A World That Truly Exists
"Is it really okay?" asked Loli as she floated behind Sig, her voice carrying a slight note of concern.
"Yes, don't worry. Uncle Joe will help them get one or two evolutions, and after that, they'll figure out what to do on their own. After all, it's no coincidence they hold so much power in our city," Sig replied simply. Then his gaze hardened. "Besides, we have many things we need to ask Lua."
Loli immediately understood what he meant. It was obvious: that magical ability Lua had used in the real world… teleportation. Or rather, the racial skill she had gained in her last evolution—spatial movement.
Both of them adopted serious expressions as they walked toward Lua's house.
Inside, they found her sitting with her mother, talking about the village and the imprecise way Lua managed it. In reality, everything depended on the missions she posted on the mission board. There was no real budget. All the mana stones used as currency were obtained by Lua herself through hunting demonic beasts, something unsustainable in the long run. Even SIA felt a bit guilty, especially since the system absorbed all the collected energy.
Meanwhile, Liora lay peacefully resting, her head on Lua's lap, while Lua gently stroked her hair.
"This can't go on, Lua. You said the empress is below and there are plenty of mana stone mines. You'll have to stop being lazy and handle it yourself. We could open a mine outside the forest where players could go in and work. They'd keep a percentage of what they gather, and the rest would go to the village. We need real economic support. Everything costs money, even building the wall. You're taking too much advantage of them," said Silvia with a serious expression, staring firmly at her daughter.
"They want to do it, I didn't force them. It's SIA's fault! She said it was fine," Lua protested with a slight pout, feeling as though she were a child again, being scolded by her mother.
"Ah, boss! Don't blame me. When the mine was discovered you didn't even bother to explore it. And now I find out you were a demigoddess all along…" SIA complained in her mind, though Lua ignored her.
"A village chief has to take care of much more. The smithy, for example. I heard the players built it themselves, even though it's one of the most important structures for growth. There's no warehouse, no security guards; if more people arrive—even spirits—there will be problems. There's also no training ground. What have you even been doing until now?" questioned Silvia as she reviewed a map of the structures she had seen so far.
"I didn't want to be the village chief. You can take the role back," Lua muttered, puffing her cheeks and looking away.
Loli, who had entered with Sig, nearly fainted at that side of Lua. Accustomed to her stoic demeanor, seeing her pout like a sulking child nearly gave her a heart attack, her eyes sparkling with affection.
At that moment, Lua noticed them and quickly returned to her usual expression before calmly saying:
"Oh, it's you. What brings you here?"
Silvia, still frowning over Lua's irregular way of managing the village, let out a weary sigh.
"Fine, give me that thing you said would let me speak with SIA. I'll take care of everything from now on. But you'll remain the village chief, at least in name," she declared, though as she stopped, her eyes locked onto Lua's with intensity.
"What?" asked Lua, confused by her mother's expression.
"No… I don't think that's possible," murmured Silvia, as if speaking to herself. "You don't resemble her," she added, evoking memories of the past. It was as if, in some way, she was repeating a story she had already lived back when the Empire still existed. "But your personalities are different," she concluded, observing her daughter with a mix of seriousness and melancholy.
At that moment, Liora stirred and slowly opened her eyes.
Lua handed Silvia a merchant's medallion, the only one that could communicate with SIA for now. To use it, a fragment of a mana stone was required. She also passed her a bag filled with stones so she wouldn't have to worry about it.
"Do you want to come with me, sweetheart?" asked Silvia with a loving smile, looking at Liora. "I'm going to inspect the village and see what buildings are missing, so we'll know what needs to be constructed."
"Of course," replied Liora with a cheerful smile.
"Good. If you don't mind, I'll call you Lio. And you can call me grandma," Silvia said tenderly, taking the girl's hand.
"Of course, grandma," Liora answered, even happier.
Lua watched the scene silently until they left, then turned to face Sig and Loli.
"So… what do you want?" she asked bluntly.
"In truth, Lua, we have a very serious question for you. Along with several more that we hope you'll be able to answer," said Sig with a grave look.
