Alvin stood alone in the mist. Sound was muffled, seeing was impossible, and untold potentially deadly trials hid in the vapor. Alvin had never been so irritated. He just wanted answers, a warm bed, and maybe find his family. He never signed up for all of the bullshit fog shenanigans. But there was no point in turning back now, in for a penny, in for a pound.

As he progressed further, Alvin was accosted by spectres of people he knew, and forced to fight apparitions of the other recruits. He lost more often than he won, he lacked any formal training and had lost much of the fitness from high school sports. The ones he did win were through size and underhanded tactics.

Alvin was even more wary than he had been throughout the misty trek. He hadn’t been attacked in a while, and even though the fog threw off perception of time, he was certain that no other attack had taken even half as long to come. Following video game logic, it meant that he was either almost out, or about to face the final challenge. Probably both. With little other choice, Alvin kept walking. The challenge would show itself in time, if there was one.

Alvin walked. Then he walked some more. He walked until he got tired of walking, and then some more. He walked endlessly, and wondered if maybe the long, lonely trek was supposed to be the final challenge. He lost himself in the mindless repetition of walking, not noticing the slowly thinning fog. He did notice the thinning mist when it cleared enough for a ray of sunlight to catch him directly in the eye. He exclaimed, then looked around, and was excited to realize that he was coming to the end of the vapor filled trials.

Once he finally escaped the grasping mist, he noticed an area set up with chairs nearby. There was one elder, as well as several people who wore robes similar to, but less decorated than, an elder’s robe, sitting in the chairs. There were also a few of the other recruits, all looking like they were about to fall asleep. Alvin claimed his own chair, and promptly collapsed into it, grateful for a chance to rest. The only thing he needed was food, maybe a nice greasy burger, the kind that raises your cholesterol just by smelling it. Seeing another one of the recruits arrive, one of the people assisting the elder, presumably disciples, came over to Alvin.

“Would you care for something to eat?” Sweeter words could not have been offered at that moment. It was like Alvin’s mind had been read, and his wish fulfilled.

“......please…….” Alvin’s wheezing response was met by a look of pity from the disciple, and scorn from himself. What the hell kind of response was that?! It was like he was a man dying of thirst in the desert, not one just physically and mentally fatigued from some trippy vapor hallucinations.

The disciple pulled a tray, which held a steaming bowl of stew, a spoon, and a cup of water, out of seemingly nowhere, and gently handed it to Alvin, before returning to the group of disciples around the elder. Alvin quickly ate a spoonful of the stew, which was delicious, but was mildly ruined by the fact that it was scalding hot and burned his mouth. He quickly took a gulp from his water, glad that it was ice cold. He ate the rest of the soup with significantly more patience and caution, and before he knew it the bowl was empty. Alvin looked at the bottom of the bowl sadly for a moment, then looked for where to put the tray. He may not be quite who his mother had wanted him to be, but at least he had basic manners. A disciple noticed that he was finished, and came to collect his tray. Just like when the first disciple brought the tray and it appeared out of nowhere, after the disciple took the tray it simply disappeared. Alvin gave the disciple a confused look, but only received a polite nod in return, after which the disciple went back to the group around the elder.

Having eaten and rested, Alvin turned his attention to the other recruits that were sitting around. He counted, and found that 43 of them had made it through the mist. He looked around, trying to see if he could figure out who was missing, and realized that one of the missing people was Conner, one of the other people with a tier 8 Affinity. Trench, if Alvin remembered correctly. Conner’s absence put Alvin on edge; did that mean that the illusions in the mist really were tests, that they had consequences? Worse, did it mean that even the tier 8 people were not indispensable, just more valuable? Neither conclusion made Alvin comfortable, and he noticed that some of the other recruits seemed to have thought along the same lines, as most of them were a lot more fidgety, or looking at the wall of mist intently. Stare and fidget as they like, no one else stumbled out of the fog. Eventually, the elder stood up to address the recruits.

“You 43 of the original 47 have passed the Misty Trials, which were created to test your character and resolve. Those who are not here either gave up, or would have been problematic to our way of doing things,” the elder revealed. “And now that they have been weeded out, those of you who remain will be inducted into the Sect, and given the chance to choose your Path.” Having said his piece, the elder turned and began walking up the path, followed by the disciples, and the recruits, who now had even more questions than they had before. But no matter what they asked or how, the elder did not respond, and the disciples simply reminded the recruits that all would be explained later.

Personally, Alvin was rather fed up with all of the mysterious later nonsense. He wanted to know what was going in, what his options were, and the whys behind the other questions.

The walk up the path after the mist was uneventful, and the elder stopped before a turn just before dusk. The disciples filed passed him, but he raised a hand to stop the recruits from proceeding any further. He looked at them, and it seemed as if he weighed what he wished to say, before he decided to speak.

