Chương 50

"Survivor, if you are reading this then you have performed far better than either I, or any of the others in our homeland could ever have dreamed. I have spread nearly 30 notes across the Nightmare Biome, but I feared the administrator's destruction of such messages, so I kept them coded and brief. This is the only location I know for certain the administrator of this land will never access, as the primary requirement requires his demise.

"I should introduce myself. My name is Yinyan Zheng, and I am one of the lead designers of this grand experiment. It was meant to be a thought experiment, never possible with our limited understanding of the technology we discovered. A mental stimulus which unfortunately escaped the bounds of my imagination.

"You likely know by this point in your journey, but there are a hundred unique biomes. Each contains more children like yourself. At the end of five years, your bodies will be acclimated to the chips and nanobots inserted into you and it will be the ideal time for growth. By the time you complete puberty, the leveling system will cease to function. The idea is to shove as much last minute leveling into you as possible right now.

However, your bodies are primed by the years of growth and are in the final stages so it creates only a slight window of opportunity for maximum potential. There are, of course, parameters in place to keep you from killing yourselves, though they're scheduled to lax in these final days. The technology itself has further restrictions I am unable to speak on. Again, I reiterate that we do not fully comprehend what we discovered.

"There is a 101st biome as well, though no participants will be initially set there. It is called the Celestial Biome, and discovering it is key in participants freeing themselves from my awful creation. But, as is always the case, one must walk through hell before discovering the gates of heaven. Most of you lack the ability to survive. However, you, having killed this administrator, might be capable. You will need to kill many more before you ascend back to our natural world. Do so, and find the keys.

Unlock yourself from this prison.

"My words and apologies to you are worthless, I know that they will not bring back the lives and years of youth lost by you unwilling participants. But know that I never intended for my ideas to be brought into fruition. Deep regret will forever haunt the rest of my short life. Every minute will be smothered in guilt. I am deeply sorry for the pain. A sin I will never atone for. -Yinyan Zheng" Oliver reread the letter four times. He resisted the urge to rip it in half.

Instead, he carefully folded it and placed it in his pocket. It hadn't really told him any additional information that Ben hadn't already figured out. Still, the cryptic statements scattered throughout about heaven and keys might be worth studying later. Mostly, he felt like the letter was just a means for the sadist who designed this experiment to expunge a portion of his guilt without actually helping.

"Kill more administrators," Oliver muttered to himself.

"Great. Well, I guess Ben already wanted us to do that anyway." Ignoring Caspian's inquiries about the letter's contents, Oliver rested the radiant Vanquisher of Shadowspawn on his shoulder and exited the small room. He didn't activate Shadow Slink. He saw no point, as the blade glowed so bright as to annihilate all shadows in a twenty foot radius. He simply walked down the center of the hallway. The few vampires he spotted fled him on sight, hissing and yowling like cats dunked in a bathtub.

He did slay two ghosts that attempted to attack him, possessing the suits of armor he'd passed in his earlier scouting mission. A single chop of Vanquisher of Shadowspawn, and the armor burst from within with radiant light. When the light faded, the suits of armor both collapsed to the floor with a clang. It really wasn't his sort of weapon. After years with his shovel, the weight of the large sword was awkward and it reminded Oliver of chopping firewood with his grandad as a kid.

The axe had always been far too large for his childish body and it left him staggering with every swing. When future enemies fled his presence, he let them. He had no qualms with killing these undead, not after half a decade of living in fear of their sadism, but he worried that if he killed too much he'd level. That warning Ben gave about too many levels, too quickly, scared him.

The last thing he wanted at the moment was to pass out on the corridor floor, completely prone, after announcing his existence and pissing off every monster in the castle. He swung open the door into the master bedroom and blinked at what he found, his mind staggering in confusion. It looked like someone had created a funeral pyre. A pile of wood and clothing was piled high in the center of the room, completely covering the scarlet rug on the floor and touching the chandelier on the ceiling.

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"Ki—" Oliver's call was cut off as a humming neon blade whipped past him. Only his high Dexterity kept him from decapitation. And, even then, it was a near thing. The blade still left a gash in his throat. He spun on his heel and saw the blur of neon.

