Hours later and things were mostly quiet. TinkerHell tried to stay positive, but there was a loss of happiness to her expression. Nothing seemed as cheery, even the blonde color to her hair was lackluster. Edward hummed but acted a bit grumpier. The words ‘it’s just a game’ repeated in my head frequently.

We handled a few smaller packs, with me poorly taking the role that Elane had. Each time I stood between the few minor monsters and TinkerHell felt like a minor betrayal. I shouldn’t have been drugged up, I should have been able to focus more. All that talk about being a better person and being brave, what had I done? Failed almost right out of the gate.

Then TinkerHell uttered the announcement I had been dreading. She was on a time limit. Nothing had really been the same since my failure anyway. Those choices would haunt everything in this party.

“I’ve got to go, Hermes. I’m sorry.” She said.

“Do you still have enough time to make your meeting?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’ll just recall back to my bind point. I should be okay from there.” TinkerHell gave a partial smile to soften the blow.

“Oh.” I managed to keep my face passive and pretend that there was no worry creeping in. The system even awarded me some acting skill points.

“Did you need a scroll of recall?” She was kind enough to ask. I was smart enough to figure out what TinkerHell meant by that. It was probably an in-game device that helped get out of the dungeon.

“I…no, I’ve got to try and make it through.” Plus the Voices hadn’t given me a bind point to my knowledge. “Thank you for your help.”

“Down this tunnel, a few more hours and you should make it out. The map I provided made sense right?” TinkerHell asked.

“The man hardly need worry about getting lost. He should, instead, worry about being eaten.” Edward was smiling and seemed lax against one of the many cavern walls. This place was nowhere near as well carved as the side I had entered on. It felt more natural.

“Oh, yeah.” TinkerHell’s face scrunched up in worry. “Well, it’s all or nothing.”

“Too true.” The other man said.

“You seem like a nice guy, Hermes. Even if you’re kind of drugged. You be careful.” TinkerHell said. Her words did still have a faint linger of color to them. The bombardment of Chromesthesia had mostly dissipated.

“I’ll try.”

“Alright. If I log out now there may be just enough time for a shower.” TinkerHell shrugged.

“A radiant lady such as yourself could hardly be diminished by a mundane thing like dirt.” Edward said. TinkerHell managed to roll her eyes but looked a bit more naturally amused. Then she shrugged yet again.

“Sorry again, Hermes.” I shook my head at her apology. TinkerHell had actually been the nicest of the lot to me. “Real life doesn’t wait on hold, not even for Continue Online. Best of luck in your quest.” TinkerHell said. Her constant smile hadn’t been the same since Elane’s character passed. Not at the lips, not in her cheeks, but in the pinch around both eyes.

“Thank you. I’m sorry my autopilot tried to force my problems on you all.” Voices knew I had enough of them.

“It’s okay. Just help someone else out, pass it on.” She shrugged. I liked TinkerHell, she seemed so upbeat most of the time, playful even. The longer we were together, the more it seemed like she was closer to SheHulk and I in age. She was certainly older than my niece. It just wasn’t obvious from her in-game face.

Or maybe the world had worn on her like it had on me. How old did I look to other people? I poked my belly. Edward interrupted my self-absorbed train of thought by clearing his throat. He waved one hand which also had a [Scroll of Recall].

“Whereas I, take another view.” Edward smiled with his twitchy mustache. “The ladies are gone, and my interest wanes. So it’s time to move on, adieu Hermes, and best of luck.”

I sighed. The party had broken apart because of real life and the tank dying. Even in virtual reality the story was too familiar. Elane was out of the game for eight hours. I was closer to the exit, but still mostly lost. What now? Dusk chirped and hissed into the distance. Enemies were nearby and this was no place to dawdle. A small display timer to my screen outlined how little time was left on both my night vision buff and quest.

Part of me longed for the quiet of Carver’s bench. This adventure might just be the death of me.

The problem with silence is that there was too much time for my own thoughts. The sounds and color mix up was still happening but nowhere near as vicious as it had been. Doing battle while having constant interruptions from all the rainbows colors had been difficult. Now, after almost a full day of hunting and associated stat increases, I could handle a few [Gobbler]s on my own.

