Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game! Book 2

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Book 2

Chapter Nine

The paperwork was filed, the schedule approved, and Viscount Copper Plum Bit was looking at becoming a transfer student to the Ancient Dragon Kingdom. He was uncertain of exactly how he felt about it. The Ancient Dragon Kingdom was already going to be far away from where he was located, and there wasn’t really anything in the game about it. All he really knew was its name, and the fact that it had something of an amicable relationship with the Lunar Sol Kingdom.

Beyond that he really had no idea of what was going to happen over there. Part of him was indeed worried. How could he not be worried? This was a complete unknown. He was going to go and face a world that he knew little about, and that he was even less prepared for than he had been. It wasn’t until he saw Satin coming near him that he took his mind off of what was happening, “Satin?” he asked as he looked at her, “What’s going on?”

She shook her head, “You’re heading to the second game in the series,” she confessed after a moment, “the game you beat was the first in the series, but the second one took place in the Ancient Dragon Kingdom. Bubby, there’s a lot about that place that you need to know. For one, there’s the protagonist that’s over there, and they made her a lot different from Applebloom. Apparently people loved the first game, but they felt that Applebloom was out of place in it. That she was too much of a country bumpkin to be the protagonist.”

She shrugged, “Hey, it was gamers that were posting stuff about the first game when the second one came out,” she replied before she looked around, “see, the second game’s protagonist is meant to become the priestess, but not like Luna. She’s connected to a dragonling, a baby dragon, that is going to end up taking the place of the ancient dragon. It has to because the Ancient Dragon is going to be absorbed by a dark power, and transformed into a weapon of war.”

He stood there, and his eyes widened, “Okay, what the hell is wrong with the people that liked this series?” he asked as he looked at her, “The game mechanics were wonky as hell, it was practically impossible to get anything really done, and it was beyond difficult to beat the game without purchasing a cheat item. The love interests were all practically useless, but I’m guessing that you’ve figured that out already, right?”

She growled at him, “Yeah, I’ve figured it out. I’ve figured it out, and I’m dealing with the fact that I have to take care of five oversized children because I’ve stuck myself with them. This sucks, and it sucks hard. I wish that I never would have pursued the reverse harem. I hate having to constantly make them feel better, and I dislike the idea of constantly trying to help them feel like they deserve anything. Ugh, I wanted an easy life, I wanted parties, dresses, and enough food that I would never have to worry again.”

She looked at him, “It doesn’t matter,” she replied as she stood there, “I need to go with you, but I can’t. Since I’m the Saint I’m supposed to be here,” she said as she gestured to the place, “This was another mistake, wasn’t it?” she asked as she stood there, “I keep having a feeling that something is going to go wrong.”

He studied her, “Okay, what happens toward the end of the game?”

She looked at him for a moment, “Oh, the tie in with the first game is that Lunar Sol Kingdom sends help in the final battle. They send their best warships, and of course the saint is there… Oh, oh no,” she said, the color draining from her face, “I’m going to have to go over there and fight as the Saint. Bubby, I don’t wanna go!”

Copper looked at her and shook his head, “Like it or not, it’s something you’re going to have to do. I get that you feel remorse for this, all of this, but you kind of made your bed here,” he replied as he looked at her, “So, more or less you’re stuck with everything that comes with it. Still, I know that I’m basically going into this blind. I don’t know the first thing about the second game. Actually, he said as he looked at her, “I know nothing about the Ancient Dragon Kingdom other than what I’ve heard in classes.”

She nodded, “Well, ummm… I can, yeah I will. Let me write out what I remember, and I’ll bring it to you. That might be the best option. That way you’ve got some kind of guide that will help you with what’s going to happen over there. Oh, when you arrive there’s going to be a little bit of a scuffle, maybe, that’s happening, or it just happened. If it’s happening let it happen. It needs to happen to set up one of the main love interests for the game. If it has happened then you’ll need to check to make sure that the love interest is okay.”

He studied her for a moment, “Wait, what are you talking about?”

She rolled her eyes, “Look, the first love interest that was seen in the game was seen in an opening cutscene. It was happening at the airship docks, and he was working at those docks. Unlike the rest of the love interests he’s more of an commoner than anyone with a title. Still, during the game he’s marked by a dragonling, actually by the same dragonling that marks the priestess. And that makes him into the guardian. Well, that happens if you happen to meet the requirements for it to happen. If it doesn’t then that will remove him from the pool of potential love interests.”

