NPC into Player: Let's Wreck This Game

Liza walked side to side with Bloom in silence. Her face showed how much she struggled. It seemed it wasn't easy for her to take that decision of walking away.

"Why do you want to leave?" Bloom asked.

"Why do you want to keep me here?" she asked back before the two of them stopped. They were now slightly far off from anyone else, so they could speak freely now.

"I want anyone with game abilities to stay by my side," Bloom simply shrugged, "and you are the only one I know with such abilities so far."

"This..." she seemed surprised by his words, "only for that?"

He nodded. After all, he didn't feel anything towards her.

"What if I told you a secret," she paused before adding, "about how to turn any player into someone like me."

"Oh... I'm listening," he crossed his arms while gazing in interest towards her.

"There are a special type of dungeons in the game," she slowly said, "they are mainly well hidden and hard to clear. However, with the right numbers and suitable preparations, anyone can end up having such abilities."

"What kind of dungeons?" Bloom didn't celebrate before knowing further about this.

"Dark based ones," she slowly said, "such dungeons are usually granted as a reward for extremely hard quests. We need to look for one and then we can send as many players in as we want and they will all gain game abilities in the real world."

Bloom's eyes shone brightly all of sudden. He recalled the dungeon he got access to. He never thought that dungeon was that special.

He only saw it as a source of dark sand. "You... know how to get one, don't you?" she didn't miss the change on his face and instantly asked.

Despite her calm she felt impressed by him. She knew what price her team paid before in return for that artifact. In the end she had to ditch that one in return for her life, yet she still knew how hard it was to find one.

"I have a way to such dungeons," Bloom slowly said, "but I'll need your help to lead them there."

"So you know about them... that's how you got your game abilities?" she asked before waving her hand, "forget it. If I helped a group of your elites to clear it, would you let me go?"

Bloom didn't have a hasty answer. He only kept looking at her while thinking about her reasons for doing that. "Not before you give me a good reason to leave my side," he slowly said.

"As if you care about me in the first place," she sneered, "c'mon, I was only a trophy you took from your rival to make him feel bitter, right? Don't deny it, I already know how much I'm worth anyway."

Bloom could only take a deep breath. "Without telling me why, I can't let you leave."

"I'm not your prisoner!" she said in anger, yet he met it with a calm smile on his face.

"No one can walk away from here now with my monsters guarding this mansion," he slowly said.

"I also have monsters," she stubbornly said.

"Mine are stronger and more numerous than yours," he smiled in a confident way, "don't play this game with me or else you'll end up losing. Just be a good girl and tell me everything."

"Why?" She seemed hesitant to speak and instead she tried to buy some time to think of a proper answer.

"If there is anything I can help with, then I won't hesitate to do that," he simply said, "c'mon, you already know how strong I am."

"Not against those," she finally said something that mattered, "no one can oppose those people, not even you."

"Try me," he wasn't fazed by what she said, "I can deal with anything, trust me."

"With my life? With the lives of my family and close friends? Sorry but I can only trust myself."

"So your plan is to go and face them off? Brilliant, considering that you don't have faith even in me," Bloom sarcastically said, trying to instigate her to speak more about her plan and dire situation.

"I won't fight them..." she paused for a moment as she realized she said too much. She took a deep breath before calmly saying, "listen, those people want something from me and the only way to protect everyone, including you, is to go and give them what they need."

Bloom wasn't stupid as he instantly figured out what they wanted. "You'll join their team... interesting," he said, "turning me down for them... That really hurts."

"Sorry for that, but this is the only way out for all of us," she depressingly said, "you can't fight those people... They are literally... everywhere!"

Bloom started to form theories about these people, yet he didn't express any of them out loud. "Just stay and try me out," he said, "if I failed to protect you then you have all the right to leave."

"Humph, don't take it personally but you are miles off those people."

"I like to try my chances," Bloom shrugged, extending his hand to her, "do we have a deal then?"

Just before she could make up her mind, a sudden explosion erupted so nearby that attracted the attention of the two, of everyone.

"What the hell...?!" Bloom gazed up at the direction where that explosion came from. A huge cloud of dust erupted from just one mile away from his mansion.

And in the middle of that cloud, and under the illumination of the street lamps around, he spotted a large silhouette of a gigantic monster.

A monster he never saw before.

"What is that?" he couldn't help but ask.

"So they came after all..." on his side, Liza took a cold breath of air before turning to him, "see? This is their power... Do you think you can face them?"

And her tone told him she knew what that monster was.