I was peacefully reading. I read one chapter of ASS after the next. It was a frightening webnovel to read because it showed how crazy manipulative Anna Croft is. Although, I realized a few things. Her ability to see the future is limited, and she can't use the ability too much. That means...
(Perhaps I can create so many possible futures that it can confuse her?)
It was hard. Since I had a text from the future, I was essentially creating new futures by existing. Perhaps my very existence was creating new possibilities.
(This is a pretty good story.)
I forgot that the writer loved making plot twists, and fleshing out characters. Even though Anna Croft was despicable, it showed her emotions quite well. Wait... why did the author even give me this text? I remember what Fraggy said to me long ago. He said I needed to gain other fragments to remember the story. Maybe he meant TWSA, since I was given ASS. I remembered why I couldn't trust the author. They tried to make me a character.
(What does that mean though? Does that mean gaining a fragment no longer makes you a character? Perhaps, if you lose your fragment, you become a character? What happens to you if that were to occur?)
I tried to forget my uneasiness by reading one chapter after the next, until I had another thought.
(I never figured out whom Hypnos's mother was. Is there a Greek Mythology book here?)
I explored the Barnes and Nobles for a bit, until I found a book. I read the title.
[A Compendium of Mythology]
I grabbed it, opened it, and flicked to the glossary. There was a lot of information. It concerned Greek mythology, Hindu mythology, and Norse mythology. It also concerned folklore from various cultures, such as Japan and Korea. I found another book that focused completely on Japanese mythology.
(I'll read those later.)
I flicked through this book for a few minutes until I found a part about Hypnos. It contained a lot of information. I made sure to read every single sentence carefully, with the utmost attention. Like a connoisseur slicing into wagyu beef, I dissected every single sentence, and savored every morsel. So, I made sure to read this sentence very carefully, as if I was chewing on it repeatedly.
-Nyx (pronounced nicks) is the mother of Hypnos.-
"Fuck."
I carefully placed the book back onto the shelf, but I was panicking.
(No, no, no, nooo!!!)
Zeus is a Myth-Grade Constellation. In the stories, it is stated that not even Zeus wanted to mess with her. I recalled something. A certain moniker, from a certain memory. From a certain dream. I made sure to write it down in my tablet when I was in Battle School.
[Maternal Harbinger of Eternal Night and Chaos.]
(It's probably her. I just have a hypothesis that it may be her moniker, but it's likely. Now, who is her incarnation?)
I heard a door opening. Someone was entering this Barnes and Nobles.
"Ethan? Sir?"
It was a familiar voice I hadn't heard for ages.
"George!! It's me!!"
I ran, and I saw him standing at the entrance. I forgot what his face looked like after all of these years. He had a katana strapped to his side, and he was wearing red armor. Did he get that from his simulation?
"Ethan!"
I stopped short. I had to keep my distance.
"George, I just finished my simulation!"
"I'm glad, sir. I finished mine a few hours ago," he said with a gentle smile.
I was afraid to ask something.
"George, how long has it been since I entered my simulation?"
George checked something in his settings. Perhaps he was looking at a calendar skill he bought?
"I just checked again, sir. It's the same day we came into this dungeon."
"Oh..."
It was a weird realization. All of my time, all of my 7 years of life in a simulation came up to a few hours in this world? How?
"Ethan, did you receive your rewards?"
I was bombarded with messages.
[You have received your payout for the "Ender's Game" simulation!]
[You have received 50,000 coins!]
[You have received 1005 coins as additional rewards!]
[Another additional reward shall be given!]
These were the rewards for the literature dungeon.
"Yeah, George, I just did."
"Do... we go to the next dungeon then?"
"Yeah. First, though... I want to talk."
"About what?"
"About anything. How was your simulation?"
He paused.
"I-it seemed... so real. How about you?"
"I've spent seven years of my life in mine."
"What?!"
"Yeah. So, how are ya?"
"Wait, how old are you now?!"
"I'm twenty-one. Mentally, anyways."
George was shocked by the implications of what I said. I tried to play it off, but he seemed concerned.
"Do... you want to talk about it?"
I thought about all of the pain I went through. In one moment of my life in there, I was convinced I could forget everyone I cared about, and truly live as Ender Wiggin. I didn't want to go back to the ugly Apocalypse of this world. I was happy at some moments, and scared at some others. I was raised to be the most efficient killer of that world, and there was a very horrifying thought that came across my mind.
