While having the choice was a surprise, the answer wasn’t. I’d already spent a lot of time in the mine thinking about all those people on Earth that were going to die. It did make some difference that I had to move the time frame forward into the future instead of looking at it like a done deal, but in the end, that didn’t change my answer.

I’d long ago lost touch with every member of my family. My two older brothers had willingly followed our parents into alcohol addiction and threw drug abuse in for good measure. My two younger ones had exchanged that kind of abuse for allowing themselves to be religiously abused by extreme fundamentalist churches. They had briefly reconnected when they learned I’d been sent to prison, and sent me a great deal of Christian literature. Some of it was actually decent, and they were encouraged when I told them that I’d made a decision to change my life and try God’s way, but they cut off all contact when I refused to accept their extreme judgmental views. I had no idea where any of them were, now.

I wasn’t without emotion over what might happen to them, but there was nothing I could do about it.

“I’m not really in love with any particular place. I would like to stay in the US, or what’s left of it. I’m not thrilled at the idea of landing in a big city right when things go all to hell, but I care about the kid, and if he’s going to be able to survive, then being there with him would only increase his chances, in my way of thinking, so send me to wherever he’s going.”

Lachesis’s face broke into a broad smile, and she actually followed that up with a laugh. “I felt sure you would make that decision; I am happy to inform you that Rob Colditz actually told me essentially the same thing. He wants to go wherever you go. I’m afraid that your location from where SCHEMA translated you into the BEGINNER TUTORIAL dimension will not survive the reforming of the continents. Most of the medium to large cities will suffer the same fate.

“Mr. Colditz is currently waiting for you to join him in the most stable area I could locate near your origin point. I must warn you, though, that none of the pre-SCHEMA maps will do you any good. SCHEMA relocates cities, people, and terrain based on how they will all fit within the new contours they have judged optimal for your planet. Perhaps after a great deal of exploration, you may manage to piece together the parts of different places that will now make up the reformed area from identifying features unique to those areas, but I suspect that you will find simply making new maps to be more accurate and less time consuming. Your own system map will automatically update itself as you pass through.

“I am ready to translate you directly to the chosen area, but perhaps you had better learn your spells?”

With a jolt, I realized that I had completely forgotten about my magic in all but the most general of ways. With a thought, I plucked my SPELL BOOK from the air and opened it. On the first page I found my name and LEVEL listed along with my MANA and SPIRIT POOL information. On the facing page, was the CANTRIP SPARK that I had received as part of my COOKING SKILL. Underneath that a second CANTRIP was listed:

CHILL: allows the USER to reduce the temperature of a small amount of matter to a great degree. Larger amounts of matter may be chilled to lesser degrees, or greater degrees over a longer amount of time.

COST:

0

TARGET:

TOUCH

TIME:

INSTANT

DURATION:

VARIES

That could be useful, I thought. At least I won’t have to drink my beer warm, if we find any!

There was a lot of space left at the bottom of the page, but it was blank, for now, anyway.

“How many CANTRIPS are there, and where can I find them?” I asked Lachesis.

“There are dozens of minor CANTRIPS and like all SPELLS, you can learn them from a TRAINOR, buy them via the SCHEMA MARKETPLACE, find them, or be awarded them,” she replied.

Turning the page revealed a table broken into two parts: CLASS SPELLS and GENERAL SPELLS.

My CLASS SPELLS were already populated in the list, but the rest of the table was blank. As soon as I looked at it, a message popped up:

PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL ONE SPELLS. YOU MAY SELECT THREE FROM THE LIST:

This was followed by page after page of spells.

Without thinking, I said, “Okay, lets do this like we did the CLASS list. Since we’re preparing for an emergency, remove all but the offensive or defensive spells.” My face flushed a bit when I realized I had treated a being who probably considered herself a god, or at least god-ly, like a personal assistant, or a computer, but if it bothered her, she didn’t let on.

The names on the list shimmered and when it cleared, was much shorter. Seeing as how I was already familiar with MANA BOLT, I looked for and found it on the list. I didn’t have to think much about selecting that one, I touched it and it populated. i didn't bother checking the description, since I'd already done that in the BEGINNER TUTORIAL.

I scanned the rest of the list to see if anything popped out at me, and was surprised when my eyes caught on one that seemed to have little utility: SEE MANA. I clicked on it and the description appeared:

SEE MANA: USER can see MANA anywhere within a 50’ radius centered on the USER unless it has been specifically shielded. Items which are imbued with MANA will be surrounded by a colored aura that reveals their rarity: Universal: white, Common: green, Uncommon: blue-green, Rare: blue, Epic: red, Legendary: purple, Divine: gold. Will not identify purpose. Beings composed of MANA or with MANA abilities will be surrounded by a colored aura following the rarity color scheme which will indicate general strength. Scalable.

