Be strong. Banish fear and doubt. Remember the Lord is with you, wherever you go. – Joshua 1:9

Even to the Satanist rallies and virgin sacrifices? God sounds like a hypocrite.

I woke painfully and wished again that I could sleep in my own bed for one goddamn night.

I binned around and sat up, but couldn't see Klaudia anywhere. Or the room. Or anything at all, really.

The only thing I could see was a large scroll floating at head-height, giving off a soft glow. As I stared at it, it slowly unfurled, revealing a message written in fancy cursive.

Congratulations

To those of you still alive to read this, well done for surviving the first 24 hours of your world shift. Past shifts have shown that almost 96% of casualties occur on the first day, so you have displayed higher than average survival instincts or knowledge.

You are currently in a new world based off your old one. All items and knowledge were carried over before world events were used to aid in the crossover. While old and new technology can be used, it is up to you how you progress.

Also unique to this world, the capability for dark energy and matter has been unlocked for you to use freely, as I am sure you are discovering.

As a final gift, and to help those who are lost, knowledge relevant to the new world and the workings of the system will be dispersed. If you are lucky enough to acquire one of these, the knowledge gained can be shared among those in your party, as the party system has been unlocked as of the 24-hour mark.

Good luck to you all in your new lives.

G.

• If you would like to view the mortality statistics of your world, press here.

• If you would like to return to a simulation of your previous world, with no memory of the last 24 hours, press here.

• If you would like to return to Gaiesus, at the moment of departure, press here.

I scanned through the text, not really seeing anything I didn't already know. I was confused that I apparently already had access to the party system before I was supposed to.

The ability to see the mortality statistics was morbid at best, but they also didn't interest me at all.

Neither did the option to return to some simulation. I was... almost happy at how things were progressing, so I just pressed the final option, mildly surprised that the earth had been renamed. Gaiesus seemed like an ancient play on the name Gaia. And I wondered if there was a deity named Gaia wondering around those system offices. Though I wasn't familiar with every God and Goddess there had ever been, I wouldn't have been surprised.

I waited for some sort of transport like falling to happen again, but I was unlucky it seemed.

Instead of another exhilarating fall, the darkness behind the scroll was suddenly lit up by two rows of low purple flames. I sighed as I recognised the style of Nephthys. She had been waiting for this moment, and now had some massive responsibility to drop on me.

I wasn't altogether upset about it though. If I tried hard enough, I was sure I could make the job more fun than not.

I walked through the scroll as if it were a hologram, and followed the path. Several steps in, I found my way blocked by a grey wall of densely packed vapour.

I was sure it was spectral essence now, but there was no way for me to do anything fun with it directly, so I just pushed my way slowly through it feeling myself seize up as an intense cold coated my body.

At once, the cold was gone, as was the vapour. But my body was still numb and unresponsive. I felt around and discovered I was back in this white mannequin's body.

I had lost almost all the items I had on my body, but a quick look at my waist showed the ankh was still there and seemed to be attached to me. I left it as it was easier to carry like this. I slowly and awkwardly walked down the lit up the path until I passed through a black silk veil.

On the other side, I found I was in the office of Nephthys again. The fires were still burning tall, and nothing seemed any different from the last time.

Nephthys herself was sitting straight-backed in her chair, with a small smile on her lips. Her posture allowed me to see a very generous curve under the stone necklace she wore. I immediately dispelled the thoughts. It was most definitely a bad idea to start fantasizing about a goddess, let alone a stone one.

I kept my eyes on her face as I approached the lone chair in her office and sat down.

When I did, she sprung into action and typed on her desk, temporarily lighting up symbols in the stone with each tap. Her expression turned more excited and evil at the same time as she typed, getting faster and more violent.

I was getting nervous. I didn't understand what on earth... what on Gaiesus she was doing and it scared me a little. I did t know if she was going to punish me or reward me. I didn't really trust her enough to think she would do one or the other.

Her typing frenzy ended with her slamming her fist on a larger circular symbol and yelling.

"HA!"

I flinched at the loud and sudden reaction which earned me her attention.

"Sam..."

She started talking but was cut off by her own smug smile.

I grimaced outwardly as best I could with my limited expression capability.

"What?"

"Wow. Just... Wow."

She was smiling still, but it wasn't evil anymore. It was almost pleasant.

