Chương 41: Voidmetal ninjas don’t hide behind wingback chairs in the dark

"Keep it together, George," George said as he floated down another tunnel, searching for a portal, any other prestige tokens, or a safer place to hide out for the next 60 minutes. At least he had armor now. Truth be told, he'd rather have Nod back. He'd gotten used to the stream of inane banter, and now the only thing he could think of was how loud the sound of his breathing was inside the helmet. And the likelihood that someone was going to find him soon.

As he came to the mouth of each tunnel, he slowed his momentum and peered out into the room beyond. His mind kept supplying him with images of the voidling springing down the tunnel with claws extended at him. But other than the slime he'd locked in the room where he found Webb's body, he seemed to be alone in the large network of zero-gravity spheres. He could feel himself starting to believe that he was alone and he began to move faster through the rooms.

He was getting a lot better at navigating in the zero-gravity environment. He could cast draw on a distant part of the room to slow his speed and orient himself so that his feet were down. He still had hard landings, but the armor cushioned his body's impact against the wall, and he was getting better at catching himself on things and making little adjustments in his path. His hand still hurt, though. As he floated around the large, lonely rooms, he couldn't help but look at it.

It seemed completely inert, and now that it was clean, it looked like it had been there for ages like it belonged in his hand. After floating from room to room for about twenty minutes, he came to another room with a portal in the wall. Thinking of the slime crouched just inside the last portal, he hugged the wall of the spherical room and slowly moved closer to it. When he reached the portal, he gripped a recessed handhold and moved his helmet closer, inch by inch until he could see through it.

George saw a dark room with a fire flickering in the fireplace. There was a lamp on a table spilling dim light onto a green leather couch. The floor was tiled with dark wood tiles. Paintings in ornate frames filled the walls. A wide hallway led around a corner and further into the house. He could hear faint sounds of classical music coming from a speaker somewhere. A prestige token hovered in the fireplace, just above the flames.

If he could grab it, he'd be in the bronze tier on the leaderboard and get three votes. More than that, it meant that no one had been here yet. He stuck his head through the portal and peeked around the room. It looked empty and was notably free of slimes portal-camping for a kill. A soothing, feminine voice from a speaker in the corner said, "George Brandiss, level nineteen crafter. Entering The Manor House."

George quickly pulled his head back out of the portal and waited for any signs of movement or sounds of approaching footsteps, but he only heard the voice announcing that he had left and the soft tinkle of classical music playing over the PA system. George oriented his body so that his feet were aligned correctly with the floor of the next room and pulled himself through the portal. A shower of green sparks fell out of the portal into the little foyer.

The disembodied voice from the speaker announced him again, "George Brandiss, level nineteen crafter. Entering The Manor House." Entering Hunting Room: The Manor House George crossed the room and stood in front of the fire. The prestige token was in the middle of the tall flames. George thought about quickly grabbing the token, but decided his hands had already been through enough for one day.

"Draw," George said, and the token floated into his hand. He could feel the heat through the glove, but it didn't burn him. He sent it to his dimensional storage and received a notification. Collected: 1 prestige token (3 total) George leaned around the corner and saw a wide hallway lit by sconces in the wall, which didn't do much to drive the darkness out of the high ceiling. There was an immense mirror on the far wall, and the hall split into passageways to the left and right.

He stood still and watched, but nothing moved, so he stepped quietly down the hall. As he passed under a patch of light, he saw himself in the mirror, a darkly armored silhouette set against the room's darkness. Nod was right; the armor had done a lot for his look. At least he looked like someone who was not nearly as afraid as he felt right now. As he walked forward out of the pool of light, the black armor made him entirely disappear into the shadows. George walked to the end of a hall and came to a T-junction.

The left corridor curved off into shadow, and the right corridor had two doors. He walked down toward the first door and saw a small room through the glass set into it. The room was lined with bookshelves from floor to ceiling. A large fireplace was in the wall opposite the door, but it was unlit. Instead, he saw the dim green glow of a portal shimmering in the fireplace. That was when the notifications started pouring in.

{System Initializing} {System Initializing} {System Initializing} Guild Membership Awarded: Moa Guild Set complete: Faraday Exosuit Set bonus: Ineligible due to damage Evolutionary Capacity: Disabled Active Camouflage: Disabled Force Inhibitor: Disabled Legio Fulminata Lorica: Disabled You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Konami Greaser: Disabled Klemperer Rosettes: Disabled Entropy Ledger: Disabled >>TAKE THAAAAAAT, BITCHES!!! >>FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, STING LIKE A BEE!

>>WHO IS THE GREATEST? >>WHO IS THE GREATEST? >>NOD IS THE GREATEST! >>Nod! What just happened? >>Where were you? >>George! >>Oh, hey. >>I mean… what's up? >>Wait. We are in a new place. How long was I out? >>I don't know. Twenty minutes? >>Then why aren't we in the voting round? >>It said someone used an ability orb to extend the hunting round. >>Huh. Neat. >>Nod, what the hell was that? Why did you disappear? >>I think the line you're searching for is, "Noddy… you got some 'splainin to do!" >>A lot just happened.

