Magician? Con Artist!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Whirr… Buzz! Beep beep beep beep…

Thud! Crash!

Clack, clack, clack…

…

"Shut up! Are you trying to kill me?! Let a man sleep!" Lin Wei, driven to the brink by the cacophony of strange noises coming from upstairs, threw on his clothes and stormed out of his room.

The sounds of hammering, sawing, heavy objects crashing, scraping, and the relentless pacing of heavy boots.

Seriously, was the soundproofing in the Elysian Realm this bad?

This was a noise complaint waiting to happen!

He checked the hall, but it was empty.

See? Even Elysia couldn't stand it!

She would usually be here by now, harassing him in various creative ways.

Wait, was that actually a good thing?

Creak, creak, creak… The sound of sawing wood continued…

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Screw that, it's definitely NOT a good thing!

Since their encounter in the depths of the Elysian Realm, he had only seen Vill-V occasionally in the hall. She was usually secretive, rarely seen.

And he had certainly never heard such a racket before!

It was truly unbearable!

Lin Wei stomped upstairs, a place he rarely visited.

He flung open the usually closed door and marched towards the source of the noise, the cacophony increasing with each step.

"What are you doing here? Didn't I say no visitors during working hours?" A green-haired girl, busy tinkering with various instruments and contraptions, sensed his presence and stopped, but didn't bother looking up, her voice filled with weary annoyance.

"I should be asking you that. What are you doing making such a racket this early in the morning?" Lin Wei retorted, looking around at the steampunk-esque machinery, equally annoyed. "Elysia told me you moved your workshop to the Deep End because this place was too small. What, is this your new way of saying hello?"

"Don't you think you're the one who woke up too late? You're just in time, hand me the smallest hammer on your left… No, not that one, the smallest one." Vill-V glanced at him, then returned to her work, casually enlisting him as her assistant.

"Heh, women," Lin Wei muttered, rolling his eyes. "No visitors" one minute, "just in time" the next.

He handed her the requested tool.

Vill-V didn't even bother thanking him, continuing to tinker with her gadgets and components.

Tink! Tink! Tink!

"Seriously, what era are we in? Still using manual lathes?" Lin Wei, never one for politeness with Vill-V, continued, "And may I ask, you're a memory, what kind of groundbreaking research requires fifty thousand years of continuous effort in the Elysian Realm?"

"So annoying. Is this how they usually talk to you? I'll have to remind them about proper etiquette. Being constantly interrupted really affects my productivity." Vill-V, her attention focused on the intricate workings of her machines, expressed her displeasure at his presence, ignoring his questions.

This is the "expert"?

"'They'? Aren't they all Vill-V? I don't see the difference. Since you don't want to talk, I'll take my leave. I'll find someone more sociable next time." Lin Wei wasn't going to waste his time here. It was too noisy; he could barely hear himself think. He waved his hand and turned to leave.

Vill-V ignored him, completely engrossed in her work.

Well, I can't sleep now, might as well find something to do. To be honest, he was becoming increasingly bored in the Elysian Realm.

"Hi, Lin Wei! We were just talking about you! Hee hee, so glad you're here!" Entering the memory terminal, he was greeted by a beautiful sunset vista, two elegant women engaged in pleasant conversation, and soft music drifting on the breeze.

Elysia waved cheerfully.

Eden, surprisingly, wasn't drunk. She was swirling her wine, admiring its color in the setting sun. She smiled at him. "Elysia is right. Join us for a drink, if you'd like."

Lin Wei raised an eyebrow, suspicious. You two are awfully coordinated. Should I suggest you form a duo?

"Yes, Elysia, what a coincidence, running into you the moment I enter," he said dryly. He didn't believe for a second that he had just happened to appear right in front of them.

"You think so too? Isn't this what they call… fate?" Elysia grinned, seizing the opportunity.

"..." Lin Wei facepalmed, speechless.

The audacity!

"My friend, if you're tired, please sit and rest. The weight on your mind seems heavier than usual," Eden said, standing up and offering him a fresh glass. "I know you don't enjoy the taste of alcohol, so I prepared a non-alcoholic beverage for you. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, Miss Eden, you're too kind," Lin Wei said, waving his hands. Her warmth and gentle demeanor made it impossible to refuse.

"It's my pleasure, my friend. While alcohol can soothe the soul, it ultimately weakens the body. Abstinence is a virtue," Eden replied, her smile effortless and elegant.

"Ooh, I've never seen this drink before! You have so many wonderful things, Eden! Can I have some too?" Elysia leaned closer, her eyes wide and innocent.

"Of course, Elysia. Here, try it," Eden smiled, pouring the same drink into Elysia's glass.

"Thank you! You're the best, Eden!" Elysia beamed, her expression full of delight.

Lin Wei sat with them, watching Elysia and Eden's cheerful banter, their joy infectious.

As he laughed, he glanced at the eternally setting sun.

How wonderful they are!

But a chasm of fifty thousand years separated them.

His smile turned wistful. He raised his glass towards the gentle sunset, then drained it in one go.

It still tasted bitter and unpleasant. He just couldn't appreciate it.

...

"Yo, you're back? Have a seat, make yourself comfortable," a familiar voice greeted him as he entered the lounge back in the hall.

It was Vill-V, her tone less theatrical than her "magician" persona, and less weary than her "expert" persona. She sounded… almost normal.

