When Ryu logged back in he was greeted by two things. One of them was a friend request from Kana which he quickly accepted, but the other was anything but friendly.

“What the hell?” said Ryu, as he looked at the piles of rubble surrounding him.

Behind him, Ryu heard rocks tumbling, so he spun around to find the walking silhouette of a man, dust and soot decorating his frame.

“Traveller!” The man coughed repeatedly. “The kingdom… the kingdom has fallen!”

Ryu looked to the side as a thought came to mind. Was this a quest opportunity?

“And it’s all your fault!”

The man charged at Ryu, but before he even made it halfway he collapsed on the ground.

“Papa!” shouted a girl, running up to the man.

Following after the girl was a woman wearing a dress, dirty and torn. Ryu simply scratched his head. Where were all these people coming from? The woman approached Ryu with her hands wrapped together and looked up at him.

“Please help him!”

“I’m not a healer-”

“Please!”

Ryu was always amazed at how realistic the NPC’s could act in this game. Part of him couldn’t help but be fascinated by how people could develop something so lifelike, but another part of him did wonder at what point humanities creations would be their downfall. That part of him was often crushed by his sense of logic and rationale.

“Uh, I’ll take a look,” said Ryu.

*Ding*

[Quest Log Updated: Dying Words]

Ryu kneeled down beside the dying man. A minute passed and the girl looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

“Aren’t you gonna *hic* do something?” said the girl.

“I’m not a… ah, nevermind.” Ryu checked the man's pulse, but it wasn’t because he suddenly felt sympathetic to the girl. It was so he’d at least look like he was trying to help for the quest.

The man suddenly coughed and opened his eyes.

*Ding*

[Quest update: Listen to the man]

The man stroked his daughter's cheek before turning his head to face Ryu. This was one of the things Ryu hated most about VR. There wasn’t a skip button.

“Family…” A second passed by, which to Ryu felt like an eternity. What was so cinematic about these kinds scenes? They were far too cliche for Ryu to give a damn. The man began speaking again.

“Take care… of my… family.”

Ryu looked at the girl and then her mother, standing behind him. A few more people had shown up seemingly from nowhere while Ryu had been watching the man.

“Uhhh, sure?”

Ryu was really wondering why the hell this man was entrusting his family to a complete stranger. It was probably better he died, because now his family wouldn’t have to put up with his dumb ass.

[Quest Updated: Take care of the man’s family]

“People…”

Another second. Ryu had time to look around at the many people now showing up.

“Oh no-”

“Take care… of the… people.”

[Quest Updated: Take care of the survivors from Sanctuary]

Ryu could count at least thirty people, with more still coming.

“City…”

“Wait. Stop!”

The man ignored him, instead looking up to the sky before continuing.

“Rebuild-”

“Don’t you fucking dare!”

“The… city.”

[Quest Updated: Return the city to its former glory]

Ryu’s hand reached for his sword. Fuck this ass hole, he was going to kill him himself. Unfortunately for Ryu, the man passed away before he had the chance to draw his sword.

“Papa!” screamed the girl.

Her mother ran up to her and held her in a hug as the man’s body dissolved into a cloud of glowing particles, floating up to the sky.

Ryu stood up and kicked the ground. Was there some kind’ve rule saying he wasn’t allowed to have fun? Because he wasn’t having fun.