"This is all your fault!"
"Hup ---!"
Elior's was a body not suited for battle.
He confirmed it two days after waking up in Renaris; it was a body that was all-green when he looked at it through the original ability that he had thankfully brought along.
He ran to escape from his pursuer, but it wasn't for long when the guy began to close in.
Despite being almost breathless and his legs about to give in, he continued to run, confident in his ability that even crossed dimensions.
There were a few people near the main mansion, but he instead ran off-course in the direction he came from, going to an area where both his instinct and ability are leading him—he approached the walls of vines that make up some sort of labyrinth inside the Lichtstiele gardens.
"Heuk ---"
A sharp dagger missed piercing his shoulder; it only grazed him enough for blood to ooze and wet his inappropriately chosen white outfit. It just shows that the guy was intent on going for the kill.
He sprinted with all he's got until, finally, he arrived at the mouth of the maze.
Its walls have a width equivalent to the arm span of an average adult man, while having a height five times its width. It was a very useful means of security that was sure to annoy both enemies and guests that dared to come uninvited.
The labyrinth that stretches miles along the estate's perimeter walls separated the gate from the residential buildings. It was the first place he visited and toured after his recovery.
And he's got just the right thing, enabling him to tread around the maze without getting lost. The moment he stepped inside, he activated his ability for the first time today, bearing the thought of escaping from the guy coming for his life.
Amidst the red-tinted maze are green paths and shortcuts that will lead to his safety.
Wayfinder—that's what he'd like to call his ability. Whether to find a flaw, get in the correct direction, or be guided to the right course of action, it was a very useful gift for finding his way through anything.
When he reached a sharp turn, he immediately found a hole on the other side of the wall, which could be easily ignored if one was not paying attention, especially that it's at a height around an average man's waist.
Elior Lichstiele, who is currently 10 years old, was smaller than anyone his age. Moreover, he is slender, and rightly so; he was able to go through the hole by squeezing himself, noticeably shaking the part of the wall in the process.
He decelerated to catch his breath when he saw the guy was no longer behind him.
"Hah, hah, damn it!"
Then he stopped and momentarily collapsed, his slim legs finally giving in. He couldn't help but reflect that the last seven days he could fully recall were chock full of events that pumped out his adrenaline.
"Hah."
It was a good thing that he became familiar with the Lichtstiele's labyrinth.
One may wonder how this would serve its purpose when it is only made out of walls of vines that can be trampled down, flown over, or burned, but he thought it was for 20% security while the rest was to simply annoy people.
"It'll be safer to return to the annex."
While he was standing in front of the wall, feeling the thin wires behind the vines, he suddenly smelled burning, accompanied by a sudden rise in the temperature.
Not much time was needed before he knew what happened, as he caught the fierce eyes of his pursuer from behind the wall, with the vines slowly disintegrating from what looked to be energy light coming out of the man's body.
"Hahaha---!"
He laughed helplessly at his situation; he almost forgot that he was supposed to be facing misfortunes at the moment.
His laughter drew a surprised expression from the opposite person, who then glared at him more than before.
Right before the portion of the wall is totally destroyed, the young master Elior, who had already recovered, somehow dashed while, for the second time, activating his wayfinder.
There was no turning back, even as he heard the sound of the violent shaking of the walls that were interconnected; it still took some time before the wires were destroyed. Of course, that wouldn't have stopped someone who is a swordmaster. Fortunately, the one chasing him down was no swordmaster.
He was already able to turn a couple of times, unsure of the direction he was going.
At one point he came to another shortcut, and he almost gasped when he saw the pursuer's back, who was still actively searching for him. Finding a hole that was dug beneath a wall, he crawled in and then ran straight in the opposite direction.
'The annex will be much safer, but...'
In the end, he came back to where he was from, and with a bloodied arm, he proceeded to the library like nothing happened. He supposed that the pursuer would think about pinning him down at the annex. Elior was glad he made some backup plans.
"Hi."
"Good afternoon, young master."
The strict-looking librarian has his eyes on his long sleeves, which are dying in red, but he says nothing more after the greeting. The young man in young master Eli's body found this attitude of the servants rather convenient, so after asking in what section he could find books related to the history of the Empire, Eli just went on his way.
Cyber-attacks or even its security follow different stages or phases for successful implementation. Take, for example, the widely known framework called the cyber-attack chain or kill chain, which was adapted from the military.
The seven stages of this framework start out with reconnaissance, that is, identifying targets and vulnerabilities and gathering relevant information that would make the rest of the phases possible.
It is pretty much common sense to "know" in order to "do."
But isn't it funny that the bastard gambler, who sent him here, didn't give even a tiny hint of the basics?
The bastard with the face of the Saint of Lohiya they so much respected was one with no common sense.
In the end, it was up to him to fill in the gaps. After recovering two days from an incident he just knew as kidnapping, he spent the rest until today learning the fundamentals.
Who was he? He was Elior Lichtstiele, the third young master of the house of Lichtstiele, a ducal house of the Holy Empire, Lysargia.
Given the treatment by the servants, such as how they could openly criticize him, it was easy to deduce that his status in the house isn't much; in fact, it can be said to equal that of an illegitimate son.
It was so low that nobody really cared, except for his attendant, Alen, the middle-aged man who welcomed him when he was retrieved. The atmosphere in the annex was like the servants were doing the minimum to keep him alive but didn't really mind if he died.
But this comes with a great advantage for the hacker, Argus, who will be borrowing Elior Lichtstiele for a time.
'You have three missions.'
The bastard gambler said after he signed the fraudulent contract.
'Help the hero.'
He knows the hero of Renaris, Caleb, so it might work.
'Protect the saint.'
The saint was a valuable asset that was certainly needed.
'Stop the dream.'
The crazy bastard got all-glitchy afterwards, and he was left wondering why he was being cryptic all of a sudden.
After a few more words that included bonuses and little favors, he was engulfed by a bright light and woke up with a bump on his head.
Yes, that was all. The missions converge on the ultimate thing, which was saving Renaris and the worlds beyond, which include Lohiya.
'Damn it all, why not?'
The third young master, Eli, put down all the books that might contain significant information he could make use of while remembering quotes that revolved around "optimism" and "dreaming big" for self-motivation.
'Let's build a computer, then a data center, a network...'
He needed intelligence to be the intelligence.
Unknowingly, this was the beginning of change in Renaris that the hero, Caleb, never anticipated and was greatly fearful of.
But all's well that ends well.
Years later, this beginning would be recorded in the biography of Renaris' Father of Internet.
***
"Hi."
It was already dark when he returned to the annex building. Renaris neither have a moon nor stars, and the only sources that lighten up the cold, dark night are the magical lamps that were installed on what looks to be street lights.
Eli would have missed seeing the late-night guest if not for the man's golden orbs reflected on the light, staring coldly at him like a predator.
No, he wasn't actually a late-night guest. He was a guest that Eli had invited earlier in the afternoon, so he must have waited quite a few hours.
"You are late."
"Yes."
The night is the best time to reveal secrets.
The glare went a notch colder as Eli just agreed with a smiling face.
"Well, it's not that bad, considering that guy in your hands."
"This? Yes, thanks to you, we were able to talk real well."
The unconscious person who was beaten black and blue was the same guy who was chasing Eli at the labyrinth, one who used to be his probationary escort knight.
And the golden-eyed person Eli is currently talking to is the esteemed Sir Lancelot of the Gold Order.
In other words, the Imperial Police.
He was Eli's first designated target.