“Apples! Papaya! Get your fruit! We also have baskets weaved by sweespiders, just like cotton candy! Eat the fruit, then the basket!” the NPC merchant called. Jamie glanced at him, then resumed marching with Lina.

It had been three days since Mayhew had informed them of the stakes. They had been following any mention of a black-clad Raider with a normal-looking sword, and that had led them to the outskirts of Ares City. It was east of their northern destination, but there was a road leading there.

“Why would he bother coming here?” Jamie murmured, craning his neck to look for the wayward player.

“I don’t know. But he’d better pray I don’t get my hands on him. That sucker’s gonna pay.” Lina said with an evil smile, emanating a menacing aura. Jamie shivered and took a step back.

“Uh, I’m s-sure he had his reasons…” he tried lamely. Lina glared at him, and he shut up.

“We’re probably not going to find him like this. Split up?” she suggested.

“Ehh, if we do that, we’ll have to use time to find each other again. Not sure if it’s worth it, and we’re safer with both of us.” he said. She frowned but nodded, her armor clinking as her boots stomped the cement.

Ares City was built more vertically than most, in a slightly more modern style, on a series of hills necessitating ramps and lots of stairs everywhere. They passed a row of apartments, the NPCs going about their business, hanging clothes on a line to dry between them. Lina ground her teeth in frustration. This whole place was full of alleys, crannies, and sewers. It was super easy to get lost, or worse, disappear in.

“Hello there little lady.” She turned to see three NPCs saunter up to them. She groaned, realizing they were alone, and when she checked their stats their class was Bandit. She huffed. “You’ve got some fancy stuff. Leave it and we don’t have to get rough with yous.” he said, cracking his knuckles. In response, she cracked her neck.

“Maybe a little stress relief will help.” she said absently.

“I-I thought cities were supposed to be safe z-zones!” Jamie said, freaking out and preparing a Magbolt.

“Usually, but some scripted encounters happen too. Relax kid, I’ll handle it.” She walked right up to him, grabbed his vest, and slammed into his nose with a vicious headbutt.

“Gah-ukk!” She rained down punch after punch, beating him like a two-dollar steak while the other two stabbed at her. She smirked, unflinching; that’s only what level 12 NPCs without proper equipment could do. She picked up the first bandit above her head and slammed him into the second, crumpling both. The third stabbed at her kidney, but she merely hefted him up and threw him over the railing wall, deleting him instantly.

“There.” she said, dusting her hands off. “Sometimes it pays to put everything in STR.”

“Look out!” Jamie cried. The second bandit didn’t vanish yet, getting up and charging at her. She lazily unslung her sword and thrust, making him dissolve into light and a bag of gold.

“Peh. Only 435 XP.” she said, checking the menu.

“Can you blame ‘em? Those mobs weren’t worth much in the first place.” Jamie and Lina both looked up to see an adventurer watching from a staircase on an upper floor, hands clasped behind her bandana-clad head. She wore leather armor and oversize boots, with a clawed gauntlet hanging from her belt. “Bandits in town’re easy, and you’re more than double their level.”

“Yeah, we didn’t even get much gold out of it.” Jamie said, examining the pouch that had 17g print.

“And who’re you?” Lina said irritably.

“I’m Theresa. I’m just passing through.” she said with a shrug.

“Well I don’t need any comments from the peanut gallery.” Lina snarled. Her bad mood was coming in again.

“Alright. Show’s over, anyway.” Theresa said, turning away.

“W-Wait! Excuse me please! Have you been here long? Have you heard anything about a player, kinda grumpy, a single Raider in black with a sword?” Jamie said. She blinked.

“You just described like half the edgelords in RFO.” she deadpanned. He palmed his face.

“No, I mean yes, I mean…short guy, white hair, red eyes, likes to frown at everything? It’s very important that we find him.” he tried again. She put a thumb to her cheek, then snapped her fingers.

“Ooooh, that guy! Yeah, I think I do know about him!” she said, then suddenly she found herself cornered by the other two, climbing up the railing with incredible haste.

“Where? How long ago?” Lina asked, but it came out more like a threat.

“It’s very, very important that we find him.” Jamie said, pressing in.

“Whoa, whoa!” Theresa said, holding her hands up. “I wasn’t the one who ran into him. That was my boyfriend. Hey! Hey Max!” she called down the road. Lina and Jamie turned to see a short, dumpy-looking avatar in a hooded brown robe waddle up the street, huffing by the time he got to them.

“Hah…I hate this. Everything feels so off-balance.” he said, leaning on the wall.

“It was your choice.” Theresa shrugged.

