He took some slow, deep breaths and spat the blood from his mouth before standing tall, the enhanced regeneration petering out now that he was no longer in battle, or facing an army. "Forgive my ignorance, mighty deity, but what are the benefits of Patronage?"

The god burst out laughing, a fierce smile on his face. "Why, for one, you and the faction you are a part of will be at Neutral status with all Marzillins, and Friendly Status with those who worship me, as long as your faction members don't have a Patron whom I have a negative relation with. Sadly, this means most of the Hilnarian Pantheons won't be favorable to you, and you will be seen as Unfriendly by them at default. You personally will start with Respected Status to all of my millions of Marzillins. Don't worry about those you have killed here, as they aren't truly dead, having been evicted from their Trials.

"For another, I will tell you more about what has happened and what will happen to your world. Expect it to grow by a minimum of fifty percent. These new areas are copied directly from other worlds, with their residents and everything. If your people are unlucky, you could end up with multiple Raid and World class Bosses being dumped on your planet. There are races and individuals who have had the System and all its benefits and flaws for hundreds of thousands of years, and farmed countless dungeons, being just one step below divinity. With the nearly limitless potential of the system warping your world, many highly different clans and factions will try to either bargain with or conquer your people. Right now, unless you are an average example of what 'Earthlings' are as a Race, your people are all but doomed to be turned into slaves for the Clans and Immortals.

"With my Patronage, you can set up a Transit Node. Those who follow me are some of the strongest frontline fighters, and you will find yourself well appreciated in their circles. What my people specialize in, however, are Ki arts and martial training."

"I am honored to have the offer of Patronage... but what is to stop your own people from conquering my world once I have created the Transit Node...?"

A wide smile appeared on Gruugus's face. "Why, the fact that you have just asked that. If you hadn't, they would have had full options with your planet. Many Patrons will trick those they recruit to open the way for what you just suggested. Any of mine will report directly to you as the Leader of your group."

"How does the System tell what the Potential of a Race is? I mean, the value of points that I started with seemed completely random..."

Gruugus's eyes narrowed slightly. "What amount of points did you start with, and did your race have any default skills or traits?"

He was about to answer immediately when he noticed how tense the Grundlins, Sulnarian, and Ralifin deities were behind Gruugus. "I have a feeling that is a very important question that could easily save or destroy my race and my planet. I am sorry, mighty Gruugus, but without knowing how important that information is, I cannot give you this information without at least a promise that you and your group will not act upon it in a negative way..."

"You have my Oath that my party, and my race, will not use the information you are about to give us to intentionally harm you, your planet, or your race's chance at survival. That was a very smart move, boy."

Joriya bowed deeply in respect. "I was given 1,800,072 PPP, I had three traits that I had earned in my life before the system, and we had three racial skills, which were Adaptability, Survivability, and Hidden Potential. We had five physical statistics and five mental statistics, all of which had a natural human cap at ten points before traits. We also were granted one of five personal statistics. My Personal Statistic that the System granted me was Luck, which when rolled for its placement received a default maximum of twenty, which seemed to be the natural default cap of most personal statistics other than regeneration, which is out of a hundred."

"Boy, you best not be lying to me... almost two million points, and three racial skills?"

"Yes, sir. Apparently, there are also some glitches in the System still..."

This time it's the Ralifin that glared at him and snapped, "Glitches in the System?"

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"Yes, ma'am... I found a Limited Time Purchase for the Personal Soul Dimension that was listed as one of zero available, and when I tried to purchase it, it only let me accept, not decline, with a new '[Yes]' button popping up every second. In addition, due to my physical condition in the paused world, I was given a chance to use the Body Modifier for free and went wild with it, adding in small modifications that would have been over two million PPP to purchase, and was granted it for free.

"Then the System called me a 'Cheater - Tier MAX' and then banned me from the Body and Race shops and granted me the 'Frugal - Tier MAX' Trait as it stripped me of the Cheater status. From there, I upgraded my Racials and the Glitched Soul Dimension Purchase altered my Hidden Potential from the Unlocked Potential - Tier MAX I was purchasing into what is termed 'Unlimited Potential - Tier MAX', which I maxed out..." he trailed off as he saw the blood drain out of their faces. "Okay, so... I take it either I fucked up, or the System did, or the Human Race is doomed...?"

