Welcome to the system Johnathan Cribb!

Please standby for system administrator.

‘What the he-’

*Thwoom*

A bright flash lit up the area around John.

“WHO THE HELL IS CAUSING PROBLEMS NOW?! Not only was I having some quality time with some very, and I mean very, lovely ladies, but this is the second system error I’ve had to deal with in the last millennia!”

John himself had no words. Regardless of the fact that he didn’t possess a mouth to speak with, John was mentally speechless. This was the first time he had heard actual sounds in an eternity. John’s current form also lacked ears, but his vapor-like form was more than sensitive enough to feel and process the vibrations. The chief concern to John was just who this guy was. He had an average enough face, with odd clothing and an enraged expression.

“You. What do you think you’re doing? You think you can interrupt MY time so casually? Huh, punk, you listenin’ to me?”

John could only float in response.

“Oh, you think you’re better than me, dontcha? Well let me tell you tough guy, ain’t nobody better than yours truly.” The man stared down at John imperiously. While waiting for John to respond the man finally realized John’s predicament. “Ohhhhh, you can’t talk. Well, that will be an issue. We can’t fix it as you are right now, but I should be able to pick up on your intent now that I know what to look for.”

Most would be shocked into silence a great deal longer; John Cribb was not most. His special circumstances had, after all, gifted him a mind much better suited to processing new stimuli. With that mental might, John began to think. He thought long, and he thought hard. He did his best to think to his new roommate.

‘Who are you, and what happened to me?’

“I’m System Sector Admin 13097A, but that’s a mouthful, so call me Jerry. Hmm as for your other question, you’re asking about the past and about you… Ah, you want to know what happened to you? Right?”

‘yes’

“Ok. So, you died. After your death, your life was judged by Karma — one of the primordial forces in the universe — and it apparently decided that your soul was deserving of eternal punishment. Before you try and fumble your way through a question, souls are sent to hell when they fail to create any good in their lives, not necessarily if they are evil. Souls like yours are sent into spaces of torment until the mind fully dies from insanity, thus leaving a blank soul to be thrown once again into the cycle of reincarnation.”

Jerry, as that what he was apparently called, had a slowly forming look of confusion on his face following his explanation.

“So, what I want to know is how you caused the system to have a hiccup?” Pausing for a moment, Jerry pulled up a screen. “Welcome to the system? Oh, OH! Holy shit. This hasn’t happened since the breaking era!” Jerry sharply looked toward John. “You came from a world without these screens right?”

‘…yes…?’

“Incredible… you manifested your own soul core despite having no connection to the system, that is… incredibly awesome!”

‘…Why?’

“Well you see Mr. Cribb, when the system was created, the universe resisted assimilation. Because of that resistance, there are pockets of space where the system never reached. You seem to be from one of those pockets.” Jerry showed an awed expression on his face. “How’d you do it?”

Rather than try and tell Jerry what he did, John instead chose to show him. Doing what by now had become trivial to John, he created a series of runes in no particular order without the execution blocks found at the beginning and end.

“…”

‘Jerry.’

“…”

‘JERRY!’

“AH! Yes, yes. Um, I need to call a superior. This shit is WAY above my jurisdiction…”

John was thrown by Jerry’s reaction. The system was clearly related to the runes, so why was Jerry so shocked by John using them? The concept of being in the hell had also bothered John. He had guessed in a sense that he was in hell but the knowledge that he was in the real deal was a thought that didn’t sit very well.

John always knew he wasn’t a good person per se, but he always thought he was at least justified in some way. He was a predator, it’s only natural that he should hint those who act like prey, right?

‘did I truly do no good in my life?’

His thoughts flashed back to Sarah. He thought of how she laughed, how she smiled, how being around him made her so happy.

‘And then I left her. Her father would have made sure that my disappearance was cast in the worst light.’

John’s thoughts were interrupted by a familiar sound

*Thwoom*

“13097A! Just what the hell are you bothering me for?”

It seems that these admins shared a common disposition. This one was outwardly female, with a perfectly symmetrical face, her fine eyebrows scrunched in anger, and billowing around her face was a storm of fiery red hair. At second glance, her hair was actually real freaking fire! John was pretty damn sure she wasn’t human. Jerry probably wasn’t either for that matter.

“Sorry boss, just take a look at my notes from the last few moments, they were sent with the aid request I sent.”

“Humph, fine.”

The woman’s face shifted from anger to mild irritation, and then again to blatant confusion, finally coming to a stop as wide-eyed surprise. John was not liking the fact that they were surprised with him.

