[Congratulations Initiator! By reaching level ‘2’ you are entitled to a ‘Medium’ Guided Tour of The System. Would you like to start? Yes or no. Skipping this opportunity means forfeiting it forever.]
I laid on my back staring at the floating words in front of me. Even though they were hard to read I clearly understood what they meant. The levels and the congratulations message seemed to remain in my mind. Once again I could recall what they said with perfect memory, just like the very first words from God— The System. At least it had called itself that. All of the words of the thing I believed to be God, were words of The System; something whose power surpassed The World Tree.
I sighed, feeling the warmth of my blood running through my arm, and side. My leg stung but it wasn’t broken, at least it didn’t feel broken. Sadly, I couldn’t really check, feeling too drained from the battle. In the end all I could do was acknowledge the words. A guided tour? I needed guidance. It sounded silly to say no to it, but perhaps there was someone out there that would.
I thought for a few seconds, and remembered something that The System had mentioned.
[Remember, this is a golden opportunity. A Great Equilibrium is an opportunity to ascend your world.]
I didn’t know what it meant. But the things that were happening were classified as an opportunity it seemed. Well no use in thinking about it. I shook my head and opened my mouth.
“I accept the guided tour.” My voice came out coarse and I felt pain at the back of my throat.
I began to cough. The blood kept flowing out of my body, I was beginning to feel weakness. The… moose had seriously hurt me. It seemed to be a type of moose, but I had no idea what Everwood meant. Perhaps it was a region of a different world. Magic Beasts did not exist in Foresia, or at least I had never seen one. Magic was rare, and we only had one shaman in the entire village. And yet a Lvl 5 moose could use it. I was Lvl 2 now after killing it. Did that mean I would be able to fly when the number reached 5? Were all moose capable of doing that?
[You have accepted ‘Medium’ Guided Tour.]
[A SGA will be with you shortly…]
SGA? I idly pondered as I closed my eyes, feeling the relaxation take over me. I was seriously tired, in retrospect I did not even understand how I had survived. I was accustomed to jumping down from trees, though the fall this time around was much more unexpected and much higher than normal.
At the same time I felt lucky that I had nailed the shots with the bow. I was taught how to use a bow but never really practiced until things happened. I shook my head, erasing the dark thoughts. I opened my eyes and stared at the stars. At that moment particles that shone under the moonlight started to gather around. They were eye-catching enough to make me focus on them. A few seconds passed as many more gathered, and soon they started to spin. They brought themselves closer to each other, until finally they coalesced into a small light. It was a small ball of light that was as big as my fist.
Magic? I thought with confusion. Magic seemed to be awfully common. Would surviving be harder? Though… Had I always been this capable? It didn’t settle on me that the Everwood Moose that I killed was much stronger than any animal I had seen. I was bleeding but— I had survived and moreover. I didn’t run away.
I didn’t run away. Memories flooded over me. That day was weird, my parents behaved oddly and urged me to gather a specific type of plant. And before I knew it, ash had started to rain. They wanted me to survive, but I wanted to help. I returned and all I could do was quiver in fear from a distant bush. In the end, I ran.
[Hey.]
A distinct voice reached my mind, it was sweet and melodious but I couldn’t tell if it was male or female. I opened my eyes but only saw the ball of light floating around me, nothing else.
[Hey!]
The ball of light moved up and down calling my attention. What?
[Finally you look at me!]
The ball of light could speak? Moreover it featured the same type of qualities as The System. Mostly resounding inside my head. Was this the SGA? I still did not understand what it meant, but a speaking ball of light was new to me. The ball floated around me, I couldn’t tell what it was doing, but I didn’t move from my spot. Too hurt and tired to do anything but lay down.
[Hmm… Explanations may have to wait. It seems to me that you’re an archer, yes?]
The ball of light asked, SGA, it sounded relatively troubled. But it simply floated in its spot, I guess it was waiting for me to agree with its conjecture. I nodded in confirmation, hoping I would not need to speak. If I spoke again there was a good chance I would start to cough once more from how dry my throat felt.
