Chapter 18 : System Origins
Max’s brain worked in overdrive as he focused on which weapon to pick from the rack. The bloody spear like the veteran, the dagger, or the sword. He had ruled out the bow and arrow and the wand as he didn’t know magic and knew that in short range, a bow, even though the most familiar, would be a huge liability.
His gaze moved over to the yellow commander. The guy was huge and bulky and built like a tank. He was pretty sure that if he jabbed him with the dagger, the dagger wouldn’t even reach the internal organs and get lodged in the skin itself. The thing hadn’t even bothered to wear armour. It merely had a loincloth on and was sporting a hammer bigger than Max. He also had several potions on his loincloth belt. Apparently, they didn’t count it as cheating.
It was a deadly situation in more ways than one. Even if Max somehow beat that guy. He still needed to kill Imhoptep. Who was calmly sitting high above on the platform surrounded by guards. Even if there weren’t guards. Max was pretty sure that the guy was at least as strong as …. He realized he had nothing to compare it with. He had no idea about the system’s methods of classification like initiate seeker. But he sure as hell knew that he was strong.
“Horojo! Kalranak!” Max didn’t need to know the meaning of the first word to guess that he was being told to hurry up. “Apex, huh? I guess I can’t rely on luck forever!”
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Thea lounged on the sofa after a hard day’s work. Jessica exclaimed, “Aren’t you curious? There’s going to be a whole new world. I know it's gonna be dangerous and stuff, but a whole new world! And we will be Initiate Seekers by then!”
“Yeah? And how much you know about it all. Yes, the system answers our questions, but it’s still all theory. I mean ,how much do you even know about these ranks that we have been working towards, huh?
“If that’s a question, then it's simple, right? Let’s ask. System, please tell us about the ranks and hierarchy structure in the Grand Procession.”
On a screen to the side, a smiley appeared and began explaining with pyramids and tables.
Sure! You need to know this of course.
The hierarchy is divided into three parts. The Primordials reign at the top. But they are usually very private and very rarely take any action. Millions of years pass in between their moves. Mostly, they seclude themselves completely for research. Sometimes with a small community of their brethren. A Primordial is signified by attaining the power of Avichiyaari or True Creation.
They are followed by the Chaos Lords and Order Lords. These, as their name suggests, have mastered either Chaos or Order energies. These are fundamental energies of the Grand Procession and are found in the Lords and Race Pieces.
The above two exist above the system and are much less in number. In fact, the system was created by them to fast-track the worlds to be combat-ready as soon as possible due to the ongoing war. There are only around a dozen Primordials and less than 200 Lords all four sides combined.
This is followed by the System Signs.
The Signs have two parts denoting their strengths. The first one is your Rank, and the second one is your grade. There are seven kinds of each
RANKS
Initiate
Noviciete
Adeptus
Elden
Titan
Legend
Mystic
GRADES
Seeker
Perciever
Beholder
Pilgrim
Paragon
Wielder
Ascendant
Ranks show incremental changes in power, while Grades show qualitative ones.
You need to reach at least Elden rank to advance your grade, although some people prefer to reach Titan to get Maximum benefits.
For reference, the strongest attack without the help of any tools, medicines, or external influences will show strength as this much.
Seeker. Destroy a house.
Perceiver. Destroy several houses.
Beholder. Level a city block
Pilgrim. Destroy a city completely
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Paragon. Destroy a state.
Wielder. Destroy a nation.
Ascendant. Destroy small worlds.
However, due to the myriad amount of classes that exist, the report is highly variable. This does not apply to the Race Pieces. According to their kind they are extremely more powerful.
“Damn!, Now I feel insignificant. And wait, what war? Is your job to prepare us for war?” Janine exclaimed just as Thea asked, “So what is the average level?”
The average denizen of the Grand Procession is usually around a Beholder. But the numbers fall ridiculously fas,t exponentially as you go up. Most worlds have at most one or two wielders as their ruling authority.
The war is a classified matter, and a detailed overview is not possible.
A brief report is as follows.
Chaos War and System Origins
A war amongst the races of the Grand Procession has been going on for a long time now. There used to be 6 factions but now there are only 4 left. First is the GrandCrest Lords. You all belong here. They consist of several human-like species including elves, bahrs, satyrs, mermen, dryads, and several species of Demons. This is the clan of the righteous rulers of the Procession who are fighting to establish our everlasting glory.
Strength - 3 Primordials, 15 known Chaos and Order Lords.
The second is the Alverans Council, which comprises a niche of bodyless lifefoms that exist as mist or incorporeal existences. Notably, they are relatively more peaceful and extremely knowledgeable. Hate Altana. Less in quantity, More in quality. Wish to make corporeal lifeforms completely disappear.
Strength - 4 Primordials, 40 known Chaos and Order Lords.
The third are the Minhaets, which have a lot of monster species and several species of demons. Hate the GrandCrest Lords. Originally, they just wished to survive but now, since it has come so far, they have no choice but to fight for supremacy. Notably, they are the closest to meritocracy.
Strength - 3 Primordials, 40 known Chaos and Order Lords.
Lastly, there are the Altana, although they are a single species of what can be described as flying ants. They hold the largest amount of power in terms of strength. They are more like mindless beasts, killing everything in their path,s with only their to echelon having intelligence. Quantity over quality. Enemy to all. Wish to unify the Procession under the swarm. That means to kill all other lifeforms and only raise a few non-intelligent ones as lifestock.
