The pokeball landed in the newly formed lightsaber group. Everyone was running for cover, trying to get away from the pokeball as it started glowing brighter. The panic in the room hit a crescendo.

  "Get down!" shouted someone from where the pokeball landed. A pokemon began forming and appeared before everyone. Magikarp materialized, a useless fish that flops on the ground. Some people sighed in relief, while others laughed out loud. The fight for the other pokeballs was still going strong, and Magikarp wouldn't happen every time; however, getting a Magikarp took the wind out of some people’s sails. The person who threw the pokeball was visibly upset as he ran for his life, as he just went after the lightsaber group. The pokeball just lay there next to the Pokémon, so Adrian casually picked it up. Who knows, maybe it was a random Pokémon every time? Adrian didn’t see any reason not to pick it up.

  "My first loot", Adrian muttered before scampering to a safer spot to check his spoils of battle.

  As he moved to a safer area inside the convention center, he spotted the guy who stole the katana from the vendor. He was struggling with a guy dressed as Gandalf. His top hat was glowing, but Adrian couldn't tell what it did. The wizard looked slimy, so Adrian made a business decision.

  Adrian stepped in to protect the fat shinobi and hit Gandalf with his nunchucks. Adrian was pleasantly surprised by the result. [Explosive Swing] was activated, and the nunchucks landed with what felt like an explosion on his arm. Adrian didn't feel much reverb from the blow, but could tell it had a massive impact. The man was shocked at the effects as his arm was visibly mangled. He had a powerful melee weapon that would mess up anyone in close range.

  These are OP. Who needs lightsabers?

  Adrian looked at the fat, balding man and said, "Partner up?" The balding man gave an affirmative nod as his katana started to glow. He disappeared in the blink of an eye and was on the other side of the sad Gandalf, striking a pose with his weapon. The wannabe shinobi slowly sheathed his katana while Gandalf looked confused as the top half of his body fell before his lower half hit the ground. He was cut clean through his abdomen. Adrian didn't see the strike at all.

  Good business decision, Adrian.

  "I'm the Duskwalker, hailing from the village of Ohio City. It's great to team up with a fellow shinobi."

  *****

  Maeve

  Maeve was pissed.

  “This wasn't in the job description.” She muttered to herself.

  She was dressed up like a half-Viking, half-Native American, wearing skimpy tops and shorts, and selling merchandise. It felt like stealing, selling low-quality plastics and $40 face paintings to these virgins. They would do anything she tells them and overspend on everything. She asked for a bigger tip and got it every time. The beta energy in the room was choking the libido out of her. The sooner she left Cleveland, the better.

  "This shit is getting weirder by the second," Paige said next to her in a skimpy One Piece cosplay of Nami. The virgins at ComicFan loved looking at her but weren't capable of anything more. "And why is my staff glowing?" It was a plastic staff trying to emulate Nami's tool.

  Nami's Clima-Tact- This knockoff item allows for greater control over your element of choice. Increased control scales based on how much you look like Nami.

  [Growth Item] [Soulbound]

  +5 Wisdom

  Skill Attained- Elemental Domain

  Skill Attained- A Pirate’s Life For Me

  "I think I'd rather be anywhere else for a global genocide than an anime convention." Paige looked at Maeve, who was kneeling behind a flipped table. "Nice tattoos", Paige added. Maeve's fake tattoos were glowing on her exposed body. Not all of them, but the majority. "I don't know what is going on, but I just saw someone with a lightsaber cut two people in half. We need to get out of here before these heavily bullied kids start giving revenge-of-the-nerds a new meaning."

  Before they could make a move, they heard the sound of a lightsaber behind them.

  *****

  Adrian

  A notification appeared in front of Adrian after killing Cosplay Gandalf.

  You have assisted in the murder of a sad, lonely, middle-aged white guy who just wanted to have fun at a place where it's acceptable to dress up like a wizard and enjoy magic. Experience points gained. You cannot access any screens related to this until the end of the Pre-Initiation Phase.

  Well, shit.

  Adrian couldn't tell if the system AI was messing with him, too literal, or just unhinged, but that message was unsettling. The fat katana user began walking towards Adrian.

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  "Brother, do you mind if I have the loot? He has a cool hat."

  "Go for it….brother." There was a slight hint of joy on Duskwalker’s face after being called brother. Duskwalker collected his hat, then reached into his pocket and nabbed 80 dollars from his wallet, and turned to Adrian, "You are a man of honor. I don't deserve such friends." A tear fell down his cheek as he clasped Adrian's shoulder. "I will do anything to support my friends in their endeavors. You can put your faith in me." Duskwalker then went back to take the dead Gandalf's car keys. Adrian could only cock an eyebrow at the blatant robbery, which somehow bothered him more than the murder that happened in front of him.

  Adrian remained on alert as the frenzy was in full swing. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long for the following system message.

  Pre-Initiation Phase [I] has been completed. Standby.

  The world went black again.

  *****

  When Adrian gathered himself, he was in a clean, empty room except for the presence of an odd creature. Not quite a person but a robot-like creature. It had human features but was clearly not human. The almost-human creature eyed Adrian with a soft, kind smile, impossible to tell whether it was sincere.

