Sorry for the delay with this one, had a few exams to take care of. Not too much action in this chapter, but a lot of hints and clues of what TOP SECRET

Chapter 2 – A Strange Girl

Guinevere sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day, dropping the plant she had held close to her eyes in frustration. Annoyed she fell backwards onto the grass with a plop, hands propping her head up on the soft, loamy earth. For a few minutes, she lay there, easing her tension as the breeze rolled over her with its gentle caresses, sunlight tickling her face. A smile rolled across her face, eyes closed as she savored the sensations of nature.

Guinevere opened her eyes after relaxing for a bit and opened up her inventory screen. A large grey window appeared before her eyes, the top right corner was emblazoned with the picture of a brown rucksack. The window was separated into 64 individual slots with a tab on the side of the window marked as “Equipment”. In the twelfth slot of her inventory screen, Guinevere gazed at a certain item, its box becoming highlighted as she looked at it.

Amoranthus Herb - A very rare plant found in few locations in the continent of Versailles. Prized by alchemists for its synergistic effects in alchemical reactions in boosting the overall quality of the finished product.

Amount currently held: 3

“Close window.” muttered Guinevere. The command was immediately acknowledged as the inventory screen closed with a flash, leaving behind nothing but an unobstructed view of the forest once again. Guinevere had managed to get three herbs after several hours of arduous work, the damn things were in treacherous and nearly impossible to reach locations. It had sounded like a simple request, “Find ten herbs and bring it back to me and I'll write an introduction letter for you to the Bards Guild.”

“Tch!” Some simple request! It might be a C-ranked quest, but Guinevere had thought that the difficulty would've been in just fighting some strong monsters. A nearly impossible fight she could handle. A long and arduous search was almost too much for her to bear. “Right then!” Guinevere came to a decision and jumped to her feet, “Time for a break!”

Without bothering to dust the dirt from her clothes, Guinevere set a confident pace through the trees, trusting her hearing to lead her to the correct destination. She met a few wolves along the way, but those she beat up quickly and continued on her way with barely a pause. The trickling sounds of water grew stronger and a smile blossomed on her face as the trees in front of her grew thinner. Her pace quickened with excitement and she burst out of the foliage into a clearing with a wide river with clear water flowing through at a rapid pace.

Several tributaries from other sources joined the river at different parts along its path. One in particular was flowing quite fast and carried with it quite a lot of debris. The distant roar of a waterfall could be heard some ways off, a fine spray of mist could just barely be made out at the far end of Guinevere's vision. Some deer were drinking from one of the slower moving tributaries, heads bobbing up from the water as Guinevere appeared from the forest. Seeing how she was far away and didn't appear to give off any dangerous intentions, the animals returned to placidly drinking from the flowing waters.

“Inventory window. Equipment.” called out Guinevere, trotting over to the edge of the river happily. The screen for the inventory window popped up and expanded with a secondary screen displaying Guinevere's equipment. A rough caricature of a person filled this new window, with boxes overlaying several parts of the body; indicating what items were equipped. “Unequip boots. Equip 'Insane Bard's Gloves'”. The area around Guinevere's hands and feet flashed with a white light and quickly faded as the effect took place.

Guinevere's feet were now unhindered as she reveled in the delightful sensations of the grass and soil beneath her bare feet. Her hands which had previously been encased in a set of spiked gauntlets were replaced with a beautiful pair of white gloves that had a delicate gold filigree traced around the wrist. The gloves extended to her elbows and bore the appearance of a piano player's gloves with the texture of finest silk, Guinevere's mood was in a very good place now. Reaching the edge of the river, Guinevere eased herself into a sitting position and submerged her feet inside of the cool water.

“Ahhhh...” exhaled Guinevere contentedly, a blissful smile on her lips. She enjoyed the sensations of the river's movement and the water's temperature for a few seconds, before straightening her posture. “Lute.” she clearly intoned, her gloves seeming to flash in response as she positioned her arms in a fashion that could only be described as an “Air Guitar” pose with a look of concentration adorning her face. Her hand nearest to her waist strummed an invisible cord, as a single clear note pierced the air. Her hands could feel the strings of the instrument, but her eyes could not perceive it. Thus Guinevere entered a trance-like state where she closed her eyes, visualizing the instrument in her mind as her hands moved along it.

