Rayna waited as a line of carts passed in front of her, pulled by large animals that looked sort of like cows, except that they had very flat faces and a horse’s mane and tail.

According the Lord Emery, after she left the Obsidian Forest, she had been unconscious for three days. He cited Ursivul poison as the cause, but Rayna was supposed to be immune to poison, which left two possibilities: either the poison wasn’t the cause, or she wasn’t immune to all poisons.

She wasn’t sure which she would prefer. If she wasn’t immune to all poison, then having the trait seemed pretty useless, but she couldn’t think of anything else that might have caused the issue. She hoped it wasn’t some disease like a magical narcolepsy or something.

“Try to keep up, Rayna,” Nali said, passing effortlessly between two of the carts without causing any obstruction in the flow of traffic. She waited on the other side, waving encouragingly.

Rayna grimaced, trying to find an opening, but every time she did, someone else squeezed through it first.

Come on, Rayna! You’re from Chicago. You can get through a little traffic.

But pedestrian right of way didn’t seem to be a thing in the bustling city of Lyna, where just about everyone was faster than Rayna.

Giving up, Rayna followed the example of another passerby, climbing onto a nearby roof and jumping over the carts.

She landed on the cobblestones with a barely audible thud, feeling quite proud of her problem solving.

Nali chuckled. “That’s considered rude, by the way. You don’t know whose house you just jumped on.”

“Rude, but not illegal,” Rayna pointed out. “When in Rome.”

“I assume that’s a saying where you’re from? You’ll have to explain it to me later. Come along, we should reach the temple before midday.”

“I thought we were here to get my C-level tested,” Rayna said, jogging a few steps to catch up.

“Which is something you do at a temple. They’re dedicated to the worship of the System, and the only ones willing to spend the exorbitant amount of drakas required to maintain a Power Glass. Lyna is one of the larger cities, but they only have three temples, so we might have to wait.”

Great. A long day at the magical DMV. I hope I don’t have to do this often.

“Do C-levels change?” Rayna asked.

“They can, but it’s not common,” Nali said. “Most people don’t bother to test children, because their C-level will naturally come out lower. I expect we’ll see yours grow once you reach the age of maturity for your race.”

“Assuming Lerians don’t all look like teenagers,” Rayna said glumly.

Rayna had explained the situation with her race to Nali and Lord Emery and their current theory was that, being part of a race that has a longer life expectancy, Rayna was simply still an adolescent by Lerian standards. Nali insisted that it was more of a blessing than a curse, as her estimate for human C-levels was three or four. She expected Rayna’s C-level to be much higher than that.

Rayna wasn’t buying it. She felt like she had a good feel for her stats at the moment, and she would be surprised if she came out more than a C-3. The only truly impressive thing that she had done was take down the Ursivul, which she attributed to luck and her freakishly sharp teeth.

The temple was smaller than Rayna had been picturing. It was only two stories tall with statues taking up most of the space on the facade. There were words carved under the statues, but Rayna couldn’t make them out from where she stood.

“The names of the great heroes of our order,” a woman in robes said, noticing Rayna looking at the words. She was tall, with beady black eyes and feathers covering her skin except for her face and palms.

“Sister Maya,” Nali said. “It’s been a while.”

“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Lady Emery. Have you brought me another one of your strays?”

“A rescue, not a stray,” Nali said. “And this one’s mine, sorry. But I might bring her here from time to time to do some training.”

Sister Maya inclined her head. “Of course. The Order is always willing to help anyone who seeks to grow. It is life’s greatest calling. I assume you didn’t bring her here just to introduce us.”

Nali nudged Rayna forward. “Rayna here has never had her C-levels tested. We’re coming to get a benchmark for her training.”

“I see! Come this way. I will get your name put into the queue. I will also need to know her race and level for our records, but it won’t be shared publicly.”

“Rayna, no last name,” Nali said. “Level 9 Lerian.”

Sister Maya frowned, looking at the place where Rayna’s name tag should be.

“System error,” Nali said in a low voice. “We’re hoping it clears up in a few days, otherwise I’ll be teaching her how to fight without stats.”

Sister Maya frowned. “The times grow harder, but we press forward with what gifts we have been given. I’m sorry you were born into such a time.”

Rayna wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she just nodded.

They were brought to a large room with sitting mats laid out in neat rows. There were only a dozen or so people waiting for their turn. Most were chatting quietly amongst themselves. A few children played in an area with toys and books.

Another monk came out of the back room, holding a book in her hands. She called a name and a young woman with a child on her hip raised her hand.

She followed the monk to the back.

More like a hospital than a DMV, Rayna noted.

Sister Maya led them to a mat and told them to wait until Rayna’s name was called.

“Does it cost to get tested?” Rayna asked, just trying to make conversation.

