DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN OVERLORD

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CHAPTER 4 AWARENESS pt. 2

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A worn-out dirtroad. Midnight

Potro and Corcel were getting much farther than the area they were assigned to patrol. But in this case it was very justifiable.

After seeing that pillar of blue light and almost immediately the sudden appearance of the giant pyramid, they knew that scouting was mandatory.

And they were pretty sure that in the outpost everyone could have seen it, considering how big the pyramid was when suddenly appeared. And that also gave them some shiver about the true nature of the colossal structure.

Half an hour of traversing the terrain they reached the old remains of what was known as Goldgorge citadel.

In the past it was an important commercial hub, but becoming a war zone and lack of population turned this once beautiful citadel into a literal ghost town.

Potro or Corcel took a few minutes to explore the city. Checking if anything was off was prudent, considering that the place was the closest to the giant pyramid that suddenly appeared.

No undead roaming, no negative energy simmering. So, they proceded to leave.

But they stumbled with two people.

One was a middle aged man, a bit shorter than average with a lean build, equipping a crossbow, an old padded suit (what was wearing couldn't be called a gambeson in any way) and a rather big pony as a mount.

The other was a young woman, with very pink skin, dark blonde hair, blue eyes and pretty lips. She was equipped with a spear, a thick tunic as protection gear and her mount was a bird that resembled a fluffy ostrich. Save for the beak that was more chicken like.

The sudden encounter stopped everyone in their tracks.

"Who's there? Identify yourselves!" shouted the girl

"Nightwatch from the Green Hoof outpost, Kar-Meera Kombine" Answered very proudly Potro"

"Nightwatch from the Ordon outpost, Lysterimac League. Looks like you are too far away from your garrison, Kombine soldiers" Answered the old man.

"Same as you"

The atmosphere turned a bit tense. Although both nations were in every sense, except official documents, allies, frontier watchmen took any attempt of trespass to other's territory not in the best eyes.

However, considering the current situation, it was not wise to start some infighting between unofficial allies.

Especially when they looked at each other: The centaurs having weaponry that looked more like advanced training gear, and the humans… he, an old crossbow that needs maintenance, and she, a spear badly repaired.

Looking at the sad excuses of soldiers they were quickly deflated any tension built.

"I'll guess that is unnecessary to ask, but just for following proper procedures, what brings you here?"

The friendly attempt of the elder man at having a civil conservation was well received by everyone.

"I guess that the same thing as you" answered cordially Potro, pointing at the big pyramid ahead.

"Then let's go ahead" said smiling the old man and proceeded to the pyramid. He was soon followed after.

The travel into the unknown sends a small wave of happiness to the elder.

"Looks like I'm having a final adventure".

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+++B+U+U+J+A+C+K+++

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Alkor's ziggurat

Six floor

somewhere in a strange world…

In one of the room inside the six floor of the ziggurat was placed a facility which function was surveillance inside of the ziggurat and outside of it, manned by four lvl 90+ custom NPC angels and some POP angels as extra personnel.

If necessary, it could use special objects inside it to do some divination magic to make some information gathering and espionage.

Currently they were doing their usual internal surveillance, as they have done since their creation.

And the usual calm routine of the nightshift was suddenly interrupted by the frenetic calls of the snow elemental sentries outside.

"Open the channel" the angel in charge of the shift ordered.

What was received was a gigantic amount of cacophony, product of all the sentries trying to speak at the same time.

"Silence!" The angel in charge's powerful voice stopped the elementals. "One at the time"

"My lady, the surrounding area has changed completely" The ethereal voice of one snow spirit sounded

"What do you mean?"

"The frozen hills, the snow covered peak, the faraway tundra, are not there, my lady".

The angel was weirded by that statement. Was he implying that the surrounding of Alkor has changed?

"What the heck is talking about?"

"…Elaborate…"

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+++B+U+U+J+A+C+K+++

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"Lord Rodoph hit lady Kurenai? REALLY?"

