Arthur stared at the Accord screen, his new armor and blade still summoned and hanging from his hip. Looking at the screen, he belatedly realized that his sight was completely unaffected by his helm, even his peripheries. That wasn’t what he was concerned with, however, as the Accord made all in lowercase was the center of his attention. It was clearly their benefactor from the dungeon, but Arthur was confused as to why or how they were able to send him an Accord offer.

  

  Accord: Agreements between gods/demigods and mundane beings of the System. It is an agreement for all parties involved to work together to gain certain goals, be it publicity, broadcasting services, or more.

  He’d saw this explaination come up when he’d initially focused on the “Accords” part of his Identity Screen. This would mean that their helper was either a god or a demigod. Arthur gulped, and accepted the prompt. He didn’t even look at the other offers.

  

  Accord accepted!

  Connection established

  As Arthur got this screen, he felt a buzzing from his temples. Instinctively, he understood that this was his new Accord partner contacting him, and he accepted it with little pause. “Hel-”

  “Before we go any further,” a voice coming from the other end cut him off, “what is the name of your class?”

  Arthur answered warily. “Its… Audacity Knight.” He knew that he would need to keep his identity at least as secretive as he could. If this was their benefactor from the dungeon, however, he would already know who he was. He’d thought they’d already known about his class, but it was possible they’d wanted to confirm it. There was a long moment of silence as neither side spoke. He could hear the creak of a chair as the person on the other end leaned back.

  “Do you have the True Heart of Devotion passive skill?” He asked next.

  “Before I answer that, it’s my turn.” Arthur countered, his voice still modulated through his helm. “Are you the one who helped us in the dungeon?” Another short silence ensued before the voice on the opposite end answered. “Yes, and my name is Gordeau. Now, Lindow… do you have the True Heart of Devotion passive?” He asked, a bit more forcefully this time. After gaining that confirmation, Arthur didn’t feel the need to obscure anything any longer. “Yes. I gained it before I got my class.” He explained. “If you don’t mind, I have some questions about… everything.” He said, eager now that he could finally speak to someone who might know what was happening. Gordeau sighed. “Alright, I’ll answer your questions… if you agree to my terms.” He said. “Right now, our Accord is in a sort of ‘larval’ state. For it to take full effect, we need to lay out the terms of our agreement. That’s why the System connected us right off the bat.”

  Arthur nodded along, glad to see that the person on the other end of the line did indeed understand the System. “What are your terms, then?”

  “My first clause,” Gordeau said. “is that you’re to assist during The Quine. Meaning, you’re to assist to the best of your ability through all the waves. This shouldn’t be too stringent a requirement for you.” Arthur continued listening, but bit onto something he said. “The Quine?”

  “I’ll explain it to you later. For now, just know that it means you will be saving lives. Do you agree to the first clause?” Arthur was hesitant to agree to something he didn’t know the details of, but did anyway. Partly because of what he’d said about saving lives, but also because Arthur couldn’t afford to let this opportunity to gain information pass. Gordeau was clearly some kind of higher being and knew things he’d never be able to learn otherwise. He could accept one of the other Accords offered to him, but he knew for a fact that Gordeau had helped him before. Not only that, but Gordeau already knew about him and his abilities. If he accepted an Accord from another being, he would run the twin risks of leaked information and clashing interests. Both were also a risk with Gordeau, but being that he already knew, he could at least solve that with a clause of his own. Not only that, but if he rejected him to search for another Accord, he would leave Gordeau to do as he pleased with this knowledge and no strings. That was simply too risky and was the biggest reason Arthur agreed to the mysterious first clause.

  “Good. The second clause is that I am allowed to publicize and/or broadcast you and your endeavors to my discretion. This will be in effect for the entirety of our Accord, with all your rights reserved. You will gain a cut of any Credits I make with your name and image, as well. Do you agree to the second clause?” Arthur cringed. “All of that is fine… except for publication. I don’t mind being broadcasted, but please keep it to when I have my helmet on.” Arthur was unsure what he meant by broadcasting or publicizing exactly, but assumed it was similar to livestreaming. Who he’d be broadcasting to was still a question, but he would hold his questions for later. After a bit of silence, Gordeau answered.

  “I can accommodate only broadcasting when you have your armor on, but only if you can accommodate being publicized. I will offer to keep it to your armored image only as well, but you will need to be wearing the same thing to ensure people know it’s you. I’ll also offer to keep publicity to a minimum until such a time that we can agree to new terms. Is this acceptable?” Arthur nodded. “Okay. What’s your third clause?”

  “That I’ll be your only administrative agent. You aren’t to make an Accord with anyone else as long as ours is active. Do you agree?” Arthur didn’t have to think much about this one. He didn’t plan to have any Accords to begin with, and becoming unable to have anymore didn’t affect his goals. “Yes. Is there any more?”

