11 — Humanity

The intercom crackled to life overhead and Jun’s cabin light winked on.

“Hey, folks! This is your captain speaking. It’s Eleven-fifty-five, Seattle local time, and it looks like we’re in for a midnight landing tonight! We will be descending now, so please keep your seatbelts strapped in, tuck your tray into the seat in front of yours, and—oh, please put your devices on airplane mode if you haven’t already. Thank you for traveling with American Airlines, we will be arriving shortly.”

The intercom clicked off and groggy voices whispered to each other all across the dim-lit cabin. The old lady next to him, Mary, with three kids and eight grandchildren—the youngest of which being Johny who wants to be a firefighter and the oldest of which being Gerrick who was studying medicine in grad-school—, stirred from beneath her blanket, wiped sleep from her eyes, and reached into her bag, putting on her glasses.

“Make sure you give your mother a great big hug when you land, Jun. She’s blessed to have a son like you to look after her.”

“Yes,” he said, “I’m sure I will.”

Jun wasn’t certain how well he hid his pained expression, but Mary’s eyesight had been failing ever since she’d turned eighty and she was a fair penny away from getting necessary treatment. It would be difficult for her to see him clearly in this lighting.

“Oh, and buy her a pot of Perennial flowers will you? There’s no better way to greet someone who’s sick with a pot of flowers,” she gave a Jolly laugh, then recounted how her sons had brought some from her own gardens when she’d fallen ill. Then she recounted Phil's gardening passion and his fascination with bonsai. Then she recounted more. 

Mary was a lovely woman, with a nice family and friendly attitude, but Jun found it hard to listen as they closed in on Seattle. His mind went to his neatly folded Red-Cross jacket in his overhead luggage, and the calls he’d received only a week prior.

“Jun, mother has fallen sick since you left her and it’s only gotten worse, she…she might not have long left. You need to come back.”

He shifted his glasses and pinched his eyes at the memory. Then, as soon as it was polite to do so, opened his phone to move it back to airplane mode.

“Oh—is that your mother? Why gosh, she’s so pretty! You didn’t tell me she was this pretty, Jun!”

She was prettier before, Jun thought.

“Ah, yeah. She’s a beautician, so she looks after herself.”

I didn’t tell you because I was the one who did that to her.

In the picture his mother was posing with a famous model, another client she’d brought him long ago. The sun was out and their dispositions were bright as they drank martinis on a beach he didn’t recognize. It was dated two days ago, just a day after his latest mission had ended and he’d been granted leave. 

He moved his phone to airplane mode and closed the page out. He’d been naive, but forging medical documents was a new low he hadn’t expected from her, or his sister, who had to have been the one to actually do it. Still, he should’ve known.

I could still be out there, helping people who need it.

But he wasn’t. 

And at that moment, Jun had the thought that he’d rather be anywhere than here.

An odd shiver touched his soul then.

Like the one he felt when patients died, but grander. They hit an air pocket and turbulence shook the planet just slightly. Murmuring picked up all across the cabin as people leaned over each other to take a look out the windows. He was in the aisle seat.

“Jun,” Mary said to him, face pale, hyperventilating. She pointed out her window, up at something he couldn’t see, “I-I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s–”

She never got to finish her sentence as the world froze over.

Integration of Universe 39F72, Integration 192 has begun. Please await further instructions as assessment completes.

Welcome to the Multiverse.

***

5 Minutes Before Scenario two

“Dammit,” a voice said, “Tonight is all we’ve waited for! Why are we the ones on guard duty? They’re bodies for fucks sake, they don’t need guards!”

“I know Storth,” another said, “But suck it up. A few hours from now, and the inconvenience of it won’t bother you the slightest.”

“You got a point, but…”

Jun kept still and quiet, not risking any notice. There was a metal whir and a series of clanking chains. He heard what he was certain was the sound of jail bars locking into place. The air was arid but breathable, albeit unpleasant due to how someone’s bare foot kicked right against his nostril. Weird, that. Weirder still that they hadn’t actually bothered to take any of their clothes or weapons when they’d knocked them out. Or at least he still had his boots on.

He waited. Seconds. Minutes. He didn’t truly know how long, but he didn’t open his eyes until he was certain there was no one else around. And to his surprise, the foot, it seemed, hadn’t belonged to just anybody…

“Hey,” he hissed, shaking the young, short-tempered girl by her shoulders—his mind reached for a name but he realized she hadn’t given one, “Get up! we gotta get outta here!”

