The Extra-dimensional Pioneer Of Fiction [Draft]

The door hissed shut behind Aria, her figure vanishing into the HUB's labyrinthine corridors. Arlo stared at the empty doorway, his mind racing. Her abrupt exit—her clipped tone, the tension in her shoulders—left him unsettled.

"Where do you think she's going?"Arlo asked, turning to Amelia.

Amelia, lounging in her chair with the casual air of someone who thrived on chaos, spun a pen between her fingers. "Pioneer work," she said, answering

Arlo crossing his arms. Not my concern? She's the one dragging me into all this, and I don't even get an explanation?/

Arlo frowned, "She looked like she was heading to war, not a meeting."

Amelia smirked, her violet eyes glinting behind her glasses. "Maybe she is. But that's not your problem, rookie. Focus on your training."

Amelia's evasiveness was as infuriating as it was deliberate. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that Aria's sudden departure was tied to something bigger—something dangerous.

"Fine," he said with a sigh. "So, what's the plan?"

Amelia grinned, her demeanor shifting back to her usual playful self. "The plan is simple. You follow my lead, learn as much as you can, and try not to embarrass yourself in the process."

"Great," Arlo muttered. "That sounds promising."

...

Amelia's grin widened as she gestured to his BrainLink. "Open the quest tab. Time to get your feet wet."

Arlo activated the BrainLink menu and directly choose Quest Tab, and the moment he opened the tab, his entire field of view exploded with screens—hundreds, if not thousands of quests, all vying for his attention with blinking icons and bright text.

"What the—" Arlo recoiled, overwhelmed by the sheer number of options. "This… is insane. How am I supposed to even look at all of this?"

Amelia burst out laughing, nearly doubling over in her chair. "Classic newbie reaction," she said between laughs. "Relax, rookie. This happens to everyone their first time."

"Glad you're enjoying this," Arlo said dryly, swiping at the screen in a futile attempt to organize them. "Seriously, though, I need help."

"Alright, alright," Amelia said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "Here's what you do. Categorize the quests by rank. Just say 'filter by rank: F to A,' and your BrainLink will handle the rest."

Arlo did as she suggested. Filter by rank: F to A.

Instantly, the chaotic mess of screens vanished, leaving behind a much more manageable list. The quests were now neatly organized into categories, each rank labeled clearly.

"That's… better," he admitted

"See? Not so bad," Amelia said, giving him a thumbs-up. "The system's not trying to drown you; it's just that there are way too many quests out there."

Arlo scrolled through the list, stopping at the E-rank section. He selected it, and once again, his screen was bombarded with options. "Okay, now it's just slightly less insane," he muttered.

"That's where I come in," Amelia said, her smirk returning. "Information brokers like me exist because pioneers don't have the time—or the patience—to sift through this mess. We find the quests worth taking."

Arlo raised an eyebrow. "And what makes a quest 'worth taking'?"

"Rewards, risk, and relevance," she replied, ticking off points on her fingers. "You want something that plays to your strengths, offers decent rewards, and doesn't have a high chance of getting you killed. At least, not right away."

Arlo sighed, rubbing his temples. "Yeah, I can see why. This is a nightmare. How does anyone get anything done without someone like you?"

"They don't," Amelia said with a grin. "That's why people like me are in high demand."

Slumping his shoulders, Arlo let out a deep breath. "Alright, I get it. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought." 

Amelia clapped him on the back. "Don't worry, rookie. You'll be fine. After all, you've got the best in the business as your teacher." She flashed him a thumbs-up, her confidence infectious.

Arlo couldn't help but smirk, despite his frustration. "Alright, Amelia. Let's see what you've got."

=================================================

The week of training with Amelia was a whirlwind of chaos, frustration, and unexpected insight. At first, Arlo had struggled to keep up with her frenetic pace and scatterbrained teaching style, but as the days went on, he started to see the method in her madness.

"So, what's the point of all this?" Arlo had asked on the second day, his head spinning from the sheer volume of information she'd thrown at him.

Amelia, perched on the edge of her cluttered desk, had smirked. "The point is efficiency, rookie. The System spits out more quests than you could ever dream of completing. If you don't learn how to filter and prioritize, you'll drown in options and waste time on garbage quests."

"Think of it like picking a movie," she continued, gesturing to the holographic screen. "You don't scroll through every option—you narrow it down by genre. Horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action… pick what you're intersted for."

Arlo followed her advice, filtering quests by genre. The flood of options became a manageable stream, and he started to feel a semblance of control.

"Think of it like picking a movie on a Friday night," she'd said, gesturing to the holographic screen in front of Arlo.

Using the genre-based method, Arlo had managed to screen thousands of quests down to a few hundred relevant ones. At first, the process felt daunting, but as he got the hang of it, he realized how much time it saved.

By the fifth day, he'd started to feel confident. "Okay, so let's say I'm interested for horror or supernatural quest. What's next?"

Amelia had grinned, clearly enjoying his growing enthusiasm. "Next, you narrow it down further. Look for familiar elements, like settings or scenarios you already know. That's where your movie based-knowledge comes in handy."

On the seventh day, Arlo's efforts finally paid off when he found a quest that made his heart skip a beat: 

[Horror Multiverse: Slasher Universe]

[Quest: Solve the Mystery in the 1428 Elm Street]

Objective: Solve the mystery of the death of many children's in 1428 Elm Street in Springwood, Ohio in anyway you can.