“If you wish to turn back, this is the time. Beyond here is the heart of the Sect, and to cross its threshold is to pass the point of no return. You will stay here, training, learning, until you have achieved sufficient power to go out into the world, and represent the Sect. Now, those of you who wish to continue, step forth.”

While Alvin most certainly intended to join the Sect, there was no way in hell that he was going to be the first person to step up and show that in front of everyone else. Luck was on his side though, because Oriana stepped up almost instantly, pulling a reluctant Sasha beside her. After they stepped up, other people did so as well, including Alvin. When people had stopped moving forward, there were only 5 who did not want to join the Sect. These people disappeared as soon as it was clear that they would not be following the other 38, whisked away by the System to who-knows-where.

Satisfied that everyone left intended to see this through, the elder nodded, and then motioned for the recruits to follow him. As the first people rounded the corner, they faltered, then forced to keep moving by the press of bodies behind them, though that lasted only until everyone could see what was in front of them. A gate. One that was large enough to fit a semi truck horizontally, and maybe even two stacked vertically, end to end. And while the sheer scale of the gate was mind boggling, what really awed everyone was the detail inscribed into the gate. Carved delicately into the gate was the form of a leviathan, a massive serpentine monster that looked like a legless Eastern dragon, but lacking the whiskers. It was coiled up and around the gate as if it were protecting the Sect, and its head was on the doors of the gate, turned sideways, to let the beast’s eye see, and be seen by, all who would walk through the gate.

Alvin felt like that eye saw everything before it, looking down on the world as would a god. And he shuddered when it felt like the entirety of the carved serpent’s attention focused on him, reading him like a book that caught his attention. The feeling was brief, but profoundly unsettling, and Alvin was glad to hurry through the gates as they opened.

The Sect was an odd combination of Eastern and Baroque architecture, lots of grand buildings of white marble and blue stone, with elegant woodwork and stone carvings everywhere. Despite how grandiose the style was, no building was taller than 4 stories, and light was everywhere. Simple wrought iron lanterns, paper lanterns, even some of the carvings glowed, with no discernable source or power.

The atmosphere in the Sect felt festive, like the members here were celebrating the completion of the buildings, as well as the arrival of new members. People were everywhere, wearing robes every shade of blue, and with decorations varying from none, to as full of life as Elder Song’s. The crowd split to either side of the street to allow the recruits through, and then resumed their business after they had left.

The recruits were led to a long, two story building, that ,despite the unusual architecture, felt like a school. When they entered, Alvin realized that it was a school, but also a dorm. The recruits were led passed classroom and dorm rooms alike, into a small lecture hall, which was really more of a large classroom but with tiered seating. As everyone found a seat, the elder who had guided them up the mountain slipped away, and Elder Song walked down to the front of the room.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Boundless Sea Sect. I, as many of you know, am Elder Song, and I will be in charge of your orientation. To begin with, I will briefly tell you of the Sect’s history, structure, goals, specialties, and alliances. Afterwards, you will be introduced to the Paths and opportunities that are available to you. I would ask that you wait until I have finished the lesson to ask questions, to reduce redundancy and ensure that the lesson is efficient.” Elder Song turned to the wall behind him, and placed his hand on a knob that was barely distinguishable from the wall, and patterns across the entire wall lit up, before images from the elder’s lecture started to appear on the wall.

“The Boundless Sea Sect is a mercenary Sect: we focus on martial skills, and sell our capabilities to other Factions. We are a subordinate of the School of the Shifting Moon, and are therefore allied with all of their other subordinates, but being allies does not mean we get along. Each Faction under the School of the Shifting Moon is in constant competition for resources and opportunities provided by the School.” The wall behind Elder Song showed an image that Alvin’s school experience called a web chart, with a central piece that branches out into many smaller pieces. “The Sect Master, as her title suggests, is the leader of the Sect. She also is at the highest stage of Cultivation in the Sect, followed by the elders. The Sect was founded by the current Sect Master’s family, 30 thousand years ago. The demon beast inscribed on the gate was the Sect Founder’s companion, and it serves as the Sect’s Guardian Beast, a source of knowledge and our last line of defense.” The image shifted again, this time showing a picture of the same beast that was on the gate, only this time next to the Sect’s island, around which it could easily wrap itself. Elder Song paused as the image appeared on the wall, and seemed amused by the terror the image caused in the recruits, before he continued talking.

“The Sect, rather obviously, specializes in water aspected techniques, especially in regards to the ocean. Our specialties with these techniques fall into a few broader disciplines: warrior, auxilary, guide, craftsman, and guardian. You will learn more about each discipline, and the specific Paths within each discipline next. Please follow Elder Li, in the back of the room, to the Hall of Paths for the continuation of the Orientation.” With that, Elder Song exited through a hidden door off to the side, and the recruits followed Elder Li out of the building.