A rabid Werebunyard lunged forward, but it met an invisible wall that knocked it back. Then a ghostly barrier enclosed around it, narrowing the available space little by little. The monster started pounding on the prison it could not even see as its elongated ears got pushed against its skull.
In no time, blood spurted out as it transformed into a solid round ball of white fur and meat.
"All done!" A petite girl with black twin tails and a blue mage cape dusted off her hands. "That gets rid of the last one!" she said with a bright smile.
"Wonderful," a lanky young man adjusted his monocle as he wrinkled his nose at the resulting giant bloody ball. He then frowned when noticing that the first Werebunyards they had killed upon arriving were starting to disappear. "Curious..."
"What's curious, Jason," the girl asked, tiptoeing to look him in the eyes. Super close.
He cleared his throat, looking away. "W-Well, this is what, the third time we've paid this lousy town a visit? And we've never seen progress… Until now!" He cackled, raising a fist in victory as the girl clapped, joining him in celebration. "Hell yeah! I was getting sick of this reeking place!"
"But…" the girl pouted. "We haven't done anything different from our previous visits. That means something else took care of the issue, right?"
"Who cares! We're going to claim the rewards anyway!"
"No…" the girl narrowed her eyes as she checked her surroundings. "Maybe the Administrator will be satisfied with this result, but Astrid surely won't."
She started looking around—now that there were no longer hundreds of Bunyards distracting her—and noticed that one of the streets connecting to the main plaza looked different from the others.
Jason groaned. "Tamara, please! Can't you just tell Astrid whatever? The issue has been solved! The Administrators hired us to kill things, not to be detectives!"
And that was exactly what Tamara had started doing without realizing it. The street they were following was not cracked, scratched, or stained. That was enough to keep her going, fists clenched.
Jason exhaled, opened a virtual window at eye level, and pulled up a music video. "Tell me when you find something, okay?"
Upon crossing into a dead end, Tamara cut through an alley while Jason trailed behind absently. Eventually she found a scene more in line with what they had been dealing with: barely standing houses and blood sprayed across crumbling walls.
What seemed to be the body of a Werebunyard was dissolving in front of her, and behind it, a humanoid silhouette.
Tamara dashed forward. "Are you okay?" she asked in a high-pitched tone, before realizing she was talking to an NPC.
But why was Tamara's overlay not recognizing them as such?
I can't even see her name.
The NPC raised her head, revealing a pale, doll-like face streaked with dried red. "Who are—?"
Tamara's eyes moved from the cuts in the maid uniform to the battle axe she was clutching like a lifeline.
Don't tell me she was fending off a Werebunyard on her own.
"We're Guilders," Tamara said as she crouched. "We were sent by the Administrators to investigate the Bunyard infestation."
Jason was not impressed.
"Why do you even bother explaining that to this thing? Hurry up and find whatever you're looking for so we can get the hell out of this bloody place!"
Tamara stayed quiet, taking in the state of the maid in front of her. She opened her User Interface and scrolled through her healing potions. Her finger hovered over the high-tier ones before settling on the most basic bottle at the bottom of her Inventory.
"Drink this."
The maid eyed the red liquid cautiously before accepting it, prompting Tamara to frown.
What's with this NPC? It's acting… odd.
Once the effects kicked in and her HP bar climbed back to an acceptable orange threshold, the NPC stood and gave a short bow. "Thank you so much. I'm in your debt. My name is Anastasia. Pleased to meet you."
There we go.
Tamara nodded, rising to her feet. "I'm Tamara, and he's—"
"Tell us what you know about this town's state, pronto!" Jason demanded, snapping his fingers.
That, for some reason, made the NPC go completely silent.
Tamara shot him a piercing look.
"If eyes could kill!" he moaned. "Weren't you talking to this thing to get information? I-I was just helping you!"
"Just shut up for a minute, please?" Tamara said in a low, flat voice before switching it to something warmer. "Please, Anastasia. The Bunyards seem to have stopped spawning. Do you know why?"
Anastasia stared blankly before replying. "If that's the case, that means Master Alan was successful."
"Master?" Tamara and Jason said at the same time.
— 4.1 —
As soon as Bella, the female NPC, abandoned her old job, the decomposition process resumed—as if it had detected that whatever glitch was creating a bottleneck in the restaurant had finally been cleared.
Alan looked around, relieved.
Bones and rotten meat are finally turning into pixels and vanishing into thin air. The smell won't go away that easily and some stains may be hard to scrub, but it's a good start.
Bella was also looking around, as if she had just woken up from a dream.
He chuckled. "Would you like to clean up? I can help. Before we leave on our mission."
She seemed lost in thought for a moment, then turned to him slowly. "No. I'd rather demolish this place."
Woah! Didn't expect that!
Bella then realized what she had said and gasped, pressing one delicate hand to her cheek. "Oh, my! I'm so sorry. That was quite harsh."
Alan caught a glimpse of her wrist. She had healed up the moment her code was rewritten by him.
"No, it's okay!" he said. "This place is yours after all. Do whatever you want with it! I have another partner who's great at taking things down, so—oh shit, that's right! Anastasia is still out there! Minion Stat!"
