Chapter 4: First Day

  Killian found himself standing in a square at the center of a vast city. Stunned by the sudden change in scenery, he spun in place taking it all in. What he saw amazed him.

  His eyes were greeted by a city of white. White buildings, white streets, white walls — the city was a blinding expanse of white. Everywhere he looked, there wasn’t a single speck of color except for four distant towers, each standing in the four cardinal points. He took special notice of the southern tower. The tallest of them all, the southern tower, gleamed as the light reflected off its stained glass. From where he was, he couldn’t make out more details.

  A sudden shove from behind sent him stumbling forward. Spinning, ready for a fight, Killian was taken aback when he saw a woman standing there. No taller than 5’3, possessing silken blue hair, she crossed her arms impatiently.

  Before Killian could fully gather his thoughts, she snapped, “Are you just going to stand there like an idiot?”

  Still confused, Killian managed a weak, “What?”

  Rolling her eyes, she asked, “Did you check your quest log yet?”

  Killian even more confused than earlier said “Quest log? I just got here.”

  “No shit, you’re still in the summoning square.” She sighed heavily. Seeing he still didn’t understand she continued “That maniac must have skipped explaining how the actual tutorial works. Must have left a bad impression. Anyway, we’re all in the same boat so I’ll tell you where to go, every person in this tutorial is supposed to head to that tower,” she pointed southward. “Don’t ask me why. No one there really knows yet.”

  “If we’re all supposed to head over there, why are you still hanging around the square?” Killian asked.

  “None. Of. Your. Concern.” Emphasizing each word, she turned on her heels and stalked off to the east.

  ‘Moody, isn’t she? Killian thought. He shifted to wondering how to access his quest log, and to his surprise, simply thinking about it caused a translucent screen to appear before him.

  Quest: Dedication’s Cathedral

  Quest Type: Discovery

  Difficulty: Low

  Rewards: +200 XP, 20 Silver

  Quest Description:

  Summoned to a new realm, lacking understanding of the world around, seek answers in dedication.

  Quest Objectives:

  Go to Dedication’s Cathedral and learn about the specifics of this tutorial.

  Reading over it, the quest sounded simple enough. All he had to do was go to the tower.

  He started to walk through the city, he headed straight to the Cathedral. As he walked he noticed a pattern — as one moved away from the center of the city the houses and buildings shrunk in size. By the time he was in the outskirts, they were little more than shacks.

  This worried him. People could get crazy when there was no one to monitor them, he could already imagine what would happen if there were more people than there were houses.

  Spotting a group of people gathered ahead, Killian quickened his pace to see what was happening. Before he could get close, three men blocked his path.

  “Hi there, we’re trying to streamline this whole quest process,” said the oldest looking one.

  “You see,” pointing to the “there are over two million of us, and if we don’t organize, this will take days to finish.”

  Killian glanced up at the sky, gauging the time. Judging it to be around noon, he saw their point. He had no desire to spend hours, trying to complete his quest on his own.

  “Sure, how can I help?” Killian asked.

  “Thank you. Finally, someone with some common sense.” The same man spoke again. “All we just have to know is your core’s rarity.”

  Killian hesitated, questioning if it would be wise to tell them that.

  Sensing his reluctance, the heavyset man to his left said, “The cathedral is organized by rarity. We’re just making sure you get to the right place.”

  It sounded reasonable on the surface, so Killian decided to play along. He tried accessing his core the same way he had with his quest log, but nothing happened. Running through all of the different possibilities he could think of, he eventually thought ‘Status’ — and a new window popped up.

  ‘Really is the us at the end that important’ Killian thought.

  Status

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Name: Killian Holt

  Race: Human (G-grade)

  Level: 0

  Titles: N/A

  Health Points (HP): 96/96

  Mana Points (MP): 57/57

  Stamina: 67/67

  Skills: N/A

  Fabula Core

  Myth: Echo of Unheard Futures (Common)

  Chapters: 0

  Innate Skills: N/A

  Manifestations: N/A

  Stats

  Strength: 10

  Agility: 7

  Endurance: 9

  Vitality: 10

  Toughness: 10

  Perception: 7

  Intelligence: 7

  Wisdom: 7

  Willpower: 6

  Free Points: 0

  His stats were decent, judging off his physical stats. Not outstanding, but not bad either. The name of his myth intrigued him. Could it be connected to the fire-based one he had rejected earlier?

  Thinking Killian was stalling, the fat man pressed, “ So, the rarity?”

  Killian knew common was, well, common. Deciding it was unremarkable enough not to attract attention, he told the truth.

  “It’s just common, nothing speci—”

  Before he could finish his words, the silent man to his right punched him hard in the stomach.

  Doubling over, gasping for breath, he heard laughter. “Good one, Basco. He shouldn’t have wasted our time.

  Killian struggled to stay upright; the punch much stronger than any he had taken before. Chuckling, the man who struck him, apparently Basco, told the other two to take his clothes.

  They took their time enjoying humiliating him. They stripped him of his clothes, kicking and punching him for good measure before leaving.

