Restricted Sector

Building 3

Level 5

Observation Room A

The observation room’s door slid open, and a bearded, muscular man in his early forties walked in. He was dressed in a fitted brown suede suit and had an air of authority about him. Once he entered, all the scientists exited without a word, leaving only Akari and him.

Running his hand through his slick black hair, the man walked up to Akari, who looked less than happy to see him.

"Nagato." Akari greeted, keeping his gaze on the machine in the next room.

"Nice to meet you too, Akari." Nagato pulled out a rather large cigar from his inner coat pocket and snuggled it between his lips. "Got a match?" He had a rather light voice with did not match his intimidating stature.

Akari frowned as he rebuked, "This is a no smoking area."

"Give me a break,” Nagato wailed in response. “I've had to sit with the most tight-assed figureheads around the world for the past month. I deserve a smoke."

Akari sighed then relented. He pulled out a lighter from his pocket and handed it to Nagato, who gleefully accepted it and lit his cigar.

Nagato took a long drag on the cigar, then slowly breathed out a delicate plume of white smoke. He leaked out a smile as he looked at the cigar and praised, "Ooh, the good stuff."

Akari snorted at the older man’s exaggerated behavior. "That stuff will kill you."

"Then I die a happy man," Nagato chuckled and turned to the observation screen. "You finally let him out. The uppers are really uppity about this."

"Still with the lame puns," Akari condemned as he playfully shook his head in disbelief.

Nagato chuckled as he took another drag of the cigar. "That's why the ladies love me."

“If you say so,” Akari off-handedly commented. Eager to change the topic, he asked, "How did it go at the Expo?"

"Bad and good,” Nagato replied. “Depends on who's looking."

"Explain."

"For our purposes, everything's going according to schedule, but the government is less than satisfied."

Akari did not seem surprised by the news. He took it in his stride and asked for clarification, "The Americans?"

"Not just them,” Nagato revealed with an exaggerated shrug. “The Russians and the Chinese stepped up this time. Japan has once again been left behind. Won't be long before we start receiving more pressure."

Akari’s brow rose in interest. "What did they bring to the plate this time?"

"The Americans and the British finally finished their battle suit prototype,” Nagato explained, then added with a snide smirk, “They’ve succeeded in turning their soldiers into every sci-fi nerds' wet dream."

Akari’s eyes shone as he looked at Nagato, genuinely intrigued by this. "How'd they get it to work?"

"Most soldiers have chips implanted into their brains which they use to control their suits,” Nagato explained. “The downside is that they need to undergo augmentation to use the more advanced suits. That's not all. They’ve made several improvements to their mechs too. They now have improved mobility and response times, though they chose to scrap the humanoid robots. Ineffective, they were dubbed."

"Wonder what that says about humans." Akari sighed. Humanity had a shallow opinion of itself. " And the Russians?"

"The Russians had the same idea and came up with a new mech they call Neith,” Nagato answered. “It’s a manned spider-like mech that can jump three times its height and possesses a lot of firepower. Its legs can change properties, giving it the ability to scale walls and traverse various terrains. Oh, and guess the best part."

"It has a bloody web?" Akari said through gritted teeth.

"Ditto! The damned thing has a web! Well, not exactly; It's an elastic polymer that hardens when electricity runs through it. Nifty in disabling and capturing other mechs. Oh, and lest we forget. They have their very own battle suits! It's much larger than the Americans' though. Loses in speed, but its firepower and armor are unrivaled." The smile on his face did nothing to mask the terror in his eyes.

Akari sensed the older man’s unease and placated his fears, "We will finish in time. Do not worry so much. It does not suit you."

"This project has been going on for over ten years,” Nagato complained. “In which time we've spent billions and only gotten one flawed success. Yet, you believe we will have multiple successes in a year?"

"Shouyou does. That's enough for the boss." Akari's eyes narrowed. He did not care for the half-breed much, but the CEO of the company trusted him.

Nagato snorted. "The little upstart huh."

Both men fell silent, each engrossed in their own thoughts. An alarm rang out from Nagato's pocket, and he pulled out his phone. "Time to leave. I've got a lot of asshats that need talking to."

"Tell your wife I said hi."

"Nope. Don't want her falling for your ass, 'Lady Killer.'" Nagato laughed and walked to the door. "You've got this right?"

