Walker performed a few final touches on the Lottery system. Between his long years in the Time Rings and the Omniverse’s system tools, it was as easy as scratching his chin. Well, it's a little less easy.

  Initially, he’d considered doing it all on paper, but that was too easy to corrupt. Instead, he’d use the unique identification of the resident’s overlays to track them and keep out the unwanted.

  That and the unique passphrases Virgil had helped with should make everything go relatively smoothly. Sadly, he would have to use the portals of Luck’s Haven to transport everyone.

  Since the planet was not a part of Rendition 4AA, Ulysses had no connection to it. The all-powerful Universal Personality was only all-powerful within the limits of his connections. He had a pinhole-type thread linking him to 4AA through Walker’s Omniversal brand- meaning he did not have one with the universe holding Luck’s Haven.

  Still, even though Walker was doing monotonous work with one part of his mind, the other part was still working. The Dungeon system, after working with Ulysses on it for years now, was primed and ready to go. It would be a part of the grand reward ceremony they had planned in… t-minus eight hours and five minutes, just a few minutes from the event's conclusion. As he’d broadcasted it with such importance, it would need to be a spectacle that Symphonians would talk about for years. A special occasion that would pulse throughout the world.

  In the tower, anyone who wasn’t glued to a monitor was already helping plan the event after the event- even Athena, currently sending messages back and forth with the Primigenials on Symphony. Her face held the same puckered expression it always showed whenever she performed a task she did not enjoy.

  He looked away, lest she noticed him and somehow dragged him into her work. So far, it was one of those rare times for Walker when everything was going well. They’d even begun to have a bit of fun.

  Watching the Leaderboard move in spurts had done wonders for the entertainment side of things.

  Unknown to her, dozens of monitors had watched Karen Gold’s face as she fell from the top of the pack to somewhere in the upper middle only hours after the event had begun. For Walker, it had been supremely uncomfortable to see the woman’s face burn bright with what he assumed was embarrassment. For everyone else, it had created a tittering of laughter.

  When her Territory dropped out of the top ten, cheers erupted from the more boisterous assistants, quickly shushed by their manager’s domineering glares. Nobody was shocked by Runner’s performance, though people were greatly impressed with the efforts of the Independence Territory. Neus had been bragging about his little protege ever since the event began.

  As for the man who had recently dropped to third, Walker had no idea what to think about Melias. He was a pure enigma. Although he never stepped out of line and caused a big fuss, there was something strange about him. In fact, he didn’t think he’d ever heard anyone say a bad word about the eccentric Founder. If he was honest with himself, that was a little disconcerting.

  Sending off a quick message to the consistently distracted Virgil, Walker glanced at several monitors while waiting for the Lottery system’s seal of approval. Runner was currently defending a Territory on the east side of Symphony, something she’d done multiple times since the Grand Seeding. Only now, instead of just helping people, she was rewarded for it. Assuming she hadn’t known there was a Defender Milestone series, that is.

  Another Primigenial update came in. They’d been firing off often since the Ascension had begun.

  ...Scanning...

  Primigenial task Complete: Plant and cultivate three exotic herbs

  Exotic herbs cultivated: 3/3

  Reward for completion: Geb added to the seeding system.

  Not wanting to delay the friendly Egyptian, Walker sent a message to Zeus and Athena, then planted Geb into New Olympus. A moment later, he made sure the Primigenial of Earth had access to the communication system, then read a few of the messages waiting for him.

  Karen wanted the rules changed for Trade Territories…

  Nope

  The Alpha Protocol Council had messaged Virgil, stating they were interested in oversized pocket dimensions, promising a huge amount of resources if he could make them fifty feet by fifty feet…

  Yep

  He scrolled past a few from Founders who should know better than to ask for special treatment, then found a curious one. Bale the Quick, the guardian of the original northwest region, had sent him a message.

  Chipper must’ve given him my contact information.

  Reading through, Walker smiled, then looked at the leaderboard again as he scrolled down.

  Ascendancy Event Leaderboard: Individuals

  8th: Arthur Blademan: 211 pts.

  9th: Hank: 198 pts.

