Billy snorts mockingly. "You think we're here to play around with you?"
"Nope," I reply. "Its the other way around, I'm spending my precious time–to play with you—to sate your ego. If you want to test my abilities just do so, why do you feel the need to talk so much?"
"Good, good! Not playing around is good! Follow me." He said with a wicked grin, he marches deeper in to approach a large tent—thick polyester, I assume it is a product from pre-integration. "Come in and please take a seat, we need some time to prepare."
The tent is large, ornate and sturdy. It would easily fit up to 20 people comfortably, maybe even upto 30 people in times of need. Inside a Core is hovering atop a pedestal and in a circle around it are 16 chairs, cut into two groups of eight each by a walking space of 0.5 meters on opposite sides. Sitting stiff and upright on said chairs are eight people, 4 to a side, their eyes closed and their bodies rigid. 'Inspect!'
** DING **
Kombat V-Link
Combat with a K, nice!
"This device will link your consciousness up with ours together inside a private virtual realm, it will allow us to fight unrestrained." Billy informed me.
"I refuse."
"What?"
"I refuse." I turn to look at him.
"Why? Are you having second thoughts now?" he asks me.
"No, I would rather not lose my consciousness like that," I point at the eight guys currently using the MagicTech. "Don't worry, we fight in True Space, nobody will die. And I can heal almost any injury."
"What true space? You don't trust us?" Billy asks, looking aghast.
"... nope!" I say, looking him in the eyes. And allowing his question about True Space to pass.
After a few moments of silence, where Billy looks offended and I am wait calmly… even if this alliance does not pull through, there are more countries out there, and who's to say every single human needs to surv—
"hahahaha! That's great, it is good that you are proven to be a cautious person!" Billy suddenly laughed and said excitedly. "Alright then, friendly spar, you and me. There is no need to risk our lives!"
---
The soldiers are served their late dinner back at their camps while Billy and I stand in the middle of an empty field, decently far from them, but still unquestionably within view. Miss beautiful secretary whose name I had forgotten has been appointed the referee. "Begin!"
I amusedly watch the current owner of DollarOne, he is now equipped with his own Conjured Trilattic Swarm, in the midst of casting Magico disks. "You better be prepared!" He yells before sending three V1 disks at me, two flies in a straight line, while the last in a parabola…
I snatched both out of the air, their weak strength incapable of piercing the mana barrier my armor produces, and threw them back with parts of my monstrous Strength. Aiming for the ground as close as possible to his expensive shoes. The last I simply slap out if the air. Eliciting a, "what the---"
"My turn!" I conjure my own two disks, the spinning sound they make cutting off the rest of his words. Infusing them with additional mana, and wanting to show off; I gave one a current of lightning; causing it to crackle and sparkle, while the other started spinning faster; manifesting a larger circular blade of wind. "Please be careful!" I yell at him before letting loose.
He dodged the faster wind-disk but thought it a good idea to mimic me and try and catch the lighting one; which instead sent lightning coursing through the armor and into his cardiovascular or nervous system, then into the ground. He slumped down and twitched for a minute or so while I repeatedly cast Lesser Heal on him, who knows what would happen to the alliance if he perished from this spar… I approach and kept healing him even after his twitching stopped, "you're still alive, right?"
Thank The System a pain filled groan answered my question. "Ah, that is good. Please, take you time." So I waited beside him while continuing to cast Lesser Heal every once in a while... hmm, maybe it's about time I find myself a better healing spell, an upgrade so to say.
"Urkk, you liar!" Finally, after a few minutes, Billy decided to grace me with his words. He slowly got up into a sitting position and looks at me, the face of his armor opening up to show his unconcealed disatisfaction.
"What lie?" I ask him, also opening the face on my armor to show him a confused face.
"You can't be level 25! I would have died if you didn't heal me!!" He replies, still looking as if I'd stolen his girlfriend.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
"I happen to have stumbled onto a way to rise my Attributes outside of leveling up." I tell him with a grin, giving him a half-answer. If we will be working together, he'll find out soon anyways. After all, most important people at Rumah knows and there is no doubt he will be getting to know them, assuming he agrees to join our cause.
"Damnit! You could've told me that."
"And you would have not believed me Mr. Billy. Besides, learning from experience will make it easier for you to remember." I say with a wide grin. "Not to mention how I know that your armor will conduct electricity, albeit not all that well. As I was the one to give it the property of steel and rubber after all."
