Chapter 249: Meeting the Admin Team

My talk with Xalla wrapped up quickly after that. With the Trials only a few hours away, I had precious little time to get things prepared, but I did the most with it before getting Q’s doppelganger to replace me once again. If Xalla’s words are to be believed, then doing well fighting off the invading aliens would be the least of my worries during this fifth Trial. No, what I had to worry about was the presence of Ryan, and more importantly, Ashwin. 

I wasn’t sure what the Overseer did, or if it was due to that slimeball’s involvement at all given the disconnect between Trash Matrix and the rest of Central, but I could tell that Ashwin would be a major issue if he’s considered an Anomaly by Xalla. I’ve seen what Jae-Hyun’s capable of, and according to Q, there was even one insane individual who managed to destroy an entire training facility not too long ago. Whatever modifications the Trash Matrix has made were only trouble for me.

Thankfully, because they were classified as Anomalies, I had the excuse to monitor them as the Lord Arbiter, and there was nothing that anyone in Central could do about it. Xalla had said that there were some attempts made to stop my direct involvement in this case, but Q had quickly put a stop to that protest. I was the closest Arbiter around, and since one of the major roles was to oversee Anomalies, there was no reasonable grounds to object to my involvement. The Overseer’s been under a lot of scrutiny ever since Q’s dismissal and subsequent reinstatement, and he was tied behind red tape at the moment.

All that was left, therefore, was for me to do my job… which was also the current problem.

Say, Noe, you don’t suppose that Awake-Walter’s left you any info about what a Lord Arbiter does, right? 

“Need I remind you that there is no distinction between you and your awakened self, dear Walter?” Noe said, “You are not two people, my Host.”

Yeah, yeah, but you know what I mean!

“And the answer to that question is no,” Noe continued, “The information on the total functions of a Lord Arbiter would be too much for your current mental capacity. All that you need to know is that you are to mediate the interactions between Anamoly and the site. How you accomplish this task is under the purview of the Arbiter.”

Which, uh, means what, exactly?

Noe sighed. “It means that you can act as you please as long as you can justify your actions as beneficial to the site and Central as a whole.”

Huh, so I can do whatever and then bullshit my way out of whatever consequences later? Without Central or its shitty Overseer able to do anything to stop me?

“Precisely, my Host.” Noe replied, “As long as you can justify what you have done afterward.”

I smiled. That’s all I needed, thanks.

Once I had sorted out the last of my concerns, I turned my attention back to the one task that I had dreaded. I took one final, deep breath, and summoned Q’s doppelganger. 

“You called for me, Lord Walter?” the stupid thing said with that uncanny smile. God, I still couldn’t get used to seeing my own face make such a ridiculous expression. 

“Yes,” I muttered, doing my best to keep my tone neutral. Deep down I knew that my hatred of Q’s doppelganger was irrational, but boy was it hard to keep my bias at bay. “Has Q or Xalla informed you about what you need to do for the upcoming trial?”

He smiled and took out a huge binder. “I have studied the information extensively! I will not let you down, Lord Walter!”

“You never do,” I forced myself to say. “Just make sure that you do your best to support the rest of the guild in the shadows. You’ve been briefed on my new role in the guild, yes?”

“Indeed!” he exclaimed, “A well-deserved promotion for the legendary Lord Arbiter! I knew it was only a matter of time before the Aspirants understood the majesty of your existence. I shall endeavor to continue your excellence!”

I stifled a groan. “My excellence in the shadows, yes?”

He nodded vigorously. “Percisely!”

“Away from sight,” I continued. “In the shadows, where you are invisible.”

“Of course!”

“And this time you will record what the others do in more detail, and decrease the number of references to the records of myself?”

He nodded again, his bright smile never fading. “I have committed your instructions to memory!”

“All right then,” I said, “You’re dismissed in that case. I expect good work from you; work worthy of the Lord Arbiter’s position.”

“Thank you for giving me such an honor!” he exclaimed, his whole body rigid with emotion. “I shall depart now!” 

And with that, he left the room, his demeanor morphing into my usual carefree appearance. Seeing the change in person was quite odd, but I forced any thoughts about him out of mind. The less I thought about the stupid thing the better. 

“Xalla,” I half-whispered, “I’m ready to go.”

A portal - really, more like a rip in the dimensions - appeared in front of me and without any more delays, I shifted into the much more comfortable Secondary Form and stepped through the opening.

  *

I had half expected to appear in another bland, Central-approved office space like the ones I had been in prior, but the scenery couldn’t have been further from that. I was, much to my amazement, high above Earth. Like, I could see the curvature of space from where I stood (thank god I chose to come as a Xollon). I wasn’t floating, but instead, I was standing on an impossibly tall tower that jutted through the Earth’s atmosphere, defying any notion of logic or physics. 

