He stands in the middle of an empty room with featureless gray walls. Would it kill the system to add a little color? Why is he here? He should have spawned in Caradon.

The deep calming voice interrupted his thoughts. "That is the correct question to ask. If you arrive within your realm as a complete noob, then you will lose the loyalty of your followers. You must power train to achieve the capabilities and the strength sufficient for a leader of men."

"I am definitely down with that! I hate being helpless as the game starts." Frank replied.

"This is not a game, and it is time to learn your first power." Instructed the deep voice. "All psionic powers belong to disciplines originally defined by the Goddess responsible for the psionics powers within Ck!draaaa*Klx!. The level of the power ranges from beginner to deity. I doubt you will ever encounter anyone with a deity level power unless you encounter the Goddess herself. All powers require the expenditure of power points to maintain the power for the specified duration. You are granted the Perfect Memory power."

Power: Perfect Memory

Discipline: Metabolism

Level: Beginner 1 0%

The power enhances memorization of visual, auditory, and other sensory information for as long as the maintenance and the establishment cost are paid.

Cost: 2 Power Points (PP) per minute

Effects: 85% chance regular speed, 20% accelerated rate

"I was expecting a more impressive power. I am sure this is useful, but I would prefer to start with a more interesting power." Frank confessed. "Hey, can you tell me more about the Goddess of Psionics?"

Instead of an answer to his question, a dizzying collage of images and sounds flashed by about four feet in front of him. Images of men, of women, and of buildings paraded before his eyes causing him to feel queasy and disoriented. Suddenly, the stream of images stops with a svelt man with black hair in a ponytail standing before him. The man's height is average, and there is a dikatana tucked through a sash at his waist.

"Who is this man?" The voice asked.

"I do not know his name, but he appears to be a warrior" Frank said.

A few heart beats after completing his answer Frank feels intense pain as electricity flashes around him. He collapses to the ground moaning, he rolls back and forth while the shocks and the pain continue, and he screams as if he is trapped in the fires of hell. The pain vanishes after a few minutes.

"What the hell was that? " Frank asked mildly while being shocked that he was not screaming at the voice. He was furious, but he remained calm. What was happening to him?

"The pain is a training tool. Other realm masters or even rebels among your own people may try to kill you. The pain should ensure you devote yourself to training. As for your calm demeanor, you did mention a desire for no drama! The system is adjusting your physiology to meet this request and to meet other criteria. I suggest you activate your power to maximize your ability to absorb the information.

He quickly said "Activate Perfect Memory" just before the incredible collage of information displayed again. Frank hears and understands the name, the title, the skills, the abilities, and the powers for each individual. Descriptions and images for each building interspersed within the images of his people. More and more information soaks into his mind. A stocky blond haired man appears before him.

"Perfect Memory may be activated verbally or with your inner voice. Who is this man?" The voice asks.

"His name is Soro Mendalin. He is the First Psion, and I train with him every day." Frank replied with a slightly surprised sound in his voice. "I am officially naming you Nimrod for that bullshit pain training technique."

"Nimrod .. really! While you answered the question correctly, you are wasting your power points! Deactivate your power. Who is this woman?" The voice asked.

Frank quickly deactivated his power by subvocalizing the word deactivate. An image of a kind, dedicated woman appeard before him. Her blond hair cradles her head and falls gently upon her shoulders. His gaze moves to her moderate sized breast, and then his gaze continues down to her waist and hips.

"Her name is Tara. She is our best healer." Frank replied with a smile on his face.

The voice continued with its interrogation. "What is this building?"

A two story building more than 40 feet in length with a curving roof reminds him of pictures from books about the architecture of 17th century Japan. Reinforced doors, shockingly violate his preconceptions of asian architecture, are centered within the long side of the building on the first floor. The second floor is open with a simple railing bordering the walkway that circumvent the floor. Two slightly opened sliding doors are equidistant from the center of the long side of the first floor. The base of the building is a foot higher than the road where he stands.

"I do not know" He answers.

You guessed it! Frank was rolling on the ground again. After his punishment, Frank was berated by Nimrod. "Of all the buildings within your starting settlement to fail to memorize, you choose the one that guarantees your survival. That is the barracks for your soldier. It is critical to the protection of your palace. It is reinforced above the level of anything you could build with material available during the first three weeks of the realm."

After another hour of this torture, Frank was rewarded with the following messages.