Two virtual windows popped up. Disregarding the new one, Alan checked that Anastasia was holding at 50% of her HP bar. Another cell indicated she was not currently in combat.
A loud bang came from the kitchen, and Alan's first thought went to the Bunyards in their cages.
"What's that?"
"Ah, that's just the mayor," Bella replied with a smile. "I think I should release him now."
"The… what now?"
Bella entered the kitchen and stopped in front of the walk-in freezer. Upon unlocking the door, a humanoid silhouette pitched forward.
Alan rushed over and found a male NPC with brown rabbit ears—hands and feet tied tight, masking tape plastered across his mouth.
Without even knowing his name, Alan could still read the title floating above his head: 'Mayor of Windexeter'.
"What's this town's Mayor doing in your kitchen?!"
"He came to my restaurant a few days ago trying to stop me from continuing my duties. You know… the stew," Bella explained in a sugary voice, before meeting Alan's eyes. "Since he kept respawning and trying again the next day, I ended up incapacitating him. Tee-hee!"
Such a brutal chain of events, delivered in such an angelic voice, sent a shiver down Alan's spine.
Bella drew her butcher knife, crouched, and said, "Stay still, Mayor." Two clean cuts freed the ropes. Then she painfully ripped the tape off in one go. "Much better now, right?"
The Mayor spoke in a soft, composed voice. "Ah, thank you very much, lady—Oh! It seems you've changed your name."
"That's right. I'm Bella now."
"Well, Bella. Thank you so much for getting me out of there!"
"You're quite welcome!" She giggled.
Then both laughed.
Wait… Why is he thanking her? She's the one who put him in there.
"And you, young man," the NPC said, rising to his feet and dusting off his formal suit. "Thank you for saving us from the Bunyard catastrophe. In the name of the people of Windexeter, you have our gratitude. Please accept this reward."
A virtual window appeared in front of Alan, stating he would receive 300 gold upon tapping it.
"Oh, thanks." He then eyed the Mayor skeptically. "Wait. How can you tell it was me who did it?"
"The Mayor has a connection with the city," Bella began. "So the most recent activity logs must be crediting your bravery. Congratulations, Boss!"
"Oh, that tracks," Alan muttered before narrowing his eyes at her. "'Boss'? Since when am I 'Boss'?"
The Mayor approached them. "Mr. Warden, I can see you've collected quite a number of Bunyard's Foot."
Is he talking about the material Bunyards drop? Anastasia must have been picking them up automatically.
"3,215 Bunyard's Foot, to be precise," the Mayor continued.
"Wait, what?"
The NPC extended his hand, and an item materialized on his palm. "Would you like to trade 3,000 Bunyard's Foot for this good luck charm?"
Just by looking at it, a virtual window appeared for Alan.
It read:
+------------------------------------+
Secret Quest Completed!
Platinum Bunyard's Foot: Grants 20% chance to obtain superior grade gear from chests.
A good luck charm provided by the Mayor of Windexeter. For those that would commit the most stupid, irresponsible massacre of all… You monster.
Accept trade?
Yes / No
+------------------------------------+
Is Bella's Inventory linked to mine? Alan narrowed his eyes at her. Did she really kill that many?
He observed his new acquisition for a moment before storing it. He then noticed the Minion Stats windows were still open—a new notification blinked red in Bella's.
Let's see... Your new Minion—I hate that word—has gained a new class: 'Battle Maid'. Same as Anastasia… Some excess XP available? Tap 'Confirm' to level Minion Bella now?
He tapped it, and Bella was washed over by a soft golden breeze. Alan had seen that before. It was the visual cue for leveling up.
But this time, the breeze became a gust that blew his hair back.
Wait… Anastasia told me NPCs don't level up from kills, but that changed for her the moment she became a Battle Maid… Does that mean this 'Excess XP' accounts for every Bunyard Bella killed?!
Once the effect faded, a window appeared in front of Bella as she giggled. "Oh, my!"
+------------------------------------+
Congratulations! Minion 'Bella' has leveled up.
Level 25 → Level 40
+------------------------------------+
"Holy shit…"
Another bang—louder this time—came from the restaurant entrance.
Alan rushed out and found Anastasia lowering her leg after a kick that had taken the front doors clean off their hinges. Behind her, two Users made their way inside—bearing all the hallmarks of The Tandem: barely in their twenties, with flawless skin and lean but athletic builds.
The girl in a white dress with black twin tails gave off the energy of a little sister, her hair swaying as she took in the place. The guy announced himself as a snob the moment he walked in—a tailored cobalt longcoat hugging his frame, golden monocle catching the light, gaze already judging everything in sight, and a napkin pressed against his nose to shield himself from the still-present stench.
The Mayor turned to Alan. "If you'll excuse me, Mr. Warden, I have other rewards to distribute. Have a good day." He adjusted his tie with practiced grace and approached the newcomers, one hand clasped behind his back.
Tamara observed the NPC, and noticed she could read his name—Jude—and title just fine, unlike the maid.
