Rory stumbled along, one hand on the truck to keep him steady. His head was starting to swim, and waves of nausea kept surfacing from his guts. Great. He was likely concussed.

He paused, as much as to haul in another lungful of smoke-tinged air and grant himself a little break as at a sudden realization. Rory pulled out his phone and tried to call Viv. There was no connection. He stared at the screen, mouth twisting into a frown. The phone wasn’t receiving a signal. He was still in the vicinity of the town, still close enough to its more populated areas that he should be receiving at least a couple of bars of network strength.

Rory swallowed. Had to be this apocalypse the ticket had mentioned.

Wait. Had he started the end of the world by not crashing into the kid who apparently wasn’t one? Ah well, it would have happened anyway. Except, if he had run over this otherworldly entity in the form of a little girl, he’d have had more disgruntled ones to deal with.

Rory struggled to the back of the truck. When he had to pause next beside one of the large tires, another flake of Mana floated down. He let it land on his palm again. The same strange energy bubbled on his skin, and Rory got the feeling that he could use his Weaving now.

Hmm. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on it, drew the image of the light purple-and-gold disc in his head, imagined the pattern of radial lines glowing like sunrays.

There was a strange sensation of something clicking into place, and Rory gasped. When he opened his eyes, tiny lines of white light were emerging from his hand, spreading spherically outwards. They sank into everything, the ground, the sides of the truck, the tire, even the air, fizzing out after a short distance of about a meter like carbonation in a drink.

With acute slowness, Rory moved his arm and gawked at it as he did so. Unbelievable. The Weaving was actually working. He just needed to make it focus.

Rory checked his hand again and blinked. He hadn’t noticed before, but the back of his hand had a glowing white tattoo. The image was that of the Sigil of Weaving—a pattern of radial lines bounded by the light grey circle with the triangle on top.

He’d have to keep the phenomenon in mind. If Sigils appeared externally, it meant anyone who knew Sigils would take his measure easily. That could be problematic later.

Rory observed the lines of light as he moved his hand. They veered to whatever was closest, changing the shape of their emanation from a sphere to a convex funnel. When he moved his palm towards the truck, they sank into its side, and when he dropped his arm, they bent down towards the ground.

He placed his hand near the tire. The white lines sank into the treads, turning the whole tire into a glowing donut.

[Sigil Options]

You can now pick a Woven Sigil from a maximum of three options. Choose wisely.

Sigil of Rubber

Type: Element Rarity: Uncommon Efficiency: Low

Sigil of Locomotion

Type: Concept Rarity: Remarkable Efficiency: Medium

Up to three choices, the words said, though Rory had received only two. Perhaps something larger like the truck itself would have afforded Rory with the maximum number of options.

For now, Rory tried to determine which exactly was supposed to be the better of the two Sigils he had been offered. Rubber versus… Locomotion? He supposed the latter would boost his movement somehow, which would be particularly useful. If it proved not good enough, there were three other tires, as well as the one at the back stored away for emergency punctures.

Rory picked the Sigil of Locomotion. Another round-edged coin materialized in his hand, this one a silver disk with the image of horizontal arrows pointing to the right. It was also bounded by a thin circle with a triangle on top.

New Sigil!

You’ve obtained a Sigil of Locomotion. Any and all motion is just another plaything to you.

[Argent I] allows external motion manipulation of one object, and passively boosts speed [1.25x].

Stats

Type: Concept

Rarity: Remarkable

Tier: Argent I [0%]

Efficiency: Medium [30%]

New Achievement!

Sigil Weaver! You’ve Woven your first Sigil! Well done. Remember, the only boundary on what you can and cannot Weave is your imagination.

Rewards

Sigil of Weaving has advanced Tiers from [Argent I] to [Argent II]

Interesting. These Achievements seemed to arrive whenever he did something with his Sigils, though he wondered if there were other actions that would summon them, and what rewards those might have to offer. He was going to have to see. But the main gist of it was that using his Sigils more was what would allow them to advance in Tiers.

Though he had to check what exactly advancing Tiers offered him.

Rory absorbed the Sigil of Locomotion. He took a step forward, and immediately felt the world shift. It wasn’t that he was moving faster. Or at least, it didn’t feel like he was making any more effort than he used to. Instead, the world responded more. Every step took him just a little farther than he was used to.

