Chapter 4

Rory awoke to find that she was no longer lying next to Eric, but instead had been positioned on a blanket closer to the fire she had started. To her surprise, the fire was still burning—strongly, at that. She rubbed her eyes as Eric walked back from the tent, carrying a bundle of twigs and branches in his arms. He said nothing as he crouched by the fire, feeding it with the branches. Then, he set the rest of the bundle aside and sat beside Rory. He offered her a toothy smile, and she caught a glimpse of his sharp, predatory teeth. Strangely, it didn’t disturb her as much as she thought it would.

“You’re up,” she said, grinning weakly at him.

“I am weak. But my wound seems to be in the early stages of healing. Did you…?” Eric trailed off, looking at Rory inquisitively.

“Mum always wanted me to get into medicine and I’ve got magic healing powers now, it seems. I get these weird… uh… messages that granted me a healing boon.”

Eric nodded thoughtfully. “You took the Healer class,” he mused. “It seemed like you had skill points to spend, from what I gathered. I hope you aren’t offended, but I managed to glance at your interface when we were in the cage.”

“Interface! You said something about—” Rory tried to sit up, but the world immediately spun around her furiously, so she lay back down.

“You should rest, Rory. Casting magic is taxing on both the body and mind. If you’re hungry, I can slaughter the groxxar,” Eric said reassuringly as he helped her settle back onto the makeshift bedroll.

“Slaughter the gr—? N-No. NO. There’s no need for that, Eric. I have food. In my bag, you’ll find some boxes. There’s pizza inside,” Rory pointed to her delivery bag.

Eric’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you have pizza? I like pizza!”

“You do?” Rory eyed Eric suspiciously. “Wait… what do you think pizza is?”

“It’s a vha’ren—er… human cuisine that has been adopted by the Drae as well. Flattened baked dough disks with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients. We Drae tend to favour meat as our toppings, but I’m also partial to the vegetables you humans use,” Eric said with delight.

“Uh-huh…” Rory watched as Eric excitedly lumbered over to the bag and brought it closer to the fire. He began pulling out the boxes of pizza.

So pizza exists here. Maybe I’m not really in another world?

“Where are we, Eric?” she asked.

“Oh! I found something while you were sleeping!” Eric reached for a roll of paper nearby that Rory hadn’t noticed before. He unfurled it and laid it in front of her. Rory sat up again, this time a little more slowly. She glanced down and saw a map. The paper looked old—not machine-made. A large crescent-shaped landmass was drawn on the map, and in the centre, separated from the landmass by a body of water, was the giant pillar of earth she had seen earlier.

“I believe we are here, just several kilometres north of Druumgard—though I cannot read the human script,” Eric pointed to a general area on the map.

Sure enough, Rory saw a location marked with a scribbled note saying Base Alpha.

“But where is here? What’s the name of this world?” Rory pressed.

“This world?” Eric looked at her, assessing. “We’re in Loar. This land, specifically, is named Domin,” he gestured to the crescent continent, “and that is the Nexus Labyrinth,” he pointed to the towering landmass jutting out in the middle of the map.

Rory slowly turned from the map and peered into the night, trying to catch a glimpse of the monolithic island in the distance. When she turned back, Eric was chewing thoughtfully on a slice of pepperoni pizza, staring at her.

“How is it that you do not know these things, Rory? Even hatchlings are taught such knowledge at a young age.”

Rory absently picked up a slice of pizza for herself.

“I don’t think I’m from around here,” she sighed before taking a bite.

“You are not from Domin?” Eric looked puzzled as he studied the map. “I do not know of any other lands, though sailors often tell stories of far off places.”

Rory caught herself before responding and realised she might be giving away a bit too much. She considered how much she trusted Eric. True, he had nearly died saving her life, but he was incredibly stoic and hard to read. Or maybe that was just his dragon face. It’s actually incredibly hard to read emotions on any species other than humans, she thought.

She went with her usual strategy: tell the truth, but not all of it. It was a method that had served her well during her time as a foreigner abroad and in her first year at university, where she struggled to make friends. Being a bit older than her classmates and lacking motivation to navigate social circles didn’t help either.

“Yeah, where I’m from isn’t on the map,” Rory finally replied. “Honestly, I wouldn’t even know which direction to look in—never even heard of Domin until today.”

Eric paused mid-bite, clearly intrigued. “How did you come to be captured by the Groth-kin then? We are deep in the heart of Domin. That is quite a distance to travel without knowing how you got here. Do you recall—”

“I don’t know!” Rory snapped, cutting him off. “It’s not important right now, okay?”

