Chương 53: Chapter 51

After eating Sea Titan sushi for the first time and spending a while chatting with Gracie, Darius, and the rest of the officer-level crew, Adam and Mei were finally shown to their quarters. They'd been given an officer's cabin. It was surprisingly spacious. A large bed big enough for three humans, or perhaps an orc and a half, occupied one side of the room. A sturdy writing desk covered in nautical instruments sat against the opposite wall beside a heavy dresser.

Near the window was a small wooden table positioned beneath an adjustable magic circle viewer similar to the one they'd used on the gun deck. It wasn't quite night yet, and neither of them was remotely tired. The excitement of finally leaving the orc continent behind made sleep impossible. After adjusting the magic circle to display a wide-angle view of the endless ocean outside, they settled around the table simply to enjoy the scenery and talk.

"This thing is so fun," Mei said as she continued fiddling with the magic circle's controls.

"Why don't you learn how to make these?" Adam chuckled.

"I don't even know if I could. They look complicated... and kind of science-y. You know science was my worst subject."

"True." Once she had the image perfectly centered, she leaned back in her chair and flashed him a grin.

"We're finally on our way to the main quest. What do you think the human kingdom will be like? Will it be on the brink of ruin, waiting for us to suddenly appear like the hero and her trusty sidekick? Or maybe they'll be barely holding the Demon King's army back, and we'll be the final push that turns the tide for humanity." Adam shrugged.

"I don't know. But I hope our luck keeps holding."

"Ah, don't worry." She waved a dismissive hand.

"You've got me, Main Character Mei." She proudly puffed out her chest.

"I mean, just look at you. You've been so lucky you almost ascended." Adam slowly looked at her.

"... That sounds an awful lot like I almost died."

"Oh." She tilted her head.

"Does it? I meant you almost became a god just by following me around. If your luck keeps up, you might even become an immortal. Just look at Granessa." Adam's smile faded slightly.

"I don't know if I'd want that."

"Really? I wouldn't mind being unkillable."

"Being impossible to kill would be nice," Adam admitted.

"But I doubt the curse is as simple as losing your afterlife. To me, it feels like it's designed to give you exactly what you don't want until it slowly wears away at you." Mei blinked.

"You think so?" Adam nodded.

"I do. If you had somehow received the curse, I don't think it would've made you immortal. It probably would've taken away everything you cared about instead. It's a curse, after all. It just happened to affect Granessa in a way that looks almost beneficial because the thing she fears most is dying before reaching the afterlife."

"Hmm..." She rested her chin in her hand for a moment before a mischievous smile spread across her face.

"Well, for it to affect me in the first place, I'd have to be a virgin." She glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"But you and I both know that's impossible... right?" Adam immediately recognized that look. She was winding up for another joke.

"After all, you were the one—""Yeah, yeah, I get it," he interrupted, rolling his eyes before she could finish. Mei giggled victoriously. Just then, movement outside the magical display caught both of their eyes. They turned toward the viewer in time to see an enormous whale erupt from the ocean. Its colossal body hung suspended above the waves for a brief, breathtaking moment before crashing back into the sea with a thunderous splash.

A towering column of water burst from its blowhole, glittering with rainbow effects beneath the setting sun. The two of them stared through the window in amazement.

"Wow..." For a while, they sat in comfortable silence, watching the endless blue ocean roll beneath the evening sky. The sea stretched all the way to the horizon where it blended seamlessly with the fading gold of the sunset, making it impossible to tell where the water ended and the heavens began. Eventually, Adam looked away from the view and toward Mei. She was completely absorbed by the scenery. Her blue eyes sparkled with childlike wonder as the light from the setting sun danced across her face.

He smiled to himself. I really am the luckiest man on Earth... no, probably the entire universe.

"Mei," he said quietly.

"I forgive you." She turned toward him with a puzzled expression.

"Huh? For what? Did I do something?" Adam gestured toward the magical window and the incredible world beyond it.