It was no use. He’d seen her down the glass of water in one gulp and now she didn’t even turn in her sleep. He practically shook the life out of her trying to wake her up. Her head lulled to the side and he saw a large scar going down to her chest. It was…not the worst, but had all the hints of once having been a gruesome wound. 

But it was old. And there’d been some attempt to disguise it with a tattoo, or rather, it seemed her entire body was covered in tattoos, in strange patterns he didn’t recognize.

And then her body suddenly started glowing with an ominous blue haze.

Perplexed, Jun looked around and all the bodies were glowing now.

Unnerved, he used the Inspect function on his interface.

Status Effects - Death Mark [4:59]

Death Mark?

A 5 minute timer that began ticking down next to her head and he could only assume it didn’t mean anything good. He’d… wanted to warn her, but, every second in that hall, it’d been like he could feel eyes on him from every direction. She wasn’t the most friendly person he’d met, but a teenager? All alone in a place like this?

He felt for a pulse, and then let out a quiet sigh of relief. At least she wasn’t dead. Though how long that would last, he wasn’t sure. 

“You can stop trying,” a man’s voice said, startling him, “None of these ones are waking up either. I think they’re jus–”

The man snapped quiet and both he and Jun threw themselves back onto the ground. His relief at not being alone immediately turned to horror as a pair of footsteps echoed in approach.

“Heard a voice you said?”

“Not sure. Things echo a lot down here, could’ve been anything.”

The first voice gave a mocking laugh and Jun heard a jingle and then a single clank against the bars. His eyes snapped wide in that instant and he locked gazes with the other man. It was dark, but he knew in an instant that they were on the same page.

“Could’ve been anything you sa—urk!”

“Knew we had rats!” The other guard said, “You—“

“Stop!” Jun shouted, “You move that sword even an inch and I crush his windpipe!”

It was a bluff. Jun had saved lives, he didn’t take them. Which was why it unnerved him all the more, the way both the guards chuckled then. He tightened his strangle almost reflexively, but something felt off.

Weird…

The man’s neck was unnaturally skinny, and–and pointy? Almost like it was…

He gasped as the man's neck snapped on its own—then twisted, 180 degrees till they were face to face. Only—the other man’s face held no flesh. His eyes were empty! Jun leapt back as the skull tried to bite him. His hand—his bony hand—it reached to unfasten his dagger and—shit!

Jun’s new friend barely had time to yell out before the guard swung his knife down at his head. It’d only been an inch away from skewering him, too before Jun had unleashed a beastly [Howl]. 

Status effect - Stun

Two mobs have been affected!

“What the fu—they’re undead!” The man scrambled to his feet, finally unhooking the ring of keys. He snatched the dagger from the skeleton's frozen hand and was about to stab him.

“No! Not him,” Jun shouted, “The far one!”

Sweat ran down his forehead. He hadn’t ever needed to keep [Howl] activated for a prolonged period of time before and while—thankfully, it seemed he didn’t need to keep shouting—it still felt like he was holding on to a fraying rope. His grip loosened on the farther undead by the second. Distance must’ve been a factor as well, and he watched in anguish as his mana drained exponentially quicker.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before the other man had lifted himself beneath the cage.

You’ve helped kill [Undead Guard - Lvl 4]!

“The cores!” the other man shouted, “You have to go for the cores on these ones!”

The cores?

Jun saw the black sphere in the center of the guard's rib cage. He was twitching under his hold, straining for his sword, but with only one target to hold his attention, Jun was breathing easy again. Surprisingly…he could even move while keeping [Howl] active. He’d never been able to do that before.

With his new freedom, Jun threw the skeleton’s sword across the room and brought his own from his sheathe. And he’d just been about to impale his core when a thought struck him. 

‘Cores’ they were called. But what about them allowed these unnatural things to move, to live. It was just a mild curiosity, but there was more there. Something underlying the thought that made him uneasy. It was the sense that he had much less information to work with than his enemies. Than his contemporaries, even—if Alex hadn’t so much as told him so. 

He glanced now at the notification that had flashed earlier and his concern only deepened.

Mandatory Scenario has been triggered

SCENARIO 2 — Night of the Undead

This wicked Town has sold their souls for unfathomable power, and now they will feast upon yours! Escape the sacrificial ritual! The High Council enlists your help in putting this great evil to rest once and for all!

Clear Conditions:

Survive until sunrise.

Good luck!

Sacrificial Ritual? They’re just going to drop that and not elaborate?

“What, getting nervous now?” his companion said, “Fine, if you don’t want the essence–”

Jun glanced back at the bodies with that affliction, ‘death marked’. And he saw a few more now, that either weren’t glowing or were staring back at him. He was far from alone. And he found confidence in that, in what he was about to do.

