"Really need that therapist..." Fen mumbled under his breath as he rubbed his temples.
"What was that?"
Fen waved away Raisen's question.
"Don't worry about that. So, those were your memories, then." Fen glanced at the confused look on the old man before continuing. "Based off the look on your face, I take it that seeing your memories is abnormal then."
"Memories are supposed to be the safest place to keep secrets." Raisen sighed. "The only way to access them is either giving them up willingly, or using force. The latter breaks the mind however.
"For you to be able to see memories through Vitality shouldn't be possible, but then again, I've never had a Vitul student before.... The only way I can even theorize how you can do that is by stripping the Vitality you take from my influence; that stripped away part is supposed to exit the body on it's own, but for some reason, yours does the opposite and even assimilates that small part too."
Raisen frowned. He gained an insight into the true nature of Vituls, large enough to make him wary of Fen's potential but too small to share with the young candidate. If what he was thinking was true... then maybe there was more to the reason why Vituls were so rare than he initially believed.
"Maybe Vituls are more simple than I thought." Was what the old man shared out loud.
"I wish that were true." Fen grumbled. As the person actually experiencing life as a Vitul, Fen could use several words to describe the experience. 'Simple' was not one of those words.
"In order to prove that, you need to grow more. The small bit of power that you have right now isn't enough to give us any useful information. There's just not enough evidence. If you got stronger, then your abilities would be enhanced, which would help me understand you more."
Fen and Raisen talked some more from then, but he didn't stay for long. After a brief talk about the next Lesson, Raisen walked over to the interface. As the room slowly shifted back to its original form with an exit and wall to ceiling windows, Fen felt something looking at him.
He quickly turned to face the direction where he felt the gaze coming from, but the only thing that met his eyes was the empty Void. Fen began to suspect that there was more meaning the old man's words about the Void having eyes; how else would he be able to explain his feeling?
However, Fen pushed that idea to the back of his mind. He wasn't willing to deal with that problem right now, first he had to go back to the Squad Room.
When he arrived there, he would finally be able to see how he could gain more points.
The faster he was able to figure it out, the faster he would be able to utilize his advantage against the Chosen, and even the Opfer, to the fullest.
Fen experienced some hesitation about whether or not he should tell the others within the Squad about the point system, and decided to inform them as soon as he could. If they could learn more and take more Lessons, then maybe he would be able to save up on some points. That would be the best case scenario.
They were supposed to be allies after all. The more knowledge they gained, the more Fen would benefit. He would use them for all their worth, and you never know, maybe they'd even become friends.
That was doubtful, of course. Anything that didn't bring Fen benefits weren't seen as necessary; he didn't come here to socialize... actually, he didn't even come here out of his own free will. But even if he did choose to come here for whatever reason, he probably still would chose to be alone.
'Shit, that's not my thinking.' Very quickly, he surprised his original thinking and replaced it with the ideals molded by Miko. He'd be beaten up by Miko if he allowed all her hard work to dissipate in a short year. Well, a day for her supposedly.
The Squad room door came into view. Fen inwardly prepared himself for anything- although Raisen had told him about how to gain more points, he didn't full trust his words.
****
'You've gotta be shitting me...' Fen was absolutely shocked as he read the information glowing on the interface.
[Points Table]
[Introduction by: Narrator]
[Narrator here, boys and girls, Opfer and Chosen, royally screwed candidates; I'm here to give you the basic rundown of the point system to you. Or rather, the Points Table. Weird name, but I wasn't in charge of it. Anyway, moving on.]
[So, using some magic and voodoo spells and witchcraft (Bet you couldn't tell I didn't study magic, 'ay?) you'll be put to sleep. Or transported to another dimension. I don't know the specifics. Point is, you'll be taken to a place where death matters, and you'll have to fight if you want to survive. And that's enough with the introductions. See ya, losers.]
'...What the fuck is this?!' Fen gripped into the rock projecting the interface. If the interface was on an electronic device and not inside a rock, Fen would've destroyed it long ago. This damned Narrator... It seemed that the Foundation was extremely terrible with hiring employees. First was the Archon, then Raisen, and although the Narrator seemed normal at first, this just destroyed that tiny idea.
