《Remember Me Fondly》 Introduction and Chapter 1 Introduction: Hello everyone! This is a story whose plot I came up with rather quickly, but I think it could be a rather good one. I''ve written fanfic before and I''m actually writing this story as a means of practicing my writing. Though that doesn''t mean that this will be a slipshod work as I intend to put in my best effort. Anyway, I think I''ve rambled on a bit too much already. So, I hope you guys enjoy Yuri''s tale and her adventures in Royal Road. Chapter 1 ¨C A New World Yuri''s eyes shot open, gasping for air as if she had been about to drown in an ocean. It took some time, but she eventually managed to get her breathing back under control, though her heart was still wildly hammering away in her chest. Where...am I...? Her thoughts felt sluggish as she looked at her surroundings properly for the first time. It was dark. But Yuri''s eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness thanks to some light that was filtering in from...somewhere. She was in a cavern of some kind and after a slight shiver, she realized she was also naked. Any shame she would have had was soon forgotten as her vision improved. Her eyes widened and a small gasp left her mouth, ¡°Oh God...¡± All around her was an uncountable number of unmoving bodies. Piles of corpses were stacked together in obscene piles that stretched out into the darkness beyond. Her horror turned into sheer terror when she realized what she was sitting on; fingers were now acutely aware of the sensation of cold rigid flesh. Yuri''s breathing became more rapid as she met the lifeless gaze of a small child. She screamed, jumping up from the body, only to redouble her cries as she bumped into one of the piles of bodies. Her pleas for help echoed across the cave as she ran blindly through the darkness, ¡°What is this?! What is this?! Mama! Papa! Where are you!¡± yelled Yuri. How did I get here? What is this place! Her panicked thoughts came to a halt as she tripped on something, falling heavily to the one part of the glistening rocky floor that wasn''t covered in bodies. Yuri fell heavily to the ground as pain shot through her leg, confirming that she wasn''t just hallucinating this horrible place. Or so she thought.
You have been afflicted with the Undead ability: Paralysing Touch. You will be unable to move for 60 seconds. Temporary immunity to further Paralysing Touches will be granted for 2 minutes after the initial negative status has faded.
What could only be described as a dialog box that Yuri would see on her laptop popped up in front of her eyes. She could still breathe thankfully, but true to the message box''s words, she was unable to even lift a finger. One word stood out in the inexplicable message though. Undead? Her unspoken question was soon answered when she felt something around her ankle tighten. Her breathing quickened in pace, fear poisoning every breath as she was dragged across the damp floor. The fact that she couldn''t see what the hell was dragging her made the image she created in her mind all the more vivid. Yuri struggled in vain to escape the grip of her captor, to move something, to do anything. She became aware of a rasping breathing and a fetid stench that entered her nostrils. The paralysis prevented her from gagging, which made the smell all the more awful. How long has it been since that message popped up? 30? 25? At least 20 seconds must have passed already! As if answering her thoughts, another window popped up in front of her eyes with a numerical value in the corner decreasing at a regular pace.
Time until negative status is removed: 40 seconds
Time until negative status is removed: 39 seconds
Time until negative status is removed: 38 seconds
¡°Kekekeke¡± a raspy laughter pierced through the air, the cold grip around her ankles slowly slid up her leg. Revulsion swept through Yuri''s entire body as she stared at the dialog box, willing the countdown to go faster. At one second kick your leg out. At one second kick your leg out. At one second kick your leg out! She repeated this line over and over in her head so that it became a mantra. The timer read that there were 20 seconds left, her eyes sweeping the cave, trying to look for anything that could help her. The most immediate thing that she noticed was the light that was filling up the cavern. She couldn''t turn her head, but at the corner of her eye, the light seemed brighter. Hopefully it meant a way out of this hell. ¡°Such soft and smooth skin. Nothing like my own.¡± rasped the voice. Male but somehow distorted, as if the owner was suffering from a cold. Yuri had stopped moving as her assailant stopped pulling on her leg, though the hand remained, stroking her calves tenderly.
Time until negative status is removed: 12 seconds
¡°Could I be just as beautiful?...¡± the fingers of the man tightened on her leg.
Time until negative status is removed: 7 seconds
His fingers dug in her skin and drew blood, the sensation of blood trickling down the back of her legs could be distinctly felt. ¡°...If I took your skin for myself?¡± his voice ending in a feral growl. Yuri''s heart pounded as adrenaline coursed through her system, eyes glued to the dialog box''s timer.
Time until negative status is removed: 1 second
¡°AHHHHHH!¡± screamed Yuri, her leg extending out in one fluid motion with all the strength of her lower body. Her foot met resistance and she was satisfied to hear a startled yelp from her attacker, freeing her leg from his hand. Of course Yuri did not want to stop with just one kick, no; one kick would not be nearly enough to vent her rage. But survival was her priority right now, even though the small part of her mind that wasn''t focused on that, told her she was in some kind of virtual reality and she shouldn''t be in any real harm. Yuri had never played any virtual reality games before though, and the quality of this one, if it was a game that is, was indistinguishable from reality. Yuri shot to her legs, wincing a little bit from the wound the man caused her. But she couldn''t resist getting one last kick at her assailant. She turned and her eyes met half a man; he was trapped in one of the piles of bodies and had the appearance of the classical zombie in those movies that Papa loved. Glassy eyes, necrotic skin, rotted limbs; part of his skull was even missing, revealing the grey worm-infested brain matter underneath. No matter how much she wanted to, kicking this thing would definitely not be a good idea! The zombie growled at her, the frustration was evident in its voice, ¡°No! You''re mine! MINE!¡± ...One more kick couldn''t hurt. Yuri delivered a kick that would''ve made her old football captain proud to the side of the zombie''s face. As expected, it hurt considering she wasn''t wearing shoes, but the pained cry from the monster brought a fierce grin on her face. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
Temporary immunity from Paralysing Touch has prevented the acquisition of negative status. Buff will fade in 1 minute and 23 seconds.
Another dialog box popped out the second her foot made contact with the zombie. Ashamedly, Yuri had forgotten all about the temporary immunity and kicked the monster without thinking. Stupid! Abruptly she turned on her heels and started running off towards the light she had seen, when she heard a pained groan from behind her. ¡°...Ohhhh, you won''t get out of here alive!¡± claimed the zombie as it let out a blood-curdling roar that filled the cavern with unearthly echoes. Yuri''s stopped suddenly, shocked by the sudden shout, and then screaming as another hand popped out from a pile next to her. A woman with a partially melted face hissed at her with a bony hand clutching her arm, the sharp fragments of broken bone painfully dug into her unprotected skin.
Temporary immunity from Paralysing Touch has prevented the acquisition of negative status. Buff will fade in 1 minute and 5 seconds.
¡°Let go!¡± cried Yuri, throwing a punch towards her exposed elbow joint and breaking the woman''s grip. Yuri broke out into a shambling run the second she was free, terror gripping her as the piles of bodies came alive, ghastly moans emanating from all around her; all attention focused on her. Like a cheesy horror attraction, hands stretched out from the fleshy walls that surrounded her, blindly groping the air. Yuri bobbed and weaved between the rotting appendages, crying out every time one of them got a lucky shot. Don''t run towards the light. That was the line she had always heard in hospital dramas, the fretting mother urging her child not to go towards the light. It was such a weird thing to think of that she started laughing, tears rolling down her face, as she ran for what she hoped would be the exit. Anywhere is better than here! The small part of her that wasn''t terror-stricken noticed that the corpse-piles were steadily decreasing in number the closer she got to the light. Somehow she managed to increase her break-neck pace even further when she saw how close she was to the finish line. Yuri wasn''t sure what made her do it, but some kind of animal instinct told her to stop, despite the speed she was travelling with. Somehow Yuri managed to skid to a stop just in time to see a very sharp looking sword swept heavily through the air where she had just been. If I hadn''t moved, I would''ve been... Yuri swallowed heavily to prevent herself from retching at the grim thought. It stood unmoving, blocking her only exit. Covered from head-to-toe in gleaming black armor that had the figure of a roaring dragon etched onto the chest-plate. A large sword was carelessly held in a very literal bony hand, ready to swing the second she moved near it. Gleaming red eyes that burned like fire were the only things lighting up the darkness underneath the helmet it wore. It seemed content to wait there as the shambling horde of undead picked their way out of the piles they were in and came for her. Even though it was by itself, the powerful feeling that gushed out like waves from it made Yuri consider that she might have better luck fighting off the horde of zombies. Something like steam seemed to be gushing out of it''s mouth, eyes gleaming with pure malice. The skeleton knight, for it was wearing something similar to a knight''s armor, made Yuri''s choice for her as it started to walk towards her. The knight''s ambulation was nothing like the shambling gait it''s lesser kin displayed, no; this was practically a confident strut. It''s sword was lifted off the ground, ready to strike at the helpless, quivering girl. No...No! I''m so close! If I can just get past this guy...The dialog box telling Yuri of the time of how long the ¡°buff¡± would last only appeared when she was touched by an undead with the ability. It didn''t always appear when she was running through the cave, meaning that not every undead carried the ability. But this monster would most likely have the same ability, if not a stronger one. She had kept an internal clock because of this which currently read her buff lasting for another 19 seconds. Yuri''s eyes quickly scanned her surroundings, looking for anything that might be a weapon. A golden locket shined through the dark interior of the cave, although it wouldn''t be of much help to her. Spying an ivory object near her feet, Yuri quickly scooped it up; it was a yellowed human femur. Supposedly this was the strongest bone in the human body, as good of a weapon as any she guessed. The knight seemed to find this display amusing, for it gave the same laugh that zombie did. ¡°Kekekekeke.¡± chortled the knight, ¡°Little bird, pretty bird. Do you think you can face the Knight of Sorrows with that? Kekekeke.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± instantly replied Yuri, letting loose a yell as she charged at the knight with the bone in her hand held high. The skeleton knight was shocked at this foolhardy charge and so it''s action was slightly delayed. Yuri made another unexpected move by again coming to a dead-stop as the knight swung at empty air and the sword struck the ground with a clang. Using the momentum of her run, Yuri threw the femur so that it sailed end-over-end towards the knight''s unprotected hand. Check. 6 more seconds were left on her clock and Yuri broke into a run as soon as the bone left her hand. Smack! The femur projectile hit the skeleton knight''s hand and broke it''s grip on its sword which fell clattering to the ground. Her bare feet slapped the ground as she ran towards the exit. In her peripheral vision she saw the skeleton abandoning the idea of picking up the sword and attacking her barehanded. With a blinding speed, its fist slammed into the side of Yuri''s arm. She could feel the arm breaking and the pain that came with it, but the adrenaline in her system dulled the sensation.
Temporary immunity from Paralysing Touch has prevented the acquisition of negative status. Buff has been removed.
You have been dealt a critical hit! You are considered to be in a disadvantaged state and thus monsters will have a damage bonus applied when attacking you.
Another two boxes, both bearing bad news. But more importantly, the knight''s blow had pushed her closer to the exit. Yuri could hear the rattling of it''s armor, but she didn''t dare turn around and look. She was so close, partially dragging her body with her one good arm off the floor and stumbling towards the exit. Her body had rapidly lost all of it''s strength, that blow was more serious than she thought. 3 more steps. 2 more. Yuri stepped into the light and where she expected to meet the resistance of ground, her feet kissed nothing but air. Her eyes watered from the bright light, but she could just make out that she had stepped out of the lip of a cave situated on a cliff wall. And far below her, was a raging river, roaring in all of it''s natural fury. Yuri tried to regain her balance and just as she was about to succeed, something hit her back and propelled her over the edge. Screaming, she fell into the rapids, briefly getting a glimpse of the femur that was thrown back at her, before she plunged into the icy depths. [p=center]Next Chapter[/p] Chapter 2 Sorry for the delay with this one, had a few exams to take care of. Not too much action in this chapter, but a lot of hints and clues of what TOP SECRET is actually going on. Next chapter will have more action and hopefully a few more answers. Hope you guys enjoy! Chapter 2 ¨C A Strange Girl Guinevere sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day, dropping the plant she had held close to her eyes in frustration. Annoyed she fell backwards onto the grass with a plop, hands propping her head up on the soft, loamy earth. For a few minutes, she lay there, easing her tension as the breeze rolled over her with its gentle caresses, sunlight tickling her face. A smile rolled across her face, eyes closed as she savored the sensations of nature. Guinevere opened her eyes after relaxing for a bit and opened up her inventory screen. A large grey window appeared before her eyes, the top right corner was emblazoned with the picture of a brown rucksack. The window was separated into 64 individual slots with a tab on the side of the window marked as ¡°Equipment¡±. In the twelfth slot of her inventory screen, Guinevere gazed at a certain item, its box becoming highlighted as she looked at it.
Amoranthus Herb - A very rare plant found in few locations in the continent of Versailles. Prized by alchemists for its synergistic effects in alchemical reactions in boosting the overall quality of the finished product. Amount currently held: 3
¡°Close window.¡± muttered Guinevere. The command was immediately acknowledged as the inventory screen closed with a flash, leaving behind nothing but an unobstructed view of the forest once again. Guinevere had managed to get three herbs after several hours of arduous work, the damn things were in treacherous and nearly impossible to reach locations. It had sounded like a simple request, ¡°Find ten herbs and bring it back to me and I''ll write an introduction letter for you to the Bards Guild.¡± ¡°Tch!¡± Some simple request! It might be a C-ranked quest, but Guinevere had thought that the difficulty would''ve been in just fighting some strong monsters. A nearly impossible fight she could handle. A long and arduous search was almost too much for her to bear. ¡°Right then!¡± Guinevere came to a decision and jumped to her feet, ¡°Time for a break!¡± Without bothering to dust the dirt from her clothes, Guinevere set a confident pace through the trees, trusting her hearing to lead her to the correct destination. She met a few wolves along the way, but those she beat up quickly and continued on her way with barely a pause. The trickling sounds of water grew stronger and a smile blossomed on her face as the trees in front of her grew thinner. Her pace quickened with excitement and she burst out of the foliage into a clearing with a wide river with clear water flowing through at a rapid pace. Several tributaries from other sources joined the river at different parts along its path. One in particular was flowing quite fast and carried with it quite a lot of debris. The distant roar of a waterfall could be heard some ways off, a fine spray of mist could just barely be made out at the far end of Guinevere''s vision. Some deer were drinking from one of the slower moving tributaries, heads bobbing up from the water as Guinevere appeared from the forest. Seeing how she was far away and didn''t appear to give off any dangerous intentions, the animals returned to placidly drinking from the flowing waters. ¡°Inventory window. Equipment.¡± called out Guinevere, trotting over to the edge of the river happily. The screen for the inventory window popped up and expanded with a secondary screen displaying Guinevere''s equipment. A rough caricature of a person filled this new window, with boxes overlaying several parts of the body; indicating what items were equipped. ¡°Unequip boots. Equip ''Insane Bard''s Gloves''¡±. The area around Guinevere''s hands and feet flashed with a white light and quickly faded as the effect took place. Guinevere''s feet were now unhindered as she reveled in the delightful sensations of the grass and soil beneath her bare feet. Her hands which had previously been encased in a set of spiked gauntlets were replaced with a beautiful pair of white gloves that had a delicate gold filigree traced around the wrist. The gloves extended to her elbows and bore the appearance of a piano player''s gloves with the texture of finest silk, Guinevere''s mood was in a very good place now. Reaching the edge of the river, Guinevere eased herself into a sitting position and submerged her feet inside of the cool water. ¡°Ahhhh...¡± exhaled Guinevere contentedly, a blissful smile on her lips. She enjoyed the sensations of the river''s movement and the water''s temperature for a few seconds, before straightening her posture. ¡°Lute.¡± she clearly intoned, her gloves seeming to flash in response as she positioned her arms in a fashion that could only be described as an ¡°Air Guitar¡± pose with a look of concentration adorning her face. Her hand nearest to her waist strummed an invisible cord, as a single clear note pierced the air. Her hands could feel the strings of the instrument, but her eyes could not perceive it. Thus Guinevere entered a trance-like state where she closed her eyes, visualizing the instrument in her mind as her hands moved along it. Slowly, her hands moved across the incorporeal strings, brushing against them with tender care. One note. Two notes. A string of notes elevating in pitch filled the air as the musician tested the various notes that her lute was capable of playing. Soon the notes were cobbled together as the warm-up period finished, Guinevere was spellbound by the lute''s harmonic sounds as she created a cheerful melody that seemed to match the tranquil clearing perfectly. It was this kind of setting that made Guinevere adore Royal Road; the freedom to play any instrument she wanted in the most fantastical of settings. Her song was quiet, yet it seemed to resonate through every part of the clearing, catching the attention of the animals that were quenching their thirst at the river. Furry brown, spotted ears perked up at the lively tune emanating from the small girl sitting at the river, moving as close as they dared towards her. It was dangerous to lose herself like this, but the bewitching nature of music was far too sweet to resist as she fell into its embrace, adding her own voice to the melody that flooded the air. [p=center]Oh, sweet child of mine, Where have you gone? My arms are empty, my legs are heavy I miss you, O'' child of mine. Oh, sweet child of mine, Where have you gone? I miss your smile and your joyful voice, But please don''t worry O'' child of mine. A kiss, a soft look, a warm embrace; What do you need, Oh sweet child of mine? For when you are here, my body is light, My arms are strong, my legs are quick So as to hold you and to run to your side. For I shall be here, Forever waiting for you, A calm refuge, a shelter in the storm, When you need me, I will be here. Oh, sweet child of mine. ...[/p] While she wasn''t too confident in the lyrics, her voice showed no such hesitation and rang out true with all the youthful energy contained in her body. Guinevere''s high, but sweet voice made a harmonious consonance with the notes played on the invisible lute, that continued to be strung in a hypnotic rhythm.
[p=center]You gained expertise rating in the Composing skill.[/p] Level up: Composing skill [Intermediate 2] Enables you to compose and craft songs on any instrument Increased effects for each song played (+20% effect)
Familiar windows, but ones that had appeared often enough that Guinevere was able to continue playing uninterrupted. Or she might''ve been able to, had a piercing cry not broke her concentration, ¡°Help...me!¡±
The rapids Yuri had fallen into had robbed her of her vision the second she had plunged into it''s horrifying depths. It was so dark and so very cold. Deprived of her sight, Yuri flailed in the water, desperately seeking a way to the surface. A burning sensation in her chest told her that her oxygen supply was rapidly dwindling and an incessant primal need was urging her to take a breath. Clipping the rocky wall of the canyon sent a fresh burst of pain through her as it struck the side of her broken arm and causing her to involuntary gasp in pain, releasing the last of her precious air. Awkwardly, desperately, Yuri attempted to make a synchronized motion towards the surface with her three remaining limbs. However the river''s speed and torturous path worked against her, defying any attempts of effective swimming motions as she slammed into rocks interspersed in the middle of the river. As a result, Yuri''s lungs had gone past their limit and she reflexively drew a breath. The effect was immediate and awful. Water poured into her throat and flooded her esophagus and windpipe, triggering a horrible vomiting reflex. Yuri gagged from the fluid, stomach seizing in pain as she drew in yet another breath causing more water to pour in a progressively worsening cycle. It was then that she burst free of the river''s depths, half taking in some water with her next breath and half taking in precious air. Yuri fought to keep herself above the churning water, legs burning with exhaustion as her stomach painfully contracted again while she vomited the remaining water out of her lungs. Her most immediate problem solved, Yuri clawed her hand across the walls of the canyon, the rocks looking for some means of purchase and escape these turbid waters. ¡°Someone! Anyone! Help me!¡± she cried out, choking a bit as she dipped under the waves and inadvertently swallowed some more water. Panicking she rapidly looked for a means of escape, but she was in a long, winding canyon with tall walls stretching high above her. The current sped up suddenly and Yuri instinctively reacted by kicking her legs faster, trying to escape its pull. Her attempts were in vain, her progress barely halted; the best she could do was avoid the rocks and parts of the cliff that jutted out dangerously into the water. The narrow passageway Yuri was in, was beginning to narrow she saw with some relief. Until she noticed a spray of mist being shot up for several meters into the sky with considerable force that a cold hand of fear gripped her heart. Yuri exited the canyon with an alarming speed into a clearing with several other rivers joining a central one that ended with a large waterfall. The pace of the river exceeded Yuri''s ability to make it to the other side, where she might crawl up the sides. That was when she heard a snippet of someone singing, just over the roar of the falls and her own waterlogged ears: [p=center]Oh, sweet child of mine, Where have you gone? ...[/p] Her legs were cramping and she knew it wouldn''t be long before they completely seized and she went once more underneath the water. Summoning the last reserves of her strength, Yuri yelled with all her might, ¡°Help me!!!¡± With that act, the muscles in Yuri''s calves spasmed uncontrollably and her wild treading of the water was halted, plunging her beneath the water once more. Even so, Yuri attempted to pump her arms to gain some traction, her left arm screaming in protest with pain that nearly caused her to pass out. A subtle shift of the current into an even faster one and Yuri knew she was in the main river, possibly seconds away from passing over the waterfall. With three limbs out of commission, Yuri stretched out her right arm, breaching the water''s surface; refusing to give up. As if answering her prayer, her tenacity was rewarded and Yuri felt herself being enveloped in a tight embrace and being pulled across the breadth of the channel. But it wasn''t enough. Too slow! We''re not going to make it!. Ever so slowly, they were sucked towards the gaping maw of the waterfall, the strength of her rescuer was not enough to escape it''s pull. Yuri once again came above the water to see the dizzying sight of water falling a very long way down, a loud roar emanated from the waterfall that vibrated her bones. Coughing now that she was free of the water''s grasp, Yuri blearily grasped her situation. She wasn''t falling. Yuri blinked the water out of her eyes and tried twisting her head to see what happened, only to be stopped by a strained reprimand. ¡°Ah...try not to move around too much. Barely...holding on as it is.¡± said her savior. Female by the sounds of it; young too. Water continued to flow down all around her with tremendous force and volume as it disappeared into the misty depths below her dangling feet. ¡°Could you hold onto me? This is a bit hard with just...ah...one hand.¡± asked the mysterious girl, whose strength was clearly flagging. ¡°Mmh...with one hand I think I could hold on. My other arm''s busted.¡± ¡°Ah. Well maybe...¡± the girl''s words were cut off short as the pair suddenly dropped a few centimeters. Yuri''s heart leaped to her throat at the sudden jolt and only resumed beating when she wasn''t sure they weren''t going to fall any further. ¡°Never mind. It''ll have to do as I can''t hold on with this arm for much longer.¡± The girl tightened her grip around Yuri''s waist and drew her in even closer, ¡°Wrap your arm around me and hook your fingers through my belt.¡± said the girl. Yuri quickly complied and tried putting as much of her meager strength into holding onto the girl. ¡°Hold onto it tighter!¡± Yuri squeezed her arm around the girl''s waist, fingers straining as it pulled on the leather loops of the girl''s belt. Seeing that Yuri was secure, the girl let go of Yuri. ¡°Ah!¡± Yuri gave a small yelp, the strain of supporting her own weight was greater than she thought, ¡°I can''t do this for very long!¡± she cried. ¡°Don''t worry, I''ll get us out of this!¡± shouted the girl confidently. And then, in an act that utterly bewildered Yuri, she started singing in a powerful voice that seemed to overwhelm the rumbling of the waterfall: [p=center]I wanna go beyond that golden door, I wanna see what no one''s seen before! I wanna go that extra mile, Cause'' I know that it''ll be worth my while! If I''m not afraid, I can do anything If I''m not afraid, I can go anywhere If I''m not afraid, I can be anyone, Anytime, anyhow, anywhere; I''m not afraid.[/p] ¡°What are you doing...?¡± asked Yuri in a confused voice, trailing off and staring blankly when she saw that the girl had started glowing. A soft, yellow light bloomed from the girl as Yuri felt herself being slowly lifted up. It was a strong, controlled ascent that showed none of the signs of fatigue the girl was showing earlier as Yuri was pulled up past the lip of the waterfall and onto a large flat stone. Her feet finally meeting solid ground, Yuri started to relax her grip. ¡°Don''t let go yet, this isn''t a safe spot and my song doesn''t have a very long duration.¡± ordered the girl. Confused, Yuri obediently kept her grip on the girl and then immediately tightening it when the girl jumped off of the rock they were standing on. Yuri screamed and maintained a death-grip on the girl as she did a mad leap frog series of jumps from one stone to the next. A few terrifying series of jumps later and the girls had escaped the clutches of the river and Yuri was once again on land. Yuri had never felt so relieved to be on dry land in her entire life as she fell to her knees with exhaustion. She looked up at the figure of the girl who was outlined in the warm sunlight that was beaming down on both of them. ¡°Thank you.¡± managed Yuri before she succumbed to her exhaustion and wounds.
Seoul. South Korea''s capital and one of the largest cities in the entire world, home to a population of over 25 million people. The entire country was entering a new height of popularity in the world thanks to the exploits of the Unicorn Corporation and their world-shattering creation of virtual reality. As a result, the economy of South Korea was at an all time high, as new business opportunities with other countries were established and tourism was flourishing. However this had the unfortunate side-effect of an escalation of crime occurring in the city, piling on additional burdens to those who worked in law enforcement and crime. Yuri frowned to herself as she thought about this, while stirring a simmering pot filled with a mixture of ground beef and shrimp in a special sauce made by Yuri. She was wearing a rather frilly apron that her mother had insisted she wore even though she had said she wouldn''t spill anything. Her mother had waved away Yuri''s protest with a laugh, ¡°It''s fine, it''s fine! You look so cute after all!¡± Yuri glanced at the time on the oven''s digital clock, fluorescent-green numbers that read 19:15. She sighed, giving another stir of the pot with the wooden spoon before she covered the pot and turned down the heat, placing the spoon on a plate next to a steel bowl housing the noodles she had cooked a few minutes earlier. ¡°Sigh too much and you''ll get wrinkles.¡± said her mother, wrapping Yuri into a tight embrace from behind. ¡°How''s everything going on your end?¡± she asked cheerfully. ¡°It''s been ready for a while now, I''ve just been stirring for something to do.¡± replied Yuri. She looked at the clock again: 19:16. ¡°Papa''s late.¡± ¡°Mmh.¡± agreed her mother, ¡°Papa''s just busy with work. You know how he is: even if it''s a small case, which it probably is, he''ll be throwing all of his energy into it.¡± ¡°Still...he could at least take it easy on his birthday.¡± mumbled Yuri, leaning back against her mother. ¡°His favorite food won''t mean much if it''s cold.¡± Her mother kissed her forehead, ¡°If it was made by you, then no matter what it is, he''d gobble it up with a delighted face.¡± They both laughed. ¡°Now if you''re done here, why don''t you help critique my decorations.¡± releasing Yuri and grabbing her hand to pull her away to the living room. Ding Dong! ¡°He''s here!¡± exclaimed Yuri excitedly.
