| Предыдущая глава |
↓ Содержание ↓
↑ Свернуть ↑
| Следующая глава |
The feeling I got when looking at her was quite a strange one. You could practically mistake her for a doll. Were she not floating in the mid-air, I would definitely think she was a doll. Let me stress this part so you would understand properly. Before me, floating in mid-air, was a humanoid shaped being. I don't know what your reaction would be, but mine is as normal as it gets:
— AAAAA!
I shouted in panic and tried to get farther away. The result was what you would expect. I got tangled in sheets and fell down from the bed. I tried to get out of sheets, but managed to tangle myself in them even more. The only thing I can say in my defence is that I haven't yet woken up properly. Meanwhile this creature was hovering around me.
— While Master's current task is undeniably a very important one, I have to inform Master that all challengers are required to assemble in Main Hall in one hour's time.
The voice was unemotional, but she was definitely making fun of me. I wasn't even able to retort. Getting defeated by bed sheets is really quite pathetic. After I have finally defeated this fearsome enemy, I notice that, to my dismay, all I am wearing is a birthday suit. Embarrassed, I wrap a bed sheet around myself. The first question I am about to ask the faerie is not the most important one. Considering my situation it would probably be closer to the bottom of the list. In the meek voice I ask:
— Where could I get some clothes?
She flew down a bit and was now hovering beside my bed. Under her was a rectangular panel that slid forward. In there was a box with clothing. I put on me the clothes that were in the box. While doing it, I calmed myself down a bit. When I was about to look myself over one more time, faerie flew up and the wall above the box turned into a mirror.
I look in the mirror. In there I see a 184 centimetres tall, presumably 24 year old guy. His build is slightly on the skinny side. He has reddish-brown eyes, and his skin is pinkish-white from lack of exposure to the sun. You could even call his face aristocratic if not for his eyes which are darting around and can't fixate on one thing. He wears grey shorts and white T-shirt with the following text on it: 'I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code'. These are his favourite clothes. Or at least these are the clothes he wears most often.
Okay, I have already made as big a fool of myself as I could. So there is nothing more to fear. Let's continue asking stupid and obvious questions:
— Could you tell me where I am?
— This station is a branch of Illari research institute. It is to serve as base of operations for region 4-3.
Great, and what does this information give me? 'I'm not in Kansas anymore' am I? Or at least that is what she claims. Let us continue with questions.
— Then tell me this: What exactly are you?
— I am a personal assistant faerie, model U-4510471.
At least I got an answer to the question whether she was a pixie or a faerie.
— What do you mean by 'model'? Are you a living being or are you man made?
— This depends on Master's definition of living being. Master's language does not have a proper term for me. An android might be the closest if not entirely a correct one.
— Then what should I call you?
— Master may call me whatever he wishes.
— But do you have a real name or something like that?
— No customizations, like giving a name, have been made.
At this point some people would give up and stop pestering her for a name. They would continue calling her 'hey you', or just 'a faerie'. I dislike the latter two options, so this means I would have to name her myself. I don't know about other people, but for me naming anything is a big trouble. I have just a horrible naming sense. To strengthen my point I want to say that even a friend of mine who named his white cat Whitey said that I have a terrible naming sense. Normally it doesn't stop people from giving names, but if you know the name you have chosen is horrible, it practically prevents you from choosing anything. Which means that I would spend a lot of time thinking on it to no avail. For this reason my next question could even be mistaken for begging.
— Is there at least a name you want or something you would even remotely want to be called?
It seems she wanted to say something, but stopped midway. She looked at me and with uncertainty in his voice said:
— Master may call me Rue if he so wishes.
Yay! One problem handled — countless more to go.
— Then, Rue it is.
Suddenly, I realized one thing. I mean besides the fact that I was talking with a flying faerie which is disturbing by itself.
— Rue, what language are we talking in? Is it English?
— Master is speaking English, but I am using translation spell to translate everything Master is saying into Rivilirean.
Convenient, huh? So this is a fantasy setting with magic involved. To everybody saying that it was already obvious, I want to note that faerie herself admitted that she was made artificially. This means there is some sci-fi involved as well.
It really feels like I got stuck in some super realistic next generation virtual reality game. The existence of a faerie and a convenient translation spell seem to support this idea.
At this point Rue interrupted my thoughts:
— Master, I recommend moving out towards the Main Hall. Those, arriving late, will be penalized.
I decided to follow her advice. Hopefully I shall get some answers there, but increase in the amount of questions is likelier.
— So how can I get there?
Under my feet a green line was lit. The line went to the door and went under it.
— Master should just follow the line.
I open the door and follow the line. The corridors are spacious and have grey walls. Light seems to come from the ceiling, but there aren't any light bulbs or anything light could come from. While I walking along the corridor I ponder about the situation I got in.
The last thing I remember from yesterday is the world championship victory celebration. The problem is — I am sure I went to sleep in my own bed. So getting drunk and finding problems for myself was not the case. I think it is somehow related to the strange invitation I got in the mail. By 'somehow related' I mean that it is nearly certainly the cause for it. There is a small chance this situation was caused by something else, but that chance is a negligible one. In any case, right now it doesn't matter what was the cause, because I just need to figure out what the term 'this situation' entails.
Let's start from the elephant in the room, or more accurately — a fairy. I touched Rue's hand. It is like a hand of a doll, not warm like a living hand, but it is definitely real. So it's not a hologram or an illusion... Well it might be delusion, but definitely not a projection. The bigger issue is that she is floating and able to converse with me. According to her, she is something close to an android. This is not something that the current level of technology could produce. So this leaves me with four explanations of what is going on.
