Chapter 16

“That’ll be Ratia wanting to check on you. Is it alright if I go let her in? I can ask her to give us more time, if you want. She’s the Guild physician, though, so she does oversee patients here—including you,” Braden explained.

Julia nodded. She did want to ask questions, but she also now recognized this was a private room in what was likely the medical ward of the Guild.

There was a large basin along the side of the wall; she could see a large bathroom attached to the main room with handrails built into the wall; and there were various vials and jars in the cupboards. All exactly what she imagined a medical room would have. She didn’t want to hold the healer up any more than she already had by being here.

Braden went over and opened the door. The woman who stepped through was…not what Julia had expected. Braden had said something about a ‘crotchety old woman’ before, but the woman that appeared couldn’t be more than 35.

She had light, blonde hair pulled neatly into a tail towards the top of her head. Her black-rimmed glasses partially hid deep green eyes. She had freckles flecked across her nose and cheeks and paler skin than Julia was used to.

Everyone in Rockyknoll was deeply tanned from all the time spent under the sun. Ratia seemed to never set foot outside, judging by her complexion. She wore a sky-blue blouse over a pair of beige, linen pants. Her demeanor suggested all-business as she walked over to Julia with a small smile.

“Hello, Julia. I’m Ratia, the Guild physician. It’s good to see you awake and aware…are you alright? Your eyes are a little puffier and redder than I would expect from someone who slept for over 30 hours,” she questioned while looking Julia over top-to-bottom.

“She was just looking at her notifications,” Braden said quietly and somberly.

Ratia looked at Julia then glanced at the bucket—now sitting on the floor beside the bed. She seemed to nod as if that explained everything. She walked over to Julia and sat down on the bed beside her before putting her hand on her shoulder.

“I see. Don’t worry, dear. This is something everyone goes through. No adventurer worth their salt hasn’t. It’ll pass, and things will get easier,” Ratia assured.

“Sorry, what exactly are you talking about?” Julia asked.

“We call it the slaying sickness around here,” Ratia explained. “The first time anyone kills another sapient being, there’s almost always a visceral, bodily reaction. Anxiety, confusion, lightheadedness, fainting, nausea and vomiting—all are possible symptoms.”

“Oh,” Julia said softly. “What do you mean adventurers almost always go through it?”

“Well, as you probably know, adventurers accept jobs for just about anything. Some of the most common jobs in a city like this are guarding merchant caravans. Do that long enough, and you’ll eventually have to face bandits that try to rob the caravan.

“There are different types of bandits out there. Some just want the merchandise and will let the merchants leave with their lives. Others want to slaughter everyone. Ultimately, in the heat of battle, it doesn’t matter. If they are attacking you, you have to assume your life's on the line—which means it’s either you or them.

“Bandits are just one example, though. There are all manner of people out there that will try to kill you—as an adventurer—for one reason or another. Any adventurer that makes it up to Steel rank has almost certainly had to kill someone,” Ratia lectured.

Julia was a little surprised. She didn’t know what she wanted to do in the future, but being an adventurer was a top contender. Having to kill people might…change things for her.

“Don’t worry, Jules. Killing people is not common among adventurers. It’s not what the Guild exists for. True, it comes up sometimes, but that’s just from the nature of certain jobs. You can pick and choose which jobs you take. You can, for example, avoid guarding carriages between cities if you want to avoid having to kill bandits.

“The only time the Guild forces jobs on you is in extreme circumstances, like emergencies. We’re not mercenaries. We can’t be drafted into fighting wars, and we can’t be forced to take a contract except in those special circumstances I mentioned.

“If someone ever tries to force you into a job, you can just take it to Guild leadership. They’ll handle it. That’s one of the main benefits of membership with the Guild—having a huge organization backing you up.

“Also, chances are good that if there’s ever a circumstance where the Guild mandates that adventurers participate in a job, there’s already a threat nearby that would put you in danger regardless of whether or not you participated.

“I’m not going to tell you to become comfortable with taking lives. It’s a weighty thing that shouldn’t ever be easy. However, I do want you to consider your goals. You’ve made great progress with magic. Your first Class is Rare. You’ve just gained fourteen levels at once in it, too. Unless you’re planning to stop now, you’re going to keep learning and growing more powerful.

“The more powerful you become, the more people will try to kill you. It’s not for any one specific reason, either. It’s simply the reality that the powerful attract those that covet their power and want to take advantage of it.

“What I want you to consider is whether or not you want to have the Guild at your back when you become powerful enough to start being a target,” Braden concluded with Ratia nodding along.

Julia was thoughtful about their words, but then she realized what Braden had just revealed and became nervous. He’d just said she had a Rare class! After he specifically told her it would be wise to keep it a secret!

Braden noticed her distressed look and chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ve known Ratia longer than you’ve been alive. I won’t say that everyone in the Guild is trustworthy. I won’t even go as far as to say most are. However, Ratia is.”

