When Alex opened his eyes, he saw and felt its familiarity. He was in space again, like he had been before, floating in the emptiness, surrounded by stars in all directions. He felt relieved being here. It was home to him. He couldn’t think of any other word to describe it. None of his wounds hurt; his arm seemed fine, and he felt at peace, deep into his bones. After the beating he just took… this was nice.

  But Alex remembered where he had been before, and remembered his friends were in danger.

  “Let me out of here! I need to get back and finish the fight!” He shouted into the darkness.

  But no reply came. Not yet, at least.

  How the hell do I wake up or go back? I don’t see any new notifications or anything.

  Alex felt time passing; he guessed it had been around an hour later when he heard it.

  “Relax, young Progenitor. Time moves differently here; no time has gone by for your friends.” A booming, powerful voice called out to him. He had heard this voice before.

  Its the same one I heard last time I was here.

  “Who’s there?” Alex asked hesitantly, knowing the voice was far beyond his comprehension. “Why am I here?”

  “Give me a moment. We will speak when I arrive.”

  “Arrive where?”

  As Alex asked, a man appeared. Well, man would be a poor way to describe the being in front of it. On the outside, he thought he looked like a kindly grandpa, but Alex could see much more than that. The waves of power radiating from him, the mana he gave off, and worst of all, the overwhelming force pushing down on Alex, crushing him like an ant under a boot.

  If there was a ground to stand on, he would be lying down right here, pushed into the floor like a pancake. He didn’t scream or make a noise, but only because he couldn’t. Breathing was too hard. He felt like he was barely hanging on. His body felt contorted, compressed, and pulled apart all at once. It was incomprehensible for him to understand what was happening, and even more so with the pain.

  And then it suddenly vanished. Alex inhaled deeply, the pain and pressure lifting off him.

  “Apologies, it has been many, many years since I have been in the presence of someone of such a low tier. I thought I had removed enough of my aura already. I’ve brought my presence down to much more bearable levels.”

  That was AFTER lowering it? I would have instantly died if he had his full aura on. Whatever that is.

  “Aura?” Alex asked before he could stop himself.

  “It is a power that radiates from people with certain skills, abilities, or simply from being higher tier. You will probably get one very soon.”

  “I see…” Alex was speechless for a moment. He hadn’t really expected the man to answer him. He looked at the old man for a moment longer. The person in front of him really did look like a kind grandpa, not that Alex had one. But he’d seen movies. The old man was tall, from what he could tell. It was hard to know for sure, since they were floating in space. But the man was over six feet for sure. He looked a hundred years old, had a long white beard, and lustrous hair to match. Alex didn’t see any weapons, jewelry, or anything. Just a simple white robe. His silence only lasted a second before he rapidly fired some questions.

  “Where am I? Why am I here? And who are you?”

  “Easy enough to answer. The first question, of where you are, is that you're in a pocket dimension created by your predecessors only for Progenitors and their chosen. It was created for meditation, training, or just relaxing.

  "The second question, why you're here, is a mix of answers. Partly because it was an accident, since you unintentionally brought yourself here, and partly because I wanted you here so we could speak."

  "Third, who am I? For now, you can simply call me Archy and know I am a friend who will help guide you.”

  Alex paused before responding, looking at the old man.

  Why don’t I feel afraid of him? I don’t feel any fear inside when I look at him, only… respect? It makes no sense… this man is obviously powerful enough to obliterate me. Why do I respect someone I just met? I also feel connected to him. Why?

  He sighed. “Lets start with the beginning of that… What's a progenitor and how am I one? Last I checked, I was human.”

  Archy let out a laugh. It was a warm and comforting laugh, one that sounded and felt like it truly came from a well-loved grandfather. The only thing that told Alex of its power was that it echoed through the surrounding space, as if it came from all directions at once. It sent a chill down his spine.

