CHAPTER EIGHT

Starting Again

The free city of Torva was a colorful bastion of interracial civilization. As the only city in the White Kingdom not under the jurisdiction of the Church of Mercy, countless races and denizens became attracted to its chaotic streets, building up new structures to fill up the blockways. From casual mud huts to wooden bungalows and towering four story ivory towers, the architecture was but one facet that displayed the cultural diversity of the city.

(In short, they should really fire whoever was responsible for the city design)

At the center of the city, elevated on a rocky plateau was a spiderweb of excessively gaudy buildings which all came together to form the illusion of a castle. With countless stone pillars and trimmed greenery on the walls, it was a complex that held practically no military value, but stood as a testament to Torva’s wealth and dedication to culture.

It was the most notable thing in Torva, and a popular tourist attraction of which many players would specifically come here for.

However, for Dawn, it had already become a common sight. Nonetheless, the familiarity of such a structure was comforting to her who was besotted with bitterness.

“I’m finally back.”

In the Elseworlds, there was a scaling penalty system where death would incur greater setbacks depending on the amount of progression one had in the game. After being crushed into a fleshy red puddle, Dawn had not only lost a level but a piece of her gear as well. Compared to pre-level fifty where she only lost ten percent of her leveled experience, the loss was almost too hard to bear.

Understanding that the players would be appropriately salty after dying, the developers had also incorporated a minimum twelve hour respawn time after level ten to give the players time to cool off.

As the faceless mask of the Scion eroded from her face, Dawn suddenly lurched over while feeling sick to her stomach. A funny thing with the death system in the Elseworlds is that the body still remembers all the abused it took prior to death, which could become a means for distress once a player logs back in.

Spittle flew from her lips as Dawn finished dry heaving. Her stomach ache only getting worst as she discovered her holy silver cuirass was no longer on her person. It was probably in the hands of those monsters of looted by those random newbies nearby. Suffice to say, she had no expectations of getting it back and her heart began to ache as she calculated the total sunk cost.

Although it was not a unique item, it was still easily the second most valuable thing she owned and could not be replaced easily.

She removed her helmet, letting her golden locks fall over her shoulders. It didn’t feel proper to wear it without the central piece. In addition, the set effect was lost, which greatly diminished its efficacy.

“Monsters…”

Her entire experience in the dungeon seemed off. Although she would naturally go back to explore it, currently she had no confidence in her combat capabilities. Perhaps it would be prudent to just suck up her pride and finally ask for help.

“Eh. Thoughts for later… I should at least replace my gear.”

Following the main road, she arrived before a large expansive dome where countless walking furballs were bustling on about. It was her favorite shop, and was run by a chubby little Popori who had a fondness for sweets. It was her go-to place for quality gear, a hidden treasure that many users had yet to discover in Torva.

“Well if it isn’t the young miss.” Alerted by the clinking of the door chimes, a grey bearded Popori quickly rushed off his stool to greet her.

“Hello again Dobby.” She smiled warmly towards the cute little raccoon man. His bulging belly and tuft of grey beard made him a popular catch among the female Popori population. Even amongst regular women, many desired to keep him as a perfect living plushy.

Of course, he wasn’t all that cute when he had her running countless errands just to gain the privilege of shopping here. Behind that cute exterior was a slave driver who was never satisfied and always demanded more.

Still, the effort was well worth it, as few stores offered functional custom female armor that weren’t just glorified metal bikinis. The armor sets here offered full coverage and stylish designs, which gave the owner the best of both worlds.

The Popori nodded and its gaze focused onto her sheathed blade. “Have our products been serving you well? Even now, Old Lug is still lamenting about how nothing he could make would ever measure up to that sword of yurs.”

Dawn touched the cool hilt of the Crandor, grateful that it hadn’t dropped with her embarrassing death. She scratched her cheek, embarassed.

“Your armor was wonderful, truly nothing could compare… but I ran into a slight complication. And due to unforeseen circumstances, the chest piece is no longer in my possession.”

“But you only had it for a week?!” Dobby exclaimed.

“Yes, I am deeply sorry, but I am to remedy that.”

