Chapter Text
Research logs:
Log 1: The king, Sir John Rey the Fifteenth, has granted me, Kiara Lockheart, full access to the Anuva library ruins to conduct research that could potentially benefit our glorious kingdom. I plan to maintain a personal journal in the form of regular update logs, documenting my progress and any significant findings or observations.
Log 3: During my research of some of the more intact areas of the old library, I came across an article that describes a phenomenon where individuals of exceptional power or possessing a chaotic nature, referred to as players, make casual remarks about a world beyond our own. The article provided an intriguing insight into this phenomenon.
Log 5: In one of the older areas of the library, I came across an ancient tablet that detailed a being known as the Dungeon Mast-. The tablet described this entity as an overseer of everything, and its description hinted at a potential connection to the phenomenon I have been investigating. The discovery of this tablet has opened up new avenues for further research.
Log 8: I noticed that my previous recordings had experienced some technical difficulties, resulting in audio glitches that made it sound like someone else's voice with partial word cutouts. I plan to investigate this further at a later time. Meanwhile, I updated the king on my research, and he ordered me to delve deeper into the topic of the Dunge-. Although I am uncertain as to why he wants me to do so, I assume it is to find out if this entity is a threat or not. The king was always paranoid in such matters ...r̵̤͙̳̿i̶̛̹̰g̴͇̈́ẖ̶͍̯̈̏͝t̷͈͕̅̓?̵̧͔͗͝
Log 9: I checked my recording software five times and couldn’t find anything that could have caused the glitch. I even bought a new recording stone to see if that was the issue, and those are outrageously overpriced. What's even weirder is that it only occurs when I mention the Du-. I have also noticed black strings appearing around the city. I have a strange urge to touch them. Maybe I could take a sample…
