56 - Adella's Magi
In World of Arceria, "Adella magi" carried a slightly different meaning from my past life. Here, magi was the driving force behind monsters and demons. It wasn't entirely wrong since monsters were born from magi, but it was laughable when you considered how vulnerable demons actually were to it.
The prologue quest to defeat the hydra determined the game's "magi difficulty." The higher the magi, the more ferocious the monsters became, and dark magic grew even more cruel. But clearing the game on high magi difficulty granted a bonus to attack power or spell power later on.
Next was exploration. The Labyrinth of the Unfathomable had taken less than an hour to clear with Laura. After the hydra and the labyrinth, I'd thought the game was generally easy overall—but that was because it wasn't even official content to begin with. Like magi, higher exploration difficulty reduced field item and weapon drop rates. The final character bonus was extra health.
Last was notoriety. You could only earn it by having Laura completely overwhelm the knight captain you encountered in the capital. Higher notoriety limited the NPCs you could ally with and made human opponents far more formidable in PvP. The notoriety sub-option granted growth bonuses to your character's ki or mana pool later.
Each one was an option that made your character incredibly powerful, but the price was steep. And the most important part was this.
I'd entered the Nightmare branch.
[I'll enroll through the proper procedures. / We don't have much time.]
▶ [We don't have much time.]
Were those past choices really branch points?
In a bar belonging to the Abyss branch under the 15th District, the branch chief only explained the academy infiltration plan after drawing all the curtains and erecting a thorough mana barrier.
I paused the story progression for a moment to check the chat.
"What's different about Nightmare difficulty?"
It was info any player needed to know.
"So dying means game over..."
He had a point. Growth in World of Arceria wasn't additive like health going from 1000 to 2000 for 3000—it was 1000 multiplied by 3 to 3000. Starting at 500 and tripling got you 1500. Entering a zone requiring 2000 minimum combat power meant high death risk.
"Got it."
Nightmare difficulty was also the company's consideration for arena users. It drastically shortened the story to extract only the essence, minimizing training time. It alleviated the tedium of replaying the same story while rebuilding characters—but only if players met the qualifications. No clearing via grinding or pattern learning. Death allowance? One or two at most.
Resuming game.
"Alperion and Sisiela will wait at the academy's east gate with six squad members."
The old knight and young bear beastkin nodded solemnly.
"And you, NoName—we won't give you a tough mission. You're still green and haven't been with Abyss long. You get that, right?"
The branch chief's plan had no holes, even to me who knew nothing of the situation.
"What do I do?"
"Go to the academy's back gate, draw the soldiers' attention, and run."
[That's fair, I'll accept. / Is this the best a bald guy's plan can do?]
"...?"
What was this? My eyes went to the choice turning me into a psycho.
All NPCs froze subtly, waiting for my response until I chose.
Choices with no story impact? That made it tricky. I stopped my hand heading right and sadly picked left.
"That's fair, I'll accept."
"Quick decision, good. Then go with Adella tonight. Simple diversion op, easy right?"
The branch chief pointed to a petite cat-eared girl standing alone by another pillar. She glanced my way, and we exchanged looks.
"Daniel and I will go over details per squad. Get acquainted in the meantime."
The place was a bar on the first floor, inn on 2nd and 3rd—so meeting spots were our rooms. Since we'd committed to the op from the start, no one could leave until night.
But Adella bolted up the stairs before the chief finished, missing the chance to go together. Cue the quest: Find Adella's Room.
So game-like, turning everything into quests. Let's ask someone.
"Alperion?"
"Oh, the famed Arseria Forest guardian? Business with me?"
"Looking for Adella's room."
"That one? Tough first mission for you. Sorry, don't know her room."
Dry, scripted responses from the old knight. I asked the bear beastkin next.
"Sisiela, know Adella's room number?"
"Why would I? She holes up in corners, so probably a corner room."
No one knew exactly. Plus, Adella wasn't well-regarded in Abyss. But clues trickled: 3rd floor, corner, by stairs. I knocked on 302 without hesitation.
"Come in."
A prickly voice from beyond the door. Room layout matched mine, but underwear and trash littered from the entrance, making it awkward to step.
"Adella."
Silence. Guess I had to approach. Somehow she'd gotten beer and was chugging it lying down since morning. Her gray hair was filthy, giving a gloomy vibe. She dangled her head off the bed upside down, looking up at me with bored eyes.
"Urp. Man, I'm drunk."
Her slit pupils blinked annoyingly. Phrenology was bullshit? No, it was science—real science, not pseudoscience. Otherwise, I couldn't feel this dread for future missions already.
So you're the nightmare.
"Adella."
"..."
"Adella."
"..."
This game had unfriendly interactions.
Did NPCs normally ignore speech, or was Adella special? She showed zero intent to respond. Ugh, game already sucks. I missed 'Liri,' the fox beastkin from Legacy of Legend selling old boots and potions. Petting her fluffy fur made her go "huee" and twitch cutely.
Compared to her, Adella had zero redeeming qualities. Dirty, frizzy hair; cute face drowned in booze-reddened skin—no forced affection possible. Viewers said this was Adella's canon character.
"Forest guardian, what's your name, nya?"
First words from Adella.
"NoName."
"Dunno who named you, but what a shitty name."
She casually picked her nose.
"Say that again."
"..."
"Say it again."
Mana aura leaked unconsciously. I clenched my fist to calm down, but inner rage showed in trembling lips and heavy breaths.
Give her a pass cuz it's a game char?
Room trash swirled and floated. I nearly punched her face—stopped just a paper's width away. She didn't blink, casually chugging the rest of her beer.