The Badlands

For the first part of their journey, Aiden and Cian sat quietly opposite each other. Although Aiden's face had gotten a bit thinner due to the food shortage, Cian could see that he still had his unusual red hair with his bright red eyes that Cian had always admired.

He was so perfect that it almost made Cian angry. He had the people's love, his father's influence, his good looks, and even Elsa's attention, but that wasn't the worst part the fact that he was also so nice made Cian even more pissed off. 

'How does anyone compete with that?' Cian wondered.

"Excuse my manners, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Aiden".

Cian considered not answering, but he wasn't that petty, "You can call me Cian". 

"Cian? I used to know someone with that name, but he was a bit… weird, always hiding and keeping to himself, so I didn't get to know him too well. But I think he was a good guy. Such a coincidence to meet someone else with the same name," he remarked with a faint smile.

'Since when did wanting your own peace become weird?… Why exactly did it have to be Aiden who had this quest' Cian wondered. He recalled Blue saying he was the only NPC that could give this S-grade quest. Was he simply just chosen by the game?

'If this game had a main character, it would definitely be this guy' 

"I was wondering How you found out the land was cursed?" Cian asked.

"It's actually a long story, as a child I was bullied because of my weird look, so I got used…."

The rest of the words were simply just mumbling, as Cian was too busy wondering if good-looking people also got bullied. He couldn't believe there was anyone in Lowdan, other than him, who didn't like Aiden. Imagine this good-looking bastard calling his looks weird.

"..... That's when the wind told me" Aiden ended his speech.

'Huh!? What does he mean the wind told him? Is there something wrong with him? … I didn't hear a single thing he said'.

"I hope I didn't bore you with my story," Aiden asked with a hint of concern

"No, no you didn't" Cian responded, while he was still stuck trying to figure out what Aiden had said.

"Thank goodness… As much as I hate to admit it, I wouldn't be of much help fighting monsters, but I swear to help in any way I can" Aiden confessed truthfully.

Cian was confused by his words, "If you can't fight, then why did you come with me?"

"To help in any way possible, one doesn't always win fights by fighting" Aiden replied with his ever so calm voice, staring with a Stoic expression, into the horizon.

Cian tried to make sense of what he had just heard, "Are you just trying to sound smart? It's literally called a fight for a reason". 

Aiden didn't respond and just continued staring profoundly into the horizon.

'Maybe there is actually something wrong with his head'

[Master, I don't think this S-grade quest required you to protect anyone, all that is required of you is the Sapphire stone]

"If I'm not meant to protect him, then why'd they let him come on the quest?" 

[It's weird, but I don't think he is even supposed to join us on this quest]

"I agree… but that's just how the game works, it's not like he has a choice" 

[That's the thing, it's possible that it's not part of his programming. I can tell he's meant to give the quest, but the program didn't specify that he'll be involved in it]

"Are you trying to say he's acting on his own free will?" 

[I can't confirm that but it is an actual possibility]

An NPC acting against its code, just like him. It might only be a possibility, but it made Cian optimistic. He had always hated the idea that the NPCs have no control over their choices.

If what Blue had said was the truth, then Aiden chose to travel to the Badlands by himself. He was brave enough to do what he truly wanted, something Cian wasn't able to do while he was still an NPC.

Although Cian had no idea why Aiden joined him on this journey, he silently vowed to protect him with everything he had.

"We are here" the old Man announced as the wagon came to a halt.

They had arrived at Ladiel, Cian paid the old man and then headed for the Pathway with Aiden closely trailing behind him. 

Although this Pathway was different, it was still guarded by the special guards with the silver armour and a golden insignia.

He handed them the token and called out "the Badlands" before crossing through.

As he stepped out of the portal, the air grew colder, and his breath formed misty clouds in front of him. He watched intently as a delicate drop of snow landed softly on his shoulder, melting into a tiny droplet that dripped down his clothe.

<Welcome to The First Village>

The ground was blanketed with snow, and so were the roofs of all the wooden houses around. The few villagers he saw were bundled in thick animal fur, clearly prepared to battle the cold.

The Pathway in this village was at the foot of a giant monkey-like statue that stood at the entrance of the village, covered with snow. This time, there was no one guarding the Pathway, making Cian consider that the Pathways in the badlands were free to use.

"It's freezing" Aiden voiced after he could no longer bear the cold. He was shivering and intensely rubbing his palms to generate heat. For the players, the cold was regulated for their safety, but the NPC had no such privileges. 

If left in this cold weather with the light clothes Aiden had on, he could possibly freeze to death. So Cian decided to get him some thick clothes made from animal fur.

As they entered the village, they walked past a group of warriors, who just awkwardly watched them walk by.

It wasn't hard to find a shop that sold coats, since this village had more shops tailored to the needs of NPCs. This was unusual because, being one of the few villages in the Badlands, it was probably frequented by warriors but yet It had no item shops or stash houses, just a small potion store.

"Blue, why are there no shops in this village?"

[Because the first village is poor in resources, the villagers here give very few quests, and they reward warriors with class advancement, Titles, and high XP instead of gold. So most players don't stay here for long]

"Is this how all the villages in the Badlands are?"

[I believe it's only the first village that has this privilege because it's the final village before the mountains. Coincidentally, it was also the first village the Eternalblue programmed during the creation of the game]

All this while Aiden, who is now wearing a grey fur coat, was trailing behind him like a puppy. Without the cold to worry about, he couldn't help but excitedly bask in the allure of the new scenery.

He was very much interested in the First Village, and he couldn't hide it, he randomly waved and smiled at villagers, and at times they'd wave back. If only Cian wasn't hurriedly leaving the village.

By the time they got close to the entrance, the group of warriors they had earlier seen approached them.

"And what sort of match-up is this? A noob and an NPC, I wonder how that happened" The warrior that looked like the leader asked. 

'They must have figured out that I'm a new player because of my sprite'.

Cian was startled at first but regained his composure. He had only a little over two hours left online, so he couldn't waste any second of his time.

'They could be Anti-players, so I'll have to be careful' Cian reasoned.

"It's my quest, to protect this Villager. Now, if you'll excuse me," Cian replied before attempting to walk past the warriors.

The warrior stretched out his arm, bringing Cian to a halt "Look, it just so happens that we need another member for our party to receive a special A-grade quest, since the rest of our clan members won't be coming I wouldn't mind taking a newbie under my wings" 

Cian calmly replied, "Thank you for the invitation, but as you can see I'm already on a quest" 

"That's not going to be an issue, you'll just have to kill the NPC and the quest will end. After all, you are both going to die out there without any help". 

Cian turned to see Aiden cowering behind him, He heaved a heavy sigh. He could either kill Aiden or risk fighting all these warriors. 

For him, there was actually only one option there. He wasn't going to turn into one of these warriors with no regard for any life. He'd rather take his chance at fighting the warriors than take the life of one innocent Villager.

"That would mean I'll fail my quest and I don't want to do that" Cian sneered as he firmly gripped his axe, preparing for the worst.