Chapter 106: Surprise
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"Are you going to keep that tattoo or remove it? Because it looks out of place now that you have grown so much,"
"I'm going to expand on it. It represents the core of my family, but I'll make it my own…."
"I see… Well, just don't regret it,"
"I will end up regretting it later on… But not now. This will be my only way of showing that I have conquered my family by being one of the only survivors," Clio says before storming off into the kitchen.
What an edge lord.
The rest of the training passed quickly, and we were beaten and bruised throughout our entire body.
Mainly my body which had a few fractured bones that healed within a couple of hours… but it still hurt like shit.
I lay on the hard white surface that made up our pretty compacted training room.
It was nowhere near as big as the school's training arena, but it was enough for us to get the job done.
"Okay, last training session of the day," Mom says, snapping us out of our dazed state.
We all ġrȯȧnėd before sitting around the white circle in the middle of the room.
Our eyes were closed, and we all synchronized our breathing.
Ting
The sound of a small bell being struck rang throughout the room.
We opened our eyes, darkness.
We turned around, light.
The vines and water running down the side of the island looked as if they were trying to curl up and escape from something below.
"Ugh, the smell here is putrid as always," Charna says.
We all nodded our heads in agreement while holding our noses.
It isn't the typical type of putrid you'd think it is… It smelt good at the beginning for the first three seconds, but then after that, the smell was so strong, it just wasn't good anymore.
It's like spraying too much perfume or cologne on yourself.
Everybody was gathered here, and when we opened our mouths, we checked our tongues once again.
"Okay, your tongue has been completely coated, and the tattoo is crawling up the side of your mouth… Same with yours… and yours… and yours," Clio continued down the line and checked the insides of our mouth.
It was her turn today to check it as if everybody checked everybody simultaneously; it would take much longer than needed.
"It's the same for everyone," Clio finally announces.
"*sigh*... That bastard," Aria mutters before walking towards the edge of the garden island and staring down into the abyss.
A red tentacle suddenly erupted from the darkness and tried to take hold of Aria, but she just stepped back and summoned a golden sword from nothing, slicing the tentacle in half.
ERUUUUUUUUUUUAAAA
A strange cry came from the abyss, but we just rolled our eyes.
"So, how do we stop the spread?" Nuala brings up a familiar question.
For some reason, everybody looked at me again, hoping I would know something.
"Look, I'm smart, but that doesn't mean I know information that is impossible for me to obtain," I replied bluntly, but nobody was surprised anymore.
"Okay, well, the spread in the real world hasn't even coated our entire tongue yet, so I think we should be safe… but the hivemind… It's still growing, and it's at a much slower pace, but within 20 years, we're definitely going to become once consciousness," Ethel says.
I snorted a bit before opening my mouth.
"I'm gonna die before that time," I responded, and everybody rolled their eyes.
11 out of the 12 of us want to be dungeon runners, and dungeons runners normally don't live very long due to being exposed to high-density mana when entering a gate.
No matter how powerful your power stone is, the mana crumbles humans from the outside in... It's inevitable.
But the Braves, on the other hand, are special… I guess their stones are so good that the amount of body fortification it provides is out of this world.
"Hey, Ethel, you gotta carry on our legacy… Even if it's for a few more years," Nell gives Ethel a thumbs up with a stupid expression that makes all of us laugh.
Even if she's not going to be entering dungeons anymore, she's still connected to us, so once one of us dies, we're all going to be crippled, and that includes her.
After calming down, another important question was asked.
"What are we gonna do about Sophia?" Celestine asks.
She's right… We don't have any more of that substance that helped us achieve this hivemind, and we've noticed she has become quite lonely.
We include her in everything, but since she's the only one not connected to us, she sometimes feels left out.
"Well, what can we do?" I ask.
"Nothing really, just try and include-... Wait, isn't her birthday tomorrow?" Amanda asks.
"Oh yeah! Why don't we throw a massive party tomorrow?!" Electra shouts.
For all of our birthdays, Electra threw pretty big parties for us, filled with food and drinks that Mom got as we were forbidden from leaving the base.
I tried to leave once, but Mom immediately found me and gave my wrists a few slaps with a wooden stick… I couldn't move my hands for the rest of the day.