[Great! As an Initiator and Invader you’re entitled to a Basic Kit. You will be provided the Archery Basic Kit. Which includes a brand new bow made out of an unspecified alloy, a quiver with thirty arrows, a hunting knife, and three health potions! Would you like to receive the Archery Basic Kit?]
[As your assistant I should inform you that failing to consume a health potion in your state will kill you in—] it paused. [32 minutes, 5 seconds!]
Huh… I looked at it in bewilderment before nodding. It could tell when I would die just like that?
[I shall acknowledge your nod as agreement.]
The ball of light bobbed up and down somewhat excitedly. But then something strange occurred. It began to glow in a much more brilliant light, it was so blinding that I had to close my eyes.
[Tada!] The ball exclaimed, making me open my eyes.
Three objects floated in front of the ball. One was a bow of strange shape, it reminded me of a ‘w’ rather than a curve. With its wings bent ever so slightly from the handle while going forth and then dramatically curving back like a normal bow to accomodate for the string. The other one was a quiver made out of what seemed leather with metal. And the last one was a belt with a knife whose sheath dangled along its sides, accompanied by three tube-like vials that possessed metal caps, filled with a transparent red liquid.
[Do you accept potion administration from System Generated Assistant?]
I didn’t know what that meant, but considering how tired I felt I simply nodded once again.
[Great!] The ball of light chirped.
The quiver and bow floated down and laid next to me. The belt also lowered and one of the vials came out. I assumed it was the potion, so I simply waited. I had no idea what a potion was, but I could hardly move and the ball did not seem hostile, nor did The System — in spite of being responsible of my current situation — I decided to trust them. That was until the ball of light spoke.
[Based on: 8,281,939,123 reports, this process is quite torturous. I am required to inform you to brace yourself.]
The ball spoke with all the happiness in the world, but its words carried a completely different meaning. Wait— The potion’s cap was removed in the air. I had no idea what made the items float but considering there was an animal that could walk on air, this much was expected, at the same time it was the least of my worries. I felt my lips tingle before an invisible force spread them apart, and the vial was shoved at ludicrous speeds down my throat. The liquid rapidly flowed down as I felt like throwing up, I could not even taste it.
The one-second torture didn’t last, and the vial was removed and the force disappeared along with it. I started to cough from gag reflex and my stomach pushed forth, but nothing happened. I closed my eyes hoping the feeling would stop, but it did not. It was a dry unpleasant sensation as my chest began to contract in an attempt to throw whatever was inside of me. This continued for a few seconds before it stopped, my throat ached like never before, but there was also a new feeling.
It was mildly cold but gentle, it was akin to the first touch of lukewarm water. It washed over my entire body and soon reached my pained throat. In an instant I felt as if I was well-hydrated and the pains subsided. The feeling spread to my legs and arms eventually going to my head. It carried a soothing quality to it.
I didn’t know how long had passed, but I felt at ease. I was still tired but the tingles of pain had vanished, and the warmth on the bleeding parts of my body had mostly subsided.
[Based on your experience, what would you rate the automatic potion administration system as?]
The words brought me back to reality, I opened my eyes to see the ball bobbing up and down.
“Awful,” I said, no longer feeling pain in my throat. “Why must it be shoved down one’s throat, and forcefully to top it off?”
[Your feedback has been received. The potion must be shoved to avoid the user throwing them up, and the potion cannot be administered properly should the Initiated refuse, hence forceful administration.] The ball spoke as if it was natural.
A sigh left me. It was part of The System, perhaps that explained its odd behavior.
[Your injuries are slowly being healed, even though they have been closed please avoid overexertion.]
I looked at the bobbing light ball. It was definitely weird. It seemed to have a personality but at times it had that— way of speaking? I was unsure what to call it, but it sounded exactly like The System to me.
[Now that you are outside of danger, allow me to introduce myself. I am a System Generated Assistant, you can always ask me which number I am but I highly advise against doing so. It’s a large number.]
I nodded in acknowledgement as I tried to sit upright. The ball — System Generated Assistant — continued as I did that.
