Valerius rolled around the cell, which was actually not that bad, bored out of his mind. Then again, this was a game, so that was to be expected. The game developers probably didn't want the Players to complain.
Outside of his cell, Nine, Lucien and Shade stood there, observing the Undying through the one-way spell. Nine silently thought that…they weren't very smart. Judging by the ramblings he went through as if no one else could hear him, she supposed that he thought he was locked in a 'sealed space' of some sorts, where both inside and outside were affected.
"He is a genuine Player," Lucien commented, studying the other. Every five minutes or so, the other looked into thin air and sighed loudly, as if they were keeping him here because he was being too silent. Lucien looked at the pitiful stats the other had through the use of the System given skill 'observe' and wondered how the other made it this far without being besieged by Magic Beasts and monsters.
"Should we engage?" Shade asked, staring at the Undying curiously. On the surface, he looked just like any of them, but the way he acted was clearly abnormal. If it wasn't because of the reports, Shade would have thought these people were clearly deranged and not right in the head.
Nine thought about it, in the end deciding that she should go in alone while the other two watched from outside.
Valerius heard the click of the door and almost wondered if he was imagining the sound again. He had heard it enough times in his imagination that he almost disregarded it.
If it wasn't for the chill going down his spine, that was.
Immediately, he was off the bed in a defensive position, reflexes courtesy of his previous gaming years. Shivering from the cold assaulting him, he reflexively 'observed' the person who just entered.
[???]
[Level: ???]
[Danger Rating: Extremely Fatal]
[Title: Crown Prince of the Cosmos Empire, ...]
Valerius was shocked reading the stats hovering in front of him. Who was this? Crown Prince of the Cosmos Empire? Why was such a person here?
Similarly, Nine was also just as shocked as Valerius. Not because of his stats, per se, but because a new board had appeared for her for the first time.
Nine resisted the urge to squint at it. She wanted very badly to grab whatever developers were up there and threaten them to their faces. Were they really classifying her as an NPC!?
No, Nine thought, calming herself down. There was just no plausible way that she was part of the game developer's 'design'. There was something else afoot, but she still didn't know what it was yet. The [Veritas] skill sung softly to her, confirming her thoughts. She felt more settled once it was confirmed.
But it was rather intriguing. The mere possibilities this brought her almost caused her to let out a smile when she should be maintaining her stoic look for someone she didn't know.
Nine crossed the room and sat down on the bed, making herself comfortable.
Valerius stared at Nine in a daze, feeling like he was being seduced just looking at this man alone. Words could not describe how he was feeling at this moment. Just one look at this man and he felt like he would never be able to find a girlfriend in the future. Absently, he wondered if he was turning gay. He couldn't even put up his guard upon feeling that chill earlier, because he was too busy staring at this man.
The way he regally sat down on the plain cotton bed, the way he crossed his legs ever so elegantly. Every action he made, even down to his breathing charmed Valerius so much that he felt like he was losing his soul.
When the man raised a brow in askance of his behaviour, he couldn't even react, because he felt like he was becoming a pious devotee at this very moment. Though he didn't know who this was, just being reborn and going back in time to meet this person was a blessing.
Nine ignored the dopey expression on the teenager's face, checking out the system interface. She could add reputation points for the player, as well as friendship, or issue a quest. She could also sell them things should she want to.
Interesting. With this, she really felt like she was playing a NPC role. Unlike before where she was feeling affronted, this time, she felt like she gained a new toy. Said toy in question being the Undying before her.
"May I inquire your name?" Nine asked politely.
"My name is Valerius, Your Highness," Valerius said reverently.
"Ah, you are aware of my identity?" Nine said, raising a brow.
Valerius snapped out of his dazed state. He wanted to slap himself. How could he make such a blunder! As a person without any source of identification, wasn't it extremely suspect that he was able to recognize the Crown Prince of the leading Empire?!
Nine issued a quest to the struggling Undying.
Ping!
[Tell Nine Destan, the Crown Prince, about where you're really from.]
[Quest Difficulty: D]
[Quest Rewards: 500 EXP, +5 Relationship points]
[Quest Failure: 0 EXP, -5 Relationship points]
The poor Undying struggled a little before vaguely saying, "Yes, Your Highness."
Valerius tried to explain it, but Nine only heard censored words. What he said went something like this. "Actually, I know because I have the star flower cup. You see, I'm actually a turtle mouse. I come from the future. Sing jelly potato. We will take any quest you give us and complete it to our best ability."
"I see," Nine said doubtfully. She smiled gently at him. "So, you have the star flower cup and am actually a turtle mouse? Did I hear that correctly?"
Valerius looked at her, baffled, before remembering that the game censored anything that would allow NPCs to learn that they were not from this planet! Ah, he felt like dying. How could he have made such an embarrassment of himself in front of this man! There went all his hopes of getting close to him!
"Blue banana," Valerius tested. He felt his head ache. He was saying the same thing, but the words coming out were completely different.
Outside, Shade and Lucien were barely holding in their laughter at their conversation. That poor teen was undergoing some sort of censorship without his consent, and it was pure gold.
Shade hung onto Lucien as he hid his shaking laughs, Lucien doing the same. He held it in so hard that tears were pricking his eyes, and his stomach was hurting.
"Yes, I'm a turtle mouse," Valerius said pitifully.
Lucien and Shade burst into laughter. Clearly, he was saying those words of his own accord instead of it being censored again.
Valerius heard a level up sound from the System, but he didn't feel any better. This was the first time he felt so pitiful gaining a level. He almost wished he never got the quest from that godly looking man.
Nine rapidly processed the information and hid her grin at his reactions. This teenager in front of her was rather funny, and dare she say…innocent? Or maybe gullible.
Seeing Nine still look at him slightly doubtfully, he hesitantly asked, "Is there any way I can clear your doubts?"
"So, you say you're not from this world… can you prove it?"
[Show Nine something that will convince them!]
[Quest Difficulty: D]
[Quest Rewards: 500 EXP]
[Quest Failure: 0 EXP]
Valerius frantically tried to think of something that could prove he was not from around here. The only thing that was popping into his mind at this moment was dancing… this world only contained a type of ballroom dancing that nobles and those in the upper class preferred, unlike back on Earth.
Pitifully, Valerius struggled to remember some videos he had watched and began to… dance sexily. Or at least, attempting to dance sexily.
By now, Shade and Lucien had almost passed out from laughing that hard. They had no expected the day to hold such humour for them when they first woke up today. Likewise, Nine was having a hard time containing her laughter at his pitiful attempt at copy a girl group's sexy dance.
"Alright," Nine said, only the slightest waver in her voice. "Let's say I believe you…"