Year-End Special: A Project of Generations from Unnatural Worlds
It was around 11 PM when I received a call from the Administrator. I answered his call and a violet screen appeared in front of me.
The screen then showed a video of a man in a suit. His name was Mithra, the Administrator of this Server and my current boss.
"Good evening, Moderator Jun", he flashed a warm smile.
"Good evening, Mithra. How may I be of service tonight?" I asked.
"First off, I want to thank you for your exemplary service for the past seventeen years. You have shown that you are, without a doubt, fitting to be called a 1412."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Now, I'll go straight to the point. It is time for your annual test as a Moderator. Are you prepared?"
As a Moderator, I had to do annual tests. The tests were simple such as fixing faulty codes of Dump Servers, fighting Bugs, or solving any anomaly in CyNet.
"Yes. I am prepared", I said.
A violet screen appeared in front of me and I began reading the contents.
"Ten minutes ago, we received information that there is an anomaly in Dump Server #42069360. You are to deal with it on your own", he said.
"Ten minutes ago? And there isn't enough information except that an anomaly was detected. This is an odd test", I muttered.
"Well… Since it was recently detected, we have no idea what it was or how dangerous it is. But you're a 1412 so I know you can handle it", Mithra said.
"Very well… I will prepare to enter this server."
"Good luck."
Mithra's screen disappeared as I got out of bed. Since this was an unknown anomaly, I had to be prepared. But what could I possibly bring?
Thinking about it, it shouldn't be that much of a problem. The anomaly was probably just a Bug or something. And I was sure that if it was too dangerous, they wouldn't pass this job to a Moderator like me.
That's why I prepared to transfer myself to Dump Server #42069360. The scenery around me changed as I entered a strange forest.
Dump Servers were faulty Servers that Administrators made. They weren't complete and they only served as testing grounds for Coders for new codes they would try to implement. Since it wasn't created properly, there were lots of wrong things.
I moved my body around and it seemed that at least, the physical laws were consistent. The fact that trees grew in this Dump Server meant that this Server was capable of supporting life.
If someone told me that this wasn't a Dump Server, I would probably believe them. However, I wasn't here to admire this place. I was here to solve an anomaly.
After walking around, I saw an interesting object.
In the distance, there was a black-haired boy in a white uniform. He was carrying a wavy sword and was looking around warily.
He didn't look like a Dump File so he must be a Bug. I get it now. This anomaly was easy to solve.
I pressed a violet screen and a knife materialized. The knife launched itself at the boy at fast speeds and aimed for his head. However, the boy saw the knife and avoided it.
"What the hell?" he asked.
Oh? The Bug could talk. While it was uncommon to see talking Bugs, it wasn't that much of a surprise.
Several swords appeared above me and they flew towards the boy. The boy's shadow rose up and turned into a wall that protected him.
"So you can control darkness. That's a pretty neat ability as a Bug", I said.
"Hey! Why are you attacking me? Were you the one who sent me to this place?" he asked.
Was he trying to talk to me? That was weird. Maybe he was trying to distract me. Well… I didn't really care.
Two rocket launchers appeared near me and fired at the boy. He managed to dodge them and was even aware of the explosion that they would bring. The boy lunged towards me and tried to swing his sword.
I pressed a screen and teleported away from the boy. Grenades appeared and exploded near him.
When the smoke cleared up, a shell of darkness appeared. Tch. His shadow was annoying.
"Shadow Companion!" he shouted and his shadow rose up and turned into a humanoid creature with sharp claws.
The two of them charged at me but I merely toyed with them by teleporting whenever they got near enough. However, I couldn't land any decisive blow because the boy would always protect himself with his shadow.
"InfiNight Darkness!" he shouted and darkness oozed out of his body.
The darkness covered the area surrounding us and I couldn't see anything. Was he trying to make a surprise attack? That would be pointless. I could just press a screen and delete this darkness.
However, I realized that I couldn't move my arms. Don't tell me-
I felt something cold touch the back of my neck. The darkness disappeared and I saw that my shadow was wrapped around both of my arms. I looked behind me and the boy was touching his sword to my neck.
"I don't know why you attacked me but can't this be resolved in a civilized manner like talking?" he asked.
If he thought he won against me because he stopped me from pressing a screen, then he was wrong. I focused my mind and I teleported a few meters away from the boy.
"What the-" he was surprised to see me do that.
While it was easier to just input the commands in a window using our hands, a Coder could input commands using their minds. I didn't lose against him.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I'm Kamishiro Mikage, the administrative officer of the Westa Knight Order's 13th unit", he introduced himself.
