ã€ŠAether Dragonã€‹


 Prototype: Game over?

    For several years I played the MMORPG Storm and Tempest. It was a place where players could travel through the torn worlds of The Rift. Giant floating islands filled with dungeons and bosses, divided by massive storms of arcane energies named The Aether.

    It took me quite a while to level up my character, a dragonkin by the name Kyroz. From the lower level plateau to the war-torn wastelands of aether ravaged worlds. I enjoyed my time on all player vs. environment events I found and collected as most achievements I could manage. When it came to player vs. player, I usually was the one on the losing side though.

    As Kyroz, I didn¡¯t need to level alone. When I finally got to level 15, a quest line led me to create my first NPC follower. After a quest chain in some city, I created a winged demoness who I named Mia. I selected the Thief and Monk classes as her starting point.

    Then at level 35, I completed the requirements for my second follower. This time I needed a healer. Thinking that ablood-sucking monster using light magic sounded cool, I choosea vampire that I named Sira. She was both a Warrior and a Priest; I was hoping to get something like a paladin. Around that time Mia had maxed out her classes, so I changed them for aBard and Elemental Mage, more or less balancing our party.

    My last NPC follower was a foxkin named Holly. I knew immediately I wanted her as a Priest and Elemental Mage. I took advantage of racial traits and unlocked classes to change most of them. For the end game, Mia remained as an Assassin and Archer. I droped the cool light-wielding vampire and gave Sira Psychic and Swordswoman classes.

    My tree followers were a balanced party themselves, as the player I directed them and filled any gaps and corrected some mistakes. I had all of their skills because for my followers to even learn a class, I had to master it first.

    I joined some guilds, but after some time they faded and was again waiting in the queues looking for groups. Raid parties with other players were fun, but the most enjoyable was the game scenarios. A group of random players with their NPC followers fighting together in a particular overworld dungeon.

    The game allowed you to customize parts of the IA of each follower. It required you to know how to code a script that managed their behavior. Most players copy-pasted them from the internet. For me, it took a lot of tweaking, until I could manage to balance my NPC party. After a while, I could clear several max level dungeons alone which granted me several fancy achievements.

    Most people jumped directly to max level and enjoyed only the end-game content. I preferred to enjoy it slowly, questing and exploring the Rift as I learned its lore.

    Commercially, Storm and Tempest was a flop. A failure that I enjoyed it nevertheless. Seven years and three expansions after, the MMO was shutting down, and I had to say goodbye to Mia, Sira, Holly, and Kyroz.

    I was seeing the Rift for the last time when a server-wide message popped with the words SERVER SHUTDOWN and THANK YOU FOR PLAYING!.

    Soon after the game client was back on the login screen and a window with the message ¡°Error 503: Service unavailable.¡± asked me to continue. I just shut down my laptop and went to sleep.

    <hr>

    I don''t want to get up. It is breezy, and the sun is annoying, but I deserve to laze around!

    ¡°Ma¡­ ake¡­¡±

    And, my head feels light. It hurts a little bit. This odd sensation, I know of it. It feels just like when I decided to stay up all night gaming, or the time I did it to read everything up to the last chapter of a novel, or that night when I binge watched a 300 episode series.

    ¡°Mas¡­ ake up!¡±

    But I went to sleep, did I not? I mean, sure, the game shut down around three a.m. at home, but tomorrow is Sunday, so no problems on waking up in the afternoon, right?

    ¡°Mia! What is taking you so long?! Wake him up now!¡±

    Suddenly a kick threw me off of my bed, into the dirt of the ground.

    Wait, dirt?

    As I look down, I can see both of my hands and notice many unnatural triangles with sharp yet barely noticeable borders. The skin seems simplistic, without the small tinctures and details. The wrinkles and veins of a proper hand are not present here. The floors dirt is the same, it looks like a painting, even if the sandiness feeling is alright I cant scoop the dust off the ground.

    ¡°Master! Quickly we need to go!¡±

    Rising my head, I see a winged demoness in a black dress and white apron. I recognized her immediately as Mia, the NPC I spent so much time, and whom I departed just a few hours ago.

    ¡°Dear, it is not the time to be dumbfounded! The aether is closing in!¡±

    A woman with wavy honey-colored hair calls to me, even without the fox ears and tail this avatar could only be Holly.

    ¡°Sira, you may need to kick him again,¡± says Holly to the third person in the group.

    She was shorter than the other two and looks younger. Her skin is pale with a blue tinge. Sira¡¯s red eyes stare back at me with a worried look.

    ¡°What is happening? A dream?¡± I say looking at the NPC followers around me. ¡°How are you even talking?¡±

    I knew at a simple glance where I was. I was standing in the bank of a river south of one of the game capitals. It was the place where I left my character when the game shut down.

    ¡°Why am I here? What is¡­that?!¡±

    Fear. Whatever that thing is, it gives me dread. In front of me, behind the NPCs is a giant storm of aether rampaging and closing in. It was an effect I never before saw in the many years playing, but what else could it be because of the color and aurora-like look.

    ¡°Leave it for later Ky. We must run.¡±

    With Sira''s words signaled Mia to take my hand and pull me. The three of us run north as fast as we can. The low-level bears and wolves are running alongside us. The mobs don¡¯t bother to fight us even when in aggro range. Whatever that aether storm is, the creatures feel the danger on an instinctual level.

    ¡°This is not working Sira! Dear, can¡¯t you fly us away?¡±

    ¡°Fly? Ah! The dragon form! Shit, how do I use it without the action bars?¡±

    ¡°Action bars? Do what you always do!¡± said Sira as she jumped over a fallen tree.

    Didn¡¯t a treasure hunt quest end there? No this was not the time for that. I tried to think in my dragon mount, but nothing, I could not concentrate while running. The city gates could be barely seen, clipped in half by the render distance.

    After I look up, I can only stop my feet. ¡°This is useless, look behind the city. And above us.¡±

    The NPCs look around and also stop. The aether surrounds us. It is engulfing this platform, the last fragment of whatever world this city came from was being finally destroyed.

    ¡°I suppose this is the end, huh.¡±

    The NPCs turn back, their expressions showing confusion because of my words.

    ¡°What are you saying Ky?¡± said Sira who seemed to be the most level-headed of the bunch. ¡°You are acting weirder than usual. You were talking about dreams back there too.¡±

    ¡°Sira? I kinda expected Mia to be the calmer one. Anyway, this is a dream, right? The game ended last night and now I am fantasizing about being in the game. It happened that time when I played the whole weekend back in high school too.¡±

    ¡°A game? Dear, let''s leave that for later, we must leave!¡±

    ¡°Why are you calling me dear? Why are you all calling me that way anyway? I never programmed you for that.¡± followers had the say command, but I only used it for notifications ¡±I like it tough, maybe I should have¡­ nah, other players would think I am a weirdo.¡±

    ¡°Holly, Mia, I think the aether may have broken Ky.¡±

    I looked at the silver-haired vampire. It took me a moment to notice the long skirt the girl was wearing. How could she run with that thing? Well, it was a dream so fuck logic. If she wanted to, she could have used that teleport spell the psychics fancy so much.

    With that thought in mind, I look directly at my NPC and ask her ¡°Sira, why don¡¯t you use your teleport skill?¡±

    With just an ¡°Ah!¡± Sira immediately begins to cast the teleportation spell. Only a few seconds after, ¡°I¡¯ll link us to Academy City! Hold on!¡± with a grin on her polygonal face.

    The air around us distorts, and an instant later we are standing in front of the library in Academy City. No loading screen? That certainly would have helped the game.

    Here it was mayhem. The vendors and city guards were running and screaming all around us, the dark clouds of the aether were engulfing this place too. They were closer than the ones before our teleport.

    With a thud, Sira¡¯s knees collapse in front of me. That pose was not among the emotes any player could perform. A weird thought to have considering the circumstances.

    ¡°I told you, this is the end of the game. All game zones of Storm and Tempest. The whole Rift is ending.¡±

    My NPC looked at me, seemingly incapable of understanding. Maybe I do owe them an explanation, even if it is a bizarre thing to do.

    ¡°All of this was a game. All dungeons, bosses, and towns are fancy toys. And you are just puppets, a digital doll to helps players like me. Last night the game ended because the developers didn¡¯t earn as much as they expected.¡±

    Their faces reflect a total lack of understanding of my words. I don''t know what I am expecting. This dream is weirdly homogeneous. The looks of dread and despair in their avatar models are genuinely believable. I could even feel it like it irradiates through a cord binding us together. The uneasy feeling, maybe it means something. I liked that MMO, and perhaps I need closure?

    Thinking that I calmly prepare to say my goodbyes to my NPCs. The aether is so close that the air smells like static electricity.

    ¡°Meeting you all was fun. I never expected that you could have all this range of emotions. The devs should have implemented that in the game, it would have skyrocketed. For the last adventure, it was delightful. Even if you are the NPCs I created, you are close friends whom I had many adventures with.¡±

    The aether was touching the plaza. Escape was not possible. I remember all the fun and good memories of this game looking at my NPC friends. My chest feels warm because of my reminiscence, and I can feel that sensation going into to Mia, Sira, and Holly.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you.¡±

    As if my words were the last drop, the girls start to weep. Their faces still darken as their eyes move to the ground. Resignation and despair because of their imminent deaths flow through our link.

    But not from the demoness. From Mia, the link receives only one sensation. A determination to keep on living, and anger at the dying world.

    ¡°Hell no! I will not die! I will not die before achievingsomething with my Kaikai!¡±

    I am your what now?

    ¡°I did not walk around for two years in maid clothes and going ¡®master this and that¡¯ for nothing!¡±

    You were faking it?!

    ¡°Kaikai! We have been through the absolute worst the Rift could throw at us! And you always kept trying until we won! You WILL get us out of here. You WILL find a safe place for us. And you WON''T ever say goodbye! Is that clear?¡±

    ¡°Were you always like this?¡±

    ¡°Is. That. Clear.¡± answered back with a genuinely frightening glare worthy of a demoness maid.

    I have to salute her back with a ¡°Yes, mistress!¡±, there goes my closure.

    The aether falls into us like a wave in a storm.

    ¡°Kaikai we should create a barrier around us!¡±

    ¡°And I told you I am not capable without my toolbar!¡±

    ¡°Ky! Just try doing it!¡±

    The aether eats away the stone slabs of the street. The products in display on a vendor stall spiral through the air and become dust before our eyes. The dream must be the ending. I might as well finish it as the hero. Now think, Mia¡¯s mage barrier won¡¯t hold much longer. Wait. Mia is not a mage.

    ¡°Mia, how can you be making a barrier?¡±

    ¡°You don''t remember you taught me?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but you don''t have the class anymore!¡±

    RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE. A massive tremor suddenly runs through the city. The library behind us starts to collapse as the aether eats away the debris. The plaza¡¯s floor itself, the complete platform where Academy City stood is beginning to tear apart.

    ¡°Dear we have no time!¡±

    ¡°Argh! Ok! I can''t use a single skill, but I am still an expert in game lore! Holly assist Mia with mana share! Sira we must find a safe place outside the Rift to teleport to.¡±

    ¡°But Ky!¡±

    ¡°We will find new adventures elsewhere! The four of us!¡±

    Sira smiles back at me; she is now confident ¡°Ok, what do you want me to do? Depending on the target¡¯s distance I might not have enough mana to teleport.¡±

    ¡°First, in lore, psychics don''t use mana. They use willpower.¡± I adjust my non-existent glasses ¡°And second you are going to do an incomplete teleport, with no target!¡±

    ¡°Master, get to the point!¡±

    ¡°In lore, a psychic once managed to escape the Rift using teleport with no target as the aether clouds swallowed him. He arrived at another world, and his chronicles returned to the Rift in a fragment of that world when it eventually got destroyed.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll do just that!¡± I say to my companions with the most reassuring smile I can.

    ¡°And Sira, about your mana,¡± I cut the back of my hand with the knife in my belt. ¡°Drink my blood.¡±

    That hurt, didn¡¯t the pain in dreams wake you up? Is this really adream?

    Before I could process it, Sira jumps into my arms. Her left hand gently surround my neck as her face snuggles my shoulder. I notice how her hair smells like lavender, as the silver threads gently caress the side of my cheek.

    After a small nip of her sharp fangs, I can feel the gentle caress of her tongue on my neck. The girl¡¯s warmth permeates through my arms.

    Is she really an NPC?

    I look at the other two; their emotions shared through our link. Even toughHolly feels envious, she is aware there are more pressing matters. As for Mia¡­wasn''t Sira the one who should be bloodthirsty? And about that, isn¡¯t Sira taking too long?

    ¡°Uhm Sira? You can stop now¡­ Sira?¡±

    ¡°Fufufufuh¡­ I CAN DO ANYTHING!!!!¡±

    As she jumps from my arms, she screams from the top of her lungs.

    ¡°I WILL ESCAPE WITH MY KY, AND NO PERVERT FOX OR PSYCHO DEMON WILL STOP ME!!!!!!!¡±

    Wait, Holly really?

    I look at the foxkin and... she blushes¡­ no way¡­ really?

    This dream is turning into a weird direction!

    ¡°Hahahaha... HAHAHAHA!!!!! Come cloudy! Sira is ready!¡±

    As if reacting to Sira¡¯s taunt, the aether finally clashes at us making Mia¡¯s barrier crack. Fortunately for us, the vampire has finished her spell.

    ¡°Its done!¡±

    A blinding flash of light covers my view. An instant later a tempestuous spiral of color bursts all around me. None of the girls is at my side as I stumble through this torrent of energy. It looks like I am flying through a tunnel of aether, snaking around the cosmos. I really want a blue box now.

    After what it seemed like two minutes on a rollercoaster, I reach the end of the rainbow.

    <hr>

    Buu, again with the sun! I said I don''t want to get up. It is even more breezy here. Where is my blanket?

    Eh? So its a forest now? The smell of trees, really makes me remember grandma¡¯s house.

    Where is this? This is a clearing in an actual forest, right?

    I mean last night dream was weird. It was like I was in Storm and Tempest. Cartoony graphics and all. And who gave my NPCs those personalities? Subconscious desires aside, I would never actually program them that way¡­ maybe Sira, she looked normal.

    WHY AM I IN A FOREST!

    ¡°ROOOAAAARRRR!!!!¡±

    Eh?

    Roar.

    ¡°ROAR!¡±

    Growl.

    ¡°GROWL!¡±

    Rawr?

    ¡°RAWR?!¡±

    My hands¡­ they seem scally¡­ and sharp. And is that a tail?

    Sweep, sweep.

    WHY DO I HAVE A FRICKIN TAIL!!!!!

    ¡°ROOOOOARRRRR!!!!!!!!!¡±

    First I got spirited away, and now I am a two tons flying lizard. I will crawl into a ball, and just wait for the evil thoughts to leave. Yep just like that.

    ¡°Sira! Mia! Dear¡¯s smell is comes from here!¡±

    That was Holly¡¯s voice, is she here too? It means that all of that did happen?

    I can only raise my head from my ball position. A pair of fox ears peeks amongst the trees, and a moment later the body they are attached shows up.

    That¡¯s Holly? Is that Holly in real life?! She looks¡­ wow.

    A stunning woman honey-colored wavy long hair is standing in front of me. Her cream-colored dress with red ornaments is now torn in several places showing the milky white skin. The attire fails to give merit to the curves of her body. A sophisticated appeal emanates from her movements and expressions. A pair of sky-blue eyes adorns her oval shaped face. Two white marble canines appear between her thin, smiling lips. The fox ears are the same color of her hair as are the tails of the same animal that twirl by her will on her back.

    Tails? In plural?

    Indeed Holly now has nine tails. But in the game, she was just a foxkin with a single tail.

    For a moment Holly appears afraid of me. And who wouldn''t be frightened of disturbing a dragon''s sleep?

    ¡°Dear? Are you a dragon?¡±

    I become aware I have been staring at her for a while now, so I quickly answer hoping she doesn''t notice.

    Yes. It''s me.

    ¡°Rawr! Grr!¡±

    "Oh! What a relief. We''ve been looking for you... now if you let me..."

    Sniff sniff.

    Holly, are you smelling me?

    ¡°Grrr Growl! Rrraawr?!¡±

    ¡°Oh? I am sorry dear! It''s just¡­ you smell a little different. I can¡¯t point out exactly what.¡±

    Oh, you don''t know. Wouldn''t it be because cause I AM A FRICKING DRAGON?!!!!

    ¡°Grr Rawr. Raw Grr Growl ROOOOAAAARRR?!!!!¡±

    As if answering my scream another voice rings from the direction Holly arrived.

    ¡°Holly? Are you around the screaming lizard?¡±

    This time the voice belongs to Sira. And soon she appears.

