[You are about to enter the Hall of Meritorious Excellence.

Be advised, to preserve the spirit of the challenge for future generations you first have a choice to make:

1: Become unable to see the requirements for unlocked rewards.

2: Lose the memory of the requirements after you finalize your choice and leave the hall.

Note: Some denizens of the wider universe were previously showing concern about forced memory alteration and asked for a different option during the second evolution]

I want… Hmm. At first, he wanted to pick the first option immediately. However, he realized that it was the fear of speaking out, not him.

I'd like to know what the requirements are… If I can't trust the System itself, then I am fucked either way.

I want to go with the second option!

[Excellent choice!

After entering the hall, you will find many possible rewards, each representing one or a mix of your note-worthy actions. You may browse through all earned possibilities, but in the end will have to settle for only a single final choice.

To make it easier, the Hall is divided into floors, each representing an ever-increasing rarity of the rewards with the first set—the common—being on the ground floor.

Note: Not always does the highest rarity mean the most fitting for you, so choose the one you think suits you the most.

Good luck!]

Feeling firm ground beneath him, John opened his eyes and found himself inside a large pyramid with a smaller pyramid-like structure in the middle.

"Holy shit," he gawked at the massive murals filling the entirety of the four triangular walls.

On his left, over a dozen glorious battles conjoined into one colossal painting. Some were lone heroes slaying terrifying monsters, others were groups of myriad races working together to overcome majestic beasts, but the one that caught John's interest the most was the one at the very top.

There, a single misshapen being covered in a rugged cloak stood alone in a narrow passage, protecting a small village from an endless horde of monsters pouring in from the other side. The being was painted swinging its burning blade while piercing a snarling beast through its neck with the claw it had instead of its left arm.

"Wait, could that be…" he focused on the leftmost image, where a reptile woman stood proudly on a scaled corpse.

As his eyes carefully glided over the image, he became more and more certain of his previous guess. That reptile woman was Serath, and the dead creature was one of the Shimmerfang species. The thing was, the dead creature was over three times as large as the Celestial Shimmerfang that was peak D-grade, making John wonder what kind of beast she had slayed and what grade it used to be.

Damn.

Tearing his eyes off, he instead turned right and admired the scenes painted on the opposite wall. Where the right side represented battles, triumphs, and glory, this side showed masters of arts at the pinnacle of their crafts.

A woman with long red hair carving the last rune onto the handle of a magnificent two-handed axe, a burly master blacksmith and his two apprentices forging a plate made out of dark gold and imbued with yellow scales… the scenes went on and on.

On that side, the paintings were smaller in scale, making space to show probably a hundred artisan achievements.

Slowly looking through them, he noticed an interesting thing. It was not just the physical crafts. Smiling after seeing a green creature playing an instrument similar to a violin, John admired the content expression on its hard face. Surprisingly, there was even a group of merchants negotiating the greatest deal ever made, depicted on the bottom left, proving that any achievement could be worthy of recognition.

"Hah," he chuckled when his eyes fell on a hairy creature that reminded him of Yetis, who was using its razor-sharp claw to carefully pull a shining thread through a colorful shirt on its lap.

Interesting… Let's see what is in front of and behind me.

To have a better view, he walked around the pyramid in the middle to get a better view of the other two walls. As he did, he passed dozens of pedestals, each with either a white or a grey tablet on its top.

After reorienting himself, he once again looked to his left, looking at the mural that was previously behind him.

There, he found only seven distinct paintings, and their theme was immediately obvious—the rulerships.

On the very top was a thin being covered in darkness with a blood-red crown on its head. It was standing on a balcony of an unimaginably large structure, staring at an unending throng of creatures on the biggest square he had ever seen.

If the scales are to be believed, that structure must be at least a mile tall, and the towering structures around the city square… Perhaps the leader is just very tiny?

The other paintings mostly followed in this manner. One, a regal king sitting on a bejeweled throne, another a little girl with golden hair and a determined expression grasping a silver crown from a stern-looking regent while standing before two wooden coffins of who John presumed were her parents.

Tearing his eyes off that sad picture, he turned right to the last mural and observed something he was unable to determine the theme of.

A green-haired woman was dancing in the middle of a moon-lit forest clearing, a bald monk with a white ribbon tied over his eyes sitting on a jutting rock in the middle of a rushing river, a young boy pushing through a bush and revealing an ancient city covered in vegetation, a teenage girl with eyes that seemed to carry the weight of eternity tinkering with a small piece of machinery… A painting of a myriad of small lights dancing across a…

"Wait, that looks like when I am using Fate-sight!"

The difference was, on the mural there were tens of thousands of the lights and the brightest ones shone like suns across the starry sky.

