In a similar flood of iridescent light, we appear in our same, huddled position on a circular platform roughly 100 feet across made of some unknown and shining, silvery metal; one that nearly glows with energy from within. I blink a few times to adjust to the bright light and take in our surroundings, noticing as well a small, shed-like structure toward one edge of our platform with what appears to be a couple small rooms inside.
Turning my eyes further outward, I find we are at the very back of a massive, brightly lit space easily the size of several football stadiums and filled with hundreds of platforms the same as the one we have appeared on! They are spread throughout the vertical and horizontal axes so as to fill the space in its entirety with a stage of some sort set at the very far end from our spot.
The closest platforms are at least a few hundred feet from our own, each equally distant, it seems, from their own neighbors. High above, I realize that instead of a roof, there is a huge, clear dome revealing not sky beyond, but the void of space itself.
I realize with no small amount of excitement, that we are on some sort of space station or ship!
A few moments later, my awe is confirmed as a small, blue orb comes drifting into view through the dome overhead-- We are orbiting earth!
Shaking off my wonder for a moment, I turn my attention to flashes of light beginning to appear on many, yet not all, of the surrounding platforms, the phenomenon I soon see is caused by other humans being teleported in.
A moment later, a different shade of colorful lights illuminates the rest of the platforms, revealing some new, strange beings in vibrant, high-quality robes to my closely observing eyes.
The creatures appear roughly humanoid in shape but beyond that, they nearly all have unique colors and shades to their skin tones with small, Beast-like mutations noticeable on many of them.
I scrutinize every detail I can of them, my expectation that they are soon to be our enemies nearly certain.
I look closely at the nearest specimen, a helpful System tag popping up as I do:
{Sylph, Wind Cultivator, E.L.(Equivalent Level) 27}
An apparent male standing roughly 6 feet tall with broad shoulders and narrow hips, he is clearly no stranger to physical pursuits. His hair is an almost inky black while his skin tone is a light, gentle blue, like a sparrow’s egg and, as I watch on, I notice something strange, something that draws my instincts to hone even closer on it.
Peering intently at the figure, I detect the slightest bit of wind jostling his air, caressing the folds of his fashionable robes and yet, I notice no wind from my position. Hypothesis forming, I retreat deep into my mind, focusing on that part of me tied to nature and all of the natural world. I feel around me with that connection, buoying it out further and further from me until, at last, I dimly encounter an anomaly that confirms my theory.
This Sylph is quite literally manifesting wind around him simply by existing!
He must take on properties of his cultivation element, somehow.
Or perhaps it’s a racial trait?
As I let my attention drift wider, I notice more and more elemental instances spontaneously surrounding all of the Cultivators, as if they have flavored their very bodies and souls with a chosen element and become an extension of it somehow.
Intriguing…
But I am pulled from further study by a booming voice from the stage in the distance, the figure now suddenly standing there somehow magnified in my vision from so far away as to appearas if he is right in front of me!
The being stands at least 7 feet tall, his body a stocky, thick limbed form with shining golden skin scarred or tattooed with intricate, rune-like markings or glyphs of some sort. He wears fine white robes that leave his forearms and chiseled chest bare, his feet clad in intricate leather sandals not far off from what the ancient Romans may have worn and finally, astonishingly enough, a pair of great, silvery white wings spring from his back!
The System puts up his ID tag but its contents are less than useful…
{The Arbiter, ???, ???}
His deep, booming voice fills the air with a heaviness of power yet unknowable to my mind even with my growth and enhancements, his words resonating and leaving what is sure to be a lasting, nigh on eternal, impression:
“Attention Players of the Apex Leveling and Essence Cultivation Systems, I am the Arbiter of the Great Contest. The Creator has gifted me with the hallowed mission to regulate and referee this wondrous competition for the pursuit of Perfection for All. Around you, you will find natives of your own planet, chosen by your System for their prowess, as well as Players from your opposition. Competition will be both individual, in terms of personal victories, understandings or advancements and collectively for your System, in terms of accumulated points from their Players’ contributions and overall number of victories through all challenges. The losing System will give up their most recently acquired planet or planetary body to the victor to be stripped for resources to be used to grow its Players further in preparation for their next round of the Great Contest.”
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The Arbiter pauses here as if to let the info settle into our minds, the view magnifying towards his upper body suddenly, revealing eyes of swirling, liquid gold beaming from either side of an aquiline, Michaelangelo worthy nose framed by cheekbones that look like they could cut through solid steel with a cliché, Superman style, clefted chin to really rub our noses in it.
He begins to pace on stage, the magnified view following him perfectly as he begins to speak once more:
“You likely have many questions. Some, I will answer throughout the rest of my introduction while others, you will need to answer for yourself as you discover different aspects of the Contest. This was deemed optimal to force out the greatest potential from all Players. This Round will feature 3 challenges of differing lengths, difficulties and goals. The first of which will take place in an artificial world of the exalted Creator’s design known as The Garden. Players will be placed alone and at random throughout the entirety of the planet but may team up with other Players if they so desire to risk. Bonded Companions will be the exception and will teleport with the Player. Be warned though, this challenge will be scored individually and therefore, Players may harm, kill or even steal from their competitors, same System or not.”
