Kai briefly glanced at the classes again. They were the exact same as in the future. Nothing had changed regarding the core mechanics of the Tower itself, it seemed.

These were the six primary classes that everyone in the Tower ranging from humans to the mighty dragons could take.

Might not have seemed like much, but real variety came later when you could upgrade the classes and spec into subclasses that specialized you into a whole host of different skill sets.

At a certain point, especially with the myriad of unique items and quests and divine blessings from gods available in the Tower, no two warriors or mages or whatever were going to be exactly the same.

"I see that one among you has already begun the class choice quest," said the Administrator, its eyelid raising in surprise. "Far ahead of all the others. Perhaps they are like the elves and dragons with their quick wit, perhaps they are stumbling ahead knowing nothing. In any case, that is just about all I have to do here, so I simply must take my leave. The floors of the Tower require quite a bit of tending, you see."

"Wait!" Someone shouted, likely wanting answers to questions, but the Administrator was already off, disappearing in a flash of light.

Kai did not choose his class yet. Nor did he plan to anytime soon.

Knowledge was power, after all, and he was going to abuse his knowledge from the very start before the Tutorial even began.

After a few moments, other people began to reach the (Choose a Class) quest.

The people closest to Kai began to talk among themselves, though nobody reached out to him.

There was something about his expression, something about the hard glint in his eyes that drove them away.

Kai had not always had that look, but it had been hammered into him through years and years of survival in the Tower. He had not been like Ren who had managed to keep the softness of innocence intact.

"Which class is the best here?" said a blonde-haired, green-eyed woman a few meters from Kai. She did not speak to anyone in particular, more talking to herself than anything else.

She was fairly tall and her tank top and shorts showed off her toned, fairly built physique.

Kai raised a brow at her. She had faded scars, too. And the way she held herself - it was wary, ready to turn around at a moment's notice. She had seen combat before, but he did not know who she was. He was not a preternatural genius with a photographic memory. He had long since forgotten anybody in the Tutorial.

But if she was supposed to be anyone important, anyone who survived the Tutorial, then he would have remembered. Which meant in all likelihood, even she had perished.

"How the hell should I know? How the hell should any of us know!?" said a lanky, twig-like man dressed in a slim-fitting suit that made him look even more like a stick. His English was accented with something that sounded something like…Eastern European?

Russian, maybe?

The Allspeak skill that completing this (Choose a Class) quest rewarded made it so that anybody in the Tower could communicate freely with each other if they chose to, eliminating language barriers for the most part.

Kai had gotten used to barely if ever hearing accents.

"So, we just, uh, wing it?" said the woman. "If that's the case, I think I'll choose the 'Warrior' class. Feels like it suits me the best. Huh, this is all kinda like a big video game."

"A 'game?' Our lives are on the line here, woman!" said the suited man. He knitted together bushy brows. "And I did not take you to be the type that played games."

"What, 'cause I'm a good-looking girl? C'mon." The woman gave the man a pointed stare.

"E-excuse me, can you two tell me what to do?" said a boy, no older than ten. He went up to the man and woman with a wide-eyed, fearful stare, hands wrung nervously together in front of him. Very much the typical image of a helpless child.

"What the fuck? They took kids this time, too? Last time it was just adults!" said the woman, indignant.

"Ey, watch the language. He is just a child," said the man.

"Really, we're worried about language now?" the woman raised a brow. She sighed and knelt down, patting the boy's shoulder. "Hey, kid, we don't know what's going on either, but stick by us, and we'll make sure you're safe, alright? We'll find your parents, too, if they're here."

"As long as you are not a stupid child," said the man, but he stopped talking when the woman stared daggers at him.

"Do you know where your parents are?" the woman said to the boy.

"No…I was with them for dinner time and then…and then I was here." The boy began to snivel, though he tried his best to not show any weakness.

"Everyone! Shut your damn mouths and listen to me!" roared a man whose voice was so deep that it rumbled. He had a commanding tone that made everyone except Kai immediately snap their heads to attention.

A commotion arose.

"Holy shit, he's part of the HSP! He's got the badge, too!"

"Wait, what!? No way! Let me get a look!"

"HSP!? Thank god we've got one of them with us!"

"HSP…HSP…" Kai mumbled to himself, putting a fist on his forehead.

In contrast to everyone else that rushed towards the guy with recognized excitement, Kai just stood there in pure confusion.

What the hell was the HSP? It had been so long since Kai dealt with anything earth related he had forgotten what it was.

Good thing that returning to his body gave him closer access to his past memories. However, he was still adjusting to his old mind, sort of like the mental version of breaking in a stiff shoe. Because of that, he still had to manually search through his memories.

He pored through his recollections, but soon he was interrupted from his thoughts.

"Humanity Survival Program." The woman from before said to Kai. She, along with the boy and the man, did not rush away.

"Right," Kai remembered.

The Humanity Survival Program was put in place after the Administrator's first appearance on Earth ten years ago.

