Fuoco was confused for the first time in decades. The energetic shapeshifter just told him that Doctor Fluffernutter was his owner, but that simply didn't make sense.
The Doctor never told me about having subordinates, or even slaves.
Prometheus was clearly pushing with every part of his body to the maximum strength, but obviously that was nothing in the face of the Ancient being that was Fuoco.
He must have a reason for being so agitated all of a sudden.
He spoke in the mental connection, "Kid, what's the reason you're so worked up over this?"
Prometheus replied without slowing down his attempts at breaking free, "My whole reason for existing is protecting HIM! LET ME GO!"
Fuoco furrowed his scaly brows. From the little that he had seen of the mysterious monster, it wouldn't act like this unless its mission was truly essential to him. Had Prometheus been created as an automaton or golem? No, that's not possible. He is extremely smart for his Tier, no decent Golem-maker would waste so many resources making such a smart creature while keeping it at such a low Tier.
The fact of the matter remained that no wild monster was allowed to even get close to the Doctor, unless it was for healing purposes, and even then various bodyguards would be present to ensure the man's safety. Orders from above were interesting like that sometimes.
"Unfortunately, lad, no one except me and other specific monsters are allowed to get closer to him. Settle down, as the first initiation trials will start in a bit."
Prometheus ignored him completely and continued his fruitless endeavor. Fuoco sighed loudly and spoke in his own mind, more specifically, to his Soul.
Buddy, I need your help here.
A few seconds later a childish and energetic voice replied, HEY, I'VE TOLD YOU MANY TIMES NOT TO CALL ME "BUDDY"! THE ONLY NAME FIT FOR ME IS "SUPREME EMPEROR", GOT IT SCUM?!
Fuoco sighed again, louder this time. Talking with his Soul had always been so tiring, as it was almost never on his side, and it was incredibly annoying. Fuoco believed that since a Soul always represented an individual's subconscious, his one represented the fiery spirit he once possessed in his youth. Unfortunately for him, he needed its collaboration to do what he was intending to do.
Sure, sure. Listen here, I need to create a Domain around Prometheus. Help me with that, will ya?
The voice seemed to mull over Fuoco's words until it seemed to arrive at a conclusion.
I would never pass up the opportunity to create something as amazing as a Domain, but what do I gain out of it?
The ancient snake snarled. That was why he hated using anything other than simple Soul techniques because he could use them with a mental command directed to his Soul. It was akin to one coworker sending a page with simple instructions over to another coworker wordlessly. Domains and Soul abilities were so radically different in their complexity and relation to the Soul itself that just sending a command wasn't enough. In that case, the operation was so complex that the two coworkers needed to talk verbally to achieve it.
If one had a good relationship with their Soul, then it wouldn't be an issue, but unfortunately, Fuoco's Soul was really combative and liked provoking him. The one good side was that Fuoco knew exactly how to convince his Soul. Since it was a Fire-affinity one, it liked chaos and burning everything down. Doing something as complex and organized as creating hundreds of fire puppets took weeks of convincing and giving his Soul permission to burn a random forest to the ground once a month.
Obviously, neither he nor his Soul could do anything without the other's consent, so he had to accept those terms.
How about this, then? If you let me create a Domain around Prometheus, I'll let you burn some of the monsters here to death. Only the ones that don't qualify for the Army, though.
Mmm, that's not a bad offer, old man. I agree, but only if I can choose which ones to burn.
The voice laughed mischievously, almost like it was rubbing its hands in a villainous way.
Fuoco wished he had arms, as he felt the need to facepalm his face the same way the bipedal races did. That action conveyed perfectly how he felt in this situation. The situation was important enough that he had to agree to the terms, as Prometheus was too unpredictable.
Fine. Just, help me make a decent one, got it?
You got it, grandpa! Be careful not to hurt your back too much!
Fuoco ignored that last comment on his age and focused on the monster ant. He closed his eyes, felt around his Soul, and grabbed his Influence. It felt warm and energetic, ready to unleash itself upon the world.
He moved it around himself and Prometheus like he was creating a small stadium made of Influence with both of them at the center, akin to a gladiator duel.
Now for the hard part.
