The Initialization : Phase 010

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A knock from the other side of the door had awoken Zen from his light slumber.

"Hey new guy are you there?" An upbeat feminine voice came from the outside.

"Uh yeah be there in a sec." Zen replied with a yawn while stretching his stiff muscles.

"Are ye' decent in there? cause' if ye' are then imma' come back in'a few minutes~"

—Uh wait what?

"Just pullin' ye' leg newcomer!" Bubbly jested by the girl on the opposite side. "Don' worry i won't bite!"

A charming girl with a cheshire grin and golden locks greeted Zen as he cautiously opened the door. She looks to be in her early twenties as the girl dons a trendy feathered jacket and khaki shorts with a matching brown knee length boots.

"Aww sweetcakes, you're decent how boring."

"Uh...should i strip then?" Zen stated in a plain tone with a raised eyebrow.

That really surprised him. He knew that each NPC's have a learning engine but the teen never thought that Neuzer's could converse and joke to such degree.

It's as if he really talking to a real person.

It must be the works of that ninth generation conversational droid engine that Noiz developers are boosting off in their ads. It seems that each NPC has their own pre-configured Comdroid database especially dedicated to each of them so every Neuzers has an almost unique human-like behavior if you talk to them.

"Hahaha i like ya newbie ye' can fly with ma' humor!" Giggled by the blonde as she extended her right hand. She also has this funny accent that is somehow a crossbred between American and Russian.

"I'm Fiona by the way. ye' can call me Fee or whatev' ye' want. I'll be teaching ye' lot'sa things from now on so be prepared."

Zen chuckled as he grabs her hand with his right and give it a firm shake. "The pleasures all mine. I hope to learn different kinds of things from you then Fee."

Fiona winked. "Just leave it to me. So what's this i hear ye' needin' a disguise from pops?"

"Yeah. Sadly, i'm kind of in a tight spot right now and some people are out for my blood so to speak." Zen explained with a sigh as he sagged his shoulders downwards. "Unless i wear a disguise, i can't really work on the tavern on the first floor since my pursuers might recognize me."

"Hoh hoh~ Well, i have lotsa' kit fer accssorizin' so it ma' come in handy." Fiona beamed as she does a V sign on her fingers. "Plus I've always wanted a Lil' sista to dress up."

Zen sweat-dropped.

Somehow he had a bad feeling about this, especially when Fee's chesire grin almost doubled in length.

"How 'bout we head on to ma' room since that's where all ma' kit is lil' sista?"

Zen could almost see where's this going.

If this keeps up, he might end up cross dressing in some chick dress. His manly meter would take a nosedive if that happens.

He could also decline but it might deduct some intimacy so after some very hard deliberation, Zen reluctantly followed Fiona into her room.

Suffice to say, sounds of manly cries was heard inside the said room after an hour.

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"Z-Zen ma boy," Grendel stammered after seeing the disguise of the male teen. "I didn't know you swing that way.'

"Uh no not really. it's just that i really have no choice but to wear something like this."

Zen was currently wearing a waist length purple wig with an ivory headband that's neatly combed on top of his head. His lips had a light peach gloss on them while his cheeks had an ample amount of foundation as a blush on to accentuate his cheek bones.

As for his get up, Fiona forced her into wearing a pink T shirt with a brown cardigan as an over-top to hide his arm muscles. For his lower half, luckily Fee took pity on him and instead of the initial blouse she had in mind, Zen just opted in using a dark blue loose jeans and a pair of black prim sandals as his footwear.

"Aww come'on! you look cute wearing those Zee." Fiona lightly patted his shoulders in jest as she laughed an earful much to Zen's dismay.

"Zee?"

"Well we can't really call ya' by your real name now can't we? Unless of course ye' could think of a better name than Zee......or do you prefer Zeena? That could work too."

This girl is pure evil.

Zen regarded with a thinned lips as Fiona laughed like a madman.

Is she really a Neuzer with a cybernetic thought process? Cause he could've sworn she was acting too much human like for his liking.

