Chapter 100: Dylak’s Revenge (Part 16) Stockholm Syndrome

++”Seriously! All these luxuries are halting our progress! Instead of paying rent for this freaking place, we could buy better gear for our priestesses!”

++”You’re thinking about the needs of the few instead of the many! This place is awesome! We have plenty of space, we can rest, we can hang out! A happy guilder is a happy adventurer!”

++”But after all these failed raid attempts, do you think our guild is happy?! We need to address why we are dying so much! Soon, we won’t have the gold to pay for the next rent, you idiot!”

++”Don’t worry, I paid six months in advance.”

++”YOU WHAT?! We could have bought silver-tier staves for the priestess and some of the witches!”

++”That again?! Just because you’re in charge of the mages doesn’t mean that you can ignore the rest of the guild’s problems, you know?! My warriors have been starving for a new weapon for weeks!”

++”Y-y-you could have solved that issue by buying what they needed instead of paying that rent”

++”Because I’ve already told you that paying for weapons in a game that gives them for free is stupid!”

++”Only bosses drop rewards! And at this rate, we’ll end up gearing all of our members in like a year! You’re obsessed with the luck aspect of this game, instead of making steady progress!”

++”That’s because we should have fun! Nothing beats the feeling of getting a super awesome rare weapon from a boss as if it were a pi?ata! You can’t get that awesomeness from the stupid NPC weaponsmith!”

++”We’ve come full circle! Listen to me, we’re not well equipped to take on raid bosses! Your terrible leadership will be the downfall of this guild!”

++”How dare you say when you’ve proven, time and time again, that you suck at fighting?!”

++”A-and you should admit that the only reason you don’t accept men in our guild, it’s because you’re fulfilling some kind of lesbian wet dream!”

++”At least I like actual human beings! Unlike you and your boyfriend NPC from that disgusting bar!”

++”How did you…?”

++”Afraid that a real-life man will dump you, huh?”

++”Y-you know what?! I QUIT! Good luck with your stupid guild!”

++”Fine! Go ahead and leave! I bet I won’t notice the absence of your glorified fireworks that you call spells!”

**If Emily tried to speak to me the following day, I will never know. I left Iregorn that night and returned to the Eurola’s beginners area, where I could find some solace. People there did not exceed level 30, which made me believe it was full of people like me. Losers and cowards.**

**I wanted nothing more than to be a big fish in a small pond. That way, no one would mess with me. They would judge me as a failed guilder, yes, but at least they would do it behind my back.**

**That was fine for the next year and a half…**

* * *

**

*

“Clara Dominguez, wake up. I have a favor to ask you.”

“Please, no, I need five more minutes…”

“Your friends have eliminated all the dungeon bosses. Only Count Dylak remains. When the time comes, this place will restart again, and I may not be able to speak with you again. So, pretty please?”

“Restart?” Clara whispered, noticing she was lying on the floor of a poorly lit room. Behind metal bars was a young woman looking down at her. Her platinum hair made her look like a ghostly apparition.

**But why would a ghost dress as a maid? Wait…**

Clara stopped squinting and let out a cry. Crawling as far as possible, she looked back, terrified at who seemed to be a past, dangerous enemy.

**S-S-Serenity?! That gal that completely destroyed Unus Town?! What is she doing here?!**

“Clara, I would like to trade with you,” the teen girl spoke softly. “You’re coming from the world outside of the Beginner’s Area, so you surely have some clothes to spare. Could you give them to me? In return, I’ll give you something of your choice from the dungeon’s loot pool.”

“Clothes?” Clara frowned, leaning forward.

**If she is keeping me here captive, I suppose she won’t kill me in the meantime, right?**

With that thought in mind, she got closer to examine her face. **It’s not Serenity. But something tells me I’ve seen her before.**

Clara concentrated on the few details at her disposition: The long, white ponytail, the apparent age of the girl, and the lack of a name above her head.

“Confused?” the girl asked, half smiling. “We talked and drank tea together an hour ago. Remember?”

“But…” Clara shook her head slightly. “Why do you look older?”

“That’s easy. I took Housemaid Eliza’s avatar for myself.”

“You took over one of your nakamas’ bodies? That’s not cool. Unless you find it erotic, and it’s totally consensual, I won’t judge.”

“Consensual, no, but it was necessary,” the young girl replied, while undoing her long ponytail. “I needed a more mature female body. There are only two at my disposal from the bosses’ list, so I ended up picking the one with the longer hair.”

Although only a torch outside of the cell illuminated the place, Clara could examine the features of the resulting amalgamation in front of her. A 5 feet and 1 inches tall, eighteen-year-old teen. With a heart-shaped face and silver eyes. Eliza’s violet-colored hair was now platinum white, reminiscent of Serenity’s.

**When the Little Lady used to smile, she looked gentle and playful, but this time… it creeps me out.**

“W-what were you saying about clothes?” Clara asked.

