One fair morning in one of London's many Boroughs, a young woman stirred from sleep. Chloe shook her head, attempting to clear the sleepy haze as she pulled herself from bed. The room was filled with the sound of an alarm and the zombie-like moans of the young woman rigidly moving across the room to the tactically placed phone from which the blaring noise originated. Chloe turned off her Alarm and, with a quick glance back at her warm, inviting bed, sighed and moved to the bathroom.

  Her thoughts drifted as she turned the shower on and waited for it to come to an acceptable temperature. Mentally, she could feel the connection to the System in the back of her mind, always strongest in the morning. It had appeared just under a year ago, perhaps 8 or 9 months, to about half the global population. different governments had responded differently to it, some demonising it and it's users, others offering incentives for Systemers, as they came to be called, to join Government Organisations to help maintain peace. The UK had ultimately decided it was a devolved matter, with England deciding to request that all Systemers and Potential Systemers register with the newly formed HMCMA, His Majesty's Commission on Metaphysical Affairs, and nothing else. King Edward IX had even delivered a nice speech about Civil Unity. There weren't any real strings attached to registry, so Chloe had decided to go ahead and do so not too long after it was made available.

  Chloe stepped into the warm water of the shower and let out a long sigh. The streams of moisture helped to finally chase the last of the tiredness from her mind. After the shower, she brushed out her long, dirty brown hair - making a mental note to book an appointment at the hairdressers when she next got paid - and gave herself a once over in the mirror. Her dark blue eyes landing on the small scar on her lower lip that she'd gotten in the fight that had gotten her kicked out of college. She sighed. Chloe removed a small tube of lip balm and rubbed it over her lips, then, she slapped on a bra and a pair of knickers and moved to the kitchen, deciding to eat before getting dressed properly. Deciding on something simple, Chloe threw some bread into a toaster and poured herself a glass of water. Unfortunately, Chloe had managed to develop an intolerance towards caffeine, and she could not have the traditional cup of tea on might expect from a Brit.

  She walked over to the Sofa and sat down, picking up the remote and pressed a button to turn on the TV. Nothing. She gave the remote a 'light' smack and pressed the button again. Still nothing. With a sigh and yet another mental note - one about batteries this time - Chloe stood and turned the TV on by the power switch. The news came on immediately, and the headline made her face fall. 'HMCMA suffers Data Breach, names of 35 million Brits leaked'

  Chloe listened half-heartedly to the droning reporter and the apology speech given by Tarquin Helmsman, the Prime Minister, and assessed the impact this would have on her personally. The Database leak was names only, meaning only those who knew her would be able to realise she was on there. The average person would still likely be unable to connect her to the leaked list. Chloe took her toast from the toaster, slathered some yeast extract onto it and filled her water back up. Her only real concern was the people she actually interacted with, like her neighbours. She took a big bite of her toast and moved towards the living room once more.

  Before she could arrive however, her phone began to ring. Chloe picked it up and the voice of her manager came from the other end "Ah, Chloe, hello." His voice was cordial and did not wait fort her to greet him in response "I'm sorry to say this to you, but head office has decided that, in light of recent events, our company is not the best place for someone of your potential talents. Now, I understand this is sudden for you, and we're sorry that it has come to this, but it's best if you move on as soon as possible. Your final payment will be paid by the end of the day and your stuff will be returned to you via express mail. Please, do not return to the office."

  Chloes mind swam as her body trembled; a decidedly unhealthy mix of emotions swirling in her; rage the primary one. She wanted to scream. Swear at him all the colourful language her forbearers has meticulously prepared for just this kind of situation. All peppered in with various, graphic threats that would befit a working class Londoner. Instead, all that tumbled from her lips was a simple "Ah, Okay... I understand". Her mind wasn't even able to register the mans parting remarks as the phone fell from her hands and Chloe slid to the floor. She felt numb, mind taking many moments to fully understand what had just happened. Then, suddenly, everything exploded outwards. Chloe screamed.

  A few moments of silence passed. 10 minutes after she had finished screaming, Chloe slumped into her sofa and took a bite of her toast. It was cold now. Well, she wasn't much hungry anymore anyway. Truthfully, she had only be working with the company about 11 months, so other than her owed wages, she really wasn't due any other form of redundancy pay. She wasn't in immediate danger of homelessness; housing benefit and what little money she had left could just about keep her above water for about a week, maybe two if she stretched it. She tried to push it out of mind for now, eating what she could as she turned her gaze back to the TV. The news had shifted, now showing an interview with small three person team, a man and two women, standing in front of a shimmering portal. The three had gear and equipment straight out of a fantasy novel, and each bore the Crest identifying them as members of The Kings Shield, a London-based Systemer Guild.

  Dungeons. Something that had arrived hand-in-hand with the System, or at the very least not long after. Shimmering portals, leading to places beyond Earth. Those places were filled with what one might expect; Monsters and treasure. Even some raw resources had been found in some of them. At first, world governments had tried to manage them with armies. That did not work. The monsters of the Portals were resistant to modern weapons. Not immune; it was possible to kill them with enough ordinance. But it was not a sustainable amount of resources, as even weaker beasts sometimes required full magazines of assault grade weapons to put down. Countries that demonized System Users fell under the waves of creatures, unable to prevent what many took to calling 'Dungeon Breaks'. Many were worried England too might be overrun when a break occurred and nearly overran the Colchester Garrison. However, a group of Three Systemers stood up and pushed it back, saving the city and diving into the dungeon that spawned the tide. upon their return, they founded the first Systemer Guild, The East Anglia Dungeoneering Company, and even received official recognition from the King himself.