"Okay, it's decided… We're throwing a massive party," Electra says, and her serious face was pretty stupid, causing us all to chuckle.
What the hell… Why is she so serious all of a sudden?
"What?" Electra says, but we just brushed it off before hopping into the small pond in the middle of the garden.
Ting
The same ringing bell could be heard resounding through the garden.
We opened our eyes, darkness.
"Seems you all are back," Sophia says as she laid on the floor, motionless, not even twitching a single muscle.
"Yeah, anyway, let's have some dinner," Electra happily skips over to her and helps her up.
"Yeah, I'm starving," She replies.
…
(Sophia POV)
I woke up once again in my blank room.
There was no need to decorate it as I couldn't distinguish colors.
There was only my bed, a single desk, with a single chair.
I changed into some clothes Lucy gave me as she thought I'd look good in them.
I couldn't tell if I looked good in them, but accepted them anyway as I had nothing else.
The day went smoothly.
Studying, training, and meditation… Until dinner rolled around.
I stayed in the training room for a bit longer as I was having the perfect mediation session where I could sense everything in the room.
A singular ant towards the corner of the room.
A floating piece of dust.
The chipped paint that floated in the air… and a strange clanging that came from the main room which held the kitchen, living room, and loft which we still haven't touched.
Clang Clang Clang
"Shut the hell up!" I shouted and the clanging continued… but suddenly stopped.
I got worried for a second so I regretfully left my mediation state and ran out of the room.
A bad feeling set in my stomach.
I burst through the archway that lead to the main room and was suddenly surprised by a blast of confetti.
"SUPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Everybody shouted.
Ah, that's right… It's my birthday…
"Let's go! We have plenty of snacks and drinks! All types of games as well!" Astra shouted, taking my hand and dragging me to the snack bar.
It was filled with all of my favorite snacks and even when I tried to act like I didn't care… I finally gave in, devouring half of the snacks already set out.
My mood was flipped upside down as I felt happier than ever.
It wasn't because of the attention… but because I felt wanted.
Everybody around me loved me very much, almost like family.
Even Lucy who is the coldest out of all of us was happily smiling as we battled each other in a video game.
I of course lost as I couldn't really tell what was happening on the large TV that covered half of the wall, but I was having fun.
My previous birthdays were never this fun, even after coming to this base.
"Okay! Bring out the cake!" Lucy shouted in excitement.
Astra walked towards me, her face turned, blushing.
In her hands was a large cake that had 18 candles.
The fire, burning with bright blue flames.
"Thank you!" I shouted.
I wish eternal happiness among myself and the people I love…
I blew out the candles which gave in themselves as they were controlled by Mia.
My normal breath wouldn't even come close to blowing them out so I didn't complain.
"Happy birthday!" Everybody shouted.
I'm so happy…
Ting Ting
Suddenly Auntie began hitting her wine glass with a metal spoon, gathering our attention.
Lucy stood beside her with a large smile.
"Your training is up… You girls can finally leave this place," Auntie says with a smile.
But silence befell the room.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
"Are you going to keep that tattoo or remove it? Because it looks out of place now that you have grown so much,"
"I'm going to expand on it. It represents the core of my family, but I'll make it my own…."
"I see… Well, just don't regret it,"
"I will end up regretting it later on… But not now. This will be my only way of showing that I have conquered my family by being one of the only survivors," Clio says before storming off into the kitchen.
What an edge lord.
The rest of the training passed quickly, and we were beaten and bruised throughout our entire body.
Mainly my body which had a few fractured bones that healed within a couple of hours… but it still hurt like shit.
I lay on the hard white surface that made up our pretty compacted training room.
It was nowhere near as big as the school's training arena, but it was enough for us to get the job done.
"Okay, last training session of the day," Mom says, snapping us out of our dazed state.
We all ġrȯȧnėd before sitting around the white circle in the middle of the room.
Our eyes were closed, and we all synchronized our breathing.
Ting
The sound of a small bell being struck rang throughout the room.
We opened our eyes, darkness.
We turned around, light.
The vines and water running down the side of the island looked as if they were trying to curl up and escape from something below.
"Ugh, the smell here is putrid as always," Charna says.
We all nodded our heads in agreement while holding our noses.
It isn't the typical type of putrid you'd think it is… It smelt good at the beginning for the first three seconds, but then after that, the smell was so strong, it just wasn't good anymore.
