CHILDHOOD ARC EPILOGUE

“... oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…”

The slight man’s mutterings were low and quiet but might as well have been shouts for all the good it did in the silent room. His body stooped itself over a broad table filled with bottles of liquids and trays of multicoloured powder. He made sure to keep his movements steady and even, so as not to disturb the powders in any way. He even positioned the trays in several efficient ways for himself such that if he made any accidents, his skill and experience could keep him from most dangers. To a person unfamiliar with the task, the powders were positioned in a way that they could cause considerable damage.

The man, who shuddered at the thought of any mistakes, went to pick up, check over, and then pack away some of the items. Some mix of powders for his work. Items and staffs that boosted his power and some extra miscellaneous items.

He sighed as he played through the little effects of each item and wondered if he was being a little too careful. Items and materials went into the different compartments in his bag as the man turned from the table. Movement still needed to be slow so he kept his movements even as he walked towards the curtain blocking one side of the room. Behind the curtain was a solid oak door made to seal the air inside the room. The curtain was also an extra caution to block air currents from disturbing the powders. He turned the handle of the door and heaved it open to reveal a darkened hallway.

Even exiting the building was no small feat as an array of traps awaited anyone who entered without permission. Even Expert thieves would have a hard time entering the building without being acquainted with the man. He found regular corpses every once in a while as idiots continued to tackle the building, but the man didn’t mind. Those bodies made good occasional sources of raw material. The man did not think any low life would be able to enter the building since the traps were set by…

The man shook his head at the thought of that monstrous person and walked through the quiet city. Unlike the other towns and areas, nightlife in this city was closer to a village than anything else. No wandering people walked the empty roads. No bars stayed open beyond the first few hours of darkness. And even the guards stayed where they were to stand guard. Everyone obeyed the rules and it was a madman that went against it. A madman, or this man.

He meandered through the city with quick steps and a gait that showed familiarity of the paths. Daily walks through these roads every day helped speed his journey in the darkness. Rustling plants pierced the dead quiet of the night as he passed empty shops and quiet alleys. Distant howls and clattering shutters dogged the man’s steps through the lonely streets. The city had adopted the look of death during the night, a look that no man could adapt to.

Soon the man was close enough to his destination that he could see the soft torchlight shining through the windows. The castle took up a great deal of the town’s space and could temporarily house triple the population of the town. A fortress capable of withstanding attacks from most invaders.

“Lower the gate!”

The man’s voice was not loud, but in the dead of the night it might as well have been a roar. A shadow poked its head out from the wall to peer at him before heading back inside. Some muffled sounds emerged from within the keep before the large gate before him opened. The sound of the creaking hinges made the man grimace in discomfort. He had to wonder what the sleeping citizens thought about it.

A sturdy young man came out to greet the man. The darkness hid his handsome features, but the white cloak over his shoulders glowed under the dim light. The soft clinking of his armor echoed through the quiet streets as he stepped forward to salute the man.

“Welcome, Sir Mage. The lord and lady were waiting for your arrival.”

“Yes yes, lead the way.”

The young man turned and set a quick pace into the castle. The sound of the gate closing behind them muffled itself as they passed into a side tower. Soon the two made their way through the dark hallway as they went deeper into the city. Both not worried by the darkness as their skills activated to allow them to see. Purple for the older man and yellow for the younger. Their glowing eyes dimmed as soon as they approached their destination.

Two sentries stationed themselves beside a lone wooden door and were watchful of any newcomers. Both of them carried Darklights so their eyesight wouldn't suffer under a bright light, a must have for guards. The two of them saw the approaching figures from afar and snapped to attention.

“Sir! The lord and lady requested that no one enter.”

“It’s fine, I am currently following their orders. Stand down.”

“Yes!”

Standard procedure dictated that the two men question their superior. The left guard opened the door to allow the visitors in and then closed the door behind them. They then went back to their guarding stance, wary of anybody else coming near.

The inside of the large room was bare of all furniture except for a wide bed which a woman lay upon. Heavy breathing came from her as her plain features creased in bouts of pain. Her dress was wet with sweat and a cloth had been lain over her enlarged belly. To her side was a tall man who held her hand in his own. Even from afar one could see that her clench was quivering with power, but the man bore it well.

Turning towards the newcomers, the man nodded to the younger man.

“You may leave, Yan.”

“Sir!”

