The forest was calm and beautiful with the wind blowing occasionally, causing the trees to rustle to an fro. If it wasn't for the eerie silence, devoid of any animal life, One would have imagined this to be an incredible forest in the world somewhere.
But no.
In a part of the forest, A camp fire raged on gently as a man kept feeding wood into it. The man was Aydin, who had recently chosen to stay up and guard the camp while the rest of his new team mates went to take a rest.
It had probably been an hour since they left, and in two more hours, he would finally have the opportunity to go to sleep too, in his own cabin. His own Cabin!
Aydin felt excited about this whole experience.
He had never built a cabin before. It was an incredible tiring venture to be a part of, however to watch everything happen from the ground up in a single day was a very fulfilling experience.
They had managed to build 3 small cabins in 12 to 16 hours. Those kinds of stats were insane for normal people, but luckily, the Chosen were far from normal. Heck, it may prove difficult to even call them people…
Were people capable of doing the things they were capable of?
Julio had inhuman strength, and although he seemed stupid at times, he showed a keen intellect that is able to figure things out after encountering them once. His adaptability and understanding of how to use his body is almost god-like and, without him putting in the work of physical labour, none of this would have been possible.
And then there's Midas. The enigmatic genius who somehow has a solution to any problem. Although Midas may be physically weak, Aydin felt like in a fight, underestimating him would be a grave mistake.
Unconsciously, Aydin had joined this group called "The Secret" and he had somehow found himself becoming closer and closer with the other two men. Even though he felt tired right now, this was the most enjoyable day he had had in a long time.
He still did not trust the two though… He was merely here for a good time, not a long time. If He found a better backer, then he would immediately jump ship to have the opportunity to sail the wider seas.
"These Cambium Chips get better and better the more you eat them, hehe!" said Aydin to himself while savouring the mild and smoky flavour. He had no idea that there was such a thing as Cambium. He also had no idea that some of it was edible. He felt so late to the game.
Aydin was currently idling, roasting some Cambium Chips and reading the First Holy Book that Midas had been touting about as the way, the truth and the light. He had nothing better to do. There really was not much to be done in this forest.
He felt like the past 16 hours ever since he first approached Midas, he had been exposed to so much and learned so much about people and about himself.
He had been caught in the act of scamming Midas, then almost forced to join the group. Then he had seen a well coordinated scam at the Shrine Plaza's Transfer Gate. Then he had almost been kidnapped or killed by some Slaver, and then he had worked himself like a Slave for the purpose of building his cabin.
The irony in those events was funny, even to Aydin.
So much happened, and yet it felt like a dream. He still wasn't sure why he was here in these Trials.
Why him? Why now?
He was sure there were many more intelligent, much stronger people on Earth. Why not give them the opportunity to partake?
He was incredibly frightened, but he was also incredibly hopeful for his future. He would just take things as they come. He would try his best everyday, no matter what. He had hope that he could use his abilities to survive any terrible situation and come out on top.
He had done it before on so many occasions.
"Aydin,"
"Ahh!!" screamed Aydin after being frightened out of his reverie. He checked out the source of the sound and realised that it was Midas walking out of his cabin with a sheepish and slightly apologetic expression on his face.
"Sorry for frightening you," said Midas after making his way to the fireplace and sitting on a log seat.
"It's fine. It was just unexpected, that's all. Wait, weren't you supposed to come out last? Also isn't it too early to come out?"
"I know I know… I just can't sleep. I keep having nightmares," said Midas with embarrassment. Aydin was surprised. This demon has nightmares? What could possibly scare the demon?
"What happened?"
"Well, it's nothing. Just something that happened in my Actualisation Test, that's all."
"Oh. I totally get it. That test was a nightmare…"
"I know, right?"
"How's the cabin?"
"It smells like wood. The floor is too hard. We need to make beds. Maybe some chairs too. Other stuff as well. We should also build a defense system, like gates or watchtowers or something… Hmmm…"
Aydin watched as Midas went into one of his moments where he would think out loud. He wondered to himself how he could get to know how he thought. He also wondered if it was ever possible to steal his Skills.
