Act III
Archie flinched backward, his breath hitching as he suddenly found himself in a completely white room. His heart pounded as his eyes locked onto the System Aspect, standing fifteen feet away.
Archie questioned as he rapidly blinked his eyes, adjusting to the sudden brightness of the room.
"I thought I still had two days until the Group Tutorial ended?" Archie questioned.
As he spoke, he realized that his hammer was absent from his hands and that his forging equipment had been sent back into his spatial storage, alongside the Totem of Spring’s Ascent, with the Spirit Nucleus still in his back pouch.
“There was a complication with your Tutorial due to interference from Universe 50,” the System Aspect stated, its voice was the same as how he last remembered. “This interference resulted in the destruction of Universes 49, 50, and 51, while Universe 72—your universe—was severely fractured and partially destroyed.”
A chill ran down Archie’s spine.
Many individuals perished from the sudden interference,” the System Aspect continued, unperturbed. “However, Protocol T-47957K5927S was enacted. A vast majority of lifeforms under the System’s protection were placed into stasis.
"Due to the destruction and fracturing of Universe 72 during its Tutorial Phase, your physical form was destroyed, and your soul suffered severe damage. To prevent permanent loss, you were placed into stasis until healing could be completed.”
"I… died?" His voice came out in a whisper, barely audible over the weight of the revelation. His face paled. But I was just forging in my cave… not even twenty seconds ago.
“You did not die,” the System Aspect clarified. “Your physical body was destroyed, and your soul was critically wounded. However, after being placed into stasis and healed, you have regained what was lost.”
“Due to unforeseen complications within the Tutorial of Universe 72, all Tutorial Participants will receive communications with their respective deities for only up to 15 minutes and a bonus multiplier on the overall Tutorial Points once they’ve been calculated before you enter the System Bazaar.” The System Aspect continued.
Archie thought before his brain finally came up to him, "My family!" He lurched forward, his body moving before his mind could catch up. Fear clawed at his chest, his voice raw, laced with desperation. “Are they safe? Mom? Dad? My brother?”
The System Aspect remained unfazed.
“Are you referring to Sarah Smith, Matthew Gracefield, and Henry Gracefield from Universe 72, the Milky Way Galaxy, Planet Earth?”
“Yes!” Archie’s reply was immediate, frantic.
“Sarah Smith and Matthew Gracefield are alive but require significant time to recover. It is estimated that they will fully heal in 2,000 to 2,003 years."
Archie’s breath caught.
"Henry Gracefield," the System Aspect continued, "has already completed his purchases within the System Bazaar. Along with his daughter, he has already been relocated to a designated planet.”
For a moment, Archie didn’t move.
Then, a breath of air left his lungs—one he hadn’t even realized he was holding.
His knees weakened, and he braced himself with his hands, gripping them tightly to stop himself from tipping over. The overwhelming weight of dread that had been clawing its way into his heart suddenly vanished.
"They're alive."
He clenched his jaw, exhaling sharply before looking up at the System Aspect once more, gratitude evident in his tone. "Thank you."
, Archie thought as he properly stood up straight. He did not expect that less than two minutes ago he’d be told that he effectively died, came back, and that his brother now has a daughter.
“Okay…Okay,” he said while gathering his bearings. “So, what now? Do I go to the Bazaar?”
“No. Before then, we must calculate your total score and confirm your placement on the 72 Leaderboard for the First Tutorial. Afterwards, you can choose whether you wish to speak with your Patron before heading to the System Bazaar,” the System Aspect answered. “Please unveil your 72nd Candidate Sigil.”
“Alright, let’s see how I did,” Archie said while uncovering his right gauntlet and showing the System Aspect the sigil he’d gained after killing the Triarch Serpent.
The sigil itself was comprised of hundreds, if not thousands, of shapes and circles, all inside a large circle that took up most of the clear skin on the back of his fist.
It was weird; it had no mana surrounding it, no runes, no…nothing. It looked like a tattoo, a cool-looking one in his opinion, but not magical at all.
