Homegrown System

At her warning, Titus leaped back, drawing his knife in one hand and his ax in the other. The shovel was left strapped to his pack, resting on the ledge far away.

They looked up as the statue of the beautiful angel shifted slightly. Alice was amazed as the thing seemed to come alive. It started with a simple twitch of its hand, and now its arms moved into a slightly more natural position from the awkward, graceful positioning to a steadier one. The wings fluttered and shifted, finishing the half-beat they were in and settling behind the golem's back. Alice scanned it, wondering what they were dealing with.

[Golem - lvl ?]

A question mark? She thought. That was new She had seen levels up to 35, so that probably meant this was far higher.

"Titus, we need to run. We can't fight that."

Titus, though, only started to move backward slowly, his guard never lowering as he positioned himself between the statue and Alice.

"Hello, Earthlings," the statue said with a musical tone and a slight bow. "I am the local representative of the Luminary Alliance. Greetings."

"The what now?" Titus said. "What is the Luminary Alliance?"

"We are a faction throughout the galaxy that promotes peace and understanding through the growth of power."

"Where do you come from?"

The statue didn't answer. Alice said, "I don't like this. What's going on?"

"I've never heard of the Luminary Alliance, but it sounds like a made-up faction this System has introduced as NPCs. It's a golem, after all."

Titus' eyes never left the statue, even as it froze, waiting for further inquiries. "Where are you from?" he asked.

"Unknown," the Golem said. "I am just the local representative. I do not store or have access to information that you are not permitted to know."

"Okay, so what do you do?"

"We promote peace and understanding throughout the galaxy."

"How do you do that?" Titus asked.

"We help those who are worthy achieve power so that they may use it responsibly."

"How do you know who is worthy?"

"Those who have the ability to take power and those who seize it must pass our test."

"Do we need to pass the test?"

The Golem looked at Titus. "No, you are not ready."

"What about Alice?" Titus said, indicating Alice. It was a bit of a risk, but Alice was kind of curious to see why she was being ignored.

"She is untouched. Tell her to come back for guidance when she has found something in herself worth fighting for."

"Interesting. Why am I worthy?" Titus wondered.

"You have found something within yourself worth fighting for," the Golem answered unhelpfully.

"How did I do that?"

"That is unknown."

"Titus," Alice interrupted, "Ask if it has to do with it you hitting E-grade."

Titus considered it for a second before nodding. "By 'find something within myself worth fighting for,' do you mean I reached E-grade?"

"Some choose to call it E-grade. Yes. You have stepped on the beginning of your journey to true power. You have identified that you wish to seek purpose, to find a Dao, or to discover your Telos. There are many ways of describing it."

Titus frowned, his posture radiating uncertainty. Alice matched his expression. "Is this the something extra you're talking about that's coming from your class?"

"Maybe. I don't exactly know, but there definitely seems to be some sort of motivation, some sort of guiding principle towards the target that I don't fully understand. I feel like I don't need to follow it, but if I do, good things will happen," he said, sounding unsure."Okay, so I don't need to take your test yet. When do I need to take your test?"

"At the end of formation, you will need to take the test to receive further guidance. For now, all guidance is free."

"Okay. What guidance do you have for me?" Titus asked.

Alice wished she had a notebook so she could write all this down. It was fascinating.

"You are prospective. You have many challenges yet to pass before you start to condense. Once you are ready to condense, you should come for guidance."

"So there is untouched, then prospective, then condensed?" Titus clarified.

"Those are acceptable terms," the Golem said.

"And then after condensing is when the test comes, or before?"

"Correct. During formation is when testing is required for further guidance."

So, D or C grade, Alice thought. That's... well, I have no idea how long off that is, but at least it's another evolution.

"At the end of the next evolution, maybe?" she murmured.

"So, how do I condense and gather power?" Titus asked.

"Through combat and introspection. Feel the world around you, bend it to your will, and then listen to what it tells you and follow it."

Alice thought that seemed rather circular, but Titus just nodded in apparent understanding. "Do I need magic for this?"

"Negative. Magic is not necessary for power, though magic will offer unique insights. But just as magic offers insights, so does physical action."

"Okay. Do you have any specific suggestions on what I should do?"

The Golem scanned Titus up and down, and Alice braced for some sort of attack, but the light and scanning faded.

"You are incomplete. Your class requires an enchanted weapon. You should visit the Empyrion Consortium to purchase a weapon."

"Where could I find this consortium?"

The Golem pointed into the mountain. "Over the mountain. About three miles that way, there should be an outpost. Do you have any further questions?" the Golem asked, tilting its head in a surprisingly human manner.

"Titus," Alice asked, "Ask it what level it is. Ask it how long it's going to be here. Or, how long has it been here? How long has it known about Earth?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Titus said, "One thing at a time. Uh, what level are you?"

The Golem didn't answer.

"How long have you been here?"

"I have been here since System integration."

"Do you have any memories before System integration?"

"Negative. I do not form memories."

"Will you remember us when we come back?" Titus asked.

"Affirmative."

"I think this golem's broken," Titus said to Alice.

Alice frowned. "No, it's just a program. It doesn't actually have a personality."

"So you're sure this isn't an alien? That the System didn't come from outer space and this is all just bad timing?"

Alice shrugged but realized Titus still couldn't see her as he hadn't taken his eyes off the statue for a second other than to scan their surroundings. "No," she said, "I suppose it's possible, but this is far more likely just an NPC System put in to promote our growth. It does seem like it's more of a game guide than anything. Or maybe a class guide for you."

Titus frowned. "Possible, I guess. Next time I get a general skill, I'm going to see if they have a map ability. I need to remember where this is, especially now that everything's all scattered around."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things I want to add to it, too."

"Okay. Should we keep going? You don't want to explore the rest of the monastery?" Titus said. "There could be other interesting nuggets."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Alice said.

As they attempted to walk into one of the buildings, the Golem spoke up. "Access is denied."

"Can we go into any of the buildings?" Titus asked.

"Access is denied," the Golem repeated.

"I guess we're moving on then," Alice said.

"All right. I think I see a path," Titus remarked. Alice had no idea what he was indicating when he pointed towards a seemingly rocky section of the mountain that was as impassable as the rest. She followed him over rocks and between bushes as they made their way up the nearly sheer face, a few times having to do short rock climbing jaunts where Titus climbed up a sheer face for a dozen or so feet before lowering a rock and a rope and hoisting her up. But in less than half an hour, they were over the peak and headed down the mountain.

The descent was actually slower as they had to be very careful about their path. Still, they could see the road that Titus was talking about a little ways off in the distance. There were cars, nothing quite like the Escalade they had, but smaller, more European-style cars. But that wasn't the issue. Beyond the road, just over the horizon, they saw the sparkling blue of a large body of water. Between that water and them was a port. A port city, and somewhere in there was a consortium that could sell them enchanted weapons. Now, hopefully, they could afford the cost.