Chapter 22: Recovery

"No... Myrddin, no-!"

My body shot up, my hands immediately going for my face and touching the place between my eyes. When it didn't feel dented, like there should've been an arrowhead in there somewhere, I was initially surprised before I realized just what happened.

I, or rather, the Rain character inside the virtual world called Terraria, had died. For the first time in my life inside Fate Online, my HP had hit zero and I was forcibly logged-out due to the pain I was in when I died.

And I just felt lost. Anger, rage, all of this I expected to feel, but somehow all I felt was the sensation of loss.

As I sat across my soft bed and placed the machinery that my father created beside me, I realized that my fists had clenched on their own. Shaking, I noticed, my body was shaking and drenched in sweat as my mind tried to recover from the intense sensations I had suffered inside the virtual world.

I looked up and stared at the digital clock I had hung over my bed. It was early in the morning - just a few hours after midnight, and judging from the lack of light coming from my windows, the sun wasn't out yet. It was only right, I found after some thought, as considering my usual hours of playing were cut early it was only logical I would be logged out while it was still dark.

I opened my mouth, experimentally. I tried to speak, but nothing came out.

My mouth was too dry, I realized. I needed a glass of cold water to recover after such an experience.

After I was sure my body could take the stress of standing again, I stood, stretched out for a bit and carefully watched my step as I slowly strode to go down from my room, go to the kitchen, and get a glass of cold refreshing drink. Maybe cooking was still out of reach, but I was pretty sure we had snacks on hand in the pantry.

I didn't notice the tears coming down my cheeks until I saw the mirror in our waiting room and noticed my sore eyes.

"Mother...?" I asked, my voice still a little weak as I finally prepared to leave for class. When nobody replied from inside our home, I shook my head and busied myself with what I was doing. "Where is she? Did she go somewhere last night after I went to my room early? No... yesterday was a holiday, so that mustn't be it."

Putting the subject of my mother on hold for the moment, I turned my full attention to the straps I was fixing. After all, they could be what would save my life in case of accidents, so it was only right to make sure they were put in place properly.

After ten minutes and rigorous checking, I was finally finished. Snapping my fingers, I turned to a mirror to see what I was wearing.

Safety equipment. A helmet, a pair of elbow pads, knee protectors, and shoulder armaments. Some padding here and there, protection in case of bad falls, check.

I was finally ready to go on a parkour run again.

"A few days ago, I couldn't even get past the third obstacle. Now, I can get through the entire set. Is this the effect of practicing parkour in the virtual world?" I wondered to myself for a moment before shaking my head. "No, that's unimportant. Instead I should be focusing on getting to my class this time, say hello to Professor Brunnings, meet Mark and ask-"

I cut myself off, closing my mouth as I almost made myself think again of that situation.

Not now. I told myself. I can worry about that later all I want after I'm in the classroom.

I checked my equipment again for the last time, and walked to the door to leave. When I heard no goodbye as I left, out of habit, I turned back, saying. "Goodbye, Mother."

When nobody replied, I felt a slight sadness in my chest but ignored it for the moment. It was not a new sensation, being left alone by my parents as they went on whatever they did, so I shouldn't feel so bothered about it. Having said that, I still stayed there for a second, holding the doorknob for so long as if it would make my mother come before I finally let it go, giving up and turning to the outdoors that I felt I knew.

I then started running.

Parkour in real life was a strange sensation.

Jumping over benches, climbing over ledges and swing along horizontal bars, it felt like I was in the virtual world again every time I went on parkour as I had planned. But in the same time, the equipment I had was a strong reminder that I wasn't doing this in the virtual world, but in reality where a single accident couldn't be healed by a magic spell.

Somehow, that sensation of risk made my heart soar at times. Which was why I had forgone my daily route and decided to do something a bit... riskier for now.

I looked across the street I was going to go through. Benches, ledges, chairs, cars, people - those things I was used to, as any amateur traceur could do. But then there was several flights of stairs in the middle, something seemingly so harmless until you realized that according to the rules of parkour I had to skip the flights entirely.

Skip them and jump into a distance more than twenty feet high.

