Post by Anonymous 2:46 PM April 12th, 20XX

This is it! I just created a petition to make it illegal to use the PPVS inside the USA until further testing can be conducted. Heh! The Passivity Precept doesn’t like that. It just told me that making it illegal would be like making air illegal. But we’ll show their alien asses that Americans have greater willpower than to want to enter some kind of stupid game.

“We don’t have a ton of time,” Lorevinel said, “and this dungeon usually takes a full day to get through the first time.” His instrument disappeared into his inventory.

“Right, and we only have two days to get through it before your super-secret mission.”

He rose a questioning eyebrow at me.

I waited for Crimea to answer but soon realized that she’d vanished a while ago.

“Ugh. Crimea told me,” I said, and contorted my face so he could see just how annoyed I was with him. “Ya know, I would have appreciated it if you’d asked instead of just assigning me to it. I mean, what if I’d had other things to do?”

He flashed a handsome smile at me. “But I’m helping you through this dungeon, just for you.”

I smirked. “Oh really? Just for me? Or are you doing it because you need back up?”

“I could do it on my own, but it’s safer with back up.”

“Sure, a guy who’s still only level four totally sounds like they’re a capable player who could pull that off with no problem.”

“Relax. I have a plan.”

“Whatever your plan is, don’t expect me to do any lying. I’m a terrible actor.”

He shrugged with cool nonchalance. “I’ll compensate for your lack. Just stick close to me during the mission and don’t say a word.”

I rankled at being told not to speak, but I doubted that these alien elves had the shitty history with gender politics my world had so I let it go. Besides, I really was a terrible actor with awful charisma. “I can do that. In the meantime, we have rats to exterminate.”

He grinned, and I could practically taste the bloodlust coming off him.

“This way,” he said and opened the front door to the sweets shop. The empty store radiated gloom and smelled like sugar. I stepped in and followed Lore to one of the carved wood panels. He slid it into the wall like a hidden door, revealing a workplace bursting with strange cooking contraptions. The smell of lemon and vinegar cleaner hit me. A hint of ozone wafted from a rough opening in the back wall. Lore walked right up to it.

“This is the entrance to the rat dungeon. From here on out we need to be party members.”

Lore has asked you to become part of his party. Do you accept?

Duh. At that thought, Lore’s name and stats suddenly floated on top of his head along with a medic icon. Strangely, “0 EXP” appeared below his stats. I frowned.

“Does that icon mean you get no experience?”

He grimaced. “That’s right. But it also means you’ll get all the experience. That should make you happy.”

“I mean, I don’t mind, obviously but why do that to yourself? XP is precious.”

He laughed, it didn’t sound all that joyful. “How about this, I’ll explain why I’m not earning any after you’ve killed 10 rats without help from me.”

“Ooo. Is that a challenge Mr. Lorvinel?”

“Just Lore, please. And yes, that’s a challenge.”

“Challenge accepted!” I said and walked forward like a boss.

Warning! You have entered a dungeon. Your bind point has been temporarily moved to the dungeon entrance. As you go through this instance, your bind point will move to the nearest safe zone. Because deaths are prevalent in dungeons, death penalties are reduced from Fairly Inconvenient to Mildly Annoying.

The subtle scent of something unknown but sweet and intoxicating filled my senses right before a warm body collided into my back. I lost my balance and hands grabbed my shoulders. A zing of excitement had my heart pounding and butterflies cliché-ing in my stomach.

I cleared my throat and stepped forward. “I guess I should have moved away from the starting area, huh?”

I peered back at Lore. He glared at his hands as if they’d betrayed him. When he noticed me looking, he hid them behind his back and pretended nothing about his behavior was odd. “It’s considered very rude to not move. Players have killed other players for less.”

“And what about touching others without their permission? Is that considered rude?” As I spoke, I slowly moved two fingers towards his chest.

He grabbed them, shooting a spark down my arm. His eyes appeared dark and intriguing in the dim lighting. “Do you want me to kill you, Mia?”

For some reason, when he said kill, it sounded like seduce.

I swallowed. Why the hell did my body and brain react to him like this? This was stupid. Super stupid and totally not normal. Right?

Instead of thinking too hard I did the adult thing and ignored the magnetic pull that made me gravitate towards him. I took a step away.

Once he released my digits, I peered down the dark tunnel. “Let’s get this party started.” With a deep breath, I pulled both blades out and did my best impression of a stealthy person. I tiptoed through the corridor that had a slight downward incline. With its bumpy and circular walls, it looked as if a sandworm had burrowed through it. The whole area would be impossible to see if not for the glowing green mushrooms that lined the walls at random intervals.

As we reached a corner, I paused. Light scratching noises and the scent of old sweat soaked socks came from the other side. I hugged the wall as best as I could and slowly peeked around the corner.

A four foot rat standing on two legs clutching a nasty looking mini pitchfork stood in the corridor guarding. The three prongs of its weapon were crudely jagged.

I waited for it to walk away from me. When I was ready, I bolted towards it and stabbed both swords into its back. It was oddly silent as if all the air had rushed out of its lungs. Did I just kill it? I pulled my swords out and it fell to the ground. It looked almost dead.

“Holy shit! Did I just do that?”

It gathered itself, turned around and jumped at me while desperately thrusting its fork forward. The sharp points tore my wool sweater and embedded into my liver. My eyesight went black around the edges as I fought the fog of pain. My health decreased by 20 percent.

I cursed. Right, getting distracted was a shitty idea during combat.

As I hit it again, slashing its upper arm and then its rib cage on the opposite side, I could feel my duel blades push through muscle and catch on hard bone.

“Just how much health does this fucker have?”

“Well,” Lore said, disgustingly smug. “If you’d used your observe skill on it first you’d know, wouldn’t you?”

I jumped back from the rat’s next thrust.

“Hey, I didn’t ask for help, so that doesn’t count as help.”

I crossed my blades in front of me, blew on them to cast Add Air then I tried to run behind the rat. Getting another backstab would be ideal, unfortunately, the monster turned so it always faced me. It was so aggravating! I feinted left leaving my right side wide open. Points dug into my breast and my health decreased again.

Agony! My whole right side hurt. I wanted to get away from the creature, but I couldn’t let a little bit of pain stop me from succeeding. It twisted the trident dropping me to my knees. I brought both swords up like a pair of scissors and sliced the monster’s throat. I used so much force that Its head flew into a pile of glowing shrooms. The body collapsed, and blood poured out of the neck like water from a broken fire hydrant.

Instead of celebrating my victory I sat down and stared at the carcass I’d made. I let myself catch my breath. “This feels a little too real for a game.”

Lore crouched beside me. His robes had slits up the sides and showed off the silk pants he wore that bunched at his ankles. “That’s because it’s not a game, it’s a simulation.”

“It has menus like a game, it has stats like a game so it must be a game.”

“But it’s a simulation.”

I scowled.

He shrugged. “Feel like a heal?”

“Not if it counts against me.”

“We’re outside of combat, and I’d rather not sit here a full two minutes while we wait for you to recover naturally.”

I grinned, showing teeth. “Do your worst.”

He stood and held out his hand. “Never. It’s my best or nothing at all.”