  10th: Fillion the Kind Pirate: 171 pts.

  11th: William Churchman: 155 pts.

  12th: Bale Quick: 152 pts.

  “You should do it,” Walker heard the Book of Souls say in his mind, “It’s part of your oath.”

  True…

  Thinking the squirrel had a better chance than most, Walker sent a reply message.

  Dante: If you can make it to the top 10, I’m willing to do that for all of the original Guardians. It’s too soon for the new ones.

  The reply came back so fast that he felt like he had mental whiplash.

  Bale Quick: All of us? You’ve got a deal! Thank you, Creator!

  Walker nodded with a smile, happy to help his original inhabitants. A blinking light in his overlay said a message had come in. Reading it, he found Virgil’s approval of the Lottery system. Walker stretched his arms in the air, feeling the import of what he was about to do, something Ulysses would surely appreciate.

  Putting his arms down, he looked everything over one last time just to be certain it would go off without a hitch. He knew Virgil had checked it over, but you could never be too sure. When he found nothing wrong, he yelled out a warning to the application crew of assistants, setting off a flurry of activity in the room as they all joined one another.

  Using his System Administrator role, he connected the Lottery system to Luck’s Haven, took a breath, and then decisively activated it. Now, they just needed to see how many people wanted a life of freedom, but not necessarily one free of violence.

  Walker turned away from his screens to go find Rimi. He was about to make the squirrel very happy.

  On Luck’s Haven…

  Sky was holed up in a small dive behind a deserted shop. The last day and a half had been hectic as people all over the undercity had entered some kind of fervor following their new owner’s message. Those who had once held lofty seats in the Upper Reaches, brought down by debt or simply ill luck, now saw a second chance. For those born to the Undercity, it was the first chance they’d ever been offered without heavy strings.

  Sky had reached out, connecting to and speaking with all of her closest friends, all of them except one. Alaran had been on an expedition to the sewers and wouldn’t be back in time for her to learn his choice. But as much as she wished it did, it didn’t matter. This was a lottery. The odds of her friends all being picked, including herself, were close to none. Limited spots. That’s what she knew.

  But she still had to take the chance, just like everyone else.

  Her choice was even more dire after reading the message that had appeared in the corner of her vision not long ago.

  Warning: You’re suffering from a Lung infection

  Warning: You’re suffering from Malnutrition

  According to the new status screen in her overlay, the two lines weren’t her only health problems, but they were the most persistent. A red section surrounded her chest in the image, while the rest of her had a yellow outline. Most everyone she’d spoken of had similar warnings, though their symptoms ran the gamut.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  It was the smoke, she knew. The Undercity was killing them, had always been killing them.

  That was why she waited in a dive in the back of a shop- For the Lottery to come and give her a chance to escape, even if it was small.

  Then, it came.

  A golden button appeared in her overlay, the word lottery stamped upon it. As fast as she could, Sky smashed on it, the air held tight in her lungs as she waited for what would happen next.

  A wash of gold splashed across her vision, taking over everything she could see as the text materialized. She was suddenly very thankful she had done this in hiding and not out in the open. It wouldn’t do to be blind in the Undercity.

  Barely able to contain herself, she devoured the words, looking for any meaning hidden beneath the text.

  Hello Sky of Luck’s Haven.

  Your unique identity has been recorded…

  - - -

  Welcome to the Lottery system.

  You have two options before you.

  You can choose to accept the lottery, and potentially be transported to another world.

  Or.

  You can decide to pass up on the lottery, and continue with your life as is.

  Please make your selection now…

  Just as the first message said, two buttons appeared. One saying Isekai, the other saying decline.

  “Only a fool would pass this up.”

  Sky selected Isekai.

  Congratulations, Sky of Luck’s Haven.

  You’ve made the first step toward becoming a Symphonian.

  This system is designed to allow you to change your life.

  As such, we need to be certain all outsiders who join us have the best intentions for doing so.

  A series of boxes appeared in her vision on the right. The first held a word saying accepted, a slash running through it. The second box began to pulse, so naturally, she clicked on it. More text hit her, and the question within forced her to pause and reflect.