Rory swallowed. The sensation was going to need some getting used to. His throbbing head didn’t appreciate being burdened with the world jerking as though he was inebriated and had forgotten how to judge distances.

After taking a moment to adjust to the sensation, Rory closed his eyes to focus again. The last reward had said his [Status] was now accessible, which he assumed was some sort of report regarding his current condition. He imagined it would have something about his Sigils too.

It wasn’t hard to bring it up. No sooner did he think about observing himself, then more white words floated on his eyelids. He wasn’t sure if he was seeing with his closed eyes, but he was more distracted by the [Status] itself.

[Status]

Rory McIlroy

Race: Human

Class: Weaver

Tier: Argent I [75%]

Perks:

Stats

-

-

-

Sigils

Sigil of Weaving: Legendary, [Argent II]

Sigil of Locomotion: Remarkable, [Argent I]

Sigil of Stats: Ordinary, [Argent I]

-

-

Items

-

-

-

Huh. So, Rory had a Tier along with his Sigils, though he wasn’t sure what exactly determined it. But he could fret over that later. For now, he focused on his Sigil of Weaving.

Sigil of Weaving

[Argent II] allows object conversion into up to Exceptional rarity [Argent II] Sigils in a 3-meter radius and combination of up to 2 Sigils.

Stats

Type: Concept

Rarity: Legendary

Tier: Argent II [50%]

Efficiency: Low [7%]

Ah, so the next Tier had increased the Sigil’s effective radius, the maximum Tier he could make new Sigils, and had granted him the boon of performing Sigil combinations. That suggested he could make new Sigils using other Sigils. Intriguing. He was going to have to test it out once he got a grip on the situation.

Rory tried to use his new Sigil too. He focused as he had done before, closing his eyes and drawing the Sigil of Locomotion in his head, but nothing happened. It didn’t activate.

Looked like the Sigil of Weaving wasn’t kidding when it said he wasn’t allowed to use other Sigils.

Rory stepped to the back of the truck. The doors had fallen open thanks to the crash. Many of the precious artifacts that he had so carefully arranged had spilled out and tumbled down the hill, strewn across the slope in a trail of priceless wealth. Rory was in no condition to go after them. He’d just have to make do with what was available.

It was at times like these that Rory was thankful he kept a mental inventory of everything he had collected. For his purposes, he needed a very specific artifact that could potentially grant a helpful Sigil.

Not that his mental inventory told him which box it was.

The first box revealed an old paper fan, neatly folded and at least a couple of centuries old. Not what he was looking for. Sure, the idea of a Sigil of Air, or perhaps Fanning, was interesting. Maybe he’d even get a third option—a Sigil of Flapping Uselessly Like A Chicken Trying To Fly. Snorting, Rory put the antique fan away. He would have to tinker when he could relax.

Ignoring the growing pounding in his head, Rory waded through the artifacts. Well, what was left of them. He grimaced as he did so. All his dreams of spending the rest of his days as an antiquarian had been shattered.

Eventually, as Rory was starting to worry the artifact he was seeking might have tumbled downhill, he found his target. A round bronze bottle that was a container for medicine in the Ancient East. It was a long shot to imagine he could get a Sigil that could alleviate his wounds, but it was worth a try.

Sadly, he lacked Mana. Rory crawled back out of the truck and scrounged around until he had a few flakes in his hand, groaning every time he had to bend over and pick them up. Pocketing three of the flakes, he used one to Weave the bronze bottle. Tiny lines of light shot out and coalesced on the artifact, making it glow like a bulb.

The choices were disappointing. Rory got two options again—a Sigil of Bronze and a Sigil of Medicinal Storage. Neither looked like they could help with his wounds. He picked the latter option and pocketed the new Sigil, ignoring the bloom of words and the bubble of energy on his palm that begged him to absorb the Sigil.

Outside, the fall of Mana was still too sparse. He couldn’t keep waiting for hours on end just to get enough Mana he’d need to convert everything he wanted to Sigils and find something properly useful.

Rory decided to pick and choose his next Sigils carefully. The next artifacts he came across were an old suit of armour, a paintbrush that would crumble to dust if he breathed on it wrong, a compass with a broken needle, and an ancient encyclopaedia with crackling paper. Nothing helpful.

