You know, I completely forgot that it was about time for an Interlude entry (that being every 100k words or so). It was actually really nice to go back and take a look at the timeline I have and realize what sort of shenanigans both Asasaki and the other characters get into off screen.
p.s. Remember how back in chapter 29 (Inversion) I mentioned 'for some reason, while I was writing this I thought I was actually on the eighth floor instead of the seventh'? Yeah, turns out that's actually where I'm supposed to be right now. I'm going to take a month break or so to try and fix the mistakes, though it honestly might take two. It shouldn't take too much effort, just a bunch of adjustments regarding setting and dialogue, but just in case.
Please forgive me.
People tell me that it's better for me to forget. But I don't want to forget. If I forget, nobody else will ever remember them. Maybe it's wrong, maybe it's stupid, but the memories of what's happened are what keep me going forward; to be better than my past. I can't forget.
[5th Floor, Karluin Player Markets. January 3rd, 2022; Mid-morning]
Directed by what was perhaps an overly cheerful player, I found myself at a simple stall at the far edge of the player markets, its portable tools and equipment currently being organized by its sole occupant. Brunette, slightly taller than me, sleeveless pink shirt with a white skirt covered by a black apron. Yup, this is my mark. "Isn't it kind of late to be setting up?" I asked when she stood.
"It's not that late," she responded, moving to her portable dirge and fiddling with something. "Besides, there's a small rush from the evening and early morning players that I get to enjoy in about an hour since most of the other smiths are out on supply runs." The brunette turned around to face me, the last of her adjustments compete. "How can I help you?"
"You're Lisbeth, right? I've got a delivery from Asuna."
The smith froze, her mouth frozen in a stillborn word. "So," her smile turned a little cold, the expression belonging to somebody still new to customer service and unable to call a supervisor. "You're the reason why I had to purchase supplies last night?"
Apologies. Things got a little hectic and I only just got some free time. "A for effort, but your eyes need to be a little less tight."
Lisbeth blinked. "What?"
Crap, did I mix that up? "Some stuff came up that needed my attention."
"No, before that."
I shifted my weight onto my left foot and raised a brow. You heard nothing. "That I've got a delivery from Asuna?"
She huffed. "Alright, be that way." Without further complaint, the smith opened up the trade, accepting my remark on how I didn't need payment as I was merely completing a favor. Transaction completed, she moved something around in her menus as she spoke. "You do owe me, though. I spent a good amount of cor panic replacing my stock. You may not want payment because you're doing this for Asuna, but it's your fault I was inconvenienced."
I crossed my arms, fighting to keep the penance from my face. I really wish I could refute that. "Fine. Next time I head into town to sell stuff, I'll let you take your pick, sound fair?"
"You have to collect some specific stuff for me as well," she added. "Don't worry, it won't be anything extremely rare. Just some basic materials and equipment from certain floors that I'll need for enhancements." Lisbeth sent over a Friend Request, her satisfied smile briefly becoming worried. "Asasaki, huh? Aren't you the one they call the 'Demon Nin'?"
"I've had a handful of titles assigned to me," I deflected, still a bit irritated by the moniker. "Basically one every month." Under my breath, "Now that I mention it I'm kind of excited to hear what my next one's going to be."
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[2nd Floor, Urubus Player Buildings. January 6th; Afternoon]
Isuke stared at the lightly decorated weapon in his hands. The blasted thing made no sense! Oh sure, creating multiple copies of a weapon was easily doable with a blueprint, but to create the same weapon with higher level materials was impossible! Any attempt to do so would only result in a window stating that the final product would be completely random. "And who did you say made this weapon?" He asked for the umpteenth time in twice as many minutes.
"An NPC on the first floor. His name is Ferghus. Doubt you've heard of him."
Oh he'd heard of him alright, though not since leaving the first floor. Every single NPC smith in Tolbana praised the man. 'Ferghus forged this hammer himself', 'Ferghus discovered this technique', 'Ferghus tended to the flames used to smelt this ingot'. It got to the point where other player smiths jokingly referred to Ferghus as the local god of forging.
