"Cheers!/Cheers!/Cheers!/Cheers!/Cheers!/Cheers!/Cheers!/Cheers!/Cheers!" A group of adults cheered as they raised cans and bottles of alcohol.

  "Ah, I can't believe we're finally done." A muscle man said as he leaned back in his chair.

  "It also seems like the higher-ups are pleased with the initial sales." Nodded a tired-looking guy.

  "That kind of thing doesn't interest me; all that matters is that we're getting our bonus." The tired-looking guy rolled his eyes.

  "Didn't I already tell you, Bob? The game selling so well is why we're getting our bonus."

  "Whatever, Walter," Bob replied before chugging his beer can. "Hmm, where are you going, kid?"

  "Yeah, you leaving already, Alex?" Asked a thin woman wearing thick glasses.

  "Home, I have things to do."

  "Cmon, don't be like that kid," complained Bob. "Stay here and drink with us." Alex froze.

  "Bob, are you stupid? Alex can't drink; he's a minor." Replied a messy-looking man who was leaning against his desk.

  "I also got my acceptance letter yesterday, so I need to start preparing," Alex added, catching everyone's attention.

  "Congrats, Kid! Where did you apply?"

  "Starage Academy." Walter let out an impressed whistle

  "Impressive, their exams are no joke. However, I question whether you needed to go there when you already have a job. Hell, didn't you buy a house a while back? What do you even get from continuing your education at this point?"

  "Leave the kid alone, Elise. Life is short, so let him pursue his dreams." After a few more idle conversations, Alex bid the rest of the team goodbye and went home.

  "Damn, I can't wait for this prologue to be finally done." Alex groaned as he entered his house. It's been a hectic couple of months, during which Alex managed to pass the Academy's exams. The exams consisted of a physical and written portion. While the written portion was trivial for Alex to complete with the Inner Library Trait and his older self's memories, the physical portion was a completely different story. It included several tests that measured a person's physical attributes, including speed, stamina, and strength. Even after years of intense training, Alex had only barely achieved a passing grade. "Damn, Scarred Body, I would have been able to train more efficiently and pass the physical tests with flying colours if it wasn't for this stupid Trait." He grumbled while opening a safe in a hidden compartment behind his TV.

  The compartment contained three enchanted glass cases that could preserve anything inside them. One case contained the Blood Ichor Berries, another housed the Demon Heart Peach, and the last held a single Purity Flower, a blindingly white flower with a blue stem. Alex was pleasantly surprised when he met Ana; he had originally planned to hunt down some artifacts to trade with Leorik Bonal for the Demon Heart Peach. However, with Ana obtaining it for him, Alex could speed up his plans by avoiding the need to waste time navigating some very annoying Rifts. "Three ingredients down, three more to go." Closing the safe, Alex put everything back in place and headed to his room to grab his bags. "Just a few more things to finish, then I'll be ready for chapter one."

  "Mack! What are you doing!?" Yelled a tall blond woman.

  "Hmm? Aint dit clear Martha? I'm playing da Great Hunt, da game that's all the rage with da kids these days." Answered a large, tan, muscular man as he leaned back on his chair while holding a handheld. Martha's brow twitched at his answer.

  "So you're admitting you're slacking off during work?!" Mack waved away Martha's concerns.

  "Ai, it's important to know where our hard work is being used for."

  "What?" Mack nodded as he sat up straight.

  "Yeah, da Great Hunt is all about tracking and hunting down monsters to use their parts to make better equipment so you can face stronger monsters and repeat da process all over again. A big part of da game is all about gathering information to hunt down da monsters better, essentially what we do here. And I goda admit I'm impressed how well they simulate some of these monsters, they're so life-like." Curious about his claim, Martha leaned over Mack's shoulder to watch him play.

  "Hmm, to think they even added the Fang Beatles' mating dance." Mack nodded with a wide grin.

  "Yeah! Day even captured how da use their wings to reflect light to get da female's attention. So, what do you think?" Marth let out a defeated sigh.

  "Hmp, I gotta admit it is impressive, but" she stood up straight and crossed her arms. "That doesn't mean you can slack off whenever you want when on the job. We still have a lot of data we need to compile and organize before the end of the month. Once everything is done, then you can play as much as you want." Martha fished while walking towards a table covered in paper.