Groups of more than two were normally easy to go around or back up a tunnel twist or two. TinkerHell had given me a very detailed map showing a series of interconnecting tunnels between here and the exit. The end would be the really dangerous part.

There wasn’t much time to practice any other skills such as [Silent Step]. TinkerHell had let me know that [Gobbler]s were basically deaf up until about twenty feet away.

That’s how the next few hours in the game went. I dwelt on my poor performance with Elane. I hacked frantically at any single [Gobbler]s and steadily crept towards the exit tunnels. Short-cutting through the city had helped put the timer within reason. The estimated time towards my destination also went down each time [Light Body] went increased in ranks.

Skill: [Light Body] Type Advanced Rank: 5 (Beginner) Details:

This skill results from other abilities and actions. When carrying under the specified weight you gain additional speed and limberness. Exceeding the specified weight will negative these benefits.

Current limit: 40 lbs

Each rank increased the percentages and bonus. My feet move faster and quicker. Not huge, or anything like what Beth had shown me during my very first experience with Continue Online. She had practically flown through the city.

Still, I felt faster. According to my system text, I would be ahead of the deadline by roughly thirty minutes. Part of me suspected my autopilot had eaten the [Ghost Mushroom]s to keep my weight down. Maybe it was because I had eaten a little bit of everything during one of my trials.

I stopped and penned two more notes up to the Voices. The first was the same sort of message I might send to a manager. Tomorrow had suddenly become a no work day as a result of Trillium's orders. Hopefully, the artificial intelligence that ran this game would make allowances. The second message, yet another request, was me asking for information regarding Dusk in case of his passing. Neither one had an answer.

Why the Voices had gone silent was beyond me. Maybe they were distracted by software upgrades or something. Maybe they were all just watching me dance around with popcorn in hand.

There was another question that I wanted to ask, but the answer almost scared me to think about.

How likely was it that a man would run into someone he knew from the real world during his first few days of playing? Much less having that person be someone I had briefly dated?

The answer was probably simple. ‘Not likely’. James would probably never admit to arranging this whole bit of nonsense. It seemed like something he would do.

Dusk chirped and snuffled along. I had maybe ten minutes left on this scroll of night vision and two hours until the actual exit. We were getting reckless in our speed. The stamina bar stayed low as I jogged and huffed every chance available.

“Almost there.” I muttered between gasps. “Come on. We can do it.”

The [Messenger’s Pet] happily confirmed my suspicions with a smiley face bubble above his head.

“You think you can lead us out after my vision fades?” I said.

Dusk made a deep sort of purr noise and bobbed his head. According to TinkerHell’s parting instructions we should be past all the [Gobbler] monsters. They stayed in the deeper parts of the dungeon. Up here it was something else entirely.

“That Ooze thing. We should be okay, right?” The Ooze had been on a completely different side of the dungeon. With a day's distance between us we should be okay.

We walked a bit further. There were a few small shafts of light that went up to the surface but nothing that my poor skills would scale. These entrances were similar to the one I had fallen down. TinkerHell had told me her map went straight to an easy to traverse pathway out.

“Come on.” I tried to hustle. We had made it pretty far with just TinkerHell and Edward. This was doable. The exit was within range.

Except it wasn’t. There were more of those stupid, annoying, ugly block-headed [Gobbler]s in the way. I checked the map. We were close enough to the end that there were a few bottlenecks. They happened to be poking around in one of them.

I stared at the lot of them from down the hallway. Getting in range of one would simply alert the others. Dividing them up might be possible. Or maybe this was just two smaller groups that somehow patrolled through each other’s path.

Dusk and I waited. The small [Messenger’s Pet] seemed to have no interest in fighting the actual monsters himself. He did tear into limbs that fell apart on the ground. It was cute more than helpful. I had managed to survive so far mostly due to careful planning and a focus on moving forward.

Minutes ticked by. Five, then ten. The pack of six [Gobbler]s chose not to move at all. My leeway on completion of this quest was rapidly dwindling.

How did that mantra go, WWCD? What would Carver do. What…

I could actually try to weave through them. That might work. They weren’t as scary after killing so many with Elane and TinkerHell. Even knowing that Edward had been prancing about was reassuring. On my own I had still managed to eliminate a few.

