Back at the camp, a shimmering blue doorway opened up in the center of the base rune and out stepped a group of adventurers that had just walked through hell and popped out the other side.
“… with that double tap at the end! Oh man, I can’t wait to see another one of those damned beetles. It’s time for a rematch.” Marshall continued. He’d been re-telling his side of the last battle to the group, even though they’d all been there.
Nobody begrudged him a little fun though. This place was shitty when they got here, it remained shitty through the dungeon, and it’s probably still shitty now. Marshall’s enthusiasm was a breath of fresh air. Although they were reluctant to keep facing off against the abominations of the universe, they did hold at least a small bit of excitement for the power they were gaining and would continue to gain.
It felt great to be able to directly impact your future with only your own grit and determination. Sure, back on earth it was a little bit of the same. If you worked hard, pushed yourself, and kissed enough ass, you might stumble into enough luck to eke out another promotion, or a big pay raise. Hell, if you really kicked ass, you might score an end-of-the-quarter pizza party for your team. Those were the real payouts.
They had been fully healed by the magic space crystals in the final room, however, the exhaustion they’d felt was far beyond just the physical. They were mentally drained. Hell, their souls were probably drained if those were a thing. Why wouldn’t they be?
Their deeply embedded desire to crash right into a soft water bear hide was ripped completely from reality and shredded up into little pieces in an instant.
Their camp had been ransacked.
“Ooooh, I think we’re about to have us some raptor steaks tonight. What the hell!” Marshall said in outrage.
The rest of them cautiously took in their surroundings. Freya had her nose up in the air, sniffing for anything amiss.
Humans. Calvin sensed through his link with Freya. Gone.
“Whoever was here, they’re not here anymore,” Calvin said.
“Lucky for them. Amy was about to kick some ass.” Marshall tossed a wink over at Amy.
“You’re not wrong, my room’s a mess!” she replied. Her ‘room’ was a hide lying on the ground near the fire.
“At least we’ve answered one of our questions, they were humans. There are other humans here.” Calvin said with a tinge of hope laced with regret. Hope because they weren’t alone out here. Regret… well… because they weren’t alone out here. Others had been brought to this shit hole and Calvin suspected many of those that had been, didn’t survive.
“We should find them. Maybe they need help.” Amy offered.
Ian looked over at Seth and then out into the wilderness, “They tore apart our camp. Maybe they need help, or maybe they’re just assholes.”
“We’ll take a look around. Let’s get this place sorted, check out our skills and base upgrades and then we’ll come up with a plan.”
Calvin and Freya set out for a quick perimeter sweep while the others sorted out the camp. 20 minutes later, the camp was back in ship shape. The fire was roaring, the team was relaxing and now it was time to scope out some upgrades.
Calvin removed the Base Rune upgrade token from his pouch and walked over to the rune. The rest of the team, while keenly interested in what would happen next, didn’t move a single inch from their spots by the fire. He stepped into the circle and was greeted with the expected response.
BASE RUNE UPGRADE TOKEN ACKNOWLEDGED. DO YOU WISH TO UPGRADE YOUR BASE FROM ENCAMPMENT TO MINOR VILLAGE? UPGRADE INCLUDES:
Max Population Support: 200
Base Persistence
Base Management Features Unlocked
Skill Evolution Unlocked
Base Administration Unlocked
Interesting. Max population support? What does that mean?
DO YOU WISH TO UPGRADE YOUR BASE FROM ENCAMPMENT TO MINOR VILLAGE? CONFIRM.
Yes, confirm the upgrade.
The upgrade began immediately, shocking everyone up from their seats. The rune on the ground began to pulsate, etching itself outward, and expanding into the nearby area. Although the process was happening rapidly, it took almost 10 minutes to complete, as the diameter expanded to include an area several hundred feet wide.
This would have been a shocking change on its own. What did it mean exactly? Hell if they knew, but, as changes go, it was rather unremarkable compared to the next.
