Autopilot Mode: Engaged

As the two headed into the cave, Neoma was holding the flaming torch and closely following Elin behind.

He didn't wish to get lost. He could vaguely remember that this cave system was nearly as large as the city of Aekodora – the capital of the elven kingdom. Yes, the capital does have the same name as the kingdom.

After an hour or so of walking silently in the cave, they soon approached a tunnel. It was leading down and had a rope attached to get to the bottom of the tunnel faster.

"..."

Neoma just quietly stared at the rope which was attached to the cave floor.

'Am I… supposed to use this to get down? Won't I just end up dying… The last time that I climbed the rope was in 12th grade and the teacher seemed very disappointed in me.'

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly as he thought about the unavoidable situation.

"Don't worry. It's just 5 metres down. I'll hold the torch while you go down."

Elin quickly spoke after seeing the human just blankly staring down at the tunnel. She tried her best to reassure him.

"... I will give it my best. I don't think I am experienced with climbing ropes… So please excuse me if I take too long."

Neoma replied to the elf before getting down on the ground. His legs and arms were already shaking just from thinking of the possibility of him losing his grip on the rope and falling down on the cold hard ground.

'It's just 5 metres. It's not that high. Get a hold of yourself, Neoma. Climbing down is easier than climbing up.'

The youth began to encourage himself as he slowly got into position to climb down into the tunnels. With a bit of more trembling and around 5 minutes of slowly climbing down the rope, Neoma soon reached the ground.

However, he was now completely surrounded by darkness. The only light source was the flaming torch which Elin was holding as she stood on top where the rope was attached to the ground. It was barely lighting up the rope going down, making the tunnel beneath completely sunken in darkness.

It did not take long for the princess of Aekodora to climb down. Once she was next to Neoma, she handed him the torch back and smiled.

"See? It wasn't that bad. However, we should hurry up before my brother notices that I've been gone for too long."

Elin smiled as she spoke in a sweet voice.

'She looks like a mother praising her child for completing a simple task without causing a mess…'

Neoma thought as he slowly nodded his head in response to the princess' words. Once they began heading down the tunnels with the human closely following behind the elf again, he couldn't help but ask out of "curiosity".

"Your brother… Is he a prince of the elves?"

Of course he knew the answer to such a simple question; however, it would be weird if he wouldn't show any interest and curiosity for something that he had "never" seen or heard of before, especially after meeting such a high ranking and important elf. He was fully committed to the role of the innocent human who had lost his memories. Someone who only lived with humans and had never interacted with the other species. Well, the last part was true if the words 'other species' referred to beings such as elves, vampires, unicorns, and so on.

"My brother? His name is Kyros. He's the king of Aekodora. He may not be the most responsible one… But he truly loves his kingdom. I'm sure he'll let you stay at the palace until you recover, but I'll take you to meet him in the morning. It's already late."

Elin spoke as she continued to look forward. She didn't glance back at Neoma when she was replying to the question about her brother. However, Neoma didn't have to see her face to know that she was smiling. Just from her vibrant and cheerful voice he could tell that the elven princess had a sweet smile formed on her lips.

"Oh… I see. I hope I won't be inconveniencing you or His Majesty. And I am grateful for your kindness."

Neoma smiled as well as he replied to the princess. He was trying his best to also stay on good terms with her. He didn't want to offend her and make himself her target. Then, he would end up becoming the enemy of the whole Aekodora!

'Who am I even trying to fool… Me? Elin's enemy? She would just squash me like a bug. I'm not even strong or worthy enough to be considered an enemy to her.'

The youth sighed inwardly as he continued to closely walk behind the elven princess. His mind was already playing tricks on him, creating many detailed images of monsters lurking in the darkness and then suddenly attacking him from behind.

...

"No one's going to disturb you in this room… I'm sorry. I can't give you a proper guest room since servants will surely notice that someone's inside."

The princess of Aekodora apologised as she looked down at Neoma. The two were now standing in the middle of a bedroom which typically middle ranking servants resided in.

Neoma couldn't get a bedroom which often belonged to the lowest ranking servants. Some would even sleep in groups of 4 in the same room. He would surely get noticed by someone.

The youth also couldn't get one of the best bedroom's which belonged to the higher ranking servants. There was no doubt that some butler or chef would take notice of a vacant room suddenly being occupied.

And thus, there was only one option left, which had the least amount of risk when it came to some working elf seeing that a human had suddenly entered the palace grounds.

"It's alright. I actually prefer it this way. I think I would be too uncomfortable if I had to stay in an extravagant and luxurious bedroom."

Neoma smiled as he said those words. Elin didn't waste any more time on apologising again and after reminding the youth that she'll be back in the morning, she quickly and quietly left the servants' quarters.

After seeing the princess leave, Neoma walked to the door and locked it. A small sigh escaped past his lips. He was truly exhausted from the entire journey to the palace and just all of the overwhelming emotions he had to experience in a day.

However, Neoma wasn't planning on heading to sleep yet.

The youth sat on the bed and opened the status window. He was planning on exploring the system a bit. He wanted to check which features it had available and what items it was selling.

After scrolling down through many windows, he stopped at one in particular which intrigued him the most.

"Autopilot mode?"

Neoma mumbled under his breath as he read through the description at the bottom of the window.

'Autopilot mode is one of Alvis' greatest features. It aids the user in fights. Autopilot mode is greatly recommended for users who are new and have no experience fighting. The system buddy, Alvis, will take temporary control of the user during a fight and quickly obliterate the enemy! Of course, Alvis won't have complete control…'

Neoma didn't even finish reading the entire paragraph. His eyes were open wide as he stared at the blue screen before him.

'What a total cheat…'

He thought as he continued on reading. Further down the window were instructions on how to use the autopilot mode and a more detailed explanation on how it works.

After a few seconds of pondering whether he should try it or not, Neoma came to a decision.

"Engage autopilot mode."

╭────── • ◆ • ──────╮

Autopilot mode: engaged

╰────── • ◆ • ──────╯

A notification popped up right before Neoma's eyes; however, he didn't feel any different.

"Is it actually on?"

He mumbled to himself as he slowly got up and looked down at his body, seeing no clear changes on his arms or legs. He decided to also move his arms and legs around, checking whether he still had full control over his limbs.

"Huh, I still can move around freely. Hmm… Probably because I'm not fighting anyone right now… I hope it stays that way and that I never have to fight. Anyone."

After a few seconds of just standing in the middle of the room and checking his body out, he decided to look at himself through a mirror after he still saw no changes on him.

Neoma approached the dark old wooden wardrobe in the corner of his temporary bedroom and opened one of the doors. There was a mirror attached on the side of the door which faced inwards.

The youth's gaze landed on the mirror and his eyes quickly widened. He was shocked from seeing the colour of his eyes.

"They're entirely black…"

Neoma slowly moved his right hand up and placed his fingers on his cheek. His hand failed to cover the beauty mark below the corner of his eye.

"I can't let anybody see me like this. This will get me killed."