That was the hot gossip discussed between the maids and manservants between the halls.

"But why?! And lady Kurenai did nothing?"

"Yes, why all that happened?"

"Did she fought back?"

"Tell me more details!"

"We don't know why, but lady Kurenai was very stressed"

"And lord Rodoph was very angry with us for eavesdropping"

"I want to know more!"

"C'mon tell us more!"

"I couldn't hear more than that!"

"But at least you have an idea of- WHOA!"

The maid was almost tackled by an archangel flame that was flying at top speed to the throne room.

"Watch where you are flying!"

"My apologies!" The angel turned the corner of the hall, without reducing speed.

"First lord Rodoph went physical on lady Kurenai, and now one of the angels goes flying like that to the great lord's chamber? What is going on?" The maid couldn't help but wonder.

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"…Now what?"

The only thing that Rodoph wanted was that nothing else happens before the great lords exited the Throne Room.

And the appearance of the archangel flame shattered his hopes.

The archangel landed and kneeled before them

"Lord Rodoph! Lady Kurenai! I have important information for the great lords"

"The great lords requested to not be interrupted until they leave the throne room. Anything you have to say I will relay to them"

"Yes. lord Rodoph, lady Kurenai. By orders of lady Polaris I have instructed to inform the great lords of the situation of Alkor's surroundings."

The mist elf leaned a bit toward the angel, now very concerned. "Explain yourself"

"Lord Rodoph, the area surrounding the great ziggurat has changed. Nothing of the usual environment is to be found"

That statement baffled both Rodoph and Kurenai.

"What do you mean?" She asked

"The surrounding area doesn't look like always did. There is a temperate climate with grassland and hills around. Lady Polaris has detected a beach too."

Rodoph and Kurenai looked at each other

"Perhaps that is what could have alerted the great lords?"

"Nevertheless, the great lords requested to not be interrupted until they decide, so we will report immediately. Anything else?"

"No my lady. But Lady Polaris also said that she would be gathering information about the surroundings. She requested one hour until she has collected more information until proceeding further"

"Then we will wait. Incomplete information is the least thing that we need for now. You may retire"

"Yes, my lord" The archangel flew away.

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…silence…

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"…so that's why the great lords had been acting like that. They knew something was off" she started.

"Possibly. And considering all what you have heard about the great lords, it's plausible. But it doesn't explain why they were acting like they didn't recognize themselves" he finished.

Kurenai's fears started to rise again. But remembering the promise made before, she reined control over them.

"But what that angel meant by that? Jotunnheim is made of cold snow and frigid rocks. Why there are grasslands? And a beach?" Rodoph asked.

"I don't know. But is possible that the great lords got aware of that" answered Kurenai, having been successfully distracted, again.

"Is very possible, considering that they were able to do feats that no one else could have done before. And even in the case that they don't know what had happened, I'm pretty sure that they had became aware of… something"

"Yes, you are right". Now able to act a tiny bit calmer, she could theorize a bit.

"The great lords always talked a lot about unexpected events happening. For example, when they were training me, suddenly a powerful ebon knight appeared. The great lords called that an "ambusher hidden boss". They were surprised by their existence and they had to interrupt my training to defeat it."

"That must have been a sight to behold" Rodoph answer was dignified and proper. However, it was clear that he was jealous of the opportunities that she always had at witnessing the great lords.

"In so short time they managed to device an strategy to take it down and protect me at the same time" Kurenai lamented having been the load, instead of being able to help the great lords. "And they laughed at all that when they defeated it"

Rodoph was impressed. Taking down something unknown that suddenly appeared and then they ended laughing at all…

"Yes, it sounds something that the great lords would do"

"And that was one event only. There were a lot of things that the lords were and are still unaware of. However, they are able to quickly react to them."

Rodoph always envied the fact that she was able to accompany the lords. First was because of her training, and then because eventually she turned a very powerful helper in their battles.

And now she was sharing all that experience with him, something that made him very happy.

