A New Layer of Trouble

At their destination, Artie discovered there were a lot more people than anticipated. Nearly a hundred; hankering to dip their toes in the cesspool that was the forest depths.

It was the first time Wana, a level 13, was surpassed by anyone. This fact alone shouldn't have alluded to anything, but hunters began obsessing over it.

Having a number dictate your worth within a community wasn't something Artie understood. He didn't wake up to people comparing or flaunting their level like trophies.

In their pursuit of power, more wanted to explore the outland. To see and hunt stronger monsters for themselves.

Artie remained at the doorway for a while to ease his and the minds of the other hunters there. Once the meeting commenced, he planned to recede into a shady corner and listen in.

"Hurry, you guys are going to be late!" Urged the voice of a child, some distance from the guild hall.

It was a voice Artie could identify amid thousands of others. One that throttled toward the entrance before haphazardly barging inside and into Artie.

He felt a small body run into his back and tail, aware of who it belonged to.

"S-sorry!" The young boy hurriedly apologized.

Artie remained faced away, waiting for the realization to kick in and the child's panic to trigger.

"Phillip!" Rachel burst, turning to greet a blue-eyed man that entered behind them.

Her energy and excitement were likely due to him having a colored stone; nevertheless, she was remarkably chipper to meet again.

Artie considered fleeing, but the proposal reminded him too much of his old self. Instead, he borrowed Rachel's vibrancy and compelled a smile.

("Just-")

("Don't look at me like last time...")

No matter how Artie matured, his human emotions were still susceptible to misfortunes. So much, A fear developed at the tip of his throat and made it hard to swallow.

"S-Sis," The child named Freddy stammered in a shaky, fearful voice.

After a timid and deep breath, Artie summoned his intrepidity and goodwill and then rotated. He radiated, and his lightly colored eyes lowered cheerfully before he softly uttered.

"Yo, Freddy."

He raised his open palm in greeting, maintaining a brightness. The scruffy-hair boy shuddered and stepped back where his older sister caught him. Freddy glanced up at his sibling, who shook her head grievously.

Artie's heart and his head gyrated. As he watched the woman silently console her brother, he became invigorated. It was enough that just one of them was willing to face him, so Artie pressed on.

Kneeling down to match the boy's height, he covered his own face with both hands. The youngin grew more guarded and attempted to back away but was obstructed by the sister. Then, like a game of peek-a-boo, Artie quickly withdrew his hands and made a comedic face. The boy didn't laugh; however, the circumstance wasn't made worse either.

("I'm going to do something humiliating, aren't I…")

First, he raised his arms in front of his chest and arched his wrist downward like a cat's paw. Then, without changing his tone, he plainly said, "meow," while curling his tail and twitching his ears.

("Please!") He screamed internally.

Artie was distraught when they turned him away months ago. At that time, he believed he'd never forgive them. Despite that, they plagued his mind, and after losing his family, he realized how indefinite life was. Since his path would be perilous, he didn't want his story to end with more regrets than he already had.

Freddy's tottering body quelled. However, it was only a blink because Sebastian's hollering frightened him again. The man had been spying and observed everything that had transpired. Not only him, but other hunters had marked Artie in case he attacked the siblings. So, they all witnessed an 18-year-old demi-monster meow in front of a child.

Deathly embarrassed, Artie sighed, then palmed his face. Soon after, A subtle chuckle from the older sister pacified him, and he caught a glimpse of her amused fair-skinned face. Freddy, instead of scared, appeared sorrowful. His head deflated, then he clasped his hands tightly together.

"I'm glad you're safe," Artie muttered.

He stood and greeted Phillip, who was being harassed by Rachel. Then sent a smile toward the long-haired sister. She looked uneasy and diverted her sight away when their eyes met.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you."

"It's not that we were afraid of you; o-only."

Her honey brown hair unfurled as she stuttered on her words, then slowly and dearly bowed.

"On the landing day, our parents gave their lives so we could escape from those monsters. So when you took that shape-"

"It's no excuse, I know. But please understand that Freddy- We both really like you... "

"I thought about what I'd do to atone if the opportunity arose, but nothing that came to mind was adequate."

She raised her head slightly, wiped her wet eyes, then sought to make amends. Artie wanted to smile, to allow himself to forgive her with a sunny expression. But, he found their tragic story struck too close to home. Rather, the lack of home he had.

Both of his dark ears slumped alongside his eyelids. It became nearly impossible to pretend to be sociable, the fake smiles dropped, and every fiber of his filthy DNA inflamed.

("I suspected that was why they reacted that way.")

("Of course. I look like fucking monster that killed their parents.")

Artie stepped thinly toward the light-haired woman. He slowly dropped his hand underneath her chin, then gently raised her head.

"It's fine. Really."

"I forgive you."

