*****
Seated in front of a small table positioned before multiple holographic screens, was a green haired figure dressed in a mint coloured onesie.
Their hood was down, and their green hair was messily packed into a bun.
They stared with tired and puffy eyes at the large holographic screen in front of them, their entire being shrouded in the darkness of a familiar looking room.
They had been mindlessly scrolling through the internet, looking for inspiration and a player-type, and had not caught a wink of sleep over the past few days, since they began their search.
A few days ago, they had received their soul stone and normally should be in no hurry to look for a player or withdraw their initial story.
But fame as we all know is a double edged sword, and the internet illiterate J, more familiarly known as Jupiter learned that the hard way.
"Damn capitalists.", Jupiter murmured, exhausted.
Their eyes accidentally grazing past the clock at the bottom of the screen.
7: 28 Eet.
'About half an hour left…'
"Yawn… I hate it when this happens."
They finally gave into their exhaustion and yawned, leaning forward and slumping onto the table, their mind occupied with the results of their fruitless search.
"Inspiration is exhausting and difficult.", They muttered, purely exhausted and not lazy.
"So much for new and unconventional."
They added, chuckling at themselves and gradually dozed off.
Reeng!
An odd notification sound barely woke Jupiter up from their nap, but before they could doze back off, they instantly remembered where it was from.
"A review?", Jupiter rose up from the table and reached out for their computer in order to check it out.
"Oh, and it's for my fanfic."
They found themselves smiling, and felt more energetic.
Jupiter's fanfic wasn't all that popular among their fan base, and that's because a majority of their readers could not read past the first forty something worth of chapters.
All because those chapters were centred around Valeria, and the history of Tayekan Empire.
The fanfic basically gave more insight into the main story and its characters backstories, without spoiling the main story.
It was extremely important to Jupiter, because that was what he truly wanted to write. Unfortunately, not many wanted to read it, and that eventually led to the decline in interest, and the decision to resume the main story.
Shaking their head as though trying to shake off the bad thoughts, they logged into their account and clicked on the review.
Watching it load, a figure appeared in their head with similar green hair.
And when they thought of how such a person would react to the review, they chuckled.
"If she were here, she would be happy."
Placing their focus on the clustered words, they read through it with an excitement unusual for a tired person to possess.
But as they read further, their excitement faded and they could barely hold their anger in.
"Why the- Oh, It's one of those Anya followers."
Jupiter commented, halfway through the review. But glanced over the review one more time then paused at the name.
"ITechvan…?", They murmured, confused.
'ITechvan likes Anya…?'
Jupiter found that hard to comprehend because he had never showed any subtle or explicit affection for any of their characters.
This was the first time he had ever written anything about his novels, and had even expressed his dislike for Valeria.
Jupiter clearly remembered this internet user whose very first review was after 20 chapters, and how it had made their day.
He left a comment every chapter and talked more about the novel, characters and their brilliance, than a specific character.
And had never explicitly sided with a character so Jupiter thought he was kinda cool and 'player material'.
But his somewhat negative review left a bad taste in their mouth.
Unlike QueenVal who wholeheartedly expressed her admiration for Valeria rather than the novel, ITechvan expertly evaluated his work and though there were some negatives and critical parts, his comments and reviews ultimately made Jupiter feel proud of themselves.
Leading to Jupiter to develop a one sided relationship of admiration, and expectations for this reader.
And because of the one sided relationship they felt with him, Jupiter decided to respond to his comments and possibly find out what was on his mind.
But the more Jupiter typed, the more they realized how unreasonable ITechvan was when it came to Anya.
"Haa let's just not completely ruin the image I have of ITechvan and let him be."
Jupiter had their doubts since his review earlier on, but now they definitely knew he was a new reader, who had no idea of white lotuses, or normal lotuses!
"Tch, how cliche, but there goes another one, and it's someone like ITechvan no less."
They muttered, reading their conversation all over again.
…
"Haa… so frustrating."
Still in the same position as last time, Jupiter re-read the last reply they had sent out to ITechvan.
Despite his seemingly calm front, he was a little sad and hurt that ITechvan was one of the people who disliked Valeria.
"Is there something wrong with Valeria?"
He muttered to himself as he leaned backwards, and gently collapsed on the floor.
The problem could of course not be Valeria but ITechvan's tastes, but there was nothing he could do about it, because excessive contact with the host world was forbidden.
"Damn capitalists.", Jupiter cursed softly, no longer feeling sleepy.
And with one move, they propped themselves up and faced the multiple screens once more.
"But why ITechvan…! Augh, now I wanna put a little common sense in his head so he won't be tricked by a seemingly innocent but secretly cunning girl!"
Jupiter groaned in frustration, seemingly upset.
