January 14, 2019, Definitely noon, or thereabouts.

Finishing my conversation with Beth, I give her a quick, “Just need to check something,” then reach for my class. Where before I received a feeling of waiting, now I have a prompt appear before me.

“Your grandmother has fallen deathly ill, and is expected to die soon. Do you:

A) Try to seek any and all treatments, even resorting to unethical sources.

B) Go visit her in the hospital and just accept that whatever happens, happens.

C) Ignore her, it doesn’t matter to you.

D) Cozy up to her and remind her that she should update her will. You know, just in case.

E) Break into her house, find her will and make sure it’s all as it should be. Which of course means everything is going to you.

F) Recognize that this question has nothing to do with class selection, it’s merely an anomaly based on your past experiences, current situation and this adaptive interface.”

Uhm, is my interface trolling me?

I almost want to ignore the prompt, (which feels like it's from a certain post-apocalyptic game,) before thinking about it for a second. I realize that my answer would depend on which grandmother. If it was mami, (my papa's mother) then I would be willing to cross all sorts of lines to save her. If it was Grandma, I'd be more inclined to ignore her. Which I think is only fair, as she spent most of my life ignoring me first.

Choosing A, I wait for the system to continue.

“Forerunner Combat Class selection required."

Instead of more questions, my field of view transitions from the beach to an open training yard. There's even a green camo tent, standing to one side.

The yard is full of different versions of me. I count seven in total. There's a group of four closest to me, all with my plain brown hair and plain brown eyes. None of them truly seem like me though, all with different postures and equipment.

There are also little wooden signposts with descriptions floating next to each avatar.

The closest four all seem to be themed according to different roles.

The first is wearing heavy plate armour with a mesh between the joints. She's holding a shield as tall as she is, a thick helmet protecting her head.

In her free hand she wields a transparent barrier that is continually shifting. I see it flicker through several different colours and shapes as I watch her. Without warning, she suddenly slams the shield into the ground, bracing as if for a great impact.

Checking her description, it reads:

“Base Protector class unlocked: Protector.”

“Protector (Common): Protector’s stand between their allies and anything that comes for them.

Attributes: Minor increase to Strength and Constitution maximum. Resources: Huge increase to health and stamina. Minor increase to focus. Abilities: Protection. Short Range Inhibition. Low damage.”

Moving to the next avatar, I find her pacing back and forth, her eyes flickering about quickly as she moves. Her hair is cut short, like mine, just reaching her jawline on either side. She's clad in light leather armor, with several daggers sheathed along one side. As she paces, she draws twin pistols which she regularly fires off, sending bullets of different colours flying. Occasionally she leaps five meters in the air or dashes into the distance before reappearing in front of me.

“Base Skirmisher class unlocked: Skirmisher.”

“Skirmisher (Common): Focuses on mobility, with a lesser focus on damaging enemies that insist on following them.

Attributes: Minor increase to Agility and Endurance maximum. Resources: Huge increase to stamina, moderate increase to health and focus, minor increase to mana. Abilities: General. Increased mobility. Moderate damage in a small area.”

Moving to the third avatar, I find her hiding her face behind long messy hair. Her robes are plain and white. She's just standing there holding a staff with a glowing crystal on the end while muttering to herself. Occasionally I see her weave transparent barriers, throw an intangible web then even turn invisible for a moment before reappearing. All while continuing to mutter to herself.

“Base Controller class unlocked: Controller"

“Controller (Common): A controller uses any method at their disposal to inhibit their enemies. Is capable of causing minor damage to creatures and objects over a moderate sized area.

Attributes: Minor increase to Intellect and Spirit maximum. Resources: Huge increase to mana, moderate increase to focus, minor increase to stamina. Abilities: General. Inhibiting. Minor damage to moderate sized areas.”

The fourth and last avatar that's close to me is standing with an enormous two-handed greatsword balanced on her shoulder. She also has a large sniper rifle over her shoulder. I'm slightly disappointed to see it's not as large as Beth's. While I watch, she starts swinging her greatsword in a great overhead sweep before stepping back. Then she kneels down, bringing the rifle to bear before rocking back as if she's fired a powerful shot.

