Oh fuck…he lost?!
"Impressive. I didn't realize she still had a blast left in her. Very savvy…tread lightly around this one, Tom. She shares her patrons characteristics." Perunious said with a chuckle. Fully ignoring my Patron and keeping my eyes glued to the projection, my thoughts were torn.
On one hand, Korbin winning the tournament would've meant I'd never hear the end of it. Him having personally eliminated me was already bad enough. The idea of him leaving champion would mean I had nothing to razz him back with.
On the other hand, I genuinely felt no joy watching my childhood friend's head get blown to bits, even if his remains did disappear quickly. Especially at the hands of that blonde, who's thoroughly deemed herself far more dangerous than I'd ever imagined. No doubt the footage will make its way to Korbin too, meaning I won't get to give him shit without physically defending myself for an unforeseeable future either.
"You seem troubled, do you know the loser personally?" Perunious asked, his eyebrows arched down as if angry at his own question. My mind was still spinning seeing Korbin being defeated too much to even care to lie.
"Quite well, I didn't expect him to lose to anyone. At least…not like that." I replied. Perunious grumbled disapprovingly at my answer.
"Feel no remorse, Tom. He felt none in striking you down, regardless of your previous ties. Do not be taken aback if he one day no longer shares your sense of loyalty for his old friend." Perunious said rather intensely, like a father seeing his son repeat his own mistakes. I knew how to deal with that sort've projecting already.
Lie.
"Oh no question. I'll be sure to remain vigilant, Perunious." The God appeared skeptical a moment, before grinning, his relaxed posture returned.
"Of course you will. You're no good to me dead, after all."
Nailed it.
"Well, that Brigid lady won the world tournament. What happens now? Does she get like, a castle or something?" I asked, now standing and stretching after my pay-per-view watch party with a fucking God.
"Right now, she's collecting her rewards as tournament champion in the winners circle. That also means our time is up soon, as the winner and loser's Gods are given time to discuss their future with their respective Chosen going forward." Perunious thoroughly explained in retort. The idea of Korbin losing his Patron crept into my mind, emboldening a newfound resentment towards the blonde, and these flimsy Gods.
"Okay, and what then?" I asked, feeling my tone match my slipping patience. Apparently, my Patron noticed too.
"Calm yourself." He snapped back with a booming voice. I felt the air itself begin to swell with an immense pressure that squeezed my bones as his scowl intensified, before he finally relaxed. I froze, shocked at the insane sudden rise in static energy festering around me for a split second before abruptly settling.
"I was getting there, Thomas." I nodded in response, taking a deep breath.
"Apologies, Perunious." I said carefully, bowing my head to the towering lightning god. He sighed in exasperation.
"You do not bow to anyone, Tom. You're my Chosen, my extension, and I do not bow. Not even to my own rage. This is now your burden, and your boon. Perunious said with a scoff. Considering his words for a moment, I smiled.
"Frankly, I prefer it that way." I replied with a shrug. I'm not one to say I won't 'bow' to myself, that seemed a bit…narcissistic. Then again, what could one expect from a trillion year-old God of Wrath?
"Good, very good. Now to answer your question, the Tutorial. As you know, you will be placed in a group, where you must select your Pylon to begin your Tutorial together." Perunious explained.
"Ri-wait…what exactly is a Pylon again? I only remember them from sports." The familiar creases in his beard formed as he grinned from ear to ear with narrowed eyes.
"Tom, you really didn't do anything after you lost your match except watch that fight, did you?" Perunious asked, shaking his head. Trying to retrace my steps, my voice rising as I spoke.
"Uhhh, I mean?…I studied the fight?"
He chuckled, only it came from a sense of pride rather than disparagement.
"My power hungry Chosen, Pylons are explained thoroughly by a hologram if you even approached the projection showing the fights. What else were you to do in between fights with no Patron, stare at the wall?"
That…makes sense.
"Damn, that's the second time I've missed pertinent information right in fucking front of me." My conscience streaming from my mouth.
