It took the rest of the day to work out all of the details of Rayna’s stay at the temple. She was put in a small room right next to the Abbot—she wasn’t sure how she felt about that—and the room on the other side of her was cleared out for Nali’s use, though she wasn’t sleeping there tonight. She was going back home to tell Lord Emery what was going on.

By the time Rayna had eaten dinner and answered all of Father Esh’s questions, it was long past sunset, and she was ready for bed.

She yawned, plopping down on the twin bed that filled a good half of the modest bedroom. There wasn’t a sitting area, like in Lord Emery’s mansion, but there was a desk and chair, a mirror and a trunk under the bed to keep her things in.

Apparently, people didn’t trust their Inventories right now for the same reason that Rayna had almost eaten monster meat.

Rayna sighed, opening up her Menu. As much as she wanted to sleep, she hadn’t had a moment to herself all day and it was about time she checked her notifications. She was probably not getting back into the tutorial, that much she had figured out, but the System hadn’t said a peep since the Church. She had surreptitiously pulled things out of her Inventory every now and then just to assure herself that it hadn’t gone back to updating.

According to Nali, it was rude to check your notifications in public. They seemed to view it similarly to cell phones. Looking at your System while talking to someone was basically saying that you were bored and wanted to be somewhere else.

Rayna was still deciding if she was going to play the foreigner card and do it anyway—once she could actually tell people she was a foreigner, that is.

Rayna just hoped that her System would be exactly how she had left it, so she wouldn’t have to jump through hoops just to keep up with the other players.

She should have known better.

Please complete the initialization process to view your System Menu.

“That can’t be good,” Rayna muttered.

She received a prompt to start the process and accepted it.

Welcome to the Essence System! Please input your name…

“Rayna,” she said aloud.

Name accepted: Rayna.

Do you wish to register a family name with the System?

Should she? Family names seemed to be something that only some people had. It wasn’t a noble thing, since she had passed several people in everyday clothes with multiple names. She assumed it was cultural.

Rayna decided to skip it, hoping the lack of family name would give her a little anonymity.

Welcome Rayna.

The System is scanning you for your base stats. Please wait.

Rayna felt a pulse of magic go through her. It was similar to the one back at the church that had scanned her C-levels.

She waited, tapping her knee impatiently.

Scan complete. It seems you have already set out on your path of progression! Your stat points are consistent with a Level 9 Lerian Warrior.

Is that correct?

Rayna nodded.

Understood. Please note that your body shows signs of recent Essence Poisoning. While the System will prevent this in the future, it is recommended that you see a healer to fix the damage to your core. If you do not have access to a healer, the System can help you through some meditation exercises to help your core heal naturally.

Essence poisoning? Is that what happened back in the forest? It would explain why absorbing the Essence of the Ursivul had made her feel so much worse. Rayna was surprised to find the System being helpful for once.

You seem to have traces of an alternate version of the Essence System. These will be merged into your new profile, but notifications will be lost. All items from your System Inventory have already been transferred to your Soul Realm. If you need help accessing your Soul Realm, please refer to the Tutorials and Guides section of your System Menu or contact the System Librarian.

For a moment, Rayna thought she had just lost everything in her Inventory. She quickly drew something out, relieved to feel the dagger’s hilt against her palm. Whatever a Soul Realm was, it functioned the same way as an Inventory.

There do not seem to be any tutorial groups available at the moment. You have been given a personal tutorial to help you learn how to navigate your System. If you do not need the tutorial, it can be skipped by contacting your System Administrator or your local Tutorial Leader. The System recommends completing the tutorial, as there are special rewards that will not be attainable otherwise.

Rayna’s screen morphed into her Character Sheet with a message at the top.

This is your Character Sheet or Stat Sheet. It shows your progression in a numerical format. Each of your stats correspond to a different aspect of your progression. They are split into three categories: Body, Mind and Soul.