Watching more closely, I realize the first four avatars are all interacting with each other. When the Destroyer fires, the Protector brings their shield forward to block the shot. At the same time the Skirmisher leaps into the air while the Controller disappears.

“Base Destroyer class unlocked: Destroyer.”

“Destroyer (Common): A destroyer uses weapons or spells to cause incredible amounts of damage to a single target.

Attributes: Minor increase to Perception and Resolve maximum. Resources: Huge increase to focus, small increase to health, stamina and mana Abilities: General. Incredible single target damage.”

Huh, four different roles based on the different attributes. I'm surprised that focus is so heavily damage based. Apparently, there isn't a default healing class. I guess that makes Roberts even more important.

The remaining three avatars are all standing behind the controller, who fades away as I look past her.

The first avatar is standing only slightly behind her, much closer than the other two. Leaning against the fence that runs around the training ground, she's in short shorts and a bikini top the likes of which I've never owned.

She's holding twin orbs of fire which she's shaping into all kinds of lewd shapes as I watch. I feel myself blushing as I inspect her. I've never had the kind of casual confidence she's displaying, and I've never seen my plain brown hair look so good. She even winks at me as her class description fills my head. Wow. Not remotely right for me.

“Base Controller class unlocked: Pyromancer."

“Pyromancer (Uncommon):

Attributes: Moderate increase to Spirit maximum. Resources: Huge increase to mana and focus, minor increase to stamina. Abilities: Uncommon. Fire. Inhibition and moderate damage in moderate sized areas.”

Closing my eyes to clear away the pyromancer avatar, I turn to the furthest avatar next.

Sitting at the far end of the yard, she's standing with her hands in her pockets. Looking her over, I see that she looks just like me. She even has the same onesie, though hers is still intact. She's not holding any weapons or wielding any magic.

When I meet her eyes, I feel the weight of years press down on me through her sad smile. Nothing happens as I observe her, but I feel the details of her class swim past me.

“Base Controller class unlocked: Chronomancer."

“Chronomancer (Unique): By bending time to your will, you have demonstrated that even the most powerful force in the universe isn't beyond your control. A Chronomancer is capable of many feats considered impossible by lesser creatures.

Attributes: Minor increase to Intellect, Spirit, Perception and Resolve maximum. Resources: Large increase to focus and unique matrix resource facet, moderate increase to mana and health, minor increase to stamina. Abilities: Spatial and Temporal. Inhibition and repositioning in moderate sized areas.”

Turning away from the weathered eyes of the Chronomancer, I feel a shudder run through me.

Then I switch to the final avatar.

She's standing closer than the Chronomancer, but standing isn't the right word. She's floating above the ground, her toga flapping gently. Above her there's a stormcloud with purple lightning and blue fire flashing inside. As I watch, I see rain falling, which is swept away by the wind before it lands on her.

Unlike the others, when I look at her, she moves forward, approaching me with her hand extended. I can feel her inviting me to take her power. As I gaze at her, a fraction of her knowledge blossoms within me.

“Fire-Storm Elementalist (Rare): You have demonstrated the ability to wield the elements, with a special affinity for fire. A Fire-Storm Elementalist commands mighty storms to dominate and control their environments.

Attributes: Small increase to Intellect and Spirit maximum. Resources: Immense increase to mana, substantial increase to focus, minor increase to health and stamina. Abilities: Rare. Fire, Lightning, Wind and Water. Inhibition, repositioning and moderate damage in large areas.”

As the information about the class scrolls past my eyes, I take a second to review.

I know what I should choose, and I know what I want to choose, but first I copy all the descriptions to a page I label as classes in my notebook. Then I spend a few seconds to focus on each image to see if there’s any hidden information.

After a few points of focus have ticked down, I understand that the Chronomancer is the most powerful, but I'm not sure I can pay the price. Her eyes are still looking at me with that far too heavy gaze as I turn to inspect the Elementalist more closely.

