《R.E.A.L. Life Online: Inception》


 Prologue + Chapter 1 - Memories and messages

    The monster staggered back, blood dripping down its legs to mingle with the rain pooling on the floor. High-pitched chittering rose above the drizzle of rain, sounding tinny and crackly over their cheap speakers. The shadows that lingered at the edges of his vision looked swollen with minions waiting to jump back into the fray. Rain slid down his visor and thunder cracked overhead.


    He spared a glance for their health bars. His was a hair¡¯s breath away from empty and hers was practically there. He reached into a pocket and cracked open a healing jewel to release a soft glow that surrounded them both, giving them much needed health.


    ¡°Sera, you done being stunned?¡± he tried to whisper.


    But the roar from the big boss, a balrog-like beast, drowned out his words.


    It wasn¡¯t over yet.


    The monster reared back, blasting energy from its mouth into the sky in a roar that rattled the nearby buildings and shattered their glass windows. The beam lit the heavens, then lowered as the monster swept its head down. The light sliced through the landscape like a laser, cutting down everything in its path and setting it alight. A nearby high-rise collapsed to the ground in a thunder of dust and flames. Pixel lines zapped over the landscape, distracting Gilbert for just a second. Damn, their shitty monitor was going to cost them the game!


    The beam swung towards them.


    There was no way to fight that kind of power but there was a crater nearby. Gilbert jumped and rolled into it, barely managing to drag Sera¡¯s limp body along with his. He¡¯d gotten to her just in time, and the ray of death passed over them.


    ¡°Together,¡± she whispered back. ¡°It¡¯s the only way we can do it.¡±


    He nodded and set her down. They had about five minutes before the monster recharged itself, if it or they survived till then. They walked out into the open, took their stances and got ready.


    The monster¡¯s stomping footsteps shook the ground and sent circular ripples through the puddles as it charged at them.


    Gilbert shot forward first, lifting his sword in time to clash metal against claws. The beast must have outweighed him by several tons, and it showed. It loomed over him, pushing him back so hard, his boots squealed against the ground. His health took a hit every time he parried, but he kept at it. A flash of light from the corner of his eyes and loud clanging told him that Sera had just saved his back from the monster¡¯s dagger-sharp tail. He spared a glance at the boss¡¯s health bar. There was a sizeable chunk left, but they¡¯d gotten it lower than they ever had this time around!


    Then, in a sneak attack they hadn¡¯t yet seen, it opened its jaws wide and an internal head snapped out from the depths of its throat, between it¡¯s ragged teeth. He felt it swooping at him, could almost taste its hunger for his flesh. He ducked to avoid it but the teeth were already closing in on the back of his neck. Another second more and it would snap his spinal cord in two!


    ¡°Down!¡±


    Just before its fangs fully dug into his neck, he released his swords, dropping low. The head descended with him, its grip dragging it along and its neck extending further out the monster¡¯s jaws. He felt rather than saw Sera dart in to chop the mutant head off.


    The monster¡¯s cry was ear-shattering. Its health dropped a few more bars, but he didn¡¯t wait to watch it. He picked his swords up again, slid between the monster leg¡¯s and released a flurry of strikes against its back even as it flung Sera aside like a rag doll.


    ¡°Aaaargh!¡± Gilbert yelled, using Flashstrike to stab and slash the monster as fast as he could. He activated aggro and made the monster turn to focus on him. A short distance away behind it, Sera began chanting. She healed both of them just a fraction more, then the tone of her incantation changed and he joined in, struggling to hit the right words while he danced with the monster, parrying its tail, fangs and claws, and the occasional drip of acid blood with Sera occasionally darting in to get a critical strike. They whirled like dervishes, in sync, so used to fighting together, it was as if they could read each other¡¯s minds.


    The inky shadows were closer now. Things began to reach for them, shadows with fangs that laughed and whispered. Every intangible touch sucked stamina and health from them, but they kept moving and chanting, focusing their attack solely on the big boss. As soon as the magic began to swirl around both their swords, they quickened their pace.


    Gold filaments stretched from each sword like spun sugar as they used up the last of their stamina to slash, stab, hack and slice in sync with each other, still chanting.


    ¡°¡ªfellar, ervesto, bralderon,morghast!¡±


    At the last word, the threads gleamed with a brilliant light, then tightened like a net. The monster froze as the spell took hold. Every hit they¡¯d scored during the spell was amplified by their matching swords and the effect of each was quadrupled.


    Ichor and gore spurted from the countless wounds all over the monster. The shadows froze and the beast bellowed its last cry.


    Gilbert darted back with Sera and waited, jaws clenched. The monster swayed for a second or two. Its health bar seemed fully depleted, yet¡­


    ¡°Is it really over?¡± Sera whispered into the pregnant pause. She staggered against him and he put his arms cautiously around her.


    Finally, the beast fell with a ground-shaking thump that knocked them off their feet.


    A storm of ash and brimstone began to funnel down from the heavy gray sky, the whistling sound of the wind drowning everything else out. The tornado reached lower and lower until it touched the fallen boss¡¯s body, then flames erupted and Sera and Gilbert were flung head over heels by a fiery explosion.


    They would have been blown off the plateau if not for the fact that Gilbert had enough presence of mind to stab both his swords into the cracked earth, using them as an anchor. He took both hilts in one hand then reached the other out and grabbed Sera¡¯s arm just in time, holding on to her with straining muscles until she could anchor one of her own swords and grasp it. After a minute, the last of the ashy remnants of the boss spiraled upwards through the funnel and the sky cleared.


    The heavy gray clouds dissolved, allowing shafts of sunlight to break through. Wherever the sun touched, blades of grass sprang out from the burnt earth, growing so fast, it appeared as if they were watching a time-lapse of a world being birthed. Flowers burst into bloom from buds and trees sprang up to twine their branches and roots around broken cars and fallen buildings. Soft, peaceful music began to drift on a fresh wind.


    Sera and Gilbert climbed to their feet, health, stamina and mana fully restored. They blinked around, in awe of the sudden beauty surrounding them.


    Then, something bright broke through the clouds and descended to the spot where the monster had stood. It was an angel with six wings and a scepter. It was more beautiful than anything they could have ever imagined, and its voice when it spoke, was dulcet and bell-like in tone.


    ¡°Children of Man, you are the chosen ones. You have proved your worth to be the first to enter the hallowed halls of Creation. Come now and live among us, help us herald a new era into the world. We welcome you to¡­ Elysia!¡±


    The angel threw up its hands and spread its wings. The light that emanated from it filled their vision, leaving behind a wall of text that scrolled up the screen.


    ¡®Congratulations! You are officially the first players to conquer the final level of Earthania! We would like to extend an invitation to you, <Gilbertarian> and <Saereas> to join us at Elysium as consultants to help us develop our full immersion, virtual reality based MMORPG game, Elysia. This offer of full-time employment will include a salary, accommodation, and benefits for a year, with the opportunity for extension, subject to satisfactory performance. Please report to our headquarters in Einsovereign as soon as possible to begin your contract.


    Terms and conditions: Job offer(s) is contingent upon completion of a satisfactory identity, health and background check, and accompanying relocation passes to the precinct of Einsovereign are only valid for verified winners of Earthania and their dependents. Minors are required to possess either parental approval, or in the case of unavailable parents, be placed under custody of the Einsovereign state before accepting.¡¯


    Gilbert slowly pulled off his headset and turned to Sera, meeting her excited eyes with his own. Her headset was on her forehead and she had already peeled her threadbare haptic gloves off.


    ¡°Oh. My. God,¡± Sera whispered. ¡°We did it! We won! We¡¯ve got into Elysium! We¡¯re going to live in the city! We can get out of this hellhole!¡±


    He gazed at her with dazed eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡­¡±


    She leapt up and released a shriek of laughter, and he automatically moved out of her range while she threw her gloves up into the air and did a mad victory dance. Gilbert reached his hand out to touch the tiny words he could see on his headset screen in his lap. ¡°I just can¡¯t believe it. Pairing the Divine Twin Swords actually worked and¡­ after three whole years¡­ we¡¯re really the first who cleared the final level?¡±


    ¡°Look at it!¡± Sera stopped her gleeful screaming to point at the tiny screen. ¡°It¡¯s right there! I told you! I told you the forum posts were fake! Everyone was just trying to keep it on the down low until they could get there, and we beat them to it! We won! We did it!¡±


    Gilbert shook his head, still unable to find the proper words¡­ the proper feelings¡­ he just felt numb. The game was over.


    ¡°Take your time, buddy,¡± Sera said. She planted a big wet kiss on his lips, then jumped over the castle of blankets, pillows, empty packets of food, and drinks that they¡¯d built up over the past 36 hours and ran towards the driver¡¯s seat of the RV, her bare feet nearly skidding on the worn floor.


    They¡¯d been talking about leaving the ancient vehicle and finding a new hideout for the past few months, but between the time they spent in the virtual world of Earthania and in scavenging for food and fuel in real life, they hadn¡¯t yet managed to do it. Instead, whenever they drove the RV, they had taken care not to push it too hard, just in case it broke down and marooned them in the middle of nowhere.


    But this time, Sera threw caution to the wind.


    She cranked the gears and floored the gas, then jerked out of their camouflaged parking spot, blaring the horn like a crazy old lady.


    ¡°We did it!¡± she screamed at a flock of wild geese by the side of the road. ¡°We did it!¡±


    And finally, as he heard the glee in her voice and watched the broken landscape whizz by, Gilbert¡¯s lips curled up into a crazed grin, and he finally managed to believe it.


    ***


    ¡°It¡¯s this one?¡± Gilbert asked. He kept one eye on the road and the other on Sera as she turned the map upside down. ¡°Are you sure?¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°Yeah, I told you, turn here.¡±


    He carefully steered the wheel, guiding the RV around the bend before trying to accelerate. The potholes in the cracked tar road rattled the whole vehicle and the engine sputtered and groaned, but they managed to keep going. ¡°We have to reach it real soon, otherwise¡ª¡±


    ¡°There, look!¡± Sera leaned over his lap and jabbed her finger at the window beside him. Gilbert spared a glance, then did a double take.


    Tall spires scraped the air, wound through by elegant, long, multi-tiered highways. Greenery and colour dripped from every balcony and shining glass sparkled in the harsh sunlight. It was a huge contrast compared to the broken, desolate landscape they had passed through in the last week, which resembled a scene out of Earthania more than anything else.


    Gilbert drove as if he were in a dream. Every mile the RV ate was bringing them closer to a new life, a new beginning. Who could have imagined that two rats from the eastside could find their way into the city of kings?


    The guards at the Wall stopped them to check their papers. They scrutinised the RV with suspicious eyes, looking at Sera and Gilbert¡¯s scrawny figures as if they expected them to each pull a tank out of their baggy trousers. But there was nothing wrong with their residential passes, sent directly from Elysium to their ID accounts. And there was no question that they were the sixteen year olds on record.


    With a bored look, the guards waved them in.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be so good,¡± Sera said tearfully, turning to Gilbert. ¡°As good as an angel. No more piracy. No more stealing. No more breaking the rules. No matter what it takes, let¡¯s not screw this up, ok?¡±


    He had to stifle a laugh. Sera would not be Sera if she tried to be angelic. He had never met a more bloodthirsty or savage girl in his life¡ªvirtual or not¡ªand he wouldn¡¯t have it any other way. She was a survivor and he loved her for it. But he bit his tongue and said the right thing he knew he should say in this situation. ¡°Of course we won¡¯t. And when we¡¯re stable, let¡¯s bring our families in.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll find mine,¡± Sera said, her eyes filled with sorrow. ¡°Or if they¡¯re¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re still alive. And we¡¯ll find them all,¡± Gilbert insisted. ¡°I promise you.¡±


    She smiled at him, her eyes full of love and affection.


    Gilbert smiled back a split second before a car rammed head-on into them, and Sera, whose seatbelt had gotten broken months earlier, crashed through the windscreen and out onto the road.


    Chapter 1


    Ten years later.


    The funeral was supposed to be a family affair.


    She had not wanted to invite so many people, most of them strangers to her, to be there at the moment she said goodbye. Yet, she was not the only person who had a right to his last moments above the earth, it seemed. Everyone, from the family who knew nothing of the anguish he had suffered for the past ten years, to the colleagues who saw him every day but hadn¡¯t actually seen him, to the long-lost friends and passing acquaintances who were surprised to find that he was married, let alone dead, wanted to have a last chance to gaze upon him in his open coffin and say goodbye.


    Sera stayed seated at the front most pew where she had the best view of all the people who walked past. Some, she saw, stared intently at the face of the man she had lived with for most of her life, yet known for only a third of that, as if they could somehow read his last thoughts from when he¡¯d drawn the knife down his arms. Others, like his best friend, gazed once, then twice, then turned away, as if unable to look at him for fear of catching whatever it was that had made him end his life in such a pointless, cruel way. Or perhaps it was the guilt that made them do that.


    It was certainly guilt that kept her glued to her seat, until the very last of the gathering had made their way past his coffin. She ignored the pleading look her mother-in-law gave her, as if she thought that if her daughter-in-law would only look at him just one more time, her son would come back to life.


    But she had looked all she wanted.


    Sera had gazed at Gilbert¡¯s pale, slack face for what seemed like hours before calling the police and the ambulance. In those short, everlasting seconds, she had immediately understood all she needed to know about the reasons why he¡¯d done it, all without exchanging a single word with him. He hadn¡¯t even left a note, that¡¯s how obvious the reason was between the two of them.


    ¡°Some can¡¯t separate themselves from what¡¯s real and what¡¯s not,¡± said one woman to the other as they passed. She held a delicate black lace handkerchief to her nose, and the other wore a black veil that revealed as much as it concealed, allowing glimpses of blood red lipstick on shapely lips to be seen. ¡°You should keep an eye on your son.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity¡­ but this is what comes from diving in too deep,¡± someone else said a few rows behind with a soft click of their tongue. ¡°Someone should have stopped him before it was too late.¡±


    Sera closed her eyes slowly, holding her breath to listen to her heartbeat. It helped her keep calm and tune the harpies out. When she opened them, she gazed up at the ceiling, tracing the high, arcing beams that came together in a beautiful golden rosette. The church her mother-in-law had chosen for her departed son¡¯s service was an old one, with timber walls, huge, multi-paneled stained-glass windows and enough gold gild that put together, could probably rival the weight of the Charging Bull on Wall Street.


    So much for being humble and remembering their beginnings. Not that Sera herself deserved to preach.


    If she recalled what Gilbert had said correctly, this very church was the one that had been used as a template for the Church of Lost Souls, the regeneration site that all players who ventured into Elysia eventually ended up visiting.


    It was a little fitting, she had to admit, that this was also where she had to say goodbye to her husband. He probably would have wanted it that way, if he had thought about it at any point.


    By the time the service ended and the coffin was carried out and lowered into the ground, she was numb to it all. She had done everything she was supposed to: accepted the condolences, assured those concerned for her wellbeing, and promised to call if she needed any help.


    The only thing she did not do was attend the post-funeral reception.


    Because if there was one thing she was not going to do, it was to be present while everyone else wallowed in their grief for her husband. They were only just catching up to Gilbert¡¯s loss and pain now, and she had no wish to stay behind and be a part of it.


    At least, not here, not in the real world where he had ceased to live so very long ago.


    ***


    Someone kind had dropped off his belongings from the office on one of the days following his funeral. There was not much since his work had been mostly digital. In fact, there was so little that it all fit into a single cardboard box.


    When Sera gave up the apartment, took a leave of absence from Elysium and moved out of the city, the box had simply been bundled up with all the other boxes that the movers had packed and transported for her. For one long month, it lay untouched in the spare room of the apartment she had moved to until she stumbled across it again on a day that seemed bright and sunny and full of potential.


    The box was such a generic one, she thought at first that it simply contained more paraphernalia she had yet to unpack. She dug into it without caution, wondering which long-lost moth-eaten sweater might surface this time, or whether this was where her lost baking tin had disappeared. The last thing she expected to find was Gilbert¡¯s neuronode, wrapped in the dark green fleece jacket he had absconded to his office when she¡¯d threatened to throw it out on account of it being the sort of green that reminded one of alfalfa laden horse poop. After all, she¡¯d already assigned his things to a storage facility, in an effort to ¡®move on¡¯.


    So when she unwrapped the neuronode, the first thing that occurred to her was the bitter memory of herself holding an earlier prototype and shouting at Gilbert that she never wanted to see something like it again, just before she threw it to the ground and smashed it into pieces.


    The second thing was more of a reaction than a conscious thought.


    The signal light on it was blinking.


    Sera stared at it for several confused moments. Then, after a slight hesitation, she picked it up and put it on, making sure to lift her hair away so that the node at the back touched the bottom of her head at the top of her neck, right where her brainstem was. The black opalescent interior of the helmet-like covering glimmered momentarily before she closed her eyes.


    A rush of cold like the swiping of antiseptic swept across the nanopatch on her skin, then brilliant colours bled into her mind and she found herself standing in a circular room with a screen spanning its multicoloured walls, displaying a login page. It was requesting a key to match her biometric data.


    As she stared at it, the colours slowly morphed into swirling gray monotone motes that drizzled in the background like snow and a note scrolling at the bottom of her vision informed her that her neural nanite levels were low or nonexistent and that she needed to top them up before beginning the game.


    She ignored it and strolled around the room until she found what she was looking for.


    In the lower right hand corner was Gilbert¡¯s profile, shown as a little figure with his name beside it and a lock symbol. She touched it and a picture of an envelope popped up, along with several notifications and the sentence, ¡®Please login to view content of messages¡¯ above them.


    She read the notifications.


    ¡®***** replied to your message (5.34 a.m. June 15).¡¯


    ¡®New message from ***** (5.39 a.m. June 15).¡¯


    She scrolled down, seeing similar notifications, hundreds of them, until the most recent one appeared at the top, highlighted in blue:


    ¡®***** replied to your message (12.15 p.m, July 7).


    That was just half an hour ago!


    As she stared at it, the message turned gray, signifying that it had been read.


    Sera¡¯s jaw dropped.


    The only way someone could access Gilbert¡¯s Elysium account in real time was if they had access to his biometric data in real time, or if he had designated someone as his legacy caretaker, to wrap up his virtual accounts.


    But that was impossible! Gilbert had not designated anyone to take care of his legacy, not even Sera. After the funeral, she had had to remind herself that she had a right to ask¡ªand force herself to dredge up the courage to follow through with it¡ªbut when she¡¯d finally inquired about it from their lawyer, the answer had been straightforward: Gilbert had left everything in perfect order. He had prepared for this years ago and there was nothing for Sera to do.


    Sera yanked the neuronode off and dropped it into the sweater. She stared unseeing at the walls around her until a beep sounded.


    ¡°Sera, is there a task you wish me to perform? If you are unable to speak, nod once for medical assistance, or shake your head to indicate everything is as normal.¡±


    It was Perry, her home butler. Since she had decided to live at home away from the city, she had set it on the highest alert level. Who knew what kind of riffraff were roaming these parts of the country, so close to the Wall.


    ¡°Perry, please call Monica,¡± Sera said after shaking her head.


    ¡°As you wish, Sera.¡±


    The dial tone sounded for a few short rings before the phone was answered.


    ¡°Hi Sera! How are you doing? I was just about to call actually, I think I¡¯m not going to be able to make it to the gymnasium today, it¡¯s a long drive out and¡ª¡±


    ¡°Never mind that, Mon,¡± Sera interrupted, ¡°I want to ask you something. What happens to unclaimed legacy accounts on Elysia?¡±


    There was a short silence. ¡°Uhm, I think it depends. If there was a designated caretaker, then it would be transferred to their account, this would allow them to maintain it without making any big changes, or to close it down entirely¡ª¡±


    ¡°Would they be able to read messages? Personal messages?¡± It was always possible that Gilbert had not told the lawyer about a legacy assignment or made any note of it anywhere.


    ¡°No, definitely not. You can¡¯t assume someone¡¯s identity even if you have control over their legacy account,¡± Monica said, sounding very sure of herself.


    ¡°Then¡­ is there any way that personal messages might be sent or received from someone¡¯s account after it¡¯s been marked as a legacy account?¡±


    ¡°Sera¡­ what is this about?¡± Monica¡¯s voice sounded sympathetic and soft and for a moment, Sera wanted to just hang up on her.


    ¡°Nothing, I just¡­ wanted to know, out of curiosity. Please, just humour me?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what you want me to say. It¡¯s impossible so to speak. No one should have access. If someone had the password it wouldn¡¯t be enough. They¡¯d need biometric data that was at least an 85% to 90% match. They¡¯d need to be a very close relative¡­ like a twin, or a sibling who by amazing coincidence, has a high genetic similarity.¡±


    ¡°Or a clone,¡± Sera said thoughtfully.


    ¡°You do know those are banned. They can¡¯t be made to have the same lifespan as us, and it¡¯s not ethical to make them. Plus, if someone wanted to make a clone of Gilbert, they¡¯d have had to start decades ago¡ª¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Sera, is this¡­ about Gilbert?¡± Monica sounded even more tentative than before, and Sera could feel her temper starting to get away from her.


    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s not what you think. I¡¯m not trying to read his messages,¡± Sera said plainly.


    ¡°Oh, good, because¡­ the easiest way would be to ask admin to unlock his account and¡­ I really can¡¯t do that,¡± Monica said, her voice lowering. ¡°Not without a court order.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to, Mon.¡± Sera sighed heavily. She swiped a hand through her hair. ¡°Someone dropped his neuronode off with me before I left the city. I just put it on because it was flashing and there¡¯s so many notifications from his account, just piling up on the login screen¡­ I can¡¯t read them of course. It¡¯s just annoying.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Sera,¡± Monica said in a tone like a gushing waterfall of sympathy that made Sera want to cringe. Monica was the most well-meaning, sweet-tempered friend a girl could ever want, but the depth of her sorrow for Sera¡¯s loss made Sera want to either run to her and soak her through with tears or turn away and dig hard elbows into her every time she offered her condolences. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. It will get better with time. Just chuck that neuronode away. It¡¯s probably some friends who don¡¯t realise he¡¯s¡­ gone.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Sera said. ¡°Listen, don¡¯t worry about the gym, I was going to be late anyway.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ okay, then how about coffee tomorrow?¡± Monica said. She was trying to make up for missing gym. For Sera living alone out there. For everything. Sera just didn¡¯t want to fight anymore. If Monica wanted to meet up and do her good deed of the day by making sure Sera hadn¡¯t killed herself yet and by making her cheer up even though she had just had to bury her husband, how could Sera say no? Her friend was a force of nature and Sera had long ago found that it was just simpler and easier to go along with what she wanted when she got an idea into her head.