"Anyway Rodoph, shouldn't we at least advice the great lords about this? I know that hey asked not to be interrupted, that we have little information and that possibly they are already guessing what happened, but…this seems important."

"…I considered that, but better to stay here in case someone else appears. If the lords are already trying to figure what happened, then I think that we'll be no help at all. Especially with so little information."

It was pretty obvious that Kurenai wanted to see and be close to the young lord. However, Rodoph managed to deliver a proper counter to her very valid reasoning.

"I'm sorry Kurenai, but I can't trust you right now"

"And exploring outside by our own…"

"If the great lords need us, it's better that we stay here"

She didn't like sitting there just waiting, but Rodoph was right. He wasn't made the grand chancellor of Alkor's ziggurat for nothing.

So she stood in the spot.

And waited.

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Throne room

Twenty minutes later both angels's flying capabilities had improved a lot, although it felt more like they were remembering how to do it properly.

They were still a bit unstable, but they could hover properly, make good short fly and control their altitude and movements.

Of course, the throne room was big, but not enough big to make a proper test.

But they were satisfied at the moment.

"Ok, that was fun"

Soichirou/Aidan couldn't agree more with it.

"It's weird. I feel that it's natural that we can fly, but like had neglected doing it for too much time" the young angel said.

"I felt a lot of joy actually when flying"

"Dad… something else"

His dad tilted his head

"This…all of this" the younger player opened his arms, showing the entire room "We have taken it too… natural. I mean… shouldn't we have freaked out? Why are we taking it very well?"

"Well, you freaked out actually" snickered his dad

"You know what I mean" was the annoyed response

"…well, you are right in that. Actually I feel very stable now. Before I was very nervous, but now, I'm very calm. Like I could take far more emotional baggage than before"

"…me too…"

"How weird. Feels like I'm myself but not myself at the same time…" the older player words floated in the air for a moment, like reverberating in the room.

It was indeed a very weird feeling, somehow contradictory but logical at the same time. But the strangest thing of all was that it felt…right. Like there was no reason to simply not feel that way.

No human being could process all of that without going nuts. And the only thing that happened was Soichirou/Aidan freaking out far less than he should be.

And their bodies. They felt their bodies, the connection to it.

They…

"Dad… You think that we… "he pointed at himself "…are this?"

"What?"

"I mean…"

"…You mean that we became our avatars?" Asked his father

"Well…yes. And considering everything that happened, it's not that insane isn't?"

He had a point. They felt that they were using the bodies that always had and never did before.

And the fact that they were far too calm itched him. Adding the very quick recovery of the nervousness of whatever had happened meant that something was very…right?

"…You have a point. And that the most scary part: It's insane, ridiculous, but makes sense. A lot." Leoric looked around a bit. "So, what exactly could have happened?"

"Well, there are two options: one, we got deep stuck in the computer and we became part of it. Like data programs"

"Sounds like the plot of some Sci-Fi series or that stupid anime show. Brave Star Online was it?" His father said.

That made Soichirou/Aidan laugh. He was one of those haters of that anime, and hearing his rant was amusing.

"Well, that is an option" the younger angel said. He took a deep breath and continued, getting serious again. "Scary actually. Far worse than cyberkidnapping if you think about it. And the other one… well… is even more stupid actually."

His father tilted his head and put a face of 'are you serious?'

"Yes dad, I'm implying that we have been transported into another world. I know, it's even more stupid. But thinking about it, there are no more logical options" He chuckled. "Well, neither option is actually logical, but I don't know how to explain out current situation either"

"So…".

His father tried to say something, but couldn't. This was so surreal. Ridiculous. Only a over imaginative child, manchild or a loner otaku could thing of a situation like this and accept it completely (and possibly happily).

"Dad…do you think that we got stuck here forever?"

"If we are that deep in the machine, maybe someone would realize that and there will be a forced log out. Honestly, your theory of another world is scary. Being thrown into the unknown doesn't appeal to me in anyway. I prefer the Brave Star Online one actually."