Yuri awoke to the sound of sweet singing and the sound of some string instrument she didn''t recognize. For a moment, she lay there, basking in a feeling of profound wellness; the dream was already a fading memory. Yuri''s arm wasn''t hurting anymore, nor was any other part of her body, and something that was soft and thick was covering her, providing a delightful sense of warmth. She still didn''t have any clothes, but compared to freezing in a cave filled with corpses or in frigid waters, this was miles better. Still, I should probably get up...she thought reluctantly. She opened her eyes, slowly, taking a peek at her surroundings first. She was probably in a safe area, but after the last place she had woken up, it couldn''t hurt to be too careful. There, just across from where she was laying down, was a girl of maybe her own age sitting with crossed legs. She had short, spiky, electric-blue hair that matched well with her tomboy appearance. A plain beige-colored shirt was partially obscured by an open leather vest dotted with many pockets and shorts that showed off her shapely legs while still retaining some modesty. Her eyes were closed, her arms holding...nothing it seemed, though her hands plucked away at invisible strings that produced harmonic lilting sounds. A frown appeared on the girl''s face, though her eyes remained closed, as she repeated a string of notes while muttering to herself, ¡°No...that doesn''t sound right. Maybe if I play an octave higher?...¡± finishing her thought by playing a higher pitched set of sounds. She still didn''t seem satisfied though. ¡°Mou...Is this better? Not sure if this is even any good...¡± ¡°I thought it was pretty.¡± remarked Yuri honestly. The girl flinched at the unexpected sound and flicked her eyes warily towards Yuri. Though the expression was brief as she gave Yuri a relieved smile. ¡°Morning, sleepyhead.¡± ¡°Morning.¡± smiled Yuri, pushing herself up into a sitting position, holding the cloak that had been covering her in front of her body. Yuri bowed her head towards the girl, ¡°Thank you very much for saving me.¡± The girl awkwardly scratched her head at Yuri''s display, ¡°Don''t mention it, anyone would have done the same thing.¡± Yuri chuckled, ¡°I don''t think just ''anyone'' could have pulled themselves up over a waterfall. So thank you, really. I would''ve died if it wasn''t for you, Miss...?¡± ¡°Guinevere. And please, it really wasn''t that big a deal, uh-¡± ¡°Yuri. My name is Yuri.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you Yuri!¡± beamed Guinevere. ¡°Likewise.¡± smiled back Yuri. The two girls giggled as the atmosphere eased with the introductions out of the way. Though a pressing question still needed to be addressed, ¡°...This might seem like a weird question...but, where exactly are we?¡± Guinevere blinked a few times before answering; apparently it was a weird question. ¡°We''re in Dale of course. One of the smaller kingdoms in Versailles.¡± The confused expression Yuri had on her face prompted a question from Guinevere, ¡°Continent of Versailles...You know, the world of Royal Road?¡± Her suspicions were confirmed but Yuri was still a bit shocked, ¡°Then all of this...what I''m seeing...feeling...this is all a game?¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Flabbergasted, Guinevere quickly asked, ¡°Well, yeah! Of course! Where did you think you were?¡± ¡°I was!...I was...helping my mother set up for my Dad''s birthday and then...¡± Yuri put a hand to her forehead, a dull throbbing pain radiated from her temples. ¡°...And then?¡± asked Guinevere, gently urging her to finish her train of thought. The blanket fell from Yuri''s hands, causing Guinevere to turn red in embarrassment, ¡°What are you-¡± cutting off her remark when she saw Yuri''s face, ¡°Hey, Yuri. Are you okay?¡± ¡°I can''t...I don''t remember what happened after that! I don''t know how I got here!¡± Yuri was breathing very hard, both hands were desperately massaging her temples as she racked her brains trying to remember how she had gotten here. The events of the past few hours were catching up to her. A game? This is a game? How did I even get here?! She felt sick, nausea crept up on her and was threatening to overwhelm her when a voice broke through her panic. ¡°Yuri! Yuri! Calm down! You''re okay!¡± yelled Guinevere, shaking her shoulders. ¡°How can I be calm! I can''t remember how I even got here!¡± It felt like she was drowning all over again, chest tightening, heart pounding in her ears. ¡°You won''t figure anything out by going hysterical! You need to calm down and just breathe.¡± Whether it was her soothing voice or the simple touch of her fingers, Yuri slowed her frantic breathing down; forcing herself to take deep breaths according to Guinevere''s gentle instructions. ¡°In through the nose.¡± Breathe in. ¡°And out through the mouth.¡± Breathe out. It took some time, but Yuri was able to get some semblance of control back, the blanket once again draped over her body, though a comforting arm was also wrapped around her trembling form. With some gentle coaxing, Guinevere encouraged Yuri to start her story from what she could remember. In a soft voice, Yuri told her tale of how the first thing she remembered was waking up in the cave and quickly coming to the horrifying realization that it was filled with corpses and monsters and then nearly drowning right after that. It was surprisingly therapeutic to talk about her experiences, and though a trail of tears was evident on her face; Yuri was no longer shaking. Guinevere shook her head in disbelief, ¡°That''s just...wow. I can''t even begin to imagine what a horrible situation that must have been for you, especially if you''ve never tried a VRMMO before. And you also said that it was the most painful thing in your life when that Knight of Sadness or whatever broke your arm right?¡± ¡°Mmh. I''ve dislocated my arm before, but it was nothing compared to this.¡± Yuri shuddered at the remembered agony, unconsciously rubbing her now healed arm. ¡°That''s the thing: The default function in all of the virtual reality pods is that pain is turned off. The most you''ll ever feel from a really bad wound is buzzing sensation. If you want to turn the pain on you have to manually change the settings on the pod in a really long and drawn-out process. And even when they give you instructions that come with the pod that will supposedly make the process easier, it just ends up making the thing even more complicated.¡± ranted Guinevere, catching herself when Yuri looked at her with a funny expression. ¡°Ahem. The point being is that the pod you seem to be accessing the game from is a heavily modified one compared to the factory default, which is something you wouldn''t find in the VRMMO net cafes around the city.¡± ¡°So...I''m in someone''s pod that''s been modified so that pain has been turned on. Why though? A prank?¡± Guinevere shrugged in response, ¡°That would be my guess. Especially if you''ve never tried Royal Road before, you wouldn''t know how to log out even if you wanted to. But...¡± ¡°...Even for a prank, this is going way too far.¡± finishing her thoughts with her own; the two had reached the same morbid conclusion. ¡°Logging out could be dangerous.¡± said Guinevere, breaking the sudden silence that had encroached upon them. ¡°Staying here isn''t going to do me much better.¡± Yuri pulled the edges of the blanket around her even tighter, a phantom pain still lingered in her body. Yuri felt a reassuring squeeze from Guinevere and she looked up to nod her thanks. ¡°Do you know anyone who might want to do this to you?¡± asked Guinevere. ¡°No one in particular comes to mind, no.¡± answered Yuri in frustration, ¡°And I''ve been going crazy trying to figure out how the hell this all happened!¡± ¡°OK, well let''s take things one step at a time. Let''s assume this is a prank.¡± said Guinevere, trying to placate Yuri, though it was obvious to Yuri that Guinevere was just as confused and angry as she was, ¡°A really, REALLY messed up prank.¡± ¡°If they wanted to hurt you, they''d do it. One of the safeguards of the pod is that if anything happens to your body out there will trigger an automatic log out. Even if the house or place you were in was on fire, the pod would detect the carbon monoxide in the air and trigger a log out as well as alert any built-in security system you might have to contact the authorities.¡± said Guinevere. ¡°Didn''t you say that you can modify these pods though? That''s how you turn on the pain function, right?¡± asked Yuri with a confused expression. ¡°Despite how long it takes, turning on the pain function is basically flipping a switch. The safeguards that were built into the pod can''t be turned off without shutting off the entire virtual reality interface.¡± ¡°That''s a pretty good system.¡± admitted Yuri, impressed despite how awful this day had turned out. ¡°It has to be. Virtual reality is such an incredible and groundbreaking technology that it''s under constant scrutiny by every country outside of Korea. Any fault in the system will be met with harsh criticism around the world; especially by countries who don''t have the VRMMO tech yet.¡± ¡°No offense, but you seem to know a lot about this. Or is everyone who plays Royal Road this well-informed.¡± complimented Yuri. With a pained face, Guinevere replied, ¡°No I''m really not too good with the specifics. The stuff I do know is what I got from the tutorial when I first started the game.¡± she gave a deep sigh with some remembered annoyance, ¡°95% advertisement and 5% actual instructions on how to play the game.¡± ¡°Ah, sorry for going off on a tangent there. Basically what I''m trying to say is that if someone wanted to hurt you, physically at least, they would have already done so.¡± ¡°So then logging out...?¡± began Yuri hopefully. ¡°Might be worth trying, yeah.¡± Guinevere nodded to herself, as if to confirm the facts to herself, ¡°OK, first, go ahead and say ''System Menu''¡± ¡°System Menu.¡± repeated Yuri, flinching a little when a large blue column of names appeared in front of her body. ¡°Do you see the system menu with names like ''Options'', ''Settings'' and the like?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Go ahead and click on the ''Options'' button with your index finger.¡± Obediently, Yuri pressed her finger on the tab labelled as options, surprised when her finger met resistance. The tab was briefly highlighted in a dark blue underneath her finger before the entire window changed to be replaced with a new one. Yuri didn''t need any further instructions as she saw what she was looking for at the bottom of the list. In slightly grey letters was a box labelled ¡°Log out¡±. Yuri pressed the button filled with confidence and...nothing happened. Frowning, Yuri pushed again on the box harder this time. But there was no reaction like with the options button, the log out button did not become highlighted when she pressed it. Yuri pushed other buttons like ¡°Audio¡± just to see if this window was broken, but they all worked fine. Seeing her growing distress Guinevere asked, ¡°Yuri? Did you find the log out button?¡± ¡°I did..but this stupid...thing...won''t...work!¡± punctuating every word with a harder press. Still no reaction. ¡°Log out.¡± said Yuri, trying a new tactic. ¡°Log me out. Exit. Escape.¡± Nothing. ¡°Gah!¡± ¡°Yuri, what does the box look like to you? Are the letters a deep black color or are they slightly grey?¡± ¡°Grey.¡± Guinevere groaned in understanding, ¡°Damn. I was afraid of that.¡± ¡°Afraid of what?¡± said Yuri, trying to keep her annoyance at bay. ¡°In Royal Road there are certain areas where escape by log-out is impossible, the only way to get kicked out of the game is to get killed.¡± ¡°You mean that cave I woke up in right? But why should that matter now?¡± Yuri suddenly had a horrible thought that she was somehow still trapped in that cave and was simply imagining this. ¡°Certain dungeons will leave certain effects on players, even when you exit the dungeon they''ll still be active. Sometimes you can get these negative status effects by just being in the dungeon for a long time and others you get by an attack from a boss monster.¡± ¡°Was the Knight of Sorrows a boss monster?¡± ¡°Doubtful, if he was, I''m pretty sure he would''ve taken you out in one shot.¡± Yuri gulped at the thought of being so close to death. Even if it was a game, it was all too real for her. ¡°Let''s just check something real quick though. Just above the log-out button, there should be a tab that says ''Display''. Go ahead and click on that.¡± Yuri quickly located the tab and pressed the button, the name highlighting as the window once again changed. ¡°Now what?¡± she asked. ¡°There should be an empty check-box next to a line that reads: ''Display Status bars''. Make a check-mark in the box by pushing it.¡± Yuri found the corresponding line and checked the black box. The system menu closed and near the periphery of Yuri''s vision, two small bars appeared with white numerals next to them. The green bar was labelled as HP and the blue bar as MP. ¡°Two bars should have appeared in front of you.¡± said Guinevere, asking for confirmation. Yuri gave it and she continued her explanation, ¡°These are your status bars, the green one displays your Hit points, the blue one your Magic points. If you have any negative statuses or buffs, there should normally be a small red box with a picture next to the green bar. Do you see anything like that?¡± Yuri shook her head despondently, though Guinevere didn''t appear to be stumped by this information. ¡°Well, maybe it''s a special curse or something like that that doesn''t show up on the status bar. Either way, if we go to a town, you''ll be able to log out for sure.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± exclaimed Yuri, a delighted smile spreading across her face. ¡°Definitely. Towns and cities are designated as safe zones and more importantly, homes to the Church of Freya.¡± ¡°The Church of Freya?¡± repeated Yuri questioningly. ¡°It''s the major religious organization in this game. What matters to us though is that they''re able to remove any curses that a player might have.¡± explained Guinevere though she had a difficult expression on her face. ¡°I''m sensing a but here.¡± sighed Yuri. Guinevere gave her a troubled smile and scratched her head awkwardly. ¡°But this isn''t a service they provide for free.¡± ¡°Of course it isn''t.¡± groaned Yuri, the small moment of happiness had been dulled quite a bit, though her situation had a definite solution now. ¡°How much is it? And how do you make money in this game?¡± ¡°You can get gold, the currency in this game, by doing various tasks. The most common way is killing monsters and selling the items that they drop. The other way is performing specific tasks, or quests, for the NPCs in this game.¡± ¡°NPCs?¡± ¡°Non-playable characters. They''re one of the big reasons why the game is so popular because they act and talk like they were real people. The quests they give are the main highlights of the game too, you could be doing something like exploring a kingdom floating in the sky, saving a lost child from vicious monsters or discovering a lost treasure hoard.¡± gushed Guinevere. Yuri had to admit that did sound like it would be a lot of fun, especially now that she saw what this game was like. If she had entered this game like a lot of other people, maybe she would have enjoyed it as much as Guinevere seemed to. But back in the real world she didn''t have to worry about getting killed like she almost did here. There was pain, sure, but at least the possibility of danger wasn''t as high as it seemed to be in this place. That being said, if she wanted to get home, it looked as if she was going to have to play the game. ¡°Seems like you made up your mind about something.¡± commented Guinevere, an admiring look on her face. ¡°Mmh. It might be a bit rude to ask this seeing as you''ve done so much for me already, but could you help me get to this town? I don''t think I would make it very far on my own.¡± pleaded Yuri earnestly. ¡°You dummy. After hearing a story like that, how could I let you go on your own.¡± laughed Guinevere, flicking Yuri''s forehead. ¡°In fact, I can help you raise the amount you''ll need. I''m in the middle of a quest right now and the reward is big enough to cover the cost of getting rid of that curse.¡± I didn''t think I would meet someone as kind as this, Guinevere is really too nice. Warmth flooded Yuri''s heart as she thought these things, ¡°Thank you.¡± she said, touched by her words. ¡°Yup! Knew I made the right decision fishing you out of the river!¡± exclaimed Guinevere, ¡°Now I can finally finish this stupid quest!¡± ...Maybe it would''ve been better to go off the waterfall.
¡°So just look through this bit here and squeeze the trigger.¡± coached Guinevere, teaching Yuri how to use the crossbow she had in her inventory. The girl pursed her lips together as her brows furrowed with concentration, aiming for the tree that Guinevere had indicated. Twang! The crossbow bolt sprang out with a tremendous amount of force, though the secure position that Yuri had braced it against her shoulders prevented it from flying out of her slender hands. ¡°Nice shot!¡± verifying the result when she walked over to the tree. She had carved a pseudo-bullseye mark onto the tree and Yuri''s shot was only a little bit off center. Stats mattered in Royal Road, but experience and natural instinct, like in Yuri''s case apparently, weighed a great deal as well. ¡°Now you don''t just look like a hunter anymore.¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± she called back, ¡°But are you sure you don''t have anything less...revealing?¡± a faint blush was evident from even this distance was spreading up her neck. Guinevere had to admit Yuri looked quite alluring, although that probably had to do more with her figure than anything. She felt a momentary twinge of jealousy, though that was quickly squashed when she saw how embarrassed Yuri was. The girl was outfitted in a faded brown leather jerkin with a pair of leather shorts coupled together with a pair of hiking boots that stretched up to her knees. Though the shorts were short enough that her milky-white thighs were exposed quite a bit. The outfit was something Guinevere had whipped up with her tailoring skill using the few pieces of leather she had. Eying the outfit critically, Guinevere thought she did a pretty good job with what she had. Hmm...looks like I might have a talent for this kind of thing! Ehehe. ¡°Uh, Guinevere?¡± said Yuri. Guinevere snapped out of her idle thoughts and gave an apologetic smile to Yuri, ¡°Sorry, I''m afraid that''s the best I could do. You shouldn''t worry too much though, you look pretty cute!¡± ¡°Eh?!¡± stammered Yuri as she turned crimson, waving her arms around in protest, but still trying to cover her legs. She''s fun to tease thought Guinevere happily, though she tried calming her down anyway, ¡°Come on, let''s get moving. This search will be a lot easier in the day and we''re losing light.¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, okay!¡± said Yuri, recovering from the compliment, though she was still pink in the cheeks. Guinevere thought the way she was running over to her was like an awkward puppy, a little funny and very adorable. ¡°Make sure to stay behind me Yuri.¡± reminded Guinevere, ¡°The monsters in the forest are stronger than you are right now and it''ll take a while for me to power level you to the point where you won''t die in one hit.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± replied seriously, not even looking annoyed at what must have been the third reminder she had given her. Without further ado they walked into the forest''s darkened interior, the crunching sounds of leaves being trampled on could already be heard. Guinevere had already given the description of the Amoranthus herb to Yuri: It was a pink flower with four petals extending outwards, with the center of the petals dyed in blue so that from the top it had a star-burst pattern. The flowers seemed to grow in the most random of locations and Guinevere hadn''t been able to localize a particular type of region they seemed to grow in. Still, two pairs of eyes will always be better than one. Her steel gauntlets were already equipped, though she missed the silky sensation that the ''Insane Bard''s Gloves'' provided. The forest didn''t have a whole lot of high-level monsters, but because the majority of quests in this region were simple fetch quests, not many people came out here too much. In addition, it was a fairly large forest and Guinevere didn''t think she had even covered a quarter of it in the time she had spent searching. There was one bright spot to the quest now though; Yuri. She didn''t have many similar interests to her, but Guinevere never felt bored when talking to her; she made insightful and sometimes funny conversation and her evident love for animals was endearing. She complimented Guinevere''s music extensively, but it wasn''t a false praise; she was so honest that it made Guinevere blush a couple of times, which Yuri picked up on immediately and started to tease her about. It might''ve been because of her tomboyish nature, but neither in the game nor in the real world did Guinevere have anything what she would call a best girlfriend. It''s not like she didn''t talk to girls or was ostracized because she tended to hang out with boys, it''s just that they seemed to be in a different world to her. Ahh, but it''s not like Yuri isn''t like those girls either. She''s just...different for some reason. Maybe it was her looks because despite her name she didn''t really look like she was from Korea at all. Guinevere felt that was weird for some reason but her train of thought was derailed when Yuri spotted an amoranthus herb growing at the base of a particularly thick tree. ¡°Nice catch Yuri!¡± said Guinevere delightedly, slapping Yuri on the back. ¡°Oof! If that''s how you thank people, then I certainly don''t want to get on your bad side.¡± They both laughed. Guinevere was about to pick the flower when she heard a low growl. Faster than thought, Guinevere reacted instinctively and leaped backwards from the flower just in time to see a grey blur whoosh past the spot she''d been. In it''s place was a large, silver-colored wolf that was only slightly shorter than her and twice as thick. Dire wolf! And judging by it''s size, it''s an alpha. Meaning that it should be traveling with the rest of it''s pack... The dire wolf snarled and on cue, five more wolves skulked out from behind the trees upon their leader''s signal, encircling the two girls. It seemed they wouldn''t attack unless their leader gave a signal. Guinevere was momentarily stumped, she hadn''t counted on a situation like this arising. She could take the wolves herself, but she couldn''t protect Yuri at the same time. I could trying singing a Song of Threat and get all their attention focused on me, though it''ll be less effective without an instrument. Still, beggars can''t be choosers. Making her decision, Guinevere took in a breath and prepared to use a special bard skill for pulling monsters. It was a special move designed for raid battles to save the party''s tank if they were in imminent danger of dying. But because of the subsequent consequences that would follow such a move, the skill was later informally dubbed as the ''Suicide Song''. Time to prove the name wrong then. Just as Guinevere was about to activate the skill, she felt it. As a Taekkyeon practitioner, Guinevere was tuned to sensing an opponent''s intent in a match-up, such a feeling was key for deciding the victor. An absurdly powerful killing intent suddenly appeared and engulfed the area in which they were in. It was not a feeling that was dripping with malice or hate, but simply an unshakeable feeling of instant and terrible retribution. It was terrifying and awe-inspiring at the same time. Guinevere felt like she was drowning in an ocean even though the killing intent wasn''t even directed towards her. The wolves had immediately fallen silent and were softly whimpering, lying on the ground with their paws covering their faces. Even the alpha wolf was now backed up against the tree, trembling as it cowered from the massive killing intent that emanated from...behind her? ¡°Hey Guinevere? A window just popped up saying that I gained a new stat called ''Killing Intent'' and more windows keep on appearing saying that the stat is gaining extra points.¡± said Yuri nonchalantly. ...Maybe I should have let her go off the waterfall. [p=center]Previous Chapter Next Chapter[/p] Chapter 3 Some of you may or may not be a little pissed as this chapter brings up even more questions and I apologize for that. But I hope I make up for that with the sheer badassery of Guinevere in this chapter. Big thanks to cyberbeast for the stat table code, because it was INCREDIBLY difficult to figure out, so thank you so much for that. Chapter 3 ¨C Leader of the Pack ¡°Sit.¡± commanded Yuri. The six wolves arrayed in a neat line quickly complied with her orders, tails at rest as they remained petrified in a sitting position. ¡°Lie down and roll over.¡± said Yuri authoritatively. Again the orders were followed impeccably, the wolves flopping onto the ground as fast as they could and rolling over. Their eyes were fearfully attached to Yuri''s placid face for any hint of her displeasure. Yuri frowned and the wolves flinched before freezing in place, eyes darting to the side to see if they were doing anything different compared to their companions. Honestly, ''Killing Intent''? How rude! I would never EVER hurt any of these dear animals. My ''intent'' was simply to show that I am the dominant partner in this relationship. Yuri looked at the wolves and her frown softened, the animals were quivering in fear as Yuri walked over to them. Uncharacteristically, Guinevere was silent which Yuri thought was because she was probably confused by the situation. It was understandable, even Yuri knew that her way of dealing with animals was a little unique. But Yuri firmly believed that like humans, animals were afraid of the unknown, although they tended to react more often with violence than fear. Establishing clear roles in a relationship is the best way to overcome that fear of the unknown; this was Yuri''s dogma for dealing with animals. Her feet carried her to a stop near the largest of the wolves, a lovely creature with beautiful and glossy silver coat with fierce looking yellow eyes and sharp looking fangs. Smiling, Yuri knelt on the grass and started lightly scratching the belly of the beast. Initially the alpha wolf was trembling from fear, but soon it was squirming with pleasure from Yuri''s expert ministrations. ¡°Aww, who''s a good boy? Who''s a good boy?¡± The alpha wolf barked happily in response, enjoying the attention and the massage it was getting. Yuri repeated the process with each of the wolves and moved through the line of animals in rapid succession. She made quick, efficient work so that by the end of it, none of the wolves were trembling in fear and were instead looking at Yuri hopefully, tongues lolling out the side of their mouths and tails wagging excitedly. ¡°Guinevere.¡± said Yuri, ¡°Aren''t you going to pick the herb?¡± ¡°What?¡± she replied in a somewhat dazed manner, ¡°Ah...right.¡± Awkwardly shuffling over to the base of the tree, Guinevere knelt down and gathered the herb, placing it into her inventory with a small flash of light. The wolves followed Guinevere''s movement avidly, but remained quiet as they saw how Yuri approved her actions. Their business concluded, Yuri had the wolves get up and go back to their hunting. The beasts gathered in a tight circle around Yuri; though it wasn''t a threatening gesture, all of them waited for a final scratch behind the ears before leaving. Yuri happily complied before sending the gentle beasts on their way, leaving Guinevere and Yuri alone once again. ¡°Shall we keep going? Or take a break?¡± asked Yuri. ¡°...Let''s take a break.¡± answered Guinevere, still looking at her with a funny expression. ¡°What is it?¡± Though I probably have a pretty good idea. ¡°Anyone ever tell you that you''re a little bit weird?¡± said Guinevere bluntly. ¡°Not recently.¡± replied Yuri casually, though she was a little bit hurt by the remark. Guinevere quickly noticed her gaffe and hurried to apologize, ¡°Sorry! I don''t mean that in a bad way. You got us out of that situation a lot better than I could have. I was just a little surprised...¡± trailing off lamely, though it truly seemed that she didn''t mean anything malicious by the remark. Years of studying at an all-girls school had given Yuri the wrong conclusion and she immediately felt bad about questioning Guinevere''s good nature. ¡°I''m sorry too, I should have told you what I was going to do.¡± said Yuri, smiling in regret. She was relieved when Guinevere returned the smile. They both seemed to be out of their element with the other, but maybe that wasn''t such a bad thing. ¡°Hungry?¡± she asked, though her growling stomach answered her own question before Yuri could reply. Yuri raised one eyebrow and was about to tease her when her own treacherous stomach betrayed her with a growl of it''s own. The two girls both blushed, caught the other one''s eyes and started laughing.
¡°I thought this game didn''t have things like hunger or thirst.¡± commented Yuri as she tended to the small cook-fire they had set up. ¡°Well...that''s really a ''yes'' and ''no'' answer. Yes you''ll feel the pangs of hunger and thirst, but even if you have the pain function turned on, it will never turn to something as extreme as starvation or dehydration.¡± said Guinevere, busying herself with a earthenware pot she had fished out of her inventory. ¡°So if I don''t eat or drink anything, the most that will happen is a negative status or something like that?¡± Guinevere laughed, ¡°You''re pretty good at asking these ''yes and no'' questions. Yes you''ll gain a negative status and no that won''t be the most that will happen. Your character will start to lose hit points if you go without food or water for a long time and eventually die. It''s just that it would take a very long time to happen, compared to your real body that is. When you''re losing hit points that''s not due to a curse or a physical attack, you''ll feel progressively more and more light-headed.¡± explained Guinevere as she filled the pot half-way to the brim with water pulled from a mottled leather canteen. ¡°For the most part, Royal Road basically follows the same rules as the real world.¡± A flash of light and a stack of meat appeared in Guinevere''s outstretched hand, though a flash of concern appeared on her face, ¡°Do you have any problems eating meat, Yuri?¡± ¡°I don''t, though thanks for asking. Do you need some help with that?¡± offered Yuri. ¡°Are you a good cook?¡± teased Guinevere, though she was already handing over half of the meat to her, along with a rather sharp-looking dagger. ¡°Maybe even better than you.¡± shot back Yuri, though she giggled a bit as she did so. Guinevere stuck her tongue out at her, ¡°Ah but you forget my dear hoobae; this is Royal Road and I am experienced in this world''s ways.¡± Yuri scowled at her, ¡°Well then my dear sunbaenim-¡± ¡°Sunbae will work just fine.¡± winked Guinevere. Yuri was heartened that Guinevere considered her to be a good friend and let a small smile slightly dampen her scowl, ¡°Guinevere sunbae, I propose to you that we each prepare a dish of our own creation and leave it to the other to judge the taste.¡± ¡°Yuri hoobae, do my ears detect a challenge in your tone?¡± ¡°Guinevere sunbae is most adept at being able to pick out my carefully concealed undertones and this Yuri hoobae would be doubly honoured if you would participate in such a competition with her.¡± expressed Yuri eloquently. ¡°Game on!¡± declared Guinevere brusquely.
The sun was setting in the continent of Versailles, painting the skies in such glorious hues of orange and red that many players, no matter how long they had been playing, stopped what they were doing and marveled at the sight. ¡°Urp.¡± An unladylike sound escaped from the mouth of Guinevere as she patted her stomach in satisfaction. For her part, Yuri managed to refrain from such things, though a gentle smile defined her face, eyes closed in contentment and she appeared to be the picture of refinement. On the outside anyway. Oh my gosh, that was soooo yummy! I think I could get addicted to this taste, hehe! I wonder if I can get the recipe from Guin; I''m sure Mama and Papa would love this. Yuri opened her eyes to see Guinevere grinning at her, one eyebrow raised as if to say ''Well? It was pretty good right? Admit it!''. Yuri placed a hand over her heart and bowed before Guinevere, ¡°To the clear victor, I offer my heartfelt admiration and sincere wish to get the recipe from you.¡± Guinevere laughed, giving a lofty wave with her hand to allow Yuri to stop bowing. ¡°Glad you liked it! I have to admit though, I was surprised by what you made; it tasted great!¡± ¡°Thank you. To be honest I really thought I would win, but your dish pretty much blew mine out of the water.¡± ¡°Hehe, that''s one of the more game-like aspects of Royal Road. My cooking skill is higher than yours, which basically means that the food I make comes out in higher qualities.¡± declared Guinevere proudly as she puffed out her chest. ¡°And outside of the game?¡± asked Yuri slyly. Guinevere visibly deflated, ¡°I''m alright, I guess. My cooking''s definitely improved from playing this game, but I can''t make anything of this level outside. Though a nice feature is that you can get the recipes of the food you make in the game to try in the real world.¡± ¡°That is pretty nice!¡± exclaimed Yuri, already wondering how much she could expand her cooking repertoire while she was here. She made a mental note to improve her cooking as much as possible. They sat in a companionable silence for a few minutes; digestion wasn''t much of an issue in this world, but the post-meal feeling of good food still lingered. Guinevere broke the silence first. A strange tone was in her voice though, but Yuri didn''t take too much notice of it. ¡°So...do you often make Western food Yuri?¡± ¡°Just on special occasions: My dad loves exotic cuisine; Italian mostly. Most of the time though, my mother and I make pretty traditional meals. You know, bibimbap and the like.¡± ¡°Ah...I see. So you''re parents are both Korean?¡± ¡°Yeah...?¡± said Yuri uncertainly, not sure where Guinevere was going with this line of questioning, ¡°I think that''s obvious, right?¡± laughing as she gestured to her face and hair. Her laugh was forced and broke down into a nervous cough as Guinevere didn''t respond. She seemed to be thinking deeply about something. Silently, she filled the pot that was once filled with her delicious stew with clear, sparkling water from her leather canteen. She gave the pot to her and sat back down. This is kind of freaking me out. ¡°I know I''m probably freaking you out right now, but maybe it''s nothing. And if it is something...well it still shouldn''t mean anything.¡± rambled Guinevere ¡°Guin-¡± ¡°It''ll be faster if you look in the pot.¡± Perplexed and more than a little worried, Yuri was relieved when she stared into the pot and saw only clear water. Though she wasn''t sure what she was expecting exactly. ¡°What do you see?¡± ¡°Just water. Guin...what''s going on?¡± ¡°What do you see on the water''s surface?¡± urged Guinevere, not answering her question. Yuri''s eyes once again dropped towards the water sitting in the bowl. The exquisitely made bowl was a deep brown color holding a pool of clear water, sloshing around from the slight movements of Yuri''s hands. But it wasn''t the water she should be looking at. Nor the bowl. Not the rays of fading sunlight that bounced off the water and dazzled her until she turned it away. She knew what Guinevere wanted her to look at. The movement of the water stilled as the tremble in her hands faded, the blurry image of the woman staring back at her slowly swam into focus. The larger, more obvious details were recognizable. Long straight black hair that fell down past her shoulders that was slightly disheveled which she chalked up to waking up in a cave and nearly drowning. Clear, white skin as the picture sharpened a bit more. A bit more pale than usual, sure, but still pretty much the same. The image finally stilled and a stranger stared back at her. She had clear blue eyes; they weren''t a deep blue that might''ve blended in with her dark hair, but a bright sparkling sapphire blue color that was both captivating and alluring. I think I''m turning into a narcissist she thought with a faint blush. The slight reddening of the cheeks served to more clearly define the alien face that stared back at her. The shape of the eyes could be said to have a hint of Korean descent, though that was still a bit of stretch. Slightly thick eyebrows, full cheeks and full lips. This was a face that could only make Yuri say, ''Who are you?''. ¡°I don''t know what it means.¡± said Guinevere quietly. ¡°All part of the prank, right?¡± responded Yuri with a dry chuckle. ¡°...When you start the game, you''re given the option to change your appearance. You might not have noticed, but I slightly altered my hair.¡± They laughed. While her slightly spiky, short electric-blue hair was eye-catching; Guinevere looked like a tomboyish pretty girl. Yuri set the bowl down by her side and pulled up her knees, hugging them to her chest. ¡°Best we can do is make guesses and that''s not really going to be of much help.¡± ¡°Yeah...yeah you''re right.¡± Yuri exhaled a breath she didn''t even know she was holding. Why should her appearance freak her out so much? Who cares right?. ¡°I don''t suppose you recognize, uh, your face, do you?¡± Yuri shook her head. Guinevere shook hers in frustration, ¡°Damn.¡± she cursed. ¡°Can you log in to other people''s characters?¡± asked Yuri. Another negative answer, ¡°No. When you enter any pod, it does a sort of scan of your body which enables you to access the character you created. Impossible to hack, so there''s no danger of losing your character.¡± ¡°But in my case...¡± ¡°Right. Maybe they did something to your pod or...something.¡± Yuri nodded, the explanation was as good as any. ¡°There''s a way to get some more information though, now that I think about it.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°We can check your status window. It''s like a summary of your character''s details that shows your attributes and things like that. More importantly, the top of the window shows the name of the character.¡± ¡°So we could...¡± ¡°Find out whose character this belongs to. Yeah. Sorry I didn''t think of it before though.¡± ¡°I''m just glad you''re here.¡± Guinevere flashed her a quick smile, ¡°Well, no time like the present. Go ahead and say ''Status Window'' to open it up.¡± ¡°Status window!¡± intoned Yuri.