"What?"

I asked again, not getting it at all. This was one of the weirdest situations I had ever been in, including fighting a monster made of dead classmates and their souls.

"The event. I was on the edge of my seat. And when you were too late, ughhhhh."

She groaned a little as she recounted the last few events, and I was a little grossed out by it.

"So... you wanted to talk to me?"

I got no verbal response, but Nephthys smiled wider. I tried again.

"About the council? And my reaper class?"

A look of surprise crossed her face and she immediately got serious.

"Yes. The... soul issue. Now. You've read the introduction scroll?"

I nodded, then took the opportunity to ask something that had been on my mind.

"Wait a second, I already had access to the party system. I made one before the twenty four hour mark."

Nephthys looked mildly frustrated and put her head in her hands, then dragged it up, mildly distorting her features. It was... jarring to see a black-stone statue, albeit a living one, show such a human reaction.

"That was... a mistake. Technically, you found a loophole. There are a few ways to get the first spectral affinity percent, but the most common way is through a party bonus. If someone tributes a disembodied soul, then they get it. But it's incredibly difficult for someone to get the soul in the first place. So when you already had the spectral affinity, the system assumed you already had a party and kept the bonus, so you must have had the party system unlocked. It's... unfortunate for us, but we've patched it for the next world. That explain it?"

I nodded along to her whole explanation and then nodded more vigorously to confirm my understanding. But slowed when I remembered something else.

"Yesterday you said it could be done with a few years of meditation."

"Yes. And when I say years, I mean upwards of thirty years. It can be done, but it's far easier to do the party thing."

I nodded again to show my understanding.

"Good. Now, don't invite anyone to your party unless you want them to do the same thing you will. At the two day mark when the world is updated, your party limit will be locked at one, so if you really want someone, do it before then."

"Ok. So what's the reaper class?"

Nephthys perked up a bit at that, as I suspected the party system mishap was her mistake that she was reluctant to dwell on. She tapped on her desk in a fluid motion, and a projection of a sharp look in skull sprung up over her desk.

"This is the emblem of the council. You will wear it as one of our reapers."

I nodded and took a closer look at the skull. The top half of it looked very similar to a human skull, but below the eyes was where it got weird. The nose hole stretched further down, and instead of a jaw, the bone continued downwards in a pointed dual blade shape. It reminded me of an emblem I had seen in Warhammer lore, but it didn't seem worth bringing up.

"So I assume you've been offered the spectral reaper occupation?"

"Um, I've actually been offered a different one. A class."

Nephthys looked confused and tilted her head as she scrutinised me.

"Oh? What's it called?"

"Just 'Soul Reaper'. It's not that much different is it?"

She leant back in her chair thoughtfully.

"I don't think so. But I don't think I've ever heard of it, so I'm not sure. Are there any conditions for it?"

I listed the conditions I could remember and gave an estimate of how far I was into each condition. Nephthys' expression grew more curious as I explained how I had apparently wished it into existence and how difficult some of the conditions would be.

"Well. That's pretty impressive. And you'll be able to do everything the spectral reaper occupation can. But you might struggle to get all five of those affinity points. I can give you a hand with that."

I suddenly realised that she was getting far ahead of herself.

"Wait, you're assuming that I'm accepting this. I still don't know if I want to serve the council. I don't want to be tied down by anything really."

Nephthys stilled, and I could see the excitement leaving her.

"Oh. Well, is there anything that might make you change your mind?"

I shook my head when I remembered I was unable to shrug but still suggested a potential condition.

"I guess if you explained what exactly I would be doing? I still don't even know what it means to actually reap the souls."

Nephthys was under the impression I had made up my mind, as she only half-heartedly answered. I was truly on the fence about it. I did want to be free, but this council offered another boost to my spectral abilities that I might not be able to find anywhere else.

"So, what you do is horribly inefficient. All the spectral essence that doesn't get absorbed by you is released into the natural order of life, and will slowly be remade into new souls. If you bear a soul insignia on your person, then part of the unabsorbed soul comes to us. The council specifically wants particular souls with special skills attached to them."

"Like the ummm... reason skills?"

"Exactly. Yes. Those skills strengthen the soul. You probably have one already, but when a human earns three, they choose one which shapes their soul into a more defined reason of existence. If a person or other monster can cultivate their soul in a particular direction, it can become of great value to the council. Those are what we want you to reap."

