Chapter 44: The Apology.
Each new string was like a budding flower. Slowly emerging from the still dark waters of my lake.
Its waters roiled for a few seconds, before settling back down with a grunt.
Then, for the first time in forever, I felt a tangible tug from somewhere else inside of me.
Its was…
As if the very walls of my inner sanctum were constricting and relaxing over an over again.
Like the chambers of a beating heart.
Each new string brought another beat. Another low drumming sound that echoed over and under the murky depths.
The ropes didn’t so much a quiver.
The isolated fibres making up my new abilities howled in jubilations. Gorging themselves on the energy that was and was not me.
They all felt stronger than they should have been.
Every. Single. One.
‘I guess that +1 wasn’t just for show.’
I finished allocating my points with a flourish.
Carefully looking over all the new additions to my arsenal.
I was about to delve into my new repertoire, when my attention was stolen by the movie.
“Yeah!” The other toons said in unison. “It’s not fair! We want to choose our abilities too!”
“Well tough luck!” Periwig screeched. “We all work with what we have. Speaking of which, here are the official descriptions of each instance.”
The screen flickered.
Causing Periwig and his lickspittles to vanish. In their place come five large screens, similar to our own status screens.
System Notice:
Novice Difficulty:
Students are given padded suits of varying colours and automatically assigned into teams.
Students are tasked with completing obstacle courses using their abilities. Students are tasked to play against each other in sporting events using their abilities.
Students will receive a generous stipend of Store Tokens every time they complete a task.
Students are automatically healed after every task and the suits teleport Students out of danger when death or severe injury is likely.
Students are housed in System-provided lodging and presented with buffets at all hours of the day.
No traps or hazards are present on any of the stages.
Students are given colourful prizes at the end of each task, with winners receiving much better rewards than the rest.
Students that consistently perform well are rewarded with larger and more opulent lodgings.
Upgrades include, but are not limited to: Spa service, indoor heated pool, virtual reality room, literature from home dimension, video games from home dimension, robot assistants, improved buffet options, indoor and outdoor garden, cute pets, etc.…
System Notice:
Apprentice Difficulty:
Students are given padded suits of varying colours and assigned into factions. Students are placed in a city constructed to resemble their home dimension’s buildings.
Students are tasked with defending the city from escalating waves of enemies.
Enemies will drop Store Tokens upon defeat.
Enemies will not have a higher level than the highest levelled Student.
Enemies will not have more than one Type and there will be only one boss in the whole scenario.
Scenario ends early if boss is defeated.
Students may access healing services at the center of the city. No traps or hazards are present in the city.
Students are tasked to duel each other to establish rankings.
Students are tasked to compete against other factions to establish rankings.
Each faction receives a home base that is supplied according to their rank, with higher ranking factions and individuals receiving better bases and rooms within.
Students may receive grievous injuries and death is a possibility.
System Notice:
Adept Difficulty:
Students are given no additional equipment from the System.
Students are placed on an island constructed to resemble their home dimension’s environment.
Students are tasked with defending the island from escalating waves of enemies while contending with the weather.
Enemies will drop Store Tokens upon defeat.
Enemies escalate much faster than in easier difficulties.
Enemies may have up to two Types at once.
There will be no more than two bosses on the island, one intended boss and a hidden boss.
Elite enemies may appear to assail points of contention.
Some traps and hazards are present on the island.
Students are tasked to duel each other to establish rankings.
Students are tasked to organize themselves into teams in order to better defend the island.
Students receive rewards based on personal and team rankings.
Students may access the safe zone at the island center at all times in order to receive food, water and converge with allies.
Students may access healing services once every day at the center of the island.
The safe zone will not be de-activated unless all points of contention are lost to the waves of enemies.
System Notice:
Elite Difficulty:
Students are given no additional equipment from the System.
Students are placed on an underground maze filled with a vast number of enemies, traps and hazards.
Enemies will begin at a much higher level than Students.
Enemies will escalate much faster than easier difficulties.
Enemies will not drop Store Tokens upon defeat.
Enemies may have up to four Types at the same time.
Common Enemies may exceed the level cap for Tier 1 Students (Level 50) and may be as powerful as Tier 2.
Students cannot access healing services through the System and must seek the help of other Students.
Students are not tasked to duel each other for rankings due to the high mortality rate of previous iterations.
Students will be ranked based on levels and titles.
Students must conquer safe zones themselves and must continue to defeat elite enemies as they continue to spawn outside the safe zones.
Safe zones may be de-activated if elite enemies are not slain within a week.
