Cormac said, “I can answer one of those questions confidently. The others I’ll have to guess about.” He turned and started walking towards the estate village again. “Skills are the most important thing about your class. Everyone gets a new skill every six levels. You usually have three choices, but some skills are mandatory so you will only have one choice.”

  Luke nodded along and pulled up his stat screen to reference. It looked like he could choose two skills, not one. He wondered if that was just a starting bonus or if he got two skills every time instead of most people’s single skill. The platinum class might give him advantages others didn’t get.

  “The way you pick a skill is the same way you do anything with your system. You simply will it so. It requires a bit of focus, so a passing thought won’t trigger anything, but a few moments of focused thought should do it.”

  He squinted his eyes and focused hard on the idea that he wanted to pick his skills. He had just enough time to wonder if he was doing it wrong before a new blue screen popped up.

  The underlined words of his choices made him think that they were hyperlinks. Maybe that was the system’s way of telling him there was more to know. He mentally clicked on the first one on the list.

  Machine Bond - Generates a soul connection to a machine and helps pilots and operators understand and use their war machine better. The deeper the bond, the more instinctual the control of all machine systems. A training skill for those new to the War Machine class.

  That’s a nice skill. He would like to be able to instinctually control his mech. Maybe fire off the miniguns with a thought. But probably not a skill he would pick right now. He had built his current set of armor himself, and the Adept Agility runes were more than enough to control it for now. He moved on to the next skill.

  Stand Tall - The foundational skill for pilots of large machines. Helps ignore square cube law and distorts physics around bonded war machines.

  Luke’s eyes widened. He knew what the square cube law was. It was about how bigger things had exponentially more stresses from gravity. A giant mech was impossible on Earth because even titanium would buckle under the forces involved. Not here, not with this skill. Fighting Kaiju with Jagers or Gundams was possible now. Did Kalibutan even have Kaiju? The way Kruro had talked about titans made him think of large monsters, maybe there were truly enormous ones out there.

  Still, he wasn’t going to make a mech that big anytime soon. That was two skills he didn’t really need right now, hopefully the next two would be better.

  Repair Craft - A two-part pilot repair skill. Must be used first when the bonded machine is undamaged, then again to restore back to that saved state. Max time between skill uses is 1.3x hours where x is the skill level.

  This. This was an awesome skill that would be useful right away. It was basically an instant healing skill for his power armor. He would just have to activate the skill before he charged into combat and he would be good to go. It shot up to the top of his list.

  He grimaced slightly. The name mentioned a bonded machine. He would have to take Machine Bond too if he wanted this one.

  Frictionless Slide - A movement skill to allow your bonded machine to quickly slide across 2.1x yards of ground where x is the skill level. Composition of ground is irrelevant.

  Luke grit his teeth. He wanted this skill too. It was a perfect movement skill, great for attacks or dodges. The part about the composition of the ground being irrelevant meant that he could do all sorts of insane shit. Instantly move across muddy ground, or maybe even walk on water. The possibilities were endless.

  After a few minutes of thought he realized there was only one responsible choice. He needed a healing skill so he could stay alive long enough to get good at fighting. That meant Machine Bond and Repair Craft. He would just have to hope that Frictionless Slide would pop up again.

  His mind made up, Luke selected the skills and watched them pop up on his stat screen.

  As soon as the skill names popped up, Luke activated Machine Bond. He felt the connection settle into his mech. At first, Luke didn’t feel any different, he continued to walk through the forest behind Cormac with the same plodding steps. Over time, he began to feel closer to his power armor, like it was shrinking and he was growing. He developed a proprioception for the metal and chitin around him, he felt like he knew exactly where everything was in relation to the others.

  The mana core on his backplate blossomed in his awareness. He could tell that it was three fourths full, and was slowly being used up. If he brought it below ten percent, it would take one and a half days to recharge from the ambient mana. If he used it up, it would shatter.

  He also became aware of all the dents and cuts all over his armor. Almost every surface had scrapes and damage. There were three long cuts on his back, severely compromising its integrity. If he hadn’t inscribed on the inside of his armor, the runes powering it would have been cut for sure. As it was, it was a wonder he was still standing and moving. He would have to do a real overhaul to get it back into fighting shape.

  Testing out Repair Craft could wait until after he had his mech working. He didn’t want to damage it too badly now, only to discover the limits of the repair skill wouldn’t let it get moving again. Instead, he turned to Cormac.

  “Ok, I made my skill choice. It's level 1. Do you level up skills with practice or killing monsters, or?”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “It's a mix. You level up a skill with practice, understanding, and an appropriately sized mana core. Skills are also tied to leveling up. If you don’t advance your skills, you won’t be able to level up your class.”

  “How does that work?”

  Cormac waffled his hands back and forth. “That’s a complicated subject. I’ll have to find a book for you to read. I assume your little Earth device can read Thubanian?”

