"Kyaaaa!!!!"

I can hear Gem screaming and then the surroundings suddenly become silent. I make haste to the entrance of the cave. The scene displayed outside is enough to make my heart sink.

Gem is covered in blood lying on the ground not too far from the entrance, while opposite her is the bear. She's still alive, but badly injured. I was foolish to let her stay out here all alone, but I thought the bear would be inside and I could lure it out.

"Ahhhhh" I scream and charge at the bear to gather its attention. This is not the time to be making sneak attacks. The bear immediately recognizes my threat and halts it’s assault on Gem to turn and face me.

Without regard for my safety, I slash at it with everything I've got. The bear takes a swipe at me, but I skillfully duck out of range. I can feel the power of it’s attack through the air flow upon my cheek. Thankfully, I was not on the receiving end of that.

I strike the bear’s legs aiming to disable it, but my strike only manages to go an inch deep. Nevertheless, it still does a lot of damage. This is a complete reversal of my last altercation with this beast.

*Roaaarrr*

The bear roars in pain and it’s eyes turn red. A giant paw with razor sharp claws comes flying at me from the left, but I cannot dodge in time. I meet its attack with the copper dagger instead.

*snap*

Damn it!

Blocking that attack just consumed the last bit of durability on my dagger. The blade snapped off at the hilt, so now all I am left with is that beginner wooden sword. I will have to make due and finish this fight quickly. Gem’s health is decreasing at a steady rate as blood continues to pour out of her.

She was unfortunately hit by the bear’s special attack [Maul], which causes bleeding damage. She might not survive if I cannot finish this fight soon.

Utilizing my higher dexterity, I dance around the bear landing a hit every second.

The bear is unable to keep up with my actions, but doing this drains my stamina quickly. Luckily, I soon get the bear's health down to less than 10%. It is limping and unable to put up a proper defence due to my aim at disabling it when dealing damage.

A couple of hits later it finally collapses to the ground and ceases breathing.

Without paying the beast a second glance I run over towards Gem. Her face is pale and I can see she has only a minuscule sliver of health left.

I get down on my knees and lift up her head and cradle her in my arms.

*cough* She weakly cracks open her eyes and stares into my eyes.

At this point tears are pouring out of my eyes, but she just weakly smiles.

“I-I didn’t expect *cough* that my life would end like this.”

No! I will not let you die! How can I help her?

My mind starts racing a thousand miles a minute.

That's when it hit me.

The loot chest.

I had gotten a health potion!

I open my inventory and bring out the potion. Popping off the lid, I bring the bottle to Gems lips. She is on the verge of losing consciousness, but I force that potion down her throat. I tilt her head back, plug her nose, and massage her throat to get it down.

"Come on... Come back to me! Don't die on me now.” I may have just met her earlier today, but we quickly became friends and I don't want to watch her die in front of me.

Before all of this started I was just an ordinary person. Although I have witnessed a traumatic death in the past, that was in the hospital.

I keep holding her in my arms. It is not long before I see her wounds closing up and her complexion becoming a rosy pink. I feel a wave of relief wash over me. That was too close. She would have died If I had not received the health potion from that chest.

Gem begins to open her eyes and looks up at my teary face.

“Stop crying you big oaf. I’m alright.”

I want to back away once I realize how foolish I must look, but as I am about to move Gem rests her head against me and lets out a quiet “Thank you”.

We sit like that for a while and I can’t help but look down from time to time. In the real world I have had little close contact with the opposite gender, so I just continue to hold her as the healing potion works its magic.

The effect lasts for a minute, but it felt like an eternity. I could have staying like that for longer, but Gem starts to stir.

“We should get going if we want to make it back to town before dark.” She is calm for someone who almost died, “And this time NO detours.”

“Okay.” I awkwardly release her and we both get onto our feet. “Before we leave I have some things to give you.” I hand over the studded leather greaves. “I obtained these from a chest in the bear’s cave. When you get to level 5, they should provide a good boost to your stats.”

“Thank you!” She looks down at her newly obtained gear as if looking at a treasure. “But, what about you? You were the one to defeat the bear. I was... only in the way...”

“Nonsense. You were not in the way,” I quickly deny it, “I cannot use these anyways. Bracers are to provide protection for an archer’s arm from injury.” I could use it myself, but I would rather give her the extra defence, so I lied. In EndGame Online there are level requirements for some items, but there are no class requirements from what i've seen.

I pick up the drops from the bear and start making my way back through the bushes. We have to cross the river again to get back to the road. So, this time I take extra care that Gem does not slip on the rocks again. She seemed to handle the river well. I guess the whole bear fiasco made this fear take a back seat in her mind.

