45 Ranker Inside the Prophecy

Waved hands and gestured in some manner, connected both avatar in a certain area.

"So, you're using this avatar." A giggle was the first thing that came out from a small fluffy lion that walked in its two feet. This small lion wore cooking attire. White color attire covered the small body.

"Haha, I forgot that.. umm what's her name again?" The one talking was a man with the appearance of a squirrel. Its height was more than twice higher the lion before it. With a normal hoodie and training pants, people could easily mistake it as a normal human when they look at it from behind.

"Helper."

The one with an avatar of lion chef was Harden.

"Hi, Helper. Here's my boy, Silv."

And the one with the squirrel head was Arie.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Ricesseal and Silv." A pink rabbit called 'Helper' greeted them with a bow.

Arie was surprised by the call and about to say something, but a robotic kid beside him answered the greeting before he could express his surprise.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. NoodleCub and Helper."

"Oh wait, did I tell you? Or you tell her?" Arie's focus was shifted between Silv and Harden while asking the question.

"They are AI after all," Harden said that with a shrug.

"As we are upgraded as a VVIP's assistance, our database and its limit expanded to some extent. Forgive me if it sounds rude to you, Ar." Silv explained with a little apologized gesture.

"Haha. That's true, I'm not used to being a VVIP either. The status and such, I don't think I ever felt the privileges in a grand manner."

"Our services are provided in such a way that it will prioritize security measure and comfortable daily life for the-" Helper explained in such a formal manner that in the middle of the sentence, the lion cub beside her interrupted it with his small limb.

"He knows." Harden just said that simple sentence to her. With a confused look while looking around she didn't know how to react properly in such an event.

"I guess, we have different personalities too," Arie said that with a grin.

"We have different trait and per-"

Once again, the previous instance happened.

"Let's continue with the main topic, shall we?"

Harden skipped the pleasantries and gestured the other three to follow him into the small hut nearby.

The location they chose at DICE was a restricted custom area for VVIP. It was designed as a small settlement alongside the river.

Small and humble. The hut only consisted of some chairs and a table.

All of them took a seat each. They don't need to sit since their leg wouldn't give up for standing too long.

"How's it?"

"Somehow, that 'prophecy' hit.

Since Harden was the one that called him in the first place, Arie started the talk.

Hearing the answer, he sighed in response.

"Sigh."

"What's wrong?"

"I got them too. Can something like our status being the VVIP affected the gameplay, Silv?" Arie had a frown while asking it. He sounded slightly upset about what happened.

"Apart from the beginner's starter rewards that worked as the compensation of starting the new game, your only privilege was to left some of your previous character's stuff as a 'legacy' item."

Silv answered and Helper added another talk.

"Legacy grade item is the over world's drop that-"

Of course, once again she was cut in the middle.

Kiiii.

That was her voice to express her annoyance to the lion chef close by.

A giggle came from Arie while seeing the scene. Somehow it made him more relaxed.

"Well, so.. Viro and Avia got a hidden class quest. And for me, I got a connected quest with Avia."

"That's similar. I have a connected quest with Korka."

"Whose Korka?"

"Korkainie. The 'healer' that came with me." Harden said while gestured a 'quotes' with his fingers on the word 'healer'.

"Oh is that his name?"

"Didn't I tell you?"

"Well, never mind. I forgot the detail, but I do have some doubts about the 'healer' you brought, so I guess we are on the same page. Avia is the same as Korka. And in that case, are we fucked up? I'm pretty sure that the quest messed up your plan too, right? From the beginning, you have 'PvP' on your blood, after all."

The talk went two ways between Harden and Arie. Leaving both AI in a spectator mode. They looked like an audience of a tennis match. Shifting their focus between the two-player on the field.

After all, they have an advanced database and some degree of authority, but wouldn't be able to keep up with a conversation outside of their covered program.

"From the beginning, we can only go with the flow. Isn't that what I said. I can't even have the choice to become a chef there. Do you know the reason? I met a high level of NPC."

"Well, that was the case for me. And that's why I become the 'First Who Unlocked the Inventor'. But, you? You are a warrior, aren't you?"

"Yes, I didn't go into much detail and kept it secret, but what I picked was not the Warrior. Warrior- no, the basic class was just a part of the requirement. I am on the same page. I will unlock an easter egg when the condition met."

While talking about it, Harden recalled his memory.

At that time, he chose his first foot in one of the food stalls. The owner greeted him sincerely and served him some food he ordered.

It might not relate that much for Stugrd the beastkin, but the owner of the stall felt some sort of relationship since he met a fellow beastkin visiting his stall.

The owner was a beastkin with the appearance of a wolf. Had green fur covered his mane, and gray fur covered the rest of the body.

It was the first day of the game launching, which in this situation was also the first day for the NPC, also known as the 'natives', to meet players.

The wolf had some background revealed while Stugrd talked to him. It was also the first for Stugrd, the lion-kin, to talked with NPC that smoothly.

People used to talk with AI since 'housemaid', the unofficial name of the android robot that helped with the house chores, came to the surface as a mass product. But, the talk would only go around the 'order and action'.

At Arie's house, Viro also needed time to get used to Silv. In the process, he made little new habits for himself to treat Silv differently. It was because he thought that he was so selfish to fuse his own AI; Ensne, as his own summoning monster. While on the other hand, his brother decided to play the game without the feature and made Silv, the housekeeper.

Those talk and close relationship with the AI might not be rewarded directly in real life, but inside the game, it was significantly different.

As the chat with the stall owner goes on, notification told him that the affinity of the NPC increased.

At first, Harden ignored it since a level increase in the relationship between him and NPC was not a big deal at all.

But, as the chat goes on, and Harden talked about his background and how capable he was in the different world in terms of a cook as for the original world, and fighting capability as in another world he visited before, which was the provided background for players who played the previous series, the affinity of the Wolf-kin increased rather quick.

Not long after that, the wolf asked him to proved some fighting move to him. The Wolf-kin was so excited since the last time Harden talked about his capability in terms of the fight rather than the cook.

With Harden accepted it, they moved to a private space and a chain quest was given to him.

"Can you reveal some clue about the easter egg?" Arie asked with not much expectation since those kinds of content had the right to be kept as secrets.

"I won't reveal much to avoid some hard leaks, but I can pretty much give you a major clue."

"Oh, really? I am not forcing you." Arie's action and what he said had a stark contrast. He said that while focusing himself on his ears.

"Haha. I also want to brag. Well, the main point is that my progress brought me to the opposite path to yours."

That answer only left Arie clueless. He tilted his head, expressing his confusion.

"Haha. Why don't you witness it yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"Simple. I need help with the quest. I know you are already with a full party, but at least, I want you to know."

"That's actually come in a perfect moment, but the worst at the same time. How about the 'restrain'?" Arie put a frown while asking it.

"Well, only the two of us that opposed 'that speech' and chose to play casually at first. But somehow, we are still on the leading lane."

"And that's why I doubt it."

"I know your consent. We shared it and I follow you. What is it that makes you change your course? Our loss this dawn?"

"...."

Arie was only silent for the response to the question.

"We are not weak. That's an unfortunate event. I even put my 'community' around them. Can you be at ease?"

"You know, I might have a little information about them. They might have some connection to me, or maybe coming from my 'community."

"That makes it easier then."

"Still.. 'The prophecy' and 'the quest'..."

"Well, since that 'prophecy' hit a full mark, let's just take the direct course. Don't abandon Avia nor I won't abandon Korka."

"I won't."