He wanted to scream at the absurdness of the game that they were stuck in. There was no way to say it other than it was absurd. Certain conditions had to be met in order to get a certain love interest. And likely it was one of those things that you had to get in order to one hundred percent the game. He could only guess the amount of insanity that would have come from that. It wasn’t something that he was actively wanting to deal with, but then again it was something that he knew was going to be put into his lap.

That was just how those things seemed to end up. He nodded, “Okay, when can you get the notes to me?”

She looked at him, “I can maybe get them written out tonight, if I go straight home, and I will, but bubby, when are you set to leave?”

He shook his head, “I’ve got four days to get ready. Mostly because I’ve talked to Diamond Tiara and Applebloom about this already. I also told Sunset Shimmer about it, and they’re wanting to come with me. Which is fine. I already knew that Artemis and Monika were going to come with me. I’m not sure how well they’re going to deal with being at a completely different school in a different nation though.”

She grinned, “Diamond Tiara will be fine. The other, small throwaway connection, to the first game is that her father, Filthy Rich, has some connection to the businesses over there. So, it’s likely that she will be able to navigate the area pretty easily. I’d be more worried about Applebloom. She’s never really been out of the Lunar Sol Kingdom before. It’s going to be a real eye opening situation for her.”

When she said that he realized that she was likely right. Applebloom had been a commoner before becoming engaged to him. The engagement raised her in rank to the same level as Viscount. And of course when he was raised to Earl she would be raised as well. For her this was already a massive culture shock. Going to another country altogether would be an even bigger one.

“I think that she’ll be alright, I really do. She just has to find her feet.”

He noticed that Satin wasn’t agreeing with him, “If you say so,” she replied, “Look, she’s really only ever known her farm, and now the Academy. This is going to be a huge change for her. I know you don’t want to hear this from me, but you really need to take the time over there to help her adjust. She’s going to be flying by the seat of her pants as it is. You don’t want her to have a mental break while you’re over there. I know you, and I know that you would end up blaming yourself for it.”

He didn’t want to admit it, but she had a point. If anything happened to Applebloom over there he would be blaming himself for it. She didn’t need to be made to suffer just to ensure that he was getting everything checked off. Not that it mattered. He was going to have to go regardless. Finding Grogar’s Bell was the main reason. They had to make sure that the Lich couldn’t escape. That meant he was on a serious time crunch as it was.

He looked at Satin for a moment, “Okay, I’m going to have someone I trust keeping an eye on everything here. If that person gets to acting weird, like different from how they would normally act, you need to let King Consort Baked Bean know as soon as possible, and you need to pray that you do have the Saint’s powers, because you’re going to need them.”

She looked at him, her eyes wide, “Wait, why?”

He breathed out, “Remember King Sombra?”

She looked at him, “He was locked away, right?” she asked as she studied him, “I mean that’s what King Consort Baked Bean said when he addressed the Kingdom.”

He laughed, “Well, more or less locked away. He’s being held by Chrysalis for me, but he’s too powerful to be held forever by her. So, I’ve got someone that’s going to check in on Chrysalis, and check in on how well he’s actually locked away. If they start acting weird it means that they’ve been compromised. Likely they, Chrysalis, and all of her drones are dead. If that’s the case you have to let King Consort Baked Bean know so that he can rally a defense, and again, I hope that you’ve actually got the Saint’s powers.”

The look that crossed Satin’s face was one that Copper might have found funny in his previous life, but it was different with the situation at hand. There wasn’t a damned thing funny about the potential for her to fail. This might be the dating sim world, and they might be stuck here, but this was still their life. If she failed, and if everything went to hell, then there would be no coming back from that. That would be it. He knew it, and Satin knew it too.

It was something that unfortunately couldn’t be avoided either. The chances were high, very high, that things could go pear shaped and quick. If that happened then it really would be up to Satin to hold everything together until he got back. Even then there was no guarantee that he could do much to stop the Lich himself. Sure, he’d caused him to have to reconstitute himself into a child’s body, but that appeared to be a stopgap at the most. It wasn’t something that would completely stop him.

He had hoped that being trapped in a pod by Chrysalis would be the thing to keep a tight leash on the Lich, but Chrysalis had explained that he was simply too full of powerful magic. That he would eventually escape, and when that happened it would be more than enough to challenge him. It had taken something that was similar to a nuclear warhead to stop him before. And that had been contained within the living armor.

