The group had gone back into the house. Kyto had changed, returned down the stairs, and joined everyone else in the kitchen; they were all sitting around the large kitchen table. TJ was still up at the fishing district, and Lars had yet to return from his shift.

Kyto walked to the wood burner and poured a coffee, standing there momentarily, savouring the smell and the flavour as he sipped. He turned, looking at the gathered group. "Anyone else?" he asked.

"Please," Elizabeth replied.

Kyto poured her a cup before returning the pot to the burner. "I think we need to return to the beginning and start all this again. I know you have all been speaking and getting to know each other, but I do not know anything about you. Well, that is not entirely true." he added.

"Where would you like to start?" Sniffer asked.

"I think the first thing is to sort out the past," Kyto said.

"Whose past?" Sniffer asked.

"Ours."

"Ours?"

"Yes. I know you and Tiddles. I met you for the first time at Montgomery Metals when you came to do the job to find myself and Tabs." Kyto indicated sitting next to Tabs and putting his arm around her.

"I thought I recognised you!" Sniffer said.

"He never would have worked it out," Tiddles said.

Kyto turned and looked at Tiddles and then turned back to the others.

"I saw what Tiddles did to that slave at the factory, and that was why we ran," Kyto said.

Elizabeth turned and looked at Sniffer and then Tiddles.

"You know that beast handlers also track humans," Sniffer said in response to Elizabeth's expression.

"I know. I do not like thinking about what you may have done before," she said.

"I have already promised that we would no longer track for slaves, only those who have harmed others," he said, smiling at her softly.

She reached out and took his hand.

"Risen don't actually taste very nice anyway, and most of them do not have much meat on them either," Tiddles said.

Kyto spun to look at Tiddles, who had his usual horrific smile on his face.

The others had turned and followed his gaze. "Apparently, we do not taste very nice!" Kyto said.

"I am just being truthful. I thought we were having a moment of honesty here." Tiddles said.

"Ok. So yes, I recognised you when I arrived and told Tabs. She was the one who told me I had to help. Otherwise, I would not have," he said.

"Thank you," Sniffer said, looking at Tabs.

Tabs smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Can I ask a question?" Crystal said.

"Of course, sis," Kyto said.

"Sis? I thought Crystal and Tabs were sisters. You are not brother and sister, are you?" Elizabeth asked.

Kyto laughed. "No, I am not their brother, don't worry."

"What is wrong with that?" Tiddles asked.

"It has always been frowned upon," Kyto said, looking at him.

"I have no brothers or sisters, so I am safe," he said.

"You said that you planned to sell goods and return to," Crystal paused. "New Haven, wasn't it? If so, what will happen now that we know that Tiddles and Kyto are both Enlightened? "

"That is a very good question," Tiddles said.

"I have no idea what being Enlightened actually means yet. The fact that we now have a party and with the party, we get skill bonuses means that we can work better together." Kyto said.

"Skill bonuses?" Sniffer asked.

System update 2.1 will commence in 30 seconds

29

Everyone in the room suddenly stared in shock. Tiddles stood, bolting through to the garage where the cubs were.

"Shit not again." Tabs said.

It was as though the world came to a standstill as they sat all watching their displays as the countdown continued. The pain they had all felt with the last upgrade was so intense that Kyto could feel the sweat on his palms, and he rubbed his hands together nervously.

3

2

1

update complete.

Nothing happened. There was silence for several moments before a combined sigh of relief left them all.

"Thank fuck. I really did not want to go through that again." Crystal said.

Kyto's display was flashing.

Welcome to System 2.1

Updates included:

Codex - the Codex provides supporting guidance on how the System operates.

Quests - quests may now be assigned for completion and allow for progression.

A new icon appeared on Kyto's display, showing a small book. He focused on the book, and his display altered. It now appeared as if he was reading a book across his display.

Welcome to the Codex - revision 1.0

The Codex will provide you with System details to support your understanding. As you open new chapters in your growth, you may receive revision updates.

The Codex's contents page listed all the different display tabs, and Kyto quickly flicked through several of them, briefly looking at what they showed.

"Wow. That Codex would have been amazing to have before." Kyto said.

"Definitely." Tabs said.

They were all looking at their displays and reading through the details that were now available to them.

A sudden green glow came to the edges of his display. He closed the Codex and looked at his main display. A small symbol he had not seen before now flashed in the corner. Kyto focussed on it, and a new tab opened up.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Quest log

Available

Party Quest - Incursion - tier 1

Prevent the incursion from destroying New Talisia

35,000xp and 5 Arcane Knowledge

Personal Quest - Healing - tier 1

Stream a total of 25000 healing mana

2,500xp 1 Arcane Knowledge

"Does anyone else have any quests? I have just received two." Kyto said, wanting to describe what the quests related to as reading the incursion quest detail about the destruction of New Talisia was something other than what he could explain. He knew he would discuss it with Tabs, but not now.