  “Yeah, my cell phone can translate books, no problem.” Luke said. “Ok, so if leveling up is too complicated, let me ask you a simpler question. Why do my stats have numbers in parentheses next to them? Like, my strength is two, but it’s got a three in parenthesis next to it.”

  “Parentheses are human symbols, the System of the World was built with Kalibutan peoples in mind. Whatever you are seeing right now, it has been changed to be more understandable for humans. My system leaf likely looks very different from yours.” He held up a finger. “However, I can make an educated guess. It is likely a buff. A temporary magic that makes you stronger. The strength will disappear when your buff fades.”

  “Ok, I guess that makes sense. Where did the buff come from? I had it before I picked my skills and none of them talk about making me stronger or see better.”

  “I do not know. I suspect it is a temporary gift from the system that came with your class. Perhaps a bonus for those that earn the class during a real war.”

  “Oh, ok,” Luke said. He had been hoping to keep his buff long term.

  “Incidentally, a strength score of two is pitifully low. Average beginning stats start at six across the leaf,” Cormac said with a small smile.

  Luke smiled right back at him, even though the orc couldn’t see his face through the visor. His physical stats may be low even with the buff, but his mental stats were all above the average. And they would only get higher as he leveled up.

  “Alright, whatever. How about Machine Soul? It’s in my resources section. What does that mean?”

  “I’ve never heard of Machine Soul, but I suspect it is a spiritual resource. Some classes like Quintessence Monks have an extra resource relating to intangible things. Whatever your resource does, it has something to do with the soul.”

  Luke rolled his eyes. “So you are saying a resource with soul in the name has something to do with souls. Brilliant.” He paused when he had a thought. “Machines are somewhat rare in this world, right? Why did the system create a class made for giant robots?”

  “I doubt the System of the World wanted you to build giant robots with your class. I have heard of hover carts with spell cannons on them, that is likely what the class supported.”

  Luke wasn’t so sure. The skill Stand Tall was only useful for extra huge machines, and Frictionless Slide would be useless in a hover cart. Regardless, he didn’t press the issue.

  A single Hive Wolf attacked them on the way. It ambushed them from behind one of the enormous trees as they plodded along the pathway. Bumblebee jumped to intercept the monster, cutting off its rear leg with the flame sword. It landed on three legs and still tried to bite him. Bumblebee yelled in rage and bisected its skull, killing it instantly. He swung again and again as he roared. Sandwich put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

  They weren’t attacked again.

  Finally, the estate village appeared. It felt like it took forever, the sun was still high in the sky. Luke was exhausted, it had to be nighttime on Earth. Sandwich and Bumblebee were tired and injured. Cormac looked the worst off of all of them, practically shuffling along. Luke had looped his arm around him to support him and help keep him going. All four of them were dragging as they walked through the outer walls.

  A pair of dwarf women saw Cormac as he walked in and ran up to him. They said something that Luke didn’t catch, his cell wasn’t set to translate dwarvish. One of them ran off and the other took his hand and started leading him towards the city center. By the time the humans turned off towards Kruro’s shop, a pair of young orcs arrived with a stretcher. Cormac tried to tell them he could walk, but they wouldn’t listen to him.

  As they carried him off, Cormac said in English, “Luke of Machines, I entrust the fields to you for the next few days while I heal. I will send word to the runewright with your tasks.”

  The responsibility hit Luke like a bag of bricks. This was exactly what he had requested happen, but he hadn’t thought it through enough. All of the monsters outside the estate village were now his responsibility. He needed to build suits, hire people, and kill monsters. He didn’t even know what kind of monsters were out there, let alone which ones were valuable and which ones needed to die.

  Luke turned to Sandwich. He was going to need the man’s help with everything. In fact, Sandwich should probably be in charge. He had the leadership experience and knowledge needed. Both of them had their faceplates up now and the expression on Sandwich’s face made Luke hold his tongue. The man was clearly still mourning the loss of his friends and teammates.

  Together, the three of them plodded towards the runewright workshop. Kruro had been worried about their long absence, but was still shocked when she heard three people had died and Cormac was severely injured. The humans sat down in the back of the workshop and climbed out of their power armor.

  Sandwich was hurt worse than he let on. He had bled through the bandages Bumblebee gave him. He stumbled as he climbed out of the mech and sat down heavily.

  Luke hopped out of his mech to go help him. Then he fell on his face. He had felt a wave of dizziness and weakness wash over him. The room was dimmer, quieter now. He checked himself for fresh injuries, but there was only extensive bruising from when the spider hit him. Those injuries hurt worse than before, but they weren’t new.

  He slowly stood back up. It was like he had lost his class. That irrational fear made him pull up his stat screen. He let out a sigh of relief. He still had a stat screen, he was still a War Machine. His numbers were down across the board. The buff was gone.

  It must be part of his class. When he was in his mech, he had buffs. When he climbed out, he was back to normal, which felt really shitty in comparison. He was tempted to get back into his armor. He wasn’t supposed to take it back to Earth, but maybe he could, just this once. Besides, with Cormac out of commission, who was going to take them to and from the portal?

