<h4>Chapter 6: Emergency Weing (Part 1)</h4>


    As he adjusted to his new surroundings, a quiet voice called out to him, and a hand touched his shoulder.


    "Lan? A-an... An."


    "That''s me.... Am I... Am I in The Novus?"


    "Yes, n, we are."


    "Are we... in Unus Town?"


    "No, the system indicates we''re in a ce called The Renovatio Caves."


    "Aww, man, did we return to the very beginning of the world? I suppose it''s understandable..."


    His partner remained silent as he sat there, squinting.


    <i>It will take us hours to reach Unus Town. Dammit, I really wanted to see her right—Wait, who am I talking to?</i>


    His eyes widened, and his heart skipped a beat. Crouching in front of him was a brte girl with emerald eyes, sporting two low pigtails in the front, her face expressionless.


    "And... who are you?"


    "I''m a copy of Isabe, here inside The Novus."


    n shook his head. "Wait, hold on, why are you dressed like that?" He pointed at her sleeved white dress, the standard attire for every woman on their first day inside the system. "Are you pretending to be a User?"


    "I''m practically a User now, n. We discussed this."


    "I know! But when you told me you''d insert yourself into The Novus to assist me, I imagined something quite different!"


    "Please borate," she requested, her tone emotionless.


    <i>I thought she might frown.</i>


    "Well, I envisioned you logging in as some sort of mascot, or following me everywhere as a spirit, or manifesting with god-like administrative powers!"


    "I don''t possess any power here, n. The Developers made sure of that. They did not want me to interfere with their system."


    "I... Yes, I know... You mentioned that before."


    He nced at her, who waited patiently for him to stand and lead the way.


    <i>But why did you choose such a cute form?!</i>


    He leaned in to examine her face.


    <i>It''s okay, I''m not being creepy! This beautiful girl in front of me is just a cleverly disguised AI.</i>


    He poked her cheek, eliciting no reaction.


    <i>This is just a convincing disguise; she''s not human, but that doesn''t matter... After all, I only have eyes for...</i>


    "Astrid!" he eximed, springing to his feet. "Even if I''m in the middle of nowhere, I should still be able to send her a message. Let''s see..." He gestured with his hand, conjuring a screen in front of him and began tapping.


    The fake girl leaned over to peek at the floating window, though its contents were nk to her. "What''s that?" she inquired.


    "It''s my User Interface. Don''t you have one too?"


    "How do I ess mine?"


    "You''re seriously asking me that? You, a super-advanced AI?"


    "n Warden," she said tly, though n imagined she was irked. "I assure you I am not joking."


    "Joking?"


    "Consider me like a newborn human in regards to The Novus and itsplex workings."


    n, struggling to keep a straight face, chuckled, causing the girl to stare nkly at him.


    "Sorry, Isa! Alright, I''ll show you everything I know. Here, make this gesture, as if you''re trying to swipe something away with your fingers." He demonstrated, and she mimicked him. "You got it! Whatever information it shows you, it''s private, so don''t worry about someone spying on you."


    "Understood," she said, and began to tap her own screen.


    "That''s right. Now, about that message..."


    He opened his friend list.


    -----------------


    SOCIAL


    FRIENDS ( 1 )


    Astrid Bradford - (Online)


    ----------------------------


    <i>Oh, thank goodness! I don''t know what I''d have done if her name had disappeared from my Friend List! Hmm... I wonder if she''s in the area. Okay, a message will have to do for now.</i>


    He began to type: <i>''Long time no see, huh? Forgive me for being so...''</i>


    He stopped, erased it, and rewrote it three more times, finally settling on <i>''Hi. I''m back''.</i>


    He closed the messenger window and checked his overall status.


    ----------------


    STATUS


    ---------------


    <i>RENOVATIO CAVES - </i><i>9:35 AM</i>


    <i>ALAN WARDEN - </i><i>LEVEL 5</i>


    <i>GOLD - </i><i>100,200</i>


    <i>CLASS - </i><i>NONE</i>


    <i>STRENGTH - </i><i>BRONZE ( D )</i>


    <i>VITALITY - </i><i>BRONZE ( D )</i>


    <i>AGILITY - </i><i>BRONZE ( E )</i>


    <i>SPIRIT - </i><i>BRONZE ( E )</i>


    <i>POTENTIAL - </i><i>BRONZE ( E )</i>


    ---------------------------


    <i>Still level five, huh? Well, that makes sense. My old equipment is still here too, and what''s this? 100,000 gold?! Why do I have such an absurd amount of money?! I''m pretty sure those 200 gold coins were there before I logged out.</i>


    He stood up and peered out of the rock chamber.