Body: Strength, Endurance and Dexterity. These stats affect your physical abilities. They help you run faster, jump higher, lift heavy objects and more.

Mind: Wisdom and Intelligence. These stats affect your magical abilities. They grow your Mana reserves and help you channel more power into spells.

Soul: Vitality and Luck. These stats affect how your soul interacts with the world around you.

A full explanation of each stat can be found in the Tutorials and Guides section of your System Menu.

Rayna pulled her journal out of her Inventory—her Soul Realm, she supposed—and started taking notes. She had never seen a System explanation of what her stats did, and she was hoping to cross reference it with the explanations she had heard from Emma.

Categories or C-levels are a numerical representation of a player’s base abilities. Stats have an amplifying effect on a player’s natural body, so knowing where you start is as important as knowing what you want to work towards.

To get your true stats, you must multiply your stat points by your C-level (For example, if you have a C-3 in Strength and 30 points in that stat, you will have a true Strength of 90).

Note that this feature is recently added. If something doesn’t work as expected, please contact your System Administrator to give your feedback.

Rayna finally made it to her actual sheet, and found it almost exactly as she was expecting, with only a few notable changes.

Name: Rayna

Level 9 (Exp: 2,814/4,398)

Class: Warrior

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Race: Lerian (Essence: 27,000/27,000)

Core Status: Recovering (Progress: 10%)

HP: 1,510/1,510

MP: 500/500

Stat Points

{C-7} Str: 36

{C-5} Dex: 68

{C-3} End: 50

{C-1} Vit: 151

{C-6} Int: 50

{C-1} Wis: 50

{C-1} Luck: 10

[Free Points: 2]

Spells

Basic Heal — Proficiency: 100%

[Spell Choices: 0]

Skills

Rage — Proficiency: 5%

[Skill Choices: 0]

Titles

Volunteer — [+10 to all stats]

Traps Expert — [+5 Dex, +2 Str]

Masochist — [+5 End, +5 Vit]

Quests

Tutorial I — Completion Rate: 0%

Special Traits

Immunity to Poison [Species Trait - inherited]

Immunity to Paralysis [Species Trait - inherited]

Immunity to Confusion [Species Trait - inherited]

Magic Sight [Species Trait - inherited]

Telepathy [Species Trait - inherited]

Low-grade Empathy [Personal Trait]

Calm [Personal Trait]

Rayna wasn’t sure if the 27,000 Essence was a goal or a limit. She hoped there would be something in the guides section to explain that too. She had no idea what all the stuff about her core was, but she figured the System would tell her eventually.

The C-levels were an expected addition. She was a little bummed about the low C-level in her Endurance, but the rest of them looked alright, albeit lower than Nali was insisting she would get.

She had several new traits, some of which were ambiguous. Focusing on the ‘Calm’ trait didn’t give her any more information, nor did she receive any explanation for the added ‘inherited’ designation.

She focused on the Tutorial quest that had been added to her sheet. The quest details also came with a brief explanation at the top.

Quests are missions given to the player by the System. They are most often used as an aid to help the player through their progression, but some quests may be used to prepare for an event or to deal with a monster incursion. All quests are optional, but some may have consequences if they are failed or rejected.

The tutorial is a chain quest. After you complete Tutorial I, the next quest will appear automatically. Complete all of the tutorials to earn a special reward at the end.

Tutorial I — Kill a monster and absorb its Essence. If you are not sure where to find a monster, a list of dungeons can be found in the System Archive.

Duration: Unlimited.

Reward: +100 Essence Points, Map unlocked.

Rayna shook her head. As if it would be difficult to find a monster. Whoever wrote this quest needed a reality check.

Rayna navigated out of her Character Sheet, wondering how her Menu had changed. The System kept mentioning things she hadn’t heard of before, so it had to have at least a few new items.

