A diplomatic message from Uma-Taj, Diplomat of the Ungutarri, to the High Command

The people of this planet are more diverse and fractured than most. More split than any I’ve encountered in a long time. According to the leader of our candidate, they were multiple governments, religions, races, and other factions that separated the people and pit them against each other. While terrible for pre-Genesis survival, this separation has given them a will to survive, to reach for their success even if their own are in the way. I request an extension of my assignment on ‘Earth’. There is much to see here.

Jogging away from the city, I shut off my thoughts as I focus on nothing but the repetitive motion of each foot hitting the ground. There’s something therapeutic about exercise, a sentence I never expected myself to say.

Two hours after leaving the city, I find myself in an old, abandoned granite quarry. A small pond of putrid water has formed at the deepest point, the rain water having no other path and surrendering itself to stagnation. The hills around the pond are cut into almost vertical slants, building upon each other so that a small walkway exists. Most likely intended as paths for past workers, they are now dotted with woodland debris that has been carried in by strong winds. At the far end of the quarry rests a rusted truck, with parts collapsed in upon itself. What’s left has assumed a uniform copper color, the rust suffocating the metal to a point of near uselessness.

My eyes drift around and I try to spot more details, all in a misguided attempt to not think about Octavian’s advice. It bounces around in my mind as I try to ignore it, failing miserably as every thought of his words brings about a sheer second of painful introspection, only forced away by focusing intently on whatever random thing catches my eye.

Sighing, I sit down at the upper hill of the quarry, dangling my feet over the edge and finally letting my eyes close. I’ve been criticized in the past, sometimes viciously so, but the words had never resonated as deeply as Octavian’s have. Perhaps it is his outsider perspective, or his alien nature, or even the information he’s managed to accumulate, but regardless of the reason, I find myself replaying the scene over and over again in my mind.

I’m an introspective person in nature and, in an attempt to try and verify or disprove his words, I decide to go over each part and consider the objective truth. I find myself aching to go into Effortless Presence, to feel the cold wave of logic wash over me, but I understand that to do so would limit any growth that I may get from this experience. Octavian criticized my interactions with others, which are largely based on emotion and empathy. To analyze his words behind the curtain of pure logic would only hobble me.

Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and let the air flow through my lungs and slowly out of my nose. A few more deep breaths follow, focusing on nothing but the flow of the air through my body, the movement calming my heart rate. It takes a few moments but I calm myself and settle in to consider.

Perhaps Octavian’s biggest revelation was that I’m not strong enough to succeed by myself. Thinking back on everything that’s happened since I returned from Helldarvin, I begin to realize that I’ve been … not derogatory, but not respectful of the people that I’ve interacted with. Oh, I’ve been polite, funny, and sometimes even kind, but I viewed them as one sees someone of lesser intelligence. The knowledge and power I gained in Helldarvin made me feel as if … as if I was somehow smarter and more important. My foreknowledge of Genesis’s system gave me a false sense of superiority that had impacted more than a few interactions.

My interactions with Peter are a perfect example of this. Despite the knowledge that he had not only survived, but thrived exceptionally, in this new world, I’d treated him as if he was the same unconfident boy. I’d assumed that, not having suffered and grown on Helldarvin like I did, he couldn’t have changed significantly, an arrogant choice that blinded me to his deceptive choice to ‘test’ me.

Then there was my choice to lie to my parents. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that they possess a love for me that I can barely even comprehend. Despite that, I’d decided that my knowledge made me smarter than them. Breathing my calming breaths but allowing myself to feel emotion, it pains me to realize how arrogant I’ve been. My parents had worked their way up from poverty, succeeded at almost every venture, and risen to positions of power in less than two decades and I’d assumed that a year and a half on a planet with almost no intelligent beings made me superior to them? Finally realizing the arrogance I’ve been displaying is almost frightening, filling me with a sense of loathing for my own actions. How can I truly expect people to respect me as a potential leader if I treat them as if they are lesser beings?

Sitting on top of the quarry, I make a promise to myself. Acknowledging the fact that I’m not and will never be perfect, I commit myself to no longer underestimating the people around me. To trust my friends and allies. To objectively view my enemies and what they are capable of.

