Chương 36: I hate to disparage my fellow thinking machine, but this guy seems like kind of a dick.

George raised both arms and shook them at Nagle, palms out in the universal gesture for stop. The man checked his stride. George pointed down at the sand, and Nagle seemed to realize he wasn't alone. That was when one of the creatures reared up in the patch of sand Nagle was about to step on. A slender serpent raised itself to the height of Nagle's waist. Its skin was a dusty gray-brown that blended in perfectly with the sand. Nagle was looking behind him at the ripples beneath the sand winding along his path.

With a flick of his wrist, a gun appeared in his hand. When he fired needlelike projectiles shot into the sand at Nagle's feet, and he strafed the gun back and forth. The needles must have hit some snakes because a high-pitched keening filled the air, and even more dust was kicked up as hidden snakes were struck. The snake that had reared up behind Nagle threw itself around his legs and squeezed him. Nagle was forced to his knees, and another snake launched from the sand and wrapped itself around his neck.

At that moment, one of the portals blasted out another round of green sparks, and the silver sphere emerged, hovering about five feet above the sand. It paused, taking in the situation, and then flew toward George. Under the effects of the time dilation, the sphere appeared to move almost languidly through the air.

<Name: TLX-448571001 Build: Automaton, Hunter-Seeker Class Level: 167, D-Grade Traits: Metamecha, Adamantine Polymorph; Radial Muckety Muck; Whizz Bang Kid House: Nexity House Rank: Three Metadata—Encyclopedia Esoterica: House Nexity was born from a singular prime machine intelligence that imposed order on a fragment of the Ink and now deploys its constructs as insurgents into this universe. Where most players fear the trials, Nexity treats them as problems to be solved, not survived.

Each encounter becomes a data point, folded back into an ever-evolving strategic model. This methodology has resulted in significant casualties, but it has also propelled Nexity up the House rankings at a pace rarely matched. > George looked back at Nagle. He had been shouting, and he fired his blaster, but his cries cut off as soon as the snake had wrapped around his neck. Another snake rose from the sand in front of him, and its mouth split vertically, revealing a snarl of needle teeth.

Its mouth seemed to open wider than should have been possible with such a slender animal. Then, it dove at the center of Nagle's chest and latched on. Nagle grabbed and tried to wrench it off with the hand that wasn't holding the gun while simultaneously firing at the head of the snake on his chest. In his panic, the projectiles from his gun shot through the snake and his own hand as well.

More snakes dove at him and bore him down onto the sand, and then George noticed they began to pull him down beneath the sand head first. >>Step lively, George. That's the name of the room. >>Walk without rhythm or something. Get out of here. >>Or just haul ass. I don't want to be Sarlacc fodder. George broke into a run just as Nagle's body disappeared beneath the sand.

The moment George started running, the silver sphere arrived silently and interposed itself between George and the doorway before George had taken twenty strides. He tried to dodge around it and keep running toward the portal, but the sphere sprouted an arm that lengthened into curved pincers and grasped George around the chest. George tried to move but he couldn't.

"Stop," TLX said.

"Your movements have already summoned the sand snakes. Cooperate, and you may not be harmed." Its voice was a deep basso buzz that seemed to come from the air around it, made even deeper by the slowing effect of the time dilation. Ability Notification! Threat Level 4 Knickknack Savant - Level 8 >>08: 12 left in the round.

"Get out of the way!" George shouted.

"Let me go to the portal before they get here."

"They are already here. Show your team alignment," it said.

"If we are on the same team, I will let you pass." Another metallic arm shot out from the sphere and plunged into the sand. It came out grasping a writhing brown snake as long as George was tall. The snake had no eyes, but its mouth opened wide, letting out a shrill cry. Suddenly, George saw movement erupt in a dozen patches of sand in the direction where Nagle had disappeared.

"Remain still," TLX said.

"And reveal your team alignment." The snake had coiled around the hand that gripped it and was biting ineffectually at it. Another arm emerged from TLX's body, jabbed into the sand near George's feet, and brought up another snake. TLX held the creatures a few feet away from George's body.