The young man, Yan, gave a quick bow and left the room without hesitation. His only task was to do that one duty and, in all honesty, he didn’t want to be in the room when the birthing started. As Yan left, the middle aged man stepped forward and gave a short bow. He then eyed the lady and turned a nervous frown at his master.

“Lord— lord I must tell you that this is terribly out of my league. A midwife would do best. Or even a priest.”

“I know, I know. I just brought you here to protect us when it happens. You know I have a few enemies. This is the best time for them to strike, and I can’t defend against some… other attacks. Also, call me Renin...”

The middle aged man nodded at the noble and ignored the last part. He positioned himself near a corner of the room, a little to the right of the bed. Once there, he removed several ready to use scrolls, four staffs, as well as a wand. He took out the materials he had gathered earlier and combined several at once. With a flash and a small bang, a light smoke emerged from the concoction and he explained the uses to the curious lord.

“This, this is a light smoke screen. It will reveal any hidden bodies and magical uses. Good for detecting intruders or spies. I shall also place several scrolls that will boost my own strength when needed. I place these staffs at the four corners and each of them has a range of 5 meters. If any magus gets within that area, these staffs will detect them.”

With the explanations finished, the Mage went about setting up the equipment. At each of the corners he placed the staffs in an upright position and then released his hold over them. Their mystical properties showed when they stayed standing without support. As he placed the staffs, the magic user stuck several scrolls on each wall. When all the items were in place, the man moved to the center of the room and stood stock still. He closed his eyes, leaving both Renin and his wife wondering at what he was doing. At the moment, anything to get rid of their current thoughts was interesting.

The husband and wife both stared at the still man for some time before noticing what was happening in the surroundings. The four staffs had risen from their old position and floated a metre off the ground. Both ends had begun to emit a soft white glow that pulsed at regular intervals. Between the staffs, ten scrolls lit up with a faint yellow light that seemed to stretch towards the man in the center of the room. Renin looked at a nearby scroll and saw that the light was, indeed, moving towards the magus. He stretched out a hand to touch the light and didn’t feel any change as he did so.

“The scrolls are perfectly harmless, Lord. They just have a set spell attached to them. Energy conversion Intermediate rank scrolls, the scrolls convert the surrounding mana into neutral power and send that power to me. When the power reaches me it converts back to mana and I absorb it easily. Those ten scrolls are one time use and each converts a hundred mana per minute. You can see how effective they are from that.

“For the staffs, they emit a white light when no other mage is in the area. Once a mage does enter, the light changes into a red colour. If it is a priest or a person of religious calling, the colour changes to blue. Ah, I see you have sent for a priest…”

In the middle of his explanation, the man had opened his eyes to have a proper discussion with Renin. Near the end of the explanation he saw all the staffs lighting up with a blue hue and he turned towards the door.

“Let them in.”

Since he was already told of their arrival by the sentry staffs, Renin didn’t bother waiting. He called in the waiting people with a quick shout before looking back at his wife. The door opened to admit a robust woman, followed by an aged man in decorative clothing.

“Lord, I have come as requested. If you please.”

The woman’s kind voice belied her appearance as she went to the Lady’s other side and checked over her comforts. The woman found the accommodations satisfying and went to the foot of the bed.

“Lord, milady, sir Mage.”

“Father Leon.”

The old priest introduced himself without much haste and then situated himself to the far left of the room, behind Renin. When the magus saw that the ladies were about to begin, he made a quick turn and faced the door, his face red.

Even with his back turned though, the man knew that the Lady was too weak to undergo the task. Her breathing had quickened in the last few minutes and each movement was a struggle. The lady would find the birthing more trouble than it may be worth. With that in mind, the man started to cast a spell.

With his eyes closed, the man delved into himself with a practiced thought. He found his pool of mana, a large clear pond that looked both vast as the ocean and smaller than a pea. He examined the extra mana converted by the scrolls which were visible as ten long and clear strands. They had touched the pool and dissipated into the air as his mana capacity was already full and couldn't handle more. With a thought, the man grabbed three of those strands and shoved them out of his body. He then manipulated two of the strands and watched as they changed from a clear colour to a faint pink and yellow.

He then motioned the strands away from his body and towards the Lady. Bypassing the midwife who was in the way, he threw those strands at the weakened woman and watched as they settled upon her. One by one, they attached themselves to her body and the man watched as the lady recovered a little of her energy.

“I have to tell you sir, that I found your wife’s weakened state to be dangerous. I have taken the opportunity to attach several of the scrolls to her. One will convert the energy to mana, while the other two will convert it to health and stamina. The last two are both weaker than the mana conversion, but they should be better than doing nothing.”