Meanwhile, Midas continued on, "We should also get going with making a toilet. I don't know about you, but I saw some poop on the floor of the forest and that shit creeped me the fuck out, literally. Like why would you just leave a single poop-sickle like that, just lonely in the forest."
"Hahaha, poor poopy"
"Yeah. I'm sorry if I seem like a slave driver sometimes. I just want the best for myself and the people I care about, you know… Sometimes that need comes out a bit too authoritative."
"No, I get it. I've never owned a cabin before. I like the fact that I can just say that I own a cabin. I think it's cool," said Aydin with a calm smile on his face. But in his heart he knew that he resented and even envied Midas. If there ever came a time where he had the opportunity to one up Midas…
"Pfft, what a weirdo," said Midas.
"So, you're just going to chill here?" asked Aydin to which Midas nodded.
"Yeah. I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you or anything, but since I can't sleep anyway, then I might as well guard the flames while you guys sleep. That's how I felt when I came out."
"I see. Well, I will take you up on your offer and go to sleep. But make sure to wake Julio up when it's his turn. You don't want to be burned out tomorrow do you?"
"Aye Aye, Captain Aydin."
"Haha, Fuck off!" said Aydin in mock anger while Midas laughed to himself. Aydin stood up and left in the direction of his cabin. But before he entered the cabin, he turned again and said, "Doors. You forgot to count the doors that we should add to the cabins."
"Yep. How could I forget. We don't wanna one day see some things we don't have to see," said Midas in contemplation.
"Like what?"
"Like Julio masturbating to that picture of Maria that I sent him."
"Pff Hahaha…" laughed an Aydin who had already entered his cabin.
Midas just sat there, thinking. He could not go to sleep. That was bad. Sleep is a very important process for the brain as it helps the brain regulate long term memory and neuron health.
Midas had not slept in more than 60 million years, but that was due to the Physical State Negation of the Actualisation Test. Now that he came back to reality, he figured he would be able to kick the habit.
Well… The habit ended up kicking him.
Midas sighed and figured that he would have to rely on deep meditations from now on to counter this. It was likely that this was not a mental condition, as he was sure that his Index would register that as Insomnia. So the question was, what was it?
Midas shook his head. He would figure it out soon enough. For now, he should just focus on doing what he can.
And so he stood up and grabbed some planks and got to work, crafting more useful materials and tools.
Hours later, the morning sun was creeping up at the horizon, sending up rays of light jutting everywhere in sight. Sounds of scraping could be heard in the Secret Camp. It was Midas, who was putting finishing touches on some windows that could open and close.
"Morning, sleepyheads," said Midas to the yawning Aydin and the confused Julio who had lines of dried up drool running down the sides of his face. Whose Milk had he been drinking in his dreams?
"What's the time?" asked Aydin
"It's like 7am"
"Why didn't you wake me?" asked Julio in a panic. Midas laughed and said:
"Well it's fine. I had stuff to do anyway. And you slept well didn't you? I'm sure you were tired after the heavy lifting. In comparison to me, who did not physically exert himself that much, you guys deserved some rest."
Saying this prompted a head shake from the two of them.
Aydin and Julio woke up at almost the same time and found Midas busy as always. They shook their heads after looking around. This guy was a workaholic. He had made more tools, more weapons, and furniture? After spotting a barrel that was meant to carry water, Aydin signaled to Julio and said:
"Hey, Midas! Julio and I are gonna carry these water barrels and fetch some water with them. We'll contact you if we find out anything interesting."
"Oh? Thank you so much, that would be wonderful," said Midas with a radiant smile on his face. He did not look like someone who had not slept in 2 days. Julio and Aydin felt like they should try to make it quick so that they could come back and allow Midas to get some sleep finally.
And so they left, taking with them two water buckets that looked like barrels. Midas watched them leave with an interested gaze. They're thinking too much…
"It's fine, let them overreact…" mumbled Midas to himself with a cunning smile.
