In a completely dark section of space, devoid of anything of substance, even the faint light of distant stars, space began to ripple.

  It was like a pebble was thrown in water. Slowly, as space began to ripple further and tear open a hole in the very fabric of the universe, a large circular ship began to emerge.

  Its form was a uniform and simple, oblate sphere, basically a ball that was being squished. The hull was made completely out of metal, it only being interrupted by the giant glass windows that exposed the entire outer passageway of the ship’s interior.

  Then, at a deceptive pace that appeared to be slow, the ship began to advance.

  Behind the windows, rows and rows of people inched closer to them, their eyes fixed on the approaching structure.

  It was a giant stone slab that had been completely cut into two pieces. On the slab’s surface, a series of giant and intricately carved magical networks could be seen. Some of the individual components tried to flare up, trying to achieve their function, but it was impossible.

  “It has a certain elegance to it, doesn’t it?” one speaker said, their voice full of awe.

  “Indeed, indeed,” answered another, excitement clear in their voice.

  “Is that holy magic?” another asked with curiosity.

  “Holy power isn’t magical,” someone answered as if insulted.

  Those that were near the windows began to express their thoughts. Some were more curious than others, some were defensive, but at the end of the day, the only thing that mattered was that all of them were ready and excited for what was to come.

  The crew of the ship was a combination of multiple species. Most were humanoid, merely because there were more of them to begin with, while others completely defied logic, like a floating cloud of black smoke. Yet, somehow, they all wore, similar clothes, or at least the same insignia.

  The insignia was simple and recognizable everywhere the System had touched, and even some places where it hadn’t.

  Two characters, so alien that even some of those that carried them didn’t know what they meant. Beside those two was another, though this one was clearly a number, and if a human from Earth were to see it, they would read it as a very badly written three.

  This was a research vessel and every inch of it was used to further their research purposes. There were no weapons or defense systems.

  The infirmaries and cafeterias served two separate functions. One was their obvious function of feeding and healing. While the second was the development and testing of various products related to their area.

  And every single area of the ship was the exact same.

  Janitorial duties were used for research with chemicals and alchemy. Gymnasiums were used for research related to various aspects of the body. Not even the beds that they used to rest in were safe from being subjects of studies.

  “What are those bright things?” someone said, pointing at a piece of broken stone that was slowly drifting through the infinite void.

  Many of the observers watched the floating stone, trying to identify what the speaker meant.

  “Maybe it’s that, you know. Ahhh! I’m blanking,” another said, mildly panicking.

  “They’re trial gates,” a voice that slowly grew louder said. “Don’t you remember them?” the speaker asked, revealing themselves fully as they approached the window. “They always appear when you finish the Tower of Revelation’s trials. My guess is that those broke before the System could properly deactivate them.”

  The speaker that was revealed was a tall and rotund humanoid man wearing a white lab coat, similar to those on Earth, if a bit more futuristic.

  Through the very weaving of the coat, mana and magical circuitry flowed, occasionally revealing a hint of that magical energy. Near his upper left chest rested the same insignia that the others bore, and it was heavy with magic.

  His skin was a dark blue, with the occasional darker or lighter spots here and there, all of it lacking any hair whatsoever.

  And yet, it was not his smooth and hairless skin that drew all the attention, it was his eyes. They were slightly sunken in and had literal dark circles around them, looking a bit haunting.

  The entire crowd went silent, immediately recognizing the owner of the voice. It was the head of their research vessel, and strictly speaking, he was their commander. They felt no fear toward the man, but they had no idea as to how to respond.

  “I find it disappointing that you have failed to identify something that formed such an integral part of your own development,” the blue skinned man said, his long arm reaching behind and grasping the other.

  “In my days, one of the foundational skills for any and all researchers was memory. Intelligence is irrelevant when foundational knowledge is lost. It is imperative that we, as the heart of—”

  “Leave them alone Braltas,” a voice from behind said. “It is not that they don’t remember, but that the current situation is too extraordinary for them to function properly. Isn’t that so?”

  Nobody answered, the entire crowd was either mesmerized or paralyzed. It was due to a mix of fear and awe toward the speaker that revealed itself.

  It was a completely different emotion from what they felt from hearing Braltas speak a moment ago.

  With Braltas they just couldn’t come up with the right words that could satisfy him. However, with the woman who just emerged, the answer was a simple “yes,” and even that felt hard to do.

