Chapter 3: A Matter of Focus

It took them moving a few steps before for the guy she’d led away finally spoke.

“Hey, so, do I know you?” The guy asked. It was obvious he was still trying to get his bearings.

Scarlet glanced up at him like she was genuinely considering the question. Then that brief smile flashed again.

“I heard some of the things you were talking about back there,” she said. Her voice was soft and soothing as she projected playful curiosity while entirely bypassing the question.

“Wait, you were listening?” He asked. More curious than cautious.

“I was,” Scarlet said. Her eyes now forward as she navigated them back through the throng of people. “Those stories you were talking about. The concepts were fascinating. Could you explain it to me?” she asked.

It landed exactly the way she intended. She knew because his eyes lit up, and he made a giddy little noise that was both bizarre and endearing coming from a grown man.

“Yeah, you think so?”

“I do,”

“Okay, cool, cool, cool. So… so it’s this- this thing,” he waved his free hand in front of his face. “These messages floating in the air, the whole ‘Integration’ and ‘Initialization’ thing. Then there’s the fact it’s everywhere. Like everyone sees, right?”

“Right,”

“Right! I was just telling my friends that this whole thing reads just like a litRPG.”

“A litRPG. And that is what, exactly?” She probed. This was what she’d heard him shouting about so enthusiastically from across the room. Perhaps her hunch was wrong, but something told her this guy might know a thing or two. Besides, if nothing else, he acted as a fantastic buffer through the crowd.

“Okay, so imagine if the real world worked like a video game,” he began. “Stats, levels, skills, that kind of thing.”

“You believe the world is turning into a game. Are you one of those people who believe we’re in a simulation?” She asked, part probing, part teasing.

He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. “No, probably not. Maybe? I guess I’m one of those people who doesn’t really think it matters.” He smiled a dopey half smile.

“So, this would be what, a system update?”

“Kind of, I guess? That’s not a bad way to put it. A cosmic update-” he laughed. “Only, there are books about this. There’s this whole genre about systems and screens showing up and changing the world. A lot of them happen when a character somehow ends up on a different world – shoutout to Truck-kun.”

“Pardon?”

“Its… Never mind we’re not really in an isekai scenario, obviously-”

“-obviously-”

“-because we’re still here. On Earth.”

“Alright, so you’re saying these messages, this timer everyone is seeing is some sort of countdown to a cosmic update. Am I following?” She asked, and he nodded.

“Yeah, so in these books the system changes the world. That’s why it’s an apocalypse.

“Those things that pop up are called notifications. They’re how the system interacts with us. Right now we’re pre-tutorial, so we don’t have our stat screens yet or anything. Oh, the tutorial is like a starting zone where you learn about the system.

“I do have a concept of a tutorial. You’re aware they aren’t exclusive to video games,” she smiled.

“Right, sorry. It’s just, usually the tutorial is where you pick your class, figure out your stats, get your build and stuff.”

“Build?”

“Yeah, like, what role you’re gonna play, and how you play it. Stat distribution, skill selection. You’ve gotta decide if you’re gonna be a mage, a rogue, a fighter, that kinda stuff. Like, have you ever played D&D, or…” He looked at her, blushed.

“I have not participated in a campaign, but I have watched. I am familiar with the franchise,” she smiled.

“Oh, great, okay, so you totally get it. The books I read talk about what would happen if the world turned into an endless campaign. Only, not all the games are D&D, and not all the systems are neutral or benevolent.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“Sorry it’s just. It so cool to think about. Real life becoming a video game and you are the character. It’s just so sick. I could become a hybrid, like a battlemage or a spell-sword. That’s totally me. I’m a hundred percent gonna be a caster type.”

Scarlet’s gaze flicked over him briefly, taking in the pale, nearly translucent skin, the thin build with barely any visible definition or muscle, and the hunched way he held himself. Mage she could see, but frontliner?

Well.

Stranger things, she figured.

She kept her thoughts to herself, allowing only the faintest hint of amusement to colour her expression as she asked. “Stat distribution?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She got him talking for a while about the common tropes, his favourite books, and his personal insights about what exactly might be happening to Earth.

They moved through the crowd as he spoke about what must have been one of his favourite subjects. The entire time his attention was fixed on her. On the fact that she was there, holding him and listening. His complete and utter devotion to the subject matter was very convenient for Scarlet. It meant he wasn’t paying attention to anything else.

Scarlet took advantage of that to discreetly finish some shopping, as well as slip a tip to certain convention volunteers and staff. Money appeared, items disappeared, information was exchanged, and the crowd – plus her new companion – were none the wiser.

With most of her goals accomplished Scarlet was now free to leave. Planning to beat a hasty retreat, her plans were cut short by a tug on her arm.

They were passing by a stall filled with wizarding props clearly derivative of a familiar franchise featuring a magic boy who lived. The vendors had displayed the wands in neat rows on a velvet cloth, and the childlike giddiness radiating off her companion was almost palpable.