CH1: Isekai Immagration (Patreon)

The cold air felt like hot coals on his bare skin. He turned half-naked in the snow freezing. A ringing sound resounded through his ears. In the distance, he saw a soft yellow on a distant hill. Above it dark clouds opened revealing the pieces of a shattered moon.

What happened, was this Earth? All Zack remembered was playing a game on his phone before turning in for the night.

A horn blew, and the temperature dropped. He focused on the situation at hand and the source of the horn.

The monster was tall at least two heads more than Zack its arms were long as it was tall and spindly with clawed fingers. Its head was squat and flat with two beady black eyes. Its mouth was open and with every breath its trumpets blared.

Zack turned his head to see a tall creature with seven trumpets sticking out of its body. Brass blended with flesh, and the creature charged him.

What was he looking at?

He pushed to his feet, enduring the cold, sharp ice, and ran. The light might be the gates of hell, but he couldn’t stop.

Another long trumpet blare caused the ground to shake.  Snow stood on end and hardened into sharp and jagged icy spikes.  He stopped and turned, Zack’s hair stood on end knowing the creature was about to flank him.

Two steps to change direction and his heart thundered in his chest the whole time, Zack changed directions and ran for it. An opening was left in the ice, and it was clearly a trap.

The creature ran through the opening left for it. Its trumpets flared, and the ice Spikes expanded. Zack twisted and ran parallel with he spites and prayed for the first time in forever.  As he backed away, the spikes moved a little faster than him. 

He twisted and his hip cramped. Pain shot up his leg, and a hand yanked him away from incoming spikes.

The monster had him dead to rites, but someone saved him.

Zack looked up at his savior, a black man dressed as a pimp. The man raised his hand to keep the wind from stealing his hat. It was so surreal that Zack froze.  Was he dreaming?

The man screamed over the wind.  “My name is Earl. Follow me if you want to live.”

The man grinned.

Zack followed the man through an opening in the ice. The trumpeter blared its horn and charged through its own ice.

Could it not see them? When it entered the light, Zack saw milky white eyes. They ran past some rocks, but the monster stopped chasing them.

What was it, and where did it come from?

Something flashed in his face. A status screen appeared, and tabs vanished before his eyes. One was labeled defenses. Then, the screen reoriented itself until only a few tabs existed.

Earl pulled his shoulder, and he followed him through the snow and horrible frigid air. Horns blew behind him as he struggled to remember what he saw. Was he mistaken? Had he imagined the status screen? Was this like one of those anime or books?

He followed behind his new friend, shivering under the cold.

There were questions that he couldn’t begin to answer. He heard the song; there was no question. Horns of all kinds blew in the air. He heard them all follow a predictable rhythm. It was a song, and there were many playing it.

Zack felt his heart hammer in his chest and pain lance up his body as they made their way to the light. He wanted answers.

How had they gotten here? Where were they? Would help arrive? If so, how long would they need to wait? Were they running toward safety? The light continued to grow brighter as they neared the frozen branches of a glowing tree. It was small, barely a chute atop a hill.

Above the tree, he saw something.

Agios Sprout: While under its glow, no monster or demon can harm the heroes.

Were they the heroes? Had they been Isekaied? Zack didn’t know and couldn’t know.

Booting up System…

The system was already there and was booting up. Something wasn’t right, so Zack took a chance. He gave a mental command to cancel the boot-up. Zack turned to Earl.

“Cancel the boot-up,” Zack said.

“Are you sure? This sounds like Isekai bullshit to me.” Earl said.

Zack concentrated. He had no idea what he was doing but remembered the screen he had before. “Open, full visibility,” a screen appeared with the additions cut out but clearly visible. Earl’s eyes widened, and a look of concentration fell over his face.

He had to wonder if his forehead also scrunched up.

“It says I have the Tinker class. Isn’t that some bullshit?”

“Why,” Zack asked as he stared at his own screen.

There was no class; there were only four statistics, one locked, and three free points. He had no idea what they did.

Zack Sin

Soul lvl1

Mass: 2/10

Density: 1

Pressure: 1.05

Soul Space: Locked

“Hey, are you two alright? My name is Jack. This is an isekai. I don’t remember a portal, do any of you?”