"It matters not what you miss, only that you correct your aims, mortal. You will learn, with time." He said, shuffling up my hair with his hand, electricity shuffled leaving my hair on end.
"Now for Pylons? Simple, you select one for your starting tutorial group to claim, where you'll defend and, in your case, conquer other Pylons for power. That goes for your personal strength, yes, but your planet will be free game after your tutorial. Best claim the throne before another, if you wish for your planet to maintain any semblance of freedom."
Bitter disappointment in myself magnified as my mind filled with regret for having been so full of myself to miss such blatant, vital details. Realizing how little good that does me, my self loathing extinguished.
"Alright. And what decides who's in our starting groups?" I asked curiously.
"Location. You start with 10 others as per the minimum in your most immediate area when you are first taken in for your multiversal introduction." The lightning rippling god replied, sighing as if annoyed to do so.
"…do babies count?" My mind drifted back to Korbin's family.
"Of course. Worry not, your species' incredibly useless human youth cycle is significantly quicker post integration. An adaption I can remember when the system implemented the change in fact, as your original awakened races populations were…easy to control. Such changes will matter little for a time though, as the Tutorial's aging laws from post Tutorial existence." Perunious explained, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Great, and 7 other strangers confirmed to be MY problem from the beginning. Ugh, I should've made friends with our neighbors like Korbin.
Sighing in frustration, I focused on the bigger picture in search of reprieve.
"And what exactly will the Tutorial be like?"
He chuckled a little at first, only it grew to a belly laugh as he clearly continued amusing himself internally. Still holding his stomach with a wide smile, he answered, sort of.
"Glorious, Tom. It shall be glorious to witness. You will battle the likes of which you'd never believed possible."
He began walking ahead of me now towards where I'd first arrived, indicating I followed with a flick of his head.
"You will see strength and power unlike any other your worlds ever encountered, including that which you accrue yourself. That is, so long as you do not fail me, and pursue the opportunities to display gloriously why you are the Chosen of the Wrath God."
Determination overcame me standing before a literal god, my confidence boosting to new heights while staring up at this force of nature incarnate. A sentient concept of absolute wrath, with lightning its medium for enforcing its will. This concept chose me, and while I don't quite understand why he and not, well, his wife hadn't, my conviction remains.
"I won't let you down, Perunious. Your belief in my potential will not go to waste." I reassured, trying to copy the gods speech. For the first time since the tournaments final fight, he grinned.
"Oh, this much I know. Good luck, little Chosen."
Snapping his fingers, I found myself sat back in my corner where the old man and Jimmy had left me. The light from the projection wall flashed a bright glare in my eye, making for a jarring return to the viewing area. Gathering my thoughts, I began heading towards the more open section of the endless white corridors to see who still here befo-
Never mind.
In a blink, I felt my ears being assaulted by the cacophonous rumble of confused humans rambling at one another in a panic. Some shouted loudly for their family members, while others yelled at those people for being too loud. Families cried as they embraced one another, while others fought over who was to blame. Squeezing through the claustrophobic cluster of humans, my eyes focused on a thin blur revealing a clear wall of energy right in front of my nose. Waves of near-transparent energy rippled as my hand knocked on the firm transparent wall.
"Where the hell did you two go?! Me and Anna have been in this cage with these people for hours, Korbin?!" Kaitlyn's voice hollered from behind me. Spinning around at the sound of her familiar voice, an unexpected sense of relief washed over seeing my friend still breathing, clutching his daughter finally being reunited. Kaitlyn's scolding indicating they were alright enough to be angry, rather than desperate for our return.
Wait…did she say hours? We were gone for like, a full day.
"Honestly I have no idea, but I'm just glad to be back with you two, seriously." Korbin said, as he embraced his family, his ladies posture relaxing upon contact.
"But hey? I can glow now, so I think we're gonna be fine, right Anna?" Korbin added, channeling his boost into his open hand while dangling it over his child. Anna tried her best to slap his swaying, fiery hand, causing Kaitlyn to pull her leaned head up from his shoulder to meet his eyes.