It's like spraying too much perfume or cologne on yourself.
Everybody was gathered here, and when we opened our mouths, we checked our tongues once again.
"Okay, your tongue has been completely coated, and the tattoo is crawling up the side of your mouth… Same with yours… and yours… and yours," Clio continued down the line and checked the insides of our mouth.
It was her turn today to check it as if everybody checked everybody simultaneously; it would take much longer than needed.
"It's the same for everyone," Clio finally announces.
"*sigh*... That bastard," Aria mutters before walking towards the edge of the garden island and staring down into the abyss.
A red tentacle suddenly erupted from the darkness and tried to take hold of Aria, but she just stepped back and summoned a golden sword from nothing, slicing the tentacle in half.
ERUUUUUUUUUUUAAAA
A strange cry came from the abyss, but we just rolled our eyes.
"So, how do we stop the spread?" Nuala brings up a familiar question.
For some reason, everybody looked at me again, hoping I would know something.
"Look, I'm smart, but that doesn't mean I know information that is impossible for me to obtain," I replied bluntly, but nobody was surprised anymore.
"Okay, well, the spread in the real world hasn't even coated our entire tongue yet, so I think we should be safe… but the hivemind… It's still growing, and it's at a much slower pace, but within 20 years, we're definitely going to become once consciousness," Ethel says.
I snorted a bit before opening my mouth.
"I'm gonna die before that time," I responded, and everybody rolled their eyes.
11 out of the 12 of us want to be dungeon runners, and dungeons runners normally don't live very long due to being exposed to high-density mana when entering a gate.
No matter how powerful your power stone is, the mana crumbles humans from the outside in... It's inevitable.
But the Braves, on the other hand, are special… I guess their stones are so good that the amount of body fortification it provides is out of this world.
"Hey, Ethel, you gotta carry on our legacy… Even if it's for a few more years," Nell gives Ethel a thumbs up with a stupid expression that makes all of us laugh.
Even if she's not going to be entering dungeons anymore, she's still connected to us, so once one of us dies, we're all going to be crippled, and that includes her.
After calming down, another important question was asked.
"What are we gonna do about Sophia?" Celestine asks.
She's right… We don't have any more of that substance that helped us achieve this hivemind, and we've noticed she has become quite lonely.
We include her in everything, but since she's the only one not connected to us, she sometimes feels left out.
"Well, what can we do?" I ask.
"Nothing really, just try and include-... Wait, isn't her birthday tomorrow?" Amanda asks.
"Oh yeah! Why don't we throw a massive party tomorrow?!" Electra shouts.
For all of our birthdays, Electra threw pretty big parties for us, filled with food and drinks that Mom got as we were forbidden from leaving the base.
I tried to leave once, but Mom immediately found me and gave my wrists a few slaps with a wooden stick… I couldn't move my hands for the rest of the day.
"Okay, it's decided… We're throwing a massive party," Electra says, and her serious face was pretty stupid, causing us all to chuckle.
What the hell… Why is she so serious all of a sudden?
"What?" Electra says, but we just brushed it off before hopping into the small pond in the middle of the garden.
Ting
The same ringing bell could be heard resounding through the garden.
We opened our eyes, darkness.
"Seems you all are back," Sophia says as she laid on the floor, motionless, not even twitching a single muscle.
"Yeah, anyway, let's have some dinner," Electra happily skips over to her and helps her up.
"Yeah, I'm starving," She replies.
…
(Sophia POV)
I woke up once again in my blank room.
There was no need to decorate it as I couldn't distinguish colors.
There was only my bed, a single desk, with a single chair.
I changed into some clothes Lucy gave me as she thought I'd look good in them.
I couldn't tell if I looked good in them, but accepted them anyway as I had nothing else.
The day went smoothly.
Studying, training, and meditation… Until dinner rolled around.
I stayed in the training room for a bit longer as I was having the perfect mediation session where I could sense everything in the room.
A singular ant towards the corner of the room.
A floating piece of dust.
The chipped paint that floated in the air… and a strange clanging that came from the main room which held the kitchen, living room, and loft which we still haven't touched.
Clang Clang Clang
"Shut the hell up!" I shouted and the clanging continued… but suddenly stopped.
