Arka and Mikrim are carrying bags filled with the mountain ores they've mined in the Mountain Region. They are now hiking down the desolate mountain path, intending to head back to the city.

"So, are most players in this game as daring as you?" Mikrim asked.

"I'm not sure," Arka said. "If you just mean 'people like you hunt monsters a lot,' then yeah, I am daring,"

Mikrim held a look at Arka, cracking a smile with her response. Because of Mikrim's silence, Arka felt that it must Have been an unusual way of saying what she meant to tell. She felt concerned, thinking of clarifying what she just said.

"I'm saying..." Arka felt her nerves about to fumble her speech. "You just get used... to fighting these things,"

"I see," Mikrim said. "I was just thinking, you see..." she began gesturing with her hands. "I think I wanna join up with you to try fighting these monsters again," As she said this, Arka looked at her

"When you fought, it just... looked so thrilling!" She opened her arms. "I wanna get good at fighting these things too," She said. "Do you have a group? I'm hoping you could invite me to your future hunts."

Arka was moved as Mikrim said this. Was she saying she was inspired by her?

"Well, if you liked that, sure. Why not?" Arka said. "I'll send you a message whenever we'll go hunting then. And as for the group... well, I have a guy who plays like a speedy-rogue type. He's the only one I can trust whenever we go hunting for now,"

Although, I'm not sure if just having Ban and me sounds correct, in calling us a 'group.' She thought. Arka was imagining a diverse group of people.

"Then it's settled. You can count on me," Mikrim said with delight, as she pointed at herself with her thumb. "I can use magic for some extra firepower or support you guys with buffs,"

Magic... right, there's magic in this game. Arka suddenly felt her brain click on her.

Arka uttered an "Oh." as she recalled the question in her mind. "I almost forgot to ask... how are you able to cast magic?" Arka asked Mikrim.

Mikrim placed a hand on her chin. Then, she rubbed it. "Hmm..." she sounded in her voice. "Well..." And then, she drew her bow slung over her shoulder. "You see this tiny bottle?" She pointed at the trinket at her bow. It was designed in a way to keep a specific, small bottle in between its grip and lower limb.

As both of them continued walking down the mountain path, Arka leaned in a bit to see the tiny trinket Mikrim pointed at. She held a diamond-shaped bottle, with an intricate design that has a thin strip of metal that forms a twist nearing the top. The bottle was secured by a tiny, lid that can be opened by a lever opened with your thumb.

"Yeah," Arka said. "So that tiny bottle... is the source of where you cast your spells?" She asked.

Mikrim nodded. "Yeah," She said. "And there's more to it, you see... there's a specific mix of ingredients in this thing so I can cast a specific type of spell,"

"So, kinda like, Alchemy? You mix stuff in for potions?" Arka asked her as she based her question on Mikrim's explanation.

"Hmm..." Mikrim sounded another voice in her throat. "Yeah, kinda like it... but more like, with a ceremony," She said.

The more Mikrim answered the more questions Arka felt she had to ask, as she ever grew more curious.

"And... where did you learn how to do that?" Arka asked.

Mikrim's eyes brightened up as if she was about to explain to her one of the juicy parts of her magic casting story.

"Well, I didn't learn it directly," Mikrim said. "But when you talk to NPCs, they give you bits and pieces of this game's lore," She said. "Then, it came a time when some NPCs said stuff about 'offerings' and 'trinkets' and 'blessings,'" She said.

Arka then put a look on Mikrim. She knows the direction her story was going at. She felt astonished that someone came up with an idea like that in their spare time over the first few weeks into the game. Like, one of those people who play and find secrets after replaying.

This person found that in a DIVE VRMMO in two weeks during its Alpha Phase while everyone was focused on grinding and fighting monsters. It was a big deal to find out that there was an actual magic system in Helsfate. Up until now, the community assumed that you can only use weapons in the game. But for such a feature to be present, and to be hidden in hindsight...

This person's pretty amazing. Arka couldn't help but admire, herself.

"Then, I just tried it out. I made a bottle from the stuff I gathered and from the small animals I hunted from the Mountain Region. And I guess I just stock-piled magic bottles like this in a few days," She said.

"That's amazing. Not anybody can just find out hidden stuff like this," She said. "So, why didn't you use it before on the monster nest?" She was referring to the incident with the nest of Plainruiners a while back.

