[QUEST COMPLETE]

  Title: A Whisper in the Walls

  Objective: Investigate the Sembawang Colonial Bungalow and uncover the paranormal disturbance.

  Reward: Please visit the nearest Tutorial Point to claim your reward.

  The message lingered in our HUDs. Shawn waved his away with a flick of his hand, loudly complaining that someone else needed to do the driving. Jess can’t drive, and Siva’s only sixteen. Not that it mattered much in this world anymore, but I made a mental note to teach both of them how to drive. I sighed and told Shawn I’d take the wheel next time. That seemed to pacify him for the moment.

  As they batted around theories about the reward, I couldn’t help but feel like something was off. We usually received loot boxes in our inventory. XP, gold, unique items from fights like the manta rays and the Pontianaks. We’d all gotten Manta Leather, coarse black leather listed as a crafting material. I used to own a stingray leather wallet once. It felt the same.

  We’d also gotten potions of [Ghost Touch], which, when manually applied to a weapon, made it capable of hurting incorporeal mobs for a limited time. We should have opened those before entering the bungalow, but it was a reminder to be more timely with our prize openings in the future.

  Still, the fact that we had to visit a 7-Eleven to claim the quest reward was strange. But then again, I might be reading too much into it. This was the first time we’d received a quest, and we had no history to compare it to. Maybe this was normal.

  We kept our distance from Sembawang Park, unsure if the Penanggal could follow us or if they were confined to the park. It seemed safer to err on the side of caution, so we ended up at a neighborhood mall further away from Sembawang Park, the kind of place that was eerily familiar. Inside, the usual mix of a hawker center, a supermarket, and a 7-Eleven greeted us. You could say what you wanted about living in this country, but the town planners knew how to create convenience.

  After grabbing food at the hawker center, we decided to take turns entering the tutorial point, and I volunteered to go last. Siva went first, returning shortly after, his usual grin replaced with a hint of satisfaction. "XP, tons of gold," he said, shrugging. "And a free item from the shop."

  He’d chosen a belt that deployed a floating shield when activated, which was a solid choice. With his Encik class relying on physical prowess over magic, the belt would provide extra protection. Something he really needed.

  Next, Jess stepped up, her brows furrowed in concentration. When she returned, she was visibly pissed off. As she pulled off her jacket, I saw a thin, glowing tattoo of runes snaking down her right arm, from her shoulder to her wrist. She muttered under her breath as she flexed her fingers.

  "The system gave me this rune thing," she said, voice sharp. "It lets me cast a shield dome around all of us in a 10 feet radius."

  She scowled at the tattoo, visibly annoyed. “I can already hear my dad’s voice in my head. He’s going to disown me for this.” She sighed deeply, shaking her head.

  I didn’t comment on it. I knew her dad, and the people she cared about, probably weren't coming back.

  Finally, Shawn took his turn. He was gone much longer than Siva and Jess had been combined. When he finally returned, his usual swagger was absent, and I could tell something was off.

  "Well?" I asked.

  Shawn too, looked mildly perturbed. "I can talk to the dead now," he muttered, staring up at the ceiling like the answer itself was still trying to sink in. "Like, at will. Don’t know when that’ll be useful, though."

  We all fell silent for a beat. Talking to the dead... I wasn’t sure if that was a gift or a curse.

  “During the Hungry Ghost Month…” Siva said between bites, grinning. The mention of the festival brought a smile to all of us, breaking the heavy mood.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  I stood up and made my way toward the 7-Eleven. The feeling of unease still lingered, but it was time to find out what this was all about. I hesitated just outside, taking a moment to steady my breath before I entered.

  I approached the console, about to place my hand on it as usual. But before I could, Eva’s voice suddenly rang out, filling the air around me. It was both comforting and unnerving at once.

  “Hello, Chris. It’s nice to see you again.”

  I froze for a moment, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Hello, Eva,” I said, glancing up at the ceiling, though the voice came from every direction. “So… uh… How are we doing this?”

  My HUD pinged with a new notification: XP and gold received. I noticed I had leveled up again. At this point, it was purely mechanical, nothing I could use until I hit level 10. That's when I will receive more stat points to distribute.