"Well are ye' ready for yer first task Zee?" The blond girl asked lively as the first set of customers entered the room.

"Y–Yeah absolutely."

"Non non! say it with a higher tone, you'll gonna be easily recognized otherwise Zee."

"A-Absolutely Fee~" Zen tried with a higher pitched while imitating her funny accent.

"Yup that's moh like it!" Fiona nodded as she pointed towards the table where the crowd who had come seconds ago sat on. "Now try gettin' their orders and remember to smile ya know smile~"

'Here goes nothin' Zen gulped as he slowly approached the table. There didn't seem to be red players on their midst so the cross dressing teen calmly coughed and gave them his most feminine smile he could muster.

"Can i get your order gentlemen?" Zen asked while faking a sweet feminine voice.

"Oya, are you the new helper here?" Asked by a brown haired guy with a short ponytail. He seems to be the leader of this group based on his cocky demeanor. The other two seems to be of lower level and possibly acts as the lackeys for this guy.

"Yes I am. My name's Zee at your service." Zen stated with a feigned professionalism.

"Zee eh? Your too ugly to be a waitress you know. why don't you ask Fiona my dear to serve us instead." The guy said with a sneer as he placed his left elbows at the table.

"........."

"Hehehe, that's too blunt Rod, though i kinda agree to you." Lackey #1 added.

"Pfft, she's just a mere Neuzer, no need to be polite even if it's a female." The guy called rod responded with a chuckle.

Well no one can't really blame him for mistaking Zen as an NPC since there's really not much distinctions between users and NPC's except that users most of the time act more animated and talkative.

However, let a player and a neuzer wear the same clothes and you won't really find a difference. Unless of course you use a character identifying item or the user has committed a crime which makes his username open in public.

"Fiona is busy at the moment." Zen calmly responded in contrast to the loud and vulgar attitudes of the three users before him.

"Then go get her you stupid NPC! Gaah this is why i hated new Neuzers, they didn't have much developed conversational databanks in them!" Whined by Rod as his lackeys agree to him like a mindless dolts.

"As i was saying, Fiona is busy at the moment." Zen repeated in a detached professional mannerisms.

Rod narrowed his eyes as he looked away.

"Tch, how boring. Well, you're just a lowly Neuzer after all. Fiine, just gave me the daily special for three servings and put it in my tab like always."

"Certainly. please wait a moment." Zen casually bowed with a poker face as he turned around and walked towards the kitchen.

"Hoh hoh~ not bad Zee! I thought it was an overkill to let ye' serve Rod and his stupid posse as your first customer's but you handle it pretty well like a boss! Sistah Fee is Impressed~" Fiona beamed as she prepares the order of the three stooge from the kitchen.

Zen just sighed in response as he shrugged his shoulders. "Are you mocking me Fee? I'm only gonna sink into the same level as those lowlifes if i get riled up with their childish provocations."

He was kind of mad at first but he was not stupid enough to act on his emotions and compromise not only himself but also the reputation of the inn.

It was not his first time meeting those kinds of people who's all bark and no bite, and the best solution for such pest is to let them bark all they want as you ignore them and mind your own business.

One thing bothers him though.

"Fee, are all the users here in Genosia rude to you NPC's or are those three just a special case?"

Fiona let out a short tired breath as she put a seasoning in the food she's currently cooking.

"I don't know what ya' mean by the term NPC's and Users but people like Rod especially de'' colored ones are particularly cruel against us normal citizens. Maybe because they have the backing of de'' duke but most of them can do whatever they want." She stated in a weak voice.

"What do you mean by the colored ones?"

"It's de' people who has colored tags on their heads. Red, violet, blue and yellow most of de' time. ye' can see them everywhere."

Oh she meant the users with criminal status.

Also, it seems like the system doesn't recognize players lexicons on it's dictionary for realism purposes.

NPC's for the most part thinks that users and neuzers are the same kind.

"Well Genosia has always been a lawless town even way before da reign of de' current duke so were kinda used to de' violence and all but...never mind."