Thankfully, there was a pole somewhere below the base of the stairs. With enough skill, just maybe, I could probably catch hold of the pole fast enough after jumping across two flights of stairs, swing around it and lose my momentum fast enough to land properly without breaking my ankles, if not my legs.

Nodding once, I positioned myself for a sprint before bursting out into a run. Men and women squawked in shock as I traced past them, vaulted over minor obstacles and ran uncaring of the paved pathways. The stairs were coming close, and for a second I wondered why I was going to put myself in so much risk, following a line I knew was so dangerous for an amateur like me.

My friend- I could save- No- no, please don't take him away-!

There were many ways for people to reduce themselves of stress. Some of them like reading books. I used to be like that.

Nowadays, I simply ran and jumped into doing stunts.

I vaulted across a park bench, apologizing without pause to the old man passing by before I stepped off the path again to walk through muddy ground. Stepping to the right, jumping across small pits, and leaping over stones, I continued until I finally came close to the final obstacle.

This is probably time for fear, but I simply don't care for now. Not after I died-

The moment I reached the first step of the stairs, I stepped over the protective bars and jumped. Reaching out with two hands, I stretched as the long metal pole came nearer to my face, catching it just in time to prevent a painful meeting of face and steel.

Now, this is the hard part-!

Heaving my body backwards and forwards with a grace I didn't know I could ever have until I started doing parkour, within a millisecond I changed the direction of my momentum and kept my grip on the pole I held before I swung - swinging around and around the pole.

My hands started to hurt - I probably overdid it at this point and caused my skin to tear - but I held on and continued swinging until I was within jumping distance of the bottom.

With a stretch, I placed my feet on the pole, causing me to stop rotating. When I started to fall, I pushed my feet with all my weight on the pole and jumped again for the last time-

Safe. Or at least, after I land properly.

- to a roll across the empty street beside the pole. For a moment, I thanked the gods I had enough sense to buy protective wear, as without it I would've heavily injured myself with just the roll across pavement alone. A stinging sensation made me turn my attention to my hands, and then suddenly I realized I would be wearing bandages for a while.

But for now, that was unimportant. Because for once I had a smile on my face and- wait, since when did were there people watching? And were they clapping!?

"Wow!" "Is this a public act?" "Who is that guy?"

I turned once, saw their faces, before I turned away again and ran as fast as I could.

-but, before I left, I noticed something peculiar: over one of the roofs of the buildings was a little boy, probably around the age of eight. He and his light blue eyes studied me, looking almost older by a decade for a minute, before he clapped his hands slowly. Clap, clap, clap, he went, and then I lost sight of him as I had to turn a corner.

When I arrived to class, heaving breaths and terribly sweaty, my eyes immediately swept across the large lecture hall Professor Brunnings taught us in. When the person I was looking for didn't pop up or welcome me for yet another exhausting class, my heart fell.

"...So, he really wasn't able to log out." I said to myself, my body suddenly losing the rush the adrenaline gave me, leaving me feeling terrible. "I knew it was likely, considering he was taken unconscious, but..."

My hands clenched into fists by my sides. That was how I was reacquainted with an emotion I scarcely felt ever since I grew up from being a child.

Anger. Rage. Bloodlust for a perceived 'enemy'. Hatred.

It was all of these things.

I was a emotional person when it mattered, I knew. Considering I had built up a defense mechanism of closing myself off from others after facing the loneliness my status as a prodigy gave me, I was terribly aware of that fact and sought to control it every time it happened.

But considering how I lived my life inside the virtual reality called Fate Online, it was only reasonable that I would sometimes get emotional. But even then, I knew, I was more often than not sad instead of angry. After all, under rational analysis, even the harshest of intents against me seemed sympathetic when I easily understood their reasons.

When I was betrayed by Caelum, I felt sad because I understood how flawed people were. Even before the time Blake explained to me in detail his actions, I already had the stirrings of regret instead of rage inside my heart for raising a hand against him.

The same went for the monster that caused nightmares for Elena: I only felt pity for the creature, not disgust as I wondered how such a abomination came to life and how it continued to persist even with all of its malformations. This continued, even the Vikings and Valkyries with their pointless war, as I understood them and thus felt no hate for them.

That was until this.

