"There are quests in this world? Neat!" I thought to myself as I read the message. But what to choose?

"Nela, can I wait to choose until we have been by the Administorum?" I asked.

"Of course. I was wondering if you would join me in prayer before we leave?" This time, Nela's smile was genuine and warm. I saw no other choice than to accept

"Of course Nela. I would be delighted to." I answered enthusiastically.

"Oh? I rarely get to meet someone as excited as I am about the prayers." Nela, despite his older age, seemed almost giddy at the thought and something popped into my head from my previous life. A sentence from a book I once read.

"Lay a fire within your soul and another between your hands, and let both be your weapons.

For one is faith and the other is victory and neither may ever be put out." I recited solemnly.

"The teachings of Saint Sabbat!! You must have studied the ecclesiarchy's* holy texts!!! This could be a clue in figuring out who you are!" Nela said excitedly.

"Just a quick question, Nela. Shouldn't we be going to the Adeptus Administratum** to get me registered, instead of the Adeptus Ministorum?"

Nela drank the last of his Recaf and kept smiling as he answered. "Right you are, Björk, but we have representatives from the Administratum in the halls of the Ministorum. When you add to that that I am a deacon in his holy Emperor's service, I can make things go faster. What would be a 6-month wait with you at the mercy of the goodwill of those around you, the 3 hours of interview I can arrange for you should be the preferable choice. "

"You are correct, Nela, that would be most preferable." I put on a happy attitude but inside I was dying. First prayer and then a several-hour interview? Just give me something to do instead. Remembering another quote, I recited another memory,

"When the people forget their duty they are no longer human and become something less than beasts. They have no place in the bosom of humanity nor in the heart of the Emperor. Let them die and be forgotten I long to do something productive. Let us waste no time, Nela!" Better to get this over with. Of course, I was rescued by a member of the ecclesiarchy. The only people with some sense of humanity in this universe.

"From the Prime Edicts of the Holy Synod of the.Adeptus Ministorum! You are either a member of the ecclesiarchy or a very devout believer in the Emperor." Nela seemed immensely satisfied with himself, for good reason. Had he indeed rescued a member of the ecclesiarchy, his promotion to Cardinal would almost be guaranteed to happen within years instead of decades, so I fully understood his excitement. What kind of hole was I digging for myself here?

I emptied the cup and looked around for a place to set it down, but Nela took it from me and gestured for me to follow.

___________________-

After spending the next 2 hours kneeling and praying, as interesting as the experience was, my mind felt numb and sedated. The incense that hung heavy in the air, the closed cathedral, as enormous as it is, felt stuffy and humid from the thousands of bodies kneeling in collective prayer.

On the plus side, I gained more litanies and even a hymnal. Each of them gave a minute XP bonus, so at the end of the prayer session, my character sheet had changed slightly.

HUMAN. LEVEL 1.

STAT POINTS REMAINING: 0

ALIGNMENT: PURE IN THE EYES OF THE EMPEROR.

LITANIES: 5

AUGMENTATIONS: NONE

LEVEL: 19/600

STRENGTH: 5

AGILITY: 10

PERCEPTION: 5

WILL: 5

LUCK: 16

I was not about to complain, but if it took that long to farm 19 XP by praying, I needed to start doing something different, and soon. I had enough knowledge of RPGs and their mechanics from my own world to see the similarities and I figured that you could grind levels in the same way. Levels meant power and survivability. Especially in this universe. At the moment, I was at the bottom of the food chain and I did not like that idea.

I liked to consider myself an easy-going person in life and I saw no reason not to bring that with me to this world. But I wondered if I would be able to do so successfully in this universe, which I had more or less confirmed to be akin to the Warhammer universe from back home.

After the prayers were said and done, Nela approached me again.

"Björk, I have set up the interview with an Administratum clerk. We should hurry. Have you figured out where you want to serve?" He was fidgetting nervously as he spoke. "Maybe he got someone higher ranking than he planned," I thought to myself. "Yes, Nela," I said to him, "I want to serve In the PDF. As the Emperor protects the faithful, so shall I."

