"Nero, are you really going to join the Divine Dragons Alliance?"
The two-person party moved step by step through the dense, mist-filled forest. Sheeta's voice came from behind.
Satoru kept his eyes on the virtual map floating before him and nodded to himself.
"Of course. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
"I thought you were the type who liked to be free and unfettered."
"A romantic who follows his heart… When I was younger, I did want to be a free-spirited backpacker, traveling far and wide. Like that, strangers in a foreign land brought together by fate, crammed into a shabby inn, talking all night in languages neither fully understands, then packing up early the next morning and going their separate ways."
He spoke calmly.
"But poetic solo travel isn't realistic after all, is it?"
Satoru let out a faint sigh at his former literary ambitions, automatically tuning out the girl's muttering behind him about whether his "younger days" meant elementary school.
He kept checking the map while carefully adjusting their direction, cautiously clearing the way forward.
"The power that a large group can unleash is far beyond imagination. I've read plenty of adventurous stories. The protagonist, fueled by passion, sets out to defeat a dragon, rescue a princess, and save the world along the way. They face all kinds of hardships, but whether it's hordes of evil forces or a powerful lone enemy, everything gets defeated by the protagonist's drive."
"In the end, covered in wounds, the hero stands before the princess, with the trail of blood and smoke from his battles behind him."
"But in reality, a single person could never do that. They'd die halfway through. Either poisoned by some scheming wizard, beaten to death by a group, or even if they jumped off a cliff in desperation, they wouldn't stumble upon any lucky encounter."
"No, saving the world isn't just something that happens along the way, is it?"
Sheeta spoke seriously.
"You're missing the point, and you're way too late to say that…"
Satoru scratched his head.
"I'm not exactly eloquent, so I can only use my own experiences as examples. Anyway, an individual's strength is truly small. I also envy the kind of people who have someone to rely on."
"Huh?"
"It's like… right, some female players just need to say, 'Honey, help me rank up,' and their husbands will rush across the entire map, practically drooling, chasing after me like unleashed hunting dogs trying to take me down. Even though I usually manage to turn things around, it's really exhausting."
Thinking back on his past work experiences, he let out a quiet sigh.
"But there are plenty of strong players too, right?"
"Of course. But setting aside emperors and generals, people who command armies or even nations and act through sheer numbers…"
Satoru continued,
"Even someone born with immense strength would still die from a single RPG shot, right?"
"Wouldn't anyone die?" Sheeta replied calmly.
"Hmm… Anyway, joining a group is definitely not a bad thing."
"I think I understand. Nero is aware of how powerless ordinary people are and how useless the weak can be. You have that kind of self-awareness, right?"
Sheeta nodded like a student who had just grasped a concept, the corners of her eyes curving into an innocent, adorable smile.
Satoru fell silent, unable to continue the conversation.
Somehow, it always drifted in a strangely off direction.
Still, joining a top-tier guild in a game was never the wrong choice. It not only proved one's strength, but also greatly expanded what one could take part in. In a virtual world, it was equivalent to becoming part of a major faction, second only to the most untouchable forces.
And first place belonged to studio-run farming groups.
After all, there had been cases where high-level players looked down on grinders, killed one in the field, only to be chased all the way from city to other by dozens of farming accounts from a single studio.
RPGs were games about character growth. Perhaps because his own real life had never been properly planned and had faded into something dull, Satoru placed great importance on development plans within games.
Especially in a virtual world where failure could be turned into experience, and the second attempt could return in a more perfected form.
Isn't this basically the same as being reborn for a second or third life? Of course, that only applies within the game.
When it comes to "how to grow stronger in a game," he understood it better than anyone, and he had put it into practice dozens of times.
But… was this really okay for her?
Satoru suddenly thought of something.
For someone like him, a ghoul of the game world, his own will always came last. Even when grinding materials made him sick, even when there were better ways to play elsewhere, he would still keep staring ahead and repeat the same dull farming endlessly. This guild wasn't cold to him, on the contrary, they treated him like a friend.
But if another guild offered better terms, he would leave immediately. Someone had once mocked him, saying that the suffix to "Sword Saint" was "three-master traitor."
If this happened in real life, it would just mean being emotionally shallow, like someone unscrupulous job-hopping. It wasn't uncommon.
But in a game meant for enjoyment and stress relief, sticking to such a rotten way of doing things felt glaring and despicable.
If he was this cold and profit-driven even in a game, then what kind of scumbag was he in real life?
That familiar judgment surfaced in his mind again.
Yet this behavior, completely at odds with the spirit of a virtual world, remained the best path for those standing at the top.
Satoru frowned.
"You're joining the Divine Dragons Alliance with me too. What do you think?"
He stopped, turned around, and looked at the girl quietly following behind him.
He hadn't even asked for her opinion before.
"Me?"
Sheeta tilted her head.
"Yeah. I mean, it sounds like you even have some kind of fan club there. That must feel pretty awful, right?"
"Hmm… not really."
Huh?
Satoru paused.
Could it be that she actually enjoyed that kind of thing, and was using her natural airheaded cunning to toy with people?
"Because I'm just following Nero."
Without any of his dark suspicions, Sheeta smiled naturally. In the dense mist of the forest, her face wasn't entirely clear, but through the thin white haze, her soft features and the golden hair flowing over her shoulders could still be seen.
Like an impressionistic painting.
"I see…"
Satoru let out a meaningless response.
There was nothing wrong with the two of them continuing like this. In fact, if they kept going, their characters would undoubtedly grow stronger.
But for him, the problem was the warmth of her trust.
He had long grown used to malice. Yet this gentle kindness had become something foreign, something that made him uneasy.
"If you don't mind, then that's for the best."
He could only repeat those words stiffly before turning back around and continuing forward.
The girl behind him quietly followed.
"Nero."
"What is it?"
After a short pause, the girl looked at his back.
"Are you… going to keep walking like this forever?"
"Of course. It's not like I can crawl."
He shrugged.
"But… it's tiring."
"Huh? Do you want to rest for a bit?"
Satoru hesitated, misunderstanding her meaning.
She shook her head.
"I'm fine. You're not walking fast, so I can keep up."
"We're almost there. Just a few more minutes."
"Mm…"
Sheeta quickened her steps, closing the distance between them.
Satoru kept looking at the map. His earlier reply had been careless, but his expression wasn't. There was a trace of regret on his face.
His gaze shifted from the map to the party interface in the corner of his vision, landing on the name "Sheeta" beneath his own.
One day, this party would come to an end.
A consequence of the things he had done.
This strange connection… would end there.
He had stayed too long in a damp place. Even when a warm hand reached out, his first instinct was to recoil in fear.