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21Novel > My Ex-Girlfriend is the Strongest Guild Master and I'm the Weakest! > Chapter 74: The Novus’ true purpose

Chapter 74: The Novus’ true purpose

    <h4>Chapter 74: The Novus'' true purpose</h4>


    "So Chief Smudock is gone," n said to a nodding Smollet, carrying a regr Slime in its hands. n nced at it, and the little critter tried to attack him, but Smollet held it tight. "What happened here?"


    n looked around the underground town. Half of it had been leveled, and most of the huts and buildings had been burned.


    "Is this what you Users call: ''Coteral Damage''?" Smollet said, strolling away from him.


    **If these creatures'' main function is to create empathy and a sense of responsibility, you did a damn good job.**


    He nced at Vi Lang, who remained by his side with crossed arms and a seemingly calm attitude despite the destruction surrounding them.


    "Are they going to be okay?" he asked, making her snicker.


    "Why do you worry about them? They''re just code, right?"


    "For the same reason I care about her," n pointed at Be, who was helping remove debris from the main entrance. "Why did you give these monsters such advanced Artificial Intelligence in the first ce?"


    "Who knows," Vi Lang said, yawning and stretching up her arms. "To see how Users would react to non-human people? The Novus may seem like a game to most of the Tandem, but we really are testing how they would interact in foreign environments and extraordinary situations."


    n slightly nodded, looking at the few Advanced Slimes struggling to start rebuilding, since the majority of their people had reverted to mindless low-level creatures, getting in the way or tackling everything in sight.


    "They can evolve back, right?"


    "As long as they get experience, yes. But they won''t get back their memories."


    "How do they get experience? Killing each other?"


    "Of course not. That would be awful. At first, I gave them some tasks, like carrying errands here and there until they learned enough to do their own things. Then the smarter ones taught the others. And there you have it, a smallmunity here in the mountains, without human intervention."


    "Could you... change the behavior of the unevolved ones to be friendly? So they don''t attack Users?"


    Vi narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you have in mind?"


    ***


    **


    *


    When n returned to Unus Town, all the reunited citizens surrounded him and asked him questions about the battle.


    The main mystery? What made him so unique that a pair of Max-Levelers wanted his head?


    "Why do you think they were going after me?"


    "Come on, Comatose n! Your house was the first they targeted!"


    **Crap. I''d like to get out of this situation without bringing more attention to myself!**


    He cleared his throat, making everyone hold their breath. "I owed them money!" he shouted, putting both hands on his hips.


    "That''s it?" a citizen asked, grimacing.


    "And I also flirted with the tinum-haired girl, and her girlfriend got mad at me."


    "That''s stupid," ra Dominguez said among the crowd, making the rest agree.


    **Oh,e on, ra! You''re supposed to be on my side!**


    "Oh, by the way!" ra cried excitedly, grabbing his hand. "You won''t believe what happened!"


    ra pointed to arge group marching toward them through the main street. Their armor and outfits looked high-tiered and top-notch.


    Leading them was a well-known pink-haired young woman, walking with the most confident smirk in all The Novus. "Greetings, citizens of U--!"


    "ALAN!" another girl cried as she made her way through the townsfolk. "You''re okay!"


    "Amelia!" n called back, seconds before she hugged him tight.


    "I thought the worst after I regained consciousness. Please tell me we all made it."


    "Yes. Ashley died, though. But she''ll respawn safe and sound."


    "I''m d this is all over," Amelia beamed, still holding him in her arms until both felt a murderous reing from a few feet away.


    **What the hell was that?** n felt a shivering down his spine.


    Amelia also turned her gaze to the other group, ready to confront the one threatening them, but instead gasped. "Is that Miss Cosmica? Oh, my god, she is!"


    The idol cleared her throat first. "As I was saying! Greetings, citizens of Unus Town! We came to aid you in these dire times! But it seems you''ve already solved the issue... What happened here?"


