NOVEL SIMPLE Cycle 6 (Admin)
Admin 6 sat in a chair, facing the Director behind her thick mahogany desk.
Well, “sat” was the wrong word. He was sitting, but his wrists were tied to the armrests so he couldn’t open any screens.
The other five Admins watched from various places around the room. Chairs hadn’t been provided for them.
“You took NPCs and mobs and made them players,” the Director said slowly.
“I did not,” Admin 6 said calmly. “They figured out how to travel between floors. I fixed the bug, and they found another one. They got to Floor 100 and pushed the reset button all on their own. The System made them players a few cycles after that. I had nothing to do with it.”
“Records show you communicated with them before they became players,” the Director said. “And the other Admins say you asked them to build you a walkway.”
“Most of the communication was me telling them to stop messing things up, and one of them asking for basil,” Admin 6 said truthfully.
“Regardless. You communicated with them. You allowed them to become players. You encouraged them. And you chose to send them, not any true player, to the Master Dungeon. You broke every rule I set down.”
Admin 6 smiled. He'd been dreading this conversation for months, and now that it was happening he had no fear left.
“No I didn’t.”
The Director blinked slowly.
“One of your rules is for everything to be in English. I never broke that rule. And you gave specific rules about the colors of magic, which I didn’t break. I had 100 floors, as you ordered, and-”
“Enough.”
Admins 2 and 5 were facepalming. Admin 3 was grinning. Admin 6 couldn’t see Admins 1 or 4.
The Director took a deep breath. “I am the director. I directed you to not interact with souls that weren’t players more than necessary. You disobeyed this command.”
“Because it’s st-”
“I wasn’t finished.”
Admin 6 ground his teeth.
“You ignored what I told you to do, and brought a group of random souls into the Master Dungeon,” the Director said. “They ruined my carefully-laid plans, and spread chaos through my dungeon. Unless you have a very good reason to keep them here, I have no choice but to send them back to your dungeon and choose ten real players to replace them.”
“My group deserves to be in the Master Dungeon just as much as any other!” he snapped. “They don’t do things by the book, but that’s because they never read it! They’re smart, inventive, artistic, and ten times more likable than any player I’ve ever met! Just because they don’t know what DPS is, or have an obsession with murder, doesn’t mean they’re any less deserving than any of your chosen players. The player choosing process was stupid and unfair, and the fact that my girls are winning proves it.”
Silence. Admin 6 was breathing heavily, glaring at the Director. She watched him thoughtfully.
“‘My girls’,” the Director finally said. There was no emphasis on either word, no infliction to show what she was thinking.
Admin 6 wasn’t sure how to reply. He knew this was dangerous, but he didn’t know how.
The Director glanced at a screen. “Out of your ten chosen ‘Players’, only six are female. Are you referring to them specifically, or to the whole group as ‘girls’?”
“The girls of the group started it,” he muttered. “They were catgirl NPCs.”
Again there was silence. Admin 6 felt the ropes around his wrists grow damp from sweat. He was hot and uncomfortable, and his nose itched.
“All right,” the Director eventually said. “Here’s what I’ll do: I’m going to put your group into stasis for one cycle, and pull in ten true players. If the players manage to win the cycle, I will keep them in and kick your catgirls out. If they end up between Floors 45 and 59, I will allow your group to remain as players. But. If the group I pull in fails to reach Floor 45, your dungeon loses. No matter what, when this is over, you will be stripped of your memories and privileges and sent to the new world with your dungeon. Do you understand?”
Admin 6 couldn’t breathe. He stared at the desk, completely frozen.
“Administrator 6, do you understand?”
He inhaled sharply. “Yes, ma’am.” He dared glance at her face. “May I suggest a group of players to send?”
“You may suggest. I may ignore your suggestion.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She sat back, looking around the room. “Does anyone else have any suggestions?”
There was silence for a few seconds as Admin 6 tried to breathe like a normal person.
“Don’t put his group in stasis,” Admin 2 said. “Let them watch.”
“Very well,” the Director said, looking at Admin 6. “Make a floor in your dungeon, and they’ll be sent there for the duration of the cycle. As will you, with your privileges stripped.”
Admin 6 looked down, then back up at her. “Can I use a floor that already exists?”