Me, Momo, and 4 other share a cramped table in a tavern. “Momo has an announcement for us, she said she found something most interesting while battling monsters in the forest,” a large man speaks. Given his white and red color palate, I assume he’s the guild leader of Aegean Shield. A strong build, fierce and noble eyes, a square face, short brown hair brushed back, golden eyes…He looks like a tank.

“I’ll say,” another guild leader speaks up, licking her lips while staring at me. One of her black cat ears flickers, and her tail slowly stretches out from behind her, “I thought I had a tab on most of the noteworthy players by now, but I haven’t seen you before. Who are you?” She asks, leaning forward slightly. Her crimson eyes analyze me, and I’m worried she can see right through me. I should have gotten a better disguise than just different colored hair before meeting them!

“More importantly, what loot did you get from the forest? Half of the parties we’ve sent to the forest encountered Kazesoku and ran away with their tails between their legs,” another speaker. His ears are elongated, his hair platinum blonde and silky, and even though the game started a week ago he actually looks like he has some decent items. I can identify them as the leaders of Aegean Shield, Private Eye, and Treasure Trove respectively. That means he’s…

“Everybody. Calm down. It’s rude to expect them to give us information without giving in return,” the leader of The North Star speaks. He’s seemingly human. His hair is blood red and messily cut, but his icy blue eyes peer out through his bangs intimidatingly. He’s not as big as the leader of Aegean Shield, but he’s far more imposing. “I’m Yuto. This is Christopher,” he gestures to the leader of Aegean Shield, “This is Bai-ko,” he gestures to the leader of Private Eye, “And this is Gondolin. We’re the leaders of the major guilds in Midgard, with the obvious exclusion of Thanatos. Would you mind introducing yourselves?” He’s strong. As soon as he started speaking, the other guild leaders shut their mouths and watched him. I don’t blame them, he’s intimidating. The sheathed tachi he has in front of him on the table looks impressive, but more terrifying is that he seems like he knows how to actually use it.

“...I-”

“I’m Momo!” Momo squeals, introducing herself with the brightest and most oblivious smile I’ve ever seen. “I’m 17, single, and a level 5 greatsword class! And this is Aoi! He saved me from an ogre in the woods! He’s been hunting there by himself pretty much since the game started! He’s so cool, he’s not afraid of Kazesoku at all! In fact, he’s been gone so long that he didn’t even know-”

“I can introduce myself, Momo,” I cut her off, trying to keep my tone and expression steady.

“You’ve been in the woods since the game started?” Bai-ko whispers, a dangerous smirk appearing on her face. She leans forward, her eyes glimmering with a predatory light, “How interesting…No wonder I hadn’t heard of you. But, you somehow look familiar. Why don’t you share your player profile with me?”

My throat tightens. She knows, she’s on to me. Momo immediately gave away far too much information, and I’ve been outed. Should I run right now? Abandon the meeting? Maybe I could meet up with the Thanatos guild somehow, and see if they’d protect me…This is a safe space after all. They can’t kill me here, even if they do know. But dammit Momo!! You had to throw me under the bus like that with your big mouth?!

“No,” Yuto speaks on my behalf, shaking his head, “There’s no need for that Bai-ko. You’re not allowed to know the intricacies of every person’s stats just so you can sell that information to the highest bidder. He can introduce himself, as he said. And I’d like to meet him.” He nods to me, and I feel a weight lift from my shoulders. If I wasn’t going to be the one who beats this game…I have a feeling he would.

“I’m Aoi. Level 8. My stats and my class are my own. I wanted to level up as quickly as possible, and I spawned on the edge of the colosseum, so I ran for the forest as soon as the barrier was lifted.”

“Level 8?” Christopher asks incredulously, “That’s all?”

“He defeated a boss monster with Momo’s help at level 8. Don’t look down on him, Christopher. Levels aren’t everything,” Yuto reprimands him gently, turning back to me and analyzing what he sees.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“Momo and I found a dungeon after beating the monster,” I get us back on topic, hoping to distract them from any suspicion on me by talking about the game, “‘Rapunzel’s Tower’. Maximum group that can enter is only 20, and 1 player has to have the item ‘Tower’s key’. Which, I have. It dropped from the ogre when I defeated it.”