"Fair enough. Do I have to go far out of my way to do this?"

Nephthys thought for a second, looking up to the black ceiling as if it were providing an answer.

"Not really. You're probably going to find loads among the recently deceased survivors. Rare monsters are in greater abundance currently too, and they always have a more interesting soul."

I kept my head down in thought, looking at my rough cupped hands and thinking about what she was offering. I had never thought so hard about such a commitment. Part-time jobs and university offers only held me for a handful of years, but this might hold me my entire life.

"Ok."

Nephthys had kept rambling about different monster souls while I thought, but I cut her off with that one word."

"Ok?"

"Ok. I'll do it."

She seemed surprised again. She must have thought I was only planning on using her to get a little information about the world, but I was still struggling to decide.

She sprung into action and drew out a square on her desk, which glowed white, then dimmed and became physical. She then pulled the white piece of paper-thin stone from the surface of the desk and handed it to me.

"Sign here with your blood please"

I looked at her blankly for a moment, then waved my white mannequin hand at her.

"Oh. Yes. Wait a second."

I mentally rolled my eyes at how new Nephthys seemed to this whole process, but considering how rare it was to get this kind of opportunity, it may have been millennia since she got to do it.

She had been rummaging around behind her desk, and triumphantly pulled out a glass disk. She handed it to me, and took back the stone, instead holding it in front of me.

"Pass your hand through it."

I laid the glass disk almost flat in my left hand and pushed the fingertips of my right hand into it. My hand began to pass through as if the glass had turned to putty, and I used my still stone-like hand to push the glass over my hand and past my wrist. As the glass passed it, I found my normal fleshy skinned hand, complete with nerves and flexibility.

The boundary between flesh and not-flesh felt wrong at an instinctual level, so I quickly sliced open my digit on the edge of the white stone square and signed my initials roughly with a rapidly bleeding finger.

I pulled my hand out again, and the flesh returned to the smooth white material it was before, bringing the rigidness with it. The cut stopped bleeding instantly, and there was no sign of damage to the finger at all.

Nephthys then took back the blood covered stone and pushed it blood-side down onto the surface of her desk. It flashed blue from deep writhing the black stone, then the floor in front of me opened up.

I looked up at Nephthys and she smiled softly at me.

"Thank you. Please, whenever you're ready, drop down for induction. Oh, and can I have the ankh back please?"

"Um, sure."

I tugged the ankh from my waist with both hands and threw it to her. She caught it without even moving her eyes, and it dissolved into green particles before my eyes.

I looked I to her stony eyes once more and saw a slight glee hidden under a professional neutral expression. She flicked her eyes down to the floor and I caught onto the hidden message.

I stood up and gave her a small salute before stepping into the hole.

I fell for was only a second then landed in another seat. This one was not as plain as the simple backed once offered to me before, but then again, it had straps and bindings on it. The landing had pushed my upper body down with momentum, but the instant bindings held me there.

I saw under the leather bindings that I was back in my real body, a flesh one at least. I was still wearing my college trousers and shoes but was completely topless.

I was illuminated only by a low red light source somewhere above me, but everywhere else was an impenetrable black curtain of darkness.

I broke out into a cold sweat and could feel my blood rushing through my ears, my heartbeat getting harder and faster.

I made a brief attempt at escaping the bindings, but my legs were strapped together and I was stuck halfway into a kneeling position, held up by a 'C' shape of wood that acted as the chair and base of what I was tied to. My wrists were also tied to the sides of the highest parts, so I was slightly hunched over.

"HEY!"

I screamed into the darkness, trying and failing to not panic.

The red light rose in intensity and large rings of white light that surrounded me by a large margin appeared on the floor and ceiling. A dozen hooded figures stepped into the ring of light, surrounding me.

I looked around frantically, barely managing to count them in my haste. Each raised their left hand and pointed at me. I recognised the black stone hand of Nephthys but didn't dare raise my voice again when surrounded by the deities. The one directly in front spoke in a low male voice. It was powerful, but not overly loud.

"Samuel Herbert, you have been chosen and have accepted to become a member of the Reapers of Immortal Night. Do you accept the responsibility of our mark?"