Stat Window
Character NameAlyne Fainesworth TEMP
AlignmentNeutral
Level5
RaceHuman
TitleNone
ProfessionNone
Fame10
Health150/150
Mana180/180
Strength11
Agility14
Vitality15
Aim5
Wisdom16
Intellect18
Luck0
Leadership20
Attack21
Defence0
Killing Intent50
Magic ResistanceNone
A larger window than any other previous one she had seen materialized in front of her eyes. Yuri briefly scanned over some of the terms, though most of it was utterly foreign to her, and settled on what she was looking for. ¡°Character name: Alyne Fainesworth and the letters T-E-M-P.¡± ¡°Notepad.¡± said Guinevere who adopted a pose like she was at a keyboard and started moving her fingers in a similar fashion as if she were typing something. ¡°Can you spell the name for me?¡± she asked. Yuri said each letter clearly and had Guinevere repeat them back to her for confirmation. ¡°This was actually kind of helpful.¡± said Guinevere, ¡°Besides the name, the level and stats all point to this being someone''s character that you''ve temporarily inhabited. Or at least its more likely that that''s the case anyway.¡± ¡°Is the ''Fame'' thing any good?¡± asked Yuri. ¡°Might be, yeah. Fame is how well-known you are to the NPCs. High amounts of fame gets you stuff like special quests and discounts. 10 isn''t a very high number, but some people might recognize you.¡± ¡°And that ''TEMP'' thing? Is that anything?¡± ¡°That ''TEMP'' you see stands for ''Temporary''. It''s a clickable icon in the status window that lets you modify the name of your character. Normally your name is set from the moment you create the character, but some items will let you change things like your name or appearance.¡± ¡°Can anyone else see my status window?¡± ¡°Nope. But if you register at a guild, you''ll be automatically signed up under the name you have on your status window. There''s also some NPCs that can more or less ''sense'' that you''re hiding your true name from them, which can cause them to mistrust you quite a bit.¡± ¡°But apart from that, there''s not really anything bad about it?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°Might as well change it then.¡± decided Yuri. She pushed the ''TEMP'' box and was gratified that she was able to change this much at least. Satisfied with the revision, Yuri clicked OK on the text box that had appeared and the status window was updated: Now it simply read ''Yuri'' next to the character name icon; the ''TEMP'' box had disappeared. ¡°Guin?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You''re welcome.¡±
They were once again on the hunt, Guinevere took point, making sure that Yuri stayed close behind her. They had fashioned torches out of the dying embers of their campfire. The torches wouldn''t last long, but the light they provided was very welcome in the darkened interior of the forest. Guinevere thought it would''ve been better if they finished the quest as fast as possible, which is why she suggested they continue their search during the night. Dawn shouldn''t be too far off, though the night seemed to have reached it''s darkest point. Still, even if monsters are stronger at night, there are mostly only animals in this forest. And I think I have a pretty good animal repellent with me. Guinevere glanced at Yuri who was being diligent with her duty; restlessly scanning the ground within their limited field of vision. Guinevere caught a flash of something blue in the periphery of her vision as her torchlight passed over it. ¡°I think I just saw one.¡± she said. ¡°Where?¡± asked Yuri. ¡°Just over here...¡± carefully picking her way through the trees. Guinevere considered herself to be pretty dextrous, but it was easy to trip in such a dark area. She quickly found the tree where she had first spotted the glimmer. Where is it?...Ah! Smiling, Guinevere crouched over where the flower lay, nestled between the roots of several trees and almost completely obscured by the bushes; she was surprised that she even noticed it. ¡°Halfway there.¡± Guinevere dug around the flower, carefully lifting it out of the soil, so as not to damage it. ¡°Inventory¡± The familiar 64 slot window opened up and she tossed it towards the screen. The second it made contact with the box, the herb disappeared with a flash of light, the small white numeral indicating the quantity of the amoranthus changed from a 4 to a 5. She cocked her head to the side and slowly stood up with clenched fists. ¡°Guin.¡± warned Yuri. ¡°I hear them. Thanks.¡± Guinevere was prepared for it this time as Yuri''s crazily powerful killing intent spawned in the atmosphere. ¡°You seem to be popular with these guys.¡± joked Guinevere. It was a little bit unsettling to see Yuri sporting a wide smile while letting out that monstrous aura. ¡°Yeah! I didn''t think I''d get to see them again!¡± she agreed happily. Just a few feet away from them was a pack of wolves, their yellow eyes burned in the darkness, though Guinevere could feel no blood lust from them. But that might''ve been because they were currently being overwhelmed by Yuri. Evidently they were the same wolves they had met earlier. Normally Guinevere would''ve killed them without hesitation, but she sensed that might not be met with so much good cheer with Yuri. Hold up. I only ever met wolves in this forest whenever I found a herb...I wonder... Yuri was crouching, making crooning noises and gesturing for the wolves to come closer. The killing intent had dissipated and the wolves were slowly skulking out from behind the trees. They looked almost guilty for sneaking up on them, their eyes were downcast and tails were pressed flat against their bodies as they meekly shuffled over to Yuri. ¡°Awww. Hi! How are you?¡± Yuri was simultaneously scratching behind the ears of one wolf and hugging the silver alpha wolf they had met earlier in the day. Guinevere shook her head in amazement, the wolves might as well have been golden retrievers, they were panting happily and tails were wagging furiously as they pushed towards Yuri. Even a warning growl from the alpha wolf didn''t deter them from trying to get closer to her. Her inventory window was still open which was convenient as she reached towards the twelfth slot and made a grabbing motion. A flash of light and a single amoranthus herb materialized into the air, gently clutched between Guinevere''s fingers. As if they were all attached to a string, all of the wolves turned their heads towards the amoranthus herb. ¡°Guin?¡± asked Yuri uncertainly. ¡°Just want to test something. We might be able to finish this quest in one go if I''m right.¡± She moved the herb to her left. The wolves followed the movement. She moved it to the right. Again, they followed the motion of herb unerringly. Satisfied, Guinevere asked Yuri with a smile, ¡°Do you think you can teach them a new trick?¡±
¡°Mind if I ask something?¡± said Yuri, puffing a little bit from the speed at they were traveling. ¡°Why you''re getting tired in a game world?¡± guessed Guinevere. ¡°No, well, yes that''s a good question too, but I had another one.¡± said Yuri, stumbling a bit with her words. ¡°I can only answer one of those questions.¡± replied Guinevere solemnly, though she ruined it with a giggle. Yuri scowled at her, nearly tripping over a root and was only prevented from falling over by when she caught her. ¡°Careful. These woods can be dangerous for scowlers.¡± ¡°Charming.¡± ¡°So I''m told.¡± laughed Guinevere. The wolf they were following paused in it''s tracks and started sniffing the ground, the trail had been momentarily lost. It had taken a surprisingly short amount of time for Yuri to get the wolves to track the scent for the amoranthus herbs. In the time that they had separated from the rest of the pack, who had continued to hunt, they had found themselves two more herbs. Guinevere gathered her thoughts before answering Yuri. ¡°When you start Royal Road as a level 1 character, the physical abilities represent the average person''s abilities. For a while you won''t really notice a change, if any at all, because they''re so gradual. Stamina is the first noticeable improvement, usually when you hit level 20 or so. Ah, I''m level 23 by the way. When something like an extended jog doesn''t tire you out.¡± Yuri was slightly leaning against a tree, catching her breath, though she wasn''t breathing too hard, ¡°So, if someone has asthma or something like that, it won''t be reflected here?¡± ¡°Right. Basically everyone starts off the same and everyone can reach the same level as BardRay-he''s the highest leveled player in the game at the moment-if they work hard enough. Anyway, supposedly around level 50 is when the real changes start rolling around. Speed and strength are already well above the normal person and the enemies and quests you face reflect that increase. One thing that won''t rise up is your reaction speed though. That''s why martial arts practitioners and other such people have an advantage at higher levels as they can better cope with these abilities.¡± ¡°But if your speed and strength keep on increasing, would you really be able to keep up with it? I mean there has to be a limit to how much you can tolerate, right?¡± ¡°There is: The system set in place will eventually cap players at a top speed and strength. So you won''t see people jumping over buildings or anything like that. But the damage they deal and can receive will be strengthened. I think the cap occurs around level...150 maybe?¡± The wolf stopped sniffing and straightened its nose in the direction of the scent in a very cartoonish manner. It barked once to grab their attention and set off through the woods at a steady lope once again. ¡°But unfortunately for you, that means you still need to suffer through this run.¡± Yuri groaned, but she started running after the wolf without further prompting. ¡°What was the other one?¡± asked Guinevere. ¡°What?¡± repeated Yuri blankly. ¡°Your other question. What was your original question?¡± reminded Guinevere. ¡°Ah! It''s nothing much. I just wanted to know a little bit more about you.¡± she said bashfully. ¡°Oh yeah? I won''t be telling you my three sizes if that''s what you''re after.¡± quipped Guinevere. ¡°As if!¡± retorted Yuri. The wolf leading them briefly paused and looked back at the source of the disturbance and only resumed the hunt at Yuri''s insistence. ¡°I just wanted to know why you named yourself Guinevere.¡± ¡°So my three sizes are...¡± ¡°Oh come on, it shouldn''t be that embarrassing of a question. Ah, watch out for that root.¡± Guinevere lightly hopped over a root that was sticking out almost vertically from the ground, ¡°Thanks. And it is a little bit embarrassing to be honest.¡± ¡°It can''t be that bad.¡± reasoned Yuri. ¡°Well...¡± began Guinevere, ducking underneath a low-hanging branch, ¡°I''ve always been interested in the whole sword and sorcery kind of thing from a young age, you know? Before my mom passed away, she used to read me all these adventure stories of knights slaying dragons and rescuing princesses.¡± Guinevere chuckled and smiled fondly at the memories that were being brought up. She noticed Yuri''s look of sympathy and quickly reassured her, ¡°Don''t worry about asking, it''s not because of that that I didn''t want to answer the question. She''s been gone for almost ten years now.¡± Guinevere got the explanation back on track, steering away from a rather painful topic. ¡°I loved those stories as a kid. Heck, I still do. My mom and I were both big fans of the Arthurian lore in particular; my favorite characters in particular were Merlin and Mordred. So when I was picking my character name for Royal Road, the characters from those stories were the first things I thought of.¡± Guinevere felt a slight blush rising up in her cheeks, ¡°I also really liked the romance between Arthur and his queen Guinevere.¡± she quickly glanced at Yuri and was relieved that she wasn''t showing any signs of derision, ¡°Some stories have Guinevere purposely betraying Arthur before his defeat, but I always loved the version where she was enchanted by the witch Morgan le Fay into having an affair with Lancelot. A strong beautiful woman whose love could only be affected by the most powerful of magic.¡± She laughed at the absurdity of it, ¡°Weird right? Wanting a name that I thought symbolized beauty and sophistry?¡± ¡°I don''t think so.¡± said Yuri quietly, ¡°I think you''re living up to the name quite well if you''re going for just those two qualities.¡± Guinevere''s blush deepened when she realized Yuri wasn''t being sarcastic, she only gave Guinevere that gentle smile of hers. ¡°What kind of school do you go to, Yuri?¡± ¡°An all-girls one; why?¡± ¡°...No reason.¡± She''s probably quite the lady killer there. ¡°Looks like the night is ending.¡± pointed out Guinevere, they had come out from a particularly dense cluster of trees into a lightly populated glade. The lack of trees being closely packed together allowed a bit more of the light that signaled dawn to filter in through the glade. The wolf that was leading them stopped when they were in the glade and sauntered over to Yuri''s side, tilting it''s head so that it rested against her hip. ¡°What is it, girl? Why''d you stop?¡± cupping her hands underneath the wolf''s chin and lightly rubbing it. The wolf made an odd noise that sounded like it was clearing it''s throat, a low rumbling noise emanated from it as it jerked its head off to the right somewhere at the end of the glade. Yuri evidently understood this signal as she nodded her head. Apparently satisfied, the wolf slowly started walking towards where it had jerked its head; none of the speed that it had displayed earlier could be seen. Guinevere caught Yuri''s eye and raised her eyebrow. The girl shook her head and put a finger to her lips, motioning for Guinevere to follow the wolf. Guinevere shrugged; she trusted Yuri. They soon left the glade and entered the thicket of trees, the brief light that they had bathed in was cut off as soon as they entered the darkened expanse of trees. The only sound that could be heard was the soft crunching of leaves, both Yuri and Guinevere were careful not to step on any wayward branches on the forest floor. The she-wolf lead them on a winding and twisting path that occasionally looped back on itself in a manner that seemed almost entirely random. The trees began to become more and spaced the further they progressed, shafts of light shone down through the gaps that became more and frequent as the forest slowly woke up. She could hear the sweet melodies that birds merrily chirped out as they greeted the new day and the rustle of branches overhead as squirrels raced across their length. Once or twice, Guinevere spotted a deer hiding behind the trees, though it took off running as soon as the wolf that was guiding them paused to look at it with hungry eyes. A fresh, warm breeze managed to penetrate the barrier of evergreen, carrying with it the delicate fragrance of lilacs, roses and several others, but no less pleasing, that she couldn''t identify. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. They reached the treeline and paused; both Guinevere and Yuri let out a small gasp of wonder at the scenery that was displayed before them. Surrounding on all sides by a thick grove of trees and a wall of imposing cliffs was a bowl-shaped valley that was filled with flowers. There were a few trees here and there along the valley floor, though the majority of them were heavily laden with fantastically colored fruits of all shapes and sizes. The other trees bore pink and purple blossoms, the occasional gust of wind that blew through the valley sending petals to dance in the currents of the air that carried them to and fro. Some petals fell into the river that occupied the middle of the valley, carried by its gentle currents into a dark cave over to the far left of where they were standing. Steady streams of water poured from many smaller tributaries leading into the valley that coalesced into an almost seamless whole to create the illusion of a waterfall that poured into the valley. Catching the light streaming from the sun that now loomed high above them and scattering it created a lovely rainbow that appeared near the base of the waterfalls. Still this was nothing that compared to the floor of the valley which might''ve been a field of flowers with every combination of colors that Guinevere could possibly think of. The enticing aroma she had smelled earlier was amplified several-fold and made her giddy with joy. But there were signs of habitation, wooden cages and tables were lightly spread throughout the valley, though they were more concentrated near a cave where an orange glow could be seen. The girl''s delight was short-lived when they saw the inhabitants of the valley. ¡°Guin...what are those...things?¡± asked Yuri hesitantly. ¡°Things? I thought you liked animals.¡± replied Guinevere. Yuri gave a weak chuckle, ¡°Animals don''t dress up in mail and wear swords at their waists.¡± The two girls were making sure to keep their voices low, not wanting to alert the creatures that were in the valley. ¡°They''re called kobolds.¡± There were about five of the creatures that Guinevere could see, milling around by the pond. Standing a little taller than a human, these anthropomorphic creatures appeared to have the head of a slightly less furry wolf with a less prominent snout. Grey-black fur covered the parts of their bodies that wasn''t already encased in chain-mail armor. The armor in particular looked ill-fitted and mismatched, indicating that they had most likely scavenged it from other wayward travelers. Guinevere doubted that they had traded for them. ¡°Kobolds are some of the creatures that populate this game, their intelligence is high enough to wear equipment and some of the smarter ones can even communicate with other people. But they''re a pretty vicious lot and they''re a lot more dangerous when they''re in a group.¡± Yuri knelt down and stroked the wolf gently, who had started trembling the second it had noticed the kobolds in the valley, ¡°Shhh, girl. It''s okay.¡± she crooned, ¡°What''s wrong?¡± Yuri got her answer in the form of the pack of wolves that they had parted ways with last night who had appeared picking their way down a treacherous path into the valley. ¡°What are they holding in their mouths?¡± asked Yuri, placing a hand over her eyes to reduce the glare from the sunlight. Guinevere had a pretty good guess of what it was and why they had been brought here. The silver alpha wolf whom Guinevere had acknowledged to be a proud and powerful creature, was kowtowing towards the kobolds who had noticed it''s presence. They greeted the wolf with jeers and what seemed to be harsh tones as the wolf had it''s ears pressed against it''s forehead, while it shivered uncontrollably. ¡°Hooh?¡± Yuri was once again letting out that terrifying killing intent, her eyes cold as ice. ¡°Reign it in.¡± warned Guinevere, ¡°They might notice us, and we don''t know how many of them there are.¡± Yuri clicked her tongue with dissatisfaction, but she continued to glare at the kobolds in the valley. The alpha wolf deposited a bundle of herbs at the kobolds'' feet, who quickly gathered it up and shooed the wolves away. ¡°Amoranthus herbs...damn!¡± cursed Guinevere. ¡°Why? They''re right in front of us, aren''t they? Can''t we just kill them and free the wolves?¡± asked Yuri. ¡°Just basic tactics; kobolds are around level 20 or so, which wouldn''t be bad, but these are smart creatures. If they attack in a group, I''m not sure I''d be able to survive.¡± ¡°Do you think there''s more than just those ones?¡± ¡°Probably, though I''d wager that there aren''t too many more: Kobolds aren''t nocturnal creatures, so I doubt they''d be in a cave, although there definitely could be more. Also, in order to be able to control the wolves so effectively means that their leader is probably pretty strong which would make up for deficient numbers.¡± ¡°But if I''m here with you, couldn''t we do something about...?¡± Yuri stopped as soon as she Guinevere shaking her head. ¡°As a level 5, you wouldn''t be dealing a lot of damage to these guys, just a lot of attention.¡± ¡°Couldn''t we just go back into the forest and level myself up then?¡± ¡°We could, but the majority of creatures we''re going to find in there are animals like those wolves. And in order to get experience we would have to...¡± Guinevere trailed off as she got her point across. ¡°Right...¡± responded Yuri glumly. ¡°But that doesn''t mean that you can''t do anything.¡± Yuri looked up at the confident tone of Guinevere''s voice. ¡°But you said I couldn''t damage them.¡± ¡°You probably won''t be able to. But-¡± she added with a fierce smile, borne out of the stress that had steadily accumulated since she had started this quest, ¡°You can grab their attention and I can take care of the rest.¡±
Yuri was hidden by the dense foliage of the tree she climbed up on, perched on a branch that was several meters off the ground. She could hear the feral snarls of the kobolds searching for her, which despite sending a momentary thrill of fear through her, only served to fuel the anger she felt towards them. Apparently Guin thought she would have some reluctance in killing those horrid creatures. Because their head looks like a wolf''s? Ridiculous. How could those things ever be as beautiful as those wolves. Her only regret was that she wasn''t the one dispensing out the punishment they so rightly deserved. That enviable job would be left to the blue-haired girl in the tree opposite to Yuri, who was doing a much better job of concealing herself than Yuri was. The growls were getting closer, the kobolds had apparently found the trail that Yuri had ¡°accidentally¡± left behind in her ¡°panicked¡± escape. The plan had been cooked up by Guinevere in order to effectively draw out the kobolds that were ensconced in the canyon. Yuri''s admiration of the girl had increased even further when she outlined the details of the plan. Essentially the core element had boiled down to that Yuri was not a real threat to the kobolds, but she could be a major annoyance. In this fashion, some of the kobolds would be sent up to get rid of her, but because of the lack of challenge she would have posed, it would only be a few of them. If it had been Guinevere firing the crossbow, she would''ve done quite a bit of damage to them, which would''ve warranted a large mobilization of their forces. As a result, only three of the five kobolds they had seen in the valley were sent to deal with her. Like they had expected, there were several paths for the kobolds to get out of the canyon, though the one they had chosen was also well within range of Yuri''s crossbow. She missed more often than she hit, but the times she did hit managed to deal a small amount of damage and thoroughly enrage the kobolds. There was a howl of frustration somewhere off to her right as the group of kobolds that were hunting her burst through a cluster of bushes, viciously hacking away at the branches that blocked them with a chipped short, curved sword. It was hard, but Yuri tried picturing the kobolds as the wolves she had seen earlier, trying to let loose the dominant spirit she used when establishing dominance with the animals she met. Ehhh, this is pretty hard! They''re not horrible monsters, they''re just...exotic wolves, yeah. It was a weird thought, but she was able to focus enough to start releasing her dominant spirit (or as Guin called it: blood lust) towards the exotic wolves. Their growling did not cease entirely, but it had diminished remarkably as they looked around nervously for the source of their unease. Their weapons were being brandished freely as they milled around on the ground with their noses constantly twitching as they attempted to pinpoint her location. It would only be a matter of time before they discovered her. Yuri had already leveled her crossbow in preparation before they had burst through the bushes. She only needed to make a slight adjustment as she lined the head of a kobold that was giving orders to the other two in the wooden targeting reticule mounted at the end of the weapon. ''It helps if you breathe out slowly, just before you squeeze the trigger. Helps to calm any nerves you might have and steady your aim''. Guinevere''s advice rang true as the crossbow snapped out a bolt that sailed towards the kobold''s unprotected head. It might''ve been because she had made some sort of sound or that the kobold''s reflexes were simply that good, but the monster twitched out of the way of the bolt to avoid a critical hit. Though it couldn''t fully dodge it as the wicked bolt left a long gash across it''s cheek that immediately started to bleed. More from outrage that it had been fired at, rather than pain, the kobold snarled ferociously and shouted towards its comrades. The creatures stalked over to the tree, waving their weapons furiously in the air and screaming something unintelligible at her. Yuri responded by firing another bolt at them. Enraged beyond reason, two of the kobolds had thrown down their weapons to the ground and jumped towards the tree, wrapping their bodies around the trunk; claws piercing the bark. However, Yuri decided to preempt them by climbing up even further up the tree. The spot for the ambush had been meticulously chosen for the tall trees, which were much easier to climb up when you were on the middle row of branches. Guinevere had helped her up to this spot before taking her own hiding spot. Now it was time for second part of the plan to start. A discordant, scraping sound rang out from the tree that Guinevere was hiding in, quickly followed by a series of other harsh notes coming from what sounded like an electric guitar. It was an unpleasant noise that set Yuri''s hairs standing on end, but it had a much more significant effect on the kobolds surrounding Yuri. A tremble ran through their bodies as they seemed to freeze in place as Guinevere''s skill took effect ¨C Paralyzing Verse; an ability that had the effect of stunning all creatures within a two meter radius for 15 seconds. Any attack that was delivered during this period would cancel the stun effect. Yuri managed to reach the next branch before the song ended, giving her a prime seat for the show. ¡°Equip ''Gauntlets of Pain''¡± shouted Guinevere as she rocketed from the tree she was hiding in towards the kobold that was still standing on the ground. Her foot connected beautifully with the kobold''s skull and sent it crashing into the tree where it''s companions were still hanging onto; unable to let go, thanks to their claws that were dug into the bark serving as a living anchor. The brief contact that Guinevere had made with the kobold''s head had given her enough leverage to pull off a backflip that looked as natural as breathing. Touching the ground, Guinevere pressed her advantage and charged forward, getting under the kobold''s guard and putting her foot between his legs to throw him off balance. The kobold went down as Guinevere threw him hard to the ground. Spinning quickly to the right, Guinevere''s fists flashed out in a series of rapid blurs as they attacked one kobold who was sticking to the tree like an oversized beetle. Bam! Bam! The tree even shook a little bit with the force that Guinevere was hitting the kobold, until its blood painted the bark of the tree red.
[p=center]You have leveled up![/p]
[p=center]You have leveled up![/p]
[p=center]You have leveled up![/p]
Yuri''s jaw dropped as she watched Guinevere, moving as fluidly as water she delivered another series of rapid attacks to the other kobold on the tree. It had only been 15 seconds since she had begun her attack and Guinevere had already managed to incapacitate every kobold; even killing one. As if she had eyes on the back of her head, Guinevere converted the kick she was about to deliver to the kobold on the tree to leap off the trunk and sail towards the kobold that had previously been knocked to the ground by her and was now struggling to get up. The kobold howled pitifully as Guinevere''s spiked fist caught him in his temple and he once again went crashing to the ground. Yuri''s was entranced by her beautiful movements that almost looked like a dance that drew on some primal aspect of her''s. The she-wolf that had guided them was hiding in the bushes to leap out on Yuri''s signal, but it seemed like neither of them was needed. The remaining kobold on the tree had extricated itself from the embrace of the oak, but it was still disoriented from taking so many of Guinevere''s attacks that it tottered unsteadily on it''s feet. Still it managed to wobble it''s way over to Guinevere, hands swiping across the air. Almost contemptuously, Guinevere flicked the paws away and trapped the kobold''s arm underneath her own to toss it onto the kobold who was once again struggling to get off the ground. Both of the creatures fell like a sack of potatoes hard to the forest floor. Like a goddess of war, Guinevere stalked over to the two prone kobolds who lay helplessly at her feet and dispatched of them quickly with punches too fast for Yuri''s eyes to be able to follow.
[p=center]You have leveled up![/p]
[p=center]You have leveled up![/p]
¡°Wow...¡± breathed Yuri in wonder. Guinevere looked up at the sound and gave her a glowing smile, ¡°Shall we see how our plan worked out, then?¡±
¡°Looks like they did have friends after all.¡± remarked Guinevere. They were in a new spot overlooking the canyon, which was a good thing as another group of kobolds were sent to investigate the spot where their companions had gone. There were three left in the valley, though one of them was a good head taller than the rest. ¡°And that''s probably their boss.¡± pointing out the taller kobold. ¡°Think that''s all of them?¡± asked Yuri. ¡°Should be.¡± she replied, ¡°I think more of them would''ve come out by now if there were any left.¡± ¡°So what now?¡± ¡°Hmm...¡± she mulled over this question. Maybe we should attack now...7 kobolds just left the valley and while I''m sure the ones left in the valley include the boss, we might have an easier time with them... ¡°I think...¡± she said slowly, ¡°That now would be our best opportunity to attack.¡± ¡°You don''t sound very confident.¡± pointed out Yuri, ¡°Even if the bigger guy is the boss, there''s still only three of them.¡± ¡°They''re most likely going to be a lot stronger than the three we just took down. It''s not only the boss, do you see how the other two have slightly better equipment than the rest? I rate my chances at maybe 40-50 in their favor.¡± ¡°Can''t we just lure them up here like we did the rest?¡± ¡°Doubt it, I think there''s something down there that they want to protect at all costs. When that group finds those kobolds we killed, they''re probably going to just barricade themselves down there. At that point they''ll be much better defended and won''t probably fall for the same trick twice.¡± explained Guinevere. ¡°Well what if we got some extra help?¡± ¡°? From where?¡± In answer, Yuri pointed at the group of wolves that had been placed in several of the wooden cages. Guinevere pictured the scene of her and the wolves tearing into the kobolds and a wicked smile appeared on her lips. ¡°Sounds like fun.¡±
The skills of a bard could be broken down into two basic types: Songs or Melodies and Verses. Songs could be said to be the bard equivalent of buffs; special skills that applied a constant beneficial effect to the user and any member in their party (so long as they were within listening radius). Both songs and verses could either be used together with an instrument or simply sung as is; though a penalty would be applied if an instrument was not used together with the song. On the other hand, verses were one-time use skills that had a limited duration of effect. While verses were as varied as songs in their range of effects, they tended to be more potent. In an effort to balance the class, verses were thus designed with a short duration of effect and longer cooldowns. The ''Insane Bard Gloves'' were already equipped as she locked gazes with the kobold leader, whose lips were slightly raised almost as if he were grinning. Along with his two guards, they stood unmoving as Guinevere slowly made her way over to them, her arms at her sides with no obvious weapon on her person. The kobolds started laughing. It started off as a small snort that escaped form one of the guards that quickly spread to the leader and the other guard. Their laughter was guttural, malicious and utterly unpleasant to her ears. Still she kept the doll-like smile on her face and gave them a theatrical bow that she tried to fill with as much sarcasm as she could. The leader seemed to catch this as his eyes flashed angrily, though he continued to laugh derisively at her, he jerked his head towards the guard on his right side and pointed at her. Her arms came up in a position that had become almost ritualistic for her as she murmured, ¡°Electric guitar.¡± The three kobolds still didn''t stop laughing at her movement, though the guard that the leader had nodded towards drew a very sharp-looking longsword from his sheath with a metallic schick. He started walking towards Guinevere, the distance between them was still about fifty meters and was quickly being reduced. She took a breath and strummed her first cord with a violent movement, a harsh electronic sound that was alien to this world sprang into the air. The kobold moving towards her suddenly stopped and snarled at her, crouching into a defensive posture as he prepared for some unknown attack. Guinevere ignored him as she concentrated on the song that had already begun to flood her mind, fingers seeming to move of their own accord that played a catchy hard rock melody: [p=center]There''s a dangerous rhythm, My hands start carving out a wild song! My feet dance to an unheard tune My body moves to an unseen melody A terrible tango! A bloody waltz! A vicious dance that sets my soul On fire![/p] A brief glow enveloped Guinevere in a bright-red light and faded just as quickly as it had appeared. The smile Guinevere wore subtly, but significantly, morphed into one of cool disdain as she intoned, ¡°Equip Spiked Gloves.¡± A small box briefly appeared in her field of vision indicating that her ''Song of Speed'' was now in effect. Guinevere continued to walk towards the kobold who hesitated at the sudden change in demeanor of this seemingly fragile-looking human female. The kobold leader snarled at his hesitation which cleared this moment of uncertainty almost instantly. Galvanized into action, the kobold snarled at Guinevere and charged towards Guinevere, sword raised high. She did not increase the pace of her stride and continued to walk calmly towards the charging kobold as she settled into the breathing patterns associated with her first dance: Wandering River. Let''s rock!
Yuri didn''t dare to breathe, for fear that the kobolds would somehow overhear her, even though they were so far away. So much of this plan depended on stealthiness which Yuri didn''t think her inherently clumsy self was capable of. The she-wolf was guiding her down a well-worn and well hidden path that was situated the closest to the cages. Yuri glanced at Guinevere, who was already in the canyon, striding confidently towards the group of kobolds whose attention she had grabbed. She accidentally kicked a rock loose and almost cried out before catching herself, wincing as the rock struck different parts of the wall as it fell. Ohh, be more careful you idiot! The she-wolf glanced back at her and softly growled, but said nothing more. Sorry...she wanted to say aloud, but she could only continue to follow the wolf silently down the path. They were about half-way down into the canyon when Yuri heard the kobolds laughing. This time, she didn''t glance towards the disturbance and made use of it to quickly descend. By the time Yuri had touched the grassy floor of the bowl-shaped canyon she heard Guinevere''s singing. Like always, Yuri thought Guinevere had a very pretty voice and was confused why the girl herself didn''t seem to think so. Yuri shook her head to rid herself of any idle thoughts. Come on! Daydream later! You got a job to do right now! There was very little cover in this canyon and if Guinevere hadn''t been running distraction, Yuri was sure she would''ve been found out by now. As it was, all of the kobold''s attention was on Guinevere who continued to sing her song. Stealthily, Yuri crept towards the wooden cages, using the trees as cover whenever they were available and sometimes crawling on her belly; relying on the numerous flowers to cover her. The she-wolf had stayed behind to guard the passage they had just left, in case any of the kobolds from the investigating group returned unexpectedly. Her speed dropped when Guinevere''s song finished and Yuri heard the kobold''s snarling at something. Her heart froze, thinking that they had seen her and she waited frozen in position for several tense seconds. Nothing happened. She forcefully repressed the instinct to sigh in relief, afraid that the small sound would give her away. Yuri poked her head above the flowers, her target was just a few steps away now: The wolves were locked in three different cages, with the alpha getting a cage to itself. They noticed her presence, but wisely they did not visibly react to her at all. Really, what smart children they are! Yuri glanced towards Guinevere who was moving, almost literally, fluidly around the kobold that was attacking her. She wasn''t parrying his attacks, only placing a hand and foot here and there to reposition him in a more advantageous position for her. Yuri forcefully tore her gaze away from Guinevere. She was giving it her best and Yuri had to be able to do the same. The kobold howled as Guinevere seemed to strike a particular sensitive spot. Yuri seized the opportunity to dash towards the cages, fearfully looking to see if any of the creatures had noticed her. They hadn''t. Phew. The wolves in the first cage still did not move, but their eyes continually rolled towards two different points in the cage. Yuri followed their line of sight and saw two simple wooden latches affixed to each corner of the cage. She smiled in relief: This was the most risky part of the plan; that they would need a key to unlock the cage. Yuri slowly stood up and unhooked the latches as quietly as she could, catching the door of the cage as it fell and setting it down gently on the grass. The other kobold had joined the fray and Guinevere''s workload doubled. She didn''t look like she was being pressed, but every now and then, the kobold''s got a strike in. The boss would soon probably realize he''d need to step in himself very soon and then the fight would be decided. Working quickly, Yuri undid the locks on the last two cages. The alpha wolf was the last one she freed, who gave Yuri a quick lick across the face. With a series of hand signals, Yuri pointed at the entire pack and then towards the kobold leader. Yuri led the charge as she leveled her crossbow towards the stupid creature''s head who was still oblivious to her presence. She slowly breathed out and squeezed the trigger.