Mikrim understood her suspicion. She scratched the back of her head. "Oh, I wasn't trying to hide it or anything. I just wasn't sure how effective it'd be in a real monster battle," She said. "But hey, I was able to test it out on that boss at least,"

Understandable... it is quite an odd way to introduce a magic system. Arka thought.

Their conversation seemed to have quickened the passage of time as they already arrived at the foot of the mountain. The scene from which they were from, with dead soil and trees transitioned to that of fauna and plant life, now present.

A wide, open, pasture—trees standing tall, and the Grand City of Fellmoria; towering from a significant distance, seeable in their field of view.

"If you want, you can come with me to the village for now," Mikrim said to Arka. "I can show you how this magic works."

Arka can't deny that she was indeed curious about the magic system. Maybe she'd like to try it as well someday.

"Alright. Let's go together." Arka said.

And so, Arka went with Mikrim. They traveled north on the map from the Mountain Region they came from, as the two figures ventured on the open, green, plain devoid of any monsters.

It wasn't long until they reached a small village. It was occupied with wooden houses, as straws and bricks tiled their roofs. A large, stone, house, stood near the pathway Arka and Mikrim entered. It was a village hall. Children NPCs were seen playing hide and seek at the edges of the village, and some played 'Patintero' at the center of the village.

Mikrim brought Arka along somewhere near the far end of this village. They soon arrived at a small, wooden hut. Arka and Mikrim ducked a bit as they slide the drapes away, that was covering the hut's entrance.

Inside, was a Stone Table at the left corner with some paper and bottles being brewed under a small fire, a straw bed at the right side, an unlit fireplace at the far end of this room; and a small table with one, wooden chair that looks like it's about to crumble at the center.

An old, bald man on a wooden, single-legged cane dressed in a white tunic, white pants and sandals approached them. Arka looked at his name at the top of this person. His name was Sigmund.

The old man asked her in his raspy voice. "Ah, the lady with the bow! It's been a while. Are you here to craft?"

"Yes!" Mikrim confirmed. "I got some new materials right here. I'd like to use your alchemy table."

"Yes, go ahead!" Sigmund instantly agreed to Mikrim's request. After that, he just returned to his spot from where he was from.

Arka just stared at the old man, looking at them at the corner of the hut.

"Oh, don't mind him. He's the village's alchemist." Mikrim said.

I figured as much... just an NPC. Arka thought.

"Over here." Mikrim told Arka, gesturing her hand to follow her as she walked to the alchemy table.

Mikrim opened the flap of her leg bag, reached in, and then spread the game's otherworldly materials that she's gathered for days, at the far end of the table. They all piled on top of each other.

"This is how magic is created." She told her.

Mikrim drew a small, circle at the center of this table with complicated patterns within. Each part of this pattern seems to serve its purpose as to how the object it was going to make will unfold.

Then, she picked three things from the item pile, and placed them at the center of the table... a large, yellow leaf from a stem of a plant with three, white dots at the center, a small piece of a black, mountain ore from a while ago, and a piece of a creature's eye attached to a short, dark-blue tendril. Of course, its blood has been drained.

That's an eye of a Plainsruiner we fought a while ago... Arka couldn't help but glare at Mikrim.

Are you a witch? She thought.

Next, she took the mortar and pestle, placed the three items in, and then, she began to grind on it—crushing and squashing the three objects.

Arka kept staring at the bowl Mikrim's churning. She didn't feel disgusted. She just found it odd.

After that, Mikrim poured the contents of the bowl inside the magic circle and placed both of her hands on the table. "Oh, Cosmos of Hels, ever eternal. Grant us a piece of your ether, overflowing; and may we smite upon your foes for your glory so that we will be delivered to your absolution."

Suddenly, the magic circle on Mikrim's table lit up, a faint, white light as the crushed items are devoured in a white flame for a brief instance.

The items in question turned into a concentrated, small pile of a mix of black and white ash. Mikrim took out the small, intricate bottle in her leg bag, and proceeded to collect it.

Arka watched Mikrim collect this small pile of ash as she scooped it up with the tiny bottle she held in her fingertips, holding the lid open with a thumb on the built-in lever of this bauble.

After she did that, she showed the small bottle she held in her fingers to Arka.

"So, that's that. I have no idea what magic I've collected yet, but once I cast it with my bow, I'll be able to find out from there. Then, it'll register on my index," She said.

Afterward, she held the small bottle in her palm. "These things run dry too... and quite quickly, so I only use them rarely, and then I just gather and hunt some of the mats again. It's a cycle getting used to,"

"So it's about farming the same items, huh? And gathering on the field..." Arka said.

