PART 2

Alice Blodeuwodd Fenix.

Yggdrasil time [20:31]

Outer regions | Designated Location Point 64: The Lake Tritonis.

After Alicia claimed so, the members of the Crimson Code quickly straightened their posture and dropped to their knees in reverence before the Divine. Christine's heart raced as she nervously wiped the sweat from her brow, her mind racing with the thought, 'Did I unknowingly feed the Divine poisonous berries?'

(Ms. Patron!? W-what should we do!?) Phantom panicked, yet his expression remained the same, sending messages through their private channel, (B-But is she really the Divine?)

(Yes, of course!) Liu and Christine rebuke his words, making his soul leave his body.

(Nobody in the empire just impersonates a royal! Just how many people do you think were taken by the Bargans Corps?!) Liu added, (Even if you didn't receive your Noblesse Education, you should have known how others react during Solaris Feva when the Divine enters, do you really think others would just stand there and do nothing about the impersonator!?)

(Calm down now, Miss Liu Khanates.) Christine said gently, using her friend's real name, (Please be mindful of Lliam's situation.)

(Oh, ah. My apologies, Lliam.) Liu transmitted, her tone filled with sincere and apologetic.

(Fret not.) Phantom replied.

"But I had never imagined I would be recognized immediately," Alicia muttered under her breath, just loud enough for the duo to hear, bringing their attention back to the scene.

"We-Well," Christine stammered, raising her head to reply with quavering words "This humble one attended the Intergalactic Gala and Starlight New years events, and had seen your Divineness from the crowd, how could one be unable to recognize you?"

"Informality is fine, so stand up." Alicia commanded, "I had agreed to the policies of the game, and I will not break it."

Even after she pleaded, they wouldn't budge from their position. Or, more accurately, Christine couldn't help feeling nervous in Alicia's presence. Despite the assistance of the Augment, Christine couldn't shake the feeling of nervousness.

To that, Alicia added with informality, "If you don't listen to me, we'll waste more time, you know? Oh, and can I ask you to escort me to a safer place?"

"Y-Yes l, of course! Much obliged! Thank you very much." Christine said stiffly.

'You're welcome?' Alicia pondered.

Christine stood up stiffly, trying to exchange glances with Phantom as they continued to communicate through their private group channel.

Liu was promptly notified and quickly cleaned the table to give it a more presentable appearance. Additionally, Liu informed the Moonfollowers administration about this discovery.

Christine maintained a calm expression as she commanded her augment to never show any nervousness towards the Divine. But in contrast to her inner-self, her mind ran amok, (WHAT SHOULD WE DO!? IT'S DEFINITELY HER! N-NO WONDER THE DIVINE FELT SO FAMILIAR!!!) Christine panics over the communication channel. (PHANTOM WHAT SHOULD WE DOO!?!?!?)

Phantom replied with silence as if his soul had departed his body. Christine attempted to summon his presence repeatedly in the communications, but to no avail.

Christine was left with no choice but to step on his foot, and only then did Phantom react to Christine's panic, his soul returning to his body.

(Ms. Patron. We must calm down first!)

As their exchanges continued without a change in their expression, Alicia became certain of what was happening between them. The social cue is apparent to almost everyone. However, she found herself more surprised by the fact that they were communicating through thoughts and wondered how she could do the same.

'Are they able to communicate through some kind of ability? Or is there a function in the game that allows for it?'

After all, Mind Networking was banned in the game, which most people would normally use to communicate with others through thought.

Alicia was interested as she asked, "Could it be that you are communicating with each other?"

Christine was startled by Alicia's words and replied, "Yes. My apologies, we were talking with several groups so that we could safely escort you to Orothon."

'Orothon?' Alicia wondered.

"No need to worry. I was just curious how you all are communicating without Mind Networking."

Upon observing them, it was apparent that they were not wearing LeGlass devices, or at least from what she could deduce with limited sight, which were typically the preferred means of communication in the real world.

"Ah, that. We have signed with the Goddess Alzepta's contract, which allows us to use convenient functions like forum and communication channels." Christine explained.

Alicia was slightly confused by the given information as it lacked context. Despite her confusion, she decided to take this information ingrained in her mind for later.

"If I may?" Phantom raised his hand.

Alicia was quite surprised to see Phantom with his mouth closed. Nevertheless, she nodded to him, prompting him to speak.

"Shall we perhaps relocate before we enter a conversation? We have another group member who can explain the current situation."

"Very well," Alicia confirmed.

Alicia glances at her surroundings, putting them into her memory bank for later use. She observed a lake reflecting the shape of the moon, with peculiar textures on its surface, and towering cliffs that were about 20 meters high beside them. The ground consists mostly of stone, some rocks protruding upwards. Piles of towels were visible near the two members of the Crimson Code.

