Once Ryuji returned his attention to us, everything panned out the way that I’d envisioned. Ryuji asked me to come along with him on his adventures and I said yes, partially because I was too scared to say no, and partially because I knew I was the only one who could interact with the blue panels that seemed to be even more powerful than he was. If there wasn’t anything keeping Ryuji and the panels in check, there was no telling what sort of destruction they could cause.
My mom crying and begging me to stay was something I’d expected too, but when my dad placed his hands on Ryuji’s shoulders and threatened to kill him if he didn’t keep me safe, I almost passed out. Thankfully, Ryuji had either taken it as a joke or simply didn’t feel threatened enough to do anything in retaliation, so he just laughed it off and agreed to keep me safe.
It was the first time I’d seen my dad cry. It was an odd thing to see tears dripping down his face despite there being no changes in his expression.
There wasn’t any villager that was willing to take us on the five day ride by horseback to the nearest city, but thankfully, Ryuji seemed excited about walking. It would only take us eight days, since not riding a horse would mean that we could use the path that led through the forest, but the three days difference would still be enough time for a messenger to reach the city before us and tell them of the incoming Otherworlder.
I suppose we could have stayed in the village to ensure that the message would arrive before we did, but the way that the entire village seemed on edge in Ryuji’s presence made me worried that someone would do something to reveal to Ryuji that we were all scared of him. And though I wasn’t sure how he would react to that, I didn’t want to find out.
The villagers provided us with the best camping and travelling materials that they had in the village. Though most of it came from the general goods store run by old Tom, Polly gave me a matching set of a green cloak and boots, which she had apparently bought during her recent visit to the city. They seemed to be more suitable for fashion than travel, but Polly swore up and down that they’d serve me well, before wrapping me in a hug.
Though I didn’t know her too well, beyond being Bran’s girlfriend, I thanked her and put them on.
Now, as I stood at the edge of the very same forest that I’d found Ryuji in, I couldn’t help but wonder for one last time whether I was having a nightmare or not. It didn’t feel like a nightmare. It was a perfect day. The sun against my skin was warm enough to be pleasant, and a gentle breeze wove around us, occasionally blowing my hair against my face.
I subtly pinched myself and hissed in pain when it didn’t wake me.
“You ready to go?” Ryuji asked.
I turned to look at him, and he smiled when we locked eyes for a second.
“I like your new cloak,” he said. “It really brings out your eyes.”
“Thanks,” I said, cursing Polly internally. I searched him briefly for anything I could compliment in return. “I like your shirt. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Thankfully, the lame excuse for a compliment seemed to be good enough for him. His eyes lit up and his smile grew wider.
“Thanks! It’s my favourite hoodie!” he exclaimed. “I’m glad you like it.”
I stared at him for a few seconds before readjusting my bag and nodding.
“Yeah,” I said. “Now we should get going. We only have a few hours of sun before we need to start setting up camp and cooking dinner.”
As the words left my mouth, I couldn’t help but worry that I came off as standoffish. Ryuji didn’t reply, and the silence between us stretched out longer than I was comfortable with. I opened my mouth, as if to say something, but I couldn’t find anything to talk about.
This time, when the blue panel appeared in front of Ryuji’s face, I couldn’t help but feel grateful for its intervention.
Quest: Travel to the City
Your adventure takes you to outside the sleepy village of Plainswood and towards the mighty city of Redstone, where further excitement surely awaits.
Objective: Enter Redstone
Rewards:
50 exp
+ 5 [ENDURANCE]
I let out a sigh of relief when Ryuji’s attention was immediately captured by the blue panel, but I couldn’t help but feel a pit of worry in my stomach.
While the blue panels clearly wanted to help me out for some reason, the way they helped out was quite jarring and pretty obvious. Though Ryuji seemed to be more than enthusiastic in his interactions with them, I wondered how many times the blue panels could pop up to break any awkward silences between us without Ryuji becoming bored of their presence.
Even if the blue boxes could entertain him indefinitely, I knew that we’d eventually have to talk. Even if I was able to hand him off to someone actually qualified for the job as soon as we got to the city, we would still be travelling together for eight days.
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When Ryuji tapped the blue panel, making it disappear, he glanced at me and immediately looked away, his face burning a bright red. It was a strange feeling, knowing that Ryuji was somehow in love with me. Even with the blue panel confirming that I was his love interest, I still couldn’t quite believe it. At the moment, Ryuji just looked like a kid with a bad crush.
But he was still likely the most powerful being alive.
“Let’s go?” I asked, trying not to sound as annoyed this time.
Ryuji nodded and we started our journey.
I made sure we were walking side by side this time.
We made it about thirty minutes before we were attacked. It was a small group of not-Goblins again, and though I had no weapon and no way to defend myself, Ryuji alone was able to defeat them all handily without any problems. I was a bit nervous about the excessive amount of fire spells he used in his combat, but luckily he didn’t start any forest fires.