    ¡°All right, what time?¡±


    ¡°How about four o¡¯clock? I¡¯ll get off work early.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll see you then. Take care.¡±


    ¡°You too, Sera!¡±


    The click notified her of the end of the call. ¡°Thanks, Perry.¡±


    ¡°No problem, Sera. Anything else I can do for you? How about lunch? There¡¯s a ramen store down the road whose Butler has been sending me some very interesting catalogues¡­.¡± Pictures of mouth-watering ramen began to bounce about the walls with their twirly naruto fishcakes and springy ramen noodles. Then an image of a very handsome man dressed in a blue sweater with his mouth open and a chopstick-ful of ramen airplane-ing its way into his mouth flashed across the wall. Sera rolled her eyes at her Butler. He had no human empathy, and she was so thankful for it.


    ¡°Shut that off, Perry, I¡¯ll get something on the way back from my run. Can you please trace me and try to look for other restaurants in the area? Send the suggestions to me when I turn back.¡±


    ¡°Will do, Sera.¡±

 Chapter 2 - A run and ramen

    The weather was pleasant.


    The sky was full of cottony clouds sent scudding across the sky by a breeze. It blew across the back of her neck, soothing the sensitive area the neuronode had abraded. She could smell freshly cut grass and a faint sweet scent from wild flowers on the wind. The genuine freshness of the air was far better than any factory packaged ¡®fresh pine¡¯ scent that Perry could fart out at her in the apartment.


    Sera headed across the pedestrian bridge, leaving the apartment blocks for the wooded area just less than a mile from where she lived. That was the good thing about living away from the city, she mused. Nature was at your doorstep.


    The track she followed went up a heavily wooded hill. She jogged up it, forcing herself not to stop until she reached the pinnacle. It was the first time she¡¯d come out here, but she knew the run couldn¡¯t be too strenuous since the hill was such a short one. Still, when she reached the top, she doubled over and gasped for breath, taking in deep lungfuls of air. It had been too long since she had had any kind of exercise.


    A stone had lodged itself in her shoe and Sera reached a hand out to a tree, intending to lean on it for balance while she removed the stone. The second her hand touched the tree, it quivered, hazing in lines of pixels that reformed when she withdrew her hand. A green label on the bark appeared before her eyes, and she leaned in to read the notice:


    ¡®Warning, reforestation in progress. Do not tread on growing tree. Any attempt at damage will result in a $200 fine and possible jail time¡¯


    She looked carefully at the bottom of the tree and waved her hands a few times, making the pixels leap and jump away from her fingers. At the very bottom, within a small spiked fence that would definitely have hurt her foot if she had tread on it, was a small tree, growing within the circumference of the illusionary one she had touched.


    Sera sighed.


    Of course, this explained why the apartment had seemed so affordable. It had been built on post-war land. Underneath her shoes were probably remnants of blown up buildings, bits and pieces of weaponry and countless pieces of bodies that couldn¡¯t be sorted through. After the end of the most recent World War which had occurred in her parent¡¯s lifetime, the government had begun to reopen areas that were deemed no longer dangerous for settlement again. Among the ones that were available for housing projects away from the city were the ones like this, non-toxic areas that had been wiped out by bombs. They were easy enough to clear and rebuild in, but it took time to get the massive craters filled with enough fertile soil and to encourage wildlife and trees to take root again.


    She walked to another tree and gingerly reached a hand out to it until her fingers touched its rough bark. This one was real. She leaned her forehead against it and reached out to hug the tree. The woody scent and serene steadiness of its immovable figure in her arms soothed her for a moment.


    A small chime sounded and she opened her eyes, crossing them to read the green label that appeared under her nose.


    ¡®Warning. Tree under monitoring. Any attempt at damage will result in a $500 fine and possible jail time.¡¯


    ¡°Give me a break!¡± Sera cried out in frustration.


    A flock of birds stopped their cheerful chirping amid a flutter of wings. Even the wind seemed to die down.


    Sera got the distinct feeling that she was being watched and monitored in that unusual silence. She ground her teeth, then released a heavy sigh. Stepping carefully, she moved away from the tree to a spot of sunshine a few steps away and lowered herself to lie spread out on the ground.


    No one could fine her or accuse her of any wrongdoing for some simple sun-bathing, right?


    She fell into a deep sleep. She dreamed of forests and sunshine and an outing at the sea she had taken with Gilbert, long ago when they had begun to date, when he had not been so engrossed at work he¡¯d stopped taking weekends.


    They stood hand in hand with their toes in the cold ocean water, gazing at the fish swimming in the curls of waves that crashed towards them, and dancing back every time the white surf threatened to soak their jeans. Sera turned to Gilbert, wanting to make a comment about the fish, but when she opened her mouth no words came out. Just the sound of a soft, melodic ¡®ping¡¯.


    She frowned and Gilbert shook his head, wearing that look of adoring bemusement that surfaced whenever she made a comment he thought was ridiculous. He opened his mouth too and said, ¡°Ping¡­ ping, ping. Ping.¡±


    Sera choked.


    ¡°Ping!¡± she insisted, trying to make her meaning clear. ¡°Ping!¡±


    Gilbert¡¯s expression turned frustrated and filled with longing. The sea, beach and sky fell away behind him and his face loomed in front of her, taking up the whole of her vision. His face was the colour of a washed out technicolour film strip and pings emitted non-stop from his mouth. He spat them out desperately in streams of unintelligible sound, bombarding her with nonsensical meaning.


    ¡°Ahhh!¡± Sera came awake, jumping upright as if she had been stung.


    She looked about her.


    The sun was lower in the sky and the air was a little heavier. It looked like rain.


    A ping sounded, making her jump a foot in the air.


    She glanced at her wrist and saw Perry¡¯s messages, accumulated like a string of pearls on the screen around her wrist. She peeled off the console and tapped the notification bubbles to read the messages.


    ¡®Sera, reception is low in your area, notifications will be delayed.¡¯If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡®Sera, three restaurants are in your area. Sichuan Delight (2.2mi), Boston Grill (1.8mi) and Yakiniku Sakura (1.0mi).¡¯


    ¡®Sera, a new event has been added to your calendar. Coffee at Kittilicious with Monica at 4 pm, July 8.¡¯


    ¡®Sera¡­¡¯


    She swiped them out of her homescreen, seeing that they were all from Perry. She¡¯d have a proper look later.


    ¡°Perry, direct me to Yakiniku Sakura, please. The fastest route.¡±


    ***


    Yakiniku Sakura was a quaint hole-in-the-wall place that seemed to have been literally built into the cranny between two back-facing apartment buildings. It was narrow and small and distinguishable from the gray concrete around it by its scarlet noren, which displayed a stylistic black sakura flower, and the faux wooden slats and glass of the single window to the left.


    Sera slipped through the slit fabric of the noren and opened the front door to the sound of a jingling automated ¡®Irasshaimase!¡¯ The distance to the tall front counter took her less than ten steps, and since she was the only customer in the shop, she took her time scrutinising the picture menu above it. When she had decided what she wanted she looked around for the server, but there was no one to be found. She tapped her wrist console.


    ¡°The yakiniku ramen is the most popular dish,¡± Perry said softly in her ear implant. ¡°If you are ready to order, I can place your order with the Butler and it will be ready in five minutes.¡±


    Sera had been about to order the yakiniku ramen. But for some odd reason, she felt oddly contrary to going along with the popular recommendation. ¡°I¡¯ll have the cold noodles,¡± she said. ¡°To have here.¡±


    ¡°Very well, Sera.¡±


    Perry¡¯s voice was non-judgemental and Sera smiled to herself, wondering if Perry was adjusting his profile of her.


    Her flush of accomplishment died down as she watched her food being prepared. First, the cold noodles picture on the menu flashed brilliant for a second, then the sound of boiling water trickled through from the kitchen area. Sera stepped up onto the platform by the counter and peered through the glass. The tiny kitchen was entirely automated with robotic arms and clawed hands. She could see her noodles drop into the pot of boiling water where they stayed for about three minutes. Meanwhile, marinated meat was placed on a grill where it sizzled along with some sliced onions. Crisp vegetables were dropped into a tiny bowl and a little sauce was sprinkled on them. By then, the noodles and meat were ready. The noodles were briefly rinsed through with cold water, then delicately tossed into a bowl and squirted all over with sauce. The meat, now exuding a mouth-watering aroma, was laid out neatly onto a long, ceramic plate decorated with little cherry blossom flowers. All the dishes were then placed on a tray at the end of the assembly line, just out of Sera¡¯s reach behind the counter.


    A soft sigh reached her ears and something shifted in the corner of the shop. A girl got up from a seat Sera had not noticed behind the counter and sauntered over to the tray. She had two long pig tails and wore a neat dress with a ruffled apron. She tucked a little handheld console into her pocket, then picked up the tray and walked over to the serving station by the counter. Her gait was graceful and precise and she had on a small smile that broadened when she caught sight of Sera.


    ¡°Here you go.¡±


    Sera felt her own lips stretch into a smile as she reached out to take the tray. How long had it been since someone had smiled at her without any sympathy bleeding into the expression? She couldn¡¯t remember.


    ¡°Thank you very much,¡± Sera said. She looked into the girl¡¯s eyes, marveling at how pretty she was. Her left eye was slightly higher than her right and her mascara was a little smudged under her bottom lashes, but her sweet, freckled face looked so earnest and cheerful that Sera felt a brief flash of happiness.


    ¡°Oh, be careful!¡± the girl said, catching the tray as it tilted in Sera¡¯s hands. She had misjudged the weight distribution on the tray and everything was sliding off, about to fall onto the floor.


    Faster than Sera¡¯s eyes could track, the girl caught the bowls of noodles and vegetables in each hand and bent to balance the dish of meat along her forearm so perfectly that not a single slice of meat slid off.


    ¡°Here you go,¡± the girl said once more, arranging everything back onto the tray. ¡°No harm done.¡±


    She winked at Sera, allowing her to catch a glimpse of a tattooed bio-barcode, subtly concealed by the faint brown of her eyeshadow. ¡°Do let me know if you have anything else you need.¡±


    An android.


    Sera walked over to the counter by the window that looked out onto the street and took one of the high chairs. The noodles slipped down her throat like limp, cold fish. She barely noticed the sweet, crispy vegetables and fragrant meat, though she made sure to chew each mouthful carefully and thoroughly to make the meal last as long as it could.


    In the length of time it took her to finish eating, three orders went through the shop. Two were internal orders from the neighbouring apartments. They were prepared, then sent through some delivery mechanism at the back of the shop to the appropriate unit. The third was an external order that was sent by a delivery drone shaped like a carrier pigeon with the sakura logo on its wings. The waitress simply reached under the counter, pulled it out and attached the takeaway bag, then the door opened automatically and the drone zoomed out through the slit in the noren.


    Sera replaced the tray on the counter when she was done and moved to leave.


    ¡°Is there anything else you might want to have?¡± the waitress asked from her seat behind the counter. She once again had her console in her hand. Sera saw that she had been playing a game involving farming on it when she lifted her hand and waved to the wall on the right side of the shop.


    The wallpaper, which had been of bamboo swaying in a gentle breeze, melted away to reveal brightly lit hexagonal shapes. Each was a tiny shop of its own with screens displaying products and services. Sera nodded her thanks and walked over to the wall of merchandise.


    Everything and anything she might want was there. Handwash, makeup, cleaning supplies, groceries, electronics. It was the mirror image of the supply wall in her own apartment complex. Perry usually made her orders for her and had them delivered.


    Sera was about to turn away when something caught her eye. It was slightly below eye-level but it was so sparkly and shiny that she couldn¡¯t help looking. It was the image of an ordinary boy with multi-coloured motes swirling around him. As they parted and fell away she saw that he had changed into a hooded, muscular man with knives extending from his armguards and his fists crossed over his chest. He leapt into motion, his dark cloak whipping behind him as he moved lithely through an autumn forest, ducking between trees and leaping into branches to chase after another darting figure in the distance.


    Without Sera noticing, the hexagon had bumped its way through the other shapes up to her eye level and turned three-dimensional so it looked as if she was watching the two figures running down a tunnel. A thrilling tempo reached her ears, the rhythm making her own heartbeat quicken. She reached a hand out to the screen and the hooded assassin turned slightly, alerted by her presence. He charged back up towards her and flung himself forward, knives first. He hit the screen in a burst of blood-red leaves that melted away under her hand, leaving an image of a sparkling bottle within which floated colourful nanite flakes. The logo on it spelled out Elysia, with the tagline, ¡®Welcome to the Everlife¡¯ under it.


    ¡°It used to be ¡®Your World Alive¡¯,¡± Sera murmured to herself. This new line hardly seemed any better, though the graphics had definitely improved judging by the advertisement.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± The waitress bobbed up beside her. ¡°Can I help you?¡±


    Sera looked at her. Now that she was looking, she could pick out the little discrepancies. The skin with pores that were too regular. The hair that didn¡¯t have any split ends. The bio-codes that couldn¡¯t be noticed unless you watched her eyes carefully when she blinked.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just leaving. Thank you for the meal.¡±

 Chapter 3 - Storm and selection

    Perry, with all his excellent options for personalisation and attitude adjustments had some pretty severe shortcomings, Sera noted. For one, he could track the weather, but he couldn¡¯t come out to meet her halfway with an umbrella when she was soaked through. For another, his voice was plain irritating when he kept inquiring about what she wanted while she was busy getting it for herself.


    ¡°No, Perry, no help needed at all,¡± Sera finally said when Perry asked her if she would like to apply sound dampeners and have soothing music played to drown out the storm, after suggesting she change into dry clothes and offering her towels that stayed exactly where they were in the bathroom cupboard.


    When they were still a new couple, Gilbert had surprised her once on her way back from work by sneaking up behind her and slipping a hand around her waist to pull her under a humongous umbrella he had picked up from the Re:Act store. Her first instinct had been to crush his instep, but somehow he¡¯d anticipated that and danced about her, laughing about her paranoia and suggesting they take the long way back to enjoy the rain.


    ¡°And melt my hair off?¡± Sera had snapped, referring to the slightly below normal, acidic pH of the rain which had already soaked through to her scalp. Those were the days when the weather drones had not yet been launched.


    Gilbert¡¯s face had filled with surprise and a hint of something she couldn¡¯t quite catch. Sera, stunned at her bad manners, had apologised profusely. She was shocked at how uncharacteristically rude she had been, especially after he¡¯d taken the trouble to come get her.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Gilbert had looked up again and pulled an exaggeratedly disappointed face. He¡¯d tugged at his own dry, fluffy hair, then tossed the umbrella aside, abruptly picked her up and dashed a few steps to the nearest taxi stand. An autocar came almost immediately, the faint hum of its engines smothering her protests, and they had bundled in, enjoying the rare luxury of a ride home. When they arrived, he immediately made hot chocolate while she rinsed her hair and pulled out fresh towels, dry clothes and soft, warm slippers. They had lain on a rug by the sliding glass doors and enjoyed each other¡¯s company with the sound of pounding rain and thunder crashing overhead.


    Sera turned her thoughts away from Gilbert. She didn¡¯t want to travel along memory lane and revisit the cycle of disappointment and pain that had begun just a few months after that happy evening.


    ¡°Perry, I¡¯m turning in for the night. Secure premises and turn on sleep mode. Oh, and switch to a posh British accent, will you?¡±


    ¡°Very well, ma¡¯am,¡± Perry replied in a voice that oozed respect and sophistication. Sera gave her Butler an amused smile and aimed a thumbs up at his primary sensor on the ceiling.


    The lights around the apartment dimmed. Cool, humidified air began to circulate around Sera and she dropped off to sleep as soon as she climbed into bed.


    ***


    It was silent as the grave when she woke. The storm was over and Perry and the apartment were still in sleep mode.


    Sera was desperately thirsty so she got up, intending to make her way to the kitchen. A gleam caught her eye halfway there and she turned to look at the delivery hatch in the entryway. The green circle that signified something had arrived pulsed pleasantly and she found herself moving to pull down the lid of the hatch. It slid smoothly open, revealing a compartment that ran along the wall dividing the adjacent apartment with hers. The light above the conveyor belt within the compartment lit up, casting a soft golden glow on a lone bottle standing on the black belt. Perry must have placed an order to restock her drinks. She had to remember to remind him to batch his orders next time.


    She reached out and picked up the small bottle. The cap cracked satisfyingly as she twisted it, then took a long gulp. The water had a faint hint of mint and was so refreshing and soothing to her throat that she finished half the bottle before pausing to take note of the label she could feel under her fingers, around the neck of the bottle. She read the cursive text by the faint green glow from the hatch light.


    ¡®We hope you enjoy this free sample of Elysian nanites. For a special discount on future purchases, please allow your Butler to scan this nanocode. Our custom made nanites work best with personal neuronodes or nodepods, however you may experience Elysia from any public node-compatible device at your local cafe.¡¯


    Sera frowned and turned the bottle in her hand so she could see the logo on it. It was indeed from Elysia. Underneath the logo and tagline was a shimmering three dimensional cubecode.


    So aggressive! Sera licked her lips, only now detecting the slightly metallic taste of the nanites she had consumed that had been masked by the mint. When had the company begun such pushy marketing campaigns? She¡¯d have to ask Monica when she saw her next.


    She padded back to her bed and lay down. Several minutes later she was still awake. She was probably imagining it¡ªnanites couldn¡¯t be sensed after they were consumed after all¡ªbut she felt as if the influx of the tiny machines had given her a burst of energy and alertness.


    The old Gilbert would have laughed at her. Either that, or incessantly nagged at her that now that she had both nanites and a neuronode at her fingertips, she should have better things to do than sleep. Once upon a time, she might even have listened to him.


    She turned to her bedside table to check the console she normally wore on her wrist. Its screen displayed the time¡ªthree a.m.¡ªand showed wavy lines to indicate that Perry had detected her movements and tracked her through the apartment. If she wanted, she could tell him to set an alarm, put the apartment into day mode, or simply even to sing her to sleep. But Sera didn¡¯t feel like she needed Perry for the moment.


    After another moment¡¯s hesitation, Sera got up and went over to the storage box. She had shoved the neuronode back into it and pushed the box behind her couch where it couldn¡¯t be seen. Now she pulled the neuronode out and walked over to her bed.


    She thumbed it around until the patch was in the right position, then slid the node over her head, adjusting her pillow to accommodate its shape. The familiar cold was like a faint kiss against the back of her neck.


    Darkness melded into colour and Sera found herself back in the circular room. This time the nanites helped the node access her mind and the swirl of coloured motes coalesced to form a glass observatory window overlooking a vast expanse of space. She could see a bit of earth beneath her, just enough to glimpse its blue surface littered with white clouds and a silvery green gleam on the horizon. Light streamed down from the sun which shone unseen above her, and smaller planets, tiny stars and multi-coloured galactic clouds spiraled in the distance.


    There was a faint impression of movement and her view shifted. A planet merged out of the darkness to her left. It was a sphere much like Earth and like Earth, it appeared like a blue jewel in the dark, wreathed in snowy clouds and crowned by an auroral glow at one pole. The word ¡®Elysia¡¯ appeared printed above it in capital letters.


    A sudden crackling like a fire bursting into flame sounded from both sides of the room and Sera saw two fiery wings appear in front of her with a space shaped like a body between them. The words, ¡®Your Destiny Awaits¡¯ appeared in fiery letters in the empty space. Beneath it was a small scroll with the terms and conditions and damage waiver in tiny silver letters. Another message flashed at the bottom of the screen, informing her that this was the synchronisation sequence for biometric coordination and she would not be required to repeat it in subsequent logins. It also prompted her to think of a password image, word or sound during entry into Elysia. When she was done reading the message, an option on the left flashed, catching her attention. It was a warning for motion sickness and fear of height triggers and a direction for opting out of the visual simulation, or for skipping the biometric synchronisation altogether and exiting the starting sequence.


    Sera glanced back to the wings. There was obviously a particular age group that was being targeted with these special effects. She looked around the round room for Gilbert¡¯s login profile but it was nowhere to be seen. If she ever wanted to get back to that home screen where his profile could be accessed from, she apparently needed to exit the sequence and find her way back to the main login page without succumbing to Elysia¡¯s tactics to get her to play the game.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Or she could just go along with it for now, since it was a free trial.


    Feeling a twinge of anticipation, Sera ticked the T&C agreement and waiver and stepped forward into the space between the fiery wings. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the room melted away and a tingling feeling swept through her entire body as if every nerve she had in her body was being brushed by tiny feathery flames. Her body jerked and her back arched. The feeling was so strong she was sure that she was feeling it in real life.


    When the sensation subsided she found her arms had dropped out of view, replaced by wings that were an extension of her body. As she regained control over herself she realised that she was moving forward slowly and that with a single thought, she could flex the wings as easily as if they were her hands or arms. A notice scrolling at the bottom of her vision told her that physical synchronisation was now complete and that her movements should be fully integrated into the game.


    Sera imagined herself angling into a horizontal position and found her virtual self fluidly moving to match her mental projection. She began to pump her wings up and down. To her delight, the motion helped to propel her faster and faster through space until the surrounding stars streaked past her in long lines of white.


    Soon Earth disappeared from view and Elysia loomed larger and larger before her until it consumed the whole of her vision. Sera entered the planet¡¯s atmosphere in a glow of purplish green mist, bursting through blankets of cloud cover as she was caught by the planets gravity.


    Now every pulse of her wings sent her shooting over its surface, skimming over continents spread far below in a kaleidoscope of green, blue and sandy red. There were three moons in the distant horizon and floating islands scattered within the atmosphere of the planet. Wind rushed in her ears and rustled through her clothes but her wings still burned strong. Sera felt like a comet as she streaked across the sky. She was close enough to the planets surface to see oceans in the distance, mountain ranges covered with snow and roaming bands of animals in green valleys. While she gazed down at the luscious new planet below her, a prompt flashed across her screen, encouraging her to think of a password. It reminded her that it had to consist of an image, a word, music, or a combination of all three.


    Sera had been considering this at the back of her mind and immediately thought of three cr¨¨me br?l¨¦es in white ramekins against a backdrop of a blue tablecloth patterned with quacking ducks and Mozart¡¯s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik playing in the background. It was the most random and secure password sequence she could think off on the fly.


    Immediately the music took a more solid shape in her mind and actually began to sound in her ears. The prompt told her to picture her visual image in further minute detail to ensure she remembered it, so she gave the cr¨¨me br?l¨¦es¡¯s mint leaf garnishes and the ramekins jumping legs to dance to the music. She dressed the quacking ducks in pink scalloped aprons and made little black quaver notes gush from their beaks. A loading bar she had not noticed hovering in the middle of her vision immediately solidified, its progress reaching a 100%.