Reminiscing about a religiously spurred event I was forced to attend while in my youth, I put on a serious guise and answered honestly.

"I accept."

The figure who addressed me nodded. Though I couldn't see past the shadow of his hood, his hand was that of a lightly muscled skeleton. I could clearly see the bones under a thin layer of dried ligaments and muscle. It might have been the grim reaper addressing me.

"Then prepare to bear the burn of duty."

A small flame lit up at the tip of the extended finger of everyone surrounding me, each one a different colour. They formed a perfect spectrum of light around me, but I understood what was to come, and why they had automatically put me in this holding seat.

"Samuel, I advise your heart prepares itself for the scorn of death."

I swallowed and grit my teeth. I nodded once at the skeleton handed bastard in front of me and braced myself for the pain that all the other fancy-fingered bastard would bring.

What I got was a full thirty-two seconds of my heart burning.

I must have passed out when the pain finally stopped, and I woke up on a hard floor for the second time. I was still in the small black space as before with the glowing scroll and a new notification in my vision.

You have been branded with the mark of The Immortal Night. A minimum of 15% of every soul absorbed will be received by the associated Deities.

+1% spectral affinity.

I was glad that I now had the third affinity point, but annoyed I was still in this stasis with the annoyingly simple scroll hovering in front of me. I leaned over to look behind it, but the path to Nepthys' office wasn't there anymore.

Guess it's time to go back.

I stood up, noticing I was back in my uniform. My chest still felt a little tender above my heart, but even if the pain I felt was only there in my mind, it was normal for my body to become enflamed slightly in response.

I tapped the option that would return me, and the black walls exploded into white light.

I blinked away the black spots that developed in my eyes and saw that I was back in the classroom.

My phone confirmed it had only been... no time at all. It was just passing 4:15.

But I feel well rested.

I must have slept for hours while in that spacial stasis room, so I had gained time to do stuff.

I looked over at where Klaudia had been, and she was lying in the same spot, looking far more pissed off than she had been before.

"What's up?"

"Did you see them?"

"See what?"

"How many died."

I paused. She might think less of me if I revealed my inability to care about the dead. I wanted to make something up, but I couldn't guess at a statistic in the realm of several billion.

"No. I didn't want to know. How bad was it?"

"There's only one left."

What on Gaiesus did she mean? One hundred? One thousand?

"One what? Million?"

"Billion."

I breathed out in relief briefly. If only a million people were left, there was no way the world would be able to recover from such devastating losses, but if one in seven people was still alive, then there was still a good chance of humanity thriving as a whole.

"Did they give an exact number?"

"One billion."

"Exactly?"

That seemed far-fetched, but it instantly looked like the work of the meddling deities. They had likely ensured a huge number of us survived but made it a number that they could easily follow statistically.

"Did you sleep while in that room?"

Klaudia nodded and eased herself to her feet. I stood up too but did nothing past that. I actually wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Past the abomination problem, I only really wanted to kill the lizard brood queen, and then that was it. A building fire would kill any other monsters in here. Or people. But I assumed anyone still here would be smart enough to leave if a fire started. If I did it during mid-afternoon, then everyone would be awake and I could leave.

"So... What did you get from getting second place in the event?"

She turned away from me and started leaving the room. I shoved the coins and shotgun into my bag, unsure of how to use the personal space I had been given. I followed, as I really had nothing better to do, and I enjoyed her company. It would suck for her to leave so suddenly.

"Some class and occupation for killing. I didn't want them."

I reminded myself to accept the Hunter occupation I had been offered and tried my best to continue the conversation.

"What kind of class and stuff do you want? I'm sure there's some kind of explorer or... crusader class out there."

"I don't want a class. I might get an occupation though. One that helps me survive."

I stared at her back with a puzzled expression.

"I... I think the class would help you there. The occupations only seem to be things that would earn you money. The class is more about survival."

"Then I'll get the class or whatever! I don't care about that."

I heard the frustration in her voice, and ran a few steps to catch up with her. I grabbed her hand and pulled her back. She turned to look at me in anger, and I could see tears in her eyes past the fury.

I recoiled, expecting her to hit me, but it never came. She only pulled her hand away and let her head droop. I noticed her shoulders were trembling, but I wasn't sure if that was due to anger or sadness.