(I became willing to kill anyone for my goals. I lost so much of my humanity...)
So, no, I didn't want to talk about it.
"No... not yet."
"Okay then."
"Wait, I need to do something!!"
I searched for some chairs, and found some. I walked back to George, and said aloud, "George, would you like a promotion?"
"Uh... a promotion for what?"
"A promotion to become a general."
[Nebula "The Congress of America" are shocked of what you said.]
[Some Constellations are complaining that it doesn't work that way.]
I couldn't judge correctly, but George was stated to be 182 centimeters in the novel. I was 160 centimeters. Thus, why I needed a chair.
I placed it in front of him, stood on top of the chair, raised my hand as if I was about to slap him (I didn't), and tapped my hand against his shoulders like Tony Stark did to Peter in Avengers: Infinity War.
"George Machen, I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but as admiral of the I.F. fleet, you are hereby knighted, generalized, promoted, or something... I don't know what the hell I'm saying..."
"Wait, you're an admiral?" He asked.
I thought about my simulation and said, "I was promoted to the rank of admiral while I was in my simulation."
[Some Constellations are complaining that you don't have the authority!]
[Some Constellations of Nebula "The Congress of America" do not authorize Incarnation "George Machen" a promotion to general!]
"Oh, shut up!!" I said aloud. "You're not even here, and the current president is dead!! No one can appoint him besides me!"
"Wait... you're no longer a Sergeant?"
"Nope."
"And... I'm a general?"
George looked so overwhelmed by what just happened.
I sighed and said, "Yes, you are George. General Machen. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
George was looking at the ground, as if he was ashamed.
"I don't believe... I deser-"
"George, you're wrong. You think you don't deserve it, but you do. I know it very well, but you are better than a lot of humans out there. You are also intelligent, and caring. The perfect material to be a general."
"Why? Wouldn't... caring get in the way?"
I thought about myself. I once thought having my empathy removed would make me a better killer. I wouldn't be able to feel guilt, and I wouldn't have to feel any regret. Although, if I did that, than I would be no better than Mathew McFarland, an actual psychopath.
"George... One day, I want you to be happy."
He looked up at me as I said that. He said nothing.
"So, I want you to make sure that you don't turn into a monster."
(I'll be the monster for you. I'll be the villain of this grand story.)
"T-thank you."
"Okay then. I'll prepare some dinner."
***
We didn't have a mana brazier, so I had to use my flame stigma to cook our food. We found some rocks, and I pulled out some dough from my backpack. I made it a few years ago....
(Wait... no. I made it a few days ago.)
Time Dilation messed with my mind. I thought the dough in my backpack would be expired, but if I was right, then this was only a few days old. I had a faint recollection of making this dough. I took the grain from the ash-talks, and ground them into powder. I mixed it with water, and added yeast that George and I found in an abandoned store.
I shook away these thoughts. I used the rocks, and positioned them to make a little oven. I placed the dough inside, and used my flame stigma to heat it up. Once I had a proper fire going, I backed away.
"Hey, George, do we have anything else to eat?"
"No, sir. Only a few piles of grain."
"Well, let's just eat that for now."
We munched on our grain, which had the texture of carboard and the taste of unflavored oatmeal. There were no meat sources around here, so we couldn't find it and cook it.
"Hey, George, do you feel tired?"
"No, sir."
"That's great then. We'll move onto the next dungeon after we eat."
As we ate, we began discussing things, such as our simulations.
"So, you received a Japanese communication skill?"
"Yeah, I did."
"That's great. The movie "The Last Samurai" had Japanese actors who spoke fluently, so it makes sense that you received that skill. What's your name in Japanese, George?"
George looked a little uncomfortable as I asked the question. I smiled. I knew a lot about names from foreign languages sounding word in Japanese. My name - Ethan - would be pronounced "Isan" because of the unique writing system in Japan.
"~Tell me, come on....~"
"Fine! It's... Joji!"
George looked like a little kid who was embarrassed. It didn't help that I laughed.
"Hahahah!! Joji!! So, like, George, but with a "y" instead of an the "e." Bruh..."
I laughed so hard, I expelled every single bit of air from my lungs and wheezed.
"Want to know what my name is in Japanese?"
"Sure."
"Isan."
"That sounds like the car company Nisan."
"It's weird, I know," I said with a laugh. "So, what type of other skills did you learn?"
