Mythos Of Narcissus: Reborn As An NPC In A Horror VRMMO

Dignity sways not with the breeze nor bends under the weight of the storm.

It stands resilient, a flame unyielding, defying the dark and unknown form.

With dignity, one carves their name in the fleeting sand of existence,

For what is life without pride, purpose, and persistence?

"I didn't know that you have a penchant for poems, Narcissus," Kuzunoha slyly commented.

"More like they just pop out of my mind whenever I go into daze."

"I'm lucky that you're currently carrying a note with you then."

"Because you can see what poem I created?"

"They are a quint spectacle, enough to make me admire you more~"

"You almost beat my number one flirter with that flattery."

A soft hum of activity filled the room, blending with the occasional crackle of the magical artifact at the center—a massive gameboard that stretched three meters square, glowing faintly with its own arcane energy.

Charis sat on one side of the board, her expression one of pure focus and intensity. Across from her, Verina wore her trademark poker face, unmoving yet clearly engrossed.

Meanwhile, poor Lupina—resting on a cushioned platform with her head propped up—looked utterly baffled, her golden eyes darting from one animated piece to another as if they were some cryptic alien language. Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

At this moment, they were playing Krass.

A psychic game that seemed to distill the chaos of war into a tangible, magical battlefield—one of the relics within Kuzunoha's seemingly endless collection.

It was a fascinating artifact to watch, though I have diminishing interest in playing it.

"Uuuuh…"

"Charis, did you just try to convert one of my key pieces… and fail?" Verina said with a casual tone. "Revealing your supply chain, and that one hidden battalion you're trying best to hide from the start, one that you haven't been commanded for quite a while because I barely let my pieces to step into that land?"

"Why didn't you go there!? My trap is perfect!" Charis cried.

"Because it's obvious," Verina dryly, and mockingly chuckled. "You kept looking in that direction every few minutes."

Charis then suddenly went stoic. Her face suddenly turned into that of an unwavering warrior. "Ah, so that's the mistake I'm making."

"Pfft! What kind of face is that!? Hahahaha!!?" Lupina cried to her stomach, even though she didn't even have one.

Unlike chess, which relied on static pieces and limited moves, Krass unfolded on an open playing field alive with energy and possibility. Resources sprouted across its glowing surface, advantage points shimmered like mirages, and each player's key figures—manifested with distinct traits and personalities—moved with uncanny realism.

The rules were labyrinthine, even by my standards. Players could issue orders to their pieces in turns, but the extent of their commands depended on their available resources, the morale of their units, and an ever-shifting array of conditions unique to the board. It was, in essence, war condensed into a vivid, psychic spectacle.

To my mild amusement, both Verina and Charis had taken to it remarkably well, picking up its intricacies with unsettling ease. Their strategies were sharp, their moves deliberate, and their command over the field undeniable.

And then there was Lupina, who stared at the game with the same expression one might reserve for a particularly confounding riddle.

"I'm going to be honest, I still don't know what is going," she finally asked, her tone a mixture of awe and despair, although her lips curved into a forced smile. "How do you even—how do you know where to go? What are they doing? Why are they glowing?!"

I suppressed a chuckle, exchanging a glance with Kuzunoha, who was reclining nearby with an air of detached amusement. "Poor Lupina," She murmured, allowing just enough pity to color her tone. "The world of strategy is truly a harsh one for the uninitiated~"

"She doesn't even know what chess is," I added.

"I can hear you, you know!" Lupina huffed, her braid bouncing indignantly as she turned her head.

"Yes, dear, I know," I replied, allowing my voice to drip with exaggerated affection.

"Speaking of chess. Do you happen to have a liking for it?" Kuzunoha asked.

"Not entirely. I prefer the less-constrained and more flexible method of games."

"Why don't you try clashing in Krass after this one~?" Kuzunoha extended her invitation.

"You will definitely beat the hell out of me."

"Retreating before the battle? That's so uncharacteristic of you~"

"That is called, knowing if the battle you fight is winnable or not."

Despite the humor, my attention drifted back to Charis. Bright, intelligent Charis. Though she carried my face and mannerisms, the depth of her natural brilliance was uniquely her own—a perfect blend of Eve's wisdom and resilience, paired with my flair for precision and purpose.

