Welcome, Player

Chapter Forty-One: The Secret of Arth

-chapter forty-one-
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NAKATULALA AKO sa dalawang taong nasa harapan ko ngayon. Ang isa ay isang lalaking may itim na buhok at may matigas na expresiyon sa mukha. Ang ikalawa ay ang babaeng nakita ko kanina at gumawa ng character ko.

At may sinasabi silang nakakatawa. Kaya hindi ko napigilan ang mapahagikhik.

"What's funny, player?" tanong ng lalaki.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead while still managing a laugh. "Nakakatawa ang joke niyo."

"Joke? What joke?" kumunot ang noo niya.

Sumimangot ako. "Aba malay ko. Wala akong naintindihan sa pinagsasabi niyo,"

"We're not joking. We- lahat ng sinabi namin ay totoo," may inis na sa tono nito. "You're holding the sword that can save my brother!"

Nangingiti akong sumulyap sa babae. "Akala ko ba hindi ka NPC? Ito na ba ang hidden quest?"

Umiling siya. "Hindi nga kami NPC. At hindi din ito hidden quest. Isa itong... quest... namin sa buhay."

"So quest 'to?" tumaas ang kilay ko. "Aside from the dungeon quest and hidden quest, there are even more quests in here?"

Naiinis na ang mukha ng lalaki. "Hindi kami NPC at hindi ito isang game quest! This is something we need to do in order to save my brother!"

"So..." tumikhim ako. "Hindi ito isang quest?"

Napahilamos sa mukha ang lalaki at nagpalabas ng marahas na hininga. Sinamaan lang ako ng tingin ng babae. I raised my hands in the air. Aba, ano ba ang kasalanan ko?!

Walanghiya! Kung may tao mang dapat na mainis ngayon, ako 'yon! I was separated from my team, fell into this room and was sorrounded by those hideous monsters. Ang hirap pa nilang patayin at malapit pa akong mahimatay dahil sa lakas ng pwersa mula sa espada ko. Pagkatapos dadating ang dalawang 'to at magsasalita ng kung ano-ano at sasabihing kailangan nilang tulungan ang kapatid nila! Aba malay ko sa kapatid niyo! Pakialam ko do'n!

"You must be terribly confused by now~" kalmadong tugon ng babae.

Nakaawang ang labi kong tumingin sa kaniya. "You can't even imagine..."

Tumango siya. "The sword that you're holding right now. That's not just any ordinary sword, you know~ That's the sword owned by the King of Arth, the person you are supposed to defeat on the grand quest, and when you do, that sword will be your reward. And the person who holds the sword becomes the new King of Arth - which is basically the goal of the game."

Napatingin ako sa espadang hawak. "You mean... since this is in my possession, ako na ang bagong hari ng mundong 'to?"

Isn't this basically cheating?

"Yes and... no," sagot ng lalaki. "The game got ruined 13 years ago. When the creator decided to prolong his life by merging with the game. His plan was to combine with Arthur, the king, but... it didn't go exactly as he envisioned it because my brother got in the way."

"Brother? Sandali... Sandali lang," pigil ko. "Sino ba itong kuya mo?"

Instantly, his face became guarded. "You don't need to kno-"