A Place To Call Home

Malkuth then continued to tell all of the details of the first phase of the new Project Sephiroth, all while creating numerous dishes and beverages for Jack to consume like a hungry child.

Jack didn't seem to be surprised by the fact that he was living in a video game. Then again, Malkuth had already revealed that there was a real world underneath the facade in which the universal system couldn't reach.

Of course, Malkuth and the Sephiroth overall had only broken through the layers of information within this universe that they lived in now. They were still as blind when it came to the world itself. Not to mention, mapping the world and information extraction wasn't the purpose of this Feature Roots.

It was clear enough that Jack needed to find a way on how to gather more Reality Fragments for that. Although, it seemed like directly cracking the universal system's recorded information was too risky for Sephiroth to commence, hence why he went to create the Bar of Longingness as his first floor with Malkuth as the keeper.

Apparently, Sephiroth noticed that there was a loophole in the universal system of this world. Just like how Jack immediately integrates automatically as a part of the game, Sephiroth could also do the same with the people outside of this universe they were in.

Using the 3,000 Reality Fragments gathered within the subconscious field of Cruciatus, Sephiroth imbued Malkuth with the power to search individuals that was outside of this world, eventually recruiting them to work for the Sephiroth and Jack as a whole, in exchange of the privilege and home within the Bar of Longingness.

"So," Jack had finally done with the grandiose feast. Mountains of plates could be seen getting washed by Malkuth on the washbasin inside the bar. "From what I'm grasping, you will be searching for people with good potential, and then present your door in front of them when they are at their most brink end state somewhere in their timeline of history, is that correct?"

"To be precise, I will present the entrance to those who have lost their meaning in life with the least amount of attachment to that world," Malkuth said as she washed the dishes, still with her indifferent face. "Just like giving a fish to a wild cat.

"The moment they feel the warmth and great satisfaction after a long time of emptiness, they will come to the front of your house every day, waiting to get those sweet treats again."

"So, when will you do that?"

"Mostly after I waited for my 'light' to fully recharge. Even then, precise calculation and research upon their history is crucial. My capability is limited to the current amount of Reality Fragments investment after all.

"The moment I present the 'door' to them, there will be no turning back. If they didn't enter it after two minutes, the 'door' would immediately disappear and we wouldn't be able to send another 'door' for quite a while, resulting in a waste of energy.

"After all, dimensional entanglement is both stressful and hard to maintain for a long time. The moment they enter the door, we wouldn't be able to send them back. If they are hostile, I wouldn't be able to fight back."

"It will be bad if they are stronger than me too." Jack chuckled.

"The searching process will also take more than a week from the first to the second, and so on. Although I'm confident that I can perform the recruitment after 24 hours in real time," said Malkuth.

"What do you mean by real time?"

"The flow of time within this place and the world you're in is twenty four times slower, meaning that a day here is a mere one hour on the outside."

"Heh, I want to be here a little bit more time then. Oh, also, can you upgrade Petra Tentacle into Fighter while we're talking?"

"Sure."

A screen appeared before him, but this one was saturated with orange color.

[Petra Tentacle {Grappler -> Fighter}_

[Upgrading in process.]

Both Malkuth and Jack threw a couple of casual exchanges after that. Both also talked on the possibility of the upcoming crisis that Cruciatus hinted about and the relation of it with the world.

The same with the Rue Mokaka. It was understandable why it was hidden but why does there seem to be something sinister foreboding them? What Jack acquired was the third of it, so there must be the first and the second file, and possibly more Rue Mokakas out there.

As of now, Jack and Malkuth had agreed to place the mystery of these encrypted documents as the second priority below gathering more information about this world.

'The Players, I wonder what kind of peaceful paradise they lived in, for them to be able to establish this Massive-Multiplayer video game. If only my family lived in that kind of world…'

After looking more into it, maybe the first floor of Asiyah wasn't fully meant to be a specialized place for recruitment, and all of that was a mere side effect that could be utilized by Sephiroth.

Maybe the true purpose of this floor was to give Jack a home, a place where he could come back to. With as many ingredients and beverages that Jack could ever drink, with a comfy sofa and calm atmosphere. Of course, Sephiroth wouldn't want it to be seen as obvious, so he made it a bar instead of a private condo with beds and living room.

Jack would probably reject the idea of Sephiroth keeping him in a safe space without him giving an effort. After all, there were so many things that needed to be uncovered.

'Yeah, I shouldn't take this for granted. There must be a meaning why Cruciatus gave me the Rue Mokaka in his steed, there will be no point otherwise.'

Eventually, Jack thought of it too hard and fell asleep on the stool. He tried so hard to move forward relentlessly that he forgot the building of physical trauma in his body.

Malkuth took a blanket one one of the big shelves in the corner of the floor. Gently, she placed it on top of the sleeping Jack.

"Rest easy, Boss… I still do not entirely approve of the fact that Cruciatus placed such a huge burden and mission on you, but I'll make sure that you will have enough manpower when drastic hurdles appear…

"I won't make the same mistake."