Ratia smiled and nodded. “I would never reveal personal information about one of my patients,” she said rather professionally.

“That’s a relief,” Julia sighed. “If that’s the case, can I just ask my questions now? I was going to save them for later when we were alone,” she said toward Braden.

“Of course. Ratia might even be able to answer some better than I, so it’s a good idea.”

At Ratia’s nod, Julia asked, “Why did I receive experience from killing—or, ‘defeating’—those people? I thought the System didn’t grant experience for people killing other people.”

Braden became serious all of a sudden. “I will answer this one. It’s because they…hmm…I guess they weren’t people by the time you defeated them. It depends on your interpretation, but according to the System, they weren’t any longer…probably”

Julia was even more confused now. Before she could ask further, Braden held up his hand and continued, “That explanation is going to take a second. Are there any shorter questions you have before I explain further?”

Julia thought for a second before nodding. “When I realized I had killed someone, and my body started having…uh…that fit. I had a strange experience where I felt like I was watching someone else control my body. It felt like the part of me that I could control…sank? To the…back of my head, I guess.”

At this, Ratia spoke up. “Dissociation. A classic symptom of extreme stress.”

“What?’” Julia stammered at the terse response.

“When people experience stressful events, the mind sometimes tries to protect itself by ‘disconnecting’ from the present. It can help in processing stressful events to view them from a disconnected perspective—as though the situation isn’t happening to you and is just something you’re peripherally aware of.

“It’s a pretty standard response to stress, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Just tell me—or Braden—if you start having frequent bouts of dissociation after this, especially if they seem unprovoked. As in, you can’t really identify a reason why you would be dissociating in that specific moment.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Julia nodded. It made sense. As weird and uncomfortable as it was, it did help her come to terms with things more quickly. Not that she was completely over it, but it wasn’t crippling her right at this moment. She was mostly just relieved she wasn’t insane or cruel for not feeling the full weight of killing people in that moment.

She turned to Braden. “Ok, I think that’s it for the moment. You said the people I defeated weren’t considered people anymore?” Julia could think of other questions, but she was too curious now to put the first one off any longer.

“They were corrupted by the Abyss, which is outside of the System’s purview. The System is also extremely combative toward Abyssal incursions, so the experience gained might actually be less about whether those people were still classified as such by the System, and more that the System was rewarding you for lessening the effects of an incursion.”

“Abyss corruption? What is that?” Julia asked.

“A logical next question,” Braden said. “When you look up into the sky at night, you see all the stars, right? They look far away. That’s because they are—very far away. However, beyond those stars lies the Veil. That’s what I call it, anyway. It’s a…uh…’bubble’ you might say, that both contains everything in this reality and separates it from the Abyss.

“The Abyss is what exists outside of this reality. It’s an infinite void of nothing…and everything. It’s a pretty complicated subject, to be honest. The main thing to know is that, despite being completely devoid of anything, there are entities out there. Terrible creatures. They can threaten entire realities. The Veil is completely undetectable, though, so don’t worry too much about it.”

“Undetectable? But, you just said that those people were part of an incursion, yes? Meaning that one has—apparently—found this ‘Veil?’ Also, why do you know so much about it? Is this well-known outside of Rockyknoll?” Julia questioned.

“Well, no. In fact, I would wager that almost no one even knows the Abyss exists at all. And, if they do, it’s likely due to exposure during an incursion—just like you’re learning about it now.

“Actually, I wouldn’t advise speaking about it too much, either. You can with me, obviously, but esoteric knowledge like this can be…unpleasant to those not suited to thinking about it—even dangerous in the wrong hands.

“As for creature incursions, they can—and do—happen. There are circumstances that can lead to a creature of the Abyss becoming aware of the Veil, but they don’t happen often.

“I am something of an expert on the Abyss. The System and I have…hmm…you might call it an agreement. I hunt down Abyssal incursions. It’s actually what I consider my main responsibility. Being an adventurer just happens to facilitate it much easier than anything else,” Braden finished.

Julia was having some trouble absorbing all this. She looked over to Ratia for some help but was surprised when she received a shrug in response.

“Don’t look at me. This is the first I’m hearing about any of it,” she looked at Braden over her glasses. “I knew you arrived at this city to investigate something you were specialized in, but I had no idea about all this Abyss business,” Ratia said nonchalantly.

How do you know so much about the Abyss? And you…what…negotiated with the System? How does one even do that?” Julia asked.

Braden rubbed his chin in thought before replying, “You’ve already seen the System personalize things for you, right? The description for your Class was tailored for you specifically. This becomes more common as you get stronger. Or, as you become more relevant to the System. We talked about your metaphorical weight, yes? “

He continued after receiving her nod.

“Being strong makes you more significant to the System. I don’t just mean ‘strong’ as in combat strength, either. A high Level Professional Class has just as much weight in the System’s eyes as a combat class. Both can significantly impact the world as a whole, so it pays more attention to them,” he finished.

