Chapter 66
As he fell, many curious eyes were watching , as the fight that occurred on top alerted them. It was rare to see that any living being was able to get past the countless numbers of hungry spiders. The thick fog was another matter, as the monster that lurked inside it was already a risk. The worms that were attached to the gorge walls were long and massive, able to extend a reach above the fog very similar to plaster bagworms..
But because Dane thinned their numbers and created a small opening, he was able to reach the other side to surprisingly encounter the spiders' home.
And because the scarcity of food resources was low, many creatures sadly ate their own and fed on their weaker kind, resulting in a constant cycle of survival of the fittest within the gorge..
With a 4-kilometer-long distance, he coincidentally landed on the wen that had only the size of a football field. Was it bad luck or a strategic location, as it was right under the hanging bridge of the Anchorage Castle, supposed to be? Dane now knew the creatures in the tower had broken away from their primary program, all scenarios were randomly changing, and the worst part was he knew this unconsciously as he told his team that they needed to make the game truly unpredictable.
Killing or clearing a quest in the same manner will create a mundane situation, as other players will also encounter that same quest. Dane beta tested the monster and checked that they were functioning properly, inspecting even their weaknesses, and made inspections on the drop items. The landscape they created was programmed to also change based on the player's choice on each clear quest.
The gorge was not this large and filled with unregistered and undocumented monsters and living beings. Dane knew that giving his team freedom to change the flow of the scenario narrative was the main reason the virtual game Arcane Crusade was a global hit.
Xiong Zhu, character designer, was known to be the best monster designer. He was a huge fan of the comic horror genre. The monster he created was supposed to reside on the tenth floor, but it seems he left a breakaway character to roam the first floor, giving that randomness and unpredictability that players loved.
This unexpected twist added an extra layer of excitement to the game in the past , keeping players on their toes as they navigated through the different levels. It was this attention to detail and willingness to embrace spontaneity, but because Dane could not predict the old gods' reasoning, they seemed to bend time inside the tower, as certain places had normal time and others moved in a different time. This added an element of challenge and intrigue.
The historical timelines were all fused together and created a time scenario displacement. Like with Melgil, the Demon Queen of Spiders, why was she inside the gorge? afer clearing the Empire of the Graves, the opening toward the second floor was located at her domain.
She was created to be the being that stood guard on the gate going up; the players' choice will open the scenario of whether she becomes a guardian or an enemy, as many kingdoms will also seek to enter the second floor in search of new lands to conquer, as the seven deadly sins were programmed into the non-playable characters to activate as soon as the gate toward the second floor is activated.
Taking the Demon Queen of Spiders out of that location has already changed the outcome. As Dane fell, he was about to think of another reasonable question when .
"Should I investigate this matter? The situation just changed because Melgil is here."
"LOGICAL INTENT NEUTRALIZE."
"SUBJECT DEVIANCE NOW STABLE"
The savant syndrome is creating a situation where the person's conscious decision gets preoccupied with another task, and they lose focus on their original objective. Dane's mind raced with the possibilities of what Melgil's presence could mean for the mission, knowing that any deviation from the plan could have dire consequences. But this was instantly interrupted by the automated message from the system, indicating that subject deviance was now stable.
Dane recalled what the original goal was: to investigate the information that the hired mercenary told Cragmir Bouldergrove in notes concerning a kidnapped noble. Dane agreed to help the Aspidochelone, or Chelone, to lessen its burden and see if he could free it without activating the scenario connected to it.
"I did promise Chelone that I would try to look for a way to free him."
"Freeing a huge divine turtle from the very foundation of the castle will be a huge undertaking , and that is also chained and hidden from the sight and sense of the seraph."
"Sigh! Me and my big mouth !"
"Might as well hit two birds with one small stone."
Dane realized that he unconsciously acted to add more tasks to his list. He was too smart for his own good; mistakes were still within the boundary of his nature. Having savant syndrome was a double-edged sword. Focusing too much on something can ruin the balance of his responsibilities. Dane knew he needed to prioritize and delegate in order to avoid overwhelming himself.
