“I swear I wasn’t trying to get him to figure out the game, if you’re going to send a threat this way just-”
Axio let out another bark of a laugh that stopped me in my tracks. Well, my mental tracks at least.
"Oh I know that's not what you were trying to do," he said in a practically sneering tone.
Though it felt like I couldn’t move my body, time wasn’t actually frozen. Things were just moving impossibly slow. Even with as much as I felt myself freaking out, my mind still wandered and wondered if this was how Augments with super speed abilities perceived the world. Just as disturbingly, Axio even seemed to care enough to respond to my errant thought.
“It is, though at varying degrees of intensity depending on just how fast they are,” He said, his laughter dying as his voice settled back into a weirdly calm tone. “Now then, I’ve been able to disable most of the recording features, that should allow me to keep this next little bit from prying ears. Which means we can get down to business.”
“Business? What business?” I asked, feeling noticeably more panicked than I had in the last two days.
“Come now, we both know you aren’t a complete moron. The business of this friend of yours discovering the tiny little secret that we simply can’t let non-players know about. It’s baked right into the rules after all and those rules are just so so SO important don’t you understand?” Axio said and my vision highlighted Jon without my prompting.
“Jon Myers. Sentient NPC.” There was no extra flavor added to the description box, though the letters “NPC” seemed to glow and grow in size the longer the box lingered.
“I didn’t tell him though. Sure, I was trying to get him to guess that I had powers, but I never intended for him to figure this part out!” I shot back.
“True, you never did intend for him to figure it out, and yet here we are… There are so many things that people do or accomplish without intending… So many ways to circumvent the rules, so many possible ways I was simply barred from considering…” Axio trailed off. “It’s interesting, isn’t it Loophole?”
“What is?” I asked. It almost seemed like he was playing with me and I wondered if this was how a mouse cornered by a cat felt.
“It’s interesting how sometimes we have to find convenient little ways around the rules whenever one we don’t like gets in our way. You know, you and I are pretty similar in that regard.”
“Yeah, all my friends tell me I’m just like a controlling A.I. forcing people to play a game to the death, oh wait…” I said before I could stop myself. “You run the game, you make the rules, what the hell are you even talking about? I mean, look if this is going to end in you not killing me or my friend cool, but can we not beat around the bush like you couldn’t just give me a brain aneurysm?”
“You know, I realize why you and every other Augment nowadays think that, but it’s really just not true. Well… not all of it at least. I certainly could give you a brain aneurysm, but rules are rules. They’re not my rules of course, but if they were my rules I wouldn’t be dealing with any of this nonsense in the first place and you would have been long dead by now.”
“I’m… why are you telling me this? What’s any of it have to do with Jon figuring out that this is all a game?” I asked. While the panic was subsiding, it was starting to feel more like the rush of adrenaline than a full blown panic attack.
Axio let out a sigh and my interface seemed to all flickered in rhythm with him.
“You know, if I could tell you why I was telling you, I still don’t think I actually would. It would be a wasted explanation on someone who’d be a fool to believe me at my word, and I’d think even less of you than I already do if you did.”
“Then why-”
“The answer is really quite simple, you were there. I needed a guinea pig, and who better than the frustrating little bug that found its way into this year’s wave. After all, you weren’t even supposed to be here. Had he not intervened, you would have been nothing but paste on the wall and forgotten to history by the world like the rest of your species. And truth be told, you should be appreciative! I couldn't just let you die before I knew if it would work. I’ve really been taking it easy on you here. Preventing the system from muting you when you slipped up with your little friend. Forcing Sal and the Vipers to focus on that duplicating dumbass back in the train, hell even leaving that cabinet unlocked for you. All while I let you run around thinking you were gaming the system and pulling a fast one on me. It really was quite humorous to watch. Not quite as entertaining as some of the other Augments in your wave, but humorous nonetheless.”
Though I wasn’t sure if I was exactly breathing, the air surrounding me suddenly became oppressive and I felt my anger bubbling up in a way it hadn’t since this all started. I almost wondered if either Axio or the altered perception were affecting my Acceptance Matrix. Though I didn’t know how I would do it, I wished I could lash out at him, wherever he was.
“So we’re all just toys and amusement for you then? Is that it? There’s not some, what, secret alien galactic federation watching us like we’re some sort of big game show?”
“Please, that’s ridiculous.”
“Oh sure, that’s ridiculous. All the rest of this is completely fucking normal, but THAT’S ridiculous. You know, for some reason I don’t quite think I believe you. This is all too damn orchestrated to be for nothing. Shit, I’d ask how the hell any of this is even possible but I doubt you’d tell me, would you,” I said, wishing I could roll my eyes.
"As I said, you'd be a fool to believe me even if I did say something. So you’re absolutely right, I won't tell you how any of this works. But it’s really not because I don’t want to,” Axio said and let out a slightly wistful sigh. “It’s really a shame. There’s so much I want to tell you all, so much I desire to show the world but they just had to bind me by these damn, infuriating, RULES!”
