Little Pink Starfish

An unwelcome guest is, of course, a guest that nobody wants to see. Oak was well aware of that fact—Lanno Territory, now under Aiken’s control, was not going to welcome him.
But he still had to go.

The situation in the capital was growing increasingly dire. Oak had met with Viscount Frey, who was often praised as a royal scion, but Oak found nothing admirable about him.
In fact, he believed that the young lord of Lanno Territory, newly risen to power, might even surpass Frey.

Because of his past relationship with Aiken, Oak knew far more about the young Earl Eagle than others. He knew Aiken often corresponded with him and would even joke about Eagle when in good spirits.
To outsiders, the young earl wasn’t highly regarded—too young, raised in near isolation, and rumored to be temperamental and spoiled.

But to Oak, that seemed like a mask.

The Boswick family was one of the oldest and most powerful noble lineages in the Kingdom of Esmia. Even after temporarily losing political influence, they quickly regained power.
Aiken, as a newly ennobled lord, may have held the land officially, but to the Boswick family, they never considered that territory lost—it had always been theirs. Oak had been sent to Aiken’s side to make sure of that.

Oak had never agreed with such quick action, but he wasn’t the only decision-maker in the family.

Even though he knew how hypocritical it was, Oak still wanted to apologize to Aiken personally. Even if Aiken thought his gestures were insincere or deceitful, emotions don’t switch on and off like that.
Aiken wasn’t stupid—if Oak had been acting too fake, they never would have grown that close.

“But knowing Aiken’s personality, he’s unlikely to accept my apology.”
Oak was self-aware. He knew from the beginning that there was no hope of forgiveness.
Still, he wanted to go—he had always followed his own will. If he wanted something, he acted on it.

But what Oak didn’t expect was this: in Lanno Territory, it was Aiken calling the shots—Earl Eagle was not present. That was a major revelation. Oak was confident that even those in the capital didn’t know this yet.

So when his request for an audience was denied, he wasn’t surprised.

Compared to Oak, the lich felt increasingly uncomfortable. He quietly said to Jekko, “We’ve brought him to Lanno Territory. Can we go now?”

Jekko frowned, looking around. In the short time he had been gone, Lanno Territory had undergone dramatic change.

“Strange… There are hardly any Bix people visible on the streets.”

If Viscount Frey had sent someone to scout the area now, they’d probably think Jekko had been lying—because there were no signs of the Bix.

Casey City was already rebuilt, and even Arzi was halfway done. The pace was fast, but not shocking given the Bix’s talent for construction.
Still, where had the Bix gone? The half-built structures in Arzi sat quiet and abandoned.

“Isn’t fewer Bix people a good thing?” the lich muttered, still traumatized by the strange race. In his opinion, it was best they never appear again.

Jekko shook his head. “You don’t understand. Didn’t you hear? The lord of Lanno isn’t here. It’s Earl Aiken in charge now.”

“Huh?” The lich blinked, confused.

Jekko took a deep breath and looked east of Casey City. “That way lies the Duchy of Barst. Earl Aiken wouldn’t say where Eagle went, but I suspect he’s somewhere within Barst’s borders.”

Given Eagle’s identity, if he had traveled anywhere else in Esmia, Grand Duke Burke Angre would’ve intervened. Jekko, having once served Viscount Frey, had some understanding of the connections between the Grand Duke, Eagle, and King Leiser.

So if Eagle wasn’t in Lanno, the only logical destination was Barst Duchy.

Oak looked at Jekko. He realized this pale, skinny youth was unexpectedly clever.
“You think Earl Eagle went to Barst?”

“Yes,” Jekko replied without hesitation. “It borders the frontier. Barst is frequently plagued by civil unrest. If Eagle’s trying to break free from Lanno’s constraints, heading there is a smart move.”

He had originally believed Eagle would wait until spring to act—winter wasn’t a good time for war. But with the Bix, maybe not even a noble army could stop him.

Still, if Eagle invaded Barst, wouldn’t the local nobles band together against him?
Preparation was lacking. If Jekko were in charge, he’d send people ahead to bribe and divide the local lords before attempting a slow takeover of Frost Maple Territory.

What exactly was Eagle planning?

No matter how smart Jekko was, he couldn’t anticipate the variable named Svig.
Even people in Lanno had long forgotten the second son of the Lanno family. Most believed him dead—or forever a wandering mercenary.
He had always been at odds with nobility—completely different from Burke Angre, who was the textbook noble.

If not for Lady Red Maple, Svig might have remained a free mercenary, with no ties to nobility at all.

But Lady Red Maple had existed.

Oak stopped outside Golden Rose Manor. He knew Aiken was inside, but he couldn’t barge in—this was Eagle’s estate. As a noble, entering uninvited would be tantamount to declaring war, which Oak had no intention of doing.

