Chapter 304: How close?

"I already told you that it is because you are a candidate." The system replied, causing Eldrian to get that twitching feeling again.

"And why does that bring danger?" Eldrian questioned in a strained tone.

"Because of what a candidate represents."

"Fucking hell, what the hell is a candidate?" Eldrian asked, fed up with not getting a decent answer.

"A candidate is someone who has a special way of using magic. They see the world, unlike others, enabling them to achieve things most believe impossible."

"Then there must be many candidates. Why would it bring me danger?" Eldrian asked, certain that almost any genius should then be a candidate. 

"No, there is not. You are the first since the last invasion."

"What? How is that possible?" Eldrian asked in shock, quickly understanding how that could paint a target on his back.

"It is because becoming a candidate isn't just about being capable in magic. Talent isn't the guiding thread. It certainly helps and is needed, but you must think of things in a special way to become a candidate."

"Note this need not be a unique way, just special."

"Hidden classes are normally the first indication of someone with promise. However, it is not enough on its own. A hidden class shows that you consider something extremely precious."

"Gaining a hidden class means you will do your utmost for that thing, be it what it may. However this is just one part, it only indicates that you have a strong enough will."

"Combining this with having a special outlook, and given enough talent, a candidate can appear."

"Then... What the hell does being a candidate mean?" Eldrian asked.

"Being a candidate means that you can become a legend. However, if you will be able to continue on your path and survive is uncertain. If you lose your reason; you will fail. If you stop seeing the world differently; you will fail. If you are not talented enough; you will fail."

"That is a lot of a failing," Eldrian said, feeling like this being a candidate just brought him troubles and no boons. 

"Of course, in the entire world of Gaia there is no more than 250 legends. Most of them are in fact neutral. Those in the two warring factions only amount to around a 100."

This actually shocked Eldrian much more than anything else he had learned thus far. He knew how massive this world was. It was too big to make sense.

Eldrian didn't know the exact values, but he recalled that Aggostead had around 5 million people, and it was only a medium city. Phallos had 4 of them, with 2 capitals that must have far more people. Not to mention all the other cities, with it having around 20 in total.

He assumed that the kingdom would have at least 50 million people, though the actual population was closer to 100 million. And it was only a Tier 3 kingdoms, of which there were around 50 more in the empire of Floria. 

Of course, there being around a 100 empires can't be forgotten. The population of just the 'good' races is certainly more than that on Earth. Heck, just a few empires would reach the population on Earth.

And these races didn't even cover a tenth of the world. 

Just knowing that this world was much larger -and had a larger population- than Earth, made the fact that there were just 250 or so legends that existed, shocking. Whatmore, only a 100 being part of the war meant that at best the good races would have 50. 

This meant a legend was far rarer than even a billionaire. A thought that was extremely shocking.

"Why is there so few?" Eldrian asked, starting to better understand how big a target he might have on his back.

"Because being a candidate and managing to become a legend are two very different things. Of those who become candidates, only about 1 in a 100 would make it. Fifty would simply fail, 45 would be killed and the other four would have something else stop them."

Eldrian paused and pondered for a while, then asked, "How would I become a legend?"

"There is no known way. The only thing confirmed is that you must keep true to yourself."

That helps a lot...  Eldrian grumbled, unsure what to ask next. "So... Many people would want me dead, but why does that mean I am in danger?"

This was something Eldrian did not understand, and it was also a topic Joren was not too inclined to answer. Or more accurately it seemed that Joren did not quite know.

Eldrian hoped the system would be more capable of explaining this. So far he failed in understanding and it made all the warnings less impactful. He kept thinking that there can't be that much danger, surely there can't.

"Because of how you enter this world." The system replied, continuing on just as Eldrian was about to curse again. 

"The method used to allow your consciousness into the simulation is similar to sleeping. I use certain tricks to allow your consciousness to be transferred, and we transfer it into the soul of your avatar."

"The key thing here is that the tricks trick your subconscious, in a manner similar to how it makes dreams. This causes your brain itself to believe you are dreaming, while you feel like you are awake."

"Like a truly vivid dream." The system ended off with this statement.

"Then where does the danger come in?" Eldrian asked, this sounded similar to how Miracle first explained it. He didn't quite get how it worked, but he got the gist of what was happening. 

"The danger comes in when certain beings can influence your avatar's soul. This causes your subconscious to realize that something is wrong. That it is not a dream."

"Normally this isn't a big problem. However, the problem grows the more your avatar's soul is influenced. Generally, there are safety measures to try and keep you safe and in the game. If they do not work you will be forcefully ejected from the game."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Eldrian commented.

"This is just for when it is influenced, it becomes much more damaging when your avatar's soul is actually damaged. This will send a massive shock to your subconscious; the more the damage, the greater the shock."

"At lower levels it will feel like you wake from a nightmare. A truly realistic one where you felt stuck, unable to do anything. Your body will react to this, doing its best to wake you up."

"This is similar to cases where people thrash around in their sleep, though doing so while you are connected can lead to damage. The limits on pain will also be lifted with the damage, this is similar to when you enter that special state of yours."

"Ultimately the damage will cause the awake you to receive more and more pain. Shocking you and sending you most likely into a panic."

"With this panic your mind will race. Adrenaline will be pumped throughout your body. Your subconscious will try to wake you."

"The more you panic the harder it is to wake. The more adrenaline in your body the more damage is done to it. As with the damage to the soul, with your subconscious trying to wake you, some of your actions will be transferred to it."

"This can lead to you becoming paralyzed, as your nerves get pushed too far and your mind disconnected from your body."

"This is the first true danger."

"The first?" Eldrian echoed, this description had given him far more respect for the danger.

"Yes, the first. This is what will happen when up to half of your avatar's soul is destroyed. If only a tenth or so is destroyed then the damage would likely not be permanent. After two tenths it becomes permanent. Hence such low amounts would lead to a trauma."

"What happens after half of it is destroyed becomes much more dependent on the person. On the reality they perceive and their willpower. More specifically the willpower of their subconscious."

"The stronger their subconscious, the more likely they are to make it out of the simulation. However, if yours is not strong enough, then your mind will stay trapped in the simulation."

"You will effectively be brain dead."

Eldrian tried to swallow upon hearing this, looking at his heart he wondered how close he had been. "What happens if... If you fail to exit the simulation and all of your avatar's soul gets destroyed?" 

"I do not know, most likely; you die."

"I know the first game tester's consciousnesses had lingered for a while in-game. But without a body they had ultimately dissipated. However I only know this from the data, I was not there. I do not know what they actually experienced."

"I have created the current measures from the data I was given about the first game testers. However, to test how well my measures work, I need them to be used. This has not happened yet."

"Your case wasn't and still isn't applicable. Even I do not understand what had happened, I certainly cannot use it to calibrate for the general userbase."

Again Eldrian tried to swallow, turning to his soul he had to ask. "How close was I? What exactly happened to me?"

"There was nothing that had directly damaged your soul, and generally your soul would repair itself while you wait to be resurrected."

"After I had kicked you from the simulation, you should have been locked out until it was healed. However, Joren and the others forced me to allow you in with the new headset. Having added a specific code on it to block me from stopping you."

"At the same time, your soul had somehow still carried your will. Even without your mind being present, it had refused my guidance to be healed. Due to this, it had started to dissipate."