Suddenly, Alicia noticed something draping from the cliff. At first, she thought it was a snake, causing her to tense up. However, upon straining her eyes, she realized it was a rope hanging down from the high cliff.

Seeing Alicia's behavior, Christine continued to explained, "We are currently in Lake Tritonis, west of the Labyrinth Entrance."

(Please shut up, Vice–Captain. You're not explaining things clearly.) Liu transmitted, (Let me be the one to explain it.)

Alicia looked at Christine with an impassive expression. They had no idea what the Divine was thinking, but they sensed their good first impression was getting worse as Christine continued to speak.

"I see," Alicia replied, eyeing the rope. "Are we perhaps going above?"

Christine nodded vigorously with her mouth shut tight together. In her place, Phantom responded to Alicia's question.

"Yes, although this may seem rude, may I ask for permission to carry the Divine? If not, we can take the longer route, about 40 minutes, but I would be able to explain the current situation of the simulation world.

"I don't mind being carried," Alicia consented, holding up her hands.

One hand was torn apart, while the other was burned to the bone, presenting a defiled appearance of the Divine. Alicia seemingly tried to pull her muscles, but neither of the hands reacted.

'Surprisingly, it's not as bad as I anticipated. If anything, I expected my entire hand to be obliterated. Could this be due to my newly formed avatar?'

Christine and Phantom exchanged a glance before nodding in unison. Phantom began walking towards the rope, while Christine approached Alicia.

Christine inquired, "Is it alright if Phantom and Liu pull us from above while I hold you?"

Alicia nods in consent, "Liu?"

"Ah! She's the other member of the Crimson Code. She's our communication operator for the group. Oh, um… Yes!" Christine stammered in panic, her words coming out in a rush as looked at Alicia with an eager expression.

"Speak."

"Um, uh… My? Uh, friend, Liu said she would be the one explaining the current situation of the game and other things. Because I can't explain good with my mouth."

Alicia raised a brow, then quickly regained neutrality as she glanced at Phantom, who was scaling the cliffside, 'That guy… Phantom already mentioned that though?'

"Very well." Alicia agreed.

However, Alicia could empathize with those who relied on Mind Networking as a way to provide information instantaneously and efficiently. There was nothing wrong with those who struggled to filter their thoughts into words and, having a sister in the same situation, she had developed a level of tolerance for such matters.

"Oh, ah! Phantom notified me that he had reached the top. Shall we proceed?"

"I understand your nervousness, but don't drop me."

"I-I wouldn't dare drop the Divine!?"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Alicia walked towards the rope, and Christine followed closely from behind. When they reached it, Christine wrapped the rope around her body with a stiff expression. Watching her, Alicia couldn't help but think, 'Can't you be more lax?'

After wrapping herself, Christine hugged the Divine from behind while saying, "Then, please excuse me."

Moments later, the rope began to be pulled up toward the cliff. The silence was deafening to Christine, as she struggled to focus on placing her foot securely on the wall while carefully gauging the strength of her arms.

"Did I escape from that castle above?" Alicia wondered, recalling her flight down.

"Y-yes, it's one of the deathpens designated by the Moonfollowers."

"Deathpens? Moonfollowers? Can you provide more information?"

"My sincerest apologies. Um, the deathpens is what people say when you spawn in the simulation world where you can likely die, and the Moonfollowers are the administrators of the tailgate expedition."

"You mentioned your group is a part of the Tailgate expedition?"

"Um, yes. Has Lady Vanes- I mean, did Princess Vanessa not fill you in on the details?"

Hearing her words, Alicia furrowed her brow slightly, "Not a word from her, unfortunately."

"Oh, the Expedition Tailgate was established by Prince Shin to support the initial exploration when the Yggdrasil opens, and in addition, Tailgate collaborated with the Frontier Player Exploration to Simulation Worlds Association in the real world. And Moonfollowers were dispatched for it."

"Oh. uh, so the expedition Tailgate was established by Prince Shin to support the early exploration of Yggdrasil. Additionally, Tailgate collaborated with the Frontier Player Exploration to Simulation Worlds Association, or FPESWA for short, in the real world, and the Moonfollowers were dispatched to administer such events."

At the mention of Prince's name, an unregulated memory resurfaced in her mind. She recalled a chubby man courting one of her friends during her school year. Though She had been uninvolved in the situation, due to her position, she had met Prince Shin several times which gradually led to friendship.

'He's here too? That bastard.' Alicia thought 'Did Vanessa involve me in this because of him? No, that can't be. She wouldn't do that to me. He must have manipulated her somehow. Regardless, Shin is to blame for this. I still have not forgotten one of his sins.'

"Are they located in Orothon, I assume?"

"Yes, your Divineness," Christine answered, "Ah, here we are."

