This is new. My power ate someone and now it has a personality. Hey. Power. Are you Terra?

No. I am new. Let's call me Sarah.

Ok, Sarah not Terra, what are you exactly?

Advanced Skill 'AI Helper' Unlocked!

Your skill allows you a helper to assist you in your many endeavors. Higher skill levels will unlock additional features. Current Features: Notification Management

As your power grows more complex, you will need a more intuitive interface. I am that interface. I am also growing, so I will be watching you and those around you to learn.

Well it's great to have you aboard. And not creepy at all to have someone else in my head. In the meantime, what do I do about Terra here?

Haha. I won't be creepy. Make up a new name and alter your hair color. You don't want to be easy to track.

Terra has been watching me curiously. I suppose most users don't drift off into their own thoughts in the middle of character creation. “My power is working fine. I'll ask the technician when I get out though. What else needs to be done?”

“Cosmetic changes! Everyone wants to be beautiful in their own way. Here's you.” A copy of myself appears standing next to Terra. I walk up to it and move my arms and it stands there and does the same.

“As a power user, you are limited to surface cosmetic changes, and not even extreme ones at that. Anything you could conceivably change in real life outside of surgery, you can change here. Bone structure, weight, body shape, and major skin color changes are disallowed.”

“Ok, let's trim those fingernails, turn the hair blond, and darken the skin a few shades.” The changes appeared on both of my bodies. “A tad darker on the hair, the rest is good.”

“If you are finished, the only thing left is to choose a name. Do you have one in mind?”

“I was hoping you could guide me a bit. What kind of names am I likely to run into on this world?”

“A good question. Strange names are seen as common in certain areas, as immigrants from all over the world flock to the learning centers near the starter capital. However, you can't go wrong with biblical names. John, Peter, Joseph. They are common in every area.”

“I think I'll go with Adam. Do I choose a surname?”

“You can, but they are much less common than in your world. If you want to blend in, I would suggest against.”

“Just Adam then. Anything else?”

“That's all. Welcome to Ellesmere Adam.” I was transported to the middle of a city square. The roads were cobblestone, the houses were brick. Around me were stalls of various goods, with people bustling between them carrying goods. Guards were posted at the road entrances to the square. Well, I was done here for now. Time to log out.

“Stop System Link.”

It didn't feel like waking up, more like I was just there. I opened my eyes on the bed and reached up to remove the game system. Jessie's assistant stepped in quickly to make sure I didn't drop it I guess.

Jessie came over. “Any problems?”

“Well, my power kind of ate your god, but good news! Now my power has a personality and can assist me.”

“What? No. Just sit there and don't break anything.” She pulled a tablet from the wall and started scrolling through what must have been logs. “How did you...” “Why would it...” “For Christ's sake Jack, can't you go somewhere and not break things?”

“It was totally not my fault. I guess my power was just waiting for an AI to interact with and your god fit the bill.”

“Well, was it working properly in there? I don't suppose you got any cooking done, but did you try some static electricity?”

“Umm...no? I did get blue boxes though. I'm pretty sure everything is fine. Time did stop for a while, how long was I under?”

“Only about five minutes. Time can be a little tricky with these systems. When you are just playing, it runs at four times normal speed. You can adventure for a day and come out with only six hours having passed in the real world. If you stay out of the game for a day, four days will pass in the game. This is assuming you don't have powers that affect time, as it can be sped up or slowed down to vast degrees for short amounts of time, or lesser degrees for longer periods of time.”

“Great, one more thing to make my life weird. I should have asked for an hourly wage. So, do you play?”

“Yes, I'm a beta tester and power user. Most of my power is knowledge based though, so there isn't much difference between my characters.”

“Care to come introduce me to the brutal world of Ellesmere?”

“Ugg. I suppose I should. What's your character's name?”

“Adam, no last name.”

“Well that will make it difficult to find you. You should acquire a last name if you want it to be easy for people to add you to friend lists. It won't matter for a little while, you'll want to read the bestiaries in the library, some of the history books, and all of the magic tomes. After that, it depends on which direction you want to go in the game.”

“Every direction.” I smile. “That's what my ability is about right now. Learning everything.”

“There could be benefits to specialization, as you saw when you hit 50 in intelligence, but if Jack wants to be a jack of all trades, I won't stop you, assuming you can keep up. I am the master of all trades after all.”

We talked about the game for a bit, and I got a better feeling for what I was walking into. Overall I was happy with what I had accomplished today. A great new job, great pay, benefits, and a new world to explore. As we chatted, someone I didn't recognize from HR showed up with a stack of paperwork. I signed on all the marked spaces and was informed this year's college tests would take place at the end of the semester, and I was exempt from attending class due to a health condition. If I wanted to test out of more than one semester at a time, I would have to arrange that between semesters.