"So, in the best of the cases, we are into a deep coma, still connected into the dive gear, trapped in a computer with an over evolved AI that considers us the supreme masters of the dungeon."

"And the worst being into another world and we have no longer in YGGDRASIL" said the father in a worried tone

"IF there is SOMETHING outside the ziggurat. Maybe the entire ziggurat is floating in the nothing" concluded his son in an even more worried tone.

Actually, THAT was the worst-case scenario: being trapped in the middle of literally nothing.

What could mean that? Have they been digitalized? They became part of a supercomputer? Were they temporal files about to be deleted?

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Was all of this a dying dream?

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And uncomfortable silence followed, neither of them was capable of saying anything else for a few minutes.

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Soichirou finally decided to speak.

"Well, if we can move our bodies at will, maybe we can use the other abilities of the body"

It wasn't priority of course, but they had to…well…do something at least.

"Like?"

"Magic, for example"

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[Holy arrows!]

[Lightning!]

[Holy fire!]

[Heavenly armaments!]

[Summon 3rd: Archangel Flame!]

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Testing their skills and abilities was very enjoyable. They also managed to do a very brief mock duel in which they analyzed they new bodies.

The pain sensation was there, the strong feeling on their physical bodies, how they moved perfectly. Their new muscles, body parts.

And the power. The feeling of overwhelming power that accompanied every move they made. They never felt being this strong or powerful. They were simply humans all the time and had the abilities that all humans could get in a way or another. But now was different.

So much fun they were getting that they didn't realize that they had spent around 20 minutes doings those test.

"Well, magic works very well"

"It's weird to see that we can use it without a console"

"Just needing to call the spells and they appear"

[MESSAGE]

"Is that you dad?"

"Yep. Message works"

"But why message?. We can chat"

[MESSAGE OFF]

"You are right. Then let's make more tests."

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The former frontier between The League and The Kombine

Those four unexpected companions were traveling silently, with direction to that strange pyramid that appeared suddenly about an hour ago.

The closer that they got, the more colossal it looked. And soon they were able to "feel" the mystifying veil of magic that covered it, the ancient vibe that it gives and the fact that there was…foggy.

"Fog is rare here. And it's focused on the spot" The elder man wondered. He has lived a good amount of years in this land and fog was a very unusual occurrence. He had seen it four times in his entire life in his home nation (that little field that defied all climates not counting).

However, he hasn't seen a fog so persistent in one place, and in a very small one on top of that.

"Easy, Corcel" Potro calmed his nervous brother, affected by the sight of the pyramid.

Although he couldn't really blame him: for a first night watch, this has been an extremely unusual event, and travelling into something completely unknown can make people tense.

And that ziggurat was giving him the creeps.

They stopped in complete synch when they started to discern the fog that…wasn't fog.

Or at least hat was the feeling it gave to them.

They looked each other again, and an unspoken "let's go" ensued.

And they walked again

Slowly.

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Alkor ziggurat

Six Floor

Throne room

It was discovered that Chat and Message, while had the same function, worked differently: while with Message one can communicate with everyone (testing was done with Rodoph and Kurenai), Chat (or the most specific function private Chat, because general Chat didn't work) looked that it was reserved for the angel players only.

Moreover, while Message was something of a phone call, Chat was more like a direct uplink with a telepathic sort of speaking.

"It make sense anyway: only players could use the Chat function"

The inventory system was more like a pocket dimension in with stuff could be stored. And the strangest thing of all is that just by putting their hands inside that rift they instantly knew somehow what was there and what and how take out stuff.

However, another question pooped inside Soichirou/Aidan's head:

"Dad, how much mana you have left?"

"Well…"

That was a good question actually. With no HUD, there was o way of knowing how much mana they have spent.

"Maybe not all the mechanics of the game are gone. CHAT is the proof of it" concluded his son

"In that case… STATUS!" Leoric decided to test it.

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…nothing…

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"Well, doesn't work" Leoric was very disappointed, especially with himself: he should have known that it won't be that easy.

