Yawning sleepily, I head downstairs, trying to see what all the ruckus is about. They’re very lucky that my headphones were firmly placed on the nightstand and didn’t fall off. No water spilled on them either. Otherwise, there might be bodies to clean up.
Instead of murder, I just walk down. Headphones securely wrapped around my neck. As soon as I turn the corner on the stairs, I see it. A debate between two people got kind of heated - a zoof wielding a long staff, sprawled out on the floor, rolling side to side, trying to extinguish the fire licking at their fur. Above them stands a sneering… Human, I noted. Huh.
“That’s what you get, fucking npc. Fucking trying to tell me who to identify and not,” he says with a sneer, then spits on them. Heat still radiates off him, and I tilt my head softly.
It has been a little while since we got here, I suppose. That must mean the first humans made it up here naturally. This guy seems to have a ton of temper stored in his greasy black hair, so hopefully he won’t approach me.
His eyes turn towards me, dark green circles widening in surprise. “The fuck?” he asks. “Another human? Holy shit, I thought I was among the first to make it up here! My name’s Lars, yours?” As he talks, his lips widen to a big smile, and he raises his arms as he walks towards me. “Shit, you been up here for long? You got a proper cloak and everything. I got soaked, haha!” he laughs.
As he moves to embrace me, I step back, making him grab at air. No way am I letting him get his drenched, wet hands all over my precious electronics. “Huh? The fuck?” he asks, confused that I’d withdraw. “What, you think you’re fuckin’ better than me, too?”
Instantly, Lars tries to identify me. I can feel his mana come towards me in that telltale style - but I slap it aside. A bit of [Solidification] imbued with [Deconstruction] to create a barrier that dismantles his attempt. At that, his advance freezes again. He’d just started walking towards me once more, when his footsteps stop.
“Huh,” he says quietly. Then, he barks out a laugh. “Hah! Hahaha!” He points at me, trying to jab a finger into my chest, which I gracefully sidestep again. “You fuck! You got nerve, bastard. Haha! That’s the difference between us humans and these fuckin’ npcs, though, isn’t it? That we got guts. Bravery. Real spirit.”
Once more, Lars attempts to touch me, trying to wrap his arm around my shoulder. This time, he moves with supernatural speed, trying to enter my space. So I [Suppress] him and step out of the way. It even make him stumble for a moment, the speed-up and following slow-down tripping him.
Then he looks at me again. “Hey, hey,” he says, voice suddenly lower. “Why aren’t you talking, bitch?” He stares at me with anger in his eyes as if I’d insulted him, yet the actual insult comes without any heat. Just an identifying term like any other.
“I’m particular about my personal space,” I say slowly. At the same time, I use [Obfuscation], creating something of an illusion about where I stand, moving slightly back and to the side while he still sees me in the same place. I use Kuro, too, having them expand my cloak a little, hiding more of my features.
Suddenly bursting out in laughter again, the fire in the man’s eyes dies off. He raises his arms placatingly. “Fine, fine, sheesh. You sure are a prickly bitch, eh? Still better than these half-real worthless fucks, though,” Lars says, giving me a grin that says he truly believes we’re in agreement on this, while pointing at the rest of the inn.
Who are already eyeing us with unrestrained ire. Everyone, especially Zinc is shooting glares at the guy, and now, some of those are directed at me as well. I sigh, softly. Why does trouble always find me. “Do you really think these people aren’t real?” I ask, tilting my head slightly.
“Huh?” he asks, genuine surprise written across his features. “‘Course they aren’t. If they were, I’d be a murderer! Hah! How silly would that be? Nah, fam. These people are here as part of the game. Kill ‘em for some exp!”
I frown. “They’re real people.”
“Yeah!” one of the other patrons yells. “Just as real as anyone!”
The man instantly shoots him a glare. “Fucking zip it, fake.” Then he turns to me, and shakes his head with a gentle smile. Almost manic, desperate. As if he needs to believe it. “No, no, they’re fake. See, I’ll show you they’re fake. Look-” he summons a fireball from his fingers. It hovers over them for a moment. “Anyone real could survive it, see-”
With a casual motion, he throws it. The flames flicker through the air, at a hapless scithian woman. She gasps in surprise as the fire streaks towards her, as if not quite grasping what’s happening.
Before her face catches fire, I [Deconstruct] the spell.
Flames fizzle out and return to nothing before they land. Very slowly, the man looks at me, then snickers. “Hah. You… you really think they’re real, huh? Haha. Hahaha!” And then he holds his stomach. “No, nononono.” His eyes turn gleeful again, sparks flickering on the edges. “See, they’re fakes. They’re fakes so I can burn them, so I can-”
And then his eyes latch onto me. I’ve realized it, now. What he’s a part of. How he made it up so fast.
[The Flametouched has its Eye on you. It hopes you like its newest acolyte.]
Instantly, I triple down on [Obfuscation], hiding the mark that was left on me, hoping that the pyromaniac doesn’t notice. He stares at me intently, eyes wide open, hair covering his face. “You’re not real, either,” he whispers. “You’re a thin fake fuck. I’ll- I’ll fucking burn you too. I’ll burn-”
There’s a soft pop, then a loud noise, and Lars falls over as I step back.
Opal stands behind him, giving a low whistle. “Phew. What a weirdo. You okay, Yuki?” they ask with a small smile. Their sword is in their hands, vibrating from the blow. Opal must’ve smacked the guy on the back of the head with the flat of the blade, knocking him out.
“Yeah, all good,” I say slowly.
[The Flametouched clicks its many tongues. Its newest avatar will find you again. Once he spots the mark, the hunt will begin.]
I sigh softly. Great, yet another thing to hide. Despite my annoyance, Opal simply nods and smiles. “Glad to hear it. Well! I’ll get this guy on out, sounds like he was bothering everyone, anyway,” they say with a smirk, then easily hoist the dude over their shoulder. I nod again, and Opal gets some soft cheers from the patrons.
While they walk, I identify the weirdo.
[Living Torch, lv. 104]
Still, he went down in one blow from Opal… probably a power-vessel focused build, then? For maximum burning. I look at Lars leaving out through the door, then my eyes fall to the zoof, still stuck on the ground. By the mana that radiates off them, they’re no higher than level 40.
Their fur is burnt, and I can see that even the skin underneath is singed. It smells like carbon and I frown slightly as they give a groan of pain, trying to pull themselves up and stumbling. Very carefully, I approach them, giving them the least hostile stare I can manage.
“Come on up to my room. We have some bandages there. We’ll get you right as rain in no time,” I say, as softly as I can manage. It still comes out deadpan.
Despite that, the zoof smiles ever so faintly, and nods, rallying to their feet. “Thank you,” they say quietly.
I nod, gently. Hopefully, they won’t rat me out when I heal them.
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