Slowly, her hands moved across the incorporeal strings, brushing against them with tender care. One note. Two notes. A string of notes elevating in pitch filled the air as the musician tested the various notes that her lute was capable of playing. Soon the notes were cobbled together as the warm-up period finished, Guinevere was spellbound by the lute's harmonic sounds as she created a cheerful melody that seemed to match the tranquil clearing perfectly.

It was this kind of setting that made Guinevere adore Royal Road; the freedom to play any instrument she wanted in the most fantastical of settings. Her song was quiet, yet it seemed to resonate through every part of the clearing, catching the attention of the animals that were quenching their thirst at the river. Furry brown, spotted ears perked up at the lively tune emanating from the small girl sitting at the river, moving as close as they dared towards her. It was dangerous to lose herself like this, but the bewitching nature of music was far too sweet to resist as she fell into its embrace, adding her own voice to the melody that flooded the air.

[p=center]Oh, sweet child of mine,

Where have you gone?

My arms are empty, my legs are heavy

I miss you, O' child of mine.

Oh, sweet child of mine,

Where have you gone?

I miss your smile and your joyful voice,

But please don't worry O' child of mine.

A kiss, a soft look, a warm embrace;

What do you need, Oh sweet child of mine?

For when you are here, my body is light,

My arms are strong, my legs are quick

So as to hold you and to run to your side.

For I shall be here,

Forever waiting for you,

A calm refuge, a shelter in the storm,

When you need me, I will be here.

Oh, sweet child of mine.

...[/p]

While she wasn't too confident in the lyrics, her voice showed no such hesitation and rang out true with all the youthful energy contained in her body. Guinevere's high, but sweet voice made a harmonious consonance with the notes played on the invisible lute, that continued to be strung in a hypnotic rhythm.

[p=center]You gained expertise rating in the Composing skill.[/p]

Level up: Composing skill [Intermediate 2]

Enables you to compose and craft songs on any instrument

Increased effects for each song played (+20% effect)

Familiar windows, but ones that had appeared often enough that Guinevere was able to continue playing uninterrupted. Or she might've been able to, had a piercing cry not broke her concentration, “Help...me!”

The rapids Yuri had fallen into had robbed her of her vision the second she had plunged into it's horrifying depths. It was so dark and so very cold. Deprived of her sight, Yuri flailed in the water, desperately seeking a way to the surface. A burning sensation in her chest told her that her oxygen supply was rapidly dwindling and an incessant primal need was urging her to take a breath. Clipping the rocky wall of the canyon sent a fresh burst of pain through her as it struck the side of her broken arm and causing her to involuntary gasp in pain, releasing the last of her precious air.

Awkwardly, desperately, Yuri attempted to make a synchronized motion towards the surface with her three remaining limbs. However the river's speed and torturous path worked against her, defying any attempts of effective swimming motions as she slammed into rocks interspersed in the middle of the river. As a result, Yuri's lungs had gone past their limit and she reflexively drew a breath.

The effect was immediate and awful. Water poured into her throat and flooded her esophagus and windpipe, triggering a horrible vomiting reflex. Yuri gagged from the fluid, stomach seizing in pain as she drew in yet another breath causing more water to pour in a progressively worsening cycle. It was then that she burst free of the river's depths, half taking in some water with her next breath and half taking in precious air.

Yuri fought to keep herself above the churning water, legs burning with exhaustion as her stomach painfully contracted again while she vomited the remaining water out of her lungs. Her most immediate problem solved, Yuri clawed her hand across the walls of the canyon, the rocks looking for some means of purchase and escape these turbid waters.

“Someone! Anyone! Help me!” she cried out, choking a bit as she dipped under the waves and inadvertently swallowed some more water. Panicking she rapidly looked for a means of escape, but she was in a long, winding canyon with tall walls stretching high above her. The current sped up suddenly and Yuri instinctively reacted by kicking her legs faster, trying to escape its pull. Her attempts were in vain, her progress barely halted; the best she could do was avoid the rocks and parts of the cliff that jutted out dangerously into the water.

The narrow passageway Yuri was in, was beginning to narrow she saw with some relief. Until she noticed a spray of mist being shot up for several meters into the sky with considerable force that a cold hand of fear gripped her heart. Yuri exited the canyon with an alarming speed into a clearing with several other rivers joining a central one that ended with a large waterfall. The pace of the river exceeded Yuri's ability to make it to the other side, where she might crawl up the sides.

That was when she heard a snippet of someone singing, just over the roar of the falls and her own waterlogged ears:

[p=center]Oh, sweet child of mine,

Where have you gone?

