Oops, I should’ve expected that. I hoped I could wait until I got home for this, but I’d rather talk to him directly if I want to end this. My luck is weird sometimes—I just found a perfect solution a minute’s walk from me.

  Kai gathered his trash and threw it into the nearest bin before quickly returning to where he had spotted the Infinite Dendrogram station.

  "How much would it cost for 10 minutes?" Kai asked the operator.

  "Ten dollars for 10 minutes, 20 for half an hour, or 30 for a whole hour," the operator said enthusiastically, as if the offer wasn’t borderline theft.

  "Ten dollars for just 10 minutes? A new console costs a hundred bucks even after the price increase—how do you justify this price?" Kai asked incredulously, though he still planned to pay.

  "You’re not just paying for access to the game," the vendor explained. "You also get a nice couch so your body isn’t bothered as much. Plus, once inside, one of our coaches will quickly transport you to many prime locations we offer as a unique experience. The full details will be explained once you're inside."

  Okay, quick travel does sound a bit more useful… Still sounds like theft. I’ll remember to avoid this place in the future.

  Kai rolled his eyes at the sales pitch and simply told the vendor he just needed the 10 minutes, quickly confirming that they meant 10 minutes in the real world and that it wasn’t another scam charging based on "experienced time."

  He put on the helmet, expecting the usual quick free-fall spawn sequence, but when he opened his avatar’s eyes, he found himself in a vaguely familiar library. As he somewhat expected, a white cat sat in front of him.

  Wait, aren’t I supposed to log into my user based on my brain scan or whatever?

  "Hello, and welc—" the cat—Cheshire, Kai remembered now—began, before Kai’s vision suddenly turned dark, and he found himself floating in a void.

  A moment passed before he could form a coherent thought, and then, just as suddenly, he landed at Legendaria’s city gate as Sheko, spawning normally.

  "Is this headset bugged? What the hell was that?" Sheko muttered aloud, stringing his questions together.

  As if to answer, a robotic voice spoke from beside him.

  "Our routines have not spotted any issues in your login process. If you notice any problems, please report them to my operator. Many users are confused by our secure proxy login process. When a user logs in through our services for the first time, the game might not recognize them and start a character creation sequence. Can you confirm if this has been your experienced issue?"

  Sheko turned toward the voice, easily spotting the speaker. As expected, it was a fully robotic avatar.

  "Eh... yeah, I guess that is what that was. I know I get a quick travel option, but I actually just logged in to talk to someone I don't have a way to contact in real life."

  "Very well. However, I must note that your game session is being monitored by our operator. As per company policy, abuse of other players while using our services is prohibited. Your session will be terminated if you are found in violation."

  "I don't plan anything like that. I really hope nothing like that happens. But I guess I'd rather be warned now than get surprised later. I'll come back here if I finish my business early."

  "Very well. I shall remain here for the duration of your playtime. If another user in this region connects, you may experience delays of up to one minute with our travel services."

  Sheko didn't care much about a delay with the travel service. As long as he didn't experience any sort of lag it was fine and he doubted he'd even use it. Not that it mattered—he had more urgent things to do and wasn’t planning to leave Legendaria anytime soon.

  Sheko launched into a run toward the Silly Daredevil. He hadn’t lied about the chest being there. He intended to keep his word to Mai and Finn about the situation, but he still preferred to apologize in person.

  Before reaching the Daredevil, he checked his notifications to see if anyone else had tried to contact him. Unsurprisingly, no one had left him a message since yesterday. However, there was one bizarre system notification that immediately popped up when he checked his interface:

  "Resource threshold reached. Evolution available. Potentially harmful evolution. Confirm?"

  The only thing I have that might evolve is Odysseus. Last time, there wasn't anything like this—it just appeared evolved when I logged in again. Why could it even be harmful? Is this some sort of penalty system for hurting Phantasm or something?