  That question was answered a few minutes later by the arrival of someone new at the Runewright’s workshop. It was the young orc from earlier, Cormac’s grandson. Just like his grandfather, he stopped at the doorway and spoke from the entrance.

  “Greetings Kruro, Runewright. I am here to escort the humans back to their world. Are they ready to travel?”

  “Ah, little Eamon, so good to see you. It’s been too long,” Kruro said and slithered over to the door.

  She held out her arms for a hug but he shifted away. Like a boy squirming out of the way of his aunt’s kisses. And just like that boy, Eamon failed to escape the affection. Kruro gave him a strong hug and a hiss in his ear.

  When she was done she said, “The humans are not ready to travel. The blond haired one is heavily injured. You will have to carry him or authorize the expenditure of a healing potion.”

  Eamon turned and pointed at Luke. “Ask him for expenditures. I am not in charge of the culling efforts. My grandfather has chosen to give this human that authority for the next few days.”

  Sandwich spoke up. “I’m fine. I don’t need any magic healing.”

  Luke hesitated. Sandwich definitely needed a potion, but they were expensive. Healing potions were going for at least 60k back home. But that might not be true here.

  “How much money are we talking about here?” Luke asked.

  Kruro waited for his cell phone to translate into orcish before she replied in the same language. “It has a set rate of eighteen gold.” When she saw the blank look on Luke’s face, she continued. “That’s about two weeks of my wages.”

  Luke nodded. Expensive here too, but not as expensive. “Yeah, give him the potion.” He turned to Sandwich and said, “I know you think you don’t need it, but you are bleeding heavily. You might not make it to a hospital.”

  Sandwich shook his head to say he didn’t need it again, but his pale face belied that gesture. Kruro fetched a small glass potion bottle from her upper shelves and handed it over to Sandwich.

  The blond haired man grimaced and then downed the bottle. They all stood there for a bit, waiting for the magic to take effect. Color slowly returned to his face, and he stood up. He still winced as he did, apparently the healing wasn’t done yet.

  “Come then. I will escort you to the portal and then pick you up in the morning. After that you are on your own,” Eamon said and spun on his heel.

  The three humans scrambled to catch up with him. Luke grabbed his backpack with his tools and running leg. He didn’t have time to put it on before they were down the street and out of the village.

  Luke noticed that they were moving faster than expected and paid closer attention. The landscape was stretching and shrinking every time Eamon took a step. This was his magic power, some sort of dimensional warping. It certainly made travel faster and easier.

  A giant beetle tried to attack them when they were almost at their destination. Eamon gestured and the monster’s lunge suddenly turned ninety degrees. By the time the monster reorientated itself, they were hundreds of feet away and gaining.

  Eamon left them at the shrines and turned to go. He stopped himself before he got too far. He turned and said.

  “Luke of Runes. My grandfather told me you saved his life. Thank you. Please be worthy of his trust.”

  “I will do my best, you can count on me.” Luke said solemnly. He noticed that Eamon had said Luke of Runes when Cormac started calling him Luke of Machines after he got his class. Was the fact that he had a class a secret? He would have to ask the next time he saw the grandfather.

  Eamon turned and speed walked away.

  The three humans walked up the stone steps to the plateau in silence. Luke had to force himself not to groan in pain. That single hit from the queen spider had really done him in. He was going to have ugly bruises in the morning.

  Shortly after they walked through the portal together, Sandwich pulled Luke aside.

  “Hey, Skywalker. I wanted to say thanks for everything. I mean it. You saved my life twice over. I owe you more than I can say. That’s why I wanted to give you a head’s up about what’s going to happen next.” Sandwich paused for a moment and then said, “I gotta give Elwood Services a full report. I’ll tell them it was my fault, make sure their families get the death benefits, all that. After that, well. I... I’m not coming back after this.”

  “Are you sure? You are a great leader, you kept fighting even after all seemed lost. We need an experienced leader like you, now more than ever,” Luke said.

  “I’m sure. I’m still not afraid, so I know I won’t change my mind with more courage or whatever. This is it for me.”

  “Damn,” Luke said. Sandwich had been integral to his plan. He turned to Bumblebee and raised his eyebrow.

  Bumblebee nodded. “I’m still in. The pay is good and I want to get revenge on some monsters. Well, I think I’m still in. Like Sandwich said, we don’t have our fear back yet. That might change tomorrow when it all comes rushing back. I might be traumatized then or whatever.”

  Luke grimaced. He might have a few new nightmares himself. They exchanged phone numbers and promised to let Luke know if something changed for either of them.

  On the drive home in the dark, Luke started working through all the people he knew and who he might be able to bring in as a monster hunter. He had to trust them enough to fight alongside them, but also be willing to risk their lives on an alien planet. It narrowed the field considerably.