The day was steadily giving ground to nightfall before Erin even shifted inside her hiding place. The monstrosity hadn’t lingered long after finishing its meal; she had very clearly heard it stomp away into the trees, breaking branches as it went. Still, she hadn’t dared to move as her mind reeled from the encounter.

Things like that just didn’t exist back on Earth. Not the Demon-Ferret and certainly not the unknown monstrosity that had eaten it in a couple of bites. Erin hadn’t moved for more than an hour, like a mouse in its hole who feared the cat waited just out of sight.

[In the future,] her Liaison spoke for the first time since she’d crawled into her hiding place, [you should loot your kills quickly, to prevent them from being stolen.]

Erin frowned in confusion before remembering the Liaison had mentioned looting the Demon-Ferret after she had managed to kill it. Her frown deepened as she shrugged a reply, not yet willing to speak aloud in case the sound of the beast moving off into the distance had been a trick. Her stomach dropped at the thought of some monstrosity looming over the hill, ready to snatch her the moment she showed her head.

[If such a creature had suspected you were hiding here, it seems likely it would have tried to dig you out already.]

She nearly scoffed at this attempt to make her feel better about the situation, but repressed it and instead decided on some silent communication.

‘So what are you exactly?’ She directed the thought, not that intent seemed to matter when it came to what thoughts the entity could pick up.

[I am your Liaison to The System.]

“Which means what, exactly?” Erin whispered under her breath.

[I am the bridge between your soul and the System. What you might think of as the fabric of reality, though it’s much more than that.]

‘I don’t understand.’ Erin told her.

[Of course not. If you could, you wouldn’t need me.]

There was a trace of smugness in the woman's tone. Erin shook her head and then glanced outside, realizing for the first time how dark it had gotten. She shivered where she sat as the cold crept its way into her clothing, sapping away the warmth of her body.

[You should count yourself lucky that you picked a fire spell. You’d likely freeze to death otherwise.]

Erin couldn’t disagree. She had very little wilderness experience from her old life, and almost all of it was overshadowed by modern conveniences like lighters and campers with soft beds.

[That being said, if you just sit here the whole night you will freeze. I suggest gathering some wood.]

Erin heaved a sigh that did nothing to relieve her anxiety. Sit here and die or go out there and die.

‘Sometimes all your options are bad.’ She remembered her father saying once. A hollow ache bloomed in her chest as her thoughts turned to her family. Her eyes closed and she relaxed her back against the curved dirt wall of the den while she fought against the sense of loss that threatened to overwhelm her.

It turned out living on after death could suck almost as much as dying in the first place. The emotional impact of losing everyone at once was simply too much to grapple with, so she didn’t.

With a mental fortitude she hadn’t possessed before Jetriser; she let it go. She exhaled and pictured that sense of loss as vapor in her lungs and expelled it. It sort of worked. The ache in her chest eased but didn’t vanish entirely; so she did the next best thing. She ignored what remained and refocused on the task at hand.

She turned and crawled out of the den and found that neither the sun nor the cold had waited for her to have her crisis. The shadows stretched across the ground while the sun sank behind the mountains. The wind had shifted to a biting cold that nipped at her nose and cheeks.

Erin pushed herself to her feet before brushing dirt and snow from her clothing as she looked around. The monster had cut a large swath through the higher branches and left her with no small amount of kindling. She set about collecting the bits of broken wood, gathering armfuls and hauling them back to the entrance of the den.

Even the physical labor wasn’t enough to chase away the cold entirely, which sharpened as the sunlight faded by degrees. It wasn’t long before Erin decided she’d had enough and turned her attention to getting a fire going.

“I feel like this should be more difficult.” She commented as she broke down some of the larger branches, snapping them between her hands with almost uncanny ease.

[A second-tier soul means a more robust mind and body.]

Erin snapped another branch as she mulled this over. She remembered her Liaison saying as much while she floated in the In-Between, but living it was yet one more thing to remind her of how very far from home she was.

Erin paused in her work and turned her eyes toward the surrounding forest. It was still and calm, and apart from some disturbed snow, there was nothing to show that a life or death struggle had taken place here, but before she could get lost in thought, the wind picked up. The cold pressed against her exposed face like icy sandpaper. Shivering, she turned back and began to shift wood to the den’s interior before crawling in herself.

“Won’t I suffocate or something?” She asked, unsure of exactly how this worked.

[The exit is wide enough to serve as adequate ventilation. Just build the fire near it.]

She did as instructed and set the wood up just far enough to the side that she could still come and go and then she called the runes under her skin forward again. This time, without the adrenaline coursing through her, she could feel the spell strain her body more clearly.