  I feel like it would've appeared sooner if that was the case… but maybe it's a processing time thing? Hmmmm... ehhhhhhhh, whatever. Better to deal with the consequences than be locked from progressing.

  Still running, Sheko glanced at Odysseus on his arm in its second form and gave his assent to the message. It wasn’t a punishment like he feared—this was just how his path progressed.

  Odysseus evolved from an Arms/Territory type to a Fusion Arms/Territory type. The evolution process replaced his whole arm with Odysseus’s new form. Some blood splattered on the road as Sheko continued running. It was distracting, but not painful. It felt like numerous kitten bites nibbling on him for the 20 or so seconds the process took.

  When it was over, he was left with a fully articulated prosthetic arm made of dark steel. It was heavier than his right arm, but somehow, it compensated for the weight.

  Huh. Maybe this is unrelated to Phantasm. It doesn’t feel worse than my real arm, and honestly, I can see a lot of benefits in having an arm that a smith can fix instead of my flesh-and-bone arms that I keep breaking just to use Odysseus to its full capacity.

  Honestly… that’s probably why it became like this. In that case, I hope it replaces my legs next so I can move more freely.

  Lost in thought, Sheko accidentally passed the Silly Daredevil and had to double back.

  Inside, he was about to greet the broad-shouldered Tiefling at the counter, but the man stopped him with a glare.

  "Is this about Phantasm? Is he here?" Sheko asked, trying to break the ice and get Chris to explain his displeasure.

  "Yes, he is here. Don't worry—he isn't leaving anytime soon." Chris crossed his arms. "I was all for helping you by keeping the chest here, but I didn’t realize you were actually trying to rob us."

  The door behind Sheko audibly locked, then turned orange with heat. Flames spread from the door to the rest of the wall, clearly meant to prevent him from escaping. He could break through, but getting burned for no reason seemed stupid.

  "What are you talking about? I was just trying to apologize to Phantasm and thought this place was trustworthy enough to keep their chest safe."

  "We are trustworthy. It’s that Phantasm you sent who isn’t." Chris exhaled sharply, his expression hardening. "I let him through, and he took his chest like I promised. Then he made an illusion and tried to trick me while he stuffed his inventory with our items. So, I locked him down there until he’s deader than a roast pig."

  "Okay… well, I guess that is on me." Sheko sighed as the heat spread farther across the floor toward him. "What I meant is that I should’ve expected he might pull something like that. I didn’t plan any sort of robbery—I just wanted to talk to him and smooth things over from the fight. Actually, I wanted to join your guild if you'd allow me. But for now, can you let me get him out of there and talk to him? I'm sure he isn't just letting you kill him while doing nothing."

  Chris narrowed his eyes but eventually nodded. "Okay, fine. Sure. Just because I want him to stop breaking Hestia's walls. The whole extra space she makes isn't actually free." He crossed his arms. "And to be clear—don’t you dare steal anything, or I will burn you to a crisp. Repairs are expensive, but I don’t tolerate thieves."

  Sheko had left in a hurry yesterday, so he hadn't actually seen the vault where the Wiki Editors Guild kept their items. Chris guided him through a hallway that hadn't been there before and into an old-timey elevator. As the elevator doors closed, Sheko saw the hallway’s walls shift, sealing off the elevator from the rest of the building—and potentially crushing any would-be intruders who tried to sneak by while Chris opened the path.

  A brief wave of claustrophobia hit Sheko as he realized he could end up trapped down here, just like Phantasm. His worries eased when he reminded himself that, at worst, even if Chris attacked him through the walls, he could always use the suicide system to forcibly log out. As distasteful and annoying as that would be, it was at least an option.

  The elevator doors opened, and the underground hallway sparked to life. Sconces holding light bulbs flickered on, revealing a mundane-looking underground level. The sight reminded Sheko of an old hotel he'd visited with his family when he was much younger. The contrast between this and the quaint, authentic-feeling tavern above was unsettling.

