When I get within 20 feet or so of the players I begin to see those familiar contentious looks that I had grown used to. I choose to ignore them since it is a group larger than three. Plus they seem self entitled and unwilling to accept advice.

The majority of players I have seen are dressed in melee gear rather than the other classes. It seems the melee classes are the most popular, although it truly doesn't matter except for the level up bonuses and special skills. Well, I guess late game the bonus point will add up considerably.

A few more minutes pass and the next player I come across is, like myself, traveling alone.

It is a female player this time and by the looks of it, she is an archer. She looks to be about 17 years old with a pretty face and a slender, hourglass frame. Her eyes, a deep crimson, exude a mature charm and match well with her bright red hair that flows gracefully over her shoulders. A bow rests on her back and she is wearing a high quality leather armour. Her armour is considerably better than have I’ve previously seen; however, my exposure is limited from being in this forest.

The comparison between myself and her is readily apparent. Although, by focusing above her head I can see she is level 3. Her level is too low to be wandering alone out here; however, perhaps i’m just hypocritical, because I was the same level when I ventured into the forest. She must have spent most of these last few days doing jobs in the city; otherwise, how would she have financed that armour.

I call out when I come within hearing distance of her.

“Good morning!“

"Umm... Hello.”

“Are you heading deep into the forest?"

"Yes...” By her hesitant, short replies, it is obvious she is wary of me. Her hands begin creeping towards the bow on her back. However, I can't blame her. A random man wearing nothing but rags approaches her in the middle of the woods. It would be surprising if she were not cautious.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to attack you,” I raise my hands and show my palms, “There is nothing in my hands, I just want to warn you that I just came across a group of bandits who had set up a trap for solo players. I had walked right into their obvious trap, but thankfully they weren’t very smart. So, I was able to get away.”

Thinking about it retrospectively, I should have just circled around and killed them. There is no point in letting scum like that off. However, just being a higher level doesn’t mean I can kill them. I would maybe be able to kill one before being surrounded. It’s not like in real life when you can come up behind them and just slit their throat. While that would deal a critical hit, with the possibility of a backstab bonus, there is no guarantee to silence them without alerting the others with the equipment I currently have.

If it became a battle of attrition, I would be sure to lose. Besides, all I have is worn out clothes, a blunted copper dagger, and a wooden short sword. Assassins should be able to deal burst damage and take out their targets in one, maybe two, hits and then retreat.

I can tell by the girl’s silence that she seems to be internally questioning my credibility. Well, at least my conscious is clear. It is up to her whether to heed or ignore my warning.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Alright well i’m off.” With that I start walking away, but I only get a few steps away before hearing her voice behind me.

“Wait!”

“Yes?”

“You’re just going to leave like that?”

“Well, I’m headed back to town.”

“That is... Umm, since we’re both solo players... do you want to form a party?” She looks like she was having trouble saying this. Her eyes were partially downcast and she was fidgeting.

“Is that so? You don’t mind me looking like this?” I point to my clothes, which were nothing more than rags at this point. I also hadn’t bathed since entering the forest other than the time I fell in the river, so I imagine I am fairly dirty. If that is even a thing within the game. “Also, aren’t you concerned about joining someone you just met?” Not even two minutes ago she was being wary of me, yet now it's the opposite? I don't understand women.

My words seem to have cause her to be embarrassed as she immediately looks down at her feet. I wonder if she is a very shy person, similar to myself.

“Well, your words made me realize how dangerous it could be. I spent the majority of my time in the city, while only occasionally going out to hunt.”

“Oh, is that so? What’s the state of the city like right now? I haven’t been there for 5 or 6 days.” I am curious of how the majority of players have fared since I left right after the colosseum incident.

“Really?” She perks up a bit, “You’ve missed out on a lot then.”

“Yeah. Well, I was in a rush to get out of the city after that day. I’ve spent the rest of my time out hunting alone deep in the forest.”

“You were out there alone for all that time?! How did you survive?”

“I had some close calls. Nearly died a couple of times. But, I improved my skill during that time, which helped me survive.” I take a look around, “Alright, now back to my question. What’s the current state of the city like?”

