The Eldrim Cards

Having seen some other doors which couldn’t be opened, or could only be opened at specific times, Nero assumed that the Administrator door was also like that. When he tried to open the door, and it actually opened, he was surprised, but he didn’t pause, or stop.

He was not worrying about his appearance being revealed. In the room which recorded his details, there was a mirror which showed that all his features were blurred.

In fact, there was also an option to use merits to change even the other details about how he appeared, meaning that he could make himself appear taller, shorter, fatter, or even change his gender. Considering that all these changes would only be limited to the illusory realm of the Unity Network, most of it seemed like Nero to be a great waste of merit, but he supposed there were some advantages to it.

As long as one did not intend to meet in person, or through dreams like Flintlock, changing the appearance of the alias avatar might better help his identity. Nero made up his mind to alter his physique when he had merits to make him appear more like one would expect from a scholar.

The point, for now, was that Nero was not afraid of appearing in front of anyone, so he opened the door without worry.

It led to a cozy office, filled with wooden cabinets, rugs, a fireplace and countless stacks of files and papers. Behind a massive, rectangular wooden table, which sat right in the center of the room, sat someone studying something.

His appearance - not that such things mattered in the Unity Network - was not one that Nero would have expected upon thinking of an administrator. He was wearing a full sleeve, white linen shirt with a grey, tweed blazer. Black gloves covered his hands, a scarf hid his neck, and a mask and goggles hid his face and eyes, revealing not a speck of skin. A bowler hat ensured that even his hair was not visible.

When Nero entered, the Administrator seemed to be reading through some kind of ledger, and hadn’t noticed Nero’s arrival at all.

Taking advantage of that, Nero took his time looking around the room. The shelves contained endless files and books, but also decorations. There was an old, silver monoscope placed in front of a stack of books that probably wouldn’t be getting much use, and an old, wooden smokers pipe in front of another stack.

There were marble sculptures of soldiers, and replicas of weapons. There were paintings of cities, and old maps recorded on some kind of leather. In one corner of the room, Nero noticed a grandfather clock that wasn’t working, and in another he saw a flute. The room was completely filled, yet it was not messy. Everything was arranged perfectly, giving the office a very homely, and even lived-in feeling.

Besides that, Nero was impressed with the amount of knowledge that was packed into this room. The books were not mere decorations, for he could read their names on their spines. Encyclopedias on various topics, historical records, books on philosophy, psychology, literature and so many more filled the room, giving one the impression that the Administrator spent all his time reading.

Eventually, once Nero took everything in, he knocked on the door, finally attracting the Administrators attention.

"Ah, pardon my manners," the Administrator said, closing the book with a relaxed hand and standing up. "I was engrossed in my work and didn’t notice your arrival. Please, come in."

The Administrator actually moved from behind the desk, revealing thick, brown boots and pants matching his blazer. The man came up and firmly shook Nero’s hand before welcoming him to sit on a sofa that seemed to materialise out of thin air.

"Not at all. Please excuse me for arriving without prior notification," Nero responded, talking in a soft and relaxed voice. Since he was going to create a divide between himself and his alias, then even their talking habits and styles would be different.

"Nonsense, my door is always open, there is no notification needed," the Administrator said as he took a seat opposite to Nero. "I don’t get many guests so I often even forget that members can come in here. It’s usually just new members, like yourself I’m imagining."