I immediately spun around and bolted.
"Stop right now!"
Ludwig, who rarely ever raised his voice, roared at me like a beast.
Seriously? You expect me to stop when you're yelling like that? The nerve...
I glanced back, wondering if I could somehow talk him down, but one look at the crazed glint in his eyes was enough. I calmly focused on my shoes and cast a spell.
"Activate: Boots of Speed!"
A cluster of shimmering light formed around my feet before a pair of light-green wings materialized on either side of my boots. I would have preferred to use a higher-level spell, but I was running so hard that any spell with a longer incantation would probably make me bite my tongue off.
As my speed kicked in, I veered sharply and ducked into a narrow alley. Ludwig, however, didn't hesitate, following me right in on horseback. Innocent street vendors screamed as he plowed through the alley.
"Agh!"
"My cart—!"
I glanced toward the commotion and saw carts overturned, with exotic "ice-cream fruits" and screaming mandrake-like herbs sent flying under his horse's hooves. The way he charged violently through a crowded market… he was a tyrant.
My God, and this guy is the Emperor.
I clicked my tongue and shook my head. Why had he changed so much? Ludwig was born into a line of rulers; giving orders was as natural to him as breathing. In the past, I was always his number-one problem solver, the one taking care of things for him. That was true even when he was just an abandoned prince, so why would it be different now that he was the emperor? In a situation like this, the Ludwig I knew would be sitting on his throne calmly ordering his knights to 'capture him.'
So why on earth was he chasing me himself, running wild like a madman?
"Oh, come on! Stop following me!"
If you're wondering why I'm so freaked out by a mere game character, you have to understand this is virtual reality. It's far more terrifying than any horror movie on a flat screen. The synchro rate is cranked up to 70% for precision control, which means if I get stabbed, I could actually faint from the shock. And judging by his current state… I didn't think he'd give me a clean death with a single strike.
Why am I suddenly recalling news articles about people dying from heart attacks while playing VR games? I pushed myself to run even faster.
"Hah, hah…"
After sprinting for what felt like an eternity, I reached a crossroads and frantically looked left and right. Which way do I go?
"Why did Ludwig have to make the capital so damn complicated…"
The sound of hoofbeats, which had faded for a moment, was growing louder again. I made a split-second decision and veered left, my back already drenched in sweat. I hated how overly realistic this game world was.
But for some reason, I felt far more out of breath than I remembered… Was it just my imagination? Was it always this hard…?
So it wasn't my imagination. This game is insane with its realism…
My heart was pounding erratically, and my pace slowed to a crawl. I ducked into another alley, leaning against a wall and breathing heavily, wiping a trail of saliva from my chin with the back of my hand.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
I'd thought the alley was just unusually dark. It was a dead end. Rubbing my aching ankles, I canceled the "Boots of Speed" and cast "Rise." A moment later, my body began to float upwards. I sighed in relief as my field of vision steadily rose.
I just need to find a safe spot and log out. I had wanted to see everyone again, but being hunted like this was souring even my fondest memories. After all, some memories are most beautiful when they remain just that… memories.
"Lee Hyun!"
I flinched, my shoulders jumping at the sudden voice. Looking down, I saw Ludwig leaping from his horse.
Neigh! Startled by its owner's abrupt dismount, the horse reared up on its hind legs with a loud cry. It was shocking to see Ludwig, normally so dignified, tumble onto the dirt floor without a shred of embarrassment. Confused, I shouted down at him.
"Hey, be careful!"
Ludwig scrambled to his feet and rushed toward me, paying no mind to his disheveled state. His precious rope lay forgotten in the distance. For a man who had always carried himself with such nobility, both in the palace and on the battlefield, this behavior was incredibly bizarre.
Why on earth is he acting like this…?
As I hovered there, watching him, Ludwig's face twisted in sorrow. He looked up at me and spoke in a raw, hoarse voice. "I was wrong. Please… don't leave."
