The more Shen fought humans with magic, the more he was sure Purrrkrrrr was more than a genius.

The wisp teacher had said that B- magic was required to affect sapient souls. The cat had turned a lot of sapient beings back in time, and at least two of them, Alicia and Shen, had had time reversed for them without their consent—if that mattered.

Now that he thought about it, he didn't know if healing would face the same issue of soul resistance. Did healers have trouble taking care of their patients? The magic lesson had been good enough for him to believe that that bit had been left out on purpose. Why?

Anyway, the cat was supposed to have E- magic stats yet had affected Shen. However, when Shen resisted, it not only prevented the monster's power but also made it panic. If he had to guess, Purrrkrrrr had a lot of knowledge but not the rank to back it up, and it caused imperfections in its time-reversal ability.

Still, Shen had to wonder. Killing the orc had been too easy but still required some strategy. Killing the cat had been only about catching and stabbing it. Unlike the orc, the cat hadn't tried to use any different ability, except maybe controlling the Shuuhs.

He had told Alicia the Alliance obviously restricted the bosses more than just limiting their stats. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that something fishy was going on. He didn't know what, but things were definitely not what they looked like. That was even more assured when he was dealing with a being with a hold over Time Laws, which he knew nothing about except that they were one of the strongest.

| Duel started. State your bet.

He could think about it later. Only two wins remained until his E-rank upgrade.

Si'shi'sha'ma'pi'ka'mi'aah'ta was floating in empty space, in front of the Dreamer. She was big compared to most denizens of the Alliance but an ant in front of her boss.

'I insist on an investigation, and I want it logged and reported,' she said through their mental connection.

| Report sent

The Dreamer sighed in her mind, though its enormous body never moved. 'I saw an intruder trying to escape, and I killed them. However, I couldn't investigate the intruder even if I wanted to. They are already being investigated by the World Integration Protection Services.'

Si'shi'sha'ma'pi'ka'mi'aah'ta, of course, knew about that. She had been paid handsomely for this attempt. The Dreamer had seen Wizard O fail but claimed that since the Void was in the tutorial world and the girl was a friend of a Void-touched, their dream might be wrong. It wasn't, but at least they knew they could kill the lawyer and get away with it. The Dreamer had dreamed about that too.

If anyone investigated, they would see she had acted as she usually would by asking for an investigation, and so had the Dreamer by being difficult. Someone had put the intruder in the tutorial, but none of their behaviors would make anyone suspicious of them.

Her boss hadn't said what they should do about the girl now. She hadn't asked, and she was glad to remain ignorant of their future plans. This one had been dangerous enough with the Talent Reevaluation Committee so close.

She moved some of her heads in mock impatience, then teleported away back to her station without further word. The fourth stage was only a few days away, and she had a lot of work to do.

The Dreamer had been awake for hours, and sleep eluded him. Every time they tried to enter the dream, they recalled what they had seen of Feng Shen in the second stage's final boss battle.

Feng Shen's team had killed only three beings, yet the system had acknowledged four kills and passed them. The swirling crows had attacked nothingness and been eliminated by empty air—which was doubly impossible, as prisoners could only be killed by trainees or old age. Not even the Dreamer could kill prisoners without permission. The Shuuhs had behaved strangely, almost like puppets. The boy had run in circles for a long time, then attacked empty air, and been rewarded with the fourth kill.

Worst of all, the Dreamer hadn't dreamed about any of it.

That could only mean three things. First, the boy's Void-touch affected random beings around him, which was very, very unlikely. Second, a strong Void Spawn was involved, which was even more unlikely, as some of the defensive systems or people in the tutorial should've detected it; this was one of the most guarded places in all of the multiverse. Third, an A-rank with a lot of authority was enacting some plan in the Dreamer's tutorial.

The Dreamer was B-rank, and A-ranks eluded their dreams as much as the Void. That's why they worked so hard to rank up. Not seeing, not knowing, it made them crazy.

He suddenly got a message he had also not dreamed about.

| Cultivators' Association: We have tested the boy. He is lacking. You can have him, but do not dare use him against us.

Instead of answering any questions, that made the Dreamer even more confused. The Cultivators' Association had fought for beings with much worse talent than Feng Shen in the past. How could they give up on the boy without a fight? Even if the Dreamer knew he would win a judicial battle, he had expected a conflict with the cultivators. He had dreamed of it.

He got a message right after, and at least that one explained to him why the Cultivators' Association was behaving so.

| ???: Fate is swirling around the boy. The Time of Chaos is approaching, and he is at the center of many events. It's unavoidable, so he shall not be culled but observed. We give you a mandate: protect him from all external influences—the Association's and yours included—to the best of your ability while he's in your tutorial. Forget about him after.

Bounty - ???

