Arthur awoke in a forest with no knowledge of how he'd gotten here nor what he was last doing before he had gotten there. He stood and brushed himself off. He was in a clearing. None of the plants looked familiar. It was a cool mid-day. Birds chirped overhead, just as Arthur began to take his first step, something flickered into existence. It was a ball of rainbow flickering light

  “You need to make it to the Obelisk and reset Caretaker permissions.”

  Arthur blinked at this sudden change in events. “Who…what are you?”

  The ball flickered and burst into static for a moment but continued on as if he hadn’t spoken. “If you cannot, the current Admins will open a gate out and not only threaten your world, but that will also draw the attention of beings that would stop at nothing to wrest control of this place. You need to reset the caretaker privileges with your blood. I know you have no memories of how you got here or what came before. But that was the only way I could get you here. Unfortunately, here is a valley several days travel from civilization in a region controlled by a dungeon that is the religious figure of a goblin tribe. It's considered too dangerous for the local adventurers guild. You have neither been isekaied or regressed. I cannot tell you more, but you are once again level 1 tier 0. Your Talents skills and levels have all been reset. I have done what I can for you. I have given you a vessel with 10 in each stat which is peak human outside of this realm. I have made sure you have the proper bloodline, your character info says your name is Shane Richards but your Display name just says Shade. You cannot let anyone know that you are Arthur Slate. That name is taboo; and speaking it aloud will trigger an alert and bring the church down on you. Before you try and respond, know that this is a recording. I am banned from speaking or appearing in the presence of anyone other than the regent admins who have fashioned themselves as gods and taken control of this demi plane. As things stand now there is the Drendarian empire There are 7 kingdoms each ruled by a god king\queen. I have placed you in the territory of one that won’t be overtly hostile towards you. however the church and its inquisitors will inevitably become a problem. The church worships the 7 and upholds their strictures. Each of the 7 head on organization. The Adventurers guild, the Crafters guild, the Healers guild, the Merchants guild, the Assassins guild, the thieves guild, and the Mages guild. They all work in tandem under the church. The Emperor and the grand Hierophant work side by side to rule the Empire. My time is short. Your first Talent is Caloric Completion. That is perhaps the only thing I have been able to unlock for you besides your meditation skill. But leveling as well as many other things are controlled by the church. You need a Guild card, and until you have a guild card you can only obtain utility skills and abilities through the system restrictions until after you have reached tier one, and you have been approved to receive a class. Unfortunately your second talent will likely be Denied by the church. As have all soul weapon summoning or related Talents. Not because of their power… but because the crafting and merchants guild don't like competition and gear better than what can be bought or made; undercut them. However I have replaced it with one of the other choices that were available to you. your 3rd talent shouldn't be a problem though. I'm rambling… So I'll wrap this up. Survive this valley and head southeast to the nearest settlement. I have fabricated some supplies. And a weapon. You also have access to a storage dimension. In which I have stored a weapon. Drop some blood on the weapon to soul bind it to yourself. It resonates with your space affinity and can return to your hand at will to teleport you to its location. If you can get a private meeting with the god of crafting present the weapon to him. That is all for now. Once you have achieved Tier 1 we will speak again. Good luck.”

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  Arthur sat back down and looked around the clearing. “Status.” he said aloud. A window popped up however instead of the expected character sheet he received.

  *****

  Warning: you must seek out a church of the 7 and receive the blessing of the 7 to view your status sheet or assign your Talents or to progress a skill beyond level 9 tier 0. You may however see a list of skills you have unlocked.

  *****

  Arthur stared at the list. It was short, all it had was Meditation level 9 tier 0. So a maxed out skill. Hmm. It was strange but he knew how to activate his skills and abilities. He reached inside himself and for a moment his mind shook. He saw his core a nebula of ice blue and slate gray swirled tightly in a clear bubble of energy. Etched upon the surface was a complex sigil which he knew was his first Talent. Something tugged at his awareness like a memory coming to the surface, but that was the extent; nothing came of it. Something about the script etched in his core still nagged at him but he let it go for now. He opened his eyes while still in a meditative state and saw a hazy miasma in the air mixed with some other silvery flecks. On a whim he started rotating the nebula in his core. Soon the mites of silver around him in the miasma began to rotate as well. However, so did the miasma. And when he tried to draw it in it felt like drinking sewer water. It was corruptive and wrong. A few of the silver motes made their way into his core but the miasma was gathering like a layer of oil making it hard for the silver motes to get in.

  He was broken from his reverie when a message popped up.

  *****

  You have unlocked the skills Mana sight and mana manipulation. You have also contracted miasma sickness. Your Mana pool is halved for 24 hours. Refrain from absorbing more miasma or mutations may occur. Meditate or seek your local healers guild for cleansing.

  *****

  Arthur willed the window closed and acknowledged that he felt ill. He stood and extended his will with the thought of his spatial storage. He found ten pounds of Pemmican bars, some bandages, three or four changes of clothes, a tent bed roll and a Chakram with an S shaped grip in the center like Xena's season 5 upgrade. He pulled it out of his inventory. It was light but it had a good throwing heft. He practiced summoning himself to it and it to himself, also summoning it and banishing it to storage. He looked up and the sun was in the sky which he used to mark his bearing. Suddenly he felt a shift like a soap bubble popping and some part of him sensed that danger was approaching.