Second dance: Whirlpool! Guinevere had made excellent use of Wandering River to get into her opponents blind spots and only suffered minor injuries from their blades. Keep moving Chun Hei. Never stop moving! Her grandfather''s teachings rang true in her mind. The kobolds were so focused on landing a decisive strike on her that they never noticed that her movements were slowly drawing them closer and closer to each other. At a critical point, they had gotten so close together that they had to avoid hitting each other. Guinevere began to strike them in earnest then, any point that was not covered in arm was subjected to powerful, pinpoint strikes that was amplified by the spikes that sprang out from the knuckles every time she made contact. Clearly these were stronger than average kobolds as they didn''t seem like they were close to death yet. She had seen Yuri earlier and could only hope that she had unlocked all the cages by now. Though a moment''s distraction could cost her the fight, so she didn''t dare look. Still, she felt that now was a good time to disengage. The two kobolds had spread out a bit more and swiped towards her midriff. Guinevere leaned back as far as she could to avoid the blows until she was perpendicular to the ground until the blades passed over her and she converted the movement into a backflip. ¡°Equip ''Insane Bard''s Gloves''¡± As soon as she felt the familiar silky touch on her hands again, Guinevere barked out another command: ¡°Electric Guitar!¡± She was right-side up now and backpedaled as fast she could as the kobolds converged on her, clearly aware that she was trying to do another song. Too bad for you, this verse doesn''t need me to make a good melody! Compared to the movements she had displayed before, her hands sawed the air chaotically as similar sounds pierced the air in a discordant jumble. ''Paralyzing Verse''. Too late! The verse had been completed and the kobolds frozen in place. At the same time, Guinevere heard the familiar twang of a crossbow being used. She whipped her head towards the sound to see Yuri firing a bolt towards the kobold leader. Damn! So close! The leader''s reactions were incredible as he reacted to the projectile in less than a heartbeat, swaying back almost contemptuously as he glared at Yuri. The wolves had been freed, but as could be expected, they were a little hesitant of attacking the leader who was so hatefully glowering at them. Guinevere sprinted towards the leader, ignoring the kobolds who had been stunned as she re-equipped her spiked gloves. Whoosh! With one hand, the kobold leader swung the mighty glaive powerfully through the air; Guinevere was just barely able to dodge it. But the kobold leader had anticipated this as his hand shot out and grabbed Guinevere by the throat. He started to squeeze. ¡°Gah!¡± choked Guinevere, she started to flail wildly, hands and legs striking whatever they could reach. The kobold leader grunted in pain, but still his grip did not slacken as the pressure around her throat started to increase. Something barreled into the leader and knocked him to the ground with a surprising amount of force; allowing Guinevere to escape from the deadly chokehold. ¡°Are you alright Guin?!¡± shouted Yuri. Disoriented, Guinevere struggled for a few seconds to understand the situation. There on the ground, wrestling with the leader was the silver alpha wolf, both creatures were snarling at each other as they fought for dominance. The rest of the wolves were behind Guinevere, dealing with the two kobolds whose paralyzation had finished warning off; supported by Yuri who was occasionally firing off crossbow bolts towards them. A risky undertaking as she could still hit the wolves, but it was the only viable option as the leader was moving around too much to get a clear shot. She retained enough presence of mind to realize that this was an opportunity to get another verse in: [p=center]I wanna go beyond that golden door, I wanna see what no one''s seen before! I wanna go that extra mile, Cause'' I know that it''ll be worth my while! If I''m not afraid, I can do anything If I''m not afraid, I can go anywhere If I''m not afraid, I can be anyone, Anytime, anyhow, anywhere; I''m not afraid.[/p] The familiar luminescent sheen once again surrounded Guinevere, though because she did not use an instrument, the effect of the ''Heroic Verse'' was reduced by 20% and the time was limited to 30 seconds. The alpha wolf howled in pain as it was struck hard in the abdomen and thrown off the kobold leader. It looked furious at having the wolves betray it and voiced it''s displeasure with an angry roar, glaive held high for a killing blow. Guinevere had already begun moving the second the alpha wolf had been thrown off. In it''s blind fury, it did not notice Guinevere''s rapid approach until it was too late. Bam! Her fist lashed out and struck the exposed armpit area of the kobold leader; spikes sinking deeply into the flesh as blood spurted out. The glaive fell from its nerveless fingers as it swayed back to avoid a crossbow bolt from Yuri once again. It''s balance was off, Guinevere delivered a palm strike to the center of its chest to throw it to the ground. Now''s my chance! Following the kobold''s descent to the ground, Guinevere mounted his chest and began to deliver precise strikes towards the temples.
[p=center]Critical hit![/p]
[p=center]Critical hit![/p]
[p=center]Critical hit![/p]
She was dealing massive amounts of damage thanks to the enhanced strength and attack effects of ''Heroic Verse'', but the leader still managed to find the strength to throw Guinevere off with a vicious blow to her side. Twang! Yuri finally hit her mark, a bolt was sticking out of the kobold''s arm; impeding it''s progress to get up from the ground. The alpha wolf took Guinevere''s place and viciously tore at any exposed flesh of the kobold leader. Guinevere picked up the kobold''s fallen glaive; grunting from it''s weight and held it in a stabbing position just above the kobold. On cue, the alpha wolf allowed itself to be hit off again as Guinevere stabbed the glaive downwards. The weapon pierced the breastplate and sank deep into the kobold''s body, blood pouring from the devastating wound. The kobold leader howled at it''s own mortality, hands weakly scrabbling around the glaive to pull it out, before the light in its eyes faded.
[p=center]You have leveled up![/p]
The battle in the canyon had ended; the two other kobolds were badly wounded, though three wolves lay dead at their feet. Seeing that their leader had fallen, they raised their hands in surrender; only for one of them to catch a bolt in it''s throat as it fell gasping to the ground, clutching it''s ruined throat. On a short signal whistled by Yuri, the remaining wolves fell on the last kobold; brutally mauling him to death. Guinevere raised an eyebrow towards Yuri who, catching her gaze, simply shrugged, ¡°My finger slipped.¡± Previous Chapter Next Chapter Chapter 4 Hey guys, sorry for the long wait in between chapters, I''m hoping this somewhat makes up for it (but it probably won''t). Despite the name of the chapter, I''m not sure I''m really giving away anything just yet. Well there is one thing at the end of the chapter, but nothing apart from that. Next chapter will be entitled "The Circus" and we''ll be getting into more familiar Royal Road territory...for a little bit anyway. Like always, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter and please feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks!

Chapter 4 ¨C Revelation

Ding Dong! ¡°He''s here!¡± exclaimed Yuri excitedly. She ran over to the door (almost slipping on the carpet underneath her) and unhooked the latch from the door. She opened the door and shouted, ¡°Happy birthday, Papa!¡± Her father was in his late 30''s, though he looked a lot younger than his actual age which often earned him the attention of several of the women at his workplace (and some of the men). It had apparently been a busy day as he looked pretty tired, but the second he had seen Yuri''s smiling face, his features brightened almost instantly as he scooped Yuri into a tight bear hug. ¡°Ah my cute little fairy princess! Hope I didn''t make you wait too long!¡± he laughed while kissing the top of Yuri''s head repeatedly. ¡°It''s fine, I know you''re busy Papa.¡± her voice somewhat muffled as she was being pressed into her father''s suit. ¡°Happy birthday, dear. How was your day?¡± asked her mother, reaching behind from Yuri and enveloping her father so that they were all in large group hug. It was a fairly common scene for Yuri''s family, though other people may have thought the affection displayed, even for a birthday, was a bit excessive. ¡°Pretty busy for a Friday. But let''s not talk about work, because I think my nose detects something rather tasty coming from the kitchen.¡± his nose sniffed a few times and he looked towards the kitchen hopefully. ¡°You glutton.¡± scolded her mother, but she laughed and kissed him anyway. ¡°Freshly made so it''s still warm. You can thank our little princess here for that.¡± ¡°You made dinner, princess? Oh thank you-ah-Ah-choo!¡± he sneezed violently when his nose detected the few dog hairs still left on Yuri. Yuri hurriedly pulled herself away from them and brushed herself off again; she thought she had gotten it all off when she left. Her father was pretty allergic to animals, so it prevented them from keeping any pets; despite his insistent snot-filled objections that he was fine. Still; Yuri loved animals and she compromised for not being able to keep a pet by spending a lot of her free time helping out at a nearby animal shelter. ¡°Sorry! I thought I got everything off when I left the shelter today.¡± quickly brushing herself off. Fighting back another sneeze, her father wordlessly pulled her into another tight hug. The moment was ruined when both her and her father''s stomachs growled together. They all started laughing. ¡°I don''t know about you dear, but we''re starving!¡±
For a few seconds, Yuri thought she was sleeping on her own bed, and even though it felt a little uneven in some places, it was toasty warm and the material wonderfully soft. Thump Thump Thump. Most beds didn''t have a heart beat though. She kept her eyes closed as the alpha wolf shifted beneath her, wanting to enjoy his warmth and the memory of her dream just a little bit longer. It had been a little over one day in this world when they finally beaten the kobold leader. Based on Guinevere''s explanation, one day here translated to six hours in the real world; already that was a long time to stay connected, even if it was the start of the weekend. ¡°Earliest I''ll be able to log back in will probably be another full day here. But I will come back, so don''t worry.¡± ¡°What if the other kobolds come back?¡± ¡°They won''t. We already killed their strongest, so they''ll probably leave this valley to us. Plus, if I log out while in the cave, they won''t know I''ve left and will probably still assume the both of us are here.¡± True to her words, no sign of the kobolds could be seen, although some of the wolves stayed on watch outside of the cave. Yuri blearily opened her eyes, stifling a yawn with her ¨C well, Alyne''s really ¨C hand. How long have I been sleeping? ¡°System clock.¡± she said quietly, not wanting to wake up the other sleeping wolves.
[p=center]Current time in Seoul, Korea: Saturday Oct. 18, 3:36[/p]
Barely half-an-hour had passed since Guinevere had logged out; her body ¨C scratch that, her avatar was laying peacefully on a small cot that the kobolds had been using. It was weird, she looked like she was just sleeping which was apparent by the gentle rise and fall of her chest. The strangest part was that Yuri had actually felt like she had been sleeping for two hours. Certainly not a long time, but she felt more refreshed than she did than if she had slept for only thirty minutes. Maybe it has to do with that whole REM sleep thing you go through in the night. I think I remember reading that your brain only needs three hours to fully recharge. Maybe that''s why I feel pretty good. Moving ever so carefully, Yuri gently disentangled herself from the pile of wolves that surrounded her. There were apparently a lot more wolves in cages in the kobold''s lair. They were all exceedingly happy when Yuri had freed them, that they practically danced around her. Despite the horrors she had been facing, helping these wolves gave Yuri was incredibly rewarding. Emotionally and literally. The kobolds had quite the treasure stockpile on them in these caves. Guinevere seemed almost regretful that she had to log out when she saw the treasure hoard, though Yuri assured her that they would go through the pile together when she got back. That got her an ecstatic hug from the energetic girl; the memory of it brought a smile to Yuri''s face. Her body felt a little sore from sleeping in such an awkward position, but a few good stretches as she walked out of the cave quickly dispelled that feeling. The two wolves standing guard at the entrance at the cave looked up at her approach and wagged their tails happily as they padded towards her. ¡°Good work you two. Go in and get some sleep now.¡± crooned Yuri, brushing back their fur with her palm. The two wolves vigorously shook their heads, their eyes seemed to say that they would continue to stand guard. Though they pressed themselves under Yuri''s arms, nuzzling her affectionately. Giggling, Yuri gave them quick scratches under their chins, ¡°Fine then. I''ll stay here with you two, until the others wake up.¡±
Chun Hei, also known as Guinevere in Royal Road, had had a hard time falling asleep after she logged out. After meeting that mysterious girl, Yuri, so many questions were buzzing through her mind. Eventually she did fall asleep though, with considerable effort, knowing that she would need her energy for the following day. Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Chun Hei slapped a hand on her alarm, her misty vision clearing as she focused on the numbers that the digital clock displayed: 7:00. A bit later than she usually woke up, although that could be excused considering it was a weekend. She wasn''t planning on going to her Grandfather''s dojo either until around evening with her brothers. There was movement downstairs and the sound of something sizzling; evidently some of her family was already up and making breakfast. Hmm, it''s been about 4 hours since I left. I should try and get back within the next three. I''m a little worried that those kobolds might come back for her. If someone could have read Chun Hei''s thoughts, they would''ve thought that she was being a bit overprotective of Yuri. After all, Royal Road, no matter how realistic it may seem, was just a game after all. Yes there was the sensation of pain and yes you could die in the game, but that wouldn''t be you, would it? But what is this bad feeling I''m having...Chun Hei continued to ruminate over such things as she opened the door to her room and entered the adjacent bathroom. Turning the faucets, she splashed water on her face to help herself wake up, patting herself dry in front of the mirror. Apart from the hair (black and shoulder length in reality), she looked exactly like she did in Royal Road, so that when she gave a crooked grin to herself, she could easily imagine the bard known as Guinevere grinning back at her. ¡°Morning.¡± greeted her older brother Dae-Hyun who was setting out five bowls of steaming rice on the table, his older twin Dae-Jung was at the stove frying eggs. ¡°Morning, sleepyhead.¡± The wall-mounted television was turned onto the news channel. The pretty female anchor with shining white teeth and handsome co-anchor were finishing up a previous segment: ¡°...And our hearts go out to Mr. Seong and his family. And now for news of the world of entertainment, it''s the craze that''s driving our nation and the rest of the world insane: Royal Road! What do you think about this ''Dandelion'' fellow that''s been making such a buzz in Royal Road lately, Yun?¡± ¡°I think his name is ''Weed'', Kwan...¡± ¡°Morning, Oppas.¡± replied Chun Hei as she turned and greeted the smiling woman in the photograph resting on the table. ¡°Morning, Mom.¡± The picture had captured enough of her mother''s vitality that her eyes seemed to be sending a greeting back to her. Chun Hei started grabbing cups from the cabinets and setting them on the table. ¡°Where''s Dad?¡± ¡°Downstairs. He''s trying to get some extra work on a company project done, but he says he''ll be up soon.¡± answered Dae-Jung, turning off the stove and spooning bits of fried egg into each bowl. Her dad was a software designer working for a major advertising company. He had recently been promoted to managing a whole team and he had been getting more projects to work on to reflect his new position. Chun Hei grabbed the two plates with radish kimchi and sliced fish sitting on the counter top and set it on the table. ¡°And Dae-Ho oppa?¡± she asked just as the front door opened. ¡°Right here.¡± answered the man himself. The youngest of her three older brothers, Dae-Ho was dressed in a grey track suit for his morning run. ¡°I didn''t want to wake you up before I left in the morning.¡± ¡°That''s okay, now she can go with us.¡± retorted Dae-Jung, draping his arms around Chun Hei and propping his head on her''s. Dae-Ho scowled as both Chun Hei and Dae-Hyun laughed. ¡°Well you all seem to be in a good mood.¡± closing the door behind him with a tired smile was her father. ¡°Morning, Dad.¡± Her father kissed her on the forehead, ¡°Morning, sweetie.¡± Without further ado, they all sat down at the table and started to eat their breakfast, light conversation was passed around throughout the meal. Her father finished his breakfast fast, thanked Dae-Jung and Dae-Hyun for the breakfast and retreated downstairs to continue working on his project. Dae-Jung leaned across the table towards her and asked, ¡°You up for a jog later?¡± Chun Hei shook her head, ¡°Sorry Oppa, I''ve got some other plans later today.¡± Her polite refusal created a look of triumph on Dae-Ho''s face as she rejected their offer for a jog. Dae-Jung cast an annoyed glance at his younger brother while his twin asked Chun Hei, ¡°Royal Road?¡± There was no derision or judgmental tone in that question, just a simple curiosity. All five siblings were casual players of Royal Road, and that hadn''t changed even when Chun Hei had somehow managed to win a pod for their household in a lottery drawing hosted by Unicorn Corporation three months ago. ¡°You were in there for a while yesterday, weren''t you?¡± said Dae-Ho, entering the conversation, ¡°What were you doing?¡± Mulling over the question for a bit, Chun Hei made a decision and just decided to tell them everything. ¡°It all started when I met this girl...¡±
¡°Seriously...what the fuck.¡± cursed Dae-Ho. ¡°I thought about looking through the forums for anything like this after breakfast but...¡± ¡°You don''t think you''ll find anything.¡± said Dae-Hyun, finishing her sentence for her. ¡°Right.¡± nodded Chun Hei gloomily. ¡°Do you have any idea what could be preventing her from logging out Oppas?¡± Dae-Hyun and Dae-Jung were both in their last year of computer programming and hopefully they had more answers than she did. Both twins scratched their chins thoughtfully and leaned back against their chairs, ¡°Hmmm...¡± said both of them. Dae-Ho and Chun Hei shared a grin at the twins'' synchronized, unconscious actions. ¡°I doubt it''s a curse.¡± ¡°But it could be.¡± ¡°Could be, probably not though. Bug in the system?¡± ¡°Pretty major bug if you ask me.¡± ¡°I didn''t say it was in the ''system'', stupid.¡± ¡°''System'' doesn''t only refer to software, jerk-off¡± The twin rattled off verbal insults to each other as they simultaneously discussed the problem in a rapid-fire conversation. Knowing their habits, Chun Hei estimated that they would have an answer in another 16 insults. ¡°...All the pods are factory-made. Standardized. No chance of a major design flaw being so unique without other reports.¡± ¡°There are special ones though, custom-made. Combat simulators used for military purposes.¡± ¡°As if a 16 year old girl would be in a combat simulator. Dumbass.¡± ¡°That was just an example. Ever heard of those, Einstein? But a bug is far more likely if she''s in a unique pod.¡± ¡°Well now we possibly have an answer for ''How'' and maybe even ''Why'', now we just need to know the ''Who''.¡± ¡°I don''t suppose you know her last name, do you?¡± Chun Hei was suddenly brought into the conversation and she took a few moments to answer the question. ¡°Uh...I never asked.¡± she said abashed. Why didn''t you ask? Idiot! ¡°It''s fine.¡± reassured Dae-Hyun, ¡°We know her character name. Two names actually with this mysterious ''Alyne Fainesworth'' person actually.¡± supplemented Dae-Jung. ¡°Jog to Unicorn?¡± suggested Dae-Hyun to Dae-Jung. ¡°Hopefully they''ll let us use the database.¡± ¡°Well they did gives us their numbers.¡± ¡°Somehow I don''t think they wanted us to call for something like this though.¡± ¡°Eh, it''ll be fine. Probably.¡± ¡°Probably not.¡± ¡°More for me, if you''re not coming chickenshit.¡± ¡°Please, I was the only reason they even tolerated you.¡± Chun Hei wanted to ask what they were talking about, but at the same time she knew the answer would probably just be something stupid. Still, she knew that they were dropping everything to help Yuri out. ¡°Dae-Hyun oppa. Dae-Jung oppa. Thank you.¡± she said sincerely. They responded by dashing around the table and hugging her in earnest, ¡°Awww, of course we would help you out!¡± Chun Hei felt a smile tugging at her lips despite their embarrassing actions. Dae-Ho came to her rescue at that moment and pried their arms off of Chun Hei and scooted them out of the door. With a quick thanks, Chun Hei helped him to clear the table and clean the dishes as they settled into more lighthearted topics. ¡°I was going to go to the library later today, but do you need any help with anything?¡± offered Dae-Ho. Dae-Ho was planning on entering the Korean National Police University in Yongin to pursue a career in law, though he was doing so via a program hosted in the same university Dae-Hyun and Dae-Jung were attending. The program offered a full scholarship to attend the academy along with free lodgings for the top five students. As could be expected, it was quite an intensive program, though Chun Hei knew Dae-Ho was motivated enough to overcome such a hurdle. ¡°No thanks, oppa, but thanks for the offer.¡± said Chun Hei, ¡°Will I see you at Grandfather''s later today though?¡± Laughing, Dae-Ho ruffled her hair, ¡°Definitely. Hope everything works out with your friend.¡± walking over to his room to change. I hope so too.
¡°Identify!¡± intoned Guinevere, a hint of excitement in her voice.
[p=center]Great Bear''s Claws Description: The great power and ferocity of a bear are said to be infused in these gauntlets. The warrior who equips these will surely be granted some of that great strength. Effects: +40 ATK (compared to currently equipped ''Gauntlets of Pain''). 10% chance of stun effect every second hit.[/p]
¡°Good find?¡± asked Yuri with a tinkling laugh. ¡°Definitely! Along with the new armor and gold, this was definitely a good find!¡± Bards were restricted to using leather-type and cloth-type armor, though Guinevere didn''t mind it, the light weight the leather armor provided far outweighed the defense benefits she would get from the higher-class armors. Guinevere was outfitted in a pair of short leather pants that, while having the same defense as her old shorts, were augmented with a speed bonus. The upper body was replaced with a shirt and jacket combo that when she tested out a few straight punches in them, didn''t restrict her motions at all. All those kung-fu movies about so-called martial arts masters fighting in suits didn''t make any sense, such clothing would only impede one''s range of motion. Finishing off the ensemble was a rather delightful pair of boots in the same vein as her original ''Spiked Gauntlets'', that shot out a smooth curved blade every time she shot out a kick. For her part, Yuri was equipped in brand new armor: High quality leather pants that was reinforced with a shiny metal at the knee along the sides of the thighs. Replacing the leather jerkin was a dark blue blouse that flowed down her body and creating a snug fit against her body. Though it looked frail, the blouse provided a higher defense stat (along with the added bonus of partial stun and poison resistance) than the leather jerkin Guinevere had made for her. Both of them were wearing several rings, necklaces and earrings that provided health and mana boosts as well as several other enchantments. One ring in particular that Yuri was wearing provided a lightning enchantment to all projectiles. The rest of the items either had lower stats or they were both too low level to equip it, several such pieces caught Guinevere''s eye and she was planning on storing them in the bank. Still there was a sizable amount of treasure still left in the cave. Guinevere didn''t want to go past the 70% limit of inventory space where she would start feeling the weight of her items and Yuri didn''t seem too interested in any of the items. ¡°All set to go then?¡± asked Yuri. ¡°Yup, you?¡± Guinevere asked the same question in kind. The reason for this was because when she''d returned, Yuri had been happily playing with the wolves, even now, some of the wolf cubs were tugging on the hem of her pants to keep playing with them. In her arms was another wolf cub, sleeping peacefully. ¡°Yeah...I had a lot of fun, but I really do want to get back home.¡± she said regretfully, stroking the sleeping grey cub tenderly. Yuri gently lowered the cub onto the surprisingly soft bed that the kobolds, and then Yuri, had been using. Guinevere slung a arm around her shoulder as they walked out of the cave. The wolves seemed to understand that they were both leaving, though they did not cry out, they only bowed their heads in gratitude as they left the cave. ¡°So your brothers are helping out too?¡± ¡°Yeah. I told them about your situation and they offered to help out. Two of them should be in Unicorn Corp. about now.¡± ¡°I''ll have to thank them personally when I get out then.¡± Guinevere laughed, ¡°Don''t lay on the praise too thick then. It''ll go straight to their already inflated heads. Actually we might even see them in town by the time we get there.¡± She looked at Yuri critically and warned, ¡°Make sure to stick close by me if we do meet them. You''re really cute and they''re total perverts.¡± Guinevere checked her map to see what would be the quickest route back to Danaweir, the town where she had received the quest from and was conveniently also home to a Church of Freya. Waiting for them at the lip of the valley was the silver alpha wolf. It was holding something in its mouth and as they approached, it deposited the object at Yuri''s feet before bounding down the trail back into the canyon. Seems like even wolves have trouble saying goodbyes. ¡°What is it?¡± Yuri picked up the object, medallion really, holding it up by the leather cord that was looped through it. On both sides of the medallion, there was the emblazoned head of a wolf that was surrounded by a ring of small red gemstones on each face. ¡°Let''s find out. Identify!¡± A thoughtful expression appeared on her face as she read out of the description of the object: ¡°''Medallion of the Beast Friend''. An item granted to those whose soul is filled with goodwill towards animals.¡± Guinevere waited for her to continue when she realized that that was everything in the description. ¡°Effects?¡± ¡°None.¡± Though Yuri didn''t have a dissatisfied look on her face, rather it almost seemed that she was flattered, ¡°But it was a gift after all. Equip ''Medallion of the Beast Friend''!¡± There was a flash and the ''Giant''s Necklace'' that she was wearing was replaced in a flash by the wolf-head medallion. ¡°So I''ll accept it with gratitude.¡± finished Yuri. Laughing, Guinevere looped her arm through Yuri''s and teased, ¡°Let''s get going then, Ms. Beast Friend.¡± As they left behind the valley, the sound of howling could be heard emanating from it''s flowery depths, bidding the two girls a mournful, but fond farewell.
¡°Wow...¡± breathed Yuri. ¡°Hehe, welcome to Danaweir my fair lady.¡± giving Yuri a theatrical bow as she swept her hands towards the town. Compared to the shabby looking town in her mind, the one displayed before her took Yuri''s breath away. The building''s were colorful and all had very unique appearances to them, the potion shop for example resembled a giant cauldron, the appearance of flames seemed to bubble out of it''s roof. The blacksmith was a great open expanse of space with bare-chested burly looking men beating on anvils with mighty blows as a great hearth illuminated the center. They passed by numerous stalls that spilled out of the main thoroughfare and set up a kind of recreational suburb just outside of the city proper. Delicious smells floated through the air along with vendors calling for their attention to fantastical objects and mysterious liquid that seemed to glow with an inner light. But it was the people that really impressed the ''fantasy world'' feeling on Yuri. Knights in shining silver armour cantered casually through the streets on imposing armored horses. Peoples of all different sizes, colours and even species intermingled freely throughout the place. Yuri couldn''t resist gaping at some of the more outlandish people that passed by her, of which Guinevere informed her about cheerfully, ¡°Oh yeah, those guys are called Orcs; pretty intimidating right?¡± Yuri drew closer to Guinevere as one of the orcs in particular seemed to overhear the conversation and grinned at them. Yuri quickly broke eye contact with him and returned to looking (more hesitantly this time) at the people around her. Beautiful men and women with long pointed ears were fairly common in Danaweir apparently. ¡°Elves?¡± asked Yuri ¡°Yep. Lot''s of different sub-races too.¡± ¡°Exactly how many races are there?¡± ¡°29 primary races; most have their own sub-race. One exception are humans for example.¡± ¡°That''s...quite a lot of choices.¡± admitted Yuri. Just over to her right, she could see a pair of women with the lower bodies of horses shooting a target with massive longbows. ¡°We could explore for a bit if you want.¡± Yuri was definitely tempted, but the thought of just going home outweighed that impulse. ¡°Thanks, but I think I''d rather just get to the temple.¡± She glanced at one of the stalls selling sticks with malt candy that was constantly changing colors and another with slices of chicken-pot pie. ¡°But maybe we could get something to eat along the way?¡± trying to turn it into a suggestion, though her stomach betrayed her with a growl. Yuri belatedly slapped a hand to her traitorous stomach and felt a blush coloring her cheeks. Guinevere took her hand in her own and pulled her over to one of the stalls she had been eying. ¡°Thank God. I thought I was the only one that was starving.¡±
¡°You know when we gave you our numbers, it wasn''t for something like this.¡± frowned Chung-Ae. Her younger twin sister Ae-Cha was giving Dae-Hyun a similar frown. Well she was trying to at least, Chung-Ae could tell her little sister was happy to meet Dae-Hyun again. Chung-Ae and her sister had been working at Unicorn Corporation for about two years now and had recently been promoted so that the two of them had got their own office, much to the chagrin of their former supervisor who was always making disparaging comments towards them. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. They had met the Dae-Hyun and Dae-Jung at a mixer that a friend of theirs had begged for them to come to. Funnily enough, both their younger siblings really seemed to hit it off with each other, while the older two...got along well enough she supposed. Chung-Ae had to admit that they were both fairly handsome, but Dae-Jung was a bit too cavalier she thought. Still, when his younger brother asked for Ae-Cha''s number, he immediately requested the same of her; perhaps realizing that her younger sister would''ve been nervous without her. Which brings us here...great. Dae-Jung was delivering what he probably thought was a charming smile towards the still frowning Chung-Ae. ¡°Come on, it''s a favour for our sister. Her friend does have a serious problem you know?¡± Sighing, Chung-Ae relented, ¡°I know, but there are protocols for doing this.¡± ¡°How long would those take though?¡± ¡°...A few days.¡± admitted Chung-Ae. ¡°It is a serious problem though unni, if a player can''t log out.¡± asserted Ae-Cha. ¡°Okay, okay. Let me just call our supervisor so I can get the admin rights to look through our database.¡± Punching the extension number on the phone at her desk, her boss picked up the phone after only two rings. She explained the situation quickly to him and he gave her permission to access the player database surprisingly easily; evidently showing a great trust in her judgement. ¡°What''s her name again?¡± ¡°Yuri.¡± Punching in the keys for the name, the program searched for all players with the name. It was a fairly common name though, so Chung-Ae made sure to impose specific search terms based on the twin''s description of this mysterious girl. No matches showed up based on the time frame that she had appeared, even though Chung-Ae made sure to include the fairly large period of a month. Perhaps he noticed the disappointed expression on her face, but Dae-Jung asked, ¡°Nothing?¡± ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Dae-Jung raised his eyebrow at this remark, though Ae-Cha was the one who answered his unspoken question. ¡°Unni looked through the general database of players in commercial pods. But if Yuri is in a special one, then there are separate parts of the database that we can search through for such pods.¡± On a hunch, Chung-Ae opened up the ¡°Medical Applications¡± section of the database and changed the search term for Character Name from Yuri to the name of the patient. 1 match. ¡°Got it!¡± she said triumphantly. Due to patient confidentiality reasons, the most that the database showed was the name of the patient and the hospital that housed the pod they were using. ¡°We''re not allowed to print off any records, so you''ll just have to take what you can remember from here.¡± said Ae-Cha. Dae-Jung turned her screen around so the twins could read the information. ¡°Oi, isn''t this where Hyun is working?¡± muttered Dae-Hyun. ¡°Yeah. He should be on his break now too.¡± affirmed Dae-Jung. ¡°Thanks for your help girls, we''ll definitely make it up to you somehow!¡± exclaimed Dae-Hyun. ¡°Dinner and a movie would be a good start.¡± said Chung-Ae, a smile breaking across her face for the first time since they entered. ¡°And I hope you two will be wearing something better than this.¡± she remarked, looking at their plain clothes. She laughed inwardly when she saw the two twins do a synchronized blush.
¡°What''s that?¡± asked Yuri, pointing at the large board that dominated the centre part of the town square where many adventurers were clustered around. The girls had finished their delicious tour of the edible delights of Danaweir and were now on their way to the Church of Freya. The day was coming to an end and the sun was painting the sky in colourful shades of red and orange, bathing the city in vivid hues that seemed to make it even more beautiful. ¡°Bounty board.¡± she mumbled, still picking her way through a shish kebab they had purchased earlier...along with several other delicious foodstuffs. ¡°NPCs will put up requests on the board for various problems. Some of them can be quite rewarding.¡± One of the posters on the board bore the caricature of a flamboyantly dressed man wearing a eye mask. Underneath his picture were the words: WANTED: DANDY MAN Wanted for crimes against the sovereign territory of Dale. Suspect must be brought in alive to Great Knight Gordon to claim bounty. REWARD: 2000G ¡°Is 2000G a lot?¡± Guinevere followed her line of sight and frowned. ¡°Yeah, it''s a lot.¡± she sighed, ¡°Over something really, really plagiaristically stupid.¡± Finishing her food, the stick faded into particles of light as the item was consumed. ¡°Ah, this is it!¡± Yuri''s question of what ¡°plagiaristically¡± meant, died on her tongue as she took in the sight of their final destination, marveling at it''s architecture. It was a large dome-shaped building with two large spires on either side. The entrance was a magnificently decorated arch surrounded by pristine white marble pillars that held the overlying terrace extending out of the dome roof and overlooking the town square. Each pillar was exquisitely carved in the fashion of a gorgeous looking woman, the spirals of marble that crept up the pillar served as a loose fitting robe for the woman. As could be expected of a foreign religion, there was no large decorative cross, star of David or any other common religious symbol could be seen ornamenting the front of the temple. Robed priests and priestesses milled around the entrance, welcoming visitors and extolling the virtues and blessings of their goddess. They walked up the short set of steps and were welcomed by a smiling priestess, ¡°Welcome to the Temple of Freya weary travelers. Do you seek to receive the blessing of the benevolent goddess?¡± ¡°Indeed we do.¡± began Guinevere eloquently, a completely uncharacteristic beatific smile decorating her face, ¡°My companion here recently fell victim to a curse most horrendous and seeks the grace of Freya for her salvation.¡± ¡°Oh my, that sounds terrible! It is truly good that you came to us in your time of need! For with Freya''s great benevolence, your friend shall surely be healed. Thank the goddess that she has such a faithful devotee in you.¡± delivering a bright smile towards Guinevere. ¡°Throughout my travels, I have encountered many dangers and challenges that I thought were impossible. It was only the faith that I had in Freya that allowed me to overcome every single one of those challenges.¡± The priestess glowed with happiness at those words, though a small frown distorted her beautiful features. ¡°Ah, well there is a small fee involved in removing such curses.¡± She bit her lower lip and looked around at her fellow men and women of the cloth and leaned in towards them. ¡°But for such a faithful devotee such as yourself, perhaps a discount can be arranged.¡± Yuri was barely managing to resist rolling her eyes at the smug satisfaction that she could almost feel coming from Guinevere. ¡°Sister, you are far too kind.¡± expressed Guinevere.