"Yep. That's the gist of it," Mikrim said. "I usually get my creature parts from the small animals, you see. But thanks to you, I got something new," she said as she looked at Arka with a smile.

"I see... This is somewhat, of an interesting magic system. But it's kinda creepy, honestly... because of the chant and all that," Arka said as she gestured with a hand.

"I figured you'd think the same way. So did I, at first," Mikrim said. "It makes me feel like I'm some cultist or something... but what's making me keep using this is just being able to shoot bolts of energy," Mikrim gestured with her fingers. "And that's kinda cool," She said, with a sudden closing of her fists.

"So I'm guessing you learned the chant from the NPCs too?" Arka asked.

"Yeah, in a way... but it doesn't have to be the same chant," Mikrim pocketed the intricate bauble in her leg bag.

"What do you mean?" Arka asked.

"I mean, it can be anything. Just gotta say the name of this game's god in the lore, your request, your intention, and then your devotion to this god. And then, the system detects this," Mikrim said.

Some complicated coding this game has... so it just detects keywords as you do the chant? Arka thought.

But more than that... it seems this kind of system needs a lot of dedication, and I'm already used to my playstyle... Should I even bother doing magic?

Arka felt like she didn't want to change her way of fighting any time soon.

Arka and Mikrim arrived at the village's dirt path leading back towards the city.

"Well, this is as far as I can take you. I still have a lot to do here, you see," Mikrim said.

"It's okay. I'd be crafting here a lot too if I had a bunch of mats stockpiled,"

Mikrim grinned. "Thanks for sticking with me, Arakar," Mikrim told her.

"Sure, it's the least I could do for the person teaching me magic," She said with a happy tone.

Mikrim glared at Arka for a bit. After that, a confirmation window suddenly appeared.

Would you like to be friends with Mikrim?

Yes • No

Arka selected the Yes option.

Afterward, Arka turned away from Mikrim and began walking down the dirt road back to the city.

Mikrim waved at her. After watching her friend leave at a far distance, she turned her back from Arka and went back into the village.

The Grand City was miles away. It would take Arka two and a half hours to travel on foot. It was then she remembered after she covered some distance from the village she was at, that she had Teleportation Diamonds in her satchel that she bought a while back.

Oh yeah, why am I walking when I could just teleport? Arka thought. She stopped in her stroll.

She flipped the flap of her leather satchel, reached in, and took out a blue crystal—a size as the palm of her hand with a curious symbol of a vertical banner at the center, inside a yellow circle.

She looked at it... and for some reason, she felt hesitation in using it.

She suddenly thought of Mikrim—a player who just explored the current world they were in and found secret places and materials.

It didn't take long until Arka decided to change her mind about using diamond.

Maybe I should try exploring this world once in a while too... She thought as she hid the blue crystal, back in her satchel.

And so, she continued walking down the dirt path of the wide, open world.

Half an hour passed as Arka strolled on the open field. The road transitioned to having uneven rocks, boulders, and more trees surrounding the area. She stumbled upon a forest still, far away from the Grand City. It was the first time she's been here.

As she walked through the thick forest, her ears caught people talking in a conversation.

So there are people here, in this secluded area...? She thought.

Suddenly, she heard a loud crack from the source of the conversation. Arka's eyes widened upon hearing this, and she immediately turned in this direction.

Curious at what it was, she crouched down and went off-road to follow the source. Just what was happening in this game world's forest?

As she moved slowly through the forest's bushes, it didn't take long until she saw three people in an open area of the forest.

A man stood, dressed in a long, grey coat. Underneath it, he wore a black vest made of leather, over a black, long-sleeved tunic, a black, leather glove, and a steel gauntlet worn on his hands, steel tassets, chainmail leggings, and sabatons. He didn't wear a helmet for head protection, and his face could be discerned. Most notable are his messy hair, and his dead-fish-looking eyes.

"So, you don't know, huh?" The man said. He crouched near to the player's bloodied face, as he laid face down on the ground, defenseless— wearing a full-body gambeson. One of his legs was bent in an odd shape, implying that the man with the messy hair was the one who broke it. "Maybe I should just break another one of your fuckin' legs. It'll be quick... and literally painless." He said as he grinned. "So, what's there to cry about?"

"I said, I don't have any idea what you're talking about, man!" The guy with the broken leg shouted at the guy. "Why the fuck are you doing this, huh?! Fucking ‘Griefer!’ You're not even gonna gain anything from this!" He shouted. "Let me fucking go!" He yelled.

