January 14, 2019, roughly 8 pm.

I'd forgotten quest completion and skill unlocks affect which classes are available. I'd been so caught up when the initial process finished, that it'd clean slipped my mind. Plus, the Fire-Storm Elementalist seemed really cool. Rechecking the Chronodancer, I see there's already a huge difference. If I can improve Chronomancer with a single skill, what might happen if I unlock more elemental skills? Can I get an Ultimate Fire-Storm Elementalist?

Stepping back from the pillar, I glance at the setting sun. I decide I have time.

Before I leave, I want to attempt teleporting on my own. Once I'm done, I might be able to make it back to the church before nightfall, if I hurry. When I look at the standing stones to get my bearings, I see both of my avatars still there. They're both watching me with smiles on their faces.

Ignoring them, I hurriedly move outside the standing stones. I prepare myself by casting the barrier spell first. The spell is still fresh in mind, the concentric circles being a simple design. It's easy to copy the familiar runes, my facet flowing smoothly into the construct. This time I'm watching for the notification.

"Skill increased: Spatial Manipulation (6)"

"Spell discovered: Space-time buffer. Would you like to replace one of your preferred spells? Y/N?"

Emboldened by my success with the buffer, I start creating the runes for the actual teleport. I need to consult my journal several times. I'm still not sure it's perfect but light is fading fast and I want to get back. With my fingers crossed, I activate the construct, hoping my magic doesn't blow up on me.

I very briefly feel a sucking sensation before I find myself in front of the south pillar. I'm left feeling very nauseous but I'm otherwise okay. Even though my spell cost ten facet, there's significantly more disorientation using my version, the system seems to think that I've done well enough.

"Skill increased: Spatial Manipulation (7)"

"Spell discovered: Return. Would you like to replace one of your preferred spells? Y/N?"

"Return point: Forerunner Transition Point South used. Would you like to set this as your preferred return point? Y/N?"

Accepting the option to set this as my return point, I consider the spell. I'm tempted to replace my shield with Return, but I decide to hold off for now. It's clearly not perfect. But then I'm trying to copy five different three-dimensional runes. Studying the runes on the pillar will have to wait for later. Hopefully, I'll get another opportunity to teleport. With another active example, I'm sure I can improve Return.

Reaching out for Smoulder, I pick her up, letting her wiggle her way into my arms. I wave goodbye to my avatars, who are still watching us, then start the trek back towards the church.

As we move, I do my best to keep my eyes open, but it's hard to see anything in the shifting shadows. I hear several creaks and groans, but whenever I turn, there's nothing there. Nothing but trees.

As I’m approaching the spot where I fell in the stream, I notice tracks. It's almost an accident. If I hadn't been looking, reflecting on my fall, I'd have missed them entirely.

Spinning around again to double-check the woods around me, I startle the wolfadillo that was sneaking up on me.

With a screech, I fire off a lightning torrent. This time I’m prepared for the recoil. As a result, I only stumble a few steps. I watch as the lightning strikes not one, but two wolfadillos, arcing to hit a second which had apparently been hiding in the nearby bush.

Seeing the second wolfadillo fall out from an area I thought was clear, I realize they could be anywhere around me. I conjure my shield then turn, running towards the church. I only make it two steps when I'm brought up short by a giant shape leaping out of the trees, landing a few meters in front of me. This new wolfadillo is the largest I've seen, easily the size of a truck. And it's cut me off. It's close enough that I can see its maw full of razor-sharp teeth as it stalks closer.

I swear it's staring at me with hatred, its dark crimson eyes narrowing as I take a step back in response. That one step saves me, as I once again slip then fall into the stream. I send Smoulder flying when I hit the ground. As I fall, I see a dark form flying through the spot where I was just standing. I hear the whumf, as its heavy claws hit the earth to my left, turning towards me with a snarl.

I scramble to my feet, keeping the shield between me and my enemies. I start casting another lightning torrent, but both the beasts seem to know what's coming. Instead of waiting they each send a brace of quills my direction, causing me to go on the defensive. Halting my spell, I duck behind my shield, wincing as I feel a couple quills slice through my left leg. Better than taking one to the face.

Running isn't an option, but I can't outlast their quills either. I briefly consider using teleport, but it takes too long to cast. Watching them closely, I realize they're not waiting for me. They're slowly stepping away from each other, moving to flank me. I’m starting to get worried when my saviour comes hurtling out of a nearby tree, her flaming bunny headbutt knocking the smaller wolfadillo to the ground. The large one and I are both left startled. Luckily, I recover first, sending a torrent its direction. The backlash pushes me deeper into the soft earth, but I’m otherwise fine.

