NOVEL NEXT Chapter 22 - True Ancestor Virus 1
Chapter 22: True Ancestor Virus 1
Virtual Dungeon.
This artificial space installed by the Barrier Agency is often used to measure the strength of all awakened beings in Ark, including Hunter rank assessments.
Since it is a space used by all awakened beings, lower-grade monsters suitable for F~D grade Hunters are usually summoned here.
However, the ones who use this virtual dungeon the most are unexpectedly high-ranking awakened beings.
Specifically, those ranked Third-Class Overseer or higher and Hunters ranked A-class or above.
The adversaries they face are not ordinary monsters but powerful entities classified at least as lower-level Calamities.
To confront such foes, one must practice, coordinate with a team, and thoroughly learn the details and behaviors of the enemies.
For this purpose, the Barrier Agency’s “virtual dungeon” serves as the best training ground, closely simulating real combat scenarios.
Many Hunters and awakened beings practically live within the Barrier Agency, not only to receive missions but also to use this virtual dungeon.
Adding a bit of entertainment, the Barrier Agency has installed a setup along one wall that allows people to watch the virtual dungeon like a TV program.
Since awakened beings often wait for hours for missions, watching people use the virtual dungeon has become a form of amusement.
“Hey, catching a Red Dragon isn’t that easy.”
“That screen is showing the Malcote Party, right?”
“Yeah, they caught it on their seventh try without a scratch.”
“Still, seven tries isn’t bad, is it?”
“If it takes an A-rank Hunter six tries, they’re basically washed up. Look at that—they’re wasting wide-area skills for nothing. Red Dragons are highly resistant to fire, so spreading flames won’t deal much damage.”
“Geez. Look at this D-rank guy coaching an A-rank.”
“No, seriously. What’s the point of using wide-area fire skills on a Red Dragon?”
“That’s why you’re perpetually stuck at D-rank. Don’t you know that even though Red Dragons have fire resistance, their reverse scale and eyes are weak points? Wide-area skills force them to retreat. Resistance means less damage, not immunity.”
“And you’re a C-rank, not a Red Dragon.”
“What? How dare a lowly D-rank talk back to a glorious C-rank?”
“Whatever. C-rank or D-rank, they’re practically the same.”
Thanks to the live-viewing setup, D-rank Hunters end up giving unsolicited advice to A-rank Hunters, and sometimes Hunters make bets on the performances in the virtual dungeon.
Even without that, awakened beings’ battles are quite spectacular to watch.
It’s much flashier and more impactful than any game or sports match, making it excellent entertainment or a way to pass the time.
In fact, in the deeper levels of Ark or the higher strata, awakened beings are sometimes gathered in coliseum-like arenas for battle royales.
“Huh? Who’s that?”
A new face appeared on the screen for the first time today.
“What? Is she from the Central Academy?”
“An intern?”
“She looks pretty young, though.”
A girl with striking white hair.
It was Alice.
“Oh, is she a newly awakened being?”
“But is she even human? Her eyes are too…”
“How could she be a doll? She’s too detailed, and you can’t see any joints.”
Although her appearance was undeniably beautiful, her glossy glass-like pupils and the sheen of her skin imitating biological tissue gave off a faintly inhuman aura.
Even so, Alice’s looks were optimized to captivate people, so it was natural for her to draw attention.
However, expectations weren’t particularly high.
A young girl suggested a lack of experience and age, and even a prodigy among awakened beings typically needed to be at least an adult to stand out.
Combat experience and proficiency with their abilities generally improved with time.
To the awakened beings killing time in the Barrier Agency, Alice likely appeared to be a young academy student visiting the virtual dungeon for some practical experience.
“Is it goblins first?”
“Well, she’ll probably take care of a few goblins quickly, right?”
-Thunk!
As expected, Alice instantly skewered the heads of about three goblins with her tendrils.
There was no hesitation in the process.
It happened the moment the goblins were summoned.
“Oh, there are girls who freak out and cry, saying they can’t attack living creatures.”
Nobody paid much attention to her defeating the goblins.
