23 Quite the Metacharacter (2/2)
”I don't think I should hide at all. I need to talk to that head dev Sayaka. I didn't know why she unsuspended my account all of a sudden, and to think that CM Hideki received an order that would only jive with my current situation.” Arata hummed as he finally lessened his hold on the fairy and stroked at his own chin. ”She might have guessed that I am in the server” -he brought his gaze at the fairy- ”just like someone I know who was aware of it as well.”
”Do you think I'm Sayaka? And I'm chatting through Usagi?” The fairy pouted again, but her sudden aversion of gaze made it apparent to Arata that she noticed her mistake as well.
”How does this work though?” The king smiled victorious at the fairy on his chest. ”Is there something you want from me?”
The fairy took off his hand on her shoulder before shifting her seat on his lap. She then straddled him, her legs on the bench and her elbows on his shoulders. Usagi stared at him with quite a serious face. ”Would you rather not have me around? Or do you want me to keep controlling Usagi?”
”Are you modifying my results?” Arata glared at her, at Sayaka. He knew he was so good in playing the game, but it was insulting if it was out of having his results enhanced like he was using some kind of mod. For some reasons, it was the first thing that popped into his mind when he confirmed he was not really talking to the in-game fairy.
”Relax! The only strings I modified was Usagi's dialogues!” Instead of an offended face, the fairy grinned and stuck out her tongue at him. She followed it with a wink. ”It's not like you need that.”
The player reached for his forehead and massaged it. ”This is now me doubting every progress I've got on this game.” He then hissed at her, utterly disappointed at what was happening. ”Is this why I keep on getting bonuses?”
”I thought you'd like that...”
”No! Let me have the fair play! I don't want any of that!” Arata frowned his brows. ”That will be the last time you hurt my game, Dev-san. If you won't stop, I'll report you to Hideki.” He was then met with a laughter. ”What's so funny?”
”I never thought I'd come across a player who would rather have low RNG than having the results modified without the penalties.” Sayaka, in the fairy's body, laughed out some more. She then started tapping on his shoulder as her ridiculous outburst continued. ”You're exactly what I think you are! I love you so much!”
”Stop it.” Arata sighed and patted the fairy's head. ”I'm no good with real women. Give the real Usagi back to me, and let me play the game like how everyone else does.” He was still dejected, but at least he was certain.
”Okay, okay.” The fairy hummed as she moved away from the man, hovering away from the bench to give them both some distance between each other. She clapped her hands once and folded her knees to exude happiness from her form, along with the glittering dusts that came with the flap of her wings. ”I'm so sorry for checking up on you this way. I just want to make sure you won't feel so lost.”
She brought her arms down. ”But I still want to monitor your progress. Is it too bad to be worried about you?” Sayaka hummed as she tilted her head to the side. ”The road ahead is going to be full of more difficult scenarios even for a non-routed playthrough. We enhanced the realism of the game so it might get bad if you hurt yourself.”
”Like what happened to my hand?” Arata raised his right hand, which was only covered thinly by then. The bandage was only a few millimeters thick around his wound, just enough to serve as a cushion if something hits his palm and the back.
”Yeah.” Sayaka chuckled and swirled around again, sprinkling a lot of glitters on him. ”Also, the Flower Festival event will start tomorrow. It's a campaign event so you'd be able to play it. No need to raise fame over the server. It's just a small token of appreciation since the newbies would have a hard time maxing twelve date-ables.” She hovered and suspended herself in front of Arata, reaching out to hold his face with both of her hands. ”I'll add you to my game friends. Accept me when you wake up, okay? As long as you don't post anything, it won't get action penalty.”
”So, it's just like this? Everything stops being weird?”
”Nuh-uh. Things are just about to get weirder.” She pulled away and waved at him. ”Remember that this patch would only last for a few months in the time frame, and you haven't max any of the new date-ables.” Sayaka vanished into the flower bush which was Usagi's home. ”If you're really the greatest player, then prove it!”
Arata stared at the last place he saw her for a while before getting up from the bench. He walked home and stretched since there was no one else around. He looked down at his watch, and it showed him the 12 AM action time phase, which never existed in the first place. He only stared at the wrist watch, only to realize something.
”I'm on a time penalty!” The player then gathered his remaining strength and alertness to dash back to his house.
And just like that, the Sunday ended. Monday rolled in, and even though Arata tried his best, he was bound by the time mechanics of the game. He arrived late in school, and so no one was waiting for him anymore. He managed to get to school during the 12 PM action time, but he was distracted by the banner hanging above the gates.
[It's time! The Autumn Flowers have Risen! Welcome to the Flower Festival Event! During this period, you could go on dates with your unlocked date-ables and earn extra Affection points! You would also receive a special item to add more Affection points! However, the dates during this event would be harder to accomplish! Good luck, lucky ones!]
”The Flower Festival event...” Arata's eyes shone as if he was not dejected hours ago. It would be his first in-game event ever since the dream started.
END OF VOLUME ONE: 1ST MAJOR PATCH 2.9 ONWARDS