I Reincarnated as an NPC Witch

The Truth Behind the Reality

“I want to get out of here so bad. I don’t want to be controlled by someone.” He smiles, “That’s what I need to hear. Don’t worry, I promise you that I will protect you as long as I could. My elevation of access is not yet the most powerful one and I don’t know all of the things that they do. I can promise you that you will be protected most of the time, but not in the times where they use tactics I am not able to counter. They can do anything just for their own desire, so I am not going to be surprised if they just plainly remove you in this system.” Abigail looks at him with confusion, “You can protect me against them trying to rewrite my things and you can’t protect me from that?” Laurence sighs, “There’s more to that, Abigail. I can’t explain it to you right now. I am even confused about that possibility of happening. It’s not just about deleting your files as the game’s files. We don’t know, maybe they can delete you out of this world.” 

“What? How did you even know that? They’re not gods. Besides, they are only gods because we are in the realm where anyone could control us.” He rubs his arms, he seems to dodge a topic. “We don’t know, Abigail. We don’t know. As I said, I am just new here in this world. Not as new as you, but I am not the first individual here. The fact that someone that’s corrupted is lingering around this system. Anything could happen.” 

Abigail stopped, she remembered the corrupted. “About that, what’s that thing?” He sighs, “I don’t know him, her, or they. Since I knew things and have granted access that I snatched from them, it was there already. Our first meeting was as ominous as yours. With the little power I had before, I was able to protect myself a bit in his advancements. All of the glitching things, even that hole you came from was from them. It’s trying to destroy this world. It once said that it’s only the way to bring freedom to everyone. They’re wrong, we will be stuck here more if they do that. Even we have the same goal and intentions, we don’t have the same plan to get us all out of here. Theirs is the destruction of everything, we don’t know where we will end up after that. This game is the only reason why The Gemini is k********g and putting real people in a game. If their reason is gone, what could they do to us? If they are insane and brave enough to get all of us here and use us for the pettiest reasons ever, they could just kill all of our bodies and remove us from the system. Even though that plan sounds sick and I am itching to destroy this world as well, that path’s end is blurry, foggy, and dim. At least, with my plan, it has a clear path, well, two paths. One is good and the other is bad. That’s why I have been fighting that guy for several months now. I still don’t know the full potential of it, but I coined them as something like a virus.” 

He sits on the office chair again, “Corrupting a whole city and its citizens is the worst thing it was able to do. If it can do that, it can definitely victimize you all. I tried to protect you all before, but I didn’t protect Keeana that well. That’s why she was glitching as hell before. I wasn’t able to get it in a prison but the glitch in the city is the last thing it will do, for now. I am not promising that I could control it every time. That beast inhibits another type of power. As I said, they’re like a virus. They can’t do harm to you if you don’t let it in. It’s another reason why I need you to practice and strengthen your will. There are two things you need to be aware of, the corrupted and The Gemini.”

“Is that all I need to do?” “You need to strengthen yourself physically, magically, and mentally in the game. Because I need you to go somewhere.” He approaches the wall with some cloth hanging from a wire rack. Laurence sets it aside, showing her something. “With the new update that they are doing right now, they are planning to create another area of the map in this world.” He grabs a long stick and points to the western side of the map. He moves it in a circular motion, pointing at a part of the map Abigail isn’t familiar with. It was white in color with some jagged and curve lines to divide territories and some markers to mark the important places. “This whole winter section is the next big thing in the update. With big updates in the map comes with unintentional—“ “Bugs and glitches!” Abigail enthusiastically shouted. “Are you a game-breaker type of player?” 

“I resorted at that department when there’s a desert-dry of updates in a long while before.” He smirks, “Then, this would be fun for you. They have implemented some parts of the map now. Especially the ones that connect to the mainland. Although, we need to wait until our character bodies can even access that land. I tested it in one of the villagers that’s near that division and let him walk in. His AI can’t handle finding a path to get to a point that I want him to go.” 

“You let our co-victims be some sort of experiment or sacrifice?” He flicks the stick on the map, “They’re not like us, the main characters. I know you would freak out, but the villagers’ AI and personalities came from us. They wouldn’t kidnap that many people just to make this world so interactive. Besides, we are the only ones who are interacting with them. In the main game, few of them are interactable. They just need to get some of the villagers realistic for the sake of their companions. Even they have the ability to control us, the philosophy of the human mind is not something to mess with. Especially they are dealing with humans that have known there are other humans. It’s also one of their experiments about copying one's mind, memory, personality, and identity. We’re literally just lab rats for them, aren’t we?” 