Quick Event: Goblin Ambush [COMPLETE]
Defeat the Goblins: 5/5
+100 exp
After tapping the panel, Ryuji pumped his fist. “Sweet, level up!” he said, his eyes scanning another panel I couldn’t see.
I was still confused as to why I could see some of the panels, but not others. What was on that panel that I couldn’t see? It was a shame that I didn’t know. The more I understood Ryuji, the better I’d be equipped to handle him.
Tutorial: Levelling up
Remember to apply any Stat Points and Skill Points you’ve acquired through levelling up! A personal notice will be available every time you level up, so don’t forget to apply them through your personal menus whenever you get the chance! Using the [Status] and [Skill] commands will allow you to view your personal [Status] and [Skill] menus whenever you wish.
I wondered if the panels were purposefully being as helpful as possible, or if they were just easy to trick into giving me the information I wanted. In either case, it didn’t seem like it intended to ever talk to me directly, only speaking through implications. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to care about subtlety whatsoever. The fact that it repeated the word personal so many times seemed to confirm why I couldn’t see what Ryuji was seeing, but did that imply that the panels I’d been seeing so far were for public viewing? Why couldn’t anyone else see them then? Would there be anyone else that could see them, or was it just me?
No panels popped up to answer my unspoken question. Was it withholding information?
“Why am I getting a tutorial now?” Ryuji mused before tapping the panel and dismissing it. “I’ve been levelling up for a while now. What a shitty system.”
“What did you say?” I asked. The fact that Ryuji had a name for the panels was surprising to me, though in hindsight it shouldn’t have been. He’d been interacting with them pretty eagerly, and with ease. Maybe it was something from his old world?
Ryuji turned to me, like he’d only just remembered I existed. His face turned a crimson red and he turned away.
“Nothing,” he said. “It’s dumb.”
I was surprised by how unconfident he seemed. Here was a guy who’d just casually bisected eleven demons in the span of a few hours and had enough power to destroy the country, and though I’d been careful not to let him know that, I just didn’t see why he sounded so embarrassed. Maybe it was a secrecy thing, or maybe he was too shy to talk to his crush.
I winced when I remembered who exactly his crush was.
“It’s just…” Ryuji started again, staring at the floor. “You ever heard of video games?”
He answered for me before I could by slapping a palm against his forehead. I might’ve jumped if there was any force behind it.
“Of course you haven’t,” he said. “Those don’t exist here.”
“I’m interested in learning,” I said, hoping it wouldn’t be anything like the time he tried to explain what anime was to me. At the very least, this seemed to be related to his powers.
“Really?” he said, turning to me with genuine surprise on his face. “Why?”
Why indeed. I struggled to think of a reason. I was tempted to reuse the same excuse that I’d used to get him to start talking about anime, but the way he was seriously scrutinising me made me think he wouldn’t accept that I just found it interesting, especially since this was the first time he’d mentioned them. While I could guess that these video games were somehow connected to these blue panels, and not something that he randomly blurted out, I wasn’t sure I wanted Ryuji to know that I could see the panels at all.
I shrugged, buying myself a few seconds to think of an answer. I searched his face briefly for anything I could use, but he quickly turned away to look sheepishly back at the floor. It was so uncharacteristic of him that it made me realise what I could say as an excuse.
“I’m not sure,” I started. “But it has something to do with why you randomly stare into space, right?”
“Oh do I do that?” Ryuji asked nervously, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry.”
Though I was going to follow up what I said with my excuse, Ryuji’s behaviour threw me off a bit.
“What are you apologising for?” I asked.
Ryuji winced. “Well, it’s annoying right? People generally don’t like it when others don’t pay attention to what’s going on around them.”
Well, I supposed that was true, but I didn’t want to suggest to the Otherworlder that I was annoyed at him.
“No,” I said, with a quick shake of my head. “I just thought that that’s when you look the happiest. If these video games have something to do with that, I’d be happy to know more about them.”
When Ryuji’s only reply was to stare wide-eyed at me, I was worried that I’d said something wrong. Though I didn’t tense up in fear like I usually did, it was only because I’d accepted the fact that there would be no possibility of me surviving if Ryuji did decide to kill me. I didn’t have the energy to run, and even if I did, I knew he could catch up to me in an instant.
“Oh,” he said simply. “Thanks.”
I nodded. I didn’t know why he thanked me, but I wasn’t about to let any gratitude go unclaimed. “You’re welcome.”
There was a long stretch of silence between us, interrupted only by our footsteps and the fluttering of leaves at the occasional gust of wind. I didn’t know what to say, so I just pretended I was comfortable with the silence between us. That was, until another panel appeared in front of us.
+85 [AFFECTION] (Lena)
Ryuji grumbled and covered his reddening face before punching the panel and making it dissipate. I was glad I managed to hold back the urge to try the same.