In a private room of the surprisingly spacious interior of the temple were four people currently undergoing a purification ritual. Based on the confused and frustrated expressions on their faces, it was clear that something was wrong. In particular, the dark haired beauty sitting on a ritzy looking couch who was making strange motions in the air had a fairly distraught countenance. Her fingers trembled as they moved through empty space though no sound could be heard coming from her mouth. A few words were passed between the girl with spiky electric-blue hair and the man and woman who were draped in the clothes specific to those who were followers of Freya. It was clear that neither party seemed to understand what had evidently gone wrong with the ritual, but the matter was settled peaceably enough as the priest and priestess bowed their heads apologetically towards the two girls and left the room. ¡°I...I don''t understand.¡± she said shakily. Her fingers remained pressed against the still greyed out option bearing the words ''Log Out''. But despite the ritual, it remained quiescent no matter how hard she pressed her fingers against the ethereal display. ¡°Why didn''t it work?¡± her hand slumped to her side as she looked at Guinevere imploringly. Her friend looked just as lost as she felt. Guinevere shook her head, mumbling to herself about what could have gone wrong. ¡°I don''t know...if it''s not a curse...I don''t...¡± Guinevere suddenly straightened up, ¡°Oppa? Where are we? Ah, we''re in the temple at the moment.¡± Tump. Tump. Tump. Came a knock at the door along with the voice of an older man, ¡°Guin? It''s me.¡± ¡°It''s not locked, come in!¡± responded Guinevere. The door soundlessly opened and two young men entered the room. No, scratch that, one of them had almost golden looking skin with a tattoo of a sun on his forehead and long tapered ears. The human was immaculately dressed in what could only be a white tuxedo along with a matching top-hat. They closed the door behind them and Guinevere greeted them in a surprised voice. ¡°Oppa, what are you doing here? Shouldn''t you be at work right now?¡± her eyes narrowed; a slight reprimand in her voice. The man laughed and held up his hands in front of him in mock surrender, ¡°Calm down there, I''m keeping my nose clean. Technically I''m still at work.¡± ¡°Who is this?¡± asked Guinevere, nodding to the sun elf. ¡°Hi there, I''m StrangerDang- Er. No that''s wrong, sorry. My name is Dr. Lee and I work as a physician in a special ICU ward at Seoul General.¡± said the man with a friendly smile. He sounded a little nervous though. His gaze settled on Yuri and the smile changed subtly, looking more forced now. ¡°Are you Yuri?¡± Yuri swallowed reflexively, her throat suddenly feeling dry and her voice raspy: ¡°Yes. Who are you?¡± He had already introduced himself, but the question was clear: ''Who are you to me?''. Though Yuri already knew the answer in her heart. ¡°I''m your doctor, Yuri.¡±
The priestess they had met outside of the temple had been kind enough to bring in more chairs and even a small table for the new occupants. They seemed to sense it was a rather serious situation and insisted that they use the private room for as long as they needed. Sitting across from her and Guinevere was Guin''s eldest brother and Dr. Lee. Yuri had just finished telling them her story, the same one that she had told Guinevere the day they had first met each other. Dr. Lee had his head in his hands, looking tired beyond belief. ¡°I can''t believe something like this happened. Yuri, I know it isn''t worthy anything at all, but I am so sorry that this occurred.¡± ¡°Please...I just want to know what''s going on.¡± begged Yuri. Dr. Lee hesitated before answering her, ¡°Four days ago...you were involved in a very serious accident on Highway 63.¡± ...What? ¡°A driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel crossed over from the other side of traffic and hit the car you were in. You had several severe injuries: Multiple open fractures, an epidural hematoma and even a cerebral contusion. On top of that, there was some minor esophageal trauma that would limit oral feeding. Consequently you were rushed to Seoul General for an emergency surgery.¡± his face darkened, ¡°But apparently there were other complications.¡± ¡°What does this have to do with me being in this place? And why don''t I remember anything?¡± said Yuri quietly. She thought she managed to come off as sounding calm, though her heart was in turmoil. Her hands clenched on her lap. A small hand overlaid them, delivering a quiet warmth to her. Thanks, Guin. Dr. Lee decided to answer the second question first, ¡°After great traumas, a condition known as retrograde amnesia can be an uncommon occurrence. Over time though, those memories will return.¡± he frowned and then asked, ¡°Not to get off track, but I want to know how much you do remember.¡± Yuri nodded and gave her tacit consent. ¡°First of all, what is your name?¡± An easy question to start with, ¡°Yuri...It''s Yuri...I can''t remember my last name.¡± ¡°OK, that''s okay. Your name is Yuri Hyeon.¡± ¡°Yuri Hyeon...¡± rolling the word around in her mouth. Definitely familiar. ¡°Sounds right.¡± ¡°Good! Let''s try some other ones...¡± Unfortunately the other questions such as her father''s or mother''s names and even her address were beyond her capabilities. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t remember. Despite Dr. Lee''s assurances that her memories would come back in time, the fact that she couldn''t remember her own history was terrifying. Guin''s hand squeezed her own and she gave her a relieved smile. Breathe in. Breathe out. ¡°Okay, okay...just...continue.¡± Collecting his thoughts, Dr. Lee continued his explanation: ¡°A day after the surgery, you were in a tremendous amount of pain that did not seem to respond to any painkillers. So, after some consideration, we decided to place you in a capsule.¡± ¡°...Because anything that''s affecting me in reality won''t be translated here...right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± Just the mere thought of her being in accident was blurring her vision. She felt sick. Luckily; Guin asked the question she wanted to know the answer to. ¡°So what the hell happened then?¡± demanded Guinevere, ¡°I get that she wasn''t supposed to wake up in that horrible cave,¡± her fist slammed onto the table, ¡°But was she meant to just connect into this place all by herself!?¡± While he flinched at the sound, he managed to deliver a proper reply, ¡°The capsules we use here are special ones; designed to be used in a hospital environment. Although I think the specifications could be better explained by Min-Kyung here.¡± nodding to Guin''s eldest brother. Yuri turned her attention towards the gaudily dressed man. ¡°I work at Seoul General as a biomedical engineer. Typically that would mean I work on the diagnostic machines like the MRI, PET or CT and the like. And while I still do, Seoul General recently added these medical capsules to fall under my superintendence as well.¡± ¡°Wouldn''t that need a different kind of engineer though?¡± interjected Guinevere. ¡°It does, I work together with another guy and we inspect the capsules together and make sure they''re working properly. This might be a bit of a long explanation, but I''ll try to give you the essentials of the medical capsule.¡± He paused to orient his thoughts, before delving into the explanation. ¡°First is the function that all of the capsules have: Total disconnection from body sensations. Senses of vibration, touch, temperature and pain are all blocked when connected to the virtual reality interface. The feature of blocking pain is a particularly nice feature as it prevents us from having to give potentially addictive drugs to a patient with a large amount of intractable pain. The medical capsule has several unique features to it; the largest being is that the body can be interacted with while the mind is connected to virtual space.¡± ¡°I thought you couldn''t do anything to the body while you''re in the game?¡± she looked at Guin for confirmation, ¡°Otherwise you get disconnected, right?¡± ¡°Normally that''s true, but if that were the case, we''d never be able to change bandages, deliver IV lines, feeding tubes and the like.¡± ¡°Feeding tubes?¡± she repeated hollowly. ¡°While we repaired most of the damage to your throat, it will still take some time to heal. However because of that; we needed to get nutrition into you some way. It is still a temporary thing and you will heal eventually Yuri.¡± explained Dr. Lee ¡°Right, OK, sorry. Not sure why I''m stressing out about a tube.¡± giving a dry chuckle. ¡°Please: Continue explaining Mr. Min-Kyung.¡± ¡°A-Ah, Right.¡± answered Min-Kyung somewhat hesitantly. He cleared his throat a few times. ¡°So, these custom capsules allow us to care for and monitor the patient without breaking the virtual reality connection. Though the only ones who are able to access the capsule to deliver such treatments are the patient''s doctor and a few nurses. That''s about all of the special features of the hardware. The software is also custom-designed in that players who connect to Royal Road via a medical capsule are treated to a kind of personalized tutorial.¡± At this point Dr. Lee took over the explanation and attention was once again focused on him. ¡°Some patients are like yourself Yuri; people who are suffering from amnesia and don''t remember they were in an accident. In this tutorial, a special representative from the rehabilitation department acts as the patient''s companion and helps them understand what happened to them and answers any questions they have.¡± ¡°So what happened to me then?¡± asked Yuri, trying to keep an accusatory tone out of her voice. It was hard though, waking up in that place would give her nightmares for years. Both men looked at each other and once again apologized emphatically to Yuri, self-condemnation could be clearly seen on their anguished faces. ¡°If I had checked with the representative, maybe I would have found out about this so much sooner.¡± declared Dr. Lee. ¡°It''s my fault.¡± admitted Min-Kyung. ¡°I was the one who said every capsule was working properly. I''m so sorry!¡± ¡°Oppa-What happened? What do you mean this is your fault?¡± demanded Guinevere. ¡°Two days ago, part of the hospital was involved in a major electrical disturbance that shorted out nearly half of our systems. It was mainly the machines designated for life-support that were involved and while our priority was on restoring their functionality, we knew that other systems were probably affected.¡± said Min-Kyung through clenched teeth. ¡°Like the capsules.¡± said Yuri who was now beginning to understand what happened. ¡°...While I didn''t look through all of them, I was the one who was responsible for checking your capsule. The only thing I had found was that the recording equipment was fried; the system responsible for recording and saving footage from Royal Road.¡± he took off his hat and set it on the table, putting a hand to his head as if he had a headache, ¡°I even tested it myself by entering the capsule and saw that everything was working...but apparently I missed something crucial...¡± She felt tired, though she felt somewhat of a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She should be angry at what happened. But seeing how much what did happen was clearly torturing these two men, her anger had all but evaporated. ¡°It''s...well it''s not okay...but...you two did everything you could. And you saved my life. So...thank you.¡± finished Yuri, giving them a small smile who gave her relieved smiles of their own. It was a strained one however, as one question still burned inside of her. ¡°What...happened to my parents?¡± They didn''t answer. The silence in the room was deafening. She wet her lips and asked them again, ¡°Dr. Lee: What happened to my parents?¡± I don''t want him to answer, she thought fearfully, harshly berating herself for asking the question. The doctor seemed lost as to where to begin and it suddenly struck Yuri that he seemed like a fairly young doctor. While it was impossible to tell based on his appearance, his action seemed akin to a man who had only recently graduated from school. ¡°Your mother received similar injuries to yours, although in her case, shrapnel from the other car had penetrated her spinal cord, resulting in a total lower body paralysis.¡± Yuri stiffened, her heart sank when she heard this and was about to ask for more information when the doctor preempted her, ¡°But...she will survive. We''ll probably even transfer her to a capsule if she wishes for it.¡± ¡°Where is she now?¡± ¡°At this time, she''s probably in surgery to remove the last bits of metal from her body. Your own injuries were more severe and so were prioritized your treatment first.¡± Her heart was pounding and there was a lump in her throat. But she knew she had to ask the next question that was on everyone''s minds. ¡°And my father?¡± her voice was so quiet that she was almost whispering the question, ¡°Is he okay?¡±
Guinevere found Yuri quite fast; she was sitting on a rock overlooking the lake, moonlight reflecting off the surface and giving a magical quality to the air. The lake was just outside of the city, but still within it''s limits so that players were afforded it''s protection. It was popular for it''s serene surroundings and romantic atmosphere that several players came to Danaweir just to visit it at night. There were a few couples here for just such a reason, snuggling close to each on the shores of the lake. Though Yuri was far from all of these people, sitting alone in what seemed to be the most isolated part of the lake. Guinevere slowly picked her way across the shore. Yuri glanced over to the side when she approached, but said nothing and returned to gazing at some far-off scene. She had gone after Yuri who had fled the room after Dr. Lee told her what happened, assuring them that it''d be better if she went by herself. Why did she think that she''d be better than a trained professional? Even her brother would probably be better in this situation. Of course she knew the answer to the question, conceited as it may sound: Because I''m her friend. ¡°Mind if I join you?¡± she asked. Yuri looked at her again, eyes red and puffy, and gave a small nod. Yuri shivered, though it was not from the cold, and pulled up her knees. Distant laughter could be heard across the lake from a group of people who had set up a campfire. Happy voices and big smiles created a horrible juxtaposition. Though it didn''t seem like Yuri was looking at them. Sure her eyes were on the merrymaking, but she was gazing past them at some memory. A single tear trailed down her cheek. ¡°I was probably eight years old when my mom died.¡± said Guinevere. Yuri didn''t respond, although she thought the glassy stare she had had faded. Emboldened, Guinevere continued, ¡°Aneurysm. I didn''t know what that word meant, but I was old enough to know what it meant when someone died. It was so sudden you know? When it finally sunk in, I think I cried non-stop that entire day. And I did the same for a few days after when it was my dad or one of my brothers coming in to read me a bedtime story instead of her.¡± ¡°It might''ve been two years before I felt close to normal after that. The rest of the family had recovered more or less around the same time. Funny how we''re synchronized like that.¡± Yuri had stopped shaking and it seemed like she was quietly listening to Guinevere, though she could hear a small sniffle every now and then. ¡°It still hurts though. Like someone had just driven a shard of glass through my heart: Painful, gut-wrenching and dizzying. Even today I can still feel a bit of that pain.¡± ¡°Time heals all wounds?¡± whispered Yuri in a voice so soft that Guinevere thought she had imagined it. ¡°No. Not these kinds of wounds. It was something else that I had found helped me out.¡± Guinevere gave an embarrassed chuckle and amended her previous statement, ¡°Well it was something my own father told me: ''It hurts so much because we loved her so much. She was amazing. Beautiful. Kind. And that pain is always going to be with us. But while her death causes the pain, her love and the memories we shared with her as a family ease it.''¡± Yuri looked at Guinevere and she looked back at her. ¡°What about you, Yuri? What was your dad like?¡± Guinevere hopes started to sink when silence stretched between the two and she thought she had failed. ¡°He was an attorney working at a law firm maybe thirty minutes away from our house. He only ever got minor cases, but he was always really serious about every single one of them. Working long hours, he''d come back looking exhausted. But every day he came back, no matter how tired he was, he''d give me this great big bear hug.¡± Yuri''s knees slid downwards until they once again dangled off of the rock, unconsciously mirroring the pose Guinevere had adopted. ¡°Papa was really overprotective of me and had all of these embarrassing nicknames for me like ''Fairy Princess or Gumdrop Angel.''¡± Guinevere and Yuri both laughed. ¡°He also really liked making breakfast for everyone on the weekend. He was terrible at every other meal, but his breakfasts were the best.¡± she trailed off with a forlorn look. ¡°He sounds like an amazing Dad.¡± said Guinevere. ¡°The best.¡± tears cascaded down Yuri''s cheeks, the moonlight that bounced off the like made them stand out even more. ¡°And I''m going to miss him so, so much!¡± choked Yuri, sobs shaking her body as she started to cry in earnest. It was an awful cry, one where hardly any sound could be heard coming from her throat, but looked and sounded so painful as Yuri doubled over in anguish. A terrible cry that Guinevere was all too familiar with. Guinevere wordlessly pulled her into a tight embrace, hoping that she could ease her pain. Yuri weakly tried to resist, but soon gave up and let herself fall into Guinevere''s lap; soaking it with tears. Stroking her long dark hair, Guinevere continued to murmur softly to her friend as the night wore on, it''s silence broken only occasionally by the rustling of small animals returning to their burrows or nests. And the gentle crooning of a girl with electric-blue hair.
Previous Chapter Next Chapter Chapter 5 So while I''ve been working on the next chapter of Road To S, I wanted to do this chapter more. Mainly because the last one was kind of depressing and I really wanted to introduce the new class and the antagonist/s in this series. I''m looking at the source file for this story and I''m surprised that I''m at 91 pages already. Thanks for all of your comments and I hope you guys continue to read this story! Chapter 5 ¨C Beast Friend ¡°Ahhh...I don''t think I could eat another bite!¡± sighed her father. He leaned back on the chair and patted his belly in what seemed like perfect satisfaction. Yuri and her mother both wore matching smirks at this display. ¡°He sounds like he''s pretty full.¡± remarked Yuri. ¡°Definitely. Think he has room for cake?¡± asked her mother. ¡°Probably not.¡± Her father snapped forwards and hastily said, ¡°Well it would be rude just to leave the cake that you two so lovingly made for me.¡± Yuri''s mother raised one eyebrow, ¡°Ah, but I wouldn''t want my dear husband to suffer through such an ordeal.¡± ¡°If it''s for cake-uh, I mean my dear family, then of course I would!¡± It seemed that his sweet tooth was overriding the complaints of his stomach at this point. ¡°Well, it is Papa''s birthday after all.¡± said Yuri. ¡°True, so maybe we''ll get him a small piece.¡± conceded her mother. Her father was beginning to have a truly pitiful look on his face that both her and Yuri decided to stop teasing him...for now at least. They cleared the plates from the table, Yuri put a hand on her father''s shoulder to stop him from helping. It was his birthday after all. Dimming the lights, her mother came back into the dining room, her face aglow from the light of the candles that danced merrily on top of the frosted vanilla cake. ¡°Do you know what to wish for?¡± asked Yuri. Her father smiled and pulled her in close, ¡°I don''t need to wish for anything else.¡± With that cheesy statement, he blew out the candles in one mighty puff of air. ¡°Happy birthday!¡± chorused Yuri and her mother. The candles were quickly removed and the lights were returned to the dining room. As soon as the cake entered their mouths, both Yuri and her father began to extol praises towards her mother. ¡°With a taste of this level, I''m considering going back on my word for the guys at the office.¡± said her father. ¡°Oh? What''s that about?¡± asked her mother, though she had a knowing smile on her face. ¡°''It might be your birthday Shin, but you can''t hog such wonderful treats!''¡± began her father. ¡°''So either bring it in to work, or we''ll hack your security system and get it for ourselves!''¡± finished her mother. ¡°Something like that, I''d imagine.¡± Her father laughed, ¡°Spot on, actually! Ever since I brought in those muffins you baked for me that one time, they''ve been constantly pestering me to bring in more of what they seem to call, ''Slices of Heaven''.¡± ¡°Oh my.¡± laughed her mother, a slight blush in her cheeks. ¡°What happened to Uncle, by the way? Wasn''t he supposed to come?¡± asked Yuri. ¡°Well the original plan was to surprise your father with a dinner at a popular restaurant and then we would all come back here for dessert.¡± answered her mother. ¡°Work?¡± guessed Yuri. ¡°Work.¡± confirmed her father glumly, ¡°I asked him if he had enough time to sneak away and come back here, but a rather serious problem came up for him and it ended up with him having to work all night as a result.¡± ¡°Ah, hopefully we''ll get to see him on the weekend then.¡± said Yuri, slightly crestfallen. She only had one uncle and he only had one niece. As a result, they were quite close with each other. ¡°Speaking of the weekend, did you have any plans Yuri?¡± asked her mother. She shook her head, ¡°On Sunday, I was planning on heading into the shelter and then hanging out with some of the girls from class.¡± ¡°Nothing on Saturday though?¡± ¡°Nope. Why, are we going somewhere?¡± ¡°Nowhere too special, I was thinking that maybe we could have your uncle over for dinner.¡± ¡°It''s a good idea.¡± nodded her father, ¡°He''s a hard worker, but he needs a break every now and then.¡± They chatted about various other topics for a while, as they digested the meal. Her mother talked about a female co-worker in her lab who was getting married to a Korean man here and was concerned with changing her last name to her fiancee''s. Yuri stifled a yawn behind her hand as the evening progressed, though it wasn''t missed by her parents. The warm, pleasant atmosphere had made everyone drowsy and they judged that it was time for the day to come to an end.
There was a cold wind blowing from a south easterly direction, bringing the smells of freshly picked flowers that were displayed as wreaths over the tombstones that populated this graveyard. By his own count, there were thirty six people currently in the graveyard. 3 entrances, of which he could only see two. The third lay beyond even his vision. Such was the enormity of this place. Though it was not because it was cluttered with graves, rather it was because the graveyard had a very large space that was allotted to it. Jung-Hwa thought that was rather pessimistic of them. He studiously kept his face towards a solitary grave that hadn''t looked like it had been kept for a very long time. A bouquet of flowers was in his hand, carefully chosen so it seemed like he was sincere in his mourning. He wasn''t too sure about his expression however, even though he had practised it in the mirror before he had left the apartment. He thought he had nailed how a person should look like when they were sad, though Erich told him that it still looked unnatural. Tch. That something so inane could compromise me. Still, he could work around that. Kneeling on the ground, he placed the flowers on the grave, a hand over his face that was carefully constructed so that his vision of his target remained unobstructed. He wasn''t too sure whose grave it was, the only thing that mattered was that it was fairly isolated and it was close to his target. Four rows down and eight graves over, a man of average height wearing a dark grey suit was standing over three graves. He seemed to be in his later thirties, though he looked quite young. The kind that would be popular with women, he supposed. Though speaking of women... They were speaking in quite a low voice, despite the listening bug he had planted on him earlier. Jung-Hwa turned up the volume via the device implanted in his ear. They had been speaking of trivialities for a while now, but that was something that could change at any moment. ¡°...if you need to take a few weeks off, we''ll understand. You...you don''t have to keep coming in.¡± said the woman, who was dressed in a expensive-looking business suit. Based on his notes, she was a co-worker, though they didn''t appear to be closer than that. ¡°What I do on my own time is my own business. I won''t let this affect my work, so you don''t have to worry about that.¡± ¡°No it''s not about that...we''re just all worried about you.¡± ¡°Don''t be. I''m fine.¡± ¡°Please...Tae-Hyun nim...if you ever want to talk, I''ll be here if you need me.¡± Jung-Hwa could tell that Tae-Hyun''s body was tensing. Was he going to give it away? He slowly got up and made it seem like he was going towards one of the exits, while drawing closer to them. He kept his eyes downcast with his hands in his pockets. A distance of thirty metres between him and them. He kept a loose, but firm grip on the knives in his hands. I''ll have to kill the woman first, otherwise she''ll start screaming. If he transected her cervical spinal cord, she wouldn''t be able to draw a breath to do so and she''d be dead in a few minutes from respiratory paralysis. He remembered his orders: If Tae-Hyun became a problem; dispose of him. Though Erich said that was only a last resort as Tae-Hyun was far more useful to the organization alive than he was dead. Not that he cared. This assignment was quite annoying. Jung-Hwa felt more like an over-specialized babysitter than anything. He secretly hoped Tae-Hyun would reveal everything. Come on. Give me an excuse to drive my knife through your heart. ¡°...Just go. Go away.¡± said Tae-Hyun finally, shoulders slumping with exhaustion. The woman tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but Tae-Hyun flinched away from it. With a hurt look on her face, the woman rapidly made an exit from the graveyard, a hand over her mouth. Jung-Hwa let go of the knives in his pockets and breathed out slowly to keep his frustration in check. Lucky bastard.
Thirty-five. Thirty-six. Thirty-seven. Thirty-eight. Thirty-nine. Forty. Bolthram finished his customary forty strokes of Abel''s coat. The brown horse whinnied in pleasure and gave Bolthram an affectionate nuzzle. ¡°Almost done with the cage, girl?¡± asked Bolthram over his shoulder as he started working on the other horses. ¡°Just about!¡± she called back. He could hear the sounds of industrious sweeping from Dovar''s cage and his old face cracked a smile. Bolthram had been travelling with the Stefan''s circus for about 15 years now. The aches he felt in the morning served as a reminder that he was getting a bit too old for travelling around with a circus. There were certainly days when he considered retiring. A nice little village in Rosenheim, perhaps. The mare he had been grooming nickered softly at his tender ministrations and a compassionate look decorated his face. Ah...but then I''d have to leave these fellows to themselves. Perhaps if I found a decent apprentice, then maybe. Maybe I''d consider packing it all up. Though that was easier said than done. While Bolthram certainly didn''t receive a meagre amount of pay for his work, it was a hard job that had turned away many would-be prospectors looking for an easy line of work. Such people thought that just because he was with the circus, that Bolthram''s job entailed the same sense of liveliness that the circus brought with it. Even the immortal adventurers pestered him constantly in each town they showed up, hoping he''d lead them to some mystical treasure hoard or had a rare item to hand out. They all left when they realized he wasn''t handing out anything though. Perhaps if they had displayed the right attitude, then Bolthram might''ve been more accommodating towards them. Ah. But she''s a different sort altogether, isn''t she? pondered Bolthram as he moved to the mare''s other side. They had been in Danaweir for about three weeks now; their last stop in the province of Dale before they headed out to the warmer climate of the Desert of Tranquility. Bolthram had been privy to the usual affair: Curious people seeking the mystique and thrill that the circus provided flocked in droves the first week they had been here. After that, there was a sharp decline in customers who had long since grown bored of the attractions and the amount of adventurers who had come performing requests for Stefan was beginning to plummet as well. But she...didn''t seem to be like the other adventurers. She had first come to him like many other adventurers with the same drawn-out line, ¡°Is there anything you need help with?¡±. She''d leave like all the rest, he thought, but before she did, he could at least put her to work and get some things done around here. And yet she stayed that entire day, doing everything he asked of her with a quiet earnestness that thoroughly impressed him. The only thing she ever asked of him was if she could spend some more time with playing with the animals. Bolthram chuckled as he recalled the scene of her entering Dovar''s cage. Dovar was a rare variety of the golden lions found on the relatively unexplored island of Motharia. He had picked up the abandoned lion when he was just a cub and raised it as his own. So despite his intimidating appearance, he was extremely well-trained and would never attack anyone without Bolthram''s permission. The first time she stepped into Dovar''s cage to clean it, Bolthram had felt the most powerful surge of killing intent in his entire life. Within the span of a heartbeat, Dovar was on his back baring his neck in show of submission. Bolthram finished grooming the mare''s coat, and led it over to the others where he refilled the trough with fresh water pulled from the stream. He turned around to check on the girl''s progress and true to her words, the cage was spotless. The broom had been placed neatly over to the side and the girl was in the midst of playing with Dovar who bounded around her like a kitten. Bolthram didn''t bother to keep the wry grin off his face when he asked her, ¡°Well, that''s it for the day, but did you want to spend some more time playing with these guys?¡±. The dark-haired girl gave him a wide smile, ¡°Is that really okay?! You''re the best!¡± replied Yuri ecstatically.
¡°Here you go! 10 goblin ears as proof of their defeat!¡± declared Yuri triumphantly. ¡°Thank you citizen for your hard work. I must admit, I did not think a fragile-looking girl such as yourself could have stomached such a wretched business. Even if it was to kill those monsters.¡± replied an impressed Ser Daren, ¡°Please, take this with my heartfelt thanks.¡±
[p=center]Quest Completed: Goblin Destruction: You successfully dispatched of the goblins that had been plaguing the farms surrounding Danaweir! Reward: 50 silver. Fame has risen by 3 points (+3 FAME)[/p]
¡°It comes to mind that you''ve performed several tasks for the good of Danaweir in the past week. I wonder if you''d be interested in participating in a joint mission with some knights to take care of a kobold lair.¡±
[p=center]Quest: Anthropomorphic Extermination: Ser Daren of the Knights of Dale has asked you to participate in a journey to the nearby village of Coven with a contingent of six of his knights to eliminate a group of kobolds. Difficulty: E Quest requirement: If either you or any one of the knights falls in battle, the quest will be considered an automatic failure and Ser Daren''s trust in you will fall a great deal.[/p]
¡°Um, may I ask how far away is the village, Ser Daren?¡± Yuri didn''t want to go on a long journey if it meant she wouldn''t get to spend any time with Bolthram and his wonderful animals. Ser Daren''s eyes flashed with understanding, ¡°Ah, I''ve been hearing that you''ve been spending a lot of time at the circus.¡± Yuri blinked in confusion. ¡°You heard that? From who?¡± ¡°A rumour of a raven-haired beauty helping out the old, crusty animal handler down by the circus.¡± I guess fame isn''t everything apparently. Yuri still had a relatively low fame, so she was surprised that word had travelled around about her. She was a little embarrassed of the details of the rumour, though she gained a new perspective of all of the guys who had tried hitting on her. With her lack of experience with guys, the best she could manage was a polite refusal coupled together with an expedited retreat towards her animal sanctuary. Yuri coughed to clear all of the weird thoughts that had suddenly entered her head, ¡°A-Ah, so how far away is Coven?¡± ¡°Ah, you know the place already then?¡± ¡°What? No I just read it...¡± Yuri trailed off when she realized she only got the name off the quest details. Though Ser Daren apparently found this to be a normal thing. ¡°You adventurers and your mysterious abilities.¡± chuckled the old knight, ¡°I''m glad you''re on our side. Anyway, Coven is about a half-day journey away from here on horseback. So depending how fast you do everything, you could finish up everything in a day.¡± Yuri was definitely tempted, mainly because that she would be getting there on horseback. She had never ridden one back in reality and she had been itching to try it here. I''m sure the knights horses are as lovely as the ones I first saw when I came here with Guin, ehehe! Hmm...but I still want to spend time with Dovar, Abel, Moxie and all of the other circus animals. ¡°I can see you''re still a bit undecided, but since they''re only leaving the day after tomorrow, I can give you until then to think about it.¡± offered Ser Daren with a kind smile. Yuri brightened up considerably as the circus was only in town for one more day anyway. She doubted that this was a coincidence. ¡°Thanks, Ser Daren!¡± she said laughing and then impulsively gave him a hug. Some players watching this scene felt twinges of jealousy towards Ser Daren. The old knight awkwardly patted Yuri on the back and quickly broke the hug, feeling the stares of the males around him. Yuri thanked him and quickly darted off back towards the direction of the circus, evidently trying to squeeze in as much time as she could with them. Ser Daren thought he was in the clear and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a sharp, steely presence coming up behind him. Ser Daren was a high-ranking knight who had seen his fair share of battles, though there was always one opponent he was absolutely terrified of. An opponent whose wrath he had just incurred. ¡°Dear, husband.¡± said a warm voice that was dripping with danger, ¡°Can you tell me what you were doing with that young girl back there?¡±
¡°There now! All better!¡± exclaimed Yuri as she finished tying off the knot to a bandage to Rubar''s leg. The diminutive monkey-like creature chittered it''s thanks and clambered up onto Yuri''s shoulder where it immediately drifted off onto sleep. Giggling, Yuri lightly scratched Rubar''s head and stood up; reading the info on the window that had popped up as soon as she had finished bandaging Rubar.
