Marcus was outside of the northern gate of Faeriver, his arms crossed and his patience wearing thin. He glanced once more at the clock embedded in the system, and sighed at how late Nika was running.

She finally appeared on his friends list, and a moment later her apologies started to flood through the message system. Marcus half-listened to her, knowing she had a reason even if it had irked him, so instead focused more on the flow of people in and out of Faeriver.

The vast majority of the players looked to favor melee, with many wearing cheap medium armor. Very few seemed to carry bows, and even fewer had anything that’d allude to being a magic user.

When Nika emerged from the city gates Marcus noticed her instantly. Unlike almost every other player she wore a very simple outfit, a basic shirt and pants with some boots. There was no armor on her body, and her short spiked red hair remained uncovered by any type of headgear.

A smile tugged at the corner of Marcus’ mouth when he saw her. Though she was late it wasn’t all that unusual or unexpected. He waved to get her attention, as he was a single person in a sea of bodies.

“Marcus!” Nika called out as she saw him, her pace hastening.

Before Nika reached him the world beneath their feet tumbled. There was an upheaval as trees north-west of Faeriver cracked and fell over, and part of the ground itself lifted with a loud crack. In a matter of seconds a new hill had formed, and everyone in the vicinity had fallen over from the severity of the shaking.

Marcus stood back up after the shaking had subsided, and he reached out to help the nearest person do the same. He glanced in the direction of Nika, noticing that she was still on the ground. Her face had grown pale, far more than one would expect from an earthquake in a game.

“Thank you!” the young lady he’d helped up said, but uncharacteristically Marcus ignored her and instead hurried over to Nika.

Marcus bent over next to her, reaching down with both hands to help her up. “Come on, Nicole,” he whispered to her, “it’s just a game remember?”

Nika seemed to shake off her temporary disorientation, and she tightly gripped his hands. “Thanks,” she said, her voice subdued.

As she stood up Marcus politely didn’t mention anything, and found something else to do while his friend recovered. Instead he looked at all of the other people outside of Faeriver.

For the most part all the other players had recovered, but the NPCs had reacted a bit differently. Rather than being confused the guards seemed agitated, as people Marcus could only assume were messengers ran back into the city.

“What’s going on?” Marcus wondered aloud.

Nika temporarily leaned against Marcus as she patted herself down, the dirt and small rocks falling easily enough from her clothing. When she looked at him and opened her mouth to speak, however, she frowned and half-turned away from him.

“What? Selene, what was that?” Nika asked the air next to them.

Marcus’ eyes widened a little, and for a brief moment he felt hurt. The system did allow for more than two-way communication, so Selene could’ve included him in their discussion. “What’s she talking about?”

Nika held up one hand in response. “Yes, we’ll head there, yes Marcus is here too, don’t worry. We’ll meet you there, be careful okay?”

Marcus stood in silence next to her, trying to hold onto the small hint of patience he still had left. When Nika turned back to him he raised one eyebrow and waited. Before she could even speak an alert popped up in front of him.

“Global event?” Marcus murmured as he read the words, and then he looked sharply at Nika, “did Selene cause this?”

Nika nodded. “Apparently she turned into a fairy after killing a boss, and now she has a new subquest to go to Freedon.”

“Freedon? That’s a town to the north right?”

“Yup! Typhoon said that it’s a great place to go if you’re heading for the desert,” Nika said, her previous bout of weakness long forgotten, “so let’s get going!”

At the mention of that man Marcus muttered a few choice words under his breath. He still didn’t trust him, nor how he’d known about some hidden class. Yet he didn’t bother trying to talk any sense into Nika, knowing from past experience how stubborn she could be.

Nika turned to start heading off to the north, and then she paused and glanced back at Marcus. Her eyes studied him from head to toe as she slowly leaned in closer. “Wait a second, did you get new armor?”

Marcus smiled at her question and tapped the thin breastplate he wore. “Yes, I met an armourer in town and she sold it,” he replied as he lifted his arms up to showcase the bracers, “she said this’ll give me enough defense to completely nullify hobgoblins. There’s a shield too, it’s a bit small but far better than what I started with.”

“Good,” Nika said as she took a quick few steps away from him, “if anything pops up you can just take the hit for me and I’ll stab it a lot.”

“Isn’t that what I’ve already been doing?” Marcus asked as he followed her.

