Part 1

Alicia White

Yggdrasil time [00:23]

Inner Regions | Designated location point 16, forest | Flying cart airship

“Queen to F7. Checkmate, Erwin.” Alicia declared triumphantly, as she gazed intently at the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Alicia sat before Erwin, who wore a visibly crestfallen expression, his gaze fixed on the wooden floor in defeat. The wind tousled his hair, matching the strong gust that also affect Alicia. Due to this, the usual veil hat on her head was handed to Christine.

“Erugh, just one more time! Please!” Erwin begged, his voice reflecting his desperation. ”I got sidetracked while I was explaining and commanding! That’s all!”

“You’re really bad at this,” a figure adorned in fur taunted Erwin, his tone laced with mischief.

“Shut it, Vertin.”

The group gathered at the front of the ship, with Alicia seated at the bow facing backwards. Erwin, the commander–in-chief-Boundary overseeing the current operation, sat next to Vertin, a former direct assistant who had transferred to the command of Erwin, and also a member of Blood Eboneers.

Vertin stood out among the group as one of the few humanoid furries, his tall figure covered in white fur with black stripes running along his arms. He donned a white vest, black leather gloves, and stylish black pants with a boot that complemented his appearance quite fittingly.

Alicia had seen him several times following Bella, even from her first entry into the Major Promus base.

Next to Alicia, Christine, a member of the Crimson Code, sat with her hands fidgeting in the air, as though she was focusing on something intently.

“Very well,” Alicia replied confidently. “Do you want to play as white this time?”

Alicia and Erwin were playing chess. Even though there wasn’t a chessboard between them, they played out their moves through speech. Speaking of which, in the background, the deep voices of Phantom and the echoing high-pitch voice of Liu echoed from the distance, harmonized by the lively, cheerful melodies of instruments.

“Sure,” Erwin happily agreed. “I’ll start with [E4].”

“[E5],” replied Alicia immediately, “So, what of the explanation regarding the sack of holding?” Her gaze fell on one of the bags belted on Vertin’s.

“[Knight to F3]. Sacks of holding is basically equal to the Aetherian’s storage module component in ships. However, these sacks of holding are crafted by the natives of the Ornella Kingdom, and they are equipped with sigils that operate similarly to Arkth Runes or Sadi-Saditantic Enhancements in our world,” Erwin explained

Upon hearing Erwin mention ‘Arkth runes’, Alicia shifted her gaze towards him and repeated, “Arkth runes? Do we have Artkh stones? [Knight to C6]”

“No. [Bishop to C4],” Erwin immediately denied. “Instead, they use a more stable form of energy stones called [mana stones]. They are similar to Arkth stones but they are significantly more diluted, around 100 to 300 times. Consequently, issues such as the Ascillious disease, or psychological and mental strains that we typically experience from handling Arkth stones do not occur, fortunately. Or– well unfortunately, if we talk about energy.”

“[Knight F6]. That makes sense.” 

Erwin glanced at Vertin, subtly nudging him with his eyes. Vertin tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, silently questioning him, ‘what.’

Erwin leaned in close, whispering, “Show her the mana stone.” 

All the while, Alicia’s gaze remained focused as she spotted Phantom singing at the far side of the ship. The passion shared by the Aetherian citizens was evident as nearly every Seeker nearby joined in the song. The scene was filled with rowdy joy, causing Alicia’s lips to curve into a smile.

Vertin noticed her expression and glanced behind him, with Erwin following suit. They both witnessed the ship’s Captain chugging a giant barrel-size mug of what appeared to be beer. The surrounding Seekers weren’t stopping him either, but instead chanting in encouragement, ‘CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!’

Despite the familiar sight of the Aetherian with beers, or rather, a celebratory mood, Erwin couldn’t contain his shock, his eyes widening in surprise. He felt the urge to reprimand them, but remembered the Divineness’s soft expression and held back.

Vertin turned around, raising his hand to display a mana stone, capturing Alicia’s attention. He elaborated, “Divineness, this mana stone powers the sigil within the sack of holding. When its energy is depleted, the sack will burst open, releasing all the stored items.”

