Bab 171: White Room, Price of the Questions, and Chaos' Warning!
Never had Kai felt imprisoned while being free.
Never had Kai felt surrounded while being undeniably alone. As he stood naked on the white floor, with white walls around him and a white roof over his head, he felt all this and more.
A red beam descended from unknown origins and traced the outlines of his body, healing hidden injuries. The piled-up tiredness vanished. But the heart was still pounding, and no amount of healing would work on it, either. At last, the red beam gave up, disappearing into nothingness, and leaving Kai behind in this Absolute Whiteness.
When the first notification arrived, it covered the entire wall in front of him like an enormous poster.
…
[
Happy Birthday!
Chaos congratulates Contestant Kai Stormborn to live to see his 17th birthday, though it has been a few days already.
]
…
Kai's voice was stuck in his throat, his thoughts in his mind, and he ignored the notification after one glance. From all around, and for the first time, he was feeling a gaze on him, watching him like one watches a bug.
Or was it just his senses playing a cruel and hideous trick on him?
He wouldn't like to know the answer, no matter the case.
The notifications disappeared, slowly, and somehow, Kai felt it was disappointed with the lack of an enthusiastic reply.
More dull-gray words appeared, now in a formal tone but equally big.
…
[
SPLENDID!!!
Why don't more Contestants go out of their comfort and spread chaos outside the boundaries of their Missions?
From making news headlines in the Harry Potter World to becoming the cause of deaths of three holy creatures in the World of Pokemon, Contestant Kai Stormborn, you have almost left no stone unturned in your Missions and Stats.
Never Chaos had been surer about a Contestant's Worthiness.
But Chaos can't cut corners.
Let's be done with it, then.
Analyzing Contestant's actions in the Random World…
]
…
Though Kai was feeling monstrous apprehension for the System, his mind was still astute enough to latch on to the words holy creatures the moment it read them.
…
[
Analyzation Complete
Judgment: Worthy
Reward: +50 Worth
…
Congratulations, you have ascended to the 2nd Set - 4th floor
Rewards: Inventory Size +100%
Note: The Contestant must increase his Miscellaneous Rend Box's size manually
]
…
The moment he got the massive boost in his Worth, all words blurred, now becoming his updated Stats.
…
[
Status of Contestant: Kai Stormborn
Code Name: Red [Pirate]
Officer Rank: Captain of Guard
System: Chaos
Cosmic Authority: Outer One (1/3)
Lore: The Evil Pokemon of Alto Mare
Bounty: 13,000,000 Berries
Equipped Title: Coin Master (Charisma +2, Luck +2, Worth +1)
Equippable Titles:
1. Coin Master
2. Murderer
3. Poacher
Unequippable Titles:
1. Traitor: (2/10)
2. Novice Collector: (4/10)
3. Adulterer: (1/3)
4. Books Connoisseur: (2/10)
5. Rich Gentlemen: (1/10)
6. Dimensional Leader: (1/3)
7. Serial Killer: (1/3)
8. Shady Hunter: (0/30)
9. Interdimensional Pirate: (39/100)%
Mission Credits: 520
HP: 120
MP: 130
SP: 110
Active Attributes - (1st Set Quota: 21/20) [Unassigned Points: 4]
Strength: 14
Agility: 16
Stamina: 12
Perception: 15
Correspondence: 13
Breath: 11
Passive Attributes -
Charisma: 34 (+2)
Luck: 5 (+2)
Worth: 239 (+1)
Abilities:
1. Elementary Telekinesis: Proficiency 75%
2. Elementary Telepathy: Proficiency 45%
3. Elementary Pokemon Trainer: Proficiency 50%
4. Elementary Seamanship: Proficiency 80%
5. Elementary Intimidation: Proficiency 5%
6. Advance Emotions Manipulation: Proficiency 25%
7. Advance Slither Footsteps: Proficiency 8%
8. Advance Twin-Saber Style: Proficiency 20%
9. Advance Fear Absorption: Proficiency 3%
10. Master Snake Instinct: Proficiency 2%
11. Parseltongue
Skills: NA
Glitch: Blood Devour
1. Dementor (magical)
2. Golduck (magical)
3. Gyarados (magical)
Items:
1. Pokeball - Generation 1 (73%)
2. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Original) (100%)
3. Sling Ring (73%)
4. Fang (x2, 50%)
5. 9th-floor HP Capsules (7/20) - Restore 250 HP
6. Rock Cake (98%)
7. Galeon Attacker (85%)
8. Fast Ball - Generation II (97%)
9. Lure Ball - Generation II (97%)
10. Level Ball - Generation II (97%)
11. Regional Pokedex (94%)
12. Pikachu Plush Hat (76%)
13. Eon Soul Dew (Corrupt) (100%)
14. Recommendation Letter (Consumable) (98%)
15. Banner of arms - House Drumm of Iron Islands (87%)
Pain Factor: NA
Miscellaneous Rent Box: NA
Inventory: 2 Cubic Meter-2000 kg
]
…
For once, Kai felt a bit of pride at seeing the fruit of his efforts.