Congratulations! Your Perfect Memory power has improved to Beginner 2. There is a 87% chance to retain information at normal rate. The retention rate for high speed transmission is 22%.

You have learned a new skill, Concentration Beginner 1.

Concentration Skill

Level: Beginner 1 0%

The Concentration skill allow you to complete actions despite distractions including taking damage.

Efect: There is a 10% chance of completing the action.

You have received 150 experience points (XP). Current level progress 150/400.

******

A heads up display appears before Frank with a with a status bar region at the bottom of the display. Two stacked bars displayed to the left side of the status bar: one green bar and one blue bar. Immediately to the right of the colored bars is a nearly empty orange circle displayed to the right.

"Your hit points are shown as a green bar to the bottom left. The blue stamina bar appears just below the hit points bar. Your power point pool shown as an orange circle appears to the right of the hit points and stamina bars. Your PP pool is nearly empty. The power points will replenish at a rate 1 PP per 10 minutes without a conscious effort, but the replenishment rate may increase through use of the meditation skill." Stated Nimrod.

"Please assume a lotus position upon the floor. Close your eyes. Try to feel and to sense the beating of your heart. Once you can feel the beat, imagine a warm power rising from the center of your being."

He closed his eyes with his arms resting upon his thighs. His arms grew heavier and heavier as the hypnotic cadence of his breathing drew his focus inward. Falling down a dark pit leading to a steady beating drum that resonated through his entire being. A faint glow barely pierced this darkness with a feeling of warmth in the center of his body. The elusive feeling began to fade, and he desperately tried to grasp it. The feeling retreated further. Frank searched desperately for the warmth and glow, but an unknown force kept deflecting his presence from his destination. His desperation violated everything he knew about meditation. A continual battle raged between his desperation and his ability to reach deep relaxation. This internal battle continued for multiple hours until a ding sounded within his mind.

Congratulations! You have learned a new skill and received 100 XP!

Meditation Skill

Level: Beginner 1 25%

It took forever, but even a noob like you eventually figures out how to relax! You are able to achieve a deep connection to the source of your power.

Effect: While meditating you gain 1 PP per 2 minutes.

A filled orange circle greeted me as I opened my eyes.

"That was an uninspiring effort. You lost focus frequently. Try again!"

An awful feeling of loss occurred as my power disappeared. "Whatever you say Nimrod!" He replied between clenched teeth.

The sadistic cycle continued until another ding sounded.

Congratulations! Meditation skill has advanced to Beginner Level 3. The new effect restores 1.5 PP per minute.

You received 250 XP for advancing skills and complete phase 1 of your training!

You have advanced to Level 2. Intelligence +2. Your passive power point replenishment ability improved to 1 PP per 8 mins. Meditation skill advanced by 50%. Your realm master additional point may be applied to either strength or vitality. Please choose where the additional attribute point is applied.

His skins is on fire, and his gut clenches. Frank barely get the words past my clenched teeth. “I should be allowed to choose where my ability points are applied.”

“The system does not allow players to choose to distribute their ability points. Again, this is not a game! It is an alternate reality with a game like interface. Your actions between level advancement dictate where and how your abilities are enhanced by the system. As a Realm Master, you and only you are granted a minimal choice of enhancement that comply to general system rules."

After a few breaths to calm the raging fire within his soul, he considers his options. He expects that vitality enhancement would increase his hit points. More hit points would increase his chance to survive each encounter. Strength would improve the damage dealt and the amount of weight he could carry before reaching my encumbrance limits. "I choose to add the point to vitality. Please show me my stats."

Name Frank Richland Class Psion Level 2 (800 to advance) Experience 500 Titles Emperor of Caradon HP 140 PP 220 Strength 12 Intelligence 22 Dexterity 12 Wisdom 19 Endurance 15 Charisma 15 Vitality 14 Luck 12

"Characters within your realm have eight primary statistics, and the names for the character statistics were pulled from your memories of RPG online games from your world. Each of these statistics conform to your expectations. Your power points are equal to 10 times your Intelligence, and your hit points are 10 times your Vitality." Nimrod explained.

"I am pleased with my stats, but why are all of the stats average to high for my level?" Frank wondered aloud.

"The minimum primary statistic value for a realm master is 12, some stats received a random increased value, and your realm modifiers for Intelligence and Wisdom apply to your character. We will take a short break for lunch before continuing your training."