Side Chapter Espoiramissa 2: Dealing with a Pnet

  (“ I’m Espoiramissa ”)

  …

  “Ah fuck, this can’t be good…” Ceel swore and weighed her current options.

  She stood there in the cave all alone. Dirty, covered in dust and scarred all over. Burn marks covered her arms while a nasty scar ran down from her left cheek to the front of her neck. Her short hair was a little messy, mostly due to not having a proper comb and parts of just been cut off when they grew too long. She wore clothes of low-quality armour made of the pelts of tough-hided monsters and multiple space suit uniforms she stitched together. She had managed to scavenge them from the ship all those years ago and kept using them due to their resistant properties.

  Ceel certainly wasn’t in a good mood. This situation was already ticking off multiple of her ‘I don’t want to deal with this’ boxes.

  Being underground – Check.

  Human voices – Check.

  Low on Starlight – Check.

  Unable to sense her enemy – Check.

  Already not looking great, however, this thing also knew her name, which was new but still very bad. So she added that to the list.

  Knows name – Check.

  Now this wasn’t the first time she heard a human-like voice in this world. However, those other times the voices were pulled from her memories and designed to trap and snare her. Those monsters nearly got her killed numerous times but she learned how to deal with them, creating multiple to counter them.

  However, there was a clear difference between whatever she was facing now and what she had faced before.

  Those previous experiences that attacked and preyed on her memories, could best be described as automatic. The monster wasn’t choosing what memories to abuse, it just happened. The voices as well were always either someone she knew or a mix of voices blended together.

  This time was different. Which put Ceel more on edge.

  Name: Ceel Stel | Race: [Human] Level 264 | AwakenedMana: 40% Starlight: 25%

  Being low on resources didn’t help.

  The voice spoke again.

  (“ Does my name not ring any bells for you?”)

  Ceel didn’t reply.

  (“ You are allowed to speak, I didn’t bring you here just to be silent ”)

  Espoiramissa's confession just made Ceel more on alert, but it did work in making Ceel decide to communicate.

  “No, I can’t say it does.”

  (“ Well maybe this works better, as you humans have belled me, Pnet [0F-9875], Dungeon Pnet Esporimissa ”)

  This caused Ceel to shake.

  She didn’t know what was going on. She knew Dungeon Pnets had proper names, she didn’t know where those names came from but she definitely didn’t expect one of those names to be the Dungeon Pnets' actual name. Well, the problem stemmed even before just the names, the fact that a Dungeon Pnet was talking was enough of a point of concern.

  (“ I did have to get some help to ensure my actual name was in the human database, didn’t want to be falsely belled as a simple number… Well who am I kidding, I never cared what humans think, I just wanted to have some fun learning how humanity had developed ”)

  Is it talking to me or itself…?

  (“ Don’t worry, I’m simply just messing with you ”)

  “Then could you please stop and get to the reason why you brought me here.”

  Looking back on these events, if Espoiramissa could smile, Ceel was sure it would be right now.

  (“ I can help you get off this pnet ”)

  “!”

  The bait had been set. Ceel knew that the best, but all she could was listen to what Espoiramissa was saying. She wanted to run, but the chance this was her only opportunity to escape was too great.

  (“ Don’t you want to get back home to your family, and get revenge on those who wronged you?”)

  Ceel shuffled back, readying the mana in her feat for a potential [Burst], “Reading my mind?”

  (“ You do talk to yourself a lot you know. I understand that has helped you maintain your sanity, but I have always been listening. I am the pnet after all ”)

  So many thoughts were filling Ceel’s mind. Good and bad. There were so many things Ceel wanted to do. So many people she wanted to kill.

  Family to meet. Enemies to crush.

  Happiness to be obtained. Revenge to be cimed.

  The st four years had been rough, nearly dying too many times to count but she kept moving on. The things that kept her going were a combination of hate towards her aggressors, love for her family, and a strong desire to not die.

  Memories of her entire time here, on the pnet she now knew as Espoiramissa, fshed through her mind.

  After she survived the crash, she hoped someone else might’ve as well but everybody she found was crushed. Most of them were completely unrecognisable, she didn’t even know if everyone’s body even nded here or if they froze away in the depths of space.

  She just tried to survive. Learning the hard way the dangers of the pnet. While she eventually had found her pce and way to survive here there were still too many things she needed to accomplish.

  Ceel asked, “...What’s the price?”

  (“ Hahahhaa, I do like you a lot. Of course, there is a price! ”)

  Ceel replied, “...Then what is it, I don’t have much I can give?”

