The True Endgame

Book 8: Chapter 4:

It was incredibly easy to find wherever Nell was these days. As for why, there were five reasons for that. Each of those reasons now stood in front of the building that Nell had to have been in, splitting up to try and keep an equal number on both sides of the door.

Fenrir could still hardly believe that these five managed to advance so quickly in the game. Nell really wasn’t exaggerating whenever she talked about just how dedicated they were to whatever their task was. So, when that task came to be getting stronger so that they could protect Nell, they excelled at it.

As for who these five were, they were none other than Nell’s maids from reality. Of course, they now served as her maids in-game, too. They even managed to get custom armor that kept their maid theme. Or rather, it was more like they took some metal plates and attached them to what looked like maid uniforms similar to the ones they wore in real life. Their “armor” was little more than a maid costume with protective greaves, boots, gauntlets, and some plate sheets placed in various, tactical positions over their uniforms.

They really needed an upgrade. At least, that was what Fenrir believed. He wanted to see them properly take on the role of battle maids by using badass plate armor designed to look like a maid uniform rather than casually mixing armor together with an actual maid uniform.

But considering that they didn’t play games at all before coming to play FTO for Nell’s sake, and for their new reason that was an open secret to most people by now, they were doing a great job. And even if their armor might not have been all that impressive, their weapons were.

The only thing more distracting to Fenrir than the fact that they decided to use the same names and appearances that they had in real life was the fact that none of them chose to use what he thought they would as far as weapons went.

Emily, the clumsy brunette who was always accidentally knocking her chest into everything, wielded a massive axe as large as she was. He thought she would go for a healer role if anything.

Rachel, the maid with the short and orange hair, went with learning water magic and combining that with a giant sword. Perhaps it was cliché of him to assume such, but he thought she would at least go for fire magic because of her hair color.

Anstasia, the blonde who always loved to hum and was currently doing so, looked like another potential healer or perhaps somebody who would use supporting magic. Instead, she had a shield and spiked flail that was bigger than her head.

Abigail, or the girl who almost looked like Serra’s big sister and was also deaf in real life, was the only one who came close to matching what Fenrir imagined they would end up like. She had a bit more armor on than the rest of them, but the armor was sleek and almost looked like it was there more for looks than protection. Next to her was a tall spear that matched her own exceptional height, and it wasn’t just any spear. It was one of Rao’s old spears – the spear that he had when Fenrir first met him.

And finally, the black-haired chef of the maids, Iris. She didn’t have any weapon at all. Instead, all she had was a massive shield that required both hands to properly wield. It was more like a massive sheet of metal than a proper shield, and she also sketched a cutesy picture of her, the other maids, and Nell onto the front of it. It looked like a child’s drawing, but it was a drawing that everybody enjoyed nonetheless.

Fenrir didn’t get to see them in action yet, but he knew that they were good seeing as how they were able to go out hunting for the region’s toughest monsters in the forest to bring back fresh meat for everybody. They always came back looking perfectly clean, too. He wasn’t sure how they managed that.

But even if it was obvious that Nell had to be inside of whatever building they were standing outside of, Fenrir still wanted to make at least a little bit of small talk with them. “Nell inside?” he asked.

Emily nodded and said, “She’s been getting ready for the event!”

“Thanks. How about you all? Need anything?” When it came to the maids, even if he did want to try and be friends with them, he was never sure what he was supposed to say around them.

“Do you know if Rao is coming on today?” Iris asked.

Of course that was what they would ask about, not that Fenrir minded. “I can ask him over Fiscord.”

“It’s fine!” Rachel said. “We have to accompany our lady anyways, so I wouldn’t want him to get on when we’re not going to be here. But… maybe you could ask when we’re on our way back?”

Fenrir smiled and nodded. “Alright. Anyways, are you all ready to go?”

Anastasia, still humming, nodded. The rest confirmed that they were ready, too.

“Alright. I’ll go grab Nell then.”

Inside, Fenrir found Nell sitting in front of the mirror while the rest of his girlfriends all looked tired out on the bed. Between the sight and the smell, it was more than obvious what they were doing to get all tired out in the first place.

He wondered if the maids were listening in while they went at it.

“We’re all ready, Nell,” Fenrir said. “You good to go?”

With a bright smile, Nell stood up and spun around to show off to him. “How do I look, my hero?”

While her outfit was the same as usual with a few pieces of jewelry added around her neck and wrists, her face had a bit of extra makeup on it that really made her look more mature and dignified in a way. It was less the kind of makeup that one would use when going out on a date and more the kind of makeup used when going to an important, formal event.

