After coming to another world, Jun had a rough welcome as she went from a reporter blitz to being essentially dragged into a limo by a conceited red haired woman, her clumsy and nervous assistant, and three armed guards. Jun already hated the red haired woman who's name was revealed to be Selana Rouz, Jun didn't care for her way of disregarding her own accountability and blaming others even when she was clearly proven at fault and Jun never thought she could meet anyone so vain. Selana had a bad habit of recklessly ordering things as if Jun were to already be prepared for the answer, luckily Selana's assistant Negliad seemed to be more prepared and covered for her. Jun studied the HUD along the ride, finding her weapon forms and saw she had two weapons on her list, the Initial Glove and the Otherworldly Pocket Knife.
Initial Glove:
Abilities Unlocked Equip Bonus: Agility +4 Attack +2
Otherworldly Pocket Knife:
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Dissection Ability 1
Jun was confused between the difference between unlocked and locked but recalled her status screen saying she was wearing otherworldly clothes, and guessed that term also applied to the pocket knife. Thinking about it made the gloves change into the pocket knife, except the red gemstone was in the joint. "Ah, right, your holy weapon can acquire new weapon forms by absorbing materials… and apparently touching any weapon in its domain. Fun…" Negliad said as she was genuinely nervous at that realization. Something she was thinking about was definitely not settling well.
"So what exactly did you mean earlier-" Jun tried to say before the limo came to a stop, she wanted to ask about why she was being treated more like a celebrity then a world savior in the making. "We're here! Thank god, Negloid, did you finally become a dullard or did you remember my drink this time?" Selana said, slapping the glasses off Negliad partially as she was turning to get out of the limo. Jun bit her lip as she really disliked this Selana woman, wondering what her problem was.
"It's Negliad… and yes. Three Drinks in advance…" Negliad said as she would leave next, followed by Jun as she looked around. This time she got a better view of the town. It reminded Jun of a mix of Steampunk and modern fantasy stories.
The theme was almost Victorian, most people in the area were wearing semi-formal attire, though there were a number of strange mechanical beings of various shapes. These machines were of various appearances but mostly humanoid, resembling robots with glowing green eyes. Most of them were short and stubby, with two wheels instead of legs and a large component on the back for collecting trash.
"Robots?" Jun said quite confused at the sight before Negliad stepped closer to explain the subject more closely.
"Machina, Automatons, they come in three classes but in all shapes but at minimum having a humanoid upper body shape. Those are the Labor class, pragmatic with just everything they need to perform their assigned tasks, which for those are street cleaning and maintenance." Negliad explained to Jun before she quickly ushered Jun inside, trying to follow Selana.
"You don't need to make her an enemy yet. Best to play along." Negliad whispered to Jun in a more direct and confident tone, not even a stutter. Jun was starting to not find any sense in how this seemingly about this complicated woman who was a clumsy servant on the surface but was hiding something deep down.
Jun was confused for a moment as the plot seemed to be thickening from other angles. Though the patterns on the robots and the technology, reminded her of the gear and Magi-tech from "Fantasia Invasion". She almost believed she somehow unlocked some virtual reality hidden feature of the augmented reality game, like she crossed over to the other side.
Pushing those thoughts aside, she followed Selana and Negliad into the restaurant, reminding Jun of various high class restaurants from various TV shows, fancy tablecloths, waiters and waitresses dressed up in suits, dishes that seemed needlessly complex and with small portions at inflated prices. The entire place made Jun feel disgusted, never understanding why such places were desirable when a nice diner locale was enough.
She hoped they were going to a private booth, but sadly that was not the case as they would be walking up a set of stairs onto the upper floor. The upper floor was more like a u-shaped balcony above the ground floor all around the large dining room with a view down below, several tables near the edge as well. Jun was led towards the table at the center of the upper floor, with a view plain for nearly everyone either on the upper floor or below to see her.
