Restricted Sector

Building 5

Level 2

Holding Cells

7:45 am Tuesday, 13th April 2043.

The door to Taiga's room slid open, and Akari walked in, anger evident in his furrowed brows. He looked at the chest-high wall of books and demanded of the young man who was somewhere in the chaos, "Where were you last night?".

The person in question raised his head from behind a wall of books. Taiga yawned, and wiped his droopy eyes as he replied, "I went for a walk." He scratched an annoying itch on his scalp and scowled. He really needed a shower. "You said I could leave if I finished reading in a week right?"

"You're done?" Akari's eyes went wide, disbelief wiping away his anger. "That... This takes average humans months, if not years to finish."

Taiga sneered at Akari’s stunned expression. "We both know I'm not average. Or would you like to test me?” He nonchalantly waved at the book piles. “Pick up any book."

Akari picked a random book and flipped to a page. He looked at Taiga and asked, "What does the third paragraph on page 185 of 'Prehistoric Darwin' say?"

Taiga wagged his finger with a sly grin. "Trick question. The entirety of page 185 and 186 depict a diagram of an Argentinosaurus, the largest sauropod to be found to date with convincing evidence to back it up. It is named after arg-."

Akari raised his hand stopping Taiga's tirade. "Yes, yes, You can stop now. Knowing you, you could probably go on forever." ' I knew he was advanced, but he has improved even further in the last years.' Rubbing his temple, Akari sighed. "Follow the orderly outside. He will lead you to a bath and give you a fresh set of clothes."

"Ho? Ma-"

"No more games," Akari interjected with a serious glare. "I'm risking my job by releasing you. Do not make me regret it."

"I didn't kill anyone did I?” Taiga jokingly protested with an innocent expression. “That's all the proof you need I'm going to be a good boy."

Akari shook his head and made his way out of the room. He called over his shoulder as the door slid shut, "When you are done, you will be taken to start the game,"

Taiga’s eyes shone with sparked intrigue. "Heeh. Interesting."

Moments after Akari left, a guard walked into the room and beckoned Taiga to follow. The young man followed him, a sly grin creeping up the corners of his mouth.

While Taiga was getting prepared, across the compound, someone else was faced with a terrible dilemma. It was a problem faced by many, with a straightforward solution, yet proved immensely challenging to the untrained.

Suzuki stared at his phone with a lost expression. "Do I call or text?" The words on the screen felt like a death sentence. While he had been asleep, Suzuki had missed a call from Jade, and now that the young man was awake, he did not know what to do.

'I should call, right? After all, she did call. But what if calling is uncool? Everyone in school texts on their phones. Yes, I should text her... but what if I come across as crass because of it? More like what do you even say in a text or call. Hey? Too familiar, she might freak out. How about Hello. No, no one says that anymore...'

Smoke spurted from Suzuki’s ears as he burned out his brain trying to come up with a solution.

Eventually, Suzuki faced his fears and strengthened his resolve. "Let's do this." He grimly pressed the ‘call back’ button and waited, each dial tone feeling a countdown to his death. However, he was partly relieved and partly scared when the call went unanswered. ‘ Probably in the game.’

It never crossed Suzuki’s mind to call a second time. He was used to James picking up on the first ring, and he never called Ayumi. He pushed the call to the back of his mind and placed the phone on the bedside table, then climbed into the Virtual Drive.

A few seconds later, Kashi opened his eyes.

After a long bath, Taiga, dressed in a black graphic T-shirt and a pair of brown slacks, walked into a white room with nothing but a single Full-Body Virtual Drive in it. Several wires ran from the machine into the ceiling above, giving it an eerie look. On the wall was a large one-way window. He could not see through it, but he knew there were people on the other side watching his every move.

"This the game?" Taiga ignored the window and walked over to the machine. He patted it, relishing in its familiar coolness. Once upon a time, he spent most of his days strapped to a similar looking device.

"Yes. This will be your first time in the virtual world, but it should be easy for you." Akari's voice rung out around the room from several hidden speakers.

"I assume it you won't be taking this off?" Taiga called as he raised his right arm, pointing at the silver bracelet around his wrist.

"Sorry, but I cannot do that,” Akari replied. “Not yet."

"It was worth a shot." Taiga shrugged as he examined the virtual drive. "It looks similar to the Bifrost ."

"It is modeled after it,” Akari acknowledged. “It utilizes a similar technology."

A shadow crossed Taiga’s eyes, but it was immediately replaced with a serene smile. "Alright then. You know how I like to work right?" Taiga said as he got into the machine.

"Yes, there are no restrictions,” Akari confirmed. “You can stay there for as long as you wish."

"Good,” Taiga said as an opaque lid slid over the virtual drive.

WELCOME TO F-DIVE

ENTER FULL DIVE

YES NO

"Yes."

Taiga's consciousness was pulled through space, right into a white room with a lady sitting on a conical object.

"Welcome to Live no Evil, Taiga Onisha. It is an ho-" Rika greeted.