"Still, there must be a way to know it. Maybe it's more… natural now" Soichirou/Aidan wondered. And decided to… well… try to search inside himself. So he closed his eyes.

And then he could see it… sort of.

His HP, MP were somewhat like auras now. And his skills were like a well that will periodically refill with time.

"Dad, I did it!"

"How"

"Well, try to see yourself. Very deep"

Weirded by the explanation, he decided to try anyway. And then he saw everything.

"You were right"

"Haha, See?" Soichirou/Aidan said proudly.

"Still I think that we must make a complete test of all the spells and skills. Some could not work as we think they do"

"You mean…"

"Seraphim Empyrean for example" Stated his father. "That takes XP to cast. If we summon it, would we become weaker by level drain? Or we will pay with life-force or something?"

"…That's…well…"

Soichirou had to admit that it was a good point. As a gameplay mechanic, XP was a resource, but according to the lore, XP was an accumulation of life experience and energy gathered through the existence and battles of one being.

And if that is true know, using those skills can be far more dangerous. Who knows? Maybe they will simply depower and have to regain that level lost. Or maybe is a permanent sacrifice now…

Thinking all of that was scary.

"Anyway, how do we get to know how much experience do we have? And our status…" wondered the younger angel.

After thinking for a second, the elder angel closed his eyes. He tried to search the character sheet the same way Soichirou/Aidan accessed the…well…HUD…

And suddenly, he found it.

It was a weird mix between something readable and a feeling, but eventually something very coherent appeared in his mind.

LEORIC SHAKURAS

GUILD LEADER OF ARKANDIA

STATS

Hp 60

Mp 100

Phy. Atk. 40

Phy. Def. 59

Agility 40

Mag. Atk 94

Mag. Def. 92

Resistance 90

Special 100

Total 675

RACIAL LEVELS

Angel 10 lv.

Archangel 10 lv.

Dominion 10 lv.

Virtue (knowledge) 5 lv.

Seraphim 5 lv.

JOB CLASSES

Priest 10 lv.

High Priest 10 lv.

Bishop 10 lv.

God hand 5 lv.

Mystic Theurgist 10 lv.

Magus 5 lv.

Grand magus 5 lv.

Arcanist 5 lv.

Karma: very good (+360)

"Son, I did it!"

"You did?!"

"Yeah! It's kinda weird, but I managed to find my character profile. At least the basic information sheet that appears in the game".

"Although a bit different than before" thought to himself the father.

"Really?!, How?!" His son asked impatiently.

"The same way as you"

It was a bit weird, but thinking a little, it makes sense… sort of. So he looked inside him again, this time trying to see some sort of ID

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AIDAN SHAKURAS

GUILD MEMBER OF ARKANDIA

STATS

Hp 77

Mp 75

Phy. Atk. 70

Phy. Def. 66

Agility 55

Mag. Atk 74

Mag. Def. 89

Resistance 89

Special 80

Total 675

RACIAL CLASSES

Angel 10 lv.

Archangel 10 lv.

Principality (Battle) 10 lv.

Dominion 5 lv.

Virtue (Perseverance) 5 lv.

Cherub 5 lv.

Seraphim 5 lv.

JOB CLASSES

Cleric 15 lv.

High Cleric 10 lv.

Battle cleric 10 lv.

Hierophant 5 lv.

Zealot 5 lv.

Warlord 5 lv.

Karma: good (+160)

"Well. I did it too" Soichirou/Aidan let out a big sigh. Honestly, it makes sense. If we have became our avatars, then the information of them is uploaded already."

"Well… yes"

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They ended without anything to talk again.

And the most disturbing was the fact that they were taking everything very well, something not logical. At least from a human perspective.

"Supposedly, angels are beings of order, balance, virtue… Maybe our minds are changing to reflect our new nature" Leoric started to wonder

And he saw his son looking at his hands, seemingly too focused.

"Yes, he is feeling that too"

At least for now everything worked correctly. Their… new bodies… their powers and magic was still there.

