Homestead Survival

<20 September 2024, MIRROR DEEP RETREAT, ????>
[Theo and Julia]
"What are you doing?" Demanded Xi'Sys as he began to slam more and more attacks into the small planet that had formed.

But Theo and Julia did not respond. They found themselves in a familiar dreamscape. Theo looked around the small glade that he had shown to Julia the first time they entered the dreamscape. Julia smiled, "Well, this is odd."

Theo nodded. "I know what is going on here, in the battle, and around our actual bodies."

Julia closed her eyes, "We are apparently generating real heat. I wonder if this is normal, or if we are odd."

Theo felt Xi'Sys slam another attack into his soul. "I mean, we are probably odd, but who knows. For now, why don't we figure out how to finish this?"

Julia nodded, and they began to brainstorm. After a few moments, Theo checked on the other instances of himself that he was aware of. "Wait a minute, look."

Julia checked the soul battle; Xi'Sys was no longer present. Then she checked the space where their real bodies were, and found that Xi'Sys was lying on the floor, unmoving, a layer of purple energy protecting him.

Suddenly, two people popped into their dreamscape. Lord Ka and Lady Strigthix looked around. Lord Ka was marveling at the area, "Interesting, a dreamscape. You two are quite the combination."

"Stop your attacks!" Demanded Lady Strigthix.

Lord Ka held up a hand, "Now, Lady Strigthix, I doubt they even realize what they are doing. But I have to ask Theo, Julia, do you know how to leave this place?"

The moment that Theo and Julia thought about leaving the dreamscape, they found themselves back in the soul-scape where they had been battling. Lord Ka and Lady Strigthix followed. Lord Ka bowed, "Good, now, Laurel tried to eject you from here, but was unable to do so. Can you two separate?"

Julia stopped feeding the hearth, and Theo slowly pulled away from Julia. After a moment, Theo and Julia were floating separately from each other.

Lord Ka nodded, "Good, now if you focus on assuming your normal forms..."

Theo and Julia did, and suddenly found themselves back in their bodies. The air around them was cooling rapidly, but still quite warm. When they started moving. Laurel spoke, "Ladies and Gentlemen, your champions of the one-hundred and twenty-seventh Mirror Deep Soul Submission Contest! Lord and Lady Sorrin!"

A thunderous roar of applause and cheering echoed through the room. Laurel handed Theo and Julia a beautifully crafted box and ushered them to the door, "I have prepared a private bathing area for you as part of the reward. The enforcers are waiting there to chat with you. Thank you for participating."

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Theo and Julia walked out the door and were greeted by a message.

> Private Message: Battle Delay of Notifications disabled

They both read the message and then checked their Hand of Gold. Each of them now had one hundred additional gold coins. Julia was wide-eyed, "What the hell?"

"What is the System Utility-Power Index?" Theo asked. The line on the floor that they had started to follow pulsed insistently. They started walking again. "What happened at the end there?"

"I have no idea," Julia said, sliding her hand into Theo's. "Maybe we can get some answers."

They walked into the private bathing area, and at a table sat Patriarch Karzun, Lord Ka, Lady Xandur, and Lady Strigthix. Patriarch Karzun smiled. "Theo, Julia, please sit, we would like to discuss some things with you."

Theo and Julia sat down, and Lord Ka started talking. "First and foremost, congratulations on your victory. For you to win against the opponents you faced is something of an oddity. As such, we suspect that you may have gotten a message from the System."

Theo and Julia glanced at each other. Patriarch Karzun nodded, "We are somewhat limited in what we can say, but for the next little while, please ask any questions you might have."

Julia dove right in, first showing them the blue box that they had received. "What does having a skill at S++ mana rank mean for the skill?"

Lady Xandur answered, "It is the cap of the skill's growth. To progress it further, you will have to change it in a new, unique way."

"Why did it upgrade my Dimensional Storage skill?" Theo asked.

Lord Ka raised a black gloved hand and made a wishy-washy motion, "Dimensional skills are deeply tied to the individual user, and the fact that you were able to figure out what shape your soul liked, probably played a large part in this."

Julia was next, and she asked the question that everyone seemed to have been waiting for. "What is the System Utility-Power Index?"

Patriarch Karzun smiled, "It is a sign that you are moving up in the world."

Lady Strigthix nodded, "Indeed. The Utility-Power Index is how the System tracks how useful and or interesting it finds you."

Theo and Julia leaned forward in their seats, eager for more information.