Shortly after Jennifer left, the new Sim Pod arrived. It took a whole team of four people to carry and install the thing. Arnel actually hadn’t wondered until then what even happened to his old unit, which was an older model with far fewer features. Maybe it was a gift from Ermin Saltzer.

This new Sim Pod came with many medical features, including administering painkillers, nutritional fluids, muscle therapy, and more. It was, essentially, the perfect Sim Pod for long dive sessions. Better Sim Pods could allow the simulation of sensations better, such as pain, hot and cold, and many other pleasant and also unpleasant things. In the end, a better Sim Pod allowed one to react faster and to sense their surroundings with greater clarity. That is why true professionals always had the cutting edge in terms of Sim Pods, and it wasn’t just for Singularity. One could dive into the cybersphere as well, via the Sim Pod, and if one’s job was, for example, to design Mind-Constructs, then they would need to be able to perceive and sense as much information as was possible.

Watching the group, Arnel wondered why he couldn’t see their occupation, names, and citizen class. He couldn’t see Wei’s, Anya’s, and Jennifer’s either. In hindsight, it was probably not something that he did by himself. The likely explanation was that Leviathan wanted him to see that information, and showed it to him.

While waiting for the Sim Pod to be ready, Arnel walked on the treadmill. Even at the lowest setting, walking felt like he was climbing a mountain. It was so difficult that even Thomas had to act as a spotter for him, just in case. And yet, even though Arnel felt like the most useless human being in the universe, he also felt elated for some reason. It was as if he could glimpse something like a normal life on the horizon. Now that he was free from Seven, pain, Ermin Saltzer, and AGMI, maybe he could finally enjoy life once more.

He was even a Special Citizen now, with a high class. Class G. That was essentially upper class. He could afford all manner of things now. In theory, at least. There were two problems. First of all, Class G could mean many things, from high middle-class to mid-upper class. It really depended on one’s role in society. A professional player who achieved the lifestyle of Class G would not benefit from the same things a bureaucrat or scientist would. Often, citizens equated class to purchasing power, but that was not entirely true. Class described the importance of an individual in the grander scheme of the Commonwealth. Purchasing power was measured differently, and it depended on the active contributions an individual made to the Commonwealth. That was the difference.

In terms of contributions, Arnel was probably scraping the bottom of the barrel. He wasn’t even a Citizen before then, and non-citizens — honorary or otherwise — could not make official contributions. That was the second problem. Maybe his Citizen Class did not equate to purchasing power yet.

Leviathan told him recently that his Index score would’ve ranked him at Class A. Arnel could not even imagine what that would mean. As far as he knew, the highest achievable class was Class C. During the Consolidation, those individuals who steered the foundation of the Commonwealth possessed Class B. If the Founding Fathers and Mothers of the Commonwealth were Class B, then what was Class A?

Then again, maybe Arnel misunderstood what Leviathan meant by those words. Leviathan even mentioned that it ranked him so highly briefly. Maybe it wasn’t about how critical Arnel was to the Commonwealth, but more about the potential he had to be a critical component of the Commonwealth. They called him Code Trailblazer, and even Theta mentioned that she would’ve liked Arnel to become her Code.

What was a Code anyway? What was the Gestalt Mandate? Somehow, Arnel suspected that Thomas and Isobell were there, as his “bodyguards” because of those two things.

By the time Arnel was done with a very pathetic attempt at a shower, the technicians had installed his Sim Pod, calibrated it, recharged the various capsules, and left.

Before long, Arnel threw off the meat and bones of his physical form and became the digital, simulated entity known as Aren.

___

The world slowly materialized around him, the darkness receding like disintegrating blocks of pure black. More and more, the world expanded around him and soon he was able to recognize where he was. He had forgotten, because of the emergency exit, but he managed to take shelter in a ruined building, close to the entrance to the Catacombs.

Everything started coming back to him slowly. Perhaps it was the familiar scent of Rakab or the pattern of the ivy and moss-covered stones of the building, but he even managed to remember that before he was so rudely ripped from the world of Singularity, he told Fang that he was back in Rakab.

Back then, he was in the middle of the process of telling Fang that he had been beyond the door under Rakab. In his defense, he wasn’t thinking clearly back then. The incidents with the drones, the shock of meeting two AGMI, nearly dying, the anomalies with his clan list and reputations, all of these things contributed to Aren almost making a very dumb, but honest decision.

Telling Fang that he was beyond the door was not really an issue. The issue was explaining why and what he found beyond it. Back then, he wouldn’t have been ready to answer that question.

Aren glanced around, didn’t find the person he was looking for, and then pressed the air in front of him, the way Estella showed him how to do.

The clan list came up.

Sure enough, Camille was listed. Next to their names, everyone had a menu option in the form of a V symbol. Camille did not have that. When Aren pressed the symbol, he could pull up various bits of information on an adventurer, such as their profile, sending trade and friendship requests, invitations, and more.

But that was not the only difference. Camille’s background was dark, with a copper-scarlet tinge. It had a very monster vibe. Estella’s was bright and gold, while everyone else’s was just grey.

Aren swallowed. So that is why they were so interested in Camille. Her name on the Clan list was displayed as: Camille.

Suddenly, the window shimmered and another one popped up over his Clan List.

