Dave woke up the next morning. He forced his eyes open but they just fell shut again. After a few more rounds he finally won that bout and was greeted by leaves rustling through the wind with clear blue sky in the background. He felt oddly peaceful for a second, just lying there and feeling the breeze, then the pain sat in.

And with the pain came the memories. He remembered fighting the Nodefoxes, he remembered how close he came to death and he remembered seeing Sam, a guy he had just met a day ago, sitting over him working hard to save his life. Dave only remembered that soft white light. But what had Sam done? How was he even alive?

Dave slowly propped himself up, careful to only put weight on his right arm. His left arm still hurt like hell but to his surprise it only had freshly formed scar tissue instead of a grizzly flesh wound. God he hoped those things didn’t carry rabies.

Looking around the clearing he saw his friends sprawled out. Max lay with Ryland and the two girls next to the fire. While Sam was leaning against the tree behind Dave, seemingly having been overcome by sleep rather than having embraced it.

Bixby was already up and came over to him.

“You should avoid moving too much right now. Here eat this, it’s not much but it can stave off hunger and give you some energy.” The NodeFox handed Dave one of his peanuts. Dave’s stomach rumbled and he gladly accepted it.

“I have to thank you once again Dave. You broke me out without a reason to and you protected me. You saved my life. More than once. I’m deeply grateful” he actually bowed to finish his sentence. That was almost as uncomfortable as Dave’s wounds to him. But only almost.

“Hey you saved me out of that tree dungeon thing. I'm grateful to you.” and that was true, Bixby could’ve just escaped after their fight and left him to be found. “Why didn’t you run?”

“Because I felt indebted to you” he paused for a second and a timid smile crept onto his face before continuing “And for some more selfish reasons.”

“What would those be?” Dave arched an eyebrow. Usually the phrase “selfish reasons” would put him on guard, but he trusted his furry friend by now.

“For one I thought I’d be better off in a group. Uhh.. I mean.. only if it would be okay for you if I’d join your contraband.” Dave had to stifle a laugh at the sudden awkwardness that overcame the Nodefox.

“Of course you’re welcome, for what it's worth, we are in it together now.”

Bixby thanked him profusely before continuing.

“The other reason I stayed is you actually. I’ve seen you fight and am I right to assume you have two Domains?” Dave had to think for a second about what he meant by two Domains. Then he realized he was talking about his Skills and nodded. The terminology was still new to him.

“That’s interesting. You’re new to the Greater Whole, so you don’t know this yet. But it’s rare for somebody to be born or in your case gifted with two paths from the beginning. Usually it’s only by being the descendant of a strong clan, having been given access to a Domain as a birthright. For somebody newly initiated it should be impossible.”

Dave felt a sense of pride after hearing this. It wasn’t something he was really responsible for and he had no idea why he had two Domains, but hearing that it made him special gave him a warm feeling. Before he could answer or even have his thoughts together, Bixby continued.

“I know this whole world is new to you and this probably just confuses you more. So don’t think about it too much. It will only be a matter of time before others in your world will get their second Domain as well. It just seems you’ve had a head start.”

Dave wasn’t sure what to make of it. A lot of it made him confused, he thought about his odd encounter with Reginald during the vision and the weird light he transmitted to him. Was he responsible for his second Domain?

He wanted to ask Bixby more questions, but as he thought about his Skills, two windows suddenly popped up. Most of the text was still blurred out, but he noticed the words “level up”.

“Wait a second.” he told Bixby without further explanation. Greedily he opened the Skill page for his Soul Weapon Skill to confirm something.

There were two stars now shining on the crimson red nebula background. One was Soul Weapon, he could feel the connection. The other was new though, He focused on it and a description popped off.

Skill: Soul Weapon Mastery

Rarity: Common

Level: 1

Effect: Gain a deep understanding of the ways of your Soul Weapon. You are proficient with the use of your Soul Weapon. Proficiency increases by level. Passive Skill, active whenever having Soul Weapon equipped.