Unfortunately, the giant beast manages to avoid the worst of the spell, twisting out of the way. It takes a nasty hit to its leg which sends it rolling across the forest floor. By the time I push myself out of the shallow ditch I ploughed, it's regained its feet as well.

It's limping on three legs now, but I'm running low on time. The other beast is snapping out but it's distracted for the moment, as Smoulder hops around it. It's a tempting target but I can't send a lightning torrent for fear of hitting Smoulder. Instead, I snap a couple flame arrows out, one at each of them. The first takes the leader in the snout, causing it to snarl and snap at me, but doesn't hinder it. The second misses my target completely. Yet Smoulder takes full advantage of the distraction, slamming into its jaw with a bone-shattering crunch.

That's the last I can spare for her fight because suddenly the giant wolfadillo has decided it's done playing the waiting game.

The beast lunges at me, powerful jaws snapping in my face.

My shield deflects its first bite, but I'm thrown off balance. I feel my ankle give out as I step on something wrong.

My foe doesn't give my time to recover, quickly snapping at me again. As I scramble away across the forest floor, I throw a handful of needles and dirt into its eyes. Not my proudest moment, but the creature is blinded enough that its next attack misses me entirely.

Taking a moment, I channel lightning mana into the forward-swept triangle rune. When I did this with my fire mana it created a flamethrower. This time it's like I'm channelling pure lightning. Even as the lightning smashes into the massive creature it manages to snap at me one last time, its jaws ripping a hole in my arm before it's thrown free by the lightning.

As I stand next to it, channelling more and more lightning into it, I watch its remains turn to charred ash. Only once there's nothing left do I remember the other one. Turning, I spot Smoulder hopping towards me. The second beast is lying in a heap. There’s a disturbing mess back where she blew a hole clean through its jaw.

"Damn, I'm glad you're on my side," I say as I reach down to pick her up. We leave the wolfadillos where they lie, as I pick my way back to the church. Other than a quick check to confirm that all the wolfadillos are dead I avoid using my interface. I can't afford to be distracted if anything else shows up.

Having to step carefully, to avoid hurting my ankle further, it takes me longer than I'd like to get back. I'm also being extra cautious as I return to the church. Considering how it could have ended, I count myself lucky. The wolfadillos almost took me out before I noticed them. If it hadn't been for me seeing their tracks, they might have gotten me. Given that I thought I was paying attention, I'm worried there's more at work here than my alertness.

Without Beth around to watch my back, I might need to put points into perception earlier than I’d been planning. Perception must help with noticing things sneaking up on me, right?

I keep moving slowly until I spot the familiar outline of the church looming in the distance. With safety being so close, I allow myself to sacrifice caution for speed as I hobble my way to my entrance. I almost start climbing inside but feel a tingle. The one I get at the back of my neck when something is wrong. Looking at the clearing around me again, I notice what's missing.

The rest of the wolfadillo bodies are gone.

I don't know what happened to them, and I don't stick around to find out. Ducking down, I scoot through my entrance then seal up the stonework behind me.

With the stone door sealed, I slide down against the wall while I take stock of my injuries. The scratches along my right leg, while painful, seem to be superficial. My ankle, while sore, let me walk on it. Hopefully, it’s just bruised or something.

My right arm, where the giant wolfadillo tore into me, seems to be in rough shape though. It didn’t seem too bad at the time, but inspecting it reveals a spot that’s just gone. Luckily, it’s not very big, but it is bleeding. Unfortunately, I never took that first aid course, my boss, Henry had suggested. I know you’re supposed to wrap things up or pour alcohol on them, but that’s all from watching people get injured on tv. The other thing I’ve seen is fire. Maybe I should put points into strength. Being perpetually low on hp doesn't leave me with much of a buffer before I start getting injured.

"System, I don't suppose Survival skills help with injuries?" I question the air.

The lack of response is hardly a surprise. Reaching for the skill I focus on healing my wounds, but nothing happens. Checking over my onesie I sigh as I use a stone knife to cut off several of the loose strips of my right sleeve. Tying them together, I use them to block the flow of blood, placing the largest knot directly over the jagged hole.

With the bleeding addressed I turn to my notifications.

