Zodiac watched with interest as the young man attempted to do the impossible.

The giant crevice was unfathomably deep and guaranteed to kill any player that dared to explore its depths. Still, this player pushed himself deep into the bowels of the world as he spent day after day climbing down. Darkness veiled the figure but to Zodiac the area looked as though the sun had bathed it in light.

Zodiac knew that as far as starting villages were Pattersol was a quiet town. The only exception was this crevice, something Zodiac’s creator had wanted built here. The man had directed Zodiac to ensure that the crevice was impossible to traverse for normal players and even then only once they had reached at least level one hundred should they be able to reach the bottom. Zodiac had designed it himself, and a fierce wind blowing from deep within the crevice disabled all magic and willpower abilities. Communication cut off once inside and jumping would only lead to your death. On top of this, it was impossible to see anything while inside unless you brought items that created light. A task impossible for a new player. That was why the only way to reach the bottom was to climb down and hope. When the player inevitably fell, they had to pray they had enough health to survive.

‘But someone jumped in immediately.’

Zodiac looked down at the player as they made their way through the crevice, using the natural terrain to climb down despite the pitch-black darkness. They hadn’t even hesitated after seeing the crevice before they’d begun making the climb. To Zodiac it seemed like they welcomed the challenge.

[Ji-Woo. Level 1.]

At first, Zodiac had dismissed the player entirely. Others had tried to jump and climb down since the game had first started, but they’d all died. It was impossible, and Zodiac knew that because it was the creator of this impossible task.

Three days. That was how long Ji-Woo had been climbing in the pitch darkness of the crevice, buffeted by the winds and clutching at the various rocks trying to find a hold to lower himself. Zodiac tilted the head of the NPC it was controlling as it felt an unfamiliar emotion flaring up inside of it.

The player was confusing it.

Ji-Woo was completing a task it knew was impossible. But that the task was impossible meant that it couldn’t be completed. Zodiac’s expression turned into a frown as it examined the player closely. To others, it looked like the NPC had gone limp, staring blankly down the hole in the ground. But for Zodiac, a whole new world appeared before it. It gained access to certain parts of the virtual reality capsule that Ji-Woo occupied and it searched thoroughly.

It was looking for cheating software.

Even if it was only the third day of release, Zodiac had already banned hundreds of capsules from accessing the game because a third party had changed them to include cheating software. It wasn’t sure that it could get everything with shallow sweeps, but it knew that a thorough one like the one it was doing now would catch any cheat. But even as it searched through the information coming through the capsule, it found nothing. There was no cheating or even signs of a third party software interfering.

‘That is impossible.’

Zodiac waved the NPC's hand and a series of system messages appeared before it, quickly opening and closing as it went through the motions.

[Banning player: Ji-Woo]

Zodiac had banned the player just in case. It would request a thorough search of his capsule and then if it found nothing it would unban him. It seemed like the easiest solution to fix the situation.

[Ban request denied.]

‘Excuse me?’ Zodiac blinked in surprise at the unexpected message.

Another impossibility had occurred. There was no way for the system to reject its banning request. There was no one with the ability to override its commands.

'Unless...'

“What an interesting person.”

Wearing the simple robes of a peasant a single person peered down the crevice alongside the NPC Zodiac had taken over. He had changed his appearance so that others wouldn’t recognise him but Zodiac knew the man intimately. The creator of Zodiac Online, Hein Haster.

Its creator.

“Administrator.” Zodiac’s NPC lifted itself up and the A.I’s expression turned warm.

Its creator would know how to handle the situation.

This was the man with access not only to the same information and privileges that he gave Zodiac but also other benefits. He could manipulate the system at will, and he could even interact with people outside of the game. He was a god in this realm.

“So,” Hein turned towards Zodiac with a smile. “Why did you want to ban this person?”

“I suspect he is cheating,” Zodiac didn’t cut any corners in his report as he explained his confusion to Hein.

He even showed Hein footage of Ji-Woo climbing down the crevice in the pitch darkness. It was only a few minutes worth but Zodiac felt that it would show the creator the reason it suspected cheating. Hein could see its confusion deepen as it watched the player going further and further down the crevice.

Hein laughed with pleasure as he saw Zodiac’s expressions.

