Side Character Who Became the Pseudo-Protagonist

Chapter 6: The DLC Character

Nice, another survivor!

I was starting to think that it was just Ruby and I, all by our lonesome in this gigantic testing facility.

Come to think of it, how come this place was filled with Operators and Operator cadets, yet no one else was around to help Leon in the game?

Ahh well, writing the prologue was probably not too high on the priority list. It’s all about the heroines’ backstories after all.

I managed to shuffle near the door before calling out.

"Hey...! Is anyone in there? Did you manage to survive this hell-hole, too?"

The rustling that I had heard from before suddenly stopped. Silence passed by, and I even heard the metaphorical crows cawking.

But after a while, a strand of long black hair with grayish highlights peeked out from the room, on edge. The person came out right after, but by that time, I already knew who they were.

’That’s...Aidan Alfine...!’

He was the first DLC character to be released as a playable companion.

Obviously, he was simply collecting dust in the party selector, the same fate as Nolan Midgard, for the same reasons too.

However, it was the developer’s attempt at trying to entice a female audience by creating a handsome figure.

Though for a time, it worked. Female players started coming to the game and tried it out. But his release was one of the most controversial within the community.

All for one single reason:

Why the hell does a dating sim need a character with RTS-based mechanics!?

You heard that right.

Even in a turn-based game, the character was so hard to pilot that it deterred the girls from playing and weeded out any potential min-maxers because he wasn’t even that good.

There was no point using him over another Heroine who filled the same role.

"...Why are you staring at me like that?"

Oh...I had briefly forgotten he was a real person instead of just an in-game character.

But I was quickly reminded when a floating sword from right behind him just barely stopped beneath my throat and hovered there.

"Let’s not be rash. I’m in the same situation as you."

I looked at the generator and the empty can of what I assumed to be gasoline before my gaze found his again.

"Look, we’re both trying to do the same thing. You’re trying to get to the emergency relay tower to send for help, right? Me too! Let’s work together."

"Nolan Midgard..."

"You know me? Right, that makes it easier. Let—"

"I don’t want to work with someone like you."

How could I forget? Aidan was a character who had this setting.

Well, I didn’t really touch Aidan’s route, seeing as he was so hard to play and a male character, but from what I read online, it was bad.

Since he was from a branch family of the Alfine’s, he probably hated all the main children of the Nine Houses of Ygg. Which meant...Nolan Midgard was probably at the top of that blacklist.

[Character Recognition Accomplished]

’What?’

[Displaying Character Data]

[Name: Aidan Alfine]

[Role: DLC Character]

[Eidolon Structure:]

‣ Control: A+

‣ Processing: B

‣ Output: F

‣ Projection: C

‣ Storage: C

[Spell Drive Data:]

‣ [Polarity Field] — Innate Magnetic Control Type

‣ [Repulse] — Tier 1 Vector Displacement Type

‣ [Attract] — Tier 1 Vector Recall Type

‣ [Orbit] — Tier 1 Vector Rotation Type

[Warning: Character Data Incomplete]

That’s strange, so when I meet a side character I know and recognize, the system displays their stats to me? Is that a perk of the Pseudo-Player System?

Wait, then why didn’t it pop up for Ruby?

Regardless, it seems like his stats translate roughly similarly to how he was in the game, with the caveat of his actual ability.

Aidan’s archetype was supposed to be the cool "Sword Intent" guy, controlling flying swords and slashing enemies with them with moves like [Swords Dance] and [Swords Descend].

But it seems not to work that way from his spell drive data?

Ahh, whatever, that’s not the main issue right now. He can do all his cool and flashy moves later, but the problem was:

’How the hell do I get him to cooperate with me?’

Right...he was a softie for literally everyone else.

"Look, there are other survivors in the building, one on the comms with me right now. We’re probably the only ones in a position to do something."

"If you don’t like me, fine. But at least let’s get everyone out of here."

"..."

Aidan narrowed his eyes, taking a moment to think about my offer before finally pressing something on his wristband, presumably a Spell Driver.

The sword, which had been hovering at my throat, came back to him before locking on a magnetic sheath on his back effortlessly.

"Fine. What do you have in mind?"

Ahhh...that was scary. For a second, I really thought he was going to do something rash.

"We need to get to the top to recalibrate the emergency relay tower. And the elevator is probably the fastest and safest way to do so."

"And that’s why you’re here?"

"Yeah."

Just as I answered, the lights suddenly turned on.

"Great, seems like you started already."

"It won’t last long. The backup tank was almost empty when I found it."

"How long?"

"Long enough for us to stand around here twiddling our thumbs."

"..."

’Does this guy always have to be so sarcastic?’

