Hunched over in the dining hall, Aaron swirled his finger around the edge of his cup. He needed to take a short break after his previous trial. Unfortunately, a few drinks didn’t work to take his mind off something like they once did. He could probably down a few dozen beers before he got a good buzz now, and he didn’t have time for that.

  However, it wasn’t all bad. It turned out that he had only spent about an hour in the trial. Once he had gotten over the shock of it all, he had feared draining all his remaining trial time, so when Talia had looked surprised as he told her he had finished the trial stage, he was greatly relieved.

  He also received a Waypoint, which was a fascinating item, but not one he saw himself using. It was a unique item that allowed him to summon people from his Tutorial, except he didn’t really know anyone from his Tutorial. He knew Talia was from his Tutorial due to the Viewing Room, but that was about it, and using an item to summon a bunch of strangers didn’t sound all that helpful to him.

  Maybe I can trade it to her… he thought idly.

  She was looking at him now from across the table as Voidrin nudged her with his elbow.

  She’s gonna make me talk, isn’t she? Aaron groaned internally. For the most part, he would consider himself a fairly modern guy… except when it came to opening up. He sucked at that.

  So, instead of giving in, he dived into the food he had. Sooty had stocked up on a few low-grade soul-strengthening ingredients he had cooked up, and he happily chowed down about half of them, pocketed the rest for Clem, and had potential for other trades.

  “You okay?” Talia said, struggling to keep Aaron's gaze as he ate like an escaped bear.

  She had spotted him looking gloomy in the hallway and followed him to the dining hall. Voidrin had then spotted the two of them and joined them. He was between trials and seemed to be looking for an audience for his dumb jokes, which wasn’t unusual.

  “C’mon, that was funny,” he said, nudging Talia.

  “Ha-ha. Hilarious.”

  “Fine,” Voidrin slumped. “What about you, eight eyes?” he continued, turning to a humanoid spider thing eating beside them.

  “Von tell a joke?” The spider said. “Mein kind are not known for the comedies.”

  “Ohoh, all you need to do is listen, little buddy,” Voidrin wrapped an arm around the spider and started yapping.

  “So?” Talia craned over the table, trying to secure Aaron’s elusive gaze. “What could possibly have happened to cause the Great Aaron Dober to look so down?”

  “It’s nothing, really. I’m fine. I just needed a little time for reflection, that’s all. The ninth stage of the Trial of Endurance is a real mind fuck,” he sighed and took another drink.

  “It was that bad?”

  “Well… maybe it’ll be different for you. Also, it’s me, Talia. A little self-reflection isn’t going to stop me from smashing my head against the trials and dying an absurd amount of times. In fact, maybe this is good for me.”

  She nodded soberly, but didn’t look entirely convinced.

  “Hey!” Elmira called, interrupting the conversation and running over. “I got that meeting for you. Pentival swears he isn’t going around telling anybody about your Skills. And not because you asked, he calls it chivalry. I’m not sure if that concept exists in your world, but it's like an honor thing. However, like I said, he still wants to speak with you again. Thinks you got off on the wrong foot.”

  “Elmira.”

  “Yeah, I know. But hear him out. He’s not this tyrant you think he is. He’s an arrogant asshole who thinks he knows better than everyone else. But that’s kind of what life has taught him. He conquered a world, and has been proven right a lot.”

  Aaron remembered a story she had told him between trials only a few days prior. Elmira had explained how their world was ravaged by constant war, and none of the nations could work together. The wars had devastated their world, leaving it fractured and divided.

  It wasn’t until Pentival rose to power that things started to change. He had used an iron fist to unite several small, bickering kingdoms. But it wasn’t just warfare that he employed. A combination of scheming politics, ruthless diplomacy, and careful maneuvering had allowed him to outplay his rivals.

  Before long, he had taken over a backwater town and made it the capital of the predominant power in their world. But he didn’t stop there; he kept going until he brought the entire world under his rule.

  But what really fascinated him was that after all his hard work, bending empires and kingdoms to their knees, he disappeared.

  It wasn’t quite that abrupt in reality. Pentival first built up powerful institutions, and made sure that the united empire wasn’t a house of cards. Then, once everything was in line, he stepped away, turning it into a grand republic that stretched across the entire planet.

  Sadly, that was only a couple of years before the integration. And Aaron had to admit, putting all that effort into uniting an entire world just to have it all fucked up by the System a couple of years later was probably enough to drive anybody a little mad. And so he couldn’t totally blame him for having an attitude.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Elmira had explained how she hadn’t believed her eyes when she first met him in the Tutorial, and despite his infamous abrasiveness, she gave him a chance. Not because she wanted to bow to somebody, but because she knew who he was and his history. And more importantly, what he was capable of.

  It was a fascinating story, but Aaron still had his reservations. The guy had basically ordered everyone to join his empire and declared himself the ruler of the entire sector. It was a bit much, and he struggled to get over the absurdity of it all.

  Even if Pentival's end goal was to form some kind of democratic republic and step away from power, he still wasn’t entirely sure he was ready to trust someone who was essentially an alien, even if they were technically human.

  Also, if Aaron was being completely honest, he struggled to see how any form of legitimate democracy would even work. It had been a struggle even before the integration, and adding a wide variety of alien races and superpowers was likely to completely turn the concept on its head.

