'Waking Up' from the game, Peter got out the capsule. There was this gloom feeling inside of him as opened his eyes. He had died a few minutes after the others so it would translate to around a minute or so?

“Peter! Peter!” Miriel...no it was Hina shook his body as he sighed looking worried. Seeing her, he patted her head and said, “I'm fine. Don't worry about it” with a smile.

“But you died in the end too right?” she asked. The others at this point also gathered around him as well, all giving their worried faces to him as well. He found this quite heart warming.

“Well in the end...yes” he said with a soft laugh. There was nothing to do now that they had died like that.

“I think we should let someone else deal with that monster” said Maria, “That thing easily destroyed us all!”

Ian and Mark nodded their heads hearing this and Grace as if whispering said, “It was really scary as well...”

“Yeah that thing continued to grow larger and stronger with time and became that kind of monster where we couldn't even react to in the end...plus to think I died from a tail sweep...” Ian sighed saying this.

“Thank god you dropped Grace at that same moment else she might have died from a tail sweep” said Hina thanking in a twisted way.

“Though in the end you two died from a giant fireball...” Peter muttered.

“Well it couldn't be helped! The enemy was too strong this time” said Hina with utter confidence that they can get over this and move on.

“Yeah...”

Peter felt his right eye for a bit...his sight from it was...a bit blurry? He was out of game now so the effects of this new blindness should be gone right?

“Peter why are you covering your right eye?” asked Hina frowning while checking out Peter. He was awfully silent for most of the conversation when he usually tried to encouraged the others when they died.

Throughout their time in the game, each of them died around half a dozen times or more when it was unavoidable. There were such situations where they had no choice but to die. They did not usually make any careless mistakes so their death rate is actually quite low compared to others.

What happened with the Boss Blue Tiger was one such instance of this.

But still, Peter was too silent on this matter and it looked like he didn't want to speak of it.

Noticing that no one else was speaking and were simply looking at him, Peter gave them a smile and said, “Shall we revise on what each of us did wrong to die like that this time?”

The rest of the group felt that smile would not let them go until they dared not do the same mistakes ever again! Sain had this horrible habit of reviewing things over and over again until they could not be repeated.

“Damn...and I thought he wasn't going do this this time...” Ian cursed.

“Peteeeeeeeer, can we skip it this time? These kinds of talks are super boring!” Maria complained as well.

“Oh?” Peter's eyes went a bit blank and cold for a second when he looked at Maria as he asked, “So you want to die again?”

Ian and Maria felt that coldness and panicked to stop Peter. However they panicked to the point that they did not realise this was only a slight joke from Peter to stop them from slacking off like this when they had the chance.

“Wait! This isn't a game! We will really die if you try to kill us here!”

“Yeah! Hina! Save me from your boyfriend!”

However Hina did no such thing since she wanted Maria to suffer a bit for trying to even tease her in that state. Mark and Grace also simply watched as well since they didn't want to be drawn into this kind of thing.

And throughout all of this, Peter was unable to see through his right eye. And as such he was ignoring a lot of things that happened next.

xXx

“You really did it this time you know” said Eden sighing.

“So...what exactly is happening to me?” he asked.

“Virtual to Reality Dysfunction. That is what it is called when the effects of something that happened in a virtual space still affects you in reality. It's actually more common than you think, with more time spent in a virtual space like Royal Road, the more likely it is to occur.”

“So I can't see with my right eye in game and now reality as well?” Peter frowned asking himself that since it was quite difficult to appear as if nothing wrong happened at all.

“This effect is just temporary. If you spend less time in game, your real body will adjust itself to reality again. By the time you can get back in game after your death you should be fine.”

“Wait, how do you know about my death in game? And more to the point how did you know about that?”

Eden smiled like a devil catching a poor innocent soul at Peter.

“How did you think you were allowed to gain such power at that time?”

“....”

“Now seeing that you are suffering from Virtual to Reality Dysfunction.....tell me. Are you Sain or Peter?”

“I'm Sa-Peter of course.”

Sain-Peter paused for a bit before realising what exactly was the problem here.

“This is a bit bad. You are losing your grip on what your real self is...else the self you are in reality.”

“What does that mean?” Peter sighed.

“It means that like many people, you are acting out a certain role, a certain person different from yourself in reality. This happens sometimes when you use a different name, gender or appearance in game. You feel as if you are another person in game and you separate it from yourself to be that person. This is why it is not recommended to play as a different gender in a Virtual Reality Game as this is especially likely to happen when you try to switch genders between the game and reality. But even so, this was only getting more common after a certain amount of time passed.”

“....So how do I stop it?”

“Act like yourself.”

“....”

“The others don't have this problem and not many others have this problem as well. They are opening up well enough to each other and you and are acting like themselves. Many people fall back on their original personality in the end if they try to act either way as well. Do the same or are you too scared to do so?”

