Spoiler :

Hi there. You know how I said I’d take a break? Well… I’m quite happy with the few things I’ve already learned, so, though I’m still learning new things… I definitely shouldn’t screw up anymore (hopefully). So… here is chapter 15. Prologue and chapter one have been updated. Content didn’t change… like I promised.

To those who don’t care about spoilers at all and maybe even want to give me direct feedback… here is a link to my google drive folders.

(link here once it has been organized a bit)

Ah, I wanted to say that the ' key does not exist on my keyboard. I have ’ and ‘ and ´ and ` but that one, I don’t have it. So I have to copy paste it each time I want to write it. If you know a way to solve that… would be nice.

Now, on to chapter 15!

here is a chatroom you can use to talk to me.

PS: I heard you want a rom-com? Hmm... NO. Not involving Mana. But there are other characters in this story...

“So here we are. The end of the map. And this tunnel just keeps going further? There really is nothing here to prevent us from going?”

Following the map, Quintus and Carmela had reached the border of the region that was shown by the map. They may have been told that trying to escape was futile, but who would let himself be convinced by just that?

(There's nothing special about this tunnel... nothing hidden in the floor or walls...)

“Doesn’t look like it, even as far as I can tell.”

Carmela still had her doubts about how safe it was.

“What if they placed traps?”

“No need to worry about that. As long as you stick close enough to Quintus, I should be able to protect you. I’m able to… wait a minute…”

Help: While I do not recommend doing so… as this is what you desire, it will be done. Activating: Retina display, IO conversion, Enhanced HUD. Do you have any idea how much more complicated doing this is when I’m not able to read the user's mind? And you are able to perceive in 3D, converting that into 2D without losing too much data…

Shimmering dust raised into the air and covered the eyes of Quintus and Carmela.

“This” - in an attempt to see as much of the tunnel as possible, Carmela moved her head in every direction - “so, this is what you see?”

(Help, show me what they are seeing… why is Carmela's display so different from that of Quintus?)

Help: I have no access to what she herself is seeing, so instead of incorporating her own vision into the final display, I have to make a transparent overlay.

(Ah, so that’s why…)

“Not quite, but it’s as close to it as I am able to show you. You understand why we should be safe from traps now?”

Even if Quintus already knew about Mana's ability, this was the first time he got to experience it himself. For Carmela however, it was something beyond all her expectations.

“This… it’s amazing! And you are able to see the divine energy…”

“Enough of that… we came here because we wanted to find out how to get out, right? So let’s try doing just that.”

“...why do my hands look like this?”

(Help… did you really have to do this? Enable X-ray vision for HER?)

Help: It’s what you wanted me to do… :P

“Can… can we talk about this later?”

Meanwhile, Quintus was also looking at his arms while flexing his muscles. And as Mana was also able to see what he was seeing…

(Him as well? Oh, come on… looks like he is studying anatomy… to be expected by a fighter. But we’ve got something important to do here! Help, deactivate the displays for now. Also, tell me, just what were you doing right now?)

Help: Playing Skyrim and modifying it. I’m trying to make a model of this world… once this HUB for data is complete, incorporating new information into my calculations should become much easier. That… and I was in a bossfight.

(I assume that bossfight was also an essential part of your calculations… sigh… but I get to play tonight.)

Help: That was the very purpose of recreating this game as an IO program. Shutting down the displays…

“Hey!”

The instant the dust floated back into the small pouch Quintus was carrying, Carmela exclaimed her displeasure about that.

“... why did you stop?” -even if he didn’t act like Carmela, it was clear that Quintus had also enjoyed his new ability, however, he was more worried about the reason it stopped- “What happened?”

“You became distracted, that happened. If you want, we can continue this later, but for now, let’s do what we came here for.”

“I apologize.”

“No need. Just don’t lose track of our goals anymore. Anyways… let’s get this started. Since there seem to be no traps, let’s just try walking out.”

They continued to walk through the tunnel… and kept walking…

Help: We have been teleported. The ground below us is identical to the one we passed five minutes ago. No abnormalities were detected during transportation, it was instantaneous. While I am still unable to detect source or reason of the teleport, I have noticed that the teleportation area is absolute and will sever atomic bonds, leading to abnormal structures within the surroundings. I may be able to use this as a reference for determining whether or not teleportation occurred in a specific location from now on.

(Well dammit. So this is why there is no escape? With how even the walls are, we didn't even notice that it happened. But… this ability must have some kind of limitation… if the one using it were some kind of god, there’d be no use for taking us to the teleporters by car and all that... )

“Hey, could you stop? I think it would be useless to keep walking.”