    ¡®Success! This will be your password to enter Elysia.¡¯


    Her wings, which had begun to move without her will while she focused her mind on the password, fluttered even faster than before. Sera found herself soaring over magnificent vistas that she only just began to take note of. She passed over a snowy mountain range whose peaks housed an icy fortress with swooping dragons and zeppelins around its jagged spires, then skimmed over marshy moors obscured by fog that cracked with blue lightning. This in turn bled into a lush forest strewn with moss and vines. She saw a tiny houseboat winding its way down a slow-moving river that twisted through the forest and tried to twist her head around to track the boat, but her wings picked up even more speed and she rose high up into the air again.


    Now that she was in an expanse of blue sky, she noticed several transparent panels on her screen. They were mostly blank except for the globe on her right which had a vague arrangement of shadowy continents. They crawled slowly across the tiny map, until one in particular began to scale larger at the same time that Sera began to descend rapidly. Her wings pulled back as she dove and a silver gold aura began to envelope her, trailing behind her in a long, fiery tail.


    Sera began to feel a little worried.


    No matter how hard she tried to move her arms, her wings remained folded behind her and she kept falling like a stone through the air. Every sensation she felt, from the chill of the wind streaming through her hair to the dryness of her eyes as they were buffeted by air, told her that the incoming impact would be extremely painful. Sera gazed anxiously about, hoping to spot her destination.


    Below her was a pinprick of an island within an expanse of seemingly endless sea. It had a single white cliff poking through a shroud of mist, with a rainbow wreathed waterfall churning down into a pool surrounded by a crescent of sharp rocks and lush, green foliage. Though it was surrounded by sea, the lagoon at the bottom of the falls looked unbelievably small from this height, almost the size of a puddle. Her heart hammered in her ears and her stomach spasmed as a flash of realisation passed through her. This was her target. She couldn¡¯t budge an inch to change her course and there was no other suitable landing spot on the island. Despite the volume of water flowing into the pool, she just couldn¡¯t believe it would be sufficient to cushion her fall. After all, didn¡¯t water feel like concrete if one fell into it from a great height?


    Sera shrieked and shook her head in denial, inaudible curses passing through her lips to trail behind her as she punctured low-hanging clouds and headed for the island swelling beneath her.


    Just before impact, she glimpsed a strange-looking person sitting with his feet dangling over the edge of the cliff. He had a scraggly beard and battle gear on the grass beside him and was lifting a beer mug as huge as his head in a silent ¡®cheers¡¯ to her, his ruddy cheeks pulled back in a mischievous grin.


    There was no time to respond. Sera felt herself crash into the water. She plummeting deep into its depths, the churning of the waterfall sending her spinning head over heels. Her wings extinguished, leaving her bare arms behind. She sank deep into the midnight blue depths of the pool, struggling to hold her breath and contain her panic. Just as she thought she could hold on no longer, a message scrolled across her screen:


    ¡®Your psychophysiological arousal profile has been successfully calibrated. All game stimuli will be automatically set to 80% of your personal threshold unless manually adjusted.¡¯


    Sera released the breath she had been holding and sucked in another one in surprise. She really should have read the waiver and fine print that had popped up more thoroughly before she took those wings. A rush of annoyance coursed through her at the game developer¡¯s sneaky tactics. There had been absolutely no warning of how the calibration would take place and if Sera had taken it all a little more seriously she might have had a heart attack!


    While she ruminated about how dangerous the game might turn out to be, Sera abruptly surfaced from the pool of water.


    ¡°Welcome to the Sea of Creation. Here you will be able to choose your character race and name,¡± said a voice in her ears, as she bobbing to the surface of a crystalline pool. There was no sign of the island and the water was shallow beneath her feet. It was as if she had transitioned through a mirror¡¯s surface and was now on the other side.


    The water pushed at Sera until she fully emerged, then solidified beneath her feet. She found herself kneeling in a hall with sunshine streaming through a huge domed arbor above her. The light was filtered blue as if she were still underwater, and shadowy water ripples wavered on every surface.


    Sera got to her feet. The sound of her footsteps echoed dimly as she walked around. The hall was circular and had several pillars with doorways between them.


    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    It was the same voice. She looked around and up, but no one was in sight. ¡°Sera spelled as S-e-r-a.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, that name is already taken. Please choose a different name.¡±


    A panel flickered into being in front of her with a keyboard on it. Sera typed in different versions of her name, which was quite long. However, no matter how many versions of Seraphina she tried to spell, all seemed to have been taken already. It was the same with Odilia, her middle name. In the end, she settled on Serares as a sort of palindromic reshuffling of her preferred name.


    ¡°Serares, you have the option of remaining with your own facial features or choosing a template face. Please step through the portal for your chosen race to begin the game. You may choose your class now as well or await further in game character customisation.¡± The words echoed the message scrolling at the bottom of her screen.


    Sera walked to the nearest portal. It was flanked by roman pillars on either side and in the middle were shallow steps that led up to a pedestal on which stood a sort of holographic image of an elf against a backdrop of light. The elf switched from male to female and back every few seconds and was dressed in a woodland outfit, complete with leafy borders on their shirtsleeves, leather boots and a set of bow and arrows gripped in their hands. On the left pillar were several options she could choose. Male, female; custom or template face; hair, eye and skin colour, and plenty more. On the right column were character classes with words like priest, paladin, or warrior, accompanied by images of weaponry, magic or symbols. She kept walking to the next portal and the next, scrutinising each race as she passed them.


    There were so many options that Sera felt overwhelmed.


    Finally, she reached a portal she felt comfortable with. Without over thinking, Sera jumped up the steps and passed through the image. A ripple of warmth ran down her spine as she took its place, as if a feather from her fiery wings had run over her skin. She inhaled sharply, then reached out with her left hand and tapped, ¡®custom¡¯, ¡®female¡¯ and jumped down to the other side of the pedestal.


    Without looking back, she dove straight into the light shining through the doorway and began her first day in Elysia.

 Chapter 4 - Dungeons and dragons

    Sera appeared in a village square. There were cobblestones under her feet and surrounding her was an ensemble of three storied half-timbered houses with sharply gabled roofs. Facing her in the middle of the square was a large round fountain with a statue of a knight on a rearing unicorn, his sword held gallantly aloft to defend against the dragon that coiled around a pedestal to loom over him. Behind him was the smaller figure of an archer aiming a flaming arrow at the dragon¡¯s heart and a mage with flowing locks of hair, her face upturned to the heavens and her hands clasped over a jewel suspended in front of her chest. All four of the figures were locked in a fearsome battle, yet despite the grimace on the knight¡¯s face and the vicious fangs in the dragon¡¯s jaws, the scene before her looked oddly domestic and peaceful.


    Young children ran about, laughing as they chased pigeons and played with their mother¡¯s skirts. Older children danced between the rainbows in the tinkling water or climbed the statues, yelling and swinging wooden swords and shields at each other. Occasionally one of the women who were washing clothes, plaiting strings of flowers, or knitting in happy gossipy groups turned around and yelled at the children to come down or keep away from the road where horse drawn carriages and wagons thundered past. A couple of them even waved at her. Sera waved back, glad to find the locals were so friendly, then turned away from them and walked about the square, eager to explore more.


    A cacophony of sounds and smells reached Sera¡¯s ears and nose, bombarding her with a beguiling certainty that what she was seeing was real. Above the sound of the water, gentle conversation and children¡¯s laughter, she could hear the whinnying of horses, the clip-clop of their hooves, the jangle of tack and harness, and soft, atmospheric lute playing from a nearby busker. More music spilled out from a tavern across the road, blending harmoniously with the busker¡¯s but adding further notes from a cheery flute, a tambourine, and a drum whose beat made Sera want to pick up her heels and dance across the square. She gazed up at the upper level of the tavern, admiring the cascades of red flowers that dripped down from its flower boxes. The smell of freshly roasted beef and an onion soup lingered in the air, making her stomach growl. Was that even possible? To feel hunger in the game and to eat food?


    She took a step towards the tavern, intent on finding out. Just as she reached out towards the doorknob, the door was flung open and a gigantic man who shouldn¡¯t be able to fit through the door, let alone walk in the armour he was wearing, stormed out closely followed by a smaller sized person who wore black clothes of an indeterminable pattern. Sera blinked, trying to make her eyes pin down the second person. He seemed to slink from shadow to shadow with the ease of a snake. Every time she looked at him she found her gaze sliding so that she was staring at a cobblestone or a watering can instead. Odd.


    She shifted her attention back to the large man. His eyes glowed a bright blue, matching the design on his silver armour, and left trails in the air as he whipped his head around to shout at his friend, ¡°¡ªcould have told me earlier, I¡¯ve been waiting for ages to get into that dungeon! Hurry up! I want a share of that loot!¡±


    The pair began to run across the square, leaping in gigantic leaps that allowed them to pass over the heads of the women and children with ease. Sera peered back into the dark depths of the tavern. A signboard by the bar showed the price of items for sale and purchase as well as room rates, reminding Sera that she had absolutely no in-game money.


    Without anything better to do, she turned heel and began to chase after the over-sized man and the sneaky man. No doubt they were players and knew how to go about earning money. She ducked around a washerwoman who seemed determined to make her acquaintance and followed the players. She found that she could run almost as fast as they could if she put her mind to it. After traversing down a few back alleys and streets, she came out into another square larger than the first.


    This one looked quite military-like with long pennants waving sinuously in the wind and halberd carrying guards lining the entrances to several buildings. In the middle of the square were two stone figures holding a shield and spears. Between them circled a swirling mass of white-blue energy which players were disappearing into. There appeared to be a long queue jostling to enter it, fed by the huge variety of humanoid looking beings populating the rest of the square. Sera felt dizzy with the effort of taking in all the different types of characters. Most looked human or elfin, but quite a few had scales, fur, tails, hair of all colours of the rainbow, and animal-like heads and arms, and they all seemed to be accompanied by a plethora of pets and steeds of all kinds¡­ and their clothes!


    Once upon a time, when Sera had been in college, she had harboured the dream of making her own garments to wear. She had attempted to sew a budget version of a skirt based on a 3D image that kept bombarding her from an ad wall on her way to university, and what she had ended up with had been something resembling a bag with a hole in it. So she knew without a doubt from a cursory glance that the clothes these players were wearing were incredibly intricate and would have been extremely tough if not impossible to make in real life.


    She edged closer to a girl, one of the few who was near the front of the queue and was making steady progress towards the portal. She had what Sera could identify immediately as a template face. It was too generic with high cheekbones, perfect skin, large green eyes fringed with impossibly long lashes, tapered ears and a narrow pointed chin that looked like it could have cut steel. Her garments looked as if they must have been glued onto her skin¡ª the fabric that stretched over her voluptuous bosom was shiny and fragile, and consisted of two narrow strips of green cloth carefully arranged and laced together so they held a hood up behind her head while traveling down her torso to reveal a generous glimpse of cleavage and tummy under criss-crossed laces. The bottom half of the cloth blended into a skirt with carefully cut edges that flared whenever she moved. She wore high boots, carried a staff with a glowing green gem on the top and wore bands around her arms, strips of leather around her hands and had a falcon sitting on her shoulder. When she detected Sera¡¯s gaze, she swiveled her hips and gave her a seductive look, then without breaking eye contact, she elbowed a warrior who was trying to sneak past to cut her line in the queue, smiled mischievously at Sera, and dove straight into the center of the portal.


    ¡°Hey, get out of the way, noob!¡±


    Sera fell to the floor, her arms reflexively curling about her stomach. She noticed a line in the periphery of her vision pulse but she had no time to look at it as the man who had hit her shoved her again. ¡°Go level up before you get in the way here. Dungeons aren¡¯t for noobs!¡±


    ¡°Hey, take it easy,¡± Sera replied. The ache in her knees and side was so dull she barely felt any pain, but she still glared at the man. He was clad in armour that was strapped onto his shoulders and forearms and had patches of red and silver zigzags on it. The rest of his body was bare but covered with enough tattoos to make it look like he was clothed. He carried a broadsword that was as tall as Sera and as wide around as the man¡¯s own hips. ¡°I¡¯m just watching.¡±


    ¡°Training grounds are that way,¡± he said in a gruff voice, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. ¡°Scat!¡± He glared at her with template blue eyes and jerked a very superman-like chin with a dimple in it, making hair that fell too perfectly in honey-brown locks to his shoulders move in fluid, elegant waves.


    Sera sighed and scrambled out of his way, then watched as he leaped over her and tried to elbow his way to the front of the queue. Several squabbles broke out and by the time he reached the portal, it had spiraled to a close. ¡°Dammit!¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Several players immediately began to voice their dissatisfaction and challenges for fights began to float above the crowd. Sera gazed at the player versus player (PVP) notification bubbles that appeared above matched players who then began to leap out of the square in pairs, clearly intent on fighting each other elsewhere. She reached a hand up to block the glare in her eyes. When it passed through the player¡¯s torso something popped up over his head.


    ¡®Incinderfella, Undead Warlock, Level 83.¡¯


    Sera blinked, then moved her hand to cover her own chest. A panel popped into view in front of her, superimposing her vision.


    ¡®Serares. Human (No Class), Level 1¡¯


    There was a small figure at the bottom level of the panel and she tapped on it. The panel expanded to a larger size and displayed her body with spaces over the appendages, along with side panels where she could see vague outlines of basic armour, clothes or other equipment that she could use to equip herself. With the exception of the clothes she was wearing, it was all dismally empty.


    What did she expect? She was in an MMORPG after all. Sera had never played one, but she knew how they worked. You took on a character, fought, collected loot and quested your way through the levels until you¡­ well, until you were done. It was supposed to be fun, at least according to Gilbert and everyone else who worked on the game in Elysium. Sera herself, since she had only been attached to Elysium through the marketing division, had not actually given the game a go, despite Gilbert¡¯s glowing endorsements for it. Perhaps because of that. She had enjoyed watching the trailer videos and coming up with ways to reach more customers and sell the virtual world of Elysia to them, but she had never quite understood what immersing one¡¯s self in it involved. It hadn¡¯t been part of her job requirements to actually play the game, and she hadn¡¯t wanted to¡­ risk disappointing Gilbert yet again.


    Now that the square was clearing up, Sera decided she had better find something else to do. Taking the alleyway the aggressive player had gestured towards, she began to make her way through the streets to find the training ground for new players.


    It turned out to be a sort of obstacle course near some long buildings that looked like army barracks. There were dummies set up on one side of the field with bullseyes painted on them. Several players were either whacking at the straw men with what looked like dull swords, or using spears or bows and arrows to pepper them so they appeared stuck like pin cushions. Sera approached a man who kept consulting his list while looking out over the other new players.


    ¡°Hello,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m new. What am I supposed to do to get started?¡±


    The portly man turned to her. He was an NPC, or non-player character, and wore the barest of leather armour. He had a frown on his face and mopped sweat from his brow as he sized her from head to toe. ¡°Oh, hello there, young journeywoman. You may begin your training by using these basic weapons to practice swordplay, archery or spearwork.¡±


    ¡°Will it cost me anything?¡±


    The man shook his head, ¡°No, this basic training along with the bag and the map you have on your person are free. They are given to all journeymen and -women to help you start out.


    ¡°How useful is this training?¡± Sera had no intention of hacking away at a dummy for no reason whatsoever. She much preferred to explore this new world and if possible, not focus on mundane tasks. ¡°Will I be paid if I train?¡±


    ¡°Not a penny,¡± the man said, shaking his head. ¡°But it will help you if you choose to take on quests outside villages and cities because you will need to know how to fight to survive in the wilderness. Taking quests will earn you money. Alternatively, you may apprentice yourself at schools, there are plenty of those in this area. Learning skills and crafts, and making items can also earn you money to spend. Otherwise, you may visit the auction house to exchange goods for money or vice versa, or indulge in some hunting, gathering or mining and sell what you obtain from that in the auction house or the market.¡±


    He gestured to the long winding street that passed by the training grounds. It led up the hill to another square that looked like a marketplace, with stalls and people lingering around as they perused their wares. Sera turned and looked at the lower end of the street. It was too winding and too far to be seen clearly from this point. All along the whole stretch were large buildings that Sera had taken to be shops or houses or a combination of both. But now that she looked at them more carefully she could see that some were more oddly shaped than others and had wooden signboards hung on poles sticking out of their facades. On each of the painted wooden plaques were images. Among those she could make out from this distance were stylistic renderings of weapons, armour, inkwells and feather quills, bunches of plants, and even a faint paw print. Some of the humbler abodes looked quite domestic with images of food or sewing implements.


    Sera gave the man a nod in thanks and he turned to assume the same position he had been in before Sera approached. With another considering look at the training grounds, Sera turned away and began to wander down the street while she thought about what the man had said.


    Aside from the advice on earning money and questing, he had mentioned that she possessed a bag and a map. Sera glanced up to the top right and saw the same transparent globe she had seen earlier. She tapped on it and it filled her vision, unrolling into a weathered scroll with continents inked in black on it. Most of the map consisted of darkened areas, but there was a spot of colour that indicated the town she was in. It was called Hearthwilde, and was a relatively small town on the outskirts of Glenwark Kingdom according to the label on the map. Sera made an outward pinching gesture with her fingers and zoomed further into the map until it enlarged into a map of the town.


    Apparently she was in the artisans and merchant¡¯s quadrant, which lay adjacent to the soldier¡¯s quarters. At the opposite end of the map was the Keep, which sat further up the winding hill road she had seen, right on the edge of a cliff top with a river bend cradling it on the other side. In the middle of the town was the square she had appeared in. Sera scanned the map until she found a nearby gate where she could exit into the surrounding wilderness. Then she minimised the map and opened her bag. She had seven slots in it and one was already taken up by a stone etched with the emblem of Hearthwilde¡ªan image of a firelit hearth overrun with thorny vines. She tapped on it and was informed that it was a Recalling Stone that would allow her to return to the large inn in the town¡¯s square if she needed to teleport to a safe area. She glanced about her again, noting how she was surrounded by mostly NPCs.


    All the other players¡ªaside from the other newbies hacking away at the dummies¡ªmust be outside the town proper. That was obviously where all the fun was. Sera glanced uncertainly back towards the training grounds, recalling the initialising sequence she had gone through. She had been scared out of her wits by her impromptu skydiving experience, and she knew from all the video clips she had seen of Elysia that dangerous monsters lurked in the wilderness and dungeons.


    But what was the worst that could happen?


    All right, MMORPGs normally involved a lot of violence, and Elysia¡¯s pioneering virtual reality version involved total immersion with an almost full spectrum of physical sensation. But it wasn¡¯t going to truly, physically hurt her. The pain she had felt from the man shoving her had not been that bad. And if she came across something truly terrifying and dangerous, she could run. She would definitely not be poking her nose into a dungeon, but if she did happen to die in this world, then she would just regenerate in the Church of Lost Souls or the equivalent church in this kingdom and continue on her way.


    She had nothing to lose, considering she probably had precious few hours left from the complimentary nanites that Elysium had given her for her trial. Best to use the time wisely and see as much of Elysia as possible before it ran out.


    Sera turned back to the training grounds and picked up one of the swords from the barrel of weapons next to the trainer. A silver notification appeared before her:


    Training Longsword


    Two-handed sword with a bit of rust, a slightly chipped blade and dull tip. Useful for hacking away at straw dummies and exerting blunt force trauma but not much else.


    Item Level: 1 - 5


    Class: So common, your grandma probably has one.


    Damage: 10 - 15


    Durability: 3/12


    The trainer gave her a glance out of the corners of his eyes but didn¡¯t say a word when she fastened the sword to her belt and began walking away down the street, in the direction of the gate.

 Chapter 5 - Razortusks and resurrections

    The gate was a modest-sized stone affair with a curved arch topped by a roughly hewn carving of a mallet and chisel. There were guards manning the iron bound doors. One of them quickly scanned her before moving on to study a man wheeling a barrowful of sacks behind her. Sera gave a smile to the other guard who was still looking at her and he straightened, clasping his halberd tighter against his shining chest plate. A trace of a smile lingered on his lips and she stopped to ask him a question.


    ¡°Praytell, where are the most scenic spots near town?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯m hoping to gather some mushrooms while I do some sightseeing.¡± She figured that she could trade the mushrooms to earn some money while she checked out the in game nature. It would be entertaining and profitable and would kill two birds with one stone. Sera smiled, proud at herself for being so efficient.


    The guards smile wavered as he looked at her until he caught sight of the sword on her belt. Then he smiled broadly and said, ¡°You may find edible mushrooms in the forests south of the town. Keep to the path parallel to the wall and do not venture too far into the forest, there are wild animals that roam there. If you follow it all the way to the end, you will come to a very nice glen for which the town is named, near the cliffs under the keep.¡±


    ¡°Thank you kindly,¡± Sera said, nodding at him. He tipped his helmet at her, then returned to a stiff position to guard the gate.


    She passed through the gates, and wandered along the wall. It was early morning in the game and the sun was warm on her skin. Sera looked around to make sure no one was watching then gave a little skip in the air. It felt exhilarating to be out of the town and not training like she was obviously supposed to be doing. She had followed the rules her entire life and always tried to blend in. But here, she could use antiquated English without the NPCs batting an eyelid and do whatever she wanted! There was no need to follow any rules or regulations, or bother about being monitored. So what if everything was made of 1s and 0s, it felt so real!


    Sera spotted a tree and ran towards it, her arms outstretched. She wrapped her arms around it and leaned her cheek against its trunk. The rough bark scraped her skin and she could smell a slightly woody scent and hear the rustling of the leaves above her. No little green sign popped up to tell her to unhand the tree. This was heaven!


    Sera released a soft sigh and stepped back. She gave the tree a small pat and began looking around for the path the guard had mentioned. It was easy to spot between the sparse foliage on the outskirts of the forest. She followed the little deer track along the wall, stopping now and then to pick a delicious looking mushroom. There were plenty all about her, nestled in the hollows between tree roots or growing from tree stumps. The first one she picked was a yellowish mushroom with green spots that caught her eye. When she pulled at the slender stems, several green notifications appeared:


    Journeyman shrooms x 1


    These mushrooms are packed full with nutrients that will boost your vitality. Eat a couple when you¡¯re injured or sick and restore your health!


    Level: All levels.


    Class: Common


    Use: Restores 5 health points per item over 5 seconds.


    Side Effect: Possible hyperactivity if eaten without illness.


    Price: 5 coppers a piece


    New Skill: Herbology Level 1


    This skill enables you to harvest herbs and basic plant life. As your skill grows higher you will be able to harvest larger amounts and more varieties as well as spot obscure items that can be harvested and turned into useful goods.


    Effect: Ability to pick and identify common herbs.


    Status: 1% progress to next level.


    Great! Sera began picking all the mushrooms she spotted as she walked along the trail. Most were brownish gold in colour with scalloped flat heads (Golden Fans, tasty, + health by five points, worth 2 coppers) or smooth white little button tops (Common mushroom, plain tasting, + health by 3 points, 1 copper), but she did manage to get another two bundles of Journeymen Shrooms, which made her quite happy. When she had filled most of her slots in her bag she began to hurry along the path, eager to reach the glen.


