Inky black morphed and formed around him, shaping into a tapestry of color and splendor. Flynn once again found himself standing on a galaxy-themed floor. The only other thing besides himself decorating his surroundings was a statue. Delicately carved features depicted an angel of old, its hands outstretched to the sky in praise of a single golden glowing orb resting within its palms. It was a scene Flynn remembered all too well, and it made him give half a laugh. As if a mere guide could be compared to a messenger of god.
In some sense, that's exactly what guides are. Flynn thought idly. Almost all of the guides served some diety. Unfortunately, A voice cut off Flynn's musings again, something he was utterly tired of happening.
"Behold human-" A presence filled the room as the angelic voice echoed throughout space; however, Flynn decided it was his turn to interrupt someone.
"Set domain theme to inn." Reality itself once again warped around the warrior. The once never-ending galaxy swirled and shifted, leaving nothing but a simple room mimicking a fantasy-style inn. An all-be-it comfortable yet simple bed sat in the corner, accompanied by a wooden dresser. The bed was by no means modern. The comforter on top being wolves pelt and all the wood in the room was hand carved. It had a sense of homeliness that Flynn could enjoy as he plopped down on the bed crossing his legs and using his hands as support under the feather-filled pillows.
"How the hell?!" The once angelic voice lost all semblance of holiness, making her sound more like a confused intern than some messenger of the gods. "How? What?" The orb swirled around the room, looking for the entity that would dare pull such a prank. Flynn could feel the orb's gaze as it focused on him and even interpreted a squint. It was an odd sensation to be able to tell the mood of something without body or facial expressions. It was something the delinquent knew he'd never get used to, no matter how many times he experienced it.
"What? the galaxy theme makes me nauseous," Flynn stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The golden ball stuttered and tried to piece together what was happening. Flynn could care less about the oversized tennis ball and instead decided to catch up on his backed-up status messages.
| Initial Assessments completed Calculating results... |
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| Mind Assessment: |
| |- Intelligence Grade: A |
| |- Wisdom Grade: A |
| |- Charisma Grade: S |
| |- Rewards: +3 added to intelligence and wisdom, +5 added to Charisma. 6 Common Shop Tokens earned. |
Immediately the addictive sensation of increasing stat points surged throughout the warrior's body. Each stat had its own particular feeling, and those associated with the mind left him feeling sharp and focused as if he had slept just right the day before a test.
"Are you even listening to me?" The wannabe angel pushed itself through the status window; its scowl morphed to that of disdain.
"Look, I understand you have a job to do and all, but if you could keep it down, I'd appreciate it." Flynn's voice was cold and detached. In all honesty, he could care less about the guide, but he knew it had to at the very least give him the basics of what was going on, or it would receive a penalty. Flynn had learned this when the orb had shocked him awake minutes before the final trial. Evidently, he hadn't been as accustomed to interdimensional travel as he was in this life back then.
"As if you could survive the Trials without me. I swear humans get one high score on an earl-" The orb's haughty voice cut off mid-sentence. Flynn had little love for the glowing tennis ball. In his first life, the messenger had tricked him into all sorts of terrible situations, hoping it would push Flynn to become stronger. He later learned that guides gain extravagant rewards if their charges perform better. Guides toyed with humanity, often making deals that usually cost the human their life as if humanity in its entirety was nothing more than a pawn in a grand gambit. Needless to say, even with his ability active, it made Flynn sick.
"Just... How?" Its haughtiness broke, replaced with unbridled astonishment. "I've hit the lottery, A fucking Maven, your a fucking potential progenitor." Flynn could feel the orb's surprise, almost to the point of it losing its mind.
"A what?" Flynn asked, interested in the term since he hadn't heard it before. The orb seemed to break from its shell shock, returning to its better than thou attitude.
"A genius, someone who beats expectations, a maven, you idiot." The orb spoke as if it was talking to someone slow.
"I understand the term, Orb, but what does it mean in terms of this trial?" Flynn bit back his sarcasm, in the end, the orb knew far more about the trial than he did, and he was sure he hadn't gotten all of the information out of it in his first life. Flynn was too busy trying to survive the hell hole. A long-suffering sigh came out of the orb.
"It means, human, that you have the potential to become something of a leader... Damn translation" The orb paused as if trying to find the right word. "Yes, a powerhouse. You have the potential to be a powerhouse." It said the word as if the orb was unfamiliar with its concept. "I wish they'd give guides a better translation skill off the bat, but nooo, we have to prove our worth." The orb scoffed. Flynn was quite tired of the shining tennis ball's attitude, so he had some fun.
"I want a new guide."
"WAIT, hold on, why?! I swear I don't even think you're that big of an idiot. Don't do this to me, please, I begging you." The Orb panicked, and the delinquent chuckled, closing his eyes and falling asleep to the beautiful night sounds of desperation on the seashore.