"What happens if I show you my team alignment and it doesn't match yours?" George said. Two more hands appeared and plucked snakes out of the sand. Then, one of TLX's arms shot directly at George's head, only to curve around him and grab a snake that had sprung from the sand behind him. >>Fear is the mind-killer… fear is the mind-killer… fear is the mind-killer…

"I have only so many hands," TLX said.

"Reveal your team alignment." George held out his hand and willed his team alignment card to appear there. The shimmering red rectangle of his team card appeared on his hand, and he closed his fingers around it. At the same time, George heard the sound of the portal behind him activating. He twisted around in time to see the gnacker run onto the sand and skid to a stop. It let out a growl, saw George, and started to gallop toward him. Ability Notification!

Threat Level 5 Knickknack Savant - Level 13 Time Dilation Maximum: x 200% Suddenly everything slowed down to half speed, while George's mind raced even faster. He saw the subtle signs of more snakes coming his way beneath the surface of the sound. He could feel the vibrations of the gnackers galloping footfalls. He saw every detail of the hunting room reflecting in TLX's mirrored silver surface. His mind cycled through potential courses of action and rejected each one. His crafting abilities were of no use.

If he had the push skill instead of the draw skill, he might be able to keep the snakes away from him with the time dilation but, as it was, none of his skills could stop either the robot, the snakes, or the feral hyena beast approaching rapidly even at half speed. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Come with me," TLX said as he flung the snakes he had been holding toward the gnacker. One of the snakes flew directly at the gnacker's head, and George watched it snap it from mid-air with its mouth. Half of the snake plopped onto the sand, and the gnacker raised its head and swallowed the other half of the snake. It spun in a circle as it defended itself against the other snakes that landed angrily at its feet and began lunging at it.

The robotic arm gripping George around his torso suddenly lifted him off his feet, and the silver sphere sped across the sand, carrying him along behind toward a different portal instead. George's body swung down toward the sand as they flew, and he clung to the metal arm that carried him. Snakes occasionally leapt from the sand in their direction, but TLX batted them down without stopping. Ability Notification!

Threat Level 3 Knickknack Savant - Level 5 Time resumed its normal speed and they flew through the portal, and TLX executed a turn that squeezed the air out of George's lungs and made the arm he'd been holding fly out of his grasp. George hung limply as TLX flew another hundred yards, and then the sphere slowed down and set George gently onto what seemed to be asphalt. Entering Hunting Room: The Distance Ability Notification!

Threat Level 1 Knickknack Savant: Level 1 George rubbed his bruised ribs and pushed himself to his knees. The room they were in was not a room at all but a vast stretch of road. As George took in his surroundings his eyes followed the curve of the road up and up and up. The road wasn't a road at all but an enormous circle that arced into the sky straight above George's head and then doubled back on itself. George spun in a circle and took in the whole ring.

If he looked in either direction, he could see storm clouds stretching all the way to the horizon.

"Stand up," TLX said.

"There are six and a half minutes left in this round, and we have things to discuss." George slowly pushed himself to his feet, and TLX shined a blue light across George's body. George shielded his eyes as it flashed from his head down his body to his feet. He felt a slight burning on his skin as the light passed over him like a mild sunburn. Another arm emerged from the robot, topped with grabbing claws on either side of an injector. The arm shot out and gripped George's right arm by the shoulder.

George felt the sting of a needle, and then the arm withdrew.

"Are you aware that your body is host to a node spider?" TLX said. • >>Wow. • >>That was a comprehensive scan. • >>I feel violated.

"Yes," George said, rubbing his shoulder.

"What did you just stick me with?"

"How long has it been since the node spider ingressed you?" TLX asked.

"What did you do to my shoulder?" George said again.

"Are you aware that it has begun to build its intraskeleton in your hand?" >>I got a hand right here for you, T-1000! 🖕 (¬ ͜ʖ ¬).

"Pretty tough to miss," George said.

"I have injected a kelsior nodule into your arm," TLX said.

"Do not attempt to remove it. Your body's nanites will break it down eventually, but it has nanites of its own that will prevent that from happening before the trial is completed. It will let me find you in the hunting maze, among other functions." >>Nod, can you confirm that? >>I'll take a look.

"Why would I want you to be able to find me?" George said.

