Novel Hi, please rip my novel to shreds!

Relhak · Oct 18, 2019

Hey,
I'm hitting around 50 chapters, and planning a mass release soon. Due to this, I've deleted the chapters from here and will release them on another platform.

Thanks for stopping by!

Monkoto · Nov 3, 2017

Relhak said: ↑

Epilogue & Chapter 1:

***
Epilogue
***

”Go on, I’ll be right behind you.. I just need to finish my own pod first. I can’t lose you too, so that’s why you’re going in first”

“But dad—”

“No buts! Now, listen to what I’m saying! Remember what you’re taught by Erudite when you’re under. You’re the only thing I have left in this world. You will help rebuild our future once you’re back. Now settle down and count down from 10.”

“Dad, promise me you’ll be here when I wake?”

“Yes, I promise – like I said, I’ll be right behind you. See you later my son.”

***
Chapter 1
***

In a forgotten room, where darkness was so thick that it could almost be touched, a dim light blinked into existence. The light came from a blue flickering display, where lines of text scrolled across it.

### System Warning: Reserve power levels at 1%. ###
### System Notice: Begin emergency wake up procedure: Plan B31A ###
### System Notice: Begin defrosting procedure A11A… ###
### System Notice: Beginning resuscitation. ###
### System Warning: Occupant life vitals critical. ###
### System Warning: No life signs detected. Proceeding to Plan B32G ###
### System Notice: Administering adrenaline. ###
### System Warning: No life signs detected. Proceeding to Plan B32H ###
### System Notice: Defib at 200J. ###
### System Warning: Please stay clear of Cryostasis Pod ###
### System Warning: Power levels critical. ###
### System Notice: Detected sinus cardiac activity. Proceeding with Plan A11A… ###
### System Notice: Opening hatch ###

As the lines of text scrolled across the blue screen, a gasp emanated from somewhere in the darkness.

“Jesus… My head…”

He clutched his head and slowly sat up. His throat felt suffocated, as if he had been drowning just moments earlier.

“Why is it so dark?” he mumbled, and then fumbled his way around the darkness in hopes of triggering the motion sensor.

After a while he got tired of trying to catch the blind sensor and weakly said, “Computer, lights on.”

But once more, nothing happened. He strained his voice, and in a slightly clearer voice, he said, “Computer,” and waited for a response.

“Hmm?”

Perplexed, he lifted his left palm upwards and said, “Aia, are you there?”

Almost immediately, a pale-blue, holographic orb appeared floating in his hands. A female voice then replied, “Yes, I’m here Lucian. How can I help?”

“What’s wrong with the lights?” Lucian asked.

The orb twisted for a moment before she gave her reply, “I don’t know. I can’t seem to get in contact with the main computer.”

Lucian was puzzled and looked around once more. The darkness was now slightly illuminated by Aia, but he could only make out the Cryostasis Pod which he sat in.

Thinking of another issue, he turned his attention back to Aia, “If that’s the case, can you contact my father? Let him know that I’m awake.”

Aia rotated, as if working on a response, and said, “Sorry, I tried to send a message, but there’s no signal coverage in this area. I recommend moving to another area with better coverage before trying again.”

He sighed and put down his hand, thereby cancelling his interaction with Aia. He clutched his head again as pain assaulted him once more.

‘This damn headache,’ he thought and massaged his temple with his hand, ‘It’s killing me, and I can’t think straight with it… Is it due to the Erudite Education program I underwent when I was sleeping? But that doesn’t explain why I feel so weak right now… How long was I asleep for?’

Grabbing onto the side of the cryostasis pod, Lucian tried to swing his legs around the edges of the pod. However, his legs were still too numb.

While he waited for the numbness to dissipate, he held up his palm again, “Aia, how long was I out for?”

“I’m sorry Lucian, while you were in stasis, all of my functions were on standby in order to conserve power. I don’t have any indication of the time passed.”

Lucian twirled his hair and pondered on what to do next. He then thought of the cryostasis pod.

“What about the cryostasis pod? Can you access the pod to see its operating hours?”

Aia floated for a few seconds with circles appearing around her before she replied, “I’m sorry Lucian. The cryostasis pod seems to have run out of power”

“Well? Is there anything that you can tell me?” he asked in an exasperated tone.

Aia rotated once more, as she worked on a response to the rhetorical question. However, this time, the AI Assistant responded in a tone slightly different from her usual apathetic voice.

“… I didn’t know if I should tell you this Lucian… It may affect your mental state…”

Picking up on the worry, which he sensed in his AI’s voice, Lucian carefully asked, “What is it?”

“I did a physical scan of your body when you woke up, as required when I power up, and I detected an abnormally large tumor in your brain.”

Lucian was stunned, the blood drained from his face.

“What?! Where did that come from? I didn’t have a tumor when I went to sleep? Is it treatable? Hey! Answer me!”

He felt the grips of fear clutch his heart.

Aia rotated, like usual, processing the barrage of questions that was suddenly fired off towards her.

