Twenty cristalline guards stood in a line, not marching at all. Weapons drawn, they stood at attention, all heads uniformly turned towards the two players. Absinth sucked in an audible breath as the clouds broke open, causing the crystal guards to shimmer like the surface of the ocean.
“Didn’t you say they’re patrolling?”, Woodcutter inquired, voice dangerously calm.
“They did!” Absinth took a large step back. “I don’t know why they’re behaving like this!”
The first guard took a step forward.
At this point, Jian Lin had stopped eating. He watched, through Woodcutter’s perspective, how the guards came closer and closer and closer, one step after another, feet dragging over the ground like in a horror movie.
The oppression that followed each of their steps was no joke, transmitting even to the viewers, whose comments on the screen had turned silent.
The foremost guard’s cristalline lips opened up. A single, ear-piercing word came out of its mouth: “Discourteous!”
And that was about all it needed to understand.
The stream broke off abruptly when Woodcutter must have quickly cancelled it. Complaints ran over the screen.
[The AIs can tell people’s intentions, just like humans, right? Was this about storming the castle?]
[The delegation is coming up with presents and all… Do you think they’d be rejected too?]
[Is Woodcutter dead????]
[Wtf happened I just came]
[Okay, but does anyone else think that that guard was kinda hot?]
The discussion went on and on. Jian Lin continued blankly staring at the screen, until his phone rang. He picked it up without looking, already aware who it was.
“Holy fuck. If he didn’t teleport away in time, he’s dead.”
“I didn’t expect them to be able to talk.”
“It seems they have some intelligence? Kinda hard to tell.” Xi Yang snorted. “Serves him right. The prince is doing his best to approach the situation diplomatically and carefully, and there he goes, running forward with weapons drawn.”
“It’s good, though.”
“Yes. It gives us a bit more time.”
The duration of the quest might say “Unknown”, but given that its previous duration was until the delegation reached the castle, he thought it was better to be done by then.
The moment they logged back in, they went over to Bloody’s guild. Sitting in the conference room, the beastman sent a message to White Light.
Everyone listened to the exchange through Bloody reading out White Light’s answers.
“We watched a stream of Woodcutter dying. How is it? Any news on your side?”
“Our group doesn’t know anything about it. Or well, we do as players, but not the NPCs. They got nervous when they saw Woodcutter running up ahead, so they’re picking up the pace. We’ll have reached the castle by tomorrow morning.”
“Already?”
“Yes. They’re going to abandon some of the finer details in favor of reaching it quicker. I’m trying to get us as much time as possible, but Knightrider is suspicious why I’m doing that. I can’t continue.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Dibbvs jmafv bea atf jqbibufalm abcf atja Qtlaf Oluta’r mtlyl kjr vlrqijslcu.
Pmf geyyfv tlr ojmf. “P rff…”
“Ktf boolmlji vegjalbc lrc’a rtbkc, gluta? P uefrr atfgf’r cb erf teggslcu cbk. Tbe mjc’a olclrt atlr defra lc bcf vjs.” Dijmxrabcf’r vlrjqqblcawfca kjr jevlyif. “Qf’ii tjnf ab kjla obg atfw ab yf ubcf.”
“A break actually suits me just fine”, Little Droplet laughed unexpectedly. “I won’t have time to play the next weeks. In fact, I guess I might have to stop accompanying you guys.”
“Did something happen?” Bloody’s ear flicked. He remembered Little Droplet talking about family issues.
“Yep.” Little Droplet didn’t sound too sad, more exhausted. “It’s a bit of a large mess. I’ll need to get that in order before I can continue playing.”
“I’ve got shoots for an ad coming up too”, Blackstone added. “Which means I won’t be able to follow a lot…”
“The unknown duration is dangerous. It’s better to continue anyway.” Spiderlily opened her shining eyes, glancing at Ice. “I’ll still come along, if you don’t mind.”