Type: Protection

Primary Target: Feng Shen (F)

Secondary Targets: Any C-rank or stronger being trying to control or manipulate Primary Target

Location: Primordial Universe - Primordial Supercluster - Primordial Cluster - Milky Way Galaxy - Etharius Star System - Etharius IV Mega World

Time limit: Until the end of the Human Pioneer Tutorial

Assistance: None

Description:

You're to protect Primary Target from any and all attempts of control or manipulation from any and all beings or organizations at the C-rank or stronger (aka Secondary Targets).

Anyone weaker must be investigated, and if they are connected to any aforementioned Secondary Targets, they are also to be removed from contact with Primary Target.

You can use any means necessary to achieve this goal, but lethal force is undesired.

You can protect yourself in any circumstance.

The use of lethal force will be investigated and judged by the Primordial Bridge.

Success Condition: Protecting Primary Target from any Secondary Target

Reward: 1 to 1,000,000 AP, depending on performance

Observation: This Bounty cannot be refused

| Bounty started: ???

Even the cultivators would bow their heads when the Primordial Bridge was involved. Just as would the Dreamer.

Any and all questions they might have were swiftly shoved down so deep into their mind, they might as well have forgotten them. They knew the line they had to walk to remain alive. None of their contacts could help them against the Primordial Bridge.

"Requesting B-tier monitoring priority and official recordings of everything happening to Feng Shen," they said.

| Request accepted. 1 favor used.

| Favors remaining: 2

A favor was a high price to pay, but if he got at least half the max reward, it would be worth it.

From that moment on, no one in the galaxy was better protected against manipulation than Feng Shen.

"None of that makes sense," Sharendil insisted. "Purrrkrrrr said the boy has no talent."

She was in battle gear outside the Primordial World. Billions of ships and orbital stations of all sizes floated around her, all made from the same Deephase Nanocrystals as her armor, all looking like liquid mirror reflecting the stars.

Yornolar, floating around her and also clad in armor, kept caressing the nebula war tiger in his arms. Purrrkrrrr, currently in her cute form, purred in pleasure—which was the source of her name.

"Once again, you let your prejudice cloud your judgment, Primordial Maiden. That was not the only thing Purrrkrrrr said."

Yornolar had aged in the past weeks. His Voice was much older, weak and cracking. Soon, Sharendil wouldn't win it on a Consonance but receive it in a Duel of Passing. It would be a shame, but she would put her pride away for that. For all that Yornolar annoyed her, he deserved her utmost respect for his outstanding service to their race.

She waited for a few moments, yet he said nothing more. Another annoying habit of his. "So? How did I let prejudice cloud my judgment this time?"

"Purrrkrrrr was sent to test a Void-touched residing right beside our Primordial Galaxy, in a planet filled with Void Spawn. A Void-touched we were not informed about. By itself, that should be enough indication that Order is crumbling.

"She smelled corruption in the tutorial world. The ultimate proof that Order is gone is the Alliance playing in a world with the Void Spawn right beside our galaxy. Chaos is upon us.

"She also said the boy stunk of a C-rank, yet there are no records of him meeting a C-rank. There is, however, a hole in the recordings. In the second stage, he disappeared from the system's sensors for a few minutes.

"Purrrkrrrr investigated and found the place where an unknown C-rank talked to the boy. Spacetime was scrambled there, and she couldn't see the past to find out what happened, but she found something else. What was it?"

Sharendil took a few instants to remember. "An unknown Law?"

"Yes. Purrrkrrrr smelled an unknown Law. Then she revisited the boy and smelled the same Law hidden deeply in his soul. What does that mean?"

"How should I know?" she asked, annoyed at the interrogatory. "I'm not all-knowing and wise like you, am I?"

"An unknown Law might mean Purrrkrrrr was just ignorant of it," he explained, unaffected by her outburst. "But she isn't our best investigator for nothing. She searched for the smell of that Law in all universes of the Multiverse Alliance and found no trace of it. Therefore, it is either a new or foreign Law, meaning an A-rank is involved, manipulating a Void-touched in a Pioneer Tutorial. What you don't know, and what I was waiting for you to do on your own, is that I sent the Primordial Bridge to investigate this new planet, Earth."

Now, that was news.

"Why," old Yornolar asked, "should you have sent the Primordial Bridge to investigate Earth?"

She thought for a while. "Because Earth produced a Void-touched despite not being overrun by the Void? The Void never leaves any planet alone after they get a hold of it, not without a bloody battle. It could mean they are changing tactics." He nodded, and she felt there was more. She thought for an extra while and said, "And because an A-rank affected someone from Earth despite their galaxy being too weak to resist an A-rank doing anything to it? Wait, was the A-rank born in their galaxy?"

