Weeks went by. Gate 14 opened as normal and so did Gates 15 and 16. Gate 17 was currently on the horizon. In that time, Kazi had been busy working with Prince Yuzin and planning out the factories to be made. The Esteemed Princess of the Imperial Sect increased their budget by a hundred million and fast-tracked certain aspects of their project.
For example, the heavy expense from large bulks of steel. Prince Yuzin informed him that the Eldest Princess brought over a sorcerer from the Old Mage Tower called the Steel Sharpener. The Sorcerer specialized in the transmutation of steel and could turn cheap metal into quality steel. Not just any steel either, carbon steel, stainless steel, tool steel, alloy steel—all of it was under his reservoir. According to Prince Yuzin, the sorcerer descended from a family that directly served as blacksmiths to the House of Aisin Gioro. He lacked talent in blacksmithing and after failing to produce results, the man studied to become a sorcerer. No one expected greatness from him, save one man. The former eldest prince of the Imperial Sect believed in his utility and pushed him to become the Steel Sharpener.
While fiercely loyal to the Imperial Sect, the Steel Sharpener extended his services to other guilds too, albeit for a premium price tag. In honour of his old friend who had died by the claws of Yamata-no-Orochi, the Steel Sharpener never applied a premium cost to the Imperials. Nonetheless, he was a busy man and it took a miracle—the Eldest Princess of the Imperial Sect—to get him to collude with them on a moment’s notice. Seeing the Steel Sharpener in action was incredibly informative.
After seeing such high-level magic, Kazi decided to flex his own magic muscles. This was his first time going into a gate in a couple weeks. He was aware he was ahead in levels due to his Ascension but that didn't mean he could slack off.
Kazi stretched his arms high in the air. The first of the integrated circuit factories were complete. The Imperials expected them to manufacture the Ramon Spectrometer and sell them to the Alhambra Guardians in a month’s notice. Secretly, Kazi planned to do it in two weeks.
“David! Everything going well?”
Supervising the line of blue workers was his spectacled friend. He couldn’t believe he was in such a position of power. David glanced over, arms crossed, smiling.
“Oh yeah, great stuff,” David replied. Discreetly, he pointed at one of the workers. “That one guy got the hang of it fast.”
Hiring smart workers and paying them to do manual labour was next to impossible unless the pay was high and the training was robust. That was why the past weeks were so busy; it required Kazi and David to run around helping with the construction of the factories as well as training of the employees. They had already written a full-scale manual for each factory type and machine. Many, many nights were spent writing the documents.
“I noticed," Kazi said.
“Want to make him a floor supervisor?”
“Not yet. Plus, the best floor supervisors think more abstractly.”
The factory had many moving parts with the building of transistors, the silicon substrate, the aluminium bond pad, etc. Some corners were cut with the help of the Wizards from the Old Mage Tower. Bi Sheng was something of an expert in factory work and cooperated with Kazi and David as a project manager. It really wasn’t an exaggeration to say he was a vital part of the operation. Even now, he was out there guiding the Steel Sharpener with the construction of another factory. He wasn’t just fast tracking their schedule, he was illuminating it in every way. Truly, Bi Sheng was a genius.
“I’ll be heading out now,” Kazi told David. “I better not see this thing burning when I come back.”
“First time's the charm, my friend. Have no fear.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Good luck! Break a leg!”
***
Kazi was summoned at the eastern entrance of the Heavenly Tower and was immediately greeted with a System message.
[ ANNOUNCEMENT
GATE 13 WILL CONTINUE TO BE CLOSED.
GATE 17 WILL PROCEED AS NORMAL AND OPEN IN 2 HOURS
YOURS TRULY, ARCHITECT CAIN ]
“What the hell is even going on? Why is one gate opening and the other is closed!”
“Screw you! I had to get a loan for this axe! What am I going to do!?”
“Pipe down! You cunts are as useful as a chocolate teapot!”
Following the message were boos and bellows. There was no one to yell save the Tower and the heavens. The players who were committed walked away. Kazi was the same. As much as he sympathised with their plight, he had to get going.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
At the pillars of the portal leading to the Server Room were flowers and parting gifts. A small memorial for those that died in Gate 10. He heard the Hall of Players had built a proper memorial and called for the grieving to write names.
Kazi wondered just how many were completely forgotten.
The world just…moved on. He moved on. The tragedy of Gate 10 and the players that died. Independent memorials were held but other than that, it was like a natural occurrence. Everyone moved past it as if it was an everyday thing. As if large-scale slaughter in Gates was normal.
He stopped a step before the portal. He looked at the tributes and went over, kneeling down. Black and white photos were left too. The names and faces were seeded into his head. He could never forget.
Behind him, heaps of players entered with and without fear. Some were eager, others were nervous. Kazi closed his eyes, offered a prayer and stood up. Through the portal, into the Server Room, and Gate 17 he went.
…
…
…
Kazi opened his eyes. His immediate surroundings were dark. ‘I’m in a forest,’ he thought. Promptly, he jumped, climbed, and stood on the top of the tree. ‘Savanna woodlands,’ he noted. The distance matched. ‘These trees…Daniellia oliveri: Senegal, Sudan or Uganda then.’