  "Ugh, you got a point." Mack groaned as he placed his handheld on the table before getting up while stretching his arms. "Ah, I was meaning to ask you something." Martha motioned for him to continue while she looked through the pile of data. "When did we release our notes on da Night Beast?" Martha paused he work to look at Mack.

  "Sorry, can you say that again? I think I misheard you."

  "Hmm? Oh, I just asked when we made our research on da Night Beast public." Martha frowned at his question.

  "We didn't, why would you think that?"

  "What? What do you mean we didn't release the notes?"

  "It means we didn't. What we have on the Night Beasts isn't even close to being enough to justify making it public yet; at most, all we have is surface analysis and speculation."

  "Dat can't be, I just fought a Night Beast in da game dat clearly used our data." It took Martha a moment to process what she just heard.

  "Show me." Figuring it would be too slow for him to find it in the game, Mack opened up a video of the hunt on a nearby computer and showed it to Martha. "T-that can't be." She muttered as she kept rewinding and fast-forwarding the video, drinking in every little detail of the monster. "Did someone at WyrmWeath steal our data?"

  "Why would day do dat when we make our data public anyway. What do day have to gain?"

  "Then was there a leak in our systems?" Mack raised a brow.

  "If dat was da case, then we have bigger issues than some game company using soon-to-be public data for a game. Hey, where are you going?"

  "To see if I can talk to the CEO of WyrmWealth."

  "What? Why? I know it's weird dat a game can simulate such life-like monsters, but does it matter?"

  "You don't understand, I was part of a team responsible for a project called Monster Eye. Our goal was to create simulations of monsters so soldiers could practise hunting strategies without risking anyone's safety. However, the project was discontinued because our simulations kept diverging too far from the real behaviour of the monsters. It was considered impossible with our current technology to simulate monsters accurately enough to be useful. But what we have here is physical evidence that it was indeed possible and that we must have just missed something during our attempt. If we could collaborate with the person who managed to simulate the monster, we might have a chance to revive Project Monster Eye." Knowing that once his wife was dead set on something, she wouldn't budge no matter what he said, Mack just let Martha do what she wanted and hoped it wouldn't backfire on her.

  It took a few days, but Martha managed to schedule a meeting with the supposed original creator of the game's system on the condition that she signs a non-disclosure agreement. So, on the scheduled day, Mack and Martha waited in a private meeting room a few doors away from the main labs. The meeting room had a long table with several chairs, multiple whiteboards, and a large screen at the front. While comparing the data they had on their tablets, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Hello, I'm Alex Alveron from WyrmWealth, and I have a scheduled meeting with Miss and Mr. Evanon," said a surprisingly young voice behind the door.

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  "Uh, come in da door is open." Opening the door, the two researchers examined the system's supposed creator, capable of simulating monsters. He was a strangely unremarkable young lad, with his large backpack being the only notable thing about him. Martha gestured for him to sit across from them. Alex nodded, removed his backpack, took out a laptop, set it on the table, and sat down. "So you da one who created the system dat can simulate monsters?"

  "You could say that, but I'm not sure why you're describing it like that."

  "Do you know why we wanted to meet with you?" Asked Martha.

  "Not really, all I was told was that someone was curious about some systems in the game."

  "Well, it would be better to start from the beginning." Martha took her tablet and connected it to the screen at the front of the room. She then grabbed a nearby remote and turned on the display. "Here is a recording of a Night Beast captured two months ago in a mid-tier Rift." She let the clip play before switching to the next video. "Here is a short video of our best attempt to simulate the Night Beast's behaviour." She paused again before switching to the last recording. "And here is a recording of the Night Beast in your game." After the video played for a few minutes, she paused it and looked at Alex. "Did you notice anything about the three videos I just showed?"

  "That's yours is sh-" Alex rapidly blinked before shaking his head as if waking up from a daze. "Has a lot of room for improvement."

  "You don't need to sugarcoat it. I know it's not that good. But the problem is, I don't understand how a game can simulate a monster better than a project a team of dedicated researchers spent years making."

