Following Shizuka’s message, Ryu waited for her at a cafe in Sanctuary. Who the hell went to a cafe in VR? Hell if Ryu knew, but he wasn’t exactly a shining example of how to socialise. Though, being able to eat without getting fat was a nice perk.

The cafe in question was bustling, with people chatting around large round tables beneath colorful striped umbrellas. It wasn’t a setting Ryu was used to, so he kept himself off to the side, standing near the entrance, as he wasn’t too sure what he was meant to do.

Was he meant to find a table? Did girls normally want to meetup at cafes? Was he reading into this too much? Perhaps Ryu’s understanding of girls wasn’t as developed as he thought, as the thought of Shizuka only being interested in making a new friend with the boy who’d saved her didn’t even enter his mind.

“Hey!”

Ryu looked around, a little unsure of what he was searching for, until he spotted a girl approaching him.

“Hey,” said Ryu.

“Thanks for waiting, anyway let’s go. I got a few quests we could work on.”

***

In a dungeon somewhere outside of town, Ryu and Shizuka walked side by side. The air was dry and the only light to guide them was floating ball of light summoned by Shizuka.

“So you’re a mage?” said Ryu.

“Yup. I like magic, but it’s hard to level on my own.”

“Shouldn’t it be easy for you to find a party?”

In Ryu’s eyes Shizuka had two things going for her. One, she was a mage and everyone wanted them, and, second, she was a girl. Nuff said.

“I didn’t really go for those kinds of abilities.”

Ryu looked at Shizuka’s clothing to try and guess what she might’ve specialized in. She had on robes, which was normal for spellcasters, but otherwise there wasn’t anything for him to go off of.

“So what abilities did you pick?”

Shizuka hopped in front of Ryu and grinned.

“Well… I’m a succubus. So… those kinds abilities.”

“Ah.” A stunning reaction.

“Not what you expected?”

“Uh, no. Not really. Nothing wrong with it though.”

Shizuka hopped back to Ryu’s side. “How about you?”

“Pretty boring in comparison. Just sword stuff.”

“You can go up front then.”

The two of them walked until they reached the entrance to a dark and spooky cavern, which somewhat lost its impact since all Ryu could hear was “ooh!” and “argh!” from people battling monsters inside. Ryu spotted arrows slicing through the air alongside rogues leaping at their prey - a coordinated effort to take down mobs as quickly as possible.

“Are you sure we can handle these?” said Ryu.

[Cave troll - Lvl 35]

Ryu didn’t need Dot to tell him that was six levels above his own.

“Yup, if you keep them off me I can do damage.”

Ryu kept it to himself that Shizuka was probably only thinking about herself, what with her being level thirty-four.

“So I’m the bait.”

“Exactly.”

Ryu was already forming a positive opinion about party combat.

Pulling out his dagger, Ryu stared one of the trolls. They were passive from what he could tell, so he’d have to grab their attention. Attacking was the obvious route.

Kicking one foot into the ground, Ryu’s body flew through the air, straight into the trolls fist. Like a ball being batted away, Ryu flew into the cavern wall, losing a sizable chunk of his health in the process.

“Ow...”

Dot telling him the attack had failed didn’t make him feel any better.

“Get up!” shouted Shizuka, forming a cone with her hands.

Ryu jumped onto his feet and ran, straight towards Shizuka, with the troll lumbering after him.

“KILL ET!”

Shizuka waved her hands around, and Ryu wasn’t sure whether it was a spell or an expression of panic, before she bent at the hips and puckered her lips. Ryu opened his mouth, ready to express this wasn’t the right time.

Looking back, Ryu found the troll not far behind, as its steps were slow but longer than his own. Looking ahead again, he spotted Shizuka placing her palm before her lips and launching off what he would describe as “a pink heart shaped cloud”, which was surprisingly accurate considering his poor vocabulary.

The heart floated forward and dissipated in a puff of smaller hearts when it hit the troll, causing little pink hearts to fly around its head. The troll seemed to forget that it was moving and tripped over its own steps, falling on the ground.

“Did you just kiss it?” said Ryu, stopping beside Shizuka.

“Eww no. I charmed it.”

“How long does it last?”

“I’m not sure. It lasts longer on stupid enemies.”

“So?”

“Trolls aren’t very smart.”

Shizuka began to walk towards the troll while making an effort to sway her hips. Ryu assumed it was another spell and followed after her.

“So why didn’t you just charm it at the start?”

“It’s not as effective if they aren’t distracted. Anyway we still gotta kill it.”

Ryu wasn’t even sure if he dealt enough damage. His short sword seemed like a toothpick in comparison to the troll. Shizuka on the other hand kept swaying her hips seductively, grabbing the attention of Ryu as well as a few more players in the area. Ryu could see why she might avoid party combat.

He left those thoughts behind and readied his short sword as he took up a position by the troll's neck. Raising his blade into the air, he brought it down with all the force he could muster, which wasn’t much since his strength stat was pretty mediocre.

*Clink*

His blade bounced off and the vibrations shook him down to the bones.

“Seriously?”

“Their skin is hardened. Don’t worry, I’ll take it out.”

Shizuka walked up to the troll and stopped to make sure Ryu was watching.

“This one is really cool.”

Shizuka inched her index finger towards the troll until it was hovering just above the trolls skin, and then she tapped it. From her finger outward, the trolls skin turned a shade of red, expanding until its whole body was highlighted, and then in a cloud of scarlet dust it disintegrated.

Ryu already had a name for the ability, whether or not it was correct, “finger bang”. That he would also be keeping to himself.

Shizuka smiled a dazzling smile.

“Neat, isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah, very cool.”