[Even if the number is large, please know that only those Initiators with Medium graded tours or higher may get a System Generated Assistant. Now I know you want to ask what’s the highest rank as everyone does. The highest rank is Premium! So you have: Basic, Medium and Premium tours! My personality is based on the template: Cheerful and Endearingly Annoying Assistant. Please know that this template cannot be changed for those in the Medium Grade Tours!]
At this point I had finally finished sitting in a somewhat straight manner, and was observing the gigantic corpse of the Everwood Moose.
“Aha.”
I acknowledged the ball that continued to talk. Truth be told I mostly filtered all of its information, a lot of it seemed rather useless to me. It was basically an assistant provided by The System, and it was a perk provided for having a Medium tour instead of a Basic one, at the same time it was no use knowing what a Premium tour offered since I couldn’t obtain it. It also happened to mention something else in the meantime. Something about its origins not being an original feature, but it also said that the reason why the feature now existed was classified. I did not think much of it.
So that left me with its name. Ball of light, SGA, Ball, or System Generated Assistant.
“I’ll call you—” I pondered unable to come up with names.
[Would you like a list of the most common names given to SGAs?]
“Sure.” I agreed not knowing what to expect.
[Names are generally decided close to the end of the Tour. The most common names across the universe are: Assistant, Slave, Pixie, Shut-up—]
“Alright stop.” it seemed like the ball of light was not popular amongst those who had it. “I’ll call you Glim.” The ball began to rapidly move up and down as if it was feeling something.
[I cannot object, but please understand that I am a bright ball of light. Glim generally means unbright. Please reconsider.]
“No.” I shook my head.
Glim bobbed up and down, its previous momentum gone. [I will now answer to Glim, would you like to receive the Medium Grade Basic System knowledge in one go?]
I pondered feeling slight impending doom. I looked at the ball but it kept floating up and down, it seemed to be in its formal mode. At the same time I needed to understand what The System was much better.
“I will receive it in one go.”
Those were my last words before a stream of information forcefully flooded my head, the pain was so unbearable that I lost consciousness. The only reassurance I got were the words of Glim as I was passing out.
[Please do not worry, I have confirmed you are safe right here where you are!]
It was… not very reassuring. If I had learnt anything so far was to never agree to Glim's questions.
◇ ◇ ◇
I awoke as the sun was rising. Glim was still floating by my side. It took me a few minutes to gain a sense of what was actually happening, as well as a few more minutes to sort the information. It was truly a new world, everything was real. The moose, the light… It took me some time to calm down, the small doubts of my situation vanishing in an instant. There were things such as levels and things that were called attributes or stats. But there was a problem, and it was neither of those things. The problem came from my status.
Name: Blair | Level: 2
Race: ??? (E-Grade)
Feats: NaN
Basic skills: Universal Understanding (NaN),
Universal Inquiry (NaN)
Free attribute points: 4
VIG: 17 | END: 32 |
STR: 20 | AGI: 36 |
PER: 31 | WIS: 12 |
Attunements: Dark plants (I)
Prime Currency: 100
Why was my race ???. I frowned. I was a Dark Elf, a Deep Dark Elf, as The System had called us. I was not three-question-marks. That wasn’t even a race. It simply didn’t make sense. My race was E-grade, which was a surprise. Since they went from F-grade all the way to A-grade. E-grade coming after F-grade, and after E-grade came D-grade. But I could not think for longer as a notification came, interrupting me from my thoughts.
[Feat Achieved — Lone Survivor — You are the last member of your race. You’re unique. As the last survivor you work better alone. +10% to all attributes while alone.
It is said that only one Laxon remains to this day. A race that predates The Beginning.]
That did not help even in the slightest. I sighed, having the realization that I was alone for good. But I did find solace in the fact that the Feat I had achieved seemed to refer to my situation as well, even if it was a bit far fetched. Perhaps. The Deep Dark Elves no longer existed. Did that mean The System no longer classified me in said race? I did not know. The information that Glim had given me was basic even if it was Medium Grade. Even if it was a headache to process.
I stared at Glim, it floated silently as if nothing was happening. Perhaps it could answer a few questions for me.
