As soon as Alan and Amelia walked into the Town Hall and were received by a male NPC employee, they grimaced at the same time.

“Welcome, Adventurers. How can I help you?” the NPC asked after making a slight bow.

Alan and Amelia remained silent, showing discomfort in their faces, while the male NPC employee innocently smiled at them.

Their silence prolonged for so long that Ashley had to step in. “We are here to get a Guild’s License.”

“Did I hear that right?!” a woman cried from a couch at the far end of the room. She paused her enormous Video Screen showing Miss Cosmica and dashed all the way to take Ashley’s hand. “I can’t remember the last time we registered a Guild! Fabio, I’ll take care of this,” she said to her NPC, who nodded and walked away.

“Why did I suddenly feel so angry?” Amelia whispered to Alan, while her gaze followed the NPC.

“Because he looks exactly like…”

“What is it?” the woman asked them in a jovial tone. “Could it be that you also enjoy looking at my NPC?” she asked, puffing up her chest. “Isn’t he gorgeous? It took me a lot of time, but I customized him to look like a User who registered his guild here like a million years ago. That guy ended up being famous, so I’ve watched all of his Streams.” She sighed, making a dreamy face. “If I could only see him in person once again.”

“Can you give us the Guild Licence, please?” Ashley asked in a calm voice.

“Oh, right! Sure!” the woman beamed. “But what’s the hurry! If you’re coming this late to the party, you surely aren't in a rush. Come and join me. I have snacks here and we can watch the latest Miss Cosmica stream.”

“Do you have premium access?” Amelia asked, looking at the Video Screen.

The woman adjusted her glasses, smirking. “Oho! So am I perceiving positive Cosmic vibes around me?” She suddenly reached out her hand. “Watch out, it’s a black hole!”

Amelia did the same. “Oh, no! The worst kind of danger!”

“No, no! Will we have to cross it?”

“Oh, yes! If you take my hand!” They both sang along and giggled.

“Is this a requirement to get the License?” Ashley asked, still standing in her place.

“Huh?” the woman frowned for a second. “Sorry! Fabio, do the paperwork, will ya? And you, what’s your name?”

“Amelia Laflamme. Nice place by the way.”

“Thank you. I have remodeled it like a hundred times already. I’m Sarah Dominguez. Nice to meet you. Come, take a seat. I’ve never seen you around...”

While both girls chatted, Alan filled out the digital forms, feeling uncomfortable having the NPC nearby. He looks a lot like Marco...

“There,” Alan said aloud. “We’re officially The Phantom Seekers now.”

“Hey, that’s a cool name!” Sarah said from her couch.

“I came up with the name,” Amelia said by her side.

“Did you? Awesome! Back then, when The Novus recently started, I used to come up with names for those that didn’t have imagination. I easily named at least ten guilds. Maybe you know The Storm Crusaders? That’s my sister’s guild.”

“Never heard of them, sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s a pretty small guild actually, and they are now called Crusaders United, anyway. What a shitty name! And the disrespect! It took me time to come up with that name, Sis! How could you change it without asking me?!”

“Excuse me,” Alan said, getting close. “Are you Unus’ mayor?”

“Yes! Mayor Dominguez at your service!”

I kind of recognized her by the pompous statue of her in downtown. That was the last thing I saw before Marissa and the others kidnapped me.

“A mayor?” Amelia said, clapping. “How did you get the job?”

“I just took it,” Sarah said straightforwardly while reaching out for a bowl of popcorn.

“What do you mean?” Amelia squinted.

Sarah replied while munching, “There was this NPC that used to run the Townhall… She would just stand here, like an idiot, once everyone had stopped coming here. So… I just came here one day and started acting up as if I worked here, and voilá... munch... And then, I got bored with her, and traded her for this gorgeous--”

“You ‘traded’ an NPC?!” Alan cried.

“Y-yeah, that’s what I said… Popcorn?”

“Why do you talk about them as if they were things?”

“Because they are? Well no, they are more like walking dolls. At least mine is beautiful and never says no to me, if you know what I mean...” She elbowed Amelia.