"Hunter Seekers of the Nexity are designed to achieve victory in trials that combine a mixture of combat prowess, team coordination, and a voting dynamic. Through myriad iterations, the Nexity has developed a strategy that results in victory in an average of 72% of instances. If one team can identify, gather, and coordinate a significant portion of its members before the other team, that win rate rises to 81%, provided all team members comply with the strategy and outside factors do not interfere," TLX said.

>>Yeah, right. >>"Outside factors" seems like a wide category that also encompasses "shit happens" and "Oops, I did it again."

"And what is the strategy?" George said.

"It is simple," TLX said.

"The first step is to identify team members—by force, if necessary, eliminating non-team-members.

"Next, disseminate the strategy to all team members. In the voting round, team members consolidate their vote on the highest identified member of the opposite team.

"Finally, use tracking devices to locate and aid team members in executing the strategy and surviving the hunting rounds.

"The chances of victory increase if certain advantageous elements can be discovered and correctly applied. These include but are not limited to a means of fast travel, ranged weaponry, a map of the hunting maze, or the establishment of one or more strongholds inside the maze.

"Statistically, any of these advantages will increase the chance of victory of the team that possesses them by. 25% to. 50%," TLX said.

"Acquire and cultivate these advantages whenever possible." Bonus Event Quest! Description: Acquire a means of fast travel. Reward: +50 gold Reward: +5 skill points Bonus Event Quest! Description: Acquire ranged weaponry. Reward: +50 gold Reward: +5 skill points Bonus Event Quest! Description: Explore at least 80% of the hunting maze. Reward: +50 gold Reward: +5 skill points Bonus Event Quest! Description: Establish one or more strongholds within the maze. Reward: +50 gold Reward: +5 skill points >>Wow.

Didn't know it did that. >>Our Quest System just gets better and better. This is all stuff we should be doing anyway, and now we are going to get paid for it.

"There are many permutations of the strategy designed to take advantage of certain statistically likely outcomes, but I will apprise you of them when it becomes necessary," TLX said. >>Riiiiighttt. >>I hate to disparage my fellow thinking machine, but this guy seems like kind of a dick. >>Ask him if that 81% likelihood of victory applies to all his team members' survival or just his own. Instead, George said, "I showed you my team card. If we are going to trust one another, you need to show me yours."

An arm emerged from the sphere holding a red card. George glanced at it, and the card disappeared.

"So your whole strategy is just to corral all of your team members, kill everybody else, and then get us to all vote together in the voting rounds?" George said.

"Yes," TLX answered.

"And if I'd been on the blue team, you would have let those snakes eat me?" George said.

"I would have given you to the snakes, but they would not have eaten you," TLX said.

"Sand snakes do not eat their prey. They infest them with a brood of parasitic larvae. As the larvae feed on the host body, the snakes feed on the larvae." >>Oh my. >>I just threw up a little on your brain. >>Sorry, George.

"Do we need to worry about that gnacker coming through the portal, or are the snakes going to take care of it?" George said.

"I hope not," TLX said.

"It is on our team."

"How do you know that?" George said. >>45 seconds left in the round.

"My ability orb revealed the identities of three teammates," the machine said.

"Does it know it's on our team?" George said.

"Feral gnackers know little other than death and blood," TLX said.

"Wait, who are the other people on the red team?" George asked.

"The faerie Tinntannabel, Carthage, and by association, the three women he has bound with the wager stone," TLX said.

"Do not vote against them. Seek to protect them if you are able." >>20 seconds left. George slipped his fingers into his waistband and lifted out the Draw nodling that had been clinging there since they'd left the cradle. He held the nodling in his fist behind him as TLX continued to talk.

"In future hunting rounds, prioritize finding a safe place to hide. At your level, it is unlikely you will be able to best many other players without a great deal of luck," TLX said. >>Ouch.

"If you find yourself in life-threatening trouble that will prevent you from returning to the voting round, you may touch the mark on your shoulder, and I will be notified. I will attempt to come to your aid if I am able.

"The kelsior nodule will also allow me to communicate with you visually, though I will refrain from doing so except to communicate our team's voting choice during the voting round," TLX said. >>Five seconds. George let the draw nodling fall to the ground. The strange, vast ring road disappeared, and he appeared back in his enclosure in the voting room.