    She found it quite by accident. By this time the path she had been following had tapered out and the town wall had disappeared behind the trees. Sera began looking around to pick up the path again or catch sight of the wall. She was so engrossed in peering between the trees that she failed to notice that the ground beneath her had started to slope until she tried to take a step, missed it and began to fall head over heels, crashing through the underbrush.


    ¡°Argh!¡± Sera cried as she tumbled down to the bottom of the glen and splashed into a fast-flowing stream. ¡°Drat!¡±


    She was soaking wet but had luckily avoided being stabbed by her own sword. Her bag was also still slung over her shoulders and her map remained its virtual dry self. She put her items away and got to her feet gingerly. Something pulsed at the top of her vision, drawing her eye. A green health bar that had been almost unnoticeable in the background had come to the foreground. It was depleted by a fraction and the green had turned very faintly yellow. A red notification scrolled unobtrusively at the top of her vision.


    Impact! (5 damage received).


    ¡°No kidding,¡± Sera said. There were scrapes and bruises on her arms and her pants¡ªshe wore a plain brown tunic and brown trousers¡ªwere ripped at the elbows and knees. There was even a bump on her head that throbbed slightly when she touched it. Time to sample the goods, Sera thought.


    She pulled open her bag and drew out one of the Journeyman Shrooms. After some slight hesitation during which she contemplated whether she¡¯d need to cook the mushroom, she decided to just give it a go and popped the raw thing into her mouth. It felt spongy and melted on her tongue before she could identify what it tasted like. It was like eating slightly more substantial air, or fairy floss that wasn¡¯t sweet. Before her eyes, her health bar slowly increased to full length and a green notification popped up at the bottom of her vision. Her aches and pains stopped and her wounds faded though she could still make out faint scratches under the dirt.


    +5 to health


    ¡°That was easy,¡± Sera said. These mushrooms were quite handy.


    She dusted her fingers off and looked about the glen. It was lush and green with small gray and brown river stones gleaming along the tinkling stream and colourful dragonflies darting about the reeds. Furry patches of moss grew along the banks and sunshine dappled the water, shining in long beams of light through the leafy branches of bushes that extended over the top of the glen. Sera kicked off her plain leather shoes and began to walk through the stream, squeezing the slushy mud between her toes.


    ¡°Now this is what I call living the dream,¡± she said gleefully. If she tried this in real life, she¡¯d have to worry about mutant fish nibbling her toes or sewage and pollutants contaminating her skin. Either that, or the brook would be cordoned off for preservation or because it was on someone¡¯s private property.


    If there was nothing else she could enjoy in this world but the pristine nature, it was still be worth every minute, Sera thought to herself.


    She was about to break into song when she caught sight of something strange. It was a little flicker of blue flame that hovered by the side of a tree. She stared at it for a moment, wondering whether it was a will-o¡¯-the-wisp, and if so, what its presence meant. She tried tapping on it but all that came up was a notification:


    Spirit Orb. Regeneration in 28 minutes.


    Fascinating. But not much use.


    Sera was about to turn away when she spotted the most tantalising bunch of mushrooms she had seen so far in the game. They didn¡¯t look as pretty as the previous ones she had come across, being quite knobbly and rough and partially exposed in the soil under tree roots, like hurriedly buried turds. But if they were anything like their real world counterparts¡­


    Sera splashed through the water and climbed the bank to examine them. Her excitement grew when she caught a whiff of a subtle, almost-sweet aroma of onions, garlic and soil, despite the unnatural blue glow that surrounded the mushrooms.


    ¡°Are these for real?¡± Sera whispered. She reached out and tapped the little fungi.


    Scrumptious Trufflelumpscious x 1


    Aren¡¯t you lucky! These beloved mushrooms are the blue bloods of their species and are exceedingly rare and hard to find unless you have a pet hog. Oozing with scrumptious taste and powerful pheromones, these truffles may be eaten as is, used as an ingredient for cooking, or prepared for potion-making to make a powerful aphrodisiac. Use wisely as they attract and entrance not only eager humans but also hungry hogs.


    Level: All levels.


    Class: Uncommon


    Use: Food item or potion ingredient


    Side Effect: Irresistible attraction


    Price: 1 silver a piece


    ¡°Yes!¡± Sera squealed. Real truffles in the game! She had never even tasted one before in real life! She was so excited she immediately yanked at the mushrooms. But they wouldn¡¯t come away in her hands. A notice popped up.


    May only be harvested with Herbology Skill of >= 2


    ¡°Really?¡± Sera stared at the notification, thinking hard for a moment until the solution occurred to her. ¡°All right, just wait for it!¡±


    She immediately began to search the surrounding foliage for more mushrooms. The surrounding forest was full of will-o¡¯-the-wisps, but not so many mushrooms though there were plenty of shrubs, some of which she thought might actually be herbs. She began to pick every single one she could lay her hands on. It took her almost two hours of in game time¡ªwhich translated to about an hour of real time¡ªto pick enough to raise her level. By the time the sun was past its zenith, she had raised her skill level to Herbology Level 2. It was a bit of a waste that she forced to leave most of what she picked where she found them since she didn¡¯t have enough slots in her bag to store everything, but Sera made sure to choose only the most valuable varieties to carry in order to sell them later.


    After a glance at the digital clock in a corner of her view which indicated the time in the real world¡ªit was about 6 a.m., she had spent almost three hours in the game¡ªSera quickly made her way back to the glowing blue mushrooms.


    This time, the cluster of truffles came away easily in her hands, leaving a spray of faintly luminescent blue powder on the ground surrounding the crumbly earth. She lifted the handful to her nose and inhaled slowly, taking in the intoxicating smell of the fungi. It was amazing. Whoever had made this game had obviously put a lot of effort into making sure that some things looked and felt like they did in real life, aside from the blue glow. It must have taken years of effort to get the technology so far.


    Something rustled in the forest, interrupting Sera as she opened her bag to store the truffles.


    ¡°Hello?¡± Sera called out, wondering if it was an NPC or a player. She knew that if it was a player she could fall prey to being killed. PvP-ing was a common past time for competitive players who enjoyed dueling each other or bullying others who were lower down the leveling ladder. This far out of town, there would be no guards to come to her rescue and stop her from getting hurt. ¡°Is anyone there?¡±


    For long seconds no sound drifted to her ears. Sera stopped paying attention and began to turn back to her truffles.


    That¡¯s when the wild boar charged at her.


    Attack!


    Feral Razortusk Boar Level 5 sighted.


    It hammered the ground beneath its feet on the opposite bank, then leaped crashing down into the water, aiming right at her. Sera had barely any time to read the text and register what it was when the pig stabbed her with its sharp short tusks and flung her straight up into the air.


    You are skewered by the Feral Razortusk Boar! (15 Damage received)


    The wind whistled in her ears and she saw an arc of blood following the trail of her body while she plummeted down onto the ground. Her heart hammered in her ears and her vision whitened at the edges. A melodic drumming that sounded like battle music swelled at the edge of her hearing, turning louder as she focused on it.


    When she hit the ground her health bar pulsed yet again, and the colour that remained in it turned a nasty yellow.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Impact! (10 Damage received)


    Sera was still conscious though her body was a mass of pain. She had landed on the other side of the stream from where she had been standing. The truffles had fallen to the ground and were being devoured greedily by the boar. It snorted and made disgusting piggy noises of enjoyment. Sera got to her feet and pulled out the sword at her belt. It felt heavier and seemed longer than before, now that she was actually planning to wield it. The pig rolled its beady black eyes at her, tracking her movements without turning until she aimed the sword at it. Then it snorted, spun around on its small hooves, and charged at her with quick galloping hops.


    A clang sounded as it knocked her sword out of its way. This time, its tusks pinned her to the edge of the bank.


    Double goring! (30 damage received)


    Sera locked eyes with the boar. She still had her sword in her hand and she used it to whack the boar as hard as she could on its side.


    You smack the Feral Razortusk Boar! (5 damage inflicted)


    It squealed in pain then withdrew slightly and charged again, pushing her harder against the bank and shaking its head violently.


    Double goring! Critical Hit! (30 damage received)


    The pungent smell of wet boar was overwhelming but so was the metallic scent of blood. A third double goring impact from the boar caused Sera to shudder, the pain was bad but the helplessness was worse. The sword slipped from her hand to the ground and her health bar drained clean away.


    You have died.


    The words pulsed in red letters in front of Sera¡¯s vision and the world faded to a pale bluish-gray filter.


    ¡°Crap!¡± Sera¡¯s voice sounded exactly the same except that it had a slight echo. Something lifted her high up in the air and she looked down to see her body fall into the mud as the Razortusk strolled away disinterestedly. ¡°You damn pig! Just wait till I get back!¡±


    As furious as she was, Sera could not control her incorporeal body. No matter how much she wanted to wrench herself back to the riverbank and start pounding on the boar, her body, or rather, spirit, wouldn¡¯t obey her. She kept drifting higher and higher until the world faded to black.


    When she came to, she was in a small, open air church surrounded by low, stone walls. On either side of her were pews of NPCs on their knees, their hands uplifted as they prayed to a bright glowing orb at the front of the church. It levitated at the top of an ancient looking tree that seemed to be wrought by long, twisted vines which crept through the grass to intertwine with the pews and surrounding church walls. Nobody seemed to be able to see Sera.


    A notification appeared:


    You are a spirit. You may find your corpse and wait to resurrect. There is no health penalty for players below level 10.


    Sera looked about her and found she could still see the globe on the top right of her screen. There was the image of a skull hovering over the map approximately where she had been before she had died. Sera gritted her teeth and began to fly in the corresponding direction, moving her incorporeal body by sheer strength of will. She passed over the churchgoers like a ghost and zoomed down the gravel road. Thankfully the church was outside town but not too far from where she had died.


    She spotted the boar before she found her body. It was rooting on the bank, near the same tree under which she had found the truffles. Like the NPCs, it didn¡¯t seem to notice her approach. Sera slipped down the bank to her fallen body¡¯s side and crouched down to look at it. It was the first time she had been face to face with her in-game self since she had passed through the portal and it was a bit of a shock to encounter.


    The figure in front of her was sprawled on its side with one arm flung free and the other squashed under its body. There was a dark pool of blood under it, and viscera had fallen out of its pierced abdomen. Though it looked gruesome, the details were not as clear as what Sera imagined it would appear like in real life. There was a fuzziness over the gap in the abdomen that made the intestines identifiable but not too gruesome. The game had PG-rated the violence. Sera frowned, wondering at the wisdom of that. Killing and dying felt more or less real, so why didn¡¯t it look like it?


    She crouched to look into the face. It was exactly her own face, except with glassy eyes and a trickle of blood at the corner of its mouth. The hair even looked like her own hair, shoulder length with a slight wave and dark, as far as she could see in the washed out colours. Sera sighed. Her bag was around her shoulders and her sword was by her hand. When she did resurrect she probably would not have lost any possessions if someone didn¡¯t come along and take them.


    Another few seconds ticked by and Sera decided it would be a good idea to figure out where to go when she resurrected. She peered over the bank of the stream at the boar. It was rooting about under the tree. She was willing herself to float across the stream to look for another escape route when a countdown magnified in her vision. It had been there all the time, she realised, she just hadn¡¯t noticed it. The numbers flickered as they changed¡­4¡­3¡­2¡­1¡­


    Sera woke to a general ache throughout her body. She got to her feet as quickly as possible and headed to the opposite bank to the boar, hoping to make her escape.


    But it was not to be.


    The moment she woke, she knew the boar had detected her. An angry squeal and the pound of hoof beats reached her ears. Despite herself, Sera looked over her shoulder as she reached the bank, arms outstretched to climb it.


    Attack!


    You are under attack by a Feral Razortusk Boar Level 5.


    Double goring! (30 damage received)


    ¡°No!¡± Sera screamed. Her body jerked forward and pain bloomed in her back. ¡°You big brute!¡±


    She turned as the boar retreated. This time when it charged again she brought the longsword up with both hands and braced her legs against the soil of the bank. The boar dove at her without even blinking and skewered itself on the sword with the force of its charge. With a sharp pitched squeal it withdrew and slid off.


    You stab a Feral Razortusk Boar! (30 damage inflicted)


    ¡°Oh my!¡± Sera gasped. She was as shocked as the boar at the damage she had done. She quickly got into the same position. Luckily the boar wasn¡¯t very intelligent, or it just didn¡¯t want to give up. It charged her again, this time at a different angle, but Sera knew what to do. She repeated her move, making sure the pointy end of the sword was the first thing the boar contacted.


    You stab a Feral Razortusk Boar! (30 damage inflicted)


    This was awesome. There was no other word for it. She could see the boar¡¯s health bar and it was almost halfway depleted. She looked at her own to compare. It seemed like hers might be longer. She squinted at it and the bar lengthened by a fraction. It was growing!


    Her sword was knocked away in a clatter of tusks and metal. Oh no!


    Your sword has been critically damaged.


    Her sword burst into a swarm of metallic flakes that fluttered away in a breeze.


    ¡°Oh for the love of¡ª¡± Sera began to curse, before the force of the boar hitting her knocked all the breath from her lungs.


    Double goring! (30 damage received)


    The boar wasted no time in finishing the job. Before she could even think of punching it or doing something else but stand there, it delivered its final blow.


    Double goring! Critical Hit! (30 damage received)


    You have died.


    Sera would have kicked the Razortusk on her way up if her foot had been corporeal. As it was, her leather boot passed through it without ruffling a hair on its head. The boar gave a satisfied grunt and moved on, trampling over her body in the process.


    ¡°Arrgh!¡± Her spirit¡¯s scream echoed noiselessly through the glen.


    The next time she resurrected, Sera tried to sneak past the Razortusk and avoid fighting but somehow, maybe because she was too close to it, it got to her and killed her even faster than before. This happened a couple more times.


    Each time she resurrected, Sera got a few more paces away before the boar found her. She even discovered she could resurrect further from where her body had fallen. It would have been easier if she hadn¡¯t been forced to go slowly while climbing the bank, or if the boar had decided to wander somewhere further away. But it seemed to like to linger near that particular tree, probably because the truffles themselves kept regenerating there.


    Sera felt frustrated and trapped. It was as if the hog had a personal vengeance against her. The pain was so sharp and real that by her third death, Sera had begun to liken it to torture and began to wonder why she was playing such a traumatising game. Her rational mind told her she could log out at anytime, yet her stubbornness kept her going and would not let her quit. She wouldn¡¯t be defeated by a virtual pig!


    Finally, after what must have been her fifth death, while her spirit waited by the now crimson stream¡ªher blood had soaked through the earth and into the water¡ªSera spotted another way to get out of the trench of death as she had begun to call it. She had realised that the previous spot she had used before and had attempted to get to again after her first few deaths, would not work since it was too close to the pig. Subsequently, she had scouted the terrain further upstream and attempted to drag herself in that direction in the short few seconds she was alive each time before the boar got to her. It had paid off. Sera had just spied a larger than average bush with stout overhanging branches that might be within reach if she jumped as hard as she could. Just before her spirit dissolved into her body, she worked out a plan.


    As soon as she felt herself resurrect, Sera reached into her bag and tossed out some of the mushrooms she had picked away from her, then crammed several handfuls of Journeyman Shrooms into her mouth. A buzzy feeling immediately began to spread through her and she sped as fast as possible to the bush. An indignant grunt behind her almost distracted her but she kept her resolve and grabbed onto the low-hanging branches of the bush and hauled herself up and out of the glen.


    Only then did she spare a glance for the Razortusk. She peered cautiously over the edge of the steep slope and saw that it had charged towards her but given up when it couldn¡¯t catch up and then been side-tracked by the mushrooms she had thrown aside for it.


    ¡°Greedy pig,¡± Sera said, wishing she had some sort of ranged weapon to attack the boar while it ate. Then, just in case it decided to come after her after its short meal, she fled in the direction of the path, eager to return to the safe confines of the town. She stepped onto the small sandy trail with a sigh of relief and hurried along it.


    Ten paces later, she was face to face with another feral Razortusk.


    ***


    To say that Sera was fed up with pain and death would have been an understatement.


    The second boar was not the last one she faced while she ran through the forest¡ªit seemed that every wil-o''-the-wisp that she had previously encountered had been replaced by a fractious hog. Sera soon realised that the spirit orbs she had seen earlier must have been leftover from Feral Razortusks that another player had killed before she arrived. She survived longer by avoiding them once she knew this, but no matter how she tried to zig zag, outrun and sometimes to fight them with surrounding sticks or branches, Sera ended up dying a few more times when the buzz from the Journeyman Shrooms ran out. The good thing was she gained several new skills in the process, including Dodge and Sprint.


    You have gained a new Achievement: Circle of Death


    You have successfully died ten times within the space of ten minutes each time around! This is an unusual achievement indeed! Your spirit has gained the ability to achieve warp speed to reach your carcass and resurrection penalty time is now two seconds shorter.


    Sera rolled her eyes at the notification as she got to her feet after her latest resurrection.


    Without wasting time, she ran in the direction of the town gate. She was so close! Behind her thundered the hooves of the latest Razortusk she had encountered. Fear prickled down her spine and gave her feet wings and she sped as fast as possible towards the entrance.


    As soon as she got close enough, the guards noticed her and came out, their halberds pointed low. She sprinted past them and collapsed just behind the gateway, then watched as they stabbed and slashed the boar to death with practiced movements. Her stamina bar¡ªa blue one to the side of her health bar¡ªsteadily replenished while she panted for breath. She had gotten several notifications of her stamina running low during her run. Usually it happened just before she slowed down and got killed.


    ¡°Getting mighty aggressive lately aren¡¯t they,¡± one guard said to the other as they strolled back.


    The other guard¡ªthe smiley one¡ªSera noticed, nodded to him then bent down to speak to her.


    ¡°You all right ma¡¯am? I thought you had proper training, what with that sword and all. If you were being chased, why didn¡¯t you use the Recalling Stone to teleport back?¡±


    Sera¡¯s jaw dropped. The Recalling Stone? She fumbled with her bag and drew it out. The stone lay in her palm, round and warm and full of the promise of safety.


    She was such an idiot to have forgotten it!


    ¡°Uh¡­ well I just wanted the practice,¡± she lied.


    New Skill: Subterfuge Level 1


    You have discovered the skill of subterfuge! With increased awareness and practice of subterfuge, you will unlock additional subskills that will help you become a master of misdirection!


    Effect: Ability to perform basic subterfuge.


    Status: 1% progress to next level.


    Alignment: 1% Dark


    New Subskill: Deception Level 1


    More subtle than hacking away at someone, deception is a useful technique to get what you want. With increased proficiency, you will be able to bluff your way through anything without breaking a sweat.


    Effect: Ability to deceive others (includes NPCs and susceptible players)


    Status: 1% progress to next level.)


    The guard¡¯s skeptical expression slowly smoothened away and Sera saw the moment he decided to believe her.


    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s one way to do it.¡± He walked back to his post and took it, straightening into the same severe pose he had been in previously.


    Sera read through the notification and frowned.


    There were a few odd things about it. Besides the fact that the game had detected her lie¡ªthough, considering how closely it was monitoring her physiology, it wasn¡¯t surprising that it could apply lie-detection technology¡ªher little white lie had gained her an actual skill, Subterfuge, which had been listed to be effective against both players and NPCs. In addition, there was a new section about alignment, and apparently¡­ this skill had put her towards the direction of being¡­ dark?


    She wasn¡¯t sure how she felt about that.


    It had been a while since Sera had begun playing so she decided to figure it all out later. A glance at the real world clock showed her that it was past her normal wake up time. She quickly logged out.


    The world of Elysia faded away and Sera found herself in the same circular room she had seen the very first time she had put on the nanonode. However instead of a dull gray, the motes were colourful now and danced about to form characters and scenery from Elysia on the curved screen before her. Her eyes skimmed over the brilliant colours in appreciation, and when a snapshot of a town resembling Hearthwilde¡¯s central square appeared on the screen, she felt her heart leap in recognition. The town had truly been a beautiful place, the kind that didn¡¯t exist anymore except in history books and fairy tales.


    As Sera gazed at a cosy firelit scene at an inn, and then at an eagle¡¯s-eye view of a lake town, she realised that the cycle of pain and death she had just gone through couldn¡¯t quite cancel out the excitement and awe she had felt when she had stepped foot into Elysia. It had been a long time since she had felt such positive sensations. In fact, Sera realised with a disturbing feeling, even the fear she had experienced while skydiving and facing the Razortusks had made her feel more alive than she had for a very long time!


    Ping!


    Sera glanced to the side and saw movement in a corner of the room. She strolled over to have a look and saw Gilbert¡¯s log in along with hers beneath it. That was new. While she studied her log in picture and name, the notification of a new message that had popped up beside Gilbert¡¯s name turned gray.


    Again! It was still happening!


    Sera smacked Gilbert¡¯s log in name and a prompt appeared, asking for his password. As she stared at the blank space, a notification appeared, notifying her that her biometric data did not match his profile and that she couldn¡¯t log into it.


    Frustration and sadness boiled over, dampening the good mood she had experienced just moments ago. Sera bit her lip and removed the nanonode.


    ¡°Good morning, Sera,¡± Perry greeted her. ¡°I trust you slept well?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I began playing a virtual reality game, when I put this nanonode on Perry. But I did sleep well before that, thank you.¡±


    There was a short silence while Perry digested this new information and filed it away in his system.


    ¡°Excellent! Shall I read out this morning¡¯s news to you?¡±


    ¡°No thank you, Perry.¡± Sera didn¡¯t want to hear any negativity so early in the morning. The daily news was full of that these days. She walked to the washroom and began to go about her morning routine, trying to remember the tune of the song from Hearthwilde¡¯s tavern. She wished she had done more than just peek through the door.


    ¡°Very good. How about today¡¯s notifications? You have a new message from Monica.¡±


    Sera nodded absently, and began to brush her teeth. ¡°Go ahead, Perry.¡±


    There was a soft click, then Perry read Monica¡¯s message out. He tried to emulate her enthusiasm, but it just sounded wrong with his crisp new accent and automated intonation:


    ¡°Received at 8.23 a.m: ¡®Hey, Sera! I thought about what you said and I did some research. I think I know what those messages are about. It¡¯s a bit weird, so I think I better tell you in person. Anyway, I just thought I¡¯d let you know in case you were dwelling on them. I know I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop thinking about them, if it were me. I¡¯ve got to go now, a meeting is starting in like, five minutes. I¡¯ll see you for coffee later all right? Ciao!¡¯¡±


    ¡°Replay!¡± Sera gasped as she spat out toothpaste and rinsed her mouth. She dried her lips on a towel and listened to the message again.


