69: A Fleeting Dream

A Fleeting Dream

{Erin}

Upon leaving that strange city, somehow, they ended up back in that tomb they'd been making their way through weeks ago. 

Erin had learned not to question this sort of thing. Thinking about it all too hard, where Neve went in between her lapses in consciousness, the people they were fighting, what they were fighting for, was ultimately unnecessary. 

At the end of the day, Erin had one job. That was, to cut things with her swords. 

But, although that was her only job, it would help to make things a little less awkward if Neve could speak every now and then. 

"Is this the right way?" Erin asked as they walked past several coffins, making their way to a set of black doors at the end of a long hallway. 

She could guess that the answer was "yes", but mostly, she'd just asked so that things wouldn't be so damn silent. 

Originally, when Neve had revealed her true nature to her, all she wanted was silence. All she wanted was to quietly go about her business. Now, though, Erin found herself thinking that maybe a bit of conversation to distract from her own thoughts could go a long way. 

"Hm? Uh, yeah," Neve answered as she did that weird thing where she'd stare at dead bodies for a little bit before moving on. 

She didn't say anything else. 

"... What do you believe we'll find?" Erin asked. 

"I dunno." 

Again, Neve stopped there. 

Erin sighed. 

[Whatever.] 

To be honest, Erin would be lying if she said that she hadn't spent the last few hours thinking about that city as well. Had it all been some strange illusion? Everything in it had felt real to Erin before but, well, as clueless as she had been about her own body, how could she make any accurate assessments about something like this?

Neve, however, didn't seem curious. She seemed melancholic, at best. At worst, she looked like a girl that had just seen her first love disappear, right before her eyes. 

[Had she fallen for that girl?] Erin wondered, as she subtly stared at the healer. [Or, had she simply been in the process of doing so? Hm. What a strange thing to have happened to you... Though, I'm not one to talk.] 

With all that said, as Erin threw subtle glances at Neve, she realized something. 

The resentment she'd felt for her, not for anything she'd done but more so due to the fact that she was so closely connected to the circumstances that frustrated her, being her summoner and all, had faded a little. 

As she watched Neve go on, she realized that something had changed after she saw Neve fall to her knees and watch Ahlakan disappear. 

Neve was more... real. 

It was hard for her to explain but, before, all she'd seen was Neve mechanically moving from one thing to another, showing only hints and glints of emotion here and there. She would get annoyed, frustrated, embarrassed, and so on, but... Mostly, Neve had just sort of walked forward as though that was all she could do. 

Seeing her like this now made Neve feel less like the person benefitting from Erin's unnatural situation and more like...

... Well, a person. 

---

{Neve}

Upon clearing the Hall of the Luminous, Neve was given the choice of being teleported out to the open world of the Final Challenge or to continue clearing the catacombs. She chose the latter, and alongside Erin promptly made short work of the rest of the dungeon. 

She barely even gained any experience from it. 

Level 75

MP: 1290/1290(+300)

EXP: 250/750

AP: 3690

WS Tokens: 28560

---

Endurance: 30

Speed: 40

Precision: 30

Strength: 34

Arcane: 99

Upon exiting the catacombs, 500 AP had been taken away for the sake of the quota, but clearing the dungeon had given her 500 anyway, so her total amount had been left unchanged. 

The reward for beating this dungeon was {Holy Beckons}, an offensive Priestess spell. 

Holy Beckons - 50MP

{Creates a field that damages all Impure-type enemies that pass over it. Lasts for 10 seconds.}

Impure-type enemies were mainly just undead, like the skeletons she'd faced before. 

[Okay,] Neve thought, as she and Erin appeared in the middle of the forest by the entrance of the catacombs. [Another offensive spell. Although I can't use this against regular enemies, this will help a lot against any undead. I wonder if this would have worked on those knights we fought.] 

Standing back out here only made everything that happened in Rorvan feel even more like a dream. 

Especially since Neve had yet to receive that reward Tamira had promised. Granted, leveling up as much as she did was enough of a reward, surely, but still. She was left wondering if perhaps the Forces That Be decided she was better off without a reward, for fear of being too strong. 

[I don't think they have to be too scared of that. Level 1 or level 100, I'm still just a healer, after all.]

