[ User Cael Ardyn Identified ]
[ Connecting to [***] ]
Cael stared at the screen for quite some time. His glowing, mystical eyes reflected the screen. Reading the text of the debugger protocol he had just summoned.
When he tried to focus on the censored words, his thoughts drifted away — his mind became oblivious to them. Even attempting to see or speak those censored words was impossible, leaving him staring at his reflection in the mirror like an idiot instead.
Flap!
He slapped his cheeks and washed his face again, trying to cool his mind and keep his attention from wandering.
'It's no use.'
Coming to terms with his situation, he looked past the initial message and drifted his gaze to the others.
[ Stability fully realised. ]
[ Debugger Protocol Initiated: Activation 100% ]
He looked deeper.
[ Evolve to Advance Debugger Protocol? ] [ YES ] [ NO ]
Cael stared at it for a moment and gulped.
"Yes…"
Nothing happened. Then the system voice spoke in his ears, making him flinch.
[ Evolution complete ]
[ Standard Issued Debugger Protocol -> Advanced Debugger Protocol ]
[ Connection to the Archive server is completely severed. The user will now directly connect with their [***] for use of the skill. ]
[ Doing so will not result in conscious breakdown anymore ]
Saying this, the protocol dismissed itself automatically.
Cael grinned.
'So, I collapsed because of the feedback from a new connection being established?'
'No. That wasn't related to me. It was related to the other me.'
When the silence settled and no other pop-up appeared, he exhaled slowly.
'After their disappearance, I went back to the elevator but it's very likely that I tried to check what had really changed before descending.'
He walked out of the washroom, holding a towel as he dried his face.
'So now I can check whatever changed without collapsing anymore?'
The idea felt refreshing. He thought that maybe he no longer had to deal with sudden consciousness breaks and collapses but he didn't let himself grow too comfortable with the thought.
He rested the towel on his shoulder and drew his hands through the air, summoning his newly evolved debugger protocol screen.
This time it was white instead of blue with blue accents around the edges and black text.
Cael stepped backward but immediately regained his composure.
The screen showed:
[ User Cael Ardyn has initiated the debugger protocol ]
[ Sync with the [***] : 100% ]
[ Update! ] The screen beeped when Cael gazed at this particular text, and new strings of information appeared.
[ The initial use of standard debugger protocol is now in full control of the user. ]
[ Evolution Changes ]:
[ Standard Debug Lv 7 -> Advance Debug Lv 2 ]
[ The protocol now can give new insights into the streams and codes. ]
[ Debugging now allows the user to reconstruct the code based on understanding level ]
[ Collection Cache Lv 4 -> Wellstring Workshop Lv 1 ]
[ The collected data of errors, glitches, memories, fables, scripts, codes and other variables now can be used to make entirely new unrelated scripts or codes depending on the level of the skill [Wellstring Workshop]. As the skill levels up more features will be updated.]
[ The previous skill Collection Cache sub-skill has also been updated. New features unlocked:
Wellstring Warehouse: Allows the storage of low-limit and high-instability variables permanently.
Current warehouse size: 64 Units.
Cache Code -> Workshop Craftsman: The ability of the feature Cache Code has evolved. Variables can now be optimally allocated to the internal system of the skill [Wellstring Workshop] using the trial and experimentation channel. ]
[ New skill Elemental Scripts unlocked. ]
[ Elemental Scripts Lv 0 ]
[ Channel the syntax of the elemental scripts to initiate the
[ The command may use residue from the Collection Cache to execute the process for efficiency ]
Reading all of that in one go, Cael froze, his facial expression fixed in awe and terror, his eyes staring wide at the screen.
The towel slid off his shoulder as he stood still for quite some time.
'Wh-Where do I even start…?'
He dismissed the protocol and spun around in the small dormitory room, holding his jaw with one hand as the other supported it.
"New skills for the protocol. Advancement of the previous skills. The common connection severed."
He said in a low voice.
'And this is just the debugger protocol which evolved, not my unique innate ability or skill!'
'So… Can anyone get these powers? But it hasn't been mentioned in the recorded history or collections. Does that mean I'm the first individual to achieve this?'
'What even are these abilities?'
He read them out again, his focus drifting to the screen and stopping at the start of the evolution changes list.
First was the main change to the initial protocol.
[ The protocol now can give new insights into the streams and codes. ]
[ Debugging now allows the user to reconstruct the code based on understanding level ]
"Reconstruct code… hah?" he said with a thoughtful expression.
The debugger protocol had allowed debuggers to interact with codes and scripts, to analyse data by breaking their building blocks from whole to micro-grain level.
The initial toll on one's mind and the time taken by the protocol depended on the person's level with the protocol.
But it had never allowed debuggers to reconstruct those micro-grains back into small blocks and then into a perfect block again. It had only ever allowed a temporary interaction to gather insight, without breaking down the code or script to nothingness.
