“Congratulations, I think it's obvious but you have passed the test. You know you didn't have to clear the whole floor? Just reaching the steps would have been enough”. He said, smiling.

“Oh? I might have lost myself a bit during a fight”.

“I could tell! You can handle yourself quite well. You want to try level 10 and up monsters on the 2nd floor?”

“Tempting, but I'll pass.” He noted the instructor hadn't said anything about his class nor his race. He either didn't care or couldn't identify him. Same for everyone else, now that he thought about it.

“Suit yourself. Your contract will be waiting for you at the reception desk. For any other information you can ask at the reception. Oh and no need to hide a storage item. They’re a great help with gathering quests. Don't forget to check the board notices for contracts.”

“Mhm, will do. Thank you.” So he noticed.

“You're welcome. You can leave by climbing the stairs and taking a door on your left. Good luck!”

Leaving the tower, Bones went to the reception desk and picked up his security contract and ID card identifying him as a contractor to the guild . A logo decrypting a sword and a shield, a symbol of adventurers guild, was stamped in the top corner of the card with his name and rank, which he didn't have as of now. The first rank was a bronze rank and the requirement to be considered one was level 20. The card was unique to him and was infused with his mana, making it bound to him. Unlike the adventurer badge, the card didn’t have tracking properties. With his card he could check his quest progress and used it as a proof of identification with some minor perks available, thanks to the connection with the guild. One of the perks being limited access to the first floor of the guilds library.

In the corner of the building, an enormous hall filled with rows and rows of books was situated. Upon entering a hall, at the left side of the entrance, was a desk managed by an old man full of grays, with glasses on and a tag that read librarian. Bones approached the old man and greeted him.

“Greetings, quite a collection of books you have here.”

Old librarian looked up from the papers on his desk. “Yes, quite so. Haven't seen you before, new addition to the guild?”

“Yes, I just joined as a contractor.” Bones added as he handed his ID card.

“Welcome, what can I help you with Mr. Bones?”

I'd like to find books on the system and its creator and any available information on classes, beasts etc. Standard adventurer information I presume.

The librarian nodded and said. “History books you can find in the section behind me, on your left. They contain all the information you can find, apart from private collections, on the system, its creator and the world pre-system. As for…standard adventurer information, as you put it, they can be found over there.” He said pointing at the collection of books on a stand in the middle of a hall.

“May I suggest a yellow book with black bold letters written on a cover. You can't miss it, it really stands out.”

Bones nodded his head and turned in the direction of the stand. As he was about to walk over, the librarian added. “Quite the giveaway, your name is…”

Bones didn't turn his head to look at the old man. Sly old fox.

As he walked up to the stand he saw the yellow book and picked it up. Librarian wasn't lying, among all the other books with darker hardcovers, the yellow book really stood out. Especially with bold written letters in front that read "Adventuring for dummies".

Bones snickered and picked up the book. He took two more, one detailed bestiary and the other, hopefully more detailed book on skills and classes. He went over to the left section and picked up two history books, one on the pre-system era and one thicker book on the creator and system know-how.

With books reaching his chin, he found a quiet spot in the library, made himself as comfortable as he could, took the first book and opened the first page.

Pre-system era described mostly what he knew already. Mana at that time was widely sparse and making any progress was painstakingly hard. You were either born with the ability to feel the mana or you weren’t. Very few people could, compared to the existing population and those that could, mostly abused their powers over others. You learned through trial and error and mostly used test subjects to further one progress were common folk. It was a chaotic period filled with deaths and suffering. All in the past now, all in the past...

Records show that The Creator was among us for centuries, what he was doing until the creation of the system, was unknown. Some are convinced he was preparing a formation while others, that he was observing us and deciding whether we were worthy of the system.

Among popular beliefs was the one saying The Creator wasn’t there himself and that the being was just an avatar of the god from who-knows-where. What they were sure of, was that He was a being way above Ascendant. A God and was considered, from what people at the time witnessed, a non-combatant class. A transcendent Runesmith, Mana Engraver and a Formation Master.

On the day it happened, it was written the night was lit up like it was a day. Countless runes appeared, obscuring the sky and glowing like stars. Webs of blue strands of mana, so thick they were visible from the ground, were interconnecting with each and every rune. Every living creature froze in front of such a sight. Strands of mana began pulsating and as the frequency of mana pulses increased, runes began to glow brighter and brighter, and at the same time, every creature experienced a throbbing headache. Moments later, runes were so bright they were blinding and everyone collapsed. When they woke up and opened their eyes, a blue screen appeared before them.

One record, less believable, read that The Creator appeared in the capitol in front of the royal palace, moments before the system happened and was, quoting, "Yelling like a raving lunatic, dressed only in the lower garnaments and shouting "THEY ARE COMING". Who were "they", was never explained, but the same paragraph mentions a connection with the invading Demon race that happened a few thousands years later…

The Creator...quite the humorous one.

Humerus - the largest bone of the upper extremity and defines the human brachium (arm)

Uh what? Was that a typo?

The System changed everything and for everyone. Mana density increased roughly tenfolds. Even those unable to cultivate mana were tempered by it passively throughout their lives. It changed terrain, affecting trees, plants, and minerals. Areas with higher density were able to produce mana stones and mana crystals, which were mostly now mines, and sometimes, areas were transformed into what was now known as dungeons. New evolution paths were created and a lot of new species emerged in thousands of years after the system. Undead race being just one of them.

