Chapter 124: Spar
In a room with no discernible features, two individuals were present. One, a man with neatly combed silver hair, sat behind a large, dark desk. He wore a pristine white suit and steepled his fingers, his expression calm. The other, a woman with long, chaotic black hair and a black dress, paced back and forth in front of him.
"The initial stress tests are showing remarkable results," the man said, his gaze fixed on a floating blue screen. "The anomaly designated ’Nox’ has exceeded all projections. His integration with the Seed of Corruption was a one-in-a-billion outcome."
The woman stopped pacing and turned to him, a wild, excited smile on her face. "Projections? Data? You are so boring, Administrator. Did you not see it? He is a beautiful little monster! He devoured that mercenary’s soul without even flinching! It was magnificent!"
’Her enthusiasm is... unseemly. But her results are undeniable.’ The Administrator maintained his placid expression. "His actions were reckless and emotionally driven. He has created a political entanglement with the Ashen Elves and a vendetta with the entity known as Gorok. It is an inefficient path."
"Inefficient? It is perfect! Chaos is the best catalyst for growth!" She leaned over his desk, her face close to his. "You want clean, predictable data. I want to see what happens when you pour gasoline on a fire. And our little Nox is a walking bonfire."
’She is a necessary evil. Her methods are crude, but they accelerate the primary objective.’ The Administrator did not lean back. He simply met her intense gaze. "The tutorial phase is almost complete. The influx of new ’players’ from the primary server is scheduled to begin soon. His current power level will be insufficient to survive the opening ceremony."
"Oh, I know," she said, her smile widening. "That is the best part! We throw him in with the real sharks and see if he learns to bite harder. Or if he gets eaten. Either way, it will be a wonderful show."
The Administrator swiped a finger across his blue screen, dismissing it. "See that you do not interfere directly, Coordinator. Your last ’unsanctioned experiment’ nearly destabilized the entire Western Sector."
"You worry too much," she said, waving a hand dismissively as she began pacing again. "My little nudges just make things more interesting. Besides, the real game is about to begin. The age of gods and monsters is over. It is time for the age of players."
The Administrator watched her, his face a mask of calm calculation. ’She sees this as entertainment. She does not grasp the true stakes.’ He already had several contingency plans in place for her inevitable overreach. ’The Anomaly is a valuable asset. I will not allow her to break my new toy before I have finished studying it.’
He looked down at his empty desk, a new screen appearing in his vision. It was a complex chart of power levels, probabilities, and potential outcomes. One data point, labeled ’Nox,’ was blinking with a bright, chaotic red light, an outlier that was throwing off all his predictions.
For the first time that day, the corner of his mouth twitched upward into the smallest of smiles. ’Yes. Most interesting, indeed.’