“Oh, sorry!” She seems flustered and her cheeks have turned red with embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to ignore your question.”

She looks kinda cute when embarrassed. I took off on a tangent after she asked to party with me, so we're even.

“It’s no big deal.” I brush it off to help her feel less awkward.

“If you say so.” She lets out a breath of relief before answering my question, “The city turned to chaos pretty early. There were riots during the first couple days, but it has since calmed down. About on quarter of the players have given into despair and have chosen to only do simple jobs to survive. There are many who venture out and hunt for monsters; however, the hunting spots have all been occupied.”

“Occupied? So, is that why you are venturing deeper into the forest?”

“Yes.” She looks up towards the tree canopy, “Since I was alone, I got kicked out of my spot by those bastards!”

“Who was it that kicked you out?”

“A guild called the Sacred Order. It was one of the first guilds established during the riots and is the largest guild in the city. They have taken over more than two thirds of the hunting spots within a day’s reach of the city and is banning anyone not in their guild from entering.”

“Typical tyrants. How do they get away with this?”

“They are led by a man named Zhaos. He gained power during the riots and in the name of order gathered players to his calling. His efforts helped halt the rioting and this made many players see him in a positive light. Using that momentum, he swiftly became the leader of the Sacred Order.

“Everything was fine for the first few days once the rioting stopped, but then came the rules. They were able to get away with it since the majority of players supported them. However, it did not take them long to get drunk on their new power.” Hostility becomes evident in her eyes as she recalls her memories.

“It never does.” I pause and let out a sigh, “Sounds like the whole city is basically under their control.”

“Yes, it pretty much is. All the higher level players have left the city to get stronger, and everyone left is basically either on their side or too weak to fight back. There are two other large guilds: Shadowguard and Wings of Liberty, but they are not strong enough to go against the Sacred Order.”

“Seems like a dictatorship to me.” I can’t help but frown at this development. Things will be not be simple when I get back to town. I had planned on staying a few days and doing some blacksmithing before I head back out into the forest. Maybe I will have to alter my plans a bit.

“It is still livable, but it gets worse day by day. So, what are your plans?”

“I was planning on staying a few days to work on skills and sell my loot before heading back out again. Are you still wanting to team up with me?” Thinking she might not want to join up with me after knowing my plans, I could not help but ask.

“Umm, would you be willing to work with me? I’m currently a level 3 while you are level 8. I know I am selfish to ask, but is it alright with you?” She has a pleading, puppy dog look to her eyes. “I don’t want to just leech off of you. I am decent with a bow, so I can fight as a rearguard.”

Her current level doesn’t matter to me as that can change, but it is her personality that I find tolerable. Maybe being alone for a week has affected me, or maybe it’s her puppy dog eyes.

“One’s level can easily be raised given enough time, so your current level is irrelevant. I plan on being in the city by nightfall. You can follow me if you are alright waiting a few days around the city. But, we could also meet up after I am done.”

She seems to ponder for a few seconds. If she chooses to follow me then she would not be able to do much levelling before I finish, but it would be safer. On the other hand, she would be able to level up faster immediately if she chooses to meet up later, but would be surrounded by danger. I entered the forest when I was level 2, so I know how dangerous it is. And at that time I did not even have to deal with other players. However, she will need to experience danger to grow in this game; therefore, I will not push her decision.

“I will follow you!” I can see her eyes light up when she says this. It is a blessing that she is very decisive.

I think we will work well together.

“Here, let me add you as a friend.” I open up my friends list to an invite to her, but it is at this point that I realize I do not know her name. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Quinn.”

“I’m Gem Red.”

“A fitting name.” I quickly send her an invitation.

Notification Player: Gem Red has accepted your friend request.

“Now we can stay in contact with each other no matter where we are. Alright, let’s head off. I want to get to town before night falls.

“Okay. Once we get into town I know a place we can stay. It’s very basic in what it provides, but at least there will be a bed and a roof over our heads. Plus it only costs about 10 Tor a night.” She seems to have slightly opened up to me over our talks.

We walked together along the path for a few hours. The road gradually became wider and the amount of people we passed had increased considerably. There were no more highway robberies and for that I am thankful.