"Where will we go next?" Erin asked. 

"Hm? Don't know," Neve replied quietly. For some reason, the simple act of speaking felt like it took a lot of energy right now. 

[I guess I could go around looking for more spells. I have enough AP to walk around for like 6  or 7 days without having to do any dungeons. I can afford to be selective. Look and see if any dungeons have spells or equipment I can use as rewards. If they don't, then...] 

"I guess I'll be seeing you assholes soon," Neve muttered. Erin threw a strange look her way as Neve opened her map. "I think... I want to head back to the safe zone first. Get some rest and, then... Yeah. We'll keep looking for places like these." 

"Did I not say that I would appreciate a change of scenery? And yet, you want to thrust us into another dusty, old mess like this? Where's that gratitude you mentioned earlier?" 

Neve laughed at the pouting princess's face. 

"We'll go somewhere nicer in the future. Promise. Actually," she proposed, "how about I show you some stuff from my world once we're back in the safe zone?" 

"Is this not your world?" Erin then asked, gesturing at the space around them and Neve shook her head. 

"Nope. I'm just as much a stranger to this place as you are." 

"Is that so? Huh." 

[Eh, I don't really have much to use my WS tokens on. It should be fine to spend some of it all on some fun.] 

"Neve," Erin called out suddenly. 

"Yeah?" The healer asked, looking back at her. She could see a little bit of concern slipping past Erin's usual stoic mask. 

"Are you alright?"  That question caught Neve off-guard. "It must have been shocking to-"

"It's fine," Neve replied, cutting her off. She didn't need to hear anything else, she knew what Erin was talking about. "None of this is real. That place wasn't real either. I'm just stupid for letting myself get attached to NPCs. It's fine." 

"What is-"

"Come on," Neve said, gesturing toward the general direction of the safe zone. "This way." 

"... Certainly." 

And so, the two of them began walking back the way they came. 

The cheapest car from the World Shop cost 15000 tokens. Neve could have bought one if she wanted to but she felt like walking right now. Besides, the cost was over half of her WS tokens and she wasn't sure if she was going to need them for something else, possibly. 

It was a quiet walk back to the safe zone. Neve mostly kept her head low while Erin quickly and wordlessly disposed of any monsters foolish enough to look at both of them and go "yeah, we can take them down", after which Neve would resummon her and they'd keep walking. 

A voice spoke up in Neve's mind, then. 

"Hey, Neve! So, do you remember that reward I mentioned? For beating the Hall of the Luminous? I-"

[Fuck you,] Neve replied, with all of the bitter feelings that had been stabbing at her heart pouring out the instant she heard Tamira. 

"Huh? Are you still- oh, come on! You had to have seen it coming," Tamira told her.

[Fuck. You.] 

"Ugh, humans can be so confusing at times. Anyway, as I was saying, I promised a reward when you first arrived at that dungeon." 

[Shove it up your-] 

Tamira cut her off, appearing before her for just a couple of seconds, so tiny that Erin didn't notice her sudden presence. Neve may have choked her out if she hadn't been so surprised.

"Originally, this was going to be given to you in a different way. Don't say I've never done anything for you. I had to beg my superiors to make this happen." 

[What the hell are you-] 

The snake disappeared, offering no answers. 

She had mentioned the reward for clearing the Hall of the Luminous, but no message popped up so Neve had no clue what she was talking about. 

That was until Erin said: 

"Hm. Careful, Neve. I see someone up ahead." 

Erin pointed at the safe zone. Neve saw the same thing. A figure stood there, in the middle of a place where no monster could be. 

[... A player?] 

Curious, Neve walked a little faster. 

As she and Erin drew closer, Neve found that the person standing outside the Main Dungeon had light grey skin, along with braided white hair and white fabrics wrapping around their arms, hips, and chest. 

She hadn't recognized the person initially due to the way the sun bounced off their skin, making them look a little different but, as soon as she did, Neve started running. 

"W-Wait!" Erin called out but Neve didn't stop. 

Running through a field of grass, the image of the figure standing there became clearer, making Neve's heart race and her skin warm up with hope as she arrived at the safe zone. 

Breathing a little heavily, with her eyes fixed on the elegant woman there, Neve stopped. 