...[/p]

Her legs were cramping and she knew it wouldn't be long before they completely seized and she went once more underneath the water. Summoning the last reserves of her strength, Yuri yelled with all her might, “Help me!!!”

With that act, the muscles in Yuri's calves spasmed uncontrollably and her wild treading of the water was halted, plunging her beneath the water once more. Even so, Yuri attempted to pump her arms to gain some traction, her left arm screaming in protest with pain that nearly caused her to pass out. A subtle shift of the current into an even faster one and Yuri knew she was in the main river, possibly seconds away from passing over the waterfall.

With three limbs out of commission, Yuri stretched out her right arm, breaching the water's surface; refusing to give up. As if answering her prayer, her tenacity was rewarded and Yuri felt herself being enveloped in a tight embrace and being pulled across the breadth of the channel. But it wasn't enough. Too slow! We're not going to make it!. Ever so slowly, they were sucked towards the gaping maw of the waterfall, the strength of her rescuer was not enough to escape it's pull. Yuri once again came above the water to see the dizzying sight of water falling a very long way down, a loud roar emanated from the waterfall that vibrated her bones. Coughing now that she was free of the water's grasp, Yuri blearily grasped her situation.

She wasn't falling. Yuri blinked the water out of her eyes and tried twisting her head to see what happened, only to be stopped by a strained reprimand.

“Ah...try not to move around too much. Barely...holding on as it is.” said her savior. Female by the sounds of it; young too. Water continued to flow down all around her with tremendous force and volume as it disappeared into the misty depths below her dangling feet.

“Could you hold onto me? This is a bit hard with just...ah...one hand.” asked the mysterious girl, whose strength was clearly flagging.

“Mmh...with one hand I think I could hold on. My other arm's busted.”

“Ah. Well maybe...” the girl's words were cut off short as the pair suddenly dropped a few centimeters. Yuri's heart leaped to her throat at the sudden jolt and only resumed beating when she wasn't sure they weren't going to fall any further. “Never mind. It'll have to do as I can't hold on with this arm for much longer.”

The girl tightened her grip around Yuri's waist and drew her in even closer, “Wrap your arm around me and hook your fingers through my belt.” said the girl. Yuri quickly complied and tried putting as much of her meager strength into holding onto the girl.

“Hold onto it tighter!” Yuri squeezed her arm around the girl's waist, fingers straining as it pulled on the leather loops of the girl's belt. Seeing that Yuri was secure, the girl let go of Yuri.

“Ah!” Yuri gave a small yelp, the strain of supporting her own weight was greater than she thought, “I can't do this for very long!” she cried.

“Don't worry, I'll get us out of this!” shouted the girl confidently. And then, in an act that utterly bewildered Yuri, she started singing in a powerful voice that seemed to overwhelm the rumbling of the waterfall:

[p=center]I wanna go beyond that golden door,

I wanna see what no one's seen before!

I wanna go that extra mile,

Cause' I know that it'll be worth my while!

If I'm not afraid, I can do anything

If I'm not afraid, I can go anywhere

If I'm not afraid, I can be anyone,

Anytime, anyhow, anywhere;

I'm not afraid.[/p]

“What are you doing...?” asked Yuri in a confused voice, trailing off and staring blankly when she saw that the girl had started glowing. A soft, yellow light bloomed from the girl as Yuri felt herself being slowly lifted up. It was a strong, controlled ascent that showed none of the signs of fatigue the girl was showing earlier as Yuri was pulled up past the lip of the waterfall and onto a large flat stone. Her feet finally meeting solid ground, Yuri started to relax her grip.

“Don't let go yet, this isn't a safe spot and my song doesn't have a very long duration.” ordered the girl. Confused, Yuri obediently kept her grip on the girl and then immediately tightening it when the girl jumped off of the rock they were standing on. Yuri screamed and maintained a death-grip on the girl as she did a mad leap frog series of jumps from one stone to the next. A few terrifying series of jumps later and the girls had escaped the clutches of the river and Yuri was once again on land.

Yuri had never felt so relieved to be on dry land in her entire life as she fell to her knees with exhaustion. She looked up at the figure of the girl who was outlined in the warm sunlight that was beaming down on both of them. “Thank you.” managed Yuri before she succumbed to her exhaustion and wounds.

Seoul. South Korea's capital and one of the largest cities in the entire world, home to a population of over 25 million people. The entire country was entering a new height of popularity in the world thanks to the exploits of the Unicorn Corporation and their world-shattering creation of virtual reality. As a result, the economy of South Korea was at an all time high, as new business opportunities with other countries were established and tourism was flourishing.