‘What?’ John thought at the woman.

“Mr. Cribb, I am Galactic Administrator 79850J, and I have been directed by system high intelligence to provide you with a warm welcome to the universe at large. You’re causing quite a stir at the headquarters right now. Anomalies occur, but your case is more than that. Johnathan, you are an impossibility, something that should never be able to happen.”

‘But I have.’

“Yes, it does indeed seem to be so. Enough of this, we need to get you into a body so we may have a better conversation.”

“Hold it, Administrator”

“Zaelimaph, so kind of you to see us off.”

“This soul is my charge; you and your kind do not have the authority to take a prisoner from Hell. Besides, the demonic court wouldn’t stand for it.”

“Please, archfiend, you and I both know it’s only one measly soul. Just do me this favor and I’ll repay your kindness.”

“Demons are not known for their kindness, Eliza.” Despite his harsh words, the supposed demon had changed his tone to a softer one.

The demon himself was still plenty imposing despite the cordial demeanor. Standing at one and a half times the height of the nervous Jerry, Zaelimaph was a hulking form of muscle bound by bronze/red skin. He lived up to the term ‘Handsome Devil’ as he was appealing enough, if one were to discount the horns swooping backwards coming out of his forehead, or the massive bat-like wings hiding behind his equally massive form.

“Then we must come to an accord Zaelimaph. This particular soul has developed in ways that are of interest to very important parties.”

“Eliza, I do value our friendship, truly, but once a soul has been placed in punishment it must be placed into the cycle of reincarnation or Karma will be upset. Penance must be paid.”

79850J, or Eliza as it seems, seemed to consider and weigh the words of the demon.

“How long has Johnathan been in torment, Zaelimaph?”

“Allow me to check our records.” The demon’s eyes darted around, and it seemed he was looking at information. “Well that is odd.” John cringed at the words; he didn’t appreciate being such an outlier. “I inherited this soul from my predecessor, but it seems he also inherited it. I can’t find any date of arrival, very strange.” The demon froze. “It only starts with what demon had control of him when… damn, he predates our records! We’ve kept these records since the breaking era! It seems John is from before the breaking. That would make him older than even the system.” Awe was in the voice of Zaelimaph.

The demon looked at John for the first time. Wonder in his gaze. John was very uncomfortable.

‘Eliza?’

The admin was jolted by his thoughts. “That is old. Regardless of how old he is, surely this soul has suffered enough. Just reincarnate him as he is now. That shouldn’t cause too many issues, Zael?”

“P-perhaps. Eh-hem, yes that could be done Eliza. But please, tell me why you want this sinner to go free. Surely a soul so powerful committed atrocities with their power.”

John violently protested the accusation, to the wincing of all parties present. John would not be accused of crimes he did not commit, especially if they would stop him from getting out of this place. He sent feelings of pleading to Eliza.

‘Please, let me out!’

She was impacted noticeably.

“Zael, let him pass through, please. This one has suffered enough. And he may know secrets that system control would be very interested in. Interested enough to send some recompense your way perhaps”

The demon hesitated, but finally relented.

“I will let this one pass, but I will have demands of the administrators.”

“I look forward to it Zael…” There was some poorly hidden passion behind her words. Romance works in the weirdest ways it seems, thought John.

Zael looked to John and gave a particularly unfriendly grin.

“This will hurt, a lot.”

At least he was honest.

***

While the pain was excruciating, it was short-lived. More of a lightning strike than smoldering coals.

The oddness started when the pain stopped though. Upon regaining awareness of his surroundings, he was sent into sensory overload. Colors! Objects! Hell, John was happy to see shapes. And that was the least of the amazement, he could feel. Hands and feet on the ground beneath him. Air brushing his face and hair. His voice involuntarily came out in a half shout half sob of sheer joy. He missed this. All of it. Only after remembering that he had to breath did he notice Jerry. Sitting in front of him in the small room John found himself in.

The room itself was well decorated. It seemed to be a study that had books lining shelves, comfy chairs, and a large fireplace to sit beside. In the right chair sat Jerry. The man signaling to the chair across from him.

“Sit, sit. We need to talk while we still have time.”

John nodded jerkily, still acclimating to the feeling of having a body again. Standing on unsteady feet, John shambled to the seat.

“HeLLooo.” John tested the sounds on his tongue. He was already getting better with having a body. Just like riding a bike really.

Jerry nodded. “Are you ready to begin?”

“Y-yes. Yes I am.”