“We spent over a month on that piece!”

“And I’m sorry…”

The Popori furrowed its brow, but did not chastise her. “I see. Well, If its you, then I suppose that circumstances must have truly been dire. However, don’t expect a new one forged anytime soon. Old Lug definitely won’t be happy to hear about this, and even if he were to be convinced, we have already run out of this month’s supply of blessed ore.”

Though the Popori’s words were kind, the reality of the situation still bit Dawn deeply in the heart. Blessed ore was ridiculously expensive. Although it was two or three tiers below mithril, the amount of ore that went into her armor would easily exceed the life savings of most level fifties. Even now, Dawn’s wallet started crying from abuse.

“I’m incredibly sorry Dobby, but there is not much I can do. For the moment, I at least need a serviceable set of armor to help me replenish the damage that was done.” Dawn pulled out her wallet. A small sack which was almost pitifully light.

The little Popori sniffed in indignation before snatching the purse from her hands. After weighting it for but a moment, he tossed the sack back before grunting.

“Hmmm… Follow me. I’m sure we can find you something from the bargain bin.”

Dobby led her to a fenced off area where numerous sets of gear were hung on sturdy wooden displays. They were all gears that could be modified to suit her size. Although the shop also offered a custom fit option, the premiums alone went way beyond her current budget, thus she could only make do with the pre-built sets on display.

Although there was a great selection to choose from, the grey haired Popori seemed to have a particular set in mind. As if understanding her style, the Popori chose a slim fitting stylish paladin set. A highly ornate silver cuirass with additional side plates to protect her thighs. In addition, the gauntlets and greaves were colored in a slightly darker shade of grey, reminiscent of tarnished silver. It came with a full body undersuit made of padded leather, which had thin metal plates sewn onto the shoulders for extra protection.

Overall, it was a delicate piece, with a greater emphasis on form over function. However, only the most shameless of smiths would prioritize appearance over defence, and a completely flimsy armor would have even them hanging their heads in shame.

As such, although the armor was not bad, there was also a few useless bobs and ends which could prove a liability. No matter the beauty, nobody wanted to wear a display piece into battle.

“The Eisan Plate. Its a standard issue design normally used for priestesses on the front lines. Although its defense is lacking, it improves the casting efficiency of holy spells as well as enhanced self-recovery. Not to mention, with its elegant design, it can serve as a morale booster for tired troops, although we do have some pieces that are more suitable for such a purpose.” Dobby explained with a wink.

Dawn felt the last bit of information wasn’t particularly necessary, but she was thankful that Dobby’s choice wasn’t some boobplate or metal bikini. The other options, however, were completely satisfactory and after being assisted by Dobby, took the entire mannequin over to the change room to try it on.

Soft. Firm. Sturdy.

Her mental assessment of the armor had her humming in approval. The entire piece was light weight and comfortable even as she fitted the metal plates over her gambeson.

“It fits well, if I do say so myself.” Dobby praised and clapped enthusiastically at Dawn admired herself in a mirror.

Seeing how the suit accentuated her figure, Dawn could only agree with that sentiment.

“Indeed. Its very comfortable. And the price?”

“The entire set is priced at 100 gold coins, but seeing as how we’re friends, I’ll knock off ten gold.”

Dawn stiffened. Well, there went the rest of her savings. Nonetheless, after removing a few extra gold pieces from her wallet, she tossed the sack to Dobby, quietly suppressing the ache in her heart. It would seem that some hardcore grinding would be necessary to recoup her losses.

She was just about to bid Dobby goodbye when the door chimes tinkled noisily with the entrance of new intruders.

“Finally. We found her. And Ohmigod, she’s pretty!!!”

Little did Dawn know, that this encounter would be the beginning of the end.

Childish. Moronic. Envious? A high pitched voice squealed from the doorway as Dawn turned to find two gray-haired characters standing in awe. Their attention seemed to be completely focused in her direction.

Her eyes widened.

‘Pretty?’

