At the training camp, the Mighty Wolves gang was powerfully marching toward a duo that was just minding their own business.
As Jack saw their momentum, he understood that they were ready for war! Their eyes were tinged with blood as they glared at him as if he had murdered their family. The CPR dude stopped right in front of him before lowly growling.
“What was all that about? It doesn’t add up!”
“Come again?” Jack asked, puzzled.
“How did you know about the layout of the forest. How did you know about the Glory Trial? How are you so strong? How do you know so much about the chickens? How could you predict what the mage NPC would do?” He questioned at a machine-gun pace.
He was now staring at him with such intensity that Jack almost thought the man was interested in him. He could feel that he wouldn’t give up before he had answers. He would humor him for now.
“I like hiking. I’ve talked to the NPCs. I know karate. I grew up on a farm. I spoke with the florist before. Satisfied?” Jack spat out in one breath.
“Bullshit!” The CPR barked.
“…” Jack just shrugged. What was he supposed to say?
“C’mon, let’s go. No need to listen to this fool.” Bubblegum chimed in as she started walking away. But then the man raised his voice again.
“You, you’re Seraphine, aren’t you? THE Seraphine!” He dropped what he had hoped would feel like a bomb, but she simply ignored him entirely. He couldn’t help but internally praise her calm. But what followed wasn’t something she could ignore anymore.
“No need to play dumb. Look, I just want to talk, that’s all. Hear me out, or I’ll tell everyone who you are. Then you can say goodbye to this wonderful peace that you’re enjoying so much!” He threatened.
“You!” Bubblegum uttered, fury in her voice.
“Give me 5 minutes, please!” The CPR dude begged earnestly.
“Fine, speak…” She spat out.
He gestured to her that he wanted to talk in private. The two slowly left, with Jack left staring at them, stunned. What was all that about? Should he be worried? Then again, he trusted Bubblegum was smart enough not to betray him just yet.
How mysterious…
━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━
The two of them stopped a distance away.
Seraphine’s visage was composed, but she was boiling hot with fury internally. Had this not been a safe zone, she would have had to control her urges to murder the guy. How had he even figured out her identity?
He seemed to hesitate for an instant before he finally bit the bullet. “Say, what do you know about him? The man you’re playing with?”
“You’re wasting your time if you think you can drive a wedge between us.” She scoffed, not even bothering to hide her disdain.
This guy was an imbecile if he thought such mind games would work with her! Without listening to his bullshit anymore, she turned heel and began leaving. She had just taken one step that he cried out in a hurry.
“Wait! I—!”
“Go ahead and reveal my identity if you want. But, do you dare?” She gave a smirk full of confidence.
“Fuck no! I just said that to get your attention. Look, I’m not trying to start any drama, but there is something strange about this guy!” The CPR dude chimed in.
“You’ve said enough. I’m leaving.” Seraphine was done wasting her breath on this fool. But suddenly, he shouted.
“He’s an NPC!” CPR dude looked at her turning back as she slowly spoke.
“Are you retarded?” She didn’t mince her words at all.
“Look. I’m not saying this out of anywhere. I know it sounds impossible and crazy, but I’m sure of it!”
Seraphine looked at him baffled. How could he even say stuff like this with a straight face? Still, she couldn’t help but feel curious as to what the hell had been his thought process.
“At first, I thought he was some wannabe bigshot from another game. After all, it takes a lot of guts to ask for someone to relinquish guild leadership to them out of the blue.”
“At first?”
“Exactly! Then, I witnessed his skills and knowledge firsthand. I’ve never seen something like that!” He exclaimed with eyes full of admiration.
“So, how exactly did you get to NPC?” Where had he gone haywire?
“My second guess was that he somehow had more experience because he was a beta tester or perhaps even a dev directly.” He uttered slowly.
“Any of these two can explain it…did you expect him to admit to it? Both would be sworn to secrecy. This is obvious….” She replied.
“Yes, but you realize it too, don’t you? There is something more about him. Look, I’m not the best gamer, not in the least! Sometimes I even get swept up by emotion, and ….”
“Get to the point.”
“Look. I can feel people. This guy isn’t just playing Infinite; He’s living Infinite. Every breath he takes, he does so as if he’s native to this place. There is no way this can be faked. Infinite is so insane that he could really be an NPC.” He said solemnly.
“That’s a crazy conspiracy theory! I have him on my friend list. He knows this is a game. He knows the difference between players and NPCs. Hell, I’ve even seen him log out!” She couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Ah… I guess I was overthinking this. It didn’t help that he didn’t die a single time, haha. But the blue logging-off light doesn’t lie! Sorry.” CPR dude chuckle while awkwardly scratching his head.
