A couple of hours later, Ethan was deep in the codebase—neck cracked sideways, eyes bloodshot, fingers dancing over the keyboard like a man possessed. His room was dark now, save for the glow of dual monitors. Caffeine was no longer working. His sanity? Probably already uninstalled.
"Okay… character flag 'Selvaria _AfterDeath' triggers the AI response of her support NPC… Let's see—where the hell is the butler script?"
He scrolled, then paused.
File: NPC_AI_Butler_AltScript_v9_FINAL_FINAL_REALLY_FINAL_THIS_ONE_ACTUALLY_FINAL.js
He blinked. "Naomi, you absolute liar."
The script file was massive, way more complex than a side character should have. It was stuffed with conditional branches, hidden event triggers, escalating morality sliders, and a ton of ominous-sounding comments like:
------
// escalate aggression if Selvaria dies unjustly
// unlock latent AI module after third betrayal
// initiate Requiem Protocol if player loots her grave (seriously, who added this?!)
---------
"What the hell is this guy?!" Ethan muttered.
The character in question—Anwir, a butler NPC who barely said more than "Yes, milady" in his tutorial appearance—apparently turned into a vengeful demigod of judgment and fire depending on how the player handled Selvaria 's death. And since players were encouraged to kill Selvaria , either directly or indirectly, it meant everyone triggered this path by accident.
It wasn't even a twist. It was a time bomb.
Ethan buried his face into his arms. "She's supposed to be a throwaway mid-boss. A tutorial lesson. And this guy? He literally goes from tea-pouring servant to world-ender if she so much as trips and dies."
He leaned back in his chair, exhausted. "No wonder the branching timelines break. Her death triggers a character arc that rivals entire RPG plots."
He scrolled deeper.
"If player achieves 100% karmic debt, Albrecht evolves into Fallen Archon: Voidshade Form."
"…What the—WHO WROTE THIS?!"
A sticky note on his desk fluttered a little, as if to answer. In Naomi's looping handwriting:
"You said you wanted meaningful consequences." 💖
"Meaningful?! He kills GOD in Route Omega!"
And yet… deep down, he had to admit—it was kind of genius. Elegant, even. Albrecht had a quiet rage in the code. A sort of melancholy loyalty that slowly twisted as the world treated him unjustly. It was beautiful. Tragic.
But from a technical perspective?
It was also an absolute nightmare.
He started correcting the issue:
-Reassigning her death triggers to include safety checks
-Locking Albrecht's evolution route behind rarer conditions
-Creating fallback branches for when Selvaria dies off-screen
-And most importantly—flagging her grave looting script as "dev-only"
Still, even as he fixed it all… a strange chill ran down his spine.
The AI logs for Anvir's behavior tree still updated in real-time.
Even now… the butler's latent emotional data was changing from every tweak Ethan made.
The screen glowed like a pale moon in the dark office.
Lines of code blurred past Ethan's tired eyes as he hammered away on the keyboard, resolving cascading errors from the route where Selvaria —the tutorial mid-boss—dies too early. Each kill path triggered unpredictable bugs. Enemies wouldn't spawn, quest flags wouldn't activate, and worst of all—her butler wouldn't despawn properly.
He wiped his forehead. It had been nearly six hours straight.
The silence broke with the soft hiss of an opening door.
"Still at it, champ?" came a familiar voice.
Ethan didn't even look up. "Not now, Aira. I'm fixing your mess."
Aira chuckled, walking in with two mugs of coffee. "My mess? I seem to recall you begged for my help with the AI behavior trees."
He groaned. "I regret everything."
Aira placed the coffee beside him, ruffling his uncombed hair. "Well, since you're doing penance, figured you deserved the divine grace of caffeine."
Ethan took a sip—lukewarm, bitter, lifesaving.
Aira leaned against the desk, arms crossed. "So… how bad is it?"
"Selvaria 's death loops broke like three quest lines," Ethan muttered, scrolling through lines of triggers. "And your overachieving butler doesn't like staying dead."
Aira smirked. "Anwir is too elegant to die meaninglessly."
"He's a butler. He's supposed to stay dead after the tutorial. Not casually ruin the game logic across ten chapters."
"Hey," she shot back, "You're the one who wanted meaningful side characters. I just gave him soul."
Ethan squinted at the screen. "…You gave him a soul and a goddamn grudge."
He sighed and pulled up the trait data again—he hadn't really looked at it in a while, not since alpha.
_________________________
➤ [CHARACTER SHEET: ANWIR]
Role: NPC Support – Mid-Boss ArcDesigned by: Aira JunoAI Behavior Complexity: Level 5 – Semi-Adaptive Emotional Learning
➤Passive & Active Traits:
🔹[Mana Sense](Passive)-Detects mana patterns in nearby zones, active or latent. Grows sharper under stress.
🔹[Steelblood Butler](Passive)-Takes reduced damage when protecting someone he's bound to. Bonus resistance against emotional damage sources (Fear, Charm, Guilt).