Even though it was surprising that a young girl could dispatch goblins without hesitation in just one second, it wasn’t shocking if she was an awakened being.
What surprised them was that a child, who looked like a young girl, didn’t hesitate to take a life, even if it was in a virtual space.
“Well, the real challenge starts now.”
“I bet she’ll drop out before Wave 10.”
“Oh, a bet? I’m in.”
“I’m guessing Wave 15.”
With that, more and more eyes began to focus on Alice.
■■■■■
Ah, I’m bored.
This isn’t fun.
I had high expectations, but…
-Thunk!
-Thunk!
Hah, this time it’s a wolf with shark-like jaws.
Even with its strange appearance, it couldn’t react to the speed of my mechanical tendrils and had its head pierced.
It’s dull.
It was truly dull.
What’s this?
Give me back my excitement!
When I heard it was a virtual space, I honestly had huge expectations.
They said they could change the environment artificially and summon monsters, so I thought this would be the perfect place to test the performance of my body—no, should I call it a machine?
Anyway, I believed this would create the ideal environment to assess my capabilities.
This world isn’t like my first life—ordinary and peaceful, with no fights.
Here, understanding my abilities precisely is essential.
But…
-Thwack!
“Gwaaah!”
Even the squeals of dying pigs are getting tiresome now.
I could feel the sensation of flesh tearing and blood splattering as the metallic tendrils shredded through, but after seeing the virtual dungeon monsters vanish like holograms over and over, it was starting to bore me.
I imagined myself fighting for my life, involved in intense brawls, or mounting something terrifying like a Scrap Dragon and engaging in a desperate, blood-soaked dragon hunt.
But instead, all I got was repetitive grunt work akin to tedious labor.
“Sigh.”
As I drove my tendril into the head of the 34th summoned orc, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
Considering that this body is a tin can android, it wasn’t a physiological reaction.
It was more like a heartfelt groan of genuine disappointment.
“Oriana! Can’t you crank up the difficulty? Summoning these small fries over and over, and I’m cutting them down in a second every time!”
[“That’s not something I can control.”]
The virtual dungeon environment had transformed into a lush green field, making it impossible to see where Oriana was, but it seemed she was watching me from somewhere.
[“Rank tests using the virtual dungeon are directly overseen by the Barrier Agency’s AI. Since you don’t have a rank or personal information registered, the AI starts from the lowest difficulty and proceeds through the wave tests sequentially.”]
“Hey, by now, shouldn’t the difficulty just jump up already? What’s the current level?”
[“Hmm, 7.”]
“Difficulty 7? That’s higher than I thought.”
[“Out of 100 points, it’s 7.”]
“Oh, come on, this is trash! How long will it take to level up at this pace?”
-Thunk-crash!
“Screeee…”
[“Generating the next wave.”]
After dispatching a bipedal monster with a dog’s head, its body vanished, and the AI announced the beginning of a new wave.
‘Sigh, Theresa, can’t you hack this? Just boost the difficulty to 100.’
【Response: It is possible.】
‘Huh? Really?’
Even though my body is a tin-can android, could something like this really be possible?
Theresa, my auxiliary personality, would never lie to me, but I was genuinely curious.
【This personality is designed based on the principles of Magic-Engineering Morphology to uphold the zeroth directive: the Main System’s existence. However, it is not impossible to attempt interference with other entities if the Main System issues a clear command.】
‘So, in simpler terms, are you saying I can command you to hack that Barrier Agency AI?’
【Although much has been omitted, to summarize, yes.】
Hearing this, I glanced at the battery capacity displayed in a corner of my vision.
89.1%.
The capacity seemed sufficient.
【However, please be aware. The current hacking proficiency of the Main System and this personality is close to zero. Excessive energy consumption, unintended side effects, or secondary damage cannot be predicted at this time.】
‘Wait, didn’t you say it was possible?’
【It is highly probable that the Barrier Agency AI is not designed with the same principles as this system. If the AI is based on Magic-Engineering Morphology, there may be no side effects, but this cannot be guaranteed. More data is needed.】
While conversing with Theresa, I turned my gaze to the newly summoned monster wave.
