CCTnovel Chapter 469: Awakening
Chapter 469: Awakening
Chapter 469: Awakening
After Dennis and Aaron return, I give everyone an explanation of everything that happened while I was gone. Lily listens with a singular degree of focus as someone who will soon enter Beyond.
It’s impossible to tell her about the trial itself, given the way the system censors any attempt, but general information regarding Beyond seems ok, so I tell her what I can.
“So you still don’t know how to clear the 1st floor of the dungeon and enter the second?” she asks as I finish my tale.
“Yup, no idea at all. The current plan is to reach the safe zone and try to gather information and continue from there. We should be able to do it in three days when you and Tess get your stay tokens.”
“Won’t we need a bigger group?”
“Possibly, but Tess said Gareth promised to join. If it doesn’t work out, we can just reschedule it for six months from now—when I’m due to meet up with Leticia and the others. Or I could just go back for a day or two and leave another message so that we can try sooner.”
Tapping on the armrest of the manabloc chair I made for her and the twins, she smiles. “I’m so happy I don’t have to think about these things! Just point me at the monsters.”
“Is she cosplaying Nat?” Dennis quips, poking Aaron.
“Remember we read that article that said that one of the easiest ways to pick up girls was to imitate them a bit? Like mimicking their movements and behaviors would help make you more endearing. Maybe she read the same article,” Aaron nods seriously.
“I’m going to fuck you up! Both of you!”
“Totally like Nat.”
“Yes. At this point, it has to be intentional.”
“And now Nat’s going to increase the difficulty on that cursed orb of his.”
“Well, we were expecting that. Bring it on!”
I listen as they babble for a moment, then do just that, and for a while at least, they don’t have the focus to spare on idle chatter.
I turn to Lily. “What do you think of Specter’s arm and the pieces of Whitey’s heart?”
“They’re in terrible shape and weakening fast. They’ll probably crumble to dust soon.”
“Either it’s the system messing with us or that’s just how lurkers work, maybe they just crumble to dust so they can be recreated in a year. Though I’d think it’d make more sense to just fix the body over the following year and reuse it.”
“Maybe that is how it works; perhaps in this case the arm has been marked as destroyed?”
“Could be.” After weakening the orbs so the twins can focus, I address the entire group, “In three days we’ll be heading deeper into the central region. With any luck It might finally complete our side quest, and we can start working on our information gathering in the process.”
As I return to thinking about our plans, I spin the newly shaped thermal pyramid floating in the middle of our group, having moved on from the cube, each face shines a different color, ranging from pale yellow to dark gold, and each one emits a different amount of heat.
The way it spins has an almost hypnotizing quality to it, as I continue, “We’ll take over one of the smaller groups, so we have a good place to sleep. Preferably somewhere with a good view. Before you ask, yes, you can call it Angry Kittens, I don’t even care anymore. The training will continue for you two and Lily too. We don’t need to sleep much anymore, and we’re going to find out how far I can push you guys before you start hallucinating.”
“What?”
“[Mana Manipulation] will be our main focus, and we’ll work on improving [Connection] after. Lily’s going to focus on body modification and [Disintegration].” I say, and begin to put my plans into words, in an attempt to make everything easier to schedule, “I’ll work on improving [Resonance], and practice the stances for kinetic energy, and I’ve got a great idea for a new mana technique, with Lily’s help, I think I could get a new skill in the process.”
Eventually, I start to feel like a single thermal pyramid isn’t enough of a challenge and create multiple evil orbs, making them spin around me while I deal with their effects, “I will disassemble most of the damaged arcane items and sell a few. My end goal is to build a facility to create arcane items with the materials at our disposal.”
Biscuit approaches, and I watch as he lays on the ground next to Lily, putting his small head on his front paws.
“I will try to come up with ways to modify and recreate the Restrictive Training Emblem and Burden Enhancement Inscriptions so that you can make use of them as well. I just need to find a way to keep them from stopping your brain from functioning, or your heart from beating, or preventing your chest from moving and suffocating you.”
“WHAT?”
I'm really going to be busy I realize, saying as much as I do, “You know that feeling when you think you have a lot of free time and then you start going over everything you need to do and find you don’t have near enough time to fit it all in. Anyway, over the next few weeks, I think my priority will be mana and kinetic energy, in that order. I’ll just have to find a way to fit the rest in somehow.”
“What about things like the Floor quests? I mean, we’ve already been here for quite a while and we still haven’t figured out how to leave,” Dennis says, reminding me.
“It’ll probably end up being something as simple as helping one of the beings from the five, now four, containment cells escape and then letting them deal with the rest,” I say, yawning as I increase the speed of the spinning pyramid.
“You mean beings on the level of Champions?”
“Yup,” I nod. “You remember the 4th floor, right? Our quest was to kill one of the Calamities, and the biggest part of the solution was to pick the one you could face with your group and abilities. This floor might be the same, we might just need to choose the right prisoner to release. Though that dickhead Champion from before clearly wasn’t it.”
“Do you really think that alone would be enough?”
I shrug, “If it’s not, we release them all and let them break this prison apart and sneak out when they do.”
“Yeah, I hope Tess’s or Sophie’s group finds out more,” Aaron says, not seeming to like my idea for some reason. Well, I don’t mind the lack of trust, but in my experience, the simplest methods often work the best.
I lean back in my chair and open up a pouch of deer jerky, and taking out a piece, before taking a bite and chewing on it.
Somewhere from my right, next to Lily, I hear a quick, surprised movement.
