Well...this is certainly a late update. This chapter starts off a little dark and gives away the plot I think, even so, if you've figured it out, please don't spoil it for the others :P. Unless it's super obvious and it's only me who thinks it's really clever...

Three new characters introduced in this chapter and they'll be the last ones to be introduced in this volume.

Ahem. I won't mince words though and let you guys enjoy (or hate) the chapter as it is. I'll start working on Chapter 8 right now.

That being said, as long as I stick to the plan, we're only 2 - 3 chapters away from the end of the first volume! (Golf clap)

Chapter 7 – Revelations

Tae-Hyun was staring blankly at a portrait on the wall with a typical smiling family. He was in the photo as well, dressed in his very finest and looking quite handsome (according to his niece anyway). Compared to how he looked now however, many people would be hard pressed to find a similarity between the elegant man in the photo and the dishevelled mess slumped on the couch.

It was only when he was visiting them that he'd bother dressing up, otherwise Tae-Hyun preferred to fester in the safety of his own home. His last remaining sanctuary.

Tae-Hyun's eyes flicked towards the other three people in the photo.

His brother whom, while he was three years older, looked nearly identical to Tae-Hyun. In the photo he had one of his eyes partially closed as the camera caught him in the middle of a sneeze. He never was very photogenic.

Tae-Hyun's sister-in-law, beautiful as always, had an amused smile on her face as if she were about to burst out laughing.

He trembled when looking at the last figure. She had a wide toothy smile and long dark hair that was combed to a glossy finish. The picture was taken two years ago, so she would've been about fourteen years old then, though the childish smile she was adopting in the photo seemed to indicate a younger age. The precocious girl was squashed between Tae-Hyun and his brother; tightly hugging both of their arms.

God he needed a drink.

Tae-Hyun was dismayed to find the whiskey bottle clutched in his hand was already empty. Tossing it onto the cushions, he got up with a wobble and slowly made his way to the open kitchen while kicking away the accumulated trash and discarded beer cans that littered the floor. Tae-Hyun was close to feeling the sweet release of sleep, he figured he only needed a bit more to knock him out. A good thing too, as by the looks of his liquor cabinet, he didn't have very much left.

The phone suddenly rang as Tae-Hyun scavenged through the cabinet. He didn't bother to answer though. He had set all calls to be immediately diverted towards the answering machine a few days ago.

“Hi, you've reached Tae-Hyun Seong. I am not available to take your call right now, but if you leave your name and number, I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as I can.”

“Tae-Hyun sunbae? Are you there?” the speaker gave an audible sigh, “What am I saying...of course you are.

It was Ji-min calling again. Out of everyone at the firm, she was the one who called the most frequently. Running his fingers through his dwindling stockpile of alcohol, he settled on a vintage that seemed appropriate and pulled it out of the cabinet while looking for the corkscrew.

“Everyone at the office is waiting for you to come back. We all miss you, even Kwang-jo says he can't get any real work done if you two aren't fighting.” she gave a light chuckle.

Pop. Tsst... Tae-Hyun once more sank into the cushions, drinking deeply straight from the bottle.

“Sunbae...I...I hope you know that I'm here for you. So...if you need to talk or, or to scream or whatever...I'm here for you.”

Beeep! She hung up on that line, leaving a deafening silence behind her.

His eyes fell from the portrait as he looked towards the phone. Perhaps it was because of his inebriated state, but he could almost see Ji-min's figure standing just out of reach, picturing her forlorn expression as she struggled to keep sounding cheerful.

“Just leave me alone, damn it...” muttered Tae-Hyun weakly.

“Like you left us alone?” calmly asked a voice.

Tae-Hyun spun around so fast that he nearly got whiplash at the voice that came from just in front of him. He blanched when he saw that in front of the portrait were three figures.

“No....!” he stood up trembling, an icy chill had crept over him.

They did not say anything more, but their faces soon became covered in an awful mixture of pain and fear.

“I'm sorry...I'm so sorry!” babbled Tae-Hyun, tears streaming down his face as he walked towards them.

“Why?” One word that seemed to come from all of their mouths. One word filled with such sorrow and disbelief that it threatened to tear Tae-Hyun apart. The three fell to the ground as if they were puppets whose strings had been cut. Awful wounds appeared on different parts of their bodies as they became more and more obscured by blood.

“No! No! No!” In his frantic rush, he tripped on the leg of a table and was sent stumbling to the ground. Momentarily stunned by the pain, he recoiled in horror as he saw that the smallest of the three was beneath him.

His hand was wrapped around her throat.

“NO!” screamed Tae-Hyun as she seemed to fade before his eyes.

“Come back! PLEASE! COME BACK!” begged Tae-Hyun as his hands scrabbled at the air, hoping to get some piece of her back.

But she didn't come back, no matter how long he searched or how loudly he screamed her name. His energy was soon spent, his throat was raw from his yells as he lay underneath their damning eyes. Tae-Hyun curled into a ball sobbing for what he had lost and for what he had done.

Chun Hei brushed away a strand of her hair restlessly as she sat in the reception lobby, waiting for her brother. She always felt so nervous in hospitals. Not because she had any bad experiences with it or anything like that. It was just that all of the people in the building felt so fragile; as if they would break at a touch.

