I just realized that I hate-HATE!-re-reading my own stories. I don't know why, I just do. Well, probably because it made me felt very embarrassed every time I did, but I'm not sure. So please forgive me for the annoying typos and grammatical error. With my low level of English, I couldn't find my own mistakes even with hundreds and hundreds of re-reading (well, not that I did that much of re-reading, but still).

Anyway, here's chapter 7!

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING but the story. Maybe.


*~*Chapter Seven: The Reason and the Plan*~*

Areyst looked at me; his gentle smile was gone as he spoke.

"Tchet, you… No. Your character is going to die soon."

I blinked. Hard. I fell silent as my mind tried to comprehend his sentence.

"Did you just say, die?" I asked in disbelief.

Areyst gave me a small nod in reply.

"Well, die isn't really the right word to describe it." Raysand stepped forward as he spoke up, his usual cheerful tone was nowhere to be heard. "To put it simply, your character will disappear. Eliminated. Terminated. Got the gist?"

"Like your pet." Vanzard added.

This is gotta be some kind of joke, right?

I looked at the three of them as they stood in front of me, looking dead serious. I tried to search for a hint of humor, but found no such a thing.

"Why? I mean, how come? I'm not…hacked or anything like that. ...right?" I shivered as I recalled what happened to Rexan.

"No, you're not." I turned to Raysand. "You're not hacked. It's more like you're… infected." He added.

"…infected?"

"Yes." Areyst spoke up. "Do you remember about the hacked cave you entered a few days ago?"

I nodded in response.

"Usually, if a player entered a hacked place, he or she wouldn't be able to come out at all, and will log out to escape such condition, resulting in their character getting deleted without them knowing why."

"But your case is different, as you actually managed to escape without logging out, since you're with Van at that time." He nodded to Van. "I thought there shall be no more problem since you survived, but unfortunately, that's not the case."

"You, or rather, your pet came into contact with the 'habitants' of the cave, and died in result. Thus deleting its data, as you know." I nodded in confirmation as Areyst continued his explanation. "We thought that would be the end of it, but no. As a venomancer, your character is linked strongly to your pet. As your pet was corrupted by the data, your character got affected as well. That's why you're 'infected'."

He stopped, as if waiting to see my reaction. All I could manage was stared at him blankly.

"That's… my miscalculation." Vanzard suddenly said, though he didn't show it, a sense of guilt was heard in his voice.

Areyst shook his head.

"No one is blaming you, Van. You did well saving both her and yourself." He smiled and reassured Vanzard, who fell silent in response.

"Now, because you're infected, your data is slowly becoming more and more corrupted. If this continues on, your character's data will start to affect your surrounding as well, like other players, places you come to, monsters, and so on." He continued his explanation. "I believe you know about the lizard monster which went berserk, seeing as you were there when it was terminated by these two." He gestured to Vanzard and Raysand.

I looked at him confusedly, before realizing that he was talking about the monster that had almost killed both me and Ame some days ago. I nodded in affirmative.

"That is an unfortunate example of a corrupted data. If your condition continues on, you'll end up producing something like that sooner or later." I shivered at the thought of having more of that kind of monster around. "Should a Game Master found out about your condition, you'll immediately be deleted. That's also the reason why we choose this place, as this is one of the few places people rarely come to."

I clapped my hand once, unconsciously whispering a low 'oh' as I finally understood the reason they chose such a …fancy place for the meeting. He didn't seem to notice it and continued with his explanation.

"And even if no one found out, you'll end up getting deleted after your data got too damaged by the infection. That's why, you'll die. Probably sooner than later." He concluded his explanation.

There was a moment of silence as I was trying to comprehend his words. It all sounded like some made-up story, a fiction from some movie or something. But for some reason, I felt that they're serious.

"Well, it's not like there's nothing we can do about it, right Boss?" Raysand broke the silence, his cheerful tone was back. "There's no way we'll let such a lovely lady like you die." He blew a kiss playfully at me. In normal situation, it would have crept the hell out of me. But now, I felt somewhat relieved to see his playfulness again.

"That's right. Especially because it was a personal request coming from Van." Areyst added, smiling as he nodded to Van.

