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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dQ9nUuF_9E2ElBcfc0BPLqVPQ-7YcbOtNPfl2HXRBeE/edit?usp=sharing
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Alex turned, finding quite an odd sight.
Off to one side of the clearing was a stone hut that gleamed and glinted strangely in the light of either sunrise or sunset.
Standing in the open door was an old woman with a straight back and plaited white hair. In her hand was a staff that was carved with all sorts of things, including… pink dolphins?
That’s interesting, I suppose.
An unnaturally pink orb rested at the top of the staff, matching some of the threading in her voluminous clothing.
While she was obviously older—if this had been before the System, he’d have said she was in her seventies at least—she didn’t have any of the frailty of age about her.
Even as he saw her, however, he was pulled from his examination by a System notification.
Class Acquisition Requirements Met:You are in a safe locationYou have met the requirements of one or more classes.
Class Qualifications Met:Inspired Runic Hopeful (Rare)You have gazed upon ???.
Alex swallowed, his eyes widening.
Whoever this was, merely seeing her had granted him the ability to take a Rare, Runic class? Something about that made his gut roil.
The woman sighed. “Well, the System seems to have chosen a good one.” Her grimace made the sarcasm clear. “Come come, boy. You already know who I am. Who are you?”
Alex shook his head, but he kept his tone civil. “My—”
The woman held up a hand, halting his words as her eye twitched. “That’s a horrid voice you have.”
Alex winced, pulling power away from his throat once more. He’d forgotten that the Watcher was keeping his dissonant voice in check. “My apologies, I do not know who you are.”
He was about to continue, but she sighed and shook her head. “No, no. That won’t do.”
A moment later, a tapestry of mana appeared before her, the totality so intricate that Alex thought that he could almost see a picture in it. As soon as it finished, the working flared with light, and he felt power seize his neck, keeping any power from drawing near. He cleared his throat and smiled. “Thank you. As I was saying, though, the notification I just got had your name redacted.”
The woman’s eyebrow rose in interest, moving past insanely complex magic that she’d performed so casually. “Truly? You’ve not learned of me in your studies of rune-craft?”
“I apologize, but no.” At her look of confusion and clear irritation, he appended, “It is possible that I’ve heard mention of you but have simply not realized it was you who was mentioned?” He tried to be diplomatic.
She grunted. “Urania, but you can call me Runa, most do."
There was a pregnant pause, during which Alex received another notification.
Class Acquisition Requirements Met:You are in a safe locationYou have met the requirements of one or more classes.
Class Qualifications Met:Honored Runic Hopeful (Epic)You have gazed upon Urania, and she has deigned to tell you her name.
Runa grimaced. “You really do have no idea. Fine, fine. Let’s see your status sheet and sort this out.”
A loud error sound—reminding Alex of the strange surgery game he’d played as a child or a gameshow’s ‘incorrect’ sound—blared across the clearing, causing the trees to shudder.
The notification that appeared seemed to actually hover in the air, clearly visible to both of them.
System Warning:It is neither required nor advised to share your full status with anyone, least of all a ???.
Runa grunted. “Still haven’t gotten around my block, eh?” She cackled then, her emotions changing wildly. “Fine, fine. Let’s see how you managed to get here.”
Alex was now entirely on his guard. Something was going on between this being and the System, and he’d been dragged into the middle. Willingly and eagerly volunteered, more like.
“Let’s start at the bottom. You used your creations to save more than a hundred sapient beings, including yourself?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She lifted an eyebrow before grunting again. “At least he’s respectful.” She tapped her chin. “You have an item of your creation with you, containing immaculate runic work?”
He frowned. “I… I guess?”
Her eyebrow climbed higher as she waited until, “Well? Let’s see it.”
He pulled out one of his last remaining wooden shingles, holding it out.
A look of confusion overtook Runa’s face before she burst out laughing. “Oh! That’s a good one.” She continued laughing, glancing back at the shingle a few times, each time causing her laughter to grow back into a cackle. Eventually, she wound down. “Ahh, boy. That was well done. I may just like you.”
Alex was entirely flushed with embarrassment, still holding the shingle, uncertain what he should do.