"I do. Party Quest Incursion tier 1 and Hunting tier 1," Tiddles replied as he walked back into the kitchen.

"Tiddles has received quests from the System. Has anyone else?" Kyto asked.

Everyone else looked at him blankly. "I have the tab but have no quests in it." Tabs said.

The cubs were following Tiddles in, and it was the first time Kyto had seen them.

"Dad, is that the man?" Rosie asked.

"Yeah, that is him," Tiddles replied.

Kyto stared over at the cubs. "I can hear them also!" he said.

"Really," Tiddles said excitedly.

"Yeah," Kyto replied.

The whole table again turned to look at the cubs.

"Woh, that's scary," Sneezy said, stepping back.

"What do you mean?" Pouncer asked.

"They look like they are going to eat us," Sneezy said.

"I think everyone is just a little surprised as I am that I can hear what you are saying," Kyto said.

Sneezy stared at Kyto with massive, wide, and very cute-looking eyes.

"And to think these things grow up to be the man-eaters they are known as," Kyto said.

"What does he mean, Dad?" Pouncer said.

"Nothing Pouncer," Tiddles replied, turning and glaring at Kyto.

"Dad?" Kyto said, raising his eyebrows at Tiddles's glare.

"Yes. They call me Dad." Tiddles said.

"Sorry, I was only joking, Pouncer?" turning to look at the cub.

"Dad?" Sniffer said, repeating Kyto.

"The cubs call Tiddles dad," Kyto said.

"That is so cute," Elizabeth said.

"I am Kyto," he said, looking at the three cubs.

"Rosie, Sneezy and Pouncer," Tiddles replied as he indicated to the siblings.

"Nice to meet you," Kyto said.

"I still think they want to eat us," Sneezy said.

"Can everyone stop gawping at them? Sneezy thinks we want to eat them," Kyto said.

Laughter rippled around the table at the comment.

"This is awesome," Rosie said.

"Yes, it is," Tiddles replied.

Tiddles lay back down on the floor where he had been before the System upgrade had started, and the three cubs curled up next to him.

"Where were we?" Tabs asked.

"Quests," Kyto replied.

"I do not see any quests available." Tabs reiterated.

"Nor I," Crystal added.

"I wonder if it is just a Chosen option?" Tabs asked.

"Um. Maybe it could be as the rewards are experience and arcane knowledge points." Kyto said.

"What is Arcane Knowledge?" Sniffer asked.

"When the System upgrade happened initially, all my previous skills disappeared and were replaced with Arcane Knowledge skills, which allowed me to start learning mana skills," Kyto said.

"I had the same," Tiddles said.

"Tiddles was the same, apparently," he added

"I wonder if that is why Tiddles no longer shows as bonded," Sniffer said.

"Well, he is now a combat melee elementalist, or that is at least what the party menu says," Kyto stated.

"A what?" Sniffer said in shock.

"I have no idea what it all means yet, but I do know that Tiddles has an elemental core inside him. Which I think is fire?" he said, looking at Tiddles.

"Yes. It is a fire core, and I adjusted all my skills when the arcane points replaced all of mine." Tiddles said.

"Tiddles says he now has a fire core. Again, don't ask me what it means. I really have no idea yet." Kyto said, seeing Sniffer's mouth open.

"So what skills do you have?" Sniffer asked

"My skills are combat support-based, healing, shielding, and drawing on mana," Kyto replied.

"What about Tiddles?" he asked.

"Stealth and combat," Tiddles replied

"He says his are stealth and combat-based skills," Kyto said.

"Tiddles is an attacker, and you are a defender then," he stated.

"I suppose in the simplest terms, but I do not know how our skills work properly or whether they work normally. When I healed Tiddles after I had triggered the actualisation skill, it appeared that my mana and his elemental strands combined while healing." Kyto added.

"Strands?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes. I know you can not see it, but when I pull or push mana, I see the mana strands, and I can also see the mana cores inside each of you, and that is why I needed to draw on them to help heal Tiddles. I have a pool that I can fill from other life forms, and it takes time. If I had not been able to draw on you, I doubt I could have got close to saving Tiddles. Also, I doubt I would have without triggering the actualisation skill due to the bonuses it gives." he stated.

The table was full of expressions of confusion and incomprehension.

"Once the skill was triggered, it seems as though I could see into Tiddles and see where his core was and free it from the toxin and then combine with his elemental power to help fight the remaining toxin that was inside him," he added.

"So what was that yellow ball?" Elizabeth asked.