“....”

“That's fine in itself. It takes time to really accept of who you are when you have the chance to be another person altogether.”

“It doesn't help with you trying to draw 'it' out of me with those missions.”

Eden smirked and decided to end the conversation for now. At this rate Peter would be late to his class with Alexandra.

“You won't be getting that right eye's sight back in the game. That is the cost of that power, don't even try to use it. It is a power that will only end badly for you. Mankai is a power that is like a prayer and in exchange it will take more than it gives.”

“I see, in that case goodbye for now” Peter bowed to Eden before leaving.

“A player's avatar can use that power up to five times. You have four more uses before...you will be crippled and be unable to even function normally anymore.”

“Why are you telling me this? Do you expect me to use this power again?”

“....”

Eden paused since the answer was yes. They would need it later on, at least against 'them' it was impossible to even combat without it.

“Don't tell Alexandra about this. She has enough to worry about and I don't want her to be more worried than she is right now. Also if Alena or anyone else finds out, tell them that I said to not tell Alexandra as well.”

Peter left the room with Eden's words on his mind.

“Light or Dark...which side is the real one I wonder....”

xXx

“So...all of you died?” asked Alena seeing that the group was kinda late on coming back right now. It was either they got sidetracked or them dying and since the first was unlikely for them, it was the second then.

“More or less” Sain sighed.

They had lost a level among various other things. They had to go back to recollect the equipment they dropped as well which only took a short while since the town they spawned back in was next to the temple and no one really investigated the place after...

Thankfully there was little coverage so no one came to nick away their stuff while they were there. However at the same time, the rest of the group questioned what exactly happened there to which Sain stayed silent on.

“That monster was really strong though...and really large as well” said Miriel with a sigh as well, “To think that we would all be one shot one by one so easily...”

“Well it didn't help that that thing grew stronger with time...if we all fought it at the beginning perhaps it wouldn't turn out like that” said Lyndis.

Shadow raised his eyebrow looking at Lyndis and asked, “Are you suggesting that it was my fault then?”

“Why? We all agreed that the plan was the right choice, how is it your fault of all things” replied Lyndis, “The only fault is that you couldn't kill that thing alone which I doubt any of the rest of us could do especially when it turned into that large form.”

“Wait” Alena blinked a bit and raised her hand and asked, “What exactly happened there?”

“....”

The group looked at each other and then at Sain to explain things. Once again Sain could only sigh seeing that nothing really had changed at all with the rest of the group forcing this kind of role onto him.

As such Sain could only start explaining things. From the start as they entered the temple to find multiple Blue Tigers to face, to continuing down to find the boss of the area, the plan they had and used to lure the minions and boss away from each other. And finally the appearance of the Boss monster's larger form and them dying on by one.

“And so, what should we do now?” asked Lyndis, “We really have no way on killing it, don't even know where it is and plus it has that golden aura...”

“Golden Aura? What Golden Aura? Like the one dad has?” asked Alena a bit shocked. If what she was thinking was right then that creature was...

Shadow nodded to what Lyndis said and then said, “Yeah though it was a bit different from the one Eden showed us when he was beating out masters up, every last monster we face with that Golden Aura, we were forced to use 'Boost' to kill it since nothing else could even damage it.”

“Plus their regeneration abilities were high as well” Miriel pointed out.

“How many have you faced with such abilities?” asked Alena quickly in her tone. There was this harsh light in her eyes that was rough and cold at the same time.

“Umm...there was one that Viv killed back at Witchelm when there was a large number of monsters attacking, there was another which which was mini-dragon from the Magitite mines and now this Blue Tiger as well” Lyndis answered quite nervously since Alena came close to her face as she spoke.

After taking a breather, Lyndis calmed down since she did not expect for Alena to make her heart beat like that.

“That Golden Aura and that many of them...which means...damn!” Alena paled and then quickly said, “I need to get in touch with dad-no, he's doing something right now. In that case Gen or the others will do!”

She stood up and immediately went to grab a communication crystal to contact them as Miriel asked, “What is the problem?” concern of Alena's sudden change in attitude all of a sudden. She and the others have never seen her so panicked before.

“Hello Hello? Anyone there?” Alena asked into the communication crystal but there was no response yet.

She turned to look at the group and said, “We need to send someone with a 'Mark' to go and kill it quickly before it becomes someone on the level of a Minor God or worse! A 6th Tier entity might be born on this continent...which would really be the end.”

“Minor what?!” said Miriel slightly shocked at the words.

“That Golden Aura is the power of Divinity which should be impossible to encounter this frequently in the mortal realm! The only possible is-no was...but they were already...”

Alena looked away from the group with a serious face not smiling anymore and into the distance.

“That Blue Tiger needs to die as quickly as possible to avert a disaster” she said. The Kingdom was not ready yet-or rather it was impossible to be ready to face those kinds of creatures...