Looking ahead Jun could see at one end of the table was a rather tall woman with long blonde hair and amber eyes, wearing a simple gray top suit and a dark skirt, accessorized by a golden necklace and three rings, all with different gems that seemed to glow softly. Jun could even see earrings as the height difference even while the woman was sitting and Jun standing was a notable gap, Jun knew she stood just over five feet so she guessed the woman in question stood somewhere between six feet flat and six feet four inches, flat footed. Jun couldn't see if she was wearing heeled shoes either.
"Ah, Hand Weapon Hero, welcome to our little world, I am Trishel Zeander, CEO of Eagportian Adventure Guild Corporation. I trust you've been treated well thus far? Seriously Selana, that photoshoot summoning idea was not your wisest idea and I hope you reconsidered that like I advised." The woman said as she would glare at Selana for a moment. Jun could see the arrogance practically fracture away in the face of the CEO's presence.
"Well, see there was a delay in receiving the memo, Negloid here is so overwhelmed that she missed it. I insist you let her off with a warning." She said managing to try and pass the blame onto her assistant. Trishel eyed Selana skeptical of the explanation. "Well this should've been a conference rather than series of memos to begin with, however we couldn't schedule a good time." Trishel replied, trying to avoid what she knew would be a series of back and forth arguments she didn't have the time for.
Jun took a seat at the table herself while Selana waited for a waiter to pull a chair out for her with one hand while balancing the tray with her drinks in the other. "Not even noon yet Selana." Trishel chastised Selana leaving Jun unsure what her opinions of this woman ought to be, on the one hand she was the leader of the organization Selana was a part of, but at the same time she did exercise power fairly and chastised her underlings' mistakes. She was partially convinced it was due to the nature of the corporate environment making any underlying a potential rival. .
"Anyways, that's neither here nor there. Dame Hand Weapon Hero, you're a more interesting priority at the moment. I assume you have a number of questions. I've brushed up on the historical records and the Holy Hand Weapon has a rather cherished history behind it as well." She said as if she was trying to gently nudge around a point but Jun didn't quite yet have the full story. She did seem to be more cooperative than Selana at the very least. "Yeah, all I heard was something about being chosen by a glove because of a crisis after a paparazzi bombardment." Jun explained to the woman not trying to protect Selana.
"I see… well allow me to explain and clarify things further. That 'glove' is the Holy Hand Weapon, a relic that historically has been a great power in times of need. Usually if there was a worldwide crisis, normally the naturally recurring one known as the Waves of Catastrophe. Periods of time that happen every few centuries when rifts open up and unleash havoc in the form of a chaotic storm, unleashing hoards of monsters down onto our world. The last time this happened it resulted in devastation that resulted in the dissolution of several countries. Most of which got absorbed by the larger nations at the time changing up the political landscape of the world. The country we're presently in, the Paz'Kaz Empire is one that prospered most comparatively speaking." She explained as Jun nodded along, slowly understanding the background of the situation she finds herself in.
"Eagportian Adventure Guild Corporation started out as a minor Artificing company that gained influence in the lands of Eagportia before it took over the government in the wake of a brutal catastrophe in time. The company grew and expanded, and eventually bought out several other companies to expand reach including other Artificing and Mining companies as we expanded into Paz'Kaz since it has the most veins in the world. We pretty much took over nearly ninety five percent of all mines in the country. Then after the last time the waves occurred it caused widespread devastation that took out the Adventuring guilds numbers, nearly everyone involved in management or bookkeeping." She explained to Jun who started to see where the pieces were falling and connecting.
Though she did find it strange that the bookkeepers were gone, she could understand normal adventurers and higher ranks that could be seen fighting on the front lines but she had to imagine the bookkeepers might have never been adventurers and were always clerks. However a darker thought came to mind but she did not want to act on such theories or even appear as though she was considering them at the moment.