"I-I have no idea how the fuck you're doing that…but, we better be." Kaitlyn said, at first with a wide eyed glare that slowly relaxed into a bitter smirk.
"Hey, look Anna! The house cat stopped playing with the magic box like he's younger than you!!" Korbin said, now holding Anna as I walked close enough to be noticed without speaking.
"Ha-ha, I wanted to let the family have their moment." I said, feeling weirdly compelled to defend myself. I turned to address Kaitlyn.
"Hey you said you were here 'only hours'?" Kaitlyn asked, dubiously glancing between myself and Korbin. My oldest friend shot a scowling 'shut the fuck up' face, though it felt like the damage was done.
"Yeah, probably like 2 or 3. Tom, what do you mean by 'only'?" Asked Kaitlyn, this time more sternly. Korbin shrugged, turning away and abandoning me to save this alone.
"Oh well, I just…you know it felt longer but, I meditated the whole time so, probably that." My hands gestured more active as I tried to physically make up for my vocal shakiness. She most certainly wasn't buying it.
"Korbin? What is going o-"
"Hello! You and your planet have been deemed worthy to undergo your interpolation into the multiverse, as members of the 29th universe's official expansion!" The familiar effeminate voice from the tournament echoed, silencing the incalculable discussions.
Peering around, I noticed how many peoples faces between these strange cubes under a massive building of some sort had contorted into a sense of dread. It was hard to tell how tall the structure was, mainly due to the lack of light sources to reach that far. It made sense for folks who weren't selected to fight before…fighting, would find this concerning.
"You're currently arranged in groups of 10. When you hear beep, a holo-map will arise from the center of each of your Tutorial group waiting areas. Maximum of one group unification before Pylon selection. Disclaimer: Pylon selection is first come first serve! Good luck to all members of the human race, the multiverse will be watching!
Seriously? Can't get creative at a-
"What the fuck did it mean by, 'the multiverse is watching?" Kaitlyn asked aloud.
Oh, right. That's new to folks.
There was a brief period of moderate noise levels. During that time, I considered the forewarning regarding the Pylon selection process. 'First come first serve', terribly crude for Soothing Lady Voice. Then again, the near robotic tone when saying 'human' indicated less care went into this portion of these things.
Korbin was conversing with our group members, giving them and Kaitlyn some context he'd accrued throughout the tournament when the beep sounded. Immediately, a projector arose from a circular space in the middle of our people box, accompanied by the sound of said shields powering off.
Shuffling by them quickly, my eyes locked on the now insanely large blue replica of Earth appeared, spinning slowly at the center of our containment box. This projection of Earth didn't quite look like globes I'd seen in classes growing up having way too many continents, yet plenty of oceans between removing possibility of a major drought.
My eyes scanned as I circled the projection hastily before finding a glowing circle placed along a beach side, with plenty other pylons inland neighboring at relatively even distances. To the east, a massive ocean, assuring at least one side could be written off from attack. That, and I'll get to work hands-on with some water concepts.
Due west, far greener biomes contrast to the sands by the ocean that allowed for diversity in both enemies and resources alike. The final selling point being the mountainous ones even further west, a place I assumed most no one would start unless intending to be in seclusion. Meaning, unwilling to fight off usurpation over their Pylons.
Can't miss out on this.
My finger had already dotted the blue bubble, causing it to glow white in the center, when Korbin screaming "No TOM-" had registered. Without warning my feet sank at uneven levels into soft sand, accompanied by the euphoric sounds of waves crashing to shore.
The taste of salt water danced in the air, along with the myriad of aromas of the woodlands west wafted across the beautiful beach side. I'd have appreciated it longer if not for the interrupting panicked chatter.
"Where the fuck are we?"
"Who picked already?!"
"Did anyone get to even look?"
