Oath of the Survivor

When Kyle woke the next day, the only thing he wanted to do was roll over and get some more rest.  His body ached all over.  He had missed the simple luxury; a bed, soft pillows, and a blanket to pull over his shoulder during his time away.  As he was contemplating how much more sleep he could sneak in, C.H.A.D.D.’s voice rang through the apartment.  [DR. MAYHEW, YOU’RE AWAKE.  YOUR NAV BRACELET HAS ALERTED WITH MULTIPLE NOTIFICATIONS, AND I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO CHECK THEM.  I’M QUITE CURIOUS, WOULD YOU BE SO KIND AS TO TELL ME WHAT THEY SAY?]

With a groan, Kyle lifted himself out of the bed and made his way over to where he’d set both C.H.A.D.D. and the nav bracelet.  Sure enough, he had five messages waiting; more than he’d expected.  Two were anticipated – the ones from the Institute and Tillienne.  The ones that made him frown were from somebody named Jax Cain, one from Themestra, and the last from an unknown sender.  Kyle decided it would be wisest to start with the devil he knew, and opened the message from the Institute.

Congratulations once again on completing Phase Two of your Practicum, Applicant Mayhew.

Phase Three will begin in one cycle’s time; and unlike the previous phases of your Practicum, you will determine the type of examination you undergo.  Your selections are as follows:

• Artifact Retrieval: You will be dropped off in a ruined city, and expected to tag and retrieve as many marked artifacts as possible during the time allotted, or until you give up. Can you handle the dangers as you delve deeper? 
• Arena Combat: You will be faced with varied waves of enemies, each stronger than the last.  Defeat as many as possible during the time limit, or until you withdraw.  Do you have what it takes to stand as a champion?
• Target Hunt: You will be given a contract for specific beasts to slay.  Upon completion, new contracts will be issued.  Complete as many contracts as possible in the allotted time or until you withdraw.  Will your marks shudder at your approach?
• Defend Position: You will be given command of a squadron of E Grades, and three hours to prepare a defense of a tactical position.  You will be faced with waves of increasingly powerful opposition trying to take your position.  Hold until the time limit, or until you withdraw.  Is yours the bulwark that will remain unbroken?
• Labyrinth Escape: You will be sent to the core of labyrinthine caves.  You will climb to the surface, overcoming each obstacle in your way.  You will either escape, survive until the time limit, or withdraw.  Will you be able to overcome the odds?

Unlike Phase One and Phase Two, Phase Three is not a simple pass/fail.  Instead, you will be evaluated on your overall performance, and assessed a score between zero and one hundred points.  Furthermore, representatives from the guilds will be watching your performances live, which may influence the offers you will receive.  You will select your trial upon arrival.  We look forward to your performance, and congratulations once again.

• Collective Institute of Independent Licensure.

  This was far different than Kyle had expected, and he read the letter over several times to make sure he wasn’t missing anything.  He appreciated why it was designed this way, as people with different classes and goals would shine better in some environments than others.  Kyle himself was immediately drawn to Labyrinth Escape, as it felt like a natural fit for his own abilities.  Still, there was time to weigh the pros and cons before he had to make a decision, so he moved on to the message from Tillienne.

Kyle,

I’m assuming you passed, so congratulations!  If not, this message is going to be a bit awkward.  Either way, interesting information for Phase Three, isn’t it?  I’d love to talk about it and see if we can get some training time scheduled.  Free for a meal in the next thirty hours or so to talk about it?  My sister’s restaurant is taking reservations, and I can get us on the schedule.  Let me know!

-Tillienne

Kyle could practically hear the fae woman’s bubbly voice through the message, and couldn’t help but smile.  Both the thought of the delicious food and her company were pleasant, and he quickly responded that he’d be available to meet soon.  While the idea of training with her gave him flashbacks to Skippy, he also appreciated that any time he had to train between now and Phase Three would be time well-spent.

His brush with death against Ger’Sinh had led to another level, but he was still a good distance away from his next skill upgrade at Level 60, as well as the next D Grade skill at Level 70.  Even if there was no feasible path to getting to those milestones before Phase Three, Kyle wasn’t satisfied with another prolonged period of stagnation.  If training with Tillienne would help keep him progressing, he would take the opportunity happily.

He was surprised, then, to find that the next message was largely a mirror of the one he’d gotten from Tillienne.

Mr. Mayhew,

I’ve heard your performance in the last round made a real stir.  I also passed, and am getting prepared for Phase Three.  I hope this message isn’t too much of an imposition, but Tillienne sent your information my way.  I’m looking for sparring partners, and was hoping you’d be willing to make yourself available.  My family has solid resources for training, and we’d make it worth your while.  Feel free to message me back if you’re interested, if not I understand.  I wish you the best either way.

