Tyler looked at the kneeling warrior woman. She stayed unmoving. What had she said? I greet who? God of the Verge. What was the Verge? Why did she think him a god? Couldn’t she see he was half dead? Gods don’t bleed like this.
She didn’t look like a threat, so at least he didn’t have to worry about a fight, and more importantly, he wanted to know what this integration event was about. So, ignoring the woman, he looked at his notifications.
Welcome to the Verge Integration.
The last outpost of the multiverse has finally found its way into integration with the system. But as the Verge is integrated, so has the multiverse with the Verge, knowledge and power spreading like a waterfall to all.
Your planet, Earth, has undergone shard placement, each shard primarily occupied by one of the many intelligent races. For whom it is to say who controls their own planet but themselves.
To claim dominion over your planet, you must first have dominance of your shard. Only those strong enough to obtain and hold the seat of power will be eligible to fight for control of the entire planet.
To help everyone reach their potential, three tutorial events will be held to assist all in learning and crafting abilities, making claim to your planet a possibility.
The Verge will remain closed during these trials, although selected individuals have been invited to take part as the first step of integration between the Verge and the multiverse.
May your path be straight, and good luck.
Tyler read the welcome message again, trying to wrap his head around it. Earth had now joined the multiverse — that seemed clear — but what was all this about shards and world dominance?
Why would he even care who ruled Earth? He was never into politics. Hell, he never even voted half the time. Power-hungry people would do what they always did, with or without him.
He checked his other notification, hoping time would let him think clearer about the welcome message and that some understanding would form. Still ignoring the kneeling warrior only a couple of metres in front of him.
System Event 1 of 3
Intertwining Paths
Now you have started walking along your path of foundation, where will it lead you. To understanding, to power or to ruin, all are valid paths. There are many paths in the multiverse, even those never walked before and now is your chance to find your own.
All natives of the verge will undertake the Intertwining path event, where your actions and decisions will lead you to a path only you can walk.
With integration being a factor which others in the multiverse do not have to attend with. The system has provided each entity with a guide to help along their path.
But do not think this will change the outcome, for it is you and you alone that dictate the path ahead of you.
Child of Service: Seshka Mamonteth.
So, this was some sort of evaluation. A way for the system to learn who you are, and the woman in front of him was this guide. That was good. He could finally get answers. Answers to what the hell had been going on.
He was about to address the woman when he noticed his greyed-out tab. The Path of Insight was flashing. Without thinking, curiosity winning out, he quickly took a look to see what it meant.
System Notification — Divine
Gods of Earth, your time has come to rise once more. Created by the will of the people, your legacies have seeded the multiverse, and now is the time to reclaim that legacy.
But entitlement is not enough, and the prayers of your followers will not save you yet.
Escape the Towers of Possibilities and break free of your contract with this planet. Reclaim what is rightfully yours. If not, your path ends here. Only whispers of stories will remain as your legacy dies out with you.
Duration till event end: 59:23:55:54
Error — Divine presence not detected.
The message blinked several times, as if deleting itself, then coming back. Before one last blink, and it was gone.
Was he meant to see that message? Was this Path of Insight letting him see things he shouldn’t? Well… yeah, by the looks of things — and it had come in pretty damn handy when fighting them spiders and confirming that Rafe was responsible for Penny’s Death.
Are gods physically real now, and what the hell is a tower of possibilities. More questions than he’d started with. This wasn’t what he’d expected when the system event started. He’d thought he would finally get the answers he wanted.
Still, there was a guide standing right in front of him.
Why hadn’t he moved, acknowledged her? He just kept staring off into space, Seshka thought. She didn’t dare move, not until told to; that would be too disrespectful to a god. So, she decided to just wait. She wasn’t uncomfortable, and how should she know what a god wanted? She would, however, check her notification that had popped up.
It was said that those who took the path of service would share in the same fate as their master and follow their foundational path. So, to her surprise, she was shocked to see a different path than that of a physical one. Even though, looking at the god, he was definitely a fighter — you don’t look like that from just sitting behind a desk.
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Congratulations
You have chosen the Path of Intellect (Rare)
A path has awakened in you due to your connection to Claimbound Entity: Tyler Vane. As you guide and instruct the claimbound, and they grow, so shall you.
+2 free stats per level
Still, the path had kept its rarity from Verge Integration. She was pleased to know that. And a bonus — she did not have to have the mandatory +1 per level in the given path. She wondered if this was the same for a god, so regardless of their path they could freely choose how to spend their points. That’s if gods even had attributes like mortals.
The god in front of her still stood still, looking off to somewhere Seshka wasn’t sure actually existed. She remained in her bow, but checked her status screen all the same.
ENTITY STATUS
Name: Seshka Mamonteth
Race: Drakenborn — Rank F
Class: Spearbound Warden — Level 2
Profession: Herbalist (Novice) — Level 7
Experience: 80 / 200
Attributes
? Strength: 6
? Dexterity: 7
? Stamina: 8
? Intelligence: 4
? Wisdom: 3
? Perception: 4
2 free stat points available
HP: 400 / 400
She was glad to see she still retained her class. The system had awarded her with this two years previously, and she had leaned heavily into training with a spear. She was also pleased to see her profession had not dropped in level. Some had said they had lost several when first reaching level two in class. Those long hours with Master Ilvara, the old bore, had proven to be worth it.
She debated using her free stat points, deciding no, as any change might alert or distract the god in front of her. But after another minute of silence, she decided to put both points into Strength to close any gap that was forming. After all this god could be waiting for a long time
As she did, the god before her moved slightly and spoke.
