Episode 4.5. To Another World (2)
“Huaaah……”
Player Sephirah was leisurely watching the NPCs. It had been over 24 hours since she started tailing Aiden and even picked up info from the community. It was nighttime on one such day, and here she was, yawning even inside the game.
“Must be the NPC thing. He's moving so damn slow. If he were a player, he'd just fast travel to the village or something.”
She rubbed her shoulder, which didn't even ache.
No missions to do, no dramatic plot—just days of trailing an NPC from behind. Even in a game, it was the kind of pace that made her antsy.
“If it weren't kinda fun, I'd have quit ages ago, haha.”
But this NPC observation gig, sparked by some random whim, turned out more entertaining than expected. Being bored out of her skull was totally different from it being no fun.
She'd tailed NPCs before, but back then they just looped the same spots. These two, though? They were clearly heading somewhere interesting. With some fun event in tow.
“Hey, mister, you ever heard this one before?”
“Wasn't it from a book this time?”
“So, they say there are doors in the world that never open, scattered here and there. They're definitely locked, but even if you try to smash them, nada.”
“Was there a backstory about someone going in and then going radio silent after?”
“Hmm…… I don't think so.”
“Then it probably wasn't from some ghost story collection.”
“It wasn't from something like that!!”
Aiden and some nun's street chit-chat. The one was such an extra that Sephirah had only caught her name midway through a convo. Not even set up as a friend—just fresh acquaintances at the starting line.
There wasn’t much excitement, but that was fine in its own way.
“Whatever. You're an idiot, mister. You don't even believe me.”
“No, I believe you.”
“For real?”
“Just…… don't share stories like that in front of others.”
“Just say you don't believe me……”
Watching their expressions during the talk was fun, but this nun Claire's gripe was hard to relate to. Who else listened so patiently, even if her speech was a bit stiff?
As a player who'd hung with every NPC, Sephirah knew exactly what kind of guy Aiden was.
“……Claire. Name's coming up way too often. Gotta be her real one.”
Player Sephirah kept repeating the unfamiliar nun's name in her head. She'd even searched when she worried she might be missing some side character, but nada. Snapped a pic of the model's face and posted to the community? Only a few launch-day peeps noted the “thorough modeling on a no-story extra.” Total background fodder.
Why was an NPC like that tagging along with Aiden? That Aiden, who was supposed to lead players.
Feels like the story's veering off into something else if I just watch.
From what she'd overheard, Aiden up ahead hadn't done the prologue. He'd hit the cave where players meet the protagonist, maybe, but that was it.
Sephirah had spawned mid-snowfield as a player, so no encounters.
“Still weird, though. Game supposed to work like that?”
Unthinkable in a normal game. If she'd read some 40-year-old genre manga or novel, she'd fantasize about a hidden class quest. But Aiden Oliver? No way.
What quest skips the prologue with no hints, wrecking the story?
And one more thing.
His speech feels way too natural now.
Aiden's voice actor was…… Baker? Something like that.
Voice unchanged, but every line flowed naturally. No forced character quirks.
All the dialogue she'd eavesdropped was mundane, everyday stuff.
Like.
Real people.
They were acting like real people. Chatting for days about crap irrelevant to the story or game, with their own voices.
All scripted lines? Days of boring player-ignorable talk?
Sephirah didn't buy it.
“Almost there anyway…… No need to keep tailing. Gotta scout the ajiit too.”
Updates had stalled ages ago, yet weird changes in this game.
“So I can dip and play around first, right?”
Sephirah was convinced.
Once upon a time, before any changes hit this game.
Back when it launched without bold innovations, just faithfully delivering decades-honed basics for solid reviews. A plain ol' game.
Games back then were “complex” everywhere you looked.
“Mister, you like heroic tales?”
“Hmm, for example?”
“Umm…… Like the stories from that bard over there playing?”
Voices of Aiden and Claire drifted from the nearby main road. They'd finally hit the city and were wandering around.
No players watching, yet they showed up right on time. Exactly when she'd figured they'd arrive.
Spot on.
Confirming that, Sephirah hid her face in a huge cloak and resumed observation.
“Heard once that some of those storyteller tales are like that. Old guy traveling with a kid, heroic stuff.”
“Heroic tale…… Not sure. Hard to move freely with a kid.”
“Well, in the one I heard, the elder protects the kid, handles the heavy lifting, but the kid helps out in tough spots sometimes. That's how it went.”
“Something only the kid can do……”
“Kinda like us on the surface.”
“……Huh?”
By Sephirah's reckoning, Aiden was around 25. A hypothesis, sure, but with so few solid Aiden facts, even age guesses felt iffy.
Life story? Family beyond friends? Goals?
Pathetically sparse scripted backstory. Good rep, but dig deep and the thin settings glared.
Still, Sephirah liked the Aiden character. Even as a generic low-detail one.
“We're not that age-gapped, though.”
“Huh, then how old are you, mister?”
“25.”
“Guess I can keep calling you mister for a while, then.”
And even when he straight-up voiced the guesswork.
“……”
Sephirah's expression shifted slightly as she listened from behind.
As far as she knew, Aiden had never blatantly stated his age like that.
Back then, it'd be something like, “By the time you were born, I'd already been swinging sticks out front.”
First time she'd nailed his age for sure.
But not telling players……
No need to spoon-feed players the full lore, obviously. Quests can't hold it all; minor bits go to docs or logs.
Do that, and fans whine about “paywalling backstory for collectibles.”
End result: Incomplete info on every NPC.
Even understanding that, the overall story felt starved for setup. She'd been obsessed back in the day, more immersed.
Why peek at settings now, years later?
Normally, I'd be the one next to him.
Sephirah regretted just watching. Wandering a too-changed game early on, she overthought and missed her window to chat with Aiden.
If he'd stayed solo NPC-style, she could've latched on easy. Nope.
So she bailed on tailing, came to this NPC-chatty city first. Still, nothing popped.
Then, like it was highlighted, a hint popped in Sephirah's view.
Level and progress always showed, so no biggie. But the hint? Lingered like nagging her for not trying yet, then vanished.
Would trying change anything? No bridge between player and NPC right now.
“……Ahem, uh, ahem.”
Sephirah cleared her real-life throat, not the character's. Pointless for the char, but she'd gone solo muttering in-game.
Time to chat an NPC direct for the first time.
“If you wanna sightsee, just say.”
“Nah…… I'm good. I like hearing about people I know more.”
“Doubt I've got fun tales for you.”
“Then hear some solo later and tell me.”
Sephirah edged toward Aiden cautiously.
Nothing epic. Not a quest—just a hint, so probably a tutorial for new systems or help.
Wait, how did you talk to NPCs here? Excuse me?
[Synchronization in progress.]
[Dialogue options now available.]
[Reflecting player in choices.]
[0/30]
Popup confirmed it wasn't wrong. Good.
“Who are you?”
[Introduce yourself.]
[Show hostility.]
[Act mysterious.]
[End conversation.]
Sephirah's view came alive like Aiden was real. Unheard lines, wonky choices, Claire eyeing her with a book over her mouth.
And four options shoving in.
Feels like solo system window in reality.
Choices were cowardly. Predictable outcomes every time.
Intro? Chat opens. Hostile? Fight. End? Walk away.
Sephirah hated obvious ones.
Number 3. Mystery.
Far from goals? Pick the fun one. Crucial moment? Go unpredictable.
That was Sephirah's player style, always.
“A bird…… or a birdcage. Which do you prefer?”
The player linked to the game.
