The last segment of the trip was the roughest. With no beacon to lock onto, we were dependent on the skills of Lorn, the person with the ability to move us across vast distances. He had leveled with a focus on teleportation and spatial magics and had been part of the exploratory team that had added over eight planets to the Universal network. We had to wait briefly as he exchanged bags of holding. His filled with specimens from Ijal were swapped with one that contained supplies and requested materials for further exploration.

Grandfather was not happy when he found out that there was a research and scout party still exploring the planet, especially since it had been awarded to Sidhe. A deep dive of past planetary discoveries found this was standard procedure. The researchers and scouts would remain an additional week after we arrived. Until then, the resources and discoveries they made were fair game to whichever Pantheon had chosen to field a team.

At the moment, the Sumerians were actively exploring. That bit of knowledge tempered Grandfather's anger somewhat. As long as the Olympians and Asgardians were not on the planet, he could leash his frustration and anger. It wasn't often that he bit his tongue anymore. He railed and fought against injustices done to Sidhe and the Tuatha de Danaan relentlessly.

I had only seen my Grandfather truly angry once. A pair of assassins had infiltrated the embassy he had established for off-world negotiations. Their target had been the Egyptians who we were just beginning to form a relationship with. I'm not sure who their targets were, the people moving into the Embassy or Grandfather that was welcoming the Ambassador.

Grandfather had set the two on fire, although his fires could burn hot enough to instantly reduce them to ash, he had gone for an object lesson. He released fire hot enough to melt the fat and crisp the skin of their bodies, but not hot enough to kill. He'd had a room of glass, inscribed to make it practically unbreakable, constructed in front of the embassy and placed the assassins inside. And then he began a cycle of allowing them to burn in agony, then healing them. This went on for months before he finally relented and allowed them to die.

The images were broadcast across most Pantheon media outlets. For some, the pictures were tame, there were Pantheons that required those that worshipped them to sacrifice their lives or levels as proof of their faith. When your world normally rips the heart out of your bravest warriors and most beautiful maidens, roasting one individual is forgettable. For others, the images were further proof of Sidhe savagery.

Either way, it had sent a powerful message to both the Sidhe and those extra-planetary individuals who would make a treaty or war with Grandfather. He was slow to anger, but once roused, he was relentless. The incident had his subjects referring to him as Beleros' Scourge when they thought he couldn't hear; he hated the title, but for Sidhe, a bit of savagery was expected. The event did give him a reputation, one that ensured no other attacks or assassination attempts occurred near or at the Embassies, something that encouraged more Pantheons to join the Egyptians and send Ambassadors to Talahm.

The teleport to Ijal began before I was aware. My stomach emptying was the only notice I was given that we had arrived. I'd never had problems with portals or teleports, not being susceptible to nausea that some people experienced, but this was vastly different. The experience of having your body reduced to the atomic structure and then stretched between two points, splitting your mind and leaving an echo of it at both planets was something I hoped to never experience again. I had no idea how Scouts and Portal Specialists could make a living doing something like this.

I was given no time to acclimate to my surroundings or spit the last of the vomit from my mouth before the System began spamming me with messages. This was the first time I received detailed System notifications. Once I had learned to read, I had received access to a truncated System menu that would display my stats and truncated System announcements. But until Ascension, that was the only functionality System provided.

Ijal System parameters were not that developed, by arriving on the planet, free of a System imprint, Sieph, Bob, and I would be the first people integrated into this world. All of us would be given System access. Anyone arriving that hadn't Ascended would be, the only caveat was that your ability to level would be determined by age. I'm not sure why the arbitrary age of eighteen had been selected, perhaps it was an aggregate age of adulthood for all races across the Universe. Whatever the reason, System now considered me to have met the minimum standards for access.

And I was old enough to level. That was important, we would have no hope of closing a Dungeon if we were locked at level one.

