Chương 19: Uninexus

Time until next Elemental Storm: To be Announced Blue lit screens detailed a thousand different cameras and a million different Trial Goers. Most surviving, some thriving, and a few getting just lucky enough to make it through. The first Elemental Storm had come to an end, and Virzol Hessign watched it from the comfort of a Starlaw office. His red carapace skin itched from the lack of care the Starlaws were showing, as his stark blue eyes scanned over their screens. I would've never let this happen, he huffed.

He was on a raised pedestal with a metal railing, and below him were rows of Starlaw support staff that were monitoring and flagging the behaviour of the new Trial Goers, making sure nothing out of the ordinary was happening. But even they weren't enough to keep track of all the Trial Goers they had.

"3. 4 million. We can't watch out for that many Trial Goers. Sure, most of them would have barely unlocked their Talents and Skills by now, but a horde of F-Ranks is still a horde, you understand?" Captain Monoduva said from his left. He was a Mundonaturan, like a wide hairy ape with a flat face and long eyebags. He wore the white and yellow uniform of a Starlaw himself, accented with bits that identified him as a Captain. Virzol was jealous of the garb.

"Whatever the Starlaws require of the Essentia Superma, we are here to offer," he said with as much false respect as he could muster.

"We are, after all, the beloved of Ather, ruler of the First Realm." And whichever realm was host to the Trial Goer's at the moment had a lot of bargaining power. Maybe even enough for Virzol to switch over…

"And we appreciate that help. In fact, we could use your expertise specifically, Quintessence Hessign," the Captain said.

"Oh, for what?"

"Your records show that your Talent is related to tracking and disrupting other Talents?"

"Yes?"

"We'd like you to go on a search for us. Information from higher up states that this batch of Trial Goers may include some people with… special Talents," Captain Monoduva said.

"Of course. But what would I be looking for specifically, Captain?"

"Someone who may be able to control…. Life essence."

"Life essence…" Virzol hissed. One of the forbidden essences. And they had reason to believe someone among the new batch could manipulate it? Scanning more than a million Trial Goers spread over an entire realm, the only Designers that could possibly do that were…

"How high did this order come from, exactly?" Virzol leaned in close before speaking. Captain Monoduva did the same, and Virzol felt the shimmer of invisible essence acting around him. The sounds of the clerks typing away and muttering between them drowned out, and their faces blurred outside the little bubble Virzol and the Captain were in.

"From the top. We don't want the dregs of the Samsaran Order finding out about this Trial Goer before us, so keep your investigation as quiet as possible, Quintessence Hessign," Monoduva said. The look on the Captain's face made him look desperate. He likely had other people with similar Talents trying to seek out their target as they were speaking, but a rare few had skills on par with Virzol himself, at least in the first realm. Which meant he had room to bargain.

"And what do I gain out of it?" Captain Monoduva chuckled.

"Good to see the Essentia Superma are as generous as ever. If you bring in this Trial Goer, there might be space in the Starlaws for someone of your talent." Virzol scanned the Captain's uniform once more. He could finally abandon the stupid followers of Ather, and become a Starlaw? It sounded almost too good to be true. Virzol didn't show his surprise on his face. He turned away instead, stepping out of the silenced bubble. Sound poured back into the world, and Captain Monoduva followed along.

"I will have to think on your offer, Captain," is all he said before walking out of the room and onto the balcony. There, he waited for his personal ship to arrive. Let the man dither and worry over Virzol's help a little longer. He'd surely come back later with an even better offer. Maybe Virzol would even be offered his position. He could run it better, and make sure no feral Trial Goers corrupted the grandeur of the GPA.

Until then, he dialed in a few numbers and got the members under him to do a profile search for every Trial Goer that they found entering a village in Skiland. Outside, Virzol watched Uninexus spread out in front of him. It was a massive city of skyscrapers and ships flying around in the skies. When he looked down, he could see a million different people and cultures mingling together, filling what was the universe's greatest symbol of unity. The buildings spread out into the horizon, and go even further beyond.

There wasn't a single piece of wild nature that could trample on the biggest city in the universe. Beyond the buildings, Virzol could also see massive Arches in the distance, leading to each of the realms, and planets light years away. Each one of them was carefully crafted by the God Sonta-Rakista, and her Bridgemakers. And he stood at the centre of it all, in Grand Celest, the main office of the Starlaws.

