In our settlement, Ciella and I watched over our patient while maintaining both our food and Water Supply both of which were surprisingly abundant. Our patient regained consciousness.
"How are you?" Ciella asked.
"I'm fine. How long have I been unconscious?" he asked.
"No one's been counting. These past few days have been very hectic for us" I said.
"How did you get bitten by the Basilisk anyway?" Ciella asked.
"Actually…I wasn't. Not directly anyway. I was actually bitten by one of the many beasts between this place and my village that had been bitten by the Basilisk" our patient said.
"How did all this start?" I asked.
"I am the chief of a village of farmers living beyond the forest where I was bitten. We depend on the river in that forest to feed our livestock and irrigate our Farms. Recently however, a lot of livestock began to die mysteriously. Those that didn't die ended up in a state of total petrification. They were alive but as rigid as stone. The common factor in all of this was the river from which these animals drank. I came to this place while searching for villages with strong warriors and met you. My name is Bahn by the way" the boy said.
"Not Bane?" I asked.
"Not Bane, Bahn" the boy clarified.
"I got rid of the Basilisk while you were unconscious" I told him.
"You did?! That's great! I should tell my entire village immediately!" the boy said excitedly.
He accessed a menu and seemed to converse with some people at the other end. When he cut the line, he looked slightly downcast.
"Everyone is excited that the Basilisk was destroyed but at the same time, they're fearful that this incident might repeat itself so I've been told to ask you if you would serve as Guardians for my people" the boy said.
"Hmm, we just set up our own food supply system and Water Supply System so we can't leave this location" I said.
"I see" the boy looked disappointed.
"However, if you and your people migrate to this place, we could watch over you and you could survive on our food and Water Supply" I said.
"That's great news! My people are excellent farmers. We are a population of about thirty five presently. We could farm and maintain your fields. However, it would not be very wise of you to treat them as though you were their leader. Our tribe operates around a system of elders though in the end most of the major decisions are left to me to decide. If you try to impose your leadership upon them, they might interpret it as slavery. If you have any decisions you wish to implement, relay it to me and I'll discuss it with my elders. My people are very reasonable so they would understand that you have the right to make decisions concerning your food and Water Supply. In exchange for your protection, we will tend your fields, however, you must treat us all kindly. Any disagreements should be negotiated through debates organized in a civilized manner and my people should have the right to choose to acknowledge or disregard an order" Bahn said.
"You and your people will be allowed to use our farms and irrigation channels. Any food they produce, they can store utilizing our storage facilities or storage facilities they construct themselves. Their farms belong to them and so do their harvests. If they choose not to perform any task assigned to them, they can reap benefits from that task for as long as a member of your village participated in that task and fulfilled their quota. What they earn will be up to you and your elders to decide" I said.
"That is a reasonable treaty. Now I must discuss it with my people. I will return in a few days with our decision" Bahn said and walked away.
In our various lands, this event occurred but in different ways. The common factor was that our patients belonged to a village that specialized in one of the skills we had employed to survive. Immediately our patients left, we received a new notification.
"Congratulations on completing the Immunization And Antidotes Phase. You have gradually began to master the basics of modern medicine. The next level commences now. It's time for some Assignments and Operators! The basics of logic and creativity start from here. Which are you? A Realist or a Dreamer? Are you both or are you none? Find your answer in this level. Do your best. So far you've only had to use the 'Circle' and 'Cross' buttons. Time for the 'Box' button. Some of you might actually pull off a 'Triangle' button! Operation Midgard commences now! At least…the prequel does" my Dad said with a sinister laugh and the line cut.
"'Cross', 'Circle', 'Box', 'Triangle'. Aren't those the predominant buttons on a Playstation Neo controller?" Ciella asked.
"Exactly, don't really know the origins of the Playstation Console but my Dad has an interesting name for the predominant buttons on the controller. Take a look at our next skill and you might get a hint" I said.
Ciella opened her menu.
