Chapter 4: First NPC

"..." Nio, after flying around the base for a while, returned to the throne room, confirming her theory that her palace walls would regenerate automatically. However, unlike when she left the throne room and it was empty, this time someone was there.

Nio, having passed through her palace window, stared at the girl who stood waiting for her to arrive.

"Azalea..." Nio murmured the name of the person before her, Apostle of the Eighth Floor, the NPC stationed closest to the throne room, and naturally the first to come speak with Nio.

Azalea Nigredo is a beautiful woman with long black hair and eyes with equally black pupils. She has softly pale skin, large breasts, and a seductive physique. Black flowers and vines trace along her body and her dress, along with a crown of black roses on her head and black vines on her arms that connect to her gloves. She is almost always wearing a black dress.

Being of the [Corrupted Dryad] race, she is one of the NPCs Nio least wanted to see, as she is a complete psychopath with a love for poisons and dangerous drugs, a talented alchemist who, defying the "alchemists don’t fight" standard, is extremely strong.

"Nio, I came to report a few things I noticed... you seem... dirty. I’m sorry... let me rephrase. You look as if you’ve been struck by dust. You are divine even in this state, but if you need my help to clean yourself," Azalea offered, almost too eagerly.

’She wants to touch me, doesn’t she?’

Nio already knows that, in Azalea’s mind, all she wants is to touch her master’s body, and she’s using the dust as an excuse. Nio, well aware of Azalea’s horrible personality, simply shook her head.

"No need. Tell me what you came to report..." Nio kept staring at Azalea. In this simple exchange of glances, Nio, like a true veteran player, noticed several things. First was Azalea’s vivid gaze, which was a little unsettling.

In the game, Azalea was a beautiful NPC, but the facial expression system was relatively poor for NPCs and rich for players, so Azalea always had a cold face.

Now she has a face that is almost too smiling, too fake—a falseness that oozes from every micro-expression that surfaces on her features.

’Great... her loyalty seems questionable, just as I imagined... but if she came to report, it means they still recognize me as their master...’ Nio took a deep breath after thinking sarcastically about Azalea’s loyalty. There were no reasons for her NPCs to betray her, so she maintained a certain calm.

"I noticed that the palace stopped flying after that mass extinction event. I deduce that the [Lunar Jewel] was completely consumed to defend the palace, which resulted in the island’s fall," she explained something that made sense.

’It’s true... the [Lunar Jewel] was one of the game’s greatest energy sources. It could serve for defense in case of emergency, and it also makes sense that it was completely depleted to protect the palace...’

"Okay, Azalea, that’s really good... I mean, it’s a shame the jewel was spent, but what matters is that the base survived... do you know what the mass extinction event was?"

"I’m sorry to say, but I have no knowledge of that. Forgive my lack of... knowledge," Azalea didn’t take her eyes off Nio, making her feel uncomfortable.

’I’m not attracted to Azalea...’ Nio felt somewhat disappointed. She had already imagined this, but as a dragon she feels nothing for the same sex or the opposite sex.

It means that Azalea, even being beautiful, is not stimulating for Nio. Yet Nio is still glad to at least know that her body won’t be attracted to men either, or she would feel strange.

’Although... Azalea’s Racial power and Special power are problematic...’ Each Apostle possesses both a Racial and a Special power. Azalea’s powers in question are:

Special Power = By using magic, she can mold any material her hands touch, shaping its form, attributes, and capabilities, as well as fusing materials to generate new materials or recipes. It can be used both offensively and defensively.

Racial Power = Her entire body is capable of generating pheromones of various types. Anyone who smells or comes into contact with them is immediately affected, ignoring resistances or the target’s level, although none of the pheromones are directly lethal to the target.

’Corrupted Dryad... it’s a wicked and dark form of a Dryad. They are predators that attract and drug their prey to do whatever they want with them. In the game, it was a great support race, but I stupidly gave Azalea a terribly elaborate lore... I’ll have to be careful with anything she offers me to drink...’

"Azalea, for now, I don’t want to see anyone... I’m processing the destruction of the universe where I was born. I’d like no other Apostle to come to me. Tell them I will see them later... for now, I only want to speak with you..." Nio used an elaborate but convincing excuse to avoid having to see anyone.

"Perfect, Nio. Your orders will be carried out immediately," Azalea let her excitement slip for a fraction of a second before starting to use magic to communicate with the other Apostles.

’Power... I don’t know how to use my powers... if Azalea attacked me... I would lose, wouldn’t I? She is a level 100 NPC...’ Even if Azalea has no reason to, the loyalty of all the NPCs isn’t actually a guarantee.

Since it was a game, Nio never saw the need to add that they were loyal. At any moment, any NPC could decide to betray her.

"You’re staring at me as if I were a piece of meat. Do you want to lose your eyes?" Nio spoke almost as a reflex of her natural attitude toward Azalea, who was eyeing her body with a predatory hunger.

"...I’m sorry, Nio. I just think you’re adorable, but don’t worry, I’m not planning to touch. I don’t want to lose my hands... but whenever you want, I will be ready to be opened by you."

’Opened? Opened in what sense? She’s a plant...’ Nio tried not to think too much about it. After all, all her NPCs are of monster races, so a lot of what they say isn’t as literal as it sounds. Azalea is, as the name says, a "poisonous flower," toxic and dangerous.

"Since you’re so eager to help, please use your vines and search for anything alive around us... be my eyes for now and see if this new world has any threats..."

"Worried about something, Nio?"

’Worried...’ Nio swallowed hard. She couldn’t say she was worried. In her lore, she was literally what balanced the universe, the universe only existed because she was there, even if her power was the same as when she played rather than what the lore said.

Still, showing fear or hesitation in front of the monsters she created increased the chances of betrayal.

"Worried? I would never worry about such trifling things. It’s just that I don’t want to accidentally crush lesser beings. Mortals are unfortunately fragile, and I, despite being malevolent, prefer the peaceful neutrality of my life."

"...I will be your eyes, then. Thank you for the opportunity, Nio... and if you—"

"You talk too much," Nio cut the sentence before Azalea finished offering her something to drink or eat.

"..." Azalea half-narrowed her eyes for a moment before giving a gentle smile.

"I see you’re having a bad day. I understand, since the palace fell. Very well, we will see each other soon." Azalea began to leave while Nio hid a sigh of relief. After all, there was no way to even know if Azalea had already contaminated the air with her pheromones or not.

’This is insane. Why, of all people, did this lunatic who can brainwash others with her body scent have to be the one who came? What a curse!!!!’