Chương 10: Chapter 9

Skysandra's Feather - Legendary A feather of the Roc, Skysandra, offered willingly as payment for guarding her unhatched child and serving as its incubator. Effect: Summon Skysandra to fight (usable outside of the tutorial). Skysandra's Stats: Current Level - 67 (True level - Sealed) Strength - A Constitution - A Agility - S Magic - B Luck - B"S…?" Adam mumbled, staring at the screen.

"There's an S-rank?" Skysandra was level sixty-seven. Even if he worked backward and assumed a level one Roc would have lower stats, like the egg whenever it hatched, that still meant a Roc's base Agility was at least B-rank, possibly even A. That put it two or three ranks above Mei's D-rank stats, and three or four above Adam's E. The unhatched baby roc nestled protectively against Mei's chest could probably beat both of them with ease the moment it hatched.

That realization killed any lingering jealousy Adam had toward the egg. It could keep its spot. He would survive. That sounded good to him.

"Wow, baby, your momma is crazy strong," Mei whispered softly. Skysandra, perched comfortably on Mei's shoulder, gave a proud nod. She made no move to leave. They had assumed she would return after hiring them, but instead she stayed, claiming she needed to observe them for a while to ensure they were trustworthy.

"So, you two are humans from outside the tutorial?" Skysandra asked. Mei nodded.

"Hm. Then you're Players."

"You know about Players?" Adam asked, caught off guard. He hadn't expected an NPC to know that term. But as the thought settled, he realized how flawed that assumption was. These weren't scripted characters with limited dialogue trees. They were living beings.

"Yes. I know about Players," Skysandra said.

"This world was created for the Game after all."

"Created… for the Game?" Adam repeated. She inclined her head.

"This is an artificial world designed to run various tutorials. Most creatures here were created along with it, like the goblins in the forest. However, there are also beings like me who have entered into contracts with the Game's creator, the Company. We provide a layer of realism that purely artificial constructs cannot." Adam and Mei exchanged a glance. The idea itself wasn't new. People on Earth had theorized as much. But hearing it confirmed by someone inside the tutorial made it feel far more real.

Earth had two dominant theories. The first, all beings inside the tutorial were digital or artificial constructs. Basically, video game mob characters designed to challenge the chosen players. The other, less popular belief, was that they were all living beings with their own thoughts and emotions. Most of the people who thought that died early within the tutorial. Both theories had turned out to be partially correct. Some beings were created. Others were not.

"Ah, right," Skysandra said suddenly, snapping them out of their thoughts.

"If you're Players, that means I can do this." A pair of system screens appeared in front of them at once. They weren't item descriptions. Nor were they system announcements. They were quest screens. Quest: Protect Skysandra's Egg Skysandra has used her authority as a high-level tutorial NPC to assign you a quest. Objective: Keep Skysandra's egg safe until it hatches. Time Limit: Unknown Reward: A massive amount of XP.

"What?!" Adam blurted.

"I thought quests other than the tutorial's Demon King quest only existed outside the tutorial!" Mei nodded in agreement.

"Quests exist wherever the system does," Skysandra replied calmly.

"Due to my high standing among the contracted individuals, I've been granted the authority to issue them."

"Are there contracted individuals in the other difficulties?" Adam asked. Skysandra tilted her head.

"I don't know. But I can tell you that you two are the only human players I've ever seen in this world." Understanding slowly settled over them. It was no wonder people from Earth didn't know about this. She was an Impossible difficulty exclusive NPC.

"Actually," she continued, "let me give you another quest that pairs nicely with the first." Another screen appeared. Quest: Goblin Extermination Objective: Eliminate all goblins in the forest, including the Goblin King. Reward: A significant amount of XP.

"With this, you can remove anything that might threaten my child," Skysandra said.

"And the timing works well. I'll remain here and watch over my child while you're gone." Something in Skysandra's expression told Adam she had planned to give them that last quest from the moment she realized they were Players. He just couldn't prove it. Nor could he figure out why. Protecting her child made sense, but beyond that? She was level sixty-seven with absurd stats. She could wipe out every goblin in the forest by herself without breaking a sweat. The whole thing felt off. After a moment, he let it go.

Whether or not it made sense didn't really matter. Both quests benefited them. Mei carefully took the egg from her chest and handed it back to Skysandra. The Roc accepted it gently in her claws before taking off, flying up to the nest she had repaired earlier.

"Good hunting," she called down as they made their way out of the cave. — — — They had already cleared the goblin camps closest to their cave, so they were forced to move deeper along the forest's edge in search of more. What started as a confident search quickly turned into wandering. By the time they finally found another camp, it felt like they had walked for miles. And this one was different. The camps they had destroyed before were little more than crude setups.

A few poorly constructed tents made from branches and strips of shoddy animal hide, barely held together. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. This camp, however, looked organized. The tents were made from properly tanned leather, stitched together with surprising care. A short defensive wall surrounded the area, formed from sharpened wooden stakes driven firmly into the ground. It wasn't impressive by any real standard, but compared to the others, it stood out.

"What's this?" Mei said, peering ahead with interest.

"You think this one might actually have good loot?" Adam almost told her to stop focusing on loot for once. Almost. But as he studied the camp, he had to admit she might be right.

"Yeah," he said.

"It might."

"Nice."