Somehow she hadn’t even registered the intruder’s initial words. The next few seconds becoming a blur as she found herself in front of the girl who seemed to be attracted to her magnetically. With those intense yellow cat eyes, distinct feral demeanor, pretty face and bear cloak, and odd feeling began broiling up in Dawn’s pelvis.

‘Dangerous!’

She gulped as the girl pulled uncomfortably close to her face. While beautiful girls were commonplace in virtual reality, few could radiate such heat and fervor with their appearance alone. Of course, the girl’s manner of speech suggested that her personality was quite the opposite, but Dawn couldn’t help but be mesmerized.

Of course, the boy wasn’t half bad either, but while the girl radiated fire, only a bitter cold seemed to come off of him. Such an appearance was common throughout all of the Elseworlds. Not to mention such a temperament would naturally turn her off.

While she was lost in thought, the two of them were looking at her curiously.

“Look Pale! Isn’t this much nicer than the stuff we looted off the bandits?”

The player known as Pale smiled awkwardly as his eyes skittishly wandered around the store, as if avoiding her gaze.

‘Must be her boyfriend.’ Dawn grimaced at the fresh reminder of her singleness. She was completely sympathetic to his unease though. Afterall, Dobby’s store primarily dealt in female armor. As a man, to be caught in such a place would be the same as visiting a woman’s lingerie shop in real life.

“Hey, you’re cute miss. What’s your name?”

The young girl’s sudden impulsive attitude had Dawn at a loss for words. “I-I, wait… No-No!”

“Your name is Nono? That’s cute

Caught off guard, Dawn had to stop herself from stammering. “N-No! My name is Dawn. White Temple Fifth Division Trainee.”

“Whoaaaa. Beautiful and prestigious. Are you a paladin? That sounds so cool! How can I become one.”

Dawn’s heart skipped a beat over the compliment, but her form was thrown off by the rapid fire questions the girl was suddenly peppering her with. Although she tried to maintain a steady look on the surface, a quiet storm of confusion raged within. Social Anxiety be damned, she had to at least look good for the newbies.

“Ahem. Calm down. Being a paladin isn’t easy after all. And it all depends on which faith you wish to serve. In the entire White Kingdom, you don’t really have much choices aside from the Church of Mercy in Baracus. And Although I look this way, I’m far from becoming a paladin and can’t help you with the details. But if you were to head to the temple nearby, Pastor Jerry can answer all of your questions.”

“Jerry? What kind of name is Jerry? Miss, you sure are funny!”

Dawn could only stand helplessly as she was dragged into the pact of the fawning young girl. However the other player had different thoughts.

“Wait a sec Roari.” Pale cautioned as he stepped before Dawn. His icy stare sent shivers down Dawn’s spine.

Due to being dressed in rather crude leather gear, his elegant features were rather diminished. But with a closer view, there lied a soft femininity that was hidden away beneath that smooth symmetrical face, which sorely tempted her to touch it.

‘Wait…I’m not a pervert.’

“You’re a player, aren’t you?”

“I’m not—What? …Oh, Cra— I mean no!” Her silvery voice faltered, which raised the eyebrows of all those present. Even Dobby, the Popori who was minding his own business had a look of amusement on his whiskery face. Dawn was on the verge of entering panic mode, but instead, she just shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

She had always prided herself on being a solo player… by choice, and did her best to act the noble paladin role. While on the street, she was practically indistinguishable from other NPCs, so it was much to her surprise that Pale asked her such a thing right away.

“Well, it was because you don’t appear to have a mental disorder. That alone gave you away.” Pale explained apologetically.

“W…What?”

Dawn started. She was confused. What did that have any relation to being a player? Unfortunately, she had no chance to voice her confusion as Pale continued.

“But that begs the question. This game had only been out for a little under two days, and everyone we’ve come across was wearing rags at most. So why is it that you can afford to shop in such an upscale place o’ Miss Paladin?”

‘What the flip?’

What sort of first meeting was this? Who were these people? Dawn had no way of knowing that the two of them had come here with an ulterior motive, thus she could only froth silently while trying to put the pieces together. Of course, there was a reason why she had been playing for so long, but it was frowned upon to share such knowledge with the general public.

