“What could you ever mean dear Amulet Pond” you say? Pardon me Eseli, but don’t try to act as if this isn’t something unusual. One moment you are a lazy lady-cat who aimlessly stares at nothing but ever since eating this cake, you’ve suddenly changed into a more normal person. Actually, she is reminding me a bit of Orana in how “high class” her posture and way of speaking have become. I don’t even need her to say anything more and I know that her aura has definitely altered.

Orana: “Perhaps Amulet didn’t know?”

And you somehow know? What do you know?!

MC: “Know what?”

Orana: “That Eseli is an Enchantress after all!”

MC: “Did you know Orana?”

Orana: “No, not immediately. But I’ve eventually realized she was an Enchantress after she stared at me while I was baking the cake in the kitchen. She wasn’t fazed by me using magic, instead she helped me out by enhancing my abilities. Because my father was somewhat of an aristocrat, I had the opportunity to be tutored by a decent teacher of general magics when I was younger. I merely know a few basic Light Magic spells which I use to cook my cakes. It’s nothing significant, it merely allows me to finish cooking those cakes faster. But I felt that my skills somehow became better after seeing Eseli flick her wrist towards me. Yet, I’m now curious whether you could tell or not tell that she was an Enchantress, Amulet?”

Wait she’s a-

Eseli: “He could tell. Amulet Pond is more capable than you may realize yourself miss Orana.”

Orana: “Oh is that so? How interesting the two of you are!”

What? Eseli is calling me capable? Wait, I’m confused. Yes, I could tell that Eseli can use magic, she made herself physically lightweight with a spell earlier. Is that what Orana meant by “Light Magic”? Also, I didn’t exactly know why Eseli is an “enchantress”, I just thought she was just some kind of magic…So, I kinda already knew about that part of Eseli?

But what I don’t understand the most is what happened to Eseli’s personality!?!

MC: “I simply do not understand what happened to Eseli. She has changed.”

Orana: “If you already know that Eseli is an enchantress, then it shouldn’t surprise you that she’s altered into a different personality. People like her are usually strange after all, and I can tell that after meeting the lord-mayor more than several times already…”

Eseli: “No. It is not a different personality, per say. It is instead… how do I say this in simple language…ah! It is instead closer to me having a strong change of mood. It seems that Amulet Pond does not understand these common concepts, that even common townspeople would know about in their own feint ways.”

Orana: “What do you mean? Amulet, is it true that you are no wiser than a mere stable boy?”

Yes, right now it seems to be true. Because a part of my world view (in this Overworld) has shattered a little bit. I’ll just hold tight and try to pay attention to everything these NPCs are talking about…

Eseli: “With no disrespect to you Amulet Pond…In the regards of the common knowledge in our world, then yes, he has the equivalent amount of wisdom which a mere stable boy has.”

There goes my dream in trying to become a sage…or maybe lowering myself towards a stable boy’s wisdom is part of the process towards enlightenment?

Orana: “What do you mean “about our world”, do you mean from our perspective as those who are proficient in magic? Of course, except that I am far less proficient than you Eseli.”

Eseli: “I am afraid I cannot instantly answer that Orana since it would be too rude of me to do so without Amulet’s permission. Unless he wills it to be acceptable to mention.”

Permission for what? It’s giving me the option to “agree” or “disagree”. If I agree, Eseli will say something that I am supposed to apparently know, but I don’t know! So, I won’t “agree”. However, I don’t know what choosing the “disagree” option will result it, perhaps it would also be a bad idea? But I do have the option of just remaining silent, so I’ll try to do that even though it’ll seem suspicious.

Orana: “Oh come on! Please agree Amulet! I’m dying to know what this tasty secret is between you two… Supposedly between two “strangers”! Come on, come on!”

But we are two strangers! I really have no idea…

All the sudden I’m starting to get worried about if I pick a wrong response option or trying to understand to whatever they’re talking about. Additionally, all of this pressure is forcing my mind to wake up, but it hurts because my body is still getting sleepier and doesn’t want to wake up.

