“Alright. Talk.” Nicholas said. He and his team sat with The Heroes of The Voice at a nice restaurant. Their meeting with multiple monarchs had drained them, and the only way to recover was with food. Plus, all of that newfound money was burning a hole in their pockets. The two teams decided to meet with each other to discuss various things, mostly involving the Genesis Program.
“Do you really want to do this with that guy here?” Lizzy said. She and everyone present turned to the only outlier within the group. It was Prince Morgan. He was assigned to watch and assist The Unnamed Team. The king thought they’d have trouble if Nicholas would continue lying. Morgan was supposed to relay whenever the hero lied, not that he was completely necessary. Most of the people that personally knew Nicholas could understand the true meaning behind his statement. Regardless, this was a decree from the king, so it couldn’t be ignored.
“Don’t mind me. You heroes are free to chat amongst yourselves. Pretend I’m not here.” Prince Morgan said. He may have been a prince, but there was a sort of childlike wonder in his eyes. It wasn’t surprising. He was eating lunch with eight renowned heroes. What person wouldn’t be excited? Of course, he didn’t want to bother them. He was perfectly fine fading into the background while the heroes discussed whatever heroic plans they had.
“Oh, I certainly don’t mind,” Robyn said. Her eyes were also full of emotion, but it wasn’t wonder that filled them. She was instantly charmed by the prince’s good looks. It was hard not to be. He was extremely handsome. Robyn rested her chin in her hand and pursed her lips. Was this the real Prince Charming she’d dream of as a child? The other members of her team groaned in irritation. Rex reached over the table to swipe at Robyn’s arms, causing her head to fall forward from lack of support.
“Where do we start?” Brandon asked. He knew this conversation was coming before the tournament even began. The two teams should have exchanged information by now, but many things stopped them. Now that everyone was finally aligned, it was nice to have a simple chat. They were more than happy to grab lunch with The Unnamed Team. Trading tactics and knowledge was the only way to advance for these fellow participants of the Genesis Program.
“Let’s start with the elephant in the room. What do you know about Genesis and us participants?” Xander said. It was a rather basic question, but the answer still eluded The Unnamed Team so far. There was no rhyme or reason as to why they were picked to be participants. Xander actually had little in common with his teammates when comparing their previous lives. Information about Genesis was just as scarce. The permitted daily questions to the omnipotent voice only delivered so much. They needed to be specific, and certain topics were restricted.
“What's Genesis? Is it a god? Are participants considered its followers? I thought I was well informed about the various religions.” Morgan asked. He was intrigued. As a royal, Morgan was given the finest education. He practiced many crafts. He knew of all the gods that ruled the realm and the devils that lurked below. It was all for the sake of becoming a more rounded individual. If he could relate to anyone, he would appease everyone.
“We probably don’t know any more than you do. Participants were seemingly chosen at random by an almighty and undefined entity.” Brandon said. He ignored the prince and answered to the best of his abilities. As he said, there was little to add to the group’s general knowledge. The Heroes of The Voice came from all walks of life in their old world as well. It wasn’t clear why they were given non-human races. All they knew was that Genesis had chosen them and that the voice was all-powerful. They didn’t even know errors could exist until the tournament.
“What about the Genesis Program? What are we supposed to do? Does it ever end?” Rex asked. This was one of the few things that remained a mystery. Genesis gave no details about what the program entailed. The omnipotent voice also hadn’t answered any questions about it. The Unnamed Team just assumed the program was about transferring people from one world to another, but it was difficult to fully accept that. There had to be some reason for bringing them here. Plus, they could hear Genesis. If this was a world-swapping experiment, why would the voice linger rather than analyze from afar?
“You don’t know? We’ve been tasked with eliminating all of the sins. After that, we’ll receive new orders for the final boss.” James said. He was confused why this was even a question. Genesis told his team their objective from the start. It was odd. Then again, every discrepancy between the two teams was interesting. The Heroes of The Voice had high levels, great skills, and support from the kingdom within a month of entering this world. Meanwhile, The Unnamed Team was still fighting slimes and trying to read at the same time.
“You mean you intend to hunt the remaining sins? Then, you’ll slay the Demon King? The strongest being? The leaders of the sins? The embodiment of mankind’s original sin?” Prince Morgan asked. His eyes couldn’t light up more. He knew these people were heroes, but they were even more amazing than he could have imagined. They intended to fight the Demon King. No person alive would have tried that. Dragons and sins alike, some of the world’s most powerful creatures, bowed to this being. The Demon King was not one to be trifled with.
“Hey, exposition-boy. If you’re going to keep interrupting, take a hike.” Nicholas said. He was tired of having this outsider continually interrupt the conversation’s flow. He was annoyed to be followed at all just for his skill [Pathological Liar]. He was especially aggravated that Robyn was essentially useless while the prince was around. Most of all, he was irritated by how Genesis treated the two teams differently. Did the voice from above think they’d never meet or was this just another part of the program?
“Hike? Hike! Let’s hike!” Davis said. The young kobold was rather eccentric. He always acted on a whim and ran into trouble. Not even his team was sure if this was the real Davis or the result of his race. Regardless of the method to his madness, Davis turned and ran off. He had a one-track mind, and it was next to impossible to stop him once he got going.
“Great. It took us a month to find him the last time he ran off. Sorry, but we need to go after him. Send us a message if you manage to take out any more sins. Although, we’ll probably hear rumors about it anyway.” Lizzy said. She sighed. The team usually had their act together, but there were times when things went awry. Davis was often at the center of those events. He’d run off on his own and find some sort of odd shenanigans, but they were far worse than what The Unnamed Team would do. One of their least favorite examples happened a few months ago when Davis got lost in a city and somehow started a cult.