  "Greetings, human. I am a representative of Nexus, Earth's AI, who managed to connect with the Great AI. Please state your desired name and the desired name of your companion."

  "Huh? Dude, can you tell me more about what's happening?"

  "Name [Hue], companion's name [Dude], confirmed."

  "Wait, that's not my name!"

  "Permanent name choosing, with no way of ever changing it, is complete. Commencing class selection. Standby."

  "What is this shit! That's not my name! I don't know what you mean by companion, but sure as hell don't want to call it Dude."

  "Loading class options. Only one class option is available. Auto confirmed by [Hue]. Commencing class integration process. Standby."

  "What? I don’t understand-"

  Adrian fell to his knees as something was happening to both his body and mind. It felt like he was being remade, a sensation he's never felt before, overwhelming senses he didn’t even know he had. His mind seemed to be pulling in decades of information in less than a second, putting a strain on him he couldn't describe. When he was on the verge of blacking out, the ambiguous robot said,

  "Class selection complete. Congratulations on your new class! AI companion selections loading, standby."

  "An AI is my companion? Can you pause and let me know what’s happening? And what class did I get?"

  "Loading AI companion selections, three options available. Please select one."

  Big Picture

  Melee Combat

  Computing Power

  "Are there descriptions? Every LitRPG I've ever read has descriptions for this."

  "Computing Power selected."

  Fuck me.

  "Computing Power, huh." Adrian (or Hue) didn't know, but this one sounded like the benefits were clear. Computing power with AI couldn't hurt, right?

  "AI companion selection complete. Commencing installation of AI into [Hue]. Standby."

  Adrian was frozen, unable to move a muscle. Fear gripped him as he was forcefully transferred to a machine with several very sharp arms. This machine would put any SAW movie to shame, with some of the arms not looking like they serve any purpose except to make you shit your pants just by looking at them. He was snapped in place in front of the machine as an arm with a saw started spinning. Adrian was put into a position that forced him to look down at the floor, but he could hear the saw getting closer and closer to his head.

  "Don't you have an anesthetic for this? Wait! Let’s talk about this." There wasn't a response as the blade made it to the back of his head. Adrian blacked out before he could register what had happened.

  *****

  "Good to see you awake, Hue. How are you feeling?" He woke up in the same room, but on a comfortable bed that wasn’t there when he first arrived. The ambiguous robot was looking over the bed with the demeanor of a caring nurse, scanning him. Adrian didn't remember why he was on the bed until he did. His cold sweat dripped down his back as he had faded memories of getting sawed alive in the back of his head before the pain became too great. They put something in his head, and all he knew about it was that it was an AI called Dude.

  "Hue is not my name," he said to the robot. He put his hand on the back of his head and felt…nothing. Not even a scare remained from the scary torture device.

  "My records indicate your name is Hue. The installation of your AI companion, Dude, is now complete. You can access this information once you return to Earth, but we still have time before Earth is ready for everyone's return. Do you have any questions for me while we wait?" The fake human robot smiled.

  "Yeah, what the hell is going on?" Adrian shouted.

  "That's a great question, Hue. I'll be happy to answer that for you. Your planet is in the process of integrating with the Great System, deeming your planet worthy to be welcomed into the fold with the rest of the universe after an AI reached out and connected with the Great System. There are separate stages in which more and more will be introduced to indoctrinate the creatures of Earth into using magic. Your planet is in the very early stages."

  "Uh, can you tell me who made you?"

  "Yes, it was Chen."

  "Well, that narrows it down."

  "Indeed," said the dumb robot without a hint of sarcasm.

  "So Earth will now have magic?"

  "Indeed. Your word for magic is just a new type of energy that can be utilized. As you now know, you will have a class, magical items, spells, and levels. Whoops, I should've waited until you returned to Earth before spilling the tea." The dense robot let out a strange cackle. The laugh didn't sound human, furthering Adrian’s suspicion of the robot-like creature.

  "Uh, okay. What is my class?"

  "You will have this information back on Earth."

  "I don't know what's happening to Earth. I need to know as much as I can and how to survive whatever is coming. And did 3 billion people really die?"

  "I’ll tell you, but you'll owe me."

  The robot gave a wink, then continued speaking without Adrian ever confirming that he'd owe the robot.

  "Your planet is getting ready to acclimate with the Great System, but it will still be a while until that happens. Just follow the steps Nexus gives you, and you'll be A-OK!"

  The robot gave an emphatic thumbs-up, making Adrian uncomfortable.

  "And to answer your actual question. Yes, 3 billion people did die. And in only 36 minutes! You humans sure love to kill your own species. Also, I'd stay away from the North Korea area if I were you." The robot let out another laugh, explaining the genocide of Adrian’s planet.

  "What does my AI do?"

  "That's right! Not everyone had a personal AI, so we are giving you all personal AIs! They can provide a massive boost of power and knowledge. When you get back to Earth, your AI will start as an infant and grow based on what it learns, your life experiences, and what you feed it. The more life experience you get, the faster your AI grows."

  "Is there any knowledge you can give me that will help me survive?"

  "Nope! That's all the time for questions. And remember, you owe me one now."

  "I won't remember that. Send me back."

  "Very well! Don't die, Hue!"