After the paperwork, I was given a set of keys, and a checkbook and credit card with firm instructions on getting receipts, and an employee identification card.

I was given a boxed version of the game system, already looking like it was fit for retail shelves. Jessie said these were for power users, as they allowed two characters instead of the usual one per person. As a power user, I would have free reign in all game libraries, and they were supposed to be extensive. The whole point was to acclimate the populace to the true history of the world, so I can see them making libraries integral in the game. Probally for quests or something.

I could choose to make a regular character to better test the game if I wanted. Maybe an orc or something suitably exotic. In the meantime, I wanted to test out my new ride, and tell my parents how well the day had gone. I found my way to the motor pool and was directed to what looked like a shiny new sedan. Red of course. All orcs know red makes it go faster. I shall call you Speedy. Let no one besmirch Speedy lest they be left in the dust.

I had learned from last time. I'm not living at home, so, call ahead. I had even synced up the phone to the dashboard so I could talk hands-free. They wouldn't be home until 5:30. Speedy and I went to the market for fresh ingredients. I was planning a big dinner. Hmm...better text Jessie and invite her. Maybe this time she won't park two blocks away and sneak in like a burglar.

This little employee went to the market. I was buying in bulk. Fresh fish, fresh everything. I didn't always know what ingredients were best in the perfect dish of anything, so I just bought a lot of everything. Of course, it all went on the corporate card. I would have to make some snacks for coworkers. And grinding my skills, cooking included, was part of my job. If anyone had a problem with it, I would just feed them.

I got to my parent's house around 4. I had done a hell of a lot of shopping. Jessie was due to arrive in around 7, which would be just about the right time if the online pot roast recipes were anything to go by. I let myself sync with my cooking skill and went through the motions. Sarah let me know I gained a small amount of dexterity for doing so, but not enough for a full point. The food was all cooking or waiting for the right time to start cooking when my parents got home. I told them about my day. I left out the apocalypse. There wasn't anything they could do about it, and it didn't seem right to worry them especially when it might come to nothing.

Dad cracked a joke about naming my ride Speedy, and I challenged him to a race off. He backed down and honor was maintained. I promised to tell them how the game was, and maybe see about snagging a few sets for them if it was as good as I thought it would be. It seemed entirely realistic in terms of fidelity. I could still remember how the wind brushed against my skin in the clearing, and the smell of the city square. I was looking forward to this.

Jessie showed up and we talked more about the game over pot roast. “It's more amazing than you can imagine. It's better than the games you've played before. The realism is simply beyond anything I have encountered in any of my lives. If they do this right, this world is in for a change.”

“What makes it a good game?” Mom was either interested in grabbing a beta copy for herself or knowing what I was doing for the company.

“The artificial intelligences. They are using a combination of magics and technologies to create a contained singularity. Granted, if it escapes, it would be super bad, but there isn't the kind of infrastructure it would need to bootstrap itself before we could shut it down. It's too far ahead of it's time. It wouldn't even be able to exist outside of the computers at the company.”

“How does an artificial intelligence make a good game?”

“Everything is dynamic. Quests and sometimes skills are generated on the fly. The only limit to the game is the collective player's imagination. It's the start of the joining between the Hidden World and the public world, so magic systems in-game are entirely real, and that means nearly anything is possible. The only limits are based around the next generation of games we intend to market. Outer space, after a certain distance, is off limits. If someone wants to raise the technology level of the world, they won't be able to use magic to cheat their way up to silicon wafers and aerospace materials.

Ok. I've heard enough. Time to go play...I mean work. Jessie and I rode home, and she promised to meet me in the square where new players start, and we agreed to log in at 9:30pm sharp. I took care of everything that needed to be taken care of before a long play session, and laid down in bed while the clock ticked down. I needed to paint the ceiling. I missed my stars. The time finally came.

“Start System Link.”

Again, it was like opening my eyes to a new room. The time seemed to be near morning, people were opening their stalls. I sat around just taking everything in. It was like a whole different world. If I didn't know better, I would think I was in a second or third world country and this was just how things were done. There were subtle signs of magic. Each stall bore the same rune that seemed to glow softly. Jewelry was more popular here, and while it didn't glow, I could tell not all of it was strictly decorative.

A doorway opened in the air, showing some kind of cave behind it. Out stepped Jessie clad in full plate armor, yet moving with the ease and grace of someone wearing pajamas. Her armor was covered in runes, each merging into the next, and confluences where they would all come together forming a nexus of runes. She looked like an avenging angel. It was incredibly badass and I wanted armor like that of my own.

