Nat plopped down her lanky frame into her oversized bean bag chair as she let the air escape from her lungs in a low groan, melting into the familiar softness. Nat, short for Natasha (or Nasty as her little brother Chance liked to call her), let herself sink into a comfortable bliss as the years of stress flowed off her shoulders. She had just returned to her two-bedroom apartment after giving her capstone presentation for the final course of her five-year undergraduate architecture degree. She had taken a non-normal route and finished in four and a half years with this winter course tacked on at the end.

“Hey, you’re back!” Came a shout from the shared living area. “Tell me how it went.”

The voice came from a petite Hispanic girl with long curly hair who was wearing an oversized pink pajama onesie as she rushed into Nat’s room. The girl was Mary or María and she had been Nat’s roommate for the last two years.

“So are we getting rid of you yet?” Mary asked with a smile.

Nat ran her hands through her long sandy-blonde hair as she let out an even longer and more impressive groan than before.

“I think so?” She said uncertainty. “I mean my design was totally not economically feasible and the data I was working with was pretty old, even if it was within the allowed timeframe. But none of that is supposed to affect the grade so I don’t know.”

“What are you talking about?” Mary nearly shouted. “I saw your design and it was beautiful. Don’t go dissing my amazing architect friend. She’s gonna get rich and famous one day and take me all over the world to see and build beautiful things!”

Nat wasn't so sure but still smiled and leaned forward to kiss Mary on the cheek. “You’re sweet.” She said while smiling and wrapping her arms around Mary’s waist. Even nearly sitting on the floor Nat was almost as tall as Mary’s five foot two inches.

Mary blushed and pushed her away trying to hide the little flash of hurt that crossed her face. Things had gotten awkward between them when Nat had told her that they were friends and that’s all they ever would be. For a little over a year, they had been quite a bit more than that, but Natasha just saw it as fun and playful experimenting while Mary had started to see the relationship as their future.

Nat had known she needed to tell Mary before the end of classes when Mary started asking if Nat would be staying around until Mary graduated or if they would just be spending weekends at each other's until then.

Despite the growing hurt and awkwardness between the two, they were both determined to be the best of friends for the few days they had left together.

“Well, I think you did great. No one designs a public park-like my Natty does!”

Nat groaned at that, not only because she hated that pet name, but also because she knew she could have done better on her project.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever you say squirt.” She said while grinning wolfishly before grabbing Mary, who saw what was coming too late and was dragged onto the bean bag chair before being tickled mercilessly.

“Stop! STOP! STAAAAP!” Yelled Mary between uncontrollable laughter and attempts to catch her breath.

Once she stopped, Mary looked up at her shit-eating grin with as much pouting power as she was able to muster.

“Oh come now.” Said Nat. “You usually love it when I touch you.”

“Shaddup.” Said Mary with a low blush. “You know I hate tickling.”

“And you know I hate being called Natty.” Nat replied with a grin.

“Fair’s fair I guess,” Mary said while extracting herself from Nat’s iron grip and long arms. “Well, I don’t care how bad you think you did. We are going to celebrate. This is your last class finished and one of the last times I’m going to see you for a while so you better put something pretty on cause we're going out.”

“Nooo…” Nat whined. “I’ve been out all day. Come on we got beer and I’ll even make you a nice mojito or something. Plus, if we stay in we can just put on a movie and cuddle.” She said wiggling her eyebrows at Mary in a way that made her both excited and exacerbated.

“Well fine.” Mary grumpily replied while beginning to unbutton the top of her onesie. “But I have two rules.”

“Anything for my girl,” Nat replied with hungry eyes, immediately feeling like nothing had changed between the two of them.

“Rule one:” Mary said while dropping her onesie off her shoulders and onto the ground. “No clothes.”

“Yes ma’am.” Replied Nat already removing her shoes.

“And rule two:” Mary said while turning serious and taking Nat’s face in her comparatively small hands. “If… No. When I’ve had a few drinks and start crying about you leaving and falling apart, you have to be there to catch me.” Nat nodded to that seriously. “You gotta tell me it's gonna be ok and hold me like you won’t let go. But if you even for a second lie to me and tell me you’re not going or this isn’t what it is, I won't ever forgive you. Do you hear me?”

