It didn’t take them as long to find an exit as Erin had feared. An hour of walking down a tunnel they’d found had led them out of the cavern, bringing them to a wide crevice in the cliffside.

“Damn, that’s cold,” Erin complained as she stepped outside, immediately wrapping her arms around herself. Night was well underway, and the chill it brought was no laughing matter. Sigrid made no comment, her eyes hollow as she trudged along behind. The woman only answered direct questions and her replies were brief.

Erin looked one way and then the other, her breath visible in the moonlight. The night air scraping over her skin like a dull knife.

“I have no idea how to get back to my… camp.” She hesitated on the last word, not really sure how to describe the animal den where she’d taken up residence.

“Then we should stay here,” Sigrid announced, her voice flat and tired. Erin shivered as she looked around, trying to come up with a better plan than hiding out in the monster infested cave.

“Alright,” She conceded, with a small shake of her head. It was less than ideal, but so was everything else at this point.

They set up camp in the widest part of the tunnel that led out the side of the cliff. Erin had spent several minutes scrounging up bits of wood from under the snow in order to build a fire. Now they sat, huddled around the small flame.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this, you know,” Erin said after several minutes of silence. “Lisa- my Liaison, she said we were supposed to be reborn somewhere else. Somewhere with people, and warm beds.” Sigrid didn’t answer right away, her eyes watching the fire, unblinking as if she were hypnotized. Just when Erin had been sure the woman would remain silent, she spoke.

“So, we really did die?” She asked softly.

“I don’t know,” Erin answered honestly, shrugging. “Everyone I’ve met since my car crashed has said so.” Sigrid looked up at her with a frown.

“I don’t know how I died, one second I was walking down the street, on my way to…” she trailed off, her eyes dipping back down to stare into the flame. “Then I was in darkness.”

“Where are you from?” Erin asked, curious.

“I- I was born in the Aroe Republic,” she responded, with an edge to her voice. Erin frowned, she’d never heard of it. That didn’t mean anything by itself, there were likely many countries she’d never heard of, or that had different names for themselves than what she had been told.

“I was born in Colorado, in the United States,” she said, and now it was Sigrid who frowned, looking up at her. “You've never heard of… Colorado?” Erin asked, but she knew that wasn’t it. The confusion apparent on Sigrid's face had led Erin to consider something she hadn’t until now.

“Sigrid,” Erin said slowly, “what's the name of the planet your country is on?”

“Her true name is Terra Mater, but we call her Terra, or sometimes Mother.” Erin’s stomach did a flip even though she’d been expecting something.

“Mine is called Earth.” She said softly, and for the first time since she’d met her, Sigrid laughed.

“What, like dirt?” she asked, her voice a chuckle.

“I’m pretty sure we used to call Earth “Terra” as well- doesn’t that just mean ‘earth’?”

“Terra is the name of a Goddess,” Sigrid answered, her smile already fading as she looked back down into the fire. “So we’re from different worlds.”

“I guess, yeah,” Erin replied, though she wasn’t entirely sure that was accurate. “How many planets are in your solar system?” By this point, it seemed Sigrid’s interest in the subject had already faded.

“Eight,” her tone flat. “When I was young there were nine, but-”

“They reclassified the furthest one as a dwarf-planet?” Erin jumped in, and Sigrid gave her a puzzled expression.

“How could you know that?”

“We’re not from different worlds,” Erin said, a giddy sort of excitement bubbling up inside her. “Well, I mean, technically yes, but no- we’re from the same planet in different realities.”

“Ah,” Sigrid shared none of Erin’s wonder at the discovery. Erin lapsed into silence herself, thinking things over as she added another scrap of wood to the fire. No one said anything for several minutes, but Erin couldn’t keep her curiosity to herself.

“I wonder how many there are,” Sigrid didn’t answer, her gaze had returned to the fire, and what she saw there, Erin could only guess.

As the quiet woman withdrew into herself, Erin sighed and extracted the first of the spell runes from her inventory as a distraction.

[Mirage Wyrm Spell Rune]

Lisa informed her in her robot voice.

[Would you like to absorb the rune?]

Yes.

As soon as the thought passed through her mind, the glass and metal bands that contained the rainbow-colored runes dissolved into nothing, and the runes themselves slithered under the cuff of Erin’s coat sleeve. She could feel them spiral across her skin, spreading warmth wherever they went.