[Congratulations Initiator! By reaching level ‘2’ you are entitled to a ‘Medium’ Guided Tour of The System. Would you like to start? Yes or no. Skipping this opportunity means forfeiting it forever.]
I laid on my back staring at the floating words in front of me. Even though they were hard to read I clearly understood what they meant. The levels and the congratulations message seemed to remain in my mind. Once again I could recall what they said with perfect memory, just like the very first words from God— The System. At least it had called itself that. All of the words of the thing I believed to be God, were words of The System; something whose power surpassed The World Tree.
I sighed, feeling the warmth of my blood running through my arm, and side. My leg stung but it wasn’t broken, at least it didn’t feel broken. Sadly, I couldn’t really check, feeling too drained from the battle. In the end all I could do was acknowledge the words. A guided tour? I needed guidance. It sounded silly to say no to it, but perhaps there was someone out there that would.
I thought for a few seconds, and remembered something that The System had mentioned.
[Remember, this is a golden opportunity. A Great Equilibrium is an opportunity to ascend your world.]
I didn’t know what it meant. But the things that were happening were classified as an opportunity it seemed. Well no use in thinking about it. I shook my head and opened my mouth.
“I accept the guided tour.” My voice came out coarse and I felt pain at the back of my throat.
I began to cough. The blood kept flowing out of my body, I was beginning to feel weakness. The… moose had seriously hurt me. It seemed to be a type of moose, but I had no idea what Everwood meant. Perhaps it was a region of a different world. Magic Beasts did not exist in Foresia, or at least I had never seen one. Magic was rare, and we only had one shaman in the entire village. And yet a Lvl 5 moose could use it. I was Lvl 2 now after killing it. Did that mean I would be able to fly when the number reached 5? Were all moose capable of doing that?
[You have accepted ‘Medium’ Guided Tour.]
[A SGA will be with you shortly…]
SGA? I idly pondered as I closed my eyes, feeling the relaxation take over me. I was seriously tired, in retrospect I did not even understand how I had survived. I was accustomed to jumping down from trees, though the fall this time around was much more unexpected and much higher than normal.
At the same time I felt lucky that I had nailed the shots with the bow. I was taught how to use a bow but never really practiced until things happened. I shook my head, erasing the dark thoughts. I opened my eyes and stared at the stars. At that moment particles that shone under the moonlight started to gather around. They were eye-catching enough to make me focus on them. A few seconds passed as many more gathered, and soon they started to spin. They brought themselves closer to each other, until finally they coalesced into a small light. It was a small ball of light that was as big as my fist.
Magic? I thought with confusion. Magic seemed to be awfully common. Would surviving be harder? Though… Had I always been this capable? It didn’t settle on me that the Everwood Moose that I killed was much stronger than any animal I had seen. I was bleeding but— I had survived and moreover. I didn’t run away.
I didn’t run away. Memories flooded over me. That day was weird, my parents behaved oddly and urged me to gather a specific type of plant. And before I knew it, ash had started to rain. They wanted me to survive, but I wanted to help. I returned and all I could do was quiver in fear from a distant bush. In the end, I ran.
[Hey.]
A distinct voice reached my mind, it was sweet and melodious but I couldn’t tell if it was male or female. I opened my eyes but only saw the ball of light floating around me, nothing else.
[Hey!]
The ball of light moved up and down calling my attention. What?
[Finally you look at me!]
The ball of light could speak? Moreover it featured the same type of qualities as The System. Mostly resounding inside my head. Was this the SGA? I still did not understand what it meant, but a speaking ball of light was new to me. The ball floated around me, I couldn’t tell what it was doing, but I didn’t move from my spot. Too hurt and tired to do anything but lay down.
[Hmm… Explanations may have to wait. It seems to me that you’re an archer, yes?]
The ball of light asked, SGA, it sounded relatively troubled. But it simply floated in its spot, I guess it was waiting for me to agree with its conjecture. I nodded in confirmation, hoping I would not need to speak. If I spoke again there was a good chance I would start to cough once more from how dry my throat felt.