“Wait,” he said, as the other man readied his dagger, “I have something I want to test first.”

***

Jun and—Ishaan, the man had introduced himself as—stepped back from the wall, admiring their handiwork.

“Are you…” Ishaan said between breaths, “...sure this… is a good idea?”

Jun took a moment to recover before his response, “I… no. Not… not at all. But what other choice do we have?”

They straightened themselves, staring at the masterpiece in bewilderment and… perhaps disbelief at what they’d just accomplished. Jun had no sort of empathy for the undead, but this? 

This just made him feel weird.

Rather than killing the undead, they’d instead separated the creature’s limbs and… well, used the spare chains in the opposing cell to lock them up. Four—one for each limb, then a fifth for the head, which they used to gag the thing as well. Not for practical reasons of course. Jun was rather certain that between his Howl and all the expletives the undead had thrown at them during it all, that if anyone could hear them down here they’d have already been dead.

Strangely, for how little muscle the undead had, moving even its detached limbs had proven more difficult than he’d expected. The whole time they’d thrashed around, trying to claw at them and he’d had to recruit two others, Juan and Maria—from Utah and Vancouver respectively—to help them. By the time they’d finished they were so exhausted they’d simply thrown its torso in a separate cell and locked it up—where even as they spoke, it continued crashing itself at the bars.

This was stupid. I don’t even know what I was thinking.

But how else were you supposed to detain something that can reattach its limbs at will?

He exchanged an odd glance with Ishaan as they headed back to their own cell and he could tell he was thinking the same. Their cell was mostly empty now. Once the five minute marker had finished counting down, everyone afflicted had simply disappeared and it was replaced with a new timer, counting down from an hour.

Warning: All those in the underground rooms by the countdown’s end will be killed alongside the sacrificed.

Jun repressed a shiver as he glanced at everyone still awake. He noted that a striking number of the people he’d encountered had all come from roughly the same region. 

Even Jolyn, the somewhat chubby woman he’d shared a table with, was from Washington. She was the fifth and last of them left, and seemingly, she hadn’t actually noticed anything was off at all. She’d simply drank herself out cold in sorrow. But somehow she was not together with the unconscious pile marked with the tattoos. For a second it had given Jun hope, that perhaps she knew how to undo the sedation but that had quickly died as he watched her with her head tucked in between her knees, crying uncontrollably. 

Jun felt for her. Felt for all of them. There was an ache in his chest when he thought about his coworkers in the fields, his friends, even his family. And Mary, that sweet old woman.

If they’re experiencing the same thing then they’re all dead.

He didn’t even know if that plane had touched the ground after everything. Worry for all his loved ones had been all he’d thought about last night, but he had to keep moving. Which begged a question, the one they all had on their minds. What now?

“We can’t stay here,” Ishaan pointed out.

It was probably the obvious thing to say, but it was met mostly with nervous glances and dead silence. And it reminded Jun of something very important. People like Alex and that young girl weren't normal. Most people weren’t capable of shoving their feelings aside and trudging on, not without being put in direct danger. 

He didn’t know what background Ishaan had, but even as someone who had been trained to do so, to not shy at the sight of blood, Jun was struggling to keep himself afloat. The rest of them? They were in no condition to survive.

“You’re right, Ishaan,” he finally said, “We can’t stay here. But we can’t rush out there without a plan either.”

“What plan?” Juan said, “You saw them up there! There had to have been dozens of them, just as strong as these two!” The young man gave a frustrated shiver and ran his hands through his hair as he began to pace around. He looked as strong as a bull, but his shoulders were slumped in stress. Still, his eyes were focused, and he seemed in control of himself at least.

[Juan - Lvl 4]

Level four. Jun wasn’t sure what level the man had started with or how much he’d consumed, but that seemed to be where simply surviving the first scenario got you if you refined all of the rewarded essence. Maria and Jolyn seemed to be at the same level, Ishaan was slightly higher at six.

The Indian man ignored Juan’s outburst, shooting Jun a doubtful look, “And you think we have time? For a full fledged plan?”

“I’m… yes, I’m certain,” Jun answered, “That warning we were given said there’d be a penalty for staying here right? Then that should mean that there’s no immediate threats that would prevent us from doing so.”

“That’s just guesswork,” Maria rattled. She was older than the rest of them, somewhere in her fifties if he placed her correctly. Her eyes skitted nervously, but Jun noticed she kept her wooden bow nocked.