  "Can I?" Alex asked while motioning towards the tablet. She nodded before handing it over. The trio spent the next few minutes in relative silence as Alex looked over the three videos. "Hmm, can I see the Weave you used for this video?" Taking the tablet, Martha opened up the Weave before handing it back. "I think I understand your problem." Alex finally said after half an hour more of silence.

  "What is it?"

  "How much do you know about Weaving?" Mack and Martha looked at each other before shaking their heads.

  "Not much, my job was just to evaluate how accurate the simulation was and how it can be improved," Martha admitted.

  "Hmm, ok, I'll just explain it from the beginning. The performance of a Weave heavily depends on how clear the image the weaver had when they made their Tapestries. Look, here is the Tapestry used for your simulation." Alex flipped the tablet around so the two researchers could see the screen. The Tapestry appeared as an extremely detailed sketch of the Night Beast they might encounter, as noted in one of their observation records; it even included annotations and descriptions of various parts.

  "Now here is the Tapestry for the Night Beast fight in the earliest version of the game I originally made." No matter how hard the duo tried, they couldn't make heads or tails of what Alex was showing them. The Tapestry displayed what could only generously be described as a chimeric creature that might only be called a Night Beast if you squint hard enough. On closer inspection, Martha noticed that what she initially thought were scales were, in fact, blocks of extremely dense text she couldn't read. "Can you tell me how these two differ?"

  "Besides, how one looks like research notes while da other looks like a drunk's best attempt at drawing a Night Beast from memory?" Mack quipped.

  "Ha, I wish I were drunk," Alex answered back.

  "Yours conveys motion," Martha responded, disregarding the two men's teasing. "The one in our Tapestry, although appearing more lifelike, is static and lifeless. In contrast, the one you have illustrates a Night Beast poised to attack, its body ready to pounce and its mouth snarling wide open."

  "Yes," Alex nodded. "Now let me show you the Tapestry used in the final version of the game." The duo gasped when they saw the Tapestry. If they didn't know better, they would have thought that Alex was showing them a picture someone had taken or a screenshot from a video of a Night Beast attacking a soldier. "The problem was that you stopped seeing it as a living creature, meaning your image of the Night Beast became too sterile and impersonal. Due to this, the simulation ended up lifeless and, for lack of a better word, rigid."

  "What can we do to fix this problem?"

  "I see two potential solutions you can try. The first is to gather and incorporate more data."

  "What? How would that help? Wouldn't that just make the problem worse?" Alex shook his head.

  "I believe you misunderstood my point. The data you referenced was too binary: if A happens, then B follows. What I'm proposing is more like rolling dice. If A occurs, it could result in one, two, three, or more possibilities. There isn't a fixed result, only potential outcomes. For instance, if the Night Beast initially sees prey, it hunts and kills it. Instead, you would have the Night Beast see prey, followed by one of many possible outcomes happening. Is that clear?"

  "Yeah- Not really," Mack confessed, looking completely lost. Before Alex could add to his explanation, Martha interrupted him by suggesting an alternate solution.

  "How about we hire you and your team to make our simulations for us?" Alex furrowed his brow at the suggestion.

  "Well, I guess we could, but you'll need to discuss it in more detail with my boss." Alex paused for a moment. "Would we have access to the data you have on monsters if we did?"

  "Of course."

  "Hmm, I see. Well, even if the rest of my team isn't on board, I'm willing to help you make the simulations anyway."

  "Dat's awfully kind of you," Mack beamed.

  "Don’t worry about it. The more we learn about monsters, the safer our society will be overall. Your work here is incredibly crucial and could save numerous lives." Mack smiled wider as he nodded. The three continued their conversation for another hour before Alex needed to depart. The two researchers bid Alex goodbyes, promising to negotiate a deal with his boss at the earliest opportunity.

  'That went better than I expected it would,' Alex thought as he boarded a bus outside the research institution. When his boss initially asked him to meet with two researchers about his game. Alex saw it as a perfect opportunity to gather more connections he could potentially use. However, his confidence took a major hit when he was told the names of the researchers he was supposed to meet, and he realized he had no idea who they were. It wouldn't be the first time he had to interact with people who never appeared in any REALMS source material, but it would be the first time that messing up or leaving a bad expression would severely hamper his goals.