Bible of the Self, Fourth Testament of the Heavens, Gospel of Transactions, Chapter 1, verse 19 states: "Human Interactions are nothing more than Transactions between Entities that are seeking to make a Profit."
This sentiment is very true, especially when one considers the idea of what transactions are. Transactions, by dictionary definition, are exchanges or interactions between people, normally with the purpose of buying and selling.
When this concept is applied to people, the whole dynamic of human interaction changes, whereby everything a person has to offer can be commodified and have some intrinsic value attached to it so that it can be traded with other things.
One could call things traded by people as "Indicators of Effort"
A joke said in conversation. A gift given to a loved one. A piece of advice given to a friend. A certain body language cue meant to communicate feelings. A hug. A kiss.
All of these are examples of Indicators of Effort, or commodities, exchanged during the Transactions between humans. The special issue with Indicators of Effort is that they have some intrinsic value based on how useful they are.
And example goes as follows:
{A pretty girl walks into a classroom, and heads to the back of the class where she finds the class nerd sitting and reading a book. She then grabs his attention, smiles at him, and asks him if he had done the previous day's mathematics homework and if so, if he could let her copy off his work.
The nerd, flustered by the smile and the pretty face, says yes immediately and fumbles through his bag to find the homework. He then gives it to her, after which she smiles again and says, "Thank you so much" and with a turn of her heel, she then leaves the classroom, leaving the boy with his heart ringing through his chest.}
If one unpacks the happenings, and analyses them according to the reference frame of transactions, one would find that a transaction did occur.
The nerd's Indicator of Effort, his homework, was traded for the pretty girl's Indicator of Effort, her smiles and attention.
Is this a fair trade? Midas would argue that there is no such thing as a fair trade. Especially in this trade.
If analysed on usefulness only, the homework is much more useful than the girl's smiles and attention, and therefore the nerdy boy ended up making a huge loss on his transaction. And yet he still felt okay about his transaction in his heart… Like an Idiot.
Why? Just because she's pretty? Her attention is rare? Her smile is beautiful?
What a joke.
The most interesting thing is that people keep count of the value they have exchanged with others and the net value ends up determining the relationship they have with other people. Effectively, If people make a net loss, they end up feeling like they owe others, and thus need to repay them.
The same way the nerd felt okay with giving away the homework for a measly little smile. His persona was already occupying the position of a net loss, and thus he felt no need to fix anything. And yet, unbeknownst to him, his actions are landing him in an even bigger net loss over time, as he is cementing his place as her dependent.
In future, she could keep using him, keep escalating the favours she asks of him, and the nerd would never notice a thing as he would be trying to recoup his subconscious losses. Like the Loser he is.
That principle is what Midas was employing on Julio and Aydin.
Midas, by expending himself the was he currently was, was creating transactions that Julio and Aydin could never possibly repay in the short term. This, therefore, created an obligation in both of them to help out Midas in any way they can, so as to alleviate that guilt caused by their subconscious net loss.
Midas would never be worried about them escaping their obligation as he would always make sure to do things that would make them trust him and rely on him more and more… Soon enough, a dynamic would be built, whereby Aydin and Julio would be moving according to Midas' whims.
It was only a matter of time.
|————————————
| Notification |
—————
Julio Gabriel Alvarez has sent you a message.
Julio Gabriel Alvarez has sent you a message.
Julio Gabriel Alvarez has sent you a message.
Julio Gabriel Alvarez has sent you a message.
————————————|
Midas was snapped out of his reverie by an incoming message from Julio. Midas didn't think much of it, but still opened it up to view anything interesting that may have happened. What he saw instantly put a frown on his face.
————————————|
| Julio Gabriel Alvarez |
—————
…
Midas: I hope you enjoyed that picture.
Julio: I did, thanks.
…
Julio: Midas!
Julio: We're being attacked by those guys who were enslaved.
Julio: There's too many of them, and they have a High Rank guys who are really dangerous.
Julio: Midas, run awa—
————————————|
Midas sighed to himself after reading this.
"I guess they're gonna owe me a lot more after this."