The Arena of Couples I

---Chapter 9: The Arena of Couples I

“Hello, you two. How did things go?” Rokugo asked.

Rokugo stood leaning against a tree in the middle of a grassy plain west of the capital city. Quartz and Yui approached him, having just left the main road. The three had agreed to meet up here to discuss Yui’s quest regarding the Mermaid’s Tear.

“Well, it was about as expected I guess.” Quartz responded with a shrug. “We tried as many of those methods as we could on our own, but nothing made the item appear.”

“Yeah… It was a lot of work.” Yui sighed.

“I see… Well, there was always the off chance that one of those could’ve produced something since Yui actually had the quest for the item, but alas, it seems they were all just foolhardy rumors after all…” Rokugo gave the two an apologetic look.

“Well, it’s no big deal. I think we both had fun with it, regardless…” Quartz mumbled.

“Quartz and I really make a good team now! We’ve got a good groove going in our battles!” Yui excitedly punched the air to show off.

“Haha, that’s good to hear, at least.” Rokugo smiled.

“So how did things go with you? You said you were going to meet up with someone you used to play with, right?” asked Quartz.

“Correct.” Rokugo nodded. “I did meet up with him, but what I learned leaves me feeling a bit puzzled…”

“Oh…?” Quartz questioned.

Afterwards, Rokugo explained to the two of them everything he’d learned from the player Bondo: The fact that the Mermaid’s Tear rumors originated around the launch of the game, from players returning from a closed beta, as well as rogue moderators, who got banned and fired respectively.

“Seriously…? That is bizarre.” Quartz responded to the story, feeling a bit shaken.

“Being banned is, like… When your character gets deleted, right?” asked Yui, a hint of hesitancy clear in her voice.

“Correct…” Rokugo answered, pensively. “Due to this, I’ve started to conclude that this search might be taking us into some dangerous territory. The creators of this game may not want anyone finding out about this item.”

“Are you saying… we could get banned? Seriously?” Quartz looked visibly displeased.

“At the very least, it’s looking to be a genuine possibility.” Rokugo sighed.

“Then… what should I do?” Yui asked, pleadingly.

“Unfortunately, the rumors aren’t getting us anywhere.” Rokugo began. “The only lead we have now is the game’s moderation team. It seems likely that they would know something about this.”

“But wait, didn’t we just establish that getting them involved would be dangerous, since it’d risk getting banned?” Quartz questioned.

“You are correct.” Rokugo responded. “However, those who got banned in the past were banned simply for perpetuating rumors. As far as I know, none of those players ever actually had the Mermaid’s Tear, or any kind of quest to seek it out.”

“What does that mean?” Quartz tilted his head.

“It means our situation is fundamentally different.” Rokugo glanced at Yui. “We are not perpetuating rumors, or trying to spread the word of any kind of legendary item. We are simply attempting to clear a quest.”

“???” Yui appeared confused.

“Ah, I get it.” Quartz nodded. “Basically, you’re saying we take a gamble.”

“You catch on quick, Quartz.” Rokugo smiled.

“Wait, what do you two mean…?” Yui frowned.

“Yui, have you ever e-mailed customer support asking about your quest?” Rokugo inquired.

“…” Yui hesitated. “Yes, I have.”

“Wait, you have?!” Quartz was surprised. “Why didn’t you mention that before? What did they say?”

“All they said was that there was no such quest.” Yui shook her head, and then looked away. “Nothing came of it, so I didn’t bring it up.”

“Fascinating…” Rokugo pondered.

“Oh great… So does that mean the game devs won’t even acknowledge this thing…?” Quartz’s shoulders slumped.

“Not necessarily.” Rokugo reassured. “It’s possible the staff on customer support simply lack the same knowledge as the devs and higher-ups. Employees in their position likely only have a manual they reference to help with customer support, and it’s very likely the Mermaid’s Tear quest would not be included in such a thing.”

“Yeah, I guess so…” Quartz folded his arms, thinking hard about this bizarre quest. “In which case… we have to make direct contact, in-game.”

“Contact?” Yui questioned.

“This is the gamble mentioned before.” Rokugo explained. “You two are going to have to speak with a moderator directly, and force them to take you seriously by showing them your quest menu face-to-face.”

“H-huh?! But, that’s dangerous isn’t it?! What if they ban me…?!” Yui was visibly distressed.