"Seems rather… coincidently that every single bookkeeper died." Jun pointed out which as she predicted Trishel had a logical answer to the question. "Well it was suspected the Wave Monsters at the time through whatever means, such as by scent or by other senses figured out many powerful people gathered at adventurer halls and made them targets." Trishel replied which did seem to make sense to Jun, if one was a monster and they thought there was a place where your strongest enemies gather, wiping it out promptly seemed to make sense. But that explanation seemed too convenient to her.
"So your corporation bought out the guilds in exchange for what? Cheaper labor when you need them?" Jun asked and Trishel made little attempt to hide that fact. "Partially yes, see we were indeed becoming the biggest source of adventurer income on the eastern continent did expand out avenues as well since it helped our artificing departments make gear better suited to adventurers if they were already under our jurisdiction as well as helping prevent losses by making sure we have enough resources on hand to ensure work by the miners can be done efficiently." Trishel replied as she seemed proud of the accomplishments her company had reached.
"And what exactly did the original company mine?" Jun asked as she had a feeling there was something to truly make this a circular process. "While we mine ores and other minerals to sell when available, traditionally our focus was mainly on Mana Crystals and various Magical Crystal variants. However, more profitable veins of them exist deeper in cave systems where powerful monsters roamed, so adventurers were often hired to help clear out dangers for mining operations to be set up of course." Trishel explained as Jun started to see the entire scheme.
They had workers to mine crystals who then sent it to another division to refine into equipment for adventurers, who they used to hire but now seem to own and manage to help the mining division which in turn generates work for the artificers to in turn create gear for the adventurers, no doubt charging everyone an arm and a leg for the equipment and other services the company provides as well. Circular logic that lets them make a profit off of costs at the same time by being both supplier and consumer.
"Sounds like a tidy little arrangement, especially when the miners, adventurers, and artificers are all mostly on your payroll." Jun commented as she saw it as an attempt to control every step and essentially create both producer and consumer.
"Well, we do our best to improve, including a change in recent years as we all but fully automated the mining industry by using predominantly Machina labor and machine processing, replacing and reducing the need for human workers to supervise and repair management personnel. More efficient work for us and lets the people toil away however they want above ground." Trishel said with a degree of pride, however that news seemed to disturb Jun greatly as the way Trishel described it at the end very much suggested a low opinion on the masses, her customers even. However she had a bad feeling about this woman and the direction she leads her company into the future.
Jun partially wondered if she even had the right to question how they operated given that this was another world even if there were familiar elements but she did give thought towards the other hand as she was forced into this world herself without any direct way back rendering her a part of it. But she saw nothing to gain from confronting the CEO right away, despite her opinion of the woman and her company dropping with every word.
"I see, so adventurers are a huge market for your artificing branches?" Jun asked as she seemed to be fishing for answers.``That is true. Adventurers come in all styles and making gear for them does help them clear more work for us and making them work for it does help keep a nice healthy atmosphere of competition and hard work." Trishel explained as Selana was growing impatient after finishing her third drink. "Yeah, until they dropout cause they can't pay one of the Class Up fees or failing at the review board and work sucky jobs like join the Military to protect borders, towns, trade routes, or become bodyguards to those who don't want a clanking Machina eyesore." Selana said, waving it off as Jun was curious.
"Class up fee? Review board?" Jun asked as she was a bit confused but then the words class up felt like a familiar gaming term from a few console games; however she felt better to get the information correctly here. "Right, if I may." Negliad said standing behind Selana still and Trishel nodded letting her take over the explanations.
"See in this world there are limits to how far one can level up naturally. For humans and most other races there are three caps and two ritual spells to overcome them using one of the Dragon Hourglasses. The three limits in order start at level twenty five, a second at level fifty, but the last one at level one hundred which the limit break class up ritual for has been, lost to time." Negliad explained before moving onto the other category.
