Chapter 4: New Beginnings

Noah was led out of Mr Morris’s domain by Natasha. They entered the strange 360-degree elevator, falling back to the large open lobby with the cat’s playing poker painting. The area was significantly busier than when he arrived here yesterday afternoon, species lined up at the various counters, purchasing various things from the employees. I guess even among people with access to the void there still exists a hierarchy. From what Noah had seen so far, domain sizes varied significantly, indicating the presence of classes even here. Natasha seemed to know what Noah was thinking and turned towards Noah as they walked towards the exit.

“Mr Valentine, the workers here and any other species with a small domain are not ‘poor’ in the traditional sense, most, if not all can live in luxury by their own worlds standards. Advanced worlds wouldn’t bother granting a world space technology, since it can’t be reproduced and thus any profit-sharing agreement would be pointless for them. Therefore, lower worlds typically must pay outright for individual items that they can pretend to be holy items or gifts from gods etc. If their world has something special to trade then it’s possible to get around this, but even then, would it be beneficial to bring lasers into a world with swords and shields?”

Noah nodded, adding, “I guess that would just cause more chaos, right? Development can be rapid, but you can’t skip steps. We have a similar issue with poorer nations having access to advanced weaponry, but the governmental structure, ethics, healthcare, and the economy are underdeveloped. This just causes endless war.” I’m confident Earth is developed enough to not have to pay outright for alien products, but I hope we have enough to offer others too, otherwise I’ll be restricted to one revenue stream of credits.

Noah had already decided he would do his best now that he was in the Void. He also had a lot of respect and gratitude towards Mr Morris who came to his aid when he first arrived here. Well maybe I just like him because he appreciates comics. Noah smiled to himself as they reached the large automatic doors leading to the outside.

“Now in order to find your domains location you simply have to ask your card, I’d recommend doing some sightseeing on your way.” Natasha said, stopping just before the doors. “Thank you very much for everything, and umm, sorry about the room last night”, Noah said awkwardly. Natasha simply giggled before turning around, her silver hair fluttering behind her. “I look forward to seeing you again Mr Valentine.”

“Haaah”. Noah took a deep breath before beginning his journey through the city. He was nervous but now that he was surer of himself, excitement dwelled within him. People filled the streets, the weird and wonderful vehicles moving by. The variety is really huge… and insane as ever, Noah thought as he saw something resembling a large moving toilet on wheels, being driven by a fish person wearing a fedora. The pearlescent clouds filled the sky, casually floating without a care in the world. If Noah had to choose his favourite new thing he had seen since coming here, it would be the rainbow clouds. They really radiate fantasy, yep, yep. Noah stood nodding to himself, deliberately ignoring the fish person in traffic.

“You like the sky dragons?”

“Woah!” Noah shouted, surprised at the voice from behind his shoulder. Turning around, Noah saw a sparkling pair of green eyes staring into his own, his nose almost touching the strange person pressing against him. “You look like me. Are you an elf? No, you can’t be, I haven’t invited anyone here for 100 years, maybe an elf from another world?” The voice continued, disregarding the flustered expression on Noah’s face.

Noah took a step back, and what he saw was something ethereally beautiful. Silky platinum blonde hair, long ears with fair skin, wearing a revealing white top and a short, light green skirt. An Angel? Holy shit she’s so pretty it’s suffocating! Noah’s mind race as his logic fought world war three with his hormonal teen body. “Hey! Hey! So what are you? Let me see your ears.” The girl stepped forward, again right up against Noah, her hands reaching up and grabbing his ears. Noah thought he would explode. While he was friends with girls before, he never had the desire to bring a girlfriend into his dysfunctional life, so in the presence of such a goddess he had no idea how to react, flapping his mouth like a fish out of water as the girl touched his ears curiously.

“Round huh, well other than that you look like an elf!” The girl said cheerily as she took a playful step back. “The name’s Eva Littleflower, nice to meet you!” A one hit KO! At the sight of a pretty girl smiling at him so sincerely, Noah’s brain stopped working. “Umm, I’m Mower Valentine” Noah stumbled, messing up his own name.

“Nice to meet you Mower Valentine”, the girl replied innocently. After hearing his jumbled name said back to him Noah snapped out of his daze. “Ah sorry! I don’t talk to girls often. My names Noah, Noah Valentine,” he repeated awkwardly, his ears burning red. This phenomenon seemed to attract Eva’s attention as she again grabbed onto Noah’s ear, staring at it curiously. “Ah! Umm… you were saying something about sky dragons?” Noah desperately changed the subject, brushing off the girls’ petite hand from his left ear, avoiding eye contact in the process.

“Yeah! You were looking at them earlier, the rainbow creatures in the sky.’ The girl pointed up past the towering buildings of the city. “Dragons?! But they’re so cute and fluffy?” The girl turned to Noah with a giggle. “What are you talking about silly, of course they’re cute. They float around the void and occasionally shed their fluff. If you’re lucky and some falls on your domain, it’s a popular commodity on the marketplace. My top’s made of it too, wanna feel?” The girl puffs out her chest completely oblivious to the ridiculous thing she’s asking of an 18-year-old.