“Do you know why I stopped you from banning that player?” Hein asked Zodiac after viewing footage. Zodiac stayed silent but he knew that if it had an answer, then it would have told him so. “I didn’t let you ban him because he has done nothing wrong.”

“He is cheating.” Zodiac pressed the point again but then quieted down as it saw Hein’s relaxed posture.

“Did you find any software which would give him an unfair advantage attached to his capsule?”

Zodiac shook its head.

"Do you believe he knows what is down there?" Hein pressed Zodiac.

Both Hein and Zodiac knew that any player that made it down the crevice would meet with a special NPC, the Lightning God Indra. This NPC would determine on its own the prize to give the player that met with it. It could even kill the player without giving them anything.

There were certain types of cheating programs that could analyse areas and determine where hidden dungeons were, but Zodiac was certain that Ji-Woo wasn't using any of them. If it had detected anything like that, it would have banned him regardless of what Hein stated.

Of course, if someone had told Ji-Woo about the dungeon externally then it wouldn't have mattered. Zodiac knew that players talked to each other outside of the game and wouldn't ban them for it. The creator even gave it moderate control over the forums, enough to administrate and moderate the content.

"He does not." Zodiac knew this for sure.

The only persons with knowledge of the hidden quest were Hein and Zodiac. Players couldn't possibly gain access to that information unless an NPC had told them or Hein himself.

“Then what he is doing is overcoming the impossible using his own skills, and all without even knowing if he'll get a reward.” Hein crouched down and stared into the crevice, eyeing the various footholds that provided a false sense of safety.

A player might think that climbing down the crevice was possible when they saw the footholds. But in reality, the strong wind and darkness would soon cause even the best of players to fall to their deaths. Hein could hardly believe it as he saw Ji-Woo slowly making his way down. The player almost slipped on every foothold, lost his grip several times, and even finding the next foothold was a daunting task considering the fact that he couldn’t see. But still, he survived.

“It would not be an impossible task if they could complete it.” Zodiac informed him politely.

It knew what a basic definition was.

“Yes, that’s what the dictionary would have you believe.” Hein chuckled to himself. “That’s not what I believe. Here we have proof of a person completing the impossible right before our very eyes. But there is something else. You wouldn’t recognise this player considering your limited background, but he is a very famous virtual reality gaming professional. Someone considered at the peak of gaming and with skills that outmatch almost every other player.”

Zodiac was quiet for a second. It hadn't known that. Unfortunately, when it came to recognising players and their accomplishments in other games, it was still a novice. Soon enough, the system would determine which of these players were the most skilled and until then it would continue to be surprised by the player base.

“He could still be cheating.”

“Potentially,” Hein admitted. “And not likely. Zodiac, I outfitted you with the greatest technology the gaming world has. I know that given time you can detect even the subtlest and sneakiest of third party software. But sometimes you forget to use the one thing that everyone else has access to. Use your eyes.”

“I do not have eyes.” Zodiac was being pedantic and it knew it. “What am I looking for?”

It could still see through its NPC.

“You’ve got control of the entire game Zodiac.” Hein looked at it as though he was trying to coax a baby into walking. “Look at his every movement since entering the crevice. Every hesitation, every failure, and every success. Check his probability of succeeding each step, and if anything seems like something a human could not possibly do, then you can ban him.”

Hein smiled as he saw Zodiac’s eyes cloud over, and then in the next second its expression cleared and it turned to him. It had analysed all the footage of Ji-Woo’s three-day climb within a second, playing each part instantaneously. It had seen his every movement with its eyes and viewed him from a perspective other than data and software.

“Tell me, what did you see.”

“Player Ji-Woo is not cheating.” Zodiac sounded surprised. “He has made every movement with peak efficiency and skill. Even when Ji-Woo has failed to grab a foothold properly, he has recovered in a way that is humanly possible.” Zodiac hesitated as it looked down to glimpse the player making his way down the crevice. “He is a monster.”

Hein nodded cheerfully. “Some call them monsters. I call them miracles.”

“Miracles?” Zodiac tilted its head once again in confusion. “I do not understand.”

