The realmnet liked to speculate on why Destined existed in the first place. Theorists were competent enough to understand that the Trial System did have some sort of purpose in its creation. Many more had come to the accurate conclusion that much of its design was to inhibit absolute control by the very Trialists that entered the system.
If you followed that logic, then the reasoning for Destined existing would bring you to a single answer.
Though of course, as with everything in the realmnet, not everyone agreed. Especially considering nobody on Earth truly knew why the Trial System even existed in the first place.
The Manager naturally knew the answer to both.
The Destined were actually one of the last additions before the Trial System had instantiated in full. During the eons of testing at the early stages of the Trial System, the Great Civilization that had first created it found a constant recurring problem with the Trial System as a whole.
Sooner or later, a Trialist or a group of Trialists would rise to the top and enforce their rule on everyone else.
While it may have been beneficial for order and later negotiations, the birth of new and stable civilizations was never the goal for the Trial System in the first place. A civilization with almighty rulers almost never allowed anyone to rise up beyond them. While occasionally a violent uprising led to some of the most growth in a short period of time, those instances were too few and far between.
And stagnation could not be had by the Trial System.
So, different systems were put in place to curb this issue. Leveled zones, the way that the trials only had you acting as a ‘plucky adventurer’, leading to the reduction of ‘rulership’ classes being offered.
It was a natural way to nudge the Trialists less towards control and more towards other efforts.
The unfortunate thing was that it still wasn’t enough.
When Trialists ascended to the tenth realm and consolidated, most of them would naturally start to oppress others. Even if you were good natured and believed in a world full of roses and faerie dust, you would come to the inevitable conclusion.
The tenth realm was too powerful to allow just anyone to reach it.
One only had to look at Earth to see the evidence. The Tyrants themselves had decided a purge of the strongest adventurers was necessary. That reaching the dragonslayer tier was unacceptable for some of those that had risen in the chaos of the Settler wars.
Then the Trialists would find that, with enough practice, they could exploit one loopholes left behind in the leveled zones.
Stagnation again.
So, the Great Civilization came up with two new solutions:
An overseer crafted to assist the other overseers… and the Destined.
They had called them the Destined to give the chosen Trialists an overinflated sense of purpose. The truth was something very different.
The Destined were wildcards that had the highest chance of causing as much chaos as possible.
One only had to look at Ryan to see just how effective this was.
Overinflated ego? Check.
Bringer of chaos? Check.
Destined had the same rules as everyone else. A safety life, the same four limited Trial skill slots, and they experienced the same trials as everyone else. You couldn’t give them too much more without impacting their achievements negatively.
They were only given two system skills that differentiated them from everyone else: [Return to Earth] and [Return to The Realm].
It made all the difference you see.
You could not imprison them so easily. If you locked down their earth bodies then you just gave them an incentive to rise up in The Realm and return stronger than the prison you were holding them in. If you tried to hunt them in The Realm, they could return to Earth and wait until other Destined started to rise up.
Not even the Witch Tyrant could see into every single leveled zone at the same time.
Two skills and it changed everything. The rest was just about timing and choosing the right Destined at the right time.
That was the Manager’s original purpose.
You only had to look at the unusual number of dragonslayer Destined to see how effective the Manager was. There were three hundred dragonslayers. Given the ratio of Destined to regular Trialists, there should only be six Destined if the original ratio was maintained.
Even if you didn’t include the Tyrants, there were over thirty Destined at the dragonslayer tier.
The entity picked the right Destined for the right times and gave them the greatest amount of chance to break the odds and ascend.
Although, in this particular case it was less about the odds of them reaching dragonslayer and more about how much chaos the Destined could bring.
It had been thirty minutes and Claribel Waters was still in a panic with her fingers in her ears and screaming her lungs out.
A commendable feat of concentration given her often lack of focus.
The Manager always did appreciate it when someone took the most correct course of action for themselves.
Clara was not like Ryan who was arrogant enough to believe he would be capable of rising up to challenge an ancient entity. She understood that the only correct game against the Manager was to never listen and to never play.
“Let me out, I decline to be part of the Trial System. I decline the offer, I decline the offer—why isn’t it working?”
Clara carefully took her fingers out of her ears and stared at the entity in fear and suspicion. You had to remember, becoming a Destined was always an offer, you could decline. Though nobody had done so in years.
The Manager smiled.
“How can you decline the offer when I haven’t given it yet?”
