Dan: [Take a look at this video. It seems that Aarmus Town it’s on its feet again, thanks to this construction company that is entirely composed of NPCs.]

Lady Unicorn: [Just look at all those bastards working like ants…]

Stella: [Oh, what a lovely sight to behold!]

Erwin: [I don’t think they’re doing it for charity.]

Dan: [Seems like not. The company is run by this user named Bill Warren.]

Erwin: [Never heard of him. But I'm okay with that. Even if he’s doing it for profit, you have to give him credit for it. He’s helping the Novus community just when its ‘keepers’ abandoned it.]

Lady Unicorn: [Please… Let’s not get started all over again…]

***

**

*

Ashley closed the podcast video and pondered about it for a brief moment. The wind hit her face when she looked frontward. Her companions were riding their own flying Mounts around hers, each one of their minds in their own world.

(Is something wrong?) the slime kid, who was sitting in her lap, asked.

(Everything is okay, Sloochie. Why do you ask?) Ashley responded through Party Chat, but the Advanced Slime tilted his head, curious. She then called up to Alan, (Guild Master.)

(Don’t call me that. We’re not streaming anymore.)

(There’s something I need to do.)

Alan turned to her from his flying hovercraft and raised his eyebrows. (What? Like, right now?)

(I’ll return tomorrow morning, I promise.)

(Okay. Take care, then.)

After helping Sloochie board Alan’s vehicle, Ashley said goodbye to everyone and flew in the opposite direction, followed by her group’s gaze.

(Take that stupid puppy-eyed expression off your face,) Clara sneered. (She’ll be fine.)

(I know.)

Why wouldn’t she? he thought, resuming his journey back home.

Half an hour later, the flying mounts and the hovercraft landed in front of the Phantom Seeker’s HQ and were quickly received by familiar faces.

People I didn’t expect to see this soon.

“Good evening, Alan,” Oscar greeted, and stretched out to him.

Alan shook his hand as he craned his neck up to see him in the eyes. I’d forgotten how big this guy is.

“You didn’t come to ‘forcefully invite’ me to your HQ again, did you?”

Marissa chimed in, smirking. “That’s in the past, Alan! Let it go already!” She then checked Alan’s info. “You’re level 30 now, eh? I can see you haven’t been sitting on your ass this whole time.”

“Oh, there is, the other Laflamme! Come on, you can say it. I’m still a weakling.”

Marissa glanced at the group standing behind Alan for a moment before whispering in his ear. “Nah. I won’t tease you tonight, Ghost. At least not that much.”

As she stepped back, Alan’s gaze landed on the third Shooting Star, who frowned slightly at him. She spoke first. “Nice to meet you. I’m Brenda Hannes, from Shooting Stars’ Strikers Division.”

“Hi, Brenda, nice meeting you!” Alan stretched out his hand to her. “Strikers, huh? That sounds cool! What do they do?”

Brenda examined Alan’s hand for a moment and decided to ignore it. “We’re the ones that specialize in close quarters combat,” she explained and looked away.

Alan shrugged her attitude off and presented each member of his guild. Clara acted rowdy as always, and the NPCs spoke in a cordial manner. Marissa found Sloochie adorable, and Brenda took interest in Dylak, who tried her best to gather as little attention to her as possible.

Finished with the introductions, Alan turned to Oscar. “So, what brought you here?”

“I’m here to represent Astrid Bradford.” Oscar straightened up, making himself look even taller. “There’s certain info I’d like to discuss with you in private, Alan.”

Alan’s eyes widened. “I… see! If that’s the case, come on in! And why don’t you stay for dinner?”

“That’s right! We were going to throw a party anyway,” Clara chimed in, hugging Alan’s neck. “We’re going to celebrate that our Guild Master has reached level 30. What do you say?”

“W-We don’t want to be a bother at all!” Oscar replied, forgetting his tough-guy persona. “Talking to Alan would only take a few--”

“We’d like to hang out,” Marissa interrupted, prompting Brenda by her side to glare at her. “I brought a couple of bottles of wine that I bet will make Amelia go crazy.”

“It’s all settled then!” Clara grinned, pushing Oscar toward the house. “The more, the merrier! Nya-ha-ha!”

As the group made their way too, Marissa took a moment to whisper at Brenda. “You don’t even have to say it. I know you hate this, but please, I need this. I’d make it up to you later. Yes?”

“It’s okay,” Brenda said, wrinkling her nose. “I know why you’re doing this, so don’t mess it up.” She then looked Marissa in the eyes. “Although you never mentioned why she’s so upset with you.”

Marissa sighed and averted her gaze. “Because I kept secrets from her…”

“Come on…” Brenda snickered. “There has to be something else.”

“…Let’s go.”