Ludwig was undeniably crying. I stared, mesmerized, as tears streamed down his rough cheeks. The sight of him kneeling before me in the dirt, heedless of the fine, delicately crafted clothes he was ruining, sent a jolt of turmoil through me.
"…"
Had I ever seen Ludwig cry before? I couldn't remember it. Ludwig hadn't cried when he was a powerless prince nearly assaulted by his superiors on the battlefield, nor had he cried when his right-hand man died in his arms. In fact, he once saw me sobbing over that subordinate's death and coldly said, "I know you two didn't get along, so why are you crying? I don't understand." I remember feeling my affection for him plummet in that moment. No, we may not have been close, but we were comrades! Of course I would cry!
But Ludwig had been merciless. "I don't wish to see you cry. Stop it." At those words, my favorability rating with him actually dropped, and I, a slave to the game's mechanics, had to force my tears to stop.
And that same man was now crying… for me? Why? Because he was afraid I would leave?
If I could, I would have used another 'Magnifying Glass' to peek into his heart again. But the result from the last one was still screaming in my mind. Kill. Was that just a glitch? A momentary impulse?
Overcome with confusion, I involuntarily reached a hand down toward the crying emperor. And then it happened.
**
"Huh?"
In the next instant, my body plummeted, my arms flailing wildly. No, I just reached out my hand! I didn't want to cancel it!
My fall was a shock to me, to Ludwig, and to the Imperial Knights who had just arrived at the scene.
"!"
I hit the ground with a sickening thud. A strange silence fell over the alley, no one daring to speak. In the end, I was the one who broke it.
"Ow, what the…? There's blood!"
Ugh, this ridiculously fragile body… I inwardly screamed as I examined my wounds. I must have fallen from a decent height, because my knees, elbows, and palms were all scraped raw and bleeding.
Why is there blood?
You might think that's a stupid question—of course there's blood when you're injured—but I had a very good reason to be panicking. Back when I was streaming, I had enabled "Youth Mode" to avoid getting a 19+ rating. This setting replaced graphic scenes, like bleeding or decapitation, with things like pink flowers blooming from wounds or mosaic blurs.
What is going on? I never once streamed in adult mode!
But what I was seeing now was undeniably bright red blood. Suddenly, the dirt and sand in my wounds began to sting ferociously.
"Ah, that hurts…"
Why… why does it hurt so much? It shouldn't hurt like this. This feels… real.
A dark shadow fell over me. Ludwig was already standing right in front of me.
"Hey," I gasped, panicked. I tried to scoot backward, but my head just banged against the wall of the dead end. I didn't even have the breath to cry out in pain. "Everyone, stay back!"
As my mind raced, Ludwig spoke in a low, deep voice. "Let me see the wound. I will heal you."
And I'm supposed to believe you?
But my skill success rate was too low to risk casting another spell. Attempting magic now would just make my hands glow, which might provoke him even more. If a mage and a warrior fought in close quarters, who would win? Damn it, I should have picked the warrior class.
I tried to gauge Ludwig's expression. He had his head lowered, so I couldn't see his eyes, but he looked utterly crestfallen. Meanwhile, my condition was getting worse. It wasn't just the scrapes; my arms and thighs throbbed from the impact of the fall. My stamina was so low that every breath was a struggle. It was a miracle nothing was broken after a two-meter drop.
But still, why did it hurt so much? I needed immediate treatment, but I couldn't even heal myself.
Fortunately, the mana-suppression rope was still lying on the ground more than ten steps away. Gathering what little strength I had, I asked him, "You'll really just… treat me?"
"Have you ever known me to lie?"
Only about a million times, you bastard. I'd seen him lie without batting an eye on countless occasions. But I had no other choice.
Okay, if he was going to kill me, why would he offer to heal me first?
After a long, painful deliberation, I decided to trust him. In truth, my body was in such bad shape that I didn't have the luxury of not trusting him.
I stayed crouched on the ground and cautiously extended my bleeding palm toward him. As I did, I thought I saw a slow, thin smile spread across Ludwig's lips.
"I caught you."