It was no wonder she excelled at this game—despite the obvious glaring mistake at the earlier part of the game. Even as she maneuvered her pieces across the glowing board, there was an air of effortless control about her.

I noticed the faint distortion around her—a reality-disturbing field she unconsciously emitted, warping the immediate environment to suit her needs.

Not to mention the floating shadowy hands hovering behind her. A faint shimmer danced along their edges as they moved with precision, tapping into the same reality-altering power that once defined Eve.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Only Kuzunoha and I noticed, but each shadow hand was capable of nullifying unwanted influences within Charis's sphere of presence, as if declaring dominion over her surroundings.

And yet, for all her natural talent and presence, she was still learning. Watching her play was like watching a diamond being polished—each move adding clarity and refinement to her innate brilliance.

Verina, on the other hand, was already a force to be reckoned with.

Where once she stood as a steadfast yet comparatively remarkable ally, she had since become an unstoppable whirlwind of progress into something unimaginable.

While there was a notable improvement on everyone within the last five Carcosan days inside this mansion, the bastioneers were not the only one who had gone through an intense training routine.

Verina was the one who possessed the most growth out of all of us by a large margin, if we take a lot at the measured amount.

She even passed me in terms of growth, even though I had become a demigod and all.

Her ohrtending magic, once reliant on her Kilnalan heritage, now flowed seamlessly with arcane sorcery—an art Kuzunoha had imparted to her in their sessions.

Together with all of the knowledge available within the mansion's library, she had developed a conceptual innovation that she had devised within her own conceptual vessel—a feat that elevated her control over heat to absurd levels.

And when I meant absurd, I genuinely meant it.

Her raw power at learning and improving her own craft had pushed the heat-forming ability of her natural heat-manipulating sense into an ascended level by turning the whole concept of heat into a usable and interactable constant that can only be accessed by her.

This power was dubbed as the Furnace, and it was intractable by anyone but her.

"Ah, she did the thing," Kuzunoha excitedly pointed out.

"She did the thing, alright."

This Furnace allowed Verina to apply the concept of heat into anything imaginable.

It wasn't just fire or warmth she wielded; it was the very concept of heat itself, applied in ways few could have imagined.

The heat of motivation, heat of pressure, heat of intensity—all of it could be manifested and manipulated through her Furnace.

And now, in this game of Krass, she applied it with lethal utility. Her key figures moved like clockwork, each infused with the conceptual heat of battle motivation, allowing her to command them three times as often as the game's normal rules allowed.

"Is that even fair?" Charis asked, narrowing her white eyes as she observed Verina's moves. "That's like, breaking the rules, no?"

Verina's lips quirked into the faintest suggestion of a smirk. "The board has anti-cheat measures," she replied, her tone calm yet smug. "If it hasn't stopped me, then it's not cheating."

Charis frowned, her shadow hands twitching faintly. "Fine," she muttered, clearly dissatisfied but unable to counter the logic.

A few turns later, however, Charis made her own attempt at bending the rules—a decision she would come to regret. The anti-cheat measure activated almost immediately, halving her resources intake for the next five turns.

Kuzunoha burst into laughter, her voice ringing out like chimes. "Oh, Charis, you poor, sweet child," she teased, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye.

"Not fair!" Charis pouted, crossing her arms as her shadow hands folded in protest behind her. "Why am I the one punished for cheating when Verina does it first!?"

"The world is not kind, Charis," Verina shrugged, though her mocking deadpan face was still locked onto the opposing player. "I'm just simply better at bypassing the system. If you want to cheat like me, make sure that nobody knows it."

"In this case, everyone knows that you're cheating," Lupina chuckled.

"Charis, try moving your third battalion to the far east," I pointed out.

"Ah! There is a hidden outpost there!" Charis chimed with excitement.

"Narcissus, my dear, my beloved," Verina dramatically said. "That's cheating."

"But does the anti-cheat measure activate?" I smirked.

"You're against the opponent's dad now," Lupina bursted into laughter.

"You have done goof now, Verina," Kuzunoha mockingly added.

And with that, Verina sighed as she accepted her fate. "The world is not kind."