Chapter 169: The Stand-In Goddess of Another Stand-In Goddess
The silver-haired lady turned around and looked curiously at Hao Ren. “So, you are Hao Ren, the fine assistant that 12345 found so interesting?”
Hao Ren was immediately stunned by Raven’s weird behavior before he could even speak. He returned the weird looks of the silver-haired lady, who he was pretty familiar with. “What’s wrong? Did you eat something wrong? And what’s with the storm outside?”
“Oh, outside? Nothing to worry, just a small problem. A rift in the translocation axis. I wasn’t very familiar with this world and slightly miscalculated my trajectory.” The silver-haired lady, who looked exactly like Raven 12345 spoke slowly and gave Hao Ren a faint, graceful smile. “And…I think you’ve got the wrong person. 12345 is not here. I’m her stand-in.”
Her voice was warm and her smile, gentle. She also exuded a grace that belied a majestic presence. Almost like she was the gentle, older sister of everyone’s dreams. The way she spoke totally differentiated her from Raven 12345. Even if she shared the same face as Raven 12345, Hao Ren could tell immediately that she was a different person altogether. He suddenly remembered that there was not only one ‘Raven’ around. They were separated by index numbers. His employer, Raven 12345 was one among countless goddesses, numbered 12345. So… that made the Raven in front of him… another goddess?
“Uhh… yes I’m Hao Ren.” As he realized that the person in front of him was a stranger, he could not help but take on a more professional demeanor to match the lady’s. “And you are…?”
“Oh, you don’t have to be so nervous. You can tell me anything. Raven 12345 has already given me the rundown of things.” The silver-haired lady said as she sat on the chair behind the work desk.
“You can call me, Raven 23333.”
Hao Ren’s sudden “Huh?” broke any pretense of seriousness that he was trying to cultivate.
“Raven 23333. Is this name considered weird in your civilization?” The silver-haired lady said as she rubbed her chin, deep in thought. “Having so many differences between civilizations sure is interesting. So many things that do not have any sense of logic yet, still hold so many important meanings…”
Hao Ren quickly threw on a deadpanned face. He could care less about the name or temperament of the lady in front of him anymore (He would probably get a heart attack sooner, trying to figure things out). “Say…. 12345 isn’t back yet? What’s she up to?”
“Routine inspections, debriefing… the likes. No worries, nothing too big.”
“I heard last time that she dueled someone to the death…”
“Oh, it was during a debriefing that she fought with someone. She has a habit of doing so. Even got disciplined by the Mother before.
“…Right… Let’s get on to business then. I wanted to ask about bringing others into The Plane of Dreams…”
Hao Ren had no idea how much this stand-in goddess of another stand-in goddess (Remember, Raven 12345 herself was a stand-in) knew about what was going on and so, took the time to explain the matter in detail. At the end of it, he also popped another question, “Aside from bringing others into the dream plane… I have another thing bugging my mind, the time I have inside The Plane of Dreams. It’s usually tied to the time I’m asleep and that’s barely a few hours long. Once I’m awake, I’m totally detached from the place. This simply isn’t enough for me to investigate The Plane of Dreams, given its size… Do you think it’s possible to extend the time I’m able to roam around there, using whatever techniques you guys have?”
“Checking out The Plane of Dreams eh? So, you are in charge of this.” Raven 23333 pieced things together. “You want to bring others into the dream plane. That’s not a problem. You just need to use some special tools to initiate mental synchronization. The duration in the plane can also be extended, nothing too difficult. But, who are you bringing into the plane? As this is official business, better not involve any unnecessary civilians…”
“Oh, civilians they are not.” Hao Ren waved his hands. While this Raven definitely had a weird name like the rest of the Ravens, she had an aura of majesty that Hao Ren dared not tread upon. Her calm and measured voice simply sapped away any playful intent that Hao Ren would usually have. “They are the tenants over at my place. Raven 12345 mentioned to bring them along for help.”
“Alright. Follow me then.”
Raven 23333 was all about business. With a wave of her hand, she opened a portal and beckoned Hao Ren to follow. After stepping through the portal gate, Hao Ren realized that he was at a very familiar place; the same room that he first came to perform his physical enhancement.
But this time around, Raven 23333 did not raise the hidden reconfiguration chambers. Instead, she activated another lever in the room. A soft chime rang out, it’s sound similar to that of a wind chime, and a pillar of light appeared in the middle of the room. From it, countless of blue and white lines swirled about and quickly formed into a blurry, rectangular shape. The shape then slowly took form and solidified. Hao Ren quickly realized that these were also reconfiguration chambers but, smaller than the ones he used before. They seemed even more simplified in design, without the messy bundles of wires and plug-ins… They were almost like… coffins.
“I’m using the data-transfiguration tool to create some simple sleeping pods. They should keep you asleep long and well enough while they sustain you. They’re pretty simple to use and come with their own user manual,” Raven 23333 said as she gracefully manipulated the controls. She then looked up to ask, “How many persons are there?”
“Uhh… five. But, can you make a few more as backups? We may need them in the future!”
Hao Ren originally planned for just the current members in his household but, figured that he may be taking in more tenants in the future. The numbers that would need to enter The Plane of Dreams would only increase and he figured it was better to have a few extras. However, as Raven 23333 continued to manipulate the controls, an apologetic smile appeared on her face. “Lets go with five…. If you need more, just apply for them next time.”
Hao Ren was perplexed. “Is there like a limit to this?”
“No… It seems like the data-transfiguration tool is broken.” Raven 23333 stared wearily at the crystalline display in front of her. “I was changing some of the values and using some spells to improve its efficiency but it doesn’t seem to be responding..”
It did not require Hao Ren to be a genius to see that something was indeed wrong. The pillar in the middle of the room had some broken strands on it and an audible buzz rang as it approached the floor. The strands that were supposed to form into the sleeping pods were now writhing about chaotically, creating crackles of lightning in the process. The excess energy started emanating out of the room. An eerie flare grew brighter and brighter, and Hao Ren’s heart almost jumped out at the sight: A gigantic globe of flames was converging at the data-transthingamajigy, expanding in size by the second.
“Hmm.. seems like the whole system has crashed.” Raven 23333 looked up towards the ball of flames. She threw Hao Ren an ever-so-calm look that made him went, “Stop looking at me and do something!” in his heart. She finally lifted her hand up and summoned a bolt of arcane lightning onto the crystalline control panel. “Well, can’t have new ones without getting rid of the old ones. May I be forgiven for this loss.”
The arcane lightning quickly seeped into the data-transfiguration tool and killed the device after frying out its core. At the same time however, Hao Ren heard a loud explosion somewhere far away… He really hoped that it was just common thunder.
“…”
Raven 23333 seemed totally unaffected by the incident and gave the five completed sleeping pods a satisfied nod. “Hmm, it’s done.”
The edge of Hao Ren’s mouth curled into a slight sneer. When he first heard Raven 12345 declare that all Ravens were inept in terms of technology, he thought that the lazy goddess was simply just pushing her responsibilities aside. But now, he saw another Raven, whose mannerisms and presence was what you would expect of a goddess. She destroyed a seemingly priceless piece of equipment. He realized that Raven 12345 was not lying after all. The Ravens being dummies when it came to tech was nothing but the truth.
“You can take all of this back.” Raven 23333 pointed towards the new pods that she had conjured out of thin air. “Go, fix the The Plane of Dreams as soon as you can. Things are getting very messy there.”
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