"Yup." The woman before him popped the last syllable in response to his toned down verbal explanation, a trait he noticed she only showed when in a good mood. "He's a pretty big guy, the exact embodiment of what comes to mind when you think of a man who works in a forge all day." She motioned with her hands, exaggerating the features in comparison to herself.
A misconception perpetuated by visual media the world over. The profession of smithing metal resulted in a physique more like a Greek statue than Hulkian bodybuilder, especially once working with a partner became more prevalent.
"I want to meet him," he stated. The surprise she exhibited was a perfect mirror of his own, though only because willingly going to meet someone, even if there was a common interest, was something he rarely did. "Miss Asasaki, I'm still a gamer. Names don't get dropped that often unless they're important. Ferghus is a smith, I'm a smith. He may not focus in ninja weapons like me, but I know I'll be able to pick up something useful."
"Right." The blonde shook her head. "Just lemme know when you're available-"
"I can go right now." Better to keep on this motivation before something distracted him. "I'll send a message to my usual customers about what's going on and tack on a note in front of the shop."
"Er, sure." Seeing her act so flustered, when composure or snark was her default state, was a little exciting if he had to be honest." Meet me at the Teleport Gate when you're ready then."
Travelling with the diminutive foreigner was rather interesting, not that Isuke would dare bring up her height within earshot. He'd heard of her reactions from some of his more adventurous customers. In her defense though, the people who complained about her tended to be of the sort that would end up deserving it.
For most of the trip she was quiet, lazily gazing around like a cat at the window. Occasionally something would catch her attention and she would start rambling on about the topic and anything else, thoughts flowing directly brain to mouth without any filter until she caught herself.
"Do you still have your old weapons?" He asked eventually, breaking a loop of turning wheels and clopping hooves. The horse drawn carriage they were on was incredibly cheap but for a player still on the first floor it might as well have been a new set of armor. Not that Isuke was complaining; taking a ride through the forest had a magical quality to it he'd completely forgotten could be experienced in a full dive.
Asasaki flicked open her menu, finger rapidly moving through windows to reveal a partially filled box of neatly arranged weapons. "All of them, actually." The woman was her own personal armory, boasting an assortment of curved and straight swords (including a pair of starter swords) as well as a handful of levels and upgrades were questionable, but Isuke doubted she'd ever need worry about a lack of weapons if she found herself stranded.
"Why do you have so many?" A few of them he recognized as elven in origin. Ingots smelted from those weapons tended to result in gear a few levels higher than what was locally available. They were strong enough that the players who'd commissioned them used them even into the seventh floor, however the rarity of the original items meant buying them off the markets completely impractical.
"Forgetfulness, mostly." She paused, lip twitching into a sardonic grin. "Some have sentimental value though. I know I could just smelt them down into ingots and have them used to forge a new weapon, but it's hard letting go of tangible memories."
Isuke wasn't quite sure what prompted him to make the offer. As far as customer loyalty went, Fūmaningun were his most favored, and it wasn't as if she sold him extra materials out of good will either. A while back he'd cheated her a few rare materials from an upgrade but the guilt at betraying her trust kept him from doing that again. He did still occasionally ask for a few extra common materials though, a hidden service fee he never made mention of. "If you ever do decide on turning them into a new weapon, let me know. I'll do my best to make the results as strong as possible, for both you and those they remind you of." Maybe it was because she was one of the first few women in a while who'd continually talked to him in person. He hated to think that was the case though; there was absolutely no hope for a shut in like him to get together with a woman like her.
She snorted, the amused sound so uniquely her none of his countrywoman could attempt to replicate it. "This isn't an anime or manga you know. You can't just spout lines like that."
Isuke looked away, flooded by a sense of embarrassment. It wasn't as if he meant anything by it other than to lessen the burden on her inventory, but her teasing remark struck deep at the thoughts he refused to entertain.
"But thank you. I really appreciate it."