She made herself look as much like royalty as she could without outright changing her entire outfit.

“You look beautiful,” Fenrir answered. “You’re going to be great.”

“Beautiful enough to wage war over?” Nell asked. “After all, that is how beautiful a queen is supposed to be!”

“I don’t think many queens throughout history have been that beautiful.”

“That is why I must be better than all of them.”

“Well, if anybody is going to become the greatest queen of all time, it’s you.”

Nell raised a hand over her mouth as she giggled. “I will try my best! Now, shall we get going?”

“Yeah. Saya is already getting The Shoebill prepped.” He looked over at the bed. “Anybody else feel like coming?”

He didn’t receive an answer.

“Ah, my hero,” Nell said. “I believe that they have had enough of that already.”

“Enough of? Wait. Oh. I see what you did,” Fenrir said. “That was a good one.”

“I did say I will try my best, after all!”

With a smile of his own, Fenrir bowed ever so slightly and held his hand out to her. “Shall we go, my queen?”

“Oh… I do like this. I like this very much.”

Nell was more than excited to take his hand and depart for The Shoebill.

As for The Shoebill itself, she departed North for Spike Port. Spike Port was where all of the meetings between the region’s towns were held, and these meetings now included GG to represent his people as well.

Most of the trip was spent with Nell rehearsing to prepare for the meeting while Fenrir and Saya spent some time fishing. The maids ended up doing most of the work in regard to steering The Shoebill and managing her sails. The maids really did try to do as much as possible for everybody else.

Upon arriving at Spike Port, they were waved in by the same, giant, scale-covered alligator men from before. Despite their rough and somewhat terrifying appearances, they were never anything but friendly and welcoming.

“Everybody else has already arrived,” one of them told Fenrir.

“Wait, seriously? I thought I was early?” Fenrir asked.

“You’re all early.”

“I guess the meeting itself will be early then. Thanks.”

The alligator man nodded and stepped aside so that the group could head toward Marija’s meeting hall. Only, they were stopped when Saya pointed out an interesting sight.

“Hey, what’s that?” Saya asked, pointing up at a tower made of wood, bone, and metal haphazardly thrown together. Parts of it looked like a climbing wall while other parts featured platforms spaced just far enough away from one another to make traversal a risk without extreme care. Overall, the tower didn’t look to serve any specific purpose and was just… there.

“That? One of our builders thought it’d be fun to make a jumping puzzle. He said that no game was complete without platforming and jumping puzzles,” the alligator man answered. “Nobody’s beaten it so far, though. The bastard put some traps on it that you don’t notice until it’s too late, and he changes them every night when nobody is watching.”

“It… kind of looks like fun.”

“Hah, you think? Well, if you can beat it, the first one to the top gets a special reward. The builder in question fished up a pretty rare catch recently. Real ugly fish. Looks like a narwhal and an angler fish fucked to try and make the ugliest bastard in existence. Whoever gets to the top gets the horn he carved from the catch. Pretty rare and useful.”

“Hey, Fenrir,” Saya said. “You don’t need me in the meeting, right?”

“Nope,” Fenrir answered.

“So, it’s okay if I have fun with that tower while you talk about boring stuff, right?”

“I’ll be a bit jealous of you, but sure.”

With a smug smirk, Saya crossed her arms over her chest and sized up the tower with her eyes. “I’ll conquer it before your meeting is over. It should be a good step in my training now that I’ve gotten used to the forest, too.”

“I’m not letting you live it down if you’re not at the top by the time our meeting is over.”

“Hmph. Just wait. You’ll see. Now, go do your meeting so that I can have some fun.”

Fenrir gave her a good luck pat on the head, making her blush and turn her head away a little, before proceeding with Nell and the maids.

Once they were outside the meeting hall, Fenrir turned told them, “Wait for the signal.”

“Of course, my hero,” Nell replied.

“You nervous at all?”

“Absolutely, but I will do my best regardless.”

Fenrir leaned in to give her a quick kiss. “I know you’ll be amazing.”

“The same can be said to you!”

“Please, you’re going to be way more important here.”

“I will gladly share my importance with you. Now, do not keep them waiting. Go on!”

“Alright, alright.”

They shared another kiss before Fenrir went inside, leaving Nell and her maids outside with the guards of Spike Port.

Needless to say, there was a rather large contrast in style between Spike Port’s guards, who liked to look like savage pirate alligator people for the most part, and Nell and her maids, who looked like a princess with armored maids.

