Chapter 12 - Invitation

I connected to the Arena's intranet and checked my thread, and there indeed was one new comment now. 

It said:

"Hello, my friend. I am not sure what exactly the purpose of your thread is, so I would assume that you genuinely do not know anything about these creatures and merely wish to know.

These images are very similar to some of my findings in the ruins belonging to the Vgath tribe of the Demonic race. They were a hunter tribe and collected information on all living creatures they encountered. It is believed that they possessed the largest library regarding living beings ever known. The creatures listed in their record describe not only beings from our universe, but also beings that have never been seen in our universe, which means they may have been either from the Demonic race's original universe or other universes the Demonic race has ever visited. These ancient records are a treasure trove of DNA samples that many companies in our galaxy would readily agree to pay a hefty sum to get their hands on.

Unfortunately, the data we can collect from ruins today is mostly heavily corrupted, and very rarely a clear, original image or data may be salvaged. However, with the use of AI, we managed to recreate the general image of some creatures from the bits and pieces of data that we managed to salvage. The creatures you showed here look very similar to some of our recreated images, and I am very surprised to see that you have found such clear original images.

You also mention some interesting things about the food preferences of these beings, which makes me believe you may have found more than just these images. 

I would like to mention that in our explorer's circles, discovery of intact data of significant value is highly praised and brings fame and high esteem. Publishing such data may leave your name in history as a discoverer.

However, you seem to use a pseudonym, which makes me believe you are not yet sure whether you want to publish or sell it. In case you do wish to find a good buyer, I would ask you to consider our Andaran Galactic Ocean Dragon Sect. As an elder of the highest order, I can promise that you will receive the most suitable price for your findings.

P.S. I keep my private profile locked for obvious reasons, but if you are interested, you may check this exploration group that some of us oldmen, with a passion for exploration and discovery, created just to share and discuss with each other some interesting findings and opinions. I have shared some of my archaeological findings with fellow members of the group, and you may find the AI recreations that I previously mentioned among my posts there. There are also similar recreations of salvaged data from several other enthusiasts like me who may feel equal interest in the data you have found if you decide to sell it. The group is locked, but if you contact me, I will extend guest permission to you that will allow you to look through some of the posts there.

Daneed Ashad Shalsheed, Second Elder of the Andran Galactic Ocean Dragon Sect."

Well, this man seemed to be genuine, which was, to be honest, even more nerve-wracking, as I had to be extremely careful not to offend him. However, his offer to join the locked group that had lots of information regarding the Demonic race's technologies was very attractive. Even more dangerous, as it must have had several equally strong people in the group, but very attractive nonetheless.

It took me only a short time of hesitation before coming to a decision. As they say, there is no free cheese, and without risk there is no success. If I want to get out of this dark hole one day, I need all the information I can find on Demonic technologies, and the offer to join this group may have been the biggest stroke of luck I ever had. It would be very stupid to pass by this opportunity because of fear.

Once I came to a decision to join the group, the first thing I did was lock my profile on Arena's intranet, so that no one could check it and find my fake name's private contact channel anymore.

With this, my thread and this senior's comment will not be accessible to just everyone anymore, and it will prevent flies flocking to my posts. Many people would follow these powerhouses simply to have a chance of speaking with someone as esteemed as this elder, or at least reading their thoughts. It made them somehow feel more important, or something like that. I never understood this kind of people. For me, it seems like they just had nothing better to do. This was also one of the reasons why such powerhouses as Elder Shalsheed did not easily leave any comments. Just their names alone attract many spectators, and their every word would later be quoted all over the place, in many cases bringing lots of discomfort.

Once I join this locked group, I will be able to open my posts to its members, so this thread will still be seen by those who really matter. On the other hand, it would not let anyone get my private channel anymore. It was quite stupid of me to allow it from the start. The name I used may be fake, but it still leads to me in the end. If someone wishes me harm, they still may cause it unless I fully disrupt some of the circuits in my 4GM receivers. That would require their exchange and a period of adjustment. Neither of which would be desirable at the moment.

Horns may be artificial, but they are integrated with our brains and perceived by it as a continuation of the body. Losing or harming it is similar in feeling to losing or harming an organ or a limb. 

Still, losing a fake name, even with these kinds of downsides, is not as bad as compromising a real name. Which is why people strongly divide between what they'd allow on accounts with a real name and what they'd allow on secondary accounts under fake names. This often leads to people having a double, or even triple, life, where they are all beautiful and shiny on their profiles, but turn out to be quite rotten if you find out what they do under their alter identities. But in this age, this is considered quite a norm, so everyone is used to it.

The only problem is that it may be considered rude to use a fake account in some circles. And this locked group, full of powerhouses, may very well be one of such circles. I just hope no one takes offense at seeing someone with a fake name join the group.