Character Sheet

Information

—> Notifications (0)

—> Tutorials and Guides

—> Items and Artifacts

—> System Archive (Unavailable)

Navigation

—> Map (Locked)

—> Teleportation (Locked)

Community

—> Messages (Unavailable)

—> Parties

—> Leader Board

It was pretty underwhelming after all the changes to Rayna’s Character Sheet, but one thing in particular stood out to Rayna. She navigated into the Leader Board, praying for some sort of indication that Emma was alright.

The Leader Board is a community feature to foster healthy competition between players. There are no rewards associated with the general Leader Board. During some events or campaigns, there may be special rewards for ranking high amongst the other participants.

Leader Board

1. Rayna

2. —

Rayna frowned. Just her? Where were the rest of the players? Rayna remembered something that the System had said earlier: ‘You have traces of an alternate version of the Essence System’.

Was this not the System? Why were there two of them? More importantly, why on Earth had Rayna been switched to this one?

A notification popped up.

Information: you were reinitialized under the Essence System to prevent serious harm to your core. Due to missing infrastructure, the System was unable to siphon off the excess Essence to prevent Essence Poisoning. Reinitialization was the only option to save the player.

Essence Poisoning will not happen in the future, but the System recommends that you are mindful of the speed of your progression, as rushing can have a negative effect on your core.

“Wait, you actually answered me? How do I get back to the tutorial?” Rayna leaned forward. She thought the Liaison had abandoned her. If it was still listening—

You are not registered with any tutorial group, and there are no tutorial groups currently available. Please follow your personal tutorial or contact the System Administrator for help in joining the next available tutorial group.

Rayna sighed. She had been right. Whatever the cause was—probably her reinitialization—Rayna had been kicked out of the tutorial.

For the time being, it looked like Rayna was on her own.

* * *

Hinesh paced back and forth in the cramped cellar. The space only allowed for three steps in either direction, and the motion was starting to make him dizzy.

He missed his night vision. It wasn’t carried over when he came back, nor were half of his skills and spells. It seemed almost random which were physical traits and which were soul traits. If the situation weren’t so dire, he might have spent a decade or two studying the phenomenon.

The door opened, startling Hinesh. He jumped back, knocking a ceramic jar off of the shelf. Before it could even hit the ground, Hinesh had a dagger in his hand.

He flicked his wrist, flinging the dagger at the shadowy figure in the doorway.

Enathar caught the knife by the handle, raising an eyebrow. “That’s a hell of a way to greet an old friend.”

He tossed the knife back to Hinesh, who stowed it in his Inventory, if only to put it out of reach of his nervous fingers.

“What has you so on edge?” Enathar asked, stepping further into the cellar and closing the door.

“Is the end of the world not enough?” Hinesh asked sarcastically. Before the conversation could go any further, he activated every privacy spell in his arsenal. Anti-listening spells, alarms, cloaking; the room would have been lit up like a bonfire if he could still see magic. He kept his Menu open so he could refresh the spells whenever necessary.

“We have a problem,” he said when he was finished.

Enathar frowned. “Another one to add to the pile. I don’t think there’s any reason to freak out at this point. You could say the sky is falling, and I would just reach for my umbrella.”

Hinesh still wasn’t used to his friend’s new appearance, nor his new personality, even after thirty years of seeing him this way. There was a time when he would agonize over every decision, but the centuries had weighed him down. Hinesh couldn’t decide if it was aloofness or apathy that led him to be so indifferent toward the never ending nightmare that they had found themselves in.

Enathar sighed, catching on to Hinesh’s hesitation. “Tell me what the problem is. I will see what I can do.”

Where to even start?

“He’s gone mad!” Hinesh exclaimed.

Even with the protections, he didn’t want to say the name out loud. There were too many secrets to keep, most of them belonging to others who held Hinesh in their trust. He was tired of secrets, but it was his curse in this life to be the confidant of far too many.

“He is handling a difficult situation,” Enathar said, knowing exactly who Hinesh was referring to. “It’s not easy to make the decisions he does.”

