sigh.

After a few minutes, Bryn brought back a box. I could tell from both of their faces that this was not going to be pleasant.

“Are you really sure about this? 100 Ether isn’t much, I’m sure you could cultivate it in a day.” Loric says to me.

Why the hell am I going through this?

“Yeah, sorry, I can’t really spare a day”. Why am I apologising?

“Okay, best to lay down for this. Once it’s attached you should only feel a small amount of pressure”

Right… and while it’s attaching? What will I feel then, Loric?

I flop to the black sand beneath me, the prohibitive heat permeating my body now that my [Aberrant Step] is not able to insulate me from it. I see them pull the leech from its enclosure. Leech is a generous term - it’s more like a worm made of… well, ethereal wisps. And teeth. Lots of teeth.

Oh dog. It’s massive, maybe 30cm long.

“Now, try to hold still. If you fight back while it attaches to your soul it’ll only be more painful” Bryn says.

Maybe there is something worse than going to the dentist after all.

“Aarrararagghghh! Frak!” I shout and grunt through tears. Bryn directed it at my chest, and it slithered and wormed its incorporeal body through my outsides and I felt it… latch on. It was like the worst period cramp of my life, but in my chest. I struggled to breathe, but the pain passed after a few seconds, leaving a dull throb in its wake.

My soul is in my chest?

“There we go, that’s the worst of it. Once the 200 ether is repaid it’ll detach itself and return” Bryn says with a small amount of pity in his voice. They help me up.

“Take care, and enjoy your time in Lumiria!”

Yeah… great. Thanks.

At least that’s over. Bryn touches a crystal embedded in the wall and the large stone gate recedes within the ground. I get my first real sight of the cities interior. A large open space with three roads fork off from it. Along the roads, buildings line the streets in every direction. There are a few people wandering around, but I suspect this is not the busiest area of the city.

I check my status quickly.

> Ether Leech - 10% (0/200)

At least the system seems to understand what this is, but 10%? 10% what? Never mind. I’m in the city and that’s all that matters, I can figure it out from here.

So it turns out having no money is a bit of a problem when visiting a city. Who would have thunk'ed it. After spending some time exploring the city, Ether seems to be the currency used everywhere. There are a wide variety of different species here, all humanoid in some way, with small physical differences here and there - aside from the reptilian races like Bryn and Loric, those are quite different, and also common.

Another problem I hadn’t expected - I can’t read whatever language this is!

> Masking Trait [Writing Mimicry] Unlocked!

First rule of video games - never spend all of your consumables.

Now that I can read, I quickly find a few Inns nearby. A room for the night seems to be around 50 Ether, with breakfast included - but so far none of my offers to work for my stay have panned out. Begging is out of the question - I would rather be homeless than deal with that nightmare of a social interaction.

I’m feeling so worn out, this is all so overwhelming. The smells, the noise, the people. Everything is slightly new but weirdly familiar - perhaps a result of using my skill - or maybe humanoid societies are all just like this.

“Excuse me”, I say to someone passing by. “I’m new to the city. Where can I find a cheap inn nearby?”

The woman turns to me slightly. “If you head up there until you see the central plaza, you’ll be in the centre of the tourist district. There are several roads, but if you take the one heading left for about an hour you’ll find some cheaper inns in that area.” she says.

“Thank you so much!” I exclaim and then walk off. An hour is quite far, but maybe if I can find something dirt cheap they’ll be more likely to let me work it off.

As I wind my way through the city, I look down an off-road and spot a curious scene. A wide open space with vegetation - sort of like a park, if built over sand - was visible, and hundreds of people were sat meditating, some on blankets, rugs, or other things.

I’m not sure what it was, but something drew me in. I could feel… a pull. As if the wind itself was blowing me towards this park. I decided to head in that direction, and then noticed how eerily silent it was. Was this some sort of religious thing? Are they praying?

I walked back to the street and asked someone.

“Huh? They’re cultivating” he says with a scowl on his face. Rude.

Cultivating… the guards said if I cultivated for a day, I’d have enough to pay the entrance fee. 100 Ether in a day? That’s not bad… I could pay for the Inn!,

Alright! if I can just sit on my ass all day and earn money, then that seems like the perfect solution for me! I have a lifetime of experience doing just that!

