Tana snickered as she noticed the attention we were getting.
“Be careful John. You might become famous if you keep sticking around us like this.”
“Well, I’ve never been famous before. At least not in a good way. So it might be fun.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you famous in a bad way?”
“I guess that’s a matter of perspective.”
I thought about it for a second. My notoriety in the black markets had both good and bad points that kind of balanced each other out. But considering the threat to my life, I figured it was more bad than good if I had to lean one way.
I shrugged and looked over at Tana.
“Hey, what rank are you again?”
“Rank 15.”
“So you’re average.”
“Shut up. At least I’m an Elite in the first place.”
“Heh, just wait. How about you, Umara?”
“Rank 8. Heubert is Rank 22. But the ranks don’t mean too much, mainly because they rely on kill counts. Someone like Heubert who specializes in defense and protection shouldn’t have his value measured by something like that.”
“Very true.”
I nodded in understanding. Heubert was responsible for protecting his team, not killing. So his prowess couldn’t be judged by the same standards as an offensive counterpart.
But he was still an Elite, which spoke to his ability and strength. Now Tana, on the other hand, was a purely offensive Elite. That meant she could, for the most part, be judged wholly by her ability to kill. In which case, she was average among the Elites. And Umara seemed to be higher among the hierarchy, which wasn’t too surprising considering her great utility.
That made me wonder how good the number 1 Elite was though. I hoped to see them soon.
It took a while to pack and organize the entire fourth year class, so we got to hang out for a while and wake our bodies up. All the while, even more students came crowding over, all watching their seniors get ready to depart. There had to be at least a few hundred students all gathering around the gates.
*Beep Beep*
Suddenly though, I heard a beeping sound in my mind. It was a sound I had never heard before, so I was curious and tapped my Aerial.
And I picked up a call. The name on it said Sawn.
“Hello?”
“John! This is Sawn from Sawn Industries. I’m on my way, so I need you to stay put.”
“...Okay?”
*Click*
The call hung up, making me curious as to what this very famous man wanted to do with me.
Then again, I still used his experimental Aerial, so perhaps it had something to do with that.
And about a minute later, a large carriage rolled up to our group. It attracted plenty of eyes because it truly was very large, at least twice as big as the carriages we were taking.
The door opened, revealing Sawn who I had met several months ago at that auction.
He found me and waved.
“John? Who is that?”
Tana asked, realizing that this was for me. I just sighed.
“Sawn, apparently. Hang on. I’ll be right back. Hopefully.”
I left and walked over to the carriage, boarding and shutting the door behind me.
And inside, I was baffled by the sight.
Sawn sat behind a large table, on which were several devices that looked like both magical and scientific instruments which filled the entire carriage. No wonder it was so big. It was a mobile lab.
He waved me over.
“Good to see you again, but I don’t want to spend much time out here. Come, I need to add and activate some of the Aerial’s features for you. Just place your arm here.”
He pointed to a device, a cradle for the Aerial. Taking a deep breath, I just sat down and did what he said.
He explained as my arm was locked in, and a few devices went to work opening the Aerial and tampering with it.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s something we call the Web. It’s a service exclusively for the newer generational Aerials since only they can tap into it. It’s basically this invisible information network between all kinds of people. Right now, only the Kingdom and some other powerful individuals can open Nodes which give access to different services. Anyway, I’m opening your Aerial up to this Web. I want you to access it as much as you can, for data collection. And I want you to do so while you’re at Calatrop Base. I’ve set up nodes for the Kingdom at every major military installation for easy information transfer. It’s revolutionary, but it still needs refining. And your Aerial is designed to act as a mobile Node in order to test out certain functions…”
Sawn ranted for several minutes while working on the Aerial. And as he spoke and described everything, I started to gain even more respect for the man.
He was creating the Internet! And phones! And he was doing it all with magic!
It seemed to me that, with magic as the hardware, all Sawn needed to do was figure out the software. Compared to developing physical computers and the like, this was far easier. But regardless, this man was bringing an informational revolution to this world.
I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of admiration. At the same time, it was rather surreal to be in the presence of someone with such genius and stature. I mean, if I equated him to someone from Earth, he was the head of a billion dollar company that was changing the world. To even meet someone like that was an honor.
“It’s good that you’re leaving like this. I can collect more data. Also, be sure to test out the local communication function when you leave the range of the communication Nodes, like while on missions.”
“Alright.”
*Click*
With that, my Aerial was reassembled and set back into place on my arm. Now, it was a tad bit bulkier with new devices on it, looking a bit more futuristic.
Then, I suddenly spoke up, calling on the knowledge from my home world.