Currently she was in a special section of Seoul General that didn't seem to be an area with too many visitors. At the moment, she was alone in a small waiting area with a receptionist who was quietly working at her desk. Even though her brother had told her she wouldn't be able to bring in anything from outside for fear of contamination, she still felt a little awkward not bringing anything.

Glancing at the clock revealed that the hand had only moved five minutes since she had arrived. Wuuu...Hurry up already, oppa!

As if he had heard her mental cry, the door leading to the inner section suddenly slid open soundlessly and her brother emerged in pale blue scrubs. Min-Kyung's eyes brightened when he saw Chun Hei and before she could say a greeting, he pulled her into a hug.

“Sorry for the wait. I ran into someone who was interested in meeting you.” said Min-Kyung

Pushing herself back from her older brother, she looked up in confusion, “Eh? Who would want to meet me?”

Min-Kyung smiled mysteriously as he gently took her hand and led her towards the doors he had just exited from. “It'll be faster if I just take you to her.” He nodded towards the receptionist who smiled back at him brightly.

Oho? Seems like oppa's pretty popular here. Hehe Chun Hei thanked the receptionist and they both entered into a room with four doors. Ahead was a similar set of glass sliding doors with a numerical keypad on its side. On either side of the room there were two changing rooms for men and women.

Min-Kyung grabbed a few articles of plastic-wrapped clothing from a shelf and tossed them to Chun Hei. “Put those on and grab a pair of slippers from the changing room. You can leave your clothes there.”

“Do I need a mask and cap like you, oppa?” asked Chun Hei pointing at the various items that her brother was wearing.

“Nah. You won't be able to go into the rooms that need it anyway.”

Pacified, Chun Hei quickly changed her clothes before following her brother through the doors and into a surprisingly large area that resembled the hospital atrium. While the majority of people were doctors or nurses, there were also quite a few patients in robes and what appeared to be their family members dressed in similar attires as Chun Hei was. Spread around on the sides of the atrium were various hallways with different signs over them.

“Over there is where our fourth degree burn patients are. Luckily we don't have too many, but the few that we do need to be placed in machines similar to the MedCapsule.” explained Min-Kyung as he pointed to one hallway with the label 'Burn Unit-Recuperation' over it.

“Like the one Yuri is in?” She glanced to her sides and saw that some of the nurses they passed by were giving her weird looks.

“Basically, yeah. Although these ones come with a separate bathing function for burn victims. They're pretty cool actually, the internal machinery is incredible.” Min-Kyung nodded at a passing-by doctor.

“Ah, here we are.” he said while turning into a hallway that wasn't labelled, they entered through yet another series of doors to suddenly emerge outside.

“Eh?” Chun Hei went wide-eyed as she looked at the scene before her.

They had gone from a dreary hospital setting to what seemed to be a small park. A small stream bubbled happily as it passed underneath a picturesque wooden bridge. Looking up, Chun Hei saw that the ceiling stretched high above them to end in a glass roof where sunlight streamed in. Numerous patients were enjoying the scenery on benches and gazebos. Some of them were bound to a wheelchair and others were dragging along an IV stand with them.

“Pretty cool, huh? You'd never think that this was an artificial park.” said Min-Kyung, grinning at Chun Hei's startled appearance.

“This is artificial?” repeated Chun Hei. Those trees and the soil they were planted in certainly looked real.

“Yup! The goal was to create an environment where patients could properly relax in a sterile environment without being confined to white walls and machines. This room was only finished a year ago actually.”

“It's really pretty, oppa!” praised Chun Hei with shining eyes. “But, where is this person who wanted to meet me?”

“She said she'd be waiting in one of these gazebos for us. Hmm...I don't see her, but this place isn't too large anyway. Come on, I'll give you a tour while we look for her.”

The artificial park was actually fairly sizable, despite Min-Kyung's claim, as they still hadn't seem to have hit any walls yet. Though it did seem to be truly artificial as let alone any birds as one might expect to see in a woodsy area such as this, Chun Hei couldn't even see any bugs crawling around. The people they met in the area were varied, some were bound to a wheelchair and others appeared to be simply a little pale. There was always a nurse around each patient however, ready to intervene should their status change.

Finally, after walking around for about twenty minutes, they came upon a small enclosed area where a single gazebo was placed overlooking a small pond. Inside the shelter was a young woman in a wheelchair and a nurse who was making small talk with her. The nurse turned around at the sound of their footsteps and saw Chun Hei and her brother. She bent down and whispered something in the woman's ear who said something back.

Smiling, the nurse left the gazebo and nodded towards Min-Kyung and Chun Hei. “I'll just be over here if you need me.” she said, before bowing and retreating to a corner of the grove to give them some privacy.

Now that they were closer, Chun Hei saw that there were several scars on the woman's neck and the rest of her body that wasn't covered by the patient gown she was wearing. Her skin was very pale and her hair looked quite dry, yet the energy that laid in her eyes revealed a strong but gentle light. The smile she gave to both of them was similarly not lacking in energy despite her frail countenance.

Chun Hei liked her already.

“Hello, Min-Kyung. I'm sorry if you had trouble finding me. I wanted to find someplace private.” apologized the woman in a gentle and soothing tone.

“Please, it was no trouble at all. This place isn't so big after all. Rather, I should be apologizing for taking so long.” said Min-Kyung hastily.

The woman smiled beatifically before looking at Chun Hei, who had remembered her manners only at that moment. “Um! I'm Chun Hei! It's very nice to meet you!” greeted Chun Hei nervously with a short bow.