Just how much ambient mana is there?

“Ah, thank you Simon.”

Renin cast a grateful smile at the Mage’s slight back and turned back to his wife. He had felt helpless when he cast his gaze on her, and couldn’t help but hate himself for not being able to do anything. Every person in the room was more useful than he was. Simon helped heal her and was also guarding them from others. Father Leon was praying for her and also gave support through his presence. And the midwife had the most important role as took care of everything else. What was he doing there? How could he, being there, help his wife? Then Renin felt a hand stroke his cheek.

“You worry too much, Little Red.”

“Gah, don’t call me that…”

The tall man blushed at the childhood nickname and his wife gave a small giggle. She liked to tease her husband a few times and make him blush, the reason for the nickname was her teasing anyways. She took her husband’s hand once more and Renin felt that the short time apart did not diminish that amount of heat in the hand.

“Alright, everything is ready. If you gentlemen will look away. Not you, Lord.”

Simon was already turned so that was fine, although his face was quite red at the moment. Father Leon was still praying behind Renin, his lips moving without sound and his eyes glazed over. Even so, he also turned around at the instruction of the midwife.

Renin tensed now that the time had arrived. His wife noticed his nervousness and tightened her grip on his hand. He looked up to see her smile which seemed to take his nervousness and throw it out the window. Raising the clenched hand, Renin kissed it. Then the birthing began.

“So the programs have been successfully uploaded?”

“Yea Boss.”

“Good. Our work here is done. You may join back with the main group later. For now, take a paid break for the next month.”

“Woohoo! Drinking timah!”

The man heard his assistant’s cries of joy and sighed in confusion. When he compared his two assistants, he couldn’t believe how much they defied stereotypes. One assistant had a wild and energetic look, yet he was calm and respectful. His other assistant looked like a doll with her long black hair and pale skin. It was unfortunate that her attitude would have fit a regular delinquent with ease. The man was sure that if he introduced the two, they would either set off sparks and start fighting, or somehow get married. At least, that’s how the stories go.

The man walked out of the room, his white lab coat flying as he went, and made his way to the only elevator on the floor. His assistant continued to clean up the work leaving him the only one walking down the hallway. Since the game was moving at ten times speed, the timing they had to work with was small. The owner had not allowed them to slow it as they had before. He found it unfair, but fitting for what they were doing.

A simple glance to the sides of the hallway revealed glass barriers. Those glass walls divided the different sections of the department. Although the game was complete, and had been working for upwards of a century, it still lacked several parts. This department was responsible for making and adding in the extra game material. Two of these were the Hero and Villain creation group. There were other sections as well, those ones not headed by him. He didn't know the specifics of each, but they were weren't as busy as he was. His section needed to complete their work before the game went out to the public.

The program files were random AI generated personalities constructed over the years. They were then tested through several scenarios that tackled a different aspect of gaming. Strategy, RPG, Dungeon Diving, Demon Kings, Revolutions. These scenarios were random and done to produce Heroes or Villains. Since there was a thin line between Heroes and Villains, several twin files tested in both groups. In the end, though, no file had been a success in both categories.

A simple scan of his gold plated ID, and the man was in the elevator, headed upwards to the top floor of the building. He exited the elevator there and made his way through a vast space that ended in a small room. Like the rest of the building, the hall only had a heat-resistant glass barrier that protected it from the outside. It was a decision that let in a great deal of natural light which wasn’t put to much use.

The Holy Grail of the company! Top Floor of the prestigious Terra Company that was to be the first VR company of all time! The place where the greatest ideas are born! It only housed one person in a 20 square meter room at the far side of the hall. Notes, drawings, books, doujinshis, and electronics cluttered the room. A single person created most of those items. The man picked up a nearby note before tossing it away. He didn’t need to know what new bedroom positions the owner dreamed up.

“Oooohhhh, it’s Polly~~”

“Please don’t call me Polly!”

The man, Polly, gave a practised reply to the hunched man sitting in the corner of the room. Polly had become used to his boss’ lack of responsibility, so he didn’t twitch at what he was doing. That nickname was the thirteenth one in the past year though...

“But Esther is such an unmanly name…”

“Polly is worst. I don’t even know how you got that name!”

“Oh? Did I not tell you? Esther becomes Polyester becomes Polly...”

“... I am here to report the successful installation of the Villain programs. Over the past two years, we have went through a thousand different personalities. We have gone through testing them until only twenty remained.”

