Gorax the Cleanser was very satisfied with how life had been going for him. The Orken Warlord had retired from his former profession of annihilating entire star systems of worthy foes to pursue a higher goal—ascension.

  It was the end goal for all challengers worth their salt, and the only way to progress beyond an S-grade race. Unfortunately for him, in order to ascend, a challenger had to successfully manage a Grand Integration. Administrative tasks were something he’d never even considered, having left that work to those intellectually minded Orken among his warband. However, he was finding great joy in being able to raise a new generation of challengers.

  Most were simply wheat ready to be felled by the scythe of the system. The vast majority of beings that came from unintegrated worlds were not cut out for real life in the multiverse. Even those that survived the normal and hard difficulty tutorials were fodder to the true standouts.

  Completing the harder difficulty tutorial and making it to the Path of the Gladiator was where the first shining stars appeared. Those talents that Gorax would keep an eye on and push into challenges once the tutorials ended and he could put his hand on the scales with a little more force. Unfortunately there were heavy restrictions during the tutorial to prevent foul play.

  A particular Ascended had tried once to manipulate the tutorial in the favour of one of their descendants, granting them an easy path through the integration. In the first place that particular Ascended was strange in that they placed their offspring onto unintegrated worlds to develop. When the system got wind of their machinations it also discovered that the reason it placed them onto unintegrated worlds was something to do with ascension, but most of that knowledge had been wiped in the same process that stripped that Ascended of their power and cast them into the void.

  Since that moment the system had not allowed anyone to interfere in the tutorials, except under extremely specific circumstances. When it did happen, it often led to punishments for the Administrator leading that particular integration. Gorax refused to allow such a scandal on his watch. Especially when he was a contender for one of the greatest integrations ever, based on the stats at that moment.

  The nightmare tutorial participation was the second highest of any Grand Integration and the survival rate up until that point was the highest. He was proud of that fact and hoped it would remain that way until the integration itself began. After that he could do more to nurture the promising challengers.

  While observing one of those nightmare challengers, he was interrupted by a knock at the door to his office. He glanced away from the floating screen displaying the Shadorian female’s nightmare tutorial attempt and saw the bulbous thorax of Shneevol, one of his most accomplished assistants.

  Gorax’ and Shneevol’s species historically had been at war with one another, which had led to the Ixian being terrified of his boss at first, but they had soon smoothed out that bump and now it was almost always good news when the insectoid with newly found confidence entered his office. “What do you have for me this time, Shneevol?”

  The Ixian raised a tablet and turned it to face Gorax. The administrator reached out with one of his meaty hands and grasped the tiny piece of technology, raising it to his face. He almost missed a breath as he saw the words written at the top of the report.

  ANOMALY REPORT

  CLASSIFICATION: EXO-SYSTEMIC

  THREAT LEVEL: EXISTENTIAL

  “Are you sure this isn’t a mistake, Shneevol? How could an exo-systemic threat have possibly appeared? All of the planets in this Grand Integration were pre-scanned by the system!” Gorax didn’t much care what the anomaly did, but if it threatened his chances at Ascension, he would do everything in his power to stamp it out before it grew to a dangerous level.

  The Ixian seemed to share his fear. “I quadruple-checked it, Administrator. There is no mistake. The anomaly falls into both the classification and threat level depicted in my report. We must move at once or risk everything you have worked so hard for slipping from our grasp. I have detailed a plan of action. The system should approve use of excessive interference within the articles set up after the first major interference event, but there are a few possibilities you can choose from, depending on what you feel would be most likely to eliminate the anomaly.”

  Gorax’ cervical arm unclenched at that. He was relieved that it wasn’t as devastating as it first sounded. “It’s good that you caught this anomaly early on. If it was allowed to slip past the tutorial and into the main integration it may have caused a disaster. Once this is handled I will give you a big bonus, Shneevol. Return to your station.”

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  Shneevol bowed and left without making any more fuss. The assistant had done his job by bringing the matter to Gorax, and now it was his job to handle it. He looked back at the tablet and read the rest of the report.

  Most of it was the standard protocol for handling anomalies of that class, but there was one part that stuck out to him like a sore thumb. A part that made his blood run cold.

  Gorax the Cleanser was one of the most accomplished Orken Warlords in the history of his species. Given that the Orken were responsible for the eradication of over 18 quadrillion lives and the total extinction of almost 2.5 billion distinct species across eleven galaxies, that made Gorax one of the most terrifying warriors in the multiverse. For him to feel terror was unheard of. It went against the natural order of reality.