-Jax Cain

Kyle filed it away, not thinking on it much further.  He’d ask Tillienne her thoughts when they met for a meal, and he’d make a decision at that point.  Assuming Jax Cain was powerful enough to catch Tillienne’s eye, he would likely be a good partner, but he wanted to hear it from her first.

Next, he opened the message from Themestra.

Mayhew,

This is unofficial communication, but I thought you’d be interested.  After seeing what your drone could do, Corthian Mining decided to reach back out to Marcus Kulhavey, on Greil.  From the sound of things, he’ll be out of pocket for a while, but I’ve attached the information to his office.  If you’re looking for more enhancements for your drone, he’d be the place to go.  Offer still stands if you want to sell the drone to us – we’ll pay handsomely.

See ya!

-Themestra

The information here was far more startling, though Kyle quickly pieced together the motivation.  He could see Chester’s hand behind every word – and he had to admit, it was effective bait.  Marcus Kulhavey was the Originator that his grandfather had worked alongside, and he was the only lead Kyle had about those who left Earth.  Kyle’s initial searches had all been rebuffed – his pockets simply weren’t deep enough to break into the circles where he’d be taken seriously.

Now that he had direct contact information, things might be different.  It was a long shot.  Still, if he had the chance to meet one of Earth’s first C Grades, he would take the chance.  At the same time, Themestra was right on the money that Kulhavey would be the best possible person to help C.H.A.D.D.’s progression, as he was the original designer of the model. 

As for what Corthian Mining got out of the deal?  His first thought was the possibility of a favorable impression from the man.  Depending on how things went, there was also a chance that he could make them custom drones based on C.H.A.D.D.’s adaptations.  There were likely more layers to it Kyle didn’t fully appreciate, though to him it didn’t matter.  He knew he had to reach out, even if it was just to get a chance to talk.

Pushing down the bubbling emotion, he opened the last message.

Mayhew,

Don’t choose the Labyrinth.  It’s a trap.

-A Friend

Before he could do anything with the message, the text seemed to warp, then scramble.  A moment later, the message was gone from his nav bracelet, as though it had never been there in the first place.  Kyle stared at the space the message had been displayed, feeling his pulse quicken.  What the hell was that?

While Kyle was no expert at nav bracelet communications, he’d used them often enough since working with Corthian Mining to understand that this was incredibly out of the ordinary.  Secure messages with varying levels of encryption were common – and he’d received his fair share.  His mana signature was required to access them, so the security was high.  This was something entirely different. 

The problem that now faced him was how seriously to take the message.  Whoever had sent it had an intimate enough understanding of Kyle’s abilities that they knew he would likely choose the Labyrinth Escape option.  They were also connected enough to know what choices were available for Phase Three, which reinforced his impression that whoever sent the message was fairly high up in the overall Collective hierarchy. 

That forced the question to a relatively simple crossroads – were they looking out for Kyle’s interests, or not?  While Kyle didn’t think he’d made many true enemies since arriving at the Hub, there was always a chance that he’d slighted somebody important.  Still, it felt like an awful lot of work to go through, only to dissuade him from his best showcase.  If he was honest, he felt that he could perform admirably at all of them, even if it wasn’t his absolute strongest work.

That left Kyle inclined to think whoever risked sending the message was looking out for his interests, or at a minimum knew something that he didn’t.  Fortunately, he had time to decide.  With a cycle left between now and the beginning of Phase Three, Kyle did what he always did when there were too many moving parts.  He made a list.

• Meal with Tillienne
  • Discuss training, Jax Cain
• Practice HEAL and IGNITION.
• Review footage from Phase Two
  • Learn about the egg
  • Watch Ger’Sinh
• Send a message to Greil to connect with Marcus Kulhavey
• Decide on a test for Phase Three

“What am I missing, C.H.A.D.D.?”

[THE FIRST SHUTTLES FROM EARTH SHOULD BEGIN ARRIVING SOON, DR. MAYHEW.  WE COULD MAKE TIME TO VISIT, IF YOU’D LIKE.]

Kyle thought about it for a moment as silence filled the room.  A big part of him wanted to, but he knew that, aside from a select group, he didn’t belong with them anymore.  Not truly.  “Let’s wait until we hear from Garth.  We’ll give them time to get settled, and see about a visit after getting independent licensure.”

[IF THAT’S WHAT YOU’D LIKE, DR. MAYHEW.  YOU FOUGHT SO HARD TO HELP THEM GET THIS OPPORTUNITY.  FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH, I BELIEVE YOU SHOULD MAKE TIME TO SEE THEM.]

Kyle sighed as he accepted the drone’s words.  There was truth there, and he had to admit it would help put his heart at ease to see them well.  “I appreciate your thoughts, C.H.A.D.D.  For now, let’s tackle what’s in front of us.”