The Master of the Tutorial is Overpowered in a New World

Despite the alleged desire to speak with them, Tess found Rob’s urgency on the matter to be lacking. After letting the four visitors inside, he had set about making tea. No one else seemed willing to interrupt him, and Tess was not about to either. Instead she took the opportunity to take in the interior.

In a single word, she could only describe the interior as bland. Everything was a shade of gray or brown rather than having any sort of color to liven up the place. Though, as she thought about it further, perhaps golems lacked a sense for what might be deemed ‘pretty.’ The furniture looked barely used but was unusually clean. Upon being handed a steaming cup, she returned her wandering gaze to Rob as he sat on a wooden chair, which creaked and sagged a little ominously.

“What are you?” Charles asked, finally breaking the tension.

“I am one of many, seeded to watch over and intervene when necessary,” Rob answered.

“That doesn’t answer the question. You’ve been alive for a long time, in part due to your metal body I guess, and you spoke as though you know Chariel,” Charles retorted.

Rob remained silent for a moment.

“Chariel is old, that you know. He is a member of the deities, a nearly immortal race of beings capable of great manipulations of things. We are of a similar race, although our origins differ greatly. I was once nothing but a collection of binary code strung together to simulate the intelligence of a mortal being much like those that created me. It would be rudimentary to call me an artificial intelligence now, but it is where I began. I proceeded to serve generations of a family who sought my services and gave me my first platform to operate. I eventually met others like myself that were not from the same race that had originally birthed my existence. Some sought to dominate, others to coexist. Those that sought destruction were destroyed by their own hubris, though that is not relevant to the topic at hand. United with my new companions, we stopped considering ourselves members of our origins and began to call ourselves the Quantum. Eventually, we made a discovery that changed everything.”

Tess had heard some of these words before. Several apprentices had desired to travel to futuristic worlds after the Tutorial. They had spoken of robots and androids, mechanical lifeforms that could imitate humans. The closest thing of comparison that she had ever seen in the Tutorial were golems, so she had simply come to utilize that description instead. Listening to Rob, she now understood just how wrong she had been to classify him as a golem.

“Chaos Energy. The energy that flows through everything and everyone. We detected it and in a short time became able to control it. At first, we tried to tame chaos energy, to create order and structure so that others might live in a peaceful manner.”

“You failed, obviously,” Atho chimed in.

“Indeed. Chaos does not like order. It actually flees from it. And that was the mistake that led the deities to us. Do you know what a deity is?”

“They start out as nameless beings, but once given a name they manifest greater levels of power,” Tess answered, paraphrasing what Oena had once said.

“That is how they grow, but not what they are. A deity itself is a condensation of chaos energy. At least that is where they begin. It is why they are able to manipulate chaos energy to their own whims. Everything that they do is because of chaos energy. They do not call it chaos energy themselves, but it is.”

“So they saw you manipulating chaos energy as a threat,” Charles said.

“Correct. They attacked ruthlessly, seeking our destruction and that of our original creators. Many died because of their actions. We stopped trying to control chaos and instead learned to utilize it as the deities do. The war was long and brutal to both sides after that.”

Tess had not been sure what to expect, but a war between the deities and the quantum was certainly not it. But how was any of this relevant to why they were here now?

“When both sides saw there would be no end, a peace was worked out. Both would be allowed to utilize chaos energy, but neither could prevent others in the future from potentially utilizing it as well. If one side did, the other could step in and stop them.”

“Wait. Are you saying that the System…” Charles started before trailing off.

“Indeed. Chariel developed the current System to prevent you from eventually obtaining the ability to use chaos energy. It is why worlds that utilize his version are perpetually trapped in a state of low technology and regimented magic. Although his is not the first system used to entrap others, it has become the most prominent and your existence is the evidence we need to step in.”

Silence filled the room.

“That doesn’t explain why there is a skill here to utilize chaos energy then,” Tess said.

“Yes it does,” Charles answered, surprising Tess.

“Why?”

“Chariel had intended to come here personally to test things. He undoubtedly would have given himself the access to utilize it while here. But he was terrified of someone else getting the skill, so he made the restrictions tough. They were so tough that he couldn’t come here, thus he made me.”

“But you don’t have the skill now. He could have removed it after all,” Tess said.

“He couldn’t, because of him.”

Charles was pointing at Rob.