Inside, Fenrir was greeted by King Cat who immediately waved and shouted out to him as soon as he saw him. “Hey! You’re finally here!”

“What do you mean by ‘finally?’ We’re all early here,” Fenrir replied.

“Well, finally in comparison to the rest of us, but that’s alright. We’ve been getting to know GG here better.”

GG nodded and welcomed Fenrir next. “I appreciate you taking your time to get here.”

Fenrir pouted a little when they kept on implying that he was late and slow. That didn’t stop him from taking his seat near the end of the table, though.

The other members in attendance were none other than Rainbow Afro and Marija. Between the five of them, every town in the region was covered.

“Let’s get started then,” King Cat said.

“Let’s,” Marija agreed. “As we agreed last week, we need a leader. The alliance formed to battle the serpent has been nothing but positive for our towns. Most people would like to see it continued. However… we all play games here. We know what it’s like when gamers try to form something that has multiple leaders instead of a sole ruler at the top. If politicians can barely make it work, we’re not going to make it work.”

Fenrir couldn’t disagree with that. Even when it came to the Divine Brigade, he was officially the leader even if Oleander and Bonekraka were equally important and involved. Almost everything still came down to his decision in the end.

GG nodded and added, “While one of us isn’t going to have more power over the rest and be allowed to order the others around without good cause, we do need somebody who we can count on to make good decisions in an emergency.”

“Not to mention the paperwork type of stuff,” King Cat joined in. “Now that we’re getting the attention of other factions… we need somebody to handle all the foreign relationship stuff. It’ll be better to have somebody who represents all of our interests instead of each of us working with somebody like the Augus Empire independently.”

Next was Rainbow Afro. “Somebody who’s on a good deal, able to make important decisions in an emergency, and good with politics – good with unitin’ people and making ‘em cooperate. Like bringing in a whole new group to the meeting and befriendin’ a giant dragon.”

Everybody in the room looked at Fenrir.

“You’re the hotshot around here who showed up out of nowhere and took down a serpent, so I don’t see the problem leaving it all up to you,” King Cat said. “Not to mention that you made friends with the lot over the mountains and even brought a dragon over to help. All that considered, I’d feel pretty darn comfortable letting you be in charge.”

Earning such high praise from somebody who was in the region for far longer and generally seen to be an authority figure made Fenrir blush a little. Though, he managed to hold back most of the red that threatened his cheeks.

“I like tha kid,” Rainbow Afro said. “Might not’ve spent much time around ‘im yet, but I’d be happy to. My folk wanted me to volunteer myself, but ya see, we’re too… disconnected from things up there. We like to keep to ourselves. All y’all down here are nice an’ close to each other. We’ll still help out whenevah needed, but ah’ll pass on leadin’.”

“Well, that’s two for you,” King Cat said to Fenrir. “Maybe I should start calling you ‘King Dog’ with the way this is going.”

“I think I like my current name better,” Fenrir said.

King Cat shrugged. “Suit yourself. Marj?”

Marija groaned when she heard the nickname. “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? Especially during formal meetings?”

“Come on, this isn’t work. We’re a bunch of nerds playing politics in a video game. No need to be so formal.”

She groaned again. “You really ruin the mood when you say things like that.”

“Alright, I get it. I’ll be a good little roleplayer for you.” King Cat cleared his throat before using the most stereotypical, haughty voice of a king that he could muster, “Ahem, Miss Marija, what is thy opinion on the matter, if I may so indubitably ask?”

Marija’s mug went flying across the table and was on a collision course with King Cat’s forehead, but he managed to dodge out of the way just in time.

“Hey, that wasn’t very immersive of you,” he said, back in his normal voice.

“Like you said, we’re in a video game. It’s alright for me to throw things at your face.”

“You really can’t use that as an excuse when you do the same thing in real life.”

“Shooting a rubber band at you isn’t the same thing.”

“What if it hits me in the eye?”

“It would be your fau—”

“Come on, now,” Rainbow Afro spoke up, reminding Fenrir that he had to keep interrupting them the first time they all met. “Save the bickerin’ for later.”

“She started it,” King Cat said.

Marija gritted her teeth and curled her hands into fists, but she let out a deep breath and forced herself to relax before derailing the meeting even more. “My thoughts? He’s still new to these parts compared to the rest of us, and the only reason he was able to fight off that serpent was because of all the support we provided him with. We supplied almost all the materials and manpower needed. But… while he fought on the beach, the rest of us stayed at our towns and waited. I think that says something.”