For a while the duo (trio if you counted the silent NPC driver, which he didn't) continued in silence, the magic of the trip only increasing when the carriage reached Tolbana and continued to ferry them through the streets. Thinking back on the trip from city to forest to city, Isuke could only express that he felt as if he had walked into a Ghibli film was how awe inspiring the scenery was. With every passed alleyway, the buildings below became lower and lower, until he could see the defensive wall at the other side without issue.
"This is our stop." Asasaki leaned over the backrest of the bench, asking the driver to wait for them. The handful of cor she slipped him probably helped. "Come on. Ferghus should be waiting for us." In one fluid motion she hopped off the back, continuing onward as if the jolt of landing wasn't even recognized.
Exactly how often has she done that? Isuke wondered, following her into the large building. Once his eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting of the interior the ninja fanatic corrected his views on his client's stores. In the face of the rows upon rows of weapons and armor, Asasaki's 'armory' was better called an arsenal. The amount of weapons here could easily equip the front liners with two weapons each and still have enough to spare.
"Impressive, isn't it?" The pride expressed by her whole body might've suggested it was she herself who had collected everything. "Of course, most of these weapons aren't any good past the third floor, even with max upgrades, but it's the thought that counts."
"Most of them?" He inquired.
"Most of them," She repeated. "Towards the back there's a few weapons that are made with higher grade materials but those aren't exactly advertised for the few players that manage to get inside here. Even if they're functioning products, they're still experimental so using them isn't the best idea."
A voice from behind made the two of them turn around, its owner a behemoth of man whose clothes were spotted by soot, his upper body looking as if he could hug a pillar into rubble. "Are ya trying ta say something somebody about our work, Lass?"
I know I should be irritated by his appearance, but it's inspiring.
"Oh, no, not at all." Asasaki waved her hands repentantly, eyes apologetic.
"You better not be. The weapons on those racks are jus' proof of concept and hold no bearing on our actual work, unlike those weapons you an' Lady Mitsui have." Ferghus turned his gaze upon Isuke, an appraising gleam in his eyes. After a few moments his mouth spread into a mischievous grin. "Should I commission a ring from one of my craftsman, Lady Asasaki?"
"This is Isuke," she replied smoothly, utterly unphased by the jest. "He's my primary weapons repair and enhancement."
"So my men really aren't good enough for you."
"I don't doubt the skill of your craftsmen for a second, but your forges aren't equipped to handle the materials used for our current level of gear." Asasaki shook her head. "That's actually why I brought him along." The woman jabbed a thumb towards Isuke. "I'll have to talk with Mitsui about procuring the supplies, but I think the two of you might be able to have a worthwhile exchange of information and maybe even techniques. He's a good smith. Specialized, but good at what he does."
"A good smith, 'uh?" Ferghus rubbed his chin. "Come with me, Lad. If Lady Asasaki brought you to me, there's some things I'd like ta test ya on."
"I'll come back later this week with some more stuff for you guys to mess around with." The NPC's guiding hand prevented him from seeing Asasaki's farewell, the heat slowly rising as they approached the far side of the building.
"I've heard a bit about your swordsman smithing techniques. Y'just wave your hands in the air with the materials yer going to use, toss 'em into a forge, and smack the metal that comes out a few times, dontcha?"
"It's a bit more sophisticated than that," Isuke defended, "but yes." When Ferghus opened the door a wave of heat washed over him. Given a bit of humidity, the smith would have felt comfortable calling the room a sauna.
"Welcome to the great forges of Tolbana, Lad. Only the best smiths in this region get to work these flames, and you just so happen to be the first swordsman to see 'em. Not even the little Lady has been in here." Ferghus bellowed out for one of the various people standing around, apprentices if he had to guess, to bring his forge back into use.
"If Asasaki hasn't seen your forges, then how does she know you aren't equipped to work higher level materials?" Once Isuke got used to the temperature, he quickly realized that forges were made of nothing he'd ever seen before, though their appearances were thankfully the same as other permanent forges. Unlike the player acquired forges made from recolored/retextured stone and brick, these were made from a smooth black material that seemed akin to glass, pulsing lines of what seemed to be liquid fire spiralling horizontally around the exterior.