A Bug might be able to talk but they didn't usually have those kinds of backstories. Also, their natural instinct was to kill and destroy. He had the chance to kill me but instead, he just touched my neck using his sword.
"You're not a Bug", I said.
"I'm a normal human if that's what you want to know."
Before I could comment on something, I heard footsteps.
"Oh? Kamishiro-san, is that you?" a voice asked.
There were four people. Two black-haired boys in different school uniforms, a black-white haired boy wearing goggles and gloves, and a purple-haired girl.
"Takeda-kun? Are you really Takeda-kun?" my opponent asked.
What's going on? Why were there multiple people here?
"Who is that guy?" the boy with black-white hair asked the first black-haired guy..
"This is Kamishiro Mikage, the man I told you about who got sent to another parallel world."
"And that man is?" I asked my opponent.
"This is Takeda Felix. He's a magician from the Thousand Nights Association."
"It's Millenium Nights Association", the first black-haired man corrected him..
"I'm guessing these two have no idea what's going on too, huh?" the second black-haired boy asked.
"That's right. My partner and I were working in the 13th unit's barracks until we both felt sleepy. When we woke up, we were in an unknown place. She doesn't know anything about this place and she said she didn't sense any magic", my opponent said.
Did he just call me a girl? That was a first. I didn't know I had a feminine appearance. But there was one problem.
"Ummm… Calling someone you just met and even fought a "partner" is weird, don't you think?" I asked him.
His sword glowed and transformed into a short girl with brown wavy hair.
"He's talking about me", she said.
"Oooh! A Gift that lets you turn into a sword is cool! It's like that anime where people can turn into weapons and eat souls!" the boy with black-white hair exclaimed.
"But in this case, she didn't use a Gift", the second black-haired boy said.
"Shall we compare our stories and give a brief introduction?" the short girl asked.
"Sounds good", I agreed.
The first black-haired boy stepped forward.
"My name is Takeda Felix. I'm a magician from the Millenium Nights Association and I'm trying to search for the answers to our world's mysteries. This girl beside me is Tokoyami Towa, a devil I contracted to help me in my research", he introduced himself along with the purple-haired girl.
"I can accept magicians but that girl is a devil?" the black-white haired boy asked.
"She doesn't give off the vibes of a horrible devil though", the other black-haired boy said.
"I'll ignore what you guys just said. In any case, I visited Takeda-kun's house when I felt drowsy and passed out. When I woke up, we were in this world", Tokoyami-san said.
My opponent and the short-haired girl stepped forward.
"I'm Kamishiro Mikage and this is my legendary partner, Melfissa Anya. I used to be from the same world as Takeda-kun until I got involved in an accident and was sent to another world. I'm just a regular administrative officer of the knight order in charge of the city I live in", he introduced themselves.
"In our case, Mikage and I were working until both of us felt drowsy. We woke up in this forest without any clue and somehow met all of you", Melfissa-san added.
The last two boys walked forward.
"I'm Doyohito Sanosuke, an Astranite who can talk to machines. This kiddo is Hako Yuna, an Astranite who can create black flames that can burn any physical thing and white flames that can burn concepts", the first black-haired man said.
"Astranite? What's that?" Kamishiro-san asked.
"A long time ago, there were some scientists researching a man-made particle known as Astras. An accident happened which caused a large number of them to be released in the atmosphere and integrated with living creatures. They could alter DNA which made people have superpowers known as Gifts", Hako-san explained.
"I see. So that's what you meant by an ability ingrained in your DNA, huh?" Takeda-kun asked Doyohito-san.
"So all of us are victims here and have no idea what's going on. How about you? What's your name?" Melfissa-san looked at me.
"I'm Inazuma Jun, a Coder with the ID "MOD 1412-5563-4689." Unlike you guys, I have an idea what's going on and I know how to solve it", I said.
"Eh?!" the others were surprised.
"Hold on. What's a Coder?" Kamishiro-san asked.
"What if I told you that Reality can be broken down into codes like a computer program?"
"I see. So you're saying everything has a value and a mathematical relationship?" Doyohito-kun asked.
"That's an oversimplification, but yes. And as a Coder, I can alter these values and relationships however I see fit."
It was great that I didn't have to go through an infodump.
"And? Can you explain what's going on?" Takeda-kun asked.
"There are many realities in existence. You may call them "parallel worlds" but for Coders, we call them "Servers." These Servers are made by mature Coders known as Administrators. All of you are from different Servers with their own rules and stuff. That's why your abilities are different from each other."