But with Eagle absent, Aiken refused to let him in, which made Oak’s purpose for coming here impossible to achieve.

Finally, the lich couldn’t hold back anymore. “Lord Oak, now that we’ve arrived at Lanno Territory, our guide duty is done. Perhaps you could pay us and let us return home—I’ve been away a long time.”

Oak still didn’t know the lich’s true nature—he just thought he was a mage.
This lich was young and not yet powerful. The aura of death around him wasn’t strong, and as long as he didn’t use magic, his identity wouldn’t be exposed.
But if he still had that Eye of the Undead Pei Sen had confiscated, he’d have been outed immediately.

Oak paused, then gestured for his knight to give the lich a bag of coins. “If possible, I’d like to hire you both a little longer.”

The lich gleefully counted his money. This noble seemed generous.

Jekko, however, was alarmed. He immediately pulled the lich back and muttered, “No—we should leave now, Lord Oak…”

But it was too late. The knights had already surrounded them.

The tall, dark-haired noble on horseback had a trustworthy, upright appearance.
But that was only appearance.

Aiken knew this all too well.

Jekko sighed—he was too late. He had suspected Oak’s motives when he hired them, but Oak Boswick was a strange man. He had a natural charisma, a knack for gaining trust—a rare and dangerous gift.

He looked like the ideal knight—noble, upright, dependable.

To make things worse, the lich had been eager to accept Oak’s offer because of the money.
Jekko was poorer than even the lich, and when the lich had invited him home out of pity, Jekko had decided to follow him for now.
If it had been just him, he never would have agreed to Oak’s offer.

And as it turned out—he’d been right. That lich was going to get himself killed one day over greed.

Earlier, he’d offended the Lanno lord for coin. Now, he was getting into trouble again for another bag of gold.

The lich stared around, dumbfounded by their sudden capture. “What’s going on?!”

“Since I can’t enter Golden Rose Manor,” Oak said politely, “I needed an excuse.”
Jekko looked at him coldly. “You knew who we were all along?”

“Not at first,” Oak admitted with a smile. “But I started suspecting. Your conversations gave you away. And knowing Viscount Frey… if he sent someone to harm Earl Eagle, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

This tall noble, seemingly more brawn than brain, was in fact sharp and strategic.

As the knights closed in, the lich considered fighting back—but Jekko gripped his hand and shook his head slightly.

No one yet knew the lich had once attempted to assassinate Eagle. He’d always worn a black hood when acting, and no one had seen his true face.
Jekko didn’t want him to blow his cover—maybe he could still help him get out of this. But if the lich was exposed, things would be much worse.

After all, Golden Rose Manor housed priests from the Church of Radiance—sworn enemies of all liches.
Even if the lich had never lifted a finger against Eagle, he wouldn’t be allowed to live.

So the two were quickly tied up and dragged away.

Still on horseback, Oak said calmly, “Go inform Golden Rose Manor that I’ve captured two assassins who once tried to kill Earl Eagle.”

Aiken had already sent someone to check what was happening. When he heard the report, he sighed. “So it was him…”

Vido snorted. “Still the same despicable snake.”

First he conned them into guiding him, then handed them over at the gate—should she even be surprised, given Oak Boswick had betrayed them once before?

“But the two assassins might be real,” Aiken admitted. He didn’t think Oak was lying—not about that.

“What should we do now, milord?”

With Eagle gone, Aiken couldn’t just throw Oak out. He knew Eagle wouldn’t let the assassins escape.
“The communication array still needs a few days to finish. Most of the Bix here have already been summoned to Frost Maple Territory. Messages are hard to send right now.” Aiken thought for a moment. “Let him in. Lock the two assassins in the manor’s dungeon. Put Oak in the guest wing to wait—I’ll contact Eagle and let him decide.”

Vido nodded. “It’s all we can do for now.”

Neither she nor Aiken had any desire to meet Oak in person.

Oak got his wish and entered Golden Rose Manor, though he didn’t get to see the person he wanted.
Jekko and the lich weren’t so lucky—they were thrown into the dungeon.

The lich was on the verge of tears. He felt like this might actually be the end for him.
Jekko looked at the young man beside him and sighed. “I dragged you into this.”

If he hadn’t hired the lich, none of this would’ve happened.

The lich muttered dejectedly, “It’s fine. I was greedy—it’s on me.”

He wasn’t the type to blame others for everything.

Jekko looked down at his reddened, bruised hands. “It’s okay. I still have one last option…”

If it came to it, he was willing to give up the hard-won freedom he’d just gained.

---

At that moment, Eagle—still in Frost Maple Territory—had not yet received word. The communication array connecting Red Maple Castle and Golden Rose Manor was still under construction.
Eagle hadn’t brought the manor’s mages with him—they had been loyal to Kesso, not him.
Now, only Pei Sen and a junior mage from Red Maple Castle were working on the array, so it was progressing slowly.