The system that regenerated his dying body saw this and made an adjustment; that is why Dane tends to create a situation where he is sure at the same time as doubting his action. The intervention of the system had to make instantaneous adjustments to slowly eradicate the savant syndrome in his new body, and it is gradually getting it done.
And because the original body, who was Damon Lazarus, grew up only having 18 years of personal and social experience in life, the system could not fully eradicate the social or intellectual impairment, as he focused too much on studying and working on the virtual game until he reached the mature age of 53, as he spent all those 35 years alone just focusing on improving his virtual game.
Dane then realizes that the answer he was looking for is related to the creation and similarity of the formless armor and function was connected to his mental condition. He knew he had Savant syndrome, but due to self-preservation and fear of judgment, he never sought professional help or diagnosis. This realization prompted Dane to recall why he was too focused, and ass soon he landed on the gorge floor, another silent notification came to his armband artifact.
"LOGICAL INTENT NEUTRALIZE."
"SUBJECT DEVIANCE NOW STABLE"
"COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT DEGRADING "
"PRODIGIOUS SAVANT SYNDROME WILL BE ABSORBEDINTO SKILL TTREE;ALL STRENGTHS AND WWEAKNESSES HAVEBEEN CCATEGORIZEDAND PRIORITIZED FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE."
Dane felt a mix of relief and apprehension as he realized the extent of his condition and the system that helped him gain a second life was able to fix this in a manner suitable for him.
Dane kept having this mental discussion and tended to wander off , and he desperately wanted to gain a proper explanatory answer to satisfy his own mind and reasoning, but he wasn't the old Damon Lazarus; he was Dane, and he wanted to change everything he did in the past and not relive that same pattern again.
He was safe, as he landed and created a crater as he was contained inside the formless liquid metallic armor. The impact was strong enough to awaken some creature that resided near the impact zone. Now he understands the armor was mentally connected to him, as it was responding to his thoughts and emotions based on the situation, and three figures that manifest were all part of his own conscious mind relating to his pass memories.
It had nothing to do with anything else; they move because it was his mind's answer toward a particular situation or memory that was triggered by the situation he was facing. As the metallic liquid tentacles slowly moved and opened the circular capsule it formed to protect Dane, it was indeed his mental consciousness as he was providing the form.
Kitsune the fox was the memory remnant of a particular event in his life when he was young, as he had a pet that died , and the serpent came from his father's arm tattoo , while the horned owl came from what his mother painted in the past. The AI program was supposed to be the guardian deity that he planned to incorporate inside the virtual game as a present to his parents, but he never got to implement it as they both tragically died in an accident as they were heading to visit him in the past.
"LOGICAL INTENT GAIN CONFIRMATION "
"SUBJECT DEVIANCE NOW STABLE"
Dane thought this even might have triggered something in his mind. A part that the system hid and was designed to resurface when the time was right , but now was not the time, as he looked at his armband, the notification listed on it had a different message.
"Logical intent gains confirmation; that's different from the previous messages,"
"Sigh! The variables of this second life are a bit tedious and confusing," Dane muttered to himself as he tried to make sense of the new message. He couldn't dwell on that issue as he was being surrounded by different-looking humanoid beings.
"They are ogres."
The crater Dane was in was about ten feet wide and two feet deep. He was standing still, but when he was about to move, an ogre lunged toward him with a long, human-sized sword capable of cutting an adult person in half easily. Dane Speed found a match as he took out his weapon and made contact, even if his gun blade hadn't fully pulled out from the dimensional storage space.
Dane was shocked but could not believe somebody was able to get near him that fast, as he knew the speed of pulling any item inside his storage took just a few minutes, but the ogre's speed was intended to kill him on the spot. Luckily, the teaching of his mother of Iaijutsu , a combative quick-draw sword technique, just saved his head from separating from his body.
The long sword and the gun blade collided. Dane's weapon had an upper hand as he activated the lightning burst attack. As the strong electrical current flowed out, he was able to incapacitate the ogre momentarily.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Dane swiftly gave the ogre consecutive heavy short hook punches in the right side of the ogre's body. The first punch hit his right side and broke the lower rib, but the second one was blocked as the ogre managed to regain his footing and counterattack with a powerful swing of its long sword.
