Jumbled (1)
A game room with a sign that read [Under Construction].
“Got it.”
I saved the 「Protection」 that Elise taught me in the 「Notepad」 ‘s database.
Now, all I have to do is connect this to the 「Delivery Box」.
The method of connecting formulas, which the mages of Trick City find confusing and call ‘Chimera’, is actually quite simple. It’s just a matter of assembling the 「Delivery Box」 and 「Protection」 in the database in various ways, and filtering out only the combinations that are compatible without any side effects.
In other words, it’s a process of randomly joining the ‘dots’ and ‘points’ of the formulas.
It sounds easy, but it’s probably a method that only I use, and only I can use on this continent.
It’s too laborious for a person to do manually.
For example, let’s say there are 30 points that can be connected to a certain Magic Spell, and there are 15 points in another Magic Spell.
The number of ways to connect these two in a brute force manner is ‘202,843,204,931,727,360,000.’
Of course, if you only pick out theoretically possible connections, it reduces to about 20,000 to 30,000 possibilities, but even that’s not easy. It’s absolutely impossible on the spot.
Not for me.
「Notepad」 can mechanically and automatically calculate and perform the above process. It finds a way to connect the formulas like a chimera, no matter what.
Therefore, this chimera formula is definitely a privilege ‘given only to me’......
“Got it.”
Elise said the same thing as me. I glanced at her. A box the size of a small dog was floating in the air.
Elise put a few drinks in it.Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.
“Go ahead.”
Whiing─
The box came to me.
“Drink.”
“......Uh. Thanks.”
I took out a cola and drank it. Elise asked with interested eyes.
“How’s the taste? The same? No changes?”
“It’s the same...... Wait. Was this an experiment?”
She muttered something as she wrote something in her notebook.
“There are no chemical or magical changes to the items inside......”
Knock knock-
A timely knock.
Elise, who checked her wristwatch, opened the door.
It was Soliette, as expected.
“I’m sorry for being late.”
“It’s okay.”
Meow─
Grawl meowed next to Soliette. She picked him up familiarly and said.
“Then. Shall we log in to Bethune right away?”
She already had a happy face at the thought of [Bethune].
Elise nodded.
“We gathered here for that in the first place. But where are you guys now? I’m in the beginner’s village.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I got a [Summoning Scroll] when I hit level 30. I’ll summon you with that. Because you’re a high priest......”
Soliette was about to put the game machine on the stand, but she hesitated. She looked at Elise with a strange face.
“......Elise.”
“Hmm?”
“By any chance. You didn’t lie about your class, did you?”
“......Lie?”
“Like you’re a regular priest but lied about being a High Priest...... That’s not it, right? Summoning Scrolls are expensive.”
She was full of suspicion.
Elise narrowed her eyes.
“Do you doubt me?”
“...Let’s log in first. Elise. What’s your ID?”
“ID? Why?”
“I need to add you as a friend to summon you.”
“....”
“Is there a problem?”
As Elise hesitated, Soliette furrowed her brows.
“If you lied about your class to get the attention of a high-level user like me, say it now.”
“No, it’s not like that....”
Elise bit her lip and whispered something into Soliette’s ear, glancing at me.
“...Yes. I’ll send the friend request right away. I’ll log in first.”
Soliette immediately inserted the CD into the game console.
We followed her.
* * *
Inside [Bethune].
Aventagher Mansion.
As soon as I logged in, I was standing in the middle of the living room, and Soliette was next to me, manipulating the friend window.
“Shion. I sent a friend request to Elise.”
“What’s her ID?”
“‘It’s Elise’.”
“‘It’s Elise’? Why is it so complicated?”
“──Everyone’s here!”
Just then, Raelro appeared. Erick was by his side.
He leaned against the wall and flicked his hair, as if trying to set the mood.
“Congratulations, Soliette.”
“...Congratulations?”
“You got accepted. To the national university’s knight department.”
