“Alan?”

As his body got used to his new surroundings a quiet voice called to him and a hand touched his shoulder.

"Am I… Am I in The Novus?"

"Yes, Alan, we are."

"Are we… in Unus Town?"

"No, the system says we're in a place called The Renovatio Caves."

"Aww, man, did we return to the very beginning of the world? I suppose it's understandable…"

His partner remained quiet as he sat in his place, squinting. It will take us hours to reach Unus Town. Dammit, I really wanted to see her right—Wait, who am I talking to?

He opened his eyes wide, and his heart skipped a beat. A brunette girl with emerald eyes wearing two frontal low pigtails was crouching in front of him. A blank expression on her face.

"And… who are you?"

"I'm a copy of Isabella, here inside the Novus."

Alan shook his head. "Wait, hold on, why are you wearing those clothes?" He pointed to her sleeved white dress. It was the same attire every woman used on their first day inside the system. "Are you pretending to be a User?"

"I'm practically a User now, Alan. We talked about this."

"I know! But when you told me you’d insert yourself into the Novus to help me, I imagined something quite different!"

"Please elaborate," she said emotionlessly.

For a moment I thought she would frown.

"Well, I thought you would log in as some sort of mascot, or that you would follow me everywhere as a spirit, or manifest all god-like, with administrative powers!”

“I don’t have power here, Alan. That is something the Developers made sure of. They did not want me to intervene with their system.”

“I… Yes, I know… You told me about it.”

He glanced at her, who was patiently waiting for him to stand up and lead the way.

But why did you have to take such a cute appearance?!

He got closer to examine her face.

It’s okay, I’m not being a creep! This pretty girl in front of me is just a disguised AI.

He poked her cheek, but there was no reaction from her.

This is just a very convincing disguise, she’s not a human, not that it matters... After all, I just have eyes for…

“Astrid!” he cried, getting on his feet in an instant. “Even if I’m in the middle of nowhere, I should still be able to send her a message. Let’s see…” By making a gesture with his hand, he made a screen appear in front of him and started tapping.

STATUS

EQUIPMENT

INVENTORY

SOCIAL

GUILD

(ERROR)

SYSTEM

The fake girl leaned to him and tried to take a peek at the visible floating window, but for her, its contents were blank. “What is that?” she asked, and Alan thought for a second that she would squint.

“It’s my User Interface. You should have one too, don’t you?”

“How do I open mine?”

“Are you seriously asking me that? You, a super-advanced AI?”

“Alan Warden,” she said in an unemotional tone of voice, but Alan imagined she was upset. “I assure you I'm not joking."

"Joking?"

"While I, Isabella's copy, am here to assist you, think of me as a newborn human."

"Newborn?"

"Please, trust me when I say that I have little information of The Novus or its many complex operations."

Alan, who tried to maintain a serious expression, chuckled, making the girl stare blankly at him.

"Sorry, sorry! Fine, I'll teach you everything I know. Here, make this gesture, as if you tried to wipe something away with your fingers." He made a demonstration of it, and the girl did the same. "You got it! See? Whatever information it reveals to you, it's for your eyes only, so don't worry that someone would spy on you over your shoulder."

"Understood," she said and started tapping on her own.

"That's right. Now, about that message…"

He opened his friend list.

SOCIAL

FRIENDS

( 1 )

Astrid Bradford

Londorus Capitol

Oh, thank god! I don't know what I would have done if her name had disappeared. Hmm? It shows her current location. Londorus Capitol? Where is that? So I won't be able to see her in person until I arrive there. Fine, a message will do for the moment.

He started writing:

‘Hi! Long time no see, huh? Forgive me for being so…’

He stopped, deleted it, and rewrote it three more times. In the end, it only read: ‘Hi’.

I don’t think I’ll be able to find the words to--

He closed the messenger window and read his overall status.

STATUS

RENOVATIO CAVES

9:35 AM

ALAN WARDEN

LEVEL 5

GOLD

100,200

CLASS

NONE

STRENGTH

BRONZE ( D )

VITALITY

BRONZE ( D )

AGILITY

BRONZE ( E )

SPIRIT

BRONZE ( E )

POTENTIAL

BRONZE ( E )

Still level five, huh? Well, that's understandable. My old equipment is still here too, and what's this? 100,200 gold?! What?! Why do I have such an absurd amount of money?! I'm pretty sure those 200 gold coins were already there before logging out.

