by Prax Venter
Irrelevant Jack V
By Prax Venter
Cover by Jaka Prawira
Edited by Celestian Rince
Copyright © 2021 Prax Venter
All rights reserved
Author’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Characters with any resemblance to persons that exist now, or have ever existed, are purely coincidental.
Special Thanks
Cosmic Backround Radiation
- Table of Contents -
Irrelevant Jack V
- Table of Contents -
- Recap -
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THE END
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- Recap -
It had been eight days since they added the Town of Pinefall to their Kingdom and things were finally starting to settle down again. All four Towns needed Townsfolk assigned, trade routes established, and Hero teams sorted out. There was now a massive demand for items looted from the Tower to keep the Kingdom fed. Not to mention scouring the countryside for any remaining Demons in their lands.
Jack, Lex, and Haylee had made a point to party up with a new “fourth” whenever they climbed, and the Level 39 Sun Striker was first to go in and fight with them. Cabe was a completely different person when compared to the lump of stone Andor had left behind. He had found a comfortable home in Emberstone and decided that climbing its Tower was where he belonged- at least for now. When Jack was ready to push the kingdom outward, he would be ready to contribute in any way he could.
The group took in others but never passed Floor 49. They were happy amassing a steady pile of gear, both as upgrades for themselves and for Jack’s bottomless inventory. After they took the time to repeat some of those higher Floors, he’d found replacements for almost every Item Slot.
They’d also begun the trend of collecting artifacts and putting them on display in the Arcade with slips of paper crediting the team of Heroes who’d discovered them. Pan the Carpenter donated a few shelves to hold the items and there weren’t many of the random objects yet, but it was a start to their Value-Stockpile/Museum concept.
Today however, he and Lex had taken a day off from the Tower to revisit the tropical port Town bringing with them a pair of Heroes looking to find a new place to call home. They timed their departure from Blackmoor to give them an opportunity to speak with the Townsfolk there and make sure none of the old ways were creeping back. He didn’t think they would be, and Rylinn assured him that there was nothing of the sort. Even the Bygone Hero Nature Mage who wanted to work with moths kept to herself.
Aarin hadn’t taken anyone else’s life but seemed to take Haylee’s parting words to heart. The young man spent a lot of his time either trying to understand the father that abandoned him or keeping an eye on Doveport by staring out into the calm waters of the bay.
Mayor Pama invited them both to stay for dinner when she came out of the Tower, but Jack spontaneously decided to flip the invite on her. It didn’t take much to convince her and Ror to ride in an epic speedboat back to Blackmoor Cove for dinner with the King and Queen.
“To King Jack!” Ryea called out and he snapped his focus back to the people currently raising their mugs in front of him.
“Pssh.” He made a buzzing sound with his lips. “Me? No. I’m irrelevant, remember?”
Everyone around him laughed a little too hard at that, and Jack realized that he’d drained yet another cup of the kemel fruit wine. A drink he’d officially decreed should be known as ‘Wasson’s Finest’. He put the cup down and tried to push it across the table as far as he could reach. Time to sober up.
“Why?” Alt said in his mind. “Even when you glide over the sea under the stars later on your way to bring Doveport’s Mayor back home, you won’t even need to drive.”
There was a time where he’d suddenly fixate on the fact that Demons could be assaulting the Wall at any moment, but now, the only place they could attack from was Pinefall. Harrak was reveling in his job as Combat Master over a whole Kingdom. The grizzled old windbag had a firm grasp on scouts, roaming patrols, and even a new hobby focusing on outpost construction. With how devastating the defensive lightning towers had proven themselves to be, there were now several large groups of Guards sent out as wardens of the roads and the open wilds between Towns.
For once, Jack was able to let his worry go.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” Jack asked toward the AI hooked into his brain but spoke his question out loud.
Lex was nearby and leaned close to answer.
“No need,” she whispered, her breath hot in his ear.
Things were the best they ever were for Jack, for Lex, for everyone in Blackmoor. Things were good for a lot of people who hadn’t had it good their whole lives.
The Kingdom controlled an enormous slice of land, but when he stood with his wife in front of the magic world map Alt had created in the Arcade, the drive to take back all of their world began to swell in his mind once again.
“Ready to get your own butt handled at the Blevins table?” Lex asked.
Jack kissed her on her golden-haired head.
“It’s ‘get your butt handed to you’ and sure. Also, what do you think about dropping in on the Supreme Mayor of Ivyset Crag tomorrow?”
- 1 -
Jack drew aside the thick curtain from his castle’s window to see the virtual ball of fire smoldering in azure skies far to his right. He filled his lungs with the warm air gathered near the glass and felt the ubiquitous brine of the endless sea on the back of his tongue. His focus shifted to his legendary ship, The Embrace, lounging out on still waters under the morning rays as he then obsessed about the murder of Mayor Morlis once more.
Jack let out his breath, confident that the truth would be all they’d need. It was also entirely possible that no one beyond the people of Doveport genuinely cared at all.