White and gold, just like the officers it contained, it was an impossible structure with pieces floating away yet still attached. By itself, it rivalled all the architecture in the rest of the city. If there was a Trial Goer out there that threatened to take out this bastion of civilization, Virzol wouldn't stop until he hunted down and killed them.

Ethan stabbed his staff into the dirt and walked onwards. Ash fell around him like rain, and he had to wipe it off every now and then. He'd wrapped a bit of ripped cloth around his face to protect against it, and continued where Oakwil had directed him a week ago. The shadowpanther, as Ethan had found out, didn't mind the ash. It shook its body a few times to throw off the dust, but it didn't cough or wheeze at what was going into its lungs.

During that long trek, Ethan didn't have much to do but look at his new tabs, fail to make conversation with the shadowpanther, and keep practicing his powers wherever he could. The first thing he checked were the forums. There, he found thousands of other Trial Goers posting about their challenges, trying to meet up, selling their wares on auction and everything else. It was much the same as any forum back home, but there was a grim feeling in the air.

Some of the texts were censored, while other posts were removed seconds after they went live. Ethan didn't get a chance to read those, but he was sure they didn't hold anything helpful. [[Forum] Topic — Ranking Bu*%@&^#! Belfi Vibori (Rank #2, 920, 078): The rankings don't make any sense! Me and my team survived the first shrine! You know how hell-hard that was?! Why are we at the bottom of the list? Delian Deluks (Rank #2, 213, 179): Just get better. On'look (Rank #1, 671, 452): Info brokers in Uninexus are saying that the batch this time around is much tougher than the last. Did you hear about that Zachary Levine? They say Ultimax picked him Himself.] There were numerous arguments just like that playing out across the forums. But between all of that, there were a few posts about people looking to recruit for a team or partying up. But each time he clicked on one of those, he hesitated. It's gonna be hard to keep my Talent a secret with a party.

And besides, there's already a ton of replies to this post, they probably have enough people already. He decided to hold off on it. After all, he finished one shrine by himself, he could surely do another, right? The talk of rankings on the forums did get Ethan curious though, and he took a look at his own there. It took a while for the system to scroll down to where he was, and when it reached it, Ethan was surprised to see his position.

[[Human] Ethan Collins (Rank #2, 734, 510)] He was near the bottom of the list. But that wasn't what surprised Ethan. It was the fact there were still hundreds of thousands of Trial Goers below him. Each entry had a picture and their race next to it, and some of the ones below Ethan looked much stronger than him. So, seeing himself above them all filled him with a new sense of pride.

He scrolled down further to examine the other Trial Goers, but that was changing every few minutes as people climbed up or down, or disappeared entirely. He hoped to see more information about them, but it was just the basics. At least it helped him learn the names of the other species in the Realm Trial. Quizril, Glebemir, Ralasankar, Worin, Yiira, Monte'jerba? That's Oakwil's race, isn't it? This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The profile he was looking at suddenly disappeared. But Ethan had gotten its name, and typed it in the search bar. His stomach dropped as the search finished. The names of the Trial Goers were all placed in rows atop each other on the screens. Each of them was illuminated in blue, all except the people who had died. Those were in red, and continued on for thousands of entries beyond what Ethan had searched. How many….

Ethan kept scrolling down and down, until the bar finally stopped and he saw the last position available. [Natasha Morozov (Rank #3, 400, 000) (Deceased)] The lowest living ranks were around the 2. 9 million mark. Nearly half a million Trial Goers had died out, in just the first week of the Realm Trial. If the same trend continued, would he even make it to the end of the year? What did he have to be proud of, when he was still on the killing floor?

Ethan swiped away the screens before they stirred more terror in him. Those people were gone now, but he was still alive. And he wouldn't go down as easy. He trekked on through the ashy lands until he came face to face with the base of a mountain, which had a massive curved glass pane covering one side of it. Inside of that glass was what looked like another village, only with an Arch behind it. The Arch was massive and made of silver, and he could see people coming through it every now and then. That's it…

Ethan sighed. His long trek here hadn't been completely worthless. He thanked the suns for staying in the same spot. He hadn't known if that'd be the case. Ethan was surprised to see the village standing though. It looked like a giant hole or cave had been carved into the mountain, if you ignored the glass dome. Must be to protect against the ash… and that other thing too. Last night, he and the shadowpanther had to take shelter in a deep cave to avoid what he would dub as a "flaming tornado."