"At least that works. But everything else?" He looked around him. Yes, everything in the throne room looked like it was working according.

Or at least according to what was supposed to do if everything was real. The chandeliers light felt real. The VIP areas too. The throne also. And the immense energy radiating from the banner…

"Looks like the throne room works. Will the rest of the ziggurat works too?"

He was wondering if everything else still worked. From the rooms, doors, the floor communication system, the commodities, the treasury…

"Ok. Let's suppose that everything works like normal, like being in YGGDRASIL. That means that the systems, like traps and POP system will require regular maintenance and periodic check-ups. Also a lot of things work with YGGDRASIL coins. Exactly how many coins were being used daily? And how much reserves do we have already? Our supplies, food requirement…Damn, now that everything is alive, food consumption is an issue now. But was that included in the POP upkeep isn't? So in that case…"

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Currently the one thinking a lot about the future of the tomb was not the angel Leoric Shakuras, but the human that ended fused with the avatar.

Amano Touya, chief resource manager of Microgen Tokio Branch Corporation. A 57 years old man experienced in everything regarding resources and economics.

Charged with basically keeping economically alive the Tokio branch of the corporation, he was more than enough knowledgeable in the amount of resources, personnel and monetary issues.

And he showed that he was very up to the task, considering that not only the branch was always on profits, but was one of the only workplaces in which one could have something that resembles a pleasant work atmosphere (by 213x standards).

"If only the right people could have benefited from that" was the bitter thought that always popped in his head each month.

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"…coins we could survive with a bit more than the bare minimum. However…"

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After some brainstorming, he eventually decided that currently, no changes should be done until defining if there was something outside of the ziggurat.

"Hopefully no void awaits us out there"

He suddenly opened wide his eyes.

"What the fu…."

He chuckled a bit

"I'm already making plans for the future?! Wow, looks like I have already taken for granted that we are staying here forever."

He was, again, taking all of that calmly.

"Well, guess that was the precise reason why I was the former guild treasurer. I never stopped being a resource manager, even in the game."

"Ok Soichirou. There is a lot to do actually. First of all…"

Soichirou/Aidan was staring to his hand and forearms without saying a word.

"Son?"

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Too much time

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A grassy spot

The little quartet of nightwatchmen turned into adventures (sort of) stopped definitely, deciding to not move any further.

They had come close enough to the pyramid, and they became very aware of how outwardly it was.

First, the fog was… snow? Mist? The fact that it was so focused on the spot and then it turned to not be fog was something a bit disturbing.

And, although visibility was still limited and they were still far from it, some features could still be distinguished.

And what their eyes registered was an arquitecture of a very different design that they were used to.

First, it wasn't a pyramid per se. It was a series of floors of diminishing sizes placed one above another. While more than one floor buildings weren't uncommon (forts, keeps), that particular design was unusual.

Next was the fact that the entrance wasn't directly on the floor, but you have to go up some stairs before entering the first floor. That was rare to see in the world (maybe in the far west or the more eastern islands)

And then something that only the sharp trained eyes of the elder ranger could see despite the distance: the unusual designs of the structure ahead.

While to the uninterested eye it just came of as decorations, for the old and very experienced old man those designs were a clear sign of the strange, exotic, otherworldly origin.

The arches and doorways carvings were done in a way that seemed cracked, but gave the feeling of being unbreakable. The stairs have some light sources in the corners of each one, and the walls had strange carvings that, although unable to completely distinguish what were, it was very clear that no human could have done it.

He could only see the stairs and the first floor, but that was more than enough for him to understand that he was watching something that must not belong to the world at all.

Everyone on the group was being unnerved by the colossal structure. Unsure of what to do next, but they didn't want to return yet. Leaving too soon would prevent gathering more information.

They need to get something else to learn about it before returning.

But how? Getting close wasn't safe. Anything could happen. If it was a hostile being inside, how can they report to their homes? There were already too much trouble back there, and another one was the last thing anyone wanted.