That explained why Dave suddenly felt like a Kung Fu Fighter back in the tree dungeon. He remembered that a box had flared up shortly then and all of a sudden his body just knew what to do. It wasn’t really mechanical, it was more like he all of a sudden had deep ingrained instincts. He just knew how to move his body and his Spear as an extension of it.

It wasn’t as flashy as a good old fashioned Fireball but it was probably as useful. Now Dave felt really dangerous. Before he wondered what good his Spear was but remembering the Dungeon, he had felt like a real killer then. He was happier about the Skill he had gotten now. Even if a part of him still wondered if it had something to do with his old embarrassment in school.

He switched over to the other Skill Constellation and saw that it still only had one star, which was odd because he had gotten two messages. Then Dave noticed that the light of the Skill Star had changed. It had gotten brighter somehow and gave off a slight greenish hue. Dave mentally clicked on it,

Skill: Minor Spark

Rarity: Common

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Level: 3

Effect: Create electrical charge in your palm. You can release and direct it at targets. Increased Damage and range. Damage and controllability lessen the further said target is away.

So that just looked like an upgrade to his Minor Spark skill before. He wondered about the damage though. It just said increased Damage and Range. Dave couldn’t wait to try it out.

Before it was more like a taser from his hand, which was cool, but knowing he could upgrade the Skill now made him wonder if it would become something like shooting real lightning bolts eventually. Star Wars style.

Quickly checking his Soul Weapon Skill, he found he had also gained a level there. Raising it to level 2. Although nothing seemed to have changed in the Effect description.

Dave grinned, a strange sense of progress filled him as he regarded his Skills.

He had fought for his life and almost lost it a few times. But he sure as hell had gotten some rewards for it. He wasn’t sure if there was something like exp points in this world, but he somehow knew that he achieved those Skill upgrades by fighting the Nodefoxes and pushing his limits.

Thinking about how uncannily similar to a video game it all looked, he got an idea.

Concentrating on himself a new window suddenly appeared in front of him. It was arrayed like a typical character screen and Dave grinned ear to ear as he read over it.

Dave Coleman

Rank: 0

Domains: Melee, Arcane

Skills: Minor Spark Level 3, Soul Weapon Level 2, Soul Weapon Mastery Level 1

Blessings: F9#?xc_12

Warning! You are not yet able to see the interface fully. Find a stabiised Mana source to stabilized source of Manafinish your Mana attunement.

The Blessings column just held gibberish and he didn’t know what to make of the warning. Dave didn’t know what that meant, but if he wasn’t fully Mana attuned yet, that would explain why he wasn’t able to see the boxes for his Level-Up notifications.

So maybe there was even more he couldn’t see right now. He made a mental note to ask Bixby about Nodes and Mana attunement. He was also curious what "Rank 0" meant.So he addd that to his growing list of things to ask Bixby about.

But another thought entered his mind. Max had also gotten Skills now. He couldn’t wait to find out what his friend had gotten. Whenever they played video games they tried to choose their classes so that they would synergize. Dave wondered if something like this may have happened on its own.

Also he couldn’t wait to tell Max about his skills and show them his newly improved Minor Spark. Even though it didn’t look like much, Dave wanted to flex a little with his new superpowers. Besides, he was still curious how the Level-Up affected Minor Spark.

He tried to think back to how his old version looked, but only images of the Nodefoxes he killed with it came to mind.

A spasming face with lifeless distant eyes. The burned fur on a dead NodeFox on the floor. The smell of it in the air. And The moment he felt the last one underneath himself struggling.

The joy was suddenly gone. His stomach clenched in disgust and he took a deep breath. Bixby looked at him with concern. Dave was reminded by Bixby's face of the people he killed. Did they also have a name? Maybe even a family? Was he a monster now?

But no, they had tried to kill him and he had only defended himself. He knew he shouldn’t hold himself accountable. Still he couldn’t get rid of guilt and shame.

This wasn’t quite the way he dreamed about magic and fantasy worlds.

Dave knew he would fall down a deep spiral if he thought about that for too long. He couldn’t afford that though. Not while he and his friends were still out in the wilderness. With mutated squirrels and god knows what around.

