Sitting alone in the arena stands, I let my mind wander as I ignored the fighting competition below.

If there was one thing that got hammered home to me with the elves, it was that everything on the planet Crucible had a backstory. Every location, every NPC, every item. The deeper you probed, the deeper it got. But it all felt like a compressed microcosm. Like how New Zealand has the same kinds of geography as Canada, only it’s all squished together into a fraction of the size.

I mean, on Chow Li’s map the elf village was almost next door to the city in the adjacent hex. Two more hexes further brought you to the abandoned fortress that was clearly the Shadow Dungeon, which was basically smack in the middle of the local equivalent of Mordor. A mere three hexes away from the city.

How did they handle the complex world building of this place, let alone conceive of it all? For obvious reasons, Stratos or System or whoever it was who designed it wouldn’t have bothered creating deep personalities and histories for every single NPC. I was willing to bet that only the ones we Players were likely to interact with were given the full backstory treatment from the start. If Players ever went off script and started interacting with a vanilla NPC in any meaningful way — which of course they would, I did it all the time — a new AI would be created on the fly, with a new history and everything.

I was certain that was what had happened when Pretty Catgirl turned into Shannon the gardener. Because of my interaction with her, a random NPC became a named NPC. Now she was someone I chatted with all the time because she always seemed to be tending the gardens at the dojo. I wouldn’t have been able to tell she wasn’t a real person if I didn’t already know (although the feline ears and tail were a bit of a giveaway).

But was it fair to say she wasn’t real?

Did each one have a separate AI or was there one almost omnipotent intelligence coordinating them all? Is that what System was?

If there was a unique AI in each NPC with a name, as I believed was the case, was it advanced enough to be considered a real person? Were these NPCs conscious and sentient? They certainly seemed to be. I had no doubt they’d pass any Turing test you threw at them.

Should they get the same rights as real people? Maybe, in the culture of whatever highly advanced civilization had created them, AIs were considered living entities. If so—

I never got a chance to finish that thought because right then Jane plopped down beside me. So much for being alone.

“Quit brooding,” she said. She held a paper bag in her hand, which she placed in her lap. Her red hair was done in two thick braids, Anne of Green Gables-style. It was distractingly fetching.

“Huh? I’m not brooding.”

“You’re doing something, and people are noticing.” She reached into her bag and pulled out what looked like some sort of candied nut, then popped it into her mouth. She was someone who closed her lips when she chewed so I could barely hear it crunch between her teeth. Thank goodness, I can't stand the sound of mastication.

“I’m just thinking,” I said.

“Is that what you call it? Well, you should stop it and try being a bit more social. People are intimidated enough by you as it is without you lurking here all alone looking scary.”

“They’re what?”

How could anyone be intimidated by me?

“Forget it,” she said. She ate another nut. “I’ve actually been doing a lot of thinking myself.”

Grateful for the change of topic, I turned to face her. “What about?”

Jane didn’t answer at first, but just sat beside me fidgeting with the pommel of her rapier. “Can I be honest with you?”

“Uh, sure?”

“I’m pretty freaked out these days,” she said in a quiet voice. She took the opportunity to eat another nut.

“You? That’s...why are you freaked out?”

She turned to face me and I could see her green eyes weren't as sparkly as usual. “What do you think happens to the Players who don’t come back?”

“The dead-dead? Who knows? They’re probably sent home.”

“Do you really believe that?” she said.

“Maybe. Or maybe they’re somewhere else. Maybe there’s a whole other game beyond this one. Just imagine, they meet their truck-kun here and then—”

“Truck what?”

“Truck-kun. It’s kind of a joke. In a lot of isekai stories someone gets run over by a truck before getting reincarnated into another world. So it’s—”

“You know what? Never mind. I get it, it’s some nerd truck thing. You were saying?”

“Uh, I was saying maybe after a Player dies-dies here they get isekai’d again. They get reincarnated into yet another world. Into another game like this one. Or like this one but different, like maybe with a science fiction space opera theme. Who knows? Or maybe they get recruited by management to take control of monsters and fight against us. That’d be pretty cool, actually.”

“Or maybe they’re just dead-dead,” she said. “Gone forever. Murdered.”

I’d never seen Jane like this. She was genuinely freaked out. Then it occurred to me, she was one of the few Players I knew who hadn’t experienced death and respawn at least once by now.

“Are you afraid of dying?” I said.

