Chapter 862

【 MEMORIAL NPC 】

“Obituary—”

“We mourn with profound sorrow the passing of Mr. Boxlunch, the top player on the combat leaderboard rankings, who passed away due to illness on ××/××/20××.”

“Mr. Boxlunch was one of the 300 players who participated in the first closed beta test of 《Elven Kingdom》. Since the game’s launch, he had remained the record holder for both combat leaderboard and personal influence in 《Elven Kingdom》, playing an irreplaceable role in advancing the game’s storyline.”

“So to commemorate him, and in accordance with Mr. Boxlunch’s wishes during his lifetime, the developers of 《Elven Kingdom》 has decided, after discussion, to preserve Mr. Boxlunch’s original game character and convert it into a memorial NPC within the game.”

“This announcement is hereby issued…”

When the players logged into the game as usual, every one of their game interfaces was flooded with a system message like this.

The futuristic-looking system window had even turned gray, while messages from one player after another expressing their condolences for Boxlunch continuously flashed across the Global Public Channel.

“Boxlunch died?!”

Little Salty Cat, who had still been groggy with sleep, instantly became wide awake. She hurriedly opened her friends list, only to discover that indeed, Boxlunch’s username could no longer be found.

Not only that, the username that had occupied the top position on the game’s combat rankings for so long had also disappeared…

“What happened? I remember he was perfectly fine… How could he have died? This can’t be some joke by the dev team, can it?!”

Little Salty Cat still could not bring herself to believe it, until she encountered Calabash and the others in Chosen City, their faces filled with grief.

“Boss Cat, it’s true… The captain… he really died.”

“We just contacted the captain’s caregiver offline and received confirmation. The captain really did pass away, and his remains were cremated yesterday…”

Calabash spoke sorrowfully.

Little Salty Cat fell silent.

“What… What illness did he have? Why didn’t he ever tell us? What about his family?”

She could not help asking.

“The captain had no family.”

Optimist choked back his tears as he said:

“We didn’t learn about the captain’s identity in the real world until he passed away. He was a retired narcotics officer, and he had been an orphan since childhood.”

“He suffered serious injuries during one of his operations. According to the hospital, the cause of death was various complications resulting from those injuries…”

“However, his final days were happy. We were always there with him in the game. If there really is an afterlife, I think… the captain must have been really happy to be reincarnated into the game world he deeply loved…”

After hearing what Boxlunch’s friends had to say, Little Salty Cat finally accepted this difficult-to-believe reality.

He was dead.

Boxlunch was actually dead!

Although they had only been friends within a game, this was the first time someone she considered a friend had left this world forever.

For a moment, intense sorrow surged through her heart, and scene after scene of working alongside that taciturn “number one player” appeared in Little Salty Cat’s mind.

After a long while, she finally let out a long sigh and patted the others on the shoulders.

“My condolences…”

The members of Boxlunch’s team looked downcast and quietly nodded.

“I saw the system announcement… It seems the devs created a memorial character for Boxlunch? Where is it now?”

Little Salty Cat asked again.

“He’s with Nightingale.”

Chopin said sorrowfully.

He wiped the corner of his eye and sighed.

“The captain’s memorial character is already in Chosen City. It still retains his combat stats from when he fought alongside us, but… but it’s already an NPC now.”

By the end, he was already sobbing uncontrollably.

Little Salty Cat felt a deep ache in her heart as well.

She sighed softly and said:

“Okay, let’s… go pay our respects.”

༺⟐༻

Elven Forest, Chosen City.

There seemed to be considerably more players than usual in the city today.

In the northern district, an area where many elven NPCs lived, one elaborately equipped player after another could be seen poking their heads out and peering toward a certain beautiful estate.

In fact, many Rogue players who had learned thievery skills were familiar with the estate as it belonged to the famous Rogue NPC Nightingale.

On ordinary days, quite a few new players would come here to visit her and learn skills such as lockpicking and other thief skills. However, most of the players who had come here today were not newcomers.

They peered toward the estate as though searching for something…

Li Mu, Demacia, Fried Tomato, Transformer Ji Gang, and several other famous big-name players were among them. Before long, Little Salty Cat also arrived with Calabash and the others.

They exchanged brief greetings with Li Mu and the others, after which the atmosphere became somewhat somber and silent.