  Before he could dwell on it, a loud crash echoed from up ahead.

  Yeah, that’s definitely Phantasm.

  Another crash followed, and orange flames flickered from beneath a large doorway on the right.

  "Hey, can you turn off the flames so I can actually talk to him?" Sheko called out.

  "Fine, but don't let him escape," Chris's voice answered—from behind him. Apparently, Sheko had missed the telecom station nearby.

  This really feels like an old hotel.

  The flames died down, and the crashing stopped. Sheko approached the door and opened it, only to find another thick door behind it.

  "Seriously?" he muttered, knowing Chris could hear him.

  "It slows people down when they think it might be the exit," Chris explained. "By the way, he went back to the vault to steal more stuff immediately. He seems to have summoned his embryo to guard the way."

  "Wait, how did he summon his embryo? I thought it was the circlet on his head."

  "Hm. Well, I don’t know about any Monkey King-inspired monsters he might summon, so I’m pretty sure it’s his embryo. Could be a Maiden like Hestia."

  "Wait, Hestia is a Maiden?"

  "Really not the time, but yes. That means she can transform into a humanoid avatar. Probably, this is his embryo's avatar. Though, I’m not an expert in monkeys, but it doesn’t look like a Maiden—oh, wait. I think I know what he could be."

  Chris paused on the intercom, clearly building up to a dramatic reveal, but was interrupted by a new voice—the subject of their conversation, to be exact.

  "Yes, I am the Apostle with an Arms/Rule-type embryo of Phantasm. My name is Sun Wukong. I assume you are here to beat him again?"

  The bipedal monkey wore the same armor Phantasm used, wielding the same staff he had in their fight. Yet, somehow, Sheko suspected Wukong was more dangerous than Phantasm. Logically, an embryo alone should be weaker than its master, but an embryo based on the Monkey King would surely be a formidable martial artist.

  "Honestly, I’m really not," Sheko admitted. "I just wanted to talk. You just complicated things with this whole robbery plot. Why even? Phantasm agreed to a duel and lost. I went at it in all the wrong ways to win, but why is his first instinct—when he gets lucky and someone throws him a bone—to try and take even more?"

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  The embryo remained nonchalant, even tilting its head slightly as it replied, "Yes, indeed, why? Honestly, I’m not fully sure myself why he does what he does. All he really wants is fame and recognition. I want to help him get there, but I cannot let myself hurt him for the chance that it will make him think more."

  The monkey spun his staff, prompting Sheko to summon a throwing knife—but Sun Wukong simply let it drop onto his shoulder, then sagged. From Sheko's point of view, the monkey looked exhausted and regretful.

  "So let me get this straight," Sheko began. "You, as Phantasm’s embryo, know that he’s isolating himself and ruining his own reputation, but you’re too afraid to hurt his feelings? How does that even happen? If you’re his embryo, doesn’t that mean you’re a part of his psyche? Doesn’t that imply he already knows what he’s doing makes him a pariah?"

  "Maybe," Wukong said. "But we Apostles are quite different from normal embryos—even Maidens. We are born with a purpose and a need to fulfill it, no matter what. So if Phantasm wants to be known as the strongest master in Dendro, I will prioritize that over what others think of him in the here and now."

  "And you know that you’re trapped with no actual way to escape, and this whole mess is pointless, right?"

  "Oh no, I could tell him right now to log out. And thanks to you turning off the burning building for us, he’d be able to log back in at spawn—with all this loot."

  "But you aren’t doing that because you don’t actually think it will help him become stronger or more respected, right?"

  "Yes."

  "So what now?" Sheko asked. "You know that even if I didn’t want to talk to him about how our duel ended, I can’t let him leave with the items. This whole mess has—I'll admit—deservedly made everyone distance themselves from me, or at the very least, wary of me. I've been acting idiotically, and I think that, like Phantasm, it all came crashing down on me. I want to make things right."