  Who do you want to be?

  In Eastern Symphony…

  Runner zipped out of the forest with enough velocity to charge an energizer bunny. As her feet settled, the Harmonaut had to shake the shredded leaves from her short-cropped hair, her vision taking in the scene before her. Moving her head quickly, she spotted the three idiots she’d been warned of by the territory nearby, blithely walking down a loosely traveled path without any worries.

  They hadn’t noticed her yet, something she’d long grown used to. Not wanting to hurt them, she tried to disconnect the magic from her skills, a problematic act after first connecting with the Icon. Lightning could be like that.

  With a final spark in her eyes, her magic cutoff as the world quickly resumed its standard march forward in time.

  Slow-time was boring, but Runner Grove knew she’d get plenty of action soon.

  While she waited to be noticed, a small shockwave pushed from her location, something that had begun to happen when she’d reached the next stage in her speed running. The captured dirt and shredded leaves pulsed toward the three seedlings, knocking each back a few steps.

  To those stuck in the unhurried moor of time, she’d appeared from nowhere, tearing through nature in her travels. “Run, you fools!” She yelled with barred teeth.

  As the words of warning left her mouth, a bit of loose gravel beside them shifted. Deceptively quick, a long, large, black stinger erupted from the ground, driving directly at the skinny, oblivious man on the right. In a flash of lightning, he was moved several feet; just as said tail drove itself into the ground, a loud and angry screech erupting from the appendage’s origin.

  The two remaining in danger stood still, eyes wide as the shock of what was happening settled into their bones. The woman on the left, her mind still not catching up to the reality of her situation, whispered, “Are you Runner Grove?”

  “Get the fuck out of here!” Runner yelled again as she pulled a spear out of her inventory. Coursing the magic from her skill to her hands, she ran them along the metal ringlets pressed into the haft, ending on the top. As the tail came around for another attack, she lashed out in a blue streak, cutting the tip off.

  “Fucking idiots,” She said with a snarl, as the screeching grew in volume, the large black body of a male mini-manticore pulling itself from its hiding spot in the ground. It was a larger specimen than she was used to seeing, the size of it telling her that this was an older entity, one higher in tiers and thus dangerous to underestimate.

  Drool escaped from the side of the creature’s too-human mouth as it menacingly glared at her. It gave a laughably confused expression when it recognized the excitement on her face. “Let's dance,” Runner said in a joyous yell as the two seedlings she’d saved finally understood what was happening, running away with haste.

  The man she’d carried several feet away still lay on the ground, the speed of their travel having knocked him unconscious, blissfully unaware of just how close to death he’d been.

  Thankfully, the eternal hero-in-training was there to save them all.

  There were still several hours remaining until the event’s conclusion…

  Beyond the northwest swamps…

  Bale Quick, formerly called Bale the Quick, smoothly moved through the trees with a mixture of quick leaps and the use of his tail. As he traveled, he tried not to think of how spoiled all of the forest Guardians were.

  Moving from limb to limb in a swamp was quite difficult, but after more than fifty years of fighting Mini-Manticores, his skills should never be underestimated. It didn’t hurt that he’d already advanced beyond the swamps, the new territories of the North and West needing an extra hand to help with all the new monster types that had sprung up.

  The death of the Golden Wind, a monstrous Manticore who had terrorized his territory for far too long, had created so much freedom of exploration that Bale now found himself strangely bored.

  That’s why, when the Ascension event had come along, he’d decided to go all out in earning points. Adele had agreed with him, and together, they’d worked out a plan to get as many points in the event as possible. All so he could request something special from their Creator.

  Speaker Adele: Bale, what’s your location?

  Bale paused for a moment to write back, taking the extra time required to catch his breath.

  Bale Quick: I’m currently a few minutes away. What’s the status?

  Speaker Adele: They’re approaching the settlement now. If you hurry, you should be able to get there right as they hit the walls.

  Bale didn’t message her back, deciding that speed was the more critical factor.

  Moving through the pine trees was infinitely easier than moving through the thick, upwardly raising branches of his home. Forest trees liked to branch to the sides, meaning he could easily use his tail to slip from one to another, swinging through the forest far faster than running could ever do for him.