"Greetings, adventurers," Jude said. "Thank you for eliminating the Werebunyards terrorizing the town. Please accept this as a token of our gratitude."
A virtual window appeared in front of them, offering 500 gold each.
"Thanks!" Tamara replied with a smile as Jason rolled his eyes.
"Oh, I can also see you've gathered quite a collection of Bunyard's Foot—184 in total. Would you like to trade 100 for this?"
+------------------------------------+
Secret Quest Completed!
Bronze Bunyard's Foot: Grants 2% to obtain superior grade gear from ches--
+------------------------------------+
Jason skimmed the window, shoved it out of his field of vision, and moved toward the Mayor. "What kind of garbage reward is this? And 500 gold? That doesn't even cover my gear maintenance! So why don't you take this trash and shove it straight up your—!"
Something closed around his throat—an invisible force that not only choked him but pressed against his face and the back of his skull simultaneously: Tamara's magic. She had materialized a force field in the shape of a bubble around his head.
Jason dropped to his knees, gasping for air.
"I apologize for my teammate's behavior, sir," Tamara said to the Mayor. "He's tired. I'll take the trinket, thank you. One question: could you tell us who helped resolve the issue?"
"Ah, yes. This young man right here," Jude said, gesturing toward the back of the counter, where Alan had apparently blended into the background until that moment. "He eliminated the source of the problem. Windexeter is in his debt. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to assess the damage and let the residents know it's safe to return. Good day, everyone."
As Jude made his exit, Tamara released Jason, who immediately sprang up and yanked her by both twin tails until they were eye to eye. "Don't you ever humiliate me like that again, brat!"
"Stop being a jerk and I won't have to, J," she replied with a giggle.
I don't like this, Alan thought, smiling awkwardly and giving a small wave.
"Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Alan Warden. Can I get your names?"
Both adventurers stared at him.
Jason was first to react, releasing Tamara's hair. "Whoa, whoa! Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" he whispered, adjusting his monocle.
"You think I'm blind?" she said through gritted teeth. "Of course I see it."
"Yeah, but who is this guy? Ever seen him before?"
"Never. I'd say new recruit, but…"
"It's rude to whisper in front of people," Anastasia said flatly.
"Seriously, what's wrong with this NPC?" Tamara breathed, then addressed Alan. "Excuse me, are you part of Shooting Stars?"
Alan's eyes went wide. "Hey, haven't heard that in a while! If nothing's changed, then yeah… I suppose I am! How'd you know?"
"Everyone can see the Guild emblem next to your name, Boss," Bella murmured in his ear. "You should be able to see theirs too."
Alan tried, and his system overlay highlighted a star with three stripes beside their names.
"Oh yeah. Got it. Wait… I have one too?"
"Who the hell is this guy?" Tamara muttered, and decided to check for herself, pulling up her User Interface and opening the Guild tab.
Something about Alan's casual tone and complete obliviousness made the whole thing feel genuinely bizarre.
So Jason said what she did not dare to. "Hey, what's with the golden frame, asshole?! What are you playing at?"
Alan frowned. "Golden frame?"
"Your emblem has a golden border around it," Bella said quietly. "Unlike theirs."
Don't tell me they're also…
"So?!" Jason kept going. "Quit playing dumb and start talking, before we—!"
Anastasia leveled her battle axe at his throat. "You'll what?"
Jason did not flinch, matching her glare. "What's with this fucking doll?"
It happened in under a second—fast enough that Alan only registered the result.
Anastasia had been slammed into the ground, Jason's hand crushing her face against the floor. The whole building shook and a crack split through the adjacent wall.
If Bella had not already expressed her desire to tear the place down, that would have felt devastating.
"My partner can choke me out whenever she wants—I allow it because she's super cute," Jason hissed. "But a soulless doll like you?" He sucked his teeth. "Unforgivable."
Alan saw what was coming—a textbook demonstration of the gap between high-level Users and NPCs.
Anastasia's HP was about to hit zero.
Something hot rose from the pit of his stomach.
He was not going to let that happen.
They say the body reacts faster than thought—sometimes instinct moves before the mind even catches up. In Alan's case, having formed a link with two NPCs meant the Battle Maids could move before his own muscles so much as tensed.
Bella vaulted over the counter. A quick click-clack of heels, and she was already there—her kick connecting with Jason's face clean and hard.
Anastasia was free and Jason went hurtling out of the restaurant—another reminder of how power in the Novus balance out. Jason's physical strength may look terrifying in the right situation, but he was a Support Mage at his core and not built for straight-up brawling.
"OH, YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD, BITCH!" he shrieked, blood streaming from his nose. "All of you!"
"Yeah, not happening," Tamara said, crouching beside him. "Look at this."
She pulled up the Shooting Stars' About Us section.
+------------------------------------+
Guild Master: Astrid Bradford
First Officer: Marco Souza
Founded by Alan Warden — Day 7, Year 0
+------------------------------------+
"Ah, shit…" Jason whispered, watching the young man inside the restaurant gently help the maid with lavender hair to her feet.