  Bruised and battered, Killian staggered toward one of the nearby buildings. He collapsed, legs giving way in a dark corner. Rage burning in his chest, he fumed. There had been no reason for them to beat and rob him.

  He closed his eyes for what seemed like just a moment, opening his eyes the next, to the light of late evening through from the window.

  ‘I must have a concussion or something,’ he realized.

  “You’re awake.”

  Killian’s head snapped toward the voice, his temples throbbing in protest.

  Jenny stood across the room.

  She looked… different. Where she normally wore athletic clothing, she now donned a knee-length cornflower blue dress, silver flowers embroidered along the hem. Her brown eyes, still familiar, now held an almost enchanting quality. Her rich blonde hair, was longer than he remembered, framed her face elegantly.

  She had always been attractive but now…

  She tossed him a pair of pants, and a ripped shirt, snickering. “Ever the gentleman, I see.” She gestured downward. “I know you’re excited to see me, but you might want to get dressed.”

  Embarrassed, Killian rushed to put on the clothes. He noticed she didn’t turn away.

  “How’d you find me?” he asked, once fully dressed.

  Jenny shrugged. “Oh that, let’s just say it’s a perk of my path.”

  He gestured to her in her entirety. “Is that another perk?”

  She smirked, “Something like that”

  Shaking his head, he moved on, “What’s with the group outside the tower?”

  “Oh, them? That’s simple, they’re some military types who got here first and claimed the place. Same deal with the other three towers.” She spoke.

  “Damn. Ok then can you at least explain this whole tutorial thing to me? I’m flying blind.”

  Jenny’s smile widened; she said “No”

  Killian scowled, anger leaking into his voice as he spoke, “What do you mean, no?”

  She leaned forward in her chair “Another easy question. No, I will not tell you about the tutorial or really any other part of the system. Everyone got different amounts of information. You just got unlucky in that department. No one’s going to hand over what little they do know, it’s their only advantage.”

  Killian was about to yell, before realizing the chair hadn’t been there at the start.

  Stuck on this Killian momentarily forgot about his anger.

  His frustration boiled over, pulling him from his thoughts. He was about to go on a rant before Jenny raised her hand cutting him off. “I will, however, help you—but I want a favor later.”

  Desperate for information, Killian nodded.

  Good,” Jenny said, “From what I gathered, the city gates lock at last light. We leave at dawn.”

  “Why are we leaving and are we coming back?” Killian asked.

  Laughing, her eyes sparkled as she did, she said “Silly, what do you think the best way to grow your myth is. Adventure. Plus, would you want to stay in a city ruled by a bunch of power-hungry people, some of which just beat you up?”

  “Fair point” Killian admitted

  “And to your second question,” she stared at Killian a moment before saying “it’s up to you. You’re weak. If you weren’t those guys wouldn’t have bothered you. If after a few days of my help you want to come back, go ahead.”

  “And all you want is a favor, right? Why?” Killian questioned.

  “Beggars can’t be choosers Killian,” said Jenny.

  “I’m not a beggar” Killian almost growled.

  “No? You look like one. But I can see why you are suspicious. We weren’t close before all this, so I’ll ask you to believe me when I say helping you does more for me than it does you.”

  Knowing Killian would ask more and more questions, Jenny raised her hand again, silencing him once more.

  “That’s enough for tonight, try and get some rest. Don’t worry about all the people outside I’ll protect you and the little soldier too” chuckling, she moved her chair to face the door.

  It took him a second to get her meaning but by the time he did tiredness was pulling at him. He scooted back to his corner now seeing a pillow there. He didn’t question it, just thankful for its appearance.

  Getting ready to sleep he peaked through the window seeing everyone migrate into buildings as the sun disappeared fully. He could see many with long faces, saddened by the lives they had just left behind. He also saw plenty that were happy preparing for the new opportunities the system would bring.

  Killian himself was giddy. He wasn’t in the best situation, but at least he found someone he knew. He tried to calm down to fall asleep, after all he had a big day tomorrow. It would be his first real day in his new reality.

  For a while the night was silent. Killian had just dosed off when the screams started. Startled, he jolted awake, getting a shooting pain in his head as the result. He was getting up to see what was going on when Jenny appeared over him. Still with a smile, she shook her head no, pushing him back down.

  He was going to get up anyway before he realized there wasn’t anything he could do. The cries of fear and pain, old and young, served as a stark reminder that this wasn’t the civilized world he was used to.

  The strong took and the weak… the weak had no choice in the matter. And right now he was still weak. His rushing to go help wouldn’t do anything. He tried to use that logic to ease the war going on in his mind. But ultimately it wasn’t logic that caused him not to go, it was his selfishness. He was scared of what he could lose. His life. Losing his life meant that he would lose his second chance at feeling alive. He felt a shamed of himself sure, but he guessed it would fade over time. He had one life. One chance and he was going to make the most out of it.

  Rolling over, he stuffed his head into his pillow covering his ears trying not to hear the growing intensity of the cries seemingly growing more diverse every second. Eventually the cries blended together. Killian tried to convince himself it was just another sound of the night instead of pleads for help. After some time he managed to gradually slip into the quiet of sleep.