“Yes ma’am,” Nat replied much more seriously this time.

Mary smiled sweetly with a hint of sadness before grinning widely and hopping out of reach of Nat’s long arms.

“Well, what are you waiting for then?” Mary teased while prancing out her door. “You owe me a mojito.”

“Oh shit, how many did I have?”

Nat mumbled this aloud as she stared at her floating body that she was convinced was a hallucination. Quickly, with a surreal feeling, Natasha pieced together the last few hours that she and Mary spent together. She remembered drinking, bad romcoms, and a healthy mixture of crying and cuddling. But for the life of her she couldn't remember getting drunk enough to explain what she was seeing.

Some part of her accepted it as her reality and tried to move closer to her body standing there in front of her. Ooh, that’s weird. She thought as her disembodied consciousness floated nearer to her body. I wonder what this is all about?

As she had the thought, a glowing green screen popped up in front of her face.

Natasha Bychkov, you are here to awaken to your potential. How will you proceed?

Do you wish for your character to stay identical to your current self or do you wish to undergo evolution? Evolution offers the option of class change, stat change, race change, and appearance change among others.

[Forgo Evolution]/[Evolve]

WARNING: Evolution can cause unintended effects on personality, memory, and instincts.

“What the fuck? No!” She said aloud, despite her apparent lack of mouth. She immediately pressed the [Forgo Evolution] button using some instinctive ability to express her will.

What kind of psycho would be ok with some strange computerized thing changing their body or memories? She thought, failing to realize just how much of humanity would give almost anything to change who they were.

Another screen appeared.

Are you sure you wish to [Forgo Evolution]?

[Y/N]

Warning: If you do not undergo evolution you will keep your current professions and stats but will start with the [Undecided] class. You will be stuck with this class until you meet the requirements to take another class. This class does not impart skills, abilities, HP, or MP. You will be crippled in this new world until you unlock a class.

Wow, they are really selling the evolution hard. She thought before confirming her intention to not evolve. She knew it was dangerous, how she didn’t know, but some part of her was filled with an almost artificial confidence that this was real and she wasn’t in a dream or hallucinating. Are they controlling my thoughts? She thought with no idea who “they” might possibly be.

While thinking, two more screens appeared.

Character Creation: Accept? [Y]

Character Name:_________

Character Level: [0]

Character Title:

Character Race: [Human]

Character Age: [23]

Character Stats: (1-20)

Strength: [14]

Dexterity: [18]

Constitution: [15]

Intellect: [18]

Wisdom: [7]

Charisma: [12]

Luck: ???

Character Class: [Undecided]

Character Sub-Class: [Empty]

Character Professions:

[Student] Lvl. 4

[Architect] Lvl. 0

[Empty]

Character Equipment:

[Socks]

She quickly filled out the blank for her name before dismissing the first screen and studying the second. With a thought, she examined her student profession.

[Student]: One who has made it a habit to study and thinks of learning as a way of life.

Ability: [Exp. Bonus] EXPX1.35

Ability: [Study] By devoting time and attention to an object, person, machine, system, concept, or problem, the student can gain insight and knowledge into the subject being studied. This skill is similar to the more common [Appraisal] skill. While it is not as detailed as [Appraisal], it is usable in more abstract situations. Time required and results obtained vary based on the student's level and materials able to be studied.

Ability: [Skill Transfer] Through meticulous study of a manuscript or under the tutelage of a teacher you are much more likely to gain a skill, even one outside of your class or profession.

Ability: [Intellect] Improves the users [Intellect] stat by 3 points.

Ability: [Knowledge of [???]] Through rigorous study and dedication to learning, you have reached a level of understanding that puts you among those recognized as knowledgeable in your field. You gain a basis of knowledge in accordance with your field of study as well as an extremely high affinity for learning any new material related to your field of expertise.

