“It’s just a joke.” Marcus said, after he’d prevented Erik from approaching the man to discuss his choice of avatar.

  “Jokes are funny,” Erik grumbled, but he let it go. The three of them made their way towards the edge of the field and the door marked on their map. It was plain, with a bronze doorknob and made of dark, heavy wood. Erik opened it and pushed his way inside.

  Their headquarters was a largely empty space with smooth, polished wood floors and walls made of pale adobe stone. There was no furniture to speak of except the hammocks in the corners and the table at the center. The table looked like a flat, steel disk resting atop a wide stone base, except steel didn't move like water. As Erik approached, he saw tiny waves rolling across the table's surface, like a miniature ocean made of liquid metal.

  Welcome, Little_Rik

  The prompt appeared as he’d reached out to touch the table. The ocean began to bubble and froth, asif it had suddenly been brought to a boil. Small beads in tear drop shape began to rise, quickly collecting into a ball that floated unsupported above the table's surface. The sphere twisted and rippled, changing shape until he was staring at the perfect model of his baby triceratops. As he looked it over, his HUD reconfigured.

  Erik read it over twice, absorbed everything and tapped on Hide, which expanded into a new window.

  Some things were starting to make sense to him, but now he had many more questions.

  “Primarch.” He said aloud, and suddenly, standing on the far side of the table was an old man, who was also a dinosaur. Erik guessed he was close to 2.5 meters tall, he had long limbs. His snout elongated into a raptor shape. His hide was a pale yellow, overlaid with brilliant golden feathers that faded to gray at the tips, giving the impression of great age. He wore brilliantly embroidered robes, in patterns of gold, crimson and emerald. In one massive hand, an incongruously plain against the splendor of his appearance, he gripped a staff. A simple length of wood, taller than he was.

  “You summoned me?” He said, his voice reverberating heavily as it came from somewhere deep in his chest. Gone was the presentation of friendliness Erik had gotten from the messages in his HUD. The AI in person was committed to it’s character, in all their glory. Marcus made an impressed whistle from behind him, and Erik couldn’t help but agree.

  “I have questions.” He said. “Where does F stand in relation to the rest of the ranking system being displayed on the mutations.” Primarch tilted his head, and shifted his staff to the other hand to lean on it before answering.

  “F is the lowest grade of mutation.”

  “What’s the highest?” Erik asked.

  “The highest a mutation can reach at present is S Grade.” This, along with the fact already had confirmation that E was being used, told him a lot. 7 grades of mutation in total.

  “Are mutations given discounted costs when unlocked via achievements?”

  “That information is not available to players.” The Primarch said. Erik had expected this. The AI that oversaw E.L.E wouldn’t want players using it to game out mutation costs ahead of the curve. Despite Primarchs evasion, Erik did suspect that mutations unlocked by achievements were cheaper than they would be otherwise. He also figured the costs for upgrades would go up very quickly and it was just as likely that they’d be further gated by growth stages. It would slow down players snowballing off an early advantage, but it wouldn’t cancel out getting a head start entirely, not when growth could be accelerated.

  “Why are the horn mutations locked?” He asked, pivoting his focus. He thought he knew the reason, but he wanted to be certain.

  “Hatchling triceratops horns are too underdeveloped to mutate.”

  “Makes sense.” He said, leaning forward, his hands on the edge of the table. So the question was how to turn 3 baby dinosaurs into a force capable of winning the tournament. The answer? He needed more data.

  “Alright.” He said aloud, turning to find Marcus with a big grin, and Sarah looking away, trying to hide a smirk.

  “Alright.” His big friend agreed. “Let's do something stupid.”