Though I had previously promised never to use it on her, I activated Social Chameleon and made myself into a comforting figure, letting the skill lead my motions and speech.

I gently pulled her into a hug, letting her hands stay by her sides. I stroked her hair slowly and held her head on my shoulder. Though I wasn't usually one to initiate contact with people, and she definitely wasn't one to hug, this was needed by both of us.

We stayed there for a while, and eventually, her arms curled around my waist too. I think all she needed was a friend more than a leader, and my usual self was far too cold to be there for her. I certainly didn't help by being sarcastic when she was clearly pissed off.

Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed at the time, so I was at fault. It was something I would try to work on. Maybe I would just use the skill to get me through any future rough patches.

"Hey. You all good?"

I felt her nod slightly against me and pulled back. I held her at arm's length by her shoulders and looked directly into her slightly red eyes.

"I'm sorry I haven't been there for you. It's... not something I've had to do before. But you know me. You know I'm dense. So, just rely on me more ok? I'll get better at this."

She nodded again and sniffed a bit. I smiled a little and she followed suite.

"Now. Let's go find an empty classroom and do some crazy sex stuff."

She laughed and punched me lightly in the chest, pushing me back so I lost my grip on her shoulders. It had actually hurt a lot as she punched me near enough to my heart, but I couldn't show that kind of weakness now.

"In your dreams, you asshole."

Then she turned quickly and walked quickly down the corridor away from me. I started to run to catch up, but stopped and watched her retreating figure with some curiosity.

Though I had managed to resist any sexual thoughts while I held her, my heart had been beating faster. As soon as I deactivated the skill, it had returned to normal, but it opened up a few worrying questions.

What is this skill? What is it doing to me?

What is it making me?

We settled down for the night in the biology room we were in before. There were no lizards to be found while we returned there, but I suspected they had a spawn rate of more than a few hours. The college would be overrun otherwise.

Klaudia must have been lying about resting like I had and was lightly snoring on top of a rough bed made of lab coats. I might have found it cute if I hadn't witnessed her mini breakdown earlier. And so I lay on my own rough bed, staring at the ceiling as I watched the light level drop, and felt the temperature drop with it. My thoughts kept venturing to Klaudia and my and to keep her around.

It had been revealed to me that the cold exterior she put up, though convincing, was just that; an exterior. She may have been heartless, but she was still human.

That was what worried me. While using the Social Chameleon skill, I found myself reacting in more human ways. The absent emotions were my secret weapon in this world now, but using the skill removed that. It made me more human temporarily, which made me question whether I wanted to continue using it or not.

I shook my head of the self-deprecating thoughts and turned my attention to my class. I could bring up my progress with a mere thought now that it was my target.

Soul Reaper (U) class requirements:

Relevant experience: (47.2%)

Souls absorbed: (96/200)

Greater souls absorbed: (20/25)

Powerful souls absorbed: (0/5)

Spectral affinity: (3/5)

I was almost halfway by a rough guess. I just had to find some powerful souls. From what Nephthys had told me, someone with a powerful soul had obtained three reason skills and chosen one.

I still only had two, so I was sure I only had a greater soul. And I had no idea about Klaudia. One or two probably.

I sighed, more awake than I had ever felt at 9 at night and wanted desperately to listen to my downloaded music until I fell asleep. Unfortunately, I found my phone had run out of battery while I slept earlier.

I would need to get home and grab some battery packs. And the solar charger.

I was prepared for wilderness survival for some time due to impulse purchases and a family tied in with Explorer Scouts. So as soon as i could stop off at home, I would be able to grab some supplies.

I guess I'll use this time to grind.

I looked through my skill list and was surprised by the number of skills that had levelled up without telling me.

To name a few, Rapid Step was now level 4, pain resistance was up to 12, and mental strength had increased to level 6. Some had even given me stat points, but I didn't remember getting the notifications at all.

I spoke softly, asking the system.

"Are there notification settings?"

Would you like to alter the HUD?

I wasn't sure the system had interpreted my question correctly but wasn't about to turn down the offer.

Yes.

What level of notification would you like? (Default is: milestones)

• None

• Minimal (required only)

• Milestones (required and level milestones)

• Maximum (every notification is shown)

Ah. So it isn't the HUD. It's just the notifications.

"Is there a customer complaint sub-system in place?"

