Yuki strolled across the lush green meadow. Besides her, a grey baby with dark, diamond eyes held her hand while struggling to keep up with her pace.
As they reached a ridge, Yuki's face contorted.
"Ughhh."
***
"Let's just get started already, Yuki is waiting."
Both Alex and Luke approached the stream while Yuki glanced curiously at them.
She tilted her head then raised her left arm which caused the both of them to stop on their tracks.
Before their eyes, an old wooden bridge formed, connecting the riparian lands to one another.
It wasn't that the bridge formed out of nowhere but rather, it was made visible just now.
This was one of Yuki's abilities: Genwaku.
'He's gotten oddly silent.'
Alex noted about Luke while they crossed the bridge. The bridge was practically creaking with each of their steps yet neither of them bothered to even slow down.
The moment Alex stepped foot on the riparian land, a system notification appeared.
Ding!
[You've been marked by the Tyrant of Kentel: Dylan]
"I guess we can go back then. Wanna chat for like twenty minutes?"
Having no particular reason to refuse, Alex sat down on the patch of green grass.
Illuminated by the silver moon above, the flowing stream appeared to glow in the dull darkness.
The area that Yuki sat in was at the edge of a vast, tropical bamboo forest. Just behind her, a large tree with green and yellow leaves loomed over the three of them.
Luke also sat down beside Yuki then patted her head.
"I really don't get why they'd do this…"
He grimaced.
"Just get to the point. I want to go back and sleep already."
Alex said after letting out a soft yawn.
"Right, you are a human after all, how weak." Letting out a soft exhale, Luke continued, "Why do you think we've been trapped here?"
Pondering about what the right response would be, Alex averted his gaze to the starry sky.
"How would I know?"
A question for a question. For now, he felt like that was the right response.
"Good grief, at least attempt the question instead of submitting a paper with a large question mark on it."
"You're expecting too much, I'm pretty exhausted you know."
Alex wasn't lying when he said that. The emotional roller coaster he went through during these few hours tired him out a bit.
"Nevermind then, I was thinking of talking about our theory regarding the situation but whatever."
Luke scoffed, then let out a heavy sigh.
He proceeded to lie down on the soft grass beside Yuki, eyes aloof to the beauty of the night sky.
It was a short moment of respite for the two of them.
Alex's mind drifted towards a certain thought until Luke's question peeked into his mind.
'From the player's perspective, it would undeniably be confusing to be trapped in a game, especially with barely any information about their reason for being trapped.'
The only thing that the players knew was about the Daily Tax system of 10 Cheng and that they needed to clear the final floor to beat and escape the game.
Aside from that, there were also the new additions to this version of the game so dealing with that would be tough yet necessary.
Alex knew that even the beta-testers would have a hard time with these new additions.
'They sure got a lot on their plates. A protagonist-like figure would be perfect for this situation.'
Due to once again being bothered by Luke's question in his head, Alex remembered a certain saying.
'If art is an expression of one's soul, then wouldn't this game count as a work of art of mine?'
The concept of art itself was too vague to put any criteria to it but maybe, that is why Claire gave him the Title: The Artist.
If such a thing was considered beforehand, then Claire really did a great job in the naming department.
But if so—if Alex were to be caught up in someone else's art, especially in a way that is as inconvenient as it is for the players caught up in his art, how would he feel?
If he were aware that the one responsible was similar…like him, then would he simply let them do what they're doing or applaud them for their success?
…Probably not. He'd most likely be mad for getting inconvenienced. That was all there was to him after all.
***
Alex woke up the next day with a groggy head, his consciousness blurred by a mild headache.
The wooden ceiling of the room stared back at him as he lay sprawled out on the white mattress of the wooden bed.
Yes, everything in the room was practically made up of wood.
The table and chair besides his bed, the wardrobe at the side of the room, the floor, the window, and even the door was made up of fine, oak wood.
The only source of illumination that the room had were the two wall sconce mounted on opposite sides of the room.
At the very least, these two weren't made out of wood and instead, were crafted out of metal and decorative glass.
[11:24]
'A bit late…might as well have breakfast and lunch at the same time.'
After checking the time, Alex got up from the bed.
He exited the room, then walked towards his left for a short while before the murmuring sound of conversations reached his ears.
Currently, Alex was on the second floor of the building so he had to descend a few wooden steps before making it to the first floor.
The first floor was where the registration desk was and it also functioned as a restaurant of sorts.
As such, a few players could be seen occupying the large amount of seats within the wide space of the first floor.
***
Alex had just sat down on an empty table at the corner of the room, just besides the wall. Yet, not even two minutes after he did so, a player walked up to him.
"Can I have a bit of your time?"
Glancing at the player, Alex nodded to the empty seat on the other side of the table, signalling him to sit down.
"Call me Line since that's my in-game name and correct me if I'm wrong, but you're Alex, right?"