“Hang on, Dusk.” I said. “We’re going to do this.” WWCD, dive in. Swing at a few on the way. This was doable. This was just a game. Elane wasn’t really dead.

Dancing here was just like performing for a fake audience in my dance program. There should be nothing but the movements. One motion would unto the next. Each motion had a purpose and set up for the next phase. Most of it was getting the hips aligned correctly.

I didn’t do a full run. It was a brisk tempo that ballet dancers called allegro. Ballet was a deep school of movement that I could never dare in real life. Here in the digital landscape I was like a pudgy prince of the prance. My footwork should be enough to get around the [Gobbler]s and their clunky movements.

My light thud of steps passed their invisible aggression range. The group turned almost as one. Dull clay imitations of human heads were facing in my direction. I tried to picture them as a formation dance. Soon they would swarm and my skills as a lead dancer would kick in.

Before anything fully registered I was holding one of the [Gobbler]s like a dance partner. My frame lined against its own. Then we spun away and one crashed into the other. A distant thought crossed my mind, that had been no judo throw, but it was still effective enough.

Another one approached and I sloppily performed back leading. In a real social dance, this would be completely rude but here it was effective. Weight transferred from one foot to another. My eyes only vaguely locked on whatever partner, [Gobbler], was in front of me.

In some of the dance programs I dared to do there were entire series of movements where people danced around each other. Four, five, sometimes twenty people all in predesignated spots and acting out. Those were the hardest ones to learn.

This, dancing past slowly moving monsters, was just slightly less difficult. Two crashed into each other reaching for me. One hit my shoulder.

Successfully walked into an attack

Total Damage: 20%

Either way I moved past them and felt flushed as I faced away. This, in my dance program, would be where the bowing happened, or the stage disassembled for the next dance. There was no time for either. That whole situation had been weird but survivable. I ran my jiggling midsection down the hallway. Dusk seemed confused as to what just happened. His claws dug into my shoulder and one wing was up in alarm.

I was trying not to laugh. It would be tacky. Still, I managed to successfully do a vague ballroom tango past those creatures. My virtual instructor in the dance program would be absolutely horrified at my execution.

“Hehe.” Okay, it was funny enough for a small chuckle. Dusk lifted his head and glared at me from his shoulder perch. That sent my small laugh into outright full gasp-inducing chuckles. The monsters behind us had faded away past a turn or two.

“Okay, I think we can make it.” There was a minute on the timer for my night vision spell. The exit was only a few more twists away. Dusk still looked alarmed though even as we settled.

Or not.

There was a green film on the far end of the room. I stared at it. It was vaguely see through and seemed to occupy the entire exit. Dread sunk my stomach. My feet took a few steps back while both hands went up into the air.

“Oh, no.” I said.

Of course, that thing would be here. The Voices were probably watching and laughing themselves silly. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe this was just a fancy shield. I squinted and activated [Identification].

Skill Used: [Identification] Result [The Ooze] Status: ??? Details:

The Ooze is a creature native to [Grand World Crossroads [(Lerter Region)]. It devours organic matter found all over the dungeon and is attracted to heat. No noticeable impact has been found upon inorganic matter aside from awkward slime trails.

Warning!

Total Travelers Killed: 5,387

Warning!

Death by this creature will leave a lingering disease that persists even upon resurrection.

“Oh, no. No, no, no.” My eyes got as far as the creature's name and kill total. If those other Travelers failed to survive my chances were nonexistent.

There was a pop on its surface. Then another, and another. It seemed to ripple and then slid across the floor in my direction. I tried to see if there was room to dodge by. The thing was massive and filled up the hallway.

Notice!

Information Update is available for [The Ooze]. Status is now marked as ‘Not Dead’.

“Seriously!?” I turned and ran. [Morrigu’s Gift] might be strong for my Rank, but this creature was beyond me.

There had to be some way past it or everything during these last few days in-game had been pointless. There was no rope in my bag. The system status said it didn’t eat non-organics. Throwing [Gobbler]s in its path might slow [The Ooze] down. Yeah.

I would try. TinkerHell had said it earlier, this was all or nothing. No subtly existed in my gait as I ran back to the room where six of the clay golem creatures still milled about. They turned as one towards me.