    Her long silver hair has been tied with a ponytail made of what it seems to be a torn strap of cloth from the hem of her skirt. Her left sleeve is gone, showing her now pink and glossy arm. The former blue hue is gone and it now it seems to reflect the warmth of the sun rays. Her ears are now long and pointy, like an elf''s. She appears a little taller than before, with an athletic and agile figure. All of her proportions match, adding to the image of a woman starting her twenties.

    Sira''s eyes glare at me defiantly, studying me in a calm demeanor. Not trusting what it looks to her as a monster in the middle of the forest.

    "Holly, why are you playing with that thing? Shouldn''t you be following the track of Kyroz?"

    Holly speaks to me in a small voice ¡°Oh my god! Sira hasn¡¯t realized it is you, dear! Please play along!" It seems I am part of a prank now.

    Holly steps forward as she talks to Sira, "Don''t be silly. This is, erm¡­ Ky¡­ Kato! I am going to train it as my pet dragon!¡±

    So you want me as your pet? Oh, I am not gonna let you out of this! That''s it from now on you are my pet fox!

    ¡°Brr! Dear, whatever you are glaring me for, we could leave it for later¡± whispered Holly while winking.

    ¡°Why do we even need a stupid pet dragon. Even if we needed one, none of us is a tamer.¡±

    ¡°Come on! Think about it! We could have a flying flamethrower to help us out!¡±

    ¡°You can throw fireballs!¡±

    ¡°He can breath fireballs!¡±

    "You shouldn''t be losing time with an overgrown lizard! We have to find Kyroz! Your dragon looks weak, and its face is dumb! The black horns and wings are nothing new, and the scales look dull and disordered. I do like the red stripes in the back, and the golden eyes are really... similar to... Ky''s."

    Holly, Do I look dumb?

    ¡°Grr, Rawr?¡±

    "No, dear. But It''d be good if you took more care about your appearance."

    Come on, I had just woken up. And I have feathers, not scales!

    ¡°You said ''dear.'' Say, Holly, is there a chance this dragon IS Kyroz?¡±

    ¡°I say yes. A hundred percent chance.¡±

    Hi! Sira!

    ¡°Rawr!¡±

    ¡°Wawawawa! Stupid Ky! Stupid Holly! Someone, please kill me!¡±

    ¡°I may help you.¡±

    The last member of the team finally arrives. Her maid outfit is mostly intact and only dirtied with mud and dirt. Her white apron and tiara are missing; she carries a sash instead with many knives and daggers.

    ¡°Ah! Mia, this is Kato my new pet dragon.¡±

    Mia smiles and says, ¡°and this is Pain, my poisoned dagger. You two should stop playing around if you don''t want it sticking out of your backs.¡±

    Scary¡­ no-nonsense Mia is just frightening.

    ¡°I see master has also changed appearance in this new world.¡±

    Right, her looks are even more noticeable than the other two. Her stern gaze borders the unemotional. Her mouth seems incapable of both frown and smile, while her eyes look calm and collected. If it were not for her youth, she would certainly fit the role of an evil stepmother or tyrant old teacher.

    ¡°Is there a problem master?¡±

    Scary. Note to self: Mia is a lovely young ladylike girl of an unspecified age. If anything she looks to be the stern middle sister of the three.

    The large horns protruding from her forehead have moved back and now twist over much like a ram''s. She no longer has a tail, and her webbed wings are now a pair of raven black angel-like wings born from her shoulder blades. Her short and asymmetrical black hair is combed to the sides. And her black eyes would undoubtedly match a pair of thin framed glasses.

    ¡°Well, now that we are all together I think is time for us to talk,¡± says Mia. ¡°Because it seems master''s incapable of giving proper responses I will take the lead.¡±

    Oh no, here comes the ¡®why should we follow you¡¯ speech... Huh? No one? Sira and Holly are ok with it?

    ¡°Dear, as much as I like to object. Mia has seniority in the party.¡±

    ¡°And Mia is scary,¡± adds Sira.

    It seems that Mia is aware of how frightening she is, as she coughs to encourage us to go on, ¡°Now that¡¯s solved. We should talk about the changes in our bodies.¡±

    And the three look at me. I didn¡¯t want to become a dragon! It''s not my fault!

    ¡°As you can see I am not just a demoness, its seems my race has changed to a Fallen.¡± Mia pauses to look at me ¡°I believe its pretty self-explanatory. Holly, you should be next.¡±

    Holly nods and stands. ¡°Hello! My name is Holly and I been a Ninetails, a Divine Beast for about thirty minutes!¡±

    Storm and Tempest had a lot of references, so I understand why she knows about that. Should I clap?

    ¡°My race also changed to something called Sag¡¯naar Royal,¡± says Sira not caring about Holly¡¯s joke.

    Sag¡¯naar? That is probably a fancy word for blood drinking elves.

    ¡°Rawrr? Growl Roar Grr Rawwr!¡±

    ¡°Dear says it probably means blood sucking elf.¡±

    Can you understand me?

    "Grr Rooar Growl?"

    ¡°Yes, didn''t you noticed when I answered you before?¡±

    Did she?

    ¡°I am impressed. Even for me it only sounds like cute growls,¡± comments Mia. Heh, I''m cute. Is she showing a look of approval? That Mia?

    ¡°It''s the obvious proof of my power as the true wife.¡±

    Slap. Punch. And Holly is in the floor caressing her slapped and punched head.

    ¡°Thank you for your help Sira.¡±

    ¡°No, thank you, Mia. Would you do the honors?¡±

    Mia walks calmly to Holly¡¯s side and gently puts a hand over her shoulder.

    ¡°Now Holly, do you mind giving us a reason why you are the only one who can talk to Kyroz or do I need to slice the truth out of you? Slowly.¡± adds Mia with a smiling face.

    ¡°I am not sure¡­¡± Pain, Mia¡¯s dagger ¡®mysteriously¡¯ stabs the ground in front of Holly. ¡°Waaa¡­ I think it''s because I am a Divine Beast now!¡±

    ¡°And?¡± says Mia smiling to the blade of yet another dagger.

    ¡°Oh, I don''t know. Maybe it is because My Dear Kyroz is now A FRICKING DRAGON!!!!¡±

    Is Fricking Dragon gonna be my race? I really hope it isn''t. Oh and now they are grappling, very mature girls.

    How did you learn about your race?

    "Groowl rawr roaar?"

    "We don''t know anything but their names. Mia used ''Creature Inspect'' to know it. Talking about it, would you mind releasing the armlock? Dear wants to know his race." answers Holly, unfazed by Mia''s joint lock.

    Seriously, are you really fighting or are you just playing around?

    "Master''s race is... wow! It sounds really dangerous! Its Aether Forged Storm Dragon. It''s also a Divine Beast."

    "So the reason Holly can understand Ky is they are both divine beasts?"

    "Yes, it is strange. I remember hearing dragons eat divine things."

    "I am always ready for you dear!"

    "You vixen! Sira catch her!"

    "I''m on it!"

    Please, stop messing around. I only want to know how to turn back into a human.

    ¡°Growl. Rawr grr growl grrr rooar roar.¡±

    ¡°Ah! That''s easy you have to think about doing foosh! And then you swoop! And you turn human-like!¡± tells me Hollywhile swaying her tails.

    Not helping.

    ¡°Rawr.¡±

    ¡°Ok, look at this!¡± an instant later, Holly¡¯s body shines. The human-shaped ball of light changes and morphs into a big four-legged animal. A honey-colored fox with nine tiles appears asthe luminescence dies.

    ¡°See? I told you it was easy!¡±

    To anyone that hears this! Please, grant me patience! This is going to take time.

    <hr>

    It was a long day. Holly kept trying to teach me how to transform, yet nothing happened. It seems that whatever world we are now, our bodies have adapted and acquired new traits associated with our new races.

    Mia was the first to notice back in Academy City that we all could access the abilities of all our past learned classes, no need to switch anymore. I¡¯d be thrilled if not for my incapacity to use any skill. The change of perspective, from being in front of a monitor to living this maddness in the flesh is too much.

    I was passing all of that as a dream when everything looked cartoony and polygonal. But now I can¡¯t negate how real all of this feels. The girls too notice the difference. I explained them to the better of my capabilities how the game looked to me. Sometimes they were uncomfortable, other times like they found an explanation to particular behaviors or situations.

    It appears I am responsible for a particularly traumatic event for Sira. "I cannot believe you! We were there for FOUR WEEKS! Alone in the dark cave! Those horrible monkeys were everywhere! The stench! I had to throw away my clothes because of the stench! And you were at your grandmother''s house?" Sira did not like that summer vacation.

    We found a small cave and decided to spend the night there. We kept chatting with Holly as my translator as the light died for the day. There is a lot more in front of us. A whole new world to explore and survive. Today we took it lightly; we escaped from the destruction of the entire Rift. Tomorrow we need to scan our surroundings, learn more about the changes in our bodies and skills, and find our place in this new world.

    I should have confidence that this uneasy feeling goes away. I hope the aether stays locked in the dead realms of Storm and Tempest.

 Prototype: The many meanings of Roar

    ¡°Master, I have finished checking the perimeter.¡±

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    I walk over to the place we are going to spend the night. The figure of a tall winged beast greets me. Two days have passed since we got to this new world and until now we haven''t seen any human or monster. Kaikai is worried that humans may think we are dangerous. He said through Holly, "That how the clich¨¦ goes."Sira and I agreed, so we have been moving without leaving the forest. Kaikai still is not able to turn into a human or even talk by himself.

    ¡°Rawww roar, ragh roooaar.¡±

    When he first started trying to talk I think his roars were cute. Now itis beginning to annoy me. Sira is way past that and prefers to wander off hunting.

    ¡°Rooar grr rarooar?¡±

    ¡°Holly, help me.¡± It angers me to depend on the fox. It doesn¡¯t matter how many times Sira and I put her in her place; she keeps bragging about their ''connection.''

    ¡°Dear asked you to fetch Sira. He was thinking on the way here and got an idea. It originates not from the lore of the game. Instead, it is about several concepts that are usually related with one of Sira''s powers.¡±

    ¡°He said all that with a roar?!¡±

    ¡°Draconid is a very concise language.¡±

    It''s such an odd sensation. That guy feels like my Kaikai, and even has all of his mannerism and weirdness, yet in a way he is different. I think it may be because I am incapable of talking directly to him. I have the uneasy feeling that he may not be the same guy I have been traveling with for seventy years.

    With those dark thoughts on my head, I walk across the trees. It is easy for me because Kaikai helped me max out Thief, Assassin,Archer, and Monk; all of them add to my mobility. As a tracker, I can feel Sira is not far away. Knowing her, she is probably pouting for something in her mind.

    ¡°Sira? Master needs your help with something.¡±

    And indeed she is pouting, with her head between her knees under the shade of a tree. Since the first time we met her, she has been prone to feeling down. Sira joined us initially when Kyroz and I were worried about her staying in her town.

    ¡°Sira? Are you feeling ok?¡±

    ¡°Yes, just thinking.¡± she pauses collecting her thoughts, ¡°what do you think of the new Kyroz?¡±

    Her red eyes shine back at querying my expressions for a hint to my answer. From the four of us, Sirahas always been the smarter one. Kaikai had the ideas and Sira the knowledge. It was evident that shewould be the most troubled by the nonsensical happenings.

    To answer her, I remember that momentwhen despair was sinking in. The aether was unstoppable, and we had nowhere to run. Then Kaikai looked at us and spoke reassuring words, even if they were goodbyes.

    ¡°When Kaikai, I mean master, told us how much he cares about us¡­ I was happy.¡±

    Yes, I was delighted. My Kyroz was never someone whose thoughts could easily beunderstood. He went and acted, never explained or planed. Somehow failing to follow an order always made us fail. And despite how much we wanted him to, he never opened up to us or told us how he felt.

    ¡°When he told us all about games, avatars, and NPCs. At first, I thought he was clowning us, as always. But those mad words were coherent. In a way it makes sense. It explains a lot of the weird things that happened in the Rift.¡±

    ¡°If we believe him, you know what it means right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. That we were toolsto experience thefantasy of adventure, nothing more.¡±

    ¡°Mia, are you okay with that?¡±

    ¡°Never. I love my Kaikai. Back when we were young, Iwas the one who asked him to let me follow him on adventures. If I had to make the choice today, I would follow too."

    ¡°But he is not our Kyroz.¡±

    ¡°We don''t know that. A part of me thinks that dragon might have breathed a little too much of the aether clouds, that may have affected him. Other part thinks that he is not the Kyroz we now, but similar. It may not be a bad thing...¡±

    ¡°What are you saying! Didn¡¯t you love the real Kyroz? Why are you conforming with the new guy?!¡±

    ¡°What I am saying is that the dragon there is trying his best. From his point of view he wascontrolling Kyroz, right? Doesn''t it mean that in a way he is the most real version of Kyroz?¡±

    ¡°I cannot believe you are saying that!¡±

    Sira sits on the ground without looking at me anymore. Only Kaikai would make her move in that state. But I am sure she won''t accept the current version of him to do so. I would like to give a chance to the dragon that accompanies us. In some aspects he is entirely different, in others, the resemblance is uncanny.

    When I begin thinking I should keep talking about the topic, Sira dismisses me saying, ¡°I¡¯ll goto that dragon in a moment. My Ky would have never left alone a powerless freak.¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°I am here. What is the brilliant idea?¡± says Sira, finally stepping out of the trees.

    ¡°Roooar, growl roar grr.¡±

    ¡°Dear says, ¡®We both have the psychic class, we may be able to use telepathy to talk.¡¯¡±

    When each of us started our travels, we signed a ''Partners Contract.''It allowed us to share our strengths and overcome weaknesses. It made easy for usto share what we have learned. Kaikai was a completionist freak. He went fromtrainer to trainer to discovering all possible spells and skills he found. He mastered several classes and then taught them to us. Because he supposedly played as Kyroz, the dragon should have alreadylearned the Psychic skills.

    ¡°Telepathy? And how Iuse it?¡±

    ¡°Rawr.¡±

    ¡°Dear doesn¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Last time you gave me a little more information than that.¡±

    ¡°Mmm, Roar growl Grrr Raww roar.¡±

    ¡°He says ''the Psychic class is all about the power of the mind, telepathy is mostly thought transmission. Should be easier than teleport to another world.¡¯"

    ¡°Sigh. I''ll have to go with that, then. You got us out of the Rift with nonsense. I may as well try.¡±

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    ¡°Dear says ¡®That¡¯s the spirit!¡¯¡±

    Holly is the only one who understands Kyroz''s dragon speech, and I don''t have any useful classes to cooperate, I may as well sleep for now. Just like the two previous nights, we will take turns until sunrise.

    <hr>

    Most certainly because of the recent events, I dreamt of my childhood. I remembered the streets where I used to roam. They were on the outskirts of some capital city whose name I don¡¯t want to remember.

    I believe I was eight years old when I managed to get a job; Ihad to sweep the floors at a bakery store. The baker was a big man with a round belly. He would give me a loaf of freshly baked bread and a few coppers as payment every day before I left. The only condition was not to eat my meal near his shop, as some nobles didn''t like that.

    The bakery was in themerchant''s district at the intersection of the main road with one of the many branching streets. It was a bit too far away by walking from the slums where I lived, but I didn¡¯t mind as long as I could taste the deliciously baked dough.

    For a few months, my routine was going to the shop, sweep the floors, get my loaf and coppers then back to the slums. With the coppers I saved, I bought new clothes and shoes. My new clothes gave the impression I was getting better standing and that was my mistake. With the new clothes, I started being noticed by some of the older kids in the slums. From then onwards, no matter which route I used to get home, someone would steal my coppers or even worst, my loaf of bread.

    I kept trying to get past the thieves and failing. One day, I wasalmost running down the entrance of the slums. Maybe today, I taught, perhaps that day I could arrive home with no problems. But it was not my fate. As always a group of tree thug-looking teenagers approached me. I felt powerless, holding the earnings of my day.

    As I trembled, I heard a voice coming from behind the thugs, ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± it said.

    He was a kid around my age with sharp golden eyes and two black horns on his forehead. Was he a demon like me? I thought at first. But he was not. He was a dragonkin."

    With a defiant expression, he put himself in between the thugs and myself. He was calm, used to the act of looking directly into the bullies eyes andsaying an ultimatum, ¡°You should leave.¡±

    In the slums ruled the strongest, and the teenagerswould not bulge under an eight-year-old. No matter his confidence.

    Two of the bullies move to close any exists from the alley. The third one was the bigger of the bunch, and with an evil grin, he readied his fist to strike.

    The dragonkin boy stood there indifferent. He waited until the bully¡¯s fist closed into his range to move. He quickly took hold of the bully''s arm and pulled downwards. The boy clenched his free hand in front of his face and placed his arm to hit the falling teen''s back with his elbow. In what seemed like an instant the biggest teen of the group was on the floor, his assailant placed a knee on his back and immobilizedhis arms.

    The other two bullies lost any chance as they let escape a single second of doubt. The dragonkinhad unsheathed a small iron knife that he pressed onto the fallen thug¡¯s throat. The boy''s golden eyes alternated between the two conspirators.