Even when he identified it, all it said was:
72nd Candidate Sigil (Unique)
Once the System Aspect’s head turned to face Archie’s 72nd Candidate Sigil, it nodded before saying, “Confirmed; Now displaying your total score for the First Tutorial.”
First Tutorial Scoring:
Number of Dungeons Completed: 800%
Number of Sigil Dungeons Completed: 400%
Number of Bosses killed: 300%
Number of Titles: 150%
Empowered Final Boss: 500%
Solo Tutorial Completion: 150%
72nd Candidate Sigil: 500%
Acquired Blessing of a God: 250%
Survivor of the 72nd Universe's destruction: 300%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Multiplier: 3,350%
Total Tutorial Points Earned: 75,068,542
“That’s a lot of points,” Archie chuckled.
“Your performance in the First Tutorial has placed you within the top of the 72nd Universe’s Leaderboards for the First Tutorial, granting you the title of the 72nd Universe’s Harbinger.”
Title Gained: [72nd Universe’s Harbinger]72nd Universe’s Harbinger:
You have shown yourself to be at the forefront of the leaderboards for the First Tutorial amongst your newly initiated peers. Effects: +20% to all Stats and 72nd Candidate Sigil evolved to Harbinger of the 72nd Universe Sigil. Warning: This title will be removed if you do not take first place in the next two Tutorial Events.
“That’s…Wow,” Archie said aloud as he felt the increase in his stat points suddenly rise. Flexing his fingers, he felt a very noticeable increase in all of his stats, mostly in his mental stats. A 20% increase was insane, it was something he did not want to lose at all.
, Archie chuckled to himself. He was always planning to give the System Events his all, but with the reward he got and the potential rewards he could get from them, there was no way he’d give the next events less than 110%.
“Would you like to see the leaderboards for the First Tutorial Event?” The System Aspect asked, gaining a nod from Archie, who then saw another panel open in front of him.
First Tutorial Event Leaderboards:1. Archie Gracefield (Human – Earth) – 75,068,5422. Tirrelbis Sillili (Isesh – Denvosie) – 25,326,4853. Kettenmas (Elf –Nondichi ) – 20,457,8524. Deggizit Ozzernas (Human – Hiuruta) – 18,562,754
***10. Chogacrum’Albeo (Bear – Earth) – 15,485,215
11. Noor Andersen (Withered Husk – Earth) – 15,124,264
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***
148. Henry Gracefield (Human – Earth) – 10,845,487
“Woah,” Archie chuckled. “I get that I got a bunch of points, but getting 50 million more than 2nd place is just plain insane, guess I’m gonna be searching for as many side objectives as I can in the 2nd Tutorial Event.”
“Speaking of which, could you tell me when it’ll start?” Archie asked, dismissing the panels in front of him and fully facing the System Aspect.
The System Aspect did not respond to his question.
“So, what now?” Archie asked. Seeing that he got his final score calculated, all that was left for him was to meet up with Bralmir, head to the Bazaar, and catch up with his brother and his newly born niece…
Archie realized. As he came to that realization, he suddenly remembered about Maria, but just as he was about to ask her, the System Aspect responded.
“Now that you’ve confirmed your position at the top of the First Tutorial Event Leaderboards, you will be rewarded with a power core initially intended for the use of powering a Wardstone. However, due to the destruction of your planet and the majority of your universe, the Wardstones have been destroyed.”
Suddenly, a fist-sized glowing orb appeared atop of the System Aspects open palm before floating towards his open arms.
“They what’s the point of giving it to me if the Wardstones are destroyed?” Archie questioned. “What even is a Wardstone? Can I use it to power other things, or can they only be used for Wardstones?”
The Wardstones he’d heard of were something wizards used to protect their homes, and in Archie's opinion, they were a pain to break through. You had to wait until the mage left, then slowly chip away at the protective field—all while defending yourself against the golems guarding their home. Honestly, it was bullshit.
Of course, this was just based on his gaming and fantasy novel experience, but it was better than nothing, and the next words that came out of the System Aspects words only confirmed that his 15yrs+ of gaming and fantasy knowledge weren’t useless.
