[The Leaderboard]
1. The Second Daughter 1105 Kills
2. The First Son 996 Kills
3. The Third Daughter 927 Kills
4. Axel 886 Kills
5. The Fourth Daughter 871 Kills
6. The Sixth Son 824 Kills
7. The Fifth Son 692 Kills
8. Dynasty King 673 Kills
9. Flower Maiden 626 Kills
10. The Seventh Son 543 Kills
The bee farm had managed to earn Thorne a spot on the leaderboard, albeit last place. Perhaps if he had been able to log in and kill some mobs the few days he was unconscious, his ranking would have been a lot higher. Not that he was complaining though.
In fact, he wasn't thinking anything at all. The first on the leaderboard with over a thousand kills was personally carrying them through the field of flowers. Looking at the number of mobs that sprung up from the glowing neon flowery fields, Thorne estimated that it would have taken him alongside Mufasa and Po roughly four to five days to cross the field. Large mobs and butterflies dominated this area in numbers and even Thorne would have found it a hassle getting rid of them.
But that was definitely not the case for the monstrous person ahead of them though. The duo watched, awestruck, as she leapt high into the air and smashed the creatures to paste with her bare fists.
"Just how much did you pay her?" Thorne whispered to Po. Hiring such a powerhouse would definitely not have been cheap.
"I gave her the bee farm." Po whispered back.
"When I logged in the following day she was at our spot killing the mobs. I think the explosion from before drew her over."
"So you charged her for it?" Thorne found Po's bravery commendable.
"Do you think I have a death wish?" Po shot back incredulously.
"I told her she could have it for free but she refused. She offered to pay.
After i found out that you had been brought in, unconscious, I offered her this deal and she accepted. Now lets just enjoy the experience. Its not everyday you get such an impressive tour guide plus I have never really taken time to admire the beauty o this place."
Thorne watched on as she continuously decimated monsters ahead. Even though it didn't seem like it, they were rapidly powering through the flower fields. Aside announcing her presence, Ms. second lady here had said nothing else. Thorne didn't bother striking up a conversation in case it became a distraction. He didn't join in killing mobs too because according to Po, their role here was to follow. Nothing else!
He figured that her immense strength had something to do with her cosmogem because she appeared not to be using a starshard. Maybe he would find time to ask about it later. Maybe.
For now, with nothing doing, he followed Po's directive and looked around, taking in the environment.
As they walked through the field, he noticed that the stems of the flowers were thick and sturdy, reaching up to several feet in height. They swayed gently in the breeze, causing the flowers to bob and weave gracefully with each passing gust.
The blooms themselves were massive, each one measuring several feet in diameter. They were shaped like giant daisies, with broad petals that curved gently upwards towards the sky. Some of the petals were semi-transparent, giving them a delicate, ethereal quality, and they were tinted with a soft, neon glow that seemed to emanate from within.
Previously, Thorne would have shot multiple complements at the developers of the game for this level of creativity but with the crazy events that transpired over the past few days, he begun to question the origin of the game.
As he approached the flowers, he saw that the glow was actually coming from a cluster of tiny, luminescent cells that were nestled in the heart of each bloom. Those cells pulsed rhythmically, creating a ethereal light show that was both calming and invigorating.
The colors of the flowers were spectacular. Some blooms were a brilliant, electric blue, while others were a deep, rich magenta. There were shades of neon green, fuchsia, and even bright orange, all of them glowing softly in the evening light.
Deciding not to hold in in any longer, He asked Po, who was next to him,
"Hey, what's the origin of this place? Is it really just a game?"
"Oh no no no" Po refuted, "Nexus wasn't made, it was discovered"
"Discovered,..." Thorne couldn't figure out how such a place could have been discovered.
"Everything started when the Federation decided that they needed a much stronger army to combat the government. Since they couldn't equal the government in the number of soldiers it had, they chose to go for an option that countered it. They wanted an army that would never feel fatigue, an army that could be on the battlefield for days without exhaustion or the need for rations.
They wanted an army of robots. Not just ordinary robots but ones capable of rational thought just like humans..."
....
....
....
Thorne looked up and fond Po silently looking at him.
"Why did you stop?"
"Stop...did i ?", Po cleared his throat loudly. '" Ah yes...where was I?
"Robots capable of rational thought." Thorne answered mechanically.
"Ah ...yes. They wanted robots capable of rational and independent thoughts and actions. What better way to do that than to transfer the consciousness of a human into a robot...."
Po paused again, looking at Thorne expectantly.
Thorne sighed as he voiced out an 'oh really' to satisfy the fellow.
"Oh yes", Po sounded pleased. "That was exactly what they did. Under the lead of an expert alongside Dr Newman, yes him, they carried out the first ever experiment to do that. There, everything went south. An accident occurred in the process and instead of transferring the consciousness of the test subject to a robot, they sent it somewhere else, Nexus...."
...
....
"And then?"
"They were the ones who also discovered that they could manifest in game abilities with aether. They originally intended on hoarding the technology but they were betrayed for some reason by the families who turned it in to the government."
'The question now was the actual origin of Nexus', Thorne thought. 'How did such a magical place come into being?'
How do you know all this stuff he asked. He was surprised at Po's depth of knowledge.
The latter poised proudly, clasping his hands behind him. "Why wouldn't I know? Don't you know who I am?"
"We're here"
A voice up ahead drew the two over and they abruptly ended their conversation. Unknowingly, they had already crossed the flower fields and had now arrived at the base of a magnificent polished structure.
Their timers read,
[00:08:47]