I know that the promise isn’t perfect, but it reminds me of the simple one that had given me the drive to survive my exile. So many months ago, sitting on my tree in Helldarvin, I’d promised to do whatever it takes to protect those I love. That simple concept pushed me forward, gave me the passion to train and continue walking forward through pain, sorrow, and loneliness.

And it’s only now, considering Octavian’s words, that I realize I’ve failed to follow this promise since I came back.

Where had my ruthlessness gone? On Helldarvin I’d always done what was necessary, even if it made me uncomfortable or regretful. Since returning, I’d lost that edge. I’d forced myself not to think Peter’s betrayal and I’d left Adrian alive despite the risk he represented to me and my family.

Trying to come to my own defense, a part of me mentions that these are other humans. It’s easier to be ruthless with unthinking animals and alien creatures because they are different. My empathy for them was lessened because I couldn’t put myself in their shoes, to try and consider what drives their own actions. They were little more than obstacles in my way in my focus on coming home. Ever since coming home, however, my arrogance had melded with my empathy to the point where I viewed people as less than myself. Adrian may have gotten in my way but, with the ease at which I handled him, I had convinced myself to leave him alive, believing that I’d be able to handle him just as easily.

People are more than just their ability to fight though. I may have been able to handle him in combat but I’d arrogantly underestimated the influence he could have upon waking up. It’s only upon this thought that my understanding of what I’ve been really doing, beyond and above the arrogance and underestimating, blossoms.

I’ve been making the easy decisions.

First there was Peter’s betrayal, because I realize now that it truly was a betrayal of my trust and our friendship. Upon the realization, I’d shut myself off to trusting others and I’d avoided thinking about it in greater detail, wanting to preserve the memory of our friendship within my mind. The hard decision would have been to steel myself to what happened and to cut off my emotional ties to him. Friendship is reliant on trust and without it friendship cannot exist.

Then there was my parents. While it may have made me feel guilty, lying to my parents was easier than telling them the truth and working with them. That choice would have forced us to be honest with one another about what we had planned and forced us to realize that we may have different intentions for Everwall. Instead of risk the chance of that uncomfortable realization, I’d decided to lie and keep them in the dark because it was easier. It was the wrong decision, but it was easier. Masking it behind a noble intention to protect them, I’d treated them as if they lacked their own agency.

Finally, there was Adrian. Despite the hundreds of creatures I’d been forced to kill to survive on Helldarvin, I had yet to kill another human. Without realizing it, I made the easy decision and let him live, even as some part of me realized that he represented a serious risk to me and my own.

I consider all these thoughts for a long time, letting my realization sink into me and finally making my decision.

No more. Steeling my heart but opening my mind, I make my last and final pledge to myself. No longer will I make the easy decisions. I understand that I will make mistakes and that I’ll make some wrong choices, but I won’t do so just because it is easy. I’ll make the hard choices, the choices that, objectively, I believe will carry me forward in my pursuit of my own goals. I’ll trust in others but I will remove those who seek to harm me and my interests.

In the grand scheme of things, I understand that these pledges and promises are not binding but they are significant to me. A promise gave me the drive to survive Helldarvin and so to can it give me the means by which to succeed in becoming Primus.

With my mind and heart resolved, I hop down into the quarry and bundle up my pack, using it as a pillow as I close my eyes to catch a few hours of sleep.

I awake the next morning just as the sun rises. Beams of light come down from the sky and reflect off the putrid pool next to me. In the light of day, the quarry looks even more dilapidated, pieces of granite scattered around floor haphazardly. Tools lie against hillsides, abandoned or forgotten in the change and never recovered.

Knowing that Octavian will, if he honors the deal, come and find me at some point this day, I decide to focus on training. I’ve only been on Earth for four days but, to me, it feels as if it has been too long since I last trained and experimented.

I start by opening up my Status page, glancing at the numbers that appear in front of me.