Myrddin was taken from my side, forcefully and without warning. And even now, in real life, Mark still wasn't there. Logically, it was only reasonable. Myrddin was, after all, my number one ally and moral support. Take him away, and I'll be left crippled - that was the thought that went on Brynjar's mind at the time, I knew.

But even then, I still felt anger. And it was no ordinary hate - it was blood-boiling, bristling hatred that shook me at my core, almost terrifying me at the sheer volume of the emotion if I wasn't so angry already.

But of course, since I was still Brian and this was still in real life, my face made no obvious tell as to what I felt. Thus, like a swordsman hiding away his sword for the next battle, I pushed back the emotion for the moment as I entered the classroom and went straight for my seat.

...Still, the sight of Mark's seat being empty caused me to feel an overwhelming sadness.

I sighed.

My mind wandered even when the class began. I tried to focus, but I couldn't help but think worriedly.

What if, after this, Myrddin chose to leave me behind? Well, it would be slightly out of character of what I knew of Myrddin and his loyalty, but still, rational didn't always meet emotional and I was starting to feel fear now that Myrddin wasn't there to banish it away.

Myrddin liked to say I made him feel brave. He didn't know I felt the same.

It was rather ironic really - here I was, feeling fear? After so many talks with Myrddin about learning how to go past that fear, that dread of being alone all over again? Didn't he make sure I knew that I wasn't going to be left alone again?

But then again, Myrddin got easily scared. He could get frightened, shocked out of his wits- who knew what the Vikings were doing to him at this moment while I was still logged out? What if they were torturing him for what I did to their men? Would he forgive me for letting him get kidnapped? Would he even accompany me after this, after I failed him so?

Would I be alone again?

And thus, even as I felt rage deep inside, even deeper I felt afraid. Afraid of what waited for me the moment I returned into that beautiful imperfect virtual world...

"Mr. Walters."

I snapped out of my thoughts. "Yes, Professor?"

"My boy, if you are distracted, you can be quieter about it."

Several people laughed, some of them not so kindly. That was when I noticed my own feet betraying my emotions - tapping, tapping, rapping on the wooden floor like the raven on the writing desk it loved so.

I stared at it for a minute. Since when was I one to reveal what I was thinking so blatantly?

That was when I remembered I was in the middle of a conversation.

"I'm s-sorry Professor," Inwardly, I chided myself at the stutter. And I told Myrddin he should stop doing tha- no, no, not going to get distracted. "It won't happen again."

Professor Brunnings pinned me with his eyes, and I recognized him sigh softly before he put down the chalk he was holding.

"Looks like it's time for a break." He said. When I opened my mouth to speak, he raised a hand. "No, no. If you of all people in this class had the chance to get distracted, it means I'm not teaching this right. Better rest for a while than to waste my time with a class that's not listening."

Many, including me, had the grace to turn away at his incriminating words.

My uncle just stood there for a minute, silent, before he turned to pace across the front of the class.

"Hmm, what should we do, what should we do? If you children don't want to listen to what this teacher is saying, then shouldn't we discuss a subject of your own liking?" Professor Brunnings then smiled before calling out a student. "From the back, Evans! If you can manage to wake up, what do you want for the entire class to talk about for a while?"

Evans, having caught in the middle of taking a nap, snapped up. "Uh- wha- what again? Err, Sir?"

Professor Brunning's smile became a tad vicious. "Subject. For the class. To talk about?"

Some people had the gall to giggle.

"H-H-How about the game, Sir, Fate Online?" Evans gulped at the sudden interest in the teacher's eyes. "W-Weren't you one of t-the people who made the game, Sir? Err, Professor?"

"Interesting choice..." Brunnings commented before going silent. There was a moment of thinking 'Ah, maybe that's a no,' but that was refuted as the Professor sat down again at last and made himself comfortable. "But very well."

"What then, Mr. Evans, would you want us all to discuss about?"

At this point, I pitied the man as once again he was the focus of attention. Thankfully though, it seemed that he had finally regained emotional balance at this point. It was good, considering his stuttering was starting to make my thoughts wander off again to the subject of a missing person in the room...

Then again, outside appearances sometimes hid suppressed panic.

