Ep15. Player vs. Environment (4)

“Ugh……!”

Eldi staggered forward a few steps, unable to move as he wished. During the hit motion playback, he couldn't control his body at all—no matter how much he wanted to endure, the game wouldn't allow it. If he'd at least been wearing armor, he wouldn't have had to wobble like this even for a moment.

Cloth clothes and an iron helmet. That was all Eldi had, and he was already on the brink of death. There was no luck left that could save him now.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

The edges of his vision were dyed completely red, and the sound of his heartbeat grew much louder, much closer. This exaggerated, urgent effect was the game's way of hinting to the player to recover as quickly as possible. But Eldi had neither the thought nor the time to down a potion to stop it.

“Where are you, you bastard?”

Eldi turned toward his back, where his vision hadn't reached at all, but Aiden had already vanished again. He bit his lip hard inside his helmet and shouted into the empty air.

“Hah, hiding? That's how you wanna play it? You think that'll keep working?!”

“Tch……”

The player's voice boomed across the quiet rooftop. Aiden grimaced and covered both ears with his hands, but the voice that grated on his nerves forced its way through his fingers straight into his ears.

I came all the way out here because I didn't want to hear it… how loud is he yelling?

Aiden was hiding outside the rooftop, in a spot the player could never see. Claire and the others, including her, had moved to a not-too-distant location, and by now Sephirah had probably finished recovering on her own. The one card to finish off the trickiest enemy had returned to his hand.

I didn't expect to go through all this trouble just for one guy.

Aiden reflected on the plan he was executing now and thought it a bit cowardly of himself. He'd left the surviving players and Hasselhoff behind to scout Eldi's fight, and Claire had even volunteered to fight because he fell short of expectations. Thanks to that, Sephirah had recovered, and he'd gotten plenty of observation time in—but it still wasn't his style.

Fast Travel… good. Working just as expected.

He checked the compass pattern on the back of his hand, but no message saying it couldn't be used appeared. He might have been recognized as 'in combat' after striking from behind, but the system said otherwise.

The conditions for combat status: the opponent must recognize you and hold hostility at the same time. It was a guess based solely on experience, but it had hit the mark.

He let out an unnecessary deep breath and gripped his right wrist tightly. This opponent was more of a player than anyone he'd seen so far—matching the 'first impression' from his memories of death. Attacks that never landed, excuses that were worse than nothing while committing atrocities: the true face of the players he'd always ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠known.

So even if he ignored all the other players, even if he had to borrow the power of a player he was seeing for the first time, he had to stop that man named Eldi with his own hands.

“…Fast Travel.”

He activated Fast Travel once more, relocating to the stable rooftop far away. His footsteps were erased by the Stealth genre effect. No presence, no breathing. The spot he landed was right behind Eldi. The man was spinning around, scanning every direction because he didn't know when or where the next attack would come from—but it was pointless. Aiden held the initiative: when and where he'd appear was up to him.

Swoosh.

The sword he'd decided to summon from his inventory fit perfectly in his grip. Eldi's cloth clothes, which had no protection to begin with, were badly torn, and unlike his bizarre purple skin, normal red blood flowed from the wounds. Having been slashed twice without any real defense, he had to be in a dangerous state by now.

Before he could turn his head this way again, Aiden swiftly swung his sword.

Kreeeak……!

At that moment, Aiden's attack was blocked by a mysterious iron bar that jutted out suddenly. The plain black rod, gripped in Eldi's hand, didn't budge an inch.

Eldi had switched weapons again, using the rod to guard his back.

“I can hear the sword swinging from a mile away?”

Sneer.

Inside the helmet Aiden couldn't see, Eldi curled one corner of his mouth upward. As always, the game was a chain of hints for the player. No matter how fast or strong the attack, there was always a way to survive—that was gaming. And Aiden's current assault had its 'survival method' too.

For ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠example: the faint sound of a sword slicing through the air.

He heard that? That tiny sound?

Of course, Aiden couldn't quite process the words themselves. Logically, it seemed impossible. Even if he'd heard it, there shouldn't have been time to react and block. It felt so absurd he wondered if it was just bluffing to sow confusion.

…But let's assume it's true for now.

Aiden didn't overthink it and prepared his next move right away. He knew this guy wouldn't go down easily, even bleeding profusely.

Before the opponent could turn and look, he clenched his left fist and designated a position.

Fast Travel activated again, shifting Aiden slightly forward. The new position was, once more, 'behind Eldi.'

“Ha, where'd the punk go now?”

Eldi didn't spot Aiden attacking from behind. That's why Fast Travel had worked. Thinking he could catch him this time, he didn't even bother turning around like before—he just scanned ahead.

Aiden raised his sword again before it was too late and brought it down toward Eldi's shoulder.

“Damn it……!”

Splat.

Eldi glanced back and kicked off the ground, dodging sideways urgently. The clue was the sound again. The faint whistle of the thin blade cutting the wind had tipped him off. This time he'd prepared mentally, dodging and turning simultaneously.