He was lucky to have noticed it on the horizon, and felt the heat pricking his skin long before it reached him. Now, he beat his hand against the glass dome, and called for the villagers to let him in. The people living inside were the same race as Oakwil, short, red, three-eyed with pointed heads. And they welcomed him inside.

"Thank you," Ethan said. He wished he could give them something in return, but he didn't have anything he could really part with.

"You came to get to Uninexus?" the dwarf asked, and Ethan nodded. The air inside the dome was much cooler than outside, which made him almost forget the reason he was here. He took a swig from his warm bottle of water, before following the path towards the Arch. He stopped a few steps into the dome, when he realized the shadowpanther was still behind him.

"Not going to come through?" Ethan wondered. The shadowpanther didn't shake its head or anything, but the feeling it gave off seemed like an obvious 'no.'

"Suit yourself," Ethan said, before continuing to the Arch. Once he reached it, a new screen popped out in front of Ethan. [Ashenai has been registered as a Teleport location.] [Welcome! Where would you like to go? Uninexus] Only one place to go. Ethan clicked on the Uninexus button and the Arch in front of him shivered. There were other people selecting locations on their screens, but they were all staring at the same mirror-like surface Ethan was.

Holding his breath, Ethan stepped through the portal and arrived somewhere else.

The light on his eyes and the warm scenery was the only reason he knew he'd been teleported. Because other than that, he'd felt nothing going through the portal. Ethan was stunned by what he saw when he opened his eyes. The Arch he was standing in front of was much bigger than the one he'd come through. In fact, not only were people walking through it, but he saw ships flying through like it was usual traffic. No one around him was as bewildered by the looks of Uninexus he was.

Impossible architecture and buildings that carved up clouds rose up around them, dwarfing any skyscraper back on Earth. Beside him were even more Arches, but there were no Trial Goers going through them. This is….

"It's breathtaking, isn't it?" someone said, and Ethan blinked for the first time in minutes. He looked beside himself and found a blue alien in a suit staring up at him. He had an elongated head, grooves and lines across his skin, short black hair, and forearms and calves thicker than his biceps and thighs. He held one four-fingered hand out for Ethan to shake, and he took it awkwardly.

"You… you're the announcer for the Trial, aren't you?' Ethan said, and immediately regretted it. Thankfully, the stranger didn't mind the words.

"Oh, they used a Heelx announcer this time for the initiation?" The alien let out a good-hearted laugh.

"Sorry for assuming…"

"No problem, sir. My name is Xillian Vox. It's a pretty sight isn't it?" he said with an easygoing smile that felt just a little too practiced.

"Oh, yeah it— Wait, you're speaking English?" Ethan realized. The system wasn't translating anything for him, he could feel it. That, and Xillian's accent was just slightly off.

"Ah, you noticed? Tell me, sir, I'm not butchering it, are I?" Xillian asked.

"Am…. it's 'am I'," Ethan said.

"Am you sure?" Xillian joked. Ethan chuckled inadvertently, easing up a little.

"You're a Trial Goer, aren't you? May I get your name, sir?" Xillian asked.

"Etrhan Collins."

"Mr. Collins, I can tell you're slightly overwhelmed here."

"A little, yeah…"

"Well, I can fix that. For the low price of only fifty credits, I will personally show you around the best places in Uninexus. And not just for your Trial needs, Mr. Collins, but the best views, restaurants, hotels, anything your mind can dream of, if you know what I mean," Xillian flashed another one of his smiles. Ethan backed away a little.

"I'm not looking for those kinds of services."

"Of course, I don't even know what we're talking about!" Xillian answered back.

"So, what say you? Do we have a deal?" It seemed a steep price to Ethan, but he had no idea where else he could get a start. Still, he had to take a gamble.

"Fifty credits? That's five treant wolves I'd have to kill to just get a tour. I can't do that," Ethan said.

"Ah, a frontline fighter. Apologies, Mr. Collins, I was mistaken. For strong Designers like you, twenty credits is more than enough!"

"Deal!" Ethan said a little too quickly.

"Great, then let us be on our way! You're going to love the cuisine around Elementia Park, I assure you!" Xillian moved on from the money really quickly, which gave Ethan the sinking feeling that he'd just been got. Great going, Ethan. First price cut and you fold like paper… He sighed, but now that the price was set, he might as well enjoy his tour.

Ethan and Xillian had only travelled for a few minutes before screams broke out in the streets. Everybody paused and looked over to the middle of an intersection, where a human was holding one of those half-snake humanoids called Quizrils by the throat. A blade of lightning was crackling in his hands, and the tip was against the snake's jugular, pricking it slightly and making it bleed.