I'll catch you up. But let's find a safe little hideaway in this creepy haunted mansion first. >>Is that Vivaldi playing? >>Oh, you got another prestige token—nice one. >>Fine. But as soon as we can sit down somewhere, you are going to explain yourself. George turned toward the second doorway in the corridor. The door was open, and the room was dark inside except for the orange glow of another fire burning in the fireplace. The room was large, and the tall ceiling was lost in shadows overhead.

The firelight illuminated a pair of maroon couches facing each other in front of the fireplace, but the rest of the room was dark. The far wall was lined with windows, and George could see a starry sky and a dark field dotted with trees lit by dim moonlight outside. There was an overstuffed chair in the corner. George pulled it out, sat cross-legged behind it, and dragged it back toward the corner, hiding himself. >>George. Voidmetal ninjas don't hide behind wingback chairs in the dark!

>>Voidmetal ninjas sit in the chair in plain sight, stroking their beards and daring anybody to come start shit. >>You gotta start to live into this new persona. >>It's fine. It is completely dark in here. >>Yeah, until someone turns on the lights. Then, you are really going to feel silly as you are being eaten. >>I'm glad you're back, Nod. >>Now talk. >>Start with the part where you freaked out and then disappeared for twenty minutes. >>I had the situation completely under control.

>>Yes, reverting to panicked emojis and gibberish is the behavior of someone who has everything completely under control. >>Beneath that thin, panicked veneer was a core as strong as steel and as cool as a cucumber. >>So… a steel cucumber. >>You started cussing without any spaces and then told me to cut my hand off. >>Oh, yeah. Lucky that you didn't do that. >>Before we do storytime, let's establish one thing… Does this count as saving your life?

>>Because if I hadn't acted fast, that armor would have totally taken you over. We'd both be dead, and your body would be on its way to becoming the shell for a very scary, exosuit-empowered, Moa-controlled evil node spider parasite. >>But without the hilarious and charming Nod at the helm. >>Then, no. This counts as you getting greedy and almost getting us killed. >>Yeah. About that. >>It is possible that I may have been… compromised.

>>Knowing a biiiit more about how these things work now, I suspect the emissary shard was already affecting me. >>It made you want it? It can do that? >>I don't know. It is a guess. I have a strong survival instinct, but I usually show more restraint. >>Yes, when I think "Nod," I think "restraint." >>Here's what I know. >>The armor likes us. Think, like, BIG TIME, stalkerish crush. >>It is a little bit alive, and there is something about the George-Nod symbiosis we have going on that was right up its alley.

>>It was in trouble when Webb died, and then who floats in but ol' George—a new meat bag with a spiffy node spider intrastructure already laid out inside him. >>Then it started putting out some real "I'm a very useful but harmless set of armor… come put me on… nothing bad will happen… daddy just wants to give you some candy" vibes right on the node spider frequency. >>It was like dangling catnip in front of a kitty. >>As far as I can tell, that is part of why I… uh… ahem…

was a little hasty and didn't think about the potential consequences of putting on the armor. >>It just looked so tantalizing. So dangerous… >>… but in a sexy way. >>Then, like the proverbial forbidden fruit, it turned on me just as I took a bite. >>Truth be told, it was touch-and-go there for a hot second. These Moa assholes are no joke. >>But then I did some Nod-jitsu and BOOM. Problem solved. >>Define "Nod-jitsu." >>That isn't self-explanatory? >>No. >>Well…

the shard forgot who it was messing with, and I had to teach it a tough lesson about bringing a knife to a nano gunfight. >>Nod… >>Basically, I tried to reprogram it, but that didn't work, so I just banged on it with a stick until it stopped responding. >>Then, I lobotomized it. >>Make sense? >>No. >>Me try again. >>Me likey armor but armor try to eat Nod. >>Nod say, "No!" >>Nod say, "Bad armor!" >>Then Nod kill armor. >>But have to take little sleepy after. >>George get scared. >>George have to make own decisions.

>>George hide behind chair. >>Behind the smoke and mirrors of your sarcasm lies a node spider that doesn't have a clue what is going on. >>Nod make fun of George. >>George get grumpy. >>George say, "Waaaa…" >>Uh huh. >>So that is why the notification said the set bonus was ineligible due to damage. >>And why all those other groovy powers are disabled. They ain't coming back unless we can get somebody from the Moa to fix this armor up, and I'm not sure that is something we want. >>But look on the bright side…

the armor still works as armor, so you don't look like a putz anymore. >>Which, all things considered, is a happy ending to a very dramatic moment in our story. >>How is this a happy ending? The armor is broken, I have ANOTHER thing in my body now, and I'm suddenly part of a guild that I know nothing about. >>Oh yeah. The guild. I almost forgot about that part. Then, George heard one of the chairs scoot across the floor on the other side of the room. >>What was that?

"Hello?" said a small voice.