I simply don’t have enough time to properly think about what all this dialogue is possibly referring to. Which should be perfectly fine with me since I have chosen to stay silent…but agh! The eyes of a puppy that wants to do something fun or a child who is very excited to learn something interesting. Those are the eyes which Orana is making while facing directly towards me…it’s too emotionally painful to ignore! And here I thought I had become slightly emotionally decadent according to that new mechanic that I now have to worry about.

Fine! Eseli, I don’t think you know enough about me for me to worry about…so sure, go ahead!

MC: “You may tell her Eseli”

Eseli: “Very well then, I’m also glad to share this information with someone else like Orana!”

Orana: “Go on, go on! I’m literally on the edge of my seat!”

Eseli: “You may not believe this Orana, but I’ll say it anyways... Amulet Pond does not know much about this Overworld.

*Orana instantly falls off her seat. Eseli and Amulet see her fall straight down. But before Orana could react to the damage of the fall she just suffered, she quickly leaps up and jumps back in a mixture of shock and sublimity*

Orana: “This is unreal…! No, it is real…it’s certainly real. But. Very bizarre. Very strange. Very unearthly. Yes, literally unearthly! Think Orana, think! Think of some more poetic words to express this dreamlike whirlpool that I’m gushing out over!”

Eseli: “Just like how fellow colleagues say, “imagination never fails” … In some regards Amulet is, like many others in a similar position as him, a newborn. A newborn in the length of time which he has been living here. However, drastically different from a newborn, Amulet and the other beings are… exceptionally and tremendously much more capable in achieving their goals, unlike us mortals.”

Orana: “Eseli! How are you so calm about this situation?! When did you find out?”

Eseli: “I found out when I woke up in a ditch after my finishing my afternoon nap, greeted by Amulet himself. I am currently calm because I was in a much laxer mood when I found out about all this. I am still fascinated and honored to have met Amulet Pond, but my initial shock was deduced thanks to my earlier mood. Now that I’ve eaten this delicious cake, I’ve regained my energy and my mood to finally discuss more with Amulet Pond. He wished to do so beforehand, but it was during an inconvenient time for me.”

This sounds like a big deal. But it’s too much for me to think about right now. My eyes are beginning to automatically close themselves, despite my mind getting stimulated with what’s going on now.

But I think I understand what they are generally talking about now…somehow Eseli knows that I’m a Divine Spirit! I am 100% sure that I never mentioned it to her or around her or did anything that would make her think that I am a Divine Spirit…but she still found out somehow? At least mention it directly, no need to hype it all up and beat around the bush, Eseli.

Orana is obviously surprised, she’s visibly shocked at learning that I’m a Divine Spirit. And she managed to understand because Eseli simply mentioned the word “Overworld” and apparently only a few normal people (NPCs) call the world which they live in as the “Overworld”. Except for some reason it’s widely known that the Divine Spirits refer to this world as the “Overworld”.

According to the lore, the Divine Spirits were indirectly summoned into this world by a cooperation of different countries and factions in order to quickly stabilize their realm because apparently a great war occurred around a year ago. They summoned us right after the way, and after a year had passed, we (the Players) finally arrived at their world because the game was released recently for us. Also, it seems like in the past year after the summoning, the news that “spirits” from the heavens would descend into the world quickly spread. And now, I assume most NPCs know what it is at least possible to eventually see a Divine Spirit wandering around. But I assume because the game has only just recently released, almost all the NPCs are still unfamiliar with us “Divine Spirits”, and so it is perfectly reasonable for someone like Orana to freak out knowing that there is a Divine Spirit right in front of her. It’s basically otherworldly and amazing for her.

That’s basically all I’m willing to think about at this point. I still can’t get over Eseli “changing moods”, let alone care about Eseli and Orana now knowing that I’m a Divine Spirit. I wish they didn’t, but oh well, I can’t change that now.