"For this." Understanding slowly dawned on her face.

"Oh..."

"I've been thinking about it," he continued.

"The system never actually said we'd be transferred into a higher difficulty tutorial. It said our tutorial's difficulty would be raised to match the level of a main character." He rested his elbows on the table.

"So if we'd entered the Easy tutorial instead..." His voice trailed off.

"We would've dragged everyone else up with us." The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Mei's eyes widened.

"I... hadn't thought of that." She shuddered. Easy tutorials were mostly filled with children and people who had awakened non-combat classes. If they had unknowingly dragged those people into an Impossible-level tutorial, there was almost no chance any of them would've survived. Even if, more realistically, they'd chosen Hard or Nightmare instead, where combat classes were guaranteed, the result probably wouldn't have been much better.

Those players would have been prepared for their own difficulty, not one that surpassed even Impossible. Adam nodded.

"So... as crazy as this all is, bringing just the two of us here may have saved hundreds of lives." Mei quietly stared at the table for a few moments.

"I mean..." she mumbled.

"It's not like I wanted to come to a place with a one hundred percent death rate." She paused before smiling sheepishly.

"... Well... maybe a little." Adam snorted.

"But I had to." She opened her quest log and pulled up the main quest before turning the screen toward him. Main Quest: Protect the Human Kingdom (Chain Quest) Last Quest in Chain: Defeat the Demon King Final Reward: Region Lord Title (Impossible Difficulty Exclusive) Region Lord Title A special title which grants the right to designate a region of the bearer's home world as protected territory, sealing all dungeon gates for use only by the bearer and their allies.

"It was all for this," she said softly. Adam nodded.

"I know." Then he gave her an amused look.

"But you still could've warned me."

"You would've come anyway."

"Of course I would've." His answer came without even a second of hesitation.

"I'd never abandon you, and you knew that. But would it have hurt to say, 'Adam, I need to complete the Impossible difficulty tutorial to save my parents. Will you come with me?'" Mei looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

"Well... no..." She rubbed the back of her neck.

"I just got caught up in the moment. It isn't every day you're chosen to enter a fantasy world, gain superpowers, and fight monsters." She grinned.

"Especially when your boyfriend gets to come too." Adam laughed.

"True." He looked back out at the ocean.

"It also isn't every day you find out your girlfriend is the main character of an entire world."

"See?" Mei said proudly.

"You get it."

"I do." He let out a long sigh.

"Unfortunately." She simply smiled.

"All's well that ends well, right?" Adam watched the waves for another moment.

"We'll see." Silence settled over the cabin once again, broken only by the distant creaking of Titan's Grave and the rhythmic crash of waves against its hull. After several minutes, Mei spoke again.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"What do you think they'll make us do during those special livestreams?" Adam frowned.

"It was in the contract." Mei blinked.

"It was?" She leaned closer.

"Did you actually read it?"

"... No." She burst into laughter.

"Ha! See? It isn't just me!" Adam rubbed the back of his neck.

"To be fair, I'd just had my soul ripped out of my body and kneaded like bread dough by some interdimensional game administrator." He paused.

"One who also seemed to have a serious jealousy problem." I heard that. Both of them jumped as a system window suddenly materialized in front of them.

"Ah!" Mei nearly fell out of her chair.

"That's seriously creepy!" Then another thought struck her.

"Wait... does that mean you've seen us having s—" No! Absolutely not! I'd lose far more than my job if I peeked into a Player's... intimate private life. Mei visibly relaxed.

"Oh. That's good." A second later, curiosity returned.

"So what's this special livestream we're supposed to do?" It's a secret. But your first one will be very soon. (By the way, this is my last message. I'm only allowed a limited amount of interference with the system.) The message disappeared. Mei folded her arms.

"Wow. What a creep." Adam chuckled.

"I bet he's saying, 'I can still hear you', right now." Mei's eyes widened.

"Oh." She quickly looked around the cabin before shrugging.

"... Worth it."