Desire

“Don't be so dramatic, just fit in a little bit. You've been a striker for quite some time in Progress, haven't you? The same family."

“I don't have anything else to say. ”

As the woman stretched out her hands to catch him, he replied. He turns away to avoid getting caught.

“Did you mean to steal the boss in Raid? Before Raid was organized, you were the first person to post a video of the boss on First's homepage... and then slaughtering vampires in the Thorn Forest? ”

But the woman did not fall easily. She insists on sticking to him and asking questions. Ajin choked on his swearing tongue and kept his mouth shut.

“Do you know how controversial her skills are? From the combat footage, it looks like you've mastered a skill-free combat, but an attacker as powerful as that is considered impossible at this point in the game. Can you tell me what skills you have mastered? ”

“No, I can't tell you. ”

Ajin replied with an annoying voice. Despite that, the woman smiled, not backing down.

“Some people claim that Ajin's workmanship is a mason. But I don't think there's any way that a top maneuver like a steel ball is going to be able to open at this level. Something special.”

“I told you I wouldn't tell you. ”

Azin took a quick walk. Eventually, the woman reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“Who was the woman with you? ”

Azin's body was stiff.

“Four out of five best players were accompanied by others in a partner format. I was told that the five tutorial NPCs that I led were First Operators, but I didn't hear any special stories about them. Who the hell are they? ”

You're uselessly sharp. Azin stares at her with narrow eyes. She looks slightly flickered at Azin's gaze, but immediately smiles at him.

“Are they players? I don't think so. Five, including Ajin, were considered the best of the best players, but they had no introduction. And the players gathered here are full of invited gardens, including the five best of the best players. So they're not really players. What the hell are they...”

“Hiddenpiece.”

Ajin was a little surprised. He waves his wine glass and stares at the approaching man dazed. It's big. The first moment I saw it, that's how he felt. He was a 190 piece of jewelry, a blonde foreigner with long enough to reach his back. The man with jewel-like blue eyes was a handsome man to admit.

“They are Hiddenpiece. ”

The man said, plucking the white suit with his bare hands. Then he drank a sip of wine and smiled softly.

“Hidden... piece? ”

The woman tilts her head in a daze. Soon after, she glanced at the man.

“Hiddenpiece, what the hell is that? And who are you?

“Hiddenpiece is the system NPC hidden within the first. ”

The man's voice was a good bass to hear. He opened his lips with a thin smile, and even felt relaxed when he waved his wine glass.

“Those who enter the party with the player are models of the system NPC. ”

“Can you elaborate on that? ”

The woman hurriedly gestured. The cameraman approaches and points the camera at the man. The man smiled once at the lens that contained him, followed by a horse.

“There are many professional NPCs in the world of First. They don't know that they are NPCs, but they transfer skills based on the preferences that players have achieved or accumulated. If you look at Hiddenpiece, you can see that he's the top of that job NPC. ”

The man takes another sip of wine.

“They know that First is the world of games, and they know about players. We model real humans to create NPCs, and the perfect AI is thinking like a human being. Scattered all over First's world, they transfer skills to humans who achieve certain conditions. It's no different from other job NPCs. ”

The man's voice lowers slightly.

“However, the skills handed over by Hiddenpiece are different from those handed over by other professional NPCs. The skills they transfer are the top skills they can never learn any other way, and the best players who enter with their real model are the only four beta testers to come in contact with Hiddenpiece. ”

‘Crazy..! ’

Azin frowns as he listens to the man's story. I can't believe you just showed up to announce the existence of Hiddenpiece! Hidden pieces should be literally hidden. Nothing should be made public. Once the beta test was over and the service was officially opened, we anticipated that players would magnetically come into contact with Hiddenpiece, but not at this level. No, who was that guy in the first place? Is this a player?

“Oh, my God."

The same thing surprised the women. Even in virtual reality games, Hidden's job has been brief. There is no guarantee that there are no such hidden jobs in First. But in a one-month beta test, four players have already reached it.

“Who are you? Are you a player?”

The woman asked with an excited voice. I thought I'd only get interviews between players, but I didn't expect to get advanced information like Hiddenpiece. She wanted to give that handsome man a hug and a kiss because she felt like it.

“Gladiolus.”

The man laughed and said.

“I'm the president of Gladiolus. ”

“What? ”

The woman's face is dazed. And so was Ajin, Liberado, and LaQuiz. Azin blinks dazed at the gladious smile. Gladiolus. I've heard the name Raw Snow many times. The one who defeated her and plucked out her right eye. The man who cast an immortal curse on Hiddenpiece and ended up in First World.

