Salty Wounds

In the end Dave and Alpha spent the night in the cave. Monsters are coded to actively avoid much higher level players. And Alpha was way too strong for them to take on. Alpha even earned a few levels from his previous battle and decided to continue to invest points in durability and status effect. However, after he tasted the thrills of dodging he was more and more tempted to invest into his agility stat. After all, not getting hit is always better than taking bits of damage. But Dave insisted that sometimes one cannot escape forever. He warned him that he coded some vicious enemies that are really difficult to not get hurt in the process of fighting them.

The day after they defeated the boss, the both of them finally got out early in the morning. After a while they finally joined the main road to the castle. Merchants and various caravans of travelers and adventurers walk the same path at their own pace, minding their own business. That was when Dave told Alpha to go and greet one of the merchants on the road.

— Come on, let's take this one! said Dave while pointing his finger at a round and old figure. I coded this one to go really easy on negotiations. It will be the perfect prey… Muahahahah!

— Is that actually a genuine laugh or are you just enjoying acting like a maniac? asked Alpha. Either way I am not comfortable taking advantage of someone's generosity.

— Tsk tsk tsk. This dude is a merchant for fun. He just likes to chit-chat, make conversation and maybe earn a coin. Just be friendly with him and he'll be more than happy to take the trash- I mean our loot out of our hands.

— We did not even take that many items… Are you sure this is okay?

— Look, this is how you should play the game. Try to be efficient with any aspect of the it. This is what matters the most.

— But with your ability, we do not even really need money…

— Yes but it's always good to have more than enough. Now go on, while we were dangling around, even he noticed our presence.

The old merchant approached them, taking the initiative.

— Hello young one, it is a pleasure to meet you on this gracious day! My name is Gruf, what's yours?

— G-Good day sir, my name is Alpha.

— Such a fine day, isn't it? I guess you are also heading to the castle, may I ask where you came from?

— I just got out of the cave down south from here and before that I was staying in the Dawn Village.

— Is that so? You must be quite strong to be able to walk through this cave alone. Don't you have a party?

— You could say I had a really good guide who led the way… Hahahah.

— I heard this place is still an uncharted territory, it must have quite a sight! And did you perhaps stumble upon some valuable artefacts on your way?

— Y-Yes of course, would you be interested in some of them?
Dave whispered to Alpha everything he had to say to the old man so they could sell most of their junk. The merchant went through their goods until an average looking stone just left him staring for a while. He asked for the story behind it and Dave just made up a story about how a fairy gave it to Alpha as a thank you gift for accepting to become her friend. The old man insisted he had to purchase it for his personal collection. Alpha ended up selling it for a large sum of money. It was more than enough to buy a new set of brand new equipment through legitimate ways.

— I do not understand why he wanted this pebble so much though, wondered Alpha.

— It's because I swapped the rarity properties of the rock with the ogre's thong's. A value of 10 in rarity literally means that this is a unique item. Merchants are coded to behave to always look out for items of high value and will try to buy it off from you when the opportunity rises.

— But in the end, it was still just a puny rock, wasn't it?

— The value of things depends on the eye of the beholder!

— Don't you feel… bad, though?

— I don't need to feel bad. It's just a NPC and he still got what he wanted. Don't worry about him, He'll be able to sell it if he really wanted to.

— So is it alright to deceive the people of this world because they are your creation?
Dave stood silent for a bit. It was the first time in a while that someone confronted him because it had been a while since he actually socialized with someone. It frustrated him as he could not think of any good reply.

— I mean, if you were to live alongside us, dehumanizing the people you call NPC would void your experience of this world, wouldn't it? asked Alpha.

— You… You make a good point. Sorry… It's just that I think… I don't think I already accepted all of this as my new reality. Everything feels like a dream. It could really be one as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I'll just wake up in the morning, sitting in front of my screen…

— What kind of bullshit is that?

— A-Alpha? said Dave, surprised.

— So if we're not in your video-game, we are now in your dreams? And as far as you're concerned, the well being of the people is just some kind of illusion?!

— N-No! I didn't mean to say that!

— And yet, that is exactly what you are saying and how you are behaving. You knew about the good nature of the old man but you still took advantage of him! How shameless. Now I understand why no one wanted to be near you in your world.

Alpha walked away from Dave who could not find any words to say. He just stayed behind. Realizing how wrong he was about he approached this world. About how he approached its people. About how he thought about himself.

Alpha's words cut deep. It was true. He did not see those NPCs as "human beings". He just saw them as tools to maximize the player's satisfaction. No, his own satisfaction. "Maybe if I'm of use… If I can bring people joy through my game, then they will finally accept me" That was what Dave thought. That was how he saw the world around him. "If someone doesn't fill his role then he is worthless, undeserving of love and happiness", that thought is what pushed him to work relentlessly on his game. But at this moment, his first real friend was telling him that it was because he behaved like this that people would reject him? Was it really his fault? No, he was born in it. He was a victim of this. He suffered because the world would consistently tell him that he was not good enough. That he didn't deserve to live. That he was worthless. He could not accept what Alpha told him. He did not know anything about his past and how much pain he felt all his life. "This video game character who just came to existence not so long ago and who was just a by-product of his own creation was now giving him lessons? What a bad joke" he thought.

— Whatever, I don't need you, said Dave. I never did. I could just go straight to Mia and ask her anything. I'll even ask her to change you into a farmer or something! Dave shouted, hoping Alpha would come back and gravel on his knees while asking for forgiveness.

But he never did. And after a while, Dave started to float toward the castle. By himself.