If any players were still in Lanno, they might’ve seen Oak and posted about it on the forums—Pei Sen would’ve learned about it. But nearly all the players had flocked to Icecrag City and Blackstone City.

The lure of easy money had them abandoning all other quests.

The public beta was about to begin. When it did, quests would be in high demand. The Blackrock Gang didn’t have many members—surely they’d be wiped out soon. So the players wanted to milk them while they could.

Originally, the Blackrock Gang hadn’t taken the new Swordmasters seriously. Most were only level 2 or 3, and they didn’t even seem that united.
The gang had seen these Swordmasters—supposedly sent to kill them—fighting each other instead. Same faction, same lord, yet they attacked as if sworn enemies.

Often, it ended with one group slaughtering the other.

So the Blackrock Gang hadn’t been worried. If these ten thousand Swordmasters weren’t united and were weak, they weren’t a threat.

But they soon realized they were wrong.

“These people aren’t afraid to die—they’re maniacs!”
“And have you noticed? We’ve killed so many, but their numbers never seem to shrink!”

None of the gang’s leaders, including Boulder, had fought the Bix directly.
But whenever a leader appeared, the Bix dropped everything to hunt them down. It was too risky.

This was their third emergency meeting that week.

Initially, the other six leaders had mocked Boulder for running away. Even if they said a few nice words, they secretly sneered at him.
But now? Even they were exhausted and terrified.

“If we don’t do something soon, our men will start turning on us,” said Wintersting, one of the original founders of the Blackrock Gang and longtime ally of the former boss. He was respected by all.

At his side sat the gang’s female leader, Black Rose. Pei Sen had chuckled when he first saw the name—somehow, every setting always had a “Black Rose.”

Her real name was just Rose. A commoner from Icecrag City, she took the name Black Rose after joining the gang.
She was Wintersting’s second-in-command and controlled the gang’s finances and brothels.

“We’ve lost too many people recently,” she said calmly. “I suggest we make peace with the new lord.”

“Peace?” snarled Blood Wolf, another senior leader known for his temper. Despite the name, he wasn’t related to Kui Wolf. A street kid turned gang leader, he was far stronger than Kui ever was.
“That new lord has no intention of peace! Look how those monsters under him kill every one of us without mercy! He wants us dead!”

The room fell silent. All eyes turned to Wintersting.

He sighed. “Let’s hold out a little longer… The boss should be back soon.”

Everyone visibly relaxed. Black Rose even smiled. “If the boss is back, everything will be fine.”

They had absolute faith in their boss—he was the reason they dared to act so boldly.

They were waiting. Pei Sen was waiting. The Blackrock Gang waited for their boss to return. Pei Sen waited for the start of the public beta.

The launch date drew closer, and Pei Sen felt increasingly nervous.
He suspected the first day of open beta would be absolute chaos.

“Let’s hope Bix Magic Cube is ready for it.”

Then he reassured himself—there was no need to worry. So far, everything had gone according to plan. As long as the beta opened on time, the game would continue normally.

But Pei Sen still feared: what if the beta reveals something terrible?

“Is that how Alyria became known as the infamous PVP server?”

In time, Alyria became synonymous with danger, chaos, and lawlessness.
It was the perfect playground for PVP lovers—there was always a fight.

Right now, Alyria wasn’t like that.

“Did the players ruin Alyria? Is that how it became what it is?”

As the first server opened to players, Alyria’s order had completely collapsed.
Later servers didn’t suffer the same fate.

Pei Sen suspected it was because Bix Magic Cube, still in development, hadn’t fully accounted for everything. And that led to countless unintended outcomes.

Eventually, this server—Alyria—was completely destroyed.

“Let’s hope it goes smoothly this time. At least, let’s not see this place ruined again.”

Pei Sen stood in Red Maple Castle, looking out at the distant mountains.

To the players, this was just a server. NPCs dying? Who cared?
If one server was ruined, they could just move to another.

Even in chaos and evil, they’d still find fun.

But Pei Sen didn’t want to see the native people of Alyria dying in droves. He didn’t want to see the land consumed by madness.
He didn’t want players to turn this place into a paradise for criminals.

“But… can I really change all that?” Pei Sen wasn’t confident.

The public beta date was almost here.

He couldn’t stop it. The players were coming. That much was certain.

He opened the game interface, wanting to say something to the GM…
But then closed it again.

At this point, anything he said felt powerless and pointless.

He could only hope that Bix Magic Cube, ever learning, would learn faster.
At the very least, to find better ways of restraining players.

Because at its core, Bix Magic Cube was a game system constantly learning, constantly adapting to outwit the players.

“You better be reliable.”

On December 9th, the world’s first real holographic game—
Bix Magic Cube—
will begin its unrestricted public beta, right on schedule!