HC: Pacifist | Ch. 259 - Cute (Patreon)

Ice Wall!

The barrier Coldhand created stopped the mechanical fist, just as it was about to squash Mel. She had been too caught up coordinating with Goldie, and the golems were deceptively fast. Thankfully, the icy general had her back. 

“Thanks, Coldhand.”

The 67th floor was almost as hard as the 50th, and many of the guilds had been stuck there for days. The golems had very high elemental resistance, rendering a large portion of the team's DPS ineffective. Just as they finished dealing with the troublesome giant elite, ColdHand told everyone to take a breather while he took stock of cooldowns and morale. 

Mel sat with her back against the wall next to another girl with short black hair and an elegant cotton dress. She was taller than her, which wasn’t hard to pull. Mel envied her somewhat. Nivia, though, had told her before that she wished she was shorter. Maybe it was a ‘grass’s always greener’ situation; short girls wanted to be taller, and really tall women wanted to be shorter.

She and Nivia had been friends for years. It was thanks to her recommendation that Nivia had joined the Krakens. Despite their friendship, Nivia revealed herself to be a talented healer and had climbed all the way up to the elite team on her own merit.

“How have you been enjoying being a part of our elite raiding team?” Mel asked. 

“Oh yes, I've been learning a lot from the other players. Especially ColdHand. The rumors don’t do him justice.”

“Yeah, he's incredible,” Mel agreed wholeheartedly. Coldhand had saved her life at least four times today. 

“How many floors do you think the Core Tower has?” asked Nivia curiously.

“I don't know. What I do know is that most guilds are stuck in the 60s like us.” 

“Do you think the Dragons have reached all the way down?”

“It wouldn't surprise me. You can’t apply normal logic to those battle freaks. Where Jaw-Long found his team of monsters is beyond me,” Mel said, shuddering. Flashes of the long, tiresome battle against Loki rushed through her mind. Jaw-Long had single-handedly blocked many of the attacks from the Hive King. 

Mel got a call. Seeing who the caller was, her eyes widened. Every time Roth Taylor called, trouble followed. She declined the call and sent a message saying she’d call him right back. 

“Excuse me, Nivia. I need to leave the game for a moment.” 

“In the middle of the raid?”

“We’re on a break anyway. It will be just a few minutes.”

Her friend eyed her suspiciously. “Why are you blushing?” As Nivia conjectured possible explanations, her lips turned into a grin. “Is it a boyfriend?”

“Don’t be silly. Nothing of the sort. Sorry. I have to go.”

Mel walked toward ColdHand, flustered. Was she blushing? She felt her cheeks. They were slightly warm. Maybe it was from the exertion of the battle. Or maybe it’s because I fear that DavyJones finds out I tipped Roth off about the tail he put on him, she told herself. 

“Hi, ColdHand. Thanks again for earlier.”

“Don’t mention it. What’s up?”

“How long until we resume the raid?”

“About 10 minutes. Everyone is tired. I need everyone to be on the top of their game for the last stretch. We can’t be too far from the boss.”

“I need to leave the game for a moment. Do you mind?”

“Just make sure you're back in ten.”

“Roger that.”

Mel glanced toward Nivia. Her friend’s eyes were glued to her, trying to pick up on anything she could use to tease her later. Sighing, Mel logged out of the game and was transported to her capsule's opening menu, a white empty space. Here, she appeared just like she was in real life. Also, instead of armor, she had simple white clothes. 

She activated the app that allowed her to call players in-game from here and returned the call. On the screen appeared the player known as ‘looney tailor’ by some, ‘ticket boy’ or ‘slayer' by others. Since she last saw him, he hadn't changed his equipment. He still wore those elegant marbled green wool clothes. He had kind eyes and an infuriating smirk. 

He seemed more relaxed than in previous calls he’d made to her. He hadn’t bothered hiding his background.

The landscape was unmistakable. The shimmering air, the rolling dunes, and the occasional acacia tree. Mel had only been to Sun Desert a couple of times. As one of the guild members with the fastest flying ride, she was often sent on expeditions and quests that involved long travels. Even though many players loved the openness and wideness of the vast wastelands, she was more of a city girl and preferred the capital.

Several creatures were also in the background. They had yellowish skin that helped them blend in with the environment. They had small, spiky protrusions all over their bodies, powerful limbs, and sharp claws—sand lizards!

“Hi. To what do the Krakens owe the pleasure?” she asked diplomatically.

“Uh? What do you mean ‘the Krakens’?” Roth asked. 

For some reason, he was smiling too much. What was up with him? “Isn’t that why you’re calling?”

“You got it wrong. I’m not calling because I have business with your guild. I actually wanted to talk to you.”

“Why?” Mel asked, confused. 

“We haven't chatted in a while, and I never got to thank you for all the help you gave me.”

He hadn’t mentioned any specifics. Good. He’d picked up that her communications were monitored. “You're welcome.”

“So, what are you up to?” 

He still had that annoying grin. “What’s so funny?” Mel demanded.

“Oh, nothing. It's the first time I see you without armor. You look so scary and mighty whenever I see you in the game, but it's refreshing to see that you're just a cute, normal girl.”

Cute? Mel felt her ears burn. Was she angry that he had called her cute? Or was it because Roth was seeing her real appearance? Why would that make her angry? She had been on TV several times representing the Krakens, and if anyone wanted to see her real appearance they only had to type her game tag in any search engine.

She resisted the urge to feel her face. She didn't remember what her settings for her appearance in the virtual space were, and she didn't even know if she had virtual makeup on. Instead of revealing any insecurity, she made herself smile confidently. 

“So what are you doing in the Sun Desert?” It had come out sounding more aggressive and nosy than she wanted, but something about this guy threw her off balance.

