I was forcibly taken to the top floor of a hotel so prestigious that, even if I were to spend everything I had in my bank account, I still couldn't afford to stay over the weekend.
The "room" was bigger than my whole house. Hell, each of its ten bedrooms was about the size of my old kitchen and living room combined.
I didn't even dare imagine what was upstairs.
Even to someone like me, who had recently started living in a mansion, this place was impressive.
Piper: "Gah! Home sweet home~"
Sparing us no mind, Piper jumped onto a couch after turning up the TV.
She'd left a game on pause before picking us up.
The very game she'd gotten that sci-fi aircraft of hers from.
Miwen: "My father's not around?"
Piper: "Seems so. Make yourself at home while you wait."
So… no option to leave, huh.
Alright then.
Miwen: "Can I join then?"
Piper: "Hm... I'm not sure. Can you handle Apocalypse Mode?"
Miwen: "I beat it on Nightmare once."
Maya hard-carried me, but Piper didn't need to know that.
Apocalypse was the highest difficulty, but it added no new mechanics, just enemies with more damage and more health.
All I had to do was play a bit more patiently.
Piper: "Good enough. You guys?"
Claire: "I'm in."
Mia: "I wanna go too."
They never seemed that fired up about this game when I was playing it.
Knowing them, it was probably more about getting one over Piper than the game itself.
Well, they sure were in for a surprise.
Piper had left it on one of the hardest levels, so the two of them, having never played it, struggled at every turn.
It quickly devolved into a session of me hiding behind cover and taking easy shots while Piper drew fire to herself and dealt with the biggest problems along the way.
Meanwhile, Mia and Claire would watch for minutes until we reached the next checkpoint, only to respawn and then die again within seconds.
Piper: "Nade 'em. Nade 'em. Nade 'em."
Miwen: "Haah... No chance."
We were close to defeating the two bosses of the stage, but I entered the room with only a sniper and a shotgun, and these guys moved around too much.
For them to get vulnerable in this difficulty, I had to hit two consecutive headshots with the sniper.
But then, to deal actual damage, I had to come close and shotgun them to death.
Both hitting headshots on them and getting close were easier said than done, though.
Piper: "That's what you get for noob comboing. Pick up an SMG and hit 'em heads like a man."
Miwen: "Yeah? How's that working for you?"
Piper: "Shut up, brat. I'll show you how it's done this time."
Piper had been through more crises than I could count.
The world around her kept changing, yet she never did.
She was still the cool auntie I'd known since childhood.
After about an hour of the two of us struggling and Mia and Claire blaming each other, someone finally showed up at the door.
??????: "Haah... Running errands at my age... Oh. Marcus' boy is here already? What's up?"
Miwen: "Hey, Carter."
Casually, another monster joined the fray.
James Carter, like Piper and my parents, was a trailblazer, said to be one of the most skillful in the country.
He was primarily an [Earth Magic] user, but with access to both [Water Magic] and [Green Magic], the way he utilized his abilities to support his party and handle terrain gimmicks earned him the nickname "The Landscaper."
Well, that, and the fact that he often posted pictures of the boss rooms of his finished raids.
All of them turned into beautiful gardens.
Piper: "Jimmy, did you get what I asked?"
Carter: "Your flavor was out of stock, so I grabbed another one from the same brand. Hope it will do."
Piper: "Sure!"
These two had known each other for more than a decade, almost two.
Yet, instead of telling him she didn't like it, she took a sip and then, under the table, forced the energy drink can on me.
Unfortunately, I wasn't too into this flavor either, so I summoned Lana and handed it to her, knowing she wouldn't refuse.
Piper: "So... is this other catgirl also one of your..."
"Other".
Miwen: "Mia is not-"
Mia: "Can't you tell I'm a wolf!?"
Yep, I figured Mia's frustration was reaching a boiling point.
Not that it was Piper's fault, though.
She probably meant "catgirl" as a general term for any cute girl with fluffy ears and a tail.
Miwen: "I have different relationships with everyone. Lana and I are just friends right now."
Lana: "You can drop the 'right now' part since that's not changing. And we're not friends, just partners."
Though it was funny how quickly she spoke, I shouldn't give her energy drinks in the future.
It made her more frisky than normal.
Piper: "I see..."
Miwen: "My father didn't tell you about my Gift, did he?"
Piper: "Nah. He said it was up to you who you disclosed it to."
Incredibly considerate of him.
As expected.
Carter: "He also said it was too complicated and he didn't remember most of it."
Yeah, again, as expected.
Piper: "I'm curious though..."
I could imagine.
Growing up, the only "friends" my age I had were actually Maya's, so more acquaintances than friends, really.
Other than that, I also knew these guys, my parents' friends.
So, for someone like me to suddenly be surrounded by girls I'm with, without the context of my Gift, must've been a huge shock for them.
