14. Suzuki

14. Suzuki

The opening moments of the game had been filled with excitement, but that quickly turned into a bloodbath. Even the veteran beta testers, players who should have had the upper hand, barely managed to scrape by.

Matteo trudged toward the town gates, his clothes in tatters, his body aching from the battles he'd barely survived. Over his shoulder, he carried a bloodied girl, her breath shallow. He had tied her wounds with leaves to slow the bleeding, but even so, she was lucky to still be alive. He wasn't sure why he'd bothered to save her. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe it was something else.

As he stepped into the Town of Beginnings, the chaos within became evident. Groups of players huddled together, some shaking in shock, others desperately trying to wake up as if this were still some kind of nightmare. A few fools were even searching for hidden treasure chests, as if loot mattered more than survival.

Then they saw him.

A battered man covered in blood, carrying an injured girl who had lost an arm. It was a stark reminder of the fact that this was not a game.

Panic spread like wildfire. Some players started crying. Others screamed, demanding to know what had happened beyond the gates. A few even tried to push past him to escape, only to falter at the threshold, too afraid to step outside.

Matteo ignored them all.

He despised this kind of hysteria— weak, pitiful idiots grasping for hope when they had no real will to fight. He pushed forward, eyes scanning the town. Something felt...off.

There were more NPCs than before, strolling around like they had just woken up along with the players. A few new buildings stood in places where there had been nothing earlier. The game was changing, evolving, and that was never a good sign.

As Matteo walked deeper into the town, a man stepped out from a shabby wooden house and waved at him. His expression was eerily human—too real for a game construct.

"Hi there," the man said with a grin. "You and your friend seem to be in bad shape. I don't know if it helps, but I'm a capable medic— for the right price."

Matteo narrowed his eyes. He had encountered this NPC before. The healer had no name in the game, only a reputation for charging absurdly high prices. But there was an old beta rumor—this NPC would offer a massive discount to the first person he healed.

The girl whimpered weakly, her body burning with fever.

Matteo exhaled sharply. He had no obligation to help her. Anyone who got injured on the first outing was about as useful as a bag of garbage. He should've left her to die.

So why hadn't he?

A memory flickered— he remembered the archer standing between him and death. She had chosen to save him, perhaps he did the same because he wanted to know why. But he did not think like that.

Matteo scowled and shoved the thought aside. It didn't matter.

"Fine," he muttered to the healer. "Fix her up."

The NPC nodded and gestured for them to enter his wooden shack. Inside, it was small and cramped, the air thick with the scent of herbs and something metallic— blood, perhaps? The healer led them upstairs, where a bed was already prepared. As the girl was laid down, the medic got to work, muttering incantations under his breath as a soft glow enveloped her wounds.

Matteo tossed a few coins onto the table to cover the cost and took a seat near the window.

He watched the town below. Players were slowly coming to terms with their new reality, moving with more purpose, forming groups, planning strategies. It wouldn't be long before alliances and factions started to take shape.

His mind drifted back to the battles he had fought. He replayed each one, searching for weaknesses in his own performance. It wasn't just about fighting—it was about surviving. He needed to think beyond the battlefield. He had never been an outdoors person, never excelled in sports. Chess had been the only game he ever truly mastered.

This was just another game. A brutal one. But still, a game.

Behind him, the girl groaned as she stirred.

"Thank you, kind sir," she murmured, her voice weak. "I will find a way to repay you..."

Matteo scoffed. "Ugh. What is this, a stage play? Don't thank me. I'm not your hero."

She flinched at his tone but quickly recovered. He had saved her. That meant there had to be some good in him, right?

"My name is Suzuki," she said, mustering a small smile. "But my friends call me Suzy. And you are?"

Matteo groaned and stood up. "You're a damn earsore." He turned away, already heading for the door. "I don't care who you are, but since I wasted my time saving you, I guess I'll take some responsibility."

He tossed a folded piece of paper onto the table beside her bed.

"You're a flame mage," he continued. "The medic couldn't regrow your lost limb, so that's your problem now. Just don't screw up next time. Or do. I don't really care."

Suzuki was too stunned to respond as he walked out, the door creaking shut behind him.

She sat in silence for a long moment, staring at the ceiling, processing everything. Her missing hand. Her near-death experience. The fact that she had woken up to a stranger who both saved her and insulted her in the same breath.

Her gaze drifted to the paper he had left behind. Slowly, she reached for it with her remaining hand, struggling to unfold it.

When she did, her breath hitched.

It was a detailed walkthrough.

Not just any walkthrough, but an extensive guide for her— where she needed to go, what choices to make to optimize her growth, hidden bonuses for flame mages that even beta testers had only whispered about. The notes covered the entire front and back of the paper.

Her heart pounded.

Why would he give her something like this?

Then, at the very bottom, scrawled in rough, almost careless handwriting, she saw a single line:

CONSIDER THIS YOUR PERMANENT CONTRACT.

Her fingers trembled as she traced the words.

A contract? What the hell did that mean?

Was he grooming her to join his future party? No… that didn't make sense. Why would anyone want a one-handed mage in their group?

Doubt crept in.

Had she just traded one prison for another?

Suzuki clenched the paper in her hand, her mind racing with uncertainties.

And for the first time since she had logged into this cursed world…

She felt a renewed sense of fear.