🔹[Veil Sight](Passive)-Allows the perception of hidden motives and magical illusions. Triggers enhanced combat response when negative emotions are sensed.
🔹[Etiquette Blade](Active)-Defensive melee skill. Parries physical and magical attacks with high efficiency and grace. Counters double damage if the attacker disrespects Anwir's charge.
🔹[Oathbound Memory](Passive)-Remembers every interaction. Every promise, betrayal, insult. Nothing is forgotten—even across timelines.
Ethan scrolled further. A new row of Adaptive Traits had appeared—unlocked based on his interactions with the world and players.
🔸[Copy Cat](Passive – Reactive)Can replicate any non-unique skill seen more than once. Stores the last three mimicked abilities.
🔸[Intuition](Passive)-Drastically increases the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.
🔹[Focus](Passive)-It lets you keep your mind on one thing without being distracted while also increasing the learning and growth rate in that state.
_________________________
Ethan leaned back, blowing out a long breath. "This guy has more passives than some raid bosses…"
Aira gave him a sly look. "He was meant to be overlooked. Until he wasn't."
Ethan gave her the side-eye. "You made him too real. Too smart."
She shrugged. "You made the world cruel. I gave someone the capacity to remember."
They sat in silence for a moment.
Then Aira added, "...You know, players wouldn't even notice him unless they dug deep. You set the triggers yourself."
Ethan stared at the screen, jaw clenched.
"I set the world up to kill him," he said quietly. "Made sure there were multiple ways to do it. Even made a damn achievement for it."
"And now?" Aira asked, sipping her coffee.
Ethan didn't answer. He just stared at the glowing trait list. The butler wasn't a bug. He was a consequence.
The clock on the wall ticked toward 3:41 AM.
Ethan had been tweaking and stabilizing Anwir's flags for hours, running simulated test routes and purging ghost variables left behind by failed early-game states. He was tired, caffeinated, and more focused than he should've been.
Aira was still nearby, watching the flicker of his screen, spinning slowly in an empty desk chair.
Ethan hesitated before speaking, eyes fixed on Anwir's model—black hair tied neatly, slender but sharp frame, and eyes with that same slit, predator-like focus.
"…Hey," he said, scratching his chin. "You think I could… maybe give him a few more traits?"
Aira blinked. "Why?"
"I dunno," Ethan muttered. "Just feels wrong to have him go out like that. Especially in Hardcore Mode. I made that difficulty as hellish as possible."
Aira gave him a long, knowing look. Then smirked.
"You do realize I modeled him a bit after you, right?" she said, nudging her glasses up. "Lazy to the core, but does his duty for his master—no matter the cost."
Ethan blinked, then frowned. "I'm not lazy."
She arched a brow.
"…Alright. I'm selectively efficient."
Aira laughed. "Exactly my point. but I made sure to add those fox like slit eyes of yours in it."
"I don't look like a fox," He retorted
"I'm just saying," he said defensively, "maybe we give him options. If someone actually plays on Hell Difficulty, let the guy fight back a little. Or escape, even."
She leaned in. "Okay, what are you thinking?"
Ethan cracked his knuckles. "Alright, don't judge me…"
___________________
➤ [Additional Trait Proposal – Anwir | [Hardcore Difficulty Only]
🔸 [Killing Intent](Unique Passive)
Emits a soul-chilling aura when emotionally triggered or cornered. Inflicts a stacking debuff on weaker enemies, lowering their reaction speed and defense the longer they remain in proximity.
"You should not have harmed her."
🔸 [Position Swap](Unique Active)
-Swaps location with a marked ally or enemy within mid-range. Can be used to escape fatal strikes or reposition unpredictably.
- Requires Line of Sight.
🔹 [Skilled Hands](Rare Passive)
-Enhances precision with tools, weapons, and magic seals. Allows improvised use of weapons and greater repair/sabotage ability.
🔹 [Iron Body](Rare Passive)
-It gives your body more strength and endurance while drastically increasing your regenerative powers and growth potential in physical skills.
🔹 [Mutated Veins](Rare Passive)
-Can use a much chaotic form of magic without suffering injuries. Helps in healing inner injuries more also fighting against poisons and other debuffs.-Originally a defect. Evolved into a strength.
__________________
Aira whistled, spinning around fully. "That's a lot for a guy who's not supposed to live past Chapter 1."
Ethan just shrugged, grinning faintly. "What can I say. He's got the same eyes as me."
"Fox eyes?"
"Yeah."
She gave him a long look. "You're aware you're turning him into a stealth raid boss, right?"
"I'm aware," Ethan said. Then added, "But only in Hell Mode. If a player chooses that path, they deserve what's coming."
"Fine," Aira said, pulling her tablet over to approve the changes. "But you owe me lunch if he ends up crashing the AI balance again."
"Deal."
As she tapped the screen, Ethan leaned back—watching Anwir's avatar flicker slightly in the dev viewer, his stance shifting just a little.
It was subtle.
Too subtle for a regular NPC.