"Why should I go with you?" Rohan asked, his voice soft but firm. "I don't know you. You were just trying to kill me."
Liriel scoffed, pushing past Lyra to stand closer to Rohan. He looked down at him with an expression of pure disdain.
"We don't need him," Liriel said to his companions, his voice dismissive. "He's useless. He can't even fight back. All he's got are some passive skills from the Aegis and maybe the Ethereal Boots. Those are just defensive. They won't help us kill Chronos. He's a dead end, just an NPC that glitched on us." He looked directly at Rohan, a cruel smile on his face. "Just a shield and a pair of running shoes. We'll be fine on our own."
The insult, the casual dismissal of his very existence, felt like a physical blow. But it also gave Rohan an idea. He was just a shield and a pair of running shoes? Liriel didn't know the full extent of his power.
"He's right," Rohan said, his voice surprisingly calm. "I am useless. I'm not a hero. I'm not the one who should face the final boss. I'm just a glorified punching bag."
Lyra stepped forward, her face a mask of disappointment. "Liriel, stop! He has the Tome-Key! It's our only chance!"
Liriel ignored her, his eyes fixed on Rohan. He drew his sheathed sword and pointed it at him. "You're a waste of our time, kid. We're better off without you."
Lyra's hand went to her crossbow. "Liriel, if you take one more step towards him, I will not hesitate to put an arrow in your knee."
Liriel laughed, a low, guttural sound. "You wouldn't."
He took another step, but this time, Lyra was faster. She pulled her crossbow and aimed. With a sharp THWACK, a bolt flew from the crossbow, not at Liriel's knee, but at his sword arm. Liriel hissed in pain as the bolt struck his leather gauntlet. The gauntlet, not designed for defense, was shredded.
"That was a warning shot," Lyra said, her voice trembling but firm. "Get out of here. Both of you."
Liriel stared at her, then at Brutus, who was now standing with his hand on his sword. The silent knight had made his choice.
"Fine," Liriel spat, his voice laced with venom. "You want to play hero? Have fun dying with a useless NPC." He turned and stomped off into the woods, the hulking form of Brutus following silently behind him. Brutus spared Rohan a quick, apologetic glance before disappearing into the undergrowth.
The sudden quiet was jarring. The tension that had filled the air was gone, replaced by the soft rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of birds. Rohan stood alone with Lyra, the small knife still clutched tightly in his hand.
Lyra took a step closer, her crossbow now unslung and held loosely at her side. She looked at him not with suspicion, but with genuine curiosity.
"They're wrong about you," she said, her voice soft but firm. "I saw how you handled Liriel's attacks. No normal NPC could have done that. And the system log... it's been glitching on all of us. But if it told him you had the Aegis and the Ethereal Boots, then it's probably right about the rest."
Rohan looked at her, his mind reeling. Lyra wasn't just a quest-giver or a loyal party member. She was a player, too. One who had been in this world for a year, just like Liriel. Yet, she seemed different. She wasn't driven by a single-minded need for power or gear.
"I don't know how I'm doing it," Rohan admitted, the words tumbling out. "I don't remember the game. I just… I react. My body moves on its own."
He extended his arm, and in his mind, he willed the legendary shield to appear. Nothing happened. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember the cheat codes, the commands, the hotkeys. But there was only a vast, terrifying emptiness. He opened his eyes, feeling a profound sense of failure.
Lyra just nodded, as if this was what she had expected. "That's how it is for us, too. The game mechanics are gone. It's more like a living, breathing world. We have to learn all over again, to master the skills we thought we knew." She gestured to the knife in his hand. "That's your key, isn't it? The Tome-Key."
The name struck a chord in Rohan's mind, a small flash of recognition. The Tome-Key was a legendary item that unlocked the true potential of the other artifacts. It was the master key.
"But... how did you know?" Rohan asked, bewildered.
"I remember the lore," she said with a wry smile. "I was a Lore Hunter in the game. I spent more time reading the item descriptions and quests than actually playing. The Lost Guardian... he was supposed to be a hermit who tested players before granting them his power. But now… now you're just a kid who doesn't know what he's got."
Lyra knelt beside a log, pulling a waterskin from her pack. She didn't press him to follow, didn't demand he hand over his gear. She simply waited. She had chosen to trust him, and in that moment, he felt the first glimmer of hope since he had arrived in this bizarre world.
"So," she said, taking a long drink. "What now?"
Rohan looked from the knife in his hand to the determined face of the woman who had just risked her life for him. He was a glitched NPC with a programmer's mind, a legendary key he couldn't use, and a single ally.
"I guess," he said, the ghost of a smile touching his lips, "we figure out how to play this game."