“Anime only or light novels?” Zack asked.

“Anime, what are there no portals in light novels,” Jack asked.

“Sometimes people blow up but are mostly hit by trucks. Man, we have 50 people here huddling around this cold ass tree. My name is Earl. I’m an engineer from Louisiana. Go Tigers.” Earl smiled. “It says on my new rad ass system that I’m an engineer. I think that’s some clear job profiling.” Earl said.

That was an interesting way to mislead people.

“Man, you’re useless until we can get some equipment unless you can turn that tree into a flamethrower somehow,” Jack said.

“What system do you have?” Zack asked.

Jack pulled at his shirt collar. “I’m JRPG with a mage class. It's sort of like what I play as when I stream.”

He guessed the man didn’t want to reveal the truth either.

Zack looked Jack up and down. The guy looked like a beast of a man, 6ft 3in of muscle with short cut hair. He could hardly picture the guy tossing fireballs and hiding behind summons.

“Mabe, you should tell us what you have.”

“Four statistics, one of them is locked,” Zack said.

“Maybe that’s what the system booting was for,”  Earl said.

Zack stared at the guys huddling around the tree. One person was half covered in ice, and most of them had far-off expressions on their faces. He shivered as a cold wind blew, cutting through him. It came with that exact song.

“Can anyone else hear that?” Zack asked.

“Yeah, I can hear the wind.” Jack shook his head. We need a plan. Maybe we have people in our group who can build things with snow or locate shelter.”

“Maybe we should build an igloo with 50 people, it can’t be that hard,” Zack said.

“Do you have experience in bushcraft in a frozen wasteland? You don’t look to be from Alaska.”  

“I’ve seen some videos,” Zack said.

“Not good enough. I’m going to get a rundown of everyone’s class. If you only have three workable statistics, they better be good. We don’t need anyone slowing us down.” Zack didn’t know.

“Maybe you should try to find information on them.” Zack looked up at him, and Earl shrugged. “Well, shit, man, I thought about one of my skills, and it gave me a run down. It seems my tinker specialty is androids. I can make them from nearly anything.” The man stared down at the monster in the distance. “I mean anything.”

Zack stepped away from the man and shivered. It wasn’t from the cold. He felt like a deer in a pin with lions.

Alright, information. Surely, Zack didn’t get a system without any.

Zack opened his system and stared at Mass. A wall of text tumbled into his head.  

Mass is the size of the soul compared to current density. The user will naturally draw in spiritual matter less than the user’s density x Mass. Mass can be compressed once it is 10x density to raise density by one. 100,000Mass can increase density by 5. Soul level is equal to density. Enemies slain by pressure will pass on their spiritual matter to the user, who will turn it into soul mass. There are five caps before reaching soul level 100, which can only be overcome by spending 1000 mass. Mass is the size of the soul and multiplies pressure on the impact of the soul on the world around you.

Density is a qualitative change in the soul. Higher density doesn’t just increase the user’s pressure and allows the user to unlock abilities every two levels. At level 25, the user's soul space opens, allowing for many powers and abilities to be developed. The quality and the user’s understanding of pressure increase by gaining density. Unless an ability alters it, the user gains 3 points to spend at every level.

Pressure is the force the soul places on the world around it. One point of pressure does nothing, but two can blow down a house of cards. Pressure fuels abilities, soul weapons, and many artifacts in the world. While at low levels, the user appears weak, but with time, pressure can allow even an ant to slay a god.  

The knowledge was dumped mercilessly into his head. It taught him a lot almost too much all at once.

Zack stared at his 3 points. They had strange effects. For Mass, it increased his capacity. At the moment, it was 10, and one point added would increase it to 100 and then 1000. The points didn’t make any sense. They felt added on. Levels were strange things. He would get points only by gaining a level, which compression could only do. It felt like something was restraining his pressure. There might have been more to the booting system than he thought. Zack remembered the flash and options that vanished before his eyes.

What happened?

Zack played with the idea of using this change to increase his density. The points felt like a blatant add-on. What if he used it to increase his density rapidly? That would raise his level and give him access to more abilities.

