Chapter 85: Lessons for the Others.

Well, wasn’t that funny. Overwhelming cosmic power and the ability to pretty much hyperfocus on any one moment within the timelines I could see as if it were an entire eternity unto itself.

Yet I could still be wounded by mean words.

How very fascinating.

Now, a different man would have taken the comment in stride and moved on from there. After all, she was perfectly within her rights to feel that way.

I did kind of, sort of, put tens of thousands of bad people in rather precarious positions back home.

Very, very few villains or corrupt politicians got away with their hides mostly intact and the people doing the judging didn’t exactly come away from it without side-effects either.

I stood guilty of everything she accused me of. I couldn’t even summon the energy to dispute her. I wasn’t quite that shameless.

Yet it still hurt.

It hurt a lot.

I could have retorted in all kinds of way. Maybe, reminding her that she owed her life and freedom to me. Or I could bring up the very prescient truth that our world was as close to global peace as it would ever be and that every decent person there was objectively better off. That would have been in poor taste however.

It would be rubbing in the fact that I did indeed have as much power as she feared, as well as the willingness to use it.

She would find out anyway, as soon as the day was done, but actively bragging about what Ièd done would be all kinds of wrong.

It would be akin to bragging about all the hardships Mittens had put my parents and their group through.

It simply wasn’t something to be proud of, despite the fact that I would do it all over again given the chance.

I didn’t say any of those things. Opting instead for a little bit more silent brooding.

Prudence realized what she’d said only after she’d said it. Now she was making all sorts of wheezing sounds, desperately trying to pass off the comment as meaningless. Lying through her teeth despite knowing damn well that I knew every single thought passing through her mind.

“We’re friends Sully. You know that. Its just that we all realize how much stronger you are. Its not a bad thing. Its just a little unnerving. Like standing next to someone like Thunder Fist. No matter how gentle and kind he is, you can’t help but think about what might happen if he gets angry. Its not you. I swear. I know you wouldn’t…”

I ignored her, my mind going to the visions I had of Vince over at the Peak difficulty instance. Of Thunder Fist next to him.

‘Weeeeeell. At least they’re alive. At least I’ll see Vince again after the forums come online for everyone. I’ll get to talk to him just like I do with Henry, once the second cycle starts. It could have been worse.’

That was another nasty surprise that Prudence had coming to her, but I wasn’t about to let her know. She’d find some way to blame it on me, despite there being nothing I could have done.

“Sully.” Dusty began, worry coloring her features.

I held up a hand and laughed a little forcefully.

“Its all right. I’m confident enough that a little comment won’t shake me.” I lied. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make my way towards the training area. I have things to try out. Those Shifter abilities won’t raise themselves; you know?”

I beat a hasty retreat, Dusty following closely. The rest stayed put. Watching the scene unfold.

“She shouldn’t have said that.” Dusty said quickly. “It’s not her place to judge you. At least, not for your might. Not when all you’ve done is help her and the rest. It is the duty of all warriors to better themselves as much as possible so that they can better protect the weak around them. You’ve made mistakes, but seeking power is not one of them. In fact, she’s the one making mistakes by not listening to you. Her whole approach to abilities is short-sighted and it will cost her. I’ll make sure she knows that…”

“Don’t. Dusty. It’s fine.”

“No. No it is not fine. Contrary to her words and her actions, Prudence is not stupid. She knows that weakness is not a virtue and she knows the consequences of being helpless. She had no right.”

“No. No. It is fine. It doesn’t bother me. Not after all I’ve done.”

Dusty hesitated. So, I grabbed her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. Accompanying the gesture with the best smile I could manage.

“This is for the best. I needed to do something to take my mind off of the System messages. I’m going to train with my new abilities again. Maybe in a group setting this time, instead of against monsters. I’ll get a handle on what I can do now and update the board with more specifics. I already wrote down a bunch of combinations, but the subjective assessments will help too. Don’t make a big deal out of this. Please. Let it go.”

Dusty scrounged up her face, letting her displeasure become apparent to all the people wandering nearby.

The younger children like Farah and Troy, who had been scampering merrily about suddenly stopped their game. The 12-year-olds were the youngest members of the group, always looking around with wide-eyed curiosity at the latest developments while giving no hint that they’d suffered traumatic experiences under the care of the gnomes.

Next to them was Jacob, smelling of burnt flesh and sweat. He was carrying two big metal plates scrounged up from a robot I’d agreed to decommission in hopes that their study could advance our knowledge on where they’d come from and what they were most vulnerable to.

His mind was afire. Focused on his failings when it came to the materials Orphan Maker had provided. His heart ablaze with a deranged wanderlust when it came to working the unflinching hunks of ore.

‘There’s one that knows where the winds are blowing.’ I thought with a pang of satisfaction. ‘That stubbornness won’t pay off for a month or two yet, but when it does, it’ll lead him to a couple of combined abilities. On both Enhancer and Projector.’

Sadly, I couldn’t let him know what I had seen.

The knowledge of eventual success would calm him down, but in doing so, it would kill his ferocious drive to improve. Oddly enough, Jacob could only perform his best in the timelines where defeat and failure were all but certain. His ego forcing him onwards in the face of exhaustion and burnout, where lesser men might have stumbled.

