Utopian Fantasy: "A Fair Game" Vol. 2

Chapter 7: "He Is Coming!"

“Finally! We reached Tusha’s village!” Lumine celebrated.

The Expedition Group consists of Mika, Lumine, Aize, Keeta, Leo, and Tusha.

Keeta and Leo are two of Aize’s followers. Just like Lumine, Keeta is also a Prototype (These are the Players who received the Base Technology before they entered the game). But unlike her, Keeta embraced the enhancements brought by the Technology - utilizing her Superhuman Strength in battles.

Leo is a fidgety scout. He has the same curiosity as Lumine; he is a good information collector and a good observer. He is the bookish nerdy-type person of Aize’s group.

The Expedition Group went to the village to escort back the children who got lost during an Event - along with Tusha. Aize was also expecting to find his long-lost wife, Roze, in the village.

Lumine and Mika were there to investigate and learn more about the village of NPCs. They were specifically curious about ‘Rath’ - that Tusha kept talking about - and his said return.

“Ahh… This place is great! The base of the mountain is just over there, it feels like I could go on a hike anytime. And the breeze, Aaahhh… It’s so relaxing. You have such a beautiful village, Tusha,” Mika said.

“Her name is Sasha. And we’re not here to sightsee. We should carry on to our mission,” Aize said with a serious voice. Then, he spoke to Tusha. His voice changed distinctively when he talked to Tusha. “Sasha… Can you take us to your house now? I’m excited to see your mother again.”

“Sure! Just follow me!”

The group continued walking through the village.

The children who returned were greeted by their parents. Mika, Lumine, and Leo continued to admire the beautiful place.

After moments of walking,

“Here we are, Papa!” Tusha led them to a small medieval country-style house.

They walked closer to the door.

“Mama should be inside,” Tusha said. She started knocking at the door.

“Getting nervous now, Aize?” Mika teased.

“No! I’m not!” Aize answered. But he’s clearly shaking.

Mika giggled. “It’s okay to be vulnerable sometimes, man.”

“Tch!”

“Mama! Mama! I’m home!” Tusha shouted as she continued knocking on the door.

And finally, someone beneath the door answered.

“Tu - Tusha!? Is that really you?”

“Yes, Mama! It’s me! I also brought someone. Someone who misses you a lot!”

“Really?”

After that, excited footsteps can be heard approaching the door.

“Here she comes. Are you ready?” Mika asked Aize.

Aize hasn’t seen her wife for years, it’s expected that he’s very anxious now.

“Damn. It’s my first time seeing Boss like this,” Keeta said.

“Me - Me too! He looks like me now,” Leo mumbled.

Not long after, the door opened, and…

“MAMA!! I missed you so much!” Tusha greeted as she hugs the woman who opened the door.

“I’m glad you made your way back home. I was really worried. I thought I lost you,” the woman replied. She hugged Tusha tightly in her arms.

“Mama, look! I brought home Papa!”

The woman looked at Aize.

Aize stared back at the woman. And then…

…

…

…

“You… You’re not Rose……..” Aize mumbled. “I - I don’t understand… You’re not my wife.” He looked at Tusha and asked, “Sasha? Is this really your mother?”

The woman replied to Aize, “Of course, I am her mother! And her name is Tusha!” Then, she spoke to Tusha, “Darling, who is this man you brought here?”

“I don’t know… He said he’s my Papa,” Tusha answered.

The players were puzzled.

“I don’t understand what’s happening. Who… Who is this woman? Why is Sasha calling her her mother? Where is Roze?”

Suddenly, a villager started screaming.

“EVERYONE! RATH IS HEEEERE!! HE’S ABOUT TO LAY JUDGEMENT UPON US!!!”

Panic and commotion started in the village.

“Divines above! We’re too late,” another villager uttered.

“What the hell is happening now!?”

“I - I don’t know. Maybe we should ask the villagers, Boss?”

A slight pause happened as they tried to process the situation.

“Hey, Sasha - daughter. Can you enlighten us? What’s happening? Why is that man yelling?”