“A Wardstone is a large, monolithic stone infused with protective seals, once powered with a power source, which there are numerous of within the multiverse, generates an adjustable dome-shaped barrier around Wardstone.” The System Aspect explained, gaining a smile from Archie. “Power cores can be used in a myriad of uses, they are not restricted to just powering Wardstones.”
Power Core (Unique):
A Power Core, granted by the System to the top 50 on the First Tutorial Event Leaderboards for the 72nd Universe. Can be used in a myriad of ways, including powering Wardstones and or Forgesmithing. Contains a vast amount of energy and passively collects ambient mana from its surroundings.
“How much energy is that?” Archie asked, curious to see if he could fit it into his Mana Bike.
“A vast amount of energy,” the System Aspect replied, gaining a sigh from Archie.
Archie noted as he sent the Power Core in his very compact spatial storage.
“Alright, I’ll put this to good use. Thanks,” Archie said to the System Aspect, who nodded before replying. “Now you have two options: you may choose to accept a 15-minute meeting with the Forgefather before you enter the System Bazaar, or enter the System Bazaar right away and not accept a meeting with the Forgefather.”
“I’ll meet with Bralmir,” Archie replied almost instantly. It would be nice to meet a friendly face before he went to go catch up with Henry and his niece. Besides, maybe he had some advice on what to buy with 75 million Tutorial Points.
A moment later, the System Aspect disappeared, and in its place was Bralmir in all of his giant, walking, tree-like, embered glory.
“It’s been a minute,” Bralmir smiled, looking far more mellowed out than he’d last seen him. It was uncanny in a way to Archie; from those four words and the smile Bralmir wore, he knew Bralmir had changed for the better. The weight he previously held on his shoulders when he’d last seen him in his realm looked mostly gone.
, Archie smiled. “You can say that again.”
“It’s been like what? A bit over a month since I’ve last seen you in person, and you’re looking better than ever.” Archie said as he walked towards Bralmir, offering him a fist bump. “I’m happy for you, man.”
Bralmir hesitated for a moment before returning the fist bump with a smile on his face, “Thank you.”
After a bit of silence, Archie’s confusion grew.
“What’s up, man?” Archie asked, brows furrowed. “You’re acting just like how Henry and I did when we broke our mom’s favorite vase,” Archie chuckled.
Bralmir nodded for a moment, seemingly coming to terms with what he was about to say before answering, “There is no better way than to tell you straight out… It hasn’t been a few minutes since you’ve left the Group Tutorial.”
Archie looked at Bralmir in confusion but didn’t interrupt.
“You’ve been in stasis for around 1.3 billion years, we’re now a couple thousand years into the 73rd cycle.” Bralmir finished with a solemn tone.
Archie’s eyes widened at the number. “Tha- over a billion?” Archie repeated, dumbfounded.
“Yes, the destruction of not only your universe but the 49,50, and 51st universes as well was a shock for the majority of the Multiverse. Every faction was affected by their destruction.” Bralmir continued. “No one knows for certain what happened, but what I’ve been able to piece together was that many of the smaller Pantheons and Factions in the 50th Universe, along with several other gods and goddesses, attempted some sort of ritual that tied into your universe.”
“Why?” Archie asked, completely bewildered, why gods and goddesses wanted anything to do with a universe that had just merged with the Multiverse. “The most we had on our universe were E-Grades, maybe a couple of D-Grades by the time the Tutorial ended. What would gods and goddesses want with my universe?”
“Many things,” Bralmir replied. “Newly initiates are not the only ones who benefit from the merge into the Multiverse; System Heirlooms and Events that can occur during the merge are valuable to all, gods and non-gods. They provide an opportunity to all.”
“But why would they destroy it?” Archie questioned.
Bralmir slowly shook his head, “They never wanted to. At least that’s what I and a majority of others also believe.”
“We think they wanted to siphon off the potential growth of your universe as it fully merged into the multiverse into their own or take as many System Heirlooms as they could.” Bralmir continued. “But it ended up in total failure; destroying three universes, everyone lost, especially your universe.”
“What are System Heirlooms?” Archie asked.