“Didn’t know I’d be trapped here like this! If I did, I’d pick something a little more svelte!” he snapped.

“Yo! We’re trying to get our teammate back here!” Lina said, snapping her fingers. The hooded figure turned to her.

“And how do you think I can help? I’m an Alchemist! We don’t get tracking spells.” he said, and she smacked her head. She reached out and grabbed him by the collar.

“Listen, I don’t-aaaaaaggghhh!” She recoiled as his hood fell down, revealing a bald, ugly, lumpy, fish-lipped, green-skinned fat little avatar. He looked more like a cross between a goblin and a frog than a man. “Oh my-what happened to you?”

“Shut up. I chose bad, alright? I was a beta tester, and as a reward I got a couple more customization options than others. I thought it’d be funny to be the dumpiest, ugliest, swampiest looking guy I could. And!” he declared, pointing a finger up. “And it was! It was hilarious!”

“Our friends literally fell over.” Theresa supplied.

“Our friends literally fell over! But that was before I had to be in this body 24/7. And? The stats? Not exactly spectacular.”

“Wow, what’d you choose?” Jamie said, scanning his screen. It said the green man was called Krugmek, he was an Alchemist, and most of his points were split between SPC and SPD. “But shouldn’t an Alchemist have a lot more in SPC than any other stat?” he asked.

“That was before I was stuck in a two foot body that could barely hold itself up under all the flab. You try running with your party when your legs are half their size.” Max groused. Jamie blinked.

“But you’re at least four feet-”

“It was hyperbole!” Max snapped. Lina rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“Look, I’m very sorry, Mr. Krugmek. But we gotta find Alex before he slips away again. Where did you see him?”

“Oh, bumped into him at the marketplace. Me’n Theresa were gearing up for a mission, our guildmaster needed something done, and some blonde kid crashes into me before I could stop. I was carrying a lot of shields and the *bleep* tells me to watch where I’m going! Me! He tossed over the whole stack, and doesn’t even try to help me put ‘em back up! Crazy, man.” he grunted. Lina and Jamie had a huddle.

“Well, that does kinda sound like him. I think.” Jamie said.

“Nnng, it’s plenty vague enough that it could be just about anyone who’s close to his description. But I suppose that’s the best lead we got. Hey, which way did he go?” she called to them.

“He headed northwest, towards the Cashfar Fields. It’s actually where we’re headed for the guild.” Max said.

“If you don’t mind company, we could travel together, at least until we part ways.” Theresa added. Jamie and Lina glanced at each other.

“Hmm. We need speed, and the guy’s not exactly mobile…”

“He’s also level 42, and she’s level 45. If we run into anything, they’re gonna be helpful.” Jamie countered.

“Hmm.” On the way to Ares City, they did sight a serpent monster that was level 63, far off in the distance. Nothing they couldn’t run from, but the matter remained the world of RFO was dangerous, especially with the terrorist glitch. “How far away are the Cashfar Fields?”

“From here? If I remember right, it’s about five or six miles, definitely less than ten. How long ago did you see him?” he asked Max.

“Yesterday, around eleven? He looked like he was in a hurry, but wasn’t running or anything, more like a march. He’s probably only a day or two ahead.” he said.

“About what I figured. Well?” Jamie asked Lina. She deliberated, then threw up her hands.

“Alright, we’re safer together. Thanks. I’m Lina, Knight, level 32.” she said, shaking Theresa’s hand.

“Jamie, or Sahalazar. Magus, level 29.” Jamie followed.

“Max, Alchemist.” he said, extending a grubby hand. Jamie shook it, and immediately felt his skin crawl.

“Theresa. Level 45 Shifter.” she said, taking a bow. Lina raised an eyebrow. She’d heard about the class, but hadn’t met anyone who played it. Everyone she’d talked to who tried gave up, frustrated at the negative stats. This was the first chance to see what it could do. “Pleasure to work with you.”

“Likewise.”

Shortly afterward, they had navigated the maze of Ares City and were on the road to the Plains.

“So who’s this guy you’re trying to find? Friend?” Theresa asked as they walked along, the sun appearing and disappearing in the cloudy sky.

“Yeah, I guess. We only met about a week ago. We were trying to figure out why everyone’s trapped.” Lina said. Theresa tilted her head at her.

“Oh? You and 90% of everyone here. Any luck?” It was fortunate that they were looking at Lina, and missed Jamie’s flinch. Lina shook her head.

“Nope, nada. We were headed to Olympolis City to see if anyone had any info. Best chance, we figure.”