"The Lass is a few loops short of a tool belt. She might be able to get the job done but she ain't prepared for all a' them. I'm sure she went and thought too much about things and came to that answer."
Having not spent enough time with the woman, Isuke could only grunt in acknowledgement. With more time needed to prepare, something the otaku reasoned was unique to the larger, room based forges, Ferghus led Isuke around to watch the various smiths at work. Sometimes a crew of smiths would be hammering away at the lengths of heated metal, other times a single person would be slaving away at a nearly completed weapon. It was very much what he imagined when he thought of a smithie, which was why it startled him so much when he realized when these NPC's were not merely 'tapping a button and hitting something a few times'.
"Alright, Lad. The forge is just about ready. We've got some ingots you can use. They're local, I'm 'fraid, but show me what you've got."
The process went by as simply as ever, despite the half dozen or so people watching him. Gather the materials, open up the smithing menu, deposit the materials into the furnace, take out the now smelted ingot and hammer away. The metal required just over a half dozen times, the extra amount of hits attributed to using a proper forge instead of a portable one. When the glowing light faded away the otaku was left with a simple sabre complete with grip, a blueprint he hadn't used for well over two months.
"Hrm." Ferghus lifted the sword up and gave it a few test swings. "Not a bad weapon. Lacks a personalized touch, but for equipping a large force this sort of uniformity is more than fine." The man set the weapon down and gestured for Isuke to follow. "But frankly speaking, if yer going to be equipping people risking their lives with gear like this you oughta feel ashamed of yerself."
"What's that supposed to mean!?" he cried, the slight cutting a bit deep.
"Ferst off, respect yer elders. I'm teaching ya lad, that means you better pay attention. We may be the ones supplying Lady Asasaki but by her own admission it's you she's coming back to, so if she ends up kicking it it's your hide we're flaying."
Despite himself, Isuke gulped. "Yes sir."
"Now, we'll let your swordsmen arts take care of enhancements; the pride of the Black Iron Kingdom smithies is that of our quality. Back when our lands were still connected, we were the proud forgers of the blades of kings and heroes. If you wanted a weapon to go down through history, you came to us. The temperature of the flames, the quality of the ore, even the pressure used in striking the metal. People the world over came to learn from us." Ferghus led Isuke to a different set of forges in a separate building, these ones made from a more familiar material and manned by what was likely apprentices judging by their appearances. "But if you want to actually learn how to do that, you need to start from the basics. Don't worry about it too much, Lad. Your swordsman magic will help you be able to keep up; you've got the strength, too. Now you just need t' learn the knowledge."
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[6th Floor, Tarragon Temple. January 8th, 2022; early afternoon]
Earthen hues of green and brown spread out before me, enveloped by the deep blues of the early afternoon. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of this." Beside me, Gar'veni hummed in agreement.
Less than half an hour ago we'd arrived on the highest island of the region, the ruins of the Tarragon temple. Garoshi had emphasized the fact that thanks to the magic of Aincrad, only those who had fully upgraded their gliders were able to access the island, let alone see it. A blessing I was more than thankful for. I didn't mind having people around during my off time, but for the coming conversation I'd rather have it be as private as possible.
Our trip up the island was filled by the continuation of our pleasantries upon Garoshi's back, the both of us regaling tales of our daily affairs. The dragon itself had gone ahead with Daiquiri inside the temple. Something about taking rest at an old spot it had not been to in many years.
"So." A breath of air involuntarily left my body as I sat down on the carved stone steps, my companion positioned a few steps above me. "Crystal Trees and how they differ from Spirit Trees."
The elf nodded solemnly, taking a moment before speaking. "What do you know of the two, if anything?"
"Crystal trees tend to be frail looking," I recounted. "They're a mix of thin spindly limbs that are as white as a birch tree but they don't really have a wood-like appearance. They look more like they're made out of some kind of crystal than anything. As for the spirit trees, they're trees that the elves, both types, utilize to travel between the floors. I guess in previous years they were used to make communication easier, much like our swordsman messaging."
