Drew’s mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to parse everything that he’d just heard. “What’s the Human Protectorate?”
“Before I answer another question, you must affirm that I have adequately answered your previous question.”
“Why does that matter?” Drew asked walking towards Aevis who turned to keep him in front of her.
“Before I answer another question, you must affirm that I have adequately answered your previous question.” The image repeated.
“Fine, yes you did,” Drew growled.
“Very well, which of your questions would you like answered first? The Human Protectorate, or why I cannot answer a second question until I have completely answered the previous question?”
“The Protectorate one, ignore the second question.” Drew sighed. This was worse than Alexa.
“I will ignore your second question. The Human Protectorate is a collection of humankind whose stated goal is the advancement and protection of Human life within the portions of what you know as the Milky Way, Andromeda, and Triangulum galaxies. The full scope of the Protectorate consists of more than eight thousand Earth-like planets across 23 dimensions. That is all the information I am authorized to divulge about the Protectorate at this time.”
Drew nodded his head trying to comprehend just how big that made this Human Protectorate.
“Please respond with a verbal confirmation,” Aevis stated.
“Yes, that answered my question,” Drew sighed, with some amount of exasperation. “What sort of changes will happen to Earth?”
“As a result of higher concentrations of mana, Earth-3’s natural flora and fauna will develop more aggressive tendencies. Additionally, excessively high concentrations of mana will spontaneously create additional organisms. These manaborn creatures will assist in the advancement of Earth-3 citizens by developing their combat capabilities. Additionally, mana constructs designed to train and test the citizenry of Earth-3 will be implemented. Does that answer your question?”
“Are you telling me that there are going to be monsters that you want us to fight?”
“That is an accurate interpretation of my response. Does that answer your question?”
“Why?”
“Before I answer another question, you must affirm that I have adequately answered your previous question.”
“Yes, it does. But why?”
“Your question is ambiguously worded; please clarify.”
“Why are there going to be monsters? Why do you want to improve our combat capabilities?”
“Both questions are interrelated. All dimensions of Earth have been designated as combat training facilities due to their high mana potential. As such, all citizens become de facto members of the Human Protectorates Naval forces. The monsters created have been deemed appropriate training systems. Does that answer your question?”
“Yes,” Drew answered out of habit, as he considered everything that he had just heard. He was already a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, but he had switched from doing boardings to military intelligence after he picked his rate 18 months into his contract. He didn’t particularly like the idea of being shanghaied into some alien naval force.
“Your time inside the tutorial is limited; I suggest you go through the basic xatherite node tutorial prior to beginning your training,” Aevis interjected into Drew’s thoughtful silence. Apparently taking his silence as permission, she began.
“Xatherite is crystallized mana and comes in seven different colors. These xatherite crystals also come in nine different grades. Each color of xatherite focuses on a different type of active skill or spell. For example, the low-grade red xatherite crystal Major Spark you were given will allow you to summon a single damaging spell to deal lightning damage to a single foe because Red is the color of attack xatherite. The color designations are as follows:” As she said this, a projection of the different colors of xatherite appeared next to her.
Red-Attack
Orange-Enhancement
Yellow-Defense
Green-Psychic
Blue-Creation
Indigo-Deception
Violet-Alteration
“You will note, in addition to the seven colored nodes, that there are also white nodes in your structure. These white nodes can accept any color of xatherite. Individuals are identified by the majority colors in their node structures. With low physical stats, but high mental stats and a major concentration of red nodes, you would be designated as a Red Mage or Assault Mage.”
“The major color of your nodes, it’s structure, and how many nodes you have are all directly related to your personality and capabilities as an individual. Your node and link count are both higher than the mean for Earth-3, and it is recommended that you exercise discretion when communicating their values with your fellow citizens.”
“What was the average?” Drew interrupted the AI before it could continue.
“I am not authorized to divulge that information,” Aevis said before continuing with her lecture. The image of the starmap structure that made up Drew’s xatherite nodes appeared next to her.
“As you can see, you have a constellation-class structure, which means that your nodes are arranged in subgroups. You can only use a xatherite crystal after it has been inserted into a node. After you insert a crystal into a node, you must then attune to the crystal, which involves using the crystal in combat situations.”
“Once you have attuned the crystal, you can begin the process of upgrading your crystals. Low-grade crystals will upgrade through use, as excess mana crystallizes within the node, amplifying the power of the crystal.”
“What about higher grade xatherite?”
“Higher grade crystals will usually have additional requirements to upgrade them, but that is beyond the scope of this tutorial,” Aevis responded before pointing to the pulsing white square at the bottom of the grid. “This is your origin node. You may place a crystal into any node within two connections of the origin or any already inserted crystal.”
Four nodes next to the origin that were all linked by heavy lines began to glow. “This is a constellation. As you can see, it consists of two red, a yellow, and an orange node. By filling this constellation with attuned crystals, you will create linked skills. For example, if you were to place your Intermediate grade storm and your undeveloped grade minor acid dart xatherites in a constellation and attuned both, you could create the linked ability: Minor Acid Storm. The grade of the crystals in the linked ability will be averaged to determine the grade of the linked ability. However, not all xatherite combinations will create a linked ability.”
“What is the hierarchy of grades?” Drew asked, falling back into his old gaming habits.
“Xatherite grades are as follows: primitive, undeveloped, basic, common, intermediate, rare, advanced, master, and legendary. Those same grades are used for all equipment, statistics, and evaluations within the mana system.”
“That answers my question. How do I see what combinations will create linked abilities?”
“Only trial and error. It is also important to note that you cannot remove a placed crystal; you can only replace it, destroying the original. Unfortunately, your time in the tutorial has elapsed. Humanity prevails.”