“Ahh. That does make the most sense, but I haven’t heard of anything. And the Star Gazelle specializes in information.” Theresa said.

“Star Gazelle?” Lina asked, wrinkling her brow.

“Star Gazelle is one of the guilds in RFO. Pretty big, too. Instead of having a bunch of strong warriors or crafters, they specialize in information exchange. They’re usually the first to know something in or about RFO, like a news cycle.” Jamie supplied. They all stared at him, and he sagged down.

“Oh, no, you’re ok. I just didn’t expect someone who’s not us to know much. We’re not exactly high-profile.” she said, giggling.

“R-Really? You’re mission statement’s pretty famous: ‘Find the truth, spread the truth, get rich doing it.’” Jamie said.

“Well, yes, obviously. But we’re not focused on that, at least us two.” Max said, waddling along. “We joined up about two months ago. See, there’s a lotta people, yeah, but since they’re all doing whatever with their information business, there’s quite a few who’re lower-levelled than they should be. Ergo, easy prey for the high-level NPC Bandits and monsters. And that’s where we come in. We’re kinda like bodyguards, or special agents.”

“I see. That’s cool!” Jamie said. Max puffed up Krugmek’s chest, nearly falling over as he walked.

“Yeah, it can be a blast. But we’re really overworked with this whole isekai thing. NO guild wants its’ members to die and trigger that weird glitch.” Theresa said.

“Probably for the best, seems like something could really go wrong.” Lina said primly, Mayhew’s message flashing in her mind.

“Yeah, I died a bunch when I was lower level, it sucked. But now that I’m past level 20, the Shifter class is awesome!” she said, pumping her fist.

“Y’know, I haven’t met many Shifters. What made you decide to play it?” Jamie asked curiously. Theresa considered for a moment.

“I’ve always loved the monster characters and races in games’n stuff, it was the obvious choice. Unfortunately, you can’t really play as a monster in RFO yet. I heard something about that changing in an expansion or something though, so hopefully. All I did was make my naturally beautiful self for my avatar, ‘cause I wouldn’t keep the shape for long.” she said, gesturing to herself smugly, before frowning. “Or at least that’s what I thought. It took forever to level up enough to actually get to the meat. You ever play a Shifter?”

“No.” Jamie shook his head.

“Those empty levels are no picnic, let me tell you. You get ‘essences’ of monsters instead of their abilities. It’s like an imitation of their powers, but it doesn’t really give you much besides a bonus to your stats, raising you up to where you “should” be. If it weren’t for the claws, I wouldn’t do any damage at all. -2 to every stat except SPC really sucks. But now I see why. Here, I’ll show you.” She pointed across the wheatfield to a passing Warg. “Haaah!” She ran up and jumped at it, triggering the fight. It howled, increasing its’ attack.

“Careful, babe!” Max called, and she waved him off, smiling.

“Let’s see about…Salamander. Salamander Shift!” she called, jutting her hips one way, her shoulders another, and sticking her tongue out.

“What the heck?” Lina said, then her eyes shot wide as MP was consumed, Theresa’s skin turned red, and the tips of her blond hair caught fire. “What the heck!?”

“The power of the Shifters!” The big wolf snarled and charged, two-foot-wide jaws salivating. Theresa leaned forward and breathed out, a stream of flame incinerating the Warg. It backed off, and Theresa giggled.

“No way!” Jamie checked her stats. Before, her SPC was the highest stat, with SPD a distant, muted second. Now her SPD was still high, but her SPD and TGH were 95 each! “Wow!”

“Burn away!” She breathed more fire at the Warg, reducing it to data and gold. “Alright!” she cheered, jumping for joy. Each hit had done over 300 damage, and the monster didn’t have much HP after the first hit.

“Shifters have a high skill gate to become good, most can’t stand to have their stats so reduced. It took two months to get to level 20, but it was totally worth it.” Max said warmly as Theresa sauntered up, planting a kiss on his cheek.

“Aw, you’re so sweet, my little frog prince.” she cooed.

“C-C’mon, Teri. Not in front of everyone.” Max said, fidgeting and blushing.

“Wow, that was so cool! You can gain the abilities of monsters!? Awesome! But…doesn’t the Shifter class mean you can turn into one, too?” Jamie asked, slightly confused. The class had good payoff, but only in combat. That MP drain was way too severe to use for anything but fighting, and the stat reduction meant levelling up was nearly pointless. It seemed cool and powerful, but the scope was limited.

“Not just that, I can turn into them too. But that’s really for a higher level, right now I can only turn into a Goblin and a Shellopede.” Theresa said modestly.

