Chapter 18: Everyone as NPC

"Hhmmm... I feel so much better," Nio murmurs, stretching herself out completely, her tail whipping through the air as her wings spread wide. Stelaria, who doesn’t see the wings or the tail, simply watches Nio.

"Now that you’ve finally woken up, there are several things I need to make clear... Nio, I hope you listen carefully." Stelaria tries to take the reins, to have at least some control, no matter how minimal.

"Of course, I’m perfectly willing to listen," Nio says, a little more animated now that she’s awake. Besides, her mind is racing at full speed, thinking about all sorts of interesting things for the future.

She realized something while she was asleep and woke up being cared for by Stelaria. What she realized is that humans, soldiers from all kingdoms, and even her own NPCs can all be treated as pawns.

While Nio used to see them as living beings, she had tried not to dwell too much on the variables of everything being real. But after waking up, she thought it through carefully, and nothing forces her to see people as people.

Treating everyone like NPCs simply makes the world feel like a game, which puts Nio extremely at ease, to the point where, for her dragon brain, it felt like shedding an intense mental burden.

’Stelaria, in this case, is my guide and support NPC! A useful NPC to keep by my side, but to sacrifice if necessary! And all the soldiers in Stelaria’s service are base defense troops! While the Theocracy is the base!’ Nio nearly ignores the first things Stelaria says until she refocuses on her.

"So, Nio, I want you to understand, I am the one in command. As a saint, you hold half of the Theocracy’s authority, but for bureaucratic and logical reasons... obviously, I command everything! You have no decision-making power."

"It would be absurd to let an unknown person, even a saint, dictate anything. You will be privy to our important affairs, it’s your right, but your voting power is null, and everything still has to go through me and receive my approval, understood?"

"Oh yes, of course, you’re the boss."

’She really does sound like an NPC talking... reminds me of the tutorial guide from level 1-5. She was really annoying...’ Nio listens attentively, but she doesn’t deny that Stelaria sounds annoying when she talks.

"Good, as long as you understand. Now that we’ve established who’s in charge of everything, you’re going to need a lot of studying! You’re not yet aligned with our political or religious vision! What kind of saint doesn’t follow the ideology of the country she’s going to live in? That doesn’t exist! So—"

"You’re going to teach me, aren’t you? I want to learn. Politics seems interesting. And the other kingdoms? There’s a war going on, isn’t there? What’s the reason? If so, will the Theocracy, as a kingdom focused 100% on a religious logic, get involved?" Nio’s practical questions catch Stelaria off guard, because they are exactly the right questions.

"W-Well... yes, I will teach you... since I am the only current saint, and another saint must be taught by a saint, and if no saint is available, by the person of the highest religious office..."

"As for the other kingdoms, it’s nothing unusual. Wars move tons of money, and economically, we profit greatly by selling healing potions to both sides." When Nio hears about healing potions, her expression turns cold.

Her body violently contracts its muscles for an instant, because in the game, the highest level of healing potion was made from dragon blood. An advantage of having the dragon race was being able to drain a certain amount of your own blood daily to make high-level potions. Nio, as a dragon, does not like that possibility.

"How good is the healing?"

"Well... general wounds? And some fatal wounds, depending on the level. Our strongest potions can even heal a lost arm!!" Stelaria looks proud of what she says, and this calms Nio down.

’Only that? In the game, it was said that if you poured a dragon blood potion on someone decapitated within 10 seconds of the decapitation, the person would stay alive and be healed... even if it was just the description, the Lore is real now, so it must have that effect.’

"I see. That sounds impressive! High-level healing magic is really rare, especially the high-level kind. Holy is a beautiful element; I like it. I think we’ll get along very well." Nio’s words make Stelaria’s heart beat faster for a few seconds.

"Holy is, in fact, the best element," she says, all pompous, while Nio rolls her eyes.

’I said beautiful, not the best. I prefer the powerful elemental magics that apply concrete effects...’ To Nio, holy magic was only useful for giving buffs and healing herself, which is why she learned it, nothing more than that.

"So, Nio, to answer your questions, the war affects us. It affects our economy and the economy of other countries! Even more so because adventurers pay extra to be healed by priests."

"Adventurers? What’s that?" Nio tries to find out if it’s the same type of adventurer from the game.

"They’re people who kill monsters, take jobs, and are paid for monster parts. But they’re more like stupid mercenaries who risk their lives for scraps. Only a tiny fraction is recognized and acclaimed as powerful."

"The rest are just disposable trash trying to survive on whatever leftovers they can find. Honestly, it’s pathetic. I detest those filthy creatures; they’re like little pests. But we can’t get rid of them because the ’Guild’ is considered a profitable organization."

"After all, they pay good taxes and—"

"Bribes." When Nio says that word, Stelaria realizes she’s not as innocent as she seems.

"...Bribe is an ugly word. I prefer you say ’donations’ to our faith. They donate generous sums to actively maintain branches in the Theocracy."

"In exchange, they don’t meddle in our affairs, and we don’t meddle in theirs."

’What a curious approach. In the game, there was no unified Guild, just guilds made up of specific players and NPCs...’ Nio is curious about this, but as a solo player, the interest dies in seconds.

"Who’s the strongest in the world?" Nio’s question leaves Stelaria confused.

"I don’t know. There are many strong people. Right here in the Theocracy... there are a few. But if we’re talking about the strongest being in the world, it’s probably a monster. After all, humans have limits; time is a powerful enemy."

"Are there level 100 monsters?"

"...Yes, they are living calamities. In the past, 500 years ago, there was apparently the [Plague Holder], a beast with a fly’s head that was level 100 and had the power to spread terrible diseases around it. It was slain by one of our gods."

’Plague Holder... fly’s head... is she talking about an Infernal Guard that watched over the underworld gates in the game?... It was a difficult boss, but only because it had 100 different damage debuffs it applied almost simultaneously... overall, it had weak defense and almost no HP, to the point of dying to level 70 players... and with hardcore strategies, it was even possible to beat at level 50.’ Nio is disappointed.

Because the being Stelaria seems to treat as absurd didn’t even come close to the endgame bosses. Of course, that specific boss is a special case; its low defense and HP are what allow it to be defeated by someone 50 levels below, but other bosses don’t have that many limitations.

’If even the bosses are around that range, I think this world as a whole is inferior to the game... I assume it’s because everyone is alive and values their own lives...’

"Thank you for the answer. That’s amazing; our gods are heroes," Nio praises the story so Stelaria feels satisfied.

"Yes, and you will love learning about them."

"Without a doubt, I will."

’Information is always good.’