"...Have you really gotten that bored?"
Sylvia stared at the tiny Silver Wolf sprite, utterly unable to suppress the urge to comment.
"What kind of question is that? I'm doing this to help you. And I'm putting in real effort to keep you company here."
On the other end of the line, Silver Wolf had completely given up any pretense of hiding her laughter.
"Actually, I think it's pretty fun now. This little app's already installed on your phone. Go on, get her to max level! There's a surprise waiting."
"..."
Sylvia really didn't want to engage.
How could someone be this bored.
"Let me guess, the 'surprise' at max level is just you popping up yourself, isn't it?"
"Hardly. I'm not that bored."
Silver Wolf scoffed at Sylvia's taste in games.
If this woman ever became a game designer, she'd probably bore everyone to death.
"...And you have the nerve to call me bored."
Sylvia couldn't be bothered to keep up the banter. She raised a hand, dissipating her greatsword back into flames, leaving only a patch of ashes behind as she continued towards the target chamber.
This time, Silver Wolf's voice fell silent for a moment.
The tiny Silver Wolf avatar kept sitting on the navigation arrow, but now it wasn't bickering anymore. It was more like a game companion pet, quietly guiding Sylvia's way.
--+--
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
Silver Wolf and Kafka met up inside a control room.
Kafka took in the layout around them.
"Not a soul in sight. The evacuation was quite thorough. Was it on Herta's orders?"
Silver Wolf, standing beside Kafka and looking every bit the young girl, placed her hands on her hips as she too surveyed the room.
"Checking the access logs, that woman only logged in once a few days ago when she invited Sylvia. The evacuation was directed by the acting station head—Asta."
Hearing this, Kafka tilted her head to glance at the logs Silver Wolf was reviewing and said with a smile,
"Sylvia really is popular, isn't she? Even Herta took the initiative to invite her to the station."
"Hah. That woman's a complete enigma, full of bizarre abilities she uses so brazenly. Getting noticed is hardly a surprise, right?"
Listening to Silver Wolf's quip, Kafka's smile widened a touch.
They weren't particularly worried about Sylvia's safety.
But trouble was undoubtedly inevitable, especially since Sylvia had a habit of charging headfirst into the heart of it.
Shifting her gaze, Kafka walked further into the room, looking at the control consoles and the various screens, large and small.
"This place doesn't look like the containment chamber for the Stellaron?"
"Not here, but it can tell us where the Stellaron is. Elio's script didn't specify a location, which means we can figure it out ourselves."
As she spoke, Silver Wolf gestured for Kafka to follow and began investigating the room.
"I've already looked over Herta's list of Curios. I've got a lead. Help me check these terminal units."
"Hiding one Curio with another? That's a clever approach."
Kafka chuckled lightly, walking to the other side of the room to start examining the terminals.
--+--
Curio Collection Chamber.
With Silver Wolf's chatter gone, Sylvia found herself feeling a bit bored.
So, unconsciously, she quickened her pace and soon arrived at the location of the Rating Pistol.
Even for a collection chamber, though, this place was far more spacious than in the game.
The number of Curios stored here also far exceeded the few seen in the game.
Sylvia didn't recognize most of them. Judging by the descriptions below, they mostly had symbolic or highly abstract abilities.
Sylvia quickly found the Rating Pistol by its Curio number and walked up to it.
She looked at this strange device with its single eyeball.
The Rating Pistol opened its eye, swiveling it around to look back at her.
However—
[Rating Invalid!]
The Rating Pistol eye suddenly widened. After a moment of strained effort, it closed wearily.
"?"
Sylvia stared at the now-shut eye. Why was she also 'invalid'?
What was the logic behind this thing anyway?
Puzzled, Sylvia moved on, strolling further in to look at the other Curios.
It wasn't until she reached the very back that she saw it—a conch-shaped Curio placed in a corner. Her eyes widened instantly.
[Curio No. 148: Crackup Conch]
It wasn't because this Curio was particularly remarkable, but because Sylvia remembered.
When she had been playing the game, the very first Curio she saw upon stepping out... was this thing...
According to the map Asta had sent over, while the real space station differed greatly from the game, the layout of the corridors and rooms from the game was accurate.
Strictly speaking, the real Herta Space Station had expanded and filled out the limited map from the game.
Which meant...
If the room assignments here hadn't changed either.
Then the chamber containing the Stellaron was right behind this very wall beside her.
And if nothing went wrong, Kafka and Silver Wolf would be teleported here any minute now.
Sylvia took two steps back into the corridor, facing this perfectly seamless wall that showed no sign of a door.
She closed her eyes, thinking for a moment, then suddenly opened them.
Complex sigils flickered within her pupils.
With the help of the [Truth-Seeking Sigil], Sylvia successfully saw the reality hidden beneath the illusion.
A sealed, locked hatchway appeared before her eyes.
"This place..."
Sylvia raised her phone, but it was clear her access level wasn't high enough to open this hidden door.
Just then, Silver Wolf's surprised voice sounded from beside her:
"What are you doing? Scanning a QR code on a wall?"
"There's a hidden door here, but my clearance obviously can't open it."
"Huh?"
The tiny Silver Wolf avatar tilted its head in confusion, while the Silver Wolf on the other end of the call was even more baffled.
"Did Herta hide something else besides the Stellaron? Let me see!"
The real Silver Wolf was currently brute-forcing the system on her end, trying to locate the concealed hatchway.
As for this side, she figured she might as well handle it too. No big deal.
And obviously, once Silver Wolf had a specific target and direction, the space station's security protocols couldn't hold back someone of her caliber.
In no time, the restrictions on the hidden door were lifted, revealing it to the two of them.
Simultaneously, the tightly sealed hatch's indicator light shifted from red to an unlocked green.
The heavy door slowly slid open.
A solitary, brilliantly glowing golden Stellaron was revealed, flaunting its presence before Sylvia and Silver Wolf.
And at that very moment, over on Kafka's side—
Silver Wolf had just found the Curio hidden within the terminal.
But her face immediately fell.
Kafka looked over curiously. Silver Wolf grumbled unhappily,
"Dammit, I shouldn't have helped her crack that hatch. Sylvia found the Stellaron! She beat me to it!"
Kafka couldn't help but laugh softly.
You two weren't even in a competition.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.