The town square was silent.
Not peaceful silent — the kind of silence that comes when people are afraid to breathe near you.
Hitorikko stood in the center, still dripping crimson. His broken blade hung loosely at his side, half-sheathed, half-dead.
Someone whispered from the crowd. "That's him… the one who killed the NPC…"
Another voice hissed back. "He's cursed. Stay away."
The crowd's eyes stabbed more sharply than any weapon. Players edged away. NPCs hurried into their homes. Even the marketplace banners fluttered like they were afraid of him.
Ayumi stood a few feet behind him, gripping her axe. The Preservation aura around her flickered — golden, protective — but it didn't reach him.
"…You went too far this time," she said quietly.
Hitorikko didn't answer. He stared at his boots, trying not to see the blood drying in the cracks between his fingers. The blood wasn't just data. It felt warm when it had splashed on his face.
[You really made an impression, Master.]
SIS's voice chimed in his head, crisp and far too cheerful.
[Congratulations! You're now the least popular player within a fifty-mile radius.]
"Not. Helping." He muttered under his breath.
[Just keeping the mood light. Someone has to.]
Ayumi stepped forward, her face pale. "They're going to make you leave. The council decided already."
He blinked. "Council?"
"The NPC Elders," she said. "They think you're a system bug. You can't stay in the beginner village anymore."
He almost laughed — not out of humor, but disbelief. "So I kill one data blob and suddenly I'm a walking virus?"
"It wasn't data," she snapped. "That NPC… she was coded to evolve. She was real enough."
For a second, silence stretched between them. Then Ayumi took a deep breath and looked away. "They'll send guards soon. You should go before it becomes official."
He turned toward her, wanting to say something. Anything.
"…Will you come?"
Her eyes widened, then softened. "You're impossible."
"That's not a no."
She sighed, exasperated, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "I'm not letting you get yourself killed, idiot."
[Ohhhh, romantic tension detected.]
[Should I project some background music? Something tragic, maybe violins—]
"SIS," he hissed. "Mute."
[Rude.]
The metallic clang of armor echoed from the east gate. Guards. NPCs. Artificial soldiers programmed to "maintain balance."
Ayumi tightened her grip on her axe. "We move now."
⸻
They ran.
Through alleyways, past the old smithy where his new sword had been forged but never collected.
Through the fields where pixelated wheat shimmered like gold under the false sunset.
The last glimpse of the beginner village — his supposed safe zone — vanished behind the ridge as they entered the wildlands.
A system message blinked across his vision.
[NOTICE: Player "Hitorikko" has been Exiled from the Beginner Zone.]
[All future access revoked. Reputation: -500.]
[Ouch. Negative five hundred? That's… impressive. You set a record.]
He snorted. "Guess I'm famous now."
[Infamous.]
"Same difference."
Ayumi jogged beside him, out of breath. "Do you even realize what you just did? You triggered a system-wide alert."
"Didn't mean to."
"That's the point! You never mean to!"
He gave a half-hearted grin. "I'm consistent, at least."
She glared at him — and he swore the faintest twitch of a smile broke through her frustration.
⸻
Hours later, they camped near a broken shrine in the forest.
The fire crackled weakly. SIS had dimmed her interface, hovering above the flames like a ghost.
Hitorikko leaned back against a log, staring at the stars. "You think I deserve this?"
Ayumi looked at him for a long moment before answering. "Deserve? No. But you earned it."
He chuckled dryly. "That's worse."
[Technically accurate though.]
"Don't agree with her."
[I go where the logic is, Master.]
He sighed, rubbing the scar that crossed his chest — the faint reminder of his last battle with the dark elementals. His shirt was still torn from that day, though the wounds were healed.
"…I didn't mean to kill her," he murmured.
"I know," Ayumi said softly. "That's why it hurts."
The night was quiet except for the fire's crackle and SIS's faint hum.
[You know, statistically speaking, exile players either become villains or legends.]
He turned his head. "Which one am I?"
[Too early to tell. You've got the social skills of a cactus, but the determination of a hero. It's confusing.]
He almost smiled at that.
⸻
Meanwhile — 100 miles south — another figure watched a burning village.
Ren.
Level 18.
Class: Paladin (Subclass: Mercy).
He held a crying child in one arm and raised his glowing sword toward the ashes with the other.
"Stay calm," he told the survivors. "You're safe now."
The villagers looked at him like a god.
Ren smiled, gentle but detached. He wasn't here for praise — he was following his questline: "Rebuild the Fallen."
He'd saved five towns, rescued NPCs others abandoned, and gained reputation points that glittered across the leaderboard.
[REPUTATION: +920 | Title: Saint of the South]
But behind his calm eyes, something darker stirred. The same voice that had whispered to Hitorikko echoed faintly in him, too — though he didn't know it yet.
⸻
Back in the forest, Ayumi poked the fire with a stick.
"So what now? Wander until someone decides to kill us?"
"Pretty much," Hitorikko said. "Or we find out why this game doesn't let us log out."
[Finally, some initiative! Took you only nine chapters.]
He threw a pebble at the hologram. "You're lucky you don't have a face."
[You say that, but what if I did?]
"Please don't."
Ayumi smiled faintly. "You two sound like siblings."
"Don't say that. She'll take it literally."
[Too late. You're stuck with me, big brother.]
He groaned into his hands. "I hate this."
[No, you don't.]
⸻
Morning came too soon.
The forest glowed silver in the dawn, and mist curled between the roots like old ghosts.
They packed up in silence. The air smelled of rain and something else — iron, maybe. Or fate.
"Hey," Ayumi said suddenly, staring into the trees. "Do you hear that?"
It was faint — metal clashing in the distance. A fight.
Hitorikko stood. "Let's check it out."
They moved through the underbrush until they reached a clearing.
There — surrounded by a dozen armored bandits — stood a man in white armor, his sword blazing with light.
Ren.
Hitorikko frowned. "Another player?"
[Data confirms. Player level: 18. Rank: A-class. Paladin subclass detected.]
The bandits lunged. Ren's sword cut through them in sweeping arcs of divine fire. He moved like poetry — efficient, graceful, terrifying.
Ayumi exhaled softly. "He's strong…"
"Yeah," Hitorikko murmured. "Too strong."
When the last bandit fell, Ren turned — his golden eyes meeting Hitorikko's blue. For a heartbeat, neither spoke.
The air between them felt electric.
Opposites — light and shadow, saint and exile — staring at each other through the mist.
Ren smiled politely. "Didn't mean to intrude."
"You didn't," Hitorikko said. "The forest's big enough."
[Tension detected.]
[Predicting 87% chance of rivalry subplot.]
Ayumi elbowed him. "Stop talking to your system."
Ren tilted his head. "System? You… hear it too?"
Hitorikko froze.
Ayumi blinked. "Wait. What?"
Ren's smile didn't waver. "You're not the only one with a voice in your head."
And just like that — the forest fell silent again, as though the world itself was holding its breath.
[Uh-oh.]
[Plot twist detected.]
[Proceed with caution, Master.]
⸻
To be continued…
⸻