She finally responded, “A tumor comes from abnormal cell division. There was no indication of a tumor when you went to sleep. The tumor seems to be benign in nature, as it isn’t restricting blood flow or inhibiting your mental capacity in any way. The tumor is a stage T2 N0 M0. It has not yet spread to any of your lymph nodes, and it is metastasized in you Basal Ganglia and is spread to your Prefrontal Cortex and Visual Cortex. Oddly, the tumor seems to be integrated with your brain tissue in such a way that it’s almost symbiotic in nature. It doesn’t impede brain functions. So far, it doesn’t seem be spreading. With the way the tumor has spread, it is not possible for treatment without aggressive chemotherapy and surgery. Surgery in these parts of the brain will most likely give lasting mental disabilities, loss of executive functions, and loss of sight”

Lucian felt like he had been hit over the head with a sledgehammer and then dumped into a pool of icy waters. He was barely able to comprehend what Aia had told him.

‘How could this happen?’ he thought despairingly. ‘I’m only 11 years old. I want to be a researcher like my dad! B-but I’m doomed to be disabled with this thing in my head. This can’t be happening.’

The oppressive darkness around him seemed to inch closer with every second as his mind spun in circles. The silence in the room was deafening, and his mouth felt dry when he imagined being disabled for the rest of his life. His lifelong dreams seemed to be slipping through his fingers, like water through a sieve. Then he felt his heart galloping away, like he had just run a marathon.

Somewhere in the distance of his thoughts, he heard Aia call out to him, “… cian.. ucian… Lucian”

Lucian snapped himself back to reality, turning his attention back to his palm where Aia rotated.

With a parched mouth, he responded weakly, “Sorry… You say something?”

“Your vitals were indicating that you were having a panic attack. Please, calm down. There’s no indication that this tumor will affect your daily life. I will continue to monitor it, and if there are any changes then we can act on that.” Aia reassuringly said.

“Right…” he said, while he tried to refocus on the present by pushing the disturbing thoughts out of his mind. “We have more pressing issues if that is so. Keep me updated on the tumor. Next, we need to figure out what has happened to the main computer. I’d also like to let my father know that I’m awake,”

Aia noticed her master’s positive change in attitude and promptly said, “Understood.”

The sensation in Lucian’s legs had almost returned, but he still felt unnaturally weak. With unsteady hands he stumbled out of the pod, only to have his legs give way under him. As a result, his face kissed the floor in a disconcerting manner.

A loud thud and a groan, could be heard somewhere in the darkness, followed by a bunch of curses. After he rubbed the sore spot on his forehead to ease the pain, he wearily sat himself up into a seated position with the support of the cryostasis pod.

“Please be careful, Lucian. Your muscles are in a severe state of atrophy due to lack of movement. You will need intensive physical rehabilitation therapy, if you wish to move as you did before,” Aia said in a despotic manner.

“No shit Sherlock.” Lucian didn’t even want to entertain her matter-of-fact statement with a proper response.

He pulled himself back up with the support of the cryostasis pod, and then took the first unsteady steps out into the darkness.

“Aia, do you know where we are?” Almost immediately after he asked, he regretted it, ‘Of course, she doesn’t know. She was also offline when I was sleeping.’

But contrary to expectations of the ill thought out question, Aia replied, “My scans indicate that this, with a high possibility, is your father’s personal laboratory at Staten Island.”

“Wait, what? Why isn’t the computer online then? We have a back-up generator in case of emergencies.” Again, Lucian immediately regretted asking the AI Assistant another rhetorical question.

“I’m sorry Lucian. I don-”

“Yea yea. You don’t know. I get it.” Lucian cut off Aia’s almost standard “I’m sorry Lucian”-response and sighed.

‘Well I guess the only thing I can do is find the door to this lab and figure out what’s happening above’

Using Aia as a weak flashlight to illuminate his surroundings and his other hand as support, Lucian stumbled towards the nearby wall.

After almost falling, when he had to switch support from the cryostasis pod to the nearby table, Lucian arrived at the wall with the light switch.

‘Nope. Not even the light switch works. I wonder what happened with the emergency lights? They’re supposed to work for years without the support of the main power grid. But which way is the exit?’

“Aia, you said that you scanned the lab, right? Can you show me a holographic presentation of it?” Besides wanting a map of the room to find the exit, Lucian thought that there might also be a clue left behind by his father. He hoped that Aia might have picked up on it.

Aia twisted in 360-degree turn and transformed into a holographic room, where Lucian could see his position. He was at the eastern wall and needed to walk a bit north to reach the door.

“Is there anything different in this room, compared to when I went to sleep?”

Shortly after, Aia showed a comparison of the room from before he was put into cryostasis and the present, while she said, “I don’t see any noteworthy difference. It seems like your father hasn’t returned to his lab since you were put into cryostasis. All of his research projects are still here, including his server and work tablet.”

While twirling his hair, Lucian thought, ‘If there’s no power, then I can’t access the main computer or server. It’s also weird that Aia can’t connect outside. So, the only option left is to go upstairs and see what the situation is like’

With a renewed plan of action, he fumbled forwards into the darkness while using the wall as support. Moments later, he arrived at the Federation-standard reinforced security door which split the laboratory from the rest of his house. The only problem was that this was an automatic door, which required voice identification to enter, and should automatically open when you exit – and nothing was happening.

“Shit..” Lucian muttered, while studying the huge door that stood between him and freedom. “Aia, the door won’t open. Can you do anything?”

“There’s an emergency override next to the identification panel in case of fire and power outage,” Aia quickly responded, as if she was waiting for him to ask.