I got no reply, so just selected the maximum option.

You have a backlog of 25+ notifications. Would you like to read them?

I mentally refused. I don't need to see any of them to understand how I had progressed.

I looked through my entire status, impressed by my own efforts.

Sam Herbert (M)

Age: 19

Class: -

Occupation: -

---------------

Health: 59/59

Mana: 67/67

Stamina: 64/64

-----------------

Strength: 16 (/)

Agility: 9 (/)

Speed: 8 (/)

Endurance: 13 (/)

Vitality: 10 (/)

Intelligence: 14 (/)

Wisdom: 15 (/)

Luck: 10 (/)

Unspent stat points: (0)

Skills:

• Basic fitness [4] (D)

• Spectral Force [3] (A)

• Inspiring Aura [2] ©

• Pain Resistance [12] ©

• Mental Strength [6] (B)

• Silent Step [1] ©

• Rapid Step [4] ©

• Improvised Care ©

• Analyze [2] ©

• Corpse Inspection [2] (B)

• Spectral Sight (A)

• Party Leader [1] (B)

• Mental Resistance [1] (B)

• Spectral Empowering [3] (A)

Spiritual skills:

• Reason 1

• Reason 2

Features:

• Rapid Regeneration (D)

• Social Chameleon [2] (B)

Spells:

• Mana force (E)

All my stats had increased by anything from 1-5 points besides my luck, and it looked like all my skills had levelled up a few times too. That was where I suspected the stats came from; the skill milestones. If it passed level 5 or 10, it would award me. That motivated me to collect as many skills as possible and grind them for maximum stats.

Thinking of more skills, I was reminded of the store.

"Open skill store."

Soul skills: (258.2 essence available)

• Identify Soul (B)

Cost: 100 spectral essence.

• Soul Read (A)

Cost: 250 spectral essence.

• Soul Fortification (A)

Cost: 500 spectral essence.

• Soul Sealing (A)

Cost: 400 Spectral essence.

Mana skills: (1 crystals available)

• Mana infusion ©

Cost: 1 mana crystal

• Magic Search (B)

Cost: 25 mana crystals

I had a new soul skill available which I guessed was due to my slightly higher affinity. I had enough essence for one of the first two skills, but I only bought the first. Usually, the order skills can be unlocked suggests one needs previous skills to understand the next.

But screw that.

Skill Unlocked: Soul Read (B)

I only had 8.2 essence and would have to work to get another 100, but at least I had the soul skill. That could help me find the higher value souls faster. I hoped.

I also noticed I had a mana crystal apparently. I suspected the blue one I got from the abomination was the culprit and immediately used it to but the infusion skill. It would be useful to have a backup for when I ran out of soul energy.

Skill Unlocked: Mana Infusion ©

I was too comfortable to do anything too physical and don't want to tire out or wake Klaudia either, so thought about what I could do to pass the time.

Try to use spectral essence?

No. I'll waste all the soul energy I got from sleeping.

Silent Step around for a few hours?

It was a possibility but sounded boring.

Try to use magic so you can eventually use lightning magic and learn how to instantly charge your phone using magic?

Maybe... Just maybe.

I settled with using silent step and rapid step to quickly sneak around the room while using analyse on some random objects. honestly, I didn't know where to start with the magic skills and spells I had.

After a few hours of using all three skills and periodically waiting for my stamina to refill, I grew weary and decided to have a nap. It had been very boring, but at least it was productive. I had pushed silent step up to level 8 and received a point in agility when I reached level 5. Rapid Step reached level 9 and I got a point in speed at 5. Analyze only got to level 5, but gave a point in intelligence and wisdom each.

I was just about to lie down on my best when I remembered something that had been a big issue in my final thoughts as I fell asleep.

I locked the door with the dean's keys and instantly felt safer. The door might not be able to hold up to one of the bigger lizards, but at least it would slow it down enough for me to tear it's soul apart. Or at least try out the shotgun.

I laid back down on my best and yawned. Klaudia reacted to the small sound by mumbling something in polish into her arm. I smiled at her. That was most definitely a cute action.

I relaxed and recalled in the knowledge that not even 30 hours had passed since the world changed, but I was already an acting reaper for a council of deities and had saved what remained of a college from a pack of monstrous abominations.

Things could only go up.