Haley sat next to Mason and took his hand, giving him an apologetic smile. Then her blue eyes glazed.

"We're getting tons of details," she said. "Civilians I mean. This tournament thing is huge. It's way more than just the apocalyptic Olympics."

"Do tell," Mason said with a sigh, trying to block out all the frenzied conversation he could hear outside with his ever growing senses.

"First off, it's being hosted in some kind..." Haley shrugged, "AI operated, touristy island. Sounds like we can't get to it on our own, like it's not even on the planet, or...do you know what a 'plane' is? As in alternate plane?"

"Sort of. That's how I travel so fast. Does it say which plane?"

Haley shook her head. "There's a lot of information. I'm guessing you'll want the abridged version." When Mason just nodded Haley rolled her eyes. "OK. The competition. It says there's teams of six, three, and two. But the main event is one on one duels. Anyone can take part in that. But you can only be on one 'team'."

Mason was about to ask why the hell anyone should take part at all when Haley held up a knowing hand.

"There's rewards. Experience, titles, knowledge, items, special powers...you name it."

Mason sighed, knowing their overlord would know exactly how to entice everyone it wanted.

"Is it to the death?"

Haley shook her head. "Fortunately, no. It says all duels and team events will be 'totally realistic', but will 'not result in permanent death and injury'."

"Well that's good news. And it means every single player has no choice but to take part." He sighed. "But we're going to have to figure out teams. Check out the rewards for me. Are they better for six, two, what?"

Haley scanned with focused eyes.

"The more players the worse," she said. "Individual is the best, and it goes up from there."

Mason nodded. He could see an argument for different methods, but that made as much sense as any. The system would let you carry a larger number of weaker players on a big team, but it would punish the strongest players who did it by not giving the best rewards. Mason was going to have to decide if he did 2v2 for the reward, or 6v6 to help the others.

He spent the next hour grilling Haley on tournament rules and rewards. How many fights? Elimination? Round robin? Her complete lack of sports knowledge made things a bit painful, but eventually he knew enough.

Basically, you got one 'type' of reward for every victory, and the system's calculation of difficulty. You got more for making it to the finals. Another for winning the whole thing.

Mason expected a player like him would get very little for the 'regular' victories, but he'd get as much as anyone else for winning the tournament. He'd also likely penalize a much weaker team if the system judged their overall 'difficulty' to be much higher because of him.

He also knew his players were almost all considered 'powerful'. Though he wasn't sure exactly how powerful. Seeing a table of four tier 1 players through the video had definitely not improved his mood.

"I'm going to need every player's tier ranking," he said. "We'll need to make a list and..."

"Your core is all tier 1," Haley said. "Carl, Phuong, Becky, Alex, Seamus. I haven't seen Annie and Seul-ki in awhile but likely them, too. Blake, of course. The others are all tier 2, except Tommaso, he’s tier 3."

Mason nodded, a bit surprised. That meant even Tommaso was ranked higher than 70-80% of the world’s players. But he was guessing on their 'less populated' continent they had all dealt with a harsher world, and leveled accordingly.

He'd be shocked if many players on the other continent had survived multiple dungeons like he had. Or been so outnumbered against orcs or goblins or anything else. Though he realized they might have a lot more experience fighting other players...

"I think we make sure we have a team in every category. Try and win them all," he said, mostly to himself. "That's 11 people. What do we have? Thirteen? So one extra 2v2. No reason to knock our own teams out if we can avoid it. In the individual...well, nothing to be done. But there's a lot more of them than us. It likely won't come up. Until the finals, of course."

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He met Haley's smiling face and squeezed her hand.

"I haven't even looked at any of the new buildings. Want to take a walk?"

Streak tossed his bone and shot up, and Haley laughed and nodded, then glanced at the door.

"As much as I'd like you to myself, I think there's a few other girls that would like to come. If that's alright."

Mason winced at the thought. It wasn't because the idea of a bunch of beautiful women with him was bad...things were just...a bit up in the air. He hadn't officially married Naya. He hadn't actually had his girls all together. Haley had told him Rosa and Naya weren't exactly best friend material. And he suspected Becky wouldn't be much better.

Haley squeezed his hand and gave him a confident smile.

"You've faced giant worms, dragons, an army of orcs," she said, a little amusement in her voice. "This is just a few women."