At this, a wave of whispers, gasps and objections echo through the cavernous space as my fellows realize the dangers just ahead.
Allowing us to react for a moment, the Arbiter speaks up once more in his powerful, deep voice, “Yes, you should feel fear, anxiety, desperation even. The stakes are high, therefore the challenges shall be as well, of course. The Creator has no patience for empty victories or hollow growth, its purposes are high, high above even the greatest of beings and are of the utmost importance to us all, whether you know it or not.”
‘Hmmm, is that some propaganda I smell?’ I think to myself ruefully. I suppose even a God wants good press.
“Back to the challenge… Your goal will be to gather as much of the naturally formed treasures, be it herbs, ore, skins or other crafting or advancement materials, in the 1 month allotted for you to spend on the planet. This world is a highly desirable one to visit and petitions from established worlds are waitlisted nearly a century long, so use your opportunity there for all you are able. I doubt any of you shall be able to afford to return in your lifetime’s. The treasures gathered will be weighted by my personal System to determine point value as you gather them, placing the point total for your haul into your PAID as it fluctuates. You may use the treasures as you progress, should you choose, or sell them to the System at the end for automatically generated rewards styled just for you.”
“Hmm, so it’s a trade-off the? Save the treasures for personally suited rewards but lack the strength I may need in the round itself if I don’t use them. I suppose I should choose in a case by case basis then, based upon how much a given treasure can help in the moment.” I think, before I’m pulled from my pondering by a loud voice.
“A month?!! I need to be home before then! My people are counting on me!” a fellow Earthling wrapped in bronze armor and hefting a large hammer a few dozen platforms in front of me shouts in complaint.
The Arbiter freezes at the interruption, his head turning eerily slowly until his blazing golden eyes bore into the man who begins to tremble almost as soon as they land upon him.
A moment later, an awkwardly silent one at that, the man goes up in a burst golden flames that seem to sing with not just power, but some sort of holiness as well!
Great cries of alarm fill the chamber, until a loud thud forces everyone silent again, the Arbiter’s massive foot creating the sound with his armored boot.
“No questions. No interruptions.” He states a moment later, eyes boring through what seems like everyone in the room individually as he makes his point, and then drives it home a moment later….
“Any questions?” he says with a dark smile, his eyes glowing even more brightly at his apparent eagerness for further murder.
Dead silence.
I’m not sure I have ever been in a room with several hundred people and had it be completely silent, I didn’t even think such a thing was possible!
Apparently, the trick to it is to just immolate someone with a look.
The things you learn….
“Good. You can be taught after all. As the Creator wills, let the Great Contest Round #299,998,675 begin!”
At his cue, people beginning successively vanishing from the room starting near the stage holding the Arbiter in streams of brilliant light.
As the hundreds of humans and sylphs vanish, I realize that myself and two other humans remain behind in our platforms at the farthest from the stage as well as 3 nearby sylphs, including the wind cultivator, on their own platforms as equally far from the stage.
Looking around in curiously, I observe the tags for my remaining two racial peers, a man and a woman:
{Human, Dragoon, Lv.28}
{Human, Arcane Archer, Lv.29}
The Dragoon, a large, pale man, wears heavier style armor of clearly high quality with a Spartan style helm of silvery-bronze material covering long blonde hair and clutching in his mailed fist a nearly 10-foot-long boar spear with a wickedly pointed 2-foot-long arrow shaped head which is supported over two protruding rods to prevent rushes down its length.
The Arcane Archer wears a mix of leather and mail armor, not too far off of my own hybrid apparel, but with a more black and grey hue instead of my own green, grey and brown set. Her eyes are a piercing cat-like green, likely an asset to her marksmanship, while she carries a strung bow over her shoulder, its metallic wood finish and golden threaded bowstring guaranteeing it is of very high quality as well.
On the other side besides the wind sylph are a fire-aspect one and one I believe to be space or perhaps light aligned, if the rapidly fluctuating appearance and disappearance is anything to go by, the being’s purple skin not giving me many clues to go on.
I’m pulled from my observations by the Arbiter’s voice once more, curious to find out why we were held back.
“You remaining few are the top ranked Players for your respective Systems, affording you some small bit of extra information as a reward for your growth and to give you the opportunity to further prove yourself. When you appear on The Garden, a map will be placed into your PAID detailing the location of the top treasure in whichever Zone of the planet you appear in and will update whenever you enter a new Zone. The choice to pursue it or not lies with you but beware: all 6 of you will be placed in adjacent Zones and therefore, you can move to another’s and collect their highest treasure as well, should you choose.” He tells us, his words and facial expressions giving away his clear bloodlust in pitting us against each other so obviously.
“Now, begone.” He says with the casually dismissive wave of a golden skinned hand, sending us off in yet another series of iridescent lights and on to the challenge to come.