Nepenthe had planned to get rid of Silvestro as soon as they entered the townsquare. Only, he found that the boy stuck behind him as if the two were tied by the ankle.
Nepenthe watched his surroundings carefully. He could pretty much tell who the summoners and warriors were. The warriors stood by the summoners like bodyguards, their bodies stiff and with mechanical expressions. The summoners were all different, sharing the only commonality of an air of superiority. Nepenthe noted how the villagers seemed to stay six feet away from the supposed heroes.
"Where is the summoning space?" Nepenthe asked in a hushed voice.
'More importantly, boss, what are you going to use your gifted points for?' The system licked itself, hissing when Nepenthe dropped it.
"That's not what's important right now. Please do your job and give me information." Nepenthe kicked at the cat but only grazed it.
'Host, I thought you knew well. You managed to automatically use a skill against those knuckleheads.' The cat looked up at Nepenthe curiously.
"That's different. I didn't need a charming skill for those suckers. Who lets someone pass just because they told some silly story?" Nepenthe scoffed.
The boy must have thought Nepenthe was speaking to him, and he walked up beside him.
"I thought you were pretty cool. I've been wanting to show those guards a piece of my mind. You know, I would've done something if you hadn't said anything." Silvestro grinned widely and bumped arms with Nepenthe but stepped away when Nepenthe side-eyed him.
"Oh, were you… talking to that creature?" Silvestro questioned with a small tilt of his head. He gave Nepenthe an almost sympathetic smile.
"What… you crappy brat." Nepenthe knew pity when he saw it. Silvestro laughed and inched closer to Nepenthe's side, making Nepenthe tense.
'Relax, host. He must think you're his owner,' the system cooed.
"I can't be anyone's father," said Nepenthe, with an eyebrow slightly twitching.
Silvestro suddenly stopped in his steps without a word, and Nepenthe instinctively stopped walking as well. Silvestro was looking intently at something, but all Nepenthe saw was a fruit stand.
'Don't panic, but I think the kid is hungry.' The cat looked at Nepenthe judgingly, asking him if he'd let the boy starve.
"Aren't you a villain system? What do you care?" Nepenthe mumbled.
"Sir—" Silvestro called.
"Nepenthe." It was said quickly, and Nepenthe shut his mouth.
"Nepenthe… Was that story real? The one about Tomas and Leon." Silvestro spoke softly, kicking a rock in front of him as they continued to walk.
How could Nepenthe tell this kid that it was all bullshit he had made up on the spot? The boy looked at him with bright eyes, and Nepenthe turned soft despite himself.
"It's true. You want to know what happened next?" He stole a subtle glance at Silvero, acting indifferent towards it all even as the kid nodded vehemently. "Leontius got his revenge, of course. He acted cold towards Tomas while bossing him around. He'd be patronizing but kept his cool demeanor. Eventually," Nepenthe made a chopping motion with his hands, smirking. "Tomas' head was chopped off. Divine punishment—from the prince."
Silvestro's eyes widened and he murmured under his breath, "Divine punishment…" He went silent. Guess he doesn't enjoy a good revenge story.
A figure dressed in black from head to toe caught Nepenthe's eye and made the hair on the back of his neck stand. The inexplicable urge to set up defensives surged through him, more than usual. Silvestro also seemed to tense for the same reason.
"Are you hungry?" Nepenthe asked.
"Huh..? Are you talking to me?" Silvestro, in disbelief, nearly tripped over his own feet.
Nepenthe frowned, looking quite annoyed. He folded his arms and looked away while mumbling.
"Yes or no?"
The two plus the cat went over to a fruit stand, but the seller only glanced at them once and didn't look again. Silvestro's cheeks were lightly flushed with embarrassment, while Nepenthe strolled around. When Silvestro stared at an apple for too long, the seller's gaze bore into him until Silvestro put his hands in his holed pockets.
Nepenthe carefully watched every hand that reached out for an apple, banana, or pear. His eyes darted to the seller then to the fruits and he took the chance to swiftly swipe an apple.
"That was almost too easy. Am I on easy mode? Is this a tutorial?" Nepenthe murmured to the system.
'Aren't you just good at looking innocent?' The system meowed.
It was a terrible joke.
Nepenthe tapped on Silvestro's shoulder and secretly handed the apple to him. Silvestro beamed.
A commotion stirred in the middle of the road, and Nepenthe knew from the growing crowd and guards that something had gone down. Someone ran so quickly over that they bumped shoulders with Silvestro, making the boy fall on his buttocks. Nepenthe watched as the crowd separated to form a path like in a scene much like the Red Sea if you asked Nepenthe.