Alicia reached out her hand, silently demanding the stone, and Vertin complied by gently placing the mana stone in her palm. She inspected the stone, observing as it emitted a soft bluish glow with a bright white center, and sky blue that highlighted the ridges within. 

A strange sensation, akin to a cold prick, seemed to trace her fingers as if attempting to penetrate her skin.

Alicia thought to herself, quietly nodding, ‘It is certainly similar to an Arkth stone, but not potent enough to turn my flesh into Crystal.’

Erwin added, “We usually harvest the mana stones from dead monsters. We don’t exactly know why monsters have these stones inside them, and it doesn’t appear to be caused by some kind of viral infection either.”

Upon hearing this, an unregulated memory suddenly flashed in Alicia’s mind. “I recognize this – I remember seeing this as I was escaping from the floating castle earlier.”

“Hoh?” Erwin raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips as he placed a hand on his chin and straightened his posture, “I have heard various reports about that. [Knight G5]”

Alicia’s eyes seemed distant as she was recollecting from her memory bank. “But some don’t look the same. I remember seeing this, while the others appeared smaller but sharper. I wonder if that is the same.”

“Smaller but sharper?” Erwin repeated, before snapping his fingers in realization. “Oh, you might be referring to life crystals!”

“Life crystal?”

“Yep. All Seekers have a weakness called ‘Life crystals’. If these crystals are damaged, death occurs instantly, regardless of your ability to resurrect.” Erwin elaborated. “Fortunately, Life Crystals are small, and the chances of being killed by them are extremely slim. You really don’t need to worry about it.”

Alicia ordered her augment to inspect her body for the life crystal Erwin had mentioned. To her surprise, she was given a result indicating that there was no foreign object like life crystal present.

“There seems to be no life crystals I can find in my body?” Alicia reported.

“Hmm,” Erwin pondered before responding, “If you can’t find it, your life crystal might exist when you are in the Boundary, or perhaps during Phantasm. Their placement is quite random, after all.”

“If it’s in the Boundary, then is it not impossible to locate its position as the augment already perceives that my body does not exist,” Alicia asked, sounding confused.

“Unfortunately, that’s just how it works.” Erwin shrugged.

Alicia nodded, then asked, “Hypothetically, if I were to possess someone’s body and my life crystal on my original body were destroyed, would I die?” 

“You wouldn’t die if you had possessed someone, but you wouldn’t be able to return to your own body either,” Erwin replied confidently. “Incidentally, if the person you’re possessing has their life crystal destroyed while yours is still intact, you’ll return to your body with major mental strains.”

Alicia nodded in his response, before a sudden thought struck her as she remembered her escape from the floating castle. ‘If the life crystals are the only ones that are left. Then their bodies must have been taken except for the Life crystals.’

The thought sent chills down her spine involuntarily. Now that all her questions were answered, Alicia returned the mana stone to Vertin, feeling satisfied after inspecting it.

 As Vertin accepted the mana stone, he asked, “Would you like us to prepare a sack of holding for you?”

“No need.” Alicia said. 

Erwin continued, “Do you have any questions about mana stones, sigils, life crystals or anything similar?”

“[D5]. Yes. When it comes to sigils, do they use the same letters as in the real world?”

“[E takes D5]. Nope” He smiled, replying, “rather, only the natives of the Ornella Kingdom, particularly those who served before the Goddess Alzepta can create sigils.”

“But if an Athari makes it?”

“Nothing happens.”

Alicia nodded and replied, “[Knight A5].”

“[Bishop B5 check].” Erwin said, a huge grin appeared. “Our runic letters we typically use for Sathirtian Runes don’t have any effects, which is a huge disappointment. But I think we will eventually learn how to use sigils, or maybe even discover Arkth stones,” Erwin mused. “But even if we were to find Arkth stones now, we would need a lot of equipment and resources to safely harvest them without risking our bodies turning to crystals or becoming an empty shell.”

“[C6]. I know. Speaking of which, how long do you think it will take for us to reach modern-day technology?” Alicia asked.

There are no Artkh-base weapons, no mind networking, and only limited conscious augment at the current state of the game. Alicia had considered leaving the game temporarily until it becomes more modern.

