I found myself alone in a dark that was lit only by what light my glowing sword was casting through the blood that now covered it. I felt a wave of exhaustion unlike anything I’d ever experienced as the last of the strength I’d been imbued with left me completely. I collapsed to my knees, feeling hollow without it.

I reflexively did what I’d been doing after fights, and pulled up my notifications.

Congratulations! You’ve increased the skill Sword!

Congratulations! You’ve increased the skill Barehanded!

Congratulations! You’ve slain ????? (LvL ???) You gain 750 xp!

Congratulations! You’ve completed System Quest: Not as it should be

Reward: 5000 XP, Revealed Unique Ability

A choice has been granted to %%%%%

Congratulations! You’ve reached level 6! You receive 4 stat points!

Unique Ability: Borne of Two Worlds Revealed

Borne of Two Worlds- You are stronger in the areas where the veil between worlds is thin. Bonus to all stats and health regen becomes active in liminal spaces, near portals, or anywhere worlds are closer to one another. The weaker the barrier between worlds, the stronger you become.

That explained a lot. Either the few points I’d invested in luck had paid off in a massive way, or the system had known of that ability and placed me here on purpose with a quest that had the potential to maximize its effects. My money was on the latter.

When I felt I had recovered enough strength I tried to stand, but suddenly found myself seated instead. The room suddenly well lit, and the soft buzzing of fluorescent lights above my head. I was in a cubicle. A plain desk in front of me, and a picture of my mom and my old cat placed to the side of a computer monitor. I heard a slurping noise, and looked up to see Ren, sipping a cup of coffee.

He was wearing the same clothes as last time, but this time there were no glasses obscuring his eyes, and their kaleidoscopic colors sent a shiver down my spine. He swallowed a sip of his coffee.

“Great work on the quest kid! I’m really impressed. Definitely gonna make sure to put that in your next performance report. I mean, I plopped you here knowing that the system quest was here, wasn't sure you'd survive, but you took great advantage of the opportunity.”

I looked up at him, then down at his coffee. “Can I have some of that?”

His smile grew and he snapped his fingers. The secretary from my interview appeared, and placed a cup of coffee on my desk, a polite smile on her face.

“Thank you.” I said to her, and lifted it to my lips. It was perfect. Extra cream and sugar, just like I liked it.

“So,” asked Ren, “How are you enjoying the job so far?”

I placed my mug down on my desk, a small drop of the coffee sliding down the side of it. “I like it better than being dead. Wish I’d had a bit more of an explanation for what I was in for though.”

He gave a sympathetic smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Sorry about that kid. Needed to get you into the office right away. System quests are like the lottery when it comes to making waves. Going forward earning me choices is going to require a lot more self direction.”

“Have time for some questions now?”

“Sure Mac, you’re the first of the champions to earn a choice for their god. That gives me a lot more clout with the other execs. That’s why I’m here actually, thought you deserved a bit more one on one time.”

“Why did you pick me for this?”

He frowned. “Bit of a boring one. You have most of what you need to figure it out yourself.”

I looked up at him with no expression and took another slow, luxurious sip of my coffee.

He sighed. “Fine, I’ll answer. I chose you because you are particularly suited to travel between worlds. It takes less energy, less focus, and since I’m a god without a domain, that made you one of a very select few options.”

“Why am I so suited for travel between worlds?”

“You need me to spell it out for you?” he gestured at the tips of his ears.

“So my Dad really was...?”

“Travel between worlds is never just one way.”

“Then why didn’t I look different on earth?”

“Every world has rules. Earth’s are very peculiar. When people from other worlds visit, they shift a few shapes closer to human, both inside and out, even if they were anything but. Because Elves already look nearly human to begin with, the difference was very negligible for both your father and you.”

I let all that sink in. “So my father is here?”

“Yes.” Ren brought his watch to his face and looked at it with his eyebrows raised. It was a digital with bugs bunny as the face. “I only have time for a few more questions. Make it quick.”

I thought about asking how to find my dad, but that wasn’t a priority, nor did I feel ready for that. “What was that thing I killed”

“A creature from another world. I think they’re called Setebens. The other gods all agreed that they weren’t worth saving, unlike the stonemen.”

“Are all the races here refugees of dying worlds? I knew they were brought from other ones, but not that they were saved from their originals.”

“Most of them are. Taking people from places that are doomed is usually the safest way to do it. That way we aren't interfering with another world's development, or having to deal with the long wait that comes from growing life yourself.”

That was a lot. It also explained another reason why I myself was an option. I had been ‘saved’ from death as well. “Why have I not been losing it the entire time I’ve been here? I don’t feel things the way I used to. Is it the combat class? The hidden ability?”

“No and no. Your brain’s just different.”

I blinked. “My brain?”

“Yes. Just like your body became more elf-like when you came here, so too did your mind. Elves live a long, long time. They don’t tend to let themselves be bogged down by unnecessary thoughts too often, they fling themselves into new experiences. Otherwise it’s likely they’d all kill themselves. That combined with your human mind is creating some odd effects.” He looked at his watch again. “That’s all I have time for.”

“Wait, what is this choice that I earned you? What are you going to do with it?”

He smiled a little more widely than I thought should be possible for his face. “Don’t worry. I’ll wait till you're out of these caverns to use it. It’ll be a fantastic presentation!”

After that I found myself back in the dark as abruptly as I’d found myself in the office.

…

The body of the creature was still across from me. I couldn’t tell how much time had passed, or if any had at all. I wiped the blood off my sword, letting more of its glow shine through. Walking around the edges of the room with that as a light source, I eventually found a path outward. I followed it for what felt like too long a time and eventually found an exit back to the surface. I was on the other side of the island, far from where I’d first been pulled down below. The crystal trees that had covered the island were starting to crack and fall apart, whatever mystic energies that had held them together was fading with the death of the seteben. I could hear commotion in the distance, voices yelling over one another. I moved in that direction.

It wasn’t long before the group I’d arrived with came into view. Stonemen, mushroom dwarves, and kobolds were circled up in a practical defensive pattern. I approached sheathing my sword. Zevrack was the first one to notice me.

“Cor!” he yelled, pointing at me. “Get over to us, before the hands appear again and attack!”

That made sense. My fight hadn’t actually taken that long, and the group was still on alert from the men who’d been taken when we’d first arrived. Not to mention whatever they’d seen during the creature's dark ritual.

“It’s okay!” I yelled. “I killed it, the creature is dead!”

The men all looked at one another warily and Zevrack risked a step away from the group, “It is?”

I nodded. “It dragged me down to an underground chamber. Entrance is back that way… You’ll find the bodies of the missing people there as well.”

Tog approached behind Zevrack. “Survivors?” he asked.

I looked down. “No. The creature was killing them for some kind of ritual. He was trying to summon more of his people to this world.”

I saw Tog’s jaw clench. He’d been a lot more hopeful that they’d find survivors than either the Tender or Zevrac had been. His people had certainly suffered the most losses to the monster.

I found a piece of stone to sit on and let everyone else deal with the cleanup. The stonemen dragged the creature’s corpse up to the surface and each of them took a turn tearing it to shreds, chanting as they did so. It was gruesome to watch, but it wasn’t my place to judge how they processed their grief. The Kobolds seemed to prefer processing by surveying the island, claiming spots of land for themselves, and arguing over whether they could own a part of the water or not. The mushroom dwarves simply solemnly gathered their own dead, discussing which parts of the field would be best nourished by what was left of them.

I sat, drank some water, and thought over what I’d learned from Ren, and all I’d experienced so far. One thought cut through all of the others. I really wanted to get out of these caverns. I wanted to start doing things with this new life, on my own terms.