Of course, Lin Wei knew it was just an act.

"I wasn't planning on being polite," he said, sitting down beside her, feeling the faint pressure of the force field surrounding her. "What do you want?"

Vill-V smiled enigmatically, studying him with a strange glint in her eyes. "The 'expert' left a message saying you were looking for me, so I waited here for you, and this is how you treat me? How rude!"

"Me looking for you? It's the other way around, isn't it?" Lin Wei scoffed, putting his feet up on the coffee table, his posture deliberately provocative.

Vill-V's eyebrow twitched. "The 'great magician' goes through all that trouble in the Deep End just to see me, fine. But the 'expert' making all that noise upstairs early in the morning… what, are you in charge of renovations now, Vill-V?"

"Hey! That's between you and her. Don't drag me into it!" Vill-V's tone was odd.

"Her? Aren't they all Vill-V? I don't see the difference. Vill-V's problems should be handled by Vill-V, what's wrong with that?" Lin Wei retorted, his tone equally strange.

"Oh, come on, don't be so aggressive. Just tell me what you want," Vill-V said, throwing the question back at him.

"Making all that noise early in the morning, preventing people from sleeping… I have a question for you, one that the 'expert' wouldn't answer. You're a memory, what kind of groundbreaking research requires fifty thousand years of continuous effort in the Elysian Realm?"

"Hey, that's harsh! Can't you just… not mention that painful reality? Besides, shouldn't you ask the 'expert' about her own work?"

"Really?" Lin Wei looked at her, his expression unreadable. He had to be careful with her words.

He remembered reading in the in-game "Elysian Realm Archives" that the Vill-V who had roamed the Previous Era's labs wasn't the silent "expert" type at all, but rather much closer to the Vill-V he was currently facing.

Either the "expert" persona was a later fabrication that eventually became a separate entity,

Or the "expert" never existed, and it was just another one of Vill-V's lies.

Never trust a magician's words or actions. It's all misdirection.

"Fine, I do know something," Vill-V said, raising her hands in mock surrender. "I'm working on a new type of… Kevin armament. Do I need to explain that term? Right, moving on…"

"Considering the potential damage the Herrscher of Corruption could inflict on the Elysian Realm, I thought it prudent to take some… preventative measures…"

"Hmm?" Lin Wei looked at her strangely.

"What's with that look? Don't tell me you don't have new Herrschers of Corruption appearing in your era?" Vill-V bristled at his apparent skepticism.

"No, I just think… it's unnecessary. Just seal the passage between the Elysian Realm and the outside world with a bunch of concrete after the tenth or eleventh Herrscher appears. That way, the Herrscher of Corruption can't get in." They could just break it open again after the battle was over.

Simple, crude, and effective. Much better than her "Kevin armament," whatever that was.

"Hey! Where's your sense of adventure? Can't you show a little respect for a genius's creativity?" Vill-V complained.

"Oh, my apologies. I'm just a simple man," Lin Wei replied, unmoved by her whining.

The best way to deal with Vill-V was to remain unfazed.

But he couldn't be completely unresponsive. That might also be part of her plan.

So, after letting her stew for a moment, he decided to make his move. "Let me guess, you're interested in the twelfth Divine Key in my hand? After all, you didn't have a chance to participate in the design and creation of the Key of Corruption in the Previous Era, did you?"

"Oh? You know quite a lot, don't you? How surprising~" Vill-V raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised this time.

Did this guy read the script beforehand?!

"Don't be surprised. For a magician, the key to a successful performance is thorough preparation," Lin Wei said smugly, continuing his act.

Vill-V chuckled. It had been a while since she encountered someone so interesting.

"How about I teach you the proper way to use a Divine Key?" She didn't deny her interest in the Key of Corruption.

Of all the Divine Keys of the Previous Era, only the blank Key and the Key of Corruption were solely Dr. MEI's creations.

In a sense, the Key of Corruption was her final work. How could she not be interested?

She recalled the blank Key, a creation she had found so brilliant she couldn't resist trying to replicate it, and the embarrassing incident with the Void Archives, which she had to ask Dr. MEI to fix.

She had to admit, Dr. MEI was a greater genius than her.

"And then you'll install a backdoor or something?" Lin Wei wasn't falling for that.

"Hey! Don't push it~" Vill-V was getting annoyed. He was ruining her act. 

"Fine, I'll be honest. I am interested in Dr. MEI's Key of Corruption, especially the one in your hand, the supercharged version that absorbed half of the Elysian Realm's accumulated data. Even if it's just redundant data, it's still quite remarkable."

She stood up and stretched, her tone casual. "You don't want to be a monkey just mindlessly pulling the trigger, do you? I've been observing you. Your use of it is… a waste. I wonder how RIN would feel if she knew you were treating her gift so carelessly?"

She turned, looking at Lin Wei, who had put his feet down at some point. 

"Let's make a deal. I'll help you unlock its potential, so you can use it as freely in the real world as you do here. And in return, I'll conduct some… minor research. I'm sure you, having copied all the Divine Key data in the Elysian Realm, wouldn't mind sharing the data of a new Divine Key? Reciprocity is common courtesy, isn't it?"

Her voice turned strange, a blend of the magician's enthusiasm and the expert's calm.

"So, what do you say?"