  "In that case, we fight," Wukong said. "Until one of us drops, or until Phantasm comes. Then you say whatever you wanted to say and leave. The master that turned the floor and walls into lava can probably deal with his own problems afterward."

  "Okay, I can accept most of that," Sheko said, rolling his shoulders. "Except that last part. I’m not leaving Phantasm to try and steal stuff. I’ll try to convince him to return what he stole, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll take it back. I care about apologizing, not about giving him a free pass because he threw a tantrum."

  With that, the apostle charged forward from the other end of the room toward Sheko. His speed was surprisingly unimpressive, but Sheko remained vigilant.

  This is a very straightforward attack. Maybe it's a feint.

  Before Wukong could fully close the distance, Sheko took a step into the room and then dodged toward Wukong’s left, creating a large gap between himself and the forward-pointed staff. Wukong reacted admirably, activating his ultimate skill and blinding Sheko with the visual glow of its activation.

  In response, Sheko activated Odysseus’s new form, spreading its links to cover his entire body since he wasn’t sure where the strike would come from. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Wukong swung his staff sideways, following Sheko’s dodge. Using the momentum of the swing, he let the staff slide in his hands, closing the distance Sheko had created and striking at the force field Odysseus had erected between a lattice of interconnected steel links.

  The swing dramatically slowed upon impact but overpowered Sheko’s defense, shattering the force field. The staff struck Odysseus’s physical form, causing the metal to fold under the pressure before finally connecting with Sheko’s ribs and knocking him slightly backward.

  "Well, that’s a bust. Should’ve stuck to my tried-and-true approach," Sheko muttered, disappointed in his evolution.

  As if in response, the folded metal lattice reformed itself and then transformed back into its normal prosthetic arm form.

  Now backed against the wall, Sheko watched as Wukong attacked once more. As expected, his speed had increased after activating his ultimate skill, but Sheko had already proven in his fight with Phantasm that he could match that speed.

  At the last second, as the staff was about to strike the center of his chest, Sheko jumped into the air and spun midair, letting the staff pass him by mere inches. As Wukong began his backswing, Sheko caught the staff in his prosthetic arm and immediately activated Odysseus’s skill, yanking it out of Wukong’s grip before it could gain momentum.

  Wukong, however, was unfazed. He kept his grip on the staff but winced as he hit the ground—probably from tearing a ligament while trying to counter the force of the spin. Sheko, meanwhile, put all his strength into pulling the staff away. Since he was wielding it, he could mark it a total of four times. He was genuinely astonished that the apostle’s arm hadn’t been torn off by the force.

  "Impressive grip you got there. Must be some skill you used, right?" Sheko said, hanging in the air from the other end of the staff. His prosthetic arm extended an extra half meter to avoid catastrophic damage.

  The embryo responded with a grunt, refusing to entertain the question. Instead, he tried to slam the staff into the ground while Sheko was still gripping the other end.

  Sheko was surprised but reacted instinctively, launching himself away by kicking off Wukong’s shoulder. He was lucky he had only been trying to jump off rather than make a direct attack—Wukong didn’t feel like a flesh-and-blood body clad in studded armor. Instead, he felt more like a boulder.

  Sheko landed at the far corner of the room and immediately tried to spin the staff out of Wukong’s grip again. A tiny but audible snap followed the attempt, and Wukong let go with his injured hand but still held the staff with his other.

  "Why are you actually trying to kill me? Aren't we just waiting for Phantasm to arrive?" Sheko probed.

  "I said we fight until either of us drops or Phantasm arrives," Wukong replied. "I never suggested this wasn't a real fight. I do not trust you not to hurt him, but I cannot truly prevent you without convincing him to run away—and hurting him in that way."

  As the apostle finished speaking, the door opposite the one Sheko had entered through opened, revealing Phantasm.