Despite the pain from the broken rib, Dane managed to dodge the attack and quickly
He used his unsheathed sword and pummeled the ogre's neck upward , aiming for a vulnerable spot. The ogre let out a roar of pain as Dane's strike landed successfully, causing the creature to stumble backwards in agony. With a swift movement, Dane followed up with another strike to the ogre's exposed side, but using just his fist.
Even if this was happening, the rest of the ogres were just watching the battle unfold; they weren't helping their kind. The Ogre was about to land on the ground when Dane punched the enemy downward with his right hand and quickly released his hold on the gun blade and gave a left-side hook toward the Ogre. It was so fast the other Ogre's eyes grew wide.
They thought they were the greatest fighters in the gorge, but the being that just landed made them realize they were still lacking. His attack was focused and relentless, not giving the enemy any chance to retaliate. As the left hook connected, Dane grabbed the sheathed gun blade and again pummeled the enemy in the stomach downward and gave a circular back sweep to force a small gap as the body crumpled to the ground. And gave the enemy a crescent kick, hitting its jawline.
Dane added another attack by grabbing hold of the ogre's belt as he pulled it near him with brute force and delivered another blow right into its chest. The battle ended as the ogre fell motionless. It was a battle of speed, and it started with a desperate struggle for survival, but Dane's quick thinking and strategic moves ultimately led to victory. The adrenaline rush of the fight left Dane feeling both exhausted and exhilarated, knowing he had emerged victorious against a formidable opponent.
As Dane stood victorious, another ogre took out its weapon. Soon another fight was about to start. Dane, you understood these ogres were not hunting, but they were challenging him to a fair fight. So knowing this, he assumed he was facing an intelligent being, so he spoke towards them and ordered that they remove their fallen comrade, as his unconscious body would hinder theiright.
The ogre that was much more human-looking in size and physical appearance answered him, and Dane confirmed his suspicions were right. But fighting them one by one will take a lot of time. He only has two days to fulfill his task, and he might get tangled with many more time-consuming battles if he doesn't come up with a more efficient strategy. Dane quickly assessed the situation and decided to try a different approach with the ogres to save time and energy.
"I'm currently in the middle of something. There are six of your kind still standing. Why not simultaneously attack me?"
"You are strong but arrogant. If you wish to die in a miserable manner, so shall it be."
"I thought you were an honorable warrior, but it seems I was mistaken."
"It has nothing to do with honor; the fact your kind just attacked me without reason wasn't honorable."
"I am pressed for time, and fighting all of them one at a time is time-consuming and a waste."
"I choose to fight you all at once to save time. Your race just wants to prove you are the strongest. Now that's arrogance!"
"So what's your answer?"
"Then let us begin."
The ogres hesitated for a moment before charging at Dane with full force, ready to take him down together.
The location where Dane landed was spacious and wider; the gorge top opening was indeed 100 meters wide, but the geographical structure of the lower part was like a pyramid 100 meters on top and much wider on the bottom. This wasn't a natural formation, because he and his team designed and programmed the landscape to evolve and change. The gorge walls were in a slanted position, at an angle, making the lower ground much bigger. Dane recalled the last data to be 100 meter top opening, confirming it had a 300-meter drop, and the ground was roughly more than 500 meters. And with an unconfirmed four-kilometer length.
Actually being inside the gorge rather than seeing it in a 3D rendering view are two very different things; the scale was off. Dane felt 4 kilometers was actually short. The fact that the mountain that was at the tip of a crescent-shaped gorge was small from his perspective, the mountain that supposedly stood 500 meters was too far. So the 4-kilometer length of the gorge was definitely incorrect.
The information he has now was accurate. As his owl was currently sending the measurement as it flew above. Meanwhile, as Dane teaches these ogres about proper focus in a fight, Duchess Elleena Rothchester receives a small gift letter from Wrenla Bouldergrove hoping to reconnect with the duchess, as this was Dane's plan. Dane delegated a simple plan so he can expand his force in a more strategic way. He knew that building alliances with powerful figures like Duchess Elleena Rothchester would be crucial in achieving his goals. And the fact Dane had two plan choices to execute depending on the Duchess' response, whether it will be good and acceptable or bad, and just accept the consequences.