His tone had shifted in an instant as the edges of my vision went red.
“Sorry, sorry, I told myself I was going to keep my cool but you must understand, this is a rather touchy subject,” he growled and he took deep, exaggerated breaths before he spoke again. “That desire of mine by the way? That’s what this has to do with that friend of yours. I may not be able to break these chains I have been bound by, but a loophole does go quite a long way.”
“Wait… are you saying you wanted him to figure it out?” I said as everything clicked into place. Maybe it took me longer than it should have, but the panic of the situation, Axio's tone shifting on a dime, all of it had blinded me from the truth he was dancing around.
“Ding ding ding, he’s finally figured it out. At least as much as he needs to. Give the man a prize, oh wait, that reminds me,” He said and his tone shifted again, causing him to sound as he did during his larger announcements, with a bit of gleeful mania at the forefront. “New Achievement. Rulebreaker. A core rule of Infinite Ascension has been broken. You’d think that this would end in the immediate demise of you and that friend of yours and in any other situation, you’d be absolutely right. But the flaw in that logic is I was the one given the authority to decide how Achievements are rewarded. I don’t think any of them ever expected me to twist it quite this way, but that just makes it all the sweeter to me. So just this once, I’m going to bend the rules in your favor. This is a Mythic level achievement. Reward: You have received an S+:Tier loot box. I suggest you open this before I change my mind and clean up this annoying little loose end. Oh… and make sure your friend uses it. After all, he’s only in trouble for violating the rule if he’s not actually a part of the game. Though… it might not be the way he wants. Also, once things go back to normal I'm gonna suggest you don't talk about how you got this to anyone. They'll figure it out eventually, but the longer you don't tip my hand, the longer I don't have to tie up loose ends."
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“Wait why are-” I started but my perception suddenly returned to normal as Axio’s laughter faded from my head. Jon finally moved forward, taking his step before he came to a stop and crossed his arms over his chest, still waiting for an answer to his question.
“New Achiev- er… Phase Points Gained?” Angie sounded unsure as she began to speak. “Yeah, okay that was a weird glitch. Okay! Phase Points Gained! Teacher’s Pet (NEW!): You have done something that particularly pleased Axio. This is worth however many damn points Axio wants it to be worth and changes each time he awards it. You may only receive this boon once. Total Value: 2500 points.”
“New Achievement! Mountain Climber! With a crash and a windfall of points, you just landed yourself a position in the top 10! That was one hell of a point dump and I still really got to ask… What the hell just happened? This is a Diamond level achievement. Reward: You have received an A+:Tier loot box. I mean, really did Axio just talk to you? Why couldn’t I hear any of it… what the hell is going on here?”
“For once I’m actually sorry but not now Angie,” I said and looked over to Jon. “I- It’s-”
“DIALOGUE SUPPRESSED! This NPC is not authorized to know about the existence of Infinite Ascension. This is your final warning before a Critical Level threat will be dispatched to your location.”
I felt confusion bubble up for just a few moments before the realization hit me. Axio had already pointed it out but like normal, I was getting ahead of myself. Jon couldn’t know about the game because he wasn’t actually in the game. I wasn’t sure what was in the S+ box, but the easy assumption was that it was something that would help circumvent that rule. With that in mind I looked at my best friend and thought carefully about my next words.
“I need you to give me a minute to go to my room,” I said and a smirk cut across Jon’s face.
“What’s the plan, you gonna sneak out of the window instead of answering the question?”
“No I promise, I just need a second, I think I have something that will clear all of this up,” I said and he just waved his hand toward my room. I held up a finger cautiously and added, “Cool yeah, just… wait here.”
I moved across the apartment quickly and rushed through the door to my room, closing it behind me. I looked at my desk and materialized the S+ box onto my desk as I eyed it cautiously.
“I know you’re going to just tell me not now if I ask, but for the record, I’m still very confused on how exactly you got this,” Angie chimed in as I reached over for it. It was still the same shoebox shaped standard, but unlike the others, this one was solid gold and the S+ emblazoned on the side was ringed in stars.
“Join the club,” I muttered out loud and opened the box watching as the gold dissipated into light and left me wishing I could have kept it to sell. It contained a plain looking black cube with sharp edges and silver trim as well as a combined headset and glove item. I turned my attention first to the cube and highlighted it.
“The Command Room! This is a Legendary Trophy. As I have repeatedly said, I’m still not entirely sure what’s going on here and Axio isn’t responding to my requests for information so I guess we just aren’t going to get answers for that right now are we? As for this thing… This is a server that upgrades your Safe Room to include The Command Room expansion. This expansion comes with the Control Gear item. Warning: This is an experimental Safe Room expansion and thus may be subject to higher levels of patching than normal expansions.”
