Hyper Luck

By the time when the darkness that colored the sky gradually faded along with the stars that filled the gap, and the time I felt the unripe, lukewarm sunlight on my forehead, I was able to open my eyes.

Whenever I’d spend all of my mana up on the lowest floor of the SkyLord, I’d always get an unfamiliar stiffness all over my body as if I was tied with a rope.

I wasn't talking about the physical specifications that come from high stat points. Apart from that, using mana felt like emptying something that was in my body.

So, consuming a lot of mana at once was a very unfamiliar and difficult experience in <Circuit>.

I left the hall on the guest room floor and walked towards the deck after checking that there was no one there.

As I climbed the stairs and opened the heavy wooden door, a cool breeze came in.

The blue sky that filled my eyes embraced me in its gigantic appearance.

The lazy clouds that had been quietly in the sky were crushed by the SkyLord sprinting through the air as the airship left its traces behind that it almost looked like it was painting work in the blue sky.

Khea leaning on one side of the wide deck railing and looking at the sky caught my eye.

She found me coming out through the door of the deck and gave me a light smile.

Then she turned around to look up at the sky again, and for some reason, it felt as if she was calling me to come to stand beside her.

“How long have you been here for?”

When I approached her, she opened her mouth to speak while keeping her gaze still at the sky.

“As soon as I woke up. Look. We’re almost there.”

At her words, I also leaned my arms against the railing just like she was, and moved my gaze downwards to see the view below.

“Oh my god…”

Magnificent music struck my ears.

After hearing the performance drawn by thick tones of string instruments, such as contrabass, my still sleepy heart began to beat rapidly.

<Free City of Azharus>

As the location notification that appeared in front of me disappeared, the magnificent ecstatic view unfolding before my eyes, the huge buildings mixed with dazzling greenery, and the emerald-colored river flowing around them caught my eyes.

“The whole of this entire gigantic area…?”

Unable to close my mouth, I turned my head to look at Khea. Then she looked at me and gently raised her chin and nodded her head.

“Yup, this is the Free City of Azharus. The entire area you see right now.”

Who would have known that such a huge landmass could be called a single city!

“The White Tower, the alchemists of Ruze, and the secret servants of the Empire. I heard all of them have experimented with no restrictions on this land in the past.”

Khea again looked below with her affectionate eyes.

“What kind of experiments?”

“Anything and everything you could ever imagine, Mose.”

Khea trimmed a few strands of her hair brushing as I stood beside her not quite being able to catch what she had just said.

“When they had finished all of their experiments because they were no longer necessary, not a single living creature wanted to come near this land. It turned into an atrocious environment in which life cannot grow, but that is a thing of the past."

“A thing of the past?”

“Gaisa, who was considered the Sage among the wise species of Elves, gave blessings to this desolate land in return for offering his soul. the barren land that had never grown a single grass was able to return to Azarus with the same greenery as it is now.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the SkyLord began to slowly descend. My and Khea's shoulders shook greatly with the recoil of that movement.

Azharus had regained its life, but the kings of the continent had long lost their interest in this land. Thanks to that, this land has now become a single gigantic city.”

“Who is the ruler of this city?”

“Ruler, you say? We just got two new ones!”

She grinned.

“I’m talking about you and me. Wait, no. Sorry, I forgot about Elsha! There is no ruler of this land since this is the home to the ever-hated half-elves, dwarves who elves absolutely detest, or even some uninteresting wanderer."

“Then what happens when someone commits a misdeed?”

“Then that person is put on trial. Usually, the representatives from each species come together for the trial to reach a conclusion. Why do you ask? Do you plan on causing trouble?”

She joked with me in a charming and teasing voice. As the SkyLord descended further down, she started walking slowly past me.

I followed after her.

“Well, not if you don’t cause any trouble Khea.”

As I joked, Khea glanced at me through her waving hair and gave me a faint smile.

“Anyways, have you gotten in contact with Sharan yet?”

On the way back from the deck to the cabin, she asked me.

“Yeah. The signal reaches the crystal ball, but she doesn’t answer the call.”

In the decisive battle with Lidornn, Sharan disappeared into thin air at her decisive moment, unlike Swordsman and Guile.

The last thing I saw of her was a blue afterimage that was scattered around her place as she disappeared as if evaporated.

It must have been that player named Kellion who saved her.

“So she’s not in the five continents at least.”

She was concerned about Sharan with a somber expression on her face.

I too was very curious to know Sharan’s whereabouts.

I had the crystal ball for communication carried by most other players, and according to the contents written on it, I would be able to handle communication in a very wide area including Asparagan without difficulty.

Still, it was clear that Sharan was at least in a place outside the map of the <Circuit> that I had explored, as I couldn't reach her within the call area of ​​the crystal ball I had.

And one of the reasons for visiting the free city of Azharus included finding Sharan.

This was also an area that I couldn't reach with the crystal ball I had.

Of course, the biggest reason was that I was curious to find out what Khea’s hometown, Azharus, looked like.

I was able to think more comfortably even after Guile and Swordsman’s deaths because I knew they would come back again, and just like that I was sure we will be able to meet Sharan again one day.

Is this what the coincidence given to the protagonist in a fictional novel full of fantasy feels like?

