The Last Experience Point Chapter 243 243: Onboarding and Orientation

Novel: The Last Experience Point Author: Parogar Updated: May 20, 2026

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Zach's excitent and giddiness temporarily overwheld him. He knew that there was no cause to feel such a rush of exhilaration. For all he knew, he could be heading to a place worse than hell. And yet, the fact that he had worked so hard to get here was all that really mattered to him as, with his two packs once again gripped in each of his hands, he made his way up the final few steps towards the rotating glass oculus at the very top of the tower.

Unlike all the other steps before these, the ones he now walked on were made of tal, not stone. They felt sturdier, too. And as he reached the point where the walls turned to glass, he discovered that it was not the floor that was rotating: just the rounded, do-like surrounding. Stepping inside, he now had a beautiful view of the entire sky island, as this was the only part of the tower that had sothing that could be called a "window." It was also the only source of glass to be found in the tower: right here at the very top. From here, and here alone, he could gaze out at the horizon. Beneath him, he could see all the way down to the first-floor entrance, where if he squinted, he could just make out the Legion Portal Guardian that had caused him so much trouble when he'd first co here.

"Never want to see you again," Zach said, cheerful and in high spirits.

Ahead of him, he glanced once more at the lush, beautiful island that was teeming with life. To think: in a couple of weeks from now, this entire place would de-spawn. What would happen to all the living, biological creatures that road its surface? Where would they go? Would they just die off or be zapped into nothingness?

I'll probably never know, Zach thought. And the only way to bring this place back is to find a dungeon that nobody's ever been to before in all of history. Imagine trying to do that again!

From the looks of things, it seed like it was right around three in the afternoon. This was good, as it ant he'd be able to leave this place before dark. Stepping further into this strange temple of glass, he at last discovered the source of the shining blue light that ca from within, and it wasn't at all what he expected.

It was a computer of so kind.

Directly ahead of him, there was an upraised, circular platform with a ramp leading to the top of it. Wires ran up the sides of this platform, and at the center of it was the image of two footprints as though implying that was where soone was ant to stand. And at the bottom, near the ramp, was the source of the blue light. It was a tablet-like device on a pedestal, and below this tablet was a reader in the shape of a hand. There was also a dial that, upon inspection, seed to change the "shape" of this hand depending on the race selected.

At the mont, it was set to "human."

Now, glancing at the tablet, Zach noticed there was a ssage written on it: one clearly intended for him or whoever happened to make their way up to the top of this tower.

"…awaiting next USER for transportation to Albion-4 Onboarding Site."

"…to begin, please tap the button below…"

BEGIN

BACK

Zach approached the device and then dropped the large pack he was holding in his right hand. Placing it gently on the glass flooring beside him, he then straightened his back and tapped the "BEGIN" on the tablet's screen.

The display turned black, the blue light vanished, but then it returned less than an instant later; there was now an entirely different ssage on the screen.

"…welco USER. This is the biotrics and eligibility terminal. We apologize for any inconvenience, but at this ti, Albion-4 is only open to those who et the criteria established as a baseline for genetic potential and growth eligibility. The eligibility requirents are specified as follows. ALL requirents must be t for USER to be granted passage to Albion-4.

#1: USER has a MINIMUM max-level potential of 200 or greater

#2: USER is able to unlock a bare minimum of 20 LA's[?]

#3: USER agrees to undergo fundantal changes to USER'S perceptions[?]"

CONTINUE

BACK

Zach's instinct was to imdiately tap "CONTINUE," but he hesitated just a mont, because so of what he just read disturbed him, though he noticed the "[?]" next to points two and three, which he took to indicate that he could obtain further information upon tapping on those question marks. So that was exactly what he did, and he began with the "[?]" next to "LA's."

The screen again refreshed—and the information provided was rather scant.

"LA's represent Latent Abilities. This will be explained in greater detail during onboarding and orientation."

At the bottom of the tablet, there was only one button he could tap: "BACK." So he tapped it. And then he tapped the other "[?]," this one next to the far more alarming thing about "fundantally changing" perception.

The screen refreshed once more.

"Accessing Albion-4 will upgrade USER's CSS/OWE (Customizable Subjective/Objective World Experience) to version 2.4.19b. This update introduces many new features while also revamping old features or removing so entirely such as the old, non-tangible inventory system. This will be further explained in O&O (Onboarding and Orientation)."