“Huh, so they aren’t all scaly and breath fire. What a shock.” Noah muttered listlessly, completely ignoring the girls offer. As a young man, of course he loved the idea of epic fire breathing dragons, but what he saw was essentially a flying rainbow sheep. Well, they’re certainly cute though… But Noah’s childish dream of seeing dragons was saved by his new acquaintance.

“Hmm if you’re looking for those kinds of dragons, you can come visit my world some time! But these guys are native to the void itself.” Eva said nonchalantly, turning her head cutely to the side in thought. “Omg! Yes please!” Noah almost squealed in response, causing Eva to laugh. “Ok well let me add you as a contact, tap your void card on top of mine newbie.” Noah did as she said, the golden screen popping up in front of him yet again as he tapped his gold card against her green one, adorned with golden vines.

Eva Littleflower added to your contacts~, First woman to give you their number, oh they grow up so fast~”

Ignoring his card, Noah continued. “Wait did you just call me newbie? Well, you’re right, my first day in the Void was yesterday.” Eva smiled teasingly in response. “I mean yeah, you were looking at everything in the city like a newborn baby, and everyone in the void knows about sky dragons!” Noah’s face turned a little pink again in embarrassment.

“So what type of world do you come from? Tech, magic, or both? My worlds magic, but sadly due to some circumstances, it’s been a bit stagnant in terms of development recently.” Eva’s expression turned briefly sour. “We don’t have magic, though we do have stories about it. In terms of technology, we have spaceships, but they’re limited to our closest planets, and only a few people have stepped on our moon.” Noah replied honestly. Eva nodded with an expression that tried to be serious, but Noah just thought it was cute. Then her face beamed in a smile upon realising something. “Hey that’s it! I’ve asked some of the other tech worlds but they’re all way too far ahead and don’t really want to deal with me. Some of them are just sexist though… I was actually on my way to a meeting with Mr Morris, you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get a meeting with him.” Eva sighed, obviously frustrated. “But maybe we can help each other, I can introduce magic and you can help me out with technology, it’s a win win!”

If someone offered you magic powers, you would typically brush them off as a grifter or a lunatic, but in this situation in the Void, seeing a beautiful elf girl so excited about working together, what options did Noah have? “Of course! This sounds like a great idea, though it might have to wait a while, I need to get my bearings and plan out my future objectives.” Even though I’d rather start right away, but I mustn’t be a simp!

Sounds like something a Simp would say.

“Shut up, and how do you know what a simp is?” Noah whispered to his card.

“Hmm that’s ok, I’ve still got my meeting with Mr Morris, but I’ll be sure to contact you later. Oh, and I’d recommend going online and having a look at some guides on starting off as a trader, my friend Nina runs one.” Eva said, not noticing his whisper.

“Ah, Noted.” Replied Noah.

Eva skipped past him, her hair fluttering in the breeze, before she swung around to face Noah.

“Well I’ve gotta go Mower Valentine, it was nice meeting you!” Eva shouted, sticking her tongue out as she blended into the crowded street. “Noah! It’s Noah!” The embarrassed human yelled into the crowd, the only response being loud laughter from further down the path.

Stupid! You had to fuck up your name, I am not a gardening tool! Noah chided himself. Giving up, Noah resumed his walk through the city, finally deciding to make his way to his domain so he can get some rest. “Excuse me Ms Card can you please show me the way to my Domain?” Noah called out into the street, a few people looking at him with warm gazes.

Yeah that’s fine, also you don’t have to talk out loud, thought I’d mention that.

Now you tell me that? Everyone probably thinks I’m stupid!

Oh Noah, you don’t need to do that for people to think you’re stupid. You’re plenty stupid already.

When did I sign up to be a punching bag huh?! Noah complained at his cards sarcasm before a golden trail appeared in front of him, the line moving towards the city’s outskirts. After following the magical google maps, Noah finally reached his Domain about two hours later. What stood before him was a small wooden cabin, while not decrepit it certainly looked aged. The cabin was located in a quiet suburb, the closest neighbour was about twenty metres away. From the quality of the houses nearby, all varying in architecture to match the species which resides in it, Noah could tell that the area was no slum. It was certainly better than what Noah was used to.

With Noah’s expectations already fairly low for what he considered free accommodation; he was pleasantly surprised. Pushing on the wooden door which could use some lubricant, he felt a resistance on his body like he had just walked through a spider web. “Ok that was weird” Noah said, reaching out to feel the strange force field that seemed to cover the door.

No need to worry, that was simply the remaining energy from when the Domain was formed upon your arrival. The entry barrier will be unnoticeable after a few days.