Pressure was 1.05 to the power of density. From what Zack was looking at, his system was trash. That was a cold, hard fact. He was worthless until level 50 at best. Unfortunately, he couldn’t add anything to density if he wanted to game the system. Every compression increased density by one, and then his level would increase by adding points to density. That would make it more challenging to level further. By investing in Mass, he increased the speed at which he gained Mass.

His system was a convoluted mess that made no sense without having a bunch of fancy stats and perks. He had 3 stats that were basically one. Density was his level, and Mass was his XP and MP gauge. Pressure was the only thing affecting his body, and it was so low that it didn’t matter. He was in a survival situation and was thoroughly fucked.

There were discrepancies between his system's information and what he saw. By shutting off the booting, he stopped most of the changes and whatever the new system would have done. A lot of the damage was already done. Zack sucked in a breath and let it out. The only reasonable choice was to add all 3 points to Mass.

Mass 4/10,000

 “So, how bad off are you?”

“Worthless until level 50, but I don’t need to fight anything to level up, so I guess it balances out,” Zack said.

“You don’t have to be so bitter about it. At least you didn’t come from an anime convention.” Earl said.

“I think I was on my porch playing Pokémon Go,” Zack said.

“Do you still have your phone?”

Zack checked his pockets and fished his phone out. “No signal,” Zack said.

He checked his apps and found one he didn’t recognize. Then his phone vanished in sparkling yellow particles like the tree protecting them.

“If that isn’t sus,” Earl said.

“Should we warn them that the tree keeping the monsters back steals phones?” Zack asked.

“We don’t know it’s the tree. No, man, we don’t want anyone panicking or taking their phone out to vanish. I think the best thing for us to do is keep quiet and find ways to make ourselves useful to the group, you especially.” Earl pointed at Jack. “That man will be the leader of 50 scared people with superpowers.”

Zack shivered. We need to find shelter. The man clapped his hands, and people began moving to pack snow and dig out a large circle.

“That was my idea,” Zack said.

“It sure was, buddy.”

“He shot it down,” Zack said.

“Yeah, he didn’t want you to take credit for it. Welcome to the world of politics.” Earl said.

“So what do I do?” Zack asked.

“Well, you can say nothing and stay off his radar, or you can confront him about it, and he’ll make you out to be an attention-seeking scapegoat when something goes wrong.”

Zack checked his Mass.

Mass: 9/10,000

It had significantly increased. Every point mattered; soon, Zack would have enough to level up. What would his level 2 ability be? It could be something cool. Like super strength, speedster powers, or things worked differently. He could get an elemental ability like fire or ice. Either would be helpful here.

“What are you two doing standing around?”

Some kid with no beard said while pointing at them both. “Sorry, boss, I’ll get to it. Where do you want me.”

The kid smirked. “You’re on shoveling duty. I hope those gloves are waterproof so you can get to packing snow. We need our blocks to be 1ft by 1ft. Can you at least handle that?”

Zack nodded and forced a smile on his face. The kid smirked, and Zack went to work gathering snow and compacting blocks. Earl moved to dig with the others while people watched Zack pack snow and measure with his shoe.

He worked in the freezing cold while others took breaks or carried off his blocks. Someone walked up to Jack and whispered something in his ear, and the man turned to see Zack with no blocks beside him. Others worked with blocks beside them. He had also slowed down.

Jack approached Zack with two people behind him. Maybe it was in case Zack got violent.

“Zack, right, that’s what’s hovering above your head. We’re looking for volunteers to be on the lookout. But the first and last watches have already been taken, so do you mind taking the middle? We’ll rotate, of course, but you were a little slow helping out, and people would feel better if you did a little more work to prove you aren’t trying to take advantage of their good will. We have snipers, reapers, and mages in our group. What was your class? It doesn’t say below your name like the others. Sorry, I now have a skill that reveals classes. I’m only asking so I can write it down for paperwork purposes. Everyone needs experience to level up. It's only fair that the weaker members earn their keep in ways other than fighting.” Jack said.

He wanted to tell the guy to go fuck himself. Zack was freezing and couldn’t feel his hands. The wind bore down on him like the heavy gaze of the people digging around him.