*

*

*

It was in their nature for the NPCs to serve dinner. Even if Alan had told them that everyone in the guild was equal, the NPCs were always the first to bring the food, to open beer bottles, to take the dishes and clean.

Once everyone had a place at the table, the servants ate and drank too. Although programmed to eat and differentiate flavors, they never fought for the last chicken wing or asked for seconds. For them, eating was something the system told them to do and nothing else.

Brenda knew all that, and yet, she could see the face of the NPC called Dylak light up every time she put a piece of strawberry shortcake in her mouth. Brenda double-checked the info the system was giving her and confirmed it, the woman with platinum hair and red eyes belonged to a User just like the Slime sitting in the other corner of the table, sampling every dish available.

“What are you?” Brenda asked Dylak, and the digital woman in front of her stopped munching.

Dylak swallowed first before smirking. “I’m just me. I’m what you see… So tell me, what do you see, Ms. Hannes?”

“Forget it,” Brenda grunted as she turned to check on Marissa’s progress. Despite the two Laflamme sisters sitting in front of each other, neither seemed eager to initiate a conversation. “This is going to be a long night…” Brenda muttered to herself before throwing a frowny look at the Guild Master sitting next to the slime.

Alan said something to Oscar, and the two stood up from the table.

“Could you do that for me, Clara?” Brenda heard Alan say, and the aforementioned woman kept her gaze glued to her User Interface as she devoured fries.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m already on it.”

*

“This is my workshop. We can talk here”, Alan said to Oscar as he flicked on the lights and offered him a wooden stool to sit on.

What Oscar recognized as a camera drone was opened, and its components were spread across a workbench. A collection of firearms were forming a line inside a display case, and what seemed to be a discarded land vehicle lay in the back.

Although the place was full of artifacts and trinkets, Oscar never thought of it as messy. He could picture himself working there every day, and he would always find what he needed.

“So…” Alan began, leaning against the workbench. “What’s up?”

“Before we start, let me give proof that what I said is true. You should’ve received a message from my Guild Master a moment ago. Could you verify that, please?”

A message from Astrid? Alan thought, slightly frowning. As soon as he opened his User Interface, there it was, above every other notification. It read:

Astrid: Hi, Alan! It’s been a while, huh? Well, straight to the point. Is my friend Oscar there? If he is, good! He’s there to retrieve the goods. You can totally count on him. Bye!

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“What goods?” Alan asked, and Oscar cleared his throat.

“That’s the excuse she came up with to send me here. She suspects your inbox may be compromised.”

That’s the same thing Ricardo Silva told me months ago.

“So, her ‘you can count on him’ bit refers to…”

“Yes. Every info I share with you will be as if it was coming out of Astrid’s lips herself. You can also rely on me to deliver any message you want.”

Alan bit his lower lip without noticing. Knowing that Astrid relied on this man as her most close confidant definitely sent a piercing sensation to his chest.

Stay cool… I trust Amelia in the same way too. Don’t think too much about it.

“All right then,” Alan said, smiling mildly. “I’m all ears.”

Oscar glanced at the door, as if he was fearing someone would barge in suddenly. “This is about the Londorus incident.”

Images of a leveled city, a gargantuan two-headed dragon, and an evil woman with white hair and skin as pale as the moon crossed Alan’s mind all at once.

“What about it?”

“I was there too, remember?” Oscar spoke softly, and it may have been his imagination, but Alan could swear this huge guy was slightly trembling. “I even fought that mysterious woman in black…”

“Yes. And when she caught up with me later on, it told me everything I needed to know about the battle’s result.”

“She was after you, Alan,” Oscar said bluntly.

“I know…”

Oscar chuckled looking away, her expression turning somber for a second, as if he could still remember that dark day vividly. “Then you must also know that the woman in black knew exactly where to find you…”

That info was not new. The fact that Amelia Laflamme appeared that day out of nowhere too and helped him fight the enemy was quite suspicious.

Alan finally gathered the courage to ask her about it one month after founding Phantom Seekers together. That night, she was enjoying a glass of wine on the rooftop. She snickered first, but after a long moment of silence and a sigh, she confessed.

“I was spying on you on behalf of Kathleen Maher... My then new boss was eager to take revenge for the humiliation you and your beloved ‘Ex-Guildfriend’ made her pass in front of her entire guild. Kat prepared a little surprise for you that day, and I was her accomplice... Oh, and my old bestie too. She was supposed to be the one to twist a knife in your heart… Figuratively speaking, of course.”

Alan took a deep breath before speaking. “Amelia told me about it. Before quitting Death Bringers, she helped Kathleen Maher and Karen Svensson prepare a trap on me on Lancesmith Bridge. But the woman in black appeared first.”

