+ Reid +

Reid's head stung as he woke up to a starry night sky. His body felt heavy, spent, and empty in ways it was hard to describe. He stayed there, staring at nothing while he waited for the headache feeling to go away.

It didn't.

Nyx didn't answer him when he called out, so Reid groaned and sat up straight, then scooted away from the puddle he'd created before bringing up a long line of waiting notifications.

Experience: 416,688,400 -> 428,038,400 / 419,430,400 Level: 24 -> 25 Grade: G -> F Control: 130 -> 140

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Questline Stage Unlocked: The Beast Lords - (Stage 3 of 10) NOTICE: You are the only faction that can currently access this questline. Beast lords are the unquestionable rulers of their domain. You have bested two of their numbers. Your quest to prove your power continues. Stage 3: Defeat the Beast Lord of the Dark Pond. (Level 22). Secret Challenge: Complete Stage 3 in less than 15 days. (14d 02h 12m Remaining) Secret Challenge: Complete Stage 3 without taking any losses

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NOTICE: Evolution Preparations Commenced. WARNING: ERROR. WARNING - ERR... Error Resolved. NOTICE: Evolution Preparations Complete. Commencing Evolution to F Grade... Evolution complete.

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NOTICE! Grade Evolution has Triggered Skill - Accelerated Growth Calculating Questline Difficulty Upgrades for [The Osteal Empire]. Please wait....

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New Achievements Earned! True Balance (Earned for evolving to a new grade with perfect or near-perfect stat balance) True Arcana (Earned for evolving to a new grade with metaphysical abilities at or near the given individual's limit) True Prowess (Earned for evolving to a new grade with physical abilities at or near the given individual's limit) Perfect Evolution (Earned for achieving True evolutions in each tracked area)

True Balance Automatically compensates for minor stat imbalances. Grants a small bonus to level-awarded stat points in grade: [F].

True Arcana Allows the individual to more easily condense and manipulate their energies. Grants a small bonus to level-awarded stat points in grade: [F].

True Prowess Slightly increases the individual's mastery of the physical self. Grants a small bonus to level-awarded stat points in grade: [F].

Perfect Evolution Assists progress. Deepens awareness. Grants a bonus to level-awarded stat points in grade: [F].

NOTICE: Achievement Effects Retroactively Applied to [Level 25]

Control: 140 -> 150

"Holy fucking shit."

He went through the notifications three times to make sure he wasn't misreading things. Each F-grade level awarded him with 10 stat points - and then the FOUR achievements he'd earned from going up a grade were giving him another 10 on top of that. From what he understood, that bonus would last through the entirety of F grade. Ten points per level would've already meant a massive total of 1,250 points to claim in F grade - but with those achievements, Reid was looking at... 500 control and 2,500 total stat points over F grade's 25 levels. Then, his achievements would also help him earn experience and level up faster. The multiplier was already over 15%, and would keep growing as he completed the questlines.

Sure, it would take extra time to actually attain all of those stat points - but he had Nyx to guide him, which meant he had nothing to worry about.

Even now, Reid could physically feel that he was tougher and stronger, with a larger quantity of more potent energy. His entire body had gone through a qualitative increase while he was asleep. The difference between his pre-evolution body and now was the same kind of difference he felt when pushing energy into the mole king - like the density of his entire self was... more. He summoned a black rock from his storage ring, and squeezed. The incredibly hard stone cracked as Reid pushed power into his fingers.

"Incredible."

Reid felt energy stir within himself, and stilled.

"Nyx, you there?"

Reid could sense her as she pushed herself to an active state, and waited.

When she finally spoke, her voice was full of the same worried and soft concern from right before he'd passed out - and also oddly raspy, like she was getting over a cold.

"How are you feeling, Reid?"

"Headache." His stomach rumbled. "Hungry. Sore. But that grade evolution just gave me a ton of achievements and it's going to massively increase my stat points, so I guess I'll live." He held out a hand, and pulled water and a ration from storage. "So hit me with it. What went wrong?"

