《NoiZ Online》


 The Initialization : Phase 001

    ?NOIZ Online?


    <td colspan=''4''>"The First Expansion : The Chronicles of Zen"</td>


    FOREWORD : Firstly, greetings and my devout appreciation to you dear reader whom have given an indulgent perchance to this obscure aspirant. I had dabbled on the realm of fanfictions at the past but this is my first aria towards an original works of ficton. This was conceived on a 320x420 cheap china brand smartphone for my laptop had finally fallen due to tedious long hour''s of labour with no salary nor rest.  May you rest in peace, my dear compadre.


    Writing on a phone is a pain, but writing on a cheap phone is a total hell. It''s like you have a powderkeg for patience and you''re writing on an open fire. Mix those two together and watch as your brain go Hiroshima on you.  As for the beta and proofreading? Pfft, even Satan wouldn''t go to that hell. Anyway, This novel contains Extreme acts of violence, brutality and suggestive themes so proceed as if you''re walking on egg shells.


    ¡ª Prologue ¡ª


    - I''m no Hero -


    ? [ Virtual Settlement \ November 13, 2045 - 8:46 am ] ?


    What makes a great hero?


    Is it their firm beliefs in life?


    Or is it perhaps an unwavering courage that neither wavers nor sways even at the face of adversities?


    Is it their eternal belief in the goodness of men?


    Or perhaps being a hero is just all about having good looks, a brilliant sparkling armor and a dashing white stallion to ride and show off that can swoon any damsel in distress that may come in one''s way.


    Nonetheless, it''s a general consensus that to be a great hero, one must have a least one or two positive traits and a good or lawful morality towards life. A hero must never do wrong onto others and must serve and live entirely for the benefit of the poor and needy.


    Lastly and most important of all, a hero can never act villainous.


    Hence, that is precisely why Aizen never once in his entire seventeen years of existence dreams of becoming a hero.


    In fact he absolutely loathes heroic idealism.


    However it seems that fate has a knack for humor and has a different plans for him.


    "Ah it''s Sir Zen!" A nameless bystander exclaimed happily as he spotted our protagonists walking the streets.


    "It''s the great hero Zen-sama!"


    "Our benevolent hero."


    Nerves throbbed in annoyance on our hero''s forehead as his name and the word ''hero'' keeps popping out of the mouth of every citizen he passed by. Finally, Zen''s patience had ran dry and snapped out after some boy ran towards him and asked him to sign the miniature action figure modeled after him.


    Mini Zen has a charismatic heroic smile that you wouldn''t ever see in the real live version and was wearing a T-shirt with the words ''Hero of Heroes'' embedded at front in all caps and bold font with exclamation on top.


    Seriously, Zen promised himself that he would hunt and kill the idiot who designed the damn toy.


    The male teen turned around to face his growing admirers with an agitated expression.


    "STOP WITH THE DAMN HERO WORSHIP IT''S CREEPY! DO I LOOK LIKE A FRIGGIN'' HERO TO Y''ALL!?"


    The crowd might say that he''s just being humble and modest but he really do mean it when he says that he''s no hero.


    Bleached wild hairstyle.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.A lit cigarette hanging on his lips.


    Pierced Ears.


    A black shirt that says "Born to be Wild" with a skull jolly roger at the chest portion.


    And to top it all off, a face that could even scare the most battle hardened criminals with one glare.


    Yes, Aizen Ryumanagi is not your stereotypical kind of benevolent protagonist. Crude, blunt, ruthless, deceitful and a hopeless gambler that has a huge penchant to flirting with women.


    Not to mention his colorful criminal records that seemed to have it all which practically made him rather infamous with the local enforcement authorities.


    In layman''s term, Zen''s a scum.


    Your typical dregs of society.


    The list goes on and on but the main point is that he looks more fit to be the antagonist in both physical and mental aspects of his lifestyle. If there was a contest on who''s the most villainous person in the country, Zen would''ve made a grand slam on such event.


    Nonetheless despite how he looks or acts and no matter what anyone thinks, to every netizens of the virtual city he currently resides, the bleached haired, chain smoker, pretentious asinine failure of a gambler, is their one and only hero.


    To hell with stereotypes.


    Zen broke all the norms of society.


    He''s a villainous hero who even after gaining such fame and power still remained at base level one.


    Yeah no kidding.


    Indeed perhaps you mightn''t thought that he had gained such power despite his pathetic level just because he had found a secret special job class or acquired a cheat item or maybe he exploited some unnoticed loophole in the gaming system and raked in lots of fortune but Zen didn''t have nor done those things.


    In fact, he''s totally broke (again) at the moment due to gambling so he sold most of his item.


    But don''t assume that he''s financially inept. The bleached haired teen is frugal and prudent despite his addiction. Zen just love the thrill of betting. The rush of adrenaline and the tension as you place your hard earned earnings on the line. Now that''s what really gets him loony about gambling.


    Well, even if the teen lost, he could always kite mobs to earn money...


    ¨Cor not.


    One might think that Zen has a combat oriented jobclass because of his bad-ass features but that''s another curve ball against atypical preconceptions.


    Well what''s his job?


    A priest.


    Indeed it is, and it''s not a typo for those of you who have bewildered faces right about now.


    Despite his appearance, Zen really is a priest.


    The kind of priest that most people picked as a 2nd character after they got bored with their main combat-type ones. The kind of a support cleric that you will rarely see be given a lead role in novels or games.


    One might be thinking that it''s a special type of priest but really, it''s just your average run of the mill support class healer that can only heal then provide assistance from the distance and can''t solo play on their own.


    Now yes reader, your skepticism is totally warranted.


    First a villainous hero, then a powerful level one character, and now a paltry boring priest job? you might be thinking this Zen character isn''t real and just a gag character born out a prank gone wrong but hate to burst anyone''s bubble, he is not.


    To understand everything, let''s go back to the very start before all this hero worship even started. Even before Zen became a legendary level one priest that everyone admires.


    Let''s go back to a point in Aizen''s life where you wouldn''t ever believe that he would end up to be one of the greatest hero in the virtual world.


    Let''s go back to the root of all legends,


    The childhood.


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 The Initialization : Phase 002

    The Initialization : Phase 002


    Explicit Warning : This chapter  Extreme brutality and sexual situations. if your not into those kind of heavy and suffocating stuffs then i suggest you skip this chapter. It''s really just to give depth & background on why the protagonist is so vile and evil and not integral in the future plot-line.


    Aizen Ryumanagi for the lack of better term is what you may call a typical case of a textbook scum.


    He''s not just your stereotypical douchebag mind you, he''s a great douchebag¡ªand rather proud of it. You see, even at a very young age, Aizen already exhibited the signs of being a great scumbag. From killing insects like ants and dissecting grasshoppers to playfully ''tossing'' cats into ponds, he''d already done it all in just a tender age of two.


    Maybe it''s because he was born into such a nihilistic family that the young Aizen was left to his own devices most of the time. With a step father who didn¡¯t give a jackshit about his well-being and a very busy mother who seemed to be always away, hence Aizen''s evil deeds grow more and more hideous as he grew older as his own way of seeking attention.


    He was your typical neglected street brat that was seeking affection through wrong things. Having been born on the slums, the boy was introduced into alot of things a kid by his age shouldn''t be caught on doing. Petty theft, Gang wars, drugs and pornography, Aizen had already done and seen it by the age of six.


    Being bad was good.


    That''s an unwritten rule in the slums.


    Aizen seek acceptance by doing those things so that his peers would accept him as one of their own.


    In a way, young Zen treated his friends as his own family more than his generic ones.


    By the age of ten his notoriety has already become somewhat known onto the local police force.


    Crescent smile Aizen¡ªhis first moniker, and one befitting him as well seeing as how he shows that twisted crescent moon like grin of his whenever he inflict pain onto his so called ''opponents''


    Aizen got that title back when he was performing at an underground fight club arena.


    As a way to earn money, the boy worked as a janitor through the local underground gambling bout. However, one day the owner of the illegal tournament held a special event where it featured young aspirants in a round robin competition and Zen had won it valiantly. The crowds loved him and his sheer tenacity so the owner offered him a contract to be a regular in-fighter.


    It might sound badass, to be a fighter at such a young age. However, the hidden truth is that the sadistic owner was sending the boy to the gallows. The brat attracts crowd and a satisfied crowd rakes money, end of discussion.


    Aizen learned the cold hard reality afterwards. He mightn''t easily floored foes his own age but he''s no match to an experienced adult fighter. But Aizen Ryumanagi is no quitter. Having only taught himself  by replicating the moves he sees and had no actual training, the teen always lose but his sheer will and tenacity to never give up had captivated the crowds.


    Everyone was a sucker for underdogs after all.


    Since then he became a crowd pleaser at the arena at the age of twelve for his resilience and brutality.


    However, as bad as Aizen might look, there''s still some little humanity left onto him at this point in time seeing as he still hasn''t condone the truly severe sins such as murder or rape...


    ¨CThat is only until his thirteen birthday that is.


    You see, on October the 13th for the first time in his life, Aizen''s mother had remembered his birthday and had chosen him over work. She had bought a small cake in commemoration of his coming of age.


    The cake was very small as if it was just a cup cake and there''s no candles lit up on top of it but for Aizen, it was the best cake in the world.


    Tears spewed out endlessly in the teen''s eyes no matter how much he tried to hold it.


    His mother also sobbed and apologized for being so heartless and cold towards him. Her mother explained that she was raped and he was the result of it. She couldn''t bear to see him because she remembers that awful time in her life whenever she looked at him.


    But Mrs Ryumanagi also explained that she had never hated him.


    Never once.


    She wanted to take her life at her first trimester but when she had felt him kick her stomach as if telling her that he wanted to live, the feeling of motherhood seemed to have out won all her resentments and suicidal inhibitions.


    She mightn''t despised the individuals who ruined her womanhood but never the baby that she had held twelve months after the incident.


    He was her salvation.


    For the first time in his life, Aizen had felt a connection towards his own mother.


    Sadly, it was also the last.


    On his 13th birthday, his mother got murdered on their house. It seems his step father was a member of the yakuza''s and he had stolen some considerable amount of money from the syndicate.


    The gang tried tracking him down to Aizen''s house but since the boy and his mother didn''t know his whereabouts either, they took their frustrations on his lover and shoot her and the birthday celebrant point blank.


    But like the saying that a bad weed is not easy to kill, Aizen also survived the incident since luckily the bullet didn''t hit any vital organs in his body.


    Another silver lining was that his other twin was out when the shootings occurred


    Although because of this incident, the siblings were now homeless since their home was taken as a collateralize reimbursement and to add salt into his wounds, it seems that his mother somehow had also accumulated a huge debt at some money lending company, leaving nothing to him and his twin sister behind but astronomical expenses to pay off.


    With their money and house foreclosed, the penniless sibling had no choice but to be sold onto the yakuzas in ex-change of the funds stolen by their father.


    And that''s where Aizen had finally lost what''s left of his little humanity within him.


    - [ Yuno Lending Corps HQ \ April 18, 2037- 9:23 pm ] -


    On his first day, he was forced to watch some drugged girl not more than a few years older than him got stripped and banged down by dozens of perverted scum¡¯s as his initiations right to the syndicate.


    ''C''mon cherry boy, go for it! bet my ass you still haven''t tried sex even once in your sorry life have''ya..." The ring leader goaded as he leaned down and put an arm around him as he urged him on. "This slut is way past her expiration date already so you can do anything you want with her crescent smile~"


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    A pair of blood shot dead eyes then turned towards him.


    ''No...no more..H..help..'' The poor girls desperately plead in a daze as she looked at him standing still on the corner of the room.


    Don''t look at me with those eyes.


    Aizen can''t help but to advert his gaze. He mightn''t acted cruel to his caretakers before but he didn''t sink low to the level of these fuckers.


    "What''s wrong? I thought you love doing these kinds of shit stuff boy" The boss asked as he pushed Aizen in front of the naked girl. "No need to be shy now, were all men here."


    "...N-No, i won''t do it," The shaking teen interjected with a stutter after a moment of silence. He might be a scum but he still have little conscience in him up to this point. "T-True, i mightn''t done bad things before b-but...this."


    Don''t look at me with those eyes please!


    "I-Isn''t this considered...rape?" Aizen timidly asked as the arms of the boss around his shoulders tightened. The face of the cold blooded mobster hardened as he remove his arms away from him and squat down to Aizen''s eye level.


    "Rape you say?" The Godfather asked with a piercing gaze. "Brat, you can''t call it rape if we own the damned slut in the first place. she had signed a contract before with us so in legal terms, we have the right to fuck her."


    "But¡ª"


    "Now boy we can''t have you pissing your pants off with this kinds of lightweight matters," The six ft. seven mobster interjected with a serious demeanor while pulling out a pistol inside his black coat. "Now, it''s either you do the deed or you just sit back there and instead of this whore, we would bang your little sister as this slut''s replacement, now how about it?"


    "NO DON''T YOU DARE TOUCH SAYA¡ª" Aizen madly shouted while a fist bores down into his face.


    "Know your place brat," The boss said as he lazily points the pistol into Aizen''s forehead. Motioning for the naked drugged girl that is lying onto the floor, the bastard threatened, "Now fuck her if you don''t want your sister to be violated."


    The black-haired teen bit his lips so hard it almost bled. Looking down into the naked girl beneath him, Aizen''s eyes darkened and became those of akin to a dead fish.


    "please...no more..."


    I''m sorry


    "please... i beg you."


    I''m sorry


    "N-No, get away...not again, please don''t!"


    "I''m sorry but i got to do this, forgive me." Aizen whispered as he pinned down the sobbing girl.


    "please...just kill me instead."


    Aizen kept apologizing again and again in his mind as he for the first time experience the taste of carnal intercourse. He would be lying if he said that he didn''t felt any carnal pleasure from such deplorable act since after all no matter how much he denied it, He was a healthy boy experiencing for the 1st time the vices of the flesh. However, knowing that the sick feeling of pleasure on his groin came at the expense of a poor girl that is a victim of circumstance, He felt like puking his guts out in disgust for himself.


    ''Now I''m no different from these scums'' He lifelessly thought as he remove himself from the still girl on the floor.


    "Hehehe, Well done, you''re a man now." The boss congratulated him afterwards with a sick grin plastered into his face, His demeanor akin to that of a lion watching his cub after its first kill.


    The bastard then grabbed the pistol and threw it into the direction of the dazed teen.


    "Now dispose of the cunt as cleanly as possible."


    With what''s left of his conscience finally broken, the dazed teen just stared at the gun that landed onto his feet for a few minutes.


    ''Why am i so pathetic?''


    "You know what will happen to your sister if you don''t pull the trigger."


    ''Why am i so powerless?''


    "Now grab the fucking gun and shoot her!!"


    ''Why is this world so rotten?''


    "So you wanna play tough guy eh?" The boss wickedly smirked after Aizen refused to pick up the gun. He just then grab a swiss knife from his coat and grabbed the hands of the shaking girl then placing it firmly into the floor. The girl desperately tried to wiggle out of the man''s grip bit  to no avail only made it more painful for herself.


    "W-what...are you doing?" Aizen somehow had a bad premonition. Without warning the sick bastard just chuckled then cut off the left thumb of the girl in a matter of seconds.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! MY HANDS MY HANDS!! IT HUUUURTS!!! PLEASE!!"


    The girl helplessly sobs loudly as blood continues to flow out of her left hand rapidly.


    "Now I''m gonna cut off a finger with every ten second that passed by without you pulling that damn trigger." The fat leader said as plays with the ring finger of the hysterical girl.


    "Stop it!!"


    "One, Two, Three¡ª"


    "Haven''t you done enough?"


    "Five, six, seven¡ª"


    "Just leave her alone already."


    "Eight¡ª"


    "Please it huuurts...no more!"


    "Nine¡ª"


    "STOOOP!!!"


    Crack.


    "AAAAHHHH!!!!!! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO MEEEEEE IT HUUURTS!!"


    Aizen dropped onto his knees helplessly as another finger got sliced off from the girl. The broken finger then slowly rolled off in front of him as if it was blaming him.


    ''It''s your fault.'' A voice sounding like his own echoed within his head.


    "One¡ª"


    "P-please...no more..."


    Slowly grabbing the pistol with his shaking hands, Aizen lifelessly aimed it at the head of the pleading girl.


    "Three, four¡ª"


    "End my s-suffering already..."


    "N-No...i c-cant."


    "Six, Seven¡ª"


    "p-please..."


    "Eight, Nine¡ª"


    "let me have peace alread¡ª"


    With tears flowing down endlessly his eyes, Aizen pulled the trigger.


    A couple of loud bang was then heard afterwards shortly followed by clapping''s of hand and sounds of someone vomiting.


    That day, Aizen had finally learned the true meaning of being evil.


    "It''s a dog eats dog world boy, only the strong survives you better remember that." The sick fuck idly commented as he sits on the corpse of the dead girl while wiping the blood off his Swiss knife.


    Aizen had taken that advice from the mob boss to heart and made it his personal credo in life.

 The Initialization : Phase 003

    The Initialization : Phase 003


    Five years had gone by instantly and all he''d done was train and do ''missions''. Luckily for him the mob leader deemed him as too weak and ordered some of his best men to train Aizen. His 1st year in the gang was spent with him learning all different kinds of fighting style.


    From Mixed Martial arts to Juujitsu and Aikido, he had somehow gained intermediate proficiency on these three styles since mostly these arts emphasize more either on speed or using the force of your enemies against themselves.


    It was suited to Aizen''s slim build plus most of the time, his opponents are way bigger and stronger than him. Of course he still can''t beat an advanced practitioner of such styles but against your typical mobster, you can bet your life that he won''t go down easily in a fist fight.


    He then learned to use different types of gun upon his second year. From a pistol to a semi automatic to even long range rifles, he seems to show a talent when it comes to these weapons. Also, during this time the fifteen year old teen got promoted from just being a wing-man to a full fledged hitman. As a result, he was assigned now far more dangerous jobs.


    His typical target was either an opposing yakuza member or some company head but from time to time, he also got a job of tracking down deserters. He absolutely hated disposing runaways since most of them are just girls too fed up working into the brothels.


    Plus, their eyes always reminded him of his first kill.


    Aizen had no issues with murder.


    He would kill anyone he was ordered to, but he''s not an advocate of unjust and senseless killings. He wanted to avoid meaningless slaughter if its possible. Not only physically but also mentally had he matured within these years. Long gone was the cruel tactless street brat that he once was and in its place, a cold heated person with a twisted sense of morality was born.


    It''s a world only for the strong in body and in mind.


    It''s okay to be evil as long as you never strays from your principles in life.


    Unjust actions will always come back to haunt you.


    It''s only some of the few things that are listed on his personal moral code of ethics. You would only bring forth your own ruination if you live without a sense of morality. Aizen''s senior once told him that when he was being trained as her wing-man. The young hit-man was truly grateful cause if not for her wise cracks and advice''s then he would long be swallowed up by the darkness of their job.


    Sadly it seems that she died on one of her solo missions but he was sure that she survived somewhere and was drinking herself to death or partying nonstop.


    The then seventeen year old quickly rose in the ranks and by his 5th year into the syndicate, Aizen was already considered one of the best around the block.


    - [ Aizen''s Flat \ March 1, 2042 - 3:16 pm ] -


    Currently at the moment, Aizen''s apartment which has an area diameter of six tatami mats are being over-crowded by five people despite it''s usual space capacity of three.


    "This is one smelly and cramped Meatshop you got here Ryumanagi." Whined by a brown haired guy with a long katana that is sitting on Aizen''s twin sized bed.


    "Hey watch your elbows Kinoki-san! and you''re sword is hitting me." Complained by the person sitting next to him.


    "Buuh! Zen my friend, it''s a sin not to prepare some condoms when you start an orgy party." Argued by a lecherous blond guy that''s at the toilet on the far corner of the room seemingly looking for something.


    "Whoa! I''ve found Aizen-sempai''s secret stash of porn, lucky~" Cheered by a green haired girl that''s sitting on the floor that took out a box of racy magazines underneath the coffee table.


    "Idiot, you can''t call it a secret stash if its placed where everyone can see it." Aizen calmly reasoned at the opposite side of the table then turned to look at the direction of his toilet.


    "And for the last time, you won''t find a fucking condom there in the bathroom Barth!! We ain''t here for some grand orgy party so quit with your green jokes!"


    "Who says we need a condom, we can just go vanilla all the way~"


    "Bartholomew there are women in the room have you got no shame!?"


    "Kinoki-san, don''t drew your sword! we''re already cramped as it is!"


    "Siiigh, i don''t care anymore~ do whatever you jerkasses want, just don''t break anything in my room you shitheads. This meeting is a bust."


    "Uwaah~ So you''re more of a boob person eh Aizen-senpai?"


    "Depends on the rack, i prefer the perky ones that''s not too big."


    "Ohho~ then how ''bout my boobs, do you like them?"


    "Ask me in a few years more you friggin'' jailbait."


    "I love your boobies very much Fleur-chan, would you let me cop a feel please~"


    "That''s vulgar Bartholomew!! Face the wrath of thy sword for such indecency."


    "Oh shut it you closet bushido pervert."


    "I''M NOT A CLOSET PERVERT! Such heresy thy blunder against thou, i challen¡ª"


    "ENOUGH!!"


    A booming female voice full of authority suddenly echoed in the whole room immediately silencing everyone at the moment. It came from a petite girl with a straight blond hair that is standing near the fridge. Her piercing blue eyes that seems to be able to see anyone''s soul stared at each member present as if daring them to make some noise.


    Nialsvein von Yuno, fifteen years old, Aizen''s current wingman in training and the acting head of this so called Rebellion group consisting of all six members that are present in the room.


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    "Now let''s resume our meeting immediately seeing as we only have a few more hours left until we had to go back into HQ." Said by the blond girl as she walked forward and sat primly at the only sofa chair in the living room. No one dared to break the sudden silence for one could almost physically touch the tension in the room.