“hehehe, let’s go Nora.” I say, and head back towards the cultivation area.

“ohmigoshfunsies” Nora squawks.

Hmmm.

So, it turns out I have no idea what I’m doing - and funsies? No, not quite.

I’ve been sat here for ages. As I look around, I see people in different types of poses with no real consistency, so I picked one that I found comfortable. I’ve never done yoga, but I think breathing is important, so I’ve been trying to clear my mind and take deep - but silent, no one here is making a sound - breaths.

And after a while… nothing. Not wanting to disturb people around me, I try to focus my intent, almost vocalising the words: ‘Show me my status, please’

> Ether: -20,000/1,000
> Ether Leech - 10% (0/200)

Sigh… what am I missing Nora? ibewiebinu, I hear in my head.

Now that I’ve been sat here a while, I can feel a sort of... vortex. It’s like the pull I felt from the street earlier, but all around me, as if it’s flowing in to all of these people like hundreds of whirlpools in the middle of an ocean of... Ether? Is that what I’m sensing?

Focus, Lara. Deep breaths, empty mind, and feel the flow...

After a while my thoughts eventually drift to thinking about Earth, and everything I’ve experienced today. From waking up in my apartment to the news of a solar flare, to being whisked away to an alien desert, to having a ‘Status’ and being called Divergent and Aberrant by some weird interface, to trekking alone through the desert towards an alien settlement and somehow mustering up the courage to take on that leech bullshit.

pwoudofu

> Proficiency Unlocked: [Ether Cultivation - Novice Grade]

What! I needed a proficiency this entire time?! How did I unlock it without spending any [PP]?

> PP: 0/2

My maximum PP went up. Interesting!

> [Ether Cultivation - Novice Grade]
> Harmonise with the latent energies of the world, transforming and drawing in its raw ether, and filtering it through your Soul. Ether Generation varies based on the density in your environment and your soul.
> Ether Generation: 36.5 per hour

Holy crap! Do you see that Nora? Finally some good news! I won’t be homeless tonight after all!

Just another hour or so of this and I can afford somewhere to sleep and a meal!

‘Status’, I subvocalise, and check on my progress.

> Ether: -19,982/1,000
> Ether Leech - 10% (1/200)

Ugh. Okay, so it looks like the 10% is referring to how much ether it consumes from the amount I gain. How exactly am I meant to pay for things using Ether? All of it is either going to my leech or my penalties.

I’ve seen people using crystals to pay for goods throughout the city. Was that a different kind of currency? I haven’t heard of anything else being used here, all the prices were in Ether. There must be something I’m missing. Some way to channel my Ether in to a physical form perhaps?

If that’s true, can I even do it when my Ether is in the negatives? and if I can - how?

Crystals… if chemistry is the same on this world, and it should be, then I know that crystals are formed from lattice structures - hey, school is useful after all - but… what is a lattice? It’s been so long since I had to learn about this stuff - not that I was paying much attention anyway.

Hmm, I think it’s like those fancy American pie lids people on TikTok make, with the interwoven strips of dough that let the filling poke through as it boils? Great. Now I’m hungry, my stomach is rumbling, I hope no one heard. It’s been so long since I’ve eaten anything, I think? It’s so easy to lose track of time without a phone on me constantly, and with two suns overhead on an alien world, while also trying to meditate.

It won’t be the first time I’ve gone without eating - I just need to stop thinking about pies. Focus, Lara. If I can learn to suck in magical spirit energy, how hard can it be to turn it in to a crystal? Just… Weave. Fold. Weave. Fold….

Many hours later, I think in my best French accent.

> Proficiency Unlocked: [Ether Crystallisation - Novice Grade]

Yes!!! There’s a tiny crystal in the palm of my hand. Can I check it somehow? ‘Show me how much ether there is?’

> 1 Ether

Woah! So this small thing is exactly 1 ether? Let’s check the proficiency information

> Weave the flow of Ether from your Soul into its physical form. Crystallising Ether causes some amount to be spent, depending on your proficiency with the skill.
> Ether Crystallisation Rate: 10.95 Ether per hour

10.95 Ether per hour… that’s like… a third of my normal cultivation? What the heck kind of tax is this?!