4:00 AM. The hour when the mists of Astora are thickest.
I stood on the castle balcony, watching the pack of skeletons who had been hauling stones day and night. That fellow BlackWhale had already hit Level 3. His frame looked much tidier than when he first arrived, and he'd even fashioned a crude belt out of some scavenged rags.
"Lord! The defensive wall is patched! Give us something new to do!" BlackWhale called up, his soul-fire glowing like two low-wattage bulbs in the fog.
I looked down at him. The energy of these players was terrifying. In just one day, they had filled the gaps in the castle's crumbling outer wall with rubble. It was hideous, but it would hold back beasts.
"Since you crave to prove yourselves," I spoke slowly, my voice channeled through the system into every player's mind. "Patrol the edges of the Corrosive Forest. I sense... an aura that does not belong to this land approaching."
In truth, I had already seen through the mirror that a small group of drifters was being cornered by a pack of Shadow Leopards in the forest three kilometers away.
It was Lia.
[Ding! Regional Quest Triggered: Cries in the Forest.][Description: Head to coordinates (142, 89) to rescue trapped civilians.][Reward: Affinity System Unlocked, +50 CP.]
"Affinity! I knew this game had it!" BlackWhale let out a howl, drawing the sharpened iron shard from his belt and pointing toward the forest. "Boys, move out! Let's go save our waifu!"
I watched them charge into the mist like a pack of unleashed hounds.
"Highness, you don't intend to handle this yourself?" Seraphina appeared behind me, holding a glass of red berry juice. "That girl is an 'heretic' who fled from Baron Klevis's lands. Capturing her might get us some grain."
"Trading her for grain is a waste, Seraphina." I watched the players sprinting frantically in the mirror. "I want hearts and minds. Baron Klevis threw them away as trash; I will turn them into my sturdiest shield."
In the mirror, BlackWhale was the first to arrive.
Lia was huddled beneath a dead giant tree, clutching a sharpened wooden stick. Three Shadow Leopards circled her, thick saliva dripping from their fangs.
"Get back! You monsters!" Lia screamed, her voice trembling with despair.
*Thud!*
BlackWhale flew out from the bushes, slamming directly into the flank of one leopard.
"Hey! Don't be scared, beautiful! Pro gamers are here to save the day!" BlackWhale rolled and stood firm. Though a crack appeared in his left arm bone from the impact, he shouted excitedly, "Look! This NPC is so detailed! Screen-shotters, get online!"
Lia froze.
She stared at the skeleton before her—blue fire dancing in its eye sockets, dried mud clinging to its ribs—and her entire body went rigid.
In BlackWhale's vision, faint green text appeared above Lia's head:
```yaml[Target Intel]Name: LiaIdentity: Astora Outcast / Quest TargetTier: T0 (Mortal)Level: LV 2 (Commoner)Status: Terrified, Hungry, ExhaustedAffinity: -50 (Hate/Fear)```
What... what was this?
Undead?
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
A scream even more piercing than before echoed through the forest.
Instead of the joy of a narrow escape, Lia swung her wooden stick with wild desperation, striking BlackWhale squarely on the forehead.
*Crack.*
A hairline fracture appeared on BlackWhale's Level 3 cranium.
"Holy—! 30% pain really hurts!" BlackWhale crouched down, clutching his head. "Girl! Wrong target! Friendly! I'm a friendly!"
Sitting in the tower, listening to BlackWhale's wailing on the channel, I couldn't help but put my hand to my forehead.
"Highness," Seraphina suppressed a laugh. "Is this the 'hearts and minds' you spoke of?"
"...It's just a minor setback." I closed the audio channel with a blank expression. "The players' communication style... will take some time to calibrate."