Tutorial #22:

Soul oaths. Soul oaths are those overseen by the System. Any oath can be sworn for any reason, however, to have one that can be verified as true, especially with terms that must be upheld, one can swear a soul oath. At low levels, the damage done can be quite unpleasant. As an entity ranks up, however, soul oaths become more dangerous. What starts as a headache, depression, or mild disfigurement, may end up become irreparable soul damage that can result in brain, body, or spiritual death.

“What the hell?”

Adam looked at a wide-eyed Liz. She looked back and forth between her supposed friend and the system prompt. “How do you know about this? How do either of you?”

Adam put a hand out to forestall her questions. “I’ll explain, just give me a minute.”

He sat up, groaning with the effort. “Carl isn’t the only one with a job.”

“Now who’s keeping secrets,” Carl said.

“I’m not keeping any secrets. I hadn’t mentioned it yet, because we were a little busy trying to survive.”

He looked back at Kyra. Her face was twisted with sorrow, pain, and loss. It had only been a handful of days, but those days of hardship had brought them close. This was a large issue to have covered up.

“Why?” Kyra blinked away tears. Her already small voice was made smaller by the power of her emotions. She felt betrayed. Something that major should have been discussed immediately. “How long?”

He shook his head. “Last night. I’ve been reading as much as I could- the system drops tutorials really often, and my job allows me to see any that have been provided to anyone in the group.”

“Ah, so you saw new tutorials pop up that made no sense for your little friends, here,” Carl said with a dry laugh.

Liz turned her head back to the little man, and her face clouded over like a storm rolling in from the ocean. She stood, once again pointing her sword at the snide man.

“Hold on, Liz.”

Her hand trembled. Both men waited to see what she would do. She looked at Adam. “Well?”

“He can still be useful to us.”

“He’s a traitor, and a coward. He’s tried to leave you for dead a few times now.”

Adam sighed. This was not what he signed up for.

“Excuse me.” The unknown woman approached the group haltingly. She was still dazed from her run and rescue by the team. She shrank back as all four turned their gazes on her.

“What is your name?”

“Raven,” she said. She swallowed, then stood straight. “My name is Raven. I’m lost, though. Why are you pointing a sword at that man?”

“He’s an assassin,” Liz said.

“And she’s a witch,” Raven said as she gestured at Kyra.

“I’m not a witch,” Kyra said. “Well, I don’t have the job. I liked the idea of being a witch before the System.”

Raven shook her head. “But that’s his job. Being an assassin, I mean. Why should he be punished for something the System put on him?”

Adam nodded. “Exactly.”

“He’s admitted to killing people,” Liz growled.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Only those that were dying, and couldn’t get there fast enough for their liking,” Carl said.

“I was dying far too fast for my liking, and you tried to make it happen faster,” Kyra said.

Raven looked between the two staring daggers at each other. “That is… admittedly, not a good starting point. But look around you. We have no idea where we are.”

“Exactly,” Adam said. He grunted as he got to his feet, still feeling weak from being crushed. He gently put a hand on Liz’s, encouraging her to lower her sword. She resisted for a moment, then let it drop.

Raven continued speaking. “He’s uh… I’m sorry, I never got your names.”

“I’m Adam, this is Liz, that’s Kyra, and you’re already somewhat familiar with Carl.”

“That’s Doctor Carl,” he said, though it sounded so practiced it was likely by reflex.

Adam shook his head. “Not anymore, Carl. Kyra is our healer, not you.”

Raven nodded. “So, your options are: let him join you, kill him, or exile him, right?”

Adam nodded again, though his action was echoed by Liz and Kyra.

“Okay. Think those out. You kill him, you’re down a set of hands and a capable fighter.”

“Not that capable,” Liz muttered.

Adam shook his head. “I think he does more than we see from the clearing. How many spiders did you kill before you ran back here?”

“Uh,” Carl tilted his head in thought. “Six? Maybe seven. Hard to say, the last spider was still moving when I had to run, but it was down to only two legs.”