Eric bowed his head slightly. “My apologies, Rory. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No, no—it’s fine,” she sighed. “I just don’t have any answers yet. I woke up in that cage, same as you. When I figure things out, I’ll tell you, alright?”

“Of course,” Eric agreed, finishing his slice of pizza. A long, awkward silence followed.

“How are you feeling?” Rory eventually asked, breaking the tension.

Eric brightened a little, glad for the change of subject. “I am much improved, though still a bit drained. By morning, I should be fully recovered.”

“That’s good.” Rory gave a weak smile. “I wasn’t sure how much healing I actually did… it was the first time I cast that spell.”

“You did an amazing job. I must admit, I was surprised you were able to learn a healing spell without instruction,” Eric nodded eagerly.

“Oh? Is that unusual?” Rory took a thoughtful bite of her pizza.

“Very,” Eric nodded. “Perhaps it’s because you’re not from here. Maybe your interface works differently.” He scratched his chin. “It certainly looks different.”

Rory paused mid-chew. “It does? How’s it supposed to look?”

“Well,” Eric stood and began raising a hand. A semi-transparent image of a starry night appeared before him. Amidst the stars, glowing symbols shimmered—words that Rory instinctively understood weren’t actual words, but sigils. Her mind, however, processed them as plain English:

Eryxenax

Labourer – Level 3

Blacksmith – Level 2

Skills:

Enhanced Fortitude

Crafted Echo

Talents:

Fire Breath

Dark Vision

Abilities

Smithing 10 (Civil)

Rory leaned in, staring at the display in awe.

“See this symbol here?” Eric pointed at a sigil. “This denotes my level in Blacksmithing—”

“Level 2. And you’re a Labourer at Level 3,” Rory interrupted absentmindedly, eyes still fixed on the display.

Eric’s mouth fell open. “You can… read Dragon Script? You understand these sigils?”

Oh, crap. That must be the Lorekeeper talent I picked up. No turning back now. Now or never. It’s time to put some trust in him—he might be able to help me understand all this.

“Yeah… it’s this talent I’ve got,” Rory said hesitantly. “But I don’t actually know how to bring up my own interface. We don’t have them where I’m from.”

Eric blinked in surprise. “No interfaces? But… how do you gain levels?”

“We don’t level up either,” Rory shrugged. “I only got my first level tonight when I became a healer.”

Eric stood there, jaw slack in amazement. After several moments, he scratched at his cheek, gathering his thoughts.

“You gained a level in a class with no prior experience? All in a single day?”

“…I’m guessing that’s not normal?” Rory’s frustration was starting to bubble up—there was just too much she didn’t know.

“Not at all,” Eric replied, clearing his throat. “Most people spend years earning their levels. I spent five years as a labourer before gaining my first level. It took another two years to gain a second level and earn enough points to buy Enhanced Fortitude from the labourer class.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“No, no,” Eric cut her off quickly, worried he had upset her. “I say this out of admiration, not reproach. You’re a prodigy! Are you perhaps an Adventurer?”

“Adventurer? No… I mean— maybe? I don’t think— ” Rory wavered. “Look, if you can teach me how to bring up my interface, I’ll explain everything. It’s time I came clean about… well, at least the interface.”

“Teach you—?” Eric stood thoughtfully. “It is an intrinsic skill. You need only will it to appear, like you would will a breath or a sound. Feel for it within,” he gestured to his chest, “and then let it surface.”

Rory regarded him for a moment before giving it a try. She took a deep breath, relaxed her shoulders, and visualised the interface within herself, willing it to emerge. A semi-transparent game window, resembling a character status and inventory screen, appeared in front of her. It showed a paper-doll version of herself with her current, sparse equipment. Beside it, her traits were listed.

Aurora Alden

Human

Healer 1

Skills:

Minor Cure Wounds

Minor Cure Disease

Talents:

Intuitive Linguistics

Abilities:

Sneaking 1 (Civil)

Lorekeeper 1 (Civil)

Available Points:

1 Talent

2 Ability

1 Skill

Eric stared at the display in awe. “…What does it say?”

Rory suddenly realised that Eric probably couldn’t read the English on her interface.

“It just says I’m a Level 1 Healer,” she pointed to the bottom part. “And I’ve got 1 talent point, 2 ability points, and 1 skill point left to allocate.”

A flicker of shock crossed Eric’s face.

“You can gain a class without practice? And gain talents that aren’t innate?”

“It seems so. What’s a good talent to pick? This doesn’t exactly give me a list… Is there a list?” Rory scratched her chin.