Neither Piper nor Carter pressured me into it, but... I trusted them.
Though, as my father said, it was complicated, so a few things were better left for another time.
Still, I ended up explaining most of it to them.
Piper: "So instead of summoning fictional things, you summon real ones. I knew you looked up to me, but isn't that a bit much?"
She was joking, but there was an element of truth to it.
My [Gacha Kingdom Building], or at least its gacha summoning functions, were pretty much the inverse of Piper's [Witch of Narrations].
Not only in what we could summon, but also the fact that she could choose, while I was left up to chance.
Piper: "Guess the tables flipped... What I'd do for my summons to stay... Or visit their worlds... Heh..."
Miwen: "...Still single?"
Piper: "So what? Most men fear me. And the one I found that didn't, well... You already know what happened."
He got stolen by someone else.
Still...
Miwen: "You'd be surprised. There are plenty of guys my age who are into-"
Piper: "If you call me a hag, James will have to buy a coffin next."
I was gonna say older woman.
Even though she was two years older than my mother, Pip was pretty stylish, so she actually looked a bit younger.
She was also quite pretty, regardless of her age.
But I suppose that was never the problem.
It's just unfortunate.
I wanted to root for her, but my position didn't allow me.
Miwen: "Speaking of which, where the hell did my father go?"
Carter: "He stopped to reassure a staff member. She was scared about, you know, this place being attacked."
Piper: "Tch. Bitch. Maybe I should have a word with that clown?"
Oh...
I could already imagine what happened, but-
Carter: "C'mon... Why don't you help me sort this stuff out instead?"
Carter only wanted to help.
And maybe get help too, since he had brought a lot of bags from the market.
But that wasn't the way.
Piper: "I'm busy right now."
Licia: "I'm not. Do you mind if I give you a hand?"
Thankfully, Licia was always happy to help.
As for me...
I was left with the harder task.
Miwen: "So? What did she do?"
Piper: "The usual. She was all smiles when she saw these guys, then I showed up, and she got all scared. Dumbass."
Yeah...
That sucked.
Piper was a hero, maybe more than anyone else.
Yet, her presence basically spelled disaster.
Most people saw her more like a cleaner than a helper.
For them, her showing up meant things were beyond salvage.
Even though she should have more recognition than anyone else, the best she could hope for was to be overlooked.
She went to great lengths for that, too.
Due to how much experience she got from the crises she dealt with, had she actively participated in more dungeon raids, she'd have a much higher level and would probably be the strongest in the world. Indisputably.
In fact, during the initial chaos when Dungeons appeared, she was the top-ranked adventurer.
However, that changed, and she chose to keep her level low, only showing up when it was really necessary.
The reason, well...
Simply put, her being unparalleled made people fearful.
They thought that if she were to turn against them, no one, even the other top-ranked adventurers, could stop her.
It's a pity, though.
With more levels, she could control her powers better, not to mention bring more powerful things into existence consistently and for longer.
Yet, that would mean sacrificing what little normalcy she has.
There was just no winning for her, all because of how unstable her power could be.
Few really understood that all the destruction she caused was a necessary sacrifice.
That if not for her, the world might still be in chaos...
She deserved better.
Miwen: "You know... I only came with you because it would be a bother to fight. But if I wanted to, I could defeat you."
Piper: "Uh-huh. I thought Maya was supposed to be the dreamer?"
Miwen: "You'll see soon."
Piper: "Yeah, yeah. Show me you can defeat this guy first, alright? Then you can talk."
I knew I couldn't reassure her.
Pip still saw me as a kid.
But at least I could give her something else.
If I proved my words correct and became someone even she couldn't hold a candle to, most of her problems would go away.
And it's not like I'd mind getting feared either.
I already received more love from the girls than I could wish for.
Marcus: "Hey, big boy!"
Miwen: "Finally."
It took him a while, but Father finally joined us.
He wasn't alone, either.
Miwen: "What are you doing here?"
Alex: "Do you even need to ask? Your family dragged me into yet another storm. You guys are not gonna be happy until you put me in a grave, it seems."
Marcus: "That's not true. He joined because of the pay. And because the government ensured his family would be protected."
Despite Alex being the way he was, his ability was the real deal.
I had yet to see the other members of their group, but it was enough for me already.
There was nothing I could help them with.
Piper, James, Alex, and Father...
These four together were enough to match an army.
Even the AOTG's, if Piper was allowed to use her power to the full extent, and Father used the effects of his Gift he had never shown.
Marcus: "We have a lot to talk about, Miwen."
Miwen: "Yeah... I agree."
I already knew who my enemy was.
But I still didn't understand the playing field.
Before I could bring Erik down, I needed to know what I could use.
Why did Mom join the AOTG?
What was Maya doing?
What was Father planning?
Only after answering these questions could I decide my course of action.
It was sooner than I'd planned, but…
I hoped I'd get at least one answer from him today.
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