Alicia enjoyed whenever the simulation worlds were space-faring ships and handheld ranged weapons were prevalent. She preferred using range weapons over metallic swords. 

“[D takes C6]. I can’t say for sure,” Erwin pondered as he closed his eyes, “It’s a highly speculated number, but around 30, 40, or maybe even 50 in-game years? So roughly 30-50 months based on Universal time.”

Upon hearing this, Alicia’s eyes grew heavy as she looked at Erwin with an empty stare.

Vertin hurriedly added, “But these numbers are based on the current state of the game, right Erwin?”

Erwin felt a nudge to his right and saw Vertin signaling with a rause of his furry eyebrow. Erwin agreed hurriedly, as if receiving the message. “Yes, definitely! If we acquire an abundance of materials, oil, and hydrogen, that number will decrease significantly.”

“[B takes C6],” Alicia affirmed. “Yes, I understand. Don’t worry about me suddenly quitting the game. I simply wanted to hear your opinion. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Erwin sighed in relief upon hearing Alicia’s words. He let out a dry laugh, smiling wryly before adding, “[Bishop to E2]. Honestly, if I had been the reason you stopped playing the game, I wouldn’t have been able to face another light.” 

Alicia tilted her head, slightly confused. “Me quitting causing you problems? Why is tha– No, no need to explain. I think I understand why. [H6].” 

Alicia took a glanced at the red circle that has been hovering around the bow deck. She added, “It’s quite foolish if that’s only the reason people loathe you for it.”

Erwin followed her gaze as smug smile appeared, his voice tease a mocking tone as he said, “Well, people are petty sometimes. They just want to throw the blame to someone for the sake of being angry. [Knight to F3].”

She returned her gaze, pressing on, “We’ve strayed quite a bit from out conversation. Is there anything else you want to discuss after the topic of mana stones, Erwin?”

Erwin snapped his fingers as he returned his attention, “Right! I’m so sorry about that. I almost forgot to tell you about one last thing - it’s about the presence zones in the Boundary.”

“[E4]. Presence zones?” Alicia repeated.

“[Knight to E5]. So, during our time in the Boundary, have you ever wondered why we can only see such a limited distance ahead, despite it being an endless void filled with water?” Erwin prompted.

‘He’s doing it again,’ Alicia remarked in her thoughts, nonchalantly observing Erwin’s excited expression. 

“Go on. [Bishop D6]” Alicia urged.

Erwin hesitated before responding, “[D4] would be my move, yeah. Let’s stick with that,” he said, nodding as if assuring himself.

He continued, “So, yes, about the Presence Zone. Imagine we are ships and our scanning range depends on our scanner modules. That scanning range is basically equivalent to the presence zone.”

Hearing this, Alicia tilted her head as she pointed out, “Why do I have the feeling you are explaining it in a way I cannot understand? Instead, it feels like you are making it more confusing. I suggest you speak without worry, Erwin. I can understand your words verily.”

“My bad. Explaining it in this manner makes it easier for the concept to be understood. Well, for most people, I mean.” Erwin chuckled dryly, making excuses.

Alicia, disregarding his reason, carried on with, “[E takes D3].”

Erwin’s eyes widened in shock as he heard her move, his mouth agape as he stuttered, “Oh, uh, that was en passant?”

Upon seeing Alicia’s nod with a nonchalant sly smile, Erwin wryly smiled, regret plastered on his face, and continued, “[Knight takes D3]. Each individual that enters the Boundary has a radius zone within which they can see and hear. Anything outside of this radius becomes completely invisible. We call this concept the Presence Zone.”

“Then, what would happen if I create a 9-feet-long hand and stretch it out? Would my Presence Zone increase?” 

“Yep,” Erwin confirmed, “We specifically named it as the Presence Zone because it is directly tied to one’s individual presence. If you use any projectile, it won’t expand.”

“[Queen C7]”

“[H3], but it’s somewhat meaningless since we can’t alter our biological forms within the Boundary,” Erwin reminded. “Well, unless we had already transformed before entering the Boundary, that is.”

