***
The greatest young minds of their generation were about to shoulder a heavy burden.
These talents worked on countless cutting-edge technologies secluded deep inside an underground facility. They were researchers, engineers, and scientists — the best the world could offer, all recruited in one place. And on the nineteenth of January, they'd get a glimpse of what life could be beyond Earth.
Alecia Lambert was delivering documents to her colleagues when it happened.
A gust of wind kicked up inside one of the data collection rooms, giving way to a hazy blue dot floating in the center beside a computer. This blue dot grew until it formed a thick oval the size of a door. And not long after, a strange humanoid shape began to materialize from within the vortex. The many analysts, researchers, and armed guards stood slack-jawed at the towering creature that appeared.
The creature stood well over 8 feet tall with muscles that rippled at every movement and expression. The general outline of its head resembled an alligator, while the finer details were obscured into a blur. It surveyed the room with disdain and stepped forward.
'Tsk, another human planet…'
"It is a pleasure to meet you," he began. His pronunciation was rough and guttural - a blending of languages that represented the mix of nationalities in the room.
"Earth has been conscripted. We felt it recently; your planet will awaken in the near future."
His eyes scanned several individuals near the back of the room. One guard in particular snaked his hand down to the handgun at his hip.
"My name is Tal," he spat.
"We will be allies, trading information and assisting each other"-he locked eyes with the guard- "besides, you are all incredibly weak right now."
The guard froze on the spot.
"It is regrettable that you're all so ignorant of the universe. So much information and preparation that is missing; you are fortunate to have my planet as one of your allies. I'm here to extend a helping hand."
Tal's mouth contorted into a smile, or as close to one as an alligator could manage.
"It won't be for free - we'll cache in on the favor when the time comes. But enough dallying, gather around. I'm only doing this once."
The crowd hesitantly bunched up in front of him like a bunch of kids during storytime. All except one. A guard who couldn't stop shaking.
His breathing was heavy, and he let his nerves get the best of him.
He drew, aimed, and fired in one smooth motion. A clean shot between the eyes. Then another, then two more. He emptied eight in total, each landing on target. He holstered and stumbled back with a gulp, waiting - expecting - for Tal to fall.
"There's always one who can't help themselves."
Eight casings lay at his feet, crumpled from the impact against his skin.
"Let this be a lesson of what rash actions lead to. And inspiration for what you could be capable of in the future."
Tal reappeared before the guard in less time than it took to blink. He towered above, raising a closed fist and smashing it down on the man's skull. His head gave way under pressure, snapping and plunging into his chest cavity. His corpse fell back in a puddle of blood.
Several onlookers vomited from the scene, frightened but unable to utter a word. Then Tal flashed back to his spot as if nothing happened.
He turned his palms up to the ceiling, releasing a jet of teal energy. This was their first introduction to mana, and it captivated them. The jet coalesced into a thick pearl that spun at high speeds. Faster and then louder as Tal focused as much as he could. He poured every ounce of information he had into the Skill.
"It's ready."
His irises tinted blue-
[Skill: Memory Transfer - 50%]
-the pearl separated into thin needles that pierced into the minds of everyone present. Mountains upon miles of information seared into their memory.
"This is everything I have studied and learned over time. It is a fraction of what exists. Repeating this for everyone on Earth would be a waste of time and resources. That's where you come in."
Tal stretched his body to loosen up.
"Our Seer directed me to your group. You're supposed to be the best on your planet. So figure it out. Earth's fate rests on your ability to diffuse information. Your people are civilians, they don't know how to fight. Or how to survive. Will they believe you? Will they think you've all gone insane? None of my concern. In the System, you only have yourself to rely on.
Tal stretched his legs and turned his back to their gazes. "Don't look at me like that. Allies is a loose term. It's forced. If you're angry, then get stronger. Make the most of this time."
Alecia was swimming in questions but she couldn't get them all out. She was a stuttering mess.
"W-wait! What is the System? Why us? What do you mean 'conscripted'? Why are we allies?"
She asked on and on. Tal held up a hand to silence her. "Look through my memories to learn more. No one knows what the System is, nor why it forces us to fight one another and defend our homes. The structure of it has been consistent for a long time.
"If you're interested in it, consider becoming a researcher once you get strong enough. Many would love to get answers about the System.
"I've accomplished my goal. Good luck!" Tal chuckled, like the sounds of rocks eroding, and walked through the portal. No one dared to follow him in, and the portal collapsed soon after.
Every word Tal said struck a chord in Alecia's heart. His rich, deep voice and awkward pronunciation called to her.
This was her chance to make a mark on the world. To lead and set an example, to go down in history as an influential figure. She was the first to move from the group.
Threads of a concept started circulated in her mind. Several prototypes were strewn about the facility from abandoned projects. It would take a while to release anything, but the idea was sound.
Alecia picked up the wireframe of a headset, tracing the design with her fingers.
'It's perfect. Who would ever suspect such a thing to have this kind of purpose?' Alecia thought.
She spoke her mind to the crowd around her. The logistics department corroborated the concept; the QA team expressed interest in testing, and the analysts hesitantly drew up a development timeline.
Everything fell into place. It was time to get to work.
***
January 7th, 2022
A meager crowd found themselves inside Fukutsu stadium. This Japanese venue housed many international competitions, and today marked the final match of a Swordsmanship tournament. Roughly a third of the seats were filled, with most spectators in attendance wearing designer clothing and lavish jewelry. These people were "astute" business individuals who took advantage of his–
"Hey."
–prowess, to make millions off of his matches. This shit pissed him off so much, maybe–
"Hey!"