However this had the unfortunate side-effect of an escalation of crime occurring in the city, piling on additional burdens to those who worked in law enforcement and crime. Yuri frowned to herself as she thought about this, while stirring a simmering pot filled with a mixture of ground beef and shrimp in a special sauce made by Yuri. She was wearing a rather frilly apron that her mother had insisted she wore even though she had said she wouldn't spill anything. Her mother had waved away Yuri's protest with a laugh, “It's fine, it's fine! You look so cute after all!”

Yuri glanced at the time on the oven's digital clock, fluorescent-green numbers that read 19:15. She sighed, giving another stir of the pot with the wooden spoon before she covered the pot and turned down the heat, placing the spoon on a plate next to a steel bowl housing the noodles she had cooked a few minutes earlier.

“Sigh too much and you'll get wrinkles.” said her mother, wrapping Yuri into a tight embrace from behind. “How's everything going on your end?” she asked cheerfully.

“It's been ready for a while now, I've just been stirring for something to do.” replied Yuri. She looked at the clock again: 19:16. “Papa's late.”

“Mmh.” agreed her mother, “Papa's just busy with work. You know how he is: even if it's a small case, which it probably is, he'll be throwing all of his energy into it.”

“Still...he could at least take it easy on his birthday.” mumbled Yuri, leaning back against her mother. “His favorite food won't mean much if it's cold.”

Her mother kissed her forehead, “If it was made by you, then no matter what it is, he'd gobble it up with a delighted face.” They both laughed. “Now if you're done here, why don't you help critique my decorations.” releasing Yuri and grabbing her hand to pull her away to the living room.

Ding Dong!

“He's here!” exclaimed Yuri excitedly.

Yuri awoke to the sound of sweet singing and the sound of some string instrument she didn't recognize. For a moment, she lay there, basking in a feeling of profound wellness; the dream was already a fading memory. Yuri's arm wasn't hurting anymore, nor was any other part of her body, and something that was soft and thick was covering her, providing a delightful sense of warmth. She still didn't have any clothes, but compared to freezing in a cave filled with corpses or in frigid waters, this was miles better.

Still, I should probably get up...she thought reluctantly. She opened her eyes, slowly, taking a peek at her surroundings first. She was probably in a safe area, but after the last place she had woken up, it couldn't hurt to be too careful. There, just across from where she was laying down, was a girl of maybe her own age sitting with crossed legs.

She had short, spiky, electric-blue hair that matched well with her tomboy appearance. A plain beige-colored shirt was partially obscured by an open leather vest dotted with many pockets and shorts that showed off her shapely legs while still retaining some modesty. Her eyes were closed, her arms holding...nothing it seemed, though her hands plucked away at invisible strings that produced harmonic lilting sounds. A frown appeared on the girl's face, though her eyes remained closed, as she repeated a string of notes while muttering to herself, “No...that doesn't sound right. Maybe if I play an octave higher?...” finishing her thought by playing a higher pitched set of sounds.

She still didn't seem satisfied though. “Mou...Is this better? Not sure if this is even any good...”

“I thought it was pretty.” remarked Yuri honestly. The girl flinched at the unexpected sound and flicked her eyes warily towards Yuri. Though the expression was brief as she gave Yuri a relieved smile.

“Morning, sleepyhead.”

“Morning.” smiled Yuri, pushing herself up into a sitting position, holding the cloak that had been covering her in front of her body. Yuri bowed her head towards the girl, “Thank you very much for saving me.”

The girl awkwardly scratched her head at Yuri's display, “Don't mention it, anyone would have done the same thing.”

Yuri chuckled, “I don't think just 'anyone' could have pulled themselves up over a waterfall. So thank you, really. I would've died if it wasn't for you, Miss...?”

“Guinevere. And please, it really wasn't that big a deal, uh-”

“Yuri. My name is Yuri.”

“Nice to meet you Yuri!” beamed Guinevere.

“Likewise.” smiled back Yuri. The two girls giggled as the atmosphere eased with the introductions out of the way. Though a pressing question still needed to be addressed, “...This might seem like a weird question...but, where exactly are we?”

Guinevere blinked a few times before answering; apparently it was a weird question. “We're in Dale of course. One of the smaller kingdoms in Versailles.”

The confused expression Yuri had on her face prompted a question from Guinevere, “Continent of Versailles...You know, the world of Royal Road?”