Even if it is a fake power...

“Then there is nothing to be worried about. That Boss Blue Tiger with that fake power is dead” said Sain silencing everyone else in the room. You could literally hear the floor creek a bit as someone almost slipped over in shock at the time as well.

[Hello? Alena, why did you-]

“No time for that Gen!” Alena shouted cutting off the communication crystal immediately. Now was not the time for that.

One crisis was averted though lots of questions were now presence.

“How...exactly is it dead?” Alena asked Sain in a calm tone but inside she was quite shaken up. From Sain's description it was at least level 400 or maybe even level 600 at the end of his story.

“I killed it” Sain bluntly said, “And in the process I kinda trashed the temple as well.”

“You got to be joking” said Shadow with a laugh but then saw Sain's face, “You really...damn, he's not joking here.”

“How exactly did you kill it?” Miriel asked worried that Sain did something dangerous, no she was more than certain that he did something dangerous in order to kill it.

Sain took a deep breath in and then looked at each and every one of them.

Most of them had the look of surprise. Miriel had a worried look, Lyndis had sparkling eyes while Alena frowned at his words and even more so to the words he spoke next.

“I used Mankai.”

“....”

“....”

“You mean...'that'?” asked Miriel grabbing onto him, “You mean that technique that Viv warned us to never use?! You mean that very same technique that will take something from you permanently if you use it?!”

“Ah.”

She held him tightly refusing to let go as she shook him down. Sain could not help but to fall back onto a chair with Miriel on him with a look of desperation and fear in her eyes.

“What was taken?” she then asked, “What was it?!”

She grabbed each of his limbs and said, “You can move fine enough, hearing should be fine as well...I'm not sure on smell, taste or touch...sight?”

Miriel looked deeply into Sain's eyes which made him blush red though she ignored that which was quite rare since she was usually the one who looked away first.

“Sight is fine?” she wondered before Sain said, “Miriel, you are too close.”

“....”

Miriel nodded and then backed away though her fear of something horrible happening to Sain overruled her embarrassment by several levels.

“Anyway after everyone else died I pulled off this glove” he showed them his right arm by pulling the sleeves up, “Which caused this to happen but all over my body.”

Right now, the 'Mark' on Sain's right hand had spread right up his right arm as well. If the 'Mark' spreading across the hand was phase one then this was phase two. And finally when the 'Mark' took over the entire body it would be phase three.

“Then I heard some words in my head and recited them aloud” he continued to say.

“What kind of words were they? It might not be Mankai if they were different words but perhaps 'Limit Break' which is a lesser version of it with only temporary effects on the body” said Alen cautiously.

Right now, the rest of the group were emotionally on a tipping point. What she saw was enough fear that it would be unusual for someone to break. Though she was a bit happy even though the situation that they were worried for Sain at least.

“Let it fall, Let it fall, Let the countless flames fall and become stars. Let it shine, Let it shine, Shine brighter than anything else in the sky. Let it rage, Let it rage, Like the roar of the Heaven Shattering Beast. Let the forbidden fruit which lies in the false paradise be plucked and consumed. And let this small flower bloom once and for all. Mankai. That was the chant” Sain said in a sad tone, “Which I believe means I indeed used Mankai then.”

“....”

The rest of the group looked at Alena for some hope. They all knew of the effects just 'Boost' had on them but something like 'Mankai' whose effects were even worse? What could have happened, what happened already that they could not see in Sain?

“Mankai is really powerful though...” Sain started explaining, “Not only does my level get raised to 1000, all my skills get max out in that state as well as my health, mana and stamina as well. It could literally be called invincible mode.”

“....”

Sain was quite positive in his explanation which he hoped to lighten the mood but there was still that dead silence.

Then Alena said this to Sain, “Don't use it anymore. The first time is the strongest but with each use it gets weaker and weaker...since your body is permanently damaged each time you use that power.”

“....”

Sain silently noted that he will probably never have that feeling from before ever again. Upon thinking of this, he saw that Lyndis seemed to have something she wanted to say. He nodded to her to see what she wanted to say.

“What...was taken for you?” asked Lyndis slowly since this was a delicate area to tread on.

Sain only smiled and touched his right eye a bit to tell them. Even now there was no signs of it coming back...nor did he expect for it to come back.

“Don't worry, I'm more or less used to it now” he said to assure them. However throughout the day from there on, they had this worried look when they looked at him...or rather his now blind right eye.

xXx

Several days have passed since Sain and the others came back and he revealed that his right eye's sight does not work anymore, though he did not say it out loud. In this period, Alena was surprisingly...lenient on the group or rather him.

And so...the rest of the group were as well, supporting him when they felt like it. For example, moving to the right side of him to make way for him, pulling him along when they believe it was too hard for him to walk and in one case, feeding him food...though that was only Miriel and he really had no idea why one would do that.