“Good, you should begin by asking any questions you have. We don’t have all that much time to talk.”

John collected his thoughts and ruminated on what he wanted to know. The most important thing that came to his mind was this system everyone talked about. Also, John needed to find out what exactly he had done with his sphere and the runes.

‘How long was I in there, I wonder…’

“Ok, um. What is the system? Like I get that it is something that presumably controls the universe from what you and the others said, but I need some more specifics.”

“I’ve never had to answer that question before. The system is as common to most lifeforms as gravity. The best way to describe it is that it creates sets of rules for the universe beyond what physics dictate. The system has slightly warped reality in order to as much. The most important thing for you to learn is how it effects individuals. Something you have not seen is your personal screen. Think or say status screen and you’ll see what I mean.”

‘Status screen!’

Johnathan Cribb

Human

Level:

1

Strength:

Rank 1

Agility:

Rank 1

Intelligence:

Rank 3

Endurance:

Rank 1

Charisma:

Rank 1

Wisdom:

Rank 1

Luck:

Rank 2

John was stunned. It was so alien to have this artificial screen describing him. It vaguely reminded him of video games, except instead of numbers for attributes it was shown as a rank.

“What is this Jerry? I can already guess that the seven lower names are attributes of my person, but how do they relate to the rank beside it.”

“Alright, as you already could tell the names beside the ranks are your attributes. Strength quantifies your raw ability to exert force, agility your fine motor control, and intelligence your computational ability. The others are like you’d expect as well.”

“The rank is representative of your species, in your case Humans. Rank 1 is the general descriptor of basic human ability, or you could say, ability under the level of system aid. With every rank more than one, you are in different tiers of ability. The higher the rank, the further away from basic human ability you are.

Above the ranks, your level is indicative of the average of all your ranks. The lower whole number is always shown. Level 1.99 is still level 1. Any further questions?”

“No, I think I grasp what I needed to on that.”

“Good, now think skill screen.”

‘Skill screen!’

Skill Screen: 3 Current Skills

Skill Name: Rune Writing

Rarity: Unique-?

Type: Magic Casting

Family: Intelligence

Rank: 1

Description: The user writes in the language of magic itself.

Usage: Active Use

Cost: Mana

The very words of creation. Use them wisely, as some things are better left unsaid.

Skill Name: Mana Sense

Rarity: Uncommon-2

Type: Magic Sensory

Family: Intelligence

Rank: 4

Description: The user has the ability to sense mana around them.

Usage: Passive Use

Cost: None

The most integral skill for any aspiring mage.

Skill Name: Indomitable Will

Rarity: Legendary-2

Type: Mental Resistance

Family: Endurance

Rank: 4

Description: User is immune to debilitating effects upon the mind.

Usage: Passive Use

Cost: None

And when his very mind was broken, it healed back as strong as iron.

“This is your Skill screen. It catalogues the abilities that the system recognizes you have high aptitude with. Once the system recognizes your skill it becomes much easier to perform it. It would take far too long to describe all the nuances of skills and such to you, but when you have the time, I suggest focusing on what you wish to know. The system will answer most basic questions.”

“Thanks, I’ll make sure to do that in the future.”

‘Holy crap, that’s amazing. If it’s anything like video games at all then… I must look into this!’

John was no gamer himself, but he’d been around those who were. It seemed as though the system turned the whole universe into a video game. John was prepared to exploit it like one.

“What about the runes I made, what was so special about that?”

“Th-those are old runes. The stuff that was used to create the universe. They’re what the creators of the system used to build it. The fact you can some how understand and use them is terrifying in its implications Johnathan.”

“Whoa, that is kind of scary…” Jerry nodded emphatically. Happy to see John take it seriously. John was about to follow up with another question when Jerry cut him off.

“Your next question needs to be quick. We’re running out of time.”

“Time until what?”

“Your reincarnation.”

John froze up a bit at that one. He was suddenly very apprehensive for the future. John did not want to be a child again. Almost as if he read his mind Jerry spoke up.

“Don’t worry too much, the boss lady said she would pull some strings and make it so you land on a good world and don’t have to repeat puberty.”

John mentally thanked Eliza

“But she said you owe her one.”

‘Indeed, I do.’

The two went silent for a moment. John had one last question to ask before being sent on his way though.

“Jerry, Zaelimaph said I was at least as old as the breaking era. How long ago was that…?”

“It was 17 million years ago Mr. Cribb.”

In a flash of light. John found his new body enveloped. It was time he began his new life. Wherever and whenever that may be.