Chapter 148: Mr.Guide Returns?
The afternoon breeze drifted gently through Riverside Park. Children laughed as they chased one another across the grass.
Nearby, Toma sat on a wooden bench, happily enjoying her triple-scoop ice cream. "Chocolate really is the best." She smiled to herself before taking another bite.
A few meters away, Nobody leaned against a lamp post with his hands in his pockets.
For the first time that day, everything felt unusually peaceful. "Well kinda. The peace did get ruined by a sniper, no piper." Almost as soon as the words left his mouth....
Ding!
A familiar ripple spread through the air.
Nobody’s eyes widened.
The space beneath a nearby tree distorted slightly. The distortion wasn’t visible to anyone else. People continued walking through it as if nothing existed there.
Then...
A familiar figure stepped out of the shimmering air. A long dark coat. Blue and pink eyes. It was Mr.Guide.
Nobody’s eyes lit up. "No way..." He turned toward Toma. "Toma."
She looked up. "Hm?"
"I’ll be back in a minute. I just remembered something."
Toma raised an eyebrow. "Again?"
"Don’t worry. It won’t take long."
"Alright. I’ll wait."
Nobody nodded before casually walking away. Once he was far enough that no one could overhear him... He suddenly broke into a run.
Mr.Guide folded his arms. "So you finally noticed."
Nobody stopped a few feet away. A grin spread across his face. "Wow...It’s really you."
Mr.Guide chuckled. "I was wondering whether you’d recognize me."
Nobody laughed. "Recognize you? It almost feels like I saw you one hundred twenty-four Chapters ago."
Mr.Guide blinked. "...You’re counting Chapters now? Wait... what Chapters are you even talking about?"
"It’s nothing. My life literally runs on them."
The two of them laughed. For a brief moment, it felt like it was just yesterday day when they first met. But in reality, many days have passed.
Mr.Guide looked Nobody up and down. Then his expression became strangely puzzled. "...Hold on."
Nobody tilted his head. "What?"
Mr.Guide pointed directly at his face. "How in the actual world did you get a face?"
Nobody instinctively touched his cheek before laughing. "Oh. This? Actually...Through the System."
Mr.Guide frowned. "The System?"
"Yeah. I participated in a tutorial event. It rewarded me with an actual face."
Mr.Guide nodded thoughtfully. "A tutorial..." He shrugged. "Must’ve been easy."
Nobody stared at him for several seconds. Then burst out laughing. "Easy? Oh, hell no. You have absolutely no idea what I went through."
Mr.Guide raised an eye. "That bad?"
"Bad? I thought I’d never make it out alive." Nobody shook his head while smiling at the memory. "It pushed me harder than anything I’ve ever experienced. I learned new skills. Got beaten more times than I can count. And somehow survived." He looked toward the blue sky. "...Still. I kind of miss that place."
Mr.Guide looked genuinely surprised. "You miss it?"
"Yeah. There was someone there. My teacher."
Mr.Guide crossed his arms. "A teacher?"
Nobody nodded. "A rabbit coach. He wore armor on his right arm. He was unbelievably strong. He could tell exactly what I was doing wrong with just one glance. He never praised me. Well at least not before I left. But every lesson made me stronger." As Nobody continued speaking...
Mr.Guide’s smile slowly disappeared. His eyes widened almost imperceptibly. For a split second...He looked genuinely shocked.
Nobody noticed immediately. "...What’s wrong?"
Mr.Guide remained silent. Inside his mind, countless memories resurfaced. "A rabbit warrior... "Right-arm armor...It can’t be...That description...I know exactly who that is..." He slowly exhaled. "So...That man now serves this System as well..."
Nobody waved a hand in front of him. "Hey. You seem shocked."
Mr.Guide quickly composed himself. "It’s nothing. I just remembered someone. Someone from a very long time ago."
Nobody became curious. "Who?"
Mr.Guide looked toward the horizon. "A warlord. He was feared across countless worlds. He conquered planets one after another. Every battlefield seemed to bend to his will."
Nobody blinked. "No way. Ren?"
Mr.Guide’s breathing paused for the briefest moment. "..."
Nobody continued. "No way in hell Ren would be that kind of person. I refuse to believe it."
Mr.Guide almost trembled upon hearing the name spoken so casually. In his mind he said, "He even knows his name...Just how much happened during that tutorial?" But he said nothing.Instead...He simply smiled. "Perhaps....Perhaps not."
Nobody narrowed his eyes. "You’re hiding something."
Mr.Guide laughed. "None of your concern."
Nobody sighed. "Fair enough."
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. The sounds of the park filled the silence. Birds flew overhead, leaves rustled gently.
Children continued playing nearby, completely unaware that a conversation beyond their understanding was taking place only a short distance away.