"As for review boards, currently on the eastern side the Dragon Hourglasses within Paz'Kaz and Eagportia proper are under control of the Corporation. Both employees, adventurers, and outsiders can apply for either. The first Class up, called the Initiate Class up, is the easiest of the two naturally. It requires one to put down a non-refundable deposit for a small board to be assembled, consisting of the Director of Adventurers for the Adventuring league, Janur Reinhuld, and two others. The other two seats usually consist of local government representation as well as other adventurers in authority positions, often in case the superior of the adventurer such as a local manager or supervisor for guilds, or any higher up works in a pinch. They oversee the review and examine the candidate's history and determine if they'd be a good fit to rank up. Then if they pass they get to undertake the ceremony." Negliad began to explain and Jun was following thus far, waiting until the shoe dropped.
"Similar process for the Master Class up Ceremony but instead it's a six person review board, two peers, the Director of Adventurers, a representative from HR, and two local governing bodies and requires a unanimous vote. The fees are not cheap either, it takes the average adventurer a year straight of normal work to afford the deposit and that's assuming they don't use any for personal expenses." She explained as Jun looked a bit pale at hearing the fees that she was partially certain were in fact overinflated.
"Succinct but clear, well done. Dragon Hourglasses however are mystical items that serve a number of purposes in addition to being the catalyst required for Class Up Ceremonies, speculated even more then we even know of. The most common is of course telling us when the wave will strike, and lastly the bread and butter of our company, the origin of the Monster Network. Each Dragon Hourglass has a limited range in which they can spot, usually about a few miles. However two significant inventions have revolutionized the field of adventurers. Range enhancers, antennae that follow the same wavelength and extend the reach, as well as a series of devices that pick up on their signals with varying degrees, our cheapest model is a proverbial relative position radar but the most expensive model can pinpoint location with a rough gauge of level." She explained which at first made Jun excited, the idea of being able to locate monsters would make hunting a lot easier. However her instincts snapped her back into her suspicions.
"And I suppose they are quite expensive." Jun said as she would find herself seeing a trend. "Oh yeah, see they're fragile tech as well, can't be recharged normally as they require a specialized battery so we need to make a position of specialists just to refuel them as one wrong move and they are ruined or even explode." Trishel explained to Jun as that was a bit over the top. But she started to get the message at this point that this wasn't a normal fantasy world, it was a literal pay to win world, and those born wealthy can remain in power while those on the lower end keep losing any meager amounts they have.
The food ordered and more drinks for Selana arrived, Jun felt disgust at the fact she was dining with greedy power hungry snobs and expected to fight literal calamity for them. However before she decided to go rogue against the world she silently reminded herself that there were innocent people on the other side of the equation, and they are worth fighting for.
Jun looked down at her plate and saw it was a dish with a meat that reminded her of Wagyu, overall it appeared as some form of stroganoff, literally served on a silver dish with silver silverware. Jun preferred foil wrapped or takeout dishes in the park, modest mom and pop diners and ramen shops at best, She found the dish flavorful but needlessly extravagant. For a moment the thought of rotten food was appealing to her as this dish was like trying to stomach a false reality despite how good it tasted, reminding her of everything she's experienced in this world so far. Her very soul felt like she wanted to vomit it out and pummel herself just for eating it but she knew she had to play along for now as she needed more information.
"So how much will class ups cost? Just curious about the future so I know to plan my expenses accordingly." She said wanting to get to the heart of the issue. "Yeah, no, sadly you don't have to worry about that. See as a Hero, wielder of the Holy Weapon, you are immune from class up rules and stuff. I think there was stuff added into the Adventurer's Division charter or something for this." Selana said half-assed and Negloid flipped through her binder. "Ah, yes. Under the provisions of the guild, the Hero's Charter which was ratified again when the Corporation took over the guilds, A Hero has no level restrictions and therefore needs no class up ceremony. As a subclause added recently Hero party members need only approval from the Director of Adventurers and payment of a discounted fee to undergo class up provided they meet the requirements. Which generally means they've been around for over a few weeks or go on a minimum of three quests together." Negliad explained.