Her suspicions were confirmed but Yuri was still a bit shocked, “Then all of this...what I'm seeing...feeling...this is all a game?”

Flabbergasted, Guinevere quickly asked, “Well, yeah! Of course! Where did you think you were?”

“I was!...I was...helping my mother set up for my Dad's birthday and then...” Yuri put a hand to her forehead, a dull throbbing pain radiated from her temples.

“...And then?” asked Guinevere, gently urging her to finish her train of thought. The blanket fell from Yuri's hands, causing Guinevere to turn red in embarrassment, “What are you-” cutting off her remark when she saw Yuri's face, “Hey, Yuri. Are you okay?”

“I can't...I don't remember what happened after that! I don't know how I got here!” Yuri was breathing very hard, both hands were desperately massaging her temples as she racked her brains trying to remember how she had gotten here. The events of the past few hours were catching up to her. A game? This is a game? How did I even get here?! She felt sick, nausea crept up on her and was threatening to overwhelm her when a voice broke through her panic.

“Yuri! Yuri! Calm down! You're okay!” yelled Guinevere, shaking her shoulders.

“How can I be calm! I can't remember how I even got here!” It felt like she was drowning all over again, chest tightening, heart pounding in her ears.

“You won't figure anything out by going hysterical! You need to calm down and just breathe.” Whether it was her soothing voice or the simple touch of her fingers, Yuri slowed her frantic breathing down; forcing herself to take deep breaths according to Guinevere's gentle instructions. “In through the nose.” Breathe in. “And out through the mouth.” Breathe out.

It took some time, but Yuri was able to get some semblance of control back, the blanket once again draped over her body, though a comforting arm was also wrapped around her trembling form. With some gentle coaxing, Guinevere encouraged Yuri to start her story from what she could remember. In a soft voice, Yuri told her tale of how the first thing she remembered was waking up in the cave and quickly coming to the horrifying realization that it was filled with corpses and monsters and then nearly drowning right after that.

It was surprisingly therapeutic to talk about her experiences, and though a trail of tears was evident on her face; Yuri was no longer shaking. Guinevere shook her head in disbelief, “That's just...wow. I can't even begin to imagine what a horrible situation that must have been for you, especially if you've never tried a VRMMO before. And you also said that it was the most painful thing in your life when that Knight of Sadness or whatever broke your arm right?”

“Mmh. I've dislocated my arm before, but it was nothing compared to this.” Yuri shuddered at the remembered agony, unconsciously rubbing her now healed arm.

“That's the thing: The default function in all of the virtual reality pods is that pain is turned off. The most you'll ever feel from a really bad wound is buzzing sensation. If you want to turn the pain on you have to manually change the settings on the pod in a really long and drawn-out process. And even when they give you instructions that come with the pod that will supposedly make the process easier, it just ends up making the thing even more complicated.” ranted Guinevere, catching herself when Yuri looked at her with a funny expression.

“Ahem. The point being is that the pod you seem to be accessing the game from is a heavily modified one compared to the factory default, which is something you wouldn't find in the VRMMO net cafes around the city.”

“So...I'm in someone's pod that's been modified so that pain has been turned on. Why though? A prank?”

Guinevere shrugged in response, “That would be my guess. Especially if you've never tried Royal Road before, you wouldn't know how to log out even if you wanted to. But...”

“...Even for a prank, this is going way too far.” finishing her thoughts with her own; the two had reached the same morbid conclusion.

“Logging out could be dangerous.” said Guinevere, breaking the sudden silence that had encroached upon them.

“Staying here isn't going to do me much better.” Yuri pulled the edges of the blanket around her even tighter, a phantom pain still lingered in her body. Yuri felt a reassuring squeeze from Guinevere and she looked up to nod her thanks.

“Do you know anyone who might want to do this to you?” asked Guinevere.

“No one in particular comes to mind, no.” answered Yuri in frustration, “And I've been going crazy trying to figure out how the hell this all happened!”

“OK, well let's take things one step at a time. Let's assume this is a prank.” said Guinevere, trying to placate Yuri, though it was obvious to Yuri that Guinevere was just as confused and angry as she was, “A really, REALLY messed up prank.”

“If they wanted to hurt you, they'd do it. One of the safeguards of the pod is that if anything happens to your body out there will trigger an automatic log out. Even if the house or place you were in was on fire, the pod would detect the carbon monoxide in the air and trigger a log out as well as alert any built-in security system you might have to contact the authorities.” said Guinevere.