“There are said to be countless talents, but it’s rare for someone to gain one beyond what’s typical for their species,” Eric explained.

“Oh? What do you mean?”

“Take me, for example. I’m Draethak, a subspecies of the Draethari, descended from lesser dragons. We typically gain talents like Fire breath and Dark vision. But rare Draethak develop talents such as Steel Scales or Poison Fang, which come from common wyrm and wyvern bloodlines. Draekar — descended from Ancient Dragons —on the other hand, often gain Magical Affinity, allowing them to use ritual magic.” Eric stoked the fire by breathing a plume of flame into it, clearly showing off.

Rory mulled this over.

“Should I take Magical Affinity? Being able to cast magic sounds useful.”

Eric frowned.

“Magical Affinity is only beneficial if you have the resources — coin— for spell books and scrolls. The spells themselves are often complex and not ideal in the heat of battle.”

“Well, what’s a good talent? Could I get Fire breath?” Rory’s eyes lit up with excitement.

Eric looked at her sceptically.

“You could, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Our bodies are built to handle the heat of our flames. I fear you would burn yourself the moment you tried.”

“Then what should I pick?” Rory threw up her hands in frustration.

“I’m afraid I can’t offer a list of talents you can choose from, nor do I know where you might need strengthening,” Eric replied sympathetically.

“This is so frustrating!” Rory groaned, standing up to kick at the dirt. “I’ve got all these new abilities, but I can barely use them. I heal one wound and pass out!”

“Ah, that sounds like mana depletion,” Eric tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I think I know of a talent that might help with that, at least.”

He studied her for a moment before continuing.

“There is a people native to the southern islands, the Sylvani — plant-folk. They are descended from ancient trees. They abstain from meat and their diet mainly consists of fungi, they’re formidable spell casters.”

“Plant people? Mushroom-munching vegan wizards? Got it. What about the talent?” Rory pressed.

Eric sighed at her interruption.

“I was getting to that. Sylvani can harness mana from sunlight. They possess a talent called Photosynthesis that allows them to heal wounds rapidly or replenish their mana faster.”

“So, it’s not like Fire breath? I could take this talent without… needing plant cells or something?”

Eric furrowed his brow.

“Plant cells?”

“Never mind,” Rory paced, weighing her options before nodding.

“Alright, let’s try it. I haven’t got any better ideas, and it’s a free talent point anyway.”

Eric merely shrugged, helping himself to another slice of pizza.

Rory rolled her eyes, adjusted her stance, and raised her hands over the fire.

“I wish I could regain my mana—”

“What are you doing?” Eric nonchalantly interrupted, mouth full of pizza.

Rory opened one eye and shot him a glare.

“I’m trying to gain a new talent!”

“Your talents require rituals to unlock?”

“No—yes! I don’t know. This is how I got my other abilities!” Rory snapped.

“I see,” Eric swallowed his bite and nodded. “Rory, you only need to will it, the same way you willed your interface. Your interface understands your heart’s wish.”

“Oh.” Rory dropped her hands and sighed. She paused, concentrating.

[Talent Unlocked: Photosynthetic {Mana}]

[You have two ability points and one skill point left to allocate.]

“How do I know if it’s working?” Rory tried to poke at the prompts, her fingers passing through them like light.

“You should be able to visualise your health, mana, and stamina,” Eric replied through another mouthful of pizza.

Rory focused, and three bars — one red, one blue, and one green — appeared in the corner of her vision, just like in a video game. Her red and green bars were full, but the blue was nearly depleted.

“It’s not recharging!” she groaned.

Eric rolled his eyes and pointed to the night sky, still chewing.

Rory sighed.

“Right… Photosynthesis. I need sunlight.”

Rory sat down and examined her still-open status screen.

“Okay, so what about abilities? Can I just get better at regular things?”

Eric, noticing that Rory was no longer eating —nor in the mood— patted his own stomach, then closed the pizza boxes and put them back into the delivery bag.

“Generally speaking, yes. But increasing your level in an ability can sometimes unlock related talents and skills. For instance, when I raised my crafting ability to level 5, I gained the skill Crafted Echo. It lets me create exact duplicates of any smithing creation, as long as I have the necessary materials and tools. However, that ability was linked to my Blacksmithing class. I just had to keep working at the forge, creating tools and objects, to level up both.”

Rory stared at Eric with concern.

“Are there any other ways to gain talents or skills?”

“Talents — not that I’m aware of. Skills, however, can be learned from skill books or spell books if they’re magical in nature,” Eric replied, then paused, studying her. “You seem really interested in how the Nexus system works all of a sudden, Rory.”

