Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 67: Unpredictability

God, just when I think he's done with his usual antics after the [Magecrafting] incident, he has to flub up some other way. After hearing that explosion, I drop everything and rush over to the second floor of the building. I'm not alone this time since Wallaby is with me. Unlike before, we're in a player-owned building and if there is collateral damage caused by my brother's antics, I will be held responsible for it. But just as I yell his name, my eyes widen at what I saw. Instead of seeing several soot and ashes around the stations, I see that nothing has changed. Sure, there are several leaves and trash left on the floor, but other than that, there are no signs of any damage so far. But that doesn't mean I can let my guard down.

"Huh. I could have sworn we heard an explosion around here," Wallaby speaks up as he looks around the second floor.

"Same here. But that explosion was loud enough to shake the whole building. So I know it's not some figment of our imagination."

Not to mention that it was that same explosion that led me to Kazu's first incident with one of his crafting [Masteries]. I'm about to give up until I notice some of the stations were destroyed with one of the desks burned black, several burned wands scattered on the floor, and a cauldron was thrown onto one of the destroyed borders.

"Oh god. What have you done, Kaz?"

I swear. If it turns out he has disobeyed my instructions, I'll...

"Azel!"

I break my thoughts as soon as I hear Ol' Wally and turn to see him pick up some kind of book from one of the burned stations. I see the worried expression on his face turn into horror once he sees it as I approach him.

"You know that book's owner, master?" I asked.

"Yes. The words on the cover are a bit jumbled, but I know this belongs to my kid. They never leave without it."

His kid?! He never mentioned a kid in his IRL stories until now. But if it's there, then that means...

"Kazu!" I scream in frustration. "That's it. I'm going to drag him out of this game and..."

"WAIT!"

Huh? That's not Kazu's voice. I turn around to see who it is. To my surprise, I see an androgynous white-haired kid coming out from a destroyed station, and they seem to be covered in soot.

"Y-You said "Kazu" and my name just now," they nervously said. "I-I can explain..."

I'm surprised to see a young kid covered in soot came out of the destroyed station. I was expecting Kazu to come out, but...

"Azel! You're alright!"

Before I can say anything, Wallaby rushes over to the androgynous child and hugs them. I guess that must be his "kid".

"U-Um... Yeah... Sorry for the small mess, Dad. I guess I might have to underestimate Kazu's methods..."

I chuckle sheepishly once he mentions my brother again. Just what did you tell them, Kaz?!

"U-Um... Sorry to interrupt, but you said that you knew Kazu's... crafting methods, right? Just how much did you learn from him?" I ask suspiciously, seeing how I haven't seen him ever since I got here.

"Y-Yeah... You see..."

Before they can start explaining though, we suddenly hear a bit of rumbling behind us. When I turn around, I see some of the station rubble starting to move by themselves. To my surprise, out came Kazu as he coughs some smoke from his mouth. I'm shocked, yet relieved to see him okay, even seeing his [HP] only gone down by half from whatever Azel cooked up there. Of course, once he sees me, I can tell he was starting to panic as he slowly stumbles away from me.