It took me a moment to shift my gaze away from the beautiful blue ball I had called home to scan the area I was in. The tower I was on - the only one on the planet from the looks of things - was made of what looked to be ordinary stone. The size of it, at the very top at least, couldn’t have been much larger than a mid-sized sports arena, and aside from the fact that we were practically in space at this point, nothing else about it stood out. 

It was perfectly flat, had gravity on it now that I think about it, and was unremarkable except for the dozens of gargantuan stone thrones that sat in a ring around the center of the structure. About half of the seats were occupied, some by individuals I knew, but most were strangers. The seats with an occupant glowed with eldritch runes, indicating that something was going on that I wasn’t privy to. About a dozen more important individuals were scattered about on their feet (or close approximations of feet), while more subservient staff lined the outer perimeter of the whole thing.

Everyone turned their attention to me after a few moments, and I took a cursory glance at the strange stone seating more closely before I would inevitably be overwhelmed by the curious crowd. It looked like… huh, it looked like the people on the occupied thrones were viewing something in the distance. Kind of like how humans use VR headsets nowadays. I suppose that made sense, since even with my enhanced Xollon senses, I wouldn’t have been able to survey the people on the planet below. The thrones must be viewing devices of some kind, although I’m sure that wasn’t all it did.

Before I could scrutinize the mechanisms closer, several familiar faces came to greet me. 

Xalla, along with her sister (who looked none the worse for wear, but was acting professionally at least), bowed low before moving to either side of me to stand sentry. They were there to ensure that the others - namely the Sponsors looking quite eager to personally see the legendary Lord Arbiter W back in the flesh - from swarming too close. Not even the most daring of individuals or crazed W fans wanted to risk pissing off two Xollon, and they backed off quickly enough.

The only ones allowed near me were the official staff assigned to Site 1102.

“Greetings, Lord Arbiter,” Q said with a professional smile. “I welcome you to the administrative locus for Earth.”

Besides him was another familiar face. One that wasn’t so pleased to see me.

“Shouldn’t you be greeting the Lord Arbiter as well, Junior Assistant Jordan?” Q asked with a professionally irritating smirk. 

Well damn, I hadn’t expected to see this particular face, although I had a sneaking suspicion that she thought the same thoughts about me. Jordan’s face turned pale the second she was forced to look at me, and as hard as she tried to hide the jitters, the trembling in her hands couldn’t be concealed. Whatever Awake Walter did to her sure left a mark.

“G-greetings,” she stuttered, face completely ashen now. She still couldn’t hold eye contact with me for longer than a few seconds.

Q sighed. “That is hardly the standard way to greet a superior Central operative, Junior Assistant Jordan.”

Her eyes darted back and forth. “S-sorry, sir!”

“You shouldn’t be apologizing to me.” Q rebuked, “It is the Lord Arbiter’s honor that you are insulting at the moment. Need I remind you of the consequences of such actions?”

“No, sir!” she answered immediately, her whole body quivering with fear. She turned her attention back to me and bowed low. “I apologize for my prior actions, Lord Arbiter W! I greet y- you as the senior member of the training site!” 

“Thank you,” I said with a relaxed smile. “And you’re a Junior Assistant now, eh?”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Q laughed. “Yes, due to Xalla’s reports, Jordan’s actions after temporarily taking over my position has been anything but adequate. There has been a lot of unregulated communications and actions that are still left undocumented.”

Yeah, those were certainly her private talks with the Overseer’s people. Guess Jordan got thrown under the bus once Q was back; there was no way that that slimeball of an individual would have allowed any traces of his involvement - probably all illegally done - left intact.

“However,” Q continued, “Her actions, while grossly negligent and potentially dangerous, did not negatively affect the operations of the Site as a whole, and thus she was simply demoted to the lowest branch of management. We thought it fitting for her to work her way back to her prior position, with us and with the Lord Arbiter guiding each step.

“Isn’t that a great opportunity, Junior Assistant Jordan?” Q said with a playful smile. 

It was pretty clear to me that Q still had some grievances with the poor woman that were left unresolved, but as much as I didn’t like seeing someone get picked on, I couldn’t muster up any sympathy for Jordan here. She probably helped orchestrate Q’s dismissal, and I could still remember her grin at the prospect of killing all of my human friends with the Restus. Still, I was kind of glad that she was still alive. I didn’t have a real grudge toward her; she was just another of the Overseer’s many bootlickers.

“I am forever thankful for the second chance,” she muttered, “I thank you for your grace, Administrator Q.”

“Wonderful!” Q clapped, “Now that the introductions are out of the way, why don’t we get the Lord Arbiter to his station? This is the first time that he will be on this side of the Trial’s operations, so let’s get him settled in before long. As you know, the new anomalies - ones you certainly don’t know about - can’t be left unattended for long.”

Jordan barely suppressed a frown. “As you command.”