"Worry does not suit you."

"You didn't answer my question." The door slid shut behind the older man.

"I know." Akari sighed as he was left to his thoughts.

Mònòch,

10:26 am, 6 th Ryanem 1091.

Syèl, oblivious to the events unfolding in the real world, followed the strange halben he met outside the library to the lower levels of Mònòch. They stopped in front of a wall, and the halben placed a hand on it. With a soft grating sound, a piece of the wall slid upwards, revealing a tunnel.

"Follow." The halben guided Syèl through the dingy tunnel, remaining silent throughout the trip.

The tunnel eventually opened up to a vast underground cave. Syèl spotted several robed figures hunched over tables or bowls practicing arcane spells. None of the mages spared the new entry any attention as he walked past them.

"You going to tell me where we are?" Syèl asked as the halben guided him past the main cavern through one of the numerous tunnels connecting the cavern to different places. He did not receive a reply. Surprisingly, rather than get annoyed, Syèl only shrugged and muttered, "Okay then."

Eventually, they arrived in a poorly lit room. Syèl’s attention was drawn to the center of the room where a fantastically large book occupied a pedestal. Even more intriguing was the presence of several hooded mages sat around the book, bowing to it.

"This is the book of the Fallen,” the hooded guide introduced as he pointed a bony finger at the pedestal. “If you wish to gain power, you must read all of it."

Syèl’s eyes widened as he stared at the book. It looked like it was at the very least thirty centimeters thick and was as long as his arm. Syèl took a rough estimate and exclaimed. "That's over thirty thousand pages!"

"Six hundred and sixty-nine thousand, six hundred and sixty-nine pages to be exact," the guide corrected

"Are you kidding me?" Syèl challenged as he took another look at the book. “There’s no way that book has that many pages.”

The guide glanced at Syèl, and the young man could feel the disdain pour over him. The guide managed to keep his disgust in check, but his explanation gave a taste of his contempt. He merely said, “It’s magic.”

Syèl’s brow rose, but in the end, he chose not to challenge the guide. After all, if the man said it was magic, who was he to argue?

The guide looked at Syèl, and as if sensing his hesitation, challenged, "If it is too much of a task, I can teach you necromancy instead. But I assure you, with the power that lies inside that book, the elements will be yours to command."

New Class Quest: Book of the Damned

Book of the Damned

Underneath the mountains of Mònòch live a group of mages who devote their lives to the dark arts. Their entire doctrine lies around an ancient relic, whose power they have offered unto you. Should you choose to accept this quest, you will be unable to learn any other form of magic until the book is finished.

Difficulty level: S

Requirement: Finish all 53 books in the Grand Library within three weeks.

Syèl groaned, but the promise of power was too great to ignore. "Accept."

"You accepted,” The guide remarked with a pleased grin. “Good. Now, here, drink this." He handed Syèl a glass vial that had a black liquid sloshing about within.

"What's this do?" Syèl asked as he curiously eyed the concoction.

"It will improve your reading and comprehension ability,” the guide explained. “Unfortunately, it only works with summoned."

Syèl downed the bad tasting drink and opened the book to its first page. As he flipped the pages, he noticed he did not gain any increase in his reading speed. ‘Those sly bastards.’

Syèl understood the purpose of the drink right then. The vial was handed out to Summoned to temporarily enhance their brain power, thereby giving them the ability to process information at speeds close to his. This was just another of Genaco's experiments. Syèl wondered how many more there were, hidden in plain sight.

However, Genaco’s experiment was ‘ that,’ these weird mages were ‘ this.’ Syèl looked at the guide and questioned, "What's the catch? I don't believe you're helping me from the bottom of your heart."

"No. You will join our cause and spread our teachings and wrath to the fools above who deem themselves better than us and call us heretics. We shall bestow our judgment upon the damned fools and bring glory to our Lord Ferulic " The guide’s usually calm voice rose in a fevered pitch, fueled by his visions of grandeur.

"Uh-huh. Sure, I'll do just that." Syèl withheld a sadistic laugh that bubbled up his throat as he walked up to the pedestal. He cast a cursory glance at the ‘winged bat’ motif on the book cover then flipped through the pages like a man possessed. While he read, blood mists poured out from the book and seeped into his skin.

