Chapter 246: VANTA
[Flashback]
Life had never been easy for Clara.
No matter how many schools she transferred to, the bullying never seemed to stop. It was almost as if people could sense her vulnerability and made it their mission to turn her life into a living nightmare.
Yet Clara never told her mother about any of it. Dianna was already working multiple jobs to support herself and fund her writing, and the last thing Clara wanted was to add to her mother’s worries.
So, she endured the taunts, the cruel remarks, and the occasional humiliation in silence.
However, she had found a way to escape the unpleasantness of her daily life.
Online gaming.
The laptop Dianna had gifted her on her seventeenth birthday had become her most treasured possession. Whenever the world became too overwhelming, Clara would lock herself in her room, log into her gaming account, and lose herself in another world.
Under the username MoonlitRose, she could be whoever she wanted to be. Nobody knew her background, nobody could judge her appearance, and nobody could make her feel small.
At least, that was what she believed.
Today, however, had been particularly awful. After enduring another round of humiliation at school, Clara had rushed home, barely holding back her anger.
She tossed her bag onto the bed, shut the bedroom door, and immediately switched on her laptop.
Within minutes, she had logged into her favorite multiplayer game.
MoonlitRose is online.
Clara adjusted her headphones and entered a competitive match, determined to forget everything that had happened that day.
"Let’s see who gets in my way today," she muttered, cracking her knuckles.
The game had barely begun when a new player joined the battlefield.
Vanta has entered the match.
Clara glanced at the notification before returning her attention to the screen.
"Oh, another one," she murmured.
She had no idea who Vanta was, but she soon discovered that he was exceptionally good at making her life difficult.
Every time Clara attempted to secure a position, Vanta appeared out of nowhere and disrupted her strategy. When she moved towards the objective, he intercepted her. When she tried to collect resources, he snatched them before she could reach them.
"Are you kidding me?" Clara exclaimed as her character narrowly escaped another attack.
A message appeared in the chat.
Vanta: Having trouble keeping up, MoonlitRose?
Clara stared at the screen, her eyebrows rising.
Oh, so he wants to play like that?
MoonlitRose: Not really. I was just wondering whether you have anything better to do than follow me around.
Vanta: Maybe you’re just too easy to find.
Clara scoffed.
MoonlitRose: Or maybe you’re so busy watching me that you haven’t noticed what’s happening behind you.
Before Vanta could respond, Clara activated a hidden route she’d discovered during previous matches. While he continued chasing her decoy, she slipped past his defence and secured the main objective.
OBJECTIVE CAPTURED!
Vanta’s character appeared on the screen a moment too late.
Clara grinned. "Got you!"
But Vanta wasn’t finished. He quickly changed tactics and launched a final attack, forcing Clara into a narrow passage with almost no room to escape.
For a moment, her smile faded. Then she noticed the explosive trap she’d placed earlier.
"Thanks for walking right into it."
She activated the trap and dashed through the opening just as the explosion took out Vanta’s character.
VICTORY!
Clara leaned back in her chair, a triumphant smile spreading across her face.
MoonlitRose: Maybe next time, try playing the game instead of chasing me.
Vanta: You got lucky.
MoonlitRose: And you got beaten. Learn to accept both.
Clara laughed, the first genuine laugh she’d managed all day.
For those few precious minutes, she had forgotten the cruel words, the mocking laughter, and the helplessness she’d felt at school.
Here, she could fight back.
And sometimes, that was enough.
What Clara didn’t know was that the mysterious player behind the username Vanta had just found someone far more interesting than an ordinary gaming opponent.
Clara smiled triumphantly before removing her headphones and setting them aside. She still had to study and help Dianna with dinner, so she decided to call it a day.
However, just as she was about to shut down the game, a chat window popped up on her screen, making her pause.
Hi.
Clara blinked at the message. It was none other than Vanta, the player she’d just defeated.
Curiosity flickered in her eyes as she stared at the screen. She had expected him to disappear after losing, not send her a private message.
After a moment’s hesitation, she placed her fingers on the keyboard and typed a reply.
[Present]
Clara had no idea how long she’d been staring at the screen, but the moment Vanta replied to her message, her heart began to race.
She couldn’t believe that after all these years, he had finally responded.
"Madam, who exactly is this Vanta?"
Lily’s voice startled Clara out of her thoughts. She quickly turned to find the younger woman staring at her with undisguised curiosity.
Clara had never been one to talk about her past, but Lily was practically like a sister to her. There was little reason to hide something so insignificant.
"An old friend," she answered with a small smile.
Lily blinked.
"An old friend?" she repeated, looking almost offended. "I thought we were your only friends!"
Clara stared at her for a moment before a soft chuckle escaped her lips.
"You are my friends. It’s just that before I met all of you, there was someone else I used to talk to."
"Someone else?" Lily pressed, her curiosity growing.
Clara nodded.
"I met him years ago while playing an online game. We used to talk quite often, but then he disappeared for a long time. I thought I’d never hear from him again." Her gaze drifted back to the screen. "But when I finally messaged him, he replied."
"A friend?"
Silvia’s voice interrupted their conversation as she approached them.
"Since when did Madam have a friend we’ve never heard about?"
"Long ago," Lily answered before Clara could speak.
Silvia frowned. "Really? But didn’t you tell us you’d never had any friends before?"
Clara nodded, her expression growing thoughtful.
"That’s because I was bullied a lot in school. No matter how many times I changed schools, it never really stopped. They always found something to pick on, and every day felt like a struggle."
She spoke casually, as though she were recounting an ordinary childhood memory. To her, it had been ordinary. It was simply how she’d grown up.
However, the moment the words left her mouth, Silvia and Lily’s expressions darkened.
"I wish I’d been there," Silvia muttered, her eyes flashing with anger. "I would’ve made sure those bullies remembered their grandmothers every time they thought about picking on you again."
Clara couldn’t help laughing at her choice of words.
"Honestly, I wish I’d met you all sooner, too."
Her smile softened as she glanced at the message on her screen.
"But back then, when I had nobody to turn to, he was the only person who listened to me without judging me. I could tell him anything, and he never made me feel like there was something wrong with me."
For a moment, neither Lily nor Silvia spoke.
Then Lily’s eyes widened slightly.
"Wait a minute. You keep saying he. Are you telling me Vanta was a boy?"
Clara nodded.
"Yes. Vanta was a boy, which is why you should never mention that name before your master."
"..."