Chapter 46: A Difference in Skill

“Those damn mermaids hid my pearl near the Sea of Spirits. It looks just like the one you brought, but it’s much larger. Bring back my pearl, and I’ll ensure you’re rewarded handsomely.”

“How do you know it’s at the Sea of Spirits?”

“Damn it! One of those mermaids left a letter. Told me to come to the Sea of Spirits. I hired some adventurers and sent them off, but none of them have returned—probably lacked grit. You two found the Legendary Pearl, so you must be different. Bring my pearl back, and you’ll gain a status in this city that everyone will envy.”

[Hidden] <Doltec’s Deal>

• Head to the Sea of Spirits.

It’s not even your pearl. And I don’t need status in this city. I muttered inwardly, recalling my conversation with Ignas, but the hidden quest popped up regardless of my feelings. Suppressing the urge to shake my head, I forced a smile.

“Yes. Understood.”

Beside me, Sephiroth whispered, “Should’ve gone to acting school.” I truly wanted to crack his skull open.

The next destination for Sephiroth and me was the Sea of Spirits. Though it once had a different name, it was now universally called the Sea of Spirits, a place said to be haunted by mermaids who had become water ghosts.

As we approached the sea, the dark clouds grew heavier. Upon entering the outskirts, a vast, desolate sandy beach stretched out like a desert. Beyond the fine grains of sand, polished by the waves, the salty scent of the ocean hit me. With the light obscured by thick clouds, the expansive sea appeared a deep indigo, almost black.

“You said water ghosts appear here? The mermaids who fought us earlier, the ones who didn’t want their dream disturbed—aren’t they a type of water ghost too?”

“Pretty much.”

“Did Ignas hide the pearl here?”

“Who knows. I’m not sure about that, but it’s certain that whoever raided Doltec’s house three years ago stole the pearl.”

Sephiroth was referring to the conversation of the NPCs we met on the road. They’d mentioned sharp claws ripping the house apart, hadn’t they? It certainly wasn’t an ordinary situation.

“The rumor about becoming a follower after meeting Doltec… that probably means he was abusing the pearl’s power, right? Ignas said it lets the target see the scenes they want to see.”

“Yeah. It’s basically a drug.”

Sephiroth nodded. A cold sea breeze brushed past my cheek. It felt like the lingering chill you get after telling ghost stories in the dark on a midsummer night.

“Ugh, this place doesn’t feel great.”

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

Even Sephiroth didn’t seem particularly pleased to be here. Seeing that he felt the same way as everyone else made me feel a spark of kinship. As I took a step forward, a goosebump-inducing sensation crawled up my ankles.

“Ugh, maybe it’s because of the ghosts, but I keep getting the chills.”

Sephiroth immediately picked a fight.

“You’re not a kid. You actually believe in that stuff?”

“…Didn’t you just say you wanted to leave quickly too?”

You feel just as uncomfortable here, so why are you acting like I’m the only child scared of ghosts?

“That’s because the sea breeze makes iron armor durability drop faster.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah.”

Is he lying or for real? Half of me thought, There’s no way they implemented that, while the other half thought, They implemented water deer and moles, so why not rust? The fact that the speaker was Sephiroth didn’t exactly help the credibility.

[Friend] BlueberryWhiskey: Hey. [Friend] BlueberryWhiskey: Does iron armor durability drop faster in the sea breeze?

I sent the chat to Gyu-tae and Seong-jin and was waiting for a reply when:

[General] Sephiroth: (´꒳*)** **[General] Sephiroth: You don’t believe me (*´꒳)?

“Ah! I told you not to use that emoticon, it’s creepy!”

The nightmare I’d briefly forgotten came rushing back. When I yelled, Sephiroth burst into laughter. He bowed his head as if trying to hold it in, but the snickering leaked out anyway. This guy instinctively knew exactly how to screw with people. Even luck was on his side. Why on earth did I use the same emoticon his crush uses on this specific day?

[Friend] OneHitOppaaa: What kind of bs is that? [Friend] OneHitOppaaa: Did Sephiroth tell you that? LMAO.

“I’ll stop teasing, so look ahead.”