    ¡°At first, I asked in a good way for you to leave. Because you didn''t listen, Iassume you want to playwith me a little bit. This knife is Happiness, and he reaaally likes to poke around!¡± the dragonkin said, with a creepy smile on his face. ¡°Or is it too late for you, kids, to play outside?¡±

    The fallen guy''s friends run away shortly after. The dragonkin stood up and let the last guy flee. With the act finished, he turned to me showing a healthy smile.

    ¡°Are you ok?¡±

    With a voice that might have been a whisper, I answered with a simple ¡°Thank you.¡± I wanted to keep my way, but the boy continued.

    ¡°No biggie. If you live alone in the slums, you¡¯ll need a good leveled class. Is that bread fresh? It smells delicious.¡±

    ¡°Do.. do you want... some?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡±

    With the same knife he menaced the bullies, the dragonkin took a small slice of the top of the loaf. Just enough to call it a sample.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    I was a little wary of the boy, but my curiosity was stronger, ¡°Why did you named your knife Happiness?¡±

    ¡°I did? I don¡¯t know. I improvised that to scare them. Smiling kids with knives are scary. Are you a dragon by the way?¡±

    ¡°No, I am a demon.¡±

    ¡±Oh, I am Kyroz. I am a dragon, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Mia.¡±

    ¡°Shy Mia. Nice to meet you Mii!¡±

    ¡°Mii?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it suits you. Mm, if you got a pet name, how about Kaikai for me?¡±

    ¡°Why do you need a pet name?! And isn¡¯t it a bit too cute for a boy?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t cute a compliment?¡±

    ¡°I guess? You are weird.¡±

    ¡°Yep, and you are pretty! See? Compliments! Oh! I should be going now. I have things to do here. You¡¯ll probably see me often! Bye!¡±

    As he said, that was not the last time I met the boy. Almost every day when I returned home from the bakery. He stood there to protect me from some random guy.Soon after he started escorting me all the way, to protect me from danger. With him at my side, I didn''t have to fear from the thugs. I also started enjoying the little phrases he said to scare away the bullies. With him there, maybe I could have kept having a good life in the slums.

    Those were some of the happier memories of my childhood. Me walking from the bakery chatting with Kaikai. I lovedthose moments in the street, so I used towalk slowly to make it last a little bit longer. For seven years, we had our little routine. We shared my bread and talked about adventures and all the places he wanted to go.

    As a girl in the slums, I was focused on surviving another day. I was jealous ofKaikai''s drive to pursuehis happiness. I wanted to see the world he was so proud when he talked. In secret, I started training on how to use a knife. Maybe, was my thought, if I proved capable, he would let me accompany him in adventures.

    With each new day I resolved myself to ask him to take me with him, and each day I couldn''t dare and pushed it to the next. It kept happening untilthe moment my walks with Kyroz had come to an end.

    For me, that was a long week. I didn''t see Kaikai any day. It had happened before, but never for a full straight week. And when the cat¡¯s away, the mice once againshowed before me.

    ¡°Well, well. Look what da¡¯ drag¡¯n left behind. I believe we¡¯ve left yer pockets alone too much.¡± Says one thug, ¡°Ya owe us yer fee and yer boyfriends.¡±

    I could be happy about being confused as Kaikai¡¯s girlfriend. That was my usual reaction. But these guys annoyed me. I had grown up from the bullied girl of the past.

    ¡°You see, my Kaikai is a little busy,¡± I remember saying, taking my iron knife hidden in my belt. ¡°So today I¡¯ll play for both of us, this is Happiness, my treasure.¡±

    Trying to imitate Kaikai''s usual antics I decided to pull the most sadistic smile possible, ¡°It reaaally likes poking the backs of bastards like you.¡±

    I kept staring at them intensively. Finally one of the thugs spoke.

    ¡°Scary... Bob, da¡¯ bitch¡¯s crazy. Betta¡¯ to leave her alone.¡± says the first thug partner, with a very odd accent.

    I wanted to leave soon, so I tried to taunt him, ¡°Are you not going to play, Bob?¡±

    ¡°Kill her!¡±

    I definetively wasn''t expect that response, I have been training to go on adventures with Kaikai. To leave the slums, first I need to defeat them. I needed to overcome this so that hewould take me with him.

    With my Happiness in one hand, I went straight to stab the face of Bob. But the man firmly held my arm and squeezed my wrist. With the pressure, I couldn''t keep hold of my knife and Happiness fell tomy feet.

    I had committed a mistake. I was not ready to fight against three thugs. Kaikai wouldn''t have any problem. Why is it so difficult to escape my fate.

    ¡°What are you doing to Mii?!¡±,ringed the voice of the boy I had acquaintedin the same circumstances.

    From the direction of the slums, it was Kyroz who appeared. Throwing a knife to each ofBob¡¯s partners. The pieces of metal flew like arrows hurting the henchmen''s shoulders. With that as a distraction, he closed into my direction and punched Bob''s chin, making him lose hold of my wrist.

    Before I lost that chance, I ducked to pick Happiness.I was fortunate enough to grab it before Kaikai took my other hand and we started running away together.

    We stopped in the middle of the merchant''s district. It appeared that we were out of danger. Before I could react, Kaikai takes away my knife, surprising me.

    ¡°That was dangerous! what were you thinking?!¡±

    ¡°You do it all the time!¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I spent a lot of time training how to do it!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d been training!¡±

    ¡°Alone? You cannot learn how to fight alone! Have you even went to a class trainer?¡±

    ¡°Class trainer?¡±

    ¡°See? You know nothing about adventures! Adventuring has a lot of weird rules! Things don¡¯t work if you don¡¯t follow them! If you want to use knives to fight, It''s not enough to learn to stab. You need to go to a class trainer. They will have the skills. Argh! What do I do with you now? You tried to kill some of those thugs, and they won¡¯t let you get close to the slums anymore.¡±

    ¡°I don''t want to live in the slums anymore!"

    Those were my true feelings. I had grown out of place. I was sick of my routine. My walks together with Kaikai where the only things I enjoyed.

    "Kaikai, I¡¯m sorry¡­ I want to get stronger¡­ to stay together and to go adventuring with you.¡±

    Kaikai just sighed, slumping his shoulders, trying to force the stress away from his body. He looked at me and pondered his options silently.

    The moment that seemed to me as an eternity concluded with one word.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, really. But before I can spend any second training you, I have to finish a mission for the thieves guild. It''s too dangerous for you towait in the slums, so you¡¯ll have to come along.¡±

    He ends with a ¡°Don¡¯t put yourself in danger again!¡± as he returns my Happiness.

    <hr>

    ¡°Is this the place?¡± I asked Kaikai as I looked to the bakery where I worked from across the street.

    ¡°Yes, on the third floor.¡±

    The brick building had four floors tall, the bakery on the first floor and some merchant''s office on the levels above.

    ¡°The thieves guild wanted me to set a fire to the bakery, use it as a distraction to steal some noble¡¯s letters from the office of a corrupt merchant.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t burn that bakery!¡± Even if it were for a short time, the baker for whom I worked for gave me a place to belong, and a purpose during the time I kept walking through the street with Kaikai. I couldn¡¯t lethim burnt it for a quest.

    "Relax, I won''t. My plan is way stupider." He tried to reassure me, but his words betrayed him. "I will do the standard adventure plan. I¡¯ll walk straight to the third floor and kick anyone who tries to fight with me!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a plan!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the adventurer¡¯s way! You''ll get it sooner or later. For now, you should wait here.¡±

    Before I could reply, he stormed off into the stairs that lead to the second floor. It didn''t take long for the noises of a commotion came flying from the third level of the building. Some passersby stared by my side as the fighting sounds and scream increased. I thought, maybe I should run and help him, unsure if I could be of any help. Before I could muster my resolve, one of the windows shattered spraying glass shards into the sidewalk. A winged lizard-like creature glided from the frame of the broken window with a leather bag held by his paws.

    When the dragon touched the ground, a sudden cloud blasted into existence and within it appeared Kaikai. Once again he took my hand, and we run holding the stolen bag.

    To not attract unwanted attention, we had to escape through the district alleys. We only stopped when we were far enough.

    ¡°Let¡¯s catch our breaths for now. The only thing remaining is to deliver the goods, and the quest is over.¡±

    ¡°What goods?¡±

    ¡°Some noble¡¯s letters. I am assuming they are in the bag.¡±

    ¡°You assume?¡±

    ¡°I had a hunch. That works most of the time.¡±

    ¡°Kaikai, you should have checked before escaping! Check. It. Now.¡±

    I can''t figure him out. Sometimes he acts rationally, then the next he does some outrageous thing.

    AS if nothing was said, he shrugs and answers with an, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Kaikai rummaged through the contents of the bag. There were several pieces of parchment, a notebook, pencils, an inkwell, a pen, a stack of letters tied with a rope, and finally, three magic looking scrolls.

    ¡°This stack should be it. We should get rid of the others.¡±

    ¡°Really? Nothing else is valuable?¡±

    ¡°My hunch says, keep the scrolls,discard the rest.¡±

    I am not sure of his hunches. But he has an adventurer far longer than me. I could at least trust him for the moment.

    <hr>

    We were supposed to the est gate near the noble''s quarter to turn Kaikai''s quest.When we arrived a cloaked figure signaled for us to follow, and so we did.

    The cloak exposed its owner while being covered by the shadowsbetween two buildings. She was a young human woman with a stern face and thin framed glasses. Her well combed hair was fastened by a white cloth tiara. She was dressed with a black dress and white apron.

    ¡°You sure made a mess back there. Do you have the letters boy?¡± said the maid, looking into a flustered Kyroz with slightly flushed cheeks. I didn¡¯t like that.

    ¡°Yes! I believe this should be all of them.¡±

    Taking the stack of letters, she unfastened the knot and quickly looked through the senders of each paper envelope.

    ¡°Indeed. Master will be pleased. As agreed, here is your reward,¡± The maid said throwing a small cloth bag filled with coins. ¡°Now leave. You and your kind are not welcomed near the Noble Quarter.¡±

    The maid fled with rude words, leaving us alone.

    Puzzled I turned to Kaikai, ¡°It was all that just for a small bag of coins?¡± I said indignant.

    He just smiled, something was funny to him, ¡°Nope, the money is extra. Thereal reward is the scrolls.¡±

    ¡°The scrolls? Weren¡¯t you going to throw them away?¡±

    ¡°What? Never! I know they are useful!¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet. Adventures should be like this! Let¡¯s find out.¡±

    <hr>

    I realize I have woken up. I can feel the grainy touch of the forest floor. All those broken leaves and twigs under my body.

    My friend Sira notices me. After giving a quick glance to the sky, she says ¡°Mia, swap time. It''s supposed to be the dragons turn, but he got a headache from trying to speak and collapsed. He should sleep a bit longer.¡±

    ¡°Did he talk?¡±, I asked.

    ¡°We will know tomorrow." she says as she sits beside me, "Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, just have things on my mind.¡±

    ¡°A bad dream?¡±

    ¡°A good one.¡±

    Nothing more needs to be said. Sira has been my traveling partner for many years; she sure understands what I mean.

    I left Sira so she can rest and move away to look at my surroundings. It¡¯s the early morning, the calmest moment of any day. The darkness of the night slowly but surely starts to leave,tinting on the horizon with color. From the distance, I can hear roosters giving their welcome to the sun.

    I witnessed the still image when I heard the rustling sound of leaves. The culprit is a dragon''s head that raises to look at me.

    ¡°Good morning Mia,¡± speaks Kyroz, the voice I know so well sounding directly into my mind.

    ¡°Kaikai, you can talk.¡±

    ¡°I can still roar if you want me to.¡±

    ¡°No, please stop. It has become annoying already.¡±

    I look at the dragon with the voice of my beloved. His sharp golden eyes look the same as they did back in the slum''s alleys. How many times I had foundmy home, merelyby looking at them. And now I can only feel doubt. Kaikai wasn''t the perfect man. Healways acted rashly, and his actions were impulsive and irrational. He put us in danger more times than I can count. Even still, I enjoyed my time with him.I always felt he genuinely caredabout us.

    As I keep reflecting about us, an awkward silence stand between us. We haven¡¯t talked directly for three days, and now I don¡¯t have anything to say.

    Noticing it too, Kyroz speaks first, ¡°Did you sleep well?¡±

    ¡°Yes, a good night sleeping, you?¡±

    ¡°My head still hurts, It hadn¡¯t stopped since that night in the Rift. Back on earth, I would have run into a hospital fearing a bloodstroke.¡±

    ¡°Are you worried?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I am a dragon. I have more pressing concerns like, stop being a dragon.¡±

    ¡°I thought you would have enjoyed being a dragon.¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but I am naked and the morning is breezy.¡±

    How can he say that so calmly?!

    ¡°And here I go, making things awkward again.¡±

    ¡°Do you do it on purpose?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you seem distressed. And how wouldn¡¯t you, we arrived at a new world, all our bodies changed, and you discovered a Truman-show computer thingy predetermined all your lives.¡±

    ¡°Truman who?¡±

    ¡°Oh. A¡­ theatre play? I guess. The lead is a clown but can do good dramas too.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to be a clown?¡±

    ¡°I am a dragon.¡±

    He is just like Kaikai in that sense, always joking to lighten the mood. Are you a different person? Have you just forgotten about us?

    ¡°Kaikai, do you remember when we met?¡± I inquire, hesitant of his answer.

    ¡°For me, it was when I created you.¡± corrected me, trying to make explicit the difference, ¡°are you sure you want to hear it? You probably won¡¯t like my answer.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I need to know.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± he pauses before speaking. ¡±Of course I remember. I started to quest in Saint Severus Cityaround level 8, I had the monk class in a good place, and I was starting with the thief, that''s why I went to the slums, for leveling it. At the entrance of the area, there was this scripted scene of some thugs annoying a demon girl. The guys were killable, gave a little XP and dropped free bread. So, I just went and killed them every time I passed. It took some time, but when I finally got to level 15, I finished a quest for some letters in a bakery for the thieves guild and won the Follower¡¯s Contract. The last thing I needed was an NPC to act as the base of the follower. I choose that girl with the thugs.¡± with his dragon eyes looking at me he finished, ¡°that girl was you.¡±

    I knew I wouldn¡¯t like it. That story feels so cold. It really was such an un-important event for him?

    ¡°I know what you are all thinking. You all have clear feelings for Kyroz. A blind block of Osmium would notice that.¡±

    ¡°I was waiting so I could speak for myself to address it.I have to make clear that I am not the Kyroz you know and I will never claim to be him.¡±

    ¡°If you want to leave, its okay. I cannot or even try to stop you. You are totally in your right to do so. From my point of view this is more than just an odd situation, but from yours, it must be terrible. To lose someone, so important I mean.¡±

    From the corners of my eyes, I can see Sira and Holly looking at us. I ask them, ¡°Sira, Holly, were you listening?¡±

    ¡°Yes I talked to their minds too.¡±answers the dragon in front of me,instead of my friends.

    He continues, ¡°I won''t lie to you, I need you more than you need me. At least you come from a world with magic. You understand the stuff at a level that the skill descriptions don''t make it justice.¡±

    ¡°I hardly believe the knowledge I have could be of any use here. You have lived with magic and monster all lives. I have only really experienced it for three days.¡±

    ¡°Even if it''s just a selfish thought, I hope we can remain together at least until we can better understand this place. What kind of dangerawaits us in this world, and have a plan before any surprises."

    So, in the end, Sira was right?

    I can''t look back at him, right now. I need a moment.

    ¡°Mia, we should make our plans for the day,¡± says Sira walking away. ¡°Holly you should come too.¡±

    Why is it so difficult to walk?

    ¡°Mia. Sira and Holly are leaving you behind.¡± says the dragon in a worried voice.

    His voice is the one who usually assured me. Why? Why do you have to speak in his voice? I need to ask him.

    ¡°Kai¡­Kyroz, Have you everlost someoneimportant?¡±

    It seems he wasn¡¯t expecting a question. Taken by surprise, he needs a few seconds to think for an answer.

    ¡°No, never. I guess? I kind of got dumped by my childhood friend? And I also got depressed, for like a month or so, after my pet cat died of old age. I was very devastated at the time. But nothing that I can compare to your situation. Sorry."

    His posture changes, taking the clownish semblance I am used to seeing.

    "For me, this is the first time I have ever heard of someone getting interchanged for a five meter tall cute roaring lizard.¡±

    ¡°Are you happy being called cute?¡±

    ¡°Why not? Cute is a compliment.¡± said swinging happily his tail.

    His comment, actually made me smile a little bit.

    ¡°You are weird.¡±

    ¡°Yep, and you are pretty. See? Compliment.¡±

 Chapter 1: The Aether

    For several years I played the MMORPG Storm and Tempest. It was a place where players could travel through the torn worlds of The Rift: the graveyard of worlds. The landscape was formed by giant floating islands. Each platform was filled with dungeons and bosses, and each zone was divided by massive storms of arcane energies named The Aether.