"That was my familiar. I can call it, and it boosts my ability to draw mana from the surrounding area. The mana is contained in everything but only refreshes from living things. If I draw mana from inanimate objects, it is gone and does not seem to replenish once it is drawn. The mana eventually replenishes when I draw from plants, trees or others. My problem is that I cannot tell how much everything holds, so I do not know the most efficient approach. There are so many unknowns, I hope the Codex may provide some answers." he finished.

"It doesn't," Tiddles said.

"What?" Kyto said.

"It does not give any information on skill growth. That was the first thing I looked for in it. It just explains the skill display and the tiering. It gives you a list of the number of arcane knowledge points for higher tiers, confirming what I had previously thought." Tiddles said.

"Well, that is better than nothing, I suppose," Kyto said. "Apparently, the codex does not contain skill information."

Sniffer and Elizabeth sat looking at each other with looks of uncertainty.

"What is wrong?" Tabs asked.

"It is just a lot to take onboard: Tiddles talking, mana, elemental cores." Sniffer faded away.

"It seems you guys have been aware for quite a while about new skills, Enlightened, Chosen, and we have never even heard of any of this before today. The only reference to Enlightened was the initial message after the System upgrade, and it being the Age of the Enlightened." Elizabeth added.

There was a moment of silence before Crystal spoke. "I agree. Today has been the most unusual of my life. Meeting a beast that can talk. The new details of a System upgrade. It is starting to get late, so we should get to know each other a little better before we get tied up in details."

Kyto had not considered the effect of all the information on others as he was so used to talking about it openly with the rest of the group. "That sounds like a good idea."

For the next couple of hours, they discussed their pasts and where they came from. This, at last, was the icebreaker that they had needed. Each of them had suffered some form of dramatic occurrence in their pasts, apart from Sniffer, who had apologised at one point for not having as bad a life after moving in with his aunt and uncle. They laughed at him for being ridiculous that he should apologise for having as nearly an everyday life as possible. By the time they reached the end of their stories, the group was smiling and feeling better equipped to start dealing with the future. Tiddles had corrected some of Sniffer's comments about his past, and Kyto had laughed at several, being the go-between as Sniffer and Tiddles argued who was right. It usually ended up being Tiddles, to Sniffer's disappointment.

They made plans for the next day. Sniffer and Elizabeth would head into town with Crystal and Tabs to find out about selling the goods they had brought. Kyto would stay at the house with Tiddles to give them time to review all their information and discuss their next steps now that they had a combined quest. Kyto had not gone into details, just that it was a party quest and needed the pair of them to work together.

The incursion quest concerned both Tiddles and Kyto as it mentioned the destruction of New Talisia and provided no information about it, what it may involve, or where it came from.

Lars arrived just as they finished their plans for the next day. The deep growl of the truck's engine cut through the silence of the surrounding area. No other populated buildings were within a few hundred metres of the house, and they had chosen it specifically for that reason.

"Lars," Kyto said, smiling at the big man.

Lars grinned broadly and walked up to him, picking him up from the chair he sat in and hugging him.

"Put me down. I was not gone that long." Kyto said.

Lars put Kyto down and then signed to him.

Kyto and Crystal burst out laughing.

"What is so funny?" Tabs said. She was not as fluent as the others in signing and struggled to keep up with what Lars said.

"Apparently, you really missed me," Kyto said, goading her.

"No, I did not," she replied, her cheeks getting a scarlet glow.

"Lars says you never stopped talking about me being away and were worried that something may happen to me," Kyto said with a proud grin.

"I suggest you wipe that grin off your face," Tabs replied angrily.

"So it is true then," Kyto said.

The mug that flew in his direction missed him by an inch and crashed into the kitchen wall. His eyes shot open in surprise, and if looks could kill, the glare Tabs gave him would have struck him dead.

"I think it may be time to call it a night," Elizabeth said, taking Sniffer by the hand and pulling him up from his chair.

"Yes. It has been a long, tiring day. Thank you again." Sniffer said, looking at Kyto.

"No problem," Kyto said, turning briefly before looking at Tabs.

Elizabeth and Sniffer left them to it, heading to the spare room after spending the night on the garage floor. They were both looking forward to a decent bed.

"I spoke to you in confidence." Tabs directed towards Lars once they had left the room.

Lars just chuckled as Tabs glared at him, pouring himself a coffee and walking to the main room.

Crystal stood ushering the cubs back towards the garage, and Tiddles followed.

Kyto looked straight into Tab's eyes. "I missed you too."

It was the first moment they had been alone since his return from the fishing district, and he walked up to her, offering her his hand. She glared at him but still took it. He pulled her up from her chair, and she gasped as he embraced her, giving her a long, gentle hug. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too," she replied.

They separated, and their eyes met, soon followed by their lips.