Chapter 38: The Man-Made Safe Zone

Perhaps he heard the exhaustion in my voice, because Sephiroth strode right up to me and waved a palm in front of my face. The polished black surface of his gauntlet shimmered before my eyes. I stared blankly at the reflection, which looked white from the glinting light. It felt like watching a heat haze.

“It’s true,” Sephiroth clicked his tongue.

I pushed his hand away and shook my head to snap myself out of it.

“I need to clear some main quests today. I was so busy running around with you that I haven’t even investigated the secret of the Orc village.”

“Oh, that? The Orc that ran away actually—”

“Wait, wait! Don’t spoil it!”

I lunged forward and covered the mouth area of his helmet with my hand. A faint, lukewarm warmth touched my fingertips. When he let out a small, huffing laugh, I felt his breath against my skin and hurriedly pulled my hand back. Honestly, this guy has no basic manners. Pouting, I glared at him.

“I’m going to clear the quest and see it for myself.”

“I could just tell you.”

“Hey. The level of emotional impact is completely different when you experience it yourself versus hearing it from someone else. The best part of a VR game is the immersion, and you’ll ruin that if you tell me.”

“Seeing how fired up you’re getting, I think you’ll be fine with the immersion. Fine, fine.”

“……You just insulted me, didn’t you?”

Despite the bickering, Sephiroth eventually nodded. Even he probably realized that skipping the story while doing a hidden event would be a bit strange.

Still, the thought of heading back to the starter village made me feel slightly jittery. I remembered the onslaught of weird roleplayers who used to chase me around screaming “Blueberry-chan, huff, huff.” I was starting to understand why Sephiroth just slaughtered anyone who stepped within a 40-meter radius of him.

“What’s wrong?”

As I hesitated to trigger the warp, Sephiroth took a step closer.

“It’s just… if I go to the starter village, people are going to swarm me again.”

“Just kill them all. They’ll respawn anyway.”

“Am I you?”

Kill players? I shook my head vigorously. PVP between consenting fighters was one thing, but who—other than Sephiroth—would go around murdering innocent citizens just walking down the street?

In my mind, the name “Sephiroth” had already become synonymous with “Psychopath.” They even sounded similar and ended with the same ‘th/s’ sound—were they etymologically related? The silly thought made my cheeks twitch. The tension that had locked up my body began to melt away.

Whatever. It’s not like I’m putting my life on the line for this game.

“Fine, whatever. If too many people swarm me, I’ll just log out.”

“Hold on.”

Sephiroth caught me before I could warp. He draped an arm over my shoulder and pulled me toward him.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll clear out anyone who tries to interfere with your quest. Aren’t you about to fall for my thoughtfulness?”

“No.”

I pushed him away, reflexively shooting down the latest nonsense. Then, the weight of his words truly sank in. So, he was saying… he would come with me and turn the 40-meter radius around me into a human-free zone?

…That actually sounds kind of nice?

I didn’t want to be the one murdering innocent passersby like a Sephiroth-clone, but if Sephiroth did it himself, I didn’t see any reason to stop him. As long as we weren’t in a party, I wouldn’t even have to worry about the guards coming for me. The more I thought about it, the better the deal seemed.

“Should I stay?”

“……No. Let’s go together.”

“I figured.”

His smug attitude was a little annoying, but not enough to start a fight over. Besides, my personality wasn’t so rotten that I’d pick a fight with someone offering to help me.

Right. I’ll clear the quest as fast as possible and vanish from the beginner zone. That way, the newbies can play without being threatened by Sephiroth.

I ignored the last cries of my conscience with a bit of flimsy self-justification. I gave Sephiroth a nod and pressed the warp button.

The world brightened, and the familiar scenery of the starter village unfolded before me. Wildflowers and silver grass bloomed nestled among fir trees with lush green leaves, swaying in the breeze. The village beyond was still a bustling mix of Orcs and pale-skinned humans living together. Since I had warped to a hunting ground just outside the village, I could see the stream cutting through the town and the short white stone bridge spanning it.