"Skip the tutorial," Taiga rudely interrupted.

"Then, please pick a class." If Rika was offended by his interruption, she chose not to show it. "Be advised that different classes have their bonuses."

Taiga browsed through the list and settled on halbens. "I'll take the halben.”

Taiga’s body morphed into that of a leaner, taller elf, with long flowing white hair that was braided at the sides. He retained his fair complexion, and his skin seemed to shine brighter, but that might just have been his yellow eyes playing tricks on him. Dressed in a purple robe, he looked like a majestic mage of high repute.

Although Taiga had changed to a halben, his face still bore a semblance of his real one. Rika tried to remind him he could change that, "You can choose to alter your appearance."

"Stay as it is,” Taiga stated.

Rika looked at Taiga and asked, "Are you satisfied with your body?"

"It's perfect,” Taiga replied and sent an impatient glance her way. “Can I start now?"

"One last thing,” Rika patiently prompted. “Please choose a name for your avatar."

Taiga paused to think then smiled as a crazy idea formed. He chose the Haitian word, ‘ Syèl,’ meaning ‘Sky,’ and combined it with the Icelandic word, ‘Rifa,’ meaning ‘Tear,’ and finally, the Japanese ‘Tora,’ meaning ‘Taiga,’ to form, “ Syèl Rífa tora,” which roughly translated to ‘Sky-Tearing Tiger.’

Rika raised a brow in surprise. She was not so much stunned by the arrogance in the name, as she was by the combination of languages. Despite her shock, she nimbly carried out her duties. She logged the name then looked at the newly-named Syèl. "Name accepted. Good luck, Syèl."

A circle appeared on the floor beneath Syèl, out of which two light bulbs spiraled upwards and enveloped him within. The light momentarily blinded him, and by the time the intensity faded, he realized he stood in a large hall.

The hall’s walls were made of stone, with several torches hanging from pillars to provide light. A magic circle similar to the one that had appeared in the room he had just come from lay beneath him. It dulled its glow and returned to mere scribbles.

"Greetings Summoned." A voice greeted behind him.

Syèl turned around and saw a white-robed halben regarding him with a bored expression. Just like him, the halben had fair skin and long white hair.

"Hello?" Syèl walked down a flight of stairs to the halben who kept his gaze on him.

"Welcome to Markoth,” The halben flatly introduced. He had met so many Summoned over the past month that he was completely disillusioned to their supposed loftiness. “Pray tell, what is thine name?

Syèl curtly replied. "Syèl Rífa tora."

"Have a pleasant stay, Master Rifatora." The steward’s fake smile forced Syèl to resist an urge to bash his teeth in.

"I'll do just that," Syèl said as he exited the hall through the only exit, a large bronze door that was much easier to open than he had thought. He stopped outside the door and marveled at the incredulous sight before him.

The halben were a pompous race that believed themselves superior to all the other races. As a result of their arrogance, they chose to live in the mountains regions at the heart of the continent.

Their homes were carved into the mountains, in a stunning masterpiece of architecture. Pathways ran alongside the mountainside, with transparent windows on the higher floors that shielded them from the wind. Syèl leaned over a railing to admire the sheer drop below him. He inwardly wondered how many people fell on a daily basis.

Invigorated by the sight, Syèl began a series of stretches to test out his new body. He found it was quite easy for him to adapt to the new body as it didn’t differ too much from his original form. However, his little exercise did draw unwanted attention from other Summoned passing by.

"Must be his first time in virtual reality."

"Haha, look at him go. Wow, what a noob."

"I bet you he dies in three days."

Syèl paid no heed to the onlookers, and when he was done stretching, he went exploring. According to the lore, the halben were sticklers for order. As such, their buildings were separated into several sectors. The lower floors housed the lower class citizens and stores. The middle stories were for the middle class, which was where a lot of their significant shops were located. The upper caste lived close to the summit which was where the grand library, parliament and several other government functions were held. At the summit sat the Grand Castle, home to the King and Queen and restricted to only those with permission.

After garnering as much information as possible from the locals, Syèl went to the Grand Library where he was directed to a massive, stuffy hall with shelves of books. Hundreds of Summoned and Resident milled about in the room, reading, taking notes, or discussing topics in hushed tones.

"These books contain the basics of magic, along with a few instructions should you choose to read them." The clerk who directed Syèl to the Beginner-level mage library bowed and left the room.

Syèl browsed the contents of the mage section of the library and was shocked to find that despite there being thousands of books, there were really only fifty-three unique books on the shelves. The rest were all clones to cater to a large number of people. The books averaged anywhere between three to seven hundred pages and varied in size of the text. An average human would take a month to finish them all without eating or sleeping.

Most mages chose a particular field of magic and read the few books related to their profession. For those who did not want to manually read the books, there was a [Quick Read] option which let them learn whatever was inside of a skill book without actually reading them. However, there were a few books had to be read manually to gain their skills.

