“Hmm,” Doiracr said, after I finished telling him all of what happened. “A strange tale for a stranger.”
“Thanks, I think,” I replied, finishing up the last of my warm up exercises. There was much that we would have to discuss, I was sure, but for the moment, I had asked him to listen and take his time.
“This will be quite difficult for us to adapt to, both your removal from the purview of fate and the change of the uses of those chosen by the Council. Much faith is placed in their guidance, and to be without it is disconcerting, to say the least.”
“I suppose it is, but if we do trust their guidance, then it should be for the best, no?” I asked, before starting the obstacle course again. I hopped on the first platform, which immediately tried to flip me. I was a bit better prepared this time, rolling onto the ground and stopping well before the wall dividing me from the other side of the course.
“Yes,” Doiracr said, “but what really concerns us isn't the issue of guidance, but rather the issue of not having it. There is also another issue, buried within the story you have given us.”
“What's that?” I had gotten back up to the first obstacle, ready to try to jump across it again.
“Betrayal,” Doiracr responding, watching me hop over three of the platforms before the fourth flipped. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad of a flip as it had been before, or perhaps I was just getting better at reacting to it. Either way, instead of launching me sideways, I ended up going upwards. Sadly, I didn't stick the landing and fell off the side of the platform.
I got up and walked over to try it again, turning to Doiracr at the start of the course as I approached and asked, “The Council member?”
“Yes. A God with the inner workings of the Council defecting to the Nymerians is not good, obviously, but most wouldn't think of the wider effects this can have.”
“They'd have all their people with them as well, wouldn't they? Millions of recruits?” I started again, this time getting flipped by the second platform. No luck this time, I ended up nearly hitting the wall full force. I only managed to avoid it by using my limbs as a shield against the impact.
“Closer to billions, but yes.”
“Billions?!” I asked, getting distracted and subsequently flipped. After getting up, I said, “I thought they only got a few thousand recruits at most from any given planet. How long do these people live?”
“The ranks affect us on the kinds of scales that cannot easily be comprehended. Where you sit is the average baseline, not just of your species, but all in general. Humans strike me as constitution and intelligence based, meaning those are possibly understated, while the rest are overstated. Once you begin training in earnest, achieving the higher levels of power in your status, you grow closer to an accurate portrayal of what your abilities and status claim.
“This occurs in the lowest rank, F. Once you obtain a maximum level in this rank, you qualify for a rank up. To do so is a similar process to gaining access to the system, namely the use of a focus. In the case of ranking up, you must gain a ranking focus. There is another path, of course, not for warriors, but it is out of our reach. Once we gain a focus, we are locked in to combat.
“However, ranking up confers many benefits, one of which is longevity. Those in the C rank live for millions of years easily. The ones in the B rank can out live a universe. A ranks are immortal barring murder, and even then, there are many tales of those that have been able to come back, out of strength, spite, or some other drive. So yes, a few thousand recruits in a planet, but, assuming you have gained a seat on the Council, that puts you at above the A rank immortals. And, once you've made it that far, you might have a few thousand alone that are in the A ranks. There would be ten times as many B and C ranks. D and below would make up the rank and file of a Council seat's army, but that isn't one to be ignored or trifled with. F ranks are not counted among active fighters.”
“Damn,” I said, getting up from my latest attempt. I had restarted the course four times since Doiracr started talking, but I still hadn't cleared the first obstacle. “Now I wonder which one it was that left.”
“Whichever one it was, it is a bad omen for us. No good can come of this.”
“True, but knowledge is a powerful tool,” I said, starting again. This time I actually cleared all the platforms, but only because none of them flipped. Instead, once I made it to the other side, I ended up being launched backward by that platform. Because I wasn't as ready, I landed hard on my back, before:
[Health: 0/1 (Regen 10 per min. {Active})]
[Condition urgen-]
[Condition acceptable]
“I think I have an understanding to your condition,” Doiracr said, peering down at me. He hadn't even moved from his spot at the start of the course to check up on me.
“Oh? What's wrong with me?”
“Technically, everything is as designed. The system is working as intended, and so everything is right with you. Except for the missing limb, of course.”
“Of course,” I said, trying to not get discouraged by the course screwing me over as I started again.
“As everything is working as intended, we are actually the ones in the wrong. I believe that your healing is working to regrow your arm, but with your health at zero, you cannot sustain any more major damage. You are, technically, what we call a walking corpse.”
“Walking corAAAAHHHH!” I shouted as I got launched by the third platform.
“Yes, a walking corpse. Most beings, upon hitting zero health, would completely pass out, their passive healing working to keep them alive. Assuming they take any more damage, they would die, but only once fully healed can they awaken. You, however, are too low in health. This puts you in a strange situation.”