Name: Cael King Health (Regeneration): 680/680 (304/h)

Race: Human (Earth) Mana (Regeneration): 1920/1920 (610/h)

Class: Latent Talent Stamina (Regeneration): 620/620 (284/m)

Level: 49 Available WP: 20

Strength: 32 Intelligence: 100 Perception: 55

Dexterity: 40 Wisdom: 89 Recovery: 40

Endurance: 42 Willpower: 95 Charisma: 23

Physique: 52

I’m a bit surprised by the high numbers that greet me. It feels as like every moment since my return has been filled with a whirlwind of stress, reconnecting, and sorrow, not giving me enough time to analyze the effects of the bonus I received upon my return. I’d briefly thought about it while walking with Kat but the thought of analyzing had fallen to the side upon the realization that I would get to see Peter. I feel a familiar tinge of anger and frustration upon the thought of him but I push it to the side for now. I’ll have to deal with him in the future and, while I have no intention of going easy upon him, dwelling on it now won’t serve my interests right now.

Re-familiarizing myself with my Attributes, I consider where I should focus my future planned growth. The bonus from the completion of two tasks helped increase the ones I’d felt were falling behind. My physical Attributes now feel appropriate for the path I am focusing on and I should be able to put off their growth for the moment.

That leaves me with my big three: Intelligence, Wisdom, and Willpower. I still don’t know the full extent of their non-numerical effects, but I do know that each one has a powerful effect on my combat style. With Intelligence increasing the damage of my Mana Skills and the size of my Mana Well, I know that it will play a large role in the upcoming Trials. Unfortunately, it only plays a marginal role in my Mana Regeneration. Effortless Presence helps mitigate this flaw but Wisdom is the true solution. Increasing both my Mana Well and Mana Regeneration, Wisdom will be massively important if I find myself in long and drawn out battles. Up to this point, I’ve been able to end battles quickly by using most of my Mana quickly in a flurry of attacks. Given Octavian’s warning, I am almost certain that this strategy will not work against all my future enemies.

With this in mind, I decide to temporarily focus on Wisdom over Intelligence. Effortless Presence increases my Mana Regeneration by 4 times and if I’m able to get my regeneration high enough then the increase may give me a consistent and unending supply of Mana.

Finally, there’s Willpower. Helping me control, manipulate, and create my Mana Skills, it was important even before I managed to discover Telepathic Mind. Now, however, it is a vital part of my build, as Willpower also serves to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of all my Telepathic Skills.

Resolved to focus on my Willpower and Wisdom, I close my Status page and pull up my Skills page.

Skills: Mana Bullet Lvl 80, Mana Manipulation Lvl 68, Mana Infusion Lvl 66, Effortless Presence Lvl 48, Freezing Beam Lvl 46, Staff Mastery Lvl 44, Pain Resistance Lvl 43, Sprint Lvl 42, Elemental Mana Lvl 41, Stone Armor 41, Fireball 40, Chilling Wind Lvl 36, Wall of Flame Lvl 36, Trap Making 35, Ball of Oil Lvl 30, Weapon Imbuement Lvl 28, Foraging Lvl 23, Fleet Feet of Air Lvl 22, Climbing Lvl 20, Mana Blade Lvl 19, Indomitable Will Lvl 18, Earthen Barrier Lvl 18, Condensed Mana Bolt Lvl 17, Flawed Lightning Strike Lvl 16, Screaming Mind Lvl 16, Disguise Lvl 15, Passive Mental Search Lvl 15, Manual Labor Lvl 15, Higher Energy – Motion Lvl 12, Active Mental Search Lvl 12, First Aid Lvl 11, Ice Bomb Lvl 10, Sapping Ice Lvl 6, Mental Illusion Lvl 5, Instant Acceleration Lvl 5, Shatter Lvl 4, Debate Lvl 3, Mediocre Telepathic Mind Lvl 3

The list has gotten so long that it takes me a few moments to read through it and fully comprehend everything. There has to be a better way for the information to be laid out … that’s a problem for a later day, however. I don’t know when the notification announcing the beginning of the Trials will happen but I want to be prepared for the first Trial, which means I need to get back to training.

The real question is what to focus on. Returning to Earth has given me a few ideas on possible Skills that I might be able to create but, if I’m being honest with myself, I feel as if I’m reaching the limits of what I’m able to accomplish with my current arsenal.

My real strength, the way I survived on Helldarvin, was my ability to create new Skills. If I’d been content with Mana Bolt, I never would have been able to kill my first Hunter. Seeing the potential for improvement and creativity allowed me to create Mana Bullet and set the tone for how I would survive each confrontation.