"So what does that have to do with this situation?" Tokoyami-san asked.
"I've been tasked to solve an anomaly in a Dump Server, which is the very world we are standing right now. I'm guessing the anomaly is that a group of people from different Servers got sent to this Server. It's an easy fix. Since this is just a Dump Server, I don't have to worry about creating Bugs."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Hako-san told him.
Several violet screens surrounded me and I started pressing them. This anomaly was very simple. Sending people back to their own Servers wasn't difficult and I was sure that whatever Bugs and Dump Files I would create, it would be dealt with by the Coders in charge of their Servers.
Oh no… Things just became complicated.
"There's a bit of a problem. It's difficult to send you back", I said.
"What?! So you mean we're stuck here forever?!" Tokoyami-san shouted.
"No. He said "difficult." Not "impossible." What do you need?" Takeda-kun asked.
"Normally, a Dump Server could easily give Administrator permissions to any Coder. However, this one seems to need an Administrative Console which is a machine that could grant Administrative powers to a Coder operating it."
"And I'm guessing we have no idea where it is?" Kamishiro-san asked.
"Unfortunately… no. I doubt a Dump Server like this has a System Records. We have to find it ourselves."
"If it's a machine, we can just walk around until I can hear it", Doyohito-san suggested.
###
"Stop. I can hear something", Doyohito-san said.
We looked around but all we could see were trees.
"There's nothing here", Tokoyami-san told him.
Doyohito-san walked towards a tree and peeled off its bark. When he did, a console was on it.
"A console, huh? We need a password", I said.
"Don't worry. I got this. Hey! Input the correct password!" Doyohito-san commanded the machine.
The machine beeped and the ground began to shake. A building emerged from the ground and its door opened.
"That's pretty convenient", Takeda-kun said.
"As long as it's a machine, I can command it", Doyohito-san grinned.
When we entered the building, the lights turned on and revealed a person sitting on a chair. He opened his eyes and all of us felt eerie upon looking at his blank expression.
"Threat detected. Commencing defensive protocols", he said.
"Let's go, Anya", Kamishiro-san told his partner and Melfissa-san turned into a sword.
"Looks like we're in for a fight", black flames surrounded Hako-san's fists.
"With all of us against him, it'll be an easy one", Takeda-kun said as a glowing orb of light appeared on my palm.
"Even I can finish it off myself", violet screens surrounded me.
"Threat level: 9. Commencing lethal combat sequence", he said as white screens surrounded him
A barrier surrounded the room and I clicked my tongue.
"This is Developer Mode! So we're fighting a Bot! This will be tricky! Stay on guard, everyone!" I shouted.
A Bot was like an NPC that had the abilities of a Coder. They were artificial creatures whose only purpose was to show young Coders how to use their abilities. They were also defenders of rooms and other important places.
The Bot pressed a screen and several sharp blades appeared. All of them launched at fast speeds at us but we managed to dodge them in time.
Doyohito-san and Tokoyami-san hid in the corner, Hako-san was flying around the battlefield, Takeda-kun was chanting magic, Kamishiro-san was getting the Bot's attention by getting close, and I was summoning missiles and other explosives.
Our fight was going well even with our inexperience in fighting together. But the Bot was a very problematic opponent since he would often change the landscape. If that wasn't bad enough, he would also shoot out blades and other dangerous objects at us.
"This is getting nowhere! Synchronicity Release!" Kamishiro-san shouted and his white uniform turned into a black outfit.
His sword style changed and he effortlessly dodged the Bot's attacks. He managed to get close enough and stabbed the bot.
However, the Bot stared at Kamishiro-san and blew him away with a powerful punch.
"Owww… What was that?" Kamishiro-san asked.
"Activate Shadows in the Light Mode!" Hako-san shouted.
He then shot a power blast of black flames forward and white flames behind. The flames left a hole in the building and the Bot got burned with black flames. However, the flames turned white and disappeared.
"What the hell happened?!" Hako-san asked.
"It highlighted and deleted them. A common tactic of a Coder", I explained.
"Then it's unkillable?!" Hako-san got angry at the unfairness.
"No. I analyzed his codes. He only has one kill condition and that is receiving one huge damage. Like a nuclear bomb or something."
"Ah great. Sure. Let's just get a nuclear bomb and drop it on that asshole", Hako-san sarcastically groaned.
"I can do that", Takeda-kun said.
"Of course. Magic."