  Systemers risked life and limb in the Dungeons and often made a good living doing so. Chloe could become one of them for real, she had the ability to register, after all. She was, in fact, rather certain that the ability to register was the reason she was fired. It was a big decision, however, and not one to take lightly. Thus it was that she spent the rest of the morning going over her options and deciding her fate. It didn't take her long to decide, a desire to take her fate into her own hands causing Chloe to reach out mentally to a connected she often ignored.

  Many more screens began to float into view, displaying various pieces of information. it wasn't long before Chloe was presented with her first choice; that of Starting Class. there were four options, Martialist, Mage, Naturalist and Rouge. These classes were superficially focused on Strength, Intelligence, Mind and Dexterity respectively. The System also gave Chloe an overview on her personal stats, recommending the 'Martialist' Class. Chloe found the idea of using a sword somewhat enticing. A small joke about lesbians and swords flitted through her mind, causing a giggle as she settled on it. The System acknowledged her selection with a chime and gave her some starting equipment; a Leather Gambeson and a Steel Sword, both rated as Common (C) rarity. Next, it asked her to pick a starting skill.

  Chloe stared at each of her three options in turn. Offensive, Defensive and a mix. 1 MP wasn't really a lot, and both Power Strike and Skinshield both offered decent numbers. Consumption over time was something that was a tad difficult to work with, best suited to being toggled on and off many times in a fight. Such an option, of course, required a decent understanding of fighting. That being said, picking the clear attacking or defending option didn't feel right. It felt like she was limiting herself. There would be more skills. More diverse skills. Best for now then to take the middle road and let herself be a bit more flexible. With that, she made her choice. Body Strengthening. The System finalized it's setup and displayed the Status Screen.

  It also listed all her 'Equipped Skills', with 8 spaces available for those, and 'Passive Skills', which had 5 spaces available. And to clarify stats, 10 is considered 'Average Human' for STR, DEX, INT and MND, 5 is 'Average' for DEF and RES and 15 is about the normal amount for both HP and MP. This information filtered into Chloe's mind as she stared at the Stats, and she felt more than a little irritated that she was apparently below average in so many places. Though she supposed it made sense; she always preferred physical things, and her employment hadn't really challenged her mentally at all.

  Chloe studied the long list of information. It was a lot to take in and most of it wasn't really that useful. Thankfully, she realised she could reorganise the Status screen to her liking with a bit of mental prodding. She hid most of the really unneeded stuff and nodded to herself. Then, she turned her attention to the Quest. With another though, she summoned what was essentially a book, with details within of all the basics she would need to use a sword in combat. She summoned her Blade to her hand, taking advantage of the Basic Storage System skill she had been granted automatically, and begun to work on her form. A small notification appeared, informing her that her Tutorial was scheduled to start in two hours.

  The training was thorough, though perhaps that was to be expected. What was unexpected, however, was the naturalness of it all. The blade felt right in her hands, as if it was always meant to be there. If this was a boon of the System or something else, it was nigh impossible to tell. Not that it truly mattered in any real way. And so, the knight to be worked diligently for roughly one and a half hours, enough for the System to deem it's quest complete.

  Chloe did some stretches to ensure her body winded down properly and poured herself two glasses of fresh, cold water. She looked over at the notification announcing her success with satisfaction. A third of the way to level 1 already, Though, admittedly, that was tempered by the fact that, given then everyone likely receives a similar starter quest, it was intentional. The Tokens were arguably more interesting and she mentally prodded the System for an explanation on them. No response. A sense of Deja Vu flashed though her as she wondered how she was supposed to hit this to get it to work. A half-second later, a screen appeared:

  Chloe felt her eye twitch. The System had an inbuilt Gacha. Of course it did. She tried to Access the Store and Gacha and got rejected. Level 1 or higher. Chloe decided to use the rest of her time productively, making herself a quick cup noodle and equipping her Gambeson and going over her System-Given swordsmanship manual before the Tutorial Starts. It didn't take too long, from her perspective. When the time finally arrived a white doorframe, the inside of the frame a white mist, rose from the ground. Chloe took one final check of her gear, took a deep breath, and passed through the threshold.

  Beyond the door was a large, white antechamber, the only colour herself and the three other young woman who had joined her in this space. The first two were clearly twins; long dull blonde hair, that one had tied into a ponytail and the other had left hanging by her shoulders, with light brown eyes filled with excitement that Chloe absolutely did not have the energy to match. The third woman, however caught Chloes' attention and held it with ease. That long black hair and enchanting green irises were a balm to her soul. Why?

  "...Ash?"

  Because Chloe recognised her; Ashley Grimm, her old crush.

  The following is the list of 'Base' Statistics and their basic description and function:

  Strength (STR): Martialist Main Stat. Affects Martialist Weapon Damage and Skills. Also affects Skills related to Climbing/Lifting and similar

  Dexterity (DEX): Rouge Main Stat. Affects Rouge Weapon Damage and Skills. Also affects Skills related to Slight of Hand and Physical Reaction time

  Defence (DEF): Reduces (Most) Physical Damage. Certain Defensive skills are based on DEF

  Resistance (RES): Reduces (Most) Magical Damage. Certain Defensive Skills are based on RES

  Intelligence (INT): Mage Main Stat. Affects Mage Weapons and Skills. Also affects skills related to Logical Thinking

  Mind (MND): Naturalist Main Stat. Affects Naturalist Weapons and Skills. Also affects skills related to Creative Thinking

  Anima (ANI): Soul Strength and Cohesion. Interacts with certain Rare Skills

  Sanity (SAN): Mental Strength and Cohesion. Interacts with certain Rare Skills

  ECL: Energy Consumption Limit; denotes how much resource can be consumed per second. Explained in greater detail at the end of next Chapter