John: “So, how are the test subjects going?”

Viola: “Fantastic. They are showing more intelligence and more complex thought-process than regular NPCs. Of course, I couldn’t have done it without Jane and Mikey’s help!”

Michael: “I only gave you the data necessary. That’s all.”

Jane: “And I did as I was told, so you should send me a truck full of cakes or something.”

Viola: “Aww! I’ll see a way to compensate you. Don’t worry.”

Samuel: “How about the preparations for The Novus’ Second Anniversary?”

Hayden: “We'll make last year’s tournament look like a kid’s show! Right, Xia?"

Xia: "Y-yes…"

Just hear them, Ricardo thought while grimacing. If they could only know what’s hiding under our noses. He gritted his teeth. No, if my assumptions are correct, at least one of them already knows.

He glanced at the list of members present. Kentaro is extremely quiet today. He's online though.

Samuel: “Ricardo, wake up.”

He jumped in his place.

Ricardo: “I wasn’t sleeping, you know.”

Samuel: “Yeah, right. Have you investigated that anomaly you were talking about?”

Ricardo glanced nervously at his chat window. Dammit, I shouldn’t have said a thing. Now that I know what’s lurking inside The Novus, I must be careful of what I say in front of them. I never thought the day I would keep secrets from them would come.

Ricardo: “I got worried about nothing. I discovered the existence of a level 5 User. Besides that, nothing worth reporting.”

John: “Say that again? Did you say five?”

Jane: “It’s true. I paid him a visit personally. What a loser.”

Samuel: “What do you mean, Jane?”

Jane: “If the creep hasn’t been able to level up, that makes him a loser in my eyes, Sam. I’m sure he has been hiding somewhere all this time, cowering in fear or full of social anxiety. Why didn’t he turn into a Quitter like the others?”

Samuel: “Ricardo, explain this. How can you say that there is nothing wrong with him? John designed side quests so even the most stupid could level up.”

Ricardo swallowed hard before speaking.

Ricardo: “The User has not been afflicted by a glitch inside the system. So…”

Michael: “I have the information right here.”

Dammit, Ricardo thought, forming a fist.

Michael: “Alan Warden. He recently turned Level 6 a day ago. What?”

Samuel: “Jane, did you just assume that he has been hiding all this time? Did you even talk to him?”

Jane: “How else would you explain his level then?”

Michael: “I have checked his Activity Log... It’s like he logged in recently. There’s a 20-month gap. If he had been sitting in the Renovatio Caves this whole time, that would be registered here.”

John: “External interference.”

Samuel: “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”

Hayden: “Did you hear that stupid?”

Jane: “Are you talking to me?!”

Samuel: “Enough. Where is he now?”

Michael: “Unus Town. After traveling back and forth for the last week, he returned to Aerola's Beginners Town.”

Xia: “Do you… guys... think something happened outside?” a soft, shy female voice asked.

Hayden: “If that’s the case, why is he chilling in Unus trying to catch up?”

Jane: “Don’t ever call me stupid again, did you hear me?!”

Hayden: “Or what, chibi?”

Samuel: “Enough, both of you! Jane, you’re supposed to be the Administrator of Conduct here. If you can’t keep your temper, how do you expect to keep doing your work?”

Jane: “Whatever. I know what you’re all thinking. Someone has to talk to him. I’ll go. He has already seen my face anyway, and it’s also my job.”

Hayden: “Are you sure you can handle it?”

Jane: “Shut up.”

** Jane Andersen has exited the chatroom. **

Hayden: “Ha! I bet she only wants to fix her mistake!”

Samuel: “What do you think, John?”

John: “Let’s wait for Jane’s report, okay?”

Samuel: “Fine. This session has ended.”

Hayden: “Alright, see you later, guys!”

Xia: “Good night… Everyone.”

Ricardo pursed his lips as he watched every one of them leaving.

Kentaro: “Good night, Ricardo.”

Ricardo: “Good night to you too, Ken, my man.”

The Glitch Administrator exhaled after closing his window. I hope that Alan keeps his promise and doesn’t say anything to Jane.

He opened his Friend List tab, from where his previous chat with Alan could be accessed. I would like to warn him, but I just realized that Michael could monitor my conversations with him… I’ll have to trust him for now. Good luck, Alan…

***

It’s her! The NPC that used to be the mayor!

Alan’s eyes widened at the sight of her. There’s no mistake. I recognize her fox ears.

The NPC opened her eyes and grinned warmly at him, which made his heart ache. He peered behind her, finding the previous hostess of The Dragon’s Belly, too.

“Why do you have them locked here?” he asked the underground shop owner, who replied without leaving his gaze off his video window.

“Because I’m selling them. 30,000 gold each. 55,000 for both. They’re already Blank.”

“What do you mean?”

Kristoff glanced at him. “Oh, right. For a moment I forgot I was talking to Alan ‘Comatose’ Warden. That means that the System doesn't recognize them as NPCs anymore. They are now more akin to... mobs and monsters? Choose the term you want. They’ll do whatever you order them to do.”

“55,000 gold…” Alan muttered, staring at the NPC who was now staring like a soulless doll.

“If you want them, you should hurry. Lady Monique is interested in them.”

Oh, come on!

“I don’t have the money…”

“What about your girlfriend? Can’t she lend you money?”

This guy is only thinking of making a sale. For the moment, I can't do anything for them, anyway.

“Listen, I came here looking for bronze gear. Do you have any?”

“Of course I have,” Kristoff said, tapping on his System Menu, and the display racks changed its contents automatically to show what Alan had asked for.