  “Isn’t that so?” the woman repeated, taking a lollipop out of her mouth.

  Upon hearing her repeat the question, the crowd answered with a mix of weak nods and quiet approvals.

  Braltas immediately recognized the owner of the voice and turned to face the speaker. A disgruntled expression took over his face. “You broke my people, Sarah. How do you plan on fixing this?”

  As Braltas asked his question, the ship came to a halt, resting a certain distance from the giant stone slab.

  The giant slab had been cut in two, and slowly, incredibly so, the two halves were drifting apart. They didn’t know how long they would be here, and putting the ship at a certain distance guaranteed that they wouldn’t have to readjust any time soon.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Some from the crowd noticed that they had stopped.

  “Look,” one pointed at the slab, “we’re here.”

  “We have to get ready. Come on,” another said, darting away.

  “Let’s get to the shuttles,” one said, yanking another.

  “No, wait! I have to get some tools!”

  “Look at it.”

  “Hmm. It exudes demonic aura.”

  The crowd was full of excitement and the fear they felt mere moments ago vanished. It was washed away by the incredible anticipation that was building within each and every one of them.

  Soon, only two people remained near the large window.

  “You were saying?” Sarah said, glancing around.

  “Don’t play with me, you got lucky,” Braltas said, his tone firm. “They just happened to be more interested in the labyrinth than they were scared of offending you.” He took in a deep breath, some tiredness becoming visible.

  “You should pay more attention to your station. There is a difference in status between you and them,” he lectured, his eyes lowering and focusing on the insignia on her chest.

  While his insignia depicted what appeared to be a three, hers was just a very jagged circle.

  “We’re just from different departments,” Sarah said dismissively. “There are no ranks when it comes to those who only wish to discover more and more. Zero? Three? We’re all the same at the end of the day. Just pawns of the System.”

  “Those were a lot of words that realistically mean nothing, and you know it,” Braltas said, completely dismissing what Sarah said. “Now, will you finally answer me and tell me why it is that you are currently here? Are the rumors true?”

  “Rumors? It hasn't even been a full day and there are already rumors?”

  “Many people were already paying attention to this recent integration. This just added something new to the mix of possible reasons.” Braltas said, turning to face the slab once more. “You, more than anyone, should know whether noble demons are here or not. My only question is, are they as dangerous as the books suggest?”

  “I’m only here to confirm certain speculations that were made by my sister regarding the demon,” Sarah answered. “I genuinely have no idea whether the rumors are true or not. I also won’t be here for long; we have other interests within the newly integrated galaxy.”

  Braltas raised his brow, the black circle of his eyes becoming an oval. “The fountain?”

  Sarah only answered with a grin.

  Braltas tried to maintain his calm demeanor, but Sarah’s grin sent a shiver down his spine. May the heavens have mercy on their soul, Braltas prayed mentally, thinking about the bloodline wielder.

  ----------

  Eric was sitting down in the kitchen of the thug’s hideout. He was the only one there since he already killed everyone else he had come across.

  Now he was staring at his status screen, prepared to see what had changed ever since he went into his six week long leveling session. There was also the fact that he had also gone through quite a bit in the last few days.

  Without further a due, he quickly realized that his status screen was the exact same as it had been since the last time he saw it. Only the credit amount was different, but he didn’t really care about that.

  Eric Aguilar

  Rank E

  Level 20

  Experience 0/264,600

  Class: Heritage Vessel

  Subclass: Living Arsenal

  Mana 220/220

  Stats

  Vitality 55

  Endurance 291

  Strength 77

  Dexterity 43

  Constitution 328

  Agility 41

  Perception 41

  Charisma 24

  Intelligence 33

  Wisdom 32

  Stat Points 0

  Skill points 1

  Skills +  Concepts –

  Titles +  Magic –

  Credits 284,165

  Nodding in approval of what he saw, he moved on to the messages. He could’ve focused on what he considered important, going one by one, answering questions that gnawed at him, but he ultimately decided to go in order.

  Don’t want to miss or misinterpret something, he thought.

  First came the messages that notified him about what he had done with his dungeon.

  Congratulations! Your dungeon has reached rank E.

  Congratulations! You are the first in Galaxy N24-895 to level up your dungeon. You have earned the title: Dungeon Architect.

  Dungeon Architect (B): You will gain access to dungeon parts and products one rank higher than your current rank.