But…

“Too late.”

Aiden had vanished again, leaving only mocking words behind.

“Ha, shit……”

Eldi finally muttered a curse under his breath. He'd recognized the attack and responded properly, but the moment he tried to catch a glimpse of his foe's face, not even a nose was in sight. All he'd glimpsed was Aiden's sword or the hem of his leather clothes at best. It might be an illusion, but Eldi felt like Aiden was obsessively hiding his appearance.

As if he'd become someone who shouldn't be seen—someone invisible.

“What, can you go invisible now too?!”

“No need for you to know.”

“Okay, not invisible then. Starting to get it. Just don't know how the teleport works yet.”

Tch.

Aiden clicked his tongue at the enemy whose reactions were speeding up. First attack: success. But everything after failed. Blocked, dodged, counterattempted, dodged again, blocked again. As the same method repeated endlessly, Eldi was gradually getting a feel for Aiden's 'pattern.'

“You think I don't know? I've seen this pattern a million times!”

Heated dialogue poured from inside the helmet. It was a common pattern against enemies using invisibility or teleportation: appear behind for an attack, vanish from sight, strike again from a blind spot, repeat if survived. How could he not break a pattern he'd seen this nauseatingly often?

“How long you gonna keep this up? Still can't catch me!”

“Until you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fall.”

“Nah! There's one more thing, Aiden.”

Eldi liked the answer but countered by pointing one finger toward the direction of the voice.

“Until I shut down your little game.”

“Think you can?”

“Getting the hang of it? Not long now?”

The words seemed baseless at first glance, but Aiden knew it wasn't bravado. He took the warning to heart. He'd confirmed firsthand the gap in experience—even other players couldn't handle it. As if fellow players understood each other all too well.

Eldi, who proved he perfectly grasped both players and NPCs, wouldn't utter empty words in a matchup like this.

Of course, not perfectly flawless……

Aiden pondered a solution. This wasn't an unwinnable foe. Claire had landed one hit, Aiden another. Attacks that broke expectations and struck weak spots had worked. But even that wouldn't land twice. No matter if he didn't understand the principle, if it was unprecedented, if it betrayed common sense—players overcame it easily.

So Aiden needed to show something beyond expectations once more.

Tssst.

The compass on the back of his hand glowed blue. Recalling a visited spot prepared it; willing the move changed the location. Fast Travel.

Click.

An image of fireworks popped into Aiden's mind. Ready to burst if lit or slammed down. But he held off flipping the switch just a bit longer.

“Fuck, next time for real……!”

Eldi, no longer bothering to turn since it was pointless. As Aiden sheathed his sword and reached out, he mercifully didn't look back. Hand movements alone made no sound anyway.

Grab.

Aiden seized Eldi's shoulder.

“Now.”

Quick relocation: Fast Travel activated.

* * *

“What……?”

Eldi turned around. As his eyes met Aiden's, a line slashed through the compass pattern.

A death sentence for the 'game.'

No more escaping to blind spots with Fast Travel. No more easily seizing the rear. But it didn't matter to Aiden anymore. He wouldn't need to use Fast Travel for the same reason in front of this player.

“Well, if it isn't Aiden, who wouldn't even show his face.”

Eldi shrugged, taking in the surroundings. Extremely dark, with a few torches fixed in place, dark walls enclosing everything. A cave.

But with dozens of caves in this game, it wasn't enough to pinpoint the exact one. All he recalled was that there were no caves around the 'Abandoned Residence' he'd just been at.

“First time.”

Aiden stepped forward as he spoke.

“The first player I understood was a fascinating existence. No clear reason for his actions, yet no equal opponent, like an unstoppable disaster.”

Eldi said nothing. No need to interrupt the monologue.

“But the players I actually met didn't feel like that at all, which was weird… until now, when it finally felt familiar.”

Aiden recalled the players from his death memories. Those who committed great evils on whims or light motives, backed by fitting power. Eldi matched them perfectly.

“So? Since I said I won't kill you, you go and introduce yourself.”

“That's why we're staking our lives—no need to hold back on means.”

Aiden paused, taking three steps back. It didn't look like fleeing since the wall blocked behind him, so Eldi paid it no mind. Confirming the reaction, Aiden smiled faintly and continued.

“Decided to borrow someone else's power.”

Zzzzt.

Behind Eldi came a sound like a fuse burning or sparks flying—ambiguous. At its source stood a small woman with a wand, leaning against the wall.

“Looks like you couldn't handle him alone, huh? Guess that's why it's my turn again.”

In the dark cave, red lightning conjured by magic illuminated only her. The petite mage had let the blood on her arms and mouth dry into stains, waiting for this moment.

Player, Sephirah.

“You guys… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠isn't this a bit too cowardly, even for you?”

“Better than losing.”

Toward Eldi cursing again, Sephirah extended her wandless hand.

“Let's never meet again, yeah?”

Squeeze.

She clenched her fist.