    Aizen glanced around to see if anyone has the gall to say anything but it seems that everyone is being tongue tied or didn''t know what to say to break the silence.  With him being the unwilling host and mastermind behind the meeting, he guessed that being the initiator was his job and raised his hands lamely as if he was a student.


    "W-Well, before that Nia, may i ask why are meeting at my apartment instead?"


    The girl in question just folded her arms and replied flatly. "As i said earlier on the phone, i called the usual bar and it was closed until tomorrow. The owner said that there was a surprise sanitary inspection so they had no choice but close for today."


    "But why choose my apartment as replacement?"


    "Cause your the one who ask for the meeting." The blonde replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.


    He mentally face-palm himself. He should have expected that answer since his junior trainee was the embodiment of practicality after all.


    Then the blond just tilted her head in wonder.


    "Plus i want to see how your flat looks like?"


    Aizen sweat dropped. Nialsvein may act older than her usual age but she''s still a fifteen year old girl when you think about it. There are few times when she act innocently like these subconsciously despite her rigid composure.


    "Well in any case, it''s about time you explain to us the reason for this meeting Ryumanagi-senpai." Aizen''s wingman stated in a serious manner as if signaling everyone that the idle banter is over and its time to put their professional mask on.


    Everyone luckily seemed to have get it and drew their serious faces.


    "As you all may have known, I have been planning of a coup'' against the Yuno Syndicated ring for years now." Aizen started with his game face on. "We started this lil'' rebellion group because we all share the same  sentiment that the gang have become too corrupt and a change must happen in the management or else it would just grew more evil."


    He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. Everyone has their eyes on him as they awaits for his words. Aizen may not be the groups de facto head but he was its founder so all five members has respect for him even if they didn''t show it outwardly most of the time.


    "I say now''s the best time for us to act on our goals and strike down the corrupted leaders once and for all."


    Nialsvein eyed him seriously.


    "Is it because of Sayaka?" She asked with a voice laced with hard suspicion.


    The black haired teen smirked. He really can''t get passed anything by this perceptive trainee of his. Aizen never understood why the mob leader put his daughter under his care. He may be considered one of the best but he was too volatile. Too risky to trust like a rattlesnake. Maybe the boss wanted her to be a spy against Aizen but it backfired cause it seems that the blond girl has an agenda of her own.


    Turns out she wanted to overthrow his own father and personally requested to be trained by Aizen not solely because of his skills but because he was the most candidate to rebel against the syndicate.


    Hah, she truly was the bosses daughter, perhaps even more scheming than his old man but at least the girl have good morals. It was the first thing he ingrained in her¡ªTo not break your own morality and principles in hopes that Nialsvein would not end up like her father...or himself.


    Of course he has morality... Although it''s not good and rather twisted.


    God he''s such a bad influence now that he thought about it. If her father ever discovered that he introduced her into alot of ''first times'' the boss would sure kill him over and over.


    Not that he''d care what that fucker thinks.


    But now''s not the time for such sentimentality.


    Aizen coughed as he showed his evil trademark grin.


    "Ok listen up, here''s what were going to do."


    - [ A week later  \  March 8, 2042 - 2:16 pm ] -


    One after the another, several high ranking mobster in the Yuno syndicate died in some freak accident and as days passed by, so does the number of deaths accumulated. It was business as usual but when the toll surprisingly reached around double digits in no time, the boss finally got the gist that someone is clearly targeting their ranks and ordered everyone to be vigilant.


    However the killings still persisted.


    At first they thought that it was the workings of an opposition gang but the method the assassin used to kill is too unusual or more like, it''s too clean¡ªtoo polished.


    It''s like as if the killer knew their routines and schedules. That''s when the boss got a premonition that it''s more of an inside job. That someone from his ranks are killing off their own members. Well, it''s not really surprising and this kind of incident had already happened before so he knew what to do as a countermeasure.


    To smoke out a snake from it''s hole, one must prepare a good bait for it to shed its skin and bares it''s fangs.


    Luckily, the boss has some vague idea on who this particular wolf that is attacking his heard as of late.


    Picking up the phone on his elegant mahogany table, he called for his secretary.


    "Inform Ryumanagi that i want to meet him at my office immediately."

 The Initialization : Phase 004

    The Initialization : Phase 004


    "Haah, now you''ve really done it this time..." Said by an aging police officer in disbelief as he put a pair of handcuffs onto the arms of a silent black-haired teen.


    "You would end up in an actual federal prison than in the juvvie with this magnitude boy. Heck, considering these people that you''ve killed, I won''t be surprised if you end up in the electric chair." The old man grimly added as he finished cuffing the left arm of the lad.


    Surprisingly the said teen seems to be showing little resistance to the arrest and was just continually staring into the gruesome scene of his doing as if he was in a daze.


    Therein behind him lies dozens of mangled dismembered dead bodies on the floor that is bathing with their own fresh blood. Chopped heads severed arms and¨Cis that a sword? was scattered all over the place making the arresting officer grimace onto the horrid scene. He considered himself a pro veteran of the force but this was the first time he actually seen a crime scene of this sheer brutality.


    "Hah, these scums deserved to die like these," Aizen sneered without much remorse and added as an after thought, "...Though yeah, i guess using an RPG-launcher was a little bit overkill."


    The old policeman let out another sigh. He felt as if he was on his deathbed ever since he got the role of a probation officer for this certain onyx-haired delinquent. Just six months ago the kid was involved in some buy bust drug operation and was charged with twelve counts of man slaughter but due to some ''external influence'' it seems the charges got dropped and the boy somehow got off scot free.


    After handcuffing the teen and pinning him down onto the back of his police mobile, the officer then picked up his internal radio to coordinate with the station and report the capture of the culprit of what would the media will later dubbed as ''The Yuno-yakuza Massacre Case''


    As for Aizen, he just slept quietly on the back of the armored vehicle as if he was going to a nice county side vacation trip.


    After an hour or so, he got a slap on the check as an awakening call that they have finally arrived onto their destination.


    After adjusting onto his surroundings, the first thing that Aizen notice upon disembarking the vehicle was the seemingly colossal walls of Tokyo federal prison.


    "Ohho, guess it''s really Tok-fed for me than juvvie this time eh," He sarcastically remarked as he whistled when he was dragged inside the penitentiary like some harmful animal.


    "Boy, with you killing those Yakuzas that are supposedly protecting your ass, you shouldn''t be surprised that you end up on this ditch even if you''re still a minor."


    Aizen snorted with that response. Protecting him? hah, what a load of bull crap that was. Those yakuza''s only bailed him out before since he still had a mountain of debt to pay them and they can''t afford him being jailed cause it''s bad business.


    Well, with those shitheads out of the picture, so does his mountain of debt and finally, his twin sister can finally be free.


    Contrary to what most would think, it''s not really hard to take down a syndicate ring.


    All you need is careful planning, a little bit of luck and a three years stockpile of ammunition like C4 and grenades,


    ¡ªEspecially grenades.


    With every records and files of the syndicate incinerated into dust, even if someone were to revive the gang, they would surely not find any trace or records of their enslavement seeing as he already killed the ones who knew of the contract.


    Finally his sister can be truly be free.


    As for him, well he could try running away and live as a fugitive but he highly doubt that he can since he was the one who bring down the cartel. Not only he would be pursued by the remnants of the Yuno familia that he massacred but also by their rival mob families seeing as he also killed a handful of them by the order of his ex-boss.


    Aizen is a nihilistic person. He doesn''t really have aspirations in life like having a family of is own or deep passions to excel at something. But he''s not totally against it. If the opportunity arise that he''ll fall in love with someone then he''ll marry her. However, you won''t gonna see him looking around for his soul mate.


    Love is tedious anyway.


    It''s a two way connection.


    Too bad for him he''s a single minded person.


    Anyway  the world is better off having no little carbon copy of him running around in the future. Aizen takes life in his own pace. Its meaningless anyway so why bother aspiring to become a better person? Personally speaking he highly doubt a person could change fundamentally anyway.


    Humans can adopt a social mask and tailor it to their liking  but basic human nature is much harder to change especially if ones surroundings have already a pre-disposed biased opinion towards you.


    Plus it''s not like Aizen hated his current self.


    If he was told that he would die tomorrow then he would just stare blankly and calmly reply, oh i see.


    He''s that type of nihilist.


    He doesn''t want to die of course but he won''t actively pursue life as well.


    He acknowledged God but doesn''t believe him.


    He love himself but the person he hated the most is also himself.


    Such are the duality of his existence.


    In layman''s term, he just a laid-back lazy selfish apathetic person.


    Hence, his only option was to go to jail. At least in prison he could lay low and be protected by the government as a state witness.


    In another perspective, the American dream is to be imprisoned.


    Think about it, you get to eat while practically doing nothing. You get free bodyguards and with proper connections and a little bribery, you can experience the pleasures of life.


    And since you''re already in jail, you don''t have to worry about getting caught.


    Being jailed truly is a NEET''s fantasia.


    If shit hit the fan, he could ask for a plea bargain in exchange for his knowledge against the mobster groups that are ruling Tokyo in the shadows.


    Aizen can''t help but smirk as he was placed into the maximum security cell within the penitentiary.


    All is going according well into plan so far.


    A week had passed and like he had predicted, his trial was soon over before anyone can say an objection.


    Well, it''s no surprise at all seeing as he practically annihilated one of the most notorious cartel in the city.


    Though it seems even with the gang being disposed off, the higher ranking officials in the government that are backing and profiting from such organization still hold a grudge against him for ruining their lucrative grey business.


    And the verdict? Reclution Perpetua


    Or better known as life imprisonment.


    Well, Aizen had already somewhat expected this outcome so he wasn''t all that much suprised. Hell, he should be on the death row seeing as his crime was sixty two counts of man slaughter and massive damage to property but luckily because of the plea bargain deal he had with the government, his sentence got somehow lessened.


    Furthermore, it could even be reduced further if his cooperation with taking down the notorious mob families in Japan prove to be essential.


    The outcome was really a win-win situation in favor of him so he really didn''t resist much after he was dragged out of the court.


    (Haah, so my boring prison life begins now huh...) Aizen thought with a sigh as he succumbed to his fate. They have entered any elevator made of premium grade steel with five buttons available on the middle left section.


    From his prodding and inquiries around, it seems that Tokugaoka Federal Prison consist of Five levels below the ground. firstly  with it''s first floor occupying the hall of justice and other federal offices that deals  with the paperwork''s of criminals then down to basement one or B1 where suspects that awaits trial or judgement are held.


    Aizen remembered that''s where he was also detained in the past weeks.


    B2 and B3 are the floors where the usual convicts are imprisoned where the former are the place for males while the latter is where female inmates resides. B4 seems where high profile and dangerous inmates are located and locked away.


    Finally for B5, seems like no one really knows what was in there except those in higher position. However rumor around says it''s where the really dangerous and those inmates who is above the law are held but some say that it''s a special floor where suspicious experiments are condone.


    The detaining guard then pressed B5 button silently making the black-haired inmate raised his eyebrows in suspicion.


    "Oi, isn''t level five a restricted zone? why are we going there, i thought the usual inmates are restricted to B2 and B3..."


    But he only got stiff silence to his inquiry from the guards. As the lift gradually passed B2, B3 and finally B4, so does Aizen''s apprehension rose to a dangerous level.


    His primal instincts that are honed by the five years of being a top hit-man was going haywire. Something just tells him to expect the worse by the time they reach the bottom level.


    (This is bad, all i can use as a weapon is my fist and these handcuffs.)


    it only took a minute or so to reach B5 and with the sliding doors of the elevator being opened, Aizen got into fighting stance but what he sees at the other side of the lift is not what he expected to see in such circumstance.


    "W...What the hell is this?" The befuddled teen asked no one particularly as he was pushed outside the elevator by the guards.


    There in front of him lies rows and rows of virtual gaming pods also known as Virtuodrive. it was a new device that let''s people dive into what was known as VRMMO or in gaming lingo, virtual multi massive online game.


    Even the ever anti social Aizen had heard of it since it became the main trending topic on all media outlets two years ago. From the global internet all the way to local television networks, people of all ages can''t helped but to be mesmerized into this new form of technology where you can dive into a brand new fantasy world.


    Noirehartz Online


    ¨COr simply put, NOIZ Online.


    A new addiction that took the world by storm. A world where both spirits and material beings coexisted. A world where there''s flying island and underwater cities that can be visited. A world where one can be together with mythical creatures you can never dream on seeing in reality.


    A world of infinite possibilities¡ªor so the catchy ads says.


    It was the first ever true virtual reality game that directly intercepts one''s neural waves and converts it all into byte data and vice versa. As such, it make things seems truly real into the virtual world.


    As for why dozens of console pods for such games can be found in the lowest portion of Tokyo''s federal prison, Aizen can only speculate.


    "Ah Mr. Ryumanagi i''ve been expecting you welcome welcome~" Greeted by some guy in a lab coat while grinning from ear to ear. He was averaging around 161 cm in height with a lanky build and a dirty tea colored hair. His back was somehow hunched probably from either using the computer or sitting too much¨Cperhaps both.


    Aizen''s first impression of him was that he can''t trust this person.


    Everything about the guy seems ordinary¨Cexcept those dark grey eyes of his.


    Dead fish eyes.


    It was a pair of orbs that seems had gotten too used to the darkness of society. a pair of orbs that Aizen usually see staring back at him whenever he looks into the mirror.


    The type that looked at the abyss too much and was devoured by it.


    "Allow me to introduce myself, I''m the supervisor of this floor, Zenix Milstein." Introduced by the scientist looking man as he adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose upwards. "I''m also one of the head engineer working for NOIZ."


    "I see, and what does the head honcho from a gaming company doing in the most restricted area of Japan''s most celebrated prison if i may ask?" Skeptically asked by Aizen as he just ignored the handshake offered to him by Zenix.


    "My my, how straightforward. Well, i like people who doesn''t waste my time so i like that attitude of yours Mr. Zen-kun~" Teasingly replied by Zenix as he grinned further when Aizen made an appalled face after he shortened his name.


    "Well then, are you familiar with the term Noirehartz or simply NOIZ Online Mr. Ryumanagi?" Zenix asked with a start.


    "It''s a VR game right?" Aizen replied with a poker face whilst putting his thumb on his chin he added,


    "If i remember it correctly, It was made by the collaboration of all the leading gaming companies in the world, making it truly first of it''s kind. With it''s initial release two years ago, the game had already attained a whopping rough estimates that the 40% of world population are currently being hooked into it."


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The scientist nodded. "Yeah nowadays, you''re considered a caveman if you don''t have a NOIZ account especially in a technically advanced country like Japan."


    "Oi who are you calling a caveman eh?" Aizen said with a twitch of his brows. He was just too busy to set up an account in NOIZ. Heck, he can''t even remember the last time he played a game before. "I might not have a NOIZ account but I''m not technologically inept. I still have accounts l-like...F-Facebook for instance."


    "Facebook?" Zenix asked while barely containing his laughter. God, this is too much for him . The engineer can''t believe someone still uses those obsolete sites in this day and age. It seems he''d found a walking relic by the name of Aizen Ryumanagi, this truly is a lucky day for him.


    "Zen-kun get out of here, that''s so last decades ago. NOIZ is the new mode of social networking in the world these days since its more fun socializing with your friends together while exploring an unknown fantasy world." The guy in lab coat said with mirth of laughter.


    "Well so-ree, for being a caveman," Aizen snidely remarked as he gave the laughing dick his best evil glare but it seems Zenix was immune to it. "Some people are just too busy to bother with some silly game you know."


    "Oh NOIZ is not only about games and all Mr. Aizen" Zenix quipped as his gigles died down. "It was also being used for treatment especially those that are physically disabled or those of whom suffered from a stroke. Several business companies have also set up a virtual offices by means of convenience so instead of commuting for work one can just dive into NOIZ to do their jobs instead."


    "Hah, no wonder the rate of shut-ins and vegetable humans increased dramatically within the couple of years."


    "Well i won''t deny that the advent of NOIZ may have caused many to feel lazy to go out anymore but that''s their own prerogatives. After all, you can''t blame a car for making a person prefer riding than walking."


    "But i can sue the car maker." Aizen challenged.


    Zenix only narrowed his eyes and creepily smiled in return.


    "You mean to say that you''re gonna file a lawsuit that is something like this?" The older guy coughed as he raised his left index finger upwards as if chanting a spell.


    "I Mr. Ryumanagi is filing a complaint against Toyota and it''s group of companies for making the complainant lazy and thus unable to perform a minimum of 1 kilometer walk by himself. The prime suspect in the crime is my two year old red car vios in which are currently being detained on my garage as we speak. I hope in good faith that the honorable court would act on my case and vanquish the evil that is making me lethargic and obese¡ªor something like that." Zenix humorously joked with a face like a cat that''s eaten the canary.


    Yup i hate and can''t trust this guy


    The black haired teen thought with a scowl. He hated losing in an argument but he can''t think of any witty retort against that one and even if he doesn''t like to admit it but, yeah it''s really kind of funny when it''s phrased like that. Aizen thought while trying not to smirk.


    "Well cars and lawsuits aside, why we brought you and why are there several virtu-pods around here was of course related to NOIZ." Zenix started finally getting to the point after the aura around somehow lightened. Pushing the glasses on the bridge of his nose upwards, he gestured Aizen to walk with him as they started an impromptu tour of the place.


    "As you may have known, NOIZ Online was already active and open for public for two years now. With our ever growing fan base of users increasing by the hour so does the staff''s problems arise as well."


    Aizen nodded silently. With every action there would always be a consequence. it was one of the fundamental laws in life.


    "NOIZ Online has indeed exceed our expectations. However, at the moment it still lacks something for it to be truly called an actual alternative reality." Zenix sighed while standing still for a moment to touch a gaming pod.


    He had a hard look in his face as he turned to the teen beside him.


    "Do you know what that is?" The older man asked with a kind of hard to read expression on his face. "I''ll give you a clue, it''s a four letter word."


    Even after pondering for a moment Aizen''s mind still drew blank so he blurted out the first word that entered his brain.


    "Love?"


    "Pfft, I can''t believe that came from a convict with sixty two counts of murder but no it isn''t." Zenix chuckled with the unexpected answer and shook his head. Afterwards he answered his own inquiry which surprised the younger convict.


    "Evil."


    Aizen blinked. NOIZ needs evil? What in the bull crap does this lunatic of an engineer think he''s saying. Saying that the worlds first ever virtual reality game needs evilness is totally absurd even for him.


    "I''m pretty sure that my answer confused you but I''m being serious here." Zenix reiterated when the black haired teen give him a dubious look. "Currently there are approximately 13.5 million users in which 50% of it are constantly active gamers worldwide."


    "Wow that''s alot of subscriber''s." Money was the first thing that entered Aizen''s mind when he heard of the figures. There are 3 months free subscription period for new users of NOIZ but when it ran out, one have no choice but to pay a certain monthly fee for them to have access to the game. It''s one of the reason why the dirt cheap Aizen didn''t bother buying a NOIZ pod when it became a household name two years ago.


    "Yeah it is, however most users or at least the top hundred users tend to act their real life fantasies like some world hero or a savior of humanity. Well we staff members can''t really blame them since we pre programmed NOIZ as a world that could cater such desires."


    A world where there''s no evil? Aizen hardly believed it. As long as humans are  around, evil will sure lurk in its shadows.


    "So you mean to say that in NOIZ, no one absolutely breaks the law or disregard the moral ethics?" The hand cuffed teen asked skeptically.


    "Of course there are instances where we get reports of player killings or harassment but let''s see, if we put it in percentage, the ratio of good and bad users are four to one. Maybe its because its the first ever VR game but people are being overly cautious with their actions." Zenix said as he shrugged his shoulders. "What''s more, users with bad alignment just PK once or twice then will lay low for a while until their red status disappear''s."


    "So there''s evil after all in NOIZ." Aizen concluded with a nod. he''s not familiar with some of the terms that the engineer used but it does sound relatively bad.


    "Evil is a subjective concept."


    "I don''t think were here to discuss about philosophy Nietzsche."


    "Ahha point taken."


    Zenix coughed.


    "Well err, technically yes there is evil but how do i explain this," The older man knot his brows as he scratched his head. "Certainly there''s some evil around but it''s somewhat half-assed and weak."


    "What do you mean by weak?"


    "Well what I''m looking for is not just some kind of a jackass that hides after he commits a crime or two but some asshole that is strong enough to proclaim to the world that he is evil and he doesn''t give a fuck what they thinks, how about it did i explained it better now?"


    Aizen nodded understandingly. This explanation was way better to understand. "Ahh i see, so you want a Yakuza boss instead of a usual disposable grunt is that it?"


    "Err¡ªi guess?"


    "Though why do you want someone like that in your game? Wouldn''t that cause trouble for you guys instead?" Aizen asked sincerely since he doesn''t get the point of putting some asshole to cause trouble intentionally.


    "Mr. Ryumanagi let me ask you this then, Do you believe we could totally achieve eternal world peace?" Zenix asked with a sagely demeanor. He eyed the teen as if sizing him up which made Aizen narrow his eyes on him.


    "I suppose not," The convict said after some deliberation. The engineer emphasized on the word eternal which means an everlasting peace with no conflict. it was such a beautiful concept but impossible to attain.


    "Yeah i agree as well that it''s impossible but let''s just say by some miracle we humans somehow achieved the state of world peace," Zenix began again with a cryptic questioning. "What do you think will happen then?"


    Aizen pondered for a moment. "I guess, there would be no more wars no famine, sickness, conflict, injustice, inequality, pain and suffering in the world by then."


    Zenix smiled.


    "Yeah, what a really scary world it would be if true peace could be achieved."


    Aizen gave him a questioning gaze. "Scary?"


    The older man nodded. "Mr. Ryumanagi, with everything you said gone how do you think humanity would progress? Wars are hideous affairs but you can''t deny that most technical advances came in times of war and as cruel as it may sound, without any wars, Earth''s resources would already be depleted cause of overpopulation."


