Episode 16. I Picked C. (6)
“Aiden.”
Sephirah called out.
“Yeah.”
“Aiden Aiden Aiden Aiden Aiden.”
“...What is it.”
Sephirah had called his name a bunch of times. Given how the atmosphere had flipped completely in an instant, it seemed like her way of signaling that whatever she had to say was done.
And that made sense—ever since she'd finished talking earlier, an awkward silence had dragged on for quite a while.
The easiest way out of a situation like this?
“Wanna call it and head out for some rest?”
Leaving the place altogether.
“We've been here too long lately. Time to head back and take a break.”
“Head back?”
“Yeah. You know... where we players live.”
“Oh, right.”
Seeing Aiden show no suspicion, Sephirah inwardly breathed a huge sigh of relief. She'd been dodging and weaving around anything game-related, making up stories on the fly, so anything outside the game had turned into full-on fantasy territory by now.
Players were guests from another world, their current bodies were custom-made shells for surviving here, they knew so much because they'd had similar experiences back home—total nonsense.
They were grounded in a sliver of truth, which helped her sell them, and she planned to stick to the same lies going forward.
But Sephirah was always terrified her made-up backstory would get exposed.
“My real body's separate, so I need time to rest. Eat, wash up... and sleep.”
“Guess that's it for today, then. Haa...”
“What? Disappointed?”
“Nah, you handle Loqi and Hasselhoff yourself.”
“Hearing you say that means I'm finally getting a bit more comfortable around you, huh.”
Aiden glanced down at Sephirah, catching her extending one finger and gesturing in the air. It was her prepping the game exit button right in front of her eyes—but Aiden couldn't see it.
“Fine, fine. Work's done for today, and nothing major for a while, so you don't wanna deal with me anymore! Got it! I'm outta here!”
“Never said that.”
“Wahh, you still hate me. Can't even stand being around people close to me...”
Sephirah paused the exit button and reached for the [Contact] button first. It was the system she'd used before to chat with Aiden from afar.
She was looking for Loqi and Hasselhoff's names, newly added to her contacts list. This would let her pass on the message easy as a phone call.
“...Nah.”
But after a moment's thought, she pulled her hand back and turned to Aiden.
“Kidding. I'll tell them myself first. You two aren't close yet anyway.”
“Thanks.”
“'Cause you're not close.”
“Doesn't mean we have to get close.”
Sephirah grinned mischievously at Aiden's reply. She knew he only hung out with whoever he ran into—his relationship levels with others were overwhelmingly low.
No doubt his distant tone with her, or how he barely chatted with Loqi and Hasselhoff, was just because they were tough to deal with.
“So... when next?”
Sephirah pushed off the railing she'd been leaning on.
She'd wrapped up all the players she could gather right now, but there were still just under ninety left. No telling where they'd wander or what they'd do in this changed game—she'd have to watch and see. Nothing much to meet up for immediately.
All things considered, Aiden answered.
“Let's observe for a couple days. Then check the noisy spots first—players are bound to show.”
“Okay, by then the community'll probably be buzzing a bit.”
The community might already be stirring, honestly. Even with just 128 players, it was full of diehards still haunting a years-old game's forums.
Yesterday, no one would've bought it without the numbers. But now? Different story.
Which meant Sephirah was stuck forum-diving for the foreseeable future.
“Gonna be bored for two days.”
“Me?”
“Nah, me. You won't play with me in the meantime either...”
She let out a dramatic sigh. To Aiden, it looked like her hinting she'd drop by tomorrow since she'd be so bored.
And probably true.
“Contact me if something comes up.”
“Hah, then...!”
“Only if something comes up.”
“...Tch, fine.”
Aiden's blunt rejection soured Sephirah's face openly.
As long as nothing major popped up, her presence or absence wouldn't matter much.
But right now, he just wanted a few worry-free days off for once.
“Fiiiine, eat well and stay safe! I won't bug your rest if you play it smart! No place to go? Hit my hideout! Don't do anything stupid—just stay alive!”
Finally, Sephirah kicked off and bolted for the door. She stomped hard for dramatic effect, squeezed her eyes shut, turned her back to Aiden, and flung open the wooden door.
Stepping over the threshold and inside, she peeked her head back out as she closed it, beaming brightly.
“See ya later!”
Click.
With Sephirah gone and relocated, the bustling vibe faded fast. Just one person, but her constant brightness demanded extra energy from everyone else. So her absence hit weirdly hard, like a big empty space.