I felt like I was going to meet with my friends again one day without any solid evidence. However, that feeling was so clear and sure like the rising sun in the sky.

On the contrary, I kept thinking about Lidornn who was a virtual being in my mind. As a human being, I felt a deep sense of guilt swirling inside me.

Behind the clear feeling of assurance that I will be meeting my colleagues, Swordsman, Guile, and Sharan, again, the bitter gap in coexistence with those who, unlike us, live only one life in this world, had been taking a sizable part in my mind recently.

Khea, she is also a character in virtual reality.

But, surprisingly, she had become a more important part of my life than anyone else.

To Mose, and also Lee KiHo.

Although she is a fictional character, and to put it in quite a vulgar way, she is made out of 1s and 0s. However, I will protect her with everything.

I have committed to this resolution over and over again.

In the final battle against Lidornn, I felt it deeply.

Lidornn must have felt the opposite emotion of what I am feeling right now.

Unlike Lairo, who had lost consciousness as he longed for the power of darkness, Lidornn was expressing blind yet clear and steady anger against the players.

He lost something valuable to players, like me.

It was only natural that he was different from Lairo, who had been deprived of valuables by natives like himself.

At this point, the vortex of guilt that had been quietly entrenched in my heart began to grow.

Fortunately, it soon subsided. Although I was no more than just a player of this game, I was not a person who played this virtual reality game without investing any emotion.

However, all of this became quickly futile in the name of this one thing, ‘adaptation'.

It seemed that I was slowly starting to get used to these emotions.

“Mose?”

Khea's voice quickly rescued me from the deep sea of ​​thoughts I was in.

I turned my head to see Khea, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

“What you thinkin’ about?”

“Uh, nothing.”

Khea, who had already finished preparing to disembark from the already motionless SkyLord, looked at me and pouted her lips.

“Let’s get going.”

Khea, who was looking at me, grabbed my hand and walked towards her exit, and I was dragged out with her warm hand grabbing onto mine.

Suddenly, the scorching sunlight struck me in my face. And in an instant, black blocks began to appear up and down in front of my eyes.

As if watching a bright movie screen in a theater, I was naturally dragged by Khea's hand and carefully opened my eyes half-closed to take a look around.

There were huge trees, unfamiliar flowers, strange plants with their twigs moving frequently and emitting colorful fluorescent lights, and beautiful buildings, at the same time as the sound of a violin in my ear,

***

<Azharus – Entrance to Freedom>

A golden notification caught my eye. The first impression of Azharus was like a forest that devoured the city.

Taking my first steps on the fresh moss spread on the floor in an orderly fashion like a well-maintained road, I looked at Kea's back as she walked ahead of me.

As I followed her for a long time, I saw a street littered with buildings with smooth exterior walls exposed amongst the stalks of the green vines and moss.

The hustle and bustle of all races in this street delighted my eyes and ears.

There were half-elves of various skin colors walking leisurely with their slender legs stretched out in fluttering clothes, dwarfs in rough and wild clothes, and by the gods, the dwarf beards we just passed by looked just like an anchor.

There were even the half-human and half-beast people who had furry legs mixed in between the many other races on the street.

My gaze was taken by such a sight. And as I was looking around to see more of this sight, my eyes met Khea’s eyes.

“How is it?”

“Lemme just say this one thing. So cool. This place is just, so cool.”

I answered with a huge grin as I couldn’t hide my excitement. She answered me with a profound smile.

"Hopefully, my homeland will be able to take the role of ‘Witherspoon’ for you.”

“Witherspoon? What is that?”

The ambient noise was so loud that I had to strain my neck to answer.

“It is an item from the legends of the Red Tree Elves. Witherspoon, in other words, a spoon that scoops thoughts.”

“A spoon that scoops thoughts?”

“Correct. The spoon scoops every emotion and memory. It is a ‘wonder’ that allows you to become transcendent by being freed from the realm of emotions."

“Does it have the word ‘spoon’ in it because it looks like a spoon?”

“Nope, I think the abstract meaning has a bigger part in it. Usually, people express the thoughts in their head by comparing them to the sea or river. It is said that parts of them can be handled freely, so the name spoon was naturally given to it.”

“That kinda sounds grotesque.”

A smirk appeared on her face as if she found my reaction quite funny. Then she opened up her mouth to speak in a playful manner.

“Honestly, I was also imagining a spoon used to scoop from a skull filled with stew to eat it after I heard its name for the first time.”

“So what did you mean by this place taking the role of the ‘Witherspoon’ for me?”

In response to my question, she sprinted in front of me at a bit more rapid pace, and as she got ahead of me, she turned to face me and started to walk backward.

“I was talking about the concerns you had in your mind back on the ship. The ocean inside your head may be calm at most times, but strong waves can come in from time to time. But seeing you with such a bright smile on your face as soon as you reached this place made me think that it could be your Witherspoon to ease your concerns a bit.”

I took a quick breath at the sudden beating of my heart as I slowly stared at her feeling as if time had slowed down.

Then I awkwardly smiled to indicate a positive answer.

Then Khea shrugged her shoulders and turned to walk forward after looking at my expression as if she was satisfied with it.

A phrase that I couldn't say to her right now tickled my throat.

A phrase that would make me feel strange and unfamiliar just by thinking about it.