It was the middle of the day and Zenos was in a bath. A trip to the hot spring had become routine after his morning exercise. His arms were spread over the edge of the bath behind him and his head was knocked back against its stone. He watched the gray sky in a daze, his predatory eyes wandered from one cloud to the next.

I said I had a plan, but…. Inventory.

The blue screen of the player system appeared as it responded to his thoughts. He reached his hand through the tension of its holographic surface and pull forth the silver-bladed longsword. Its existence still felt like a dream and the swirls folded into the blade seemed to turn under his eyes. Zenos had difficulty remembering how the sword came to be in his hand. He had opened the lid of a chest, but the interim between the chest and the sword, was black.

“My plan, basically, is to use this sword,” Zenos admitted with a frown. He turned the handle and examined the blade’s edge. “With five times as much damage, a single hit to an exposed arm should destroy an automaton in one strike.”

He sighed and placed the sword back in his inventory. The holographic screen disappeared and Zenos relaxed again in the warm water of the spring.

It would, if armor didn’t come into play.

Armor was the key mitigator for physical damage in Ark World. According the player manual, ‘armor’ could mean anything from a bear’s thick hide to the bronze-plate skin of the automatons. It was a value that decreased damage received by a flat amount, and that amount could further decrease with hidden modifiers; spells, buffs, abilities, and so on. There were also weak points that could negate armor, or apply a negative armor value that increased damage received.

The formula for the system wasn’t apparent in the player manual.

Zenos sunk chin-deep into the water. Strength is supposed to increase my physical damage by 0.1 per point, he thought. At maximum, I could have 1,250 strength, which would add 125 damage to my sword swings. If I added my level ups together, that could become 140, but I can’t tell how that interacts with the damage added by my weapons. Proficiency must come into play somewhere.

He opened the player menu and checked his proficiency screen. The [Knives] proficiency had increased from 24 to 25 in his battle with the automaton. It was a lackluster increase, given the difficulty of an automaton compared to the atilonian soldiers.

One had 15 HP, and the other had somewhere around 900. Zenos sneered. It sure seems like effort doesn’t matter at all.

He switched to his quest menu. The system had picked up on Mad’s quest and listed it as [Liar’s Mask] above the quests tagged [Defender of Adheim] and [Ambush!]. The last one was highlighted with a green checkmark and its quest reward was available. Zenos selected [Ambush!] and opened the reward screen. The question mark and garbled text was visible in a small window.

He hit [Accept].

The player interface turned fuzzy, broke to pieces, and faded away. Zenos tried to raise it again, but a warning flashed in the dark of his mind. [Error,] it repeated in his voice. The player HUD glitched and its visual elements disappeared. Zenos sat up straight. He stared at the bath water with an unobstructed view.

“System… error?” he muttered to himself.

A black pinhole appeared above the bath. At first it was small, but it grew rapidly by absorbing its surroundings. First it took the air, then the water swirled into its vacuum, until it had become the size of a billiard ball. Zenos watched, stunned, as the ball melted into the shape of a jagged, black piece. It fell into the bath.

The elements of his HUD flickered back into place.

He plunged down into the water to grab it from where it lay. [#$^*!^$^@#] the item name read in his hand. Zenos threw back over the water, gasped for air as he settled against his stone seat. The piece was the size of his palm and it burned with black fire as he turned it between his fingers. Like the chest piece, it didn’t produce heat, and its item name was broken.

[Inventory,] Zenos called and the holographic screen appeared correctly. He placed the piece inside, just like the first one he found in the forest.

“Is the system itself broken?” Zenos wondered. He took a breath and collected his thoughts. “Or, is it breaking down? Strange things happen wherever those pieces are.”

It’s not the strangest thing, however…. His thoughts trailed away as he stood from the bath. His pale skin, flushed red by the warm water, prickled in the winter air. He walked carefully down the square steps that led to the warming stones; flat stones that were heated by the water that ran beneath. Towels had been folded there for his benefit, since he had no magic to dry himself.

I wonder again. For what reason am I here? Amarytha must have had a reason to bring me back, he thought, reptilian eyes set on the evergreen trees as he rubbed a towel over his hair. Mad has a reason to risk his life on this deserted island, but I don’t know that either. Even the automatons have their reasons for lurching around the valley. Everyone in Adohas seems to know what they’re doing, while I’m left to stumble in the dark. That’s the strangest thing about this world.

I used to be the demon emperor. The fate of my world revolved around me. And now, I’m… just confused.

Zenos dressed pulled on his pants, dressed himself in his shirt and coat. He tugged his boots over his feet and tightened their laces.

“Maybe I’m expecting too much,” he said, head downturned at the ground. “I’m looking for reasons in odd things, because that’s what I’m used to. My script-less life has to find its own way. I don’t know the reason—my reason—for being, but I feel like I want to complete these quests.”

He looked ahead with a glow in his orange eyes. “It’s enough to make myself useful with a player’s power, right?” he asked himself. “If I could save Mad’s life, then I’ll have done something… worthy.”

Zenos set out on the forest trail and headed for automaton valley. Along the way, he applied his remaining level ups and increased his level to 11. His stats totaled as follows:

[Strength: 600]

[Constitution: 600]

[Intelligence: 100]

[Agility: 100]

[Charisma: 100]

[Spirit: 100]

In the birchwood valley, Zenos took a bite of his survival bar and increased his constitution to 1100. He removed his coat and left it folded beside a tree. Then, he drew the silver longsword from his inventory and approached a walking automaton.

He cut his sword through the gimbal in the automaton’s waist and dismembered its torso. The automaton fell back and its legs collapsed forward into the leaves.

[Critical damage] the system reported, but Zenos ignored the message. The automaton’s total health of 950 now appeared in the HUD’s target view. It had lost half its HP in one strike. It struggled on the ground, but failed to do more than turn its head as Zenos pressed his boot to its chest. He squared the tip of his blade over its neck.

Skrrrit! The sword sheered the metal and beheaded the automaton.

[Critical damage] the system reported again.

[Target is dead.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

Zenos glared down the valley. There were many automatons ahead. They were by the leaf-less birch trees, in and around their piles. His eyes shined orange.

“I’ve made a decision,” he said. “Even if I don’t know my purpose, I know that if I do nothing, a good man will die. To save his life—that’s reason enough to live! That’s why I’ll seek power!”

[At-Will Ability: True Eyes of the Emperor Activated.]

“Attack me!”

[Compulsion failed x30.]

The automatons turned. They locked the haunting depressions of their seamless faces on his person.

Did you feel this way, Amy?

Zenos pulled his sword up from the ground and stepped off the fallen automaton. He twirled the blade by its handle as he approached the automaton horde.

When you found me, in that circle of stars.

The automatons surrounded Zenos. They released their arm restraints and spun wildly, swung their flail-like arms. Zenos weaved between them, cut them by the edge of his blade, rent their mithril to pieces.

You accepted my quest. Fought a battle you couldn’t possibly win, just because I asked.

An automaton collapsed to the ground. A fist found Zenos’ stomach and he was tossed down. [Your stomach was hit for….] He ignored the system’s report, clambered up and gripped his sword in both hands. Zenos screamed and charged into the fray.

I think I know one reason why.

Seven automatons laid dead around Zenos. He leaned on his sword and gasped for breath. Sweat ran heavily down his face. An automaton charged in with its flailing fist. Zenos flicked the sword up, kicked dirt with its blade, and scattered leaves through the air. The automaton came apart by the tip of his blade.

[You have leveled up…] the system reported.

Zenos smiled.

Players… live for this type of thing.