[p=center]You gained expertise rating in the Animal Husbandry skill Level up: Animal Husbandry [Beginner 2] Allows you to effectively care for and treat animals +5% effect for any treatment performed[/p]
The animals at the circus were under a very loose set of rules with Bolthram. He gave them all free reign to wander about as they pleased; even their cages were specially designed so as to be opened by the animals themselves. It spoke volumes of Bolthram''s station within the circus that he wasn''t chastised for such behaviour. But perhaps that was because of the close relationship the scruffy old man had with the head of the circus, Stefan. Of course, sometimes the animals would get into situations with other adventurers or monsters within the forest and come back with several injuries. It was on one such day that one of the curious breeds of horses in the circus with a jewel on it''s forehead, limped back into camp with arrows sticking out of it. Bolthram had left to go talk with Stefan about something, leaving Yuri in charge over the camp. Luckily she didn''t panic and thanks to the remembered lessons of the veterinarian working at the animal shelter she attended, she was able to somehow stabilize the mare before Bolthram came back. That was when the skill of Animal Husbandry had popped up. Since then, she had been asking Bolthram to let her help with any other injuries on the animals and tried to level it up. She was delighted every time her skills seemed to improve and the animals she treated showed more and more significant improvement with every subsequent treatment. ¡°Even though I''ve seen it with my own eyes, I never thought you would pick this up so fast.¡± remarked Bolthram warmly. The fine lines of age that peppered his face shifted as he gave one of his rare, crooked smiles. ¡°You made a pretty good teacher.¡± He smiled again and ruffled her hair. They both turned their heads towards the village as a loud gong sound echoed from it''s vicinity. It was the town bell signalling that the day was coming to an end and for the people and adventurers to get inside before they closed the gates. The circus had it''s own defences established and so there was no worry of being without a place to stay if she didn''t make it to town on time. Yuri gazed at the town with mixed feelings. One more day...huh? Danaweir was a nice enough town, but at the moment she had no positive association with the place. In that sense, the presence of the circus had been a blessing. She felt somewhat okay as long as she spent her time here. And when she spent the night here, as she often did, she didn''t soak the pillow with tears. She was truly thankful for Guinevere introducing her to this place. After crying into Guinevere''s chest for the entire night, they had returned to see Dr. Lee and Guin''s older brother. This time she was able to be more receptive of the current plan for her and her mother''s treatment. Dr. Lee had at one point offered if she would like a therapist to log in and act as her companion. Yuri didn''t feel comfortable with opening up to another person like that however and declined. Truthfully she was a little panicky when she realized that Guinevere had to eventually log out. That was when Guinevere told her about the circus just outside of town. The two had gone there together to see it and Yuri had almost instantly fell in love with the animals. Guinevere promised she''d check in with Yuri whenever she had time, giving her that dazzling smile of hers as she did so. Really...I''m so glad that she was the person I met in this world. Her eyes were a little misty and she rubbed a tear out of her eye. ¡°Ook, ookya?¡± Rubar''s sister, Mila, had made her way onto Yuri''s other shoulder and seemed to look at her with concern. Like always, Yuri was amazed with the innate senses of animals; something that she had seen not only in the virtual, but in the real world as well. ¡°I''m okay. I''m just going to miss you guys.¡± said Yuri, crooking a finger underneath Mila''s chin and tickling her. ¡°I think the feeling is mutual.¡± commented Bolthram. When Yuri raised an eyebrow at him, he quickly amended his previous statement, ¡°The animals I mean, they''ll miss you a lot.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Bolthram stared at Yuri as he seemed to contemplate something. ¡°Why is a person like you not one of us...¡± he mumbled, though it was in such a low voice that Yuri couldn''t catch every word. ¡°Sorry? What did you say?¡± ¡°It''s nothing...No, if it''s you...¡± ¡°Bolthram?...What''s wrong?¡± ¡°If you''re willing, would you want to become like me?¡± Baffled, Yuri could only repeat question back to him, ¡°Become like you?¡± ¡°You still have not decided on what class you would like to be, correct?¡± ¡°I-¡± Truthfully, Yuri didn''t care about things like changing class. None of them really appealed to her and she was getting all the enjoyment she wanted just from hanging out at the circus. Well...some of the quests Ser Daren sent me out on were kinda fun. ¡°I guess magic users sound kind of interesting?¡± Like most kids, the idea of using magic was quite literally, an enchanting one. Though the reason she didn''t choose any such class was because all of the ones she had seen didn''t look like they would be much fun. She might''ve had too high of an expectation, although the images of mages in her mind were certainly possible in this world...provided you reached a very high level that is. ¡°Hooh, I thought you might have picked something related to animals.¡± ¡°Maybe if there were any good ones.¡± snorted Yuri. There was a class known as Hunter, which utilized bow skills and setting up traps. They also had a special ability whereupon they could call upon the help of animals for a short period of time. Like the name suggested though, this class mainly dealt with hunting wild animals and that was something that Yuri did not want to do. ¡°And if there was such a class? One that fit people like you and I?¡± ¡°Then I guess...yeah. Why not?¡± shrugged Yuri. ¡°If it were anyone else, I don''t think they could do it in a day. But I think you have the ability to do so.¡± ¡°To do what?¡± ¡°To retrieve a certain token gained from helping an animal in need. To bring it back here to me and obtain the qualification to become a ''Beast Friend''.¡± Bolthram began to talk about how Yuri should try going into the forest to find such an animal and try and obtain such an item. In response, Yuri lifted out the medallion from beneath her shirt that she had received from the silver alpha wolf. ¡°Like this?¡± she said, holding out the wolf medallion. ¡°-it will be a difficult-What''s that?¡± asked Bolthram, cutting off his explanation and stared intently at the medallion clutched between Yuri''s hands. ¡°Um...a token I got from helping out a pack of wolves in need?¡± ¡°...How long have you had that?¡± ¡°About a week.¡± Bolthram seemed to be stunned and the two stood in an awkward silence for a second until Yuri heard the sound of a Ding! And a new window popped up.
[p=center]Quest Completed: A Friend in Need is a Beast Friend Indeed: By obtaining the token gained from helping a pack of wolves, you have successfully fulfilled Bolthram''s request! Return to Bolthram for more information.[/p]
¡°So...¡± started Yuri. ¡°Ah...you appear to have...already done the first part.¡± said Bolthram, looking deflated. ¡°Well then...I guess we can move on then.¡± ¡°So...what''s the next step?¡± ¡°I offer you the choice of becoming a ''Beast Friend''.¡± ¡°...That''s it?¡± ¡°...That''s it.¡± confirmed Bolthram. ¡°...Did you want me to come back tomorrow?¡± asked Yuri, sensing that there should have been a little more grandeur with this class change. ¡°...Please do.¡±
¡°You almost ready?¡± called Dae-Hyun from downstairs. ¡°Just about!¡± shouted back Chun Hei. She checked over her appearance once in the mirror, pushing back a loose curl of hair as she did so. Her bag was already packed with her dobok, towel and a water bottle. She was dressed in a light brown pair of Capri pants and a aquamarine tank-top. It was a fairly light dress, but it was supposed to be a fairly warm Sunday afternoon based on the weather report. Grabbing her bag, she dashed down the stairs to the entryway where her brothers were waiting. As soon as they had seen her, they all immediately voiced their disapproval. ¡°Nope!¡± ¡°Rejected!¡± ¡°Abso-lutely not!¡± It was such a familiar scene that Chun Hei only inwardly sighed and skipped the preamble to the most important question. ¡°...What''s wrong with what I''m wearing today.¡± ¡°You look too cute!¡± ¡°Adorable, really.¡± ¡°Think about all of the guys who would hit on you, or look at you.¡± ¡°Come on! This is the most casual of casual!¡± ¡°Ehh! That''s the problem! You''re at your medium best in casual clothes!¡± declared Dae-Jung with her two other idiot brothers emphatically nodding their heads in agreement, ¡°That''s right!¡± ¡°Tell it true, Hyung!¡± ¡°I''m probably going to regret asking this, but what do you mean by ''medium best''?¡± ¡°You look good enough to attract stares of filthy men and perhaps attempts at trying to talk to you, but not enough to cause a whole mess of the creatures to try and hit on you. At which point we would thoroughly and utterly beat them down in perfectly legal self-defence.¡± rambled Dae-Jung. ¡°For the love of- You know what? Fine, I''ll just go change into a tracksuit or something-Hya!¡± cutting off her sentence with a startled shriek as Dae-Ho jumped in front of her to block her from going back up the staircase. ¡°Nooo! Wearing such a drab grey striped clothing would deprive us of basking in your cuteness!¡± objected Dae-Ho intensely. ¡°Seriously?!¡± she cried out in frustration and was about to burst into an angry tirade when a sudden thought struck her. ¡°Wait a second...How do you know I have a striped grey tracksuit? I only bought that two days ago!¡± ¡°...Uh...Lucky guess?¡± muttered Dae-Ho, looking very much like a cornered rat. Chun Hei whipped around to see her other two brothers with similar guilty looking expressions. ¡°...Did you three idiots go through my wardrobe again?¡± she hissed in dangerous tones. ¡°No!¡± instantly denied Dae-Ho. ¡°Of course not!¡± protested Dae-Jung. ¡°I mean we did replace it with something much more suitable for you after all!¡± Dae-Hyun belatedly slapped a hand over his mouth when he realized what he had just said. As if they were one body, all of their eyes slowly turned towards Chun Hei. There was a scary smile on her face along with a killing intent that poured out of her that Yuri would''ve been proud of. Cracking a knuckle, a vein twitched in her forehead as she sweetly sang to her brothers. ¡°? Looks like you morons still haven''t learned your lesson. ?¡±
¡°You know, if you did the other eye, they''d look like a family of raccoons.¡± quietly laughed Jung-Hee when he saw the state of Chun Hei''s brothers. ¡°What''d they do this time?¡± He grinned like a child, with an expectant expression of a funny story, though he made sure to hold the kick pad properly. Chun Hei sighed and rolled her eyes as she got into a proper stance. Thwak! She snapped out a mid-range kick. ¡°The usual idiocy.¡± She didn''t want to go into details and focused on solely kicking the pad. ¡°Higher, please.¡± Thwak! Conversation was sparse between the many people in the dojo who were all fearful of coming underneath the watchful gaze of the dojo''s master. Chun Hei didn''t mind though, it helped take her mind off of things. Even Jung-Hee, who was normally quite the chatterbox in class, had a (somewhat) serious face. Still, they had developed a smooth rhythm between the two of them that they could hold on a conversation, despite how disjointed it was. ¡°Come on. You gotta give me more than that!¡± Chun Hei flushed angrily and delivered a straight jab with perhaps a bit more force than she intended. ¡°They had an issue with how I was dressed.¡± she said with gritted teeth and proceeded to tell him how they had sneaked into her room and replaced a tracksuit with something more feminine. Jung-Hee snorted, ¡°Classic. I swear, half the reason I even come here is just to listen to stories about your family.¡± They swapped positions, though Chun Hei was helping Jung-Hee correct his posture before every few hits. Normally she would''ve paired off with one of her brothers or the senior members of the dojo, but right now she just felt like venting. Jung-Hee took it all in good cheer and even brightened up considerably when she asked him to pair up with her. ¡°Ehh, enough about me. What about your family? Where''s Min-Hee?¡± ¡°Finishing some homework at the last minute.¡± chortled Jung-Hee. Both he and his twin sister Min-Hee were in the same class as Chun Hei. They had recently gotten to know each other pretty well and both of them expressed interest in Taekkyeon when Chun Hei had talked about it. Or demonstrated it, really. Both of them played Royal Road and they invited Chun Hei to a party when they heard she had a capsule. ¡°She said she tried to contact you on Royal Road, but you were apparently busy with something.¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± her arms slightly dropped. ''This is a rather special case, but I hope you can respect patient confidentiality.'' said Dr. Lee. ¡°I was helping out a player that was new to the game. Guess I lost track of time when I was helping her.¡± ¡°Is she cute?¡± asked Jung-Hee. ¡°That''s all you care about, huh?¡± smirked Chun Hei. ¡°Of course! I''m a healthy teenager after all!¡± They both laughed, which won them five laps around the building by Chun Hei''s grandfather when he caught them slacking off. ¡°You logging in after this?¡± asked Jung-Hee at the end of the session. He was pointedly ignoring the fact that Chun Hei''s brothers were glaring daggers at him with a feigned nonchalance. ¡°I might for a bit, yeah.¡± Chun Hei didn''t want to advertise the fact that she was logging in as soon she got back to check in on Yuri. But it wasn''t like she could lie about it either. Ehh, this is getting complicated. Luckily, Jung-Hee dropped the subject easily, ¡°Cool stuff, see you tomorrow then!¡± The boy hefted his duffel bag and made a hasty exit through the large doors of the dojo. Chun Hei''s brothers came up to her and immediately started pestering her, ¡°What did he mean by ''See you tomorrow?''¡± ¡°Oppa won''t let you date such a boy!¡± were some of the annoying statements they bombarded her with, even they knew perfectly well that he was just a classmate. I hope Yuri is doing okay.
¡°So who''s the pervert?¡± asked Guinevere, pointing her chin towards the heavily built man that was dressed like a caveman. Odd tribal markings were arranged in a ring around his shoulders and thighs. The most prominent marking was a very realistic looking bear head in mid-roar plastered on his chest in bright red colors. ¡°Who are you calling a pervert!¡± demanded the pervert as he stomped his foot angrily on the ground. ¡°I''m sorry Yuri, I should have checked out this place more thoroughly!¡± apologized Guinevere profusely. ¡°Ahaha.¡± nervously laughed Yuri, flicking her eyes back and forth between her and the pervert, ¡°No, this is Bolthram...he''s my friend.¡± Yuri had a very complicated look on her face and was looking everywhere but the spot where the pervert was. ¡°I''m not too sure what''s going on though...¡± ¡°This!...This is the traditional costume of the Beast Friend! This is what I wore when I truly unlocked the secrets of nature!¡± explained the pervert hastily. Guinevere inwardly sighed at how exactly she had gotten into this situation. It had been a week in Royal Road time since she had logged in and she was anxious at how Yuri was doing. Surprisingly (and a little bit disconcerting) was how normal Yuri was behaving; she wasn''t overly cheery or moping which was good. But it almost seemed like nothing had even happened. Guinevere didn''t want to pry though. What was important was that she was there for Yuri. So when Yuri had asked if she had time to come with her to the circus for some mysterious class change, she had immediately hopped on board. Which brings us here. ¡°So this is something you''d wear outside of this tent?¡± questioned Guinevere, idly glancing around the dark interior of Bolthram''s tent. ¡°Well...no. This is just for special occasions.¡± answered Bolthram the pervert hesitantly. ¡°I bet.¡± she glared suspiciously at him. ¡°Maybe we should just get this class change over with.¡± said Yuri in a clear attempt to placate the situation. That was the other thing that was weird about this. Class change? The circus had been in the game for a while and she had never even heard about someone changing classes here. Let alone something called ''Beast Friend''. Well whatever. If this is all some perverted game he''s playing, I''ll just beat him to a pulp. ¡°That might be best after all.¡± she said. ¡°R-Right. Ahem. Yuri.¡± said Bolthram the ultra pervert. ¡°Yes?¡± replied Yuri. ¡°Please take out the wolf medallion you showed me the other day.¡± In response, Yuri pulled on the rough leather cord dangling from her neck and lifted it off of her head. He continued in a solemn voice, ¡°That medallion is proof of your great service towards a wolf and his pack. More than that, it is the product of your unwavering love for animals; something that you have clearly demonstrated during the time you spent here. It is within my rights to offer you the choice to truly understand the hearts of animals and develop an even closer bond with them should you accept. "The path of a Beast Friend is a hard one. There are those who will ridicule it-¡± he shot a piercing glare towards her, which Guin coolly returned back at him, ¡°-for it is not a glamourous profession like that of a mage. Nor is it a strong one like that of a warrior. But it is an honest one. And it is a job that I believe you would excel at.¡± Yuri''s gaze shifted over to something in her vision. Most likely it was the dialog box asking whether or not she wanted to accept the class change. ¡°Yuri.¡± said Guinevere, ¡°Keep in mind that this is permanent. You can''t change this later on.¡± ¡°I know...but...I still think I''d like to try it out anyway.¡± Yuri returned her gaze towards Bolthram, ¡°I would like to become a Beast Friend.¡± Bolthram gave an odd, but warm, smile to Yuri. ¡°Then by my authority as a Beast Friend master, I invoke the ancient pact-¡± The medallion held in Yuri''s outstretched hand flashed with a wild green light. Both girls flinched as the medallion levitated off of her hand and pulsed with that same light, but in a softer intensity. ¡°As the animals of the world have recognized this one, so too do I, Bolthram Hevring recognize that she is qualified to become a Beast Friend.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± cried out Yuri, though it was more in surprise than pain. Guinevere saw the same design on the medallion appear on the back of Yuri''s hand in bright red colors. The medallion stopped flashing and floated slowly back towards Yuri looking considerably different. It was no longer a medallion first of all, and was now a miniature gold-coloured wolf head with blood-red gems for eyes. ¡°Congratulations.¡± said Bolthram in the silence that had followed, ¡°Are you ready to see what changed?¡± walking over towards the flap that marked the entrance of the tent. ¡°Um...Bolthram?¡± said Yuri. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°...Could you put on some clothes first.¡± ¡°R-Right.¡±
¡°Okay, so I get that the foxes were a family and you can''t really split them up and the bear had a cub with it, so that was a no go. But even the lone deer? What was wrong with her?¡± asked Guinevere, ducking underneath a low branch as they moved through the forest. They had been exploring for a while and they had reached a fairly deep place where no other players could be seen. ¡°Technically it was a buck. Only the males have antlers.¡± corrected Yuri as she wound her way through the trees. She could almost feel Guin rolling her eyes behind her. ¡°Yeah, but when you asked him, he seemed interested in the idea of accompanying you tomorrow.¡± The first ability of her new class change and possibly her favourite aspect of it was that she could actually talk to animals. She was close to tears when she was able to talk with all of the circus animals she had bonded with over the past week. Sure she could tell their affection through their actions, but it was such an amazing experience to hear them say it in their own words. Anyone that was in a party with Yuri was also able to communicate with animals too. Quite the incredible feat. Along with a significant boost in her stats, Yuri had also received two unique skills: ¡°Tame Familiar¡± and ¡°Heal Familiar¡±. From Bolthram''s explanation, she learned that initially she would only be able to have one animal as a companion or ''familiar'', which was the more correct term apparently. Yuri had already told Bolthram about the quest she was going to participate in tomorrow morning and since Guin would unfortunately be unable to come with her, he had advised her to try and find such a companion. She wasn''t having much luck however. ¡°Well, yeah, he did seem interested. But I wasn''t too sure about the idea of bringing a deer to a wolves'' lair.¡± explained Yuri. Despite the name of the skill, it was more of a contract between the player and the animal: Both parties had to agree to the union, much like how a party between players was formed. ¡°You''re way too nice, you know?¡± sighed Guinevere. ¡°Uh, thanks?¡± replied Yuri uncertainly. She laughed, ¡°That''s not a bad thing though!¡± The sound of rustling branches could be overhead them. ¡°You think a squirrel would be good against kobolds?¡± asked Yuri. Before Guinevere could respond, a harsh grating voice that sounded like it would belong to an old man could be heard from the tree: ''Fuck off!'' ¡°He could probably cuss them out, I think.¡± snickered Guin. I guess being able to understand animals has it''s downsides too. Yuri heard Guin stop moving behind her. She turned and looked at her in confusion. ¡°Guin?¡± ¡°Shh!¡± she held up a finger. ¡°Did you hear that?¡± Yuri frowned as she concentrated, trying to pick out the sounds of the forest. The flitting of birds and some small animals skittering on the ground and trees. A nearby river with a gentle trickling sound that was mixed with something like...whimpering? Yuri nodded towards Guinevere and they both started moving towards the river and the mysterious sound. They broke out of the tree cover to see a small river gently flowing past them. Upstream from them, near a shallow pool formed by a small tributary from the river were two dark wolves. Now that they were in the open, it was clear that the source of the whimpering was from the slightly smaller wolf that was half-submerged in the pool. Without a second thought, Yuri immediately started moving towards the clearly hurt wolf. Guinevere followed closely behind, though she could tell her friend was still tensing herself for a possible fight. As they approached, the larger wolf stiffened and whipped it''s head towards them. It crouched towards the ground and growled threateningly towards them. ''Come no closer!'' he snarled. It might not have been evident towards Guin, but for Yuri, she could clearly hear the masculine and feminine tones to the voices of different animals. ¡°Please, we don''t mean you any harm! We just want to help your friend!¡± assured Yuri. The wolf recoiled slightly in surprise, ''I did not know there were humans who could speak our tongue.'' The anger was gone from his voice, but he still seemed cautious. ¡°I''m a little bit unique in that sense. And I can help your friend if he''s hurt.¡± explained Yuri quickly. The smaller wolf''s body did not seem to be moving very much. It seemed the wounds were much more serious that she initially thought. ¡°I''m a Beast Friend.¡± she added, hoping that her class info would help somehow. ''Truly?'' he stared at Yuri with piercing yellow eyes, as if trying to divine her true intentions. He visibly relaxed and asked in a very tired voice, ''Please...save my brother.'' before collapsing himself into the shallow pool.
Previous Chapter Next Chapter Chapter 6 - New Companions Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a good holiday! Well, I managed to finish one more chapter of "Remember Me Fondly" before the year ended. Unfortunately, I did not manage to get around to finishing a new chapter of "Road To S" like I had originally planned (Got sick and traveling). Though that chapter should be up soonish (hopefully) Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the chapter and please leave a comment telling me what you liked or didn''t like!
Chapter 6 ¨C New Companions The first thing Thunder became aware of was a blissful feeling of warmth. He could feel his brother nearby him; the heat from their bodies intermingled with each other. What happened? The last thing Thunder remembered was challenging Bracken for leadership of the pack...and losing almost instantly. Bracken was unscathed and he was at death''s door. Then Whisper joined in and prevented the killing blow, snarling at Bracken as he warned the others to back off. Pain, lots of pain as his brother dragged him...somewhere. No, it was to a pond and he felt relief as the pain lessened. But it still hurt and he was slowly losing consciousness. Footsteps. Heavy and rough. Man-creatures. Whisper was warning them to stay away and then he-No good, he couldn''t remember. What happened next? he thought anxiously. His eyes felt heavy as he dispelled the fog of sleep that still lay over him. The world slowly swam into focus as Thunder slowly got up. He winced a little as a sharp lance of pain raced through his sides, though it quickly faded into a very dull ache. Thunder tilted his snout to see his brother sleeping peacefully on a purple, fluffy-looking material. Thankfully he didn''t look hurt. Where are we? This certainly wasn''t the forest, even though the ground was familiar enough. Nor was it one of the two-legged people''s houses with their strong-looking walls. These walls, if that''s what they were, looked flimsy and seemed to rely on a central wooden pole in the centre of it. Ah, this is probably one of those ''tent'' things, Whisper was telling me about. Thunder noticed there was a flap in the tent that led outside and, after a moment''s hesitation, boldly strode forward. Squinting in the sunlight, he was shocked to find himself in a particularly large encampment with many other tents dotting the ground and several two-leggers. Thunder shrank back and looped around the tents, lithely avoiding the towering creatures. They were like no two-leggers that Thunder had ever seen before, one in particular soared high above the tents and walked with strange, stunted movements on impossibly tall and thin legs. Strange place...seems like a fun place to explore. Based on his keen sense of smell, Thunder could tell where the heady scents of the forest emanated from. Still, he had to be careful; no telling what these two-leggers might do if they caught him wandering around. Thunder waited in the shadows of a tent while a trio of bizarrely dressed people (Humans by the smell of them) passed unknowingly by his location. He slipped out of the darkness and continued to stealthily creep through the camp; the smell of the forest growing stronger all the while. The tents were growing thinner as well, as was the amount of people unfortunately. While the insides of the tents promised a sense of mystery and adventure, the cold reality was that they were rather uninteresting. In stark contrast, Thunder was much more fascinated by all the different people that wandered through the site. Several times, he felt like jumping out and surprising the two-leggers just to see their reaction. He didn''t though. Even when he wasn''t here, he could feel the presence of Whisper harshly admonishing him for trying such a thing. Last time I ignored him, it didn''t end well for either of us. That thought made him quite ashamed as he recalled the moments when he challenged Bracken. Still not sure how we got here, though. Maybe Whisper brought us here? While ruminating on these thoughts, his ears perked up, catching the sounds of a pleasant lilting voice: Don''t worry dear, Have no fear. For I am here for you. You are my light, that brings me warmth on the coldest days. You are my Son... Intrigued, Thunder followed the sounds of the music which had now winded down to a series of several harmonic notes. As soon as he saw where the music came from, Thunder reflexively shrank back into the shadows. Two humans were sitting together on wooden boxes. Females by the look of it. Though he wasn''t sure how old they were. And they weren''t alone. I''ve never seen creatures such as those before! There were two small, furry animals with pointed ears and long tails that curled back on themselves, perched on the shoulders of each girl. Dozing peacefully by the foot of the black-haired one was a creature much, much larger than Bracken; possibly even bigger than the Silver Father. Long, bony and very sharp-looking fangs extending out of the creature''s maw, it''s massive paws raked the soft earth beneath it with ebony claws. A thick and powerful tan-coloured tail extended out of it''s long golden body. Nuzzling the side of the black-haired girl was a tall-looking black horse. Thunder licked his lips as he fondly remembered the time his pack had managed to catch a horse from a rather foolish human. The one just a few feet away from him was nothing like the pitifully weak prey they had caught; this one looked powerful. A glimmer caught Thunder''s eye and he saw that it emanated from a curious object that seemed to be embedded in the horse''s skull. To top off the exotic menagerie was a leathery-green skinned creature lying flat on the ground. It had no limbs that Thunder could see, and from the sheer length of it; there was no end to it''s massive body either. But it wasn''t because of any of these mysterious animals that had made Thunder shrink back. It was the smell of these humans: ¡°Otherkind¡± is what Whisper called them. Though they weren''t just limited to humans or even two-leggers for that matter. They were incredibly dangerous creatures that all had a distinct smell. Beings who would keep reviving no matter how many times they were killed. And still, despite this knowledge, Thunder felt drawn towards them. Perhaps it was because only the blue-haired girl smelled like an ¡°Otherkind¡±. The other girl, the black-haired one, didn''t have that smell. But she didn''t have a normal smell either. It was a cloying, intoxicating scent that all of the animals (including him, he realized with a start) seemed to be drawn towards. What is this feeling? He could feel his body becoming hot, an audible thump-thump sound was rapidly beating in his ear when he gazed at the black-haired girl. There were no two-leggers he thought of as attractive, or even ugly for that matter. So why did he feel the impulsive need to wander over to this girl? Before he had even realized what he was doing, he was already stepping out of the shadows of his hiding place; inching forwards in a dream-like state towards the girl. The large beast with tusks perked it''s ears up at the sound of his movement, staring intensely at Thunder for a few seconds that made him freeze in his tracks. The beast yawned and broke eye contact with Thunder before slumping to the ground. It''s movement attracted the attention of the two girls who were chatting animatedly with each other. ¡°Ah!¡± exclaimed the black-haired girl. ¡°You''re awake! How do you feel?¡± Thunder''s brain stopped at the sudden question, as all eyes turned on him. Say something! Anything! ¡°Ah-I''m...uh.¡± He was so confused, his brain now starting to realize seemingly irrelevant facts as to why he could even understand her in the first place. The girl stood up, a look of concern on her face now. ¡°Are you okay?¡± His heart was beating faster now and the bewitching scent seemed to get even stronger. ¡°YES, ABSO-LuteLY fine, hERE!¡± babbled Thunder loudly. He didn''t understand what was going on and his body seemed to be going haywire. So he did the only thing that seemed reasonable in that situation.
¡°Ah, wait!¡± called out Yuri, in a futile attempt to stop the small black wolf from dashing back through the camp. ¡°I think you scared him off.¡± drawled Guinevere. ¡°What!¡± exclaimed Yuri, ¡°All I did was just ask him how he was feeling!¡± The golden sabertooth tiger, Dovar, who was laying peacefully on the grass answered Yuri just as Guinevere opened her mouth, ''Normal humans can''t talk to animals. And considering the odd smell you give off, it''s no wonder the youngling fled.'' ''Ookyahaha!'' laughed Rubar who was perched on Yuri''s shoulder, ''The look on his face was priceless!'' ¡°Should I go after him?¡± asked Yuri. ''That might have the opposite effect and cause him to run even harder, which might reopen his wounds.'' advised Alyen in her deep, calming voice. The mare shook her luxurious black mane, ''You''ve already done what you can for him and his brother. The rest is up to them.'' ¡°Ahh.¡± sighed Guinevere, ¡°And here I thought, they could become your companions.¡± ''For a Beassst Friend to find a companion, isssn''t asss eassy asss you would think.'' said Balgan, lifting up his serpentine body so that his head rested on Guinevere''s lap. ''The bondsss we ssshare between our Friend are eternal.'' ¡°Ehh? I thought that either party could cancel the contract at any time.¡± objected Guinevere, directing an enquiring glance towards Yuri. ¡°Temporary ones, yeah.¡± nodded Yuri, ¡°But true contracts are where both the Friend and the animal are essentially bonded for life. Temporary contracts can be made for purposes such as treating an animal in order to get the enhancement bonus that comes with the ''Animal Husbandry'' skill.¡± ¡°And you can just trigger this temporary contract whenever you want?¡± asked Guinevere. ¡°As long as I''m not abusing the contract to harm the animal...yeah, seems like it.¡± ¡°Time limit?¡± ¡°About an hour and then there''s a cooldown of about 20 minutes. Which is why I worked on that wolf''s wounds first, which looked more serious.¡± ¡°Hehh, this new class sounds like it was made for you.¡± Guinevere adjusted her sitting positing as she air-strummed a few notes by waving her gloved hands through the air. ¡°What''s your status window look like now, by the way? You earn anything by making one of these temporary contracts?¡± ¡°Not sure, lemme check. ''Status Window''.¡±
Stat Window
Character NameYuri
AlignmentNeutral
Level20
RaceHuman
TitleNone
ProfessionBeast Friend
Fame30
Health700/700 (+150)
Mana500/500 (+120)
Strength20+20
Agility54+20
Vitality35+20
Aim25+20
Wisdom16+20
Intellect18+20
Luck11+20
Leadership20+20
Attack35
Killing Intent???+20
Defence15
Magic ResistanceNone
+Gained ability to learn all survival-related and wilderness skills to the stage of a master
+Gained ability to speak with animals
+Wild animals will no longer attack players on sight
+Any healing skills applied on animals have a +30% effect (+60% effect on tamed animals)
¡°Doesn''t seem like there was any change.¡± she said after reading out the information in the status window. ¡°One of those values seems kind of strange...¡± muttered Guinevere. ¡°What?¡± ¡°A-Ah? Nothing!¡± she said hastily, ¡°Just wanted to know if you''re still interested in going back into the forest one last time and look for a...familiar?¡± said Guinevere carefully, gauging the reaction of their attentive animal companions. ''Partner.'' yawned Dovar. ¡°Partner.¡± amended Guinevere. The evening sun was quickly fading beyond the lands as darkness encroached and the world of Royal Road began to enter the night. In a few hours, the expedition of Knights destined for the village of Coven would be moving out along with Yuri. Truthfully, Yuri hadn''t even considered the uses an animal partner could have, despite the many notifications that her class change had informed her of. ¡°No, I think I''ll just spend the remaining bits of the day with everyone here.¡± Guinevere clucked her tongue in dissatisfaction, ¡°Wish I could go with you tomorrow.¡± ¡°It''s fine, it''s fine.¡± waved Yuri airily, ¡°I''ll be okay.¡± ¡°Sure you won''t be too lonely without your sunbae?¡± teased Guinevere lightly. ¡°As long as you come back.¡± replied Yuri, a hesitant smile on her face. ¡°Definitely.¡±
As Yuri approached the tent where she had left the two black wolves in, she heard voices coming from inside. ''Come on, come on! What are you waiting for? Let''s just go!'' said a voice that Yuri recognized as belonging to the wolf that had...run away from her. The thought of any animal being scared by her was vexing to say the least. Guinevere had logged off for the day, and so it was just Yuri who came back. The other animals had already turned in for the night, though Yuri wanted to check and see if the two wolves were still there. ''No. First and foremost, we shall wait for the one who saved us.'' replied another voice. It was a deep and calming one, that made Yuri feel more and more relaxed with every syllable. ''Brother, you don''t understand! One of the two-leggers, it...she smells weird!'' ¡°Weird how?¡± asked Yuri with a troubled expression as she entered the tent. The smaller of the two wolves instantly shrank back at the sound of her voice and dashed around behind his brother, as if seeking protection. In comparison, the larger wolf calmly answered her question, ''Beast Friends have an extremely unusual scent. Though I''ve never met one until now.'' said the larger wolf, who sniffed the air in front of him, ''Now I can see that it''s true.'' Yuri''s frown deepened, ¡°Is-Is it a bad smell?¡± The wolf''s eyes sparkled with amusement, ''The exact opposite, actually.'' Before Yuri could process that statement, the wolf continued, ''But first, I must thank you for saving my brother and I. If you hadn''t come along then, we probably would have died.'' said the wolf in such a manner-of-fact way that it seemed like he was recalling something as mild such as what he had had for lunch the previous day. The wolf nudged his brother with his tail, beckoning him to come out from behind him. He slowly padded forwards, not quite looking at Yuri''s eyes and shuffling his paws on the ground, ''...Thank you.'' he said bashfully. Feeling relieved that it was just a peculiarity of her class and not something inherently wrong with her, Yuri allowed a smile to settle over her face. ¡°You''re welcome! I''m just glad I got to you in time, your wounds were quite serious.¡± ''Is there anything we can do to repay you?'' said the larger wolf. ¡°No,¡± she crouched down onto her knees and smiled at the wolves, ¡°But I appreciate the offer. May I ask, what you two will do now though?¡± ''You''re worried that we''ll get injured like before.'' he said, correctly guessing Yuri''s concern. ¡°Yes.¡± she said with a frown, ¡°I''m sorry for prying, but...what exactly happened that put you two in such an awful state?¡± The two fell silent for a moment and Yuri immediately regretted asking the question; a heavy atmosphere filling the room. Then, the smaller of the two wolves quietly mumbled: ''Bracken.'' ¡°Who is Bracken?¡± asked Yuri. The young wolf trembled slightly, ''Someone I lost against.'' he looked at his brother and the trembling increased, a fierce glint in his eyes. ''But I won''t lose again next time!'' ''Thunder!'' roared the older wolf, ''Did you not learn anything, you idiot?!'' Both Yuri and Thunder flinched at the wolf''s sudden outburst. The two wolves were glaring at each other, fangs bared and a low growl was rumbling dangerously from their throats. ''It was a one on one challenge, Whisper! You had no business interfering!'' ''You lost! If I didn''t jump in when I did, you would be dead!'' seethed Whisper. ''You challenging him again is the same as killing yourself!'' ''You think I''m too weak?!'' ''I know you are.'' Thunder roared and pounced on his older brother, the two wolves wrestled with each viciously on the tent floor. Yuri stood motionless, shocked at the sudden turn in violence, but she quickly regained her senses. She wondered if she should break the two up, though she immediately quelled that urge; Yuri had no business to interfere in their argument. Almost as soon as she had arrived at that conclusion, the winner was soon decided: Whisper had his jaw around Thunder''s throat, who had froze in place. The two brothers locked gazes and Whisper slowly released his grip: ''Weak. Beaten by someone who couldn''t beat Bracken. And you still think you''re strong enough to take him on?'' ''So what am I supposed to do then?!'' demanded Thunder. ''Become strong.'' said Whisper simply. Thunder snorted and looked away from his brother, ''Easy for you to say.'' ''I''m serious. There is a way you could become strong.'' ''Please enlighten me, O'' brother of mine.'' said Thunder sarcastically. ''Her.'' answered Whisper, looking at Yuri now, ''Become the companion of the Beast Friend and you will be able to grow stronger.'' ¡°What?¡± said Yuri, ¡°How would I make him stronger?¡± As if he were puzzled by her response, Whisper tilted his head and asked, ''You are a Beast Friend, correct?'' Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Well yes-¡± ''Then based on the legends, any beast that travels together with you will grow incomparably strong.'' ''Legends!'' spat Thunder, ''That''s your solution?! To rely on the stories that Mother told us?'' ¡°I have to admit, I''ve never heard of anything like that either.¡± added Yuri. ¡°Then perhaps I should explain it.¡± said a man''s voice. All three turned towards the entrance as Bolthram pushed the flap of the tent open and stepped inside. ¡°Sorry for eavesdropping, came by to call you for dinner when I heard the raised voices coming from inside here.¡± ''And who are you supposed to be?'' asked Thunder brusquely. ¡°Another Beast Friend.¡± said Bolthram, ¡°Who was going to tell you more about Beast Friends over dinner.¡± looking apologetically towards Yuri. ¡°I suppose now''s a good time as any.¡± said Yuri. She looked at Whisper and Thunder who were following the conversation intently, ¡°I don''t suppose you two are hungry?¡± ''No!'' denied Thunder with a loud voice that was punctuated at the same time by an equally loud rumbling sound from his belly.
