Beta Testing the Apocalypse 009 (Patreon)

After introducing Presea to Wil and allowing her to sample Souma's cooking, Leon guided her to the Hunter's Lodge, feeling slightly guilty that she would be staying so far from everyone else.

"Sorry about the location...I was originally going to place the lodge near the other buildings, but someone advised me not to..."

"It's fine..." replied Presea, looking around her new home with a neutral, almost robotic expression as she appended, "I'm used to being alone," in a soft monotone.

"Your residence might be a little out of the way, but you don't have to be alone," said Leon. "I doubt Wil or Souma would ignore or send you away if you dropped by their Workshop or Eatery, and I'll be sure to come by and check on you at least once or twice a day."

Looking up at where Leon's voice originated, having to crane her head quite a bit due to her 136cm height, Presea asked, "What do you want to check...?"

"I'll be checking on you, obviously..." replied Leon.

Leaving Leon completely speechless, Presea reached up and cupped her nearly non-existent breasts as she asked, "You want to check my body...?"

"..."

Deciding to change topics, Leon asked, "Before I go, mind if I ask you a few questions...?"

Though her expression didn't change, Leon got the impression that Presea was slightly hurt by his change in topics as she looked down at herself in silence.

"How did you end up here...?" asked Leon, feeling increasingly awkward.

"I was hot, and then I was cold..." replied Presea, providing virtually no clarifying information.

"Did you get sick...?" asked Leon.

"I was chopping wood...chop...chop..." replied Presea, making a chopping motion with her right hand.

'This is going to take a while...' thought Leon, opening the Build tab to acquire a dining room set that included a square table and four chairs. He didn't see it, but Presea's eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of him pulling furniture out of thin air, compelling her to ask, "Are you an Elf...?"

Turning to stare at the twin-tailed girl, who hadn't moved from her place near the entrance, Leon answered, "Nah. This is one of the effects of my Admin console. Want to come and take a seat?"

"Do I...?" asked Presea, tilting her head.

"..."

Pulling out one of the chairs, Leon said, "Come and sit here..." 

"Okay..." replied Presea, making her way over and taking a seat before staring directly ahead in silence. It was truthfully a little creepy, but Leon did his best to suppress his desire to leave as he pushed the chair in and took the seat to Presea's left, asking, "Before you arrived here, were you promised something? Like a wish...?"

Nodding, Presea replied, "A voice told me I could bring my father back. I didn't know he left, but if he's gone, I want him back."

"Mmm...well, I can't say for certain when he'll appear, but I'll do what I can to reunite you with your father," replied Leon. "For now, I guess you're our Hunter? Though, you don't exactly strike me as someone who knows how to trap or hunt game..."

Making another chopping gesture with her right hand, Presea said, "You chop them. But only the big, mean ones."

"Right..." replied Leon, almost positive that Presea was referring to killing monsters, not hunting game. He was also worried about her getting lost, so after a moment of deliberation, he stated, "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to accompany you on your first hunting trip. Is that okay?"

"Is it...?" asked Presea.

'Can she not make decisions for herself...?' Leon wondered, outwardly replying, "It should be fine. Once Wil finishes crafting your axe, let's go together."

Nodding, Presea repeated, "Let's go together," without any change in her expression or tone.

"..."

Tapping the dining table with his non-existent right index finger, Leon considered his next series of actions before asking, "Can you put your hand on your head...?"

Leaving Leon even more confused, Presea immediately placed her right hand on her head rather than asking if she could or why she should. More notably, she kept it there and simply stared at him unblinkingly, ostensibly waiting for his next command or query.

"Is there anything you need or want to ask me before I go...?" asked Leon.

"Is there...?" asked Presea, looking around with her hand still on her head. Then, a few seconds later, she looked back at him and answered, "I don't know."

"Then, if you think of something, don't hesitate to come looking for me. I can be difficult to find since I don't have a body, but if you wait near the cabin we passed when you were first summoned, I will show up."

"I understand," replied Presea, nodding for effect.

"You can put your hand down..." said Leon.

"Okay," replied Presea, removing her hand from her head. What followed was an awkward silence, Presea's pastel-blue eyes fixed on his position while Leon waited patiently to see if she would ever actually blink. It took several minutes, but when she did, Leon felt relieved, exhaling a sigh and smiling as he said, "I'm going to head out. If you get hungry, remember to stop by the Eatery. And if you get bored, feel free to look around or speak with our companions. Just don't wander off into the jungle without letting me or someone else know...do you understand?"

"I understand," replied Presea, but only she knew if that was true. Leon was tempted to have her repeat everything back to him, but as he didn't want to upset her or make her think he was belittling her, he rose to his feet and said, "It was nice meeting you, Presea. Let's be friends and do our best to conquer the Tower with everyone else."

"Friends..." repeated Presea, a faint glimmer of awareness flashing across her eyes. The edges of her mouth even seemed to turn up slightly as she nodded in affirmation, appending, "Let's be friends..." in a curt but notably less robotic tone...

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'Man, that was exhausting...' thought Leon, running his right hand through his non-existent hair as he departed and walked away from the Hunter's Lodge. A part of him wished he could remember the circumstances that led to Presea's strange behavior so that he could 'fix' her, but it had been well over a decade, maybe even two, since he played the game she came from, Tales of Symphonia.

