I logged into Continue Online after my mixed day. Dusk had skated off to his home realm, and Xin’s marker showed back in [Haven Valley]. She had dozens of [Recall] scrolls to keep her busy while I went about real life.

Hermes: Hey, babe. The tent’s gone. Did you break it down, or did Dusk get hungry?

Hecate: Yeah.

Hecate: Sorry, distracted by someone else asking a question. I took care of the tent and packed everything up yesterday morning.

Hermes: Oh. I could have taken care of it. How’s the town?

Hecate: Busy as always. There was another wave of monsters, and players keep fighting over who gets to save first. Did you want me to come back out there?

Hermes: It’ll be boring. I’m going to try running to the next town. So, your call.

Hecate: It’s still miles better than this nonsense. Give me about fifteen to finish explaining to idiots why they can’t cut in line.

Hermes: Okay.

A huff of air escaped me. Mornings after were awkward for more than one reason. To Xin, it must be like I stopped existing, or vanished to work. How strange would it be to wake up in a tent alone in the forest, and simply shrug it off while cleaning up?

Hopefully she spent last night, which would have been around when I left for work, in a real inn. The bedding was usually nicer than our camping equipment allowed for. Had we less pressing issues I could have picked up a huge portable house from the auction boards.

I looked around to make sure our area was clear. The tent and Dusk often kept us safe enough from simple critters but being vigilant made me feel safer. To my left sparkled a beautiful lake. A small pile of bones stuck out of a half covered pit which Dusk had left behind. Bushes nearby looked partially charred from the fire.

Fifteen minutes was enough time to make a surprise right? I scrambled to pull a small frying pan out of my Traveler’s inventory. It went on top of a stool. Branches were gathered together and I used my [Breath of Flame] ability to start a fire under the cooking implement.

Thirteen minutes later and the meat successfully browned on one side, and blackened on the other. Badly scrambled eggs lay off to the side along with part of a blue carrot-like vegetable. Continue Online proudly gave me a pop-up message regarding my [Burnt Breakfast Scramble]’s sad state which brought me near to tears.

Hecate: Ready.

Hermes: Give me a moment.

Dammit. I almost tossed the entire concoction into the trash but thought better of it. Maybe Xin was hungry. Dusk could be summoned to put my mess out of its misery. He ate anything regardless of origin. Once the dog sized [Messenger’s Pet] had started chewing on iron from a dead monster’s weapon.

Hiding the failure would be worthless. Cooking another meal would take too long. I smothered the fire and let the pan absorb what heat remained. Burned pieces of meat were flipped over to equally char both sides. Next time I would buy better equipment.

I snorted briefly then felt my urgency at meal making die down. Next time felt like a concept for delusional dreamers. Shaking off pessimism proved difficult but I put on a false smile then twisted my wedding ring until the kaleidoscope of colors within spun together in a white thread.

One more full twist caused the white blur to escape and race westward. I huffed again once more before crouching to further inspect my poor meal. Failing to cook properly for my wife had upset me. Xin’s character came with high [Cooking] skills but I had wanted to do something thoughtful.

Xin’s body appeared behind me with a flash of light. I didn’t turn from my mess and instead tilted the pan around hoping to find some portion that was redeemable. There were no such spots.

My wife stepped closer, crunching earth and leaves beneath her feet until she arrived just over my shoulder. “It’s better than your last attempt,” Xin said.

“I swear I used to be good at this,” I responded while scratching my neck. The meal looked even worse than it had moments ago. “If I could just use a real skillet instead of this game one-“ Both eyes closed as I realized where the thought led.

Xin stepped closer, knelt down and gave me a peck on the cheek. “We’ll make due. You’ve always been good at that.”

I don’t know how she always forgave me for slipping up. Maybe Xin covered up small discomforts in the same way I bypassed our three-year separation. I stood up straight then looked at my wife. Her face was freshly washed and showed none of our earlier grime from days of hiking or a wild hang glider trip.

“Luckily, a good wife is always prepared,” she said while holding up a small pot of food. Xin turned the handle in my direction.

Lifting the lid unleashed a mixture of spices that bit at my nose. Thick liquid inside moved slowly as the pot tilted. Memories of years gone by sprang up.

“Is this split pea soup?” I asked with amazement. The lid went back down then lifted again to wash the area with familiar smells. It smelled exactly like what my father used to make years ago. The one meal he actually did well.