Zack knew he hated talking with people he didn’t know and would have screwed up leadership. The last time he was in charge of people was in a siding factory a decade ago. He was in charge of a group for a day, and they didn’t know how to work. He lost his position, and his middle manager claimed that Zack wasn’t cut out to be a leader. It was a test, and someone else got the position by taking him from the job he had been sent to and returning to the same line.

What was he going to do, sabotage the line by not working?

“Are you still with me?” Jack asked.

The two beside Jack looked ready to step in.

Zack slowly fought his way out of the memory and emotions that mirrored those brought on by the cold. The past and present clung together, blending old pain with new in an incestuous coitus.  

It wasn’t the time to turn the tables on Jack the rat. Zack forced a smile on his face, showing his well-practiced customer service skills. People ate fake bullshit up. They loved to believe people were happy to help them. Then again, Zack was the type to laugh at the idiots calling in to buy insurance only to tell him to go fuck himself.

Zack missed that job.

Hard, chiseled clarity brought him back to the current man before him. A beardless face, dressed in a suit, and long hair pulled back in a ponytail. The man also towered over Zack, preferring to loom over the classless guy working.

Zack packed a brick of snow and took off his shoe to measure before placing it to the side.

“Oh, you got one, and that’s good, about keeping watch. You have one point for that brick I’m looking at, but you need 10 for us to level you when that becomes an option. I do not see you reaching that number before the igloo is built. So if you take up the post, I will pay you 6 points. That means you only need to make three more bricks to qualify for leveling.” Jack said.

“Thank Mr. Alister for his generous offer. You don’t have a class, so your labor isn’t worth as much as that of someone like Mr. King.”

“That’s right. For some reason, those with college degrees or military training have classes, while anyone else only has skills and stats. What skills do you have?”

Zack shook his head.

“Oh wow, maybe 6 points was a little much. Well, we don’t think we’ll need you as a lookout. We only want one for appearances.” Jack said.

“Thank the man. I won’t tell you a third time.” One of the men said.

“That won’t be necessary, Clint; we’re all in the same boat here,” Jack said.

Zack checked his Mass; it was experience points and mana for him, 10 to the next level.

Mass: 25

It was speeding up but getting more demanding at every level. Compressing once to reach level 2 will grant him 3 stat points and an ability. He wanted it bad, something to get out of this situation and abandon whatever this was.

A heavy boot smashed into his face, and he felt his nose crunch. Then he felt heavy kicking at his side. Blood ran down his chin as he was kicked.

“I told you that I wouldn’t tell you again. Now say it, say thank you, Mr. Allister.” Zack covered his head as the man kicked him. Then the kicking stopped, and he heard the man spit. Something cold hit his head.

He shook as he struggled to hold himself together. Blood dripped from his broken nose.

Zack struggled with the anger heating in his chest. It was the only thing keeping him warm in the cold. He compressed and invested all 3 points in pressure.

Zack

Soul lvl2

Mass 2.6/10,000

Density: 2

Pressure 1.08 (1.16)

Max Output: 3.01

Soul Space: Locked

Ability Slots: 1/1

Choose

Price: 1 Pressure

Embers: When Mass is two or greater, sparks can be created and fed with pressure, creating a soul flame.

Enhance: Pressure strings encircle the limbs, granting more strength even when muscles fail and the body weakens.

Spark: Pressure strings can become positive and negatively charged, creating a current of soul lighting.

Note: Choosing an ability does not lower pressure. It only assigns an ability to pressure.

Zack had to choose embers, which was the only correct choice. That wasn’t because of something dumb like helping the group. It was because it would help him gain soul matter faster. Fire was the natural weakness of ice, and from what he could tell, the falling snow might be a product of something supernatural. He couldn’t get the song out of his head.

The ability felt like something returning to his pressure rather than something added, like the skill points. That made a surprising amount of sense.

Maybe whoever or whatever was doing this took their potential from them and slowly dripped it back through choices. Could it be worse what happened to the choices not taken?

From what he could tell, Zack would gain 50 ability points and have many more ability options that would have naturally been a part of his power. It was an assumption, but it felt right. It could be a limitation needed to protect them from their powers. Zack doubted it.