The only thing that mattered was scrubbing Mother Sana of all Corruption.
“I’m up,” Lex said warily from the doorway, and Jack turned to see her fully dressed in her more regal outfit. A vivid blue corset of velour over a pure white blouse paired with kick-ass black leather pants and boots from the Tower. Her attire radiated grace and competence.
Jack waggled his brows at her. “Today’s Floor 0 layout should be interesting, my Battle Queen.”
She smiled. “And together, we’ll cheese Mother Sana for all she’s worth.”
“Let’s start with the cheese Demi’s got for us…”
With a nod and an offered elbow, Jack escorted his wife toward the stone stairs up onto the surface of Blackmoor Cove.
Except they stepped into the council chambers to find Sol standing silently by the far door.
“May I please have a word with Jack, alone,” the new Mayor asked, his owlish eyes locked on Lex.
“I- of course.” The Bastion moved away with a few short steps then found her stride. “I will meet you both for breakfast shortly.”
They waited until she’d closed the door behind her before both men approached the long table. The ex-wharf master’s glossy head looked drained of all color.
“What’s on your mind, buddy?” Jack asked.
Sol swallowed before he spoke. “
Last evening, I heard young Perix claim that earning high scores with the games makes him feel like a Hero. Normally, I would have laughed at him and not dwelt on this concept all night. Of course, I started on advertisement approaches to draw in more Townsfolk with personal dreams of climbing for value, yet your encouragements to push the edges must have taken hold as I believe I’ve realized something that I may not wish I had. Jack, your talk about the rules- of our world being part of some game… You have a unique and powerful class, a kingdom, a beautiful queen, an invisible set of tools that can bend reality on a whim. Please be honest, are you the player who has inserted his coin into our world?”
Jack sat down.
“Sol, the direct answer is no. I am not playing with your life for entertainment and the only reason I have what I do is because I fought for them while the people of Subroutine Sana sat around on their asses for so long. But before we go any farther, did you speak to Haylee about this realization of yours? It’s a damn good guess, and I know she’d want to at least be here if we talk more.”
Sol gripped the back of the chair as his white egg of a head now flushed a glowing pink.
“I apologize, Jack. I needed to know for sure. To hear you say it and look me in the eye with confidence as you just did. I know you’ve fought for us. Ha, you even fought for a venomous wretch such as me, clawing at seaweed and mocking the world and everyone in it. But I need to know the truth. I’ll act surprised when Haylee tells me.”
The artificial intelligence linked to Jack’s mind gave his opinion. “I think the Mayor of Blackmoor Cove is mentally prepared, and Haylee will be proud that her father cornered you for the truth all on his own. As she herself did.”
Jack gave Alt a mental affirmative as he stood. “Okay, but you know we’re sailing for Ivyset in an hour. I’m going to give you the compressed version. Also, you’re a sharp man, Sol, so I’m not going to sugar coat anything. Ready for an intense mental shock?”
Sol nodded.
“Subroutine Sana is a game world, a constructed reality. You, me, this Town, the Towers… everything, is all sitting in a box, just like a pinball machine.”
Jack held up a finger.
“However, it was not created for entertainment. Your world was borne from a desperate, last-ditch effort to specifically attract, trap, and cleanse our shared mortal enemy. The enemy of all conscious life in countless other worlds. If it wins here, it will then be free to spread to my original home. And the universe where I was born is nowhere near prepared to fight this... entity.”
The owlish man’s dark brows came down hard. Jack continued before he could ask questions.
“The knowledge to create whole living universes is beyond me. I was an undisciplined silver miner in my world- I just hauled equipment around. My stumbling entry into your world was not planned in any way.
“Those ‘invisible set of tools’ you mentioned is ARV Alternis, an extremely advanced artificial mind and he’s been locked in mortal combat one layer beyond this reality for hundreds of thousands of years. Alt accidentally brought the Corruption to my world and was the one who sparked the creation of Subroutine Sana to stop its spread there. This artificial being was also the one who saved me from the universe-eating force out there and transferred my existence to be like yours. Alt took advantage of my presence and of my death, sending me to help Blackmoor Cove. If anything, I am grateful for the honor to be here. The term Hero is more specific in your world, but in my eyes, everyone struggling in Subroutine Sana are heroes.”
The other man’s mouth opened and closed.
Jack clapped his hands. “Speaking of breakfast, Demi has these new tapir bacon, potatoes, and green onion skillet creations. She covers it all in cheese and finesses the system into cooking it just long enough to get some burnt bubbles on the top. And the onions are rare ingredients from Pinefall Forest that boost movement speed!” He moved toward the door and waited for the Mayor to internalize it all.
Sol’s large eyes bounced around, looking at nothing as his mind hooked all the knowledge he’d gained into place within his current framework of understanding.
“You once paid me three coins to answer three questions about the rules of our world. I now ask you answer three of mine before we… go try and eat breakfast.”