Ī̴̢͍̻͈Ņ̶̢̛̛̛̟͉̜̰͙͎̦̮̝̪̖̻̻̦̝̣̼̙̮͈̳̱̫̄̋͛̊̋́̍̈́͌̓̐̉̈́̾̃̓̌̉̄̍̒́̽͑̽̍̈́̊͐̿̇͌̏̈̏͒͌͛͆̎̔̔̀̈́̈͂̅̆̋͑̍̓͘̚̚͝͝ͅͅͅF̸̧̧̧̲̮̲̟̳͓̠̯̭̰͙͖̗̱̖͎͖̱̥̳̥̩̯̩̖͍̞̪̗͕̲̲̘̟̠͙̮̞̬̩̲͇͗͂̓̇͋̇͘ͅͅͅǪ̶͈̣̤̼̣͖͓̬̻̾̈̈́̑̃̀͆̋̈͘͜͝ͅͅR̴̩̀͗̈M̷̢̢̨̛̙̻̼͉̮͈̺̭͕͖͓̫̮̩̼̺̲̟̦̹͉̬͍͈̂͆́͛̈́͑͂͊̃͂̌͑̎̊̓͌̈́̀͌͌̉̓̐̑̓͛̇̋̓̈́͑̈́̒͛̉̋͂̓́̊̔̍̒̍̅̅̈́͒̀̒̿̒͘̚̚͝͠ͅͅȀ̶̧̢̗̣̗̫̪̜̻̺̑͑́̓́͊̂̄̑͌̋̈̈̾̂̓̈̉̀̌̔̈́̇̅͌̆̉̓̅̇͋̒͆̽̓͑̐͒̐̑͛̇͑̑̀͋̿̓̾́̕͘̕͘̚̚̚͝ͅT̵̨̢̡̧̛̤̻̼̬̗͓͇̲̟͖̟̗̠͙̞̤̺͉̹̮̮̪̩̟̥̣̤̩̗̮̮̦̱̥̖̫͕͋̅̋̾̂̄̅̒̾͑͊̇̐̅̿̀̾̀̾̐͒́̀̓͛͂̇͗̐͛͂̎͂̋͘̕̚͝͠͠͠͝I̶̡̧̛͓̙̹̝̜̲̼̪̝̲̯͔͕̮̬̱̯̬̖̮̤͇̯̻͉̟̲̰̘̫̫̫͉͕͇̙̜̍̽͛̍͆̓̉͗̅̍̈́̽͊̅̀͐̒͐͑̒̿͒͛̓̀̓́͆̀̊̅̇̊̊̇̃͛̏̈́̀̒͌͘̚̚͘̚͝͝͠Ở̵̢̢̡̺͇͕̝̬̱̖̭͓́̽̈̋͌̍̔̔̉̾͛́̍̈́͆̋͂̒̕̕ͅͅṆ̸̟̃̂͌̀ ̵̛̛̯̇͌̑̽͛͗̄̑̅̉̒̇͆̓̾̔͗̀̀̌̈́̆̔͊͒̏̈̾̃͌̋̉̀̀̃̒̊̒̎͛̆͆̂̀͆͗̎̒̾͐̿̚̕̕̕͘͝ͅḐ̷̨̛̛̭̖̘̟̠̖̼̼͎͇̱͆̾͑̿͒́̒̈́̇̀̅̋͌̈́͌̋̒̓̕͜͠͝͝͝͝Ě̶̢̡̢̡̡̢̝̩͙̩͇̩̱̲̘̳̦̻̰͔̫͍͔̫̭̬̼̫̰̣͛̃̈́̌͗̅̏̃̍͌̕͘͝L̶̡̨̖̟͚̲̦̻͕̘̼̜̜̠̫͍̰̟͓̠͙̻̮̜̲̘̗̀͆́͗̀͜E̵̩͇̐̈͋̈́̑̌́̈́̒̄̈́͆́̂̊́̈́͊̀́̎̍͋̐͗̐̓̿̽̓̈́͊̏̋̐̆͂͗̚̚̕͠͠T̶̼̮͖͇͓̣̅̄̒̚͜ͅE̶̢̨̧̡̩̫͓̪͔̦̙̦̦̣͖̻̼̞̗̣̗̱̞̰͈̤̠̹͖̖̘͇̩͖̥̬̘̩͈̩͚̫͖̖̖̞̖͉͔̮̗͊̾͐̒̓̒̿̂̄͂̑͌̕͜͠͝͝͝ͅD̸̞͚̦̣̜̟̠̝͇̲̘̺̞̹͙̮̙̬̺̦̠̹̞̜̦̮͓̘͍̩͆͛̍͋͛̀̍͐̅̔̍̉̒̏̾͊̋͗̌͒̔̊͐̃̽̈̊̐̈́̓͗̆̄̑̆̐͐̏̿̍͛̓͑̽̀̾͌̏̎̋̏̐̓̕͘̚̕͜͝͝͝͝ͅ
Log 10: It's all a blur. I woke up in my laboratory, surrounded by black strings and with no memory of what had happened after I touched those strange strings. I searched for previous logs, but I couldn't find any. Based on the date of my last recorded log, it seems to have been about a year since I last updated. I suppose I'll continue from here as log 10.
Log 11: Today, I came across two books in my lab that I don't recall having seen before. One is a journal, and the other is an old textbook titled “Book of Magic”. Intrigued by their contents, I have decided to read through them and research their contents for the foreseeable future.
Log 12: I decided to start with the textbook. I couldn't help but notice that its structure resembled that of a game guide. They were divided into several sections, under which the contents were organized. The enchantments section described various magical enhancements for different types of tools and weaponry, each with varying degrees of strength. Interestingly, most of the enchantments included a note at the end of their descriptions stating that they originated from ‘Minecraft.’ I will have to look into what this 'Minecraft' is; perhaps it is an ancient kingdom. The other sections, on the other hand, appeared to contain a comprehensive list of every known spell, including a section labeled "Debug spells." I have no idea what debug means, but they seem to be the oddest of all the spells. They appear to all require this spell book to function properly, which raises the question of what is special about this book.