“Didn't you say that you can modify these pods though? That's how you turn on the pain function, right?” asked Yuri with a confused expression.

“Despite how long it takes, turning on the pain function is basically flipping a switch. The safeguards that were built into the pod can't be turned off without shutting off the entire virtual reality interface.”

“That's a pretty good system.” admitted Yuri, impressed despite how awful this day had turned out.

“It has to be. Virtual reality is such an incredible and groundbreaking technology that it's under constant scrutiny by every country outside of Korea. Any fault in the system will be met with harsh criticism around the world; especially by countries who don't have the VRMMO tech yet.”

“No offense, but you seem to know a lot about this. Or is everyone who plays Royal Road this well-informed.” complimented Yuri.

With a pained face, Guinevere replied, “No I'm really not too good with the specifics. The stuff I do know is what I got from the tutorial when I first started the game.” she gave a deep sigh with some remembered annoyance, “95% advertisement and 5% actual instructions on how to play the game.”

“Ah, sorry for going off on a tangent there. Basically what I'm trying to say is that if someone wanted to hurt you, physically at least, they would have already done so.”

“So then logging out...?” began Yuri hopefully.

“Might be worth trying, yeah.” Guinevere nodded to herself, as if to confirm the facts to herself, “OK, first, go ahead and say 'System Menu'”

“System Menu.” repeated Yuri, flinching a little when a large blue column of names appeared in front of her body.

“Do you see the system menu with names like 'Options', 'Settings' and the like?”

“Yeah.”

“Go ahead and click on the 'Options' button with your index finger.” Obediently, Yuri pressed her finger on the tab labelled as options, surprised when her finger met resistance. The tab was briefly highlighted in a dark blue underneath her finger before the entire window changed to be replaced with a new one. Yuri didn't need any further instructions as she saw what she was looking for at the bottom of the list.

In slightly grey letters was a box labelled “Log out”. Yuri pressed the button filled with confidence and...nothing happened. Frowning, Yuri pushed again on the box harder this time. But there was no reaction like with the options button, the log out button did not become highlighted when she pressed it. Yuri pushed other buttons like “Audio” just to see if this window was broken, but they all worked fine.

Seeing her growing distress Guinevere asked, “Yuri? Did you find the log out button?”

“I did..but this stupid...thing...won't...work!” punctuating every word with a harder press. Still no reaction. “Log out.” said Yuri, trying a new tactic. “Log me out. Exit. Escape.” Nothing. “Gah!”

“Yuri, what does the box look like to you? Are the letters a deep black color or are they slightly grey?”

“Grey.”

Guinevere groaned in understanding, “Damn. I was afraid of that.”

“Afraid of what?” said Yuri, trying to keep her annoyance at bay.

“In Royal Road there are certain areas where escape by log-out is impossible, the only way to get kicked out of the game is to get killed.”

“You mean that cave I woke up in right? But why should that matter now?” Yuri suddenly had a horrible thought that she was somehow still trapped in that cave and was simply imagining this.

“Certain dungeons will leave certain effects on players, even when you exit the dungeon they'll still be active. Sometimes you can get these negative status effects by just being in the dungeon for a long time and others you get by an attack from a boss monster.”

“Was the Knight of Sorrows a boss monster?”

“Doubtful, if he was, I'm pretty sure he would've taken you out in one shot.” Yuri gulped at the thought of being so close to death. Even if it was a game, it was all too real for her. “Let's just check something real quick though. Just above the log-out button, there should be a tab that says 'Display'. Go ahead and click on that.”

Yuri quickly located the tab and pressed the button, the name highlighting as the window once again changed. “Now what?” she asked.

“There should be an empty check-box next to a line that reads: 'Display Status bars'. Make a check-mark in the box by pushing it.” Yuri found the corresponding line and checked the black box. The system menu closed and near the periphery of Yuri's vision, two small bars appeared with white numerals next to them. The green bar was labelled as HP and the blue bar as MP.

“Two bars should have appeared in front of you.” said Guinevere, asking for confirmation. Yuri gave it and she continued her explanation, “These are your status bars, the green one displays your Hit points, the blue one your Magic points. If you have any negative statuses or buffs, there should normally be a small red box with a picture next to the green bar. Do you see anything like that?”

Yuri shook her head despondently, though Guinevere didn't appear to be stumped by this information. “Well, maybe it's a special curse or something like that that doesn't show up on the status bar. Either way, if we go to a town, you'll be able to log out for sure.”