“Let’s go, Amelia,” Alan said, tensing his jaw and stomping all the way to the exit.

“B-bye, see you later,” Amelia said, embarrassed.

“Bye! Come visit me anytime you want! Geez, what is wrong with that level five?” Sarah said to herself while stuffing her mouth with popcorn. “Wait a minute… Five?”

“Alan, wait!” Amelia shouted, before pulling him from his arm. “Why did you react like that?”

“Are you telling me there was nothing wrong with her attitude?!” he cried, pointing at the building.

“NPCs are traded all the time, Alan. What do you expect? They’re just programmed to do as they're told.”

“And worst of all, I know where the real Mayor ended up working,” he said in a loud voice, ignoring her words. “She’s a waitress now! Can you believe it?”

“Alan,” Amelia called softly, grabbing his cheeks. “That stupid-looking NPC did his work just fine. We have the Guild License, right?”

“Yes, but…”

“The System doesn’t care who the mayor is. As long as an NPC works in that building, the System provides them with the necessary skills to do the job. They are interchangeable, Alan. They’re just code compared to us.”

“Could you say that to any of the Slime-folk you met yesterday?”

Amelia let him go, and her mouth remained ajar for a couple of seconds. “I-I don’t think it’s the same situation…”

“Yeah, right,” he said, looking away.

Amelia pursed her lips, making her best guess of why he was so upset. She then briefly glanced at Ashley’s neutral expression. Oh, I get it now.

“Here,” Amelia said, opening her Menu System.

Alan immediately got a notification.

** Amelia Laflamme has sent you 20,000 gold. **

“What is this?” he asked in a soft voice while Amelia grabbed Ashley by her arm.

“Buy some new equipment while I take Ashley to go shopping. Let’s meet at the house for dinner, okay? And don’t spend it on something stupid, you hear me! You’ll have to pay back all the gold I’ve spent on you eventually, got it?”

As the two girls got out of sight, Alan’s mind only thought of one thing. He formed closed fists and walked to the Dragon’s Belly, ignoring all the curious gazes landing on his displayed level above his head. He stood in front of the restaurant and took a deep breath.

“Welcome to the Dragon’s Belly,” a female NPC said, but she was not the same as the one he remembered.

“Hi. I’m not here to eat. Is Monique Ascencio here?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose that information.”

“Oh, okay. By the way, what happened to the other hostess? I came here two days ago, and there was an NPC girl with dog-like ears…”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m afraid she’s not working with us anymore. Can I help you with anything else?”

“No, thank you, I’ll be on my way.”

I wanted to give Monique the money in person, but I suppose that making a deposit is fine too. Alan sent the 10,000 gold he owed to Monique without writing a single word and closed his Menu System, exhaling. “Now, to buy some new gear, I guess.”

***

“I melted several bronze weapons to make that tea set. It’s my top-selling product.”

Alan observed the ugly iron teapot adorned with spikes, an appalled expression on his face. “W-why?!”

“You’re asking why?” the shop owner sneered. “I wouldn’t believe there was still a level five around here. And why are you still five, anyway? Even the laziest of people leveled up by doing almost nothing, passive XP and all that .”

“If you don’t have any starting weapons, could you at least restore this sword?” Alan placed his rusty weapon over the counter, making the guy chuckle.

“Pal, I could reforge this trash and turn it into better trash, or I could sell you this kitchen knife. 500 gold.”

Alan’s eyes widened. The knife had three times more attack power than his sword.

“I... I’ll buy it... Do you have anything that can be used as a shield?”

“I have an iron tray for 700 gold. Do you want me to attach a strap to it?”

“Y-yes please…”

“Be right back,” the shop owner said after sneering.

While Alan waited, looking at the tea set with resentment, he could hear someone humming a song. A known song. He took a peek at the other side of the counter, and found a pink-haired female NPC in another room, wearing an apron, cooking.

“What are you watching, pal?” the shop owner said while carrying the iron tray, straps, and a hammer.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude.”

