Species Directive: Forced Growth

Be advised: forcing 1% of twice-evolved individuals to evolve a final time in three seconds... Done.

Scanning for living individuals of species POF-12742-333... Done.

2 corpses located. Relocation required.

Relocating corpses to the highest bidders... Done.

1 living individual found.

Resuming Directive...

Warning! Directive Forced Growth's next actions towards sapient beings do not comply with Assimilation Protocol currently active in Universe 198. Directive adaptation required.

Calculating Directive adaptations...

1. Replace with Directive Crucible of Valor - 12% effectiveness

2. Replace with Directive Endless Arena - 2% effectiveness

3. Find a willing master - 0.4% effectiveness

4. Other options too ineffective to list

Checking Directive Crucible of Valor... Done.

Directive Crucible of Valor engaged.

While climbing, Ricardo swore at the system again. The system had sold the corpses of the two people who had died? Not for the first time, he felt like a product, a piece of meat on display, some object that could do nothing but accept whatever a higher power wanted to do to him.

That the system could repeatedly adapt by itself made him panic a little more. It was one thing to be in the claws of a cold system, but if it was sapient too... He wasn't ready for an AI apocalypse, humanity had been too far from it.

Even more terrifying was the fact that from what he was understanding, the system wanted to help him grow, not the insects that had undergone forced evolution. But if that was how the system helped him, by killing who knows how many people with the sudden pain from injecting the interface in their brains, then freezing his entire species except for ninety-nine people who resisted it, then killing two of the three who were too worthless to attract the attention of a Godparent... He wasn't sure he wanted the system's help. Going to the freezer didn't sound so bad now.

The text cleared and changed again.

Species Directive: Crucible of Valor

Creating dungeons... Done.

Creating hidden treasures... Done.

Reevaluating world... Done.

World 198-1-2442 is now an A-risk E-yield training world.

1 individual added to Crucible of Valor. Warning: individual has no clearance.

Applying H clearance to living sapient POF-12742-333-3524846927... Done.

Dungeons? Hidden treasure?

What the hell, his entire world had just been assimilated by a highschool AI that wanted to play games with real people? And if it could create so much dumb shit out of nowhere, why couldn't it have left the entirety of humanity here to grow with him in the first place?! What the hell was wrong with this shitty system?!

Yet, as much as he wanted to give in to panic, he forced himself to keep as much control as he could. His logical mind told him that if the system wanted to force him to go through a crucible of valor and it had just grown gigantic insects — or monsters, for lack of a better world — the conclusion was obvious. The system would force him to battle the monsters somehow, and there were plenty of them around.

He had to get to a better position as soon as possible. He started climbing even faster, at a speed he hadn't known he could climb to begin with. He just hoped he could die from exhaustion after fighting for a long time rather than from being eaten alive.

For he would not go down without a fight. He hadn't gone through so much in his life to simply give up, that's not how he had been raised. He had been raised to be a warrior. Of a different kind, of course, a corporate and social warrior, but a warrior nonetheless, who had to protect himself and his people from the shit that was thrown at them and fight back.

He had no doubt he would die, not when he was against the whole world, but he would kill as many monsters as possible before he did, just to spite the system by making some of the resources it had used to make them evolve to go to waste.

Now believing in an incoming bloodshed, he kept his eyes open while climbing and found a piece of distorted metal about the size of a baseball bat. He took it to use as a weapon.

The text was erased and a new one appeared before him.

Welcome to the Omniverse!

Congratulations, Ricardo Black!

Despite your species abysmal potential, you and 96 Godchildren of the human species have been given the chance to grow strong and forge a place for humanity in the Omniverse!

Your average talent hasn't attracted a Godparent, but despite the cost involved in investing in you, the Omniheaven is absolute in following the Supreme Directive and never culls a sapient's life directly.

Rejoice in the Omniheaven's mercy!

That being said, don't worry. None of the resources used on this planet shall be wasted. Should you succeed, they will groom humanity. Should you fail, the planet shall become a training world for the worthy.

You have received the Personal Directive: Bring Honor to Humanity!

Ricardo even stopped climbing for a moment, not believing what he was reading. Never culls a sapient's life directly? What, blowing up all human tech and buildings was too indirect in the system's opinion? At least if it believed in it, it wouldn't throw lightning at him, he guessed.

Also, why did it have to keep saying how inferior he was and how much of a resource sink he was? Screw that.

He didn't know what Godparents were, but they were stupid for ditching him. He had stepped on many geniuses on his way to the top of the high school, college, and even the professional ladder. His father was the founder and CEO of the company, but if anything, this had only made things harder for him with all the investors meddling with his career because of internal politics.

Talent was all nice and good, but it couldn't replace sheer determination and hard work, and those he had in spades. Enough to kill a few monsters before dying, which might not sound like much, but he was sure was more than most of those ninety-six Godchildren could do.

He would show those Godparenting aliens and whoever owned the system that they had been mistaken. Especially because of the sheer arrogance of the system.

