Bev started to sob quietly. Kennon just stared at the now dark gem. This couldn’t be! She couldn’t die! She always said the drills were just a precaution. In case a storm came, or some monster. A portal break. They never expected to use it.

  Worst case they would escape this way and Margie would come find them later. It wasn’t supposed to actually happen.

  Nothing made sense. How could something kill her? To do that it had to be a power beyond their comprehension. What would they do now?

  Looking at his sister he made a decision. They had been trained for this. Even if they thought it would never happen. For now, they needed to focus on survival. They couldn’t expect Margie to bring them back. So they would have to find the people that lived in the portal and get their help to get back to earth. Even if they had the system, creating portals wasn’t something a low level just did.

  Looking around he was relieved they were in a decent drop off spot. Not at all like the time they were dropped in the swamp. Portals may have had limited space. But the Colville portal was on the large side. Their best bet would be to set up camp here then get their bearings. They had friends among the inhabitants. They would help them.

  “Let’s set up the tent next to the water.” He told Bev.

  She looked at him like she wanted to complain. But understanding passed through her eyes. Work first. Mourn later.

  Kennon stood up and walked to the crystal clear river. He still felt sick. And sore. And generally drained. Mana was a necessity of life. Having it drained from you forcefully, and completely felt like sprinting a marathon.

  That was the first thing to fix. Without mana they couldn’t even open their bags. Kneeling by the water he focused on the sounds of life that surrounded him. The buzzing of insects, the rustling of leaves. Then narrowed his focus to the energy that came from them. It was like wisps of vapor that suffused the atmosphere. Mana. made by life, fueler of life. The energy of the world.

  He needed it. Flexing his will he grabbed at it. It didn’t like to be controlled but he had been taught well. He had heard that the village children of Greentown couldn’t even sense their own mana till they got the system at 15. Never even tried. Learning to sense his was one of his oldest memories.

  Still, the first skill he wanted to unlock was mana sight. Margie always said it was one of the most important to learn. It, along with mana manipulation would make this so much easier.

  The thought of Margie darkened his mood. Quickly banishing the thought he pulled off his pack and focused on its contents.

  As a spatial storage bag it helpfully told him everything inside. Appearing as an image in his mind he focused on the tent. Then thinking of the ground nearby he channeled an almost insignificant amount of mana into the bag. The tent popped into being where he was looking instantly.

  Through his bond with his twin he knew that she had already placed the illusion ward. With that they were safe and could spend a few hours regaining their mana.

  As he went about that task he couldn’t help but wish he had the system. There were monsters roaming the portal. If they wanted to explore they would need to fight. They had food, but they would need to hunt to stock up. To escape they had to explore and find the inhabitants.

  This would be very difficult as unintegrated 14 year olds.

  At that moment he felt a surge of mana come from the necklace.

  Was she alive!

  Despite that hope, what appeared was completely unexpected.

  Conditions met to receive the growth system. This provides faster leveling than the more traditional system, at a cost of less automation. Do you wish to proceed?

  They stared at the notification in shock. It was less words, and more like the ideas they represented were burned into their minds. There was no possible way to misunderstand the message.

  At that moment they remembered something Margie had told them. She said when they turned 15 they would receive a choice. To follow her path, or to follow the path of the masses. She said they would understand it the moment it happened.

  It seemed like it happened early.

  And they did understand.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  There was no decision to be made here. Margie had raised them. To choose to not follow her path the same day she died was not an option.

  As one they accepted.

  Growth system accepted and integrated. Identity confirmed. Beginning Vonn protocol.

  At that moment an image appeared in their minds. It was Margie’s face. Before they got over the shock the apparition spoke.

  “Kennon, Bev, if you are receiving this message then I have recently died. I spent quite a few growth system points to make sure you received this option. And this message. Though there are limits to what I am allowed to say.”

  “First of all I am proud of you. And despite not being there I know you will thrive. I want you to be brave. Grow your power. And make contact with my old allies. They will explain what I can not. The allegiance identification spell will help.”

  “Most important of all though, if you chose the growth system, then those that killed me will hunt you as well. Stay away from the church of the system. And under no circumstances seek revenge till you are strong enough to make your own portal realms.”

  “I dedicated my life to prepare you for this day. And likely died to ensure you could see it. I know you will do great things. Goodbye. I love you.”

  Kennon didn’t know how long it had been since the message from Margie ended. It felt like time had stopped. She had been hunted. And them as well. That explained the drills. The cabin that could handle an army.

  And the hunters were from the church of the system. How did that make sense? They were the largest, and most respected religion on the planet. Sure they went a little farther than Kennon was comfortable. Treating the system like a god, not a tool. But he had never heard of them doing anything more distasteful than skimping on their taxes.

  He himself followed many of their teachings! After all they had the best descriptions of mana control in existence. But if they did this…

  They must not have been what they seemed. At least the higher ups.

  His musings were interrupted by another notification. Far less urgent than the first. But still not something he could ignore.

  Begin system tutorial?

  Not knowing what else to do he agreed.

  Menus are accessed with your intent.

  Available menus are.

  Status.

  Skills.

  Spells.

  Notes.

  Messages.

  Begin further tutorials by accessing menus.

  This all looked pretty normal. Status.

  Displays all of your system relevant condition details.

  Name: Kennon Vonn

  Age: 14

  Class: initiate

  Level: 1

  Soul points: 10

  System points: N/A

  Growth system points: 1

  Health: Good.

  Mana: 3/100

  Conditions: twin bond

  Soul skills.

  Spell inscriptions 0/1

  That was, odd. They had seen recreations of the status menu. They knew it normally included a stat breakdown. As well as stat points to spend. Same with skill points. They had never heard of system points. Or soul skills. They were a bit surprised that their twin bond was important enough to count as a condition. But they could investigate that later.

  The next menu was Skills.

  Unlike the primary system the growth system does not claim your soul in order to force it in the form of skills. Instead it teaches you how to do it yourself. Skills are displayed in suggested order. With the option to view any at will. With sufficient soul space selecting a skill to learn shall lead to a fugue like state. Use with caution.

  Suggested Skills.

  Soul sight.

  Mana sight.

  Mana manipulation.

  Physical empowerment T1.

  Search usable skills?

  Search all skills?

  What?

  The tutorial message burned in his brain like a branding iron. And it was absolutely dripping with distaste for the “primary” system. The part about claiming the soul was laced with so much mental venom it made him snarl in second hand disgust.

  This was completely different from anything he had read or heard about the system. It was clear to him that he would have to build the skills into his own soul. He had some training with effecting his own soul power. But building skills? Nothing like that. Also soul sight, physical empowerment? Those weren’t normal skills.

  Most interesting of all though, it was clear that he would be able to remove skills. The so called primary system never let you do that. And with a quick peek at “all skills” Kennon could see that nothing was held back. There may have been suggested skills. But there were no class limitations. He could unlock the scout exclusive far sight, and the healer exclusive regeneration right now! At the same time!

  He was curious just how hard it would be to “build” a skill. There was only one way to find out. And the top item in the list looked like it could help with that. After sharing a glance with his sister, and laying down in their tent they both selected their first skill.

  Soul sight.