As could be expected, both of the wolves were quite hungry, and positively wolfed down the food that was presented to them with the smallest utterance of thanks on their parts. Yuri and Bolthram shared a grin over their own bowls and continued to eat their own food at a slightly more dignified pace. It was just the four of them sitting inside of Bolthram''s tent, a small cookfire that was curiously devoid of any smoke lay underneath a earthenware bowl that was now half-empty of the delicious stew that Bolthram had concocted. ¡°I''m surprised that you can cook so well.¡± said Yuri. ¡°Geh, again with the rude comments. I''ll have you know that I am a very good cook.¡± shot back Bolthram. Yuri raised an eyebrow, ¡°So the mushroom stew you cooked last time and made everyone sick?¡± As soon as she had said this, Whisper stopped shovelling food into his mouth and carefully gauged the dish he was eating. Thunder didn''t have appeared to have heard anything though as he was still happily stuffing his face. Licking his chops, Whisper sat back on his haunches and watched Thunder; apparently deciding to use him as a test subject. ''Something wrong?'' asked Thunder, taking a breath between his meal. ''Nothing. Go ahead and keep eating.'' reassured Whisper. ''You don''t have to tell me twice! This stuff is great!'' exclaimed Thunder happily. ¡°It seems like it''s okay.¡± said Bolthram carefully, who was also watching Thunder quite closely. Yuri made a doubtful noise, though she flashed a reassuring smile towards Whisper. ¡°So about this Beast Friend levelling business...¡± began Yuri, setting her bowl down. Despite her words, the bowl was scraped clean of the stew, which was enough of a verdict to prompt Whisper to continue eating. ¡°Straight to the heart of the matter eh? But I guess it''s better do it now after we finish eating.¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± asked Yuri suspiciously, gazing at her discarded bowl with some trepidation. Whisper had once again stopped eating his food and was looking up at Bolthram. ¡°No, no! It''s not that it was bad! Just that it''s late and that we''ll probably end up sleepy with a full stomach after some time.¡± hastily explained Bolthram. Both Yuri and Whisper gave a measured gaze that was part suspicious, sceptical and a trace of annoyance. Bolthram had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing from the almost identical expression that was painted on both the girl and the wolf. ¡°Ahem. So, the other information I wanted to inform you about was about the nature of a companion.¡± started to explain Bolthram, ¡°Some things I wanted you to experience for yourself, such as seeing the different reactions of animals towards you and your effect on the people around you.¡± ¡°As you may have heard from my own companions already, but the bond between a Beast Friend and their chosen companion is lifelong. Once you and your animal decided to make a bond between each other; it carries with it permanent consequences.¡± Bolthram continued on, forestalling any questions from Yuri with a raised palm, ¡°If either party chooses reneges on the contract, there are permanent consequences for both parties involved.¡± ¡°Before I start explaining in exactly what such consequences may be, it would be easier for you to understand if I describe the growth of a companion and their Beast Friend.¡± said Bolthram. ¡°As you may have noticed already: A newly minted Beast Friend will initially only be able to contract with one Beast Friend. As they grow in strength and knowledge, they will be able to make more contracts; though there is an absolute limit as to how many contracts one person can have.¡± ¡°One of the most significant changes is the quality of your attacks when facing monsters or other such opponents. The mere presence of your companion will increase the damage you are able to deal.¡± Yuri nodded at Bolthram''s words which matched the information she had read in one of the many dialogue boxes when she had first changed classes. Specifically it had used the term ''Flanking Bonus'', but provided no quantifiable measure as to how much her attack would be affected. As if he knew about the nature of the dialogue boxes she might''ve read, Bolthram said, ¡°But there are certain things that are not so obvious about the union. One of the first things that you''ll notice is that you''ll no longer need to use your mouth to communicate with your partner.¡± Yuri''s eyebrows shot up at this, ¡°Meaning?...¡± ¡°If I wanted to, I could talk to Rubar and Dovar using just the power of my thoughts. No matter how far they might be, they''d be able to communicate back with me.¡± Now THAT''S a cool power! A grin on her face, Yuri leaned forward eagerly, ¡°And what else is there?¡± Bolthram gave her a grin, ¡°A few things and perhaps a lot more, as there are greater masters than I.¡± ¡°Any idea where I might be able to find such people?¡± ¡°No clue!¡± chuckled Bolthram, ¡°My best suggestion would be to try and asking various animals in any new regions you travel to.¡± ¡°Anyway, another quirk of the class including being able to provide better healing skills for the tamed animal in question.¡± ''And getting stronger?'' said Thunder, who had joined in the conversation, looking hopefully at Bolthram. Bolthram''s eyes twinkled at the young wolf''s question, ¡°Something that is exclusively possible for those who choose to become the partner of a Beast Friend. Those animals that choose to join with a Beast Friend have the opportunity of reaching incredible heights.¡± ''You have seen this for yourself?'' asked Whisper. ¡°While I know Yuri has already seen him, have you two met Dovar yet?¡± ¡°Dovar is the big golden lion with tusks.¡± explained Yuri. ''Ah! Yeah, I remember him! He was huge! What about him?'' exclaimed Thunder. ¡°Before I met him, Dovar was quite a bit smaller than you. He was the runt of the litter.¡± Yuri had to smile when she saw the way Thunder''s eyes sparkled when he heard this. Apparently Dovar made quite a big impression on the young wolf. Whisper on the other hand, continued to look at Bolthram critically, ''And these consequences you spoke of? What are they?'' ¡°Let''s say for whatever reason, I were to break my contract with Dovar. One of the penalties that I incur is that any future contracts I make will be weaker as a result of the break. In addition, I will have a lower amount of total contracts that I can make.¡± ¡°Now those are the penalties for the Beast Friend, which aren''t so bad in comparison to the animal. For the animal, much of the experience they gained together with the Beast Friend will be lost. So if Dovar and I split up, he''d lose a significant quantity of his strength and possible regress to a more primitive form.¡± ¡°Primitive form?¡± asked Yuri. ¡°Some animals will change in physical ways as they grow stronger; Dovar was one of those animals. Before I had met him, he was a small tan-coloured lion.¡± ¡°Eh? I thought he was one of the rare varieties of golden lions wandering in the large desert regions.¡± ¡°Nope. I made that part up, so people wouldn''t question where the golden lion suddenly popped up from.¡± ¡°But why would you...oh.¡± began Yuri as a sudden realization hit her. ¡°It''s as you think.¡± nodded Bolthram, ¡°If people knew that animals could potentially become rare or legendary creatures if they were to travel with me, there would be no end to the line of people trying to use me.¡± ¡°Was Guin the reason you didn''t tell me any of this before?¡± a hint of anger was in her voice. ¡°Please, Yuri, you have to understand. I know that she''s your friend and you clearly trust her a lot; but the person I made a Beast Friend was you. Not her. I couldn''t risk something like this getting out.¡± ¡°...Right, sorry. I do understand. This contract business is a lot more serious than I thought it was.¡± apologized Yuri. She looked at Thunder who was following the conversation with rapt attention. ¡°Are you sure you still want to go through with this?¡± ''...Is there no way for me to keep the strength I obtained?'' asked Thunder. ¡°Not as far as I know.¡± said Bolthram. ''But I won''t lose everything, though?'' ¡°Not everything, no.¡± confirmed Bolthram. Thunder looked at Yuri hesitantly and she gave him a warm smile, ¡°Don''t worry about me, just do what you think is best.¡± ''But...this will trouble you too.'' ¡°And I''m telling you, that it''s fine.¡± Honestly speaking, Yuri didn''t really care about amassing power like other players might have. All she cared about was helping out the young wolf in front of her. So what if he was just bits of data? He was real enough to her and that was all that mattered. Despite her assurances, Thunder still seemed to be hesitating until his brother spoke up: ''Then how about this, Thunder: The Elder Friend said that there are greater masters who would know of other secrets. Perhaps one of those secrets is in retaining the greater part of your abilities without hurting Ms. Yuri. Therefore I say you take the contract and journey with the Miss until we find these people.'' It was a good idea thought Yuri. One that potentially worked out for everyone if such things were possible. Perhaps there is an item of some sorts that could do the things that Whisper claims. Though...this could take a very long time, I seriously doubt that Thunder would want to travel with me- ''If it means that no one gets hurt, then I''ll do it!'' declared Thunder. ...Eh? What did he say? Thunder looked at Yuri bashfully, ''Tha-That is, if you''ll take me along of course. I understand if you don''t want to put up with me...'' Her blank expression must have looked like a sign of rejection as his eyes became downcast. Yuri hurriedly corrected the situation, ¡°No, no! It''s not that! It''s just that this could take a REALLY long time. Are you really sure you want to stay with me for that long?¡± For some reason Whisper and Bolthram started laughing. Yuri didn''t know exactly why they were doing so, but she had the slightly annoyed feeling that they were laughing at their exchange. ''If anything, staying with you seems like a bonus...'' mumbled Thunder very quietly . ¡°Sorry, what was that?¡± asked Yuri, not hearing what he had said. ''Nothing!'' shouted Thunder, which sent a new fit of laughter through Bolthram and Whisper for some reason. ''I mean...if you''re okay with me, I''d like to be your companion.'' The way he was shuffled his paws and looked at the ground as he asked this of her made him impossibly cute in her eyes that she couldn''t help herself and seized him in a tight hug. Ahhh, this fur is even softer than I thought it''d be and he''s just the right size to be hugged! I can''t believe this little cutie wants to come with me! ¡°So, what do we do from here?¡± asked Yuri cheerily. His body still shaking from what seemed to be contained laughter, Bolthram replied, ¡°Something that I think will make your new friend very happy.¡±
Thunder was looking blankly at the heartwarming scene unfolding before him. It was early in the morning and the once numerous tents that had dotted the border of the human town had all been packed up onto large carriages. There was a crowd of animals surrounding two humans who were standing next to such carriages. Because it was a rather personal farewell, Thunder and his brother were standing outside of the large group. The pretty human Yuri was hugging each of the animals in turn, gently crooning to them in that sweet voice of hers. He probably should have been angry, but right now the only thing that the could think of was what happened last night. He, Thunder, had become a companion to a Beast Friend. And not just any Beast Friend, but the first two-legger that had truly fascinated him. His mind kept on replaying the scenes of how the ceremony had gone down. ''Something on your mind, little brother?'' there was a slightly mocking tone in Whisper''s seemingly friendly concern. ''Nothing at all!'' ''Ohh? You sure you''re not still feeling a little dazed from last night? You know when Ms. Yuri kiss-'' ''Ahhh! Don''t say it!'' howled Thunder. But just that little word was enough to trigger a very vivid flashback of Yuri...kissing...his forehead. Even now, the spot where she had touched him still burned furiously and he had spent the rest of the night soaking the spot by dunking himself into the river.
¡°Ah, I think that''s them!¡± exclaimed Yuri, waving at the group of people coming out of the town. There were six of them, all of whom were clad in shining armour emblazoned with the royal emblem of Dale. The six steeds they rode on were similarly dressed with thick, powerful-looking plates that covered their bodies. A seventh horse, devoid of any armour and a little smaller than the others, plodded behind the knights. Yuri thought with excitement that maybe the small horse would be the one she was riding on. ''Tch. They don''t look that strong for so-called protectors.'' muttered Thunder as he padded alongside of Yuri. ''Careful not to make such remarks in front of them, little brother.'' admonished Whisper, ''The humans may not be able to understand us now, but they will as soon as they start travelling with Ms. Yuri.'' ''I''ll call whomever I think is weak as being weak'' huffed Thunder. ¡°I''d like it if you could get along with them, Thunder.¡± said Yuri a little regretfully. Thunder missed a step and almost tripped over his paws at Yuri''s words, ''We-Well if you say so, then I''ll try to get along...Oy, stop laughing Whisper!'' They continued their idle conversation right as the riders cantered to a stop in front of their odd little group. Up close, they were actually quite intimidating, and were all wearing full helms that completely obscured their faces. A person who looked liked the leader dismounted from his horse, a gorgeous white mare, and removed his helmet. Oh wow...what a beautiful person...Long, golden silky hair spilled out of the helmet as blue eyes that were as clear as the sky stared back into Yuri''s. His confident bearing gave the impression of a man who was entering the prime of his life and had accrued a significant amount of life experiences. A dazzling flash of light came from his impossibly shiny teeth neatly arranged as he smiled and greeted her. ¡°Now I see what Commander Daren was talking about.¡± chuckled the man in a surprisingly deep, but melodious voice, ¡°You must be, Yuri.¡± The man gave her a low bow, one hand across his chest as he did so, ¡°I am Ser Francois and these are my fellow compatriots:¡± at his words, all of the other riders dismounted and walked towards Yuri. ¡°Dame Mable.¡± said Francois as the person he gestured to, took off their helmet. A young woman with short brown-hair and a friendly smile. ¡°Ser Gerard.¡± Another young man with nutmeg coloured skin and a carefully trimmed black beard. He nodded curtly towards Yuri. ¡°Dame Anna and Ser Avery.¡± The two who removed their helmets had the exact same face and Yuri was only able to tell them apart thanks to the more feminine hairstyle Anna had...or was that one Avery? ¡°And finally, our youngest member: Ser Leon.¡± Silver hair that stopped just past his ears, a nervous expression on his face that became red when he met Yuri''s eyes. He gave an awkward bow towards her. While she was a little taken aback, Yuri was nudged into a quick recovery by a gentle prod from Whisper, ¡°A-Ah. Right. Glad to be working with you.¡± Something seemed a little weird though, ¡°Ser Francois, what did you mean by: ''Commander Daren was right about you.''?¡± Francois gave a hearty laugh, ¡°''She''ll be an extraordinarily beautiful dark-haired woman that will most likely be surrounded by animals.''¡± related Francois in a voice that was such a good imitation of Ser Daren''s voice that everyone present in the company, including Yuri, started laughing. ¡°I assume your lupine friends will be joining us? We''ll be travelling on horseback, you know?¡± ''I can keep up just fine!'' claimed Thunder. Mable and Gerard tensed at Thunder''s words...no, that was wrong. Most likely they tensed because of the growl, they wouldn''t be able to understand Thunder until they were in a party together. ¡°Careful, captain, I think you made him mad.¡± laughed Avery. ¡°Yes, they''ll be joining us. Thunder says he''ll be able to keep up.¡± said Yuri. If he was confused at her supposed understanding of Thunder''s words, Ser Francois didn''t show it. ¡°Very good then! I trust Ser Daren gave you the basics of our little operation?¡± ¡°Yes! He didn''t mention that we''d be travelling on horseback though.¡± ¡°Do you know how to ride one?¡± asked Ser Francois hesitantly. ¡°Yes! I''ve been practising whenever I had the chance.¡± That was true enough, Alyen had been kind enough to let Yuri ride her whenever they had some free time. It was hard, but Yuri had quickly picked up the skill of riding. Quite literally too, as a new skill had popped up the second she had maintained her balance on Alyen for longer than a minute. ¡°Great! Are you ready to head out then?¡±
[p=center]Party Request! Ser Francois has invited you to join his party! Would you like to accept this invitation? (Note that any companions travelling with you, will be automatically added to the party)[/p]
¡°All set!¡± confirmed Yuri.
[p=center]Party Invite Accepted![/p]
Francois led her over to the unarmoured grey horse. It was already saddled up and had a docile expression on his face. ¡°Nice to meet you, my name is Yuri, what''s yours?¡± she asked the steed. ''...Reegar.'' said the horse. ¡°You have a lovely name, Reegar. Would you allow me the honour of riding with you?¡± said Yuri. ''You can understand me?'' said Reegar in shock. ¡°Oi...did anyone else just hear the horse talking?¡± muttered Gerard. ¡°No...can''t be...must be a trick of the wind or something.¡± denied Ann. ''Hear him talking? He hasn''t shut up since we left the garrison!'' exclaimed the brown charger that Ann was riding on. As chaos erupted through the knights who were suddenly able to understand the animals around them, Yuri continued to stroke Reegar''s long mane as she continued to chat with him. This should be a fun trip! Previous Chapter Next Chapter Chapter 7 - Revelations Well...this is certainly a late update. This chapter starts off a little dark and gives away the plot I think, even so, if you''ve figured it out, please don''t spoil it for the others :P. Unless it''s super obvious and it''s only me who thinks it''s really clever... Three new characters introduced in this chapter and they''ll be the last ones to be introduced in this volume. Ahem. I won''t mince words though and let you guys enjoy (or hate) the chapter as it is. I''ll start working on Chapter 8 right now. That being said, as long as I stick to the plan, we''re only 2 - 3 chapters away from the end of the first volume! (Golf clap) Chapter 7 ¨C Revelations Tae-Hyun was staring blankly at a portrait on the wall with a typical smiling family. He was in the photo as well, dressed in his very finest and looking quite handsome (according to his niece anyway). Compared to how he looked now however, many people would be hard pressed to find a similarity between the elegant man in the photo and the dishevelled mess slumped on the couch. It was only when he was visiting them that he''d bother dressing up, otherwise Tae-Hyun preferred to fester in the safety of his own home. His last remaining sanctuary. Tae-Hyun''s eyes flicked towards the other three people in the photo. His brother whom, while he was three years older, looked nearly identical to Tae-Hyun. In the photo he had one of his eyes partially closed as the camera caught him in the middle of a sneeze. He never was very photogenic. Tae-Hyun''s sister-in-law, beautiful as always, had an amused smile on her face as if she were about to burst out laughing. He trembled when looking at the last figure. She had a wide toothy smile and long dark hair that was combed to a glossy finish. The picture was taken two years ago, so she would''ve been about fourteen years old then, though the childish smile she was adopting in the photo seemed to indicate a younger age. The precocious girl was squashed between Tae-Hyun and his brother; tightly hugging both of their arms. God he needed a drink. Tae-Hyun was dismayed to find the whiskey bottle clutched in his hand was already empty. Tossing it onto the cushions, he got up with a wobble and slowly made his way to the open kitchen while kicking away the accumulated trash and discarded beer cans that littered the floor. Tae-Hyun was close to feeling the sweet release of sleep, he figured he only needed a bit more to knock him out. A good thing too, as by the looks of his liquor cabinet, he didn''t have very much left. The phone suddenly rang as Tae-Hyun scavenged through the cabinet. He didn''t bother to answer though. He had set all calls to be immediately diverted towards the answering machine a few days ago. ¡°Hi, you''ve reached Tae-Hyun Seong. I am not available to take your call right now, but if you leave your name and number, I''ll be sure to get back to you as soon as I can.¡± ¡°Tae-Hyun sunbae? Are you there?¡± the speaker gave an audible sigh, ¡°What am I saying...of course you are. It was Ji-min calling again. Out of everyone at the firm, she was the one who called the most frequently. Running his fingers through his dwindling stockpile of alcohol, he settled on a vintage that seemed appropriate and pulled it out of the cabinet while looking for the corkscrew. ¡°Everyone at the office is waiting for you to come back. We all miss you, even Kwang-jo says he can''t get any real work done if you two aren''t fighting.¡± she gave a light chuckle. Pop. Tsst... Tae-Hyun once more sank into the cushions, drinking deeply straight from the bottle. ¡°Sunbae...I...I hope you know that I''m here for you. So...if you need to talk or, or to scream or whatever...I''m here for you.¡± Beeep! She hung up on that line, leaving a deafening silence behind her. His eyes fell from the portrait as he looked towards the phone. Perhaps it was because of his inebriated state, but he could almost see Ji-min''s figure standing just out of reach, picturing her forlorn expression as she struggled to keep sounding cheerful. ¡°Just leave me alone, damn it...¡± muttered Tae-Hyun weakly. ¡°Like you left us alone?¡± calmly asked a voice. Tae-Hyun spun around so fast that he nearly got whiplash at the voice that came from just in front of him. He blanched when he saw that in front of the portrait were three figures. ¡°No....!¡± he stood up trembling, an icy chill had crept over him. They did not say anything more, but their faces soon became covered in an awful mixture of pain and fear. ¡°I''m sorry...I''m so sorry!¡± babbled Tae-Hyun, tears streaming down his face as he walked towards them. ¡°Why?¡± One word that seemed to come from all of their mouths. One word filled with such sorrow and disbelief that it threatened to tear Tae-Hyun apart. The three fell to the ground as if they were puppets whose strings had been cut. Awful wounds appeared on different parts of their bodies as they became more and more obscured by blood. ¡°No! No! No!¡± In his frantic rush, he tripped on the leg of a table and was sent stumbling to the ground. Momentarily stunned by the pain, he recoiled in horror as he saw that the smallest of the three was beneath him. His hand was wrapped around her throat. ¡°NO!¡± screamed Tae-Hyun as she seemed to fade before his eyes. ¡°Come back! PLEASE! COME BACK!¡± begged Tae-Hyun as his hands scrabbled at the air, hoping to get some piece of her back. But she didn''t come back, no matter how long he searched or how loudly he screamed her name. His energy was soon spent, his throat was raw from his yells as he lay underneath their damning eyes. Tae-Hyun curled into a ball sobbing for what he had lost and for what he had done.
Chun Hei brushed away a strand of her hair restlessly as she sat in the reception lobby, waiting for her brother. She always felt so nervous in hospitals. Not because she had any bad experiences with it or anything like that. It was just that all of the people in the building felt so fragile; as if they would break at a touch. Currently she was in a special section of Seoul General that didn''t seem to be an area with too many visitors. At the moment, she was alone in a small waiting area with a receptionist who was quietly working at her desk. Even though her brother had told her she wouldn''t be able to bring in anything from outside for fear of contamination, she still felt a little awkward not bringing anything. Glancing at the clock revealed that the hand had only moved five minutes since she had arrived. Wuuu...Hurry up already, oppa! As if he had heard her mental cry, the door leading to the inner section suddenly slid open soundlessly and her brother emerged in pale blue scrubs. Min-Kyung''s eyes brightened when he saw Chun Hei and before she could say a greeting, he pulled her into a hug. ¡°Sorry for the wait. I ran into someone who was interested in meeting you.¡± said Min-Kyung Pushing herself back from her older brother, she looked up in confusion, ¡°Eh? Who would want to meet me?¡± Min-Kyung smiled mysteriously as he gently took her hand and led her towards the doors he had just exited from. ¡°It''ll be faster if I just take you to her.¡± He nodded towards the receptionist who smiled back at him brightly. Oho? Seems like oppa''s pretty popular here. Hehe Chun Hei thanked the receptionist and they both entered into a room with four doors. Ahead was a similar set of glass sliding doors with a numerical keypad on its side. On either side of the room there were two changing rooms for men and women. Min-Kyung grabbed a few articles of plastic-wrapped clothing from a shelf and tossed them to Chun Hei. ¡°Put those on and grab a pair of slippers from the changing room. You can leave your clothes there.¡± ¡°Do I need a mask and cap like you, oppa?¡± asked Chun Hei pointing at the various items that her brother was wearing. ¡°Nah. You won''t be able to go into the rooms that need it anyway.¡± Pacified, Chun Hei quickly changed her clothes before following her brother through the doors and into a surprisingly large area that resembled the hospital atrium. While the majority of people were doctors or nurses, there were also quite a few patients in robes and what appeared to be their family members dressed in similar attires as Chun Hei was. Spread around on the sides of the atrium were various hallways with different signs over them. ¡°Over there is where our fourth degree burn patients are. Luckily we don''t have too many, but the few that we do need to be placed in machines similar to the MedCapsule.¡± explained Min-Kyung as he pointed to one hallway with the label ''Burn Unit-Recuperation'' over it. ¡°Like the one Yuri is in?¡± She glanced to her sides and saw that some of the nurses they passed by were giving her weird looks. ¡°Basically, yeah. Although these ones come with a separate bathing function for burn victims. They''re pretty cool actually, the internal machinery is incredible.¡± Min-Kyung nodded at a passing-by doctor. ¡°Ah, here we are.¡± he said while turning into a hallway that wasn''t labelled, they entered through yet another series of doors to suddenly emerge outside. ¡°Eh?¡± Chun Hei went wide-eyed as she looked at the scene before her. They had gone from a dreary hospital setting to what seemed to be a small park. A small stream bubbled happily as it passed underneath a picturesque wooden bridge. Looking up, Chun Hei saw that the ceiling stretched high above them to end in a glass roof where sunlight streamed in. Numerous patients were enjoying the scenery on benches and gazebos. Some of them were bound to a wheelchair and others were dragging along an IV stand with them. ¡°Pretty cool, huh? You''d never think that this was an artificial park.¡± said Min-Kyung, grinning at Chun Hei''s startled appearance. ¡°This is artificial?¡± repeated Chun Hei. Those trees and the soil they were planted in certainly looked real. ¡°Yup! The goal was to create an environment where patients could properly relax in a sterile environment without being confined to white walls and machines. This room was only finished a year ago actually.¡± ¡°It''s really pretty, oppa!¡± praised Chun Hei with shining eyes. ¡°But, where is this person who wanted to meet me?¡± ¡°She said she''d be waiting in one of these gazebos for us. Hmm...I don''t see her, but this place isn''t too large anyway. Come on, I''ll give you a tour while we look for her.¡± The artificial park was actually fairly sizable, despite Min-Kyung''s claim, as they still hadn''t seem to have hit any walls yet. Though it did seem to be truly artificial as let alone any birds as one might expect to see in a woodsy area such as this, Chun Hei couldn''t even see any bugs crawling around. The people they met in the area were varied, some were bound to a wheelchair and others appeared to be simply a little pale. There was always a nurse around each patient however, ready to intervene should their status change. Finally, after walking around for about twenty minutes, they came upon a small enclosed area where a single gazebo was placed overlooking a small pond. Inside the shelter was a young woman in a wheelchair and a nurse who was making small talk with her. The nurse turned around at the sound of their footsteps and saw Chun Hei and her brother. She bent down and whispered something in the woman''s ear who said something back. Smiling, the nurse left the gazebo and nodded towards Min-Kyung and Chun Hei. ¡°I''ll just be over here if you need me.¡± she said, before bowing and retreating to a corner of the grove to give them some privacy. Now that they were closer, Chun Hei saw that there were several scars on the woman''s neck and the rest of her body that wasn''t covered by the patient gown she was wearing. Her skin was very pale and her hair looked quite dry, yet the energy that laid in her eyes revealed a strong but gentle light. The smile she gave to both of them was similarly not lacking in energy despite her frail countenance. Chun Hei liked her already. ¡°Hello, Min-Kyung. I''m sorry if you had trouble finding me. I wanted to find someplace private.¡± apologized the woman in a gentle and soothing tone. ¡°Please, it was no trouble at all. This place isn''t so big after all. Rather, I should be apologizing for taking so long.¡± said Min-Kyung hastily. The woman smiled beatifically before looking at Chun Hei, who had remembered her manners only at that moment. ¡°Um! I''m Chun Hei! It''s very nice to meet you!¡± greeted Chun Hei nervously with a short bow. She beckoned Chun Hei to come closer, and after a slight hesitation, she complied quickly. Taking her hands in her own, she said, ¡°Hello Chun Hei. My name is Nari Hwang.¡± Nari squeezed Chun Hei''s hands gently, ¡°I hear you''ve become good friends with my daughter.¡±
For the first time in his life, Leon Masters had hit a wall. Born as the youngest son of two other siblings to a pair of farmers, his life should have been one of mediocrity. Despite his humble background, Leon Masters desperately studied and trained to improve his own standing in life, wanting to make his mark on the world. Despite the lack of money or the cruel acts of those born to richer families, Leon was somehow able to join an academy for training warriors after being rejected from so many others. From there, he was able to accrue enough accomplishments that earned him the notice of Ser Francois. The day he was bestowed the red cloak with the symbol of Dale was perhaps the proudest moment of his life. He had already gone on several missions with the rest of Ser Francois'' squad and he believed he had acquitted himself well considering that the rest of the members had finally seemed to accept him. No matter how much he fell or how hard he was pushed, Leon was always able to get back up again. He believed there was no problem that couldn''t be overcome without hard work. But the problem he faced now...was of an entirely different sort. ¡°Wow. You are such a pussy.¡± said Percival with a snort. It should be noted that the fact that his now ''suddenly-able-to-talk-horse is actually an ass'', was not the problem he was facing. ¡°I pour my heart out to you, my stalwart companion-¡± ¡°We''ve only known each other for a few weeks.¡± interjected Percival while munching on the meadow grass. ¡°Whom I have gone on several death-defying adventures together!¡± said Leon, barrelling on. ¡°Mopping up a small group of bandits with the rest of the knights, does not count as a death-defying adventure.¡± ¡°And the only thing you give me in return are insults.¡± ¡°You say insult. I say fact.¡± corrected Percival. ¡°Ugh. What was I thinking that you''d even be able to help.¡± sighed Leon, slumping down against the tree he was leaning against. ¡°You actually expected a horse to give you advice on human relationships? Pfft. Dumbass.¡± Leon bit back a scathing retort and just settled on giving Percival a very ugly glare. The damn horse didn''t seem to notice or even care for that matter, as he focused on grazing. It was currently late afternoon and their group was taking a brief rest in a secluded meadow just outside of the small village of Coven. Based on the reports of the villagers, the kobolds who were terrorizing the people were located in a large cave a few hours away from the village. It had been a hard day''s worth of riding and Ser Francois had wanted to mop up the kobold problems sooner rather than later. Because the kobolds had made a habit of attacking at sunset, the knights would support the defence of the village in the form of a surprise attack. Then they would make their way to the lair and clear out the rest of the monsters. That was basically another day at work. Only...there''s another unique situation in this group. On one side of the meadow, Ser Francois and Ser Gerard were talking quietly with each other with a map of the area spread out on the ground. He glanced over to the other corner of the meadow where a very pretty girl was making several sandwiches and other foodstuffs with delicate movements. As he shyly watched her, she suddenly laughed at a comment from Dame Mable who was chatting with her. The sound of her laugh sent a thrill through his body. ¡°You could always just try talking to her.¡± quietly said a deep voice. Leon snapped out of his dream-like state and stood up hurriedly to salute the man who had suddenly appeared at his side. ¡°Ser Avery, what can I do for-Gah!¡± His greeting was silenced with a sudden chop to his head. ¡°Damn it, Leon. I told you drop the formalities already. This isn''t the academy anymore!¡± though Ser Avery had a stern tone, he wore a bemused face. ¡°Psh! Like you were any better when we first joined Ser Francois'' squad.¡± scoffed a young woman. Leon flinched at how close the sound of her voice was. He could never figure out how these twins could move around so stealthily in full armour. Dame Anna continued, ¡°Brother''s right, though. You really should just go talk to her.¡± ¡°And stop talking to me about this inane topic.¡± inputted Percival. His blunt tone and perfectly timed comment got a laugh from the twins. ¡°Shut up, Percival.¡± rebutted Leon. He was amazed at how verbose his sharp-tongued horse was. Perhaps that was part of the reason why he thought he would be of some help. ¡°I can understand why you''re nervous though, Leon. These adventurers...they''re a strange sort.¡± relented Ser Avery. ¡°And Ms. Yuri''s certainly strange.¡± ¡°Aye.¡± agreed Leon. ¡°And quite beautiful.¡± added Dame Anna with a growing smile. ¡°...Aye.¡± Leon felt his face reddening at Anna''s words. ¡°And if you don''t talk to her now, while you have the chance, she''ll get further and further away from you.¡± chimed in Ser Avery. ¡°Too true.¡± agreed Anna, ¡°These adventurers have such a crazy rate of growth. She''ll probably outstrip us in no time and by then, there''ll be no end to the amount of people that will be fawning over her.¡± ¡°She seems kind of young too. Impressionable, even.¡± commented Avery. ¡°You show off your good points now, she''ll always remember you, even when she grows a lot stronger.¡± By this point, Leon''s face slowly lost all trace of the hesitation and nervousness that it bore before to be replaced by a look of confidence. Indeed, he already found that his feet were carrying him towards Yuri at a firm and steady pace. Behind him, the two conspirators shared a grin with each other as they watched their young friend set off. ¡°Is he really that easy to manipulate?¡± asked Percival. ¡°Oh, you have no idea.¡± laughed the twins in chorus.