    Aizen sneered. What a hypocrite, only people who hasn''t truly lost a loved one can say that war is good.


    "That''s just presumption''s of someone who doesn''t really know the horrors of war."


    "But you can''t deny the statistics." Zenix countered. "I think that our reality in itself is beautiful because of its flaws, not in spite of them. One cannot truly appreciate life in a perfect world and thus, a world of eternal peace is a dead world."


    So what''s he''s saying is one can''t appreciate the importance of something unless they worked hard for it or alternatively...lost it.


    "Each and everyone of us has their own unique set of principles as well as individuality. However, conflict and argument arises because sometimes what we value may seem wrong to others." The older man expounded his notion as he made hand gestures while the younger listener ponder on the things being said.


    "Exchanges of ideas and principles happens as we argue the merits of our values being it good or bad but in the end of the spectrum, whether we like it or not, we assimilate some of the other parties idealism. Isn''t that what progress is all about?"


    "That''s just on the basis that only through conflict that progress can be achieved." Aizen responded playing possum. "We can also progress and exchange ideas through peaceful manner and calm discussions."


    "Indeed we can, but can a person really stay calm and composed when the issue of sacrifice enters the discussion?"


    The teen blinked at the another curve in the topic.


    "What about sacrifice?"


    "To gain something, one must lose something of equal value in exchange." Zenix commented with a serious expression. "Isn''t progress mostly paved with sacrifices of others?"


    Aizen had a sudden thought as a trick of sweat flows down onto his face. He was speechless. This was unbelievable for him.


    "D-Dont tell me...are you..."


    Zenix raised an eyebrow at his unusual reaction.


    "Am i what?"


    Realization had finally hit Aizen and with a trembling hands, he pointed a finger at the older guy.


    "Are you..."


    The NOIZ neural engineer smirked. An evil glint sparkles in his glasses. "So you finally get my po¡ª"


    "Are you...a fan of retro anime''s?"


    Zenix blinked. Aizen blinked. And they both blinked at each other as sweat-drops flowed down their for heads.


    ".......¡­¡­..."


    "....Retro....Anime?"


    "Well yeah," The black haired inmate replied. Aizen''s sister is a die hard fan of retro anime from the 20''s so from time to time he was forced to watch those old shows with her especially in the weekends. He remembered watching some red coated shorty sprout off equivalent exchange crap one Saturday that Sayaka decided to go anime marathon on his apartment.


    "Didn''t you get that whole equivalent exchange crap earlier to some old anime?"


    Zenix shook his head.


    "Uh...No, I didn''t."


    "I-I see."


    "......"


    "Damn! all that tension wasted." Zenix frustratingly whined, sloughing back in a nearby chair. With the serious mood ruined, all he could think about is anime and some dude in a red coat. "Man, now i don''t remember what were talking about anymore."


    Aizen sighed fighting off a headache that is starting to brew in his mind. all this  shit is giving him a mind-grain. "Well, you kinda lost me arfer that equivalent exchange stuff. but how is all this crap related to NOIZ anyway?"


    "Ah yes yes, sorry, what i mean to say is for NOIZ to progress further, we need some necessary evil or more specifically, powerful evil users to balance out the uneven numbers of users with good alignment. After all an ideal world is a reality where in both equal evil and good clash in coexistence."


    "So your putting criminals in NOIZ to balance out the system to make it more like how the real world works."


    "Well thats our objective in a nutshell. Hence, we from Noiz approach the Japanese government to ask them if they would let us put up a facility within this penitentiary for this plan."

 The Initialization : Phase 005

    The Initialization : Phase 005


    Ahh, finally we get to the point. Aizen thought blankly as he listened intently to Zenix''s words.


    "You see, rather than waste the lives away of you inmates being locked up in a cell most of the time, we figured that its more productive if you guys were to dive into NOIZ instead. That way, we can solve the budget crisis of the prison and our issues as well."


    "I see, so basically, it''s a win/win situation for everyone. In exchange for working as villains, we can be partially free within NOIZ while on the other spectrum, you alleviate the food shortages since were gonna be on IV drops most of the time plus since were unconscious as well, you also solved the violence happening within the cells."


    Zenix only smirked at his deductions.


    "Correct. Furthermore, if by some chance you got into the top 100 best players rankings, then we will compensate you for every rank you get into. The same goes to if you get a political position within the game and win kingdom raids or participate in race wars."


    Aizen lopsidedly grinned.


    "Well it''s better than just sitting around and doing nothing i guess. Though, can''t you just program some a.i to become a villain? it seems way more easier to manage than letting some criminals run amok in your game."


    Zenix nodded as if expecting this question already. "Well we do designed some NPC to be mob villains but isn''t it more exciting if the enemy boss is a player as well rather than some data? it''ll be more unpredictable and thrilling."


    "Well i guess you have a point." Aizen answered while nodding. "It''s more fun to beat up real guys than scarecrows or training dummies, fumu"


    Zenix sweat-dropped, unable to comprehend Aizen''s metaphor. He motioned for an empty virtuodrive within the left side corner of the room for the teen to sit on while they wait for the nurse that will put an IV drop on him.


    "Now let me explain the procedures," Zenix started as he gave a piece of written contract paper to the sitting teen. "Sign this so that you are consenting to the procedure and was willing to partake by your own volition and no one has forced you to."


    "Basically, its just some BS contract that wouldn''t let me sue you guys arses if ever some shit hits the fan right?" Aizen colorfully commented while inspecting the paper several times. He was particularly cautious whenever he was signing anything because of his experiences in the past. Though, after finding no faulty clause to his disadvantage, the teen finally put his signature and thumb mark on it.


    "Good now, kindly lie down while miss lovely here will prick you and puts you on drip." The older guy cheerily said as he made way for the nurse to swat over to Aizen.


    "I won''t always be on IV right miss pretty?" Aizen smoothly teased in which makes the nurses check partially flushed. Truth be told Aizen isn''t that much totally handsome. If you put it on a scale of ten, he would most likely be around six to eight depending on the angle of light hitting his face. But perhaps because he got this certain mysterious aura within him that those cheesy lines somehow got an effect on women whenever he says it.


    "Ah no Mr. Ryumanagi, seventy two hours is the maximum time allowed for each inmate to be on drip." The Nurse explained as she prepares the needle and the IV to be put on Aizen. "Afterwards you have a grace period of twenty four hours until you can be injected again and dive."


    "I see, three days huh." The teen flexed his arms a couple of times before sliding it to the nurse. She unfastened the needle from it''s pack then carefully pointed it on Aizen''s upper wrist section.


    "Ready?" She kindly asked with a calm voice.


    Casanova wannabe only partly smirked in respond. "Just don''t make it too painful and bloody, sadly I''m still a virgin for these kinds of things so please take care of me."


    That earned him another blush and giggle from the nurse.


    "Uhh, I hate to ruin your flirting and all but I have to explain something before you dive into NOIZ, Zen-kun." Zenix coughed as he gets their attention. Aizen just clicked his tongue while the embarrassed nurse proceed into putting the IV into his arm.


    "Just as you know, you can practically do anything in NOIZ. That being said, while it may hold true on some aspects there are still things that are banned there. Such things will be explained in the introductory course of the game so don''t skip it." Zenix emphasized on the word skip since he got a premonition that this black haired teen would just do so and proceed without knowing anything.


    "After the introductory course, you would then be able to pick your tribe and customize your avatar, allocate your starter stats then finally your starting town."


    Zenix then folded his arms.


    "Now this is where things derived from the default procedure. These gaming pods here has a special option in picking your starting town."


    Aizen tilted his head while the nurse finished connecting the IV and hanged it  into a poll beside the pod.


    "What special option?"


    Zenix only grinned and commented happily. "These pods has only one option for starting town and that is Genosia the hidden town for red players~ lucky aren''t you, getting special privileges right off the bat."


    "Fuck you, special privileges my arse!" Aizen inwardly cursed. it was more like a penalty since he was starting in a town full of fucking murderers and swindlers everywhere. "Damn are you serious? it''s like putting a newborn cub in a lake full of crocodiles."


    Zenix only smiled further at his outburst. Oh how much he love his job. Every inmate that''s within this floor that is using the virtuodrive had the same  kind of reaction.


    "Furthermore, the penitentiary has imposed a rule to max out the pain coefficient of criminals who partakes into our endeavor. Their reason was you inmates are here in this prison to serve for your crimes not enjoy the life behind bars."


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "D-Does it mean that i will feel the exact pain i would receive in real life when i get hurt in Noiz?"


    Zenix nodded. "That''s the gist of it."


    The teens face turned blue.


    Maxed pain coefficient.


    Doesn''t that mean he would really feel the actual real painful feeling of being burned by a fire spell or being stab by a sword in the stomach? Somehow playing this game now feels more like a torture than enjoyment anymore.


    Aizen''s look just put a smile on the face of the sadistic glassed man. It just never gets old, now to finally drop the final bomb.


    "Oh that''s not all, well technically since your supposed to be well¨Cjailed, Noiz is now your personal cell so you cannot log out by your own volition. You will see a timer instead at the log-out screen. that number indicates how much time left you had until you can finally dive out. Only once it hits zero that you can finally return to real life."


    "........"


    "Don''t worry were not that heartless, at most each inmate can finally dive off after playing three consecutive days which is probably a week in Noiz time."


    "....."


    "Oh yeah! New players that starts at Genosia are banned from leaving the town for the first three months game time. You can only explore the whole world of Noiz after three months."


    "...."


    Aizen''s reaction? Totally priceless.


    If looks could kill, the damn neural engineer might already be rotting six feet under by now.


    "Now don''t look at me like that or i might fall in love with you Zen-kyun tee-hee~" Zenix jokingly bumped his head and pulled his tongue out.


    Then all hell break loose.


    Successive chains of profanities and bloody curses echoed all throughout B5 while Zenix hide in his office while he awaits for his latest test subject to calm down.


    "You l*****y f**k of a s**t retard! are you f***king with me!? A**hole get your damnable ''-?44-?%8exjfjridu!!?"


    Looking upwards to the pristine ceiling of his office, Zenix let out a triumphant sigh.


    "God i so love my job."


    Carefully placing the virtuodrive helmet on his head, the skeptical teen eyed the lab coated guy beside him one last time.


    "This wouldn''t hurt now would it?" Aizen asked as he entered to the gaming pod and lied to the reclining chair inside.


    "You may feel a sudden nausea being it your first dive but you''ll gradually get used to it." The older guy explained, pushing some buttons in the interface of the pod.


    "NOIZ uses a real time direct systematic neural conversion and interception of wavelength and process it in the virtual body host via shared conscious and subconscious data path through the latest 7G LTE wireless link so there might be some little discrepancies in virtual and actual timeline but it really depends on your preferred calibration of the system to transmit binary data into the mainframe of your connectome."


    Aizen just stared at him as if he grew another head.


    "I don''t know what the hell you just said." He stated rather blatantly. "I''m not even sure you''ve spoken in english."


    "Uhh sorry, ''Techglish'' is my mother tongue so yeah." Zenix scratched his head as he think of a way to simplify his explanation.


    "Basically, NOIZ uses both the conscious and subconscious part of your brain together and because of that, we can fully used 70% of brains capacity to process information. However, that creates discrepancies in the real world timeline since the amount of time you spend in NOIZ is speedup. For example, on default calibration, one minute in the real world amounts to forty second in the NOIZ. Under extreme settings you could even multiply a second to a hundred in NOIZ but the system doesn''t allow that."


    "Why''s that, isn''t it more convenient?"


    The older man sighed, adjusting his glasses. "It would shorten your brains lifespan. Constant use of both consciousness together fully would drastically weaken your neural cells and would led to further complications in the long run. You don''t want to be senile or suffer from dementia at the age of thirty now would you? "


    Aizen just shrugged his shoulders in acknowledgement. point taken.


    "At most what the system allows is a speed up to .03 faster than the default settings. but that already would put much strain in ones brain so you may feel more easily tired if you play with that calibration."


    "Oh, how come it''s just 0.03 second difference."


    The lab coated guy snorted at the teens naivete. what a plebeian.


    "Raising your arm would be 0.3 faster. turning your head would be 0.3 swifter. Your every move would be 0.03 times faster. 0.03 may sound nothing but if you added all that in the long run then you will save lots of time. plus your reaction speed would be more keen." Zenix explained to the teen like a teacher teaching a student fundamental math. "The downside is you can only dive up to 48 hours straight."


    Aizen sighed. He haven''t yet started playing and it''s already giving him a vertigo. He''s starting to have second doubts on his decision.


    "Well whatever, i don''t know a jackshit about calibrations and whatnots so i leave that to you."


    Zenix smiled as he started pressing some buttons on the pod that Aizen can''t see.


    "Lastly fill up these and create your account." The older guy said as he reclined to give Aizen a view of the LCD panel.


    "There, done." The teen said after setting up his account.


    "Are you ready to start your adventure oh chosen one?" He asked with a dramatic flair of gestures as the machine whirred in existence. Aizen felt the pod vibrate a little as he felt rather sleepy and his body go numb. As his consciousness fades away the last thing he remembers before plunging into the void is Zenix''s voice saying,


    "Welcome to NOIZ."

 The Initialization : Phase 006

    The Initialization : Phase 006


    Black


    An eternal void encompasses him when he opened his eye after feeling as if he was being spirited away. The darkness stretch out as far as his eyes could see. Wait, is his eyes even opened in the first place? He tried blinking but it still the same and a growing apprehension builds up within him. He found new respect for blinds and the sightless all around the world cause this feeling of hopelessness is pretty damn mortifying.


    Aizen tried walking but he couldn''t feel his legs. Now that''s a shocker. he tried to move his arms but to no avail, the sensation of limbless put a damper in his mood. He began to think that something may have gone wrong and instead of going to NOIZ, he was sent to hell instead.


    He was about to shout but the floor suddenly lit up emitting a yellowish glow and a mechanical feminine voice envelopes the area.


    "Greetings, i am Yvina, a sentient being artificially created by the goddess Ferlistine to guide you seekers into the realm of Estios." Said by the voice as a feminine figure emitting a faint yellowish glow materialized in front of him.


    A pale skinned elf that''s wearing a golden skin tight body suit that has futuristic designs as if it came to the 30th century appeared in front of him. She has a stoic look with white tattoos that looks like circuit board lines embedded all over her body.


    However, the most notable feature the girl have is her seemingly glowing knee length hair. it glows a golden tint and it seems to sway even if he can''t feel wind breezing around.


    That''s virtual world for ya. Aizen whistled, awestruck by her appearance. It''s really hard not to stare especially if your on the opposite sex. All he can say is that goddamn sexy futuristic skin tight leotard the girl is wearing really is tight.


    Aizen briefly wondered if a sexy male elf wearing the same leotard would appear for female players.


    Now that''s a disturbing thought. Aizen shook his head to erase the image off his head.


    "Would you like to hear the lore of Estios?"


    The teen was tempted to skip it but Zenix caution him not to so he gestured for the a.i to continue her introductory shenanigans.


    "In the beginning, there was only one realm," The sentient being started as his surroundings changed from voidness to a vast endless skies with floating islands and mythical creatures flying around.


    "Valkyrium, the realm of the gods. Herein live the gods that govern the lands and lesser beings. For aeons harmony prosper through the realm and neither strife nor chaos existed among the celestials."


    The scenery changes again showing this time, an inside of a castle where dozens of people gather seemingly cosplaying either as romans or people on luxurious kimonos.


    "However, a sudden birth of a twin would threaten the foundations of Valkyrium to its core." The sentient continued albeit in a sober voice while the scene zoomed into a particular two children at the center of the crowd.


    "Helweh the chief god of power together with his wife Akamae the goddess of dawn gave birth to a twin. Ferlistine the goddess of progress and Invictus the god of affliction came into being."


    Aizen got a sudden motion sickness when the scenery seemed to have fast forward and stops on a scene where there was two people riding on top of stallions.


    "Ferlistine grew up to be the most beautiful celestial of all. With grace and elegance, she quickly rose to being one of the most revered celestial throughout Valkyrium."


    It pan first on the female rider with a long silver locks in a golden full plate armor while riding a black horse. Aizen''s can''t help but be mesmerized by her looks. She''s more like the goddess of seduction in the teens eye. There was no contest that the sentient was no match for this celestial nobility before him.


    Oh my goddess.


    That''s all he could say.


    It then zoomed to the other rider, a man whose wearing an onyx cloak who rides a white horse and our hero''s face turned sour. He was still not finished ogling the goddess of progress after all.


    "Where''s the fucking repeat button!" He whined but the narration continued.


    "Invictus more intelligent than any other being in existence like his sister swiftly rose into ranks for his brilliant mind."


    The scenery dramatically shifts again and it turned into night time and pans to a particular bedroom with two people on the bed. it looked as if they''re naked but any of the unmentionables can''t be seen since the couple was under the cover of sheets.


    Aizen made a stoned look when the faces of the two were revealed.


    "Damn, is this for real? I mean¡ªwhat the fuck? seriously!?"


    The A.I seemed to ignore his outburst and continues her tale.


    "The twins have committed a taboo and fell in love with each other. There is a law in Valkyrium that forbids such union and so when Helweh found out, he banished Invictus and punished Ferlistine. But it was already too late and the forbidden union had already bore fruit."


    The sentient changed the scene again. A black skinned baby with tiny horns was shown in the arms of the goddess of progress.


    "Valderion the god of corruption and discord was born."


    The scene then rapidly shifted like a panorama. Swiftly showing the baby''s childhood up until he reach adolescence.


    "Ferlistine, hid his existence into a remote island on the farthest corner of Valkyrium.  However, being a curious and intelligent child that he was, Valderion one day followed his mother to the capital right after she visited him on his island without her knowing."


    The scene shows a black skinned teen wearing a brown hooded cloak in the middle of the plaza crowded with celestials. It seems that the boy has lost his way and wanted to ask someone for directions. However, some guy suddenly bumped into him and upon contact, the guy suddenly started shouting as his skin suddenly turned black. Cracks started to show into the guys body as his body slowly breaks down and then exploded into many pieces.


    Chaos ensues as rain of blood fell into the plaza. Anyone who touches any part of the affected victims suddenly showed the same symptoms like the first guy that bumped into Valderion. In less than an hour, the whole place was filled with countless of dead bodies  and rivers of blood as Valderion hid in a street corner asking for his mom repeatedly.


    A hand was then placed in the shoulders of the boy.


    Helweh stood before the teen with an impassive look as he unsheathed his sword. Without saying anything he brought down his fury fully intended to kill the boy but then a sudden figure stood in front and took the blunt slash head on.


    Valderion stood impressively as he watched his mother be butchered in front of him.


    A loud cry was then heard as the whole Valkyrium realm was enveloped by total darkness. Everyone that was inside the void turned into dust and soon the realm of the gods crumble down towards the ground. Floating islands fell one after another as the world plunged into catastrophe.


    "And thus the age of gods has finally ended." The sentient narrated as islands rained down on the ground while leaving a mushroom clouds on its ground zero akin to a atomic bomb explosion.


    The scene pretty much look like a nuclear apocalypse, Aizen mused as he watched the final moments of Valkyrium.


    "It was unknown whether the boy died or not but out of all the celestials, only Twelve  survived. Surprisingly, Ferlistine was among those survivors. However because they were tainted with corruption, distrust brew on everyone''s heart and each decided to separate ways."


    The scene changes showing Twelve celestials going off on their own. Aizen noticed each celestial survivor drew certain looks akin to those races you can choose in NOIZ.


    "With their powers severely weakened each celestials decided to take a rest but before they do so, have made lesser beings to fix and prepare the land for their reawakening."


    Different types of races sprang forth from the land. Beings with elongated ears, green skinned beings with hideous faces, beings with lower fish bodies, it''s only few of the races Aizen seen on this particular panorama.


    "And the age of men started. Some of noticeable beings are Elvens who live into the woods and forest. Dwarvens by the mountains, Sirens by the oceans, Draconians through volcanoes and finally, humans by the grasslands. However, all races have also inherited their makers corruption making them unable to coexist with another being which led to skirmishes up to the present."


    The scene finally fades out into the blackness just like in the beginning. The sentient then waves her hands as a inferace system suddenly appeared in front of Aizen.


    "Now seeker, which race do you choose to be?"


    The first column of the interface then made a ping sound as if unlocking something. The teen looked into it and the ''Races'' column on the top row slowly blinked. Aizen pressed onto it and another interface tab appeared beside the main panel.


    It seems that you can only choose eight out of the total twelve races at the beginning. The only available options that have descriptions are;


    Humans - Governed by the Goddess of progress Ferlistine.


    ? Tool Proficiency    -


    ? Magic Proficiency -


    ? Rune Proficiency. - ¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? World Population  - 1,362,768.00


    ? Culture Value - 6,780


    ? Notable features.  - Most balanced race of all. Able to progress faster at the start.


    Elvens - Governed by the Goddess of Nature, Elhaymn


    ? Tool Proficiency    - ¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? Magic Proficiency - ¡ï


    ? Rune Proficiency. - ¡ï¡ï


    ? World Population  - 535,981.00


    ? Culture Value - 7,863


    ? Notable features.  - Magic Masters. Able to condone and manipulate nature.


    Dwarvens - Governed by the God of Inventon, Thybore


    ? Tool Proficiency    - ¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? Magic Proficiency -


    ? Rune Proficiency. - ¡ï


    ? World Population  - 731,835.00


    ? Culture Value - 6,351


    ? Notable features.  - Master Craftsmen. The only race that can craft legendary class items.


    Sirens - Governed by the Goddess of Seduction, Erosleine


    ? Tool Proficiency    - ¡ï


    ? Magic Proficiency - ¡ï¡ï


    ? Rune Proficiency. - ¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? World Population  - 325,681.00


    ? Culture Value - 6,861


    ? Notable features.  - Master Enchanters. Able to command and tame underwater creatures..


