Level up!

Congratulations, you are now level 2!

+50 SP

Race EXP 35/110

SpellSword EXP: 135/200

As she finished the final bites of the surprisingly tasty fruit, a notification popped up. Mei nodded in satisfaction upon seeing her level go up. If just a single fruit could give her such a big boost, a whole tree of them would be insane! Just the thought eating more of the fruit and the amount of levels she was going to gain made her grin in anticipation.

It wasn't long before she neared the tree once again. Without the lantern this time, however, she couldn't see the forms of the crawlers with moonlight alone. Mei wished she had asked Alzeth to lend her his lantern.

But this was no time to mope. She opened up the party chat.

Alzeth: test

Emerr: 👌

I've reached the tree!|

Now to wait for Alzeth to respond. Mei sat down on the surprisingly comfortable moss as she waited. She stared at the skies as she waited, expecting a party summon notification at any time.

The sky was covered in clouds, blocking most of the moonlight and the glow of the stars. It was unlike what one would expect in an area that seemed so dry and barren of life. Well, technically the grey moss was all over the place but it didn't feel particularly lively.

After waiting for a few minutes, she reopened her party window, slightly impatient. Why hadn't Alzeth sent a summon request yet?

Alzeth: test

Emerr: 👌

Mei: I've reached the tree!

|

Mei wrinkled her eyebrows. What the heck was Alzeth doing? She was just about to reach her hands out to type another message when she heard a shrill cry that pierced her ears.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEE!"

The cry continued to echo for a few seconds in the vast emptiness of the Greylands. Before she shook out of her daze completely, she heard the thuds of heavy objects from the vicinity of the tree. The grey crawlers were after her!

Mei was not one to stay completely composed and rational when panicking. The first thing she thought of was to call for help in the party chat as she ran.

Her fingers hit the keyboard haphazardly as she ran, scoring multiple typos. A small part of her mind bemoaned why the game couldn't just read her mind and paste what she wanted to say directly into the chat despite the gear literally being a mind reading machine.

She tripped over a random rock as she ran. For the second time today, Mei fell over from running too quickly. A few seconds later, something slammed into her at an alarming speed.

YOU DIED

Respawn timer: 4 mins 49 seconds

A giant banner covered with pictures of burgers appeared on one of the walls.

Darkness overtook her vision a table stating the obvious appeared before her. She then appeared in an empty white room seconds later. Well, that was great. Mei sighed. At least the game didn't give EXP penalties for dying until the player reaches higher levels.

'NEW teriyaki beef and mushroom burger!"

Ads even in a VR game? Mei cringed. Sadly, Ad-Block could not be used in a VR game. That WacDonald burger did look good though. It would probably look terrible in real life, however. Three more ads appeared on the rest of the walls as Mei waited.

Mei didn't feel like looking at ads so she reopened her party chat. Perhaps Alzeth finally responded?

Alzeth: test

Emerr: 👌

Mei: I've reached the tree

Alzeth: sorry, I was busy watching cat videos :p

sending a summon invite rn...

oh shit you died? lol sorry

hELP! THREY'RE CHASIMG MEE!!1|

Cat videos? Who the heck watches cat videos in a dangerous wasteland without a shelter at night? Mei sighed as she deleted her messy plea for help. She thought about replying with a new message but decided against it. She just wasn't sure what to say.

She decided to open the browser to watch a short video while she waited.

Sorry, you cannot use the internet while in the Sponsor Room.

Buy Ad-Block for $9.99 to disable ads in the respawn room and be able to access the internet?

Yes No

What the heck? Mei felt like this was super unfair. $10 was like the cost of a small pizza! Mei felt like her heart was bleeding. No way! She decided to wait it out, watching the counter slowly tick down. 5 minutes was normally not a long time for Mei. Unless she had nothing to do while she waited and was very anxious to get out.

The counter soon reached zero. Mei disappeared from the respawn room and landed back on the same pad where she teleported into the Greylands on. Finally! For some reason, Mei felt like she had been waiting for 3 weeks.

She took a second to reorientate herself, then reopened the chat.

"Hey Alzeth I just respawned" she typed.

"ok lol" responded Alzeth.

Alzeth is summoning you.

Teleport there?

Yes No

Mei hit yes. She reappeared before Alzeth and Emerr.

There were a few seconds of awkward silence where both of them did not know what to say. Finally, Alzeth broke the ice.

"So... How was it like?" Alzeth immediately realised how stupid what he said was.

"A lot of ads." said Mei.

"I see." said Alzeth. "By the way, I've got a new plan!"

"Huh?"

"So basically, me and Emerr will go close to the tree and attack while you hide somewhere! When the crawlers are agrroed, you go up and snatch as many fruits as you can!" Alzeth announced his plan proudly.

"Um..." Mei wasn't sure if that was a good idea. "Okay, I guess?"