Thankfully, there was another video explaining how the Points Table worked. From the small glimpse he took at the actual table, there were a list of events and certain achievements that granted points. But he would take a further look at that later.
The video had, surprise, Archon Ellora.
'Better than the Narrator, I guess...' Not by much though. It was just swapping out one crazy for another and hoping for a different result. In most places, such an action would be the very definition of insanity.
Here, it was his only option.
With a grim attitude, Fen allowed the video to play on the interface. The glowing particles vibrated at certain intervals to produce the alluring voice of the Archon, which would have given the illusion of a noble woman if Fen had never met Archon Ellora before.
'Must be nice not knowing about Ellora,' Fen sighed in depression.
[This is for the Program right? And not anything else? I swear if I find this circulating in the Foundation... Ahem. Alright, because the Narrator sucks at his job and should change his name to something like the 'Unnarrator' or something like that, I have to explain how the Points Table works.]
[Well, he's right, you can die here if you're not careful. Through the greatness of the Research and Development Program, all twenty-three of those freaks, the Foundation was able to perfect the required formations so it doesn't make you explode. So go and thank those guys, if they're not hopped up on something at the time.]
[So, the Points Table is literally a table of scenarios that you can interact with. Some are easy, some aren't. We tried to make the scenario descriptions as close as possible to your hip gaming terms... What do you mean hip's out of style! Damn it, I'm getting old. It's a good thing we've got a lot of young and supple kids here...]
"Yep, I knew it, she bathes in the blood of children. Teenagers in this case. I'd be surprised, but Archon Ellora, just like every other Foundation member here, is crazy enough to actually do that." Despite his bravado, a shiver went down his spine as he put together what she was implying. Fen was extremely thankful that he didn't seek out the Archon by himself for information about the points system, now more than ever. He probably would've been turned into beauty products...
[Most the scenarios will kill you. They're not meant for people such as yourself, who have realized the value of points so early on. Usually, by the time other candidates realize their value, they'd be able to pass some scenarios.]
[There are no free meals in life. If you want this advantage, you're gonna need to work for it, and work hard. Dig deep and tap into your inner potential. If you don't have any, then you might as well die now and save us the effort.]
[Good luck! Not. If you die, you're just a waste of resources. So don't die, otherwise I'll get pissed.]
Another voice popped in, just as a new face appeared on the video feed alongside the Archon. Rather than a face, it was a unique looking armored helmet in the same design as the Executioners from before; this particular one looked much more authoritative , and its appearances was much darker than the other armored Executioners.
His deep and dark voice started speaking.
[That's bullshit by the way. She's be super sad if any of you die, though she won't say it.]
[Shut up you piece of-]
The audio cut out as the armored Executioner was thrown across the room by a bolt of lightning. Streams of what Fen assumed to be various profanities came of the Archons mouth, although he couldn't make out the specifics of her heated speech because of the loud sounds created by the combination of her lightning and the crashing of metal on rock as the poor Executioner was repeatedly slammed against the wall.
'...Looks like I might have another comrade.' Fen had a very loose definition of the term comrade, but to summarize it's use, anyone who endured through the pain of being near one of the crazies would earn their title of comrade, as a reward of sorts, for their suffering. Case in point.
Through the quiet groans of pain, Archon Ellora turned back to face the screen.
[Don't die.] That was all she said before the interface scrambled back into golden light particle before reforming into a massive table, which took up the entire wall of the Squad room. Finally, the massive interface showed it's use.
Glancing down, Fen noticed the faint light trail connection between his Mark and the interface, which he assumed was the cause of him now being able to interact with the massive interface. It also appeared that he would be able to access the Points Table at any other interface as long as he inserted his Mark first, which was another added convenience.
However, all of his joy, even the small feelings of accomplishment for unlocking this interface was extinguished as soon as he looked through the Points Table and its various scenarios.