“I think that says you wanted to protect what you had and be there for it,” Fenrir said. “You were too important to lose. If we would have lost at the beach, the serpent would have gone for the rest of you.” Of course, Fenrir knew that there wasn’t really anything that they would have been able to do in that case since they committed most of their fighters and fleets to the first battle, but he wasn’t going to let her diminish the role she played.

“Didn’t know you were so good at kissing ass,” Marija said with a chuckle. “Most good leaders know when to get a bit of brown on their nose, so I’d say you’re set there. If you want the role of leader, I’m fine with you.”

Only one member of the discussion was left, and it was the member considered even newer to these meetings than Fenrir.

“Everybody has faith in you, Fenrir,” GG said. “Besides, I can tell. Ever since I met you, you have had a sort of experienced confidence about you. Leading others in worlds such as this is no foreign thing to you. Am I wrong?”

Fenrir leaned back a little. As far as he knew, GG didn’t know about his past with the Divine Brigade. To get called out like that surprised him. “Well, I can’t say you’re wrong,” Fenrir answered, scratching his cheek as he did so. “But let’s just say I’ve only ever led PvP groups before.”

“Considering the next topic, I would say that makes you an even better choice.”

King Cat clapped and stood up. “Alright! Sounds like everybody’s in agreement then. Right?” He looked around at Rainbow Afro, Marija, and GG. Each one of them nodded. “There you have it! I guess you’re going to be the official leader of this little alliance then from now on, Fenr—”

“Wait,” Fenrir said. “Before you finish that… I’m going to have to refuse.”

“You what now?”

“GG said it. I have experience with leading groups before, and that’s why I’m not interested in doing it again. I’ve honestly been trying to get away from that sort of thing… not that it’s worked out too well. Anyways, I don’t have a problem helping out and giving my opinions, but there’s somebody else I’d like to recommend.”

“Who?” Marija asked.

Fenrir cleared his throat loudly enough for those behind the door to hear.

That was when the maids gracefully opened the doors, revealing none other than Nell standing there as she did put on her best performance by giving everybody a curtsy.

“Some of you have seen her with me before,” Fenrir said. “For those who haven’t, I’d like to introduce you to Nehalennia, Chosen of the Western Serpent, Manasa. I serve as her champion and wouldn’t be anywhere near as strong as I am if it wasn’t for her. This is who I would like to recommend.”

Between the graceful display and the extra effort she put into her looks for the meeting, everybody was impressed at the sight. It was as if genuine royalty just walked into the room with an aura that was both elegant and demanding.

Nell knew a thing or two about being royalty, after all.

“Greetings,” Nell said. “I understand that I may be even newer to you than my hero – than Fenrir, but I hope that you will listen to the proposal we have.”

“You were here for the first meeting and already introduced yourself to all of us before,” King Cat said. “You forget?”

The next mug that came flying at King Cat’s head didn’t miss. “Read the mood, you dumbass!” She cleared her throat after shouting. “Sorry about that. Though… I am curious why you have come before us so formally today when you brought no attention to yourself the last time.”

“I was playing the role of my hero’s assistant and girlfriend the last time.”

Marija perked up a little.

“This time, I am playing the role of a candidate ruler and girlfriend.”

Marija’s perkiness disappeared when she heard the emphasis before girlfriend.

“But even if my role has changed, may I consider your promise to never allow even the slightest of harm to come to me still true?”

Marija blushed a little when she recalled the cheesy pickup line she tried out on Nell, but she still nodded. “Yeah. I’m a woman of my word.”

“Thank you. I look forward to working together with you, Marija.”

“Ye-yeah. You too.”

Damn, she’s good at this, Fenrir thought.

Marija might have praised Fenrir for his ability to kiss up, but he realized that he was a total amateur compared to Nell. Nell was able to lift people up and make them feel important without ever coming off as kissing up. She knew the game better than anyone else.

“I’m sure you guys are confused,” Fenrir spoke up, “so I’ll let her explain.”

“Thank you, my hero,” Nell said and then cleared her throat. “I came to you before as nobody of importance. I was simply attending my hero as he came to meet with those who ruled this region as they always have. I was but a girl who was not sure of her place and wished to be helpful however she could. Now, I have realized what role I may serve in, and it is a role that I have the utmost confidence in. Of course, this was still my hero’s idea in the first place, but I have every intention of taking it to even greater heights than he could have imagined.”

That sounds like an insult to my imagination, Fenrir thought.

