Power-Levelling After Dark – Part 2

We spent the next two hours tediously hunting Wisps around Luribel, using the same strategy we used on the first one. After a couple of hours, we were both exhausted of running around, so we decided to hunt just one more, and then return to town.

When the last Wisp went up and died, though, something we had been waiting for finally happened. It was subtle, but as soon as the EXP got to her, there was a ripple in the air, followed by Yzara glowing slightly, much like what had happened back at the church.

“Oh? Did I finally rank up?”

In Arcforge, when you got a class, or it ranked up, there was a little fanfare like this to signify that had happened. You could tell which class ranked up based on the exact animation that played. In this case, it was the animation for going from Holy Mage I to Holy Mage II.

“You did, but I’m going to confirm with the Debuggun.”

Here’s what it showed:

<NPC: Yzara

Class: Holy Mage II

Unlocked Classes: Dark Ruler [Sealed]

EXP: 52,894,586 (Lv. 255)

Holy: 1304 Profane: 99,999,999

HP: 384/4,194,304

MP: 9857

Skills: Light Strike, Heal, Light Orb

Status conditions: None

Titles: Demon Queen, Holy Magic Apprentice>

“Congratulations, you’re a Holy Mage II now, and you gained a new title to boot! Should I start calling you ‘Yzara the Holy Magic Apprentice’?”

Aaaand she bonked me with her staff again.

“Don’t ya dare! I know this was the objective, but I already feel my identity slippin’ away. I don’t need to use a dumb title like that!”

“Well, don’t think too much about it. We needed to rank you up before we can get out of here.”

“Right… Huh? Wait a second,” she said as she knelt down. “There’s a Profane Magic crystal here!

“Really?!”

By the end of the night, we had defeated a Wisp of every elemental type—Water, Air, Lightning, and Earth—and collected their respective magic’s Crystals. But the Profane Magic one alluded us until now.

“Argh. So tantalizing! I want to use it on myself!” Yzara said, as she observed the dark blue spherical crystal.

“Well, know that you have Holy Magic, you can’t use it.”

“I knoooow. That’s what’s so frustrating!”

“Guess I got that Profane Magic faster than I expected…”

Yzara glared at me with her yellow eyes, just about read to send me to the afterlife. I was expecting her to fiercely resisting it, but unexpectedly, she relented.

“Fine. Do what ya must. But never forget that I shall be the ultimate Profane Magic user until the end of time.”

I sighed.

I can’t wait to be done with this woman.

* * *

Only when we reached the village chief’s house—our base of operations in Luribel—did I notice just how tired I was. I was legit starting to conk out. Since we no longer had any need to stay in the shadows, Yzara had used the <Light Orb> skill to conjure a ball of light that illuminated the room with the strength of three or so candlesticks.

“We should keep watch in turns, just in case the White Death manages to breach the Polis,” she said when we entered.

It was unlikely, but the Polis could get overwhelmed with enough attacks. If this Worldbender really decided to get us overnight, they probably had the means to. So her suggestion was rational.

But still, do I trust her enough to not backstab me while I’m asleep?

I’d be an idiot to do so. After all, getting backstabbed is practically a hobby of mine at this point. However, if she wanted to get rid of me, she had had plenty of opportunities to do so already. I could stay up the whole night, but then I’d just be paranoid and tired—an even worse situation than I was in now.

So I begrudgingly relented.

“I agree. Good idea. Who should go first, then?”

“I don’t mind stayin’ up a little while longer.”

We thankfully had bedrooms for both of us, so all we had to do was each go our own way.

“Gotcha. Then, I suppose we’ll see each other in the morning—”

“Wait. Are ya… up for a little chat?” A chat? That’s odd. “There’s somethin’ I’ve been wantin’ to ask ya about.”

“Huh? Sure…?”

In truth, I was about ready to go to sleep, but I was too curious to let this pass. I sat in the opposite sofa to Yzara, the Light Orb between us casting strange, spooky shadows that danced as the light shimmered weakly.

“Ya know how the only reason I can have Holy Magic is because my Dark Ruler class is sealed, right? So what happens when I unseal it? Will I just implode or somethin’?”

“Oh… Ah-ah-ah…”

Obviously, I knew exactly what would happen. After all, it had been a big discussion among the design and programming teams after I brought it up myself. However, I didn’t quite want to give Yzara more information than what she needed to know.

A white lie wouldn’t hurt—not that an NPC could really get hurt by a lie, anyway.

“Don’t worry, your Dark Ruler class will just override the Holy Mage II class and seal that.”

“Huh… I see. Okay, next question, then.”

“I didn’t realize you were this chatty.”

“Can ya blame me? We ran around nonstop for hours. Even I get tired, ya know? If I stop talkin’, I’ll just fall asleep right here.”

“You better not. I don’t want to carry you to your bedroom—ouch!”

She bonked me again, from the other sofa, no less! Is this becoming a habit now?

“Shut it. Let me talk. Ya got pulled here by the White Death without yer consent, right?” I mumbled a ‘yes’ back. “So… don’t ya wanna go back? I can open portals, ya know. Or I guess I used to be able to. But ya never brought that up.”

I couldn’t quite decipher Yzara’s intentions. Her tone felt as light as ever, but her expression had a seriousness I’d never seen on her.

“The Demon Queen can open portals to another world?”