She beckoned Chun Hei to come closer, and after a slight hesitation, she complied quickly. Taking her hands in her own, she said, “Hello Chun Hei. My name is Nari Hwang.”

Nari squeezed Chun Hei's hands gently, “I hear you've become good friends with my daughter.”

For the first time in his life, Leon Masters had hit a wall. Born as the youngest son of two other siblings to a pair of farmers, his life should have been one of mediocrity. Despite his humble background, Leon Masters desperately studied and trained to improve his own standing in life, wanting to make his mark on the world. Despite the lack of money or the cruel acts of those born to richer families, Leon was somehow able to join an academy for training warriors after being rejected from so many others.

From there, he was able to accrue enough accomplishments that earned him the notice of Ser Francois. The day he was bestowed the red cloak with the symbol of Dale was perhaps the proudest moment of his life. He had already gone on several missions with the rest of Ser Francois' squad and he believed he had acquitted himself well considering that the rest of the members had finally seemed to accept him.

No matter how much he fell or how hard he was pushed, Leon was always able to get back up again. He believed there was no problem that couldn't be overcome without hard work. But the problem he faced now...was of an entirely different sort.

“Wow. You are such a pussy.” said Percival with a snort.

It should be noted that the fact that his now 'suddenly-able-to-talk-horse is actually an ass', was not the problem he was facing.

“I pour my heart out to you, my stalwart companion-”

“We've only known each other for a few weeks.” interjected Percival while munching on the meadow grass.

“Whom I have gone on several death-defying adventures together!” said Leon, barrelling on.

“Mopping up a small group of bandits with the rest of the knights, does not count as a death-defying adventure.”

“And the only thing you give me in return are insults.”

“You say insult. I say fact.” corrected Percival.

“Ugh. What was I thinking that you'd even be able to help.” sighed Leon, slumping down against the tree he was leaning against.

“You actually expected a horse to give you advice on human relationships? Pfft. Dumbass.”

Leon bit back a scathing retort and just settled on giving Percival a very ugly glare. The damn horse didn't seem to notice or even care for that matter, as he focused on grazing.

It was currently late afternoon and their group was taking a brief rest in a secluded meadow just outside of the small village of Coven. Based on the reports of the villagers, the kobolds who were terrorizing the people were located in a large cave a few hours away from the village.

It had been a hard day's worth of riding and Ser Francois had wanted to mop up the kobold problems sooner rather than later. Because the kobolds had made a habit of attacking at sunset, the knights would support the defence of the village in the form of a surprise attack. Then they would make their way to the lair and clear out the rest of the monsters. That was basically another day at work.

Only...there's another unique situation in this group. On one side of the meadow, Ser Francois and Ser Gerard were talking quietly with each other with a map of the area spread out on the ground. He glanced over to the other corner of the meadow where a very pretty girl was making several sandwiches and other foodstuffs with delicate movements. As he shyly watched her, she suddenly laughed at a comment from Dame Mable who was chatting with her. The sound of her laugh sent a thrill through his body.

“You could always just try talking to her.” quietly said a deep voice.

Leon snapped out of his dream-like state and stood up hurriedly to salute the man who had suddenly appeared at his side. “Ser Avery, what can I do for-Gah!” His greeting was silenced with a sudden chop to his head.

“Damn it, Leon. I told you drop the formalities already. This isn't the academy anymore!” though Ser Avery had a stern tone, he wore a bemused face.

“Psh! Like you were any better when we first joined Ser Francois' squad.” scoffed a young woman. Leon flinched at how close the sound of her voice was. He could never figure out how these twins could move around so stealthily in full armour. Dame Anna continued, “Brother's right, though. You really should just go talk to her.”

“And stop talking to me about this inane topic.” inputted Percival. His blunt tone and perfectly timed comment got a laugh from the twins.

“Shut up, Percival.” rebutted Leon. He was amazed at how verbose his sharp-tongued horse was. Perhaps that was part of the reason why he thought he would be of some help.

“I can understand why you're nervous though, Leon. These adventurers...they're a strange sort.” relented Ser Avery. “And Ms. Yuri's certainly strange.”

“Aye.” agreed Leon.

“And quite beautiful.” added Dame Anna with a growing smile.

“...Aye.” Leon felt his face reddening at Anna's words.

“And if you don't talk to her now, while you have the chance, she'll get further and further away from you.” chimed in Ser Avery.

“Too true.” agreed Anna, “These adventurers have such a crazy rate of growth. She'll probably outstrip us in no time and by then, there'll be no end to the amount of people that will be fawning over her.”

“She seems kind of young too. Impressionable, even.” commented Avery.

“You show off your good points now, she'll always remember you, even when she grows a lot stronger.”

By this point, Leon's face slowly lost all trace of the hesitation and nervousness that it bore before to be replaced by a look of confidence. Indeed, he already found that his feet were carrying him towards Yuri at a firm and steady pace.

Behind him, the two conspirators shared a grin with each other as they watched their young friend set off.

“Is he really that easy to manipulate?” asked Percival.

“Oh, you have no idea.” laughed the twins in chorus.

[p=center]Ding!

Level up: Cooking (Intermediate Lv: 5 | 0%):

Enables you to produce more exotic dishes.

+20% stat boost to all foods consumed.[/p]

“Oh?' Yuri let out a sound when the new window popped up as she put the finishing touches on the sandwiches.

