After going past the dirt road that connected the village and the river, Anton let out a relieved sigh. He checked his map. They now parked outside the zone. The quest didn’t guarantee that their enemies wouldn’t chase them here, but not many roads connected the waterfront to the village, so they wouldn’t need to watch as many angles.
Kayla drove the LAV across the sand. She then turned the vehicle so that the heavily armored front side faced the village. After that, she, too, let out a relieved sigh.
“Is this a beach?” Anton asked, looking through his cameras. Anton then stood up. Kayla glanced at him and opened the rear hatch. He headed for the rear of the vehicle before jumping off, landing on the soft sand near him.
Just then, droplets of water started falling from the sky. He couldn’t get sick, so the unwanted shower acted as no more than a slight annoyance for him. The LAV could also probably handle some wet terrain, although they would need to be more careful. Anton heard the sound of footsteps approaching him, walking above the sand.
“You think this will extinguish that burning tank?”
“I hope no one’s inside when it burns,” Kayla said.
“Sometimes you’re too nice, Kayla,” Anton said, shaking his head.
“But I guess that’s also a charming part of you,” he continued, looking at the moon and stars that decorate the night sky, some covered by the large clouds that floated freely.
“...”
Kayla remained silent, however, prompting him to turn to her. She stood near the LAV’s exit, standing in the rain, holding her hand behind her, her face facing toward Anton. So little of her was visible underneath all those clothing items, but even so, he couldn’t help but feel her gaze.
It felt sad, somehow. Worried, concerned. He couldn’t tell why she felt that way, especially with what little expression visible on her face. She stepped forward, bringing herself right next to him. She then opened her arms and hugged him.
“Kayla…?” he asked as she buried her head in his chest, similar to how she did it back in the Adventure Terminal. He could hear her breath coming from behind her mask.
“Nothing…” she whispered, her voice muffled by the cloth in front of her mouth.
“...” Anton just stood there, silent. Eventually, Kayla let go and pulled herself away. They stood there amid the rain, not exchanging a word. Some time passed. Anton noticed the lack of a response from Ronald. He turned on his voice chat before he spoke.
“Ronald?”
‘We got lost.’ Louis replied.
‘We’ll arrive there, eventually. Argh, this rain, man!’ he said. Anton then turned off his voice chat.
“So he too can feel annoyed, huh?” he mumbled, his words attracting Kayla’s attention.
“Want to know?”
Kayla nodded. Anton then turned around and sat down on the LAV’s opened rear door, which acted as a ramp. Kayla came and sat down right of him. He made sure one more time that the voice chat had indeed been turned off.
“I was a weak boy back then, weaker than the average. So, I would become the victim of his bullying. I’ve moved on, so it’s not like I actively think about it, but when the memory did return, I felt… like something’s not complete.”
“You’re scared?”
“No, actually, I’m not scared.”
“Right… you’re not the one running away when you meet him.”
“I’m curious about that as well… but, to put it simply, it felt like I completed the main quest, but was one side quest away from getting one hundred percent. I don’t necessarily need it, but I think it feels nice to get it. One last fight, close the chapter, then move on, for real this time.”
“I’ll do everything I can to help you with that.”
“I trust you will.”
“So, what do you want me to do?”
Anton thought about it. He hadn’t thought about anything yet. The last time he met Louis, Louis ran at the sight of him. The last time he met him before that was during the school’s graduation ceremony, where Louis refused to even look at Anton.
Now, they played on the same team, trying to achieve the same goal. Anton thought about how to hide his identity from him, but other than that, nothing.
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Should he confront him? Should he talk to him? Should he even do anything? Would just letting him go be the best possible solution?
“How about somehow getting it just us two? Wait, no, that wouldn’t be good.”
Louis didn’t know anything about Lykon, Anton’s current avatar, nor did Lykon have anything to do with Louis. It would be awkward leaving just the two of them together. They then heard the sound of a vehicle coming into the beach and promptly stood up, finding Ronald’s IFV approaching them. The vehicle came to a stop next to the LAV. The crew of four then got out.
“So, what should we do?” Ronald asked immediately after leaving.
Kayla went up to him, pulled him slightly away from the rest, whispered something to his ears, then typed in a message using her virtual screen. Ronald looked at the message, the text itself not visible, before typing something himself.
“Anyway, we’re going to do some scouting. I’ll take Cecily and Rito with me,” Kayla said, heading into Ronald’s IFV with the other AI companions with her.