“See ya later...”
Aiden muttered. The emphasized “later” lingered as he dismissed the lingering UI in the sky and summoned a new one.
Scenario Denial: 22%
The number had slipped the moment he felt like he'd made progress. Which meant Aiden had unknowingly achieved something, unlocking another genre or system.
And facing yet another change.
Scenario Denial (2)
You've strayed one step further from what was meant to happen.
Drifting from the known daily life and world may be a stroke of luck—becoming unpredictable to players.
Even if you wash your hands and run now, you can't stop.
Your ultimate goal: prepare for the inevitable “unpredictable outcome.”
[From now on, the base level of accepted players rises to 35.]
This was a change Aiden hadn't shown Sephirah—just for his eyes. It didn't apply to the players left anyway, so no need to overthink yet.
Telling her would've meant getting grilled for three hours straight.
Is a level jump really that big a deal?
To Aiden, with his unfamiliar sense of the scale, it hadn't fully sunk in at first. He knew it represented power to players.
But equating it to quadrupling their numbers? A bit shocking.
“As expected.”
Aiden muttered again. The warning about higher-level players incoming.
He'd seen it three times now. It popped up every time his actions bumped the percentage.
Every 10%, some player-related shift, with no clear conditions to tweak at will.
Which felt like seriously bad news for Aiden.
“...”
Every action triggered a bad change, no clue how to stop it. Not even sure if he'd ever figure it out.
“Really...”
If that was really the case.
Aiden posed the question to no one in particular.
What the hell is this change even for?
* * *
A bit later.
Alone now, Aiden slipped into a corner and scanned around. Sephirah really gone? No passersby?
Doesn't matter if anyone sees.
Whatever the building's remoteness, no followers, not even a small animal in sight.
Confirming no signs of life, Aiden quietly summoned a compass pattern on the back of his hand.
Player system: Fast Travel.
The compass needle twitched like drawn by magnetism, settling on one direction.
Tssst...
His vision shifted with it.
The spot Aiden faced: the cave where he'd just let “Eldi” slip away. He'd survived the blast and dust cloud somehow, probably long gone by now.
Something's off.
Aiden thought.
Eldi had survived the attack somehow and ditched his pride to flee with his one life.
But did he really think running was the answer?
And why was Sephirah so sure she couldn't catch him?
Focus.
In the cave of dirt-covered rocks, red and blue lights flickered.
Most striking: a huge blue-glowing trace.
Blue for allies—likely Sephirah's explosion remnants.
Show only red lights.
At his system request, the glaring lights thinned out sharply.
Sephirah's footprints and traces vanished. His own Fast Travel coordinates too.
Now, only Eldi's footprints remained in Aiden's view.
Sephirah didn't seem able to do this.
Step.
Aiden moved with deliberate noise, pondering.
Focus was a tracking skill needing no mastery. Just follow the red-glowing prints to find players—might rely on it heavily from now on.
Yet Sephirah hadn't even tried Focus-tracking.
Like she couldn't.
“...Found it.”
Eldi's prints led deeper into the cave—opposite the exit.
Dozens of seconds walking, Aiden stopped where they cut off.
Just like that day tracking Sephirah, an oval Fast Travel coordinate glowed red, welcoming him.
Chijik.
Reaching for it brought a landscape to mind.
Like recalling Sephirah's hideout before—he could use it despite never being there.
This time too, certainty he'd follow Eldi there.
“No way Sephirah deliberately skipped this.”
Doubts resurfaced.
Forgot to use it? Impossible. She'd known the function since first use.
Unless some other reason she didn't know—but Aiden's hunch was singular.
His system differed from players'.
Assuming that true, ignored oddities resurfaced.
Fast Travel worked differently. Aiden teleported instantly; Sephirah had a delay.
Focus effects varied.
No level for Aiden.
No “genres” for players.
So...
Same systems on paper, but fundamentally different in spots.
Like similar yet distinct powers.
Realization...
Aiden dismissed the emerging UI.
Proved his fresh thought mattered. More info ahead meant worse changes, netting just skill points.
So shove info thoughts back. Turn from Eldi's Fast Travel coordinate.
Know the spot now—can go anytime.
Goal was confirming it anyway. No point tailing a player solo.
Prep more first.
Gather info safely, spend unused skill points, rest.
Chase Eldi after.