A pair of black eyes holding white pupils looked back at her. 

"Neve?" A voice that hugged the healer's ears said, slipping in like pure, fresh water running gently down a river. 

"..." Neve couldn't say anything. 

"What is this place?" Ahlakan asked, looking around. She noticed the massive portal leading into the Main Dungeon and stared up at it. "This doesn't look like-, huh?"

Neve crashed into her, wrapping her arms tightly around the girl, like she was afraid that if she didn't, she'd disappear like last time. 

"N-Neve?" Ahlakan asked. "Are you alright?" 

Neve couldn't form any words. Erin, who followed after her, looked just as confused, standing a few feet away. 

"Ta-da! After a rather long back-and-forth, I managed to convince my superiors that it might be fun to have this girl there with you. I couldn't convince them to bring anyone else back, though. Also, don't be fooled," Tamira said, all of a sudden, appearing in Neve's thoughts. "Like Erin, this version of Ahlakan is not the original. However, unlike Erin, she is not a summon." 

That got Neve's attention. 

[What? What do you mean?] She asked Tamira, looking into Ahlakan's eyes as she did. 

"Allow me to explain in more detail. Originally, the reward for clearing the Hall of the Luminous was going to be to give you, or Erin, Alchemy as a sub-class. Only while you were in the Final Challenge. However, upon seeing how you reacted to that girl and her community disappearing, I went and managed to convince my superiors to allow her to exist as a 'hub NPC', allowing you to have this gift through her. She will be allowed to follow you from one safe zone to another, but cannot venture past those points and cannot fight for you. You can choose to have her appear outside of a safe zone if you wish, but unlike Erin, she will not come back upon dying. If a monster sees her and she dies, she will die permanently. You should be getting a message about all of this in a moment." 

The message appeared before Tamira finished speaking. 

{Ally Gained!}

{Ahlakan}

{Hub NPC: Alchemist} 

{Can craft potions for you using materials. Potion quality is determined based on a mix of Alchemy skill, Mood, and material quality}

Alchemy: 25

Mood: 50% (Neutral)

{Mood ranges from 0% (furious, depressed, miserable, etc.) to 100% (loving, delighted, joyous, satisfied, etc.)}

"As I was saying," Tamira continued, "she is not a summon. Do you know what this means?" 

[... Uh, I thought I was understanding all of this, but given how you're phrasing that, I'm going to say no.]

"It means that your time with her is still set to end one day. If you ever make it out of the Final Challenge, she will not follow you back to your world, as she is but a construct of this world. I had asked you before, does it make a difference to get to see her or her community be happy even if it means they would still disappear one day? You said that the answer was 'yes', so I took that back to my superiors and made this happen for you. But, to be clear on this, the time will come when you still have to say goodbye to her. Do you still want her as an ally? Does that not mean you should ignore her and move on?"

Neve stopped for a moment, considering those words. 

She was set to disappear one day. Regardless of Neve's actions, whether she succeeded in her quest or not, all that accepting this offer would do was delay this girl's exit from this world. This would not stop that from happening. 

And yet, she couldn't find it in her to care much about that right now. All that mattered was that this person, standing before her, was a friend she'd made here. One of the few she'd made over the course of her whole life. 

Of course, she wanted her there. There was no question about that. 

[I want her with me. Even if it's fake, even if it's going to end one day, I... I want to spend more time with her.] 

"Hm. I have to be honest with you, this strikes me as being completely illogical. For that reason, I had never considered that someone could feel this way."  She giggled.  "How interesting. I will take this into consideration, then. Enjoy your time with her, Neve. I look forward to more entertaining decisions and reactions from you in the future." 

Tamira's voice faded.  2

All Neve was left with was the nulin woman's warm eyes looking back at her. 

"... I'm not quite sure how I got here, but when I came to, the first thing I did was look for you," Ahlakan said. "Were we apart for long? Did you miss me?" She asked, giggling a bit. 

Neve couldn't find anything to say. Tamira's words also made it harder to think at the moment. 

[One day, if I succeed, if I beat The Final Challenge, I'll have to watch her go again. Whatever. I'll deal with that when it happens. I don't care. I don't care if this isn't 'real', or if someday, it's going to end again. I'm just happy she's here now.] 

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