Running the Gauntlet

I was sitting in from of a rather advanced computer in a small closed room, much like I had before countless times now. But this time was different.

I tried to calm my nerves with some breathing exercises, what I wouldn't do for Stress Defense right about now. I'd had Stress Defense, and a whole lot of other things, just a short while ago. Now, now I had nothing. Nothing but a chance.

This must seem a bit confusing for you, random watcher who I will soon forget even exists, let me rewind a bit and give you some relevant information.

I work for The Company, yes that's capitalized, as a beta tester. For what you ask? Worlds, these people are such a big deal they make whole worlds for entertainment. I told you it was capitalized, and for good reasons.

I and a whole lot of other poor shmucks get 'hired' to work for them testing out these worlds before any paying customer ever sets foot on them, generally by having our souls pulled out of some limbo or other. And no we don't get asked first. The Company doesn't really care about little things like consent or morality. They certainly don't care about our lives.

Lots, maybe most, of the testers don't last very long. The Company doesn't care about that either, there's plenty more souls to fish out of where they got the last batch. Some of us last long enough to earn enough Company credit to come back from a **** or three, then last long enough to learn to last longer.

A very few beta testers do so well they earn enough Company credit to retire with all the perks and waifus they managed to accumulate during their career.

Oh yeah, that's the other thing we get sent to do. Kidnap high value waifus and husbandos from what others may consider fictional worlds. I did say The Company doesn't care much about consent and morality right?

Rumors get around between the testers of another way out, promotion. I'd heard them plenty myself, occasional hushed whispers of The Gauntlet.

Then I was offered a run at it myself.

It cost me everything I'd accumulated over a long and storied career. But if I could make it I'd become a full Company employee. A contract explorer with all the perks they got, or even a lateral jump into another career path. R&D, IT, Sales, possibly even a apprenticeship with one of the World Builders themselves if they had a opening and liked the look of me.

So a pretty fucking big deal. But first I'd have to survive a run of ten worlds from danger level one all the way to ten. With nothing but what I could find or earn on the way. Except for one thing, I'd be bringing my experience from countless worlds with me. Possibly as much hindrance as benefit in some situations as too much information can also bite you in the ass but this was a test of my skills as a beta tester not blind luck.

Oh and I'd get the credits for the world tier as well. Thank fuck for that even if a danger one world didn't give you very much. Some of the rumors said I'd get the upscale as the worlds got tougher too but nothing official had been said about that. Best not to count on it.

So now you're up to speed I hope you have a inkling of why I was sweating bullets here. Far too in deep to back out now, I could if I really wanted to and restart my beta tester career from scratch but fuck that.

Thanks, whoever you are. Explaining this to the empty air was better than breathing exercises and now I'm ready to dig in. From what I've been told I'll get a set up like this before each dive to spend what points I have and at least a clue of what awaits in the world name if nothing else.

Firing up the PC that's the first thing I check, not a lot of options for tier one worlds so here's hoping it isn't something lame.

Disney Magic Kingdoms. Huh. Sounds like some kind of amalgam world but Disney's better than many other possibilities for a tier one.

Next up the first challenge on the run, having to balance the intensity. One is ideal even if it only gives me a paltry thirty five credits. Higher means I get less and less to spend, and you can't go lower. You could go higher and hope for some juicy captures but you were fucking yourself on starting credits. And this challenge starts off as a bitch cause Calming Up is already hard locked in. Every world just gets harder, but more than that. If I manage somehow to get back to a earlier world on the run it will somehow be upgraded to match the danger level of the highest world I've been to.

Don't ask me how a Disney walk in the park turns into a level ten world, I really don't want to imagine it.

Me and My Girlfriends and Limited Worlds are also hard locked in already. No shock there either. It's just me as much as I could wish for a second pair of experienced hands. And every world on The Gauntlet only opens up after the previous world's main quest has been resolved. And I wouldn't get the quest until in world.

Might as well make things harder on myself before I start digging out of this hole. Heritages are fucking powerful tools so I lock in Ancestral Diversity letting me take any number of them. Lets go with one hundred percent credit on capture as well, I'd need to be using some of these girls so not needing to sell for credit could be crucial as well.

Right, now to cut costs. None for Templates was good, I didn't like using them anyways. Hustle on **** was good too, if you didn't make it back in twenty four hours odds were you weren't anyways. And that brought me to intensity one so I could default everything else.

Next was Origin, easy choice here as I was locked in as Drop In. I'd have to make this run as me.

Bindings wasn't much of a choice even if I didn't start with one locked. I only had thirty five credits and the good shit cost way more than that so I was looking at Stamp or Jewelry. Disney people tended to be trusting to a fault so giving out rings should work about as well as convincing them to let me ink them. Jewelry had a lot more utility though so that took ten of my precious credits.

My next choice would cost me even more though. Kingdoms made me think this was more old school and royalty could be a huge in with people. If you can't make it fake it, I did say Heritages were powerful right? Well they also cost a lot but I could grab the start of one for only twenty credits. Mastermind: Eccentric Wealth. Not only would that give me a bunch of cash but starting equipment and paperwork proving my fake background, in this case that of a Prince. Prince Guy. Oh right that's my name by the way.

Prince Guy would be able to get just about anything I needed done in a easy Disney world. Oh and it gave me Performance Talent to boot so I could act the part of royalty. and Body Tune Up as well to look more princely. Heritages are the gift that just keeps giving I tell you.

Let me get to a world where I can capture some waifus worth some serious credit and I'll show you what dragons can do.

Buying my Heritage intro left me with a paltry five credits and left me a gap that needed a bit more to fill. Acting a Prince only gets you so far in a pre industrial society, I needed some fighting skills and Martial Talent would cost me ten credits. Fuck! I really did not want to start this in debt, that was a really really bad idea. Still odds were I'd easily make that up before the interest was due or be dead.

Fuck it, martial Talent and a five credit debt it was.

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World Disney magic kingdoms. Origin: Drop In

Intensity: 1 Binding: Jewelry: Bracelet (10)

Me and my girlfriends. 100% on capture. Standard bindings. No templates.

Standard Defenses. Potential Connection. Standard personal world.

Worlds Limited. Standard Warranty. ****- Hustle. Random, none.

Calming Up. Heritage: Mastermind, Eccentric Wealth-Persona: Prince. (20)

Ancestral Diversity Intensity. Talents: Performance Talent, Body Tune Up, Martial Talent (10)

Perks: Paper Trail. Debt: 5 credits

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Everything locked in. It's been nice not knowing you stranger, hope you enjoy the ride.

Engage.