The Church of Lost Angels, commonly abbreviated as ‘CLA’ and pronounced like ‘claw’, originated in the earliest days of the period following the Wasted War. As people desperately searched for meaning in the chaos, many turned to the comfort of religion. Taking inspiration from the pre-System name of the region – which translates to ‘The Angels’ – the CLA attempted to reframe the archaic teachings of Christianity in a way that incorporated the arrival of the System.

  Their holy text – The Last Will & Testament of God – describes a great battle waged between the System and the forces of Heaven. God, weakened by the lack of faith among humanity at the time of the Wasted War, was defeated and slain by the System. The angels were cast from Heaven and ‘lost’ without God to lead them. According to the CLA, if humanity regains their faith and shows penitence for their past failings, the angels will return to save humanity.

  While the CLA today is of modest influence at best, at their peak they were a major power in the area. Their legacy will never be forgotten, as the very name of the city of Lost Angels is directly derived from the Church’s. In addition, many major natural landmarks in the region, such as the Angel’s Spine mountains, were renamed by their followers.

  - Rufus Veres, Level 37 Verbose Historian, A Brief History of the System

  Hazel’s eyes narrowed and I realized I’d said ‘Advanced Tutorial’ out loud. I raised a hand to stop the rush of follow-up questions I knew was coming.

  “I promise I’ll tell you all about it, but can I please clean up and come inside first? I don’t want to wake up the kids.”

  We both knew the kids would wake up the moment I opened the door – assuming they were asleep to begin with – but I also knew that she insisted on pretending that we went straight to bed when told. She gestured at me to stay put, then looked down at herself with a frown. Her armor vanished, replaced by a modest white nightgown.

  She turned and disappeared into her small kitchen, returning with a rag and a bowl. Conjuring water, she deftly caught the ball of liquid in the bowl and then handed them both to me. I started to reach out and grab them when I realized I was still carrying my gun. I paused, looking at my gun and concentrating.

  OK Az, this is supposed to be easy. Inventory… Store.

  Thankfully, it actually was that easy and my gun vanished. I took the bowl and the rag and got to scrubbing. I had to toss out and replenish the water several times. It would disappear after ten minutes, leaving behind whatever gunk was in it – not that anyone would really notice a little bit more crap on the dirty streets.

  Everyone did it. There were rules, which nobody followed unless they thought someone was watching. I didn’t give a fuck at that point, and surprisingly Sister Mercy didn’t say anything. Finally she nodded, indicating that I had reached an acceptable level of cleanliness.

  “Put your armor away and come in.”

  I willed my armor to my Inventory, and my regular clothes appeared in its place. Hazel gasped in shock.

  “Young lady, what in the Angels’ names happened to your hair?”

  I had somehow managed to forget about that, and flushed in embarrassment.

  “I had to… cut it, the System took my hair tie along with my clothes and it kept getting in my face when I was fighting…”

  “It looks like a drunk and blind man chopped it off with a dull knife! And why is it so short on one side? I can’t have my wards looking like savages, you know!”

  I was saved by the loud grumbling of my stomach.

  “Well, I suppose we can’t do anything about it now. Come inside and let’s get you something to eat and get you to sleep.”

  I decided that obtaining food as fast as possible was far, far, more important than arguing that I was now an adult and therefore should be treated like one. Even if I was capable of using words like ‘therefore’ to make my case.

  I did my best to keep my mouth full and my answers to Sister Mercy’s questions short. I escaped perhaps half an hour later, thankful for once that she was an early riser and wanted to get back in bed. I tiptoed down the stairs and went to the back door of the church, which led directly to our small bedroom.

  As a former storeroom, there were no windows, but I could see a bit of light coming from the edges of the door. The kids were awake, and Yuna must have cast Light – Sister Mercy always took the mana crystal out of the small lamp at bedtime. The other kids were too young for Cantrips. I opened the door with a huge smile, and I was greeted by the sight of my adopted siblings huddled together on RaeRae’s bunk, the covers wrapped around all three of them.

  They stared at me with wide eyes for a moment, then the covers went flying and three kid-shaped projectiles launched themselves at me, latching on in a tangle of limbs and tears.

  “We thought you were dead, you asshole!”

  I swear Yuna hadn’t learned to curse from me. Definitely.

  “Hah, like a stupid Tutorial could kill me!” I bragged. “I was just having so much fun that I wanted to stay as long as possible!”

  I’d agreed without arguing when Sister Mercy ordered me not to tell the kids about the Advanced Tutorial. They'd find out at some point, but the last thing I wanted was for any of them to get the idea that they should try it too. Instead, I told them a little bit about the spider fight and getting bitten, and how I’d killed the last spider but then fallen asleep from the poison. It was a good-enough explanation for why I came back so late.

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  After a few minutes of excited chatter, we heard a thump from above – Sister Mercy’s way of telling us to quiet down before she came down. Yuna climbed into her bunk without complaint, and I managed to convince Dustin to crawl into his as well. RaeRae refused to let me go, wrapping her arms and legs around me and holding on like she thought I was going to disappear.