"Eh?" I instantly looked at Van, surprised. Our eyes met for a second before he turned his head away.

"My miscalculation got her into this. It was just the normal thing to do." He said in a low voice as he looked away, as if embarrassed.

"Yeah right, you lady-killer~~" Raysand jokingly elbowed him as he teased, yet Vanzard kept looking away while grumbling something about not to put them in the same level.

"*Erhm* Anyway, with that being the case, I'll now explain our plan to save your condition." Areyst spoke up, regaining our attentions. "In your condition now, you'll most likely affect your surroundings. In worst scenario, a Game Master will find you and that will be the end of your character."

"That's why, I'm suggesting you to join us, Sylveria, so that we could easily monitor your condition. Though it's not a necessary course, it's better if you keep close to us. So? What would be your choice?" He asked me with a kind smile.

"J-joining Sylveria? Me?" I unconsciously raised my voice, shocked with his sudden invitation. Areyst gave a small nod in affirmation, smiling all the while. I looked at both Raysand and Vanzard, and Raysand winked and smiled at me, while Vanzard just smirked and grunted in assertion.

What should I do? Sylveria was known to be a large and powerful faction, if not the strongest. Not to mention they held the most land in this server. And for me to join such a faction…

I closed my eyes, considering, before finally giving my decision.

"I'm sorry, but… I don't think I'm cut out for a big faction. And I don't think I'll fit well around too many high leveled people, seeing as I'm still weak myself, so… I'm afraid I'd have to refuse." I said, bowing in apology as I rejected their invitation.

"Whaa-? Don't worry about such trivial things! It's not like we're going to bite you or something, you know?" Raysand said, trying to make me change my mind. I could only shake my head, looking down as I mutter another apology.

"It's fine, Tchet. You don't have anything to apologize for." Areyst came closer and tapped on my shoulder. I looked up and met his soft, green eyes. "Though I still believe it's best if you stay with us, it's all up to your decision." He said reassuringly.

"Now, to cure your condition, I will have to ask you to give us three days." He continued.

"Three…days?"

Areyst nodded.

"In that time, we'll prepare the way to cure your condition. For now, I'll give you the choices you could make."

I gulped as Areyst was looking dead serious. I tried my best to focus while my heart beat a bit faster as I wasn't used to the close distance between us. His serious expression was surprisingly charming up-close.

"In these three days, you could stop logging in to avoid affecting your surroundings, or even meeting a Game Master."

"Eh? But—" I gave a sound of disapproval, but he just smiled at me.

"Or," He continued. "You could call us every time you log in, and we'll accompany you while you're around. That way, we could manage your condition and neutralized your effect on your surroundings."

And with that said, a beeping sound was heard. A friend request from Areyst. Confused, I just accepted it without saying anything. He nodded as I finished the confirmation.

"Good. Raysand." He released my shoulder and stepped back as he called to Raysand.

"Aye aye, sir!"

And another friend request window opened with a beep; this time from Raysand. As I confirmed the request, he winked playfully at me, saying we'll get along just fine. I could only give him a weak smile as his action kind of creeping me out.

"Now, with that done, may I ask what you're planning to do after this? Please remember that you shall not wander around without at least one of us with you." Areyst asked.

Though he asked politely, I couldn't help but feeling a bit pissed off by his words. For some reason, I hate the way he said things as if I was some stray dangerous creature, even though I knew he meant well.

"I think… I'll just log out for now. I feel tired… somehow…" I mumbled as I wasn't sure of what to say. He nodded at my answer.

"It's understandable. This must be quite shocking for you." He said with an understanding smile. "Rest well. Until we meet again."

"Give me a call anytime, babe!" Raysand waved at me cheerfully.

"…later, brat." Vanzard grunted.

I nodded at them—while trying my best to ignore Vanzard's annoying last word—and logged out.

This was going to be a long three days.


A.N: Is it just me, or am I really unable to write two punctuation mark in a row? (like '! !' or '? !' without the space in the middle, of course.). Makes the story... kind of weird when I read them again. D:

Anyway, many, many thanks for those still reading this story and even put it in their favorite and/or alert list! And very special thanks for 4000kills and Zea900 for spending some time to write the nice reviews! I love you all :D