[Great! As an Initiator and Invader you’re entitled to a Basic Kit. You will be provided the Archery Basic Kit. Which includes a brand new bow made out of an unspecified alloy, a quiver with thirty arrows, a hunting knife, and three health potions! Would you like to receive the Archery Basic Kit?]
[As your assistant I should inform you that failing to consume a health potion in your state will kill you in—] it paused. [32 minutes, 5 seconds!]
Huh… I looked at it in bewilderment before nodding. It could tell when I would die just like that?
[I shall acknowledge your nod as agreement.]
The ball of light bobbed up and down somewhat excitedly. But then something strange occurred. It began to glow in a much more brilliant light, it was so blinding that I had to close my eyes.
[Tada!] The ball exclaimed, making me open my eyes.
Three objects floated in front of the ball. One was a bow of strange shape, it reminded me of a ‘w’ rather than a curve. With its wings bent ever so slightly from the handle while going forth and then dramatically curving back like a normal bow to accomodate for the string. The other one was a quiver made out of what seemed leather with metal. And the last one was a belt with a knife whose sheath dangled along its sides, accompanied by three tube-like vials that possessed metal caps, filled with a transparent red liquid.
[Do you accept potion administration from System Generated Assistant?]
I didn’t know what that meant, but considering how tired I felt I simply nodded once again.
[Great!] The ball of light chirped.
The quiver and bow floated down and laid next to me. The belt also lowered and one of the vials came out. I assumed it was the potion, so I simply waited. I had no idea what a potion was, but I could hardly move and the ball did not seem hostile, nor did The System — in spite of being responsible of my current situation — I decided to trust them. That was until the ball of light spoke.
[Based on: 8,281,939,123 reports, this process is quite torturous. I am required to inform you to brace yourself.]
The ball spoke with all the happiness in the world, but its words carried a completely different meaning. Wait— The potion’s cap was removed in the air. I had no idea what made the items float but considering there was an animal that could walk on air, this much was expected, at the same time it was the least of my worries. I felt my lips tingle before an invisible force spread them apart, and the vial was shoved at ludicrous speeds down my throat. The liquid rapidly flowed down as I felt like throwing up, I could not even taste it.
The one-second torture didn’t last, and the vial was removed and the force disappeared along with it. I started to cough from gag reflex and my stomach pushed forth, but nothing happened. I closed my eyes hoping the feeling would stop, but it did not. It was a dry unpleasant sensation as my chest began to contract in an attempt to throw whatever was inside of me. This continued for a few seconds before it stopped, my throat ached like never before, but there was also a new feeling.
It was mildly cold but gentle, it was akin to the first touch of lukewarm water. It washed over my entire body and soon reached my pained throat. In an instant I felt as if I was well-hydrated and the pains subsided. The feeling spread to my legs and arms eventually going to my head. It carried a soothing quality to it.
I didn’t know how long had passed, but I felt at ease. I was still tired but the tingles of pain had vanished, and the warmth on the bleeding parts of my body had mostly subsided.
[Based on your experience, what would you rate the automatic potion administration system as?]
The words brought me back to reality, I opened my eyes to see the ball bobbing up and down.
“Awful,” I said, no longer feeling pain in my throat. “Why must it be shoved down one’s throat, and forcefully to top it off?”
[Your feedback has been received. The potion must be shoved to avoid the user throwing them up, and the potion cannot be administered properly should the Initiated refuse, hence forceful administration.] The ball spoke as if it was natural.
A sigh left me. It was part of The System, perhaps that explained its odd behavior.
[Your injuries are slowly being healed, even though they have been closed please avoid overexertion.]
I looked at the bobbing light ball. It was definitely weird. It seemed to have a personality but at times it had that— way of speaking? I was unsure what to call it, but it sounded exactly like The System to me.
[Now that you are outside of danger, allow me to introduce myself. I am a System Generated Assistant, you can always ask me which number I am but I highly advise against doing so. It’s a large number.]
I nodded in acknowledgement as I tried to sit upright. The ball — System Generated Assistant — continued as I did that.
