Chapter 455 (2/2)
“If you pass the 3rd, you earn the dubious honor of having your planet judged for anything of use to the System proper. Specifically, armor, Classes, Skills, or Paths. It is constantly searching for something better than itself, to face the great, monstrous bogeyman that the System sees as standing beyond its borders...the problem is that the contents of the report Octavius Shrike will release, should you pass the 3rd test of the Calamity. You have created your own Class, with a well-documented process. That will intrigue the System.”
“You… speak as though the System is a person…” Randidly said slowly.
The Creature just smiled and ignored the question. Instead, she said. “There is a larger problem, as well, that anyone higher than Octavius will notice, should they see the report generated on you. You possess at least a dozen Skills that you should not. Some of them can be explained away by your… unique circumstances, but there are two glaring red flags on you that will earn you the highest scrutiny. The first…. Your initial time in a dungeon.”
Randidly had expected to hear this for a long time, but still, his mouth twitched, almost unwilling to admit it. “That… was because of you.”
“Ha, again, you seem to take it so personally.” The Creature said, wrinkling its nose. “I did this for about 10,000 people on 10,000 planets, sending them into dungeons beyond their level, usually those that possessed other dungeon divers. The goal was to bring in Skills beyond a normal person’s means to the early System, and have normal strife result in my empowered warriors attacking and taking over a Village. I have… long exhausted other avenues, and I was curious how the System would react. As you can expect, tens of millions died, without any results to speak of. You were… one of the more interesting iterations, I must admit.”
“And the second red flag?” Randidly asked, frustrated how tired his voice sounded. To think, so many people had been thrown in, beyond their depth, to only die, on a whim of this being… Without a significant amount of luck spawning next to a safe zone, Randidly would be the same, dead in a random dungeon on another world.
“Also my work. The Skill, Touch from Beyond.” The Creature said, sounding annoyed. “I thought I would be clever, and slip it in, but now… I could have covered for the first, but not the second. Touch from Beyond… that is the touch of Nether. It is the breath of the boogeymen the System fears. I am not sure if they will assume it is me, or whether… or whether the imaginary enemies have finally reared their ugly heads, but…”
The Creature looked up sharply. “Perhaps… you are right. I have kept you in the dark for far too long. Although we are not peers… you are beyond my understanding in certain ways. A man cannot fathom the dimensions available to an ant. Take this information on the Calamity as a show of good faith. If you leave now, I give you my word that I will help you pass the first two tests of the Calamity. But we must fail the third.”
We? Randidly thought, wonderingly, surprised how quickly the Creature changed its tune. In addition, this pleading… this strange compromise so suddenly…
If the Creature was telling the truth, Randidly could see how he would be tempted by the offer. They would find themselves at constant war, based on what Randidly knew of Shal’s world, but how was that much different than they had been before the System arrived? The tension, the constant war… at least in this instance, their enemies would be those from other worlds. Humanity, as a whole, would be working together for the greater good.
However…
Randidly slowly and deliberately shook his head. All of this was based upon information the Creature provided. It painted a pretty picture, but he had no proof it was telling the truth. If it had lied or omitted something, and humanity became doomed because of this…
In addition, he would need to leave now, and let the Creature continue whatever activities it was conducting here. By now, he was thoroughly spooked by Cyndra’s stillness. He would not let this develop further, not when he had the hopes of crushing this before it became a persistent problem.
Randidly produced his spear from his spatial ring and adopted a stance, spreading his bare feet on the dirt floor. The three Aether probs surged forward, aiming for his Soul Space with malicious intent. In addition, Cyndra’s feet struck the floor, and her body hurtled forward towards him.
Lovely.