“[Castle], the Boundary would be incredibly dangerous once the Seekers succeed in developing arkth-base weapons. I can already envision individuals firing without any concern for the repercussions due to the nature of the Boundary,” Alicia pondered, tapping her chin as her gaze fell.

“[Castle], I don’t thing it would be that dangerous as you probably imagine in your mind.” Erwin responded, “Actually, the Boundary also has other properties, but in theory, arkth bullets would dissipate before reaching two meters out.”

“[Rook D8]. Why is that exactly?” Alicia urged.

“[Bishop D2], well, it’s still a hypothetical. There isn’t a lot of information about this yet.” Erwin warned, his voice slightly filled with uncertainty, “The Boundary is pretty selective?”

“Selective?” Alicia repeated.

Erwin explains, “You see, when we throw things into the Boundary away from ourselves, they would either submerge into the water or fly to above. Submerging typically happens when we drop our weapons that are soulbound. Otherwise, all other items just fly above until they disappear. We don’t exactly know why this is happening. But recalling from the rules, one of the known rules is double status rating, and the second rule is presence zones,” Erwin said, holding up his fingers as he counted.

As Alicia listened to Erwin, her gaze wandered and caught sight of several flying winged seekers landing on the lower deck with someone roped along with them. They were greeted by other Seekers which made Alicia momentarily thought who it was.

Erwin continued to explain, “We can theorize that the rules also affect the items, but there may be some other rules at play that we don’t understand yet. However, this means we don’t have to worry about getting shot from someone hundreds of meters away.”

Alicia muttered, ”So that means we cannot establish things in the Boundary, like a base?”

Erwin nodded, “That is correct. But we still haven’t fully explored the entire Yggdrasil to be certain. So it might changed.”

“[Bishop H2 check]. Checkmate Erwin.” Alicia said, smiling. “You were too greedy and blind. You blundered many times, and I don't quite understand why you moved your rook to capture the pawn.”

Vertin, who had been listening to their conversation absentmindedly while focusing on other matters through his holographic window, turned his head and snickered. Meanwhile, Erwin’s face was filled with regret as he muttered under his breath, “I was doing so well. Why didn’t I think about the Queen.”

While Erwin mourned his loss, something caught Alicia’s attention from the stairs. She saw Liu emerge, looking tipsy, balancing several drinks in her hands and tail. Behind Liu, some Seekers were also carrying a variety of beverages.

In a sudden movement, Christine stood up from her chair, wearing a surprised expression as she couldn’t help but voice her shock. “Wah- Didn’t I just tell you to lay off drinking? Look at you now, drunk because you had too many!”

“Hehe,” Liu chuckled coyly, her tail seemed to wiggled behind, the drips of alcohol spilled from the cups. “I didn’t choose the alcohol! The alcohol chose me!‘

“And that’s what you called irresponsibility,” Christine retorted.

Christine sighed and started to approach Liu. However, she halted her steps and looked at Alicia, as if silently seeking permission. Alicia shrugged, indicating that she cared less of the ruckus, and turned her gaze to the other Seekers approaching them. As such, Christine approached Liu hurriedly.

“Greetings, your Divineness,” a Seeker with wings said.

“What do you need?” Alicia prompted.

The Seeker inquired,“Would you like some refreshments? We have fruits, juices, wines, and beers.” 

“I’ll take the fruits, preferably one that is not too messy to eat.” Alicia selected.

Upon hearing her request, the Seekers behind obediently chose fruits based on her preference.

Suddenly, Erwin leaped from his seat and gaze towards the bow of the ship. Concerned by his reaction, Alicia followed his gaze and spotted a turmoil in the distance ground. 

On the clear plateau, there stood a familiar outpost resembling the Major Promus base. High towering walls encircled the center with several tall buildings within. Strangely, hundreds of elements were being thrown outside of walls, indicating a potential external threat attacking the base.

Upon closer inspection, one side of the base was blanketed in pristine white snow. Lightning bolts cracked through the sky, flames ignited amidst the foggy snow clouds. 

“It appears that the Kusoge base has been attacked by the northern monsters.” Erwin exclaimed, saluting his fist to his chest. “I will excuse myself temporarily to assist the Kusoge base,” he declared before making his way inside the ship.