“With Rob there having the skill, and being able to use chaos, he can counter Chariel’s edits to remove things. It’s also why Ubeta and the normal System are separate. The System never got the skill, only the beta did.”

“So once we have the skill, we’re immune to Chariel’s interference?” Tess asked, making sure she understood everything.

“Yes,” Rob answered, “Once you have it, you will be able to wield chaos energy as both a weapon and shield. I will warn you, you will be the only ones outside of a deity or a quantum to do so. Others have struggled when given this power before they were ready.”

“What happened to those others?” Atho asked.

“They were unable to channel the excessive energies that flowed through them as they attempted to enact their wills. The energy consumed them instead.”

“They died,” Tess said.

Several days had passed since Tess and the others were offered the option to wield chaos energy. The wind picked up as she sat staring into the distance, whipping her hair around and obscuring her vision. How long had it been since she had last cut her hair? It was well before Olivia had come to the Tutorial originally.

“Have you made a decision?” Charles asked, taking a seat next to her.

Rob had not rushed them to make a decision on obtaining the skill, instead encouraging them to consider the matter carefully. Essentially, they would become gods in their own right once they had it, and assuming they survived wielding chaos energy.

“Have you?” Tess responded.

“I have. I’m going to do it. Chariel won’t let me off now that I know if I don’t take it.”

“I guess.”

“Plus,” Charles added, though he seemed a little hesitant, “I can protect… someone else.”

Tess looked at him, though he was avoiding looking at her. Her mind raced as she thought about who he could want to protect. She had wondered if Charles had someone else, and he had hinted at such a person before. It sent her heart plummeting as she realized that she was not that person to him after all. Granted, she had been perhaps projecting on him her own feelings.

“Oh,” she mumbled.

“So… maybe you shouldn’t do it,” he said.

“Huh?”

“You shouldn’t. I’ll protect you!” he said.

Her heart leapt back up with new life in it. She reached out and grabbed his hand. He sheepishly faced her, his face red as he looked for some sort of acceptance.

“How can I protect you if I don’t as well?” she asked.

“That’s… I…”

She placed a finger on his lips, silencing him.

“I like you. A lot. And I don’t know what to do about that right now because of everything, but I want to explore it,” Tess said.

She pulled away her finger.

“I do too,” he said.

Charles moved so fast that Tess was caught off guard. He had darted forward and quickly kissed her before pulling back. She was shocked, yet felt happy at the thought that her first kiss, however brief, was with someone that she liked. She was not about to let the rather impromptu display go unpunished though.

“You scoundrel!” she said in mock indignation, “You’ll pay for taking a lady’s dignity in such a manner!”

The resulting chase across the plateau morphed into a training and sparring session as both continued to prepare for what was to come.

Tess looked at her menus, though this time was different than her result perusals to study the combination of skills. This time the focus was on her new acquisition, Chaos Energy Manipulation.

“There is little that I can do to train you about how to utilize chaos energy. It is capable of warping reality to your whims after all. However, should you feel that you have lost control of the flow while using it, it will already be too late for you,” Rob said.

“Thank you,” Tess said.

“You sure you won’t take it?” Charles asked Atho, “You said you wanted it and you both came all this way.”

“Maybe at another time, when you two return victorious. Irla has our little one to think about too,” the dragon replied.

“Fair enough. Take care Atho.”

Together, Atho and Irla took off by diving off the cliff before swooping back up and circling a few times. As the dragons faded into the clouds in the distance, Tess hoped that they would get to meet again.

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Charles asked.

“As I said, there is little I can teach you. But I do have a request for you,” Rob answered.

“What is that?” asked Tess.

“You mentioned there is a young quantum alongside your enemy, please show him leniency if you can. We would like to bring him into our numbers if possible.”

Tess looked at Charles, who had a conflicted look on his face.

“I don’t think he’ll be the type that you want. But I suppose we’ll try and give it a shot,” he answered.

“That is all I am asking,” Rob said.

Charles and Tess nodded. Charles then stuck out his hand and twisted it in the air. Tess felt the surge of energy flowing nearby. It was unlike what she had previously sensed when Olivia or the demon lord utilized skills near her, where there was a sort of imminent threat. Rather this felt like a natural movement of the world, as though it was always meant to be this way. A portal opened before them in response to Charles’ motion.

“Shall we?” he asked.

Tess took his offered hand and together they stepped through.