[A large number of Story characters have been killed. This world is losing integrity...]
Alex, feeling a little tired, rubs his eyes as he stares blankly at the mysterious system message floating right in front of him.
[Due to the Free Setting of the Mission, many story-relevant characters have been killed.]
[This world loses its potential for continuity.]
[Warning: Due to key characters missing, the setting is changing and is becoming more and more unpredictable.]
[Far-reaching changes have been made to compensate. World integrity reduced to 89%]
[Local World integrity (Paradise) reduced to 65%]
Reading the messages, Alex is stumped.
What does that even mean?
Before he can even begin to think it through, he notices Benezia sitting right next to him on the bed, leaning in so she can read the floating notifications alongside him.
Feeling hyper-aware of her close presence, Alex finds himself distracted—until Jewel slowly slides down from his head and onto his forehead, staring at him with all of her many red eyes.
"..."
Calm down.... I didn't do a thing.
Deciding not to acknowledge the silly spider's presence at all, Alex turns toward Benezia. "Thoughts?"
Benezia looks back at him, seemingly unfazed by the proximity, and calmly responds, "This is not something I've heard of before. Then again, I mostly interviewed lower-level Players who didn't get the chance to experience worlds like this one. In higher-tier worlds like this, it makes sense that player actions would have consequences. Surely you agree?"
"I do..." Alex replies. "I'm not complaining—I'm just a little surprised. Our actions in Alubarna, and to a lesser degree at Little Garden, must have affected the story. Killing Bellamy and Sarquiss, too. Now that I think about it, the Administrator's deal was probably tied to this message; however, it seems to have only delayed the inevitable. This must be part of that phenomenon."
"It is highly likely that you are correct indeed," Benezia agrees, her tone pensive as she gathers her thoughts. "Apparently, this world is no longer functioning normally, and unexpected events may occur. It also looks like it won't be possible to re-enter this world once the mission ends. Or, if re-entry or a return is possible, it'll likely be an altered or restored version aligned with the official unaltered timeline."
"Nothing we can do then," Alex says, shrugging. "If I remember correctly, I got the mission item for this world way back during my prologue mission. And some of the events from then didn't carry over, like Mr. 5's death. So I'm guessing that if we found another mission item that allows us to return to this world, any dead characters would just revive, and the timeline would somehow recognize us and our deeds, again based on our current mission results, without contradicting the canon timeline."
Tereza walks over and sits down next to Benezia.
Hey... can we move off my bed? It's getting a little too crowded...
"Does that change anything for us?" she asks, curiously, obviously giving up figuring it on her own.
"No," Benezia says without hesitation. "Not directly. But we need to be more vigilant now—we can't rely on our knowledge of this timeline anymore, at least not fully. That kind of naive assumption could get us killed."
"So we'll just proceed to Water 7?" Alex asks.
"We do," Benezia confirms. "We have our mission, after all. It's not like we have a choice. We need to at least make an appearance and turn in a few bounties at the contact point. If things become dangerous, we can consider retreating early, but doing so now would be unwise—and cowardly."
Alex nods. "True, I guess. We always tried to find a good balance between safety and risk, allowing for maximum rewards without taking on too many risks. There's just one more thing on my mind..."
"Which is?" Tereza asks, leaning forward slightly, pressing her body against Benezia's, her eyes fixed on Alex as she stares past her.
"Do humans not value personal space?" Benezia mutters, looking a tad frustrated.
You are one to talk! Anyway, I had something to say!
Alex stands up and points toward his bed. "Can everyone please return to your respective beds... I want to sleep, and I don't remember inviting you to a slumber party."
"..."
"You should be happy that a pair of beautiful women visit your bed at midnight," Tereza says, smirking as she suddenly pulls Alex down toward her.
Three! How dare Tereza forget Princess Jewel, the most beautiful of them all? This is heresy.