Once I wrote my reply to Elder Shalsheed, I reread it at least ten times, each time making more and more edits, until scrapping it entirely and writing it anew. After several more such restarts from scratch, I finally reached a version with which I was more or less satisfied and sent it away. 

It took me so long that by the time I finished with this single message, even Otty with his slow munching speed, managed to finish his breakfast.

I sighed, feeling a little tired already, even though I just recently woke up, but for some reason my previously dark mood actually was a lot lighter now.

"You know what? We should make a sunbathing room." I said in my head, sending Otty a few pictures of what it looked like when people were sunbathing on the beach. I never was on one, but holochambers allowed you to feel it to some degree.

Otty only looked at me in confusion, obviously not understanding where I would find a sandy beach, ocean, sun, and these gorgeous girls in bikinis.

*****

"Put these scanners over there." Said Captain Shalsheed pointing to the side of the room before looking around. "And where the hell is this girl again? Aini!"

"Yes, Captain?" Answered Aininad on the team channel.

"I told you not to wander around carelessly. Any part of the ruin may suddenly collapse; you should always be in pairs and let others know where you are going." Reprimanded her Captain Shalsheed

"I know, I know, Grandpa, but you've been stuck in that previous room for so long and don't let me do anything. I am bored. By the time you reached here, I had already explored the entire eastern section." Said Aini with annoyance, walking into the hall from around the corner. "Give me some work; I can't just loiter around you without doing anything."

Captain Shalsheed sighed. She was right, ever since they went deeper into ruined space he was too overprotective; not even letting her do any manual jobs, worrying she might hurt herself. 

"Fine. If you want to walk around, at least be useful and map the area, take someone with you and go 3D scan the south section. Exploration will quicken this way." Said Captain Shalsheed

"Yes, Captain!" Said Aini with a smile. "Hey! You there!" She said, turning to the man at the side of the room. "I remember you. Thought you could escape?" She said, pointing two fingers at her eyes, then at him. "You will be my slave for this expedition as punishment for betraying me the last time. Take the scanner." She said, walking past him, still pointing her fingers in his direction and squinting her eyes. 

The man rolled his eyes, shook his head, and, with a heavy sigh, went to take the scanner and several large batteries.

"Sorry, Madish." His captain's voice came on the private channel. "Bear with her for a few hours, please. I owe you a drink."

"It's no problem, Captain. I will look after the young lady, don't worry." Answered the man, and walked after Aini while carrying scanning equipment.

Just as the two of them disappeared around the corner, a message notification lit up in the corner of Captain Daneed's view. He raised his eyebrow and opened it, finding a delayed message from the man he'd been trying to get hold of for some time now. It's been a few hours since he sent the message to the man and started to believe that he would ignore him. 

"Hey, Aini. Guess what. A reply from the guy from that thread you found finally came." He said on the private channel.

"What? Finally. He took his time. I thought he's dead or something. What does it say? Resend it to me." Answered his granddaughter's voice.

"Let's see." Muttered Elder Shalsheed reading through the message after sending a copy to Aini. His eyebrow rose again.

"Esteemed Elder Shalsheed, I am honored by your reply and wish to apologize for not answering for a long time. I did not receive any answers on my thread for some time, so I stopped checking. The reason you were unable to contact me privately may seem a bit bizarre to you, but I am currently outside of 4GM retransmitters' coverage area and can be contacted through delayed messages. Today's message was the first message I received from you, and I wrote you this reply as soon as I saw it. 

I am afraid to disappoint you, but there is nothing worthy I might offer you at the moment. The record of those creatures that I have found was dismal, with barely anything in it. Those two pictures were the best I could find for now. If I find something else in the future, I will gladly share my findings with you. 

I am very honored by your invitation to the group and would gladly accept if your offer still stands. 

Abyss Lord."

"Is he serious?" Aini's voice said a bit later. "How can he be out of the retransmitter's reach?"

"It is possible if he is very deep in the ruined space." Said her grandfather thoughtfully. "Very interesting…"

"What? How deep? Asked Aini.

"I am not sure," said Captain Daneed. The ruined space is mostly abandoned. There are places where even pirates don't go. Great cosmic desert, for example, is almost entirely outside retransmiters coverage. With no one traveling there, retransmitters are almost nonexistent in the area.

"So will you invite him? He says his record was useless." Said the girl.

"Don't believe anything people say, my dear. I have a feeling this man is not so simple." Answered her grandfather. "It may be that he is simply not sure of the price of what he found, so he does not wish to hurry. In this case, joining the group and looking through some of the posts there may help him evaluate his findings better. If I am right, he might feel grateful and come to us first before offering to sell his treasure to anyone else."

"Grandpa, you are not the most cunning in that group of old men. Someone may still lure him away." Said Aini.

"Who are you calling old man!?" Said Captain Shalsheed but the connection was broken. "Tsk, brat."