"Precisely. In our homelands, our original one, crystals were our resource much in the same way that ore is for humans and other species. With our innate magic, we were able to form them into various tools and shapes, though over time they would lose their form." The Forest Elf held out a hand, smile faltering as whatever he attempted to do failed. "But casting on our own required significant effort, effort we decided was better spent towards other things. In place of spending days, weeks, or even months to create a single object, we borrowed the magical glyphs and circles of the rest of the world. The crystal prisms you described finding, instant curatives and transporters, were one such creation."
Garveni took a sip from his water skin, thinking something over before speaking again. "Before, when we were able to use our magic freely, the only cost needed to create those portable restoratives was a group of people meditating for a time, feeding their energies into the construct with a specific thought in mind. Experiments by some of our less morally scrupulous individuals realized that by offering a sacrifice you could create a whole crystal in an instant, not the hours of focus normally needed. Adjusting the circles some could let you dictate the results, with the original form producing the standard healing crystal."
"You guys created those things on your own?" I slid my left leg in and lightly wrapped my arms around it, a bit of amusement curling my lips upward. "And here I was thinking those were naturally occurring."
The elf looked at me, slightly displeased. "Despite what Aincrad might lead you to believe, all crystals were crafted by an elf. Though like the rest of our magic, the majority of them were taken from us upon our arrival here."
I barked. "Yeah, well. Looks like the Fallen Elves are successfully making new ones, so there's that." I cleared my throat, realizing how insensitive that was. "Sorry. Didn't mean to bring the mood down."
"Perceived transgressions aside, how do you plan on dealing with them?"
"React, mostly," I muttered, curious as to what the Garveni might have seen if he was able to respond so nonchalantly towards a jest regarding mass murder. "S'not like I can exactly sniff them out like a dog or get a bird's eye view to find their bases. If nothing else, it's trying to get as strong as possible for when we ultimately go up against them."
"I'm sure you'll do fine, Asasaki. Elves may have centuries on you in terms of experience, but the magic of Swordsmen is not something to be underestimated."
"Yeah." I looked back at the horizon, quietly warding off the invasive thoughts. "I'm sure it'll go by fine."
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[6th Floor, Scavenger's Base. January 9th, 2022; morning.]
Fūrinkazan had just arrived in the teleport town some half hour ago. The day previous we'd spent the entire evening making our way to and up the Tarragon Temple in the more forested region of the Valley of Dragons. Equipment worn down and inventories packed with materials, the eight of us has split for the rest of our weekly scheduled P Day.
I myself had found someplace to eat at while I tried to track down a certain brown hair pipsqueak, determined no to inconvenience her once again. #Where you at?# I bit off another piece of «Seasoned Lizard Skewer», the player made dish just a bit too dry for my preferences. By the time I'd begun working through the second of five, Lisbeth's response arrived.
#Circular plaza in the se of Savenger's Base, 6th floor. Busy atm. Come over in an hour.#
Sounds like I get to relax a little longer. A small nap somewhere sounds just fine. Once I finished off the rest of the jerky-esque meal, I took to the roofs in search of someplace to rest. It took me a little bit, but eventually I found a quaint rooftop taking the full force of a sunbeam. Protected by a thin blanket I kept in my inventory for this exact reason, I bundled up some extra clothes under my head and closed my eyes, determination of soak up some morning sun causing me to forget about setting an alarm.
In any situation, fraternizing with a superior was most definitely looked down upon. Considering how long some of us had been deployed here though, I doubted anybody would make much of a fuss. Besides, it was well known at this point that my squad was more close knit than others. "What do you think about these, Sarge?" I waved a large box of strawberry pocky around, one of four delicacies among these parts.
"I think you're outta your head, Lakewood." Klein looked up from the shelf and stared at me disapprovingly. "I know it's easy to forget when we're indoors, but remember that we're still in a desert region. You step outside and all that sugar's going to melt to the bottom of those bags."