Nika laughed loudly, but she continued on along the road. The stone path leading away from the city turned into a loose gravel, even as the density of the players started to drop off.

As the two travelled northward the forests changed to plains, and the familiar sight of goblins greeted them. Marcus had to almost wrestle with Nika to keep her moving, as she wanted to stop and kill every group they came near. It was only after he’d hammered home the fact that Selene would be waiting for them she relented.

After an hour the plains gave way to hills, and after the hills there were spatterings of light forested areas. Marcus and Nika moved at a good pace, the road for the most part free of monsters. While they walked Marcus noticed a large amount of carriages that consistently passed by.

“I wonder if there was a place you could rent one back in town?” he wondered.

Nika shook her head at him. “Where’s the fun in riding in a wooden box, we’re here to kill monsters and adventure.”

Before Marcus could respond to her a hint of movement to his left caught his attention. He turned and saw a woman wearing a bright yellow dress, one normally found at formal ballroom dances. The woman had her arms crossed and seemed to almost pout as she stared up into the branches above her.

Nika continued to walk on ahead, but Marcus instead approached the woman. “Are you alright?” he asked as he stayed outside of arm’s reach. He didn’t wish to alarm the woman by crowding her.

The woman turned, her auburn locks swaying with the motion, and a wide smile appeared on her face. Both of her gloved hands went to her hips and she lightly pinched the dress. With utmost grace she curtsied to Marcus, the motion clearly well practiced.

“Greetings, I am Ariana,” she said, her voice soft and clear.

“I’m Marcus,” he told her, “I noticed you looked a bit distressed?”

“I was minding my own business, and a silly squirrel stole my hat from me!” Ariana declared as she pointed at the branches.

When Marcus looked up he saw the hat, the same color as her dress, along with a brown squirrel that peered at the two of them. “A squirrel?” he asked, wondering why it would’ve stolen the hat in the first place.

As if in answer to his question the animal chittered at him. It was a noise that made him narrow his eyes, and at that the rodent darted along the branches. The hat was carried along with it, and Ariana tried her best to mirror his movements from her place on the ground.

A loud laugh came from behind Marcus, as Nika had snuck up on him. “Tough luck, sunshine,” she said as she watched Ariana’s desperate attempts to reacquire her hat, “but you’re going to have to climb that tree if you want to get it back.”

With those words Nika turned away from the NPC. She started to walk back along the road, only to turn and glare at Marcus when she realized he hadn’t followed. With an exaggerated sigh she stomped back over to them.

Marcus walked over to one of the trees, his eyes tracing the branches as he formulated a plan. “Don’t worry, this shouldn’t take long,” Marcus said in an attempt to defuse Nika, and then he reached out to grip the trunk.

Even with all of his equipment on Marcus readily began to climb the tree. His boots caught well on the bark, and his gloved hands had no issue finding purchase. With a surprising speed he ascended to the upper branches.

Below him Ariana started to clap. “How’d you do that?” she asked.

“He used to climb all the time,” Nika told her. Though she hadn’t seemed happy with Marcus’ choice, she didn’t seem to hold it against Ariana.

“Why would anyone want to climb trees so much?”

Nika didn’t answer the question, and instead watched Marcus as he began to move across the branches. He looked down at her and gave a small nod, quite content with the fact that she’d not explained why. The past was, after all, the past.

The squirrel noticed his arrival in the upper parts of the trees, and it tried to escape from him by scurrying along the intertwining branches. “Get back here!” Marcus yelled as he gave chase, though he had to crawl along the branches.

The squirrel didn’t seem to care that it’d been yelled at, and instead it turned and gave a somewhat cocky looking flick of the tail at Marcus. Marcus felt his face starting to turn red as his rage grew.

Without warning a rock flew up and hit the squirrel in the side. Marcus almost fell off of the branch he was on due to surprise, but the squirrel had no such luck. Instead the small animal fell and hit the ground, the hat that it’d stolen left behind amongst the branches.

On the ground Nika casually tossed another stone up and down with one hand. “Need my help getting the hat down too?” she called up to Marcus.

“Good riddance!” Ariana yelled at the squirrel as it scurried away.

Marcus crawled along the branches to the hat and grabbed it, making certain to not let it snag on anything. Unlike in reality he leapt down from the top of the tree, his boots sagging only a little into the soft dirt. There was a bit of an alert in regard to damage, but his physique as Marcus was far superior to that of Benjamin.