Hearing so, Alicia swiveled her head towards the top of the cliff. She saw a woman with long, straight hair that swayed gently in the breeze, and since she couldn't see colors, it was impossible to define the color of her hair.

As Alicia's gaze met the woman's, she gracefully bowed her head and spoke, "Greetings, your Majesty, the Divine. I am Liu, at your service."

The situation to give her greetings was a bit odd, but it seemed to her that paying respect was far more important than helping Alicia. Although it wasn't something new, it still didn't sit well with her.

Alicia spoke, hiding her irritation, "Save the gesture for later, and help me up."

Liu spoke respectfully, "It would be an honor to assist the Divine," before holding out her tail and gesturing, "May I?"

"Do as you please,"

After receiving permission from Alicia, Liu gently enveloped Alicia with her tail, lifting her with utmost care and placing her in a safe location.

Immediately after, Liu knelt to the ground followed by Phantom, and couldn't help but comment on the fluidity of their etiquette, particularly Liu and Christine's.

‘Are they nobles?' Alicia wondered

Suddenly, Alicia noticed the rope pulled taut against the cliff, held by Liu with one hand. Alicia was puzzled by why Christine hadn't been rescued yet, but Liu decided to show Alicia respect

"Informality is fine. Pull your friend off the cliff," Alicia said.

While it's true that an Athari is expected to have a high constitution and adaptability, it will be bad if Christine is left there hanging. Liu looked at Phantom, who nodded in response. Liu then followed the Divineness words.

Phantom stood and reached his hand to Alicia, saying "May I escort you to your seat?"

'A seat?' Alicia wondered, looking around and seeing a dining table arranged with food and drinks.

But -

Alicia raised both of her hands, all were incapacitated to be used.

"Ahhh!" Phantom panic. "M-my apologies!"

"Don't worry about it," said Alicia as she strides forward to the table, leaving the trio.

Phantom quickly followed her and pulled out a chair for her to sit in. Alicia settled into the seat as Phantom stood behind her, assuming the role of her servant.

The candle lit on the table began to irritate her eyes. She instinctively used her third eyelid to shield her eyes.

Not a second had passed before Liu and Christine strode in, bowing their heads in unison. Despite openly declining special treatment, even approving to not exercise her powers in the game, she found herself pondering their behavior. Was it about power or influence?

"Take a seat and provide me with information that I need to hear," says Alicia, exuding an air of authority despite her deformed state.

Hearing this, Liu raised her head with an extremely joyful expression, and made her way to her seat, Christine obliged as well.

Before Liu could take her seat, Alicia spoke, ordering, "Liu, sit next to me. I will give you the honor of feeding me. Phantom, take a seat."

Alicia was aware that her power and authority were not applicable here due to the Protocol. Nonetheless, she acknowledges the influence she holds and the ones who are eager to support her regardless of restraints, deciding to utilize it rather than letting it go to waste.

When the Crimson code settled down, Alicia initiated the conversation, "Once again, I am Alicia White. I previously claimed that you are free to treat me like anyone else… But, I will not deny those who offer themselves to aid me."

With Liu beside Alicia, she smiled, beaming with happiness, "Worry not. I do not mind being your sword and shield. Please feel free to command anything; I am at your service."

Alicia nodded in satisfaction then continued, "Do you mind providing me with information about this world?"

Liu replied with a smile, "As of now, we don't know much about the world aside from the kingdom known as Ornella. We seekers have entered the world centered around it, but there are others who have spawned in the Labyrinth according to the reports."

'Spawned in the Labyrinth?' Alicia repeated in her thoughts.

Liu added, "It seems that your Divineness has chosen the 'World Arise' starting scenario, seeing that you have appeared here."

"The only seekers who have selected World Arise appear in the Labyrinth?" Alicia wondered, "This place is?"

"Yes," Liu confirmed, "We are currently within a Labyrinth of Ornella Kingdom… Well, the original name of it is called, 'Labyrinthum', I believe."

Glancing at her surroundings, Alicia found it peculiar – it felt like an otherworldly sensation as she scanned the area. The cold breeze of the night gently brushed her skin, and it felt as though they were outside. It never occurred to her that they were inside.

Perhaps the concept of the Labyrinth in the simulation world differed from the real world, and recollecting Vanessa's words of how unusually massive the simulation worlds were when developed by the FL studio, it made perfect sense in her mind.

"You managed to escape from one of the deathpens, but thankfully, we were able to rescue you before you went any deeper into the lake," Christine muttered.

Upon hearing that, Alicia thought, 'I had never considered the Lake's depth.'

Suddenly, Alicia's attention was drawn to a movement in the corner of her eye. She turned to see Liu holding a fork, hovering on the side. Sensing her need, Alicia opened her mouth, silently beckoning Liu to feed her.

While feeding Alicia, Liu explained, "It's a term that players use when they spawn in a dangerous location or have a high possibility of getting killed. Surely, you have recently experienced it, your Majesty."

