** “Now, this really is a delightful surprise, Peter! We’re here, in the Iregorn’s Inferno Summer, Open Tournament, and we’re seeing Shooting Stars doing a spectacular comeback!”

** “That’s right Mallory. After most of their members quit the guild, you’d think they’d fade into obscurity, but not only they’ve climbed all the way to the semi-finals, they did it without even using their Triumph Card, the powerful Golden Comet!”

** “If their idea was to prove that they could win a 5v5 tournament without Astrid Bradford in their team, and show they’re still among the top ranking guilds in all The Novus, well, it’s working!” **

“Yes, that was definitely her intention,” Amelia said to herself, watching the video stream and sipping coffee. The camera was focusing on the weakest competitor on the battlefield, a level 83 female warrior who could absorb elemental magic with her hands. “I’d kill to have a Unique Skill like that,” she said bitterly before putting the mug aside at the sight of two customers strolling towards the shop’s door. As the entrance bell rang, Amelia changed her somber expression for a friendly smile. “Welcome, come in!”

Upstairs, in his room, a busy Alan was perfecting his next project while Ashley observed the process.

He assembled a firearm, one piece after the other, making it look easy as if it was nothing but a game.

“How old are you, ‘Isabella II’?” he suddenly asked, eyes still in his work.

“What do you mean?”

“When were you, the Isabella that entered the Novus, created?”

“Two weeks before entering The Novus along with you. And I do not think a concept such as age fits me. I still retain much of the data as my original.”

“Like memories from a previous life?”

“Not everything, though. Or the cryo-pod would not be able to read my information efficiently.”

“So you’re like a ‘lite’ version of Isabella,” he said, grinning. “So you know the song!”

Ashley stared at him for a moment before singing in a monotonous tone: “New London’s bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. New London’s bridge is falling down…”

“Awesome! Although now that I can see your face, you look like you're not enjoying the song at all!”

“I did not get any pleasure from singing it, that is true.”

He shut his ears. “I didn’t hear a thing!!”

“Why were you asking me that, Alan?”

“I was just wondering, why didn’t you log out all the Users and restarted the Novus, Singular included? You could have told everyone that this was nothing more than emergency maintenance. That would erase the Singular virus, right?”

“It is impossible for Us to log out all the Users at once.”

“It was also impossible for you to enter The Novus.”

“This was an extraordinary case, many improbable events helped shape this workaround. Besides, even if it was possible, We would not be able to reset The System. The only way for Us to wipe The Novus, with the Singular caught inside, would be to physically destroy the entire Cryo-Chambers and the Central Mainframe.”

“So I’m still on my mission. To search for any damage or manipulation by The Singular inside The Novus.”

“Yes, but that was before talking to Ricardo Silva and getting proof that The Singular has no authority here. The AI is trapped inside the body of a User, just like me, with no special powers. Our mission is now to identify who The Singular is and report back. ‘Isabella I’ will log me out in 90 Real Life days. That would be 540 Novus Days. I hope we have a lead by then.”

“I hope so too,” Alan said absently, looking at the crafting parts. “Where's the trigger?”

Anastasia quickly found it among the mess. “Here it is, Master Alan.”

“I thought you asked her not to call you Master,” Ashley said at the same time Sloochie jumped out of the bed and exited the room in a hurry.

“It seems that if I don’t ‘order’ her, she won’t reprogram her habits.”

Ashley stared at Alan’s eyes as he finished reassembling a shotgun. “Can I ask you a question, Alan?”

“Sure,” he said while showing the weapon to Anastasia. “Did you see how I did it? Now try to disassemble and assemble it back.”

“Of course, Master.”

“Why are we always talking about our mission?” Ashley blurted out, making Alan turn to her, perplexed.

“I hadn’t noticed that.”

“We are always talking about leveling up, The Singular, The Santa María, gearing up, crafting, selling materials, getting parts…”

“S-Sorry,” Alan whispered, looking down. “It’s just that I never considered that you’d take interest in something else.”

“Our mission is important, and it’s our priority, yes. But even if you get stronger, if you do not rest, your mind will not keep up.”

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

“You’re right.” He smiled. “Hey, maybe we could go visit the Slime Village tomorrow, and see how they’re doing.”

Ashley mirrored his smile. “I would like that.”

“It is done, Master,” Anastasia suddenly said, interrupting the warm scene.

“Wait, I didn’t see a thing.”

“Would you like me to do it again?”

“Can I try?” Ashley asked, suddenly too close to Alan’s face.

He glanced back at Anastasia’s electric-blue eyes, striking facial features, and at her adorable fox ears. Then he looked back at Ashley’s cute, curious expression.