“Hey!” I had no idea if they understood me. “Ugly!” My brain was terrible at insults, especially in a panic.

They stumbled towards me. I pulled back and found [The Ooze] just a twist away. Its bright green surface was still bubbling as if hungry. One pop sent liquid my way.

“Ouch. Ow.”

Acid is Not Makeup

Total Damage: 25%

Another few pops splashed off. The system was kind enough to inform me that acid was also not lotion or body wash. How the machine knew of those concepts was beyond me. I flicked them away and helped one of the [Gobbler] monsters into [The Ooze] with a spin.

The [Gobbler] sunk into the green surface film. Slowly [The Ooze] crawled across its surface before completely encasing the monster with a pop of noise.

The other five didn’t waste time with their companion and came after me. One pummeled me from behind with a giant block fist. Another caught me from the other side. I fell, rolled, and tried to recover amid a small wall of system messages. [Morrigu’s Gift] flashed into its two handed sword form just in time to block another attack.

Dusk had lost his footing and was rolling around somewhere nearby. His squawks of outrage stood out more than the slow grunts of a [Gobbler].

“Run, Dusk! I’ll catch up!” There were two [Gobbler]s pounding on the sword from above. My fingers were caught by the edge of a fist. Luckily they were dumb and seemed to go for my [Barricade] instead of actually attacking my legs or some other obvious weak spot. That or my constant squirming was keeping them from doing too much damage.

Meanwhile [The Ooze] crept ever closer. One of the [Gobbler]s that fell behind was sucked into the slime creature's stomach with another pop of noise.

Then everything darkened.

“Shit!” I didn’t curse normally. This situation warranted any clever phrasing that could come to mind, but I was panicking too much.

A small ball of fire blasted by. My cheek felt warm and a smell of burnt hair wafted in the air.

[Gobbler] bodies provided illumination with their strange glowing cores. The Ooze behind us lit up from two of the golem creatures floating inside. Dusk and his fire breath was another source of inconsistent light. The strobe effects were not helping.

“Run!” This was very bad. My mind couldn’t formulate a way past all these creatures without proper vision. I tried to sidestep and use footwork. It failed as another attack collided with my face.

New blocking technique attempted

Total Damage: 50%

I swung [Morrigu’s Gift] and managed to carve a chunk out of one of the monsters. A leg separated from the body as the [Gobbler] fell downward. Three were out of the picture. Two remained, plus one giant, unkillable monster. My biggest problem was the seriously screwed up eyesight. The left over impact from my [Ghost Mushroom] poisoning was much more obvious now that there was less to compete with.

Okay. I had to get distance first. Near darkness meant my skills at fumbling around were at an all-time high. I shoved off one of the clay beings and managed to get around another corner.

Small shafts of light littered the room. I had enough room to try and lure both the [Gobbler]s and [The Ooze]. Hopefully.

Both came around the corner. A giant wall of icky green was preceded by orange glowing clay monsters. I stood on the far end of the room and watched as both approached. Soon there would be an end to [The Ooze] and I could try to run by. [Light Body] was high enough and my [Reaction] stats had improved.

Only the green mucus wall showed no signs of ending. It flowed out and slowly took up the entire room with its bubbling surface. The two [Gobbler]s still floated in the slime's innards.

“Dusk.” The small [Messenger’s Pet] was down by my side spitting fire at the approaching [Gobbler]s. His attacks did minimal damage and only seemed to make [The Ooze] bubble even more.

“Dusk.” I tried again. “Dusk, you have to run.”

He looked up at me then back at the monsters.

“It’s okay. I’m a Traveler. I’ll come back, but I don’t know what happens to you. You have to run.” The [Gobbler]s were getting close now. The small air holes that lead up to the surface were quickly being swallowed by [The Ooze] and its absurd mass.

I took out the coin from Ray, a Voice of Gambling and held it up.

“Heads, you go up and escape, tails we go back into the tunnels.” Let chance have this decision. “You agree?” I asked the little guy.

He shot off another small ball of fire. There was sweat actually dripping down the side of his face. The thought bubble window above Dusk seemed to indicate confusion even though his actual head was nodding.

I took that as a yes. The [Gobbler]s were almost halfway across the room when I flipped the coin once more. Heads. Thank goodness the Voices, or chance was with me on this one.