"Your character, Sir?"

Many winced at the question. Evans himself slapped at his mouth like he couldn't believe what he had just asked our Professor.

Professor Brunnings froze for a second. "...You do realize that question is a terribly personal one, Mr. Evans? It's comparable taking someone's diary and parading it for all to hear."

"I'm so sorry Sir, I should asked something else-"

"-But then again, considering my status, I suppose I could allow this question."

People who had started whispering at each other at Evan's social faux pas went quiet. Questions about Fate Online - that was common. Usually, it went along the lines of current politics, recent events and quests, but questions like this? And a person, especially someone like our Professor, actually agreeing to answer?

Now, that was interesting.

When Professor Brunnings opened his mouth, for once everyone was listening.

"Now, as I believe all of you know already, when we created the VRMMORPG Fate Online, we developers of the game entered it together with the beta-test players." People nodded at that; it was common knowledge to any child. "We didn't go inside as GMs - rather, we all decided to serve as examples by starting off with Level One like the rest."

My uncle closed his eyes, and for a blink of an eye, he suddenly looked decades older.

There was a reason as to why there was an age limit now to play inside Terraria.

"It was a cruel war that we arrived in."

Everyone looked grim. Some of my classmates, I knew, were among the first players and a few of them looked haunted for a second before shaking it all away. The others, like me, knew intellectually what they were feeling but ultimately couldn't understand what they were feeling.

After all, we weren't people who suddenly became witnesses to a real war.

Or is it still like that for me? After all, the Vikings and the Valkyries...

"Fate Onli- no, Terraria is different from other Virtual Reality games..." Our professor's voice was hypnotic, lulling us into a trance. "From the moment we created that world, that reality, control over it was out of our hands and into the Administrator AI we had assigned to take care of it."

"This Administrator was perfect. It was top of the class AI, capable of thinking and learning like any rational being yet also bound to the concept of creating a 'Perfect World' as we wanted. I'm terribly derailing off now, so I'll make it quick: we wished for a perfect world, and we received one."

Professor Brunnings grimaced. "A perfect mimicry. A world like ours, only with all the destructive and wonderful abilities of both magic and monsters."

Thus there was war.

He then shook his head. "But back on to the subject of my character now. When we entered that world, we tried to contact the Administrator but it kept silent outside of granting a few of our queries like the Morality System. Thus, as the people who created that world, we gathered our efforts to fix it - to end the war that should've never begun in the first place."

"I took on the job of being a mage and fought my way up into the highest level within two in-game years. Together with my team, we attacked the main castles of every kingdom that existed, kidnapped their royals, and forced them to make peace with each other using words instead of making their people fight wars for them."

He sighed. "Of course, there were many setbacks on that journey, but ultimately we succeeded. After that, along with a few of my team I decided to never use my character again outside of important occasions. Right now, my character is still the same as it was eight years ago; wearing the same armor, bearing the same level, and having the same class: Alchemist."

"Right now, that world doesn't need us. We would only wreck the peace we created if we-"

Professor Brunnings was unceremoniously interrupted as the classroom door suddenly slammed open.

My heart leapt to my throat when I saw who it was.

Mark 'Myrddin' Emrys.

I stood up.

"I'm so sorry Sir! I was delayed by-"

Mark was saying something, but I ignored it for the moment. With both professor and late student distracted, it was the rest of the class that followed me with their eyes as I quietly walked down from my seat and to the teacher's table, where both Mark and Professor resided.

Thus, when Mark finally noticed me coming, I was already at his face.

"Wait, Rai- err Brian, what are y- OWWWW!"

He didn't see the foot aiming for his leg in time.

At the sudden soreness of his right leg, Mark hopped on the other leg. As his hands reached to hold the tender part where I had very suddenly kicked him at, my arms were already meeting him there, surrounding my friend.

In mere seconds, Mark had gone from jumping in pain into freezing as my arms kept him in place with a hug.

"Don't. You. Ever. Dare. Do. That. Again." I squeezed out the words out of me with so much emotion into them that I could practically feel my friend fall into shock. My next words were softer, but no less sounding like begging in my own ears. "You got that, Myrddin?"

I felt Mark nod once and I pulled away.