“Shut up, onii-wan. I’m listening to this,” Saya answered. One of the perks of being his virtual assistant still was that she could talk to him even when he was away from her actual avatar.

Nell continued. “I will admit I was confused when he proposed this idea to me, and I am sure that you are all confused as well. After all, he is the one who led us through that battle. It was his strategy that brought victory to our coast while all I did was tag along and help however I could. But, I am by my hero’s side every day. I know that he no longer wishes for the role of leading even if he does perform with excellence at it. As for me, I have never led anybody before. Not a single person. It probably sounds ridiculous that he would surrender the role of leader to offer me instead when my qualifications are an ocean behind his.”

Marija was just happy to listen to Nell talk. King Cat, Rainbow Afro, and GG all looked a bit more concerned about the situation. Even so, they all paid close attention to every word that left her mouth and nobody dared to interrupt her.

“There is one thing that I believe, as vain as it may be of me, I can offer that nobody else can match me in that is perfect for this role.” Nell stood tall and proud with a confident smile on her face. “And that… is that I know how to be a princess. Of course, I have also done much studying when it comes to the topics of politics and leadership, but that is not what I mean in this regard. What I mean is that I know how to put on a show and give people what they want when it comes to a ruler in a world of fantasy. If we are to be taken seriously on the global stage, you need me. Every other leader, even if they do not intend to, fit a theme. They are perfect for their roles. Given the behavior at these meetings and the general disinterest in the task, do any of you believe that you are willing to play the role up against the likes of Livia from the Augus Empire? Ull of the Northern Wardens? I know this may sound blunt of me, but they are leaders who know how to play the role they are in. When I look at those of you around this table, I see good, kind people who are more interested in having casual fun with one another. None of you, my hero included, are fit to play the role of a regional ruler. If anything, that role is beneath you all. You have all come to learn how to enjoy this world exactly as you would like to. You are all perfect as you are. That is why it would break my heart to see any of you distracted from how you wish to enjoy your time in this world by having to partake in politics that none of you are really that interested in.”

I feel like she hasn’t stopped to breathe once. She must have really rehearsed this, Fenrir thought.

“Or she’s just such a good public speaker that she knows how to get the most out of every single tiny little break that she takes,” Saya said.

Probably.

“I, on the other hand, love the role of royalty. Of course, I would not actually expect any of you to treat me any differently than before. You may still address me as Nell, you may joke with me, and you may flirt with me,” she looked at Marija, “so long as you are prepared to be rebuffed. However, when it comes to the global stage, I will be Nehalennia, Queen of the Eastern Coast. I will become the face of our region. I will handle the political issues, foreign relations, and ensure that everybody is equally informed at all times. My maids you see behind me are already working on figuring out the most efficient method of information sharing to cut down on any potential delays as much as possible. If we learn of news at our settlement, I would have it so that the very same news reaches all of you within the hour at the latest. Most importantly, I will be the one dealing with everything that most would consider… boring. Politics, drama, paperwork – you will be spared so that you may focus on that which you enjoy the most.”

“Anything to get out of paperwork,” King Cat said and prempetively dodged another mug.

Fenrir had no idea where Marija was getting so many mugs from.

“Of course, and perhaps most importantly, Fenrir will forever remain my hero and my champion. He will also be my top advisor for all matters that I may need assistance with. I also intend on sparing him from much of the work so that he, too, can focus on his fishing more, so I have every intention to rely on him as little as possible, but he will be the first I go to for anything I am inexperienced with. For example, the second topic of today’s meeting. That is a case where I would defer to him. I would listen to his advice and then be the face of it as far as the masses are concerned. That is another point. All repsonsbility will fall onto me. Should there be any mistakes made, whatever they might be, I will be the one to take the fall for it as the leader.”

Finally, Nell had an obvious pause so that she could take a breath and give everybody else’s ears a quick break.

“My name is Nell and I approve this message,” she said, taking her entire speech in a completely different direction for the ending. “My apologies. I had to.”

Yeah, I knew that she’d be perfect for this, Fenrir thought.

“Yep. She wins,” Saya agreed.

Saya wasn’t the only one who agreed, either.

“Well, I’m impressed. Don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody talk that much in one go before,” King Cat said. “Would’ve let you have it right away if you would have mentioned doing all the boring stuff for us sooner.”

Yet another mug was thrown, but King Cat managed to catch the latest one and smugly look over at its thrower this time.

Marija sighed at him before giving her attention to Nell. “So, you’re going to be the public face of our alliance and deal with the monotonous work so that we can have fun doing our own things? That doesn’t sound too fair to you.”