Lucian soon found what Aia was talking about as he studied the frame of the steel door. It was a small latch that had to be opened, where a lever was inside, like fire alarms found in public buildings. He pulled the handle down and with a jerky motion, the door opened a small half meter gap and with it, mountains of dirt rushed into the laboratory, almost burying Lucian alive.

‘What the..?!’

Lucian stumbled backwards and fell on his butt. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The door opening was literally filled with earth.

“H-hey Aia. What’s going on?!” he cried in a slight panic.

“I’m sorry, Lucian. I-”

“Yea. Of course, you don’t know either.” he interrupted, while shaking his head.

The perfunctory reply from Aia gave him some normalcy to hold on to, while his mind was struggling to comprehend the reason why mountains of earth would be piled against the only exit of his father’s laboratory.

‘Well I guess I literally have to dig for freedom. Ha ha, why does it feel more and more like I’m trying to break out of a prison or a tomb?’

His body was still too weak to stand on its own, so he crawled over the initial mound of earth and began pushing the earth away. But as he scraped the earth away from the door opening into the room, more earth fell and replaced what he just removed.

‘Damnit...’ he thought, ‘This feels pointless. Even if I dig for hours, more earth falls down just to replace what I dug out.’

Lucian was in complete darkness, as he had to use both his hands to dig. Therefore, he was forced to feel his way forward as he was digging. The darkness was oppressive and it seemed to swallow everything around him. The only sounds he could hear was the rustling earth that fell down the more he dug. The smell of the moist soil was sickening, and left a moldy taste in his mouth.

‘I’m so exhausted,’ Lucian thought. ‘Is there any point to this?’

The bizarre situation made him feel almost hopeless.

‘No, I can’t give up. I need to find my dad. I need to get out, even if I dig myself to death. If this continues, then this surely will become my tomb.’ With a desperate determination, Lucian continued digging for what he felt like an eternity, while he got more and more drowsy.

Aia showed herself again an indeterminate amount of time later and said, “Lucian, I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

Lucian stopped digging and looked at the glowing orb in the darkness, “This is odd, you barely show yourself without prior query. What is it Aia?”

“I’ve been monitoring your oxygen intake, and my scans show an increase in carbon dioxide and lower oxygen intake.”

Perplexed, Lucian asked, “So? What’s your point?”

“This could indicate that there is no fresh air supply in this room. If this continues, at this rate you’ll first fall unconscious from oxygen starvation, and then you’ll eventually die from suffocation.”

Feeling the grips of panic settling in his mind again, Lucian exclaimed, “What?! Why didn’t you say so earlier? How long do I have?”

“I’m telling you now. I didn’t want to disturb you while you were busy. Moreover, this could be a needless worry – however, without any progress in digging, I feel forced to inform you now.”

Annoyed at his AI’s unneeded and unproductive concern, Lucian didn’t even bother to reply and went back to his task of digging. Though now there was a slight frenzy in his actions.

“Lucian.” Aia, disturbed him once more.

“What?!” Lucian’s mind was becoming increasingly single minded as he stopped to look at the orb again. His thoughts were jumbled together with the announcement of his impending doom of suffocation in the unknown darkness.

“Try to control your breathing,” Aia reminded him. “Hasty actions will only increase your heart rate, making you draw shallow breaths, thus wasting valuable oxygen.”

“Easy for you to say,” Lucian mumbled to himself, while he tried to control his panic. Lucian closed his eyes, and refocused his mind.

Small progress was, however, noticeable. Lucian had excavated almost a meter beyond the door opening, and had dug upwards at a steep angle. But, as he lost the support of the doors, more earth fell down, and at times threatened to bury him alive. At other times, he fell asleep in the hole, that he was digging, due to exhaustion, only to be woken up by Aia shortly after. This process went on for, what seemed like, days.

After a long time in the darkness, only accompanied by the sound of falling earth and stones, Lucian stumbled across a root.

‘God. Finally, something! It feels like I’ve been digging for an eternity. I feel so tired, and I don’t know if it’s because of the lack of oxygen or if it’s the after effects of the stasis.’

Lucian was hungry, thirsty, tired, and aching all over. He was covered in head to toe with dirt, but the end was in sight. He had tunneled almost 5 meters up from the door opening. First, he dug into the ceiling of the stairwell outside of the lab. He then dug around the ceiling, and now came across a root.

‘This must mean I’m close to surface! A few meters more, and then I can have a breath of fresh air,’ he excitedly thought.

With the promising prospects of fresh air, Lucian vigorously dug out earth, displaced it behind him, and then pushed it down the door opening.

However, the longer distance meant his limbs were becoming increasingly numb, and his mind was getting more and more foggy.

He knew this was the oxygen starvation kicking in.

He probably had a few hours left, and he needed to make every second count.

To save time, he abandoned the thought of carrying the earth back down to the opening. Instead, he displaced the earth, which he dug out, down behind him. Yet, this carried a great risk. If there should be a cave in, then he’d be stuck with no way out. It was a gamble.

‘Dig as if your life depends on it. Ironically, my life really does depend on it.’

Lucian stopped worrying about saving oxygen and dug upwards with all his strength. Just as he approached another meter milestone, the earth began to rumble.

He had heard this sound before.