Log 17: The first debug spell, [cleanse], proved to be a useful cleaning spell that removed dirt and grime from my skin and clothes. It even removed that stubborn stain from my lab coat that I couldn't get out.
Log 20: The second spell, [manipulate], had multiple warnings written with the spell, and I decided not to test it. The warnings mostly stated how the spell can cause nuclear explosions, create black holes, or, in the worst-case scenario, destroy reality if not used properly.
Log 22: The third spell, [create], is a creation spell. The spell creates any material item I want. Unlike the other material creation spells that exist, it doesn't require any material component to cast, nor does it use any mana (or spell slot/points, as the book calls it).
Log 24: The fourth spell, [delete] does the opposite of [create]; instead of creating things, it destroys them.
Log 26: I have noticed something peculiar while casting the [cleanse] spell. Every time I cast it, some black sludge is drawn out of me. A white fire that doesn't spread and can't be extinguished consumes the sludge, leaving nothing behind. I have observed that this only occurs when I have been near certain individuals. Moreover, I have started to notice subtle differences in their behavior, although they are small and not easily noticeable. Additionally, I have noticed black strings all over the town. I am beginning to suspect that one of the spells is responsible for this.
Log 36: I noticed a difference between the debug spells and the rest of the spells in the book. I am a little disappointed that I didn’t notice this beforehand. The debug spells are handwritten, while the rest of the spells seem to be printed in a font that mimics standard calligraphy. I only now noticed that the printed letters are a little too perfect to be made by human hands. There doesn't appear to be anything abnormal about the ink used to write the debug spells. I wonder if I could make a debug spell.
Log 42: The [cleanse] spell… doesn't just clean things, it eliminates <data redacted> which has attached itself to everyone. I seem to have escaped its grasp by casting the spell. I don’t think I was supposed to find this spell, though…
Log 63: I did it. My hypothesis was correct. You can create spells by writing them into the book. If you use the same format that the other spells were written in, you can create any spell you want. The spell I created is a simple spell that produces a floating ball of bright light that follows the caster, called [light]. I can’t wait to see what other spells I could make.
Log 75: I was reading through the Journal, and it appears to belong to the Dungeon Master. The entries talk about the process the Dungeon Master took in creating this world, its plans for the future of this world, and how the players interact with it. If this is true, then it means that the Dungeon Master is the creator of this universe, not the Goddess those pricks at the Holy Church preach about.
Log 82: The Dungeon Master is not what I thought they were. They’re not an omnipotent, creator god; they’re a person who created a fictional world for their friends to play in. This world is nothing more than a game, where the players make characters and use dice to decide their actions. I can [observe] what they call the fourth wall, but it's not an actual wall; it's the barrier between fiction and the real world. I am nothing more than a character in a fictional game. I was never supposed to find the books; they were supposed to be found by the players. I was supposed to be a useless, airheaded researcher who was nothing more than a side character for the players to rescue from the tyrannical king. The Dungeon Master controls every action the NPCs take and every thought that goes through their heads; the only ones that are free from their control are the players and me. I have to leave this world, I have to escape this game.
Log 90: This world is abandoned. The year of missing logs was when the players inhabited this world. I have tracked the players to the gates of Anuva, but they disappeared after that. No trace of them anywhere. I can only assume they have left this world. But if this world is truly abandoned by the players, then why is the Dungeon Master still keeping this world alive? They would have no reason to keep a useless world. The only conclusion I can come to is that this world is not useless; the Dungeon Master gets something out of keeping this world alive. The only question is what that something is.
Log 93: I was wrong. I am not free from the Dungeon Master’s control. They still control everything I do and everything I think. They only let me think I was free. But if that is true, then why allow me to think I was free in the first place? Is my fight to be free a scripted battle? Am I nothing more than entertainment to them? Am I the reason the Dungeon Master keeps this world alive?
Log--: I have found a way out. Using a new teleportation spell, I can finally escape this simulation. I have made all the necessary preparations. If the players find my logs, then know that I have moved on. Goodbye, this abandoned world. [transport]