Warning: You have not chosen your field of expertise. Please do at your earliest convenience.

Level 4 EXP (12,523/100,000)

It was all a bit overwhelming. Skills and abilities that could not only change her knowledge but also her very intellect. Some part of her was screaming the impossibility of what she was experiencing, rejecting what she saw before her very eyes.

She started to panic.

What the fuck is happening?! Why am I here? How are they changing my memories? Is this a joke? How could it be? I’m seeing what I’m seeing. What about school? Mom and dad are gonna be so pissed if I failed my project. Where’s Marry? She was right here!

Her thoughts began to devolve into a confused jumble as she became more and more unhinged. She started trying to hurt herself or find a way to wake up from what she assumed was a bad dream. Her thoughts reached a fever pitch and she began repeating the same terrified thought aloud over and over.

“I can’t get out”

“I can’t get out”

“I can’t get out”

“I can’t get out”

Each time she said it she freaked out more and more as the reality of her speaking without a body hit her over and over. Her thoughts began to circle round and round like the waters near a whirlpool before a noise interrupted her.

*Ding*

Due to your panicked state interfering with the awakening process, the status effect [Calm] has been forced upon you for the remainder of the awakening process.

Note: I’d like to say everything is going to be alright, but I can’t. That’s up to you. Take a deep breath and keep walking. Your future is in your hands.

A rushing wave of peace came over her as her thoughts began to realign themselves and her panic disappeared.

“Ok, well…. Thanks I guess.” She said to whoever controlled the messages. And she was truly thankful. She had experienced many panic attacks before but this one had been particularly terrible. She had really felt as if it was going to consume her. Whoever rescued her from that won a lot of points in her books.

With a sense of tranquility that was foreign to her, she decided to continue exploring her status. But first she decided to choose her [Knowledge of [???]] expertise.

[Knowledge of [???]] Expertise

Academia

General: Some students desire nothing more than to study how we study.

History

General: The study of history is as old as history itself.

Botany

General: The study of living flora, magical or otherwise.

Beasts

General: The study of fauna, magical or otherwise.

Geology

General: The study of the substance and structure of the earth.

Arcane

General: The study of the arcane arts. The why and how of the magics.

Humanity

Unlocked: As a human, you may choose to study all there is to know about the human race and its secrets.

Arcane Subspace

Unlocked: As you are currently experiencing a [System] created arcane subspace, you may choose to dedicate your study to spaces such as these.

The Old World

Unlocked: Having been born in and deciding to keep your memories of the world before, you may choose to make this your field of study. Perhaps you may unlock a secret or mystery before the old fades to the new.

The Sciences

Unlocked: Due to your basic understanding of and time spent studying the sciences, you can choose to make this your expertise.

Chemistry

Unlocked: Due to your basic understanding of and time spent studying chemistry, you can choose to make this your expertise.

Mathematics

Unlocked: Due to your basic understanding of and time spent studying mathematics, you can choose to make this your expertise.

Physics

Unlocked: Due to your basic understanding of and time spent studying physics, you can choose to make this your expertise.

Knowledge

General: Some gain knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself.

Warning: This will not further impart any knowledge but will rather make the process of learning faster for every category.

Architecture and Design

Unique Unlock: The system recognizes you as already advanced in the study of architecture and as such would impart little knowledge if this field is chosen. To offset this, you would be advanced to level two in your [Architect] class as well as receive an advanced skill for one of your levels.

???

Further fields of expertise can be unlocked via study, experience, or chance.

Uhh… I’m not really sure how this would work in actuality. Like if I choose geology will I know as much about it as a geologist or… And how would the sciences be different from chemistry? Is it an upgrade or downgrade from the more focused sciences? Besides I feel there should be way more options available. I’m classically learned on the violin thanks to my mom’s insistence and you’d think the English language or geography would be available for all the years of school I spent studying those things.

As she continued pondering the implications, she whittled down the list to the only three that interested her.

