Serenity nodded. “It’s generally split into physical, magic, and crafting, but there are a lot of Paths that really blur the lines. Writing could be crafting or magic, for example. Social Paths aren’t well represented in the standard Tutorial, but they do exist. The Path system is very flexible; there’s probably more than one Path that would be perfect for a middle manager, and a different one for an accountant. For that matter, I’m pretty sure ditch-digger is considered a crafting Path, though I rather hope it’s not one many people take!”

Serenity put his hand back on Rissa’s shoulder. “I know there are Paths that deal with parenting; I’m hoping to be able to take one, someday. I always thought my mother had eyes in the back of her head to know when I was doing something I shouldn’t; with the right Path, that’s possible. I can’t recommend actual eyes in the back of your head though; that sounds confusing.”

“Is that even possible?” Jeff sounded doubtful.

Serenity shrugged. “Literally? I haven’t seen a Path that does that, but it probably is. Extra limbs definitely are possible.” Serenity stretched his wings to emphasize the point.

It was true that his weren’t technically from a Path, but it was better to say that they were; he was pretty sure it was possible if you took the right Path. Almost anything was, though some were more difficult than others.

“How do you do that? Get on a Path that changes your body, that is? How do you start?” When Serenity didn’t immediately answer, Jeff clarified his question. “It’s not just stuff like your eyes and wings, is it? Can it help you heal or overcome genetic diseases or even old age?”

Oh. Now that was a different question. It was hard to answer it cleanly. “The answer to all of those is the same. Yes, you can - but it’s not easy and there isn’t a single method that works for everyone. Staying young is different from becoming younger, but for either of those the first place to look is Attribute points. Improving your general physical and mental attributes will help stave off the detrimental effects of age. It won’t reverse it, but it will help. To actually fix it is hard. There are supposedly some people who have managed it, but I can’t offer a Path that will take anyone there.”

Serenity knew it was possible to stop aging; he’d done it, after all. He wasn’t going to recommend the Path he’d taken to anyone. He’d rather die than take that Path again. There were supposed to be other ways, but recommending one would make people focus on it instead of finding their own way.

“As for how to get started … for any of the paths, that’s the key - get started. You can define what that means. Bloodlines can help, but they’re not necessary. The closer your actions are to what you want to become, the better, but even if it’s only a small step it can get you there.” Serenity paused and realized there was a major piece of the question he hadn’t answered.

“Genetic diseases are even harder. Getting a Path that helps mitigate one you’re suffering from is easy, but getting one to solve it isn’t. For that, you might be better off waiting until we have some doctors choose their Paths. I’m sure there are some out there that will help people heal or cure that sort of thing. I doubt they’re easy to get, but I can only imagine that magic combined with our technology will do great things.” Serenity hoped the great things were better than the static he felt whenever he got near things like his phone or Nat’s camera.

As they paced farther into the park, Serenity felt them reach the edge of the dungeon. He stopped and waved at the surroundings. “You probably can’t tell, but we just hit the edge of the high magic zone. Well, the current edge; I expect it to fluctuate a bit. The only noticeable difference if you can’t see magic is that inside the zone is greener than outside.”

While Nat panned the camera around to watch the two areas, Jeff asked a question so simple it surprised Serenity. “You can see magic?”

“...I am a mage. Some form of sensing magic is very common for Mage Paths, and is useful if you want to practice magic without the guidance of a Path.” Serenity deliberately dropped that information in. It was better to have it out in the open for everyone that magic didn’t require Path skills.

It would lead to some disasters, but that was better than everyone assuming that Paths were the only way forward. People like Liam wouldn’t need the encouragement to experiment, but people like Nat might. Serenity would rather have people like Nat become powerful than people like Liam or Frank.

Jeff seemed startled. “You’re a mage? I thought your Path was Half-dragon?”

Why did everyone assume he was a half-dragon?

“I’m on my sixth Path. Three of them are magic-related.” That was all of the information Serenity was willing to say about them publicly; it was vague enough to not give away any secrets.

Jeff’s expression of near-horror was not reassuring. “Six? People with one Path are causing havoc!”

Serenity sighed. “First of all, ordinary people can cause havoc if they decide to; it doesn’t take a Path. Most people would rather not. Second, I’m only Tier Two. That’s probably pretty comparable to many of the more experienced invaders. Earth’s a low-magic planet; unless you’re purely physical, you’re not going to find it comfortable here at higher Tiers, and even the purely physical will have issues after a point. Second - early Paths are fairly simple to rush. They get tougher as you go up, so don’t be afraid to repeat a Tier. The attribute points are often worthwhile, as long as you can get them.”