[Even if the number is large, please know that only those Initiators with Medium graded tours or higher may get a System Generated Assistant. Now I know you want to ask what’s the highest rank as everyone does. The highest rank is Premium! So you have: Basic, Medium and Premium tours! My personality is based on the template: Cheerful and Endearingly Annoying Assistant. Please know that this template cannot be changed for those in the Medium Grade Tours!]
At this point I had finally finished sitting in a somewhat straight manner, and was observing the gigantic corpse of the Everwood Moose.
“Aha.”
I acknowledged the ball that continued to talk. Truth be told I mostly filtered all of its information, a lot of it seemed rather useless to me. It was basically an assistant provided by The System, and it was a perk provided for having a Medium tour instead of a Basic one, at the same time it was no use knowing what a Premium tour offered since I couldn’t obtain it. It also happened to mention something else in the meantime. Something about its origins not being an original feature, but it also said that the reason why the feature now existed was classified. I did not think much of it.
So that left me with its name. Ball of light, SGA, Ball, or System Generated Assistant.
“I’ll call you—” I pondered unable to come up with names.
[Would you like a list of the most common names given to SGAs?]
“Sure.” I agreed not knowing what to expect.
[Names are generally decided close to the end of the Tour. The most common names across the universe are: Assistant, Slave, Pixie, Shut-up—]
“Alright stop.” it seemed like the ball of light was not popular amongst those who had it. “I’ll call you Glim.” The ball began to rapidly move up and down as if it was feeling something.
[I cannot object, but please understand that I am a bright ball of light. Glim generally means unbright. Please reconsider.]
“No.” I shook my head.
Glim bobbed up and down, its previous momentum gone. [I will now answer to Glim, would you like to receive the Medium Grade Basic System knowledge in one go?]
I pondered feeling slight impending doom. I looked at the ball but it kept floating up and down, it seemed to be in its formal mode. At the same time I needed to understand what The System was much better.
“I will receive it in one go.”
Those were my last words before a stream of information forcefully flooded my head, the pain was so unbearable that I lost consciousness. The only reassurance I got were the words of Glim as I was passing out.
[Please do not worry, I have confirmed you are safe right here where you are!]
It was… not very reassuring. If I had learnt anything so far was to never agree to Glim's questions.
◇ ◇ ◇
I awoke as the sun was rising. Glim was still floating by my side. It took me a few minutes to gain a sense of what was actually happening, as well as a few more minutes to sort the information. It was truly a new world, everything was real. The moose, the light… It took me some time to calm down, the small doubts of my situation vanishing in an instant. There were things such as levels and things that were called attributes or stats. But there was a problem, and it was neither of those things. The problem came from my status.
Name: Blair | Level: 2
Race: ??? (E-Grade)
Feats: NaN
Basic skills: Universal Understanding (NaN),
Universal Inquiry (NaN)
Free attribute points: 4
VIG: 17 | END: 32 |
STR: 20 | AGI: 36 |
PER: 31 | WIS: 12 |
Attunements: Dark plants (I)
Prime Currency: 100
Why was my race ???. I frowned. I was a Dark Elf, a Deep Dark Elf, as The System had called us. I was not three-question-marks. That wasn’t even a race. It simply didn’t make sense. My race was E-grade, which was a surprise. Since they went from F-grade all the way to A-grade. E-grade coming after F-grade, and after E-grade came D-grade. But I could not think for longer as a notification came, interrupting me from my thoughts.
[Feat Achieved — Lone Survivor — You are the last member of your race. You’re unique. As the last survivor you work better alone. +10% to all attributes while alone.
It is said that only one Laxon remains to this day. A race that predates The Beginning.]
That did not help even in the slightest. I sighed, having the realization that I was alone for good. But I did find solace in the fact that the Feat I had achieved seemed to refer to my situation as well, even if it was a bit far fetched. Perhaps. The Deep Dark Elves no longer existed. Did that mean The System no longer classified me in said race? I did not know. The information that Glim had given me was basic even if it was Medium Grade. Even if it was a headache to process.
I stared at Glim, it floated silently as if nothing was happening. Perhaps it could answer a few questions for me.
