Chương 43

"Should we be concerned that you have another experimentee on the leaderboard currently in Neo Nova City?" Oliver asked Ben. The fact that the other Nightmare Biome's resident was currently lurking in Ben's city put Oliver on edge. The [Technomancer] was hooked up to an open panel. The inside of the server blinked with a dozen different lights and cords jutted out in every angle. Oliver was grateful Kiki had taken the lead on attaching Ben to the system." I have eyes on James,"Ben responded."

He has spent the last two hours since entering my biome chopping down different cybernetic peace officers and dragging their bodies out to the biome adjacent to mine. As of yet, he's shown no interest in locating me, let alone challenging me for levels. He's simply been farming levels through the near endless stream of officers my biome provides."

"Still, don't let your guard down," Oliver cautioned.

"I just realized that James' brother is the highest person on the leaderboard right now. If they team up, even you might be in danger."" Funnily enough, I just downloaded a file that should assuage your concerns. I now have a complete map of the biomes. From the Casino Biome, where Terry Dechirer currently inhabits, you would need to cross three full biomes to access Neon Nova City. Of course there is the possibility that Terry has some form of teleportation spell or skill, but I believe it extremely unlikely.

Especially due to the high Resistance he must have due to accessing New Atlantis in the Deep Sea Biome. A widely accessible teleportation spell would require extremely high Mental.

"Ben paused." This is not to say that I do not appreciate your concern for my wellbeing. I am touched."

"Can I get a copy of that map?" Oliver asked. That sort of information would help him become less reliant on the [Technomancer]. While he trusted Ben at this point, there had already been enough times where his drones either blew up or their coms went haywire." Yes. If you check the west side of the chamber, there should be a printer. I will make you a copy with the complete layout of all the biomes."

"All the biomes?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"Does that mean you know where the secret biome is at? Can we access the exit?" Ben's device whirled and hummed for a few seconds before responding.

"Unfortunately, no. It seems I will need at least one more server access to unlock that. Extremely frustrating. There are so many layers of firewalls in place. Perhaps if I hit level 80 I could class up and do something about this."

"Is there another server nearby?" Kiki asked. Her hand went to her sword's hilt, as if ready to cut down any adversity between them and the objective right this moment. Ben hummed to himself, his communication device twisting the noise into something akin to a whine." There are limited options. Obviously the Deep Sea Biome isn't viable for me. Even if we enlisted the help of Phil, my mechanics aren't built for the extreme pressure down there."

"The mushroom forest I passed through isn't accessible either?" Oliver guessed. He assumed that the spore problem from before would keep Ben from it, but thought it best to check." Affirmative. Hmm. The bunker adjacent to your current location might work. Though I worry again about underground interference messing with our communications. Let's see… wait, this one might actually be an option.

While a bit off the beaten path, this biome's fundamental nature is similar enough to your home that your skills will remain applicable." Oliver didn't like the sound of that. He remained silent to let Ben muse it over.

"And my skills?" Kiki asked.

"You act like they don't matter."" Simply speaking, they aren't," Ben said. Kiki's neon pink eyes narrowed. However, before she replied, Ben continued on." Or, perhaps more accurately, they're so broadly applicable that they can be applied anywhere. Oliver's class is specialized in hunting specific creatures. Meanwhile, you can be applied anywhere effectively. He's like a gratin, very delicious in certain circumstances, but not applicable to every meal.

Whereas you're a salad, widely used as a side for just about anything. To best use Oliver, we need to put him at meals where a gratin works."

"I am not a salad." Kiki sounded annoyed, but her shoulders lost their tension and she let the conversation drop without more of an argument. Though Oliver did hear her muttering to herself, "I'm more of a ricotta lemon basil and honey bruschetta. Not a salad." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Oliver leaned back on one of the servers and felt its soft thrum rattle through him. He adjusted his hat, not particularly liking the sound of using his class's skills.

For some reason, he didn't think Ben was talking about his Appraisal and Summon Sanctuary skills when he spoke of Oliver's specializations." The map should be printed now,"Ben said." Once you have it in your possession, we can better discuss what steps to take next." Pushing himself off the server, Oliver went to fetch the paper. While he walked through the rows of servers, he silently debated simply abandoning Ben and Kiki.