A horde of grotesque, bloated monsters resembling enormous maggots had appeared.
They didn’t look particularly strong, fast, or skilled.
‘Theresa, just hack it.’
【…Please reconsider whether this is the correct decision.】
‘Hey, I’m not exactly built for endurance battles, am I?’
Currently, my battery was at 89.1%.
It had been 100% when I arrived here, but just dealing with a few low-grade monsters had already consumed 10%.
My body is so inefficient that it consumes energy even while standing still, reaching the pinnacle of poor fuel economy.
Regardless of its performance, the energy consumption, adaptability, and efficiency of this body were abysmal, so ending this monster wave as quickly as possible was the right choice.
‘At this rate, the 10% I’ve already used would’ve been enough to take down the Scrap Dragon I saw before. If I waste time on these small fries, it’s only a loss for me. I might even have to go back to being an Electricity Fairy.’
【…Understood. Then I will attempt to hack the target: Barrier Agency AI.】
At those words, one of the mechanical tendrils extending from my spine suddenly shot out and embedded itself in a tree nearby.
At first glance, this place appeared to be a dense forest, but Theresa seemed to have located a connection point on the floor or ceiling that allowed her to interface with the AI.
In that instant, my vision filled with starlight.
This wasn’t a metaphor; literal, multicolored, dazzling lights flooded my view.
It resembled something electrical or perhaps a biological nervous system, and alongside it, I could still see the maggot monsters crawling toward me.
If I had to describe it, my vision had become like that of a wasp.
It was as though I was seeing multiple things at once, yet it didn’t feel like I was the one perceiving them.
To avoid suspicion, I idly twitched my hand and controlled the tendrils to eliminate a few maggots.
Meanwhile, Theresa connected to the AI’s electronic neural network.
A purple impurity appeared, forcing its way through walls made of zeros and ones, instantly deactivating all surrounding security systems.
[“Wave 7 clear. Ne…■■xt wav…■■ summ■■■ng■■■■. Abno■■■ detected.”]
The blue neural system of the Barrier Agency’s AI was infiltrated by the purple impurity, and its rate of infection was beyond imagination.
In mere moments, the purple overtook the blue neural network.
The hacking was a success.
【■■Under. The Main■■System’s directives,■■ difficulty■■■■set to max■■.】
‘Yes, that’s it!’
Great! Good! Crank it up already.
Let’s finish this and head home!
【Under the Main■■System’s orders, the difficulty■■■■ is now】
【999.】
‘Uh…?’
A number that seemed terribly wrong appeared before my eyes.
What…?
999?
Wait, hold on.
‘No way. Is this an overflow error!?’
In computing and programming, an overflow error occurs when a number exceeds the maximum range the system can handle, spilling over into the highest digit and creating erroneous results.
-Crack!
Somewhere, the sound of something going critically wrong echoed, and instinctively, I sensed that something was amiss.
‘Theresa! Cancel the hack! Cancel it!’
“Ah, this place… It’s been a while.”
At that moment, the air was forcibly compressed.
A voice I had never heard before reverberated through the forest of the virtual dungeon, and as it echoed, everything in the forest began to turn blood-red.
Blood began to gather.
What had been trees turned into blood.
Even rocks transformed into blood.
The bushes, flowers, and the soil of the ground I stood on—all the components of the virtual dungeon melted into crimson blood. From the massive pool of blood, something began to rise.
“Haaa… This place is truly wonderful…”
As the blood mass raised its head, it took the form of a seductive and decadent woman.
With a sensuous figure, she slowly emerged from the pool, and despite being a monster from the virtual dungeon that had neither spoken nor displayed sentience until now, the woman of blood clearly stared at me and licked her lips.
[“■■ Abnormal, catastrophic■■■■ event detected■■■■ True Ancestor Virus, forced manifestation■■ Emergency evacuation■■ evacuate now!”]
Oh, crap.
What the hell is a True Ancestor Virus?
‘Damn it… Am I screwed here?’
【Human, I distinctly warned you.】
Theresa’s voice sounded almost defensive, as if making an excuse.