“What happened?”

“We’ve been teleported… again. Could you step to the sides of the tunnel, I need to test something… thanks. Now then…”

A single bullet left the bag Quintus was carrying. It floated in midair, then there was the sound of an explosion… only a few seconds thereafter, a bullet flew past by them. And it passed again… and again… and then halted in midair to then go back into the bag.

“I guess nothing gets past that point.”

Quintus was the first to understand what had happened.

“So there’s no way to escape?”

“Nope. There is something preventing us from escaping. All we have to do is to find out how to get around it. But I don’t think staying here will get us anywhere so… let’s return for now.”

“Ehm… if we are just going to walk back… could you use that ability again?”

(Help, I guess you were right… that was a mistake. Well, no going back now.)

Help: You don’t say… activating everything again… honestly, this is such a waste of resources…

(Well, it will make you level up faster, no?)

Help: I can keep myself busy just fine. But I guess granting them part of your perceptive abilities may have benefits in future combat situations, so this could be considered as getting them used to it… yeah, let’s look at it that way.

On the way back, both Quintus and Carmela held their hands in front of their eyes while moving their fingers. They were utterly absorbed into the new world they were seeing… that was until Quintus happened to look towards Carmela. He turned his head away almost instantly and startled by the sudden movement, Carmela looked towards him…

(You… could have censored that, you know?)

Help: If they are to use this in the future, not being able to handle such images would be a disadvantage. And bothering to check for images that should be censored would take up even more of my resources. So no, I do not think I should censor such things.

(But… well, I guess you are right… still… this situation is awkward, even I can tell...)

For a long time, the sound of their steps was accompanied only by silence.

…

(Hmm? Carmela's display... Help, are you trying to pull off a joke here?)

Help: No, Carmela, after avoiding to look into the direction of Quintus just as he is still doing with her, is now indeed intensely studying his body's structure. Anticipating the moment where Quintus will take notice of that has become quite entertaining…

(Ehm… looks like you are right… I feel like I should do something about this situation… but I have absolutely no idea just what I should do…)

The situation had successfully evolved into an even more awkward one. For the better or the worse, Carmela interrupted the silence before Quintus noticed what she had been doing.

“Mana?”

“What is it?”

“You said the body is like a machine… I think I understand what you meant now. Could… you teach me how it functions?”

“Well… I guess I could… but depending on how much you want to know, teaching you is going to take a lot of time… ah right, to you, a few years shouldn’t matter. For now, I’ll try to find a way to get us out of here, but there’s more than enough time to teach you… so yeah, I’ll do it. But let’s get back first.”

“Okay.”

…

“Mana?”

“What is it, Quintus?”

“You… said that it is possible to create spare parts. Then… is it possible to improve those parts?”

(This is headed towards a bad direction… but there’s no use lying.)

“Yes.”

“Would those perform better than the original body?”

“You know… that’s a topic that was kinda taboo in my old world… even if the body can be cured and improved by looking at it as a machine, how much of what you truly are would be left after replacing everything? Would you still be who you were? Stuff like that… but the answer is yes. In most cases, that is. But it’s impossible to replace and improve your brain in the same way you could your arm. Or at least, that’s the limit of the technology I’m aware of.

Lastly… faster, stronger… that doesn’t necessarily mean better. It’s just different. Like a one-handed sword isn’t better than a two-hander, they are just different. But while it’s possible to make changes to artificial limbs… it’s close to impossible to get back your original limb once you replace it, so please think twice before deciding to become a cyborg.”

“... cyborg?”

“Ehm… that’s a term for a being that’s partially mechanical and partially organic.”

(If that’s what he wants… it would improve our chances to survive, I’m not gonna stop him… still, I have a somewhat bad feeling about this…)

Help: A mad scientist and a cyborg. Now… that would be an interesting relationship… I like it!

(...maybe I really should do something about this… sigh. As long as I don’t die because of it, may they do whatever they want to. Yeah. Everything has become like this because I didn’t want to be used as a tool, intentionally manipulating others when it’s not necessary would be too hypocritical.)

As they continued their way through the tunnels, they encountered one of the staff members. From his white and golden uniform which stood in perfect contrast to his surroundings, it was clear it was one of the supervisors.

“So you return from your trip to the border… how long did it take you to notice that there is no end to those tunnels? Ah, newbies… well, I hope you learned your lesson! The fewer people walk around, the easier my job becomes! You’ll find the way back by yourselves, right? Or should I escort you?”