‘I could learn a lesson or two from that. Just because I know that I can improve at a certain pace, doesn’t mean I can’t push past it. The future is not truly writ in stone, after all.’

Speaking of which….

System Notice:

Student: Solomon Carter, has been banned from receiving System Rewards for their performance in the Tutorial.

Student: Solomon Carter, has been banned from appearing on the Leaderboards.

Student: Solomon Carter, will be flagged on the forums once they activate for all other Students.

Student: Solomon Carter, will have all their Store Tokens confiscated and will not be able to gain any more Store Tokens within the Tutorial.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Student: Solomon Carter, will not be allowed to challenge the Hidden Boss: New Moon Spider. Any attempt to do so will teleport the Student to Human City.

Further measures are under consideration.

“Wow. That’s a bit draconian, isn’t it?” I exclaimed.

“What is?” Dusty asked.

I showed her the new screen and shared my memories of how the possible futures were growing more muffled by the second.

“Hm. Yes. I can see why you would think so.” She began. “But I would be lying if I said it surprised me.”

“How so?”

She shrugged.

“The System calls us students. That hints at its main concern having to do with instructing us. You entering the battle would be akin to my father fighting a common mushroom picker. No matter how you look at it, the fight would not be fair. It would not be honorable. The only lesson the commoner will learn is that his bones are far more brittle than he ever thought possible.”

She smiled at me and rolled up the sleeves of her own Symbiote to show off her biceps.

“On the other hand, we who are still in a position to learn have much to gain from fighting the Hidden Boss. I won’t reach my limits until level 150 and many others have plenty of room to grow in their secondary, or in Charlie’s case, tertiary Type. Besides, there is a chance those of us who are not Savants might gain more Types, as well as ability combinations. Your boosts gave us a leg up in the competition, but I will not be so stupid as to think this is all there is. Any of those enforcers that were so frightened by you could have killed me a dozen times over. They were the first to show themselves, but they will most certainly not be the last.”

“I mean, yeah. But I could have still acted as insurance to make sure no one died.”

Dusty shook her head.

“We both know that wouldn’t have yielded the same results. Both from your memories and mine own. Improvements can best be seen when one’s back is against the wall. At the very least, I’m confident in running away if all hope dies. And that is with only one Type and assuming I’m fighting alone. Add in Monique and I honestly cannot see how we could be in any danger. Throw in the fact that it was always supposed to be a raid made up of ALL the warriors down here, and I seriously doubt we will struggle overmuch. Even without you being there. If that (Gnome) Anezka could do it while relying on a shiny toy from her planet, then there is little chance the rest of us won’t manage.”

“Anezka beat the regular Beetle boss. Not the Spider.” I reminded her. “The Spider tore her fifteen new (Gnome)holes while Sarcophagus Sully watched and cackled to himself. And she had Randall with her then. A crippled, barely more powerful than the current you version of Randall, but still. The point stands. My grandpa is right to think overconfidence is dangerous.”

Her smile brightened.

“Aww. Are you worried about me?”

“Of course, I am.” I replied at once. Perhaps with a bit too much force.

Dusty looked away and was momentarily consumed by impure thoughts as she blushed.

I would have blushed too, if my body had allowed it.

Instead, I stewed in my feelings as my face took on the semblance of stone. My mind wrestling with a mixture of embarrassment and smug satisfaction that my words had been received so very well.

“Now that I think of it, this could be seen as a wise arbitration, rather than a punishment for you.”

Dusty continued as we walked. Her voice breaking somewhat before it took on its usual pitch and tempo.

“I am very much looking forward to see how all of us can push ourselves without you looming over us. In a manner of speaking.”

I had to say, she had a point.

Mighty as I now was, the correct choice back home had been to empower the others to make them self-sufficient, rather than allowing them to think I would always be there to protect them.

Yes, it had caused issues, but far fewer than any of the alternatives I had seen. The world I had left behind would not be plagued by the whims of Masons or those like him. They would not be coerced into meekly standing by while their rights were stripped away.

Everyone, from the lowliest beggar to the wealthiest socialite, had a chance to defend themselves. To help, when the Rifts opened up.

Again, it might not have been the perfect solution, but it was a solution. One of the few workable ones that I could live with.

After all, if everyone was equally blessed, then no one could rise up to the position of oppressor.

I nodded to myself at that. Forcing my neck to carry out the motions as I kept struggling to train my body so that it carried them out automatically.

Then I looked away from Jacob, and his projects.

Behind him were Ahmed and Raj, eagerly sharing tips they’d discovered from their self-experimentation.

All were looking at Dusty and me as if we were polar bears that escaped our enclosures. Frail, twiglike bodies staring up at overwhelmingly powerful beasts.

I gave them a somewhat sincere smile and hoped they got distracted by something else.

“I’m headed to the training room to try out some new stuff. Taking one of the robots outside with me too. I want to see what it can do with me beside it.”

‘I don’t care what they think, Sully. You’ll always be my best friend forever.’

‘Thank you, Buddy. That helps.’