[ Calamitization process complete. You are now capable of utilizing your Calamity Abilities. ]

Aren pondered the window as if it was a UFO. He had no idea what to make of it, initially, and he was both worried and excited by the prospect of being a Calamity. Maybe somewhere in the world, some people wished they could become a Calamity. The potential rewards for gaining a high rank were things many like Aren and his friends could only dream of. No, now that he thought about it, he was fairly certain that there were people like that. Most likely, there were potentially also people who would want to help him achieve a high rank and obtain rewards for that as well.

Of course, there was an even easier way to obtain citizenship, a high Citizen Class, and rewards. Hunting and eliminating Calamities.

Aren pressed his finger on the window, right on top of the words Calamity Abilities.

Fate Devourer Calamity Types Overt, Predator, Exponential Growth, Corrupter, Reaper, Calamity Hunter Calamity Rank I Calamity Class Apocalyptic <[ Calamity Paths ]> -< Calamity Powers >-

Before Aren even had a chance to be disappointed by the lack of details, another window popped into his view.

[ You have obtained the [Arcane Predator] Calamity Power. ]

[ Arcane Predator — The Arcane Predator instinctively uses Divination-type magic and physical abilities to locate, track and hunt creatures fated for death. This power provides passive information gathering on the target’s nature, physique, location, and potential weaknesses. By consuming the prey after a successful hunt, the Arcane Predator may obtain permanent skill proficiency, or temporary skill efficiency bonuses, depending on the difficulty of the hunt, overall hunt performance, and the prestige bestowed upon the prey through the honoring of the Spirit of the Hunt. Only creatures designated as Epic, Legendary or, Unique can be prey. ]

[ Obtained Path of the Predator. Current Path: 3. ]

[ Obtained Path of the Arcane. Current Path: 1. ]

Aren stared at the window. He did not quite understand just how powerful this ability was, but the fact that it said permanent skill proficiency bonuses and the earlier exponential growth was more than enough to put together an interim comprehension that this was absurd.

Honor the spirit of the hunt? Honoring his prey?

Aren shook his head in disbelief. He would honor the heck out of his prey. Grand burial ceremony? No problem. One final luxurious trip to Eden-1? Done. Education and citizenship for surviving relatives? Done and done.

Aren chuckled to himself, considering all the pointless things he would do if his prey was something that could do any of those things. Monsters couldn’t travel in the real world, or become citizens, or obtain educations.

On a more serious note, what did it mean to honor the spirit of the hunt anyway? Stabbing his finger against the term did not do anything or bring up any new information.

“Meal quality,” a female voice suddenly spoke from next to him and Aren nearly jumped out of his skin.

He glared at Camille who shied away from his gaze and half-melded back into his shadow. “That is probably what it means,” she added, with a low, wary tone.

Gradually, Aren relaxed and his heartbeat resumed normal rhythm. Camille nearly scared him to death.

He gathered his thoughts. “Like cooking?” he asked.

Camille nodded. “Perhaps even Trophy gathering,” she said. “If I was a hunter, that is how I would honor prey.”

If Aren remembered correctly, Nissa had a Cooking Profession. As for Trophy gathering, he had no idea. What skill would that even be? Butchering or something like that?

At the moment, he was more interested in Camille. Camille. She was definitely a demon of some sort. He almost felt despondent. What would glorious Aurora think of him if the Goddess saw him consort with demons?

Before he could say anything, the blonde yawned and then dissolved into his shadow once more. Aren even reached for her, but it was far too late.

Sighing, Aren decided to take a stroll to the ruins. It was nearly guaranteed to be safe, but even if it wasn’t, he still had his close combat abilities which should be more than sufficient for orcs and goblins, if any remained in the ruined city. He was excited to share his new ability with Fang and Nissa, even after considering the pros and cons of such an action. Even though they didn’t end up using the Binder to make an unbreakable Geas to never betray Aren, it was decided against with sound reasoning.

Very smart people in Singularity have devised various methods of confirming if someone was or was not a Calamity. For example, if Fang were to make an oath to never betray Aren, what would Fang reply if someone asked him the following question: If your clan leader was a Calamity, would you betray him?

There were many ways one could use the Binding Geas to gather information on potential Calamities. There were other ways to find out as well. The Astral Court Guild had records of all Bindings, and though adventurers could not join the Guild, they could obtain the records and leak them in what was generally considered a suicide move, as it would permanently ruin the character with catastrophic reputation maluses. Still, Singularity, on a larger scale, had become a game of politics, and information was the deciding factor. Players became very good at obtaining information, scheming, and plotting.

The only question was, how does one use this [Arcane Predator] ability? Thinking about using it did nothing, opening his buffer did not do anything either. Two potential activation methods came to mind, however, as he eliminated more and more possibilities. Perhaps he had to find tracks of something he could hunt, or perhaps he had to know what he wanted to hunt.

Or, perhaps, he had it all wrong the entire time. That time, in the Catacombs, he felt the presence and direction of a Calamity. Or at least a Local Threat. Maybe that is what a taste of the [Arcane Predator] power was.

In hindsight, Aren realized that he was hunting something every time he further unlocked his Calamity powers. The first time, it happened with the One-Eyed King and the second time with Lightning Rider.

He found himself standing before the entrance of the Cathedral where the Catacombs of Rakab were when he received a group message.

[Group] Fang: We are in Rakab. Where are you, Aren?