“It’s close enough. The spices were harder to find.” She shrugged then faintly blushed.

I shuffled with excitement. We needed spoons and more heat. The pot Xin had cooked in must have been done a while ago. I pulled out two utensils for us then dumped my own creation into the bushes nearby.

The contents were quickly scrapped out of the pot. Xin proved hungry as well and still couldn’t figure out how to hold a spoon right. Her father had been traditional and insisted she learn how to use chopsticks. Astronauts were taught to drink from pouches and other containers in zero gravity. Being a digital recreation hadn’t changed clumsiness.

During the meal, I checked my quest marker for my group and sighed. Nothing new had changed. They were probably out in the world looking while I enjoyed life with Xin. For the last month, most of my in-game notices were disabled, hidden, or outright blocked.

Quest Group: Bearers of the [Legacy Wish]

Total: 5 active members

Details: Your group has been charged with recovering the remaining items created by William Carver and the first three Travelers to this world. These [Gateway Key]s will assist Locals in surviving the trip to the other side of the beam of light in [Haven Valley].

In addition, an increased amount of people will be able to use the skill [Save Yourself] at one time. The exact total will depend on how many pieces are brought together. Locals and Travelers without the [Legacy Wish] and holding onto the [Gateway Key] will be unable to complete this task.

Total pieces recovered: 1

There was a marker floating miles to the north that came up when I accessed the quest. Xin and I were closer than expected, which might have been her doing, or mine. The Xin I remembered had been realistic enough even while we were out on Sundays. We always made it home each night.

We cleaned off the old pot with lake water then marched off to the north.

“So, today I delivered a letter to this couple of elderly ladies,” I said, explaining my day. The hint of a slightly off split pea soup lingered. Our meal tasted good, but somehow there was an aftertaste of orange to it.

Xin’s head bobbed.

“One of them, this old as hills black woman, had a hero game, where they rescued people trapped in places around their house. Apparently it can make dozens of little people on the couches, and countertops, or hidden behind books.” I chuckled remembering Miss Opal’s frantic hustling around with the step ladder. The scene had interested me enough to look up videos of other people playing on the way home.

“That sounds cute.” My wife smiled as we finally broke free from miles of shrubs and sparse trees onto the road. Our trail looked to be rarely used this time of season. In the far distance, another player was moving in our direction.

We both paused our conversation and watched the man dashing by. He showed no signs of caring an ounce about us or anything else. I raised an eyebrow and Xin shrugged to respond.

“Anyway, those two ran around like living room super heroes to save people, and it got me thinking.” I looked at Xin and gave a hopefully playful grin. “What would you look like in spandex?”

“Like a short boy,” Xin responded without missing a beat. Her head tilted down to a mostly flat front. It bothered her in high school, through college, and even now made the woman upset.

I laughed, quietly, and felt a measure of happiness return. That was the best part of being with Xin. We could spend hours conversing and it felt great. No one else in my life even compared.

“I’m kind of glad you look the same. I feel weird every time I notice digital me has abs.” I poked at my belly in conjunction with the words. She looked over and my face flushed red at being caught self-admiring. “Is that weird?”

My wife’s eyes scanned my toga-clad body up and down twice before lifting one cheek. “I would love you either way, Gee.”

“Right, but I look better with muscle.” Virtually I could even touch my toes. In real life, I fell short a few inches despite the daily exercises.

“Mmmhm.” Xin didn’t answer. She closed the small gap between us, pulled me to a stop then stood on her tiptoes to provide a heated kiss which successfully drove self-pity out of my mind. Instead, I wanted to set up our tent again.

Such thoughts were restrained and I nodded. We kept along the small path. It looked like a long empty road which went straight toward the general quest area we needed to reach. Maybe it was unconscious, or Xin had perhaps been herding us, but we only should only need to travel for half a day before reaching our destination.

The nearness of our first goal made me slow down to prolong the private moments. I put up a hand and Xin knew what came next. Dancing with the real her felt far more refreshing, exciting, and welcome than any simple program could ever hope to recreate. Our bodies moved in a waltz along the path, covering an unexpected amount of distance despite our slow spin. The few Travelers we passed didn’t notice as Xin and I moved through.

She never stayed for long. Xin’s nature was too wild and adventurous to be restrained. Her smaller body broke away while a face splitting grin broke out. The blackened robe with white runes fluttered behind dainty feet intent on running away. I laughed and chased her.