  "Let's leave, Wukong," he said, seemingly unaware of Sheko’s presence. He recalled his embryo, which transformed back into the circlet Sheko had already suspected was its true form.

  Only then did Phantasm look around—and when he finally noticed Sheko in the corner, he jumped in surprise.

  "You! I knew it—you’re hunting me! There’s no other explanation. No matter, I went easy on you in the arena. I won’t make that mistake again," Phantasm exclaimed smugly.

  "We remember that fight very differently," Sheko responded without thinking.

  Phantasm equipped the still-marked staff from his inventory and attempted to charge at Sheko. However, Sheko simply removed one of the marks from the staff and instead marked the wall behind him.

  The wall caved in, but Phantasm’s charge was completely disrupted as all of his initial momentum was redirected to breaking the link Sheko had created with Odysseus’s second ability.

  Before Phantasm could make another attack, Sheko quickly raised his hands and shouted, "Sorry, sorry! It just came out. I'm not here to fight you. Why would I have given you back your stuff if I didn’t actually want to apologize?"

  "More like beg for mercy," Phantasm scoffed and swung his staff overhead.

  Sheko dodged to the side and pressed his prosthetic arm to the ground, locking the staff in place once more.

  "You’re not listening—just like those other edgy kids you surround yourself with," Sheko said. "People don’t think you’re cool for stealing from them. And they certainly don’t think you’re strong for killing players less than a fifth of your level."

  "Who cares what a bunch of losers like you think? We, the Shadows, are the best players around, and I’m the best among them!"

  "Sorry to keep shattering your delusions, but none of you are even in the top ten players in the arena," Sheko shot back. "And no, I’m not some hired goon looking to give you hell. You tried to steal my loot from the raid, so I challenged you to a duel because I didn’t want to give a bully what he wants. You must have realized by now that I’m the one who told you about the chest in here, right?"

  "But that’s... why would you say those things? This is another trick to hurt me!"

  "I said those things because they’re true," Sheko replied firmly. "I was a bully, making a plan to beat you in a way that made me look the coolest. And in the end, I said things I probably shouldn’t have.

  "And I still think your original team were a bunch of pricks, even though it’s hard to disagree with them when you used the chance I gave you to steal from people you don’t even know."

  "So what, everyone who trusts you is naive? And everyone has to make sure they win the raid rather than the whole group? That’s just a childish, selfish worldview."

  "This is just a game!"

  "If it’s just a game to you, then why do you care that I tricked you? Or if someone hired me to screw with you? Which, I will stress again, no one did."

  "Because it’s unfair! You ganged up on me, then tricked me. I agreed to your duel, and then you tricked me again!"

  "And you stole from me while I could do nothing about it. Then you beat someone else from the raid to take their stuff. You still haven’t apologized for that.

  Be honest—we’re in a game, yes, but this? Us fighting over screwing each other over? That’s not a game. Me insulting you isn’t a game. We’re talking to each other in a game, sure, but it’s also another place to meet and interact with people. And I want to enjoy my time here.

  I started on the wrong foot, acting selfishly, and the consequences of that fell mostly on you. But you’re doing the same. You throw insults and mock people out of habit. I didn’t want to say anything, but when I met your friends after the duel, you know what they told me?"

  "That they’ll catch you and have your head?"

  "They asked if I wanted to join them. And they said they’d kick you out of the group." Sheko replied harshly, venom in his voice.

  "Those traitors! I’ll kill them!" Phantasm interrupted.

  "You’ve all gathered around this collective delusion that you’re the best players around because you think you understand something that everyone else doesn’t. But the truth is, the reason you don’t see many people like you isn’t because they ‘don’t get it’—it’s because people don’t like being around others who constantly boast, lie, and demand respect. It’s exhausting.

  So people push you away. And then, you either gather in small groups, reassuring each other that you’re always right, or you quit. This isn’t going to end well. A group that constantly affirms they’re always right will eventually have disagreements. Then sides will be drawn, words will be said, and both will be hurt. There’s no space for reconciliation or cooperation like this."

