NOVEL WEB Chapter 20: The solo player?
Interlude from the surface. Through the eyes of a programmer.
A woman stands by a ring, running her olive fingers across the smooth, stone surface, drinking in its detail with azure eyes. A dark-blue cloak drapes across her plump form, patterned in a myriad of symbols and runes. Her other hand rests atop her sheathed rapier, hidden beneath her cloak.
The crunch of snow sounds behind her as someone approaches. "Ah! Ghost, there you are!" A thin man appears behind her, dressed in red silk, adorned with gold trims and silver trinkets. An unholy abomination of an Afro cascades from his skull, its obtuse weight resting upon his shoulders and completely redefining his silhouette. Peering at the slim man, her eyes flicker, an unspoken command summoning a bright blue terminal for only her to see.
Level 15
Danger: Docile | Negligible
Name: Cymfonee Othi Schepredas
Race: Hybrid (Elf 50%, Human 25%, Dwarf 25%)
Class: [Merchant | Specialisation: Cross-world trade negotiations]
Titles: [Snow Merchant], [Afro King]
Stats:
Vitality - 13 | MP - 2 | Stamina - 6 | Strength - 8
Basic Skills:
[Handiwork LV 3], [Salesman LV 9]
Magic Skills:
[Haste LV 2], [Inspect LV 10]
Unique Skills:
null
Age: 26 yr, 150 d
Oh, this guy. I mean he's nice and all, but... "Hey Cyn! It's been a while!" The man chuckles, wrapping his slender arms around Ghost in a polite hug, which she awkwardly reciprocates. Ack! Physical contact, my nemesis! "I take it you're here for the Reverence Festival again this year?" "Of course! It would be a shame for me to miss even one. Our world just doesn't do ramen the same you know." "Ah yes, ramen. I'm sure that's the reason for your perfect punctuality for this event." He says facetiously. "Though they are indeed tremendously tight-lipped on their recipes. It's been the bane of my existence trying to pry even a sandwich recipe from the stingy fools. Say, do you think the Abstract will show up this year too?" Why does everyone always ask me? Do they know? "I guess? Not like I know them personally or anything."
Cyn's eyes glimmer for a moment, losing focus as if reading something in front of his eyes. "I see your rune-smithing has improved a level. Must be all those training manuals I'm sure you've purchased from my store." "Oh come now, you know better than to pry into a lady's private information." I know it's hypocritical of me to say that... But still! At least I'm subtle about reading someone's life history to recall their name!
"Hohohoho, you got me!" Cyn takes a step back, raising his hands in mock surrender. "I'm heading over to the Fallen Stump Inn with a group of nobles and merchants. You're welcome to join us. I'm sure they'd appreciate the company of a master rune-smith like yourself. Your old pal Inyu'min will be there too!" "Haha, no thanks. I'll be heading through early this time. Maybe some other time." "Ah, too bad. Rain check it is then. See you at the festival!" Ah, finally. He's leaving. Sweet solitude once again. Ghost waves the man goodbye, turning her gaze back to the ring.
Let's see if this works. Ghost runs a finger across the surface, leaving behind a glowing trail of nonsense symbols and rune-ish scribbles. That should be convincing enough. System, execute script portalact.
$ ./scripts/portalact
[INFO] Initialising...
[INFO] Analysing portal frame...
[INFO] Parsing portal frame data...
[WARN] Portal is on cooldown. Repeated use may cause overheating.
[INFO] Interfacing with portal frame...
[INFO] Interfacing with portal frame again because once is apparently not enough for these fucking things...
[INFO] Inputting coordinates to destination Magnus_Mundus...
[INFO] Activating (remember to not stand in the frame this time dumbass)...
Process exited with code 0
I don't remember adding so much sass to my logs... The frame vibrates, blue light spreading across the runes littering its surface. The notches light up in sequence, each causing the ring to tremble even more. I'm sure the shaking is fine. And the red hot stone around it surely won't be an issue. The thousand year old mystery portal won't break. I think. The frame wobbles, the final notch lighting up before all of them sink mechanically into the device with a clunk and begin firing beams of light into the centre, which coagulate and form a flat, blue disk, gently undulating in place with a soft spiral-like pattern. Hey, it worked! First try too, must be my lucky day! That, or something's terribly wrong with my code... Always ends up being one of the two.