Sain in the end felt like this was too much. He had gotten used to having no sight on one side already.

Well...not really.

“Ow....”

Sain scrapped part of his knee after he fell down after tripping over something.

“You okay Sain?” asked Miriel who was next to him as always now. She had refused to leave his side for too long after that incident.

By instinct now, he placed his hand over the eye that no longer saw...and got up from the ground. He had tripped on something that his other eye did not see in time. It seems that losing one's sight had worse repercussions than he thought.

Without his right eye's sight, he was unable to see to the far right but that was not only it. Without a second eye to see from, the timing for him to react to decreased since he can literally only keep an eye on things.

His 'vision' did not only narrow down.

It was his reaction timing from sight that was slowed down as well which was more fatal.

“Sain! You are spacing out again!” Miriel called to him and drove him out of his thoughts. He smiled at her which shut her up a bit before saying a few words....when it comes to him.

“Ah, what was that?” he asked since he wasn't listening.

Miriel sighed and said, “Alena said she was looking for us and that is why we are going there.”

Sain nodded and saw from his left eye a certain Lyndis with a smirk on her face. Seeing this he could only sigh ever since a while ago, no to be precise those days ago she had the face other than the worried one she had when looking at him when Miriel wasn't stuck with him.

“Lyndis get that look off your face” said Miriel on a cold voice noticing Lyndis' expression as well.

“What look?” Lyndis replied still not changing her look on them, “All I am doing is appreciating the scene before me. Aren't you lucky you now have a reason to stick next to Mr Boyfriend over there.”

“H-He's not by boyfriend yet!”

“Yet?” That look on Lyndis' face only grew more intolerable...it was like Lyndis' face suddenly turned into a duck's and it was smiling at them. One that made you want to punch it.

“Yooooooooooouuuu!!!” Miriel let out the shout chasing after Lyndis who was running away now.

Sain sighed and then moved his head and found that Shadow was now in the place where Miriel was.

“Wow!”

'When the hell did he get there?'

“Relax” said Shadow, “I'm here to make sure you are fine as well...though with no motives like Miriel over there.”

Sain frown, “I am not a cripple you know.”

“You are close to it though. I have never heard of a skill that would permanently take something away from you for the cost of using it” he said, “Though from what we saw and what you said, it would indeed be a trump card to use at the last moment.”

“Well I don't plan on using it anymore in the foreseeable future. And I guess losing only this eye's sight is better than losing the use of a limb or worse” Sain replied.

“....”

“Plus I haven't even used 'Boost' at all since then so I don't know what effects my 'All Knowing Eyes' will have to my lost sight” he added on as well.

“....”

Shadow was silent for a few moments looking at Miriel and Lyndis and then said, “So what do you think about Miriel?”

If Sain had been drinking something, he would have spat it out. However thankfully he wasn't and was calm enough about this to not panic like Miriel.

“What about her?”

“She likes you and it is even more apparent that if you did not notice, you couldn't even be called dense but brain dead.”

“I am aware of it.”

“So....do you like her as well?” Shadow asked.

'What do I think of her...?' Sain wondered in his mind.

Miriel to Sain at the beginning was a cold calculative person but now he thinks that she is the complete opposite of that. Most of what she does is based off emotions at any rate and she gets happy and angry as easily as any other person.

Though he thought she was sticking around him a bit too much...he didn't feel uncomfortable at all. In fact he was relaxed next to her and that he knew that the first thing he would try to save was her which meant...

“Do I like her?” he wondered.

“Why does that seem like a question rather than a statement?” Shadow asked seeing that he was next to Sain as he said those words aloud. Ignoring Shadow for a moment there, he watched the game of catch and mice between Miriel and Lyndis end and said, “I'm not completely sure right now...besides.”

“Besides what?”

“We still have work to do. Interpersonal relationships can come later” he said bluntly. He and the others would need to do some work in order for them to survive in this guild even if it is a little bit longer.

They are nearing their time limit now...they only had three months left before the 3 year period comes.

Furthermore they had another 20 levels to gain in that time period. They have wasted a bit too much time here...but based off the contributions they had made in the last couple of months, they would easily gain around 5 levels off it.

Which means they need 5 more levels a month which wasn't much...but.

He would really like some time to allow them to train some skills some more. Right now around half the skills they got were still in the Beginner Levels, he wants them to make those skills reach the intermediate level before they got to level 200...however they did not have enough time to do so.

“With some extreme training that focuses on skill growth...maybe in a month or so...perhaps a bit more...” he muttered. Hearing this, Shadow stayed silent as they got to Alena's place.

xXx

“To summarise things for you all, we found the main base of the enemy.”

“Eh?”

Sain was honestly surprise. To think the quest would end right now which means they having a break to grind some levels.