The Fire-Storm Elementalist feels as though it matches the Chronomancer in power, but doesn't carry the same feeling of cost. Her eyes are calm pools with flashes of power barely visible in the corners. I see everything I want reflected in those eyes, the perfect storm cycling within.

Mentally I prepare myself, then state out loud "I choose Fire-Storm Elementalist."

“Congratulations Forerunner Pandora, you have selected your base class, Fire-Storm Elementalist."

Even as my system updates, I see her smile. She steps forward then I feel her clasp my hand. Then I watch the avatar fade away. I'm still holding my hand out when another notification appears.

"Updating status. Please return to your closest available Nexus to finalize your selection. Please note, you may update this choice at any time before you finalize at a Nexus."

"Updating status. You have studied and recorded the rune-key coordinates for the Nexus point, Forerunner Transition Point-South."

"Compatible matrix detected. Teleportation routine updating."

"Would you like to teleport to Forerunner Transition Point for 36.3 facet? Y/N?"

What. The. Hell.

Finalize selection? Why the hell do I have to be at a Nexus to gain my class? Does this mean I can unlock more classes before choosing? Couldn't they have mentioned all this earlier?

Putting my complaints to the side, I address the rest of the notifications.

Okay, I admit, teleporting would make it relatively easy to get my class. Plus, it'd be interesting and cool. But I'd rather not get stuck there by myself. Plus, last time I spent facet on a system message it had some painfully weird side effects. Since we're going back that way to investigate maybe I can convince Beth to stop by the Nexus while we're in the area.

Glancing over at Beth, I see she's eating some freshly re-roasted deer. Remembering that she wanted to go after lunch I move to grab my own portion.

As I'm starting to join her, something slams up against my leg. The bunny is sitting there innocently, like it didn't just headbutt me in the shin at Mach 5. It stares up at me with its cute little face, moving its head forward expectantly. I kneel down to pet it, but instead of closing its eyes while enjoying it, this time it reaches its paws out for the mug in my other hand. I kinda forgot about the mug.

Curious, I hand the mug over to the bunny. It doesn’t take the mug in its paws, but it does run its little paws over the surface several times.

It occurs to me as I watch the bunny, that I haven’t tried inspecting or identifying it with my focus. Wondering if anything will happen, I pull on my focus pool, shocked when it drops by twenty-one points in exchange for a single notification.

“Creature analyzed: Fire-hare. Gene seed D. A former prey creature that likes their meats and vegetables cooked. This is an evolved version of the common mana-hare, a creature commonly found in the forests of Akilo.

Name: (Vague concept of fire being hotter than everything else, does not translate to English)

Attributes: Physical; Low, Mobility; High, Magic; Low, Awareness; High.

Attacks: Flaming headbutt, Fire blast, Medium fire manipulation.

Defences: Low physical and magic resistance. Incredible fire resistance.

In addition to the notification, I receive a small information packet on mana hares in general. I realize that Smoulder, as I decide to call her, is fairly young as far as her species is concerned.

Analyzing Smoulder seems to have drawn her attention. She’s left the mug alone, instead shoving her head up against my hand for more scritches. Scritching her absently, I take the mug checking it over again wondering why she wanted to see it.

"Does this mean something to you?" I ask her as I read over the writing on the mug again, searching for some clue as to what it might say. If it's anything like the mugs in our kitchen, it's probably just silly sayings like, "Coffee, then conversation," or "I don't need therapy, I just need coffee." Heck, it might even be an old standby like, "World's greatest Dad."

I quickly note the characters in my journal before setting the mug down. Stretching, I glance around only to realize Roberts must have gone back inside. Josh and Beth are both eating quietly near the fire. When I join them, Josh offers me an empty plate with a knife and fork. Moving over to the roasting deer I rather clumsily attempt to carve some pieces of meat off, before Josh starts chuckling.

"May I?" he offers, his hand extended towards me. Handing over my plate, I watch as Josh only takes the knife and fork. Then he begins deftly cutting large slabs of meat from the deer, placing them on my plate.

Okay, first step, don't try to hold the fork, plate and knife all at the same time.

"Thanks Josh." I say, taking the fork and knife back from him.