Zach sighed and hit the BACK button again. Once more, he found the information to be useless. And although the idea of having his "fundantal perception" changed made him a bit nervous, he was reasonably certain that this didn't an what he feared it might an. In other words, Zach doubted it ant that he'd suddenly start believing that the sky was green or that dirt tasted delicious. It was probably more about adventuring-world stuff.

He was okay with that, he supposed.

Not that he had a choice.

He tapped "CONTINUE," and the screen went dark, this ti for almost five seconds. Then it reappeared. When it did, the hand reader below began lighting up and the words on the tablet changed.

"Beginning authentication and validation process. USER must now select their race and place their hand on the reader below."

Zach shrugged, then placed his right hand into the reader. The prongs then adjusted themselves automatically so that the machine gripped his hand like a glove. It beca tight, however. So tight in fact, that, even with over 200 points into strength—with his current gear on, at least—he realized he would not be able to remove his hand by force even if he wanted to. It made him sowhat uncomfortable and fidgety. Luckily, whatever it was doing didn't take long. A light began shining on the back of his hand.

And then he felt a sudden prick. Like a little stabbing sensation in his pointer finger. More startled than shocked, he yanked his hand back out of reflex just as the machine released him, and he actually stumbled a step backward. Chuckling nervously to himself, he watched as the hand reader flashed several tis, and then the words on the tablet changed once more.

"…validating…"

"VALIDATION SUCCESS!"

"USER: Zachys Calador."

"Age: 18."

"Guild: Royal Roses."

"The terminal will now begin an eligibility and requirents check. In most cases, it takes between fifteen and twenty minutes to determine your capability. For individuals with more potential, this process can sotis be slightly shorter. During this ti, please be courteous and allow others to use the terminal. More identical, adjacent islands may spawn under conditions where the number of prospective applicants exceeds 5,000. To submit your sample for testing, please press CONTINUE."

CONTINUE

BACK

Zach let out another chuckle, this one was a bit more bittersweet, as he was laughing at the fact that the Great Ones had truly believed in their hearts that a significant portion of an entire planet would be rushing to co here soday—and not just a hundred-or-so adventurers followed by one eight-month-late straggler thousands upon thousands of years after most of them were already dead.

"But that's going to have to change," Zach said. "The World Eater's coming."

With that thought in mind, he tapped CONTINUE. He decided he'd go look out at the island or sothing while he waited. But just as he was about to back away, he heard an audible "beep" not even a second after he pressed the button.

"Your sample is now being processed. ETA: 15:00 minutes.

You've been waiting: 00:01.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIRENTS T. CONGRATULATIONS, ZACHYS CALADOR."

Zach smiled. "Wow, that was quick."

As he spoke those words, a bunch of green lights that wrapped all around the pedestal suddenly ca on. Zach hadn't even realized these lights existed until just now. Likewise, the ramp leading up to the pedestal began to glow.

"Please proceed to the teleporter, Zachys Calador," the tablet said. And then it went blank, refreshed, and the blue background and white writing returned to what it had said when he had first arrived.

Zach nodded. It was ti to go.

With a rush of nervous excitent sweeping over him, he reached down and grabbed his pack once more, and now, with both firmly in his grip, his armor clinked as he made his way up the small ramp. He could barely hear it, however, as a loud buzzing had started up, one that continued to grow in volu by the second until becoming the only noise he could hear. It sounded a lot like an airplane's engines starting up.

"Here we go," Zach said as he continued onwards until he stood directly on top of the red, glowing footprints. Now, the noise grew even louder, and louder, and louder, and—

The world shifted away to a pure white screen. Everything and anything vanished. For several seconds, perhaps as many as five, there was nothing but this pure, white light. But then, all at once, the world returned, or at least a world returned. For a mont, Zach was extrely confused and disoriented. He didn't understand what he was seeing or why.

There was blackness everywhere: pure, uncompromising darkness. Or at least that was what he thought at first as his eyes settled upon a specific point. But looking around, he realized there was so, so much more. There were star-like dots all around this blackness. Then, lowering his head, he saw sothing that caused him to feel such utter fascination that his knees slightly trembled.

A planet.

He was looking at an actual planet. From space!

This is incredible! I can't believe it!

