I hadn't thought of it that way. The tournament had really shot me ahead in power.

I faced Maya again and said, "So I was level ten, but then I evolved. Is that why I'm still ten? Because it was granted or whatever from the Immortal Tournament? And how come I couldn't see evolution status? And what's evolution status called?"

"Slow down, champ," she said, her hand motioning in the universal "slow" gesture. "I don't know everything, but to answer your first question, you’re still level ten in your current evolution because it was granted as a reward from the Immortal Tournament, which may as well be the system. As for why you couldn't see it, I imagine the tournament blocked it. Again, I've never seen it, but I think it has all sorts of special rules, as you've no doubt seen. Oh, and evolution status is just called your tier. People with no class are F tier, normal class people are D tier. After one evolution, you’re C tier, two evolutions make you B tier, three is A tier, and I guess finally, S tier."

"What do you mean, you guess?" I asked curiously.

"As far as I know, no one has ever made it that far. There just isn't enough essence," she said, and then, seeing my look of disbelief, continued, "Almost no one makes it to B tier and above. If you were part of a faction, you would be one of their most important members. I’m surprised you got away from your tournament unaffiliated."

Most when they evolve, have their level reset to zero, but their class is now stronger and unique," Maya said. "You level up again from 1 to 25. After hitting 25 the second time, you need Greater Essence to evolve further. This is found in higher-tier worlds and is much harder to come by. It's usually looted from elite monsters or hidden in the most challenging dungeons."

"Dungeons?" I muttered, trying to picture it. "And this all comes from the world?"

Maya smiled. "Yes, the world’s core to be exact. Each world’s core generates all essence, loot, and mobs, distributing them across the lands based on the tier. The higher the tier, the more essence and better loot you get. But the challenges are exponentially tougher."

I leaned back, processing all the information. "So, essence is everything, huh? Without it, you're stuck. So what class and tier are you Maya? I can’t believe I don’t know.”

“Um, I’m level…” She paused and looked to the west, away from the city, like she heard something.

“What? What is it?” I asked, my adrenaline started kicking in.

Just then, a yell came from the edge of the camp, “WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!”

“Lets go!” She called and she started to the sound of the call.

After a few paces, we came upon the guard captain. He immediately began barking orders. “Bandits! Coming from the west, from the forest! You two.” He pointed at Maya and me. “You, Everett, right?” I nodded. “Come with me and a few guards to fight them off, and you, girl, go to the goods and guard them with the merchants.” I looked to Maya to see if she would accept being sidelined like that, but she was already gone, off to protect the goods. “Follow me, and get ready to fight!” he said, and we charged to the west.

The shout echoed through the camp, sending a jolt of adrenaline surging through my veins. “THEY’RE CHARGING!” My body moved on instinct, following the guard captain as he sprinted toward the edge of the camp.

I drew my axe, I had to remind myself that I was in VERTEX, this was a simulation, it felt real. I thought Salve, the VR back home that taught me how to fight, was real, but this was something else. The flickering light of the campfires revealed shadowy figures emerging from the treeline, their faces obscured by makeshift masks. Yep, definitely bandits. I looked to my left hand, well I looked to the stump that was my hand, I missed my shield. I would need to adjust to not having it and only having one usable hand. I hadn’t done much fighting or training since I lost it to keep my dragon egg safe.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

“Form a line! Protect the wagons!” the guard captain yelled, breaking my internal contemplation.

I ran up to join the makeshift line of defenders, our backs to the wagons as they charged. The first wave hit hard, a chaotic clash of steel and shouts. A bandit charged at me, a mistake. I dodged his blow deftly and hacked at his side in the gap between his armor. He fell with a cry, and I quickly pulled my weapon free, ready for the next attacker.

To my left, a young guard moved with surprising skill, his sword flashing as he parried a blow and countered with a swift strike to his opponent’s midsection. The bandit dropped, gurgling, as the guard spun to face the next threat.

“Stay close!” the guard captain shouted, his voice steady despite the chaos.

I nodded, keeping the captain in my peripheral vision as I focused on the next bandit. He lunged at me with a crude sword, and I blocked the strike with my axe handle, using the momentum to shove him back, I also added just a hint of force with my telekinesis, more mana used. He stumbled, and I took the opening, my axe cleaving through his guard and into his chest. The force of the blow knocked him to the ground, lifeless. I took a moment to dislodge my axe this time, it was halfway through his body.

A shout to my right drew my attention. One of the younger guards was struggling against a particularly large and fast bandit. The bandit had the upper hand, his blade pressing dangerously close to the guard’s throat. I was too far away to intervene physically. So I did the next best thing, I used telekinesis. I felt even more of my mana drain as I focused on the bandit’s sword.

With a flick of my mind, the sword slipped from his grasp, clattering to the ground a few feet away. The bandit’s eyes widened in shock, giving the young guard a chance to strike. He didn’t hesitate, driving his own sword into the space between the bandit's chin and his chest. The bandit fell, and blood sprayed all over the poor guard as he moved on to the next bandit.

My next opponent was a pale, thin bandit who broke through the line, making a beeline for the wagons. I moved to intercept, but he was ahead of me. I called on emotional intelligence and sent confusion his way, it was just enough to stop him. He turned to me then, his eyes were wild, and he snarled something unintelligible as he charged towards me. I nodded at him and gave him a salute, I don’t know why, I guess I was just leaning in to the confusion I was trying to sew into his psyche. It must have worked as he hesitated just enough as we arrived together, which was enough for me to land a kick to his knees, he stumbled and I swing without hesitation. I’d never seen a head fly off a body quite so far.

I did not have time to contemplated the head as it bounced away. Instead I took the time to glance around, trying to get a sense of the battle’s progress. The defenders were holding their ground, but it was clear we were outnumbered. The bandits seemed relentless, their numbers seemingly endless.

I activated Emotional Intelligence again, hoping to glean some insight into our attackers' intentions. Concentrating, I felt a wave of emotions wash over me. Fear, so much fear, but also desperation, and hopelessness – the bandits were not driven by greed. They were fighting with a fervor that suggested they had nothing to lose, or perhaps someone pushing them to this attack, or perhaps they were running from something.

“We need to push them back!” the guard captain bellowed, rallying his men. “Drive them into the forest!”

With a unified roar, the guards and I surged forward, pushing the bandits back step by step. The clash of steel and the cries of the wounded filled the air as we fought with everything we had. I swung my axe with renewed vigor, each strike fueled by the desire to protect the caravan and my companions.

I fought my way through the melee, the battle ebbing and flowing around me. Suddenly, I found myself facing three bandits at once, their leader at the center. He was a hulking figure, clad in mismatched armor, with a cruel smile that promised pain. His two underlings flanked him, their eyes gleaming with malice. I used Emotional Intelligence on him, still fear, but also…glee? He was enjoying this.

“Looks like we got ourselves a hero,” the leader sneered, interrupting my examination of his psyche and he twirled his sword with casual ease.