I kept some focus on the audience window as I went, and said, “so, the person who mentioned a job as a bodyguard, was that a serious offer or just rhetorical?”

[Ohoho, he’s actually going for it. Well, I wouldn’t say I feel sorry for him...]

[Heh, if he really goes through with it, we should change to hoping he lives, am I right?]

[Hell yeah, death is too GOOD for this pyromaniac bastard.]

[+1]

If it wasn’t for the fact that I knew that after the game was over, I’d never see another second of this scenario, the responses would definitely alarm me. As it was, I was more interested in what came after. Unlike all messages to this point, there was now a username next to it:

[AzurePrincess: It was serious. Collecting strong members of lesser species from this show as bodyguards is something of a hobby of mine.]

[AzurePrincess: I already have quite a few, but a girl in my high position can’t be too careful. But I’m not quite certain of you yet. I need to know that there’s more to you than savage killing. My slaves must have power and brains.]

[AzurePrincess: Here is what I propose: first, continue to advance to the next round. You’re high enough in the ranks now that you shouldn’t fail to do that, unless you die.]

[AzurePrincess: Then, I’ll pull some strings with the GMs to set up the next round as a sort of test for you. Clear that round as well, and I’ll help you have a long enough future for it to be worth discussing.]

[AzurePrincess: And once you’re in my service, I promise to treat you well, at least as slaves go. Do we have a deal?]

I confirmed there were only scattered contestants around me, and bought and used a few Lie Detector items to check the more important statements. Only one came back as a lie:

[And once you’re in my service, I promise to treat you well, at least as slaves go.]

Yeah, that would be consistent with how the rest of the audience reacted. But what did I care? It isn’t as though I’d have to live out my end of the bargain. “It’s probably my only choice, to be honest. I really get the feeling that contestants like me aren’t intended to survive this game at all. Like, ever. I bet if, for example, I had survived this round but not qualified, they’d kill me somehow anyway. Am I wrong?”

[AzurePrincess: I’m glad you have such a good understanding of how things work for your kind. That’ll make things much easier. I can’t give you any help yet, so do try to survive for now.]

That was the last message she sent for the rest of the round. From then on, the others weren’t so keen on hunting me down anymore, more down to the crazy massacre I’d pulled than her, I figured. I wouldn’t say things got EASY at that point—that would be incredibly arrogant—but I didn’t run into any more situations where dying and thus failing was a real possibility. Of course, I didn’t stop searching for opportunities to gain more points—there was still the mission rating to consider. I’d have bet all ten Brocks the Tower gave me last time that it wouldn’t reflect well on me if I slacked off now.

I finished the round in 48,827th place. Once it was announced the round was over, a popup appeared before me, just like in the Tutorial:

[Would you like to turn in your mission?]

Yes.

Once again, I was whisked away to the small, drab gray room that was the Neutral Zone. Almost immediately, another message popped up.

[Congratulations on completing your mission.]

[Mission Difficulty: Extreme]

[You have received 20 AP.]

[Your class has responded.]

[+2 AP to Psych Attribute.]

[Select 2 Attributes to receive +5 AP.]

[Select 1 Attribute to receive +2 AP.]

Once again, I gave the first +5 bonus to Intuition, then the other to my rather neglected Regeneration stat. The +2 went to Magic Power—for me, there was no such thing as enough of that stat. The 20 AP I banked until I could discuss it with Mewi—and/or possibly experts from the faction I was going to join.

[You have received a spell book.]

I collected the gray covered book, but waited to see what spell it was.

[Analyzing mission...mission analyzed. Gathering data...]

[Data gathered.]

[Mission Rating: 4.1]

“A new record!” I pumped my fist and imitated the announcer from Super Smash Bros. Melee. This definitely made up for not getting any “exceptional achievements” this time. I expected the mission rewards to display now, but instead there was something else:

[Your has responded.]

[Upgrade progress percentage has exceeded the remaining required progress. Capped at 100%.]

[Upgrade the ?]

“Yes!”

The tiny bead appeared in my hand again and grew warm for a moment. Now, I could see a faint glow emanating from it. When I used Identify...

(Upgrade progress 0%)

Use to evolve a class to the indicated Grade. Complete floor missions on High or higher difficulty with a high mission rating to advance upgrade progress.

Only usable in the .

So that was it. I’d gotten a high enough rating on a high enough difficulty to upgrade the Class Evolver from Common to White. It was probably pretty valuable now, not that I had any intention of selling it. Anyway, since I had a Bronze class and Mewi had a White class, it was still effectively unusable.

[Mission Rewards]

1) Elurian Avocado

2) External Mana Storage Tank (Bronze)

3) Psionic Amplifier Helmet (Silver)

4) 2.14 G3 Coins

I collected the items, and asked the Tower to convert the “Gamma” coins to Area 1 currency. I’d worry about what the rest were later. By now, a window appeared with a large timer on it—a countdown to leaving the Neutral Zone. There were a few minutes left, and I decided to spend them going over the notes Mewi made on factions we’d most likely want to join if they offered. Mostly I just memorized the names, planning to reject anyone not on the list.

It was time to go to the Pantheon, the reason that Planet Satslik was a Very Big Deal.