“Really?!” exclaimed Yuri, a delighted smile spreading across her face.

“Definitely. Towns and cities are designated as safe zones and more importantly, homes to the Church of Freya.”

“The Church of Freya?” repeated Yuri questioningly.

“It's the major religious organization in this game. What matters to us though is that they're able to remove any curses that a player might have.” explained Guinevere though she had a difficult expression on her face.

“I'm sensing a but here.” sighed Yuri. Guinevere gave her a troubled smile and scratched her head awkwardly.

“But this isn't a service they provide for free.”

“Of course it isn't.” groaned Yuri, the small moment of happiness had been dulled quite a bit, though her situation had a definite solution now. “How much is it? And how do you make money in this game?”

“You can get gold, the currency in this game, by doing various tasks. The most common way is killing monsters and selling the items that they drop. The other way is performing specific tasks, or quests, for the NPCs in this game.”

“NPCs?”

“Non-playable characters. They're one of the big reasons why the game is so popular because they act and talk like they were real people. The quests they give are the main highlights of the game too, you could be doing something like exploring a kingdom floating in the sky, saving a lost child from vicious monsters or discovering a lost treasure hoard.” gushed Guinevere. Yuri had to admit that did sound like it would be a lot of fun, especially now that she saw what this game was like. If she had entered this game like a lot of other people, maybe she would have enjoyed it as much as Guinevere seemed to. But back in the real world she didn't have to worry about getting killed like she almost did here. There was pain, sure, but at least the possibility of danger wasn't as high as it seemed to be in this place. That being said, if she wanted to get home, it looked as if she was going to have to play the game.

“Seems like you made up your mind about something.” commented Guinevere, an admiring look on her face.

“Mmh. It might be a bit rude to ask this seeing as you've done so much for me already, but could you help me get to this town? I don't think I would make it very far on my own.” pleaded Yuri earnestly.

“You dummy. After hearing a story like that, how could I let you go on your own.” laughed Guinevere, flicking Yuri's forehead.

“In fact, I can help you raise the amount you'll need. I'm in the middle of a quest right now and the reward is big enough to cover the cost of getting rid of that curse.”

I didn't think I would meet someone as kind as this, Guinevere is really too nice. Warmth flooded Yuri's heart as she thought these things, “Thank you.” she said, touched by her words.

“Yup! Knew I made the right decision fishing you out of the river!” exclaimed Guinevere, “Now I can finally finish this stupid quest!”

...Maybe it would've been better to go off the waterfall.

“So just look through this bit here and squeeze the trigger.” coached Guinevere, teaching Yuri how to use the crossbow she had in her inventory. The girl pursed her lips together as her brows furrowed with concentration, aiming for the tree that Guinevere had indicated. Twang! The crossbow bolt sprang out with a tremendous amount of force, though the secure position that Yuri had braced it against her shoulders prevented it from flying out of her slender hands.

“Nice shot!” verifying the result when she walked over to the tree. She had carved a pseudo-bullseye mark onto the tree and Yuri's shot was only a little bit off center. Stats mattered in Royal Road, but experience and natural instinct, like in Yuri's case apparently, weighed a great deal as well. “Now you don't just look like a hunter anymore.”

“Thanks!” she called back, “But are you sure you don't have anything less...revealing?” a faint blush was evident from even this distance was spreading up her neck. Guinevere had to admit Yuri looked quite alluring, although that probably had to do more with her figure than anything. She felt a momentary twinge of jealousy, though that was quickly squashed when she saw how embarrassed Yuri was. The girl was outfitted in a faded brown leather jerkin with a pair of leather shorts coupled together with a pair of hiking boots that stretched up to her knees. Though the shorts were short enough that her milky-white thighs were exposed quite a bit.

The outfit was something Guinevere had whipped up with her tailoring skill using the few pieces of leather she had. Eying the outfit critically, Guinevere thought she did a pretty good job with what she had. Hmm...looks like I might have a talent for this kind of thing! Ehehe. “Uh, Guinevere?” said Yuri.

Guinevere snapped out of her idle thoughts and gave an apologetic smile to Yuri, “Sorry, I'm afraid that's the best I could do. You shouldn't worry too much though, you look pretty cute!”

“Eh?!” stammered Yuri as she turned crimson, waving her arms around in protest, but still trying to cover her legs. She's fun to tease thought Guinevere happily, though she tried calming her down anyway, “Come on, let's get moving. This search will be a lot easier in the day and we're losing light.”

