Tower Shattered, Abyss Awakens
Escape successful! Before shifting my consciousness to the Outernet, I called out to Dorothy.
"Dorothy."
"Ah... uh... yeah?"
Dorothy, who had been staring blankly at the sky, turned to look at me.
"When I give the signal, smash that tower to pieces."
"Ah... uh... got it!"
Plan stage four! Or wait... maybe stage six? Seven? If things went perfectly, it was a request I wouldn't even need to make. But with this tentacle monster called Mamang—something I hadn't even known existed—and the unknown dangers of the Outernet, I had no choice.
Dorothy's dazed voice answered, but her gaze was still fixed on the gang members.
...Yeah, looks like they really gave her hell. Should I kill them once this is over?
As I bit my lip hard, a witch-like cackle echoed from the edge of my consciousness—hahahaha!
Right. First things first: rescue Theia, then think. My vision returned to the damp battlefield of the Outernet.
The dust winds of the wasteland and the fishy breezes from the city's peak alternated, making me seriously want to puke. Still, there was some payoff for splitting my brain between online and offline like this.
"Whoa...!"
"Hahaha! You're insane, Tiara! Totally insane!"
Stars—or fireflies—rained down from the Outernet's sky. The tentacles that had been wrecking the city and binding Theia's legs froze. The eyeballs dangling from those tentacles stared wide-eyed at the sparkling bugs descending while spewing curses from above.
> [Challenger?]
"Yes, Mamang. I've brought you a ton of new challengers. Let us go, and I'll bring even more people like this!"
Plan stage four: negotiate with Mamang.
[...]
A translucent window hovered, cursor blinking away. Theia and I held our breath. Even Dorothy, oblivious offline, went still.
How's that? Feel like letting us go now?
"Ugh... grk!"
Theia spoke first. The tentacle gripping her ankle tightened.
Damn it. As expected...
> [Too weak.]
What loomed over Theia and me was like the tiers dividing strength levels. In this world where processing power equaled combat prowess, these gang thugs were no match for us.
In other words, their low combat power had dumped them into bronze, iron... that kind of tier.
> [Can't reach. Only you two are within reach.]
Mamang sent a calm message—maybe the flashy star-drop show had recharged its dopamine a bit. I responded coolly.
"Who knows? This batch was a bust, but next time I could bring stronger ones, right?"
> [A matter of probability. Like others, I don't want to take risks.]
No way, Mamang. Why act all smart now? You were screaming THEIAAA and rampaging like a proper kaiju a second ago. Split personality? Or does each tentacle have its own?
As I stared blankly at the tentacles, one shrugged like, what're you looking at?
-Tiara. Now! You at least, hurry...!
Theia, that insolent fool trying to sacrifice herself in the gap. No chance.
All-in. Plans five, six, seven! My brain at its limit, unable to distinguish Outernet from reality, I screamed across both worlds.
"Dorothy! Now!"
"Hah! Smashin' it!"
In one corner of my vision, my obedient puppy Dorothy threw her head back. She dropped the gang thugs from the tower, planted her feet, and muttered,
"Jing ()."
She struck a pose straight out of Chinese martial arts. The reverse field core, now second nature, formed a massive hand behind her red hair.
Wait, it can do that? I thought it'd just lift and hurl trucks with the field...
"...Dorothy? How'd you...?"
I'd seen gear like that in the game. Legendary Black Ops equipment with that exact concept. One of the original game's key hooks: Black Ops and Netdivers used the same core concepts differently—melee vs. ranged.
Black Ops had counters for reverse field gloves, but they weren't glove-shaped.
Then I remembered weaving starlight with the reverse field glove core.
Don't tell me...? I wove all that starlight into threads, turning Netdiver gear into Black Ops gear? That's why Dorothy could handle it so well?
"Haha..."
No wonder our headaches matched despite different functions. At this point, it was a good thing. Pick up one core, and both of us—Netdiver or Black Ops—could use it.
As I pondered gear useful for both classes, Dorothy finished prepping. Weighting her body with the field, converting to centrifugal force, loading it onto the field again.
"Haaaaah!"
With core mastery unbelievable for just a day of use... Dorothy thrust a massive fist at the tower.
Crack—!
Dust rippled out in concentric circles from the tower base. Rumble rumble rumble.
"..."
Suppressing the urge to mutter did it work?, I felt the faint vibrations spreading. Then—crack cra-crack...!
The tower collapsed.
Perfect. Now my turn.
I focused senses on the fading cores, tracing the starlight I'd hacked on Outernet entry.
[Access to Outernet prohibited.]
[Further attempts may result in penalties from City government.]
Good. I snuffed out the starlight reacting to the warning text, one by one. Before, it'd overload my brain... but with the tower crumbling and my processing power boosted, I shattered the firewall—the inner wall dividing the Outernet—entirely.
"Dorothy! It's done!"
Screee? Cough cough. Dorothy's voice hacked through the dust.
"Yeah... hurry and... pick me up..."
My exhausted body crumbled slowly. Squeezing out remaining processing power... I shifted consciousness to the Outernet.
