Episode 3. Phantom Thief (4)

Inside the building, a chaotic brawl was unfolding. The nun, who had seemed like she would never take the initiative, struck first. The phantom thief showed off his signature tricks as always, and the man with the longsword joined in for cover fire. It was a dizzying fight, with eye-searing skills flashing into existence and vanishing just as quickly.

"Oying, what's that all about?"

In the midst of it, a petite girl watched everything from outside the building. Small stature, shabby clothes that barely covered the minimum, and in stark contrast, a ornate wand clutched in her hand. Red hair and unusual star-shaped pupils. An appearance that didn't seem real at all—or, to put it harshly, something only animation enthusiasts would adore. It was a look utterly out of place in this serious game's atmosphere, one only players in this world could possess.

'What's an NPC doing here...?'

As a player, she couldn't make sense of the situation. The guy spamming eye-searing skills from afar was definitely an enemy NPC called the "Phantom Thief." Then there was the unfamiliar nun in her habit. And Aiden Oliver. The NPC meant to handle this game's prologue was right there.

Something was off. In fact, it might have been weird from the start if she thought about it. RESERVE. Meaning "on hold." Looking closely, that was the title of the first quest she'd received. Sure, there was no rule against using a suspicious word like that for a quest name, but still. No matter how generously she viewed it, this wasn't a normal game start.

'Should I keep going with this?'

But dismissing it as some irrelevant bug felt like a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠waste too. Because there were no errors accompanying it. If the "RESERVE" quest marked as complete by the system was purely a glitch, there'd surely be issues like graphical corruption or a forced crash. Yet the game was running perfectly fine right now. Just the quest name was a bit odd.

'What the hell am I supposed to do with this...'

Crunch. The player bit her thumbnail. Due to the game's mechanics where self-harm counted as damage, a bit of blood trickled from the tip, but it healed right away.

'Ah, I shouldn't do that.'

As her hand moved toward another nail, the player changed her mind. Thinking about it, this wasn't worth overthinking. If she was really convinced it was a bug, she could just restart the game. But now she was curious why the NPC was messing around without the protagonist. And what kind of character that new nun NPC was to be next to Aiden.

'Character Codex.'

A small screen appeared in the corner of the player's vision. It was a feature listing profiles—the settings given to characters in the game. She'd opened it on a whim, hoping it might provide hints during the quest, but the results were... meh.

Aiden was a bust. She didn't remember every line, but she could tell the profile hadn't changed.

The phantom thief's profile was unchanged too. No differences at all. Both characters had decent weight in side quests, so this encounter without any setting changes felt unnatural. Yet the game had given her the "RESERVE" quest to present this situation right in front of her.

'Well, if this is all part of the quest, better just watch.'

In the end, the player sat comfortably and decided to peep through the door crack. It reeked of something not ordinary, but it probably wasn't just a simple bug. Maybe an expansion pack or update had added content after she'd last played, kicking off a quest different from what she remembered. Or not. Whatever.

'Alright then...'

From that point, the player's mind drifted from the fight itself. The outcome was obvious anyway, and it wasn't fun to watch.

'Let's see what loot the boss drops after getting caught so early.'

How Aiden would handle the boss without the protagonist nearby. And if the phantom thief died here of all places, what consequences that might bring. The player—Sephirah—decided to take it all in.

* * *

'She seems bored.'

Aiden grimaced, unaware of someone watching from behind. Moments ago, he'd luckily escaped an illusion that would have been hard to discern alone. It saved him from a dagger to the back of the head, but that luck was now meaningless as the situation reset to square one. The opponent wasn't one whose tricks would be exposed from spotting just that one.

Now, he couldn't even see a human shape. It was a space where objects floated as if telekinesis was at play. That was how Aiden perceived the world.

'Can't pierce it the same way again...'

Clang! Just now, countless swords floating without a wielder flew at Aiden. All illusions except the ones swung by the phantom thief hiding his body. But recognizing an illusion hitting meant pain from the brain's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠confusion, even without injury. So he closed his eyes at the last second and deflected what he guessed was real. Without being able to dispel the magic itself, this was his best improvisation.

"Closing your eyes? Nice breakthrough."

A voice whispered in Aiden's right ear. A feint hoping he'd turn and swing his sword. Too obvious, so Aiden focused on the chaotic illusions ahead.

"You know one slip-up ends it, right?"

"One?"

Swords in the illusions readied again, but Aiden calmly scanned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with his eyes, thinking. She was acting like one hit would finish him... total bluff.