“Ugh.” Lina snorted in disgust.

“Tell me about it. I don’t even use it if I can help it. Bleh. But I have to study the monster long enough for the game to register it in the databanks, and they’re usually attacking you. Hence the dying.” she said, sticking her tongue out.

“Yeah. At least you’re not dying so much anymore, right?” Lina said casually, her pulse starting to quicken, but Theresa dismissed her with a handwave.

“Nah, it’s been a bit since then. And since the guild’s sending us on all these missions, our levels’ve been shooting through the roof! We’ll be top ranked in no time, I bet it’d take a raid boss to kill us at this rate!” she said, hopping into the air.

“No chance’a that, guilds aren’t letting anyone do raids. It’s too dangerous with that glitch.” Max said.

“Makes sense. Everyone’s worried, even with the game being fun. I do kinda miss home.” Lina sighed.

“Got anybody there waiting?” Theresa asked with a raised eyebrow. The Knight shook her head.

“Nah I live alone in a crummy apartment. Still, it’s mine. Don’t mind having off from my job, but we’d better get out soon or I’ll lose it. Wouldn’t mind but I need my job in order to keep my apartment, and to, y’know, eat, so…”

“Mmm. Food is delicious. And keeps you alive. That’s good.” Theresa said.

“Where is your apartment located? Eh, by which I mean where’re you from?” Max said, hurriedly correcting himself because he heard how his words sounded.

“It’s alright. I’m form Chicago. Yourself?”

“We’re form Seattle, got a nice little apartment near the outskirts on a hill, so you can actually see the Needle on clear nights.” he said.

“Oh, cool. Sounds nice.” Lina leaned back and addressed Jamie. “Where’re you from? Don’t think you ever said.”

“Ah, i-it’s not worth mentioning. Just a Podunk little town in North Dakota, nothing special really.” he said, trying to smile disarmingly. Lina had been around him enough to see how brittle it was.

“Ahh, North Dakota. The northernest Dakota. Isn’t that where your brother moved?” Theresa asked Max.

“Nah, he went to South Dakota.”

“Hmm. Speaking of wide open spaces, how long until we hit something in the Cashfar Plains?” Lina said, scanning the area. It was a long stretch of road ahead, fields of wheat and grass on both sides. There were occasional monsters in the distance, never too far from them, and what looked like a forest, blurry form the miles.

“I heard it’s supposed to be the stage for some raid or something later on down the line, but nothing too major yet. Least, that’s what the scuttlebutt says.” Max piped up.

“Ah, there’s really not much here, just some fields, monsters, a couple forests, and the road. I heard there’s a secret underground cave system beneath a cairn or burial mound on a hill, but that’s a dungeon, and form the bereft info the NPCs give about it, sounds like there’s a raid boss at the end, don’t wanna go there. There’s a haunted mansion in the forest coming up, and a little down the road after that there’s a graveyard full of zombies and undead. It’s kinda harsh, low levelled mobs but there’s a lot of ‘em.” Jamie rattled off from memory. He turned red and shrank back into his hood as the other three stared at him. “W-What?”

“Do you have, like, a GPS on your menu somehow?” Theresa asked.

“N-No, I uh, just…read a lot of the map, and…went over the lore about RFO and Kazerlande online a lot. It’s stupid, but I w-was bored, and…” he trailed off, pulling his hood over his embarrassed face. There was an awkward silence, but Lina didn’t feel like sitting through another one.

“Hey! You’re a superfan! Nothing wrong with that.” she said, swinging an arm around his shoulders. He nearly jumped out of his skin, but her STR was a lot higher than his.

“Well, glad someone knows where they’re going. I keep trying to remember to buy a map, but I never do.” Theresa said.

“It’s fine. But I wish we could track Alex down. I have no idea where he went.” Lina said, frowning.

“That is a problem. Hmm. How far ahead was he?” Max asked. Lina tilted her head, calculating distances and times.

“Not too far, I think. We had to figure out where he went, what direction first. But once we heard about his trail from the people around, I thiiiiiiink we managed to catch up fairly quick. If he left Ares City yesterday, and it’s been about a day now. He was a few days ahead, but it seems like he’s taking a lot of stops along the way too. It’s weird.” she explained.

“Hmm…then, within half a day. I think I might have something that can help.” He pulled up his inventory screen and pulled out a pair of dark purple coke-bottle glasses. “Behold! The ultimate detective tool, the Detective Glasses.” He put them on, the thick lenses obscuring his eyes. “Simply put them on and say, detection!” He stared at the road. He turned to see the way they came, then looked to the road ahead and around the fields. He nodded. “Yup, he was here. Probably, at least. Don’t think it was anyone else, not a whole lot of people come out here right now.”