  Congratulations! You are the first on your planet to level up your dungeon. You have earned the title: Dungeon Designer.

  Dungeon Designer (C): You have a slight chance of earning the lesser rank version of a purchased product.

  “Hmm…” Eric examined both of the titles, his expression indifferent. It wasn’t only because of his internal turmoil; it was also because he genuinely didn’t know how to feel about what he was seeing.

  “Do dungeon products gain a rank after rank E or is this about the whole ‘slight,’ ‘moderate,’ and all that?” he asked himself, sucking his teeth in. “I’ll have to leave it for later.”

  He was about to open the messages that followed, sure that there was nothing he had missed prior to the dungeon messages, only to realize that there were some that were from even before then.

  Congratulations! Your rank has risen, be careful not to fall too low or you’ll lose your title. You have reached the top one hundred.

  You have earned the title: Valiant.

  Congratulations! Your rank has risen, be careful not to fall too low or you’ll lose your title. You have reached the top ten.

  You have earned the title: Zenith.

  Congratulations! Your rank has risen, be careful not to fall too low or you’ll lose your title. You have reached the top spot.

  You have earned the title: Champion.

  Current Rank: 1

  Champion (A): You are the pinnacle. You have earned the highest respect for your place in the rankings. You gain an aura visible only to those who are also in the rankings.

  “The fuck?” Eric muttered in surprise. “Was level really all that kept me as low as I was? Wait—” He paused having realized something. “Maybe it wasn’t just the level, but level twenty specifically. The first evolution.”

  He began to think about what he did and what exactly might have caused his rapid ranking ascent.

  “My only guess is that level twenty was the final thing I needed to reach to be on the same field as the others. It’s the only thing that makes sense, considering how major a hurdle it is.”

  With that, he closed the ranking related messages and began to go in order of appearance. If he was right, he would begin with those tugs that he felt while on the previous floors.

  Mana Insight has reached level 14.

  Pain Tolerance has reached level 15.

  Sword Mastery has reached level 6.

  And that was the end of his first series of System messages. The only one that really brought him pause was the Mana Insight leveling.

  “I remember not being able to activate it. The skill disruption was too much. I instead relied on my—is it mine?” He paused as he questioned himself. “I don’t have time for that. I relied on my natural mana sense. Does this mean I activated it without knowing or, does it mean something else?” He took a deep breath. “More questions.”

  Bloodline assimilation increased!

  ????????????????: 70%

  The messages that followed were messages that the System didn’t suppress, and he had actually seen in the moment that they appeared. Eric narrowed his eyes; his mind brewing with ideas and dismissed the messages.

  Sword Mastery has reached level 8.

  Sword Mastery has reached level 12.

  Eric paused. “If this was after the bloodline thing, then this was my fight with that guy that wanted my ring.” He began to remember, even using his skill to gain further clarity.

  “This one,” he said, pointing at the increase to level twelve, “this one was different. It felt like something happened within me. Hmm, maybe the Star Map.”

  With that, he quickly closed his eyes and began to meditate, reaching his Star Map with greater ease then before.

  He could have saved this for later, but realistically, if he left it for later, then he might not check it again for weeks, like the skill point which he was still ignoring.

  Suddenly, he stood before it, noticing that there weren’t any major differences. He took his time. He didn’t have time to dawdle on things that had no answer, but this was visible, tangible, and he could discern some things about it.

  His Star Map was just as he remembered it. At the center was his core connected to two larger stars, who in turn were connected to their own stars.

  One of them had three smaller and complete stars illuminated. The other large star, however, was completely dim, devoid of any and all light.

  “No, wait. Are those cracks?” Eric asked himself, noticing them for the first time. But instead of diving deeper, he dismissed this revelation, not considering it to be something he could currently tackle.

  Following the intricate network that was the map, he eventually arrived at a certain point that caught his attention.

  Ten stars arranged in a pattern that he couldn’t quite discern. They were quite spread out, the only reason he knew that they formed a pattern was because he felt it. An odd sense of familiarity surged within him when he observed them.

  Eric began to navigate the map with more care, turning and twisting it until he saw connections that he hadn’t before.

  Then, he noticed something. Two of those oddly familiar stars connected with two of the stars that were connected to one of the two large stars, the only bright one.

  Eric’s mind began to work faster than it had already been. An image was becoming clear in his mind.