    "Emergency Meeting!" ra shouted to her citizens, and all of them formed a circle. "Can we all agree that n''s story is a little too stupid to share with Unus'' biggest star?" she whispered, and the crowd nodded.


    "I also think he''s lying."


    "That''s not the issue, Benny! We don''t want to embarrass ourselves in front of a bunch of Max Levelers, do we? So let''s keep it a secret. All of you, y along." ra stepped forward, serious-looking at first, before doing an exaggerated pose as if she was an idol too, contorting her spine and lifting up her butt in an unnatural way. "Who the fuck knows! But we kicked their asses!"


    +"Yeah!"


    "No one messes with Unus Town, am I right, guys?!"


    +"Yeah, we showed them! Thanks foring, Miss Cosmica! We love you!"


    "Well, we''re already here," Miss Cosmica said, looking at the destroyed buildings. "Guys," she addressed the Guilds at her back. "Help me rebuild this town in record time, and I''ll offer a free concert here, just for you!"


    Her followers cheered and raised their fists in excitement. ra also addressed the townsfolk.


    "Did you hear that guys?! Let''s do this! Let''s show Miss Cosmica that we Low-Levelers also rule!"


    +"That didn''t sound well!"


    "Guys!" n shouted, gathering Unus Town''s gaze. "I owe you all an apology, for everything! I screwed up! If I hadn''te here..."


    "n," ra interrupted, tapping his shoulder. "They know everything." She snapped her fingers, and her drone camera projected a hologram, showing a video reel of the fight.


    ++"Guys, listen! There are currently five Users affected by an enemy spell! They have been brainwashed, so they''ll attack you as soon as they see you. So please, help me restrain them all without killing them!"++


    ++"Now, armed with reinforcements, our Hero will do everything in his power to capture and eventually break the curse tormenting his neighbors, those he considers his long-life friends... and even family!"++


    ++"Here theye!"++


    ++"We are one. We act as a unit."++


    ++"Don''t let them fight! Disarm them and restrain them!"++


    "Everyone knows by now that you prioritized evacuating the town and that you did your best to keep the ''affected'' safe," ra said, as n found nods and epting smiles from everyone in front of him.


    "Thanks for saving my brother, n."


    "One of the affected is my best friend. Thanks for helping him."


    n''s mouth remained ajar as his body trembled. "If you''re that forgiving with me, could I ask you all a favor?" He looked in the distance and sent a private message to Smollet.


    The Advanced Slime marched forward with what seemed like an army of Slimes. Everyone got alert at first, but once n exined the situation, ra stepped forward to receive the new Slime chief.


    "We''ll also help rebuild the town," Smollet said to the squinting young woman. "Just tell us what to do."


    "What are you? A type of Slime humanoid?"


    "Be nice, Mayor," n said, before addressing the town. "This fight also destroyed their home, and I promised to find them a new ce to stay... I-it..." He stuttered. "It doesn''t have to be here! They could stay in the town''s outskirts, or... I don''t know! They''re hard workers, I promise. Just..."


    "n, stop," ra whispered before addressing the rest. "Do any of you oppose sharing the town with them?"


    They held a debate. And as n waited for their conclusion, Amelia held his hand and gave him a warm smile. "I''m not hearing negativements, are you?"


    "No?" n asked, before looking at the surrounding people, who dispersed.


    "They can stay," ra finally said, grinning.


    "Rest for tonight, my friends!" Miss Cosmisa said aloud. "We''ll start working tomorrow morning, so be prepared!"


    As her followers cheered, the idol nced at the leader of Phantom Seekers and his co-leader, both talking and smiling while staring into each other''s eyes.


    ***


    **


    *


    On the next day, at 3:00 pm, just after n got out of the bathroom stall at Moonlight''s Dream Inn, the ce where he and most of the people were temporarily staying, he encountered Ricardo Silva, who was waiting for him near the sinks.


    "Sorry foring sote," Ricardo muttered, smiling apologetically.