"So then we'll keep it inside the barracks and only break them out for movie night," I countered. "Besides, it's not like we'll burn through the things. For some reason I've been blessed with a unit that shares my distaste for majorly sweet things."
"Yes, as I've noticed whenever you and Barters come back from the kitchen with containers full of baked goods that've been sprinkled with sea salt or are a dusting of sugar away from being the hard tack of the old days."
"And yet you're still the main person who eats all them," I sung.
"Something my body both reprimands and praises you for providing.
I pressed my lips together, an stray thought rebirthing questions I thought long buried. "Hey, Sarge?"
How long do you think we'll be in here?
"What kind of question is that, Lakewood? You know how long we'll be here."
An errant wind slipping underneath my clothes jolted me awake, a subtle prodding in my mind of having done a mistake growing more and more vocal with every imagined heartbeat. What kind of dream was that? I slowly sat up, moving the soles of my shoes against each other in a partial butterfly. Slowly, every passing second muddled the details into nothing, leaving me with a vague nostalgia. And why was Klein there? Mind still grasping at the impressions, my body carried me over to Lisbeth's store, the longing sensation turning into an unnameable frustration.
Lisbeth rose from her supine position as I approached, looking as if she had recently awoken from a nap as well. "Huh, you actually came. You were supposed to be here half and hour ago.."
"Sorry. I took a nap and ended up falling asleep instead. At least I'm here now?" I offered.
The teen gave a half hearted shrug. "It's no big deal. Seems like the rest of my potential suppliers have been disappointing me as well. From what I've heard they've found a better buyer so you're my first good news in a week."
I offered a bit of empathy, knowing full well how it felt to have somebody you needed something from fall through. Once the trade began, I dragged over the items she requested as well as the majority of the materials I'd picked up. "Are these even worthwhile for you? The ones you requested specifically, I mean."
"Only for some minor enhancements." The brunette scrutinized me for several moments before sighing with her entire body. "Look, I'm in a bit of a bind. If you bring me a selection of materials every couple of days, I'll do all your repairs and upgrades, free of charge."
Well that's not sudden. "That sounds like a tremendous loss to you." I pulled the screen to the side and stared at her directly. "Why would you do something like that? And why me?"
"I said it, didn't I? I'm having some trouble right now." Lisbeth looked away. "Asuna put in a good word for you. Said that among the rest of the adults in here you're pretty dependable. If she thinks you're reliable then I'll take her word for it. Despite your screw up last time."
So you know I'm an adult and yet still you're acting so flippant with me. "I make no promises. But truthfully, you should probably consider sending me a list of things you'll need. I don't vary my hunting grounds enough to offer you a good enough selection." I nodded towards my current offering. It only took her a single glance to confirm what I was talking about. "Consider it a deal then." I extended a hand towards her, the girl reciprocating the action
"I look forward to our future business together."
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[4th Floor, Rovia Inn. January 11th, afternoon]
It's so stupid that they don't want to go to the front lines. Ducker pushed his finger along one of the grooves of the countertop. Not too long ago the Moonlit Black Cats had split off until the evening. They were meant to meet back up at the inn for dinner, but after their discussion turned argument he wasn't exactly feeling up to seeing everybody again. I mean it's not like we're anywhere near getting out of here, so we might as well do as much as we can to help out. The sudden grinding of material against the floor made him twitch for his weapon, but went otherwise unnoticed. What's so hard to understand about that?
"Aren't you a little young to be at the baR?" The voice came from the same direction as the grinding chair. Feminine and with a somewhat irritating jump at the end.
"You can't get drunk in here anyway, so what does it matter?" he grumbled.
"I'm sure there's more than one person who would still argue against thaT."
"Yeah, well, those people aren't here so I'm going to do whatever I want." Ducker sat up straight and gulped down a few mouthfuls of his drink in spite. A couple weeks ago he would have sputtered at the burning sensation going down his throat. Now he was able to keep up with some of the night crew without any problems.