“That’s not it. I mean yes, but that’s not it.”

“It’s not so bad. Respawning is kind of nice, like waking up refreshed after a long sleep.”

“That’s not it.”

“So what’s really bothering you, Jane?”

“What if I killed them?” she said. “What if the last thing they ever saw before dying for real was me shoving this sword into them?”

Okay, this was really confusing. I mean, I got it, after the battle at the elf village I’d wondered the same thing when I heard that some of the Players didn’t respawn: was I the one who killed them?

But what really baked my noodle is why the protagonist would reveal her worries and insecurities to me? Side characters were only supposed to see her strong, confident, heroic side. These dark parts should only get revealed to a trusted sidekick like Sigrid.

Wait, did that mean I’d been promoted? Had I unlocked a new title, the Hero’s Confidante or something?

I felt movement against the side of my leg, and looking down I saw Squishy the slime oozing its way onto my lap.

“Hey you,” Jane said as she reached down to retrieve it. “Who said you could escape your pouch, huh? Naughty Squishy.” She held the creature in the crook of her arm and stroked it like she was petting a cat while dropping nuts on top of it. They sank into the slime to be digested.

“Let me ask you this,” I said. “What would you do if another Player was trying to kill you?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Jane shook her head. “I see where you’re going but it’s different.”

“How so?”

“I’ve killed other Players in quests before, but they always came back. And even if it was self defense, I think that one of the Players I killed in the elf attack...”

“Do you think it’s a coincidence that those Players died-died in the attack?” I said.

“What do you mean, a coincidence?”

“I’ve wondered the same thing as you so I’ve asked around, and from what I can tell nobody ever died-died for real in a quest where you competed against another team, only when fighting monsters.”

“That’s true, ” she said, pursing her lips.

“Is it a coincidence that it only happened this time when Players started going rogue and being the aggressors for no good reason?”

“So you’re saying those Players died-died as punishment?”

“I’m saying I think there are consequences to all our actions, that’s all. Those Players attacked first, not as part of any quest, and the elves were merely defending themselves. And you were defending the elves. Anything you may or may not have done to contribute to the deaths of those Players was not your fault. They brought it upon themselves.”

”I suppose you’re right,” she said.

I could tell she didn’t really believe me, as much as she wanted to. She'd stopped petting Squishy, her hand resting on it without moving. The other hand hovered over it holding a nut. It looked like she was teasing the slime, but I was pretty sure she'd just forgotten about the nut, lost in her own thoughts. Then her head snapped around and she looked at me with narrowed eyes.

“Did you just imply that elves are monsters?” she said.

“Huh?”

“You said Players have only ever died-died when fighting monsters. Players died fighting elves, ergo elves are monsters.”

“Solid logic, Jane.”

She smiled for the first time since sitting down. “I dare you to call an elf a monster to its face.”

“I’m finally starting to enjoy life so I’d rather not, thanks. But Jane, you made a really good point.”

“I did? I mean, yeah, of course I did. I’m sure I made several so could you remind me which one you’re referring to exactly?”

“Players have only ever died-died when fighting monsters.”

“So?”

“So, you’re not a monster.”

She opened her mouth and I could tell a joke was coming, but then her eyes widened. I could practically see the light bulb go on over her head.

“That’s right. I’m a Player. And no Player has ever died for real when fighting another Player.”

Unfortunately, the brightness only lasted a few seconds, then the light bulb went out and the dark cloud returned.

“What’s wrong?” I said.

“Yet,” she said. “No player has killed-killed another Player yet. Or, maybe they have. Maybe I was the first.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You don’t know that I wasn’t."

I pondered what to say for a few moments, watching Squishy extend a protoplasmic arm up to the nut she still held over it. She startled when it poked her hand, then gave the nut to the slime.

“I had a therapist tell me once that given a situation with two possibilities, neither of which we can prove or disprove, it comes down to which one you choose to believe.”

“I’m not big on faith,” she said.

“Yeah,” I said. “Me neither.”

We sat in companionable silence for a bit, then Jane spoke up.

“Hey, isn’t that your new girlfriend down there?”

I followed her gaze to the arena floor, where Petal was standing on one side, bow in hand, aiming at a target on the other side. The current demo was an archery contest, and there had been a bunch of targets and archers earlier. Now it was down to only one target and two archers. Beside Petal, bow in hand, was Kay.