  “I was wondering when you would get to that. That is the most important question of the day, and one I can’t fully answer, because I don’t know all of it. But also because you’re not ready yet. I will only share a little, for now. The Progenitors are very old. Older than you're probably thinking. They were strong and wise, yet frightening. They were controlling and possessive. Though they were not terrible tyrants. They protected and loved the people under them, and were also vengeful toward people who betrayed them. If you did something against them, they would return it a hundredfold. Many people regretted going against them, and many valued being their friend. Good friends were vastly rewarded and treated as family, while enemies were vanquished.”

  “So, my personality and behavior changes?”

  “Yes. That would be you becoming more like a Progenitor. All race changes do that to some extent, but yours will be more severe than most because of the Progenitor's power and physiology. You will struggle with the mental changes for some time, I'm afraid, until you can come to terms with who you are now, not who you were before. You will be like a completely different person, Alex. I am sorry. And I’m sure you’ve already noticed the physical changes.”

  Alex nodded, solemnly understanding what he heard. He had been afraid of that, trying not to think about it. But he knew the Alex Everett from before the integration was already gone. He felt it inside.

  Archy spoke again, bringing him from his thoughts. “Check your hair again, Alex, I don’t think you’ve noticed.”

  “What?” He asked in confusion. “I already know my hair is silv–, WHAT?! It changed again? How? I’m not actually here, right? And why has my hair changed twice already!”

  The old man nodded. “Correct. Your body here is a System created representation of your real body. Your real hair is black now. That is normal for a progenitor. When their hair is silver, it means they are unranked and not yet worthy of being one. Usually, only the young had it. Black hair shows they have unlocked their true power, which we will discuss in a bit. Now, before we can understand how you became a progenitor, explain something to me. Where were you when you were integrated?”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Wait, true power?’

  “Not yet. First, tell me what I asked.”

  Alex did. He told him about the cave he fell deeper into, the ruins, and then about the book and stone inside it.

  “And you say these ruins weren’t fully decayed?”

  “Yeah, they were in rough shape, but they only looked a few hundred years old, maybe. Definitely not thousands.”

  “A few hundred years would be impossible. Those ruins had to have been much older than that. Which means there was a dimensional pocket slowing down the decay with time magic.” Archy responded, hand resting on his chin in thought.

  That sparked something from Alex's memory. He remembered his initial integration messages and the errors that popped up.

  “That might be true...I remember seeing errors, and the system said something about a spatial pocket and pre-system technology.”

  “That would be how you became a Progenitor then. The system couldn’t fully pierce the spatial pocket and assumed you were a Progenitor based on your location. The System isn’t omnipotent, especially when it comes to spatial and time magic. The combination of both may have seriously interfered with the System’s scan. But even that wouldn’t have gotten you this far. Had you not found that Gem inside the book, you would have been in a difficult predicament."

  "That Gem was extremely rare, even by universal standards. I wouldn’t even know where to find one anymore, if any still exist. The Gem starts young Progenitors on the Path, giving them the foundations for all their class evolutions across all tiers. Progenitor children were exceedingly rare, so only a few Gems were even created to my knowledge. Your home world must have been a training planet in its early years. The whole planet was probably created specifically for a young progenitor's training, but they never got to use the Gem for some reason. It is also highly strange that you were integrated almost immediately after finding the Gem. Three almost impossible things happened to you in the course of thirty minutes.” Archy looked lost in thought for a moment before he continued. “You must also understand, young Alex, that I am merely guessing here. Everything I just stated is an educated deduction based on my experience and it could very well all be wrong. There is no way to know if any of this is true. But it's probably a good guess. I’m quite familiar with things related to the Progenitors.”

  “How is that, by the way? How’re you so familiar with them? Are you one too?”

  “No, I’m not. It's simply because I’ve known many throughout my life, obviously.” He gave a cheeky grin. “That is how I found you. Being familiar with Progenitors, I felt the spatial vibrations throughout the universe when you were integrated. And then both times you have come here, I felt you enter.”

  “Well, that doesn’t tell me much. Are you going to tell me anything else about my new race… history? Where are they? You look like you aren’t going to give me anymore on that.”