World governments had very little to go off of considering the Administrator's lackadaisical attitude and uninformative talking style, but they did know that waves of able-bodied men and women were going to be taken to try and climb an enigmatic 'Tower' full of monsters and trials.

In response, governments issued mandatory military service for basically everyone over the age of 18 to train them into top physical and mental shape.

It was a military service that Kai had managed to exempt himself from by being the sole provider of two dependents – his little brother and sister.

Among those drafted, the best and brightest top percent of a percent were drafted into the HSP where they were given further training with cutting-edge, even experimental biotechnology that ranged from military lab-cooked steroids to literal gene modification.

In essence, they were super soldiers.

Kai briefly looked at the HSP guy. It was easy to, even with the crowd thronging around him. The man was almost seven feet tall with an insanely muscular build that made him look like a moving brickhouse.

He had on a black military uniform and held up a badge gleaming with a golden three-pointed star.

Unfortunately, those muscles did not mean too much in the Tower.

Sure, a couple of extra points in strength and agility or whatever gave you a small edge, but no amount of steroids or genetically enhanced muscle density could ever let a human compete with, say, a troll or cyclops.

Hell, even a dire wolf would be a tough fight.

Natural biology just could not stand up to the absurd, illogical, limit-breaking capacity of magic, after all.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Soldiers, because that's what all of you are-," the Superior – the term given to those that successfully underwent HPS training – waved an all too fake-congratulatory finger at everyone.

Despite his gesture, it was obvious through the shit-eating grin that he thought he was better than anyone else here.

Superior, even.

But that did not put anyone off.

They gravitated around the Superior like planets around a sun, drawn to his inexorable pull of what was essentially celebrity status.

"Listen to me," said the Superior. "We cannot panic. That alien thing brought us here to die, but I'll make sure we'll crawl our way outta here. And when we do, we'll make sure that the 'Administrator' gets what's coming for him. But first, we have to organize ourselves. Everyone, form a party with me.

And judging by what this 'quest' says and these 'classes' we're being offered, we need to choose the classes that'll help each other out. "

Kai observed what was happening with more disinterest than anything else. He intended on going through the Tutorial solo, after all.

How everyone else organized did not matter to him.

Ren's last words rang in his ears.

Save everyone.

Kai shook his head. He would save humanity, but not everyone.

That was impossible.

There were always going to be sacrifices along the way.

Trying to tell everyone here everything he knew was a liability he just could not take.

He thought that the trio near him would flock to the Superior, but they stayed away.

"Why aren't you all going to him?" Kai asked.

"I don't like Superiors," said the woman under her breath. "They think they're hot shit – on top of the world. That attitude makes most of them assholes."

"A Superior beat me up in a bar fight once," said the man. "I don't like them ever since."

"Really, that's what you have against them? Losing a bar fight?" said the woman.

"It is how they beat me up. Like, as you said, they thought they were above me. Literally, with boot on top of my head." The man shrugged. "And losing a bar fight is as good a reason as any to hold a grudge. It hurts a man's pride, it does."

"I-I think they're pretty cool," said the boy. "The Superior Soldier movies are awesome."

"Hm." Kai did not react much. He remembered the HPS better now that he actively thought about it. Courtesy of being in his old body and mind. He knew that they were basically superstars on top of being super soldiers.

Military marketing – basically glorified propaganda – made sure that the Superiors were considered god-like saviors.

Kai did not remember whether he had followed this Superior in his old life or not, but he guessed that he did.

The only thing he really remembered about his first go at the Tutorial was that he had cleared it by hiding inside a luckily unoccupied cave after narrowly escaping a trap that killed many, many people. He obviously would not take that approach this time around.

"You four!" The Superior nodded toward Kai and the trio near him. "Why stand so far away? Report over here, soldiers, and join this party!"

"Shit, thought he wouldn't notice us. Guess we have to go. He does outrank us, after all." The woman sighed and walked towards the Superior. The man and the boy followed though the boy did give a glance back at Kai.

"Go," said Kai. If he was his little brother, he would have given the kid a reassuring smile.

But Kai was not his brother. All he could do was gruffly nod his head.

The kid scurried away, intimidated, and joined together with the crowd.

"And you?" The Superior cocked his head, narrowing his eyes at Kai. They were sharp, slanted hunter's eyes that exuded barely hidden aggression.

That stare might have scared Kai in the past, but now, after he had looked into the eyes of enraged war gods, he might as well have been looking at a puppy. "Report to me, soldier!"

"No," was all Kai said.

"…No? Did I hear you correctly?" said the Superior.

"Yes."

The Superior half-nodded. He began to move forward, pushing aside the people in front of him. They quickly cleared a path for him, and through it, he strode through before stopping in front of Kai.

Kai had to crane his neck up to meet the Superior's stare.

"What's your rank, soldier?" said the Superior.

"I was exempted from the draft," said Kai.

"Hm?" The Superior looked Kai up and down and snorted, unimpressed. "Why not? You're not missing a leg or arm. You got a few screws loose in the head? That it?"