“What?! I thought I beat the ogre with my attack!”

I sigh, “No, Momo, you passed out. The ogre was wounded but not dead, so I had to deliver the finishing blow.”

“Interesting…And this dungeon, was there anything else notable about it?” Bai-ko asks.

“We think it will lead us to the 2nd floor.” The guild leader's attention is so sharp I feel like I’m being diced by razor blades, but I continue, “It’s a large tower, so tall that it seems to pierce the sky. After beating the ogre the system told me the dungeon to the 2nd floor is opening. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

The guild leaders silently nod, processing the information. After some deliberation, Yuto speaks, “The maximum entry is 20?” I nod to affirm his words, “In that case there’s no point staying here. We’ll choose an elite force and raid it immediately. Any longer of everybody being trapped in this one city and the PKers guild will seem more and more appealing.”

“How are we going to decide who to select?” Christopher asks. It’s a dumb question, we all look at Bai-ko, who gives a foxy grin in response.

“I suppose we can afford to arm a group of 20. We have some supplies…” Gondolin begins speaking. The group speaks amongst themselves, me and Momo becoming nothing more than decorative pieces. Or at least, so I thought.

“Aoi, give us the key,” Gondolin demands, holding out a gloved hand. I remain quiet, assuming incorrectly that one of the other guild leaders must be smart enough to tell him he’s being a prick. But instead, they stay silent, leaving me to realize they do expect me to give them the key.

“No,” I give a flat refusal, “Absolutely not. I’m going to be in the task force.”

“What? You’re level 8!” Christopher exclaims in outrage.

“I earned the key. I’m going to raid the dungeon with you all.”

Christopher opens his mouth, but Yuto speaks over him, “That’s fine. Aoi can join the raid party. We’ll figure out the rest of the members ourselves. You two can leave now, sorry for keeping you for so long. Thank you for all you’ve done! Come back to this building tomorrow, 08:00, and we’ll raid.”

The other guild members hold their tongues at Yuto’s words, and Momo squeals while rising, “Yes!! Understood! Thank you! Thank you all!” She bows repeatedly during her words, backing out of the room. She doesn’t even realize I’m not accompanying her.

“Can we help you?” Gondolin asks, raising an eyebrow.

“You can’t,” I gesture to Bai-ko with my head, “But she can.”

“Oh~?” She smiles sharply.

= = = = = =

“You’re looking for three players?” Bai-ko parrots back to me. The two of us found our way to a small room alone in the building. Dimly lit, but even in spite of the darkness her red eyes seem to glow. “Sukine, Haruhi, and Haruno?”

“Yes, but that’s only their real names. I’m…not sure what their names are in the game.”

Bai-ko sighs, leaning backwards against the wall apathetically, “You’re not the first person to request something like that. Our guild’s overwhelmed with requests like that, and they’re not easy to accomplish…” She trails off, the implication clear. She wants me to offer compensation. But I don’t have anything I can trade for!

“I opened the dungeon to the 2nd floor. I earned the key. This is a small price to pay for that, no?”

Bai-ko snickers to herself, “Oh, how very noble of you, after that stunt you pulled at the start of the game.” My heart drops at her words. Does she…know? She can’t, right? How could she know?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Baiko opens her menu, and clicks a few buttons. A tab opens in front of my vision:

[Username: {Bai-ko Ne~ko} wants to be friends.

Accept? O Deny? X]

“That’s my price,” she informs me, stepping close to me. Our eyes are inches apart, hers glistening like rubies as they seem to pierce through my own. “Accept the request…‘Aoi’.” She leans even closer, her lips right next to my ear, “And just so you know…I hope you are him. Nothing could be more valuable than having you on my friends list, not for me.” I stare at the tab, unable to make the decision. Do I trust her? “The others don’t know, by the way. But my eyes are special. Quirk of my class.”

I tsk. She’s just playing with me. She already knows, doesn’t she? She just wants me to confirm her suspicions. “You better be ethical with information,” I mumble, accepting her friend request. She sees the same message I do, I’m confident of it. And instead of her smirk fading, it grows into a broad toothy grin.

[Username: {Kazesoku} and Username: {Bai-ko Ne~ko} are now friends!]