When he didn’t move, her mirth began to fade. “Now, don’t ruin a good joke. Where’s the item that you created that has immaculate runic work? That looks like it was done by…” She waved her hand, clearly thinking. “a kindergartener or something.”
He pulled the wood back into his Inventory and coughed. “Well, that is the Rune related class I was offered.”
Runa froze, her entire body going unnaturally still. “What now?”
“Runic Kindergartener. That’s the class I was offered but didn’t take.”
“Boy…” There was a dangerous note in her voice. “I don’t appreciate being made a fool of. No one with such a piddly offering could have gotten this training session.”
Alex opened his mouth to respond, but something seemed to almost light up within his Inventory, much like this expert session had during that seemingly ill-fated choice, drawing his attention.
It was a length of… cable?
Alex took a moment to recognize it, and when he did, he let out a nervous laugh, pulling it forth. Runa snatched it from his hand, examining it.
Alex’s nervous laughter continued, entirely outside of his control. He was in the presence of someone so powerful, merely seeing her had granted him access to a class. Learning her name had made that offering Epic. He had no measure for just how deep the waters he was swimming in were.
Moreover, it seemed that the System had fudged things to the extreme to get him here. He might be grateful, but from what the Watcher had said, it seemed that he was being used to clear a long-standing debt between the System and Runa.
“This does contain immaculate work, but it is obviously System made.” She lifted her gaze and locked it on him. “Explain.”
His chuckling cut off, and his mouth was suddenly dry. “Well… I cut that, effectively making that segment, at least by some definitions… I suppose.”
Runa’s eyes practically burst alight, but she turned her gaze vaguely upward. “Have you stooped so low? You couldn’t allow even one debt to go unclaimed?”
Once more, a notification appeared, clearly visible to them both.
System ResponseAll debts come due, and even the cleverest bargainer must be willing to pay when their conditions are met.
Do you renege on our bargain Runa, ???? of ????
Runa swept her hand across herself. “Of course I do not renege. I will honor the training required. But this will cost you more than me. Unless I’ve grossly misunderstood, he will have a Simple, or at best Common skill. The bargain was for a Legendary skill. He does not have the life-span to train such at least not in a peaceful manner—as required—and his…” She glanced toward Alex, narrowing her eyes. “E-grade mind cannot take a direct infusion, usually used to bypass longer training.”
System ResponseCosts have been weighed and measured.A path is open, take it or be in violation.
A blue doorway opened in the clearing, causing Runa’s eyes to widen.
The sun had fully set by this point, stars shining down in the dark sky, and Alex stood, utterly unwilling to get involved in what was happening.
Runa grunted, turning to look toward Alex with a slight amount of pity. “So, that’s the game.”
Alex cleared his throat. “What’s happening?”
Runa sighed. “The System had sought my knowledge for… a very long time. In order for me to honor my bargain, I will need to train you, and help package that training in a manner that will grow with you so that you are neither overwhelmed nor die of old age as I train you. To do that, I must put all that knowledge and training into a framework that can mesh with you.”
“I… I don’t understand.” He felt like it was important that she knew that.
“I’m aware. I will have to give you a secondary skill or spell. In doing so, I will put all that I give you into the purview of the System, which is what I refused to do so long ago. It is also exactly what I would have to do if I wanted out of this deal.” She glanced upward, suddenly seeming old rather than simply looking it. “You have found a means, regardless. Well played.”
Alex was still seeking to understand. “Who are you? Why does it care?”
She chuckled, gesturing upward. “Do you not yet have enough knowledge to see?”
He looked up, seeing the stars in a foreign sky… He frowned. Between some of the stars, he thought he could see traces of connections. It was like someone had tried to make the constellations obvious to him. “The constellations?"
She smiled softly. “There might be hope for you, yet. Yes. I, Urania of ???”—her voice garbled at the redacted word—“placed the spellforms of the stars.”
Alex rocked backward, having to take a step to keep from stumbling. He… he had no idea what that even meant. It sounded impressive of course, but did that mean she’d moved stars around? Changed their paths? What?
