During that night, Merleen told me about everything. She briefly narrated her tale. Although the third perspective voice was there, I still understood her story.
"It must have been rough…" That phrase was the only thing I could mutter after hearing the entire plot of her book.
If I were in Merleen's position, I would have thought and done the same thing. We were still humans at the end of the day and time. All of us will make mistakes no matter how small they are. We did not have to save and reload, unlike in the game.
It was when a spark kindled the heart inside of me, telling me that the world was not a game… Magique was not a world created by the game developers anymore, but an actual world where people could die… where I could die.
"Despite your trauma, you finally cast a spell, right?"
"E-Eh? No, no! Merleen didn't do that! You saw nothing!" The girl retorted, and scrambled away behind the rock. "Merleen did not use magic… Merleen despises magic. Magic was the one who killed my parents."
She kept going on with that false information. However, I knew no words could cure the mental damage done inside Merleen's brain. All I could do right now was listen to her story.
"Casting magic before was something I would like to call 'baby steps,' in my world. If you can do that now, I think you'd become fine soon,"
After our exchange, the two of us fell silent once again. Our eyes hovered at the crisping fire in front of us, with the ashes crumbling from the twigs. That sound was the only thing that kept us company from this lonely night.
But that silence ended after a few minutes. Merleen shuffled beside me and stole some glimpses at my figure, wondering something inside her head. She thought I would not notice her actions. And yet, I did.
That sparked my interest, wailing inside of me.
"How about you? Did something happen before Merleen found you in the lake?" the wizard girl asked, with her eyes locked into mine.
By the looks of her face, she wanted to learn more about me. After telling her story, Merleen wanted a piece of me as if we were working as partners.
I fiddled my hands around Clarent while I pondered my tale. My eyes kept looking at the dark sky, with only the stars illuminating the night. All my breaths became audible to our ears, but I continued telling my story.
Merleen's eyes widened at every climax I told. I even mentioned to her I was not a part of this world. That girl believed me and questioned nothing, except for…
"But you're already a hero for Merleen? You saved Merleen, remember?"
Those words cracked the shell inside my heart, breaking the crumbling inner confidence left inside. I did not know what to say at first. But as the seconds went by, I finally took an inhale and answered.
"No. You must be kidding. I always run away whenever I feel troubled," I confessed, despite looking uncool in everyone's eye.
However, Merleen continued retorting while shaking her head. She refused to believe the phrase I mentioned as she covered my mouth with her hand.
"Mhm, you're a hero for Merleen! If you did not come to Merleen's rescue, Merleen could've been dead already!"
That sentence Merleen mentioned peeled my clam open. For the first time in my life, I finally saw the colour surrounding my world.
It was not just black and white…. The realm had a myriad of colours filling the environment.
"Hmmm…," Merleen continued, and hummed to herself. Within a matter of seconds, she turned to me again and exclaimed. "Thank you for saving Merleen, hero!"
A warm sensation surged through my cheeks, and the butterflies I desperately contained let loose. The candle disappeared and replaced itself with a glowing ember that looked more like a lantern. The light that came from the illuminating source paved the road ahead.
Everything became crystal before me.
"Hmm? Arthur, are you crying?"
Merleen's voice woke me up from this nightmare as the girl in front of me pointed such a thing out loud. If I were still inside my school, my classmates would have made fun of me right now. But this girl found my lost self in a different light.
My lost self that got lost inside the abyss, which we called "life." And yet, here I was, alive.
"You're so cute! Merleen likes you!"
"Heh… Is that so?" I replied. I couldn't handle my excitement and went with the current mood. "Thank you for saving me too."
Merleen tilted her head to the side and asked, "How come Merleen saved you when Merleen did nothing? Merleen is a useless gi-."
Before she could even continue her sentence, I leapt at her fore and covered her mouth. Merleen had a surprised expression carved on her face as she witnessed my figure jolting from my seat.
It was the first time that my head boiled. I was not mad at her or anything at all. My brain just did not like Merleen's words.
"You will never call yourself useless ever again! Did I make myself clear, Merleen Sylvestris?!"
"Y-Yes!"
Upon hearing that phrase, we ended the conversation.
...…..
The two of us woke like early birds hunting for worms. As the sun came out, the world became livelier than before.
A flock of weird-looking birds flew from the sky, with their predator heeling them behind. Dozens of sounds came from domestic animals echoed in the forest. Those voices also served us as our alarm clock for waking up.
Merleen was already awake when I opened my eyes. She packed all of her things. And before I knew it, all the equipment that messed up the scene went into her handmade basket.
"Did you bring that here before we even met?" I could not help but ask.
Merleen gave me a nod and replied, "Yup! Merleen needs something like this to survive in the forest! If Merleen did not make all of this, Merleen would be de-,"
"I don't want to hear about it. Not a single word, Merleen!"
"Y-Yes!"
I went to her house and helped her organize her things. All the tools looked different from the ones I recalled back on Earth. I could only guess that these were the ones that primitive people used.
"How did you learn to use these?" It was what people said, "curiosity got the cat." It might have been darker than that…
"It's a secret!" Merleen answered. But as soon as she saw my stern face, she reverted to her usual self and added. "No, no! Merleen's sorry… Merleen learned about this from Merleen's mother! She was the best at surviving in the wild!"
I did not want to press on that topic, since it felt eerie. What kind of parent would teach someone to live in the wild? It made little sense at all!
After we finished packing all of our stuff, Merleen fiddled with a ring on her finger. My eyes blinked a dozen times before recalling the item that she had.
"D-Don't tell me…," I gasped.
"Hmm?" Merleen mumbled. She heard nothing but my incoherent words as if scheming a hideous plan. But she noticed me grumbling about something, which struck her curiosity.
Even without her telling me the contents of that ring, I already knew the item's features! That ring could store any item that the player holds. Players could only unlock that attribute upon reaching a higher level.
Since the game concluded that storing items throughout the journey was just an overpowered ability. Those game developers tried nerfing that part as well, but they failed in the end.
I always cursed those people in charge of Magique, since they were all idiotic animals that knew nothing but made our efforts vigorous.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Arthur? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Merleen was not wrong about that. That ring also had the name "ghost" before it got released.
"That ring that you have there… Where did you get that?" I straightforwardly asked.
"Oh, this? Merleen created it!" the wizard girl let out a faint chuckle. "Merleen thought that carrying things around was a drag. So Merleen made an item that could carry Merleen's stuff! Merleen did not consider this as using magic. Magical items have unique descriptions, after all! Merleen guess you know Merleen's secret! Don't tell anyone, okay?"
"You… made this all by yourself?" I pressed once more.
Merleen gave me a nod. "Yes! Is that bad?"
"No… just surprised."
I was more than surprised. This girl was way ahead of her time, building something that even the game developers thought was extreme. People in this world considered this ring as a valuable treasure. Even the players would fight a war if they knew a kingdom wielded something like this ring.
An icy shiver flowed through my spine as I imagined things that Merleen's mind could create. Who the heck was Merleen…. She was too powerful, even for me.