The hardest part of creating a Domain was separating the space inside it from the space outside, effectively creating a pocket dimension. Fuoco pushed a massive amount of influence at the center of the Domain all at once, which then he commanded to spin incredibly quickly, which made the pop. He liked drilling reality with his Influence to create a Domain because it was the most consistent method in his opinion, but many other High-Tier beings used other methods.
He smiled.
These old scales still got the fiery touch.
HAH! Your retired ass couldn't perform a simple Soul technique without falling asleep without my help!
His smile immediately vanished at the usual remark. It had been a long time since he used his Domain, so the sight of it was quite nostalgic. Everything present was subjected to a hellish view: Flames of various colors, mostly blue and red, dancing around every corner of the Domain elicited fear in most who had been entrapped in it, as every atom was subjected to a constant flux of scorching heat.
His intention was to knock Prometheus out, as he couldn't bother to keep him still all the time with his Influence. He smirked and asked through a mental connection, "Well, what do you think?".
The shapeshifter didn't seem too bothered by the heat, which didn't please Fuoco too much. The heat began to gradually rise until he could see steam coming out of the ant's exoskeleton.
"Nice sauna, sir. Unfortunately, I have work to do, so would you mind GETTING ME OUT OF HERE?" The ant asked with a loud mental voice.
"Oh, that's impressive, you can deal with the heat quite well, you brat, but what about even higher?" At that point, he could see Prometheus begin to stumble and various liquids flow out of him.
Mhh, maybe I'm taking this too far.
You don't say, you senile fool?
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Shut it.
Fuoco bore a pensive expression and observed Prometheus.
---
Prometheus was hot. Not in the sense that he was handsome, which he was, but in the literal way. The massive snake had created a weird bubble in which only he and the reptile existed, along with flames everywhere.
His sensors were telling him that the air's temperature was gradually rising, now reaching one hundred degrees Celsius. He could feel various liquids inside him flow out and evaporate.
This is bad. I can't move, and I'm getting cooked alive. Ants shouldn't be tasty at all, so I don't know what this snake wants.
He tried making his cells as heat-resistant as possible, but that had a limit. The heat was rising above what any normal organism could survive.
He asked in the mental connection, "What do you want?"
The snake, despite Prometheus' expectations, replied immediately, "For you to not get close to the Doctor, kid. Orders from above, you see."
Prometheus' attempts to get out of the pressure holding him ceased, and he asked, "Is there a reason for such a decision?"
The snake sighed and shook its head, "If I knew, I wouldn't tell you. Youngsters are always so curious." Said the flaming monster with a fanged smile.
The monster ant's head dropped in thought. I have no chance at all in a direct fight.
"If I promise to not get close to him, will you release, me?" He asked while holding his frustration as best as he could.
"Absolutely, lad. Promise and this will be over."
"Okay then, I promise to not get closer to Mr. Fluffernutter."
The snake nodded with a satisfied smile and finished, "Wise choice, kid."
Suddenly, the bubble of fire popped, or at least that's what Prometheus perceived.
Reality manipulation? He shook his head, If humans on Earth had access to powers like these, they would have already conquered the universe.
Actually, I wouldn't mind being a galactic emperor. He snickered at the thought of him sitting on a galactic throne until he zoned back into the situation he was inside.
He found himself back to where his subordinates were. Mr. Fluffernutter was nowhere to be found, which made Prometheus activate every sensor he had, giving him even worse news: There were no human life signs anywhere he could sense.
His mandibles clicked in annoyance, and he kicked a random stone on the ground with one of his forelegs, which accidentally hit an avian monster perching in front of him.
It turned to look at Prometheus and emitted a loud battle cry, to which Prometheus responded by creating vocal cords in his throat along with powerful lungs. He took a deep breath in and shouted at the bird with everything he could. The air and ground both shook, along with many blunt noises hitting the ground.
It seemed that many monsters had been knocked out, including the rude bird.
Prometheus nodded and panicked at the realization that his subordinates were the closest to him. The goblins were already unconscious, but still alive. Zilch seemed to have activated his power and suffered no consequences. Buzzelina was stumbling but rapidly recovering.
Oh good, I didn't do anything I would regret later.
The snake glared directly at him as if to say 'Last warning'. He followed that warning and calmed down. He settled down and constantly checked the goblins' vitals and general conditions.
The snake used the tip of its tail to massage its temples and created another massive mental connection spell, "The first trial will start as soon as everyone present is awake. Anyone not up and well in 3 hours from now will get disqualified."