“How do you know?” Jamie asked.

“The Detective Glasses allow me to see footprints of people up to twenty-four hours past. It’s really useful if you can get there in time, but within the first six hours is clearest. These’re nearly faded. Once the time’s up they’ll do nothing. Cost a pretty penny, too.” he said, following the orange tracks.

“We got ‘em for the mission. 118,000 gold.” Theresa said, somewhat sourly. Lina and Jamie both nearly had a heart attack.

“What! That’s crazy!” Lina exclaimed.

“I’ve never seen so much gold in-game. You guys must be rich.” Jamie said in wonder. Theresa shrugged.

“You guys’re only in the early thirties, right? You gotta do more raid dungeons, that’s all. Join up with a big guild or level up a bit more, or both. Wouldn’t suggest doing it now, but they can be really profitable. Plus we get special discounts from the Star Gazelles.”

“Least there’s that.” Lina said, scanning ahead. Max had been following the tracks into the trees, heading towards the forest. The light from the cloudy sun was blocked more than normal as they progressed, the trees growing more gnarled and thicker the deeper they went. Her eyes went to the thickening treeline. The forest was silent, save for the occasional swish of wind or hoot of birds. At least she hoped they were just birds. The path, and the Plains, were long since blocked off, the foliage too thick to see through. Max looked up, puzzled.

“It looks like he was in an encounter, his tracks are everywhere. Including the trees, it looks like he was jumping off them. Weird.”

“Let me go first. I’ve got the highest defense of everybody.” Lina said stepping forward, hand on the hilt of her sword. The air was heavy, ominous. They all felt it. Without speaking, they closed ranks as the miles wore on. The forest was thick with shadows and undergrowth, evening-dark despite the broad daylight.

“Jamie, do you remember hearing anything about this forest earlier? This seems like something we should’ve noticed.” Lina asked.

“Um, the monsters in the Cashfar Plains weren’t supposed to be much, but the castle and cairn were supposed to be filled with high-level encounters. I don’t remember anything about a spooky forest, though.” he said timidly, gripping his staff tight. “A-And if I remember correctly, t-the ruined c-castle is supposed to b-be somewhere in the h-heart of the forest. Haunted.”

“Of course.” Lina growled. Her eyes scanned rapidly from side to side. “What’cha wanna bet these woods are haunted too?”

“I wouldn’t take it when I’m looking at it, but they’re not supposed to be.” Theresa said, slipping her claws on.

“Stay close and keep your eyes open. Jeez, is this guy really in here?” Max said.

Huddled closer, weapons ready, they made their way following Allocrax’s trail. Every crunch on the fallen leaves and twigs made their hair stand on end. As they went, they noticed a dark shadow in the trees, staying just out of sight but keeping pace with them.

“Careful, it could be a trick.” Lina whispered, her eyes straight on the road ahead.

“A-And if it’s n-not?” Jamie asked nervously.

“Then we already know where the attack will come from.” she said, voice hard. Jamie blanched.

“I don’t like this. We should attack, take whatever it is by surprise before it can get the drop on us.” Theresa put in.

“And how do we do that? I have a knife, this sword, and a rock. Not exactly the fastest weapons, and I can’t cover enough ground in time to make it. This armor’s heavy, you know.” Lina whispered harshly. The shadow was slowly making its’ way to them.

“I’ve got range, I can be the artillery. Teri, cover us when it gets in close.” Max said, reaching into his inventory and pulling out a sack. From that he pulled out a vial of bubbling, neon purple liquid in a stoppered test tube. The shadow was growing closer and larger, and Max raised his arm. The light was fading in the stormy sky, twigs snapping as heavy footsteps shuffled closer. The figure stepped forward and everyone gasped.

“Uuuuuuuuuuggggggghhhhh!” Standing nearly nine feet tall, in a long black coat and filthy overalls, came a horrible nightmare. His skin was stretched taught, greenish-grey over his bones. Broken black nails were held up, a dirt-yellow hat with a brown band crammed on a head of loose, stringy sliver hair. Eye sockets completely empty and black save for two sickly points of white light, promising death. A stat screen appeared above him, proclaiming him to be a greater ghast, level 83.

“Oh no!” Jamie cried. Greater ghasts were terrible foes to fight, the supreme version of the ghast, which was the improved version of the zombie-class mobs. Zombies could be found in graveyards and old battlefields at nights and they were a pain. They were resistant to every magic and weapon attack thrown at them, and they could hit like a truck. They couldn’t move very fast, but having a ton of hit points to compensate ensured the frustration of many players of RFO. They might as well have been bosses. And this was the better version, and at levels Jamie had never seen before. Almost never, except for…the orcs.