Strength - 2 Primordials, 103 known Chaos or Order Lords. Suspected to be more.
It's a four-way war, with all factions keeping each other in check.
Although Primordials are extremely powerful, it will be difficult for one to fight off 20 or more Chaos and Order Lords.
A long time ago, after the defeat of the machines, a race against time was going on to find new worlds and destroy the new enemy worlds. But it was highly distasteful as it was like killing newborn babies in their cradles according to the primordials. The other fact was the stagnation faced by all races. So, in order to curb the deaths of worlds in their cradles, the Lords made a treaty which resulted in the Systems.
The four races made four systems that will support the new worlds for a period of 35 Glacks, which is roughly equal to your 10 years. All 4 factions have their own systems, but their aid methods need to be open to check if no elders are interfering. This included the XP rewards cap the item rewards cap. The first Glack, roughly equal to 108 days, was supposed to be trials and tutorials to train the newborns.
The rest are events and fights between the 4 respective systems to see which of the worlds will survive and truly join the Grand Procession..
Now, all new worlds entering the Grand Procession are given the tutorial, the trials, and then the gauntlet before being allowed to merge with the Procession. This Tutorial lasts 18 days, the Trials last 91, and the Gauntlet lasts 10 years. After which the system stops working for your world. The System ensures that the interference from the larger, more powerful beings is minimal, but make no mistake, your world can still die. So gear up and ready up. May you draw the wheel!
Janine dropped the ice cream she was eating with her mouth wide open. “Oh, Shit!”
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Max picked up two weapons, the sword and the dagger. But he made sure that he picked the dagger when the commander was looking away and basking in the crowd’s cheering. Max had an idea on how to get Imhotep to face him. But the problem was he needed to do something he hadn’t done before. He needed to face this battle head-on and win the duel spectacularly.
The orc paced back and forth, grunting and riling up the crowd. There was a slight sheen of a mana shield on his skin. ‘I can’t lose my weapons, or I’m dead. I don’t have enough Mana to break through that.’ Max thought. The orc began glaring and yelling at Max in Orcish. Max didn’t know what it was but could make an educated guess because each of his sentences was followed by a huge cheer from the crowd.
The horn sounded, and the orc beckoned Max with a grin. “Gafara! Gochita!” As Max had thought, this was going to be a game to prove Orcish supremacy. This was good. He needed this. Instead of charging the orc down. Max walked as confidently as he could with his head held high. He couldn’t beat this guy in strength or skills, but guile was neither of their forte. Which meant there was a chance.
He looked directly into the eyes of the orc with a defiant gaze as if challenging him. The orc’s demeanor also changed. And right as Max was within striking distance, he threw the sword to the ground and took up a fist-fighting stance. The orc was indignant and half amused. A human Seedling challenging an Orc Seeker to a fistfight. It was laughable. The orc threw away his hammer and advanced on Max. Max punched him. The orc didn’t even defend. But still it was Max who was injured. It was like punching an Iron block or a brick wall. The Orc merely chuckled.
Max kicked this time, only to stumble back in pain. The whole gathering laughed in mockery. Taunts were hollered, and someone threw some kind of half-eaten fruit at him. But Max kept punching. After a few punches, when Max seemed tired, the Orc made his first move. He leisurely lifted his hand high up in the air and showed all the rest what he was about to do. Then he swept it at Max, who tried to dodge back but was too slow and found his ribs being shattered by the humongous blow as he rolled several times before coming to a stop.
As Max just lay there and didn’t move, the Orc moved back to his hammer and picked it up. Then, he slowly walked back while making hand gestures and grunts to the crowd to resume their stamping of feet and weapons. As he neared Max, even though Max couldn’t properly move, he saw him turning his head towards him. Saying something in a very low voice with a terrified expression.
He kept on saying it as the Orc loomed over head. The orc tilted his head to the side. “Korokinka yala jeuban Kalranak!” It bent down to hear what Max was saying.
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Max was in extreme pain. He felt like his body had been lowered into Tar or something. And all of this due to one offhanded strike from the orc. He had never noticed the difference between ranks because he was either using canons or was using poison. But now he felt the full weight of them. He had killed the beholder simply as it could not open its eyes to defend while trying such a big spell. He hadn’t truly faced a high ranker before today.
And according to the system’s directions, he needed to show that he was stronger, with only his racial skills whatever they were. So he thought, what is it that makes humans the strongest? Is it strength? An elephant has it more. Speed? A cheetah is the fastest. Size? The whale is the strongest. So if he isn’t the fastest, strongest, or biggest, then what is it that has made man the master of Earth? His adaptability, intelligence, and guile.
He came up with a plan. But for it to work, he needed to make the Orc listen to him. He was hoping the Orc would bend down and listen even if in mockery like ‘Let’s see what the dying little human has to say for himself?’ Max was so terrified right now that he didn’t even need to fake his reactions. But as the Orc neared, he reduced his volume. Just enough to be heard as sound but not enough to be heard as distinct words.
His expression made sure that the Orc felt as if he was asking for mercy. And if he was, then all the better for their propaganda, right? The killers of their Traitor are asking for mercy. So he bent down and looked away so that his ear faced Max to hear what was he muttering. Only for his weakened and injured prey to suddenly strike like a snake. In one single quick move, Max took out his dagger from under his shirt and clung to the orc’s neck, simultaneously jabbing it into the Orc’s Neck several times as fast as he could.