This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

It was over.

[COMBAT COMPLETE]

I let out a sigh of relief as the boss finally fell in front of us. We were panting by the end of it, but it was a fun kind of tired what with all the smiles on our faces.

"It's finally dead..." Guidance let out a small chuckle. "Heh- Haha! It's finally dead!"

"We did it!" Shizu cheered, her breaths almost coming out as gasps as she fell to the ground. "We actually did it!"

"We've finally done our duty!" Maruki proudly declared. He was the only one still standing as if nothing even happened. "We can finally continue on with our journey!"

I almost wanted to ask 'What journey?,' before I remembered that we were technically still on the Empire's payroll. It honestly felt like it was a long time ago since we last talked with the Emperor. We've been at this boss for so long that I don't even remember why we were fighting anymore.

"Right! We can finally set sail!" Shizu excitedly yelped. "Vestyge won't know what'll hit them!"

Oh right... We were at war somehow. Kind of weird compared to what we just went through now.

"That can come after we're completely out of this dungeon," Guidance chuckled. "We're technically still inside it. We have to go through the portal before we can move on."

Sure enough, a swirling portal had appeared just where the boss had died. In all honesty though, I was expecting another cutscene to play somehow after the boss died. With nothing showing up, I could only assume that I was already done with the disorienting out-of-body experiences.

That was unless it triggers once I get into the portal.

"That we do," I humorously scoffed. I then waved towards the portal with a smile. "So, shall we then?"

With a shared nod, we all then stepped into the portal. Being the standard gentleman that I was, I let Guidance and Shizu move first, their hands outstretched towards the swirling portal in front of us.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to be the one doing this?" Guidance gave me a knowing look, pulling her hand out of the portal before then crossing her arms over her chest. "You're the party leader, right?"

I blinked. "Oh right..."

Letting out an awkward chuckle, I stretched out my hand to touch the portal.

[LEAVE DUNGEON?]

I raised an eyebrow at the prompt that showed up. Well, there was no other time than the present.

"[Yes]"

In the exact same vein as last time, a flash of light engulfed the four of us before whisking us away back to god knows where. Hopefully, it took us back to the bridge, but knowing this game, I could only imagine us getting spat out outside the [Rig]. Or maybe it'd even glitch so hard that it'd spit us out somewhere we don't even know. Well, maybe Guidance would know, seeing as she made the whole world around us, but-

[Meanwhile...]

What... Meanwhile? What kind of prompt was that? Some subtitles again?

Before I could even ask aloud, my vision was suddenly whisked away to a place that was obviously not the docks. It wasn't even in the capital, or even in Kattleyna. It certainly didn't look like the Empire, what with the dozens upon dozens of metal pipes hissing and moaning all over the place. And it was all dark and dreary too, even more so than Kattleyna.

[Vulcan: Vestygian Capital City]

The capital of Vestyge? Wait, why was this being presented to me?

"The world is at an end! The fabric of reality is coming apart at the seams!"

"The [Eld] are coming! We must repent from our wasteful ways!"

It was like I was a camera floating around, people screaming out on the streets as they protested something along the lines of the apocalypse. I didn't think that there'd be someone in this supposedly evil country that'd be like that. But then again, not all could be categorized in two boxes of black and white.

"Arrest them! Arrest them for public unrest!"

The scene turned for me. It was weird being on the rails as the camera shifted towards a full-faced... guy? Girl? Their voice and height made it hard for me to tell.

"Never! We shall expose the truth that President Stein is hiding from us!"

"The war was never about the resources! It's all about hiding the truth!"

Some of the protesters were talking about some stuff that I had no context of. I'm sure I would've pieced some stuff together, but all I could get was that there were some secrets to this war that this President Stein was hiding? I could also extrapolate that to even the Empire also hiding something from us about the war. Shizu and the Emperor were raving at their enemies for religious reasons, but perhaps there was more to this than that.

"Nonsense..." the important guard shook their head. "Take them away."

And with that, the protesters quickly broke up, some running for their lives while others were caught red-handed. The guards then bound them with some sort of steampunk handcuffs. I didn't think handcuffs could half steam hissing out of them, but they somehow made it work.

"What a joke," the guard sighed. "Really... Where did these rumors come from?"

Hmm... At least this was interesting. Public unrest was a thing in Vestyge then. There's still Marquee to go through though, and I didn't think- Oh, it faded to black already.

[Centrax City: Marquean Capital City]

Once more, the world blinked back to existence. This time, the entire place actually looked futuristic. It was the closest place I'd seen to the modern world as tall buildings and actual street lights riddled the streets.

"This... is it! A b-breakthrough... that'll change the world!"

The camera then zoomed towards some sort of bar, particularly towards a woman that was obviously drunk out of her mind. She looked like a scientist of some sort, what with the book on her hip and the white lab coat she was wearing. And the glasses. And the bags under her eyes. And the fact that she was actually very pretty despite how disheveled she currently was...

Okay, game. I get it. Stop making me look at her like a pervert.

"What is it, Alset?"

"N-Null technology! The w--world! All.... energy...."

"Whatever you say..."

The bartender was clearly done with her as he shook his head at the woman. And her name was Alset... She'd probably be important later.

"Still, this war is taking a strain on us all, isn't it?"

"Stupid war... Taking away.... funds...."

Huh. I guess that was still a thing even in different worlds. Research grants were always finicky, and that was especially during a time when resources were scarce.

"You're not even a real Academic. All that talk of yours have amounted to nothing, right?"

"Ehh.... Don't care.... If the Head Int-t-tellect doesn't want me.! Then I'll go somewhere else!"

Okay? I get the feeling that she was talking about defecting there. And this Head Intellect guy... Maybe that's the title for Marquee's leader?

[BZZZT!]

But before that conversation continued, the world faded to black again. Aaand I was back outside the [Rig.]

Well, I didn't know why those cutscenes played out, but I guess I'll take that info.

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