This was the sound of earth giving way.

This was the sound earth caving in above him.

He knew this, because it had happened once before and now, unlike before, he was stuck. The earth that he had displaced behind him blocked his way back.

Lucian gritted his teeth and drew a lung full of air, while he cupped his hands into the perfect digging tools that they now had become. Seconds later, the soil above him began crumbling down, hitting his face with stones and dirt. Not caring, he closed his eyes to avoid getting dirt in his eyes, and like a blind mole, he continued to dig upwards. But the earth had now restricted the movement of his hands and his body. It was like being confined in a crushing coffin. The only option left, was to use his weak legs to push himself upwards, trying to break through the layers of earth by sheer force.

His blood pumped at an unprecedented rate, as Lucian’s sore legs were strained as much as humanly possible. His mind went blank, succumbing to darkness. He couldn’t breathe and his arms were stuck in a forward’s position. However, he refused to give up. He mustered every bit of strength that he could pull from every fiber of his being, and pushed the last bit of energy into his legs with the hope of forcing his way through the soil. Just as he did that, one of his fingers felt the cool sensation of air.

Lucian almost opened his eyes in joy as he thought, ‘This is air!’ but remembered that he was still buried alive.

In order to move the earth above him, Lucian wriggled his wrists. Soon after he was able push his palms towards the ground. Slowly, but surely, his elbows came free from the earth as well. With awkward and erratic movements, he then used his arms above ground to dig earth away from his face.

If anyone was watching this, they’d probably be reminded of the countless zombie flicks, where the zombie crawls out of the ground, with a hand suddenly shooting into the air.

When the last bit of soil was removed from his face, Lucian drew another desperate gasp of air, similar to what he did a few days earlier, when he first woke up. His arms and legs were exhausted, and he quickly succumbed to unconsciousness, while the rest of his body still buried in an upright position.

Hours later, Lucian woke to the feeling of rain dripping on his face. He was still surrounded by darkness; however, this darkness was a different kind of darkness. It was possible to distinguish the trees and forestry around him. His arms still felt like lead was running through them, so he reluctantly began to dig the rest of his body out of the ground. When his last leg was free, he staggered upwards, only to fall over and face plant the ground. Exhilarated from being able to breathe fresh air, Lucian laughed out loud.

Then reality struck him.

‘Where the hell am I? Why am I in the middle of the forest? The laboratory is supposed to be under our house. Where’s my dad?’ Lucian pondered, while he laid on his back gazing at the canopy above him. It was still night, but he could make out the subtleties of the forest and vegetation.

As he struggled to stand up again, he supported himself on the nearby tree. His mind was groggy and his body was unresponsive. With a great deal of effort, he staggered off in a random direction, as he hoped he could learn more about his surroundings.

After walking for about 50 meters, Lucian heard rushing water. Eager and excited by the possibility of quenching his dying thirst, he unsteadily increased his tempo. But just as he was a dozen meters away from the stream, his foot tripped on a root, which made his head kiss the ground for the third time since waking up.

The last thing Lucian saw, before his mind faded to darkness, was the flat rock on the ground, which he brutally knocked his head against.

Click to expand...

Did you mean.. Prologue and Chapter 1?

The premise is interesting and you only had a few technical errors. In regards to your use of medical terminologies, I'll abstain my comments as neuroscience is outside of my personal field. Re-read the section where Aia is explaining the current state of the tumor, most of the grammatical errors were concentrated there.

I'm not a huge fan of post-apocalyptic scenarios, but I'll read your work if you continue. I'll be blunt if I see any qualitative changes that may negatively impact the reader's experience.

Also, why New York? XD

Bugis-san · Nov 3, 2017

I don't read it yet but do you planning to post entire book/novel/fiction here?

Ryve16 · Nov 3, 2017

I printed it then ripped it like you asked

Relhak · Nov 3, 2017

Monkoto said: ↑

Did you mean.. Prologue and Chapter 1?
Click to expand...

Shit - my bad.. Still haven't had my morning coffee Thanks for spotting something stupid on my part.

Monkoto said: ↑

The premise is interesting and you only had a few technical errors. In regards to you use of medical terminologies, I'll abstain my comments as neuroscience is outside of my personal field. Re-read the section where Aia is explaining the current state of the tumor, most of the grammatical errors were concentrated there.

I'm not a huge fan of post-apocalyptic scenarios, but I'll read your work if you continue. I'll be blunt if I see any qualitative changes that may negatively impact the reader's experience.

Also, why New York? XD
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll re-edit that part. I looked up a lot of the terminology - so I think it should be correct. But if there's any neuro surgeon/doctor out there, who'd like to correct me; please do so.

It's not a post-apocalyptic scenario in the traditional sense - so hopefully you'll enjoy it

Relhak · Nov 4, 2017

Bugis-san said: ↑

I don't read it yet but do you planning to post entire book/novel/fiction here?
Click to expand...

I don't know yet.. It depends on how well it's received. My initial plan is to post the first 5 chapters to see what people think.

Relhak · Nov 3, 2017

Ryve16 said: ↑

I printed it then ripped it like you asked
Click to expand...

Awesome! remember to scale down the font size, so we don't waste too many trees.

craz · Nov 3, 2017

I was hesitating whether to read this or not cause of the tradegy tag but glad I read it. For now, so good so far.