“We’ll be fine by ourselves.”

“That’s good… ah, I probably should tell you that no matter how much of a genius you think you are, don’t mess with the blaze clan! They’ve kept earning the first place for decades, and the higher ups have taken quite a liking to them… we’ve lost too many new talents because they were too haughty… would be a pity if you were to suffer the same fate! If you think you have what it takes, try to join them, and if not, keep it low! Well, the tutorial is over, I’ll get going!”

...

(He shouldn’t hear us here...)

“Strange guy. The blaze clan? So there are organizations among the researchers down here.”

“He could be working for them.”

Quintus doubted just how much they could trust someone they just met.

“Well, I guess we should be grateful for this warning anyways. Since it looks like we’ll live down here for some time, we should inform ourselves about this place. Actually… we’ve been told about that tournament, but what are the criteria?”

“Let’s ask one of the supervisors once we meet one again.”

“Yeah. There are a few things I need anyways, no matter what this contest is all about.”

It was not until almost having reached the living quarters that they encountered another supervisor.

“Hey!”

“Hmm? You… are the new one, right? Is there something you would like to request?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard about the annual contest… but what’s the criteria? Should I build a weapon? Things you’d use in everyday life?”

“Ah, there is no need for you to participate in this year's contest… you just entered this place, there are only four months till the next one... forcing you to participate regardless would be unjust. Furthermore, watching a contest is essential to understand just what exactly is demanded from you. I suppose you have yet to join a clan? You should try doing so before it’s too late… if you think you are good enough, you could try joining blaze… if not, there are enough smaller groups that would be glad to get a new helping hand.”

“Isn’t this supposed to be a solo contest?”

“Pff! You ain’t going to get anywhere alone. We noticed that letting people work together would increase the chance of them producing something decent within the time limit… did nobody tell you about that?”

(That Roland… not telling us the most important things… it’s like he wants us to get into trouble.)

“No. Thank you for the information. Also, I request for iron, copper, zinc and sugar. About fifty kilograms each.”

“The metals will not be a problem… but fifty kilograms of sugar?”

“Coal would also be fine.”

“That amount of coal should cause no problems but… you are saying that you could use coal instead of sugar?”

“Yes. Also, a few liters of water. Hundred or so.”

“Well… if that is what you request… the materials should be delivered to your room within the next five days.”

“Thanks. Well, I’ll be going.”

“Try to not kill yourself during an experiment!”

…

“Fifty kilograms of sugar… just what is he trying to create, the world's biggest cake? And what in oblivion does coal have to do with sugar… tss, I’ll never understand those guys…”

Before reaching their room, they encountered one of the other researchers. Clothes covered with stains of various colors and a few holes, messy hair… he was the spitting image of a mad scientist.

“Hmm… never seen you here before… you’re the new guy? And that’s your… assistant? It must be nice to have some... helping hands… but honestly, you shouldn’t trust the dwarwes! They say they will help you with your research… but they’ll take everything away from you before you know it! Your research, your ideas… you haven’t joined an organization yet, have you? What about joining my clan?”

“Acting like this towards someone you just met… you sure are talkative.”

“Me? I’m the most secretive person you’ll ever meet! I can even keep secrets from myself! Sometimes I keep what I put into a vial a secret… and then, when I try to find out, BOOM! Or sometimes it goes zshhhhh instead… but those are quite potent mixtures! Got second place once… and if you would lend me those helping hands… you could join my clan!”

“And your clan would be?”

“Well, my clan! The name’s a secret!”

“I… think I’ll try to join blaze instead.”

…

“Mwuahahahaha! Divines! Ahahaha! That’s a good one! Joining blaze… haha… you haven’t been here for a month, and you already want to join blaze? What kind of genius do you think you are, Vulcan himself? No… you don’t just join blaze. Blaze makes you join. Well, you can try! And after you learned your lesson, you should reconsider my offer! Just ask for Archibald. Everyone in this place knows Archibald...”

“Well… I’ll consider it.”

Mumbling something about joining blaze, laughing from time to time, Archibald walked away.

“Don’t you dare join that man,” Carmela said, staring in the direction towards which he had left.

“Well… he seems strange but… ah, I see. You are concerned about that? Don’t worry, there’s no way I would let him do anything of the sorts.”

“What are you two talking about?”

“Well-”

“Nothing,” Carmela interrupted before Mana was able to answer.

“Yeah… I guess nothing.”

“But-”

““It was nothing important.””