It has been three hours since number 96, and I began heading in the smoke's direction, and we've been constantly ambushed by what I could only call fantasy creatures.

There were mainly goblins and those creatures that looked like tiny dragons, kobolds, I think is what people call them, and this only adds to the theory that the second stage is something like an RPG or a fantasy simulator of some sort.

There were, of course, other creatures like colorful, venomous insects the size of your average dog. But they were content just hanging on the plant life without actively ambushing us like kobolds and goblins, so we didn't bother them either.

And speaking of the trees in this forest area, they also were not too far from the fantasy theme that seemed to encompass this stage of the game, and the forest itself wasn't either.

There was a myriad of colorful trees, with different lights and widths, along with many strange-looking herbs that resembled something you would get a quest to gather while playing an RPG.

And although there were many colorful creatures and plants in this forest, the color green was still the most dominant color in the surroundings, making the scenery a lovely scene of greenery littered with a myriad of colors, but I digress.

"We won't make in time if we keep going like this," I remarked with a frown as I stopped, turning to look at number 96. "Then what do you suggest we do?" Number 96 asked with her usual smirk, tilting her head to the said as she too stopped.

"I might have a solution, but I don't think you're going to like it," I replied with a shrug, and she made no retort, merely waiting for me to finish what I had to say.

"I can fly us there, but this will be my first time attempting this," I added with a frown, pausing for a minute to choose my words.

"And you will have to trust me not to do anything funny while carrying you in the air," I added as I materialized snow white out of my inventory, making take the shape of a pair of white wings and attaching them to my back.

"What kind of funny are we talking about here?" Number 96 said with an amused smile, giving me a meaningful smile as she began wiggling her eyebrow suggestively.

"Funny as in dropping you to your death or slitting your throat while you are unaware," I replied with a deadpan, struggling to keep my eyes from twitching.

I will not lie. Number 96 was an attractive woman with long blond hair, big blue eyes, and a rocking body to match her beautiful face, but she seemed looked and sounded crazy, and if there is one thing I learned from my past life of thrill-seeking and felonies, it's that you don't stick your dick in crazy.

So, no, I won't be doing anything that falls under that category of funny. In fact, that's the last thing I wanted to do, despite being in dire need of doing something funny if you know what I mean.

"Oh, you're no fun!" number 96 said with a chuckle, rolling her eyes at me. "But you don't need to worry about that," she added as a pair of white wings, not too different from mine, sprouted on her back.

"And is there a reason you didn't feel like sharing the fact you could fly with me?" I asked as my facade finally broke, and my eyes began twitching.

"You know what? I don't even want to know," I remarked while shaking my head as I wobbly shot myself into the air, struggling to keep myself balanced as my intuitive aptitude went to work, helping me understand the mechanic of flying with wings.

I kept hitting branches left and right as I gained altitude for at least five minutes before I got the hang of using my new pair of wings, despite knowing how to, as application and theory are very different.

"Now we're getting somewhere." I couldn't help the smile stretching my lips as I finally managed to fly above the tree line while gazing at the beautiful scenery below me.

"Not bad for a first-time flyer, number 69!" number 96 exclaimed as she followed suit, flying right behind me.

...

Several more had passed since number 96, and I began flying towards our destination, and we unsurprisingly had several encounters with flying creatures along the way.

There were more colorful insects capable of flight and birds of varying sizes, with the largest of them being my size as well, but they didn't cause any trouble for us, merely eyeing us curiously as we glided through the air, but I digress.

Our destination was finally visible before our eyes. It was a small town that looked like a stereotypical fantasy middle ages themed village with brick buildings that had hay roofs and people dressed in all manner of bizarre outfits.

We landed in front of the town's entrance, and a town guard wearing chain mail armor and carrying a spear approached us immediately.

"Hello adventures, and welcome to the town of Honey-Wood!" the guard said in an amiable tone, smiling as he did, and I gave him a polite nod in acknowledgment while 96 didn't seem interested in the man.

"I assume you are here to take care of the dungeon outbreak?" the man asked, still smiling politely, causing both number 96 and I to exchange confused glances. And just as I was about to ask the man what the hell he was talking about, the announcer's voice reverberated in my mind, causing me to pause.

"This a recorded message I designed to trigger as soon as any contestant teams accomplish the first objective of the second stage!" the announcer stated, and I frowned as I turned to look at the surroundings, expecting the surrounding people to react.

But not only did no one react, everyone seemed frozen in place, regardless of what they were doing.

"Your second and final objective is to explore the dungeon nearby the town or village you found and defeat its boss to prevent the monster outbreak!"

"And You have two weeks to do so!. Have fun and good luck!" the announcer concluded, and the town's people immediately began moving again.

"That's right," I replied to the guard's previous question with a smile on my face. "But my companion and I have been through a long journey, so how about you take us somewhere where we can rest before anything else?" I asked while gesturing towards number 96.

"Of course," the guard replied with a sheepish smile, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "Please follow me. I'll take you to the town's inn," he added as he turned around and started walking, gesturing for us to follow.

"This the town's inn," the guard said as he stopped in front of a two-story, brick building. "You can spend the night here, and I'll be back tomorrow morning to explain the dungeon's situation further," he concluded as he turned around and left.

I merely looked at his retreating figure without saying anything, shrugging as I made my way towards the door with 96 following behind me.

"Welcome to the Honey-Wood inn," said a middle-aged woman wearing an apron as soon as we walked inside the inn, approaching with a beaming smile on her face.

"Are you here dine or rent a room?" the woman asked with a meaningful smile on her face as she looked between number 96 and me. "We're here to dine and rent two rooms," I replied with a deadpan expression, causing the woman to chuckle while 96 merely shrugged.

"Well, you're in luck as we happen to have just that, two vacant rooms!" the woman said with a smile as she made her way towards the stairs, gesturing for us to follow her.

"These will be your rooms. They cost ten copper coins a day each," she said while gesturing towards the rooms. They were nothing fancy, with only the bare necessities like a bed, a small table, and two chairs.

"Do you take these?" I asked as I took out a gold coin, holding it in front of the woman. "We do, sir," the woman replied with a smile, her eyes glued to the gold coin.

"Good. We'll rent both of the rooms for two weeks," I said as I tossed the coin towards the woman. "That should be enough to cover our rent along with food and water, no?" I asked, and the woman began nodding her head fervently.

"More than enough, sir. Please make yourselves at home while I prepare a meal for you," she replied, still nodding as she turned around and made her way towards the kitchen in a hurry.

"Well, now we know the value of these gold coins, at least," I muttered with a shrug as I walked into one of the rooms with 96 following behind me.