“Coin’s heads.” I held it in front of the [Messenger’s Pet]. He sniffed it and looked up at me. “Go!”

Dusk looked at my hand again. The coin shimmered and flashed. There was an intense brightness that filled the room to near blinding. It quickly faded and something else was in my hand. I looked at the monsters across the room. All of them seemed stunned. There still wasn’t enough room to run around [The Ooze] and save this quest.

Fine. Screw it. This timed mission was stupid anyway.

Event! Ray’s Coin Convinces

Three times you made a gamble using your coin from Ray. Three times the result was heads. You’ve stuck by your prior bets, and Ray believes you’ll follow through once more.

For risking it all and honoring a deal you get…

A hat

[Divine Attention] + 4

What? I panicked and elbowed the message out of my way. Those [Gobbler]s were still stunned, but it couldn’t last much longer. In my hand, where the coin had been, was indeed a hat. This looked to be the same style that Ray had on during the room of trials. It was worn, drug a bit at the edges, and almost as black as [Morrigu’s Gift]. My next message to the Voices above would be a question of style. Black seemed to be so overdone.

It might be the lighting down here. I slammed the duster on top of my head and tried not to laugh. At least Continue Online was rewarding the gamble. That was neat.

“You saw the coin. Go, Dusk.” I lifted the blade and readied myself. This was going to hurt. It was just a game, this wasn’t real. Not for me. For Dusk though, it was very real. That’s what James said before.

“Go!” I charged with the giant two handed blade and tried to distract all the monsters away from the last air hole. Dusk flew up and latched onto the ceiling with his little claws to look down at me. My hand jerked and tried to wave him off. The distraction cost me.

One of the [Gobbler]s had broken out of [The Ooze]. It hung across the gap between me and the slime to latch onto my thigh. Giant stone fingers curled into my skin which caused me to twist in pain. I cried out and fell.

Dusk chirped in alarm from up above. I tried to claw at the ground with one free hand and pull away. Something slimy crawled over my foot. [The Ooze] had caught me and it refused to let go.

“Go, Dusk! Go! I’ll come back!” The burning sensation crawled up my leg, towards the knee, and reached my pelvis. I worked to pull myself forward. My hand slipped as I tried to save the small [Messenger’s Pet] who was throwing more fireballs into [The Ooze] creature. None of them were effective.

[The Ooze] crawled across my skin one inch at a time. Each portion of flesh the monster touched sizzled with pain. I cried out at the two [Gobbler]s which seemed intent upon staring at me. [Morrigu’s Gift] reached out ahead of me to try and find purchase. My other free hand held on to the hat.

Dusk snarled with clear anger and dove into the light. He was safe. Hopefully. I risked looking behind me only to see that both legs were gone and my hips were rapidly following. Inside [The Ooze] another [Gobbler] floated. It too seemed intent upon my demise.

That was it. There was no way out. Still, I tried, I struggled, and in the end, I failed.

You are Dead.

The messages hung in the air amid a landscape of darkness.

Warning!

Due to digestion there is no body for any Spiritualist Path to resurrect.

Death had rendered me mute within the confines of Continue Online’s world. Still, there I sat looking at the black screen with my heart full of dread. Any sensation from the passing was gone. My arms and legs felt unresponsive. The dreamlike absence of body parts was only mildly disconcerting.

Eight hours in the real world needed to pass before any answers could be perused. My voice wouldn’t even issue forth to lament about the loss. Minutes passed while my consciousness hovered in a detached state. Slowly I focused on the logout button.

Warning!

Logging out is not allowed during combat.

Traveler Essence is being transported elsewhere!

What? My words didn’t actually come out, but the thought was there.

Death's darkness still existed, but in the distance a light slammed on. At the heart of the illuminated area were the pillar and book. This was the same room that James said I was done with. There should have been no way to get back to it without starting over completely and deleting this character. How had I returned here? Was this entire thing some sort of joke by the Voices? Had James been messing with me?

Slowly the normal sensations of having a body returned. Toes wiggled. Fingers waved in the air. Eyelids blinked effectively.

“Ah, my dear Hermes. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show up.” A literal Voice faded into view. My skin started to crawl immediately. Both legs tried to turn and run for the door that should be behind me somewhere. A quick escape would find me back in the Atrium and safe.

