77 A brand new world 1 (2/2)
This fact still did not deter Laura from feeling embarrassed by the humiliating fashion she lost in. It is one thing to lose and learn from one's mistake and another thing being ruthlessly toyed with. That scum did not only beat her, no this NPC did not stop at that it wanted to ridicule her. Why else, would that NPC thoughts be so contrary to its mimic and behaviour.
Why else would that creature do a physical workout in front of her, why else would it try to teach her those basic exercises? Of course, it was to mock and taunt her, that is the only logical explanation. After all, she can not expect too much emotional depth from an NPC.The strange fragmented memory she saw was just a fabricated fantasy. Any other conclusion seems laughable, as the mysterious clothing and objects in question did not seem to serve any purpose.
” My interest in this strange NPC was a result stemming from my failure. I became mesmerized by his this unusual fighting style and choice of weapon. It was something I had never seen, something truly otherworldly and even after spending so much time I was unable to pinpoint his origins.”
Laura rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Her best friend could talk so feverishly about such a topic? Furthermore was she really not making fun of her. Laura was not too sure anymore.
” Every book I searched did not have something similar to him. No old fairytales or legends, no folktales. Even in the holy scriptures was no trace of such an existence. I wanted to find it again and began to search the entire map. The problem was, that even after a long and arduous search that NPC was nowhere to be found.
All I found was my subordinates had stopped testing the limits of their testicles..”
A small smile could be seen on her lips upon mentioning that silly event. In hindsight, it truly it did look like a lot of fun. Though she would never mention that fact out loud.
” Nobody who had even seen the NPC before or afterwards. At times I wondered whether that NPC was even supposed to exist in the first place. I mean an NPC with a physique that rivals monsters can hardly not be noticed. Or have you seen anything remotely similar to it? ”
” Do I have to state the obvious? No, I have not seen an NPC with arms and legs as thick as logs. Be realistic, a human NPC could never look like that. Even that infant we spectated, was a monster in the shape of a human, not the other way around.”
Samantha had expected that reply but had a smug expression on her face as she looked into Laura's eyes.
” But what if I were to tell you, that the child and that NPC are one and the same? Now here me out don't declare me insane before listening to my explanation. After all, I am way more intelligent. Why are you lifting your middle finger in that weird way?”
” I was just pondering on the deeper meanings of this gesture,”
Laura replied while shrugging her shoulders indicating her innocence. But she could not keep up her facade and a sneer escaped from her lips. This gesture truly seems to appease oneself in a strange fashion though she did not know what this gesture stands for.
That reaction caused Samantha to pout, as she was not taken seriously by her childhood friend.
” Here I am making a confession and you are not even taking me seriously. I see how much you value our friendship. No wonder, that you are incapable of making any other friend beside me.”
” Please, you are not any better than me, you can't find friends to save your life. If you are unable to see eye to eye with them they are not your friends they are just your subordinates. Such is the fate of the less talented.”
” I am not here to discuss our inability to gain friends,I want to tell you about that strange NPC. I could not lay my finger on it, why that ”monster” was so familiar to me. After all, this was the first time I had seen it with my own eyes. But its mannerisms and general bearing were strikingly similar to the one I had lost to. ”
”But I dismissed those thoughts, as an NPC should not be able to shit forms like that. I could not get rid of the feeling, that those 2 were on and the same. After a long time of observation, I noticed, that both of them had something carved into their forehead. It all added up after seeing this. The fighting style, the inhuman tenacity, the general bearing all was the same.”
Laura could not help but laugh at the things she just had heard.
” Let me get this straight, you think those 2 people are the same because there is something carved into their foreheads? Does this argument not look a bit too weak for such a claim? Don't forget, this monster was a teaser for the upcoming events. Both of them might have been used to promote the game but the NPC you fought was removed from the game after your fight for whatever reason.”
”I mean this whole world is simulated and can be changed at a whim, why do you even bother spending so much time on a simple NPC, that was just a teaser.”
Laura had been shaking her head while she made that statement. She patted Samantha on her shoulder, she knew Samantha had invested all that time for nought.
” I will let you in on a little secret as well. After we finished observing this strange being, I followed it and was interested to see how it would react once it got to know, that I was the one that caused the illusion. But it did not look surprised upon seeing me, rather it felt like it had been expecting me. It did not attack me on the spot but just stared at me waiting what I would do.”
”I wanted to know the story behind that hatred is shown after being caught. What was the cause for all those strange images I saw looking into its head? What was the intention behind showing them to me? Yet that monster thought about very strange matters.”
”I could not even understand half of what it thought about and the rest did not make any sense at all. At that point in time, I started to realize, that my normal tactics won't work on him. Those tactics only work on sane targets.”
”And from the things I have seen in its head, the monster is far, very far away from any logical thinking. Even in comparison to the other monsters, it still somehow looks like a mad entity. Those monsters rely on their basic instinct and act accordingly, that insane thing, on the other hand, is driven by heavy and raw emotions but seems to suppress them. Its action is neither logical nor instinctive, they seem random and not coordinated.”
”Still, everything seems to change once it starts to fight. Clarity returns to its mind and it starts to act in a reasonable, explainable manner. In this aspect, it proves to be far superior to any monster I have seen. Those 2 polar opposites can only be explained by it being a faulty design. The developer could never have intended for it to become such an egregious abomination.”
Samantha had not once intervened while Laura had spoken about the NPC. She had to admit, that Laura was most likely correct. She had falsely assumed, that the NPC she lost to was something special. She did not know what lead to her developing such a deep interest in it. Still, Samantha was unable to truly erase its image out of her head, as its presence was still lingering in some parts of her mind.
While Samantha was thinking about the words she just had heard, Laura did something that left speechless. Laura had managed to conjure 2 different spells simultaneously something she had never been capable of before.
” Though there are some things I truly fail to comprehend, why am I able to walk again after everyone told me I would have to rest for a long time? Why has my mana capacity increased by such margin? Why did such an outcome occur after fighting against that monster. It's a shame I absolutely can not remember what happened while fighting it. ”
Samantha could not believe her ears, as she was told that Laura had fought against him and actually cannot remember any detail from the fight itself. While most of the public was not aware of the true capabilities of Laura, Samantha knew exactly how strong she was. If not for her young age, she would be able to beat her. So what exactly happened?
Before Samantha could ask about the details, she saw Laura startled expression.
” My parents are going to kill, let us return to our homes, I do not want to risk getting caught, while I should be resting and my parents are going to check on me sooner or later now..”
” Lets meet up in ”Primal Survival” later.”
Both of them hugged each other before leaving in a hurry and running back to their homes.
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At the same time after the Update had gone live, some players had logged in successfully and entered a brand new world. As this world could not be compared to the previous version in any way It was bigger, more detailed, prettier and livelier than before. But those players did not want to savour those small details, they rushed passed every NPC they found and ran straight into the wilderness to train for the upcoming events.
They knew all too well, that they will have to train like there is no tomorrow if they even want to have the slightest chance at defeating the youth of the Churches. Though those players had a slight misconception about this new world. The phrase ”Survival of the Fittest” has never been more fitting.
Though the person responsible for this change would not enter the public eye for quite a long period of time.