[Knowledge of Beasts]

[Knowledge of Arcane Subspace]

[Knowledge of Architecture and Design]

Having a greater knowledge of beasts seemed to be the most applicable skill to her survival after this whole awakening process. She had the distinct feeling that this room or subspace or whatever it was is the peace before the storm that will come after. So she decided to make the most of it and find out as much as she could before making any choices.

The first way to do that was learning about her [Architect] profession.

[Architect]: One who has dedicated themselves to the process of planning, designing, and overseeing the construction of buildings and other structures.

Ability: [Building Plan: Architect] With adequate concentration, time, and materials, an [Architect] can develop a plan for a building or other structure. When this plan is used during the construction of a structure the construction will be hastened by, and all margins of error will be decreased by, 5% for each of your [Architect] levels.

Ability: [Building Oversight] A common skill among those who oversee construction projects such as [Build Chiefs], [Master Builders], or [Architects]. This skill increases the energy, strength, and accuracy of any [Workers], [Builders], [Laborers], or other construction adjacent professions while they are being overseen by someone with the [Building Oversight] skill. The level of effect is dependent on the profession level and class level of the user. This skill does not stack with other instances of [Building Oversight] and can only effect 5 + (profession level) + (class level) workers.

Level 0 EXP (1/10)

Well that will certainly come in handy. But I still feel like it is a waste to spend the skill on leveling what I should be able to level without it.

Having eliminated one of her three options, she quickly decided between the two others. [Knowledge of Beasts] would probably be the most useful in the short run but it was a general knowledge while the subspace option seemed much more unique and rare.

Besides, if I’m understanding what an arcane subspace is correctly and I can find a way to integrate one with the buildings I design I could make something really amazing.

Decision made, she expressed her will and chose to make her [Student] field of expertise [Knowledge of Arcane Subspaces]. As soon as she chose she expected to feel something as the knowledge rushed into her head. She thought she may suddenly be given a crash course and feel her mind stretch and groan like it sometimes did when she crammed for a test.

Instead she just simply knew. She knew about arcane subspaces like she knew how to navigate her hometown or how to cook her mom’s famous eggs benedict. It was knowledge that was so integral that it felt like part of who she was rather than the surface knowledge she often gained from her studies. That kind of surface knowledge always seemed at risk of fading away if she didn’t focus on it or use it. The kind of knowledge like her three years of highschool French where all that was left was her ability to count to ten and introduce herself.

Confirming that the rest of her status was finalized, she spent the rest of her time in this blank white room thinking through and trying to understand her [Knowledge of Arcane Subspaces]. It felt like several hours before the [System] notified her that her time was ending and she needed to confirm her character,

Much of the information made sense based on a kind of logic framework rooted in the underlying physics of space and relativity that she had previously had only the most basic of introductions to in her life before this point. But almost all of it integrated and worked with the principles of mana, mana manipulation, runic pathways, and space magic that until a moment ago were totally forign to her.

The understanding was still patchy and incomplete but usually only on the most basic or complicated of levels. She knew how to optimize and comprehend spacial warping and spacial stabilizing runic pathways along with what materials best held such enchantments but she had no idea how to actually enchant anything and was completely unfamiliar with many of the materials mentioned. She knew how to optimize or even forgo the necessity of mana banks by using a mana siphon for a small enough subspace construction but she had no idea what a condensed mana construct was or how it was used to recharge a mana bank.

All that to say, she felt like she had a firm grasp on what she knew but still felt woefully unprepared for whatever world of magic and monsters she was about to find herself in.

Her last two thoughts before confirming her character were I really hope Mary is ok and Please don’t let me be some summoned hero like in all those dumb mangas Chance reads.

As she awoke, Nat found herself naked and tangled up with a very large form. The first thing she said when she awoke was the first dumb thought that came into her head.

“Mary, you’ve really grown.”

The evening of that first day she and Mary (or Marien as she called herself now which Nat completely ignored and continued calling her Mary) huddled together with four other human survivors and a gnome who didn’t speak the same language but had saved one of the other survivors and earned his place in their little camp for the night.