Finally...
Nobody folded his arms. "So. What made you visit this time? I doubt you came here just to admire my new face."
Mr.Guide smiled knowingly. "You’re right. I came because something is about to happen."
Nobody’s expression became serious. "The System didn’t tell me anything."
"It wouldn’t." Mr.Guide took a slow step forward. "Because this isn’t an ordinary System event."
Nobody frowned. "...Go on."
Mr.Guide looked directly into his eyes. "Don’t be too shocked."
A breeze swept through the park. The sunlight seemed to dim for just a moment.
"Soon...A minor event will occur. It won’t last forever. But for a certain amount of time...your reality will change."
Nobody blinked twice. "...Huh? My reality? What does that even mean?"
Mr.Guide shrugged. "I can’t explain everything. There are rules."
Nobody groaned dramatically. "Of course there are. Every mysterious person says that."
Mr.Guide laughed. "I’ve noticed."
"So you’re telling me something huge is about to happen... But you can’t tell me what it is."
"Correct."
"...You’re incredibly unhelpful."
"I can’t break the rules that are meant to be followed."
Nobody rubbed his forehead. "Can I at least get a hint?"
Mr.Guide thought for a moment. Then raised one finger. "When it begins...Don’t fight the change immediately. Observe, adapt and do what you’ve always done."
Nobody sighed. "Which is?"
Mr.Guide smiled. "Go with the flow and be a Nobody."
Nobody stared at him. "...That’s your advice?"
"It has worked surprisingly well so far."
Nobody couldn’t help laughing. "I hate how right you are."
Mr.Guide took a step backward. The air around him began shimmering once again. "It seems my time here is over."
"So soon?"
"I was never meant to stay long."
Nobody scratched the back of his head. "Well...It was good seeing you again."
Mr.Guide nodded warmly. "You too. And Nobody..."
"Hm?"
A rare seriousness crossed Mr.Guide’s face. "When your reality begins to change...Trust your instincts. Not everything will be what it appears to be."
Before Nobody could ask another question...The shimmering light enveloped Mr. Guide completely. His figure dissolved into countless tiny particles.
Within seconds...He was gone.
Nobody stood silently beneath the tree. "...He always leaves before explaining anything properly." He let out a long sigh. Then he turned toward the ice cream shop.
Toma was still waiting on the bench, absentmindedly finishing the last spoonful of her ice cream.
Nobody smiled. "At least one thing hasn’t changed." He began walking back toward her.
Yet deep inside...Mr.Guide’s final words echoed over and over.
Your reality will change.
For the first time in a long while, Nobody had no idea what awaited him next.
......
Nobody returned to the bench with his usual relaxed expression.
Toma looked up at him, holding the now-empty ice cream cup. "What took you so long?"
Nobody smiled sheepishly. "I bumped into...an old acquaintance."
Toma tilted her head. "Really? I didn’t see anyone."
"You probably wouldn’t have."
"Huh?"
"Nothing." Nobody quickly changed the subject. "So...Finished your triple scoop already?"
Toma proudly held up the empty cup. "Every last bite. You owe me another one someday."
Nobody chuckled. "I should’ve known."
"You made that promise. And I intend to collect more."
They both laughed.
For a moment, the strange conversation with Mr.Guide felt like a distant dream. But deep inside, Nobody couldn’t stop replaying every word.
"Your reality will change."
"Go with the flow."
"Trust your instincts."
None of it made sense. Yet Mr.Guide had never appeared without a reason.
Nobody quietly opened the System.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
System Status
No abnormalities detected.
Current Reality Stability: Stable
Hidden Events: Classified
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
"Stable..." He frowned. "If everything is stable, then what exactly was Mr.Guide talking about?"
He tapped the notification several times. Nothing happened.
The window closed on its own.
"Great. So even the System is keeping secrets now."
As they walked through the park, a flock of pigeons suddenly flew into the air. Several people instinctively looked upward.
For a brief instant...
Nobody thought he saw the sky flicker. It lasted less than a second. Like a comic panel changing too quickly to notice.
"..." He stopped walking.
Toma noticed immediately. "What is it?"
"...Did you see that?"
"See what?"
"The sky."
Toma looked up. Blue skies, white clouds. Nothing unusual. "It looks normal to me."
Nobody remained silent. "...Maybe I’m imagining things." He hoped he was.
Far above the city, beyond the drifting clouds, a faint crack of white light appeared and vanished before anyone else could notice.
Somewhere...
Far beyond the System’s reach...Something had begun to move.
Nobody unknowingly glanced toward the horizon. A strange feeling settled in his chest. He couldn’t explain why...
But he felt as though someone had just turned the first page of an entirely new story.