I take another bite.
(Bitch!) Biscuit shouts, using a word I haven’t heard from him in a long while. I think he must have learned it from Lily.
I take two more bites, and Biscuit quickly appears right in my face, floating and clearly angry but finally giving me his attention.
“You would make a decent demon.”
“My disciple said the same.”
“Let us begin then.”
“Yes.”
POV Earth
“It’s exactly as we feared, director. The animals are getting bigger. That polar bear in South Hudson Bay is three times the size of any polar bear ever recorded. An impossibly large moose was discovered in Newfoundland, and a giant lynx is hunting grizzlies in the Yukon.”
“Sometimes I just wish I didn’t have to deal with it, damn it. Prepare a report, and I’ll go over it before passing it on to the higher-ups.”
“Should we pass it on to the Department of Public Safety and the Armed Forces?”
“Yes. They can deal with it just like everything else.”
“Got it, director!”
POV Earth
“Sir, the situation in the Pacific just got a lot worse. There’s a shark out there—it’s the size of a cruise ship. They spotted it near the Mariana Trench.”
“A shark? That big? Are we sure?”
“Yes, sir. It’s already disrupted several shipping routes, and a couple of research vessels have gone missing. Satellite images show it circling, almost like it’s guarding something down there.”
“Great. That’s just what we needed after that damned spider showed up. Send out an alert to the naval forces and tell them to keep all civilian ships out of the area.”
“Understood. And should we inform the public?”
“Not yet. Let’s just keep this between us and monitor its movements.”
POV Earth
“So, we’re just all gonna pretend there isn’t a giant spider hanging out on the moon?”
“Oh, yeah, it’s totally normal. It’s just a massive spider, chilling up there like it owns the place.”
“Honestly, at this point, I kind of have to respect it. It’s been up there for over a year and hasn’t moved an inch. Probably just waiting for us to get comfy.”
“Yeah, it’s like a horror movie villain on a coffee break. Just taking its time, and plotting its next big move.”
“Right? Meanwhile, we’re all down here hoping that just maybe if we ignore it, it’ll go away.”
“Hey, maybe it’s just shy!”
“Or maybe it’s sizing up the planet like, ‘Alright, if I ever need a snack, I’ll just reach over. Not today, but someday.’”
“Yeah... let’s just hope it stays on break.”
“Just look at it. We all know it’s just a matter of time.”
POV Earth
"Ever since its appearance over a year ago, the 'Moon Spider,' as it’s been dubbed, hasn’t shown any signs of movement or aggression. It's just... there. Clinging to the surface of the moon, The size of the entire state of Colorado, with its many legs spread across the lunar surface, all visible from Earth. For the time being, it’s remaining completely motionless. There’s no observable activity, no indication of feeding activity, or even the most basic of life functions. We've been monitoring it around the clock, trying to understand what it is, how it got there, and why it’s been so eerily still. Initial scans show an incredibly dense biological structure, unlike anything we've ever encountered. It doesn't fit into any known category of life as we understand it. The spider is silent, and despite all efforts, there’s been no response to any signal or attempt at communication. But the question remains: why hasn’t it moved? It’s been over a year, and it hasn't so much as twitched. Speculations range from theories regarding a deep hibernation state to the idea that it’s some sort of cosmic warning. The public at large, after an early outbreak of panic, has finally gotten used to the spider's presence. Even though it still remains a threat, no one knows if it’s content to simply watch... or if it’s just waiting for something. That was until about two weeks ago."
“What happened?”
“A group of a few dozen people appeared near a collapsed tunnel in Osaka, Japan, and the Moon Spider showed signs of movement, just a slight turn in the direction of Japan. The individuals that appeared in Japan were later identified as members of a group of people who were presumed dead in a tunnel collapse a few weeks before the Moon Spider appeared.”
“Continue.”
“Yes, thank you, sir. Reports indicate that these people possessed... unnatural abilities. Physical and mental capabilities that defy our understanding. The Japanese government and military have done their utmost to keep this under wraps, and most of these people have been cooperative, freely sharing information after their return. Japan has recently decided to provide us with some of this information. They’ve suggested that more individuals like them may appear and they’ve noted that those who’ve returned so far are what they refer to as ‘Easy Difficulty’ participants.”
“You said most cooperated. What happened to the rest?”
“Two refused and attempted to flee. One was subdued with the assistance of the other returnees. That’s what the Japanese have taken to calling them, sir, and we’ve decided to adopt the term as well.”
“Understood. What happened to the last one?”
“Kazuki Sato, twenty-three years old, was neutralized using an anti-materiel rifle. Prior to that, he survived an anti-tank missile strike and eliminated a twelve-member team from Japan’s Special Forces Group. We’re awaiting further reports, including photo and video documentation.”
“Please continue with the briefing.”
“Thank you, sir. Since the arrival of the first returnees in Japan, a range of animals in the area where the returnees appeared have exhibited remarkable growth in both physical capabilities and intelligence. Holographic windows have begun appearing before people who come into contact with the returnees. The returnees refer to this phenomenon as a ‘system message.’ It’s incredibly infectious—proximity alone is sufficient to spread it. Those affected have shown signs of what the returnees call ‘awakening,’ allowing them to access a ‘status window’ displaying a numerical representation of their abilities and granting them two so-called ‘skills’.”
“What does the message say?”
“It reads: ‘Congratulations! The earliest participants of the tutorial have completed their induction, and Earth will begin its awakening. More information will follow once the tutorial concludes! Welcome!’”