Arcturus’ eyes opened to the familiar sight of his room on Earth, his mind once again submerged into the deepest recesses of his subconscious. It was not a surprise that after falling unconscious, he’d once again find himself lucid dreaming within the safety of his own mind. The scene was somewhat different this time, though, with a light smatter of rain on the windows of the house – and a faint rumble of thunder in the distance. He’d always enjoyed sitting on the veranda with his mother, drinking a piping mug of hot chocolate and speaking to her about different topics while the scent of rain filled his nostrils.

He glanced down to see himself wearing the same clothes he’d had on in Angela’s workshop, complete with the bloodstains from his nose and lacerated right palm. He turned his hand over and looked at it, noting the faint white line of scarring where his nails had torn up a near-straight cut in the flesh. From his last experience levelling up, he had assumed that no scar would be present – but of course, his body was reconstructed per his inner identity. If that scar had become synonymous with his identity, perhaps on a subconscious level, then of course it would be there.

“I suppose that’s my mark, then.”

Arcturus looked up without alarm to see the watching eyes of the man he’d murdered, standing in the same mix of science fiction space cowboy attire he’d noticed in the real world, though lacking the crushed throat or purpled face. There was strangely neither fear nor trepidation at the other man’s presence. Arcturus felt a strange blend of sadness and resignation when looking at the Terran, knowing inherently that the other man’s being there within the depths of Arcturus’ own mind was absolutely right and proper. “I’m sorry, Geran.” Arcturus said softly, his voice quiet with shame and regret. “I didn’t… I mean, I didn’t want to….”

“It’s alright, kid.” The man said with a strange sort of serenity, his grey eyes thoughtful as he surveyed the room. “I’m at peace with my death. That might surprise you, but I think it’s probably a more important ending than I could have hoped for.”

Arcturus blinked in confusion, frowning at the other man’s words. “How? It was so needless! I was so overcome by rage, and…”

“You had to go through a crucible, Arcturus. I just presented a chance for that.”

“That isn’t right, though!” Arcturus protested with a self-recriminating scowl. “I’m supposed to be a man, and I threw a fucking tantrum like a child. A lethal tantrum.” His scowl melted away and he lowered his head into his hands, fingers kneading at his scalp. “Oh god, I killed someone.”

“You thought you were defending your life, kid. Anyone else would have done the same thing.”

“That’s not an excuse! Even defending yourself, there are ways to—!” Arcturus abruptly cut off, his mind processing what Geran had said. “Wait, what do you mean ‘thought’ I was defending my life?”

“We were never there to hurt you, kid. You know that.”

“How would I—?”

“Because I’m part of you, now. Stop closing it off, kid, and let it in.”

Arcturus looked at him in confusion again, before gasping and doubling over, his hands grabbing at his throat. He couldn’t breathe. His eyes flew to Geran in a panic, and the man simply stood and watched him with the same calmly serene expression, a wry little smile on his features. Arcturus slid off the bed and hit the floor, writhing as he felt himself growing faint from the lack of oxygen. He was dying. He was dying, and he couldn’t stop it. There was a vice squeezing at his windpipe, and he was going to die, the exact same way he’d murdered Geran!

As immediately as the thought came, Arcturus felt the pressure recede and vanish, in the same instant as energy flooded him in a tide of potential, causing him to arch his back and his eyes to bulge against the deluge of a life’s worth of experiences. First moments, first steps, first words, first love, first kill, and then repeats and new experiences: Every moment, every second, every instant of Geran’s life flowing into him in an unbroken tidal wave of essence that eventually forced him to cry out for it to stop, without success or real effect.

On and on came the unrelenting stream of lived days, faster and faster until at last the moment of the older man’s demise rippled through Arcturus’ young mind and he finally, mercifully, felt the pressure of it all fall away. Geran watched him as he gathered himself, opening his eyes slowly as the memories of a full life settled into his psyche and faded into accessible, but firmly stored information. Despite it not being actively present, he knew without question that any information he desired from those experiences remained there in the darkest and most unseen recesses of his mind. Perhaps in the future, with the right training, he would even be able to peruse them at his leisure.

“I never thought I’d die to a godling.” Geran said thoughtfully as Arcturus sat up.

“A godling? No.” Arcturus said wearily. “I’ve met God, and he’s an asshole.”

“Yes, because that’s a normal experience for just anyone to have.” Geran replied drily. “I’m part of you now, Arcturus. I can feel what’s inside of you, what you’re composed of. The powers of Creation and Destruction themselves; the primordial Aether. I can taste it with the echo of my soul, and the purity of its concentration terrifies me even as I am now – barely a true sapience, an echo of someone gone. You have no understanding of the level of power you possess.”

“Well then it’s not much help to me, is it?”

“Not yet.” Geran agreed pointedly. “However one day, when you fully learn to harness it… That day, Arcturus, you’re going to make Terra tremble.”

“I have no desire to do anything of the sort.” Arcturus said firmly.

“We shall see.” The spectre replied, before vanishing.