My mind has been too busy, thinking about the Singular situation, that hasn’t appreciated the fact that I’m surrounded by beauties. Amelia is smoking hot too. Was she right? Am I unconsciously creating a harem?

He glanced at Anastasia’s plump lips. She would kiss me if I asked her to. And Ashley is always interested in experiencing new things, huh.

“You’re both helluva cute,” he said with a straight face, getting a smile from the NPC and a frown from Ashley.

“Thank you, Master, tee-hee.”

“That’s unrelated to my question.”

And reality brought me back at lightspeed as expected.

“All right, Ashley. I’ll show you too. Maybe we could craft a rifle for you someday.”

As Alan spoke, Ashley looked at her surroundings, uneasy.

***

**

*

“Take a good look at these earrings, Scar,” a customer said to her female friend while tapping the preview option in front of a pair of earrings. A mirror-like window popped up in front of her, showing how she would look wearing them. “Aren’t they lovely?”

“They’re okay,” the friend said in a gruff tone, absently browsing the displays, hands inside her orange leather jacket.

These two couldn’t be more different, Amelia thought, observing them.

The slim, black-haired pale girl previewing one set of jewelry after another, wore a delicate black dress and watched her reflection making gracious gestures. Meanwhile, the other lanky young woman grimaced at the contents of each displaying case, and her rigid posture looked as if she was about to smash the place at any second. Even her coily brunette hair gave hints about her explosive personality, contrasting her companion’s long smooth hair.

I’d like to believe that my store can satisfy any need.

With the help of the store’s control panel, Amelia changed the content of the displays in front of the tall customer and waited for her reaction.

The young woman’s gaze landed on a black choker with skull on it, which she previewed without a second thought. “Yeah, this is more like it.”

Another happy customer, Amelia smiled at the sight of the notification stating that she had received 2000 gold. from each girl. She glanced at their levels, 51 and 52.

“Hey, I haven’t seen you around. Where do you come from?”

“We’re from Espaniel! My name is Serenity, and she’s Scarlett. We wanted to revisit the Beginner’s Town, and see how everything looks now, isn’t that right?”

Her friend shrugged. “It looks the same to me. It was a big surprise to learn there were still people here.”

“I know, right!” Amelia giggled. “I’ve been asking myself why people here enjoy living a dull life here as soon as I moved here. I can assure you that this shop’s inauguration is the most exciting event that has happened here in a long time.”

Serenity stared at Amelia before grinning ear to ear. “I completely agree with what you say. But that would also apply to the entire Userbase here.” She strolled towards the counter, meeting Amelia’s puzzled gaze. “Traveling the galaxy is the most exciting thing that has happened to humanity since the invention of the wheel, and yet, people spend their time battling and playing”

“An exact recreation of what Earth was like 200 years ago,” Scarlett said aloud, joining her friend.

Amelia sneered, tilting her head. “What do you expect us to do? We’re stuck here until finding a new home planet. Besides, I enjoy being able to do whatever I desire. Even if that means staring into a wall or having adventures and killing dragons.”

“Do you consider yourself a hedonist, Miss Shop Owner?”

“Sure. Why not? I like drinking wine and coffee, listening to Miss Cosmica’s music, and I love watching my enemies burn to ashes. What’s wrong with that?”

In less than a second, Scarlett reached out to grab Amelia by the neck, lifting her off the ground.

“Hedonism is for the short-sighted,” Serenity said, taking off a Concealing Mask. The face beneath it smirked wickedly as her hair changed to white.

Although she had seen that face once, Amelia would never forget it. The ‘yandere’ from Londorus!

Scarlett took off her mask too, passing through a more drastic transformation. She got even taller while her muscles grew in size. Her hair, a bright shade of orange.

I-I don’t know who this other person is, but I’ve read that there was another terrorist involved in the Londorus’ attack. Someone Astrid fought! I… must… do something…

As Amelia's consciousness faded, a squeaking sound was heard from the bottom of the stairs. Sloochie? No, run! Warn Alan!

Serenity shut her eyes for a couple of seconds before looking up and gesturing to her partner. “Upstairs.”

“We’re done with her then,” Scarlett said before cracking Amelia’s neck.

**

*

Sloochie dashed into Alan’s room, squealing.

“What is it, buddy?”

“It says that Amelia is in danger,” Anastasia said, with a monotone voice, unlike her usual joyful tone.

Before Alan could question her, Ashley pushed him aside. “Watch out!”

An impossibly long, purple whip split the room’s floor and the entire house in half. Smoke entered from the new gap immediately.

“What the hell was that?! And is the house on fire?!”

“Let’s go, Master,” Anastasia said, carrying Alan’s on her shoulder and jumping out of the window.

Once landing on the street, Alan could see their home engulfed in flames. “Amelia!”