“How exactly did this happen?” asked Miriel. She would want to know right away since this case was connected on more than one level to them.

“Simple” said Alena, “Some trackers traced some unusual prints to an abandoned church where there was an underground tunnel which was connected to some mines. We believe they are using that mine as a base of operations.”

“And they didn't attack or eliminate them?” asked Shadow this time. He had a feeling that they would have to clean it up later on and Alena telling them this only increased the chance.

“We are when we gather enough forces to clear them out in one go. If they escape it will take months more to finally track them down and by then their plans might go more wild and dangerous in the process.”

“What's the problem then? Why did you call us here then?” asked Lyndis. If there was nothing to do here, then why were they here.

“Is there some sort of issue you need us to deal with?” asked Sain this time. Alena wouldn't waste time like this without a reason.

“The problem is the type of enemy and their level” said Alena with a sigh, “Demons and around level 400.”

“....”

Sain could not hear anyone gasping for air since no one was even shocked at the news. To be frank, it could be any type of enemy and would not be surprising if there were Dragons down there which would be worse.

“So are the demons the cause of the recent events or is someone controlling them?”

Seeing this kind of reaction and question, Alena was disappointed and said, “You should be more surprise when Demons are involved.”

“Why?” Sain asked curious on the reason, “Though I would like you to answer the question first.”

Sain smiled at Alena and she smiled back.

“Demons are the super strong kind of monster. It is alone rare that we have to face demons on this low of a level. Most of them are at least level 500 or higher at least. It is unlikely the demons are being controlled but working together one may be the case. Demons aren't known to lie low and wait for a chance. They would rather take action immediately and destroy everything with power.”

“I see....” Sain did indeed remember that Demons weren't exactly the type to sit down and talk let alone the type to even do anything secretly.

“Hmm...from your reaction, dad at least took you somewhere with Demons didn't he?”

“It was a guild quest and Alexandra was there as well” answered Sain immediately since he was thinking of that quest right now as well.

“Mum as well huh....” Alena pondered for a moment and then looked at the group and smile brightly.

“Anyhow looks like you are coming with me to clear out that enemy base!” she proclaimed to the group though it was more like-no it was an order rather than a suggestion.

“Huh?”

That smile continued on smiling before dragging off the six of them onto a task that was way above their level here. However that smile did not allow rejection even still.

And it looks like Alena was coming with them as well which means...yay...

xXx

Packing up some things in bags and placing them in their inventories, the group plus Alena prepared to set off at the city's gates. There were some people who knew Alena on the side lines talking a bit and were bidding her goodbye for a bit.

“Is it fine to leave your kid?” asked Lyndis concern of Alena's child. It has recently started to walk and was running all over the place so there was a great deal of concern from Alena on his safety.

She even hired the group to babysit the kid as well.

“It's fine, I have a friend that takes care of kids to take him in for a while” she replied though it was still very apparent that she was quite worried.

“Is that person trustworthy then? There have been cases where the child has been abused and without the child telling the parent, the abuse may be hidden for many years” said Shadow though there was no hint of concern in his tone.

Sain knew that he wanted anything to not travel with Alena. With her smile, he was getting more and more stressed out on it. Basically he would get more stressed and irritated which affected his mood quite a bit.

Upon hearing Shadow's words, Alena made a slightly shocked face and was prepared to run back in the city.

However Serena grabbed Alena and said in a soft kind voice, “Don't worry...that person is a friend you trust right?”

“Yeah....” Alena nodded though looked at Shadow with a glare.

“What I said was the truth though it was only a chance that may happen” Shadow said nonchalantly back to her before turning his back to her.

Alena let out a stiff smile and walked up behind Shadow and whispered in his ear, “Do you wish to be tormented?”

You could literally see Shadow's back vibrating in fear as she said those words. Lyndis and Miriel were struggling to not laugh seeing this kind of scene and within some more minutes, they all set off to where the abandon church was.

To be precise they were on a fast paced carriage so they would get there within three days. However in that time they would need to defend from monster attacks and such as well. This would be a good time to practise some aiming for Sain at least.

He would need to know how affected his aim was now compared to before.

As such he restarted his training to control his magic. Pouring mana into his hand, he produced a ball of light in the air.

“What are you doing?” asked Miriel seeing that she knew Sain was beyond this kind of 'basic' training now.

“Trying to see the extent of my aim now...” he said focusing on sustaining that ball of light in the air. It hovered away from him but still moving at a set distance away from him. It moved around 10 metres away up and the air.

“Now...”

Sain raised his hand to use another spell at the same time. Doing these two spells at once was his limit even though one of them was an extremely basic spell as well.

“Mana Bolt” he chanted firing one off at the ball of light.

It missed, around 2-3 metres away from the ball of light. Seeing this, Sain really frowned and it was noticeable. That others seeing this action knew what Sain was doing when he said he wanted to see the extent of his aim.

