Episode 14. Player, Versus, Player. (1)
At the same time, back in the "Abandoned Residence" within the game.
The flocks of birds that had filled the skies above the ruined village had vanished, taking their raucous cries with them. All that remained in the clearing after everything was cleared away were four chairs scavenged from empty houses and a single table in the center.
"Can't you see the level?"
"I told you, nothing like that shows up."
And the noise of four people's conversation was all that filled the air.
Most of the talk had been dragged out by Sephirah's relentless questioning, though.
"Really, nothing? No LV or Level or anything?"
"We checked that already."
"Check again. Maybe you missed something."
"I've been checking nonstop for the past half hour or so. There's nothing."
"Why isn't there anything?!"
"What am I supposed to say to that...?"
The questioning went on without answers until Aiden, fed up, finally looked away first.
Ever since he'd mentioned that his level seemed to have gone up—precisely from that moment—Sephirah had been firing off all sorts of questions.
Thanks to her guess hitting the mark perfectly.
Did his current level not show? No experience bar? No points to allocate to new skills? And so on.
He'd given negative answers to all her varied questions, but he had no choice.
Aiden's level change wasn't visible to the eye, after all.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Didn't I show you over and over?"
"But stiiiill... You have a level and a UI, but it doesn't show what level it is? You might not get it, but that doesn't make any sense."
"That kind of difference could happen."
"See? Every player has their own personal UI that only they can see. It should have their name and level on it, no question."
"Then my UI has been different from a player's from the start. This one can be shown to others, after all."
"Yeah, that shuts down the argument, but still..."
Her voice trailed off lower and lower, but she still looked unsatisfied. Far from something that could be brushed off with "it varies by person."
In truth, Aiden believed Sephirah. It was from a player herself, and there was no reason for her to lie about it.
It's not like I can just keep repeating the same thing because I believe her.
The questions she raised were ones he needed to resolve for his own sake too.
If what he'd gotten was a "mimicry" of the player system, differences were definitely suspicious.
"Let's head back, Sephirah. We can talk more next time."
"Head back? Already?"
"Haven't we finished what we came for?"
Aiden pointed up at the sky.
The sun had fully set, stars twinkling overhead. Despite not spending much time in the Abandoned Residence after moving all day, night had fallen.
"We still have time left!"
"Maybe you do. Not us."
"Whoa, look at you guys."
This time, before he could point anything out, Sephirah glanced around first.
Four chairs, four people sitting. But only two talking.
Claire was sprawled with her book as a pillow, staring blankly at her nails. Loqi wasn't even sleeping but pretending, arms crossed.
Probably because they couldn't jump into the conversation, but fatigue played a part too.
"Loqi, sleepy?"
"...Yeah. Boredom makes it worse."
"Ah, so that's it. Nothing to do."
At that moment, Claire chimed in toward Aiden.
"Mister, right now it feels like I'm just a kid waiting around while the grown-ups talk."
"That's what they say, Sephirah."
"Ugh..."
With three against her, Sephirah felt the pressure and rolled her star-shaped pupils to the left.
The game had simulated NPC routines for decades, so it was natural for them to beg off when sleepy as night fell...
"This is why NPCs are."
"You sleep at night too, don't you?"
"Without you guys, I've got nothing to do..."
She treated everyone here like friends. Or toys.
The more fondly Sephirah viewed these NPCs, the easier Aiden's mind was—but that had nothing to do with wrapping up the schedule.
"That's on you to figure out."
"You're so mean."
"Go home and play with your little kid then."
"Seriously too mean..."
No one taking her side, Sephirah finally gave up.
She half-hoped Loqi would snap at being called a kid and buy them more playtime, even if childish.
In the end, as NPCs, their motivation tanked with the sun.
"Hah, fine. Busy protecting strays, got it."
"So, three days from now again? Or tomorrow?"
"Uh... Tomorrow's fine. We've set the spot, so no traps on our end."
"Good. I'll assume that and wait. Call if something urgent comes up."
"Fiiiine... Four days."
Sephirah responded grudgingly.
She clearly didn't like how the talk had gone completely off her expectations.
Looked like she'd overheard their banter and tried mimicking it, but no reaction to give.
"Let's go, Claire."
"Haaa, been waiting for that. All this time."
He offered his arm for the return, and delicate white fingers settled carefully on his palm.
Ability: Fast Travel. Destination: the inn they always stayed at.
Once back, he'd wrap up the day and spend the next four teaching Claire more about "players," as much as he knew. Like always these past days.
"Won't take long to prep, so come when I call. Got it!"
Just before activating Fast Travel, Sephirah stood and spoke.
Something felt off.
Looking at Sephirah, his thoughts about her felt markedly different from before.
Sephirah. A player who looked like a little witch, not openly hostile but prone to steering things. He knew she was human first, before player.
But it had never felt real until now.
Just now, at least during those few minutes of talk...