  However, after everything was said and done, Alex can say he did quite a good job. He almost slipped up a few times, but he managed to stop himself before saying anything problematic. 'More work is never pleasant, but I can't pass up the opportunity to get more information on monsters.' REALMS source books and bestiaries only provide the bare bones that the GMs need for encounters. While lore books and novels go a bit more in-depth, they are not nearly enough for Alex.

  Getting off the bus, Alex walked for another hour before arriving at an abandoned mall. Inside, he used his Arcane Sight to steer clear of surveillance as he explored deeper. After navigating through several twists and dead ends, he finally discovered what he was searching for: a rift located in the middle of a women's washroom. "-Sigh- I know it said it spawns randomly inside the mall, but come on, why did it have to be here?" Alex groaned. "-Sigh- Whatever, can't do anything about it. At least it's stable enough that we don't have to worry about soldiers storming this place while we work." At this point in the timeline, only unstable Rifts can be detected and located; stable ones like the one in front of Alex are invisible to magical sensors. In the past, Alex would often have to abandon plans of conquering a Rift because it was too unstable and risked detection by authorities. The last thing he wanted was to be arrested for entering a Rift as a minor.

  "Silk, can you come out? We need to test my new spells before entering." Alex waited for her while ignoring the sensation of Silk crawling out and down his back. Once she was in front of him, Alex crouched down and placed a hand on her head. Focusing on the Mana in his body, Alex gave it a mental push to force it to flow into Silk before cutting off the connection. "Ugh, how was it?"

  -Sreeeeee-

  "That's all?" Silk nodded. "Damn, I knew the conversion rate was bad, but to think seventy percent of the Mana was lost." Mana Transfer, one of the two new spells Alex spent the last few months trying to learn. Despite being categorized as a spell, Mana Transfer is more of an advanced Mana technique that allows a person to give another person or object their own Mana. However, despite how useful it might sound on paper, the Spell has two major flaws. The first is the spell's horrible conversion rate; it's so bad that it's more efficient to eat Moon Petals than have someone use Mana Transfer on you. The second flaw and the reason why people don't bother trying to improve the Spell is Mana Sickness. It's very easy for the caster and target of Mana Transfer to succumb to Mana Sickness. With no reliable way to overcome this problem, people have all but given up on the Spell, with only the most dedicated fans of the Spell keeping it from being forgotten.

  "Ok, let's try Mana Drain now."

  -SCREEET!-

  "Yes, yes, I'll feed you all the Mana you want afterwards." Alex rolled his eyes before focusing on his Mana once more. Imagining the familiar Mana Threads in his mind, he shaped them into a net before casting it into Silk. To ensure his connection doesn't break, Alex waited briefly before yanking the net along with a chunk of Silk's Mana into himself. "How much did you lose?"

  -Scit-

  Alex clicked his tongue. "Hmm, so a five-to-one ratio? Not the worst, but definitely could be better." Mana Drain, like Mana Transfer, is categorized as a Spell despite not really being one. While Mana Transfer is used to give your Mana to someone else, Mana Drain, as its name suggests, allows the caster to take Mana instead. You'll think it would be a useful technique to know, especially against spell casters, but in reality, it's such a flawed spell that Alex had to pay an informant just to find anyone who knew the spell. On the bright side, the guy who knew the spell agreed to teach it to Alex if he paid for his lunch that day. Mana Drain has the same flaws as Mana Transfer, just to a greater degree. No matter how well someone practices Mana Drain, the best they could achieve is a two-to-one ratio, resulting in a guaranteed net loss each time it's cast. Also, due to the nature of the spell, it's even easier for the caster to experience Mana Sickness since they would typically run out of Mana before they could drain any.

  "Well, it doesn't really matter how inefficient the spell is. I just need to be able to cast it fast enough to use in battle." Standing up, Alex stretched out his body before downing a potion to replenish his drained Mana. "Ok, Silk, do you remember the plan?"

  -Schre!-

  Silk screeched while bobbing her body up and down in an attempt to imitate a nod. "Great! Well, let's get you fed before entering." With an excited shriek, Silk crawled back up and onto Alex's back. Feeling his Mana rapidly drain, Alex chewed a handful of Moon petals and downed several potions before jumping into the rift.