“You are from another world?” Hendal asked with her eyes closed. She looked almost as young as Veena, even more beautiful. Her grey robe was cut at the shoulders, baring pale arms marked with dark inks of strange symbols. Lines stretched and twisted up and down her arms, vanishing under the thick fabric of her robe. She opened her eyes, and the golden rings around her irises blazed as if fueled by some ethereal power within her. Sam met her gaze for a moment and felt the overwhelming need to look away. Hendal smiled.
“What is this world called?” Maxim asked. He was the biggest Scavenger Sam had seen since he got out of bed. His voice was low and slow, as though he had all the time in the world. He was also the oldest of the Elders. His eyes were dull black. He was covered in fabric too, hunched. He was the only one of the six who had a weapon on him—a small knife. Its plain hilt told Sam that it wasn’t anything to be worried about. And although the man was huge, he didn’t give off any aura.
“Earth,” he answered, frowning when he saw Hendal frown. She had been smiling since he walked in to meet them. “I was transported here somehow. I don’t know how that happened. One moment I was on the rooftop looking at a giant moon, and the next moment I was being chased by weird, talking werewolves.”
“Yes,” Hendal said, grinning. “We heard of your encounter with the D’Araks. Extrao—”
“Are we to believe him?” Naruth cut in quickly. Hendal frowned, her eyes cutting to Naruth. The younger man ignored her. He wore a filthy green robe several times larger than he was. His face was dotted with symbols, like Hendal. He stared at Sam, scorn loud in his voice. “We are to trust a human again? I say we kill him.”
“Impatience will ruin us, Naruth,” Maxim said, his voice calm and soothing. “We have not heard all the human has to say. We have to know why he has been sent to the Forsaken Island. And why did he find us? Fate pushes, and all we can do is move according to its will.”
Naruth snorted. His eyes were still on Sam. “Where were your musings when your tribe was being slaughtered? Or have we forgotten that? Has your memory dulled so much that the cries and pleas of our people have vanished from your mind? Those atrocities were caused by humans like him. Dark-hearted and full of hate.”
“Naruth,” Maxim called. “You have to speak with the wisdom of an Elder,” Maxim said, warning in his voice. The air in the small cavern pricked at Sam’s skin. He wanted to leave, but he had nowhere to go yet.
“After all is said and done,” Behel muttered, his voice thin and loud as a whistle. His eyes twitched, moving from one end to the other, trying to catch the movement of everyone in the cavern. “Can we trust him?”
He scratched his chin. His bald head made him look like a monk, except when he started fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.
“This is our new home, Maxim,” Naruth drawled as if he was bored already. “We all came here to hide away from the world outside, and this human might have just brought the world to us. There are murmurs of D’Araks in some of the old tunnels. Do you think it will take long before they figure out he is here with us? What will be next? The humans are cruel, but D’Araks are beasts. They slaughter for the fun of it.”
“We know this,” Hendal said, rolling her eyes. She folded her hands in front of her, glaring at Naruth. “We are all aware of the situation, Naruth. You act like we are not all Elders. Yet, I don’t know if we have to throw him away. He is new to this…world?” She peered at Sam, her eyes looking him over as if to confirm something. She shrugged, turning to Naruth again. The Elder snorted, disregarding what she had said.
“What do you think, Levi?” Maxim asked a silver-bearded Scavenger. He wore a mask, carved out of wood and painted in white and black slants. His hands were hidden under his robe, so nothing of him was seen except for his short-cropped hair, cut roughly. Sam couldn’t tell if there were eye holes in the mask because everything was dark. Only the bottom half was white.
They all fell silent, waiting for this Levi. He turned his head toward Sam and leaned it left as though thinking.
“You defer to me because I am the one who has suffered more from humans, am I correct?” Levi asked. The others shrugged. Only Maxim responded. Levi nodded.
“My conclusion is that I don’t know if he will be a threat staying here. Sylvian has been here for years, and he has a worse crime to his head. And unlike that halfling, I don’t sense any sinister aura from this human. Yet, we can’t imagine the consequence of having him stay. The unknown is of such magnitude that we would be fools to ignore it.” He took an audible breath and continued. “I would advise we let him go, but set him far from us.”
