The battlefield had finally fallen silent.
The Goblin King was gone.
Only scattered pixels remained.
Kay's body suddenly lost all strength.
THUD.
He collapsed onto the ground.
"Kay!"
Khushi immediately ran toward him.
Without thinking, she sat beside him and gently placed his head on her lap.
For a moment, she simply stared at his sleeping face.
"...Why do you always do this?"
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
Then...
A memory resurfaced.
Flashback AI Individual Classes – Real World
The classroom was nearly empty.
It was lunchtime.
Khushi had gone outside with her friends.
Inside the classroom, two troublemakers exchanged mischievous looks.
"Heh. Let's see how the genius girl reacts to this."
One of them inserted a virus into Khushi's computer.
The assignment she had spent hours completing was instantly corrupted.
A few minutes later...
Khushi returned.
The AI Teacher was already beginning the evaluation session.
One by one, students presented their work.
Then...
"Khushi San."
Her turn.
Khushi froze.
Wait...
My assignment was destroyed!
Her heart began racing.
The teacher opened her file.
Khushi prepared herself for disaster.
But then...
The AI Teacher nodded.
"Excellent work."
Khushi blinked.
"...What?"
The assignment was completely repaired.
Meanwhile, the two boys who had planted the virus looked horrified.
Their own files had somehow become corrupted instead.
The AI Teacher frowned.
"Incomplete work."
The two boys immediately lost points.
After class ended, Khushi rushed toward her computer.
She checked the system logs.
A single unknown ID had accessed her device.
Someone had repaired everything.
Her curiosity took over.
She traced the connection.
The location appeared.
Last row.
Back corner.
Khushi slowly turned her head.
There...
A boy was sleeping peacefully.
Ignoring everything around him.
Kay Basal.
Khushi stared at him.
Then smiled softly.
"...Thank you."
Present Time
Khushi looked down at the unconscious Kay.
"You help everyone..."
"...but never tell anyone about it."
A few moments later...
Kay slowly opened his eyes.
"...This pillow is surprisingly soft."
Khushi's face immediately turned red.
"P-Pillow?!"
Kay blinked.
Then realized where he was.
His eyes widened.
His head was resting on Khushi's lap.
Khushi crossed her arms proudly.
"If my lap is that comfortable..."
"...you can sleep here every day."
Kay instantly sat up.
"T-That's not what I meant!"
"I was just comparing it to a pillow!"
Khushi leaned closer.
Very close.
"So you're feeling better now?"
Kay's brain completely stopped working.
"W-What was that?!"
Khushi giggled.
"Nothing."
"Just trying something."
After a moment, she smiled.
"Anyway..."
"Our training and planning worked perfectly."
Kay nodded.
And another memory surfaced.
Flashback Before the Goblin Quest
After accepting the Goblin mission, Kay and Khushi entered a private training zone for new players.
The area resembled a dense jungle with an open field in the center.
Kay summoned his Glitch Blade.
Then drew a rough map on the ground.
"Our first priority is survival."
Khushi sat beside him.
Kay pointed toward the map.
"If HP reaches zero..."
"...everything ends."
"So we need recovery items and efficient combat."
Khushi nodded.
"That makes sense."
"But Goblins rarely travel alone."
"There could be dozens of them."
Kay smiled slightly.
"Exactly."
"That's why we'll observe their numbers before attacking."
Khushi raised a finger.
"Then we need a signal."
"When should we attack?"
Kay casually ran a hand through his hair.
"I'll do this."
Khushi laughed.
"Seriously?"
"That's your signal?"
"Works for me."
Then her expression became thoughtful.
"I've noticed something."
"This world's creator can create things..."
"...but can't completely control them afterward."
Kay looked interested.
"Explain."
Khushi continued.
"The quest café receptionist."
"She has a fixed role."
"She only does what she was designed to do."
"And if the creator wanted absolute control..."
"...the Spider Boss would never have been killable."
Kay's eyes widened slightly.
Then he nodded.
"That's actually a good observation."
Khushi proudly placed her hands on her waist.
"Of course it is."
"Planning is done."
Kay stood up.
"Now it's time for training."
Khushi smirked.
"You haven't even seen my aim yet."
Kay looked toward a distant apple hanging from a tree.
"I'm hungry."
"Hit that apple."
Khushi immediately transformed her ring into the Starfire Bow.
"Easy."
She fired.
WHOOSH!
Miss.
The arrow flew above the branch.
Khushi froze.
"...I wasn't focused."
She fired again.
WHOOSH!
Miss.
Silence.
Khushi slowly lowered her bow.
"...Okay, that's embarrassing."
Kay folded his arms.
"I think I know the problem."
Khushi frowned.
"What?"
"This isn't a game."
"There are no auto-target systems."
"No aim assist."
"No combat correction."
"Everything follows real-world logic."
Khushi thought about it.
Then nodded.
"That actually makes sense."
"If you're strong in reality..."
"...you're strong here too."
"Like Zane."
Kay pointed at her.
"And if you're intelligent in reality..."
"...you're intelligent here too."
"Like you."
Khushi smiled proudly.
"True."
Then she looked at him suspiciously.
"Wait."
"How do YOU know how to use a sword?"
Kay casually shrugged.
"Our school principal is old-fashioned."
"He still organizes annual sword competitions."
Khushi blinked.
"I've heard about that school."
"It's the only one that still does it."
Kay nodded.
"I was runner-up for two years."
"And champion last year."
Khushi stared at him.
"Anything else you're secretly good at?"
Kay answered without hesitation.
"Sleeping."
Khushi burst out laughing.
A few minutes later...
Kay walked toward the tree.
He picked an apple.
Then placed it on top of his head.
Khushi's eyes widened.
"W-Wait."
"What are you doing?"
Kay crossed his arms.
"Training."
"Now shoot."
Khushi nearly dropped her bow.
"Are you insane?!"
"It might hit you!"
Kay closed his eyes confidently.
"Just shoot."
Khushi slowly pulled the bowstring.
The arrow glowed.
She took aim.
And released.
WHOOSH!
A second later—
"KAYYYYY!!!"
End of Chapter 12