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All of the sudden, the Squids assumed pointy edges and lost their irises. The colors gained a whiter tone and big chunks of the walls had square-shaped spaces in their place, showing a blurry desert filled with lines raising from the ground and grey blocks sunk on the sand.
"AAAH!" Her eyes squeezed for a short instance, before sliding towards the open space on her right side.
The Squids were slowly aiming at the running Mirii…
"KELLY, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T TURN THE COMPUTER OFF!" She passes through the open space. "CALL FOR HELP! QUICK!"
But I can't show myself in front of the mortals! I can't even disguise myself as
"I DIDN'T SAID TO CALL FOR THE MORTALS' HELP!" Mirii frowned, while looking towards the Inkling sea's blurry surface and frowning. "DO SOMETHING USEFUL!"
I-I can draw a portal that
"NOT THAT!" Her eyes squeezed even more. "CAN YOU THINK ABOUT"
Don't shout, please! I can't concentrate if you keep going out of control!
Mirii stopped, as she began inhaling Inkling water silently, yet visibly.
"Uff… I'm not moving in the slightest… and yet, I'm feeling almost out of breath!" Her eyelids went on the middle. "This VR system is tricking my sense of consciousness… I-I shouldn't believe in such fakeness!"
The Squid turned around, seeing nothing but a vast green-blue horizon that appears as blurry as the rest. Sand, vector-lines and blocks were the only thing on sight, as well as a collection of pixels stretching on a specific, unidentifiable side of the area.
I goooot an idea!
"… let's hear it." Her tentacles wrapped around, while standing vertically.
What if we took this whole machine inside the Shrine and
"No, NO!" She growled. "The computer, the machine and me CANNOT move from here!"
But that wouldn't mean you are simply stuck inside this machine…? I thought you wanted to get out!
"I want to get out in the safest, most painless way possible!" She threw her tentacles down. "I told you this before: if you move me around, who knows what kind of damage this machine would"
Eeep! Someone entered inside the office!
…
Wow… I didn't knew a little kid was-
WHAT HAPPENED?! WHAT'S THIS MESS?!
Mirii's eyes closed.
"Penny didn't notice Kelly's presence…"
Kyle, KYLE! LOOK AT THIS!
…
… what the squid?! The software went in Primitive Mode…
What's this 'Primitive Mode'…?
"You are supposed to know that, Penny!" Mirii snorted, as her head shook.
I know mostly jokes! I told you I make my computer laugh at me!
Penny couldn't possibly know about this mode, anyway… I thought they removed it with the software's official release…
"Official release?" Her head rose.
Yes, the world you are seeing right now is running with the prototype engine… the graphics are all crud and many features are missing. The only thing you will find are Squids who want to splat you…
"S-splat me…?" Mirii's eyes blinked.
It's the prototype's primary objective: survive long enough to win the game. You can ram on the Squids to damage them… they will do the same to you, though. If you get too many hits, you will fail.
"I-if I fail… a-am I truly done for?" Blocky sweat covered her head…
… unfortunately, yes.
"NOOOOO!" Her tentacles went right on her cheeks!
Ha ha! I was joking!
Several veins popped out from Mirii's head.
That was too mean, Kyle! You scared me as well!
Hey, I thought that some laughs would ease the tension…!
"… you do not joke with someone's wellness, you insolent…" Her eyes squeezed a bit. "… you better hide from my sight, once I manage to escape this nightmare…"
There is no need to be THAT mad over a simple mistake… sheesh! It's not like I told you a collection of
"Enough blabbering, you fool!" Mirii frowned a lot. "Just tell me what I need to do in order to exit this virtual prison!"
Well, I could try resuming the original mode back…
"I don't want to return inside that previous world…" She moved a bit forward. "I had enough of this delusional place! I want to run away as fast as"
No, no! Your mood is perfect for understanding the anatomy of happiness…! With your data, I'm capable to make my jokes so funny, I'm already laughing at the many possibilities I could achieve with such power…!