Voices I didn't recognize harmonized in wonderful disarray, as the realization I hadn't even talked to Korbin about the pylon much le-
BAM
My vision spun as I crashed to the sand. It took a second to collect my bearings, pushing up off the sand and moving around my jaw to ensure it functioned.
"Why the fuck did you pick this fucking spot are you fucking dumb?" Korbin barked, stood over me after sucker-punching me in the mouth.
"What do you mean? We have nothing but room to grow around here?! Everyone Is equally far away from us, with the ocean at our ba-" my thought process was interrupted by Korbin grabbing my armor by my collar and bringing me nearer as he spoke.
"Tom, take a good fucking looking around." He angrily whispered through clenched teeth. Looking about I saw his family, three other middle aged men, all a little overweight at different magnitudes. Two women accompanied, both middle aged appearing in decent shape and two children, one looked around 14 ish while the other closer to 8. They were both boys.
"Tell me, Tom, do you recognize any of them from the tournament?" He sneered, my 'oh shit' face now fully formed the byproduct.
"Uhhhh…no I do-"
"NO, no the fuck you don't. Do me a favor; from now on, if you're going to make group decisions, consult me at the very least. Matter of fact," Korbin angrily whispered, "just me, I'll tell them." He said, pushing his finger into my chest.
"Alright?! Alright I- I'm sorry." I said, trying to defuse my innate need to defend myself. In fairness, I did fuck this one up a bit.
"FUCK your 'sorry', Tom. Just help protect my family and I won't punish kill you for endangering them, got it?"
Fuck, I didn't even consider them either.
"I will man, I promise. Let's just focus on getting everyone caught up to spe-"
"Hey Korbin?! What's with this rock, it's pulsating?!" Hollered Kaitlyn from further up the beach.
"BELORIS DAMNIT GIVE ME A BREAK FOR TWO SECONDS!" Yelled Korbin to the heavens, kicking up unreal amounts of sand beneath his feet from the strength of each step.
She was already reaching for the rock when she called to him, only for his hand to clap down onto the strange glowing stone as he leaped forward, rolling closely by Kaitlyn with Ana in hand.
Korbin rolled to his feet, bouncing up with his hands in the air like a gymnast who knew they had stuck a perfect landing. His face contorted from that of triumph to a more serious curiosity, as he lowered his arm holding the luminous rock.
I'd made my way with a light jog to him by now, followed by the thumps of our group tailing me.
"What's going on? Is that the uh, 'Pylon'?" I asked, holding my arms out to my sides for the rest to stop, ensuring space in case Korbin needed it.
"Yeah, yeah it definitely is. I got a HUD here asking if I'd like to claim Pylon leader."
Wow, that's easy enough.
"Oh well, claim it then, the sooner the be-"
"Hold the fuck on?!" A voice shot from behind me as a hand shoved my left shoulder blade, turning me around slightly. Before me was one of our fellow group members, a middle aged man slightly balding.
"You're the idiot who claimed a Pylon without even talking to us?! Why should you even have a say in wh-"
Water stepping, I grabbed the foolish man by the collar of his armor, my weapons sheathed to my sides leaving my fist the only thing to threaten with. Based on how long it took for him to realize I was upon him, my message was clear. However, I made sure it crystal, by Lightning Strike punching the air by his ear dispersing a pop of electricity that crackled and swarmed by his head in a flash.
"Because you've only had that great sword strapped on your back for a few hours. I've killed 90 of humanity's finest warriors before you ever heard that voice echo through your little hall of cages. I have no issue with mutuality, but put your hands on me again and your fuckin-"
"TOM! Shut the fuck up!" Korbin yelled from behind me, his eyes glowing a familiar orange a moment before he relaxed.
"Who the hell do you think you are man?!" The prick who shoved me said, though his wide eyes and trembling lip gave away the fear he tucked away. The others however, wore their shock and disgust on their faces openly, staring at me like I'd kicked a dog or something.
"What the hell is his problem?"
"How did he even do that?"
