บท 2: Dawn of A Protagonist: Enter Remirg Kryptos

The instant Mark exclaimed those words, a bone chilling electric shock struck him. It was so excruciating that it immobilized him, preventing him from speaking any further.

A voice was speaking to him in his head, a voice which Remirg Kryptos couldn't hear. It boomed in a loud voice, echoing multiple times, warning him:

"Being from another world! You possess too much information than required. You possess a consciousness you should have lost a long time ago. You still possess your sense of self. Since you cannot be reverted back to your original state, you have been warned!

You shall not provide this player with any information which is not relevant to him!

You shall only drop the required rewards!

Lastly, you shall expel the player if plausibility level is too high!"

Ending its speech, the voice vanished in a final crack, still ringing through Mark's ears for nearly another minute.

Hearing those words, Mark instantly recognized who said them. It was as clear as the lattice of the purest diamond. He knew too well about them. He was the only one who created them.

Smiling to himself as he looked back to his owner, he thought to himself, "Wouldn't it be too early to tell this guy about them? .....Nah, let me just see what he can do by himself. After all, he is a protagonist, isn't he? I don't even want those goddamn shocks again!"

Somehow... Mark's Eisner's mood was lightening up bit by bit. Even though his previous experiences still resided right into his heart, being near to his dearest creation seemed to bring a sense of calmness to his mind. He realized he has reached a place where he truly belonged. A place which he considered his true home...

Nevertheless, he forced his mind back to the current scenario. Looking at Remirg Kryptos, he started judging him from head to toe.

The young boy of sixteen bore elegant natural, wavy black hair, something which distinguished him from the rest of his kinsmen. His eyes were a stunning hue of black, showing both deepness and reflection. His nose was thin and sharp, just like Mark. His fair skin gave him a very subtle and beautiful look.

He just looked like how Mark envisioned the best of himself. In some way or other, Remirg somehow reflected Mark's own personality.

None the less, there was something which distinguished Remirg from the rest of his kind. A very stark difference.

His ears didn't bear the elf-like pointy ears. They appeared to look like normal "human" ears. And this was a thing which made Remirg a center of attraction. Mainly for throwing insults at him. It was something that earned him a lot of slanders.

But today, Remirg Kryptos had found something which almost knocked him out of head.

A strange purple screen had been showing in front of him since morning. Wherever it went it followed him. It mysteriously hovered in front of his face, bobbing up and down, slowly making his temper rise.

He tried waving instructions to it, but nothing came out of it. He even tried speaking to it, but still, all his tries went futile. Moreover, he received a few extra comments at his strange behavior.

Apparently, he realized that nobody except him could view the strange apparition in front of him. And since only he could meddle with it, he tried poking at it.

Though it seemed translucent, it felt rock solid to his finger, feeling like some kind of a stone tablet.

And that was when, the screen showed the very strange message.

[THE SIMULATOR KINDLY ASKS HIS OWNER TO STOP CLICKING]

He seemed to be very surprised by that. Even though computers and screens were not unknown on the world of Sebras, but their use was only confined to the rich.

Remirg, hailing from the ordinary suburbs, had seldom seen a real computer. The last time he saw one was about three years when a noble was coincidentally passing by an area as poor as his.

He seemed to possess a metal belt which he held in his hands and eyed something on it with extreme concentration. Later did he learn that he was navigating his way out of that shitty place.

But the one which he seemed to be possessing was something different, though it was fundamentally same.

Mark, who was intently watching his host realized his job. Recalling the calamity which was going to strike Sebras in less than a month, he displayed Remirg his stats.

[ STRENGTH: 10

MP: 0

HP: 100

RESISTANCE: 5

THE PLAYER IS CURRENTLY UNABLE TO OPEN THE PORTAL TO ANOTHER WORLD BECAUSE STATS ARE INSUFFICIENT]

Mark smiled in his mind as he typed in his response.

He had just instigated the beginning of a great journey. The path that will pave the way to give way to the universe's greatest savior.

Contrary to his expression, Remirg Kryptos was puzzled. He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

To him, it was something out of the world. It was something that was initiating something inside him.

Finding this as a right opportunity, Mark typed,

[THE SIMULATOR IS A PROGRAM WHICH IS DESIGNED TO ENHANCE THE OWNER'S INNATE ABILITIES. THE OWNER WILL LIKEWISE LEVEL UP IN ALL OF HIS RESPECTIVE STATS. IN ORDER TO LEVEL UP, YOU NEED TO BE A REGISTERED PLAYER. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A PLAYER?

YES

NO]

The message instantly appeared on Remirg Kryptos's face.

The moment he read the message; a silver gleam passed his eyes. A hint of a smile appeared on his face.