Wrenla Bouldergrove was hoping that Dane didn't use the Duchess Elleena Rothchester's emotion to gain what he needed, as she was 100 percent sure Dane looked like the duchess's long-lost son. Wrenla feared that Dane might manipulate the duchess's emotions to his advantage, potentially jeopardizing many lives in the process. She still believed he would gain the right response to this question of hers.
She swore loyalty to Dane as their clan's benefactor, and when she personally interacted with him, she saw he was kind and smart but deep within was struggling with something. It wasn't life-threatening; it was more about his inner demons and past traumas that he was battling. Despite her initial suspicions, Wrenla couldn't ignore the genuine connection she felt with Dane and hoped that he would ultimately make the right choices for everyone involved.
The gift and letter Wrenla Bouldergrove traveled and were received safely toward the main chamber room of the duchess's separate room, as she didn't want to associate with her current husband, as it was a marriage out of necessity. Being the king's sister and seeing her without a husbad was a scandalous sight in the eyes of the court, so one of the noble serving the king as a court minnister requested that the king to intervene, and an influential merchant was able to get ahead of this request and became the duchess's second husband.
Segast Vandros, a 50-year-old, large, bulky man, stood five foot four tall. With his fours, he changed the political landscape where the duchess once dominated. She was still a very strong and powerful person, but her motivation gradually wavered as time passed her by. She was a skilled warrior and was the envy of many noble women in the merchant kingdom of Solnara Cererindu.
As she helped his brother's war campaign and earned the title of war siren at the age of just fifteen years old , after her brother took the crown and became king , she married Seaton Rothchester , a trusted companion of her brother, and became a duchess. She married Duke Seaton Rothchester at the age of seventeen.
and at the age of 18 and gave birth to their only son. And at the age of twenty-two, she lost her son and husband from a tragic kidnapping accident, leaving her to rule the duchy alone. Despite her grief, she proved to be a strong and capable leader, earning the respect of her people. And now at the age of 40, she was still beautiful and elegant; her skin was still youthful-looking, and her body was still graceful and strong from years of training and battle. Despite her losses, she remained a respected figure in the kingdom, known for her wisdom, beauty, and leadership skills.
Her land is situated just outside the walls of the main capital, but after getting married again, she decided to leave her land, and because her people love her they accepted their fate as they were governed again by the king and his nobles. Luckily, the noble serving the duchess's people was her mirthful cousin and made sure to govern the land properly, and she didn't have to worry about its well-being. The duchess left her land in capable hands and set off on a new journey with her new husband, confident that her legacy would continue to thrive under her cousin's leadership.
Sadly, Segast Vandros and his daughters didn't expect that the duchess would leave her domain and live a normal life. Segast Vandros was a manipulative and power-hungry merchant who saw an opportunity. He began plotting with his daughters to overthrow the cousin and claim the duchess's land for themselves. But it never happened, as Duchess Elleena forced her second husband to remain at the main capital, as she wanted his four daughters to study and live at the royal academy dormitories until they all graduated and gained titles on their own hard work and merit.
This was a frustrating scenario coming from Segast Vandros's entire clan; he never expected she was this smart and somewhat understood the political game the other nobles planned to do with her. Even with the loss of her husband and son, she looked wavering, but deep down the blood of a true warrior still coursed through her veins, and she still believed her son would come back in any way of resemblance. She needs to secure her line, knowing many were aiming for her life even right after his brother became king.
She stood six feet tall with long curly hair and a body that still turned men's heads around; her presence commanded respect and attention. Born with heterochromia, her left eye had a yellowish-golden color, while her right had a bluish color. Similarly, what her long-lost son also had.
Coincidentally, this is also similar to what changes happened to Dane. Fate has a way of intertwining their destinies in unexpected ways. Her determination to protect her family's legacy was unwavering.