Before updating to version 0.5, Knight needed to test it first.
The update contained much more content than previous versions, and he wasn't sure if there would be any bugs in the code he had written.
Opening his friend list, Knight saw his friend "Crawford Shim" online. They had added each other at the Council Headquarters earlier.
Sigma Man: [Mr. Crawford, the Council section has been completed.]
Sigma Man: [Click the link below to sync your magic network. You'll see the changes after a quick restart.]
Sigma Man: [Magic Council ERA (Synchronization)]
Crawford didn't respond immediately, but Knight saw his status suddenly switch to offline. After a moment, Crawford reappeared online.
Crawford Shim: [I see it! Knight, what should I do now?]
Sigma Man: [I've unlocked all the section's permissions. There's a guide included as well.]
To avoid confusion, Knight took the time to explain most of the section's features. The full name of the section was "Magic Council ERA." After syncing, Crawford had complete control over it.
It took Knight about half an hour to explain everything.
Sigma Man: [There's not much content in this section yet. You can add and modify it yourself.]
Sigma Man: [For example, you could start by documenting the Magic Council's history, organizational structure, and ideals.]
Crawford Shim: [Great! Thanks, Knight! I'll take a look. Next time you're at the headquarters, I'll make sure to treat you well.]
Knight rolled his eyes. He had no intention of visiting the headquarters anytime soon. He finished the conversation with Crawford and opened another private chat window to message Jason, a reporter friend.
Sigma Man: [The Weekly Sorcerer section is ready. Click the link below to sync.]
Jason: [Cool!!]
Before Knight could finish typing, Jason sent his usual enthusiastic response.
Sigma Man: [Weekly Sorcerer (Sync)]
Sigma Man: [After syncing, you'll have full control over the content. I'm sure you'll figure it out on your own.]
With that, Knight left Jason to explore the new section and turned his attention to the real testing—two new features: Magic Web Express and Voice Chat.
"Who should I ask for help with the test?" Knight mused, randomly selecting a lucky tester from his friend list.
Seeing Lucy online… perfect! He forced her account to sync the update.
A few moments later, Lucy, who had lost connection, sent him a frantic message.
Make Efforts to Make Money: [Knight!!]
Make Efforts to Make Money: [I just lost connection to the magic network. Do you know what happened?]
Make Efforts to Make Money: [I asked the others in the guild, but it's only me. Is my ring broken?]
In her apartment next door, Lucy had just finished showering. Wrapped in a bath towel, she dried her hair while typing one-handed. Just then, a new application popped up on her magic network interface.
[User "Sigma Man" is requesting a voice chat. Do you accept?]
There was a five-second countdown before the request would automatically decline.
"Voice chat?" Lucy muttered in surprise. "Did Knight finish it already? So that's why my network synced earlier."
Out of curiosity, she clicked "Accept."
Suddenly, Knight's voice echoed in her mind.
Knight: [Hey, can you hear me?]
Startled, Lucy looked around the room. Knight wasn't there, but she could clearly hear him.
Knight: [Huh? Something wrong? Lucy?]
Lucy: [I'm here.]
Still adjusting to the new feature, Lucy was amazed by the telepathy-like connection.
Lucy: [This is incredible. Is this telepathy?]
Knight: [You could say that. Try saying more things. I need to check if it's working properly.]
Lucy: [Um, what should I say…?]
Lucy, flustered but excited, thought about how convenient this was compared to typing. Hearing Knight's voice directly made her heart skip a beat.
Lucy: [Knight's voice is really nice…]
She immediately froze, realizing that her inner thoughts had been transmitted.
Lucy: [Wait, why did I just say that out loud!?]
Knight: [You're doing great. I love the compliments. Keep them coming.]
Lucy's face turned crimson. She was mortified and wished she could disappear into a hole.
To make matters worse, her panicked thoughts continued to slip through the voice chat connection.
Lucy: [No! That's not what I meant!]
Knight: [I heard that. I'll dock your pay for teasing me.]
Lucy: [No! Demon! Devil! Vampire!]
Frantically, she tried to compensate.
Lucy: [Knight is amazing. Lord Knight is so handsome. Please don't deduct my pay!]
Knight chuckled.
Knight: [Alright, no more teasing. It seems there's a small issue with the voice chat. I'll fix it later.]
While the ability to transmit inner thoughts was amusing, it was definitely a flaw that needed to be addressed. Users wouldn't appreciate having their private thoughts broadcasted.
Lucy: [So, I'm your guinea pig, huh?]
Lucy: [And you haven't even thanked me yet, you idiot!]
Her inner thoughts betrayed her again, and she covered her face, blushing furiously. She was sure Knight would come over any second to tease her in person.
Knight: [Relax, Lucy. There's one more feature I need you to help me test.]
Lucy: [Another one? Will you at least pay me for this? (Inner thought)]
Knight: [I'll give you an extra 100J.]
Just then, another prompt popped up in her interface.
[User "Sigma Man" has sent you a Magic Web Express. Do you want to receive it?]
Express? Curious, Lucy pressed "Accept."
A golden magic circle appeared in front of her. In the blink of an eye, the underwear she had just taken out of the drawer vanished.
Lucy: [My… my underwear!?]
On the other side, Knight was waiting for a book to be delivered to him via the express feature. Instead, a pair of black lace underwear appeared on top of it.
Knight stared at it in disbelief.
Knight: [Who wrote this buggy code? Oh, right… that was me.]
Knight couldn't help but laugh as he held up Lucy's underwear.
Knight: [I didn't expect this from you, Lucy.]
Lucy: [Give it back!!]
Flustered beyond words, Lucy bolted out of her apartment, still in her bath towel, rushing to retrieve her missing underwear from Knight's place.