Clara’s eyes widened as she realized the trap.
“Not to worry, I will give the offer now. Fairly, like with every Destined that comes here.”
And so the speech began, the dream of everyone on Earth, only seen in horror and suspicion by Clara.
The Manager’s voice was calm and soothing, like Clara’s mother would be if she had been half as kind as her nanny. A little manipulative maybe, but it was all expected.
“Welcome to the Trial System. As you know, everything can be found here. Riches, power and immortality. All of it and more can be obtained by completing the Trial System. The entrances to these Trials will be located in The Realm. As a Destined, you also have privileges the others do not. You will be able to enter and exit The Realm without the use of System portals. Further, unlike those that become Trialists the regular way, you will not be stripped of your powers should you lose your safety life and choose to remain on Earth. Do you have any questions?”
Clara had been ready to shove her fingers into her ears the moment something deviated… but it never did.
“I decline the offer.”
“Are you sure?” The Manager asked teasingly.
“Yes!”
The Manager waved its hand and Clara was back in the airplane again. Time not having moved at all while she had been gone. She took a deep calming breath—
And found herself back in the Manager’s Abode.
It was a little trick that very few knew the Manager could do. Yes, you could decline the deal and be sent back, but the Manager could very easily bring you back.
After all, just because the offer was declined, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t change their mind later.
The Manager spread its arms in surrender. But before it could speak Clara overrode him first.
“LALALALALA I DECLINE THE DEAL I DON’T WANT TO BE A DESTINED—”
The Manager waved its hand and sent Clara back to Earth, then immediately brought her back again. Clara’s eyes bugged out as the girl realized she might be stuck in this eternal loop with an endlessly patient entity until she listened.
She finally took her pinkies out of her ears.
“You’re a horrible person, being, thing, entity you know that right?”
“Indeed.”
“This is so unfair.”
The Manager shifted slightly to show that it was a little apologetic.
“Normally I do limit my interference to not disrupt achievements but that isn’t a problem with you is it? After all, you have no desire to be a Trialist.”
Clara took a moment to process what had just been said. Her eyes widened as she understood just how few restrictions the Manager truly had towards non-Trialists.
“So what now? Gonna give me a speech? Try to manipulate me to do something Ryan-like?”
“Nothing of that sort. I am simply offering an ear to talk to. If you are in doubt of where you should go or what you should do, you only need to ask for me. I will listen and offer what guidance I can.”
“What.”
“Believe it or not, I’m not a monster. By its very nature, the Trial System destroys far more than it creates. By trying to complete it I am doing the rest of the multiverse a favor.”
Clara blinked dumbly. “I thought the Trial System can’t be completed?"
The Manager did not let the comment affect its mental state. Clara was trying the play-dumb routine while actually being hurtful. It did not work.
“Despite what Ryan may believe, the Trial System has been almost completed before. Twice in fact. It was under exceptional circumstances just like this one.”
“I don’t know, Ryan seemed preeetty sure that even you agreed that the Trial System couldn’t be completed…”
Did Clara know that she was using the right words to annoy the entity? Very likely, though it had prepared for this. If she were to report back to her team she would at least clear up the answer with Ryan.
“The Trial System was never supposed to go on for this long. It has… caused unforeseen mutations. But that is all the more reason it needs to be completed sooner rather than later. I had hoped you would be sympathetic to my situation Claribel.”
Clara wrinkled her nose at the use of her full name. She dropped the act.
“What do you even want from me?”
“You’re in a unique position to have both Ryan and multiple dragonslayers listen to you. Soon you will have more. When that happens, it is not what I want from you that you should be worried about, but rather what you want to happen.”
The Manager leaned in slightly.
"I know there’s a part of you that worries about what will happen if you just… truly started to take what you want. If you damned your morals and made all the idiots out there dance in the palm of your hand. But you believe that you can’t have it both. You can’t truly be a manipulative monster and have meaningful connections with others. I am offering you a way to have it both ways. Make the world a better place while having those precious connections with the people you want.”
Clara leaned way back halfway through the Manager’s speech, as if it was an offer from the devil itself. The worst part was that it was all true. It was something she figured out she wanted ever since she realized her parents were sociopaths and her nanny betrayed her.
The Manager knew it all, and Clara was absolutely unhappy with it.
“This is what you do, isn’t it? Make everyone feel special and think they can do whatever they want.”
“All Destined are special. It’s what the Trial System knows to be true.”