*ding*

OH! A message from…May! Yay…she said that they’ve arrived as Susana and want to know where I want to meet up… Darn, I got to break the news to them that I’m actually too sleepy to play the game properly anymore, even though I wish I could go on longer... Oh well I’ll tell them later…

For now I will just tell them to meet me at this very shop, “it’s called Madam Pink, you should see a drawing of a cake on a signboard”. I’ll also mention where exactly I think this shop is at in Main Street. So now… they’ll arrive at any minute…

…

…

…

Elesi: "Hello? Amulet Pond, why have you gone silent and unresponsive?"

Oh… I didn’t realize they were talking to me. I totally blanked out. Also, I don’t want to hear that from you Elesi!

MC: “Yes, it is true. I am indeed a Divine Spirit. Elesi, how did you know?”

I want to ask this question now or else I will later regret not asking it.

Elesi: “When I first saw you greeting me, while I was waking up in that ditch, you asked me whether I shot a fireball at a Marauder. I wasn’t sure if it would work but I attempted to use a spell or activation called “Magic Sense”. It is a special ability that almost all magic users are capable of using but only a few ever master it. I have not mastered it yet, but I’ve been improving significantly throughout the years. I couldn’t give you a proper answer whether I had accidentally killed the Marauder or not. It sounds like he was a criminal, so I am glad that I yawned a fireball out on him instead of anyone innocent. Either way, I could sense some magical traces on his body, they traces were located on his black wounds which you pointed towards. While I may have appeared as a slow-witted feline whenever my mood relaxes down, I’m still capable enough to use my abilities, and most importantly my intelligence. So, I wished to know whether you were trying to trick me in making me believe that I had murdered a man or not. I decided to use Magic Sense on you, and it worked well enough that I could tell that your magic was far more different from anything that I’ve encountered before in my whole life. Unrelatedly, I decided to follow you around because I was (and still am) hungry for certain foods. But while following you, I noticed that you were an oddly capable sort of person who was difficult to read, not because of a shady presence but because of an overly bright presence. I then connected the pieces of this puzzle and concluded that you are a Divine Spirit. In face I was heading towards the Holy Temple anyways to see the Divine Spirits myself…”

Orana: “But were you certain that he was a Divine Spirit before he had confirmed it just now?”

Elesi: “I was not really certain, no. But thanks to his willingness into agreeing my request, which he shouldn’t have known what it was exactly, I got him to confirm my suspicions himself! Of course I am very sorry for tricking you Amulet, but I wanted to know for the sake of my curiosity and future research.”

…huh? Research…okay then... I’ll worry about that later…Let me double check something I just found while exploring my User Interface some more. In the top right of my viewpoint… near the minimap, yup…there seems to be a text dialogue log available.

This log records all the dialogue I’ve said and encountered while in conversation mode and saves it all as text which can be read later. So, the stuff which Elesi has been saying right now or the lore that I was told by the monk I talked to in Starter Town, is all being saved. I can also filter this dialogue log to be viewed in certain ways. Such as organize my conversations during each gaming session I’ve had in the game, so the time between logging in and logging out. So far it has recorded the first day I played this game, and right now it is recording the conversations I’ve experienced so far during today’s session.

With this…I’ll be able to *yawn* reread what they’ve been talking about so far. I’m just already overwhelmed with all these little details that the game is suddenly throwing at me, so I’m not bothering to keep up with it anymore now. I guess this is what happens when you play longer than your body wants you to…you start…falling asleep…

*The shop’s door opens. A still surprised Orana slowly reacts to the seemingly new customers*

Orana: “…Welcome to Madam Pink. Best cake shop in Susana.”

…

Krafty: “Look at how long this shop is!”

May: “Yeah but it’s not wide enough so it looks like a hallway in a dungeon”

Krafty: “Don’t talk about dungeons when we’re in a cake shop. You’ll spoil the appetite!”

May: “What the hell are you talking about Krafty? What appetite, this is a game idiot.”

Krafty: “Then I’ll just buy a cake just for myself in the real world and eat it out loud just so you can hear me enjoying it later.”