Fire bloomed to life in her palm and warmth touched her face for the first time since she’d arrived. Erin touched the flame to the kindling and within moments it took.

She let the spell in her hand fade as she leaned back against the wall of the den and watched the fire spread over the wood. Soon it was crackling merrily and Erin found herself pleasantly warm. Almost as if her body had been waiting for her to solve one problem, another arose. Her stomach made a noise, and she was suddenly aware of how hungry she was.

“Any ideas what to do about food?” Erin asked.

[Next time you have the opportunity to loot something, I strongly encourage you to do so.] Her Liaison replied.

Erin frowned as she wondered why everyone was so keen on giving advice that would’ve only been helpful before she asked for it. Where was the font of wisdom about what she should do next?

[To survive, you will have to hunt and kill monsters. That is what you must do next.]

Erin slumped against the wall and sighed in frustration. She was going to have to face more of those demon-ferrets, or whatever the hell else was roaming out in the forest.

“What do I get when I loot a monster?” She felt her Liaison perform the mental equivalent of a shrug before answering.

[It depends on a lot of factors. The System will usually present you with a few different selections. Raw materials, usually of the type that would’ve been harvestable from the monster in question. Sometimes weapons or equipment. Augmentation runes are a fairly common reward option while Spell runes are somewhat less common.]

“So wait, you’re allowed to pick your reward?”

[The System will present you a choice of reward if more than the default reward is possible.]

“And then what? It magically appears in my…wait, do I have an inventory?”

At her question, the interface made of light bloomed before her eyes. Erin noted that despite its luminescent appearance, it did nothing to brighten her hole in the ground.

“Can anyone else see this?”

[No, all character screens are personal. Additionally, now that you have arrived on Jetriser, successfully reincarnated, (Erin scoffed) your character sheet contains significantly more information.]

Name: Erin Young

Class: Unranked Mage

Tier 2

Soul: Normal

Mind: Bronze

Body: Normal

Spell Slot (Soul):

Aug 1

Aug 2

Spell Slot (Mind:) Fireball (Bronze: Rank 1)

Aug 1:

Aug 2:

Spell Slot (Body):

Aug 1:

Aug 2:

Spell Slot (Special):

Aug 1:

Aug 2:

Boons:

Liaison

(Unknown)

(Unknown)

(Unknown)

(Unknown)

Equipment:

Inventory Item: None

Artifacts:

Slot 1: Empty

Slot 2: Empty

Slot 3: Empty

Slot 4: Empty

“What is-” Erin started to ask, but her Liaison cut her off before she could start asking questions.

[We’ll talk about it once you’ve rested and found something to eat.]

“One question.” Erin pushed back.

[Alright. One question.]

“What does ‘Inventory Item’ mean?”

[That refers to an artifact that will determine the size of your inventory, which you do not have at present.]

“So that’s a no on the inventory then.” Erin sighed, as her eyes ran over the sheet a second time. Just then, her stomach rumbled a complaint and she patted it gently. She had never in her life been hungry for more than an hour or two before getting to eat. Now that she had no idea where her next meal was coming from, the question came to dominate her mind.

[You should get some rest. I’ll wake you if anything happens.]

Erin shook her head, how could she possibly sleep? Her body was tired after the long walk through the snow and all the adrenaline dumps it had gone through today, but her mind was wide awake and anxious.

[Take a breath, close your eyes and focus on the present moment.]

Erin’s first instinct was to be difficult, but she suppressed the childish impulse and did as instructed. As she closed her eyes, the crackle of the fire filled her ears, and slowly her breathing became soft, and even. Bit by bit, without realizing it was happening, Erin drifted into sleep.

The morning announced its arrival with dim light, and Erin woke to find herself chilled through her clothing. The remnants of the small fire turned to ash. She shivered and forced herself to move despite her cold muscles’ protests. Climbing out of the den she stood at her full height as soon as she was able, stretching her muscles, and feeling her bones creak and pop from the night spent on hard dirt.

As if to make sure she hadn’t forgotten, her stomach rumbled. Drawing her attention to the hunger pains that had grown sharper while she slept. Her eyes swept across the snow-covered landscape and she shook her head.

[If you’re going to eat, you’ll have to hunt.] Her Liaison pushed. Erin scowled and moved to investigate the spot where she’d fought with the Demon-Ferret. In the morning light, she could make out what had been invisible the night before. The tracks of the monster that had stolen her kill.

It had large, round footprints with three smaller impressions at the front that were likely claws. Her eyes followed the trail of giant footprints as they led deeper into the forest.

