Chapter 600 - Ultimate goal

Your performance up until now has been judged, and your role for the 8th floor has been picked. You have been assigned as Assistant Professor to Professor Elian.

And that's it. The notification disappears, and there is no more information. No goddamn map, no more details and stuff. The only thing that changes is my clothes, which go from a comfy white shirt and sweatpants to a black suit with a black shirt, jacket, and pants, paired with a light blue tie.

Before I complain, I look around. Everyone else wears different clothes and either rereads the message, scans the area, or gets used to the feel.

“Assistant professor as well?” Sophie stops by my side.

She is also wearing black clothes, with only her sweater being pale blue. Understanding her logic, I look around, and it seems like only the two of us are wearing this combination of colors.

As we start sharing information, it becomes more obvious.

Sophie and I as assistant professors.

Tess and Maya serve as guards for some more important noble students visiting the academy, wearing simpler clothes than Sophie and me. Their attire is similar in style but less luxurious, with gray as the prevalent color.

The twins, Izzy, Min-Jae, and Lily, all as Academy students, each wear white jackets and pants with a black shirt or sweater underneath. In a great insult, no, a slap to the face, Biscuit doesn’t wear any clothes. The best doggo of the 7th, no, 8th floor doesn’t get a cute suit or a tie.

And I ask myself: What the hell is this setting?

***

After an hour of planning and all that, we finally leave the room, bringing all of our stuff with us, yes, even the thermonuclear warheads. There is probably a joke to be made about bringing weapons to school, but I'm too exhausted just thinking about this setting.

The room we exit ushers us into a huge, beautiful garden. There are fruit trees, beautiful flowers, and multiple fountains that I am sure took more time to create than some skyscrapers on earth. The artwork and the inscriptions that guide the water flow are simply dizzying.

All around are small groups of students, all wearing the same clothes as the students in group 4. Most of them are humans, but I see some thylarin, and the race Beatrice and her father, the Archon, used to be, pink hair, pink skin, white freckles, and eyes made of a mix of green and blue.

Upon seeing them, we also notice a significant difference to the previous floors: No one has text above their head indicating their level or class.

We have decided to let go of our constant wide range scans, which almost everyone in our group has some version of. There is a high possibility that, similarly to the 2nd floor, something like this would be considered rude in a "civilized" nation. So everyone sticks to surface observations.

As we look around, I try to compare it to the 2nd floor, Lissandra's Eladore. The level seems somewhat similar in terms of inscriptions, but on the 2nd floor, we never visited the capital city for a better comparison. Still, currently, I go with the idea that they are somewhat similar, especially after recalling the current Floor quest. Just how can something ridiculous like a Ruler Candidate exist?

Slowly, everyone separates and heads in their own direction, keeping an eye on the countdown timer to meet again at the scheduled time later. There is no connection between us currently, as in an advanced area, it should be easily detectable by someone and could raise questions. It is a weird feeling after months of being so used to it.

I look down at two huge boxes with a gift from my sister and some other stuff, and I sigh, what now?

Then a voice calls from behind me, “Assistant Professor Gwyn, may I ask you where you have been the entire time?”

I turn around and immediately know I will hate this guy.

He is slightly taller than I, with blonde hair that is even blonder and longer than Tess has currently. His eyes are violet, and around his pupils shines a golden circle, a clear sign of Mana Wavelength Iris, the same trait I possess.

The man is wearing a suit in a style not dissimilar to mine. Unlike my all black attire with a pale blue tie, he has gray pants and a vest, and there is a round golden pin on his jacket.

“This is your first day, and yet you are already late and slacking somewhere in the gardens. And may I ask you what is with all this garbage?”

After gesturing at my stuff, he continues to let out a stream of very interesting and sometimes somewhat indirectly insulting words, and I notice he does so only loudly enough so that it does not carry far, and only after making sure no one sees him or listens. There is even a weak barrier flickering around us.

He lowers his voice further as a group of students passes by, and he greets them with a brilliant smile. A few girls in the group blush and start giggling, and a boy bows slightly, looking at him with clear admiration.

That smile remains only until they are gone, then he turns to me, “Do you not know how to talk?”

I shake my head. “I apologize, I got lost.”

He shakes his head and snaps his fingers, creating a fluctuation of very low frequency that spreads over the area. Only a few seconds later, a man appears, bowing and barely lifting his head from the ground.

It is likely a servant, and he asks politely, “What can I help you with, Professor Elian?”

“Pick up all this stuff and bring it into Assistant Professor Gwyn's office. And you,” he turns back to me, “I will see you later.”

With that, he leaves.

I allow myself to observe the servants that appear next to the first one as they efficiently collect all the baggage to bring it to the office I apparently have.

And I ask myself again: What the hell is this setting?

***

POV Earth

A man in an airtight suit enters the glass room. In the center, a stainless steel table holds the corpse of an animal. An unusually large brown wolf.

"So, what do you have so far?" the man asks.

The other two men in the room stop what they're doing and look up. Next to them is another table cluttered with various tools: broken scalpels, saws, knives, and an electric cutting saw.