"What the… Kiki! What are you doing? Are you possessed?" Oliver clutched at his throat, the slick blood staining in palm.

"Oh." Kiki stopped moving.

"Oliver. Supposed I should have checked that. That's my bad, sorry. Just heard confident footsteps in the hallway and assumed it was a vampire."

"You heard…" Oliver closed his eyes and sighed. He was going to strangle this girl. Kiki shrugged unapologetically.

"I'm just used to you stepping softly and lurking. Not boldly strolling up."" She does have a point,"Ben chimed in." You normally do walk quite softly. It's an odd change of pace. Is there a catalyst for why that changed?" Oliver lifted the radiant blade.

"This. Here." He tossed it to Kiki. The [Neon Samurai] caught it with practiced ease and ran a gloved finger down the flat of the blade.

"Not neon. But still gorgeous. Nice weapon."

"Glad you like it, it's yours. Name is Vanquisher of Shadowspawn." Kiki's head snapped up.

"You're giving me this?"

"One touch of that and most enemies in the castle will explode."

"Your point? It seems like a far more effective weapon than the shovel you lug around." Oliver scowled and clutched his shovel defensively.

"I like my shovel. Besides, I'm nearly level 60 now and I worry about what will happen when I cross the threshold. You should use that weapon for easy experience as we leave this place behind."

"Nearly level 60?" Kiki paused.

"Already? How?"

"Killed a few things."" I understand you've found a potent and valuable weapon,"Ben said." But I still believe you should exercise caution while traveling through the castle. The administrator will doubtlessly have a counter in place to prevent harm from befalling himself."

"Not a problem. I killed him. That's where I got the sword." Ben's communication device frizzed out for a moment." Excuse me? You killed him? He's listed as level 90. You must be mistaken. I know you have a strong set of skills to oppose him, but something like the administrator is not in your league!"

"Well, I did." Oliver didn't particularly want to get into it so he turned to the massive pile of wood in the center of the master bedroom.

"Care to explain this."

"I got bored," Kiki replied. She tossed a bit of the chopped up bedpost into the air and sliced at it with her new sword. The blade whooshed through the air and cleanly sliced through the wood with no resistance. As the two chunks clattered to the floor, Kiki admired the brilliant blade once again.

"You… really know how to get a girl a gift." Kiki lowered the blade.

"Thank you, Oliver."

"Um. No worries. I just think it's best in your hands." Oliver fidgeted.

"Any reason we're hanging around here?"" Not that I know of,"Ben said." If you truly slayed the administrator, then I believe you should have easy passage exiting this biome." With little else to do in the room, Oliver and Kiki departed. As they walked back down through the hallways, Kiki would occasionally dart forward in chase of vampires. She was practically skipping through the corridors by the time they finally located the front door.

"Are those the two flesh mortals Veronica chased into the disposal pit?" a familiar monotone voice asked.

"Looks like it," replied a deep voice that shook the stone floor with its reverbations. Oliver turned to see the squat vampire from the dungeons watching them from an open doorway down the hall. The white vampiric dog sat on its haunches at his feet. His massive companion, despite being heard just a moment earlier, was nowhere to be seen.

"Are we going to have a problem?" Oliver cracked his neck to either side and raised his shovel. He might not have a ton of resources left, but his blunderbuss was loaded and his shovel ready to dig some graves. After killing their master, the lackeys seemed far less daunting a challenge. Especially with Kiki at his side.

"Oh, no." The vampire smiled, showing his white fangs.

"I see that blade your buddy has resting on her shoulder. It might not kill one of us in a single touch like the lessers that infest this castle, but I still am wise enough not to pick a fight. You two move riiight along." As they passed the vampire, Kiki made a sudden step in his direction, swinging the sword into a stance. At the provocation, the vampire and his dog simply dissolved into black smoke and drifted away.

"I didn't get a kill notification," Kiki grumbled. She chopped the sword through the space he'd stood and took out a chunk of the doorway.

"You didn't harm him," Oliver replied.

"That's an ability the more powerful vampires have. Let's keep moving." Even with the sword, Oliver wasn't keen on learning what these Elites had in their skill arsenals. Best to let them go. He never planned to return here anyway.