"But what?"

The blond girl just sighed as she turned off the stove. She looked at the male teen with a cute pout.

"Don't laugh okay?"

"I won't."

"W–Well, sometimes i wish Genosia can be a normal town like the other human settlements ya know?" The golden haired Neuzer revealed rather timidly. "It's not like i hate dé current Genosia. it's dè town i wus born after all, but s–sometimes i do wonder how it feels live in a town where I can do whatever I wan't without fear for my life ye' know?"

"Can't you do what you like here in Genosia?"

Fiona shook her head as she wordlessly handed the dish to the cross dressing teen.

"Ye Drifter's may not kno' it but we residents pay heavily tax to the current Duke. if that's not enough, He acts as if he owns everythin' and anyone would be killed if they resist. Just awhile ago one of my friends house wus torn down just because she refused a request of an official."

"I've heard that Genosia is pretty much a lawless town but I've never thought the situation was this bad." Zen responded as he took the finished dish in the pan and grabbed some plates to place them in. "Has it been the same even before?"

"No just after de' current Duke was seated a year ago." The blonde replied in a serious tone. She then made a forced smile as she gestured to the customers outside of the kitchen.

"Well enough of this depressin' topic, the amount of mouths we have'ta feed had been tripled! You go out there on de' battlefield while i hold this fort sergeant Zee~" Fiona saluted in jest as if to lighten the mood.

Zen wanted to know more about the situation around but that could hold for now seeing as he got work to do.

"Well I'm off to the battlefield, I'll be back in a minute with probably lotsa orders so keep the fire heated already my dear cute General." Zen replied with a lopsided smile and a salute as he began to walk outside with an even pace.

"You cheeky brat, you're still much too green to hit on your dear sister!" The blonde feigned annoyance but the corners of her mouth started to curve upwards.

"Fee, are you perhaps embarrassed?" Zen teasingly asked while walking away from her eyesight.

Her cute pout and puffed cheeks answered all his question.

"Tease me more and i might really take it seriously Zen."

"Well i was serious when i said how cute you are." Zen continued with his compliment as he walk towards the door.

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"Wahaha! Ye' probably earned yerself a kiss from me if not for that girly getup you have there Zee! too bad were on public right nao. i don't want people gettin' ideas that i fling both ways hehe." The golden haired girl radiantly smiled.

It was somehow different from her usual chesire grins and the male helper couldn't help but smile in return.

NPC or not, seeing a girl smile is always a treat for the male species.

"Anyhow thanks fer cheerin' me up. I'm really okay now so don't worry 'bout me already Zen."

"You sure?"

"Yuppers so go do yer thing," Fiona beamed. "Rod and his gang might get pissed if you keep delaying their order ya' know."

Zen nodded as he exited the kitchen and instantly gone in work mode. After a couple of minutes, he came back with alot of orders which made the blond chef totally busy.

It was six in the evening, the start of peak hour for the pub at the first floor of the inn. Zen was restless at first considering he was in a female garb but he soon got the handle of things and it sailed smoothly afterwards. Like he predicted, some red players had also come in to eat but he handled it like a pro and just took their orders  without much hassle.

As the cross dressed teen goes through different kinds of table taking order, he also managed to eavesdropped a little bit with everyone's conversation. Some of the things he heard were useful like the proper places to hunt or the stores to sell good items but majority of the customers were talking about 'the hunt' and the latest rabbit.

"So the latest rabbit is a male? how boring~"

"The Duke has sent a notice saying that anyone who managed to kill a rabbit gets 5 Helt."

"I think I've seen him somewhere earlier."

"You remember my pal Mako? he said that he encountered the newb earlier."

It was only some of the comments he heard while they gossip about him.

Hah, what a bunch of idiots. Zen thought with a feigned smile as he took another order. Thanks to these idiots, he also got an info about the other rabbit they were pursuing.

"Man she sure was beautiful. i wanna rip that mask so that i can see her lovely face again."