Maybe the system is right about my cooking, I can't even cut a piece of meat.

Sitting down, I dig into the deer again. Unexpectedly, it tastes better than before. It's more tender, the smoke giving it a nice flavour. I take my time to enjoy the deer while listening to Josh and Beth talk about what we should do next.

"We need to stop splitting up," Josh declares while he finishes his last portion then stands for more. "If that dragon had come for us, I doubt Alexis or I could have done much to it. Besides, we can't afford to have anything happen to you or Dr Roberts either. The standing stones might be safe, and I stress might, but we can't stay there forever either."

"So, until we have a better base here, I think we should stick together." Josh is seeming tense by the end of his speech as he waits for Beth to respond.

But Beth seems to be giving it some serious thought.

I make it through several more bites before Beth chooses to respond.

"You're right. Knowing that there's something so dangerous which can fly up to us at a moment's notice changes things. I thought we'd be able to hear it coming to avoid it as we move through the forest but it's ability to fly changes that. Plus, you're right, we can't afford to lose any of us. You and Alexis are just as important as Dr Roberts and I. That said, I intend to investigate those ruins, so you'd best get ready to move friend."

Josh seems relieved that Beth agrees with him, so just nods in response.

"So, kid, are you ready to head back into the deep, dark forest to see what we can find?" Beth asks as she spears another morsel with her knife.

"Yeah, and I'll try to be better with the doctor. Dude just sets me on edge, ya know?" I reply meeting her eyes with the most conviction I've felt all morning.

"Hmmm." Beth hums in response, "thank you. As Josh said, we really should stick together. That will be easier if you're not going to have issues with the doctor."

"Not much of a choice, is there? I'd still rather not let him touch me though." I declare as I stand up then put my dishes to the side. I draw water mana forth then begin washing my face before turning my attention to my dishes. I'm almost done washing the dishes when I realize Beth is staring at me again.

"Uhm, did I miss a spot?" I wonder while rubbing at my face with my water mana again.

"I'm sorry Alexis. You didn't mention that you'd started working with water magic as well. That and the fact that it doesn't appear to cost you any mana surprised me, that's all," Beth explains as she stands up, finished with her lunch. I watch as her umbra plate fades from existence.

Well, I guess that's another way to deal with dishes.

"Are you able to create drinkable water with that ability?" Beth wonders as she picks up one of Josh's many woven bowls.

"Sure," I reply, "at least I think I can. Let me see."

Moving my still held water mana into the air, I start cycling the mana to draw water vapour from the air towards it. As I'm cycling it, I start using my wind mana to direct the wet ocean air towards my sphere while also directing the now dry air away. In under a minute I've gathered more water than I brought back from my earlier travel to the spring. I've also received a couple notifications.

"Skill increased: Mana Manipulation (23)."

"Skill increased: Water Manipulation (9 to 10)."

"Skill increased: Wind Manipulation (2)."

With the water gathered, I deposit half of it in the bowl Beth is holding. I've managed to gather too much water to fit in a single bowl, so I try something new. By activating my channels while maintaining a thin connection of pure mana, I direct the other half towards where Josh's other bowls are. When the water gets a little over two meters away from me, I can feel it starting to lose cohesion. Before it falls to splash on the ground, I step forward, bringing it back under control. Depositing the majority of the remaining water in a second bowl, I start experimenting with a small globule.

"Skill increased: Mana Manipulation (24)."

"Skill increased: Water Manipulation (11)."

While maintaining my channels I'm now able to control my water mana in a respectable two-meter sphere around me. Dissipating the water, I draw forth fire to find I can achieve a similar distance.

"Skill increased: Fire Manipulation (9)."

I'm tempted to try creating orbs of lightning and wind, but I'm not feeling confident enough with either to experiment with them in front of Beth.

Taking my fire orb, I move it around me while feeling how it interacts with the ambient mana. After some experimenting, I discover that by changing the shape of my boundaries I can achieve greater stability. I'm able to send the orb another half meter out before it starts losing cohesion.

"Skill increased: Mana Manipulation (25)."

