Working the System
As Blake stared around his surroundings, he cursed under his breath and snapped shut the lighter. No reason to squander the fuel that was left inside the lighter just to see the walls of his prison.
The only difference between his situation and Luis' was the fact that Blake could actually see his prison and know it for what it was, using his lighter. For Luis, it must have felt like an aeon, buried alive with nothing but darkness. It was amazing that Luis was still sane.
"System. Is there any way to escape from here?" Blake asked, hoping against hope that there was a way out.
«Escape is possible at Demon System Initiate: Level 11.»
Fuck.
That was six levels above where he was currently.
It was not going to be anything quick, that was for sure, unless he got lucky and someone let him out. Otherwise, he would be like that genie in a lamp and would have to stay in here forever.
"System. How do you get to Level 11?"
«Continue to eliminate target mobs and bosses. Complete quests to gain level increase.»
"System. Are there any other quests I can do at this time to level up?"
«Currently, there is only one quest available to be completed.»
The assignment that Blake was currently working on began flashing in front of his eyes.
«Assignment: Retrieve the Spirit Skull from the Holy City of Champa at Myson Mountain: Accepted.»
Damn.
He sank to the ceramic floor of the pot and lay there, staring up into the darkness, thinking of a way out.
There had to be a way. He still had access to the system. What good was a system if it couldn't even get him out of a fucking jar???
"System: Is there no other way to earn more points so I can level up?"
«To earn more points for leveling up, complete assignment.»
The system was chasing its own tail going round and round and getting nowhere.
Out of frustration, he pulled out the ax and ran at the wall.
"Aaaaaarggghhhh!!!" He yelled and swung the ax at the side. It bounced back nearly yanking his shoulder socket out.
"Owww." He breathed.
He returned the ax back to the weapons stash and pulled out the Glock.
"System. What would happen if I shot a bullet inside this jar?"
«Firing a weapon within the jar will cause the bullet to ricochet within the enclosure endlessly.»
Well that answered that question. He couldn't use force to break out from within.
He shoved the Glock back into the bag. Taking out the multi-tool, he began tapping at the wall. It didn't even make a sound. There was some sort of shield or force field which encompassed the entire thing.
"System. Is there a way to keep a little light on so I am not stuck in this darkness?"
«To create light, use one red energy point and cast light out.»
Blake glanced at his store of red energy. He had plenty after having just killed six of the Overlord's henchmen, but since he wasn't all that needy of light at the moment, he left it alone.
"System, can I contact Ray Street?"
«Connecting: Ray Street.»
Hot shit! He could actually call out of this fucking jar!
"Blake! Where are you, man???" He could hear Ray yell out at him from somewhere.
"Lower your voice. I can hear you just fine." Blake smiled. This was promising.
He quickly told Ray what had just happened to Jasmine and himself at the Japanese restaurant.
"Do you know where you are at the moment?"
"Nope. I just know I'm in a jar, man. I don't know where the jar is. I have no idea where Jasmine is either, but you have to find her aunt, the nun. She's the only one who can see you and she's the only one who can help us right now."
"Gotcha. I'm right on it. You just hang on and if I find out something, I'll contact you through system."
As Blake disconnected the call to Ray, he sighed. At least someone knew he was stuck in here. It wasn't completely hopeless.
"System. Play Lacuna Coil, Our Truth."
«Playing Lacuna Coil, Our Truth.»
The starting strains of the song began to play inside the jar. It could have been inside his brain, but it didn't matter. At least he wasn't alone with the silence of his mind.
He was still lying there chilling to the music when something suddenly flared up within his mind.
He still had two pet bats inside his bag.
Reaching into his bag, he prodded Marvin. The hairball wiggled a bit but was otherwise unresponsive.
He poked at Luis Olson.
"Hey Luis. You there?"
"Man, you know what time it is?"
"No clue. I'm stuck inside a jar Luis."
"What???" That woke Luis quickly. "How'd you get stuck in a jar?"
Blake did a quick run-down of the situation including the assignment that the Demon System had given him.
"And only Ray knows you and the girl have been kidnapped."
"Yes." Blake affirmed. "I need for you to find a way to let Jazzie's grandmother, that old nun, know that her granddaughter's been kidnapped by Anh Hai. If anybody can do anything, it will be her."
"I think I can do that. The old woman pretends she can't hear you, but she can hear and see better than anybody, living or dead."
"Okay so you gonna just port back into my bag?" Blake asked.
"No, man. I can't port into your bag or I'll be stuck inside the jar with you. What I'll do is fly there on my own and find a way to get you out of there. I should be in Vietnam within the hour."
"Wow. How is it you can get here that fast?"
"It would be faster but I wanna eat first before I go. No telling when I'll be fed if I leave without eating first."
Blake shook his head. What a glutton.
He gave the hotel information to Luis and then disconnected the call with Luis.
So far so good, it was two out of two.
He settled back down again as the growl of electric guitars once again filled his mind. With his fingers itching to play, he pulled out his Ovation and began plucking along the bass lines of the song.
As he played, the deep sounds of his bass reverberated around the jar, getting stronger and stronger. It was starting to bounce around, in a cacophonous dull roar.
As he continued to pluck on his bass strings, Blake threw one red energy point out into the center of the jar. It shed a dim red light into the cavity of the jar, illuminating something that caught his attention.
Certain strings at certain frequencies were rattling the force shield inside the jar. Could it be possible for him to disrupt this shield with his bass?
There was only one way to find out.