Out from behind her stepped a female mage in silk robes and a male archer wearing leather. They both moved like they could reach out and kill anyone in arms reach without missing a step. She had brought a team! Maybe I could join?

“HiMyNameIsAdamCanIJoinYourTeam?” Ok, that didn't come out right. They are giving me an odd look now. Why do I get so many odd looks?

The archer spoke up. “I thought he was a growth type, not a speeder.”

Jessie sighs. “He is, he's just excited. Like a puppy. Exactly like a puppy.”

“Good to meet you Puppy.” The mage, on further inspection, was amazingly attractive. Especially with that smile. I wondered if she looked that way in real life or if this was a custom character. Maybe she was an AI?

She is not an AI. No high-density data core detected.

Well, that was useful. I took a few deep breaths and introduced myself again. “Hello. I'm Adam, it's good to meet you all. I assume you are all a party? I only know Valarie here.” Valarie was Jessie's in game name.

The archer spoke up. “Let me introduce us. The few. The gallant. The Insomnia Guild. I am Havlar. You know Valarie, and lastly, we have the most enchanting Evangeline. Perhaps you will meet our other members later, but we don't have a gathering scheduled for a few Earth days.

Valerie stepped forward, “Ignore Havlar, he's like you. They wanted to come see who I was mentoring.”

“So Puppy, what do you do?” Evangeline asked.

“Not here,” said Havlar. “You know better Eve.” Turning to me, “We don't discuss the details of our powers in public. The sky is watching, the wind is listening, etcetera.”

Valerie added, “Literally. Remember, magic is real. Not everyone using it will be friendly. Talking in public under an open sky might as well be asking for someone to eavesdrop. Let's head to the Adventurers Guild, we can eat in private and get Adam registered.”

“Other people's cooking? How will you survive Val?” I jested.

“You've been cooking for her? Is there something you two want to share with the class?” asked Eve.

“Nope. No sharing. It's against Val's rules.”

“Really? He's so cute Val, and you two are already exclusive. Has this been going on for long, or are you two moving fast?”

“Stop teasing. He's an amazing cook, and if I let just anyone eat, they'd be trying to tempt him away. If he joins the team, then we'll talk.”

* * *

We made our way to the Adventurer's Guild. It was amazing how lifelike the city was. The starting square seemed to be just that, as we passed by the merchant district and the density of stalls increased threefold. I don't know how they chose who got to set up where, but it must be a bloody affair if they were so squeezed for space.

Once we got inside, there was the stereotypical tavern setting, with what appeared to be an office over to the side. Men and women in various armor were drinking and chatting. Bounties were posted in three sections. Humanoid, Monster, and Other. There were sketches of wanted murderers and bandits. Then requests to thin out or eliminate monsters. Lastly were requests for specific monster parts or plants. Anything that would be too difficult or time consuming for someone to do themselves. Most requests were here, and the prices varied quite a lot depending on estimated difficulty. Regular animals that I wouldn't classify as monsters did not give much of a reward. A pelt, in good condition, could bring up to a silver, but a ghoul's heart, even in poor condition, would bring from one to five gold. Not sure what the latter is used for, but it can't be more messy to get a heart out than to skin an entire deer. Perhaps there was a different guild dedicated to simple hunting.

Money was fairly simple, with the exchange rate of 100 lesser to greater, the coins were made of copper, iron, silver, and gold. I understood there to be different currencies in other lands, with coins made of such things as mithril and adamantine, but they didn't feature on the bounty boards.

After we had all given the boards a look, we moved to the bar. Valerie paid for privacy, a round of food and drinks, and we were led to a dining hall that was not in use. We got some kind of stew and a cup of ale each. I couldn't identify the stew, and it had clearly been slowly cooking all day, and perhaps some of the night before. I wasn't a good judge of ale, so when it tasted like horse piss I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. Going by Valerie's expression, it was not a good sign.

“You were telling us about what it is you do?” Eve inquired.

“You mean my power?” At her nod, I continued, “I haven't had it long, but so far, I get stronger, faster, smarter, even luckier, at a rate depending on how much effort I expend. I can learn skills with ridiculous speed, and apparently, I do things with magic that are just wrong. But new things are popping up all the time. I gained perfect memory when I passed an intelligence milestone, and other skills of that sort have been popping up with alarming frequency.”

“Nebulous. I like it,” said Havlar. Well I like you too.

Val spoke up, “He has potential. And they disabled death penalties for him.” That caused some eyebrows to raise.