Prometheus glanced at the goblins and injected them with unhealthy amounts of adrenaline. All 3 of them jumped up in an instant and looked around with rapid movements, sweat shining on their skin.
He told them their circumstances and waited around for three hours. Zilch was fidgeting with a rock and didn't want to talk. It told Prometheus that it passed its original army evaluation through pure luck, so it was scared it might not pass this time as well. Prometheus tried telling Fuoco that Zilch was technically already part of the army but he just replied, "It's too time-consuming to check if every monster was already part of the army, plus the chance of soldiers being alone in the wild without any symbol to identify themselves or their division is really low. It's much easier to just lump everyone in the test."
Prometheus understood the reasoning behind such a decision. He decided to just empty his mind until the trials began.
Then, the snake spoke up in their minds, "Alright. Anyone still knocked out will be escorted out. This will be your first and only chance to back out. Raise your hand, wing, appendage, or general body part to signify that you don't want to join the army."
Roughly half of the monsters did, which were allowed to leave through an opening in the perimeter of the fire things. As soon as they were out, many of them fled, and even more shredded each other to pieces.
Counting the remaining monsters, Prometheus noted that only 512 monsters remained.
Fuoco gave a sweeping glance at everyone present, nodded, and continued, "There are two conditions to join the army. First, a basic fitness and cognitive test. Second, you will be subjected to five diverse trials requiring knowledge and skill in different areas, and qualifying for at least one of those trials will let you pass the test. Were you to qualify for more than one trial, you will be rewarded and you will be able to choose which one of the qualifying areas you will join the army. The trials are as follows: Head-on martial prowess, Espionage and Infiltration, Logistics, Restoration and Support, and finally Leadership. Any questions?"
The monster crowd seemed to shift uneasily until a brave bear-like monster raised its paw. Its voice transferred to everyone through the mental spell, apparently.
That spell is so convenient.
It seemed to gulp loudly and asked with a shaking voice, "W-what are the re-rewards, Sir?"
Fuoco smiled as if he had expected this question and replied, "Depending on the specific performance, rewards can vary from potions, high-tier meats, and even Cores. If you were to perform particularly well, we will also award you Stats and Skills." His molten fangs were clear for all to see.
Skills and Stats? Isn't the System the only one capable of doing that?
Regardless, it seems like a good idea to try my best. I would smash the competition even without trying, but I don't want to take any risks.
"As you know, Stats are quite difficult to obtain, and the Skill limit prevents anyone from amassing hundreds of skills, but the ones we offer bypass that limit." The snake looked around and nodded at the shocked expressions of everyone present. On the other hand, Prometheus was tilting his head.
"Any more questions?"
No monster raised their hands, or the equivalent of it.
"Very well. Before the first test, a brief affinity test will be performed to assess your Soul affinity. Don't worry, you can't fail this test, it is just a way to know how to train you better in later stages. Make four orderly lines before the four examiners."
From behind the massive snake, four forms emerged, one weirder than the other. A massive jellyfish-like creature, a hybrid between a raptor and a hedgehog, an ordinary-looking snapping turtle, or at least ordinary except for its size, and a beast resembling a blank mammal.
What?
Prometheus tilted his ant head at the examiners. He had thought that the monsters present in the crowd were bizarre enough, but he was clearly wrong. The jellyfish was 'walking' on two tentacles and wore an elegant black tophat. The Hedgeraptor, as Prometheus had named it, held a weird contraption on its back. The turtle seemed to be wearing armor around its shell. The last member of the examiners looked like a drawing of a capybara made into reality. It walked on four legs and had no fur, no ears, and no mouth. Two dot-sized black eyes were the only detail present. All of them were carrying a small cubical glass container with two small rods emerging ten centimeters from two opposite faces.
They distanced themselves some meters from each other and placed the glass cube on Rocky tables that erected themselves in front of them.
They shouted through the collective mental communication spell, "NEXT", but no monster seemed to be brave enough to go first. The massive jellyfish seemed to fidget with a tentacle, while the others just looked around in an annoyed manner.
Fuoco sighed, which released smoke from his nostrils, and added, "Anyone not on a line for the examination in the next 30 seconds will be killed immediately."