    Beatials -  Governed by the God of Freedom Pyglerian


    ? Tool Proficiency    - ¡ï¡ï


    ? Magic Proficiency - ?


    ? Rune Proficiency. - ¡ï¡ï


    ? World Population  - 915,621.00


    ? Culture Value - 5,876


    ? Notable features.  - In exchange of slow proficiency growth, the race get boosted health, additional stats and quick experience growth.


    Draconians - Governed by the Goddess of Passion Xenavie


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.? Tool Proficiency   - ¡ï¡ï


    ? Magic Proficiency -  ¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? Rune Proficiency. -  ¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? World Population  - 145,641.00


    ? Culture Value - 5,876


    ? Notable features.  - A race that can shift into Dragon form. Increased boost in Stat growth.


    Vampiral- Governed by the Goddess of Fertility, Melzaur


    ? Tool Proficiency    - ¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? Magic Proficiency - ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? Rune Proficiency. - ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? World Population  - 35,981.00


    ? Culture Value - 3,531


    ? Notable features.  - Masters of the night. Able to tame nocturnal beings.


    Wraithens - Governed by the God of Atrophy, Deucalion


    ? Tool Proficiency    - ¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? Magic Proficiency - ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? Rune Proficiency. - ¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï


    ? World Population  - 315,071.00


    ? Culture Value - 5,341


    ? Notable features.  - illusion Masters. Able to summon an undead beings.


    Aizen noticed that the population constantly increases and decreases as if it was updating in real time while the proficiency also do the same albeit in a much lesser rate. It seems it''s not a fixed numbers and heavily depends on the actions of the players.


    "Hey what does proficiency mean?" Aizen asked as he tried to compare each races.


    "Proficiency is the rate and limit in which how can one learn and master a skill." The sentient guide responded mechanically. "For example, a race with high magic proficiency can learn and master magic skills faster than a race with lower magic proficiency. Furthermore, a race that had maxed a proficiency which is five star can finally learn the forbidden skills."


    "Can proficiency be increased?"


    "It can if you aid or contributed something for your race. for instance, finding a relic can increase the races proficiency greatly depending on what type the relic is."


    "I see," Aizen nodded as he inspect the panel.


    "Have you already decided on what race do you want to start with?"


    "Uhh not yet but let''s just say, i picked one now. can i still change it later in game?"


    "Mostly through special quest may one had a chance to change his or her race later in the game. You can also change your default religion and petition for an asylum if you wanted to serve under a celestial that''s not the governing god of your race. If you gain enough ''Faith'' then you may ask for a blessing and change your race to the Celestial god your serving."


    The black haired teen thought for a moment and pressed the ''Human'' label. His astral form then started to have a physical body with light brown skin and black hair. A mirror like panel then materialized in front of him showing his actual look in real life.


    "Ohho, did he also calibrated the pod to create a digital copy of myself?" Aizen asked no one in particular as a blinking question asking  ''Do you want to remodel yourself?'' appeared but the sentient suddenly responded to his earlier question making him jerked up and accidentally pressed the ''No'' button.


    "Your corporeal body is scanned and calibrated as you entered the Virtuodrive pod."


    "Shit! Go back go back i still haven''t modified anything!" Aizen said in a slight panic as he searched for the ''back'' button.


    "Going back to the modification panel requires the seeker to pay an additional fee of one million yen, do you wish to proceed?" The guide responded on a monotonous voice but Aizen could have sworn there was a slight joy in that tone.


    "This is a total fucking rip off! why do i have to pay one mil just to go back eh?" The dirt cheap inmate grumbled as the Artificial Intelligence just tilted her head in question. Like hell would he waste his precious money for such silly matters.


    "I don''t understand. Please rephrase your question seeker." The guide replied as if mocking him further by acting all innocently.


    "I said you''re a fucking money opportunist."


    "Please refrain from using foul languages seeker."


    Yup, definitely mocking him.


    Aizen sighed.


    "Nevermind, It''s not like I''m discontented of my real looks anyway."


    "Do you wish to cancel your request then to go ba¡ª"


    "Yeah yeah i do. Just proceed to whatever shit procedure is left so that i can finally start this damn game."


    "Very well then please answer this few inquires of mine."


    "What kind of inquiries?"


    "It''s to determine what kind of a person the seeker is." The A.I plainly stated as she hovered slightly into the air.


    "Does that have any relevance when playing the game?" Aizen asked as he folded his arms together.


    The golden being nodded. "It does since the system optimizes what kinds of quest will be available for the seeker to partake on. For example, a user with ''Good'' Alignment can never accept certain quest that requires ''Evil Alignment'' and vise versa."


    "Can you name all the alignments?"


    "Certainly. Noble Good, Lawful Good, Chaotic Good, Neutral, True Neutral, Noble Evil, Lawful Evil and Chaotic Evil is the list of all the available attribute titles recognized by the system."


    It reminds of a certain retro game which uses the same schematics, Aizen mused.


    "Seeker, can i proceed with my inquiry?"


    "Yeah sure."


    "Very well then, for my first question, You were suddenly spirited away to a fantasy world, with no money and no clothes and anything else but your self. how would you proceed? please pick two answers the first one being your main while the second is you sub pick on the digital panel that would materialize momentarily."


    A floating window with six set of options in alphabetical order appeared as if on cue.


    Aizen instantly picked ''D'' as his first answer. To hell with modesty. Money makes any world go round he surmised. Although ''F'' and ''E'' was rather tempting but there''s just too many risk factors in that route so he choose ''B'' as his second pick. Having connections with different people would do you wonders in the long run.


    "Now that you''re all geared up, how will you proceed?"


    Aizen took a minute to answer. He agreed that making oneself powerful fast is the right route but so is seeking information. He also think option ''D'' was a good choice but in the end, he opted for ''E'' as his first choice and ''C'' as his second.


    You can''t start peddling and hunting mobs without proper knowledge of the world you were whisked away after all.


    "You heard that the village chief is a corrupt leader and is oppressing the villages citizen. what would you do?"


    Another tricky question but option ''F'' seems the answer with most you can gain so he opted for it.


    Nothing beats having your own militia at your beck and call after all.


    For his second choice, he pressed on ''E'' since it''s his nature to properly prepare and plan his every move.


    "The village leader was finally booted from his position. However, the town is in chaos due to the rebellion and the remnants force of the previous chief. Looting, fire and other crimes are encompassing the town. How will you proceed?"


    He choose ''F'' and ''B'' since it seems to be the most logical answers if you want the triple M''s of life which are might, money and maidens. Being in a government position may seem problematic but with proper handling of funds and management, a town can prosper. and when the town prosper, so are its leaders pockets Aizen thought with a wicked evil grin which makes the sentient being back away from him.


    "That''s the last of my inquiries." The sentient stated, staring directly onto him with her narrowed eyes which kinda unnerved the teen abit. "Now i have an idea on what kind of a person you are seeker."


    Aizen highly doubt that a few questionnaires could define his personality but he played along nonetheless. Truth be told, he was kinda curious of the result of the personality test.


    "So? what is my attribute then, not that it matters to me whatever i get." He asked with feign reluctance.


    The artificial guide coughed as she raised her left index finger and pointed upwards.


    "You are a ''Lawful Evil'' You have no inhibitions with doing wrong deeds as long as it aligned to your agenda. However, the seeker is not heartless enough to enjoy inflicting pain and chaos to people. You value wealth above anything else but is willing to spend money for a good cause. You are more of a tactician than a pure fighter and prefers to analyze the situation than head straight on without a sound plan. You might be evil but you follow a set of notable principles and seems to take your promises seriously in which differs you from a chaotic person who simply do whatever he or she wants."


    He had to admit, the answer was almost spot on considering it only has twenty six options. Aizen briefly wondered if he was really that easy to read but dropped that line of thought as the Sentient started talking again.


    "Please proceed into allocating your starter stats dear seeker."


    A blinking question appeared asking him if he wanted to change his stats. This time the teen made sure to be silent as he slowly pushed the ''Yes'' button.


    A panel showing five columns then materialized before him.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>? Primary Status ?


    ? Secondary Status ?


    ? Occupation Status ?


    ? Reputation Status ?


    ? Financial Status ?</td></tr></tbody></table>


    He clicked on the ''Primary Status''


    "Please name your Avatar." The guide stated as the Name section blinked and a keyboard appeared in front of him.


    Aizen shifted into a thinking pose as he thought of a good name to use. However, nothing good came into his mind even after a minute of pondering so in the end he just opted for an abridged of his real name and typed in ''Zen'' and hit the enter key. NOIZ uses an systematic ID coding system which is encrypted into ones account so players can still use an already existing username.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have ''15'' free stat points to allocate </td></tr></tbody></table>


    He put the first five points to strength then put the remaining ten into agility.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Strength has risen ''5'' points!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Agility has risen ''10'' points!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Aizen may not be a hardcore gamer but he knew that allocating a point on every stats is a novice mistake and it''s better to opt for a specialized build up depending on what type of character you want to make.


    The teen smirked.


    He really should thank his sister and her gaming knowledge. Who knew that he would use her advice''s that he deemed as useless before.


    He wanted to check the other panels but the guide started to talk again.


    "Please choose your starting town."


    Aizen wanted to make a witty retort but he remembered that he was just talking to a cybernetic entity so the teen just grumbled and pressed the drop down list.


    Only one name came to view though.


    Reluctantly, he chosen Genosia the lawless city as a starter town.


    "Now seeker, close your eyes as i transport you to the realm of Estios." The glowing guide stated as she raised her hands and started chanting some spell of foreign tongue.


    As Aizen reluctantly closed his eyes the parting words the sentient said to him was,


    "Godspeed, may the blessing of the gods aid you in your journey."


    A magic circle appeared in his feet as he was blinded by a sudden burst of light.


    He felt his body being whisked away through his closed eyes. Soon after the motion sickness like feeling drifted away from him, Zen cautiously opened his eyes for the very first time.


    The vast azure sky sprawled endlessly above him.


    Different kinds of avian beings flies freely as if dancing with the wind.


    Sounds of crowds penetrate his ears.


    And the most surprising of all, a tip of a sword is slowly inching towards his head.


    "Ahh~ the sky here is so beauti¡ªwait what the¨C"


    Splat!


    A sudden sensation of lightheartedness attack him as he felt his avatar fell to the ground.


    A several notification bubbles making a ping sound appeared in front of him.

 The Initialization : Phase 007

    The Initialization : Phase 007


    -What the flying fuck happened?


    ''Dreams and Adventure my ass! I just died aren''t i?'' Zen agonizingly thought as he lies motionless on the road. His blood slowly seeping through  the cracks of the pave-road where his head was.


    How realistic, Zen thought morbidly as we waits for his re-spawn counter to hit zero. It happened so fast that his body only started to feel the pain just this moment.


    God it hurts.


    He never felt this much pain even in real life before. It felt as if his head was split into two...wait, his head was actually splitted into two. That explains now his split vision. The pain is excruciating. Even with his pain tolerance buffed up by years of pain tolerance training, Zen could still feel the horrendous sensation in his head.


    This max pain coefficient is no joke.


    At first he thought that the penitentiary officials had lost their heads (no pun intended) by letting criminals enjoy their life behind bars by playing Noiz but now he had to retract that assumption.


    Those fuckers are extreme sadist.


    The teen rather stay locked up in a cell than feel this immense pain.


    In a way, they have successfully turned the most enjoyable game in human history into the best torture device ever created by mankind.


    "Oh? I could have sworn Vorge said that it was a chick but this ones a dick..."


    A hooded figure stood suddenly before him which blocked the sun rays that is hitting his virtual face. He cannot see his face but the jackass was grinning from ear to ear as he brandish the sword in his hands.


    "Are you an idiot? Closing your eyes like some shithead in Genosia''s warp zone of all places, dude you''re just begging to be PK''ed, it''s so hilarious." His killer muttered with a sinister glee tone as he squat down mockingly by Zen''s side. He made some hand gestures then an orb like thing akin to those of stereotypical fortune tellers materialized on his left hand.


    Six seconds more before he respawn.


    Zen just then noticed the red name floating just barely above the fuckers head.


    <<DBe@stZaxa666>>


    After muttering something Zen couldn''t hear, the hooded PK by the name of Zaxa then chuckled as the orb on his hands vanished.


    "No way! A noob? How unlucky can you get. and you appear right in the middle of ''the hunt'' no less. Man you''re so fucked."


    The bandit-like figure muttered to himself as he stand up again and looked towards a crowd of similarly bandit looking users.


    The hunt? Zen thought as the respawn counter falls down to four.


    "Ginzo get your ass here and revive this fucker before he respawn to some other warp zone! Una cast stun after he rev. I''ll contact Vorge." Zaxa ordered as two people from the group came towards the zone. From the looks of the duo, the male is a priest and the girl''s an enchanter. the man was holding a wooden staff while the witch like female has a wand that has a skeleton tip.


    "So this isn''t the newb we were hunting?" The male idly commented as his staff began to glow.


    "Idiot! Didn''t you forget that Vorge clearly said that it was a female? Long silver hair, pale blue skinned and most important of all, an Elven. Which part of this idiot is any of those huh?"


    A faint whitish glow enveloped Zen but before he could even move, a quick zap shocked his body shut.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have been revived! 5% Life Points Recovered.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have been stunned! Unable to move for (119) seconds.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Zen cursed under his breath. He absolutely hated the feeling of helplessness. It reminded him of his younger years where he was at the mercy of the Yakuza. The guy named Zaxa seemed to be talking to someone but he couldn''t hear what the other guy was saying. It must be that [ Telephaty Call ] thingie he was hearing about.


    "Yo Vorge you won''t believe it but we got a new noob here fresh out of the ''tincan''.....No Una stunned him.....Yeah totally lucky for us...So, shall we add this new idiot into the ''Rabbit'' list?.....Dude you''re so cruel....well that''s why you''re the top dog around here....okay got it."


    Tincan? Rabbit list?


    Zen couldn''t piece out together what was being said but it was obvious that he is in a whole deep of shit from the looks of things. So deep he was totally paralyzed... literally.


    He would totally panic and fell into disarray if this happened five years ago. But his current self was way more mature and composed compared to his self from a half a decade ago. One thing he learned from being a mobster is to stay cool and carefully analyze the situation no matter how grim it seems. There''s always a loophole and a solution for any problem if you look hard enough.


    Rationalizing his predicament, he thought of checking his items and skills first. ''Know thy self before thy enemy.'' His samurai colleague often muttered and Zen totally agree. He neglected checking them earlier because of the sudden ambush but luckily it seems that you can still open them even just by using one''s mind.


    How convenient.


    Without showing any movements at all, Zen mentally thought of pressing the ''Items'' column. He heard a chime sound as a panel manifested in front of him.


    On the items column, he mentally choose ''Equipments'' on the many header tabs.


    Finding nothing more to do since all his equipment is pre-equipped already, he then choose ''Consumables'' next.


    Checking the description of both items, it says that LP Potion (S) can only heal 50 Life Points while MP Potion (S) re-stores a minuscule amount of 10 Magna. It may be not much but it''s reassuring that he had a restoration item in case of an emergency. Lastly he check on the ''ingredients'' tab but it only had one item which is an ''Apple x10'' and it restores 25 Hunger points.


    With the paralysis almost wearing off Zen was attacked again by a stun spell from the enchanter but he toughed it all out and stealthy check his ''Skills'' section.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Combat Skills | Production Skills</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Two columns appeared and he quickly chose the first option. A drop down list then scrolled down showing all of his combat abilities.


    ''Only one action skill huh?'' Zen thought as he covertly placed his right hand to the dagger on that is placed on his right leg pocket. He better find a solution to his predicament fast cause that laughing sound that came from those bandits only means one thing.


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    Odds are, he would be thrown out of the frying pan and be burned directly into the fire.


    He hastily checked his ''Magic Skills'' with a growing agitation.


    However, it only has one skill.


    Zen felt like face-palming himself.


    He should had opened this panel first. If his memory serves right, they stunned him so that he could not activate this skill and warp to some other warp zone.


    Zen tried activating the skill through his mind but a notification popped out instead.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are ''stunned'' please activate the skill when the parameter wares off.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Well no surprise there, he already expected it but at least now he could finally see a rope to escape his dilemma.


    Now he could start formulating an escape plan.


    "Okay listen up noob," Seemed like they were already finished with their discussion, Zen thought grimly as he closed his magic panel. Zaxa squat down again to his eye level as he started to finally explained why he was attacked right at the start.


    "We have an unwritten rule here in Genosia that every fucking noob has to follow." The red player explained with a sneer. "You guys have to play a game called ''Rabbit Hunt'' or more precisely, you newbs play the rabbit while everyone plays the hunter. Sounds easy to understand no?"


    So you mean to say he got butchered for some sick game of cat and mouse? He was starting to like this world more and more, Zen thought sarcastically.


    "What do you mean by everyone?" The stunned teen managed to ask calmly as he look Zaxa in the eye.


    "Exactly as it sounds. Everyone as in every fucking single one of users within Genosia are hunters! How cool is that eh?"


    "Yeah ''veeery'' cool indeed" Zen responded in a dull voice coated with sarcasm.  He looked straight into the guy and with his most mocking face he could muster he added,


    "So cool that it look almost all players within the town to took down a newbie. How cool is that eh? I didn''t know you guys were so scared of me that you resort to petty ambushes and ganging up like some useless dogs just to take me out." Zen then let out a narcissistic chuckle as he adjust his face upwards.


    "Don''t test me newbie." Zaxa muttered with a serious demeanor. Be can''t believe he was hearing this shit from a newbie of all people. Who does he think he is, some kind of a superhero that could turn things around? More like supershit who can do nothing but piss him off.


    Zen smirked. If someone were to ask him what his greatest skill was, His definite answer would be the ability to piss anyone off...and probably the skill to conjure a chain of profanities and curses.


    Tough luck for this Zaxa fellow, he would experience both and be cursed,


    Zen style.


    "Don''t fucking test me you shitfuck of a useless retard. All of you asswipes can''t  do a jack shit but to piss your anal selves off and gang up like some dickless motherfuckers when someone damn stronger like my goddamn self appears before you spineless cowards."


    He then finished his cuss combo with a degrading look as if he''s looking at a garbage fully aimed at the speechless bastard in front of him.


    "Zaxa was it? Pfft, even your naming sense suck. Seriously what''s with the ''DBe@st'' bet you didn''t even finish elementary school since you can''t even write properly. Man just log out and go back to your creepy room filled with emo shits, your fucking hideous face disgust me."


    It took half a minute before Zen got a reaction from the guy. However, instead of an outburst, the bastard just calmly gave a glare full of hatred as he said something to the female enchanter beside him.


    "Una, after the stun wears off, don''t zap this fucker got it?"


    The girl just tilted her head. "Uhh why, don''t tell me you''re gonna let this shit


    escape after what he said to you. I''m even surprised your all calm after all of that stuff that came out of this guys mouth."


    "Calm? do i look fucking calm to you!?" Zaxa shouted as he grabbed her collar and shoved the girl off. "I WANNA KILL THIS GUY A THOUSAND TIMES MYSELF!!"


    The bastard lunges his sword upwards as he madly aimed it at the black haired teen who is kneeling in front of him.


    Only two seconds left till the paralysis wears off. Zen tried to move his fingers. Seems like he could barely move it with the stun parameter almost off. He grab hold of the dagger on his leg as Zaxa swings down his sword towards him with a deathly accuracy.


    One second till impact. almost the same time with the stun counter reaching zero. What irony, Zen readies himself to dodge the moment the bandits sword hit the target which is himself.


    Zing!


    A sword cried as it hit the pavement with a shake. it''s intended target nimbly dodged to the left with a blinding speed. Zaxa quickly locked his gaze into his target but out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Una the enchanter starting to chant some spell.


    "Fuck Una like i said no stun this time!" He shouted while keeping his eyes aimed at the newbie who is trying to move on his blind-spot. "I want this shit noob know the difference in our powers."


    Zaxa currently is at level 39 with his occupation as a bandit being at level 20. he may not be a ''ranker'' player but he can still defeat a newly arrived level 1 Drifter with just one strike. He grinned as if already tasting his victory.


    A noob fresh out of the ''tincan'' dared to fight someone like him? What an idiot.


    However, that idiot seemed to be plotting something as he kneels down to grab some rock on the ground then swiftly threw it towards his head.


    Fast!


    Is that really a lvl one throw? Zaxa thought as he tilted his head to avoid the projectile. Heh, while it may be faster than he anticipated, it still looked quite slow since bandits have a skill called [ Hypersense ] and he activated it just now. His reaction speed doubles for ten second with this skill.


    Now the shit just dug his own grave.


    Speaking of which...


    Where is the shit?


    Zaxa was so focused at dodging the stone that he lost sight of the noob. He felt a movement behind him but as he turned around, another projectile bombarded his head.


    The hell?


    The noob threw a fucking pile of land dust onto him!


    He tried to block it with his hands but some still passed particularly the small rocks and rendered him partially blind especially his right eye.


    "What the¡ª"


    He then heard of a partcular screeching noise. The same sound you will mostly hear when someone was about to use a combat skill. Zaxa desperately tried to locate the origin of the sound even with his impaired vision. But when he does, it was already too late.


    A dagger with a greenish glow came in contact with his right eye, Making his LP dropped 03 points while rendering him totally blind.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You received a critical hit! With your eye precisely hit by attack''blind'' debuff was gained for (03) seconds.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    "SHIIIT!!!" He cursed loudly as he heard the fucking newbie suddenly shouted a spell.


    "Warp of Origin!"


    The fucker was already gone when his vision returned.

 The Initialization : Phase 008

    The Initialization : Phase 008


    Zen didn''t repeat his earlier blunder of closing his eyes even though it was hard for the eye. He dropped into a fighting stance instantly the moment he warped into a new save zone in Genosia.