His expression turned from someone being cheated on to one of disbelief. "You made Conjure Trilattic Swam!? But yours looks different…"
"You're at what, Early mastery? Mine is at Advanced! If you check the Latent Core, feel it out while slowly infusing mana into it, you'll find an in-built pocket space… then—," I proceed to explain how through use of Mana Manipulation and a strong will, they may alter the shape of their armor to those of simple weapons, bringing their mastery to Basic. Then how by simple applications of mana—quite like Coat—and more Mana Manipulation by making the mana circulate around the plates, they may form the mana barrier of the Intermediate mastery.
Before briefly explaining about reaching Advanced mastery by compressing the plates to boost their whole quality. It had slowly turned from a conversation between me and Billy to a makeshift lecture, where the fast eaters that are done with dinner came to watch, but ended up sitting down to listen in.
"Thank you," Billy said after my impromptu lesson. "May we share this with the others?"
"Well, we're not exactly allies yet…" I say one hand folded, the other resting on it whilst fingering my chin. "But~, sure why not. There is still Magico Disk to tell you about anyways."
"..." There was silence… before someone from the audience telled, "you made that too? You the owner of Made In Mana?"
"Well, I know who did. If that answers your question." I answered mysteriously for fun. I am unexpectedly enjoying the bewildered looks on their faces.
"Alright, everyone dismissed! Please get some rest in preparation for tommorow." Billy said. At the confused look from a majority of the soldiers here, Daxia the secretary repeated his words in mandarin; before everyone slowly left chittering exitedly between themselves. I assume the few that understood what I said is spreading or re-clarifying my explanations.
We left for the car while conversing along the way. Finally, he agrees to work with us towards our goal of making sure ourkind survive, or even strive in the multiverse. So of course I explained Magico Disk to him, it is good if the collective power level of our people grows after all.
"So I assume you used to play our games?" He suddenly asks me after listening to me talk about Magico Disk, which I answered with a resounding yes. "Well, you might find it interesting to know that we started selling text games which is the only kind of game available on the V—"
"VICOS!" I interrupt him. "We call them VICOS."
He chuckled. "Fine, yes. We made text games and sold them to the Multiverse, which is how we financed our advancement. If only there are ways to upload our more advanced softwares."
** DING **
We find the idea more than agreeable
"Uh…" I tell Billy, "I might be able to help you with that."
—
Congratulations! You hath survived for 100 days. Prepare thyselves for a System-hosted friendly competition taking place on the 183rd day; whereth members of all newly integrated galaxies may participate and connect amongst thyselves. Kindly await further notices
Strength + 4
Constitution + 9
Dexterity + 7
Intelligence + 3
Wisdom + 1
Will + 1
Charisma + 0
Skill level up, Artificial Infusion 9 > 14
Midnight came and went. I shrunk and devoured a Plague Fly level 10 and built the usual Mana Tower, answered Billy's questions about them. Took the usual 15 minute nap in my new tower—that now stands a few meters away from the Great Wall's entrance—and spent the night further experimenting with Mana Cores and their uses, as well as grinding Artificial Infusion: which refused to level past fourteen… I find myself having this hate-love relationship with skill threshold and bonuses.
Now that System announcement really came out of nowhere… But this is huge! It has been 100 days!? And this event, not only will we get to meet aliens! We might find the opportunity to understand a lot more about The System and the Multiverse. Even if it is a newcomers only event. When morning comes—along with 50 additional Mana Cores fabricated through the night—I make my way out my Tower, still feeling excited!
"Did you guys not sleep?" I amusedly ask the group before me. Henry, Billy, both Tenolos and a bunch of nerd-looking guys—no, really. The charismatic and intelligent kind of nerds—all very clearly lacking sleep. The room smells of coffee… They got coffee!? So I got some for myself.
"Yes, we got it to work! But only within The System's Virtual Realm" Henry answered; VR for short. It is a part-digital part-physical existence where most things are virtual but it is possible to physically access the Realm, under special circumstances and at a significant cost. Generally, it is only accessible from within a Safe Zone. Where your real body enters a deep sleep-like state and your consciousness traverses the VR using a digital replica of yourselves. No upload or updating required as The System knows and will update everything automatically. I have been there for a brief moment; after cleansing the world of Simon, when we were uploading stuff from the internet or local databases to The System.
Anyhow, between our smartest minded people and assistance from The System, we managed to upload two simple video games, currently limited to pixel graphics due to their simpler 2D design which are simply images and are replicable on the VR. This VR cannot yet run 3D graphics, not to mention we do not have infinite data capacity—unfortunately, System assistant does not equate to free stuff. So, to make the newer games, we will need to understand how the Realm works and go from there… Well, they will. I stare at the brains of our alliance.
I approached their table and provided the hundreds of Artificially spell Infused rocks and the one Mana Core I also Infused, for research purposes.
"What's this?" Billy asks, everyone's head turns to look at the cubes.