Serenity knew he needed to promote himself as powerful; that was part of the point of the interview. He still needed to avoid scaring people too much. It was a fine line to walk, and Serenity wasn’t confident he was hitting it right.

He’d have to call Nightwitch after the interview aired and get her opinion. She was better at this sort of thing than he was. Echo would have been an even better choice, but he still hadn’t heard from her since he’d returned to Earth.

“Speaking of the invaders, the thing to remember is that while they’ll be tougher than most people, they aren’t Superman. Weapons will work on the ones that can stand being here now. As Earth grows in strength, we can learn how to enhance our technology to deal with anyone who dares to try to take our planet from us. It won’t be free and it may not even be easy, but it is possible.” Truthfully talking up the capability of Earth while warning it would need to be used had to be the right way to go.

Serenity grinned. “Just because some of us are now using magic doesn’t mean our old weapons are useless. I’m looking forward to seeing what magic and technology can do together.”

“You don’t already know?” Jeff seemed surprised to hear something Serenity didn’t know.

“How would I? There are very, very few planets with as much technology as Earth.” Serenity shrugged. “We’re also unusual in just how little overt magic we had - my guess is that when you know how to do something with magic, you don’t bother to figure out other ways to do it. We had to. Of course, there are tons of legends that line up surprisingly well with stories from the outside. I don’t know why that is either.”

Serenity suspected he’d just set off a bunch of research into ancient myths and legends. Good. Even the little he knew had proven useful after Earth died; smart people knowing more was likely to be good for Earth.

They walked for a couple of minutes before Jeff brought up his next question. “How do we close the portals? We’ve all seen the Quest and know that they’re slowly closing, but how do we make it go faster?”

Serenity sighed. “Most of the ones that are closing right now are probably invaders who’ve decided it’s not worth it. That’s one of the ways to close them - get the invaders to leave and close it themselves. Once they’ve decided it’s closed, they won’t be allowed to reopen it. It’s really the same as any invasion; you can kill enough that they surrender or retreat, kill them all, or manage to negotiate something. There are probably as many different goals as there are invading groups.”

The reporter shook his head. “So the invaders have to close the portal?”

Serenity shrugged. “I bet there’s some way for us to close it too and trap them on this side. I don’t know what it would be, and it leaves us with no way to get rid of the invaders other than killing them. It would remove their chances of getting reinforcements, but for many groups there might not be reinforcements available anyway. It all depends on why they’re here.”

“That’s not very helpful.”

Serenity smiled ruefully. “The truth often isn’t.”

A flash of motion caught Serenity’s attention and he turned towards a tree about fifteen feet off the path. “Over there. Is that what I think it is?” It looked like a very large cat was on a branch of one of the trees. Serenity was confident it wasn’t a normal housecat; it was definitely too large for that. He thought it might be a mountain lion or maybe a cougar; Serenity wasn’t certain what the difference between the two was.

“What?” Jeff looked in the direction Serenity pointed, but didn’t see it.

“On the maple tree, ten feet up. You’re looking for a cat.” Rissa’s voice was amused as she gave directions. “It’s not quite the Cheshire Cat, but it does appear to be having a good day, or perhaps just a good nap.”

The cat didn’t pay any attention to the group of humans. “I’m pretty sure it’s awake. The tail moved.” That was what had caught Serenity’s attention, after all.

“It’s not the extinct species I was hoping to see, but it’s definitely something you don’t see every day.” Jeff seemed to have given up on formality.

“Oh, you want to see something rare? We might be headed this way for a reason.” Serenity winked. “Before we head that way, is there anything else you really want to ask? We’ll need to be quiet as we get closer.”

“One more. Maybe two, but they’re really the same thing. What are the most important things for people to know in the new world? Are there any downsides to sharing information?”

That was two questions, but Serenity could sort of see why he’d asked them together. “Who you become is based on everything you do. That’s always been true, but Paths make it obvious and let you shape yourself more freely. Choices you make can’t be undone, but it’s often possible to choose a new route if who you are or who you want to be changes.”

If the Final Reaper could choose to change, so could anyone.

Rissa moved up behind Serenity and stroked one of his wings. He hadn’t realized how tense his back was.

“As for information to avoid, be wary of absolutes. Magic is very good at bending the rules, even the rules of physics, so very few things are always true. Once you know something’s true, you stop looking for alternatives.” Serenity paused, then decided he couldn’t just leave it there. “I know of at least six different ways to cast spells, each with its own advantages and limitations. Two of them are completely Path-based and yet they are quite different from each other, yet you will find people telling you there’s only one way to do things. Be wary of that.”