Alex sighs as he ends up lying on top of a smiling Tereza, who is clearly enjoying the ridiculous situation, seeing Alex sigh. She then licks her nose before giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Despite his irritation and exhaustion, Alex's expression betrays him—he starts laughing too.
"I don't understand your humans' sense of humor," Benezia mutters as she stands up, only for Tereza to reach out and tug her down onto the bed as well.
...Does she have a death wish?
Suddenly, Benezia raises her hands and, without hesitation, lifts both Alex and Tereza into the air using nothing but her biotics.
"Why me..." Alex groans as he floats, struggling briefly before breaking free of her grip with a short burst of Aura.
"Sleep now," Benezia orders, releasing Tereza a moment later. "We still have a long flight tomorrow."
"I guess so," Tereza says, returning to her bed with a pout, followed by Benezia. Alex can hear a faint, "Spoilsport..." coming from her bed, before she turns around towards the wall.
Princess Jewel wins! ❤️
You win the silly spider award... not like I would say that. Thankfully, I can control my thoughts.
Good night, Jewel...
The next morning, the group prepares to leave.
They silently exit the Tropical Hotel, not bothering to say goodbye to the relieved owner, leaving behind nothing of value.
Their inventories are packed—random loot, valuables, two severed heads belonging to wanted criminals Bellamy and Sarquiss, and more [Slice of Freshly Baked Cherry Pie] than Alex could possibly eat in a week.
After a brief stop at the port, they find no one of particular interest. The once rowdy and chaotic Mock Town now feels eerily quiet, almost abandoned.
Only a handful of shopkeepers remain, working quietly inside and outside their shops.
"Let's just leave," Alex suggests. "I don't want to overstay our welcome. We shouldn't linger—better to report to our contact as fast as possible. Nothing important is happening here, and I'm not interested in meeting a few salvaging apes or Noland's descendant."
"Indeed," Benezia agrees. "We need to focus on our mission. We could return later. For now, we need to focus on recovering and reporting our arrival at Water 7."
Tereza quickly transforms into her full bat form, and Alex fastens the harness, mounting up alongside Benezia, while Jewel remains on Alex's head.
Fully rested and in high spirits, Alex can almost feel Tereza's energy radiating as she takes to the skies with powerful, rapid beats of her wings.
Thankfully, she is in good shape.
However, as they gain more and more altitude, he notices dark clouds on the horizon. Despite the otherwise warm temperature, the wind has started to pick up—growing stronger and more forceful.
A tropical storm?! Since we are close to the Knock-up Stream, I should have expected something like that. This is just a normal storm, though.
Thanks to his high PHY, Alex barely registers the strong winds, which leave him unfazed. To him, it feels like nothing more than a refreshing breeze brushing against his face.
Jewel, however, struggles to stay balanced atop his head, even using her web to remain in place. Seeing her flailing and struggling, Alex grabs her gently and places her in his lap, securing her so she doesn't get thrown off.
❤️
He also notices that Benezia, likely due to her lingering injuries, is having a harder time keeping her balance.
"Should I slow down?" Tereza screeches back over the rushing wind. "Maybe take a safer route or seek shelter somewhere?"
"No," Benezia replies firmly. "We can't waste any more time—we've already used up a full day. If we delay any longer, we may end up being questioned."
"Don't play the hero," Alex shouts. "If you strain your body, that'll slow us down even more!"
"..." Benezia doesn't answer—only glares at him in silence.
"Why are you always so mature and logical, but act proud and arrogant over silly things like this? It makes no sense!" Alex questions, before letting out a sigh. "Forgive me for this."
Without waiting for permission, he reaches over, gently pulling Benezia close, and carefully wraps his arms around her from behind. The added support stabilizes her posture so she doesn't have to struggle to remain seated.
Jewel, nestled between them, looks mildly irritated—but she reluctantly accepts the arrangement.
Tereza continues to fly forward, carrying them swiftly through the sky. No one says a word.
Even Jewel, for once, doesn't make a single complaint.
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