“Your hat, my lady,” Marcus said as he offered the item back to Ariana.

Hidden Quest Completed

You have returned Baroness Ariana’s hat for her. Due to your act you have received increased bonuses to relationships with the people of Faeriver.

It was an alert that caused Marcus to stiffen, and he glanced at Nika to see if she’d gotten it as well. The red-headed woman gave only the smallest of nods, her own eyes shifting to Ariana.

Ariana accepted her hat, with a soft giggle, and put it gently on her head. “Thank you ever so much, Sir Marcus, as well as...I’m so sorry but what is your name?” Ariana asked as she looked at Nika.

“I’m Nika,” she told the baroness, “just Nika. So you’re a baroness?”

Ariana’s hand lifted to her mouth in surprise. “Oh! How’d you figure that out?”

Nika gave a small shrug. “Quest alert told us.”

It was a response that caused Ariana to go still, her eyes temporarily glazing over. A moment later she stirred back to action and giggled again. “What brought the two of you out here?”

“Adventuring!” Nika declared proudly.

Ariana’s smile faltered at that, and she glanced between the two of them with a somewhat worried look. “You’re adventurers?”

“Yes,” Marcus replied, “is there something bad about that?”

Ariana scoffed at the question. “As if you don’t know,” she said, “I was left here by some of your friends.”

“Friends? Those aren’t our friends!” Nika said.

Marcus nodded in agreement to Nika. “Nika’s right, we only have one other friend playing this game right now and she’d never have left you here. Do you mind talking to us about what happened?”

“I was on my way to Freedon but my carriage was attacked by a bunch of goblins,” Ariana said, “and the next thing I knew a bunch of adventurers showed up and kicked me out of it and stole my carriage!”

“Why would they do that?” Nika wondered.

“Nika...seriously?” Marcus rubbed at his eyes. “Thievery is allowed in the game so clearly they’re stealing it to sell it for some cash. It’s a noble’s carriage, after all.”

“Well that’s stupid, if they want money they should go kill something instead.”

“Some people are looking for the easy way out,” Marcus told her, and then looked at Ariana, “we were heading to Freedon ourselves, would you like us to escort you?”

Ariana studied the two, one finger on her chin, and then smiled at Marcus. “You did help me recover my hat from that rascal, so perhaps you’re a bit more trustworthy than those others. However, if you abandon me I’ll make certain to never forgive you!”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Selene and Galmi had walked out of the ruins, which had transformed into a well furnished underground palace. Gone was the labyrinth filled with monsters and traps, and instead straight hallways with attached rooms filled the subterranean building. Yet there were no fairies, an absence that had left Galmi somewhat confused.

Galmi opted to not let that bother him, and instead once they were outside he studied the ring he’d gained. It was one of the two items they’d picked up after Titania had died, and since the book seemed to suit Selene more he’d opted for it.

Unique Item

God’s Wildcard

Ring

No Stat Bonuses

This is a special item that can only be used three times. Upon activation it will request assistance for whatever plight the user is currently facing, and the gods will choose what they consider the right solution.

For a moment he debated if he should put it in his inventory, but then Galmi slid the ring onto his right ring finger. There was no point in hoarding it when anything could happen. He’d already run across two bosses, after all.

Galmi stretched after he’d gotten outside, and then he started to head off to the west. Scarlet bounded after him, barking in excitement.

“Wait!” Selene called out from behind him.

Galmi stumbled at the sudden shout. “What? Did something happen?” he asked as he turned back to face her.

Selene wringed her hands as she looked at Galmi, though her gaze kept flicking to the left and right for some reason. “My friends want me to meet them in a town called Freedon,” she said, her voice subdued.

“Freedon?” Galmi scratched the back of his head. “Where’s that?”

“I read it’s north of Faeriver.”

“Neat. Thanks for letting me know,” Galmi said with a smile.

“Um, actually, I was wondering if you could help me get there? I need to get there as fast as I can.”

Galmi was a bit surprised at that. He gave a look at Scarlet to see what her opinion was, but she was a bit distracted by a butterfly. “Well, I was looking to get to a town anyways,” Galmi admitted, “there’s just one problem with your plan.”

“What?”

“I’m not sure what direction is north.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Unlike most of the hospitals in Chicago, the Monument General Hospital was barely twenty years old. It’d been created with utmost care, attempting to integrate the advances of architecture and medicine that’d developed over the last century.

