"We got a plan?" I asked the assembled team as me and Jeremy strode out.

  Me and Jeremy had developed an understanding. I acknowledged he was a terrifying void spawn wearing the skin of a cat. And he accepts that while I am a little scared of him, it doesn't diminish our friendship. Because that's what friends do, we accept each other. I am not immortal, and he is an eldritch horror from beyond reality itself. We all have problems.

  "We have half of a plan?" Xyn said, exasperated.

  "Cool, me and Jeremy are on board with making the rest of the plan."

  "Jeremy?" Xyn narrowed her eyes and gestured to the cat on my shoulder.

  "Say hello Jer."

  "Hey guys, yes, I am a cat, and yes I can talk." The cat atop my shoulder blew their minds.

  "A talking animal? Is it some kind of monster?" Rak immediately cemented himself as someone in need of a claw to the face, but Jeremy was benevolent.

  "Some would call me a monster, but I don't think so."

  Rak nodded, accepting that without further comment. Tall and stoic, he stood apart from the rest of the group. Yet his eyes stayed true to Jeremy. They lingered as if his mind was churning with something important. An unspoken agreement between the two, perhaps, as Jer returned his gaze.

  "Some people called me a monster too," he added before returning to the plan.

  Exhaling a deep breath, I gave Jeremy a light scratch under his chin. He purred as if I were giving him a top-tier massage at the most expensive spa in the cosmos. Such an easy cat to love and cherish. I almost forgot he wasn't just a cat. Turning back to the assembled team, I hoped we could work together and form a badass party. Rarely was my luck that good, but then again I was still alive.

  "What's this half of a plan?" I queried the room.

  "I think we should start a revolt, but Rakshur is not on board." Xyn explained, eyeing Rak with a sharp glare.

  "A revolt?" I wondered aloud.

  "They want me to talk to some of my old... well, I wouldn't call them friends and somehow convince them to rebel against a level forty-five vampire lord."

  I gasped, unable to stop myself. The level gap was massive. I was barely level twenty and nearly got killed by a level thirty troll. Ten levels above you is dangerous, but nearly double your level is practically suicide. At least I think so... it would stand to reason that is the case. Then again, my levels are not the same as everyone else. I don't run on the same scale or standard as the Grimgardians.

  "That is a very high-level dude, but if we had some backup, it could level the playing field." I suggested, picturing a bunch of people mobbing the level forty vampire.

  Rak shook his head, vehemently disagreeing. "Calverus has his claws into every denizen of note. He has been ruling us for years, feared and unchallenged."

  "And that's why it is the perfect time to sow dissent; he still needs fear to rule." Xyn shot back.

  "A king who rules only by fear builds a kingdom of glass." Marius coming in with the wisdom.

  "Marius is right; we need to at least try."

  "Fine, but I doubt he would meet. Still, I have a way to contact him." Rak relented, turning to rifle through his possessions, extracting a scroll from a leather bag hanging over the side of the couch. "I will try, but no guarantees." We all nodded, and he opened the scroll.

  Bracing for a betrayal, instead he muttered a few incomprehensible words under his breath and the scroll ignited in blue-white flame, turning to dust in seconds. He looked down at the ashes, bundled just at his feet, and sighed.

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  "That was difficult to steal."

  "Steal?" I probed.

  "Stole that communication scroll a few years ago from a newly discovered library. The lord claims such places by right, but many of us steal a few things before reporting in."

  "Smuggling magic, nice." I got a slight chuckle out of that.

  I wondered whether he was warming up to me. But now wasn't the time to cultivate lifelong friendships; that will come later. Now it was time to plan a great revolution. Gesturing to the group to surround me, I went on with my suggestion for the next phase of the plan.

  "If we can get some turncoats, we can set a trap and capture the vampire. If we can get him alone, we might be enough to overwhelm him. But having a few more levels would be helpful." I turned to Rak. "Can you use that door to transport us to other locations, someplace with some monsters to fight?"

  "I can connect the door to a few places; one of them is pretty dangerous and practically condemned." He explained with slight wariness in his tone.

  "How dangerous is it?" Xyn followed up.