“It’s not. Think about it, this place emulates a game. It’s obviously not the same, but the system still plays by certain rules. There has to be some logical way to win. And think about it, there may be a hundred of them, but it’s like a maze down here. They can’t all be covering the paths out, right?”

“Eric…” Jolyn sobbed, “If Eric was here… he could protect… someone, please, just… he could’ve…”

No one addressed the woman as she rolled onto her side, sobbing some more. Jun took a second to crouch down, patting her back and trying fruitlessly to get her to puke. He would have to talk to her some more before she let trigger her gag reflex.

“Really?” Juan asked, “We can get out of here? There’s a chance?”

“No… it makes sense,” Ishaan said, tapping his lip, “Otherwise none of us would be standing here right? They would’ve just slaughtered us if there weren’t restrictions of some sort…”

Jun nodded in agreement as Ishaan started guessing at what exactly those restrictions might be, Juan gradually got less exasperated as time went on. Maria seemed to grow more steady. 

Good, they're starting to think critically. 

It was good, and yet, why did his stomach feel so hollow? If they did this right, they would survive wouldn’t they? But then, what about the sacrifices? What about that young girl–

“Then…if all this is true,” Juan’s voice had a determined tremor to it now, “What should I do? What can I do to see my family again?”

The mood had changed once they started speaking in actions. There was a short silence from the mention of his family, but Ishaan was the one who finally answered. 

“There’s only one thing to do,” he said, “ I say… I say we team up, and everyone who is able gets out of here together.”

Jun’s heart sank in realization at what he meant. He looked at Jolyn, whimpering on the floor. He felt a slight anger well up, but he forced it down. Because he wasn’t wrong. The woman was, logistically speaking, deadweight. She lowered their odds of surviving.

But he still remembered that other woman, the one Alex had tricked along with him. Young, elderly, man, woman, all of different ethnicities and walks of life. Their only common tie being their fear, unable to lift their weapons as the chimiks charged at them—some of them didn’t even have a weapon anymore. He’d simply watched in awe as they all were mercilessly cut down by the metal knight that he’d taunted. 

But then he remembered that woman. He didn’t even know her name, he just heard her pleas as she tripped and fell behind him in those dark woods. He’d thought at the time that he should turn around, and use his skill, but he hadn’t. He hadn’t.

Jun flinched as he saw how tight his grip got on Jolyn’s arm… though she was too drunk to notice. He took a quiet breath.

Okay, let’s calm down. Nothing gets solved from outbursts.

He’d been distantly paying attention as the others began exchanging skills and strategies. He’d caught a few nervous glances from Ishaan as he continued nursing Jolyn back to health. She finally managed to puke and seemed to be returning to lucidity now, “...please…” she croaked. Nothing else, just please.

I’m not like him.

“So Jun. What are your skills?” Ishaan asked cautiously.

The man still had his UI still set to visible. Rather than answering, Jun simply commanded his system open and sent them all his profile. He’d found that function when he’d been toying with it earlier. It had bugged him how Alex had seemed to know what he was doing.

“What—four skills? How did you get so many!” Juan exclaimed.

Even Ishaan looked briefly unsettled for a moment before his face settled. Jun didn’t think he was a bad man, but it was clear the man saw him as a threat to his control over the others. He wasn’t always the best at navigating these kinds of situations, but it seemed he had little choice.

“I agree with Ishaan,” Jun said, “We should act sooner rather than later, and we’ll have better odds as a group. But we’re still woefully uninformed, aren’t we?”

The man narrowed his eyes as Jun entered the cell opposite to them. The undead had gone quiet after the first few moments of muffled expletives. That all changed when Jun undid his gag.

“If you cocksuckers think you can torture me, then you’re dumber than I thought! I’m not afraid of death, I’m an undead, and I don’t feel pain you–”

Jun drowned him out, deep in thought. 

He had four skills, the one he’d bought from the catalog, Taunt, Howl, and one more that he’d picked up in desperation as the metal knight’s sword was at his throat. He’d sensed it then, instinctively, that Alex’s explanation of skills had been horrendously simplified. 

There wasn’t some vague force underneath them that you shaped one way or another, it was more complex than that. Skills were patterns of essence, woven into the world’s fabric itself. And when he altered those patterns even just slightly it became abundantly obvious there were infinitely more ways to manipulate them than just push and pull.