Relhak · Nov 3, 2017

craz said: ↑

I was hesitating whether to read this or not cause of the tradegy tag but glad I read it. For now, so good so far.
Click to expand...

Hmm.. Maybe I'll remove it, as the tragedy part isn't scheduled until chapter 15 - which is wayyy into the future.

13th Echelon · Nov 3, 2017

Seems pretty good... Transported into the world of magic? Did he time traveled into the past together with the lab? or the time takes place many years after waking up?

Feedback: Tumor seems to be one of the main focus in the plot for now? I don't think you have to be so much detailed about it unless the science will be kept in the story.

From the part that he was digging using his hands, I was a little skeptical about the time and condition of his body considering he has to dig a few meters with a perimeter of his own body and especially he has to dig upward. But it was mentioned from the last part that it was raining, so maybe the soil was wet and can be easily dug out using only his hands.

Overall it doesn't have to be perfect even with little bits of science because of the genre of the story.

craz · Nov 3, 2017

13th Echelon said: ↑

Seems pretty good... Transported into the world of magic? Did he time traveled into the past together with the lab? or the time takes place many years after waking up?
Click to expand...

I feels like it takes place many years in the future. At least I hope.

Relhak · Nov 4, 2017

Hey, I just updated the synopsis. What do you think?

13th Echelon · Nov 4, 2017

Great chapter but I'm still perplexed where does Aia come from, what is she made of, and how can she still be functional... Is this part of the mystery? Hehe.

Relhak · Nov 4, 2017

13th Echelon said: ↑

Great chapter but I'm still perplexed where does Aia come from, what is she made of, and how can she still be functional... Is this part of the mystery? Hehe.
Click to expand...

Aia is his AI Assistant (AIA), embedded in his hand. Maybe I should make it clearer, what she is, in ch. 1?

13th Echelon · Nov 4, 2017

Relhak said: ↑

Aia is his AI Assistant (AIA), embedded in his hand. Maybe I should make it clearer, what she is, in ch. 1?
Click to expand...

A few details might be good.

UpInTheAir · Nov 5, 2017

Can't wait for the next update !!

Relhak said: ↑

***
Chapter 3
***

When Lucian returned to the campsite, he noticed that the bivouacs had all been packed into leather backpacks. Alestair was talking to Celene in the middle of the camp clearing amongst the rucksacks.

As he approached the pair, they both spared him a quick glance, before Alestair continued to give Celene some instructions. The man then gave her a cloth sack, she nodded briefly as she took it into her hands.

Alestair then called Éisgamh over and unfolded piece of tanned skin from his breast pocket. It seemed like they were about to discuss something based on the piece of leather.

Curious about what they were looking at, Lucian tried to approach, but was stopped halfway by a beaming Celene. She then grabbed his arm and dragged him away, before he could register what had happened. Lucian was, however, able to catch a glimpse of the tanned skin. It appeared to be a map.

‘What’s going on now? More importantly, even though I didn’t get a good look. I didn’t recognize the geography or any of the landmarks on that map. Am I in a new world of some kind?’ Lucian pondered, while he was “willingly” dragged away by Celene.

About ten paces from the camp, Celene finally stopped and let go of his arm.

She spun on her heel and with a small smirk, she said, “Tusjq.”

Rubbing his wrists, Lucian was lost in thoughts, ‘Damn, she’s got a grip strength like a vice. If I’m in a new world, then that would maybe explain the weird lights I saw earlier.’

He didn’t pay any attention to Celene, or that she had taken hold of his clothes. However, he was abruptly brought back to reality when he noticed his pajamas top came off over his head. Before he could muster a complaint, Celene took ahold of his trousers and pulled downwards.

“Hey, hey, HEY!” Lucian shouted. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Bright red like a tomato and with pants around his ankles, Lucian covered his private parts with his hands and yelled at the top of his lungs.

Celene spared a brief glance at the covered crotch and chuckled to herself.

“Mjuumf cpz,” she said in a seductive tone and licked her lips, “zpv’sf xbz upp zpvoh gps nf, boe zpv epo’u ibwf bozuijoh J ibwfo’u tffo cfgpsf. Boe uibu mjuumf xpsn uibu zpv ibwf uifsf, jt pg op joufsftu up nf.”

Then she grabbed her nose and tossed a piece of cloth in Lucian’s face, “Opx, zpv tnfmm. Xbti zpvstfmg jo uif gsfti xbufs tusfbn xjui uif dmpui pwfs uifsf.”

Seeming to catch a glimpse of pity in her eyes when she looked at his crotch and understanding the words “xpsn” for worm and “xbufs” for water, Lucian was stooped.

He had never felt such humiliation or agitation before! Sure, he might not be a grown man, but he was a man nonetheless. His manhood might be a small worm, but that was only for now. At least, that was what he tried to reassure himself of, as he felt like a deflated balloon.

Lucian dejectedly grabbed the towel from the top of his head with his spare hand, while the other continued to defend his last shred of dignity. Glancing over to the water stream, which Celene pointed at, along with the “holding nose”-gesture, Lucian easily understood that she wanted him to wash himself.

He turned around with heavy footsteps and trod towards the stream in his birthday suit.