“Hey Sawn, I have an idea.”
“Yes? What is it?”
He asked while tampering with some more things on his desk, not even lifting his head.
I spoke anyway.
“Well, let me ask first. How do I access Nodes using the Aerial?”
“You need their specific web address, which is basically their name, and you enter it into the Web program that’s newly installed. That lets you connect directly to their Node and receive the information on it.”
“I see. Well, what if you created something like Domains? These domains would basically compile the addresses of every Node under it, allowing you to access them like names on a book. They can be divided according to their geographical area, like by city. And people can search these Domains for the addresses of the Node services, getting descriptive results instead of needing to know the exact address.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“...”
Sawn went silent, stopping whatever he was doing to listen.
I continued.
“And there can be multiple levels of Domains. There can be one Domain for a city’s Nodes, and one Domain for all the city level Domains. This would allow you to access every node regardless of location, as well as divide the traffic across different levels for more efficiency. Of course, you’d have to make a repository of every web address, assigning them rules for data transfer across these Nodes-”
“We have something like that.”
Sawn suddenly spoke, cutting me off.
“We have these repositories for the web addresses, as well as a small system of what you’ve described as Domains. It’s in its infancy, but we’re working on it before deploying it. We intend to make every web address accessible in some way in the future, using a tool for searching that can aim the user toward a specific Node that will give them the data they want via descriptions. For now, however, we are stuck with simpler systems. There are very few Nodes, most of them being used for the Kingdom’s operations such as military communication and magical study. The Magisterium has one of its own for their Alchemical and other research programs. But that isn’t enough to implement the systems we want or collect data to test them. On top of that, we have issues with data storage within these singular Nodes, something we need to optimize and scale.”
“Oh…”
I nodded, realizing they were further along in the game than I thought.
I remembered some details about how the Internet worked on Earth. I didn’t know many specifics, but enough to know how data moved from one place to another. There were many hierarchies and rules that a computer had to follow set by the internet protocol, so I thought that I could give Sawn an idea about it.
But it seemed he didn’t need it.
“I guess you just need to make Nodes larger and more accessible then.”
“Yes. More Nodes, more Aerials, more data, and more functions. And that’s exactly what your Aerial is helping us work toward. If everything goes according to plan, the technology behind your experimental Aerial will become the basis for the mass production and accessibility of Nodes.”
“Right. It’s impressive work.”
“No, what’s impressive is that you were able to come up with ideas about something you hardly know anything about. What you’ve described is something the people at Sawn Industries have only conceived of after about 3 years of optimization and brainstorming. You’re a smart kid. Perhaps when you’re done with your career in the military, you can come work under me at my company. Summoners are always welcome researchers.”
“...Perhaps. Thank you, Sawn.”
“Sure. Now don’t be late for your trip.”
With a goodbye, I left the carriage, stepping back out into the light.
I couldn’t help a smile as I arrived back at Tana and Umara’s side, thinking about how valuable Sawn’s offer was.
“What was that?”
Tana asked, causing me to shrug.
“Eh, not much. Just saying hi to an acquaintance.”
“So you’re acquainted with Sawn of Sawn Industries, the creator of the Aerial?”
“...Well…”
I was quiet under Tana’s scrutinizing eyes, scratching my cheek.
Umara muttered in thought.
“I don’t recall there being a Noble household going by the name Cooper…”
“I’m not a noble.”
“Then how did you get associated with Sawn? That man actually came to you personally as well.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Enlighten me.”
“...”
Umara got in my face as well. Both were morbidly curious about my relationship with Sawn, which was understandable.
But I didn’t really want to tell them. I should’ve kept my mouth shut earlier.
I made something up.
“I just delivered some stuff for him once…”
“Right, you’re a delivery man. And apparently you move cargo for one of the richest men in the world.”
“It’s not like that. We just crossed paths one time and I happened to get the job.”
“Where could you possibly cross paths with a man like that?”
“...”
I went silent, realizing I was only digging myself a deeper hole. Seriously, Umara really liked to dig for dirt.
“I plead the fifth.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“It means I refuse to talk.”
“Come on, you can tell me. I’m good at keeping secrets.”
“And digging for them. Please, get off my ass.”
I put my hand on Umara’s face, pushing her away.
She took a step back with a small laugh. At the same time, we all heard a shout.
“All fourth year students, please board your assigned transports! We depart for the Central Terminal in 10 minutes!”
“That’s us.”
Tana let out a breath. With that call, the three of us boarded the carriage we were hanging by.
We weren’t the only ones. Heubert didn’t seem to be a part of our group, but there were a few others.