“I’m not a paladin, I…I…urgh.” Being overwhelmed, Dawn momentarily whited out.

“Omg. Bro! She’s a roleplayer! I love roleplayers!”

“She’s pretending to be a paladin?”

“No! She’s pretending to be a ditzy blonde in an attempt to seduce us!”

“I PRETEND NOTHING!” Dawn roared, before flushing. “Wait, let me take that back.”

She internally cursed. Those childhood acting lessons weren’t worth spit. She froze her face into what should’ve been a stoic expression before speaking in a gravelly tone.

“In this world, I am but a servant of the people and the goddess of Mercy. A defender of virtue and justice. Compared to the other world, a different code of conduct is expected here. To maintain honesty and faith to make up the void that exists in the real world.”

“…”

“…”

The fuck was she saying?

With flushed cheeks, Dawn could only hide her face in shame as the little girl before her burst into a frolic of giggles. Wasn’t she just called out on being a roleplayer? And she just had to jump straight into the role, didn’t she.

Pale however seemed oblivious to the stumbling mess that was Dawn’s attempt to act human though. While quietly ignoring Roari who was writhing on the ground while beside herself, Pale retorted,

“And as…an arbiter of such virtue, wouldn’t it be prudent to be honest when answering out questions?”

Oh thank god. Dawn smiled in relief. At least the other party had enough tact to play along with her farce and help her save face. Despite being grateful for the olive branch, there was no way she would be that easy.

“Just because I uphold honesty here does not mean your questions merit a response. That said, I would be more than glad to answer any other questions you have which pertain to this world.”

“Oh? Using semantics to avoid the truth? That doesn’t seem very paladin-like, now does it?”

“You are free to believe whatever you want. After all, I still am only a trainee.”

Having caught her bearings, Dawn suddenly felt much comfortable as she dealt with these two new players.

The two of them smiled while staring each other down. If they could continue engaging in such pleasantries, then she could easily beat a hasty retreat after some verbal sparring.

At least, that was the plan before Roari poked Dawn’s cheek and asked absentmindedly.

“Hey, Dawn…Are you single?”

She really wanted to cry right now.

Dawn’s eyelid twitched as her smiled seem to freeze in place. After lightly brushing Roari’s hand away, she really hopes that all the screaming that she was hearing was being done internally.

“At the moment, I am devoted to my order. It takes priority over any physical relationships at the moment. Also, I regret to inform you that I hold very little interest in women.”

“We could change that…” Roari purred coquettishly. Her demeanor truly was like that of a cat, as she swiftly beat a retreat and hid under Pale’s arm.

Seriously, just what the heck was going on?

‘The heck is this idiot doing?’

Pale wanted to facepalm, but was quite surprised at how well Dawn was weathering the unrestrained chaos that was his little sister. He had fully expected that she would’ve busted a tit by now, which would have been a detriment to their plans.

Naturally, there was no way Pale could have known that Dawn had partaken in over fifty hours of method acting courses, else she would have already collapsed into a massive puddle of awkwardness.

Dawn’s lips quivered as she backed away slowly. Her eyes wandered like a caged animal, clearly intent on fleeing before they damaged her heart any further.

“I leave it to you now!” Roari gave Pale a light shove, pointing at the not-so-stealthily fleeing Dawn. “Go seduce her!”

Gods help them. Dawn had barely run two steps before falling flat on her face. What was worst was that Roari’s actions had incited a stern lecture from Pale. And the two idiots were so absorbed in their vapid squabble that they didn’t even bother to notice her anymore.

“Isn’t this a bit extreme? Even if you really want to know…” Pale whispered furiously, but his mouth was clamped shut by Roari’s hands.

“You listen to me! Through our combined efforts, we’ve made you the sexiest body known to womankind! Besides, that girl looks like a total pushover. Just wink once and call her pretty, and you’ll have her eating out of your hand!”

“I just can’t answer that question okay?!!!” Dawn finally popped. The two of them made no attempts to quiet down their voices as they conspired, letting her hear everything. Though her face was flushed, that did not draw away from her outrage. “It’s supposed to be confidential information and I’ll get in trouble if I tell anyone.”