I looked past him, toward the hallway on the right, and managed to spot the executive office Ruby had mentioned earlier.

"Let’s move, it’s right over there."

Past the executive office entrance was a small elevator lobby with two sleek silver doors standing side by side.

For a brief and beautiful moment, I thought our luck had finally turned around. Then I saw the first elevator.

The doors were half open, revealing nothing but darkness inside and the control panel beside it had been ripped out so badly that wires hung loose like intestines.

Aidan scowled at the panel.

"That one’s dead..."

’Thank you, Mr. Obvious.’

The second elevator looked a little better, but the problem was the display above the entrance door, flickering weakly.

[3F]

It was on the floor beneath us.

"Damn..."

But Aidan didn’t seem too bothered, unsheathing the sword from behind his back before looking at the door like it was his arch-nemesis.

"Stand back."

Though he didn’t particularly wait for me to do so.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Vector Displacement Type—]

[Repulse]

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Vector Recall Type—]

[Attract]

Immediately, the sword flew out of his hand and stabbed into the steel doors, carving a big enough hole to fit through before moving right back onto his back like it had never left.

His ability really did work differently than what I had expected...

I had assumed it was all just some sort of telekinesis magic, like other sword-controlling character archetypes.

But seeing Aidan load those two spells into his Spell Driver, a thought had occurred to me.

’Was he constantly using those two spells over and over again in order to move those swords around?’

That’s insane micro-control...

It was basically like making a sword fly by surrounding it with invisible magnets, then flipping the poles from positive to negative for every tiny adjustment.

"What are you spacing out for? Let’s go."

Before I had even answered him, he had already jumped down into the abyss below.

"Urgh...why didn’t the system pick him as the protagonist. He’s got all the qualities!"

But I decided not to complain any longer and stepped off the edge as well.

Thankfully, I was in the body of Nolan Midgard, an enhanced human, or else I would’ve been splat on the elevator roof.

Aidan was already crouched beside the maintenance panel on top of the elevator, prying it open with one of his swords.

Inside was a mess of wires, switches, and glowing emergency controls that I knew nothing about.

"Can you make it go up?"

"Probably."

He pressed two fingers to his wristband, configuring it somehow and causing the blue particles emitting from his body to seep into the controls.

KRRRKK—

The elevator jolted, then slowly, began to rise.

"...It’s working."

"Don’t sound so surprised."

"I’m extremely surprised."

The elevator crawled upward through the shaft, slow enough that I could feel every grind of machinery beneath my feet.

The walls slid past us, emergency lights flashing red through the gaps between floors.

And the best part of all, there were no Ironmane Wolves here to maul my face. That’s always a win in my book.

I touched the communication device at my waist.

"Ruby, can you hear me?"

Static crackled for a while before her voice came through.

[...Nolan?]

"Yeah, we got the elevator moving. We’re heading up the eastern shaft. Keep an eye on the cameras and tell us if anything comes near."

Aidan leaned in from the side.

"That the other survivor you’re talking about?"

"Yeah, she’s in the security room on the ground floor right now. She’s injured but hopefully safe."

[Krrrkk...—No...Nolan...!]

"Damn it, are the comms getting fried the higher we get?"

[N...Nolan—KRRRKK...some—Thing...UNDER—NEATH!]

Underneath?

The moment that word registered, something slammed into the bottom of the elevator shaft.

BANG—!

The entire elevator jolted upward for a bit before dropping into place, causing my feet to almost slip out from under me.

"Whoa—!"

I grabbed onto the maintenance railing on top of the elevator, barely stopping myself from falling flat on my face.

One of Aidan’s swords managed to stab itself into the shaft wall beneath, anchoring itself in place.

"That doesn’t sound good."

I swallowed hard, realizing there was only one monster capable of doing such a thing.

"Shit!"

Leaning slowly over the edge of the elevator roof, I looked down through the gap between the shaft wall and the moving car.

Only to see two red eyes underneath, staring back at me.

A massive wolf was currently running up from the elevator shaft walls, its body easily twice the size of the other Ironmanes, with spikes on its head that looked like a jagged crown.

The Ironmane Alpha, a Class-E Boss Monster that was supposed to be defeated by the protagonist near the end of the prologue.

The protagonist, who was currently very dead.

"Aidan! Can this thing go any faster!"

"This is as fast as it can go!"

A roar tore through the shaft, hitting me almost like a physical blow.

My ears rang, my knees weakened, and for a second, I genuinely thought my body had forgotten how to breathe.

[Debilitating Roar], the Ironmane Alpha’s signature move.

Just when I managed to compose myself and take another peek out in the darkness...it was gone.

’What the hell?! Where did it go?!’

But that was when I felt an immense bloodlust above me.

Because it was already pouncing on us from above.