COST:

1

TARGET:

50’

TIME:

INSTANT

DURATION:

60 S

“Why is SEE MANA considered an offensive or defensive SPELL?” I asked a bit more deferentially.

“The most important aspect of any battle is ‘know your enemy.’ If you know that the beings arrayed against you are MANA users, and have a general idea of how strong they are compared to you, you have a significant advantage. Also, if there are any traps that have been created with, or use MANA, you will be able to see them. Out of COMBAT, it is a very useful thing to have as it can reveal nearby magical items, or let you know if a door or container has been affected with MANA. It won’t tell you how they have been affected, you’d need an IDENTIFY SPELL for that, but you would at least be forewarned to expect a possible trap or magical lock.”

That does sound pretty useful, I thought, I’ll put it in the maybe list.

Of the ones that sounded like a more traditional defense, I narrowed it down to:

MANA ARMOR: Covers the USER with a shield of MANA that blocks up to 10 damage unless dispelled. Blocks all damage unless negated by SPELLS or item properties. Scalable.

COST:

10

TARGET:

USER

TIME:

INSTANT

BLOCKS:

10

MANA SHIELD: Creates a disc of MANA 5’ in diameter that can be extended up to 5’ in any direction. Blocks up to 10 damage of any kind unless dispelled or negated by SPELLS or item properties. Scalable.

COST:

10

TARGET:

5 x 5

TIME:

INSTANT

BLOCKS:

10

GRASPING MANA: Creates tendrils of MANA that extend from a circle 5’ in diameter on any surface up to 50’ from the USER for 10 seconds. TARGET must pass DEXTERITY check or be immobilized. Scalable.

COST:

5

TARGET:

50x5

TIME:

INSTANT

DURATION:

10

All of the offensive SPELLS available to me at LEVEL 1 were either ranged the same as the MANA BOLT or required direct contact, and only did the same 1-3 damage. My staff, even without coating it in MANA was better than that, not to mention my slingshot could match it. Some of them sounded intriguing, spraying MANA on a target that acted like acid, which had a chance to do another 1-3 damage over time, but in the end, I decided that I had more mundane offensive ability than any of the SPELLS could offer, at least at this LEVEL.

So, I chose MANA SHIELD as my main defensive SPELL. It was less useful for me, but I could extend it over anyone else who was within 5 feet of me, making it more useful if I needed to protect someone else. It was kind of expensive in MANA COST at 10, but with the amount of MANA in my POOL, I could cast it multiple times without worrying about using it all up. If I was going to be facing attacks from anyone at my level, I could expect to block at least one or two of their strikes before I had to cast it again.

SEE MANA really tempted me with its utility and low MANA COST, but in the end, remembering the pig attack made me choose GRASPING MANA. If we’d have been able to stop that pig in its tracks, we’d have either had time to run or time to hit it maybe twice more apiece.

I could always choose SEE MANA when I wasn’t expecting to have to fight right away.

SPELLS

CLASS SPELLS

LEVEL:

1

NAME:

POLYGLOT

COST:

1

TARGET:

SELF

TIME:

INSTANT

DURATION:

HIT

LEVEL:

1

NAME:

INSCRIBE

COST:

V

TARGET:

PAGE

TIME:

INSTANT

DURATION:

HIT

LEVEL:

1

NAME:

VERIFY

COST:

1

TARGET:

VARIES

TIME:

INSTANT

DURATION:

60

GENERAL SPELLS

LEVEL:

1

NAME:

MANA BOLT

COST:

1

TARGET:

LOS

TIME:

INSTANT

DAMAGE:

1-3

LEVEL:

1

NAME:

MANA SHIELD

COST:

10

TARGET:

5x5

TIME:

INSTANT

BLOCKS:

10

LEVEL:

1

NAME:

GRASPING MANA

COST:

5

TARGET:

50x5

TIME:

INSTANT

DURATION:

10

“Okay, I’ve got my SPELLS and I’m ready to go,” I told Lachesis, and before I even had the words out of my mouth, I was gone.

I landed on my feet and stumbled a bit. I thought maybe I had dropped from a higher place, but then I stumbled again, and almost fell.

Earthquake! I thought, and looked wildly around trying to find a place that wasn’t shaking. I was in a wide open plain, surrounded on all sides by tall, waist-high grass. I heard a loud yip! And looked behind me just in time to see the kid throw his arms up and fall, lost in the grass. That actually looks like a good idea, I thought, and dropped to all fours and scrambled across the shaking ground in his direction.

“What the hell’s going on?” he shouted, grabbing me like a drowning person does a lifeguard. Without anything else to hold onto, I grabbed him, too, and we both held on for dear life as the shaking tried to tear us apart. I tried casting a MANA SHIELD under us, hoping to protect us from the impacts as we were repeatedly tossed into the air, but we were taking damage so quickly that no sooner had I cast it than it shattered. I called up the POOL overlay that I’d arranged during the INFORMATION part of the BEGINNER TUTORIAL and saw my LIFE POOL dropping like a thermometer in Siberia. I was down to 50 LIFE when with a mighty CRASH! An entire mountain range that hadn’t been there before appeared nearby.

