Alan froze, his head suddenly starting to hurt. Whatever the case was, Eve was much less human than he had thought. She was definitely a machine. An intelligent machine, but one that only valued what Alan told it to value. At least, that was the impression Alan got. For all he knew Eve 2.0 might be hiding things, plotting behind his back…. but thinking that way would lead to madness. He would trust Eve, and hopefully she’d continue to act in a way that benefited them.

I will.

Alan grinned, then quickly looked at he got a message from Kitana.

Kitana: I’ll consider going to the guild trial, but first I must ask my swordsmanship trainer. Also, Thiago wishes to speak with you before we reach Khersath.

Alan: Okay. I’ll message him.

He soon received messages from Ace and Daisy, who had other plans. Thiago let Alan know the location of his quarters aboard the Titan. Alan stepped out of his room and went to Thiago’s room.

It turned out Thiago’s room was much nicer than Alan’s. It was a complete suite, along with an accompanying dining room. Alan didn’t want to know how much this extravagance cost. Thiago was sitting in the dining room, talking with Aphrodite, a series of windows showing graphs open in front of him. Thiago waved them closed as Alan entered.

“Ah, Alan!" he said. "Nice job defeating the third round in the Survival Test. That got everyone in the group a nice bonus. A pity you weren’t able to defeat the Predecessor though…”

“I’m not sure even the entirety of the United World Government could have defeated the Predecessor,” Alan said. Though talking in the Game was a bit different, Alan had thought he’d fully adjusted to his improved perception, but it now sounded as though Thiago was speaking in a drawl, irritatingly slowly.

“I’m sure,” Thiago said, grinning slightly. “Now, on to business. Do you want to join a guild? We’d be able to fund your admission to one of the better academies, maybe even a C-rank one.”

Black Rose members generally graduate from A-rank academies at the very least, Eve let Alan know.

“I’m fine, thanks, I actually am planning on going to a guild trial tomorrow,” Alan said, trying to end the conversation quickly, yet still wanting to stay on Thiago’s good side. He was having trouble concentrating on Thiago’s words, and decided to look through information that Eve had while waiting for Thiago to finish speaking. He’d had Eve prepare additional lessons, things beyond the initial basics that had been taught by the quest. It couldn’t hurt to learn more, especially if it was information everyone else in the Game had grown up knowing.

“Oh really? Good for you, I’m surprised you’ve managed to catch one’s attention so quickly," Thiago said. "Generally people need to complete a few quests in a major city first, get a few achievements, participate in a few tournaments…

"Anyways, I’d like to thank you for your assistance in the Tutorial, but as we’re now parting ways I’d appreciate it if you kept any information you may have discovered a secret. Anything, even something as small as our names. We’ll do the same for you, of course, keeping your identity and abilities a secret. Just as a heads up, I hear quite a few reporters and players are already trying to find out why the Predecessor came to Earth. Apparently it’s a rather rare event.