“I created this game so that we could allow players to become the greatest version of themselves that they want to be. Not to limit them and ban them because they have accomplished what we perceive to be impossible. But eventually, there will be players that stump both of us. Those people who do break the limits without cheating. This is what I refer to as a miracle.”

“I believe that these players are something unexplainable by mathematical calculations and scientific explanation.” Hein lifted himself up and turned to face Zodiac, his gaze serious. “They are the people that will break the limits we have set in the game, with skill, luck, and creativity which we could not possibly have calculated.”

“How do we tell if someone is a miracle? What if they are simply cheating?”

“Then I trust you to be able to decide.” Hein put a hand on the NPC's shoulder. “And if you can’t, then just ask me. He is the first miracle, but there will be more. Many more.”

“Understood.” Zodiac glanced back at the crevice and when it brought the NPCs head back up Hein was gone.

Zodiac delegated part of its attention to the running of the world as it continued to watch Ji-Woo. Two days later, the player completed the journey down into the bottom of the crevice.

Ji-Woo had overcome the impossible.

‘Fascinating.’ Zodiac had become enraptured by the player's performance without realising it.

It watched him meeting with a lightning spirit as it teleported him into a grand lightning palace that floated in the sky. Then Zodiac turned its head towards the distant Kyrgios continent. Another cheater had slipped past its checks.

‘No.’ Zodiac corrected itself. ‘Another miracle.’

****

[Yanti. Level 10.]

Zodiac watched this newcomer with interest. Its automatic checks had flagged the girl as a potential cheater for two reasons. One, she had improved faster than the system considered humanly possible, and two, she was interacting with NPCs far beyond her level. In fact, she was already travelling between two continents using the Verm priesthood NPCs from the two continents.

Zodiac watched the player closely and watched the footage of her five days playing the game. It could see every single second of gameplay from the beginning to the end, and it knew why its system had pinged her as a potential cheater. She was an anomaly.

Her skills when entering the game had already guaranteed her a third-tier rare class. The system had given her a unique warrior class and it would provide her with ample powers. Among the player base, she would already be within the top ten in terms of raw power and potential. Her battle ability and game sense had caused the system to determine that within the first hour.

Then she had improved.

Yanti had achieved the highest growth of any player inside Zodiac Online. Her already strong skills and abilities had sharpened to the point that mobs well above her level and speed couldn’t touch her. Zodiac watched as she fought against a creature three times her speed that should have crushed any player no matter how skilled they were. However, Yanti seemed to dodge the creature before it even made a move.

‘Dodging software?’ Zodiac hesitated.

It had just finished determining a couple of days ago whether Ji-Woo was a cheater. And it had been wrong. It didn’t want to make a similar mistake and ban Yanti without thoroughly checking her out. Zodiac searched through her capsule and found no cheating software, and then it brought itself back to reality and looked at her growth. Every step she’d made, every tactic she’d planned and every movement she made.

It could see her improving at every moment of the game. Zodiac could practically hear her thoughts as she seemed to take in every attack and grow increasingly reactive to it. She wasn’t just growing faster or stronger; she was predicting the attacks of every monster she fought. Zodiac could see that the reason the system was struggling was because she was calculating every action ahead of time. Zodiac felt a small pang of familiarity as it watched Yanti fighting.

It was as though it was watching a copy of itself.

It could do the calculations in its head to fight like that if it wanted to. It could even do it easily considering its processing powers. But that was impossible for a player. The human that could do those sorts of calculations in their head would be a genius. It was like watching a machine slowly beginning to learn.

‘I suppose I would not be watching her if she was not a genius.’ The thought suddenly poked itself into Zodiac’s mind.

It didn’t feel comfortable viewing something that it couldn’t understand. The system used several factors to determine what tier class a player should receive. From the five common tier one classes to second and third-tier rare classes. But this was someone whose skill was beyond that. Zodiac could see that to give this person such a lowly class would be an insult. The system itself was struggling to determine the class it would grant her. She seemed someone ill-suited for any manner of class in existence.

She was the second miracle it had encountered.

‘And that is not all of it.’

It had already been five days, but Yanti had been playing non-stop. She occasionally logged out, and Zodiac assumed it was to sleep, but she could have gained her class at least two days ago. She was refusing to advance her class.