After coming to that realization, John guessed the wall would represent some form of exploration, inspiration, and Fate.

Well, enough gawking. Let's see what I am working with.

The problem was, that almost all of the tablets under his side were grey. He slowly walked further right in the direction of the exploration wall, when he noticed one tablet shining in white light.

Uncertain about what to do, he gently placed his palm over the rough surface.

[A welcome customer (C)

Requirements: Earn recognition and respect from at least three System-bound shops.

Rewards: All shops that view you in a positive light will offer an extra 5% discount]

Ehh…

Five percent wasn't anything to scoff at, yet in the grand scheme of things, felt uninteresting.

Looking around, there were probably four dozen tablets on this side, but if they were of the same quality, perhaps moving up was a better choice instead.

The stairs to the second floor were carved into the corners of the pyramid-like structure in the middle, so when John walked to the end of the wall, he climbed the stairs up to the next floor.

Looking over the artisan's side, he couldn't see a single active tablet, yet on the right, there were more than a few and each shone in blue light.

[Fate-touched (U)

Requirements: Find the Fate attribute card during your first evolution.

Rewards: A random Fate-mark that links directly with your soul, granting a permanent beneficial effect]

Isn't that the thing I obtained as a reward from the Fate-ladder?

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Moving through the side, he looked at each of the active pedestals. Most were in a similar vein to the first, something kind of useful, yet not what would John immediately want.

[Enhanced danger sense (U)

Requirements: Discern the presence of moderate danger and counter it with your actions.

Reward: Increased innate resistance against abilities that suppress danger sense]

This one was the first that he actually considered. Not that he would pick it before seeing all that is there, but at least this one resonated with him the most.

Turning the corner, he entered the side under the combat mural and immediately the closest one made him remember one of the unpleasant experiences he went through.

[Brutal Vigilance (U)

Requirements: Survive an ambush from a group of sapient beings posing you a significant danger, and either kill or force into surrender all the hostile aggressors.

Reward: Once a week, negate a single crippling or lethal blow coming from an opening attack of a sapient being of up to the same grade as your own]

On the second floor, there were maybe three dozen of pedestals and as checked each, the theme was exactly as he expected. Deliver a killing blow to a peak E-grade creature, kill at least two thousand F-grade monsters, successfully defend a position, and so on. Reaching the corner, he decided to climb higher and continue with the leadership side.

This time, two dozen pedestals were spread through the side, and of those, only two were lit in a yellow light.

[The lord of the sector (R)

Requirements: Either upgrade your own shelter or hold a bastion for at least two years. Be the leader of a bastion during the time of your evolution.

Rewards: Passively earn an extra 0.1% of the ash your population obtains.

Note: This reward automatically adjusts to higher tiers of shelter by lowering the percentage hundredfold]

Not for me, but seems pretty damn useful for others. If ten thousand people go out to slay the undead, the leader would gain an average of ten peoples-worth of ash.

[A benevolent envoy (R)

Requirements: As a lord of a sector, forge an alliance with a lord of a sector from a different species. Never betray the alliance you have formed.

Rewards: Earn a mark for every alliance you form, and gain immediate knowledge when one of them betrays you.

Warning: Betraying any of the formed alliances will erase this reward]

Nope.

Turning the corner once again, he chuckled at the sight before him. Not a single rare pedestal under the artisan's mural was available.

Continuing, he found one that was just a direct upgrade to the one he had seen before.

[Fate-blessed (R)

Requirements: Find the Fate attribute card during your first evolution. Have a D-grade Fate attribute during the second evolution.

Rewards: A Fate-mark of your choice that links directly with your soul, granting a permanent beneficial effect]

Another one that caught his eye was just three pedestals away.

[A wise explorer (R)

Requirements: While exploring a D-grade location alone, identify a peak D-grade creature living there and survive by hiding and avoiding the confrontation.

Rewards: Most non-sapient creatures are less likely to attack you unprovoked]

This one brought a chill up his spine as he remembered the Rotblood Nightmare.

[Destined blow (R)

Requirements: Use Fate to successfully guide your attack when the odds of failure are significant

Rewards: The attacks guided by your Fate are more difficult to disrupt]

There were two others, but he found them not interesting and moved to the side under the combat mural.

Unexpectedly, this was the side with the most unlocked pedestals, but the majority were only the upgraded ones from the uncommon tier.

Kill two hundred E-grade monsters, kill peak E-grade without outside help… At least this one has an interesting reward.

[Big game hunter (R)

Requirements: As a group overcome a peak D-grade creature. Be the one to deliver the killing blow.

Rewards: All peak creatures slain by you reward doubled ash and guarantee to give you at least two cards of the creature's grade]

He could see this being quite handy. Would it be the best reward possible? Probably not though.