May: “I don’t even want to hear you drinking water next to your microphone, what makes you think I want to hear you disgustingly eat a cake? “

Krafty: “You don’t have to say it like that…I was just joking!”

May: “You suck at joking… Whatever, where is Amulet. I can only see a drunk dwarf and a tall woman and a…a “cat-girl”! Hahaha…it’s just like Amulet said. Hey Krafty, how does this sexy cute “cat-girl” look to you? Is she exactly like the ones in those comics you read?”

Krafty: “Shup up May! She might be a bit older and more catlike than I expected, but…you shouldn’t just judge a book by its cover…!”

May: “Yeah, but you didn’t even judge the book by its cover, you judged a book purely based on its title… and the title read “cat-girl”! HAHAHA”

Krafty: “Whatever! Wait- if this Snowmel here is Amulet’s companion, then shouldn’t Amulet also be here? I forgot, did he mention whether the cat-girl is a Sunmel or Snowmel?”

May: “Maybe that’s just a random Snowmel NPC…oh wait, is that dwarf actually- oh crap that’s actually Amulet! …What’s he doing looking drunk?”

Krafty: “Why does “looking drunk” to you, refer to someone passed out like they drank too much alcohol at a bar?”

May: “I don’t know, maybe it’s just from my personal experiences because I actually go to places, outside in the real world, unlike a certain someone.”

Krafty: “I don’t care about your teasing anymore May. More importantly…umm…is Amulet alright? Did he actually drink too much?”

May: “This is a video game Krafty!”

Krafty: “Oh right, yeah I forgot…”

May: “But you’re right, maybe he did drink too much. I heard that stuff like this might happen. People sometimes party inside of an online VR game they player, and then later fall asleep inside of it… Sounds like something you’d do Krafty. Hey! By any chance, yesterday at spawn… did you want to “fall asleep under the stars” next to me Krafty? Hehe”

Krafty: “Shut up already! Look at what’s more important right now! Amulet is either passed out drunk in a video game or… well, I guess he could’ve just fallen asleep. If he’s in a similar time zone to us, then it should already be early morning for him. So, he probably just fell asleep while waiting for us.”

May: “So, I don’t see the problem. He’s accidentally fallen asleep in a video game. I think he’d like to anyways do something like this eventually. Since he seems to be the type of person who’s gotten fairly immersed into this game. I don’t blame him, even I am a bit immersed, and I don’t even care about the story or anything like that. I guess he’s immersed like you Krafty, but in a much more refined and normal way.”

Krafty: “How can it be both “refined” and “normal”? There’s no way something that you consider to be abnormal (immersing yourself into the game’s world), could also be both refined and normal at the same time!”

May: “I don’t understand what you are trying to say. So, forget about that for now Krafty. The point is… is you should spend the whole night alongside with Amulet and make sure he’s well-guarded!”

Krafty: “Unless there are monsters nearby, there shouldn’t be any reason to why his character’s body would be in danger in here. Maybe he could eventually get kicked out of this shop, but even then, when he wakes up or logs back in, he’ll be fine. And how come you get to just ignore what I was trying to tell you just because you simply didn’t understand what I was saying!”

*The two NPCs are still confused to why Amulet has had his head down on the wooden counter, while still in conversation mode with them. Eventually the conversation mode automatically ended because the internal AI assumed that the player is currently away from their gaming device*

May: “Hold on, look at those two NPCs next to Amulet. They look like they’re actually concerned about him. I wonder what he’s been up to this whole day...”

Krafty: “Do you want to go talk with those two NPCs together?”

May: “Yeah, I definitely wanna!”

…

…

…

…

...

So…they just assumed that I’m asleep. I guess it’s fair enough. But they didn’t even bother to try to properly check to see whether I am awake or not. They could’ve at least tried messaging me. Instead…they just went straight towards talk to Eseli and Orana. Okay yeah, I admit, I fell half asleep. And I didn’t realize that my conversation mode had ended.

Anyways, I might as well log off now. But I should check with Eseli to make sure if she’s a traveling companion with me or not.