Kerta,

2:57 pm, 6 th Ryanem 1091.

Across the continent, a daeben basked in the afternoon sun while painting the landscape near Kerta’s northern gate. He listened to the chatter of incoming and outgoing adventurers, through which he learned of the events happening outside the city. His companion, a black wolf cub, hunted raccoons a fair distance from where he was, but well within reach of his arrows.

For the first few hours after his arrival, Kashi had drawn several cats, dogs, and balls, but his skills and stats suddenly came to a grinding halt. So, he decided to draw and paint the landscape to see if that increased his stats. He finished the painting and was quite pleased with the outcome.

Level up: Handicraft Skill [6  7]

Increases attack power with melee and long-range weapons. (+14% ATK)

Increases attack power with fists. (+14% ATK)

Improves Dexterity (+14% DEX)

Improves the Quality of food, crafts or art products.

Level up: Artist [Beginner 4  5]

Increases chance to auto-complete Ordinary works by +50%

Enables you to auto-create more complicated patterns.

Reduces the rate of failure.

Kashi simultaneously recorded the lesson learned as he rejoiced at the message. He was now confident that repetitive drawings would not increase his stats, and he would have to be original if he wanted to boost his skills. Kashi decided to take a short break and picked up a raccoon Kira had dropped by his side earlier.

The daeben prepared a raccoon stew recipe from the cookbook Yugo had given him. It turned out pretty nice, and the scent carried on the evening breeze to Kira, who instantly stopped her hunt and ran over to his side.

Kashi’s partner was not the only one attracted by the scent. Some adventurers walking back from their quests paused on their way into town, mouths watering from the inviting aroma.

"Could I have some of that?" a warrior asked, realizing that barely tasty rye bread or costly restaurant meals were what awaited him back in the city. There weren’t that many player-chefs milling about yet, and as a result, apart from provision-like food like jerky or bread, it was quite expensive to purchase full meals from the city’s restaurants. Besides, even if the costs were a little lower, Kashi’s stew smelled so much better than some of the cheaper stores.

"Certainly. It would be my pleasure," Kashi replied as a sly grin crept up the side of his lips. He had not camped this close to the city by accident. His real purpose was about to pay off. The daeben first served Kira, then poured a bowl of soup and handed it to the warrior.

The warrior scooped up a spoonful of both the meat and broth then took a tentative soup. The man’s eyes widened in shock as he immediately scarfed the food down his face. "Oh, this is so good!" Even more shocking were the prompts that came up, informing him that his ATK had been temporarily increased by 20, and his max HP by 150. His eyes glowed, and he had to force himself to resist the urge to kidnap the daeben. "How much is this?!"

"Oh, 8 Syros is fine if you bring your own ingredients next time,” Kashi replied with a wave of his hand. “Consider this one on the house. I can also fix your armor for free if you wish."

"Seriously!?” The warrior exclaimed in shock. He always spent a significant chunk of his earnings on armor repair, yet this daeben was offering to repair the armor for free? “Please wait here!” The warrior pleaded. “I gotta go tell my friends about this. Boy, will they be surprised.” Just before he ran off, he paused and asked, “What's your name by the way?."

"Kashi," the daeben replied with a smile.

"Cashy, huh? Cool name,” praised the warrior. “You really know what you want, don't you?"

"Wait! I think you have the wrong idea—and he’s gone." Kashi’s protest fell on deaf ears because the warrior had already run off to tell his friends the good news about the cheap meal and free repair outside the city.

Kashi didn’t mind though. Project 'Snowball' had begun, and it had picked up its first little lump. Now, all he needed was time and a few more customers, and it would become an unstoppable force of nature.

Just as Kashi planned, a few hours later he was ambushed by several users who wanted a nice cheap meal. Specifically, however, they wanted the temporary bonuses from the meals. Kashi did not complain. The only thing that changed was he cooked in bulk rather than single meals to meet with demand.

The daeben charged those who did not come with meat of their own 12 Syros, but no one complained. Kashi also did not lose out in the deal as unlike most other Summoned chefs who had to rely on random drops to get meat, Kira always brought back full bodies for him to work with.

Kashi was immensely pleased with the business, as not only did he earn a nice amount of pocket change, but he also increased his chef and repair skills. Kashi, however, only really considered himself to have hit the jackpot when a female, human archer spotted the painting he 'accidentally' left beside him.