    Zaxa said earlier that almost everyone here at the town is a ''hunter'' so he really couldn''t drop his defenses even for a second. Surveying his surroundings as he  casually walks away from the warp zone, the teen noticed that mostly every player with a red status simultaneously lifted a hand like they got a message and made some gestures as if they''re reading something intangible.


    How suspicious


    Zen thought as he narrowed his eyes. It seems that after those players finished checking that ''something'' they then started looking around as if they''re looking for someone.


    Zen silently walked towards an abandoned alley nearby but it prove to be a grave mistake as out of nowhere a guy wearing a black bandanna suddenly struck him from behind.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have died!  You have (ten) seconds remaining before you respawn.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Death count increased by ''1'' points!</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Random point deduction will automatically be applied to users base stats and exp.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ''Damn! Seriously, i didn''t noticed that guys presence!'' Zen cursed as he died for the second time. Immense pain started to consume his lower body portion as he looked into his murderers eye.


    "Black hair, average build, novice gear and a bad guy''s look. Yup you''re definitely Zen the noob right? tough luck newbie but this alley is my turf." The bandanna guy coolly said unsparingly. He was wearing an all black gear akin to those of an assassins and every equipment seems to be exorbitant. His nihilistic behavior spoke volume that this guys level seems to be quite high, possibly more higher than ''DBi@tchZaxalol''


    However, unlike Zaxa and his posse, it looks like this guy is a ''soloist'' player. Zen can''t see any other users within the alley and the guy just watched him bleed out on the floor as the respawn counter hit zero.


    "Now, don''t come this alley again ya hear? I may not like this hunting game of Vorge but rules are rules ya''know?" Was the guy''s parting words as Zen vanished and was warped into a new zone.


    He thought of never going near that alley again since the bandanna guy reeks of a scent familiar to him.


    The scent of a hardened murderer.


    Zen respawned to a new zone yet again. From the look of things he was at the west side of the town. Genosia''s clock tower was looking at the west was his only basis.


    "Look guys! Isn''t that guy who just came from the warp zone the new rabbit?" Some random player shouted as he pointed his finger on him.


    "Dude you''re right! He looks just like the guy on the picture on the latest Rabbit list." Another bystander replied as he uncapped the sword on his waist.


    Zen started sprinting right away as everyone within the perimeter hastily chase him off.


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    "Daaaamn! It''s hard to be so popular!" He shouted humorously despite his grim predicament. The teen then abruptly stopped and turned 360 degrees to face the users that is pursuing him. He instantly blocked the first incoming strike with his dagger and his mind came with a sudden idea.


    ''Well, there''s no harm in trying." Zen thought as he grabhold of the wrist of the attacker, twisted it invertedly and controls the momentum as he kneels down to perform ''shih¨­nage'' or "four-direction throw" a basic grappling Aikido move.


    The attacker swiftly tumbled down to the ground with all his momentum fully reversed. His face was turned to pained disbelief as though he had took some damage.


    Zen widened his eyes at the outcome.


    Although it was far cry compared to the real thing, it seems the concept of incorporating real life martial art skills to NOIZ seems plausible enough and with enough practice maybe he could even achieve mastery of it in the virtual world.


    Since one can respawn even after being incapacitated in the virtual world, He now has free reign to use the really dangerous and deadly techniques that one cannot easily practice in real life.


    A sadistic grin was etched his mouth.


    Zen love practicing martial arts. Or more like¡ªHe love beating up people with martial arts. There''s just some explicit feeling he get whenever he landed some critical blow or break someone else''s jaw with just his bare hand''s.


    You could even say that it was therapeutic.


    And he got a whole town''s worth of idiots that he could practice on.


    Viva NOIZ!


    Viva virtual immortality!


    Zen sadistically rejoiced as another attack lunged towards him. He relaxed his body into ''ukemi'' form, a stance in Aikido that specializes in receiving an attack. He barely parried the vertical slash with his dagger and with some difficulties, uses both of his arms to grab the cloth in the arm and chest portion of his attacker and like his first victim, the attacker was pounded into the ground.


    However, before Zen could even prepare for the next attack, ice suddenly had frozen his feet and a notification appeared much to his dismay.


    You have been afflicted with ''frost'' parameter for (10) seconds.


    It seems a mage from the back had casted it then followed up with a stronger spell since a magic circle appeared beneath his frozen foot. A spell name signaling his doom was then heard as people draw back from the rooted teen.


    [ Icicle Shard ]


    "Motherfuc¡ª"


    Was Zen''s last curse as sharp icicles pierced him from below shaving off all his LP right away and the ever familiar notification appeared yet again


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''>You have died!  You have (ten) seconds remaining before you respawn.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Death count increased by ''1'' points!</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Random point deduction will automatically be applied to users base stats and exp.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    </td></tr></tbody></table>


    The mobs sneer and laughter was the last thing Zen heard as he yet again fell to the ground then bleed out in pain and finally respawn.

 The Initialization : Phase 008

    The Initialization : Phase 008


    Although Zen tried hard to run or take a stand, this pattern of re-spawning, being found out, bleeding painfully and dying continued for another six cycles. The only difference are the hunters and the method of death. Being already killed by a total of nine times put a damper in his disposition.


    Another disheartening revelation is that even if Zen can perform punches and kick towards his enemy, The total maximum damage he can inflict only amounts to 1 damage point.


    According to one of the hunters, unless he still haven''t unlocked the ''Martial Arts'' skill the damage won''t increase no matter how many or hard he attacks bare handed.


    Zen''s mood turned from sour to even more sour and finally to sourly pissed. He may have a chance on 1 vs 1 encounter but he was severely outnumbered most of the time since most of them lies in wait to warp zones where he usually spawn.


    The teen also noticed that his condition ever grew harder every time he died. His movement became more sluggish, his reaction more delayed and he it became more of a task to parry attacks as he die and respawn.


    Those notifications of stat deductions he kept receiving as he died must have been the culprit.


    Checking his status window, Zen''s sourly pissed mood even turned more rotten if that''s even remotely possible.


    "No fucking way!" Zen shouted as he dodged another projectile. No wonder his body felt like its made of lead. With his stats practically diminished, running alone became a hard task in itself.


    Another hunter suddenly appeared in front of him at the corner of the street. He looks to be a swordsman from his get up. The enemy call forth his sword as Zen drew close to the guy. He can hear two of his pursuers in the back laughing as they cornered him.


    ''Shit! I can''t afford to die anymore.'' Thought of the cornered newbie as he stopped on his tracks and get into a defensive stance. He was slowly getting accustomed into fighting by using his real life martial skills into this virtual den of murderers.


    It was really a blessing that his fighting style focuses more on defense and requires less movements so he can still somewhat use it even with his stats taking a nosedive.


    Aikido and jujuutsu specializes on grappling, deflecting, throwing and reversing attacks. With those moves on his arsenal, he could still function as a fighter even with his sluggish body.


    While breathing heavily, Zen analyzed his surroundings as he anticipates their attacks.


    One thing he also learned is that one could almost use every decorative objects around granted that its in a class where your throwing skill allows you to pick it up.


    Thanks to that, his throwing proficiency quickly rose to beginner level five since Zen practically use every object in his surroundings as a tool. He could now use Class 2 items as a projectile.


    Zen called forth his status window and pressed on the skill section.


    Using his newly gained assist skill, Zen picked a stone and activated [ Aim ]


    the rock emitted a faint greenish glow. He then quickly threw it with a blinding speed towards the enemy situated on the right side of his vision.


    Thump!


    The enemy barely parried it with his sword but Zen threw another one and rapidly dashed towards him. The black haired teen sidestepped as he dodged a linear strike then thrust his fist as if he was punching.


    Zen''s punch was easily dodged but he suddenly opened his fist and put a firm hold lock on the hunters left shoulder and with all his force, pulled the surprised swordsman towards him and delivered a devastating knee on the solar plexus of the enemy.


    A notification suddenly emerged on his peripheral vision.


    Ching!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You are fatigued! Movement reduced exponentially until you recover half your SP</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Zen''s orbs had risen in annoyance as he pulled back and shouted,


    [ Warp of Origin ]


    Zen was instantly brought back to the warp point he last respawned and surprisingly there was no hunters or red players lying in wait for him at that time so he quickly but casually walked away and blended into the crowd mostly consisting of NPC''s.


    Upon inspecting his surroundings, Zen noticed an inn at a distance. He slowly stopped at one of the windows of the lodging house to see if there''s any hunter within the perimeters but luckily there was only few people that looks to be NPC''s and nothing more.


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    He entered the building without much noise and quickly walked towards the person who looks to be the owner of the inn.


    "Greetings traveler, what can i do for you young lad?" The middle aged ''Neuzer'' asked Zen with a polite tone.


    Neuzer.


    It''s a term Zen often heard around especially used by players. Apparently its a gaming lexicon that NOIZ players used in reference to NPC that live as a citizen within towns or cities.


    "I would like to rent a room, the cheapest if it''s available."


    "Our cheapest accommodation cost around 50 Human cent for one day. We also accept Elven and Dwarven currency but with additional 10% tax."


    Zen scratched his head. With the hunt occupying him the whole time, the teen had neglected to check his financial status. Looking around to see if he''s still safe, he opened his financial window.


    Unlike in most games where there''s a global money schematics, seems like the currency system in Noiz are akin to real world''s fiscal climate where every race has their own set of money and trade policies they use. What''s more, tax are automatically deducted which made Zen cringed. Crocodile bureaucrats in the real world would sure love this world totally.


    How complicated.


    "Uhh, apparently i only have five Helts." Zen said in confusion.


    The inn owner just laughed in response.


    "Lad, are you new to this town?"


    The teen nodded.


    "Let me explain then," The elderly Neuzer stated. "We humans use Helt as the main mode of trade in our country. 1 Hundred cents equals to 1 Helt got it?"


    "I see," Zen nodded. "So with five helts, i can rent the cheapest room in your inn for at least ten days."


    "You catch on quick." The elder NPC smiled broadly. "So how''s it gonna be?"


    The frugal teen just sighed. "Only a day please. I have to keep my finances on a tight leash until i can find a way to earn money."


    "Oh if that''s the case, then how about you try to work here at my inn then? If you''re interested, I could really use a helping hand since one of my workers just resigned a week ago."


    Zen''s facial expression brightened up instantly with the offer from the owner. Finally lady luck was going on his side.


    "Are you sure old man? I''m telling you in advance so there won''t gonna be problems later on but I''m kinda like a wanted man so i can''t really work in public at the moment."


    "Hah, boy you''re on Genosia, everyone here is a wanted man or at least had a criminal background or two. It''s not my first time hiring someone with a shady background. If you want you can put on a disguise while working. Just ask my daughter if you want help with that. "


    chime!


    Zen pressed on the yes button.


    "Well then, I don''t think I''ve introduced myself just yet," The elderly man stated with a jovial face. "I''m Grendel the owner of this Inn and the girl over there at the bars counter is my daughter Fiona."


    Grendel gestured towards a petite girl not more than 5'' ft in height with a blond locks. She''s currently preoccupied brewing some cocktails and serving some NPC guest but the girl beamed and waved her hands as a response.


    "Glad we finally had a new worker, welcome aboard newcomer!" She greeted in between her task.


    Zen just simply waved back. "Uh yeah, i hope you take care of me."


    "Lively girl ain''t she?" Grendel commented proudly as he motioned Zen to the second floor of the Inn.


    "You''re free to rest up until later this evening since that''s when things really get busy around here." The elderly man stated while walking upstairs. "Since you''re now a worker at the inn, you can use the employees quarters free of charge.It''s on the 3rd floor, the first one on the left after the stairs. You won''t miss it unless your blind or visually impaired."


    "Got it. First one to the left right old man?"


    "Yep, I''m still gonna do somethin'' on this floor so ran along now and get some shut eye cause we''ll be mostly up all night later on."


    Zen nodded as he moved towards the third floor of the inn. Upon reaching the floor, the first thing he''d done was scan the area. There seems to be no abnormalities. Zen then walked towards a door with a hanging plate that says ''Employees Lounge'' in front of it.

 The Initialization : Phase 009

    The Initialization : Phase 009


    A notification bubble had blocked his vision.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Granted partial access to the ''Employees Lounge'' you can only modify lockcode and temperature settings.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The room had only simple furniture such as two double decker beds on both corner sides with a simple wooden table as a centerpiece.


    After setting a new lock code, Zen sat down on the lower bed on the left side corner of the room.


    The black haired teen dropped his head on the pillow then looked towards the window.


    A fox looked back at him.


    "Hah?"


    Zen blinked and squinted his eyes.


    "Weird..."


    He thought for sure that there was a silhouette of a fox on the other side of the window but apparently, his eyes were playing tricks on him. What''s more, he wasn''t absolutely sure it was a fox since he could have sworn just for a second that it has a body of a person.


    His fatigue parameter must be taking it''s toll on him.


    "Now how should i proceed..." Zen rhetorically asked as he knitted his brows. He need to thoroughly plan his every moves now if he want to survive in this death game he caught himself in.


    ¡ªWhat i need the most is information.


    Internally deduced by the teen. Knowing how things work around in Noiz can be a key factor between life or death.


    That''s one of the reasons he took on the job as a worker at this inn. Crowds gather in flocks at this kinds of establishments, and whenever there''s a pack of crowd, information would be an easy picking.


    There also seems to be some sort of LCD screen hanging on the leftside wall by the decker bed and when Zen had clicked on the power button, a notification suddenly entered his vision.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Do you want to connect to the internet? You must pay (01) Helt per hour to gain acess. (Yes/No)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    So users could actually use the internet even while their in game. Zen thought as he was tempted to use it although in the end he pressed on the ''No'' button but thought of doing it later since he was tired at the moment.


    Due to his death penalties, his body felt like lead and he drain more stamina so he really nitpicked on his movements. He made sure to cut down any useless actions even if it''s mentally straining since it''s taking awhile to getting used to.


    First is his breathing technique. He felt like a sixty year old asthmatic geezer. His stamina would easily ran out even by simple task so he coordinates his breathing pattern to his movements to lessen the drain.


    Second is his walking style. Lighter steps in big stride seems to be more less demanding than his usual swagger and he makes sure to keep the swaying of his arms at minimum at all times.


    Third was his head movement. Whenever he looks for anything he made sure to use the full range of his vision without moving his head as much as possible.


    These simple things may be inconsequential but after he got these stat demerits, these little things had saved him from being unable to move. So if he manage to fully incorporate these actions subconsciously then he can conserve more stamina. In a way he now understood the feeling of weight conscious ladies since he now periodically checks his stamina as if it is calories.


    Additionally, as long as he take precaution and evade his hunters, Zen was positive that he can recover his lost stats by working here indefinitely. Hopefully, he would find a way to learn that ''Martial Art'' skill since that''ll be really convenient and it''s essential in his fighting prowess.


    "Hah, what a way to start a game." Zen sarcastically jested as he closed his eyes.


    To be persecuted right off the bat like some wanted criminal is no jok¡ª


    Wait...he is a criminal.


    What irony.


    Nevertheless, it''s better than just sitting around to rot in some cell. Zen loves challenges and the more the odds are stack against him, the more he gets excited to reverse his fate.


    As sleep finally embraces Zen, a grin formed in his lips as a single idea entered his gradually fading mind.


    ''I will conquer this game.''


    "Damn where did she go?"


    A hooded figure gradually landed atop of one of the tall buildings around Genosia. Her worn down dirty russet colored cloth that was draped all over her entire body like a coat flutters together with the wind as she moves within a shaded portion of the veranda.


    She stood near one of the windows but never opted in opening it since the odds of it being open is slim anyway.


    "Shit did you lost her? try looking again at that alley while i go this way."


    The waist-length silver haired lady carefully looked down on the street where her pursuers scramble like rabid hyenas looking for their lost prey.


    Too bad for them since unless they have high perception skill or sight enhancers, it''s highly doubtful they would find her since she was three stories high above the ground.


    The girl pulled back her hood and adjusted the knot on the back of her head in which ties the fox-like mask that was hiding her entire facial features.


    "So have you lost thy pursuers?"Asked by an enthralling voice that echoed inside her mind.


    However, the woman just silently kneel as she opened her inventory and pulled out some bottle with green liquid inside and drank it with without much hassle. Afterwards, she then pulled out a whetstone and unsheathed the Japanese long sword that was placed on a scabbard at her waist.


    She then started resharpening the blade.


    "How much longer thus thou are going to feign ignorance in thy plea?"


    Nevertheless, the hooded maiden just continued with her task silently.


    "Thus thee fair maiden had such grudge against thou?"


    Finally a reaction in a form of sigh was released from the lips of the girl. She really can''t concentrate with her task with him ruining her concentration with his incessant questioning inside his mind.


    "Sorry but my mother told me to never speak to strangers." The girl momentarily halted her work and finally commented in blank monotonous voice. "Especially, weird talking incorporeal ones." she added.


    "Blasphemy! Haven''t thou heard whist thee said moments ago that I''m¡ª"


    "Look," The girl interjected. "I got alot on my plate right now so i don''t really care who or what  you really are, bottom line is i''m busy so look for someone else to help you with your problems."


    "F-Finding aid in my quandary is not that eas¡ª"


    The girl suddenly ducked as a rumbling noise akin to a door opening was heard inside the room. She slowly sheathed her katana then pulled the hood  over her head.


    "Is it Hunters?"


    The fox masked lady sat still for a minute as she discerns any more noises but all she perceived are rustles of the bed being sat on and nothing more.


    Taking a peek inside the room through the windows, the first thing she noticed was someone looking back at her.


    ''Damn'' The lass mentally cursed as she ducked down and prepared for an attack. However, it seems the guy inside had no intention of following through and just lied on the bed.


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    ''Perhaps he didn''t notice me.'' The girl thought as she relaxed her stance.


    After confirming that the guy was asleep, the masked women leaned her back on the shaded portion of the wall right under the window and sat with her right knee bent.


    Unfastening the tie that holds her fox mask together, the girl let out a sigh as she looked to the username that is hovering on top of her head.


    ?3SI73?


    The silver haired elf mused that she had come a long ways considering how she was before. Back when she was still a naive girl who didn''t knew anything and was reliant of others just to survive.


    It seems that fatigue had finally taken it''s toll on her since no matter how hard she fight it, her eyelids seemed to have grown a mind of their own and wanted to fold.


    As her mind gradually fades away, she couldn''t help but to reminiscence on her past life before all of this virtual insanity.


    Five months ago one can say that she was just your average typical girl.


    The kind of typical girl who have their own set of similarly typical friends who talks about typical girly topics such as the latest fashion or the hottest boy bands. Enrolled in a typical high school and graduated with typical grades.


    Such is her typical life five months ago.


    Just your average girl having typical aspirations in a typical life.


    However her typical world was shattered one night on a not so typical incident.


    Three months ago on a Friday night, she was involved in some ''incident'' at her new university. Her mind seems hazy on what happened at that night for it still brings trauma whenever she recalls what happened to that night but as a result of that incident, she was falsely charged with murder.


    She pleaded and beg for the jury to understand that she had done it on self defense but it was all in vain. Perhaps it''s because the one she ''murdered'' came from a well known family or perhaps some other not so typical factor came into her case but in the end she was found guilty.


    Thus her typical life started to became...abnormal.


    Alone and afraid, she was brought into this not so typical facility to be confined. At first she thought that she would be in an average cell but the abnormalities started when they were brought to the lowest level of the facility.


    There were ten of them initially. Ten seemingly typical inmates in an abnormal surroundings.


    Why did she called it abnormal?


    Well for starters, dozens of gaming pods loiter around the floor which makes it more  like a gaming station rather than a prison cell.


    Some guy in a lab coat wearing an abnormal expression explained to them that they have to play some virtual game where they would actually feel the exact feeling of real death. It seems really scary even more for her since she was just your typical girl but they have no option to decline since basically, they were at this guys mercy.


    Hence, reluctantly she played this game the guy called NOIZ.


    It was hell.


    She didn''t know how to explain the situation except it was an absolute hell on earth.


    If there was an actual place called hell, chances are they are probably in it now. They were all killed and butchered like some poultry animals the moment they started the game.


    If that''s not cruel enough, the people whom they call themselves as hunters started killing them off again and again just as they started reviving them again and again.


    It was an endless cycle of pain and suffering.


    It seems death in any kind of world whether it''s a fantasy or a real one is the same.


    One would say that being killed off again and again would make a person numb of pain but it isn''t true¡ªat least for her that is.


    Every death whether it''s her first one or the latest felt equally painful.


    Both felt equally humiliating.


    Why is this happening to me?


    Why is there no one that would save me?


    Why does god let this evil people do as they pleased?


    Why am I suffering like these?


    What did i do wrong?


    She kept repeating those questions in her mind as the tear soaked girl ran from her pursuers who seemed looks like a pack of laughing demons as they chased off a helpless ''rabbit''  such as herself.


    She got the answer to all her questions after her sixty fifth death.


    "God saves no one. the only one that could save you is yourself."


    The silver haired lass muttered silently to herself while looking up to the sky as if testing gods divine retribution.


    A predatory look was seen from the first time in the female face.


    She was the only one left active out of the original ten inmates that started together with her about half a month ago. It turns out seven of them had committed group suicide. One of the nurses told her when she finally dived off one Saturday. They decided to do a mass suicide and kill themselves off rather than play the game and be killed repeatedly.


    The other two? they were transferred to a mental institution.


    She had finally got it.


    ¡ªHow stupid.


    Her typical peaceful world outside was the abnormal one.


    And this abnormal world she was now in is the typical one.


    Humans by nature are abnormal beings.


    That''s the only logical explanation she could come up with in response to the abnormalities in her life.


    On why she was falsely charged of murder even if she was the victim in the first place.


    On why she was sentenced to life imprisonment.


    On why the real criminals for the crime she was wrongly accused was still free.


    On why she was stuck on this endless cycle of death.


    On why that existence known as ''God'' wouldn''t act to save her.


    Did it matter if such omnipotent being exist anyway?


    It''s not like she became an atheist.


    If she was asked if she acknowledge the existence of god, then chances are she would say that he probably does.