    So, Monica thought she¡¯d found an explanation for those strange messages? Sera still couldn¡¯t imagine what it might be. But now that she had heard her message, she felt newly re-energised.


    The afternoon couldn¡¯t come soon enough!


    ¡°Call an autocar, Perry. I¡¯m going out in half an hour.¡±

 Chapter 6 - Kittilicious and ass kicking

    The cafe Monica had chosen was on the outskirts of the city. Sera took the autocar to a maglev station, then rode the maglev to the nearest stop before walking the short distance to the cafe.


    It was a humble establishment on the outside. There were neon stamps of paw prints on the sidewalk all the way up to the entrance which had a large cat in an alcove by the door¡ªa white maneki neko with a beckoning paw swinging from its shoulder¡ªand a screen displaying opening times, upcoming events and photos of the cats that lived in the cafe. Sera stood in front of the screen and it immediately switched to an appointment confirmation page. She selected hers and Monica¡¯s slot from the screen, which changed to display that her friend had already checked in.


    ¡°Hello, welcome to Kittilicious. Please sign the waiver for allergies, injuries and damages before entering. Don¡¯t be nervous, we have never had customers experience major injuries, though a cat encounter may result in small nips or scratches if the cat feels harassed. Usually nothing ever happens except that you have a Kittiliciously good time.¡± The voice recording sounded from the maneki neko. Sera peered behind it and made out a small speaker to the rear of the cat. ¡°The waiver can be accessed from the screen.¡±


    Sera signed the waiver and pressed enter. Immediately the front door clicked as it unlocked to let her in. She stepped through into a small square area. On her right was another second door made of glass that opened into the cafe proper. Sera passed through that as well.


    ¡°Good meowning!¡± said a waitress as she looked up at Sera, then checked the tablet in her hands. She looked young enough to still be in college or university and wore a cute blue dress with a lacy white apron and cat ears on a hair band in her curly dark hair. ¡°Oh wait, it¡¯s afternoon already. I usually take the earlier shift,¡± she added by way of explanation. ¡°Anyway, good fluffternoon! Miss Sera Ramond I presume? This way please, Miss Bayer is awaiting you.¡±


    She led Sera through the cafe, pointing out the coffee bar, the cat playpen, the rules, and the various posters on the wall that described individual cat personalities and behaviour. By the time they reached the table Monica was sitting at, Sera had learned not to speak too loudly, not to try to pick up any of the cats and not to use flash photography. The waitress seemed to be constantly distracted, pausing occasionally to give a customer advice on approaching a cat or to let Sera know which of the cats was having a good day or a bad one. It left Sera with no doubt that she was an actual human and she smiled sympathetically when the waitress paused mid-explanation to make a face at the sight of a hairball that a cat had coughed up in a corner.


    ¡°..so please place your orders via the screen. If you have any problems, press this button here and one of us will be with you as soon as possible.¡± The waitress gave them both a grin before leaving. ¡°Enjoy!¡±


    Monica was sitting at a table behind several potted plants, and at a short distance from the playpen. There was an alcove beside the table on which a fat marmalade tabby cat lay, its white furry belly stretched out for Monica to scratch. Sera gave Monica a hug, then patted the cat on its head as greeting.


    ¡°It¡¯s so good to see you again! You look well! I hope you didn¡¯t have any trouble finding this place?¡± Monica said as Sera sat down and removed her jacket and face mask. The air in the shop was fresher than the air in the rest of the city though it did smell like cat.


    ¡°Not at all,¡± Sera replied with a smile. It was nice to see her friend after so long. She hadn¡¯t yet had any visitors since she moved to the outer suburbs and she was missing company.


    They exchanged some more small talk while waiting for their refreshments to be served. Then Monica, who was never one to delay cutting to the chase, brought up Gilbert¡¯s strange messages.


    ¡°About those messages,¡± she began. ¡°I think I know where they¡¯re coming from.¡± She regarded Sera carefully. ¡°When Gilbert passed away, he left a lot of things behind in Elysium. One of them was a major kingdom in Elysia. When more players started playing the game and they released the second expansion, they had to incorporate Gamemasters to smooth over any problems players got into, either as a result of their own foolishness in trying to bend or break the rules or as a result of the way the game functions. Gilbert was one of them. His character ruled over Freyhelm in the North. When he died, the other Gamemasters were worried that the entire kingdom and the players who lived or passed through it would be put at risk.¡±


    ¡°Elysia can be dangerous for those who are inexperienced or vulnerable. There are jerks who get off on preying on other players, of course. That¡¯s a constant problem. But if you¡¯re unlucky, you might also be trapped in a peculiar pocket of the world where you may be killed repeatedly due to some quirk in the terrain or setting. Some players¡ªmost often the ones who are soloing¡ªcan¡¯t get out of such situations and need to be rescued,¡± Monica continued by way of explanation. She sounded a little impersonal, as if she was speaking to a client at work, but Sera was too interested to care.


    ¡°Usually the neuronodes detect critical levels of arousal and disconnect automatically before any real damage is done. But sometimes¡­ due to other players not following the rules or a glitch in the system, it doesn¡¯t work out. That¡¯s when Gamemasters step in. Its bad for the company if playing the game messes with people¡¯s psyches even if they¡¯ve signed the waiver. And then there¡¯s the old folk who begin playing just to try it out and end up dying from heart attacks. They usually don¡¯t know what they¡¯re getting into until they¡¯re in the game, because of the physical aspect of it, you know. It¡¯s so realistic.¡±


    Sera, took a bite of her bacon and ham sandwich and nodded, understanding what Monica meant perfectly. She chewed her mouthful viciously, recalling the pain and fear she had experienced just hours ago. She knew a more experienced player than herself would probably not have had any trouble in the same situation, but all the same, if she hadn¡¯t found a way to get out of the trench and hadn¡¯t been pre-exposed to Elysia through word-of-mouth from Gilbert and their friends, she might have fled the game and not looked back.


    ¡°Anyway, after Gilbert left there was a scramble to find a new Gamemaster for his territory. But when they checked the system, it became obvious that his duties had been more or less taken over by a superbot that he¡¯d trained to handle all the common issues. It¡¯s apparently quite exceptional, better than anything they¡¯ve seen before¡ªyou know Gilbert had a real talent for programming.¡± Monica paused to take a bite of her tiramisu cake. She gazed at Sera anxiously as she chewed, then took a sip of green tea latte.


    Sera nodded again, suppressing a twinge of pain at the memories that surfaced in her mind. Gilbert had indeed been very gifted and passionate about programming and machine learning. It had been what drew her to him at first, that gleam in his eye when he waxed lyrical over his newest project.


    ¡°Well, I heard from the grapevine that it¡¯s worked well enough as his replacement that they¡¯re not in a big hurry to substitute it with a real person. Though sometimes it does require some prompting, especially if it needs to work with a real Gamemaster. I expect that¡¯s what those messages are about. The superbot was simply being notified of issues that needed to be handled within its territory by another Gamemaster.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Sera sighed. It had been crazy¡ªand she hadn¡¯t realised it then¡ªbut¡­ the sight of the messages being read in real time on Gilbert¡¯s account, which had been so securely guarded, had awakened a sense of hope in her. Somehow at the back of her numb mind, probably fueled by her aching heart, she had built a pipe dream about Gilbert somehow, somewhere, still being alive.


    But that was all it had been. A dream.


    The hollow pain she had thought she had managed to quell began to fill her again, now that her hopes were revealed to be baseless. She lifted her cup and pretended to take a long sip of coffee to cover the wavering of her lips as she collected herself. Finally, when she felt more under control, she set the cup down with a clink. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a relief.¡±


    A short silence reigned between them. Monica snuck glances at Sera as she ate, obviously debating what to say next, while Sera pretended to gaze with interest at the cats in the playpen. The tabby in the alcove meowed and stood up. It yawned expressively, exposing the sharp tips of its teeth, and stepped sedately into Sera¡¯s lap before curling up into a ball like it had every right to be there. Despite herself, Sera broke into a smile. She gently rubbed behind the affectionate tabby¡¯s ears while it purred. It felt good to touch something warm and furry and full of life.


    That was it.


    Sera sucked in a deep, steadying breath as an idea occurred to her.


    Life had to go on didn¡¯t it. Gilbert was gone, but she still had to live and find ways to be happy. Sera suddenly realised what it was she wanted to do with all the free time she had on her hands now.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been dabbling in Elysia, I got a free trial after just looking at an ad, can you believe that, and I think¡­ I think I really like it there,¡± she glanced up at Monica, catching the look of astonishment on her friends face. ¡°I think I want to give it a real go.¡±


    ¡°Really? But I thought¡­ I thought you weren¡¯t interested in exploring virtual worlds! Remember, I offered to bring you to¡­¡± Monica blushed slightly and lowered her voice, glancing around at the nearby tables, ¡°¡­to the Oasis that one time? You wouldn¡¯t budge an inch. What changed your mind?¡±


    Sera struggled to stop her lips from curling into a smile. The Oasis was a reverse harem game that Monica had discovered two years or so ago and had fallen utterly in love with. She had been so obsessed with it that she had wanted to drag Sera into it too by tempting her with pictures and whispered reconstructions of scenarios she had experienced. But while Sera had enjoyed the voyeurism, the game hadn¡¯t felt appropriate for her. It was all right for Monica since she was a self-professed bachelorette who didn¡¯t want to ever get married, but a virtual relationship on top of what she had with Gilbert? It didn¡¯t seem right.


    ¡°I just¡­ it¡¯s amazing. Better than what I thought it would be,¡± Sera said with a shrug. How could she describe the sensations? The detail? The knowledge that a whole world, a new and untarnished one, was laid out at her feet, ready for her to explore? Monica of all people should understand. She was an old hand at VR gaming after all. ¡°I think I was too hasty in dismissing it. Gilbert didn¡¯t push me into trying and now I feel¡­ like I missed out.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°You¡¯re not¡ª¡± Monica¡¯s eyes widened and she stared at Sera anxiously. ¡°I mean, you shouldn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, no, this is totally not about him,¡± Sera said quickly, waving her hands. The tabby meowed indignantly and she went back to patting it. ¡°It¡¯s about me. It¡¯s about what I think I¡¯d like to do. I have all this money now and¡­ you know how I¡¯ve never had any time to just stop and relax. I need a break and I think Elysia is the best place I can go to get it.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ what are you planning?¡±


    ¡°I need time to get into the game. I¡¯m such a noob at the moment,¡± Sera said, recalling the player who had yelled and shoved her. ¡°I¡¯m going to go all in. I¡¯m talking¡ª¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking deep immersion,¡± Monica finished for her. Her beautiful sea green eyes looked worried and a frown marred the smooth skin of her forehead. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Sera¡­ you¡¯re a nice girl, Elysia¡¯s full of you know¡­ young men and boys who won¡¯t stop for anything in their way. It¡¯s all about leveling, killing monsters, and¡ª¡±


    ¡°What makes you think I can¡¯t do that?¡± Sera said with an arched brow. Monica had only met her and gotten to know her as Gilbert¡¯s wife before they became friends in their own right, and Sera had been careful not to speak too much of her life¡­ before. Now that Gilbert was gone, she felt her old self clawing back to the surface. The harder, untempered Sera who didn¡¯t have someone precious to hold back for. Who had nothing else to lose.


    Something in her tone must have helped convey it all to Monica. Her friend looked at her thoughtfully and tapped her chin. ¡°Of course you could, if you really wanted to,¡± she said, backing down. ¡°I assume you¡¯re talking months then? You¡¯ll need a personal neuropod if you want non-stop immersion.¡±


    Sera¡¯s eyes widened and dismay began to shake her conviction. Personal neuropods took from weeks to months to arrive since they usually had to be pre-ordered. Large businesses always had an upper hand given that they ordered them in bulk. ¡°Ah¡­ I didn¡¯t think of that.¡±


    Monica waved her hand dismissively. ¡°Leave it to me, I¡¯ll get one delivered to you by the day after tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sera exclaimed. ¡°But how?¡±


    ¡°There are perks to being the CEO¡¯s daughter,¡± Monica said with a wink. ¡°There has to be with all the work I do on the side,¡± she said grumpily. ¡°Talk about a family business. It¡¯s more business than family, sometimes.¡±


    Sera smiled gratefully and reached out to take Monica¡¯s hand. Her friend was pure gold. ¡°Tell me all about it,¡± she said, and they fell into the familiar pattern of conversation they usually had whenever they met up.


    ***


    Monanica: Hey, Zoidberg. Are you there?


    Jordan frowned and ignored the message littering his view. He was in a middle of a dungeon raid, damnit! He finished his spell and watched as it streamed from his fingers to join the incantations from the other mages. The pooled magic took on the shape of a bird resembling a phoenix, except that it looked skeletal and its feathers were a toxic blackish green. The bird flew up above the boss¡¯s head, spread its wings and began to rain glowing green fire down onto him and his minions. It burnt holes in his armadillo-like armour, decimating a good chunk of his health over time and killing a few of his spawn who happened to be nearby. The boss roared and stomped the ground, then lowered his head and flung out a series of jagged scales from his back. New hatchlings burst through the cracks in the floor and began charging at them while the boss released a powerful ear-shattering roar. Jordan dodged between the waves of scales, but couldn¡¯t avoid the sonic impact. It hit him like a physical wall.


    Blood began to drip from his nose and he staggered to hide behind a pillar on shaky legs as Elronin, a Paladin who had newly joined their group, charged past him, leading a second wave of tanks. Elronin and another tank pulled the boss¡¯s attention while three others began fighting the minions and another team sneaked around to the back of the boss. Together, they provided enough distraction for the first wave of tanks to dart back and withdraw. Jordan moved further back too as minions who¡¯d gotten loose trailed behind the retreating tanks. Archers helped to pick them off, while a group of mages sent spells at the boss and the newly spawned minions to slow them down. Green light limned the retreating fighters as healers quickly sent healing spells at them. A glow temporarily enveloped Jordan and he lifted his arm in thanks to Nimue, who spared him a thumbs up before she turned back to watch Elronin.


    Monanica: Hey.


    Jordan alternated between observing the movements of the various groups and tracking the progress of his mana being replenished. As soon as it hit the threshold he began to weave his next spell to kite the monster again. Another wave of attacks thundered past and he ducked behind another pillar.


    Monanica: Hey.


    His attention wavered but Jordan gritted his teeth and ignored it. The first boss had retreated, giving way to a second one that fell from the ceiling in a ¡®surprise¡¯ attack amid an eruption of new minions that burst out of the ground. The new boss also had scales like the first boss, but they were interspersed with rows of sharp spikes that gave it an almost furry look. It slammed its tail down and swept it around in a spin that broke the players ranks. Scrambling to re-organise, the tanks swapped again just before the new boss released a wave of spikes and scales that punched through the front lines and bled through to the second. He then curled up and began to roll about the dungeon, scattering players yet again.


    The healers went into a healing frenzy while they tried to sort through the chaos and keep the current front-liner¡¯s healths high enough for them to take their turn while not allowing the retreating players to die from their critically decimated health. Already a few had succumbed, their corpses laying where they¡¯d fallen into a dirt nap. The archers and mages were running out of health too. Jordan began chanting under his breath. He exchanged signals with the mage on the other side of the dungeon and prepared to take his turn to cast his spell.


    Monanica: Hey!


    Just a few more seconds¡­ he told himself, trying his best to stay focused.


    Monanica: Hey, if you don¡¯t reply to me, I¡¯m going to tell your mom you¡¯re still sneaking time in Elysia after you failed two of your mid-terms.


    Jordan¡¯s attention wavered and his spell fizzled out.


    The mage¡¯s spell zoomed out towards the second boss, momentarily paralysing him and a chunk of his minions for a few precious seconds. The tanks leaped forward to attack, but without Jordan¡¯s support, the damage was not enough.


    Shit, shit, shit, Jordan cursed and tried to rescue his spell. But it was too late. The dregs had disappeared and if he wanted to recast it, he¡¯d have to start from the beginning.


    The tanks began to swap again, but the boss didn¡¯t retreat or slow in its pursuit of the front players. Worse, the first boss made a reappearance, its health newly recovered. He released another ear-shattering scream and together with the second boss, began to thrash both sets of players, sending them flying left right and center. Without anyone to hold their minions in check, the spawn charged forward in packs, jumping and swarming like locusts. Jordan¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he saw Nimue fall under three savage creatures with segmented bodies and too many legs, her horrified screams echoing above the clicking of their pincers. Something hit him from the side and he felt the flesh tear at the bottom of his neck.


    A minute later, his vision spun, then bounced. He stared at what was left of his body, it¡¯s severed neck pumping dark blood onto the floor in an expanding puddle that bled into the grooves of the dungeon floor to join the other dark streams from the fallen players.


    Critical damage. You have died.


    The group speech stream¡ªwhich Jordan had dialed low since he had already memorised their strategy and it sometimes distracted him while fighting¡ªbecame so loud and vehement that it sounded like the buzzing of angry bees. Jordan¡¯s stomach curdled. Most of the swearing was aimed at him, and he knew he deserved it. He switched it lower, then turned it off as he read through the new message that had popped up.


    Monanica: Hey! Are you ignoring me?


    Jordan snarled. It was his aunt. It was all her fault! He responded furiously.


    Incinderfella: WTF!? You just got me killed! I¡¯ve been trying to get in on this raid for days! My team was counting on me! What on earth could be so important that you¡¯d¡­


    Monanica: I need to pull in that favour you owe me. Remember? The really BIG one?


    Jordan froze. His spirit had appeared sitting in one of the pews of the church he¡¯d chosen to respawn too¡ªthankfully none of his team had chosen it too¡ªand now he slumped back in it, his head lifted to stare up at the vaulted ceiling. His breathing, which had come fast and shallow during the fight and after his death, stuttered to a stop. He paused, flashes of conflicted thought and feeling running through him. Finally, he sighed and drew in a deep breath before letting it out in a slow hiss. Closing his eyes, he replied.


    Incinderfella: Fine. What is it?


    When he opened his eyes again, the words were scrawled across his vision without him needing to type anything. His node was so well synced to him it could probably read his memories and change his personality into a real life evil kenivel death lord if it wanted to, if, of course, it had any A.I remotely attached to it. Which it didn¡¯t, Jordan was almost a hundred percent sure.


    Monanica: I have a friend¡­ she¡¯s going to deep dive into Elysia, but she¡¯s never really played before. I want you to take care of her. Make sure she doesn¡¯t get into too much trouble.


    Incinderfella: Are you kidding me? I¡¯m not a babysitter. Wait. What kind of friend?


    Jordan harboured a quick fantasy. His aunt was drop dead gorgeous (for her age) and hung out with a huge variety of women¡­ He knew from seeing the online society streams that some of them were stunning, young and famous¡­ a few were even in their early twenties, which was at least somewhat close to his age.


    Monanica: She¡¯s a new widow =_=


    Incinderfella: Oh. So not interested. Why don¡¯t you do it yourself?


    Monanica: Can¡¯t. No time, too busy at work. Am supposed to be working right now actually. She shouldn¡¯t be that lame or anything, I think, so it won¡¯t be too much of a hassle. Just an hour or two a day to check up on her (in between your studies!), that kind of thing.


    Incinderfella: Nope.


    Monanica: You. Owe. Me.


    Incinderfella: ¡­how about something else?


    Monanica: I¡¯m running to Melissa¡­.


    Incinderfella: I¡¯m not underage. Mom can¡¯t stop me.


    Monanica: Then I¡¯ll let your friends know about what happened in that harem¡­ what was it you told that MAN again? Oh yeah, and after just two meetings¡­ you said, ¡®Hey babe, wanna come over IRL? I got some lov¡ª¡±


    Incinderfella: Fine. One session.


    Monanica: No. First 30 levels.


    Incinderfella: You gotta be kidding me! That will take weeks if not months, if she¡¯s useless. Maybe even years if she¡¯s especially pathetic. No deal.


    Monanica: I¡¯ve got some filter-less snapshots of you two riiiiight here, in all kinds of interesting positions. He¡¯s kind of a brawny guy isn¡¯t he? You make an odd couple without the persona-filters. Personally, I think his skirt is a little tooooo short, wouldn¡¯t you say? You can almost see¡ª


    Incinderfella: Seriously??? You¡¯re blackmailing me? Your own NEPHEW? You know I was the victim in that situation, right? I still have nightmares, man¡­


    Monanica: I know you had no idea who he was, but you sure weren¡¯t a victim, dear nephew of mine. And I¡¯m not blackmailing you. I¡¯m just pulling in a favour at the moment. If you co-operate, these pictures and any history between you two will completely disappear. I helped you cover it up and I¡¯ll make sure it all stays that way.


    The unspoken words, ¡®If you help me¡¯ floated between the two of them, unwritten but still understood. Jordan sighed. He knew his favourite aunt most likely wouldn¡¯t totally condemn him if he refused¡ªshe¡¯d hold back on the steamier screenshots, even if she blabbed the story¡ªbut the fact that she was using them to call in her favour meant that this was something important to her.


    Incinderfella: Fine. First 5 levels. If there had been a physical keyboard in front of him, he would have been punching the keys.


    Monanica: 20.


    Incinderfella: 10.


    Monanica: Deal.


    Jordan groaned.


    Incinderfella: If she¡¯s pathetic, I¡¯m out, just so you know.


    Monanica: If she¡¯s pathetic after you¡¯ve had a hand in training her, someone should kick your ass.


    Jordan smiled at the hint of confidence his aunt had in him.

 Chapter 7 - Revelations and Rendezvous

    Sera checked her preparations, going all over them once more, just in case. She had positioned the nanopod in her living room, in front of the glass windows which were tinted so people couldn¡¯t look in but she could still look out. It had been fully loaded with enough vials of nanites suspended in Aquavivo¡ªan enhanced mix of fluids that would nourish her body while supporting her immersion¡ªfor at least four weeks. Her home security settings were updated to her prefences and she had linked her console notifications to her Elysium account so she could handle anything in-game if she needed to.


    Taking a deep breath, Sera climbed into the nanopod. It looked like a cryopod with a sleek fiberglass surface except that it was much larger and rounder and had segmented arm, leg and body brackets that would mold to key sections of her limbs to allow for actual movements. Whatever actions she made in game would be performed by her own body within reason, so that her muscles would not waste away while she was immersed. The pod was even lined and cushioned with a plush bamboo fiber interior that would mold to comfortably support her body when she chose to lie down and sleep. Beneath all the visible mechanical equipment were more high-tech installations like sensors and nanopatches that would serve to monitor her health in real life while boosting her in-game sensations by stimulating the various nerve clusters on her body. It was all so luxurious and expensive that Sera was in awe.


    A little robot wheeled up to her.


