In a room with no discernible features, two individuals were present. One, a man with neatly combed silver hair, sat behind a large, dark desk. He wore a pristine white suit and steepled his fingers, his expression calm. The other, a woman with long, chaotic black hair and a black dress, paced back and forth in front of him.
"The initial stress tests are showing remarkable results," the man said, his gaze fixed on a floating blue screen. "The anomaly designated ’Nox’ has exceeded all projections. His integration with the Seed of Corruption was a one-in-a-billion outco."
The woman stopped pacing and turned to him, a wild, excited smile on her face. "Projections? Data? You are so boring, Administrator. Did you not see it? He is a beautiful little monster! He devoured that rcenary’s soul without even flinching! It was magnificent!"
’Her enthusiasm is... unseemly. But her results are undeniable.’ The Administrator maintained his placid expression. "His actions were reckless and emotionally driven. He has created a political entanglent with the Ashen Elves and a vendetta with the entity known as Gorok. It is an inefficient path."
"Inefficient? It is perfect! Chaos is the best catalyst for growth!" She leaned over his desk, her face close to his. "You want clean, predictable data. I want to see what happens when you pour gasoline on a fire. And our little Nox is a walking bonfire."
’She is a necessary evil. Her thods are crude, but they accelerate the primary objective.’ The Administrator did not lean back. He simply t her intense gaze. "The tutorial phase is almost complete. The influx of new ’players’ from the primary server is scheduled to begin soon. His current power level will be insufficient to survive the opening ceremony."
"Oh, I know," she said, her smile widening. "That is the best part! We throw him in with the real sharks and see if he learns to bite harder. Or if he gets eaten. Either way, it will be a wonderful show."
The Administrator swiped a finger across his blue screen, dismissing it. "See that you do not interfere directly, Coordinator. Your last ’unsanctioned experint’ nearly destabilized the entire Western Sector."
"You worry too much," she said, waving a hand dismissively as she began pacing again. "My little nudges just make things more interesting. Besides, the real ga is about to begin. The age of gods and monsters is over. It is ti for the age of players."
The Administrator watched her, his face a mask of calm calculation. ’She sees this as entertainnt. She does not grasp the true stakes.’ He already had several contingency plans in place for her inevitable overreach. ’The Anomaly is a valuable asset. I will not allow her to break my new toy before I have finished studying it.’
He looked down at his empty desk, a new screen appearing in his vision. It was a complex chart of power levels, probabilities, and potential outcos. One data point, labeled ’Nox,’ was blinking with a bright, chaotic red light, an outlier that was throwing off all his predictions.
For the first ti that day, the corner of his mouth twitched upward into the smallest of smiles. ’Yes. Most interesting, indeed.’
---
A silver needle shot past Nox’s ear. He tilted his head, the projectile missing him by a small margin. At the sa ti, a sword swung toward his ribs. He brought up a gauntlet, blocking the strike with a loud tallic sound.
’This is getting fun,’ he thought.
For two days, this had been their routine. They would walk, and then they would spar. la would harass him from a distance with her poisoned needles, forcing him to keep moving. Serian would engage him directly, her swordsmanship fast and precise. It was two against one. The odds were not good, but he was managing.
"Your footwork is sloppy, human," la called out from her position behind a tree. "You rely too much on your strange teleportation skill."
’She calls it a strange skill, but she is the one who is just standing there.’ He dodged another one of Serian’s thrusts, the tip of her blade cutting a line in the dirt where he had been. Her speed was still impressive, but after fighting her so many tis, he was starting to read her movents. He could see the attack coming in the shift of her shoulders.
He activated Void Forging, creating a small, thick shield on his left forearm just as a volley of three needles arrived. They embedded themselves in the black, smoky armor with dull thuds.
’That would have been a pain to deal with.’
He used the mont Serian was repositioning to glance at la. She was already moving, preparing another attack. Their coordination was improving. One would attack, forcing him to defend, which created an opening for the other. It was a simple but effective strategy.
"You are distracted," a voice said from beside him.
He spun, bringing his gauntlet up in a block. Serian’s other sword was already there, its flat side slamming into his arm with surprising force. It knocked him off balance.
’A feint? She is getting better.’
He saw the opening she was creating for la. He did not try to block the incoming needles. He just dropped to the ground, letting them fly over his head, and swept his leg out. Serian, expecting him to be focused on la, was caught by surprise. She hopped back, narrowly avoiding the sweep.
That was the opening he needed.
He pushed himself up and used a short Void Step, not to attack, but to get out of the pincer formation. He reappeared twenty feet away, breathing a little heavily.
"Alright, break ti," he announced.
Serian lowered her sword, a small smile on her face. "You are improving, Nox. Your defense is much more solid."
la erged from behind the tree, her needles returning to float around her. "He is still slow," she stated, though there was less venom in her voice than usual. "If I were serious, you would be a pincushion."
"Yeah, whatever," he said, dismissing his gauntlets. "I still won. You didn’t land a single clean hit."
"We were sparring, not trying to kill you," la retorted, rolling her eyes.
’She is not as annoying as before. Maybe I am just getting used to her.’
He flexed his hands.
He decided to check his status and skills. He looked at the list of his weapons and then at his inventory.
’I have not used these yet.’ He saw the items he had received from the gods after clearing the school dungeon. The gifts were from the Lord of Carnage, Master Strategos, and the Trickster God Hers IV. He rembered accepting them but had forgotten about them during the recent events.
’A Berserker’s Draught, a Scroll of Tactical Insight, and these beans.’ He focused his attention on the beans.
[Hers’ Express Beans x5 (Consumable. Temporarily increases Agility by 30% for 1 minute. May cause jitters.)]
’Agility by 30 percent, that is a significant increase. It could be useful in a difficult fight.’
He pulled one of the beans from his inventory. It materialized in his hand, looking like a normal, small, brown bean. Serian and la, who had been catching their breath, noticed his action.
"What is that you are holding, Nox?" Serian asked.
la squinted at the small object in his hand. "Is that food? Are you snacking after a spar?"
Nox looked at the bean. ’Should I tell them what it is? It is too much trouble to explain.’
"It is a kind of candy," he lied. He popped the bean into his mouth and chewed. It tasted like nothing, just a bit chalky. He swallowed.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then, a powerful energy surged through his body. His heart started beating very fast, and his legs began to twitch. The world seed to slow down around him. He felt an uncontrollable urge to move, to run.
[You have consud Hers’ Express Bean. Agility has increased by 30% for 60 seconds.]
"Whoa," he said, his voice sounding a little too fast. He took a step, and it felt like he had crossed ten feet.
la’s eyes went wide. "What was that? How did you move so fast?"
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