Anby eyed the young man before her warily, brushing her fingers on the hilt of her blade, prepared for any sudden action.
First impression, she felt he was hard to ignore—someone who was impossible to miss in a crowd, let alone in the middle of a Hollow. His hair, a pale platinum blond, fell just past his shoulders in gentle waves, meticulously kept but not overly styled, as though he cared about appearances but not to the point of being ostentatious.
Although not overtly menacing either, there was an invisible weight to his presence, something that left an unsettling feeling.
Instinctively, her stomach tightened as with the rising tension.
But she forced herself to snap out of it.
Just then—
"Hold on!"
A voice crackled through her intercom:
"Don't make such rash decisions all of a sudden. Stand down, Anby," came Phaethon's somewhat panicking tone, the exasperation in their voice completely at odds with the seriousness of the moment. "Did you watch another one of those thriller movies again? You should seriously tone it down a bit."
Exhaling, Anby's posture loosened.
And with that, she seemed to relax but did not take her eyes off of him.
Perhaps the sibling-duo might not have been able to perceive it, so they were more eager to talk things out, but this man screamed dangerous, her gut feeling told her as much. Particularly, those measured, green eyes. It glinted with cold rationality behind those pale hues.
Just who knows what could be going on inside his head?
'Ah shit—'
If she could read his mind, her four beliefs would shatter.
Inwardly, he was screaming.
'Does this psycho have anything against me!? Am I really about to die again as soon as I got transmigrated?'
Fortunately, that remained just as a passing thought.
Seeing as the white-haired girl and the mechanical plushy bicker in front of him, he felt a huge sigh of relief. At the very least, the crisis has been averted for the time being. He thought and then nodded, "I believe I should introduce myself."
"Otto Syuen," once assured of his safety, he immediately mouthed a lie as naturally as he breathed. "That's my name. You can call me Otto—a proxy cum agent, depending on which day it is. I wonder, what is the name of this beautiful agent and her proxy, if that's not too much to ask?"
His first order of business: ingratiate himself, a skill he had polished as a streamer to a tee, by the way.
Why? After all, he had just confirmed his earlier assessment when he heard them calling each other's names. One of these individuals recently had another version of herself in the gacha, rated as a Tier 0.5 character in Prydwen's tier list, while the other is the bona fide protagonist of the game.
This is a tangent, but he had to say. More than the shock at having the opportunity to meet them, he felt grief and some parts pity. This was a Mih*h* game at the end of the day, everyone and their dogs has half to say about a tragic past.
The writers definitely have a fetish for handing out traumas like free sauce packets in an afternoon. '...Wait, that's beside the point.'
Bottom line: he simply believed there was a great likelihood of catching a windfall by staying close to the protagonist's halo. He thought that if their group got lucky, he would get lucky too by association.
Moreover, his common sense dictates that it would be much safer to move in a group as opposed to acting by himself in a place like this.
'I'm so smart,' he congratulates himself white giving a pat to his back, then extended an arm for a handshake.
Hearing his introduction, the mechanical plushy hopped forward. "H-hello. Sorry for everything just now. This might come as a shock, I get it. You don't usually get to see a Bangboo talk, but don't freak out, really, I'm human! And, um, please try not to spread anything about this."
Indeed. It was also common sense in this world that Banboos weren't supposed to be able to talk so eloquently. The voice, though distorted with a slight metallic noise, was cheery, bright, and unmistakably that of a young girl. If word got out, one could only image what the consequences might be.
The fact that they quickly came clean meant they were also willing to place trust in him. His nose suddenly felt itchy.
"Anyways, I am a proxy going by the account name of Phaethon 2.0, and this one here is Anby. Nice to meet you."
Jabami—posing as Otto Syuen—widened his eyes at this moment (and quietly retracted his hand). He hadn't caught it in the tension when he first heard their voice earlier, but he has come to a realization. The one piloting this Bangboo was most probably Belle instead of Wise.
Judging by the version after their account name, he guessed they had already lost their original account as well. 'It's such an odd choice for a name, though. Aren't they trying to hide that they're actually Phaethon? Why reuse the nickname?'
"So, you're a proxy too," Anby, who had been quietly standing by the side, chimed in. "Then, you must know something about the layout of this Hollow."
Belle quickly called her out, "H-hey. That's rude Anby!"
"Yeah..."
A slight twitch formed at the corner of his eye.
His intelligence stat might be lower than a capybara, but that did not mean he was dense as a block. Anby was clearly sussing him out.
And even though Belle chastised her, seeing as she did not outright stop her line of questioning, she must have her doubts about him as well. He cursed, 'Damn it! Give me back my appreciation!'
He was left with no choice.
"O-of course," Jabami affirmed. He had to double down now. "I know this Hollow like the back of my hand. In fact..."
[Report. Scans of the individual agent, Anby, has been completed. Unusual properties found. Analysis confirms that the individual possesses the peculiar ability to manipulate a foreign source of energy known as Ether, and convert it into electricity to be discharged with, presumably, a blade that conducts high voltages.]
[Emulation is possible through synchronization of ambient Ether frequency and neural signal calibration.]
[Skill acquisition. Ether Manipulation has been acquired.]
[Mapping the layout in conjunction with Elemental Sight. Complete. Current zone identified as a Hollow anomaly. Ether density: elevated. Environmental instability: moderate.]
[Recommendation: proceed with caution. High-energy discharge signatures detected ahead.]
The Great Sage, ever the omniscient, was one step ahead. He didn't even have to verbalize a request.
"There are approximately 416,2025 fissures currently present." Jabami coolly revealed while giving it a 5-star review in his mental footnote. 'Nice job partner!'
Then, he added.
"Oh, and the fissure you're looking for is right over there."