"Skill increased: Survival - Temperate Forest (8 to 10)"

"Skill increased: Mana Manipulation (36 to 40)"

"Skill increased: Lightning Manipulation (10 to 18)"

"Quest completed. Gotta slay 'em all - Wolfadillo. Contribution: 8/12. Rewards: 8 iron rank integration points; one uncommon starter item; Codex: Wolfadillo updated."

"Please return to your closest available Nexus to retrieve your items."

I'm not sure if I should be happy that the system gives tangible rewards for quests or disappointed that I need to return to the standing stones to claim it. Not dealing with that now. With Strength and Perception vying for integration points, I open my status while I review my choices.

PANDORA ATTRIBUTE VALUE ADJUST STRENGTH -20 (+/-) CONSTITUTION 0 (+/-) AGILITY 12 (+/-) ENDURANCE 5 (+/-) INTELLECT 78 (+/-) SPIRIT 68 (+/-) PERCEPTION 18 (+/-) RESOLVE 11 (+/-) Integration Points 8 RESOURCE CURRENT/MAX [EDGE] (REGEN) Health 0/37 [-3.2] (17)/day (12)/day Stamina 39/50 [1.9] (26)/day Mana 104/246 [23.9] (181)/day Focus 72/182 [12] (113)/day Matrix Facet 21/60 [5.4] (43)/hour

Considering my integration points, I think carefully this time. Strength is definitely my weak point, but perception seems more useful. Not only does it increase my mana and focus, if it helps me notice enemies before they get close, which is exactly what I need with my current build.

Putting all 8 points into perception, my mind hovers over the confirmation notification for a moment before hitting accept.

With my points confirmed, I look at the low fire burning under my smokehouse. There’s only one more thing I want to do before going to sleep. Opening my menu, I scroll back to the notification from Roberts. I hesitate for a moment before confirming my choice.

“Codex obtained: Resource - Reprieve.

Astral grade higher concept resource.

Current known users: Forerunner Roberts.

Description: Drawing on extensive knowledge of the system’s understanding of biology and anatomy, Reprieve grants the user the ability to repair or prevent any damage to a living creature. With sufficient stores of Reprieve, a user may restore those who have recently died. Reprieve should not be confused with healing abilities, which are only capable of restoring their specified conditions.”

Reprieve’s primary contributing attributes are Agility and Endurance, with a lesser contribution from all other attributes.

Like most higher concept resources, Reprieve may be fashioned into armour.”

I barely skim over the notification before I feed some more wood into the feeder. Then I settle down next to the fire, letting it warm me. When I received the notification, the system said the codex would be shared with Roberts. I’m not sure where they are or if they’re worried about me, but this is the only way I can think of to let them know I’m alive and well.

I bundle what I can of my hoodie under my head, while pulling Smoulder close. It’s been a long day full of monsters and magic, so I feel incredibly drained as I lay down to get some sleep.

It doesn't come easily. The stone is cold and hard, the night dark and full of strange sounds. Even the refuge of the church feels foreboding, full of dark shadows, hiding the corners from view. But even with visions of snarling wolves and massive dragons flitting through my mind, I eventually drift off into sleep.

When I wake, it's still night. The fire has nearly died, leaving me shivering from the cold. Groaning as I move to put more wood on the fire, I realize Smoulder is missing. Looking around, I can feel myself panicking as I start whispering her name.

"Smoulder, Smoulder, are you there girl?" I call out quietly. My first irrational thought is she went into the basement somehow, but when I summon an orb of fire, I spot her immediately. She's hopping towards me, moving directly from the little entrance I made for her.

"There you are," I exclaim in relief as I reach down for her, pulling her into my arms for more head-scritches. "What were you doing out there, huh?" I ask as I hobble back towards the fire. She just looks up at me like it's obvious, then butts my hand for more head-scritches. Laughing softly, I relent, while glancing down at my arm. My impromptu bandage is covered in dried blood. I know I should change it, but I'm afraid of ripping it open again.

So, delaying, I move closer to the fire. I cut several more strips from my onesie, this time from my left sleeve. Cleaning them with water, I wince as I realize I forgot to clean the first binding. I definitely need to remove it. With my new binding ready, I gingerly peel the crusty one away.

There's a moment where I feel a sharp pain, but nothing else happens so I just inspect the wound. It's scabbed over more evenly than I would have expected, but there's an angry redness where I had the knot. Tying the new bandage in place, I clean the old one, dropping the debris in the far corner.

