Midel's POV
"Wait... how did you?"
I can't believe what I just heard. I'm sure I'm too young to misheard what he just told me. The connections was not that bad so clearly, there's no doubt what he said was the truth.
He really knew my identity.
"But. If that's the case... why didn't you tell anyone?" I've been keeping this identity for so long, so meticulous about everything. And yet, this guy knew my secret but didn't utter a single word of it.
"Are you free tonight?" He suddenly changed the topic.
"I am, why?"
"Then let's meet inside the game. Let's talk. Eight in the evening at the town of Evinal. I'll be waiting at the entrance. Are you down?"
I can't help but smile. Nodding like he's just right infront of me. "Okay. See you there, then."
__
At the entrance of Evinal town. Two minutes late after eight in the evening. I arrived at our meeting place.
Just by the look of it. I can sense it was him. Tall avatar. All-white custom, looks like a kind and entertaining magician. White hat and a pistol hidden by his waist. Round eyeglasses. Probably a hidden scope tool, like a veteran marksman player should have.
Strong posture and aura. And yet, have the brightest smile I have ever seen. Waving at me as soon as he saw me approaching. He clearly knew me just by the looks of it. And I don't know if I should be cautious or happy about it. Maybe I can find out along the way.
"Sorry I'm late."
"Seriously. That's too little to be concern about. Come on, let's find some place safe for a private chat."
He's too kind for a guy I just met once. Actually, I did some research about him and it turns out, he is actually a wealthy son of a man named Arthur Banner. A business owner of one of the Mall in the city. And many more affairs in which I'm too tired to mention.
In short, this Ceil guy might be a perfect replacement to be relied on. No. That sounded too dark. Maybe more about being a reliable person I could trust with my secret. Just like Mr. Douglas.
Not that long of a walk. We arrived a pub and on the third floor, the most private part of the place is located. It is a huge floor and only the two of us are present.
Sitting opposite to each other by the round wooden table, he smiled at me, looking amused of something. Not long after that, he finally spoke. "I must admit. You still seemed dissatisfied with what I told you over the call few hours ago. I know how you feel right now. And you're not going to trust me in a blink about not sharing your secret identity to the world. But I want to clarify this important thing, Lazarus."
"Just call me Midel. It's too carefree to call me by my IGN."
He cleared his throat. "Yeah. Sorry. As I was saying; I just want you to know that, you can trust me with this secret. No one will know about it unless you'll do it yourself."
"I'm not going to do that."
"Exactly." He leaned over the table. "So. Are we on the same page now, Midel?"
"Quick question: How did you actually know I am what you thought I am?" I'm beginning to trust this guy, I must admit it no matter how fast this thing is going. But still, I need to be sure of what I'm going to be getting myself into.
He then pointed at his temple. Smirking like some cocky detective on every tv shows that knew the tricks of a case. "It's an instinct."
"You're a smart one?" I can't recall anything in the past where I left things unusual that may give anyone hints of who I really am. So knowing that this guy actually revealing my secret identity personally must be a real deal clever for a reason.
"Smart? You can say that."
"How smart?"
"I can't possibly scale it through numbers or figures."
"Are you good at fighting?"
"No. I'm great at it."
I smiled.
He clasped his hands. "So. Am I hired already?"
I shook my head. "Not so fast," I stood up and walked downstairs. "Let's test your abilities in a more practical way."
His amused face lightened up with determination. "Well. It's better to see it for yourself than just by telling it like a story, eh? I must agree this'll work even better for the both of us. In fact, I also wanted to see you in the middle of combat, more closely."
"Meeting a fan was my first."
"Oh, don't get nervous because of it. It'll be a lot of fun!"
After a couple of minutes. We entered a dungeon in the middle of a forest. It is an S Rank Dungeon. Probably worth 15 levels down as a penalty for the failing players.
The mission is to find a jewelry of a princess. And the dungeon area sets in a town in the middle of a night. Where no single souls are around except for the both of us.
This is rather creepy than adventurous.
"You've been here before?" Ceil asked. Looking at every corners of the alley we walked by. Hands inside his pockets and too carefree of his every steps.
While I'm obligated to look behind and above us for some irregularities. "No. This is my first time in this dungeon."
Every dungeon had a raid limit of it. The more visits the dungeon has, the more difficult it could be cleared. And if I remembered it right. This visit is the last for this dungeon for all nine times it was cleared. That means,
Ceil quickly pulled out his gun and deliberately fired behind us. The sound resonated in the quiet night. But that followed only by another long awkward silence. "I heard something."
"Yeah. I can see that." He must be better than me in terms of hearing ability. This guy really is not just all talk. He is truly an experienced player.
And then. A shadow appeared right behind us. As it almost strucked my companion's back with its sword, I catched its blade and broke it barehandedly. Faster than a blink.
Right after that, this shadow cautiously steps backward but Ceil finally noticed it. And in a swift turn of his arm and eyes, took another shot from his pistol and blasted the enemy's brain right of the bat.
"Incredible." I couldn't help but compliment his fast aim and precision.
"Look alive, Lazarus. We are just getting started." He said, as soon as multiple enemies with the same speeds and combat levels appeared both in our radars.