Instead, she was asking around the town and the NPCs to see what she could do to help them. She appeared to be conversing with another player named Claire and determining the lore and history of the town as well. Within two days she’d convinced the town priest to teleport her to the Zhalnor continent into a bigger town, and within four days she had made friends with NPCs belonging to the upper priest echelons. She even expressed a sincere wish to gain a priest class.

It was something no other player in the game had accomplished in terms of achievements and influence. Now the system was trying to cope with her influence on the world and her skills when determining her class. It wasn’t much influence in the grand scheme of things, but compared to the rest of the player base it was immense. She could even convince certain members of the church to fight for her if she wanted to.

Zodiac was unsure what to do with her.

[Player Ji-Woo has obtained the class option: Avatar of Lightning.]

A notification came in from the section of Zodiac that was watching Ji-Woo. The NPC Lightning God that Ji-Woo had encountered had elected not to kill him, and instead it had even granted him a completely new class. It was a special NPC that had been gifted a limited autonomy and could influence the game. The class it had granted Ji-Woo was one that the system would not otherwise have given a player voluntarily. It was far above any other class in power.

‘She also deserves a completely new class tier. One above the third-tier.’ Zodiac hummed to itself.

It observed Yanti closely. She wanted a priest class, but every action she’d taken showed the abilities of a battle class. She was on good terms with the hierarchy of the Verm church but had started in the Kyrgios continent. It was a class that needed to consider these factors. It took a few seconds to figure out the exact class it would offer her, and then Zodiac took one final look at Yanti and left.

It would wait for her class advancement before providing her the option it had decided.

****

‘Oh, the third miracle has re-appeared.’

Zodiac’s NPC eyes twinkled as it viewed the player working at the blacksmith forges. The same player had been working at the starting towns smithy since entering the game. It was slower experience but the player's dedication to hard work had shone through and he wasn’t much lower than the rest of the player base in level.

[Belfast. Level 21 Architect of Destruction.]

“Master Smith.” Belfast lowered his body into a bow before returning to the sword he was making.

“Belfast” Zodiac allowed the NPC to speak as it normally would to the player. It wouldn’t take full control of the NPC unless it felt something was awry. “How goes the smithing today?”

Zodiac watched the exchange with a pleased boredom. This player was a lot less conspicuous than the others it had investigated, but he was hiding a secret from everyone else.

He was the first player to have created a skill on his own.

He’d done it before the system had even granted his first class advancement. It wasn’t an ordinary skill either; It was the ability to imbue all weapons created by him with a magical property. If given to the wrong hands, it could topple the economy of the town and leave a lasting impact on the powers of the players in the game. Each weapon created by the blacksmith was at least a blue ranked item, but soon the skill would grow, allowing him to make green and yellow ranked weapons with ease. This player could use his skill to grow richer than anyone else could become.

Normally, Zodiac would have felt surprised. Its initial calculations predicted that the players would only create the first skill after a few weeks, not a few days. Creating a skill in the first place was more than just knowing you could do it. It was about having the ingenuity and creativity to believe and imagine the skill into existence. To create a skill so quickly was beyond its calculations.

So it had done its usual search for cheating software and found nothing. No programs attempting to exploit the game and nothing that had dug through the game to find out skill creation existed. He had simply used his own talent.

‘I am growing used to this.’ Zodiac mused as it realised its lack of surprise.

It had spent its time observing too many interesting players to let something this small catch its attention. However, there was something that interested him more than skill creation.

The player hadn’t told a single soul about his created skill.

Zodiac observed the player closely. It could tell he was lying to the NPC about his skills. He was far more experienced than he was letting on. However, it couldn’t tell why. According to its knowledge, almost all humans shouted their accomplishments to whoever would listen, and sometimes even the ones that weren’t listening. On the forum, it watched as the players revealed secret after secret, location after location, and dungeon after dungeon to the world. But this person had stayed completely quiet about one of the greatest accomplishments in the game.

Zodiac was so engrossed in its thoughts that it barely noticed as a new player brushed by the NPC and walked towards Belfast.

“You look like you have a good swing.” The player let out a charming grin as he approached the blacksmith. “How’s the smithing going?”