“Hey! How many times should I tell you that her name is Tusha!? And she’s not your daughter!”

“Shut up, woman! I’m not talking to you!”

The woman was terrified by the echoing rant.

“Hey, hey. Can we please calm down here? We came here to investigate the village - have a meaningful connection with the locals, and not scare them.”

“Mika is right. We should keep our cool and assess the situation calmly,” Lumine affirmed.

“Bo - Boss… I - I hate to say this, but I agree with them. May - Maybe we should do this by speaking to the villagers nicely. Maybe they’ll be willing to share what they know if we ask them in a less terrifying manner.”

“I also agree with them, Boss.”

“............FINE! Have it your way! Do what you want. Just make sure you’ll come up with something useful using these ‘calm methods’ of yours!”

“Uhm… where is he going?”

“Just let him be. The Boss is always like that - he walks out when something doesn’t go his way.”

“Hmm… okay.”

“G - Guys? Ha - Have you already noticed this?”

“What is it, Leo?”

“The - the wristband!”

The players looked at their wristbands. They were shocked to discover that their wristbands were already glowing.

“This is a Notifier of a Special Event, right?”

“Y - You’re right, Keeta.”

The players opened their UIs.

“Rath Thau Dursm - that’s the name of the Event. And wait……. What!? 3 days!?”

“What the f*ck!? 3 days!? Is this just a bug in the UI?”

“N - no. I - I don’t think this is an error. The Special Event has 3 Days Preparation Time.”

Everyone was surprised.

“I remember Virgo saying that we can estimate how long the Special Event will last by basing it on the Initial Countdown. This Event has a 3-day countdown timer; the main Event must be so long,” Mika stated.

“Damn! This sh*t scares me. We had already witnessed what an hour-long Event can do. What more an Event that can potentially last for more than 3 days? What the f*ck!?”

“We should remain calm. We’re not only here in the village to see Tusha’s mother; we knew that these villagers know something about this Event. We still have 3 days before it happens; we shouldn’t waste this time. Time to properly investigate!” Lumine urged.

They agreed.

“Leo! Could you please start by interviewing some locals? Please gather as much information as possible.”

“O - okay, Lumine!”

“I’ll go with Leo.”

“Sure, Keeta.”

The two went off to start their investigation.

“Mika, please go with me.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We’ll just conduct some specific tests on these villagers.”

“Well… okay!”

…

…

…

…

…

Earlier that day in the Treetop Settlement,

“Good afternoon!”

“Good afternoon, Arii,” Raft greeted back.

Their conversation commenced while Raft was busy crafting in his workplace.

“How are they doing? The new settlers?” Raft asked.

“They’re doing fine, I think. The kids are grateful that we accepted them.”

“Well… They should be.”

Arii nodded at Raft with a smile.

After a slight pause, Raft questioned Arii, “So… are you here just to visit? Or are you here to tell me something?”

“Ah - Yes! About that… uhm… Lorelei requested me to ask you if you’ll allow her to talk with you...”

After hearing the name, Raft’s expression visibly changed. His eyebrows frowned and his head slightly jerked.

He sighed and replied, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Are you sure? She’s actually right over there, following me.”

Raft moderately leaned his body to glance at Lorelei who was secretly peeking behind the wall of a wooden hut.

Arii also looked back to face Lorelei. “You can come now!” she uttered as she let out a calming smile.

Lorelei revealed herself and walked towards the busy Raft.

“What do you want?” Raft grunted.

“I just want to thank you for accepting us,” Lorelei replied with a meek voice.

“I just accepted you to stay in our camp, but it doesn’t mean that I already forgive you. Do you think it’s easy to forget what you did to us?”

Arii butted in, “But, Raft… They had no choice back then...”

“They are not robots, Arii! They have their own decisions! They could have simply refused!” Raft argued.

“But…”

“He’s right,” Lorelei mumbled. She bowed her head out of disgrace. “We’re… We’re sorry.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Shortly later,

“Anything else you want to say?” Raft uttered.