  "Pretty dangerous, I heard level twenty is the lowest level."

  That was perfect. With a few monster takedowns, we could level up pretty well and narrow the gap. Maybe if we all get to level thirty, we could gang up on the vampire and crush him with sheer numbers. I paused for a moment, thinking over that. Levelling up seemed like the smart move, but there was something wrong with that plan. After a full minute of furious thought, I finally came up with the answer.

  "Your systemless, which means you can't level up." I said bluntly.

  "What of it?" I could sense some disdain in those three brief words.

  "Any particular reason you deny the system?" I probed further, ignoring his scowling face.

  It seemed like a touchy subject, but we needed to air it out if this plan will work. Readying a few skills in case he took it so badly that he started trying to claw me to death or reach for a hidden weapon.

  "I have my reasons." He all but growled.

  "Stupid reasons." Xyn interjected, making it worse. Thanks for that.

  "Do you want your head removed? Half-breed!"

  "Oh, bring it on spellspawn, ill have your heart out of your chest before you can blink." She threatened, her hand going transparent.

  "Shut up the both of you, or did you forget I can have you both intimate with the floor with the wave of my hand?"

  That stopped them. They looked and me warily before turning to Marius. He was ready to rumble as well, specifically the ghost warrior looming beside him, ready to cleave mortals apart. Dude was such a bro, I loved that dead dude. Jeremy was also totally up for a fight; he was hissing up a storm.

  "We should all chill, make nice and continue on." I tried to make peace and succeeded as they both dropped their metaphorical weapons. "Okay, and to let you know I don't judge you, Rak. In fact, I respect you for not conforming to the system." He looked at me with confusion, eyes a little wider, mouth agape. "That being said, there is a question I want to ask... can you use system weapons?"

  "No." He all but grumbled those words, like chewing gravel.

  "I think I can get around that, but I will have to experiment a bit. Are your weapons enchanted using spellcraft?"

  "They are... how did you know?" Rak said, perplexed.

  "An educated guess, system weapons require an interface to use them, so the only way for a systemless to have magical weapons is to enchant them the manual way."

  "It took me years to learn those spells." He spoke with the bitterness of ages past. I could almost sense the toil his soul must have endured.

  "Take us to this place, and I will promise to provide you with a means to use system weapons."

  With that promise made, we wasted no more time and headed towards the door. While I appeared super sure of myself, internally was still winging it. Sure, I could wipe a system-integrated item, and then he could enchant it. But that would simply replace an excellent weapon with a lesser one. No, it was better to come up with a workaround. Perhaps I could do a few experiments. But first, I had a message to send. With a thought, I activated a skill and sent a private message to my two system-integrated teammates.

  [Be on the lookout for betrayal. Rak might turn on us if offered a better deal.]

  They both nodded after a brief reading of my dire warning. With them both on board, I turned my thoughts to items. As Rak began scratching his little runic spell, I came up with a few ideas of how to accomplish this. Perhaps I can wipe the operating system, replace it with one of my own. Something simple and capable of receiving basic mental commands. Essentially, replace the pristine OS with some bullshit command line.

  Watching the symbols carved into the door, so many ideas exploded in my mind. Crafting items or reforging existing ones to be used by anyone. No system required, easy-to-use interface if I can swing it. But to what purpose? I frowned, trying to come up with a reason beyond gearing up a systemless dude I barely knew.

  Thoughts returned to the others, the clerks I left behind. I wondered what would happen to them. Would the others be exiled, and if so, would they need help? Perhaps I could create systems for them to use. But I doubted the gods would be that cruel, at least I hoped so. Swirling emotions threatened to burst out of my chest; new ideas distracted. Alas, it was not a perfect system, and the fear of growing old and dying slowly welled up.

  I am afraid, but why am I scared? This journey was treacherous, and I could die at any moment. Fighting monsters, going up against trolls and now a vampire lord. Death was an ever-present companion. Standing there as Rak opened the door, I had an existential crisis. And I knew why; it was the inevitability of death, the inescapable march of time. No skill or weapon could defend me from time.

  "I won't accept this." I whispered to myself as we exited the room.

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