"That's right but I'm sure you'll make it in no time." Trishel said as she would look over at Selana for a moment. "I suppose you accounted for having her head over to Garion for the Pageant to declare the next Dress Hero? I heard chatter about her being a judge." She asked as Selana almost choked before addressing her superior. "Yeah, well, as you know the organizers loved our donations and they were ironically the ones to ask to see if we could get the Hand Weapon Hero to potentially get in one of the judges chairs, it is just a conflict between us and some of the Local officials concerned about an illicit bias considering a number of entries have been our own adventurers." She explained plainly giving a report on the situation. "My plan to cover it at the moment is to hold off on any party commitments in the meantime and flavor the hunting parties narrative as experts welcoming the hero and helping her get on her feet while she sizes prospects, playing everything fluid until then. If we're lucky we won't need much whiteouts." She explained to Selana and Jun barely understood what to make of anything Selana said since she arrived in this world and the insufferable magnitude of her ego made Jun want to vomit at times.
However Jun made sure to make a note about the Dress Hero and ask about what they were about later. Though she didn't have a good feeling they would be more pleasant to deal with after seeing Selana and Trishel.
As the three sitting at the table were finished with their meal, Trishel would be the first to step up. "Sorry to run so soon but I have to go. I already had the bill forwarded to the company." Trishel said as she stood up to leave. Jun felt relief as she watched the tall woman stand and walk away. Jun had a feeling what was coming as she watched Selana finish her drinks before standing up and dragged Jun with her. "Hey! Hey! What's the big idea?!" Jun said as the three ladies and the three bodyguards went back outside and into the limo quickly.
"Well we got our next appointment and it's a bit of a drive. We're off to the Adventurer's Office for the Press Conference before the hunting expedition and photo op." Selana said as she seemed to show contempt for anyone else's needs but her own. "Another press bombardment? Really?" Jun groaned as she leaned back in her seat, studying her Help Menu to pass the time.
"Well if I had my way I'd have a makeup and wardrobe bombardment on you twice over but we can't always get what we want, now be a good girl and shut up and think of others or I'll find a firing squad!" Selana said clearly reaching her limit dealing with Jun. "Umm…" Negliad said.
"Oh screw it, Negliad get a firing squad and put yourself out there with her and take full responsibility for both or you're fired!" Selana said as Jun looked over at Selana with a puzzled glare. "I think you had one too many as that was not something you want others to testify to hearing." Jun pointed out and Selana scrambled for a moment to regain composure. "Hear what? I don't think anyone said anything, couldn't hear anything over her obnoxious breathing!" Selana said, jabbing Negliad in the ribs again. The bespectacled assistant grumbling silently, clearly having her own issues as well.
It was a silent and tense ride out to a large building the size of a small castle, one that reminded Jun of various knighthood and fantasy guildhalls, despite the feel of the rest of the world that still had that nostalgic and historic character and charm. She would see the red carpet rolled out from the entrance all the way to the door and inside. She groaned a bit as she adjusted her glove before walking down the carpet with Negliad close behind, Selana walking behind with a slight stumble.
"I had a feeling she had one too many." Jun whispered and Negliad subtly nodded. "Yeah, not sloshed but definitely not able to drive. Anyways, what you want to do is walk right in, show off the weapon as you do and just keep walking towards the hourglass and let the weapon do its thing and the reporters get a few photographs, just act natural, don't say anything weird this time and I will try to get you out asap." Negliad whispered before glancing back at Selana for a moment.
"Aight, I'm sure I can handle it now that I know it's ahead." Jun said as she would take a deep breath. "Alright I am going to have to take Selana in through the side, to avoid her being caught drunk and causing a disaster." Negliad said bitterly as she let Jun approach the large open doors. Looking into the large room she saw as the Carpet continued there were red velvet rope barriers on either side of the path, and on the opposite side of each were at least twice the amount of reporters and cameras then her initial reception in this world, chatter on either side. Jun didn't like this one bit, she never wanted to be the source of attention undeserved, and just for having the Holy Weapon.
