"I don't need you to repay me, Issa. I don't know what kind of a person could leave someone to be eaten alive by some cannibalistic freaks." Morgan smiled as he stood up, the red gemstone hanging from his wrist on the chain. Huh, did he wrap the chain around his wrist like that?

"That necklace has a strong aura, Morgan. Be careful with it until you learn more about it. Anyway, you'd be surprised at how many cultivators would have not only left me but perhaps taken the opportunity to kill me while I was bound. I hold a lot more Energy in my Core than these Yeksa vermin."

"What do you mean by 'cultivator'?"

"Cultivation is the act of gathering Energy to increase your own power. One way to do so, as you've learned, is to slay other beings that use Energy."

"Hmm, and people on this world would just kill another person to gain Energy?" Morgan frowned.

"Unfortunately, the System encourages cultivation by any means. People from my village wouldn't do that, but someone that didn't know me? I would not be surprised if they never took my blindfold off and just ended me. What an opportunity! Maybe they'd find it harder if they had to look into my eyes while they did it," she smiled fatalistically.

"Well, I'm not like that. I don't think most humans are like that, though we've never had to deal with the System before. I hope it doesn't bring the worst out in us."

"Human? Is that your race, Morgan? I've never met a person that looked like you. Brown hair, pale skin, pale eyes? And you're very tall. No, I've definitely never seen or heard of your kind before." Morgan self-consciously rubbed his hand over the short, brown buzzcut; it was the easiest haircut to deal with when it came to cryo-sleep, and he'd never much cared about hairstyles.

"Yeah, well, you're a lot more colorful than most humans, but we do have a pretty wide variety, ourselves. I'm not surprised you've never seen us. Remember I mentioned that I was new to your star system? My world is around twelve light-years from here. Like 70 trillion miles or so."

"Trillion…" Issa stared into space, trying to wrap her head around the number.

"Well, what's next? We've gotta get out of here, and I need to find where the System put my people."

"Morgan, this is the first level of the Crucible. We can work together to get out, but I feel the System will make things harder for us if we do."

"Okay, I remember the System saying it was sending me to the Crucible, and you've mentioned it a couple of times, but just what the fuck is it?"

"The System is, indeed, cruel to send you here with no knowledge, though in its twisted way it probably thinks it's giving you an opportunity. The Crucible is a testing ground. A place to prove your potential, to have a chance to find rare rewards and gain in power."

"So the System chose you to come here, also?"

"No, my situation is different. There's a temple near my village. Once every moon cycle, a portal opens, and one person can step through into the Crucible. I won a lottery to come here."

"Uh," Morgan almost said that she might have made a mistake, as he'd found her, literally, being eaten alive, but he caught himself. Her pale, lavender cheeks reddened, though, and she looked away, probably guessing what he'd been about to say. "Anyway, I think we should work together. In fact, I have an incentive to do so - a quest."

"You have a quest to work with me?" Issa arched an eyebrow, looking at Morgan intently.

"Well, actually, when I found you, I got a quest not to let you die. For a week."

"And you accepted? Well, in that case, I will be glad to have a companion, at least for a week." Issa smiled and grunted as she pushed herself to her feet. "We should figure out where to go next."

"What about this stuff? Anything worth taking?" Morgan gestured to the burlap sacks and jars of various liquids.

"Actually, yes, many of those herbs are Energy-dense and would be useful to an alchemist. I don't know what's in those jars, but, again, an alchemist might find them valuable." Morgan nodded and started sifting through the burlap bags, looking for the largest one. He then took the smaller bags, pouches, and bundled herbs and stuffed them inside.

"I don't think I can carry these jars. I hate just to leave them, but this sack is almost full, and I want to keep my hand free for my spear."

"I'll carry a few of the most Energy-dense jars in one of the sacks. I'll wrap them in burlap to keep them from clinking," Issa said, bending to the task, and Morgan nodded. It took Issa a couple of minutes to examine the jars, and she ended up wrapping four of them in torn burlap and stuffing them into a sack.

"Right, then," Morgan said as he stepped over to the shaman corpse and yanked his spear out of its back. The hard, wooden tip was holding up surprisingly well, though it was duller than when he'd first acquired it. He was walking over to the door, getting ready to see what lay beyond, when he heard a gasp from Issa. "What is it?" He asked, looking back over his shoulder.

"This crown, it's cursed, and it's steeped in death magic."

"Yeah, it made me nauseous when I got close, so I backed off."

"What?" Issa shook her hand like it had been burned and quickly walked his way, her spear in the other hand. "It must be nice to have such affinity! I didn't feel anything until it started to pass necrosis into my hand. It'll take me an hour to push this foul Energy out."

"Sorry. I should have said something," Morgan replied softly. He stepped up to the door and put his ear to it, listening. Issa silently moved to his side, still wringing her hand in front of her. When he couldn't hear anything for several long moments, he carefully lifted the bar from the door and set it down against the wall next to the door. He pulled the door open just an inch and peered through the gap.

Beyond the door was a short stone hallway that opened into a large, circular room that was brightly lit with two lanterns. In the center of the room was a round stone stairway that led upwards. "Huh, looks like we found the way to the next level." He pulled open the door, and Issa peered around his shoulder.

