The moment they stepped out of the gym, the setting sun stretched their shadows long, like some kind of texture map loading error.
The volleyball gym's heavy doors closed behind them, shutting out the heady smell of sweat and Salonpas. Lu Ren let out a long breath, as if exhaling the entire "mysterious and profound" persona he'd maintained in front of Sawamura Daichi.
His shoulders slumped instantly, and he returned to his usual listless state, as if his spine had been pulled out.
"You were way too reckless."
Kiyosawa Mashiba walked beside him, twirling a finger around her backpack strap. Her tone held three parts reproach and seven parts helplessness. "You don't even know the rules of volleyball, and you still accepted that captain's challenge. It's three-on-three, not playing house. That guy Kageyama serves like a cannonball, and that guy Hinata may look spacey, but he's as fast as if he's hacked the game. What are you going to do on Saturday? Be a moving target?"
"That's called a 'forced plot trigger.'"
Lu Ren laced his hands behind his head and gazed at a telephone pole in the distance, dyed orange-red by the sunset. He spoke casually. "Since the system... I mean, since fate slapped the Main Quest right in my face, rejecting it would cost me a lot of Reputation Points. Besides..."
He paused, the corner of his mouth curling into a playful smile.
"That captain, Sawamura, looks like a nice guy, but that 'if you don't agree, I'll take you down' aura of his is straight out of the Gatekeeping BOSS handbook. If I'd chickened out then, I probably wouldn't have been able to get by in this instance—I mean, at this school."
"That's all nonsense." Kiyosawa Mashiba rolled her eyes and kicked a pebble down the road with her leather shoe. "So what are you going to do? Saturday's in three days. With your current volleyball skills, you're probably at the 'knows the ball is round' level, right?"
"Three days is enough time to clear a medium-sized DLC." Lu Ren yawned.
The two of them walked down the long slope of Sakashita Shopping Street.
The shops along the road gradually lit up. The smell of fried croquettes mingled with the after-school bustle, filling the neighborhood with the everyday warmth unique to this massive MMORPG called "Reality OL."
"Lu Ren."
"Hmm?"
"What do you... want to do in the future?"
Kiyosawa Mashiba suddenly slowed down. She looked at Lu Ren's profile, which seemed especially handsome in the sunset, yet always carried an air of indifference. Her voice softened. "I mean, if you weren't playing games. Is there anything you especially want to do? Like getting into a good university, finding a good job, or... actually getting good at volleyball?"
Lu Ren stopped walking.
He raised his head, his gaze passing through the web of power lines to the deepening blue of the sky. A few crows flew overhead, cawing as they headed back to their nests.
"I don't know."
Lu Ren answered honestly.
"This game—I mean, life—has so much freedom that it's hard to know what to do. There's no clear Main Quest list, no auto-navigation, and no rewards for clearing it." He shrugged. "It's like an unfinished open-world game left behind by a dev team that quit halfway through."
He lowered his head and looked at his palm.
"Just coasting along until the progress bar runs out and being some random NPC isn't so bad. I could occasionally give the main characters a tip when they pass by, or stand on the sidelines and shout 'Let's go!'"
Kiyosawa Mashiba watched him quietly.
She knew Lu Ren too well. He might say he wanted to be a background character and coast through life, but he couldn't hide his deep-down craving for "high-difficulty challenges." He just hadn't found a goal that could make him want to "clear the game" yet.
"That's okay."
Kiyosawa Mashiba suddenly smiled. The sunset reflected a warm golden glow in her eyes.
"After all, as long as I'm with you, any kind of life is fine."
She clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly, like a nimble cat. "Even if you're a random NPC, I'll be the one who gives you quests, buys you equipment, and revives you when you die... Hmm, your Super Support NPC!"
Lu Ren froze for a moment.
He turned to look at the smiling girl before him. The breeze stirred the ends of her hair, and the beauty mark at the corner of her eye stood out vividly in the evening glow.
The frame rate on this scene was a little too high.
His graphics card was overheating.
Lu Ren looked away and gave a self-conscious cough, but the corner of his mouth curled uncontrollably into that trademark, punchable grin.
"Is that so?"
He raised an eyebrow, his tone turning teasing. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Kiyosawa. I may have a terrible personality, but I'm still pretty popular with certain groups. What if some hidden heroine suddenly shows up one day and wants to start a side quest with me..."
Smack.
A sharp sound rang out.
Before Lu Ren could finish his threat, his right ear took a devastating hit.
"Ow, ow, ow! It's coming off! My ear's durability is dropping!"
Kiyosawa Mashiba skillfully grabbed his ear and twisted it clockwise, still smiling so sweetly it sent a chill down his spine. "Go ahead and try. Let's see whether your hidden heroine arrives first, or my 'Physical Correction Fist.'"
Before you continue