“Good. How about the scenarios for them all...?”

“The testing scenarios have been taken down and back—”

“Not those. I mean the scenarios for the Villain programs in Gaia...”

“Sir, we left those to Jane. Same as how we did for the Hero ones.”

“Hrm… I guess that’s fine…”

“Is there a problem?”

“A person’s future is greatly influenced by their background. You know this better than I since you did all those scenarios. Leaving it randomly, there are very low chances of any events that can cause a person to go down the Villain path.

“Having your home taken from you. Having selfish or evil parents. Being neglected. Killing your siblings. Villain scenarios are not done because a person is born evil. It is the situation that makes a person evil. Well, there are obviously some psychopaths who can be called villains, but I don’t want deranged murderers. I want people who are smart and capable. People who could be heroes if their situations were different.”

The owner’s speech seemed to light a fire within him as he rose from his crouched position and approached Pol— Esther.

“Villains are people who do the things they do, because they were resolved to doing so. A thief who steals to survive. A mob boss who takes in the dark side to save his family and friends. A dictator who wanted to change his country for the better, on his own, without regard for the individual because he believes it is the only way. A terrorist who truly believes in his cause and wishes to fight for it. Salesmen who—”

“Yes sir, I get it. How do you want us to proceed then? Do we pick people off the main team and have them assigned to make scenario plans?”

“Nonono. I’ll do it myself. I’ve been having some writers block so this will do me some good.”

Esther stepped back from the dirty man and watched as he did a few stretches on the spot. Shoulder rolls, back bends, toe touches. He finished his stretches and then moved towards the door. Stepping out of his way, Esther placed himself a little behind the taller man and followed him out of the room.

The two of them walked into the hall and the man stopped in the middle of the room. With the elevator on one side and his room on the other, there wasn’t anything special about the area. There wasn't anything to at all! Just an empty hall with those two entrances. Yet Esther stepped back several steps to a predetermined position and watched the other man.

“Jane Roe, access code 444334434. Full administrator access to Gaia.”

”Access code accepted. Vocal recognition: Accepted. Body Scan: Accepted. User, ***********. Guest: Esther Gorwen. Access ID: Platinum. Accepted. Welcome, Sirs.”

The female voice accepted the two people in the large hall and for a moment the surroundings were silent. Then a large number of holographic displays appeared in the hall and floated around the central figure. Esther kept to the side and tried to keep himself from looking, but he couldn’t help staring at what the man was doing. His observations went unrewarded though.

Although there were many holograms floating in the room, each one was only glanced at and then controlled the next instant. Esther wasn’t able to get even a look in. The unassuming man cooperated with the AI system he created to access, manipulate, and oversee the world he made. A true god looking down on his system, he could change that world at a whim. A genius wizard who was the first to create VR, years before any predicted time.

“Esther, how successful was the Villain scenario?”

“Sir?”

Being called by his full name made Esther more than a little nervous. The owner’s voice was monotone and his concentration was at its peak as he accessed Gaia. Since he still tried to speak to Esther…

“I mean, what were the highest completion ratings?”

“The programs varied from the lowest, 59% completion average, to the highest at 78% completion average. 20 in all.”

“Huh, 78%? Was any other program close to it?”

“No sir. Next highest was only a 65% completion rating. My assistant and I agree that the program was the highest we could get under the set time limit.”

“I see. File number?”

“... NPC_file_CM13V92.”

The owner nodded at the name and a screen popped up in front of him. This one stayed for a few seconds and Esther saw that it was a chart detailing the information of an NPC’s status.

“He seems alright in that family. I’ll start planning a personal scenario for him. Jane, access NPC_file_CM13V92 and get me the scenario completion records for him.”

A few hundred screens immediately popped up and overwhelmed Esther’s vision. With a rush, the owner viewed, analyzed, and then used each screen. In less than half an hour the hall returned to a less cluttered view.

“Polly, you don’t need to stay you know. This will probably take all night. I’m sure your wife is waiting for you at home.”

Esther twitched at the return of his nickname and twitched again at the mention of family.

“Sir, I’m afraid I don’t have a wife.”

“No wife? Seriously?”

The owner paused his work to turn around to stare at Esther. He examined him up and down before turning back around. His mutterings were loud enough that even Esther could hear them...

“... good looking and not taken. Females these days are so picky. Ah, my future seems bleak…”

... Guess I shouldn’t say my fiance is waiting for me…

“I guess I’ll go home early anyways. Have a good night sir.”