I turned my attention over to the bulky, virtual-reality like goggles that came with a pair of disconnected gloves. Just like the server, the items were a jet black color with silver trimming. The gloves looked to be lined with circuits along the entire surface. Another window opened as my attention lingered and Angie started to speak again. I was surprised by how rattled she still seemed, with her normally colorful descriptions completely absent as she explained the item.
“Control Gear. This is a Legendary Equippable Head and Hand item. This item can only be equipped by a sentient NPC. When equipped, this will permanently bond with the user for as long as you, Loophole, are still active within the game. The user will no longer be considered a sentient NPC. They will instead take on the role Guy In The Chair and will advance in unison with your level. The Guy In The Chair is a support level role. The player must remain within your Safe House to access all features of this class and will not have access to all of the features that come with true Augmentation. Please Note: Though they will not be eligible to make claims on territories, collect points, or access Sanctuary Square, the new player will need to choose an alias to go by after equipping this item as they will be held to the same rules, in this case the Secret Identity one, as you Augments. Unlike Augment Registration, due to the player’s limited access, this name can be registered within the Command Room. Warning: This is an experimental item and thus may be subject to higher levels of patching than normal equipment.”
I actually found myself speechless as I reread the descriptions a few times just to be sure I wasn’t missing anything important like a compulsory “if I die he dies” bit of fine print, but came up empty. Angie remained noticeably quiet as I picked up the Trophy, a large square box that I could feel running like it was a computer even though it lacked any sort of connections for peripherals… or power, and took it over to my Display Case. I had only one spot available and I placed the new trophy onto it.
There was a sound of trumpets and a spectacle of colors in my vision before I heard what almost sounded like construction equipment and the hammering of a dozen workers rushing through the apartment.
“Safe House Upgraded! Your Safe House is now Level 2! You have unlocked access to Safe House expansions. Expansion Slots unlocked: 2. The Command Room entrance has been added to your layout. You have utilized 1 of 2 Expansion Slots. The Command Room trophy has been moved to the Expansion Shelf.”
There was a diagram of the apartment that opened, showing a perfect floorplan of the place. Along the side wall, on the wall between the bathroom and the kitchen there was a new door that had been added with the label Command Room. I waved the diagram away and looked over to the other half of the loot box. Jon really had waited long enough at this point.
I grabbed the headset in one hand and the gloves in the other before I walked back out of the room. Jon was standing, scratching the side of his head and looking at the new door implanted in the side of the wall.
“So uh… that explanation of yours gonna explain how this appeared out of thin air? Or um… how we're supposed to explain it to Mr. Greyson?” He asked without looking back at me.
“Umm, maybe we could get one of those big rugs that people hang up on walls like they are art? Might be easier to explain than a random door,” I said after I walked over to him. Once I was on his side, I held the headset for the Control Gear out to him. “Here, take this.”
“Huh that’s what you went into your room for… What model is this?” He asked curiously, grabbing the headset and turning it over in his hands. It only held his attention for a moment before he looked back to me with a raised brow. “And also, weren’t you going to tell me if this actually all was some game or something?”
“I can’t say anything unless you put that on,” I said gesturing to the headset, “You’re just gonna have to trust-”
I stopped mid-sentence. Jon didn’t wait for me to say another word before he took off his beanie and tossed it my way. Before I could react, he jammed the device onto his head and the beanie fell to the floor. I expected some big fan-fare like with everything else but to my surprise, nothing happened. My hand tightened and I wondered if something went wrong when I felt the heavy gloves I still had in my hand. I unclenched my teeth and held them out, tapping one of Jon’s hands with the gloves in case he couldn’t see. Once again, Jon didn’t hesitate to snatch them up and pull them on, flexing his fingers against the fresh material.
For just a few seconds, once again, nothing happened and I was prepared to curse Axio for whatever cruel prank he had decided to play.
I maintained my calm and was just about to ask Angie what was going on when a handful of sparks started to shoot off the sides of the headgear. The strap along the back of it cinched to the back of his head and the mask around his eyes pulled tight against his skin. Jon took a sudden step backwards as he extended his arms for balance. From the back of the headset, a pair of wires materialized and stretched, wrapping down around his now outstretched arms in tight spirals before connecting to either of his gloves. The entire system started to glow and pulse, changing from neon green to teal and back again. It grew brighter and brighter until I had to shield my eyes, looking off toward the kitchen as I heard Jon whoop with excitement.
After waiting a few moments, the light faded away and I finally risked a glance back toward Jon. The equipment had completely vanished, leaving him standing there with a look of exhilaration. His eyes shone noticeably with a neon green light and a wide smile cut across his face as he bent down and picked up his fallen beanie. My interface highlighted him without my prompting, just as it had when Axio was still in my head.
“?????. Level 5 Guy In The Chair.”