    But if she was asked if she believes in him then her answer would definitely be no.


    For acknowledgement is different than belief.


    For her, God is just like the sun.


    It''s just there, the absolute giver of life. An omnipotent being that is way above anyone else that it won''t bother with problems of lesser beings.


    Or perhaps it already gave up on humanity?


    Just look around the world, cruelty and crime are always the top headlines. Violence and murder under the guise of games are the favorite past time of people especially the younger generations.


    All the clues were there in her surroundings.


    She just pretended to be blind to all of it. However her eyes had now finally been opened. The naive rabbit is finally awoken to the true harsh reality.


    Humans by nature are abnormal beings.


    Though it isn''t really a bad thing since,


    Abnormality is also synonymous to evolution.


    And the naive rabbit must evolve to survive in this typically cruel world.


    A mask store caught the rabbit''s attention¨Cor more specifically one of the mask at the store caught the silver haired girl''s attention.


    A mask of a fox.


    Yes, that''s the kind of creature she must strive to become.


    As cunning and tricky as a fox.


    The girl eyed the owner of the store. He was an elderly man who seems to have a back problem and on the verge of dozing off.


    The silver haired lass tried to calm her raging nerves.


    She had never tried stealing before in her life. Matter of fact, this is probably her first real crime by her own volition.


    She closed her eyes.


    ''Calm down. Calm down.''


    She kept repeating the phrase like a mantra to expel all her doubts.


    Finally the mask owner had succumbed to slumber.


    ''It''s time!''


    With a determined look, the naive silver haired rabbit took the first step towards evolution.

 The Initialization : Phase 010

    The Initialization : Phase 010


    A knock from the other side of the door had awoken Zen from his light slumber.


    "Hey new guy are you there?" An upbeat feminine voice came from the outside.


    "Uh yeah be there in a sec." Zen replied with a yawn while stretching his stiff muscles.


    "Are ye'' decent in there? cause'' if ye'' are then imma'' come back in''a few minutes~"


    ¡ªUh wait what?


    "Just pullin'' ye'' leg newcomer!" Bubbly jested by the girl on the opposite side. "Don'' worry i won''t bite!"


    A charming girl with a cheshire grin and golden locks greeted Zen as he cautiously opened the door. She looks to be in her early twenties as the girl dons a trendy feathered jacket and khaki shorts with a matching brown knee length boots.


    "Aww sweetcakes, you''re decent how boring."


    "Uh...should i strip then?" Zen stated in a plain tone with a raised eyebrow.


    That really surprised him. He knew that each NPC''s have a learning engine but the teen never thought that Neuzer''s could converse and joke to such degree.


    It''s as if he really talking to a real person.


    It must be the works of that ninth generation conversational droid engine that Noiz developers are boosting off in their ads. It seems that each NPC has their own pre-configured Comdroid database especially dedicated to each of them so every Neuzers has an almost unique human-like behavior if you talk to them.


    "Hahaha i like ya newbie ye'' can fly with ma'' humor!" Giggled by the blonde as she extended her right hand. She also has this funny accent that is somehow a crossbred between American and Russian.


    "I''m Fiona by the way. ye'' can call me Fee or whatev'' ye'' want. I''ll be teaching ye'' lot''sa things from now on so be prepared."


    Zen chuckled as he grabs her hand with his right and give it a firm shake. "The pleasures all mine. I hope to learn different kinds of things from you then Fee."


    Fiona winked. "Just leave it to me. So what''s this i hear ye'' needin'' a disguise from pops?"


    "Yeah. Sadly, i''m kind of in a tight spot right now and some people are out for my blood so to speak." Zen explained with a sigh as he sagged his shoulders downwards. "Unless i wear a disguise, i can''t really work on the tavern on the first floor since my pursuers might recognize me."


    "Hoh hoh~ Well, i have lotsa'' kit fer accssorizin'' so it ma'' come in handy." Fiona beamed as she does a V sign on her fingers. "Plus I''ve always wanted a Lil'' sista to dress up."


    Zen sweat-dropped.


    Somehow he had a bad feeling about this, especially when Fee''s chesire grin almost doubled in length.


    "How ''bout we head on to ma'' room since that''s where all ma'' kit is lil'' sista?"


    Zen could almost see where''s this going.


    If this keeps up, he might end up cross dressing in some chick dress. His manly meter would take a nosedive if that happens.


    He could also decline but it might deduct some intimacy so after some very hard deliberation, Zen reluctantly followed Fiona into her room.


    Suffice to say, sounds of manly cries was heard inside the said room after an hour.


    "Z-Zen ma boy," Grendel stammered after seeing the disguise of the male teen. "I didn''t know you swing that way.''


    "Uh no not really. it''s just that i really have no choice but to wear something like this."


    Zen was currently wearing a waist length purple wig with an ivory headband that''s neatly combed on top of his head. His lips had a light peach gloss on them while his cheeks had an ample amount of foundation as a blush on to accentuate his cheek bones.


    As for his get up, Fiona forced her into wearing a pink T shirt with a brown cardigan as an over-top to hide his arm muscles. For his lower half, luckily Fee took pity on him and instead of the initial blouse she had in mind, Zen just opted in using a dark blue loose jeans and a pair of black prim sandals as his footwear.


    "Aww come''on! you look cute wearing those Zee." Fiona lightly patted his shoulders in jest as she laughed an earful much to Zen''s dismay.


    "Zee?"


    "Well we can''t really call ya'' by your real name now can''t we? Unless of course ye'' could think of a better name than Zee......or do you prefer Zeena? That could work too."


    This girl is pure evil.


    Zen regarded with a thinned lips as Fiona laughed like a madman.


    Is she really a Neuzer with a cybernetic thought process? Cause he could''ve sworn she was acting too much human like for his liking.


    "Well are ye'' ready for yer first task Zee?" The blond girl asked lively as the first set of customers entered the room.


    "Y¨CYeah absolutely."


    "Non non! say it with a higher tone, you''ll gonna be easily recognized otherwise Zee."


    "A-Absolutely Fee~" Zen tried with a higher pitched while imitating her funny accent.


    "Yup that''s moh like it!" Fiona nodded as she pointed towards the table where the crowd who had come seconds ago sat on. "Now try gettin'' their orders and remember to smile ya know smile~"


    ''Here goes nothin'' Zen gulped as he slowly approached the table. There didn''t seem to be red players on their midst so the cross dressing teen calmly coughed and gave them his most feminine smile he could muster.


    "Can i get your order gentlemen?" Zen asked while faking a sweet feminine voice.


    "Oya, are you the new helper here?" Asked by a brown haired guy with a short ponytail. He seems to be the leader of this group based on his cocky demeanor. The other two seems to be of lower level and possibly acts as the lackeys for this guy.


    "Yes I am. My name''s Zee at your service." Zen stated with a feigned professionalism.


    "Zee eh? Your too ugly to be a waitress you know. why don''t you ask Fiona my dear to serve us instead." The guy said with a sneer as he placed his left elbows at the table.


    "........."


    "Hehehe, that''s too blunt Rod, though i kinda agree to you." Lackey #1 added.


    "Pfft, she''s just a mere Neuzer, no need to be polite even if it''s a female." The guy called rod responded with a chuckle.


    Well no one can''t really blame him for mistaking Zen as an NPC since there''s really not much distinctions between users and NPC''s except that users most of the time act more animated and talkative.


    However, let a player and a neuzer wear the same clothes and you won''t really find a difference. Unless of course you use a character identifying item or the user has committed a crime which makes his username open in public.


    "Fiona is busy at the moment." Zen calmly responded in contrast to the loud and vulgar attitudes of the three users before him.


    "Then go get her you stupid NPC! Gaah this is why i hated new Neuzers, they didn''t have much developed conversational databanks in them!" Whined by Rod as his lackeys agree to him like a mindless dolts.


    "As i was saying, Fiona is busy at the moment." Zen repeated in a detached professional mannerisms.


    Rod narrowed his eyes as he looked away.


    "Tch, how boring. Well, you''re just a lowly Neuzer after all. Fiine, just gave me the daily special for three servings and put it in my tab like always."


    "Certainly. please wait a moment." Zen casually bowed with a poker face as he turned around and walked towards the kitchen.


    "Hoh hoh~ not bad Zee! I thought it was an overkill to let ye'' serve Rod and his stupid posse as your first customer''s but you handle it pretty well like a boss! Sistah Fee is Impressed~" Fiona beamed as she prepares the order of the three stooge from the kitchen.


    Zen just sighed in response as he shrugged his shoulders. "Are you mocking me Fee? I''m only gonna sink into the same level as those lowlifes if i get riled up with their childish provocations."


    He was kind of mad at first but he was not stupid enough to act on his emotions and compromise not only himself but also the reputation of the inn.


    It was not his first time meeting those kinds of people who''s all bark and no bite, and the best solution for such pest is to let them bark all they want as you ignore them and mind your own business.


    One thing bothers him though.


    "Fee, are all the users here in Genosia rude to you NPC''s or are those three just a special case?"


    Fiona let out a short tired breath as she put a seasoning in the food she''s currently cooking.


    "I don''t know what ya'' mean by the term NPC''s and Users but people like Rod especially de'''' colored ones are particularly cruel against us normal citizens. Maybe because they have the backing of de'''' duke but most of them can do whatever they want." She stated in a weak voice.


    "What do you mean by the colored ones?"


    "It''s de'' people who has colored tags on their heads. Red, violet, blue and yellow most of de'' time. ye'' can see them everywhere."


    Oh she meant the users with criminal status.


    Also, it seems like the system doesn''t recognize players lexicons on it''s dictionary for realism purposes.


    NPC''s for the most part thinks that users and neuzers are the same kind.


    "Well Genosia has always been a lawless town even way before da reign of de'' current duke so were kinda used to de'' violence and all but...never mind."


    "But what?"


    The blond girl just sighed as she turned off the stove. She looked at the male teen with a cute pout.


    "Don''t laugh okay?"


    "I won''t."


    "W¨CWell, sometimes i wish Genosia can be a normal town like the other human settlements ya know?" The golden haired Neuzer revealed rather timidly. "It''s not like i hate d¨¦ current Genosia. it''s d¨¨ town i wus born after all, but s¨Csometimes i do wonder how it feels live in a town where I can do whatever I wan''t without fear for my life ye'' know?"


    "Can''t you do what you like here in Genosia?"


    Fiona shook her head as she wordlessly handed the dish to the cross dressing teen.


    "Ye Drifter''s may not kno'' it but we residents pay heavily tax to the current Duke. if that''s not enough, He acts as if he owns everythin'' and anyone would be killed if they resist. Just awhile ago one of my friends house wus torn down just because she refused a request of an official."


    "I''ve heard that Genosia is pretty much a lawless town but I''ve never thought the situation was this bad." Zen responded as he took the finished dish in the pan and grabbed some plates to place them in. "Has it been the same even before?"


    "No just after de'' current Duke was seated a year ago." The blonde replied in a serious tone. She then made a forced smile as she gestured to the customers outside of the kitchen.


    "Well enough of this depressin'' topic, the amount of mouths we have''ta feed had been tripled! You go out there on de'' battlefield while i hold this fort sergeant Zee~" Fiona saluted in jest as if to lighten the mood.


    Zen wanted to know more about the situation around but that could hold for now seeing as he got work to do.


    "Well I''m off to the battlefield, I''ll be back in a minute with probably lotsa orders so keep the fire heated already my dear cute General." Zen replied with a lopsided smile and a salute as he began to walk outside with an even pace.


    "You cheeky brat, you''re still much too green to hit on your dear sister!" The blonde feigned annoyance but the corners of her mouth started to curve upwards.


    "Fee, are you perhaps embarrassed?" Zen teasingly asked while walking away from her eyesight.


    Her cute pout and puffed cheeks answered all his question.


    "Tease me more and i might really take it seriously Zen."


    "Well i was serious when i said how cute you are." Zen continued with his compliment as he walk towards the door.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings."Wahaha! Ye'' probably earned yerself a kiss from me if not for that girly getup you have there Zee! too bad were on public right nao. i don''t want people gettin'' ideas that i fling both ways hehe." The golden haired girl radiantly smiled.


    It was somehow different from her usual chesire grins and the male helper couldn''t help but smile in return.


    NPC or not, seeing a girl smile is always a treat for the male species.


    "Anyhow thanks fer cheerin'' me up. I''m really okay now so don''t worry ''bout me already Zen."


    "You sure?"


    "Yuppers so go do yer thing," Fiona beamed. "Rod and his gang might get pissed if you keep delaying their order ya'' know."


    Zen nodded as he exited the kitchen and instantly gone in work mode. After a couple of minutes, he came back with alot of orders which made the blond chef totally busy.


    It was six in the evening, the start of peak hour for the pub at the first floor of the inn. Zen was restless at first considering he was in a female garb but he soon got the handle of things and it sailed smoothly afterwards. Like he predicted, some red players had also come in to eat but he handled it like a pro and just took their orders  without much hassle.


    As the cross dressed teen goes through different kinds of table taking order, he also managed to eavesdropped a little bit with everyone''s conversation. Some of the things he heard were useful like the proper places to hunt or the stores to sell good items but majority of the customers were talking about ''the hunt'' and the latest rabbit.


    "So the latest rabbit is a male? how boring~"


    "The Duke has sent a notice saying that anyone who managed to kill a rabbit gets 5 Helt."


    "I think I''ve seen him somewhere earlier."


    "You remember my pal Mako? he said that he encountered the newb earlier."


    It was only some of the comments he heard while they gossip about him.


    Hah, what a bunch of idiots. Zen thought with a feigned smile as he took another order. Thanks to these idiots, he also got an info about the other rabbit they were pursuing.


    "Man she sure was beautiful. i wanna rip that mask so that i can see her lovely face again."


    "Isn''t she an elf? how come she started on a human town like Genosia?"


    "Idiot! She probably came from a ''tincan.'' Those pods only has this town as a starting point no matter what race you picked at the start."


    "Tincan? oh you mean that rumor that the gov are making real life criminals play Noiz?"


    "How long has she''s been on the list again? i think i remember getting the notif to hunt her about two months ago."


    "Yeah two and a half precisely. Dude it''s got to be a record or something since majority of rabbits just quit diving in after a month of hell here in Genosia."


    "Isn''t it weird that she can PK hunters? considering she just started, her level should be below tens, fifteen at most. Not to mention the permanent death deduction''s she accumulated. It''s impossible she PK''ed Serge, isnt he supposed to be around level sixty?"


    "That''s why everyone wants to hunt her. To know the secrets of her drastic change. her improvement is way too abnormal."


    "Lol, secret? maybe someone just took pity and power level''ed her. She a stunner after all. Won''t be surprised if some high-lev dweebs fell to her charm."


    Zen listened sneakily as information spew out like running water on a opened faucet. Man he sure is making a killing and it was just his first day too. Some high-lev looking guys noticed him eavesdropping but it seems they payed him no mind as long as he didn''t listened to their conversations.


    By the end of the night¨Cor should i say day considering that it''s already three at the morning the customers had finally thinned out. Zen lay head first on one of the table like a boxer who just finished a twelve round of intense bout.


    "Good work lad! i''ve observed you and your performance is superb!" Old man Grendel stated with a jovial face. he put a hand on the teens shoulders and gave him a thumb''s up.


    "T-Thanks old man."


    chime!


    "You were really great today Zee" Fiona cheered as she sat on a stool at the opposite side of the table where the teen was lying head first. "Did you work as a waiter before?"


    "Uh no but my previous job requires alot of patience and emotional control so it didn''t came hard for me to handle those annoying customers."


    "Hoh hoh~ so what''s yer previous job eh?" Fiona asked with a grin as she knotted both her arms together at the table while her head rested on top of it.


    "it''s confidential." Zen replied with a slight cool tone as he imitated her resting posture.


    "Pfft, you''re no fun Zee..." The blonde pouted.


    "Well i have a question for you so i''ll answer yours if you answered mine."


    "What is it? If it''s my three sizes then it''s a no deal buster."


    Zen chuckled. "Now that you said it, I was kinda curious about that as well but no, it''s about your other job Fiona."


    "I have an other job?" The golden haired girl acted innocently as if she didn''t know what he''s talking about.


    "I observed you earlier. Some customers were paying you Helts after you briefly talked to them," Zen stated he inched his face towards the girl.


    "You''re an information broker aren''t you."  He whisperly said in a statement not a question.


    "My my you''re quite a curious boy aren''t ya Zee?" The girl showed her best cheshire grin as she lightly tap the summit of his nose with her index finger.


    "Well you''re quite a lovely girl so i can''t help but notice your every move."


    Fiona licked her lips as she acted as if to kiss his mouth but then averted her lip''s direction and whispered flirty on his left ear,


    "My services don''t come in cheap ye'' know~"


    The teen smirked.


    "I''m sure i can satisfy you better than your other customers." Zen responded in a equally teasing tone.


    "Let''s do a foreplay first before we go to the main course okay Zee?" Fiona stated while inching her head backwards abit as she sat properly. "I have a rule. I don''t easily accept new contacts unless they have proven themselves worthy of ma'' services."


    "So what should i do?"


    "Just answer one question of mine. You get three chances. if you fail in answering the third time then you can forget about even hitting first base with me and ma'' services ...deal?" The blond girl stated in a lively but serious demeanor. Fiona extended her hand as she waits for his reply.


    "Fine it''s a deal." Zen clasped his hand with her''s firmly as he gave it a tight squeeze.


    "What''s your question then?"


    Fiona faked a cough as she closed her eyes and sagely said,


    "It''s an abstract pact that you can never extract. It''s easy to contract but hard to construct. When it ever be detract, it will never be intact so tact up your act dear contract if you want to transact."


    Zen blinked.


    "Love?"


    "Buuh Buuh! first strike!" Fiona folded her arms together in an ''X'' shaped gesture.


    "You got two more tries left Zee. Don''t rush the answer and think things through. There''s no time limit ye'' know."


    "I know but¨C" Zen scratched his head dumbfoundedly.


    "Does Genosia have a facilities like a library? I really need to find a good place to gather information about the realm of Estios." The onyx haired teen asked with a knotted brows.


    Rather than crawl the internet for some unverified data concerning Noiz, an in game library would be better since all the information it holds are authentic and some books may even contains data you wouldn''t find across the net.


    "Nah, ye'' ain''t gonna find some library here in Genosia buddy. but i knew a pal who does collect lotsa books and otha'' material stuffs if yer interested."


    "Really? I''m all ears." Zen stated but then narrowed his eyes when the blond girl posed her left hand in a begging gesture with a grin on her face.


    "What¨Cyou''re charging me?" The teen asked in disbelief


    "Hey we ain''t livin'' in a free world ye'' know," Fiona stated with a giggle. "A girls gotta do whatever she can to earn a living. Plus consider yerself lucky i even suggested ye'' my contacts even without solvin'' mah riddle."


    Zen narrowed his eyes as he folded his arms together. "Fine, so how much is it?"


    The blond expanded all her fingers in her left hand as if making a stop sign.


    "Five cents?"


    She shook her head with a grin.


    "...Fifty cents?"


    Zen''s face turned blue as she shook her head again.


    "F-Five Helts? No way! That''s just blatant highway robbery Fee."


    The blonde just tilted her head in response. "Told you my services aren''t cheap."


    "I''ll pay you for three Helts."


    "No deal mister. Five Helts, take it or leave it."


    "Four Helts! C''mon, my wallets bleeding here Fee."


    "Sigh fine, Four Helts and fifty cents that''s my final offer."


    Looks like this blonde is a tough one to haggle. it seems he couldn''t make the prize more lower so with much reluctance, the teen initiated a trading window.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Do you wish to trade with (Fiona Vandelfell) ? (Yes/No)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    He clicked on the Yes button.


    Zen proceeded with the transaction reluctantly. Man, there goes my first virtual paycheck. The teen thought as the system made a cashier sound effects.


    "Thank you for the patronage~" Fiona cheered happily with the additional amount at her Helt account.


    "So about that book fanatic contact of yours.."


    "Oh right. do you have a map of Genosia Zen?"


    "Nope." The teen shrugged his shoulders.


    "I have a spare in mah room, wait a sec ''kay?" Fiona stated as she stand up from the table and head up stairs. The blond girl then returned afterwards with a scroll rolled up on her right hand.


    She spread the paper on the table. The map was rather finely detailed and seems to be the newest as well. As expected from an information broker, her map was excellent. The broker pointed on a minuscule box representing a house on the far right end corner of Genosia.


    "This is where he lives at the moment. It''s a two story complex made of old bricks. His name is Lou Fei, a rather eccentric old man. He''s a well known man here in town so just ask some citizen if you still can''t find his house."


    Zen nodded silently as he tried to memorize the outline of Genosia.


    "Can you point out where''s the inn at the map?"


    "Oh our inn''s right here. Easy to remember no?" The blonde stated while pointing at the upper right portion of the map. "Since i''m feelin'' good today imma'' give ya'' this map free of charge."


    "Ah thanks. Man what a busy day this was.." Zen said as he stood up from the table and let out a huge yawn making Fiona giggle.


    "Ya better sleep now since we need to wake up at 5:00 am for the morning rush."


    "I-Isn''t that two hours from now?" The teen sweat-dropped.


    "Yup so ya'' better head up now Zee. Don''t worry imma wake ya'' up so sleep as much as ya'' want~"


    "Great." Zen replied in a sarcastic dull voice. He was about to climb the stairs but halted when Fiona said,


    "Oh yeah i forgot to mention somethin'' about old man Fei." The blond stated in a rather serious tone. "Be careful what you say to him okay Zen?"


    "Why?" The teen narrowed his eyes. Fiona only calls him by his real username when she seems serious.


    "While he may not look like it, Lou Fei was once a former Royal Eunuch and one of the revered Great Five Astral Generals to the previous sovereignty of Human Dominion."

 The Initialization : Phase 011

    The Initialization : Phase 011


    Zen turned to to the other side of the bed for the umpteenth time.


