The [Dev.exe] interface was very intuitive.
Having already tried dozens of different programs for programming, [Dev.eve] was by far the most practical program he had ever used.
At first he tried programming while typing on that terrible old keyboard, but after a few hours he gave up.
'There's got to be some way to speed this up...' Noah thought in frustration.
The first thing he thought of was looking in the [Store], and fortunately there was a mechanical keyboard exactly like the one he used in the previous world.
The price was only 5 points, which for him wasn't much considering how much it would speed up the development process.
But even if he were to swap the input method for one just like it, Noah felt it would be too slow.
The application he intended to make would be very complex, even if he worked 12 hours a day, it would still require several months of manual programming, since he was only a single dev.
Out of curiosity, he decided to search for [Shadow Clone Jutsu], but when he saw that the price was shown only by question marks, he became discouraged.
'There's no way I'm going to have to spend months in this blank world programming something on my own, right?' Noah asked himself, looking again for the AI aids ROB had mentioned.
And he found it!
It was a function where he could pay points to code mentally, something that made the coding process much faster, since instead of depending on how fast his hands could type, here the only thing limiting him was the speed of his thoughts.
Surprisingly, this program could even tell if what he was thinking should be included in the code or not, so that if he got distracted by something, it wouldn't appear in the middle of the code.
Although the cost went up a lot, it accelerated Noah's programming speed even more.
Sure, the process wasn't instantaneous, as even his mind couldn't think of what to type so quickly, but the process that would have taken him weeks to develop was ready in a single day.
Feeling hungry, Noah bought the cheapest meal he could find, costing only 1 point in the [Store] and continued programming, without even enjoying the taste of it.
From the moment he woke up, until his body was exhausted, Noah spent the next 6 days working non-stop.
Finally, at the end of the sixth day, he had finished the app he wanted.
For a world like this, Noah realized that making a Social Network would be the best way to reach as many people as possible.
The problem was which social network to choose.
Considering all the options, Noah had to eliminate several because of how complex they would be for people who had never had contact with the internet, leaving only four viable options.
Reddit and 4Chan would be the examples with the simplest structures for new users to adapt to, but considering that these platforms would depend on many people participating to populate the various sub-forums, Noah decided to postpone this for the future.
The other two options were Twitter and Facebook, but considering the type of audience in that world, Noah felt that Facebook was more suitable.
Twitter was too short, with limited space to write and a chaotic dynamic that encouraged public replies and short discussions, which was great for experienced users, but could be very confusing for new users.
Facebook, on the other hand, was much more visual, with well-defined pages, groups and profiles. It was a platform where people could calmly tell their stories, show their routines, post photos, and create more organized communities.
For people who had never used technology before, this format was more 'user friendly', allowing them to see gossip from around the world, but making it easier to see posts from people close to them, or with common interests.
By adding close friends on Facebook, the things they posted or interacted with would start to appear for that user quite often.
If someone wanted to know what a particular princess was up to, all they had to do was follow her and her posts would start appearing for you, even if she didn't want to add you as a friend.
If the group of Witches of the North wanted to exchange recipes or discuss their interests, they could just create a closed community.
And most importantly, and what made the process of developing this app even more expensive... an algorithm that slowly identified users' tastes based on which posts they spent the most time interacting with would gradually increase the average usage time.
In a social network like this, the algorithm was the most important thing.
If a peasant logged on to [Facebook] and only saw boring posts about politics, they would soon give up using the app and never come back.
But if they logged on to [Facebook] and only saw posts about what they like and find interesting, [Facebook] would gradually become part of their routine to the point where they wouldn't be able to stop using it.
Unfortunately, the only bad news was that the cost of developing this application was very high.
All this meant that the total cost of developing this Beta version of Facebook was 897 points, reducing Noah's total from 1,000 points to just 103.
When the development was finished, Noah took one of the 100 rings and synchronized it with the system according to the tutorial and was able to test how it was used.
As soon as he activated the ring, an unknown energy began to be consumed in his body, used to project a holographic screen in front of him.
Feeling that, Noah remembered ROB's warning.
'When someone uses the application you develop, you will receive part of the magic they used to keep it active, and this magic can be used either by you to perform spells, or to develop the applications in [Dev.exe].'
Feeling the energy slowly leaving his body, Noah understood. 'So this energy leaving is my magic...'
As he didn't know any magic control skills, and he didn't know how many points he would need to make [Facebook], Noah didn't risk spending the points he would need on something superfluous so far.