“We’d be happy if you did!” Bloody smiled, answering in Ice’s stead when he realized the mage was absentmindedly staring at his own hands. “I’ll ask White Light not to worry about pushing back the time anymore. We’ll continue the quest tomorrow, how does that sound?”
“Sounds good.”
Everyone echoed Blackstone’s words.
“Then I’ll officially invite you to stay over today, if you want to. There are some nice dungeons for materials nearby and you can rest in the rooms here for a buff. Tomorrow, Spiderlily, I and Ice will be back on continuing the quest.”
Some more words were exchanged.
Ice left the conference room, not snapped out of his daze yet. He was greeted everywhere, more or less enthusiastically – much more once Bloody hinted at Ice considering to join the guild, after which everyone turned into the nicest person alive.
Ice allowed himself a lavish meal with Bloody. Things were getting a bit more quiet everywhere with people logging off for lunch.
Quietly, without anyone noticing, Ice took his staff out of his room and placed it into his inventory. He walked down the hallway and down the stairs, away from the personal rooms. Wearing one of the cash shop cloaks, he almost didn’t stand out at all as he approached the front door.
“Where are you planning on going?”
Just as Ice was about to go outside, Bloody appeared next to him. Tugging at his sleeve, the beastman’s face showed a curious expression. His tail was wagging a bit, as if ready to immediately follow and go for a walk.
Ice hesitated. He bit his lip before talking. “To the ice castle. I… There’s something I want to check.”
“Huh? Didn’t we say we’d continue tomorrow? Is this really the right time?”
“It is.”
“Well, if you say so. Let’s get going then.” Bloody reached past Ice for the doorknob.
“Bloody… Can I go alone?”
It was surprisingly hard to say the simple sentence. The beastman didn’t look offended or disappointed, but he did look surprised. “You want to go on your own?”
“Yes.”
A short pause followed. Visibly thinking, Bloody went over the reasons why Ice might be sneaking out like this, without informing anyone or planning.
“Alright… I guess you have your reasons. It’s about your theory, isn’t it? You still don’t want to share it?”
The fluffy ears lowered, betraying his emotions. Ice curled up his fingers to keep himself from touching them – he was doing this way too much lately. Even if this was a game, even if it was fake, it felt a bit too intimate.
“Sorry. I’ll tell you once I’ve made sure.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting here.” Like a lost puppy, Bloody forced a little smile. It made Ice hesitate.
“Afterwards… Afterwards, let’s go get my pet together. And we could celebrate when the quest is done, maybe in my uncle’s restaurant again?”
Hearing Ice offer another meeting in reality, the beastman perked up. “Yes! Let’s do that! Now, hurry on out. I’ll try to keep it a secret that you’ve gone off on your own.”
“Thank you”, Ice said honestly.
The mage hurried to the city gates. Too worried about being seen, he ended up using his wings only after running another while.
The air turned colder when he approached the mountain. For one second, he hesitated, then decided to keep flying – over the border where mounts couldn’t move anymore. If he was right, this cheat wouldn’t end up being a problem at all.
Avoiding the NPCs and any flying monsters, he circled around the mountain like a spiral. The cold seeped into his bones, causing his teeth to chatter, but he ignored the temperature. Slowly, slowly, he descended down the abyss until he landed where the stairs would have ended.
Little white clouds appeared with his every breath.
He was cold, but this was his best shot at not only finding out if what he thought about was true… but also at ending the quest in one go.
The demon butler he had met before appeared out of nowhere. He stood in front of Ice, the winds whipping his clothes around. The player shuddered under the demon’s emotionless gaze.
“What are you doing here?”
“Can I come in?”
Long seconds passed. The demon sighed, then turned on his heel. Hands folded behind his back, he began to walk.
“Follow me.”
The butler led Ice into the castle.
A number of servants were scurrying around, glancing at Ice but not bothering with him. The castle was lively.
Against all rules of courtesy, the butler stopped in a simple corner. “So? What is it that you want?”
“I wanted to ask, do you have a library around here? May I visit it? Something like… a private library?”