"Isn't she an elf? how come she started on a human town like Genosia?"

"Idiot! She probably came from a 'tincan.' Those pods only has this town as a starting point no matter what race you picked at the start."

"Tincan? oh you mean that rumor that the gov are making real life criminals play Noiz?"

"How long has she's been on the list again? i think i remember getting the notif to hunt her about two months ago."

"Yeah two and a half precisely. Dude it's got to be a record or something since majority of rabbits just quit diving in after a month of hell here in Genosia."

"Isn't it weird that she can PK hunters? considering she just started, her level should be below tens, fifteen at most. Not to mention the permanent death deduction's she accumulated. It's impossible she PK'ed Serge, isnt he supposed to be around level sixty?"

"That's why everyone wants to hunt her. To know the secrets of her drastic change. her improvement is way too abnormal."

"Lol, secret? maybe someone just took pity and power level'ed her. She a stunner after all. Won't be surprised if some high-lev dweebs fell to her charm."

Zen listened sneakily as information spew out like running water on a opened faucet. Man he sure is making a killing and it was just his first day too. Some high-lev looking guys noticed him eavesdropping but it seems they payed him no mind as long as he didn't listened to their conversations.

By the end of the night–or should i say day considering that it's already three at the morning the customers had finally thinned out. Zen lay head first on one of the table like a boxer who just finished a twelve round of intense bout.

"Good work lad! i've observed you and your performance is superb!" Old man Grendel stated with a jovial face. he put a hand on the teens shoulders and gave him a thumb's up.

"T-Thanks old man."

chime!

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"You were really great today Zee" Fiona cheered as she sat on a stool at the opposite side of the table where the teen was lying head first. "Did you work as a waiter before?"

"Uh no but my previous job requires alot of patience and emotional control so it didn't came hard for me to handle those annoying customers."

"Hoh hoh~ so what's yer previous job eh?" Fiona asked with a grin as she knotted both her arms together at the table while her head rested on top of it.

"it's confidential." Zen replied with a slight cool tone as he imitated her resting posture.

"Pfft, you're no fun Zee..." The blonde pouted.

"Well i have a question for you so i'll answer yours if you answered mine."

"What is it? If it's my three sizes then it's a no deal buster."

Zen chuckled. "Now that you said it, I was kinda curious about that as well but no, it's about your other job Fiona."

"I have an other job?" The golden haired girl acted innocently as if she didn't know what he's talking about.

"I observed you earlier. Some customers were paying you Helts after you briefly talked to them," Zen stated he inched his face towards the girl.

"You're an information broker aren't you."  He whisperly said in a statement not a question.

"My my you're quite a curious boy aren't ya Zee?" The girl showed her best cheshire grin as she lightly tap the summit of his nose with her index finger.

"Well you're quite a lovely girl so i can't help but notice your every move."

Fiona licked her lips as she acted as if to kiss his mouth but then averted her lip's direction and whispered flirty on his left ear,

"My services don't come in cheap ye' know~"

The teen smirked.

"I'm sure i can satisfy you better than your other customers." Zen responded in a equally teasing tone.

"Let's do a foreplay first before we go to the main course okay Zee?" Fiona stated while inching her head backwards abit as she sat properly. "I have a rule. I don't easily accept new contacts unless they have proven themselves worthy of ma' services."

"So what should i do?"

"Just answer one question of mine. You get three chances. if you fail in answering the third time then you can forget about even hitting first base with me and ma' services ...deal?" The blond girl stated in a lively but serious demeanor. Fiona extended her hand as she waits for his reply.

"Fine it's a deal." Zen clasped his hand with her's firmly as he gave it a tight squeeze.

"What's your question then?"

Fiona faked a cough as she closed her eyes and sagely said,

"It's an abstract pact that you can never extract. It's easy to contract but hard to construct. When it ever be detract, it will never be intact so tact up your act dear contract if you want to transact."

Zen blinked.

"Love?"

"Buuh Buuh! first strike!" Fiona folded her arms together in an 'X' shaped gesture.