It wasn't that he disliked the duo, on the contrary, they were both growing on him as they escaped life or death scenarios together. However, he'd already done his part here and the [Technomancer] moved the goalpost, asking for more. That left a sour taste in the back of his mouth. Maybe Phil had the right idea. Go hunker down, enjoy the life available for however long it lasted. Try to hit level 100 and leave this place through grit and hard work. It wasn't like Oliver had to stay in the Nightmare Biome.

He could put more points into Resistance and join Phil under the sea. Find a nice mermaid girl and chill. There had to be means in which for him to breathe underwater. With magic and technology at his disposal, that was a surmountable obstacle. The fantasy lasted only as long as it took him to locate the printer. Once there, he let the dream slip away. Despite his frustrations with the situation, he was in this predicament with Kiki and Ben.

He was unsurprised to find the printer blinking with only half a page printed. A paper jam. No matter how advanced or otherworldly the setting, some universal occurrences never changed. After fiddling with the machine and smacking it a few times, Oliver yanked free his prize. 100 biomes, all merged together in a hodgepodge method. Some were tiny, others huge. He quickly found Nightmare Biome listed in the bottom left quadrant of the map and scanned the adjacent locations.

It didn't take long for him to figure out exactly where Ben was considering sending them. Only a couple biomes over, the Haunted Estate Biome was within reach. It was one of the biomes between the Casino Biome and Neo Nova City, which he didn't especially love. That meant risking getting pincered by James and the [Flesh Weaver]'s brother. Ben was correct though. Oliver's skills would be extremely applicable in this location. Shadows to slink in. Dead to listen to. The deceased to mollify.

And likely plenty for him to shoot with silver bullets. Oliver closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He held it for a second, then released it in a sigh. At that moment, every atom of him wanted to collapse on the floor and just sleep for a year. He was so tired of all this. Only willpower kept him from folding into the luxury of lethargy. Willpower, and a healthy dose of fear.

Upon entering the room, Ben had assured them that they were safe in the server room and that only the administrator had the ability to enter. But that single caveat left Oliver on edge. At any moment, the Vampire Lord could stride into the chamber and decimate them. He was under no delusion that he could best a level 90. That was nearly twice his level. Oliver had no time for dawdling and reevaluating his life decisions. At least ghosts weren't as bad as vampires.

"Haunted Estate Biome?" Oliver asked once he returned, map in hand." Correct. As you saw in the Deep Sea Biome, there are applicable monsters for your skills outside of the Nightmare Biome. I admit it is a bit further outside our path than I would like, but I believe it's our best option. I am also actively working on a means in which to combat paranormal interference to my software like what we experienced with the ghost ship."

"What happened to the current experimentees in this new biome?"

"Will we need to fight them?" Kiki asked, butting into the conversation." No. I vaguely knew of this biome's existence before though its exact location was a blind spot for me. Give me one moment to check a few things.

"Ben paused." It looks like the names of the surviving experimentees there are Edgar Valentine and Melody Reiner." Neither were names Oliver recognized from the leaderboard. That probably was a good sign, since it meant less of a chance of them trying to murder passerbys for levels. Or… maybe just less odds of them being successful. Regardless, it was a relief. Oliver took a few seconds to simply stare at the rows of servers.

"Did you get anything from this? It feels like we brought you all the way out here and nothing about our situation even changed."" On the contrary! I have gathered significantly more access to the experiment. Those names and the map I printed are both examples of that fact."

"Ben. You need to give me something more than that for me to believe you. A map and some nice words don't make up for this whole debacle. It wasn't exactly easy to get down here and plug you in. And now you're asking me to repeat the process in a place I'm completely unfamiliar with. Give me something to work with." Ben hummed to himself again. The communication device's speaker let out another shrill whine." It will take time for me to parse all that I now have accessed.

However, I found one tidbit that might satiate some curiosity. The name of the 101st biome is listed here. All the other information is blocked from view, but at least I have this." That got Oliver's attention. He leaned forward. He prepared himself for something like the Volcanic Lava Pit Biome or the Vacuum of Space Biome. Somewhere truly horrendous. Still, even one of those names could be a hint as to its whereabouts." It's known as the Celestial Biome."