Quartz took notice of this, realizing he hadn’t seen Yui so scared before. It is true that Yui seemed pretty new to online games. If this is her first one, and she’s been playing for a few months, it’d be devastating to lose the character you put so much time into.

“That’s why it’s a gamble…” Rokugo narrowed his eyes pensively. “But like I said, our situation is different. We can leverage this in our favor as long as we’re careful. If they unjustly ban a player for simply asking about a quest that clearly exists in their in-game menu, we can absolutely refute the decision on the grounds that it’s an abuse of power.”

“In the worst case, though, they could claim we’re just hackers and ban us all, since the quest isn’t supposed to exist…” Quartz muttered pessimistically.

“Quartz…” Yui became visibly depressed at his comment.

“Ah, no, I mean… That’s just the worst case scenario, okay?” Quartz quickly tried to reassure her. “It’s just like Rokugo said, they have no grounds to ban us just for asking a question…”

“… Okay.” Yui clenched her fist, trying to reignite her determination.

“So, Yui…” Rokugo spoke up. “What do you say? Are you willing to take this chance and ask a moderator directly?”

“Well, it looks like we don’t have any other leads so… Yeah, let’s do it!” Yui stood tall with renewed confidence. “So, where do we go to talk to a moderator anyway?”

“It’s pretty rare to run into one out and about during regular gameplay, especially on a small server like this.” Rokugo explained. “However, most in-game events usually have moderators present to oversee the proceedings.”

“So we just have to enter an event, huh…” Quartz thought aloud.

“Correct.” Rokugo nodded. “In fact, I spoke with Mint earlier and heard about a small-scale event going on tomorrow near the Northern Dojo.”

“Ah, that was my starter town!” Yui chimed in.

Much like how Mages and Healers started the game in the southeastern Magic School, Fighter and Archer class players always start their games at a dojo in the northern mountains.

“So, could we talk to the mod as long as we head there tomorrow as spectators?” Quartz asked.

“Unlikely.” Rokugo shook his head. “It’s a PvP event with only one moderator to explain the rules to the participants and monitor the fights. I doubt an audience member would find an opportunity to approach him.”

“Wait, so we actually have to enter this thing…?” Quartz sighed. “Well, I guess that’s fine. Is it just an ordinary PvP tournament?”

Upon Quartz’s question, Rokugo simply passed him a flyer for the event. Taking it in hand, Quartz gave it a look.

“… The heck?”

---

“Seriously, what the heck…?” Quartz slumped, his face red.

It was now the next day, and the whole party had trekked up to the northern mountain region where the event was being held. The group stood in front of a large coliseum with a bright colorful banner on it displaying the phrase “Arena of Couples”.

“You two lovebird have fun! We’re headin’ to the stands!” Striker gave the pair a wink and thumbs up.

“Rokugo you sly fix, I never thought you’d actually convince them to enter this thing!” Mint said with an amused smirk.

“Please, it truly was just a useful coincidence.” Rokugo shrugged.

“You guys…!” flustered, but not sure of what to say, Quartz could only shake his fist at his meddling friends as they all pranced away toward the entrance to the audience seats.

“You don’t need to worry, Quartz. I think it’ll be fun!” Yui smiled, obliviously.

“Well, yeah, you’re probably right…” Quartz sighed. “We may not actually be a couple, but apparently we look the part enough to qualify.”

“We’ll show them that we’re the strongest ‘couple’! Hehe!” Yui joked as she clung onto Quartz’s arm.

“Y-yeah, let’s go show them what we’ve got!” Quartz nodded, still feeling rather embarrassed.

The event they were taking part in, titled the “Arena of Couples”, was a small-scale event where ‘couples’ could volunteer to participate in a battle royale against other pairs for some simple prizes. As odd as it was for a couple-themed event like this to take place in November, apparently it was a test run for a larger-scale variant the devs were planning for next February.

Quartz and Yui entered a vast lobby where all the participants waited. A short time later, a man walked up onto the podium on the far side of the room. He appeared to be a spearman-class player by the name of Chronos, and sure enough, the badge next to his username indicated one thing: he was a moderator.

With his appearance, the crowd grew quiet, and Chronos took hold of the microphone in front of him.

“Greetings everyone, and welcome… to the Arena of Couples.”