There. She said it.

Pale merely looked at her and in a deadpan manner, said.

“You are an early access player who started several months before the release. You are currently miles ahead of regular players, but due to certain circumstances, the company does not want to take away your advantages. However, due to a potential fallout from the public over your advantage, you are temporarily bound to not speak of it until the gap between players have closed somewhat.”

“Wait…What?”

“It was on the gaming news channel. Some guy in China couldn’t help showing off and spilled the beans early. The forums are already blowing up about it.”

“That’s impossible! Such a thing should never have aired. The fines from the penalty alone is…—” The moment Dawn saw the twin shit eating grins that emerged from the grey haired couple, she knew she fucked up.

“Sweet! Guessed it in one!”

“No! You tricked me!” A massive lump seemed to form in Dawn’s throat. She wanted to scream, holler, tear them apart and cry, but all the conflicting urges left her paralyzed.

“Are you sure you’re not an NPC?” Pale taunted. “”I don’t think it should be so easy to trick an actual human being?”

“I could be a moderator for all you know!” Dawn’s ears burned as she struggled to regain levity.

“You could be.” Pale agreed. “But I’d bet good money to say that you’re not.”

“See! I told you she was a pushover.” Roari chimed in, pushing the knife in deeper.

“Don’t pretend all of this was some master plan.” Dawn finally understood the sickening feeling that has worming its way through her stomach. It was the same a before. Where she would dance to the tune of others.

“Well, I guess you’ll never be certain. And now that we have leverage, you must join us as a comrade and assist us in our quests…or else!” Roari said.

“Screw the fuck off!”

Dawn shouted… in her mind. Perhaps for the first time in the game, she suddenly had the irritating itch to beat the crap out of someone. Her psychiatrist would surely agree that venting would be the best course of action as well.

However, when she looked into those starry eyes devoid of malice, she could not make any connection to the girl who would so callously threatened her. Her scalp tingled, as if the force of the world was gently whispering to not provoke the girl before her.

Perhaps it was just her good nature, but the pain in Dawn’s gut only grew worst.

Dawn smoothed over her face. Although her repressed rage threatened to spill over, she still did her best to remain civil.

“Let’s make a deal.” She proposed.

“Oh?”

“So long as you hold your silence and delete any recordings of our encounter, I will comply with all of your wishes for the rest of the day.”

However, as Roari’s lips perked up, Dawn felt that it would not be amiss to add in a clause.

“…Within reason of course. Such demands may not include me giving you money, or dying for your pleasure. Neither will I break city laws for you or harm the innocent.”

Yes, Dawn decided. This would just be her doing a good deed. Despite the two of them obviously looking to seek advantage over her, she was by no means trapped in the slightest. She was still in a position of power, and they would gain many benefits from her guidance. Even if they did not agree to her terms, what could they possibly do?

Still, it would be of benefit to everyone if such an event was swept under the rug. A casual mentorship to some newbies for the day would surely be a small price to pay.

However, at her words, it seemed Roari still wasn’t convinced. “Swear it! Swear on your honor as a roleplayer.”

“Stop calling me a roleplayer!”

“Doth thou even hoist?”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means that if you refuse, I’ll be forced to make Pale use his masculine wiles on you!”

“What does that even mean?” (Pale)

“Fine! I swear it. Just do whatever you want.” Dawn pouted. This was why people were just so…

“A fine effort Watson!” Roari declared victoriously. She jabbed pPale in the ribs while grinning.

“Why do you get to be Holmes?” Pale looked glum.

“Because I’m more suave.” Roari extended a hand towards Dawn, covering her mouth shyly. “Anyways, now that we’re friends, we should be doing friend things.”

Rather unwillingly, Dawn took Roari’s hand. Somehow that handshake transitioned into Roari’s arm snaking its way across Dawn’s shoulders as she pulled her along to browse the store items.

“You know… when we first arrived here, I found the most amazing looking armor.”

Seeing how Roari was already acting so familiarly, Dawn could only laugh hollowly.

She should have run when she had the chance.