"Go ahead," said Lua, pointing at the sofa in front of her, urging them to sit.
"I'll get straight to the point. We already know you're not an artificial intelligence. At first we believed Drunai was a virtual world created by human scientists to help us survive against the elves. But obviously that's impossible," said Sig, staring at her.
"Over time we realized it wasn't that simple," he added afterward.
"What is this world, really?" he asked without hesitation.
"A world," Lua answered with absolute calm, as if stating the obvious.
Sig and Loli exchanged glances, confused at first, until they finally understood what she meant.
"Drunai wasn't created. Not even with your technology could it be. Drunai is an existence. A real world. I don't know exactly how these things work, but you aren't playing: you're traveling from your world into this one. Even if you see it as a game, in reality nothing here is a game at all," Lua explained with complete seriousness.
"So you really exist," said Loli, her face tense.
"Yes," Lua answered calmly.
"And we come from our planet to this one… how? And why?" asked Sig, his tone grave.
"Mmm…" Lua paused for a moment, searching for the right words. "Since the moment you arrived, there was someone else who helped me bring you here and who maintains your bodies as avatars, along with the system of the game. I won't say much more. All I know is that my race needed help… and so did you. It's a connection that benefits both sides and complements us at the same time. From the moment you started evolving, you became part of our race," Lua said firmly. "That's why you came to ask, isn't it? You noticed the changes in your bodies once you evolved. Even though you arrived later than some of your friends… he told me not to say anything until you came, because he wanted to see your faces when you found out."
Sig immediately understood who she meant.
"Uncle Joe," she said with irritation. "He evolved before we did, while we were locked up the whole time. Dean too. And I'm sure Alfred knows as well. Joe probably told him to stay quiet, but his analytical mind couldn't stop studying us and taking notes."
"Wait… you said our race. Does that mean we're no longer human?" Loli asked, surprised and nervous.
"You still are. But your avatars are connected to your souls. As you evolve, your souls evolve as well… and it's possible your human bodies will be forced to evolve along with them. Although, if you wish to remain human, you simply have to stop evolving," Lua explained, watching them calmly.
"You knew all this from the start?" asked Sig, frowning.
"No. I found out when the previous group came to ask. My system is good, but too clumsy to provide truly important information," Lua replied with serenity.
"Boss, that was offensive," SIA protested with annoyance in her mind, but Lua ignored her.
"Who else besides us knows and accepted this fact?" Sig asked.
"The minotaur, the slime, the vampire, the dark elf, the elf, and the earth spirit," Lua listed calmly. "Liora also evolved enough to use her power outside of Drunai. But she doesn't know, because she almost never leaves here."
"Wait—Bert knows too?" asked Sig, surprised.
"And grandpa?" added Loli.
"Yes," Lua answered simply.
"Those bastards…" Sig muttered, her anger now even stronger.
"So, what will you do? Will you remain human?" Lua asked, staring directly into their eyes.
Loli and Sig exchanged a brief glance before answering plainly.
"Nah. We're already on the ride, let's go all the way," Sig said with a crooked smile.
"Maybe we can free ourselves from the elves' slavery. Now that we know this, there's no stopping us," Loli added with a determined smile.
Lua looked at them and smiled softly, knowing that would be their answer. After all, it was the same one the others had given.
Sig, satisfied with having her main question answered, relaxed and glanced sideways at Loli.
"Well, now you've got nothing holding you back," she said, giving her a slap on the back before heading out. "I've got more questions, but I'll save them for later," she added with a mischievous grin as she walked away. "Now I've got some bastards to beat up," she muttered before leaving.
Loli, on the other hand, was left completely confused by everything, and when she realized she was alone with Lua, she grew nervous.
"S-so then… if we can come here, doesn't that mean you could also come to our world?" she asked cautiously—or rather, just to have a topic to talk about.
"Mmm… I never asked myself that," Lua admitted, surprised, while SIA in her mind seemed just as puzzled.
"So it's possible?" Lua asked SIA.
"Well… I don't know," SIA answered with a clumsy laugh that echoed in her head. Lua just rolled her eyes in exasperation.