NOVEL WEB Arc 4: Experience the Story – Chapter 4
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Cross-over from various games, books, anime, manga, and movies.
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"Speech"
Arc 4: Experience the Story - Chapter 4
It has been roughly twenty minutes since we began walking through these hallways. Despite Aldan helping us locate everyone, we have yet to encounter a single soul. Meanwhile, Taejin is handling herself well in the nearby building.
"Hey, Jin, why don't you just teleport us around the place?" Weiss glances in my direction.
"It might disturb the unimportant characters if I were to teleport us anywhere, leading to unnecessary complications for you girls." I replied to Weiss. "Plus, we still don't know what would happen if someone were to break the restrictions Featherine placed on you two and the other students. I'd rather not have our group be the first to find out the hard way."
"And that is something I wish not to happen at all. Who knows if the punishment isn't so harsh that we might not survive it." Ruby adds with concern. "In any case, we still need to focus on the long-term goal and the true objective we have to complete before the story ends." Ruby then pauses, glancing around warily as if sensing unseen eyes eavesdropping on their conversation. Lowering her voice, she continues, "I just thought of something... What would happen if we don't complete any of the goals and the story ends? Would there be consequences?"
I glance at the top of Ruby's head, my eyes narrowing as I notice a letter that has mysteriously appeared there, seemingly out of nowhere. Without hesitation, I reach for it. Ruby lets out a startled shout to show how surprised she is, but I ignore her reaction as I carefully open the letter, already guessing what Featherine might have written here.
"Well, according to Featherine, the consequences of not completing the long-term and true goals are merely a reduction in class points." I say, summarizing the letter. "These points are given to all students after this world's story ends after we return to the classroom."
"Anything else?" Weiss asks me.
I squint at the letter. "About the restriction. There's no punishment per se—because if either you or Ruby tries to break them, your bodies will freeze in place, unable to move. That's where I come in. As the contractor, it's my responsibility to get you both to safety until you regain the ability to move again."
"Good to know we won't end up dead if we fail to complete the class assignments." Ruby sighed in relief. "Anyway. I've located several important characters we could choose to interact with. I'd suggest starting with that one girl—the one who barely survived being chopped to death by that Axe Mask guy, who ended up falling to his own demise."
"Why her specifically?" I ask Ruby as the letter begins to crumble away in my hands, disintegrating into nothingness like all the previous ones.
"Because she's one of the main characters in this world." Ruby points out, smiling with pride. "And what more important character could there be than her?"
"Point taken." I nod in agreement, though I quickly add. "But there are other main characters in this world, not just her. If I recall correctly, the Multiverse Basic Guidebook identified her as a Main Protagonist of High-Rise Invasion, not The Main Protagonist. It's just one word different, but it still makes a big difference."
"I have to agree with Ruby here, Jin." Weiss interjects. "Even if we did come across another important character later on, one who might be better than the one Ruby chose, we could be running out of time. By then, who knows how far into the story we'll be, and we might not be able to complete the class assignments before it ends. So why not go with this one who's close to us now?" As she speaks, Weiss taps her wristwatch, the faint glow of the device reflecting off her focused expression. She continues scanning everything around her.
"Alright, since you two have decided on who to work with, let's move quickly before she ends up somewhere else, further from us." I said in a firm tone. "We don't want to risk her being picked by someone else before we can even meet her, let alone trying to get her to join our side." With that, I urged them to pick up the pace.
"Oh, wait. I got something," Ruby exclaims, bringing Aldan closer to her face. Before I can react, she suddenly vanishes, disappearing out of existence in the blink of an eye. The space where she stood moments ago is now eerily empty, leaving Weiss and me to exchange bewildered glances.
"Ah!" A female voice cries out in shock from just up ahead, the sudden sound cutting through the quiet hallway. Weiss and I instinctively tense, our attention snapping in the direction of the noise. Ruby's sudden disappearance now makes a bit more sense—she must have found someone.
"Just a single night, and I forgot to keep En up because I can't expand it throughout the entire city." I mutter, shaking my head at my own oversight. However, I have a deeper concern: Am I just being foolish, or is Featherine subtly influencing me and pushing me to play a role beyond simply being the contractor for Ruby and Weiss? The thought unsettles me, but I quickly refocus, hoping it's just a lapse in judgment rather than something more sinister at play.
Weiss and I quickly rush forward as we round the corner. There, we find Ruby sitting confidently on the back of Yuri Honjo, the very person we had just been discussing. Yuri looks startled, her eyes wide with shock as she tries to process the sudden turn of events. Ruby, on the other hand, seems completely at ease, as if this was all part of her plan.