    ¡°Sera, would you require anything before your immersion?¡± Perry asked. She gazed at her Butler¡¯s new body. She had indulged in it when she realised she might need help if something went wrong with the pod. It was white and sleek and expandable to a full human size, though at the moment Perry was in his compressed physical mode. ¡°Perhaps a drink of water or a snack?¡±


    She thought for a while. There were a few implements in the nanopod that were designed to be as innocuous as possible that the brochure had explained would automatically activate without needing her input to help her with bathroom needs. But she had been warned not to eat anything for twenty four hours before immersion and though she was hungry, she shook her head. ¡°No thanks, Perry. Are you clear on your instructions while I am under?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. No visitors allowed. Camera and audio recording at all times. Health and location monitoring activated. You have also hooked me up to the nanopod so that I may share the data on your brain activity. If critical arousal or health impediment occurs, I will initiate shut down procedure or if required, terminate the nanopod¡¯s energy input. Emergency contacts are¡­.¡±


    Sera listened carefully as Perry continued through his list of orders. It hadn¡¯t been referenced in the brochure, but Sera was not going to put all her trust into Elysium¡¯s technology to keep her safe. She had invested in a top of the range Butler and was going to make sure to make the best possible use of him.


    ¡°Sounds good, Perry,¡± she replied when he was done. She took a final look around the room and in particular at the sun which she could see rising in the distance, then shed her clothes and stepped into the pod. She lay down into the dim interior and pulled the cover down. The nanopod¡¯s mechanism hummed slightly as it came to life and the machine tipped forward and up, orienting her into an upright mode. Perry wheeled himself to the front of the pod so she could see him through the visor. He gave her a mechanical thumbs up to indicate all was well and a green, pixelated smile spread across his interface screen. Sera smiled back, unable to help herself. What would she do without Perry?


    Probably die and wither away in the apartment without anyone noticing. She didn¡¯t even have cats to help dispose of her body. Sera shook her head to dispel the gruesome thoughts, and reminded herself that she had backed Perry up on multiple servers and ordered an extra body for him in case this one got spoiled and he needed one to get her out of the pod. All contingencies were prepared for.


    With the serenity of someone who was going to delve for a month into a violent and uncertain virtual world they had only visited once before, Sera closed her eyes and tapped the button that began the initialisation sequence. The bracket closed about her hands and the implements¡­ did unmentionable things to her body that made her jump and her eyes fly wide open. Then the nanopatch attached to the back of her neck and all the minute physical sensations seeped away.


    She was back in the circular room, staring at a password prompt. Her biometric data was already synced. Sera had barely begun to think of ducks, ramekins and a few notes of Mozart¡¯s famous piece when she felt herself transition into Elysia.


    ***


    She dropped down onto Hearthwilde¡¯s main street, jostling a plump woman who had a basketful of clothes balanced on top her head. The washerwoman squawked in surprise and jiggled about, trying to keep the basket stable while she stared at Sera with wide eyes. Sera reached up to help her and saw the remnants of a web of light on her arms. Beam me down, Scotty.


    ¡°Sorry, ma¡¯am,¡± Sera said apologetically. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to surprise you.¡± She looked at the woman curiously, wondering why she looked so familiar, then realised she had been one of the washerwomen who¡¯d beckoned to Sera at the fountain.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s all right, my dear,¡± the woman said once she had her basket securely balanced again. She looked Sera up and down. ¡°You must be one of those vagabonds. Are you on the way to the market?¡±


    ¡°Why, yes,¡± Sera said, looking up the road. The market square was just opening for the day. ¡°I¡¯m hoping to sell some herbs and mushrooms that I gathered.¡±


    ¡°Any wild meat?¡± the washerwoman asked, a hungry look on her face. ¡°Not many hunt hereabouts these days.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry, I don¡¯t have any.¡± If she had managed to kill at least one Razortusk she might have some, Sera thought ruefully. Unfortunately they had done a better job of killing her than she had done them. Absently she wondered if Razortasks knew to harvest player meat, then decided that the concept was ridiculous.


    ¡°A pity,¡± the woman said, shaking her head. ¡°I haven¡¯t had a decent game pie in ages.¡± She raised her hand in farewell, then continued walking down the slope. ¡°Let me know if you do go hunting, my husband is a butcher, but he¡¯s no hunter. We¡¯d be happy to buy some meat off of you. I¡¯ll be at the fountain square if you want to find me. If you¡¯re too worried about jumping right into it, you could visit the training grounds first.¡±


    Quest Alert!


    Level: >= 1


    ¡®I want wild meat! The bloodier the better!¡¯ says Arleen the washerwoman. ¡°My butcher husband can carve them up with the best of ¡®em but put him in front of a wild animal and his knees turn to jelly. I can¡¯t believe I married that man!¡¯


    You have spoken to Arleen and discovered that behind her peaceful and motherly persona lies a rapacious hunger for game meat. Fulfill Arleen¡¯s request (and save her poor husband from his woes) by hunting the pesky jackalopes near Farmer Jonston¡¯s farm and bringing her 10 jackalope hind legs for their dinner.


    Reward: Her husband¡¯s old cleaver and eternal gratitude, 5 coppers and 100 experience points. Accept/Decline.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Sera said, watching as the quest bubble followed Arleen as she walked down the street. Who knew the woman had such an insatiable side. And who knew, that the NPCs around her had quests just waiting for her to take up. Oh wait¡­ this sounded like something Gilbert had told her about. Sera sighed, realising that this was why the women at the fountain had been smiling and waving to her when she¡¯d popped into the game the first time around. If she had actually stopped to talk to them she might have been given an easy quest to help her transition into the game. For a moment, she wanted to run after the woman and accept the quest. But the lure of the market and her heavy, full bag made up her mind for her. She had something else to get done.


    Sera climbed the sloping road to the marketplace and began to browse the stalls. It was set up like a farmer¡¯s market with brightly striped tents to block the sun and fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses laid out on tables and stands. Cooked food sizzled on grills and hot plates and buskers and performers entertained the crowd. She approached someone selling vegetables and offered to sell her pickings.


    ¡°Oh! You¡¯ve got wild sage, silky chamomile, leprechaun¡¯s bane, and a handful of golden fans!¡± the man exclaimed when she produced what she¡¯d picked. Not very good condition, you¡¯ve squashed them quite badly¡ª you¡¯ve got to do more training to get better quality herbs next time¡ªbut considering what slim pickings we¡¯ve been having these days¡­ tell you what, I¡¯ll give you 50 coppers for the lot!¡±


    Sera blinked in surprise. That was a little over what the herbs were worth at full price. She quickly accepted the money with a hasty nod. ¡°Thanks so much! Here, have this too, it¡¯s free as lagniappe,¡± she said, handing him the last of her common mushrooms. She had only five of them after all, that was as much as she had been able to squeeze into the final slot in her bag.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± the man said.


    He looked surprised, so Sera smiled sweetly at him and said, ¡°My pleasure. I should be thanking you for wanting to buy them actually, since the herbs aren¡¯t in good condition. If you don¡¯t mind me asking,¡± she continued as she pocketed the money, why are you willing to pay so much for these? I remember them being a little cheaper when I picked them just a few days ago.¡±


    The man gazed at her with increased astonishment, then looked around at the other vendors. He leaned in and gestured for her to lean in too.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying this, because you look very¡­ uhm¡­ new. But there aren¡¯t many of your kind around here, given the war that¡¯s just been announced. Everyone but the locals have hit the road to get in on the action. The ones that stay just come to explore our catacombs, or dungeons as they like to call them. They don¡¯t do much harvesting around here, and we locals don¡¯t wander in the wilderness like you folk do. So prices for wild herbs and game meat are going up and up on the local market in Hearthwilde. If you were a savvy kind of journeywoman, you could make a fine business selling your pickings here. Especially the rarer ones. Of course that won¡¯t work on the auction, since that¡¯s worldwide and run by and for your kind of people.¡±


    He leaned back and gave her a wink.


    Sera took her time taking it all in. Players were scarce in these parts. There were two types of markets, a local market for NPCs and players, and auctions which was just for players.  And¡­. ¡°A war?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± he said in a casual tone as if wars broke out every other day. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? Glasspear has finally declared war on us. The High King is calling in all his warriors and recruiting as many journeymen and -women as he can from his vassal states to join his cause. Our small towns are emptying because you lot are going to Glenwark.¡± He shook his head ruefully. ¡°Everyone wants to be a hero.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ why a war?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, ma¡¯am, I¡¯m just a fruits and vegetables farmer. Can¡¯t tell you more than that. All I know is they¡¯re always fighting over something. One day it¡¯s shards, the next day it¡¯s territory and the week after that it¡¯s princesses. If you want to find out more about our history, you should head to the library and check out the Archives.¡± He gave her a wry smile then turned away to attend to a customer.


    Sera nodded back at him and turned away. A slew of notifications appeared in front of her.


    You have formed a relationship with the Farmer¡¯s Guild!


    Since you were kind in giving away some of your goods to Jorah, the fruit and vegetable seller at Hearthwilde¡¯s marketplace, you have gained +10 goodwill points among the Farmer¡¯s Guild. This awards you  with +1% possibility of discounts when buying produce.


    A Pleasing Countenance!


    Your giving and honest nature has been noticed by the locals. Your persona has taken on a pleasing countenance and you have gained +1 point for Charisma.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    You have completed a transaction!


    Congratulations on learning to trade! You¡¯ve taken the first step towards being an Elysian tycoon! Be wary of carrying too much money on your person, however, as it will fall as loot should you succumb to death. For security, you may choose to store what you earn in your local bank, which is accessible from any town in Elysia.


    Sera could skip for joy. This game was becoming a breeze. She sailed away with her coppers in hand, looking for things to buy. She skimmed over the food since she did not feel hungry and headed straight to the section on clothes. She had spotted some interesting and brightly coloured designs from several stalls and she was dying to see what was on offer.


    On her way, she paused at a tent that looked a little odd. Instead of racks of fresh meat or vegetables, it contained several tall banner stands with images of houses and rooms. A couple looked like they were advertising whole villages.


    ¡°Hello, hello, hello!¡± a woman popped up beside her, speaking in a gushing voice that made her words were barely understandable. ¡°Are you looking to buy your own home? Can¡¯t stand renting at an inn anymore? We have the loveliest accommodations a journeywoman like¡ª¡± her words died on her lips as she looked Sera up and down, noting her plain brown tunic¡ªblood splattered, full of holes and muddy¡ªher lack of shiny weapons, and her worn out boots.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Sera asked with interest. ¡°Are you selling houses?¡±


    ¡°Uhm, well¡­ only if you can afford it.¡± The woman gave her a queasy smile. All her sparkle drained away and she looked at Sera as if she were something she had found sticking to her shoe. ¡°It¡¯s expensive to buy your own, but a lot safer than questing for it. Not that you¡¯re in danger of doing either¡­¡± she said, whispering the last sentence from a corner of her mouth, her eyes almost bugging out as she turned to look away from Sera.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Sera said, shocked at the blatant rudeness. ¡°What makes you think I don¡¯t have the money?¡±


    The woman looked pointedly at the coppers Sera held in her fist with raised brows, then reached a hand out to smoothen the banner for a lovely, rustic cottage on the outskirts of Hearthwilde. Sera felt her face heat up. She stared at the woman, noting her lovely creamy green dress and carefully curled hair. She looked like the proprietress of a well-to-do business. As she stared, the woman angled her body away from Sera as if by ignoring her existence, Sera might very well disappear.


    ¡°No matter how I might look, I do have a lot of money. I could buy this house right here on the spot!¡± Sera said, studying the picture of the cottage. It did look quite lovely, with neat rose bushes and a curving stone path that led right up to the front door. It was sort of true¡­ if she converted her money in real life to Elysium coins she could definitely afford the house.


    ¡°You must think I¡¯m a fool,¡± the woman scoffed loudly. She held out a dainty hand¡ªevery finger had a ring, some of them even had two¡ªand pointed out a gold ring with a little green gem in it to Sera. ¡°This is charmed to detect lies. Stop wasting my time or I¡¯ll call my guards.¡±


    ¡°How dare you,¡± Sera began, annoyance bleeding into her voice, ¡°I¡¯m a journeywoman, and I have a lot more resources than you may be able to see on me at the moment. And how can you speak like that to me¡­ aren¡¯t you just an NPC?¡±


    The woman¡¯s eyes widened in outrage, but before she could say anything, hands closed about Sera¡¯s shoulders, and the shadow of a very tall person fell across the proprietress. The woman looked up, her mouth falling open in awe and her eyes taking on a delighted sheen.


    ¡°Beg pardon,¡± a deep voice said. ¡°Miss¡­ Delora, is that right? It¡¯s a pleasure to make your very lovely acquaintance. I¡¯m sorry if my friend here is bothering you. She¡¯s just starting out and knows absolutely nothing of our world. You understand don¡¯t you? You seem like a very kind and understanding sort of woman.¡±


    Sera whirled around in time to see the player behind her give the proprietress a wink and a smile.He was tall and pale, with glowing purple eyes and spiky blond hair that fell about his face in artful locks. He was clad in a dark crimson jacket with a high collar and silver buckles running down its length. The jacket hugged a muscular V-shaped torso and ran down in long panels to overlay leather pants and heavily buckled boots. Spiky steel gray epaulets with swirling crimson centers capped his shoulders, helping to secure a long black shadowy cloak that swirled behind him. One of his gauntleted hands gripped a long black staff capped with a shrunken head and the other reached out over Sera¡¯s shoulder¡¯s to take the proprietresses¡¯s hand. As he bent to press a kiss against it, Sera got a good view of the vertical halo over head. It glowed a toxic purple and was made of runic symbols that seemed to shift and fade from one symbol to another. The player reeked of power and strength, and the lopsided smile he gave the proprietress appeared strangely charming considering his lips were a corpse-like blue.


    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Sera blurted out. She didn¡¯t like being apologised for.


    ¡°I¡¯m your only friend at the moment,¡± the player whispered to her as he straightened. The proprietress giggled as she drew back her hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry my lady, but we have to take our leave now.¡± He pulled Sera away from the front of the stall.


    ¡°Come back any time,¡± she called out. She placed a hand on a hip, jutted it out at an angle and waved at him seductively, making sure to use her left hand which unlike her heavily laden right hand, had absolutely no rings on it.


    ¡°What is she doing? She looks ridiculous!¡± Sera ground out when they were several feet away. ¡°And I don¡¯t know you, so stop pretending!¡± She held her hand up to cover his torso, and a label popped up revealing his player name.


    ¡°Incinderfella! What kind of name is that?¡± Though it did sounded vaguely familiar.


    ¡°It¡¯s not polite to call them NPCs to their face. It¡¯s like a bad word. Any more provocation and she might have called her guards. You¡¯re lucky my charisma is quite high,¡± the warlock replied with a frown. ¡°And Incinderfella is a perfectly good name! It¡¯s a pun, don¡¯t you get it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I get it,¡± Sera replied. ¡°Sounds like someone has a princess complex,¡± she mumbled to herself.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± she said more loudly, ¡°Who are you, and what did you think you were doing, sticking your nose into my conversation?¡± Oddly enough, being anonymous in the game helped release Sera¡¯s inhibitions. In real life she would probably have not been quite so upfront and rude herself.


    ¡°Saving your butt! I¡¯m Jordan, Monica¡¯s nephew. She sent me here to look after you, and I came just in time, didn¡¯t I? A minute later and you would have been trounced by Miss Delora¡¯s guards!¡±


    And there went her anonymity. It flew out the window, along with her peace of mind.


    ¡°What?¡± Sera spat. ¡°Monica¡¯s what?¡±


    ¡°Ne¡ªphew,¡± Jordan said loudly and slowly as if she were hard of hearing. ¡°Her sister¡¯s son. That¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°And she sent you here to¡­ check up on me?¡± Sera spluttered. How could her friend do that? She felt almost betrayed. Why did Monica have to be such a busybody!


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t take it out on me,¡± Jordan said. ¡°I have better things to do with my time, believe me.¡±


    ¡°Then go,¡± Sera retorted. ¡°I don¡¯t need a kid looking out for me.¡±


    ¡°No can do, I owe her a favour and I¡¯m obliged to follow through on this. I promised her I¡¯d stick around for your first ten levels. And I¡¯m not a kid, I¡¯m in college.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t I get a say in this? I came here to relax, not deal with people I know in real life!¡± Sera began to storm through the market. She reached a clothing stall and began to rifle through the garments after giving the owner a quick smile. He looked curiously at Jordan and her but didn¡¯t say anything to Sera¡¯s relief.


    ¡°Technically, I don¡¯t know you in real life,¡± Jordan said. ¡°And you do need some help from what I¡¯ve seen.¡±


    ¡°And what is that?¡± Sera ground out. She quickly picked out a nicer, more form-fitting tunic that was a pleasing blue in colour (common cerulean tunic, rough spun linen, level 1, +3 armour, binds when equipped) and some brown leather pants (novice trousers, common leather, level 1, +4 armour, binds when equipped). She handed the merchant some coppers and thanked him.


    ¡°Well, you almost got yourself beaten up just now. The only non-PvP zones in the game are personal accommodations and inns, though official dueling needs to be done in an arena. And you just wasted your hard-earned money buying clothes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not wasting money,¡± Sera said indignantly, as she equipped herself with the new clothes using her user interface. They immediately appeared on her figure and she studied herself in the nearby mirror. Not bad. At least there was no more blood on her. She dropped her old clothes to the floor, not wanting to keep them in her inventory, and they faded away, like the horse droppings she had seen occasionally left behind on the street. They never stayed more than a second or two after exiting a horse¡¯s bowels, thank goodness. ¡°That woman looked at me like I was a beggar. I obviously need to dress better.¡±


    ¡°She looked at you like you¡¯re a Level 1 newbie, with no weapons, no money, and hardly any charisma,¡± Jordan sighed. ¡°If I were dressed in rags and had no weapons she would still be hanging off of me hoping to get me to propose to her because I have money in the bank and a very charming personality. Of course if I wanted to, I could tweak what stats she¡¯s allowed to see. The algorithm looks at several things, not just your appearance. Buying clothes with lousy stats at your level is a common mistake that someone like you¡ªa newbie¡ªkeeps making until someone enlightens them or they figure it out themselves after wasting tons of time and money.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that charming personality,¡± Sera huffed. How many times had he called her a newbie in that sentence? She hadn¡¯t counted, but she didn¡¯t like it. Though what the boy had said was true, in retrospect. She probably should have invested her money in a weapon or something, especially since she¡¯d lost her sword.


    Jordan quirked an eyebrow at her silence and she found herself smiling at him despite herself. It was kind of funny to see that expression on what looked like a powerful undead corpse. ¡°Are you using that charisma on me? Shut it off!¡±


    ¡°Charisma doesn¡¯t have an effect on players,¡± Jordan replied, breaking into laughter. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re such a newbie! You really haven¡¯t a clue about anything, do you?¡±


    Sera rolled her eyes and sighed.


    ***


    Jordan studied Sera as he listened to what she had done so far in the game. She had been a little hesitant at first, but when she realised he wouldn¡¯t judge her, or at least, show that he was judging her, she began to reveal all that she had done so far. He gave her as much advice as he could think of, especially regarding combat. She didn¡¯t seem to know that all the text notifications could be turned off so they wouldn¡¯t distract her while fighting.


    It was also an eye-opener to hear that she had died so many times already after just trying the game once, and had done so without even turning the pain threshold lower than 80% after the first time. Most players only played with the setting set to 60%. He re-assessed her, taking note of her small stature and delicate looking figure. It also looked like she had used a custom setting for her character. That was a new game feature and something he had been meaning to try out though he hadn¡¯t been ready to start a new character yet.


    ¡°Anyway, it sounds like you had a sword with very low durability. You should have taken note of its condition before going out to fight.¡±


    Sera¡¯s eyes widened and she turned to stare at him. ¡°You know what? You¡¯re absolutely right. I remember it did look quite pathetic. I should have read the description more carefully.¡± She smacked her forehead. ¡°Oh, I just walked right into that didn¡¯t I?¡±


    Jordan smiled when she sighed heavily. ¡°Well, do you still have some money leftover?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she replied guardedly. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get you some weapons.¡± He led them towards a stall with an anvil out front and racks upon racks of swords and other weapons. It was just a stall but Jordan knew that the vendor would be able to produce all the merchandise from his shop.


    To his surprise, Sera refused vehemently when Jordan offered to transfer coins to her account so that they could get her a good weapon.


    ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Sera said. ¡°That¡¯s not how I want to go through the game.¡± She glared at him as if he had offered something vile and despicable to her.


    Jordan blinked. ¡°Oh well¡­ you can hardly afford much with what you have left, right?¡±


    Sera emptied her pockets. She had just thirty coppers.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get something cheap.¡± Sera moved to speak to the merchant herself and began to negotiate with him.


    Jordan shrugged and stepped aside. He himself had no interest in what the vendor had to sell. All his equipment were dropped from monsters during dungeon raids or quests. He hardly ever bought any weapons and had started the game using what he¡¯d received when he¡¯d chosen his class. But because Sera hadn¡¯t chosen a character class or finished her training, she had not been given any weapons at all. It was a poor start, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. She should have done the training.


    ¡°Done!¡± Sera said, coming back to him. In her hands were a set of daggers and a set of bow and arrows.


    Jordan gave them a cursory look. Both daggers had the same label: Solingen dirk, Level 1-5, one-hand, 1-5 damage, durability of 30. There were more stats on the damage per second, speed and even some lore behind it¡ªbelonged to a retired officer from the highlands, etc. but he ignored those for now, Sera could learn about them later. The bow and arrows were ¡®Huntsman¡¯s Shortbow, Level 2-6, range, 3-10 damage, with durability of 40¡¯.


    He explained what each description meant to Sera who listened patiently, though she probably could figure them out herself. It was all quite self-explanatory.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to be able to use that set until you¡¯re a level 2,¡± he told her, pointing at the bow and arrows. ¡°You can keep them till then.¡± Inwardly he felt a bit annoyed with himself. It would have been better if he¡¯d helped her buy them, because the bow and arrows would have been easier for her to start with instead of a dagger. She could have even gotten a sword instead which she had at least used once before. Now just reaching the next level was going to take time. Jordan sighed.


    ¡°Hey, you really don¡¯t have to stick around, you know,¡± Sera said, reading his expression. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Monica you helped. You¡¯ve already taught me more than I could have learned in a week by myself.¡±


    Jordan hesitated, tempted to take her up on the offer, but then he looked more closely at her. If she had really used her custom face, then Sera didn¡¯t look all that much older than he did, even taking to account the game¡¯s graphic representations. She also had a sweet and good-natured smile which she used quite often though there was an air of sadness and endurance about her that reminded Jordan that she had just lost someone close. He took in a deep breath and puffed out his cheeks as he let it out. A twinge of amusement crossed her eyes when she turned to look at him.