"You got two more tries left Zee. Don't rush the answer and think things through. There's no time limit ye' know."

"I know but–" Zen scratched his head dumbfoundedly.

"Does Genosia have a facilities like a library? I really need to find a good place to gather information about the realm of Estios." The onyx haired teen asked with a knotted brows.

Rather than crawl the internet for some unverified data concerning Noiz, an in game library would be better since all the information it holds are authentic and some books may even contains data you wouldn't find across the net.

"Nah, ye' ain't gonna find some library here in Genosia buddy. but i knew a pal who does collect lotsa books and otha' material stuffs if yer interested."

"Really? I'm all ears." Zen stated but then narrowed his eyes when the blond girl posed her left hand in a begging gesture with a grin on her face.

"What–you're charging me?" The teen asked in disbelief

"Hey we ain't livin' in a free world ye' know," Fiona stated with a giggle. "A girls gotta do whatever she can to earn a living. Plus consider yerself lucky i even suggested ye' my contacts even without solvin' mah riddle."

Zen narrowed his eyes as he folded his arms together. "Fine, so how much is it?"

The blond expanded all her fingers in her left hand as if making a stop sign.

"Five cents?"

She shook her head with a grin.

"...Fifty cents?"

Zen's face turned blue as she shook her head again.

"F-Five Helts? No way! That's just blatant highway robbery Fee."

The blonde just tilted her head in response. "Told you my services aren't cheap."

"I'll pay you for three Helts."

"No deal mister. Five Helts, take it or leave it."

"Four Helts! C'mon, my wallets bleeding here Fee."

"Sigh fine, Four Helts and fifty cents that's my final offer."

Looks like this blonde is a tough one to haggle. it seems he couldn't make the prize more lower so with much reluctance, the teen initiated a trading window.

Do you wish to trade with (Fiona Vandelfell) ? (Yes/No)

He clicked on the Yes button.

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Zen proceeded with the transaction reluctantly. Man, there goes my first virtual paycheck. The teen thought as the system made a cashier sound effects.

"Thank you for the patronage~" Fiona cheered happily with the additional amount at her Helt account.

"So about that book fanatic contact of yours.."

"Oh right. do you have a map of Genosia Zen?"

"Nope." The teen shrugged his shoulders.

"I have a spare in mah room, wait a sec 'kay?" Fiona stated as she stand up from the table and head up stairs. The blond girl then returned afterwards with a scroll rolled up on her right hand.

She spread the paper on the table. The map was rather finely detailed and seems to be the newest as well. As expected from an information broker, her map was excellent. The broker pointed on a minuscule box representing a house on the far right end corner of Genosia.

"This is where he lives at the moment. It's a two story complex made of old bricks. His name is Lou Fei, a rather eccentric old man. He's a well known man here in town so just ask some citizen if you still can't find his house."

Zen nodded silently as he tried to memorize the outline of Genosia.

"Can you point out where's the inn at the map?"

"Oh our inn's right here. Easy to remember no?" The blonde stated while pointing at the upper right portion of the map. "Since i'm feelin' good today imma' give ya' this map free of charge."

"Ah thanks. Man what a busy day this was.." Zen said as he stood up from the table and let out a huge yawn making Fiona giggle.

"Ya better sleep now since we need to wake up at 5:00 am for the morning rush."

"I-Isn't that two hours from now?" The teen sweat-dropped.

"Yup so ya' better head up now Zee. Don't worry imma wake ya' up so sleep as much as ya' want~"

"Great." Zen replied in a sarcastic dull voice. He was about to climb the stairs but halted when Fiona said,

"Oh yeah i forgot to mention somethin' about old man Fei." The blond stated in a rather serious tone. "Be careful what you say to him okay Zen?"

"Why?" The teen narrowed his eyes. Fiona only calls him by his real username when she seems serious.

"While he may not look like it, Lou Fei was once a former Royal Eunuch and one of the revered Great Five Astral Generals to the previous sovereignty of Human Dominion."