He bottled all of his feelings up and shoved them down. Deep down. Dave knew they would resurface but that was a problem for later. Now he needed to function.

Dave steadied himself and stood up shakily. An aching pain shot up his leg and reminded him of his wound there. Apparently Sam had focused on the ones most pressing at the moment.

“You should probably stay down for another while.” Bixby said with concern. “At least don’t put too much weight on the leg. You looked like you were about to puke just now.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve always found walking to be a good medicine.” Dave said as he summoned his spear. It felt good in his hand. A familiar weight, comforting in his hand, though he only had it for a day. Dave felt ingrained instincts suggesting him movements. But he decided to only use his weapon as a crutch for now.

When Dave took a few steps around their makeshift camp, he got used to the pain in his leg a bit. It was actually manageable after a few steps. After he made it across the camp he turned around to see Max suddenly standing behind him. Max wore a big stupid grin as he embraced him in a hug.

“Don’t you ever pull something like that on me again.” he laughed, but Dave could see the concern in his eyes. Dave felt a pang of guilt for making Max go through that. But it was quickly replaced by joy as Max's relief and good natured spirit carried over to him.

Soon the others woke up as well and they sat around the burnt out fire from yesterday, talking about the crazy happenings of the last day.

Dave told them all from the moment he woke up in the cell until he passed out above the Nodefox. He also told them about his Skills and like Bixby said none of them had 2 Domains. That led to them asking a lot of questions directed at Bixby, their only source of this information. After checking with what they already knew through the visions, he tried to explain.

“I know there’s a lot of confusion in you, so I will try to explain to the best of my abilities. Which luckily for you is a lot.” Bixby interrupted his lecture for a hearty laugh before continuing.

“First off all, yes you all have received some so called “Skills”, those are pretty much a way for you to directly interact with Mana and shape it to your will. Broadly Simplified of course.” he thought for a second before adding “Very broadly simplified. Those “Skills” align on Domains. Those Domains signify the aptitude your body has towards certain elements. For Dave it's Lightning and Martial Combat. For Sam it’s Healing. You can have multiple Domains and you can get new ones as you progress.

Progress is another important keyword here. You can level up said Skills and you can get new ones in your Domain by increasing your soul's ability to hold Mana. That pretty much means by practicing your Skills. For combat oriented Domains the most effective way for that is fighting. For non combat Domains it’s just practicing your Skill and getting familiar with the elements. So while Dave can increase his Skills by fighting, Sam here would do so by healing.” The way he told them about how their abilities work made Dave wonder if he had given that lecture before. He just broke it down so simply and explained it with a familiarity that only came with repetition. Not for the first time he wondered about Bixby’s past.

“So if we can upgrade our Skills and get new Skills simply by using them, why should we fight things? Can’t we just practice the Skills? And how do we get a second Domain like Dave?” Sarah asked, leaning forward. Dave was surprised by her eagerness and curiosity.

“Well it’s much quicker to upgrade by fighting. Your body is always more receptive to Mana when you push it to the limits. There are other ways to increase your body’s Mana density, but for now I don’t want to overburden you. Your body responds in proportion to its stimulus, that’s why even non combat oriented Skill can grow by leaps and bounds when exposed to danger or suddenly pushed by new challenges. To keep growing your Skills, you always have to increase the challenges you’re seeking. That comes with dangers though. The ones who risk the most gain the most. That’s the way the Greater Whole works” Bixby said, ending his lecture with a sad undertone in his voice.

The others were silent for a while, although it was clear to see that everyone had many more questions. It was just a lot to digest already and they were weary to add even more for their brain to process. Also nobody missed the tone Bixby’s voice took on towards the end.

Suddenly a rustling was heard in the bushes to the right. Everyone paused and turned anxiously.

Complete silence swept over their group, they all sat tight and waited. Dave’s nerves lay bare and he felt the by now almost familiar feeling of fear and adrenaline surge up.

Had the Nodefoxes found them?