SWNOVELXO Chapter 6: Simulation Start! (3/3)
Her eyes widened, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. That was surprisingly generous, almost too generous. She had not expected the system to give her anything for free, and that made her feel almost hopeful. She would not allow herself to be fooled by this system, she would not allow herself to be controlled, she would be the one that was in control, and she would be nice to the system, for now.
She selected the scholar archetype, and a new list of options appeared, each one more confusing than the last.
[Mathematics, physical world studies, history,]
The list scrolled by, a blur of words and concepts that meant nothing to her, and then, finally, her eyes landed on it, the option that was glowing gold, the one that the system had added for her.
[Nature of Chi and conversion to Qi.]
She would, of course, choose that one. It was the only option that made any sense, it was the only option that seemed to have any sort of connection to the ghostly world that she had just left behind, and it was the only option that might actually help her survive this mess. She selected it without hesitation.
Hong Ye found her small body moving rapidly, almost uncontrollably, towards what she knew was a grand hall, though she had no idea where it was located within this strange new environment. She was moving like a puppet on strings, her limbs responding to some unseen force, and the feeling was extremely disconcerting. It was as if she was watching a movie of her own life, but she was not the one that was in control of the plot, she was simply a passenger along for the ride.
She had chosen not to live on hyper-fast-forward autopilot of guaranteed death, and this was the price. This was the consequence of her actions, and she would have to deal with it. Moving at 10x speed and skipping dialogue like some demented visual novel was something she was surely never going to get used to. It was like she was watching a poorly made film, and the director was simply fast-forwarding through all of the boring parts, and yet, she was still forced to experience the boring parts.
Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the world froze, the blurred images and skipped dialogue coming to a complete halt. It was like someone had pressed the pause button on her life, and she was forced to wait for the next scene to begin. It was a jarring experience, and she knew that this was not going to be the last time that this happened.
A series of dialogue tree options spun past her at rapid speed, each one a potential path, each one a possible future. It was like watching a roulette wheel, each option a different outcome, and she was forced to make a choice, a single choice that would determine the course of her life. It was overwhelming, it was terrifying, and it was something that she was going to have to get used to.
The options blurred together, a mess of words and concepts that meant nothing to her, and then, finally, one option stood out, clear and concise:
[Demonstrate shrewdness and intelligence while abdicating the heir position. Use medical charts you found as evidence to join the biology classes at the nearby academy in hopes of eventually joining Chi and Qi based biological studies]
It seemed like the best of the bunch, the only option that made any sense, and it was the only option that did not seem to be a complete waste of her time. Did I have a hidden intelligence stat? she wondered, because that looks intelligent. It was a plan, it was a goal, and it was something that she could actually work with.
As she pondered this, a new message appeared, a notification from the system:
[New stats discovered: Acquity 2.0, Mind 2.1 (Located under the Spirit stat tree)]
The fact that they were 2.0 and 2.1, respectively, was surprising. It was like she had a hidden potential that she was only now starting to uncover, and that made her feel almost hopeful.
There were a few other options, but they were greyed out, marked with [Requirements not met]. She looked closer, and she noticed that the requirements were indeed the [Acquity] and [mind] stats that she had just discovered.
She selected that tree of dialogue, the one that seemed to be the most logical, the one that seemed to be the most in line with her goals, and the automation rapidly moved by again, the world blurring around her as her small body continued its predetermined path. She had made a choice, and now, she would have to live with the consequences.
Years passed for Hong Ye, a strange and disorienting experience where time seemed to stretch and compress, a subjective eternity lived within the confines of a sped-up simulation. A year of subjective time was still ten years in the simulation, and the world around her moved at a dizzying pace, yet, for her, time moved slowly, almost painfully so. It was like watching a film on fast-forward, where she was forced to experience every single moment, every single detail, every single boring part.
Despite the accelerated pace of her movie marathon being nearly unbearable, she achieved an immense amount, graduating from the imperial university of the capital of the empire at the age of 18. It was an achievement that was almost impossible for someone without any spirit roots, and yet, she had done it, through sheer force of will and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Even if she couldn't cultivate, her body was the foremost expert on Qi and Chi, and the body-based Ki, which was a third type that would be useless to her until she gained a body again. She had become a master of the theoretical, a scholar of the unseen forces that governed this world, and that made her almost proud.
By the age of 24, she noticed a new addition to her vision, a "chance of death" gauge that had appeared without any warning. It was a small, almost insignificant bar, but it was there, and it was growing, and it was growing every time she published a paper. It was clear that her research was attracting unwanted attention, and that made her want to smile. She was not going to be a pawn, she was not going to be a tool, she was going to be the one that was in control, even in death.
Reaching 100% on her 41st simulated birthday was irritating, but she knew she couldn't live like a doll on fast forward forever. She had to make a choice, she had to take control of her life, and she had to face her death with her head held high. She was not going to be a victim, she was not going to be a pawn, she was going to be the one that was in control, even in the face of death.
"I am aware you have come to kill me, senior," she declared, her voice calm and clear, echoing in the otherwise silent room. "Please come out and have a cup of tea before my death." It was a challenge, a dare, a way to assert her own agency in a situation where she had none.
Nothing came out of the shadows, no response, no acknowledgment of her words. She kept repeating it all night, because for some reason the system had released her, and she wanted to at least be cool going out. She was not going to die like a coward, she was not going to die without a fight, she was going to die with dignity. The rapid speed had stopped, and for some reason her perception of events moved extremely fast, leaving her control of her body impossibly slow. It was like she was trapped in slow motion, watching the world move around her at an incredible speed, and she was forced to watch it all unfold.
Eventually, one of her callouts, after what felt like an eternity, gave the response she assumed she was going to get all night.
"How then, did you know?" a voice rasped from the shadows, the words carrying a hint of surprise, a flicker of curiosity. "I assume the dark steps art would be imperceptible to mortals."
Hong Ye nodded, her movements slow and deliberate, like she was moving through thick treacle. "Normally, you would be correct," she said, her voice calm and even, "But when you know Qi like I do, it's kind of easy to see how the shadows move from your feet upon your whole body." She was not going to be a victim, she was not going to be a pawn, she was going to be the one that was in control, even in the face of death.
The old man in the shadows, his form still obscured by the darkness, his eyes narrowed, a flicker of respect and regret in his gaze. "Yes, you've hidden your knowledge deeply then. It is very much too bad about your physique. I would have liked to have a disciple. Goodbye, you angered a moron with too much power and I apologize that I have to do this."
The world tilted, the room spinning around her, and Hong Ye's eyes snapped open, not to the world of the simulation, but to the ghostly world she had left behind. She was back in the town of hungry ghosts, the layered reality once again surrounding her.
[Assessing simulation success-rate....]