Setting: INSIDE THE VIRTUAL GAME

Date: February 14th, 2026. (6 Hours Since The Launch)

They spend the better part of an hour riding to the new zone, and as they rode up to the gates that led to it, Patrick began to notice that a crowd had gathered there but no one was entering. Many of them were just standing there, either on foot or mounted, looking at the gates but not doing anything else.

"What the hell are they doing?" Miritar asked.

"I'm not sure," Patrick replied, "Let's go ask them."

When they reached the large group of people, Patrick dismounted and walked to the gate where the gate to the new zone started. When he reached it, there was nothing impeding their entrance. No one wanted to enter, and they all stood there like an army of dupes.

"What's going on here?" Patrick asked. "What are you waiting for?"

"We can't go in there," one of the other player replied.

"Why not?" Patrick asked him.

"The level squish," another player replied.

"What about it?" Miritar asked, "We all had our levels lowered."

"That's just it," the player said, pointing towards the new zone, "They didn't."

Patrick looked over at the player, "What?"

"All the creatures in there are level seventy-five, which is probably the max of the new expansion." Another player added.

"Son of a bitch," Miritar said, looking at the gate. "How are we gonna beat these dungeons if we're twenty-five levels lower?"

"Obviously everyone is going to have to level back up," Patrick said, as he heard some players moan about it. "That sucks, I know, but that's the only way out. We're going to have to power level up till we have enough people to attack the Dark Castle."

"This isn't fair!" another player screamed, "I want out of here!"

"We all do," Patrick said, "But panicking isn't going to help. Concentrate on getting back up to max level, and while you do that we'll gather as much Intel as we can about this zone and that damn castle."

"How do you plan to do that?" A lady player asked.

"I'll handle it," Patrick said, "I can sneak around undetected, so I'll be fine. But the time you all reach the level needed, I'll have all the Intel you need to attack that castle and get us the hell out of here. So get out there and level up! The sooner you help each other to seventy-five, the sooner we can get the hell outta here!"

The other players cheered and then slowly disburse until there were only five players left at the gate to the new zone. Patrick was looking at the new zone and it was dark and very scary, which was very typical of Janssen.

"So what happens now?" one of the left over players asked.

"You guys need to level up," Patrick said, "I'm going in there."

"Are you sure that's wise?" the player asked.

"What's your name?" Miritar asked.

"Smoggel," the player replied, "But you can call me..."

"Help!" A voice called out, "Someone help me!"

Everyone turned to see a player inside the new zone, but he was running back towards the gate and for his life. There were two enormous undead creatures running behind him, and they were getting close to catching him.

"Shit," Patrick said, pulling out his bow. "Both of you wait here."

Patrick stepped through the gates and with one shot he took out the creatures that was closer to the player running away. Once his comrade was taken down, the other creature sensed the greater threat and started to charge at Patrick, who proceeded to fire another arrow and kill the panther with one shot. After the player ran past him, Patrick started to slowly walk backwards until he was back at the gates and out of the new zone.

"Oh my god," The player huffed, "Thank you!"

"Take a potion," Mititar offered, "You're badly hurt."

"I can't," the player responded, "They don't work on these wounds."

Patrick took out a bandage from his bag and carefully wrapped it around the wound in the player's leg.

"That won't heal you," Patrick said, "But it will stop the bleeding and prevent things from getting worse until you heal on your own."

"What the hell," Miritar said, "How do potions not work?"

"New zone, new tools." Smoggel said, "This is common for new expansions, only new potions work in new zones."

"That pretty standard," Patrick said, "That had to be expected."

"Sorry," the other player said, "I was just trying to scout and those things came out of nowhere."

"Wait, how the hell did you kill them?" Smoggel asked, "And you one shot both of them! How?"

"Keep it to yourself," Patrick said, "I'm a little bit higher than you guys."

"How much higher?" Smogel asked.

"He never squished," Miritar answered, "He's still at a hundred."

"Shit!" Smoggel said, mouth gapped in shock. "That's wicked!"

"You guys get out there and level up," Patrick said, "And try not to die."

"Why?" Smoggel asked, "Do we not come back?"

"You do," Miritar confirmed, "But you lose a level with each death."

"Crap, that sucks." Smoggel said with a sigh, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go in there, and scout." Patrick answered. "I'm going to map out where everything is, and find out how hard it will be to get into that castle. By the time everyone maxes their levels out, I'll make sure we have a plan to minimize our risk. You guys level in groups to minimize deaths. You've done this before, you can do it again."

"Alright," Miritar said, shaking Patrick's hand. "Be careful in there."

Patrick watched as the few players rode away in the opposite direction towards quests and creatures that were better to suit for their current levels. The new zone, Gregory's secret zone, was far too advanced for any of them to scout let alone attack. Patrick walked back through the gates and into the dark forest again, as he started to approach the carcasses of the two creatures that he recently killed. There was no flesh on them, as they were just bones, like living skeletons. It was very strange, as when the creatures died, they turned into a pile of bones as if the clue keeping them together just failed on them.

"This doesn't make any sense," Patrick said as he left the first and checked the other body, and it was pretty much the same. "Undead creatures, what the hell are you up to Gregory? You know the corporation didn't want zombies in the games."

And yet there he was, standing before evidence that Gregory had disregarded what the company wanted and did whatever the hell he wanted. Patrick looked around and started to walk deeper into the forest. While he was on the trail, which was normally supposed to be safe for players, Patrick's character was attacked several times but the same undead creatures. Like the previous creatures, he had no trouble taking them out with a single shot each. Rather than just charge forward, Patrick was talking his time trying to not run into a group and get overwhelmed. He was about halfway into the new territory when he stopped short at a small cliff that overlooked a deep valley. At the bottom of that valley was the Dark Castle. It was very tall, dark and menacing from his view. The darkest thing Patrick had ever seen in the game, and it was surrounded by scores of creatures and even soldiers who were guarding it. If he didn't know better, Patrick realized that the courtyard leading to the front door might itself be one of the dungeons that Gregory was referring to. So no one would be able to even look inside the castle until the first boss was defeated. Gregory was basically taking every rule that was used for making this level, and tossed it out the window. It was a total dick move by the game's creator, and to make things worse this was their only way out. It looked brutal, and many players were going to die trying to just get in. That was probably what Gregory was hoping to see.

"God damn, Greg." Patrick called out, "If you're not fired over this bug, you will be when they see the shit you made here."

Patrick had seen enough, and left to head back to the safer territory. He didn't look forward to breaking the bad news to the other players but the deserved to know the truth and what kind of shit they were all knee deep in. He mounted and rode as fast as he could to get away from the undead creatures and that badass castle that taunted him from a distance. He would be back eventually, but not anytime soon. The other players had a lot of leveling to do just to stand a chance, but he would be there to help them. Even though a Game Mod wasn't supposed to interfere in the game, Patrick realized that they would need all the help they could get to even come close to getting through this territory. He had a feeling the corporation wouldn't mind given the circumstance, and honestly didn't give a shit if they did. This was one situation Patrick just couldn't step aside and observe this time, especially since he was trapped too. If they players wanted to get out, he was going to have to step up.