Chapter 53: The Companion’s Burden

<What’s with the surprise event? Scared the sh*t out of me;;;;> The in-game announcement blared so loud I nearly jumped out of my skin. Sabrina says the event updates tomorrow, but what does that even mean? Wasn’t this game known for giving at least a week’s notice before an update??

[Comments]

User1: It’s a dead game now, that’s what lol. └ User2: Doomposter OUT. User3: No, but it’s seriously weirdㅡㅡ It makes zero sense to drop an event this suddenly, especially a PVP one. User4: For real, even the rules are different. User5: ——— Gathering spot for cowards who suck at PVP ——— └ User6: Stfu. User7: It is a trash game lol. What kind of game drops a major event like a bomb the day before? └ User8: Take a look at your own trash life before whining about the game. └└ User9: Look at the IQ of these white knights lol. You criticize the game and they attack your life. User10: Can’t we speak nicely? I’m sure the Zelpia devs have a plan; └ User11: If you don’t like the tone, crawl back to the fan cafe lol. └ User12: I don’t get why people come to a trash heap and complain that there’s trash. └└ User13: If you went to a plastic recycling bin and found rotting food, you’d be pissed too.

The community was burning up with talk of the surprise event. It wasn’t a small check-in event; it was a large-scale update patched in like a thief in the night, and the majority of users were furious. Seeing the usual “the game is dying” posts that appeared every update season, it seemed the game was far from dead. Truly dying games sink silently, without anyone even bothering to complain.

Still, this was unprecedented. Large-scale PVP events usually got pre-announcements. Could Sephiroth’s theory be right? Did our actions actually trigger this?

“I checked it…”

I was about to ask, ‘How is it?’ when—

Ding! A clear notification sound rang out as a quest message appeared.

[Hidden] <Children of Ignas – 2>

• Reach Diamond League or higher in the 6:6 battle map ‘Battlefield of Ignas.’
• (Restriction: Must participate in the battlefield with the ‘Regressor’s Companion.’)
• Meet and speak with Priest Delwing.

Regressor’s Companion?

An ominous feeling washed over me. Seong-jin and Gyu-tae said their hidden piece was the Regressor’s ‘Helper.’ If that was the case, then ‘Companion’ must be…

“Did yours pop up too?”

My unlucky streaks never failed. Sephiroth was looking at me. I muttered in disbelief, “Companion…”

“The game itself is kindly proving that we’ve formed a community of fate. Right?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Once this quest is over, our connection is done.”

“Don’t forget we have a match to play before that.”

Ah. That damn PVP. He’s persistent. I glared at him, but Sephiroth seemed as unfazed as a stone wall.

“Hold on. I need to look up the battlefield.”

“Want the links?”

“…If you have them.”

Sephiroth patted my shoulder. I looked up at him. The polished surface of his black armor, reflecting the sunlight, was starting to feel unfortunately familiar.

[General] Sephiroth: [Link] [General] Sephiroth: [Link] [General] Sephiroth: [Link]

A string of video URLs appeared in the chat. I clicked them one by one. Seeing was believing; watching gameplay was much faster for learning than reading a wall of text. Plus, I could learn how people actually operated in the mode.

Of course, mastering it at first glance wasn’t easy. I focused on understanding the core mechanics of 6:6 PVP. As I was skimming through the links—

[General] Sephiroth: [Link] [General] Sephiroth: Praise me (´꒳`)

“F*ck, what is this?!”

The emoticon and the comment were both unbearable. My scream was pure self-defense. Why is this guy obsessed with that specific emoticon? Why does he keep inflicting this agony on me? Why?!

[General] Sephiroth: I asked for praise, why are you cursing? (´꒳`)

“Just say it with words! You can just speak normally!”

[General] Sephiroth: Aren’t you going to praise me? (´꒳`)

“Can we please put that emoticon away before we talk? Please?”

It felt like he was digging through my deepest, darkest cringe memories. How am I supposed to praise someone using that? Well, I could, but my dignity was screaming. Sephiroth and I stood in a tense standoff.

Then, red text flashed rapidly across the top of the screen.

[Shout] Sephiroth: Praise me ♡(´꒳`)♡

You madman, why did you upgrade it…

It was only after I squeezed out a few insincere words of praise that Sephiroth stopped his rampage. Drained, I returned to the videos and the official homepage to study the system.

Zelpia’s PVP system, known as ‘Battlefield’ mode, was divided into three categories: 1:1, 2:2, and 6:6. Each had its own Battle Points and a tier system. The ranks went from Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, to Diamond. Each tier was subdivided into High, Mid, and Low, making 15 ranks in total. The pinnacle was Diamond-High.

The most respected rank was 1:1, as it relied purely on individual control without any “team luck.” In the community, the question “What’s your tier?” usually referred to 1:1.

However, the 6:6 battlefield was the most popular. Partly because people could blame their teammates if they lost, but mostly because of the unique system. Unlike 1:1, which was a simple deathmatch, 6:6 was more complex.

In 6:6, the team that destroys the enemy’s ‘Core Castle’ first wins. If neither side destroys the castle within the time limit, the team with more kills wins. The Core Castle starts at a ‘Platform’ in each team’s base, and the locations are fixed.

However, players could move the Core Castle. Moving it away from the Platform applied a debuff to its HP and Defense, making it more vulnerable, but it had the advantage of hiding the location from the enemy.

This created various strategies: keeping the castle on the Platform and relying on its high stats, or moving it to a hidden location. Some teams would rush the enemy castle immediately, while others played defensively to win via kill count.

And now, as a newbie, I had to reach Diamond in this mode.

“I checked the site… but I’ve never even stepped into a battlefield before.”

I had just hit level 40 by clearing the tower quest, which unlocked the PVP notification. I was planning to check it out slowly when Sephiroth wasn’t around, but the quest and event were moving at a breakneck pace.

A three-day-old newbie reaching Diamond in a complex PVP mode? It was absurd.

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you everything you don’t know.”

For once, he sounded sensible.

“Are you going to force me to praise you this time too?”

“Isn’t it good to give lots of praise? It’s positive.”

“That’s… no, forget it.”

Fine. Praising isn’t the problem. The problem is that cursed emoticon you use while asking for it. But since I couldn’t explain why I hated it so much, it was better to keep my mouth shut.

…Wait, could Seong-jin be friends with Sephiroth? Did he teach him that emoticon?

Being tormented by that face was making me paranoid. As I sighed, Sephiroth tapped my shoulder.

“Why? Do you like it that much?”

“I’m not even going to answer that.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop.”

With a laugh in his voice, he tapped my shoulder twice more and let go. Then, he shifted the topic.

“This event is also related to Ignas.”

“Then it’s definitely linked to our quest.”

“Yeah.”

I thought back to the mermaid who turned into seafoam, begging us not to forget her. Was this what she meant? Did her voice turning deep and raspy mean she was becoming a demon? Looking back, the signs were there, but even if I’d noticed them, I doubt I could have predicted the tower’s penalty.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

I, The Interstellar Idol, Woke Up To Find Myself a Mother

DramaSupernatural

Read Now →
Not interested