"I made a mistake. A miscalculation. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Reid. I knew it was part of you at your core, but I didn't think the system would try to empower it. I wasn't ready, and so much energy got through." She paused and took an airless breath. "The only thing within you still weaker than the rest was your cancer. It... it's where the energy went, and then you were destroying yourself just to get rid of the system energy, and I know how agonizing that must have been, and I'm sorry."

Reid chewed slowly, and swallowed. He was a bit surprised that the news didn't put him on edge. Heck, he'd just spent a bunch of time worrying about factions and connections, but the news of his imminent death creeping closer felt like nothing more a bump in the road. "Well... that explains the lingering headache. Don't blame yourself, Nyx. I don't blame you. You can't know everything. We stopped most of it from going through - and, I mean, I've always been on a timer, right? This is just a reminder that the timer's there... So, what's the new number?"

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"The right now number is that you need to hit level 27 in the next four weeks. After that... you'll have roughly 20 months to make it to E grade before things catch up and impact you bad enough that it'll stop you from being able to fight. I'm so sor...ry. Reid, are you smiling?!"

He rolled his neck, and ignored the bit of nausea that caused. He felt a warm heat intensify in his abdomen. "20 months is a heck of a lot more than what it took me to go from G to F, Nyx. This time around, I have you with me from the start, and I'm inside a tutorial space. I have an XP multiplier and massive stat gains I'm going to get per level. I have - no. We've got this. It isn't a question of whether we get through F in 20 months - its whether we can blaze through it fast enough to set a new record on the way."

"...Ha. You want to set a cosmic record for F grade. Of course you do. If anyone can accomplish that, Reid, it would be you." She seemed to calm a little. "We're going to need to be more focused, though. Getting enough points out of G grade beasts to level up won't be easy, but-"

Reid interrupted her by bringing his latest notification to the front of his vision and attempting to focus it for her as well.

Calculating Questline Difficulty Upgrades for [The Osteal Empire]. Please wait....

"Well, that'll certainly help. We should keep what you're up to somewhat inconspicuous so you'll be able to focus on the beast lords and raising your stats. If the beast levels increase enough, you shouldn't have any issue getting to level 27 as quick as you need to. We can work on stealth as y-"

NOTICE: Calculations Complete. NOTICE: Unable to Upgrade Faction Wars Questline Difficulty Commencing Beast Lords Questline Difficulty Upgrade for [The Osteal Empire]

The entire sky flashed from night to light, then changed again as blue-grey clouds rolled into existence and plunged the space back into darkness as they blanketed the sky. A series of massive cylindrical, spotlight-like points of illumination shot down from the clouds, accompanied by massive cracking booms that seemed to echo through the area.

Reid watched on in amazement and counted as the things continued. There was an equal interval between each strike. The first 3, he could see the light directly from where he sat. The next 4, he could see a bit of the sky light up, but they were too far away for him to actually witness. Then the final strike came.

The sky turned to daylight once again as an impossibly loud and bright flash erupted from the far 'south' of the area.

It shook the landscape, and sent the wildlife near Reid into a frenzied, panic state. They fled from the direction of the flash, predator and prey alike.

When the shockwave hit him - he understood why. There was a disturbing magical energy there that tugged at the primal part of his brain, demanding fear. He shoved it aside and stared towards the flash's origin.

There was a fight waiting there that promised to be the toughest out of all the beast lords. Something he would actually need to try for.

Excitement welled in his gut.

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NOTICE: Difficulty Upgrade Complete

Questline Stage: The Beast Lords - (Stage 3 of 10) NOTICE: You are the only faction that can currently access this questline. Beast lords are the unquestionable rulers of their domain. You have bested two of their numbers. Your quest to prove your power continues. Stage 3: Defeat the Beast Lord of the Dark Pond. (Level 32). Secret Challenge: Complete Stage 3 in less than 20 days. (19d 23h 59m Remaining) Secret Challenge: Complete Stage 3 without taking any losses

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As he read the notification, Reid realized he'd seen and heard all the flashes - which probably meant others in the tutorial had, too.

"So... uh, that was pretty far from inconspicuous and stealthy, right?"

Nyx sighed. "Yep."