She never liked hospitals. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she usually had to share uncomfortable information with a complete stranger, or because there were always people that she had to remind herself not to stare at.

“No,” Nali said. “The Order of Eldar is devoted to helping all players reach their full potential. It’s technically a religion, but most consider it more of an organization, since it’s pretty hard to deny the existence of the System. There are some who try to do it during Dark Ages, but no one takes them seriously.”

A woman nearby shot Nali a dirty look, but Nali ignored her. Lord Emery had mentioned that it was considered bad luck to discuss the System malfunctions and the Dark Age, but Nali didn’t seem to care.

Rayna figured she should change the subject.

“How does testing work?” Rayna asked. “There aren’t needles involved, are there?”

“Great System, no!” Nali said with a laugh, earning her another dirty look. “A Power Glass is a small glass ball that was invented a few years after the First Dark Age. It sends a magical pulse into your body to test its base physicality—how strong you would be without the System, how fast or resilient, and so on—and returns those stats as a number between one and three hundred.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Three hundred?” Rayna blinked. “I thought you said most races were between one and twenty.”

“They are,” Nali said. “There are a few outliers, such as giants, which are in the low hundreds for Strength. The wide range is more to accommodate those outliers than because anyone expects you to be that high. Also, three hundred or so is the highest monster we have found, so the system was made to measure the full range of possible C-levels.”

Rayna swallowed hard. C-300? What kind of monster would be that strong without the System? Dragons came to mind, but Rayna wasn’t sure if Ember had dragons.

“In any case, there is no discomfort from the process. When I was first tested, I didn’t realize that it had worked until the monk read off my C-levels.”

“Rayna?” a woman called from the front of the room.

“Here,” Rayna said, standing up.

She and Nali were led to the back room, where a small glass ball was placed on a pedestal. It was about the size of a snow globe, filled with glowing gray smoke that swirled in a miniature vortex.

Rayna wanted to ask about it, but she wasn’t sure if it was actually visible, or if it was her magic sight that let her see the fog, so she just made a mental note to ask Nali about it later.

“I am Sister Aki,” the monk introduced herself. “And I will be your operator today. Have you been tested before?”

Rayna shook her head.

“The process is simple. Place your hand on the Power Glass and wait for the reading. I will tell you when you can remove your hand.”

Rayna wiped sweaty palms against her pants and placed her hand on the Power Glass. The glass warmed under Rayna’s skin, buzzing with the subtle presence of magic.

Rayna was glad she asked Nali about it before, or she might have panicked when magic flowed into her arm. As it is, she almost yanked her hand off of the glass as the magic traveled up her arm and into her chest, spreading from there to the rest of her body.

It was unpleasant—like having a popcorn kernel stuck between your teeth. Rayna could feel that there was something in her body that shouldn’t be there, but she didn’t have a way to fish it out.

She grit her teeth and held on. She didn’t want to have to repeat the process if she screwed up and removed her hand too early.

Sister Aki frowned at her screen. Was something wrong?

“Can I take my hand off now?” Rayna asked.

Sister Aki shook her head. “Just another moment. I think something is wrong with the device. Just let me…”

The device burned the palm of Rayna’s hand. She drew in a sharp breath.

I thought this wasn’t supposed to hurt!

A System notification startled Rayna.

A foreign substance has entered your body. Analyzing to determine threat level…

Threat level? Was this thing dangerous?

Analysis complete. You are being scanned by an unknown device. The System is scanning the device for more information…

“Okay, that’s my limit,” Rayna said.

Rayna tried to remove her hand from the device, but it was stuck to the glass.

Please remain in contact with the device until the System scan is complete.

“Nali, the System isn’t letting me take my hand off, what do I do?” Panic crept its way into Rayna’s voice.

“What?” Sister Aki looked concerned. “It shouldn’t—this has never happened.”

“I’m hearing that a lot lately,” Rayna snapped. “I’m one System glitch away from jumping off a cliff, now get this thing off me!”

“Wait here!” Sister Aki said, rushing out of the room.

Nali tried to pry Rayna’s hand off the device, but a small forcefield appeared, keeping her away.

Sister Aki rushed back into the room, trailing two monks.

“Stand back,” one of the newcomers said, pulling up the sleeves on his robes.

He held his hand out towards the device, his palm glowing with magic.

A bolt of electricity shot down from the ceiling, only to bounce off of a new force field that sprung up around Rayna and the pedestal.

“Are you insane?!” Nali snapped, standing between Rayna and the man. “This girl is an Initial! You can’t be flinging spells around like that!”

The monk frowned. “Then how are we supposed to disconnect the device?”

“Should we remove the arm?” the other man suggested. “I have a limb regrowth spell. It should be back within a week.”

“You’re all nuts!” Rayna snapped. “Come near me and I’ll bite you.”

