Tired legs carry me on the road of orange and red. A hot breeze touches my skin as I look at the most clouded sky.

In the distance, a few buildings can be seen, I am close to the village, finally.

There are many houses in poor conditions around a wall of scrap metal. Whatever technology I found on those caves, people around here seem to have no access to it. Still, there is Mr. Skelones staff which seems advanced and my light crystal seemed like nothing out of the ordinary for him. There is also the fact he is an advanced droid with artificial intelligence, so maybe there is some technology around the world and those people in the village are just poor.

Hiding my excitement for finally seeing other humans, I walk through the village observing what people are doing. A few are carrying wood, some are carrying food and even herding animals. There are few people armed, mostly with crude improvised weapons, except for some carrying swords, spears, crossbows, and wearing some kind of animal hide as armor.

Maybe this will be a good distraction from the fight I had early on the road.

Skellones gave me some notes which I immediately look into, not wanting to get lost or something. Duty first, clothes and food later.

I try to ask a few persons about the place he told me but most people just avoid me as if too occupied minding their own business. One of the armed people apparently took pity of me and decided to talk. “So, first time here? What is it you are looking for?” said a blond woman with a ponytail and armed with a crossbow. Her armor and clothes looked like they saw already quite a beating, yet, the woman was here, living to tell the tale.

“Yes, thanks, I just need to find the Gof and Jef warehouse. Also, if you mind telling me where I can get food, clothes, and general supplies I would be really grateful”

“Well, never heard that accent before, and I had quite my share of traveling, but still have a lot to discover I guess. You can find the warehouse this way” she pointed “just turn left and keep going after the yellow house, you will see a symbol on the warehouse. As for supplies, I am going there myself, to buy new armor, wanna come?”

Well, I was planning to go to the warehouse first but I guess it’s fine. I should see if I can buy some armor too, these roads are dangerous after all.

As we walk together, she looks at me with curiosity “say, are you a mage or something or you just fight with this staff of yours?”

Huh, mage? The second person that calls me that. There can’t be magic around here, right? shit, with everything I been through, I should not be surprised if I see someone throwing firebolts around.

I respond to her question “Oh, well, this is from my boss, he lend me that so I could defend myself in the wilds. Do you by any chance know about Mr. Skelones?”

“That old robot is still kicking there huh? Yeah, I know him, has some rarer stuff than here around the city. If you ever get tired of the old tin can, I run a group of adventurers, mostly scavenging ruins and getting rare materials for who can afford them. Still, you should learn some magic, might suit you.”

So there IS magic. Maybe I should ask her about it, risky as it is, she seems friendly.

“So, I woke up with amnesia, in the woods, full of wounds. Skelones rescued me and offered me a job, I don’t remember much about magic, at all. Could you enlighten me about it?”

She looks at me weirdly, but with some pity on her eyes and says “shit, stuff happens. I hope you recover your memories.” then she pauses for a moment with her hand on her chin and grabs her crossbow. “Here, you see this marking? It’s a rune. This is one form of magic. This one makes reloading the crossbow a lot faster, it’s a haste time rune, complex stuff I don’t know a lot about. This other one absorbs energy from the ambient, which charges it.” then she put away the crossbow “humans can also do magic by themselves. Most of them don’t even know what they are doing, they just do. Easier to show than tell, look” she says while opening her hand. Suddenly, a bright light comes from it, disappearing after a while. “I am still learning it, but this is magic. With enough training, the possibilities are many. For now, I just use it to blind creatures too close to me or to signal my team without making noise, but soon…” she says, then gesture to a store “we are here.”

“Well, this is a lot to take in.” I say “but impressive. Quite impressive. My name is Kali by the way, what is yours?”

“Mine is Ayla Green, nice meeting you, Kali.” she says with a friendly smile

As we move into the store, Ayla helps me look at a few cheap armors. Apparently, even normal fabric would be better than nothing to help me with a slash from a knife, for example. I decide to buy a cheap animal hide armor which covered only my torso and legs. I also buy a few cheap clothes, everything summing up to 17 coins, leaving me with 13. Ayla got a replacement for her armor and some things she said were for her team.

After that, we buy some food nearby and we part ways, saying goodbye to each other. Ayla says "Tell Skelones I will be around for 2 weeks if he needs my services again" while leaving.

To the warehouse, then.