It wasn’t that skill he’d saved himself with that he called on now, but instead the one he’d used to heal himself afterwards. He’d been wondering what exactly he should do with it. And now there was a clear, although reluctant, answer

He extended his hand out, flowing mana through the skill’s patterns, changing it in only tiny, rudimentary ways where it tied itself to him. It was the mana that shaped the skill, truly. Essence made up the skill’s DNA, but it adjusted to the flow of mana like fabric adjusted to the breeze.

“He–hey! What are you doing?!” The skeleton yelled.

Tiny fragments of bone started attaching back to his arm where it was chained and splintered in a rough break. To his leg as well, which lay nearby.

“Are you crazy?!” Ishaan yelled, “You’re healing him—”

[Bone Meld]

The undead shrieked as his right arm healed and connected to his left foot, twitching and squirming in different directions. For the first time, the creature seemed to be truly terrified. 

Achievement Unlocked! You have mutilated a monster beyond recognition and without the sweet mercy of death.

[Joyous Cruelty]

Mutilation of defeated enemies causes 35% more pain and discomfort.

Jun flinched at the description. The bodily horror made him want to gag, but he pushed that feeling down and leaned close. 

“Look, maybe you aren’t afraid of death. I’d believe it. But you still see through those eye holes of yours right? You still hear through your ears? If you don’t want me to weld those shut and just leave you down here, then you’re going to answer all my questions honestly.”

The undead started nodding vigorously and Jun felt some tension leave his body. But only a little, this next part was harder, because it concerned humans. 

They weren’t perfect creatures by any means, they could be weak and cowardly, and he knew that. But nobody was born standing on their own two feet. If they were going to make it out of there, they’d do it together. And he meant together.

So here goes the hard part.

“Tell us,” he said, “How do we lift this Death Mark.”

The undead almost seemed to hesitate for a second, then it spoke. Spoke, and then laughed, its cackles spilling out into the world as if to make mockery of the attempt, resonating in their bones. 

When he was done, Jun kept his end of the promise.

[Undead Guard - Lvl 5] has been slain!

Map of Chambers has been attained!

[Named Quest has been triggered! - Lionheart’s Madness] 

Guild Master Lionheart has slept the living, imbuing them with the Sacrifice Mark! Only he can complete the ritual and it falls on you to foil his evil machinations!

Clear Conditions: Disrupt the Sacrificial Ritual

Rewards: 5,000 essence crystals

Time to Ritual - [51:42]

[ACCEPT? Y/N]

Jun read through the quest information, before looking back at his companions. They’d stayed silent, but he could feel their judging gazes on his back.

“To be clear,” he said, “I’m not going to force you guys to accept this quest, but I intend to go alone if it comes down to it.”

“Alone?! How–”

“Juan, you said your family’s still alive right?” Jun said. The man looked nervously taken aback at that. 

“I can’t be so certain of mine,” Jun continued, “I’d like to think there’s someone waiting for me at home. But right now, we’re all that we have. And a couple dozen of us are just about to be murdered while we stand by. Maria, any one of them could be your grandchildren’s age—”

Jun snapped his mouth, blushing at his faux pas, but if the old woman seemed to care, she didn’t show it. Both her and Juan looked lost in their own thoughts for a second; they were nervous, but neither one of them woke up yesterday wanting to see people die.

“This is just speculation,” Jun said, “But I think the scenario’s aren’t as mindless as they seem. They’re testing for something. I don’t know about how all of yours was, but mine felt like it might’ve been clearable if we had all worked together. I want to correct that this time. Because–” 

What’s the point in living if you’re repulsed with who you’ve become?

There was no need to spell it out. He wouldn’t force them, but it wasn’t as if he was unaware of what it risked for them to lose their strongest member.

But Jun didn’t want to live in a world without humanity, compassion, and community. And from the looks on their faces, neither did they. Those virtues had carried mankind through the ages, and they weren’t something that could be torn down so quickly. 

“Five thousand essence crystals…”

Ishaan had muttered something under his breath. The man’s eyes looked slightly more glazed as he looked up—in a way that unnerved Jun, but surprisingly he was the first to speak in his favor.

“Hmm, it’s not… out of the question. Have you guys seen this map yet?”

As soon as he mentioned it, Jun accessed the drop through his UI and a three dimensional mini-map appeared in his field of vision, almost holographic. There were countless twisting routes that were obscured by a dark fog, but visible to them were routes to two locations: The Sacrifice Grounds and the Guild Hall. The first was covered by red dots—enemies presumably—but the Guild Hall had only one. Who it was wasn’t in question, the invitation was clear.

“There were a lot of survivors from my Initiation, you know. Hardly halfway through, an American just pulled out his gun and shot it. And that gun…” Ishaan lifted his shirt slightly, “I grabbed it off him before he disappeared.”