    It took me quite a while to level up my character, a dragonkin by the name Kyroz. He started as a fist-fighting Monk but ended up adding three other subordinate classes. I traveled the Rift from my faction¡¯s bandit-infested capital to ancient wastelands of aether-ravaged worlds. I mostly enjoyed my time on all player vs. environment events and went on a rampage collecting as many achievements as I could. Regretfully I kept away from most player vs. player content; I was quickly discouraged as I kept being on the losing side.

    The game¡¯s level cap was at 75. Even if there were other players I passed my time with; my most enjoyable moments were about leveling Kyroz alone. I enjoyed reading all the little tidbits on every quest. I always took my time when I stared at my screen ingesting every word of any lore book that I found.

    I didn¡¯t really have troubles adventuring alone, as the game allowed you to ¡®contract¡¯ up to three NPC followers. Most players only used them as extra carry space, dumbing down their AI so they won¡¯t interfere with their game. Instead, I took on myself to improve it. You could customize their behavior by adding scripts to control them. Simple keyboard shortcuts would order them to assist you in battle.

    With my NPC followers party, I managed to complete end-game dungeons alone. I used the rare achievements I won to brag about in front of my friends. They questioned me why I wasted my time on an incomplete mechanic when I could ask them to raid dungeons together. I didn¡¯t want to bother them, enjoying my little niche gaming style was enough for me.

    Each follower had to be trained by using the class skills in front of it. The more you used an ability, the most proficient the follower became. That mechanic led to a lot of grinding, but it was not problematic to me as I enjoyed questing in the lower level zones just for the lore.

    A questline in my starter zone¡¯s capital led me to create my first NPC follower. She was a bat-winged demon that I named Mia. I wanted a healer for my travels. Despite that, her racial traits made me assign her an Assassin class; taking advantage of her bonus to agility and black magic affinity.

    I met Sira, my second follower around level 45. She was a unique NPC that rarely spawned a quest. She was a vampire, and by some internet guide¡¯s recommendation, I made her a Psychic. Her class was a support role that was complemented with low-damage sword skills.

    At level cap, I remember being upset. My party was missing the needed healer for the end game. As soon as the last NPC slot was available, I tried all the places where rare NPC would spawn. Without luck and with an expansion looming in front of me, I turned a foxkin NPC as my final follower. She was Holly, and her class was an Elemental Mage. Her race traits gave her affinity with water, earth, fire and air spells. The water branch was capable of healing, and the others allowed her to deal ranged damage.

    Finally, my party was balanced. With me as the damage absorbing tank, Mia crushing our enemies with stabs and poison, Sira giving support in the middle ground and Holly in the back healing and doing ranged damage.

    For the three years the expansion lasted, I traveled the Rift and conquered as many dungeons I could. I devoured the quest content as completionist achievements popped for every zone. In hopes of continuing to play for many years to come, I kept tweaking and perfecting my followers AI. Sadly the game came to an end.

    Commercially, Storm and Tempest was a flop. A failure which I spent a lot of effort making my own. It lasted seven years from release, and after managing to pull three expansions, I found myself having to suddenly say goodbye to Mia, Sira, Holly, and Kyroz. The MMO was shutting down.

    I connected into the game that night for one last look at the Rift. I waited in the edge of a pine forest, south of one of the game¡¯s capitals. I browsed my inventory and read the lore-filled journals I had collected. Not long after, a server-wide message appeared on my computer screen. In red lettering the words ¡°SERVER SHUTDOWN¡± and ¡°THANK YOU FOR PLAYING!¡± signaled the end.

    A few seconds later the game client changed for the login screen. Instead of welcoming me to new adventures, it said its goodbyes with the message ¡°Error 503: Service unavailable.¡±

    I shut down my laptop and languidly went to sleep.

    <hr>

    It was another dreamless night when I suddenly woke up. My body felt tired like the morning after intense exercise.

    I hear the gentle rustle of leaves on the wind. The breeze caresses my cheeks and brings the smell of pine trees. The sound of birds flapping their wings and singing circle around me.

    My tired mind relaxes in this pleasant environment. Then I am suddenly interrupted by a thunderous cacophony.

    I open my eyes and see the leafed roof of the forest as I rise my head.

    My hand touches the ground. The forest¡¯s floor seems simplistic, lacking the rich complexity of shapes that a collection of twigs and leaves should possess. Even if the grainy feeling of humus is correct, I can¡¯t scoop it off the ground.

    I notice my hands now. They are made of many unnatural triangles with sharp yet barely noticeable borders. The wrinkles and veins of a proper hand are gone, replaced by a texture, lacking the small tinctures and details.

    ¡°Kaikai! you woke up.¡± says a relieved voice by my side.

    Turning my head, I see a bat-winged demoness wearing knife-filled leather armor. Her polygonal face is encouraging me to stand quickly. I recognized her immediately as Mia, the first NPC I met, and whom I departed just a few hours ago.

    ¡°We have to go! We are in danger!¡±

    Look at herexpressions, they seem so real.

    ¡°Danger? Why? What is happening?¡± I ask Mia.

    ¡°The city bells are ringing! Can¡¯t you hear them? The aether is devouring the platform! We must run!¡±

    The aether?

    I look as far as my eyesight lets me, where I can see the city gates. The buildings that form the location are cut in half sharply, as being clipped by the render distance. A giant bell bangs in a low pitch, alerting everyone from danger. A bluish storm cloud swirls above the city and extends throughout the lands.

    ¡°Mia, I asked the knights!¡± says a new voice. ¡°The storm vortices are still in the borders. We may have a few minutes until they arrive here.¡±

    The speaking vampire with platinum hair and unhealthy blue-hued skin is my second NPC, Sira. Just like with Mia, her face is filled with life and worry. This aether stuff seems really dangerous. It makes sense it is supposed to be the devourer of worlds.

    ¡°I¡¯ll teleport us away. Someone in the city may know how to stop the damn thing.¡±

    ¡°Wait, Sira!¡± Says the demoness, ¡±Holly went to the city ahead of us!¡±

    As I look around, I note the missing foxkin NPC.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s leave the coward. She ran away. She didn¡¯t even try to wake up Ky. ¡±

    Did she run away? NPCs can¡¯t get very far away from their partners.

    I stop the vampire casting her teleportation spell.

    ¡°Mia is right. We will fetch Holly; then we will teleport to Academy City.¡±

    Sira merely sulks at my response.

    I must be dreaming about the game again. I had worked so much on the girls AI that I am now dreaming them as they could think.

    My head feels light and hurts slightly. The odd sensation is familiar. It feels like the tired pain when I stayed up all night gaming or after I binge watched a 300 episode series.

    ¡°Sira, if it makes you feel better, think of her as the healer of the party. We will need her if something shows up.¡±

    I am probably dreaming of a game event. Storm and Tempest ended last night.

    To get to the city fast, I need to switch to dragon form.

    How do I use the spell?

    I am now in first person mode. There is no hint or user interface in sight. My toolbars are gone too.

    ¡°Mia, How do I use the dragon form?¡±

    ¡°How? Like you always do.¡±

    I don¡¯t know what I was expecting, NPCs probably can''t see interfaces. For a moment, her attitude and expressions made me forget it.

    ¡°I will figure it out in the way. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    The three of us start running through the animal path that connects the forest edge.

    The restless wolves and goblins that often littered these low-level zones are not attacking, even when inside their aggro zone.

    It¡¯s just a dream. It can''t be identical to the game.

    With those thoughts in mind, I look back at my followers. The weirdest part since the start of this dream has been them.

    We arrive at where the dirt path joins a paved road. A few steps ahead there is a stone bridge where a white-robed foxkin stands looking into the distance.

    ¡°Holly! You waited for us!¡±.

    ¡°Or you''re so lazy that you prefer the aether eating you.¡±

    Mia happily welcomes the mage. On the other side, Sira¡¯s greeting is more mean-spirited.

    ¡°Sheltering in the city is useless.¡± Finally answers the foxkin. "Dear, you can see it from here.¡±

    Dear?

    Holly¡¯s worried voice is accompanied by a gesture towards the city.

    At this distance, the clipped scenery has been revealed. In the middle of the city, a tempestuous vortex of gaseous substance with swirling purple and dark blues eats away everything on its path. The floating debris that desperately tries to escape starts turning into dust before achieving anything.

    ¡°Sira, teleport us to Academy City. This platform is done for.¡±

    ¡°Dear, what tells you that we won¡¯t get teleported in the middle of that?¡±

    ¡±Academy City has a barrier, honey.¡± I jokingly add. ¡±We will last longer there.¡±

    Holly stands frozen at my response. Why is she so shocked?

    Ignoring her, the three equally sized avatars get closer and Sira beings to cast the spell. The teleport of the psychic class takes a few seconds before my sight turns white and we arrive at a new place as the whiteness fades.

    No loading screen? That certainly would have helped the game.

    The city¡¯s monumental marble buildings were painted blue, white and gold. All the streets were paved with cobblestones. Above us rested a giant magic stone, on top the highest spire that looms over the academy surroundings. The rock was the heart of the protecting barrier against the dangerous aether.

    Good thing that I remember my lore.

    The bluish gas circled the city, forcibly stopped by an invisible dome shape. As Holly guessed, Academy City was being attacked too.

    The guards and vendors were running and screaming all around us. It was the expected apocalyptic mayhem that usually appears in movies.

    With a thud, Sira¡¯s knees collapse in front of me.

    That pose was not among the emotes of the game.

    Weird thoughts crawl through my mind. This dream has lasted too long and had been too homogeneous. If its a dream why I can¡¯t turn into a dragon? Or use any spell?

    Its like I am being forced to follow weird rules.

    ¡°Kaikai, what do we do? Where can we escape?¡±

    The demon assassin looks at me expectantly, assured that I have an exit to our predicament.

    Storm and Tempestis dead, shouldn¡¯t we just accept it?

    ¡°I believe this is the end. All game zones are over. The whole Rift is going to disappear.¡±

    My NPCs look at me, seemingly incapable of understanding. I don¡¯t know how else I should explain this.

    ¡°This is the end. There is nowhere to escape.¡±

    Maybe I do owe them a better explanation. My followers did accompany me along all those years I played the MMO. I put a lot of effort, and I really liked them. But I have to admit it is a bizarre thing to do, explaining to dream NPCs they are going to die.

    They seem real now. It is not harmful to play along in a dream.

    ¡°All of this was a game. All dungeons, bosses, and towns, the whole Rift. Everything was a game. The servers were turned off last night. The game ended because the studio didn¡¯t earn as much as they expected. I suppose my mind translated that to the aether eating away the Rift. Us included.¡±

    ¡°Sira, Mia, I think our Kyroz may have broken.¡±

    The mage is still the calmest among my companions. The three NPC still act restless around me.

    Their reactions are too real. I had never had a dream this consistent.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to believe me If you don¡¯t want to. The Rift is over anyway, who knows how long that barrier will last.¡±

    As I point it out, the barrier starts to crack. With that as its signal, the dire reality was finally starting to take hold on the NPCs. Mia¡¯s frightened face is unbelievably real for a polygonal 3D model. Holly is frozen in place holding her wooden staff while Sira has started sobbing looking at me between her tears.

    ¡°Ky, I don¡¯t want to die!¡±

    She really doesn¡¯t want to go. Damn you, subconscious self.

    ¡°Alright. Mia, Sira, Holly. Meeting you all was fun. I worked hard. Like really, really hard to get our party into the end-game content. I actually hoped to keep tweaking your AIs. Seeing today your reactions I regret I didn¡¯t have the chance. Honestly, I never expected that you could have all this range of emotions.¡±

    A thunderous sound of shattered glass interrupts my words. The aether is finally winning the fight against the barrier. Escape seems impossible. I remember all the fun and good memories of this game looking at my NPC friends.

    ¡°The truth is I do consider you my friends. I¡¯ll miss you.¡±

    Their faces are fixed on the crack in the barrier. If we are getting out of this, I need them focussed.

    ¡°Okay, sad part over. Sira, come here. Cheer up! Let''s go on one last adventure! Here is what we must do.¡±

    I help the fallen vampire stand up and concentrate on our next objective. To survive, we can only go somewhere outside the Rift. I remember only one instance. I cannot access my inventory so I¡¯ll have to go with what I have at hand.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    ¡°There is a subterranean laboratory in the academy. We need to get there quickly.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where it is?¡±

    ¡°Yep! follow me.¡±

    We run across the city¡¯s central plaza and approach campus near us. Other adventurers are gathering preparing to reinforce the barriers. Some priests are performing sermons and praying for salvation.

    We enter the first-floor hall. The tiled ceramic floor reflects the near two-meter tall ceiling. The building¡¯s interior is filled with tall wooden doors going into classrooms. We approach the spiraling marble staircase going to the lower floor.

    The long hallway echoes the ground level layout. We run to the last room to the left and find the metallic double doors tightly closed with a chain.

    ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be! Since when is this door closed?¡±

    ¡°How do you know of this place?¡± asks Sira.

    ¡°How? Because I¡¯ve come here before!¡±

    This time is Holly the one who asks.

    ¡°When did you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know? Recently? I had come here several times. It¡¯s close by.¡±

    ¡°Mia, have you ever come with him?¡±

    Mia seems troubled and hesitates to answer Holly¡¯s question.

    ¡°No, we have never come to this place.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± I say, ¡°I clearly remember coming with all of you.¡±

    ¡°We have not.¡±

    I am very sure I did. When the game shut down was announced; I toured around all my favorite spots, including this.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave that aside, we need to get in here.¡±

    ¡°Okay, Mia could you use lockpicking?¡±

    Mia follows Sira¡¯s instructions and the chains that tie the iron doors together soon fall clanging to the floor.

    As if it were a signal, an enormous tremor shakes the ground and the shattering sounds of glass echoes through the academy¡¯s halls. The aether has broken past the barrier.

    "No quest giver? Doesn''t matter, we don¡¯t have much time. Come quickly and don¡¯t eat the candy.¡±

    ¡°What is this place?¡± Says Sira, looking around the secret lab.

    With a ¡°Moooo!¡± a cow critter greets us inside the room.

    ¡°The game loved pop culture references. What we need is beside the water tank.¡±

    At the end of the room rests an iron tank filled with saline water. On top of the tank sits a single journal-like book.

    ¡°This book is called ¡®Olive¡¯s Diary.¡± I pass it to Sira. ¡°Or how to get outside the Rift for Psychics.¡±

    As Sira immediately starts to ruffle through the pages, Holly keeps seeking for answers.

    ¡°Are you sure it will work?¡±

    "Yes, I know my lore. From what I remember of the quest, the owner of the lab used the aether itself to visit a world outside the Rift.¡±

    ¡°Are you insane? You want to let that damn gas eat us?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the only idea I have. Unless you just want to let things go down naturally.¡±

    The aether is running rampant above ground. The people we passed through our way here are most certainly on its focus. Their screams can be heard from the close distance.

    ¡°Holly, it is a chance! Isn¡¯t it better than just wait?¡± says Mia, agreeing with me.

    ¡°Why are you so positive? What guarantees do we have that this will work?¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± interrupts Sira. ¡°This will work. I just glanced through fifty pages of theory, but they seem reasonable. The book explains in detail the process and the spell. It¡¯s more than letting the aether eats us. Ky this might work!¡±

    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t remember it being that long.¡±

    In-game books had about fifteen paragraphs.

    ¡°It has more than 200 pages! We are lucky that the actual spell is around four.¡±

    ¡°You read quickly.¡±

    ¡°It has an index. Okay, this is what I need. First, Holly. You have to make a barrier around us until the spell is almost ready. Make it with whatever material you can, hopefully, something that obstructs light. Mia, there must be some serums here that I need to empower myself. Ky, go help her.¡±

    Like she said to us. We begin with our tasks.

    Sira clears a space inside the room with her telekinesis and Holly creates a thick dome made of rock in the middle of it. She leaves a single opening for us to return inside.

    Mia and I receive a thorn piece of the diary and look for the labeled potion. As we move further away from the other girls. Mia starts chatting with me.

    ¡°That is a first. You don¡¯t usually listen.¡±

    ¡°Really? That sounds awful.¡±

    ¡°It is. Don¡¯t you remember the Monkey Emperor Dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Where we got wiped out like twenty times in a row?¡±

    She chuckles. ¡°That one. No matter how many times we asked you, we kept challenging it. Specially Sira, after a while she started making alternative plans, but you were focused on your way. We were tired of running for our lives.¡±

    ¡°Wow, I am sorry that was so difficult for you.¡±

    That monkey dungeon took me a week to complete. I was starting to tweak the girl''s AIs. If they could talk back, then it wouldn¡¯t have been so tedious. The first room trash mobs killed us several times.