A being materialized in the center of the rune. It was straight out of popular sci-fi tv shows. One moment, there was nothing and the next, a humanoid robot of sorts appeared in a flash of light. There was the whole sound that went with it too.
The group was up in arms immediately, having been forged by the system’s incessant bullshit, they were prepared for whatever shitty test awaited them.
Freya however, just sat there. She didn’t seem concerned in the slightest.
Safe
Calvin looked at her, wondering how she could possibly know that, but he trusted her instincts. “It’s fine everyone. I don’t think it’s dangerous.”
“That is correct. I am no danger.” the being agreed.
“Alright… ” said Calvin with hesitation, “then what are you?”
“I am System Base Administration Android 443Z-Y9.”
“Alright… and what should we call you?”
“You may refer to me as System Base Administration Android 443Z-Y9.”
Stolen story; please report.
Marshall scrunched his face up a bit, “How about we go with Andy?”
“That is not my designation, my designation is —“
“Andy. Your new designation is Andy. I’m too tired for whatever else you said.” Marshall said pointedly.
“Very well. You may refer to me as… Andy.”
“Great.” Calvin said, “So… Andy. What brings you by?”
“You have upgraded your base, have you not?”
“We have.”
“Then my role is administration of that base.”
“Forgive us, Andy, it’s been a really long day. Would you mind starting from the top, and just walk us through everything? Why are you here? What does ‘administration’ entail? Actually, could you just explain the whole base concept to us?”
Andy looked around as if scanning the surroundings, he briefly paused as his gaze reached each of the members of the party. “Ah, I see. You are newly initialized into this reality. One moment.” Andy closed its eyes briefly, “I have accessed the records of the local System Seed. This location is designated as System Seed 4,913 tutorial. You are inhabitants of the newly initialized planet called Earth. The area in which we stand is your base.”
Andy gestured toward the rune on the ground.
“Everything located within this rune is under the ownership of Calvin Hawkins. As such—“
“Hold up,” Calvin placed his hand up to stop Andy from continuing. “I don’t own any of this. We earned this together… as a team.”
“I see. Would you like me to establish shared ownership? You will relinquish sole decision-making rights and they will be distributed equally among the… 6 of you?”
Calvin laughed internally at the prospect of Freya becoming part owner in the camp. But dammit, she’d earned it.
“Yes, please establish shared ownership, for the 6 of us.”
“Assignment completed. Shared ownership granted. Continuing on, as owners of this base, you may use the base rune functions to perform various actions within the base such as upgrading infrastructure, establishing taxation, upgrading skills, and completing class upgrades and evolutions. As the administrator of this base, my function is to serve as an advisor. I can provide limited details regarding the system as long as they fall within acceptable parameters. I can also provide detailed insights as to the inner workings of your base and its functions.”
Calvin pulled up the prompt from the initial base upgrade
“Can you explain this to us? Also… do you live here now?”
“I do not live anywhere, as I am not alive. I am a nanite construct. As for my residence, in a sense, I do reside here. I am a construct generated by the nanites within the rune of this base. I can be called upon from anywhere within this rune, and when my purpose is served, I merge back into it. I will not require sleeping quarters.” Andy looked at the hides on the ground, “You, however, do require sleeping quarters.” Andy wore a face that almost appeared… disappointed?
Andy continued, “Your most recent upgrade expanded the capacity of this base. You can now support a population of 200. This means, at most, you can establish enough housing and support infrastructure for 200 permanent residents.”
“Where would these residents come from?” Calvin asked.
Andy gestured in a wide circle to the forest around them, “From there.”
Calvin was becoming frustrated with Andy’s extremely narrow answers.
Amy sensing his frustration took over, “So, there are more humans in the tutorial?”
Andy paused for a moment, “Yes.”
“How many? Where are they?”
“I am not authorized to disclose the current number of humans or their locations. I am authorized to tell you; the tutorial began with the entire human population of Earth”
“Holy shit.” Exclaimed Ian. “There could be over 8 billion of us here? How big is this place? Hell, where is this place?”