Jun saw both Juan and Maria’s eyes go wide. Strange how a gun could elicit that reaction in a world where magic and undead existed. But people feared what they knew he supposed, and if it really could pierce a core, then there was a lot of merit there. 

Slowly, it seemed, with their two strongest on the same side, the two seemed to be coming around to the idea. He felt a surge of relief.

The man lowered his shirt back down, “That said, I only think the quest itself is worth consideration. This skeleton bastard so much as said it, yeah? Kill the guild master and his mark disappears? These ‘Sacrifice Grounds’, I wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole, but…” he turned to Jun, “You have a plan, don’t you? I’m no marksman.”

“If you’re willing to accompany me against the boss, then that’s more than enough,” he said, “I’m certain I can freeze it with [Howl], but he’s probably a higher level than these other undead, so there’ll be two drawbacks. First, I'll have to get very close to him, and second… I likely won’t be able to move while he’s stunned, so it’ll fall on you guys to take the final blow. But if you’re with me on this…”

Jun took off his earrings and handed one each to Juan and Maria, 

“This—I can’t–”

“Three Vitality…”

He let the two of them inspect their new items as he took off his Chimik-tooth bracelet and handed it to Ishaan. 

[Chimik-Tooth Bracelet (F rank, Common)]

Necklace formed from the teeth of a Chimik. Slightly increases Vitality.

The man’s eyes glazed over a little more as he inspected it, but Jun was just thankful to have him regardless of his reasons. People couldn’t always be driven by just kindness, but it was always there when you made space for it.

He leaned down to Jolyn again. She still hung her head low, but he could tell now that she wasn’t as drunk as she came off, “We won’t leave you behind,” he told her. She lifted her head just slightly, “But you won’t make it like this, either. If you can trust me, can you please show me your skill?”

She nodded feebly, then pulled up her UI.

Skills: 

[Fire Beam - Level 4 (Novice)]

Launch a concentrated beam of fire that can inflict the burned status onto enemies. 

He heard the conversation behind him still as the others started to take note and he took off his Bone-shard necklace. It left him with no treasures, but he didn’t have any skills that this one worked well with anyways. He put it around her neck. 
 

[Bone-Shard Necklace (F rank, Common)]

Necklace formed from the bone shards of a Necromancer Chimik. Slightly increases Arcane.

“Jolyn,” he said, “I know this is hard. It’s hard for all of us, but there are others just like you who need help. And you’re the only one here who can do it.”

For the first time in that conversation, she looked him in the eyes. He saw something there, something he didn’t like. A weakness that felt all too familiar. Hope, but in its most twisted, desperate form: resignation.

“Are you… are you the one?” she asked.

Hm? 

Did she mean that religiously? He supposed there were many ways this place could drive someone crazy, but the simplest answer would just be ‘yes’ wouldn’t it? 

The simplest perhaps, but…

“No,” he said, “I’m just like you. I’m not strong enough to carry you through this, I didn't ask to be here, and I’m just as scared as you are. But look, this necklace here, it’s a symbol of faith, it’s saying that I believe in you. So the question is, can you believe in yourself? Can you believe in us?”

He held his hand out to her and her hollow expression began to change somewhat. Her hand trembled as she put her hand in his and he pulled her up. 

Seeing this woman like this—so weak—it made him realize something. He couldn’t just lay all his expectations on someone stronger to save them all. They never would. It fell on themselves to do it. And if they couldn’t do it alone, they’d do it together.

He looked at the map again, and felt a subtle spike of nervousness. It really was a straight shot to the Guild pub, no red dots, no enemies, just the single one. He’d only just given those items away and already he was feeling the loss of their bonuses.

No… I can do this. He wasn’t alone.

Accept Quest?
[Yes/No]

Yes.

Quest Accepted!
A quest party has been formed!

Members: Maria, Juan, Jolyn, Ishaan, Jun

As they entered the hall he looked his new companions in the eyes, “Just so we’re on the same page,” he said, “I didn’t just give you guys those items to bargain with you, it’s a show of trust. We’re a team now, which means I’ve got your backs in there, and I’m trusting you all with mine.”

Juan had earnest determination on his face. Ishaan’s spoke of confidence. Jolyn… There was a surprising amount of courage there. And he realized he really did have faith.

“Hmph, a sappy one aren’t you,” Maria said. Her eyes welled up and she looked suddenly emotional, “I’m too young to have grandchildren, you fool. How old do you think I am?”

***

A Party Member Has been Killed!

