Episode 13. Status! (2)
“Because of me? What are you talking about...?”
“Exactly what I said.”
“Say something that makes sense.”
Sephirah immediately rejected Aiden's speculation. It wasn't even worth speculating about.
In reality—or rather, inside the game—the number of players was determined by various factors: the game's genre, server, and so on. Even if she wasn't an expert, she knew that the number of participants—Players—couldn't flip like the back of a hand so easily.
“128... It's a familiar number, but...”
One becoming thirty, thirty becoming 128. It was intriguing, but even as a Player herself, she couldn't exactly celebrate it. Especially not Aiden, an NPC who was wary of Players.
“Aiden, are you sure? That this thing looking like a challenge has increased the number of Players?”
“Every time these numbers you call 'challenges' spiked, something always happened.”
“Even three days ago?”
“It was only 10% then.”
Game challenges often came with rewards. If they handed out challenges without rewards, it wouldn't hold anyone's interest. By the same logic, there could certainly be rewards for challenges that appeared when an NPC like Aiden took certain actions.
But the problem was the nature of those rewards.
In 4 days, the maximum player capacity will increase from 30 to 128.
From now on, things that could not be destroyed may be destroyed.
It shattered every format of the game they knew.
“Alright, Aiden. Keep your UI open and wait. This seems like something we need to think about deeply, so I'll call Hasselhoff too.”
“Hasselhoff?”
“That old man you saw in the basement!”
Sephirah stood up to head to the other room—the one she'd been in earlier, where Loqi and Hasselhoff were together. If it was a story neither NPCs nor Players would like, it was better to devise countermeasures together.
“Wait, wasn't that old man difficult to communicate with?”
“Oh, that?”
Aiden reacted, realizing Sephirah's intent, and he didn't seem to object to calling in another person or Player.
Knowing she didn't need to convince Aiden, Sephirah narrowed her eyes and grinned.
“Not anymore.”
“Alright, everyone's here.”
Three NPCs and two Players gathered in one place. Broadly speaking, to discuss the anomaly of the Player count quadrupling. On one hand, to understand the new in-game setting Aiden was proposing. On the other, to gain confidence that, starting today, Players could become allies.
For the first time, those drawn by the single word “Player” were all assembled.
“Hey, mister.”
“Yes, Claire.”
“...Honestly, I only understood half of what you two were talking about.”
Claire shook her head with a wry smile and shrugged. She could grasp that the current situation was serious, but that was inevitable.
As she said, these weren't things non-Players could easily understand.
“Hey, boss. Why are these guys here again?”
“Are you praising me or insulting me? Pick one.”
Even Sephirah wasn't exempt from complaints from the NPCs she had with her. The atmosphere grew tense, one step further.
“You drag 'em out to steal stuff, next day they're buddies with the guys chasing us, and the old man we thought we bumped into by chance turns out to be some 'Player' and now you're buddies again.”
“Uh, uh...”
“What's all this? I'm grateful you pulled me out from who-knows-where. But if there's a reason, at least introduce yourself properly, right?”
“Yeah... sorry...”
Sephirah, who had been acting on whims, was now bowing her head to Loqi, an NPC. Aiden couldn't hide his bewilderment at this unfamiliar atmosphere.
‘Does she get like that with her own people?’
Not just Aiden—everyone watched this uncharacteristic side of her with curiosity. But it wasn't that special, really. Sephirah wasn't particularly eloquent or bold by nature. From the moment she took him in until now, over four days, she'd never once told Loqi about Players. She figured that was something to tell Aiden.
“W-We were just about to gather and talk properly, so hang on a sec...?”
“Fine.”
“...Huh?”
“I said fine.”
“Okaay... Thanks.”
The tension resolved surprisingly easily compared to the mood, but it seemed to have worked out. Sephirah switched expressions in an instant and stood beside Aiden. Her face wasn't fully relaxed—she was still sweating coldly, which somehow suited her.
And the last attendee, Player Hasselhoff...
“Hm.”
He scanned the room quietly, his expression a bit more human than before. Was it true he could speak properly now? It seemed only slightly improved from their first meeting, where he hadn't even breathed.
Unlike Sephirah, they hadn't even conversed, so his personality and thoughts remained a mystery.
“Long time no see. You've been with Sephirah this whole time?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. As long as you can talk.”
At least he seemed willing to listen intently—a relief.
‘This bunch should count as friendly or neutral at worst.’
Now, it was time to begin. Aiden spoke up.
“Now that we're all here, I was about to discuss the increasing Player count... but one person here still doesn't know about Players.”
“It wasn't on purpose! I wasn't hiding it, just didn't think I needed to tell anyone but you...”
“That's fine. Just explain now.”
Aiden approached Loqi first. He clearly had no idea what the person who'd lured him was.