“So what happens to a normal person with really low health, like at 1%?”
“They cannot fight as normal. In fact, a common rule is to simply retreat at one fifth your maximum health. 15% is where most risk takers live, and the truly insane leave at 10%. 1% is often an accident, and should you live to tell the tale, you can claim that the gods themselves must favor you.”
“And I pass out when I get the wind knocked out of me, because it's almost too much damage to my health.”
“Yes. But on to happier news: We can push forward the regrowth of your arm! This will allow you to actually focus on completing the course, or at least failing repeatedly faster.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha.”
“I must confess, that last statement did not seem to translate well. What did you intend to say by it?”
“I was laughing. Sarcastically.”
“Ah. Is this 'sarcastically' a type of flavor?”
“Arm, regrow, now please.”
“Come, we must go to the healer, Varvai.”
As we left the training hall, I started feeling morbidly curious.
[In keeping with the needs of the Council and the rest of the system enhanced civilizations, the following notices are in effect:
* This pl... (Expand)
* All li... (Expand)
* This global tutorial will last for 3 months, during which time the planet and its inhabitants can acclimatize to the system. After these 3 months, all contracts will begin enforcing new demands to aid in the war effort.
* This tutorial may end early, assuming any catastrophic or world ending events occur, or the following:
* Congratulations! The Council has decided to create a race to the finish! Just be one of the first 10 million to finish this race and you win the greatest prize of all: living! Fail, and you shall be killed. Good luck!
* Current planet population participating: 1,775,602,505
[(Collapse?)]
~~~
Elsewhere
~~~
Rachel flipped over the last of the undead spiders, blasting one of them with her fire spell and stabbing the other in the head. The rest of them were already dead. She landed lightly on her feet, then set about gathering materials from the bodies around her. The undead spiders didn't have much other than a specific venom that she knew was going to be valuable when the world market opened.
The humans had even less useful stuff, but it was about what she expected. She had burned most of them to death when she ran into this group, and let the spiders take care of the rest. She found some of them had gone through the tutorial, like herself, so she at least absorbed some more experience from them, but it was very minimal.
Finishing her rummaging, she turned to the south once again. While everyone else was scrambling to figure out what was going on with the race, she already had been given the answer when she finished her tutorial. Rachel didn't think like most people, and that's why she was already ahead of the curve compared to them.
[Two conditions have been set:
* Victory is granted if you are one of the first 10 million to complete the race.
* Kill the human known as James Arthur. He has been marked in your vision.]
~~~
Else-elsewhere
~~~
Kenji breathed deeply and evenly, sitting cross legged aboard the Returning Sun as the setting star warmed his back. His crew was making steady progress to the east, and they had quickly learned being at sea during the start of the system apocalypse was a great way to be in constant mortal danger. Still, surviving it had given them quite a few boons in exchange. Many on the ship were already in the low twenties in terms of level, and not particularly weak ones in his estimations.
Kenji himself was well above them, sitting at an impressive level sixty. Still, it would not do to simply bask in one's own power before first accomplishing worthy goals. He would be the one to save this planet, and in turn they would let him rule over it. By then, he would be strong enough to sit upon this Council, and soon enough, rule it.
Kenji snapped his eyes open as he sensed danger ahead and below them. He stood up and tapped the ship twice, alerting the crew. They did not shout or start running chaotically, instead moving nearly silently towards their battle stations. As a large, tentacled monster bubbled up from the surface, they began firing on it with calm precision. After all, with their captain there, how could they possibly be in true danger? Once they got close enough, Kenji hopped onto the monster's head, and punched it once. It died instantly.
Kenji jumped back and said, “Calamari for dinner, I think.” His crew cheered as he settled back into his cross legged position. Closing his eyes again, he once again thought about his coming empire. It would start when they reached land again, somewhere in the Americas. Idly, Kenji wondered if it was high time to rename the continents to his liking.
~~~
Else-else-elsewhere
~~~
Frunir loped through the forest, savoring the luck he had to be in such a favorable starting position. The trees were not exactly strong enough for him to climb up and down, but they were a bittersweet comfort. Still, that was tinged with anger as he thought of the creatures living in his true home.
Soon, however, he would avenge his tribe. Soon he would crush the traitors who had failed their species, returning them to the favor of the gods. Soon, he would start a conquest, first of this planet, and then of all the worlds from here to his own. Soon, his life would be back to normal.
That salivating thought was enough to get him to start moving faster. After all, why waste time just thinking about what he was going to do? His life would be much better once he mounted Doiracr's head on his spear.