It occurred to him that he was staring outside of a window—or sothing that was "like" a window, as he doubted there would be a window in…in whatever this was. A space station? Was this the OMP? He doubted it. Because, as he glanced downwards, he realized that the planet he saw could not possibly have been Galterra.

He inhaled sharply with anticipation. That must've been Albion-4! It had to be.

The planet was massive—though all planets were massive, weren't they? At least compared to the size of a person. In truth, he had no idea whether or not it was bigger or smaller than Archian Pri, Galterra, Earth, or whatever planet Han's Isle was on. But Gods, it sure looked huge to him, at least.

And strange. Almost too strange.

Although the atmosphere was partially cloudy and sowhat "normal" looking—or at least what he imagined was normal—the terrain itself was anything but. For one, there were no oceans on this world. None. Not even one. There was simply a vast expanse of desert-like terrain that looked to make up around 50% or slightly more of the planet, and the other half contained these oddly colored, unevenly shaped, and very tiny "bumps" that wrapped around the planet and along its curvature.

"That…that can't be…that can't be the 'city,' can it?" Zach dared to whisper. "No, no way. Of course it's not. It must be a really weird mountain range."

Zach felt a nervous chill run down his back, one that actually made him shiver. He wasn't a scientist, and he didn't understand what things were supposed to look like or not look like from space. Hell, he wasn't even ever supposed to be in space. The fact that he'd actually co here and was able to see this was nothing short of mind-blowing. But more to the point: he didn't understand what he was looking at, and what he thought he was looking at didn't make any sense.

Because even if this planet were a "very small" planet, the idea that half of it could be one gigantic city was so preposterous and impossible that even considering such a thing bordered on insane. It simply couldn't be. That would make the city…what? Like a hundred tis larger than the one he grew up in back in Whispery Woods? 200 tis? A thousand?

It was impossible and unthinkable.

I guess I'll find out soon enough, he thought to himself.

Turning around, he was even further perplexed to see that this "space station" was absurdly, magnificently huge. It was like the airport in Varda's Lair, only five tis the size. There were benches everywhere and stores with NPCs selling coffee, soda, food, etc. And yet, there were no actual people. No one sat on the benches, the padded chairs, or the tables.

It was lifeless.

Ahead of him was a large, neon sign hanging high up on the ceiling that said: "Onboarding and Orientation -> This way, please."

Gulping down both his nerves and his excitent, Zach, still holding tightly onto his packs, began walking towards the sign. As he did so, a series of musical tones played in the background, and then the sound of a woman's voice followed it.

Ding, ding, diiiiing.

"Attention all Galterran arrivals. The next available screening of the Orientation will begin in forty-five minutes. Please ensure you have your ticket ready. The theater can seat 800 at this ti. You will be eligible for a seat in accordance with your ticket."

Zach snickered. "Oh, no, I hope there aren't too many people ahead of ," he said sarcastically as he found the area he was in narrowing ever so slightly. To his left and right were potted plants, benches, paintings of various planets he'd never before seen, and colorful displays of various celebratory artwork that said everything from: "Congratulations" to "Welco to your next grand adventure!"

That wasn't all he saw. There were placards on many of the walls that openly stated things Zach would have been attacked for sharing: things that Angelica had been forbidden from sharing. So of these things were openly displayed here. There were pictures of Olandrin and two other great ones raising their fingers and shouting at Adamus, along with a description of the argunt that had taken place.

There were pamphlets and even books freely available on many of the tables with titles like: "What is the System? You're Finally Worthy of Knowing." Another read: "The Nature of Power and Why You Adventure."

I guess this knowledge is only "forbidden" because Adamus didn't think we deserved to know it yet, Zach thought, sowhat annoyed. That bastard was willing to do horrible things to Angelica to keep so of the so-called "secrets" openly displayed here from getting out. And none of it was because he actually didn't want people to know them, but because they were supposed to "earn" that knowledge.

Such a petty asshole.

Not all the secrets he'd learned were shared here, however. Zach couldn't imagine for a single second that so of the more disturbing ones would ever be shared. Like, Zach seriously doubted there would be a book entitled: The Danger of Black Holes: A moir on How I Murdered all the Other Gods, by Adamus Vayra.

Or: From Many to Few: How Just Three Great Ones Still Exist.

Yeah, sohow, Zach didn't think that would be made public any ti soon. But a lot of other stuff was. There was, for example, a large picture of Eilea and Olandrin smiling together and working on so kind of project or another. The faces and what the Great Ones looked like were plainly on display. Zach doubted that was sothing any Galterran would ever be privy to without making it here.