“She’s my wife. Isn’t she lovely?” the man said absently while starting to work. “I changed her hair to look like Miss Cosmica. Very original, huh?”

Alan shook his head. “Your what now?”

“Seriously, pal,” the man said in an annoyed tone. “Have you just logged in or something? Here’s your shield and knife. 1200 gold for the knife and shield, and 100 for labor.”

After paying, Alan glanced at the NPC once again, who approached them with a warm smile. “Food is ready, my dear.”

“Thanks, sweetheart,” the man said without taking his eyes off Alan.

Alan bitterly swallowed while equipping his new stuff. “She was the original owner of this place, wasn’t she?”

“Mind your own business, pal!” the man said, throwing his hammer at Alan, who successfully shielded himself. “Go level up or something, you late weirdo!”

***

Am I the only one that thinks that all of this is messed up? Laying over the couch, Sloochie resting on his stomach, Alan stared at the ceiling of his new home.

I have been here for, what, 3 days? And I have already witnessed some of the worst aspects of this world. I don’t want to imagine what’s awaiting me later on.

He shut his eyes and changed positions, burying his head against a pillow, making Sloochie fall. The slime could be heard squeaking while jumping back to rest over his buttocks.

I tried looking for low-level monsters on the town’s outskirts, but the fields are empty. Now that I think about it, the only monster I have seen since I returned has been the Weasenox. But, its level is too high for me to kill it. It’s like a Boss Monster to me at this point.

His mind reminded him of the Slime-folk and the creatures they used for their everyday life. Smaio’s carrying bug was level 8.

Alan groaned after imagining himself slaying that thing. “Goddammit! Don’t even think about it!”

“We’re here!” Amelia jovially shouted even before she opened the door. Alan could hear Sloochie squealing with joy and the girls’ footsteps as they entered. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing,” he said with a muffled voice, face hidden.

“Well,” Amelia started saying, “after spending the entire afternoon in every clothing store in town, like 3, actually, I’ve concluded that I can do a better job than them. So I’ll open a shop in this bore of a place! I have the skills after all. Marissa taught me how to craft jewelry, and with my keen sense of fashion, I’ll blow these low-levelers minds once I know how to make clothes!”

“I thought you wanted to take a sabbatical year…”

“From fighting, silly! And I’ve already told you I want to do something with my free time while you both go train.”

“True... Good luck then... I know you can pull it off…”

Amelia could be heard exhaling loudly. “Could you knock it off? Stop acting like a wretch and look at Ashley’s new style!”

“What new style?” Alan asked, turning his head sideways, to find black high stockings in front of him. “Whoaaaah!” He jumped from his place to observe Ashley, wearing combat boots and an off-shoulder black lantern dress.

“What do you think?!” Amelia giggled, positioned behind Ashley. “Come on, Ash, as we practiced,” she whispered.

Both tilted their heads at the same time, put their left hand on their hip, and made a V sign with their right hand close to their faces. “Cosmic!” both said, coordinated.

“Amelia said that this would help you get motivated for our incoming training routine,” Ashley said in a flat voice, while still making an idol pose.

“I didn’t say ‘motivate’!” Amelia cried. “Wait, did I really use that word? Whatever. Alan, don’t you have something to say?”

Alan who had remained silent for long seconds looked at Ashley in the eye, and muttered: “Beauty in black, skin like the moon, that travels this world breaking hearts with your cold emerald eyes, don’t mind my gaze and continue to find your way back to heaven, where other angels miss you already…”

“Why didn’t I get a short poem like that?” Amelia muttered before Alan’s watery eyes caught her off guard. “W-what’s wrong? Did something happen? Did they rob you again?”

Even if I’m the unluckiest man on this ship, I can also be the most fortunate with these two around...

“I love you guys…” he blurted out, making Amelia blush.

“Why do you say that all of a sudden?!”

“I think he’s stating his trust in us,” Ashley said plainly.

“I know,” Amelia cried, “but don’t say it like that either! It ruins it!”

“I really do,” Alan muttered.

“S-stop it!”