However she weighed her choices and decided that she might have more to gain at the moment if she followed Negliad's instructions, and believed she was too late as she just crossed the moment of no return and had to follow through regardless otherwise run into a bad situation.
She was silent, ignoring the barrage of questions that all blended together into a sea of voices that even if she tried to stop and listen to, she might not be able to discern a singular voice enough to grasp a question, let alone fight against the tide to reply. She raised her hand into the air as she let everyone get a look at the glove on her hand. She made her way towards the end of the carpet where she saw a giant chamber in the middle of the large room. There was a rather large hourglass with red sand inside, atop a platform. The entire small chamber was surrounded by thick glass with what appeared to be a sliding door that was at present open.
In the doorway was a rather tall man wearing a dark button up shirt underneath a tactical vest with neon lines, a utility belt, dark camo pants, and combat boots. He had a knife holstered to his thigh, one sticking out of his boot, and a gun holstered to his side. He was an older man that was bald with a full beard. He had a faux smile on his face and Jun could sense that this man didn't like the idea of being put in front of a crowd either.
"Welcome Hand Weapon Hero! Dame Jun! I am Janur Reinhuld, Director of Adventurers for the Eagportian Adventure Guild Corporation." He said as Jun was originally confused but she recalled Negliad saying something about making arrangements at the church, she guessed this world had some form of communication through either magic or technology. When Jun got closer the two were able to speak quietly for a moment.
"Selana sloshed?" He asked quickly and Jun caught on. "Don't know her tolerance but Six glasses of whiskey." She replied and the man let out a snort. "This is why I hate career hoppers, ruin people more suited for assignments…" He muttered before stepping aside as select few reporters and photographers were permitted to follow behind for exclusive shots and interviews as Jun looked at the Dragon Hourglass. A beam of light extended from it reaching the red gemstone on the back of the glove.
She stared at her HUD for a moment seeing that she was now Synced to the Paz'Kaz Dragon Hourglass.
She stood for a moment as she saw the clock, eight days and twenty hours and counting down. The fact there was a deadline approaching stuck in the corner of her sight made the weight of the situation feel as though it was creeping upon her shoulders and made every single second feel precious. The brobdingnagian pressure would have built up further had the silence not been broken by the torrent of the crowd's voices once again meshing into a rough sea that she Jun was barely .
Janur would raise his gun into the hair before shooting off an energy flare from his pistol, a bright light and humm quickly filled the room as nearly everyone shielded their eyes. "Alright, there are way too many of you, one Hero, and a limited amount of time and i am damn sure most of ya will ask the same questions so one of you will represent all of you so come-" He said trying to act tough while everyone was still coming out of the blindness, only for a female voice to cut him off.
"Way ahead of you!" One said as when Jun uncovered her eyes she saw that while everyone else was shielding themselves, there was one woman who was already on the other side of the velvet fence, one who was rather tall with short hair that was downward and sharp. She wore a sleeveless dark blue blouse, purple skirt, thigh length dark socks, and dark high heeled shoes. She accessorized with a navy blue nail polish, small pearl like earrings, and strangely enough a Golden Cross necklace. She was wearing sunglasses she quickly took off and revealing sharp and pristine purple eyes that contrasted against her silver lipstick.
"Should've known it was you, the only journalist above the level twenty five cap… Mera Coy '' Reinhuld said exasperated, rolling his eyes which suggested to Jun he knew her quite well.
"Well you use the same three crowd control tricks, a flare burst, earth tremors, and you bellow. Sunglasses, ginger, and ear plugs get around them." Mera replied casually as she was used to this, which did raise a number of questions for Jun about this woman but before she could formulate an order Mera would already have her own prepared for Jun.