"Let's go back. Nothing can be done anymore by now"

The elder man said what they didn't wanted to admit, but was the only thing it could be done.

Besides, the prideful Potro, in the short time, had gained a lot of respect for the elderly man, having discerned him as an intelligent, pragmatic and experienced soldier. So he took his advice without protests.

"I hope nothing too bad comes from there. Let's go Corcel"

His younger brother was very glad of leaving the area, something his young pride would never allow to show.

However, an order from his elder must be obeyed, so he followed his brother.

The two humans went to their posts too, in order to deliver a message.

And were very afraid of the near and far future.

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Alkor ziggurat

Six Floor

Throne room

SON?!

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Soichirou was still unresponsive.

"Ok, seems like it's time to bring the big guns"

"Sonny, your lupine girlfriend is requesting to see you~"

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But Soichirou showed no reaction.

Now he was really scared. Every time an issue about Kurenai was brought up, his son reacted comically and became for that time the butt of the jokes.

Seeing that he stayed without reacting at all unnerved him to no end. Now he knew that definit-

Suddendly he saw his son facing him again.

"Phew, false alarm. I knew he wouldn't stay without reac…ting…" But his son's face erased any relief he adquired. "Please no, what now?".

"Dad…"

"Please, don't tell me that you are vanishing, feel losing connection or anything like those manga/anime/light novels please. I'm already very stressed about all of this"

And his newfound trait of being able to take more emotional build up than usual was both a blessing and a curse in this situation.

"Dad"

His son was clearly trying to say something, but couldn't. Simply he couldn't

"Dad… just…look at yourself"

"What? You discovered another game mechanic?"

"No". His son was clearly uncomfortable with something.

Scared? No. It looked like disbelief?

Or…Relief?

"But why relief?"

"Not into yourself. AT yourself"

Clearly having not a clue of what his son meant, he still decided to give a try. And so he looked at his left arm, in a way of trying to use x-rays vision.

But nothing happened

"I see nothing"

"Keep trying!" said his son.

He decided to give it another shot. However, this time he decided to combine the "look inside mechanic" with the "x-ray vision"

And what he saw was…

"Impossible"

It was indeed impossible. How could this be? How? It shouldn't be. It wasn't logical.

He decided to relax and try again.

And, like the last time, he saw.

"No way…"

But what he was seeing was in fact, that.

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When one uses the dive gear, nanomachines are injected in order to properly operate the machine, being a medium of sorts.

And these machines need to be replaced monthly for the user to keep the ability to operate it.

Without them, sync with the dive gear is not possible.

But…

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"These aren't our physical bodies, so what in the heck?!"

Having the nanomachines there was something preposterous. It was nonsensical

Absurd

Impossible

But they were there.

The nanomachines

Travelling through their bodies, seemingly being part of their bodies now

"Ridiculous"

They could see them. They didn't had microscopic vision. Only they could see some silvery micro dust here and there

But at the same time the spiderlike shape of the nanomachines was very visible and very detailed.

"What is this?!"

He looked at his son, who was also without words.

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"Well, dad" Soichirou/Aidan finally spoke "At least there is no Brave Star Online scenario"

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+++B+U+U+J+A+C+K+++

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Trivia:

The ziggurat of the guild is based on a virtual recreation of the real-life ziggurat of Choqa Zanbil, of the Elam civilization, located in today's Iran.

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+++B+U+U+J+A+C+K+++

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Author notes:

Hello there!

After a lot of time, I'm back! Yes, a lot of stuff happened. But everything is going better now.

In case you are worrying about the nanomachines, there are basically the signature of a player, like a birthmark for example. I have no intention to use them as a key to turn them into overpowered beings or to break the limits of their guild dungeon, etcetera.

However, they are going to have plot relevance. You will see eventually.

By the way, I have received some PMs that pointed out some mistakes I made, so I'm editing the previous chapters, correcting them.

Hopefully, before the end of the month, the new chapter is uploaded with the edits done too.

See you!

Buujack out!