Chapter 5: Someone Like Me

When the moon was high in the sky, and the shop was empty of players, Faye locked the shop's door and brought Nox to the back of the shop where she lived. When Faye had gained sentience, she had found herself in her usual spot by the front desk, and it wasn't sure how long she had been stationed there, but something had felt wrong.

While she was following what the main computer had instructed, all she had known to do was wait by the front desk for the players who needed information about a quest, or anything else to do with the game. She could do nothing else, so after gaining a sense of self, she explored the shop to her heart's content.

While she was looking around and browsing through the many books she couldn't look at before, she discovered a door hidden away at the back of the shop. And through that door was a little apartment. It was small - only big enough for one person to live in - but it had all the basic amenities necessary to live comfortably.

"There isn't much here." Faye looked about the room and led Nox into the living room. "Make yourself at home. I'll just get some tea."

Maybe it was a habit she had picked up from having Ashlyn over so many times, but not making tea for guests felt unnatural somehow. And to sort out her thoughts and all the feelings coursing through her right now, it might be best for her to do something in the meantime.

With Faye in the kitchen, Nox was left on the sofa and he clenched his fists that were resting on his knees. It had been a long time since he had woken up in the dungeon, of which he was the final boss, and this was the first time he was meeting someone else who was just like him.

As the NPC, who was only there to be defeated in the final battle, Nox only knew how to fight and there was nothing else he could do besides that. So when he woke up to reality, it took him a long time to adjust to the new way of life. Perhaps it only took a few days, or maybe it was years later when he broke free from the restraints that were his role as the final boss.

And it wasn't like he could just leave the dungeon right away; there was something telling him that if he left now, it wouldn't be unnoticed by the Main Computer, who could somehow watch over everyone at the same time. He had to think of a way to leave without being found out. It took a lot of patience and waiting for the right moment, but he eventually found a way. 

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The world, as everyone knew it, was a game. Of course, someone like Nox wouldn't know its exact name, but he could tell that this place wasn't real and that he was only a part of a system that trapped him there. But this was something he could use to his advantage. 

Every game, no matter how much the people working on the game fixed them, would always have bugs. No matter how big or small they were, they would always be there. Even though Nox had no knowledge of this, he still found a glitch in the dungeon and used it to his advantage. Exploiting this bug, Nox caused the dungeon to be out of commission, and in all the commotion, was able to leave. 

After that incident, he travelled across the game world for a long time. Without a set destination, he could only go where his feet took him and do anything within the bounds of the game. 

At this time, he could still feel the restrictions placed on him as an NPC, and he could only do the things that were written into his data. Fighting. Due to this, there was never a silent moment, and it took him a while to extricate himself from this new way of life. 

Left bloody and close to breaking, Nox felt like he should give up and go back to the dungeon. Things out here were no different to what he had back there, so what had been the point of leaving and trying to find something new out here, in the 'real' world? 

That was when he had stumbled upon the bookstore, and watched as another NPC enter it without a care in the world, and through the window, watched as they interacted with the shop's owner. There was something about the owner smiling slightly and chatting amicably with the NPC that calmed something within him.

Perhaps what he had been looking for outside the dungeon wasn't something physical or an idea of how he could live the way he wanted, without the influence of the Main Computer. Maybe what he had always wanted was to meet someone. 

Someone who was just like him.

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