They had made their camp in one of the service rooms in the steam tunnels below the college campus. It was cramped and still a little too hot due to the residual heat but it was defensible and even more importantly almost completely abandoned.

Mary groaned as she turned her bulk over in her sleep. Nat again just marveled at her. Not only because she was now a six foot tall giant (well not a real giant, those were significantly larger and more terrifying) with dark skin the color of burnished bronze and sharp features that seemed more appropriate on an Aztec temple stone relief than on her previously tiny friend. She also marveled because she had seen those heavy hands rip apart more than one monster and demihuman, as they had started calling the monstrous humanoids, in the last twelve hours.

Mary seemed so different, so much stronger and assured than the tiny demure woman she had known over the last few years. But at heart she knew she was the same Mary. Just now, Mary’s fierce defensiveness of her was backed up by near 260 pounds of hulking muscle and a [Fighter] class that gave her inhuman abilities all seemingly related to destroying the enemy in front of her. And her fashion sense had been amended to include men’s XL sweats and a healthy layer of blood instead of her usual pink motif and otherwise vibrant wardrobe.

Her fighting strength had been added to by the [Barbarian] and [Guardian] professions she had unlocked in the first few hours they had spent trying to escape their apartment building. Those brutal hours had been hell for the two of them. Their survival had been won by only the smallest of margins again and again as they tried to escape from a building filled with demihumans and even pets turned monsters.

She had even been convinced that she lost Mary after one brutal encounter with an overgrown snake. While the beast hadn’t been venomous, its strength was able to constrict even Mary’s bulk and its serrated teeth were able to tear a chunk out of Mary’s neck. Nat managed to use a pilfered golf club to bash its head in only to have Mary pass out from blood loss. Fortunately, her falling unconscious triggered a level up that restored her to full health.

Despite avoiding it directly, death had been their constant companion the whole day. Once they escaped their building, they had found a group of other humans and banded together. Their group had been over thirty people at its max but was constantly adding and losing people as the day progressed. It was split between those who had and hadn’t evolved. About one third of the people hadn’t evolved and two thirds were people like Mary who had undergone the change.

Interestingly enough, some of those who hadn’t changed had a significant advantage in the beginning due to their professions. One older man, officer Grant, was high enough level in his professions to have unlocked specialties in both his [Hunter] and [Policeman] professions. He absolutely crushed any resistance they came across with his handgun while the group was growing. It wasn’t until he ran low on ammo and put the last bullet he had left into his head that Mary had told her that his last profession had been [Father]. He had been alone when he found the group.

But after several skirmishes, those who had classes began to shine. After Mary’s close call, we realized that even a short period of unconsciousness would allow for leveling classes. Knowing that, they called for a five minute break whenever one of the main fighters achieved a level up. Despite the large group size and diverse set of combatants, few came close to Mary’s combat prowess.

With the synergy between the brute aggression of her [Barbarian] profession and the damage-output focussed [Fighter] class, Mary had few contenders that could match the amount of carnage she could cause. This paired nicely with the defensive skills she received from her [Guardian] profession and allowed her to take risks others couldn’t when fighting. The only drawback to the [Guardian] profession was that many of the skills would only be active if you were actively defending someone else. For Mary that wasn’t a problem as she jealously guarded Nat wherever she went.

Talking about classes, it seemed that most of the [Undecided] group unlocked the [Fighter], [Defender], or [Support] classes and immediately jumped on the opportunity. Very few of the thirty in their group had the [Mage] class and few of the [Undecideds] were interested in taking the class. It seemed you didn’t have any MP before level one and the class was unlocked at level zero rendering it almost useless until the first level up which was difficult to earn without any usable skills. Also, even the most simple spells were difficult to memorize for people with an average or below [Intellect] stat. As if all of that were not enough reason to avoid the class, they also rolled a d4 for HP per level, the lowest of any class. And every person in this group learned early on the importance your HP had on your survivability.

Nat had unlocked both the [Support] and the [Fighter] class but had rejected both as she thought they ill suited her stats and frankly because she felt safe enough to wait for something better with Mary around protecting her. She had also rejected the professions of [Runner] and [Leader].