After a while, Li Mu, who was standing at the front, finally let out a soft sigh.

“I heard… Boxlunch’s memorial character was given the identity of an amnesiac reincarnator. From the NPCs’ perspective, Box has reincarnated from a Chosen One into an elf.”

“Okay guys, when you see his memorial character later, try to keep your emotions under control. If Boxlunch’s spirit is watching over us, I think he wouldn’t want to see everyone this sad…”

Optimist sniffed and nodded.

“Yes. The captain really loved this game. He once said that his greatest wish was to become an NPC here in his next life. We even made fun of him for a long time because of that…”

“But now, he finally got his wish… He really did became an NPC here in ElvKing. He finally fulfilled his wish…”

“Ah…”

The players who had come to pay their respects all let out long sighs.

Just then, the estate’s gate opened.

༺⟐༻

After an unknown amount of time, Boxlunch awoke from his slumber.

What first came into his view was no longer his familiar villa, but another room that was equally familiar, though he had always deliberately tried to limit how often he came here.

This was… Nightingale’s small estate.

“Boxlunch… you’re finally awake!”

Before Boxlunch could fully clear his head, a beautiful figure threw herself into his arms. Her voice was filled with joy and excitement, yet still carried a trace of tears that had not completely faded.

It was Nightingale.

When she threw herself into his arms, Boxlunch instinctively tried to push her away.

But in the next moment, memories surged into his mind like a flood, and he suddenly stopped.

Death…

The Goddess’s blessing…

The sealing of his memories…

Reincarnation…

Scene after scene of what he had experienced in the Goddess’ Divine Kingdom before awakening surfaced in his mind.

Boxlunch’s lips parted slightly, and his eyes suddenly widened.

The system interface in his field of vision had disappeared. The chirping of birds outside the window and the fragments of sunlight streaming into the room felt so real and warm. Combined with the petite, soft body of the girl in his arms, he finally realized that he… had indeed, actually been reincarnated in the world of Seiguës.

On the other hand, his memories of Earth seemed to have been covered by a layer of darkness, and he could no longer recall even the slightest detail of his life back there. However, Boxlunch, who retained his memories of meeting the Goddess knew that this had been his own choice at the very end.

He had sealed away his memories of Earth and been reborn into the world of Seiguës as the elven NPC Boxlunch.

This world was not merely a game.

Nightingale was not merely a string of data, and he himself had now become a true elf, an amnesiac reincarnator.

He really had died.

But now, he had been reborn, as a reincarnator and as an NPC!

He no longer had any psychological burden as he could now live forever here in the beautiful world of Seiguës, and he could finally become a genuine local elf!

Praise the Goddess!

Now… he sincerely wanted to offer the most devout praise to the great Goddess of Life!

With that thought, Boxlunch could not help looking at the elven girl who had thrown herself into his arms, tears glistening in her eyes.

His gaze held a tenderness he had never shown before.

This time, he did not push her away. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Nightingale and gently lifted her up.

His voice was incredibly gentle.

“Don’t cry…”

“Nightingale… I’m here. I came from another world.”

“This time, I won’t leave again.”

Upon hearing Boxlunch’s words, Nightingale’s body trembled slightly.

The next moment, she buried herself in Boxlunch’s arms and burst into tears.

This time, however, her tears were no longer those of sorrow, but of joy.

Only after a while did Nightingale struggle out of Boxlunch’s arms and stand up. Her eyes were red, her cheeks were red, and even her pointed ears were tinged with an enchanting blush.

Looking at her adorable and captivating appearance, Boxlunch’s heart stirred.

And it was only then that he realized…

Gulp…

At that instant, Boxlunch’s expression stiffened, and his entire body became rigid.

“W-What’s wrong? Are you still feeling unwell?”

Nightingale asked worriedly.

When Her Excellency Feynir, the Fairy King and Divine Envoy of the Goddess, brought Boxlunch over, she had already learned what had happened to him. However… seeing Boxlunch suddenly stiffen, Nightingale could not help becoming anxious again.

“N-Nothing…”

Boxlunch shook his head.

His expression was strange as he let out a long sigh.

“Now I’m certain. I really have reincarnated into a true elf.”

Nightingale: ?

A strange atmosphere began to spread through the room, and the two fell into an awkward silence.

After a while, the noisy commotion outside the window caught their attention.

