Andre’s breathing was coming in ragged gasps. He had escaped from the blood covered woman. Or at least he thought he did since the warnings had stopped but his legs still kept going. The moment he saw her the blue notification windows that appeared in his vision had turned a blinking red and kept repeating the same things.

Danger.

Death immanent.

Danger.

He started to cry. When this whole thing started he thought it would be some sort of game. That it would be like the anime he watched. The village that he arrived in had immediately run him off because of his dark skin and sudden appearance claiming he must be some demon. Once he did find people that didn’t treat him like some sort of monster they tried to knock him out with poison and put him in chains as some sort of curiosity. He would have fought back if it wasn’t for the fact that the only blessing he got from those creepy gods was useless in a fight.

He thought back to the white room that had been filled with dozens of people. The self proclaimed god that spoke to the crowd had said that they were champions. People chosen from across many worlds to compete for the glory of their patron. He had been chosen by some sort of craftsman god that he never even caught sight of. They had given him an inspection ability.

His tears fell harder as he continued to sprint into the forest. He was slightly grateful to the terrifying woman for killing the guys that put him in chains but that didn’t mean he was going to stick around and say hello. Especially when his inspection ability just showed warnings instead of the usual stats. The bandit leader had been a level nine martial artist. Andre didn’t have much of a frame of reference but the guy's subordinates had all been about level three, either hunters or peasants. His own status screen said he was level five, so he had been assuming something like level ten would be impressive.

That woman didn’t seem to be able to tell the difference between them. All of them died from a single slash as she grinned in the moonlight.

He was pulled from his thoughts as he entered a clearing. There, standing in the sky in front of him was the woman he was trying to run away from. Her wild red hair seemed to move like fire while she looked down at him. The blood splattered face still smiling the same way she had when she cut down the entire camp.

It looked like it was too late now. The status windows nearly filled his vision completely with warnings. The largest one in the center read ‘Chance of escape < 0.001%’. He was very happy that he had relieved himself before she had arrived. Otherwise he would have shit his pants here and now.

She landed on the ground in front of him softly. She was taller than Andre had realized.

She lifted the smaller one of her swords and as she did fire engulfed the entirety of it.

Andre held up the boxing position his grandpa had taught him and held in his fear. If nothing else, he would die on his feet. She grinned even brighter as she saw his reaction. His shaking slowed, the entire world around him did as well. It wasn’t any sort of ability that he had received. This was something that had always happened to him. Whenever things were about to get out of control they always felt slower, like he was being forced to watch every moment in slow motion. Her expression changed slightly and the fire on her sword was extinguished.

“I was going to kill you all for ruining my night.” She put away the two swords.

“But I'm not allowed to kill captives.” She suddenly yawned and began to walk into the forest.

Andre’s knees were shaking as he did his best to stay standing.

“Hurry up.” She glanced back at him while wiping the blood from her face.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

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I sat at my usual perch overlooking the slow winding river while the two kids below both held a horse stance in the dawn light. The doctor's apprentice was quiet. Like creepy quiet. She wouldn't speak unless spoken to first and she usually kept it as short as possible. Hu on the other hand was difficult to shut up. Luckily the target of his pranks had changed from me to some of the new residents.

The two collapsed and panted once we were done. It wasn't even an intense workout.

I idly wondered what the doctor was actually expecting. It isn't like I understand anything about the magic or energy or whatever the hell they wanted to call it. I decided maybe I should refer to it as mana. Not like video game mana, I mean like the traditional meaning. Energy that permeates the world, a power we interact with through our breathing. I took a deep breath and contemplated whether it would actually make a difference what I thought of it as.

It is what it is. Sometimes things are that simple. The far more pressing concern was what I would have for lunch since I skipped breakfast.

Hu had brought his saber with him and Bai Xiu had brought a large wooden box. Once they were done with the normal workout they had been panting but the moment they pulled out their weapons they seemed to get a second wind. I yawned again as they bowed to each other and started to spar. This was the first time they practiced together but for some reason if felt like they both knew what the other was going to do. The clashes were light and neither of them seemed to be using any energy. Hu's motions tended to be sharp and sudden, while Xiu was more flowing and soft. It's probably not right to refer to a spear art as soft but she somehow made it happen. She used small sweeping motions to control Hu's actions with the crescent side of her weapon and by the end of it she had been able to redirect him enough that he tripped and fell into the water. I stifled my laugh.

Then something overcame me. It was almost like the cultivator that always pissed me off, but if his power was suddenly multiplied. I centered myself and controlled my breathing. My eyes narrowed unintentionally and my breathing became a bit more labored. I don't know why it was so difficult but the eerie feeling felt less direct once I managed to correct my breathing.

I turned to see the red haired mercenary coming out of the forest with a young black man. I blinked. I almost cried out as I stood up quickly for a better look. He was wearing jeans and dog tags. This sure as hell wasn't a world that would have dog tags. He looked a bit ragged and terrified but that was understandable. At least he had clothes.

"Ey!" I shouted towards the duo. Min waved at me with her usual smile and the man paused as he stared at me. He seemed to be seeing more than just what was in front of him. Like he was trying to read while looking at me. He had a look of absolute confusion on his face. Then that confusion changed to a slightly less confused expression. Suddenly something seemed to dawn on him.

"Y-you're..." He didn't seem to know how to react.

"You look like you need some coffee." I started to grin.

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He watched the large display that showed what his chosen champion was doing. At the very start the many members of the heavenly court had placed bets on which of the champions would win. There was not a single person that had voted for his. Not even he did. He had simply taken the last of them. He was from a world with no spiritual power of any kind. He was young, had minimal training and honestly wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He was given the same blessings as the rest of them, except for the power of knowledge. That was this god's domain. He was often called the crafter or the engineer but his true ability was simply knowledge. It wasn't going to help him in this tournament.

The man had been chased away and captured several times since his arrival. Honestly it was impressive how he had escaped several groups that were more powerful than him. The woman that had appeared was on a completely different level though. The crafter had simply shrugged and accepted that his champion would be taken away by a force of nature. There really wasn't any other way to describe someone that powerful. The fact that she left him alive was the biggest surprise since the tournament began.

It was a good thing this world was mostly closed off from the rest of the hundred realms. There needed to be extreme effort put in to transfer anyone in or out. They wouldn't need to worry about someone like her barging in and causing damage.

Even though that woman was like a volcano given human form she wasn't even the most interesting thing. No that was the man that she had led the champion to. The guide that he left the champion had noted the man as a level 0. It was impossible to be level 0. The moment one was born they were level 1. Well honestly the levels were a bit arbitrary, they mostly noted the amount of power an individual could wield.

The craftsman began to anticipate what sort of master could hide themselves so well. Then, as soon as the man began to come into view there was a tremor and the viewing portal blurred until he couldn't see or hear the man that was now standing. He tried to use his power and focus the screen but that just caused him to have a migraine and an even blurrier picture.

This was unheard of. Their system shouldn't be detectable much less breakable. Maybe he was a champion for one of the hidden gods. Several of them had joined the contest this time. At least that would explain the interference.

The craftsman leaned back and enjoyed his wine. Perhaps the choice he made wasn't that bad. If nothing else, luck is an incredible asset.