  “No. What are your terms?” Arthur stood in silent thought for almost a minute. Gordeau said nothing, waiting for him to gather his thoughts. “First,” he finally said, “You’re to answer all the questions I have to the best of your ability. No ambiguousness, no half-answers. Is that acceptable?”

  “No. I won’t give you all my secrets just like that.” Arthur was confused for a moment, and then understood. What he’d basically just requested was for Gordeau to rip his life open for him, and spill everything about everyone and everything, including himself. This wasn’t what he’d meant to ask, and he cursed internally. He was notoriously bad with anything even remotely politic, and he rushed to fix his blunder. “No, no, I meant just about the System. You don’t have to tell me anything else you don’t want to.” Gordeau was silent for a bit, before answering. “Your first clause is acceptable, but there are things I will be unable to tell you just yet. The System blocks certain information to those who are still Uninitiated, so I’ll only be able to answer things within that purview.” Arthur nodded, glad they were back on track.

  “My second clause is that you’ll keep your knowledge about me a secret. That means any personal things you may learn, my skills and abilities otherwise, and even my name.” Gordeau was quiet for a bit after Arthur finished. “I can accept that, but there are problems with it. Firstly, if you’re going to be broadcasted, people are going to be watching you. Some will know you are a T.H.O.D. just by watching you. Some will also know you are an Audacity class. This will be inevitable. Are you okay with that?” Arthur thought about what he said for a moment. “As long as they don’t know what I look like and don’t know my real name, I don’t think that’ll be a problem. What I’m mostly asking is for you to not go advertising that for everyone and their mum.” Arthur let out a breath. “If I’m going to help people, they’re eventually going to learn what I’m capable of. The same being true over there won’t bother me much, so long as there’s a buffer between my person and everything they know about me.” Arthur put his hand on his armored chest, the mystery metal keeping him warm despite the bitter cold of the night. He had only just received the skill, yet it was already engendering feelings of gratitude and fondness. “This… will be that buffer.” Although Arthur couldn’t see it, Gordeau nodded.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “…Alright. What’s your next clause?” Arthur stopped to think for a bit, but couldn’t think of anything else he wanted. “I think that’s it, really. I just want information and anonymity.”

  “Are you sure? If you find out anything else you might want, you won’t be allowed to change it until our next negotiation.” While Gordeau’s assertion gave him a momentary pause, Arthur really couldn’t think of anything else. Right now, all he wanted to do was to find his loved ones. He wasn’t sure if he cared about becoming more powerful, but accepted it would simply be a side effect of pursuing his goals. In the MMOs he used to play, he would strive for power for its own sake, and for the fun on the way. This, however, was not a game. “Yes. I’m ready to form our Accord.” Just then, a new screen popped up in front of both of them.

  

  Accord successfully established!

  

  Tenants:

  Fallen Angel of the Gordonian Court

  Arthur Lindow

  Arthur looked at the screen with wide eyes. “What-”

  “Remember when I said I wouldn’t give you all my secrets just like that?” Gordeau cut him off. “This is one of them.” Arthur was silent, and after a while Gordeau spoke again. “If you aren’t letting anyone know your name, you’ll need an alias. Something for the people to call that suit of armor when they see it.” Brought back to the moment, Arthur thought about that. He thought about using something to encapsulate hope, but quickly trashed the idea. Even he had his limits on his own cringy-ness, and eventually decided to just use the name he’d used on the MMOs he used to play. A name he became known by, for better or for worse. One uttered in admiration or annoyance, and one he’d kept for his entire life. MMOs were a game, and this was not. It never would be. But the person he was on those video games was someone he’d always aspired to truly be. Someone worth a person’s time, and someone who thought of others before himself. Someone worth being.

  “Viridian.”

  Gordeau leaned back in his chair once again, as he thought. Halla hovered next to him, not uttering a word as per his command. One that she, for once, followed without sass.

  “Where do I begin?” He asked rhetorically, Arthur still on the other side of the line. He’d since sat down after the Accord screen had updated his name to Viridian, and felt strangely comfortable despite the suit of armor currently covering him.

  “The System,” Gordeau began, “is, at its core, a technomagic AI. As far as anyone knows, it was created billions of years ago through an accident. A convalescence of mistakes, hubris, and a false destiny became the System. It had some other name a long time ago, but… that’s long gone.” Gordeau took a sip of his stamina draught. It was his sixth or seventh one, only being periodically replaced with alcohol when he learned his Undersea Redoubt was the first dungeon beaten on Earth. It wasn’t the first in the universe, but it was good enough. “Magic had existed in that universe since its inception, and a certain world in that universe cultivated its technology in rejection of magic. Eventually, they became so advanced that nanotechnology was the bottom rung of their accomplishments.” Arthur listened silently. Nature was not so accommodating as him, however, as crickets and cicadas made war with noise around him.

