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“What do you think about the other guys, Julian? I don’t like the bald one with a lot of cyberwares.”
“I’ve only known them for less than an hour. Ask me again after a week.”
“Hmn… are you really sure there aren’t any cameras here?”
“I don’t think it matters anymore, Ellie. We already did it.”
“Well, I couldn’t help it. Okay?”
Julian stood in front of a tinted window, completely still as he stared at the vibrant garden that stretched endlessly before him.
It was beautiful, very much so. The garden seemed to be so meticulously designed that one could stare at it and never get tired of it—almost like an abstract painting worth a million words. And yet, he couldn’t really see any of that. It was only MEGAN’s voice inside his mind that made it so beautiful, the way she described it to him.
They were far away from where he stood, yet it almost seemed as if he could feel the subtle vibrations of each petal swaying across his bare skin.
Bare skin—yes, Julian was completely naked.
And behind him, Ellie’s light footsteps approached; her warmth, enveloping him from behind as she wrapped her arms securely around his waist. She rested her cheek against his back, seemingly wanting to hear his heart that barely changes beat.
“Just come back to bed, what are you even thinking about?” She whispered, “And stop standing in front of the windows naked.”
“You said they were tinted.” Julian smiled, “And… I want to listen to what’s out there.”
After the much eventful introduction with the four other players who also had unique classes on Otherworld, Humanity Engineering asked Julian if he wanted to join the party to do the Hidden Quest with them.
The wise answer would have been no, but once again, MEGAN warned that it would be more suspicious not to accept it and it might even put Humanity Engineering behind his back… if they weren’t already, that is.
And so, Julian and Ellie were still on Ceres-9, in a nice, luxurious room provided to them by Humanity Engineering, and they will be there for the duration of the Hidden Quest. His LinkGear was also delivered to Ceres-9 with Cyrus’s help.
Unfortunately, they can’t go ahead with the hidden quest just yet as Julian is still unable to transfer his consciousness to his clone. Suffice it to say, his new party members who were already a little off with him were starting to get even more impatient, and they weren’t afraid to show it to him.
If it wasn’t for Julian pulling Ellie away, there would have been a lot of… unpleasant words exchanged.
“Does your back still hurt?” Ellie asked as she started massaging his back.
“I think I just need to stretch it.” Julian hummed, “I might go to the gym.”
“The gym they showed us in the tour? ...Isn’t it like late already? I don’t see any more people outside. Even those crazy scientists that were running around are gone.”
“That’s why I’m going now. Do you want to come with me…?”
“Well, duh?” Ellie groaned as she skipped away toward the closet, “You have like crazy superpowers now, but it would be weird if they see you roaming around without me. Wait… hm… I swear I saw them give us some gym clothes…
…Ah! Here it is! Weird… they even know our sizes.”
***
While Julian and Ellie remained on Ceres-9, enjoying a somewhat calm but worrisome tension, the silent chaos unfolding at the Daemon Control Center was anything but calm.
Everyone was holding whatever they could hold onto as tight as they could. How could they not?
Every set of eyes in the room was glued to the monitors, where they could see Dr. Ling sprinting for her life.
“Dr. Ling, get out of there now! Get out!” Dr. Heinz’s voice roared through the comms, desperation bleeding into every syllable.
And from the speakers, Dr. Ling’s stammering reply crackled. [I can’t! We’re so close to the Tower!]
What was supposed to be an exploratory mission into the Daemon Plane turned into a nightmare. Yes, the term Daemon Plane was decided just a few hours ago before Dr. Ling decided to walk through the portal.
Everyone sighed in relief and celebrated as nothing happened to Dr. Ling and the Explorer team she was with when they stepped through the portal—but of course, that celebration was short-lived.
“There is no ‘we’ anymore! The exterminator team you’re with are all dead!” Dr. Heinz’s voice snapped, his stress showing from the veins on his forehead, “Get out! We’re sending in the Quark Drones to blow the entire thing up!”
[Then all the more reason to get to the Tower!] Dr. Ling’s voice wavered between panic and determination as she darted between jagged rocks and ruined terrain. And she wasn’t alone, the faint screeching of daemons echoed through the speakers, chilling everyone in the room.
[People have already died! We need to get data on this! Send me some androids, no more lives should be lost in this!]
“Damn you…” Dr. Heinz gritted his teeth, “We’ve already wasted too much resource on this! Sending in androids would shut us down!”