  “Good guess. No, I won’t be saying anything else on the subject. Not yet.”

  “So you keep mentioning spatial pockets, vibrations, or other space stuff. And on the same line of thinking, why does everything related to the Progenitor keep showing up as space or stars?” Alex asked, thinking about his eyes, sword, this place he was in, and the book cover. Everything.

  “Ah, yes, I should have mentioned that. But Progenitors could use all forms of magic, but above all, they were known for their mastery of space magic. They are the only known race to have the skill, though for them it wasn’t a skill… It was who they were. I’m sure you have noticed that feeling of space magic near you? It probably feels good and comforting to you. ”

  Alex nodded again, finally realized what he had been seeing and feeling. Space mana.

  “Not one race in the history of the universe has been able to learn the [Space Magic] skill. But I believe that’s because it's not a skill. I think it's a racial ability unique to the Progenitors. You will have to confirm this for me after you learn it. I’m most curious. Other races or strong individuals have been able to slightly mimic some spatial abilities, but that’s it. An example of this would be storage devices or dimensional bags, portals, and teleports. Things like that have been created and can be quite common, but no one actually has the [Space Magic] skill. A true Progenitor could do all of that with ease. This is also why their hair turns black. Its a sign they’ve unlocked their space abilities. The black hair is a representation of that mana, while the silver was a symbol of the pure, unaffiliated mana in an unranked Progenitor. ”

  “Why haven’t I learned any spatial magic or abilities yet, then? My hair's black now.”

  “Because you were unranked before. Now that you have evolved to Bronze rank, I would bet you’ll get something space-related.”

  “I’ve seen that before, Bronze and unranked. What does all that mean?”

  “Those are the power ranking systems. I won’t give level specifics right now, because that would ruin the fun. But I can share a little. Unranked is level 1 to level 9. You become Bronze rank at level 10. That is the first of the planetary ranks. After that, there will be Silver and Gold. Something you need to understand about the tiers is the power scaling. There is a large gap in power between grades, so usually it's impossible to fight someone higher rank than yourself. But with each higher tier, the gap to the next grows even larger. You just beat a Bronze ranked enemy while unranked. That's extremely difficult, but not unheard of. It will be much harder to do that going forward.”

  “That explains why that commander was so difficult,” Alex said, thinking out loud. “You mentioned planetary ranks, and it seems weird that there are only three. Is there more beyond that?"

  The old man gave a small laugh. "Yes, but you are far from them. We will discuss them after you've become Gold ranked."

  "Fine. But why Bronze, silver, and gold? Seems weird to use those metals specifically. They aren't overly special or strong."

  "It isn't so much about the metal itself, but the colors and what they embody. Bronze is a fusion of two metals to become something greater, like an unranked joining the tier system. But bronze is also a bit dirty and impure, by some standards. So the act of going from Bronze to Silver is becoming pure and something greater, and also more valuable, surely. Silver is a pure color used by many civilizations to represent that. It's been compared to the moon or lunar energy."

  "Now, gold is a color most strive for or think of as a stronger color. Going from Silver to Gold is growing into something more radiant, shining, and many compare it to the sun. Something much stronger than mere silver or a moon. Gold represents vitality, power, and triumph."

  "That makes sense, I guess.. Just seems strange to use those words or metals specifically. They're also used a lot in my world."

  "Ah, but that is your translation skill at work. I am not using the same language as you when I say the words Bronze, Silver, and Gold. That is your skill, changing the word into something you recognize. Those metals are common throughout the universe, and most civilizations do use them in some way or another."

  "Okay, fair enough. I've heard the terms ranks, grades, and tiers all used. Are they the same thing?"

  "Correct. It's quite common for people to use them interchangeably. They're just referring to the rank system. Though you'll need context to know if its the ranks bronze, silver, gold, or maybe item ranks of common, uncommon, and so on."

  Okay. "Two more questions I can think of. One, why do my skills seem different from my friends'? Like I can randomly learn one, and the system said I wouldn’t receive any more system-given skills for free.”