“I know which way we’re not going.” She told her Liaison, “and maybe I’m getting a little too comfortable talking to myself.” The entity in her head gave the mental equivalent of a shrug, and Erin shrugged back, before turning and heading into the forest, directly away from the giant tracks.

“You know, I've been thinking.”

[Is it about how much noise you’re making right now when you’re supposed to be finding food?]

“No, I was thinking about how you need a name. Calling you ‘The Liaison’ is weird.”

[Maybe you should focus on the noise thing.]

“How about Lisa?”

[If you insist, now will you please focus.]

The newly named Lisa sounded almost flustered, and a small smile tugged at Erin’s lips, but she heeded the advice and focused on moving more quietly.

Over the next hour, she found a couple of sets of fresh tracks in the snow, but they either vanished at the foot of a tree, or into narrow holes in the ground, and she was forced to move on. Unwilling to burn out the small animals living within.

She planned to explore the area around the den she’d claimed, working outward until she found some sign of civilization. So when she found a set of tracks that did not belong to animals, she was momentarily excited. Then something strange caught her eye, and she knelt to take a look.

The tracks were smaller than most peoples’, and there was an odd curve to them. Butterflies flapped their way around her stomach as she became more certain of what she was looking at. Monster tracks.

[At least two individuals, maybe more.] Lisa supplied.

Erin had no idea how she could tell, but then the limit of her woodcraft was burning marshmallows on the end of metal pokers.

What do you think we should do? Erin directed the thought, her eyes scanning through the trees trying to spot anything out of the ordinary.

[They don’t appear to be large or numerous. You should hunt them.]

You want me to kill them? Erin shot back, for no reason?

[It is in a monster's nature to bring destruction and pain. If left to their own devices they will kill every time the opportunity presents itself.]

And you know that for sure? Erin frowned, not sure she liked the argument that was being made. You know for sure that all of them are evil?

[It is not evil, it is in their nature. Follow this group and they will prove it to you.]

This world was too much for her. Erin had never hunted or killed anything in her entire life until yesterday. Now it was expected that she would kill monsters just because they existed.

[I would prefer if you had been reincarnated at the proper place, and had more time to acclimate, but that is not the case. Your old world was safe and this world is not. You must adapt quickly or you will die.]

Erin’s eyes followed the tracks, and she sighed before pushing herself back up onto her feet and following after them.

I’m just going to observe, She told herself, just to see what they’re like. She didn’t want to think about what she’d do if what Lisa said was true.

It didn’t take long before she started seeing signs that the tracks were recent. One of the Monsters seemed to be hurt, as there were occasional splatters of blood. Still wet and shiny red on top of the white snow.

She heard them before she saw them, though at first, she wasn’t sure what she was hearing. A combination of growls, barks, and hisses reached her ears from a distance. She moved closer cautiously until she reached the crest of a hill that looked down on a camp.

Four fur-covered humanoids were standing around a small fire, making animalistic noises that Erin guessed were speech. They had light-colored fur, speckled with dark spots and thick powerful shoulders that extended into unnaturally long arms ending in clawed hands. Muzzle-like faces snapped and snarled at one another, and Erin wasn’t sure if they were having a disagreement or if that was just how they sounded.

Her question was answered a moment later as two of them leaped to their feet and slammed into each other. Snarling some sort of high-pitched war cry as they snapped at each other's faces. Long arms tipped with wicked claws slashing at every part of each other they could reach.

They fought much like enraged animals might. No magic, no weapons. Just a brutal melee that looked like it would kill both combatants, and Erin looked on in horror as they sprayed the snow around them with blood, and bits of flesh.

It didn’t take long for the fight to end. The loser toppled backward into the snow to die. The victor was a little better off, collapsing to one knee as his blood pooled around his feet.

The larger of the remaining two approached, sniffing at the victor's wounds and Erin thought for a moment that he was going to help his fellow. Instead, faster than her eye could follow. He lunged forward, seizing the injured fighter's throat in his mouth and tearing it out with a quick jerk. Leaving his windpipe a shredded mess.

Flesh still clamped between his teeth, the opportunist threw his arms into the air and hooted what was certainly a sound of victory, rotating on the spot. The other remaining creature snapped and snarled with apparent enthusiasm.

His celebration was short-lived, as a fireball the size of a fist came racing down the hillside and took him full in the face. Cut off mid hoot as the heat did its deadly work, killing him instantly as it flash cooked his brain.

[You have slain: Qek Scavenger. Would you like to loot?]

“Yes.” Erin snarled.