lost a lot of players from a statistical standpoint, but that didn’t make it any easier when one of them didn’t come back.

When Rayna’s name finally appeared, Emma’s heart skipped a beat, but the word in her status wasn’t ‘deceased’.

Name: Rayna — Level 9

Species: Lerian

Current Trial: none

Status: Removed

Emma swallowed against the dryness in her throat. Level 9? What had she been doing in there?

“What does it mean ‘removed’?” she asked Janet.

Janet shook her head. “This isn’t something I’ve seen before. One moment.”

The Tutorial Leader brought up the forum, navigating to the special section where she could contact a System Liaison directly.

Information Request: What is the meaning of the status ‘removed’?

Emma waited, watching the screen intently.

More detail is needed to answer your request for information. Which player in particular are you referring to?

Player name: Rayna, Level 9 Lerian. Last seen several hours ago, entering the trial for her first attempt.

There was a long moment of silence and Emma wished that the System Menus were physical so she could shake the Liaison for taking so long.

When the System finally answered, it didn’t make her feel any better.

The Player in question has been removed from the tutorial due to her failure to return after an extended period of time. I cannot reveal her status and location as she is not currently considered part of your tutorial group. Please complete the tutorial and search for her physically, or apply to the System Administrator for further information.

“Are you serious?” Emma blurted out. “Who the hell designed this System?”

“I’ll make a formal request to meet with the Administrator,” Janet said, her expression grim. “But don’t get your hopes up. The Administrator hasn’t answered anything personally since the adjusted tutorial began. Either he has washed his hands of us or he is simply too busy to respond.”

“And what about Rayna?” Emma tapped her finger against her forearm, trying to calm herself down.

“There’s nothing we can do for now,” Janet said. “This may sound cold, but for right now, Rayna is on her own. Focus on the trial. I’ll tell you as soon as I know more.”

She stowed her bow in her Inventory and walked away, probably going to research their options.

Janet didn’t sugar coat things. If she thought there was no possibility of contacting the Administrator, she would have said so immediately.

Once again, Emma was forced to keep herself busy so she wouldn’t go insane waiting for her accident-prone friend to return.

She looked over her options for trial opponents. Rayna’s information said she was a Level 9. If Emma was going to save her, she needed to keep up with her first.