His voice, thick with amusement, called to me. Realizing I’d been played by Sephiroth again thanks to Gyu-tae’s reply, I turned my head to give him a piece of my mind—but I was instantly freed from the curse of that horrible emoticon. The moment I looked forward, a massive black tower that hadn’t been there a moment ago came into view.

The black tower was tall. It pierced the sky, looking down on Sephiroth and me. Its base sat right on the boundary between the sea and the sand; at least half of it appeared to be positioned over the water. White sand was crumbling into powder at the tower’s entrance. Its majestic exterior seemed designed to overwhelm anyone who looked at it.

I had seen this tower before. It was the tower from the tutorial when I first turned on Zelpia. The tower where I met the AI version of Sephiroth.

“It’s a tower.”

“Looks like we found the right place.”

“Really?”

“This tower isn’t supposed to appear in this zone.”

I couldn’t see his face, but I felt like Sephiroth was smirking triumphantly. As if supporting his theory, the quest window popped up.

[Hidden] <Doltec’s Deal>

• Head to the Sea of Spirits. [Cleared]

[Hidden] <Children of Ignas>

• Defeat all enemies and gain the recognition of the Tower of Ignas.

Defeating all enemies was a standard type of quest. Of course, since it was a “Hidden” quest, the opponents wouldn’t be pushovers. Still, I figured I just had to run around beside Sephiroth as usual.

“Ah, f*ck.”

A low curse escaped his lips.

“Why?”

“What quest did you get?”

“It says to defeat all enemies and gain the tower’s recognition. What about you?”

“It says not to fight.”

“Huh?”

I’d recited the quest content casually, but his answer was unexpected. His iron armor clanked.

“To be precise, it says I have to protect you. If I attack a monster directly, we fail. I’m only supposed to support you so you can gain the tower’s recognition.”

“Are you… not good at supporting?”

“Hey, pretty boy. Is there anything I’m not good at?”

“Well, you could be bad at it. No need to get your pride hurt over it.”

“I’m good at everything.”

What a jerk…

I could see why Sephiroth lived only in the cyber world without friends. If someone talked like this in real life, you’d lose all affection for them instantly. Isn’t his narcissism a bit much? He clearly isn’t good at ‘being a decent person’. I had a lot to say, but I held it in. I knew that if I spoke up, my nickname would just be upgraded from “Pretty Boy” to “Bly.”

“Then just support me.”

“Fighting is fun. Supporting is boring.”

“Then don’t claim you’re good at it.”

“Being good at something and wanting to do it are two different things.”

“How are they different?”

Just as I was trying to pick a fight over his word choice—

“For example.”

“Whoa!”

The black armor turned toward me. Reflexively, I raised my twin swords to block an axe swing I thought was coming. But the sharp double-edged axe didn’t fly. Instead, Sephiroth’s hands grabbed me and hoisted me up.

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

It wasn’t a “princess carry.” Sephiroth wrapped his arms around my thighs like someone uprooting a sturdy tree. In the blink of an eye, my body was in the air. Since we were similar in height, his helmet brushed just below my chest. I struggled and pounded on his armor, but it only left my hands stinging.

“This is something I’m good at, but don’t want to do.”

“Put me down, you psycho!”

I kicked at his legs with my toes, and only then did he let my feet touch the ground. The way he set me down was so graceful that for a moment, I wondered if I was some small, frail girl. Zelpia had a weight system, so he must have felt my weight, yet he made it look effortless. Just how high was his strength stat?

“Do you see the difference now?”

“You picked me up just to show me that difference?”

“They say learning with your body is the fastest way.”

“That’s not what this—!”

No, it’s not. I started to argue but shut my mouth. There was no point talking sense to this guy; he wouldn’t understand human language anyway. Better to just stop talking than let him make up more ridiculous excuses. I let out a long sigh and headed toward the tower.

“Let’s go.”

“Sure.”

Sephiroth replied lightly.

Our footsteps made a crisp crunch-crunch sound as we walked. It was the sound of fine sand crushing under our feet. There wasn’t just one set of footsteps, but two. Sephiroth was walking beside me.

Having Sephiroth by my side felt both awkward and familiar. My brain couldn’t quite wrap itself around the situation, but my senses accepted him naturally. It made sense, considering I’d been glued to him for hours every day since I started the game.

“Hey.”

I called out to him on impulse.