Or at least, not before twisting the position of my arms to rub my knuckles into his head for good measure.

"OWWW, OWWW, OWWW, RAIN, LET ME GO!"

Peripherally, I was aware of people gaping at me in shock. But for the moment, I didn't care - let them see me being emotional as much as they want, I had no wish to pander for anyone's egos right now.

"This is for worrying me for so much." Thank god you're finally back. "How does it feel, making someone worry about you? You should've come to class earlier!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Let me go!"

Before I noticed it, a grin was already on my face, making me look like Rain all over again without the benefit of virtual gear. That was, I supposed, what caused my uncle to delay interrupting us in favor of watching like the rest of my classmates.

But all things had to end as in few minutes, Professor Brunnings had finally decided to split the two of us apart.

"Mr. Walter, Mr. Emrys. You two should not be disrupting class like this." He chastised, in his usual way that could make devils bow and weep. "Do you want to have detention for this?"

However, now that it was finally on my face, the grin wasn't going away. Seeing that, Mark made a smile of his own and seeing that, the Professor sighed, apparently realizing sooner or later we would make a mess of his classroom if we were left unattended.

"Outside. Stand over there and regret what you have done."

Knowing my uncle, at this point he was just allowing us to talk outside of class instead of inside where it would distract others.

I had no regrets.

It was strange that the moment the two of us had relative privacy, all the doubts that I had and were previously swept away by the sheer relief of my friend being back came back with a vengeance.

Mark closed the door behind us. Automatically, like the two of us were back at Terraria and I was Rain and he was Myrddin, my eyes swept through the corridor we were in before deciding there was nobody nearby.

Alright, now it was just me and Mark alone.

It was awkward for a moment before I pushed my festering doubts aside and asked, "How was it in there?"

'There' being the situation inside Fate Online. Judging by the amount of hours Mark was late, he was in there, what, a day longer than I was? Maybe even a night - which was quite boggling to think of now that I wasn't in the game as well to notice such things going on.

"Rain, what did you do when I was knocked out?"

I winced at Mark's tone. It wasn't... comforting. Was that dread in his tone?

"Who answers a question with a question?" I tried to deflect, before adding, "And call me Brian out here."

"Rain- alright, Brian," Mark opened his mouth to say more before correcting himself as he saw me glare at him. "Don't worry about me getting mad at you. I may not look like it, but I went through worse before this inside Terraria. So, if there are any thoughts going through that fast mind of yours about me abandoning you after this, you are terribly mistaken."

My shoulders sagged in relief. That was more comforting than Mark probably realized.

I won't be alone...

"It's just..." Mark turned to rub the back of his head with his hand. Absentmindedly now that I was convinced of his sincerity, I thought to myself how people inside the classroom would gape at the sight of the man before me standing confidently. "When I woke up inside Thordinn alone and without you around, it wasn't hostage treatment as much as it was... fear?"

I blinked at that. Mark himself looked like he couldn't pin down the right word himself.

"No, not fear. There was respect in there, and some Vikings were even treating me like one of their own instead of a potential enemy. But outside of those few..." Mark shrugged, visibly remembering what he was talking about. "They were walking eggshells around me. Treating me like I was made of glass. And when Vikings start doing that around you, you understand that something has happened to make them like that."

I thought at what he said. I only fought the Vikings, so why would they... oh. Oh.

My mouth went dry. "Did they say about anyone dying?"

I wasn't holding back, so what would that make them think?

"Nothing I've heard. But they now also have a clinic filled with wounded men. Why?"

I heaved a sigh of relief at that. "Good. That's one less worry off my mind."

Mark studied me with his eyes. "Brian, what did you do?"

My mind went back to that moment. Now that my friend was beside me, most of the rage was gone and without that rage, I started to wince at the actions I had done. Swarming them with explosions, batting them off with a bludgeoned staff, taking on their weapons with nary a scratch for it...

"Imighthavesnappedatthem."

Mark's brows went up. "Come by me with that again?"

"I might have snapped at them?" I answered, a bit sheepish and a bit regretful all in one. "Went into a berserk rage and started beating down Vikings left and right in an attempt to get you back? Acted like the way you do after drinking several tankards of mead, if not worse?"