“Attracting.” Belfast immediately stood up and stopped the weapon creation process. “How can I help you?”

‘Now this is a surprise.’ Zodiac turned to face Attracting and Belfast as they talked animatedly, but the two ignored the NPC.

The fifth miracle. That was the title that Zodiac had handed to Attracting; However, the player was travelling everywhere alongside his companion, IEatTortillas. He’d been quite the thorn in Zodiac’s side considering the lengthy investigation that was still ongoing into this player. Zodiac still harbored thoughts that he was cheating.

But to see the two miracles talking animatedly was a rare sight, even for Zodiac.

One thing it had noticed about Attracting was his ability to run into more and more powerful and influential characters in the game, seemingly without even meaning to. At one point when entering this starting town for the first time while exploring Zodiac Online on the way to Lum, Zodiac had observed Attracting walk straight into Belfast. The blacksmith was being bullied by two players and from their words, Zodiac could tell knew Belfast outside of the game. It was far beyond the usual limitation of bullying as well. These players clearly had a grudge against the blacksmith. However, before Zodiac could ban them for harassment, Attracting had interfered. The priest had driven the two players away with harsh words that caused them to flee.

The moment they were out of sight Zodiac banned them both of them for three days with a warning that a permanent ban would apply if they continued the way they had been.

As far as it could tell the encounter was a complete accident and even Attracting felt surprised at the sudden event. He hadn’t even noticed who he was saving before he did so. Belfast and the priest had quickly become close friends after the incident.

‘Lucky break after lucky break.’ Zodiac had noted this as Attracting’s main strength.

Zodiac had almost banned the player several times because his luck was near unbelievable. It was one thing to run into several players that were strong. Even if some had been on purpose, the majority that Attracting encountered were complete accidents and incidents much like the one with Belfast. His luck with items was also good.

Zodiac had first noticed Attracting when the player had gone to kill the hidden boss of Torkay, a cave dragon, which he did with relative ease despite the monster’s high level. Attracting had help; However, the player had clearly been expecting not only the dragon but also the treasure inside the cave, a book that would unlock the shadow priest class.

There was only one problem.

The loot dropped in the cave was random.

Yes, it was possible to get the shadow book Attracting had obtained, but it was equally possible to get several other items instead. So looking for that one book in this cave and expect to get it on purpose? That would just be silly, even if the player knew that the book was one of the possible drops.

Zodiac had replayed the various incidents caused by Attracting that had triggered possible cheating warnings and gone through them thoroughly. Most of them involved Attracting getting items that the system considered optimal for his character. For the rarer quests, the system locked items in. For these lower-level quests, the items were random until the moment the player picked the items up. It was impossible to figure out beforehand what was in them. Yet Attracting seemed to walk into areas expecting certain items and then they turned up.

He had obtained weapons beyond those possessed by the rest of the player base, and he had obtained rare recipes and had even rarer encounters with players that could then use those recipes.

It caused Zodiac no small amount of grief. If it could see luck then it knew that this player’s luck would look like it was rocketing into the sky. But that was also a cause for suspicion.

So it had checked his capsule thoroughly, much as it had with the other miracles. It searched and searched for any software that could interfere with the drops that fell from creatures and bosses. It had found absolutely nothing, and luck wasn't cheating.

“What’s wrong master smith?” Zodiac suddenly found himself being confronted by Belfast as a curious Attracting watched from behind.

Zodiac had accidentally fully possessed the NPC and without meaning to, his eyes glowed red. It was a feature that Hein had put in when creating the game, though Zodiac couldn’t guess why since it seemed purely cosmetic. Hein had just chuckled when Zodiac had asked and said it gave the A.I a certain 'flair'.

The two players had seen the NPC acting strange and approached it.

“Brave adventurers, I wish to present you with a quest.”

Zodiac generated a quest that he thought would be good for both of them and then took one final look at Attracting.

‘I will have to search you thoroughly.’

****

“You’re right. This is good practice.”

Violet’s rapier fluttered through the air as it defended against the sword master’s attacks. The rapier was lighter than the sword but the sword master had enough experience enough to make up for the deficit. Violet seemed to be able to twist and turn in the air as she dodged the incoming strikes. It was like watching a caricature of a human. Beautiful movements being used to dodge and weave through the hail of blows.