"What is a kid your age doing in here anywaY? Why not off exploring somewhere with your friends or gaining new map info because you need some moneY?"
"Because my friends think going to the front lines is the stupidest thing in the world and I'm not in the right state of mind to going anywhere worthwhile by myself."
The silence went on for longer than he expected. "What level are yoU?"
"17." Ducker thumped his chest proudly, nearly tipping over his cup with the movement. "Four more levels and then I'm going to try and find a party to get into that dungeon back on the third floor."
"You should be careful if you do go therE. Levels alone aren't enough to keep you alivE; you'll need to work with your team to maintain aggro and damagE."
"Oh trust me, I know all about maintaining that sort of stuff." Ducker turned to face the woman properly. "I had the best teacher in the world, after all!"
"I'm sure you diD." Despite being completely hidden by the full body tan cloak, Ducker had the sensation of being inspected like piece of artwork at a convention. "What's your namE?"
"My name is Ducker, and I'm going to be the best Thief in Aincrad!"
The woman seemed amused by his statement. "Alright, DuckeR; have you ever heard of the Sahuagin dungeoN?"
"No. What's that?"
"It's a new dungeon on this floor that was discovered earlier this montH. It's out of the way so not many people go to explore it, but it could be hiding something useful so it's important that we do sO." The cloaked woman summoned a packet of notes from her menu and held it out for him. "This is all the information we currently have on the dungeoN. You'll need to go with a team and it's slow progress, but if you want to join the frontlines clearing out an unknown dungeon is a good place to starT."
A spark of curiosity and suspicion shot through his mind. "You can't be doing this out of goodwill, especially since an unexplored dungeon means brand new and unique rewards. Why tell me this?"
Somberly, though very much a recitation of facts, "Out of the some 8,000 people still in this world, approximately 3,000 are fighters of any kinD. Of those 3,000, only around 500 roam the highest floorS. Barely 6% of the people in this world are actively trying to get us out of herE." The woman shook her head. Even unable to see her face, Ducker could tell she was frowning. "We need more people out therE. People willing to find every advantage we caN. It's not often I find somebody as willing as you comes alonG." A moment of mutual staring and sizing up passed before the woman nodded towards the door. "You should get goinG. Training, exploration, whateveR. It's about to get busy in here sooN. You're lucky I decided to come to earlY."
"Uh, right." Ducker stood up and made to move, feeling as if he was being warned away from something incredibly dangerous. Before he left he turned around, wondering if he'd just made a pact with a demon. "Hey, I never caught your name."
"Call me The RaT."
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[?. Unknown Date]
"You have failed to rendezvous for our previous two meetings. Explain."
"Aw, come on, babe. You know I wouldn't have missed out on our date if I didn't have a good reason." Silence, the audience was.
"Report."
"Subject 03 was easier than you said she'd be. Can't say for certain whether I'd survive if it was just me and her though."
"You should not have engaged this early." Narrowed eyes stared back at me. "Doing so was foolish; your actions have revealed another faction at work among other irrevocable effects."
"Don't get your panties in a twist. It's not like she wouldn't have found out eventually. She's kind of like a dog like that. Well trained and knows what to look for." Silence ruled once again. I shifted in my seat, throwing a leg over the armrest.
"How are the others among your group?"
"About as well as you expected. Eager for the hunt and grinding their teeth at the bit." Now there was a thought. "Hey, maybe she's in heat! That'd explain why they're so restless." My joke fell upon uncaring ears. Our personalities were different like that.
"Do not to make contact with her, or the other subjects, again. Interference skews results. Remember our purpose, to-"
"Observe the catalysts, I got it, I got it. Forgive me for wanting to have a little fun. You can only fix a pinata so many times before watching it get broken becomes boring."
"Then find another avenue of amusement. The first test is coming to a close; we can not afford to have the outcomes artificially manipulated in any way; everything must be organic, Radinca. Do not fail again."
Updates should be occurring every so often; just in case you get notifications far more often than you're used to. The next proper chapter will come out March 22nd.