Arka felt that she should have circumvented from the three people at that point. But instead, she quickly hid behind a boulder near the place.

Besides, she was curious about what's going on with the player community. She eavesdropped and did her best to watch as she peeked behind the slab of rock.

"Stan," The woman next to the man called him.

She wore a full set of red, studded leather armor in a brown cloak. Her leather gauntlets and boots are strapped with belts filled with studs. She has long, white hair, and a long weapon sheathed on her back.

Arka identified this weapon the woman held as a Spontoon. A European, pointed spear, with a crossbar at its base.

Arka felt like a dork for being able to identify a weapon correctly ever since she started playing Helsfate.

"It doesn't seem like this person knows anything." The woman said. "We should let him go."

The man named; Stan cast a glare at the woman he was with. He held a vexed look.

And then, "Okay." He said with a relaxed tone at the woman. After that, he stood up from where he was crouching. "I'll let him go, then," Stan said.

The helpless player just watched with a dissatisfied look as the two unknown, individuals that stood in front of him, turned their back from him and began conversing with each other in a lower tone of voice. Arka couldn't hear, try as she might.

She judged that from the looks on their faces—held the impression that what they were talking about was a serious topic, whatever it could be.

As the helpless player felt the heat of that moment slowly resolve, his avatar's recovery process finally kicked in... his HP slowly began to regenerate.

So it's just some group infighting, is it...? Arka thought. She decided it may be her time to leave.

However, just as she's about to avert her eyes, she saw the man suddenly walk toward the player laying helplessly on the ground. The guy's broken leg still hasn't healed.

"So, we're going to let you go, now," Stan told the guy, as he half squatted, looking at the player. "Anything you want to say before we depart?" Stan asked him.

"Get out of my sight, then," The player snarled at him.

Stan gestured a hand, as he raised both of his eyebrows. "That works too," He said in an agreeable tone.

As the player realized what he meant behind his question, he began to scream, saying: "Wait, Don't—!"

And before the player could finish his line, a forceful crack with a resounding gush echoed throughout the forest.

The player's HP instantly reduced to zero. A bloodied sabaton; now in the way of this player's still, avatar, in what used to be his head.

Arka's eyes widened at the gruesome display, as she quickly ducked and hid behind the forest's boulder.

Stan then, with his arms on his waist, proceeded to wipe the blood off his foot armor by rubbing it slowly on the gambeson of the avatar's corpse.

After a few moments passed, the dead avatar of the player began to fade in a digitized style—slowly dissipating on the forest's ground. A bloodstain was left on the scene.

Stan clicked his tongue. "What is this Lily...?" Stan mentioned the woman's name. "It didn’t even remove the blood,” He pointed at his bloody metal foot with open palms. "Talk about shit design." He said.

"This world is nearing its end, Stan... it's trifling to even complain about anything, you already know that..." The woman with the spear named, Lily said.

"Yeah, I do get that," Stan said. "But what I'm concerned about is the blood on my boot, Lily... That's what I'm annoyed about!" He raised his voice in frustration.

"We can deal with that later, Stan... does it bother you that much?" Lily asked him.

Stan looked at Lily with his dead-fish eyes. He looked at her as if asking himself, 'Was the reaction he was showing not obvious enough?' What more could he do to get his point across?

"Yes," Stan told her in response to her question.

Lily looked at him straight back.

"There should be a lake nearby, in this forest. We can rest there, and wash up," Lily said.

Stan squinted his dead-fish eyes at Lily. He was suspicious about what she said of the latter half. "When you said—"

"I meant you can clean your armor there," Lily immediately interrupted Stan, in a voice that began to slowly build up with anger. She understood why Stan went cross-eyed at her. "Don't get any funny ideas. We're on a mission an—"

"Fine—that's fine. I get it, I understand." Stan immediately interrupted Lily, reflexively raising both of his hands in front of her, not wanting to hear more from her. His eyebrows are furrowed implying an annoyed expression.

As he turned away from her. "You could've worded it better though..." Stan mumbled.

"What?" Lily asked as she heard his murmurs.

"I said nothing," Stan immediately told her.

Lily also began to form a look of displeasure on her face.

"Well, now that that's settled so..." Stan turned away from her. "What do we do about the elephant in the room?" He said.

Stan and Lily looked over at the boulder Arka was hiding at. As Arka heard what Stan said, she felt her shoulders stiffen, and the forest's breeze pass through her armor.

She felt her nerves overwhelm her once again.