[New User Detected]

[Scanning…]

[Cross Indexing Attribute Criteria]

[Assigning Planetary Attribute Statistics]

[Scanning…]

[Skills Detected]

[Innate Abilities Detected]

[Companion Detected]

[Generating Class Selection Options]

[User Input Required…]

I began getting messages that required me to confirm information or enter new data. The System responded well to mental prompts, even as basic as it was. There was no need for vocalization or digital manipulation. Thankfully, I would have felt a right idiot waving my hands in the air, manipulating System menus that no one else could see.

[Race: Hybrid: Cu-sith/Volar-fey/Unseelie - Confirm Yes/No]

I selected yes, but I admit I hesitated briefly, wondering what would happen if I selected no, would I be given a choice of new races to select?

[Name: Ryu de Teigh y Cyronax - Confirm Yes/No]

Yes.

[Name: Beag, Race: Cu-sith - Companion Yes/No]

Yes.

[Create Bond with Companion Beag – Yes/No]

I wasn't sure what System meant by bond, but I couldn't think of anything that suggested it might be bad for either of us. I would have liked to ask Beag his opinion, but I was in a Null field while System was working. Outside communication was disabled. I selected yes, hoping I wasn't making a huge mistake.

[Class Selection Options]

[Thief: Common - This class is restricted to daggers for weapon choice. The thief is able to blend effortlessly within shadows.

Melee character: This class is restricted to light armor.

Bonuses to poisons, stealth, and agility.

One stat point awarded to every stat per level.

One free attribute point awarded every fifth level.]

[Shadow Ranger: Uncommon - The class combines the skills of ranged weapons with the ability to bond with one additional companion every fifty levels.

Experience is shared between User and any companion that is active.

Class is restricted to light armor.

Bonuses to agility, woodcraft, and nature magic.

Damage is doubled when using shadow attacks.

One stat point awarded to every stat per level.

One free attribute point awarded every fifth level.]

[Shadow Druid: Rare - This class is proficient with blunt weapons, spell, and shapeshifting.

Only one bonded companion is permitted.

New shapes for shifting every hundred levels (Max–3).

Class is restricted to light armor.

Bonuses to healing, woodcraft, nature magic, and shadow magic.

Racial perks and attributes become active when shape-shifted.

One stat point awarded to every stat per level.

One free attribute point awarded every fifth level (Per shifted form).]

This was something new. The Sidhe didn't really have classes either. Each person was able to use any skill or spell they were able to learn or purchase. There was nothing limiting their choice. I hoped that this Class system wasn't as restrictive as I believed it might be. Grandfather's ability to create spells intuitively, almost effortlessly was one of the reasons he was so feared and powerful.

If the only skills and abilities I could learn were limited by class selection, I wasn't certain how I would stack up with the average Sidhe once Ijal was claimed and System integration was complete. I would leave a note for Grandfather, in the Ring of Hidden Depths and ask him to do some research on this topic. Ijal can't have been the first planet to impose Class choice and restrictions at integration.

Not really understanding what the limits of a Class meant, I decided the smartest thing was to choose based on rarity. Plus, the Shadow Druid seemed more in line with how I might develop naturally on Talahm.

[Shadow Druid selected.

Updating Attributes…

Assigning Level 1 Skills…

Assigning Level 1 Spells…

Assigning Cu-sith Beag bonded status…]

[Select secondary shape-shift race. Choices: Cu-sith - Dire Wolf - Horehound]

I had no idea what a dire wolf or horehound was, or how they compared to the Cu-sith, but the Cu-sith was a known quantity. I knew their abilities, their fighting style, and their weakness. They had an aversion to direct sunlight, but it wasn't so drastic that they couldn't survive, they simply preferred the shadow and went out of their way to move within it. This was an easier choice to make than Class had been.

[Cu-sith selected.]

[Blood lineage abilities detected…]

[Perks to Cold, Ice, and Death awarded…]

[Synergy complete. Ryu de Teigh y Cyronax processed.]