"Skill increased: Fire Manipulation (10)."

"Skill increased: Runic Channelling (5)."

"If you're done playing with fire kid, I'd like to head out soon," Beth comments, interrupting my thoughts. Looking over, I see they've put out the fire, packed the roast deer away and are all standing there watching me.

"Amazing, truly amazing," Roberts remarks as I move to join them. "If we're able to bring this magic home can you imagine how we'll change the world? With a wave of her hand she can create water and summon fire. I can heal years-old aches and injuries in minutes. And we've been here less than a day. What will we be able to do after a week? A month?"

"That's what scares me," Josh answers. "Earth already has enough problems. I can't imagine bringing more ways to destroy will make things better."

"Walk and talk, people." Beth commands, interrupting Josh and Roberts. We all move to comply, but I'm left thinking about bringing magic to earth.

Is it even possible? What if magic is limited to our new world. I think that if magic were possible on earth one of the billions of inhabitants would have figured it out by now.

Either way, I know that we'd be greeted as crazy people if we didn't have our magic available when we started talking about it. At best, people would think we had a particularly vivid dream or something. I know that Sab would listen to me, but she wouldn't give me a centimeter if I couldn't prove it.

"You're correct of course. Unbridled magic would be a disaster. It would need to be regulated if possible. Perhaps this system we're interacting with does just that."

"Maybe, but this system is just another thing we don't understand. How do we know what consequences bringing a system like this to earth would bring?"

I stop listening as we head into the woods, but I can hear them continue as Beth and I lead the way. While Josh and Roberts are keeping each other distracted, I move up next to Beth to ask her about visiting the Forerunner circle.

Beth gives me a curious glance as I take my place beside her. Not keeping her in suspense, I dive right into it, "my class integration finished early. It indicates I need to return to a Nexus to finalize my selection. Which apparently means the standing stones." I'm not ready to take it yet, but I want to see.

"Really? Hmm. Mine says I still have another eighteen hours. It shouldn't be a problem though. We'll go by the stones after we visit the ruins. They're about a ten minute hike south of the ruins," Beth replies as she resumes scanning the forest.

"Thank you," I say as I drop back to let her lead. I stay ahead of Josh and Roberts who are still talking behind me. Now that I know we'll be going back, with Beth keeping watch, I decide I can spare attention to practice. I'm about to start when I realize Smoulder is tagging along at my side. She's not having any trouble keeping up with Beth's pace, but I still reach out to see if she'll let me pick her up. After a moments consideration she lets me gather her in my arms. She's astonishingly light, three kilos at most. Probably less. With the little ball of floof cradled in one arm, I start practicing my magic as I follow Beth further through the forest.

I decide to avoid lightning and fire, as they'd just draw attention, so instead start drawing wind mana forth. Of all the mana I've wielded so far wind feels the least connected to me. Smoulder looks at me askance when I accidentally blast her with a small gust. Observing my wind mana, I note that it also has the least trouble staying stable once I've drawn it outside my body.

With the mana floating in front of me I gather more air until I've created an orb nearly a meter in diameter. Even though I know where it is, it's only visible as a slight distortion in the air. Looking closely at the orb, I ponder if I could use wind magic to breathe underwater.

Yet another experiment for the list.

I keep running my wind mana through a familiar set of shapes then even use it in all three of my basic runes to get a feel for it. I'm glad I started with fire and water mana. If I'd been trying to achieve these with wind mana first, it would have been an upwind battle. As it is, once I've worked through all my spell and mana forms, I've raised my wind manipulation significantly.

"Skill increased: Mana Manipulation (26)."

"Skill increased: Wind Manipulation (3 to 8)."

Using wind with the basic circle rune without any modifications had reminded me of the time freeze. For a second my body had been encased in a wind barrier that slowed my movements before I allowed it to dissipate. Experimenting with it, I realized the barrier was static, but didn't prevent me from moving through it. It was just difficult, like walking into a windy day.