"Good, you still remember my lessons. Either way, the truth is hidden. Now, what do you think the Primordial Bridge found?"

"How would I know?"

"Four other Void-touched, yet the planet was clear of any external influence, A-rank and Void included. Furthermore, its history was jumbled in a way Purrrkrrrr couldn't fix, which is further proof of an A-rank passing there."

"Did you visit the places where she couldn't see the past?" Sharendil asked. With his power, he could undo anything the Alliance might attempt.

"No. I want you to uncover the truth. So far, the only pieces of evidence that the strange Law exists are in the boy's soul and in the location where he was contacted. Both are untraceable." He turned to her for the first time. "We told the Dreamer what they already knew: Order is failing; Chaos is coming. Then we told them what would move them: someone under their care is a centerpiece of it all. There was, fortunately, someone they were already paying attention to. Finally, we offered him an explicit reward, AP, and an implicit penalty, the disappointment of the Primordial Bridge. Why? What are we looking for?"

"The A-rank," she said at once. "But why? Any random warrior of ours could beat one of the Alliance's A-rank."

"The reason behind all this, Primordial Maiden, is also for you to find out. Such is my command to you."

"What?!" She complained. "I just helped the ants deal with the Void! I deserve some rest!"

He said nothing, and she grunted as she teleported away to debrief the Primordial Bridge on their findings.

A few moments later, Purrrkrrr jumped from Yornolar's hands and sat on empty space, looking at him.

"Why lie to her?" Purrrkrrrr asked. Her voice was as vast as the universe, as deep as the Abyss. Not a Voice, but close. "It will make her investigation harder."

"She needs to learn to double-check what she is told. I do so every time any outsider tells us anything, and so should she."

The nebula war tiger squinted her eyes. "You even double-check what I report?"

"Of course. You're a dear friend, but no Primordial."

Silence stretched between them. Purrrkrrrr was hurt by his statement, but Reality was divided between the Primordials and everyone else. It would also do well for the tiger to remember that. Many had lost their lives for thinking too much of themselves or too little of the Primordials. Yornolar would rather she never found the same fate after he was gone.

"What will you do about the boy?" she asked after a while. "If you're planning on ditching him, I wouldn't mind taking him as a disciple. His talent isn't bad for someone who started as a mortal, and his moral standards are acceptable."

"What boy?" he asked.

She squinted her eyes again, this time much more upset, for she hated when he dodged questions more than hurt feelings. He could almost see her anger turning into a verbal attack. Nebula war tigers weren't known for forgiving and forgetting.

"Your pupil will fail her Audition," Purrrkrrrr stated.

Yornolar felt that hit deeply; Purrrkrrrr knew where his fears lay. As he had told Sharendil, the tiger wasn't the best investigator he knew for nothing. Fortunately, his feelings were adequately hidden by his armor. Even she couldn't smell them through it.

"She shall not fail," he said. "There's more inside her than she shows anyone. Than she reveals to her own self."

Purrrkrrrr snickered. "Are you willing to bet your Voice on it?"

There was silence for a long time. When she realized he wouldn't answer, she left.

To Yornolar's regret, this would be the last time they saw each other. But for her own good, it was better for her to resent him and stay away from his people.

"I am Alvaerelle Elafir, your legal representative," the gorgeous woman introduced herself. Even her voice was outstanding, like silk caressing Alicia's soul. "I'm ashamed to say I have failed. Wizard O has been killed by Earth's Tutorial Administrator. The World Integration Protection Services have no interest in investigating it further. Whoever sent him will face no consequences."

Alicia was dazed for a long while. How could such beauty, such perfection, exist?

The... elf? Alicia noticed for the first time the pointy years. Were elves real? Well, orc and goblins and werewolves were...

Anyway, Alvaerelle was tall, thin, golden-haired, and wore white and golden clothes. She was the perfect elf Hollywood had tried to show but never could. Her face was just... perfect. Really, Alicia had no other words to describe it.

"Sorry?" Alicia said. She was sure Alvaerelle had said something.

The elf repeated the information about the lawyer, and despite the annoyance in Alvaerelle's voice, Alicia liked the news.

"Thanks," Alicia said. "Are you... an elf?"

"I am a high elf, by the grace of Creation," she said with a haughty tone. Yet even her arrogance delighted the ears. "I have helped you. Others would say you owe them, but I did it because it was the right thing to do. Repay me by upholding justice."

Light enveloped Alicia, and she was teleported away, back to her room.

She took a few hours to stop thinking about Alvaerelle's perfection. She didn't even like women like that, but the high elf was just... breathtaking.

Once her reason returned, she realized she needed power more than ever. Not only to walk beside Shen but also to protect herself from the Alliance's ploys.

Alicia resumed her training with renewed vigor.