An excerpt from “A Treatise on the Nature of Ranking Systems” by Unknown Author

The Ranking system is one of the most complex and least understood aspects of Genesis. Thousands of scholars have tried to classify, dissect, and quantify the differences between the different ranks and yet none of them were able to truly understand. The only points that all the research agrees upon are these two: The higher the ranking the more rare the Skill and Ranking does not necessarily denote power but there is a very strong correlation. Everything else is just conjecture.

I stare at the egg in my hands, comfortably relaxing in my tree in the novice Zone. The shell is a rough blue material, ridges and grooves circling around it like the rings of a tree. It is nearly a foot tall, half a foot across, and weighs around ten pounds. Each movement allows me to feel the sloshing of a liquid inside of the shell.

It is the morning after the day that I battled Shssiss, the past twelve hours having been spent in a coma-like state of relaxation and sleep. The way I see it, I’m closer than I’ve ever been to returning home and deserve a modicum of relaxation as a reward. A week spent working on my Skills, perfecting my mental image, and trying to learn more about the nature of Items sounds like a veritable vacation when compared to the battles of the previous months.

The first thing on my to-do list, however, is to figure out my plans for the Precious Egg I’d taken from Shssiss. The permanent increase of 250 Mana is extremely tempting but I’m not sure how I feel about using the unborn creature as a way to increase my power. I understand that, intellectually, it isn’t too different from killing and eating creatures for their meat. My body has always needed sustenance to keep it ‘powered’ and every day I’d made the decision that my body’s health was more important than the life of the animal I consume. I mean, it helped that chicken was delicious but it was still a moral decision I made each day given that alternatives existed.

It feels a little different as I hold the egg though. The knowledge that it is still alive inside of the shell makes me feel … uncomfortable with the concept of killing it for food. Perhaps the only way to come to a decision is to have a debate with myself and see which side wins. I seperate my feelings on the issue into two sides.

Of course we can eat the egg. The increase of 250 Mana is the equivalent of 25 points in Intelligence and the points in Perception would help us spot threats from further away. This would allow us to spend the Points on other Attributes and potentially shore up any weaknesses we have.

Well of course there are benefits but we can’t ignore the ethical ramifications. This is an unborn creature, something that has never felt the heat of the sun or the wind on its face. Do we have the right to take those experiences away from it?

How is it different from the Hunters? We used their bodies as food when we weren’t satiated from the things we’d managed to forage.

True, but they made the decision to attack us. The creature inside of this egg hasn’t harmed us in any way.

Need I remind you whose egg that is? The creature inside of it may not have tried to harm us, yet, but the being who laid it tried to kill us. Not only that, we killed the creature’s Mother! I don’t imagine it will be very happy when it learns that particular detail.

We don’t know that though. This creature has been gestating for over three years, who knows what kind of evolutionary changes it has been subjected to. Its mother was an animal but it may have evolved into a thinking being like Albasalas.

And is that a good thing? Albasalas is absolutely terrifying. If it weren’t for Indomitable Spirit we would be like those Trainees we fought, a mindless zombie controlled by her will. If even the smallest chance of the creature in this egg turning into that powerful of a creature exists then we have the obligation to make sure it doesn’t occur.

Do we though? We owe no loyalty to the Qual’Fan or the creatures of Helldarvin. For all we know, the creature might be eternally grateful for our help. It could become an ally. Even if it doesn’t become an ally it still might become powerful enough to live a long and fulfilled life.

Both you and I know the possibility of it becoming a friend is almost nonexistent. The most likely outcome is that the creature that hatches from this egg will be a similar, if potentially more powerful, version of Shssiss and the Assassins. In regards to it becoming powerful enough to live a long life: why should we care? Unknown potential is irrelevant in our decision.

Fine, I will concede those points. Even with that in mind, I am still hesitant to use the egg for the Mana. If we are willing to use unborn creatures to become more powerful then where do we draw the line? What if, somewhere down the line, we discover a way of harvesting living and thinking creatures for power? Even if there were some looming disaster that only we, with the power of the harvested beings, were able to stop, would we do it? What if the only creatures we were able to use were other human beings? Would we do it then? Are we willing to throw away our humanity for the sake of power?

You’re falling into the slippery slope fallacy. Our decisions right now do not predetermine our decisions in the future.

Don’t nitpick, answer the question.

…

No answer?

I’m just thinking of the promise we made to ourselves. The promise to do everything possible to become strong enough to take care of our own. Is this single egg more important than Mom? Than Dad? What about Marc, Kristen, Peter, Dev, or Shane? Are their lives not as important as the potential life inside of the egg?

That isn’t a fair question. Are we even sure that we’ll be able to do anything once we get back? We don’t even know how someone becomes Primus. What if we are ineligible? But more importantly, what if we aren’t? If we are able to obtain the title then Faul will challenge us for it. Can we really justify sacrificing this creature if the power it gives us just helps Faul get what he wants?

Those are good points but they don’t matter in the short term. All we have to worry about right now is getting back to Earth with enough power to make a difference. This egg will help with that.

…

You know I’m right. Just look at it from this perspective. We can’t be a morally corrupt person if we are asking ourselves these questions. This debate just proves that we are well intentioned.

And the road to hell is paved in good intentions… Fine, I’ll concede. I’m not happy about it but your argument is stronger than mine.

My mind made up, I punch a small hole through the top of the egg and bring it to my lip. A strangely thick liquid pours out and I force myself to swallow all of it, gagging at the strong smell and taste. It takes a few minutes to consume the entire egg, having to occasionally stop so that I don’t puke.

Finally finished, I toss the egg to the side, watching as it rolls off the branch and onto the ground below. I’m not pleased with my decision but I know that this isn’t the last ethically difficult choice I’ll have to make. In the choice between the life of a random creature and that of my family there is no choice.

You have discovered the Skill Debate Lvl 1! There is no greater pursuit than that of oratory, as said by the great orators. Conflict of interest aside, debate is the most fundamental way to convince someone to believe or do something. Increased skill level increases the convincing nature of your argument.

Well, I’ll never turn down the opportunity for some Way Points but I have a feeling this Skill won’t be the most used in my arsenal. I can’t finish thinking about it, however, as a feeling of pain emerges.

My stomach begins to violently growl as the egg begins to work inside of me. Interested in the process, I fall into Effortless Presence and observe my body through the time dilation. The liquid is broken apart by my stomach acid, releasing the Ambient Mana that it had absorbed. Instead of releasing back into the atmosphere, however, the Mana is trapped within my body where the spiral of my Well begins to slowly draw it in and absorb it to increase in size.

I watch the process, completely fascinated by the implications. Not only does my body serve as a deterrent to the Ambient Mana escaping back into the atmosphere but my Well is able to naturally absorb it without any conscious thought. If I were somehow able to figure out a way to concentrate Ambient Mana into a consumable form then I’d be able to increase the amount of Mana available to me without needing to invest in Intelligence. It is only a dream at the moment but it could be a powerful tool in the future if I ever figure out the specifics.