“Hyaah!” Max chucked his vial, and it shattered on the giant ghast. It bubbled and boiled, but his HP barely dropped at all. “What? Oh, right!” He dug in his bag again, searching for a concoction or item that would hurt it. “Um, um…” The ghast took a swipe at Theresa. She dodged easily enough and counterattacked for -52, but it still had 11,148 HP.

“I can’t take it alone!” she shouted, slicing gat his outstretched arm.

“Rrrrrrraaaaaahhhhhh!” Lina stepped up and swung her enormous sword, thwacking into his side and knocking him down. “Jamie! Circle of Resistance!” she cried.

“Um, but-”

“Now!” The Magus was cowed into action, raising his hands and swinging his staff in a circle.

“C-C-Circle of Resistance!” he cried.

“Jamie!” Jamie!” Lina called, blocking the dead arm with her wide blade. NO magic circle appeared. “Could use some magic here!”

“C-C-Circle of Resistance!” He tried again, his hands shaking as the greater ghast’s health bar was going down, not nearly quick enough. A glancing blow form his elbow dropped Theresa’s HP bar to half. Lina broke off engaging, and grabbed his shoulder, forcing the teen to look her in the eyes.

“We don’t have time for this! Breathe, nice and deep. Calm down, and give us the spell.”

“Ok, ok,” Jamie said, gulping down air, forcing himself to slow down. “Ok, I c-can do this. Breathe, just breathe…Circle of Resistance!” he cried desperately, swinging his arm and pushing it down. His motion was correct enough for the game to recognize the input, and a twenty foot circle of holy magic appeared beneath their feet. The ghast flinched away from the light. “I…I did it!”

“Congrats!” Lina roared, slamming the Hellcrusher onto the enemy, making him retreat even more. Theresa bathed it in flames, and Max threw a handful of magic grenades, the explosions lighting the dark forest. The ghast stumbled back, trying to shrug off the damage. Lina grinned savagely, but that faded when she saw it still had 8,647 HP left. “Gahh! Even with the Circle of Resistance, it’s gonna be tough to win! Jamie, let loose with some covering fire! Max, get whatever heals you can on Theresa, and-” The ghast lifted its arms.

The sounds of battle fell away as the bushes rustled. Form them came two bears, both with flies buzzing around their sunken eyes and rotten fur, patches of muscle and bone and sinew exposed to all. The greater ghast pet them on their heads, and they both growled menacingly.

“M-M-M-My Circle c-c-can’t r-resist a g-ghast a-and t-two z-zombears at o-once.” Jamie stuttered, paling with fright. Both bears were level 60. Their STR was both 516, with a TGH of 488. Curiously, neither was at full health, at 880 and 967 of 10,000 respectively. The ghast pointed at them, and they both lumbered forward.

“O-Okay, that’s just not fair! This guy was a miniboss by himself!” Max yelled, rummaging frantically through his inventory.

“Bouldermaw Shift!” Theresa slouched over and punched her fists together, a layer of rock growing over her skin as miniature mountains jutted from her shoulders, her eyes crystalizing and rolling together into the singular jade eye of a boulder maw. Her SPD dropped to 30, but her STR went to 170 and her TGH went through the roof to 280.

“Whoa!” Jamie said.

“Didn’t think we’d be in for the long haul.” she said through gritted, jagged teeth. She glanced worriedly at her health bar, about a quarter left. Suddenly, it jumped to nearly double that as she felt a cool wetness splash her back. She turned to see Max drop a broken bottle of healing potion and wink. “Babe? You’re the best.”

“Love ya, babe.” Max said, grabbing more magic grenades. These things didn’t pack much punch, but together they could do something. He eyed his spell crystal stores; things weren’t quite dire enough yet. Lina held her sword out as the zombears approached, the ghast close behind.

“Maaaaaaaaaaybe standing our ground isn’t the best option here.” she said, glancing from one to another.

“I agree!” Jamie shrieked.

“Spotknight!” Lina cried, her form glowing with a bright orange aura. The bears and ghast all turned their attention onto her, marking her as the first target.

“No! My TGH is higher, let me tank!” Theresa cried.

“I got more HP right now, leave it to me! Besides, I got my ways! Resolvenforcement!” Lina’s TGH jumped up to 112 with her next spell, just in time as a zombear raked her side with a claw. 366 of 468. “These things are monsters. Hitcrease!” She swung her sword, feeling it smash through the pudding-like consistency of the virtual enemy.

