NOTE:Patreon does not like formatting/different 'alignments' of paragraphs that help make this fiction what it is.
Because of that, I will always be providing a link the google doc for each chapter where you can see it properly formatted. Elsewise, feel free to read the chapter here, if that is your preference.
I am sorry for the limitations of this platform.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OfAW2QBonLd5oGEB8ukxMN6GqABfOTRLDDm5v6JIkD4/edit?usp=sharing
Previous__________ToC__________Next
The Watcher looked toward Natasha first, a kind smile across her features.
“Do not forget the core of your primary class. You're a guard, your class will improve more the more you commit yourself to guard something or someone. Do not think of this as a slight or belittlement to you. It is not. A king is guard to his country, a teacher is a guard to her pupils, and so much more. Find that which you would guard, and dedicate yourself to it.” She smiled to help cement it as a positive comment before continuing. “Now, as you are aware, a spear is not meant as a very close-range weapon, but enemies often know that too. Your life—and the lives of those you protect—will hinge on whether or not you have a robust set of other solutions in times of need.”
Her eyes moved to lock onto Alex next.
“Alex, your Life-learning functions by taking from what a creature can do innately. You can't learn skills, spells, or class benefits. You will likely find that focused investigation yields better results than general perusal. Do with that as you will.
“An important thing of note is that, even though the System restored your squandered Life, and it will restore all surviving Initiates to full health across the board at the end of the Tutorial, such restoring effects are otherwise incredibly uncommon.
“One of the hallmarks of many Life Aspected Warriors is the ability to burn your Life for temporary power. This is known and one of the primary reasons such classes are all but non-existent outside of newly initiated worlds. As you are unlikely to be able to discard the class, keep this in mind: It is inadvisable to take those skills, upgrades, or evolutions until you have a consistent way to recover Life, whether through legendary natural treasures, a reliable high-tier alchemist, a lot of merit and access to a System Store, or an ally to heal that aspect of you. The Healer from your scenario, Brianne, could likely do so if she pushed her class in that direction, but not easily for either of you. Moreover, that avenue will only become more difficult and inefficient as that resistance increases.” She gave him a meaningful look, obviously meaning his resistance to magic. “Most Life Aspected class holders have killed themselves, or effectively done so, by using up their Life.
“You have been warned.”
Alex was confused but held his tongue. Apparently the recovery of Life wasn't universal? It clearly didn't come from his class... his Race, then? It was also apparently equivalent to a legendary natural treasure… which were apparently a thing and something that he still didn’t know anything about. His confusion grew because the Watcher knew about at least some of his Race… I’ll have to be more careful who I mention that to, then.
Alex refocused, realizing he’d missed what was said to Lenka and much of what Grant had been told, but he did catch the end of it.
“As a final point of note, there are damage transfer skills. They are imperfect and expensive in virtually every sense, but they do exist.” The Watcher gave him a significant look, and the hammer wielder gave a slow nod of understanding.
She turned to regard Kaylee, contemplative. “Your class can give you monumental power in any structure or fixed position that you are able to gain sway over. You will be faced with a choice, whether to make that claiming easier to do—and undo—or make yourself more powerful once the claiming is done and still in effect. Like all choices, there is balance and trade-off. Know that those with classes similar to yours often partner with world spirits either directly or ancillarily, giving substantial benefit to all the world spirit claims, greatly benefiting the class holder as well. Others can quickly claim the area around themselves wherever they are in the universe, and make any area a bastion for allies and a killing ground for adversaries. The only limit is you. That in mind, you need to decide what you want, not what you think will be more powerful in the moment.”
And with that, the Watcher leaned back, folding her fingers.
“So, do you agree it was worth the selections?”
Everyone gave slow nods. They had gained very pointed, specific advice and insights as well as a far greater knowledge of their new reality. Moreover, they’d each learned of the current disposition of all those they’d been worried for—whether good or ill—and even many that they might have become concerned about in the coming days.
It had been a bit of an info-dump, but Alex did not regret his portion.
Now the question was, how would they each want to spend their last selection?
The Supervisor prostrated himself beside the sparring ring as Lord Ares battled a manifestation of a being beyond the Supervisor’s comprehension.
The Initiates of new words often saw these creatures as demons, but the long-time residents of the System knew them to be aberrations.
They were thought to have either been created through a flaw in the System, or they moved in to try to take advantage of such.
The aberrations—the demons—were among the few known Life Force consuming entities that could exist both within the System and without, with no discernable difference in their behavior or capabilities.
Regardless, the Supervisor could have gone his whole life without being in the presence of even a fabricated manifestation of a Broken Lord.
Lord Ares stood easily before its might, restricting the training to simple physical attacks, sparring back and forth, each multi-strike exchange occurring faster than the Supervisor could blink.
Finally, Lord Ares must have found an opening, because he beheaded the Broken Lord, and the simulation ended.