Occasionally, we would pass some low level creatures and work together in killing them. I acted as the vanguard since I was a higher level, while Gem took shots with her bow from a distance. After a while I thought it might be interesting to try the archery system in the game.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“For the next creature we come across, could I try using your bow to attack it?”

“Umm, alright. Just make sure not to break it.” She had a point there. It might not be difficult to snap the bow in two with my current strength level.

“Alright, I will be careful. Do you have a secondary weapon for close combat?”

“I have this copper dagger” She points to the dagger strapped to her leg. How could I have missed that. “But, I’ve never used it before”

“I have an idea. Let’s have a duel and you can use your dagger against me.”

“Okay. How do you set up a duel?”

“Umm... I don’t know either. Give me a minute.” I start looking through my user menu, but I cannot immediately find it. After searching for a minute, I finally locate it under the [Players] tab alongside the item trade system.

“It’s under the [Players] tab”

“Oh. Hey, I can see the trade option there as well.”

"Yea I just noticed that. Though I wonder why we cannot just hand items to one another."

"That seems like it would be a poor design flaw. Maybe it is meant for bulk trading? I wouldn't want to pass a hundred or so plus items to someone for a single trade."

I wouldn't either.

"That makes sense. I'll send you a duel request."

In the duel option menu there are many options. By default the settings are single combat, no restrictions, fight until 20% health remains. Both parties have to agree on the rules, which makes sense since I can see a fight until death option near the bottom.

"There." I sent the invite. "I didn't change any of the default settings."

Notification

Player: Gem Red has accepted your duel request.

Duel will commence in 10 seconds.

"Get ready. I won't go easy on you!" She says this with a smile on her face. It seems she's really getting into this. Well, I won't go easy on you either.

Fight!

We both stand still in our fighting stances for a moment. Neither one of us willing to make the first move.

"Aren't you gonna make a move? Real monsters out in the forest won't wait for you."

"Exactly. Which is why you should make the first move."

"Fine."

I move towards her in an S pattern. She stays with her feet planted in that same spot, but I can feel her eyes tracing my movements. I soon get within striking distance and make my move.

I go for a feint to the right with the wooden sword, which manages to grab her attention. I take advantage of her opening to launch a sneak attack at her left flank. Her defence is pretty much negligible compared to my high strength, so I managed to deal a good amount of damage on her. With that attack I shaved off 1/4 of her life and caused her to stumble towards that side.

"Ugh!” She grunts in pain rather than screaming.

It takes her a moment regain her footing, but since it is a duel, rather than a life or death battle, I allow her that time.

Next, I go in for a direct attack without allowing her the opportunity to counter. I do not hold back in my attacks, so Gem soon ends off with heavy wounds while I only have a few scratches. It would be unfair for her if I were to go easy on her because she is female, but maybe I should have been more lenient due to the level disparity. Now that I think of it. There was an option in the duelling screen to adjust the player’s level so that the fight would rely more on skill. Oh well.

Still, Gem manages to defend herself sufficiently considering our level differences. The fight lasts for a couple minutes before I end up winning.

"Phew. You're pretty good." Gem seems exhausted, yet excited.

"You're not too bad yourself. For someone who has never handled a blade before, you're a natural."

"That's because you went easy on me."

"Actually, I didn't hold back with my attacks. I felt that the creatures or other players in the forest wouldn't hold back; therefore, I didn't either."

"Well, thank you. I never really appreciated how weak I am until now." I hope she will take this lesson to heart and learn from it. But, she doesn't seem like the type to dwell on something for too long.

"I was similar to you when I first ventured out of the city, but after a few days of constant fighting I learnt a few things."

I am impressed by her attitude so far and hopefully she will not disappoint me.

"Let's rest for a few minutes before continuing on." I feel it wouldn't hurt to rest. All damage done is healed and stamina replenished after the duel concludes, but I would like to give her a few minutes to go over the fight.

I am not an expert, nor even an adept, so I cannot help her very much. It is up to her to gain insight and improve her skill. After all, I just started a few days ago myself.

I was playing around with an online avatar editor (with very limited options) and made these:

Spoiler: Gem Red Spoiler: Quinn