One of the default Profane Magic skills Yzara had been <Portal>, which let users create portals wherever they please. The further the distance, the more mana it cost. I couldn’t imagine how much it would take to open a portal back to Earth.

“I used to, but that skill got stolen from me. Probably how the White Death managed to yank you here. If I got it back, I could send ya to yer world, easy-peasy.”

Yeah, no way I’m trusting Yzara to send me back to Earth. She’d probably miss Japan and leave me stranded on Point Nemo or something.

“So, what is it?” She asked, her tone and expression more than a little inquisitive.

“Well… I don’t really want to go back, honestly. My life was pretty shitty back there.”

“Can’t be worse than our current situation,” she quipped.

“Nah, this is fine. Exciting, even.”

“Being on the verge of death is exciting? Heroes really have a strange worldview,” she said as she shrugged. “But isn’t there anyone from the other side that would try to bring ya back, though? A partner, or somethin’ like that.”

That question immediately soured my mood.

“…Why do you want to know?”

Yzara eyed me with suspicion.

“I mean… if ya suddenly disappeared from this place, I’d be in a bit of a bind, right? I need yer gun and everythin’. I wanna know what I can count on.”

I have a feeling she’s just telling porkies there.

“Fine. I don’t have any girlfriend, or a wife, or anything like that. I live… I guess used to live with four other dudes in a shared house.”

“Wow, ya swing that way? I didn’t think ya were the type,” she said, snickering.

“Hey. We don’t have that kind of relationship. They’re just housemates, and we barely even talk with each other. Get your mind off the gutter.”

“Eh-eh. I don’t care about that, Takashi. I’m all about free and unholy love, ya know? Chill out.” Why is frickin’ Yzara teaching me about free love?! “So, how about friends…” There was a noticeable pause. “Or family?”

“Nah. I don’t have any friends left.” Not after they backstabbed me, anyway. “And family, well… our relationship is strained, to say the least.”

Hold on. When I think about it that way—

But Yzara stole the words from me.

“So no one would miss you? Or even notice yer gone?” She asked with a level voice.

“…Yeah, I suppose my housemates would, but it would take a while.”

“Wow. That’s sad, innit?”

Her words were jokey, but her tone was anything but. Was it sad? I just couldn’t tell anymore. I had been living in that situation, that routine, for so long, all of it became normal. But when someone from the outside looks at it, I really was in a worse situation than I thought, wasn’t I?

But Yzara wasn’t finished.

“Well, give it a thought. To the whole portal thing, I mean. I’m sure there’ll be someone waitin’ for ya back there. Yer family… would definitely miss ya,” she said with a forlorn tone I couldn’t really decipher.

What the hell…?

I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing. Arcforge’s NPC AI was highly advanced, so I had almost forgotten—they couldn’t go out of their pre-determined scripts much. Here it was—Yzara, the Queen of Demons, giving me life advice on how I should mend my relationship with my family. It was unbelievable. There was no way she could ever, ever, talk about this stuff on her own.

And precisely because I didn’t expect it, it hit me hard.

Very, very hard.

I felt a tightening in my chest, like my heart was being crushed, followed by an eruption of anger.

“Shut up. Who are you to be passing moral judgments on my situation? You don’t know the first thing about me. You’re just a—” But I cut myself off before I said too much.

Yzara kept herself steady, even in the face of my outburst. She was the picture of calmness, even, as if she really was trying her hardest to embody what her outfit expected her to.

“If you want to get rid of me, just be honest about it.”

“Hey, hey, no need to be that aggressive about it. I was genuinely concerned about ya.”

I snickered. “Eh. Don’t make me laugh. The Demon Queen, worried about a human?”

My emotions were quite out of control by this point, and part of me expected Yzara to get fed-up and kill me right there and then. However, her emotions never rose above that calmness. Instead, her face morphed into a strange, melancholic expression I couldn’t quite scrutinize.

“Yer right. Sorry. I shouldn’t have touched on somethin’ I don’t understand. Sorry.”

And then, she bowed. The Demon Queen, who unleashed chaos and evil on this world, earnestly apologizing for what she’d said.

What the hell. Is she… even Yzara anymore?

Suddenly, the tables had turned. I was the one in the wrong, exploding at such an innocent question. I cringed at myself, but I also couldn’t apologize back, either. So I just sat there, my head hung low, a wave of tingling and goosebumps coursing through my body from the shame.

When I mustered the courage, I stammered out a hastened response. “Sorry. B-better I go to bed now.”

“Alright. G’night, Hero.”

It took me a while to get to sleep as I pondered what had just happened.

Should I go downstairs and apologize for what I’d done?

That’s when I caught on that my thought process had subtly, but definitely, shifted when I wasn’t paying attention. I hadn’t taken Yzara’s words as those of a smart-seeming, but ultimately limited NPC that followed their programming.

No, I took her words like those of a real person.

That was why they hurt me so badly—and why I even considered the possibility of having hurt her back.

Could it be that this world is way more real than I thought?

It was a striking facsimile of Arcforge, hence why it lured me into thinking its NPCs operated just like in the game.

But no, that just couldn’t be true. I trusted my gut on this—Yzara was no longer “just” the Demon Queen.

She was herself—and I didn’t quite know what that even meant anymore.

All those thoughts forced me to stay awake, despite my increasing tiredness. In the end, that battle was settled by sheer exhaustion, and I found myself slipping into a rather turbulent night.

Which was why it didn’t surprise me in the slightest when my dreams ended up being cut short.