Editing City Series:Volume8a Chapter5 (section)

===Algo’s Sight Mode: In the Southfield District of North DT===

'''<Algo’s Over Reload>

Algo looked around in Sight Mode.

He could see the morning market set up alongside the moat. Even the wooden convenience store – blurry since it was in an adjacent Page – had firewood and charcoal stacked up out front.

There was a flood of people around him, but there was no one in the approximately 5 yards from his group and the checkpoint. Everyone was whispering to each other and focused on his group.

But he ignored the attention. “Now, then,” he said with a twist of his head.

After cracking his neck a few times, he swished out the bottom of his white robe.

“Excel, we’ll try to get in with your program, but if that doesn’t work, fight your way in with Daikatana’s help. Swiftly provide Master Suedomsa and me a dignified path to our audience with the queen.”

Once he was done talking, he casually walked forward – toward the checkpoint.

As he approached the checkpoint, the two knights approached him.

They blocked his way.

The faces below their military caps were not blank. The middle-aged knight on the right and the rookie knight on the left were both frowning in consternation. The easy to read expression was a common trait of NPC Bodies.

They moved within arms’ reach of Algo.

The middle-aged one look past Algo to Suedomsa.

“Excuse me, but are you Sir Suedomsa’s-”

Before the knight could even finish, Algo cleared his throat and spoke with his head lowered.

“We are Master Archon Suedomsa Txt’s bodyguards. Our job is to protect him. As is yours, Sir Knight.”

“I thought Sir Suedomsa was due to arrive alone?”

Algo prepared to answer that question.

“…?”

But he stopped. He was looking down in puzzlement.

The pair of castle guard dogs stood alertly to either side. The rhythm of their growls was unsteady. That confirmed they were real.

Algo nodded and crouched. He ignored the knight and reached both hands toward the dogs.

Both hands meant his left prosthetic hand and his right hand with the ring. The middle-aged knight gave a warning.

“Touch them and they-”

“Will bite me, as they are trained to do? However…”

Algo easily rubbed the black dogs’ chins.

After some thought, the dogs narrowed their eyes and pressed their throats against his hands.

They did not bite.

“They seem to know I do not need biting, Sir Knight.”

The people watching on from a short distance breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that. The frozen ring of people broke apart and returned to the morning market.

Before that was complete, Algo stood up and swished the bottom of his white robe. While the white cloth seemed to block out the sun, he took the two knights’ hands as if to shake them.

He was smiling and spoke quietly.

“Excel.”

Immediately, character strings ran from his hands to the middle-aged knight and rookie knight’s hands.

It only lasted an instant.

The text was gone too fast to notice. In its place, a window opened in front of him. It was located between him and the middle-aged knight, so his robe hid it from the crowd’s view.

'''<Excel→Algo: 2 NPC Bodies: Settings Change: Change target administrator from Akalabeth Bubezleeb Sys to Archon Suedomsa Txt: Run>

The window disappeared when he let go of the knights’ hands.

Then the knights relaxed their defensive stances.

Neither one looked at Algo. They simply tugged on the puzzled dogs’ leashes and returned to their positions at either side of the bridge.

A few of the distant onlookers tilted their heads at the knights’ silence, but none of them had seen what happened thanks to the robe in the way.

Before long, the crowd went on their way.

Algo sighed and the four behind him caught up.

Alternative placed a nearly weightless arm on his left shoulder.

<nowiki><I</nowiki> thought for sure they were going to bite you.>

“Dogs bite only because if you think they will. They obey anyone who looks like a master to them.”

Algo began walking with Alternative nearly dangling from his shoulder.

The wood bridge creaked below his feet.

Excel hurried up alongside him.

He looked back at the others following.

“Hurry. This was thrown together in a hurry, so it will be eliminated in about 2 minutes.”

“The Yard must not be aware we are working with Master Suedomsa.”

“I believe you are correct. These NPC Bodies rely on the castle’s security system for their memories and decision making, so they are nothing but tools. We will have complete control over them once we take administrative control of the castle.”

Excel had an obvious smile in his voice, which made Algo smile bitterly.

“By we, you mean those of us working to fulfill the task that was left undone and erased from history out of compromise 2000 years ago?”

Algo looked back.

[[Image:DT01_227.jpg|thumb]]

'''<Algo’s Over Zoom>

He saw Suedomsa and the black hooded man carrying a long metal staff.

The city already looked far off.

Past the checkpoint, most people were going about their business, with only a few looking this way.

But he could no longer bring them into focus.

He kept walking while he bowed toward Suedomsa behind him.

“Time to begin the first phase of the plan. The castle knights are on our side, so no one can stop us. Myst and Mekton will deal with the Yard. That means Babel, the Questron within the castle, and the sacrifice we need for the great god’s vessel are all yours for the taking, Master Suedomsa.”

Suedomsa coughed once while walking, but soon cleared his throat.

“You have a ‘but’ to add, don’t you, Algo? There is someone who will doggedly pursue us no matter how much we fortify our defenses, isn’t there?”

“Yes,” confirmed Algo, reaching a hand out toward Suedomsa.

Suedomsa held out his own hand and took Algo’s. It was the right hand with the ring.

Algo then answered the question with a smile.

“This is only the prologue. We will not stumble at this early stage, but there will be an error at some later point. Someone will certainly slip through a supposedly nonexistent gap between frames, peel back the supposedly seamless textures, and attempt to get an attack to our hitbox.”

He took a breath.

“A fool like that is bound to show up.”

'''<Algo’s Sight Mode has ended>