Chapter 11A: Myths and Combat

The day ended as the artificial sun faded away pixel by pixel into a dimly glowing moon. The neon signs flickered to life. Alex returned by herself to the apartment. She was greeted at the entrance by Ruri who arrived earlier than she did.

“How did your day go?” Ruri asked obligatorily.

“I feel like I just screwed myself over,” Alex sighed, “Other than that, pretty well.”

“Nice, meanwhile I had a horrible day myself,” Ruri sighed along with Alex. “You learn something new every day, but at times you regret it.”

“Oh, what did you see?”

“The data storage of Gaia.”

“What is it like?” Alex asked with genuine curiosity.

“Pink, and pulsating.”

“W-what?”

“Data is stored via DNA. Having four nucleotide makes data far easier to handle. The only problem is, they can’t seem to house it in a better medium than flesh,” Ruri complained.

“F-flesh?”

“Yea, you can imagine my horror when I saw cubes and cubes of the stuff.”

While Alex was shuttering at the thought, Nell walked through the door.

“Hey, guys!” She jumped and hugged Alex from behind. “How was your day?”

“Ruri went through hell, and I screwed up my career,” Alex replied.

“So the usual huh?” Nell laughed. Her optimism was contagious as the mood in the room immediately got brighter.

“So, we going to dive tonight?” Ruri asked.

“Hell yea! I have been waiting forever! Why does the waiting list for the dive pods have to be so long?!” Nell complained.

“Wait until we build up enough credit to have our own,” Alex said. “I saw them on sale on the way home, they are costly, but worth it once we get our own place.”

“Our own place huh?” Nell drifted off into Lala-land.

“By the way, Kurt was in charge of scouting out the locations right? Since he travels the farthest to his job, he gets to see all the newer buildings popping up along the edge of the city,” Alex asked.

“Yup, I heard the places out there are cheaper due to how inconvenient it is to go shopping. Thus the price drop,” Ruri answered.

As they were discussing their future home, Kurt limped through the door.

“My god, what a tough day. The drill sergeant wouldn’t let off my ass!” Kurt complained immediately when he saw his friends. Perhaps the only few people he felt comfortable whining to. If anyone in the military were to whine, they would get their ass handed to them.

“Oh Kurt, we were just talking about you,” Alex said, “How goes the house hunt?”

“I found a decent place, four rooms, one living room, and one kitchen. Around 1800 credits.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“T-that much?”

“Oh trust me, it’s on the low side. Housing really is ridiculously expensive in Lumistein.”

“…How much do we have currently?” Alex asked Ruri who was their temporary accountant.

“Barely a hundred…” Ruri sighed as he thought about their financial situation.

It was then Alex remembered the one thousand credit needed to enter the place she saw before. Now that she recognized the symbol of the tinker society, her curiosity turned towards why the entrance fee was so expensive. It was almost half the price of a house!

“We can’t even make that much credit without our own dive tubs too…,” Ruri sighed. All the good things in life are barred by monetary gates.

“So we need credit for dive tubs, a place to live and house said dive tubs, and our ‘food’ bill.” Nell finally joined in the conversation after she came back from her daydream.

As the four teens were in despair over their situation, Gerald, who walked into the room earlier, finally said something.

“You four really have the same speech patterns. That seed ship of yours must be a factory that just churns out clones huh?” He joked.

“M-Mr. Gerald!” Ruri replied. “G-good day to you!”

“No need to be shy with me, Ruri. Either way, I was listening to your dilemma earlier. I think I have a solution,” Gerald winked.

“What is it, sir?” Kurt asked politely.

“Due to the price and demand of dive tubs, there are places named DT café. They are a knockoff of the history PC café, but they do the same type of business, they rent dive tubs. Instead of waiting for the public one here, you can go to the private companies and rent one out. It's pretty cheap too.”

“How cheap?” Nell asked excitedly.

“Half the amount you will make during the dive. Remember every time you dive, your body will be used as processing power by MOTHER, and in return, you get credit. The DT café will take half the revenue in return for allowing you to use their tubes.”

“That’s amazing!” Nell jumped up and down with excitement.

“S-so cheap?” Ruri couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

“It’s a lucrative business. Consider it similar to being a landlord. Owning property that other people use for a fee,” Gerald replied. “Here’s where you can find one.”

He sends them a map coordinate. Alex looked at the hologram that appeared on her bracelet display.

“You’re advertising for a friend huh?” Alex suddenly said.

Gerald stared at her in shock. How did she find out so fast?

“H-how?”

“The name of the café…”

Gerald never realized that his friend named the place after him in gratitude for lending him the startup funds.

“The Big G…What kind of cheesy name is this?” Nell laughed.

Gerald’s face went a slight shade of pink as he coughed and walked away. Nothing left to say to these kids.

“Well, shall we go after we drop off our stuff?” Kurt said while lifting up his backpack.

“Meet up in an hour!” Nell said as she started sprinting towards the elevator.

“Hey! This ain't a race!” Kurt yelled as he chased her.

Ruri sighed and walked along with Alex to their rooms.

______

The DT café looked very normal. It was somewhat crowded in the night as people dive during their sleep. Luckily, four rooms were available. It would seem Mr. Gerald helped them a little.

Alex, Nell, Ruri, and Kurt entered the tube and connected the wires to themselves according to the instructions labeled. Since they were not diving for a full week, there was no need for liquid submersion.

They laid down in the tube and awaited. A countdown started. 3, 2, 1, Dive. Their consciousness left their bodies.

______

The four teens appeared in their respective worlds. Now that they are the owner of the land, they felt a sort of connection to the place. Simultaneously, they beckoned the AI by shouting into the sky.

“Go to Anton.”

Anton, the city of newbies. Everyone who has ever set foot in the ARK program will go through this city. It is where they receive the training they need to tackle the future.

Alex, Nell, Ruri, and Kurt appeared together in front of the academy.

“Training Academy. What a very concise name,” Kurt couldn’t help but comment.

They entered and was greeted by an AI instructor.

“Hello, fresh meat! Welcome to adventurer boot-camp 101!” The large bearded AI smiled. “We will cover all the basics of how to survive and combat! Now, who here has combat training?”

Kurt raised his hands.

“Good! One less maggot to teach!”

Kurt winced at the word maggot. It would seem the word became a trigger for his PTSD.

“Now then, you should have received a box for completing the tutorial, open them now if you haven’t already! It will greatly determine your future,” The AI said with a glimmer in his eye. He always enjoyed this part. Sometimes the box provided utter crap, other times it provided something that creates a legend. Everything will depend on the person’s Agraria and their luck.

Alex and her friends took out their respective ‘Mark of Id.’ A shining chest appeared in front of them with their portrait hastily drawn on it in charcoal.

“Ready?” Alex asked her friends.

“As ever!” Nell replied.

“Yes!” Ruri said with confidence.

“Let’s do this!” Kurt yelled.

They opened their box as a blinding light enveloped the room.