Two guards stood on either side of a hunched figure in stained white, holding his arms firmly as one guard stood behind to push the figure forward when the man dragged his feet.
Onlookers, or rather, bystanders, either watched with hitched breath or snarky remarks and sneers, spitting and barking at the convict. Some bared their fangs and threatened the man with sticks, the guards kept on.
Nepenthe was focused on the chains of strange metal dragging behind the convict. He was startled to find that the man was already looking back at him.
"I'm liking where this is goin'," someone magically appeared next to Nepenthe.
"Uh…yeah. What?" Nepenthe pried his gaze off and glanced next to him. Someone, Nepenthe couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, looked back at him.
"Boss, you just locked eyes with that criminal. Shall we recruit him?" This "someone" grinned slyly, and Nepenthe got an agonizing feeling.
"System?" Nepenthe asked.
"Yes?" The someone replied.
The system noticed Nepenthe's reluctance, and continued, "I thought we'd be a little less inconspicuous if I were a person too. I've been actively downloading speech patterns and data, but I'm still deciding on which to go with," the system spoke blandly.
"That is the least of my concerns right now," Nepenthe sighed. "Why do you still have cat ears and a tail?"
The system suddenly yelped when its tail was yanked by no other than Silvestro. Nepenthe grinned at the pained expression and also pulled its tail. The system pulled away from the two, glaring. Silvestro looked guilty and panicked while Nepenthe was unbothered.
"Boss…." System looked hurt.
Nepenthe turned to Silvestro, who looked a tad bit more tattered than earlier and was clinging onto his apple like his lifeline. Had the boy gone through war in the short time Nepenthe looked away?
"System, are you able to give me data on people?" Nepenthe asked while opening up his user interface. He briefly browsed through the point shop but saw every option was locked because of his level. Paywall.
"Turns out the guy is just an NPC," The system replied.
Shouldn't it have known this from the start? How shitty.
Nepenthe motioned for Silvestro to follow. Most everyone had abandoned the vendors and stalls and crowded up ahead after following the bloody trail of the dragged convict.
Nepenthe paced himself, watching from afar as the guards heaved the man upon the execution stage.
[System notification- "You are approaching a mission zone."]
A grinning little girl stood on top one of the six steps of the stage with her hand raised high, she yelled and her loud voice came as a juxtaposition to her short self.
"The contemptible will be dead!" She declared. The NPC's all roared.
There was a sort of rhapsodic silence that dispersed instantaneously with the two guards raising their blades.
Nepenthe stared at the surrounding guards, then another, then another. Seven guards, all occasionally walking around. Guard "A" moved from left to right every 30 seconds from in front of the small tavern to the alleyway's entrance. Guard "B" strolled from across the road back and forth randomly. They were the only two Nepenthe had to consider in this position.
"This so-called 'knight' has once more deceived us with his lies and vows. From the battle of The Deadlands, we had since suspected his cahoots with the tyrant of the West," Guard lefty's voice boomed.
[Sub-Mission Unlocked: Disrupt the Execution of the "Fallen Knight."
"A Hero's End"
Reward: Party Member [Lior] – Class: Warblade | Loyalty: ???
Objective:Disrupt the public execution of Lior, former knight of the Dawn Legion. Escape detection. Do not break role parameters.
Penalty for Failure: Storyline branch closed. Character permanently removed.
Level 1 restrictions in place. Available skills: [Shadow Whispers I], [Item: Smoke Bomb (x1)], [Glamour Tag (single-use, disguise voice)].
The pop-up binged and made Nepenthe pause. He hadn't seen this before now. It dawned on him that he really is in a videogame.
Nepenthe looked for the system's human form, but only saw Silvestro looking back at him.
"Now," guard lefty pressed the tip of the sword to the so-called knight's neck, "he will be beheaded." He waited for the jeers to die down.
Interfere, interfere how?! The guy already has a blade to his throat! Nepenthe tensed, his vision blurring and head spinning as he worked to figure this out.
[There are 3 minutes remaining. Failure to complete mission and comply with terms will result in a termination of user account]
Termination? Death? Nepenthe unclenched his hands and dropped his shoulders. All he had to do was sit back, and he could really die. A whirlpool of confusion clouded him. How come he didn't let the system self-destruct back then?
The two guards positioned the blade to the convict's neck. The sharp sound of the metal clinging together made Nepenthe look up.
A few villagers whispered around Nepenthe, "Isn't it too cruel to do this in public?"
