The science is unclear on whether remnants are in fact directly related to the System, yet there is no evidence such a phenomenon existed prior to its arrival. Remnants are generally understood to be the physical manifestation of a concept, though this has never been conclusively proven.

  What is known about remnants is that they are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to destroy permanently. They naturally draw on ambient mana to regenerate themselves at all times and may actually be a form of long-term conjuration. The scale of remnants is incredibly variable, from some which are merely a single wall or ancient sign, up to the enormous skyscraper at the heart of the quarantine zone that is known as the Remnant.

  - Rufus Veres, Level 29 Prolix Historian, Oddities of the System

  Once my mental ears had stopped ringing, I grinned. I can use those mods as soon as I… finish my Level-up, my face burning red as I remembered what that entailed exactly. Shaking my head, I looked at a visibly confused Elin.

  

  She shook her head once.

  

  Surprisingly, Elin had very few injuries despite her lower Level. Maybe she was halfway decent with that shield of hers. It took a few minutes thanks to my inexperience – and she was happy to correct me whenever I did something wrong. She sat down to rest as I went back to leaning against the wall, my eyes looking into the dark tunnel. This cave seemed to be like the spider tunnel in the Tutorial, completely lacking in any kind of illumination.

  

  I waited a few moments, then there was a muted flash of light, so fast that I wasn’t sure at first I’d actually seen something. I looked, and there was a System chest sitting in the middle of the tunnel. Zaire had a happy smile on his face as he opened it, the dim illumination from the Light Cantrips catching his golden eyes and making them glow vibrantly, contrasting against his grey skin and the dark shadows behind him.

  His reward turned out to be an unexciting armor mod, but he was luckier with the weapon mod from Mason.

   he explained excitedly.

  Raylan Leveled next, finding a shortsword in his System chest.

   I asked curiously.

  He drew the blade experimentally and slashed the air with it a few times, the blade flickering in the dim light.

   he confirmed, He looked at me and grinned.

  I accepted the sheathed sword hesitantly, not sure what I was going to do with it. I ended up taking the small utility knife off of my belt and storing that away, then putting the sheath on in its place. I used a short piece of rope to strap the bottom of the sheath to my thigh, hoping that it would prevent the blade from clanking around.

   I asked, both out of curiosity and a desire to put off Leveling in front of my teammates as long as possible.

  

   Raylan added,

  Zaire’s Skill was something I remembered hearing that all Mages needed. It would gradually let them learn more modifier runes as System Spell components as it Leveled up. That would let Zaire cast Wall incredibly fast, so he could switch between Earth Spike and Earth Wall without delay.

  I sighed mentally, thinking about my own coming Level, then switched places with him. “PAST, show me any options related to Leveling up rewards.”

  [Of course Citizen, here you go!]

  System Leveling Settings

  User: Ashley Zimmerman

  Reward Intensity: low | medium | high

  Level Up Reward (locked): pleasure | adrenaline | ennui | anger | schadenfreude | tickling…

  The list of possible rewards just kept going. I don’t even know what some of those words mean, but come on, tickling? Really? At least I can turn the intensity down…

  “PAST, set reward intensity to low, then Level up and place my free point in Absorption.”

  I knew I was low on mana and decided it was time to start working on my mana recovery. The experience was significantly less intense than before, and I sighed in relief as I didn’t embarrass myself horribly in front of my teammates. Inspect.

  I winced as I saw that I was down over thirty mana, especially since my bandolier was currently empty. I stood, stretched, and walked the few steps over to where my System chest had just appeared. Opening it eagerly, I found… a pair of boots. Shit! Where were you in the Tutorial when I needed you, you… fucking boots!

  Like the rest of my System-reward armor, the boots were different from what I was used to. They were black, large and round in the front, with thick rubbery soles and laces running all the way up to the top. I pulled them out of the chest, surprised at the weight. Curious, I Identified them, then immediately scolded myself for wasting mana.

  Item: Steel-Toed Combat Boots with Integrated Knife Sheath

  Level: 4

  Type: Medium-Light

  Condition: Excellent

  Well, at least they have an awesome name. And a place to stash a backup backup weapon. I sat, removed my worn leather boots, and slipped into my new combat boots. They reached most of the way up my calf, hugging my leg, and I had to temporarily remove my greaves to get them on. It took me a while to get them laced up tight, I’d seen shoes with laces but never owned a pair myself. Tying the ends of the strings into an elaborate knot, I replaced my greaves, which unfortunately covered up the knife sheath on the right boot. Oh well. I don’t have a knife the right size for it anyway.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Then, to the surprise and amusement of my teammates, I momentarily stored my armor, leaving me in my jeans and t-shirt with bare feet. I slipped my old boots on, then summoned my armor back. Finally, I don’t have to worry about not having boots when I dismiss my armor!

  I stood, finding my new boots surprisingly comfortable. Usually I needed to wear shoes for a while before they seemed to fit right, but these felt perfect right away. I could tell that the textured rubber bottoms were giving me an excellent grip on the rocky floor and I smiled. Huh, maybe these aren’t a bad reward after all, especially since I have three new mods to use too!

  I concentrated, starting to pull the mods from my Inventory, when Raylan’s voice interrupted me.