"So Dame Jun Fuji, a few questions but first, I understand you are from another world and that may have a culture alien to ours but… you have a very strange outfit choice. What sort of image are you trying to set for girls everywhere?" She asked as she gestured to Jun's outfit of torn dark jeans, leather boots, a white saroshi and her navy long coat. Jun was a bit floored as she would be unsure of what this woman was trying to imply, whether or not that she was dressed obscene but did appreciate the wisdom in opening by mentioning the possibility of a cultural gap creating a difference in viewpoints.
"I dress like this because in my world we play games using augmented reality technology that simulates virtual game equipment using holograms that emulate matter. To effectively use equipment there is a special set of equipment worn on the body along the arms, spine, and legs. It gets really uncomfortable when in use depending on the armor choice. Mine consisted of a breastplate, shoulder pads, and chain armor on the legs. Shirts were always uncomfortable as they got tangled or caught awkwardly and leaving the shoulders bare was always a pain." She explained as Mera nodded as she was listening to the points Jun was trying to make.
"So if I get this right, your choices were based primarily in pragmatism, because in your world there was some game that emulated combat rather than having to live it yourself. That does make sense as according to credited history your predecessors weren't true blooded warriors until they came to this world but you seem to have an edge on them by going through a simulation in the form of a game that took place in the real world using phantoms." She said reiterating what Jun explained, trying to show some level of understanding. "So can you show us this armor?"
"No, sadly not. See as I said it was part of the game, a hard light hologram that activates in a specific field generated by emitters from my world. Essentially useless here." Jun explained as she would clarify the subject, she didn't expect this reporter to be understanding but she nodded along. "I see… so the armor is part of this 'game', and confined to said game, which can only exist in your world?" She said as she was trying her best to understand and Jun nodded in agreement.
"That's about right, yes." Jun explained as she was still quite uncomfortable and she had a bad idea where this line of questioning was going, but she didn't want to cause a scene either.
Jun noted the slate device in Mera's hands, one that looked roughly the size of a smartphone with the same thickness as some industrial grade cases, it was navy blue with a green crystal inside on the back upper right corner in a round shape and a smaller white one as well nearby. On the side facing Mera was just a diamond shaped light purple gemstone, with light blue lines running across the device in various patterns. The purple crystal seemed to be blinking gently and Jun guessed it was some form of magi-tech smartphone. She recalled seeing similar shaped items as part of quests, most of them were forms of com devices, keys, or data storage mediums for various quest lines.
"Alright thanks for that clarity. Next off I want to get a bit of clarity on something, upon arrival you claimed you were a man who became a woman by dying, mind clarifying that issue?" She said as she tried her best to get answers out of Jun without asking without bias or questions that directly lead to bad answers and Jun could respect that, feeling a slight twinge of relief and joy of the irony that the media was the one thing not seemingly corrupt in this world.
"Right, yeah, guess I left that vague. Alright allow me to clarify, see in my world I was, well, born a man the first time around and when I should've died, I was scouted by doctors to be part of a rare experiment, first of the generation. I was the first human subject in a project where a body was cloned and the mind transferred over. However there were a few issues with the whole cloning process as a few aspects couldn't fully line up during the creation process." Jun began to explain the entire thing as it was explained to her, though granted she was unconscious for most of it and had very little first hand knowledge or input on the decision.
"My mind was already being prepared for the transfer and there wasn't enough time to start over unless it was critical and since the body was viable they saw no reason to deem it as critical. In the end it wasn't a one to one clone but more like what my original body's sibling would look like." Jun explained as she clenched her fist as there were a lot of conflicting thoughts on the subject. Part of her still wished they just let her die as she was originally at times.
"Sounds like these so-called doctors placed their own goals above your actual quality of life. I mean granted you got a second chance at life, who wouldn't want that, but still, are you even happy? Sounds like you lost a lot more than your cheeky smile wants to say. Your knee and elbows are aching like you're using your body wrong… trying to use a way of life that isn't compatible anymore.." Mera said as Jun felt a shiver down her spine as she was surprised that this woman was able to read her so clearly. She wondered if she wasn't at her best bluffing and giving everything away or if this woman had a knack for extracting information out of others.