"Let me out! Let me out NOW!" the man screamed to everyone around him. His clothes were torn and a dozen half-healed wounds littered his body. People put their hands to their faces, and Xillian dropped his smile.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE! Please! Just let me leave the Trial!" the man shouted.

"Ignore that, Mr. Collins. It's just another Trial Goer who couldn't handle the pressure," Xillian explained.

"And they won't let him out?" Ethan guessed.

"Not unless he can buy or find an exit token. But those are rare. The GPA does not want all of their players to abandon their carefully crafted trial. It would be an insult to the Gods to do so." Xillian was reciting the lines like he'd read them off somewhere, but there was an edge in his voice.

"We must only wait a few minutes, Mr. Collins. A Starlaw will arrive any second to handle this," he said, giving a reassuring look to Ethan. But Ethan hadn't expected it to be so quick. One second, the crazed man pressed his knife against the snake's throat, and the next, his head was blown clean off. Gasps went up around the entire street, before the intersection was blanketed in darkness. A Ralasankar woman, squid hair and all, in white and gold, appeared and raised her hands.

"Continue on with your day, citizens. We'll handle the rest from here," she said, and a wave of calm radiated out from her. The panic building in the hearts and minds of the crowd vanished almost immediately, and everyone began walking again.

"Come along, Mr. Collins. I'd hate to delay your trip any further," Xillian said, and Ethan tried to take his mind off of the event. But something told Ethan that Xillian didn't want to be there just as much as him. After that little hiccup, the rest of their tour went smoothly. Everywhere Xillian led Ethan, he would have a practiced smile put on and ready. And that wasn't the only thing he was good at.

He knew how to avoid people, what shortcuts to use through the streets to avoid the traffic lights, and which places would be the least crowded at which times. He rattled them off so precisely that Ethan began to wonder if he had some Talent related to his memory. But that wasn't possible. Why would someone who'd spent a million credits on a Talent Stone ever be haggling over just thirty? It must have just been skill, which was even more impressive to Ethan.

He was shown the best views around, led across Elementia park and drank some fresh cold water from the fountains, and ended the trip at the most affordable hotel in the entire district that was also the closest they could find to the Gala. For some reason, even though their trip had taken hours, the sun never seemed to set.

"Xillian, where are we, exactly?" For a second, the alien looked at him confused, before smiling once again.

"Uninexus is a separate space, Mr. Collins, just like the realms themselves. We are not on any specific planet in the galaxy as far as I know."

"Oh… then, the sky?"

"Fabricated. Night never sets on the GPA, so why should it on their capital?" he asked with a smile.

"But if you desire the darkness of night, the rooms in Mirage Hotel let you adjust the environment to your liking." The building had black bricks and tinted glass that he couldn't look in, along with at least three dozen floors. Ethan was surprised he could even afford the place, but credits evidently had more worth than dollars.

"Thanks. Now, about your payment," Ethan asked. Xillian guided Ethan through the process of accessing his credits and transferring them over to another person. Apparently, as soon as someone entered the Realm Trial, a bank account was opened for them by the GPA that they would use for the rest of their lives. Twenty credits went out of his wallet and into Xillian's, and he bowed in appreciation.

"If you need my assistance in the future for anything, I would be more than happy to help. Now, Good night, Mr. Collins, and good luck at tomorrow's Gala," Xillian said to him. The Gala. I'd almost forgotten about it, Ethan realized. Xillian was already walking away by then, but Ethan called out to him.

"Wait! This Gala, how mandatory is it?" Ethan asked.

"Mr. Collins…" Xillian dropped the smile for a second.

"Anyone caught not attending the Gala will be thoroughly interrogated. I have my sources, and they tell me… it won't be a pleasant experience." Ethan clenched his fist together. What did that mean?

"Has it always been this way?"

"No. The Starlaws are tightening up security for this Trial specifically."

"Starlaws? They'll be there too?"

"Of course, Mr. Collins, it's happening here in Uninexus, after all," Xillian said. Ethan shifted on his feet a little bit. If any one of those Starlaws spotted his Talent, he'd be done for. But if he didn't go at all, he'd be interrogated. It seemed like he didn't have a choice.

"Xillian. You said if I needed your assistance for anything, right?" Ethan asked.

"... Yes?"

"How good are you at picking out Starlaws in a crowd?" Xillian flashed one more smile, one more genuine than the facades he'd shown before.