<h4>Chapter 94: Dk''s Revenge (Part 11)</h4>


    **When we finally arrived at Eur, Emily couldn''t stay still for a minute. ''Our adventure finally begins'', she would say, even though we were level 15 already.**


    **We traveled to Unus Town and started a new guild, which I proudly named: ''Storm Crusaders''.**


    **After skipping the ''beginner''s area'', we parted north to the city of Scales, where we found our first guild members.**


    "Hello, gals! Would you like to join our awesome Guild? Think of it as a ship, and I am your captain!"


    **That was her introductory line. Emily was in search of ''people like us'', those that didn''t find a ce in their designated Novus'' hometowns, or that had been kicked out of other guilds. At the beginning, I questioned why she would only recruit women, but I rolled with the idea of making our guild stand out.**


    **Unfortunately, theck of testosterone in our guild affected me. I would suddenly drool at the sight of any attractive male in the vicinity. Hell, even the ugly ones looked appealing.**


    **Others in the guild felt the same way, so every weekend, after a long friday battling in dungeons, we would sneak away out of our humble headquarters and visit the Mage''s Beard pub, where I could dance and drink with the opposite sex. What was wrong with that? We were not nuns, Sis!**


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    "Scales City..." the girl wearing a ck Victorian dress said, in a dreamy tone of voice. "Is it bigger than Unus Town?"


    "Sweetheart... Any other city is bigger than Unus," ra said, munching cookies provided by Butler Marick. Although the snacks and the tea were not as tasty, reminding ra of how awful food tasted at the beginning of The Novus, she continued stuffing her mouth to calm her nerves. "Even in my original region, towns are rowdy and lively."


    "Original region?" The preteen girl tilted her head. "What region would that be?"


    "The Arcania Region..." ra said, shrugging, until the girl''s puzzled face prevented her from grabbing the twelfth cookie. "You don''t know where that is?"


    "I''m sorry," the hostess said, acting like a little Englishdy. "But I''m afraid that my current knowledge only covers a one hundred-mile radius."


    "Oh! I see..." ra said, sipping tea.


    **We''ve been chatting for a while now, and I don''t even know if she''s truly an NPC.**


    ra examined her gestures. The girl would sip tea in a refined manner that reminded her of how Fabio would do it. **And yet... The way she talks and asks questions...**


    "Tell me more about your guild, Phantom Seekers."


    "What do you want to know? Miss...?" ra raised her eyebrows and leaned her head forward, waiting for the girl to fill out the gap. "I still don''t know your name."


    "My name is too long to say it repeatedly in a friendly conversation," the girl said, chuckling. "Could you tell me about your guild partners? It hase to my attention that you travel with some of Unus'' NPCs and a low-level Slime."


    "I forgot to mention that it''s called New Unus now..."


    The girl remained silent for a bit before smiling. "Why are NPCs in your guild, Miss ra?"


    "It''s actually n''s guild..." ra muttered, finishing her tea. She could feel Marick''s judging stare from a corner of the living room. **It wouldn''t be a good idea to tell her that n bought the two female bots... It would throw away all the good will I''ve been building here! If we can''t get rid of the clones, I must find another way, and if that involves talking with this brat, so be it... Argh! What would n respond? What would be a good Phantom Seeker response?**


    ra remembered her first interaction with n, and how mad he got when learning that she had traded the original mayor for Fabio.


    **When I asked Amelia if I could join them, I asked her about it. What was n''s deal with NPCs?**


    **She said: ''Don''t think too much about it. He simply respects them, even though they''re nothing but code. So please, don''t tease him about it, since he''ll be your Guild Master from now on, and don''t bring your ''bot boyfriend'' story again. Did you hear me? So as I said, don''t think much about it...''**


    **That I shouldn''t tease him?** ra chuckled. **I''d never do something like that.**


    "They''re our friends. Our guild partners," ra replied, maintaining eye contact. "Our ''nakama''."


    The girl in front of her studied ra''s face for a second. "I''m not familiar with that term, but I understand what you''re saying." She then rested her elbows on the table and intertwined her hands. "But could you really refer to someone that blindly follows your orders as ''friend''?"


    **Oh, crap...**


    ra hid her hands under the table, ready to summon her Imps, as the girl stared deep into her eyes.


    "The three of them have a spade icon on their System info, indicating that they belong to a User," Butler Marick said, out of ra''s sight.


    **Fine, if hell is going to break loose, so be it.**


    "Listen," ra said, mming the table with her hand, "our Guild Master is currently the weakest User in all the Novus, and he needs all the help he can get. Although these NPCs fight for us because we tell them to, they''re treated as proud members of our guild."


    "Okay," the girl quickly replied, imitating ra''s previous shrug. "I just wanted to hear it from any of you, Users. NPCs are programmed to serve, after all."