Seeing that he missed quite badly, he moved the ball of light closer, around 5 metres now.

“Mana Bolt.”

Bang!

The attack hit and the ball of light shattered into pieces. It seems close distance aiming was something he could still do though he doubt he could do this a few days ago with his hand-eye coordination screwed up.

Sain continued on doing this throughout the three day trip not even bothering to even help the others when monsters attacked, they were strong enough to do that without him.

As such, by the end of it and when they were close to the abandoned church, he was able to hit a target 10 metres with an error or around half a metre which was considerably better than the error of 2-3 metres when he first started.

However it was still far cry from his aiming skills from before where he was able to have these results at a range of 20 metres. If and when he used 'Boost', this range would increase to 30 or even 40 metres away.

“Fuee....I just has to do for now....” he muttered under his breath before going into the mediation state.

His mana was not completely empty but with him constantly readjusting his aiming skills, most of the time, he was at half mana or less though his mana regeneration was good enough that this process of his mana disappearing before running out.

It took Sain 10 minutes for his mana to completely recover due to the Mediation skill being in the intermediate level and getting a boost in the amount of mana that would be regenerated in that state.

After another hour in which there were signs of more and more people coming to this place, the group and Alena got off at the abandoned church which was swarmed with paladins and priests mainly at front and then strong looking players after that.

“Wow...so many strong players here” said Lyndis in slight admiration. She knew the difference in strength and thankfully respected that.

Alena laughed a bit and said, “Well most of them are really just trash but there are some that are good enough that maybe my dad and mum would recognise.”

Looking around the place, Alena let out an 'ah' and pointed to a middle age man with grey hair and a stern seriously looking face.

“Speaking of those my parents recognise, there is one of them” she said pulling the group to the man. The people in between the way made way curious on the scene and dared not block the way if anyone associated with the man wanted to speak with them.

The man had this feeling of being a block of pressure where nothing would dare go wrong in front of him.

The man in question seeing Alena had a look of surprise and said, “I did not expect you here...does this mean...” he paled a bit at the end.

“Nope!” Alena gave him a bright smile and then said, “Mum and Dad are off doing other stuff which they will probably drag you in later on. Mum said something about it being fully serious this time.”

The man sighed and then muttered some prayers to some god that Sain couldn't hear the name of.

After the short prayer the man looked at the group with a pondering eye and asked, “And they are?”

“The Guild's new recruits. Well not exactly new but they are almost at the three year mark since they started. They're a bit over average in strength for their level” Alena explained even though she was actually not part of the guild but kingdom administration.

The man nodded and said, “Nice to meet you. Seeing that those three took you in...perhaps you may become quite strong.”

Alena made a grin and said, “Oh they will be strong. Dad will never let them be something but strong. Else I will make Dad make sure they are strong no matter what!”

The group felt a shiver at that moment and Eden elsewhere sneezed and wondered who was talking about him.

“Alena...” said Miriel speaking up and asked, “Who exactly is this person?” to which several people nearby gasped in shock.

Alena ignoring those other people said, “This is the Great Holy Knight Galeiran. A person in that very small percentage that reached the level 800 point....which is to say, what's up with you being here. I heard the Demons were only level 400 or so. Isn't you being here overkill?”

Sain noticed that her speak was becoming less and less formal by the word and became more like Alexandra's own speech pattern....like mother like daughter in the end.

The man named Galerian raised his eyebrow and chuckled saying, “Aren't you the one to say that. You bringing a group of 'new' players that aren't even level 200 from the look of things.”

Alena shrugged and said, “I can always bolt with them away if it comes to that. But little Sain here killed a monster that was at least twice his level recently...though I forbid him from using that power even again.”

Sain felt a glare from Alena for a slight moment there before he realised she was all smiles again.

“Oh?” Galeiran seemed very impressed and said to Sain, “I would someday like to spar with you a bit when you get a bit stronger then.”

Sain laughed it off saying, “I am actually quite weak but...defeating that monster, well left me with permanent side effects as a result.”

“Compared to me you are” Galeiran laughed as well, “But in the end I am quite weak compared to that Alexandra. She is a real monster with her swordsmanship being on the same level as that Great Knight and holy magic on the level of that Great Priest.”

“Great Knight? Great Priest?” Lyndis wondered aloud.

“Ah, those are the titles of those who have essentially reached the limits of their class. It basically means their path of getting stronger has ended there until and unless they find another path” explained Alena.

“Though there are those who have reached the limits of their race as well” the Great Holy Knight Galeiran added on, “All you need to know is that anyone who carries the title of 'Great' means they are strong.”

The group nodded to this explanation though it seemed that the tense atmosphere around Galeiran more or less disappeared now.