  However, there was one moment in his past that was seared into his mind. A moment he would never forget as long as he lived. In fact, that memory was the main reason he sought to ascend. He knew that his current power was far from the level that monster had displayed.

  With a single finger, that man—no, that abomination—had eradicated an entire armada of Orken warships, as well as two full war-fleets of Baralathic battle cruisers. It took an instant. The words that monster uttered after the act were what stuck out to Gorax, more than even the sheer scale of destruction he had witnessed.

  “I was really enjoying that nap.”

  Gorax only survived because he was part of a team undergoing a mission on a planet just far enough away from the main fleet to escape total eradication. Ever since that moment he had worked tirelessly, driven by fear and a thirst for power that would never again be quenched. The only other detail he remembered about that old man, other than his purple eyes, was the tag he bore above his head.

  [Azathere the Timeless - ? ? Lv.????][?????][Chronos Patriarch - ???]

  The name, of course, inspired fear in him every time he even thought of the memory. At that moment, however, it was the latter part of the tag that Gorax was reminded of. Chronos Patriarch.

  At the time he had dismissed it, believing it was some sort of system-awarded title. Time magic was so rare that only a few individuals in the multiverse were rumoured to possess it, and Gorax assumed that horrifying individual was one of them. When he read the report that Shneevol had handed him and saw the very same word listed as the anomaly’s ‘hidden faction,’ with the anomaly somehow being the creator despite still being in the tutorial, Gorax felt the same terror he had felt as a young Orken.

  Only it was exacerbated. The fact that the individual was listed as an exo-systemic, existential threat-level anomaly meant that whatever ‘Chronos’ was, it had nothing to do with the system. Two thoughts ran through Gorax’s head, both opposite in motive and execution, yet possessing a similar weight.

  The first was that he had to immediately eradicate this anomaly no matter if it meant receiving a penalty from the system for excessive interference in a tutorial he was overseeing. Letting another monster like that free into the multiverse would be the same as consigning entire universes to death.

  On the other hand, Gorax felt an exceptional greed consume him. What if he could sway this nascent monster to his side? He would have a terrifying ally, one that he could bind to him even more once he ascended and could provide unlimited resources and guidance.

  Ultimately neither thought won outright. The first was nonsensical. He had sacrificed too much to get to where he had, and the thought of losing out on his only chance at ascension simply because of what some ancient monster had done in the past was stupid. He refused to entertain that line of thought any further. However, he couldn’t simply allow this ‘Ronan Steele’ to go free. But he didn’t need to eradicate the anomaly. He could give him a favourable impression of his Administrator and sow the seeds of beneficial future cooperation.

  If the anomaly grew to be as absurd as that Chronos Patriarch, then having an ally of that calibre to call on would be an invaluable resource in the chaotic game of strategy that was the integrated multiverse. Challenge it is, then. Let us see what you are made of, Ronan Steele.

  Gorax made a few adjustments to the report that Shneevol had given him, using his administrator privilege to erase any other traces of it in the system. Thankfully the integration exceptions meant the system itself wouldn’t receive information directly until Gorax approved it for release. Otherwise he would have no freedom to influence the situation. He removed any mention of ‘Chronos’ or a hidden faction and changed the plan from elimination to integration of new resources. The system loved new toys, after all.

  Once he was satisfied with the changes he had made to the report and how the anomaly would be handled, Gorax pulled up a screen displaying Ronan Steele’s tutorial progress at that moment. He was just in time to watch the little monster kill an infant leviathan in a single blow, while being almost twenty levels lower than the creature.

  Gorax let out a deep, throaty laugh. “Reminds me of myself in my younger years. It makes me want to pick up my axes and carve my name in the blood of an eradicated species on their dead planets.” The Administrator did not do that, despite his desire, and instead sent off the report and his correction strategy to be approved by the system.

  Less than two seconds later, a chime in his mind informed him of the system’s reply. Everything had been approved without much fanfare. The system didn’t care much about potential threats to its existence when they were still little more than embryos, apparently.

  That worked just fine for Gorax. “Let’s see you handle an increase in difficulty, my little monster.” A devious grin appeared on his face as he relaxed in his chair and watched the anomaly prepare for the next stage of the nightmare difficulty tutorial.