Tower down—if I didn't exit now, my brain might split in two. Or my soul could wander the Outernet forever like those gang thugs.
Cra-crack!
The gang's lowbrow comedy routine.
"Tia...ra! Hurry! The... Outernet inner wall?"
Theia shoved my body through, slicing at tentacle tips.
-Hurry in! Tunnel closing!
Felix bellowed. Amid the total chaos... Crackle... zzzap!
The cracking Outernet inner wall—the tier barrier—shattered completely.
Still blurring online and offline like a gaming addict poster child, I yelled from wasteland and Outernet alike,
"Theia! Get up here!"
"Got it!"
Quick on the uptake, Theia halted combat and activated her bodysuit core. Tentacles scooped faint falling starlight. Mamang's detection eyeballs gleamed, gathering gang thugs without missing a crumb.
Quality over quantity, right?
BOOM! KABOOM!
From the monster's view—smashing the city with huge tentacles... it couldn't tell a shrimp like me from Gang Thug #1. Or maybe it knew trash fights were more fun. Hell, rejecting my deal wasn't about "weak"—just out of reach...
"Yay! We're alive!"
Free at last, Theia used "Muscle Enhancement" and "Parkour" to scale the building swiftly.
Now the real final stage! Settlement!
"Climb up."
I unleashed the sharp glare from my original body on Theia. While Mamang scooped rice-grain lights, we had to bail fast.
Just like I'd feared her eyes...
"Ugh... fine, I get it."
Theia seemed scared of mine too.
"Ugh, damn girl."
Her half-lidded red eyes glinted as she ruffled my hair wildly.
"Eek!"
Not scared, huh. Well... she came to save me, after all. If I hadn't blundered into the Outernet...
"Tiara."
Theia smoothed my bowed head apologetically.
"Don't get too down... or too cocky. Got it?"
I nodded.
"Thanks to you, I know how awesome I am, right?"
Hmm. I narrowed my eyes at the woman who'd tried to nobly sacrifice herself.
Yeah... gotta apologize to Dorothy later.
Ahem! Theia cleared her throat, slipped off a ring, and added,
"I also figured out what kind of kid you are. Net positive!"
What kind am I? The question swirled unspoken.
Theia shoved the ring onto my finger, answering,
"Just like me."
With a bewitching smile, she said "I'll find you!" and entered the black tunnel first. I'd stepped fully aside, refusing to go without her.
"Whew."
Still! Done! Fuck you, Mamang, tentacle freak! Nice knowing ya—let's never meet again.
No Outernet for me till I craft an escape button. I glared at the tentacle monster joyfully collecting grains after Dorothy's touch, then stepped into the pitch-black tunnel.
Right then, a message popped up. Not the blood-red one—the original translucent window.
[Tiara]
Uh. ...Can it read minds too?
No answer—I shoved toward the tunnel... "Ugh...!"
A tentacle wrapped around me tight before I knew it.
Wait... no! This means... shipwreck again? Saved everyone but me? No...!
The red-haired girl waiting flashed in my mind. Can't make Dorothy wait again...!
"Let... go! Let me go!"
I twisted, punching the tentacle. But it— Mamang—didn't budge.
Just sent...
[Shh]
...and silenced me.
My struggles stopped. Not because I was a good girl listening to Mamang.
I felt the Outernet's "currents"—faint till now.
"Huh?"
Above the shattered tier barrier, stars kept falling. Did I drop that many gang members?
My 81x-amplified cold reason pierced the throbbing headache with the truth.
No. Those weren't gang members.
"Starlights."
The first time I'd visited the Outernet... 5,000+ starlights mobbed to gawk at me. They fled when shit hit the fan. But with even the inner wall down, curiosity drew some to my wasteland server.
"Lured them in?"
And now, unknown gravity dragged them to the abyss floor.
I slowly turned, looking down.
Near Mamang's ever-bright glow, lanterns—not starlights—flickered on one by one. Too bright for stars...
[Told you. We're busted.]
Yeah... After beating Ellie, bombing twice in a row. When menhera Mamang flipped out, faint lanterns glimmered below.
Like lanterns of goblins... unknown monsters down there...
Then... what did I shatter?
[My friends say thanks.]
Bugrrrumble...! Blorp! Blorp! Blorp!
Bubbles rose from the deepest depths. Bubbles carrying foul musk and beastly breaths from eye-shaped starlights—-UUU? UUUM? AUUU? KRRR-
A girl's laughter bubbled up—from a hazy, moon-like massive pale starlight.
Incomprehensible machine tones rose. Below, cold bluish-white lights flashed—like blade edges etched forever.
And... the tentacles' roots swelled. Limbs and parts patched onto them swept over the lantern-lights, rising toward the surface.
In the center... something slender reached for me.
[Got too much. What now?]
Just... let me live?
I swallowed the meaningless question with my spit. Didn't want to poke the dopamine-crazed tentacle beast more. And that slender thing reaching me... was coming into view.
"..."
The "slender tentacle" was a golden-haired, beautiful woman.