'Christine already explained,' Alicia pointed silently, responding with a nod.

Understanding the fact that it was a common occurrence within games to the point that players made a term for it.

"The monsters in deathpens are usually aggressive and sometimes unpredictable. This one has the highest death toll, at least by our estimation." added Liu.

"I guess I was unlucky" Alicia claimed.

"Um, about that," Christine raised her hand.

Alicia nodded her head in approval. Seeing this, Christine immediately continued, "The verification team reported that spawn locations are dependent on the starting scenario and race of your avatar."

Christine wanted to know what race her Divineness avatar has so that she could continue her explanation, but she quickly decided to refrain from doing so.

Alicia wondered, "I'm a Phoenix Remnant. I managed to obtain it by merging my real-world race, the Phoenix, with the ghost race of the game world."

"I understand now," Liu nodded. "Based on the reports, most survivors of the deathpens have wings, and some were spirits. This would explain why you spawned here," Liu explained, standing in for Christine.

Seeing that other players have collected enough data to provide some kind of explanation, Alicia couldn't help but ask, "By any chance, do you have reports of what monsters were seen in the castle?"

Liu responded, skewering another berry to offer Alicia, "The survivors encountered mostly humanoid or demi-humanoid statues, spirits, possessed items, and undead-based monsters. What about you? What did you encounter?"

Recollecting from her memory, Alicia began to explain what she had seen, "I woke up in a room with a monster. Its body resembled that of a spider's opisthosoma, it lacked traditional limbs. Instead, it possessed long, human-like hands from its mouth, some of which had eyes sprouting from its palm. Even the monster's skin resembles a human's. Have there been any reports of such?"

Liu's face drained of color imagining the monster at the top of her head. Frightened, she asked, "Opisthosoma? What does that mean?"

Alicia was puzzled why she asked, but Christine immediately provided, "It's the large part of the spider, their abdomen."

"O-Oh, I see."

'Is she not an Athari?' Alicia wondered, looking at Liu.

"That is quite horrendous, how many were there?" Christine asked.

"I had only seen one in a room. They react whenever something touches them, but the noises seem to be fine. However, one major behavior I have discovered is that they are unusually aggressive when heat is present. Fortunately, my body was abnormally cold to begin with."

"Yo-your body is cold in the first place?" Christine replied, stammering her words.

"Yes, anything wrong with it?" Alicia questioned.

"N-None!"

"In any case, we haven't heard reports so far. You may be the first person who encountered it." Liu replied.

"Or, probably the first one to survive from it," Christine added.

"Your Majesty, have you given a name for it?"

"I named it a Handgobbler. It has numerous human hands, yet it still took mine." Alicia humored, raising her hand that was twisted and ripped from her body, but it was starting to heal.

"That sword…" Christine pointed, "Did that come from golems? Or, well, the statues that move out of sight?"

"What about it?"

"It's nothing special, but all the survivors have a weapon stuck in them; whether it be arrows, a lance, or an ax."

Alicia thought for a moment, but then realized something, "Oh, about Vanessa. How is she?"

"We're unsure about Princess Vanessa's current status, but she's part of the Control Team for the Expedition Tailgate, alongside other royals. And given that she is also a member of the broadcasting department, I believe she's working in the backlines." Liu recalled.

Alicia nodded at her words, a wide smile spreading across her face, seemingly pleased. Feeding another berry to Alicia, Liu continued speaking.

"According to her reports, she claimed she became Phoenix Aurelia, combining her real-world Phoenix with the game's Aurelia race."

Alicia smiled at Liu's words. 'She's still regarded as a Phoenix. That would make sense. We were both born from an egg under my mother's ashes. I will never forget Vanessa's appearance after she cracked her egg.'

Although Alicia was overjoyed to hear that Vanessa was considered a Phoenix, she couldn't find a logical understanding of how two races could merge.

"Aurelia, like moon jellyfish?" Alicia asked, confused about how the race in the game world would be mixed with a Phoenix. After all, there was no precedent for such combinations even in the real world.

Liu said, "I haven't met Princess Vanessa, so I am unable to provide you with the information you need."

Suddenly, a shadow moved, prompting Alicia to divert her attention upwards. She saw numerous winged people flapping their wings, and several more seemed to be present in the distance.

"It seems like the Air Flapper Company has arrived to escort you," Liu commented.

She struggled to see the figures of the winged players, the silhouettes they cast and the constant movement made it difficult to identify their features.

Alicia thought that her body had produced enough A-cells to adapt her eyes. Briefly closing them, she reopened her eyes, revealing thousands of humanoid figures gracefully flapping their wings above.

Most of them had their heads bowed, however, that wasn't the main focus of Alicia as her eyes exchanged glances with the moon.