So there definitely was so pretty groundbreaking stuff here—or at least stuff that would've been groundbreaking if Zach hadn't already known them. But there was also a bit of baffling, if not downright silly bullshit, too. Like, really, really silly stuff. One thing in particular actually shocked him.

As the area around him continued to gradually narrow, he noticed there was a chunky, green-nad NPC nad Frebba standing in front of a table off to the side near a public restroom. The table was small, square-shaped, and only large enough so that a single lamp could sit on top of it. Behind the table was a large banner that read: "Adventurers, do not be afraid!"

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

These sentints were echoed by the NPC herself, as she seed to "activate" when Zach strolled to within a certain proximity of her. "Oh, adventurer!" she called out. "It's okay. Please don't be afraid. Co here, and I can explain!"

Explain what?

She said nothing else. She simply stared ahead with dead, lifeless eyes. That was, until Zach actually approached her, his curiosity getting the better of him. Once she was just a few feet away, her head turned in his direction, and she began to speak.

"I know all of this can seem overwhelming, adventurer," she said, "but I promise you that you will beco comfortable with this over ti."

"Comfortable with what over ti?" Zach asked, having absolutely no idea what the NPC was talking about.

"That's right!" she said cheerfully. "We are very high up. You're absolutely right." The NPC raised her finger. "But no, we're not 'in the sky,' adventurer. We're actually sowhere called space. You see, adventurer, the world you know as ho is actually round, and it orbits a star. A star is a big ball of gas that makes all the light you see in the morning. In fact, the reason why day and night exist at all is because the world you live on is always spinning! We call these kinds of worlds planets. In fact, many of the different worlds you've probably already visited are different planets! You've probably visited several and never knew this. Have you been to Archian Pri? That's a planet, too, adventurer."

Zach tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Is…is this supposed to be a special section for ntally disabled adventurers? What in the na of fuck am I listening to right now?"

Things got even weirder.

"This," she said, turning the lamp on and off, "is called a light bulb. You may have seen sothing like this in Angelica's! But let assure you, adventurer, this is not magical, as you may have believed. You see, it operates off of sothing called 'electricity.' And the city where you'll be heading is a world filled with wondrous things just like this! Here, you try. All you have to do is press this button, and the light cos on and off! Go on, try it!"

Zach snorted. "I know how to use a fucking lamp. Seriously, what is this shit?"

And then it finally dawned on Zach, and all at once, everything made sense. It was still funny to him, though, but he at least could understand what was happening.

The Great Ones, he recalled, had expected the people to co here from a Galterra that looked very, very, very different from the Galterra of today. They had assud Galterrans would have arrived from a world void of Eilea's tampering, which had allowed cities and societies to flourish and technology to bloom. The Galterra that was ant to exist was a world teeming with mobs to kill and quests to complete. It was a world of adventurers, not scientists: of people working together to fight mobs and survive, not make phone calls or watch the news on screens.

For that reason, this NPC—and nurous others from the looks of it—expected the adventurers to see a place like this and react with confusion, fear, and perhaps even hostility. No wonder there was an NPC standing outside of every bathroom. Zach bet that, if he approached one, the NPC would explain how to use a toilet.

Imagine coming all this way just to be taught how to take a shit.

He chuckled again as he continued on, ignoring the rambling NPC who was now going on about "street lights" and "vehicles."

I actually do need to use the bathroom, he thought.

As he entered, he was indeed stopped by a Dwarf NPC dressed in a suit and tie, who refused to open the door until he listened to a three-minute speech about how a bathroom worked.

"…so rember, adventurer. To flush, you push down on the handle. Thank you for listening. You are now cleared to use all bathrooms aboard O&O." With that, the door unlocked, and Zach entered. He did his business quickly and exited, though as he did so, he felt a deep pang of regret for staying behind and not coming through here with the others—especially Rian.

If he had been here with Rian, the two of them would've had such a blast. They would've joked around and asked the NPC for more detailed instructions. Rian would probably have said sothing like: "Can we go over what a toilet is again? You're moving too fast. Baby steps."

Zach laughed aloud, then once again let the sound of it die into a sigh as it turned bittersweet. Gods, please, please let everyone still be alive.

