Ren was still gasping for breath, each inhale heavy and unsteady. But he kept his grip firm on his sword, eyes locked onto Gareth.
The man before him wasn't in a hurry. He sheathed his sword, crossed his arms, and observed Ren as if considering something.
"You're better than I expected," Gareth said. It wasn't a compliment, just an objective statement.
Ren didn't respond. He was still frustrated at how quickly he had been defeated.
Gareth let out a quiet sigh. "But you still have too many shortcomings. Not because you're weak, but because you don't know how to fight properly."
Ren frowned. "I have fought. I've survived."
"Surviving doesn't mean knowing how to fight."
Gareth's words made Ren freeze.
The man took a step closer, his gaze darkening slightly. "Do you know the biggest difference between you and the others?"
Ren didn't answer immediately. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to hear the answer.
But Gareth didn't give him time to escape.
"You don't belong here."
Ren stiffened.
"You and those like you… you're just passing through." There was no hatred in Gareth's voice, no reproach, just a simple, undeniable truth.
"One day, you'll leave this place. Sooner or later, you'll step out into the wider world, going further than anyone in this town ever could."
Ren pressed his lips together. "I never said I would leave."
Gareth chuckled, but there was something complex in his laughter. "You don't need to say it. It's the nature of people like you."
Ren didn't know how to respond.
He had never thought that far ahead. Right now, he only wanted to grow stronger, to fill the emptiness inside with endless training.
But Gareth had seen through him.
"I've met many people like you...those who hunger for strength, those who can't stop moving forward." Gareth gazed at the darkening sky. "And I know that one day, you'll disappear from this place too."
A light breeze swept by, carrying the evening's chill.
Ren tightened his grip on his sword but said nothing.
He neither denied nor confirmed it.
Gareth watched him for a long moment before shaking his head slightly.
"But as long as you're still here, you should at least learn how to wield a sword properly."
Ren lifted his head, his eyes wavering.
Gareth smiled faintly. "Come with me. I'll show you what real swordsmanship looks like."
A strange feeling stirred in Ren's chest.
He didn't know why, but Gareth's words gave him a vague premonition, like the man before him had already seen his future.
Ren tightened his grip around his sword and spoke:
"Leave this place?" His voice was slow, uncertain. "You mean… climbing to higher floors?"
Gareth paused for a moment. His sharp eyes flickered over Ren's face, as if weighing something.
Those emerald-green eyes, calm yet unreadable.
Then he let out a quiet chuckle, one filled with something indefinable.
"You think 'leaving' only means reaching the next floor?"
Ren frowned. 'Isn't that right? This game has only one goal, to climb to the top of the tower and escape.' He thought to himself.
Gareth studied him for a long time, as if he had already predicted Ren's thoughts, then shook his head.
"That's how you people see this world," he said in a steady voice. "But not everyone looks at it that way."
Ren hesitated.
"Then… what about you?" He asked, unconsciously holding his breath.
Gareth didn't answer immediately. His gaze shifted toward the horizon, where the sun was setting.
"To me, 'leaving' doesn't mean climbing somewhere higher," he said slowly. "It means stepping beyond your own limits."
Ren furrowed his brows, an inexplicable feeling rising within him.
He didn't fully understand what Gareth meant. But in his voice… there was absolute certainty.
As if Gareth had seen many people come and go.
As if he had waited for something...but in the end, everyone left.
Ren unconsciously tightened his grip on his sword. That strange feeling inside him grew stronger.
"Stepping beyond my own limits…" he murmured, his voice lowering. "What do you mean?"
Gareth was silent for a moment. He kept his gaze fixed on the horizon, where the sky had turned deep orange, the last rays of sunlight fading away.
"You know, Ren?" he said slowly, his voice a little rough, as if reminiscing. "When I was younger, I thought just like you. I believed that if I climbed higher, if I reached further, I would find the answer. That all I had to do… was become stronger."
Gareth took a deep breath, then turned to look directly at him.
"But at some point, you'll realize, climbing up doesn't mean moving forward."
Ren's eyes widened in shock.