Arcturus blinked when he was gone, looking around his room and pushing himself slowly to his feet. “Geran?” He called experimentally, frowning at the sudden solitude, before realising he was missing the ghost of a man he’d murdered. It was probably for the best that the spirit of the slain mercenary had departed or gone dormant of its own accord. Arcturus did not want to consider the idea of having to fight some sort of life or death struggle in the confines of his own mind. He in fact recalled several instances within more than one video game, anime, or visual novel where just such confrontations would take place. He had always found it strangely intriguing, watching the hero have to battle against the guilt of their actions through contention with the very person whose life he or she had taken. There was a strange sense of justice in how it was all done, though he could admit the flashy effect and over-the-top dialogue had made the games a little hard to believe.

This isn’t a video game, Arcturus.

Unable to help laughing out loud at the recrimination of his subconscious, Arcturus knew what had to be done, and with the unlocked essence of Geran’s existence thrumming within his being, he knew it was time to distribute it. He moved to the waiting writing desk quickly, feeling the hum of energy inside of himself growing more restless every passing moment – pulling at him to make proper use of it. The paper was waiting for him as it had before when he sat down, though this time there were two distinct, black-outlined shimmering white bars side by side. Two levels, two bars. It made sense. Turning back to the paper, he smiled when he saw his character sheet had appeared and started to read.

INFORMATION PANEL

BASIC INFORMATION

NAME Arcturus Valoura CLASS Ȁ̶̩͉̝̤͘͝r̴̥̥͕̐̌͒͝ć̸̫͓̿ͅä̸̧́̐̀n̷̲̏̌̀͜͝ẹ̷̜͙̈́̏ ̷̙̥͐̄W̴̮̘͂̓̊͝a̴̢͑͆͋ŗ̷̬̫̋r̵̪̯̋̓̅̕i̷̛͖̬͍ō̵͍͉͜r̸̡̻̗̜̿͒ RACE Human(?) AGE 21 GENDER Male LEVEL 4 TITLE(S) N/A

CONDITION

ANIMA 11 HP 110 / 110 2.00 Health Per Minute (HPM) AETHER 11 MP 110 / 110 2.00 Mana Per Minute (MPM)

ATTRIBUTES

Strength

Agility

Intellect

Vitality

Perception

Arcana

Willpower

Charisma

Luck

19

13

14

15

14

18

21

14

??

CORE SKILLS

SKILL NAME

DETAILS

Aether Manipulation

(Passive, Infinite Scaling)

You are now able to make use of the mystical abilities tied to Aether manipulation, allowing you to cast and understand magic, in all of its many fantastical and myriad forms.

Inspect

(Passive, Infinite Scaling)

You have succeeded in achieving a basic mastery of the System, and unlocked the ability to view the details of items and individuals. Due to the low level of the initial skill, however, this ability will not function on most higher forms of life! Unlock further progress in the [Inspect] skill to enable higher levels of information access.

COMBAT SKILLS

SKILL NAME DETAILS

Unarmed Combat

(Passive, Level 1)

Your life’s worth of extensive combat training has borne fruit! Several styles of martial arts and close quarters combat training have blended together into something uniquely your own, allowing you to be lethal even while buck-naked! Go get ‘em, Arcturus!

Stealth

(Active, Level 1)

With your enhanced Agility, you have just barely managed to move with something approaching respectable levels of stealth! Practice and dedication to Stealth will only serve to better enhance your ability to move undetected. There’s absolutely no way you’d think to abuse the ability to avoid detection by others, right? Happy Sneaking, you dastardly rogue!

MAGICAL SKILLS

SKILL NAME DETAILS

Psionicist

(Passive, Infinite Scaling)

Through a mix of your high Willpower and above average Arcana, you have unlocked the ability to manifest your will through the strength of your mind and aether. Your Psionicist level will scale with your highest Psionicist ability!

Telekinesis

(Active, Level 3)

Your ‘Competent’ skill in Telekinesis has eliminated the need for specific castings! Your Telekinesis can now be used solely in whatever capacity your mind imagines. Be careful though, Arcturus! While now unlimited in application, the Mana cost of your abilities will be directly affected by any relevant physical, magical, mental, or enchantment resistances active on your targets! Distance and complexity of casting will also need to be considered, lest you accidentally drain your Mana instantly!

TRADE SKILLS

SKILL NAME DETAILS

Cartography

(Active, Level 1)

Your father’s hand in your upbringing, combined with your impressive pursuit of political science and military history both modern and ancient granted you quite the skill at reading, and even drawing maps. In this strange new world you find yourself in, this skill could be critical, unless you enjoy wandering aimlessly in circles!

Arcane Linguistics

(Passive, Infinite Scaling)

Your unconventional birth and violent entry into the world have catalysed a foundational association to the reality of the realm. By Luck or subconscious design, your ability to discern the languages of those you speak to is far more than a talent – it’s a literal power! You need never fear communication problems, though it’s definitely going to raise questions if you start speaking to Golems! Try to avoid befriending sapient rocks, eh?