Classes and skills were almost exactly like Nica described, bless her soul. Newly learned skills were labeled as basic and like race and classes, they gain experience the more they were used. At level 20 they were upgraded to advanced, then master and so on. Further information on advancement was “locked” and access to the 2nd floor of the library was necessary.

There wasn't much written about the kingdom of Wezar. It was a minor kingdom, founded and ruled ever since, by the ascendant king Wezar, figures. The Kingdom was located at the border with two other kingdoms from the north and east side and Desolate Lands from the west and south. With two neighboring kingdoms, the kingdom of Wezar is considered and labeled as a “human kingdom”, where over 90% of the population are humans.

He also found a map detailing the area of Westbrook and its surroundings, showing a town located close to the forest that stretched the whole west and southwest of the kingdom and further into Desolate Lands. Following the forest were mountain chains separating the two lands from each side. Mountains were labeled off the limits with a warning “Area off limits, monsters level 30+”. Looking closely at the map, Bones found the area he came from and realized the terrain seemed somewhat familiar.

Isn't this where my tower stood? I didn't notice it back then due to it being the night but...I should've known. It didn't even occur to me.

It finally dawned on him. His ritual succeeded but not quite as he planned. The "puppets" he was supposed to take over, were most likely destroyed in the process and without a compatible body...

No, it still doesn't explain what happened to me, to my soul.

His soul was frozen in the same place, but separate space. Throughout the ages, the coming of the system and battles occurring, his soul didn’t budge an inch and could have stayed there frozen until his soul was destroyed. Only when the mass summoning was taking place, his soul was released from the eternal prison by the system and was pulled toward a nearest skeleton.

Bones took a deep breath, metaphorical one. The tension he wasn't aware of, disappeared. No way I wouldn't notice if my tower was still standing there, maybe the formation was still...He decided. He would take a few of the easy contracts from the board and go back to where it all started. Maybe something of his survived the passage of time.

Bones listed through the monster compendium before finally asking the librarian if it was possible to purchase a copy of the book. It was, but it was a bit pricey for now. It was getting late, the sun already setting behind the horizon.

He stood up, picked up the books and left them at the librarian desk. He thanked the old man, eyeing his mischievous grin.

“Goodbye and I wish you good luck, “young” mage.”

He could feel the undertone behind the "young" being said. He turned to look at the old man, nodded and left.

Old man definitely knew.

It was nighttime when he left the adventurers guild. Like the night before, it was a lovely and enjoyable evening, filled with people mingling about. That was his que to get lost.

Western district, once again, was under an attack by a mysterious figure pretending to be a naive tourist, robbing the robbers. There were fewer attempted robberies that night and maybe his last naive-tourist routine. He looted enough in these two nights for enchanted clothing and monster compendium from the library. He wasn't looking forward to meeting the old man this soon though.

Early morning, just like yesterday, was spent in the coffee shop, sipping on a coffee and watching people go about their business. There was something serene about watching people rushing here and there while relaxing, not having to worry about mundane things like food and a place to stay!

At the end of the night, they were prepared for me. Word gets around pretty quickly among thugs. What was with Identify anyway? *chuckle*

Bones noticed when he was using the Identify on thugs, they were labeled just as that, thugs with a level. No name was given or any other information on them. Like they just weren't important enough, or was that just his opinion? He read that the system was adaptive. He thought it meant adapting to the world as a whole, not individuals, so-called "users" of the system. When he thought about it like that, it did actually make sense why he wasn't seeing details on every person he met. He just didn't deem them important enough.

Soon, the square was bustling with activity. Bones' next place to visit was the shopping district. To be more precise, a shop "Enchant me for enchanted you". As he entered the shop, he was greeted by the same shopkeeper as the day before. He still remembered Bones and soon, he had a new set of clothing that actually fit his thin skeletal frame. Bones really appreciated the convenience of not needing to take measurements.

“They fit perfectly, thank you!”

“Thank you sir, for buying at our fine establishment!”

As he was about to turn and leave the shop, Bones asked the shopkeeper where he could find the masks adventurers occasionally wore. His hood covered most of his head but it started to bother him how many glances were thrown his way.

“Certainly sir. The jewelry shop down the street is selling all sorts of attachments, masks included.”

“Ah, I think I know the place! Thank you.”

And with that, Bones found himself again, standing in front of the glass window, where spatial accessories were displayed. He entered the shop and almost bumped into the clerk rushing around, trying to keep up with demanding customers. The place was crowded. He searched around and on the distant wall of the shop, found what he was looking for. All sorts of masks were displayed in front of him. From plain oval design to animal looking masks. Decorative masks, he mused, were for nightly festivities…

“Hi, sorry sir, how may I help you?” Said a panting clerk, trying to catch some break.

“Hi, take your time lad, there will always be more customers.“

He smiled and nodded, calming himself down.

“I am in need of a mask. As you can see I have…a condition I'd rather like not to be seen by others. Wraps did help but I'm in need of something more permanent.”

Clerk was silent for a few seconds, nodded and then asked.

“Would you like to see the enchanted masks we have?”

Bones pinched the bridge of his nose. He totally forgot that was an option. Why would he consider a normal mask over an enchanted one?

“Sir?”

“Ah yes, please show me what you have.”