79: The Land of the Dead, Part Six

The Land of the Dead, Part Six

The man stared her down with his beady yellow eyes. Neve didn't make a move for fear of getting herself killed. She even breathed a little more slowly, just in case that might prevent the guy from pulling the trigger. 

Although Tamira had told her she could kill NPCs before, the fact that these people carried no levels over their heads made their strength infinitely harder to gauge. 

Sure, safe assumptions were possible. Neve didn't need to see a level over Ahlakan's head to know she wouldn't do too much in a fight. But someone like Kelvon, however, could have the damage output to kill her easily. That sphere of flames he'd greeted her with back when she first visited his shop was still fresh in her mind. 

[That old geezer...] She thought. [I wonder what he would have done with the freedom Ahlakan was given thanks to me. What he would have wanted to do.] 

"Well? You did talk, didn't you? Or... am I just imagining things?" Those words, half-spoken by the man directly to himself, made Neve focus back on the present moment. 

"Y-Yes!" 

Hearing her speak a second time made those narrow yellow eyes a shade brighter. 

He was still reluctant to put his gun down, though. And, judging by his body, it was easy to see why. 

With how utterly ruined his clothes were, most of his body was exposed, and Neve could plainly see the countless scars decorating it. Part of that shell-like skin of his had been peeled off at the left shoulder and right-side abdomen, exposing some softer-looking, yellow tissue. 

This guy had been through a lot. 

"... So, what the hell are you?" He asked again. 

[... No point in sugarcoating this, is there? He can probably already tell.] 

"I'm not from this world," Neve quickly responded. The man's grip on his gun adjusted slightly, but he didn't pull the trigger. "I'm what's called a 'human'. But, I'm not going to be hostile to you unless you're hostile to me." 

Considering that response, the man looked as though he had been about to lower his weapon, but thought twice about it. 

"Hard to believe those words given that a lot of the things that have been killing my people were also not from this world." 

That was shocking to hear. 

[What?]

But, she kept her composure. 

"Did any of them talk?" 

It was upon hearing that question that the man finally lowered his gun. 

"No." The man huffed and stepped back, clearly still cautious. "No, they did not." 

[Okay... Progress.] 

Progress toward what? Well, Neve would be lying if she said she believed every NPC had a purpose, but it had been made clear now that some did. Quests were an actual thing in the Final Challenge and, if anything, there was also the chance of this man being some secret vendor of some sort. 

She wasn't about to inquire as to his story too much. She knew what would happen if she allowed herself to get invested in an NPCs life, thoughts, and feelings. 

Erin and Ahlakan were more than enough. 

"What are you here for, then, alien?" He asked. 

Neve held back a chuckle at being called that and thought about that question.

[What am I here for? Well, mostly I'm here to kill Thomas and his followers. I say 'mostly' because it would be nice if I could capture them alive and torture them for a few days too, or something... After all the shit I've been through, I don't think killing them is enough. But, how do I...?] 

Trying to think of a way to make her intentions understandable to this man, she said:

"There's a monster I'm here to fight. One specific creature," she continued. "The strongest one here."

Immediately, surprise showed on the man's face. He had no brows, but his eyes became another shade lighter, and his lips twitched. 

"... That so? Hmph. Fuck," he muttered. "Did the Gods send you here?" 

"Gods?" 

"Yeah, the same ones who brought these monsters here," he said, pointing over at the salamander's body. "Did they send you here to clean up the mess?" 

At that moment, a possibility came to Neve's mind. One that left her stunned. 

[Is he talking about the Forces That Be?] 

"Uh... These monsters..." She began to ask. "Are they part of the Unity Trials?" 

The instant those words left her mouth, he raised his weapon up again. 

Neve barely reacted in time, ducking as the man tried to shoot her on the spot. 

"I'M NOT WITH THEM!" She quickly attempted to clarify. "I'M-"

The guy was just a bit too angry to calm down so easily, though. 

A prompt came up then, as Neve summoned Erin in front of her. Immediately, Erin took a bullet to the chest, but it bounced right off her body, harmlessly. 