    "When did you arrive? Were you waiting for me until I was done?"


    "Yes. You should eat more fiber."


    "Yes, so I can fakely poop better," n said, evading his gaze and going straight to another sink to wash his hands.


    "Are you mad at me for noting earlier?" Ricardo asked in a tired, soft voice, meeting n''s frowning face. "I''m sorry. But I got busy. Extremely busy..."


    "It''s okay. We handled it."


    "...Like if someone wanted me to be busy so I couldn''te," Ricardo continued saying, getting n''s attention. "There were a series of glitches in Espaniel and Itales... And... I haven''t slept since then."


    "Game-breaking glitches?"


    "Those that create erring sounds in the sky, causing mass panic, or that teleport things out of nowhere. The worst one was multiple reports of people stating they had seen ady in ck, following them for an entire hour, while she just stared at them, grinning."


    "It all sounds like Unique Talents, don''t you think?"


    "I also thought that, but it urred inside Safe Zones, so..." Ricardo chuckled. His eyes looked at the brink of shutting permanently. "At least it''s over for now."


    **Safe Zones, huh? That reminds me that Jane Andersen never bothered turning Unus Town into one. I''ll talk to herter about it.**


    "Hey, you were doing your job. You''re the only one protecting us from the real dangers of this world." n waited until Ricardo looked him in the eye. "You get rid of those terrors that remind us that this is all fake and that the system could copse and turn into a nightmare at any moment. So thanks for that, Ricardo."


    "Thanks, buddy." Ricardo swallowed, looking at his shoes. "But this time it was so weird. I can''t shake the feeling that someone deliberately kept me upied so I couldn''te to help you with the ''anomaly''... Um... Lara told me about the ''affected''."


    "Do you think you''ll be able to remove whatever The Singr injected on them?"


    "Whatever it is, Lara''s cor is keeping it in check. They''ll be fine as long as they have it. They won''t be able to leave town, but at least they won''t turn into mindless robot zombies while I find a fix."


    n exhaled, looking up at the ceiling. "Tell me something, Glitch Administrator. After living for years in aputer world like this one, could we still be considered human?"


    Ricardo sighed and looked up too. "I don''t think so."


    ***


    **


    *


    On the second night of reconstruction, n received a call from his co-leader. ++"n, where are you?"++


    ++"I was going straight to my room. You?"++


    ++"Have you showered yet?"++


    ++Yep. Today I sweated like a pig!"++


    ++"Have you dined already?"++


    ++"Yes, a sandwich, cookies, and a ss of milk."++


    ++"What are you, a kid?"++


    He grunted. ++"Do you need something?"++


    ++"Could youe to my room, please? There is something important we need to discuss. NOW."++


    ++"Sure, I''ll be on my way... Which room was it again?"++


    ++"73."++


    ++"Got it."++


    While strolling through the corridor, saying good night to his room neighbors, he received a message notification from another social app.


    ----------------------------------


    ++++Incog-me+++


    ++Sunshine: If everything goes ording to n, tomorrow will be thest day of repairs. I''ll reopen the town, perform the promised concert, and get back to my own business! But I''d like to speak with you and your guild before leaving, though. Can we arrange a meeting?


    **It''s weird that I have befriended The Novus'' biggest celebrity, and that she talks to me in such a formal way.**


    ++Ghost: Sure! I''ll look forward to it.


    ++Sunshine: It''s a date then!


    ++Sunshine: Wait, I didn''t want to write that.


    ++Sunshine: Your whole Guild will be there, so it''s not a real date. You know what I mean.


    ++Ghost: Yes, of course.


    ++Sunshine: Night!


    ++Ghost: Good night to you too.


    ++Sunshine: Yes, I wanted to say that. Bye!


    "What a nice gal," n said aloud before knocking on the 73rd room.


    "Come on in," a soft voice replied.


    Once he put a foot inside, a hand grabbed him by the cor of his shirt and dragged him inside.


    "W-WHAT THE--?!"
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