“I didn’t realize the vast things they can do to us.” He cackles, “How can they do this realistic world with the powers they have in their hands? Honestly, if they could just use this as something to take over the world. They already won. This is a technology far too complex and advanced. I know you are distracted by the world around you. I can’t blame you. It’s eternal suffering masked as a paradise, especially for a fantasy enthusiast like you. It’s something fascinating and it’s a world that is to explore. Don’t fall for that trap.” 

Abigail sighs, “So, you want me to go to that place?” Laurence sets aside the stick, “Well, not just you. You and your companions. Besides, you are going to Pacuvinium. It’s one of the nearest villages in that area. You are finding that Garett guy, right?” She nods, “Well, he’s a bit of a hopeless individual. You’ll see when you get to him.” 

“What do you mean?” He sighs, “You see, Abigail. People that are trying their best to get out of this world is an enemy of The Gemini. More of someone that’s declaring and saying the truth to everyone else.” He places his hand on his chest, “I wish I could’ve helped that guy. He’s gone insane for some reason. I think they have coded him that way, so everything he says seems wrong and just his imagination. That’s why I am warning you not to tell your friends anything that you know. Even they are innocent and a victim, they are the eyes of The Gemini. Not by choice but by force. If they found something that they know about things that are happening outside of the world that they are trapped in, you and I will be screwed. It will just fuel their desire to get access to your file and memory wipe you, all of it. Your knowledge is a threat to them. So, you should shut up for now. Once everything aligned for us, we could tell them and let them help us.” 

“Wait, this sounds familiar.” Abigail looks at him, “Isn’t this what you did to Tabitha?” His face suddenly changed. It seems his heart dropped and he saw a traumatic thing in his life. He was frozen for some seconds as he shakes his head gently. “It is but it’s something you should not be talking about.” 

“But, you are the reason that she’s gone. The reason why Catrina isn’t herself anymore. The reason that they are missing one of their members.” He sighs, “You don’t know anything, Abigail. Don’t judge me. I am just here to help us all. You will know why all of those happened soon. For now, you don’t have the position to judge me and blame it all on me. Be thankful that I am still here.” She was going to speak again as he glares, “Don’t try to lengthen that discussion. We are here to discuss the early stages of our plan to get out of this pathetic prison. We don’t need to be enemies because of that. We don’t need to fight and rally answers and questions to each other. Stay focus, Abigail. Don’t let those the past disturb you in the present. I know it’s someone’s disappearance, but what could I do? Even I have some elevation of access, I am not a god in this system. Besides, it’s been months that she disappeared, that all of that happened. I don’t want any more drama other than the things that have been happening and affecting us in the present.” 

Abigail shuts herself and sighs, “I shouldn’t have prematurely judged you there. I am sorry.” “It’s fine.” He hides the map again with the cloth. “I am aware of my mistakes and the mistakes of others. I am aware of my past and their past. It’s not just the time to regret things. We have more to do than those things, Abigail. We got people to save on this computer or wherever we are right now. Like, some hyper galactic processor or something. We don’t have time to regret anything we’ve done in the past. That applies to you as well.” 

Abigail looks at him with confusion on her face, “You don’t need to regret inviting them to the interview. You don’t need to regret trusting them. Because, if there’s someone to blame, it’s them. They have taken advantage of your vulnerability and trust. Now, they lost someone that trusted them and praised them for so long. Although, with the attitude that they are showing to us. It’s something they don’t regret. Help me and you will be thankful that you became their victim. We might be the ones who will end this evil thing they are doing to poor innocent humans. Take this as an opportunity to fix the problem that will be the problem of others soon. And, to expose the wrongdoings and just purely malicious things they are doing to us.”

He grabbed her hands and they traveled back to the hole where she entered to get to this place. As they arrive, they stopped for a while. “Regretting something won’t help you at all. If they took advantage of you, take this as an advantage then. This is a help me, help you to help us all. I am expecting your full cooperation with this plan, Abigail. Whatever your decision is will affect everyone.”