“I’ll call my father, ask him if he can provide support,” Ronald said, jumping into the IFV behind the AIs. The IFV closed its rear door and drove off, leaving Anton and Louis standing there behind the LAV, the red lights from the LAV’s rear faintly shining on their surroundings.
“What the…” Louis muttered, bewildered. He folded his hands and looked toward Anton, who was as equally baffled as him. Louis let out a wry smile and scratched his cheeks.
“Lykon, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…” Anton replied awkwardly. He then checked the voice chat, again making sure it was muted.
The past was long behind him. If he could build a new relationship with Louis, one that didn’t involve him being the victim, would it all be alright? He hadn’t forgiven the man in front of him, per se, but he didn’t really have that want for revenge anymore.
Well, it sure would be nice if he could get that revenge, but he no longer chased after it like police chasing a criminal. Should he do that now? But he didn’t even know Louis’ strengths, it would be embarrassing if he tried and failed.
The two fell silent again, not knowing what to talk about. At that moment, Anton’s thoughts instead hovered toward Kayla, the AI girl that accompanied him all this way, to this very moment of his life. He found himself wanting her back, wanting her to be here, to guide him. That couldn’t be the case forever. Eventually, he would need to find a new job, continue his life as usual, working from morning to late at night.
He couldn’t always rely on her, he knew that much, but that didn’t make him want her any less.
“So… what kind of player are you?”
To Anton’s surprise, Louis was the one who started first.
“A hybrid between a mage and a physical wielder.”
He couldn’t tell which style he fell into, especially since he wasn’t using an actual weapon. Was he a swordsman? Or maybe a spearman? Or maybe a mage, since the staff counts as a magic weapon?
“I see… I’m a dedicated swordsman, but I do know some spells.”
“Like?”
“Campfire, Gust, Mud, those kinds of spells.”
All of them were weak spells that dedicated mages and magicians would rarely use during combat, but they did fit into Louis’ role as a swordsman. Campfire would be used to distract opponents, especially since it had the look of a dangerous fire, Gust could create a soft wind that distracted the enemy, while Mud could hinder their movements and even cause someone to slip if they’re not careful.
“Any higher-level spells?”
“No, not really. I use a sword, so even if I can use them, it's not like they will be very effective.”
“What sword are you using?”
“This one,” Louis pulled the sword out of his inventory, materializing it in his hands. He then showed it to Anton. It was a very simple sword, with a sharp blade and a dark green hilt. Anton checked its properties, noticing a lack of any considerable stats. A weak sword, one so weak that it had comparable stats to the physical properties of his Priest’s Staff but without Steel Strike.
If he used Steel Strike, then his staff would absolutely destroy this joke of a sword.
Is he not high-level?
Anton wondered as he returned the weapon to Louis’ hands. He met Louis in the space station, but starship tickets weren’t that expensive, and some quests provided transport costs as well.
“You’re new?”
“Kind of. Old account, but I rarely play.”
“Why?”
“Eh… real life things…” he said, shrugging. Looking at him only made Anton more curious. Talking with him here filled him with mixed feelings. The way he talked, the way he acted, all felt different from the old him. He no longer feared him, nor did he feel particularly angry.
Maybe he changed as well.
Living a new life, far disconnected from the old him.
Maybe Anton just didn’t realize it, but he himself had truly moved on from his past, or maybe it was just him changing his avatar. As they stood there, under the pour of rain, Anton mumbled some words.
“... Hey Louis.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you remember Anton?”
Anton glanced toward Louis, noticing his virtual avatar tensing up. Louis glanced at him. Anton could see what looked like virtual sweat going down his head, mixed with the droplets coming from the rain. It looked similar, but it was different. Maybe it came from the game’s inability to render rain and water exactly the same as the real world, or maybe the game detected some strong emotions coming from him, or maybe something entirely different.
Maybe the game didn’t even do anything, maybe it was just Anton feeling like he noticed something. Louis looked around, his eyes darting all over the place. He started kicking the sand, his hands behind his back.
“Umm… Which Anton, exactly?” Louis asked.
“Anton Frido.”
Louis took a step back after hearing that name.
“Who are you?” he asked with a slight shiver.
“Seemed like you have quite the history with him,” Anton said, materializing his magic staff from his inventory.
“Lykon…? Do you know him?” Louis asked after taking another step back.
“I am him.”