Chapter Eighty-Three – Equivalent Exchange – Part One

The system seems to have a balancing mechanic for equivalent exchanges, it is apparent with certain classes that grant extreme proficiency with only one weapon type. The drawback when they try to use other weapons is often pain, or being akin to a wet noodle striking a very sturdy stone. The question of what defines a specific weapon is one of ongoing intrigue. At what point does a weapon stop being labeled in a certain category? What defines it?

-WSA Researcher Tumak-

***

A few days ago

***

My mouth tastes like mint chocolate again, wherever the bendy light thing took me, I'm still in the false body that Sage crafted for me. Thinking of Sage…

"Sage?"

In front of me a portal emerges, I blink twice, Mythren is standing across from me.

"It would appear that I cannot give you a proper tutorial," he says, his face looks more worn than I saw last, "I do not have authorization to view the depth of the skill that you were granted."

"What do you mean?"

"I cannot see all of your Custom Respec On Death skill. There are certain sections that are… gone. Balancing mechanisms conveniently misplaced or overwritten. Other areas that I cannot peer beyond. It was intended to trick administrators into thinking it was a normal skill. It even gives the false success of analyzing, but when I peered closer, I noticed something was not right."

"Does that mean you're going to take it?"

He sighs, "If only it were that easy."

"So, if I don't get the tutorial, I can just say I didn't receive it next time something like that happens."

His eyes flash, "You plan on being part of a proceeding again?"

I raise an eyebrow, "I'll say this, I don't care who or what it is. Anyone comes for those I care about, they'd better buckle up, because I'm coming out swinging."

His eyes narrow slightly, measuring me.

I cross my arms, "What now, Mythren?"

He turns, swirling his hand in the smoke, a portal appears in it.

"Now, I give you a very abridged version of your tutorial."

"What, like Sage's have echo spend echo?"

He tilts his head at me.

"You didn't see him give me that ridiculously abridged version of the Cosmic Exchange tutorial?"

"I am unable to see inside your Nexus."

"Really?"

He nods, eyes narrowing more.

"Would you… like to grant me access to it?"

"You offering me something?"

"No."

"Then summon some rocks and kick them."

He raises an eyebrow at me, "You're very bold for a mortal."

"Too bold?"

He pauses, weighing it for a moment then shakes his head, "It's refreshing," he points to the portal of light, "Shall we?"

Images begin to shape on it as it expands into a larger frame.

"This is the normal tutorial for Respec users. I'm going to give you the Phase two version since your home world has technically entered it, even if it hasn't been announced yet."

Phase two, wonder what that entails.

There's a figure in the makeshift portal projection, is that… Sage?

"Hello there Mortal, welcome to the Respec On Death tutorial," Sage says.

"Is this a recording?"

Mythren shakes his head.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" I peer at Sage, his head is more than three times the size of his shrunken body, so much so that he nearly topples over with each step.

"His ego needed to be checked. I thought it would be… fitting."

I smile, "Fair enough."

Sage continues, he's showing a detailed way of accessing the system, going step by step through each section of the menu. I notice that there are less options than the one I have. There's no synergy menu for the Legacy skills. No special unlock at certain levels… wait. If I made it past level 3,000 does that mean I unlocked the milestones? I remember there was a bunch that needed me to be a certain level to access.

Mythren is watching Sage intently, as though he's grading his performance. I wonder what the history is between them. So many questions.

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"Now, Mortal, let's move into the Cosmic Exchange, please note that if you acquire certain classes that give you access to more doorways, your menu will change it to be called Nexus. A streamlined version to provide you with more efficient access."

Already knew that.

He steps into the Cosmic Exchange, the doorway looked similar to what I was used to, planets and galaxies like a cosmic screensaver. There's something different though, there's only two pedestals.

"Now depending on which faction has chosen you, you will receive an exchange reciprocal to spend your echoes. All individuals with the Respec On Death skill set are automatically tagged by the system as Deviants. Granting you access to the neutral system as well. This is a balancing mechanic. Due to deities sometimes deciding to sit out a cycle after having selected a Champion or Marauder. Also, at times your deity may have… unreasonable expectations. Therefore, the system shall allocate bonus points to balance actual performance metrics and valid rewards. These rewards can be disputed through the proper channels, you must ask your system entity, someone like myself to file it on your behalf."

I raise an eyebrow, interesting.

"Please note that due to the volume of requests across the cosmos, it may take a few thousand cycles to process said request."

"Figures," I sigh, looking at Mythren, "How often do those actually get evaluated?"

"It is rare that the submitting party is still alive when the request is processed, if they are not, the request is removed."

I shake my head, sounds like they have excellent customer service.

"Mortal, as you may have noticed, the Exchange is tiered, meaning it upgrades. These upgrades correspond to your world's current phase. The higher the base difficulty, the greater the reward pool chances become. Since you are receiving the phase two tutorial, I am now allowed to explain to you the concept of the phases."

About time.

"Phase one is any world that has met less than ten years of the quota. The starting interface is rudimentary and it upgrades each phase, offering new tools and features as a reward for phase completion."

I straighten, what kind of tools and features.

"Each phase is divided into ten years of success. If your world should prove capable of completing another phase, you will advance into the third phase, so on and so forth," Sage's eyes glow a little brighter, "Until the final phase."

I look at Mythren, "What's the final phase? How many years do we have to succeed?"

He doesn't reply. Dick.