“Oh,” Nell said, “I assure you that I would love doing such tasks. One might even say that it is in my blood to enjoy them!”

Fenrir took a quick look back at the maids who were all looking away when they heard that, pretending that they didn’t actually hear anything.

Marija shrugged. “I won’t say no to the idea. You get to enjoy it, we get to enjoy our own things, and you’re pretty impressive at this whole speech thing. You had a point when you said that none of us are really cut out to be big, public leaders, but you fit the bill. So, why not?”

“That makes two,” Fenrir said. This time, he was the one who got to count the votes.

Rainbow Afro was next. “Ah’ll listen to their judgement. Just let me say that if we do go with this whole thing, then you’re gonna need some new clothes,” he said while looking Nell over. “We don’t participate too much with everything happening down ‘ere, but we know a thing or two about fashion.” Fenrir had his doubts that they knew about anything other than rainbows color schemes. “So I’m in as long as ya let us get you a proper dress fit for a queen.”

“That sounds wonderful!” Nell said. “I would be more than happy to wear a dress made by your group.”

“Then that’s three,” Fenrir counted.

“She helped us just as much as you did,” GG said, “so my respect for her is as high as my respect for you. I would be more than happy to see either of you in charge of things.”

“And that’s everybody. That honestly went a lot smoother than I thought it would.”

Marija tilted her head and didn’t look too impressed with Fenrir. “I don’t know why you didn’t get straight to your proposal. There was no point in letting us waste our time voting on you first.”

“Well, I wasn’t sure you would vote for me in the first place. And if you didn’t, then I doubted you would accept my idea.”

“I guess. I’ve got to admit, I’m impressed you came up with the idea at all. What made you think that we’d all agree to it?”

“Because we’re the same. We were all drawn to this area because it was away from all the major factions, didn’t we? None of us really want the spotlight. We wouldn’t be over here if we did. Nell loves that sort of thing, though, so why not give the role to somebody who actually likes it instead of giving it to one of us? We’ll still have to support her, obviously, but I have full faith in her to be the best queen that any of us have ever seen.”

Nell couldn’t help but to sway from side to side just a little bit when she heard Fenrir say that last part about her being the best queen. While she might have restrained her swaying, though, she failed to restrain her smile.

“He’s got that much right,” King Cat said. “We’re a bunch of folk who just so happened to get caught up in this whole leader thing when all we wanted to do was get away from the noise and relax. Of course, that might be difficult in the future what with the serpent dying and all that. We’ve got a lot of eyes turning our way now.”

“Including the worst eyes that we could ask for,” GG added on.

“Then now that we’ve decided on the easy issue, let’s move on to the hard one.”

“Right,” Marija said. “The End Bringers. It’s already been a few days since we saw one of their boats up here trying to survey the area. We managed to scare them off before they saw where any of the towns are, but the fact that they’re interested in this area at all is a major issue.”

King Cat sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Out of everybody to poke us, it just had to be them.”

Rainbow Afro nodded in agreement. “If we all came over here for peaceful lives, they’re here for the opposite of that.” He looked at Fenrir. “You said you wanted an NPC haven, right?”

“Yeah,” Fenrir answered.

“Then between that and the fact that you’re more south than the rest of us means ya need to watch out the most. I’ve heard they like NPCs the most. Real players? Well, they might have traumatizin’ content disabled. If they don’t, they might just wake in the middle of anything happenin’ to ‘em. But NPCs… well, they have realistic reactions to the whole thing. Even if they aren’t real, they sure do act like it. Those reactions are what the fucked-up folk in the End Bringers hunt for.”

“If anything,” Marija added on, “they prefer to prioritize collateral damage instead of going directly after players themselves. NPCs, infrastructure – they like to go after the things that can’t easily be brought back. Players can respawn. NPCs can’t. Buildings have to be rebuilt over time after gathering more resources. They try to inflict the maximum amount of terror possible.”

“Bunch of wannabe terrorists,” King Cat said.

“Don’t call them that. They’d love to be called that instead of immature edgelords.”

GG shook his head. “I am fairly certain they would love to be called anything. I have no experience with them outside of the stories I have heard, but it is my understanding that they are the types who simply want to be talked about. Whether they are given praise or insult doesn’t matter. So long as they have our attention, they win.”

“Well then,” Nell said, “I suppose that it is a good thing my hero is here!”

When the other members looked over at Fenrir after he stayed silent for so long, they saw one thing that nobody else in the room had.