With that, he climbed to the fourth floor of the pyramid under the murals.

Out of the dozen pedestals under the leadership, he had none, and the same repeated in the artisan's section.

This changed as he rounded the next corner.

[The chosen one (E)

Requirements: Find the Fate attribute card during your first evolution. Overcap your Fate attribute before the second evolution.

Rewards: System slightly manipulates all randomness to your benefit]

That… seems too good to be true, he shook his head in denial. What does all randomness even mean? Could it force anything undetermined to a beneficial outcome?

Uncertain but excited, he moved on and touched the second active pedestal right next to it.

[Fate-breaker (E)

Requirements: Cause the death of a sapient healthy E-grade being using only the manipulation of Fate.

Rewards: All sapient beings are less resistant to the adverse effects of your Fate manipulation]

And another one that seemed good. Honestly, just between those two, John had no idea which would be better.

Shaking his head, he pressed on to the last active pedestal of the line.

[Empowered bond (E)

Requirements: Form a bond with a creature from one of the elevated species.

Rewards: Share two of your active body-modification cards with your bond. Gain a single unique characteristic from your bond as an extra body-modification card which does not take one of your slots]

"C'mon!" He shouted, both awed and annoyed at the same time. "How am I supposed to decide among them?"

And there were still more to be found.

Under the combat side, there were two more.

[Lone Vanquisher (E)

Requirements: Kill a peak D-grade creature in perfect condition, alone, and without any outside interference.

Rewards: Expand your deck with an extra Ability card slot]

[Slayer of Giants (E)

Requirements: Kill ten D-grade creatures.

Rewards: Expand your deck with an extra body-modification card slot]

Simple, yet nice to get.

Looking up, there was one extra floor plus the peak of the pyramid so without further ado, John rushed up the stairs to the fifth floor.

The leadership side had nothing usable, but as he rounded the corner, he immediately stopped and stared in confusion at one of the six pedestals under the Artisan's mural.

The one furthest away from him was shining in bright orange light.

"How the fuck do I have access to a legendary crafting reward?"

Coming before the pedestal, he gently placed his right palm on the lone active tablet.

[Forbidden Artisan (L)

Requirements: Discover a forbidden craft and use it to create an item of Legendary quality.

Rewards: An innate intuition for any future crafting attempts with the forbidden professions]

This… was not what I expected.

It was true that he somehow made a Legendary card using something called Flesh-smithing, but he wasn't expecting it to be acknowledged here and rewarded.

Looking behind the corner, he found all six pedestals under Fate inactive. Grunting, he passed through and found a second active pedestal on the Legendary floor.

[Apex Progenitor (L)

Requirements: Be among the first three to kill both the Zone Guardian and the Sector Overlord. Be the First to kill both the Zone Guardian and the Sector Overlord while they were in perfect condition, alone, and without any outside interference.

Rewards: Enhance one of your attributes, permanently increasing its effect by 50%.

Note: This reward is only available for natives undergoing integration into the wider universe]

Okay, let's see what is on the top and then I'll decide what to pick.

Climbing the last set of stairs, he came onto a ten-foot square on which stood a single pedestal with a grey, inactive tablet.

Well… fuck.

Sitting on the floor with his legs dangling over the edge, he thought about all the possibilities, and in the end, it came out to be what was overall the most useful.

The Rare rewards were ultimately not a match to the Epic and Legendary counterparts, and even there, the pair of Fate cards felt too intangible to be considered against the rest. The two rewards extending his deck were interesting, but the other three were in his eyes better in comparison.

So, this leaves the two Legendary rewards and the Empowered bond.

If he wasn't under the time pressure, he would have picked the Forbidden Artisan. The allure of fine-tuning his cards was very strong, but unfortunately, after being reminded again and again how bad the integration was about to become, he opted for something with both immediate and future benefits instead.

With only two rewards remaining, he threw a sad glance at the Empowered bond pedestal on the floor below and finalized his choice.

[Are you certain that Apex Progenitor (L) is your chosen reward?

Yes/No]

Yes!

[Attention!

Your reward requires additional choice.

Which attribute should be enhanced?

1: Strength

2: Dexterity

3: Perception

4: Focus

5: Vitality

6: Willpower

7: Fate

Warning: The enhancement will influence everything linked with the chosen attribute which may cause problems with balance, reaction, senses, or body control]

He was briefly considering Vitality, but no. He would take a small risk and fully lean into his greatest advantage—the Fate.

After all, he was going to leave the city soon, and there would be enough monsters to finally learn how to incorporate the Fate into his battle style.

I chose option number seven, Fate!

A blinding flash of golden light overwhelmed his vision and after John rubbed his eyes, he found himself lying on the soft bed with a congratulatory set of System messages vying for his attention.