    ¡°You look like an undead pufferfish when you do that,¡± Sera said with quick grin. Jordan rolled his eyes. The undead were cool, damnit.


    ¡°You know what,¡± he said, before he could help himself. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going about this the right way. I¡¯m too strong at the moment, so I¡¯m not going to think of all the little things you need to do unless I have to do them myself too. Some details just won¡¯t occur to me otherwise.¡±


    Sera raised her brows in surprise. ¡°What are you saying?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying that I¡¯m going to create a new character and travel with you. It¡¯s the only way I¡¯ll know how to show you stuff.¡± The moment he said it, Jordan felt sure it was the right thing to do.


    ¡°I¡¯m still not sure this is a good idea,¡± Sera replied slowly. ¡°It might take me quite a long time to level up. Don¡¯t you need to study?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t have a heavy schedule this semester,¡± Jordan said, pushing his studies to the back of his mind. He could worry about his tests later. ¡°Tell you what, we give it a go for a days. I¡¯ll turn up for an hour or so each day and you can spend the rest of your time by yourself. If it turns out you don¡¯t really need or want my help, I¡¯ll tell Monica. She¡¯ll have to back off, it¡¯s your game and your time in here after all.¡±


    Sera opened her mouth to say something and Jordan continued. ¡°I¡¯m willing to do this because I owe my aunt a favour but of course, if this turns out to suck really bad for either of us, I¡¯ll be gone before you know it.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Sera said with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯m all right with that.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Jordan held his hand out and they shook on it.

 Chapter 8 - Tweaking and Training

    Jordan left soon to begin making his character, so Sera made her way back to the training grounds to start proper training as he advised. Part of her felt a little insulted that Monica had thought she¡¯d need so much help in the game that she¡¯d roped Jordan into taking care of her, but another part of her felt a little relieved and comforted at the thought of having a friendly face in the game.


    She was on her way back to the training grounds when she noticed several notifications vying for her attention. With a sigh, she decided to clean up her user interface (UI) and decide on her notification options before she did anything further in the game. If she waited too long, she might forget what Jordan had told her. So without further ado, she set to work with her notifications first.


    Friend request


    Incinderfella wants to add you to his friends list. Accept/Decline.


    ¡°All righty, Mr. Princess,¡± Sera said, selecting ¡®Accept¡¯. She opened the second notification.


    Mail


    New message from Monanica (2.48 p.m. June 18). Read/Ignore.


    Monanica? Was that meant to refer to the Mona Lisa? Wow. Sera struggled not to burst into laughter. Looked like the penchant for weird usernames ran in the family. She opened the message. It unrolled with a crisp sound, like a real scroll unfolding, and spread across her vision in the shape of an aged piece of parchment with a round, wax red seal imprinted with Monica¡¯s face.


    Hi Sera, please don¡¯t be mad! I sent Jordan to help you in-game. He¡¯s probably tracked you down by now. I¡¯m not doing this because I don¡¯t have faith in you. I do, really! It¡¯s just that I want you to have the best time of your life in the game, and I want you to be safe. Just indulge in my micro-managing craziness. One thing I¡¯ve learned after joining Daddy¡¯s company is how many pervs are out there. If you¡¯re not careful, you¡¯ll find yourself joining a harem without even noticing. Don¡¯t roll your eyes, it¡¯s happened before, I swear it! Of course, there¡¯s nothing wrong with being in a harem, if that¡¯s your thing! *shifty eyes*


    I better shut up now. Enjoy the game!


    ¡°Augggh!¡± Sera groaned out loud, startling a nearby pigeon into a sudden poop as it took off in a flurry of feathers. Her friend just drove her crazy sometimes. She had no idea whether to be pleased or angry at the woman!  Her face flooding with embarrassment, Sera sent the message into her clutter folder and ignored the ¡®add a friend¡¯ option beside Monanica¡¯s username.


    That was it for the notifications, so Sera spent the next few hours cleaning up her UI. There were a lot of interesting options there. Perhaps it was due to Monica¡¯s allusions to harems, but Sera decided she wanted to find out just how realistic the game could be.


    She hid behind a tree, then after a quick scan to see if anyone was watching her, pinched her top away from her chest and looked down.


    Whoa.


    That looked¡­ somewhat familiar.


    Quickly, Sera tweaked her settings from one extreme to the next. At 100% she felt almost totally herself, and another glance down her front confirmed that her body had enough details for her to feel at home in it. At 0% everything was so fuzzy, all she could make out was the vague possibility of boobs amid all the pixels. Finally, Sera settled at a nice tame (in her opinion) 80%, like her pain threshold. Enough to feel and look right but not enough for any serious hanky panky. Absently, she wondered if there was a possibility for bras and underwear being sold at Elysia¡¯s vendors. She didn¡¯t seem to need one with the shirt she was wearing, but such real-life issues did tend to make one curious. Perhaps she would come across a Viking Brassiere for Separation and Support, with +50 armour, ideal for busy pillagers and conquering vixens!


    Sera stifled a burst of giggles and turned her mind to more serious business. She made sure to customise when notifications were allowed to bother her during combat, and how realistic the game environment should be. For example, there was an option to make each and every NPC appear with a jewel above their heads to signify they were NPCs, with different colours indicating whether they were a merchant, an NPC with a quest, or just a normal NPC. Sera disable that¡ªbut added a shortcut to turn it on whenever she wanted¡ªand proceeded to set the graphics to the most realistic environment the game could support, because it made everything look almost life-like. Unless she squinted at leaf or cloud patterns and purposely tried to pick out repetitions, she could almost forget she was in a game and immerse herself in Elysia¡¯s beauty.


    She also looked into setting up an account in the nearby bank¡ªthis required a physical visit to the bank, which was near the fountain square¡ªand deposited her last copper into it. Then she brought up her UI again to take a look at her statistics. Jordan had told her she could eventually assign points when she leveled up to improve her capabilities and direct herself towards a particular class, since she had not pre-selected one. Sadly, her user stats and skills were very underwhelming at the moment.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Name


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Serares


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Level


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    1


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Gender


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Female


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Experience to next level


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    200/1000


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Class


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    No class


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Race


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Human


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Health


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    107 (equipment: +7)


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Vitality


    (health regeneration)


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Stamina


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    100


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Endurance


    (stamina regeneration)


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Mana (Locked)


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    N/A (100)


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Willpower


    (mana regeneration)


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Constitution


    (contributes to total health)


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Strength


    (contributes to total stamina)


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Fame


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    0


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Wisdom


    (contributes to total mana)


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Infamy


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    0


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Dexterity


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Alignment (Light/Dark/Neutral)


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    1% Dark


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Perception


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    10Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Luck


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    10


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Relationships


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    +10 with Farmer¡¯s Guild


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Charisma


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    11


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    General Skills


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Progress to next level


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Subskills


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Progress to next level


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Herbology Level 2


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    10%


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    None


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Swordsmanship Level 1


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    5%


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    None


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Subterfuge Level 1


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    1%


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    Deception


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    1%


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Dodge Level 1


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    30%


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    None


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Sprint Level 1


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    50%


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    None


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td width="144">


    Class Specific Skills and/or Spells


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    N/A


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    None


    </td>


    <td width="144">


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Yikes! Sera closed the panel after skimming through the stats. It looked dismal, but she reassured herself that this was Serares¡¯s performance and not her own. Though in the game, they seemed to be one and the same thing.


    Sera sighed.


    Oh well, at least now she knew that wearing equipment with attributes like armour helped increase her stats¡ªthough, the amount of armour a plain linen shirt and trousers afforded her was quite pathetic. Also somehow, she had to find a way to unlock her mana if she wanted to use magic. It figured that choosing to be human meant that spells didn¡¯t come naturally to her. Sera spared a moment to wonder what the stats might have been like for an undead like Jordan, or an elf, like that girl she had seen when she had first come into Elysia. No doubt they had been born into this world with magic shooting out of every orifice.


    She shook her head and told herself to stop being so crass and crazy, then opened her eyes to gaze into the cute blue eyes of a little boy who was almost nose-to-nose at her.


    ¡°Are you a crazy lady? Is that why they¡¯re looking for you?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sera backed away so fast, she nearly cracked the back of her head against the wall behind her. She turned to face the little boy standing on the bench beside her.


    ¡°What are you¡ªoh!¡± She had just realised how silly she must have looked with her hands making random movements in the air while she adjusted her settings. ¡°No, I¡¯m not crazy, I¡¯m just a journeywoman.¡±


    The boy stared at her. Perhaps that wasn¡¯t the right word to use, though several NPCs had called her that already.


    ¡°Uh, you know¡­  a traveler? A visitor? I¡¯m not local here. I was just¡­ handling some personal matters. This is normal for us, you see.¡± She made some random movements with her hands to show him what she was talking about and grinned like a maniac to show she was harmless.


    The boy just frowned harder and kept looking at her with huge, quizzical eyes as if he expected the answer to the secrets of the universe to fall out of her nose like a booger. Sera restrained the urge to check if something was indeed poking out of her nostrils. The boy was scrutinising her with the intense curiosity that only a child with absolutely no idea of anything could muster and she felt quite uncomfortable.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your mother?¡± she finally asked. ¡°She¡¯ll explain what I am to you.¡±


    Somehow, Sera didn¡¯t feel that it was right to explain to the child that he was an NPC and that he and his reality did not really exist, while she was a player and did. It seem to be a bit of a traumatic worldview to drop onto a child, even a virtual one, especially after what Jordan had told her about not calling the locals NPCs. Also, perhaps in this world, it was her who was unreal, not him.


    ¡°She¡¯s right over there,¡± the boy said calmly, pointing towards a woman who was buying something at a nearby shop.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Sera said slowly. ¡°Well then why are you speaking to me¡­¡± Sera trailed off when she realised what this must be about. It was probably a quest! She concentrated while looking above the boy¡¯s head, hoping she¡¯d see a purple jewel, which indicated a quest giver. But the jewel that appeared upon her analysis was a simple blue one. He was nothing but a bystander.


    Wait a minute.


    Sera spotted something else above the boy¡¯s head.


    It looked like a rough sketch of someone. Sera stood up to take a better look at it. The face was rendered in clumsy charcoal lines on yellowed and spotted parchment nailed to the wall. It wasn¡¯t a very good drawing, but Sera thought it looked kind of like a female version of Wallace from Wallace and Gromit, except that it had actually had hair. Above the image were the words ¡®WANTED¡¯,  printed in big letters right above the face and the words ¡®Reward¡¯ below it with 10 coppers listed as the bounty. The chicken scrawl writing squeezed near the bottom of the page was indecipherable. Sera frowned and tilted her head to get a better look. There was something oddly familiar about that face¡­


    ¡°I wonder what on earth a person has to do to¡ª¡±


    A shriek split the air. Sera spun around at the hurried patter of shoes on cobblestones, her hands reaching for her daggers.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare hurt my darling Tomas!¡± The boy¡¯s mother dashed over in a flurry of skirts, one hand holding her bonnet to her head. The other held a large basket, full to the brim with groceries. It slammed into her, knocking her back onto the bench as the woman scooped her son around his waist and carried him off, scurrying away from her as if she were some kind of criminal.


    Sera had a lightbulb moment.


    She whirled back to look at the poster.


    If she squinted and turned her head just so, the bulbous nose, too small forehead and bulging eyes almost resembled her own face. What the hell?


    ¡°Hey!¡± Sera called after the duo. The son turned and waved at her, still dangling from his mother¡¯s arm. ¡°That isn¡¯t me! It¡¯s a misunderstanding!¡±


    It had to be a mistake. She hadn¡¯t done anything wrong!


    Feeling miffed, Sera ripped the poster off the wall, gazed at it for another second or two, then wadded it up. She threw it over her shoulder and stalked off in a huff towards the training grounds. How could those NPCs have made such a silly mistake?


    This game was weird.


    ***


    Thunk! Thunk!


    Sera gazed at her daggers buried deep into the abdomen of the training dummy and smiled. She was getting pretty good at this. All she had to do was follow the prompts that appeared when she drew a weapon within the training grounds.


    It seemed like the game could detect exactly which weapon she was holding and adapt to choose the best method to guide her to use it correctly. All she had to do was hold up her weapon and stand in front of a dummy. Almost immediately, a shadowy figure of exactly the same height and stature as her would appear with highlighted hands and fingers to demonstrate how she should hold the knife. When she got into position within the outline, the highlighted shadow appendages flared red around her limbs until she got her grip exactly right, before changing to a nice golden glow. The outline then darted forward and threw its intangible dagger forward, even going so far as to leave behind footprints to show her any required footwork. All she had to do was take her turn to mimic it.


    Granted, it hadn¡¯t worked the first few times. Her daggers had flown wide and buried themselves into the earth around the dummy. But as soon as she stepped back, both her shadow guide and her own outline appeared side by side to replay what had just happened, with glows to contrast and highlight the movements she¡¯d gotten wrong so she could see exactly what she needed to do to improve. It made for very easy learning, and as soon as she got it right, she could choose to try a variation on the technique at a similar or higher level of difficulty.


    By the time the sun was setting, Sera had a good grasp of how to use a bow and arrows, and daggers, though she did have room to improve on her aim. As a result, she¡¯d gained Archery and Dagger skills¡ªas seen by the heavily abbreviated notifications that transiently flashed across her vision¡ªbut it seemed a little pointless to keep practicing. After all, she had more or less mastered all the steps the beginner¡¯s training grounds could offer. Unfortunately, her dedication had decimated quite a few dummies to the point that their heads and limbs were falling off. Perhaps she should have switched to the supplied training daggers which were blunter than her own brand new ones, Sera mused. After all, she had used the training ground bow and arrows since her own set were too high level for her use.


    ¡°Oy!¡±


    Sera ignored the yell. Several other players had appeared in the training grounds recently. Work or school in the real world must have ended. She decided that she was done training. She sheathed her daggers, gathered up the spent arrows and began arranging them in the quiver they¡¯d come in.


    ¡°Oy, you there! You! Are you deaf? I¡¯m talking to you!¡±


    The actual trainers here were so aggressive! Thank goodness she had come when they were hardly any around. What was their use anyway, when the game had such a great method for demonstrating weapons techniques to players. Were they just meant to shout at you and give you the impression you were in a real military school or something?


    ¡°You there! The broad in the blue blouse! Oy!¡±


    The last ear-splitting bellow caught her attention. For one, it was quite specific, she was the only woman wearing blue in the area, plus, it came from somewhere close by, like right in her ear.


    Sera whipped around to face the same portly trainer she had met the other day. He was red in the face and wore an expression of deep annoyance. Sweat dripped from his hairline and he blinked a few drops away, trying his best to glare at her despite the sting of sweat in his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking all over for you! You never came back with that sword! And look what you¡¯ve done now!¡± he gestured at the eviscerated dummies.


    ¡°Oh hello there,¡± Sera said a little nervously. Surely those dummies were meant to be beaten up? ¡°I was just doing some training and got a little carried away¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a rat¡¯s ass about your training! You damn journeycrappers! You keep losing my swords and trashing my dummies! You think these come from thin air? I have to buy them! Every sword is ten coppers. Every dummy is fifteen! You owe me¡­¡± he turned and counted the dummies. ¡°You owe me a solid fifty five coppers! Hand it over!¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± Sera said. ¡°This is for new recruits isn¡¯t it? Isn¡¯t it paid by your¡­ town¡­ fund¡­ or something? Your army resources?¡± She had no idea how anything like that might work.


    ¡°Recruits! Recruits?¡± the man swelled up like an indignant bullfrog. ¡°You lot aren¡¯t in our army! And this is a private enterprise! Normally you train with blunt swords and you leave them here after you¡¯re gone! No dummies get hurt and I get paid a commission from the folks who send you here to train before you take your first quest! But you didn¡¯t take a quest did you? And you didn¡¯t bring my sword back either! And on top of that, you thrashed my property! Have you no respect for other people¡¯s businesses? Now pay up, or I¡¯ll be forced to sic the guards on you.¡±


    Sera stared at the fleshy palm of his hand as it jiggled in front of her.


    ¡°I¡­ uh¡­ I only have a copper,¡± she said, feeling guilty. ¡°But I can definitely get more money, plus interest¡­ if you give me a day, I¡¯ll¡ª¡±


    ¡°Guards!¡±


    Okay. Now she knew where the Wanted poster had come from. This man had no idea how to restrain himself.


    ¡°It¡¯s just fifty five coppers,¡± she said, trying to sound reasonable. ¡°I had the money this morning, I just didn¡¯t know I had to pay you back for the sword, I¡¯m new you see, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard it all before! You think you can fool me?  I know you¡¯re not going to stick around. The minute I turn my back you¡¯re going to gallivant off and I¡¯ll be left in the red! Everyone knows you have to pay for services and goods!¡± The man yelled at her. ¡°Being new is no excuse for being dumb!¡±


    ¡°Wow. There¡¯s no cause for saying that,¡± Sera began, but that was as far as she got.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, you¡¯re under arrest for vandalism and theft,¡± two armour clad guards with halberds had appeared on either side of her. One of them slapped heavy iron handcuffs around her wrists. ¡°You¡¯ll have to spend a night in jail, then a day doing community service to pay back this man.¡±


    Hang on. This was ridiculous, how could this happen in a game without any warning? What happened to all her notifications and¡­ Sera checked her notifications. A couple had come in during the last few hours since she¡¯d checked her UI. She had given them a very cursory glance without expanding them, thinking it had been about unimportant stuff like her fighting skills leveling up and experience gain while training.


    You¡¯re a wanted woman!


    After waiting days for his beloved sword¡¯s return, Lowrin the trainer has declared you a thief! Tch, tch, tch. Your efforts at stealing are pathetic. Either level up in Theft (too late!), produce the sword, or pay the poor man back. If you possess the skill, Sneak, now might be a good time to skip town! Cool down period for hitting the local wanted list is one in-game week unless your reward has hit four figures or your infamy has spread to another community.


    Effect: 100 local infamy in Hearthwilde.


    Alignment: 2% Dark


    New Skill: Archery Level 1


    You have discovered Archery! Keep that back straight and that forearm strong! With increased practice you¡¯ll be able to shoot out a dragon¡¯s eye while yawning. Related subskills and spells may be unlocked with increased practice and mastery!


    Effect: Ability to perform beginner level archery.


    Status: 70% progress to next level.


    New Skill: Daggers Level 1


    You have discovered Daggers! Now you can julienne and skewer your enemies with the best of them. Related subskills and spells may be unlocked with increased practice and mastery!


    Effect: Ability to perform beginner level dagger-work.


    Status: 80% progress to next level.


    As she read through the notifications, one more popped up.


    You¡¯ve been arrested!


    Congratulation on embarking on your life of crime! The Hearthwilde community is suitably scandalised by your miserable efforts in theft and vandalism, and not impressed with your ineptitude in evading the guards! You have been clapped in irons and will be escorted to jail. Visit your new abode nine more times to earn the achievement, Jailbird!


    Effect: 100 local infamy in Hearthwilde.


    Sera groaned and hung her head as she was hustled off by the guards, wishing she had bothered to check her notifications after seeing the poster. It looked like her UI settings required yet more tweaking.

 Chapter 9 - Tess and Treasure

    Incinderfella: So¡­ what happened again?


    Serares: I told you, I didn¡¯t realise the sword at the training grounds had to be paid for. Who made this game, a bunch of misers?


    Incinderfella: ¡­ its a gamified simulation of a real (fantasy) world¡­ crime and messing with the authorities can be enjoyable, so stealing is a real thing with real consequences. Wouldn¡¯t be fun otherwise.


    Serares: But I wasn¡¯t trying to steal!


    Incinderfella: ¡­


    Incinderfella: I guess my aunt was right. You¡¯re left alone for a day and you accidentally land yourself in jail.


    Serares: Are you just going to rub it in? Don¡¯t you have anything better to do?


    Incinderfella: Now that you mention it, yeah. I better get some training under my belt. What are you going to do in the meantime?


    Serares: Stay here and rot. There¡¯s an old drunk called Thirsty Tessa who¡¯s been making eyes at me. I¡¯ll see how long I can avoid her.


    Incinderfella: Wow. Shit just got real, huh.


    Serares: ¡­


    Incinderfella: Well, just hang in there. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow. Don¡¯t shiv anyone.


    Serares: Hahaha. My weapons are all on lockdown in here. Give that asshat, Lowrin, my regards.


    Incinderfella: All right. So a big wet kiss, then </img>


    Serares: I meant something else *evil grin*


    Incinderfella: Nuh uh. It won¡¯t do us any good if both of us are in jail. And I don¡¯t want to find out if there¡¯s a Hunky Herman or Juicy Jerry in there. See you tomorrow!


    Serares: Huh¡­ those names are real food for thought.You should explore this talent.


    Incinderfella: Bye¡­


    ***


    Sera huddled in a shadowy corner, trying to close her eyes and take a nap. She¡¯d discovered this was possible in-game, though a jail cell was probably not ideal to get some shut eye. It was dark and dank and smelled of someone¡¯s old socks and vomit. Turning off her olfactory input was useful but she couldn¡¯t turn off the NPC who kept brushing against her on her circuit from one end of the cell to the other.


    Thirsty Tessa, who didn¡¯t look all that old actually, but did look very undead, kept jangling her exposed elbow joints against the bars of the jail in time with the sorrowful song she moaned as she danced drunkenly around the cell:


    ¡°There was a¡­ hic!¡­ young maiden called Tessa¡­


    Who was sent an angel and demon to test her¡­ hic!


    One she did love,


    T¡¯other she told ¡®shove off!¡¯¡­ hic!


    But both still managed to ruin her.¡±


    The woman would sing and sway her hips in time with the song then kick her skirts high at the ¡®shove off¡¯ part, before finishing the rhyme and cackling like a demented banshee. Then she¡¯d repeat it all over again. It was enough to make Sera want to stuff her dagger pointy-end first down her throat. But as tempting as the thought was, she couldn¡¯t access any of her weapons down here.


    ¡°Will you please be quiet?¡± Sera said, finally daring to address the woman after the fifth time she¡¯d heard the song. Nobody from the adjacent cell seemed eager to do so. It was bigger and occupied by two men, both of them NPCs. The smaller of the two had pressed himself into a corner where he kept glancing at the top of the cell, out a window that was street high. There wasn¡¯t any hope of escape though, since the window was tiny.