As Zach made his way through this place, he arrived at a "checkpoint" of sorts that spanned the entire width of the place. What looked like more than thirty miniature "booths" were up ahead, and there was a machine of sorts in each of the booths. At the very top, in extrely large lettering, Zach saw the words: "Get your ticket here."

Zach shrugged and approached one at random. He pressed a button on a vending-like machine, and a ticket ca out of a dispenser apparatus at the bottom. He then laughed again as he imagined so primitive, loincloth-wearing Galterran jumping backward and stabbing the machine with a spear because he didn't know what the fuck just happened.

As Zach grabbed his ticket from the dispenser, a voice from the machine said: "Your…number is…1."

Imdiately afterward, the lody from before played, and the sa woman's voice spoke up: "Now serving, number 1. Please proceed to station A."

"Wow, no way," Zach said as he continued on. "What luck. I'm first in line."

Zach looked around for the station indicated. He found it after a bit of searching. This really was a huge place. Heading over, he ca upon a passage into a smaller, narrower, and linear area that reminded him almost of an assembly line. It was basically one large room with a bunch of walls that divided it into narrow "sections," and it looked like you had to walk around each "section" and stop at multiple points to get where you needed to go.

Upon arrival, a pretty NPC with black hair wearing a blue uniform greeted him. "Once you pass this point, you cannot return to the common area," she explained. "Please respond with a yes or no if you are ready to continue."

"Yes."

"Welco…Zachys Calador. Your ticket, please?"

Zach had to put down both his packs, reach into one, and produce his ticket that he'd only just gotten. The NPC took it and then gestured with her chin. "Please proceed."

Having gotten her "permission," he made his way into a corridor where an NPC to both his left and right imdiately told him to halt. There was a sign above that said "Customs and Contraband."

"Hello, adventurer," the woman to his right said. "Unfortunately, you may only enter Albion-4 with adventuring items. Anything else is considered contraband and can be reclaid after certain conditions have been t."

Zach had to think her words over a second. "Are you saying I have to…I have to leave all my shit behind? My food, my clothing, my tools—all the stuff I packed?"

"Hello, adventurer," the woman to his right said again. "Unfortunately, you may only enter Albion-4 with adventuring items and adventuring equipnt. Anything else is considered contraband and can be reclaid after certain conditions have been t."

Zach grunted, becoming annoyed. "Fine, fine. Fucking take it."

There was a shelf to his right with a sign labeled "contraband." He lifted his two suitcase-sized packs and dropped them down. Both vanished into nothingness, and a third NPC seated at a desk behind the shelf said, "Thank you, adventurer. You can reclaim your contraband after certain conditions have been t. Please proceed."

Zach shook his head in frustration and continued on. He only ended up walking about twenty feet until he was forced to co to another stop. There was a sealed door here, and in front of the door was another one of those hand-reader things. Zach sighed and placed his palm on the reader.

There was no tablet here, so instead of words appearing on a physical screen, they appeared on a projected one that popped up in front of his eyes.

Upgrading…

Upgrade Complete!

From now on, items, abilities, and equipnt that reference "Helm Sight" will no longer have any effect. You now have a new type of sight called "True Status," which is functionally equivalent to the highest level of Helm Sight previously available. This is a permanent level of Sight and does not require any equipnt, abilities, or items to remain active. Additionally, you now have the ability to call upon a brand-new feature called "Glossary!" The Glossary will provide you with an imnse amount of information as desired. But please note: although many entries are unlocked by default, so may also be locked behind clearance levels, whereas another subset may require you to first et certain conditions or encounter certain things before they unlock. As you progress through Albion-4, look forward to unlocking important, vital new information.

Cool, but I could already use glossary while Unleashed Phase was active, he thought. But I guess now I can use it whenever I want.

Zach couldn't believe he'd just spent days suffering without any Helm Sight, and now that he finally had a helm with it, he didn't even need it. Oh well. This was better in the long run. If his gear ever burned up again, at least he'd still be able to see mob nas and levels.

"Okay, what now?" he asked aloud.

His question was answered as, several seconds later, the automatic door in front of him slid aside, granting him entry. Zach proceeded to enter, and he looped around a wall, following the only narrow path available to him. He then made his way back in the direction he'd co from, at the end of which was yet another door and another hand reader. Zach placed his palm on it. The reader buzzed, vibrated, and felt a bit warm.