He stared at unfamiliar stars as the wind blew a song louder in his ears. Leveling made it easier to hear. That was interesting.

“Get up. Mr. Allister said we must work together to make it through this. A few love taps for being rude isn’t an excuse for laziness.”

Zack stared at a red-headed man missing some teeth. Meth mouth was something he had seen often throughout his life.

He felt a little warmer as his soul mass grew again. Zack planned to wait until he had 100 before compressing again. That would be safer. He couldn’t afford to be weak in this environment. What would happen if he gained enough power quickly to challenge Jack? Would he become the new leader?

Jack should have taken on a role that he slotted in perfectly for. In less than an hour, the group became a dedicated pack of sheep.

“I preferred the stars to your ugly face.” The man dropped a handful of snow on his face.

Zack spluttered and turned over on his side. “I’m sharing the middle watch to ensure you don’t sleep. You aren’t pulling your weight around here; we all see it.” Zack stared at a group of men trying to catch some frozen wood on fire.

“I see,” Zack said.

Others worked on the igloo, slowly building something that could fit 50 men. Zack closed his eyes and realized he would probably die in the snow.

Jack’s bluster was purely that bluster. He turned away from the tree's light and the monster waiting for them. One of the leaves winked out and fell off the tree. How long until the tree no longer protected them?

Mass: 5

Max Output: 5.8

He was starting to feel a warm sensation surrounding his mind. When he rolled back on his stomach, the block he had made was gone. It was sitting on a nearby stack of a guy with twenty blocks. Zack could tell by the blood stain.

“Hey, asshole, where did that blood come from?” Zack asked. And he pointed at the block covered in his blood.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Get to work and stop bothering me. Some of us care about the group.”  Zack spat on the ground and got up.

“Where are you going? We aren’t done.” The red-headed man said.

“I’m done with this bullshit. I’m sitting at the base of the tree. You can all go fuck yourselves.” Zack said.

Jack walked over with a stern look on his face. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m not building another block for you.”

He looked at the spot where Zack had been. “You haven’t built the first block. Do you need another lesson? You won’t be allowed in the igloo if you don’t contribute.” Jack said.

“Why would I want to be stuck in a cramped place with any of you?” Zack nodded to the tree. “I’ll sleep under the tree. It's safer than with your lot.” Zack said.

It was a mistake. He made it an us vs. them argument and put himself in the minority.

“Fine, you can freeze to death. I won’t stop you.” Jack said.

The others laughed at him.

Zack turned his back on them and walked up the hill to the tree. He expected one of them to attack him, but maybe they expected him to freeze to death.

The others ignored him as he picked up a log wholly frozen over. He sat down and raised his shaky hand. Two strings of pressure slowly moved to his will. It was a strange sensation, like slithering snakes curling out of his body. He cupped his palm and let them grind against each other. Tiny sparks appeared, and he pushed pressure into them.

It was a failure. The sparks died down immediately, and the wind blew harshly, carrying a strange noise. He shivered but steeled himself. Pressure surrounded his body, acting as a crude insulator.

Zack realized he had done it without thinking. The cold was a problem, so he pushed against it with pressure. It wouldn’t keep him alive, but it was something he had.

 He needed to learn how to make heat, not necessarily fire. If he could keep himself warm, that would be enough. Why make a fire for the others to steal?

“Hello,” Zack turned to see a blonde beauty with soft white skin, massive breasts, pointy ears, and dressed for the beach. She even wore sandals. A green string bikini was her choice of dress, and it did things to him he didn’t expect.

He made more sparks as he watched her look down at him with bright blue eyes. She had to be an illusion, a sign he was closer to death than he realized.

“My name is Jill. It seems you’re having trouble with your group. Would you like to talk about it?”

“That depends. Can they hear us?”

“They will overhear nothing we say. You seem to be cold. Shall I help you warm up?”

Was she the warmth of hypothermia summoned from watching too much hentai? Even if this was real, Zack couldn’t afford the weakness. Maybe it would be better if he set it as a goal.

“Maybe if I succeed,” Zack said.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I’m going to create fire,” Zack said.

Zack created another spark and slowly fed pressure to it. The sparks slowly brightened until they combusted. The wind blew, and he used their apparent shielding from view to get a feel for the flames.