I looked around and locked eyes with a beginner who was hunting a wild boar. Just as he started to approach with a curious expression…

“Eek!”

Ah. Sephiroth was here.

I could tell just by the reaction. I turned around to see the familiar black armor standing tall. Sephiroth seemed indifferent to the beginner who was now running away as if his tail were on fire. Then again, why would he care? Only the poor newbies about to be slaughtered would be worried.

But since I was the one who called Sephiroth here today, I was technically an accomplice.

“It’s nice and quiet.”

Sephiroth stood with his arms crossed, head tilted toward a quiet corner of the village. An NPC guard was currently sprinting toward him, but Sephiroth stood there so calmly it almost looked like he thought the guard was looking for someone else.

Swish, CLANG!

Sephiroth dodged the guard’s downward axe swing as if he were teasing him, then casually hopped around, neutralizing every attack. The guard’s face was turning a furious shade of red. After watching the futile struggle for a moment, I turned away.

“I’m going to do my quest.”

To be honest, it was nice that it was quiet, just as Sephiroth said. Even though a guard was swinging an axe frantically, compared to the last few days where I could barely move through the throngs of people, this wasn’t even considered “noisy.” Back then, it was so chaotic that my voice chat would automatically toggle to text.

Of course, I couldn’t tell Sephiroth that. I still suspected he was just waiting for a chance to crack my friends’ heads open; if I praised him now, it might only reinforce his bad behavior.

For those reasons, I decided to just enjoy the “Sephiroth-buff.” I suppose this is how a fox feels when it borrows the majesty of a tiger.

“Go ahead,” Sephiroth replied nonchalantly.

Looking at his profile, a sudden curiosity struck me.

“By the way, what are you going to do while I’m questing?”

Now that I thought about it, having him as a bodyguard was great, but was it okay to use a top-ranker like this? Sure, I could frame it positively—that I was “containing” him so he wouldn’t cause trouble elsewhere—but rankers usually have a very different sense of time investment. Making him spend his day on me felt a bit like a crime.

Sephiroth answered calmly.

“I’m going to gather herbs.”

“Huh?”

“Gathering herbs.”

…I must have misheard him.

Now that I thought about it, when we first met, he had been messing around near me saying he was gathering herbs… but wasn’t that a joke? Was he still committed to the bit? What kind of roleplay concept even involves herb gathering?

“Why are you looking at me like I just said something impossible?”

“It’s just… you and herbs don’t match at all.”

“I’m a max-level gatherer.”

“Wait, what?”

“Max-level alchemist, too.”

Is this what they mean by “giving the disease and the cure”? This berserker, who looked like the physical embodiment of violence, gathered herbs? And made medicine?

Of course, if I set aside my personal bias, it made sense. It’s common for “end-game” players in online games to max out a couple of life skills.

But still, Sephiroth and herbs just did not fit!

Regardless of what I thought, Sephiroth—having successfully beaten the NPC guard into the ground—crouched down and began picking herbs.

“I’m asking one last time… this isn’t a bit, right?”

“Don’t talk to me, you’re interfering with my gathering.”

Sephiroth spoke without even looking back. I remembered that prickly tone and the sight of his back as he ignored me. This was exactly how it was when we first met—him gathering herbs while watching me quest. Actually, “watching” was the wrong word. The only thing he had eyes for was the herbs.

Should I… be saying thank you?

I stared at Sephiroth’s back as he swung his trowel in a steady rhythm, feeling deeply conflicted.

Despite my internal conflict, having Sephiroth around meant I didn’t have to swim through a sea of people. A few mindless players wandered near, but they’d bolt the second they saw the nickname “Sephiroth” floating in the distance. Thanks to that, my questing was much easier. Every mob that spawned in the vicinity was mine and mine alone.

The monsters in the beginner zone were pathetically weak. Their damage was cute, and they had practically zero defense. Plus, they only had one or two attack patterns at most. I didn’t need to drink a single one of the potions Sephiroth had stuffed into my inventory. You don’t lose health if you don’t get hit.