There may be up to twenty roaming bosses in any one instance.
There will always be at least one intended boss and a hidden boss.
Bosses respawn when killed and only the victorious team or individual will receive rewards.
Bosses always have all four Types and are firmly in the early stages of Tier 3.
System Notice:
Peak Difficulty:
Students are given no additional equipment from the System.
Students are placed on a featureless chamber lined with doors. Each door will lead to a different challenge. Challenges must be completed in order to purchase daily necessities from the assigned Merchant.
Enemies will begin at a much higher level than Students.
Enemies will escalate much faster than easier difficulties.
Enemies will not drop Store Tokens upon defeat.
Enemies may have up to four Types at the same time.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Common Enemies may exceed the level cap for Tier 1 Students (Level 50) and may be as powerful as Tier 3.
Students cannot access healing services through the System and must seek the help of other Students.
Students are not tasked to duel each other for rankings due to the high mortality rate of previous iterations.
Students will be ranked based on levels and titles.
Challenges will contain at least one intended boss and two hidden bosses. There is no limit to the strength of intended or hidden bosses.
My eyes almost popped out of my skull.
Slab placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
No doubt having experienced this beforehand.
“You’re telling me, that the guys at the easy difficulty are living in freaking mansions and playing sports. While we had to fight the gnomes? What?”
“Yes. Some of us were very upset as well.”
“Not you?”
He snickered.
“I actually like it here. Its safer than back home and I got not one, but two Types. One of which is the most valued one on my dimension. I’m living the dream.”
I was about to say something very rude to the ogre, when Periwig started talking again.
“Each of these instances is designed to cater to specific class of people. After all, every society need peons and grunts to do the menial labour. Just as every society needs it soldiers and commanders. This is why you have been divided. The very best of you will have a chance to shine, to be polished into diamonds through pressure. The not-so-great parts of your population get to receive a more risk-free education. One that doesn’t push them too far in favor of getting them acquainted with the basics of Labyrinth life. Those luxuries come at a price though!”
Periwig winked.
“Violence is and always has been the determining factor in a faction’s continued existence. Those minions had better be ready to scrape at your feet after arriving at Human City.”
He hummed appreciatively.
Bobbing his head up and down like a cheap wooden doll.
“Why are we so focused on battle you ask? Why! Because battle is the one constant in the greater Labyrinth! The Ascended do their very best to protect commoners from your home world from monsters and thieves and other such nuisances, but going against factions within the Labyrinth violates their principles. Meaning all your families and all your loved ones, and even yourselves are fair game. Strong factions rise and enslave weaker factions all the time. And I really do mean all the time. Planets that produced weak species tend to be colonized and repopulated with alarming speed all over the multiverse.”
“Oh no! What about my home!?” Asked one of the sycophants.
“I’m so glad you asked! As I’ve mentioned, planets where sentient species haven’t developed Psionic abilities are inherently protected by the Ascended Ones. Sort of like how a rich merchant might keep a personal zoo for their own amusement. This protection expires the second a member of that species enters the Tutorial. Meaning that whatever hole you barbarians crawled out of is going to be under constant threat of invasion and conquest!”
“But why?”
“What do you mean why? Get over yourself you lazy worm! Did you expect a great elder to protect you forever out of the kindness of their heart?”
“Yes?”
Periwig snapped his fingers.
The speaker exploded into a shower of cartoony gore.
“This is yet another reason to gain levels and break through your limits! Fights between psionic species tend to be quick and dirty. Favouring overwhelming power concentrated on individuals. Your average band of slavers will trip over themselves in order to capture and sell a bunch of Tier 1 mooks. They will begin to hesitate only when Tier 2s start to show up. If they happen to catch wind of a Tier 3 or higher, why, they won’t even consider attacking your filthy rocks! Too much risk for too little reward. Always remember children, the greatest deterrent is the threat of violence! Nothing works quite like it!”
“What do we do if someone even stronger shows up? How do we handle a master at Tier 4?”
“You don’t. You either flee right away and pray they get bored or you accept your new overlords. Unless you have a Tier 4 of your very own. All the more reason to start aiming for those lofty heights sooner rather than later.”
“But why?” Asked one of the female gnomes.
Clutching the hem of her dress as if distressed.
“Why go through all this? Can’t we all just get along?”
“Of course we can dearie! Do not twist my words, diplomacy is a completely viable option. If you can trust your partners that is. Who’s to say they’ll keep their word if you aren’t able to enforce whatever treaties you signed? Who’s to say they won’t portal in a fleet of spaceships to invade a fresh new galaxy that’s conveniently ripe for the taking? After all, intergalactic empires tend to be rather hungry for resources. And what better way to get those shiny treasures, than to hop through a backwards neighbour?”