At the sight of an open portal, a small crowd gathers. "Hey, it's opened early!" "Did that girl open it? How?" "Don't you know? That's Ghost! She's like a master rune-smith or something." Why do people know me? So much for a low profile... From behind, a dark figure shoots past, its form devoid of consistent shape as if watching the 3D embodiment of television static. "It's the Abstract!" "I need an autograph!" "Omigodimyourbiggestfan!" The figure places a hand on the portal, disappearing into a puff of light as dozens of overeager fans dash by to follow. Freaks. The lot of them. At least I don't have to deal with them directly.
Stepping up to the portal, Ghost gives herself one final inspection before taking the final step.
Level 11
Name: Ghost ~
Race: Human
Class: [Rune-smith], [Fencer]
Titles: [Master Rune-smith]
Stats:
Vitality - 7 | MP - 87 | Stamina - 18 | Strength - 8
Basic Skills:
[Calligraphy LV 10], [Cartography LV 7], [Fencing (basic) LV 10], [Fencing (intermediate) LV 8], [Handiwork LV 8]
Magic Skills:
[Enchanting (basic) LV 10], [Enchanting (intermediate) LV 10], [Enchanting (expert) LV 2], [Haste LV 6], [Inspect LV 5], [Rune Arts (basic) LV 10], [Rune Arts (intermediate) LV 10], [Rune Arts (expert) LV 10], [Rune Arts (master) LV 5]
Unique Skills:
null
Level [REDACTED]
Name: null
Race: null
Class: [REDACTED]
Titles: [The Abstract]
Stats:
[REDACTED]
Basic Skills:
256 entries redacted...
Magic Skills:
128 entries redacted...
Unique Skills:
[Abstract LV X], 6 entries redacted...
Level -1
Name: GHOST DATA
Race: Human (God Seed 52%)
Class: Administrator
Titles: null
Stats:
null
Basic Skills:
null
Magic Skills:
null
Unique Skills:
[Admin Rights LV X], [Backdoor LV X]
Looks like everything is in order. She grins. Still don't know how I fucked up the name on all three accounts though... With a calm breath, Ghost plants her palm on the portal. The world shifts and bends, tugging her in a thousand directions at once before spitting her out the other end. Don't throw up! Don't throw up! Don't throw up! With a few deep breaths she manages to calm her nerves and abate the attempted escape of her dinner. "Fuuuu, gets me every time."
With a stretch, she dusts herself off and takes in her new scenery. She stand in a large domed building, the ceiling adorned with murals depicting the many worlds contacted through the ancient portals. Each depiction showcases the most notable qualities of the worlds, and all are accented by the same twin suns and triplet moons. The mural for Ghost's world showcases a brightly lit and snow-coated metropolis filled with towering skyscrapers and depictions of the five explorers who pioneered relations with this world.
Behind her lies the portal inset into a large pillar adorning the centre of the building, a perfectly flat mirror reflecting the world back to her before it fades into nothing. Two guards stand by the portal, draped in silver armour and bearing spears. White fur coats their skin, sticking out between the plates of metal adorning them as they observe Ghost with their pitch black eyes and regard her with a polite nod. The razor thin whiskers on the tip of their pointed snouts twitch as they return their focus to guarding the portals.
Off to the side she spots the group from earlier, still searching for her now missing alter-ego. Honestly... What did I ever do to garner anyone's attention? In any of my identities? Her eyes are drawn to another portal from which a large group emerge, gazing in awe at the scenery, at least after they finish reeling from the intense vertigo and motion sickness from portal usage. I don't recognise the mural by that portal. A new world? She narrows her eyes, inspecting the newbies. Of the dozens of warriors, mages, and scouts as well as a few noble looking individuals, one group of five stands out.