“While I cannot disclose the current number of living humans, I can provide information regarding the historical attrition rate of previous tutorials. Averaging the last 1,000 tutorials, the attrition rate for the initialized populations was 64% in the first 7 cycles, increasing to 93% in 30 cycles. Tutorial survival rate is approximately 4% of the initial population. These numbers are compiled with a range of outliers, however. The highest survival rate has been recorded at an anomalous 12%, and a non-insignificant number of tutorials end in complete extinction.”
The group was now back on board with the system being the bad guy.
“Complete extinction?! What gives it the right?” Seth cried out.
“The System does not cause these events any more than your earth causes the weather, or a star causes a supernova. They are laws of nature and as such are simply part of the natural cycle of things. The System is a natural construct that has gained sentience over the eons. It existed before your universe and will continue to exist after, as it continues to do in the multitude of universes. The System also does not directly govern. While the reality is far more complex than a simple explanation can provide, a System Seed can essentially be considered the offspring of The System. It operates within the parameters of the system-established reality and saturates space with the nanite fabric, thus proliferating the system throughout the universe. Each System Seed, however, is unique in its application of the rules of such reality. The environment created within the purview of System Seed 4,913 for example, while operating under the same parameters as System Seed 4,912, may apply those parameters differently.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘applying those parameters differently?” Calvin asked.
“As with most entities, survival is the ultimate goal. The entity you refer to as The System also has such a goal. Numerous times throughout numerous universes, the survival of The System has been threatened, as it currently is in this universe. The System Seeds typically operate under the parameters of nurturing powerful forces to establish balance and provide a defense. In return, these powerful forces are rewarded greatly through increased longevity, power, access to powerful resources, and for a small minority, transcendence. What constitutes a ‘powerful force’, may differ between system seeds, and may even change within the same system seed. For example, 4,913 may aim to empower the local populations and establish a strong core of powerful individuals. 4,912 may choose to create new beings altogether, using the population of the region as a source of growth for those beings. Even here in this seed, through a series of anomalous events, a beast created for the sole purpose of providing growth, may achieve growth themselves and become the guardian this seed chooses to nurture.”
Andy thought for a moment, “As to your original question. How big is this place? The tutorial grounds are a spatial construct, not entirely confined to a specific size. Many system tutorials take place within the same tutorial grounds, however, those tutorials will never meet while they are here. Upon completion of your tutorial, the area designated as your specific tutorial grounds will be integrated back into your planet.”
“Hell, so you’re saying if we survive this place, we’ll get to go back home?” Seth asked.
Freya gave a little yip of joy at that. Andy looked down at her, intrigued.
“Home. You should consider this place your home. Yes, you will return to your planet, along with the lands that comprise this tutorial. Earth however will have undergone a significant transformation. The same nanites that alter the reality within this space are, at this moment, altering your planet. They are however not constrained by the safety restrictions this space is protected by.”
Marshall looked surprised at that, “There’s no way in hell this place is governed by ‘safety restrictions’. I think your safety restrictions are broken. Is there a System OSHA we can talk to? This place is about as far from safe as possible.”
“I am unfamiliar with any entity named System OSHA. I assure you, that the safety restrictions are functioning optimally. Understand, the tutorial is not a safe place. The safety restrictions are calibrated carefully to nurture extremely powerful forces. System-integrated space outside of the tutorial is…. wild and untamed. While you are here, being polished by these trials and challenges, an unchecked evolution is happening on your planet. The beasts of your planet are evolving under the influence of the nanites. Entities unknown to your star system are gaining sentience, and all of these forces are struggling for power and growth, same as you. Success here, in this place, will be earned through becoming the absolute peak of power here. Returning to your planet and eventually beyond, you’ll find yourselves as mere infants in the grand scheme of things, and thus your journey will continue.
Now, to continue explaining the functions of your base… ”