"To walk among strangers with trickling trepidation is not preservation. Do not walk among them in the first place." -passage from Monsters and the Human Arts

Charlotte, North Carolina

United States

Edward Andylon sat at the bar and took a deep swig of his drink. The pilsner went down smooth, and he felt the cold stir his belly awake. A beer with a chilled mug was just what he needed after a long night of work at the hospital. Drinking on an empty stomach was one of many other poor decisions he'd made today, but veteran drinkers somehow managed to iron their stomachs from younger days of foolish habits.

The bar was relatively crowded despite being early afternoon. The owner was a decent fellow who adjusted his hours for the police officers and hospital staff getting off overtime shifts. Working as an investigator for the hospital placed Andylon senior in a category that fellow officers deemed appropriate to make him one of the team, even if the private sectors of business now hired their own outside security. In most of the city, anyone participating in some form of law enforcement was seen as a comrade.

He slammed his mug down on the bar a little harder than intended.

The young cop sitting on the neighboring stool eyed him over the rim of his mug as he gingerly took a sip of his own drink. Edward was aware of his junior's hesitance to ask about the sudden foul mood.

As the young cop was about to speak, he became distracted by a commercial that appeared on the television.

A pleasantly cheerful, female voice spoke as images of screened electronic devices appeared: cell phones, tablets, laptops, and so forth, “Download the Puzzle and Dragons Viewer app to watch your favorite Players traverse the virtual world and wage battle!" Two humanoid monsters entered a heated battle to add to the commercial's dramatic effect. "Follow along and unlock its secrets! Add Players to your alert list to receive notifications when they enter dungeons or engage in combat. The pinnacle of virtual gaming has arrived with Puzzle and Dragons World!” A schedule of events appeared on the screen detailing what the developers planned for the game's future. The voice carried on in the background.

Edward scoffed and drained the remainder of his drink as the commercial continued.

He noticed that his partner was watching the commercial with clear interest. There was a mesmerized gleam in his eye that Edward still hadn't gotten used to.

The young cop pulled out his cellphone and accessed the internet via the bar's WIFI.

Edward sighed with exasperation. “Greg, you aren't seriously doing what I think you're doing, right?”

“Sorry boss, totally forgot about it,” the young cop answered, misinterpreting the question.

“Not what I meant-” Edward started.

“Seriously, technology is friggin amazing,” Greg said, completely oblivious. “You should just give it a chance and watch some. They even say that real life abilities are in the game too. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.”

“It's a video game,” Edward responded. He glanced at the phone and saw an animated dragon appear and breathe fire over the screen.

“Well, yes, but...it's not like you hold a controller or anything. It's like you are really moving around and actually use your own skill to fight. It takes smarts and real ability.”

“It's a video game,” Edward repeated.

Greg didn't push his argument further and decided to watch the rest of the commercial. The narrator was now describing elements of the game concerning Player stats, levels, the intrinsic scans and free-roam ability. Viewers were able to see a Player's previous rank from the original game and could place bets on who they thought would be the victor at the start of PvP battles when they became available. Viewers were also awarded magic stones for the original game and joined in other special contests.

“Is your son participating?” Greg asked as the commercial ended.

Andylon grunted. “Don't remind me. Wait, how do you know that?”

Greg showed a list of names in the app on his phone's screen. Sure enough, sitting in the middle of the list was: Ray Andylon.

Edward ran a hand through his short, graying hair as if the motion would ease his irritation. It didn't.

Greg shrugged. “Well, I'll be rooting for him. Oh, sweet! He has Leilan. Looks like they start at ultimate evolution. Damn, that character design.” He let out a high-pitched whistle of admiration as his eyes wandered up and down the screen.

Edward couldn't begin to understand the appeal. He watched as Greg swiped along the screen and pulled up an image of a woman with rainbow wings and a strange pole-like weapon resting on her shoulders. The character was just a cartoon, or was it anime? He couldn't remember what his son had referred to the animations as. There must be better ways to spend time.

He glanced at the humanoid monster's image again. He couldn't deny that the creators did an impressive job of making her rather appealing along with her other, well, assets.

He waved his hand dismissively and went to finish his beer when he realized that the mug was empty. He tossed a generous tip on the bar and rose from his stool.

“You alright to drive, boss?” Greg asked.

“I'll be fine.”

“Yeah, all those years of experience, old man.” He risked the playful jab.

Edward humored him with a smirk. “I'm not quite there yet. When the time comes, you can call me old all you want.”

He gave him a quick salute and headed out of the bar.