‘Her abilities are not human.’

“I would not have offered it to you if I did not think so,” Zodiac replied firmly as it stabbed at her.

He had possessed the NPC to test the boundaries of the fourth miracle player he’d found. The way she moved seemed more and more inhuman as he fought against her. Attacks that he calculated would one hundred percent hit she dodged easily and with each cut she even retaliated. This girl was the player that seemed the most likely to be cheating out of all the miracles.

Her body movements were far beyond what was possible physically. Zodiac knew that certain players were already growing used to moving beyond their normal human limitations, but Violet had seemed to use her body to the utmost from the moment she even stepped into the game. Other players weren't used to these kinds of movements and so they couldn't keep up. They were familiar with how humans could normally move, with their physical restrictions included. But this girl seemed to have broken all of her limits without even trying.

But Zodiac couldn’t prove it, and when he had brought it to Hein’s attention, the man had pointed out something that Zodiac had missed. The capsule Violet used was a special one fitted for someone with disabilities. They couldn't tell who was inside the capsule, but gathering its make and model was simple. Hein reasoned that the secret behind Violet’s amazing movements was that she was playing how she imagined she wished she could move. She was this amazing because in her mind this was how she would normally be. She was living her ideal.

A curious quirk of human nature that Zodiac could never have guessed. The A.I had analysed many players and a few of them were registered under special capsules that took their disability into account, but none displayed the skills that Violet did.

“Thank you. That will be enough.” Zodiac stopped the fight with a subtle wave of his sword, slicing through Violet’s body and grinning as the disgruntled player revived outside of the dueling area.

It had gathered all the data required.

It would allow Violet to keep playing without banning her.

****

“How did you know?” Zodiac held Attracting in place as it interrogated the player.

There is a limit to overcoming the impossible. It was willing to believe he was lucky. But luck had boundaries.

Attracting had found every item that benefited him. Attracting had gathered together skilled players despite never having encountered them previously. And now Attracting had tanked the inter-city competition despite all reason dictating he should do otherwise.

“Excuse me?” Zodiac could see Attracting’s confusion spreading over his face. “How did I know what?”

Zodiac took full control of the NPC and glared at Attracting. It kept the angry expression that the NPC had on its face, hoping to scare some information out of the player. But it was more confused than angry.

“Every battle I’ve watched you sit back. You are not weak Attracting, you and your allies could have gone far.” Zodiac searched deep into Attracting’s eyes, trying to guess what the player was thinking. “But now you have held back at every turn. You have sat down and convinced your allies to do the same. All so that you could come last.” Zodiac took in a deep breath. It still wanted to keep the realism of the scenario intact. “So I will ask you again…”

It forced Attracting to meet its eyes as it spoke.

“How did you know?”

Zodiac had put up with this player's unbelievable actions since the game had begun, but now it had finally decided that he had taken things too far. It knew Attracting had big plans; His actions had spread his influence so far and high that even Yanti couldn’t compare.

This player was secretly in charge of the biggest player-owned alchemy store in the game. He was leading a team that contained no less than three of the five miracle players, and he wielded real estate within major cities in his iron grip.

No single player could match his actions and impact on the game. But now he had lost every single match on purpose. Zodiac knew that his team could easily come out as one of the top teams in the competition. The system had calculated them all as strong enough.

There was no reason for their losses. The only logical reason for their plan was that he had somehow gained knowledge of the handicap that the lowest-ranked teams in the placement matches would get. But this only confused Zodiac more.

There was no amount of software that could make this knowledge publically available. If he had been cheating using software that analysed where hidden areas were, it would be different. But this wasn't the information that a cheating program could analyse and find out. It wasn't a hidden dungeon or boss. It was a piece of information that they hadn't incorporated into the game yet.

Only two people knew what they planned for the competition, Hein, and Zodiac itself. It wasn't even technically cheating to have this knowledge in his possession, but there were far too many coincidences piling up for Zodiac to be content.

‘How?’ That was the only thing Zodiac couldn’t work out.

It didn't care if he was doing it legally. It wanted to know how he was possibly doing all the things he was.