Only then did the great one acknowledge the Supervisor. “So, one of your Apology Tutorial scenarios didn’t go as planned?”
The Supervisor cowered under the metaphorical weight of the cocked eyebrow. “Yes, Lord Ares. There was an anomaly that I sought to rectify, and things… spiraled.”
“Fascinating.” Lord Ares’s eyes flicked back and forth, information seemingly streaming into his mind. “The System is interested in this Alex Johnson. Even I cannot pull up details on his Race. Your reports are useful, but you clearly know less than I do now.”
The powerful figure stretched, twisting in what seemed to be an unconscious movement as he considered.
“I think I should meet this human.” Lord Ares nodded in confirmation of his own choice then strode past the still prostrate Supervisor, causing the man to relax in anticipated relief. As soon as that occurred, however, Lord Ares appended. “Your choices were expensive, and they have caused much disruption. The end of this next, unusual scenario will determine much, including your fate. Do not gamble further with my resources. The bet is made, you are to wait for the result, passively.”
Without another word, Lord Ares was gone, leaving the Supervisor weeping on the stone.
After giving them all a moment to process, the Watcher smiled and leaned forward. “Now, you each have one selection left, then we must sort out your reward for the early finish, and… well, we can address that in a moment.”
This part actually went very quickly. Alex had been thinking about it, and he took the merit, gaining another 500,000 merit, which he could multiply at the end of all this. From what he remembered in the store, most magical items wouldn’t cost much less than that. They wouldn’t be custom, but they would be available. Besides, he might even learn to make his own.
Runic kindergartener, my foot. I’ll show you.
Natasha took a defensive item. Interestingly, the Watcher asked if the shield she had in her Inventory could be taken and modified, thus allowing for a better item, if just marginally. Natasha said yes.
Alex looked into his Inventory at the broken dadao, wondering if he made the right choice. I can fix it. I fixed the spear before. It might even turn out better than it was…
Grant asked for an offensive item. The Watcher asked for both of his hammers and the grinning man agreed.
I…may have made a mistake. He really shouldn’t have gone first. Still, he couldn’t really say he regretted his decision, but that might have been because he continued to prevent himself from second-guessing the unalterable decision.
Lenka’s was at least a bit less tempting. She asked for a utility item, and the Watcher simply presented her with a bracelet. Neither commented on what it might be for, and Alex felt like using Analyze would be rude. She’ll tell us if she wants us to know.
Finally, Kaylee surprised them all by asking for levels. When that drew curious looks, she explained that her Base related class was close to an evolution, and she wanted to make sure she could enact such, if possible.
The Watcher wasn’t asked any questions, so she offered no advice in that portion. “There we are. Your rewards for the scenario have been selected. We will address the bonus in a moment, then we will talk about the next scenario. After that is all settled. Then, you will be off to your trainers.”
They all agreed, and a notification popped up before each of them.
Alex started reading, but then his gaze was drawn to one option in particular, the odd emphasis put on it making it hard to even look at the other options.
Reward Notice!You have earned a special dispensation from the System.
This comes in the form of expert training in one skill or spell from a trainer for which you’ve met the prerequisites. Please select from your eligible skills and spells.
.
.
.
Crude Magical Symbol Facilitation (Common)Trained to ??? (Legendary)
Requirements:Have a Rune Related Skill.Have no Rune Related Spells.Have an available Rune Related Class, without having selected it.Have an item of your creation with you that contains immaculate runic work.Have used your runic creations directly or indirectly to save your own life and the lives of at least a hundred other living sapients..
.
.
Alex stared at the highlighted option that was in the middle of the list. It wasn’t even the only option for that skill, but it had the oddest requirements, and it had that weird System emphasis on it… He almost discarded it because of that alone as he didn’t want to be forced into anything, but the promised result was Legendary? Really?
He cleared his throat, drawing the Watcher’s attention. Everyone else was lost in their own long list of potential skills and offered results, and therefore didn’t react to his noise.
“Alex? Yes?”
“I…” He frowned. “I have an odd one in here?”
The Watcher chuckled. “That can happen. These are offered by experts, generally because they made a deal with the System. They can put any sort of restriction or requirement on them that they want, and the System will then specify the required result. The experts then either agree and get whatever they were bargaining for or don’t. If they agree, they get their reward and only have to deliver if someone meets the requirements and chooses their offering. Sometimes things line up.” She shrugged. “Is that sufficient to address your concern, or…?”
Alex grimaced. “Can… Can you look at it and tell me what you think?” He felt like he shouldn’t verbalize it. “Is that allowed?”
She walked over. “I cannot tell you what to do, and I can’t tell you anything that should be hidden, but I can help you understand what you’re seeing.”
“I’d like that. Thank you.”
The notification rippled, seemingly reacting to his explicit agreement.