    ¡°Until now I have only regretted how much I had to pay in resurrection fees.¡±

    ¡°Resurrection fees?¡±

    She doesn¡¯t know about resurrection fees?

    ¡°Guys! Sira is almost ready! We need the potion.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it for later.¡±

    We keep looking through the lab. Several vials and flasks litter the place. Atop a desk, there are jars filled with chemicals, powders, and sweets.

    The aether-related screams have diminished. It is not an auspicious sign.

    ¡°Kaikai I found them!¡±

    Mia opened with her lockpicking a sealed iron vault, inside there are several flasks with a bluish liquid. The vials had the same serial label than in the journal and had written an expiration date below it.

    Mia notices, ¡°This things have expired long ago.¡±

    ¡°We have no other option, let¡¯s take them all.¡±

    We pass the potions to Sira, and she without hesitation drinks one and grimaces with disgust.

    ¡°Ugh, You have to drink that too.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    The building starts to crumble, and a subterranean growl makes us remember the danger of the aether.

    Mia stops for a second before drinking the strange substance in one gulp, while Holly and I openly share our doubts by quickly glancing at each other.

    This tastes awful.

    The blue thing was bitter like intense dark chocolate and had the flavor of bad cough syrup.

    ¡°Dying may be the second worst thing today.¡±

    ¡°We are ready. Holly, I will begin to cast the spell. I need you to close the opening and fill the dome with water.¡±

    ¡°You want to drown us?!¡±

    ¡°No! I need to concentrate, and the water will help! Fill it with water until we float. Then let¡¯s hold hands, close your eyes and relax in the darkness.¡±

    ¡°Are you really expecting us to relax? The aether is almost here!¡±

    ¡°Think happy thoughts! I don¡¯t know! Just do it! Or you will be left here with the cow.¡±

    Poor Cow.

    ¡°Should we give the serum to the cow?¡±

    The three girls look at me.

    ¡°Okay, we won''t.¡±

    Mia and I took Sira¡¯s hands as Holly closes the dome and fills it with water.

    We are now in complete darkness. The sound of new screams and the crumbling building becomes muffled by the stone and the water. My free hand is extended waiting for Holly¡¯s.

    "Hey watch it!¡± says Holly when I grasp something.

    ¡°That was your tail?¡±

    ¡°Yes! You better apologize when we are out of this mess, dear.¡±

    ¡°Shut up you two!¡± screams Sira. ¡°I will begin now.¡±

    We spend what feels like a few minutes in the darkness. The muffled sounds are getting closer. In the moment of relaxation, I remember this is all supposed to be a dream, so I open my eyes and see my companions slightly glowing. The earth dome that surrounds us has started to degrade, and the perilous gas floats above the water.

    The light emanating from our bodies starts to intensify and in response the aether circles around us keeping its distance. The gas tendrils look like wailing souls running in a dark blue vortex.

    A blinding flash of light covers my view. An instant later the space around us is replaced by a tempestuous spiral of colors. My grip loosens as I look at the impressive sight, and I let go of the girls.

    Holly opens her eyes and tries to catch me, but is too late.

    I stumble through this torrent of energy. It looks like I am now flying through a tunnel of aether, snaking around the cosmos.

    I really want a blue box now.

    The scenery of this rollercoaster ride changes when the gaseous aether turns darker. It becomes a black and dull sludge. It feels like tar or a very dense magma. The substance pulses with yellow and red colors.

    After what it seemed like two minutes, another flash of white light signals the end. I have reached the end of the rainbow.

    <hr>

    Once again, I hear the gentle rustle of leaves on the wind. There is a humid smell of pine trees covered by the morning dew. Insect buss around and birds sing atop the trees.

    I can feel my mind relaxing, as the tired headache leaves and loses its pressure.

    I open my eyes and see the endless blue sky, with white clouds forming incredibly complex shapes while being caressed by the wind.

    My hand touches the ground. The fresh forest humus and grass gets between my fingers as the smell of wet dirt reaches my nostrils. When I lose my grip on the scooped earth, I feel the grains stuck under my fingernails.

    Am I in a real forest now?

    I look around me and see that I am now resting in a forest clearing.

    <Why am I in a forest?!> ¡°ROOOAAAARRRR!!!!¡±

    Eh?

    <Roar.> ¡°ROAR!¡±

    <Growl.> ¡°GROWL!¡±

    <Rawr?> ¡°RAWR?!¡±

    ...

    I notice my hands now. The vaguely humanoid shapes are covered in black small scales. My palms seem soft and human. The tips of all my fingers have sharp black claws except my thumb.

    What is happening?

    I raise so I can have a better look at my body. My legs are covered in short fur, and they turn slowly into scally feet.

    Dinosaur feet?

    In front of my eyes, I notice another scally appendage.

    Sweep, sweep.

    <And even a Frickin Tail?!> ¡°ROOOOOARRRRR!!!!!!!!!¡±

    What is happening now? First that weird dream of the game. Then the colorful space odyssey sludge-portal, and now I am a dinosaur? I want to wake up! I am tired of this dream!

    Relax. Breathe. Think.

    The pinch thing doesn¡¯t work, right?

    I look at my hands and use my sharp claws to pinch the soft skin in the lower part of my arm.

    Ouch!

    And, It doesn¡¯t work.

    Let¡¯s try shaking myself awake.

    I try to jump around the clearing and roll around the floor. When I struck some trees in my path, and they fall I notice how big Ireallyam. I must be two stories tall!

    <Why. I. Don¡¯t. Wake. Up.>

    Hitting my face on the floor? Doesn¡¯t wake me up.

    My next plan is the normal one when you are in a dire situation.

    <Help me! Anyone! I became a big shaggy lizard! Can somebody help me?!> ¡°ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!!!!!!¡±

    Who would come closer? TO A ROARING DINOSAUR!!!!!!!!!!!

    Grandma, I miss you.

    Why am I in a forest? Why did I not woke up in my desktop? Or the university¡¯s library? Even on a bench in the park? Like the usual unusual places.

    Ok. Last plan. Fall asleep. Worst case scenario you¡¯ll get sent to a different place.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    <How do I even fall asleep like this?> ¡°Grrooowl.¡±

    The only thing I can do is to complain sorrowfully. I am starting to feel all my energy leaving my body.

    Is this true? Am I really not dreaming?

    I look around me once more. I made a mess. I guess I should rest. I will crawl into a ball, and just wait for the evil thoughts to leave. Yep just like that.

    What is that big feathery thing? Wings? Are those MY wings? Am I a freaking dinosaur with wings?

    No that¡¯s not right.

    I am a dragon?!

    This is the worst. It¡¯s incredibly cool. But the worst.

    As I lay there in the middle of the clearing, I try to relax and order my thoughts. No matter what has just happened, I need to find a way to survive in this place. So first I need to understand my current situation.

    I need to review my options. Dragon means fantasy, so I¡¯ll assume I am on the wrong side of the invention of antibiotics, or toilets. I am essentially a monster in a forest so the second may not be a problem in the foreseeable future.

    As a dragon, I have two options. I am an evil being heroes have to hunt down or I am a pet to a hopefully beautiful elf, or horribly to a manly dwarf.

    I am not evil, more like chaotic neutral. The world might not see it that way. They will say I am an evil black dragon when actually I am dark blue. They¡¯ll say I have a flamethrower throat and won¡¯t give me a chance to speak. As for the other alternative, I don¡¯t want to be anyone''s pet.

    This is troublesome if I were Kyroz I could use those stealth skills and infiltrate into a town and get info.

    If this is not a dream, then. Did all of that in the Rift actually happen?

    That changes things. Mia has stealths skills and looks almost human. Sira too, if she were to hide her red eyes. I don¡¯t know if there are foxkin here, but Holly could look the least suspicious. All of them could infiltrate easily.

    No, that¡¯s not the important thing. Mia is a demon. Storm and Tempest had her as any other race but in fantasy stories...

    If humans find her, it''s almost certain that she will be killed. It¡¯s the same with Sira as a vampire.

    A vampire! In the Rift didn¡¯t seem to be a problem but what about this world¡¯s sun? I must go join them now!

    I absolutely have to find the girls.

    I got up and extend my wings. Their span is ginormous. Now I am glad I enlarged the clearing on purpose.

    My wings feel like two other arms growing from my back. It¡¯s oddly natural to move them.

    Okay, Let¡¯s try this. I hope this thing is instinctual.

    I flap my wings, and a strong wind smashes the forest floor. Leaves are thrown away by the powerful currents.

    This is working!

    I lift from the ground and fly.

    <hr>

    I cannot believe I am flying! I am a leaf in the wind!

    I can see the world under my feet. The coniferous forest is painted over a mountainous area. A big blue colored mountain range with snowy peaks looms in the horizon. The sun warms my back as I breathe the air under the blue sky.

    I enjoy the pleasant sensation on my wings, but my mind is focused. I need to look for the girls. As stories go, they are either close by or very far from me. That¡¯s why I am circling from the clearing I woke up. Seeing them from this distance inside the forest would be impossible. I hope that any of them thinks in signaling me to go down.

    A big fireball explodes on the other side of a small tree-covered mountain.

    As I suspected. That must be Holly¡¯s signal.

    I fly as fast as I can to the other side and see a small clearing were two humanoid figures rest beside a bonfire. A big honey-colored four-legged animal stands to guard them. Upon seeing them, I approach the ground.

    Isn¡¯t my speed a little too fast?

    I extend my wings to create more resistance. A painful feeling assaults the base of my new limbs as if they were torn apart.

    My speed has not decreased, how do I stop? Do I push more air? Uff, the wind is too strong to flap my winds! Oh, no! Sorry Wash, I am not a leaf, I am a brick! Sorry! No, no. Stop!

    With a crash! I struck the ground and got my head covered in the soft floor of the forest.

    I was so happy.

    ¡°Kaikai, are you okay?¡±

    The same voice that woke me up yesterday approaches me worried.

    <No.> ¡°Roar.¡±

    <Dirt tastes like mud.> ¡°Grool Gr Groowl.¡±

    ¡°Sira, I can¡¯t understand him either.¡±

    I unearth my head from the ground, Mia and Sira look different.

    Mia¡¯s horns that used to grow straight from her temples have moved to behind her ears. They twist over themselves like a ram¡¯s and have the appearance of a bone crown. She no longer has a tail, and her webbed wings are now a pair of raven black angel-like wings born from her shoulder blades. Her short and asymmetrical black hair is combed to the sides. And her black eyes would undoubtedly match a pair of thin framed glasses.

    Sira¡¯s long platinum hair has changed to copper, and she has it tied in a ponytail. Her ears are now long and pointy, like an elf''s. She appears smaller than Mia¡¯s, with an athletic and agile figure. All of her proportions match, adding to the image of a woman starting her twenties. Her left sleeve is missing, showing her now pink and glossy arm. The former blue hue is gone, and it seems to reflect the warmth of the sun rays.

    It looks like I didn¡¯t have to worry about her vampirism. That¡¯s a relief.

    Both of their attires look worn out and torn. Most of Sira''s armor is missing, and the hem of her skirt has been ripped. Mia''s leather clothes adjust tightly to her body. Her attire looks almost complete, but straps of unsewed leather stick out.

    <Where is Holly?> ¡°Growl?¡±

    <I am here, dear> ¡°Bark!¡±

    The honey-colored creature stands before me. Her voice is exactly like Holly¡¯s. The big animal is still smaller than me, but towers by the side of Mia. She is a big nine tailed fox.

    <Are you Holly? Don¡¯t tell me you are stuck too.>

    She simply nods.

    Then I am not the only one this time.

    <Then, what Mia was talking about¡­>

    <Neither of them can understand us.>

    Great. Not only I may be the end boss the heroes need to defeat, but I can¡¯t even start monologuing before them.

    <You know. This wouldn¡¯t be happening if some lizard didn¡¯t let go of our hands back there.>

    <Do you mean during the vortex thingy?

    <Yes! I tried to catch you and almost fell into the damn thing!>

    <So we turned because of the black sludge portal?>

    <What black sludge? We arrived a few seconds after you let go.>

    It felt way longer than a few seconds.

    If I believe in what Holly is saying. I am stuck as a dragon because the aether did something to me. No, it certainly made something to all of us. Holly and I are apparently the most affected. For me, it must be because of the black thing. That doesn¡¯t explain Holly.

    <Well, I suppose I am not being fair. Thank you for saving us Kyroz.>

    <Shouldn¡¯t you thank Sira?>

    <You led us to the strange lab. At least a quarter of the thanks should go to you.>

    Talking about the vampire, she is still sitting beside the bonfire. Her eyes remain closed and appear to be concentrating.

    <What is Sira doing?>

    <Meditating, she was very shocked when her body changed, and that may have affected her powers.>

    Sira¡¯s powers. That may work! Psychics could use telepathy. NPCs couldn¡¯t really use it, but I was a completionist and didn¡¯t like seeing an unallocated skill in the list. Because it was never trained, Sira¡¯s ability must be at level one.

    <Holly do you think you can help me? We could use earth magic to tell Sira, she could use telepathy¡­>

    <Why do you think she is meditating? She is a master Psychic, she already got the idea.>

    <Oh, then I guess we should wait.>

    ¡­

    ...

    This is boring. Maybe some small talk will help.

    <So, you are a ninetails now.>

    <It seems like it.>

    <Weren¡¯t they supposed to be ancient divinities and ancestors to the foxkin?>

    <And dragon¡¯s were supposed to be the dumb evil monsters that try to ate them.>

    There goes the small talk. Holly is still mad at me. I do seem to have the fault. Okay. I¡¯ll say it.

    <Holly, I am sorry for letting go of you on the vortex... and grabbing your tail. I made a dumb mistake.>

    The fox stares at me for a moment without saying anything.

    <That is a first.>

    <You too?>

    <Yes, I never heard you saying you were wrong.>

    <Really? I am always messing things up.>

    <You were, but you just ignored them and kept going.>

    This is the same with Mia. Are they talking about the avatar me playing? But they sound like they met me in the flesh.

    What kind of things did you do, other me?

    <As I suspected.> Says Holly. <You are not the same Kyroz.>

 Chapter 2: A dragons truth

    <You are not the same Kyroz.>

    Great, not a day and I am already going to deal with a reveal. Honestly, I was thinking of telling them. It is not a good idea to hide this kind of things. They end up exploding in your face eventually. I started to relax after I discovered I couldn''t talk. Holly sure got me unprepared.

    <How did you notice?>

    <The Kyroz we knew wasn''t the sharpest knife.>

    <So you say I am smart?>

    <Smarter than him. Which puts you above some species of the undead.>

    <That''s harsh.>

    <It''s a reasonable comparison.>

    I never expected Holly to be the kind of person who would talk behind the backs of her companions.

    <I get you didn''t like him.>

    <I used to. My patience ran out.>

    Honestly, how mean did I was when I played with Kyroz as my avatar. Do all the girls have the same opinions?

    I wonder as I look to the meditating vampire and the demon beside her.

    <You don''t have to worry about me telling them.>

    <That''s a relief. But, why?>

    <Is the fact that you sound like Kyroz and you used to look like him. If I tell them now, Sira''s brain will halt for a while, and then she will join the unrestrained Mia to gut you alive for answers.>

    <You are exaggerating.>

    <I had to deal with Kyroz for about three years, them for more than three decades. If you want to find out for yourself, be my guest.>

    I don''t believe they are capable of something like that, especially Mia.

    <Mia seems nice.>

    <Because she thinks you are her Kaikai. I will give you the benefit of the doubt. You look like a good guy. Way more than Kyroz could have been. If you want to tell them; first you need to defuse those ticking bombs.>

    "Which bombs?"

    Sira suddenly interrupts our talk. She points her red eyes quizzically at us from her seat beside the bonfire. Her face looks a little pained.

    <Do you feel alright?>

    "My telepathy is still low level. My head hurts. It''s tolerable."

    How much of my conversation with Holly did she hear?

    "So? Which bombs were you talking about?"

    I look at Holly, before answering to the pained vampire.

    <I have something to tell all of you. Holly recommends me to wait until we are out of trouble.>

    "Are you really listening to what that coward has to say?"

    <Yes, she is my friend too.>

    <And who are you calling coward?> interjects Holly.

    "To you! You left Ky alone back at the Rift!"

    <I did not leave him alone! I went to the city for help!>

    "Why didn''t you come with me to the knights then?"

    <You didn''t want me to follow you! You were taking too long, so I just left!>

    "Then why were you standing on that bridge?!"

    <Because I understood that there were no chance of escaping!>

    Holly''s voice turns sorrowful. All the fur of her body is standing, and her canines are glaring at Sira. The recollection of last night''s memories and the vampire''s accusations have finally broken the fox girl.

    <Okay Sira, that''s enough.>

    "Why are you taking her side!"

    <There are no sides here! We are supposed to be friends. You arebeing mean to her.>

    When I met them, I noticed hints of animosity. At first, I believed they would be more joyful and amiable. Their argument leaves clear to me that they are not getting along.