"Yeah, we broke almost every saw, knife, and tool we had. The skin is far more durable than it should be, and the bones are incredible. The muscle tissue is much denser, and the organs are like nothing I’ve seen before," one of them says.

"Do you have the results from the scans we did earlier?"

"Not yet. By the way, sir, how the hell did someone manage to kill this thing?"

"That? They poisoned the corpse of an elk and left it nearby for the wolf to eat. Apparently, they used enough poison to kill an elephant instantly, maybe more, and it still took hours. But never mind that. We have another one for you tomorrow."

"Oh? What is it this time?"

"One of those huge ants that have started spreading across Africa."

"Well, I won’t complain, sir, but I’ll need a bigger budget, better equipment, and more staff."

"You’ll get whatever you need. There’s no budget limit."

***

POV Earth

“Have you seen? Out of nowhere, the Moonster started moving and twitching as if it were dying.”

“I don't think there is anyone who hasn't seen it; there are live-stream telescopes focused on that spider 24/7. Didn't it have those spasms for days?”

“Yup, poor little girl.”

“Hehe, sure, so what did you want to say? What conspiracy have you heard?”

“Nothing like it this time! I got a notification just a few hours ago, and it seems like she is okay now and has started creating some sort of web around the place.”

“She?”

“Well, Luna, now Moonster, everyone calls her 'she'.”

“Damn it, man. By the way, have you seen these AI CGI videos? People flying, shooting flames, lightning and stuff?”

“Yeah, but they keep taking them down. And aren't these guys saying all on the videos is real?”

“They are. Some of the clips are wild.”

“…Man, I just wanted to watch cat videos.”

“Same. Now I’m out here questioning reality because some guy lit up like a lightbulb and floated into the sky.”

“And no one talks about it on the news.”

“Of course not. They’re still busy covering that senator cheating on his wife and that huge sinkhole in Texas.”

“Priorities, man.”

***

POV Earth

A group of boys sits around a table in a friend's house. The mood is light as they constantly joke around, just a bunch of friends with similar styles of humor and interests.

One of them coughs and straightens, taking on a more serious mood. The others follow him too, putting on their most serious faces.

“My fellow men of developed taste, it is my pleasure to say that we are closer to one of the ultimate goals of the human race,” he says very seriously.

One of the boys has his eyebrow twitching, as he almost starts laughing, but he holds it back, and the boy continues.

“After decades of hardship and a life void of all meaning, we are now one step closer to that ultimate goal.”

He pauses dramatically, stretches for far too long, and in the silence, he speaks in a deep voice with a fanatical light in his eyes.

"Catgirls. Yes, my friends, you heard that right. It might not be just a distant dream, not something only our descendants will experience, but something we might live to see ourselves."

Someone lets out a laugh but quickly falls silent as the others look at him. The first boy takes his tablet from the table and unlocks it to open the URL he has saved. There, a video starts playing.

"A young woman in the video smiles brightly, recording herself in selfie style as she walks through the city. The architecture around her is vastly different from anything on Earth and looks far too realistic to be cheap CGI."

She says, “So, this is my favourite floor so far for sure! Virelia is so beautiful, and look!” She turns the camera, and a tall woman passes by, several heads taller than the girl recording, with black hair, matching cat ears, and a long tail.

The tall woman with cat ears even stops and looks at the girl. “What do you hold, human?” she asks curiously.

The human woman smiles brightly and stretches her arm farther so they both fit into the frame. “It's a smartphone! Smile for my friend; I want to show them what I have recorded!"

The tall woman with cat ears just shrugs and smiles in an easygoing manner.

"F-Fangs, even!" one of the boys blurts out, unable to hold it in.

The video ends, and another begins to play, all of the boys watching as the one holding the tablet grins widely.

***

POV Earth, Rafael Vaughn, aka Channeler

It has already been two days since I returned to Earth, and since then, I have kept the armor given to me by Nathaniel. Part of me wants to worry about the guns the soldiers around us hold, but at the same time, I also know the armor is capable of resisting them. Even so, I expect much more hidden weaponry.

So far, I have no reason to act aggressively and follow the protocols.

When my group of 10 returned, there were already soldiers waiting, connected to a higher-ranking soldier who flew here by helicopter in thirty minutes to our location. We were in a small field on the outskirts of a small city where we were recording scenes for a TV series, most of us being extras or lesser-known actors or cameramen and the like.

Of course, they tried to lowball us with their offer, immediately hoping to put us under control, as I am sure they have protocols for that. It would be strange if, after hearing from people who returned, they were not able to search for places from which tens or hundreds of people disappeared and did not wait there.

To make sure someone higher up talks to us, I shared some information. I gave them one of the USB drives we brought. It contains several videos we collected, including footage of the destruction during the tournament, recordings from the different floors, and messages from people confirming they’re with us. Nathaniel’s message in particular should carry the most weight.

The recordings of his performance include him melting the city and wiping out thousands of attendees, surviving a floating island crashing onto his head, moving with white hair at a speed the cameras could barely follow, and facing all those powerful monsters. I even asked an attendee who used to be a professional editor to put together a proper cut for us.