Enchanting

(Active, Level 1)

Your preternatural ability to send the aetheric composition of things has manifested into the ability to perform rudimentary enchantment! You’re very Lucky, in fact, that you managed to succeed in what should have been an impossible task for an amateur! Once again you changed Fate by your mere presence, but don’t let it go to your head.

Aethersmithing [Core]

(Active, Level 1)

Your strange and limitless potential for odd talents manifests once again, allowing you to activate a Runic Forge you really have no business being able to operate! What are the odds that you have a talent so rare it’s considered a prodigious gift? Whatever they may be, it appears that you once again defied all expectation to achieve something amazing. Great going, you over-achieving abomination!

Aethersmithing Infusion [Branch]

(Active, Level 1)

Your ability with Aethersmithing now allows you to infuse any items within two levels of your existing skill! Considering you have no idea what you’re doing beyond instinctive fumbling, you’d better start learning how to avoid disaster before you try creating a masterpiece!

Aethersmithing Diffusion [Branch]

(Active, Level 1)

Your ability with Aethersmithing now allows you to diffuse and break down into their base materials any items within two levels of your existing skill! Considering you have no idea what you’re doing beyond instinctive fumbling, you’d better start learning how to avoid disaster before you accidentally detonate a building! EXPERIENCE 512 / 400 Level Up In Progress

Arcturus considered the sheet in its entirety carefully, perusing each section of the breakdown of his essence with intent scrutiny, blinking when he reached his Unarmed Combat. The text for the level designation was shimmering, dancing with light to his eyes in a way nothing else was. Curiously and cautiously, he pressed his right forefinger to it to ‘activate’ whatever was waiting, blinking as the Unarmed Combat number flashed from 1 to 2, and nothing else changed.

Anti-climactic though it was, he nonetheless nodded in pleasure at the growth, realising that it only made sense for his skill to evolve given the events of Angela’s Workshop. As his eyes proceeded down the list, he also spotted that his Telekinesis was shimmering as well, drawing his eyes and attention. More than that, and unlike his unarmed skill, the telekinetic description was shimmering as well – hinting at an evolution far more poignant than the jump from 1 to 2 for Unarmed Combat. Swallowing his nerves, he touched the ‘Telekinesis’ written on his sheet, and read the morphing words with a growing smile.

Telekinesis

(Active, Level 4)

Your ‘Competent’ skill in Telekinesis has eliminated the need for specific castings! Your Telekinesis can now be used solely in whatever capacity your mind imagines. Due to your reckless and self-destructive use of multiple psychic overdraws in order to brutally execute another person, your telekinetic skill is now more resistant to shattering!

+2 to all Willpower checks in combat!

“Well I’ll be damned.” He said out loud, laughing with relief at the snarky description he attributed to his subconscious inner voice. His accidental self-destructive rampage had apparently served something much akin to a furious week at a gym, working and building his telekinetic muscle rapidly. It did make sense in its own way, given that to build muscle one had to effectively damage it and force it to heal back stronger. His psionicist abilities operating along the same rules only seemed appropriate.

Turning back to the rest of the sheet, now with the updated telekinetic and unarmed combat ability levels, he perused what else he had gained. The Cartography, Arcane Linguistics, Enchanting, and Aethersmithing were listed under ‘Trade Skills’ – a category he recognised as dealing with abilities, talents, or skills that didn’t relate directly to any form of contention. They were like tertiary additions to his repertoire; useful in their way, but removed from the more practical applications his other talents afforded him in combat. Which, of course, made sense.

Yes, that’s why they’re called ‘Trade Skills’ genius.

Arcturus’ eyes swept over the sheet again in full before addressing his gaze to the primary attributes under his name and the demented text of his classification, frowning at the still-glitched nature of the writing he was seeing. It was as if reality were trying to quantify him and failing, pondering the idea that perhaps he was more unnatural than he’d previously thought – and that the sarcastic comments alluding to such on his sheet weren’t so sarcastic – in a momentary state of concern. If it were true, then it very well might mean that his existence would not operate along the same path as others. Would it result in some sort of penalty to his lifespan? A future mutation he couldn’t control? Some sort of potentially harmful aural effect, like he were radioactive?

Focus on what you know.

The logic of his inner self halted his slow spiral into worry, and Arcturus drew a calming breath as he realised it was precisely the truth. He could control his level up and potentially his future developments – good or ill – with enough caution and attention. Knowledge would be required for that, however, and that would mean actually making the effort to finally visit one of Luxanium’s libraries. As much as he desired to find his friends – assuming they were on Terra – and find a way to get back to Earth, he also understood and acknowledged the necessity of information. His Father had stressed that enough. Understanding one’s circumstance was a critical factor in any crisis, and his current situation was definitely no exception.

Shaking his head against the brutality of the world he found himself in, Arcturus sighed. "Anyone who thought that adventures in a magical world were appealing had no idea what the hell they were talking about."

You realise that includes you, right, Mr I-Talk-To-Myself?

His only response was a grunt.