Exploring the Gateway

None of the information in the sheet particularly surprised John. He had already noticed Orianna’s carefree attitude towards everything, and even though he didn’t expect her to like him this much he already knew she did to some degree. Apart from that, only a few things were notable. She was surprisingly high-level, given Ember, who was a field operative, was actually lower than her.

John wondered how levels actually worked in regards to others. The safest assumption was that they were merely estimates of power that increased as the person became more skilled and or stronger. With another main option being that his powers changed how others worked when around him. Such an insane possibility was easy to dismiss, it was a nonsensical idea to think about in the first place. His powers couldn’t possibly be that influential or powerful. The other thing of interest was one of the emotions she was apparently experiencing right now. “Horny” it said, ever as nonchalantly as the rest of the screen. It made John wonder, was he the cause of that status, or was she just aroused by coincidence. Her libido, after all, was quite approximate to his own, and significantly above the average he had seen of others their age. At least according to his uses of Observe on ordinary people., Despite piquing the young man’s sexual curiosity, that was of no real importance to him right now. And luckily, she hadn’t noticed the strange looks he had given her as he thought about it.

One line of thought was replaced by another, as the quiet of his mind was interrupted by the appearance of many popups, one after the other.

Level tasks completed: Orb of Light and Observe levelled up

Observe levelling up was quite a welcome surprise. John needed all the information he could get in the dangers the Abyss presented. Perhaps, if he had this before, he would have known about the test beforehand. He might have been able to act differently in Graham’s mindscape, or he might have been able to gain some information on Ingrid. As possible as all of those were, it could have also done nothing. With how limited his arsenal was, any upgrade represented a ray of hope. After all, his life was at stake.

Orb of Light’s level up was not as major. Even though it would help him deal with dark situations in the future, it was only a small upgrade, and that was definitely not the tool his arsenal was most lacking. Below the two level ups, a quest popup had appeared.

The popup told him what he already knew, achieving his objective would mean getting rank of Explorer, and a membership in the Council. Finishing the test was his goal regardless, but that put into perspective how important that is, beyond just being stuck in this place. Because regardless of her desire to leave, Orianna had clearly managed to live a decent life here.

A new quest also reminded him of one he hadn’t finished. Since despite all the Abyssals he had met, he didn’t ask even one what or who is Gaia. He didn’t hesitate to ask Orianna the same question, feeling she would definitely answer.

“Who or what is Gaia?” John asked.

“God,” Orianna nonchalantly responded.

A shock he wasn’t ready for spread through his body. The existence of any being that could be so easily spouted as god, was already shocking enough. Except it was almost certainly also the same being who gave him his powers and designed them. It was easy to refuse to believe it, and John didn’t even know how to respond at first.

“GOD?! What do you mean by that? The Christian god? Some other god? What proof is there that whoever that is even exists?” he asked, panicked, nervous, and looking for some type of real answer.

“Not any specific god you would know, though most of the ones you might think of do exist,” she started explaining calmly, her body movements telling John to relax, “but unlike her, they are just extremely powerful beings. She is the closest thing to an actual god the Abyss has. As for proof, there isn’t a lot. She has shown up on earth more than once in the past, but that’s a rare occurrence. I’m sure she exists, but I can’t say that would convince me if I was in your place,” she continued, her tone warm.

John now discovered his mind could be blown further. Not only was there a real god, or the closest approximation to one possible, but other gods existed as well. There must have been some merit to her existence since she had showed up on Earth before. Plus, he believed Orianna, something about how she spoke genuinely convinced him.

“Alright…” he paused, still trying to process everything, “thank you Orianna. I had a quest to ask about it too, So that will help, I think” he said, trying to keep the chaos of his mind in check.

“That’s strange… Whatever. I’m glad I could help!” Orianna responded, smiling.

Barely hearing her confusion, John handed in the quest he had been waiting on for what was probably almost a week now. He got his reward in a popup a few moments later.

First, John was excited about the XP reward. He was now almost to his next level, only being about 40 away from it. Then, he noticed the writing in the optional objective, and he realized something much more important. Direct confirmation that this person was in fact Gaia, or as Orianna called her, god. She had designed his powers and given them to him, and was even talking to him through them. All that was just unthinkable, so he shoved it as far back into his as he could and moved on. The new skill he got then grabbed his attention, and he focused on the popup that came with it.