Richter sighed and tore his gaze away from the stands. The referee's stature sunk a little after making eye contact.
He lowered his voice, "Sorry Rich..." The man laughed nervously.
"Just needed you to get your head in the game. We all know you're gonna crush this fella. Try making it a real struggle this time. The C.A.C. is already suspicious of us."
Richter tuned out the entirety of his pleas.
"Shut it Jim." Richter drew his sword and stepped forward.
His opponent's defeated visage stared back at him. A lacking opponent who had no right to make it to the finals. A solid representation of how corrupt everything had become in the last few years.
Jim gave the signal, and the match began.
His every action made the opponent flinch. The man disgracefully shuffled towards the edge of the ring, his sword drawn across his body to guard. Richter casually walked forward and slammed the wooden sword into the opponent's kneecaps.
Wood! Of all the limitations, banning real blades hurt the most.
The whole charade enraged him. To be asked to act; to insult his passion (obsession), was not the image he wanted to display to his disciples.
Meanwhile, Jim paled at the man who was screaming in agony, and he shivered at the one who acted indifferent to his cries for help. He knew of the hushed rumors surrounding the top swordsman. Every interaction with Richter only reinforced his belief in them. But could he really get away with—
"Hurry up and announce the results." Richter snapped him back to his senses.
"O-oh, right." Jim cleared his throat and finished the proceedings.
***
Richter jogged home to his dojo. A winding sidewalk extended 20 feet to the doorway, where two small flower beds housed dormant bamboo stalks on either side. The grass beside the path was an ugly yellow. The small toy windmills plastered on the edges of the roof had no wind to drive them. They only taunted Richter with the number of disciples he had lost. This day sucked.
He slid open the door and walked over to his trophy room. A handful of diligent youths saw his demeanor and went back to training. Richter angrily threw the trophy into a pile and slammed the door shut. The dojo had several private rooms down a hall on the right, and the rest of the space was a large square meant for practice.
The oldest youth among them caught Richter's attention and stepped forward.
"Sensei! I would like to reattempt the next stage of my Sense training!" Ren said and bowed to Richter.
"Of course, call over the others. I won't be participating since I'm in a bad mood." Richter felt a little better after seeing the efforts of his disciples.
Four others surrounded Ren, one for each side, to box him in. Ren put on the blindfold, and the four youths took on serious expressions.
"Start!" Richter called out.
The youth to Ren's north projected as much killing intent as he could muster.
Ren called out soon after, "North!"
Richter smiled and responded, "Correct, Next!"
The cycle repeated many times. Ren performed flawlessly. He had moved on to the next stage. While the others couldn't feel it, Richter sensed the change in Ren's aura. The light wisp from before became a steady stream. Richter was ecstatic.
Unfortunately, though, there was one disciple who wasn't feeling as celebratory. Cain's face leaked a barely concealed fury. His face was bright red and he clenched his fists till the knuckles turned white.
'Oh boy…'
"This is a complete scam!" Cain yelled. "Wasting so much of our time on this dumbass 'Sense' nonsense, acting like we're gonna develop eyes in the back of our head. Ren didn't accomplish anything. He just got lucky!"
Cain took a few breaths to settle himself. Richter's intense gaze made him whip his head to the side.
Richter sighed and shook his head, disappointed.
"How can you look us in the ey–"
"That's enough," Richter growled.
Cain's nerves went on high alert. The world around him melted, his fellow disciples thrown to the back of his mind. He saw Richter approaching with his sword drawn. Richter had finally gone off the deep end, he was going to slice him. This was it, the end of his short life. Closer and closer and closer, Richter brought his blade up and sent it crashing down. Closer and closer and closer…
!
Cain woke up from his stupor drenched in sweat. Meanwhile, Richter hadn't moved an inch from the wall he leaned on.
Cain was a slow learner - resolute - but losing steam. He used to train harder. But somewhere along the way, he got lost.
Richter took a deep breath, "Cain, you are no longer my disciple. Please turn in your uniform and your blade." Richter stepped forward to collect the items.
Cain kept his eyes glued to the floor. His voice had weakened considerably.
"Are you really so against the idea of using a game to train?" he whispered.
The crux of Richter's problems had reared its head again. The one-of-a-kind VR fantasy game: "Mirage". A super realistic video game experience that released a few years ago. Mirage took the world by storm as the rapidly growing number one form of entertainment. His disciples strongly petitioned for Richter to add the game as part of their training. It could provide opportunities to grow closer and compete. But Richter shot it down every time.
As the swordsmanship industry shrunk (among many others), and many pros left in favor of a new career in Mirage, Richter stayed behind. His once prosperous dojo containing 42 disciples, had shrunk to less than half that. It hurt. But he remained unmoving in his beliefs.
"No matter how realistic a game may look, it is still incomparable to real life. Muscle memory is vital. How can you grow by only training your brain?" Richter preached.
Cain's shoulders sagged. Richter wasn't even willing to try it. His friends had left the dojo for the same reason.
He closed the door behind him and walked down the winding path. He would miss this place, just a little.
Richter turned his attention back to the four that remained. The sun was already setting.
"Let's wrap up for the night, be safe on the way home," Richter muttered. He walked down the hall to a bedroom and flopped onto the mattress. He drifted off to sleep, his sword sheathed beneath his pillows.
Meanwhile, across the world, significant changes were occurring. Strange structures were forming out of the ground; caves and forests were loud with the shrieks of unfamiliar creatures. And countless eyes - from planets all over the universe - tuned in to Earth. As the fledgling planet took its first steps into the domain of the System.