To that end the room that Cecile was in could only be called luxurious by most patients. The bed was softer than her childhood one, everything had voice control options up to and including the window, and she also had the room all to herself.

Though she was constantly monitored by the system in her room she had no wires attached to her. Wireless electrodes helped to keep track of her heart, and her pulse and oxygen were tracked by a thin bracelet on her left wrist.

Yet there was no smile on Cecile’s face, instead she laid in her bed with what could only be called an empty expression. As the hours slipped by she rarely ever moved, and so to any who entered the room she could easily be mistaken for a corpse.

When there was a knock on the door Cecile stirred, turning her gaze to the rectangle of frosted glass. “Yes?”

“It’s Abigail,” came the voice of an older woman, “do you mind if I come in?”

Cecile let out a long sigh, one that caused a needling of pain to run across her chest. “I don’t care.”

The door opened and revealed a portly woman in her mid-thirties. Abigail exuded joy, with a wide grin on her face as she energetically walked into the room.

“Good morning, did you sleep well last night?”

Cecile gave the smallest of shrugs in response.

“Leon told me you barely touched your breakfast,” Abigail said as she checked the biometric feeds at the foot of the bed, “you need to make sure you’re eating properly.”

“I wasn’t hungry.”

“Hungry or not you need to eat!” Abigail sternly told her.

“I’ll eat later,” Cecile promised her, though her tone did little to encourage the nurse.

Abigail nodded her head anyways, and picked up a light sheet and draped it over Cecile’s legs and waist. “Well, I didn’t come here only to pester you,” Abigail said, “you have a visitor.”

Cecile’s hands clenched the bedsheets, and for a moment two faces flashed in her mind. “My parents?”

Abigail paused in her adjustments of the sheet. Her energetic smile having faltered at the question, and when she looked up at Cecile it was easy to see in her eyes how she felt. “No, I’m sorry.”

Cecile clenched her jaw and shook her head. “Don’t,” she told Abigail, “but send in whoever.”

Abigail gave a weak smile at that, and then walked out of the room. A few minutes later the nurse and someone Cecile had never expected walked into the room.

The man who entered was far taller than six feet, and his wide shoulders gave him the image of a linebacker. With a strong square jaw that was flawlessly shaved, and cheeks that had a couple of old scar marks, there was something almost criminal about the way he looked.

When he turned to face Cecile his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. Even his hair, gelled back, seemed to have been darkened almost as though to hide the real color. The entire way he looked, dressed in a business suit and yet clearly not a businessman, made Cecile look in panic to Abigail.

“It’s okay,” the nurse said in an attempt to soothe her, “he’s here with permission from the director and Doctor Gyna.”

The unknown man didn’t speak, nor show any sign that he cared about how distressed Cecile had become. Instead he lifted up a thin rod vertically in front of him, and gripped the edge of the object with his left hand. A sheet was extended out from it. Once it was fully extended the sheet seemed to harden, and Cecile realized it was some type of new tablet.

Instead of a black screen it instead showed an image of a woman. She was seated at a wooden desk, upon which numerous piles of papers had gathered. Behind the woman was a cityscape, one darkened by night. It was only after the woman waved that Cecile understood it wasn’t a still image.

“Good day to you, Miss Jones,” the woman said in greeting, “I apologize for this roundabout way of contacting you but I am a bit nailed down at the moment.”

Cecile laid in silence as she tried to figure out what was going on. A glance at Abigail gained her nothing, as even the nurse seemed confused by what the visitor had brought.

“Who are you?” she finally asked.

“My name is Gia Farrow, and I work with the Neo Terra Foundation. We’ve been working on a project, and my best people have told me that you are the perfect candidate for a test run.”

The word test brought a slight grumble from Cecile. “I’m no guinea pig.”

Gia spread both of her hands in front of her. “I didn’t mean it that way,” she said, and then smiled, “you see I’m here to offer you what you truly need, what you want more than anything else.”

Abigail stepped in between the man who held the tablet and Cecile. “I’m sorry, but I wasn’t told anything about deals being made. Cecil-”

Her voice stopped when Cecile lifted up one hand in her direction. Abigail took a step back, glancing nervously between the two parties, and remained silent.

With the nurse quieted down Cecile looked back to Gia. “I’m listening.”