"What an asshole."
Murmurs amongst the others jumbled, making it difficult to make out all of their hushed complaints. I didn't even hit the guy, what's the big fucking deal?!
"They don't know what's going on, and frankly neither do we. No ONE person will make every decision." Korbin continued, pressing his finger into my chest. His eyes softened, stepping away to address the others who appeared on the beach with us.
"However, qualifications do matter, can we as a collective agree on that?" He asked the group. By now, the majority of our little posse were becoming apprehensive, with only a few including the asshole who shoved me were able to even answer a jumble of 'yeah's and 'for sure's.
"That being said, does anyone have any experience in leadership?" Said Korbin.
Crickets.
"Alright, well that honestly makes things pretty easy. I have military experience, and served long enough to accrue a fair share of leadership responsibilities myself. The details are admittedly boring, so does anyone need to hear them before I claim this?"
The same guy who lost half his hair follicles in the divorce spoke once more, "yeah, why the hell should we even believe you're qualified, much less have our best intentions in mind?"
"Yeah, we don't even fucking know you?" A woman holding a long wooden staff in her hand added.
What followed was Korbin giving an absolute lore dump, explaining his credentials as a Sergeant at such a young age and whatnot. Kaitlyn and I had known him throughout this entire time period, leaving both of us to finding other things to occupy ourselves with as he built his lengthy rapport with our incredibly whiny group.
After thoroughly enjoying a little meditation by the water, Korbin called for me to come back over to rejoin our group, indicating a decision was made.
"After some rather pleasant discussion, a vote was put forth on who's to be Pylon leader, and we didn't need yours as it was unanimously agreed upon." Korbin explained.
Seriously? It took a vote?
Turning to Korbin, I noticed an exhausted droop in his eye. Which didn't bode well for my well being, seeing him grow tired of playing the affable leader role already.
"We decided Korbin was indeed the best fit as Pylon leader." One of the middle aged men added through a delighted grin.
Whaaaat? No waay?
"I'm happy to hear, now can we claim this thing? I already know other groups have gotten a move on way quicker than this." I said, trying my best to be nice right now. My urgency to grow in strength had turned into restlessness by now. A few others flashed their angry glares before I even finished my sentence, though I'm really in no mood for petty fighting with these people after some high quality meditation by the ocean.
"Sure, except we don't know what will happen after. So, we should prepare for the worst, aka we get attacked from all around." Korbin shot back.
"Everywhere but from the sea I assume?"I sarcastically replied.
"For fucks sake." Someone scoffed, while others rolled their eyes.
Damn, tough crowd, huh?
"Hopefully. We don't really know though, do we?" Korbin replied, throwing a sneering look my way at the final two words.
"Let's just organize this. Tom, you take one other person and cover our south flank." Korbin instructed. Attempting to make some sort of an effort to assess their slight differences physically, I decided to go with the mage. I figured she can cover putting ranged damage down while I handle the encroaching threats that may follow.
Korbin directed the other 5 to take position around him with the bulkier folks at the front and ranged fighters behind. They surrounded the center of where we'd make our 'stand' if need be. There wasn't any actual structure, it just seemed as close to the center of the beach we could get. Simply put, less tree lines block our vision at the borders of the biomes, the better in any case.
"Alright! Claiming the Pylon in 5!" Korbin hollered out, beginning his countdown.
Took them long enough.
"4!"
"Hey uh, Tom, right? Do you think we'll get attacked right out the gate like Korbin said?" My mage companion whispered, whimpering as she held back tears of fear.
"3!"
"Just stay focused. Don't let whatever happens rattle you, and trust your instincts. We didn't climb the food chain by accident back home." I responded, placing a hand on her shoulder maintaining strong eye contact.
"2!"
"I-I'm so fucking scared!" She cried out, holding her wooden staff hand and free hand to her face. I lightly grabbed her wrist pulled it to the side. She peered up, a tear streaking down her cheek.
"1!"
"Me too. Use it." I said.