Julia chewed that information over for a while. “So, you’re saying you’re ‘relevant’ enough with the System to negotiate with it? ‘Negotiate’ also implies that the exchange went both ways. You’re saying that you’re relevant enough to not only engage directly with the System but also to extract concessions from it in exchange for your services?”

“...that was an impressive deduction, Julia. Are you sure you’re only twelve?” he asked with hints of warmth and pride. “But, yes. I am relevant enough within the System to do that. The specific concession I extracted doesn’t particularly matter right now, nor would I speak of specifics without significant wards in place. Just know that it’s what allows me to be here right now, with you.

“This parlays well into a lesson that I want you to take to heart. This is something most will learn much later in their lives, but having the knowledge in advance can’t hurt. Julia, remember: the System wants you to succeed, but it is not your friend,” Braden warned with sudden gravity.

“What does that mean, exactly? Without any context, you might as well have not even said anything,” Julia sighed exasperatedly. She always hated when he was cryptic like this. Why couldn’t older people just say things straight? Why did they always have to make riddles and puzzles?

Braden nodded and began to elaborate, which surprised her. “The System works for the betterment of the entire world. Specifically, it wants sapient life to succeed. It wants all sapient life to succeed—not necessarily you, Julia, or even humans in general.

“There are many forms of sapient life in this world. Humans, various flavors of elves, beastkin…there are more types of sapient life than I have appendages with which to count them, and it wants all of them to succeed.

“This makes sense based on everything I’ve told you up to this point, right? This is why the System begins paying closer attention to you as you grow stronger. The impact you could—and likely will—have on large numbers of sapients scales directly with your individual power.

“The System is largely passive, but it will intervene in certain circumstances. Abyssal incursions are one of these circumstances, as I’ve mentioned. Were someone to begin systematically wiping out sentient life in large numbers regularly, it would likely also intervene in that case.

“These interventions can take many forms. It might issue a general Quest to anyone in the immediate area to eliminate this individual, promising rewards upon completion. It might provoke a dungeon break in the nearest dungeons to eliminate this individual. How it chooses to intervene is not a simple thing.

“The System works on logic that is unknown to us. None of us know its mind exactly, just the same as you cannot truly ever know the mind of another person. However, its mission is clear. It wants to promote the success of sapients. But, again, that’s the success of all sapients.

“Now, tell me, Julia. Based on what I’ve just told you, what do you think would happen if humans somehow banded together and collectively decided that they were the only sapients that mattered? What if humanity collectively began eradicating other forms of sapient life?” Braden asked seriously.

Julia’s face paled at the thought, and she practically whispered, “It would try to end us.”

Braden nodded. “Very likely, yes. If it decides humanity as a whole is a threat to the larger category of sapient life, it would take action to ensure the future of sapients. I don’t know exactly what it would do, but it certainly wouldn’t be good for humans.

“That said, we’re talking about all—or most, at least—of humanity collectively deciding to fully eradicate all other sapients. That would be a heinously awful situation and also incredibly unlikely. From what I’ve seen, most people just want to live happy, healthy lives. They’re not given to such evil without external pressure, like an evil leader or something.

“I said all this to drive the point home that while the System does want you to succeed, it’s not because it wants Julia, the individual, to succeed. It wants Julia, a small part of all sapient life, to succeed,” Braden concluded.

Ratia jumped into the lecture here. “Right. This is one of the examples of those emergency quests Braden mentioned earlier. They’re rare, but the System has actually directly bestowed a Quest on the Guild Master of one of our branches for a nearby threat before. The Guild Master then sends out an emergency quest to nearby and relevant adventurers.

“This is also why it’s likely you would be under threat even if you didn’t participate in the emergency quest posted by the Guild. Imagine how severe a threat must be if the System itself wants it removed. It would be in your best interest to participate in the emergency quest rather than risking things on your own, at that point,” she said as Braden nodded.

Julia was quiet and pensive as she contemplated all they had just revealed.

Ratia stood up suddenly. “Well, I’m happy to talk business anytime, but I do have a clinic to tend to.” She turned and smiled at Julia. “Please don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything, dear. My office is just down the hall. The first door on the right when you get to the head of the stairs. My door is open to you any time.”

Julia smiled back. “Thanks,” she said.

Ratia nodded and headed out the door—waving at Braden as she left.

Braden walked over to her bed with excitement in his eyes. “Hey, do you want to go see the new house? Assuming you’re feeling well enough, of course.

“We can pick Trixy up when we get there. She had to stay home, unfortunately. Magical beasts and their tamers are required to be registered by an appropriate authority before they can walk around freely. For us, that means here at the Guild, so we’ll need to bring her straight here and get you registered.”

Julia smiled and nodded. She was ready to put all of this behind her.