Despite the downsides to this character, I'm certainly liking the skill levels she was equipped with!

From what Guinevere had told her, the various skills of Royal Road were divided into three general ranks: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.

For cooking, the quality of food that could be prepared was pretty much dependent on one's skill level. You could be a 5-star chef in real life who could only make an extremely simple meal in the game. That being said, any experience one had in real life that correlated to the skill they were training would enable the skill to be levelled up faster.

What was interesting about the player character that she had ended up a part of, was that her skill levels had correlated pretty much with the “level” of her cooking in the real world. Yuri had to admit that she was a little bit vexed that that apparently only amounted to a level 9 Beginner.

*Slurp* A smile tugged at the corner of Yuri's mouth as she saw Thunder staring hungrily at the array of food spread out on the cloth. By her side, Mable sniffed the air appreciatively.

“Smells pretty good for something that looks so simple. Only...” her face creased in doubt, “Will it be enough for everyone?”

“Well it should be...” Yuri focused on one of the sandwiches until a description window popped up. Really...I feel like I'm getting too used to these game absurdities.

[p=center]Wild Queen's Sandwich

A scrumptious meal made with ultra-love power by the cool,

yet tender-hearted wolf girl!

Satiety parameter filled per item

+7% Attack

+10% Speed

Minor Regeneration Buff[/p]

Yuri's eyes twitched when she read the description. It felt like the game was making fun of her.

“Well, everything's ready, but Ser Francois and Gerard are still talking about the upcoming attack. I guess it's fine to wait for-”

*Whine* Thunder placed his forepaws on Yuri's lap and gazed beseechingly at her. Yuri rolled her eyes and gathered up some sandwiches onto a separate piece of cloth and folded it over the food while tying it up in a loose knot.

“Take some to your brother as well.” said Yuri as she set the bundle off to the side while smoothing Thunder's fur gently with her hand. At the moment, Whisper was currently enjoying the period of rest and chose to spend it basking in a sunlight well that had pierced through the branches of an old oak. Thunder needed no further prodding as he directly clamped onto the cloth bundle and darted off to where Whisper was.

“Quite the pair you have there.” chuckled Mable.

Yuri laughed as well, “They're the best.” a tender expression floated on her face as she watched her two new friends happily enjoy their food. The two watched Thunder prod his brother awake with his snout before carefully untying the bundle with his snout with obvious eagerness.

“You know...for an adventurer, you're more normal than I thought you'd be.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well...” explained Mable slowly, “Most adventurers always feel kind of...hollow, I guess? I'm not really sure how to describe it.” Mable made some vague gestures in frustration.

“It's like, they don't really treat us as being alive.” she sighed and seemed to gaze at something far off in the distance, “Some adventurers will appear to be very friendly and will seem very earnest in helping out the people. There was a time when I admired such people. But eventually, I started to notice that such sincerity was actually just a facade.”

“I'm not naive enough to believe that someone would help another out without any return. Even so...” Mable shook her head with a embarrassed laugh, “Sorry about bringing up all that. I'm sure the people you're friends with are equally as kind. I don't know why I started talking about all of this.” Evidently Mable had taken Yuri's silence as being offended.

Yuri could only give a bitter smile, “Don't worry about it. Sometimes...you just need to get some things off your chest.”

“True enough.” sighed Mable, “Still...” Mable looked like she wanted to say something else when the sound of someone approaching caught her attention. A pitying smile spread on her face, “Oh dear...”

Yuri turned and saw the young man, Ser Leon, approaching the two of them with an unusually stern expression on his face.

“Ms. Yuri! I have a request!” Leon seemed to be quite fired up about something.

“Y-yes?” Her eyes flicked towards Leon's back where Thunder was currently happily enjoying his meal. Whisper caught her eye, but continued to eat his food calmly. Traitor!

“This may be a bit forward of me.” Leon took a step closer, prompting Yuri to hurriedly get up.

“But ever since I first saw you treat that horse, I was instantly captivated by you!”

“Ah, what? Horse?” Yuri's face was rapidly turning red, her thoughts were in chaos: what was essentially a computer program was confessing to her in the form of a handsome guy. A lifetime of study in all-girls schools didn't exactly give her a lot of experience with guys.

Emboldened by her reaction, Leon continued to spout his embarrassing declaration, “But it wasn't your beautiful looks that charmed me so; no! It was instead the beauty of your heart!”

“Th-Thank you, Ser Leon.” stammered Yuri. Leon's passionate speech had drawn the smiling, but warm gazes of the rest of the knights. Don't just smile! Help!!

“Ms. Yuri” said Leon in a firm tone. His steely blue eyes swam with such passion that Yuri felt that she would drown in it if she kept on staring. What is with this ridiculous charisma! Stop cheating!!

“When this is all over.” he knelt and took one of her hands in both of his own, “Would you do me the honor of having dinner with me?”

Say no! Say no!

“Okay.” whispered Yuri, giving Leon a bright red nod as her body bypassed conscious thought.

Guinevere can NEVER find about this!

Deep within the heart of the forest, a shadowy figure stole through the dead of the night. It had a humanoid appearance and showed bipedal movements, but closer inspection would reveal that where soft skin should be was instead rough, brown fur. Moving further up, the body become more beast than man as it's head greatly resembled that of a wolf; identifying it as a member of the kobold species.