I got worried for a second so I regretfully left my mediation state and ran out of the room.
A bad feeling set in my stomach.
I burst through the archway that lead to the main room and was suddenly surprised by a blast of confetti.
"SUPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Everybody shouted.
Ah, that's right… It's my birthday…
"Let's go! We have plenty of snacks and drinks! All types of games as well!" Astra shouted, taking my hand and dragging me to the snack bar.
It was filled with all of my favorite snacks and even when I tried to act like I didn't care… I finally gave in, devouring half of the snacks already set out.
My mood was flipped upside down as I felt happier than ever.
It wasn't because of the attention… but because I felt wanted.
Everybody around me loved me very much, almost like family.
Even Lucy who is the coldest out of all of us was happily smiling as we battled each other in a video game.
I of course lost as I couldn't really tell what was happening on the large TV that covered half of the wall, but I was having fun.
My previous birthdays were never this fun, even after coming to this base.
"Okay! Bring out the cake!" Lucy shouted in excitement.
Astra walked towards me, her face turned, blushing.
In her hands was a large cake that had 18 candles.
The fire, burning with bright blue flames.
"Thank you!" I shouted.
I wish eternal happiness among myself and the people I love…
I blew out the candles which gave in themselves as they were controlled by Mia.
My normal breath wouldn't even come close to blowing them out so I didn't complain.
"Happy birthday!" Everybody shouted.
I'm so happy…
Ting Ting
Suddenly Auntie began hitting her wine glass with a metal spoon, gathering our attention.
Lucy stood beside her with a large smile.
"Your training is up… You girls can finally leave this place," Auntie says with a smile.
But silence befell the room.
"Are you going to keep that tattoo or remove it? Because it looks out of place now that you have grown so much," "I'm going to expand on it. It represents the core of my family, but I'll make it my own." "I see Well, just don't regret it," "I will end up regretting it later on But not now. This will be my only way of showing that I have conquered my family by being one of the only survivors," Clio says before storming off into the kitchen. What an edge lord. The rest of the training passed quickly, and we were beaten and bruised throughout our entire body. Mainly my body which had a few fractured bones that healed within a couple of hours but it still hurt like shit. I lay on the hard white surface that made up our pretty compacted training room. It was nowhere near as big as the school's training arena, but it was enough for us to get the job done. "Okay, last training session of the day," Mom says, snapping us out of our dazed state. We all rnd before sitting around the white circle in the middle of the room. Our eyes were closed, and we all synchronized our breathing. Ting The sound of a small bell being struck rang throughout the room. We opened our eyes, darkness. We turned around, light. The vines and water running down the side of the island looked as if they were trying to curl up and escape from something below. "Ugh, the smell here is putrid as always," Charna says. We all nodded our heads in agreement while holding our noses. It isn't the typical type of putrid you'd think it is It smelt good at the beginning for the first three seconds, but then after that, the smell was so strong, it just wasn't good anymore. It's like spraying too much perfume or cologne on yourself. Everybody was gathered here, and when we opened our mouths, we checked our tongues once again. "Okay, your tongue has been completely coated, and the tattoo is crawling up the side of your mouth Same with yours and yours and yours," Clio continued down the line and checked the insides of our mouth. It was her turn today to check it as if everybody checked everybody simultaneously; it would take much longer than needed. "It's the same for everyone," Clio finally announces. "*sigh*... That bastard," Aria mutters before walking towards the edge of the garden island and staring down into the abyss. A red tentacle suddenly erupted from the darkness and tried to take hold of Aria, but she just stepped back and summoned a golden sword from nothing, slicing the tentacle in half. ERUUUUUUUUUUUAAAA A strange cry came from the abyss, but we just rolled our eyes. "So, how do we stop the spread?" Nuala brings up a familiar question. For some reason, everybody looked at me again, hoping I would know something. "Look, I'm smart, but that doesn't mean I know information that is impossible for me to obtain," I replied bluntly, but nobody was surprised anymore. "Okay, well, the spread in the real world hasn't even coated our entire tongue yet, so I think we should be safe but the hivemind It's still growing, and it's at a much slower pace, but within 20 years, we're definitely going to become once consciousness," Ethel says. I snorted a bit before opening my mouth. "I'm gonna die before that