[Welcome to the Internet, select your NickName: _____ ]
This was the welcome window to the Internet that he developed.
According to the explanation, the ring synchronized with the spiritual/magical energy of the first person to use it to access the internet, so from that moment on that ring could only be used by that person and only that person's account would have access to the internet, eliminating the need for a password.
Thinking about which Nickname to use, Noah considered using his own name, but thinking that not using his own name might be a better idea, he opted to just use the letter [N] for his account.
The typing process was the same as on a touch tablet, when the user clicked on a text box, a floating keyboard would appear in front of that person, where they could choose to type manually or use their mind to type for them.
Checking that all the features of [Facebook] were working and there were no glaring bugs, Noah activated the administrator permissions on his ring.
By enabling administrator permissions, he was able to access this computer with the ROB applications remotely, being able to make edits and corrections to the applications even if he was lying in bed.
Taking advantage of the fact that he had activated these permissions, Noah also took the opportunity to create several ghost accounts and make some posts as if people were actually using the internet.
This was another very important point to captivate the first users.
The experience of logging on to [Facebook] and already having several posts with different stories from people in various unknown places was much more interesting than being responsible for publishing something that you wouldn't even know if other people would see.
Realizing that everything was right, Noah took the other 99 rings and synced them to the internet, also with standard user permissions.
Unlike his ring, which had administrator permissions, with access to all the programs on his computer, which was the internet server, the other rings only had access to [Facebook].
But looking at the rings lying motionless on the table, Noah realized that he was now forgotten.
'What should I do now?' he asked himself in confusion.
The remaining 99 rings showed no sign of spreading to random people around the world, so the only thing he could think of was that he would have to spread it himself.
'But how am I supposed to spread it? There's no one in this white space...' Noah wondered as he held up the rings.
Thinking that the only place he could find answers was on his computer, Noah minimized [Dev.exe] and was surprised to see that another program had appeared on his desktop!
[Travel.exe]
Opening this new application, Noah saw a few options available.
[Teleport to Last Location]
[Teleport to a Safe-House]
[Teleport to the Home-Base]
[Teleport to a Random Location]
The first three options were gray, not letting Noah click on them, but the last option was glowing, indicating that he could click there at any time.
Hesitating for a few minutes, Noah realized that he wouldn't be able to develop in this isolated world and sighed. Fitting 10 rings on his fingers and storing the rest in a cloth bag, he clicked on that option.
In an instant, Noah blinked in a completely white world, but in the next he found himself in a blue world.
At first he found this strange, until gravity began to pull him down and he realized that it wasn't that the world was blue, but that he was in the sky above the ocean!
'Damn it, I can't swim! Noah thought desperately in the few seconds he had to think before falling into the water.
Luckily he wasn't that high up in the sky, so his fall into the water didn't cause any damage, but seeing nothing to lean on around him, Noah began to despair.
Even if he knew how to swim, being adrift in the open sea was extremely dangerous, even more so in a world like this!
'I have to get back to my base...' He thought of the white room that he had criticized so much, but which now seemed like a safe haven compared to this unknown ocean.
So, as he struggled and slowly sank into the water, Noah struggled to access the internet through his Administrator ring.
Opening the [Travel.exe] application, Noah tried to teleport back, only to see a countdown next to the [Teleport to Home-Base] button.
[Teleport to Last Location]
[Teleport to a Safe-House]
[Teleport to the Home-Base] - 59:37
[Teleport to a Random Location]
'Damn, is there a cooldown for teleporting?! After putting so much effort into this, I'm just going to drown in the middle of the ocean because of a random teleport?!' He asked himself in despair.
Unfortunately, at that moment Noah could no longer hold his breath and began to breathe water, desperate for oxygen, but sinking lower and lower, Noah's hope began to fade.
But just before he blacked out, Noah felt something dragging him to the surface!
Curious, he struggled to stay conscious, only to see the back of a beautiful girl with long red hair grabbing his wrist and dragging him at high speed through the water...
At such a critical moment, there was only one name that came to mind at the sight of that hair.
'Ariel must be saving me!' he thought excitedly.
But feeling control over his own body fading, Noah used the last of his strength to remove one of the rings from his fingers and place it in the palm of his savior's hand before feeling everything go black.
- Ariel POV -
A few minutes ago, Ariel was excitedly enjoying the collection of human treasures she kept hidden from her family without a care in the world.