'Fuck it. I'm committing suicide' Fen sighed, only half-joking. Neither the Archon nor the Narrator were joking. The difficulty of these scenarios were so ridiculous that he didn't even have any idea how to accomplish most of them. The most simple one that Fen could find on the Table was a survival scenario.
[Points Table]
[Candidate 178-3001: Fen Altairus]
[Congratulations for being the first to open this interface]
[As a reward, you've been given permission to die early]
Yeah, to be honest, the Points Table was definitely not giving off a good impression. Maybe it was a poorly designed joke? A further examination helped support that the statement was sincere and heartfelt.
[Scenario-37a]
[Type: Survival]
[Grade: Erudite]
[Description: Placed in a lively and lush forest, your only goal is to survive within the allotted time; 30 minutes. Failure to do so results in death, both in the scenario and in the Program.]
[Rewarded points: 100]
That didn't look that difficult, but having seen the harder scenarios Fen was much more cautious, more than he had ever been; Raisen's 'prank' had helped shock him with reality, and to always be wary of everything.
And his intuition proved to be correct, with a hidden description inside the Points Table that gave a simple statement. But it was enough to make him curse the system for being so cruel, and plant a firm belief within his heat that the Program was bullshit for Opfer. He also suspected that the system was also shit for the Chosen, but as he had never met a Chosen since entering the Void, he couldn't be sure.
Fen could only hope that they were all suffering equally. Although, if he had a choice, he would choice to suffer the least. But that was natural, of course.
The message went like this:
[Note on all Scenarios]
[Any and all Scenarios are simulated to recreate the environment of planet Earth at the time that Heaven's Virtues were still present. In other words, you will not be facing the environment of Earth that you know. Monsters, some of which even the Foundation has never encountered, will be plentiful in the Scenarios you will be taking.]
[The technology being used will transport your consciousness back in time, to a plane of existence where the planet was overrun by monsters. Even after utilizing countless resources to explore this plane of existence, there is still an unknown number of creatures that the Foundation has yet to encounter and study. Take part in these scenarios knowing the risk you will be taking.]
So this was the reason why the Scenarios were so dangerous. Fen could only analyze the note helplessly, not knowing how he should react.
How was being the first to know about the Points Table an advantage? If anything, it just exposed him to the hidden cruelty of the Foundation, with no one else to understand. If even the Foundation, which was filled with people like the Executioners and Archon Ellora couldn't even fully explore the world created by the Scenarios, then how was he expected to survive when he hadn't even grasped how to use magic yet?
All his efforts just seemed useless, and he hasn't even fully started yet. Any hope that he had of gaining an advantage was ruthlessly cut down, time and time again.
The only tool that he had in his skillset was his abilities as a Vitul, but that only gave him enhanced strength, which Fen didn't trust to be able to hold out in the Scenarios. At least, he wouldn't go into the scenarios before he tested his new strength in a safer environment, like his room or alone in the main Squad room.
But he hadn't given his all yet. He couldn't despair, not when he was so close to firmly planting his foot into the ground. Taking a deep breath and calming his nerves, Fen took another look at the interface with a clear head, purified of all distractions.
All the information Fen needed to create a plan was lying in front of him in the interface.
Even if it was soul crushing.
Even if it seemed impossible.
He had a home that he had to go back to. The pain he would suffer was negligible compared to his goal. The ability granted to him by his Vitul nature, to manipulate and grow off the amount of Vitality consumed would be his tool to achieve his goal. He just needed time to grow, and then he would challenge a Scenario.
Fen wouldn't be flashy, that was against everything he was. He would be practical, efficient, and above all; he would be as cautious as possible. He wouldn't give anybody a chance to catch him unawares. Preparations were required, needed, if he was going to get away from this terrible place. Every time he looked outside the windows of the Training Hall, glanced into the Void...
Something was staring at him too. The more time he spent here, the higher the possibility of that 'something' coming to find him; but he couldn't do anything about that risk. No matter what he did, worst case scenario was he had to last a year. Best case scenario, he died before then. Neither of which seemed appealing, but at least lasting a year had a chance of him surviving and going home.
As long as there was a chance, Fen would have to take it.