Trees and rocks and pieces of buildings began to fall all around us as we huddled together. Quickly, I cast MANA SHIELD again, this time over our heads as small pieces of broken rock and sand began to fall on us. I tried to cast it again, hoping to double up the protection, but apparently I was only allowed to have one at a time. I had to cast it three more times before the deadly rain stopped.

Suddenly, where there had been chaos like I had never experienced—like I had never even heard about—shaking, and things falling from the sky, there was a stillness and silence that was as shocking as the noise and the tumult that preceeded it.

Still clinging to each other like each other was the last refuge in the world, we lifted our heads and looked around. What I saw was impossible, and I know my jaw dropped to my feet as I took it all in. The mountains had to be much farther away than it seemed when they fell from the fucking sky! because all the trees had impossibly, magically landed root-down at the feet of the new mountain range planting an entire forest. We were still in the big middle of an ocean of waist-high grassland that stretched off in all directions, except for a field of boulders that dotted the ground for maybe a mile between us and the tree-covered slopes. I looked in the other direction. Buildings of all sizes and descriptions from tiny homes to skyscrapers littered the plain with no rhyme or reason to how they were placed. The nearest to us was a 20-story sky scraper, most of its gold-tinted window façade cracked and shattered.

I felt light-headed and cold, and I knew that I was certainly in shock. I looked at the kid, and he didn’t seem any better off. He was taking quick-shallow breaths, his mouth gaping like a fish, which reminded me to close my own, and he’d taken a hit from some bit of detritus judging by the gash in his forehead that was bleeding like a fountain.

“Here,” I said plucking my old homespun breeches out of my INVENTORY, wadding them up and shoving them into his hands, “Put some pressure on your head before you bleed to death!”

That got his attention, but when he looked at me, I could tell that the lights were on, but nobody was home. I quickly pushed him over onto his back and put pressure on the cut. Head wounds were a bitch, they bled like nobody’s business and you could never tell whether a guy had a concussion or was just in shock until sometimes it was too late.

I cast around in my mind, trying to remember what to do, but when I thought of checking his pupils, I didn’t even have a flashlight to see how they reacted.

Finally, I did the only thing I could think of, I held up a finger in front of his eyes and shouted “SPARK!”

The end of my finger flashed sparks like a 4th of July sparkler just for a second and then, to my great relief, a flame sprang up. I almost panicked when I saw my finger burning, but I quickly realized that I wasn’t feeling any pain. It was like when you coated your finger in lighter fluid as a kid and set it on fire.

I moved it back and forth in front of his eyes. I don’t know if he knew what was going on, but his eyes tracked it—which was good—most likely because it was the brightest thing there. Near as I could tell, both pupils contracted about the same amount. That put my mind somewhat to rest. It will have to do, I’ve just about exhausted all my wealth of knowledge about concussions. Where’s a medic when you need one? I willed the flame out, and it disappeared.

That’s when I heard the screams.

I’d probably been hearing them, but they hadn’t registered. My ears felt like they’d been stuffed with cotton and were just now clearing. I kept up the pressure on his head while I turned around and tried to locate where the screams were coming from. The skyscraper, of course.

About that time, the kid’s hands came up and with little fumbling, swatting motions, found where I was holding pressure on the cut and grabbed the breeches. “What the fuck was that?” he said, his voice thin with pain, but he pushed my hands away with one hand while keeping pressure with the other. He struggled trying to sit up one-handed and I put an arm under his back and eased him into a sitting position.

“That,” I said, “was SCHEMA. Do you think you can keep the pressure on your cut while I go see if I can help whoever’s screaming?”

“I think I can do better than that,” he said, and plucked his healing potion from the air. He was fumbling about trying to pop the top off one-handed when I grabbed his hand and the vial both.

“Wait,” I think you’re getting better, we’re not in COMBAT right now, so our LIFE should be regenerating at 1 point every 10 seconds. Why don’t you swallow down some of that stew, instead? It’ll double your regeneration for LIFE and STAMINA both, and we can save the potions in case someone’s really hurt bad. They only cure 10 points, that’s like a minute and a half’s worth if you eat the stew, but if all these people are at the same LEVEL we were before we took the TUTORIAL, it could mean life or death.”

With a nod, the red tube disappeared, and a steaming bowl of healing stew took it’s place. I took it from him and let him get in a better position before sitting the bowl in his lap and handing him a spoon. “Eat that, and when you feel like you can, come find me. You Okay with that?”

“Yeah, go help those people, or at least shut that bitch up! That screaming isn’t helping my head one bit.”

I laughed outright, his gallows’ humor taking the edge off the tension, climbed to my feet, and headed towards the screams.