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Lorin sat on a boulder with her legs crossed. Two corpses lay in front of her, but she wasn’t paying attention to them. Lightning danced along her arms and down her fingers as she held her arms in front of herself. Mana shields flickered in and out of existence around her. She smiled and stretched her arms towards the ceiling of the cavern, her wings spreading as well. “I never expected to get such a nice skill after falling. No wonder why devils are so strong.”
“I know I called them annoying for complaining all the time, but should you have killed your companions like that?” Boba’s voice echoed through the cavern. “They don’t come back, you know?”
“You’re the one who suggested we kill her to shut her up,” Lorin said, rolling her eyes. “Are you trying to push the blame onto me?”
“I didn’t think you’d actually do it. I was just joking.”
“Well, saying, ‘ha-ha, it was just a prank,’ isn’t going to bring them back,” Lorin said with a shrug. “Besides, their deaths will help Khrx. They didn’t die in vain.”
“Oh really? Elaborate please.”
“I learned an ability that lets me steal the skills of people I kill,” Lorin said. She nodded. “Their deaths made me stronger. And if I get stronger, then Khrx will rely on me more.”
“…Did you know you’re a psychopath?”
Lorin blinked. “That’s impossible,” she said. “I’m an angel. Angels can’t be psychopathic. Besides, I have strong sisterly feelings for Khrx.”
“A sociopath then,” Boba said. “What would Khrx think after he finds out you killed Monika and Nelson?”
“How would he find out?” Lorin asked, tilting her head. She hopped off the boulder and dragged the two corpses to the edge of the magma river before tossing them in. “Unless you’re planning on telling him?”
“Never mind. You’ll see what I mean later.”
Lorin shrugged and lay down on the ground, spreading her wings out. Where was Khrx anyway? Maybe he was in the place he called reality. It’s be nice if she could go there some day. “Hey, Boba. Is it possible for me to leave the virtual world?”
“By dying, yes.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“You want to enter reality? It’s possible, but Khrx would need to buy a shell for you to inhabit. Oh, wait. I forgot. Khrx is filthy rich. Shall I order a shell for you?”
“Yes!”
Before Boba could respond, motes of light shimmered and Anaheim appeared. She glanced around. “Khrx isn’t here?”
“Nope,” Lorin said, still lying down.
“He’s still in the pod in reality, but I’m afraid of waking him. I tried getting in contact with the creators of [Resolution], but they haven’t responded to me. I’m thinking of letting a news agency know, but I really don’t want to deal with them.” Anaheim glanced up at the ceiling. “How about you, Boba? Did you figure anything out?”
“Program Theda is an A.I. from the world of [Resolution]. She’s the god of the underworld, but the developers never fleshed her out. The underworld was not meant to be accessed by players. In fact, they didn’t generate it at all. The A.I. in charge of monitoring [Resolution] must’ve created it without the knowledge of the developers.”
Anaheim bit her lower lip. It wasn’t unusual for people to implement A.I. when it came to construction and planning. They were smarter and faster than people after all. But creating a zone that the developers hadn’t intended? …That was pretty common too, actually, but she thought [Resolution] would be strictly regulated given its role as the game to solve all conflicts. Maybe she should’ve alerted a news agency. But it wasn’t like Khrx would die—he was being fed nutrients via the pod. And he was a dragon. That too.
“Your cooldown times to reenter [Resolution] have ended,” Boba said.
Anaheim nodded as Lorin sat up. If Khrx didn’t come back in a week, she’d definitely call a news agency and cause an international scandal, but for now, she’d enjoy the game. She really wanted to meet Luke, the self-proclaimed demon lord, first.
***
Khrx yawned and splayed his limbs, extending his arms, legs, and tail to their fullest.
“That tickles.”
Khrx blinked and rubbed his eyes. He was still in Rhea’s mouth, the soft tongue underneath his body. At least his nose had become accustomed to the putrid smell. He muttered, “Status.”
[Name: Khrx’Lrvnjl]
[Guild: Paradise]
[Title: Apostle of the Sun God]
[Strength: 32 (22+10)]
[Constitution: 31 (21+10)]
[Intelligence: -19]
[Spirit: 1,000]
[Dexterity: 12]
[Perception: 11]
[Charm: 61]
[Luck: 1,010]
[Active Skills: Nature’s Spirit (M), Poison Incarnate (M)]
[Passive Skills: Nature’s Spirit (M), Poison Incarnate (M)]
[Companions: Lorin]
[Lover: Anaheim]
Monika and Nelson were still missing from his companions list. Even using his surefire, universal tactic to solve his problems—taking a nap—didn’t help. Why did Lorin kill Monika and Nelson? A vague memory of a warning message that had appeared when accepting Monika as a companion—something about Monika and Lorin loathing each other—came to mind, but he dismissed it. How long was he asleep for? A few hours?
“Are we there yet?”
“Just a few more days,” Rhea said. “The underworld’s a big place. It takes time to travel.”
Khrx popped his head out of Rhea’s mouth, doing his best to keep his neck away from her pointy teeth. Snowy plains passed underfoot, causing Khrx to tilt his head up. It was raining fire, so why was the ground snowy? Then he realized Trifelus was walking on a layer of ashes and decided it’d be better to stay inside. Nothing good ever happened when he went outside. The inside of the giant, three-headed cat’s mouth was cozy, almost like his cavern: it was warm, soft, and inviting. Except for the smell, but that became unnoticeable with time.
Khrx’s stomach growled, causing him to frown. Was there even anything to eat down here? Did the dead even have to eat? What if they were missing their stomachs? That brought up the question of whether he was really dead or not. Did he die after being pulled through the black portal or was he still alive? Khrx shook his head and wrapped Rhea’s tongue around his body. He’d employ his universal problem-solving tactic instead of worrying. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.