Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 51: Failed Aversion

That was... a surreal experience. I had managed to get more information through those solder NPCs back there, but never had I expected them to make such concrete guesses on THE plague that almost made the <Tested Wilds> forest extinct and the suspicions on the culprit who created it. I wished I could've learned more, but if we had stayed there any longer, there was a chance they would discover us. So for now, I decided to put them in the back of my mind and focus on the [Quests] that we were working on right at the moment. But still, I was a bit troubled regarding their previous conversation. If they knew about Kazu, there was a chance this could snowball into disaster.

But then I wondered: can NPCs even retain their memories about the players or even have any consciousness at all? The NPCs were still AI built into the game, but for some reason, most of their conversations differed in every encounter we've had with them so far. Even when we spoke to the <Adventurer's Guild's> receptionist NPC, her conversations didn't limit to just welcoming us and asking about our finished [Quests]. Heck, when we talked to her earlier, she mentioned the rumors about the forest. I didn't know if the devs added that during maintenance, but...

SMACK!

"Ow! What was that for?!" I shouted as I turned to Arthur, and rubbed the back of my head where he'd just hit me.

"That's for not paying attention during our quest! Razul tried to call you to get that last set of boars, but you zoned out for some reason. Seriously, get your head in the game. You're the only one who can analyze our opponents with your [Masteries] set."

Right. I quickly shook my head in an attempt to regain focus and snap out of my thoughts once the pain on my head dissipated.

"Sorry about that. I'm just still thinking about those soldiers."

"Soldiers? Oh, you mean those guys in armor, right? Whatever they're planning, I doubt it's anything nefarious unless there are rumors of a conspiracy or something, but if they are around, then that means the kingdom already knows something's up."

This was already obvious to me after their previous conversation. But if that was true, then there is a chance that I could end up in a precarious situation if I kept sticking my nose into other people's affairs.

"Besides, if we get even more involved with spying on those soldiers, there's no telling what could happen to us if they find out," Razul spoke up as he approached us. "It's best that we learn nothing if we want to protect ourselves."

That is true. But I was still curious about them. Bai Hu said the kingdom might have some ideas about the reason that the plague and these <Mana Landmarks> that he was worried about.

"Yeah, but..."

"But nothing, Wind! If we want to get stronger and beat tougher dungeons, we have to grind up, level up, and get stronger equipment as soon as possible!" Arthur shouted, as I wisely back away to avoid it.

"Well, we've been doing that ever since we started playing today. Is there anything we can do other than leveling up and stuff?"

Arthur began to hum as soon as I said this.

"Yeah, you got a good point. For one thing, have you been working on your [Mastery] set lately?"

"My... [Mastery] set?" I repeated with a hint of confusion in my voice. "You mean my skill set?"

"Skillset, abilities... Whatever... Seriously, Wind. You need to get used to the game's terminology here. If you keep calling [Masteries] for skills, they still might see you as a weird noob who has no idea how to play the game."