NOVEL SIMPLE Cycle 6 (Avi)
Avi made the illusion of a line of trees appear in front of a charging moose and stepped back. The moose skidded to a stop, dirt flying everywhere. Avi held the illusion, letting Frog decapitate the creature. He flinched as it made a strangled noise of pain before vanishing.
“Good job,” Frog called, pulling all the loot into their party inventory. “Why trees, not your usual?”
Avi dropped the illusion. “They run through brick walls. Staab said they’re big and strong enough to destroy a real one, and know it. But they… respect trees? I don’t know, it works.”
“Huh.” Frog shrugged, putting his sword away. “Cool.”
Together they walked to the exit, silently pulling what they wanted into their personal inventories. Frog went through first, hopping down the steps.
Avi stepped through the floor's exit and froze, suddenly finding himself in an office. His heart rate rose as he looked around, wondering if he was in some kind of dungeon principal’s office.
A woman in her mid-forties sat behind a big desk, wearing a silk empire dress and pearl jewelry. She looked Avi over with clear blue eyes, judging him.
“Have a seat,” she ordered.
Avi shrank, sliding into a chair facing her, wondering what he'd done wrong.
"Avi," she said in a commanding voice. "Player 601. You were sent here from the Quagmire Dungeon, under Administrator 6. Why did he send you?"
"I- I don't know," Avi told her, nervously picking at a cuticle. He wanted to turn invisible. The officialness of the office was making him nervous.
The woman stared at him incredulously. "You. Don't. Know."
Clearly that was the wrong answer. "Erm. I- He sent everyone in the group, and I was- was one of the group, so- so I got sent, too. He- He didn't choose me to send, erm, the group did. I think." Avi wished anyone were here to help.
The woman sighed, clearly annoyed. "Did he seriously think I wouldn't notice this?"
"No, he thought you'd notice, and told me to be more…" Avi trailed off as she glared at him, realizing the question had been rhetorical. "Sorry."
"Do you know who I am?" she asked.
"The- The Director?" he guessed.
"Yes. Do you know what that means?"
"You… direct? Things?"
She sighed again, looking at a screen he couldn't see. "You are by far the most pathetic soul I have ever met."
"Sorry."
"Yes I direct things. I am in charge. I am the highest authority you will ever meet. As far as you are concerned, I may as well be god."
Avi… didn't know how to respond to that. "O… k?"
The Director took a deep breath. "Never use that word in my presence again."
"Sorry."
"Avi. Tell me how you became a player. Tell me why your admin decided to send your group to my dungeon. And tell me why you agreed to come."
Avi swallowed hard, shrinking further into the chair. "I- I don't know why, but he made me a catgirl."
"Catgirl?"
"Erm. Yes. Cat… girl."
She blinked and looked back at her screen. "What were you before then?"
"A siren."
"Very well. Continue."
"Erm. So, they all went to Floor 100 and pushed the button before I got there, and they got in trouble for that. They didn't do it again, but Aya asked me if I wanted to meet the dragon and I did, so I went with her and the Sams, they were mosquitoes back then, but the dragon wasn't nice, and then on Cycle 40 the System kicked out players who hadn't reached Floor 100, but since we'd been there, it made all of us players. And then the Admin told us to come here and win to prove… something. I didn’t want to be left behind so I came."
The Director frowned for a few seconds before speaking. "He's aware you weren't originally players?"
"Well, yeah, that's the whole reason he sent us."
"What does he want you to prove?"
Avi picked at a cuticle again. "I don't know. He didn't tell me."
"Did he tell anyone in your group?"
"Erm. Maybe Kimi and Aya? He- He talked to them on like Cycle 41 and told them he wanted to send us here. I don't know exactly what he said, though."
She turned to her screen and typed for a while. Avi fidgeted, wondering if he could go.
"Did he tell you the stakes?" the Director finally asked.
"N- No. He just wants us to win by doing things our way."
"You weren't players on the first cycle, so I presume you don't know," she said, waving the screen away. "The next time you meet, ask him what will happen to the losers. Maybe then you'll understand how unbelievably stupid he's been. Putting his dungeon's fate in your hands. Hah."
Avi hid his hands between his knees.
"Pathetic," she muttered, shaking her head.
"Sorry," Avi repeated.
She sighed, annoyed. “I sincerely hope to never see you again.”
The Director waved her hand dismissively, and Avi found himself back on the stairs in the dungeon. He slowly sat down, wishing for a closet to hide in.