“Well then, I need to make preparations with some others. It won't be a joke if there is some secret escape route and we let them run away Alena” said Galeiran.

“I know already” replied Alena not caring that a few people were glaring at her...though they were all women and all priests at the same time...

Seeing this Alena sighed and said, “Anyway get back to your fangirls.”

“Fangirls?” wondered Galeiran not knowing what Alena was talking about. With some words to the other people nearby, he left the group with Alena.

With Galeiran gone, Alena turned to the rest of the group and with a smile and her hands clapped together said, “Now let's have a picnic then~”

“Huh?”

The group could only be stunned at the random suggestion...no order that came from Alena. In the end, they set up nearby sitting down together and started a picnic...

xXx

Looking at the sandwich in her hand, Miriel took a bite and found it was quite delicious. It was sweet and yet had a mild taste of spiciness. It was a quite unusual taste but it felt flesh since usually they ate the cooked food that Miriel and Lyndis made.

This mainly consist of bread brought from stores, usually preserved ones so...Rye Bread as well as meat cooked from animals they hunted on the way. Which wasn't really much since the long road since they needed to preserve as much resources with long distance travel.

Otherwise, Miriel and Lyndis also made other dishes as well...when they had the time.

“Why exactly are we having a picnic at this time and place? Especially since the other players are already going into the abandoned church and tunnels to battle demons” asked Shadow with one of the sandwiches in his hand but did not take a bite in yet.

After taking a bite and praising herself, Alena answered, “What's the point of you all going down there? You guys are only low levelled players compared to the rest of them. Plus you will be slaughtered if you go down by those Demons in one hit.”

Shadow thought about it and said, “Point taken but why the picnic.”

“Because I wanted to?” Alena asked him that but there was no answer from Shadow as he started eating. Instead, the conversation moved to another note.

“This is...really good” said Lyndis taking another bite, “I need to get the recipe from you later.”

Miriel nodded and agreed saying, “I would like it as well” before looking at Sain who was silently enjoying the meal himself.

“This is really good...do you have the cooking skill?” asked Serena.

Alena nodded and said, “Yeah, I worked with mum before when cooking so it's natural to pick up...a couple dozen things from her...especially when she would sometimes leave the kitchen to chase dad with a knife.”

“....”

'Why that seem strangely normal...when is shouldn't be?' Miriel thought hearing that story. They continued eating as some of them spoke.

“So did you pick it from naturally from Alexandra then?” asked Miriel wondering how long it would take her to make something this delicious.

“No no no” Alena waved her hands at Miriel and said, “Mum was never good at teaching and Dad was...running away from Mum most of the time. It was Uncle...which is Viv that actually taught me surprisingly.”

“Wait Viv can cook?!” exclaimed Lyndis spitting out some food from her mouth at the same time.

While Lyndis panicky cleaned up her mess, Alena replied with, “Not as good as Mum though...which is why he never mentions it even to them. Don't tell those two else I'll be in big trouble thanks to it.”

The group nodded.

After finishing the sandwiches and the drinks that Alena also provided, she suddenly said, “Let's talk about relationships now~”

“Eh? This again?” asked Lyndis, “Nothing really changed you know...though Miriel is now attaching herself to Sain more and more and will soon turn into a stalker when he wants and needs some space.”

“What the hell will turn into a stalker?!” retorted Miriel before looking at the distance between her and Sain. They were sitting next to each other but not only that, they were quite close to each other, shoulders touching.

How else would she be able to help him if something wrong happens?

She was definitely not too close to him at all! If she was getting too close than he would tell her right? This was definitely not a problem at all!

“So Sain, are you tired of Miriel sticking to you all the time yet?” teased Shadow.

“....”

Miriel sent a cold glare at him to make him shut up. She would not let anyone get in the way of this...because she was worried of Sain all the time now!

“Well...” Sain started to say.

In that moment, several emotions clashed inside of Miriel. First was the joy that if he would say he didn't mind at all and indeed would like her to be closer. The second was despair if he said he wanted her further away...

It had to be the first option! It had to be!

“I don't mind” he continued to say.

In her mind, a giant 'YES' appeared without her control. She made a squirm in excitement due to this and fought inside herself to keep herself calm. However on her face, the others except for Sain since she was out of his sight saw how happy she was due to those words.

“But it doesn't really matter either way.”

Miriel could feel her mood dropping rapidly. What the hell did Sain mean by that?

What did he mean?! What did he mean?! What did he mean?!”

“Miriel...” Sain said in a low voice.

“What is it?!” she quickly replied at once.

“Can you please not grab my arm that hard?” he plead to her. It was only then that she realised that her left hand was gripped onto his right arm and was clawing into his skin with her fingertips. With surprise, she left go immediately and then started to apologise.

“Sorry sorry” she said seeing if she did any damage to him accidentally. Damn, if only she had a healing spell or the bandaging skill like Lyndis.