"Looks like they're on high alert," Adam added, watching the patrol patterns.

"Probably because we've been wiping out their camps."

"Mhm," Mei hummed.

"Let's do a sneak attack. You circle around to the back and set the tents on fire. I'll head in from the front, and we'll meet in the center." Adam hesitated for half a second.

"…Sure." He didn't have a better plan. Keeping low, he circled around the camp until he reached the rear. The wooden wall wasn't nearly as sturdy as it looked. After a brief search, he found a narrow gap and slipped through without much trouble. Inside, he crept between the tents before raising a hand.

"[Spark]." A few small embers flickered to life where he aimed. For a split second, it looked unimpressive. Then the flames caught. Fueled by magic, the fire spread unnaturally fast, devouring the leather and dry wood. Within moments, what started as a spark turned into a raging blaze. High-pitched shrieks echoed through the camp. Footsteps thundered as goblins rushed in all directions, scrambling to respond to the sudden chaos. Adam moved quickly, sticking to the outer edge as he made his way toward the center.

The confusion worked in his favor, letting him slip through gaps in their defenses. When he finally reached the middle of the camp, he spotted Mei immediately. She was trying to stay hidden. Trying. If this were a game, he didn't doubt she could pull it off. Like controlling a character built for stealth, she would have blended in perfectly. But this wasn't a game. This was real. And Mei, with her striking appearance, stood out like a beacon.

If she really wanted to hide she would need to undye her blonde hair and remove her bright blue contacts. A change of outfit wouldn't hurt either. Not that it mattered. In the next moment, Mei opened fire, sending bright purple bullets tearing into the panicked goblins. The sharp bangs of her gunshots blended with the chaos of the camp. Shouting, crackling flames, and pounding footsteps swallowed most of the noise, but not all of it. A few goblins still caught on.

They turned toward the sound, eyes locking onto Mei as she cut through their comrades. With shrill cries, they rallied the nearest fighters and rushed her. They were all in the low teens, levels ten to thirteen. Stronger than the stragglers from earlier camps, but nowhere near the cave bear. Their stats were too lacking. Adam was fairly confident he could take them in a straight fight. So he decided to test it.

Stepping out from behind his tent, he raised his bone staff like a baseball bat and brought it down on the head of a charging goblin. Thwack. The impact rang out as the goblin was sent sprawling to the ground. It blinked up at him, dazed, confusion plain in its expression. Adam could almost hear its thoughts. Did I just get knocked down by a mage…? Before it could recover, Adam moved. He dropped the bone staff into his inventory and swapped to his old wooden one in a single motion.

Gripping it like a spear, he drove the sharpened, slightly charred end straight into the goblin's chest. The tip punched through with little resistance. What had once been a useless mage staff, then a crude cooking tool, had become a handy weapon, finally. The goblin choked, spitting blood as its body went limp. Whether it was from the rage of being killed by a mage or just a punctured lung, Adam didn't care. A kill was a kill.

Mei finished off the goblins around her and glanced over, spotting Adam standing over his first clean takedown.

"Damn, babe! So you can be useful after all!" she teased, giggling.

"Just watch," Adam shot back.

"I'll drop a dozen easy."

"Sure, sure. I'd love to see it," she said lightly.

"But you'll have to see if my gun agrees first." As she spoke, she fired twice more. Two goblins dropped instantly. She hadn't even looked at them. Adam froze, staring.

"How…?" Mei tapped her ear with a grin.

"You've gotta use all your senses in a fight." The two of them continued to wreak havoc as the camp descended into chaos. Flames roared higher with every passing second, devouring tents and wooden structures alike. Smoke thickened the air, and the goblins' panicked shrieks only added to the confusion. Anything that got close to Mei was cut down instantly by the bear tooth dagger in her left hand. She moved with sharp, efficient motions, never wasting a strike.

Anything beyond arm's reach but within her sight was picked off just as easily, pierced clean through by her glowing purple bullets. Adam, on the other hand, had a much rougher time. He swung his bone staff in wide arcs, cracking skulls and knocking goblins off their feet, but he lacked Mei's precision. Whenever more than two or three goblins rushed him at once, he was forced on the defensive. A translucent shield flickered into existence around him as he braced himself, holding them back just long enough.

A moment later, gunshots rang out. The pressure disappeared as Mei thinned the group for him. By the time the last goblin fell, the camp was half reduced to ash. The remaining flames crackled loudly, casting flickering light over the scattered corpses. Breathing out, Adam glanced around at the aftermath before starting to count.

"Six… seven… eight… ni—no, that one has a bullet hole." He frowned, clicking his tongue. Only eight. The rest, which easily numbered over a dozen, were marked by clean cuts or small, smoking bullet wounds.

"Actually," Mei chimed in, stepping closer, "two of those are mine. See?" She crouched slightly and pointed at a pair of bodies. Small, nearly unnoticeable bullet holes sat in their chests next to two stab wounds. Adam stared. Then it clicked. He had stabbed two corpses.

"…Seriously?" He opened his mouth to argue, but before he could say anything, Mei suddenly raised a hand. Her expression sharpened.

"Wait…" A brief silence fell between them.

"…where's the combat finished message?" Adam's stomach dropped. Right on cue, a system screen appeared. Boss Battle Beginning! Start Livestreaming?

"Oh… shit."