“Eh? Ah, okay!” said Yuri, recovering from the compliment, though she was still pink in the cheeks. Guinevere thought the way she was running over to her was like an awkward puppy, a little funny and very adorable.

“Make sure to stay behind me Yuri.” reminded Guinevere, “The monsters in the forest are stronger than you are right now and it'll take a while for me to power level you to the point where you won't die in one hit.”

“Got it.” replied seriously, not even looking annoyed at what must have been the third reminder she had given her. Without further ado they walked into the forest's darkened interior, the crunching sounds of leaves being trampled on could already be heard. Guinevere had already given the description of the Amoranthus herb to Yuri: It was a pink flower with four petals extending outwards, with the center of the petals dyed in blue so that from the top it had a star-burst pattern. The flowers seemed to grow in the most random of locations and Guinevere hadn't been able to localize a particular type of region they seemed to grow in. Still, two pairs of eyes will always be better than one.

Her steel gauntlets were already equipped, though she missed the silky sensation that the 'Insane Bard's Gloves' provided. The forest didn't have a whole lot of high-level monsters, but because the majority of quests in this region were simple fetch quests, not many people came out here too much. In addition, it was a fairly large forest and Guinevere didn't think she had even covered a quarter of it in the time she had spent searching.

There was one bright spot to the quest now though; Yuri. She didn't have many similar interests to her, but Guinevere never felt bored when talking to her; she made insightful and sometimes funny conversation and her evident love for animals was endearing. She complimented Guinevere's music extensively, but it wasn't a false praise; she was so honest that it made Guinevere blush a couple of times, which Yuri picked up on immediately and started to tease her about.

It might've been because of her tomboyish nature, but neither in the game nor in the real world did Guinevere have anything what she would call a best girlfriend. It's not like she didn't talk to girls or was ostracized because she tended to hang out with boys, it's just that they seemed to be in a different world to her. Ahh, but it's not like Yuri isn't like those girls either. She's just...different for some reason. Maybe it was her looks because despite her name she didn't really look like she was from Korea at all. Guinevere felt that was weird for some reason but her train of thought was derailed when Yuri spotted an amoranthus herb growing at the base of a particularly thick tree.

“Nice catch Yuri!” said Guinevere delightedly, slapping Yuri on the back.

“Oof! If that's how you thank people, then I certainly don't want to get on your bad side.” They both laughed. Guinevere was about to pick the flower when she heard a low growl. Faster than thought, Guinevere reacted instinctively and leaped backwards from the flower just in time to see a grey blur whoosh past the spot she'd been. In it's place was a large, silver-colored wolf that was only slightly shorter than her and twice as thick. Dire wolf! And judging by it's size, it's an alpha. Meaning that it should be traveling with the rest of it's pack...

The dire wolf snarled and on cue, five more wolves skulked out from behind the trees upon their leader's signal, encircling the two girls. It seemed they wouldn't attack unless their leader gave a signal. Guinevere was momentarily stumped, she hadn't counted on a situation like this arising. She could take the wolves herself, but she couldn't protect Yuri at the same time. I could trying singing a Song of Threat and get all their attention focused on me, though it'll be less effective without an instrument. Still, beggars can't be choosers.

Making her decision, Guinevere took in a breath and prepared to use a special bard skill for pulling monsters. It was a special move designed for raid battles to save the party's tank if they were in imminent danger of dying. But because of the subsequent consequences that would follow such a move, the skill was later informally dubbed as the 'Suicide Song'. Time to prove the name wrong then. Just as Guinevere was about to activate the skill, she felt it.

As a Taekkyeon practitioner, Guinevere was tuned to sensing an opponent's intent in a match-up, such a feeling was key for deciding the victor. An absurdly powerful killing intent suddenly appeared and engulfed the area in which they were in. It was not a feeling that was dripping with malice or hate, but simply an unshakeable feeling of instant and terrible retribution. It was terrifying and awe-inspiring at the same time. Guinevere felt like she was drowning in an ocean even though the killing intent wasn't even directed towards her. The wolves had immediately fallen silent and were softly whimpering, lying on the ground with their paws covering their faces. Even the alpha wolf was now backed up against the tree, trembling as it cowered from the massive killing intent that emanated from...behind her?

“Hey Guinevere? A window just popped up saying that I gained a new stat called 'Killing Intent' and more windows keep on appearing saying that the stat is gaining extra points.” said Yuri nonchalantly.

...Maybe I should have let her go off the waterfall.

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