Racing through the forest, what few shafts of moonlight that could pass through the dense meshwork of foliage sharply outlined the injured appearance of the creature. It's previously sleek fur coat was matted with dried blood that had been previously oozing down the primary site of injury in it's shoulder where a crossbow bolt was embedded. The kobold did not attempt to pull out the bolt that was still sending lances of agony through it. No, it was operating on the most primal instincts available to it, as it desperately tore a path through the woods.

While kobolds had some intelligence, enough to equip and make weapons, they never reached a human level. They had no distinguishable society and were instead organized into small independent groups. It's long tongue lolled out from the side of it's mouth as it recalled the devastating losses of its brothers and sisters.

Remembering the terrifying strength of their attackers, the kobold managed to urge it's flagging body to even greater speeds. The kobold's course shifted slightly every now and then, as it doggedly traced it's way back home, following the wistful scent of the rest of it's brethren.

Suddenly it stopped.

Sniff...Sniff, Sniff...

The kobold smelled the air and looked the around cautiously, worried that it had been followed. There were two scents nearby. Not human...but similar. Smells that were overlaid with smoke. The kobold proceeded through the woods carefully, returning it's breath to normal as it adopted the aspects of a predator.

Soon the kobold could make out a dull orange glow that lay smouldering in a thicket up ahead to its left. Whoever the creatures were, they had to be disposed of as they were far too close to the den.

Devoid of weapons, save for its claw and fangs, the kobold stealthily picked its way across the forest floor to the thicket. A shadow extending past the fire and onto the trees gave it pause.

This was only a brief hesitation however. The overriding fear it had felt from its attackers had finally begun to diminish, allowing other baser emotions to come to the foreground. Anger was most prominent among them; a furious desire to hunt and kill those that would harm it and its kin. Were there any players present to see the expression on the kobold's face, they were would more than a little unsettled to see that a very cruel and very human smile creased it's fearsome lupine visage.

There was a small space in the dense thicket where the glow of the fire filtered through. The kobold crept up and peered carefully through the opening. Two figures surrounded a crackling campfire: one was curled up on a bedroll and was sleeping peacefully and another was tending to the fire with their back to the kobold. The twin swords on their back made it slightly hesitate, but their seemingly defenceless state coupled with the bestial rage that boiled within caused it to throw caution to the wind.

This would prove to be a fatal mistake for the kobold.

In the span of a few moments, the mysterious figure seemed to disappear, only to reappear in front of the kobold. The cruel light in the kobold's eyes faded as its body slumped lifelessly to the ground.

By the light of the flames, the figure of a young woman with flowing red hair and long, pointed ears could be seen. The girl drew her blade out from the centre of the kobold's forehead with a wet squelch. Snorting, the girl flicked the blood and brain matter dripping down the blade with a casual flick of her hand.

“Tch. Not even worth getting up for.” grumbled the girl. The dissatisfied young woman cocked her head to the side as something else caught her attention.

“Mmm...myahh....” Making such unintelligible sounds, the girl's apparent companion woke up yawning, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“What's up, Atla?” she placed a delicate hand over her mouth to stifle another yawn.

Sheathing her sword the girl, Atlanta, trudged back to the empty bedroll opposite to the fire. “Just a kobold, Eri. I was kind of hoping it would be stronger though.” sighed Atlanta as she sank down onto her pallet.

Atlanta's companion, Eryana, propped her head up with her hand. “We could always go back to the labyrinth if you really want.”

“I do really want to! But to get to a manageable level, we have to wade through all of the monsters in the mountain first!” complained Atlanta, “Seriously...the walk back from the village after the last time we died took so long.”

“I seem to recall a certain girl having quite a bit of fun during that walk.” chuckled Eryana.

“Well, yeah. That was the first time that had happened! If we died again though, wouldn't we just be seeing the same things over again?”

“Which is why we should get a party.”

“Ugh. Like the guys we met in town? No thank you.”

“Then I guess we'll be grinding here for a bit, until we're strong enough to enter the mountains on our own.”

“Then...then...” Atlanta was truly unwilling to stay in this boring forest any longer when she thought of how close they were to the labyrinth. She desperately racked her brains and gave what she thought was a reasonable answer to Eryana.

“This time we'll be super careful entering the mountains!”

Eryana raised an eyebrow, amusement twinkled in her green eyes, “I wonder if there'll be different parties there when we respawn back in the village...”

“Bah! You'll see. I've got a good feeling about this time!” said Atlanta confidently.

“Ah! This is a cute photo!” exclaimed Chun Hei. On the tablet resting on Nari's lap was a picture of a smiling family of three. The daughter of the trio was laughing as she hugged a large golden retriever. Yuri was the only one looking at the camera and her father and mother were both looking dotingly towards their daughter.

Nari visibly brightened, “It's one of my favourites actually.” She gently caressed the images of her daughter and her late husband. “We took this only just last year, right around when summer was ending and the new year was about to start. My husband loved to take photos at the start of a new season. You should see how many albums we have back at home!”

She laughed and Chun Hei joined in with her. Almost without them realizing it, both of them had been quite relaxed with each other. It was to the point that Chun Hei was resting her arms and chin on the arm of Nari's wheelchair while she cycled through various photos of their family with one hand, while another was draped across Chun Hei's head.