"Doesn't matter." An ordinary man would have looked away from the Superior's stare like a submissive dog, but Kai did anything but that. He met the Superior's gaze with unbroken, defiant contact. "I'm not rank and file. I'm not anything. So, I'm not under you. I don't take your orders."

"Look here-," The Superior placed a big, calloused hand on Kai's shoulder but was rebuffed by an invisible forcefield.

A dialogue box opened between them.

[Safe Zone: No harm may be conducted in the Interim]

"And it looks like you can't make me either," said Kai.

The Superior looked at Kai, jaw clenched. His anger was palpable, like a boiling pot ready to simmer over its top.

But then the Superior sighed and shrugged.

"You're right. You don't need to listen to me." The Superior turned around to the now gawking crowd. They were stunned that Kai was defying a Superior.

'They'll soon learn that 'Superior' means nothing in the Tower' Kai thought to himself.

"As soldiers, all of you understand the importance of a command structure. I want us to be a well-oiled machine that works at my command!" said the Superior. "And in this machine, I have no place for defective cogs! Any of you that do not want to join me, join this draft dodger here and survive on your own!"

Kai felt the crowd's stare immediately turn hostile against him at the mention of 'draft dodger'.

Carefully chosen words by the Superior to make sure everyone was against him. Kai did not react, mostly because he did not really care.

In fact, if they left him alone and went into the Tutorial as their own party, that was even better. That ensured they would spawn in different locations.

In any case, nobody joined Kai. Not even the trio from before. They had faded into the crowd, becoming nothing more than a part of the herd. He did not blame them.

They were just trying to survive, after all. He understood.

"Good." The Superior nodded to himself, watching the crowd fall in line with him. He snidely smiled at Kai and spoke to him quietly so that nobody else could hear. "What was that you said before? That you weren't anything? Then that makes you a nobody, doesn't it? Well good luck to you, Mr. Nobody."

With that, the Superior strolled away, taking his place in the center of the crowd again. He began to bark orders on who should choose which classes based on their life experiences.

Athletes and physically dominant people become warriors, people with medical experience become healers, and so on and so forth.

Kai just sat down, knowing this would take time. He drowned the conversation out and closed his eyes. He took this moment to recall fresh memories of Ren and Lin from Earth, before the ravages of time and survival had worn these precious keepsakes down.

Memories of cooking ramen with egg and spam – their favorite meal.

Memories of helping Ren and Lin with their homework and then, in just a few years that felt like no time at all, not being able to help them because they, unlike Kai, could actually spend their time studying.

So many memories.

Kai promised himself to keep these memories close to him this time, to never forget them, to never even let his siblings step foot into this Tower.

"Uhm…"

Kai opened his eyes. He saw the kid from before. As well as the man and woman. They were the only ones left. Everyone else, it seemed, had chosen their class and phased into the Tutorial.

"Are you okay, mister?" said the boy.

Kai nodded.

"You sure you don't want to join the rest of us?" said the woman. "I mean, I know that Superior's an asshole, but still, he's the best shot we got at surviving, right?"

"He is big. He can fight better than us all," said the man. "And it would leave bad taste in my mouth to leave a man to die."

"I'll be fine." Kai nodded again, deeper this time, more affirmative. There was a finality in his tone that made it clear that he was dead set on his choice.

"Well, if you ever need help out there, wherever or whatever we're getting into, don't be afraid to holler, alright?" said the woman. "My name's Anna."

"I am Alex," said the suited man.

"And I'm Simon," said the boy.

Kai nodded. He was not going to remember their names. Not because he disliked them, but because he just had awful difficulty remembering names in the first place.

But he appreciated the gesture.

They waited for Kai to give them his name, but he did not respond.

They did not know it yet, but giving out a name, especially a true name, was not something to be taken lightly. Oftentimes, remote spells like most curses needed a person's true name to target them.

Letting others know your true name was basically like giving away the key to your house, though in this case, that house was quite literally your life.

"You three should go," said Kai after a few seconds of awkward silence that involved them waiting for his name.

"Got it," said the man. "Well then, time to choose a 'class', whatever this will do for me. Or, I guess the Superior told me to be a Mage, so Mage it is. I always liked magic shows, so eh, maybe it will suit me."

"Warrior it is for me," said the woman. She patted the boy's shoulder. "And you're choosing a Healer, right?'

"Right," said the boy.

It was sound logic to put the boy as a Healer. The boy was not going to be able to fight, so a support role like that ensured he was useful.

Warrior made sense for the woman given her athleticism and mage for the guy probably just because he did not look fit enough to fight up close.

White light enveloped all three of them as they began to be transported to the Tutorial.

"Don't cross the bridge," said Kai.

The three looked at him with confusion, but before they could talk back, they were teleported away, leaving Kai all alone in the white space of the Interim.

Kai stood up now, getting ready. It was time to put his knowledge to use.

[You are the last remaining human here. It does not seem that these current class options are satisfactory. Would you like to review an additional choice?]

"Yes," said Kai. As simple and concise an answer as any he had given before, but this time said with the faintest of smiles.