“Which one, Petal or Kay?”

Jane punched me in the arm. “Just how many girls are you courting, anyway?”

I laughed. “You caught me. I’m trying to build a harem with every woman I meet. When are you going to join?”

Her face took on a serious expression. “Some girls don’t like to share, you know.”

“I was joking,” I said. “Remember, it’s me we’re talking about.”

Once again Jane opened her mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it and closed it again.

We watched Kay and Petal take turns firing arrow after arrow into the target, neither of them ever missing the bullseye.

“How am I supposed to fight other people now, knowing it’s possible I could kill them for real?” Jane said out of nowhere.

“Simple,” I said. “Find non-lethal ways to remove them from the fight.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“It should be easy for you too, Miss Master Of None.”

“I’m not a gamer!” she said. “I don’t know how to do these things.”

“Jane,” I said softly, “do you want me to help you?”

She turned her giant green eyes on me. They were lined with red, and wet with the threat of tears, but the sparkle had returned. “Please?”

Wow, I had never imagined seeing her like this, so troubled. I realized just then that I’d failed to live up to the promise I’d made to myself to help and support Jane, the hero. To be honest, I hadn’t believed there was much I could do to anything before, but now I saw an opportunity where maybe, just maybe, I could actually do something to help her.

“Of course,” I said. “You can count on me.”

“Good,” she said. “It’s about time you did something with me. You’re always off with Sigrid or Morgan or some monster chick. I want my turn.”

“Monster chick?”

“I heard about the sexy Doppelgangers you hang around with in the labyrinth, and there’s that she-elf down there who’s been attached to your hip all day,” she said, pointing down at the arena floor.

“So now you’re the one saying elves count as monsters?” I said, jabbing my elbow gently into her side.

She jabbed her elbow back at me, not nearly as gently. “Well I’m pretty sure Petal wants to sink her claws into you, so I’d say so, yeah.”

“Ignoring how absurd that is, you seemed pretty interested in those hunky elf dudes back at their village.”

“I was just being Sigrid’s loyal wing-woman.”

I laughed. “She was practically drooling over them, wasn’t she? You think maybe she’s got a thing for pointy ears?”

“She does like her pretty boys,” Jane said.

“And you don’t?”

Jane took a few moments to consider her answer. “I do appreciate nice wrapping paper, but I’m more interested in the quality and thoughtfulness of the gift inside.”

“Spoken like a woman who can have any man she wants. You can afford to be so picky. Must be nice.”

“You think I can have anyone, eh?”

“Jane,” I said, “stop fishing for compliments. Surely you must know how other people see you.”

“I’m in a vulnerable emotional state so tell me anyway.”

I sighed. “There’s a reason you’re the center of attention any time you walk into a room.”

“Go on. Why is that?”

“Jeez. So needy.”

She leaned against me and put her head on my shoulder, one of her braids falling over my shoulder and tickling my neck. “Just tell me.”

“Because you’re the main character.”

She sat up straight again. “Huh? I don’t know what you mean by that. Is that another nerd thing?”

“It means that you really could have anybody you want, man, woman, and everyone in between. Even an elf.”

“What about you?” she said.

I tried to stifle a laugh and it came out as a snort. “Me? Heh, I’ll take what I can get.”

“That’s not...forget it.” She grabbed my arm and wiped the remnants of the tears from her eyes on the sleeve of my fancy elven jacket. “So when do I get to have my turn with you?”

“Huh?”

“You promised to teach me how to not kill people, remember?” She used her grip on my arm to pull us together. “Why, what did you think I meant, hmmm?”

Aaaaand, she was back, folks. There was the Jane I knew and...

I sighed. “Right. I’m yours whenever you want me.”

I knew she was teasing, but I couldn’t help thinking that if this was a movie, it’d be the perfect place for a montage. Cue the cool song over quick cuts between flashes of me helping Jane figure out how to use her abilities to incapacitate people in various ways without killing them. Maybe we’d run up a big flight of stairs and raise our arms in victory at the top. If there was a rom-com element to the movie, there could be scenes where she failed hilariously and fell on top of me in suggestive ways, then my patience, kindness, and competence gradually won her heart and I’d somehow become the one she wanted.

I quickly nipped this absurd fantasy in the bud. This wasn’t a rom-com, I wasn’t really any of those things, and life isn’t like in the movies, is it?

In real life, the popular girl never falls for the dorky guy.