“They are items that contain a vast number of records within them that are created by the System to nurture the growth of a newly integrated universe. They are very valuable and are bountiful in newly initiated universes, while some do occur in System Events that sporadically occur in the Multiverse, it is not as plentiful.” Bralmir explained.
“Christ… I need a beer for this,” Archie sighed as he fell onto his chair, which he took out from his spatial storage.
“You?” Bralmir smirked at him, creating a large chair for himself to sit on and taking out two mugs, filled to the brim with ale; one human-sized and the other the size of Archie’s torso. “From the way you acted when I first offered one to you, you looked like the type not to drink.”
“I drank like three barrels of beer not even a week before my universe got integrated, all because of some stupid bet I had with my brother. I clogged up my apartment pipes from how much I vomited after that,” Archie chuckled before taking a large gulp from his mug.
Archie’s eyes widened as he almost inhaled the beer, leaning forward in shock. “Holy shit this is good!”
“The Elven Mistress is a longtime favorite of mine,” Bralmir smiled as he leaned back into his chair, sipping from his giant mug.
After a few minutes of small talk between the two, Bralmir sent away their empty mugs before clicking his tongue as he looked off in the distance. “Unfortunately, we don’t have as much time as I wanted, nor did I want to do this here, but we have no choice.”
“What’s up, man?” Archie asked as he got up from his chair and sent it back into his spatial storage.
“When you finish your purchases from the Bazaar, you’ll be sent to a random planet,” Bralmir said as he approached Archie. “Once on that planet, your protections as a Tutorial Participant disappear; you’ll still be able to participate in Tutorial Events, but gods and other beings in the Multiverse can now harm you.”
“Not only that, once you land on the random planet you’ll be sent to, our connection becomes muddied. The dispersion of the protected status as a Tutorial Participant creates a field of sorts around you that disrupts the connection between Patron and Blessed,” Bralmir continued. “You still retain the bonus, but until it completely disperses, I cannot communicate with you, nor can I see where you are.”
, Archie realized. “Would evolving solve the issue? I heard from a few others that it fixes any major injury they’ve had.” Some of the ones who were seriously cursed and injured to the point where Sarah and the other healers couldn’t do anything fully recovered when they evolved into E-Grade.
“Yes, however, you shouldn’t do that,” Bralmir replied. “One, you’d be rushing an evolution when you should try your best to improve your skills as much as you can for better Evolutionary Options. Two, you’d be put in danger, which would generate a lot of records for you and enhance the ones you have as you struggle and push yourself to your limits.”
“I wish I had the beer now,” Archie joked with a small smile on his face. “I guess I just gotta prepare for the worst with what I can buy at the Bazaar.”
“Prepare for any environment. While the System won’t send you to a planet where you wouldn’t be able to survive, it won’t go easy on you.” Bralmir instructed. “Also, don’t forget about purchasing a Basic Workshop and don’t cheap out on tools and metals.”
“Yeah, I won’t. I try to buy the best of the best, I got a coupon and everything,” Archie smiled. “Do they sell spatial rings too?”
“You won’t need that,” Bralmir smiled before asking Archie something that bewildered him. “Take off your chestpiece.”
Backing a bit away from Bralmir, Archie put his palms up in a ‘hold up a minute’ gesture. “Woah, I appreciate your help, but I uh… don’t swing that -”
“Yeah, yeah,” Bralmir huffed, rolling his eyes. “Give me your arm for a moment and take out all of your items in your ring.”
Confused but nonetheless complying, Archie smiled as he took off his chestpiece and tossed it onto the floor before dumping out all that he held in his spatial storage, holding out his right arm to Bralmir.
“Grit your teeth,” Bralmir said as he grabbed onto Archie’s arm.
Not a moment later, pain arced from his right arm as he saw roots extend themselves from Bralmir’s hand and dig into Archie’s arm. The pain was as bearable as one could imagine having roots burrow themselves into their arm.
A few seconds later, Bralmir withdrew his arm, and the pain ceased, leaving behind eight or so thin, tree-like roots that burrowed into Archie’s arm. They intertwined and curved like a serpent, diving in and out of his forearm. At their center, buried beneath the roots, was a knuckle-sized purple crystal.
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