The sister displayed a closed face expression. One he understood to be discontent. Then, she straightened and nudged Freddy to apologize as well; only, he shied away.

Once more, Artie kneeled in front of the younger brother. He'd misplaced his go-happy disposition and glanced at him with distant yet penetrating eyes.

"T'ser eid t'seb."

Freddy's sunken face inched up narrowly. He didn't encounter Artie, but his inquisitive eyes did skim over him.

"There's a tribe of people, very far from here. They struggle with a lot of the same things we do, but, every day, they manage to smile and party the night away."

Freddy hesitated at first. But he gradually untied his hands and raised his dismal face to Artie.

The boy's mouth disjoined and began to quietly murmur-

"T-tseer eid t-t," he sounded, attempting to recite the words Artie had spoken moments prior.

"T'sed," Artie enunciated, aiding the child in his pronunciation.

"What does it mean?" Freddy asked, peeking curiously at him.

After electrifying his index finger, he drew the characters in the air between them. After it was drawn out, Artie closed his fist and tapped it against Freddy's chest.

"Long as we do our best, live or die, we'll happily rest."

In hindsight, he realized the phrase was grim for a child. Also, employing the same traits that killed his parents was thoughtless. Nevertheless, the boy laid his palm over the area Artie touched. He ceased his bewailing and clenched his shirt, hanging onto a symbolic power bestowed onto him.

"Right, before I forget again."

"My name is Artie," he said, holding out his hand.

Freddy accepted his gesture and timidly introduced himself for a second time. Then, Artie moved to capture the older sister's name.

"My name is Liza, but everyone here calls me Lye," she revealed.

"Lye?" Artie repeated in question.

"It's a long story…." She mumbled, adjusting her weight onto the left leg, and peering at the brown, hardwood floor.

The blonde man, Phillip, disagreed and spilled the beans about the origin of her nickname. Lye attempted to stop him, yanking his arm and covering his mouth. But, he appeared too beguiled to resist sharing her secret.

"It's not as embarrassing as she'd make it out to be. In fact, I'd say it is inspiring."

"In short, Liza here fabricated a story detailing how she learned swordsmanship on Earth."

"It was foolhardy, but the town didn't go up overnight, nor was there an abundance of food. Her logical judgment was to jump the ranks and secure meals and shelter when they became available. Naturally, it didn't take long before others realized she'd only watched fictional movies and performed no better than the ordinary human."

Phillip paused and pivoted toward Lye, who'd quietly pouted at him throughout the story. He chuckled, then outreached his hand toward her in presentation.

"And that's how she got the title Liza the liar, which later shortened to just Lye."

Phillip's narrative tickled Artie. His eyes closed as he smiled subtly and fidgeted with the chain around his neck.

"Things we do for family, huh."

The mood lightened, But Freddy still seemed discomfited. Artie and Lye trusted the boy would eventually recover. Though, only time would tell how long it would take to repair their bonds.

Anyhow, Artie didn't want to force what wasn't there. He ruffled the child's hair, then waved goodbye to him, his sister, and Phillip.

**

He wandered to a corner where he sat alone. Rachel was unhinged as she jumped from hunter to hunter, having them report on their status. It'd been a while, so she was eager to learn how her ex-subjects were doing. Strangely, Skull jumped when she appeared in front of him. She happily observed the man, feeling his muscles and questioning him, but she got no little response. He blushed and spoke only in scattered sentences.

Artie thought it was too bizarre to be funny, and he was stone-faced at the charade.

("Somewhere between their check-ups, he must have fallen in love.")

("Strange.")

Several minutes later, all the guild representatives were present, and the meeting had begun. To his undying surprise, Wana led it.

Several hunters voiced their desire to commence ventures, even leaving the tutorial zone. Mayumi and Sebastian were blunt when they forewarned the hunters that their wish was unfeasible. While they could dive deeper into the forest, exiting the tutorial zone shouldn't have been considered. The hunters rebutted and naturally questioned why they weren't qualified when Mayumi's party could.

Sebastian was quick to brag about Artie's inhuman hearing and how he made their journey possible. Rachel backed him and commenced their preliminary strategy. She announced that she and Laria had devised a level guide for extended areas. Of course, for a fee. Persuading each guild into reluctantly paying 10 coins upfront.

After Rachel received the funds, she delivered them to Artie. He counted 130 units, which meant 13 guilds were present because not a single individual vacated the forum.

With payment sorted, Rachel began. Between her expertise in hunters and Laria's gauging of monsters, they determined recommended level to exit the tutorial was 30. Rachel laid out a copy of one of Laria's maps. It detailed the route they took out of the forest and even labeled areas from levels 1-28, 28 being where the tutorial zone ended.