'I'll get Wil to check on her as well. He's good at handling situations like this, and he may even be able to figure out what's wrong with her...'

Though there was a non-negligible chance that Presea could end up in Wil's harem, Leon already had his hands full with Mordred and personally had no interest in loli-type characters. He wouldn't hesitate if there were something he could do to help her, but the only sentiment he felt toward her at the moment was pity...

'Let's just hope the next summon isn't as problematic...

With such thoughts in mind, Leon moved to the opposite end of the expanded clearing, making a quick stop at Wil's Workshop to express his concerns before departing to summon the Outpost. It had the shape of a small park ranger station, but, more importantly, the notification informing him he could perform a complimentary Restricted Summon appeared.

Since he didn't have Mordred with him, Leon teleported directly to the underground summoning chamber. However, instead of performing the summon instantly, he spent several minutes sorting through his memory and considering who might appear. There weren't many 'explorers' in the anime he watched and the games he played, but some that came to mind were Nami from One Piece, members of the Survey Corps from Attack on Titan, and characters like Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series...

'Please don't be Nami...' prayed Leon. He had nothing against One Piece, but Nami's character and temperament were too abrasive, and he couldn't imagine her exploring the island alone. Luffy or even Zoro would be better in that regard, but Leon doubted such powerful individuals would appear in a free summon. Instead, the person who appeared was a fairly friendly-looking youth with shoulder-length brown hair and angular brown eyes. A red bandana with a flame and dragon pattern adorned his head, while the rest of his outfit resembled the uniform of a prestigious High School. The top was a white blazer with accents of blue around the collar and sleeves, matching the color of his pants, and beneath that, he wore a high-collared dress shirt, pale blue and untucked, over a dark blue tank top.

'I know I recognize this guy, but from where...?' pondered Leon, outwardly stating, "Welcome to Purgatoria. My name is Leon Ash-"

"Holy cow! Is that a g-g-g-g-ghost!?" exclaimed the brown-haired youth, startled by Leon's abrupt intro. Despite his initial stutter, however, illusory flames appeared from the depths of his brown as he pumped his fists and shouted, "That's totally awesome! Can I also become invisible...!?"

"Before that, mind tell me your name...?" asked Leon. "As I was saying before, mine is Leon Asheford."

"Sure thing!" replied the man, striking a smiling pose and pointing to himself with his thumb as he bellowed, "My name is Shouichi Kazama, Leader of the Kazama Family and someone who aspires to be the world's greatest—scratch that, the multiverse's most distinguished explorer! It's good to meet you, Leon...!"

"Right, it's good to meet you as well," replied Leon, forcing a smile as he had learned nothing from Shouichi's introduction. He 'had' to know who the man was, but despite Shouichi's explosive personality, nothing came to Leon's mind.

"So, where do I get started!?" asked Shouichi, very obviously excited by the prospect of exploring a new world.

"Mind answering a few questions first?" asked Leon.

"Of course! Ask away...!" replied Shouchi, standing with his hands on his hips and smiling from ear to ear.

"How did you end up here...?" asked Leon.

"The fishing boat I was on got caught in a storm and sank!" answered Shouchi, seemingly amused by the circumstances of his demise as he started laughing.

"What's so funny...?" asked Leon.

Wiping away a tear from his eye, Shouichi replied, "Oh, I was just thinking that my friends, the other members of the Kazama Family, are going to kill me the next time we meet. If it's Momo or Yamato, I have no doubt they'll find a way to reach this place...!"

"Then let's make sure you survive till then," said Leon. "I'm not sure what happens to people who die in the place, so once I show you around, don't get too carried away exploring."

"No worries there," assured Shouichi. "I usually have excellent luck, so I'm really sure what happened back on the boat. That storm literally came out of nowhere, almost like some higher power was 'trying' to kill me."

Seeing Shouichi narrow his eyes, Leon raised his brows and said, "Even if that turns out to be true, I had nothing to do with it. Before coming here a few days ago, I was just a normal guy on my way to the gym. I got shot in the head during a freak accident, so if this ultimately turns out to be some higher power's way to pass the time, we're both victims."

"Did you really get shot in the head...?" asked Shouichi, looking surprised and apologetic.

"At least that's what I was told," replied Leon. "The last thing I remember was heading to the gym, and then I suddenly found myself in what I can best describe as an infinite void. There, I met a Transdimensional Fairy named Mirabelladonna, who offered me the opportunity to become a Beta Tester for the Tower we're set to conquer. I'm honestly still reeling from it all."

"Mmm...if that's the case, then I'm sorry for doubting you..." said Shouichi, scratching the back of his head. In response, Leon was going to tell him it was no big deal, but Shouichi beat him to the punch, leaving him at a loss by adopting a smile and saying, "Then, once Momo arrives, I'll do my best to prevent her from punching you too hard. She's always been the type of woman to assault first and ask questions later, so let's both do our best to survive! Ahahahaha~!"

Though he doubted that the 'Momo' Shouichi was referring to could reach them utilizing her own power, the man's confidence made it impossible for Leon to dismiss the possibility. A few days prior, he couldn't even imagine being in his current position. Now that he was certain he wasn't dreaming, his mind had opened to the prospect that, quite literally, any and all things were possible...

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