"With each subsequent phase change, you have access to higher ranked entities whose world failed the Sarlenac Quadrant Games. They will keep the level they acquired at the moment they acquired their last highest Phase change. During phase one, you can only receive entities from similar ranked failed worlds. During phase two and up, the… quality of entities improves with each phase."

Off-worlders? Wait, is that why we've only gotten people who never passed into the next phase? Now we will get more competent ones? Shit, that's awesome. Wait, wouldn't that also mean they could arrive at a high level? Hypothetically speaking, they could have grinded for a hundred years and only passed into phase two right before failing their last year. That could be problematic… especially if they don't want to help Earth. An uneasy feeling rises over me.

"The level cap also increases by twenty levels with each phase as well. Meaning that a phase two world has a level cap of 120."

"Wait but I was over level 3,000."

Mythren sighs, "You broke the level cap by earning an extreme amount of experience points. It will not happen again, I have personally patched it."

Interesting implication.

That's good though, that means that we can keep improving as the difficulty gets higher. Another uneasy feeling washes over me, that also means that the challenges must get exponentially harder as the phases change.

"Sage, how much does the difficulty increase with each phase change?"

"The approximate estimate for difficulty increases for phase changes are between the minimum of 50% and the maximum of 200% per phase upgrade."

I look at Mythren, "How much are you going to increase it?"

"The increase from the recalibration was already 77%."

"Okay, and?"

"It will increase another 123%."

My teeth grind, "Why?"

He glances at me without turning his head, "It is fair."

"Fair?"

"Yes."

"Define fair."

"200% total from phase one to phase two."

"You could have done 50%."

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you?"

He tilts his head, "You're asking why I would not give the lightest increase to your home world?"

I nod, fighting back the storm of curses that are bubbling up.

"A world that has too many Champions."

"Don't forget I'm also a Marauder."

"I haven't."

"So, because it has seven champions you give it the stick?"

"Let us not forget that world also has an individual whom used the system mechanics to slay a god. The same individual who calls a Calamity class reincarnation a pet."

"What?"

He looks at me strangely, as if he's surprised I don't know something. The only thing like a pet that I have is Niva the fox. Is he talking about her?

"You mean Niva? The little baby fox whose world got torched because some asshole like you decided it was ripe for the games?"

His eyes glow a little brighter, "Yes, that Fox, the very same one that carries the soul of Arashala, the annihilator of worlds, the eternal warden of frost."

That sounds foreboding.

"I don't care what you think she is, but she's a fucking child. If you want to take it out on someone, blame Red, or me. But dooming a world because of the choices of a single person, it's not fair, it's not balanced. Nor was increasing the difficulty when a Goddess who wasn't asked decided to give a divine item. An item which you throttled the shit out of."

"Be that as it may. My duty is to balance the games."

"Balance them to be unwinnable?"

He shakes his head looking down, "You do not yet understand the purpose of the games. Nor will you, unless your world succeeds."

"Is there a point? A point in subjecting so many lives to these torments?"

He looks at me, square in the eyes, not with the cold precision that I expected, but with something that almost resembles emotions.

"There is a point. One that justifies…" he looks up at the starlight above us, "Everything."

"Ahem, may I continue?" Sage asks.

"Proceed," Mythren says, straightening himself, his placidness returning.

"No, fuck that, tell me what the point is."

"He can't," Sage says sharply, "No one is permitted to speak it."

"So we just get fucked and we can't ask why?"

"Meatsack, control your emotions," Sage sighs, "Lest you will come to regret it."

I look at Mythren, then back to Sage, letting out a breath and nodding. Not controlling my temper might have consequences. Mythren might find a little sass refreshing, but I don't know him well enough to test him.

"I'm sorry, please continue."

Sage raises a surprised eyebrow on his overinflated head.

"As I was saying…"

***

A few hours have passed, Sage went way into depth, teaching me a few things that are coming up after the phase officially changes. My mind is distant though, thinking about Cortez. There's something I need to tell her. Something more important than everything else I've learned.

"Are you content with the tutorial?" Mythren asks me.

"Is there anything else you guys are forgetting to tell me?"

"That is the normal phase two tutorial. Anything else that skill does is mere speculation on my part."

"Then I guess I'm good."

"I'll need you to sign this then."

A scroll materializes, and unfurls hundreds of meters to the side as he opens it.

"What is it?"

"A binding agreement that says you cannot use not receiving a tutorial as a valid argument if you are in a proceeding again."

"Do I have to sign it?"

"You will not leave here without signing it."

I press my tongue into my cheek. Nodding. A quill appears in my hand, a long dainty feather attached with a small metal point at the end, a perfect glob of ink hangs from it.

"Initial all of the columns and sign the end of the document."

I sigh… fucking paperwork. Moving through it, it's all written with legal jargon I can't quite understand. I initial it as I always initial things, with a cursive 'No'. Most people think it's my last name, Novak. But it's actually just me being cheeky, saying no. I've signed everything my entire life like that. Just in case. Though I'm not sure it's a valid legal argument, saying you wrote no.

It takes me hours to do it. But I sign with the same no at the end. Mythren squints at it, then looks at me suspiciously.

"It's how I always sign, check any document in my file."

"It's true," Sage says, wobbling forward, using his tiny hands outstretched to try and balance himself.

Mythren's eyes glass over for a moment, then they shift back, "So it is. Well then, good luck. Try not to break any rules again."

He snaps his fingers and light bends around me.

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