    <About what I need to tell you. You will have to wait until we are out of trouble. For now, I will only mention this; I appear to have forgotten a lot about our past adventures. Including all my abilities and skills.>

    Sira is shocked by my words. I feel bad about lying to her, but I will trust Holly in this one. There is still a chance that she is using me for something. But I doubt it.

    "So that''s why you didn''t use telepathy with me."

    <Can''t you teach me?>

    "I can''t teach you. We need to get to a psychic class trainer."

    <Why?>

    "How why? You know its a prerequisite to learning any skill to go to a trainer."

    Mia finally couldn''t resist only to spectate the half sided conversation and decided to join us.

    "Sira, what is happening?"

    "Ky has forgotten all his skills, and he thinks he doesn''t need a trainer to learn them."

    The demoness looks surprised by the response. She then looks at me with a thin and nostalgic smile.

    "Kaikai, you can swing a knife a million times, and never really learn to wield it. When you go to a trainer, you will immediately be able to use it as an expert. You said that."

    That sounds stupid. If things were that easy, I wouldn''t have spent twelve years in school learning math.

    <A while back I learned to fly, and I never could before.>

    To be fair, it can be because of dragon instincts. Not the landings tough.

    "You are a dragon, isn''t it natural?"

    <And you have hands. Isn''t it natural to punch?>

    "Yes, it''s natural. But a punch doesn''t make you a martial artist!"

    <And who taught the first martial artist?>

    "That is because..."

    My words seem to get into Sira''s head finally. The first significant difference I noticed when I arrived at this world is that this place feels real. The Rift not only did look like the game. I could feel a weird pressure to follow unwritten rules.

    "Why did trainers made so much sense?"

    I look at Holly. She seems calmer now that the focus is away from her.

    This is what I want to tell you about.

    She appears to understand the meaning behind my gaze with a slight nod.

    Sira in the time has come to a decision.

    "Okay, we will try. Ky, can you sit closer to the camp?"

    <I believe you should teach Holly first.>

    "Why?!"

    <She used a fireball spell before. She already knows how to use skills so she may be easier to teach.>

    "I don''t think a dumb fox is capable of learning the psychic class."

    <No? She is way smarter than she allows herself to show. Give her a chance, and please don''t fight. I mean it. I need to do something first.>

    "What are you going to do?"

    She is very displeased with my request but appears to agree with it.

    <I will check our surroundings. I want to know how close we are to any humans. They are our biggest threat.>

    "Do you think so? Humans aren''t so bad."

    <Correction. The humans in the Rift weren''t so bad.>

    It goes against my better judgment to leave Sira and Holly alone. I will trust that Holly will be capable of defusing any bomb Sira may try to throw at her while I am out. Leaving Mia wouldn''t help. She remained silent when Sira was bullying her back at the Rift, and she will probably side with Sira and unknowingly encourage her. I also need her to get closer to any settlements we could find.

    After Sira told Mia everything we talked about, she climbed on my back, and I take off from the camp.

    <hr>

    "Wow! The sky is much bluer than in the Rift!"

    I once again fly in the sky, this time with Mia. For a moment I imagined that it could be difficult to carry someone in my back, but it is not so different to my first flight.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    "I never could imagine we could reach so high up!"

    Mia has not stopped trying to talk to me. Without Sira''s telepathy, I can only make small gestures and hope she catches my intentions.

    "Hey Kaikai, do you think I''ll be able to fly up to here?"

    That''s something that I missed. It could have been dangerous for a human to reach past the clouds without breathing gear. I should be more careful next time. Especially now. If I needed an extra reason to worry, it would be that I need to prove myself trustworthy to Holly.

    Because she looks ok being at this height, I assume her new body is capable to withstands this heights and speeds. I give her a thumbs up.

    "Really? Then on the way back, I am going to fly by your side!"

    Well, if that makes her happy.

    Our objective is some big lake south-west from out camp. I noticed it on my first flight when I looked for the girl''s signal. It is far enough not to fear being seen. If there is a lake, the probability of it having at least a fishing village is high.

    When we finally get close enough to it, we notice. The lake is huge.

    A big conic mountain partially hid its size. I am betting it has to be a volcano, with its chimney covered in snow. If I am an evil dragon, I will make it my home. That''s decided. Volcano lairs are one of the benefits of villains.

    Besides my evil aspirations. The lake is beautiful. The conifer forests give it an atemporal feeling. It''s like the landscape has not changed since the dinosaurs. Does this world have dinosaurs?

    On the south-western point of the lake, there is what looks like a medium-sized town. Our objective.

    At least we did not arrive at an uninhabited or prehistoric world.

    I slow down and flap my wings to stand, hovering above the ground. Mia laves my back and does the same in front of me.

    "We found a capital in the first try?!"

    I doubt it qualifies as a capital. It is a fishing town at best. Video game cities are usually scaled-down versions of their in-lore counterparts. It seems Mia and the others come from the game version.

    "Should I go and see?"

    Mia is arranging her position to storm to town when I stop her.

    "Why not? Didn''t we came here for this?"

    I point at her wings and the top of her head, then at my eyes.

    "Are you afraid they notice my wings?"

    I nod in response.

    "It has to do with what Sira said about humans being a threat?"

    I nod.

    "Then I will hide them!"

    Can you do that? Well if its that way.

    I do a thumbs up.

    Suddenly, she turns invisible, and I stop feeling her presence.

    Several minutes pass. It is very nerve-racking to wait for her return. I believe she would be okay, but we do not know about this worlds inhabitants strength. I hope there is no one with detection skills.

    The very stressful minutes continue to pass, I circle above the ground maintaining my distance from the village. Hopefully not many will notice me. Why is she taking so long to return?

    I begin to question if I should go and find her. Before I manage to muster up my courage, the air above my head shifts like a hot air mirage. The cheerful Mia lands on my neck and hugs it.

    "Surprise!"

    Oh, that''s a relief. It seems everything was alright.

    I make a thumbs up and make my way back to our camp.

    She indeed is an assassin. I did not notice her approach in the slightest. Its a sharp contrast between her usual personality. Holly may be right on this one.

    I try looking at the girl riding on my neck. She is in a hard to look position. And she seems to have noticed me trying.

    "Do I bother you here?"

    I move my head to say no.

    "Really? Great!"

    I don''t know what surprises me. The Rift was a dangerous place. People carried weapons everywhere. If you weren''t one of the main characters or an adventurer, the world only had shit for you.

    In that kind of world, it would be normal for anyone to harden up to face the treats, and Mia has traveled for a long time. Did Holly say more than thirty years?

    "Kaikai, do you want me to tell you what I found?"

    Mia interrupts once again my thoughts. She will tell everything she found when we arrive with Sira. She probably wants to keep talking to me.

    "I went very close to the city. No one noticed you or me. You made a right decision by keeping yourself away from them."

    That''s good to hear.

    "I tried to peek at their conversations, but they don''t sound like common or any language in the Rift. I look around, but I didn''t find any sign or paper with written words, sorry."

    That''s more than enough for now.

    I made another thumbs up at her.

    Even if it''s a logical conclusion, I find it hard to believe you are as dangerous as Holly says.

    For a few minutes, Mia went silent. Something was clearly bothering her. I was arriving at the zone our camp was. It is still difficult to find it in the forest. As I looked around, Mia asked me.

    "Kaikai, did you really forget about our past adventures?"

    I take my time to answer. Holly''s warning rings in my head, I should not say anything to her, as much as I want to do it.

    I kept my silence, as I continue looking for our camp.

    "You won''t answer."

    On one side I know I am the kind of guy who screws up when saying things that I shouldn''t. And on the other, I have an assassin literally hanging from my neck. It should surprise no one that it is a stressful position to be in.

    "Did you forget when we met?"

    When we met? To me, it was a game quest. But surely I do. I know it won''t be the same for her. But maybe it will put her at ease.

    I try to look back at her, but my sight can''t reach her. I use my hands to feel where she is. My hand touches her back, and I can feel the feathers of her wings on my palm. With my other hand, I do a thumbs up.

    I hope that managed to transfer my meaning. And is a relief to hear Mia''s following words.

    "Alright, that''s good to hear!"

    We stay there floating in the air for a few minutes. Mia gets up from my neck and flies by my side as we look for our camp.

    Soon after, the two of us locate our campsite. We find a bonfire with a big honey-colored fox and a small in comparison humanoid figure. The two silhouettes are sitting in front of each other, like a praying monk meditating in front of a stone statue. It''s a peaceful picture and a relief that they are not fighting.

    I approach the campsite slower than last time. The pull on my wings is less extreme than on my first attempt. I think I may be improving on my landings.

    When my feet touch the ground, I trip and stumble head first on the floor.

    Note to self: Next time, remember to extend the landing gear.

    The shocks of my landing seem to wake up the girls from their trance.

    Holly is the first to answer with a chuckle.

    <You still suck at landings, dear.>

    <I appreciate the critiques, honey.>

    Between the two of us, the demon girl lands without any problem at my side.

    "Kaikai! Are you okay?"

    How many times is this scene going to repeat?

    I use my hand to do a thumbs up. I need to learn how to talk soon.

    And to land.

    <hr>

    "Okay. Mia, Ky tell me what you two found out."

    Sira is using her powers so we can all talk together. It puts a little strain on her, but she looks in a better mood than what I expected. Holly probably did something to put her at ease.

    "Sure!" Mia begins, "the town was really big; its size was around Academy City. I didn''t see any house made of any material other than wood and no one was higher than two stories.

    The people spoke a weird language I never heard before. I flew through the streets and couldn''t see any writing on any building. Some of them had drawings on boards and signs. Maybe they were shops."

    Mia retold what she described me to Holly and Sira. From her descriptions of the coastal town, Sira got to the same conclusion that Mia had.

    "Was there a capital city so close to us? Well, that explains we haven''t seen any monster. This zone must be a lower level area."

    <I don''t think that was a capital city. It was a middle-sized town at best.>

    I interrupt her.

    "What do you mean Kaikai? You saw it. It was too big for a town."

    <Do you think?>

    This is one of those discrepancies game worlds usually have. If they are to live in a real world, it must be solved sooner rather than later.

    Sira has shown to be good at figuring out this kind of discrepancies. I believe its way better for her to understand it on her own than me telling her.

    <Sira, how many people are supposed to live in Academy City?>

    "I don''t know. Around ten million?"

    <And how many buildings the city had?>

    "Around 150. You are right. There are too many citizens for such an amount of houses. Academy City never looked like it contained millions of people. Why didn''t we notice? No, how did you notice? And why did you never told us?"

    Don''t tell me I am about to be found out again. Holly doesn''t show any hints of helping me and is even showing interest in what I have to tell. I guess I never said to her who I was. She is as perplexed as the other two.

    <It is related to what I wanted to tell you. As I said I believe it''s better to wait until we are out of trouble. For the time being, I will say that I noticed all the weird stuff since the night the aether destroyed the Rift.>

    "You lose your skills too at the time."

    It didn''t take me a lot to figure Sira as the rational thinker; she is very clever. The other two are also talented but in different ways.

    "Okay. I can''t say I feel comfortable with you holding the truth. But we a are used to you doing it. I was getting happy. Your attitude on this two days has been very different, in a good way."

    I am lucky that she hasn''t figured out that I am not that Kyroz. When the first few days have passed, my knowledge of fantasy worlds will stop being useful. I still need to see how she behaves in a combat scenario, but I think Sira is the best suited to lead the party when the time comes.

    I am still worried about Holly''s warning. She said if I told her now ''Sira''s brain will halt for a while.'' I don''t know what she means with that. Maybe I could ask her later. I know I will at least tell Holly the whole truth. Her response will give me a hint about what to expect from the others.

    "The lake town had around 150 houses, and its considered a middle-sized village. They don''t talk our tongue, and they don''t seem to use written words extensively."

    <There''s one more thing. Mia, did you saw anyone that looked like us? Or any races that looked similar to the ones in the Rift?>

    "Mm. I saw a lot of humans. There were a handful of people that looked like Sira. Their hairs were light-colored tough. I suppose those looked a bit like elves? I also saw a couple of short humans. In the Rift, they could have been dwarves. "

    <My bad feeling may come true after all.>

    "What do you mean?"

    <It''s highly likely that the people of this world think of us as the enemy, or monsters to be subjugated.>

    In most stories that I know of, the guy who becomes a demon, a vampire or a dragon usually ends up being hunted as an evil being. The only exceptions are when they go into a city, and they see a bunch of them there.

    "That is why you wanted for me to hide my horns and wings?"

    I nod back at Mia.

    <There is still a possibility that we are not considered evil, just foreigners or rare existences. But to find that out we need to understand their language.>

    Holly and I won''t be able to approach the town unless it is guaranteed that they won''t attack us. It seems Mia can hide her horns and wings, and Sira only has to cover her hair, eyes, and fangs.

    "Right, and that''s not the only reason we need to get to that town. We can''t access our inventories or stats. Our clothes are torn, and I even lost my swords. We need clothes and supplies. But the language barrier might be a big problem."

    Holly, who has been silent during our team planning finally says to Sira, <can''t you speak to them with telepathy?>

    "I can''t; I would hear their minds speaking their language. But I might extract my target''s knowledge of its tongue with mind-reading."

    I am amazed by the abilities the psychic class has, teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, and mind-reading. The game surely dumbed down its capacities to balance-out game mechanics.

    "I never used it to extract someone else''s language. I''ll have to practice with the townspeople when we are there."

    Practice with peoples minds? If we are not considered evil now, they will after a vampire tries that on one of their own.

    <Are you sure that is a good idea?>

    "Its the worst. I don''t feel like endangering innocents. Do you have any alternatives?"

    <No, unless one of us knows another language.>

    I look at Mia or Holly in the hopes they know of anything that could help us. But it seems we will be forced to test on the locals.

    <We still have time to think for an alternative. Now, onto a related topic. Once you have learned the local language, how do you mean to pay for our supplies?>

    "Right, I forgot that. All our gold was in our inventories. We could go hunting and sell whatever we catch?"

    That will probably help, but they need swords and armor. Game prices are really off the mark when it comes to real-world smiths.

    I have an idea, and it could also help me learn how to land.

    <What if we sell my feathers? When I landed, a bunch fell off. No matter if I am considered good or evil, dragon feathers might fetch a reasonable price.>

    "It''s a long shot, but worth a try."

    <And you crashed. That''s not a landing, dear.>

    Ignoring the fox''s comment I look at the bonfire, where the demon assassin seems restless. Does she want to add something?

    <Mia do you have an idea?>

    She is startled for a moment, and after a few seconds, she contributes.

    "I could find herbs in the forest."

    <Medicinal herbs? That will certainly sell.>

    "I can find those too. I am better at finding poisons tough."

    I shouldn''t be surprised, she is an assassin after all. I am starting to believe Mia will become the source of my future stress.

    <Was that everything we needed to discuss?>

    "I believe so. We will deal with the details before we go to town."

    <It''s been a long day. Let''s catch something to eat, and we will keep doing this tomorrow.>

 Chapter 3: Grandmas cooking

    It has been a long first day in this new world. In 24 hours I have been in three worlds and turned into my game''s avatar, followed by getting stuck in the form of a big evil dragon. At the end of the day, the only thing I want is a good night''s sleep and dinner.

    "Kaikai, you can drop it here!"

    Following the demoness instructions, I drop our hunt. A giant wild boar that is almost too big for me to carry on my hands.

    I say our hunt, but it is mostly Mia''s. Besides flying, I am not capable of fighting yet. I don''t know any skills or magic. I don''t think of myself as useless, my body is big, and I could use it as a damage barrier. Kyroz was supposed to be the tank.

    Mia jumps from my back, and I can try to land again. I am not yet confident in attempting it while I carry someone.

    I flap my wings to hover for an instant, extend my feet and arms, and finally dropping my weight.

    Success! I can finally land!

    It''s still hard on my knees tough.

    "You did it! I am going to prepare our dinner. You can go and rest with Sira."

    Sira has been sleeping since we left. She taught the basic telepathy to Mia before we departed, and that put a strain on her mind. She endured a lot. She has used her powers non stop all day, after all.

    When we left, Holly promised to keep an eye on our surroundings and went to wander off. She hasn''t returned. She probably wanted to avoid Sira, or she might have some things on her mind.

    Mia is placing a big flat rock that Holly made with earth magic over the embers of the bonfire. She is going to prepare grilled boar meat with forest herbs as spices.

    It''s regrettable that I am not human. My hands are very dexterous for a beast. At least I would like to be smaller.

    An iguana dragon. I believe I would look cuddly and carriable. Not that I think iguanas are. I never understood that people. What I want is to look friendly, not an evil creature to be removed from the face of the world.

    With my weird thought still in my mind, I notice Mia has uncovered one of her many knives. This one looks like a big butcher knife with a white handle.

    Seriously, I know she is an assassin, but why so many of them? Does she throw them? She has two pointy daggers at each side of her hips that are her primary weapons. But she has several dozens on her leather vest, and I''ve seen she carries the handle of a broken knife as a necklace that she keeps hidden.