Syèl picked all fifty-three books and placed them in front of him. He opened the first one, flipping the pages at a speed that suggested he was looking for a particular page. A minute later, he was done reading the entire book. The game rewarded him for manually reading the book with an increase in his stats.

INT Increased by 1

WIS Increased by 1

"Interesting,” Syèl muttered as he examined the prompts. He then proceeded to finish all fifty-three books over the next two hours, by the end of which his Intelligence and Wisdom had both increased to 50.

New P assive Trait : Scholar’s Brain !

Congratulations! Through tedious hard work, you have managed to increase Intelligence and Wisdom to 50 before hitting Level 10!

You have therefore obtained the trait: Scholar’s Brain!

Scholar’s Brain: An extra stat point is randomly assigned to one of Wisdom of Intelligence attributes after every level up.

Syèl’s feat was only possible because of Taiga’s peculiar condition. Due to an event in his past, Taiga’s brain recorded and processed everything he saw at inhuman speeds. When the young man looked at a page, he did not see individual words, but an entire block of text that was processed and understood in a fraction of a second. As a result, he possessed a hundred percent comprehension of everything he read as opposed to a regular human's seventy percent (without speed reading).

While reading the books, Syèl noticed a trend: Most of the books were dodgy about certain subjects, going so far as to call them blasphemous. These subjects were classified solely under 'Dark Arts,' and they piqued his interest. The halben had learned all the foundational spells in the short period, and as a result, yearned for something more exciting. Done with all the books, Syèl returned them to their shelves.

Curious eyes tracked the halben as he left the room. The young man’s method of reading had drawn a lot of attention, and many could not help but wonder if he was for real or just showboating. It was too bad it was impossible to see the prompts of another Summoned unless they purposely made them visible.

Syèl made his way over to the library’s reception and rang a bell placed on the counter. Seconds later, and a female wisben walked out with a business smile. The tag on her robe revealed her name as Nualise.

Nualise smiled as she looked at the handsome halben. "How may I be of assistance?"

"I would like to read more on the Dark Arts," Syèl said abruptly. The art of subtlety was utterly lost on him.

In response to his question, Nualise’s features darkened, and her smile fell to a flat line. "Where did you hear of that?"

Syèl nonchalantly replied, "I finished all the books in the library. You know anything or not?"

"Impossible, you only arrived today,” Nualise scoffed. She glared at the presumptuous halben and demanded. “Show me your status window."

With a sigh, Syèl followed the motions in the manual he had read before entering the machine.

Name

Syèl Rífatora

Alignment

Neutral

Level

1

Profession

None

Title

Scholar

Fame

0

Infamy

0

Health

55

Mana

1285

Ki

38

Vitality

9

Stamina

7

Wisdom

50

Intellect

50

Strength

7

Agility

8

Dexterity

8

Endurance

Phys END

1

Mag END

1

Charisma

10

Charm

14

Stealth

5

Instinct

5

Fighting Spirit

0

Leadership

10

Luck

34

Attack

Phys AT K

13

Defense

Phy s DEF

10

Mag ATK

138

Mag DEF

10

Resistances

Poison Resistance

0%

Ice Resistance

0%

Electricity Resistance

0%

Light Resistance

0%

Fire Resistance

0 %

Dark Resistance

0%

“How is this possible?” Nualise exclaimed as she gaped at Syèl’s stats. "To possess such mana despite only being a level one.” Her eyes turned to stars as she immediately grasped Syèl’s hand. “If you so wish, I shall introduce you to several masters in a school of your choice."

Syèl knew about the schools of magic. One of the introductory books explained them in detail. There were six primary schools of magic: Restoration, Conjuration, Destruction, Alteration, Illusion, and Enchantment. Each school was broken into smaller elements one could learn. Although cross-school learning was possible, it was a difficult task to complete. Most mages stuck to one subsection, and only switched when they had mastered their field. For example, a fire mage would only study ice magic after he had encountered a bottleneck in his understanding of fire magic.

"No. I am not looking for any of those classes,” Syèl drummed on the counter, irritated by her attempt to divert his attention. “I want to learn the dark arts."

Nualise’s brows furrowed as she rejected in a harsh tone, "Those are forbidden. I am afraid you will find no one willing to teach you those blasphemous arts." Her angry scowl revealed she was seconds away from calling the authorities.

"Useless,” Syèl cursed. “Guess I’ll have to search on my own."

Nualise’s gaze hardened. The audacity of this halben to openly say such words in front of her. Was he treating her like air? "With all due respect, if you are caught practicing the dark arts, you will be banned from Markoth and all its sister cities for life."

"I just have to make sure I don't get caught then." Syèl left the counter and headed for the exit, irritated by the conversation. Unbeknownst to the rebellious halben, his name was entered into a blacklist. Thus, he was the first Summoned to have his name registered in a blacklist in the entire continent.

Outside the library, a halben in hooded black robes waved Syèl over. "I hear you are interested in learning the Dark Arts?"

Syèl’s eyes shone with delight. "You going to teach me?"

The hooded man turned around and walked down the pathways, "Follow me..."