A smile.

“Let’s just say that I have a lot of experience with people like them,” Fenrir said. “Minus the parts about wanting to torture and abuse NPCs. But their personality types? Prioritizing collateral damage instead of trying to win fights directly? Wanting to be talked about? Well, as far as I’m concerned, they sound like an edgy version of the Divinge Brigade.”

“You’re complimenting them by making that comparison,” Marija said. “They wish they could be as infamous as DB. And you… you make it sound like you have experience with DB.”

“I’ve ended up dealing with them a lot in the games I’ve played. I know exactly how to turn the tables and get under their skin.”

Now it was Nell’s turn to smile. “If there is anybody in this world who is perfect for serving as their foil, it is my hero!”

“That sounds like the opposite of having a peaceful live fishing,” King Cat said.

“”It’s annoying,” Fenrir said, “but they can’t be ignored. So, it’d be better to let Nell deal with all the big picture politics stuff while I focus on dealing with the End Bringers. I know nothing about politics other than that talking about it on the internet is never a good idea. But when it comes to a bunch of wannabe trolls acting like edgelords just because they can, I’d say that she’s right. There’s nobody better than me to deal with them.”

“I don’t normally like such arrogant statements,” Marija said, “but I like the confidence in your voice. This is the most confident we’ve ever seen you, and you managed to take down a serpent with far less confidence.”

“The End Bringers will be far easier to deal with in comparison.”

“They can respawn and harass us over and over,” Rainbow Afro said. “Not sure how they’ll be easier.”

“If they try to set up a forward operating bas to respawn from over and over again, then all we have to do is find it and make it… let’s say, hostile. You don’t want to destroy their spawn location because then they’d stop spawning there, but you do want to make the area hostile enough that they keep on dying as soon as they spawn. That’s how you win against these types. You deprive them. They want reactions out of us, so we prevent them from even being able to get those reactions in the first place. Everybody else just has to continue living normal lives unaffected by them, and I’ll work behind the scenes to make sure that they never get a chance to disrupt our way of life.” Fenrir could already imagine how excited Oleander would be about this. Though, a bit of his own joy went away when he remembered that Bonekraka wasn’t around for this. Given the situation, there was also the potential need to reach out to a certain former Divine Brigade memember… but he would rather not bother her if possible.

“What I fail to understand is why,” GG spoke up. “Why do they act like this? What is there about such sadistic acts that brings them so much pleasure over anything else?”

“I can understand to some degree,” Fenrir said. “At least, when it comes to things like griefing and trolling. They like to get reactions out of people because it lets them feel important. It makes others forced to acknowledge them. At other times, it’s just because they love PvP and want to get be more creative about it instead of just outright killing somebody. But when it comes to the more fucked up things they do… you’re going to drive yourself crazy looking for a deeper reason than just because they can. A lot of people, from what I’ve heard, think things like that they need to be watched by the government and locked up for what they do in-game. They think the End Bringers are probably horrible people in real life. But… I doubt that. Even if they do things far worse than I can imagine, I doubt they’re any different from normal people in real life. They’re just people who know that we’re in a game and they never forget that. Is everybody here innocent from ever killing random NPCs in any game? Running them over while fleeing the cops? Coming up with ridiculous ideas to see the most bizarre and hilarious way possible to kill them? Dropping a nuke or spawning a natural disaster in the middle of a city just because you can?”

Nell and the maids could have raised their hands, but they held back so that Fenrir could make his point.

“It might seem like there’s a huge difference between those things and what they’re doing here, but I doubt that the End Bringers see the difference. Everything is equally fake to them, I’m guessing. Plus some people just like to be ‘evil.’ I mean, I’ve seen a ton of stories,” he wanted to say anime, manga, and light novels, but he refrained, “where people were playing games or teleported into a game or something, and they decided to be as evil as possible simply because they could. People see something like a game that offers no rules and they want to exploit that as much as possible, just because they can. Personally, I could never agree with them, but I can understand them. Anyways, all of this is to say one thing. The most important way to fight back against them is to give them as little fun as possible. If they’re anything like I imagine, they won’t care if they die or are defeated every now and then so long as they get to cause some chaos during it. We have to completely prevent them from having fun whatsoever so that they lose interest.”

“So treat them like little kids,” King Cat said. “A baby throwing a tantrum is trying to get attention. You don’t give the baby any attention, it learns that throwing a tantrum doesn’t work and gives up trying.”