Current God.

“President of Gladiolus...”

The woman mutters in a slight voice. First is a virtual reality game created by Gladiolus. In addition, Gladiolus has changed the game of virtual reality by releasing three single games before the first.

Despite its technological capabilities, Gladiolus was a startup. Before the first release of 'Evolution of Humankind', no games were created, nor were they known separately. So Gladiolus appeared like a comet and struck the world. Humanity's evolution was so successful that no single game could be followed, that both the ‘Magic Age’ and the ‘Moorish Wind’ that came out of the next book changed the highest volume of sales.

And the first one created as an online game. It is a company that regularly releases new games, but oddly, it has never been known how Gladiolus is formed. No regular temples, no executives. All the presidents are face to face. I never imagined that Gladiolus' boss would be so handsome. The woman swallows a gulp.

‘Great, great. ’

This is already an issue that can't be handled in her line. Progress is said to be an overwhelmingly supportive community among virtual reality target sites, but as for Gladiolus, one game site does not dare to touch it. The game of Gladiolus, which has captivated gamers from all over the world, has been raked with money from all over the world. If you are the president of a company that has never been exposed to the press like a mysticist, there will be plenty of general media that would like to know about it.

“Are you enjoying the party? ”

Gladiolus smiles brightly and looks at Azin. Azin took a few steps back without even knowing it. Gladiolus' eyes were so different from those of the transcendent he had seen so far. There is no overwhelming presence or intimidation surrounding the opposing Pokémon. His eyes were so ordinary.

So, he was even more afraid.

“.. Yes. ”

I feel a slight tremor in my voice. Azin masturbated because it was something he had to do. The opposing Pokémon slips beyond the Transcendent. A god who corrupts the phenomenon that works in this world. And that was for everyone who knew the truth. Laquis hiccups and Rivera trembles.

“In a few moments, I'll have a pleasant conversation with you. ”

Gladiolus lays his hand on Azin's shoulder and says, His hands were so ordinary that they could not be thought of as the hands of God. Weight, size. It was no different than a normal human being.

“She still wants to kill me? ”

Gradiolus leans over his ears. Azin shudders and quickly looks around. Raw Snow hates Gladiolus. If you see him, you may come at him directly, regardless of the situation. But the black snow scent was not inside the party floor.

“If she had been here, she wouldn't have stepped up. I don't have to bother with work. ”

Gladiolus smiled and said. He gives a wide glance to the stand-up journalist. Azin only realized that their reaction was a little strange yesterday. Their eyes are dazed and unfocused. In the short time it took for their minds to be seduced by Gladiolus. He shrugs and slaps his hand on Azin's shoulder.

“Well, have more fun. ”

That said, Gladiolus approached the journalist. As he approaches, their eyes recover their blurred focus. The woman wakes up, blinking dazed and smiling widely at Gladiolus.

“Thank you for your cooperation! ”

With a bright smile, the woman bowed her head. Gladiolus laughs and passes by them, and the woman who looks away at Gladiolus' back starts to lead the press. It seems that the need to interview a representative, including Ajin, has already disappeared from her mind. Azin swallows a gulp as he looks at the woman's back to another player.

Psychic manipulation. I saw it firsthand. Azin feels a little scared and squeezes his forehead. It's such a perfect manipulation. Perfect manipulation, no doubt, without seeing it firsthand. Is there any guarantee that what he's thinking right now is his? Maybe he was manipulated by Gladiolus, too.

“.. an interview..”

Rivera mutters, pouting. I expected it to be my first interview in my life, but I never imagined it would end this way. Azin sighs low, watching Rivera whimpering and Laquis still having the hiccups. Should we be thankful for taking the hassle off? Azin pursues Gladiolus on his back, but he has already concealed himself.

Let's make a move.

If you stand here, you'll get nothing. Wouldn't it be better to wait in a rare place? You asked me to go to the party, and I didn't tell you to enjoy it. If someone walks in here for no reason, I'm in trouble. He covers his face with a mask, but it was first discovered that he was already sick.

Ajin takes a few steps. I thought I'd leave the party and go somewhere else. Where the hell did the Black Snow smell go? Azin walked, pressing down on his annoyance and swallowing. Rivera calls him from behind, but Azin ignores her.

“Wait.”

Someone stands in the way of Ajin.