Level 320+
Danger: Docile | Moderate
Name: Sol Ade Vint
Race: Hybrid (Elf 92%, Human 7%, Trace 1%)
Titles: [Archmage], [Hero], [No. 1 Ranking in the Cinder Kingdom Female Popularity Poll], [Princess]
Stats:
Vitality - ~52 | MP - 501+ | Stamina - ~232 | Strength - ~77
Age: 21 years
Level 427+
Danger: Irritable | Moderate
Name: Inspi Ya Prowler
Race: Human
Titles: [Hero], [No. 2 Ranking in the Cinder Kingdom Male Popularity Poll], [Spear-master]
Stats:
Vitality - 720+ | MP - ~210 | Stamina - ~662 | Strength - 878+
Age: 22 years
Level 513+
Danger: Docile | Moderate
Name: Telta Woruld
Race: Hybrid (Goliath 95%, Human 2%, Demon [Non-External] 3%)
Titles: [Hero], [Mountain Crusher]
Stats:
Vitality - 1500+ | MP - ~120 | Stamina - 808+ | Strength - 579+
Age: 48 years
Level 157+
Danger: Docile | Moderate
Name: Atoni Blome
Race: Halfling
Titles: [Hero], [Gourmet Champion], [Invisible]
Stats:
Vitality - ~19 | MP - ~232 | Stamina - ~120 | Strength - ~23
Age: 26 years
These guys are pretty tough. If we were allowed to team up with our own, they would definitely be top contenders in the dive. But then there's this guy...
Level 1000+
Danger: Docile | Moderate
Name: Auvic
Race: Human (God Seed 69%)
Titles: [Demon slayer], [Hero], [No. 1 Ranking in the Cinder Kingdom Male Popularity Poll], [Saviour of the Cinder Kingdom]
Stats:
Vitality - 1000 | MP - 1000 | Stamina - 1000 | Strength - 1000
Age: indeterminate
Probable Origin: Earth
Warning: Acrylon to Sphilaria, enmity is strongly ill advised.
I know spoofed stats when I see them. And these ones are kinda obvious... Must be seriously strong to get this kind of cross-system interference. And there's the fact he has the same 'God Seed' label I got when I hacked the system. I haven't seen another God Seed since Ari! I can't not talk to this guy!
With a confident step she makes her way over to the boy, who turns at her approach, meeting her face to face with a welcoming smile. Okay! I didn't think this far ahead... How do I interact with people again? We don't even speak the same language, do we? Hm... Maybe I should check. System, query known languages for Auvic!
Name: Auvic
Languages:
[Japanese (fluent)], [English (adept)], [Cindrin (fluent)]
Huh, guess this guy really is from Earth too. Lucky we both speak English though. "Hey, nice to meet you! My name's Ghost. I take it you're new here?" The boy's eyes widen at the familiar tongue. "You speak English? Are you from Earth? Ah right, sorry. I'm Auvic. Nice to meet you too." Ghost chuckles, ignoring the confused glances from his companions as their leader speaks an unfamiliar tongue. "Yes, I'm from Earth. Canada specifically. I take it you're from Japan?" "Yes! How'd you know?" "My magic helps me know what language people speak. The rest was just inference."
One of his companions pipes up, drawing his attention. Her eyes are drawn to a strange figure, resting atop Auvic's shoulder. Did that creepy doll just look at me? Ghost peers at the doll, almost jumping when it turns to meet her gaze. Okay, that's freaky. System!
O'is Klaravakhis Sceondis :)
... Fuck it. I'm not dealing with this shit today. Wisely opting to not deal with this shit today, Ghost returns her focus back to Auvic who in turn finishes addressing his companions. "Sorry about that, they were just asking if you knew what we should do from here. It didn't occur to us until we stepped through, but we were kinda given woefully inadequate instructions. I know there's some kind-of competition, right?" "You mean the dive? That's nine days from now. Until then we have a bunch of festivities and formalities to go through starting tomorrow. Follow me, I'll take you to a great restaurant I know. They have the best ramen there. I'll give you the rundown while we eat." "They have ramen in this world?"
Before she can respond, their conversation is cut short by a nearby shout. A crowd forms on the other side of the portal pillar, gathering around a small commotion. Circling the pillar to see what's going on, Ghost and Auvic peer upon the man in the centre of the commotion, surrounded by agitated guards. A tall yet unassuming man, dressed in white and blue robes with a greatsword sheathed vertically on his back. Long golden hair flows down his shoulders as he addresses the guards with a warm smile. Is he one of those weird cultivator guys? Why is there only one? System!
Level null
Danger: Imminent | Extreme
Name: Faux Tales
Race: Human (God Seed 99%)
Titles: [Demon King], [Master of Ten-thousand Arts], [Monster of the Demonic Cult], [Sect Crusher], [The Strongest Cultivator]
Stats:
null
Age: indeterminate
Probable Origin: Earth
Warning: Individual is known to be extremely violent. Approach with caution.
"Well, fuck..."