“No… uhm… That’s all I wanted to say. I just wanted to thank you… and also apologize,” Lorelei replied.

“Well then - if you won’t mind - I’m still busy crafting more Builder Drones. I still need to craft more of these to repair all the DAMAGES IN THIS CAMP,” Raft uttered as if he was intentionally making Lorelei feel guilty. “It would be great if you’ll void me of distraction.”

“Yes, I understand.” Lorelei silently walked away.

“I’m also going, Raft,” Arii said before leaving the place.

Arii followed Lorelei who was heading to her newly-constructed Room.

“Hey, Lorelei!” Arii shouted as she halted the lady. “Are you, alright?” she concernedly asked after striding to reach Lorelei.

Lorelei responded with a forced smile and a small nod.

Arii saw through Lorelei’s pretense; she consoled, “Don’t worry, Lorelei. Raft is just like that. Maybe he’s still mad right now, but I’m sure that everything will be fine. He’ll forgive you soon.”

“I hope so…”

“Cheer up. Hehe.”

“Thanks, Arii,” Lorelei replied, now, with a genuine smile. “But you know…”

“Hmm?”

“Despite what the Gang did to your group, I’m really glad that you offered us a place to stay. When our Gang was divided, we didn’t know where to go… But here we are. We don’t know how to thank you enough. How can we make amends?”

“Oh, don’t stress about it. For me, all I want is your loyalty - of course, I’m expecting that you’ll never trick us again.”

“Of course!”

“And don’t worry! I’m very sure that all of us also feel the same. In this scary world, it’s great to have more company. So, maybe… All we can ask for is your cooperation.”

“Okay! I promise that we’ll lend our full hands. And most importantly, our hearts.”

“That’s great!” Arii replied cheerfully. “Hmm… Maybe start by helping with some groundwork in the camp? Did Marco give you a Role yet?”

“Nope. I haven’t talked to him yet. But I will after I finish working on some things in my Room.”

“Okay,” Arii replied with a smile.

“By the way, did I already mention how great this camp is? It’s like a mini fortress!” Lorelei said with awe. “The protective barriers, the working machines, defensive turrets, houses… Did Raft do all of these?”

“This camp is a product of all our collective efforts. But yeah - it’s mostly Raft. Hehe.”

“Wow! His crafts are so useful! I really like those Multifunctional Utility Drones he made especially for us. Those Drones made our room construction so much easier.”

“Raft is cool, isn’t he?”

“Yes. No wonder why Aize wants to recruit him so badly.”

A slight pause happened. Lorelei’s last sentence made Arii form a question in her mind. “Would you mind if I ask?”

“Yes?”

“What’s the real story behind Aize’s family? I mean… we already know that Tusha is her long-lost daughter. But what really happened to them? Why did Tusha end up in this world? Where is his wife?”

“I can’t answer that accurately. Better ask Coco or CongMin about that, I’m sure they can explain better.”

“Oookay… Wait! Who’s CongMin?”

“Huh? You haven’t met him yet?”

“Uh-hm.”

“As far as I know, CongMin is also a former member of PG 13. He was the second Guild Leader after Aize left. Or at least that’s how I remember the story goes.”

Arii’s curiosity was piqued, “Does Raft know about this? Does he know that CongMin is also in the Plains? Orixa? Mario? Do they know?”

“That - I also don’t know.”

“Hmm… Maybe I should just ask them myself. Thanks for the info, Lorie. Uhm… can I call you ‘Lorie’ now?”

“It’s fine, I guess. Hehe.”

Arii responded with a smile.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll head back to my room to do some unfinished tasks,” Lorelei stated.

“Sure, sure. I’ll go ask Marco about your Role assignment. I’ll also talk to Raft about CongMin after that.”

“Ok. Thanks again, Arii!”

“No problem!”

Lorelei headed back to her room. Arii went to search for Marco.

After a few moments of walking along the corridors of the camp, Arii found Marco talking with Orixa in the Assembly Place.