Welcome, Player: Grand Quest

Chapter 92: The Effects of Hiraeth's Awakening

-chapter ninety-two-

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SOLACE

"We will be playing a dangerous game of hide and seek."

VESTA ROUNDED off the street and stopped. Meters from her was Hiraeth.

Kinagat ko ang straw ng carton milk. I slouched further on the soft library seat.

Eyes that seemed to look directly to mine. Two other rangers chasing them.

"Rase, have you read the company's new post? I have no idea why, but the organizers are quickly closing up the event. Kill☆Shot will end today. The Survival round is finishing soon. Tanging ang Combat Arena na lang ang matitira sa whole duration ng event."" 

A house. Hiraeth following Vesta obediently.

"Uh, yeah. I think their new rules made sense. Even though it's a week long tournament, hindi na pwedeng magcontinue ang Kill☆Shot because of the number of NPCs available, and the rogues are also nearing their survival closure."

The updated instructions for the rangers game. Bakit ginawa nilang special requirement si Hiraeth? Killing him will then result to their victory? Para saan pa pala ang dalawang araw na paghunt nila. I pouted even more as I sipped on my empty carton milk.

"What makes me curious is that humanoid NPC." napatingin ako kay Acrasia nang banggitin niya iyon. "Hindi ba't parang lahat naman ng deployed NPCs ay human?"

"They're considered hybrids, idiot."

That's right. Hiraeth was specialised as a humanoid NPC too. Mahirap bang patayin ang mga ganoong klase? But, he's not an NPC, he's also a player! Ugh.

Rase frowns. "The real question is; Kill☆Shot has progressed for two days at napili pa talaga nilang ibigay ang ganoong instruction kung saan matatapos na ang game? Judging by the number of NPCs before the announcement, I'm sure they've already decided the three-day tournament."

"Maybe it's a final boss or something? Alam mo 'yon. Since, like, special requirement naman siya." 

Ang Life Industries nga ba ang nagdesisyon no'n? But, from Cord's reaction yesterday and his sudden disappearance, something tells me that they are not aware of the change as well. Kung gano'n, is it their father at work? 

"Rev?"

Is he that powerful to access the whole system of the game even though he's trapped inside? Maybe. After all, Cord did mention that he was the reason of the game's launching. Looks like he's not just Life Industries' brain, but also their blood. He flows through the company and the game like a ghost.

Napa-aray ako nang makaramdam ng sakit sa noo. Nakanguso ko itong hinimas at masamang tiningnan si Acrasia. 

"We've been calling you for the last hour."

I frowned. "I'm not an idiot. It's not even five minutes yet."

"She's right. In a group of friends, tanging isa lang ang tanga." umiling si Rase. "Sadly, ikaw 'yon."

"Hoy!"

"What are you talking about? Ano 'yan?"

I squinted my eyes at the opened tab on the library's board screen, para itong hologram na kasing laki ng wall. We're inside a private study room of the university's library. Dito kami tumatambay kapag walang klase or early dismissal and we're too lazy to go home. We often do our projects here since it has a lot of supplies. The used equipment are then charged to our university account.