"Gemini? The Twins?" she gasped in surprise.
"Yes, twins are born at the same time but not all twins have the same features. Some are identical in appearance but different in attitude. Some are identical in attitude but different in appearance. Some are identical in both ways and some are not identical in any way while some actually share the same body" I said.
"Different forms huh? Could this be a connotation for Formations?" Ciella realized.
"My Dad calls the four predominant buttons of the PlayStation Neo Controller the Cherubim Formation! Triangle for the Heavens, Box for the Earth, Cross for the Horizon where the Heavens meet the Earth and Circle for Immortality, without beginning, without end. You could call those buttons Cardinal Points. One for the North, one for the South, one for the East and one for the West. What is at the centre is completely invisible but those buttons can see in all directions connoting Omniscience. No one can eavesdrop on their secrets so they have total awareness however, they are completely concealed. Absolute stealth plus Absolute Vision. Hence the ancient saying, 'if you want to tell anyone a secret that can never be revealed, tell it to three others in the open plains where no walls can obstruct your view lest an adversary hides behind an obstruction. Make sure each of you face a single direction to conceal your blindspots.' That is also an ancient battle formation known as the Tortoise Shell Formation. The only defensive formation capable of completely nullifying a barrage of arrows. The strength of the Formation ultimately depends on the strength of the shield as well as the skill of its wielder. That is the Cherubim Formation!" I said seriously.
"You could deduce all that just from the buttons of the PlayStation Neo Controller?" Ciella stared at me in surprise.
"Well it's simple really. In most PlayStation Neo Fighting Games, X is for 'Guard'. Triangle is for a 'High Punch'. Box is for a 'Low Punch' and Circle is for a 'Kick' where the feet you use for walking usually connects with the opponent's face, simply put, a midair kick. When my Dad makes PlayStation Neo jokes, it's no joke. It's in fact at the class of an ancient proverb. The reason one of our family's ultimate Bloodline Limits is associated with Gaming. Also the reason Concordia and I had to have that showdown in my Gramps' Gaming Studio" I said with a smirk.
"So how does the Formation work?" Ciella asked.
"In a sense, it revolves around affinities and is quite similar to your basic Rock, Paper, Scissors. Here is how it works. Heaven (Triangle/High Punch) is strong against Earth (Box/Low Punch) and Immortality (Circle/Kick) but weak against Horizon (Cross/Guard) hence Horizon (Cross/Guard) is the only way to guard against Divine Retribution (Triangle/High Punch). Horizon (Cross/Guard) is strong against Heaven (Triangle/High Punch), Immortality (Circle/Kick) and aligns well with Earth (Box/Low Punch). Earth (Box/Low Punch) can reject Horizon (Cross/Guard) but that will turn Earth (Box/Low Punch) into its own trap, simply put, a jinx. Immortality (Circle/Kick) is strong against Earth (Box/Low Punch) but weak against Heaven (Triangle/High Punch) and Horizon (Cross/Guard). When Earth (Box/Low Punch) fuses with Horizon (Cross/Guard) it becomes absolutely immune to Heaven (Triangle/High Punch) and immortality (Circle/Kick) but at the same time achieves the traits of both (Triangle/High Punch + Circle/Kick). It's kinda complicated to explain but that's the basis of all combo attacks. Let's take things slow. That's what my Dad meant by 'Operators'. Operators are the basis of all logic after all" I explained to Ciella.
"Talk about a well-designed controller" Ciella said.
"It's why Martial Artists naturally excel at Fighting Games. They don't even have to memorize preset moves. The logic comes naturally to them so it's making the connection between conceptualization and expression through the coded buttons, what my Dad calls a game that executes directly from the nerve pulses. Modern games try to do this by drawing out the abilities of the player to mentally conceptualize moves and to execute them via physical motion. In that sense Virtual Reality games could even be used to train gamers in sports techniques especially when combined with Augmented Reality Devices" I said.