Sighing, Rory made his way out and staggered to the tires. The burning trees were crumbling to ash, the grass now strewn with fine silver powder. It was getting harder to breathe with all the smoke too. Rory needed to get to higher ground, and fast. He gathered up another flake of Mana as he moved, so now he could make four more Sigils.

Activating his Weaving, Rory turned a tire into a Sigil of Rubber. Advancing Tiers had changed his Sigil of Weaving’s image a little. The silver circle bounding the pattern of radial lines now had two triangles, one at the top as usual, and another at the bottom. Hmm, perhaps the triangles indicated the Tier.

The new Sigil’s glowing white lines condensing the tire into a silver disk with the image of a tire wheeling down a road. This too had the image bounded in a silver circle with a triangle at the top.

New Sigil!

You’ve obtained a Sigil of Rubber. You can now control rubber to your heart’s content.

[Argent II] allows creation and manipulation of element in a 3-meter radius.

Stats

Type: Element

Rarity: Uncommon

Tier: Argent II [0%]

Efficiency: Low [20%]

Once more, he ignored the bubbling energy on his palm and simply held the Sigil in his grip. He wasn’t going to be able to do any of what the new Sigil’s description indicated, thanks to his Weaving, so he simply pocketed the Sigil of Rubber for now.

Since his Sigil’s evolution to the next Tier supposedly allowed Sigil combinations, Rory used his Weaving on yet another tire to get another Sigil of Locomotion. He absorbed it.

Rory checked his Status again. Instead of taking up another slot, the new Sigil of Locomotion had combined with the one he already had within him, raising its Tier to Argent II. Like with Weaving, he checked how his Sigil of Locomotion had improved.

Sigil of Locomotion

[Argent II] allows external motion manipulation of two objects, and passively boosts speed [1.3x].

Stats

Type: Concept

Rarity: Remarkable

Tier: Argent II [0%]

Efficiency: Medium [30%]

Oh, so combining the same Sigil raised their Tiers. Apparently, using a Sigil wasn’t the only way to increase a Sigil’s abilities and efficiency. Rory could simply Weave several together to make a Sigil stronger. That left interesting implications dangling before him. He’d been right before too—the number of triangles on the outer circle corresponded to the Sigil’s Tier.

New Achievement!

Advancer! You’ve raised your own Tier for the first time. Excellent work. Keep at it, and you might just discover where your coloured circle is.

Rewards

Sigil of Health

New Sigil!

You’ve obtained a Sigil of Health. Allows access to the health stat as part of the system.

[Argent I] grants 3 points of health per personal Tier. Improves passively.

Stats

Type: System

Rarity: Ordinary

Tier: Argent II [0%]

Efficiency: N/A

The new Sigil had the image of a red heart. Unsure about its effects, Rory pocketed it.

He still had a couple of Mana flakes left. It was better to store them, but Rory had another idea he wanted to test. It was a gamble, just as it had been with the bronze medicine bottle, but he could recoup more Mana eventually.

So, Rory headed back to the truck’s back and pulled out the old encyclopaedia again. He used his Weaving on it, getting the singular option of a Sigil of Knowledge.

Rory smiled. Just as he had expected. He was starting to get better at predicting what Weaving could grant him.

New Sigil!

You’ve obtained a Sigil of Knowledge. Knowledge is power, as they say. Go grow strong.

[Argent II] grants passive rudimentary information about the world. Active allows greater depth.

Stats

Type: Concept

Rarity: Exceptional

Tier: Argent II [0%]

Efficiency: Low [20%]

Rory absorbed the Sigil into himself. He didn’t get a sudden blast of knowledge about everything going on, but it should come in handy when he moved on and encountered other oddities. Well, one could hope.

It was time to get going. Who knew how Viv was handling herself. Rory had been able to stave off the worry with the wonder of the Sigils, but it was starting to burgeon like a tidal wave no longer willing to be denied. He trusted her to survive, but that didn’t help his anxiety, especially since he had the feeling he hadn’t even scratched the surface of just how much had changed thanks to this apocalypse.

Rory headed out. He might be injured, he might be aching and hurting all over, but he had his wife to reach. And that’s what he was going to do, no matter what.