    The current hour is 4:13 am, just thirty minutes before Fiona would barge in to wake him up. No matter how much he wanted to sleep, his restless mind just wouldn''t seem to cooperate with him. He turned back again to his original position in hopes that the sandman would finally whisk his magic sands on his dead tired orbs.


    Damn, it was the fault of Fiona''s and that damn post concerning the term ''Tincan'' he read in the internet which made him so restless.


    Why did she choose that moment earlier to tell him that the person he was about to meet is a legendary old coot?


    He didn''t know anything about the reign of the previous king and all but to be one of the great as¨Csomething general, this Lou Fei guy seemed to be a hero class character in Noiz.


    No wonder she made him pay 5 Helts just to meet the geezer. Zen was sure other people would pay hundred of Helts just to talk to the guy!


    "Man i can''t seem to calm down." The teen muttered to himself as he gave up on the notion of sleep and sat down on the bed. Trying to sleep at this moment seems like a pointless endeavor since he would have to wake up thirty minutes later anyhow.


    So in the end, Zen opted to just go out to the terrace of his temporal quarters. He might as well catch the first rays of sunlight for the day. It was free vitamin C after al¡ªwait does digital sunlight have minerals anyhow?


    Anyway, just after he opened the room towards the veranda, the black haired teen nearly tripped onto something along the way.


    He was about to go back inside when he finally noticed the thing which made him almost fell to the ground.


    It was a leg.


    Zen turned his gaze from the foot of the said leg up towards it''s waist then to a tattered rag cloak which is rolled tightly to a body then finally his eyes stopped at the head of a lady with a silver hair.


    ''!!!¡ª''


    A woman.


    "H-Hey are you alive?" Zen asked in a rather subdued fashion as he poked the sleeping girl in her forehead with his index finger a couple of times. She was rather hot¡ªand no, not in that kind of "hot" expression  but more on the literal sense.


    She was burning up.


    Now that he got more closer view of her face, the male teen could easily see the early symptoms of an escalating fever. Puffed cheeks, ragged breaths and she''s sweating profusely even though it was cold outside. Yup she definitely afflicted with a cold parameter.


    Zen tried shaking the girl more profusely at her shoulders but to no avail, she only curled up more as a response.


    The teen sighed.


    ¡ªNow what to do?


    He still only have twenty minutes before the start of his morning shift. He could move the girl inside his room but he need to know her username to log her into the entry list that would grant her access to his quarters.


    He then finally noticed the hovering name above the girl''s head.


    Zen instinctively drew back little as he narrowed his eyes on the girls username.


    Red.


    Her name''s in red tint.


    So she''s a Player Killer? Somehow things seems to had taken a bad turn with that revelation. Zen couldn''t afford to blow out his cover even at the expense of a silver haired stranger. If he were to pick between his safety and some random sick lady on his veranda, he would instantly pick the former no questions asked. It was her own damn fault for getting sick anyway not his.


    The black haired drifter was about to stand up but a single piece of item had rooted him in place rendering him unable to move.


    A fox mask.


    Zen recalled the earlier conversations he overheard at the pub concerning the other ''rabbit''s features. As if going through a mental checklist of facts, the teen double checked the girls look to ascertain if she really is the other newbie stuck in the same situation as him.


    Silver hair?¨Ccheck,


    A fox mask?¨Ccheck,


    Crazy hot elf beauty?¨Cwell no shit there sergeant obvious.


    What irony.


    Did she somehow knew him hiding in this room? Is this the work of Fate or something? Zen had alot of questions but now that he confirmed that she is a victim of the same situation as him, leaving her out to die in cold seems to have become alot harder for the male teen.


    After a minute or two of pondering, Zen exhaled as he knelt down, put his arms at her back and knee then carefully lifted the sick elf upwards. He remembered that she had no access to his room so before walking back inside, the teen posed his head upwards as he tried to identify her username.


    "3..S..I..7..3" Zen narrowed his tired eyes.


    What a complicated name.


    How do you even pronounce it in the first place? Is it a code or perhaps she just randomly hit the keyboard when she was asked to name her avatar. Maybe she was drunk when she was setting up her account.


    A pair or blue eyes greeted Zen as he brought his head back to it''s initial posture.


    azure meets black for a couple of seconds.


    Neither of those two dared to move as if transfixed at their places. After a minute or two Zen finally couldn''t take it anymore and broke the silence.


    "Uhh..G¨´ten M¨°rgen?"


    Slash!


    Zen barely evaded the attack the moment he noticed the girl grabbed the long sword at her waist and drew it with a lightning speed.


    "W-where...am..i.." The sickly female elf asked while panting heavily. Even with her condition, she was holding her weapon firmly in a defense stance as if she was a cornered animal.


    ''Oh she''s a Japanese.'' Zen thought motionlessly as he eyed the girl. She has such an exotic look that he opted for a foreign greeting as an ice breaker. Now look where it got him...


    Now she''s trying to break him.


    "Well you''re in my room¡ªthough technically it''s not mine and really owned by the owner of this inn."


    The elf lady momentarily knitted her brows as if she remembered a thing. She then inhaled alot of air and without warning she suddenly dashed towards him with her katana poised in a piercing form. It emitted a faint purple glow making Zen go instantly into combat mode.


    "Whoa whoa hey! i have no intention of attacking you Missy." The surprised teen blurted as he dodged her strike. With the girl''s cold and probably fatigued status her attacks were easily evaded by the male teen but it seems that no matter how much he tried to reasoned with her, it all just fell into deaf ears as the sick girl continues her barrage of sloppy sword strikes.


    "Just¡ª"


    Strike!


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience."Listen for a¡ª"


    Strike!


    "Damn second yo¨C"


    Strike!


    "Are sick, you can''t fight¡ª"


    Kick to the groin!


    <table><tbody><tr><td>You have been dealt a serious critical blow!</td></tr></tbody></table>


    "Mothafuckingshitassofhell!!" Zen rapidly cussed as he fell to the ground invertedly with his hands on his neither regions. With his pain coefficient configured to maximum settings the low blow felt as painful as it was in the real life¡ªpossibly even more.


    The low blow doesn''t have much force but it still made his life points drop down to 1 points.


    "W¨CWhat do..you plan on...doing to me..." The aquamarine eyed elf said in between her ragged breaths. Her piercing gaze still has fire within them even if her body looks on the verge of collapsing any moment now. She walked towards where he lies down and aimed her long sword at his head. The downed teen could almost feel the tip of the blade in his forehead.


    "Speak." The girl ordered in a deathly serious voice.


    "You know it would totally rock for me if you''re wearing a skirt right now instead of those rag jeans since i would totally see your undies at this position." Zen teased without much tact as he lopsidedly smirked when the elf girl drew back a little with a blush on her face.


    "What were you doing when i woke up." She dryly asked again with a narrowed eyes, as her early embarrassment disappeared at her face.


    "I just thought of putting you inside my room since your cold would worsen if you keep sleeping outside." Zen stated as he looked at her in an upside down position.


    "Lies! i knew what you want!" She blurted out in a fit of anger despite her condition. She thrust her sword downwards but Zen easily evaded it by turning his head side wards.


    "All you filthy men are the same. You just want to indulge yourself in your sick perverted fantasies."


    "Well, i do kind of like to put you in my bed so yeah..." Zen dark humorously teased subconsciously.


    Damn mouth with a mind of it''s own, don''t complicate the situation even more!


    Zen thought as the glare of the female elf just intensified ten folds after hearing his failed attempt of humor..


    Hey, I was just being honest!


    He really wanted her in his bed but not in the perverted sense of forcing her to do the horizontal mambo mind you. Where will she rest anyway if not for his bed? Oh right...his room had two double deckers on each side so technically, she had four beds to choose from.


    Damn him and his hormones.


    The male teen should''ve said that she had four beds to choose from instead of telling her to be in his bed. Perhaps then the elf would not glare at him as if she''s looking at a garbage if he said so in the first place.


    Zen now wants to face palm himself. Seriously, his semi automatic teasing behavior will be the death of him one day.


    "I will..never trust a m-man even if it kills me..." The azure eyed girl stated with much venom. Her eyes were swaying as if she''s forcing herself to stay conscious but losing badly to the lull of sleep.


    Seems like he had awoken her inner man hater with his tactless teasing. With a sigh


    Zen tried to finally stand up from his lying position but then the silver haired elf launched another attack. With her severely weakened, the male teen had easily avoided it by a side step.


    From the looks of things it seems anything he would say to the girl would only pass on deaf ears. Well he reap what he sow, with him teasing her like that it''s no wonder she wouldn''t believe anything he says.


    Plus It''s not like he had a strong sense of virtue.


    Zen wouldn''t help anyone he sees freezing in cold but there''s just something about this silver haired girl that invokes his premadorial sense of chivalry.


    Perhaps it''s because of their same fate and circumstances.


    Perhaps it''s because she choose his place to catch a cold instead of some other terrace.


    Perhaps it''s all just because his libido''s running wild and secreting hormones all over his body.


    Whatever the case are, something is telling him that he just couldn''t leave this girl out to die.


    As her sword landed on the ground and dematerialized, Zen took grab of her shoulders and pulled her close to himself as he squat down a little so that they could see eye to eye.


    Black to blue.


    Azure meets Onyx for the second time and with a serious yet strangely sincere demeanor which surprised even the elf, Zen with a burning intensity in his eyes solemnly pledged,


    "I Aizen Ryumanagi would hereby promise to never harm you in any way or form that is intentional. I will not partake on any vile acts without your consent that would degrade your femininity nor your grace. My sole aim is to aid you in your sickness and nothing else. You have every right to be suspicious of me and my pledge but in honor of my name that is given to me at birth, i will uphold this oath up until the last of my breath."


    Confused blue meets honest black.


    Zen had done many horrendous things in the past that he was ashamed of. He can lie with a straight face. He can swindle anyone without feeling guilty. He can dispose a person without remorse. However, breaking his oaths was never on those things. It''s one of the few things he value in life.


    The authenticity of his pledges.


    Once he pledged an oath under his name, he would abide and uphold it til the end of his days.


    Only three times had Zen made such kinds of oaths and so far he never once broken any of them.


    Tears started to form onto the female elf''s eye. Zen had never find the reason why she started to tear up at that moment but it seems that the girl had finally succumb to the tiredness she was holding at bay.


    She collapsed in his shoulders as Zen balanced her body in his arms. Her mask that she was holding fell to the ground but it dematerialized before the teen could picked it up.


    She was light as a feather. Is she even eating properly? And what''s with this cloak, it''s moss ridden and full of holes. Does she even have money to buy things? What''s with the mask anyway, Is she insecure of her face?


    Damn, his mind was acting weird. It was thinking of her without actually knowing he was thinking of her. It''s semantics, just as equally confusing like this gi¡ª


    ''Okay this is really getting ridiculous.'' Mentally chided by Zen as he skillfully opened the door by the use of his foot. He just finished granting her partial access to his abode.


    "Zen-kun Good mornin! Lovely day were havin'' ain''t we?"


    A figure of a blond girl smiling suspiciously with folded arms beneath her bosoms greeted Zen when he entered the Employees Quarters.


    The male teen smiled crookedly as he was given a scrutinizing stare from the daughter of the inn.

 The Initialization : Phase 012

    The Initialization : Phase 012


    "G-Good morning Fee." Lamely greeted by Zen as he stood firmly at the terrace door while holding the sleeping elf in his arms. "I c-can explain this..."


    "Explain what excatly?"


    ''She''s pissed! She might be smiling but i can feel murderous aura coming from her.'' Zen thought as he felt goosebumps at the back of his head.


    "Y-You see, i''ve found this girl sleeping outside shivering in cold." The frantic teen started. "Being the kind and generous man that i am, i offered her to stay here...i-if you don''t mind that is."


    "I see~ Well i believe ye'' Zee but you forgot to mention all the fightin'' and flirtin'' ye'' both had done."


    The teen narrowed his eyes.


    "How l-long were you standing here anyway Fee?"


    The blonde just tilted her head innocently as she put her index finger at her chin in a thinking posture.


    "Hmm, i guess since the time ye'' said Gutan Morgin? or wus it Guton Morgan...i really can''t remember."


    "S¨CSo basically since the...beginning?"


    "Yep, pretty much." Fiona nodded as she dropped her folded arms and walked forward.


    "Why didn''t you come out then? it will probably save me lots of trouble if you did."


    The blond broker just shrugged her shoulders. "I thought it was interestin'' to watch."


    Is this girl really an NPC? She''s too sadistic for a synthetic being.


    "Though ye'' were totally cool Zee especially at the end!" The blonde happily quipped as she imitated what the teen did when he was doing his oath earlier. With her hands on his shoulders she said while trying to imitate his masculine voice,


    "I Zen Ryusomething do hereby pledge my undying luv to ya and will never harm ya unless when I''m taking your femininity in grace. My sole aim is to make luv to ye'' in sickness and in health, for better or for worse until you honor my name to our first child birth. I will uphold this oath up while we share our lust in bed."


    "Oi, i didn''t remember saying it that way."


    Zen wanted to face-palm himself.


    She had even seen him doing that? shoot me now please. The teen thought in embarrassment.


    "Really? cause it sounded that way to me." Fiona said in her usual tone as she removed her hands on his shoulders. "Anyhow ye'' should put princess here in bed. She doesn''t look too good and might be running a high fever from the looks of it."


    Zen instantly followed her advice and gently placed the burning elf at the bed on the opposite side to his. He put his palm on her forehead to check her temperature.


    "I''mma go get some water and some face towels in mah room." Fiona said as she walked away in a swift pace towards the door.


    The silver haired elf was sweating profusely now and her breathe''s pace even became more faster as if she was having an asthma attack. The blond came back holding a bucket of water and some towels at her shoulder. She also brought a set of her pajamas and eyed Zen.


    "Her condition would worsen if she stay in a filthy state like that. I''m gonna go wash her up and change her clothes so can you go outside for a sec Zen?"


    The male teen gave her a confused stare for a second but eventually nodded and silently complied.


    He waited for at least fifteen minutes until he heard the door opened with Fiona''s head peeking out and telling him to come back inside.


    Like the blond had said, she had cleaned all the dust and other dirt''s clinging on the elf''s skin. Fiona had also removed that hideous worn out cloak and the filthy clothes the silver haired elf wore. She was now wearing a yellow buttoned up pajama with floral prints Fiona had brought earlier with her.


    With the elf finally cleaned and properly dressed. Her beauty became even more pronounced. Her alabaster skin had returned to it''s former dazzling glory and her face became even more radiant in which even made Zen stopped for a second to stare at the sick elf.


    "Nasa to perv, put this on her forehead. it will help lower her temperature." The inn daughter dipped a towel and tightly squeezed it. After folding it in a rectangular shape, she handed it to the male teen whom placed the given soaked towel at the center of her forehead.


    Zen eyed the blonde with a straight look.


    "You know Nasa?"


    Fiona suddenly stopped cold as if a deer caught in a headlights.


    Neuzer''s doesn''t acknowledges earth world terms for realism purposes.


    "You know I''ve had my suspicions but that comment had practically nailed my assumptions."


    "W-What are ye'' talking about Zee." The inn daughter responded in a rather stiff voice.


    "You''re a moderator aren''t you Fiona."


    A Game Moderator or more popularly known as GM''s.


    Mostly they oversee the game through playing the game itself. Moderators compared to normal users had more access to the internal system of the game. Depending on their administration level, some GM''s can even invoke high security system calls such as item materialism and player kick/bans.


    "I d-don''t understand, please rephrase your statement Zee." Fiona evaded sheepishly in a lame robotic tone.


    Zen smirked in triumph. "It''s already far too late Fee for you to feign ignorance. I''ve already caught onto your dirt. You''ve already blow your cover."


    Fiona sighed in admission. she had closed her eyes as her shoulders sagged downwards.


    "Since when did you start suspecting that i''m a moderator? We had only met recently you know. i don''t think my acting was that bad." The blond questioned without the weird accent and with perfect japanese diction.


    "On the contrary, your acting was perfect. too human-like perfect in fact. I know Noiz uses the latest advances in technology but i don''t think it''s advance enough to let NPC''s act the way you do." Zen surmised with a lopsided smirk.


    "You know the art of flirtation is one of the most complicated human behavior. One has to analyze the obvious meaning within the other hidden double meanings to come up with one true meaning of a simple tease behind the underlying statement, and you responded to all my teasing and flirtations superbly like how a real women would react."


    "S-So all that flirting and teasing you''ve done to me is..." Fiona''s lips were thinned as she felt a little bit betrayed.


    "Yes one of my reasons is to analyze whether or not you really are a Neuzer."  Zen nodded as he smiled mischievously at the stunned girl.


    "The other reason is simply because i like teasin'' ye'' Fee since ye'' fly with ma'' humor."


    The blonde chuckled in resignation.


    This guy is unbelievable.


    She kept measures to hide her identity but this weirdo that she had just met recently somehow had seen through all of it in just a span of twenty four hours.


    "I''m speechless. I know in still new to my job but to be discovered by someone i just met a day ago..." Fiona sighed as she reclined her back at the corner of the bed. Ahh, now she''s feeling slightly depressed.


    Zen seemed to have noticed her sudden depression. It wasn''t his intention to make her sad but since it already happened anyway, the teen thought of a way to lighten the mood.


    "Since i''m feeling kind today. i''ll tell you what your three blunders so that you won''t repeat the same mistake again in the future." The teen stated earnestly while extruding three of his fingers upwards.


    "Number one. You act too human¨Cor at least flirt like a real human."


    Fiona narrowed her eyes. "Well i can''t help who i am you know..."


    "Number two. the way you acted earlier when you''re caring for her." Zen stated while pointing his thumb to the sleeping girl on the other bed.


    The blond girl tilted her head in question. "I don''t remember making a mistake earlier unless of course you''re talking about my Nasa slip up."


    Zen shook his head as he folded his arms.


    "Now think back at what happened earlier before you sent me out of the room."


    "What about it?"


    "You actually managed to change this elf''s clothes. It would be easy in the real world but here in Noiz, as far as i know, no one wheter they are a user or an NPC can ever unequipped an equipment of someone else without the owners permission. Unless of course you''re someone with a higher system access. You''re third blunder¡ªwell you already knew that haven''t you? Fee you just have to be careful not to blurt out real world terms when your acting as a Neuzer." The teen chuckled as the blond''s face grew in realization of her mistakes.


    "Well you completely busted my cover, though there''s one thing i need to clarify." The blond haired girl responded. Well, since he already knew her identity, she might as well tell the whole truth of the matter.


    "Im not actually a moderator you know."


    Zen widened his eyes. "You''re not? then how did you managed to change her clothes earlier?" He pointed to the girl sleeping on the room.


    "Well i actually just ping the system control to oversee the situation and they invoke force equipment change on her."


    "i see."


    "You see, there''s actually no GM account in Noiz."


    "You''re kidding."


    "Do i look like I''m joking with you?"


    Zen shrugged his shoulders wordlessly.


    "Then please elaborate."


    "Well, since this game is a collaboration work of many different gaming companies, the creators had decided not to create an account with administrative privileges so that no conflict of interest would arise between all the parties involved. It would be too risky anyhow and would be dangerous if all the company was granted an administrative rights."


    Smart move.


    The teen nodded. It would be a total clusterfuck if alot of people were given rights to alter the system. Furthermore, it would increase the chances of someone breaching the security and maybe even reverse engineer the game.


    Now that''s a bad investment. Another con is that someone might abuse his admin rights and corrupt the system.


    "So how do they manage Noiz? i hardly believe that the game was running and doing maintenance by itself." Zen asked skeptically.


    "Err, you''re halfway correct actually..." Fiona lightly scrubbed her cheeks with her finger sheepishly.


    "Meaning?"


    "Noiz''s central modular control unit is composed by three highly advanced super computers that operates as a partition schematics in which handles Noiz''s all operations and work load....The Arch Trinita Module."


    "Arch Trinita?" Sounds complicated. Zen mused as he tried to remember the term for future references.


    "Named after the three arch angels of Christianity. [Arch:Michael] the core unit that oversees the creation and preservation of all cybernetic material. [Arch:Gabriel] which is the central core that manages the condition and aspirations of all the generated substances and finally, [Arch:Lucifer] which is cranial core that implements the deterioration of all things and elimination of variants that the system acknowledged as a threat to the system. These three acts in unison to be the [Arch:Trinita], Niorehartz prime synthetic game moderator."


    "!!!¡ª"


    Zen was speechless.


    They''ve let an artificial intelligence modulate the current world''s first VRMMO-RPG?


    How risky.


    Well when put into perspective, it seems better than the alternative which is even more risky and dangerous. At least the cybernetic GM would be impartial and would not abuse the power it held.


    "So if this Arch:Trinita is the main GM of this game, what excatly is your job Fee?"


    "Well my official job description is a Sentinel. We act as the eyes and ears of Trinita in regards to the player side of Noiz. Although Trinita handles the whole management of Noiz, it still not a perfect system especially in regards to understanding the behavioral patterns of players. There''s just too many conflicting variants when dealing with some user based problems. So to lighten up the load, the developers implemented the use of Sentinels."


    "So you guys are like the watchdog of Trinita huh?" Zen commented in a light jest which made the blond pout.


    "Hmph, i don''t like to be compared to a dog but your idea isn''t really wrong. We fix the problems that slips through the cracks of Trinita''s management." Fiona explained with a stern voice.


    "Take for example the case of your elf princess."


    "She''s not my princess, geez keep your mind off the gutter Fee. Although what about her? I thought this was just a simple case of cold and fever." Zen reasoned as he look towards the sick silver haired beauty resting on the room.


    Fiona sighed. "I wouldn''t bother Trinita if this was just your normal fever. If this was an in-game cold, a cold potion would be enough to cure her but the thing is, she actually has a fever in real life. Normally, Arch:Lucifer would forcefully dive out players that has high temperature readings on their thermal sensor inside the Virtuodrive they uses."


