The Chronicles was the first book in a series of books written by THE Joan of Arc. The author’s note explained that this first book had to be very basic or The System would have charged more for it than people on the first deck could afford, and there were 5 more books written by Joan of Arc, but the costs of those books rose drastically, and the cost somewhat mirrored what a very wealthy person could pay on each of the decks.

Joan explained, “The System and the Seven Decks are a horrible ungodly place, but you can find peace in small villages or any cities that kill all the euphoria addicted gamblers on sight! Unfortunately, if fate has laid your path up the Seven Decks, your life will be filled with death, …. No one knows how The System was created or why it exists, so don’t waste valuable time trying to figure it out. It just is. What you really need to know about the Seven Decks and The System is…..well, I can’t tell you that, or you would never be able to afford this book from The System shop. Alternatively, let me explain what is happening on the First Deck…”

Jen finished reading The Chronicle and summarized for Sam. “Basically this quarter year we heard about, is actually every 25 years.”

Jen explained to Sam that every 25 years in the Decks, which equates to about 28 Earth years, The System teleports one of seven different intelligent beings from other worlds into the Seven Decks. “Oddly enough, Joan’s hypothesis is that the teleportation beam is somehow attuned to seven “home” planets via the seven colors of the rainbow. Anyways, The System teleports humans, elves, dwarfs, goblins, orcs, trolls, and gnomes into the wild zones around the cities that are dominated by their respective species. As a result, every 200 Earth years, humans get teleported into the Seven Decks.”

Joan’s book stated that gnomes and elves have the lowest odds of dying upon their transfer to the first deck as a result of the solidarity within their cultures. The dwarfs and humans have the next lowest odds of dying, which isn’t that great, since over 90% of the new transfers die. The trolls, orcs, and goblins kill their own kind like it is going out of style; they don’t even need the encouragement of the gambling quests offered by The System. However, their birth-rate is five times that of humans, so there are still a significant number of them in the Decks.”

Sam chimed in. “Wow, that’s unreal. I wonder what type of stats they have, and what their home worlds were like.”

Jen replied, “I’ll let you read this Chronicle later. There are small sections about the different cultures of the other races.”

Sam nodded, “Cool, anything else?”

Jen laughed. “Lots! However, Joan is only able to vaguely explain that the three main ways to grow your power are getting ability points through gaining experience and leveling up, getting ability points through gambling, and third, building your mana system. She hints at there being other methods for getting ability points, but they are not as straight forward. She suggested that the most successful new worlders are those who pick a profession or skill, join a guild, and min/max with a group. It’s your classic D&D advice.”

Sam grunted, “Who can you trust with all these gamblers and The System offering random gambling quests that could turn people against you!”

Jen nodded in complete agreement. “Yeah, the book goes into that exact issue. Joan basically agrees with you, but she also says that if her guild, The Arc Guild, is still around when this book is being read, you might check with them because it was originally founded on the principles of honor above all else.”

Jen tossed the book to Sam. “Read through it and let me know what you think. I’m going to read the Welcome to the System book, at least it looks really short.”

Sam nodded, “A little later, right now I’m working on some enchanted charms.”

A few hours later, Jen finished and closed Welcome to the System, and said, “Something about this book just doesn’t sit right with me.”

Sam looked over at Jen, and asked, “What is it?”

She laughed. “Oh no, you’re not going to get away with not reading the book and just relying on my cliff notes again.”

Sam made a groaning sound as he finished the charm he was working on and motioned for Jen to toss him the book.