“Well, here’s what I know to be true.”
Clara put her hands under the table and tried to do a Ryan move. She heaved and—the table didn’t budge.
“Oof. Okay, this thing is heavy.”
Clara slumped back down on the chair, she resorted to just keeping her arms crossed and glaring at the Manager instead.
“If that’s all then send me back.”
“Just remember Clara. If you ever need someone to talk to, someone that truly understands you, I am always here.”
“Yeah right.”
The Manager let the silence linger for a moment, then it decided to give Clara a parting gift. Its face, kind and caring.
“As an apology for this entire encounter, I’ll give you a free word of advice. I suggest you at least go meet with your mother again. Despite how she may have seemed, she is both worried and very proud of you.”
And with that Clara was sent back into the first class seat of an airplane, frozen with a mix of anger and doubt that overwhelmed the dread she had been feeling in the Manager’s abode. She took a deep breath.
Then screamed into her elbow.
The entire first class cabin jerked up from what they were doing and stared in her direction. Clara was far too incensed to care. A worried stewardess rushed hurriedly towards her.
“Ma’am are you okay?”
Clara put on a fake smile.
“Sorry, I just had a nightmare, that was all.” She then stood up and waved at everyone. “Sorry everyone! Haha, silly me.”
“Well, is there anything I can get you? Some water perhaps?”
It was at that moment her stomach bug redoubled, likely Mirelda’s hex hitting her again now that she was on Earth and away from the protections of the Trial System.
“Actually I might go to the little ladies room. Excuse me.”
She hurried to the restroom, her stomach gurgling the whole way through. Ensuring that those woken up by her screaming would stay awake.
…
It wasn’t until an hour later in the lavatory that she finally came to a realization.
“Aw poop, it got me.”
Clara had been caught in a trap without any good solutions. She could go and tell the others what had happened, but then that might have been the trap. If there was one thing that would drive Ryan to doing something stupid and reckless, it was knowing that his friends and family were being directly targeted.
Which might have been exactly what the Manager wanted.
On the other hand, if she didn’t tell him about the encounter then she was risking letting another secret to fester.
The Manager then could use it as a weapon in its next encounter with Ryan.
There were no good choices here and it was obvious the entity would prepare for both outcomes.
Clara sat there staring into space, stuck in a lavatory, letting her first class ticket go to waste.
“I wonder what would happen if I asked to meet with the Manager like this. Hey Manager, I want to talk!”
“Ma’am, are you alright? Would you like some water?”
The Manager did not answer her summons while she was still squatting.
——
If the Manager was being honest, the real answer to why it had approached her the way it did was a little pettier than Clara had likely been expecting. Yes, the Manager had always planned on approaching Clara for the position to help stabilize Earth’s social systems.
The Manager was not a monster, it did at least try to leave the worlds in the best state it could.
Though the harassment was perhaps a little uncalled for.
The Manager changed its Abode once again, turning to a Ryan flipping a coin to dictate his actions. Sometimes it would be a simple decision such as going to eat now or five minutes later. Sometimes it would actually be a big decision like whether he would go to Raidco’s Mastery or go back to The Realm and train for the day.
The problem wasn’t that.
It wasn’t even the fact that the little bastard had started making his decision tree even more convoluted. Sometimes Ryan would roll a dice, flip a coin then do a random number generator on his phone. Sometimes the luck of the draw would dictate an action later in the day, sometimes it wouldn’t be taken into account at all. Ryan knew the Manager couldn’t read his mind and was continuously coming up tricks with it.
That had initially wreaked havoc in its initial predictions until the Manager adapted.
There was even a time when a random advertisement popping up on the random number generator app had changed his decision. Ryan had explicitly started going on sites with more ads to do make it happen.
Despite all of that, the truth was that none of these attempts were truly irritating the entity. Even if it already caused issues in immediate probabilities, the overall trajectory was still recognizable. The real problem—if the Manager was being honest, was that after flipping his coin or rolling a dice, Ryan would look around wildly, grinning, as if trying to see the Manager watching.
When the entity had to deal with something like that, it was hard to feel apologetic with the way it had treated Ryan’s friends.
////
Sorry the chapter took too long. Chapter was way more challenging than first expected. I have no idea why I thought this section would only take half a chapter.
Also yes, this is why the Manager is getting more and more salty with Ryan’s antics. It’s also why his narration takeovers have been getting more and more explicitly biased.