Fenrir was worried about King Cat ever having children after hearing that, but he still said, “Yeah, basically.”

“Then what is your suggestion, my hero?” Nell asked.

“For now? Blockading the waters or dedicating more boats to patrols is going to be enough of a reaction to make them want more. That would be seen as a direct response to their actions. So, I’m against that. Instead, I think we should build a giant tower farther down the coast. Tall enough that it can see a ridiculous distance over the water. If somebody wanted to sail outside of its range, they would be so far out in deep water that no blockade would be able to stop them. And at that point, they’d be risking getting killed by a sea monster before ever getting close to us. It would also be good to have in general so that we know of any and all ships coming our way. Unless any other factions plan on personally marching over the mountains to reach us, they’re going to have to come by ship.”

“And if they do try coming over the mountains, we have our own methods of dealing with them,” GG said.

“Not to mention a giant dragon,” King Cat said. “By the way, how’s she doing? She got pretty hurt in the fight, right?”

“Dragons can regenerate lost limbs, so she is recovering. Slowly, but recovering.”

“Why don’t we send her down to the volcano the End Bringers call home and light everything on that island on fire?”

“She’s a friend, not a weapon,” Fenrir said. “We can’t just order her around every time we need her for a fight.”

“Also,” GG said, “she would not be able to make the flight. Dragons are not very good for long-distance flight given the… size of their bodies.”

“Don’t ever say that around her.”

“Trust me, I am aware. But yes, they refuse to fly over waters deep enough to swallow them whole for that reason. They are prone to sinking and, once they are underwater, they have no method of getting above it. A dragon that has fallen into water is guaranteed to drown.”

Fenrir wasn’t sure if it was alright to bring up the fact that dragons basically had their own method of immortality and respawning. It seemed like the kind of thing better kept secret, so he kept his mouth shut.

“Makes sense why they love the mountains then,” King Cat said.

“Back to the issue,” Marija said, “we will help with providing the resources and labor for the watchtower. Is there anything else we should know or work on?”

“Not until they try something else,” Fenrir answered. All I would do is make sure that any boats that go out fishing have some way of protecting themselves just in case, but I’m pretty sure that they already do.”

“Huh,” King Cat said. “Wouldn’t it actually be better to let them kill us and act like it’s no big deal?”

“Yeah, but I’m not going to expect anybody to roll over and die with zero emotion just because it’s the End Bringers. Instead, and this might be hard to actually do in practice, I’d recommend fighting back as hard as you can… and then acting friendly once you lose. Thank them for the fight, say it was fun and hope that you can do it again, that sort of thing. Don’t be condescending about it, either. Try to sound as genuinely friendly as you can. They’ll probably find it disgusting and be less interested in coming back.”

“Wouldn’t they see through that?” Rainbow Afro asked.

“Some might. It’s like an internet argument where you just know that the person on the other side of the keyboard is fuming mad no matter how many times they laugh it off and say they’re having fun and not even the tiniest bit upset. Of course, sometimes people might assume that the other actually is mad when they’re really not. Either way, it’ll dissuade at least some of them.”

“Makes sense,” Marija said. “I’m not sure my boys and girls here will be able to hold their feelings back, but I’ll let them know.”

King Cat smacked the table. “Alright! Sounds like we’re all done here. Anybody have anything else to say, or can we go back to the fun stuff now?”

“What about a meeting spot?” GG asked. “If Nell is to be our leader, and she will be at Fenrir’s, then should we hold these meetings there instead?”

Nell was quick to shake her head. “Please, I would not want everybody to travel so far while not having to do such myself. This location has been great because it is nearly an equal distance between our home and Rainbow Afro’s. However… now that you have joined with us, GG, I believe we should move the location to Catsville. Catsville is the fairest location to hold these meetings now as it is right in the center between us, yourself, Rainbow Afro, and Marija. Assuming, of course, that King Cat does not mind nor do the others.”

“It’ll be a bit farther for me, but ah don’t mind,” Rainbow Afro said.

“I’ll miss never having to travel for these meetings, but it is the fairest option, so I won’t object,” Marija said.

“And perhaps it is me being paranoid,” Nell continued, “but I have always disliked the idea of having such meetings on a small island. If a hostile fleet were to somehow sneak up here and surround us, we would have nowhere to go. At least, if we are on land, we have more options.”

Fenrir was impressed that she thought of that. He really didn’t think that she’d be doing much strategic planning to instead focus on foreign matters, but there she was, already going beyond his expectations for her.

He couldn’t have been happier to call her his queen.