[No, God damn you, Heinz! Fuck the money!] Dr. Ling screamed, her breath hitching as the screeches grew louder, closer.
A tense silence filled the DCC room as Heinz’s expression hardened. Finally, he growled under his breath.
“...Fuck.” He turned to one of his assistants. “We’ll just send in another Exterminator team. But they will be there to rescue you, nothing else.”
[No!] Dr. Ling’s voice blasted through the speakers again, but Dr. Heinz ignored her this time.
“That’s not negotiable anymore,” he said coldly, “Do we have another Exterminator team free?”
The assistant hesitated for a moment, checking the roster on their monitor before replying.
“Yes… the Phantom Brigade responded.”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
***
Back on the relatively calm Ceres-9, Julian and Ellie were already in the gym.
And as they already expected, it was completely empty. Even then, however, Julian took a moment to confirm there were no cameras, tapping his foot lightly on the floor and walls to pick up any vibrations that might indicate any hidden devices. MEGAN had double-checked for him as well, checking if there were any wireless connections they needed to be worried about.
[Yup, yup… All clear, Julian. No cameras, no surveillance—nothing here but you and Ellie.] MEGAN confirmed.
And while Julian was only getting started, Ellie was already running on the treadmill, her pace steady as the soft hum of the machine filled the room.
“Hm.” Julian listened to her breaths as he started stretching his neck and arms. And with a heavy breath of his own, he whispered, “Guidance…”
***
[STATUS]
Name: Julian Winters
Class: Shadow Blacksmith
Level: 15
Health (HP): 240/240
Mana (MP): 90/90
Stamina (SP): 181/182
Strength: 38
Agility: 27
Vitality: 22
Mana: 10
Perception: 30^
Free Points: 0
Skills:
Shadow Forge — Your mind and spirit are able to enter the Shadow Dimension, a timeless domain created by your will and the will of those before you. The forge exists beyond mortal constraints, granting you the freedom to craft anything, everywhere.
MP Cost: 1 MP per Minute while inside the Shadow Forge. Cooldown: None
More details: By submerging your hand into the shadows, you can access the Shadow Forge. Time flows differently inside the Shadow Forge, it does not flow at all. The space within is connected to your Shadow Vault, where you can seamlessly access everything you have stored. Once your spirit leaves the Shadow Forge, your physical body will be in the exact position, space, and time it was before you entered the domain.
Shadow Festival — The shadows are your domain, and distance is an illusion within them. Slip through the very confines and constraints of space itself, traversing anywhere and everywhere without limits instantaneously.
Domain Range: 10sqm. MP Cost: 10 Mana per Second. Cooldown: 3 minutes
More details: You are able to create a territory within a set area. While Shadow Festival is active, you are able to freely teleport anywhere within the area. Anyone caught within your range is plunged into a world of illusions, where the shadows dance and create chaos, making things appear farther or closer than they actually are and making it nearly impossible for them to predict your movements.
Shadow Sculpt — Bend shadows to your will, turning them into solid tangible forms. The complexity of your sculptures depends on your Perception. The durability and duration depend on the Mana spent.
MP Cost: Conditional Cooldown: None
Abilities:
Hyper Instinct - Due to some unknown factor undetected by the [Guidance of Artemis], your senses are highly abnormal. All Skills affected by Perception will have increased effectiveness.
Flames of Searadyn - An Avatar of Searadyn has sworn eternal loyalty to you, granting you the ability to manipulate the flames of the Spirit of Frostfire.
Shadow Vault – By submerging your hands into the shadows, you are able to store crafting materials, tools, and weapons you have created in a limited pocket dimension.
More details: Note that any other objects not designated or related to crafting will be spat out. The size of the pocket dimension will grow bigger when certain conditions are met. The limit of object types you can place inside the Shadow Vault will change when certain conditions are met.
Current Storable Objects: Forging materials, Forging Tools, Crafted Weapons.
Current Storage Area: 15cbm
Null Presence – You are the shadow itself. You exist and do not at the same time. With massive concentration and focus, you are able to blend seamlessly with the space around you instinctively, becoming almost undetectable. By your will, your presence can be fully erased when standing still.
More details: Note that this effect is lessened or completely canceled for those with a higher Perception than you. Those with detection magic can also cancel this effect. Using this too much will consume a lot of SP.
Active Quests:
The Shadow of Artemia
The Flames of Juliet
Explore the world to gain more quests.