But despite their feelings, they typed on a holographic keyboard, quietly reminiscing over the people they had once met through their stories.
Wlhing!
An unfamiliar notification rang beside them, and because of its unfamiliarity, they stopped what they were doing and turned to check it.
A holographic screen popped up, and just hovered right next to Jupiter.
Jupiter took one glance at it, then looked away indifferently, but the next second they realized what they had seen, and turned back to it in shock.
"Number 08741! Such a trainee exists!? How is that even possible?"
Jupiter was not only shocked, but also incredibly surprised, since most players of their generation, were originally trainees 101, *** and the likes.
Just like the player they acquired for their second story, it was trainee 101, 265.
'So how did trainee 08741 come about? No, where did this trainee even come from!?'
"And why are they telling me about them?"
Tilting their head slightly in confusion, they tried to think of a logical explanation while fiddling with the keys of their computer.
"Trainees are humans, creators or companies, get in contact with. And I haven't been in contact with anyone… n- ITechvan, he's a trainee!? No wait, he's…"
Jupiter gasped in bewilderment and turned back to the holographic screen in shock, thoroughly analyzing its contents with widened eyes.
On the odd silver coloured screen were the following;
Trainee #08741 is being disqualified.
Disqualification will be completed in 5.1 0et minutes.
Soul dispersion will be completed in 9.7 0et minutes.
"No way… he's dying…", Jupiter was dumbfounded at the information they managed to process.
They stared at the holographic screen in a daze, but finally reacted once the numbers changed.
"4.9 0et minutes. He's going to be dead in about ten minutes… I need to do something, but what?"
Jupiter turned back to their laptop, while pondered over the situation.
His eyes moved back and forth from the laptop, to the floating screen, noticing the timer.
"The difference between his body dying and his soul dispersing is so huge. He has such a potent soul…"
He arrived at this conclusion, but it's next part was even more confusing than his trainee number.
'He probably shouldn't have died now, but why did he have to die now? No, what went wrong or who happened?'
"Why am I even thinking about it?"
Jupiter looked away from the holographic screen, their gaze focused on the laptop, specifically the last reply they had sent to ITechvan.
"How convenient, but I can't do anything about it."
They pressed their lips into a wry smile.
'I don't want him to die, but I can't- I mean, I can contract him as my player, but that's illegal…'
"And I'm already on the run."
Jupiter said laughingly, and turning to the machine on their right.
It was a Mystrea, a machine created for the sole purpose of creating stories and monitoring them.
For creators who had received their soul stones, it would be extremely useful in setting up the stage for their player– And that is, a privilege meant for contracted creators and game masters– and it also served as a means of identification for an author, sparing them the adventure of going to school.
Thing is, theirs was illegally acquired, hence the abnormal anonymity.
"But of course, no one has to know."
They said whilst staring at the machine.
Jupiter reluctantly stood up, and walked over, bent down and opened a drawer.
In it was an orb, and in the orb was a black stone filled with a surreal luster.
The stone was comfortably warm, and had a certain presence to it which compelled its user, or anyone who comes into contact with it, hence it was placed in an orb.
The orb was chillingly cold, and was barely able to negate the enchantment of the soul stone.
It was Jupiter's fourth time handling it.
This was a newly acquired soul stone which was more than capable of protecting a soul, and better still, acquiring the entirety of a dispersing soul.
Staring at it, Jupiter wondered if ITechvan was worth the risk.
Using a soul stone, especially a newly acquired one, on a dispersing soul.
That was equivalent to an exchange for a death sentence, and Jupiter wasn't too willing to insert him into their story either.
They stood up and stared at the Mystrea, emotion welling up in their eyes as they stared at their reflection through the small screen located on the upper left side of the machine.
Reaching out for a strand of hair poking out from their bun, they tugged at it.
"…Should've been blue."
Jupiter said softly, their voice filled with unrefined melancholy.
"If only.", They thought with a forced smile on their face. The gaze directed at their very own reflection was filled with self-mockery.
'Yes if only then-'
Reeng!
Interrupting their thoughts was a familiar notification sound.
Jupiter turned away from their reflection and to the laptop.
'Another one?'
They thought, clearly disinterested.
"Maybe I won't write anymore. After all, writing's no longer as fun as it used to.", They murmured as they approached the laptop.
Once there, they turned on the hibernating laptop and read the review.
A short glance was more than enough, but for some reason they stayed longer than they usually would.
Bam!
Jupiter slammed the laptop shut and ran their hands through their hair, clearly frustrated.
"This isn't fair nor funny anymore…"
They muttered, half frustrated, half helpless.
Closing their tired eyes, they regulated their thoughts.
Once calm, Jupiter opened their eyes back and approached the Mystrea.
"Alright now… what role do I give my player?"
Jupiter said to themselves, with a playful smile on their lips.