The Aerial Observation Platform continued to hover over the middle part of the Eastern Territory. Kaelus felt the heavy silence after invoking Sylva's earlier promise. He knew he was standing on the brink of revealing a truth that would shatter every known magical law on this world.
Just as Kaelus prepared to speak, the Mana Scan platform blared a sharp, continuous red alarm.
"SS-rank monster below!" Vara Shadowstep called out immediately. "The core signature is too dense! The Wind Needle Rain won't kill it; it's only causing minor damage!"
The Phalanx instantly shifted to combat readiness. Zane Bladeheart, however, saw the opportunity. He knew Kaelus was struggling to reveal his secret, and the team needed to be off the platform to give them the privacy they needed.
"Okay, Sylva and Kaelus, you need to remain in the Wind Carriage," Zane commanded, drawing his sword. "The rest of us are going to handle this SS-rank monster."
Zathis shouted, "Yes! Finally! I'm so bored!"
"Team, let's go!" Zane said, giving Sylva a quick, meaningful glance.
Sylva instantly understood the sacrifice of privacy and smiled warmly at Zane. "Alright, fight to your heart's content, Zane." She smiled back, confirming the tacit understanding.
The rest of the team—Zane, Vara, Zathis, Jian, Kaelan, and Grund—leapt from the platform, surging toward the location of the SS-rank threat below.
Sylva turned to Kaelus, her expression now entirely focused. "They gave us privacy. Now, what do you want to reveal?"
"Sylva," Kaelus said, his voice low. "What I will discuss with you is an information—an information that you don't need to know where it came from."
"I bet you're thinking that you cannot solve it yourself, so you need my help, right?" Sylva observed astutely. "It's a good thing that the others are not here, so that they don't need to press the questions to you."
"That's why I'm struggling to reveal it," Kaelus confessed.
"You don't have to worry, Kaelus, I get it," Sylva said with a calming nod. "Now, what do you want to reveal?"
"It's about the Players. What I think they really are."
"What do you mean 'what you think'?"
"Because I'm not quite sure," Kaelus admitted. "When I first heard the word 'Players' in Grolnuk's story, I had in my mind what they really are. If I'm not mistaken, Players are also human—a human that is controlling some people on Atlas with some sort of artifact." Kaelus was describing his past existence as simply as possible.
"So for example, me as Sylva, there's someone controlling me to move, attack, something like that?" Sylva asked, her mind immediately jumping to the most logical, terrifying conclusion. "So that's why they're immortal, is that it?"
"You got it right, Sylva," Kaelus confirmed. "They are immortal because only the 'character' they are controlling dies. The controller, which is the real 'Player,' is not."
"So how do we really kill this 'Player'?"
"For now, I think it's not possible to really kill this 'Player' because they are not from this world."
"Not from this world? You mean not from this continent? So they are in Atlas also?"
"No, they are not in Atlas either. Only the 'character' is in Atlas, but the 'Players' are not in Atlas or any continent in this world," Kaelus clarified. "It's hard to explain, but consider them that they are on another world, and they do not have skills like us or their 'character.' They are just controlling those characters on Atlas."
Sylva's eyes were wide, but she didn't lose focus. "So in this story, we really cannot resolve the issue of how to fight with them?"
"Yes, but as I said earlier, they are human like us."
"So it doesn't mean they are hostile to us, is that right?"
"Exactly," Kaelus said. "So we don't have to fight them as long as they cannot see us as an enemy. And I think in their territory, which is Atlas, there are people like us—adventurers, vendors, and many more. They can see us as an 'NPC' or someone that can be ignored, as long as we are not an enemy in their eyes."
"So these 'characters' and 'Players'—what can they be considered as an enemy?"
"Mostly monsters, just like us. But they can also kill humans and demi-humans, depending on their 'quest.'"
"Quest? What quest? Are they some sort of mission?"
"Yes, that's right. But they are not like missions we receive in the Adventurer's Hall or from the Mage Emperor. The mission will be directly sent to the 'Players,' and then they will control their 'characters' to do that quest."
Kaelus and Sylva heard the loud noise of fighting below intensify.
"So in order to be not recognized as an enemy by the Players, we need to kill or defeat someone that sends missions to the 'Players,' right?" Sylva suggested, tapping her chin thoughtfully.
Kaelus was stunned. He hadn't thought about that—defeating the source of the Players' motives. "Wait, what? Sylva, you're really a genius!"
"What? What did I do? I just listened to your story, or theory, or whatever it is," Sylva replied, surprised by his reaction.
"You are right, Sylva. We just need to defeat this 'someone' that is sending quests to the Players. But I don't know who that person is," Kaelus concluded, thinking of the game developers in his past life. "Maybe let's just focus on one thing: do not be seen as an enemy by the Atlas Players."
They could hear the loud noise of fighting below escalating.
"Hmmm," Sylva mused. "So a millennium ago, the Player's mission was to slay the Verdant Dragon. The Hero's party joined forces with the Dragon to defeat the Player, so the mission sort of changed—that's why the Players saw the Hero's team as an enemy, not an ally."
"That's exactly what I think happened," Kaelus confirmed. "Players don't need to kill the Hero's party unless they are suddenly included in the mission."
"This is a priceless information, Kaelus," Sylva said. "For the better, we don't have to fight these Players at all. But Kaelus, how about the dragon?"
"The dragon, I really don't know," Kaelus admitted. "Remember that the dragon's purpose is to stop the Atlas continent from invading. It's not that important to us for now. What is important to us is to stop the Eastern Territory from its abnormalities. The density of monsters here is not normal, and we need that dragon's barrier."
"So what do we do?"
"I don't really know. Actually, what we need to know for now is the time Atlas will invade Mythos or Terra."
"How are we supposed to know that? Do you have information about time?"
"Actually, there is," Kaelus replied, a cold glint entering his eyes.