[p=center]Ding! Level up: Cooking (Intermediate Lv: 5 | 0%): Enables you to produce more exotic dishes. +20% stat boost to all foods consumed.[/p]
¡°Oh?'' Yuri let out a sound when the new window popped up as she put the finishing touches on the sandwiches. Despite the downsides to this character, I''m certainly liking the skill levels she was equipped with! From what Guinevere had told her, the various skills of Royal Road were divided into three general ranks: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. For cooking, the quality of food that could be prepared was pretty much dependent on one''s skill level. You could be a 5-star chef in real life who could only make an extremely simple meal in the game. That being said, any experience one had in real life that correlated to the skill they were training would enable the skill to be levelled up faster. What was interesting about the player character that she had ended up a part of, was that her skill levels had correlated pretty much with the ¡°level¡± of her cooking in the real world. Yuri had to admit that she was a little bit vexed that that apparently only amounted to a level 9 Beginner. *Slurp* A smile tugged at the corner of Yuri''s mouth as she saw Thunder staring hungrily at the array of food spread out on the cloth. By her side, Mable sniffed the air appreciatively. ¡°Smells pretty good for something that looks so simple. Only...¡± her face creased in doubt, ¡°Will it be enough for everyone?¡± ¡°Well it should be...¡± Yuri focused on one of the sandwiches until a description window popped up. Really...I feel like I''m getting too used to these game absurdities.
[p=center]Wild Queen''s Sandwich A scrumptious meal made with ultra-love power by the cool, yet tender-hearted wolf girl! Satiety parameter filled per item +7% Attack +10% Speed Minor Regeneration Buff[/p]
Yuri''s eyes twitched when she read the description. It felt like the game was making fun of her. ¡°Well, everything''s ready, but Ser Francois and Gerard are still talking about the upcoming attack. I guess it''s fine to wait for-¡± *Whine* Thunder placed his forepaws on Yuri''s lap and gazed beseechingly at her. Yuri rolled her eyes and gathered up some sandwiches onto a separate piece of cloth and folded it over the food while tying it up in a loose knot. ¡°Take some to your brother as well.¡± said Yuri as she set the bundle off to the side while smoothing Thunder''s fur gently with her hand. At the moment, Whisper was currently enjoying the period of rest and chose to spend it basking in a sunlight well that had pierced through the branches of an old oak. Thunder needed no further prodding as he directly clamped onto the cloth bundle and darted off to where Whisper was. ¡°Quite the pair you have there.¡± chuckled Mable. Yuri laughed as well, ¡°They''re the best.¡± a tender expression floated on her face as she watched her two new friends happily enjoy their food. The two watched Thunder prod his brother awake with his snout before carefully untying the bundle with his snout with obvious eagerness. ¡°You know...for an adventurer, you''re more normal than I thought you''d be.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well...¡± explained Mable slowly, ¡°Most adventurers always feel kind of...hollow, I guess? I''m not really sure how to describe it.¡± Mable made some vague gestures in frustration. ¡°It''s like, they don''t really treat us as being alive.¡± she sighed and seemed to gaze at something far off in the distance, ¡°Some adventurers will appear to be very friendly and will seem very earnest in helping out the people. There was a time when I admired such people. But eventually, I started to notice that such sincerity was actually just a facade.¡± ¡°I''m not naive enough to believe that someone would help another out without any return. Even so...¡± Mable shook her head with a embarrassed laugh, ¡°Sorry about bringing up all that. I''m sure the people you''re friends with are equally as kind. I don''t know why I started talking about all of this.¡± Evidently Mable had taken Yuri''s silence as being offended. Yuri could only give a bitter smile, ¡°Don''t worry about it. Sometimes...you just need to get some things off your chest.¡± ¡°True enough.¡± sighed Mable, ¡°Still...¡± Mable looked like she wanted to say something else when the sound of someone approaching caught her attention. A pitying smile spread on her face, ¡°Oh dear...¡± Yuri turned and saw the young man, Ser Leon, approaching the two of them with an unusually stern expression on his face. ¡°Ms. Yuri! I have a request!¡± Leon seemed to be quite fired up about something. ¡°Y-yes?¡± Her eyes flicked towards Leon''s back where Thunder was currently happily enjoying his meal. Whisper caught her eye, but continued to eat his food calmly. Traitor! ¡°This may be a bit forward of me.¡± Leon took a step closer, prompting Yuri to hurriedly get up. ¡°But ever since I first saw you treat that horse, I was instantly captivated by you!¡± ¡°Ah, what? Horse?¡± Yuri''s face was rapidly turning red, her thoughts were in chaos: what was essentially a computer program was confessing to her in the form of a handsome guy. A lifetime of study in all-girls schools didn''t exactly give her a lot of experience with guys. Emboldened by her reaction, Leon continued to spout his embarrassing declaration, ¡°But it wasn''t your beautiful looks that charmed me so; no! It was instead the beauty of your heart!¡± ¡°Th-Thank you, Ser Leon.¡± stammered Yuri. Leon''s passionate speech had drawn the smiling, but warm gazes of the rest of the knights. Don''t just smile! Help!! ¡°Ms. Yuri¡± said Leon in a firm tone. His steely blue eyes swam with such passion that Yuri felt that she would drown in it if she kept on staring. What is with this ridiculous charisma! Stop cheating!! ¡°When this is all over.¡± he knelt and took one of her hands in both of his own, ¡°Would you do me the honor of having dinner with me?¡± Say no! Say no! ¡°Okay.¡± whispered Yuri, giving Leon a bright red nod as her body bypassed conscious thought. Guinevere can NEVER find about this!
Deep within the heart of the forest, a shadowy figure stole through the dead of the night. It had a humanoid appearance and showed bipedal movements, but closer inspection would reveal that where soft skin should be was instead rough, brown fur. Moving further up, the body become more beast than man as it''s head greatly resembled that of a wolf; identifying it as a member of the kobold species. Racing through the forest, what few shafts of moonlight that could pass through the dense meshwork of foliage sharply outlined the injured appearance of the creature. It''s previously sleek fur coat was matted with dried blood that had been previously oozing down the primary site of injury in it''s shoulder where a crossbow bolt was embedded. The kobold did not attempt to pull out the bolt that was still sending lances of agony through it. No, it was operating on the most primal instincts available to it, as it desperately tore a path through the woods. While kobolds had some intelligence, enough to equip and make weapons, they never reached a human level. They had no distinguishable society and were instead organized into small independent groups. It''s long tongue lolled out from the side of it''s mouth as it recalled the devastating losses of its brothers and sisters. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Remembering the terrifying strength of their attackers, the kobold managed to urge it''s flagging body to even greater speeds. The kobold''s course shifted slightly every now and then, as it doggedly traced it''s way back home, following the wistful scent of the rest of it''s brethren. Suddenly it stopped. Sniff...Sniff, Sniff... The kobold smelled the air and looked the around cautiously, worried that it had been followed. There were two scents nearby. Not human...but similar. Smells that were overlaid with smoke. The kobold proceeded through the woods carefully, returning it''s breath to normal as it adopted the aspects of a predator. Soon the kobold could make out a dull orange glow that lay smouldering in a thicket up ahead to its left. Whoever the creatures were, they had to be disposed of as they were far too close to the den. Devoid of weapons, save for its claw and fangs, the kobold stealthily picked its way across the forest floor to the thicket. A shadow extending past the fire and onto the trees gave it pause. This was only a brief hesitation however. The overriding fear it had felt from its attackers had finally begun to diminish, allowing other baser emotions to come to the foreground. Anger was most prominent among them; a furious desire to hunt and kill those that would harm it and its kin. Were there any players present to see the expression on the kobold''s face, they were would more than a little unsettled to see that a very cruel and very human smile creased it''s fearsome lupine visage. There was a small space in the dense thicket where the glow of the fire filtered through. The kobold crept up and peered carefully through the opening. Two figures surrounded a crackling campfire: one was curled up on a bedroll and was sleeping peacefully and another was tending to the fire with their back to the kobold. The twin swords on their back made it slightly hesitate, but their seemingly defenceless state coupled with the bestial rage that boiled within caused it to throw caution to the wind. This would prove to be a fatal mistake for the kobold. In the span of a few moments, the mysterious figure seemed to disappear, only to reappear in front of the kobold. The cruel light in the kobold''s eyes faded as its body slumped lifelessly to the ground.
By the light of the flames, the figure of a young woman with flowing red hair and long, pointed ears could be seen. The girl drew her blade out from the centre of the kobold''s forehead with a wet squelch. Snorting, the girl flicked the blood and brain matter dripping down the blade with a casual flick of her hand. ¡°Tch. Not even worth getting up for.¡± grumbled the girl. The dissatisfied young woman cocked her head to the side as something else caught her attention. ¡°Mmm...myahh....¡± Making such unintelligible sounds, the girl''s apparent companion woke up yawning, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. ¡°What''s up, Atla?¡± she placed a delicate hand over her mouth to stifle another yawn. Sheathing her sword the girl, Atlanta, trudged back to the empty bedroll opposite to the fire. ¡°Just a kobold, Eri. I was kind of hoping it would be stronger though.¡± sighed Atlanta as she sank down onto her pallet. Atlanta''s companion, Eryana, propped her head up with her hand. ¡°We could always go back to the labyrinth if you really want.¡± ¡°I do really want to! But to get to a manageable level, we have to wade through all of the monsters in the mountain first!¡± complained Atlanta, ¡°Seriously...the walk back from the village after the last time we died took so long.¡± ¡°I seem to recall a certain girl having quite a bit of fun during that walk.¡± chuckled Eryana. ¡°Well, yeah. That was the first time that had happened! If we died again though, wouldn''t we just be seeing the same things over again?¡± ¡°Which is why we should get a party.¡± ¡°Ugh. Like the guys we met in town? No thank you.¡± ¡°Then I guess we''ll be grinding here for a bit, until we''re strong enough to enter the mountains on our own.¡± ¡°Then...then...¡± Atlanta was truly unwilling to stay in this boring forest any longer when she thought of how close they were to the labyrinth. She desperately racked her brains and gave what she thought was a reasonable answer to Eryana. ¡°This time we''ll be super careful entering the mountains!¡± Eryana raised an eyebrow, amusement twinkled in her green eyes, ¡°I wonder if there''ll be different parties there when we respawn back in the village...¡± ¡°Bah! You''ll see. I''ve got a good feeling about this time!¡± said Atlanta confidently.
¡°Ah! This is a cute photo!¡± exclaimed Chun Hei. On the tablet resting on Nari''s lap was a picture of a smiling family of three. The daughter of the trio was laughing as she hugged a large golden retriever. Yuri was the only one looking at the camera and her father and mother were both looking dotingly towards their daughter. Nari visibly brightened, ¡°It''s one of my favourites actually.¡± She gently caressed the images of her daughter and her late husband. ¡°We took this only just last year, right around when summer was ending and the new year was about to start. My husband loved to take photos at the start of a new season. You should see how many albums we have back at home!¡± She laughed and Chun Hei joined in with her. Almost without them realizing it, both of them had been quite relaxed with each other. It was to the point that Chun Hei was resting her arms and chin on the arm of Nari''s wheelchair while she cycled through various photos of their family with one hand, while another was draped across Chun Hei''s head. Min-Kyung had gotten a call from one of the staff members of an x-ray machine that had suddenly broke down in the middle of a surgery. It wasn''t exactly urgent as the hospital had back-ups they could use, but he was only one of two technicians that were working today. Nari had then kindly volunteered to look after Chun Hei while he took care of business; giving them more of a chance to talk with each other. ¡°I''m glad it was someone like you.¡± said Nari quietly. Chun Hei stiffened at the sudden addressal, gazing up at Nari who was smiling serenely towards her. Lifting her head off of her chair, Chun Hei asked curiously. ¡°Someone like me?¡± Nari took Chun Hei''s hands and folded them inside her own, ¡°That someone like you was there to help my daughter when she needed it.¡± A film of tears appeared in her brown eyes, but just like when Chun Hei had divulged the full story of what had happened to her daughter, no tears fell down. ¡°Please continue to be friends with my daughter. She''ll need you, even after her body heals.¡± requested Nari, bowing her head down. ¡°Of-Of course! Whether it''s here or in Royal Road, I''ll always be Yuri''s friend!¡± said Chun Hei with utter conviction. That quiet girl she had come to know over the past few days had made an irrevocable mark on her heart. She''d always be there for her. No matter what.
[p=center]Atlanta Level 32[/p]
¡°Amazing.¡± Yuri didn''t know who had said that statement, but everyone certainly agreed with that statement. A girl with flowing red-hair completely looked the part of a goddess of war as her blades danced among the swarm of monsters attacking her. That was the first thought among Yuri and the knights who had stumbled upon the battle taking place before them. There was a brilliant display of flashing lights that erupted from behind the red-haired girl as six balls of light flew out from the top of a jagged stone. Two of the six balls each targeted three of the grey-skinned humanoid monsters that were attacking the pair. Rather than the concussive impact she expected, the balls deformed when hitting the surface of the monster''s skin before bursting like a bubble. Like an overripe fruit, silvery liquid splashed onto them before suddenly igniting in a dazzling conflagration of blue flames. Engulfed in flame, the monsters had been converted into walking torches, their strange cries pierced the air as they frantically beat themselves in a vain attempt to put the fire out. The source of the flashy spell had short, curly brown hair and was outfitted in a long blue robe along with a tall brown staff with a crystal embedded in the top of it.
[p=center]Eryana Level 30[/p]
¡°Do they even need our help?¡± wondered Leon. ¡°They seem to be doing okay now, thanks to their excellent teamwork, but they''ll soon be overrun by these hobgoblins.¡± analyzed Ser Francois. This was certainly true, the average level of these hobgoblins was level 28, but there were over thirty of them. Fortunately and perhaps unfortunately as well, the girls had their back to a cliff wall, which while trapping them, also prevented them from being completely surrounded. They were watching the unfolding battle from an elevated position in which the goblins had their backs to them. There would not be much cover if they ran out and tried to help the girls, and the distance they would have to traverse made it unlikely to be able to sneak up on the goblins. Still, it was only a matter of time until they both fell. ¡°Whisper?¡± ¡°I''ll follow your lead, Yuri.¡± ¡°Thunder?¡± ¡°Don''t even think about leaving me out!¡± Yuri turned towards the knights, who were watching this exchange silently. ¡°I know it''s not part of the quest, but I hope you can help me out in saving those two.¡± ¡°Why? You don''t even know them.¡± said Ser Francois. There was a strange glimmer in his eyes. As if he expected something from her. What can I say? I want to help them because they''re players, like me? ¡°Captain!¡± interjected Leon, he was cut off with a curt shake of the head from Ser Gerard, before he could speak any further. ¡°I agree that we should help them as well, but we have our own orders. Helping these two could easily lead to our deaths. In the meantime, the village we were assigned to protect could fall to the kobold attacks. Even so, would you still ask us to go?¡± ¡°...Whether it''s two people or an entire village''s worth, I think both have the same value...¡± Her mind said it was silly to even say a line like this, because at the moment, Yuri wasn''t even considering how this could affect her familiarity with the rest of the knights. Thoughts of quest bonuses or hidden rewards didn''t cross her mind at all. ¡°I''m asking because I think we''ll have a better chance of succeeding if we work together. But if that means that you''ll conflict with your own sense of values...¡± Yuri gritted her teeth, ¡°Then I''ll go on my own.¡± Ser Francois eyed her quietly and then finally said: ¡°I see. As captain of the third contingent of the Dale Knights, I hereby relieve you of your services, Ms. Yuri.¡± Two notifications flashed across Yuri''s eyes in quick succession following Ser Francois'' words.
[p=center]Party Disbanded! You have been removed from a party. [/p]
[p=center]Quest Failure: Anthropomorphic Extermination: Due to your actions, Ser Francois has deemed you to be unreliable in their quest to save the village of Coven. Trust from Dale officials has greatly decreased. It will be harder to receive quests from this region from now on. [/p]
¡°¡°¡°Captain!!¡±¡±¡± Leon, Anna and Avery voiced their discontent almost immediately. It was a result that she expected, even so, it was a little bitter to be faced with the reality of it. Still, it was just a matter of failing a quest. She could always find more. Besides, if it got really dangerous, she could always just run away. Or at the very least, have Thunder and Whisper flee. ¡°Thank you for the care you''ve shown me so far. Good luck with your quest, Ser Francois.¡± Yuri dismounted from Reegar, the horse who had kindly been serving as her means of transport. ¡°Thanks for carrying me this far, Reegar.¡± Yuri patted the side of Reegar''s head with a sad fondness. ¡°I''ll carry you farther than this. These knights don''t own me after all!¡± huffed Reegar angrily. ¡°You could die. Not really an issue for me.¡± said Yuri seriously. ¡°It''s an issue for me.¡± snorted Reegar, ¡°Hurry up and get back on. I''m coming regardless.¡± ¡°Hmph. Maybe you''re better than I thought. I shall allow you to become the great Me''s first minion!¡± proclaimed Thunder arrogantly. Because the party had disbanded, the knights could no longer understand their own animals, though it seemed like they understood what he had said regardless. ¡°Well at least one of us isn''t abandoning her.¡± muttered Leon who was clearly in a foul mood. The atmosphere was getting tense and the cause of this, Yuri, didn''t want to prolong it anymore. Especially since that the people whom she was trying to save were quickly running out of time. Yuri hopped back onto Reegar''s saddle and eased him out of the brush and into the battle without a backwards look at the knights. This would be the first and last time that she would have this kind of shot on the attacking hobgoblins. She had to make it count. ¡°Focus Aim! Charge Shot¡± The blue bar in the corner of her vision drained as the skill took effect. As Yuri raised the crossbow in her hands, an unseen force moved the crossbow into a more ideal position so as to better hit her first target. A targeting reticle hovered in the centre of one of the hobgoblins. It was currently a pale red color, indicating that she hadn''t yet entered the optimum range yet. At the same time, a small blue light coalesced on the tip of the crossbow bolt and started to revolve around itself to form a miniature vortex. Thunder and Whisper had already raced ahead of Reegar, though their nimble movements kept them from attracting attention. Almost...almost there...! When Yuri had hit the twenty metre mark, the reticle shined a bright red. Her finger reflexively pulled the trigger and caused her charged shot to explode out of it''s holster. One of the rings she had acquired from the treasure hoard in the kobold''s cave suddenly lit up as it''s effect activated to give a small lightning enchantment to her attacks. The vortex that had gathered around it''s tip grew even larger until it encompassed the entire bolt so that it resembled a blue comet crackling with electricity. It might have been a lucky first shot. Perhaps it was a rare critical bonus applied randomly because of her class. Or maybe the skills and items she had used together had created an odd synergistic effect. But whatever it was, the bolt in question which was aimed towards the creature''s trunk, managed to impact the exact, precise gap between the crude armour plates of the hobgoblin. The shot was devastating enough that it didn''t so much as disable the creature''s right arm, as it did detonate it.
[p=center]Critical hit! [/p]
By the time the hobgoblin''s screams had pierced the air, another charged shot was sent sailing his way. Flustered at the sudden attack, the hobgoblin could only turn around and take the shot directly in it''s chest. Cries of alarm spread amongst the hobgoblins as they realized they were under attack. Between the time of her attack, Yuri estimated there were probably twenty-four goblins left. A tall order for a level 29 such as herself. But if we can''t overpower them, we''ll out-think them! ¡°Reegar!¡± shouted Yuri. ¡°On it!¡± Reegar started moving again, this time at a much quicker pace and at a lateral direction with respect to the incoming goblins. Yuri kept up her assault on the goblins, firing shot after shot. It was hard, considering she was on horseback, but the clustered mass of the goblins usually guaranteed her pretty good success with the shots. As if the world was trying to help her out, a new notification popped up with a Ding!
[p=center]Skill: You learned the Mounted Combat skill A skill that heightens combat proficiency when on horseback. Damage and accuracy of attacks increases with higher skill levels[/p]
Her shots became ever so slightly more precise. It wasn''t a great deal, but Yuri would take anything she could get right now. The hobgoblins had finally realized that Yuri was a credible threat and had sent a detachment of their forces to deal with her. Well as long as it''s under eight, I think I''ll be able to manage somehow. Twelve hobgoblins were currently rushing towards her and Reegar. Seriously?! You would send half of your forces just to get rid of me!! Luckily, Yuri was mounted, so she could remain at a pretty good distance from the hobgoblins. As long as they didn''t have any ranged attackers, she''d be- ...Apparently okay. Huh, I was actually expecting an arrow or maybe a spell to come my way. ¡°You seem disappointed for some reason, Yuri.¡± said Reegar. The pace he was currently setting wasn''t anything strenuous, so his voice remained steady. ¡°J-Just your imagination!¡± Yuri tried to cover her stutter by firing as fast she could into the rampaging hobgoblins. Though they tried to throw themselves out of the way, a few members ended up being caught by the wicked missiles. What appeared to be the leader of the monsters, barked a short command and the unruly group of attackers slowly split off to the sides. Their aim was clear as they were attempting to cut off Reegar. Unfortunately for them, that was when Thunder and Whisper chose to make their move. Right when the hobgoblin leader was about to make another call, he gave out a choked cry as Thunder and Whisper pounced out from their hiding spots and tackled him to the ground. Were the leader still surrounded by his minions, perhaps he might''ve stood a chance. As it were, only a few goblins were still around him, and those were being picked off by Yuri. ¡°Break away! Don''t get surrounded!¡± The wolves wasted no time on words and quickly fled the scene of the hobgoblin they had successfully mauled, leaving him in a heavily wounded state. Yuri''s MP soon ran out and she switched to just firing normal bolts that still had the benefit of the lightning projectile enchantment. With a combination of hit-and-run tactics and the occasional assist from Whisper and Thunder, Yuri had managed to whittle down the attacking hobgoblins down to six. It was at this point that things started to take a turn for the worst. ¡°THUNDER!¡± roared Whisper. One of the hobgoblins had chucked their weapon in a last-ditch effort to deal with the wolves that had annoyed them for so long. This hobgoblin''s luck seemed to be quite good today as his weapon managed to slice across the back part of Thunder''s legs. For his part, Whisper was dealing with two hobgoblins that had suddenly appeared to block his way. At Whisper''s shout, Yuri had seen that Thunder was already on the ground with several hobgoblins who were quickly converging on his position. These weren''t from the five that were doggedly chasing after her, however. No, these were the hobgoblins that were previously attacking the two players she had set out in a half-baked attempt to rescue. A quick glance showed the two in question wrapped in some sort of shimmering shield. The red-haired girl and her companion looked exhausted, but the shield seemed to be preventing any of the hobgoblin''s attacks. They had dealt with six more hobgoblins on their own, which left her with another six to manage with Thunder injured. It was a good decision. If Yuri were in their shoes, she would have done the same thing. She doubted their shield would last forever though, but it would probably give them enough time to rest and recover. Perhaps this was their plan all along and they had only persisted because of Yuri''s sudden appearance. She considered it fortunate that three of these hobgoblins were stubbornly attacking their barrier in an attempt to break it down with brute force. Still, it was only a matter of time until they joined forces with their kin. But she couldn''t regret her decision then. She could only make a decision now. Gritting her teeth, Yuri directed Reegar to a path angling towards Thunder as she eased her feet out of its stirrups. ¡°No matter what happens, keep running in this direction.¡± ¡°What are you doing?!¡± cried Reegar in alarm. ¡°Something stupid.¡± chuckled Yuri morosely. Before he could let out any protest, Yuri leaped from her saddle and onto one of the hobgoblins flanking Thunder. Tackling it to the ground, Yuri shoved the crossbow into the hobgoblin''s mouth and pulled the trigger. It had taken her some time to get used to the gory nature of Royal Road, but she had since gotten used to it after rationalizing that it was all a game. As it was, this kill wasn''t particularly bloody, though that was more for the fact that Yuri was already moving on from it after a convenient notification popped up that let her know she had defeated it.
[p=center]You have levelled up![/p]
Conveniently, Yuri only needed to pull back the bolt slider as ammunition was taken directly from her inventory. While she was doing so, a hobgoblin took the opportunity to suddenly swung a short blade towards her and she was forced to block it with her crossbow. ¡°Tch!¡± Yuri''s crossbow had long since been upgraded and reinforced, but it still wasn''t meant to take hits such as this. Making use of the short gap in time that the kobold had to reposition it''s blade, Yuri jabbed her weapon forward to bash it''s face. ¡°Kwaaa!!¡± the hobgoblin howled in pain and anger as it was briefly stunned from the sudden impact. Just as she was about to follow up, Yuri felt a sharp pain arc through her back. Ahhh! Why can''t the medical capsule be with the pain function off?! Yuri lamented over such things even as she staggered over towards the injured Thunder while reloading her crossbow. He hadn''t noticed her presence yet as he was in a desperate struggle with two hobgoblins. A hobgoblin screamed in pain as Thunder''s jaws clamped around his ankles as he bit down with crushing force. Thunder refused to release the monster from his terrible hold, even as a sword slashed across his body. ¡°Thunder!¡± screamed Yuri. She madly dashed towards the creature that would dare harm him in front of her. Yuri barely noticed the feeling of a sword as it scythed across her chest as she fired repeatedly towards the hobgoblin. It staggered backwards even as she swung her weapon towards the skull of the hobgoblin that Thunder was currently chomping on. Her hands were already pulling back the slider as the monster''s skull was recoiling from the blow. By the time it bounced back, the tip of the spring-loaded bolt went past it''s teeth. Click!
[p=center]Critical hit![/p]
Panting, Yuri was relieved as the hobgoblins all backed away from the two of them. Thunder looked to be in pretty bad shape, though judging by the state of her own health, Yuri didn''t think she looked any better. The hobgoblins weren''t madly attacking now, they were now encircling Yuri and Thunder and would soon trap them. Most likely they would then all rush in at once and kill them both. To hell with that. ¡°Thunder.¡± said Yuri quietly. He stiffened slightly, so he definitely heard her speak. ¡°I''ll make an opening. You run for it and get yourself to safety along with your brother.¡± ¡°I''m not leaving you!¡± I''m not leaving you! Thunder''s voice seemed to echo strangely as he growled those words. There was no time to dwell on it now though. ¡°Thunder, I''ll come back if I fall here. You won''t!¡± said Yuri urgently. The hobgoblins were growing restless. Whisper was currently dealing with a few of them as he danced nimbly between their blades. His movements were becoming progressively more and more sluggish as fatigue set in. He had seen their predicament and it was clear that he was pushing himself. ¡°I won''t watch you die!¡± I...can''t watch you die! ¡°Please, Thunder! I will be back, I promise!¡± ¡°I...¡± ...I can''t do it! These unspoken words echoed in her mind and Yuri had a horrible premonition of what Thunder was going to do. ¡°DON''T!¡± cried Yuri as her brave, stupid Thunder recklessly charged forwards towards one of the hobgoblins. Schwing! A clear sound pierced through Thunder''s howl that seemed to bring an unnatural silence to the battlefield. A thin red line slowly appeared on the hobgoblin''s face. It was a horizontal gash that slowly extended horizontally from ear to ear as blood oozed down from the horrific wound. The monster dropped like a puppet with it''s strings cut as it''s killer smoothly shook off the blood with a single swipe of their blade. ¡°I have seen your resolve, Ms. Yuri. I apologize for the deception.¡± said Ser Francois with a sheepish smile.
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