This time I mould the stone as I lay on it, shifting it until I feel comfortable. It's still a stone floor, but it's better than it was. This time when I close my eyes, I fall asleep immediately.

I awake to an urgent need. Quickly rushing upstairs, my ankle makes me regret having put the bathroom so far from the smokehouse. As I sit on my stone throne, I turn to everyone's favourite pastime. Reading.

Opening my status menu, I review the changes since last night.

"Skills increased:

Water Manipulation (19) Cleaning (34) Stone Manipulation (17) Stone Shaping (14) PANDORA ATTRIBUTE VALUE ADJUST STRENGTH -20 (+/-) CONSTITUTION 0 (+/-) AGILITY 12 (+/-) ENDURANCE 5 (+/-) INTELLECT 78 (+/-) SPIRIT 78 (+/-) PERCEPTION 26 (+/-) RESOLVE 11 (+/-) Integration Points 0 RESOURCE CURRENT/MAX [EDGE] (REGEN) Health 42/42 [-3.2] (19)/day (14)/day Stamina 54/54 [1.9] (28)/day Mana 274/274 [25.3] (206)/day Focus 200/200 [14.1] (128)/day Matrix Facet 66/66 [5.8] (48)/hour

Seems like the points keep increasing even when I'm sleeping. But… I'm pretty sure my health shouldn't be full. My mental clock tells me it's around 7 am, January 15th. That means I didn't sleep an extra day or anything. If that's the case, why are all my resources completely full.

Bringing up my conditions, I check to see if there's an answer there.

Current Conditions Previous Conditions Temporal Inconsistency. Temporal Buffer Forerunner's Survival Focus. System Class Integration Forerunner's N.E.W.B. Protection. Temporal Dissonance Forerunner's A Good Night's Rest. Bruised Ankle Well Rested

None of them stand out, so this time I decide to go through focusing on every condition.

Temporal Inconsistency is exactly what I expect. It reduces my health regen by 25% while slightly inhibiting Temporal Manipulation. It will persist until I repair it. Which I'm sure I'll get around to eventually. Definitely not avoiding it. Nope.

Reading over Forerunner's Survival Focus I'm surprised when the notification appears, but it's not the source of my rapid regen.

"Increases rate of all survival skill gains. Improved focus support of survival skills. Increases rate of all class skill gains. Improved focus support of class skills. Time: 29/30 days remaining."

That seems powerful, but I'm not sure it's enough to grab my class right away. My skills already seem to be growing rapidly.

I've read N.E.W.B. Protection and A Good Night's Rest already, their descriptions remain unchanged.

Focusing on bruised ankle lets me know the obvious, I have decreased movement speed and my dodging is inhibited. But interestingly it only has a duration of twelve hours remaining.

Moving on I focus on Well Rested, but the notification stops me in my tracks.

"A good night's sleep is the only cure for several ailments. It also restores all resources to full. Increases resistance to exhaustion effects. Time: 8/8 hours remaining."

That's unexpected. Very welcome, but totally unexpected. At least I don't feel as bad about putting points into perception now that I know my health will regenerate after a night's sleep. It also makes me wish I'd stayed up to buy my facet codex.

With the question of my mysterious regeneration solved, my thoughts turn to breakfast. I have no idea if the wolfadillo meat is ready, but I figure I can always roast it by hand.

Creating a stone flipper, fork and plate, I prepare to open the smokehouse. Now that I can just levitate them all with magic, cutting a piece off to eat should be easy. Opening up the smokehouse, I realize I forgot an important fact.

It's full of smoke.

The smoke billows out, making me cough as I step back. I summon a gust of wind but only end up making it worse.

Attempting to use wind and fire manipulation, I'm surprised when it works. Reaching out I realize that smoke contains ash, leading me to add earth manipulation to my efforts. Suddenly I feel the concepts shift, my manipulation becoming much easier.

Using my new understanding to direct the smoke away from me, I carefully use stone manipulation to reach in then cut myself some of the meat, pulling it out on the stone plate. Once that's done, I reseal the smokehouse then inspect my meal.

It doesn't seem nearly as appetizing as the deer from yesterday, but I don't have a lot of options. Cutting it into small pieces, I cook anything that appears even vaguely raw. Once I'm satisfied, I take my first bite. I nearly spit it out, the taste of ash is so thick.