Oh, no. These prices are the same as the ones listed on the Online Marketplace. I bet this guy is the same seller.

"Not what you were expecting, huh?" Kristoff sneered. "Hey, why don't you make your own weapons?"

Alan turned to him and dashed to the counter. "Can I do that?!"

"Wait, I think I spoke too early. You need an NPC to teach you the profession, and the only one who could is in the hands of that creep from the Weapon Shop."

"So I could theoretically create my own gear?" Alan muttered to himself, feeling rejuvenated. But…

He glanced at the NPC again, and a set of gleaming armor beside her. He stepped closer as he examined it. The breastplate and gloves looked extremely familiar.

"That's not for sale," Kristoff said aloud. "It's an incomplete set and I'm trying to get the sword and boots."

"These boots?" Alan pointed at his feet, making Kristoff's eyes gleam.

"Where did you--?! Wait, it's so obvious! Do you still have your old gear?"

"It's not that old to me!"

"The full set?” Kristoff squinted, finally looking him in the eyes. “The one called Beginners Set?!"

"Yeah! I even have a pair of ‘New Beginning Shirts’ and I may even get one ‘New Beginning Dress’!"

"Splendid!" Kristoff beamed, leaning forward.

"I know! Shall we do business then?!"

"Wait, wait, hold on. All of those items must be pretty worn out..."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"I can't buy them from you just yet until they’re restored. My wife has the Tailor Profession so she can restore the shirts and dress, but you're still going to handle the repair of the armor and sword. I can't stand that guy!"

"Who, the Weaponsmith?"

"Yeah, I hate that asshole. Always gloating about his NPC wife. Restore them and we'll do business."

"Fine,” Alan said, feeling hopeful. “Hey, this feels like a chain quest."

Kristoff grimaced. "Do I look like an NPC to you?"

***

“5000 gold!” the bearded man shouted, folding his arms.

“What?! The other day you said that it would be better to buy a kitchen knife than to repair this!” Alan tapped the rusty sword lying over the counter.

“I have spoken. That’s what it’ll cost you for me to restore each piece.”

“5000 gold each?!” Alan’s face turned red. “Just because I didn’t sell you this stuff?”

This man is so obvious. He got wind of how much gold other collectors were paying for restored gear like this. Almost every Novus’ User had sold theirs here in Unus 20 months ago, so the complete set is pretty rare now.

“You know that I can just go to another town and have them repaired there, right?”

“Sure, go ahead,” the show owner sneered. “But will other towns be able to teach you Smithing?”

Oh, right… Before we started arguing, I asked him if he could teach me the profession.

“You can’t be the only one that can teach me that.”

“Yeah, there are others, but you have to start with Smithing Rank 1, which can only be taught by my wife here.” The man pointed at the NPC, grinning innocently by his side. “Go to another town, but they can only teach Smithing Rank 2 and 3, which will be inaccessible to you.”

I have to think fast. There has to be another way that doesn’t involve getting ripped off by this asshole.

He opened his Menu Window and opened the Friend List Tab. I know I said that Amelia has helped me enough, but she’s the only one I can rely on.

Jared, the Weaponsmith frowned, trying to figure out what Alan was doing.

Alan started a video chat. “Amelia?”

“Yes, what is it? Hey, would you like Chinese food for dinner?”

“Sounds great, can’t wait,” Alan replied, glancing at Jared for a second. “But there’s one problem, though. I've been thinking about our previous talk, and you were right, this town won’t cut it.”

Amelia remained silent for a couple of seconds, before Alan leaned against the counter, capturing the frowning Jared behind him.

Amelia smirked, complicit, transforming her relaxed face to a wicked one in a second. “Should I level the entire town then, and start anew somewhere else? Where are you now? I could start from there.”

“H-hold on!” Jared cried, reaching out his hand.

“We’ll talk later,” Alan said, smirking. “Love you.”

“Lo--?”

“What?” Alan said, feigning an innocent expression.

“I have to make a living too, you know?!” Jared said, changing his posture from rigid to curved. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll restore all of your items for 5000 gold, and if you want to learn Smithing from my wife, it will cost you 50,000.”

I should have asked him first how much would it cost me to learn the profession. That mistake is on me.

Alan placed every single piece of the Beginner's Set over the counter. "50k gold for everything. The Smithing classes and the restoration.”

Jared wrinkled his nose. "Fine! But I'll take a 5000 gold upfront payment to restore all this."

"Make them shine."

***

"Do you by any chance know why no monsters are respawning nearby?" Alan asked Kristoff, who was busy examining each piece.

"Because the mobs around this area had no purpose anymore? Who knows? The Administrators rarely explain why they do the things they do.”

“Here are the shirts and the dress, my dear.” Brenda placed the clothes on the counter and grinned at Alan. “Your bad luck is finally going away, eh.”

“That only means that worse things will happen to me sooner than later.”

“Oh, stop being so gloomy.” Brenda chuckled.

“Very well, Alan Warden,” Kristoff said while opening his Menu Window. “Here’s your gold and the Blank Files stating that you’re now the owner of those two. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

Alan glanced at his status info. 385,000 gold remaining, huh? As he bitterly grinned, his new companions stepped outside of the displaying human-sized display cases.

“Greetings, Alan Warden, my new master.” The fox-eared NPC made a curtsy.

“Greetings, Alan warden, my new master,” the NPC of dog ears repeated beside her ‘sister’.

I don’t think I like being called that…

“Hi, girls. What are your names?”

“My name is blank for now,” the two said in unison. “But you can call me whatever you would prefer.”

Alan glanced back at Kristoff, who was chuckling. “Told ya that they were blank.”