4 Days before Edowado went into the forest.

In a quieter corner of Akimota, a modest building with tinted black windows stood amidst the dispersed and spaced-out commoner stores and vendors. It was the village's cyber lab, where all the village's servers hummed with activity, and the production of technological tools and repair of cyber equipment took place.

Within the lab, a room filled with supercomputers and monitors buzzed with the energy of technology. One figure, donning a lab coat, moved with purpose among the rows of computers. With his unmistakable orange hair and circular glasses that framed his freckled face, he meticulously inspected the machines. Coming to a halt at a specific computer, he glanced up at the monitor connected to it.

'PING! File Transfer successful.'

A monotonous voice emanated from the monitor, catching the attention of the orange-haired technician.

"Huh? What is that?!"

Perplexed by the sudden appearance of strange files on the lab's servers, he made swift gestures on the monitor, attempting to decipher their source and content. However, his efforts proved futile.

'Access Denied! High Level Encryption Firewall Detected'

The technician's eyebrows furrowed in concern. It was a high-level encryption, the kind that piqued curiosity and raised suspicions.

(I better report this to ma'am)

Without hesitation, he turned towards another monitor and tapped a series of buttons. Instantly, a video feed displayed a young woman in a lab coat, her back to the camera as she tinkered with the engine of a car.

"Ma'am! Hello, it's Richard. I've got something to tell you," He spoke into the communication device.

THUNK!

A sound echoed from the other end, indicating that someone had accidentally bumped into something.

"Ouch! Dang it, Richard! How many times do I have to tell you not to interrupt me while I'm working?" scolded the woman.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I've found something strange appearing on one of our servers," Richard explained, his voice filled with a mix of excitement and concern

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Now, where's that quantum driver of mine... something strange, huh? sigh," the woman muttered, closing the car hood

She turned around, facing the camera, her hand absentmindedly scratching the top of her head. Her light complexion and beautiful jade-coloured eyes complemented her youthful face. Azune Crestell, the village's foremost smith and inventor, possessed both intelligence and skill in forging weapons and repairing tools. For a mother of three she could easily be mistaken to be quite younger.

Azune, despite her annoyance at the interruption, was known for her expertise in all things technological. She oversaw the village's only Tech lab, running it alongside her trusted partner, Richard Thompson. Her long, chestnut-coloured hair flowed past her shoulders in braided elegance, adding to her aura of both grace and brilliance.

"Ok, tell me what you found, Richard," Azune replied, her tone softening.

"Umm…I think it's better if you come see for yourself"

"I hope this isn't another one of your programs gone rogue. The last one was a headache enough," Azune sighed, her concern mingling with curiosity.

Without further delay, Azune left her workroom and made her way to the server room, where Richard eagerly awaited her arrival. He continued to swipe and tap, performing various gestures on the monitor displaying the mysterious message he had discovered.

"So, what's this strange thing you needed me to see?" Azune inquired, her eyes fixated on the monitor.

"It's over here. While conducting a routine check, the system alerted me of a received transmitted signal, and these files accompanied it," Richard explained, gesturing toward the monitor.

"Hmm, I don't recall requesting anything from another server to ours. What did you find when you accessed the files?"

Richard's expression shifted to a more sombre one. "That's the problem. I can't access the files. They're locked behind some sort of high-level encryption firewall."

Azune's eyes widened, a mixture of intrigue and concern colouring her face. "What could be so important to be hidden behind that level of security?!" she worded aloud.

"So, what should we do? Proceed with trying to access it or…?"

"Wait, before that, what about the source of the files? Do we know where they come from or who sent them here?" Azune asked her tone not failing to show her increasing intrigue.

"It's what I've been trying to do but to no success. Whoever or whatever sent this deleted the pathway and hid their tracks so we have no way of knowing where it came from or who sent it"

(Why would someone send such high security files here and then hide their trace. Something feels off but…) Azune contemplated to herself.

"This all feels a bit too suspicious to my liking but we can't just ignore or delete something like this"

"Let's try to bypass the encryption and see what those files are about. Maybe accessing those files can tell us something about where or who it came from and why it came here"

"Yes ma'am, I'll get started right away" Richard nodded, his determination shining through.

Azune placed a hand on Richard's shoulder, offering a reassuring smile. "Good. It's nice to have someone as dependable as you, Richard. I have some unfinished work to attend to, so I'll be in my lab. Let me know if you make any progress."

"Yes, ma'am!" Richard acknowledged; his cheeks slightly flushed from Azune's praise. He watched her retreat to her personal lab disappearing through the doorway before slapping himself hard on his cheeks.

(Don't be stupid Richard!! She's married with kids)

Just as he was about to resume his work, a ringing sound filled the room. The village's tech support caller line, designated for repairs and inquiries, lit up on a distant monitor, displaying a green phone icon and the words " guild Office" beneath it.

Richard's curiosity piqued. "The guild? I wonder what this message is about."

End of Interlude