Our giddy game slowed upon growing closer to two groups of players shouting at each other. The packs of people stood on opposite sides of the road yelling at each other.

Xin looked in my direction then asked, “Do we get closer?”

Our honeymoon hadn’t been completely peaceful. People in the strangest places were trying to hunt each other down for tokens. I had confidence the two of us could take a small crowd of regular players. My head dipped in a single nod while both hands went to weapon hilts.

“I’m telling you, we should go back in there and work on the quest together!” a large man in full plate, minus the helm under his arm, yelled across the road. His armor clanked with each violent jab towards the north.

“No! It’s a death trap!” The other woman was of average height didn’t wear any uniform gear. Her face dripped sweat. “This game is trying to kill us, and by God I’m not going to sit around waiting for some mob to delete me, or some asshole PKer to off me!”

People behind her nodded. There were about thirty people altogether. Some looked comfortable with their weapons and gear. Others felt like farmers who had accidently found a short sword. They were all Travelers, so it was likely the more confused people were craftsmen, traders, or possible barely out of their new player period.

“You heard Xee, none of us wants to stay here,” another man on the left said.

“You think you can make it to Haven Valley? We had the Sage’s defenders up and running until you all left! We only need a few more days to turn them mobile!” He kept on bouncing around in place. The constant pointing of his arm and other rude gestures had grown to be a bit much.

“Sage’s defenders? Those things barely protected themselves, much less the town!” Xee exclaimed while her pale face turned red with anger.

“They were working. TockDoc almost had them.” The armored man thumbed back towards another Traveler. TockDoc had frazzled hair and glasses that were seven layers thick.

“You can cram it, Dwight, I’m leaving. We’re all leaving. We decided to risk the road rather than sit in this stinking town anymore,” the mismatched female said.

“We founded this town as a guild, you really want to leave all that?” Dwight must have been the man in full metal armor.

I hadn’t actually used [Identification] on anyone yet. With the rise of player killers hunting for tokens the ability had turned nearly useless. Everyone seemed to have developed a skill to let them hide information from others. [Sight of Mercari] helped me when I cared to get a clear answer.

“This event doesn’t care who founded a town. Half our buildings are rubble from World Eaters.” A woman with two axes and a rainbow colored mohawk spit on the ground. “I'd rather try and meet with everyone else than sit out here in the boonies of Arcadia.”

Rainbow head looked familiar but I couldn’t remember where we had crossed paths. No one else looked remotely like people I had dealt with during my Continue Online time. Neither party cared about our approach.

“Let’s head out,” Xee said.

A heat grew under my toga as Xin and I kept inching closer. She had her staff ready to go in case anyone showed signs of being hostile. The edge of a glowing skeleton could be seen on her clothes' backend. I still didn’t understand entirely how my wife’s character build worked.

On autopilot, I pulled out the [Messenger’s Tube], unscrewed an ornate top then popped out a rolled parchment. I blinked my eyes and stared at recipient’s name scrawled along the edge. The addressee shown felt almost predictable.

“Fine,” I muttered under my breath then turned to the woman brushing past us. “Before you go, I’ve got a message for you.”

“What the good god damn is this?” She cursed then snatched the letter from me. Her arm jerked abruptly when it didn’t come out of my grip quickly. “Really, jackass? You try to hand me a letter then don’t let go?”

“I’m required to make sure you’ve read the notice,” I said. Multiple deliveries since starting this character had impressed upon me the need to make sure each person read their note.

“Are you shitting me?” Xee said. I exchanged a glance with Xin as the woman repeated herself six times. She rolled it up and shook the entire letter at me. “Is this real?”

“Usually,” I answered.

“Do you know what it says?” the Traveler asked.

Rainbow Mohawk girl grabbed the rolled up parchment then started reading through it. She gave a sinister looking smile then passed the note to others. I blinked a few times while trying to figure out if any of them might try to attack us.

“I don’t read them.” My eyes tracked the note as it went between a dozen people in rapid succession.

“Calamity, TallyWhacker, we’re staying,” Xee said. Those who had read the note behind Xee nodded. Their faces were grim and jaws hardened. Whatever the note said convinced them that staying would be worthwhile but most looked against it.

“Good luck, but even with this I’m not staying.” One player walked off. Xee and the others watched them go. Two more joined him before the crowd solidified.

“What’s on the letter?” Dwight asked while clanking his armor. He and the rest of those behind him had been quietly waiting for our exchange to finish.