But now Cael had the ability to do so. He could reconstruct the codes and scripts he debugged.
Just as he thought that, he looked at the level of the protocol and was disappointed to find it only at Lv2 — quite a downgrade from the Lv7 he previously held.
'I don't even know what Lv10 of the standard debugger protocol provides. I certainly won't be advancing this new version quickly.'
He looked at the skills next.
[ Collection Cache Lv 4 -> Wellstring Workshop Lv 1 ]
[ The collected data of errors, glitches, memories, fables, scripts, codes and other variables now can be used to make entirely new unrelated scripts or codes depending on the level of the skill [Wellstring Workshop]. As the skill levels up more features will be updated.]
He read it again but remained uncertain about what it exactly meant.
'The Advanced Debugger Protocol allows me to reconstruct codes and strings but this skill allows me to make entirely new scripts and codes from a collection of various variables.'
His head was still throbbing with pain, so he didn't press into the details too deeply.
Stressing his mind before the trials he was likely to face after stepping outside was an open invitation to collapse again.
He looked past the details to the text highlighting the new skill.
[ Elemental Scripts Lv 0 ]
[ Channel the syntax of the elemental scripts to initiate the
[ The command may use residue from the Collection Cache to execute the process for efficiency ]
'This one is pretty different from the rest.'
He had no idea about it at all. All he could do was read it again and again, trying to make sense of the words but nothing came.
Or maybe not.
The theme of features, abilities, and skills was creation and reconstruction using already-existing sources as the base of their operations. This skill is the same in that way.
He pondered that, still no new idea came. He even put his hopes on the vague sense of déjà vu, his intuition, or the lingering feeling of fragmented memories to give him any answer or hint but his mind was as blank as the feeling. Only the throbbing pain remained.
After a few rounds of thinking, he sat down on the bed and gulped the glass of water on the nearby table in one go.
'An Advanced Debugger Protocol. So, does the next level exist? What would those abilities be like?'
There was a lot to take in.
His eyes glowed deeper as his heartbeat accelerated.
'What about the fragmented view of timelines and memories? What about the flow of that strange energy which circulates in my core? What about the [***] attribute they mentioned?'
A sudden thought appeared in his mind.
'Are all of those in my control now? Have they advanced too? What's their connection with this version of the debugger protocol?'
There was only one way to find out.
He stood up and started circulating the feeling of energy in his core. His mind became stable and he felt every part of his being brimming with power.
At the very center of his being he found the cluster of heat energy. His senses gazed into the deeper layers of existence.
And then he felt a soft pull. Something that brought an incredible longing and attachment. A cool feeling passed down his spine, or at least he felt that it did.
And then the soft ringing of a chime echoed lightly in the back of his head.
Cael hesitated for a moment and simply released his focus. His attention returned to the surroundings and his body felt a little more stressed than before. Light sweat rolling around his eyes and forehead.
He closed his eyes and exhaled, wiping the sweat away. He opened his eyes and they returned to normal. He couldn't see it himself, but he felt that they had. The coolness that had been collecting in them disappeared.
'I can't risk collapsing again.'
He still needed to assess the situation after the Record Break. To see what had happened. What was the current state of things, and the role he had to play as an important witness to the inner workings of a primordial tool.
To discuss the details about the debugger protocol with Professor Samara. And much more.
He couldn't waste time anymore.
Cael quickly got up, changed from his dormitory clothes into his formal attire, and headed for the entrance.
The entrance opened in a swirling motion, looking more like a solid metal portal than a door.
***
His head was still throbbing with pain, though at a minuscule level.
The outside of the dormitory room was empty with no one in sight, and there was complete silence making Cael's footsteps echo through the hallway.
The haunted silence broken only by his calm and slow footsteps. The tense echo of the footsteps was somehow soothing to his mind.
'They are all probably busy, it seems.'
They had to be, after what happened during the Record Break. The initial fate of humanity had slightly depended on it.
He exited the long hallway and arrived at the cafeteria. No one was there either but here and there on the tables and small cabinets, plates of food had been left unattended.
Some were fresh, some half-eaten.
He continued walking toward the first main floor.
'Wait…! Is that what it meant?'
An interesting thought appeared in his head.
An advanced version of the debugger protocol unknown to the people of this timeline and era.
The true potential of the great tool 'Debugger Protocol' which had looked like a cheap joke in front of other great tools.
The only known user of its advanced form, the sole holder of it — that is me, Cael Ardyn.
The one who can wield the powers of the great tool as it was intended at the dawn of 'First Archive'.
'The Last Debugger.'
Cael grinned. Somehow the theory he had come up with looked too appealing to pass by as a random thought. Even if he doubted it a little, his intuition told him the same.
The vague sense of déjà vu took hold of him as something about the advanced debugger protocol reminded him of the good old days he had never experienced.