Noah listened to his cards commentary as he moved his gaze across the living room. There was only a living room and two other doors, which turned out to be an empty bedroom and bathroom. “Wait so this house was just created out of nothing when I arrived?” Noah asked aloud now that he was alone.

Yes, the void expands when a new world joins, eventually the void expanded enough for your world to be included. Upon your arrival a portion of that expanded space was allotted to you for your Domain. Should you wish to expand your space, you must spend Void Credits.

“Ok that makes… sense?” Noah didn’t fully understand how everything worked, but he knew there was always a cost and that something couldn’t come from nothing. What Mr Morris also said when they made their deal implies that the Void has a way of generating Void Credits based off the value his comics have on his world. What the void gets out of worlds trading assets is apparently valuable enough to justify the practice. Noah shrugged, not wanting to go down a rabbit hole right now.

“Ok so what now?” Without saying anything, a clear screen appeared in front of Noah. The interface was similar to a tablet, different applications represented through small icons. There was the messaging app, the only contacts being Eva and Mr Morris. Huh I wonder why I didn’t get a notification when Mr Morris added me?

That’s because Natasha told me to hide it so as to not overwhelm you as you were still adjusting yourself.

Noah simply shrugged, it wasn’t a big deal, in fact he was happy he would be able to contact Mr Morris again. Looking at the other apps he found a map, phone, credit balance, personal status and an app called Voidnet. Curious as to what Voidnet was, Noah tapped on it, his finger actually touching the floating screen like glass.

Noah immediately knew what the app was when he saw the front page. It was the internet, but that wasn’t all. It contained various social media from webpages, blogs, news, and videos. Voidnet was essentially identical to the internet of Earth. The one thing that differed however was the section containing the marketplace. Species listed their items for sale, products from their world. There were even rankings in each category for popular and trending items etc. The place was incredible, and Noah spent close to an hour sitting on the floor looking through the weird and wonderful products.

There were blueprints for hovering vehicles, all different depending on the laws that governed each world. Some used magic while others used nuclear fusion. There were species selling fruits that cured diseases or healed wounds. “Holy shit if this is real this is incredible!” Noah yelled out in excitement. “Is there anything within my budget? If I recall I have 99 credits remaining.” Noah muttered, as he looked at a 20,000 credit luxury space cruiser in awe.

Unless you like to live in mouldy cabins, consider buying a starting home kit.

Typing that into the search bar at his cards request, Noah found a few options.

Tier 1 starting home kit

Cost= 5 VC

Quality= C

Contains: All required household items for a level 1 Domain

Tier 2 starting home kit

Cost= 15 VC

Quality= C+

Contains: All basic household items for a level 1 Domain and office set

Tier 3 starting home kit

Cost=30 VC

Quality=B-

Contains: All basic household items for a level 1 Domain, office set and outdoor set

“Well, those descriptions are annoyingly vague.” Noah complained as he thought about which option to buy. I Don’t want to spend too much because I have no idea as to what my earnings will be. Scratching his head, Noah’s finger hovered over the screen before he moves over to the messaging tab. “Maybe I should message Eva? I mean there’s no harm in making friends, right?” Noah justified.

Friends… Right…

Ignoring his cards sarcasm, Noah sent a message to Eva.

[Hey, I know we just met but I was wondering if you knew what starting home kit is best? I was thinking of getting Tier 2.]

A few seconds later he got a reply.

[Oh hey! Seems like you figured out the interface huh, well I guess it’s pretty easy since it’s tailored to each species. Anyway, go with tier 2, you don’t need a garden right now and more expensive home kits and personalised ones are better down the track once you make some money.]

[Thanks, talk soon.]

[Ok!]

After replying, Noah went ahead and bought the tier 2 home kit. He saw his balance go down in the corner of the screen and then a bright flash of light filled his vision. After the light receded Noah was stunned. The old cabin had completely transformed, an elegant brown leather sofa sat in front of a warm fluffy rug. A large flatscreen TV sat above a brick fireplace which had appeared out of nowhere. The wooden floors and walls maintained the aged style but appeared clean and new. Noah walked over to the opposite side of the living room where a small but clean kitchen now sat. The bathroom contained a modern toilet and shower but had a fancy cabin vibe like some picture out of an interior design magazine. The Bedroom simply had a queen size bed and a closet, but there was now an extra office attached with a computer sitting on a table with a wide front facing window.

“Holy shit! This is an entire renovation!” Noah shouted, his hands combing back his hair as he spun around his new office. Walking to sit down on his computer, he found he not only had access to the same systems as his card, but also software from earth you’d find on an office computer. He could even access Earth services like the internet, streaming sites and other things.

With excitement running through his veins, Noah eagerly clicked on the market tab of Voidnet and sorted items by world products and then by price. He wanted to find the cheapest and most interesting things he could buy from other species, not from the Void like he did with the renovation.

After scrolling for a while, a smile crept up on Noah’s face. If this does what I think it does, then this will fucking blow up on Earth. Noah clicked on the users profile and sent a message.