New skill obtained: Ingress

It was an incredible spell, one that would allow him to get back to Earth at any time he wished. The problem was, it would probably be one way for now. John wasn’t sure that even if he warped back to the Gateway’s entrance he would be welcome at the Council or find his way back there or here. Given the dangers Ember mentioned if he didn’t join the Council, returning home wouldn’t be as simple as just using the spell either. It would also mean abandoning Orianna here, which was not something he was willing to do so easily. No, he would beat this test and get out of there the right way, though it was prudent to talk to her about it, at least.

“Orianna?” he said her name, hoping she wasn’t too focused on her eating than to talk.

“Yea?” she said, a bit of stew still in her mouth.

“What would you do if I tell you I might have a way out of here?”

“Nothing, it’s not like I don’t.”

“Wait… But I thought you were stuck here?”

“If I ever want to be an explorer I’m stuck here. But no one's forcing me to take this test. It’s my own fucking stubbornness that’s responsible for that,” her tone was still cheerful despite the self depreciation.

“And three years here haven’t been enough to change your mind?”

“I don’t really have anywhere else to go. I could probably find some job as a low level fighter somewhere else in the Abyss, but it’s way more risky than staying here. Hard as this is, if I ever finish this fucking test, I’ll get a life that’s much safer and more secure than most folks. The same goes for you, I think. Unless you somehow manage to get back to some unknown hole and stay there long enough for people to forget you. I’ve heard of a few who tried that, a couple failed. The ones people don’t know about, those are the ones who might’ve succeeded,” she answered, returning to eating as if she was finished with the conversation. John agreed it was done, she had said all she needed to, and his mind had already decided to stay. It wasn’t long before he returned to his popups.

2 Guards Neutralized: 100 XP Gained

The next one brought with it his next level, and also the knowledge that he could gain XP from more than just killing enemies. Which was a welcome surprise, as John didn’t want to go around murdering people to become more powerful. More importantly, he had only gotten the XP for defeating the guards that were placed around Ember's prison now. He was happy to have that over, but it was possible the quality of life upgrade might delay all popups, and that was something he wanted to investigate, later.

You levelled up: you are now level 5, +5 stat points

John quickly put the points into his Endurance and Strength to raise them to 10. Both hoping that he would gain skills for them as powerful as Gravitas and realizing he required better physical abilities.

Another popup soon followed relating to his level up.

Perk system unlocked: Perks are earned for every 5 levels. Perk for levels 1-5 has already been chosen.

John now understood how he got Gravitas and why similar skills would not soon follow. A perk system was a clear answer, explaining why Gravitas was so unusually powerful. It was disappointing because he would not get such powerful abilities so easily, but also utterly exciting given the enormous possibilities such a system would bring with it. He couldn’t wait until he was level 10 to see the crazy perks that he could get. These exact types of systems were ones he always loved in video games, owing to some of his favorite games containing amazing perks that changed the way you play them completely.

Eventually, however, that excitement did fade, and his mind went back over the events of the last few days. There was finally a second of peace now, some time for John to process all that had happened. The whole thing was a mess, and he still understood very little of it, but there were three things he knew.

'It's probably now or never. The chances that I will ever get an opportunity to do something like this ever again, even if I do make it out there in the Abyss…' The short description Ember gave him a few days ago told him enough. A place that has potentially infinite worlds to explore was a chance he could not pass up.

Second, Ingrid was probably his best bet for learning more about his powers and developing them. Because according to what Orianna told him she was probably a Psychic mage as well.

'I hope Alice is alright… I have no idea how she took me disappearing, and she herself is at risk if anyone in the Abyss comes after her. Especially if that bracelet really means she’s connected to it somehow. And if I die here, there's no way I can keep her safe or let her know what happened. I seriously doubt the Council would do it either, even if Ingrid wants to help me. More than that, what would happen to my parents? They'd be ruined if they didn't know what happened to me for so long... Whatever happens, I have to make it out of here alive, for all of them, if nothing else,' just the thought of never seeing them again sent shivers down his spine. He wouldn’t let that happen, 'I can't die here without seeing Alice again. There's no way I'm not making it through this!' it was a cliche sentiment, but nonetheless that thought drove him forward. There was nothing to be done but move, he had been thrown into the fire and he couldn’t stay there.

Then, he spoke a few simple words to Orianna.

“Let’s go beat this test.”