“They changed the base game parameters for him? That's unprecedented isn't it?” asked Eve.

“Yes. But consider. In the last four days he has learned to partition his mind, to read at superhuman speed, to access a pocket dimension, gained eidetic memory, learned to manipulate and sense mental energy, and sense danger. If he continues at this rate, he will quickly catch up to you, and perhaps someday even surpass me,” said Valarie.

“Well that's the question, isn't it? Will he continue at this rate? Growth types almost always hit a plateau,” added Havlar.

“If he was going to plateau quickly, I don't think the board would be so interested in taking him on,” said Val.

“Well that seals it, I vote he's in,” said Havlar.

“I agree,” said Eve.

“I agree as well, but we don't have enough members here to formally vote. A few days in the game should showcase his growth well enough to sway anyone who might vote against,” said Val.

“Well, if you want to impress the guild, it sounds like you should go the magic route. Hacking up a few bunnies at his level won't do the trick, no matter how much improvement he shows,” said Havlar.

Quest Alert!

Cull The Rabbit Population

Time Limit: 1 Day

Difficulty: Low

A rite of passage for all new adventurers. Kill 25 rabbits.

Bonus Objective: Use a sword to kill the rabbits.

Reward: 500 EXP, $50

Bonus Reward: ???

Failure: Bunny Overpopulation

I sigh, drawing attention. “She didn't mention that I sometimes get directives from my power. Now I am supposed to kill 25 rabbits, ideally, with a sword.”

“Hmm...Do you just have to finish them with the sword, or fight with the sword alone?” asked Eve.

“It's not specified, so probably only finish with a sword. Why does it matter?”

Eve grinned. “Because rabbits are fast. Shouldn't be a problem if you can stun them with magic first.”

I signed up with the guild, which didn't mean much except for giving me a form of magical identification, and Valerie and I were off.

* * *

Looking over the clover field, there were bunnies everywhere. I wasn't sure how the field had survived with such a large rabbit population. Jessie, that is, Valerie, had led me here just outside town.

“I don't want to teach you much until you learn the basics from the books in the library, so I'll just show you how to zap at range.”

I had gotten over the fact that she tormented me with the zappy thing for most of a day. Mostly. I was just excited to expand my spell repertoire.

“Rember when I told you the two ways it's usually done? Pushing the concepts at the target, or forming them at the target? I want you to try pushing first, it'll give you an idea of what kind of range you can get. The stronger the concept, the less energy it takes to push it. Try to zap one of the rabbits.” And my face itches.

I dropped into my workshop, and remembered everything I know about static electricity. I raise my hand to point at the closest rabbit, and I push. The concept moves easily through my arm and shoots out only to slow as if it were moving through Jello. I continue pushing, but I see my mana bar dropping quickly and stop before it hits three-quarters. As I release the concept, a bright spark appears half way between me and the rabbit, racing to the ground as if it were a lightning bolt in miniature.

“Why is this so difficult?”

“For two reasons. First, you are trying to use a touch based spell at range, and second, because you are not making it powerful enough. Concepts, imagery, and raw power will make it stronger. Concepts are the most efficient and cost almost nothing with spells this small. Imagery costs more, but not by much. When you get to raw power, you will burn through your mana quickly. So don't use all of your power on one rabbit.”

I need to be smart about this. I split into three full powered partitions. One goes down to the workshop and starts layering concepts and imagery, another controls my body and points at a rabbit, and the last focuses on the mana bar watching how much each concept and image costs. Eventually, after envisioning a spasming bunny enough times to make me start to feel sorry for it, I let the spell loose. It moves now like it is in a strong wind, and I keep pushing power behind it. It gets to the bunny using about an eighth of my mana, and I release it.

It hits the bunny's leg and it spasms, making the bunny half-jump. It ends up rolling sideways a dozen times, then it rights itself and dashes off.

Skill 'Ranged Touch' Unlocked!

“You need to either target the head or put more power in it. I suggest both.”

This time I conjure up a dozen concept/image-balls, and realize I don't know how to just put power into it. I don't want to compress it and turn it into a black hole. I concentrate on my face and the itching feeling, and I sense a very light touch of mana. I try recreating that in my workshop, and it fills with a silver misty substance. Despite the mist everywhere, I can still sense everything in my workshop. I want to kill twenty five bunnies, so I start transforming about a twentieth of my mana into more mist. It starts getting very dense in here, and my senses are starting to occlude. This isn't good for the stability of the image balls, and I lose four of them as they dissipate.