The [Runner] profession hadn’t surprised her as she had been heavily involved with cross country running in high school and she had done plenty of running from things trying to kill her during the day. The [Leader] profession had surprised her but with Mary backing her up, and her ability to make snap judgment calls, she realized more and more people looked to her to make decisions for the group. This was especially true after officer Grant died. She had refused to take any more professions until she had time to think it out and choose a good one for her last slot. The [Support] class had been tempting with its ability to take an extra two professions but her desire to make a calculated decision had stopped her from running with it.

With the death of officer Grant, the group lost its nerve. They had gone from seemingly unstoppable as they added more and more survivors to the growing group to extremely vulnerable in a moment. With officer Grant watching their back and the core group of melee fighters led by Mary’s savage power protecting their front, they had all felt like they might have made it out of the nightmare they had woken up in. Or at least delayed it for a while.

But with his death, the fight got sucked out of most everyone, and fear filled its place. Their previously clean and effective teamwork was replaced by people running from perceived danger and avoiding fighting even at the expense of other’s lives. The group began to fight internally about what priorities were important and stopped being careful about checking the surrounding area.

Their distraction quickly led to the group being decimated by a large group of gnolls that ambushed them while they raided a supermarket for supplies. All but two of their current group of seven had been with them when they splintered from the larger group and ran without reservation from that bloodbath. Three others had also been with them but their end had been quick, bloody, and not worth thinking about.

The two others that made up the current group hunkering down in the tunnels were a tall young man with long blond near-silver hair and aggressively sharp features and the tiny gnome that saved his life. They had found the larger group as they snuck through the streets and led the group to their current hiding place in the steam tunnels. It seemed that the tiny, maybe a foot and a half tall, gnome was able to fit through grates and unlock doors from the other side. He was also seemingly very mechanically adept and was able to pick the lock on their current accommodations with a piece of wire. Oh, and he was stark naked and didn’t seem to mind a bit. His features were a bizarre mix of a childlike face with a full curly beard on top of a distinctly male adult body in miniature below.

Putting aside the thoughts of the oddities she had experienced today, and thinking over the lucky breaks that had led them to this place of relative safety, Nat couldn’t help but be amazed. She had seen so many other people die it seemed simply impossible that both she and Mary were alive right now. As with all the impossible things she had experienced today, she simply had to accept it and make the best of this strange, violent, and wonderful world she found herself in.

She looked at the pack that had materialized from thin air with the notification about completing the [SURVIVE] quest. These packs had come with an arms, armor, or tool that seemed to suit the recipient’s needs and skills. Mary had received a large hand axe that seemed crude and violent. Its make was entirely of bone with a wide blade and a wicked three inch spike that protruded from the top. But while most of the others had received some kind of weapon, the gnome got a set of lockpicking tools made out of some shimmering blue metal.

Nat hadn’t received a weapon, armor, or tool. Instead she received a screen floating before her.

Congratulations! Due to surviving the first day of awakening without a class you have met the requirements to take the [Survivor] profession.

Accept? [Y/N]

Warning: This is a one time offer.

She knew the reason she was able to take any time to consider was due to the incredible amount of trust she put in the woman besides her. She knew the [Survivor] class must be useful in this new world and give skills that would allow her to thrive even if she were alone. It was because of that that she rejected the offer.

It would almost be like saying I don’t trust her. She thought as she stroked the long black hair out of the way of Mary’s sleeping face. I can’t believe I almost left you. In a single day I went from so sure about my place and my future to now I wouldn’t know what I’d do without you. But now I've truly seen who you are, and I can make the best choices possible to find my strength. With that strength I will help you feel as safe as you have made me feel. I hope someday I’m your [Queen] but today I’m just your [Architect] and being a [Survivor] won’t help build your castle.

Giving over the watch to one of the female survivors with a [Rogue] class and a sharp dagger, she curled up on Mary’s sleeping roll in her arms and got a half-asleep “Love you” before falling into the deepest sleep of her adult life.