“P-Pillar of Flame!” Jamie cast, trying to roast the bear, and nearly caught Lina in the blast.

“Watch it!”

“S-Sorry!”

“Don’t just stand around, move! Let me cover our backs!” Lina barked, and he glanced to the other two, hoofing it down the path.

“A-Alright!” Jamie dashed off and Lina checked the zombear with her shoulder, shoving it into the ghast behind it.

“Later!” She hopped backwards, waving her sword to prevent them from getting close. But they were undead, and mindlessly walked forward, heedless of the sword reducing their hit points. “Graaah! I hate zombies!” Lina went over her mental catalogue of spells and items, never far from her thoughts. Nothing she had allowed her to fly or teleport, that would’ve been very good right now. She would totally rectify that…if she lived through this.

“Don’t stop!” Theresa called, throwing a rock to bean the ghast on the head, -10. Theresa looked to see her with wolf ears, a tail, and a snout, bending low to the ground and growling. “Wolf form, I can go fast. Hyah!” Theresa dashed, grabbing Lina’s collar and yanking her with her.

“Spotknight’s got twelve seconds left! They’ll keep chasing me!” Lina barked.

“Then we outrun ‘em!” Theresa poured on the speed, but Lina weighed too much, and her increased STR couldn’t compensate enough for the armor. Wolf form was used for quick movement, not to lug stuff around. She grit her teeth against the burning in her muscles. “Rrrrrraaaaaaah!”

Something whizzed by Lina’s ear and hit the zombear, blinding it.

“Huh?”

“Over here!” Theresa saw a small arm beckon from the undergrowth, and had to decide in a split second.

“Crap!” She dove into the bushes, Lina in tow as another projectile splattered across the other bear’s face. They pawed at their rotten muzzles as the greater ghast caught up, scanning the path. Lina and Theresa both were still and quiet, their hearts thrumming in their chests as the predatory undead gaze swept over their hiding spot.

However, with the bears blinded and no sign of players, there was nothing else for the program to do. He despawned in a flash of light, the zombears lumbering off. As they passed, Lina wrinkled her nose. They reeked of rotten tomato.

After they had gone for some time, both Theresa and Lina breathed a sigh of relief. Lina’s XP bar pinged, and she suddenly found herself at level 33.

“Heh. Even the pity XP from running away got me up.” she muttered.

“Whew. I’m glad we made it.” came from behind. They turned to see a little girl in robes and leather armor, sitting down in exhaustion and nerves, a harp slung across her back. “That was close.”

“Yeah. But who’re you?” Lina asked.

“Wallendora!” Theresa burst out.

“Bless you?” Lina said.

“No, Wallendora’s our mission. She’s the one we needed to find.” Max said, coming up with Jamie.

“Max! Teri! I’m so glad to see you!” the little girl cried, hugging them.

“It’s good to see you too, Wally.” Theresa said, holding her close.

“Teriiiiii! I missed you!” she bawled, shedding tears and burying her face in her chest.

“Wally’s a member of our guild. There was an expedition out a long way a few days ago, and she got separated when the team came through this area. Thank God the in-game message system still works.” Max explained.

“Wait, she actually is a kid?” Lina asked, wide-eyed. Max nodded solemnly.

“Yup. Wally’s ten, her real name’s Dorothy. She’s kinda like the whole guild’s little sister. We were all worried, but by the time the party realized she was missing, it was too late to turn back. We were closest when the call went out, so we volunteered to pick her up.”

“Wow. Yikes.” Jamie said with a grimace. This was a videogame, after all. Even though it was mostly teens and young adults playing it, he shouldn’t be so surprised children were stuck here too. His eyes shot wide as he realized that they were at risk of the program as well. He glanced at Lina, and they shared a worried look.

“Well, that’s one missing person down.” Lina said, careful to keep her tone casual.

“Oooh, I’m so glad you’re safe! It’s ok now though, we’ll go home.” Theresa said, softly rubbing Wally’s back.

“To my mom’n dad?” she sniffed hopefully. Theresa smiled sadly, shaking her head.

“Sorry, hun. We’re not outta the woods yet. Literally.” she said, looking up at the dark trees. Jamie checked his menu, the clock said 7:14. It was growing dark and much cooler. “I don’t like the idea of trying to navigate through this forest at night. Any other one, maybe. This one…?” She grimaced, and everyone else nodded.

“We should find a place to set up camp. Something easily defendable, away from that ghast.” Lina said as something flapped in the trees, yowling. She doubted it was a bird.