“That’d explain the fake Astrid…” Oscar said to himself before meeting Alan’s frown. “Ah, right. Astrid--the real one--told us she encountered someone impersonating her getting a beating by the other terrorist… a woman named Scarlett.”

Amelia never mentioned an 'Astrid impersonator'... Was that the 'dagger pointing at my heart'?

"Does Astrid suspect Kathleen is involved with the terrorists?"

"No. Why send Karen in the first place?" Oscar replied, folding his arms. "And that Scarlett gal wouldn't have attacked the 'Fake Astrid' if she was in cahoots with them."

"But that doesn't discard the other Death Bringers that knew about this so-called prank, right?" Alan continued. "Oscar… I've already thought about all this."

"Sure. Astrid says you're quite smart." Oscar smiled, and Alan wondered if it was a genuine, friendly expression. "She just wanted to make sure you haven't lost your sharpness…” He chuckled. “You know, she wishes that Amelia is the culprit. That'd make things easier for her, she says."

"Well, that's not the case, though."

"I know, I know. She's part of your guild, so you trust her unconditionally. Unfortunately, we can't say the same about our people."

"What do you mean?"

"If a Death Bringer was not involved, then someone from our guild may have followed you that day and informed the woman called Serenity about your location," Oscar said without being able to look Alan in the eye. "Someone that didn't quit like the rest of Marco's followers… Someone that still resides at our HQ to this day."

I also thought about that possibility…

"Is that why you're so secretive about this?"

"Alan, no one from Shooting Stars knows what I'm about to tell you with the exception of Astrid… And I'm only involved because of chance! I… We—" He cleared his throat and gulped the drink he had brought with him. "...We know about your search for the Singular."

Alan's first reaction was to deny it. "What? What do you mean by that? I don't…"

"The Singular managed to infiltrate the Novus. You were sent to look for it. And these people… these terrorists wanted to silence you."

The way he's saying it… It's kinda vague. As if he doesn't know the exact details.

"Who told you all that?"

Oscar pulled out something from his inventory, as if he was waiting for that moment. "Here."

It was a card with a name written on it, 'Carlos Fuente,' and the logo of a bow and arrow at the back.

"Who's this?"

"The closest we have to a clairvoyant here in The Novus."

"Bullshit."

"Of course you reacted the same as I did, but you should meet him. He knows things…"

"Is he the one that told Astrid about the 'you know what'?"

"YES! I just happened to be with her that day when Carlos suddenly showed up at her café. They talked for about an hour while I waited outside. He told her about you being monitored 24 hours a day, and when he glanced at me, he said, 'you can trust this one to be your messenger'... As if… As if he knew my involvement in this whole scenario wasn't as impactful…" Oscar took a second to breathe and pointed at the card. "Astrid wants you to meet him. He… this Carlos guy, may be able to help you find a solution to… whatever this is."

Alan looked at the card with dread. Using a ‘clairvoyant’ to find the Singular? Isn't this the same as cheating? It may be, if this guy is not a fraud!

Alan could only imagine what Ashley would say: 'We must use any tools at our disposal…'

Yes. That's what she'd say.

"All right," Alan finally said, saving the card in his Inventory. "Tell Astrid I'll meet him."

"So it's true…" Oscar said, uneasy. "That the Singular is here…"

"I thought you firmly believed what Carlos said."

"Yes, but, hearing it from you… It all kind of makes sense now. Your three-year absence… The fact that the woman in black was looking for you at Londorus, and then a second time at Unus Town… Why hasn't she attacked you again all this time?"

Because she knows I can't do anything yet. Because I have no clues about her location or her real identity…

"Who knows," Alan replied.

Oscar remained silent for a bit, and his face reflected that he was struggling with what he was going to say next. "...P-Please forgive me, Alan. For kidnapping you that day. I swear I…"

"Forget that. Okay?"

***

**

*

When Alan led Oscar to his workshop, Amelia Laflamme also rose from her seat and walked all the way to the home’s back door. Marissa, who followed her with her gaze, took a moment to exhale deeply, gulp the rest of her wine, and stand up.

“Good luck,” Brenda whispered to her.

Crossing that hallway turned out to be a taxing task. Marissa’s knees were shaking, and her feet seemed to weigh a hundred pounds. Her heart even threatened to escape her chest, pounding like crazy.

Why was she so afraid? This was her sister, and it was not as if they had a big fight or anything, right? But… They had stopped talking for half a year.

If it was not a big deal, why did Amelia stop responding to her PMs?

Outside, the moonlight illuminated a garden of red roses carefully arranged to form a skull. Was that the Phantom Seekers emblem?

To her left, Amelia was sitting on a bench, arms and legs crossed. There was a free spot to sit by her side.