“The announcement hasn’t been made yet.”
Erick approached with a chuckle.
“There’s a way to know-”
Whiing──!
Suddenly, a cylindrical light descended from the ceiling.
A woman and a camel emerged from the dazzling light.
I swept over the bar counter. The touch was the same. Everything felt real.
“...Where is this place?”
I asked the bartender.
“Pardon?”
Then she looked a little surprised.
“You’re too drunk. Haha.”
“Ah... Where is this? It’s the Bern Club. Would you like a glass of whiskey?”
“No.”
I rummaged through my pocket. Fortunately, there was a wallet. On the ID card...
[Detective: Victor Randle]
Detective?
I licked my lips slightly. Ahem ahem. I coughed and asked the bartender.
“Do you have a nail clipper?”
“A nail clipper?”
“Um. No, it’s okay if you don’t have one.”
I got up from the chair.
Oong─ oong─ oong─
The speakers were ringing madly. To avoid the noise, I went outside.
“...Phew.”
The outside’s cold wind rushed in. In the alley, noisy guys were squatting and smoking, and pierced guys were arguing with each other.
It was supposed to be a happy world. Guess not.
I leaned against the wall and put my hand in my pocket.
What am I supposed to do here?
“Hey, old man.”
A sharp voice flowed from the alley.
Some guy was smoking and laughing.
“What’s an old man doing here?”
“...Do you have a nail clipper?”
I just asked that. The guy frowned.
“What are you saying.”
“If you don’t, never mind.”
I flicked my finger. A card popped out. Fortunately, it seemed that skills were applied even in this state.
“...Hmm?”
That’s when it happened.
Clomp─ Clomp─
A man with a hood flipped over came and stood next to me.
A hooded man walked up next to me.
He glanced at me and asked, “You. You seem to have something to ask me.”
“......Do you have a nail clipper?”
“I buried it in the ground.”
A slight chill ran down my spine.
Is this the feeling of a spy novel, a thriller?
“But don’t ask too often, or too loudly. Do you want to start a rumor?”
Anyway, he’s an agent. Not Elise or Soliette, but still.
I asked in a small voice, “Did you find out anything?”
“......There is.”
He took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
“This place is Edsilla.”
“......Edsilla?”
“Yes. The bastard modeled a part of the capital, Edsilla, to create this ‘matrix’. The population is 130,000. Everyone here think they’re in Edsilla. They think they’re living, breathing people. But they’re all dead souls... It’s easier to think of it as a reality matrix.”
I looked around. There was no suspicious movement.
“How do you destroy this bottle of souls?”
The man answered curtly,
“...... You’ll have to ask someone else.”
“Who is this other person?”
He pulled his hood down further.
“That person... you probably know, right? Even if you’re not Soliette.”
He mentioned Soliette and gave a small smile. I looked back at him.
“Who are you? I am-”
“No. Don’t say who you are.”
He put his hand over my mouth.
“There’s a system here called the ‘Reality Maintenance Bureau’, which also serves as the police. If they catch you, it’s over. Your consciousness will be trapped in that body.”
He then glanced around.
“But before that, let me just ask if you’re a trustworthy person. What’s your level?”
“22.”
“And your job?”
“Trust me, it’s a hidden class.”
At that, the man let out a sigh of relief.
“A hidden class... I see. Here, the level and class are different. It’s the world of souls in the game. If you’re a hidden class, you’re at least in the top five.”
“So, who should I look for?”
“...”
He chewed on his lip. He seemed hesitant, then whispered very softly.
“Jared Arkne.”
Jared Arkne.
The blood of Arkne, and Soliette’s older half-brother.
A chill ran down the back of my neck. My back stiffened.
“He’s alive here. His soul is alive and moving.”
The man put his hand in my pocket.
“Go find him.”
And then he disappeared into the alley. He melted into the darkness in an instant...
I rummaged through my pocket. There was a note with an address written on it.
It was probably the location of Jared Arkne.