  Sheko paused and sighed, clearly exhausted.

  "You know why some people play tanks, even though they’re the most likely to die in a fight? Or why healers—who are constantly targeted—still choose that role? Most people who pick those roles know the risks. They pick them because they want to help their friends—or even just random players. Some people are generous like that.

  Of course, there’s ego in it too—people play games for self-satisfaction, after all."

  Sheko chuckled dryly. "Honestly, I’m kind of just saying ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ I talk big about social philosophy that I probably have no right to preach about. But I do think those ideas are better for a community to grow and for people to improve. I told your friends as much..."

  "They’re not my friends anymore," Phantasm interrupted again.

  "Don’t write them off so fast. That’s exactly the kind of thing I was talking about. And honestly, the whole reason I’m here—‘forgive and forget.’" Sheko paused, then frowned in thought. "Actually... that’s a terrible motto to go by. A stupid idea people tell kids that just turns them into simmering messes of anger. It’s better to open up and reconcile. Or, I’ll be honest, sometimes people need space, or their personalities are just too different, and it’s better to part ways.

  You might not be able to win every fight you pick, but you also don’t have to go around picking fights all the time.

  To be clear, ‘fight’ is a metaphor for some sort of goal here. Not literally fighting people."

  "You’re rambling," Phantasm stressed.

  "Definitely. I have a terrible habit of it. But you haven’t attacked me yet, so I think you’re at least listening to what I’m saying to some degree," Sheko replied in a more uplifted tone.

  "All you said is that you think I’m stupid for having friends like mine because they’ll backstab me, and that you think I should just do what people tell me to so they like me, while you do whatever you want."

  "I know you don’t believe what you just said for a moment. I think you understood pretty well that I believe you should still talk to your friends—but be more honest with each other. And be honest when you talk with other people in the game.

  Of course, there are always going to be people—well, frankly, like me—who will try to manipulate you or just bully you. But if you talk to more people, you’ll have more friends around to support you when shit like that happens.

  If you open up and know you have people around you who you can trust to stand by your side—or criticize you when you’re wrong—you could ask for help on missions, share stories… There are way too many people in this game to make being the very best a sane goal. So why not be satisfied with being the best you can be—with friends?"

  Phantasm let out a long sigh before putting the staff back into his inventory and turning to leave the room.

  "Fine," he said begrudgingly.

  Sheko, however, followed him and stopped him in the doorway.

  "You still have to put back whatever you stole."

  Phantasm groaned dramatically for a full ten seconds before pulling out three inventories from the normal backpack he was wearing.

  "It’s just a bunch of janky swords and armor. My stuff is better anyway."

  "Then why steal it?"

  "To have done it, I guess... I, uh... I would like a rematch sometime. Maybe with my friends as well?"

  Sheko took the inventories to put them back in place while replying, "Su—"

  Before he could finish the sentence, he was suddenly yanked out of the game.

  "Sir, it has been 12 minutes already. There are others waiting in line, so if you may, please step aside or extend your rental," the station operator, now much less cheerful, demanded.

  Kai noticed that there actually wasn’t anyone waiting to use the machine, but he didn’t bother to argue. He simply stepped away.

  "Thanks for the use, but I don’t think I’ll come back in the future. Too expensive," Kai replied in a light tone.

  Gathering his stuff, he headed toward the bus stop. As he opened his phone, he saw a new message:

  Phantasm: "You logged out all of a sudden. Connection issues? The tavern keep is furious that you took the inventories. He’s burning up the place again."

  Crap. Better explain that somehow.

  Kai opened his chat with Mai and explained the situation, asking her to pass the message to Chris. After some convincing, she agreed—though Kai suspected she was just tricking him into thinking she wouldn’t help.

  railgunpercent who made the cover art i used for the story