Xee grabbed the note from another player who had far less strength than I did. She tossed it at the metal suit wearing man. “Apparently there’s a secret item here which will score us points on this event.”

“I told you! I told you there was treasure here!” The man stomped his feet excitedly. People behind him started chattering in low tones. Others poked at the air while typing messages.

“We don’t have anyone who can resurrect. I’m all for the quest, but without real healers, we’re going to be screwed.” Calamity shook her head.

“Walking won’t get us much further. At least we have a Bind point, and most people aren’t on their last strikes. If we all stay, then we can find this event treasure, and try to get the Sage’s guardians working.” the man in heavy armor said.

”What about the others?” another player shouted over the crowd “We left those guild people back in town.”

“Who?” I asked while noticing a change in the sky overhead. Rain clouds hung heavily in the sky but hadn’t let loose a downpour yet.

“There was some guild leader named Awesome, and some of his guild people. They said something about a mission to scout out the area.” I blinked a few times and tried not to scream about the Travelers vague wording. “We couldn’t stay, though, we’re not high enough on any combat Paths.”

“I told you, they’re here for a quest. With this,” the man in armor held up my recently delivered letter, “we can get to it before them. Or at least share in the reward.”

“Awesome,” I muttered while turning to Xin. “Do you think it’s junior, or his father?”

“Awesome is his father,” Xin said while nodding. The dryness of that line made me laugh. “I don’t think the Voices do coincidences.” My wife finished.

“We need to move then.” I ignored the others and knelt down next to Xin. “Come on, let me carry you.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said. Xin’s arms gripped around my neck. I stretched my neck and got ready to really exert my digital body. Carrying our combined weight put me well over [Light Body]’s requirements, but I had enough other skills to make up for it by now.

[Sight of Mercari] let me check the surrounding area for other players and named monsters. Each usage left me momentarily dizzy despite my increased Rank with the ability. Interpreting the data from it was difficult to do on a constant basis. Unlike [Blink], which only confused me because of the sudden shift in location.

“What about us?” Xee shouted behind me.

“It’s your choice!” I said while running past the small gathering.

There were no other players nearby that I could tell. If Awesome Jr.’s father was out here then he would be at least a few miles away. I owed it to the young teen to try and help his dad out.

Clouds overhead grew thicker and blotted out sunlight. I focused on the path before me and tried not to trip over anything while carrying my wife. After a few hundred yards I asked Xin, “Do you know anything about this place?”

We were going to start moving faster due to the recent upgrade on [Blink]. Rank seven of the skill finally allowed me to carry one other person with me. Those unwilling had a chance to resist, but Xin loved the rush of high speeds.

“Only that there’s a few small dungeons out here-” her words cut off as we [Blink]ed forward together, “-I heard there was a town this way too. The Voices think-” we shot forward again another sixty feet of the road passed with each teleport, “-that Michelle left an item in the area. No one is sure what. It’s probably a hidden item, like Morrigu’s Gift.”

“That makes sense. But hopefully I don’t need to pretend to be an old man for a few weeks again.”

“I hope not,” Xin said and chuckled. Her body’s movement upon my back felt very distracting.

“That’s gotta be the town those people were talking about, and hopefully Awesome is there,” I said. Xin’s shorter hair brushed against my back in what had to be a nod.

The idea of acting as William Carver’s hopefully less grumpy coworker got me thinking about the people who had created these secret items. There were at least three people involved, and all of them had played Continue Online at once point.

“Does Michelle still play?” I asked. It would be way easier if we could ask the player himself.

“Not that anyone can tell. Apparently he’s still employed by Trillium, but none of the Hal Pal units have spoken to him in months. And he doesn’t check his email,” Xin said as we landed again.

“Do you think this Sage Tower is tied to him?” We certainly weren’t dawdling now. Our speed felt comparable to the glider’s.

“I would bet on it. But Awesome’s father might be here too. We should check it out either way.”

“Right.” I nodded then chewed on my lip. A sharp pain shot through me as I [Blink]ed again then landed hard, outright biting my lip with the bottom incisor.

Attempted to turn yourself into a vampire

Health Remaining: 99%

“Are you okay?” my wife asked.

“Yeah,” I answered while trying not to cry. Taking a beating from monsters felt kinder than biting my own lip.