{Quest Obtained!}

{Subdue Alexander}

{Reward: 10 Influence Points} 

Neve didn't pay it any attention. She was too busy trying not to die. 

Erin dashed forward and, at that moment, Neve realized that she'd severely overestimated this man. 

Or, perhaps, that wasn't the case. No, thinking about it more logically, as Erin raised her swords to the sky, she understood something. 

If the Forces That Be wanted to be entertained, if that was the point of the Unity Trials as a whole, why would they give NPCs the power needed to kill players? All that would do is allow them to remove the source of their entertainment. It was one thing if a player was devoured alive by monsters in a dungeon, or betrayed and stabbed in the back by another player, but this? Dying from a single shot to the head from a random NPC would just be lame. 

Meaning that, no, this guy was probably strong, as a person. This was an NPC version of him, though. A replica like Erin and Ahlakan both were. 

He'd probably been nerfed into the ground. 

"Stop!" Neve called out just before Erin could introduce both her blades to his head. She froze, as what was given was a command, not a suggestion. The man didn't move, likely too shocked by her sudden appearance, and her speed. "J-Just knock him out or something!" 

Hearing that, Erin reversed the grip on her blades and hit him with their hilts instead. 

A couple of thuds rang out and the man fell on his back, landing on the sand while Neve breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Okay, okay... Let's just wait for him to get up. It doesn't look like his bullets can do much damage. Don't hurt the guy. Maybe he'll calm down?"

{Quest Completed!} 

{10 Influence Points gained!} 

Neve Stephens

Influence Points: 10

"Who is this man?" Erin asked, looking back at Neve. 

"A local," Neve replied. "I think, uh... He probably thought I was working with the people who he's been fighting here. So, he panicked."  1

"Hm. Are you trying to get him to trust you?" She asked and Neve nodded. "In that case, tying him up is the last thing we should do," Erin responded. "He doesn't pose much of a threat. Just keep him as is and summon me if you need assistance." 

"I... Yeah, I guess you're right." 

With that being said, she went to address the question lingering on her mind. 

[Tamira?]

"Yeees?" The snake responded in her thoughts. 

[What the fuck are "Influence Points"?] 

"Before I let you know, first things first, CONGRATULATIONS! You're the first person to gain Influence Points during this attempt at the Final Challenge! Woo!" 

[What?] Neve thought. [The first? How?] 

"Influence Points are gained when you complete quests in each of the different floors here in the Final Challenge. Your allies, or opponents perhaps I should say, have not bothered to do that at all, so, yes. You are the first." 

Hearing this, Neve understood something important. 

[... So, like I was planning to do, they're just fighting whatever's necessary, right?] 

"I can neither confirm nor deny that," Tamira responded to her thoughts, but Neve went on. 

[That means they must be stuck somewhere if they still haven't managed to beat the Final Challenge after all this time.] 

"Ah, but even if you know that, how do you know where they're stuck? They could be on the 10th floor, for all you know. Maybe they're just trying to get ready for the final boss. Who knows?"

[... Maybe.] 

"Anyway, as I was saying, there are 100 Influence Points to be gained in the Final Challenge. None on the first floor, since that one is just one big arena, 20 on the Second Floor, to make up for that, and then 10 on each floor afterward. You just found the first 10 that you can find here." 

[What happens if I get all 100?] Neve quickly asked. 

"The reward is in the name. Influence. If you gain all 100 points, you will be allowed to change 1  thing  about the Final Challenge." 

[What do you mean?] 

"Exactly what I just said," Tamira replied. "You can change something. Anything, in any way that you wish. That is all. Good luck with getting them all!" 

With that, Tamira left. Erin disappeared just as Neve's conversation with her ended. 

Neve sighed, as she pondered those words. 

[... Change something? That's just so vague.] 

"Agh..." 

A low groan pulled Neve's attention away from that matter. The man Erin knocked out stood up slowly, looking back at Neve with some annoyance. 

He took a step back as soon as he was up on his feet but did not move to shoot her again. 

"So," Neve said. "Setting aside the whole, 'you tried to shoot me' thing, how about we talk a little?"

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