While You Slept
Lua opened her eyes.
Her breathing was calm, deep. As if she had finally rested for the first time in centuries.
The silence in the room was unusualbut comforting. Beside her, the bed was empty. Liora was no longer there, though Lua could clearly remember how, every night, the little one would come and lie beside her. And every morning, before dawn, she would leave without a sound. Like a little worker ant, always moving, even when no one was watching.
Lua got up slowly. Her body still felt somewhat heavy… but it was different. It was the comforting weight of someone who, for the first time in years, had slept without interruption. Without war. Without fear.
When she opened the door to her home, she paused.
The building was complete. Two stories, white-painted walls, decorative details on the windows. A real home. Her home.
And it wasn"t the only one.
From the porch, her gaze swept across the village… and the change was undeniable. Two new houses had also been completed. One of them was clearly designed for sharing: multiple entrances, exterior stairs, several balconies. A communal house, ideal for six players. The other was more ambitiousa large workshop with an inner hallway and numbered doors. Clearly a shared working space.
Next to her home, on Liora"s land, a large store had been built. It had a solid roof, shelves filled with magical items, and visible prices. And out front, as always, was Linda, attending to players with natural elegance, guiding them with patience and charisma. Players came and went constantly.
Lua gave a faint smile.
She had handed out all the available invitations to Loli and her group… but SIA kept generating more as energy recovered. Two per day. So, in addition to the initial fifty, fourteen more players had arrived during the week. The village was starting to fill.
And to clean itself up.
There were no more ruins or burned-down houses. Just cleared land, stacked lumber, and buildings under construction. A group of twenty players worked on the wall. The destroyed sections were now covered by reinforced wooden barricades. It looked temporary, but effectivethey used the wood as support and planned to fill in with stone. Lua silently approved of the strategy.
In the center of the village, Joe and Dean were gathering a small group of players, handing out equipment before heading out. Most likely to the ant cave.
That"s when SIA s voice echoed gently in her mind.
"Boss, it was about time you woke up. I discovered new system functions," she said cheerfully.
"Mm. Later," Lua replied, watching life move with a rhythm that no longer depended on her. For the first time, she didn t mind.
"Of course. By the way… would you like a summary of what happened while you were asleep? I kept a very close eye on everything. Both in-game and in their real lives."
That got Lua"s attention.
"Tell me," she said, and looked for a place to sit.
SIA didn t hesitate.
"Let"s start with the real world. It seems the ones in control over there raised the prices of everything. They also increased the mandatory tribute in mana vials. That led to a minor uprising… but it was quickly suppressed. A ship appeared, heavily armed. The message was clear: no resistance allowed.
Except, of course, for our group. This week, they gathered a good number of demon beast cores. Some of them were converted into mana vials to help others. A few players even bought land near your house, forming a small community of their own. They"re good kids."
Lua listened silently. Every sentence reinforced the feeling that something bigger was beginning to take shape.
"Linda, the woman Liora hired, turned out to be excellent at her job. She draws customers with ease, keeps the store well organized, and even made a deal with the builders to set up the place without charging the girl. Technically, her debt is already paid. If she wanted to open her own store, she d succeed… but it seems she simply enjoys watching her daughter create. For her, this is more than just workit"s family."
"Her husband joined the game this week, too. He was worriedand with good reason. In the real world, he"s an elf hunter. Yes, one of those. But he specializes in capturing criminals and dangerous individuals. He"s experienced. The moment he entered, both his wife and daughter trapped him and appointed him as the official material gatherer for the shop. He"s probably in the forest right now."
"I also discovered something about Sally… she apparently has a rare genetic condition. Her body rejects the mana from their world. It forces her to live in hiding. The elves are trying to erase all traces of this "illness." Her father took that job to protect her… though it would be best if Liora didn t find out. It might cause tension, especially because of what happened to her grandmother."
Lua gently clenched her fist.
SIA continued without pause.
"As for the players… Bert spent almost the entire week creating talismans for the adventurers heading to the ant cave. His papers work within the system, though only for novice and skilled-level talismans. Still, his output grew immensely. His profession already reached level 10 in the skilled tier. Same for Liora and Sally. All three progressed at an impressive pace."