Knock knock "hey, Mr. Skellones sent me to get him some supplies" I say and wait.

A few seconds later, a man with a long red beard and even longer hair opened the door. "Yes, yes. You work with Skelones huh? Got any document?" He says looking at me with inquisitive eyes.

"Oh, yes, here it is." I give him the paper.

"Hm, so it is. Alright, GOF GET SKELONES' STUFF" the man yells and I jump a little in surprise.

"Heh, sorry about that. Name is Jef, by the way. What about you, new around here?" He says.

"Yes, the name is Kali. Nice to meet you"

If he was curious about my origins, he didn't show. Actually, no one asked where I am from, even if they noticed my odd accent. I guess it's not polite to ask that.

As we wait, he shows me around the warehouse. They apparently are the village main suppliers, a family business it seems. Gof and Jef in charge of the warehouse, their brothers Tim, Zett, and Flir are scavengers, and Zok, Dant, and Voll are responsible for importing goods and delivery service.

A man that is probably Gof arrives. Short hair, trimmed beard, and strong build. "Here they are." he says carrying a few supplies, too heavy for me to carry on my hands.

"Uhh you guys have some backpack I could buy to carry all this stuff?" I ask

"Sure, just 5 coins for ya." says Gof

"Gof, the woman is new, give her a discount" says Jef

"I just did!" Says Gof, while Jef looks at him with a serious face.

"Alright, fine. 3 coins, good deal" he says and I give him the coins. Jef helps me put everything on the backpack.

"Nice meeting you all, thanks!" I say as I leave, they say their goodbyes as well.

The way back was fine. Mostly hot, however. My muscles asked me to stop a few times, which I did. It is probably sometime after midday now. Ayla convinced me to try something she called 'ration', a bar of condensed food which came in many flavors. I choose the sweet one and eat it while looking at my stats.

Health Integrity Stats Resistances Skills Traits Runes Items Lore Message Log

So this rune thing is surely related to magic. I try opening it again, this time, a message pops up.

You have been exposed to MA-54 System adaptation in progress Access to artificial rune interface granted

I proceed to the 'rune' menu

Current willpower: 56 Mana 0/0 Runes Attuned 0 Affinities Electricity 10% Space 23% Light 5% Time 0,1%

I see. So, this 'system' is showing this because I have been exposed to magic a few times, like the teleportation and the time I got shocked by the staff. Maybe if I get more exposition to magic I would be able to use it? I hope Skelones know about it. Getting up, I go to the shop, having rested enough. I notice something odd in my hud... there is now a symbol, some kind of upside-down triangle, and a number indicating ▽ 0/0. Must be the mana indicator I saw on the rune menu.

On my way back, I don't find the thief from before. I hope he got up and no animal ate him...

I stand in front of the store, it is open.

The mysterious savior is there on the balcony. His face, always unmoving, showing no emotions. His eyes, however, are somehow shining in a happy way.

"Hey there, back already! How was your trip?"

"Ran into a thief, he almost got me. Had to use the potion to heal a knife wound. Also, I made a friend, I think. Ayla Green, she said she is in town for a couple of weeks in case you need her." I then get out the items from the backpack, organizing everything on the balcony.

"Damn. You are ok? If you took the potion, your body should be fine, mostly, but what about you, how are you feeling? Sorry for putting you through that." He says. "As for Ayla, I will think about it later, she's handy, that's for sure, got me some good materials before"

He really seems to care, I don't think I ever had a boss like this before. "I am fine, but thanks for asking" I am almost finishing organizing the items.

"Say, I found out about this magic stuff, but I don't know how that works, do you know anything that could help?" I ask him

"Hmm sure. Magic is something found in the air, the dirt, and inside living beings. They say people used to have great knowledge about it, but now few people really know what they are doing, but you need a strong will and some potential to use it." He says while taking each item from the delivery and choosing a place on a stand for them.

"You see, humans are special in magic. Usually, most creatures can only use one kind of magic, but humans can learn many. The process, however, is complicated and many people use magic not knowing they are doing it, like strengthening one's body or moving quicker. " he paused for a moment then started speaking again "Now runes. This staff I lend you, it has an electricity rune, configured to work on contact, but still needs a will to activate it, or you would electrify yourself all the time on accident. Few people know about the process of making an artifact." He then proceeds to the living room, a stand full of books there "you can learn more about it there, but don't hesitate to ask more if you want."