This continued for a while longer until they heard a loud shout.

xXx

In the middle of a drawn out battle, the Great Holy Knight Galeiran struck down the demon in front of him with his sword filled with Holy Magic powering it through. The Demon died but with it's last bit of life, grabbed him to allow the other Demons to attack him as well.

“Extreme Holy Strike!” he shouted cutting up the Demons that attacked him into smaller pieces in order to prevent it from regenerating. However even now, the Demon continued on regenerating greatly when they were not hit with a fatal blow.

It seems that these Demons were slightly resilient to Holy Magic which was not exactly a good thing but it's resilient to Holy Magic was much lower than the other elements, especially the Dark element.

As such there were many Paladins and Priests on this mission when Demons were mentioned. The Demon Race were a frightening race that even him, a level 800 player did not instantly kill these Demons half his level.

Was this the difference between the base stats and bodies of humans and demons?

However in a few more strikes, Galeiran felt that the Demon was gathering energy inside of it. He immediately knew that it was planning on suicide and moved to defend.

“Holy Barrier!” he shouted covering his body closely with Holy Energy.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

“That is strange” he said to his comrades, “Even now these Demons won't die.”

He looked to the others who were battling their own Demons in parties while he fought them alone due to his high level. He figured that the other players would soon know that the Demons would not die so easily.

And that they would blow up at a certain point though he was not sure.

After several more explosions he shouted in a loud voice to warn the others seeing that it would be a waste if too many people die from this.

“ATTENTION ALL MEN!!!”

He took another deep breath in and out before he continued. With a certain skill, he was able communicate with every player that was no an enemy including the group outside as well.

“THE DEMONS ARE MORE RESILIENT THAN EXPECTED! FURTHERMORE THEY WILL EXPLODE UPON CHANCE AT DEFEAT! BE WARNED OF THIS AND CONTINUE FORWARD!!!”

With that another set of Demons appeared and Galeiran set off and fight another horde of Demons.

xXx

Irritated to the core, Alena unplugged her ears and said, “That man has always been loud....”

Holding her head from being dizzy due to the noise, Lyndis asked, “What exactly was that?”

“A special skill that allows one to transmit their voice to anyone in range. Only for humans though so the Demons won't be tipped off if he says any command though this is more of a warning than anything else.”

“Kinda a useless skill most of them time I say” said Miriel in an irritated tone as well. That loud voice took her by surprise as well. She looked over to Shadow who was on the ground in greater pain than anyone else due to his hearing skills.

“Health Restoration!” chanted Serena onto Shadow as he was more pale and making a more ghastly face then anything the group saw before.

With the green glow due to the spell on Shadow, he soon recovered and started complaining, “What the hell was that?! Couldn't he have warned in a less loud voice?”

Alena nodded in agreement and said, “Galeiran is the type of person to shout first than think second. In other words a muscle idiot if you take out most of the sensible side of him, which is actually not much.”

“I see...” said Sain, “But you seem to know a lot about him and a lot of other high levelled player as well....and most of them-no all of them see weird in one way or another.”

“Every strong person is weird in one way or another” Alena said, “Why do you think the average level is still at a hundred?”

“An increase in players that decrease the average at the same rate as the increase in levels from other players?”

“Nope. If that was the case then you are saying that everyone is progressing in levels at least a bit” Alena gave them a smile and a hint at the same time.

“That leaves...” said Sain, “That there are so many players at level 100 that every level outside the close range don't matter that much?”

“You can say the average is also equal to the medium level of all players. Actually for those who have nothing to do in this world, their levels are only around 50 at the beginning. Seeing that levels means more safety, they would hire others to power level them to 100. Level 200 while much safer takes a lot more time, so level 100 is a safe and cheap bet on the level you need to be to be mostly safe in the game” Alena explained.

“....”

The fact that there are many players that hire others to power level them quickly in the game made them twitch a bit since they got here through a lot of hard work all the way with no shortcuts. Even though they knew they were stronger in the end, to get to the same point and to say it with less effort did not sit that well with them.

“Anyway for that guy to shout means things aren't going as well as he thought...” saying that Alena grinned in a fashion that definitely reminded them of Alexandra.

“Which means things will be interesting in there....” she continued.

“What...are you planning?” Shadow asked to which Alena responded with:

“Let's go explore that place and kill the boss before everyone else!”

Alena had this dangerous look on her face when she said that. The group later on regretted they agreed to this.

Onwards?PreviousExitNext

Author's Notes:

- Word Count: 8800~

- Absolutely no combat and text boxes in this chapter at all...

- Woke up at....6am...so....6 hours of sleep thanks to a mosquito preventing me from sleeping for long...the later bit of the chapter may be a bit off thanks to that....still sleepy....anyway watching the AGDQ 2015 Battleblock Theater Co-Up