time," I responded, and everybody rolled their eyes. 11 out of the 12 of us want to be dungeon runners, and dungeons runners normally don't live very long due to being exposed to high-density mana when entering a gate. No matter how powerful your power stone is, the mana crumbles humans from the outside in... It's inevitable. But the Braves, on the other hand, are special I guess their stones are so good that the amount of body fortification it provides is out of this world. "Hey, Ethel, you gotta carry on our legacy Even if it's for a few more years," Nell gives Ethel a thumbs up with a stupid expression that makes all of us laugh. Even if she's not going to be entering dungeons anymore, she's still connected to us, so once one of us dies, we're all going to be crippled, and that includes her. After calming down, another important question was asked. "What are we gonna do about Sophia?" Celestine asks. She's right We don't have any more of that substance that helped us achieve this hivemind, and we've noticed she has become quite lonely. We include her in everything, but since she's the only one not connected to us, she sometimes feels left out. "Well, what can we do?" I ask. "Nothing really, just try and include-... Wait, isn't her birthday tomorrow?" Amanda asks. "Oh yeah! Why don't we throw a massive party tomorrow?!" Electra shouts. For all of our birthdays, Electra threw pretty big parties for us, filled with food and drinks that Mom got as we were forbidden from leaving the base. I tried to leave once, but Mom immediately found me and gave my wrists a few slaps with a wooden stick I couldn't move my hands for the rest of the day. "Okay, it's decided We're throwing a massive party," Electra says, and her serious face was pretty stupid, causing us all to chuckle. What the hell Why is she so serious all of a sudden? "What?" Electra says, but we just brushed it off before hopping into the small pond in the middle of the garden. Ting The same ringing bell could be heard resounding through the garden. We opened our eyes, darkness. "Seems you all are back," Sophia says as she laid on the floor, motionless, not even twitching a single muscle. "Yeah, anyway, let's have some dinner," Electra happily skips over to her and helps her up. "Yeah, I'm starving," She replies. Sophia POV I woke up once again in my blank room. There was no need to decorate it as I couldn't distinguish colors. There was only my bed, a single desk, with a single chair. I changed into some clothes Lucy gave me as she thought I'd look good in them. I couldn't tell if I looked good in them, but accepted them anyway as I had nothing else. The day went smoothly. Studying, training, and meditation Until dinner rolled around. I stayed in the training room for a bit longer as I was having the perfect mediation session where I could sense everything in the room. A singular ant towards the corner of the room. A floating piece of dust. The chipped paint that floated in the air and a strange clanging that came from the main room which held the kitchen, living room, and loft which we still haven't touched. Clang Clang Clang "Shut the hell up!" I shouted and the clanging continued but suddenly stopped. I got worried for a second so I regretfully left my mediation state and ran out of the room. A bad feeling set in my stomach. I burst through the archway that lead to the main room and was suddenly surprised by a blast of confetti. "SUPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Everybody shouted. Ah, that's right It's my birthday "Let's go! We have plenty of snacks and drinks! All types of games as well!" Astra shouted, taking my hand and dragging me to the snack bar. It was filled with all of my favorite snacks and even when I tried to act like I didn't care I finally gave in, devouring half of the snacks already set out. My mood was flipped upside down as I felt happier than ever. It wasn't because of the attention but because I felt wanted. Everybody around me loved me very much, almost like family. Even Lucy who is the coldest out of all of us was happily smiling as we battled each other in a video game. I of course lost as I couldn't really tell what was happening on the large TV that covered half of the wall, but I was having fun. My previous birthdays were never this fun, even after coming to this base. "Okay! Bring out the cake!" Lucy shouted in excitement. Astra walked towards me, her face turned, blushing. In her hands was a large cake that had 18 candles. The fire, burning with bright blue flames. "Thank you!" I shouted. I wish eternal happiness among myself and the people I love I blew out the candles which gave in themselves as they were controlled by Mia. My normal breath wouldn't even come close to blowing them out so I didn't complain. "Happy birthday!" Everybody shouted. I'm so happy Ting Ting Suddenly Auntie began hitting her wine glass with a metal spoon, gathering our attention. Lucy stood beside her with a large smile. "Your training is up You girls can finally leave this place," Auntie says with a smile. But silence befell the room.