"Well spoken my friend. Well-spoken indeed." Nela said and he lead me to the interview.

______________

There were many tests and trick questions during the interview, but I must have performed satisfactorily because soon I was being tattooed by a servitor. The identification tattoo was would be my lifeline to a *normal* life in this universe, If there was any normality to be got. Shortly after, we left for the Departmento Munitorum*** to get me enrolled in the PDF: On the way, as I was looking around and getting used to the soul-crushing cold weather, I spotted the largest, most deformed human I had ever seen.

"An Ogryn****" I exclaimed surprised.

"Huh?" Sais Nela absentmindedly. He had been mumbling while walking with a bowed head, no doubt praying as we went along. "Strange. They are not supposed to be in this part of the city." As Nela finished speaking, a Commissar***** rounded the corner, shouting at the Ogryn.

"ZAG, COME HERE!! YOU WILL NOT DISOBEY ME AGAIN!" The commissar was stomping towards the massive Ogryn who looked more like a terrified child

"No! You are gonna punish Zag!" The Ogryn said in a childlike tone of voice as it kept moving forward, away from the commissar. Nela hurried to the side to avoid getting tangled up in the situation, but I was curious. All the lore I had read about Ogryns made them out to be of very low intellect, but unwaveringly loyal to the Emperor. Their low intellect also made them quite naive and impressionable, which perhaps could be used to defuse the situation.

"Of course, there is a good chance I might get turned into mush if I get in the big guy's way..." I thought to myself as I started whistling a low tune. The clear tones easily rose above the normal ruckus of pedestrian shuffling and the Ogryn stopped dead in its tracks and looked around. He soon spotted me and moved toward me much faster than I liked to see such a large being approach me, but I stood my ground and kept whistling. He slowed down just in time to not hit me, and a more than 3-meter tall mountain of muscle loomed over me, staring at me with star-filled eyes at the simple whistling that left my lips.

"It's probably the first time in his life he heard something like it." I thought to myself. "The Warhammer universe is not a place that inspires joyful things, like whistling. I saw the commissar quickly making his way over, His greatcoat and Commissarial cap standing out amongst no matter where he went, his hard boots thudding on the ground as he approached us.

As soon as he saw what was happening, the commissar just... stopped. Looked at us, Looked at the situation, and I could almost hear the gears in his head, turning.

Vastly different from regular commissars, those entrusted with Ogryns tended to be extremely progressive, patient, and open-minded, meaning that they would not execute you on the spot for suggesting something that is not strictly tried and true by the Imperium. Ogryn commissars had to be far more flexible, considering the very limited mental faculties of their charges.

When I finished the tune, the Ogryn, Zag, Immediately said. "That was pretty!" Seeing as he had completely forgotten about whatever debacle he had with the commissar, the lore seemed to be correct about their attention span as well.

The commissar approached at a more reasonable paste, now sure I was not going to suffer the quick death of an enraged Ogryn and put a hand on the giant's arm. "Zag, you need to come back to quarters. I am not angry with you and neither is the Emperor!:" He said with a gentle but unyielding voice.

The large Ogryn turned his head to the commissar. "But the man is making pretty noises!" He said stubbornly as if that not only explained everything but justified him being here as well.

I shot an apologetic look at the commissar and decided to take initiative in the conversation. "Ave Imperator, commissar." I made the symbol of the Imperial Aquila in front of my chest as I greeted the man. Best to be on the safe side. "I had no intention to disrupt your daily training regimen. I was on my way to the Departmento Munitorum to sign up for the PDF, and thought it best to continue whistling my little tune when it seemed to keep this mighty Ogryn docile."

The commissar returned my Aquila and waved away my concerns. "Ave Imperator, citizen. Think nothing of it, This is not a designated training area. Had it been, you would already be dead. But joining the PDF is an admirable ambition. Might I inquire as to why you wish to serve?" He said, his movements and tone of voice carefully measured and under strict control.