Looking up, he saw the full moon and the starry night. He was somewhere in a country in the northern hemisphere. He was alone too. He didn’t hear or sense a player. The grass and overall nature of the ground was rough and erratic. He closed his eyes and focused. No objective was given. That meant he had to find it.
‘Found it. A collection of mana a long distance behind me.’ Turning, he saw smoke rising and a small blip of light. ‘Civilization. I should go.’
He leapt off the tree and began running at full speed. His agility wasn’t his greatest stat. With Mastered Flow of Mana, however, it capped out at seven-hundred ninety. He ran and caught up to the smoke, to civilization, in no time.
The civilization in question was a village parked around the base of a pap hill. It was alive with activity, even under the cover of night. The flickering glow of torches illuminated the faces of the people there. Kazi stopped.
‘These…aren’t people.’
The night was alive by the efforts of two-foot-tall silvery-white creatures called Yumboes. Drums and laughter echoed as the village around the pap hill celebrated. A feast was laid out everywhere. Tables on tables with succulent roasted meats, tender and juicy from the heat of the various fires. It was astonishingly organized.
Several feet away from the nearest table, Kazi contemplated disappearing and investigating. However, a Yumbo woman with fully lace braids that went down her back ran up to him, smiling. “Hello!”
“Hi.” Kazi smiled back and kneeled down to her level. “How are you?”
“You must be a foreigner. Come, come.” She tugged his arm and he let himself be taken. “We are here to feast.”
[ HIDDEN OBJECTIVE FOUND! ]
[ Gate 17 : Pap Village
HIDDEN OBJECTIVE: You have arrived at night zero! Stop the village from being attacked by the Guiafairo!
HIDDEN PRIZE POOL: 500,000 XP, 500,000 PP ]
A hidden objective already? Lucky. ‘Yumboes, Guiafoiro…we must be in Senegal. Yumboes are myths from their culture,’ Kazi thought. ‘But more importantly, they’re about to be attacked.’
The tables were small and long, intended for feasts by miniature humanoids. Yet here he was, seated cross-legged on the side of the table (since he couldn’t sit with his immense weight) and given a plate and a fish to eat. As soon as he began eating, the Yumbo with lace braids handed a Calabash full of water.
“Thank you.”
“Eat up, eat up! We appreciate foreigners!” the female Yumbo said. Indeed, the others were staring at him expectantly. The Sardinella appeared well-cooked and added with spices he had never seen before.
He picked it up with his hand and took a bite. Immediately, he found himself falling in love with the flavour. It was thick with oil and balanced with a small amount of spice. It worked. Somehow. As a chef, he didn’t know how. “Wow! Kudos to whoever made it!”
“My uncle did!” said one mini Yumbo. He must have been a child.
All of them were short but their heads were proportionally short and angular. Their hair styles were all in some form of braids and silver in shade. Their diet consisted of corn and fish, and their ears were sharp like elves. ‘They’re not weak either. All of them are Level 20.’ He cautiously scanned the area and did a headcount. Focusing hard, he managed to see past what his vision could offer and sense them. ‘There’s at least three hundred of them. Ambushing these guys would be tough if we go purely by levels.’
Right up against the hill were their houses which were large and luxurious. An excellent defensive strategy. Anybody inside could come out and attack anyone in their way. And since the village was set-up in a circle based around the hill, sneaking up on them was next to impossible.
‘However, against Guiafairo…’ Kazi closed his eyes while eating. He couldn’t let them know something was up. Not when he was still a stranger to them. The Guiafairo; meaning the "fear that flies by night". If he wanted to find it, then—
‘There!’
His vision went black and he nearly hurled. What a nasty smell! It was some ways away but it was zooming toward them—and fast! The villagers feasted and danced without a care in the world. Shit, as a foreigner, how should he warn them—?
"Screeeee!"
The merriment abruptly halted. The piercing cry fluttered and continued for a length minute. One by one, everyone stopped. One by one, panic rippled through the villagers. They knew this thing. They knew its cry. They knew what it could do. The boy in front of him looked to his elders.
No one spoke. No one moved. Dead silence followed. The night seemed to become darker, the fire and moon light flickering in fear.
Kazi leapt to his feet. “The Guiafairo is coming!" he shouted, his words ringing through the silence. “Grab your weapons! Those that cannot fight, find a safe place!”
Kazi scanned the sky, searching for any sign of the bat-like creature. In the distance, he spotted a dark shape hurtling in the night sky. If the bat’s mana wasn’t nauseatingly thick and heavy, he wouldn’t have sensed it, much less seen it. His left eye pulsed and his nose wrinkled. ‘It's like oil mixed in with an absurd amount of perfume. It's giving me a headache.’
Blip.
It was gone. The energy and smell disappeared for all but a moment. Then, in the next second, it returned with twice the strength.
"Screeeee!"
[ Boss in vicinity! ]
Behind him, he heard the bat’s cry and human screams. Table flew up and numerous villagers were smacked away by its massive wings. The Guiafairo was here.