Prometheus kept rolling around on the platform, going around in circles, never changing his path. The Examiners and the Major had just finished Examiner Brown's funeral, burning the casket where he was resting in.
All of the monsters had gone to sleep already, except for Theo. He couldn't sleep. It almost looked like he didn't want to, regardless of how dangerous staying awake might be.
I can't...I can't...
Any attempt to shut down his mind to sleep was interrupted by the increasing anxiety released by his fundamental algorithms, those put in place to protect his owners. Once again, Theo's creators had left a major flaw in Prometheus' personality and way of thinking. The sense of wrongness from his Supernality sense became extremely intense, but it settled nonetheless. Any monstrosity might appear at any second, he thought.
How...How did I lose them so easily? Does it take just a couple of high-tier people to shatter everything dear to me?
A myriad of similar thoughts swarmed Theo's mind, eventually tiring it, and allowing him to sleep. An automatic timer he had set up the last few days would wake him up on the morning ready to start a new day.
---
Fuoco kept slithering around his room, thinking. He wasn't mulling over anything specifically, he was just going through last night's events in his mind, over and over, trying to understand.
How could I have prevented that?
Being the old monster that he was, death and loss weren't new concepts to him. This time, though, it was slightly different. Brown had been the son of his late best friend, who had asked the flaming snake to take care of his child as his last, dying wish.
Pulling some strings was enough to get the monster as an Examiner directly under Fuoco's command. It was a safe position, at least relative to anything else in the army. Brown also had a rare Soul affinity perfect to manage the trials, so convincing the higher-ups had been a breeze.
All for nothing.
Realizing that nothing could be done about the current situation, Fuoco came out of his home. The usual hole in the sky greeted him, uncaring of all the problems they'd had the last few days. No reply had come yet to their request for reinforcements, deeply unsettling him.
I know they are spread thin like scales, but this... It was incredibly important.
Admiral Xo was the one directly above Fuoco, managing their whole operation and more. She had been the one to assign him the job of protecting the Doctor and his children as a top priority. And he had failed.
Fire started escaping his nostrils, his breath becoming quicker.
Why would they give me such an important task?! I know everyone has their hands full but why me?!
Fuoco wasn't a weak monster by any means, but in the grand scheme of things he couldn't understand why such an important person was his to protect.
No, no, I'm just shifting the blame now. I'm acting just like that kid with a short fuse. Prometheus... such an interesting name. Also, he said that the Doctor was his owner? No one told me about him in the mission report.
The snake seemed to think something through, before nodding and moving over to the stone platform, calling the Examiners for an emergency meeting now that they were all calmer mentally. They had a lot to discuss.
---
Theo woke up, finding himself in the same spot he had gone fallen asleep in. Some primitive sensors on the surface of his Core allowed him to see the sky, occupied exclusively by the celestial object that had surprised the shapeshifter since he had arrived on this world.
One day I'll fly up there and show it who's the scariest...
Shaking his head along with the deluded thoughts, Theo rolled over toward the stairs. No biomass was on the platform, so he needed to get down. Bouncing down each stair was very uncomfortable, every bounce somehow reminding him of his powerlessness in doing the one thing he was supposed to. When the ground met the bouncing metallic ball, a small crater formed on impact. His core was quite heavy, and the soil below was soft and dry.
Wait a second. I haven't seen any meteorological events since I came here, other than simple clouds passing by and those thunder strikes directed at me. How does any ecosystem exist without rain? Another question, added to the kilometer-long list in my mind.
He started absorbing the grass below him, slowly reconstructing a new body. Specifically, he wanted to take the shape of an alligator, with the usual changes to its structure. The speed of the whole process surprised Theo to no end, enough so that if he had a mouth he would have dropped it to the ground. It was the result of his Shapeshifting rank-up. It also said something about a Soul technique, so Theo brought up the exact notification;
Congratulations! For creating a Soul technique on the spot, your Shapeshifting skill ranked up and leveled up!
Low-rank Shapeshifting lvl 5 -> Medium-rank Shapeshifting lvl 2.
Let's see, I remember that it happened right after I got squashed like a bug.