    I can''t stop myself from joking.

    <You won''t add poison to our food, right?>

    She doesn''t get offended by my quip. Instead, a smile pops in her face.

    "When it comes to poisons, I am the expert. Want to know rule number one?"

    <What is rule number one?>

    She comes closer to me and jokingly places her index finger at my nose.

    "Not to eat them."

    It''s unusual to be joking about eating poison. I feel I have to find my way into a new definition of normality after today''s events.

    Mia has finished sharpening her knife and approaches the fallen beast. It immediately reminds me of Holly''s words.

    <Mia, have you ever gut someone?>

    "There was that one time. A merchant tried to lie to us about the price of a mithril dagger. I took his dagger and made him reevaluate his assessment."

    <Did you kill him?>

    "No, but I don''t think he would want to keep selling daggers anymore."

    <Scary.>

    A video game assassin indeed. Mia does not go around the topic of gutting a person, or a boar.

    No choice but to adapt to a new normal quickly. I should put some effort into it.

    <Want me to help you?>

    "I don''t think you can cook."

    <No way that''s true. I love to cook.>

    I love eating more, though. In Storm and Tempest, I had maxed out cooking. I''ve learned all the recipes in the game except player vs. player exclusives.

    "Really? First time I hear about it."

    <Are you telling me I never cooked in all our years of travel?>

    "No? I believe I did it most of the time."

    This is weird. At first, I believed that all my game experiences got reflected some way into the girl''s lives. But I clearly remember maxing out cooking and going into Olive''s lab. Is there a rule to what experiences where shared?

    It doesn''t matter right now. The one here is me now, and I don''t like sitting on the sidelines of a good meal.

    <Mia. We will stop that here. From now on I will help you, no questions asked.>

    "Sure! I''d love some help from you! Are you sure you can?"

    I look at my hands as pointed out by her.

    Oh, right. My size.

    I guess until I become human I''ll do what I can.

    <hr>

    We continue our evening preparing dinner. We are all starving as we haven''t eaten in all day.

    Sira is soundly sleeping. Using telepathy for so long has tired her a lot and probably won''t wake up until our meal is ready.

    We don''t know where Holly went, but its still bright and she promised us not going too far away.

    We keep cooking together and chatting. Mostly chatting for me, I couldn''t do much after I helped Mia skin and butcher the boar.

    At least with our conversations, I managed to prove myself an amateur when it comes to cooking.

    Sometime later the meal is ready, and Mia goes wake Sira up.

    Normally, I would have waited for Holly to return before eating. This time we are famished. The three of us are focused on filling our bellies; not a breath left for conversation. When I feel satisfied, I start worrying about the fox girl again.

    <I believe I will leave the rest for Holly. By the way, where did she go?>

    I have eaten most of the boar. I can''t help it; I am a giant dragon. Holly has also changed into a big sized creature, so I try to control myself for her.

    "She will be okay. Sooner or later the dog will come asking for leftovers."

    Her attitude had been friendlier since a while ago. It''s sad it didn''t last. For now, I will unapologetically change the topic.

    <You know, sometimes leftovers can make a good meal next day.>

    "Really? Like what?"

    Mia quickly catches up to our new shared interest.

    <You can make a delicious stew with yesterday''s grilled meat. You add potatoes, carrot sticks, onion in thin slices and maybe some green peppers. Some bow-tie or spiral noodles go great with it too.>

    Sira is a little intrigued by our conversation. She stares intently at the happy Mia, who addresses her when she notices.

    "Kaikai does actually know how to cook."

    "I''ve never heard of you cooking."

    With clears doubt in her face, Sira turns her interrogation to me.

    <I guess losing my memories, made me remember others? I learned how to cook with my grandmother.>

    From all the surprises they have received in the last day, this has to be the one with the most extreme response. Saying they are stunned is an incredible understatement. They have jumped off their seats.

    When the shock finally dwindled a little bit, Sira is the first to continue.

    "That''s a first."

    <Again?!>

    "Yeah. You have never mentioned anyone from your family before. We''ve been together for more than thirty years. Mia more than doubles it, and from her reaction, I guess she feels the same. Until now I was sure you didn''t have one."

    What is wrong with you Kyroz? More than sixty years and not a word about family?

    <I am starting to feel anger toward my former self.>

    Anger and curiosity. I know my story with the girls, but his? How did he even manage to ask them to follow him?

    <I guess I should say sorry. For all the stupid things I did back then.>

    I am not sure what is the exact connection between me, the Kyroz I played as, and the Kyroz the girls knew. In any case, I am being confused as him, and I don''t feel comfortable being thought as an idiot who is incapable of sharing with his companions.

    The oddest part is that the girls look uncomfortable with me apologizing. Sira is, again, the first to start talking.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    "By the way. I am sorry for screaming at you back then."

    <When did you?>

    "When we were about to teleport from the academy."

    <You did? Ah! The time I grabbed Holly''s tail. You don''t need to apologize for that.>

    I had forgotten about that. Did that weight so much on her head to warrant an apology?

    "Thank you."

    She keeps staring at me; something is trying to get out of her mind and into her mouth. That something finally succeeds.

    "Ky, are you sure you don''t want to tell us now?"

    I knew she would not keep calm about it.

    <Yes, I believe we must focus on secure our grounds in this new world. After that, I have no troubles telling you anything.>

    My response ended up being the one she expected. With a resigned sigh, she requests for a final time.

    "As long as you promise to tell me eventually."

    <It''s a promise.>

    And, it happened again. Every time the old Kyroz shows its head the funny ambient disappears. The mood changes so drastically that event the current awkward silence feels pleasant.

    We keep there sitting in the front of our improvised kitchen. The sky is turning darker with each second passing.

    Holly still hasn''t returned. Now it would be an excellent opportunity to tell her about my situation. Last time I would have told her if we were not interrupted by Sira''s telepathy.

    <I will find Holly.>

    Sira''s already dark mood suddenly obscured even more. Mia is the one to answer me.

    "Are you sure? Is getting late."

    <Extra reason to find her sooner.>

    "She should know better than go alone into the forest."

    Sira returns from her dark spot with her usual mean comments towards Holly.

    <Sira, is this situation difficult for you?>

    "What do you mean?"

    <Being sent to another world, your body has changed for no reason, and It''s almost sure you will never meet the people you knew again. That is if they are not dead.>

    What happened to us is no joke. We escaped armageddon by jumping into a bathtub. Wasn''t that the plot of a movie?

    "I didn''t know a lot of people, but it has been a few stressful hours."

    <Then you have a hint at how Holly may feel. She probably needed some time alone. I''d be glad to give her as much time as she needs but is dangerous to be alone in the forest at this hour.>

    I stand up and turn towards the direction Holly went this afternoon. Before I enter the tree line, Mia''s voice stops me.

    "Should I accompany you?"

    <No, you should protect Sira. Her psychic powers are strong but she doesn''t have a sword, and we don''t know what else may be lurking in this place.>

    She nods regretfully, and I enter into the darkening forest.

    <hr>

    Even if there is still light, the interior of the forest is quite obscure. Even knowing it, I can see reasonably well. I can''t say its military night vision, but I can definitively see the contours of objects before me.

    Maybe if I learn how to fight, I could hunt in the dark. A dragon should be an apex predator. I don''t know any animal dumb enough to attack one.

    I try walking among the trees, but some of them are too close together, and I end up pushing them to the ground.

    It''s a good thing I found Holly in a small shadowy open space, covered by the treetops. We are about 100 meters straight downhill from our camp.

    I found her lying on the floor, her head resting in her front paws. When she hears my heavy steps, her head rises, and I notice the wet fur on her cheeks. She has been crying alone.

    <Holly are you okay?>

    <What do you think?>

    <Yeah, stupid question.>

    I walk by her side and gently lie on the ground. We stay there in the shadows as they grow in strength.

    <Are you not asking me to return?>

    <I am, but you clearly need a minute or two.>

    <Thank you.>

    Holly has stopped weeping and is now in that uncomfortable state when the tears are evaporating from your cheeks. She probably doesn''t want Mia and Sira to see her tear marked face.

    <Kyroz, or whoever you are called. Don''t you miss the Rift?>

    <I do, but not in the way you are thinking.>

    <You never told me about who you are.>

    <I was going to, but Sira interrupted us.>

    Her voice sounds with less pain behind it. Her relaxed demeanor and sharp insight have recovered in part.

    <Can you do it now?>

    <Are you sure? If you don''t feel like it, I can tell you tomorrow.>

    <I am asking, and I would like some distraction.>

    A distraction? I understand that. That''s why I have been keeping myself busy.

    <Okay.>

    I accept her proposal and start trying to figure out ways to better explain about the Rift. I can''t use a movie reference, can''t I?

    <Well?>

    <I was thinking about the best way to get into the topic.>

    <How about from where you know about us. You apparently do, even if it looks like we''ve never met.>

    <I guess I could. But you''d be lost without all the preamble.>

    <Then preamble first.>

    So easy to say. It''s like asking to describe the sun to a mole-man. Oh, I could have used that light-cycle movie to explain.

    <You, Sira and Mia are... were my NPC followers. From the place I come from, the Rift was part of a video game, an interactive puppet show. The NPCs and avatars are the inhabitants, and also the marionettes. The NPCs were controlled automatically by the game system and the avatars by people. Kyroz was my avatar.>

    I believe its a good explanation. There still a lot left, but I should answer as doubts come from Holly.

    <What is this game system?>

    <The game is a simulation, a simplified caricature of reality. The system managed it. That''s why some things were reduced in complexity for the sake of fun or because it was too expensive to go full scale.>

    <That explains Academy City''s size and the class trainers. So we, the Rift were your toys?>

    <Thats a hard question to answer. My answer when we were still there, and I was still convinced I was dreaming would have been yes. Right now there are a lot of things that bug me about you three and the Rift. The major one is that you all have an evident past that I completely ignore. Right now my answer is a definitive no. More than toys getting sentience, to me you look like I fell into a world similar to that of the game.>

    Holly again falls into silence before asking her next question.

    <You know what happened to the Rift?>

    <I have a good guess. The game ended. That may have been expressed as the aether eating the Rift. The creators of it couldn''t spend more money maintaining it. They turned the game off the night before I met all of you.>

    My last answer may have been the last drop as Holly starts crying again. I tried to use the gentlest words I could to express myself. Hearing that your world was a game cannot be an easy blow to receive.

    After a while, she calms down and talks again.

    <Did you know. My father managed an inn near Saint Severus City. He was the one who encouraged me to go with Kyroz and the girls.>

    She did lose someone too. Why does she bring it into collation today of all days? I have to keep calm and not think about it. I need to remain stable for a little while.

    At least I should say something.

    <I am sorry.>

    <Thank you. You know? He would be happy.>

    <Yes? Why?>

    She hesitates. Her body language seems odd.

    <Because I am still alive.>

    You are lying. There is something else. If you don''t want to tell me, I''ll play along.

    <We all are.>

    <hr>

    More time passed. The sun has already hidden, and we are still lying in the ground in silence. Holly is now composed and stopped asking questions.

    <We should leave before it gets darker.>

    I encourage Holly to stand up before anything dangerous found us in the forest.

    <Dear, are you ashamed of spending a night with me?>

    It seems Holly''s good humor has returned.

    <I''d be honored, honey.>

    We laugh at our little joke before I stand up and invite her to our camp.

    <Come on. We left you some grilled boar.>

    Before Holly stands up completely, I can see something moving quickly in the corner of my eye. Whatever it is, it is trying to circle us.

    Holly has noticed my restlessness and prepared a stance.

    Soon we see the creature. It is a long snake with the head of a rooster. It has fangs on its beak, and they leak drops of what is most likely venom.

    It''s a basilisk.

    Holly''s fur gets on ends as she glares her fangs to the creature. Her nine tails flail around to make her look intimidating.

    Animals should feel afraid of animals bigger than themselves. I lower my posture and look directly at him. Then I extend my wings at max span to look as big as possible.

    It appears to work, as the basilisk slowly retreats its head.

    It is not too late to retreat with your tail between your... stomach? I guess. You don''t have legs, do you?

    Maybe some more encouragement will help.

    <Leave!!!!!> "ROAAARRRR!!!!"

    The creature is startled and instead of fleeing it jumps at me.

    Luckily Holly was prepared and stops his jaws with a stone wall before they reach me.

    The basilisk shakes the dirt off his mouth and circles the forest clearing at a fast speed.

    With the disturbed forest floor fly debris in the form of small stones and twigs, annoying dust fills the air that gets in my eyes and itches my throat.

    <Holly what do we do?>

    <I will deal with it.>

    With her magic, she creates three floating lances of ice and throws them into the spiraling monster. They shatter and fail.

    <I need something stronger.>

    After her words, Holly starts shinning in a dark purple light that dyes the mysterious forest. Her sky-blue eyes shine of the same color, and a wave of energy explodes from her.

    The blast passes through me without damage. It felt cold like a winter morning after waking up from my warm bed.

    The basilisk is struck by the expansion wave and gets frozen, a terrible screech of pain tears the air around us.

    <Kyroz run!>

    After Holly''s impressive spell we run through the forest away from our camp. It is not a good idea to lead a monster to were you plan to sleep.

    Holly swiftly runs avoiding trees, while I am more clumsy and slow. Why am I even running? I could fly!

    I try to extend my wings, but the space inside the forest is not enough for me to take flight. I need to get to a clearing.

    The sound of the forest being turned over by the giant snake body plays behind me.

    The creature almost catches up to me. I know this didn''t work last time, but I am out of options.

    <Get away!!!!!> "ROOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!!!"

    Frightened the creature fastens its crawl and moves its ugly chicken face forwards where I cannot see it.

    Oh, Shit! It''s targeting Holly!

    Taking the opportunity, I stop and start putting my weight on the trees. I create enough space for me to take off.

    Jumping into the air and flying was never a problem. It''s on my approach to the ground where I lack confidence.

    I fly in the direction where the basilisk left, and I can see a storm of dust moving in a straight line.

    Trough the small windows between the trees I position myself on top of Holly.

    She is throwing spells at her back. Ice spears that shatter on the basilisk face and stone walls that the creature smoothly runs trough.

    <Holly your spells are not working!>

    <I do what I can. I still don''t get the hang of this body!>

    What? Until now I assumed they could use their abilities easily. Sira has used so many of them. No, since we got here all of them used only the most basic abilities of their classes. Mind-read was middle-rank that''s why she needs practice!

    I need to do something.

    I look around and see a road up ahead. At this time no one should be there, I hope.

    <Holly! Keep running. There is a road soon. I will catch you there and fly away!"

    <Okay!>

    I go to the road and prepare myself to catch her.

    The basilisk is closing in, even at Holly''s current speed the creature easily overcomes it.

    Holly is very close to the edge of the forest, just a turn left, then right avoiding a final tree and jump over the road''s wooden fence.

    In an instant that froze my body, one of Holly''s tails got scrambled on the fence. A good portion of her honey strands got caught on it.

    Even worst, the few seconds are enough for the basilisk to catch up to her.

    With his insane speed, he will catch her in just a second.

    Time to be the tank.

    I decide to tackle the ugly chicken face. I know I won''t be able to secure Holly safely with my bad landings.

    I smash onto the basilisk as he prepares to pounce onto the fallen Holly. Its sharp teeth pierce my right tight''s flesh.

    A warm intense pain irradiates from the wound and soon after I start feeling my limb dumbing down.

    If this wasn''t the worst outcome, from the road, a platoon of armed knights appears, summoned by the noise of our battle.

    Let them deal with the snake bird.

    I limp to Holly''s side take her in my arms.

    I spread my wings in front of the knights and take off in the direction of our camp.

 Chapter 4: Thorns of the rose

    I return to my seat beside Sira at the campsite. Kaikai has left in search for Holly, and he will probably take some time. His dragon pace is anything but swift.

    The evening is on its dying breaths, the warmth of the last sunbeams is barely enough to make me forget about the cold air.

    Sira is lost again in her thoughts. That habit of hers has come and go along the years. When we first met, she would do it for hours. After a while and a lot of effort from my part she opened up.

    I can''t reprimand her for doing it now, understand what is worrying her. I expect her to stand there until she falls asleep again. Instead and defying my expectations, Sira talks to me almost as soon as I sit.

    "Do you find Kyroz behavior weird?"

    "More than normal? Yes. But a good weird."

    He did surprise me when he talked about his grandmother. All the time we chatted while cooking, he looked to me a little homesick, like nostalgic for something. He must have been thinking about her.

    "Yes, it''s a good weird. But I can''t stop feeling uneasy. What is he hiding?"

    "He says he does not remember our adventures. That''s a lie."

    "You noticed."

    I assert nodding my head. Kaikai was never a good liar, but this time he wasn''t even trying. He gave us an explanation to work with for the time being.