"It's always the things I can't kill that scare me," he muttered.

Haley shook her head as Mason helped her to her feet.

"Don't worry, my love," she whispered in his ear. "I'll protect you."

Mason gave her a raised brow and a slap on the ass.

"Alright," he said with a sigh, trying to put the eastern continent and the ‘friendly’ games from his mind. "Let's go sight seeing with the girls. This day was coming eventually."

* * *

It wasn't just his girls, as it turned out. Naya was there were with her mother. Rosa had brought along Lexi. And Becky had even brought her nurse friend, Aila.

Mason clutched Haley's arm hard enough she had to slap his hand and give him a glare, then he walked out to the rail of the platform and looked between the many feminine eyes staring back at him.

"Hi."

It wasn’t the greatest opener, but it was all he had. Maybe next time you should go with: 'Hey look! It's all the women I'm sleeping with! Mason thought. Oh. And their friends and relatives!'

Becky, Aila, and Lexi smiled awkwardly. Rosa looked ready for a fight. Naya and her mother touched their hands to their temples and gave him a little bow. Maybe elven culture wasn't so bad after all.

Mason decided the only way out was through.

"So I, uh, thought I'd do a little tour of the city. You're all welcome to...I'd be happy if you came with me."

A few heads nodded. Rosa and Lexi linked arms. Becky and Aila went ahead with excitement, pointing at something off the platform. The elves just followed in silence.

Mason thought it best to let Haley walk with the others, letting go of her as casually as possible and instead walking along with Streak. Fortunately, the other players and civilians of Nassau were so busy discussing the events of the day, and the Nexus/settlement was so large, they weren't much of a spectacle.

He wanted to see the menagerie first. He'd been given a slight 'demo' when he looked at it in the patron options, but as it came into view he nearly gasped with everyone else.

The first obvious thing was that it had a kind of spherical cage surrounding, presumably to keep in birds.

"Looks like that Jurassic Park movie," Becky said with a big grin, and Mason glanced back and forth when she turned to him. "Oh come on now, really? Those are classics. Well, the first two. But still. Haley put it on the list."

"Putting it on the list," Haley said rotely.

The elves looked as confused as Mason, which sort of made him grateful. He had no idea how to explain what a movie was. But he let the girls run ahead while he hung back with Naya and Ayet, doing his best to smile like everything was fine. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Naya’s mother at all since they'd left the elven city.

"How are you finding Nassau?" he said, trying his best to be charming. "Do you regret going through that portal?"

Ayet smiled, her whole face lighting up, her eyes glistening a little as she squeezed her daughter's arm.

"No. It's so beautiful. I would never have believed..." she took a deep breath. "And the air. This..place." She gestured at the Nexus. "To live on a new great tree. It's a miracle what you have here. Truly."

Naya's eyes fought tears as well. She looked at Mason with such happiness he couldn't help but smile more genuinely.

"We owe you so much, husband," she said. "You not only saved our people. You have given us hope for the first time since...well, since I was born."

"I'm just glad you're safe, and happy," he said. Unlike with his human women, he felt a chasm between him and the elves. A kind of fake distance because of the fiction created by roboGod. How did he tell them about the great game? About the upcoming tournament and the human empire of players to the east? He felt like he couldn't explain anything.

"Is everything alright?" Naya looked at him with those beautiful, intelligent, dark eyes, and he shrugged.

"I'm just...thinking too much. Too many distractions."

"You're an important man," Ayet said. "Our people have so many Barons and Baronesses...often without real land or retainers. I hadn't realized how..." she seemed to blush slightly. "How powerful you were. How much responsibility you had. When we met."

Naya nodded with enthusiasm. "You should see him in battle, mother. He killed a dozen centaur like it was nothing. He fights with blade, bow, and claw. He didn't even use his magic. Or his animal. And he didn't wear this incredible armor." She looked him up and down with such innocent and enamored pride he really had no idea what to do. But he definitely felt a flush of heat taking over his face.

"I...had surprise. It was a bit foolish."

"I've never felt so safe, mother, not even in Sharisse." Naya beamed, meeting his gaze. "And do you feel the life in this place? I think the myths are true. I think our people will have children again. Can't you feel it?"

"Yes." Ayet met Mason's eyes, too, with a look that definitely wasn't entirely appropriate from an inlaw. "Yes I feel it, too."