After that, there is also a video that Izzy recorded. I still remember being there when she did.

In it, Nathaniel just turns to the camera and says, “What? Message from me for people from Earth?”

“Yes! For soldiers or the president!” Izzy's young voice says from behind the camera she holds.

Nathaniel shrugs and looks right at the camera, “Channeler, the dude in that fancy armor with a uselessly handsome face is with me and represents me and, partially, my sister.”

“That's all?” Izzy asks in surprise.

“What else is there to say? If they aren't dumb fucks, they will understand the implications.”

“Oh, that's true, bombing them and stuff,” she calls happily.

“Why would I cause myself trouble by hurting innocent people? I just find whoever gave the order and kill that guy. I don't think anyone can stop me, even if it’s the president or something.”

The way he said it wasn't even meant as a threat, and he likely didn't even realize it. But these words, in the video that Izzy recorded from her height and spoken in his calm voice, bear more than a terrifying implication.

“That is smart!” Izzy says with her youthful voice, her agreement adding to the meaning.

So I remain confident and wait, refusing every offer they throw our way. I ignore emotional blackmail, hints of being country heroes, our responsibility, and all these things.

Then, just a bit later, a new helicopter appears; it is all black and very quiet. It looks almost like something from a sci-fi movie. A man in uniform steps out and heads toward us with confident strides, and after exchanging a few words with the leader of the group of soldiers, he moves closer.

He shows no worry, and his face remains calm.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Jonathan Kane, and I am a US Army Colonel and I have been authorized to negotiate with you. I have carefully watched the videos and read the files you have shared with us, and the soldiers stationed here have shared your requirements with me.”

He speaks smoothly, and unlike almost every soldier here, he doesn't seem to be nervous, either hiding it well or confident that we wouldn't start something too erratic.

"As a show of our goodwill in these negotiations, we’re willing to share information about the locations of the individuals you mentioned. I want to make it completely clear, and I want to strongly emphasize this, that we will not use them in any way to influence, pressure, or manipulate the situation."

“Sir, how…” the soldier next to him calls, but the colonel only lifts his hand, and the soldier falls silent.

“Sergeant, please don't interrupt the negotiations. Am I speaking with Mr. Rafael Vaughn?”

“Yes, it's nice to meet you, Colonel Jonathan Kane,” I say, “so what are your side's requirements?”

"I would prefer for it to be our side, at least for now. As you surely realize, the following years will not be anything that simple. For now, we are honestly not sure and haven’t yet decided how to deal with this situation, and we are creating new protocols as we go. So far, we have resorted to the tactic of throwing money at returnees like you, or offering them something of similar value."

“I can imagine it working well.”

“Most of the time.”

“What happens when it doesn't work?”

“I'm sorry, I cannot share such information with a civilian.”

“I understand. I will take your show of goodwill and would like to contact all the people on my list to inform them about their families and make sure they are safe. After that, we are willing to negotiate.”

The colonel smiles, “Negotiate is quite an amusing word. The current situation is that you will get almost anything you ask for, to be honest.”

"Very well. The first name on the list is Thalia Gwyn. You've seen the files on Nathaniel Gwyn and Victoria Gwyn, and I want to confirm that she is safe. Her son also told me to ask you to send her, and I quote him: 'Send my mom at least 50 million dollars to her account or something, and tell her not to buy stocks or other bullshit. Oh, and make sure she doesn't get taxed on it or anything like that. She should spend it quickly before the economy goes to shit. Maybe she could build a bunker. Min-Jae, how much could some cool bunker cost? Actually, scratch that. Channeler, tell them to make it at least 100 mil and help her get a bunker somewhere on an island with nice weather'."

I stop myself and look at the colonel.

“I… I am already acquainted with Miss Thalia Gwyn,” he says.

“Good, then there is a cat called Grumpy; it is very important-”

I continue to give them our people's names and even share estimated locations. All of this comes from memory. The entire time, the Colonel listens while a man next to him writes everything down. It's all going very smoothly, and they seem quite reasonable now, which is something I more or less expected. The desperation will come later, when the stronger ones start to appear.

***

POV ???

"We have learned more about the planet we were paired with, my Lord. It appears that the earliest attendees are already beginning to return, and the awakening process is underway. I will share more detailed information with you later. As you ordered, we also tried to determine how such a young planet could have been paired with us, even while it is still in its nonattack phase. So far, we have found no explanation. As far as we know, such a Pairing should not be possible. I have consulted our historians, and the idea of a planet without an Absolute being selected is extremely rare. It almost seems to go against the very design of the system. More interestingly, we have confirmed that one of the Ruler of Envy's vessel has been stationed on the moon orbiting the planet."

"Does that mean it is under his protection?"

"We cannot say for certain yet, but the vessel placed there is Champion grade on its own."

"Interesting. First, the Ruler of Greed interferes with pairings, and now the Ruler of Envy is showing interest in a newly added planet. There are even rumors that the Ruler of Pride is emerging from seclusion and beginning to interfere. This is deeply concerning. Go to the Palace. Tell them to uncover as much as possible, even if it means calling in favors we are owed."

"I will see to it immediately, my Lord."

***

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