Maria was sent flying by. It had happened so fast, one second she’d been right next to Jun and the next the small elderly woman was pinned to the guild’s wooden walls, a dagger through her throat. Head lulling to the side—spine snapped as she gurgled.

They were frozen. None of them could process what had happened. The fight had hardly begun—she’d only just shot a test arrow at its core, but it had been perfect! A clean hit, but… 

The skeletal figure had a deep laugh as it rose from the ground. It got back to its feet, rising six… no, seven feet tall. Right in front of their eyes he grew. His bones grew firmer—bare chested but for a tattered red cowl, as if to say he had no need for armor—and behind those ribs, his core swam in pitch black emptiness, moving.

“Hah! Ohh…” his chuckle settled into something deadlier, “The old shifting core trick. Gets them every time, doesn't it?”

He jumped onto one of the abandoned wooden tables, leftover mead and food scattering as it dipped. The entire hall was empty but for him and the purple beverage spilled through his bones, dripping off them as he threw the cup.

“Hmm?” he mused, eying them, “So this is what the system had in mind?”

[Lionheart, the Hero]

Once admired by one and all across the lands, Lionheart was a bastion of protection where no one would have dared settled. Now, he’ll settle for some good mead and your head on a spike!

Level 17 Scenario boss.

“Shit… shit–shit–shi–” Ishaan stumbled backwards. Jolyn fell to her knees, screaming. Juan just stared back at Maria in disbelief.

Level seventeen…!

Jun shakily drew his sword. His eyes pierced that murky black atmosphere to the core, he knew he wasn’t close enough for [howl], he could sense it, he was too strong. ‘Close enough’... I’d literally have to be touching him.

“Oh come on,” the guildmaster complained, “You know I can’t see that drivel, right? What’s it saying! Washed up? Crippled by ambition? Ruthless?” he crossed his leg, tapping his armored knee nonchalantly with his sword tip with a disappointed tsk, “I’ll tell ya now, you can’t just blindly trust the system like that. I’ll prove it, even! One of you—just one, I’ll let you pass by. You’re free to go.”

He gestured to the open door, where only hours before they had entered—witless and desperate for reprieve, “You know, before I change my mind?”

“It’s a trap,” Jun muttered. He could hardly hear the words as he said, his mind whirring rapidly, “Okay, change of plans. I’ll need to get closer than I thought. Ishaan,” he tried to meet the man’s eyes, “Ishaan!” he shouted, “Pay attention! I’ll need you to cover me with a bullet fire while—Juan! Juan, don’t—!”

“I…” he didn’t turn to face them as he walked forward, “I–I need to see my family,” he said. His voice trembled and his walk slowed to a nervous teeter as he passed the table Lionheart sat on.

A Party Member has been Killed!

The guildmaster eyed Juan’s head where it balanced on his sword’s tip, “Well, if that’s what you need bud. Anyhow…that’s enough mercy for today.”

He straightened, cracking his neck—literally reaching over and cracking it with his palm. Juan’s head rolled to a stop next to the infodesk, eyes pleading.

Is this my fault?

For wanting to save his people? For having pity? For risking the lives of others? For—no, not for that. He still wasn’t alone. Ishaan’s awareness had returned to him, his finger was playing with the safety on the gun. Jolyn had at least made it to one foot. And the guildmaster… he was just walking towards them—no caution.

And why shouldn’t he? Jun’s confidence had been deluding him—not even with his hand to the thing’s core would he be able grab hold over the boss. Howl drew most of its power from Perception and Arcane, but his stat distribution had almost all gone into Vitality! 

No, I could do it…

“Ishaan, Jolyn,” he whispered, “Stay calm. I have a plan, but it’ll be at the last second. Get ready.”

He couldn’t check for their response, he immediately turned his attention inwards—his senses traveling inside him, searching for something deeper, and there it was—his soul. 

It was beautiful, like a green haze flowing like a river—blue currents of mana coasting the surface. They flowed around a central sun, glowing with power, with mana. The mana continued flowing like a ventilated pool reforming itself as patterns. And where the essence touched him, it touched his body and mind attempting to tie them all together.

But Jun took more interest in the patterns they formed. They existed not in any dimension he conventionally should know to navigate, and yet he knew them intricately. Patterns in one sense, but in another—pathways. His body and mind had their own, but these ones were different from that. They were whole, tied completely down, but while they were tethered to his existence, they weren’t…his? —only they were, weren’t they? They tethered him to something alien, something massive far beyond comprehension, but in doing so it became his. That alien force… the system.

