Unable to claim the reward in this location.

I sucked on my teeth as I read the prompt window twice. I had opened the quest log but it wouldn't give me whatever a System Hub was. Thankfully the quest sat there instead of disappearing. It wasn't a large leap to assume that the hub would let me connect with the System somehow, but there was no stone. Nothing told me what the hell it did. I was about to give up when a hum spread throughout the room. I stared at the wall in confusion when it dawned on me. It was education day. I slept all the way through. I quickly got up and made my way out of the room. A few minutes later I was seated and ready for Aina to begin.

"No doubt some of you have obtained a quest reward called a "System Hub" by now. I am sure that some if not all of you have attempted to claim the reward. You have also learned that you can not." I glanced around the crowd and found only a few people nodding along. Maybe a third of the crowd looked either completely confused or vacant as if they were only physically here. I had assumed that anyone who came to these came because they wanted to be here. Now though it seemed like that wasn't the case. It was sobering but I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. Ultimately it was the people who adapted the best that would thrive in the new world.

"In short the System Hub is how you create System sanctioned settlements. Of course, you do not need a hub to create a settlement. Even the smallest of settlements just needs people to come to agree that it's a settlement. No, what the hub will do is allow you to access the System's features. When it comes to quest the System will recognize it as being a location. That alone is worth the effort to get a hub. On top of that, you have access to the interface and the ability to purchase things from buildings to defenses and teleportation services."

A murmur passed through the crowd at that. A murmur that quickly turned into a roar of conversation. My attention was firmly on Aina. It was clear that the System could teleport us around but the idea that we could have control over it. That we could have real-life teleporters was insane. "Calm down." Aina raised a hand as if we were all schoolchildren. A fact that was made worse since we all obeyed. I had to suppress a chuckle at the thought. "Even though many of you have earned System Hubs. They are not equal. The lesser life forms on your Earth have probably earned some of them by now as well. I imagine that out of the billions of people on your planet some of them are competent enough to kill some beasts with blunt objects. Those hubs are the lowest of the low and barely include any useful features. It will allow people to select classes assuming they can reach the required level."

They paused for a moment as if they wanted to the words sink in. "The ones earned here will be able to buy most basic services though you will find them limited by location. The multiverse will not give you anything. Some businesses will covet a baby world like this one. Especially as it gets stronger and a planetary leader emerges. For a few of you, the hubs you earn will come with a quest. A quest that will start you on the path to becoming a lord and if you work hard enough the planetary leader. All of that is for later though much later. For now, you must understand the types of settlements you can create."

They raised a finger. "First you have the lowest type. The 'Camp'. It is extremely limited and is more or less intended to be a temporary arrangement. It will allow people to choose a class and it allows the purchase of a handful of basic spells and skills." They raised a second finger. "Next you have the 'Village'. It is the most basic of the permanent settlement types and most of you will start here. All of the hubs earned through the tutorial will have access to a higher-quality set of skills and spells. You will be able to purchase a handful of basic structures that will form the foundations of a new force." They raised a third finger. "The select few of you will skip these initial stages and will be able to form a City. Upon establishing a city you will receive a quest that will let you become a Ruler in the eyes of the System. This will grant you the most starting options and should be attained as quickly as possible. The System will also award a limited structure to the select few that reach this level. The vast majority of you will stop at the village level."

I opened my quest log but it didn't tell me what my hub would create I could assume it would be the highest tier or at least a high-tiered village. Which meant that I should prioritize a good location and that quest's completion. I wasn't sure if there was going to be a reward for the first person to establish a city but I couldn't tell if I should go for it. Making a shitty choice would well fuck me over. "Can we lose our cities?" A male voice called out from somewhere I couldn't see.

"Of course, a person can either kill the governor or capture the hub. Hub capture takes a certain amount of time that can vary depending on the size of the settlement and other factors. This is why it is pivotal to have your leader be someone strong enough to take care of themselves and the hub defended. On the off chance your governor is killed while outside of the settlement a new leader will be able to take the reins. There is a fourth and fifth stage to settlements. They are Capitals and World Capital. I am sure that you can piece together how they work without my explanation but I will explain anyway. Capitals are the headquarters of powerful factions such as empires, clans, kingdoms, and conglomerates. They have even more abilities than a normal city; however, they are limited. There can never be more than ten such cities in a world. No matter how large that world may be."

A hush passed over the crowd at that and for a moment I thought I saw a grin threaten their lips. Aina wiped it away a second later before they continued. "Next you have the World Capital. The World Capital is the best your earth can hold on to in its current realm. Naturally, you can only have one world capital. Like the other stages, someone can take the world capital by killing or capturing the appropriate hub."

I sighed at the explanation. It was pretty clear what the System intended. The System had effectively set up a death game where there was no central authority besides it. The System then gave hundreds of millions of people superpowers, and will then dump those people on earth. We were entering a battle royal to be king of the entire planet. It would turn into a blood bath. A blood bath where the majority cowered while they— while _we_ fought. The thought was sobering. With my level of power, I was most likely still in the number one spot. Even if some daredevil had passed me I would at least be in the top three or top five.

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"What if you decide not to complete the quest? Or if you fail?" This time the speaker was a dark-skinned woman with black curly hair. She wore a weird set of brown leather armor with the head of a lion in its center.

"If you refuse, abandon, or otherwise fail your quest the System will consider you a failure. You will most likely never receive another opportunity. The System does not bother itself with those who are incapable or are unable to keep moving forward."