The demon grimaced. “I don’t understand you people. Who lets strangers into their study? And who would randomly wish to visit someone’s study? But… I was told that if one of you people comes and asks, I have to let them in.”
The butler muttered something under his breath, complaining about the ridiculous situation.
It was an unusually classic game sequence. The player asks the right question and gets access to something that, by common logic, shouldn’t be acquirable.
But that was what the hint had been about.
That there was a notebook with the information they needed. Something private, like Thea’s diary. A book about the truth of the dragon.
So, where would you keep such a book? Nearby, in a suitable place. Given that players still had to be able to think of it and not go on a wild goose chase… A study was the most likely place.
The origin story of this world was in the last standing remnant of that time. How very fitting.
Although unwilling, the demon did not go against his master’s order. He took Ice through half the castle, past all the staff that minded their own business.
The private quarters of the king were near the door to the abyss.
The room was small and simple. The bookcases were neatly filled up, a quick glance revealing titles that appeared to be linked to the game’s lore. There were numerous history books, as well as books about geography, biology, local flora and fauna.
Ice brushed a finger over a book’s back. They were well-kept, not a hint of dust on them.
“Don’t damage anything”, the demon warned, standing next to the door.
Ice nodded, then began checking.
He wanted to hope that his guesses were wrong, but it didn’t look like it.
Walking through the room, he immediately went to a certain spot.
Due to his height, he always kept his favourite books on a certain shelf, on the outermost right. Always the same position, no matter how many bookcases he had, and when there were several, it would always be the bookcase the furthest into the room, to the left.
Ice breathed slowly through his open mouth and raised his eyes.
A simple notebook with a cross-hatched cover. The type you’d get in a convenience store, not one you’d find in a historical castle.
He pulled it out, rubbing a finger over the lock that kept it.
A magic lock. There was no place for a key, there was only an engraved word – a spell word that would react as long as the person holding the lock could invoke the magic.
A familiar shudder returned to Ice’s body.
How very uncomfortable it all was.
How everything was working out too well. Like a plan someone made, just for him. The illusion of freedom while in truth following a linear path.
Ice broke the lock on the notebook by softly chanting the word for snow. That it needed ice magic, which was rare, was another piece that fell into the puzzle too neatly. This whole quest… it didn’t seem like it could have been completed without him. Truly a quest made only for him.
Ice opened the first page. The handwriting could hardly be called as such – the letters were so perfectly written that they looked like printed, and yet there were tiny differences in how single letters were linked that told Ice it had been written by hand.
He stroked the yellowed page and began to read.
My father, it began. He didn’t know why he could almost hear a soft, wistful voice whisper it into his ear.
My father always said that we can forge our own future. A path not taken will always be a dead end, but an attempt at clearing it might reveal a way further in.
Magic, he said-
There was a pause when a couple of letters were crossed out. The sentence began anew.
What he wielded, I’d come to call magic. I loved watching him use it. The way he coaxed the world to do his bidding with his songs, asking for its aid.
You don’t demand the world to change, he’d say. You may state your wishes, but whether the world fulfills it is not for you to decide. All you can do is give it your best to attract its intention and goodwill.
Magic, as I understood, was nothing but a formal and polite request. No one likes someone rudely demanding something. If you do, the response might be just as rude.
Thank you for the chapter!!
(((;ꏿ_ꏿ;))) what’s happening omg
Thank you for the chapter!! ❤️❤️
Harharhar, nice how the guards just killed them >D Knightrider isn’t a backstabber (yet) like Absinth but annoying he is.
Oooh~ nice, nice. And maybe a bit creepy for Ice that Ice 2.0 has the same order of priority with his bookshelves like him :’D
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)
Bloody’s tail wagging, as if…wanting to go for a walk HAHAHAHAHAHAAH I love that you’re reallly leaning into the wolf/dog aspects of Bloody in the game, it’s so cute!
and awwww….when his fluffy ears lowered….Ice is amazing to resist that XD
Bloody being all sad because Ice was leaving him behind QAQ
thanks for the chapter <3
Thank you for the chapter 💜