    ¡°Tessa¡¯s been quiet too long¡­¡± the woman replied with a scowl. But she did stop and sit down beside Sera. After giving her a disturbing glare with milky crossed eyes, Tessa began to pull her skirt up. She rummaged under it in such a way that made Sera almost want to blush, then a popping sound reached her ears and Tessa lifted a whole leg out from under herself. She had detached her femur from its ball-socket in her hip. The bone was exposed in places but there was still a lot of flesh attached to it, except where her thigh might have been. Instead, high up on Tessa¡¯s leg was strapped a long hip flask that she uncapped and took a long swig from. She leaned across and offered the whole bony leg to Sera. ¡°Want some? Not easy to sneak a drink down here.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ you¡¯re too kind,¡± Sera said politely, trying to mask her shock. ¡°I¡¯m not thirsty at the moment though.¡±


    ¡°Suit yer¡¯self,¡± Tessa said, taking the leg back. She took another greedy swig, then pointed her leg at the opposite cell. ¡°You see that ¡®un?¡±


    Sera followed the direction of her big toe and saw she was pointing at the short NPC who kept glancing at the window. Moonlight glinted off the goggles he wore on his forehead. ¡°Yup.¡±


    ¡°If the stars and moons align, that one¡¯s going to get us all out of here,¡± she said with a heavy wink at Sera. ¡°He don¡¯t look like much, but he¡¯s a regular ¡®un, like me. This here jail¡¯s practically our home away from home. But sometimes¡­ when the time¡¯s right¡­ when he¡¯s got the right sucker to take up his errand¡­ we get¡¯s to go home¡­ hic!¡±


    ¡°Ohhkay¡­¡± Sera replied. Tessa tapped her nose so hard in an effort to look knowing, she actually dislodged it from her face.


    ¡°Ahhh, me nose! Hic¡­ hic¡­¡± She stood up and promptly fell down, since she only had one leg to balance on.


    ¡°Here, let me,¡± Sera got to her knees and began to search for the nose in the dirty floor of the cell. The sight of the woman¡¯s face without her nose or leg was enough motivation, she looked so bad.


    ¡°Hic¡­ just a sec¡­ hic, lemme put my leg on¡­¡± Tessa popped her leg back in and began crawling on the floor with Sera. It made the job very hard indeed, because her ragged skirts and clumsy fumbling kicked up a lot of dust and kept moving around the piles of dirt Sera had already searched through.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Clang!


    Sera looked up in time to see a player being led into the adjacent cell, accompanied by two guards. He appeared to be a high level player and was shouting at them, clearly angry at being put into jail. His gear was impressive and made him look like a sort of mechatronic bear and he had a burning paw mark stamped into the middle of his forehead. Though he obviously had many weapons, he clearly couldn¡¯t draw them and attack the guards, who shoved him into the depths of the cell before locking it and pocketing the key.


    ¡°Assholes! Looking suspicious is not breaking the rules!¡± he yelled back at the guards as they retreated, then clenched the bars and shook them fiercely. ¡°Gah! I forgot all about my infamy. Fuck! I don¡¯t have time for this, I have things to get done!¡± He whipped around to glare around the jail, but he was so preoccupied, his eyes barely registering the other occupants in his cell, let alone Sera and Thirsty Tessa. ¡°Fuck it. I¡¯m not waiting in this shithole!¡±


    He sat down and began to wave his hands around. Sera decided he was chatting with friends or transferring his credits into Elysian money¡ªit was possible to pay money to get out of jail, but the cost was not really worth it.


    She was about to turn away to keep looking for the nose when the NPC with the goggles stood up and stepped into a ray of moonlight. He was very short and had ears that poked up beyond his hair. Was he a goblin, or a gnome, Sera wondered.


    ¡°Pssst!¡± someone appeared by the window grating. Again, Sera could tell it was a player by his outfit. He began to whisper down to the goggle-wearing gnome¡ªshe¡¯d decided it had to be a gnome, because of the goggles and beard. It was too soft to hear from where she was and she pressed closer to the bars of her cell.


    ¡°Yeurgh!¡±


    She jerked back her hand. She had placed it on something soft and squishy. Carefully, Sera picked it up and held it up to the light that streamed down from the window.


    It was a nose.


    ¡°Ooooh, you darling girl,¡± Thirsty Tessa jumped onto her, plucked the nose from her fingers and jammed it back onto her face, screwing it on with squeaky noises.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a heart of gold. I knew it! You¡¯re the one. Listen,¡± she grabbed Sera by the shoulders and recited:


    ¡°To help put poor Tessie at rest,


    You must undertake a fool¡¯s quest.


    Find the pantheon of Fallthrume,


    And slay them all! Then exhume,


    My darling Sorrow to press to my breast.¡±


    As soon as Sera heard it, a notification popped up in her view.


    Quest Alert!


    Level: ???


    You¡¯ve saved Thirsty Tessa from a life of disfigurement. Or¡­ was that an unlife of further disfigurement? Either way, she has chosen to give you a quest! You lucky dog. All you need to do is¡­ err¡­  what she said. You¡¯ll figure it out.


    Reward: ??? Experience points and a conversation at the Standing Stones. Accept/Decline


    Huh. Whaddayaknow. Thirsty Tessa actually had a quest hidden away in her. Sera selected ¡®Accept¡¯ and filed it away in her queue for non-critical quests, since it was probably too high a level for her current status. The description, which also included Tessa¡¯s rhyme in it, was stowed along with the notification.


    Tessa, who had been staring intently at her the whole time she was reading the quest description, suddenly clasped her to her chest and pushed them both down to the floor.


    Sera had barely a moment to protest when an explosion rocked the prison. She felt dust and debris blast over her like a sheet of football-sized hail and snow.


    When it settled, she glanced at her health bar and saw it reduced by more than half. She had taken a lot of damage though she hadn¡¯t even been hit directly.


    Sera pushed Tessa off of her and looked about.


    Through the settling dust, Sera saw that a huge hole had been blown in the jail wall. As she studied it, a pile of loot fell from the player who had been by the window grate onto the floor. The unfortunate quester had been vaporised upon completion of his quest. Something must have gone very wrong¡­ or¡­ very right? It was a disturbing thought.


    Another pile lay where the newly-arrested angry bear player had been. The other NPC was dead too, but the goggle-wearing gnome appeared to have made a break for it, from the look of the small figure she saw running into the distance through the hole in the wall. His clothes had been reduced to rags but he looked in good health, judging from the shiny butt and pumping legs that were carrying the gnome off through the darkness.


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m not getting through this in one piece,¡± Thirsty Tessa groaned. Sera turned to look at her and had to stop herself from screaming.


    Thirsty Tessa lay scattered about the cell in multiple parts. The poor undead woman had taken the brunt of the blast since her back had been facing the explosion. Tessa¡¯s detached head grinned at Sera, letting her know she didn¡¯t mind. Perhaps, she had even saved Sera¡¯s life on purpose, since she had known the explosion had been coming, Sera realised.


    Sera bent to pick up an arm but Tessa stopped her.


    ¡°Forget it. It¡¯ll take a while to get me back into shape. You go¡­ get a head start before the guards get here. Here, take my middle finger. If you see that insolent gnome, help me wag it in his face. He usually gives me more warning.¡± A finger on the floor wiggled at Sera. She hid a grimace and bent down to gingerly pocket it.


    She was about to leave when she caught sight of all the fallen loot.


    Hmm¡­ what to do, what to do¡­


    Ten seconds later, Sera¡¯s bags were heavy with loot and she had a big grin on her face.


    Yup. Bags.


    Both the dead players had bags and one of them was a Beaded Bottomless Bag! Sera felt unbelievably lucky. It was even in her favourite purple colour!


    She shoved all the loot she could get her hands on into the bags without sparing any time to sort through them, then climbed over the rubble and out the hole in the wall. The roof of the whole jail appeared to have crumpled in on itself in places and the door that led to the cells was warped out of shape.


    Before the guards pounding on the door could make their way through the chaos and burst into the prison or think to check the window, Sera scurried clean away, her footsteps on the cobblestones covered by the sound of Tessa¡¯s crazy cackling.


    Tonight had turned out pretty great after all.


    ***


    Bjorndrake respawned and zipped through the town until he hit his body and woke with a gasp. He looked about his jail cell. It was empty except for what looked like a sack of meat and bones in the corner. Beyond it was a hole torn into the brick wall, and through it was a moonlit view of the street. He hauled himself to his feet and chucked a leg off of him. It had a ragged lace garter around its bony thigh and a dirty white shoe with its heel broken off.


    ¡°My, my, what a handsome fellow.¡± A voice called out to him from the adjacent jail. ¡°Could you hand that over to me? I¡¯d be mighty thankful.¡±


    It was that hag, Thirsty Tessa, winking at him in what she probably thought was an alluring way. He threw the leg at her, ignored her squeal of protest when it bowled her over, then reached his hand out for his sword.


    The way was free. Damnit. If only he had remembered the chainquest that led to this stupid jail being blown to bits just a few minutes earlier he could have saved himself a couple hundred dollars of real money instead of having to¡­


    Hang on.


    Bjorndrake stopped fumbling and looked down at his belt. His Demon¡¯s Tooth sword.His Bottomless Bag! They were gone! But the bag had contained all his loot¡­ and more importantly¡­ the stone!


    He whirled around to check beneath the debris just in case, but of course, there was nothing else beneath him. His corpse had been robbed!


    Thump, thump, thump!


    ¡°Open the door!¡±


    Damn it. This was a sticky situation, but he had to move fast or they¡¯d never catch up with whoever had taken the stone.


    Bjorndrake: Luke! Luke! Where the heck are you?


    Grandaelf: What? I was taking a bio break. And I¡¯ve just transfered the money so¡ª


    Bjorndrake: Forget that. Some lamer finished the Alcatraz chainquest and busted the jail! I got wiped and dropped the stone and now it¡¯s gone!


    Grandaelf: Shit! Who was it? Who knew you had the stone?


    Bjorndrake: Don¡¯t know. Could be the sucker who did the quest, maybe it was part of his plan. But his corpse isn¡¯t here, either he left already or he knew to avoid the blast. Anyway, I¡¯ve got guards after me so I¡¯m going to be awol for a while. Go ask around town and see if you can find anything out. We need that stone back!


    Grandaelf: OK. On my way.


    SLAM!


    The door to the jail flew across the room and guards began to pour in after it.


    Bjorndrake dismissed his chat and activated beastmode as he jumped for the opening in the wall. As soon as he was through the gap, claws, fur and fangs erupted from his limbs and skin. When he landed, he was a full grown grizzly bear.


    ¡°Come and get it!¡± he roared and began laying into the nearest guards. He flung halberds aside and send two guards flying with a swipe of his paw. They immediately got to their feet, looking none the worse for wear, and more began pouring after them. It was going to be a long night.

 Chapter 10 - Dice and Delora

    As soon as Sera left the prison, a notification popped up:


    You¡¯re an escaped convict!


    Instead of serving your time like a good little citizen should, you¡¯ve fled the coop! You¡¯re either really smart or really lucky, but it¡¯s not going to be all laughs and giggles from here on out. If you possess the skill, Sneak (or even if you don¡¯t), now might be a really good time to skip town! Cool down period for hitting the local wanted list is one in-game week unless your reward has hit four figures or your infamy has spread to another community.


    Effect: 300 local infamy in Hearthwilde.


    Alignment: 3% Dark


    That added up to 500 infamy points now. She was very quickly getting on the wrong side of the law. Sera decided to heed the notification¡¯s advice and get out of town as soon as possible. It was out of the question to stay in Hearthwilde with her reputation in tatters. The first person to see her would definitely react badly, just like that woman with her boy had, and she had no desire to find out what would happen if she got arrested again.


    Sera glanced down the deserted street and ran across it to hide behind the shadow of a postbox before reading through another notification.


    You received an Item from Thirsty Tessa!


    ¡°My middle finger¡¯s been with me through thick and thin. I give it to people all the time, yet it¡¯s a part of me I never thought I¡¯d really lose. Keep it as a keepsake to remind yourself of the good times with me. Hugs and burpy kisses, Tessa¡­hic!¡±


    Luck: -2 or was that an upside down +5? You know what? I forget.I guess we¡¯ll just have to throw a dice and find out, won¡¯t we? Hic!


    Ugh. Well, it might be useful to have some luck, Sera thought to herself as she dismissed the notification. Though, knowing Thirsty Tessa, it was probably going to be bad luck.


    She kept running from shadow to shadow, keeping as quiet and well hidden as she could, and gained Level 1 Sneak. She had chosen to cut across town rather than head for the nearest gate since most of the guards were headed that way, but when she arrived at the main square, she was surprised by an unexpected sight.


    A pool of light lit a group beneath a towncrier who stood on a stage in the middle of the square. He was ringing a bell that clanged through the streets, causing candles to be lit in upper story bedrooms and people to lean out of front doors and windows to listen to his announcement.


    ¡°Hear ye, hear ye!¡± he called out, turning in a semi-circle. He raised the lamp dangling from his pole higher over the group and Sera saw to her dismay that it illuminated a motley group of townspeople and players. ¡°Hear ye, hear ye! Prisoners have escaped! The streets of Hearthwilde are not safe! All of able body and mind are to gather and participate in a search to re-capture these fugitives! Women and children are to remai¡ª¡±


    Sera spun on her heels and retreated down the street she had come. She took the first back alley she came to and began to wind her way through the narrow gap between the houses, twisting and turning through them as she tried to put as much distance between herself and the square as possible. Her heart hammered so loudly in her ears, it sounded like footsteps and she kept turning around to look over her shoulder, scraping and earning bruises on herself as she ducked hurriedly beneath windows and around doorways.


    Five minutes later, she looked up to find that she was utterly lost. In her panic, she hadn¡¯t managed to keep track of where she was going. Cursing herself, she was about to look at her map when the sound of running footsteps scared her literally up the wall of the nearest house. Without thinking, Sera scrambled up a nearby drainpipe and hopped up onto a window ledge, then used the thick wire of a clothes line to give herself a leg up onto the roof.


    ¡°¡ªapparently it¡¯s two townsmen and three or more players. If we get just one of them we get money and a ton of rep with Hearthwilde!¡±


    Someone was coming down the alley. What horrible luck! Sera nervously fingered Thirsty Tessa¡¯s finger in her pocket as the footsteps pattered closer, cursing her bad sense of direction and poor decision making. She had had a head start when she left the jail, she should have just gone straight for the nearest gate or wall and climbed over it. Instead, she¡¯d planted herself right in the middle of a manhunt! She clenched the finger so hard, it slipped out of her sweaty grip and fell onto the roof with a soft ¡®flump¡¯ and began to roll to the edge.


    She suppressed a gasp and grabbed at it. The finger fragmented and disintegrated further under her touch. Gingerly, trying not to make a sound, she brought it up to her face and squinted at the tiny remains. The whole tip with the nail had come off while the rest of it had crumbled to dust, leaving behind a small eight-sided object with smooth flat surfaces. Sera stared at the side facing up. There was something written under the milky white of the nail¡­ was that a¡­ 5? Or¡­ a 2? There was so much dirt around the bit of nail that it was hard to make out. Thinking that she really didn¡¯t have time for Tessa¡¯s stupid tricks, Sera frowned and pocketed the fragment of finger.


    ¡°¡ªnah, already tried divination. Doesn¡¯t work, we have to do this the old fashioned way. Where are you at? You got your hound with you?¡±


    They were so close! Almost right under her!


    Sera shivered and pressed herself flatter to the roof tiles. Whoever it was sounded like a player, and all they had to do was jump up to look at the roof and they¡¯d find her. She glanced over her shoulder and made a quick decision. Very carefully and slowly, she began to crawl across the roof like a crab. If she was far enough away from the edge, they might not be able to see her in the darkness, even if they jumped up to take a peek.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Thankfully, the roof tiles was flatter at the top and Sera was a good distance away from the edge when the sound of breaking glass shattered the silence of the night.


    ¡°Hang on! I heard something!¡±


    Sera looked down towards the sound of broken glass. Below her was a skylight and in the house below¡­


    Was Madam Delora, sitting in a steaming bathtub, staring right up at her with a stunned look on her face. Fragments of a broken wineglass littered the floor beside her. As they stared at each other, a little black cat sprang upon the puddle and began lapping up the wine.


    Sera could have cried. In fact, she was crying, she realised, though it was masked by the cold rain that had begun to fall. It drizzled down her collar and onto the glass of the skylight. Sera shivered as she debated what to do next. The player hunting her was beginning to climb onto the roof. In a few seconds, she would be caught, clapped in irons and thrown back into jail. She could practically feel her infamy creeping up to new heights and her new found freedom in Elysia disappearing down the black hole of unending incarceration and community service.


    Madam Delora¡¯s face changed. She gave her a look of deep annoyance and beckoned at her.


    Sera blinked in surprise. Did she mean¡­ was she indicating¡­


    Get down here. Now.


    All right. Sera couldn¡¯t really read lips, but Madam Delora was making it really easy with the exaggerated lip movements and beckoning finger.


    Carefully and swiftly, Sera slid back the skylight, dangled from the edge of her fingers¡ªthank god upper body strength was a given in the game, in real life she probably would not have made it¡ªslid it close again, and dropped down to the ground beside Madam Delora.


    The woman placidly waved her towards the wicker basket in a corner of the room, then snapped her fingers at the cat who was still mopping up the wine with its bristly tongue. It promptly hustled Sera towards the basket, waited for her to climb in as it whipped its tail, then hopped onto the lid and sat down to begin grooming itself. Sera peered anxiously through the gaps in the wicker, but Madam Delora ignored her and kept lounging in the bath as if she were alone in the room.


    ¡°Milady!¡± the player popped his head down the skylight.


    Madam Delora gave an obliging shriek and began to toss bottles of shampoo up at him. ¡°Get out!¡±


    ¡°No, you misunderstand,¡± the player covered his eyes, ¡°There¡¯s a prisoner on the loose! I heard a sound, I thought someone had accosted you and I came too¡ª¡±


    Thunk!


    The woman had good aim, Sera had to admit. Maybe even better than herself.


    ¡°How dare you! You¡¯re invading my privacy!¡±


    ¡°Oh come on,¡± the player replied, holding a head to his cheekbone. ¡°You must have heard the glass breaking!¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course! I fell asleep and dropped my glass of wine,¡± Madam Delora swept a hand at the broken glass. ¡°That doesn¡¯t give you the right to snoop, you peeping tom!¡± She began hurling things at him again.


    ¡°But, how do I know they didn¡¯t come in here while you were asleep?¡± Wow. What a tenacious guy. Sera was impressed, considering the amount of bubbles in the tub meant that the player could not possibly be getting a good view of Madam Delora. He must really want to catch her. She shivered and crouched lower in the basket.


    ¡°Nothing gets by my Lucifer, does it, Luci,¡± Madam Delora said in a smooth tone. She snapped her fingers again and suddenly the basket became very confining as it bowed under pressure. Sera frowned as the sides of the basket trembled under the weight of the suddenly humongous sized cat sitting on it. She lifted her hands up to the lid and felt a wide expanse of fur poking through the holes in the basket and a torrent of body heat radiating down towards her. Something released a growl so deep, it sounded like a tiger had entered the room. Sera gulped and removed her hands. Hopefully the basket wouldn¡¯t collapse, she would be completely flattened. ¡°In fact, you¡¯re not likely to get past my dear Luci either.¡±


    Another snap of her fingers and the cat¡ªor was that tiger?¡ªsprang off the wicker basket, sending it rocking to and fro on the floor. Sera squeaked and lowered herself further, hoping to maintain a low center of gravity and remain hidden within it. Lucifer, who had no such qualms about being seen, jumped up onto the rim of the bathtub, then leaped with his jaws open wide,  aiming straight for the head of the player where it poked out from the skylight.


    With a screech, the player drew back and disappeared. Madam Delora smiled at the frantic patter of footsteps over the roof, and then down the street.


    ¡°He¡¯s gone. You can come out now.¡±


    Sera slowly emerged from the basket. ¡°Uh¡­ thank you for that.¡±


    Madam Delora chuckled and began to emerge from the bathtub. Sera turned her back to give her some privacy. She waited until the torrent of dripping water died down and turned to look over her shoulder. Madam Delora was clad in a beautiful burgundy bath robe and holding out a glass of wine to her. ¡°I thought when I first met you, that you were a penniless, brazen, fool who had no idea of the ways of this world. And look what you¡¯ve turned out to be?¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­¡±


    ¡°A penniless, brazen, fool on the run from the law,¡± Madam Delora smiled knowingly as Sera bristled at her. ¡°I could use such a person.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡±


    ¡°No, I am not. I¡¯ve met plenty of people like you. A few have managed to be of use to me, and perhaps you¡¯ll be one of them. Will you accept my quest?¡±


    Quest Alert!


    Recommended Level: 3-6


    Your unruly ways have caught the eye of Madam Delora. ¡®I¡¯ve been wanting to sell a rustic little cottage on the outskirts of Hearthwilde, but the current tenants refuse to leave! I can¡¯t force them out¡ªsince we have a contract and I¡¯m such a wonderful landlord¡ªbut perhaps you could find a way to convince them that the low rent they pay isn¡¯t quite worth the trouble of living so far out of town and away from civilisation, hmm?


    Reward: Your escape from this town and the happiness you¡¯ll feel when you¡¯ve realised what a good deed you¡¯ve done for my tenants. Oh. And the experience you¡¯ll earn from the effort. Accept/Decline.


    Evict some poor people because they were clinging to their home and Madam Delora wanted more money? Sera frowned.


    ¡°But I¡¯m not yet Level 3,¡± she replied, trying to decline the quest without provoking the other woman.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, once you get into the forest, you¡¯ll find lots of opportunities to train,¡± Madam Delora said with a smirk. ¡°It¡¯s the only way you¡¯ll get out of the town, your current condition being as it is.¡±


    She was right. Sera couldn¡¯t possibly hope to outrun or sneak her way out of town with everyone looking for her. But still, she hesitated. Perhaps there was another way?


    ¡°If you¡¯re wondering if there¡¯s an alternative to taking this quest, there isn¡¯t one. Not for you,¡± Madam Delora said, breaking into her thoughts. ¡°Even if you find a way to defeat Lucifer and leave this room, I¡¯ll report that you were here. And I won¡¯t just stop at notifying the guards. I¡¯ll let those players whose gear and treasure you¡¯ve stolen know exactly who you are and where you¡¯re heading.¡±


    She chuckled at the look on Sera¡¯s face. ¡°Oh, you can¡¯t be that silly? What Level 1 gains so much loot in less than a day? Of course you¡¯ve robbed someone, you¡¯ve got everything dangling off of you. If I were you, I¡¯d take the most valuable things out of that bag and stick them down your boot or some other secret place so someone would at least have to spend time and have scavenging skills to get it off of you. And I¡¯d lose that naivete and scruples. You aren¡¯t going to get far in this world with them.¡±


    Lucifer, who was still in his large form, nuzzled his head against Madam Delora¡¯s hand. She raised her brow and held her fingers up, ready to snap them again in case Sera tried anything funny. ¡°So, do we have a deal?¡±


    Sera sighed and selected Accept. Madam Delora smiled a cheshire grin, then reached out to clink her glass against Sera¡¯s. She drank all her wine in one satisfied gulp.