The city was quiet, but still held a hidden energy within it as the sides of buildings shifted with flowing lights and sparkling stars of technology protruding from their tops. The city had been fitted with a jumbo screen near the center that could still be seen with perfect clarity from his far-off section of the city.

A silent battle was being waged above with strange numbers in the corners that were completely foreign to him. Bars of multiple colors changed as the solid hues filling them lowered when one of the fighters gained a distinct advantage. One of the fighters had his defense broken with a brief flash and the other moved in to finish him off.

None of it was actually real. Another game Edward didn't know about. He had no desire to bother with the effort of understanding the strange new virtual worlds. There was no denying that it was something people enjoyed and were willing to watch. If people watched, if people played, then there was money to be had.

What a friggin strange world, he thought. He always harshly denied his curiosity in the past. But if real-world abilities did apply, then it might be interesting to see how Ray decided to use them. Maybe he'd pull the weird app up during a lunch break or some such.

He approached his car and was about to insert the key when a sight chill crawled up his arm. He glanced behind him and ran his gaze over the parking lot. It took a solid three minutes for him to convince himself that nobody was there.

Old habits die hard, I guess.

Sarkast (Military City)

Pirugan Continent

Ray and his companions decided to hug the road the rest of the way to Sarkast. This particular area of the forest was muddied and difficult to wade through from the storm that heavily saturated the ground the day before. In some areas the mud even managed to rise to the top of his boots.

They traveled in silence for the most part. The only one who seemed to be interested in small talk was Parvati. Ray had made numerous attempts to converse with his fellow Player, but most of his questions were returned with a shrug, a barely discernible nod, or nothing at all. He eventually gave up and joined the conversations between the monsters.

Leilan and Verche chose their words carefully as they spoke to Parvati. This mistrust amongst fellow monsters was confusing for him. But he hoped to have all of his questions answered soon.

When the city came into view it was something that Ray didn't quite expect. The high ground from the forest revealed the city's layout within the walls. The outskirts of the city consisted of modest dwellings in a tightly knit suburban area with a tall outer wall built of limestone. Soldiers patrolled along the wall and disappeared behind wide parapets. Archery towers lined the top and from behind in a staggered formation to provide clear lines of fire.

Beyond this suburban outer district was a second wall even more massive than the first with extra crenellations lining the top. Instead of towers, thin openings were cut into the wall for ranged defenders, which indicated that the wall's thickness was enough to hold a multitude of narrow passages for quick travel between various points.

What fascinated Ray the most were the three tall towers that reached for the sky at the center of the city within the inner district. They were built in a staggered formation with the lead tower as the shortest, and the furthest the tallest. The closest tower was no less impressive than the others with the intricate designs of the wide balconies and the stained glass windows depicting soldiers in battle. They reminded Ray of the skyscrapers in his world.

He could even see some other buildings dominating the inner wall of the city.

He reverted his attention upon hearing the voice of his fellow Player.

“Well, here we are,” Yukiko said in her neutral tone. The only words she had spoken the entire trip. “Welcome to the military city of Sarkast.”

They made their way down the crested hill to the farmlands that surrounded the city. Families were hard at work in the fields tilling the ground and nurturing gardens. Grain mills dotted the open fields along with other squat structures. Soldiers wandered around the buildings in discussion and some moved off to the edge of the fields to stand guard. The extra manpower dissuaded monsters in the forest from venturing too close.

A group of laughing children ran past them across the dirt road seemingly unaware of the monsters that trailed behind the two human Players. The older folk working in the fields took the time to stare at the new arrivals, but their unmoving expressions did not betray any emotion. They seemed like a seasoned and hard-working people.

The fields waned in number as the group came closer to the city's outer wall. Fields were replaced with more of the squat structures with soldiers milling about on duty.

Man, she wasn't kidding when she said it was a military city, Ray thought.

Ray checked his database and opened the map to see how close his home was. He zoomed in on the city and traced along multiple symbols until he found his own. He was in luck. They were at the eastern gate. His house was only a short ways to the north once they entered the outer suburban district.

They arrived at the crowded gate and received curious stares from the guards as they passed. The arrival of the Players was not unknown, but seeing three monsters together with a pair of humans probably wasn't an ordinary occurrence. However, they did not make any obvious, or even subtle, movements for their weapons. They weren't openly welcome, but the relations between monsters and humans seemed better here than the hostility that Leilan mentioned with the people of Millshore. With such a military presence, Ray figured they could afford a bit of confidence.

The armor the guards wore made them look bigger than they actually were. The grey, rounded pauldrons on their shoulders stuck out to a sharp point giving them a dangerous, intimidating look. The wrist guards overlapped chainmail with a barely discernible slot underneath, much like Ray's hidden weapon. It seemed the armor was modified in every conceivable way for some sort of offensive combat.