Their bond was formed by a favor, and Sephirah didn't seem to have any ulterior motives... but since Players were involved, some things needed knowing.
“You must've realized your self-proclaimed guardian isn't ordinary.”
“You wouldn't have? She dragged me out by force from the start—how could I think she was normal?”
“...Sephirah?”
“Ahaha, ha... That was a test—no, after that I treated you great!! I just hid my identity!”
“Hah.”
Loqi shot Sephirah a glare upon hearing the excuse. Aiden joined in. For the first time, Sephirah made a pouty face and sweated, oblivious to it herself.
“You did treat me well. Yeah. Bought me stuff, let me live here suddenly.”
“Right?!”
“Except for a few hours ago, when you made me talk to grandpa 100 times with zero explanation.”
“Okay, okay, I get it...”
The bickering ended, and Sephirah, who'd stood anticipating more chatter, was already drained. Hearing the full story, one might suspect a kidnapping, but watching them eased suspicions instead.
“Enough chit-chat. Do you know what a Player is?”
“Nope. What?”
“Just as it sounds. Guys who look like they're not from this world, ignoring every law with special powers—they're Players.”
“Ah.”
“You've seen weird powers beyond magic, right?”
Loqi nodded, recalling Sephirah's Fast Travel. And how the man before him had tracked her with the same ability.
“What if there were hundreds, thousands of them?”
“Whoa, world-ending stuff.”
“That's why we're here—to stop that. And keep your 'guardian' in check. Got it?”
“Crystal.”
Loqi nodded again. Now, no one lacked basic prior knowledge.
“No, hey! Aiden!! Don't explain it like that—what does that make me?!”
“Claire, cover Sephirah's mouth for a sec.”
“Got it, mister.”
Mmph, mmph. With the noisy mouth silenced, the room quieted a bit. Aiden seized the moment to reveal his UI to everyone.
NPCs and Hasselhoff's gazes converged on it.
“Everyone here has encountered Players. You may not know the exact definition, but you know they cause massive damage around them.”
“You say that with the person in question right here?”
“Doesn't matter. If Sephirah cared about that, she wouldn't be here.”
Hasselhoff's reaction was unknown, but he didn't look offended. More like, his lack of expression made his thoughts unreadable.
“And... as you've experienced, they're not just dangerous monsters. They look and act like ordinary people.”
“Them? Ordinary?”
“Nothing happened to you living with a Player, so yeah, ordinary.”
“...”
“Same for us.”
Not everyone in a race or organization shares the same nature. The same went for what seemed like acquired Players. They'd all shown vulnerability multiple times yet survived because they hadn't intended casual murder from the start.
“But I don't think all other Players are the same. Ideally, there should be as few as possible.”
“How many now?”
“30. Minus three who left, 27.”
“That's not many? The city's got tens of thousands.”
Hn. Pffft.
A muffled, inexplicable laugh leaked from mouth-covered Sephirah. Tens of thousands of civilians meant nothing? It was laughter from genuine ignorance, not mockery.
Aiden agreed, regrettably.
“Then let me make it real for you. What Players are.”
“How?”
“I heard you're good at hiding and stealing. Confident in finding, too?”
“Better than anyone here.”
Sephirah's charge, Loqi, remained nonchalant. Players didn't feel threatening. Fair, if your first Player was the pushover Sephirah.
But Aiden, with memories of being killed by Players and seeing it happen, couldn't agree. He needed to show how dangerous and superior Players were.
“Fine. Here's a demo.”
Aiden pulled a coin from his pocket—a gold one to draw eyes. He flicked it high on his finger, and Loqi's gaze naturally followed.
Clink.
Loqi tracked it without looking away, arm shooting out the moment it was catchable. He pocketed it between palms. A quick glance confirmed it real, not plated. He looked up—
Aiden had vanished soundlessly before his eyes.
“What the—?”
Whoosh. Loqi whipped his head around, instinctively scanning the ajiit: behind the sofa, ceiling, floor, every hiding spot.
Sephirah sat on the bed. Claire in white nun robes beside her. Both scanned too, but clumsily.
Hasselhoff sat on Loqi's sofa but stared fixedly, not scanning.
Could it be? Loqi looked the same way—
Crack.
Aiden grabbed his right arm from behind, pinning him face-down on the floor.
It was the effect of STEALTH, the Genre ability sustained for hours since unlocking.
“Unlike you, I'm not skilled at hiding my presence. Never trained for it, never had to.”
“...”
“Even I can fool experts. With Player-assisting abilities... the System. Magic can't do this.”
Arm pinned and floored, Loqi grimaced, then said,
“That's Player power, right? So what, you're a Player now?”
“No...”
Aiden wasn't a Player. In their terms, an NPC.
However.
“I might be becoming one.”