"But I need you guys to make a shield to protect yourselves. The spell will only leave me unharmed. Also, I need some time to finish chanting."
"I can handle the shield", Kamishiro-san offered.
"Then I'll buy some time against the bot", I said.
Kamishiro-san closed his eyes and focused while I pressed some screens.
The ground surrounding the Bot wrapped around it and made it unable to move.
"The Bot can't delete it for 10 seconds. How are things on your end, Kamishiro-san?" I asked.
"Barrier of the Immovable Guardian!" Kamishiro shouted and a round barrier surrounded him, me, Hako-san, Doyohito-san, and Tokoyami-san.
"Everything's set!" Kamishiro looked at Takeda-kun.
"Alright. Let's go! Arcanum Primera! Arcanum Segunda! Arcanum Tercera!" Takeda-kun shouted as a powerful wave of energy surged out from his body.
That force was called mana. I see. Kamishiro-san and Takeda-kun were from Servers that had magic, huh?
"Destruction of myriad worlds,
though I promulgate the laws of nature,
I am the alias of destruction incarnate
in accordance with the principles of all creation.
Let the hammer of eternity descend unto me!
Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark,
I beseech thee, combine with my wisdom.
The time of awakening cometh.
Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary,
appear now as an intangible distortion!
I desire for my torrent of power a destructive force:
a destructive force without equal!
Return all creation to cinders,
and come from the abyss!
RAGNAROK!" Takeda-kun chanted.
A powerful explosion wiped everything out. When the light cleared up, everything in the area and the surrounding kilometers were turned into one huge crater.
"That was strong", Kamishiro-san said.
The barrier that protected us had cracks and was crumbling. It then disappeared since there were no threats around.
"So we got rid of the Bot. What now?" Tokoyami-san asked.
"The Administrative Console should be around here", I said.
"Over there", Doyohito-san pointed and there was a square machine.
We approached it and I tried to open it.
"Damn it. There's a password!", I growled.
"Hey, Sano-senpai. It's a machine, right? Can't you just command it?" Hako-san asked.
"I would if I could but it's using a strange language. I can't command it", Doyohito-san answered.
"Machines speak in different languages?" Takeda-kun asked.
"No. All of the machines I've encountered spoke in Japanese. Except for this one."
"Can you describe what it's saying?" Kamishiro-san asked.
"I can't. It's too weird. But I can let you hear how it sounds."
Doyohito-san took out his phone.
"Hey, buddy! Can you let them hear what I'm hearing?" he asked.
His phone's speakers began to let out a series of weird noises. What kind of language was that?
"That's the language of Hell!" Tokoyami-san said.
"So you can understand it?" Takeda-kun asked.
"Yes. It says a hint of the password."
"And what's the hint?" I asked.
"I have cities but no houses.
I have mountains but no trees.
I have water but no fish.
What am I?"
We thought hard. What kind of riddle was that?
"If Amelia was here, she could solve it in a flash", Kamishiro-san muttered.
"You're talking about Watson Amelia, right?" Takeda-kun asked.
"Yep. What about it?"
"That's funny. I also know an Amelia."
"Well… Some Administrators borrow interesting characters made by other Administrators. I won't be surprised if there are multiple Amelias in the entire CyNet", I said.
"CyNet?" Tokoyami-san asked.
"It's like the world between Servers. That's the place where Coders gather and do their business. It has a really complicated map that no one but a Coder can understand."
Doyohito-san pounded his fist on his palm.
"I got it! The answer is very simple!" he exclaimed.
"Really? What is it?" Hako-san asked.
"Only one thing has cities but no houses, mountains but no trees, and water but no fishes. And that's a map!"
I encoded the answer in the Administrative Console and it activated.
"Oh. That was fairly easy. I guess this solves all things", I said.
"So we're going back to our worlds?" Tokoyami-san asked.
"Yes. I'll be sending you guys in a few minutes so say your goodbyes."
The three looked at each other.
"It was fun seeing you again, Takeda-kun. And fighting alongside you, Hako-san, is a good experience", Kamishiro-san said.
"Same here, Kamishiro-san. Also, Takeda-kun, I'll be strong enough to beat you one day", Hako-san pointed at me.
"I'd love to see you try. And Kamishiro-san, let's hope the next time we meet, it'll be in a much more casual situation."
They shared a laugh and they disappeared.
Now then… My test was complete and it was time for me to return to my Server. This was a fun test but it was something that I didn't want to do again.
The scenery around me changed again and I was in my room. It was around 2 AM and I decided to go to sleep.