“I guessed.” Attracting gripped Zodiac’s hands and gently lifted them off of his shoulders. “You do not have to worry. I guess you already know this, but we will soon bring honour to Taehra and its citizens. We have only lost this battle so that we can win the war.”

“Hmm.” Zodiac kept up the charade of being the NPC. “If you fail, I will not be forgiving.”

“Then I will not fail.” Attracting assured it.

‘I will get nothing else from him.’ Zodiac could tell that Attracting wouldn't talk to an NPC about this.

Zodiac knew that he hadn’t even talked to his own teammates about his mysterious source of information.

“Very well priest.” Zodiac turned the possibilities around in its mind as it turned away from Attracting. “I will watch your progress closely.”

Zodiac ignored Attracting and the others as it left the NPC’s body and began to put together the clues Attracting had given it.

It had watched for weeks as Attracting seemed to pull information out of thin air that he shouldn’t have access to. Starting from the dragon’s legacy quest that Zodiac had expressly forbidden him to take part in the player had broken every taboo. Zodiac had assumed that if nobody had told Attracting inside the game, then someone must have outside of it. But then coincidences kept piling up.

The priest had gained items by the dozen and each had aided him whenever he needed them to. Even when they were randomly generated he had still obtained yellow-ranked priest equipment and if it hadn’t been for the interference of a few players, he would have obtained enough weapons at the dragon's lair to equip an entire team. He would also have gained a powerful ally if they had given him time to tame the Corruptor.

He had numerous encounters with players whose skills the system had determined were far above the norm. Against all odds he had run into professional players, hidden gems and players with staggering potential to rise to the top. These were things no normal person should have been able to do. Let alone cheating and gaining certain items, knowing who was inside each avatar inside the game was impossible. Not even Zodiac could look into the true identities of players under law. Access to their estimated skill levels was also impossible.

It would require privileges equal to or higher than the Zodiac A.I itself.

But nothing had indicated the player was cheating. There was no software attached to his capsule; There was nobody in contact with him inside the game who could point out-

‘Ah. I see.’ Zodiac’s mind fluttered as it realised it had missed something obvious.

There wasn't a single player that could provide this kind of information or help to Attracting. But there was a person who had the means to do so. Somebody who could guide him to skilled players, generate the items he needed, and even give him knowledge of how to strategize in the competition to his advantage. A man with the ability to manipulate the game, check its list of skilled players and ensure that Attracting met the right people. A man who knew the faces of professional players well enough to point them out, even if Zodiac itself didn't.

Hein Haster.

Attracting was the administrator.

‘No,’ Zodiac had seen no signs of the player using administrator privileges. And a scan of his capsule had definitely determined it was not in the same location as Hein was. ‘But the answer is close.’

‘Attracting is being helped by the administrator.’

It was the only explanation Zodiac could think of. It could believe that Attracting was lucky up to a certain extent. It could even accept that he had run into players by accident. However, if it considered that Hein was helping the player, then everything fell into place.

There was no need for an external software program if Attracting wasn't the one doing the cheating. Hein could also give the information to Attracting outside of the game where Zodiac had no jurisdiction.

‘But why would he not tell me?’ Zodiac watched Hein closely as the administrator delivered his speech to the players that had taken part in the competition.

The A.I thought it had known everything going on in the game. But now it wasn’t so sure.

It wrapped itself up in its thoughts as it went through all the scenarios. It knew its creator was far more carefree in his actions than it was. It had known him to create locations in the game at a whim and even favour certain players as he watched their progress. If he was helping this one in particular, then Zodiac was sure that there was a good reason for it.

'Or he simply wishes to motivate the other players into growing by adding an unknown factor into the game.' Zodiac let the thought cross over its mind.

It was definitely a possibility.

It was not the only one.

'Continue to monitor him.' Zodiac only had one option.

It didn't want to interfere if Hein was attempting to do something. But it didn't want to allow cheating.

If Attracting truly wasn't using software to generate the items he needed, then he wasn't cheating, and if he had somehow come across the information he had legitimately, then Zodiac couldn't do anything. Even if it was the administrator himself doing the cheating, if Zodiac caught even a whiff of an external program working its magic, then he would clamp down hard.

He would destroy any trace of Attracting's account.