Min-Kyung had gotten a call from one of the staff members of an x-ray machine that had suddenly broke down in the middle of a surgery. It wasn't exactly urgent as the hospital had back-ups they could use, but he was only one of two technicians that were working today. Nari had then kindly volunteered to look after Chun Hei while he took care of business; giving them more of a chance to talk with each other.

“I'm glad it was someone like you.” said Nari quietly.

Chun Hei stiffened at the sudden addressal, gazing up at Nari who was smiling serenely towards her. Lifting her head off of her chair, Chun Hei asked curiously.

“Someone like me?”

Nari took Chun Hei's hands and folded them inside her own, “That someone like you was there to help my daughter when she needed it.” A film of tears appeared in her brown eyes, but just like when Chun Hei had divulged the full story of what had happened to her daughter, no tears fell down.

“Please continue to be friends with my daughter. She'll need you, even after her body heals.” requested Nari, bowing her head down.

“Of-Of course! Whether it's here or in Royal Road, I'll always be Yuri's friend!” said Chun Hei with utter conviction. That quiet girl she had come to know over the past few days had made an irrevocable mark on her heart. She'd always be there for her.

No matter what.

[p=center]Atlanta Level 32[/p]

“Amazing.” Yuri didn't know who had said that statement, but everyone certainly agreed with that statement.

A girl with flowing red-hair completely looked the part of a goddess of war as her blades danced among the swarm of monsters attacking her. That was the first thought among Yuri and the knights who had stumbled upon the battle taking place before them.

There was a brilliant display of flashing lights that erupted from behind the red-haired girl as six balls of light flew out from the top of a jagged stone. Two of the six balls each targeted three of the grey-skinned humanoid monsters that were attacking the pair. Rather than the concussive impact she expected, the balls deformed when hitting the surface of the monster's skin before bursting like a bubble. Like an overripe fruit, silvery liquid splashed onto them before suddenly igniting in a dazzling conflagration of blue flames.

Engulfed in flame, the monsters had been converted into walking torches, their strange cries pierced the air as they frantically beat themselves in a vain attempt to put the fire out. The source of the flashy spell had short, curly brown hair and was outfitted in a long blue robe along with a tall brown staff with a crystal embedded in the top of it.

[p=center]Eryana Level 30[/p]

“Do they even need our help?” wondered Leon.

“They seem to be doing okay now, thanks to their excellent teamwork, but they'll soon be overrun by these hobgoblins.” analyzed Ser Francois. This was certainly true, the average level of these hobgoblins was level 28, but there were over thirty of them. Fortunately and perhaps unfortunately as well, the girls had their back to a cliff wall, which while trapping them, also prevented them from being completely surrounded.

They were watching the unfolding battle from an elevated position in which the goblins had their backs to them. There would not be much cover if they ran out and tried to help the girls, and the distance they would have to traverse made it unlikely to be able to sneak up on the goblins.

Still, it was only a matter of time until they both fell.

“Whisper?”

“I'll follow your lead, Yuri.”

“Thunder?”

“Don't even think about leaving me out!”

Yuri turned towards the knights, who were watching this exchange silently. “I know it's not part of the quest, but I hope you can help me out in saving those two.”

“Why? You don't even know them.” said Ser Francois. There was a strange glimmer in his eyes. As if he expected something from her.

What can I say? I want to help them because they're players, like me?

“Captain!” interjected Leon, he was cut off with a curt shake of the head from Ser Gerard, before he could speak any further.

“I agree that we should help them as well, but we have our own orders. Helping these two could easily lead to our deaths. In the meantime, the village we were assigned to protect could fall to the kobold attacks. Even so, would you still ask us to go?”

“...Whether it's two people or an entire village's worth, I think both have the same value...” Her mind said it was silly to even say a line like this, because at the moment, Yuri wasn't even considering how this could affect her familiarity with the rest of the knights. Thoughts of quest bonuses or hidden rewards didn't cross her mind at all.

“I'm asking because I think we'll have a better chance of succeeding if we work together. But if that means that you'll conflict with your own sense of values...” Yuri gritted her teeth, “Then I'll go on my own.”

Ser Francois eyed her quietly and then finally said: “I see. As captain of the third contingent of the Dale Knights, I hereby relieve you of your services, Ms. Yuri.”

Two notifications flashed across Yuri's eyes in quick succession following Ser Francois' words.

[p=center]Party Disbanded!

You have been removed from a party.

[/p]

[p=center]Quest Failure: Anthropomorphic Extermination:

Due to your actions, Ser Francois has deemed you to be unreliable in their quest to

save the village of Coven.

Trust from Dale officials has greatly decreased.

It will be harder to receive quests from this region from now on.

[/p]

“““Captain!!””” Leon, Anna and Avery voiced their discontent almost immediately.

It was a result that she expected, even so, it was a little bitter to be faced with the reality of it. Still, it was just a matter of failing a quest. She could always find more. Besides, if it got really dangerous, she could always just run away. Or at the very least, have Thunder and Whisper flee.

“Thank you for the care you've shown me so far. Good luck with your quest, Ser Francois.” Yuri dismounted from Reegar, the horse who had kindly been serving as her means of transport.

“Thanks for carrying me this far, Reegar.” Yuri patted the side of Reegar's head with a sad fondness.

“I'll carry you farther than this. These knights don't own me after all!” huffed Reegar angrily.

“You could die. Not really an issue for me.” said Yuri seriously.