"Oh... I learned their Bushido code. I learned Jujitsu. Their martial arts and culture..."
"Really? I learned combat styles from my simulation! Maybe we should train together." I said eagerly.
"We should... Although, Ethan, what WAS your simulation?"
"It was...."
(It's okay. You can tell him the truth,) I thought.
"It was Ender's Game. I went inside a book."
"Ethan... I read that book once. It's horribly dark..."
"Wait, you like reading?"
"Yeah, I do - Wait! Don't change the subject! Who did you become in the book?"
"I became Ender Wiggin. How about you? Did you become Nathan Algren?"
"I did. Like you said, I was much more likely to become him because I was white."
I thought about what I said long ago. Did I really say that? I once thought race had something to do with the simulation, but perhaps I was wrong.
"No, I became Ender, who isn't even Asian. I think. If the simulation was race-based, then I should've been someone else, like Fly Molo or Shen. I think I was wrong about that one."
(Being a proper leader is about admitting when you are wrong,) I thought.
"Maybe. I'm just glad that we're here now."
"Was... your simulation horrifying?"
"It was, Ethan," George said with moist eyes. "Even if they weren't real, they felt real to me."
"I understand, George. Completely."
I thought about the characters I met in the simulation. Even if they weren't real, they existed to me, and lived within my heart and mind. Unlike George, though, I received a fable from my simulation. They would always be with me.
"We should go to the next dungeon while the food cooks."
"Shouldn't we guard it?"
I thought about it.
"Okay, stay here, while I find out what the next scenario dungeon is."
"Wait, you don't have any weapons."
He was right. My melee weapons were destroyed a long time ago when I sacrificed myself to save George.
"Can I have one of your guns?"
"Uh... have you ever fired a gun?"
"I did fire mock laser guns at Battle school."
George nodded and handed me his LeMat pistol.
"Stay safe, okay?"
"I ain't going to make any promises that trouble won't find me," I joked.
"Ethan. Sir. Please," George said pleadingly.
"Don't worry, Georgy, I'll come back to you. I promise," I said with a smile.
George nodded with relief, and I turned around and looked for the next dungeon.
***
[Dokkaebi Communication is initiating!]
-[Ethan! Are you okay?]
It was Herald. I was a little afraid to talk to him. If I remember correctly, he belonged to something called the "Probability Monitoring Agency." Something along those lines.
-[Yeah, it's me.]
-[I gave you the rewards when you came back out!]
-[Thanks.]
-[You still have one additional reward that you didn't claim. Are you going to take it?]
-[I will. I just didn't want anyone to see, not even George.]
I heard that a bonus reward for clearing the literature dungeon would be an additional skill. The beautiful bonus was this: I could choose any plausible skill from any book, and it would convert into a skill that belonged to the Star Stream.
I went back into the book store, and searched for a book. A very specific one. I saw it. It was colored red, and it had black text printed on it's front. The title said-
[The Book of Sith]
I opened the book, and found the perfect skill. It was a Sith art, called cryokinesis. I didn't know if this ability was "canon" in Disney Star Wars, but I remember reading this ability when I was a young child. It had the ability to siphon heat from an object or person. Contrary to it's name, it didn't allow the person to control ice. Still, it would be very useful.
[Due to copyright, the skill-name will be renamed to "Frost Hands!"]
[You have gained a new skill!]
The Book of Sith glowed, and I heard a notification sound.
(I almost forgot about the Disaster of Lasers, but this will be perfect to fight them.)
I decided to keep the Book of Sith. Even though it was an "evil textbook," it was still useful. I found the other book, called the "Jedi Path." This book reflected the Jedi culture within Star Wars. I also found another book called the "Art of War."
(These will be great to read in my down-time.)
I carried these books with me, and walked around for a bit. I didn't encounter any enemies. Soon, I came across the next dungeon.
+
[Hidden Scenario-Toy Dungeon]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: A
Time Limit: None
Rewards: 60,000 coins, Two Items
Failure: Death?
Overall Evaluation: You must kill the Toy Master to animate the items and make them eligible for taking. If the Toy Master isn't killed, any items taken from the dungeon will no longer function. If you enter the dungeon, it is possible to escape.
+
I saw the information. I would finally be able to fight with George. We would need to strategize, and create any possible tactics. I peeked through the windows, and stared into the toy store. I saw so many items.
(Those will be ours soon enough.)