“Decisions? He is stranding us on this blasted rock without a hope of escape!” Hinesh snapped. “He could have at least rigged a teleport to get us out of here, since it seems he can bring others in, but he is so damn focused on—” He cut himself off before he started ranting. It was a well-worn topic that didn’t need to be repeated. “That’s beside the point. He sent a Lerian this time.”

Enathar frowned. “Another one? He must be growing desperate if he is sending this many so close to a Dark Age. The newest one will barely live through it, even with the rapid growth we’ve forced the poor man into.” He shook his head. “But that isn’t really up to us. Where are they? Have they been caught up on the situation? They’ll have plenty of questions once they get over the shock.”

Hinesh shook his head. “Not like that. He didn’t send a Lerian’s soul. He sent a Lerian.”

It took Enathar a moment to follow what Hinesh was saying. His eyes widened as realization dawned on his face. “He sent a Lerian? Where did he even find one? All of the bodies were lost in the last attack.”

“All but one, apparently!” Hinesh snapped. “And she’s walking around like it’s the most normal thing in the world. I don’t think she even knows what a Lerian is. Her brains got a little scrambled in the transport.” He snorted. “She thinks she’s one of the Chosen.”

Enathar blinked. “Why would she think that?”

“Because he stuck her in there with them,” Hinesh said. “From what she tells me, they’re all struggling. She barely survived the first trial. He almost got her killed sticking her in there.”

Enathar shook his head. “How did she get out? Has he released them early? We’re not ready.”

“It was an error,” Hinesh said. “But we’re not going to be ready, even if they’re in there another month. The Administrator is just as bad. He brought too many and not a single one of them willing.”

In the absence of a proper chair, Enathar decided to sit down on a stack of potato crates. “We don’t have enough space for more. I can try to convince the nobles again, but they’re selfish and useless. We might be able to get the Emerys on our side if I can talk to Lady Emery. She’s more sympathetic to the Chosen than her husband.”

“She’s already on our side,” Hinesh said. “She’s going to meet with the other nobles to try to convince them. We will have more help by the end of the week.”

Enathar frowned. “Why? How many did he send?”

Hinesh swallowed against the fear that rose in his throat. “Ten million.”

They sat in silence for several moments.

“We can’t do it,” Enathar said. “Even if we get all of the nobles on board, we will have to convince the other nations to help. We could have made Helia a haven to the chosen if they were a hundredth of that number, but ten million?” He paused. “Wait. What do you mean they weren’t willing?”

“Just that,” Hinesh said gravely. “We’re not getting a hundred thousand useless Chosen, we’re getting ten million angry and frightened refugees who were dragged off of their world due to a misunderstanding.”

Enathar closed his eyes. “This keeps getting worse and worse.” He pulled a pen and paper out of his Inventory and started writing. When he finished, he handed the paper to Hinesh.

“That’s a letter for Lord Emery,” he said. “Tell him he has my full support. I will talk to the other nobles and get Roka to clear as much room in the castle as he can. I’ll have to send word to our allies in the other nations, but there’s only so much we can do for the ones who don’t end up inside our borders.”

“And the girl?” Hinesh asked.

“Where is she now?”

“In the main temple. She belongs on the island, but Lady Emery has claimed her as a student already. I don’t have a way to convince her otherwise. Unless we find a way to fix the girl’s memory, my hands are tied.”

“We don’t know what caused the confusion in the first place,” Enathar said. “She might be an empath that took in the memories of one of the Chosen—that was Donavil’s line. Otherwise, this may be some sort of afterimage of a vision she saw when she was transported—that would be Klin’s line, I believe. Either way, we need to figure out which family she is from before we can address the root cause. For now, we will just have to play along with her fantasies.”

“I’ll see what I can dig up,” Hinesh said.

They left the cellar together, each walking in opposite directions into the night.