    "He said Holly recommended him to. What is that fox planning?"

    "She is probably afraid of your response. You don''t react quietly to painful situations."

    "I don''t? What about you?"

    "I know, and that''s why Holly said that."

    I admit that sometimes I do lose control. Most of the time can be justified, and it even got us out of trouble more than once.

    "Well, I suppose. We do have used Holly to discharge ourselves."

    "Talk for yourself."

    Sira has bullied Holly for the better part of the three years we''ve traveled together. Not soon after she joined us, they started arguing, and that hasn''t stopped since. I never understood why though.

    "Why do you?"

    "Why do what?"

    "I mean, why do you two fight."

    Almost all topics related to Holly provoke disgust in Sira''s face, my question is no exception. Most of the time I leave her to deal with it on her own. It may be because of Kaikai showing concern for Holly''s that I am growing curious about their relationship. Even if Sira and I have shared everything for thirty years, she refuses to answer with a meek but undoubtedly angry tone.

    "It''s none of your business."

    She took her time to think of an answer. It''s clearly not the one she gave me. Maybe she needs a little push.

    "You looked like you were getting along when we returned from the lake."

    "You saw wrong."

    She can be so stubborn sometimes. I don''t want her to close up again. Kaikai is right; we are in trouble, we shouldn''t create more problems. Sira needs to be a little more amiable with Holly, at least for the following days. Plus, Holly seems to know what Kyroz is hiding. I wonder what happened to Kaikai to show so much attention to her.

    "He changed."

    I unconsciously uttered the words and realized it too late. I accidentally gave Sira an opportunity to escape from an uncomfortable topic.

    "Yes, he changed. Are you ok with that?"

    I am not sure. In a way, he behaves like never before, in others he looks like the way he cared when we were young. Even if the Kyroz right now acts very different to the one Sira and Holly knew, to me he is very familiar.

    "I guess? I feel that Kyroz is not really different, somehow it is like my Kaikai is back."

    Sira and I have been friends for a long time now. We have gone throw everything together. Right now we can even say we have gone through the end of the world. I feel I have told her about everything. It''s sad that she doesn''t trust me back.

    "Anyway, about you and Ho..."

    "Mia," she interrupts me. "I have been wondering about this for a while. ''Sent to another world, turned into a dragon.'' Wasn''t Ky talking about himself?"

    Right, he did say that.

    "That''s the reason he changed?"

    "No, but I am worried. He reminds me of what happened in my town."

    "You think he will break?"

    "If he were like always, never. I am not sure about him now."

    I doubt he will suffer any problem. Until now he has remained calm and focused. If anything he appears more active than ever, at least when it comes to things about the camp. He would never stay at the back during a hunt.

    "He will be alright. He will shake things off like always."

    "I hope so."

    I failed my opportunity to talk about Holly. Maybe Kaikai will help me later. He sure is taking his time. We have been talking for a while. We were so concentrated talking that we didn''t notice the arrival of the night.

    Kaikai and Sira''s words swim in my mind, and I am compelled to ask my vampire friend about what I am most curious.

    "I wonder what is that he wants to tell us about."

    "It will be nothing good."

    "Why do you think that?"

    "Because he is afraid we will hurt him when we know."

    We are suddenly awoken from our meditation when a strenuous dragon roar fills the air followed by an intense purple pulse of magic that runs through us. It feels cold like winter. Immediately after, we hear the rustling of leaves getting far away into the distance.

    When the surprise is gone, my mind manages to process the events. I need to act now.

    "Something is attacking him!"

    "Wait! Mia, don''t go!"

    "He needs me!"

    "He does not. The magic pulse, that was Holly''s. They are leading whatever is pursuing them away."

    "You want me to wait and do nothing?"

    "Yes. They will arrive. He is a dragon, what is dumb enough to attack him?"

    I hope she is right.

    <hr>

    It''s been a few minutes, to me they have been an eternity. I fly over our campsite to get a better look at what happened.

    A row of trees had been tumbled down. From there I barely saw the flying silhouette of Kyroz jumping from the forest. He kept moving further away in a straight line until he landed out of sight.

    "He is coming back!"

    I inform Sira who is on the ground and looks at me worried. I commit a mistake by seeing the bright side of the bonfire. My eyes lose their sharpness as they need to accommodate again to the dim brilliance of the night illuminated forest.

    "Is Holly with him?"

    "I don''t know."

    The dark shadow that is supposed to be Kyroz quickly closes in. I can''t picture Holly either in his arms or his back. He flies near the forest top and is not as stable as in our travel to the lake town, he keeps tilting to a side and correcting his trajectory. Almost like trying to repeat his first landing attempt, his speed does not diminish as he comes close to us.

    Doing a roll, he crashes with his back facing the ground. He stops right next to our camp.

    "Kaikai, Holly! What happened?!"

    On his arms, there is a big ball of honey-colored fur. Holly stands up and calls to me.

    <Mia! Kyroz has been poisoned!>

    Sweat fills the rough surface of his face, and his golden eyes are losing their shine becoming cloudy. He endured just enough to get to me, before losing consciousness.

    "What? How did this happen?!"

    <We found a basilisk, the thing bite his right leg.>

    A basilisk? Here? Wasn''t this supposed to be a lower level zone? We had no problems with the big boar. No, Kaikai is right. I should stop thinking in terms of the Rift.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    I came close to his wound. Latched on his flesh is a tooth of the creature. I will remove it. With a normal sword, I would leave it there, but I need to make sure no more poison enters his body.

    He is still bleeding, that''s a good sign.

    A dark purple substance covers the fur-like feathers of his tight and flows down to his scaly feet.

    Is his blood purple?

    <Mia, can you do something?>

    The worried voice of Holly moves me away from my trance.

    "Yes, I think. I need to check my pouch. Most of my tools were in my inventory."

    Why does this have to happen now? I planned to buy an alchemist set in town once we get there. Right now I am very unprepared. I lack reagents. Maybe I could take a risk and run to town and get an alchemist set. No, I am not sure if there is an alchemist shop there and even if there is, its night already.

    What I carry in my pouch are the bare essentials. I have a cure for the paralyzing poison I use to coat my daggers. Maybe I can use it as a base?

    While I wonder how to proceed, Holly turns to the dumbfounded Sira.

    <There is something else. We went to a nearby road, so Kyroz could catch me and fly away.>

    Sira''s eyes are focused on the spilling blood. Giving no signs of listening to Holly''s words.

    <There was a platoon of human knights. We left the basilisk for them to handle. They saw us.>

    That was enough to wake up Sira.

    "What? You let them see you?!"

    <We had no choice! The basilisk was too strong for my magic!>

    Sira''s threshold broke as her anger powered her telekinesis.

    "AAAAAAH!!!!!!!"

    Together with a scream like that of a banshee, a wave of psychic energy blasted the camp. The dust from Kyroz failed landings rose, and leaves from the nearby trees fled from her rage.

    With her eyes shining in purple color and losing all her control, she used her skills to grab the surrounding trees and toss them into the dark forest.

    The frightened Holly threw herself onto the ground and covered her head with her paws like a scared dog.

    With her lack of reason, Sira turned to the fearful fox and spoke.

    "You realize how much effort it took to plan?! You two have put us in a terrible risk!"

    "Sira, calm yourself! You are not helping!" I try to stop the rampaging psychic.

    "This has to be set clear now!"

    "There is a more important matter!"

    I come closer an make her turn to the fallen dragon. She seems to snap out of her rage.

    "Kyroz needs her. She has to heal him while I prepare an antidote."

    Her eyes return to normal, and her expression relaxes lightly.

    I release her and walk over to Holly. She is still scared of Sira''s violent actions. I gently caress the fur on her head. She makes me remember a puppy.

    "Holly, calm yourself. I am not blaming you, you two made the right choice. Leading the basilisk away from the camp, wasn''t it Sira?"

    Sira notices her own words betraying her, and seems to settle. Holly is still restless, but I think she will compose soon. I know she is strong.

    "I need your help. Use earth magic to make one mortar and crucible. Sira may know how to do it. Okay?"

    <Okay, I will do what I can.>

    I come close to the vampire and in a quiet voice, and leaving no place for arguments, speak to her.

    "You will help her. You will not bully her or hurt her. Fail me, and I''ll show you how scary I can get."

    Sira looks at me and says nothing. She had many opportunities to see me deliver my threats, and knows I am serious.

    I go next to Kaikai and fetch my pouch. I already know what I am missing, and I am fortunate to have a single portion of most of the unique materials. I can find the rest in the forest.

    I look at my party members one more time for final instructions.

    "Sira, use the time to find a way to deal with the knights. Holly, make sure to heal the wound regularly and refresh his fever. Keep the injury cold. It will lessen the spread of poison. I need materials."

    I turn back and march into the darkness of the forest at night.

    <hr>

    I run through the forest as fast as I can, looking around me for any sign of a herb that may work as a reagent for Kaikai''s antivenom.

    I have both my daggers ready for any creature stupid enough to try to stop me. With my current mood, I don''t care to tear to pieces each branch or even burn the whole forest. I definitely carry enough incendiary bombs to start a fire. The only thing that stops me is my need for the hidden resources in this damn place.

    Not noticing my disgust, a single wolf stares at me from the shadows.

    "Come."

    The animal springs forth aiming his fangs directly at my throat. I grab my dagger and firmly push it into his mouth. It''s stuck. From my back, another two try to catch me by surprise, but I duck and grab the back leg of one of them with my free hand.

    With my second dagger, I stab him in the nape of his neck. The last one has turned and is looking at me with hatred in his eyes.

    "I will take those."

    Animal eyes are reagents too. I can''t use my first dagger as the fallen wolf''s mouth is still pierced with it, but these doggies are not even a threat.

    Noticing the difference between us, the last coward runs away.

    I recover my knife and start butchering the animals, the liver, kidneys or even the blood could be used as alchemy materials. My reagent detection skill used to tell me about the names of the things I found, now I get a hunch, a strong intuition telling me of its uses. It''s a long shot, but everything has been odd since we got to this world.

    I leave behind the bloody scene. The eyes and a few organs can be of use, at least to alleviate Kaikai''s symptoms.

    Further inside the forest, I find an exposed root that shines with a whitish-blue light. A fungus is infesting the tree, eating it to create the glowing substance on its crown.

    My hunch tells me this is what I need. There''s not much I need to create an antivenom. The rest is a basic spell during the brewing process. We were lucky that we arrived in a forest.

    "One more and we are done."

    I am not sure if it''s because of my new eyes, but I can see better at night. It''s not as clear as day, but the contours of objects look sharper than before.

    The forest is darker and bigger than any I can remember from the Rift, and I am surprised at the lack of encounters. Holly and Kaikai were very unfortunate to meet the basilisk.

    The missing reagent is a stabilizing agent. There must be some root, bark or leaf that can help me. A gleam of my necklace shines into my eyes, reflecting the rays of the moon that pass through the forest roof. It makes me remember that I need to search faster.

    I cannot fly. If I were to do it, I could pass by the stabilizing agent. Even as I am doing now, running without aim inside the forest, I risk missing it. I can''t stand still and think.

    Finally, I arrive at a small clearing. There is a single black rose on top of a mound of soil. My reagent detection makes me notice its thorns. It is the missing stabilizing agent.

    Such a clear trap was almost laughable in the Rift. Whatever attacks me, I will kill it and return to our camp.

    As soon I place a foot on the clearing, the mound rises, and a treant appears, the black rose growing from its head. It has no legs, just a trunk rising from the ground and two root-like appendages as arms.

    It fires at me with seeds as fast as bullets. I react by moving to the side, but the barrage continues. I start circling the clearing trying to foresee the monster''s actions.

    I take some of my throwing knives and aim at the plant''s trunk. They remain stuck with no discernible effect. The monster''s HP won''t decrease. At my sudden attack, the creature changes tactics. Buring part of his body onto the ground makes roots pop from the ground like tentacles trying to hold me in place.

    I evade the twirling roots at the best of my abilities. I am lucky they don''t move faster than I can perceive. My new body feels different, and my wings are bigger making me sluggish when turning.

    I use my knife and cut them, making the treant writhe in pain. Retracting his roots the monster''s main body rises again. His arms are now flailing around like whips. I try to backstep as I am used to, but I am too slow, and the root hits me in my chest. As a result, I am sent flying and crash into a tree.

    Fortunately, the armor absorbed most of the damage, making straps of leather break off. I can''t understand how it is possible. My gear is max-level dungeon raid armor. An overworld treant can''t possibly hurt me, even if it could its difficulty is nowhere near the Rift''s creatures equivalent.

    With me outside of his melee range, the treant starts firing off his seeds again. I can''t keep playing around. As I circle the creature, I take my throwing knives and aim to the rose on its head.

    I fail the first few throws, but I manage to cut the rose on my third. The rose falls to the ground, and the creature screeches in pain and rage. It was probably a weak point. His barrage intensifies, but I don''t care. I only need to grab the rose from the ground.

    The barrage is faster with the creature''s anger powering it. It is forcing me to get to the limits of my speed.

    I focus on the flower I need to create the antivenom. I am the only one who knows enough about poisons in this world that my friends can trust. As I concentrate on the fallen reagent, I feel the power inside raising up to the task. My limbs are moving faster, and my body is being swifter. My eyes can see the seeds flying around me and the root-like whips trying and failing to grab me.

    Before I can process the event, the black rose is in my hand, and I even managed to throw a farewell gift to the treant, a firebomb.

    "So ungrateful."

    The flames bathe the treant, and the creature screeches in agony by my gift. The noise scratching the cold air of the forest and making its death throes heard for miles.

    I save the rose into one of my pouches. I can''t carry much, so it''s cramped. I don''t care about the petals. It''s the thorns that are the needed reagent.

    I move to the side of the charred remains of the treant. With all my reagents accounted for, I need to return to our camp quickly. I spread my wings and prepare myself to fly.

    Before I can do it, I see the leaves of a bush shaking, maybe its another monster, attracted by the treant''s screams. Instead what hides behind the leaves is a man in full plate armor.

    "A knight."

    "Shol am Vun¡¯dun."

    The human talks in the strange language of the fishing town, and as soon as he sees me he readies in a stance. Kaikai was right. They are not friendly towards us.

    He slowly moves around me, not missing a single movement. But the knight is not the only one who is studying his opponent. The man''s actions are trained and carefully considered. His armor looks sturdy and tough, and he carries a sword and shield. His face is hidden behind a helm, but I know he is a man by his voice and figure.

    I can''t lose more time here. I must return. I slightly duck to take flight, but the knight notices and tries to slash at me with his sword. With my dagger, I receive the blow and parry it. The knight immediately responds with a shield bash.

    The blow makes me stagger. I recover and try to put a stand, but the knight doesn''t miss the opportunity. He once again tries to cleave against me, aiming at my wings. My black feathers flutter in the air in front of my face. The hit was a close one as I manage to dodge, almost succeeding to hurt me. I hope I won''t have any problem flying back.

    My new wings are a detriment to my agility. I can''t dodge as quickly as before, but now I can''t move faster. Knowing my advantage, I try to get up and use my speed, but the knight closes my escape route with his sword.

    He is making clear that this can only end with my death.

    He swings his sword trying to make me lose my feet once again. I try to parry with my daggers, but it''s not very effective. My damaged leather armor is filled with slashes, and the skin of my arms is getting exposed, and I can smell the iron in my blood.

    I need an opening, so I throw my left dagger to his face hoping he dodges. He does, and I use my wings to fly and put distance between us.

    "Throwing works, huh?"

    I have the advantage now that I am in the air. I could fly away now, but I am not in the mood for forgiveness.

    I throw a firebomb, and he covers with his shield. He is surprised by the flammable liquid that is now heating his shield and spilling onto his feet. My bombs are made from lava turtle''s saliva; they won''t take long to make his iron armor red hot. He has no choice but to endure and, as he cleverly does, throw away his shield.

    He doesn''t seem to know about firebombs, but he is wary. I keep throwing more of them, making sure he is focused on my attacks with a couple of knives in between. He is forced to evade and unknowingly to fall into my trap.

    "You are surrounded."

    I mock him as he finally notices what I been doing. I threw bombs around the clearing, making an improvised fire barrier. I feel power once again born from my anger. I take my final five throwing knives and aim into his sword hand shoulder.

    He still tries to avoid them, but the space he has to move is decreasing, and my aim has become sharper. My last knife pierces his armor, and his sword falls to the ground. In the one second, I approach him with my new power and carve my dagger into his helmet''s opening.

    His limp body falls, and I stop to catch a breath. The power inside me calms down; it must have been the same Sira showed. I give the fallen knight a last glance. I notice he carries a leather bag and the sword that he dropped on the last minute.

    I may find something useful in the bag, at least it will be helpful to carry our shopping. The sword is not exactly the type Sira uses, but it will certainly be beneficial.

    I recover my dagger and a couple of my knives then jump to the air, leaving behind the smell of ash and burnt flesh.