  “As I mentioned before, that’s because you're a Progenitor with a Progenitor’s class. You are not restricted by the system, like they are. They will learn skills at preset intervals and will choose which ones they want. Same with their class upgrades. They will get to choose what they want when they advance to the next rank, from several options. Options could be increased by using a Gem to gain an additional choice. While you, on the other hand, can freely learn any skill just by figuring out its details, studying the mana, and seeing how it's created. But you’ll be somewhat constrained by your grade. You may not be able to learn more complicated skills until your grade is higher, simply because you can’t comprehend them well enough. An example of this would be your friend Sarah’s healing magic. I saw you try to learn it, but you couldn’t. Healing magic is one of the most complicated, and you won’t be able to understand how it's created until you're a few tiers higher.”

  “Okay, that's understandable. And wait… you‘ve been watching me?”

  “Since I felt a Progenitor be integrated, I followed the spatial vibrations back to its source. In my old age, I get quite bored and curious, so I have been peeking into your tutorial and watching. What was your second question?”

  “Why’re you helping me?” Alex asked suspiciously. In his experience, someone with power doesn’t usually just help the weak for no reason.

  Archy laughed again. “Because you're a Progenitor and I’m bored. It's as simple as that. It's been quite some time since I last met one of your kind. So one appearing after all this time is exciting for me. I also owe the Progenitors for something that happened in ages past. That extends to you now. So I will assist you in any way I can, but know, I will not baby you. You need to grow and learn things for yourself. Occasionally, I’ll feed you some knowledge, like now, yes. But I will mostly sit back and watch with a hands-off approach for the time being. Instead, I will find a way to send you help after the tutorial. The Universal System has rules about higher tiers going to newly integrated planets, rules I agree with, so I will send you help from fellow Bronze ranks. They will be loyal to you and knowledgeable, the two things you will need. To make this happen, you will need to purchase a specific item from the System Shop when it appears at the end of the tutorial. I will make sure the item is in there. It will be expensive and have a single use, but it will be more useful to you than anything else. The item is called a Destination Portal Homing Beacon. It will allow a one-time portal to open at the point you place it.”

  He muttered to himself, “That’s too much to consider all in one go. Portals. System Shop. Random people coming.” Slowly becoming overwhelmed by all this. It was a miracle he was holding it together. This is where being a computer guy came in handy… He was pushing down the emotions rising up and using his logical mind instead. “You mentioned after the tutorial. What can you tell me about that?”

  “Almost nothing. All I will say is that your world will be very different and much more dangerous. It will be a time of turmoil and chaos. But also one of hope, if the right people can take control. I recommend you be that person, Alex.”

  “Take control? Of the planet? Are you insane? You’ve got to be joking here, right?” Bewilderment was clear across his face.

  He smiled, but in a way that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Alex, I will be blunt. What is about to happen to your planet will not be good. Many will die, and that’s after all the deaths from the tutorial. Some from wild monsters, dungeons, and other normal things. But most deaths… will probably be from fellow denizens of the planet. Most people are not naturally kind; this is a hard lesson you will soon see. If you truly care about your planet and all its denizens, new and old, you will need to take control of it, or at least give control to someone you trust. One thing you may also be forgetting… your planet is about to receive an influx of other civilizations from many other worlds. Some of these planets will not have the same morals as your people. Slavery, murder, genocide.”

  He raised his hand to forestall any more comments on the issue from Alex.

  “No. You don’t need to decide now, or even answer me. You just need to remember what I said on the subject. You will learn the rest firsthand.”

  Alex sighed and shook his head a bit, not believing what he was hearing. “Fine, I can do that at least.”

  “Good. Now I will allow Universal System messages to flow through here, so you can quickly finish your evolution before returning to fight. This will give you time to read over your changes and familiarize yourself a bit before being thrown into combat.”

  Ignoring the questions he wanted to ask about that and other things, he ignored it at the mention of returning to the fight. His friends need him.

  “Alright then, let's do it.”