Warwick Rests back after Josh leaves.
"Are you okay Demoko?" Warwick asks with a sense of sadness.
"Yes, I feel fine," Demoko happily responds.
"Do- How... Do you remember what happened?"
Demoko diverts his gaze, "I do not know what you mean, master."
Warwick sighs, and pulls out his phone.
Warwick searches, 'how to feel guilty', and begins to read.
"Are you okay master?" Demoko asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying to figure something out," Warwick informs, his eyes glued to the screen.
Demoko nods his head, then lays down.
Several minutes later, Warwick slams his phone down on the bedside desk.
"Arrh! This makes no sense!" Warwick yells in anger.
"What happened?" Demoko asks, quickly sitting up.
"Trying to figure out something that's not making any sense," Warwick states with a sigh.
"Can I be of assistance?"
"Not really. I just have to-" Warwick starts to say, as Josh walks in.
"Got it," Josh informs, with the bottle of isopropyl in his hand.
Warwick sits up and takes it, pouring it onto the wound.
Demoko jumps up, covering his muzzle while whimpering with his ears down.
"Ahhhhh! Wh-hat-t's Wr-rong!?" Warwick asks, almost screaming from the burning pain.
"The stench!" Demoko answers, muffled by his paws.
"I got it!" Josh declares, rushing over to open the window and give Demoko a cloth to breathe through from a drawer.
Demoko starts breathing through the cloth, his ears softened but still pinned back.
Warwick tries to rub the alcohol in deeper while clenching his teeth in an attempt not to yell.
"Demoko, is there anything else I can help you with?" Josh asks.
Demoko shakes his head 'no', as he continues to breathe through the cloth.
"Demoko... W-would yo-you want me to 'return' you until it dissipates? Because I'm about to apply more." Warwick asks, still clenching his teeth.
Demoko nods.
"Return!" Warwick commands, as Demoko disappears, cloth and all.
"So, how are you able to heal so fast?" Josh asks, seemingly disappointed.
"A Rest skill I learned from Mabinogi," Warwick informs, before putting more alcohol into the wound and screaming through his teeth.
"That's the game you're always playing. So it's real?" Josh asks.
Warwick holds his finger up, shaking from the pain.
Warwick ties the shirt back around the wound, then takes a moment to gather himself.
"Not really. None of the characters are actually real, but it's real from the viewpoint of going in. I think Demoko is real because he's bound to me, but that's not actually certain. I think I hope he's real," Warwick informs, pondering the words he's saying to see if he actually believes them, "I wonder how true that is. As far as I know, if the character's get deleted they're just gone; if their backgrounds are rewritten, they become changed. They are as permanent as Nexon decides them to be."
"That's dark. So, you've talked to them as people but don't see them as real?"
"Part of me always saw them as real. They were always there when life sucked. When it comes to strategy, they ultimately are lines of code."
"That's probably why 'strategy' isn't working there," Josh states with a chuckle.
"What do you mean? Why is this funny?" Warwick asks, confused by the whole statement.
"I assume you're treating everything like it's just a machine. Expecting the NPCs to follow ai algorithms, and for your actions not to change anything in the grand scheme of things. I assume you got banned because the 'game' wasn't functioning properly from a serverside point of view. You likely reacted with one of the emotions that you regularly feel and acted rashly at the last minute when things started to fall apart. Am I close?"
Warwick just stares for a moment.
"How?" Warwick asks, generally concerned by the accuracy.
"I started college trying to get a psych degree and watch a lot of serial killer movies. While you're not exactly like the serial killers, you're close enough. How do you think I was able to get you to open up within a week?"
"Have you just been treating me like a potential serial killer this entire time?" Warwick asks, starting to get angry.
"Would the answer change how you thought? But no, psychology just gives insight. I also don't have the same issues with understanding people that you have, so a few hints can make the difference. If it worked all the time, we wouldn't get into so many arguments,"
"Am I that obvious?" Warwick asks.
"I mean, you're not as easy as Sheldon Cooper, but you're easy enough for anyone that has taken a basic psychology class."
Warwick lays back in disappointment.
"Any suggestions, oh wise psychologist?" Warwick mockingly asks.
"One. Try treating anyone that appears real as if they are real?"
"And what is real?" Warwick continues to mock.
"Psychology, not philosophy. You don't have to listen to my advice, it may not even be accurate. It's just my two cents."
"I think it cleared up enough. Summon Demoko!"
Demoko reappears his ears relaxing as he removes the cloth from his face.
"Can you breathe now, Demoko?" Josh asks.
Demoko nods, placing the cloth on the desk.
Warwick goes back to Resting on his side of the bed, "It's almost better, We have our last class in about 15 minutes,"
Introduction: A Djinn's Wish
Introduction: The Protagonist
Episode One: Nighttime Detour, A Meet With A Djinn
More Episodes
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