One of the great mysteries of the four-plus centuries since the arrival of the System is what happened to its creators? Surely any people with the ability to construct such an immensely powerful work would easily be able to communicate with, or visit, the worlds under its sway. Yet they have not, aside from the very first message heralding the System’s arrival.

  There are innumerable popular theories as to why. Without endorsing any of them, these span various plausible and implausible scenarios. Some speculate that the System’s creators are immortal, or simply so long-lived as to regard four centuries as unimportant. Those who adhere to this theory sometimes believe that the ‘Creators’ will arrive at any moment, bringing either salvation or destruction with them.

  On the opposite end of the spectrum, another theory posits that the ‘Creators’ observed the events leading up to and including the Wasted War in horror. Watching the mutual destruction brought about by humanity’s warring factions resulted in these ‘superior’ beings wanting nothing to do with us and washing their hands of the whole mess.

  Others suggest political strife, economic collapse, or resource exhaustion as having interrupted their expansionist plans. A curiously persistent theory involves the destruction of their civilization by a mythic entity known only as ‘Cthulhu’. As all of these theories are currently non-falsifiable, they are inconsequential in the real world. Yet they provide endless fodder for conversation, especially when under the influence of intoxicants.

  - Rufus Veres, Level 29 Prolix Historian, Oddities of the System

  I stumbled back into reality right where I’d left it that morning. The sun had long since set and the square was mostly dark. Lights shone out of the windows of the saloon and the inn with its fancy taproom. The pathetic streetlights were on, one flanking each side of the main street running through the square. The light didn’t come close to reaching the Settlement Stone in the center of the square.

  I jumped in surprise as I noticed the figure lounging against the side of the Settlement Stone, and reflexively lifted my gun.

  “Waste it, he was right! You did make it,” the voice was male, young, probably my age.

  “Who are you?” I asked, my thumb still hovering over the safety. “Why were you waiting for me?”

  “My name’s Raylan, Delver’s Guild recruit. Mason’s had us taking shifts out here since everyone else left – said he ‘had a feeling’ you might pop back out.”

  Frowning, I cast Light, and the soft glow pushed back the shadows, letting me get a decent look at Raylan. He was a bit taller than me, lanky, and had a look about him that told me he thought he was good looking and not enough girls had argued with him about it. Honestly, he wasn’t that pretty, though he did have a smooth voice.

  His hair was dark and almost as long as mine had been that morning, and his skin was tanned. He was wearing a dark green shirt – I couldn’t guess the exact shade under the dim light – and jeans with boots. Raylan’s eyes widened as he looked at me, and I noticed they were an unusual shade of amber.

  “Wow, looks like the Tutorial kicked your ass! What happened in there? Where are your shoes?”

  “Like you’d look any better after the Advanced Tutorial!” I glared back at him.

  His eyes widened at the word ‘advanced’, then jumped to look at something over my shoulder. I had already started to turn when I heard a deep chuckle.

  “Looks like I’ll be a few eagles richer after all. Easy there, kid,” a deep voice said as I whirled around.

  My gun was rising before I stopped myself. There was a flicker of movement, so fast I barely caught it, and I felt a hand clamp down over my own. I gaped in shock at the massive figure. It was the huge man I’d seen earlier, standing behind the other Delvers in the square. His grip was like iron, holding the safety firmly in the ‘safe’ position.

  “Ashley, right?” he continued. “Sorry about the grab, but it looked like I spooked you. My fault, seeing as how you just made it out of the most intense day of your life.” He slowly released my hand and I let the barrel drop numbly.

  If anything, I’d underestimated how tall he was earlier. My head didn’t even reach his broad shoulders. He had dark skin, hair, and eyes – and he looked strangely washed out in the warm glow from my Cantrip. The only way to describe it was like the way things turn to shades of grey when the room is really dark.

  But he was standing right in front of me and there was some light – everywhere except for him. It was as if he was standing in his own shadow. He was also smiling at me, if I used the word ‘smiling’ generously. I looked down as I adjusted my gun and almost fumbled it as I saw his legs for the first time.

  Wasted hells, what is he?!

  He was wearing a long dark shirt stretched over a broad, muscular chest, with a blackened metal pin bearing the Delver’s Guild logo. There was a heavy leather belt around his waist, and then below that, shorts, and… scales.

  His thick legs were covered in dark, matte-black scales, and they had an extra joint to them, bending back and then forward again. His feet were wide, with huge claws at the end of his three toes. I gulped, trying to steady my suddenly shaking hands as I forced myself to look him in the face. His expression had changed, the smile gone – replaced by something bleaker.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Never seen mana corruption before, kid?” he asked, his voice still smooth and seemingly unbothered. I forced myself to look him in the eyes and discovered that they had a vertical slit pupil, like a snake’s.

  “Um, I mean, yes, but not like…” my voice trailed off.