Looking at the crestfallen boy, Celene piteously shook her head and mused whether she had taken it too far. Her one arm crossed her slender waist and the other arm’s index finger tapped her lips, as she was deep in contemplation.

With a sudden flash of inspiration, like a eureka moment, she thought of an idea of how to make amends.

Her lips curled in anticipation as she tiptoed up behind the boy, who had bent over to soak the cloth in the icy stream.

Her moist breath tickled the boy’s ear as she playfully whispered, “Cvu epo’u xpssz bcpvu ju, dpnf gjoe nf jo ufo zfbst,” and lightly slapped his ass.

However, the “friendly” action betrayed Celene’s expectations. The boy, who had tried to put the soul scarring incident behind him by focusing all his attention on washing himself, had no inkling of someone sneaking up behind him. Furthermore, the person who snuck up on him, was an expert assassin with highly trained stealth skills. As such, the small boy stood no chance in detecting the woman with sinister ass-slapping-motives.

The sudden assault, combined with the act of someone unknown whispering in his ear, was destined to result in scaring Lucian witless.

With a startle, Lucian reflexively jumped forward, head first into the stream. Utterly convinced that the grim reaper had come for him. As he landed himself, face first with his butt pointed skywards in the middle of the freezing waters, he nearly knocked himself out for the fourth time since waking up in a strange new world.

Celene, who had never expected such a reaction, first stood dumbfounded before breaking down into tears of laughter.

After wiping her eyes, she walked over and helped Lucian out of the stream. Grudgingly, Lucian got back up with her help, but continued to stare daggers in her general direction. If looks could kill, Celene would have been dead a thousand times over.

Ten freezing minutes later, Lucian managed to clean himself up again. His pale white skin stood contrasting to his grey-blue eyes, complimenting his medium length black hair, which also carried a hint of blue. When Celene saw him steadily step out of the stream, without the previous embarrassment, she felt a small blush creeping up.

‘This boy... He’s going to be a lady-killer someday,’ she impishly thought, and handed him the cloth sack she had received from Alestair.

The sack was filled with clothes and boots for Lucian. The clothes, which were grossly oversized for him, even after rolling up the sleeves and trousers, didn’t deduct from his natural elegance.

When the pair returned to the campground, Lucian saw that the others all wore leather armor over their woolen clothes. Alestair carried a sheathed longsword at his side and a leather rucksack on his back. Barrett had an arming sword, and on the back of his rucksack was a leather-bound wooden round-shield. Emerick wore light-brown leather armor for increased mobility, while his bow and quivers were worn over each shoulder next to his rucksack. Éisgamh carried a smaller pouch-style rucksack on his back, and had a small axe and pistol crossbow on his side. Celene trotted over to her rucksack, swung it over her shoulders, and gave a small thumbs-up to Alestair when she was ready to go.

Alestair called Lucian over and gave him a small leather pouch filled with water. He then ruffled Lucian’s hair and said, “Mfu’t hp.”

The group composition consisted of Éisgamh, who scouted the front, followed by Alestair and Lucian, then by Emerick and Celene. Barrett was last, as he guarded the rear.

Dazingly, Lucian followed the best he could, while observing the strange new fauna and the well-disciplined group, which advanced through the woods.

He sometimes heard sounds of crashing waves, which made him assume that the group must be following a beach nearby. Occasionally, Alestair would stop and Éisgamh would scout ahead, only to run back shortly after. Depending on whether Éisgamh nodded or shook his head, the group would either continue or detour. It was unavoidable to notice the tense atmosphere as they silently walked amongst the trees. Even Celene refrained from playing pranks on Emerick, and was attentively observing the vicinity around her with squinted eyes.

It was during the small breaks, when Éisgamh scouted ahead, that gave Lucian a small chance to regain his breath. His legs were becoming numb like jelly and he found it harder to keep the pace due to the weakness from atrophy. However, every time they stopped to wait for Eis, Alestair would check up on Lucian with a small friendly gesture, like a pat on the back or ruffling of his hair. Lucian knew that he did this to keep nervousness at bay, but what they were so anxious about, was something he couldn’t yet grasp.

After walking for a few hours, Lucian’s weak legs couldn’t handle anymore. Seeming to notice Lucian’s precarious state, Alestair called the group together.

“Éisgamh, tdpvu uif qfsjnfufs boe tff jg zpv dbo gjoe tpnf gsfti xbufs. Barrett tuboe gjstu xbudi. Emerick, zpv’sf bgufs Barrett.” Alestair talked in a hushed voice, glancing at each team member. It looked like he was delegating tasks.

As soon as the group split up, Lucian collapsed on the ground. His clothes were soaked with sweat. Even though it was late spring and the air was chilly, his body burned like a furnace.

Celene sauntered over to Lucian, her violet hair danced in the spring breeze. As she plonked down next to Lucian, she handed him something that seemed like a cracker.

Lucian raised himself back up from his prone position, took the cracker, and snorted, “Thanks.”

‘Hmph,’ Lucian scoffed inwardly and scowled at the purple-haired mischief demon, ’do you expect me to forgive you with a lousy peace offering like that?’

He still hadn’t forgotten the mental blow he received from the earlier harassment. The barely adolescent kid was sure something like that would haunt him forever.