"The Emperor's coin are lives. Spend it well." I responded with a smile, hoping to break through the permanent frown on the commissar's face. Not that I was expecting to succeed, but as long as something was hopeless, there was still hope.

The commissar stared me down and I was worried I might have said something wrong. "How wonderfully descriptive." The commissar said, his face remaining unchanged. "However, I am not familiar with the tune you were whistling. From where does that tune originate?" The commissar's voice took on a very dangerous undertone, His words were cordial as ever, but I had no doubt I was walking on a knife's edge.

"It was not a tune, so to speak, commissar. I was merely whistling in enjoyment of this day." I said with a slight smile.

"Hmmm." The simple, inquisitive noise the commissar made was more telling than entire books. He was suspicious. A moment later, I felt a strange force creep over my skin. It was invasive, prodding, searching. I tried to ignore it and moments later it was gone.

"What a strange individual you are..." The commissar suddenly said before he turned on his heel and snapped "ZAG! We are heading to the barracks!" And started walking away, but Zag had other problems. His presence had attracted the attention of the local Adeptus Arbites******

That were surrounding the giant Ogryn, yelling long complicated orders at the giant with the intelligence of a child, and he was getting frustrated and scared. He didn't understand the situation and the usual response from a confused Ogryn was anger and copious amounts of violence.

The commissar heard the commotion going on and turned around. "STAND DOWN, ARBITES!!" He bellowed, his voice being amplified by vocal implants.

The heavily armored arbites turned their heads and saw the very angry commissar moving toward them. Zag, the Ogryn froze when the commissar bellowed out and it was obvious he was fighting all of his instincts to stand still.

"Zag, let us say our prayer to the Emperor. Then, we can go to the barracks, yes? The commissar said, his voice sounding strained with tested patience.

"Umm... Huh. Yes." Zag said slowly, looking a little calmer at the thought of his prayers. The commissar kneeled in the middle of the street, the Ogryn following suit, and together they began praying.

"The Emperor is big and strong. He protects us, humans, all day long.

He slays the Chaos and Xenos foe, so we may expand and always grow.

He rules above with us beneath, so follow orders and brush your teeth.

The Emperor wants what's best for you, so eat your rations and grow strong, it's true.

One-two, one-two, a marching tune, we go and face the foe.

We give them shells and Lasgun rounds and send them running to and fro.

The Emperor always guides us, he wants us to attack.

For just as he protects us all we must protect him back." (see post-chapter notes)

Completely flabbergasted, I watched the 2 of them rise again and walk away without saying another word. I was staring at their backs when I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked to Nela who had been keeping well away from the situation. Now, he was looking at me with a mixture of awe and worry.

"How did you do that?" He asked me with a voice that betrayed his awe.

"Do what? I just talked to Zag." I said,

"You didn't run. You didn't cower. You didn't even flinch when that... Abhuman. loomed over you." He spat the word abhuman and I could tell he was not a fan of Ogryns. I didn't want to anger my new friend, so I urged him that keep moving.

"What happens, happens. It is in the hands of the Emperor whether I live or die." I said as we neared the Departmento munitorum. Alright, maybe I was laying it on a bit thick, but so far, everything in this universe had been exactly like the lore described, so why wouldn't the fanatical zealotry be a thing as well?

"You humble me," Nela said "I thought myself a pious man, willing to serve to Emperor with whatever he demanded. But now I see there is a deeper understanding to be gained To simply live in acceptance of the Emperor's Divine will, no matter what happens. I will take this lesson to heart Björk."

We reached the entrance to the Departmento munitorum and Nela shook my hand vigorously. "You are free to come stay with me until you can find your own place. It won't take long though. The Orks make sure of that." Nela said as he left me behind to stare at the massive building in front of me, scores of people moving in and out of the doors every second. That's when I noticed the familiar flashing. Summoning the notification it read

LITANY OF PRAYER GAINED: OGRYN'S PRAYER.

XP GAINED: 3.

"Yay, XP!!" I thought sarcastically to myself.

I walked inside and found a sign that said recruiter.