I condense the mist and wrap it around and through one of the balls, like wrapping dishes in newspaper before shipping them. As soon as it's thoroughly padded with the now-hardened mist, I shoot it out and it passes through the air easily. I feel my new skill subtly adjusting the trajectory, and I score a direct hit on the closest bunny's head. It goes into a fit, jerking around on the grass and making a strange keening.

Skill 'Overpower Spell' Unlocked!

“Well don't just stand there, go kill it.”

Ugh. She had given me a 'beginners' sword which I think is just code for cheap. I don't really want to kill this rabbit just for some stupid quest, but that bonus objective is something I've never seen before, and I don't want to let it go without knowing what it is. I dash up to the bunny and manage an awkward stab. It's enough apparently as the bunny starts gushing blood, then slowly stills.

EXP +25

One down, twenty-four to go. I straighten up and look for my next victim. All the bunnies near me have vanished. There are a few on the other side of the field, but I can already tell it would take at least a quarter of my mana to get the right sized static ball there, and if I force more power into it to make it easier to push, it might kill the bunny outright, which is not what I want.

Valerie seems to understand the dilemma. “Now you need to close the distance. They know you will attack them now, so they won't be off guard again anytime soon. Follow me and move as I do.”

We dip into the treeline and start to circle around the field. Valerie is moving slowly stepping over branches and slightly sweeping leaves before putting her feet down. I mimic her motions and she speeds up, doing the same but at a regular walking pace. I struggle to keep up, still adjusting myself to the footwork required. As we get about half way to our targets, she starts to crouch down and moves slowly again. This is really uncomfortable. I'm not sure if I would be more comfortable moving faster or slower. I'm trying to watch my feet and the bunnies. Valerie starts moving faster while staying crouched. I keep up, but I am clearly making more noise than she is, which is more than slightly annoying, as she is wearing full plate and I'm in plain clothes.

I can't see her face but I know she's enjoying this. She is moving through the field now, with me a dozen steps behind. She stops an arms length behind a rabbit who is happily ignorant, chewing on clover. I move closer and am almost at striking distance when the rabbit's ears twitch, and it becomes alert. I make a wild stab and fall forward, missing wildly.

Close, but you need to hit the target if you want a skill.

Thanks Sarah. New objective. The rabbits haven't scattered as far this time without a static shock or a death. I don't have as far to go before I flail about and miss again. Knowing there is a skill waiting if I succeed is enough motivation to ignore Val's 'what are you doing?' looks. I move exceptionally slow and carefully, and it only takes another three attempts before I land a strike.

Skill 'Stealth' Unlocked!

Now that I've scared all the rabbits away, Valerie comes up and asks, “What was that all about? It's going to take all day if you aren't using magic.”

“I unlocked a new skill. Stealth. I'll go back to zapping them now.” I feel like the slow kid in school. Let's see if we can speed this up.

Stealth helps me move without constantly watching my feet. I am much more comfortable moving while crouched, but it's obviously not perfect as I do occasionally crunch down on sticks or leaves. It's good enough for now. I only need to get close enough to cast without draining myself. The next three bunnies are much faster to get rid of, but at this point, there are corpses scattered around the field. It seems like the rabbits want to call it a day and just go home, but they slowly come out again and again, just stuffing themselves with clover.

Two hours later I've managed to kill the very last rabbit, and both the field and I are covered with blood.

Quest 'Cull The Rabbit Population' Complete! Bonus Objective Complete! Loot System Unlocked!

Do you wish to turn on the Loot System?

Umm...Sarah?

You'll like it. I promise.

Ok then.

The gore covering the field and myself vanishes. I can see the corpses fade away, and then there's cash in the wind, blowing around the field. Sarah was right. This is an improvement.

* * *

Valerie uses a spell to gather the cash and snags a ring that was sitting on one of the cash piles. It appears to be a plain silver ring, and it fits nicely on my index finger. I feel faster. How strange is that? I pull up my stats and find my Agility has increased by three. I take off the ring and it goes down by three. This item apparently was generated by the loot system, as I don't think rabbits carry around rings. I inspect it closely, looking for words of power or some such thing. Wait, didn't the One Ring need to be tossed in a fire before the words appeared? I wasn't going to risk ruining it, and I wasn't sure how a magical silver ring would hold up in a wood fire.

Skill 'Observe' Unlocked!

Ring of the Rabbit

Agility +3

All things I knew, but that could be useful in the future.

Jack Ambrose Webb's Statistics

Strength

33

Wisdom

23

Agility

41 (+2)

Charisma

33 (+1)

Dexterity

41

Luck

6 (+1)

Vitality

35

Transcend

2

Intelligence

57 (+1)