Celene curled the edges of her lips, as if she knew that he was still upset with her previous stunt. She could only try to make amends a single step at a time. This was why she wanted to spend some time getting to know this mysterious boy.

Abruptly, she said, “Ju’t ‘uibolt’,” and gazed at the green light shimmering through the canopy.

“Huh?” Lucian turned his attention away from the dry cracker and looked at Celene.

“Thanks,” Celene repeated what he said earlier, and then said, “uibolt.”

Lucian parroted the word, while he observed the beautiful woman next to him.

She had a big sister kind of vibe around her, when she sat next to him like this, trying to reassure him.

‘Is this what Emilia felt like, when I sat with her?’ Lucian despondently thought. He felt the grips of despair clutch his heart again, and with it, silent tears formed in his eyes.

Baffled by the sudden waterworks, Celene became flustered, thinking she had done something wrong. However, she noticed that the kid wasn’t turning away from her, but dejectedly sat with his arms around his knees, burying his head in his arms. As she gave herself a wry smile, she put an arm around Lucian and pulled him closer into a small embrace.

***

Sitting across from the pair with his back against the tree, Alestair observed the minute reactions of the unknown kid.

‘Looks like he has been through some stuff. I wonder if it was intentional that he was left out here, if so, why and for what purpose?’

A few minutes later, Éisgamh returned to the group carrying two water skins. He handed one to Alestair, and sat down next to him.

“Eis, what do you think of the kid?” Alestair glanced sideways at Éisgamh.

Éisgamh thought for a while before replying, “… Looks lost… Has secrets.”.

Alestair turned his attention back to Celene and Lucian. Lucian had stopped crying and nibbled at the cracker.

“Any ideas how a boy like him, could wind up all the way out here?”

Éisgamh closed his eyes, “… Don’t know. He’s incomprehensible. Earlier, felt powerful mana undulations. Also, he talked to someone earlier.”

Alestair widened his eyes in shock, “Mana undulations? Are you sure? A kid that young? He looks barely ten years old!”

Éisgamh shrugged his shoulders, and didn’t bother to respond. Alestair fell into a contemplative mood, as he mulled over the mindboggling revelations.

A little while later, he asked another question, “So, what about his language? I’ve never heard anything like it before. Do you have any idea about where he’s from?”

This time, Éisgamh opened his eyes again and looked back at Alestair, “Don’t know. Also, mystery… I Think, I read document that sounded like him. But, can’t remember.”

Both men looked back at the pair sitting across from them, observing what could be the enigma of the century. Lucian appeared to have recovered and had eaten his cracker. He was taking a sip of water from the leather sack, which Éisgamh had tossed to Celene. Abruptly, Lucian stood up, dusted off his trousers, and walked over to Alestair.

***

Lucian observed the two men, who gawked at him, as if he was an alien. Well, that’s not true, only Alestair looked at Lucian like that. Éisgamh eyes were closed as he ignored everything and everyone around him, like usual.

Lucian wanted to go to the toilet, so he could get a status update from Aia without anyone noticing. He had a gut feeling that it wouldn’t be a good idea to reveal the existence of Aia. Especially when he considered that everyone around wore woolen clothes, had sharp weapons, and didn’t appear to have an AI Assistant themselves.

Earlier, when they hiked through the forest, Lucian carefully deliberated his situation and the facts that he was presented with.

‘Everyone are speaking a strange language, wearing primitive clothes and armor, and then there’s the cold weapons that they are carrying. I don’t recognize any landscape around me, or the map from earlier. Finally, there’s the strange light that I saw,’ Lucian thought and twirled his hair.

‘I can only think of two options. Option one; I’m participating in some elaborate hoax. But who would do such a thing to a respected scientist’s son? That would risk making enemies with The Federation. Furthermore, this wouldn’t explain the strange phenomena that I saw earlier. Then there’s the inexplicable fact that Aia has been out of signal coverage ever since I woke up. This shouldn’t be possible ever since The Federation implemented their extensive plans of global AI Assistant signal coverage. I even heard stories that they could reach 50 meters below ground.’

The more Lucian thought about his situation, the more bizarre it felt to him. But being the son of a scientist, he methodologically considered each presented clue.

‘But option two, is even more ludicrous. However, nothing else explains the things that I’m experiencing. Somehow, when I was sleeping, my father’s entire underground laboratory was transported into another world or dimension. And this new world appears to still be in, what resembles, twelfth-century Europe.’

Lucian massaged his temples as his mind developed crazy theories.

’This is nuts!’ Lucian retorted inwardly. ‘Why does this resemble something out of my little sister’s fantasy novels?’

Lucian took a deep breath and calmed his mind again.

‘Okay, next I should run my hypothesis by Aia and see what she says. Moreover, I also need an update on the language translation. But, if this truly is a strange new world, then I need to be careful.’

‘The way these guys are cautiously moving about, it doesn’t seem to paint a pretty picture,’ Lucian remarked, when he studied the strangers around him. ’I can’t take any chances and get separated from them, but neither must they learn of Aia’s existence, because that could lead to unnecessary trouble. As Clarke used to say, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” and I don’t have any plans on getting burnt at the stake. It’s better to use the excuse of going to the toilet, and use the privacy there to interact with Aia.’

Lucian stood in front of Alestair and Éisgamh, and pondered, ‘Hmm… Now, how do I ask this in a way that they understand?’