Retracing his steps was incredibly easy, as Theo always kept a week-long log of every action he took. Surprisingly, his Soul and Influence interacted with his algorithms and he could see clearly every step that he took when he ranked up the skill.
Okay, it moved like this and then like that,
A massive chunk of Theo's processing power was then dedicated to parallel processing, with the objective of using small tendrils of Influence for each cell. Prometheus smiled internally: He had performed such a complicated and mindboggling action on the spot during a high-stress situation.
I am so fucking amazing.
The soul technique was simple in its structure: Theo would use his Influence to provide as many cells as possible with support in their division and repairs, such as moving them around or fueling them when it was necessary, or even providing the necessary proteins and cellular structures they needed. Of course, he couldn't do so for every single cell, as that was massively beyond his processing capabilities, but he could easily handle around a third of his cells, which was enough to speed shifting times up immensely.
Finally finishing the transformation, the mundane-looking alligator moved to find his friends, whom he hadn't seen since the previous day. Zilch was playing with some soil on the ground, and the other three monsters were just observing him. When he approached them, they all waved at him, somehow immediately knowing it was him and not a random alligator monster.
Oh? Major Fuoco and the Examiners are discussing above the platform. I'm curious about what they're talking about. I wanna be part of the secret, high-level meeting!
Just then, a massive mental connection spell reached them, connecting to every monster present, "Good morning everyone, we have good news and bad news for you," Said Examiner Dripsworth. "An accident occurred that will not allow us to continue the trials, so another classification method will be used. We are on a tight schedule, so we will move between each and every one of you, assigning you a positive remark or a negative one. There are still one hundred and twenty-eight of you, so we wanted to cut that number down to around twenty. Anyone who gets a negative remark will be disqualified, and you'll be free to leave. Good luck."
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Prometheus nodded, understanding the situation. Examiner Brown was the whole reason trials were possible and convenient as they were. There's just a little problem, will they check my friends here as well? They told me that as pets they were my responsibility. Hopefully, that hasn't changed.
Theo's companions stiffened up at the communication, a low veil of anxiety creeping in. From the distance, he could notice the three examiners walking to each monster and talking to them briefly before moving up to the next. Most of them had to leave the clearing, which the fire guardians allowed them to do.
Major Fuoco moved up to him at once, impatience being clear on the snake's face. A simple mental communication spell formed by Theo connected the two reptiles, confidence being the only emotion in Theo's mind.
"There's no need to tell you that you passed, Theo. You're clearly a cut above most monsters here." Started Major Fuoco with his sibilant voice.
"But the question remains, what should we do with them?" He pointed his tail at his companions, before continuing, "Especially those three. I understand that they are sort of pets of yours, but we still need to evaluate them."
"Why?! Examiner Brown said there was no need to test them!" Contested Theo, annoyed.
"Examiner Brown is dead, and the situation has changed, kid. We need to keep our candidates under the maximum of twenty, and half the spots are already taken by some great talents."
"You can't just change rules on the spot!" Replied Theo while thinking of every possible solution.
"Well, you are safe, I can tell you that. Your power is unique and you performed well enough on the infiltration trial." He pointed at Zilch. "But I cannot allow those three youngsters there to join. They simply aren't good enough."
Theo hissed, opening up his jaw slightly. Shit, I should have trained them from the start instead of playing those stupid games... They were still so fun though.
"I will not join the army if you don't let my friends join as well." Added Theo with a tone of finality. The snake hissed and flicked his tongue, moving his face to be directly in front of Theo's. "Do you think you have any leverage against me, brat?!" Asked Major Fuoco furiously.
"I know I do. And I can also make a deal with you. If I prove that I am good enough to get four slots all for myself, you will let my friends here join as well. How does that sound, sir?" Finished Theo with a subtle tone of sarcasm.
The snake moved back and turned around, closing his eyes. "Done. If you beat three other monsters that have passed at the same time, I'll let your little friends join as well. Follow me."