Omniheaven? Omniverse? Rejoice in the Omniheaven's mercy?

Screw them all!

The text changed.

Personal Directive: Bring Honor to Humanity!

Planet Earth has been locked away from the rest of the Omniverse while the current Species Directive, Crucible of Valor, takes place.

You are ordered to survive for the duration of the lock, 1 year, and get as powerful as reasonably possible in the meantime.

Your results will determine if humanity will be removed from stasis and allowed to serve the Omniheaven.

As a sole individual undergoing the Crucible of Valor, you have been granted three boons despite how wasteful it likely is.

Never doubt the Omniheaven's mercy!

Again, it spoke of the Omniheaven's mercy. What even was the Omniheaven? The way the system kept speaking of it made it look like a kind of god or creator it worshiped. The text also reminded him yet again of how inferior humanity was, and how it had much better places to use its resources than in trying to make him grow.

He wanted to scream that he didn't care about getting powerful, that he hadn't asked for it, that he would rather things simply go back to the way they were. There was no need for the system; it was an invader who had destroyed everything humanity had built and kidnapped everyone. Now, it wanted him to struggle to survive for one year in isolation. People went crazy in isolation after months, how the hell was he supposed to cope with it? How was he supposed to grow strong like it wanted, with nothing but a metal stick as a weapon? The system was anything but merciful.

To be honest, he also didn't even know if he wanted humanity to be taken back from stasis. Come back to what? Everything they had ever built, technology, weaponry, and all buildings were just gone. How many would simply die from lack of food if they all returned without the agricultural infrastructure to support them? What about those who had been in a multiple-floor building when they were taken? Would they be put back in empty air and just die from the fall if they returned?

As if it had read his mind, more text appeared in the white box.

Personal Directive: Bring Honor to Humanity!

Kind reminder: Directives are mandatory.

Choosing not to comply with a Directive, no matter the reason, results in increasing levels of pain.

If the Directive ends while you were still refusing to comply, you'll be forcibly relocated to the Reeducation Realm.

What "as if had read his mind"? It could determine if he had chosen to do something or not, proof enough that it was reading his mind and it would keep reading it to make sure he obeyed it! It wasn't just under a cruel alien AI-like overlord, but a paranoid, ridiculously controlling one.

But what could he do? Go to the closest rubble that had been a police location and tell no one at all that he wanted to report a privacy invasion on his brain?

He considered disobeying out of principle. Who knows, maybe that Reeducation Realm might be a better place than this phantom of what once was Earth. But in the end, he didn't want to leave the last place still linking him to who he was. As for trying to survive, it was something he would do anyway, and he wouldn't just die to spit on the system.

Personal Directive: Bring Honor to Humanity!

Rejoice, you have been given 3 boons!

1st boon: a three-hour non-aggression override on all non-sapient beings currently on your planet, starting now.

Approaching them with ill intent will make them attack you or flee, according to their natural dispositions, but otherwise, they will passively watch your passage.

During this period, if you abuse the peace to look for a hidden treasure and take it, all boons will be forfeit. If you accidentally spot a hidden treasure and decide not to take it, it will disappear within a couple hours.

Thirty minutes after the 1st boon is over, the 2nd boon will start.

2nd boon: 3 days of interactive tutorial.

For starters, you will be given basic system instructions.

After that, for 3 days, your actions will trigger explanations about the system functions.

Thirty minutes after the 2nd boon is over, the 3rd boon will start.

3rd boon: a G-grade quest.

The quest's grade might increase depending on your exploits during the 1st and 2nd boons.

He reckoned the system didn't want him to die just yet. Not after spending so much on him, even if it had a Plan B in case he died. Three hours to breathe and get his bearings was actually great. So great, in fact, that he stood in shock for a few moments before finally throwing his butt down and doing nothing.

He could feel all the tension, fear, and adrenaline leave his body. He started shaking and crying, even though he didn't think for a moment that crying would solve anything. But he couldn't force himself to stop, he didn't have the energy to do even that.

So he just cried, and cried, and then sobbed for a while for good measure.

He knew he was trusting too much in the system by just letting himself go like that. What if the three hours of respite were a lie? But he knew the truth: the system didn't need to lie. If it wanted him dead, it only had to do it.

Indeed, there was no attack. Instead, the monsters were leaving, hiding away, getting away from his view. Even the normal insects were back to normal and scurrying away.

In his mind, there was only relief and sadness. A deep, crushing sadness. His father was gone. His mother was gone. His sisters were gone. His friends were gone. All of them stored in some freezer by an uncaring alien power.

It was just him against the world now, for one year. One year without human contact, without human touch, without warmth.

One year fighting monsters or hiding from them.

It was going to be hell.

And so, tears kept rolling down.

Personal Directive: Bring Honor to Humanity!

Your Personal Directive is now active.

The 1st boon is now active.

Have a good one, Ricardo Black!

He kept crying for a while. Then, he stopped, took a deep breath, and stood up.

He could mourn at another time.

Now, it was time to fight for his survival.