"Can you explain more about the things we will be able to buy?" Another person asked. This one was a man who looked to be in his early thirties and wore robes similar to mine.

"In short you will be able to purchase a select few buildings. These buildings will allow you to access certain mercantile opportunities. Opportunities that will be important to your future survival. You may also be able to buy arrays and formations that can be used to protect yourselves from monsters." Aina raised a hand to stop the inevitable next question. "Arrays and formations are closed systems of spiritual energy created to do a task or multiple tasks. They can fulfill a variety of tasks from defense to cleaning and storage. You all will eventually need to learn how to build them for yourself. That is something unimportant right now."

"Will you explain how class selection works?"

"That is an individual topic that will be covered if you reach the required level during the tutorial. Outside of that only you need to know that you need a System hub."

I filed that information away for later. A few more questions came up but none of them were as interesting. Aina did mention that each city could only be so close to another before their people would be forced to fight. A fact that was made worse by a settlement's growth. Eventually, cities would spread out to capture nearby ones. The whole situation would become more and more chaotic. It was equal parts fascinating and painful to hear how the System trivialized everything. Supply chains were still difficult on modern or I guess old earth. Now the System made it so that as long as your leader was strong enough you could set up a network of teleportation zones. All the supplies you needed could be sent in from anywhere else. There had to be some kind of price to it but assuming it wasn't the blood of unborn children or virgins or some other nonsense it would be more than worth it.

A handful of groups formed after Aina left. Most of which were trying to plan how they would use their hubs. A few had a dark look in their eyes. A look that reminded me a bit of the manticore. I sighed and shook my head. The System still prevented us from hurting each other but it was clear that peace would end as soon as we were done. Thankfully my suppressed aura meant most people paid my little mind. I still hadn't decided how I would set mine up. Or how I would go about getting people. Hell, Aina still refused to answer any questions about how the teleportation back home would work. As far as anyone knew we would be dropped on random points on the Earth.

I made my way to my apartment and into my cultivation chamber. My level was pretty high so that wasn't my concern. I wanted to meditate on the Tao again. Aina had refused to discuss it further whenever I stole a moment to ask them. I had figured out it would influence my class though. I just wasn't sure how. I sat on the ground in the lotus position and began to go through my cultivation manual. It only took a few minutes for me to enter a calm and relaxed state of mind. I went through each of my battles in vivid detail. I wasn't sure if it was because of my intelligence attribute or just because of the intensity of the moment but my memory felt more like a movie. It was all so vivid.

I took another breath as I relived several of the more painful injuries. I could vaguely feel something. It was like there was something at the edge of my consciousness. No rather that there were multiple things. The harder I reached for them the further they seemed to get. I resisted the urge to yell instead I turned my attention to the sigils for my spells. Once again I could feel there was something there. Once again I couldn't grasp them. It was like someone was whispering the information to me and I just needed to listen. I sat there doing my best to pick out any piece of it but it was hopeless. I could tell I had made progress but it was slow going. Part of me wanted to rush it but my gut said that was a bad idea. I still wasn't sure what the Tao was so I figured caution was the best way forward. The last thing I needed was to accidentally blow my head up or lose control of my power. Especially if the System considered that attacking people.

I continued my mediation session for another hour before I decided to focus on actual cultivation. Thankfully this was much faster or rather it felt much faster. My dantian had transformed from the small pond I had at level one into a strong river of pure energy. The "water" was beautiful to look at. I decided to cultivate for another four hours before I headed to bed. I split the next day between proper cultivation and meditation. It wasn't enough to reach level 15 but I was making clear progress. My dantian looked like a flowing rapid of energy with a small typhoon. The meditation was more of a mixed bag. I could tell that I was making progress toward something big but without focusing on one of the feelings it was a bit like spreading myself in every direction. That being said I didn't know what the correct way was so I was stuck.

Altogether the day was fruitful I even spent a bit of time wandering around the building. There was a heaviness in the air that wasn't there normally. It wasn't a bad thing persay more like a tense anticipation. We had less than two weeks until we returned home and most of the people who had given up on fighting were either dead or hiding. I attempted to find Ajani and Tyrone but had no luck. I made my way back to my apartment and settled in for the night. There was one final thing I wanted to take care of. I pulled up my spell list and let out a sigh of annoyance.

1. [1]Psychic Blast – Proficiency: Master: Unleash the mind, shape the unseen.

2. [1]Psychic Aegis – Proficiency: Master: The Greatest Shield Is the Mind. Upgradable

I still hadn't come up with a way to upgrade either spell. I had hoped that I would be able to improve Aegis at least. It wasn't strong enough to hold up against some of the most dangerous enemies unless I concentrated on it. I had attempted to alter the sigils themselves but they immediately began to tremble and I had to stop. I wasn't sure if it was possible to straight up break them. Since they were the only form of offense and defense I had there was no way I could afford to risk them. None of the instructors were willing to help me either. They all said that it was my responsibility and it was beyond the scope of the tutorial. I had learned that Psychic Blast was basically at the end of its road. I would have to either get rid of it entirely or transform the spell into something else.

With the last of my business concluded it was time to get some rest. I planned to up the difficulty once again which meant I was probably going to fight some fantastic monster from an adventure game. I climbed into bed and was out within a few minutes.

The next day I was up and ready to go before the hum began. I bounced on the balls of my feet as I waited for the next round of quests to begin. A surge of busy energy filled me as I replayed the fight with the manticore. Part of me dreaded another one but a different part savored it. That was part I relied on. When the timer hit zero I took a deep breath and let the System pull me away.