The air spray spell caused me a bit of a shock when it literally picked up poor Smoulder. She had decided the moment I was casting was the perfect time to get some head scritches, which resulted in me throwing her a dozen meters into the underbrush. Josh and Roberts were still talking behind me, and while Beth glanced back, she didn't say anything. Either way, I decided I'd keep the experiments to manipulating my raw wind mana for a while.

Luckily, after a couple minutes of dirty looks, Smoulder decides she's forgiven me. Or maybe she's just tired of hopping. Either way, she comes over then gets me to pick her up again.

I've just about mastered creating the alphabet with water and wind mana when I hear Roberts question Josh, "So, what were you doing, before you were brought through?"

"Like, for work?" Josh replies as I slow so I can hear them better. I can't believe I don't already know the answer to this obvious question.

"If you like. Though I meant immediately prior to our journey. That doesn't appear to be the kind of robe one sleeps in after all."

"Uhm," Josh responds, "no comment."

"Hmm. No? I was reading through the terms and conditions of our little soiree myself." Roberts continues.

"Oh. Yeah," Josh seems to think for a second before continuing, "did it mention the whole other world part? Because I'm pretty sure I missed that detail."

"It did, but the way it was phrased sounded like hyperbole. 'Our amazing system will transport you to a whole new world of experience.' Surprisingly accurate, I'd say," Roberts answers using air quotes as we make our way around a particularly thick tree. It's weird seeing him do something so human.

"So, what did you do? If you don't mind my asking," Roberts prompts Josh again.

"I uhh, I was a butcher," Josh answers moving a branch out of his way. Without touching it.

"Oh? Do you enjoy your work?" Roberts inguires just before we all stop for a moment. We wait quietly while Beth searches the forest around us with her hand up. She took us through a few basic signs after she'd tried using a signal earlier only for the rest of us to bumble forward obliviously.

When she signals us forward, Josh speaks up, "it was alright. It was a job. Paid well enough, I guess. Being able to bring home fresh meat every night was pretty great though."

"Nothing wrong with work that pays," Roberts agrees while I practice forming a triangle out of wind mana.

"How about you?" Josh returns as I watch my formation waver before locking into place.

"I'm a doctor," Roberts responds, "a surgeon actually. Not that those skills have much value here," he adds while running his hand through his hair before looking at it. "Ironic that I'm probably better at it now. I had arthritis for years."

"Heh," Josh chuckles, "I guess we both cut meat for a living."

Roberts stops for a moment, before throwing in a chuckle of his own, "I suppose we did. So, what led you to sign up for this experiment?"

"Experiment?" Josh questions, "I signed up for survival training. Extreme."

"Oh? You mean you weren't intending to be a subject for The Forerunner Initiative's amazing neuroregeneration procedure? Interesting," Roberts comments as he steeples his fingers. Dude, enough with the villain stuff already. I'm glad he doesn't have a goatee. That'd be too much.

"Neuroregeneration," Josh responds slowly as if testing the word on his tongue, "what's that?"

"It's the restoration of nervous tissue. A standard function in the peripheral nervous system, but the treatment promised excellent recovery of issues in the central nervous system," Roberts explains excitedly as we move around a bush with thorns and little red berries on it.

"The results are quite remarkable. Far better than I'd expected," he adds as we all make our way under a low hanging branch, "not nearly as flashy as your ability but incredible nonetheless."

Josh nods along, while I start spinning a small wheel of wind.

"So, I kind of need to know. Do you always wear suit pajamas to bed?" Josh asks as we step over a shallow ditch.

Roberts waits to respond because Beth is signalling for quiet again.

"They're a gift from my grandson. So yes," Roberts replies when Beth motions us onwards. Of course the reason he's wearing suit pajamas is adorable. Jerk.

"Ah," Josh intones in a way that conveys his understanding.

I'm checking my status when further conversation is cut off when Beth signals us to a stop again.

"Skill increased: Mana Manipulation (27)."

"Skill increased: Wind Manipulation (9 to 11)."

"Skill increased: Water Manipulation (12)."

Looking around I realize there's a good reason to stop this time. I turn to Smoulder to share a look, before she nuzzles deeper into my arms.

We've made it to the ruins.