“I’m just trying to make sure I understand all the parameters. I want to know what I’m working with. Maybe I can — I don’t know — learn a skill or talent that’ll help me get home. A portal? Teleportation?” Rory’s heart raced as she considered whether she might be on the verge of solving… whatever had happened to her.

Eric’s expression softened, his eyes full of sympathy.

“I understand. But teleporting long distances or opening portals is usually reserved for high-level mages. Theoretically, you could use your skill point to gain the Mage class, but greater teleportation and portal creation are skills that take years to master — usually at least level 15.”

Rory’s shoulders slumped.

“No portals home, then.”

Eric patted her on the shoulder.

“It would seem so. I have heard of Artificers creating portal devices as early as level 5, but they’re incredibly expensive and—”

Rory’s head shot up, and she instinctively slapped Eric’s claw away.

“Artificers?”

Eric shrugged off the swat and continued packing the delivery bag.

“Yes, it’s a class. Usually, you’d gain it after starting with the Tinkerer class. I haven’t met any Artificers personally, but a colleague of mine was moonlighting as a Tinkerer, and he—”

“But Artificers can create portals?” Rory grabbed his arm, trying to get his full attention.

 “Y-Yes. Among other things. Most are commissioned to build automatons and golems, though. It’s technically a combat class, similar to a Summoner, even though, in practice, Artificers are crafters, like Blacksmiths.”

“And how do I level up as an Artificer?” Rory found herself squeezing Eric’s arm now, unable to hold back her urgency — this was her only lead.

“I-I don’t know, Rory. I’ve never met an Artificer, nor have I read much about them,” Eric admitted. “But I would assume, as with any class, you’d have to practice the core function of that class.”

“And what’s that?” Rory demanded, her voice quick with anticipation.

“For an Artificer? Since they are both a crafting and combat class, one would assume it involves creating and using machines in combat or warfare,” Eric stammered, a little uncertain.

Rory let go of his arm, lost in thought. After a moment, she looked back at Eric, her expression tinged with doubt.

“Do you think I’d have to build everything from scratch? Or would repairing and upgrading machines work too? How expensive are tools here? Do screwdrivers even exist?” Rory began rapid-firing her questions again.

Eric considered her barrage thoughtfully before answering.

“I’d guess that repairing machines would suffice at lower levels, but eventually, you’d need to create things to gain experience at higher levels. That’s how it worked for me. As for tools, they can be a bit expensive,” his reptilian mouth began to curl into a smile, “…unless, of course, you’re friends with a skilled Blacksmith.”

Rory’s face lit up.

“That’s brilliant, Eric!”

“But Rory,” Eric began, unfolding a blanket near the fire, “I think you might be getting too caught up in such a big decision. Maybe it’s something best left until morning.”

Rory glanced up and realised how dark it had gotten. A chill crept through the air, and the fire was the only thing keeping them warm. She pulled a blanket around her shoulders and added a log to the flames.

“You need rest to recover your depleted mana. And my wound, though closed, also needs time to fully heal, or it might reopen if strained,” Eric’s voice was soft, reassuring, as he settled down into his blankets. “Don’t rush the decision. We’re not too far from the settlements on the outskirts of the Great Desert. We might even find an Adventurers’ Society outpost there, where you could get more information on other classes…” Eric mumbled drowsily, his eyes closing.

Rory nodded thoughtfully. Eric was right — a choice like this shouldn’t be rushed. What if she didn’t get any more free skill points? What if there were better classes that could get her home faster? But still… she had always liked summoner classes in the games she played. Creating and controlling automatons was like being a summoner, and she’d always felt safer with a follower or pet to help with quests. It made her feel secure, even though it was just a game, even though she knew she couldn’t actually get hurt. When she was deep in a game world, it reassured her to know she wasn’t… alone.

But now? Here, in this strange world, she was alone. It wasn’t so different from her life back home. Friends had always been hard to come by—acquaintances were easy, but real connections? Those were rare. As an only child, her parents were often too busy or distant to help her in any meaningful way. Still, she missed them. They were the closest thing she had to friends. She’d had plenty of friendly acquaintances, but no one she could truly rely on in a crisis. No one who would help her when she really needed it. She glanced over at Eric, who was now snoring softly. Was he a friend? Maybe. Maybe he was the start of one. At the very least, she could trust him.

Perhaps there was some truth to what he was saying. She could wait until morning. Maybe they could journey together and find—

Wait. What?

What was an Adventurers’ Society?