“I want to get rid of this maid outfit,” the teen said, picking the helm of her skirt. “After all, I’m not Eliza.”

**Who is this girl that can change ‘bodies’ on a whim?**

“Oh, I get what you mean! A long time ago, when I took on a long vacation, I changed my hairstyle. It didn’t feel right to look the same anymore.”

“Didn’t feel right…” the teen repeated, tilting her head. “That’s exactly what I’m experiencing right now! It doesn’t feel right to use Eliza’s clothes since I’m not her!”

**This conversation is freaking me out.**

“Y-yes, exactly! You don’t mind wearing used clothes?” Clara asked, opening her User Interface.

“It’s okay! As long as it’s something from the outside world,” the teen said, beaming.

**She’s creepy, but adorable at the same time! Is this what Stockholm Syndrome feels like?**

“Alright… Let me see…” Clara opened a system window, expanded it, and tapped the ‘shared visibility’ icon. “Let me show you some of my selfies. This way it’ll be easier for you to choose the clothes you like. What about these cute overalls? Good to combat the heat–”

“No,” the girl quickly replied emotionlessly.

“O-okay, then… Aren’t these leggins fabulous? It makes my butt look–”

“No.”

“My Fabio loves when I wear this shirt!”

“No.”

“What were you giving me in exchange again?”

“Whatever you choose from this dungeon’s loot pool.”

“So bronze-tier artifacts, huh…” Clara muttered, swiping picture after picture, until landing on one where she wore a pink skintight suit.

“What is that?” the teen asked.

“T-that’s my official Miss Cosmica’s racing suit.”

“Can I have it? It would help me line these new curves perfe–”

“N-no way! I commend you for having good taste, but this is important to me! It’s a limited edition suit I won from a raffle! You have no idea how many tears of joy flew that day.”

The teen remained silent, staring at Clara.

**She’s not grimacing, but I can feel murderous intent!**

“Can I be the one looking at the photos, then?” the teen asked calmly.

“Sure,” Clara replied, pushing the window towards her. **Come on, Clara, use this opportunity.** She cleared her throat. “So… What’s your job here, anyway?”

“I’m this Dungeon’s Director,” the girl replied, without taking her eyes off the screen. Tapping the pictures.

“By ‘director’, you mean…?”

“That’s self-explanatory.”

**Nope, I don’t get it.**

“You have control over the dungeon? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes.”

**So… Like a Novus’ Ai assistant?**

“So what? You weren’t comfortable in your original child’s body and swapped bodies with a Duplicate? Won’t your new body disappear if Eliza is defeated?”

“This is not a ‘duplicate’ of Eliza. In order for the transfer to work, I had to use her original files. I overwrote my data over hers… How about this outfit?” She pointed at the screen. “Can you trade it with me?”

**Out of my entire wardrobe, you had to choose that one?**

Clara pursed her lips and searched for them in her Inventory. **I’m not Unus Town’s mayor anymore, and I don’t have any attachment to them, so…**

“Sure, you can have them.”

Clara pulled out a pencil skirt, a blazer, a white shirt, a pair of pantyhose, and black, heeled office shoes.

**Even though clothes get automatically clean on a daily basis, it would feel wrong to tell her I used this outfit regularly… And I said ‘regularly’, because, although these were my formal clothes, people rarely visited the Townhall.**

While watching the girl change clothes, Clara recalled the moment Alan Warden stepped inside the Townhall, looking to register a new guild.

“Are you okay with your dungeon missing a boss?”

“It’s okay.” The girl shrugged. “I can make additional copies of Eliora. Individually, The Housemaids were the weakest out of the repertoire anyway, and their ‘Teamwork’ gimmick became obsolete as soon as I could copy Count Dylak indefinitely.” The teen then grinned and twirled. “How do I look?”

Clara half-smiled. “It really suits you. You look like a real ‘director’ now.”

**Unlike me. No matter what I wore, I always looked like a shut-in…**

The teen giggled, acting like a little lady again for a moment. “As I promised, choose something from this list.”

She made a System Window appear by waving her hand, but Clara absently tapped on it, selecting something randomly.

“But, if you overwrote your data over the original Eliza, doesn’t that mean that you technically killed her? Wasn’t she one of your own? A NU?”

Clara’s eyes suddenly widened.

**Wait… What did I do?!**

She glanced back at the loot window, disappearing.

**A bronze-tier artifact? CRAP! I messed it up! I should have selected something good for Alan!**

She then turned her gaze towards the girl, who had remained silent. The Director snapped her fingers, and someone came out of the shadows.

**Oh, mierda!**

Clara retreated to a corner at the sight of a Count Dylak coming forward. The Duplicate barely glanced at her, for he was busy bending the cell’s metal bars so that the girl could enter.

The Director then strolled towards Clara and sat on the bed, hands intertwined in her lap. Even though she was wearing a different ‘body’, her lady-like persona was still engraved in her programming.

“Tell me, Clara, are you familiar with the Novus’ lore?” she asked, smiling.

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