The problem lies in the fact that I’m limited by my own tools. The realization only really came to me upon the creation of Flawed Lighting Strike. The entire time I was trying to create the Skill, a long and arduous month long process, it had felt as if something was … missing. Like I was creating some sort of bastardized version with what I had available. It was this feeling that had led me to focusing on my next Higher Energy, a process that had reached a stopping point that I’d been unable to break through.

With my new resolve, however, I decide to give it another shot. Closing my eyes, I bring forward the thoughts and concepts that make up the potential Higher Energy. Hundreds of hours accumulating ideas and concepts, only missing the linchpin that ties everything together.

I don’t know how long I spend focusing on it, time seeming to lose its meaning. My world becomes constant cycle of idea as I search for the linchpin, blocking out the world around me.

It’s this choice to block out the world around me that leads me to the final realization. While I was on Helldarvin I’d always kept my guard up for a potential attack. Even within the safety of the Novice Zone, I’d always been mildly aware of the world so that I wouldn’t be caught off guard. Blocking the entire world out gives me the inspiration for that final piece, the completion of months of work.

Silence. The complete lack of sound.

Instead of serving as the final building block, the concept grows in size until it encompasses all of the other ideas, creating a protective barrier around them. A pronounced and harmonic ding breaks me out of my state, a notification appearing in front of me to show me my success.

You have discovered the Skill Higher Energy – Sound (R-2) Lvl 1! You’ve learned to harness the power of Sound. Critics of this Higher Energy fail to understand its true utility, the flexibility and support one can create. Whether it is the crack of thunder, the relentless crashing of an ocean wave, or the still silence of the void, you now command Sound. Increased skill levels allows for more abstract combinations.

Smiling at the completed task, I raise my hand and pull forth some of the Mana. It’s hard to describe as it seems to lack cohesive shape, appearing as a series of vibrations in the air. Even that description fails to capture the appearance, each vibration twisting and turning within my hand.

It has been a long time coming but I initially decided on this concept after my battle with Shssiss. Without the forewarning provided by Albasalas, I would most likely have died in her Zone, killed in an ambush before I had a chance to attack. With that in mind, I’d spent weeks trying to figure out a way to probe the area around me for enemies. I’d finally set upon the idea of echolocation, the memory of a documentary watched as a kid serving as the basis of my idea, and thus the multiple month creation process had begun.

Closing my eyes, I begin to release Sound Mana into my Field, infusing the space with what I hope is enough. Instead of grouping them together, as I’ve done for most of my Skills, I break them down into their smallest components, surrounding myself with thousands upon thousands of imperceptible pieces. After a few moments, it’s finally time to experiment.

A quick mental signal, and just a hint of Motion, sends all the pieces of Sound Mana shooting away from me. Unsure of what will happen next, I’m caught off guard when the pieces come flying back. My awareness of my Field of Mana lights up as the information floods in. Unfortunately, I’m unable to fully comprehend where and what the Sound bounced back on, the sheer deluge of information stopping me from making any observations.

The next few hours are spent exclusively on this Skill. It takes me a while but I’m finally able to tweak the Sound Mana in a way that allows me to fine tune what bounces back on. While knowing the layout of the landscape around me could be useful, I’m better served by having it react on moving objects and living creatures. The next part takes even longer than the first as I figure out a way to interpret the information, mentally connecting certain patterns and diffusion rates to a measure of distance. It’s not the most accurate Skill I’ve ever created but it expands my zone of awareness, hopefully protecting me from ambushes.

You have discovered the Skill Echolocation (R-2) Lvl 1! Deriving inspiration from the animals of your home planet, you’ve created a Skill of massive utility. Unknown and unheard, you expand your awareness of what is around you. He who is aware controls the battle. Increased skill level increases distance and accuracy. Cost: 60 Mana per minute.

Before I have a chance to congratulate myself, I feel the pattern I’ve associated with living creatures. Turning around in an instant, I open my hands and conjure two Mana Bullets, preparing myself for a possible attack. Instead of an enemy, however, I see Octavian, positioned on the quarry hill above me, as he jumps off the ledge and lands thirty feet below as if it was no more than a step. He walks up to me, carrying a bag over his shoulder, and speaks evenly, none of his characteristic pageantry in his voice. If I had to make a guess, I’d say he’s still angry or upset from the night before. I’m not really sure what the reason is for but I’m not willing to go searching for the reason right now.

“You ready to get started?”