"Wow, that’s so beautiful,” the woman exclaimed as she looked at the cute little cat pictures. “I’ll buy this, this and that one,” she said, pointing to three pictures. “Also, could you do one of me? How much would that cost?"

Kashi leaked a smile. Whether it this world or the next, cat pictures would always reign supreme. Considering the climate of the game, Kashi guessed the woman intended to use the photos to decorate her room. As to whether it was a temporary room or a home of her own, the daeben was sure it was the former.

"The pictures are 10 Syros each, while the portraits are 30 Syros. Self-portraits, drawn or painted are 20 and 50 Syros respectively" Kashi replied, hoping he was not overreaching. Even to low-level adventurers, a couple silvers should not be much of a problem, but humes could get stingy.

"I’ll take a painted portrait please,” the woman replied without hesitation.

"Large, medium or small?" Kashi asked as he held up three sheets of paper. The first was the size of a small handbook, the second, the size of a sketchbook and the largest was the size of an average easel.

"Medium."

With a smile, Kashi stood up and asked her to take a sit on the grass. The setting sun cast a lovely glow on her fiery red dress. Kashi blocked out the world as he slid his brush across the sketchbook, a faraway look in his eyes.

Fine Piece Created! (Unnamed)

This Beautiful artwork depicts a strong woman finding a rare moment of peace in the midst of the fires of war and destruction.

Artistic Value: 70

Effect: When the woman depicted in this portrait gazes upon it, she is filled with strength and valor.

Fighting Spirit + 10

STR + 2

Duration: 30 minutes

The effect does not stack with another painting.

Number of Fine Pieces Created: 1

Art + 5

Level up: Handicraft Skill [7  8]

Increases attack power with melee and long-range weapons. (+14% ATK)

Increases attack power with fists. (+14% ATK)

Improves Dexterity (+14% DEX)

Improves the Quality of food, crafts or art products.

Level up: Artist [Beginner 5  6]

Increases chance to auto-complete Ordinary works by +60%

Enables you to auto-create more complicated patterns.

Reduces the rate of failure.

Kashi handed the finished work to the woman, who squealed in delight when she saw the finished work. This was an excellent way to quickly raise his stats, with the only downside being the fact each painting took forever to finish, and he could not afford to fail anyone.

"Me too! Me too!" Several cries from female adventurers informed the daeben of his imaginary snowball’s rapid increase. Kashi proceeded to draw some more portraits till it got too dark to see, at which point the female crowd reluctantly dispersed, promising to return the next day.

Kashi reluctantly informed the adventurers waiting for food and armor repairs he was closing shop for the night. True to his word, he packed up his things and walked deeper into the plains. Kashi’s decision to relocate was one borne of necessity. If he were to really tough out this month without fighting, then he would become the best craftsman he could be in that time. But at the same time, he had to ensure Kira grew up healthy and strong.

The only way to accomplish both was to multi-task effectively.

Kashi took Kira to a section of the plains known for badgers, foxes, and many other predators. Some of these predators were real, while others were indigenous to this world. The daeben directed Kira to battle with these monsters while he watched from a distance.

Kashi pulled out an engraving knife and pieces of wood he had prepared beforehand and begun practicing sculpting while occasionally handing out pointers to the disgruntled direwolf.

Kashi did not have much experience with sculpting and as a result, mostly relied on auto-sculpt, which did not always give him what he wanted. Luckily, his high handicraft skills assisted him, and soon, he was dolling out small figures like rabbits, ferrets, and foxes. After a few hours, his sculpting skill increased to three, but because he had been relying on auto-sculpt, his handicraft skill barely budged.

However, Kashi was satisfied with his progress. He was not trying to become the next Michaelangelo after all. The daeben patiently painted the figurines, giving them a life-like texture that would otherwise have been missing from plain wood. When he was done, he took out a few sheets of paper and drew several portraits of flora and all the cute animals that could come to mind.

Eventually, the sun began to rise in the horizon, announcing the start of a new day. Kira returned from her hunt and followed Kashi back to his spot by the gate. The little cub curled up on the grass next to him, then fell into a peaceful sleep.

"Now then," Kashi looked to the rising sun which promised many adventurers returning from their night raids. "Let's see how much I can squeeze out of these guys today…”