Marissa slowly took a seat. Her hands were already sweaty. “Can we finally talk about this?” she asked, her tone sounding like a plea.

“About what?”

“About hiding from you my secret job.”

“What job?” Amelia snickered loudly, gaze pointing forward. “Wait, are you talking about your secret ‘idol escapades’? Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t know you considered performing in concerts for the biggest star in all of Novus a ‘job’! Stupid me.”

“Come on, Red, give me a break! If I’d told you I’m Miss Cosmica’s backup dancer, you’d have constantly asked me to meet HER!”

“And that would’ve only created problems for your boss, am I right?”

“You’d have hated me if I had told you the truth, anyway! Especially considering who SHE is!”

“Was keeping it a secret until it blew up in your face a better alternative then?!”

“What I’m saying is that regardless of how I had handled it, you were always going to react like this!”

“Why do something that’d make you feel guilty then?! Fully knowing I loathe that--!”

Marissa stood up, red-faced. “Because this doesn’t have to do with you! If you haven’t realized, I’M NOT YOU, so I don’t share that HATE-BONER you have for HER! Because I found something else besides fighting in this fake-ass world! I learned how to dance, sing, and perform because I wanted to do it, and Astrid gave me the chance!”

“Fine, I get it. You don’t have to yell…” Amelia said in a low voice, prompting Marissa to nod and return to the bench.

“G-Good!”

Amelia chuckled. “‘Hate-Boner’? Seriously?”

“Sorry. That’s something Helen always says, and I was carried away.”

“I liked your performances, you know...”

“Do you really mean it?”

“Of course I do. I used to be her biggest fan, remember? That included you, ‘Nebuline’.”

“Wait, why are you talking in the past tense?”

“Because since the very moment I learned the truth, I can’t endure watching or listening to her ever again, so I’ll just assume you’re still doing a good job--But that doesn’t matter! Do whatever makes you happy.”

“Are we good now, then?”

“Of course we are. I forgave you months ago, but I didn’t know how to speak to you. This little bickering was just me venting out.”

“Got it…” Marissa nodded, pursing her lips. “Um. So, if we’re good, can I ask you something?”

“Being in this guild is my choice, Marissa. Nothing too profound about it.”

“Sis, just be honest with me… Are you guys dating?”

“W-WHY ARE YOU--W-WITH WHOM?!”

***

**

*

When Alan and Oscar returned to the living room, they found Brenda Hannes and Clara Domínguez singing the latest Miss Cosmica’s song on karaoke. Brenda was even dancing along and genuinely smiling, something Alan did not expect at all.

Amelia and Marissa returned too and also watched the show. “She’s a good girl, Alan,” Marissa said in his ear due to the loudness filling the room. “Sorry if she was acting a little rude earlier on.”

“I already knew that, or you wouldn’t have brought her with you, am I right?” He paused and pointed at Amelia with his gaze. “Have you worked on your differences?”

Marissa only smiled at him while Fabio stepped up carrying a tray and offered them drinks.

“Hey, Clara!” Alan called out when the song was finished. “Is the post ready yet?”

“Of course, Guild Master! I already published it. I’ll let you know as soon as the first solicitors contact me.”

“Could you fill me in, Alan?” Amelia inquired, crossing her arms and arching one eyebrow. Marissa knew what all that combined meant.

“I took your advice!” Alan replied, half-smiling. “I asked Clara to post that we’re in need of a healer. I just hope that someone is willing to join us.”

“Oh!” Amelia pouted her lips and started curling one strand of red hair with her index finger. “I advised you about it a while ago, didn’t I? Good!” Amelia grinned awkwardly and took a long sip of her bottle.

Seeing her big sister’s reaction prompted Marissa to squint at her. “...Seriously?” She then blinked, now realizing what she had just heard. “Wait. Alan? Are you looking for a healer?”

“That’s right! We’ve been doing well until just recently. Boss Battles are becoming more complex the more we advance and…” He suddenly chuckled. “What am I saying? Talking about things you've already gone through a long time ago!"

"But I'm a little puzzled here," Marissa began, narrowing her eyes at him. "What about Uncle Nicholas? Or is there a specific reason you're not considering him for the job?"

Amelia spat out her drink and started coughing.

Alan frowned. “I'm sorry, who?”

“MY uncle Nicholas!” Marissa shouted. “Nicholas Laflamme? That happens to be a healer? He logged into The Novus too. Has Amelia never told you about him?!”

“N-No… Amelia never mentioned an ‘uncle healer’.”

Marissa shook her head and turned to Amelia, shrieking, “What the fuck, sis?!”

When Amelia recovered her breath and looked around, she found that every single person there--real and digital--was staring at her.

“Does, ‘sorry, I’m a very ditzy girl,’ work as an excuse?” she asked aloud, giggling nervously.