"I can't afford that kind of confidence."

A small lightning sparked in Aiden's clenched left fist. It spread unstably, then struck an illusion straight on.

'Nothing nearby, huh.'

Zzt... A sizzling sound, but no impact. None of the visible, targeting swords had substance.

'If she's waiting for an opening nearby...'

Two possibilities. Keeping distance to wear him out, or targeting something else.

"Claire."

Aiden turned at the thought, spotting Claire in a similar position as before. She was tense, backing away. He couldn't see ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her face, but her turning head and movements screamed urgency.

"I knew you'd do this...!"

Claire muttered laboriously, panting from unfamiliar maneuvers. She could dispel any magic-made illusions instantly. Flying swords or giant hammers overhead—meaningless if hallucinations. But blocking all supernatural powers to eliminate illusions would disadvantage her. Her physical stats barely kept up thanks to book-enhanced readings.

"Ugh...!"

The moment Claire got hit, more illusions swarmed her. Illusions were tricky. Pure physical fights meant dying to daggers. She needed another way.

"Then..."

Shlick—Claire gripped her book again. She recalled Aiden's promise from before the fight. He'd help if things got tough. So.

"Keep your promise, Aiden Oliver."

She decided to leave it to the more capable one.

"...!"

Aiden, far away, was pulled in one direction. His view shifted, he floated briefly, then teleported near Claire's front. Just as she intended.

"This is..."

"You promised earlier. To help."

Aiden grasped the situation and looked ahead as Claire closed her book.

"So do it now."

Aiden hadn't fully pieced it together, but Claire had created the best hasty reversal. Distance from the enemy focused on one target, inserting someone to handle illusions in between. Not just escaping crisis—a chance to turn the tables.

Aiden closed his eyes, forcing himself to listen to the voice in his head. Along with the enigmatic "player" entity, he heard his own past voice from facing this foe.

The enemy was just a well-trained human mage, so fast-flying aerial attacks could be ignored with eyes closed as illusions. When sure they'd all passed, open eyes. Only slow-approaching illusions mimicking a human thrust remained.

Illusions were illusions. They couldn't perfectly mimic reality; some awkwardness always showed. So he countered the sword with the most unnatural yet human-like movement.

Claaang!

"Found you."

It was right. A less than cheerful ring echoed, and with that signal, all illusions vanished. Recognizing the real body made illusions impossible.

"...How. Continuously."

"Who knows."

Common sense said this trick wasn't pierced so easily. Even if broken, it'd take more time and effort.

"Maybe 'cause I've been seeing weird stuff lately."

Just before, while lost, Aiden had heard his own voice. Like warning someone, but he hadn't said it. That hallucination helped, sure.

"No need to say more, right?"

The conversation ended there.

"Guhk...!"

Blood flowed along the ice-sharp dagger. The phantom thief, throat pierced, clutched the wound briefly before rolling his eyes back and collapsing.

Today's business was done.

"Phew."

Aiden sighed in relief, standing. He scanned warily for more threats, but peace reigned. No doll impersonating the thief stabbed. No last-second swap where he'd stabbed Claire. Good.

"If there's a next time, don't charge ahead on your own."

"Whaaat? It worked out fine."

Her speech pattern gave it away, didn't it? No way this was fake.

"...Let's head back. Grab some evidence and slip out carefully to wrap it up."

"Wanna rest? My legs hurt."

"..."

"Kidding."

Aiden turned without acknowledging, and Claire pouted, tilting her head.

"So what're we taking? Cut off an ear or something?"

"Where'd you hear that?"

"Read in a book that duel winners cut off ears."

"That's ancient history."

"Tch."

Whatever her disappointment, Aiden inspected the fallen thief, pondering loot. Whole body too heavy and cumbersome. Vague items wouldn't count. Severing an ear per the book would be easy, but unappealing.

'Anything'll do.'

Weapons were standard. Personal grips left traces, provable on inspection.

Thus, he drew the scabbard, then gripped the sword.

Again, an inexplicable whisper. Aiden felt his body freeze in place, sword gripped.

"...Mister? Aiden? What're you doing?"

All he could do was notice Claire's suspicion and surrender focus to the voice.

Aiden's gaze involuntarily went to the thief's waist pouch. Small as one, tied there—the only "bag."

Knowledge of Inventory—item list—was force-fed into Aiden. He grasped only the basics, but that sufficed for ownership transfer. It became fully his.