After a second's struggle, I force the first bite down. I make it through three more bites before a thought occurs to me. Using my earth manipulation, I pull the ash off. It's not perfect so I use some water mana to scrub them down. It doesn't even leave them soggy since I can pull the water away.

Pleased with myself, I pop another one in my mouth. It's plain and gamey but it's much easier to get through without the ash. As I'm chewing, I realize something disturbing. The whole point of the smokehouse is to dry the meat out. Can I do that with water manipulation?

If so, could I use it on something that's still alive?

Could I use it on someone that's still alive?

Choosing not to dwell on that line of thought, I open the smokehouse once more. I direct the smoke away with little effort as I stare at the slabs of meat. There's enough here for over a week at the rate I eat, even though I seem to be eating a lot more than I used to. But that's not what I focus on.

Taking a deep breath, I reach out, then draw the water out of the meat. As I continue it shrivels up until it resembles beef jerky. Stopping, I move it to a stone plate then cautiously take a bite. It tastes better than my roasted meat bites. It almost makes me regret building the smokehouse in the first place.

Smothering the fire with some strategically placed water magic, I decide to leave the smokehouse mostly intact for the moment. I seal off the channels I had the smoke travelling through, then dry out the remaining slabs of meat before sealing them inside. Ten solid centimetres of stone should keep the meat safe from most things. Anything that can get through that? Well, they're welcome to it.

I spend the next five minutes cleaning out the bottom of the smokehouse. Once that's done, I deposit the filth in the growing pile in the corner before making my way back up to the balcony. It's time to get a lay of the land before I start on my chores for the day. I want to set out to search for the others, but with my ankle the way it is, I'll be lucky to make it a kilometre. I have an idea that might help with that, but I've decided that first I'm going to create a lookout tower atop the church. Then I might be able to spot the others. It'll also serve as a landmark I can find my way back to.

Looking up at the peak I consider how I'm going to make my ascent. Instead of stairs, I decide to create a ladder. And a fireman's pole. It'll take a lot less stone while it'll be faster too. It only takes me a minute to get up to the peak where I create a platform. I'm not ready to start on the tower yet, I'll need more stone for that, but I'd rather not step outside without observing the area me around first.

I open the south first gazing out towards the standing stones. Seeing them reminds me that whatever else I do today; I should pick up the "starter" item at some point.

I'm tempted to try teleporting again. In fact, I'm almost certain I will, with my ankle, but there are a couple things I want to finish first.

Not seeing anything of interest, I close the south viewport before opening the north one. I don't see anything new outside, so I quickly close it up. This time I've put the platform at the east end of the church, which allows me to make a third viewport. This viewport allows me to check out over the central area with the statue, which I note is still conspicuously empty of wolfadillo bodies. From up here though I can see signs that one was dragged east into the woods, the rest appear to just be gone.

Deciding I've seen enough, I close the third viewport. I take the stone fireman's pole in hand but then I make the mistake of looking down. I made it as strong as possible but I'm a little nervous about sliding down. It seemed like a good idea at the time but from up here I'm not so sure. Taking a deep breath, I bring the basic circle rune to mind, ready to feed wind mana into it at a moment's notice.

Then I chicken out, choosing to climb down the ladder instead. Which I do. Carefully.

When I reach the balcony, I consider the pole. Reaching out, I grab it, sliding down from the much more reasonable height of four meters. Even though I'm still intact when I reach the bottom, I still don't think I'm ready to take it all the way from the top. Eighteen meters is scary high.

With my feet back on solid ground, I head towards the north wall. I need more stone, but I don't want to sacrifice my nice solid walls for it. The next closest building is just outside the north wall, so I'm going to make a direct path to harvest the stone as quickly as I can. Doing my usual routine of opening a peephole, slowly expanding it, looking around, then repeating, I soon find myself surveying the remains of the half-buried building.

The ease with which I lift the dirt away would have left me shocked yesterday. It's still only a bucket at a time, but I'm able to unbury the building in only five minutes. It only takes me another half an hour to scavenge the first half of the stone. I've been systematically removing every block of stone I can see, even the floor, so it shouldn't come as a shock when I uncover an underground room, but it does.

I've removed half the building at this point, so the room clearly doesn't extend under all of it. Continuing my work, I carefully pull away the rest of the material over the room, letting light shine down into the hole.

As I'm looking down, I see the morning light glinting off something half-buried in the earth. There's treasure in that thar hole.