Mass: 9/10,000

Max Output: 10.44

Zack cupped the flame like a precious child and felt the icy wind shy away from it. Jill stared on with wonder in her eyes. She was practically glowing.

“A part of me knows I must follow the rules. But my other part wants to drag you home and take you to bed. None have created fire so quickly in the brass lands.” She shook her head. “I’m here to offer you a second chance to boot your system. You canceled it and half-finished it, leaving you without a class.”

Zack slowly fueled his soul flame as it burned the frost around the wood, and he pushed more pressure into it.  

“Why would I want a class?” I smiled at her. And her face burned scarlet.

Then, she took on a calculating expression. “What a domineering look. What will you do when others surpass you?”

“They won’t,” Zack said.

The flames might have given him his confidence, but they felt right. Burning the wood doubled his soul matter gains. He started to feel warm again, so he might start sweating.

Mass: 15/10,000

He needed to learn more about the world. Zack touched the flames he had created, but his hand didn’t burn. Being warm but not burned or pained was a strange sensation.

When he placed the burning log on the ground, he grabbed others and piled them on the fire.

“How could I give this up for a class?” Zack asked.

“Interesting, my report will be extensive,” Jill said.

“Where did you put my phone?” Zack asked.

“That is a dangerous question and far above my pay grade.” He raised a hand, and a spark appeared before turning into a ball of flame. Zack opened his hand and moved it. “Are you threatening me?” Jill asked.

“No, I’m experimenting with my power. Can you fix my nose?”

“I thought it made you look tough,” Jill said.

“It's making it hard to breathe.” Her hand glowed with golden light, his nose moved back into place, and he felt the pain in his ribs vanish. “So what is this? What was the point of kidnapping 50 people?”

“It's against the rules to tell you. I know let's have sex instead.” Zack stumbled in his practice, and his fireball fell a few inches before he regained control. “Was that too forward? Both of my streams of thought agreed that sex would make you feel better.”

“In front of 50 men, no thanks. Whether there is a barrier preventing them from seeing or not. If you have a place, we can meet then, maybe,” Zack said.

Mass: 40/10,000

Max Output: 46.4

“No maps for you. They unlock at lvl10 or defeat the lvl10 trumpeters at the boundary. I will add the mark now, and when you gain the map, we can meet again. I’ve always wanted to have sex with a human, and I think you’re the best one among the others.”

Were elves loose, or was it a cultural thing? He wasn’t against banging the big blonde busty elf. Maybe he could get more information.

“How long before the tree dies?”

She smiled. “You have less than a week. If you wait too long, more of its kind will appear, and your range of protection shrinks with every leaf that dies. Of course, there are ways to make it healthier and even extend its protection. But that I won’t tell you.” Jill said.

“When will the sun rise?”

“You can figure out ways to keep track of that. I can’t help you too much.”

“Why did you show yourself to me?” Zack asked.

“You are unique among the others. Jack is the shepherd, and you are the black sheep. I’m certain he plans to make an example out of you. Maybe he hopes you will die in the cold.”

Zack stared at the fireball hovering above his palm. Something that was clearly supernatural.

“How am I like this, but the others are so weak?”

“The travel between realities grants random powers to every creature that passes through. Our Agios Trees give a structure that helps less developed minds deal with those powers.”

“Are you going to be in trouble for telling me this?” Zack asked.

“No, I’m a powerful mage.” Jill straightened up, and her massive breasts bounced. “The people watching only see an illusion of you sitting up here, your back against an Agios tree.”

“After you leave, can you keep the illusion while I practice?” Zack asked.

  “I want you to win. There is a lot of money on you, so how about this. I’m going to give you this.” She handed him a small book. “Open it, and it will appear as a tab on your system menu. It’s Deva illusion magic. Use it, and no one will notice your training.” Jill said.

“Why are you doing this?”

“You did something you shouldn’t have been able to, and because of that, you’ll become incredibly powerful if something doesn’t kill you. That should be reason enough.” Jill said.

  She winked and vanished in a flash of golden light the same color as the Agios Tree. What the hell was going on? Was this some reality TV show for elves? That was ludicrous, right?