  

  Everyone froze, holding our breaths and listening. Footsteps – heavy footsteps – and they were getting louder.

  

  We moved quickly into our places, Raylan the furthest ahead by a couple feet and on the left side, myself in the right-front, with Zaire and Elin behind us. I peered into the dark ahead, looking for any sign of movement. There! I spotted a flickering light ahead, seeming to come out of a side tunnel to our left further down.

   I barked over the Comms as Elin started to argue.

   Raylan confirmed. I realized that Zaire and Elin might not be able to see that themselves just yet, due to their lower Perception.

  After an agonizingly long few moments, the creatures finally stepped out of the connecting tunnel and into view, the light brightening noticeably as they did. They were big, hulking creatures whose heads nearly reached the ceiling, explaining those broken rocks I’d noticed earlier. They weren’t quite as wide as Vale proportionately, but they were much, much taller. I could see the green of their skin in the light of the torches they were carrying.

   I started, but he cut me off.

   he replied.

  There were three of them, each carrying a torch in one hand and an ugly weapon – two with clubs, one with an ax – in the other. They wore heavy furs over their bodies, leaving their arms, lower legs, and heads exposed. My mind raced, formulating a plan.

  

  I knelt, checking the switches on my gun by feel. Safety off. Full choke. Infusion – oh yeah, that’s gone since I stored and retrieved the weapon. Never mind.

  I placed the red dot of my sight directly over the face of the orc on the right. As they came closer and closer without reacting, I was amazed they didn’t see us. Their features were heavy, brutish, with bulky jaws, heavy brows, and thick dark hair. Compared to the goblins and hobgoblin I’d fought in the Tutorial, however, they were far more human-like. Barely breathing, I held my fire until they were about twenty yards away.

  Suddenly, one of them stopped, sniffing at the air, and I fired instantly, the report of my gun echoing brutally off of the narrow walls. My shot tore through my target’s barrier and shredded most of its face in a spray of red. Elin’s Pain Bolt clipped her target, the one that just had stopped. I saw its barrier flare but the beast let out a deafening roar and charged, right into another Spell. The second hit punched through what was left of its barrier, and it shrieked in agony, then Raylan was on it, daggers flashing.

  I rose and advanced behind him, my target now on its knees clutching at its face. The final one had – dead gods, that’s brutal! Zaire had hit it with an Earth Spike, but instead of the spike thrusting up from the ground and taking it through a leg, he’d cast it at the ceiling. The thick stone spike had driven down, just missing the orc’s head, through its collarbone and deep into its torso. As I watched in horrified fascination, blood sprayed out of its mouth as it tried to breathe, then its limp body slowly slid to the ground. The exposed spike remained, now dripping red with blood.

  

  It was over quickly. I watched in fascination as their weapons shimmered and disappeared, just like the mirror’s had. Why are they… oh! They must be Class weapons! But, I was able to use the hob’s axe against it… I’d better ask Mason about this once we get out of here.

  We gathered the torches from the floor, ignoring the filthy fur armor. They were a bit brighter than Light, and didn’t need any mana to work. Raylan and Elin each took one, though the red-haired Healer had to store her shield to carry it. I was just about to direct us forward when I remembered the mods in my Inventory. Signaling everyone to wait, I retrieved them.

  I started with the white one, which had a piece of tape on it marking it as an armor mod. I attuned and then Inspected it.

  Item: Armor Modification – Attuned

  Level: 4

  Effect: Safe & Stylish – extends protection from armor components slightly in each direction, reducing gaps in your defenses.

  Type: Passive

  I don’t understand the name, but it’s gotta be better than my pathetic thermal regulation mod. I held it to my armor and a notification appeared.

  Armor modification slots full! To proceed, please remove a mod or select a mod to replace:

  Fast Charge

  Thermal Regulation

  Kinetic Dispersion

  Self-Repair

  Reminder: replacing a mod without removing it will destroy the old mod!

  I wasn’t going to miss the thermal regulation mod, and I couldn’t sell it anyway since it was a dreg, but I was still curious.

  “PAST, what does it take to remove a mod?”

  [Removing a modification normally consumes 75% of your total mana pool, but thanks to your Aspect of Versatility, it would take a mere 60%! What a deal!]

  “I want to replace the thermal regulation mod.”

  [Of course, Gunner!]

  The mod melted into my armor a moment later. 75% of my total mana? That would take me like an hour and a half to recover! Even 60% would be over an hour at my current Absorption. Guess I won’t be doing that unless I’m somewhere safe. Now, what in the Wastes does this mod do?

  I tried feeling around the edges of my armor, but nothing seemed different.

  

  I read them the description of the mod, and Raylan quickly jumped in.

   He reached out and traced his finger around the edge of my vambrace, but about an inch away. he poked a finger just past the edge of my vambrace,

  I thanked him for the explanation, feeling much happier about this mod. It might not sound like a lot, but considering my patchwork armor covered a lot less than full plate, every little bit should help. All right, time for the two omnimods!

  I've split Az's Status into two panels which I'm hoping makes it better for viewing on mobile, but please let me know how it looks for you.

  And we have another fun shoutout today, I read the first four or five chapters of this story and it's one big blast of apocalyptic action so far!