.

Although Kazuya was glad that he found Autumn Mist, his eyebrows couldn't stop twitching. He finally understood why people like FriedKandule messed with her. She donned herself in items that could only be obtained by buying the premium access to the game combined with a fashion pack that was so overpriced that even veteran gamers refused to get it.

"Really this girl…"

He remembered this girl to be quite picky about what equipment she would use. She would always scold him if he wore different types of equipment that didn't match and he would have arguments with her for not wearing better equipment just because she didn't like the way it looked on her character.

Fried Kandule's character looked like he noticed the girl moving on the field noobishly as well. Her character was supposed to be a close combat mage but she was casting spells from a distance and running away as soon as enemies came close. Being a normal player who couldn't afford such luxurious things, Fried Kandule of course thought that it was a waste to that newbie have those kinds of items.

Kazuya hid near the trees as Fried Kandule approached Autumn Mist and the monsters she was attacking. The bulky swordsman gave a helping hand and eliminated the stray goblins that were attracted by her AoE attacks. He was experienced and the enemies were weak so the battle ended pretty quickly.

[Autumn Mist: Thank you for your help!]

[Fried Kandule: No need to thank me little missy. Are you new to this game?]

[Autumn Mist: Yes! this is my very first time playing this game]

[Fried Kandule: do you want to know a secret? You can get stronger by removing the newbie protection icon at the lower right portion of your screen]

[Autumn Mist: Really?]

[Fried Kandule: That's right. You're given a protection when you start the game that lasts until you're a few levels higher. The protection itself acts as a limiter to reduce your strength so you can get a good grasp of the game. Removing it will enable the full power of the spells you've learned]

[Autumn Mist: I was wondering why my spells were so weak as a magician. So that was the reason! How do I remove it?]

[Fried Kandule: first you need to right click on the shield icon. Then you should choose to deactivate it]

[Autumn Mist: Give me a moment]

She of course trusted this seemingly helpful experienced player. This was very much unlike the person who was skeptical over trusting new players she met. Kazuya smiled and moved his character to stop in between the two. He started typing quickly to make her stop the mistake that cost her to not play the game for a while.

[Winter Fog: Please don't be fooled. If you deactivate your newbie protection, not only will you lose protection from being killed by other players, but you also lose any bonus experience you get from doing quests]

Since this was a game, he really wasn't able to see if the person got the message so he watched the shield icon when he analyzed her character. It was still present so he glad that she hesitated.

[Fried Kandule: Hey who are you? Why are you trying to fool other players?]

[Winter Fog: Fool other players? The descriptions of the protection buff can be found if you read the website. Also, your name has been mentioned in the forums for victimizing new players and ticking them into removing the buff to kill and rob them. I'm sure you will be suspended or banned soon enough]

Fried Kandule's character remained motionless. He must have checked the forums to find out if what Kazuya said was true. He did indeed trick a few new players but didn't think they would go as far as make a big issue out of it in the forums. Being a beta player, he had much to lose if his account gets suspended.

[Winter Fog: Please be careful of people like this in the future. You can always double check by looking up information on the official site or the forums. You were lucky I was nearby to hear this or you may have lost some of the expensive items on you]

He talked to the silent warmage. He knew that she had been observing since the idle icon still hadn't appeared.

[Autumn Mist: Thank you for your help and advice. I almost fell for it because of my stupidity]

[Winter Fog: Don't worry about it. We all have our own starting point. This is my first day playing as well but I did read through some of the things I wanted to make sure of. It's people like that guy that make new players not want to play so I hope you're not discouraged]

[Autumn Mist: because of your timely help, I think I can continue to try. Thank you very much]

[Winter Fog: No problem. Your name reminds me of a book I read so think of it as me doing it for myself]

[Autumn Mist: The spring petals bloom, Summer rain washes away gloom…]

[Winter Fog: The autumn mist makes them fall and the Winter fog envelops all]

[Autumn Mist: You've really read that book… this is amazing!]

[Winter Fog: Aren't you exaggerating? Reading a book isn't something amazing]

[Autumn Mist: you dummy! I wasn't referring to reading a book. I was amazed that you like that same book and even based your name in this game off of it!]

Kazuya smiled. He confirmed that this was the same girl he met. This was the second time he's had this conversation and she reacted in the exact same way. He was happy, he still had doubts that the original owner of such an account may have given it to the person he met so he was glad that this was the same Autumn Mist in his past life.

[Fried Kandule: You son of a @#@%^! You were one of the people who reported me!]

After checking the forums, the swordsman was once again active and tried to swing his sword at Kazuya's character. He was of course repelled instantly because of the protection buff.

[Fried Kandule: [email protected]#% you! If you're a man face me!]

[Autumn Mist: Don't do it winter. He can't do anything to you unless you remove your protection]

[Fried Kandule: Shut up you noob! Just because you have your protection doesn't mean I can't do anything. I can always show up and kill all the monster you even try to attack. You'll be stuck in the newbie village for a long time and when your protection is gone I'll make sure to get the items you don't—]

The swordsman's continued threats were cut short as a short blade pierced his chest. His hit points immediately plummeted to a dangerous level and it was only then that he understood that he had chosen the wrong person to provoke. The rogue didn't even need to use a skill and another attack immediately sent his character falling to the ground.

[Winter Fog: I don't have time to harass you but I will kill you every time I see you. You like to rob and threaten others? If I ever hear from my friend here that you even came close to her then I will hunt down every single person associated with you]

He picked up the equipment the swordsman dropped and walked back to the warmage.