Gruugus looked at the other deities around him and motioned for a quick huddle as a barrier kept their talk amongst themselves. The Ralifin stomped her foot and poked Gruugus in the chest, the Sulnarian motioned like he wanted nothing to do with this argument, and the Grundlins both sighed and looked resigned to doing something that they don't agree with.

After about ten minutes, the barrier was removed and they all turned and faced Joriya again. "I'm afraid that we can no longer accept 'No' as an option in regards to our Patronage offer... and that you must bind yourself to all five of us. If your soul survives the binding, we will do everything in our power to protect your race. It seems that your entire race, you 'Earthlings', started with over a million PPP and all five physical and mental stats opened. In addition, you yourself are a threat against any faction you are not part of, and a boon to any you belong to. As for your Unlimited Potential... You're going to be very, very sore, as that is a Racial Trait that has been nearly purged from the Galaxy, only existing in a very few Immortals, who are too powerful to force into child making."

"I kinda figured I would be having a lot of sex, thanks to it, but you're saying that without your Patronage, I would find myself either dead or locked in a room for breeding purposes?"

Gruugus nodded. "I'm sorry that we must do this to you. Also, the likelihood of death is high unless you have a Willpower of fifty or more..."

"I have Earth-Grade ki and mana, which granted me a multiplier on my applied physical and mental statistics of twice the applied statistic. My Willpower is thirty-five with traits, and after the multiplier is treated as equal to seventy."

"Well, you completed this dungeon in Raid mode, so I think this is a good time to talk about rewards, before the binding," Gruugus stated as he motioned his hand and all of the PPP Coins that had dropped in the fight and the caved-in mining tunnels flew into a chest at his feet, looking like a proper Pirate's Booty. "You seem to be missing a piece of headgear...or... a Cloak! Hmmm... yes... The Cloak of Self-Actualization would be a fitting reward, and boost your Willpower..."

The Ralifin reached into a pouch at her waist and pulled out gorgeous, hooded black trenchcoat and handed it over to Gruugus, who snapped it a couple of times, and then suddenly it shimmered and altered to fit Joriya as he passed it over to him.

Cloak of Self-Actualization

Quality: Scaling [Level 5 0/10,000]

Type: Trenchcloak

Durability: 500/500

Self-Repair

Willpower +25

Unreadable with Hood up

Absorb 5% of mana used in spells that hit you

Absorb 5% of ki used in attacks that hit you

"This... is fantastic... Thank you." He shrugged into it, glad that the baldric was for holding the longsword at his waist instead of strapped across his back.

"Then let us get this over with," Gruugus stated simply, his hand glowing as he reached through Joriya's clothes and placed his palm over Joriya's heart. The moment ethereally glowing flesh touched skin was the moment that the pain truly hit, a loud bellow of pain escaping Joriya's lips like the cry of a banshee.

*DING!*

You have gained a new Resistance: Physical Pain!

You have gained a new Resistance: Mental Pain!

You have gained a new Resistance: Spiritual Pain!

You have gained a new Mark! Gruugus The Fierce has Marked you as a Champion!

You have gained a new Rank! You are a Divine Champion!

You have opened a connection for Gruugus the Fierce to the Divine Realm of Planet Earth!

Joriya remained conscious for all five brandings, earning him respect from both of the Grundlin Deities, and surprise from the Ralifin one. He bowed deeply to them, staggered over to the coin chest which he dumped into his Inventory, stated calmly, "I'll be in touch as soon as I can get the Tunnel built," and finally accepted the angrily flashing pop-up in front of him.

*DING!*

You have completed the Tutorial Zone!

Your Tutorial Skill Level: He's Dead, Jim!

Your Tutorial Reward: PPP Earned x10! IEP Earned x10!

You are the First Earthling to Interact with a Galactic Deity!

Tutorial Complete!

Return to Origin Point?

[Yes] / [Yes]