Ability Removed: Bank and Storage

Upgrading…

Upgrade Complete!

Welco to your new Inventory System, or IS. From now on, you will have access to a powerful, personal inventory screen. Your old Bank and Storage are gone, but not forgotten. All of your items have been moved into "Box1," which is accessible from anywhere at any ti, but only when you've been out of combat for 15 minutes or longer. Additionally, you now have a QI—Quick Inventory—that you can access and use at any ti. This inventory operates off stackable quantities of items as opposed to volu or space. You have been granted 20 slots. Your QI can be upgraded to a maximum of 500. To proceed, try it out now.

All Items Have been Unequipped

"H-hey, what the fuck?" Zach blurted out as, once again, he was fucking back in his Gods-be-damned underwear. After all that work that he'd done and all that effort he'd put in, he was once again walking around barefoot and half-naked. Also, sothing was floating dead-center in front of his vision, sothing he couldn't move around or manipulate the way he normally could.

Tutorial: Equip an Item from the Inventory Screen (0/1)

"I guess they really want to do that right now. Fine."

Zach opened up his inventory screen and—whoah it was way different! It used to just show the things he was personally carrying on him. Now, it showed 20 boxes in a grid, with many boxes containing a miniature picture of the equipnt that had just vanished, including even the stones that he'd been hiding beneath his helt. Interestingly, they showed up with a little white "1" to the bottom right of their image, which Zach took to indicate quantity.

"Wait a minute," he said as about five gigantic, multi-paragraph screens popped up; they were so dense he was practically blinded to everything around him. Despite this, he didn't read a single one of them, and he even began to laugh joyously. "Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute!" he cried out. He even beca emotional for a second.

"I know exactly what this is!"

Sothing almost like a flashback struck him. He could actually hear Jimmy's voice in his head as his friend bitched for the thousandth ti about the "la-ass inventory system in this ga."

"Man, this is so bullshit," he vividly recalled Jimmy saying. "Why I gotta put my socks on. I should just be able to drag it from my inventory to my foot slot. How the fuck ya'll got flying cars here but you can't even get a working—"

"Jimmy, pipe the fuck down," Donovan had said with a grunt. "Nobody knows what the fuck yer yapping about"

"I told you," Jimmy said. "Your inventory system sucks. It don't even make sense. This ga needs QOL fixes so bad."

"It's not a ga!"

Zach shook his head, then smiled. He didn't need any tutorials. He knew exactly how this was supposed to work thanks to Jimmy, who had harped on this topic so many tis, especially during their long trek down Angelica's hallway.

Zach raised his hand and then touched the spot in the air where his chest piece happened to reside in one of the boxes. As he did so, it popped up: its na, its stats, and all the information he could usually call forward. Only, this ti, there were other options, too: "Take, Equip, Drop, Destroy." There was also a plainly visible "Sort" button at the bottom.

Zach tapped "Equip," and then his body jolted, and a strange sensation briefly overca him as it, along with its undergarnt, just popped right back on his body as though by magic.

Tutorial: Equip an Item from the Inventory Screen (1/1)

"You may now proceed," an NPC standing nearby said as a light on the sliding door turned green, and he was granted passage.

What if I'd co here naked? he thought, wondering if they'd planned for that.

Before heading on, Zach chose to first get back in his equipnt. With his inventory still open, Zach moved his hand to touch another piece of his gear, but he paused. He wanted to see if he could do it quickly with his mind—and he could. He also realized he could ntally "flick" it over to the silhouette of a human body that was just left of the inventory screen. One by one, he flicked on each piece of gear. Even his two swords, which popped into existence in their scabbards: the Primordial Void Blade on his back and the rapier on his side.

He also noticed he had five empty, square-shaped "slots" on the right that were bigger than his inventory slots, and he also had a sixth one that was filled and said "Box 1." Zach selected it.

And just like that, Bank and Storage appeared, completely unchanged. Only, this was how he accessed it now.

"Fucking cool," he said with a smile, dismissing both it and his inventory screen before heading on. Making his way down another hall, he reached the end, wrapped around, and once again started the return trip. Now, at the end of this one, he saw sothing that looked very interesting.

There was another tablet-like terminal with a hand reader like the one that had been near the portal he'd taken to get here. Only, this one had a blue-colored smoke rising out of the top of it; the smoke continued to rise up into the air until disappearing. Sothing about this just felt special. As he ca nearer, information popped up all on its own.