Yet the tension in his heart remained, and unless he did something about it, Kai knew he wouldn't be able to put his mind to anything else.
"Why am I the only Contestant who comes to the White Room?" he asked, steeling himself and readying his muscles for any unforeseen attack. A futile struggle it would be, but Blood Demon would not go down without trying, he told himself.
…
[
Words mean something in the Primordial Tower. Names matter. Meanings aren't a thing to ignore. And Worth demands respect.
Have you never asked yourself why was it named Glitch?
You are a Glitch in the System.
What else could be the reason for you to be in this place that is neither here nor there, neither up nor down, neither real nor illusion?
You underestimate yourself, Contestant Kai Stormborn.
]
…
Does the river of all the questions culminate into one sea named Glitch?
No.
Kai stared at the words that seemed Chaos' way of ridiculing a Contestant. He had learned when he was small that one word or thing couldn't be the answer to everything. Possibilities lay everywhere, hidden in the tiniest, forgotten, and unimpressive corners, just waiting to be found.
Chaos, Kai thought, refocusing his eyes on the words in a fresh perspective. You say it's because of my Glitch, but I don't trust you to take your words for granted, fucker!
Still, it was enough to go on. It was enough to not lose his mind, thinking about why he was the only one who could come here. Turned out that he wasn't the only one. If he could twist the System's words, then didn't it mean whoever had Glitch could come to the White Room as well? Chaos' Valley hadn't seen Glitches for a million years, but surely the Order's Peak had. Here lay his advantage, then.
I will confirm these words later, Kai nodded to himself, one way or another.
Finally, after being troubled over this for quite some time, Kai pushed himself forward, putting his mind over other major issues. There were too many questions in his mind.
"I have more questions," Kai began, now relaxing. "What is Cosmic Authority?"
…
[
The question is out of your privilege, Contestant Kai Stormborn
If you want an answer, you must pay an equivalent price
]
…
Eh?! The corner of Kai's lips twitched. This must be some joke, right?
This was the first time Chaos had asked Price to answer a question. If he were to twist the System's words, did it mean others have to pay the price to get answers every time? He couldn't be sure about it now, because, like the existence of the White Room, he had always thought getting answers was ubiquitous to the Contestants.
"What's the price?" Kai asked, curious.
Even if he failed to get an answer, he could analyze the question's worthiness using the price assigned by the System, right? No matter the struggle or problem, Kai's mind just never stopped thinking about the probable solutions.
The notification appeared sooner than he had thought.
…
[
Analyzing question…
Price: 1,000,000 Mission Credits
]
…
What?!
Kai couldn't believe it. He waited for the notification to blur and restructure itself, admitting the mistake. The notification persisted, though. Believe it or not, now this is the truth, it seemed to say.
Kai smacked his lips, took a deep breath, and remembered his next question. He had already figured out the purpose of Cosmic Authority Lore, but no harm in getting an official answer.
"What is the significance of a Cosmic Authority Lore?"
…
[
…
Price: 3,000,000 Mission Credits
]
…
Oi! Oi! Kai's eyes widened. Are you on something?!
Let's move on, Kai told himself, but a weird premonition had already taken hold of his thoughts.
"How to make the Dementor Progenitor Skill reveal its Stats?" he asked. Kai had already figured out that he needed something to trigger these locked Stats. But how much time would it take to find those things out? Who could say?
…
[
…
Price: 10,000,000 Mission Credits
]
…
Kai just went quiet. Now he truly believed that Chaos was making the numbers up.
10 million Mission Credits? Kai doubted if he would ever get to see these kinds of numbers in the immediate future unless someone were to come and just hand them over to him.
Was there any point in asking more questions of the same level, then? No, there wasn't.
But Kai was a curious lad, so he asked anyway.
"What does Outer One mean?"
A brief silence lingered, and Kai couldn't help but furrow his brows, realizing that Chaos had scarcely taken so much time before putting a price on the question. Was it because of the price or the question? He didn't know.
The notification appeared, but slowly.
…
[
…
Price: 10,000,000,000 Mission Credits
]
…
"…?!"
"You know," Kai chuckled, "you didn't even put a price on a Contestant's information when I inquired about it. And yet, there are a bunch of Old Ones in the Primordial Tower, who just can't seem to shut up, giving random details about Contestants to others for dumb sacrifices. I just can't believe the sheer hypocrisy of this all."
Another dull-gray flashed, popping up instantly as if Kai's words had angered it.
…
[
One can't compare what THEY do and don't to words that apply to insignificant mortals.
No one is outside the purview of rules set by the Systems.
To even think you can surmise THEIR reasoning and actions beckon ridicule.
You overestimate yourself, Contestant Kai Stormborn.
]
…
Kai smiled as he saw the last line. The smile became a grin before blooming into a laugh.
"I am done here," he spat. "Send me to the Primordial Tower."
…
[
Sending Contestant, Kai Stormborn, to the 4th floor of the Primordial Tower
Constant Vigilance!
]
…
Huh?! Kai had only looked at the last two words when it all blurred and darkness claimed his senses.
The words lingered in the Absolute Whiteness for some time, even after his teleportation.
*********************
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