Sitting on a rock inside the secret lair, her tail swaying slightly under the calm water, Ariel held a small golden candelabra between her fingers. The object had no candle, but to her it was a fascinating work of art.
She turned it over and over, admiring the shape and wondering what it was for.
'Maybe humans used it to hold some light magic? Or maybe it was part of some real ceremony?' She was practically daydreaming.
Next to it, dozens of other objects were stacked with some care. Forks, mirrors, books, brushes, shoes, medals, glass beakers and even an incomplete bronze statue, all won on her curious expeditions to human wrecks lost at sea.
Ariel didn't understand everything she saw, but that only made things more magical.
Even though she had never spoken to a human, she felt a strange connection with them. A kind of fascination that no explanation from her father or Sebastian could erase. The more she looked at the objects, the more she wondered what the people who used each thing were like.
"Do they look like me?" she whispered to herself, leaning her forehead against a small broken mirror. "Or are they completely different?"
It was in that moment of silence that she heard a sound.
Splash!
A heavy noise cutting across the surface of the water, coming from far above.
Ariel's eyes widened and she instinctively looked upwards, where the light of the ocean flickered with tiny distortions. That wasn't the sound of a fish, or a rock, or a ship at anchor.
"What was that?" She asked herself, instinctively pushing the mirror into the corner and swimming out of the cave.
She spiraled up a few meters, swimming at high speed, until she reached an area where she could better see what was happening.
It was then that she saw him.
A human, slowly sinking as he struggled in despair. A boy apparently a few years older than her, with a handsome appearance... black hair that spread like ink in the water, pale skin and strange clothes that she had never seen, not even among humans.
She was delighted at the opportunity to see a human so closely, but when she realized that he was stopping moving, she froze.
"Why is there a human here?" She asked herself uncertainly.
She looked around, trying to see if there was anyone else to help him, but he was alone.
For a moment, she was paralyzed. Sebastian always said that humans were dangerous, that she should stay away... but seeing the bubbles rising from the boy's mouth and his body sinking lower and lower, Ariel realized what was about to happen.
"He's... drowning!" She was finally sure.
Then her body reacted before her mind could decide.
With a thrust of her fin, Ariel cut through the water and launched herself towards him.
When she reached him, she took a firm hold of his arm to start pulling him up, but just then, something pressed against her hand.
Surprised, Ariel looked at her palm while still swimming towards the surface, where she saw a strange, simple silver ring with a small dark crystal in the center, but despite its simplicity, this little ring emitted a magical aura!
Feeling the magic, Ariel frowned, but didn't have time to think too much about it when she saw that the human was completely passed out.
With a strong movement, Ariel continued swimming at high speed to the surface.
As soon as she surfaced, she pulled the boy as far as she could out of the water, keeping his head tilted back. But...
"He's not... breathing?" She asked herself, desperation squeezing her heart.
"No... I can't let him die!" She thought, looking around and seeing that there was no one around to help.
She hesitated, blushing intensely as she considered what she needed to do...
Holding his face with trembling fingers, Ariel repeated to herself, trying to convince her heart. "It's just to help... just to help..."
Then she moved closer, pressing her lips against his, carefully passing a breath of air.
Feeling the human boy's soft lips, Ariel's eyes widened.
That... was her first kiss.
Ariel's face flushed even more, but when she saw the boy cough and move slightly, she let out a sigh of relief, completely forgetting what she had done.
"He... he'll be fine." She spoke to calm herself.
Then she held him carefully and continued dragging him to a nearby beach. The tide helped, pushing them onto the wet sand.
Carefully, she supported his body on the rocks and stepped back a few centimeters, watching in silence.
It was the first time she had seen a human being up close.
Even wet, unconscious and confused, he was... handsome, very handsome, even by Merman's standards.
"Who are you...?" She whispered, kneeling on the sand, holding the ring he had put on her hand before he passed out.
She turned the object between her fingers, still not understanding what it was for, but the magic she felt in it made her think that there was more to it than she could perceive...
It was then that human voices appeared in the distance.
From what she was hearing, these were guards who were approaching.
Ariel turned around frightened, looking at the forest bushes that surrounded that part of the coast.
They would be coming down the trail soon, and if they saw her...
She couldn't be spotted.
But as she looked one last time at the boy, she held the ring tightly.
"I... I'll keep this... maybe with this we can meet again?" She said hopefully, as she gave him one last look, before throwing herself back into the sea, leaving only the traces of her body slipping through the waves.