One of the guards held up a hand to stop the five companions. He eyed them up and down briefly. His mouth shifted slightly to the side.

“Interesting. Two humans and three monsters. This is a first. What's your business in Sarkast?”

A low growl from the tiger, Somanandi, caught the guard's attention. His demeanor didn't change in the slightest as he stared at the tiger.

Parvati waved her hands in front of her in an apologetic gesture. "I-I'm sorry. He hates not being acknowedged." She lowered her head next to the tiger's ear. "Somanandi, behave. You're going to get us in trouble."

The tiger flicked its ear and turned its eyes away from the guard.

The guard gave the party a look that told them he really wasn't in the mood for nonsense.

Yukiko reached into a leather pocket stitched underneath her armor and fished out a folded parchment. She opened it and held it out so that the guard could look over the information for the bounty. She also handed him a small pouch containing proof of completion. The base of the pouch had changed from a light brown to sopping crimson.

The guard's mood lifted, and he let out a low whistle as he looked everything over. “Well damn, you got that sonuvabitch. Bounty was sitting up on the board a while.” He looked past Yukiko and observed Ray and his two monster partners. “And who might you be, kid? What's your business?”

“Oh, my house is here,” Ray answered. “We've arrived from Millshore.”

The guard's eyes went back and forth between Leilan and Verche. "They both with you?" he asked simply.

Ray nodded. “Yes, that's right.”

The guard glanced over his shoulder to read the expressions on the faces of the other men. One of them simply shrugged a confirmation. The others near the guard station had returned to whatever game it was they were playing, something that looked like a mix between Go and Mahjong. They didn't seem concerned.

The guard sighed at their lack of professionalism. “Whatever. Guess it's just a formality anyway, thanks to the Lady Overlook. Alright, just don't cause any trouble, alright?”

The guards stood aside and let the monsters and Players pass into the suburban district of Sarkast.

They entered a small market area as they left the easternmost district of the suburbs. The buildings in this section were plain with a solid beige color comparable to their neighbors. No building had any uniqueness except for growing slightly taller than the one before it as they drew closer to the massive inner wall that guarded the central district.

The market opened up and revealed a number of two-story houses of light brick, comfortably apart with a few acres of land for each. As they winded their way through the smooth, cemented streets, they came upon a house with a solid mahogany door. It was Ray's home. He found it strange how he could so easily claim it as such.

A symbol was etched in the door's center. It was comprised of an image of a dark orb with the familiar crescent moon at its center. A flame surrounded the dark orb with two katanas crossed behind it.

Ray approached the door and ran his hand over the symbol.

There was something about it that gave him pause. Hanging off the pommels of the two katanas were charms linked by chains. Attached to the chains was some sort of amulet with the image of a skull etched into it. Ray didn't know why, but a dark, foreboding feeling crept down his spine as he looked at the grinning ornaments.

First being a dark attribute, and now the skulls. It didn't sit right with him. He wondered why the attribute and symbols had been chosen for him.

Ray noticed Yukiko eyeing the symbol on the door coolly.

“I believe this is where we part ways,” she said, sensing his gaze.

Ray stepped aside as she ascended the stairs to meet him at eye level. She was uncomfortably close, and he took an instinctive step back. She tapped the database on her wrist and the holographic screen popped up. After scrolling through a menu, she opened up a blank screen.

“What's your Player ID?” she asked.

Ray stared at her stupidly for a few seconds before he managed to get a grasp of what she was asking.

“Ah, you, want to add me to your friends list?”

Yukiko nodded. “You're decent with a sword. And you must be pretty tough to have a second monster on your team already. I believe staying in contact would be beneficial for us both. Don't you agree?”

She spoke in such a mechanical tone. It was hard to get any read on her emotions. But Ray had already figured out her true intentions before her explanation. It would be a relationship that was purely based on business and convenience. It should have been painfully obvious judging from her unwillingness to converse on their journey together. Even so, he was glad to have someone he could rely on later.

Ray linked his Player ID number and recited it to her as she input it into the list. After a moment, Ray's database sent him an alert and asked him if he wanted to accept the friend request. He did so, and Yukiko's player profile was open to him. He noticed that a few areas of her profile were locked and strictly private.

Yukiko gave him a quick smirk, the closest thing that Ray could assume was a smile.

“Well, I'll be in touch.” She alighted down the stairs and went to rejoin Parvati who waved an enthusiastic farewell to Ray and his monster comrades.

Ray didn't enter the house until they had disappeared around the corner and with the silent urging of Leilan and Verche.

There was much they had to discuss.