He had heard many people talk about their goals, about climbing to the top of this tower, about the freedom that awaited on higher floors.
But this was the first time he had ever heard someone say, climbing up doesn't mean moving forward.
"So… are you saying I should stay?" Ren asked, his voice a little stiff, perhaps because even he wasn't sure what kind of answer he wanted.
Gareth chuckled again, but there was an unreadable glint in his eyes.
"No," he replied. "I'm only saying that the path you'll take… doesn't have to be the same as everyone else's."
Ren frowned.
"Then what are you trying to say?"
Gareth watched him for a moment longer before turning away, as if considering whether to say more.
A soft breeze swept through, rustling the fabric hanging in front of the old blacksmith's shop. Inside, the fire from the forge still burned, casting flickering shadows on the stone walls.
"People like you…" Gareth's voice was quiet, distant. "...can't stay here forever."
Ren froze.
Gareth's words weren't loud, but they struck him like a hammer.
Can't stay here forever?
He had never thought about that before.
From the very beginning, he had assumed that sooner or later, he would leave, climb to the next floor, and chase his goal, just like everyone else.
But when he heard Gareth say those words, something inside him stirred.
Not because of the truth in them.
But because… he wasn't ready to hear it.
Ren bit his lip lightly, his gaze wavering.
"…Because I'm special?" he asked, his voice lower than usual.
Gareth looked at him, then shook his head.
"No," he answered, his tone calm. "Because you… all of you… don't belong here."
Ren's eyes widened.
Gareth offered no further explanation. But in his eyes, Ren saw something he had never considered before. Something he couldn't dismiss outright.
And that was the most terrifying part.
Ren blinked, a strange unease rising in his chest.
"Wait…" He hesitated, scrutinizing Gareth. 'Is he saying… even NPCs can climb the tower?'
Gareth smiled at him. He tilted his head slightly, as if debating whether to answer.
Ren felt his heart beat a little faster.
He had never thought about that possibility.
From the moment he stepped into this world, he had taken it as a given that climbing the tower was a path meant for players, that only they could ascend floor by floor by defeating powerful bosses.
That was the rule of the game, the only way to escape.
But if NPCs could leave too…
Ren clenched his fists.
'But… don't they need to defeat the floor boss?' he wondered, skepticism creeping into his thoughts.
If NPCs could leave without fighting, then did that mean only players were forced to do so?
A discomforting thought took root in his mind.
Gareth met his gaze, his eyes deep and unwavering.
"Do you really believe there is only one path forward?"
Ren froze.
This time, Gareth wasn't smiling. He wasn't teasing or speaking in riddles. His question was simple, yet Ren couldn't answer right away.
Was there only one path forward?
Until now, he had never questioned it. But now… hearing Gareth say it, he realized he had never even asked himself that question.
Why?
Why did it have to be defeating the floor boss? Why that method, and not any other?
It felt as if there was something in this world he had never seen. A hidden curtain… a truth he had never known.
Gareth remained silent, his gaze steady.
Ren could feel it, what Gareth said wasn't a riddle or a test. It was a truth. A truth he had known for a long time.
"Then… what about the floor boss?" Ren asked, his voice quieter, as if uncertain whether he wanted to know the answer. "If we don't have to defeat it… then what is its purpose?"
Gareth narrowed his eyes slightly. A gentle breeze drifted by, carrying the scent of burning iron from the forge behind them.
"It does not exist to block your path," he said slowly. "It simply… exists."
Ren held his breath.
"Are you sure the gate is locked by the floor boss? Or have you only convinced yourself that it is an obstacle to be overcome?"
A chill ran down Ren's spine.
"That's… the rule of the game," he murmured, but even to himself, the answer felt weak.
Gareth's lips curled slightly, as if waiting for him to realize something.
Ren swallowed dryly. If NPCs could leave… if they didn't have to defeat the floor boss… if…
Had players like him been forced into battle from the very beginning?
Not because it was the only way. But because someone had made them believe it was.
Kayaba Akihiko?
Logic told you that was the answer, but… your intuition said otherwise.