Welco to Latent Abilities (LAs.) As you will no doubt soon discover, there is more to do in Albion-4 than you could have ever possibly imagined. So of you will decide to learn the ways of technology. So will beco crafters or alchemists in order to make potions. So will find purpose simply in living in the utopia that awaits. There is more to do and see than any being can experience in a lifeti. However, it is recomnded that all adventurers make obtaining LAs their initial goal. Latent Abilities are powerful upgrades and abilities that reside within you.

The screen vanished on its own as Zach continued to co closer—only for another to appear.

Latent Abilities can only be acquired from LTs: Latent Terminals. These Terminals can be found all over Albion-4. So are hidden and require clever thinking to uncover. So are in plain sight. Others are easy to find but locked, requiring the completion of certain quests or the slaying of bosses. You should always be on the lookout for LTs. Upon finding one, you will be given your choice of three possibilities. You cannot control which three you are given. However, it should be possible to unlock everything with enough ti and diligence, though doing so may perhaps take a lifeti. Now, approach the LT. Your first upgrade is free. Each one is uniquely from within you, personally.

That last part intrigued Zach. He approached, feeling giddy, and he placed his hand on the reader. Unlike the last two, this one put a needle into his finger as the one back on Galterra had. And now, Zach looked down at the terminal, where information began to populate the screen.

"ZACHYS CALADOR: CHOOSE YOUR LATENT ABILITY.

1: Ability Upgrade: Unleashed Phase: 2 minutes added to duration.

2: Passive Ability: Storm Surge

3: Active Ability: Remove Trance

Zach made an "ooh" sound as he read over the three possibilities. Gods, this was exciting. The only thing he didn't like was that nothing was explained to him. He didn't know what "Storm Surge" was, for example. But his instincts told him he should imdiately pick the first option. It seed to imply that he'd start off with 17 minutes from now on instead of 15. If so, that was amazing.

Yeah, that's what I'm going with for sure.

Extending his pointer finger, he moved it towards the touch screen, his mind made up. But an instant before tapping, he yanked his hand back as sothing popped up in his mind: sothing he'd completely, totally forgotten about.

Wait a second, he thought. Hold on. That third ability: Remove Trance. Wasn't that…?

Zach pursed his lips as he tried to think. It sounded familiar. He was sure he'd heard that na before. But where? Where had he heard it?

Wait, Kalana told about that. Didn't she?

Right. He rembered now. It was the last ti he'd seen her. It would beco the last thing she'd ever say to him, assuming he didn't make it back to her alive. During their last embrace, he had heard her say sothing to him very clearly—sothing she denied saying despite how certain he was that he'd heard it.

"I won't die," he rembered promising her. "For you, I swear I won't."

"Okay," she'd said, sadly. "But just make sure you choose Remove Trance."

Zach lowered his hand to his side. He thought about it. Then he thought about it so more. He really wanted that first ability: that upgrade to the ti on Unleashed Phase. But no, he was certain he'd heard her say those words to him—or at least he was certain he heard soone say them.

And there must've been a very, very good reason.

Zach, therefore, selected choice three: Remove Trance.

Remove Trance Acquired!

Inner Latent Ability (LEGENDARY UNIQUE)

Remove Trance

Exertion Cost

High (Very High if used with Boundless)

Cooldown:

None

Range:

100

Description

This ability requires a target. This ability may only target biological or sentient entities.

Removes T5 trances or permanent, quest-dependent, and mind-altering states from user's target.

SYSTEM CRITICAL SSAGE (AUTOMOD): THIS ABILITY VIOLATES RULES 15, 16, 16A1, 16A2 (Appendix C), 9, 10C, 11F(subsection 4) OF SECTION 16-R OF THE TOS. USE OF THIS ABILITY MAY RESULT IN SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. THIS ABILITY WAS FLAGGED AUTOMATICALLY. IF YOU BELIEVE THIS SSAGE IS IN ERROR, PLEASE SUBMIT A SUPPORT TICKET.

THIS ABILITY HAS BEEN LOCKED.

ISSUE HANDLED (2) weeks ago by: Eilea Vayra, Adamus Vayra, Eilea Vayra, Adamus Vayra, Eilea Vayra.

OVERRIDE: PERMISSION GRANTED (Eilea Vayra)