“But the rules!”
Periwig snapped his fingers once again.
Splattering more crimson giblets onto the cartoony street.
“You are slow to learn my good damsel. The only rule that the Labyrinth respects is power. Plain and simple. Every single living psychic wants to ascend and very few are generous enough to overlook easy prey. If you want to live, you’ll have to fight.”
He paused once more, straightening his green coat in such a way that his many medals jingled prettily.
“One last thing. Ascension. You want it. I want it. Every creature in this misbegotten multiverse wants it. But what is it?”
Periwig’s whole demeanor transformed before my eyes.
He looked serious, for once.
Resembling a fanatic about to discuss their most sacred beliefs.
“In short, it’s what lesser beings might call apotheosis. The process of forging a halo and becoming one with all four Types of Psy. There is only one way to do it. One must unlock all four Types and create at least three Tier 10 abilities within each Type. Thereby reforging one’s physical and mental forms into a gestalt entity. One that was inherently more Psy than flesh or bone. Uncountable masters have tried over innumerable years. So far, 76 of them have forged complete crowns. You should all know them and prostrate yourselves. For their words are the only barrier keeping unenlightened species from extinction.”
He cleared his throat once more, wiping away some dust from his padded shoulders.
“Now, the Tiers. They are the true bottlenecks. Each one is 50 levels and you need a combined ability of that Tier to push past the level cap. You need at least one Tier 2 ability to reach level 51 and at least one Tier 3 ability to reach level 101. That is, you can only level up to the Tier of your highest ability. One doesn’t need to get a measly Tier 2 ability when one already has some in the fifth or sixth Tier.”
Well, that was a welcome surprise, at least.
“You will have noticed that a level on the First Tier gets you 5 Psy and 3 ability points to your total. On the second Tier, that rises to 50 maximum Psy per level and 8 ability points. The third gets you 500 more Psy and 12 ability points per level. The fourth, 1000 Psy and 17 points respectively.”
His face did not betray any emotion. His eyes having turned to stone.
“As I’m sure you can surmise, each Tier is significantly more potent than the last, making each subsequent advancement far more meaningful. Not only that, but higher Tiers will have more combined abilities, meaning they can concentrate the points you’d spend on three or four abilities into a single one. The earlier combinations will be the standard ones the Labyrinth is used to, and they will not provide any titles. [Telekinesis III] or [Machine Mind II] will function in the exact same way, with minor variations emerging from individual talents and ability level. These breakthroughs, while significant, are not enough to begin forging a crown.”
He brought up one hand, counting off fingers.
“This pattern remains consistent until Tier 4. After that, any ability that is Tier 5 and up will come with a Title. Titles multiply your maximum Psy values and provide other passive perks to boot. Having a single Title means that you are, without a shred of doubt, far above the rest of the chaff.”
Well, that’s not exactly fair. I don’t think I’m better than anyone else here or anything.
“Do not, I repeat, do not, under any circumstances make an enemy of a Title bearer. There are always persistent rumours of them being above the pettiness of common mortals. This is only true because they tend to get their vengeance out of the way as soon as they reach those lofty heights. Know that you put yourself and your kind at peril by courting death.”
His serious tone vanished like a summer breeze.
In its place was the same cocky attitude he’d had since the beginning.
“But you shouldn’t worry too much about that. You’re a bunch of smelly losers and you’ll probably die smelly loser deaths!”
“Losers!”
“Death! Death!”
“Dead losers coming through!”
The movie sputtered and ended. Just like that, the obsidian lost its light and returned to its previous inert state.
Mr. Park clapped.
Gaining everyone’s attention.
“Very good. Now that we’re all on the same page, we can discuss how to best defend our planets.”
His eyes met mine. Holding the vigor of someone forty years younger.
“Mr. Carter. You and I come from the same earth. Surely, we can agree that the people of our world must be protected?”
“Of course.” I answer at once.
“Very good. Then I’ll show you the training regiments we’ve been working on. Our plans were designed around making the most out of the passive experience boost you provide within line of sight. We’ll start by…”
His voice was cut off abruptly, as the screen came to life once more.
I groaned, thinking that the video was on some sort of autoplay setting. That went out the window when I felt the surprise and unease flowing from my peers.
Whatever this was, none of them had seen it coming.
The obsidian plate buzzed, and another screen came on.