Adam nodded as if that said everything.

“Okay,” Raven said. She looked at each of them in turn before continuing. “So, if you kill him, you get rid of a competent fighter. The second option was exile, right? Well, what if he’s the kind to hold a grudge? What if he survives and comes back to fight you when you’re not expecting it?”

“Not exactly making him look good, here,” Adam said in a flat tone of voice.

“I wouldn’t, you know,” Carl said.

“Would you take a soul oath on that?”

“I really, really can’t,” Carl said while waving the thought away with both hands.

“You haven’t explained that,” Adam said. “Why can’t you swear another soul oath? It’s not like we’re limited.”

“Well, no, but I’m already… uh, kinda recovering from one that was broken.”

“That’s it,” Liz said as the sword snapped back up to his throat. “We can’t trust him.”

“Actually,” Adam started.

“You can.” Carl swallowed, then stood. He sighed. “I swear, on my soul, to do no harm to you, your friends, or anybody you declare safe.”

The world shook again, and this time a light shot from the sky like a beam of godly intent. He arched his back and screamed silently. It was over as quickly as it began, leaving Carl crumpled on the ground.

“What happened?” Raven looked at the little man, who still shivered and spasmed on the ground.

“Kyra, can you do something about that?”

Kyra shook her head. “I’m tapped out on mana, used the last of it to heal you.”

“I’m… fine.” Carl’s voice was very strained. “I’m just dealing with swearing a third oath in a short window.”

“What do you mean?” Adam leaned down and helped Carl into the recovery position. The man might have been speaking, but it was clear he was still not in full control of his body.

“Two to you, just now. And one a few days ago. The one that broke.”

“The oath that you broke,” Kyra said with a sneer.

“No,” Carl said, then he coughed. Something caught, his back arched, and he vomited. Nothing save some foam came out. When he was done, he relaxed.

“What does that mean, Carl?”

Adam moved Carl a few feet, letting him shudder on a fresh patch of grass.

“I swore an oath to my sister. She was a doctor at the hospital too. I didn’t know what I was doing, but we could talk through the wall. I swore I would get her out. That was only a minute or so before the spider-pigs tore her to pieces. I barely survived the backlash of the broken oath. That, and the monster that was trying to eat me while I was reeling.”

Kyra squatted on the ground nearby, intently staring at the side of Carl’s head. “I don’t know. I don’t want to trust him.”

“You don’t have to,” Adam said. “He swore an oath. And having already broken one, the next one will likely kill him.”

Carl nodded, still trying to catch his breath.

Adam leaned down, one hand on his knee, the other extended to Carl.

“You come with us, you are a part of our group. You fuck up, though,” he looked meaningfully at Carl. “And next time, I won’t stop Liz, or Kyra.”

Carl nodded again. He shuddered, then grabbed Adam’s hand. With a grunt Adam heaved him to his feet.

“Thanks. I’m sorry, it’s just that everything is so… different.”

“How old are you, Carl?”

“I’m twenty-six.”

“Wait, you’re a doctor of oncology at twenty-six? When did you finish your residency?”

Carl laughed and put a hand to the back of his head. “Uh, when I was twenty-four. I started college at fifteen.”

“Ridiculous,” Adam said as he tossed his hands in the air.

“I still don’t trust you,” Kyra said. She was still holding herself. Adam stepped to her side and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She pulled him into a hug. He slowly wrapped her in a hug as well.

The silence held for a long, awkward moment. Raven was the first to speak.

“What do we do now?”

“Well, do you have any abilities, Raven? Any weapons? Real-world experience in bushcraft?”

She shook her head. “No, I ran a youtube channel before all this.”

“Are you a quick learner?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“That’s the attitude. Alright, here’s what we do,” Adam said. He had a lot of ideas. It would take a lot of work, and they had few hands. But, if things went well, they would grow their little community. They would establish a base. And they would survive this tutorial, and whatever it threw at them.