"Quick question: How did you know she was close by, Ruby?" I know Aldan can display the location of the wielder's desire, but as far as I understand, it only provides a general sense of the target's direction, not an exact distance.
"I finally practiced hard enough with PSI to develop a Trance for information gathering," Ruby explains, raising her chin slightly and puffing her chest out with pride. "It lets me locate any nearby people with a functional mind. It's still a work in progress, but I managed to make it work—and now, here we are."
"That's amazing, Ruby." I praise her, genuinely impressed. I can guess that Ruby wanted to recreate something akin to En, but she could manage it through PSI and not be overloaded with all the information being poured into her brain.
"Does that mean you've developed Telepathy as well?" Weiss asks, narrowing her eyes at Ruby with skepticism.
"Of course not." Ruby responds, shaking her head. "I've read about the ups and downs of using Telepathy, and I'd rather avoid a constant headache from it. I can't risk becoming overwhelmed or even brain-dead from hearing too many voices at once, including those of other students and contractors. Plus, it would leave my mind vulnerable to those skilled in Mind Arts, who could potentially control or even kill me due to my inexperience in that field."
"Who are you people?!" Yuri shouts in fear, her voice trembling as she glances around wildly. "And can you get off me?!" She shifts uncomfortably beneath Ruby, clearly desperate to free herself from the unexpected and unsettling situation.
"I'm Ruby Rose. She's Weiss Schnee, and the lover guy over there is Jin Sho—first name, then last name," Ruby introduces us with a touch of casual nonchalance, remaining seated on Yuri's back. With a serious edge, she continued. "As for getting off you, not yet. I don't want you running away. Not unless you'd prefer I break your legs to make sure you don't escape." Her tone leaves little room for argument.
Yuri falls silent, the fear in her eyes remaining unmistakable despite her sudden quietness. Her wide, apprehensive gaze flickers between us, revealing her anxiety even as she tries to remain still beneath Ruby.
"Alright, Ruby, you can get up now," I say, giving her the go-ahead. She gets up, having absolute trust in me as she moves aside. I turn my attention back to Yuri, offering a reassuring smile. "Don't panic, but you're going to lose your ability to move your body temporarily."
I tap several points on Yuri's body—not the pressure points, but the joints. Using the Secret Arts, I carefully manipulate her knowledge, effectively making her forget how to move her body. The result is a temporary loss of motor skills, making it seem as though she has forgotten how to control her movements.
Yuri's eyes widen in confusion as she realizes she can't move, her fear intensifying as the reality of her situation sinks in.
"Now that that's done, let's find a room to stay for the time being." I say, lifting Yuri from the ground and placing her over my left shoulder with practiced ease. I then nod at Ruby and Weiss. "Either of you can pick. We'll be here for a while, so it's better to find a place to stay for the night unless you two prefer heading back downstairs to the café shop."
"Actually, why do we need to go to a room when we can just talk to her here?" Ruby asks, blinking at me in curiosity. Despite her question, she walks beside me as Weiss goes off to find a suitable room for us.
"Because one: We won't have to search for a better room to sleep in later on when it's nighttime. Two: It's almost lunchtime, and I need to prepare food for us to eat unless you're not hungry yet?" I respond, staring at Ruby.
Ruby's stomach loudly rumbles on cue, announcing her hunger. She gives an embarrassed chuckle, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Alright. Let's find a place to stay and get some food."
"Hey, guys. I found a large room with beds and even a mini-fridge here!" Weiss calls out, not too far away from us, as she waves us to come over.
As I walk with Ruby toward Weiss, I lean in to whisper into her ear, using Delayed Effect on Yuri to ensure she can't overhear us. "Between you and me, I think Weiss is still a bit moody from not having sex this morning, despite rejecting the idea because of Featherine watching us. I have a feeling Weiss might actually be more excited knowing someone is watching us."
Ruby snickers softly. "Yeah, I can say for a fact Weiss is just being difficult out of spite. Don't worry; I'll make sure to get her in the mood for you, Jin. After you take care of my needs first, that is." With a playful smile, she leaned in and placed a kiss on my right cheek.
"Come on, you two!" Weiss calls out again, her patience wearing thin as she waits for us to join her in the room she found.
"Oh, for sure, Ruby." I say, my right hand giving her right butt cheek a gentle squeeze. Ruby lets out a soft moan, her cheeks flushing a bright pink as she reacts to the touch. "After we deal with Yuri first."
"You're such a tease, Jin..." Ruby mutters under her breath. However, the smile on her face clearly shows that she enjoys the teasing.
Oh, shoot. I just remembered about you guys. My bad, crazy voices. Even without Featherine here. You guys are still here. It makes me wonder what Weiss' reaction would be upon finding out about you guys.