He had more of them, but he didn’t have anything to contain the blast. Ultimately, it meant that if it came down to it he would have to decide what small area was fine with being destroyed in order to stop the Lich again. And to be honest, that would be difficult in and of itself. The Lich didn’t seem to want to be amicable by going somewhere that was deserted. He was instead fine fighting where there were tons of people. That was exactly what he wanted to avoid. The Lich had been right. He cared too much for everyone else. That was exactly what was his weakness, his kryptonite.

The Lich knew it too. The last time they had fought the only reason he’d won was because he realized that there was no other way of dealing with it. He had to attempt to kill the Lich. He looked at Satin, and he realized that she was still having her moment of dread, “Hey,” he said as he touched her shoulder, “You know that it’s part of the package, right? I mean this was pretty much what the Saint was meant to do. You’re supposed to be prepared to ensure the safety of the Kingdom.”

She shivered and shook her head, “I don’t wanna!” she cried as she latched onto him, “Bubby, please, please, please don’t make me do it! Just come back home and beat him again, okay?! Please?! I don’t wanna have to fight him! I don’t wanna! Why did they even put him in this game?! He’s crazy strong and scary!”

He held her for a moment, allowing her to get her frustrations out. Even in their old life she was like this. She hated having to do anything that even remotely resembled work. Although he could see the bigger difference here. This was facing an undead monarch that was going to ensure the death of pretty much everyone in the Kingdom. Those that he didn’t kill would be brought into his army and forced to become his servants. There was no happy ending if he was able to complete what he set out to do.

She knew that, and he knew that she did. It was also telling that she didn’t want to face him. The telling part was that she likely understood that she wasn’t really qualified to be the Saint. If that was the case then the Kingdom was in for some seriously bad times when it came down to it. The fact that she was unwilling to step up meant that she just wasn’t confident in her ability. More than that she likely wasn’t confident in the very aspect of handling a seriously bad situation. Sure, he had no doubt that her powers were decent, maybe even more powerful than he was willing to give her credit for, but he had a feeling that at the end of the day she was still far weaker than Applebloom when it came to natural magical talent.

Ultimately, it meant that there was a very real chance that she wouldn’t be able to stand on her own when the time came. It meant that he would need to come back and save the day. The issue with that was the fact that doing so would have to come after he found Grogar’s Bell. Doing it beforehand would only result in at best slowing down the Lich. His only real option was going and finding the bell. If he found it then there was every chance that he could ensure that Lich was never released.

He shook his head, “Just do your best. I have to find an artifact over there before I can come back. I have to because it’s the only thing that might stand a chance of stopping the Lich. If I can find it then Chrysalis can likely hold onto him forever. He’ll never be free, and we won’t have to worry.”

She looked at him and shivered, “I don’t like it,” she said her voice sounding uncertain, “You’re talking about being in a completely different Kingdom, and I’m going to have to deal with the situation here. I don’t even know if I can really do it. We’re talking about making sure a powerful necromancer, that happens to be a lich, remains trapped. I get that if he manages to get out that I need to do what I can to stop him, but there’s no guarantee that I can.”

He grinned, “You’re going to have to,” he replied, “The Saint was the one to stop the Lich in the game. That means that you’re going to have to step up. I get it, I’m asking something scary, but consider it like this. You’re going to be protecting this kingdom because you’re one of the idiots that happens to live here. That’s more than enough reason to do it.”

She groaned and looked away, “Sure, I guess,” she replied before she finally stepped back, “I’ll do what I can, and I’ll let King Consort Baked Bean know, but why don’t you want me to let Queen Celestia know?”

He looked at her like she was growing another head, “Okay, I want you to really think about Queen Celestia, how she acts, and what she does. And then I want you to ask that question again,”

She considered it for a moment, “Okay, yeah, that’s fair,” she replied, “So I let King Consort Baked Bean know, and then I do what I can. What kind of support can the King Consort actually come up with?”

He grinned, “The head priestess, the temple knights, and a good section of the normal knights all have an allegiance with King Consort Baked Bean. Trust me when I say that he can call upon a lot of manpower if needed. So, let him call on that manpower. Keep in contact as best you can with me. Use a Dragonfire Mailer if you need, but get me messages, and let me know what’s going on over here. I want to make sure that I’m coming home to a place that is protected.”

She nodded, “I promise.”