The Watcher stopped in her tracks, eyes widening. She swallowed visibly, then slowly nodded.
“I can see why you were curious. As I said, I cannot give you advice.” She was continuing to nod over and over, eyes still wider than normal, even if not as wide as before. “But I can say that sometimes the System will emphasize a choice that it favors. In these cases, there are times where an expert ‘tricks’ the System, for lack of a better explanation. In those cases, the offering can sit for eons, unclaimed. If anyone comes along who even marginally qualifies, the System may fudge things a bit to get the debt off the records.”
“Alright… so, is this trainer still alive? If so, won’t they be irritated if I select their offering, especially if they tried to avoid such?”
“If they aren’t alive, the System will have a copy of them from just before their death, in order that the debt can be honored. As to their irritation?” The woman shrugged. “They will be held to the agreed-to results regardless, and most experts are not so petty as to take out their feelings on an Initiate that they are helping grow in power.”
“Good to know.” He briefly tried looking at the other options, but at best, the others only represented a single rarity increase, with nothing even close to the jump from Common to Legendary. “I think that I’ll pick that one, then.”
The System didn’t even confirm. The selection went through with his words, causing him to frown.
“Hey, what?” He frowned, about to ask the Watcher what had happened.
Apology Notice:Your selection has been made and cannot be undone.
Even so, the System recognizes that it did not get your confirmation for the last choice as usual.
As such, you are offered a one-time repatriation amount of 100,000 merit.
Do you accept?
Y/N
Secondary Note:Regardless of your decision, the previous selection is irrevocable.
Alex leaned back for a moment. Was the System trying to bribe him?
It sort of looked that way. It clearly wanted him to take this training option, and it seemed that it was ‘fudging’ again.
Well, no. Not a bribe. A bribe is to get a person to do something. This is already done.
Still, it felt like a bribe… He sighed and nodded. “Yes.”
The Watcher clearly thought that was him confirming his skill selection, as she smiled and moved back toward her seat.
Note:Your acceptance is noted and appreciated.
Alex cleared his throat, shaking his head and leaning back. He took the moment to create some cool water within his mouth to slake a bit of thirst.
Given that everyone else was taking their time, he wished that he could have perused a bit more, but he supposed that being a bit bored for a few minutes was worth it for a hundred thousand merit.
…Well, it would be one-fifty after his multiplier. Assuming I can keep my funds until the end. That brought a smile to his face. I suppose I’m going to be a miser for the next scenario. Let’s see just how much we can make, eh?
Finally, it seemed that everyone had made their selections, and the Watcher clapped her hands together in clear excitement. “Excellent! We have a couple of choices to make in regard to the second—and last—scenario. The first question is: Do you all want to stay together as a team, or go your separate ways?”
That was an easy one, and everyone responded in quick succession.
Grant and Kaylee linked hands, looking at one another as they said, “Together.”
Lenka grinned at the couple before sweeping her eyes over Alex and Natasha. “With them.”
Alex chuckled. “What they said.”
Natasha grunted and nodded her agreement.
“Very well.”
Alex raised his hand, and the Watcher arched an eyebrow, causing him to lower it, but he still asked, “What of John and Pilar? What of the others we joined with last scenario?”
She gave a slow nod. “I can tell you that everyone will be in the same scenario instance, so if you wish to meet up—and you all survive—you most likely will be able to do so. As for the beginning?” She seemed to consult something they couldn’t see. “If your choices align and all of you agree, that can be offered to them. Yes.”
The group glanced around before all nodding.
“Very well. Then let’s get to the first choice of substance. For it to be made, I have to give you a high-level overview.” She leaned back, taking in a deep breath and going for it. “This is a planetary conflict situation. An insectile queen—a world spirit type entity—is attempting to subsume the local world spirit and enslave or wipe out the sapient population. The queen is not under the System, and therefore the System is opposing it. As such, you will be part of the assault force that is working to prevent that from happening.”
Natasha frowned. “Wait… that sounds like a sci-fi conflict. Laser, long range, all that. So, my spear and skills are worthless?”
The Watcher’s smile turned to one of comfort and consolation. “Oh, not at all, once you're on the planet, melee is a tried and true method of combat. Closing on enemies can be difficult, but that’s been the case since people started throwing rocks. I assure you that your classes can all be utilized in this next scenario.” She gave a brief but meaningful look toward Kaylee. “But regardless, that brings us to the choice. As a group, you can be on the ground, holding the line and waiting for reinforcements. You can be in orbit, holding back the alien queen’s secondary forces and fighting for dominance of the planet’s surroundings. Or finally, you can be in a ship, bringing reinforcements. I can tell you that in all three cases, a good portion of the scenario—including the final objective—will be planet side.”
They all leaned back, seeming to process the option.
After a long minute, the Watcher prompted. “So, what will it be?”
The (True) End of Book 1of Choose Your ApocalypseApology Tutorial