  (“ Well, in truth, I want, you ”)

  Ceel froze for a moment and tried to stay calm, “Well I can’t say I really can accept that, especially when my wants are the complete opposite of that.”

  (“ Of course, but you have NO WAY to get off my surface without my assistance ”)

  …

  Ceel had to believe Espoiramissa. She didn’t want to but she did have to. Not once had she ever seen a ship even near the pnet let alone touch the surface. Ceel knew where she nded was a complete Dungeon Pnet, that part was obvious, and because of that, she knew people would never come here without reason. Not to mention now that she knew Espoiramissa wanted her, they could foil attempts of escape if a ship did come close.

  Ceel asked, “So what is it you suggest then?”

  (“ The deal will work like this, I will grant you a power that you can use willingly which will make up for the physical weaknesses you have mented. By using the further depths of this power you will slowly belong more to me. As well, of course, I will provide you with an exit off this pnet ”)

  It really is everything… Still, there are a few more details I need to ask about.

  If she was ever going to feel like a character in a fairy tale who gets tricked by a deal that seemed too good to be true, Ceel felt this was it.

  Ceel understood every part of the deal. She had read plenty of contracts during her job.

  The fact that the part of the contract that would damn Ceel’s life to servitude was based on Ceel’s use of Espoiramissa’s power instead of some arbitrary condition or time limit provided a way that made it feel Ceel was the one in control, even if that wasn’t the truth.

  The fact it did provide power was also extremely incentive. In truth, Ceel knew she needed more power if she wanted to fight Dominous Hood. Not that her current strength was bad, not at all, her wide area of destruction brought fear to many monsters that remembered her presence.

  While her physical strength wasn’t bad as she worked out constantly and trained to enhance her body with mana, she knew she had reached the limit with that method and with no physical enhancement skills she understood she wouldn’t be able to develop that skill set much further. It was a great concern to Ceel, as she had learned many times being grabbed once with her strength could easily mean game over.

  The deal wasn’t bad. It offered Ceel what she needed, most importantly a way to get off this rock.

  No matter what, Ceel now knew no matter what deal would be made between them. It would have some way of making Ceel belong to Espoiramissa. In the end in Ceel’s mind, the strength was only there to grant Ceel the most fair way to lose the freedom in her life.

  Ceel could only sigh, “You have thought about this for a long time…”

  Ceel knew she didn’t have much she could offer to make this deal more favourable for her. She literally had nothing she could offer. Maybe levels? But she doubted a fully formed Dungeon Pnet would need her levels.

  (“ Thank yourself for that, you have made yourself quite the catch ”)

  Ceel didn’t know what made it so Espoiramissa wanted her so much. So she just decided to take the compliment.

  They spent the next hour talking about the finer details of the deal. What was in it for Ceel, how the ‘usage’ would be tracked, and what it meant to belong to Espoiramissa. Once all that was done Ceel still agreed. This was likely her only chance to get off this pnet within the next at least a hundred years.

  (“ Time to make this contract truly binding, Ceel Stel, along with your wishes I grant the name Celestira Luxpoir. A name to symbolise the start of your new life, family and connection to me ”)

  Ceel spat, “You wish.”

  (“ That I do. Now do you accept? ”)

  “Yes.” That was all that Ceel needed to say, she didn’t like the added name part but arguing about that did nothing. Espoiramissa was sticking to that part of the deal in their discussion.

  She knew this was basically a one-way sentence to servitude, but it gave her a chance, no matter how unlikely the potential for success was. She wanted to take it.

  Then Ceel colpsed onto her knee as she felt sick and she could feel something entering, attaching to her soul.

  Argh!

  Name: Ceel Stel (Celestira Luxpoir) | Race: [Human]Level 264 | AwakenedMana: 40% Starlight: 25%Vocation: [Stargazer]Skills:- Bzing Sor (V | IV)- Starlight (V)- Gazing Upon The Stars- Disruptive Starlight- Star Mapping- Sleepless Nights- Fortified Stomach- Quiet StepBonded- Primal Guardian Lord [Lv 0]- Unleashed Awakening

  Ceel just looked at her Soul Page and ughed, “Well, time to make the best of what time I got.”

  (“ You understand you are going to lose? ”)

  Ceel slowly stood back up, “No, I just need to get a headstart before my ride gets here.” Ignoring the pain, she felt her muscles pulse and vibrate as they were being reformed into something stronger.

  She had to admit even the lower level of strength she just received was addicting. Some of her minor wounds healed but most were too old to disappear which Ceel didn’t care about anyway.

  So that was the end of Ceel’s and Espoiramissa’s first meeting. The first of many to come.

  Bobple