SCENARIO ENDING IN 5 MINUTES- DISTRIBUTING FINAL REWARDS
Atlas remembered all of the notifications that had promised EXP upon full integration, and a small smirk crept onto his face. Well, at least the damn System isn't going to mess with my experience. I earned that shit.
SCENARIO FINAL REWARD SELECTION:
OPTION 1: STORED EXP
OPTION 2: PHYSICAL REWARDS DECIDED UPON BY SCENARIO PARTICIPANTS AND ARBITRATED BY THE SYSTEM
Atlas's first instinct was to shout and cuss out the System for trying to rob him of his rightful rewards, but the wording of the second option stopped him in his tracks. "Decided upon by Scenario Participants?" He whispered in confusion as he turned to Big A and the two Purified women. "What does that mean?" He asked.
"It means that the System has given us the okay to give you gifts, provided you give up any EXP you gained during the Integration scenario," Big A said.
"Is it worth the trade?" Atlas wanted to make sure he wasn't getting screwed over by this new wrench in the works.
"I can't tell you," Big A said with a shrug. "The System made it a requirement as part of this option."
Whether he meant for them to or not, Big A's words let Atlas know that the gifts were at least good enough that Big A wanted to intervene and the System had to put restraints on his actions. More than good enough for Atlas, though he was still confused as to why Big A was willing to do so, he selected the second option.
Big A's face went blank for a moment even as his eyes moved, leading Atlas to think he was reading a notification. Big A confirmed his suspicions a moment later when he said, "Good choice, Atlas. Now I have a couple of gifts to give you, but I know Verian and Amaryllis have been waiting incredibly impatiently, so they can go first."
As Big A said their names, Atlas's gaze moved to the two women who had suddenly gone quiet, or in the case of Amaryllis, even more so. "While I appreciate the offer, you two didn't have to do that," Atlas said, touched.
Even while blushing, Verian shut him down as soon as he spoke. "Actually, we did," she said. "You did more than save our lives. You set us free. You literally helped us become new people, and our karma simply wouldn't be able to recover from that if we didn't try and at least set things right." Amaryllis nodded at her friend's words, and Atlas could tell they were serious by the firm sets in their jaws and the challenging look in their eyes, daring him to push back against their offer.
Putting his hands up in surrender, Atlas gave them a small smirk before he said, "Fine, fine. Even I know enough not to argue with a pair of badass warrior women." Amaryllis gave another firm nod at his words as if confirming he'd made the right decision. As he looked down at her, Atlas couldn't help but find the action cute on the woman, even as he warily watched her stinger out of the corner of his eye.
Some tension drained away from Verian's shoulders at his acceptance, forcing Atlas to realize this must have been to her. "Right now we can't do a lot for you. We don't have any items that would boost your strength nor the money to get them, and the System prevents any direct interference on an integrated planet for no less than ten years following integration. I'm not sure you'd want our help now anyway, as we'll spend a good while getting used to our new forms and races." She gestured to both herself and Amaryllis.
"Okay, then what do you two want to give me?" Atlas said, brow furrowed in confusion.
Verian sighed and said, "Give me your arm."
Atlas frowned but did what she said. He felt confident that if she wanted to hurt him she already would have done so. That wasn't even considering Big A standing beside them, watching every move like a hawk.
With that reassurance, Atlas watched as Verian grabbed his wrist and said, "If you leave your planet early and aren't in a scenario, the block preventing Amy and I from helping you doesn't apply. This mark will let us teleport to your location."
"What mark— Agh!" Atlas cut off with a screen as Verian pressed her finger against his wrist. Atlas felt like a lit cigarette was pressed against his skin instead of her finger and tried to pull his arm away, but he didn't stand a chance against the E-Rank's strength without the Beyond's power. Thirty seconds of agony later Verian released him, letting Atlas pull his arm back to look. To his shock, instead of a burn mark, his arm now bore a small tattoo about five centimeters long of a weapon, the same weapon currently hanging at the side of the woman who had just put the mark on him.
"Coulda warned me, at least," he said, eyebrow raised.
Verian had the decency to blush as she averted her eyes. "I didn't realize that it would hurt that bad," she said.
Atlas wanted to retort, but he knew they were on a time limit, so he turned to Amaryllis and held out his arm for her to do her part. However, rather than use her finger as he expected, Amaryllis's tail shot forward and jabbed into his arm, though only deep enough for the very tip to penetrate his skin. The appendage pulled out as fast as it went in, and when the pain hit, it passed far faster than the first time.
As he pulled his arm back and rubbed it tenderly, he watched as whatever substance Amaryllis had injected into him took shape. To his surprise, it didn't take the shape of a scorpion's tale. Instead, it morphed into a flower, an amaryllis, to be precise. When he saw the tattoo, he smiled at Amaryllis, and though she turned away, he saw a hint of blush on her cheeks. At the same time, he saw a new notification flash in his vision.
STATUS UPDATED: MARK ADDED
MARK OF THE BONDED ALLY: YOU HAVE SAVED THE LIVES AND SOULS OF OTHERS AND NOW THEY WISH TO DO RIGHT BY THAT ACTION. IN DOING SO, THEY HAVE BOUND THEIR FATE TO YOURS FOR THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE; IN ANY ZONES NOT RESTRICTED BY THE SYSTEM, YOU MAY CALL YOUR BONDED ALLIES TO ASSIST YOU; WHEN INTERESTS AND LOCATION COINCIDE WITH BONDED ALLIES, YOU WILL EXPERIENCE BENEFITS
Deciding that finishing the process before time ran out was more important than figuring out what that meant, Atlas focused back on the two women and said, "Thank you." Then with a wink, he added, "I'm glad you two aren't scaly, murder hobos anymore." With that, he turned to Big A with a cheeky smile and said, "Well big guy, guess you're up. What've ya got for me?"