Jun adjusted her posture awkwardly, gulping silently as she looked away for a moment, that flicker in her confidence made Mera smirk. "I see. That is plenty… Understandable too, hopefully you can fully recover before the next Wave." Mera said digging into Jun for a bit more information. She stepped closer to the staircase and even with Jun standing halfway up the height difference was starting to make it seem like Mera was standing on the higher ground to Jun.
"So, what is your current arrangement with the Eagportian Adventure Guild Corporation-" Mera asked as she seemed to wait for Jun to have her guard down to ask that very question, though as she might have predicted the Director was also watching for when Mera could ask that very question. He stepped in from the side and grabbed Jun, picking her up over his shoulder with one arm.
"Alright, that's enough questioning for now. Due to time constraints Dame Jun needs to begin preparations for the Wave immediately. Any further questions direct them to the EAGC PR team! Whiteout Protocol!" He said before snapping his fingers and several people filed in and stood before the crowd. The glass door into the chamber with the Hourglass began to close shut as Reinhuld began to job through the building, quickly making his way to a staircase and jogging up the stairs.
"Woah what- Why is everyone just dragging me away like this?! Where are we going? Woah you're fast do I even weigh anythin' to you?" Jun asked in shock as after snapping back into focus. She was starting to really get annoyed with the entire schtick of others just dragging her way all day. "Also what the hell is the Whiteout Protocol?" Jun said as she was not enjoying the bumpy ride up the stone spiral staircase.
"We're heading up to the helipad so you can go off hunting for once instead of all this media circus, and no, you weigh about as much as the bag of potatoes I buy every week on the way home from my daily jog." Reinhuld said simply and plainly, not trying to play any games and was not exactly a fan of the whole media circus either. "As for the Whiteout Protocol, nearly every high ranking member of the corporation and those in guarding positions possess a device called the Whiteout Flasher. It's a device that looks like a silver ring with a green gem, it disrupts visual recording, both photographs and videos. Disrupts any content taken within the previous fifteen seconds and next ten." He explained and Jun practically wanted to thank him profusely for just being straight with her rather than just try to work around her.
"What about audio?" Jun asked as she noted he specified photos and videos. "Pure audio just gets a little spotty, some static but a pure audio recording has a better chance at surviving the Whiteout Protocol." He explained as Jun started to recall that while she saw Mera hold the smartphone-like device earlier, she was holding it almost more like a microphone being pointed at her rather than pointing at the camera. She started to suspect that Mera might've had this information and planned accordingly.
Eventually the two would reach the top of the staircase leading onto the roof where on top of the building, Jun was put down and she walked out on her own. Jun saw six helipads built on a platform on top of the building. The helicopters however, were large in size with seats for up to seven passengers and the pilot. They were all made of metal, however on the top in the center of the rotor of each a large half sphere light blue gemstone that sparkled was visible, along with glowing lines along the edges of each of the blades. Jun saw several adventurers pumping large glass tanks of what appeared to be a navy blue opaque fluid into a pump.
"Is that some sort of fuel?" Jun asked and Reinhuld nodded. "Mana gems processed into fuel, operating a helicopter on user mana alone is hopeless." He explained before beginning to turn around. "You got this from here. I have a lot more drama to sort out downstairs… Why did we need to go all red carpet treatment?" The man groaned as he left to descend back down. Jun finally felt a twinge of relief as she walked over to the crew.
"Sup, you the new Hero?" One asked and Jun nodded, grateful for any interaction that wasn't like a state visit. "Cool, hop in and we'll be there as soon as we finish our prep." They said as Jun slowly climbed into the helicopter. She slowly entered a seat as she leaned back, letting out a breath of relief. She was finally able to experience something semi-normal in a classic mob grind. She was hoping things would start to be looking up for her at this point.