“Just making friends. Besides, it's nice out here. I'd never been to a desert before. In what world region did you start the game?”

“In a Sky Island.”

“Oh, I went to visit Nimbus City recently. Lovely place. It feels so pure and white and heavenly.”

Mel was still unsure about the reason for Roth calling. Did he just want to chat? Or was he playing her because he wanted information on the Krakens? “Well, you must be swimming in gold to travel so much just to go sightseeing.”

Roth shrugged but didn’t say anything. 

“Did you know that Nexus sells tourist accounts?” Mel asked.

“Really? How does that work?”

“Some people just join the game so that they can see its landscapes. There are some paradisaic places in AstroTerra. I actually did one such tour with my parents once. They don't like playing, but they love visiting the game and seeing where I work.” As soon as she said it, Mel regretted it. Why was she so chatty? And talking of her parents? Something so personal? What was wrong with her?! Outwardly, she maintained a confident smile.

“That's cool. Maybe I should take my mother and brothers on a trip, too. I haven't seen my brothers in forever. Maybe I should tell them to whip up a quick account and have my niece join. I haven't met her, you know,” he explained sadly. 

“Right, because you were in the pennitentiary,” Mel said, a little embarrassed at how difficult it was for her to say it. She still couldn't understand how such a meek, harmless man had almost beaten Loki to death. “What was that like?”

“What do you mean? The slammer?”

She nodded. Genuine curiosity moved her. She had never talked to anyone who’d been incarcerated. 

“You're the first who has ever asked me this,” Roth answered. “My mom just pretends that I was never there or cries while imagining what I've been through there. Prison was…” Roth struggled to find the right word, but Mel waited patiently. “Prison was therapeutic,” he finally managed.

“Therapeutic? What do you mean?”

“You know, I was locked up with all sorts of criminals. People who have gone all the way. People who have killed out of rage. When I met those people, it was as if I was given a mirror. It helped me face some hard truths.”

He sounds so sincere, she told herself. It was rare to see someone talk so openly about their shortcomings. 

“It also has taught me many big lessons,” he continued 

“Like what?”

“People do change. Some of the best people I've met in life, some of the best friends I've made were when I was in jail. They weren’t good people when they went in. They became good people in the slammer. Drake, for example, he's like a father to me. The things that he did before getting imprisoned! Did you know that he cut off his arm so that he could escape the mob?”

“Ew, gross. What else?” For some reason, this account fascinated her. It was so different from what she was used to.

“Let’s see. What else?” he mumbled. It almost looked like Roth had orange-like thoughts in his mind, and because of her questions, he had to squeeze them and get the juice out before he could translate them into words. It was entertaining to see him think. 

“Here’s another good one. Even if your body is trapped, your heart can still be free. That's why I'm trying to live as if I were free here.”

Free? But didn’t the Ogres free him? Is he talking about having to stay in their compound? Mel didn’t ask anything, but something in her facial expression must have indicated she hadn’t understood the connection. Roth explained, “You know. AstroTerra. It’s a prison for me. My real body is trapped inside a bomb.”

“What? A bomb?!” she yelped, genuinely concerned. “Are you OK?”

“Didn’t you know? Loki boobytrapped my capsule. If anyone tampers with it, it’ll explode.”

“I-I didn’t know. I’m s-so sorry, Roth.”

“It’s OK. I try to make the most of it,” he said, smiling. How could someone in such dire straits smile like that? 

Her admiration was soon buried under countless questions. Why hadn’t she heard about this bomb before? How could Nexus let this happen? Did they know about this? 

“And I've also been making some nice friends along the way,” he continued, pulling Mel from her thoughts

“Really? Like who?” 

“I don't know. Even though we started on the wrong foot, I like to think we started to become friends, right, Mel? I thought you were a cold, calculating person. But look at you. There's still hope for you.”

Mel’s anger came back in full. “Oh yeah, you’re not a picnic either.” 

Roth just laughed. 

Mel couldn’t stop imagining a pod imploding and the boy in front of her dying while they were talking. She had freaked out so hard when he’d disappeared after scolding her. She had felt terrible for days. The last thing she needed right now was for something like that to happen again.

She tried to move the conversation along and away from talk about explosives. “So, where are you planning to go next?”

“I don't know. Any suggestions?”

“Well, I can tell you that my favorite place in AstroTerra is Mistia.”

“That's one of the Sky Islands, right?”

“Yeah, it's the only one with a river. It has this beautiful waterfall that falls off the edge of the island. As the water keeps falling, it vaporizes and becomes a beautiful white mist.”

“Sounds beautiful! I'll give it a go one of these days. Maybe I'll even take my family there. Thank you.”

She got a message from ColdHand asking about her location. “Sorry, I have to go. Thank you for calling. This was nice.”

“Yeah, it was nice. Thank you. You helped me kill some time of my boring wait. I must stay here for a few hours before moving on.” 

Mel felt furious all of a sudden. He had only called her because he was bored? Was she even the first person he called? Or was he just calling random people? Was she just something to help him relieve boredom? 

“Bye-bye!”

Roth turned off the phone, and as Mel logged back in, she thought about their conversation. Even though this man was infuriating, whenever they spoke, some of the things he said stuck in her mind for days. Even if your body is trapped, your heart can still be free, she repeated. That was a beautiful thought.

As she returned to the 67th floor of the Core Tower, she sighed, relieved that not everyone was in formation yet. She shot ColdHand an apologetic look and before she could take her place in the DPS team, Nivia sneaked up from behind her.

“Hi, Mel!” 

“Argh! You scared me!”

Her friend eyed her with a smile from ear to ear. 

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Mel. You can’t see it, but you’re glowing.”

Ch. 258 - Cloud Candy

INDEX

Ch. 260 - Heavy Losses