"I think you're right, Morgan! That doesn't look like the same sort of stone as in the Yeksa area."

"So, you seem to think the System will make things harder for us if we're together. Does that mean this area, these encounters, are tailor-made for each participant of the Crucible?"

Issa shrugged, "My people have speculated that the System takes a heavy hand in the Crucible, but I don't know for sure. I surely wasn't ready for my first encounter."

"Well, before we go up, maybe you can give me some advice? I have 15 attribute points to allocate."

"Oh, umm, that's a lot to ask of me. I don't want to point you on the wrong path. I wish I knew you better before I tried to give you advice like that."

"Look, you know a lot more about this System than I do. I can tell you right now that my highest stat is intelligence, but I don't even know what would happen if I dumped more points into it. I can guess what strength or agility or vitality would do."

"Intelligence helps you to process your thoughts faster. It helps you to manipulate Energy and apply it more effectively."

"Which I can't do until I have a 'Core,' right?" Morgan frowned.

"Yes, that's right. Though, when you form your Core, having a high intelligence will help you to do it more perfectly and perhaps improve its initial grade."

"Oh, great, so there are different grades of cores?"

"That's right."

"Okay, give me a minute. Status."

Status

Name:

Morgan Hall

Race:

Human - Base 1

Class:

—

Level:

4

Energy Affinity:

9.2

Energy:

77/0

Strength:

6

Vitality:

8

Dexterity:

8

Agility:

7

Intelligence:

12

Will:

10

Points Available:

15

Titles & Feats:

Human Champion

Skills:

System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable, Spear Mastery - Basic, Stealthy Maneuvers - Basic

Morgan liked the idea of having high intelligence, so he 'thought' of putting five points into intelligence and the number on his status screen updated. Until he could use Energy actively, though, he figured he should add some points to his physical stats as well. He applied two points to vitality, four points to strength, and four points to agility.

Status

Name:

Morgan Hall

Race:

Human - Base 1

Class:

—

Level:

4

Energy Affinity:

9.2

Energy:

77/0

Strength:

10

Vitality:

10

Dexterity:

8

Agility:

11

Intelligence:

17

Will:

10

Points Available:

0

Titles & Feats:

Human Champion

Skills:

System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable, Spear Mastery - Basic, Stealthy Maneuvers - Basic

Morgan smiled as he felt his body changing. It wasn't a huge change, but he felt more sure-footed, the spear felt lighter, and he felt more confident in its control. He started to flex his bicep and touch it with his other hand when he realized Issa was watching him. He blushed and cleared his throat, "Ahem, uh, there. I'm done. Should be a little more fit for whatever is waiting up those stairs." Issa grinned, exposing her sharp teeth while raising one bright, yellow eyebrow.

"If you had a Core, I'd feel more confident, but you didn't have any trouble on this floor, and, now that I'm on the mend, I can be of some help."

Morgan smiled back at her, "Yeah, well, I'm not gonna lie; it made it easier creeping through those dark tunnels with your hand on my shoulder, so don't sell yourself short. With regard to a Core, you know the quest the System gave me? The one about keeping you from dying? It offered me an Energy Core cultivation manual. Will that help?"

"Yes, that will help a lot! My tribe has a cultivation manual that we share and teach to the young. It teaches meditation techniques to help focus the Energy in your body into the act of forming a Core," Issa nodded.

"Wait, so you could show me how to make a Core now?" Morgan stepped back from the doorway and pushed it closed.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea, Morgan. What if our technique isn't compatible with your race or with the cultivation manual the System is offering you?" Issa frowned, backing away a step and scratching the side of her head.

"Does that happen? Do some methods not work for some races?"

"I really don't know. The Ardeni, my people, are allied with another race, the Ilyathi, and we share our cultivation method with certain promising prospects as part of our treaty. There are many other peoples that we don't share with, though, and I'm not sure they would cultivate like us. Take the Onaghi, for instance. They don't even have a body like us, so I can't imagine they circulate Energy in the same way that we do."

"Well, you and I seem pretty similar in our physiology! I mean, you're a lot more colorful and have sharper teeth," Morgan smiled, tapping a finger on his teeth, "but we both have ten fingers and toes, and we both bleed red blood."

"Well, we could try it, I suppose. Our manual has three stages, and since we are working together, and you've already saved my life once, I could show you the first stage. It will allow you to form a basic Core. To do more than that might be risking too much at this point, and it would take longer than we want to spend in this place, anyway." Issa relented, and Morgan smiled at her.

"Alright, let's put this bar back over this door, and you can show me what this is all about." Morgan lifted the heavy wooden beam and secured the door. "Let's go over here," he gestured to the left side of the cavern where the ground was clear of rubble, "away from that dead shaman." Issa nodded and followed him. She instructed him to sit, legs folded and hands open, palms up, on his knees. Morgan was pretty sure this was called a Lotus position among yoga aficionados back home. Back when people had time to do yoga. She took a similar position in front of him.

