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1x1x1x1.
A name that struck fear and curiosity all at once, turning heads when it was spoken. Even now, people still speculate on the old urban legend, adding even more intrigue to the otherwise forgotten tale. Player had never really given it much thought—after all, a myth was a myth, right?
Still, something about the kid who just nearly barreled them over was familiar.
They slowly propped themselves up on their elbows, taking a first look at the boy who was sprawled over them. Sure enough, there was a child with snow white hair, matching cape and a green shirt. The kid was barely their chest height, probably around twelve years old.
He groaned about something or another, slowly getting up.
They both looked at each other, before he suddenly perked up.
“Oh wait, you’re Player right? My name’s 1x1x1x1!” He pointed at himself, as if the name wasn’t something that held so much weight it hurt their head. Despite the unfortunate name, he seemed strangely proud of it. “You gotta to let me come with!”
What now?
“What– kid–!” 1x—could they call him that?—finally got all the way up, a hand outstretched to help them up. Player got up just fine by themselves, making him pout slightly. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“My dad told me you were going to get the SFOTH swords. And I know all about them! So you can’t say no, you need to bring me along!” He asked—no, he demanded. Player couldn’t believe the gall of this kid. They didn’t even know which idiotic parent decided to name their child after an urban legend but they already put them on top of their shitlist.
Calm down, Player.
This is still a kid they don’t know anything about, they shouldn’t solve everything with violence.
“Hell no, there’s no way.”
Player quickly shot it down, knowing that they couldn’t exactly protect a kid while battling who knows what. They weren’t about to suddenly become responsible for anything other than themselves, not that they were responsible with themselves in any stretch of the imagination.
The kid froze for a second before settling into a sad expression, trying to guilt them into saying yes.
“Your dad must’ve got it wrong… or something.” And it sounded like he sucked as well.
1x suddenly looked up, and that was when Player realized that they said that out loud. Before they could even come up with an apology, he beat them to the punch. “You only say that ‘cause you don’t have a dad!”
They choked on their spit, “What the– Who taught you manners, huh!?”
“My dad did!” 1x spat, “What have you got against him anyway?!”
“I don’t got anything against him! I just think… he might want to reconsider his naming choices, that’s all.” 1x1x1x1, seriously? Who in their right mind wanted their kid to be associated with a hacker? “I mean, it might be cool now but your name is infamous for a reason.”
“But I’m not the one who made it weird…”
Now presented with a bashful 1x, Player wasn’t exactly sure how they got into this situation.
A sigh escaped them as they put their hand to their forehead, trying not to sound exasperated. “....Okay, kid. Look, I’m not trying to stop you from doing anything.” 1x opened his mouth, which they quickly interjected. “BUT–!”
A loud stomping noise interrupted them, nearly catching them off guard as their hand flew to their sword. Turning around, Player sighed as they caught sight of the helmet noob and a couple winged ones as well. They held a hand out in front of 1x, which he quickly batted away.
“I got this!” The kid pulled out a sword. Holy shit, the kid had a sword.
What the hell were his parents thinking!?
“You look really stupid right now.” Player quickly shut their mouth, just now realizing that they were staring. “So? Are we gonna fight or not?!”
There were a million reasons why they should’ve said no, but Player just readied their blade and hoped that the enemies targeted them instead of the kid. “I’m not gonna kiss your injuries better if you get any, y’know?”
“Shut up!”
This was going to be a long day.
After a quick battle, in which Player had to use more food than necessary, the enemies were finally all gone.
“Hey uhh,” 1x dragged out the syllable, staring up at the adventurer with a not-so-innocent smile. It seemed like he only used his sweet innocent kid act if he wanted something first. “Can you help me get my sword out, pleaseee?”
They quickly put away the loot that they got from the fight, “Out from where?”
As it turned out, the kid had somehow gotten his weapon stuck into the ground. Player swiftly pulled the sword out, but not without some heaving and maneuvering first. Then came a question, how did 1x even manage to get his blade in the ground when the enemies were either taller than him or flying?
They stared at the black-stained sword, which had a strange greenish sheen. It looked similar to something the 1x1x1x1 of myth would use, a sword named the deamonshank or glitch sword, if they remembered correctly.
“C’mon, hurry up, slowpoke!” Their eyes twitched at the voice. Just once, they wanted him to be nice just once.
Suddenly, a lightbulb lit up in their head as the weapon glinted in their hand.
“Y’know what?” They turned, finding 1x scowling slightly. “If you’re gonna be difficult,” Pausing for dramatic effect, Player adjusted their grip and hauled the sword over their shoulders. Far, far away from any grabby hands. “I’m gonna keep your sword, kid.”
There were a few seconds of very entertaining silence where 1x’s face grew from shock to disbelief and then, panic. A smirk spread over their face in turn.
“Say what!?!”
As expected, he tried to jump and get his sword back which was when Player lifted the blade above their head. Despite his small size, they found themselves having to twist and turn to avoid the determined assault for the weapon. And when that didn't work, 1x tried a barrage of punches and jabs while trying to physically wrench them down.
It wouldn't have hurt, if 1x didn't hit nearly as close to the bruises they just got.
Food didn't fix everything, they discovered.
“GIVE IT BACK!!”
They tutted, lightly pushing him away. “Nuh-uh, gotta learn your lesson first.”
“And you're stealing my sword! I could get you banned for this, y'know?!” The hits grew weaker as 1x realized it was ineffective, face flushing a bright red from how pissed he was. “I’m being serious! I know the Builderman–!”
“Sure you do, kid.”
Player finally got themselves far away enough, slipping the sword inside of their messenger bag. And in the next moment, they had to stop 1x from trying to punch directly in their stomach.
“Okay, okay that's enough!” Well, screw them for trying to solve things without violence.
1x huffed, “You're being mean!”
“I told you I'll give it back!” The adventurer quickly realized the problem with that. They couldn't very well just take the kid's sword, well… Wait, they absolutely could just do that. After a bit of deciding on whether they should, Player just booked it and hoped for the best.
“HEY!!!”
Player did eventually have to give 1x his sword back, not out of necessity but because they felt bad. It wasn't as if they were running very fast since the kid had to be able to catch up to them somehow, or maybe they were just saying that to make themselves feel better. But what's the difference, right?
“Alright, alright fine.” They carefully handed it over, feeling a strange sort of churning under the cold metal.
1x laughed, looking very pleased with himself. “...Yes! Hah, I win!”
The sword was put back into its sheath which Player wouldn't have noticed from the draping cape hiding it. The both of them ended up walking side-by-side, despite them trying not to draw attention so they could escape.
They sighed, “...You're just not gonna quit, are you?”
“I told you already, dummy. I'm not gonna take no for an answer.” A cheeky grin appeared on 1x’s face, all teeth. “Now let's go find the Ice Dagger!”
“Alright, fine. C'mon, kid.” It would probably be better if Player came along with him, just in case.
“Stop calling me a kid!”
And so, Player found themselves in an unlikely adventure with 1x1x1x1, who really shouldn't be let anywhere near a weapon. Not to mention the fact that he was technically underage and wasn't supposed to go on dangerous adventures.
They can deal with that another time.