He stood up and took a peek out of his rock chamber.

This place is empty and quiet. Obviously. This place's only purpose was for users to 'reincarnate' here. The developers only wanted to create the narrative of why fully grown humans would appear in this new world out of nowhere.

He glanced back at the girl, who was constantly tapping and scrolling down her screen.

What’s she doing? Her menu should be pretty empty, like mine.

"Let's get out of here, Isabella."

"Although your acknowledgment is correct, please remember that I’m not the real Isabella.”

“Okay. So, Isabella II?”

She stood up slowly. “If you do not mind, I would prefer to be called differently. Isabella is a unique name among The Santa María’s passengers, and it would raise suspicion." She glanced at her menu screen, still active.

"Fine, you're right." He shrugged. "What should I call you then?"

She stared deeply into his eyes. "Ashley.”

* * *

**

*

As they traversed the caves, a thick fog covered their path and the light from luminescent mushrooms led the way.

“Just because we’re in the beginners' zone doesn’t mean we can lower our guard. There should be level-one monsters around here, so be careful. I have seen other Users get killed by them, and they had to start from the caves all over again. Since I'm level five, I’ll take the lead in case something happens, okay?”

“Understood,” Ashley replied, while consciously looking at her feet.

“It's cool, right?” He gazed at her, then at her legs. “Being able to move in 3D.”

“I already have experience doing it. I have maneuvered some of the ship’s automatons to take care of tasks personally.”

“Oh! I didn’t know that." He swallowed, wondering if he had crossed paths with her without knowing it. "Still, it's weird, you know. Being able to speak and look you in the eye at the same time."

Even though she’s a copy, it’s the copy of someone that has interacted with me for eight months. She’s like a big sister to me. A fake big sister.

"This situation is new to me too," she said, looking at her hands. "This body differs greatly from an automaton."

"Can you… feel things?"

She crossed eyes with him, remaining quiet for a second as if she was processing her answer. "It seems so, yes."

A squeaking sound crawled out of the corner of the naked rock.

"Quiet," Alan whispered and took a peek, finding a regular green slime, endlessly looking for living beings to dissolve in its gelatinous bodies. "That's what I was talking about. Equip Set A," he ordered, and the system automatically geared him up with an iron breastplate, old leather boots, and an unsharpened short blade. "Hey, Ashley. Since you kind of cheated your way inside the Novus and all that… Did you bring a weapon or, I don't know, some kind of OP Unique Skill with you?"

"I have some stuff on my inventory. Do you want me to equip them now?"

She has?

"Yes, I don't want to risk returning to the Renovatio Caves again."

"Understood. Wait a moment, please. Equipping." She opened her menu and, with quick wrist movements, materialized a shiny silver breastplate, gauntlets, and steel boots. On her back, a quiver full of arrows appeared, a sheathed dagger in her belt, and a bow hovered in front of her for a couple of seconds before she grabbed it.

"A marksman, huh." Alan nodded. "Do you know how to use that?"

"To prepare for coming here, I have analyzed thousands of data recordings on the use of distinct kinds of weapons."

“That sounds about right, but there's not much space here and it will be difficult to shoot. For now, just use that dagger of yours, okay?"

"Understood. Changing tactics."

How odd, she shouldn't be able to equip silver gear right off the bat. And I can't see her level. Could these irregularities be the product of her, hacking herself inside the Novus?

He shook his head. Focus, Alan.

“Stay close to me, and don’t attack unless necessary, got it?”

“Yes, Alan. I’m ready.”

It feels strange having a lenient partner this time. Astrid would have attacked head-on without consulting me.

He took a deep breath. “Go.”

Alan raised his sword, ready to strike the very first slime in his reach, but what he found instead, froze him in his place.

There was indeed a low-level creature in front of him, but when he looked closer, it had the shape of a boy crouching to grab a mushroom. The green kid stared back at him, although it had no eyes nor a face. It produced a sound similar to a cry for help and ran away.

“Why did you stop, Alan?” Ashley asked behind him.

“I... I... Um…”

Another humanoid got into his sight of view, holding a bag with both of its gelatinous arms. Alan could see its info: ‘Level 12, Advanced Slime.’