"Morgan, I'm going to try to tell you what to do, but I'll be infusing some of my own Energy into you so that I can feel what you're doing. Just a trickle. Try not to fight it," Issa said as she, very lightly, placed her small hands, palms down against his own. Her hands were warm, and Morgan took a moment to appreciate the connection to another living being among the horrors he'd been through in the last few hours. When that thought struck him, he felt a wave of emotion and shuddered with an unexpected deep sigh. "Are you alright, Morgan?"

"Yeah," Morgan nodded, sighing out another big breath, feeling a wave of pent-up pressure flowing out of him. "I think I was holding a lot of stress in, and sitting here like this, with you, opened up the valve."

Issa smiled gently and said, "It's good to let that go before we attempt to form your Core. Take a few more deep breaths and exhale them slowly, then close your eyes, and listen to my voice." Morgan did as she instructed, inhaling deeply and slowly exhaling, willing his stress, anger, and fear to go out with each breath. By the time he'd done this five times, he was feeling a lot more relaxed. He kept his eyes closed and just concentrated on the feeling of Issa's hands in his and the sound of her voice as she spoke, "Now, concentrate on where my fingertips rest against your palms; feel the Energy I'm sending out and pull it into your body. Imagine it flowing up your arms, down through your chest, and into the center of your body."

Morgan, feeling very relaxed, felt his consciousness drift to the point of Issa's fingers, where they met his palms, just as she instructed. He immediately felt a tingling, warm pressure building at the point where their skin met. He concentrated on that tingling pressure and pulled on it, urging it into his hand. How he did it, he couldn't describe if pressed to do so; it felt almost like he had another set of muscles in his body that he'd never used before. He continued to direct the warm, tingling Energy up, along his arms, and down into the center of his torso, just as Issa had instructed him. When the two streams met, he could feel them coalesce into a loose, diffuse cloud of warmth there in the center of his being.

"Good, Morgan! That was fast! Now take that Energy and push it together; try to imagine it condensing."

Once again, Morgan listened, and, with his inner eye turned toward his center, he didn't feel like he had to imagine the Energy doing his will; he could feel it so clearly. It was like he could see it - a slowly spinning cloud of golden motes, just above and behind his navel. He willed it to move faster, to funnel tighter and tighter toward the center. As the Energy spiraled into a vortex, he became aware of more Energy in his body. The residual Energy he had absorbed from the glowing marble and from the enemies he'd killed. He imagined that Energy was flowing through his limbs, from his head, all toward his center. He pushed and gathered that Energy in the already spinning vortex, exerting his will against it, making a ball out of the spinning point of Energy as it collected. Soon, all the Energy he had absorbed was swirling at his center, and he continued to push his will against it, and it spun ever faster. He pressed and condensed the spinning ball of Energy until he felt it snap into place somehow, maintaining its shape and momentum yet attaining a state of equilibrium. Smiling, he opened his eyes.

Issa was standing a few feet away from him, breathing heavily. "Morgan, are you alright?" Her voice sounded winded and strained.

"Yeah, I think I'm great! What happened?"

"I think, once again, I underestimated your affinity. I could sense you starting to form your Core, and then I noticed the pull on the Energy I was sending into you increased, to the point I struggled to resist it! I had to break contact and step away from you! In just seconds, you pulled half the Energy out of my Core!"

"God! I'm sorry! I didn't know I was doing that! It felt like I was just gathering all the Energy in my body and pulling it into my Core as I formed it. I'm sorry, Issa!" Morgan hurried over to Issa and put his hand on her shoulder. To her credit, she didn't shy away from his touch.

"It's alright, Morgan; I'll recover in a few hours. The ambient Energy here is high. Well? How did it go? Did you make a strong Core?"

Morgan said, "I'm not sure. It feels good. Hang on. Status."

Status

Name:

Morgan Hall

Race:

Human - Base 1

Class:

—

Level:

4

Core:

Vortex Class - Base 1

Energy Affinity:

9.2

Energy:

97/204

Strength:

10

Vitality:

10

Dexterity:

8

Agility:

11

Intelligence:

17

Will:

10

Points Available:

0

Titles & Feats:

Human Champion

Skills:

System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable, Spear Mastery - Basic, Stealthy Maneuvers - Basic

"Huh, Vortex Class, Base 1?" Morgan said, looking at Issa quizzically.

"Um, Base 1 means that it's in its earliest stage. That's normal for a new Core. I haven't learned about a Vortex Class Core, though. It sounds good, I think. My Core is a Pearl Class. It's pretty common among my people. Some of our Energy masters, those with strong spellcasting classes, have Cores named after gemstones. My teacher had a Sapphire Class Core."

"Thanks for showing me what to do, Issa. I feel better knowing I'm on the right track here. I think we've sat around in this room long enough, though. Probably asking for trouble if we stick around much longer. Besides, if this Crucible is going to take a week or more, we need to get a hold of some food and water." Morgan gestured toward the barred door and started walking over to it.

Issa nodded and replied, "You're right; we will need to find some provisions but don't worry too much. Energy users don't require food and water as much as creatures without any Energy affinity. Besides, the System will provide an opportunity, and we just have to make sure we don't miss it. Well, we also need to avoid letting the 'opportunity' kill us!"