Forget it, Penny. You could damage her eyes, if you keep them exposed to the VR glasses… besides, I think she is accumulating too much stress to get anything useful out of her.
"Stress that I'm going express by exposing the poor service you are giving to me…" Her eyes grew a bit. "Curses! I-I see Squids coming in my way!"
Two Squids were rushing in her direction, with their heads pointed at her.
Ram into them! Your character is strong enough to take care of them!
"'Ramming into them'… nngh." Her head shook, pointing the tip over the Squid on the left and pushing herself over it. "S-so embarrassing…!"
Her speed increased, as she almost touched the non-rendered seaweed on the side. The targeted Squid was coming closer and closer…
PAM!
The hit target flipped backwards, before exploding into pieces of cube. Mirii swam upwards, avoiding the head of the next enemy. She spun forward, now diving with her head aiming at the last foe. She misses it by an inch, while going after the sand and slowing down in the process.
She makes a turn, passing near the ground and pointing right back up, seeing the enemy Squid making a wide turn as well. She snorted, as her tentacles pushed herself over the virtual creature, while applying more strength to the pushes once her head was accurately pointed at her new target.
PAM!
The hurt Squid flew upwards, bursting into several little cubes. Mirii stopped, as she inhaled Inkling water loudly and visibly.
"Uff… puff… th-that was close…!" Her eyelids went slightly down.
Eh eh…! Did you see how wild she went on those Squids, Kyle? Told you that the gentle, kind Squids are the ones who can totally turn into beasts!
"How dare you comparing me to a beast?!" Mirii frowned. "I used smartness and finesse to overcome those weak obstacles!"
Taking out two of those Squids is no easy feat… I bow down to your skills!
Ooooh, is Kyle growing a crush on this young customer…?
Mirii's face went a bit green…
"C-cease this ridiculous attempt at being funny, Penny…"
Not even this little joker can escape the big, vast argument that's love… except when someone throws a hot-dogfish in my direction! I would turn into a little seadoggie and run after it!
"Pfff!" Mirii's cheeks puffed. "S-stop it!"
… next time I'm going to throw a hot-dogfish above you…
Will you?! I'm ready for it! Woof, woof!
Ha ha! Maybe this evening I will do it… a Penny-dog must be a
"Before you continue with your pointless dialogue, can you tell me what to do?!" Mirii frowned. "Am I supposed to just survive or defeat all those pile of cubes?!"
… you call it pointless? Well then! If you are so impatient, then you can go around and freely explore this even more pointless world…
"A-are you daring to challenge my eyes?!" She frowned even more, stretching her tentacles down. "If this bogus experience will make me wear glasses for the rest of my life, I will sue you! All of you!"
Come on Kyle, don't be mean to her… can't you turn this software off and set her free already?
"… did she gave up on her ambitions…?" Her eyes squeezed a bit. "… no, she must still be onto something… she is wearing too many masks to be trusted."
Sadly, I can't turn it off… you see this? Primitive Mode is locking down the primary functions… and the cords will not release the girl, if I just turn off the computer. She has to satisfy its goal… and that's to survive.
"What do you mean by survive…?" Mirii's folded her tentacles.
That would be something you have to figure out… and I'm not doing that in your despise.
"Yo-you don't know?!" Her eyes expanded.
I heard about this prototype a year ago! I haven't seen it at all… I just know it has terrible graphics, this simple objective and the name mode. How I was supposed to know that this game would have been so crucial later on?!
No one is getting mad at you, Kyle… well, except my stomach: you didn't gave me a hot-dogfish at all!
I said I would give you one this evening… I'm itching to see a Penny acting like a seadog!
So much, you are not scratching yourself at all…!
Aaaawww, I got countered like nothing! Darn you, Penny! I will have the last laugh this evening, I swear!
"… I'm truly surrounded by idiots…" Mirii was moving away, waving herself in the process. "Not that this is the first time I have to do something by myself… it's nothing more than an opportunity to fully utilize my intellect and finesse in this empty, simplistic world…!"