    The blond sentinel reached out her palms as she checked the temperature of the sick elf as she dampened the towel at her forehead.


    "However, she seems to be in some sort of''unusual circumstances'' where even Arch:Lucifer''s force dive-out directive was denied by the Virtuodrive she is using." She continued her explanation then eyed the black haired teen as if implying something.


    "I''m sure you''re aware of her unusual circumstances seeing as you''re in the same boat as her...or should i say, the same tincan."


    Zen''s hairs on the back of his head stood high in apprehension.


    Tincan.


    It was a lexicon used mostly by players in regards to the urban legend of a modded Virtuodrive. The term started gaining popularity around the net about a year ago when a famous hacker group posted a thread about a highly modified Virtuodrive that has certain special capabilities compared to a normal gaming pod. At first it didn''t gain much traffic since rumors like that run rampant across the net.


    However a month later, the group had posted the ''sauce'' of the rumor showing hacked confidential government data files. The files contains reports and email exchanges of some high ranking penitentiary officials and few Noiz developers talking about a policy to let criminals play Noiz. The 13GB files also contains a detailed report of a modified pod with has a speed up capability not available in the commercial product.


    During sleep, neural connections are accelerated and strengthened. Somehow these machines can even further magnify these subconscious effects by at least a hundred fold and inducing beta blocking synapses to forcefully put a user in a state of REM sleep.


    The post had started gaining popularity when a well known legislator exposed to the media a bill he noticed the cabinet had passed that has a certain ''rider'' clause added to it. What''s even more suspicious was it''s passed through a private midnight session in the plenary that thoroughly bypassed the Congress hearing.


    It then all went viral when the hacker group posted a new thread about a conspiracy between the Japanese government and Noiz developers. The post indicates that the passed bill had practically gave those scientists the go signal to experiment on criminals as they pleased.


    The modded virtuodrive the netizens now dubbed as ''Tincan'' apparently uses a different set of core drive.


    This core apparently transmits a more complex neuronal codes to the user''s amygdala in which lets them feel the actual real cognitive sensations compared to the Quantum V-Core the commercial line use which only replicates about 60% of the actual human perceptions.


    If that''s not enough to make all of the net''s cospiracy fanatics go wild, the post also reports that these "Tincans" seem to have the ability to manipulate the Paleocortex, the part of the brain that is responsible for sorting out memories in the neural circuit.


    The hacked reports says that while the inmates are in a state of semi-coma as they play the game, these Tincans stealthily maps their brain''s molecular engrams and neural network as it periodically send fake synapses of memory traces to the paleocortex in some crazy experiment to know if the developers can somehow retrieve or modify the generic system consolidation and acquisition of a memory within a persons brain.


    Users can still acess the net even while they''re in game so Zen had read all of these earlier as an attempt to force himself to sleep. It had the opposite effect on him though and made him more restless.


    Well who could blame him?


    Anyone would be bothered if they somehow discovered someone could actually extract or alter their memories without them even knowing.


    And how did this blond girl found out that he was using these dangerous tincans anyway? Zen thought as he eyed her with narrowed eyes.


    "W-What? Just so you know i didn''t strip her off or anything indecent you know! I called Gabriel instead to change her equipment."


    Heh, she seems to have misunderstood his stare.


    "That also confused me. Why did you bother changing her clothes? i know it''s dirty and worn out but isn''t the dirt just virtual? Since she''s sick in real life i don''t think it would affect her condition even if her virtual clothes has crap all over it."


    Fiona posed as if reprimanding a mischievous child.


    "There''s a hidden meter called Hygiene coefficient in Noiz. Players that has low hygiene coefficient are more prone and susceptible to get debuffs and fatigue status. Princess here can''t already dive out so I didn''t want her sickness to worsen anymore by getting more health debuffs." Fiona explained and when the onyx haired teen started opening his status window, she added, "Only we sentinels can see this hidden status panel so you won''t find it anywhere in your panel Zee."


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Tch, can i become a Sentinel too?"


    "To be frank, i don''t really know," Fiona shrugged her shoulders. "As far a i know being a Sentinel is strictly invitational...at least it is for me."


    "Oh?Fee you must be someone important in real life to get an invitation like that."


    The blond can''t help but snicker at his statement. "More like lucky if you ask me. Anyhow look at the time! we should head downstairs or else pops would give me an earful again. It looks like princess here seems in a stable condition so you can leave her for now."


    Standing up from his sitting position, Zen gave one last look at the sleeping elf as he closed the door and followed Fiona downstairs.


    "Is Old man Grendel a sentinel as well?"


    "Nope, he''s just your average Neuzer."


    "Then how did you manage to become his daughter anyway? You''re a user aren''t you?"


    Fiona chuckled with mischief evident in her eyes.


    "Well~ one night pops and momsie got drunk and became horny so they went to their room and had an epic se¡ª"


    "I was being serious." Zen interjected with a dull tone as they reached the pub on the first floor. There were already some customers waiting to be served with Grendel taking their orders politely.


    "It was thanks to Gabriel. She altered Grendel''s memory ta acknowledge me as his generic daughter since it was easier for me ta gather information while working here at the inn."  Fiona answered with her fake persona and accent.


    "Oh yeah what about Grendel''s wife? Surely he must have one since he acknowledged you as his daughter."


    Fiona''s face turned darkened which is a first for the male teen. It was the first time he seen her look so angry like this.


    "She was killed six months ago by some asshole working for the Duke of Genosia." The blond whispered with a hint of venom in every syllables.


    "!!!¡ª"


    ¡ªNPC''s can be killed here in Noiz? Zen thought with a surprised face.


    "Oh there you are finally! What took you guys so long?" Greeted by the inn owner as he noticed them by the staircase.


    "Sorry pops but Zee''s princess is upstairs and she has a fever so we tended to her first. i hope you don''t mind." Fiona brightened her face as she explained while winking at Zen when the word princess was pronounced.


    "Is that so? i don''t mind as long as you do your job honestly. She could even work here when she''s better."


    "I owe you one old man." The black haired teen responded as he give his thanks to the elder Neuzer before him.


    They fall into their roles soon after with Zen doing culinary task this time around. Cooking in Noiz seems to be on par with real life cooking. One had to mind the freshness of the food and the duration of the time you cook for the food to turn out excellent.


    One''s in-game culinary skills also plays a vital factor in determining the outcome of the dish their making. So even if you''re a celebrated chef in the real world, you will still find a hard time making excellent dishes if your in-game stats are lacking.


    One of Zen''s secret hobby is cooking. So far, only his sister and his former trainee had the chance to taste his dishes. He started cooking when the syndicate leader had force him to do menial tasks around the first year he was sold at the gang. The ex-hitman was reluctant at first  but he gradually grew fond of the task for it somehow became an outlet to vent his frustrations in life.


    There''s just something therapeutic when he''s chopping chunks of meats or gutting fishes at the kitchen.


    Zen''s no maestro chef but he was rather confident of his kitchen skills in real life. So he was totally frustrated when all of his virtual testdrive dishes all turned out to be ''Uncomsumables'' or warps into a charred charcoal which made Fiona laugh her as off.


    Hence in the end, Zen was given the role of an assistant chef. He prepares the ingredients like washing the vegetables or peel the fruits skin while Fiona does the cooking. His real life kitchen skills were useful in these assignments and his culinary level slowly rose to beginner level 2 upon doing these prep work.


    After four hours of washing, peeling, grating and other kitchen chores, the customers had finally dwindled down which marks the completion of his work.


    Chime!


    "Good work Zee, soon enough ye'' can handle the cooking tasks alone at this rate." Cheered by Fiona as she humorously smacked him at his shoulder. "What''re yer plans for the rest of the day? Work will start again this evenin'' so ye'' have all this mornin'' for yerself."


    Zen scratched his head. He was totally spent since he hasn''t got a wink of sleep apart from that short two hour nap he took yesterday.


    "I''m gonna check on my sick roommate and sleep for abit. Afterwards maybe i''ll go around and survey the town and if i still have the time, perhaps i''ll meet this Lou Fei person you told me about.."


    The blond nodded. "General Fei huh.  If you ever meet him, just tell him i was the one who told ye'' about his book collections...and I''m sorry again for the book i burned the last time."


    "You burned....his book?"


    "Hey it wus an accident!" Fiona interjected with an indignant look. "He was teachin'' me fire spells before so yeah...i somehow got excited and wham! the rest is charred history."


    "...What kind of a person is he?"


    "Hmm..." The blond put her index finger at her chin in a thinking pose.


    "He''s like an intelligent veteran senior ex-navy nobleman. He might be intimidating at first glance but he extrude this calm demeanor that make ye'' feel at ease with him. But don''t let your guard down since he''s a calculating person and seems to have an ability to read peoples mind."


    Zen nodded a couple of times while thinking of an imaginary six ft'' tall lanky pale skinned old man who is wearing thick glasses  with scars all over on his face and has a snobby look while fishing calmly by the lake.


    "So in a nutshell, He''s a pain in the ass, know it all old geezer huh?"


    Fiona sweat-dropped. "I don''t know what yer thinkin'' but he''s prolly isn''t like what yer imaginin in your mind."


    "Since he''s an associate of yours, is he also a Sentinel?"


    The blond shook her head as she gave the male teen a puffy glare. "Can ye'' not please blurt out that term in public carelessly? i''m working undercover here ye'' know. As for yer question, nah he''s a bonafied Neuzer but he''s one of the few NPC''s that has a specialized Conv-droid engine that is solely dedicated to him alone and has an actual operator since he is a Hero-class character in Noiz."


    Zen''s brow raised at the new term she casually revealed. "What do you mean by having an operator?"


    Fiona lightly face palmed herself at her another slip up. "Goddammit Zen, how do ye'' even manage to make me feel so relax with ya to make me slip up like that. yer makin'' me lose my pride as a pro info dealer ye'' know!"


    The male teen just lopsidedly smirked as he lightly poked her puffed cheeks.


    "Maybe you''re starting to fall for my charms Fee~"


    "Hah, what charms? all i see is a flirt who thinks too highly of himself." The blond responded with feigned anger as she made a gesture of crossing her arms in frustration.


    "Me a flirt? have you ever seen me courting some women other than you my dear Fee?"


    She gave him a narrowed gaze.


    "Do i need to remind you what happened this morning?" Fiona countered with mocked sarcasm.


    "T-That''s different you know, i was just trying to h-help her."


    Fiona chuckled, giving the male teen a pointed look as she invades his personal space.


    "Ohho~ Shall i repeat then in verbatim your undying pledge for all the world to hear? Ehem! I Aizen Ryu¡ª"


    "Fine i lose! Geez you sure are scary Fee especially when you''re jealous..." Zen interjected with a faux jest. Damn, he knew the blond would milk that incident dry and turn it against him.


    "Yeah maybe I''m abit jealous of your elf princess~" Fiona muttered like a cat on prowl. Her cheshire grin more mischievous than normal which gave Zen momentary goosebumps.


    "Your stare right now gives me vibes that you want something from me..."


    The golden haired girl giggled mischievously as she breached the final defense of his personal space. With their face only inches apart she whispered seductively,


    "Maybe i want a pledge of my own~"


    The art of flirtation is a complex game.


    It''s like a game of chess where one has to carefully think of their moves and actions while planning ahead while at the same time react to the sudden changes of the tactics of the other player.


    Zen noticed that Fiona, the golden queen had upped her game and decided to take the initiative towards him, the black king.


    "W-What kind of pledge do you want?"


    An evasive maneuver, it would buy him some time to plan his next attack.


    The cat-like girl tilted her head slightly as she looked at him straight into his eyes.


    Mischievous blue meets phlegmatic black.


    A voiceless maneuver, one of women''s famed moves.


    "I don''t know, maybe something like "I would give my undying love to you only oh dear Fiona" or anything in that regard."


    The golden queen seemed to have breached his last line of defense and launched an all offensive move in order to pin the black king into a corner.


    "Maybe i will if i hit a home run with you."


    A counter.


    The blond smirk.


    "Can you even reach my first base?"


    Black king, check.


    "Are you willing?" Zen jokingly asked.


    Evasion Successful.


    Fiona stared seriously at him as she licked her lips as if she was gonna kiss him but stop midway when their lips briefly touched.


    "Are you game?"


    Zen returned the stare.


    Checkmate.


    They stayed still like that for a moment. Both seems transfixed with each other as their chess game of flirtations had reached it''s final moments. Soon after, Fiona slowly backed away as she grinned happily with her hands on her waist.


    "You''re good at this game Zen i admit," She started with a smirk. "But I''m a grand master."


    The male teen sighed. "So you were holding back on our previous games?"


    "Well duh, of course i would hold back. Who in their right mind would fully flirt with some guy they just met anyway?" The blond girl ended her explanation with a laugh.


    "Uwah! what an evil laugh, though you still haven''t answered my original question Fee."


    Zen chuckled when he heard Fiona clicked her tongue.


    "You thought that i would forget it now do you? Well tough luck Fee no amount of flirting could make me forget things easily."


    "So all that hard work earlier was for naught? gah i gave up!" The blonde threw her arms in the air as a gesture of frustration.


    She was Stalemated!?


    This was his aim all along!


    The prick probably had seen her underlying tactic of using flirtations to elude him of asking about her slip up earlier. Damn him and his conniving self. Fiona thought with a grudge.


    "Fine whatever, i give up reading you Zen. Seriously you''re like a black hole of mysteriousness." Grumbled by the inn daughter as she threw him an annoyed gaze which made him snicker much to her further annoyance.


    "Ha ha very funny. Anyway, operator was it? Well this is a hushhush matter so don''t go telling anyone okay? Some NPC''s had a special maintenance personnel solely dedicated to them alone."


    "Uh, you kinda lost me. What do you mean by a personnel? Neuzers can think for themselves right? Why bother maintaining them if they can do it themselves."


    "Yep. NPC''s have their own artificial consciousness. They can think and act even without the help of a real life person. However, hero-class Neuzers like General Fei have bigger responsibilities and roles so they are more prone to encounter complicated situations and problem that sometimes would throw their synthetic cognitive ability into a null loop. Operators are there to prevent such incident."


    "So operators can manipulate the Neuzer they are maintaining?"


    "Hmm, yeah in a way. Unlike sentinels, operators are commissioned for the sole purpose of the story-line of Noiz. It''s like these Neuzers have Split personality. The Operators are the passive while the A.I is the active persona. Although when the active persona encounters a complicated scenario, an Operator just usually takes over and role play their assigned characters."


    "Does the A.I remembers what the operator was doing or is it just like those Split persona loonies where they can''t recall the things they did whenever their other personality takes over?"


    "The A.I can recall usually since it''s integrated into their memory banks."


    "Sounds like a hassle. Why don''t they just let the operator fully take over the Neuzer just lke you setinels. It sounds more practical to me."


    Fiona sighed. Opinionated guys be dammed. They ask way too many questions and too curious for their own good.


    "You do know that NPC''s isn''t usually generated instantly in Noiz right? They have their own backstory, their own experiences and their own memory banks solely unique only to them. If we let someone fully take over a Neuzer, conflict of interest will arise on the character since the operator wouldn''t know everything about the NPC they controls. Much more so if they are a Hero-class character. their memory banks are six times more bigger than an average NPC."


    "Neuzers are not instantly generated?" Zen asked with a dumb look.


    "Unbelievable! What''re you a caveman? It''s one of the basic facts of Noiz. Well the devs could also make an instant NPC''s but it will lack depth compared to a Neuzer that has alot of in game experience with memories and connections to other NPC''s and users. It''s like comparing a person with amnesia to a celebrity pop star."


    "Couldn''t the devs just make fabricated memories and character background then plant it on the newly generated NPC?"


    "They can but those memories will solely be only by himself and no one else since they have to alter the other NPC''s memories as well. Take for example my case. It took Trinita three weeks just to make Grendel acknowledge me that I''m his daughter since it have to generate faux memories from my birth up until my twentieth year of age then plant it inside him and the other towners for authenticity."


    "Now i see your point but one thing is rather unclear to me," Zen prodded with a conflicted tone of voice. "General Fei is an old man right?"


    Fiona nodded. "Yes, even his hairs all white."


    "You said that he was not instantly generated but Noirehartz Online only started two and a half years ago. How come he had such an in depth character and already was in his senior years when the game only has three years of activity?"


    The blond just snickered at his inquiry. "Zen you''re totally a caveman aren''t you? Well to answer your question, did you know that the original concept of Noiz is not a MMORPG but a strategic civilization simulation game?"


    "Really?"


    "Yeah, Reed Misi the main founder of Noiz originally wanted to make an ambitious simulation game where a civilization will start in a tribe consisting of eight individuals. What he then wants is that every NPC born from those tribes will have to make their own genetic unique memories and experiences. However, to make that work, he will need a super computer not available to the public so he planned to sell his idea and ask for support to a popular gaming manufacturer that has the facilities to create such game."


    "Tri-Argon was at that time were researching about VRMMO technology and Reed Misi came at the right time to sell his game patent. Argon''s top researchers had seen Reed''s game to be a good foundation in the VR game they are developing so they provided him support and so Noiz is finally conceived."


    The black haired teen nodded while subconsciously yawning. He really wanted to know more but due to the stat penalties, it seems that his body get tired more easily.


    "Haha, you''re body is more honest than you Zee~" Fiona commented as she tap him lightly on the summit of his head a couple of times.


    "I have one last question. Do this town have some Dojo''s or training facilities where i can learn Martial Arts?"


    The blond made a humming sound before she pointed her finger on a particular place on the map.


    "There''s a Dojo here on the outskirts of the town. The place is pretty much run down though since the master is quite a picky and didn''t take in much students."


    Zen nodded.


    "That info cost three Helts by the way..."


    Fiona stated with a grin.


    "I....have no more money."


    "Ah don''t worry, you could pay me tomorrow when you receive your wage."


    "You.Are.Evil."


    The blond heartily laughed.


    "I know and proud of it. Anyway, that''s it for today for your daily Noiz history class. Little boys should sleep as much as possible so they will grew up strong and not give their cute older sister a hard time if they screw up with work cause of sleepiness."


    Zen thinned his lips at her comment. "Then are you a pedo older sister? cause i just remember you flirting with your sweet innocent younger brother just awhile ago."


    She jokingly punched him in the shoulder. "Hey that''s not nice bro!"


    "Yeah i''m the obnoxious mischievous younger brother who secretly has a sister complex." Zen joked as he blocked another one of her ''love taps'' with his palm.


    "Haha, you really should go to bed now Zee cause you''re starting to lose it."


    The blacked haired teen casually shrugged his shoulders as he turns around and head upstairs.

 The Initialization : Phase 013

    The Initialization : Phase 013


    Four days had passed and Zen had mostly used his time either on doing task or gathering information around. Since the raven head has decided to work on the inn, the stat bonuses he got after completing a task had slowly cut down the penalties he got before.


    ''Status Panel''


    It was still below the initial state but with the pace he was going, he would recover it all by a couple of days or so. Due to his perfect evaluation points in bartending  the teen had also gained a skill called ''Distant Hearing'' a support skill that enhances his hearing range abit.


    Also, he noticed something strange as he got near his default stats.


    Since all his movement felt heavy and slow because of the stat deductions, it seems his reflects got abit polished and his movements felt more lighter as his penalties dwindle.


    His stamina consumption rate is also more effective than before.


    In a way getting those penalties felt like some sort of training since it conditioned his mind as if he was moving with body weights. And when those heavy baggage had gotten rid off, his whole body felt abit lighter than it''s used to.


    He also decided to hold off on meeting the General or going to the Dojo since getting his body to it''s default state takes precedence above anything else.


    However, now that he''s 70% back to normal, he decided to visit the Dojo to in order to learn that ''Martial Arts'' skill.


    After he finished his task that day, Zen decided to go to the outskirts of town and meet the master but no one was around upon arriving on the Dojo. He then decided to ask the neighboring houses for the location of the eccentric master.


    They pointed him towards the central part of Genosia.


    It made Zen apprehensive since that''s where red players usually congregates but he decided to risk it though he put on some concealing equipment like ''Jester Mask'' and ''Worn-out cloak'' to hide his features.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Unlike the usual online games, Status bars or command panels can''t be seen publicly. Only the users themselves can see their own panels and that''s why NPC''s and players doesn''t have much distinctions. It also because of these explicit concern towards realism that the game felt more like the real world but in a more skewered feudalistic-era settings.


    "T-This is..."


    Zen was given a drawn out map by one of the neighbors but he gradually became skeptical as he reach his destination. As he got near the ''X'' mark on the map, the area around him became more pronounced and gaudy.


    The building got abit more flashier and the store signs are illuminated in blinking red tint possibly by some sort of a magic.


    The raven head also noticed that the people around became more liberal with their clothing preferences. Plus the ratio among males and females became 1:3 in favor of the latter.


    "W-What the hell is t-this..." Zen muttered unbelievably as he stared at the huge blinking sign at the entrance of the district.


    Among all the games in human history, Niorehartz Online is considered the most liberal of all that gives players almost absolute freedom to do what they wanted.


    Even so, there''s just some things in life that you cannot do.


    "Damn Is this for real? This is totally illegal right? right? Can a player really do this here? Zenix you bastard! the PTA and Unicef will have a field day if they got wind of this." Zen rhetorically stated in a dumbfounded manner as he stared at the sign.


    In it''s blinking glory the sign only has four words written in it and says,


    Genosia Red Light District.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Authors Note : Whew after 45K words, finally the introductory arc is finished. I''m such a slow paced writer. (=_=)


    I''ve decided that instead of posting one chapter every other day, i''ll just upload the whole arc (which mostly consist of 40-50k words) in one go. The reason being since i like to marathon whenever i read something and waiting for periodic updates usually kills my interest so i ought to do the same here.


    Though if you prefer the usual method, please feel free to post it down below. same goes for commentary and suggestions, i''m pretty much an open minded person.


    I already finished the next arc so i''ll upload it by next week or so.