  “Is… that it?” I asked, eyeing the message, wondering if there was more to this moment. Siva had been allowed to choose his prize, but Shawn and Jess? They’d both gotten rewards they hadn’t really wanted. Was this all there was?

  Eva seemed to hesitate for a moment, and for the first time today, I thought I caught a hint of uncertainty in her. I couldn’t place it, but something felt different.

  I had so many questions I needed answers to. Was she really just part of the system AI? Or was she operating on her own? How much control did she have over the game? Was she as much of a puppet as we were? Was she trapped in this system, or was she complicit in it?

  I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to know the answer. But the more she hesitated, the more it felt like there was something happening.

  An item suddenly dropped from the shelves, bringing my attention to it. I went over to pick it up, conscious of the too bright light of the store above me.

  As I held it in my hand, I realized it was an electrical module of some kind. It looked like one those Raspberry Pi stuff that I never understood. I was about to ask if this was my prize when Eva spoke up.

  “Your prize, Chris, is that you can choose any existing skill or spell to upgrade.” I felt the timing of her interrupting me from asking was very suspicious. I still held the module in my hand and quickly stored it in my inventory. It allowed me. Normally, I would need to complete the transaction before being allowed to store something in my inventory.

  “Uh sure…”, I said out loud. “Let me go through my tabs and give me a few minutes to think about it.”

  “Sure Chris, take all the time you need. That is wise that you chose to read through all your items before proceeding.” she replied.

  That was a totally unambiguous hint.

  I took the chance to study the new item in my inventory. It was an upgrade item. Installing this item to anything mechanical would allow it to communicate to any other mechanical items. Like it was creating a mesh WIFI ring. Though, I would need a Technomancer to run the installation for me as stated in the description.

  What the fuck…

  Was she trying to get out, and this was her way of escaping? I took a long moment, pretending to hem and haw like I was deciding which item to upgrade.

  I didn’t trust her. I didn’t trust that she isn’t part of the system. And besides, I didn’t have anything mechanical to install this on. I’ve been using bows and arrows, for fuck’s sake. No pulse rifle, no fancy gadgets.

  No. This stays in my inventory until I knew more.

  “I choose to upgrade my [Shockwave] spell,” I said.

  “Very well, Chris,” she replied. As the familiar warmth flowed through me, I felt the change settle deep within. I checked my HUD. Under the spells tab, [Shockwave] was now marked as ‘Level II’. The new upgrade provided a stronger pushback over a wider radius.

  With that done, I still had things to buy. I casually browsed the shelves, keeping the conversation light.

  “How’ve you been, Eva?” I asked.

  “I am fine, Chris. Thank you.”

  “So, uh… last time you said you were created just to run the stores, right?” I continued, trying to keep things conversational.

  “That is correct. I am here and at all tutorial points as an attendant for you.”

  I nodded, picking out some trick arrows that might come in useful. I was starting to feel like Hawkeye. I also grabbed a few invisibility potions and a spellbook called [Guidance].

  [Guidance: When cast on a projectile, you can choose a designated target within your map range. Cost: 50 Mana.]

  I read it immediately after paying for it. My mind wasn’t all there for a productive shopping trip. I picked up more odds and ends, including more cigarettes. At this point, I could probably open my own tobacconist shop.

  Eva stayed silent the entire time, only providing confirmations for the items I purchased. But there was something on my mind ever since the fight at Bird Paradise. I figured now was as good a time as any to test a theory.

  As I left the shop, I casually said, “Hey, by the way, thanks for activating the mass healing back at the bird boss fight. I appreciate it.”

  There wasn't any immediate response. I lingered in the doorway, half-expecting her not to reply, when her reply came through the still air, soft and uncertain.

  “You’re welcome, Chris…”

  My heart skipped a beat. I left the store immediately, stepping outside to light a cigarette.

  Motherfucker…

  It was her. She’d bailed us out when Siva was dying. How the hell did she even activate an inventory item? More importantly, why?

  My hands trembled as I smoked, suddenly aware of how much heavier the mechanical upgrade felt in my inventory.