Blind to the outerworld, Jun took a few steps forward and reached his hand out in front of him—fingers touching something coarse and aged, yet astoundingly solid.

“Hmm, what’s this?” a voice mocked, “A bit late for that, lad. I’m afraid I’ve not much to offer aside from my looks.”

Jun hardly heard him laugh as he reached for his skill, feeling it's patterns on a visceral level. He could see now why Alex had described it like he did, as if it were play doh that he could only shape in simple ways. He wouldn’t have known how else to sense it at that point, as the truth was infinitely more complex. There were just so many different rules to it that he didn’t know where to start learning. But there was one he knew:

Mana was not power in the same way essence was—it was energy. And while he could shift the patterns of his skills in small ways by manipulating the Essence, he couldn’t change the voltage. Not without tearing it apart. But he changed it now, forcing it through those pipeways, letting it well up in his throat. More and more. It would tear them apart.

Those pathways, they were connected to his very existence—it would tear him apart. It would–

Jun opened his eyes to a cacophony of sound and vibration as he unleashed his attack. Visions of the skill overlapped with fragmented bits of reality, cracks spreading across his vision. Those pathways cracked, flooded with an overflux of mana. The boss trembled against his will, against the confinement of his body, and they quickly began to shatter. 

How long? 

“Ah—fuck! You–”

How long can I keep this up? How long have I been–

[ERROR - Skill Overload]

[40%]

[52%]

[85%]

“Now! Ishaan, Jolyn, do it now–”

He looked behind him but there was no one there. No Ishaan, no Jolyn, no corpses.

No—there was someone at the doorway—Jolyn! She stopped as he called her name. She lifted her arm towards the boss! Then… he could see her face for a split second as she left, helpless. Equal parts guilt and pity were in her expression.

I’m sorry, it said.

[100%]

***

Yeah, I knew it.

It had been Jun’s first thought when he regained consciousness, and it wasn’t true. He hadn’t known, but he hadn’t been surprised either. One could only be betrayed so many times in life before that feeling of surprise stopped coming.

He tried to move his limbs, but he couldn’t. They weren’t broken, there wasn’t any magical malfunction or anything too complex for his current understanding either. He just couldn’t be bothered to move them. Oh, and there was also rope.

He yanked lightly. It seemed he’d been tied overhead to the wall.

“Well, aren’t you looking lively,” the guildmaster said. He was leaning over him and his bony fingers tilted his chin up to look him in his empty eyes. Only, they weren’t as empty as he’d thought.

Why not kill me? Why am I still–

“Young man,” Lionheart cackled, “I would like to offer you a choice–”

“No,” Jun answered.

“Hmm? You didn’t even let me explain my offer, lad. You impressed me, ya know? Sure, I had my guard down, but I didn’t expect that. If you were under me–”

“If I were under you, I’d go to unforeseen heights. You care for your men like they’re your family. Life with you all is a blast, so I should shed this mortal skin and embrace death. Oh, and you’d never betray me, is that about right? Only problem is that it’s all a lie, isn’t it?”

The skeleton paused for a moment, then shrugged, settling back into his chair, “Well, not all of it. I do care for my men, see. It’s a little different than family—but when they’re all you have, they’re all you have, ya know? As for the rest… Well, you’ll find there’s a lot you don’t care about when you become undead,” he downed another pint of mead, “We’re simple in that way. Humans can so easily be twisted, but us? We’re rather singular in purpose. As long as—[SYSTEM REDACTED]—and—[SYSTEM REDACTED]—OH, WELL FUCK YOU TOO THEN!!”

Lionheart threw his mug on the ground in frustration. Then settled back into a casual slope, “Welllll, it’s as you see really, that’s pretty much it. As a bonus, you won’t have to deal with that vile thing,” he gestured vaguely above Jun’s head.

The system? Aren’t they the system’s denizens? 

It was curious. Something about the undead’s manner even made Jun believe what he said. All things considered… it wasn’t a bad deal if he was going to die anyways. It was the same trap he kept falling for, time and time again; with these cunts, his bastard siblings, that fucker Alex, the whole lot of them, and if he hadn’t learned by now, he probably never would.

“Maybe you’re right,” he said, “I probably would be better off undead.”

“Ohh?!”

But there was just one problem with that. “Unfortunately, I’m human.”

“Oh…” For a second the undead looked almost genuinely sad at the answer. Then he picked up his sword, winding it back for a stab.

“Well. Never say I’m not a people pleaser,” he said.

He plunged his sword into Jun’s gut.

 ***

One more chapter today after this!