My legs didn’t move.

“Oh, no need to worry. Death and I are friends. Its done me a favor you see, to make sure it's just you, and me, for some quality time.” The Jester stared at me with eyes that couldn’t blink.

My own gaze looked off to one side, then the other, and finally dared settle back on the Jester itself. The last time I looked away for too long it had appeared right behind me with those cold fingers.

“Was death traumatic? I wonder. I’ve never died, myself.” Its head shook back and forth. So far the Voice had not chosen to move away from its position roughly twenty feet away.

I said nothing and held very still. This must be what rabbits felt like for the first few moments upon seeing a predator. Shivering, not entirely sure what was happening, but aware that something was amiss.

“I have your questions here, my dear Hermes.” It clacked the words out. Papers waved in its hands. Not once did that grin fade or shift away from the frozen expression. “Do you still want them answered?”

The Jester stared at me. I got a sense of pondering, of waiting for my response. So far I had managed to keep myself pretty well under control.

“Now, now.” It started. “If you don’t talk, then I may just have to pry open your fragile little mind and poke inside for the answers I seek.”

My knees threatened to buckle. The contents of my stomach wanted to crawl up and come out my mouth. This was too much. Too disturbing. How could he isolate me like this away from the other Voices?

I wanted to scream out for James to help me, but part of me knew that he wasn’t that sort of person. He wasn’t a caretaker, a guardian, or a protector. James was an observer and someone to talk to.

This, this, thing in front of me was something else entirely. The Jester's head tilted up to one side and the smile seemed to slide just slightly towards a frown. Then he took a step forward.

“Yes. Answers. Please.” I panicked and spewed out incomplete sentences. My voice worked even though my game character had just died.

“Then I have something to ask you.”

“Okay.” The word came out with more calm than I felt.

“See James, he loves to know why, why, why, why.” The Jester paraded around and waved my written notes. “I don’t care about the why.”

Darkness all around us didn’t provide any clues as to what the Jester was talking about. I made it a point to look anyway just in case.

“I appreciate knowing the willingness, to do what must be done. So here’s my question, to ponder in the midst of all of your other little failures.” The Jester turned and faced me. The papers went behind its back. “How far would you go to save the ones you care for?”

I thought of my recent actions trying to help Dusk. I thought of how much Liz and Beth meant to me. I thought of the solid punch that had been laid upon Jacob.

“Very far.” I said carefully.

“Would you kill a man? Not just here, but out there?” The Jester asked.

Color dropped from my face. I tried to shake my head no, but my body stuttered the motion. Out of all the Voices, the Jester unnerved me the most.

“I don’t need an answer now. Nor should you think I am asking you to kill someone. I merely wish to know.” The Jester's words grew more distant, far away. Not that the game had moved me or started to fade him out. No, my mind was just gone and tearing up the question.

“Ah well.” The Jester clacked again. “Here! An answer to your question, for listening to mine. A sign of goodwill, dear puppet.”

System Help!

Companions value their own lives as much as any Traveler. Upon reaching near zero health, they will disperse and return to their normal homes. Afterward, the Traveler may attempt to resummon them. Divine Attention +6

Depth +4

“We’ll be speaking again, Hermes.” The way the Jester said my player name was utterly mocking, even with its mechanical voice. “Adieu.”

Hearing that goodbye a second time today disturbed me as much as anything else. The Jester had been watching today’s adventures with Edward, Elane and TinkerHell. The fact that he commented on it before any of the other Voices couldn’t be a good thing.

The prior message returned.

You have died.

Numbly the new system messages were waved away and my finger reached for the logout interface. Once out of the machine I just laid there. My mind was fluttering like mad as the Jester's words replayed themselves over and over.

“Would I kill?” I dared to ask the question out loud. Both arms wrapped around my sides. A dangerous thought crossed my mind. If Xin had been in trouble, if killing someone might have returned her to me whole from that accident, could I have done so? What would she have thought?

The world felt cold as my mind slipped down a frightening path. Sleep wouldn’t come tonight. Not after that. No matter how many blankets were bundled over me. Still, I huddled beneath the covers and tried to console myself. Dusk had to be okay.