“It's an issue for me.” snorted Reegar, “Hurry up and get back on. I'm coming regardless.”

“Hmph. Maybe you're better than I thought. I shall allow you to become the great Me's first minion!” proclaimed Thunder arrogantly.

Because the party had disbanded, the knights could no longer understand their own animals, though it seemed like they understood what he had said regardless.

“Well at least one of us isn't abandoning her.” muttered Leon who was clearly in a foul mood.

The atmosphere was getting tense and the cause of this, Yuri, didn't want to prolong it anymore. Especially since that the people whom she was trying to save were quickly running out of time. Yuri hopped back onto Reegar's saddle and eased him out of the brush and into the battle without a backwards look at the knights.

This would be the first and last time that she would have this kind of shot on the attacking hobgoblins. She had to make it count.

“Focus Aim! Charge Shot” The blue bar in the corner of her vision drained as the skill took effect. As Yuri raised the crossbow in her hands, an unseen force moved the crossbow into a more ideal position so as to better hit her first target. A targeting reticle hovered in the centre of one of the hobgoblins. It was currently a pale red color, indicating that she hadn't yet entered the optimum range yet. At the same time, a small blue light coalesced on the tip of the crossbow bolt and started to revolve around itself to form a miniature vortex.

Thunder and Whisper had already raced ahead of Reegar, though their nimble movements kept them from attracting attention. Almost...almost there...!

When Yuri had hit the twenty metre mark, the reticle shined a bright red. Her finger reflexively pulled the trigger and caused her charged shot to explode out of it's holster. One of the rings she had acquired from the treasure hoard in the kobold's cave suddenly lit up as it's effect activated to give a small lightning enchantment to her attacks. The vortex that had gathered around it's tip grew even larger until it encompassed the entire bolt so that it resembled a blue comet crackling with electricity.

It might have been a lucky first shot. Perhaps it was a rare critical bonus applied randomly because of her class. Or maybe the skills and items she had used together had created an odd synergistic effect.

But whatever it was, the bolt in question which was aimed towards the creature's trunk, managed to impact the exact, precise gap between the crude armour plates of the hobgoblin. The shot was devastating enough that it didn't so much as disable the creature's right arm, as it did detonate it.

[p=center]Critical hit!

[/p]

By the time the hobgoblin's screams had pierced the air, another charged shot was sent sailing his way. Flustered at the sudden attack, the hobgoblin could only turn around and take the shot directly in it's chest. Cries of alarm spread amongst the hobgoblins as they realized they were under attack.

Between the time of her attack, Yuri estimated there were probably twenty-four goblins left. A tall order for a level 29 such as herself.

But if we can't overpower them, we'll out-think them!

“Reegar!” shouted Yuri.

“On it!” Reegar started moving again, this time at a much quicker pace and at a lateral direction with respect to the incoming goblins. Yuri kept up her assault on the goblins, firing shot after shot. It was hard, considering she was on horseback, but the clustered mass of the goblins usually guaranteed her pretty good success with the shots.

As if the world was trying to help her out, a new notification popped up with a Ding!

[p=center]Skill: You learned the Mounted Combat skill

A skill that heightens combat proficiency when on horseback.

Damage and accuracy of attacks increases with higher skill levels[/p]

Her shots became ever so slightly more precise. It wasn't a great deal, but Yuri would take anything she could get right now. The hobgoblins had finally realized that Yuri was a credible threat and had sent a detachment of their forces to deal with her. Well as long as it's under eight, I think I'll be able to manage somehow.

Twelve hobgoblins were currently rushing towards her and Reegar.

Seriously?! You would send half of your forces just to get rid of me!!

Luckily, Yuri was mounted, so she could remain at a pretty good distance from the hobgoblins. As long as they didn't have any ranged attackers, she'd be-

...Apparently okay. Huh, I was actually expecting an arrow or maybe a spell to come my way.

“You seem disappointed for some reason, Yuri.” said Reegar. The pace he was currently setting wasn't anything strenuous, so his voice remained steady.

“J-Just your imagination!” Yuri tried to cover her stutter by firing as fast she could into the rampaging hobgoblins. Though they tried to throw themselves out of the way, a few members ended up being caught by the wicked missiles. What appeared to be the leader of the monsters, barked a short command and the unruly group of attackers slowly split off to the sides. Their aim was clear as they were attempting to cut off Reegar.

Unfortunately for them, that was when Thunder and Whisper chose to make their move.

Right when the hobgoblin leader was about to make another call, he gave out a choked cry as Thunder and Whisper pounced out from their hiding spots and tackled him to the ground. Were the leader still surrounded by his minions, perhaps he might've stood a chance. As it were, only a few goblins were still around him, and those were being picked off by Yuri.

“Break away! Don't get surrounded!”

The wolves wasted no time on words and quickly fled the scene of the hobgoblin they had successfully mauled, leaving him in a heavily wounded state. Yuri's MP soon ran out and she switched to just firing normal bolts that still had the benefit of the lightning projectile enchantment. With a combination of hit-and-run tactics and the occasional assist from Whisper and Thunder, Yuri had managed to whittle down the attacking hobgoblins down to six.

It was at this point that things started to take a turn for the worst.