Theo nodded, walking after the massive snake. Lunch and Splash looked at each other worriedly as they couldn't understand what Prometheus was discussing with the scary snake. Buzzelina was in the same situation, so they all just followed Theo silently. The shapeshifter started adding bony plates all over his armor, as well as sharpening his teeth and replacing them with much harder materials. A club made of bone started growing from the tip of his tail, resembling an ankylosaurus.
I'll beat all of them to a pulp.
The major walked them to the center of the clearing, where an empty area could be found. The ground was made of compacted dirt, allowing for easy mobility. The massive snake pointed at three monsters to come closer, those being a massive, grey humanoid with a small tree as a weapon, a crab with a scorpion's tail, and a pelican-looking monster with too many feathers.
The major created a mental communication spell between all five of them and said, "You three will cooperate to take him out. If you win, I'll give you a Trait stone. Each." The three monsters opened their eyes wide at that, jumping at the opportunity to start the fight.
"If he wins, you'll be disqualified. Got it? Go." The fluffy pelican flew at him like a rocket, flapping its wings and aiming its head at him.
Too slow.
A side dodge made the pelican fly just right next to Theo, who reared his tail and swung from above at the bird's body, slamming it to the ground. It did not move afterward. The crab was just right behind Theo, going for a surprise strike. Its scorpion tail bounced off of the alligator's armor, staggering the crustacean momentarily. Theo used that moment to bite the crab's body, tearing off a good chunk of it. It then fell down, joining its bird friend in death.
His third opponent, the massive grey monster, slowly walked up to him. It was at least four meters tall, with thick legs and arms. Theo got ready to fight it before the monster dropped its weapon. The tree fell to the ground, rolling a couple of meters away. The monster then got on its knees and said in the mental connection, "I surrender,"
Major Fuoco snorted derisively and nodded, disqualifying the creature. He then moved his head toward Theo and continued, "Well done kid, you won the right to bring your friends with you. Now I have to fill up the last slots and then we can finally end this ordeal." Before the massive snake flew away, Prometheus asked, "Can I have the Trait stones you were gonna give to those three?"
The Major turned around and shook his head tiredly, "No, bloody hell, do you know how expensive they are?" Theo shook his head in return and replied, "I don't know their value, no." A quick laugh escaped the old snake before he continued, "Very expensive. We have our Gathering teams work days just for one of these. So no, you cannot have them."
Theo hissed at the Major and added, "So why did you offer them to the three monsters I defeated?"
"It was a lie. I wasn't planning to give them anything. I knew they were going to lose, I was just making sure they tried their best." The Major then flew to another part of the clearing and continued his task.
The shapeshifter lowered his head and nodded. Not having anything else to do, he turned around to his friends, deciding what training to follow next. He had noticed that gaining bonuses from the Hacker such as stats was extremely difficult. Skills were more manageable, as he understood the basics of how to level them up. Skills themselves gave physical bonuses that helped in doing that particular activity, and they leveled up by using new tricks and methods. Stat points were weird, he had obtained most of them from fights, such as the Body Stat point from winning a fight physically. Traits and titles were still a complete mystery.
Prometheus would need guidance, as even his massive intellect wasn't enough to grasp the complexity of the Hacker's interface completely, so he thought to himself, Who could I ask for help? Major Fuoco is definitely an option, but he's always busy. I'll try asking him either way. Examiner Rocktooth is angry all the time, so I will avoid him. Examiner Durge didn't seem like a bad teacher, but I don't know enough about him. I guess I'll just ask Examiner Dripsworth first.
With a clear purpose in mind, the armored alligator went to look for the elegant jellyfish, hoping to find a good teacher. He searched the buildings he had already been in, such as the warehouse, the crematorium, which was open, and even the stone platform. All of those gave him no indication of where Examiner Dripsworth was. Right before going to Examiner Durge, he spotted a small pond hidden behind the warehouse, right on the edge of the clearing. Bubbles were rising into the air and bursting soon after, creating a strange scenery. It didn't look deep at all, reaching two meters in depth at most. Thankfully, he found just who he was looking for: the jellyfish. His tophat was hanging on the wall of the warehouse, waiting to be picked up. The Examiner was swimming in the pond in circles, much quicker than one would expect from a jellyfish.