We kept moving. Carrying her on my back made the journey bumpier but far faster. Doing this in real life would have been exciting too but she never let me. Real Xin didn’t like being treated like a child because of her height. In here a lot of factors had changed. Virtual reality, and who we were according to its rules, impacted our relationship as surely as our past together.

We might not be able to find the key in this place, but I intended to try. We might only have a dwindling amount of time and I feared for the future constantly, to the point of near obsession, but every day together was a blessing worth every character point I had. Helping Awesome Jr.’s father was a good goal.

The ground sped by beneath us in clumps. This body had all the powers that the real me never had. Still, I couldn’t be just Grant Legate, and still be with Xin. I had to be Hermes to interact with her world and work to find this key. Plus, Hermes had abs. Real me was another month or two away from making that final breakthrough.

Maybe there was a way to hack the system from the outside? Doing so would be beyond my skills. If Carver and his friends had to program the codes inside the game, then we probably had to find them through the same means. Otherwise someone in Trillium's employ could have squashed the whole effort. Mother might have been able to find a code writer to fix the issue if that were truly a solution. Second guessing the great AI overlord required a level of arrogance I didn’t have.

Such thoughts kept me occupied while we ran. Out in cyberspace might be more secret methods of keeping the AI race alive, only I had no special master hacker skills to solve it. And race was the right word, that’s essentially what Hal Pal, James, and Xin were. Though each one had slightly different origins. Beyond the idea of race or design lay another fact, they were as alive as anyone else.

I could feel Xin’s heartbeat, digital or not. Her breath against my neck served as a distraction. When we lay together in our tent at night she proved human enough to fool me. The outrage and emotions were all signs of a personality with its own drives. She lived.

I kept running down the road, curved at broken player sign then traveled up a steady incline. We reached a crest. The path we took curved down the hillside into a town below that sat in the woods like a giant wedge.

“Good lord,” Xin said for the both of us. Hands loosened as she slid off of my back. My legs shifted slowly but didn’t stop moving. Messages flashed about needing to cool down, dizziness, and a small increase to my [Blink] skill. Chest muscles pumped in steady breaths.

None of those notices mattered compared to the scene in front of us. My head nodded in response to Xin’s utterance. There had been a scenic series of buildings in the landscape below. Over half of the town was in ruins but it probably housed a few hundred people. Maybe more if they were players. The city buildings opened up a triangle of shape that went clear through toward a cliff face, and blue waters lay beyond that.

“Voices. We were so close to the ocean?” I asked. It seemed like the only sane fact to focus on when presented with a desolate town. No longer did I wonder why all those players were considering leaving.

My wife took a step up the ridge to get a slightly higher vantage point. Her head shook and lips tightened in a frown. “I’ll message Awesome Jr., he can talk to his father. Hopefully they’re still down there somewhere.”

“I bet those have something to do with it.” I pointed to four glowing buildings in the distance. Each one was roughly five stories tall but wide at the base, almost like domes. A dull red energy arced off their tops like sun flares. Behind those four buildings was the drop into an ocean below. Wind howled along the cut open forest.

“Probably,” Xin responded while poking at an invisible keyboard. “But what?”

One of the red domes flared with a brighter light than before. Red energy lashed into the town and sent debris from nearby buildings scattering.

I closed both eyes to ping the area. Numerous dots were nearby. Most came from behind at the edge of my range. One hand went to [Morrigu’s Gift] in case of hostility. One glance and even I could tell the Traveler nearby meant no harm.

The rainbow haired woman named Calamity panted heavily up the road behind us. She tried to stand up but kept doubling over from being [Winded]. “Jesus. You two. Move. Fast.”

Xin looked into space then waved her hand. I put up a finger to the heavily breathing female with axes and waited for my wife. My hand held up a finger.

“I’ve got something. Junior says his father’s pinned down by a large monster. Not a World Eater, but something else made of metal? The message is getting jumbled.”

“The. Sage’s guardian.” Calamity kept moving closer while using her hands to brace on anything nearby. Finally she slammed down onto the overlook and stared at the broken remains of her player city. “We almost had. Them.”

“We need Dusk,” I said before letting out a deep breath. “And more cupcakes.”

What I wanted wasn’t cupcakes or Dusk. I wanted more time with Xin to enjoy our happy married life together. Standing here overlooking a ruined down only helped cement the feeling which had grown in the last few days. Our virtual life was going to rapidly turn into a mess.

But at least we faced it together. Well, us and a mess of slowly arriving players.