“THUNDER!” roared Whisper. One of the hobgoblins had chucked their weapon in a last-ditch effort to deal with the wolves that had annoyed them for so long. This hobgoblin's luck seemed to be quite good today as his weapon managed to slice across the back part of Thunder's legs. For his part, Whisper was dealing with two hobgoblins that had suddenly appeared to block his way.

At Whisper's shout, Yuri had seen that Thunder was already on the ground with several hobgoblins who were quickly converging on his position. These weren't from the five that were doggedly chasing after her, however.

No, these were the hobgoblins that were previously attacking the two players she had set out in a half-baked attempt to rescue.

A quick glance showed the two in question wrapped in some sort of shimmering shield. The red-haired girl and her companion looked exhausted, but the shield seemed to be preventing any of the hobgoblin's attacks. They had dealt with six more hobgoblins on their own, which left her with another six to manage with Thunder injured.

It was a good decision. If Yuri were in their shoes, she would have done the same thing. She doubted their shield would last forever though, but it would probably give them enough time to rest and recover. Perhaps this was their plan all along and they had only persisted because of Yuri's sudden appearance.

She considered it fortunate that three of these hobgoblins were stubbornly attacking their barrier in an attempt to break it down with brute force.

Still, it was only a matter of time until they joined forces with their kin.

But she couldn't regret her decision then. She could only make a decision now.

Gritting her teeth, Yuri directed Reegar to a path angling towards Thunder as she eased her feet out of its stirrups. “No matter what happens, keep running in this direction.”

“What are you doing?!” cried Reegar in alarm.

“Something stupid.” chuckled Yuri morosely. Before he could let out any protest, Yuri leaped from her saddle and onto one of the hobgoblins flanking Thunder. Tackling it to the ground, Yuri shoved the crossbow into the hobgoblin's mouth and pulled the trigger.

It had taken her some time to get used to the gory nature of Royal Road, but she had since gotten used to it after rationalizing that it was all a game. As it was, this kill wasn't particularly bloody, though that was more for the fact that Yuri was already moving on from it after a convenient notification popped up that let her know she had defeated it.

[p=center]You have levelled up![/p]

Conveniently, Yuri only needed to pull back the bolt slider as ammunition was taken directly from her inventory. While she was doing so, a hobgoblin took the opportunity to suddenly swung a short blade towards her and she was forced to block it with her crossbow.

“Tch!” Yuri's crossbow had long since been upgraded and reinforced, but it still wasn't meant to take hits such as this. Making use of the short gap in time that the kobold had to reposition it's blade, Yuri jabbed her weapon forward to bash it's face.

“Kwaaa!!” the hobgoblin howled in pain and anger as it was briefly stunned from the sudden impact. Just as she was about to follow up, Yuri felt a sharp pain arc through her back.

Ahhh! Why can't the medical capsule be with the pain function off?! Yuri lamented over such things even as she staggered over towards the injured Thunder while reloading her crossbow.

He hadn't noticed her presence yet as he was in a desperate struggle with two hobgoblins. A hobgoblin screamed in pain as Thunder's jaws clamped around his ankles as he bit down with crushing force. Thunder refused to release the monster from his terrible hold, even as a sword slashed across his body.

“Thunder!” screamed Yuri. She madly dashed towards the creature that would dare harm him in front of her. Yuri barely noticed the feeling of a sword as it scythed across her chest as she fired repeatedly towards the hobgoblin. It staggered backwards even as she swung her weapon towards the skull of the hobgoblin that Thunder was currently chomping on. Her hands were already pulling back the slider as the monster's skull was recoiling from the blow. By the time it bounced back, the tip of the spring-loaded bolt went past it's teeth. Click!

[p=center]Critical hit![/p]

Panting, Yuri was relieved as the hobgoblins all backed away from the two of them. Thunder looked to be in pretty bad shape, though judging by the state of her own health, Yuri didn't think she looked any better.

The hobgoblins weren't madly attacking now, they were now encircling Yuri and Thunder and would soon trap them. Most likely they would then all rush in at once and kill them both.

To hell with that.

“Thunder.” said Yuri quietly. He stiffened slightly, so he definitely heard her speak. “I'll make an opening. You run for it and get yourself to safety along with your brother.”

“I'm not leaving you!”

I'm not leaving you!

Thunder's voice seemed to echo strangely as he growled those words. There was no time to dwell on it now though.

“Thunder, I'll come back if I fall here. You won't!” said Yuri urgently. The hobgoblins were growing restless. Whisper was currently dealing with a few of them as he danced nimbly between their blades. His movements were becoming progressively more and more sluggish as fatigue set in. He had seen their predicament and it was clear that he was pushing himself.

“I won't watch you die!”

I...can't watch you die!

“Please, Thunder! I will be back, I promise!”

“I...”

...I can't do it!

These unspoken words echoed in her mind and Yuri had a horrible premonition of what Thunder was going to do. “DON'T!” cried Yuri as her brave, stupid Thunder recklessly charged forwards towards one of the hobgoblins.

Schwing!

A clear sound pierced through Thunder's howl that seemed to bring an unnatural silence to the battlefield. A thin red line slowly appeared on the hobgoblin's face. It was a horizontal gash that slowly extended horizontally from ear to ear as blood oozed down from the horrific wound. The monster dropped like a puppet with it's strings cut as it's killer smoothly shook off the blood with a single swipe of their blade.

“I have seen your resolve, Ms. Yuri. I apologize for the deception.” said Ser Francois with a sheepish smile.

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