  Finally, I gave up trying to pry her off and maneuvered us both into her bottom bunk. Once she was convinced I wasn’t going anywhere, I was able to get free just long enough to take off my boots and my belt. The thin, hard mattress was not made for two, but I was pretty skinny and RaeRae was only five years old. I lay in bed, my fingers playing with RaeRae’s soft hair while the quiet sounds of her breathing lulled me to sleep.

  Morning came, as always, when Sister Mercy opened the door, letting in a flood of light and waking us all up. She sniffed when she saw that I was in RaeRae’s bed – we each had our own beds ‘for a reason’ - but thankfully she decided against scolding me.

  “Rae, it’s bath day for you. Go on upstairs. The rest of you know what you need to do, so get to it.”

  I stood and gave RaeRae a playful shove to get her moving, earning an adorable pout in response. I watched her trudge out the door before turning to Sister – to Hazel. Dustin and Yuna slipped through the other door into the church, where they’d start the morning by sweeping and tidying the already-spotless space. I closed the door behind them.

  “Sister Mercy,” I started off, not wanting to get on her bad side by calling her Hazel just yet. “I’ll make up the beds as usual but then I’m off to the inn.” I kept my voice even, like I wasn’t asking permission.

  You’re not asking permission Az, you’re an adult now and you can make your own choices!

  She gave me the look that meant I was asking for trouble, reminding me of how dangerous she’d looked in her combat gear the night before.

  “Why?” she asked softly. “So eager to spend your new money on a fancy breakfast? Are you too rich now to take the Sacrament with the rest of us?”

  The sacrament was what she called Create Bread. The Church of Lost Angels taught that it was the final act of a loving God, that he forced the System to give us the ability to create food from nothing once a day – before the System killed him. I was skeptical – if he really loved us, why didn’t we get something better, like Create Delicious Dinner, or even Create Buttered Bread?

  “It has nothing to do with the sacrament. I am going to talk with the Delvers,” I said firmly.

  She recoiled as if struck.

  “The Delvers?” she asked in disbelief. “Why would you – you can’t mean to – Wasted Hells! Young lady, you are not joining the Delver’s Guild!”

  Oh shit, she actually cursed. This is going great…

  “I finished the Tutorial, Sister – Hazel. I can make my own decisions, and Mason asked me to come talk to him today.” I crossed my arms defiantly as I looked at her.

  “Mason! You spoke with that Impenitent monster?! When was this?” She was furious, all right.

  “In the square last night, after the Tutorial. He offered me a place in the Guild!” Actually, he hadn’t – yet – but he’d come close! “And he’s not a monster, he’s just a person!”

  “He is IMPENITENT! How do you think he ended up like that? A man so corrupted, and yet he remains an unbeliever?! Twisted as he is, he could still be saved if he turned to the Angels in penitence and yet he does not! You are NOT going with HIM, and that is FINAL!”

  Hazel was shouting now. The door opened behind me, Yuna peeking through with Dustin hiding behind her.

  “I’m an adult now, Hazel,” I replied as calmly as I could, though inwardly I was furious. “You don’t get to make decisions for me anymore. I have a combat Class, and I want to see the world outside of this tiny little town. I want…”

  She didn’t let me finish.

  “Everyone knew you were picking a combat Class, Ashley Zimmerman! There is an apprentice spot in the Guard waiting for you, and let me tell you that wasn’t easy to arrange after all the trouble you’ve caused!”

  I paused briefly at that, taken aback. I hadn't expected her to make any arrangements for me. I’d assumed she would want to keep me as her helper, minding the kids and working odd jobs for the townsfolk. Anyway, I really haven’t caused that much trouble…

  “Thank you for that, Hazel,” I said firmly, “but I don’t want to join the Guard.” I sat down on the bed and pulled on my boots, staring her in the eyes the whole time. “I am going to the inn to talk to Mason now, and then I’ll come back and tell you when I’m leaving.”

  “You needn't bother! Taking up with an Impenitent, joining the Wasted Guild, going out there just looking to get corrupted?! As if I haven’t taught you better than that! You can leave right now and forget about coming back!”

  I started to reply angrily when I heard the wailing outside. The door opened slowly – it was still heavy for her – and RaeRae came bawling into the room. Hazel was between us, though. Before I could take a step, she snatched RaeRae up and held her firmly, completely ignoring the girl’s attempts to squirm free. She couldn’t do that and catch Yuna, who grabbed onto me from behind, followed by Dustin.

  A whirlwind of shouting and screaming and more than a few tears commenced. RaeRae insisted that she was going with me, and I think Yuna was about to agree before Hazel gave her the look at maximum force. Yuna paled and shut her mouth immediately. Hazel’s shouting didn’t cease until our neighbor Darien popped his head in the door to see what was going on.

  That shut her right up, since the very proper Sister Mercy intensely hated to be the subject of gossip, though she loved collecting it. By this point, Hazel – still holding onto a quietly sobbing RaeRae – had collected the other two kids behind her and I had moved to the door. I looked solemnly at the kids.

  “I am going to go now. I promise that I’ll write you letters and that I’ll come back to visit whenever I can. I love you all so much!”

  I definitely didn’t have tears in my eyes as I turned and marched out of the door past a curious Darien.