No more detours.

As we are walking down the road I notice Gem is following very close behind me. We pass along many players who give us contemptuous looks. I notice most of those looks are directed towards me, so I brush it off.

Once we get into town my plan is to buy as many smithing supplies as I can and get to work. I wonder if Darkbond is still around and remembers our deal. Although, I did not keep to the three day schedule, but considering what happened after we made our deal I think it should be fine.

Send message to player: Darkbond

"Hey Darkbond, do you remember me? I'll be coming into town shortly and I am wondering if you remember what we talked about earlier."

The messaging system is more like a video recording. Hopefully it goes through. The trip becomes uneventful as we stroll through the forest. We only stop to hunt small animals that are right beside the road; however, this was enough for Gem to reach level 4. After a few kills, I receive a notification on my UI.

Notification Player: Darkbond has sent you a message

The message is in the form of a hologram recording that rested on my palm. It reminds me of those science fiction movies with a small holographic person speaking.

"Quinn! Good to hear from you. Of course I remember our deal. My guild is called Subestimar by the way. Oh! I’ve gotten a bunch of my guild members to buy out as much copper ore and bars as we could. All we need now is a blacksmith.

“Blacksmiths have become a hot commodity here and we have been unable to secure one. During the rioting many NPCs died, including all of the blacksmiths and fletchers. I guess people were in too much of a rush to get ahead. Therefore, only players are available for these skills and even those are few. Send me a message when you get back and we can meet up."

It's understandable that they have become rare now that the NPCs have died. Blacksmithing, Fletching, and the other crafts are not learnt like the basic combat skills such as swordsmanship and archery. They require a quest or a job to learn the craft like the one I did for that old man. I wonder how many NPCs are left from the other professions.

He didn't mention them, so I imagine they at least have one or two. Even so, there should still be those in the small villages, so I don't understand where the shortage is coming from.

"Who was that?"

"That was a guy I met in the colosseum. He's part of a guild called... Umm, I can't remember the name. Anyways, we had a deal that he would purchase raw goods for me and I would then process them."

"Oh? You know a crafting skill?"

"Yea, blacksmithing. Learnt it in the first few hours of the game." Those few hours of naivety were great. There was nothing to worry about, and I could just enjoy EndGame Online as a game.

"What! Blacksmithing!!" She sighs in amazement, "Ahh I'm jealous."

"Is it such a rare skill?"

"It's probably one of the two rarest production skills. As your friend said: all the NPC blacksmiths and fletchers were killed during the rioting. But what he didn't mention was that those in the surrounding villages also met a similar end."

“W-what!?”

That poor old man is probably dead by now.

"Mhmm. Now, you tell me if it's rare or not."

"But, how?"

"Among the general players nobody knows exactly how they all died, but a few of us noticed that the Sacred Order has been gathering up all the few blacksmiths under their wing. Those who didn't comply were met with fierce resistance and suppression. By now all of the blacksmiths have joined a major guild, so us regular players have to purchase goods at exorbitant prices.

“Currently the Sacred Order has a monopoly over the supply; therefore, many players are forced to purchase from them which increases their degree of influence over the town. There are probably only a few players like yourself to spend so much time deep in the forest."

"Damn. Well it's a good thing I have this skill, but I don't plan on solely doing blacksmithing in this game." This skill will help me stay a step ahead of the average player.

Hmm...

New plan.

I will stay here and grind out until I am a level 2 blacksmith. Although, I don't know how long that will take. I could probably manage it in a couple days if I do nothing but blacksmithing. But, what about Gem? I don't know if she would be willing to stay and it would be selfish of me to ask it of her.

"Hey, Gem?"

"Yea?"

"I might stay here longer than previously planned. I'm going to try and raise my blacksmithing skill to level 2 as quickly as possible before heading out."

"Okay." She seems to agree very quickly. "I'll do some tailoring while I wait for you."

"Huh? You know tailoring?"

"Mhmm" She nods while smiling brightly. "I've been using all the pelts from hunting to make clothes and armour. How else do you think I would have gotten enough money to afford this armour?"

"So, if I were to give you all the pelts I have collected, you would be able to make them into clothing?"

"Yup!"

“Great. When we get to town I'll pass you these pelts." That's one less thing to worry about. "This is perfect. I was worried that you might not be willing to wait too long."

The spaces between the trees eventually have become wider and the foliage less dense. It would appear we are almost at the city. The closer we get the more I can see players wearing red armbands with that golden symbol. Pretty much every third player has this armband. It goes to show the scale of that guild. The armband reminds me of an important part of history involving a horrendous dictatorship. I wonder why they have chosen this method to display their allegiance.