There was a moment of silence before it was broken by Mark palming his face with a loud slap.

"And now they're treating me like a delicate piece of china in fear of what you would do to them in retribution." Mark said dryly. "So that was why there even a few Vikings guarding me from the more enraged of the lot over there..."

"What was that last thing you said?"

"No, it's nothing."

Another silence. It seemed that it was going to become a habit by today.

"Well, at least that means fixing this war we found will be easier, right?" I tried to sound cheerful about it, but the reminder of an entire town of warriors fearing me wasn't really that comforting a thought. "You work on the Vikings, I work on the Valkyries, and we'll try to fix this situation before it gets even worse."

Mark's face went paler. "You mean... I, alone, try to talk to those..."

"It's not like they're going to dare hurt you!" I assured him, my mind already making plans of revenge for what-ifs. 'What if they really hurt Myrddin' for one was starting to get a lot of creative plans. "Just try to get closer to Brynjar and convince him of advocating for peace. I've already done that with Brunhilda so-"

"Wait," Mark interrupted me, eyes wide. "Since when did you do that? I thought you went offline right after the battle!"

"Did it before the battle began, now don't interrupt me." I chastised before continuing to speak. "I have to work on the rest of the Valkyries though, so my job is still not finished. After that, hopefully the Vikings would fear me enough to allow me make a demand from them, a demand that would surely be answered if their own Chief agreed."

"So you work on the Valkyries in general and I work on Brynjar? And for how long do we have until the next conflict comes and restarts the resentment between the two towns? And even if we succeed, it's still dependent on their fear for you. Aren't you underestimating this?"

"I can never claim to be perfect, but I'm trying." I snapped at him. "If it fails, we'll try again. It's that simple."

Mark still looked pale, but soon enough he nodded.

"Alright, Brian. I promise I would try my best with my part of this. Anyway, how hard could convincing one man to stop a war get?"

Seeing the opening Mark had inadvertently created, I seized the chance to lift the mood again.

"Mark, you do realize you just jinxed it, right?"

Mark's eyes went wide. "Wha-" He then saw the twitching of my lips. "Hey!"

I laughed at him. Thinking back, I realized it was quite the first time I had laughed as Brian for years.

Mark stared at me for a moment, before he laughed too.

We were going to be busy the moment we entered Terraria again and there wasn't even any assurance of success for what we going to do, but nevertheless we laughed together as if to drink in that joy before we had to split up again for our separate missions.

The laughter continued for minutes, filling up the empty corridor we were in outside the classroom before it petered off into chuckles and then silence.

Awkward silence again as we remembered that we had to stand for an entirety of an hour outside the classroom in exchange for the semi-private talk we just had.

"So... now we wait?"

"More like suffer."

"Yep."

User detected. Rain, welcome back to Fate Online!

I slowly opened my eyes, and then there I was inside Freylin all over again. With one look, I realized that Valkyries were apparently as good as the Vikings when it came to fixing their buildings because there was no sign of the battle that previously went on inside Freylin.

Instantly, a figurative mask went across my features. For a moment, I found morbid amusement at wearing the same facade I went on with as Brian while being Rain, but before I logged in I judged it was best to hide the fact that I wasn't as enraged as I was before for the moment.

The first person I met was the same first Valkyrie that we had ever seen.

Alysse was kneeling on her knees, her spear positioned in front of her.

"Welcome back, Son of Odin. We were waiting for your return."

A window immediately popped up into my vision.

You have gained a new title! You are now the 'Son of Odin!'

Title: Son of OdinDue to your actions that have gone into the realms of legend inside the Viking community, you have been unanimously granted by this title by all of its people.

This title does not need to be worn to use its effects.

Effects:

Raises your fame and ability to influence on those who are believers of the Norse Legends.

When fighting an enemy from the Human race, you gain an additional +5 to both INT and STR.

I barely managed to not gape at her.

Oh god, I hated writing this chapter. But it needed to be written - after all, without showing the weaknesses of character, how could you know of his flaws?

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Last chapter was faster updated than this one because one person was kind enough to give a constructive reply. And that was a fighting scene, which I'm not even talented at making!

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