Difficulty: D-Rank

Reward: 600 EXP, 800 Credits

Failure: Death through Dream

He stared at the description, the memories of A Nightmare on Elm Street flooding back to him. "Freddy Krueger," he murmured. "I think this is a good pick for a standard horror or supernatural quest."

Amelia leaned over his shoulder, her glasses glinting. "Good pick. standard setting, clear rules, and a manageable timeline that every horror genre have. You can prep for this one without too much guesswork."

Arlo nodded, already forming a plan in his mind. The timeline matches the movie's events, which means I have a decent idea of what's coming. I can use my abilities to predict Freddy's moves and keep his targets safe.

.........

By the end of the week, he'd locked in the quest and started making preparations. As he stood in Amelia's office on the final day, he turned to her with a rare, genuine smile. "Thanks for everything, Amelia. I couldn't have done this without you."

She waved him off, her usual smirk in place. "Don't get all sentimental on me, rookie. I'm just doing my job. Besides, Aria already paid me, so we're square."

At that, Arlo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Figures. She's done so much for me already. Feels like I'm never going to repay her at this rate."

Amelia chuckled, leaning against her cluttered desk. "That's the job of a guide, rookie. They're like sponsors—they invest in their trainee pioneers so you can survive and succeed. Besides, for someone like Aria, the cost is negligible. High-level pioneers rake in more credits than they know what to do with. Sponsoring you is just part of the gig."

"Why, though?" Arlo asked, his brow furrowing. "What's in it for her? Is it just charity, or is there something more?"

Amelia's grin faded slightly, her gaze turning thoughtful. "Part of it's tradition. Experienced pioneers sponsor trainees to keep the cycle going. But it's also a requirement for establishing a guild. If a pioneer wants to create their own guild, they have to show they've successfully guided others."

Arlo's curiosity deepened. "Is that why Aria's doing it? She's trying to start a guild?"

Amelia hesitated, then shook her head. "If you want to know her reasons, you'll have to ask her directly. It's not my place to spill her secrets." He nodded slowly, respecting her discretion. "Fair enough." Standing up, he extended a hand toward her. "Thanks again, Amelia. Seriously. I couldn't have done this without you."

Amelia took his hand, shaking it firmly. "Don't get all sentimental on me, rookie. You're making progress, but you've still got a long way to go."

With that, Arlo left her office, his thoughts already shifting to the quest ahead. As he walked through the sleek corridors of the building, he mentally reviewed what he needed to prepare: supplies, weapons, and a clear plan for facing Freddy Krueger's nightmare-fueled terror.

He paused at the exit, glancing back briefly. This is it, he thought, a mixture of anticipation and nerves settling in his chest. Time to prove I can handle this on my own.

The door slid open, and he stepped into the bustling streets of the HUB, ready to take the next step in his journey.

=================================================

[Quantum Cube: Arlo's Apartment]

Back in his apartment, Arlo sat cross-legged on the floor of his apartment, his BrainLink casting a soft glow over the room. His holographic screen displayed a collection of articles, notes, and video clips—everything he could dig up about Freddy Krueger and the movie about Nightmare at Elm street in his memories using the BrainLink for any relevant information.

"Alright," he muttered, tapping on an article summarizing Freddy's backstory. "Let's start with what I know."

Freddy Krueger: once a serial child killer in life, now a malevolent dream-invading spirit. His powers stemmed from the three original Dream Demons, entities that granted him the ability to kill in dreams. Arlo scrolled through the description, nodding grimly.

."In dreams, he's basically immortal," Arlo murmured, his tone heavy. "You can harm him if you fight back with imagination, but killing him? Only possible in the waking world."

The text shifted as Arlo swiped to another page. "Even then, it's not permanent," he said, leaning back against the wall. "Freddy always comes back in the subsequent movies. You can delay him for a few years, maybe even a decade, but the Dream Demons keep bringing him back."  

This wasn't just a quest to survive—it was a puzzle to solve. If Arlo wanted to defeat Freddy Krueger permanently, he had to cut him off from the Dream Demons' power. But how?

"I need a way to sever their connection to him," Arlo muttered, pulling up old theories from fan forums in his past life. Some believed that disrupting Freddy's belief system—the fear that sustained him—was the key. But Arlo shook his head.

"No, that might weaken him," he thought aloud. "But it won't destroy him. The Dream Demons are the real source of his immortality. If I can isolate them…"

The idea was half-formed, but it was a start. He swiped through more files, looking for anything that might give him a clue about how to confront these entities.

A shiver ran down his spine as he opened an article describing the Dream Demons: amorphous beings with no physical form, existing purely in the realm of nightmares.

"How do you even fight something like that?" he whispered.He leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling. The flickering light of his screen danced across his face as he closed his eyes, thinking back to Amelia's training. Research. Categorize. Prioritize.

"Okay," Arlo said, sitting up straighter. "Step one: figure out how Freddy interacts with the Dream Demons. Step two: find a way to disrupt that connection. Step three…" He hesitated, his resolve hardening. "Step three is survival." 

The sound of footsteps in the hallway outside drew his attention briefly, but he shook it off, refocusing on the task at hand. He pulled up his inventory, checking his supplies. Weapons for the waking world were ready, but what about the dream world?

Maybe I can use my Seer skill to predict Freddy's moves in the dream world, he thought. The idea had potential, but it would depend on how well his powers adapted to the dream World.

Arlo rubbed his temples, exhaustion creeping in. He had only two days to prepare, and he couldn't afford to waste a second. He pushed himself off the floor, grabbed a protein bar from his kitchenette, and returned to his research.