“Hmmm.”

Esther left the strange man to his work and went for the elevator. He was about to scan his card when the other man’s voice stopped him.

“Ah, wait a minute Polly. If you can, set up another press conference in the next few days. Also send me my username and password for the company’s site. I don’t wanna have to get Jane to hack it.”

“... yes sir.”

Oh great, another live meeting for him…

The poor Esther entered the elevator while trying to come up with a schedule plan. His break plans were completely ruined so he knew he had to cancel the cake tasting he and his fiance had for tomorrow. John Doe was about to go out once more.

Dat Cliffhanger thoTBA

So... the last chapter of the arc! Meh, time to start the next arc. Dunno when anything will be finished, so meh.

People were commenting on my slow upload speed, and I just have to say you caught me at a bad time. The month of March and April is killer for a student like me. I had 3 essays due this month, and another 3 due at the start of next month as well as 3 responses. I finished the three, English, Mythology, and History, and now have to do another 2 essays (2k words and 4k words) for one class, an essay (2k words) for another class, and then three responses for the last class. Then I have exams... *grimace*

Absolutely no time to do anything.

For now, I'll just respond to the reviews... cause there's no place else to do so...

For the Progressive review... PLEASE CONTINUE!!! I had been refreshing the page for a while, in order to get the review... seems to have stopped...

For MeanMachine, I gave an explanation for my slowness, it's up top. As well, for your thoughts on the bullying scene, Michael was only 5 when they bullied him. Even if he wanted to hunt them down, how would he do so? Better to have him train up... For the recent chapter, Michael was still only 10. Even if you want to argue he was strong enough to take down the wolves, he had a LOT of help from Liera and Valerie... Give him a few more years of training. He was angry at his own fear and angry at the weakness he felt. I showed him giving sighs of relief when he didn't see them some of the time... Fear is irrational in itself.

As for the Cliffhanger... HAHA, it won't be touched upon till chapter 9. The next upload will be the Training Arc Prologue which won't be about the kidnapping... sorry~~ People who read the original may know what happened, but this revamp will NOT have the same kidnap scene. Or the same Harold... I'm horrible, I know. Making you guys wait to see the changes... Sue my school.

And last, but not least... NPC BEAT THE ORIGINAL!!!! WOOOOOOOHOOOOO ♪Tada♪Ta♪Tada♪Ta♪doo♪

Remember to continue voting. I would like to get back into the top 30... The fic has been bouncing up and down in the rankings. Went to rank 41 before... scary... Another 0.5 score brought it down to 4.72... :(

Yea, I'm annoyingly competitive.

Update: 10/05/2015

Well, I did give a message at my last comment on this thread, but some probably won't go and read the comments, so I'll just paste it here too.

"Blaaaaah, for people who are still looking here, I shall explain what will happen for the next while.

So I have a summer job at a factory and... it's about 52 hours of work a week. I get up at around 5 AM, get ready for work, and then work starts around 7:30 AM. Then it finishes around 6:30 PM and I get home (lots of traffic) in about 40 mins to an hour. At that time, it will be around 7:30 PM and I will probably take a shower, go online for a few minutes, then sleep in readiness for the next day.

On friday, work ends around 5:30 PM and traffic is about a few times worse. This means I arrive home around the same time. Saturday I have work from 7:30 AM to 12 PM so it isn't as bad.

All in all, next to no time to actually work on chapters... and here I was, hoping to be able to write over my summer "break". Damn, I hate work...

I'll look here every once in a while, but no chapters will be given out for the next while. Money is important....

I'll also try to save up enough to get a few artworks for the story. At the same time, I have to save up for my car insurance, school fees, and gas... good god, gas is expensive nowadays...."

And... yea...

Update: 14/02/2016

Welp, just an update. While I do have chapters done for NPC, I won't be uploading till the arc is completely finished.

The main problem with this arc is all the new content planned. Since the training arc was pretty much skipped in the first draft, I will need to plan a good plot for the arc as well as multiple conflicts.

Also, a few major differences will occur. For starters the mad character of Harold will be changed. Instead, Cider becomes more mad than before. Also, I'll be adding a third student character to the group in order to make it more reasonable and more interesting. The character will be male.

I will also go into more detail of some individual businesses within the Five Guild system. This will not include the merchants or the rogue classes.

Welp, here's hoping this doesn't stay on Hiatus for longer than a few years... sigh...