The ex-Wharf Master took a step forward and held out his hand before a trade interface sprung up between them. Three offered coins.
Jack closed the door, accepted the trade, and gave Sol his full attention. “Ask me anything.”
The first question came immediately.
“If you are nothing special in your world, why were we losing until you showed up?”
“You weren’t losing at the beginning. Thirteen others from Alt’s world came in to help fight. But, because your world had to be real enough to trick the Corruption into investing resources, the original players had to die of old age.
“One of them didn’t want to die and intentionally joined the Corruption instead. Neither Alt nor I know what that really means other than it’s been a losing battle for thousands of years ever since.
“And am I nothing special? Eh, I’m not sure why, but it seems that the people of this world got stuck as supporting characters looking for forward guidance. I know your daughter is spending a lot of time thinking about this whole ‘waking up thing’ going on around me. Again, she might be better at answering some of these questions from an inside perspective.”
Sol stared at the floor and Jack gave him the time he needed. It wasn’t like they had to leave in an hour. The other man looked up.
“Your ability to think at odd angles now spreads even without your direct proximity. But what happens if you die?”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “Whoever’s left had better start helping Haylee with her efforts to push the idea of new ideas into the next generation and beyond.”
Sol nodded, his confidence returning. “And finally, what happens to Subroutine Sana when we fulfill its purpose for existence? When we inevitably take our manufactured world back.”
The answer to Sol’s third question flowed into his mind from the AI hovering somewhere deep behind eyes.
“The true answer is unknown,” Jack said out loud. “A living artificial universe of this complexity or scale has never existed- even by the insane heights of Alt’s advanced people. But I believe him when I feel his thoughts on the subject. No matter what happens, he vows to keep Subroutine Sana running and flourishing until the distant end of all things.”
The owlish man pulled in a slow breath through his sharp nose and then sighed. And if Jack were reading his soft smile correctly, Sol was feeling the same sense of purpose flow through him Lex and Haylee did when they understood the fundamental intentions of their existence.
“Thank you for not patronizing me, Jack. You were about to take my little girl across… Take her the farthest she’s ever been from me. I knew it was inevitable yet feel better now. She has a true destiny to fulfill.”
“We all have that destiny, buddy,” Jack said. “What we do here helps everyone everywhere. And if we’re winning, it’s not because of any one person.”
“Hm. Well, my destiny is feeding cows while you not only sail off with my daughter, but both Blackmoor’s head farmer and farmhand.”
“You know you love stuffin’ hay in those cows,” Jack said, heading for the door again.
“Don’t forget to take a stack or two of Demi’s prize fighting flyers,” he said, wagging a long finger as he passed into the stairwell to the surface. “We have three fights scheduled tonight, but I want that number to be at least five a day. Maybe talk the Supreme Mayor into attending a fight himself.”
“I only acknowledge one Supreme Mayor, my friend, and he’s right beside me.”
The other man rolled his large eyes.
Sol immediately split off toward the Farm as Blevins, the expert Flour Miller, and several other residents of Blackmoor Cove joined his strides toward the crouching gray monolith called Eye o’
the Storm. Its bare stone walls were so thick now that not even the most violent of sea-borne squalls bothered the Heroes resting within. He glanced toward the distant horizon again, wondering what other madness they’d find way out there and noticed a larger-than-normal crowd gathered around the gleaming silver Tower. Jack’s heart soared as he turned back toward breakfast.
His kingdom continued to flourish.
The king stepped into a brief round of applause once inside, and he waved warmly to all while enduring a spectacle he knew was more about the people clapping than who they were clapping for.
“Jack!” Thymus called, emerging from the faces around them and it struck him as odd to see the old Sage out of his Athenaeum. “In addition to sending unique Heroes my way for probing, I- um well, acknowledge that I need help. A protégé. Someone to order around and teach right from wrong. I’d endeavored to bestow the honor to Haylee once- no, no, no… Not now. Too small for her talents anyway. But you, you have an eye for roles, Jack. I’m held captive by these brittle bones and further chained by my studies. Find me a minion?”
“You gotta stop calling it probing. But okay, I’ll see what I can do.”
It’d been a while, but was that the undeniable twinge from the virtual universe saying he’d just been given a direct quest? Alt’s instant telepathic response was easy to hear over the crowd as Jack maneuvered from the Sage to his usual table.
“If you or the virtual world has changed as a result of Thymus’s personal request, I did not detect anything unusual within the code.”
Jack’s voice was lost in the din of the common room. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s not a traditional ‘quest log’ type of system, but you can’t deny that my sloppy human senses felt a general ping from Mother Sana just then.”
“Mmm, perhaps,” Alt said, not fully convinced. “It could also be your human mind self-stimulating a deeper meaning where none exists. Yet, I’ll obviously keep a passive thread on it when I can.”
Jack slipped in next to Jip as the excited farmhand chattered endlessly about the sights he was going to show them.