Boxlunch looked over and discovered that a large number of players had gathered outside the estate at some point.

Quite a few of them were even people he personally knew.

“What the…”

Boxlunch was stunned.

“They’re probably here to see you… Apparently, every Chosen One has been notified of your passing and revealed that you have reincarnated as an NPC.”

Nightingale explained.

Every player knew that he died?

And was reincarnated?

Boxlunch was somewhat surprised.

He looked outside the window at the players peering toward the estate. For some reason, he felt that almost all of them wore gloomy expressions, as though they were grieving the loss of someone.

Boxlunch quickly understood why.

According to what the Fairy King Feynir had told him, he had reincarnated into the world of Seiguës under the identity of a memorial character. From the players’ perspective, this meant that he really had died on Earth and the ‘NPC’ standing before them now was merely a mass of “data.”

After all, the players did not know that the world of Seiguës was real.

Thinking of this, Boxlunch also wanted to see everyone.

Feynir had not required him to keep the truth about the world of Seiguës secret, so… if possible, he also wanted to explain his situation to everyone.

After all, he did not want to see everyone so sad.

But then that raised another issue…

Since he had already died, and he no longer possessed any of his memories of Earth. Knowing the truth about Seiguës seemed harmless enough, but if the other players learned this truth then… could it lead to unforeseen consequences?

With that thought, Boxlunch hesitated again.

And while he was still hesitating, he had already walked out of the estate and arrived before the people outside.

“Its here! The memorial character of Boxlunch!”

“It really is Boss Boxlunch…”

“His appearance hasn’t changed at all! It still looks exactly the same!”

“But he’s an NPC now…”

“Well yeah, it is a memorial character after all.”

“Ah, I never thought someone that incredible would leave us just like that…”

“Yeah, it happened so suddenly… Rest in peace, Boxlunch!”

“May you find peace on your journey on the afterlife, Boss Box!”

“Waaah… May you attain peace and no longer suffer in Heaven, Captain…”

As Boxlunch approached them, voices and sighs of grief rose and fell among the players.

Boxlunch: “…”

Damn it.

He really wanted to beat up these irritating idiots.

He wasn’t dead yet!

Wait—No.

He was already dead.

He had simply come back to life here in the world of Seiguës.

Taking a deep breath, Boxlunch suppressed the urge to make certain sarcastic remarks.

Perhaps because of his reincarnation, he found that he seemed to have far more inner thoughts than before…

Or perhaps it was because his memories of Earth had been sealed? Hmm… Although he could no longer remember anything about his previous life, he was certain that he was still himself.

After thinking for a moment, Boxlunch decided to greet his teammates first.

“Everyone, I—”

He began.

However, before he could finish, Calabash, whose eyes were already red, interrupted him.

“—I know, Captain. You’ve already reincarnated as an NPC. You’re an elf now.”

“Waaah… Captain, you have to take good care of yourself…”

IamInvincible was crying like a child.

“Captain, you still have a long road ahead of you. From now on, just live well with Sister-in-law Nightingale! When we have the time, we’ll come and pay our respec—No, we’ll come visit you.”

Chopin said through a face covered in tears and snot.

Boxlunch: “…”

Did you guys just say “pay our respects”?!

You definitely said “pay our respects,” didn’t you?!

He took several deep breaths before finally calming himself down.

“I really did die, but I was reincarnated.”

Boxlunch still could not stop himself from saying what was on his mind.

However, instead of the shock he had expected this statement to cause among his companions, Calabash and the others only reddened further around the eyes.

They nodded repeatedly and said sorrowfully, forcing smiles onto their faces.

“Yeah, we understand. We truly understand, Captain. You finally got your wish and reincarnated as an elf.”

“Congratulations, Captain… Waaah…”

Boxlunch: “…”

He had a feeling that what he meant and what they understood might be two entirely different things…

Letting out a soft breath, Boxlunch gritted his teeth.

“I really am me! I’m not merely an NPC! I’m a reincarnator!”

“We understand. We all understand… You’ve simply gone to another world. But no worries, you’ll always be our captain!”

“Captain… Waaaah…”

Optimist finally could not hold himself together and ran off to cry somewhere else.

Boxlunch: “…”

In the end, all he could do was roll his eyes and give up on explaining before letting out an exhausted breath.

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