A moment later, Lucian awkwardly pointed at his crotch, hoping that they would catch the hint. Alestair’s forehead creased.

Lucian then crossed his legs and jumped around on the spot, like a crossdresser performing crazy dance moves.

‘Damnit, get a hint. I really don’t know how else to mime, “I need a toilet.”’ Lucian grumbled to himself.

***

Raising a single eyebrow, Alestair watched Lucian, wondering what this weird kid was up to now. He then peeked to his left to see how his trusty elven friend would deal with this. Unfortunately, Éisgamh was busy ignoring everyone around him. Alestair then turned to Celene, who covered her mouth, trying to contain her laughter at the ridiculous sight. Alestair looked back at Lucian with a frown, deeply scrutinizing the profound meaning of this cross-legged jumping dance.

With a bellowed laughter Barrett stepped in from the side, “Ha! The kid wants to go to the toilet. He’s crossing his legs like a girl. Maybe he’s shy.”

Like a lightbulb going off on top of his head, Alestair struck his open palm with his fist.

“So that’s what it was! Barrett, do you wanna’ take the kid out to a place where he can do his private business in peace?”

Roaring with laughter, the bald bear walked over to Lucian, who stopped jumping, put an arm around him, and guided him out of sight from the rest.

“All right, lil’ one, you can go take your dump here.” The bald bear said, his bushy eyebrows danced on his forehead. Lucian looked at the spot Barrett pointed at, and understood what he meant. Barrett retreated a few steps and turned his back, so Lucian could have a sense of privacy.

***

Out of sight from prying eyes, Lucian held up his left palm, swiped his finger over his wrist and turned Aia on in manual input mode. The small orb transformed into a screen, which hovered in his palm.

As Lucian studied the words that Aia had deducted from analyzing the new language, she also gave him a verbal status update via the bone-conducting headphones.

“I’m compiling a dictionary from the words learnt, and based on this, I’m deducing other words. By correlating often mentioned words and analyzing their positions in their sentences, it’s possible to infer basic grammatical rules and the meanings of the individual words and sentences.”

When he had committed the new words to memory, Lucian then established two new tasks for Aia. First, she would translate everything through his bone-conducting headphones. Even though he wouldn’t be able to communicate, he would at least be able to understand, to some degree, what was said around him. Secondly, she would teach him new words and their meanings whenever Lucian was unoccupied. Hopefully, he would soon have a grasp of this strange language.

He then started a new simulation task to test his hypothesis. He wanted to see if Aia would arrive at the same conclusion as him.

Immediately after, Aia responded, “This simulation will take a substantial amount of resources. Current estimated time for completion cannot be calculated due to the number of variables. Do you wish to proceed?”

Lucian spared it a moment’s thought before choosing, “Yes.”

He needed to be sure, even if the simulation took a decade. If Aia could confirm or refute his theory, then this could give Lucian some clarity of his situation, and enable him to plan his next steps.

When Lucian was done with the interaction, he then put down his hand and pulled up his pants. When he turned around, he saw Barrett standing a few steps behind him.

“You done?” Barrett asked.

A split-second later, Lucian heard Barrett’s emulated voice, made by Aia. Lucian gave him a small nod, and followed Barrett back to the others.

Slightly shocked by receiving a response from Lucian, Barrett furrowed his bushy eyebrows, ‘Hmm? I thought he didn’t understand us? Maybe it was just my imagination.’

Thanks for reading!

As always, please fill out the survey for this chapter. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated.
Lastly, I apologize for any grammatical errors. This chapter hasn't been through an editor.

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Click to expand...

13th Echelon · Nov 6, 2017

When is the update of chap 4?

Relhak · Nov 6, 2017

13th Echelon said: ↑

When is the update of chap 4?
Click to expand...

Sorry for the delay, had university stuff to do

UpInTheAir · Nov 7, 2017

When will they find out Lucian isn't from this time period?

Relhak · Nov 7, 2017

@UpInTheAir have you got any good suggestion for what I should call the novel?

Log in

Novel Hi, please rip my novel to shreds!

What should it be called?

Nox Preaco

The Night Herald

Magus of the Night

Nox Magus

Something else (write your suggestion in the comments)

Relhak Well-Known Member

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Ryve16 Working Hard and Hardly Working

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craz Peach Manic

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13th Echelon Piping Hot Member

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13th Echelon Piping Hot Member

Relhak Well-Known Member

UpInTheAir Well-Known Member

Relhak Well-Known Member

Log in

Novel Hi, please rip my novel to shreds!

What should it be called?

Nox Preaco

The Night Herald

Magus of the Night

Nox Magus

Something else (write your suggestion in the comments)

Relhak Well-Known Member

Monkoto Well-Known Member

Bugis-san Well-Known Member

Ryve16 Working Hard and Hardly Working

Relhak Well-Known Member

Relhak Well-Known Member

Relhak Well-Known Member

craz Peach Manic

Relhak Well-Known Member

13th Echelon Piping Hot Member

craz Peach Manic

Relhak Well-Known Member

13th Echelon Piping Hot Member

Relhak Well-Known Member

13th Echelon Piping Hot Member

UpInTheAir Well-Known Member

13th Echelon Piping Hot Member

Relhak Well-Known Member

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