‘Anytime!’

We made our way back the training room, followed closely by two robot bulls who were already in a state of disrepair. Jacob had been urging me to dismantle more robots for him to tinker with and this seemed like a practical solution. These two would most likely be left broken after sparring and he could take what was left for his own purposes.

Stellio and Subutai were sprawled on the floor when we came back. Their groans betraying pain that almost came close to what Randall was feeling at this very moment. Gina was still standing, despite not doing much better.

Her eyes were focused on Slab’s club as it rested on his shoulders.

He took a few steps forward, giving no inkling of which direction he would attack from.

Gina moved swiftly in response, dashing to one side and then the other. Trying to find a blind spot from where she might be able to land a hit.

I knew that was a futile gesture. I would’ve known that even without being able to see the immediate future.

Gina was too nervous, too focused on the consequences of failure. Meanwhile Slab was as calm as still water. Breathing steadily while maintaining his relaxed posture.

Any overt attack would be met with a swift counterattack, a fact she and all the spectators knew.

“Hey there!” I called out. “Any chance of interrupting the match and letting me have a go?”

Slab turned towards me, mouth hanging open. He looked like mother bear whose cubs had been run over by an eighteen-wheeler mere moments ago. So did Gina for that matter.

She was the first to speak.

“Sorry boss. We didn’t mean to hold you up. We’ll get out of yer way.”

“No.” I answered, causing her to flinch. “Before we do anything else, I need to apologize.”

“Apologize?”

“Yes. To you and Subutai and Stellio. I, I’ve let my jealousy get the better of me and I’ve made all three of you uncomfortable. That’s why I’ve been leering from afar.”

“You were jealous?” She asked incredulously. “Of us?”

She waved to indicate the tow others, who were now sitting up and looking equally surprised.

“Yes. You all have three Types. You got them from the start, and that was driving me crazy. It’s a silly thing to be hung up on and I take full responsibility. Hopefully we can make up for it by training together now. If only for a little while before we go back home. Think of it like a team-building exercise.”

“You want us to train together? Like, us against you?”

“No. I want all of us to be on the same team and go up against Slab, Charlie, Olga and the rest. I won’t use Telepath abilities to make it fair. New Shifter powers only.”

“Doesn’t sound like we’ll have much of a chance.” Stellio said while getting to his feet. “Don’t worry about the other thing. I was afraid that I’d offended you somehow. I won’t hold a grudge.”

“Neither will I.” Subutai added.

“Glad to hear it. I want to make sure all the survivors from our camp know that they can depend on me. For anything that they might need. As for our chances, I got some new abilities I want to test out. Yes, they’re weaker than the stuff you all know me for, but they are still combined abilities. I think I can pull some cool things off.”

Borislav’s legs exploded with muscle and he bolted out of the training area so far that a cloud of sand erupted upwards at the spot where he’d recently been. The air parted with his passing and slapped me backwards before I managed to regain my footing.

‘Well, that was uncalled for.’ I thought with a small pang of bitterness. ‘He should know I meant no harm after all this time.’

“I guess he doesn’t want to participate. Dusty, would you feel comfortable taking his place?”

She made a troubled expression, but accepted my request.

We arranged ourselves into impromptu teams afterwards. Me, Stellio, Subutai and Gina on one side of the ring and Dusty, Slab, Charlie, Mr. Park, Esmeralda, Fernando, Colette, Ryan, Louise, and Jane on the other.

I let go of any expectations I’d had of punching my way to victory then. Devoting myself to hold out as long as possible using only my new Shifter body.

I called on the new aspects of my being. The other, separate inner world. The one shaped like a squirming organ.

It was half a liver and half a heart. Pumping Psy ferociously into my cells and calling on them to improve. To adapt. To change.

I felt the organ’s coarseness and relative clumsiness when compared to the strings I was accustomed to. Their inherent weakness next to the thick ropes I’d weaved together.

Now was the time to learn more about it.

To fight as a Shifter would.

I narrowed my focus on my future-sight and felt it shudder to a stop.

The clarity of the cobweb giving way to a confused mesh of sharpened senses.

The three of them shuddered. As if sensing the change.

Subutai feeling impossibly light as he began to sweat. His own instincts warning him of the danger behind him, rather than the one in front.

Gina stumbled forward, feeling different Enhancer, Shifter, and Telepath powers activating from within her at different times while she stood still.

Stellio felt a bit of both worlds, though he was an Enhancer, Projector, and Telepath, without Shifter abilities. His reaction was to hurl whatever remained of the lemonade he’d drunk earlier and to kneel on the sand while wheezing.

I hesitated, considering that it might be better for them to practise using regular workout routines before trying out live combat.

That went out the window when Mr. Park turned his right arm into one massive spine-spitting canon and aimed it at me. He’d been going for my legs, hoping the pain would incapacitate me before I could assist my group in any meaningful way.

Instead, I felt…

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

The odd sensation carried on for a few fractions of a second. Time seeming to dilate as my nerves came alive with bio-electricity.

Then, my cells began to greedily devour the projectile whole. Enveloping it as an amoeba would its prey.

Only then, did the Shifter levels finally come.