  He was moving just quick enough that he saw the monsters before they struck the walls.

  It was an eclectic group of creatures. Popping Identify over and over again as he ran along beside them, Bale got a general idea of what he was dealing with. Two tier-two Trolls, not yet fully grown, a large collection of those annoying Rabbit creatures who liked to go for the throat, and above them all, a third Tier Muscle Ibex.

  How the Ibex had come to join this group, or why the Trolls were working with their usual prey, he didn’t know. But it didn’t matter. He was here to defend the Territory, earn some points, and potentially get a few Milestones out of it.

  Speaker Adele: What are you waiting for?

  Bale Quick: I’m strategizing.

  Speaker Adele: What’s to strategize? Kill the Ibex first, keep the Trolls off the walls, then wipe up the Rabbits.

  Bale shrugged. It was as good a plan as any.

  Covering himself in magic, he leaped high over the group, now only a few hundred yards from the walls. Noises began to erupt from within the Territory as they finally seemed to have noticed the approaching group of monsters, but he ignored all that. What mattered most were his next few moves.

  Individually, these monsters wouldn’t cause him much worry, but together, they were extremely dangerous. He needed to be quick.

  Using one of his abilities, he concentrated the magic around his body to manifest only on his tail. As his leap hit its peak, a small pulse of pure magic burst from him, causing his long, muscular appendage to appear to be on fire. It also had the secondary effect of stopping the monsters in their tracks as they stared at the burning white image above them.

  Using another ability, this one allowing him to step on air, he began his descent in a running fashion, spinning as he went, tail stiff behind him as he prepared the muscles for their ultimate use. The Ibex, its mouth dumbly hanging open as all of its kind had a propensity to do, stood stock still as it watched him approach.

  Bale Quick performed one more solid step, spinning his body as hard as he could, whipping the fiery white tail behind him.

  The slap was like the crack of thunder as it plowed into the face of the Tier-three monster, a secondary crack ringing out as his tail completed its action. The Ibex’s head performed an almost full rotation as what had once been straight, was now shaped more like a corkscrew.

  Bale wasted no time staring at the creature as he turned to the Trolls, one dumbly scratching his chin while the other lifted a healthy bit of log, moss clinging to one side.

  The smarter monster swung the log, but Trolls weren’t known for speed, and he wasn’t called the Quick for nothing. Diving under the seven-foot-tall creature’s attack, he dove between its legs, allowing his tail to strike up as he moved. A little ringing of the bells, and he wouldn’t have to worry about that troll for a moment.

  Spinning, he lashed his tail out, catching a few aware and attacking rabbits, the crushing of their bodies from his powerful weapon only an afterthought as he continued his work.

  All told, it took him only a few more minutes to finish off the Trolls, scattering the rabbits back to their holes and easier prey.

  As the Defender Milestones rolled in, as well as a new upgrade for his Monster-slaying series, Bale received a new message.

  Speaker Adele: I just received some information that an Alpha Monster has been spotted only a few miles west of where you are. You in?

  Bale caught his breath for a moment, waving at the happy cheers from the Territory walls, then replied.

  Bale Quick: You got it.

  Looking at the sun’s position to get a bead on where he was, he leaped at the nearest trees, his tail latching onto a steady branch.

  As the Territory people left the walls to clean up the carnage, their eyes found multiple bodies glowing, a windfall of loot left behind by their savior.

  On Sonata…

  As the minutes ticked down to the Ascension's 24-hour conclusion, Walker Reed, Creator of Symphony, was doing a final check of everything he had planned.

  Dante: Virgil?

  Virgil:Check.

  Dante: Ulysses?

  The Dungeon-nater: Check.

  Dante: Athena?

  Athena: Check.

  Rimi: All stations have checked in.

  Walker looked at the event timer in his vision.

  10.

  9.

  8.

  7.

  6.

  Dante: Let’s begin.

  Across all of Symphony, anyone who had chosen to participate in the event suddenly found a portal opening up nearby, an announcement in their overlay inviting them to join the ceremony.

  Link

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