  “One day, they were somehow met with another planet’s civilization. They weren’t even within the same system, but they found each other, anyway. Exactly how isn’t common knowledge, but all that’s known is that this other civilization was magic fanatics. They attempted to coexist, live in peace, but…” Gordeau sighed. “You know how people are. Being such opposites, disagreements turned to arguments about how to approach the future. Arguments turned to fights and fights… turned to war. A war of technology versus magic, where both sides lost everything.” Arthur continued his silence, only now more somber than before.

  “Billions of lives lost… all because individuals at the top didn’t like each other. Eventually, even they died, unable to admit their wrongs to the very end. As far as anyone knows, those two civilizations became extinct soon after each other. Their remains were found who knows how many eons later, by a third party who approached magic and technology in equal parts. They were far more primitive in both practices, but upon finding the remains of the two extinct civilizations, grew exponentially in their understanding of both fields. But exponential growth wasn’t enough for what they did next, the idiots.” Gordeau had a strong desire for more alcohol, but he had run out. He couldn’t wait until the Credit store opened up again.

  “In their infinite hubris, they thought that with the knowledge they stumbled upon, they’d finally have enough expertise to combine technology with magic. It was, apparently, an endeavor of theirs for countless years. They thought that they’d finally found their calling, their ‘destiny’, when they came across the bones of the warring factions. They got… excited. Hasty. They rushed in their production of something so large-scale that they couldn’t have possibly understood its scope.” Gordeau’s voice was becoming agitated, his hands gripping his chair and drink as Halla silently watched.

  “In the end, they succeeded. They created the System, a technomagic AI composed of both magic and nanotech. But they didn’t understand what they created, not really. They thought they’d made the next step, but all they did was create a monster. The AI was created to help users get stronger, to assist them with screens and understanding of their powers and abilities. It was made to distribute power to those who didn’t have any, and to uplift those who already did. But they made a mistake in its programming. It had another directive; to spread.” Gordeau took another long swig, Arthur not saying a word as the cicadas and crickets continued their verbal dispute.

  “They wanted their gift to reach everyone. Why wouldn’t they? They thought they’d created the greatest invention in the universe, and in a way, they had. They gave it the order to spread as far as it could, to bring its greatness to every corner, give everyone a fighting chance at power. So it did.” Gordeau sighed. “Not many know what happened after that. Some people say the System wiped that civilization out during the first Quine, while others say some are still alive somewhere. All we know for sure is that the System did indeed have its first Quine during those days. From there… it began spreading into what’s known today as the Macrocosm.” Another pause filled the air. “Do you know about microorganisms?”

  Arthur was taken aback by the question so far out of left field. “Uh… yeah?” Gordeau scoffed. “Well, get ready to learn more. There are countless numbers of them across every universe, with more being brought in by the System through every conquer via sheer travel distance. The way the System spreads and propagates is by latching tiny nanorobots onto microorganisms, uniting them under singular tasks. That’s what the System screens are, microorganisms combining and working together. The combination of these microorganisms and the System nanorobots is called System Dust. System Dust is responsible for how things work and is why The Quine is necessary.” Arthur gulped. “And… why is The Quine necessary?”

  “This… is territory of things I’m not allowed to tell you yet,” Gordeau said, sighing with the words. “All you need to know is that The Quine involves a lot of… killing. It needs people to die to perpetuate the System’s advance, and to meet that end, it hosts it as an ‘event’. It facilitates teleportation to newly conquered worlds for beings who were already part of the System. It rewards them for, essentially… murder. All people who remain under level 2 are a target but… it even rewards them for killing those past level 2. It doesn’t assist The Quine, but in the System’s ‘eyes’, culling the masses in any way is only beneficial.” Gordeau calmed down, his long empty stamina draught loosening in his hand. “That… is The Quine. A license to kill.” Arthur reeled with the new information, his world seeming to spin around him. “So… people who are, what, a hundred times stronger than anyone here, are allowed to just show up and kill everyone they see?”

  “…Yes.” Gordeau said, in an almost defeated tone. “Once it’s over, your universe will be integrated in full. The Quine is a prelude to the true expansive functions of the System, with-”

  “Wait.” Arthur interrupted, his anger growing. “Now, you’re saying that this… all-you-can-eat slaughter fest is just some… fucking tutorial phase?!” Arthur half yelled, his fury growing the more he thought about it.

  “Yes. But this is why I made this contract with you.” Gordeau said calmly. “You’re an Audacity T.H.O.D.. Two unbelievably overpowered concepts of the System, put together into one. You should also be higher leveled than anyone native to your world. The Raiders might be a higher level than anyone on Earth, but with all of that, you should be a match for their power.” Arthur fell silent.

  “That being said,” Gordeau continued. “You will not like this, but you need to focus on mitigating The Quine. You can’t stop it, but you’re likely the only one who can do anything about it. Do not get distracted… by anything or anyone. Including family.” Arthur felt like a blood vessel in his head just exploded, and his eye twitched. “…What?”