-/-)) Travis ((-\-

Travis pursed his lips and watched the flashes manifest. His aide, Elijah, was muttering to himself as he rifled through a journal. The boy was highly intelligent, which set him apart from the rest of the forces here. Or, well, most of the rest of the forces. Cy had been in charge of the first settlement, and he was one of Travis's most promising young officers, but the barbarian local had done him in. Cy had also been the most loyal. All of his troops were loyal - but that tended to happen when you were born into Belar's Breeding programs. Travis wasn't womb-bound himself - but he'd still been able to rise to his current position. It took work and dedication - and luck. And connections.

He'd known Commander Beatrice since they were both young. They were both still young, by cosmic measures - but that came with the territory of being G-grade pioneer forces. Since he'd come under her supervision, his abilities had been better recognized, and she'd all but promised to reward him with a new rank and role once the tutorial completed. It was as close to a done deal as one could get.

Travis considered himself lucky, but Beatrice was smiled on by the gods. Her parents, their parents, and even half her grandparents had all been company-conceived, which meant she had been marked for a high ceiling since birth. Not everyone attained success simply from being a product of the company's programs - but they still got to benefit from being raised by and for the company from infancy. Most of his guards and officers here were womb-bound themselves. The glory of BTC was all they'd ever known. But being steeped in that truth left them lacking perspective on how terrible things could be outside of the corporation. They were fervently loyal - just not always properly arduous. As Travis surveyed the sky, he wondered whether fervent loyalty would be enough to secure his victory.

"Lieutenant! Sir! I found the entry!"

He grabbed the book from Elijah's hands and read.

'Section 559 - Audiovisual Phenomenon. Subsection 4 - Flashes from a Cloudy Sky, accompanied by noise. If the light branches like a tree (Note: this may happen quickly, ensure a high perception guard witnesses the event), the noise and visual are most likely caused by lightning, a natural phenomenon that accompanies storms and other weather. To prevent lightning strikes from hitting your troops..... If the noise is sharper, and the light is a direct beam unaccompanied by weather changes, the phenomenon is most likely system-induced teleportation. Send scouts with recording equipment to the area...'

Travis scanned over another dozen descriptions that didn't match their scenario before he got to the one he was looking for. 'Sudden and distinctly blue-grey clouds, followed by a series of booms and large, column-like flashes of light, represent a rare and potentially problematic event. Re-read prior instructions to ensure you have identified the correct phenomenon. If your experience is a match, these clouds and lights mean either that more beasts have been evolved into lords for the sake of a tutorial questline, or that a surge of energy was required to increase the difficulty of a beast lord quest. Play back videos of the phenomenon, and record the number of flashes. If your tutorial instance has recently experienced a catastrophic event, the flashes are most likely to replace beast lords eliminated by the catastrophe. If no catastrophes have occurred, these flashes may indicate that a local tutorial member has risen to F grade. Recommended next steps follow, based on the time elapsed within the tutorial instance. (NOTE: this claim is not backed with statistically significant data.)'

His eyes fell off the page. Statistically significant... meant things like this didn't just happen. The wording was a subtle reference to him and Belar's other more educated employees that what they were dealing with was a massively infrequent phenomenon. His face dropped as he slumped back in his chair. They were only a short time into this tutorial - and if he was inferring from the guide and next steps correctly, there was a progenitor-level threat here with them.

Travis set his jaw and rapped his three good fingers on the table. Everything till now had been simple. Unchallenging. Lucky. But what was his life if not a study in how to overcome challenges and a lack of natural born luck? There was no chance the F-grade was one of his people - which meant it was a local. It wasn't exactly a leap from there to the sole suspect. The same barbaric fighter that had decimated his forces at the entry base had to be the F-grade. It still left some things unexplained, but those would have to remain unsolved. Action was more important than answers.

Travis called up every other base head in a group exchange, and relayed his instructions. They needed to snuff this fire before it grew - and that meant decisive retaliation with... appropriate force. He navigated through his menus, to the experience section. There was a nest egg there, for Belar's purposes, left to grow to maturity. Waiting and ready if it were needed to preserve the glory of the corporation.

And it was needed.

Travis sucked air through his teeth. This would be painful for him and the others, but it was necessary. It was for the company.

He laid himself onto a cot, sent the distributions, and screamed.

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