It was wearing pants and a shirt, just like any other farmer or worker. The thing that looked like a child was pulling it by its clothes and pointed at the couple stepping out of the shadows. The worker tilted its head to its right.

“Wait a minute.” It talked, but its voice sounded like it was underwater. “Are you two coming from the caves?”

Once Alan left his bewilderment behind, he glanced at the bag he was holding. In it were the shiny blue mushrooms that he had seen growing on his way there.

“Y-yes?” Alan replied, putting away his sword. “And you… You’re slimes, correct?”

“Oh, for the love of Viola. You really are coming from the caves…”

* * *

**

*

“Have you all evolved?" Alan asked while following the humanoids down the road.

“That’s a simple way to explain it, yes. All thanks to the Goddess Viola. Bless her.”

“Alan,” Ashley got close to whisper in his ear. “That’s the name of an administrator. Viola Lang.”

Alan did not reply, frowning.

If that’s the case, this whole situation sounds messed up.

"Just a little heads up before we get there," the slime man said. "As you can see, we do not mean any harm to you. The days when we fought against new Users have long passed. So please…"

"We won't try anything weird, we promise."

And it's funny that he addresses us by what we practically are.

The more they advanced through the tunnels, the more they could hear the sound of people. Alan could remember a large spacious area inside the mountain, where a subterranean river flowed through.

If I remember correctly, Astrid and I spent our first whole day killing Slimes, until a boss appeared.

What he found instead was a completely operational town. Bridges to cross over the cliffs, stone houses, and even a building that resembled a church.

If they worship Viola Lang there, I’m going to puke.

Alan stared at a quadruped creature he recognized as a low-level monster, being used as a carrying animal. There were also workshops, construction materials, and furniture.

As the group walked through, every translucent humanoid stared at them with a blank face. Their concern could be seen in their body language. Some wearing skirts shared whispers with each other, and those wearing vests and jackets scratched their heads or folded their arms.

When was the last time they saw a human walking through this place?

“Smaio,” one of them called aloud. “Explain, now! Why are these Users here?”

“You know as much as I do. They just walked out of the Renovatio Caves.” Their guide turned its head to Alan, expecting him to corroborate the story.

Alan cleared his throat first. “He’s telling the truth. And if you excuse us, we would like to cross through your… lands, with no issue.”

“That doesn’t explain why you come from that direction!” As the others surrounded them, the bulky slime blocked their path. A dangerous number 20 clearly visible above its head.

“Oh, come on!” Alan cried out loud, crossing his gaze with everyone. “Is it that crazy that some of us would be simply late to the party?”

“You’re level 5, and that’s impossible since there’s no living creature left back there for you to level up. Unless...”

The huge guy cracked his knuckles, even though no sound came from them. Crap, is he suggesting that we killed some of their people?

“I’m ready, Alan,” Ashley whispered at his back, making the threatening slime back off.

“N-no! We will not retaliate,” he replied while gritting his teeth, wondering if they could escape through the crowd until they heard another commanding voice.

“Back off, Smollet, I would like to talk with them.” The group stepped aside to let another slime person, wearing pants and leather boots, stroll towards Alan. Its exposed torso showed a rib cage. “Pardon the manners of my people, travelers, but you have to understand that we have seen no humans in these parts of the caves in a long, long time. Follow me. Smaio, you too.”

Alan followed him, feeling piercing, non-visible glares from everyone around them. “Thanks, man.”

Um… Shouldn’t have said that.

“I’m Smudock, leader of this humble tribe,” the seemingly older slime-man said, as it led the way to the town outskirts.

“I’m Alan, and she’s Ashley.” He glanced at her, noticing that she was holding the slime kid by its hand. Cute… “So, Smudock... Do you believe our story?”

“I only believe the facts. Your levels don’t match your story and that’s simply suspicious, but I suppose it has something to do with you having been logged out of The Novus, correct?”

The slime child left them behind to play with other kids. Between them was a pair of regular limbless slimes, jumping and running.

Awww! Are those supposed to be babies? Wait, what did he say?

“Do you know about The Novus?” Alan frowned, halting.

“Are you asking if we know that this is a virtual environment? Every NU that has spawned here in the System knows it."

"What's a 'Nu'?"

"Non User…” He looked around. “Smaio?"

"Yes, chief?" The slime-man they had met from the beginning took a step forward, with a very human-like reluctant attitude.