Three more people boarded with us. There were two benches within this carriage, so I sat between Tana and Umara who wanted to be by the windows.
The ones who joined across from us were also Elites, some I was familiar with.
One of them was the only Elite who was a Summoner like me. He could summon a bear, serpent, and tiger, and we had done a scenario together.
His name was Ruden, and he recognized me as soon as he boarded.
“John! It’s good to see you again.”
“You too.”
We shook hands as he sat down, chatting for a moment before another person boarded.
It was a girl and a warlock just like Umara. In fact, they seemed like friends.
“Hi Umara!”
“Good morning Hailey.”
Hailey sat across from Umara. She was a petite blonde girl who seemed lively, and she didn’t hesitate to chat with the more reserved Umara.
Finally, the last spot was filled by a man. I didn’t recognize him at all, making me curious.
But the others went quiet at his arrival. As he boarded, he looked around before eyeing me for a moment.
I nodded to him, which he returned with the same courtesy before taking a seat beside Ruden, looking out the window.
Suddenly Umara lifted her sleeve and tapped her Aerial, typing out a message and sending it.
I received it momentarily. We had exchanged info a while ago, even if we didn’t use it much.
“That’s Feiden Desmus. He’s a noble child of the Desmus Marquess household. He’s a Knight, ranked 2 in the Elites. He’s fast and strong, but his biggest asset is his insane spear technique. He’s an Authority 5 and has reached the Enhancement stage where he can imbue weapons with his Vigor beyond his body. He could kill you with no more than two fingers.”
Umara’s explanation caused me to realize that this man was a big deal. Not only was he nobility, but he was seriously strong.
The Enhancement Stage of a Knight was one of the levels that a Knight could advance to, and it required skill to achieve, not Authorities.
Below the Enhancement Stage was the Novice Stage, and there, a Knight could only utilize Vigor within their bodies, doing nothing extraneous with it. Enhancement was the first Stage where a Knight could bring Vigor beyond their skin and into another object.
And beyond Enhancement was the Master Stage where a Knight could release Vigor from even their weapons, creating attacks that could strike from a distance with devastation.
And going even further beyond was the King Stage where Vigor went beyond merely being a destructive energy and gained unique properties. But because so few people ever reached this stage throughout history and, by extension, never studied it, not much was known about it. At least, that’s what was taught publicly.
It seemed Feiden truly was talented if he had reached the Enhancement Stage so early. As far as I knew, none of the Tavera Knights I had fought with on that trip were of the Enhancement stage except for the Captain and that pugilist from the Yeon Guild. His Vigor was the reason I had a scar on the side of my head.
For a while, nobody spoke in the carriage. Everyone seemed pressured by Feiden for some reason.
He just stared out the window, almost like he was used to this kind of treatment.
After looking at him for a while, I suddenly spoke.
“Feiden, right? Amazing work, being second among the Elites.”
“...Thanks.”
After turning from the window and facing me for a second, he nodded with a smile.
“I’ve also come to hear about you. John, correct? It’s a pleasure.”
“Likewise.”
We shook hands, and I smiled now that the ice was broken. He seemed nice enough.
Then, I asked about something on my mind.
“I’ve never seen you at the training grounds run by the Puppet Master. Do you train elsewhere?”
“Yes. I train under a mentor from my family. Lately I’ve been focused on advancing my use of Vigor instead of combating Scourge beasts.”
“Understandable. Sheer power determines who you can even begin to fight. If you can’t so much as damage their body, tactics and strategies are useless.”
“Indeed! I can understand why, but many instructors at the Magisterium believe more in teaching students combat tactics. It simply doesn’t suit me right now, and besides, I’ve had enough practice against beasts over the years.”
Feiden described some of his experiences. It seems that he was already well known for having a high kill count against Scourge beasts from all the hunting trips he’d gone on. And at some point, learning to fight beasts simply wasn’t as valuable as increasing his power and skill with the spear.
And I understood his reasons. I myself had issues with the power behind my guns and bullets. At a certain level, they were useless against Knights due to their tough bodies. So it didn’t matter how amazing my strategies against an enemy were, if I couldn’t pierce their bodies with my bullets, then I couldn’t kill them no matter how hard I tried.
If not for the fact that I had no experience fighting Scourge beasts, I would also have been purely focused on advancing my Authority. But because I was inexperienced, I spent all my time at the training grounds.
Still, I intended to switch gears soon. After this trip, I should have enough experience along with the Puppet Master’s training. So nothing would be more important than simply advancing my Authorities and searching for more spirits to commune with.