[Autumn Mist: Wow you're pretty strong!]

[Winter Fog: Not really. It's my weapon that's pretty nice. I practiced a few crafting skills to make weapons for myself. Speaking of that…]

Kazuya initiated a trade and gave her a spear he made for her character. She had very nice equipment but her weapon was still of a newbie.

[Winter Fog: Think of it as a present for our very first meeting. This will help you get stronger and do quests faster]

[Autumn Mist: Are you sure? I really don't know how to thank you]

[Winter Fog: It's just one of the few items I made to practice crafting. I'm not a warmage so I have no use for it so it would be more useful in your hands. If you need any help don't hesitate to contact me]

Kazuya added her a s friend and she accepted quickly. He wanted to spend more time with this friend of his after a long time but decided not to push it. she might feel overwhelmed if he acted like he used to and scare her off. He decided to go back to town to do quests while keeping an eye out for people he needed to find.

[Autumn Mist: Wait!]

[Winter Fog: Do you need something else?]

[Autumn Mist: Umm… Are you busy?]

[Winter Fog: Not really. Why do you ask?]

[Autumn Mist: Do you have other friends who play this game?]

[Winter Fog: Not really. I can only play at night because of how busy I am during the day. You're the very first person I've talked to here]

[Autumn Mist: That's great!]

[Winter Fog: …]

[Autumn Mist: Err… I don't mean that you didn't have any friends that's great… I was referring too you not being busy and me being the first person you talked to. I wanted to ask if you wanted to do stuff with me or something]

[Winter Fog: I see…]

[Autumn Mist: Please don't think I'm weird or anything. I'm really not used to playing these kinds of games and I only tried this one out because it was given to me for free. I'm happy to have met a person who read one of my favorite books and even named their character after one of its most interesting chapters]

[Winter Fog: I really don't mind but… you may surpass me since I only play during night time]

[Autumn Mist: You don't need to worry about that! I can only play during night time as well. So we're pretty much the same right? It's weird… it's like this isn't a coincidence]

Needless to say, Kazuya had succeeded and the two hit it off. He showed her the ropes and even gave her advice about playing the game. It felt like old times only he was the one who was doing the teaching. He didn't consider himself to be one of the top players when he played, but he was knowledgeable enough to play through the game's content until a few years later.

The two played together every night. Kazuya had kept an eye out but the game was too big for him to find one of them soon. New games always have high attendance when they are released and it takes a while before those who were just here to try it out were gone. It took him three days until he was finally able to find one of the targets.

This person's IGN (In Game Name) was Void Android. He was a person who made it big but at a great cost. No one believed in the technology of artificial intelligence. As a person who mastered in both psychology and programming, it was his dream to develop an AI system that would respond like a human would. This dreamer was known in the future as the father of human-like androids.

In his autobiography, he confessed to have sold all his assets including his house just to fund his research. His wife had left him because of it and married another man before he could get a company to support and release his research. This was his biggest regret.

He played an online game to go back to his roots and to think a about why he started his project in the first place. It was due to the community of New Gods online did he never give up on his endeavor and finally made his own company with the help of donations he received through the generous people that heard about his story.

[Autumn Mist: What's wrong Winter? Are you tired?]

[Winter Fog: Sorry, I was just thinking that we're reaching the point where we have to party up with people to get through the game faster]

[Autumn Mist: Do you have people in mind?]

[Winter Fog: I only have you in my friend list so not yet. We can always help people out and ask if they want to join us]

[Autumn Mist: Don't you have friends at work that play this game too?]

[Winter Fog: Work? Sorry but I'm still just a student]

Kazuya hesitated before entering the last message. He knew little about what Autumn Mist did in real life. She would always make a clear separation between game and real life and hardly ever mentioned it but this version of her initiated an inquiry about Kazuya's life outside of the game.

[Autumn Mist: A student!? (◯Δ◯∥) Me too!]

[Winter Fog: Then why are you asking me about work?]

[Autumn Mist: Hehe… You give the feel of being older (・ωｰ)～☆]

[Winter Fog: I'm just a six year old kid you know]

[Autumn Mist: Hmph! If you're six then I'm four! ((⊂(`ω´∩)]

[Winter Fog: Then please call me Onii-sama]

[Autumn Mist: Dream on! ( ￣＾￣) ]

Kazuya was telling the truth but he didn't mind her not believing him. He may appear to be a six-year-old but his mental age was a lot older. The person behind Autumn Mist wouldn't meet with him in the real world anyway so he didn't mind it at all.

[Void Android: Excuse me! Are the both of you looking for party members?]

Kazuya almost forgot about this person. Since they were near a dungeon, a lot of people were gathering up so Void Android chose to approach the two of them since they were the only ones missing a member. The first dungeon could be completed by one or two people but there would be more rewards if there were more people. Kazuya and Autumn Mist already cleared this dungeon so they were not in a hurry to try again.

[Winter Fog: We were actually just discussing finding new friends since we've only been playing with just us two. Since you're a healer, then it would help us a lot if you joined us]

[Void Android: It would be a pleasure. Though you should rethink it if you want to party up with me for a long time. I only play during nights because of my research]

[Autumn Mist: That's perfect then! We also play during night because of our schedules. That's why me and Winter hang out a lot]

[Void Android: Do you mind if I ask you a strange question then? It's just a something I ask people to see what they think]

[Winter Fog: Go ahead]

He had a feeling what the question would be. It was also mentioned in this person's autobiography that he asked various people's opinion about his project.

[Void Android: What do you think about programs that could interact with humans like a normal human would?]

.