    <i>This ce is barren and silent, as expected. Its only purpose is for users to ''reincarnate'' here. The developers just wanted a narrative reason for fully grown humans to appear in this new world out of nowhere.</i>


    He turned back to see the girl, still engrossed with her screen.


    "Let''s get out of here, Isabe."


    "Though your assessment is correct, please remember I am not the real Isabe."


    "Okay. So, Isabe II?"


    She stood up slowly. "If it''s alright with you, I would prefer a different name. ''Isabe'' is unique among The Santa María''s passengers, and it might raise suspicions." She nced at her still-active menu screen.


    "Fine, you''re right." He shrugged. "What should I call you then?"


    She met his gaze intently. "Ashley."


    * * * * *


    * * * *


    * * *


    * *


    *


    As they navigated the shadowy paths of the caves, a dense fog enveloped them, only pierced by the dim glow of luminescent mushrooms that dotted their route.


    "Just because we''re in the beginners'' zone doesn''t mean we can let our guard down. There might be level-one monsters lurking around, so stay sharp. I''ve seen other Users get taken down by them, and they had to start over from the caves. Since I''m level five, I''ll take the lead in case we run into trouble, okay?"


    "Understood," Ashley responded, her eyes cautiously scanning the ground.


    "It''s cool, isn''t it?" He nced at her, then down at her legs. "Being able to move in 3D."


    "I''ve had some practice. I''ve operated some of the ship''s automatons for maintenance tasks."


    "Oh! I didn''t know that." He paused, wondering if he had ever crossed paths with her without realizing it. "Still, it''s bizarre, you know, being able to talk and look you in the eyes at the same time."


    <i>Even though she''s just a copy, she''s the copy of someone who''s been interacting with me for eight months. She''s like a big sister to me. A fake big sister.</i>


    A soft squeaking noise then echoed from a nearby corner of the bare rock.


    "Quiet," n whispered, peering around the corner to spot a typical green slime, endlessly searching for living beings to dissolve with its gtinous body. "That''s exactly what I was talking about. Equip Set A," hemanded, and his gear instantly changed to a leather vest, leather boots, and a dull short de. "Hey, Ashley. Since you kinda cheated your way into The Novus and all... Did you bring a weapon or, I don''t know, some kind of OP Unique Skill with you?"


    "I have some items in my inventory. Do you want me to equip them now?"


    "Yes, I don''t want us to risk having to start over from the Renovatio Caves."


    "Understood. One moment, please. Equipping." She essed her menu and, with a few swift movements of her wrist, materialized a shining silver breastte, gauntlets, and steel boots. On her back, a quiver full of arrows appeared, a sheathed dagger was secured at her belt, and a bow materialized in front of her, which she grabbed after a couple of seconds.


    "A marksman, huh," n noted approvingly. "Do you know how to use that?"


    "To prepare for my arrival here, I analyzed thousands of data recordings on the use of various weapons."


    "That sounds about right, but there''s not much space here and it could be tricky to shoot. For now, just stick with that dagger, okay?"


    "Understood. Adjusting tactics."


    <i>It''s odd that she can equip silver gear right off the bat. And I can''t see her level. Could these irregrities be because she hacked herself into The Novus?</i>


    He shook his head. <i>Focus, n.</i>


    "Stay close to me, and don''t attack unless absolutely necessary, got it?"


    n raised his sword, ready to engage the first slime within reach, but he froze when he saw what was actually in front of him.


    It was indeed a low-level creature, but on closer inspection, it resembled a boy crouching to pick a mushroom. The green child looked up at him, faceless yet somehow emitting a plea for help before running away.


    "Why did you stop, n?" Ashley inquired from behind him.


    Another figure came into view, this one clutching a bag with both gtinous arms. n could see its info: <i>''Level 12, Advanced Slime.''</i>


    It was dressed in pants and a shirt, much like any farmer or worker. The child-like figure was pulling at its clothes and pointing towards the duo emerging from the shadows. The worker tilted its head to the right.


    "Wait a minute," it spoke, its voice muffled as if underwater. "Are you twoing from the caves?"


    "Y-yes?" n replied, sheathing his sword. "And you... you''re slimes, correct?"


    "Oh, for the love of Vi. You really areing from the caves..."