Another man entered the room. His robes were more ornate, marking him as having a higher rank or a bigger ego; possibly both.

“What is going on?” the newcomer demanded.

“Brother Lenqu!” Sister Aki said. “This girl is stuck to the Power Glass.”

Rayna’s System made a sharp ‘ding’, and her hand was released. She fell backwards, scrambling away from the pedestal before it could do anything else.

The device has been analyzed. The scan is not harmful and presents a possible improvement for the System. Attempting to implement new information…

“Are you all right?” Nali asked, moving to Rayna’s side.

Rayna nodded. “I-I think so.”

Sister Aki checked the device, her eyebrows shooting to the top of her forehead. “It’s… the Power Glass was made a System device. I’m not in control of it anymore.” She looked at Rayna. “What did you do?”

Rayna shook her head. “I don’t even know what that means.”

Before anyone could explain it to her, they all received a notification.

System update: a new System Feature has just been introduced.

Categories: a rating to define the difference in base physiques between players to more accurately describe a player’s power level. They can now be found in your Character Sheet next to your stats.

To determine your true stat, multiply your base stat by your C-level. All players will be scanned automatically. Please stand by…

Rayna felt a pulse of magic flowing through her body, but this time, it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was more subtle and controlled than the device’s probe.

Your C-level has been determined. If you would like to re-evaluate your C-level, you may visit the nearest Power Glass to do so.

“A System update?” Sister Aki asked incredulously. “Why would the System push an update this close to a Dark Age?”

“The System still thinks of us, even in its darkest moments,” Brother Lenqu said. “But I wonder if there might not be another reason for this update.” He turned to Rayna, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Yeah, no. I’m getting out of here before someone starts accusing me of heresy or something.

Rayna turned around and walked out of the room, trusting Nali to clean up this mess. She would have to apologize to her patron later, once she figured out what she was apologizing for.

“Wait!” one of the men called.

Rayna increased her pace, making a beeline for the exit. Two of the monks blocked her escape, and Rayna tried to push her way through them.

Being only a Level 9, it was like trying to punch through a brick wall.

Brother Lenqu caught up to them. Now that Rayna wasn’t panicking, she got a better look at the man. Thick tentacles grew out of his head, falling over his shoulders like hair and his eyes were twice as large as a human, making him look distinctly alien.

“What is the meaning of this?” Nali demanded. “Unhand my student.”

Brother Lenqu bowed. “Lady Emery, I would like to formally invite your student to the main temple in the capital. I am certain that the Abbot will wish to meet Miss Rayna personally.”

“Umm… no thanks,” Rayna said, trying to leave once more.

“I’m afraid I must insist,” Brother Lenqu said. “It has been decades since we have had an update. I don’t think you realize how much of a miracle this is.”

“That update has nothing to do with me,” Rayna insisted.

“I disagree,” Brother Lenqu said. “It happened as you were released from the Power Glass.”

“That was a coincidence.”

The man shook his head. “Much of the unexplained wonders seem like coincidences to the naked eye. Trust me, you had a hand in that miracle, whether you know it or not.”

“This girl is an Initial and my ward, so you are not taking her anywhere,” Nali snapped.

The man inclined his head. “You are welcome to accompany us, Lady Emery. But she is going to the capital.”

The monks started forcing Rayna towards a carriage.

All right, that’s enough being polite.

Rayna opened her mouth and bit down on one of the guard’s arms.

He roared, letting go and backing away. He clutched his bleeding arm with a hand that glowed green and the wound vanished, but he still hesitated to approach Rayna.

“No, Rayna! No biting! I can’t believe I just said that.” Nali shook her head. “Rayna, I can handle this.”

The other monk was ready for her and managed to dodge her teeth. He grabbed at her, but she ducked under his arm and kicked him in the privates.

He doubled over, groaning as Rayna retreated behind Nali.

“Next person to touch me gets the same treatment,” she snapped, spitting blood onto the ground. She hated using her teeth, but they were quickly becoming her most effective weapon—if only because no one expected her to use them.

At the moment, it was her only effective weapon.

Wait. Didn’t I get a notification? That means…

Rayna grinned, pulling her dagger out of her Inventory.

“System’s back up,” she told Nali in a low voice. “How do we get out of this?”

“We don’t,” Nali hissed. “Put your dagger away.”

Rayna shot her an incredulous look, but Nali looked confident, so she followed her instructions, stowing her dagger back in her Inventory.

Nali looked down her nose at Brother Lenqu. “We will come with you to the capital, though I daresay Abbot Quar will have some choice words for you when he learns of how you have treated my ward. I will need word sent back to my husband of where we are going.”

Brother Lenqu nodded and ushered them into the carriage.

“So, we’re just going along with it?” Rayna asked.

Nali shushed her. “I’ll explain when we’re moving.”