[End of STATUS]
***
His status appeared before him, floating words materializing in the black void that was his world. It still felt strange—disconcerting even—to see something in the endless darkness he’d known all his life.
He had already seen this several times back on Artemia, but it was… really weird to see it here.
“Should… we try my new abilities?” Julian muttered, brushing his fingers against the air where the words hovered.
[Absolutely not. No!] MEGAN quickly cut in, her voice firm. [We don’t fully understand what your abilities actually do yet, Julian. Just… go and stretch, or lift, or something. It’s been a while since we last checked your strength.]
“Hm.” Julian hummed, lightly tapping his foot on the floor to feel where the machines and metal were. And his shoulder quickly pointed toward the pull-up bar.
Technology has evolved drastically over the years, but the fundamentals of training one’s body naturally remain largely unchanged.
Approaching the pull-up bar, Julian reached up with one hand… and pulled himself up with ease.
“It really feels weird.” He then swung on the bar, gripping it when his feet directly pointed to the ceiling. And with even more ease, he lightly pushed himself up in the air… before balancing himself on the bar with two fingers.
And as Ellie saw this from the treadmill, she quickly slowed her pace.
“You…” Her lips parted slightly as she watched him, her eyes tracing the way his muscles moved. And when she realized she was biting her lips, she quickly shook her head, banishing the… titillating thoughts creeping into her mind.
And since her pace was already ruined, she hopped off the treadmill altogether to just walk over to Julian and watch him more closely.
“Ho…” Julian leaped gracefully off the bar, landing soundlessly before turning his attention to the dumbbell rack. He brushed his fingers across the weights to choose which one to lift… before ultimately gripping the entire rack and lifting it clean off the ground as though it weighed nothing.
“You… really are a superhero now, Julian,” Ellie muttered, biting her finger as she sat down on a nearby bench since her legs were giving out.
“Well, there are probably millions of people stronger than me back in Artemia,” Julian hummed as he carefully set the rack down.
“That’s a little crazy to think about. Don’t you think?” Ellie tilted her head, thinking over his words before suddenly asking, “Hmm… if we went to war with them, who do you think would win?”
“Hmm…” Julian paused to think about it. And after a moment, he answered,
“Earth.”
“Hm… I guess that makes sense.” Ellie also hummed, she was about to say something else, but a voice suddenly cut in between them.
“And the two of you would be correct.”
Ellie and Julian were startled, Julian even more so.
Ellie quickly turned toward the voice, only to see Victoria standing behind them, dressed in gym clothes that somehow looked both casual and professional.
Ellie was only mildly shocked, while Julian was utterly baffled that he hadn’t detected her with his abnormally heightened senses.
How… did she manage to even slip past him unnoticed?
"As I thought, Mr. Winters. You are not a normal human at all—you are… a mutant," Victoria said, a calm smile spreading across her face. "Please, do not bother hiding it. We know far more than you think, a great deal more."
Julian did not really know what to respond to that and just kept quiet for a few seconds. But after a few breaths, a sigh escaped his lips and he said,
"I am not a mutant." And he wasn’t lying at all.
Ellie had also brought up the topic with him earlier this morning, and even MEGAN had entertained the possibility at first. But after all the research, she was confident: Julian wasn’t a mutant.
[Julian, do not say anything else. Let me handle this,] MEGAN’s voice whispered sharply in his mind before he could say anything else.
And after she whispered, her avatar suddenly materialized on Ellie’s watch, causing Ellie to shake her hand for a bit before she realized it was just MEGAN’s hologram.
MEGAN then pointed at Victoria with her tiny holographic finger as soon as Ellie’s hand calmed down, [You know, for an escort, you seem to know a lot more than you should. And you also seem to have an unusual level of freedom for an android.]
[I could say the same to you, MEGAN.] Victoria tilted her head slightly before offering a polite bow. "Well, I apologize for the deception. But please, do not call me an android—I am a cyborg. Though, if I’m honest, I prefer to be called human."
[A human…? Then why do you sound like an android!?] MEGAN pressed, her finger still aimed violently at Victoria.
"Because I wish to sound like an AI," she replied, raising her hand to cover her mouth as she smiled in amusement.
"You, MEGAN, are obviously imitating the way humans speak. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to replicate how AIs speak from time to time?”
[You—]
Before MEGAN could speak, Victoria once again bowed her head at Julian. "But again, I must apologize for my earlier pretense. Allow me to reintroduce myself…
…My name is Victoria Wilkes, and I am the acting CEO of Humanity Engineering."
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