Mark could clearly envision his thoughts. Hailing from a shitty suburb like that, Remirg Kryptos had no choice but to comply with the unfair rules. Even though he had the guts to rebel against the oppressive nobles, he could not gain enough manpower to do so. Each and every commoner was a goddamn scaredy cat.

He craved nothing more than power. Power to slam the nobles' head on the ground and make them pay for their ****** behavior. Every last one of those bastards.

Having lost both of his parents to the Great War of Finz, he lived all alone in a shack which nobody ever visited.

But he would never lose hope. He would train night and day to achieve what needed to be done. To end the despotic era of nobles.

And what... he was seeing right in front of him could prove to be his greatest asset ever. Something that could make him so powerful that he would be able to uproot the whole social hierarchy that has prevailed on Sebras for more than a hundred years. The root of all oppression.

Without any visible hesitation, Remirg swiftly clicked YES.

In his mind, Mark was already aware of what was going to happen. But he saw something in Remirg that he himself lacked.

The power to not give up.

Still, with a very satisfied expression, Mark typed,

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE BEEN REGISTERED AS A PLAYER! YOU SHALL NOW BE ABLE TO LELVEL UP!]

[YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR FIRST QUEST WITHIN AN HOUR!]

Remirg Kyrgios let himself laugh. After what felt like years, he was laughing with his all his soul.

Mark Eisner, on the contrary, let himself pity the boy in front of him.

Unlike him, the dear lad didn't know what fate was going to befall him in exactly an hour. Kryptos seems to believe that the Simulator is just a cheat code to reach the epitome of the world. He thinks that it would painlessly level him up, providing him supreme powers.

He cannot be any more wrong.

But Mark restrained himself from blurting things out. He could not spoil the fun yet. He even wouldn't want to be punished by those damned entities for that.

But Kryptos was in a different dream of his own. He was already dreaming of days when he would be able to roam freely in the streets, eat whatever he wanted and do whatever his heart desired. He was already dreaming of achieving freedom. So easily.

Continuing his pace, he started to investigate more about the system.

He found out that he could view his current stats by just asking the system to show them. He could also view his body muscle-density via a holographic simulation, which, obviously only he could see.

Clicking the shop option showed him an array of magical tools, which were currently all locked, as they required "prana coins" to activate. Something, which Remirg realized he didn't possess yet. Nor did anybody else on Sebras. The official currency on the whole planet was only one. "Swees". One could always make a transaction on Sebras with Swees. Nobody would ever deny them.

But "prana coins" were something unheard of.

Nevertheless, he shook his head continuing with the investigation. He lastly discovered that he could also view his "Mana Power", something he didn't recognize.

Mark smirked as he realized that Remirg still didn't know anything about magic. Though he soon would...

Meanwhile, Remirg was walking triumphantly, holding his chest high, as though he just attained the rank of a king. People who passed by him made ironic smirks, throwing comments at him.

Though he didn't hear any.

While making his way through the dead bushes, he accidently activated the system while pointing a the spiky leaves.

Mark, who knew this was going to happen, lazily typed in the results with the exact photograph of the bush.

[ PLANT: CINALIA

TYPE: BUSH

MAGICAL POWER RETENTION: 0

POISON RETENTION: 0

CAN BE USED AS A WEAPON: NO

THIS PLANT CAN BE COMMONLY FOUND IN THE SENUCAS PLAINS ON THE PLANET OF SEBRAS. USUALLY, THEY REQUIRE LESS RESOURCES TO GROW AND ARE OFTEN USED BY THE CULTIVATIONG SEBRAS POPULATION AS A SAFE MEASURE FOR THEIR CROPS AGAINST CERTAIN LAND PESTS.

THE STINGY STEM USUALLY STRANGLES AND KILLS SMALL ANIMALS THOUGH IT IS NOT FATAL FOR THE SEBRA COMMUNITY.

ITS FLOWER'S EXTRACT CAN BE USED AS AN ANTISEPTIC FOR SMALL WOUNDS INFLICTED BY SHARP TOOLS.]

Looking at the unexpected result, Remirg exclaimed, "Damn! This is a darn useful skill. I can use it to get info on any existing substance! Quite handy.

At this remark, Mark wanted to sheepishly remind him that he still hadn't encountered any higher-level Magical objects.

Still, he let out a sigh as his owner continued to admire him.

The clock was slowly ticking down. It had been forty-three minutes. In another seventeen minutes, Remirg would be receiving a notification that was going to wreck all his life up.

Still, it was ironical to Mark that he was watching his walk with such a jolly mood.

___________________________________________

It was the moment when Remirg Kryptos reached the shack when the notification popped up on his screen.

[THE QUEST HAS BEEN PREPARED! WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN IT?

REWARDS: 10 PRANA COINS

PENALTY: ???]