I can now see those familiar city walls. The gate seems to have a lot of activity passing through it. Standing near the entrance is a group of Sacred Order players. They approach us when we get close.

"Halt! You must pay the entrance tax. 10 Tor or 10% of your earnings." The man whom I assume has the highest seniority amongst them says this in an arrogant tone.

"What's up with these characters?" I turn and whisper to Gem.

"I don't know. They weren't here earlier." She also seems confused.

"This is ridiculous." When i look at their levels, the followers are level 3 while the one who spoke is level 4.

I ignore him and continue walking through the gate. My actions are like a slap in the face to him, so he instructs his cronies to block my path.

"C'mon boys. Let's teach this brat a lesson!"

"You're gonna get it now."

"Piss off!" I am really annoyed right now. Just where do these guys get their arrogance from? They are only relying on a guild to bully the common player.

I effortlessly push them out of my way using my high strength to clear a path. Since the system recognized that they had hostile intentions towards me and the city itself is a safe zone I do not get penalized for my actions. They seem to have realized I am no pushover.

"You won't get away with this! You can forget about purchasing weapons and armour in this city."

"Oh? And just how are you going to enforce this?"

"We already have your image and it will be sent to all our shops in town." He sneers.

"Doesn't matter. Since it is like this let me give you a warning. If I ever see you alone outside of this city... Hehe... you can forget about ever seeing the light of day again." My voice becomes cold as my killing intent is released.

I’ve learnt my lesson from those thieves from earlier. Those who treat me with kindness I will reciprocate that kindness 10 fold, but those who dare cross me will feel my wrath. In this environment where the strong prey on the weak I cannot be lenient towards my enemies. Even if I have to go against the largest guild in EndGame Online, I must stick to this set of principles.

My words seem to have scared him. He starts trembling, but quickly regains his composure.

“Y-You dare to go against the Sacred Order? Your days are numbered!"

"That's the idea." With that I walk away with Gem in tow.

“Umm... Don't you think that was a bit excessive? You could have just given them the 10 copper." Gem seems concerned.

"It's a matter of principle. Today it is 10 copper, but tomorrow it may be 15 copper." I further explain. "These types of people will never stop until the opposite party is totally suppressed and by then it will be too late to do anything."

"But, they control the majority of the town and are supported by the people."

"That doesn't matter." I won't put up with those types of people if i can help it.

"I'll trust you"

We are now on a major street in the town. It is a lot more crowded compared with the last time I passed through here. Before heading to find a inn I suggest going to a general store first to pick up a few supplies. My mind first goes to the store I visited before I left.

"I know a general store around here. Let's go there first and pick up a few things."

"Okay."

I soon see a familiar sign down the road and head towards it. The Honest Swordsman seems to be doing good business. A constant stream of players is going in and out of the shop.

Without stopping, I enter the shop and see it packed full of players. This makes sense since it is near the end of the day and players would want to sell the results of their day’s labor. I select a new set of villager clothes since they cost 10 Tor for the pair. A much better use of my money.

In the corner of the shop I see a portable anvil and forge. These were not here the last time I passed through. I pick them up and gather a few other necessities as well such as coal and a wooden barrel.

I see Gem has already bought a bunch of sewing supplies and is waiting for me. I'm surprised that she is not looking through all the different items, but seeing a girl who knows what she wants and doesn't waste time when shopping I am not complaining.

Taking my items I walk up to the counter. Behind the counter is not the same shopkeeper as before. If I'm not mistaken this is a player.

"Hello, I would like to purchase these items."

"Hmm lets see.. Your total amounts to 226 Tor. The anvil and forge are discounted since nobody was willing to buy it."

"Here you go." I pass the clerk 2 silver and 26 copper, and put the items into my inventory.

"Thank you, come again."

"You get what you need?" Gem inquires.

"Yep." I equip the new set of villager clothes. "Brand new clothes. How do I look?"

"I don't know. I had gotten used to seeing you in those rags." Gem replies with a mischievous smile.

"They served me well. Do you know of a good place to stay?"

"Mhmm." She nods. "Follow me."

Gem leads me through the crowds towards the centre of town.

"I did a few jobs for a lady in town who happens to own an inn and she has been letting me stay there for a cheap rate." She explains as she walks. "We should be able to find a room there. It's one of the more popular places in town and is always full. However, we should be able to get a room in the back."

"Sounds good to me." I try to keep up with Gem, but she is moving very fast through the crowds. It doesn't take long for her to get too far ahead of me that I cannot see her.

I stop and look around, but cannot find her.

I get prepared to send her a message, but as I am selecting the option from the menu, I feel a heavy tapping on my shoulder.