"Ride them to Unus, will you?"

"Yes, chief. You two, come this way."

"Do people from Unus know about you?" Alan asked Smudock before parting.

"Yes. Although the closer you get to Londorus Capitol, the more Users that oppose our existence you'll encounter."

Oppose? That’s an interesting way to say it.

"It’d be a good idea to keep quiet about this place then."

"Yes. We would appreciate that."

“Chief.” Ashley stepped forward, making Alan stop in his tracks. “We would equally appreciate it if our arrival could be kept a secret too.”

“Understood.”

* * *

**

*

"No one has to know that we just logged in, correct?” Alan whispered to Ashley as they got transported in a wooden cart pulled by one of the creatures residing in the area, a black, giant insect with frontal claws that hissed silently as it walked forward.

“We must not create panic among the other Users,” Ashley replied with a straight face. “The locals have already questioned you about your low level, so keep it in mind while contacting other people.”

Alan sighed as he lied down. “Yeah, I’ll have to come up with a clever excuse or something.”

The entrance to the caves was now out of sight, and the mountains on top of it looked blue on the horizon. Alan estimated that for them to reach Unus, it would take at least half an hour.

So much time has passed that even these creatures have their own trading business. He glanced at the crates at his side, filled with blue, glowing mushrooms.

“Hey, Smaio, what are these used for?”

“Originally, Users would create low-ranking mana potions with them, but since those have become practically useless, they’re now used as ingredients for food. Although I’ve never tried a dish myself.”

“I see,” Alan said before yawning.

To combat his boredom, he opened his User Interface, checking the tabs more thoroughly.

What is this? Guild menu? Oh, right! I never had the chance to check it out since I logged out after forming it with Astrid.

He tapped it, getting a complete list of every member.

What?!

Alan jolted in his place.

100 members?! And all of them are part of... Yes, I’m not misreading it! Shooting Stars! These 100 members are part of our guild! That’s crazy, Astrid! Did you do this all by yourself?

A cracking sound startled him, then the ground trembled. He leaned towards Smaio’s seat, only to see an enormous figure approaching them. “What is that?”

“Oh, my goddess!” Smaio cried as he ordered the insect to come to a halt. “It’s the Weasenox!”

‘The’, instead of ‘a weasenox’? Alan wondered as he watched the red-furred mammal beast with an elongated body. It started salivating at the sight of the black insect tied to the cart, which was shaking in fear.

Alan noticed the number 15 above the weasenox.

Oh, shit.

“Smollet is usually in charge of guarding the cart every time we go to Unus!” Smaio cried as it rushed inside to look for its weapon, a wooden staff.

“Who, that bulky level 20, Advanced Smile?” Alan asked as he saw Smaio shake terrified.

But why is he so afraid? If Smaio dies, he should be able to respawn back in his town, right?

He glanced at the carnivorous beast, waiting for them to retaliate and crush them under its paws.

“Out of the cart, now!”

The top of the fragile vehicle got torn apart by a quick swing of a tail. Alan pulled out his rusty sword, while Smaio remained in its place, covering its head, crying: “I don’t want to devolve, I don’t want to devolve, I don’t want to…”

Devolve? Alan frowned, coming to a realization. So those regular-looking slimes back in town were not babies?

He swallowed.

“Ashley!”

“Battle mode, Alan?”

“Full-on battle mode, girl!”

“Engaging.”

“Listen, I’ll try to—” Alan stopped mid-sentence, as he noticed a blurry silhouette jump from his side. The next thing he saw was Ashley on top of the weasenox, stabbing its head with her dagger.

The beast wailed agonizingly, trying to crush Ashley against a nearby boulder. The girl would not let go, even after being smashed into the rock. That last push seemed to have finally knocked out the creature, which plummeted lifelessly into the road, Ashley by its side, retrieving her weapon.

“Hey, Smaio,” Alan muttered.

“Yes, User?”

"She’s the reason your Chief didn't send Smollet with us," Alan whispered.

I just remembered the reason I couldn't see her level. The level gap between us must be enormous.

"Target eliminated," Ashley said, strolling back to them, seemingly unharmed.

"Yes, I noticed!" Alan beamed at her. "But why didn't you use your bow? You should have more proficiency with it than your dagger."

Ashely stared blankly at him. "You told me to only use the dagger."