Anton parked the LAV near the lobby of Norbva’s Adventure Terminal. The building looked similar to the one back in Mitte, with its theme color being the only major difference. Unlike the orange one back in Mitte, this one had a pink color. Anton and Kayla followed Sophie and Charlotte into the building. Thanks to Kayla’s request, Anton found himself once again roped into a quest he didn’t have much interest in.
Inside, four other girls waited. Two of them wore yellow armbands, signaling that they were AI. Seeing them, Anton noticed something and held Kayla back.
“Is Charlotte an AI?” he whispered. She, unlike the other AI, didn’t have a yellow armband. AI companions could be dressed up to hide their yellow armband, though.
“Didn’t she say that they’re together in university?” Kayla asked, pointing toward Charlotte.
“Charlotte? You mean Sophie and those two, right?” Anton glanced as the group, another group of six, started talking with each other. At this point, Anton couldn’t help but feel like a babysitter for kids, even if the kids he babysit were middle schoolers and older. The two looked at each other, not understanding the question.
“So... You want me to confirm it with them?”
“Maybe not,” Anton answered before lightly pushing Kayla toward the group.
“I’ll be waiting in the Five-Seven,” he said before turning around.
“Why do I feel like this is going to bite us back later…,” Kayla muttered before heading back toward the group.
Anton made his way back toward the parked LAV. As he crossed his arms and leaned back on his vehicle, he looked at the scenery surrounding him. A mix of apartment and office buildings occupied the landscape. This region felt more like a city compared to Mitte.
He noticed the cloud moving in the distance, its dark gray form covering the bright blue sky. He opened his virtual screen and checked the weather forecast. Heavy rain would soon fall upon the city, but the surrounding areas didn’t seem to be affected by it. As he waited, he thought about the mission.
He didn’t remember much about the quest, but based on the name alone, anyone could tell that their mission involved the forest. He tried to remind himself of the quest he took all those while ago. He remembered doing it with Kayla, he remembered completing it after a long, exhausting fight. He remembered almost dying during the mission, but he couldn’t remember what the mission itself was about.
He remembered that it involved a jungle, and he remembered that it was very hard, but what made it hard?
He had a feeling that the group of six would come out from the terminal, approached him, and asked him to help, especially since he and Kayla went through the same mission before. He couldn’t guarantee that he would be helpful, however. He didn’t even know if he could bring the Five-Seven into the forest.
He glanced toward the terminal’s double glass door. They opened, revealing seven people coming out, with Kayla leading their way. He hopped back into the LAV and went straight for the driver’s seat.
“Be careful, it’s rather cramped,” Kayla said as she got in. She went toward the turret operator’s seat, a seat usually occupied by Anton. Everyone else sat down on the chairs on the sides of the vehicles.
“Ah, he’s Anton, and he would be taking us there,” Kayla said, introducing him to the rest of the group. Anton didn’t bother to say anything and just raised his hand.
“Hi, I’ll send you the quest invitation,” one of the girls said. A quest confirmation then came onto his screen. Anton accepted the invitation and joined the party. The rest of the girls then introduced themselves. The other two girls were Daisy and Michal, with Lucy and Lea being the AI companions.
“Everyone’s on?” Kayla asked. The girls looked at each other and nodded.
“Alright, let’s go,” she said. Anton drove the LAV out of the terminal and followed the map further up north, toward the forest. The girls started chatting in the rear, the voices of their excited murmurs filling up the vehicle. Anton kept his eyes on the road, the driver’s hatch opened. His ears, however, caught snippets of their conversation. They discussed various things like university, hobbies, and other things.
The three confirmed AI in the group, Kayla and the other two AI all participated in the conversation, making it feel like he was the only NPC in the vehicle.
Is this all recorded, I wonder.
Anton’s original goal was to travel the world with Kayla, create memories with her that could be used to maintain her personality if the game ended. That plan had met several delays, all thanks to the constant new events that popped out of thin air. But, even so, did all of this count as making memories? Shouldn’t it count as making memories?
If Kayla’s programming retains them, and Kayla’s character grows because of it…
Anton then arrived at an intersection, stopping as he waited for the red light. He used this chance to turn his head around, looking at the seven girls that sat in the rear of his vehicle, laughing after one of them made a joke. Even Charlotte smiled with them. It looked fun, it truly did, but Anton knew better than to barge in.
So, if Kayla had fun, does that make everything worth it? Even if she lost her memory, shouldn’t this experience still shape her, turn her into a more complete version of herself?
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As Anton sat there, waiting under the red lights to pass, he thought about the last few hours inside the game. His time in the game hadn’t even equaled an entire day yet, but it all felt so long. Maybe he shouldn’t be focusing on all the stunning locations that he had yet to visit. Maybe, instead of thinking about it all, he should be more like those girls.
Laughing so loudly to the point it became annoying.
Maybe he should be more like Kayla, more willing to lend a helping hand to those who need him. That meant less time for travel, but at the end of the day, he did create memories.