"Who cares? Some hero he was,"
"The harm he's done is greater than his help,"
[Skill activated: Shadow Whispers I- Whispers have been slightly amplified]
[Skill time remaining- 30 seconds]
"Did you hear? The tyrant's spies are in town today.."
The murmurs grew, villagers and guards glanced around.
"Where did you hear that from…"
With a deep breath, Nepenthe felt the bomb materialize in his palm, and wasted no time to pull the safety pin and tossed the smoke bomb dead in the middle of the NPC's and execution stand. Someone upfront screamed and fell back, causing a domino effect. Like ants chased from an ant hill, the villagers scattered, yelling that they've been cursed.
Truly an NPC reaction.
[Smoke Bomb- 0]
[System Alert: Narrative Instability: +12%. Crowded scene temporarily suspended.
Smoke Bomb affects the user: immediate effect -2%HP
gradual effect: -5%HP]
The surrounding guards rushed to protect those who were better dressed or at least less scrawny than most of the crowd despite those people already having bodyguards.
Nepenthe only briefly glanced around for Silvestro, but soon hid behind a trash can himself. The smoke shaded his view of the execution stage, but he could faintly make out the three figures.
[Skill: "Shadow Whispers I" has expired]
[Used: Glamour Tag x1. User "Nepenthe"'s voice has been changed]
"It's bold to hurt one of my people," a voice echoed through the smoke, making the two guards on the execution stand tremble and falter. There was a moment of silence before one spoke.
"Wait, that didn't sound like the evil tyrant," the guard to the right whispered. The two guards looked at each other, eyebrows slightly raised.
Nepenthe f'd up. He had assumed the skill would know which voice to take on, but that squeaky voice couldn't have been some evil tyrants.
Still, the show must go on.
While the guards hesitated with their weapons down, Nepenthe picked up a nearby stick and covered his nose before dashing through the smoke. His eyes watered and he hoped no one saw him stumbling through after nearly tripping over a suspiciously placed rock.
[+156 EXP]
[Skill: "Nights Shadow" has been unlocked and automatically applied]
[-5% HP
Current HP level of 32.55%]
Nepenthe swiftly broke through the smoke, jumping up the stairs of the stage. He twisted his body in the air, stick prepared to wack at the guards.
[An unknown Beholder has granted temporary usage of dark magic.
Role-authorized- "Black Flame"
Gained item: Illusions cloak x1]
Nepenthe paused mid-flight, causing him to crash into one of the guards and tackle him to the ground.
"F*ck, what was that!?" The guard yelped, disoriented.
[Skill activated: Black Flame (temporary)]
[Skill usage time- 10 seconds]
A ground rumbling pulse of black flame covered the stage, disintegrating the cold chains and shackles along with the swords. A surge of the same flames pulsed through Nepenthe and wrapped around every part of him. He gritted his teeth, the adrenaline clouding his pain.
There was no time to think, and Nepenthe stumbled onto his feet. He used a little too much momentum and fell towards the other guard. It was instinct for him to hold out his hands, forgetting about the sharp stick he had acquired just seconds ago. It went about how you'd expect.
"AHHH!" The guard fell back, blood dripping from his neck.
"Sorry!" Nepenthe winced.
Nepenthe reached out to try finding his footing when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist. Startled, he drew his hand back.
The black flames dispersed and instantaneously Nepenthe was pulled forward and off the stage. The smoke had cleared out some, allowing the two guards to catch a glimpse of Nepenthe and the fleeting convict.
[Item: "Illusions Cloak" has been dispersed.
The appearance of user "Nepenthe" and {Unknown Entity} have been altered.
The illusion is flickering]
[Remaining uses: 0
30 seconds]
Nepenthe struggled to keep up even as the convict "Lior" avoided putting weight on his own left leg as they ran through the tree lined street of man-planted trees. Lior halted, causing Nepenthe to bump into his shoulder. Two more guards stood in their path, barking out orders to the surrounding guards. Nepenthe took hold of Lior's bruised arm and tugged him to the nearby alleyway he had spotted earlier just as the two guards looked in their direction.
As soon as they reached the dark corners of the alleyway, Nepenthe let go and doubled over as a metallic taste tipped on his tongue. It rose in his throat, making him cough out blood.
[Item: "Illusions Cloak" has expired and has been dispelled]
[Power (MANA) depletion: 60%
24% POW]
The user interface opened automatically and displayed a big "CONGRATULATIONS"
[Mission success: "A Hero's End"
Reward: Party Member [Lior] – Class: Warblade | Loyalty: ???]
[Additional reward: +1567 EXP
User "Nepenthe" has reached level 5- passive skills unlocked.
