The Voice

It doesn't take you too long to finish filling the empty spaces. If anything, you finished faster than you had anticipated. But why not lean more into the whole being ' old enough to be a grandfather ' facade? And so you spend the next few minutes pretending to be confused by certain things and even mouthing certain parts out to yourself.

You submit the piece of paper and wait for the lady's response. It seems she's intrigued by what she sees but doesn't act on it.

" Right this way sir. " She opens the small wooden door and gestures for you to step inside. As she walks away she gestures to a group nearby and they nod in response. This should be interesting.

You oblige and follow her down a flight of stairs. You find yourself in a large room with an intricate design of small runes grouped together covering the entire floor.

" Kindly stand at the center, " she says with a smile.

" What is the reason if you don't mind me asking? " You ask as you take a closer look at the closest cluster of runes.

It pulsates with blue light which gives a soothing atmosphere to the place. You believe you've seen this particular pattern before but from where?

" It is a System Allocator, " she says. "S.A. for short. " She says nothing more and you feel you won't get anything else even if you tried.

You comply and make your way toward the center. The runes you walk on glow ever so brilliantly before returning to their original color.

Once at the center, you are instructed to wait for something to happen. You shoot the lady with a questioning look before everything suddenly goes dark.

You are swift to react, placing a mental and psycho-kinetic barrier around you. You hold on to withdrawing your weapon until something happens.

" Greetings new user," a voice bellows from within the darkness. " You are way older than the others. " The voice sounds upbeat which is slightly concerning.

You look into the darkness, trying to discern where that thing is. Perhaps it is the darkness itself? Or perhaps it is that good at concealing its presence.

" What is that you want?" Your voice is firm as you project it out into the abyss.

" Me? Nothing. I am just going to give you a system. "

" What is that? " You question. System? Your mind begins making assumptions about what it could be but the concept is so alien to you that you come up with nothing.

" Let's get this over with." Its tone is now one of boredom. Do all new members go through this? What does it do to them?

Your questions are put on hold when an eye reveals itself. You nearly slash at it for several reasons. But you maintain self-control. That's all you have now, best not waste it.

" Hold still." The eye draws in close. There are runes etched into its iris which makes your skin crawl. What the hell is this thing?

" This won't do, " the voice says as the eye retracts. " You are way too old for that method to work. "

" Then what do you propose? A test of skill?" You question.

" Perhaps. Hold this."

Something drops from above and your reflexes kick in. It is a small, round, and smooth ball. It feels heavy but not to the point where it is unbearable.

" Alright," it says after a while. " This is the only way this can go."

Your senses begin to flare up. You have a sneaky suspicion that you won't like what it says. Who would? Perhaps a desperate soul? But does that mean you are one after everything you've been through.

" I am going inside your mind now." Its tone is nonchalant. A tentacle shoots out from the darkness. You easily evade it.

" And who decided that? " You reply as you unsheathe the rapier and sword. More tentacles reveal themselves and you easily cut them down.

" I did." It replies.

" Approach if you dare." You enter a stance reminiscent of the hooded battle monks of Mount Tio. You wonder if it is still there.

The fight is quick and decisive. You dodge and weave through an onslaught of tentacles and fight your way to the center of the encroaching mass.

There lies an orb glowing with the same light as the runes. The power radiating from this thing is powerful enough to cause you to stagger.

" What are you?" You growl. " Speak or be destroyed."

" Gramps, kindly chill the hell out. "

This leaves you stunned. Even with the likely chance of destruction, it is unfazed. That impresses you more than it should. Or perhaps most of the cowardly gods have lowered your expectations for many.

" Very well, thing. " You emphasize the last word. " What do I get from this?"

" Easy, you get access to powers most don't even know exist. You'll certainly need it for what you are planning to do." The ball glows as the words enter your mind.

" Why me? " You question.

" Why not? You have experience and skill."

" Who's to say the ones before me did not possess such qualities?" You press on.

" Listen, " the voice loses its nonchalant tone. " You have slayed gods and entire kingdoms. Not even the child of prophecy has done that much. I wish to join you because I am bored."

You think this over. Some disembodied voice says it wants to join just because it could see a bit into your past through unknown means and it is also bored. What could go wrong?

" Alright," you reply. " But under certain conditions, three to be exact."

" Let's hear it then. " It tries to hide its excitement but fails.

" One, you shall not go through my mind unless I permit you. Two, I demand nothing but the truth from you." You sheath your blade, never taking your eyes off the sphere.

" What's the final condition? " It asks eagerly.

Truth is, there is no third condition but you feel reluctant to let it know. Perhaps you could finesse your way out of this. Yes, that might work.

" You betray me and I will end your existence in every way possible, " you respond.

" Sheesh. Alright. Brace yourself."

A beam of light shoots out from the sphere and dances around before striking you in the chest. A sensation that you can't fully describe washes over you.

A presence makes itself known within the back of your mind. Suddenly a screen appears in front of you. On it are a set of numbers and words.

" That is the interface menu. You can configure your skills from here as well as gain access to the other menus. " The screen moves as you do. You reach out to it and watch as your fingers make contact. It feels like touching a cold multicolored glass pane.

" What should I call you?" The voice asks.

" I should be asking you that," your voice feels different. " What happened to my voice?"

" First, I'm Sage. A pleasure to meet you. Second, I added a bit of a boost to your mental projection so that speaking does not have to be conjured."

" Very well. You may refer to me as..." You ponder for a bit. Names were never really important to you. But there is always a first time for everything. " Gramps."

" Gramps? Really? "

" Yes." You keep a straight face as you answer Sage.

" Welcome to the Leveling System!" Sage declares.

Who even came up with that name? It sounds odd. But who are you to judge the ways of this new world. You're willing to accept any name as long as it helps you reach your goal.