"...Yeah, see you next time."
Sephirah just seemed like an utterly ordinary person.
Four days felt far too short.
Mentally speaking.
Today marked exactly one week since players had increased to 30.
The "System"'s deadline was so tight there wasn't even time to adapt to the situation.
Maybe that's why it gave a full week instead of jumping straight to it.
All Aiden could do was probe his granted abilities more deeply, and the promised day arrived.
"Mister, do you even know?"
"Hm?"
"You look super chill right now."
Her out-of-nowhere jab made him almost touch his mouth, but he dropped his hand.
No need to check his face to realize he wasn't tense.
"Yeah, honestly... you're right."
"Huh? But you always scared me half to death about it? Kept warning players are dangerous."
Aiden gave a slightly sheepish smile.
"Truth is, even when I said that stuff, I never really felt it myself."
"You?"
"Yeah. Turns out nothing as bad happens as I worried every time..."
At first, it had been beyond worry—downright terrifying.
Those countless murder memories weren't mere dreams, after all.
But now, that initial fear was completely gone.
Players weren't normal, but still within human bounds.
His last lingering worry: that it might all be an act to deceive him.
At this point, he almost wanted to ask why only horrific memories had surfaced that first day.
"I'm ready. You?"
"All set. Let's go."
Like four days ago, Claire pressed her palm to his, prepping the move.
Location: "Abandoned Residence."
"Sephirah never called us in the middle after all."
"Heh, why? Wanna make plans with her?"
"No, just unexpected."
Despite her talk, Sephirah surprisingly hadn't summoned Aiden once in four days. Except daily check-ins.
Last time she'd seemed bored to death, so the silence made him feel silly for expecting sudden calls.
"She'll be there when we arrive anyway."
"Bouncing around excited, while those two stand awkwardly?"
"Maybe one of them's warmed up enough to chat by now."
"Wanna bet?"
Sudden bet. A bit random, but fun—he nodded.
"No way they're still awkward with each other."
"We'll set stakes after we see. Ready to move?"
"Fast Travel."
A compass shape etched on his hand, his body slowly fading.
Unlike true players like Sephirah, no white space transition—just instant shift.
Close eyes, open: entirely new scenery, the familiar miracle.
No incidents while we were gone, looks like.
The surroundings were quiet. Birds were nocturnal, so sleeping somewhere now. No enemies to stir trouble yet.
In this deserted place, the only noise-makers would be one group.
"Sephirah?"
"Yeah, over here! Up top! Don't step weird—come up this way!"
Sephirah's voice called from higher up.
The roof of the only two-story building around, made of gray bricks. Probably a stable inside, from the outside. Empty now, though.
Aiden Fast Traveled right beside her again.
"Phew, on time? Was about to be real trouble if you were late."
"Wouldn't miss an important day."
"No, not that."
Seeing them, Sephirah sighed in relief and plopped down, legs splayed on the bare roof. A look of resignation.
Where she silently pointed: Loqi and Hasselhoff, who'd arrived first at the set spot. Exactly as four days ago—no chat between them.
"If you'd been late, I'd have suffocated and snapped for real."
"......"
"See? Told you."
He'd lost the bet.
Who'd have thought they still couldn't hold a proper conversation.
"B-but! We did our part! Traps dug, player-luring prep done?"
"After that much time together, shouldn't they be closer, Sephirah?"
"Ugh, that old guy's unavoidable. Schedules don't match, he's busy."
"And your little kid?"
"...Let's prep, Aiden."
No more words.
Factoring in the last exchange, about 10 minutes left.
They had to deploy everything prepped now to steer things without delay.
Player Capacity: 27/30
Aiden displayed the player capacity via his UI for everyone.
No deaths in the interim, so capacity unchanged.
"From experience, it'll probably show increases right when players arrive. We'll see what happens to slots from deaths starting now."
"And we fill the new 98 with as many as we can from the ones we lured before, then sweep 'em here."
"But... is that even possible? Picking exactly who shows up."
"Might not work. Honestly, just getting 30 here would be a huge win."
Sephirah recapped the essentials and peered down at the clearing from the stable roof.
Leg up on the railing, hand blade to her temple, she stayed still awhile.
Best effort? No. But enough not to look down on in Aiden's eyes—she was sure.
"Hasselhoff, ready? Time to bait the players!"
Hasselhoff, arms crossed silently behind, finally spoke.
"...Message?"
"Location: 'Abandoned Residence Stable Front,' obviously."
"And costume theme."
"Hm, forgot to pick one."
Sephirah pondered briefly.
For disguise: a costume contest.
Theme decided players' gear and dress code here.
After mulling the funnest option, she went with her first idea.
"Horror. Let's do horror."
Shortly after Sephirah set the player theme and posted to the community...
Currently, up to 128 players can be accommodated.
Player Capacity: 27/128
As planned, the world began accepting even more players.