After he finished, I took a moment to process all the information. The possibilities with magic are… well, I don't know yet. "The light-crystal has a rune too? I couldn't see any markings on it." I ask him, to which he replies "yes, advanced technology does that. Probably an artifact of the old world, before the Aesiri. Quite rare."

"Hmm what about mana? How do I get it above 0?"

He looks at me for a little while "how do you know you have none? Usually, people start low, yes, but as they age, a minimal amount of mana should be stored on any human body. Did Ayla get one of those machines that measure people's Power? Those aren't reliable you know?"

Shit. So I AM the only one who can see those panels and stuff? I thought everyone could since they even use magic and all that. Why did I even assume that in the first place? It shouldn't be normal for someone to see information about themselves in numbers... Of course, I am the one who is different. Still, Mr. Skelones have been nothing but kind to me, I think it's fine if I tell him.

"Huh… there is a panel that shows up in front of me where I can see health condition and stuff like a menu with stats and skills, after being in contact with magic the option to open a panel about runes showed up. Initially, I thought it was a hi-tech eye lens, but later I have been thinking it's probably an implant" I say, nervously

"Impossible… I scanned you, no implants showed up. Could this be… the system evolving? Tell me, Kali, does this interface of yours have a name?" He said, in a serious tone with bright eyes

"I don't know, maybe… I think a word showed up when I woke up. Aros or arios, something like that." I say

"Yes, Ari-os. Artificial runic ignition operative system. The system that changed the world, according to some sources. They say all humans have it, it is what allowed them to use magic directly, without having the need for a rune. You see, runes are the language of magic, the meaning of them being the meaning of something beyond what words could describe. A time rune is time itself. This system allows people to develop an artificial version of runes inside themselves as they get closer to understanding the meaning of a rune…" Mr. Skelones says, excitement and worry in his voice.

"That's a lot of information… Changed the world? Maybe I am in the same world I lived in then but in the future. The last thing I remember was something happening to the world, weird colors in the sky, a giant eye on a fissure in the fabric of reality…" I say, being interrupted as notifications somehow open up again.

◇Aesiri is now level 2◇ +1 to INT

"This is weird, this all feels weird. If I am in the future, how would I be able to get home? The only memory I have is of something that no longer exists, why do I have this… system thing and why can I interact with it when others can't? I need a moment to breathe." I go out of the shop, Mr. Skelones stands there, I know he is worried but I need some fresh air.

And so I walk. Not far, but I walk because I am feeling suffocated by all the things happening. My heart feels heavy and I find it hard to breathe. What is wrong with me? Am I even human? Did someone really experiment on me? I already considered those options before but somehow, I feel there's something I don't remember what is, and that feels like being on fire. Despair, fear of the unknown, both in the future and the past. Not knowing who I am. I have been holding it you know? Trying not to cry but I just can't anymore…

After a while, I clear the tears off my face. I can't be here crying forever or wolves, thieves, and centipedes will hunt me. I need to get a grip. If I don't remember anything, I will find out everything I can about this all. I need to know more.

Back to the shop. I see a group of travelers there and wait for them to finish shopping before getting in.

"Sorry about that, I kinda freaked out you know?"

"It's alright kid, don't worry, take you time. I will be here if you need me."

"I have been thinking and I want you to teach me, anything you can. I can't live my life in fear of the unknown and do nothing for being afraid of what could happen. I need to get knowledge. Teach me as payment, I don't want money, just a place to stay and information. I want to learn magic too if you could help."

"I like your spirit, kid. I will help but do take it easy. As for magic… we should talk about it tomorrow. Take the day off, there are some good books you can read, I suggest an introduction to magic by Roriel Black."

And thus, I spent the rest of the day reading before falling asleep.

A warm breeze blows and fills me with happiness. The sound of calm waves filling the air with peace… Wind flows through me, lifting my hair, and taking my problems far away, where I won't find them for a while. The sun makes everything so colorful… the sea is so beautiful. What is that, someone is calling me…

"Found you, sis, you really like that spot huh?" My brother spoke, with his hands protecting his head while he looks up,

"Yeah, oh, still afraid of coconuts falling on your head? Silly, don't worry about that." I say.

"The chances of it falling on me are bigger than the chances of you getting back first than me!" He said and we ran like the wind, free from the cogs of destiny…

Then I wake up.