"The new talismans include traps, explosions, magic effects… some are so effective that you Don t even need proper equipment to hunt. And Loli… she didn t fall behind. Even though she couldn t cook for you, she dedicated herself to collecting recipes. She even bought some from other players. Her buffs are amazing… and her food, delicious."
"The worker group led by Sig took care of gathering all the materials. They"re her network. And speaking of Sig… she couldn t get more puppet recipes, since they"re hard to find, but she did build a small army. She commands them like a general. They patrol the forest, send reports. They"re her personal surveillance network. Quite efficient, I must say."
*"And speaking of networks, one of the recipes Liora obtained when her profession leveled up was especially useful: the Conversation Pendant," SIA continued. "It allows players to communicate from up to ten kilometers away. Not bad, considering how far apart they can get during expeditions."
"You sound like you're running a military operation," Lua murmured with a faint smile.
"In a way, I am."
There was a brief silence before SIA resumed her report.
"Edward, for example, obtained a new evolution: King Slime. His body has now reached the actual size of a grown adult. While he still has a slight green tint, he no longer looks like he's melting or made of pudding. He can now summon up to five hundred slimes at once, and each one is twice the size of before.
If we combine Edward and Sig, we practically have a fully functional military forcesurveillance, defense, and mass offense. Not bad for just two players."
Lua looked up at the improvised watchtower near the forest. She knew she wasn"t alone in protecting this place… but hearing how far they had come in so little time stirred something unfamiliar. Pride, perhaps.
"Ah, and that workshop you saw… it"s fully operational now. One of the players, the so-called "Crow Witch," obtained a unique recipe: Decorator. Using it, she can increase a structure"s home points, which reduces crafting failure rates and boosts experience gains for professions.
They created that space to rent out by the hour. Players pay to use the tools, the space, and the environmental bonus. A clever way to generate income… I should learn a thing or two from her."
Lua nodded with interest. It was a brilliant use of the system.
"Joe and Dean are also doing their part. They take players to the ant cave to level up. They weaken the creatures and let the others finish them off. Thanks to that, most of the village is already Race Level 2. All of them… except for Polly."
"Polly?"
"Yes. The pixie girl. Unlike the others, her parents see Drunai as a place to relax. They barely do anything. Polly, however, insists on exploring the depths of the ocean. She stands no chance, of course. The sea creatures kill her instantly. But she keeps trying. Again and again.
She s still Level 1. But if we judged by determination alone… she might be the strongest of them all."
Lua let out a soft sigh. What a strange world this was. How human the choices could be in something that was, theoretically, just a game.
"As for the new players… there"s not much to say yet. I selected those with the most potential, some with prior experience… though in their world, barely anyone uses computers anymore. So I took a small initiative."
"What did you do?"
"I spread the word. That here, in Drunai, they might find the help they need to stand against the elves. Risky… I know. But the one supposedly in charge of monitoring the humans seems more interested in collecting tributes than in actually watching what they do.
I m taking advantage of that gap. Though I m keeping all processes vigilant for any anomalies."
Lua remained silent for a few seconds. She couldn t deny itSIA had learned to play by the rules… even the unwritten ones.
"And there"s one more thing."
SIA s voice shifted slightly. No longer cheerful or analytical. It sounded serious.
"While monitoring the players from their world, I noticed something odd. When they reach Race Level 3… their real bodies start changing. Physically."
Lua frowned.
"Changing how?"
"I can t say for certain. I Don t have complete scans of their bodies outside of Drunai. But their strength, speed, and dexterity… are drastically different from when they first entered the game. I noticed it especially in Joe, Dean, Edward… even Alfred, the real vampire. They all reached Level 3, and their bodies are no longer the same.
In fact, Alfred is the only one who seems truly aware of the changes. The others… they just sense something is different."
Lua crossed her arms, her expression thoughtful.
"What about Liora?"
"She… is different. Her body started changing the moment she reached Level 1. Maybe it"s because of her race or her title. I m not sure. But she was the first."
"And her mana? Has it changed too?"
"I can t confirm that. I"d need to scan their real bodies. But if the elves are as vile as they appear to be, I Don t want them finding out. If they learn that humans are evolving beyond their imposed limits… they might act. And not out of kindness."
Lua closed her eyes for a moment, letting the words sink in.
The game was no longer just a game.
And she… was no longer just an administrator.
"Then we can t let them find out."
"I completely agree, boss."