  “Nothing as… dramatic as these?” he gestured towards his legs.

  “Well yeah, that’s one way to put it! Hey, can you run like super fast with those?”

  Shit Az, did you really just say that out loud?! Oh, fuck me!

  To my surprise he started laughing, a deep booming sound far more genuine than his earlier smile.

  “Sure kid, you could say that.”

  “I’m sorry! I’m just really tired and really hungry and fuck I forgot to reset my user settings and now I’m just saying whatever crosses my mind. I think I need to eat and sleep before I talk to anyone.”

  “Don’t forget to bathe, too,” chimed in Raylan from behind me. Asshole!

  “Don’t worry about it, Ashley.”

  “You can call me Az.”

  “Name’s Mason,” he replied, holding out a big hand for me to shake. “I’m in charge of the Delver’s Guild recruiting trip this time around. I can see that you’re not in any condition for making life choices right now. I can also see from your Level that you took the Advanced Tutorial. Obviously,” he gestured at my weapon, “you got a combat Class out of it. My team was planning to leave tomorrow morning, but if you’re interested in signing up we’ll stick around and we can talk about it. What do you – “

  “YES! I mean, yeah, I’m interested.” I blurted out, and blushed.

  He chuckled. “Glad to hear that. Looking forward to hearing your story. Come find us at the inn tomorrow before noon.”

  “Yes, uh… yes sir!”

  “Call me Mason, kid, I’m not interested in all that crap.”

  “OK Mason, I’m gonna just go crash now.”

  He nodded casually and turned to stride off towards the inn. My jaw dropped open as I saw the thick, long tail, covered in the same dark scales as his legs, flow smoothly behind him. Raylan tossed me a grin and I flipped him off before turning to walk back towards the church, the dusty gravel of the square poking my feet. I guess I can get my boots out of my Inventory now, but fuck it, I need to wash up first or I’ll just ruin them.

  I followed the west road out of the square, down a block and a half to the church, passing by the town’s main store, the clinic, and the small post office. All were dark, with closed shutters set deep into the thick stone walls that helped keep out the nearly year-round heat. A light glimmered in the window of the small apartment over the clinic, which meant Galdon hadn’t been paid recently or he’d be out drinking.

  I thought about going to see him for healing, but I figured my Regeneration would take care of it. I didn’t have any major wounds, just an all-over collection of scrapes, bruises, and shallow cuts. I’d live. I wasn’t about to spend my hard-earned monster-killing money on healing that I didn’t really need. Not to mention that the Medic was notoriously irritable whenever he was sober.

  The church wasn’t much to look at from the outside – or the inside either, really – having originally been some kind of a small store with a second floor apartment. Sister Mercy had converted the shop area into the main room of the church, and the small room we slept in had probably started out as a storage room. Sister Mercy – we weren’t allowed to ever call her Hazel, even though most of the adults did – lived in the apartment above.

  I badly wanted to go straight to our room, hug my brother and sisters, and pass the fuck out. My stomach was loudly demanding attention though, and there was no food, or any place to clean up, downstairs. I trudged around the back to the stairs, and up to Sister Mercy’s door. The lights were out but I knew she was a Wasted light sleeper – she certainly seemed to notice every time we stayed up talking when we were supposed to be asleep – so I knocked gently on the door.

  A light came on inside and it opened almost immediately. I blinked at the sight of Sister Mercy in full armor. Heavy leather covered her head to toe, with a dark, studded leather breastplate. Her red hair flowed out of the back of her helmet and she carried a long, heavy axe. It was easily the size of the one I’d taken from the hob, though of much higher quality.

  I saw her eyes widen in confusion as she looked at me, then she gasped in recognition and suddenly I was wrapped up in a tight, almost crushing embrace.

  “Ashley Zimmerman! Where have you been? We all thought you had died for sure! Come inside, we must say a prayer of thanks to the Angels for guiding you home!”

  Even in surprise she kept her voice low, not wanting to wake the kids. Stepping back, she looked me over again and frowned.

  “Where are your clothes? Your boots? Stand right there, you need to clean off… whatever it is on your feet before you even think about coming inside!”

  I sighed. Sister Mercy didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘relax’. Not that she was wrong about me needing to clean up – this time.

  “The Advanced Tutorial put all of my clothes and everything in my Inventory and I couldn’t take them out until I finished, but then I was all dirty and I wanted to wash up first and I’m really really hungry and can I please have something to eat?”

  Sister Mercy gave me a look of disappirritation – that was what I liked to call her combination of disappointment and irritation. In my head, I pronounced it ‘disappear-itation’. It gave the word three meanings, since I sometimes thought she would be happier if I just vanished and didn’t bother her again. I couldn’t wait to get away from her either – and it was finally happening!

  I just had to make it to tomorrow, preferably with something food-like in my stomach.