500/2000 EXP till next level]
Lior crouched down to be on Nepenthe's level. With his hoarse voice and busted lip, he asked, "And you are?"
Nepenthe, unbothered by the lack of "thanks", straightened himself out and stood.
"Your savior," Nepenthe answered. It seemed the joke flew over Lior's head, Nepenthe's fault for not setting up a punchline.
Lior put a hand to his heart and bowed his head slightly, down on one knee.
"That, you are. I am indebted to you, sir." Lior looked at the ground, his voice leveled.
Nepenthe glanced at his user interface.
[Lior] – Class: Warblade | Loyalty: ???]
The loyalty was still unknown, so Nepenthe assumes it to be 0. This fallen warrior lacked trust. Nepenthe tried opening Lior's warrior profile, but received an error that the two lacked chemistry.
"No problem," Nepenthe spoke absentmindedly, trying to figure out what to do with Lior.
"Your team…" Lior started, gazing up at Nepenthe, "where are they?"
Nepenthe recalled earlier when Lior and he locked gazes. So it wasn't just his imagination…Nepenthe shook his head in response.
"You lost them?" Lior asked with an eyebrow slightly raised. Nepenthe felt the creeping feeling that he was being severely judged with Lior's unimpressed look.
"For lack of a better word," Nepenthe murmured and winced at the system's message.
[Warrior "Lior" doubts user "Nepenthe"'s carefulness.]
"I mean, the little one disappeared and the strange one is around somewhere, I suppose," said Nepenthe, rather unconvincingly.
[A massive decrease of Warrior "Lior"'s trust in user "Nepenthe"!]
Nepenthe had never seen someone switch up so fast. Lior stood and wouldn't even look at Nepenthe anymore. Nepenthe hesitated, wondering if he should make up a fib of sorts.
"I'll be on my way." Lior gave a small nod of acknowledgment once more and turned to leave. Nepenthe watched as the man tried standing tall, but noticed the dropping of his shoulders and limping of his leg and pride.
"What will you do?" Nepenthe softly called out.
There was a slight pause in Lior's steps as he answered, "What I have to do," Lior whispered, and disappeared from sight.
Nepenthe stood there for a moment longer, scratching his head in confusion. He received a notification of "NPC warrior Lior" temporarily leaving the party, and another about a nearby acquaintance.
During his 3 minute talk with Lior, Nepenthe acknowledged two things: first, he isn't very good at conversation or recruiting people—two, these passive skills will either be the most helpful or annoying. Nepenthe did not need to have what others thought of him shoved right into his face.
"Sir!!!" A voice called from behind the farthest trash can.
It was Silvestro, who waved frantically at Nepenthe while slightly crouching, hiding. Nepenthe had only somewhat suspected someone eavesdropping, but wasn't too surprised to find it was Silvestro.
Silvestro looked around before stepping out and running up to Nepenthe. He hadn't gone through war this time, surprisingly. Nepenthe was oddly relieved to see the stray.
'Host, congrats on completing your first mission!' The cat system pinged.
"Where were you?" Nepenthe asked.
"Oh, I was hiding from the chaos! I knew something was up when you suddenly became interested in the execution," Silvestro said.
Nepenthe wasn't talking to the boy, but rather to the shitty system. Still, he didn't want to look crazy, seemingly talking to himself.
'Not allowed to be physically present during missions. Host, this system is already on thin ice and we've only just got to this world,' System sulked, kicking a can across the digital screen.
Nepenthe crossed his fingers, hopeful that the system never appeared in physical form again.
"Where to now?" Silvestro asked, inviting himself.
"I think it's time to get to the summoning part of this MMORPG," Nepenthe smirked.
————
The roads were filled with guards and summoners, all confused and uncertain. They guided lost and complaining villagers while clearing out the remaining fog with wind magic. Lining the sidewalks were knights, with their horses tied to trees as they investigated.
The two guards who were tasked with the execution were being reprimanded, but one of the two guards suddenly interrupted to defend.
"This isn't normal. That person, or thing… I swear I saw a demon vanish with him." The guard shivered and was nudged by the one next to him.
"See how crazy you sound, the Demonic types went extinct over 300 years ago," the other guard mocked.
There were a few gasps from the small crowd, prompting the two guards to lower their voices in gossip.
"Commander, is the idea plausible?" A knight asked while standing next to a woman nearly a foot taller.
"Plausible? No. Possible? I believe so," The commander responded in a warm voice, eyes ahead and hands behind her back. She gazed forward, eyes narrowed. The knight beside her hesitated but said nothing more despite feeling her words to be contradictory.
"A demon." Echoed the passing villagers and summoners.