Aectaeon was not the sort of person who would choose to wallow in self-pity.
Regardless of how arduous his situation was, he would face it without so much as to show a sliver of reluctance. He kept his complaints only to himself. That's why he appeared to be nonchalant to people who often came across him.
Truth was, Aectaeon prided himself on his capability to adjust quickly in the most bizarre of situations. Rather than innate, he had to learn it as one of his means of survival. If he wanted to be of use to his mother, he ought to accomplish that simple feat.
He was without a father.
A boy who grew up into a young man with only the guidance of a grieving, strong nonetheless, mother. Aectaeon was miserable in his own way.
And he still was miserable.
Needless to say, aside from his mother, he had nothing to lose. Becoming a monster in a crowd full of them was his mind's way of protecting his sanity. He had already thrown his hope that his present situation was all a product of his dreams. It was more reasonable than continuing to deny the truth that his entire body could sense.
Once he was done sorting his thoughts out, Aectaeon felt as if he had been rejuvenated. Not for the reason that he had found his footing.
It was because Aectaeon felt that he had liberated a part of him -- the part that was put into slumber from the moment he was born. Hunger, or more appropriately, an intense desire to devour something. However, he couldn't put a name as to what that something was.
{ "Players, now that I've elucidated on the three most important regulations -- Sacrosanct Trinity as we call it -- of the Obelisk, let's move on to the last part of this orientation." }
Luluwa slightly waved her left hand, the four enormous screens disappearing with that gesture. She then assumed a short moment of silence, as if to allow the players to further realize the gravity of their situation.
Meanwhile, Aectaeon fixated his eyes on Luluwa. It was time for him to question every element within his surroundings that he was curious about.
'How far am I from this Luluwa person? I can tell that I'm at least a kilometre away from her. But how can I see her clearly? Is the same mechanism she is using in our ears? Is she manifesting her appearance directly in our eyes?'
Aectaeon placed a hand on his waist and leaned his weight on his right foot. As he compiled his queries in his head, Aectaeon observed the crowd around him once more. Some of them had appearances that he thought only existed within myths and fantasies.
For instance, there was a person whose head was similar to that of a wolf's, albeit with less fur, and skin texture that was humanlike. To his left, there was a creature who was double his height, having a body that was covered in feathers. The sole feature that could be seen was their humanoid face.
It didn't strike Aectaeon as strange to happen upon beings whose appearances varied from humans. How naive would one be to think that only humans, and other creatures that conformed to the appearance of a human, existed within the vastness of the universe?
Still and all, Aectaeon figured that it would take him a bit of time to get accustomed to the looks of his fellow players. To his relief, there were some players who didn't fall far from the mien of humans. Two of them were what he perceived as Elves and Pixies.
'I'm pretty much aware that the other players have an edge over us powerless humans. Are we the weakest species here? How is this even a fair battle?'
Just then, Aectaeon froze in his spot. He could sense that someone was staring at him from afar. Withal, he had no business confronting another player that early in the ordeal.
{ "One last reminder before we move on." }
{ "Players, the rest of the Obelisk is for all of you to explore." }
{ "The Obelisk has a lot of wonders. Every single one of you is welcome to step foot as high as the fiftieth floor. However, bear in mind that the Obelisk also has a lot of rules in place. It's your job as an inhabitant to find out what those rules are." }
{ "As a reminder, once the system gives you the countdown for your next transmigration, please make your way to the ground floor. It's the floor we're all currently on." }
{ "This area is reserved as the gate to the other worlds. To be safe, I suggest that you make your way to the ground floor one hour before you transmigrate." }
{ "If you fail to reach the ground floor at the designated time of your transmigration, it is considered that you violated Rule Number 2 of the Sacrosanct Trinity." }
{ "Otherwise, you have been captured by another player's system." }
{ "Let me warn all of you. The other worlds are safer than the Obelisk. The other players can attack you on your way down here." }
Afterwards, Luluwa smiled as if she didn't just say the worst fate of being in the Obelisk. She watched as another layer of terror covered the eyes of those who had yet to accept their destinies.
Luluwa was no less than amused.
She couldn't get enough of seeing the weakness of creatures who were…
… inferior.
It made them appetizing, like chunks of meat that were cooking themselves in their own apprehensions.
'It's on purpose that she uttered that last part. She just gave the psychopaths an idea how to enjoy this farce twice as much.' Aectaeon thought as he gritted his teeth.
He was sentient enough to recognize how Luluwa saw them. Although, rather than feeling demotivated, it urged him to strive even more.
Why would he give Luluwa the satisfaction when she's the one who wronged him?
{ "For the final part. I am willing to entertain the questions of three players." }
She proceeded to make some sort of signal with her hands. At that instant, two palm-sized panels appeared in front of each of the players. The one above was a plain screen while the one below was a keypad.
{ "Please input your questions in the panels provided. I'll be giving you a brief moment to do so." }
Without contemplating too much, Aectaeon had already formulated the query that he wanted to ask the most. He didn't even mind the repercussions of asking such a question. He let his fingers glide over the keypad panel, hoping that his query would reach its rightful target.