A menu popped up in front of her face, much like the ones when she looted something, only this one was much longer. She studied it for a few seconds, scrolling down a ways before becoming certain what she was looking at. It was a list of what must have been hundreds of spells.

As Lisa had promised. All of the spells seemed to be connected to the mirage wyrm in some way, but what she could glean from looking at the spell names, they were wildly different. Erin focused on the first one to catch her eye.

Fire-

Unranked Spell: Mirage Wyrm’s Fire Breath

Slot: Unassigned

Description: You gain the ability to unleash a bout of dragonfire in a cone in front of you.

That was tempting, Erin had to admit. Being a mage might not have been her first choice, but being a Fire Mage with dragon abilities had a certain appeal. She continued to scroll, until she spotted another promising name.

Armor-

Unranked Spell: Mirage Wyrm’s Scales

Slot: Body

Description: You gain the ability to cover yourself in the hardened scales of a mirage dragon for a brief period of time.

It sounded good, though Erin wasn’t sure exactly what degree of protection it would provide. It was also the first spell she’d seen where the slot was not “unassigned.”

Lisa, what’s with the slot on this one?

[This spell will only function in the Body slot. It’s a contextual limitation, likely due to the nature of its effect.]

Right, Erin thought, because it’ll cover me in scales.

[At bronze rank, I would expect something more akin to a juvenile dragon's scales.. The spell won’t manifest true dragon scales until you train it up to a higher rank.]

What about the Fire Breath spell?

[It will start off as something close to regular fire, and grow more potent with rank. True dragon fire is one of the most destructive forces you’ll likely ever encounter, at least in Tier 2.]

Erin nodded and scrolled down a little further.

Protection-

Unranked Spell: Chromatic Barrier

Slot: Unassigned

Description: As you cast this spell, you must select one of the four dragon colors. (Red, Blue, Black, or White). Surround yourself with a protective shield that repels the damage type of the selected dragon.

It sounds neat, but I can’t imagine it would do much against qek trying to claw me to death. Erin thought, as she contemplated how she might use the spell.

[Likely not.]

Lisa agreed. Erin shrugged and moved on, scrolling slowly down the list.

Utility-

Unranked Spell- Mirage Wyrm’s Wings

Slot: Body

Description: You gain the ability to conjure dragon wings.

Description is pretty succinct. What do they actually do?

[At Bronze, they’ll allow for limited flight, but their greatest effect would be in assisting with quick maneuvering close to the ground. I feel I should note this spell would be extremely strenuous.]

So I can’t fly with them?

[At higher ranks regular flight becomes more feasible. All spells mature through use and as your understanding of them grows.]

Erin mulled it over as she continued to scroll.

Blood-

Uranked Spell: Dragons Blood

Slot: Special

Description: You have consumed draconic essence in its purest form. Your nature will forever reflect this alteration.

Note: This rune cannot be removed once selected.

Erin raised an eyebrow, her lips pressed tight together as she scanned the words again.

Well that doesn’t really tell you anything, does it.

[It is curious. Spells usually have some active effect, but the System is treating this one more like a very powerful boon.]

Okay, but what does it actually do?

[It turns you into a dragon, or a dragon-kin of some kind. It’s the same as any other spell. It grows as you grow. If you equip this spell, you’ll never be human again, but the changes will be minor at first.]

Will I become a dragon?

[I think,]

Lisa said hesitantly ,

[The option would become available to you at Platinum, or perhaps all the way at Diamond.]

Erin sidelined the option. Having a spell she couldn’t change that turned her into some sort of dragon-human hybrid with no clear benefits was not her cup of tea. She spotted another spell locked to the Special slot.

Companion-

Unranked Spell: Mirage Wyrm Whelp

Slot: Special

Description: You gain a lifelong companion in the form of a Mirage Wyrm’s offspring.

Note: Once selected, this rune can only be removed by the death of your companion.

Erin’s eyebrows shot up at this, and she barely restrained herself from exclaiming out loud.

Is that a pet dragon?

[No.]

Lisa said, her tone definitive.

[Dragons are intelligent creatures. It would no more be a pet than I am. It would be a companion. Although…]

She trailed off, and had to be prompted to continue.