That seemed to wake the monsters up, as they hurriedly moved in front of one of the examiners. Prometheus was behind his five subordinates, all in the line of the jellyfish. The two goblins were first, then the hobgoblin, Buzzelina, Zilch, and finally Prometheus.
I hope I get an awesome affinity. From Zilch's explanation, there must be affinities like fire and water. I hope I get the fire affinity, I want to launch fireballs like that woman the other day!
Prometheus could see an insectoid being examined. The jellyfish indicated to the rod pointing at the line, so the butterfly-looking monster placed an antenna there. It heaved from the activity and retreated. The jellyfish studied the cube until it very subtly shook. Prometheus could see some kind of gas forming on the inside of the cube and quickly stop existing. The examiner nodded and wrote something on a piece of paper.
The next few monsters had similar experiences, with some producing a small flame inside the cube, and some producing droplets or pebbles. All of those disappeared seconds after being conjured. There were more interesting effects, such as small crystals forming, the cube floating a bit, or light emitting out of the cube. Another big part of the monsters produced no effects inside the cube, so when that happened, the jellyfish would place its tentacle on the opposite rod, the one not used by the examined, and focus.
After that, it nodded and continued like it did for the others. A couple of times it went away from the table and placed some small creature in the cube, usually injured. Some monsters made the creature in question heal much faster, but sometimes it made them bigger or faster. Sometimes even more weird things happened. Prometheus could see the same happen on the other 3 lines of examiners. It was finally the turn of the female goblin, the lankier one with a decent talent for the bow. He realized he still didn't name them, so he would rectify that later. The jellyfish glanced at her and facepalmed with one of its tentacles.
Why does everyone facepalm, even when they don't have a face?
It seemed like it was talking to the goblin through a mental connection, as both it and the goblins were doing various body gestures usually made in conversations.
It then turned to Fuoco and it indicated at the green monster in an annoyed way, and Prometheus could almost hear, 'Why did you bring scum like this??' to which Fuoco smirked and shrugged its wings.
The sea monster seemed to sulk down and went toward the back of the wooden platform, coming back with a box containing various Gems. Prometheus widened his ant eyes at the realization.
Those are Cores!
Every monster present glanced at the box greedily, but no one was stupid enough to grab it out of the Examiner's tentacles. It pushed a couple of big ones, big like the one Prometheus had given Zilch, to the goblin, which didn't know how to react. Many monsters never saw this amount of precious Cores in their lives, so it was understandable. She gulped, and shakily took one in her unsteady hand. She closed her eyes, and the Core seemed to flow into her skin, causing her to pass out. The examiner glanced behind her at the other goblin. It threw another similar Core at it, which the male goblin barely caught. He went through the same procedure as the female one and passed out on the spot.
The jellyfish moved to the side, so the line and examination could continue. The hobgoblin went forward, placed his hand on the rod, and focused. Small metal fragments seemed to form on the inside of the cube, which drained the dark green monster's energies. The jellyfish nodded and continued.
It was Buzzelina's turn, which hovered in front of the cube and placed a foreleg on the rod. Nothing seemed to happen, and the jellyfish was confused as well. It went to grab a small creature in the back like the other times, opened up the cube, and placed it there. It looked exactly like a rat, identical to the ones on Earth.
Only rats would be annoying and persistent to survive unchanged in another world... Actually, I wouldn't be surprised to see cockroaches as well.
Buzzelina repeated the exam with the injured rat inside, and weirdly enough, its fur turned blue, but other than that nothing happened. The rat died shortly after and the jellyfish ate it, focusing on the meal intensely. It nodded and wrote again on the paper. Prometheus had seen an effect that weird only a couple of times from the other examined monsters.
That obviously means that Buzzelina is incredibly special, which is to be expected given that I've chosen her personally.
Prometheus cackled, which just meant that he clacked his mandibles quickly while rubbing his forelegs maliciously. Zilch's exam went uneventfully as he already knew he had the Earth affinity, confirmed by the fact that pebbles and sand formed inside the device.
Meanwhile, the two goblins woke up and looked around curiously. Both of them had become more similar to the other hobgoblin, meaning that they got bigger, more muscular, and a darker green skin. They got examined soon after and it seemed that the female hobgoblin had a fire affinity, while the other male hobgoblin had an ice one, if Prometheus understood the exam correctly.
Finally, it was his turn.