“So, Seshka, nice to meet you. I’m Tyler. Tyler Vane.”
Tyler finished with his notifications for now and decided to use Insight on the kneeling woman. The more information he knew before engaging, the better, he thought.
Name: Seshka Mamonteth
Race: Drakenborn (Rank F)
Class: Spearbound Warden — Level 2
Tyler was surprised by how much information he got. It wasn’t overwhelming, just more detailed than when he’d used it before. Maybe that was due to the level difference. He was now level four, and for the first time higher than the person he’d used Insight on.
He was also unsure about the race. He’d obviously never heard of such a thing, and she looked very human indeed. Still, that wasn’t his most pressing concern. Time to introduce himself.
“So, Seshka, nice to meet you. I’m Tyler. Tyler Vane.”
The woman in front of him startled for a moment, as if she’d been lost in her thoughts. She bowed a little deeper, then raised her eyes to meet Tyler’s.
“What do you command of me, great lord?”
Tyler made a weird movement with his mouth, feeling awkward as hell at her reply. It was said with such grace and reverence that he was completely taken aback. For the briefest of moments, he thought it might just be simpler to act like a god. He might get quick answers, and it would be interesting to see how far this woman would take it.
But he couldn’t. It just felt… icky.
“I think we might have got our wires crossed here. A little mix-up going on. I’m not a god. Far from it. I mean, look at the state of me. I’ve just been sent here after my home, sort of went… well, upside and inside out, away and not.”
Hell, he was starting to talk like Al, who hadn’t spoken since they’d arrived here. But Tyler could still feel him, watching and observing from wherever he was.
“Never mind that. I was hoping to get some answers from you.”
Seshka lifted herself up slightly, though she remained kneeling.
“You are a god from the Verge, a Claimbound, Tyler Vane. I do apologise. I have never heard of the god Tyler Vane, but I am your Child of Service and walk the same path as you. The system has told us as much.”
Tyler did that thing with his mouth again, feeling pretty stupid just standing there, still holding his weapon, still covered in blood. He could also feel the damage from the battle lingering. Keith had only been able to restore his health to 162 — a little over halfway.
“Yeah, I got a similar message, but nothing about gods. I’m just a man who, two days ago, knew nothing about the system. Then everything got turned upside down. My planet — Earth — is going through integration, and you’re meant to be a guide in these events. The first being something about paths.”
Seshka slowly rose to her feet, still unsure of who stood before her. She inspected the so-called man and slowly realised he was in terrible shape. Cuts and bruises covered him, blood seeping from some wounds in slow trickles.
Could a god even be hurt like this?
“Correct. The integration. Is your home called the Verge by any chance?”
“Nope. Earth. First time I’ve ever heard of a place called the Verge. It day say all natives of the verge would undergo this Intertwining path event. But I don’t think I am a native. Look, to make things a little simpler — just two days ago, I lived on a planet called Earth. Humans were the only intelligent species. We didn’t know there was a multiverse. Hell, we hadn’t even left the planet as a species, apart from a few orbiting unmanned objects. We thought we were alone in the universe. Then the system arrived, and we got levels, experience, abilities. This is all new to us.”
“I don’t understand,” Seshka said quietly. “I was supposed to aid the gods of the Verge. I was supposed to walk among them. This is common knowledge throughout the empire.”
Tyler sighed. He’d seen a message about gods briefly, but it didn’t sound like anything Seshka needed to know, and he didn’t want to tip his hand about the Path of Insight. So he decided not to mention it.
“Looks like we both have questions that need answering. I suggest we take a look at this intertwining path event. Might be some answers there. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to rest for a bit first. I’m not in the best shape.”
Tyler let his metal bar drop to his side and sat down on the floor, his back resting against the stone wall. He wasn’t in immediate danger, and standing felt like far too much effort right now.
Seshka watched him for a moment, then stepped forward slowly. She bent down near him and held out her hand. A small bottle appeared in her palm, no bigger than the width of his hand. Inside was a light blue liquid, with a swirl of silver light slowly dancing within.
“Here. Take this. It should help.”
Tyler used Insight on the bottle.
Lesser Health Potion
Use: Restores 150 to 350 Health
That sounded too good to be true. Ignoring how the bottle had just appeared in her hand, and ignoring the mountain of questions he had, he smiled and took it, drinking the fluid in a single mouthful.
It had no taste. Not even the chemical tang of tap water or the plastic hint of bottled water. It just tasted… wet. But it didn’t go to his stomach. Instead, it travelled a little further, to that swirling entity just below, and rushed in, filling the space.
The swirling energy pulsed, the liquid spreading through his body like a million snakes tangled together. The feeling was surprisingly pleasant. His wounds began to close, his skin clearing of bruises and scratches. His energy returned.
Ten seconds later, he felt incredible, as if he’d never been injured at all.
Seshka smiled thinly and turned away, walking toward the wooden door. She placed her hand on the handle and addressed Tyler in a more formal tone.
“I have studied the intertwining paths for most of my active days in the sect. I will be able to explain things as we go. I have never heard of someone doing this with another person mind you. But the system will no doubt account for this. Shall we continue. I am, after all, a Child of Service, bound to you?”
Tyler couldn’t think of a reason not to. He stood, grabbing his metal bar once more. Hopefully he could find out more as they did this event — she at least knew something about this Intertwining paths.
“Fine with me. And thanks for the drink.”
Seshka nodded and opened the wooden door, stepping through it and vanishing from sight. Tyler followed a moment later, stepping into the darkness beyond.