The involved parties were skeptical but ultimately agreed to adhere to the level guide. Guild alliances were arranged after the meeting, and Artie had to listen to all the mortifying names be listed off. Sebastian was put on the spot when they arrived at theirs. At that point, Artie recollected that he gave Sebastian the authority to name the guild.

("Please don't be something stupid.")

The giddy man inclined his head, slapped his hands together, then blurted.

"Mount Olympus."

Artie wore a questionable expression, uncertain about the man's judgment. Sebastian clearly named it because of his ambiguous role as God of Thunder. Luckily, it was well received by others. And at the very least, it wasn't as elementary as Skull Bashers or Scorching Suns.

"I don't think Greek mythology really fits the fantasy setting, but it's not bad."

"If I'm not mistaken, Mt Olympus is the domain of gods. Run by zu-"

"Do you wish to designate this area as your domain?"

Out of the blue, the Ai voice appeared, interrupted Artie, and alarmed those in the guild hall. He immediately reminded the entity of his disdain for it, reciting the last words he'd fed it.

"Go to hell."

Chairs flew back, and nearly a hundred hunters in the hall stood and prepared to be attacked like the voice's first appearance: The Day One Massacre.

"Wait!" hindered Sebastian, rushing past dozens of bodies, all violently cognizant of their surroundings.

"Please, I'm begging you, Artie. Hear it out."

Artie scowled at him, then denied his request. Sebastian, however, persisted and argued. He clutched onto Artie's shoulders but had his hands slapped away.

"Com'on, man, you'll need all the help you can get!"

Artie's fangs bore in his frustration, and he stood and met him eye to eye.

"You don't know shit about me or what I need."

"Mind your own business, Sebastian."

His blood heated and flowed like lava in his veins. There was a lot of bitterness he'd never been able to properly vent; after all, the Ai never revealed a physical body he could lash out against.

Artie's misdirected frustration stabbed at Sebastian. He grimaced, stomped, cracked the floorboard with his sturdy leg, and shoved Artie back.

"How could you say that, after everything!?"

"Dude, I know you're angry about what happened to your parents. I get it, but think for a second!"

After stumbling back a few steps, Artie gained his balance. He tightened his fist and peered back at Sebastian, who continued to plead.

"I'm not saying to get chummy with it, but use it as a means to an end. By now, you must have realized what it's capable of!"

He had, as someone who'd played RPGs, Artie understood the implications of the Ai's arrival. And, he had a faint idea of what the mystical voice offered. There was 21st-century anime that he'd watched years ago. It featured sorcerers that exercised ghosts, and one of their abilities was to create a domain that boosted their strength. Nonetheless, he hated the idea of accepting anything from the Ai.

"FUCK!" he raged, pivoting, and kicked over the table he'd sat at.

Sebastian produced a reasonable argument, and Artie was faced with a dilemma. Since he couldn't physically harm the supernatural being, he wanted to destroy what it created as compensation for ruining his life. But, to do that, he needed power.

"Speak," he grunted, looking up at the empty sky.

It took a moment before it began, but when it did, the Ai resumed the voice of a young girl.

"Artie…"

Sparks of lightning violently spurred and swathed around his ink-colored horns. Then, in a dry, malicious voice, he uttered-

"Don't ever speak my name again."

For unexplained reasons, It always appeared with a mechanical voice but later took on a human persona. Even when it apologized for offending Artie, the entity mimicked remorse.

"I-its okay. What brings you here?" Instigated Sebastian, trying to rouse the Ai before it disappeared.

"I am heeding the player's command."

"Can you explain what command?" Requested Sebastian, scanning the roofless building as if something would reveal itself.

"Domain."

"Certain roles are allotted a single territory in which the user will have their status tripled and assume complete authority over the space while inside."

"Triple!? You hear that?" Sebastian hollered, widening his posture and squeezing his fist.

("Sounds like bullshit.")

"What are the conditions," grumbled Artie.

"The domain may only expand the space in which no hostile entities exist and may not extend into another player's territory. Additionally, the more a domain is expanded, the less of a multiplier is applied to the player."

Rachel made her way through the stunned hunters and adjusted her glasses before glancing around the sky.

"I see, so a smaller territory would ensure you maintain the full amplification."

"My colleges have made several connections between this world and fictional designs. And you've recently been referring to humans as players. Why is that?"

"Error, information is privileged," it declined.

"Tell us," Artie mandated, glowering so intently his eyebrows nearly touched.

"Acknowledged."

"Now that all 32 roles have been filled, phase one will begin."

The silent spectators uttered a sound for the first time since the Ai appeared. It was one of distraught and puzzlement, viscous enough that he could feel the impending turmoil like the rumble before an earthquake.

Sebastian peered off into another dimension, lost in his stupor. Then, he reanimated, elevated his voice, and shouted.

"What the hell is phase one!?"