The invertebrate noticed him and ignored him promptly, continuing his swimming session. When he approached and attempted to create a mental connection, the Examiner quickly broke it and went on with his activity. Prometheus didn't give up, and after a handful of attempts the jellyfish finally relented, walking out of the pond.
"I assume you disturbed me for a highly consequential reason, seeing that I am in the gist of something significant." Asked the jellyfish while crossing his arms and tapping a tentacle that worked as his leg on the ground. The tapping got increasingly faster, until the Examiner cut Theo off, "Just tell me why you're here!" Shouted the monster in a manner that most wouldn't consider calm.
"I want to be stronger. And I don't want to be so ignorant about everything around me. I want answers." Demanded Theo, slipping into his villain persona, remembering how much fun he'd had with Zilch at the start.
"I'm about to blow up, I don't have time for you. A general is about to arrive any moment now, do you understand? A general!" Dripsworth emphasized that last word, as if it held any meaning to the shapeshifter, who replied, "So? I don't care. I want my power."
The Examiner remained silent for a moment and then laughed hysterically, rolling on the floor, only getting up after about half a minute. He then grabbed a smaller tentacle hanging around his head and plucked it out, a gelatinous liquid coming out of it.
"One of the most powerful monsters in the army, perhaps only behind the Emperor and his four Nightmares, is coming here, personally, and you DON'T CARE?" It then continued laughing hysterically, plucking several small tentacles out of his head.
"Okay then. I'll ask this general to train me since he sounds so strong." Added Theo casually, turning around to leave. The jellyfish stopped moving, gazing at him.
He must be impressed at my willingness to grow powerful! Kind as always, Examiner.
The jellyfish was, in fact, NOT impressed at Theo's behavior. Maybe someone could describe his surprise at the shapeshifter as being impressed with the depths of stupidity, but Dripsworth was too dumbfounded to say anything to the shapeshifter, and before too long he lost the chance to. Before the connection snapped from the distance, the Examiner shook his head, believing he had misheard the alligator's words. It was almost like he wanted Theo's words to be a jest, fearing the consequences of the opposite being true. As always, Theo was totally ignorant of this fact.
Walking toward his companions once again, he told them his new plan. Prometheus gathered his friends in a circle and created the usual, although difficult, group mental connection spell.
"Okay guys, I think I might have found a perfect mentor to teach me to grow stronger. Examiner Dripsworth said that a general would be coming soon, so I'll tell him to make me his student." Zilch had been nodding before he heard that second part of the sentence, freezing him instantly. He slowly moved his head to look at Theo, and asked, "T-Theo, did you just say that a 'general' would be coming to us?!"
"Yes, what of it?"
"They are high up in the army, and they are known to be... less than stable, I think. B-but why would you want one to teach you?! Not even asking, but demanding?!"
"I want power, simply. And a strong monster would definitely know something about getting stronger."
Zilch watched Theo's alligator form, searching for any sign of amusement in the shapeshifter's face. He couldn't glean anything from the reptile's face, much less when it was covered in that thick armor.
"I, I think demanding a general to teach you... actually, demanding anything of a general is not the best idea. Monsters that get to those heights of power always have some loose screws, or so I was told."
Theo nodded, considering his friend's words. "It's fine Zilch, I always manage to come out on top. I've been hit by so many Tribulations that would have killed anyone else!" He beamed in pure confidence.
"I know, but..." Zilch then slowly shook his head. "What if they get really angry at you? Or us!?" Theo moved closer to his friend, patting the worm on the back with his small alligator hand, "Trust me, I will find a way."
The worm then nodded uncertainly, not protesting any longer. Lunch and Splash didn't seem to follow their conversation that well, so they laid back and played with a stick they found, while Buzzelina flew on top of Theo's head, demanding to be petted. Theo shifted his front leg to reach above his head and gently stroked the Wasp's wings, which were incredibly rigid and hard. The genetic improvements were showing themselves, finally.
The group spent the next few hours playing simple games and training to exhaustion, thereby strengthening their bonds and creating a respite before facing what was about to come next.