He turned to Sam and gave him a slight bow before he added, “Of course, I have no ill will against you, human from another world. I have no allegiance to you either. My service is to the people I represent. Their safety is what I guard with the last shred of my soul. We are the Elders, but we are just like the others—weak where we should be strong. We protect ourselves with the gift of the System of Ascension and the innate gift of our people. We learn to grow, we try to outsmart the world that is against us. For you to stay is to put us at risk.”
Sam stared at the masked Elder. The silence in the cavern was loud within him. The man had spoken with no hint of malice. Sam nodded, not sure he could make a case for himself after that. Yet, he knew what awaited him. He had a few bullets in his gun, but that wouldn’t help him survive out there.
“True,” Hendal said, nodding. Her hair moved behind her. The long braids were made in a complex knotwork. Sam’s heart sank. He’d hoped he could stay if Hendal vouched for him. But that wasn’t going to happen.
“We can let him stay for a few days,” Levi said. “Until he recovers. And while he does that, we can help him in ways we know and how to survive the monsters of the wilds.”
“The longer he stays, the more danger he brings to us,” Naruth said, frustration thick in his voice.
Sam frowned. He didn’t know why the Scavenger didn’t like him, but he seemed intent on sending Sam back out there. Out in the weird forest where wolves and other unknown monsters prowled.
“Five days,” Sam said, voice firm. “I will learn fast. Five days and I will walk out of your cavern for good. I will learn everything you have to teach me.”
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Naruth scoffed and Sam turned to the Scavenger. “I promise you.”
“Five days is safe, I believe,” Maxim said. Behel muttered in a language Sam didn’t understand. Hendal nodded. Sam sighed. He hadn’t expected them to accept that after Levi’s speech.
“Vali,” Maxim called to the only one of the Elders that hadn’t spoken so far. She was closer to Maxim in age, but she carried it gracefully. Her large eyes seemed fixed on Sam, as though waiting for something. She moved her eyes, with some effort, to Maxim.
“You all can’t see it, but I think I can,” she stood up, and Sam was surprised that she was taller than everyone else. Even Maxim, who loomed and stretched like the shadow of a boulder. Sam’s chest tightened when she turned in his direction. She stood in front of him, a small smile blooming on her face. Sam tried to hide his fear, but the Scavenger disregarded his bravery and instead stretched her long fingers to touch his head. Sam felt like he’d been pulled into an ice bath. The chill spread all over him, almost choking him. But it didn’t last. He blinked, and he was back in the warm cavern, staring at the curious eyes of the other elders.
“Appraisal skill?” Naruth asked, and Vali nodded.
“What did you see? What is he worth?” Hendal asked, her eyes wild with curiosity. Sam was confused. He couldn’t understand what was happening or what she’d done. He waited, hoping she’d explain.
“Not much right now, but he has high potential,” Vali said.
“Not worth the risk,” Levi said. “Not even to let the D’Araks come into the cavern.”
“I agree,” Vali said. “But his potential is unnaturally strong. Still, we work with what we have today, not the future. You’d be a powerful ally someday, Samuel Ayer, but for now, you are of no use to us.”
“How did you do that?” Samuel asked. He could still recall the tingles vividly. Whatever she had done, it was subtle. It felt like nothing. And yet, he’d felt it strongly within himself.
“I used my quadrant skill,” Vali said. “I have the Profession Quadrant. Most Scavengers can only use one quadrant. Many spend years trying to get a quadrant because we are generally a lesser race; the System of Ascension works differently for us.”
“It is the same for humans, Vali,” Maxim said. He sounded like they’d had the same conversation before. “The system gives only what you can take. It has nothing to do with race, child.”
Vali twitched visibly, but she said nothing. She only walked back to where she sat. Naruth looked amused, and Levi was already standing to leave. Hendal walked over to stand before Sam. She had an unconventional beauty, one streaked with mischief.
“You will come with me, outworlder.” And then she walked away, falling behind Behel. Sam rushed after her. His new clothes felt too loose, making him seem like he was struggling through a sea of fabrics.
They split off from the other Elders, taking a rough tunnel Hendal lit up with a flick of her hand. A soft light glowed in her hand, almost as if it had come on command. They walked in silence for a while. Sam spent the time putting the routes to memory.
“What was your world like?” Hendal asked, standing before a wall with a deeply etched mark. One of the marks on the Scavenger’s arm lit up when she touched the wall, and a door-sized portion of it slid away. The inside was warm, lit by a similar light as the one the Elder had conjured. Sam stared at the simple room. It was warm, furnished like Veena’s, except for the warm mat in the middle of the room. She walked to it, settling down in a meditation pose. She gestured for Sam to join her.
