NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 7: Minxx
Dimm believed the figure he had seen earlier had vanished, but as he turned his head eastward, he noticed the figure approaching.
The figure of a girl, a little elfin girl.
She possessed a petite frame, almost too diminutive for someone exuding such authority as she spoke. Her skin was so translucent that it nearly rendered her ghostly in the dim light.
Her jet-black hair cascaded down her back, with a few strands delicately draping over her face, framing her glassy blue eyes.
Her delicate features made her appear gentle and endearing to onlookers. Her innocent appearance belied her true capabilities.
If not for the sudden help she offered just now, saving him, he would have underestimated her.
As she walked, it was almost soundless, like she barely touched the ground.
Still, to Dimm's surprise, Squiggon lowered its head as this girl approached. That alone signifies that her physique is a deception.
Coming closer to where Dimm and Squiggon were, she clicked her thumb against her index finger, and in an instant, Squiggon vanished.
"Back to its trenches," the elfin girl muttered.
Dimm seemed lost.
First, seeing an elf in real life was something unimaginable. He had read about them in books, with most authors doing their descriptive job well enough to convey the beauty of elves.
Secondly, even though he didn't know much about this game, he never imagined meeting an elf, let alone an elf with such steeze.
'Can you imagine how this towering monster of a thing paid heed to her?!'
The last but not least is the fact that he doubted the girl's existence. Back in the hall before they were dispersed into this test world, that voice that spoke to them—Elion, as a matter of fact—had warned them against deception.
He pondered whether the initial deceit had been the humans abruptly transforming into beasts. His mind drifted back to the events preceding this moment, just before the girl's voice interrupted.
"It is a guardian of this forest," she said. "The Gabty Forest."
"Huh, guardian?" Dimm was shocked. The complexity of this twist now dawned on him.
It had been slaves, among whom were those who served as guards. If anyone could have led him to imagine that these guards would be involved in the transformation into beasts, he would have dismissed that person as a figment of imagination.
Not only were they slaves, or guards, generally human, they had become beasts. And not long ago, he had seen these beasts fuse into this monster which called its name SQUIGGON.
"What the—"
He was on the verge of releasing the turmoil in his mind when the little girl tapped his shoulder, pointing at the sky above.
Dimm's eyes widened at the sight. Like a rainbow, various announcements appeared above.
"I think that concerns you," the girl said.
Dimm ignored her and kept his focus on the announcements in the sky. His eyes scanned through every details contained therein.
[Any candidate whose ID won't be mentioned below, unfortunately, couldn't make it to this stage of the test.]
[In as much as there was massive loss, there are those who became prospects.]
[Congratulations to the following candidates on successfully becoming players:
Candidate 001!
Candidate 010!
Candidate 023!
Candidate 024!
Candidate 172!
.
.
.
Candidate 213!
.
.
.
Candidate 400! Congrats to you all!]
[Total Prospects — 152!]
[Know ye that as players, you will no longer be referred to as Candidates. You have attained your first rank as a player.]
[Rank: Every successful candidates will be branded with the SURVIVOR rank henceforth.]
[I.D: You will no longer be identified with the Candidate tag in you numbers. Your I.D remains the numbers with which you arrived the game. Seemingly, Candidate 160 will now be referred to as just 160.]
"I'm not surprised," the little girl said, drawing Dimm's attention.
"You're not?" Dimm became curious.
"Yes. I'm not surprised with the naming system," the girl specified. "You will only be allowed to choose a name for yourself when you advance to the next rank."
"But, I'm clearly answering my name," Dimm protested against her comment.
"I didn't deny your name. Besides, have you got anyone to address you since you entered this expanse?"
"Not really," Dimm replied.
"If you should get anyone, then you would have understood," the elfin girl said, before pointing at the sky again. "Look, any announcement with a brace is known to be a special announcement."
'How did she know all these?' Dimm thought, before looking up.
{Candidate 160 is the only survivor who is yet to meet the requirements for awakening as a Player.}
{Your survival limit was extended due to an anomaly in a difficult test which was assigned to you. You are here by advised to complete this assignment within the duration of thirty minutes or else you face elimination.}
Dimm was shocked but didn't tremble. He was being referred to, and coming to the completion of this assignment, how was he going to find a beast to engage.
His senses were attuned to the little girl's presence. "Or perhaps, you are one."
"If I understood what you meant. I'm not," the elf girl retorted. "Between, which ID do you possess?"
To Dimm, it was strange. Instead of asking for his name, the girl asked for his ID. It was a very strange world to live in, or rather, exist in.
He looked at the girl and said, "I am the owner of that last message that appeared just now."
"I thought as much," the girl replied quickly.
Dimm glanced at her with a piercing look. "So, tell me, what do you know?"
The girl clapped her hand two times, leaving confusion to parade Dimm's instincts.
"I know that succeeding your first test makes you an awakened, hence, a player. You will be left with different abilities that will enable you go through your next challenges as a Survivor."
"I know that failure to awaken results to death. And death in this world brings death to your real body in the real world," the little girl explained.
"But, I thought death in this game, brings you real life?" Dimm asked.
"That's what you're made to believe. A life that won't last an hour, is it life?"
"What if you continue surviving in the game?" Dimm got more curious.
"If you continue surviving in the game, then you become a puppet," she paused. "And will still face death."
"A puppe—" Dimm tried to utter a speech but his head suddenly burned. The aching pain shot him, forcing to cling his head tightly. What could come of his thoughts was, 'Does it mean thirty minutes is gone? So, I will die?'
But, in contrast, a wave of sound roared in his head. A mechanical voice began to announce.
[Help granted was used judiciously!]
[Host binding initiated... Successful!]
[Name of Host: — Choose a name.]
Dimm didn't understand what was going on in his head, but he went on to answer.
"Dimm. I did like to take on with my original name."
[Name: Dimm recorded successfully—your name becomes your identity in this game.]
[Game Breaking Loopholes Detected!]
[...Glitch Unlocked!]
[...Unlimited Evolution Unlocked]
[... Alteration Unlocked!]
[...Devourer Unlocked!]
[Would you like to get the explanation for all?]
"Huh, not yet. My head is seriously aching," Dimm said, still clutching onto his head.
Just as he replied the last offer by the unknown voice that rang in his mind, it stopped. His head magically became cool again. He felt pain no more.
The pain earlier has caused him to close his eyes. Now he opened his eyes, he turned to see the little girl extending her hands towards him for a shake.
"I am Minxx," she said, with a broad smile on her face.