The Cloaked Figure

For days now, a mysterious figure had been sitting in the same spot, and even if she didn't want to, Faye couldn't help but wonder what his deal was.

Day after day, he would order the same meal and sit in the corner. He did nothing but sit and eat. Of course, this wasn't an unusual sight, but what was curious was that he never removed his hood. And it made Faye wonder who he was even more.

It would be rude for her to talk to him out of nowhere, so she planned on just waiting and seeing if anything would change with the stranger. It didn't take long for that to happen, however, because whilst being distracted, the man who was always bothering Faye had walked into the cloaked figure's table.

A silence fell over the bookshop; it was so quiet you could've heard a pin drop. And nobody dared to breathe too loudly at this moment.

"I'm sorry." The man laughed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Are you alright? I can compensate you for the drink if that's ok with you. Heheh..."

The man stopped his laughter when the cloaked figure pushed away from the table and got to his feet. He rose to his full height and towered over the already tall hero, who now looked tiny compared to the mysterious person in front of him.

Silence still reigned in the bookstore, and no one let out a noise until the cloaked figure's hood fell back and revealed long, ebony, unruly hair. Narrowed eyes fell on the hero, who didn't dare to say anything else to the other man, and backed up a few steps.

During the Hero's crisis, Faye was off to the side, pretending to put books on the shelves whilst she snuck glances at the cloaked figure. There was something about him that looked familiar, not like she had seen him before, but more like his appearance made her think of someone.

Then she remembered the man that Ashlyn was always talking about, the long dark hair and piercing crimson eyes that looked terrifying at first glance, but still held grandeur within them. The man was a well-known NPC who was the last boss in the highest-level dungeon, so it was no wonder that few players recognised him - only a few were high enough in level to challenge the dungeon. Looking at the Hero, his level wasn't just there yet, so he was among those who didn't know who the man before him was.

Faye recalled his name, Nox, his name meaning dusky night, and she thought it suited him well. She couldn't help mumbling out his name, and thinking that none of the players would hear her, she said it freely. The only one who noticed was Nox himself, who had better hearing than anyone in the room.

His ear twitched and his eyes moved in Faye's direction, only to flit back to the Hero in a second. It was only a slight movement, so it went unnoticed by the players.

It was confusing. Faye lived in the bookstore and wasn't able to leave there, so she wasn't well-versed on the happenings outside her little world, so it had seemed that the only other NPC with consciousness was Ashlyn. Besides them, how many other NPCs had broken free from the main computer's control?

Just seeing an NPC moving about on their own, with no care in the world, and not facing any consequences, was a shock to the system, so what would it be like to meet other ones with the same level of consciousness?

Thinking it over, Faye felt disheartened at the thought of the NPCs who were in a position of never being able to leave their assigned spots after gaining sapience, just like herself. It was fine for the ones who could move about wherever they wanted, but it was a different story for the NPCs who were stuck indoors.

Once the Hero was finished badgering Nox, he left with his party, without forgetting to say goodbye to Faye; he hadn't given up on trying to get her to talk to him, but he got nothing but a stiff smile. It didn't discourage him, though, and he promised to come back another day.

Rolling her eyes, Faye went back to restocking the shelves, and contemplated life as an NPC, only to be interrupted by a tap on the shoulder.

Turning her head to face the intruding person, she was a little stunned to see Nox was now by her side and was looking at her with a gentle gaze and a knowing smirk.

"Can I help you, sir?" She kept up her business facade and returned his smile with one of her own.

"Perhaps." Nox lengthened his words and peered about him to make sure they were alone, before leaning towards the shorter female and saying quietly, "we need to talk, don't you think?"