Sam nodded, lowering himself. The walls were fascinating. They had murals, each catching light and illuminating colors. He was captivated.
“Samuel Ayer,” Hendal called, snapping him back to the present. “Your home, what was it like?”
“Boring,” Samuel said. Hendal rolled her eyes. “Tall buildings of glass, cars—ah, I mean constructs used for traveling. Movies. Capitalism. The normal elements in a self-eating world. Nothing extraordinary.”
“You didn’t like it,” Hendal said, catching Sam’s tone. He shrugged. He waited for the pain from his arms but welcomed the absence.
“There was nothing to like. But there weren’t wolves… or D’Araks trying to eat my head off.”
“You were out on the wrong night,” Hendal said. “Everyone knows to be hidden on the Night of Turning.” She sighed, her face carrying one of pity. “First, I want to know why you haven’t explored your system dashboard yet.”
Sam stared at her blankly. He vaguely remembered seeing a screen display before he passed out, but he didn’t know what it was. And it hadn’t appeared since then. Veena had said something about the system too, and so did the old Scavenger that visited him.
“Only a few people in Saheruta have not been integrated into the System of Ascension. And you are unique. There is also the fact that you were able to survive your encounter with the D’Araks. Not many can boast of that feat, especially during the Night of Turning. So, tell me, why haven’t you explored the system?”
“I don’t know what it is,” Sam said, opting for honesty. Hendal nodded. “Many of us don’t either, but we know the basics. It is an innate part of you, like a memory you recall.”
Sam nodded, trying to figure out how to phrase the thought that would activate the system. In the end, he figured being straightforward was better. He was surprised at how easy it came when he simply thought .
[System of Ascension…analyzing]
[Legacy function detected!]
Name: Samuel Ayer [analyzing legacy data]
Age: 27
Species: Human
[Racial deviation detected!]
Level: 7
[Access attribute log?]
Y/N
, Sam thought. Racial deviation sounded like something bad, but that wasn’t the only thing strange about the display. It looked like some sort of game stat display window. He looked from the square display in front of him to Hendal. She was smiling. Sam considered for a moment that she was the one doing it. Perhaps they could use magic and this was some kind of illusion?
“You can see it already?” Hendal asked, excitement on her face. Sam nodded. “What are your attributes like?”
“Attributes?” Sam asked. He read through the display again and found the prompt to get a look at his attributes and accepted it. He flinched away as more information spilled out. The window expanded, showing more information and icons. Some dull, and non-functional.
“It is just like a video game,” Sam said, staring closely at it.
[Core attributes log]
VIT — 7
FOR — 5
WILL — 8
[Unique Attributes log]
WIS — 4
INT — 6
DEX — 9
STR — 6
END — 8
CTY — 5
PER — 6
CHA — 3
[Legacy trait detected. Adjusting points to reflect basic legacy core attribute]
VIT — +10
FOR — +5
WILL — +5
[Legacy trait detected. Adjusting points to reflect basic legacy unique attribute]
PER — +5
CTY — +5
CHA — +5
[Reformation effect. Analyzing…]
STR — +5
END — +5
“What’s a video game?” Hendal asked, pulling Sam from the column of attributes and stat points. He thought of a way to explain the wealth of video games back on Earth to her, but he couldn’t find the words. Instead, he turned her attention back to the stats he’d uncovered. Most of it was self-explanatory, but he couldn’t see why they were split into two types of attributes.
“What is the difference between the unique attributes and core attributes? This is a lot of stats, but they all seem like the required elements to survive.”
“Yes,” Hendal said, her hands folded in front of her. Sam waited for her to continue, and she did after giving him an amused smile. “Unique attributes have to do with quadrants which are split four ways. You are not ready for a lesson on the system’s quadrants yet. For now, you have to build on your attributes and understand where you excel and fail.”
Sam nodded, staring at the long array of stats. With traditional RPGs, there was only one way to get stronger and build his stats: grinding. That meant putting himself in danger. He didn’t like the thought of that. Not after what he went through with the D’Araks. Yet, that seemed to be the new reality. Sam sighed. He’d hoped things would get better in this new world, but he could only see a bleak future ahead. Somehow, perhaps due to his luck, he’d end up dead.