  That said, he couldn’t allow his stubbornness to get in the way of making amends with someone who potentially had great influence in their sector. After all, his secrets were also at risk, even if Pentival was bound to some concept of chivalry.

  Especially since Mal and his boys had been easy to talk to, Aaron liked the guy. He was a decent bloke and easy to talk to. He had basically just told Mal why he didn’t want him talking about his powers, and the guy threw out his hand.

  It was one of those real, honest handshakes. The kind you get from one of those smily chaps who’s been on the tools their entire life, and you just know they take it seriously.

  So, it seemed that his secrets were as well kept as was in his power. And so, he had to decide whether or not he wanted to speak with Pentival for other reasons.

  With a reluctant sigh, he nodded and agreed to the meeting.

  “Good. I’ll let him know. For some reason, he really wanted to do the next stage of the Trial of Companionship with you. He’ll be stoked that you agreed. Pity we can’t have a threesome.”

  “Wait, you never mentioned doing a trial with him!”

  “I didn’t?” Elmira tapped her lip, but Aaron saw through the feigned ignorance.

  “You, you did this on purpose!”

  “Oh, come on, Aaron. He’s not so bad, and it’s not like I’m asking you to be his friend. Besides, he has already seen what you’re capable of. Just hear him out, and then you can move on and make whatever decisions you want. You did ask me to talk to him for you, didn’t you? Well, I did,” she crossed her arms. “And now it’s your turn to do something for me!”

  “Fine, fine,” Aaron sighed. “I guess I’m doing a trial with Pentival, the wannabe emperor."

  Elmira led them to Pentival. There was a group formed around them, and apparently, there had been a few people in the trials who had actually come around to his way of thinking and had formed agreements with him.

  Aaron wasn’t entirely sure if they had subjugated themselves to him or formed alliances. Perhaps Pentival had reworked his speech a little to be more accommodating, after all, everyone here was a top talent, at least within their respective Tutorials. It was unlikely he was going to find many willing to just bow.

  His followers formed a circle around them as Pentival strolled up to Aaron and extended a hand.

  Aaron eyed him suspiciously, but took it.

  “I’ve been waiting for this. I realize I didn’t give you the proper credit you deserve when we first met. But I’ve come to realize that you are quite an impressive person, Aaron Dober. Please, speak with me. I’m sure we can find common ground.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  He was going to have to do his best impression as a diplomat, because Aaron's suspicions were still running as high as ever. Going from would-be emperor to this much ass kissing was a bit too much, and he had never trusted politicians to begin with. And that was exactly the personality archetype that Pentival radiated.

  But he wasn’t an idiot. Pentival immediately took notice of the defensive expression.

  “Please, Aaron. I understand that you might not trust me, but at least keep an open mind to what I have to say.”

  “Sure, I’ll do my best.”

  “Good,” Pentival smiled. “See, I have come to a realization that perhaps one power can’t dominate the entire sector, let alone the universe, as my nation once did on my old world. But that isn’t to say that peace can’t be found. You know, I spoke to one from your world. A Johan Svensson. He has some interesting ideas. I believe we can work together. But I have a feeling you’re going to play a more important role in all of this than some currently realize.”

  “You like that guy?” Aaron said, trying not to sound too obviously distrustful of him.

  “Oh?” Pentival’s brow perked. “So, you’ve seen it too, have you? Yes, you’re right to be wary of that man. I can’t say I know exactly what he has planned. But his insistence on signing contracts sent a chill down my spine. But perhaps here isn’t the best place to speak about it? He has a decent number of followers in here, and I’m not sure my people recognize them all. Shall we?” He continued, turning and pointing toward the trial dial.

  “Might as well,” Aaron shrugged and walked beside the man.

  Well, if nothing else came from their little chat, at least he would knock out another trial, and perhaps learn a little more about Johan.

  Dammit. I was really looking forward to finishing the final stage of the Trial of Endurance. I hope this one is quick.

  “After you,” Pentival said, gesturing Aaron toward the dial.

  The leader had a couple of his people in line holding a spot for them. Aaron didn’t like the idea of line hopping unless people did it voluntarily, which might have seemed silly to some since he literally went around beating things to death, but it was in his blood. Line skipping wasn’t cool in Aaron’s eyes. But the guys holding their spots stepped out and went back to the end. So it wasn’t like they were affecting anybody.

  Glancing back at Pentival once more before stepping up to the dial, he did a quick inspect. He had checked the guy out briefly when he arrived, but checking again didn’t hurt.

  Pentival Mortheim [ Level 87 ]

  Titles: [ Sector Lieutenant ] [ Tutorial Unifier ]

  Sector Lieutenant? I’m fairly certain that’s new… The title was a curious one. Mostly because Pentival didn’t control the sector, and Lieutenant was indicative that he wasn’t the top dog, he also remembered that the rank was linked to dominions in the multiverse.

  Had Pentival started working for somebody else since arriving in the trials? And if so, they were probably a god, since those were the only people capable of talking to them here.

  Okay, that makes things a little more interesting.

  “Alright, let’s do this,” Aaron said, and they both slapped down on the dial.

  In a flash, they were dragged to another world and found themselves riding atop a two-headed dragon, with reins in their hands.

  Aaron looked across at Pentival. Each of them appeared to be in control of one of the dragon’s heads. And below them looked like some kind of mine, with countless little tunnel entrances.

  This looks interesting.

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