“Oh! We can stay where I am!” Wally perked up, drying her tears.

“And where’s that, hun?” Theresa asked.

“The spooky old castle in the middle of the woods!” she said cheerfully. Everyone froze.

“Ah…ah…I, I’m n-not sure that’s a g-good idea.” Jamie said.

“Aw, it’s ok! We’re pretty close to it anyway, I was just trying to find some food. The scary guy can’t cook.” she said innocently. Internally, Theresa was struggling not to cry and freak.

“Uh, Wally? What do you mean, ‘scary guy?’” she asked carefully.

“Oh, I met him a couple day s ago! When I lost the rest of the Gazelles, I wandered in here looking for help. I got chased around by a ghost though, wooowooo!” She gestured wildly, throwing her arms up. “He chased me through the woods, and I found the castle. It was scary, but my health was in the red-” heart attack for Max and Theresa “-and I didn’t have any potions, I used them up earlier.” she said, embarrassed. “Anyway, the ghost followed me in, I was a goner! He was coming up to get me, when BAM!” She threw her arms out. “The scary guy sliced right through him! It was amazing, he ripped it apart! Never saw anything like it! Bwoosh! He said he was an adventurer too, he was there to kill high-level monsters! He’s really scary when he’s fighting and grouchy when he’s not, but he’s a nice guy. Kinda reminds me of gramps.” she finished thoughtfully.

“Did he say who he was?” Max asked.

“Yuh-huh, he said his name’s Alleycats! Wait, that’s not it, uh…” Wally started pacing back and forth, trying to remember. “H-He only told me once, ok!” Jamie and Lina sighed.

“Short guy with red eyes, even shorter temper?” Lina asked.

“White hair with a sword, dresses in black, prone to violence?” Jamie said.

“Uh-huh!” Wally confirmed.

“Alex.” they both said.

“Definitely. We know where our mission is now, let’s hope he’s still there. The things we do for this party.” Lina scowled.

“Wally, do you know if he’s still there? His screenname’s Allocrax, not Alleycats.” Jamie said.

“Yeah, he should still be there. He was beating up some monsters when I left. I tried to help but he said to stay out of it, and since he looked scarier than the monsters I did. C’mon, it’s bad around here at night. There’s this really tall scarecrow-farmer thing that, uh, I’d like to not deal with unless he’s there with me.” she said with a nervous laugh. They all recalled the greater ghast, and shuddered.

“Yeah, maybe for the best.” Theresa said.

They made their way along the winding trial through the forest, their breath starting to become visible as the moon rose. Temperatures didn’t depend just on season; what area of Kazerlande was a much more reliable gauge. The Cashfar Plains were temperate, with average highs in the mid-seventies and dipped down to touch the thirties at night. Nothing too extreme, but after marching all day and the fighting they’d done, it was getting miserable. Soon enough, they exited the trees, and stood before an enormous estate.

“Diabolis Manor.” Jamie said breathlessly. The four-story building rose high into the sky, cutting the clouds and emerging stars with dark terraces and gargoyles. In a Gothic style of course, the road led to the enormous grey doors of the entrance, curving around a foul fountain with a cherub on top, looking far more like n imp than a creature of love. Bats flew around the spires and windows, and Max could swear he saw a woman quickly move past a window on the third floor, dressed in pale white while carrying no light. They all shivered.

“Oh, don’t worry about any of that. The house always looks like, the bats fly in the same pattern every time I look at it.” Wally sad cheerfully. “There’s the main hall, the kitchens with the Gruesome Gourmet, he’s a boss, you don’t wanna fight him alone, the hedge maze, garden, and pond around back, they’ve got zombies and mushroom men and mermaids, but the mermaids aren’t pretty like Ariel. The ballroom’s full of ghosts, and the halls usually have armorcutions, empty suits of armor that attack you. There’s werewolves occasionally, and they’re trouble, he usually lets me help out with them. Oh! And don’t go into the basement. There’s a lab down there, and a big, BIG scary monster under a sheet there.” she said with haunted eyes, looking far away. “Brrr. W-We had to run away from that one. Alley-Allocrax says it’s prob’ly an optional boss. And upstairs after the attic, there’s like a vampire or something up there. When we found it, he started laughing super hard and went ahead and stabbed him like a million times. It took a while, and I had to use every healing spell I know, but he managed to beat him in the end. He looked a little scarier than normal, too.” Wally said as she pushed the front doors open with an ominous creak, the fading light barely illuminating the foyer.

“Someone’s played waaaay too much Castlevania.” Jamie muttered, huddling close to Max.