Alert:
A Student in this Tutorial instance has committed an act of aggression against a System-regulated vendor.
Disciplinary action will be taken against this Student and all current Students in this Tutorial instance.
Student, Solomon Carter, will be expected to apologize to the offended vendor before receiving any remaining rewards for these objectives.
System has confirmed that Student, Solomon Carter, is present within a safe zone and is not being influenced by psionic abilities or biochemical agents.
Student, Solomon Carter, will now have the opportunity to apologize to System-regulated vendor: Granny Golden.
Granny Golden, will now be teleported into Elite Tutorial Instance.
The air in front of me whizzed and shimmered for a few precious seconds, before space itself became undone.
A gap formed. A portal. A rift.
From its depths emerged a humanoid raven. Clad in loose blue robes with pink floral patterns and floppy sandals that wrapped around her talons.
She looked my way, flinched and hugged her own body to stop any further trembling.
Her beak was almost, vibrating. Opening and closing at such speeds that it made a constant clacking sound.
“R-Right. L-Let us be done with this. Esteemed S-S-Savant.” She said as the gateway closed behind her.
I shook my head. Realizing at once that she was completely mortified.
A stab of shame lanced through my heart. Quelled only by the fact that I hadn’t been in the best mental state back then.
“I…I’m so…”
My own words were cut off, as the obsidian surface made an annoying beeping sound.
The current panel was replaced by another one, taking all of Granny Golden’s attention.
Due to the severity of the assault, the Student hereby referred to as Solomon Carter, will have his status screen made public to vendor, Granny Golden.
Divulged secrets will act as a form of additional compensation, due to vendor, Granny Golden, requiring healing from a System Administrator to remove the powerful compulsion effect.
Name:
Solomon Carter
Psy:
97, 920 / 97, 920
Type:
Telepath III Level 120
Abilities:
[Solomon’s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon’s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon’s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon’s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Team Spirit] 1 / [Team Resilience] 1 / [Team Momentum] 1 / [Team Doctrine] 1 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 1 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Mark Target] 1 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 1 / [Hum of Striding] 1 / [Hum of Defence] 1 / [Hum of Harmony] 1 / [Hum of Discord] 1 / [Hum of Cleansing] 1 / [Hum of Mist] 1 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 1 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Stable Reality] 1 / [Unstable Reality] 1 / [Manifest Intruder] 1 / [Seal Intruder] 1 / [Banish Intruder] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1
Ability Points:
0
Title: Crown Shard of the Lonely Despot.
A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one’s own power.
This title makes it so only the wielder may dispel their own mind-controlling effects.
This title negates the Psy cost of mind-controlling effects used on those below the wielder’s current Tier.
This title degrades mind-controlling immunity of affected targets to mind-controlling resistance.
This title doubles Total Psy.
“Weary are they who bear the burden of leadership.”
Title: Crown Shard of the Chained Poet.
A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one’s own power.
This title makes it so only forces above Tier V may dispel the wielder’s illusions.
This title makes it so that illusions lower target’s resistance to mind-controlling effects.
This title increases Total Psy by 50%.
“Woe to they who lose their grip on reality.”
Title: Crown Shard of the Cruel Judge.
A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one’s own power.
This title makes the wielder immune to all mind-altering effects at or below Tier V; with the exception of the wielder’s own.
This title doubles the Psy cost of abilities used against the wielder.
This title increases Total Psy by 50%.
“There can be no innocence. Only degrees of guilt.”
Title: Crown Shard of the Wizened Prophet.
A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one’s own power.
This title makes it so the wielder occasionally experiences bursts of Enlightenment.
This title makes it so the wielder occasionally interacts with non-real alternate versions of themselves.
This title makes so that hidden knowledge is revealed to the wilder at random intervals.
This title provides a constant +1 Bonus to all ability levels.
This title increases Total Psy by 70%.
Granny Golden’s beak dropped to the floor.
She gasped. Then heaved.
Mimicking an animal being strangled by a serpent.
“T,T,T-Tier ten.” She managed to groan after half a minute.
Her body froze immediately afterwards. Her avian features turning, ever so slowly, towards my general direction.
Her beady eyes met mine.
I waved; a bit embarrassed by the whole ordeal.
“Look, I’m sorry okay. I shouldn’t have…”
“HEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLPPP!!!!!”
She threw herself against the nearest wall. Using some Projector ability to launch her body like a rocket.
“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!! HEEEEEEELP! ADMIN! ADMIN!!!! GET ME THE (Foxxan) OUT OF HERE!!!!! HEEEEEELP!!”