Parallel - A Virtual Reality.

V1. Epilogue. (END OF VOLUME 1)

Possessing 21 years of age--this is the woman whom people call Ana Elizabeth.

She first started playing the game Parallel not only because it seemed fun, but because there was an opportunity to make a profit from selling rare items. In the game, she was intent on becoming a merchant, but quickly dismissed the idea upon discovering of the tediousness which all merchants must go through in order to establish themselves before finally being able to start making any sort of profit. Upon taking the role of a merchant, one would be thrown immediately into a battleground and it wasn't guaranteed that the survivor was the individual who possessed the best skills, but one who had an incredible amount of luck.

Abandoning the idea of the merchant class, she pondered about being a warrior, reasoning that warriors were great solo players. As such, she would be able to easily amass profits in the early stages of the game. With this intent in mind, she started building an agile -type warrior during her first month in the city. During this month-long process, she also accidentally generated a skill through her numerous attempts to eavesdrop in the conversations of other players in order to obtain vital information. When the restrictions were finally lifted upon her, she went towards the Information Guild to ask for a class suitable to her abilities.

She had already anticipated a few answers which the front desk might give. However, what the man asked completely threw her by surprise.

"Would you like to become a Stalker?"

Recalling the basic information about Parallel, she had no information of such a class. Therefore, there was only one thing that she could conclude--this is a Hidden class.

"What is the foundation of the class?"

"This is a rogue subclass. Normally, they are focused on agility and intelligence. They are also able to use mimic and use magical attacks that have been used on them. They focus in the use of bows and possess a myriad of skills in espionage, such as hiding. They are specialists in gathering information; as a result, their attack strength tends to suffer. The requirements for this class differ for different people. For you, I can give you the class because you've met the requirements that I've set" the man said with a grin on his face.

Ana considered the class, and while she still didn't have much information to go on, she, from the description given, had formed a rough idea on how the class would operate. As a Stalker, she could easily gather information and, at least to her, it seems hiding was also a unique skill that was different from the normal stealth. It could be a really good class, even if she had to work on her attacking power. And she just said as she decided

"I want to become a Stalker" and thus, she started her way as an informant.

A month has now gone by in the real world. One day she saw a group of adventurers and decided to follow them to eardrop on their conversation.

But she couldn't believe what she was hearing with her own ears as the conversation progressed. Not only were the top three players all present within the group, but even more juicy information was present—The creation of a guild!

She couldn't, however, jump in and join the guild even if she wanted to, that was until she saw the man named Kagito, who was being indecisive about the prospect and decided to intervene—hoping that this would be her ticket into the guild.

"If you want someone to represent you, I can do it!"

The sudden burst gave everyone a surprise, not by the loudness of the outburst, but from their inability to detect her, even though many of them had incredibly sharp senses. Afterwards, we agreed to meet the next day.

When we were finally all together, we went as a group towards the Guild Hall and into a room that Kagito had rented for us.

Ardha started to talk about what had occurred on his journey, the quest he had received, as well as his companions, Zenith and Peko, who seemed to me to be really strange. When he finally got to the part about what happened to the village the atmosphere suddenly changed. All of them started to become enraged, not bursting it out but their faces told everything, and it was hard to keep composure. Even so, Eliana knew where this conversation was going to lead.

Negotiations started and she had to be careful about how she would go about it; she had sensed that Ardha was by no means an ordinary man. She felt as if she herself was a bunny that was about to walk into the den of a tiger. Compared to this man, the man who was ranked second, merely one rank lower seemed quite plain. He did not seem to possess any extraordinary capabilities, and one would wonder how he managed to achieve second in the rankings. If she had to choose, she would definitely have chosen Ardha to be the guild leader.

But the deal he gave her was incredible! 70%! She was shouting with joy inside of her head.

Things finally ended with Eliana being the last to present some information about her real life, which was rare as she hasn't shared information like this with people she didn't know beforehand.

They then split into groups, each with a unique mission. For theirs, Kagito and Eliana were supposed to get a meeting with the Lord of Vastri City. Along the way, she told him about ways to help him stay calm and also revealed about having contacts to some of the people in higher positions, as she was a Stalker with quite bit of fame—therefore the meeting might go quite smoothly.

Then, as she talked with them asking if they could have a meeting, she was instantly recognized because of the Guild and they said that it would be a pleasure to have us meeting the Lord.

"That was a bit anticlimactic..." she said and thought to herself.

Kagito gave the news to Ardha that his presence would not be required, which was quite good news for him. Furthermore, Eliana said that it would be even more beneficial if his presence with the guild was minimal—this way the guild would have a wild card for emergencies.

The next day we said our farewells to the group of friends and headed off towards the castle.

Inside we saw that the Lord was already present and waiting.

Eliana began to talk about the guild, how it was recently formed, and yet even so, it had incredibly famous and strong individuals. Nevertheless, it seemed as if the Lord was not going to provide them with any funds, as Eliana's own fame was still far too low.

The hope now rests solely on Kagito, the seemingly useless guy...

She was about to tell him to say a few words, but he acted before she could do it— His presence and entire demeanor suddenly changed.

The Lord, who seemed adamant on ending the negotiations, now began to seem pleased as resuming. Kagito's words were not only precise as they also seemed to have a certain mystical quality. Thus, the lord decided to invest in our guild and be our representative on diplomatic cases if the need were to arise. In turn, the guild would become part of the Kingdom and serve it in times of crisis and peril.

Eliana was amazed at the way Kagito handled things, which was even more amazing as it seemed that he was not cut out for it at all.

They then began to advertise the guild. Eliana prepared to attend interviews as well as sign a contract with KO TV, who had the best offer out of all the stations, even though they might not have the highest ratings. Such statistics were trivial to her. Her only thoughts were to make the greatest profit and to expand the guild's name.

Months passed and the guild started to expand quite nicely. Kagito, along with the veterans, was tasked with teaching the newcomers. He now has the appearance of a true leader, as if he was born for such a role, or melded and forced to be one.

Eliana's opinion of Kagito began to shift further as the guild expanded. With the guild further expanding to no end, it seemed as if their influence was much more than the lord's, whose stature was now pale in comparison.

And now she was standing next to Him, who from a seemingly normal person became one of the most influential people on the continent, if not Parallel itself

Kagito.