The first explanation, as I said earlier, is that this is a realistic virtual reality game. The faerie and the convenient translation spell point to this. If that is the case, then why I don't remember entering or even agreeing to participate in this game? Also, after a short interaction with her, it's really hard to believe she could be an NPC.
The second explanation, and actually the likeliest one, is the fact that I flew off the handle and all I see here is a delusion. I really don't wish for this to be the case, so I will try persuading myself that this isn't what happened. Unfortunately I also can't really say it isn't the case, because if it had turned out that we had been denied the prize money, it would have been a pretty big shock.
The third explanation would include me being abducted by some secret government organization or aliens that have a technology few generations above of what earth currently has. Sounds fantastic. Still, there aren't that many possible explanations and it's as likely as the last explanation.
Lastly what might have happened is that the reality bugged out and the invitation was a real one. So it would mean I was whisked into another world for some kind of a tournament.
Now don't get me wrong. I like games and fantasy books, but liking them and believing them to be real are two very different matters. Imagine yourself walking in a street where you see a robed man waving his hands. In front of him opens what appears to be a window in the thin air. What would be your first reaction? Practically everybody would think it were some kind of a filming scene or a trick. That is a normal reaction. And even though I can't exactly describe a nerd like me to be normal, this is the reaction I would have in such a situation. So I can't really believe my situation to be real.
Because there isn't anything I can do about it, I can safely ignore the assumption about me being delusional. I can also ignore the assumption about this being a game, since in that situation my actions also wouldn't matter. So, it is easier and really tempting to treat this as a game, but I am forced to act as if everything happening here is real. This doesn't mean I believe this to be a reality, I but I have to act as if it were.
Mulling over these thoughts I followed the line and finally entered what appeared to be the Main Hall.
Well, at least I don't need to worry about aliens or government organizations anymore. The hall looks as tasteless as the rooms and the corridors. Grey with no decorations in sight it gives me the feeling of a military facility. A military facility that was just built and not yet used. As I came into the hall I noted that there are many corridors coming here, but the wall opposite to where I came from is solid. More important are the contents of the hall. It is filled with humanoids creatures.
That's right. Not humans, but humanoids. There are other species in the hall besides humans. Everybody has two legs, two hands and one head, but other details vary quite a lot. I would estimate that less than half have an appearance of a human being. The rest of them are various humanoid shaped creatures that came straight from fantasy books. If I loosely go by appearance, then there are what you could call elves, angels, demons, satyrs, dryads, dwarves, beast men, treefolk (ents or whatever you call them), orcs, and trolls among others. In addition to that there are representatives of some races that I can't even categorize. More than a hundred of them in total. Most stay alone, but there are some groups that are talking among themselves.
Notably, nearly everybody has a faerie accompanying them. I was contemplating on whether I should join one of those groups, when the light suddenly got dimmer. The empty wall starts to glow and the image becomes visible on the surface of the wall. The background resembles a throne room. A red carped starts on the lower part of the screen and goes through the hall to the podium. There is a row of hooded figures in dark blue robes on both sides of the carpet. On the podium stands a similar hooded figure, but his robe is greyish-white. None of the faces of these people are visible. At this point a loud booming voice echoes through the hall:
— Champions! I welcome you!
The gazes of all those in the hall concentrate on the screen and follow each word that is being said.
— Since the beginning of time where there was life, there was a conflict. To survive in this struggle each species tried to get stronger. Each and every species seeks strength to survive. Some succeed, while others go extinct. But only few obtain sentience on this path. This lets them use strength other than brute force. Each of you has obtained the title of the strongest in your respective worlds. But the title of the strongest can belong to one only!
The voice took a pause as if to let his statement sink in. Some start to murmur or speak among themselves, but the voice, that continued speaking, drowns all other sounds.
— You were brought to represent yourself and your species in this tournament. To find out who is the strongest!
What is this? A Mortal Combat rip-off? Couldn't they come up with a more original setting? Meanwhile the voice continued.
— Everyone has their own reason to obtain strength and to exhibit that strength. So, let me provide you with a proper motivation: only death will await those who lose, while the winner will receive their heart's desire.
This got more of a reaction:
— Do you think I will let myself be killed just like that?
— We weren't told anything about that!
— Who do you think you are!?
— Who do you think I am!?
— I never agreed to any of this!
There are many shouts like that. All of them got interrupted by the voice:
— SILENCE! You have agreed to participate and are thus required to follow the rules. Breaking those rules will lead to the severe punishment.
At this point, the speaker made a gesture with his right hand. In response to it a hooded figure closest to him on the right made a step forward and began speaking.
— You may try breaking the rules right now. It will make the demonstration of the punishment much easier for us. Are there any volunteers?
Surprisingly, there are quite a few such individuals. First there is a two and a half meter tall humanoid covered in a white fur. Calling him a yeti would probably be the best description of him I can give. He looks very aggressive and intimidating. I wouldn't want to be left with him alone. Contrasting with his size, there is a creature that looked like a rat walking on two legs. Do you call a creature like that a kobolt? After those two lumps of fut there are two human-looking individuals. They are both muscular and their faces do not betray any signs of intelligence. Then there is what could be best described as a humanoid shaped as a pile of rocks. If fantasy books are to be believed, then you could call him a troll. These five went forward.
I do not know their intentions and it seems never will. Right at that moment a hooded figure on the screen that asked for volunteers made some gesture with his hand. This caused green vines to grow through the floor and entangle those five. However it did not stop them. All of them managed to tear the vines away. As soon as they threw the ripped vines away, the new vines grew to entangle them again. All five of them managed to tear these new vines away as well. It seems as if it were a child's play for them. The vines tried to entangle them three more times, after which they stopped growing. Everything seemed to calm down.
| Предыдущая глава |
↓ Содержание ↓
↑ Свернуть ↑
| Следующая глава |