But suddenly, Seraphine froze. She remembered vividly seeing him log out, and it had been a purple light! Had it been some trick instead?! But, she was still hesitating to trust the man.
“What are your intentions toward him?” She inquisitively glared at her interlocutor, using all her experience to read him.
“I want him to become a consultant for my guild. He could help us greatly with understanding the inner workings of the game.” He admitted, honestly.
“Fine. I’ve seen him log out once, but he was surrounded by purple light. I guess your theory is far-stretched but not impossible. What does this mean concretely?”
“We can’t allow him to die. Who knows if he’d respawn! Also, we can’t let him know that we have our suspicions. Perhaps he’d cut tie with the both of us instantly!” CPR dude sternly said.
“Fine. That’s a deal. We’ll slowly collect more information and do our best to protect him then.”
“Perfect!”
“One last thing. How did you recognize me?”
“This…” He scratched his head in embarrassment. “I have some of your posters in my room. I’m a big fan….” He shyly admitted.
Seraphine could only sigh. So much for going incognito. Even with her appearance changed, her fans could still recognize her?!
Then again, this weird guy seemed oddly perceptive…
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
As they came back, Jack couldn’t help but notice that they seemed to be looking at him strangely. Yet, there didn’t seem to be any ill intent behind their gaze. They also seemed really friendly with each other all of a sudden…
The CPR dude walked right in front of him, staring directly into his eyes. “Let’s make an alliance! All of us here to crush this beginner village, what do you say?” He offered with way too much enthusiasm.
Jack glanced at Bubblegum, who was nodding in agreement by the side. Was this what they had been talking about in private? No, it most probably concerned her past. He couldn’t help but feel slightly curious.
In any case, this was great news! He would never say no to free labor! He even warmly put his hand forward for a handshake.
“Welcome aboard!” Jack grinned. They would be leagues better than random players. Who could have guessed that the chicken event would allow them to reconcile?
“Alliance leader, what’s the plan now?” CPR dude respectfully inquired.
“All of you, complete Igor’s training until he gives you a hard stick. Only with weapons will you bunch be useful.” Jack instructed.
“What about you, teacher?” Bubblegum asked.
“I already have a weapon, so I’ll take a short break. Alright, talk later.” Jack smiled at them before logging off.
The last thing he heard was their gasps of surprise at the custom purple color. Noobs were so easy to impress, haha!
As he removed the VR helmet, Jack noticed the time 10:08. So much had happened in so little time. It was crazy! On the side, Lilly had fallen asleep with a literary theory workbook. She was so damn hardworking! She truly deserved a break.
He slowly grabbed the book and placed it on her nightstand, right next to the pumpkin lamp. He then gently rubbed her hair. She looked so peaceful right now.
Suddenly a smile blossomed on her face as she grabbed his hand, slowly opening her eyes. “Welcome back.” She gently murmured.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“No worries. Tomorrow is Sunday anyway. How was it? Did you guys get revenge on the monstrous chickens?” She curiously asked.
“Indeed! I even managed to get great loot from the boss! I found helpers too, so this first day is a great success!” ^_^V Jack happily made a victory sign while grinning.
“That’s great! I heard about how important party members are in MMOs! Are they pro players too?” She enthusiastically asked, not doubting his new job title in the least.
“Some are part of a guild in another game. Then there is my student who seems renowned. It looks like she hid her identity to play incognito. You can look her up. She’s known as Seraphine.” Jack happily shared.
“Brother, if she didn’t tell you, it’s best not to pry. Maybe she has a good reason to keep it a secret.” Lilly wisely replied.
“You’re right. Alright, I’ll take a quick shower. Want me to bring you back a snack from the kitchen?” He offered.
“Hot coco, thanks!” She sweetly smiled as he left their room.
Lilly stood still for a few seconds. Then, as soon as she heard the running water, she hurriedly got to work. “Seraphine, Seraphine, who are you?”
She expertly typed on her phone, accessing many different social media sites one after the other: Facelist, Instantgram, Twittering, Chatsnap, Purpleddit, and so many more!
A few minutes later, Lilly stared at her phone with her hands shaking. Her soft voice resounded in the silent room.
“Holy fucking shit!”
Creator’s Thought
As I felt the warm water trickle on my skin, I couldn’t help but smile gently. Lilly truly was an angel. While I wouldn’t trust Seraphine unconditionally, everyone should have the right to keep some secrets. I was carrying a heavy one myself after all…