[You would likely find its youngest incarnation more of a burden than a help.]

That was an issue, especially if Erin remained lost in this frozen wasteland. How was she supposed to be able to feed a baby dragon? Though she did have a lot of qek meat. She wasn’t even sure if the stuff was good to eat, and even if they were hateful little monsters, qek were still intelligent and the thought of eating them didn’t sit right with her.

Doesn’t matter, that spell slot is locked until I get the remaining two filled, right?

[That is accurate, yes.]

Erin had already made up her mind, even as she scrolled a bit further down. There were still many tantalizing options, and she suspected having access to this list of draconic spells was no small thing.

Maybe I’ll hold on to that other spell orb.

Lisa didn’t offer any input on this, but Erin wasn’t really expecting her to. The Liaison kept her opinions to herself whenever the conversation turned from could to should. Erin couldn’t say if it was a smart decision to hold back a spell. Not when they were in such a desperate situation. Still, her gut told her to hang on to it. She scrolled back up and made her selection.

[Are you certain?]

Lisa asked, and Erin gave her mental assent. The energy of the runes that had been flowing over her skin while she made her selection, suddenly suffused her body. She was flushed with warmth, and the sensation of magic was roiling inside her. It spread from her core, all the way out to her fingers and toes, and with it came the awareness of knowledge. She could feel the new spell just under the surface, ready to be called forth. Like it had always been there, and she was just now realizing it.

Despite the inner turmoil of absorbing the spell, outwardly Erin had maintained her composure and Sigrid hadn’t looked up from where she sat during the entire process. Erin was thankful for that, because the woman had so far been extremely skittish at every instance of magic, and its mention had been met with incredulity and confusion. She couldn’t blame her for any of it. Erin herself wasn’t really okay with it. Not with the reincarnation, or the magic, or the talking voice in her head, but she faked it. She pretended because she didn’t know how else to deal with it. Because curling into a ball and crying about everyone she’d left behind wasn’t an option. Before she was able to sink too far into this line of thought, Lisa interrupted her ruminations.

[New Spell Absorbed: Mirage Wyrm’s Wings]

Utility-

Bronze Spell- Mirage Wyrm’s Wings

Slot: Body

Description: You gain the ability to conjure dragon wings.

Erin had an instinctive understanding of the spell's nature, and she was certain that the narrow passageway where they had setup camp was too small for her to summon the wings. Not to mention Sigrid would probably run screaming into the snow if Erin just randomly sprouted wings.

She pulled the phial that Gurty had given her and drank down the contents, which had refilled in the hours since she’d first set out for the cave. Just like that, she was overflowing with energy, and her now incessant hunger became easier to ignore.

“You should get some rest, Sigrid,” she broke the silence even though her voice was soft. “I’ll keep an eye on things.” The quiet woman shrugged, but after a few minutes she laid down beside the fire, using her own arm as a pillow, and before long her breathing had slowed into a gentle rhythm.

Erin wasn’t sure what tomorrow would bring for them, but she knew the next order of business was the same as before she’d been sent off to rescue Sigrid. They needed to make their way to some sort of civilization before they were eaten by monsters.

She added a slender piece of wood to their small fire, and settled in for a long, uncomfortable night.

Name: Erin Young

Class: Unranked Mage

Tier 2

Soul: Normal

Mind: Bronze

Body: Bronze

Spells

Spell Slot (Soul):

Aug 1

Aug 2

Spell Slot (Mind:) Fireball (Bronze: 7%)

Aug 1: Bolstering

Aug 2:

Spell Slot (Body): Mirage Wyrms

Wings (Bronze: 0%)

Aug 1:

Aug 2:

Spell Slot (Special):

Aug 1:

Aug 2:

Boons:

Liaison

Mirage Mage (Bronze)

(Unknown)

(Unknown)

(Unknown)

Inventory

Inventory Item: Bronze Medallion

Equipment:

Bronze Staff

Torches (4)

MIrage Wyrm Spell Rune

Crafting:

0.5lbs of Iron Chitin

Currency:

Gold Maefars: 5

Silver Maefars: 49

Copper Maefars: 451

Artifacts

Slot 1: All-Purpose Hat (Bronze)

Slot 2: Refilling Vial: Stamina Potion

(Bronze)

Slot 3: Empty

Slot 4: Empty