Episode 13.5 - To Another World (6)
“What the hell are you doing, old man!!”
Claire clutched her dazed ears and yelled. Even her own voice barely reached her. It wasn’t an ear-shattering blast or anything with side effects—just an utterly revolting shriek.
That mere screech had fouled her hearing.
“It’s a sphere that emits a sound appetizing to certain animals when shattered. Should’ve told you.”
“You shove everything in your mouth if it seems even a little weak!”
The only two who knew about the tool finally released their ears.
◈ Shatters on impact, emitting a horrific noise that subdues sound-sensitive monsters.
◈ To players: Noise bomb for swarming pests like rats or bats.
Sephirah hadn’t explained because her subconscious assumed “NPCs are fine.” But Aiden hadn’t mentioned it just to troll anyone.
“Don’t just think it—tell us!!”
“It’s just a bit unpleasant for normal folks anyway.”
“A bit?!”
Hyaack!
Claire menaced Aiden with an inhuman screech. Her still-recovering hearing forced her to shout. But with no real emotion behind it, her voice normalized as her ears healed.
“Tch……”
“Better now?”
“I’m hurt. Don’t talk to me.”
“Gasp, if you say so.”
“Aaaah, no, wait—I can’t live without you, buddy.”
Claire’s hands shifted from her ears to frantically waving Aiden off. The teasing stopped there. Just enough to startle, then brush off.
…No desire to repeat what he wasn’t good at anyway.
“Kids, wanna stop messing around and catch some birds……?”
Turning, Aiden saw Sephirah already slitting the throats of downed birds. Loqi, quick on the uptake, mimicked her beside her.
“Hm.”
Aiden grabbed one immobile black bird from the ground. Nekcihc—a bird said to herald night with its cry. The black bird trembled in his grip without resistance.
For a simple condition like “kill threats to grow stronger,” a noisy loner like the Nekcihc should suffice.
“Will this raise that level thing?”
“It will. Try it.”
“I see.”
Crack.
Ice erupted from Aiden’s palm, smashing the bird’s head. Blood sprayed opposite.
Killing something helpless wasn’t fun from the start, but next time, another method.
No sense of growth or change, though.
“Nothing happened.”
“One kill won’t do it. Hm…… Check your UI—anything pop up?”
Sephirah added to look for a filling progress bar. Aiden activated his UI.
Player: 24%
Nothing new appeared. Asking internally about “level” got silence. Maybe unlocked with points? No luck scanning.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? For real?”
Sephirah clutched her head in dismay. Expectations dashed.
How she’d assumed levels transferred to the three, only she knew—but she meant it.
“Then keep killing? If no growth by end, maybe you can’t level by will alone.”
“Worth trying.”
“And you two too.”
Sephirah pointed at the other two NPCs.
“Me……?”
“Yeah, you and Loqi. Do it.”
“Why me though……”
Loqi trailed off, unable to interrupt the two driving the talk. His player guardian hadn’t taught social skills either.
“Eh, even if killing makes you stronger, doubt it applies to me.”
“You’re the most likely.”
“Whaaat……?”
“Just once. If nothing, we stop.”
“Fiiine… but expect results from the old man.”
Claire grumbled but slowly processed the scattered birds. One recovering, flapping to flee—snatched, throat slit, silenced.
“Why always make me do weird stuff.”
“All for your benefit.”
“Pickpocketing next poaching?”
“Nooo?! It’s not……!”
Sephirah’s dodge didn’t land—Loqi had backed off, ignoring.
No explanation needed; they’d complied anyway.
Except Sephirah fretting, ‘What do they think of me?’
‘Still… they’re doing well.’
Schwick.
The game’s exaggerated slice of flesh rang out. Unreal for a knife, blood stylized to feathers scattering on death.
Recovering birds tried fleeing skyward—only to be halved by Aiden.
Yet the NPCs, slaying monsters firsthand, felt no oddity. Unaware? Accepting it normal?
Despite acting sentient.
“……Dizzy.”
Sephirah wobbled, face conflicted. She rationalized to ease it.
She knew. This defied logic. No AI passes for human. Games don’t erase quests, reward voice chat, add online modes instantly, assign challenges to NPCs.
Possible, sure—but such updates would be announced.
“They did it ’cause it works.”
Her thoughts stalled. Suspicion easy, curiosity natural—but admitting the surreal? Harder than it seemed.
VR was science’s pinnacle: commercialized, everyday. Sephirah, long immersed, was too rational for “unreal.”
‘Hence glitches like censored effects……’
NPCs realistic, but data still. Aiden recognizing players? Preset lines, lore.
His UI’s “Become a Player”? Flavor text, no mechanics.
Just a game about Aiden learning players.
“……Assumed it normal.”
Sephirah nodded, concluding. Forgetting normal games wouldn’t confuse players.
“What’s that mutter?”
Sephirah turned. Only one NPC here spoke like that.
“Uh… Aiden, you heard?”
“Yeah, you mutter a lot.”
“Ugh, again.”
Smack.
Sephirah slapped her mouth. Unaware she’d muttered.
Mutters: Sephirah’s—and moderns’—new issue. VR AIs don’t parse speech, so no need before human-like ones. Gap bred unconscious chattering at AIs or alone.
Preferring unheard rants over choice-tree talks.
“Hm……”
Odd to Aiden, endlessly.
“Done? How’d it go?”
“Those two look sour. Probably no ‘feeling’ like you said.”
“Uwee… Just a delusion. Thought it’d work.”
Hm? Sephirah’s interjection shifted her think. Those two—Claire and Loqi—looked bad.
“Then you?”
“I’m good. Like this.”
Aiden extended his index finger. Sephirah startled briefly, then calmed—no attack.
Fwoosh.
A spark ignited at his fingertip. Unlike other NPCs, his unique motion: ancient magic sans wand.
The flame, sparked to her gaze, burned large and bright.
“Wasn’t this big originally.”
“Slightly smaller before.”
Aiden shrank it motionless. Gradually to Sephirah’s known size: torch-flame to lighter.
True level-up boosted effect.
As Sephirah beamed at the meaningful change, Aiden spoke first.
“Sephirah, one question on your ‘experiments.’”
“Huh? What? Did I make you do something weird again?!”
“……No forced yelling. Check this.”
Aiden extinguished, flipped his UI visible to her. Unlike Claire’s hand-swipe, text rotated too.
All experiences accumulate.
They will be recorded more intuitively, manifesting in tangible forms.
This genre can overlap with others.
Welcome to a world where skills wielded, items acquired, and all endeavors invested hold meaning.
No world is that merciful.
“……Wait, this text.”
Sephirah grabbed, rescanned every word. No mistake.
Seemed flavor text at glance—lore sans function. Style fit, content didn’t.
“Is this your ‘level’?”
Combat, quests, crafting, housing. Meaningful acts earn EXP; fill quota, level up.
“Found it.”
Aiden held EXP/level as skill concepts.
* * *
Community devolved to off-topic bickering, as always.
Single-player peak: 10k concurrents. Worldwide, not impressive. Endgame players don’t return sans updates. All games fade eventually—sans juicy bait.
Hasselhoff’s bait hooked them.