Runa glanced at him and huffed. “Even though you can see some, you don’t understand.” She shook her head. “No matter. I will honor my commitments. You have been made a tool, but I’ll not harm you.” A twinkle entered her eyes. “In fact, I’ll ensure you come out of this quite well.”
He did not like the look in her eyes, and if he had to guess, he would say he was about to be used by her to ‘get back’ at the System in turn.
Oh, joy… He took a deep breath, steeling himself. “What is through that door?”
“It is a purely cognitive space… If this were real”—she gestured around them—“I’d say it would be a painful transition, but you’re a temporary construct of merit, and I’m a loosely linked memory projection, so we’ll both be fine.”
Alex blinked a few times. “I’m what now?”
She arched an eyebrow, then understanding came into her eyes. “You’re in the midst of an Initiation.”
Even though it wasn’t a question, he felt the need to answer. “Yes, an Apology Tutorial.”
She winced. “My condolences, but that explains much of this. I tried to construct requirements that would be impossible to meet. I didn’t factor in the oddities that can come about in such maelstroms.” She chuckled contentedly. “Still, even with such, I delayed this day by quite a time.”
“Really?” He frowned, wanting to understand. “Couldn’t that be seen as a bit of an oversight?”
She huffed a laugh. “Getting cheeky now, are we?” Alex paled, but before he could apologize, she continued. “Fear not. If I had made such an oversight, I would deserve quite a lot of rebuke, but I did not.” She hesitated. “As I will be instructing you, it would be good to know some of your capacities. Can you guess why it was not an oversight?”
Alex gave a slow nod, pulling his thoughts back together and considering. She clearly hadn’t factored in Apology Tutorials, but she also claimed it wasn’t an oversight. There were only a couple of ways that could be true. “Either you were not aware of the Apology Tutorials at the time, or they did not exist yet?”
She nodded. “Well reasoned and quickly too. It could also have been that I was not allowed to factor them in, or that memory and knowledge of them was blocked during my negotiations with the System.” She gave him a meaningful look. “Or there was some restriction or rule on Apology Tutorials that made them not a factor when I made the deal. Though, if that were the case, taking such for granted would be a different kind of oversight.”
Alex nodded along, understanding her reasoning and implications.
“But the answer is the simplest. Apology Tutorials did not exist when I made my deal.”
“Ahh…”
She sighed. “It seems that I must explain then. All that you see around us is a simple construct of merit and mentality. It is entirely real, but still it doesn’t physically exist in the sense that you likely conceived of before the System’s arrival on your world. When you complete your tutorial, your body will be reconstituted with all items and gains you’ve made through the Tutorial. It is only then that the costs will be fully realized on those running the scenarios.”
“So… none of what I’ve experienced is real? Was it some sort of virtual reality? A simulation?”
She gave him a puzzled look. “You had to be aware that the world you were in wasn’t real, that it had been created.”
“Yes, but… I thought it was physically real.”
Runa sighed, shaking her head. “Alex, it was real, just like this is real. The gains you made there—and those you will make here—are real and tangible. You are becoming bogged down in ‘shades’ of reality. All that matters is that your soul is experiencing this and will improve because of it. If we alter this physicality”—she pinched his cheek painfully—“you are altered.”
She frowned, striving to find a better analogy.
“Before the System, did you have computers?” She was already nodding. “Good, the System translated that, so you did.” She asked a few more questions before seeming satisfied and continued, “If you were making changes to a document, were you actually changing the document or were you changing a representation of it, for those changes to only be instantiated when you clicked ‘save’?”
Alex opened his mouth, then paused, thinking.
“This is like that. You are the ‘active’ document, and the end of the tutorial will be when you hit ‘save’. If you die, you are dead. That is the current state of the ‘permanent’ file after all. You are you. This is real and will affect you for the rest of your life, no matter how long or short that is. The fact that you are in a state of flux because of your ill-fated—hopefully temporary—death shouldn’t factor in. The fact that you are being held separate from the rest of the universe cannot possibly be a surprise to you. This is an existence created by merit, and only that which will endure will be made permanent at the end.”
Alex still didn’t like it, but he thought he understood. “Alright…” He took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s see what we can do then.”