Mana and Jerrico. Rito. Ronald, Cecily, Caleb, Mia, Luke, Lily, and Barnum. And now, Sophie, Charlotte, and her friends.
Well, he couldn’t just enter this group all of a sudden, it would make everything awkward, especially with him being the only boy in the group. Still, maybe he should try to relax a little, laugh a bit more. He looked at his balance, its number still beyond what most players in the game had, even beating those who paid huge amounts of money to play the game.
Oh Kayla… just what did you do to me, he sighed.
The light turned green. He pressed on the gas, the LAV taking up speed once more as it followed the tracks. He glanced one more time at his balance before closing the screen. He then saw a weapons shop on the right side of the road.
A little bit won’t hurt, right? Anton thought as he pulled the LAV over.
* ••
“So, what with the change of heart?” Kayla whispered to Anton’s ears. Anton stood further away from the group, near the entrance, right beside some jackets on display. Kayla had been helping the girls, but for some reason, she decided to come and talk to him.
“Am I not allowed to be nice?”
“It’s not about that,” Kayla said in an exasperated tone.
“But still, you look like you’re enjoying yourself.”
“I’m trying to enjoy this. I mean, whose fault is it that we kept getting dragged into stuff like this?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s mine. But still, won’t helping others make you happy?” Kayla asked.
“I still don’t care, to be honest. But… Well, I just realized that maybe this is better for you.”
“Aww, so you’re sacrificing everything for me?”
“... I guess?”
Kayla let out a laugh as she looked at Anton’s serious face.
“Sis, what do you think about this?” one of Sophie’s friends, Daisy, asked while holding a pistol in her hands. Kayla winked at Anton and jogged away. Seeing Kayla act all cheerful like that brought a smile to Anton’s face.
“Wow, you look cool in that!”
On the other side of the store, Anton heard the words of Sophie. In front of her stood Charlotte, holding a heavy-looking weapon in her hands. She held a two-handed, black longsword, one devoid of any carvings or decoration. Its blade had rough edges at one side, its size only slightly smaller than Charlotte herself. She nodded meekly.
“Is that thing heavy? It must be heavy.”
“No… not really…” Charlotte said. She then tried holding it in one hand, made sure the area in front of her was clear, and carefully swung it around. She then handed it over to Sophie.
Sophie touched it and held it in one hand, before returning it to Charlotte.
“Ah, the two-handed sword! It’s quite light despite its looks.” Kayla said while approaching them.
“Yeah, I was surprised by the weight. Still a bit heavy, though”
Kayla noticed Charlotte holding it in one hand.
“You need both hands for best results,” Kayla said.
“... You think I should use this?” Charlotte asked, she moved her left hand so it too held the sword’s hilt. Her words triggered something within Anton. He remembered something relating to a sword.
What was it?
It didn’t have anything to do with that sword specifically, but he couldn’t remember the details. Was a sword the key item? Did one of their enemies wield a sword? Did Kayla wield a sword?
“I think you should use what you like.”
Charlotte then gripped the sword’s black hilt and nodded. The game could randomly generate a variety of AI, with various differing personalities. Kayla, being an AI companion, couldn’t detect another companion unless she was either told about it or saw the AI’s yellow armband. Even a low-level AI companion would be helpful in the quest. With that in mind, Anton steeled himself and called Sophie over. Sophie glanced his way and stepped toward him.
“What is it?” she asked curiously.
“Is Charlotte an AI?” Anton asked. Sophie looked at him, looking a bit bewildered. She then looked back at Charlotte, who, at that moment, listened to Kayla as she explained the weapon.
“I’m the AI.”
“... It really did bite me back, didn’t it?”
“I assume Kayla said something about it before?”
“She just said that it will bite us back, somehow.”
“... Charlotte, huh?” Sophie turned around and stood beside Anton, looking at Charlotte.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m worried for her.”
“I understand.”
“You do?”
Anton nodded to her words.
“Then, can you help me look after her? Kayla would definitely be happy if you do.”
“Fine… don’t bring Kayla into this, though.”
Sophie then smiled and walked back toward the two.
So she’s the AI.
Now that Anton thinks about it, Sophie being the AI did make sense. She had no problems with speaking, and would be very helpful to Charlotte who had trouble communicating.
Watch over her…
As he looked toward that section of the store, Anton noticed Kayla giving the sword back to Charlotte. Daisy and her AI companion, Lucy, walked up to Kayla and said something. Kayla turned toward Anton and jogged lightly.
“No running in the store.”
Kayla pouted for a second, before resuming with what she wanted to say.
“How much is the budget?”
“...”
Anton didn’t answer. He opened up his virtual money and transferred some funds to Kayla.
“This is… a lot…”
“Because you’re buying basic ones.”
“They’re not that basic. Still, this is quite generous.”
“Thanks.”
Kayla then smiled at Anton before taking the group of six toward the cashier. Anton, meanwhile, stepped out of the store and returned to the Five-Seven.