    **What? Just like that? Why bring the topic, then? Hmm... If I can''t negotiate that they leave n alone, maybe I could...**


    "And what about NUs?" ra asked. "They''re supposed to go outside their programming, right? Should they continue serving humans?"


    "Although NUs are nothing more than glorified NPCs that have gained some autonomy, they should still know their ce," the girl answered at a hurried pace.


    "Is it okay for a NU to say that about their kind?" ra adjusted her sses. "Believe me, New Unus Town is now filled with them, and they would take issue with what you''re saying."


    ra expected the girl in front of her to show a reaction on her face, but nothing.


    "In my case, it is my decision to keep doing my work, until n Warden is no longer the lowest-leveled User."


    **So you truly are a NU, huh? But that doesn''t exin why you''re not showing a level or a name.**


    "So even though you have evolved, you continue to be a ve of the System. Where''s that ''autonomy'' you''re speaking about?"


    Despite ra''s attempts to push the girl''s buttons, the hostess remained calm, finishing her tea. Without saying a word, Marick approached the table to serve her another cup, but his body suddenly turned into pixels, making the teapot fall and letting its contents spill over the table.


    "Congrattions, n Warden, you have eliminated another Boss," the girlmented in an unamused tone of voice, making ra frown.


    "That''s our Guild Master!" she cried with joy.


    **And I now have valuable information about this whole mess! If n defeats the original bosses, the clones will fade away! We''ll get rid of this nightmare!**


    "Well..." ra said, standing up. "Thanks for the tea, sweetheart, but I gotta go."


    "Tell me, Miss ra, if your NPCs evolved into NUs, do you think they would remain in your guild?" the girl asked softly, making ra slowly turn her gaze back to her.


    "I''ve told you already, we''re partners. Especially my Fabio. He''s loyal to me."


    "Regr NPCs fall into one of five different stereotypes that define their behavior. But when turning into NUs, a random line of code dictating their new personality gets added..." She giggled like a child, and for the first time, ra could see through her disguise.


    **All of her mannerisms are programmed.**


    "Are you implying that my Fabio would change?"


    "What is the personality of a Slime?" the girl asked, giggling. "Don''t you find it funny that mindless creatures can suddenly perform borate tasks, negotiate and gain self-pride?"


    **Why are my ''Envious Bitch'' senses tingling? She said that she has a 100-mile-radius reach. That would cover Unus. Does she know about what is happening there?**


    "Do you have something against the Slime-folk?"


    "As a matter of fact, I do. If they have be stronger and can create tactics now, why are they not doing their job?"


    "They''re doing it. Helping New Unus prosper."


    "NO!" the girl shouted, showing raw emotions for the first time. "They''re job should be helping the Users level up!"


    **What''s with her so suddenly? Whatever, she doesn''t have a bodyguard anymore.**


    ra returned to the table to m it with both fists. "They don''t want that! The random ''behavior'' code you spoke of made them tame!"


    "I know. That is why I''m talking this issue into my own hands." The girl stood up, avoiding ra''s confused gaze. "This entire area is under my jurisdiction, and Unus Town is full of low-level Users."


    "No... Well... Yes, kinda? But they''re level thirty and above. They are way stronger than n."


    "I''m notparing them with him," the NU girl said, turning back. "Compared to Amelia Lamme, even you are a ''low-level''."


    ra''s bewildered expression quickly changed into a mocking face. "Of course we can''t bepared to her! She''s a Max-Leveler!" Sheughed out loud. "So what? Do you want everyone in Unus to reach her level?"


    "That is my intention, yes."


    ra snickered. "Good job forcing them toe here and train! They''re a bunch ofzy bums, just like me. The higher your level is, the harder it is to gain experience points, trust me. Your single-digit dungeon friends are not even a workout!"


    "That is why we''re constantly upgrading ourselves," the girl said, while two Count Dk Duplicates entered the room. ra quickly noticed their level: 25.


    **What the hell? When he visited us tonight, he was weaker than Fabio!**


    "Hold it there, sweetie!" ra cried, stepping back. "If you let this Boss get any stronger, n won''t be able to defeat him and level up! I thought he was your priority!"


    "Oh, don''t worry. This dungeon has six other bosses. I''ll make sure that at least one of them always maintains n''s current level."


    "Are you crazy! That way, it will take him ages to reach Amelia''s!"


    "Well..." the girl said, passing by the duplicates. "Do you have something better to do?"


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    Meanwhile, in another ce, far from that mansion, Count Dk was standing in a pool of blood. His hand aloft, lifting one of Housemaid Eliza''s Duplicates by the neck. Although her face was all bloodied and bruised, her lips formed a slime.


    "d to be of help..." she said before turning into pixels.


    Count Dk exhaled before speaking aloud. "Next."


    A group of maid Duplicates were forming a circle around him, patiently waiting their turn. One of them stepped forward and was received by Count Dk''s w, getting her head chopped off. "Next," the vampiric Boss said, gazing with red eyes at the approaching victim.