Sewers are typically dank, dark, smelly places and the Cobbletown sewers were no different. Except these were created for players to hunt, rather than effluent to flow, for which they were all equally grateful. The tunnels had tall arching brick ceilings, occasionally lit by steel grates allowing light in from above. Circular mesh drains extruded from the walls on either side at regular locations, dripping water onto the ground. This entire place must fill with water during the rainy days, something for Edge to keep in mind if this was to become a regular farming ground. Each tunnel was connected by more perpendicular tunnels, and most ended with a tubular metal ladder connected to a solid stone wall that reached up to covered manhole exits. It would take weeks to check all the manholes and map all of their locations. Edge had a hunch that at least one of them would lead into a building of importance for a quest of some kind. It was common sense for a gamer.

When two giant rats appeared from around a nearby corner, the team went into action with a practiced grace.

Daphne plucked at her harp, while singing a damage buff for the party and nocking an arrow. Musical talent, combined with practice, allowed her to multitask in a fashion that bordered on genius.

Sakura waited patiently. Her powerful spell [Firebomb] was not needed against only two giant rats, but she had to be ready for any surprises.

Belladonna Nightshade, [Ranger], was fast becoming the best DPS in the group. The moment Daphne’s buff came into effect, she loosed an arrow into each of the rats. It wasn’t enough damage to defeat them, but her ability [Arrow Stun] stuck both rats in place, ready to receive a second barrage. The only downsides to her potent specialized ability, was its mana cost and relatively short duration. Two stun arrows were all they were going to get, until she had a chance to recover after the battle.

Edge stood out in front of the group, wielding only his round wooden shield. He rested on one knee propping the shield on the ground. It only made sense to keep low, when two first day archers were shotgunning arrows behind you. The truth was that he still had no effective weapon at all. The situation had gone far beyond what was reasonable. He knew that no amount of stones were going to draw aggro back from the three ladies behind him. At the moment, his role in the party had become a portable wall. A second wave of arrows flew over his shoulder, both hitting their marks. Daphne and Belladonna were getting better with each barrage. He wondered how much relied upon their increasing skill points, and how much on their own natural talents.

The stun effect ended and the brown bristly rats scurried toward the group. Edge chose one, meeting it head on. Its eyes were blood red, and its long maw was armed with two sets of razor sharp teeth. He bounced his shield off its face, blocking its path. He retreated two quick steps, readying a second shield blow. The giant rat pushed itself forward and to his left, lunging its teeth at his midsection. He couldn’t move fast enough to avoid the attack, so he retaliated, punching the rat on the side of the head, while pulling his shield in tight to his body for protection. In that split second, he interposed his shield, and the giant rat’s attack struck harmlessly against its cheap wooden planks. The momentum of the creature’s thrust knocked him backward onto his seat. The giant rat charged at him, and there was no way he could block it while sitting; his shield was too big and awkward. Those teeth were coming to rip his throat out. He panicked, but his body moved as if by an inner power, instinct. He punched outward with the metallic brim of his shield, and it struck the giant rat in its hairy neck. He threw a second blow with his other fist in a combo that slammed the giant rat’s head into the stone floor.

A flag appeared above the mob’s corpse. Edge fell backward to lay against the cold stone, panting. The girls were giggling in a semi-circle behind him, looting the other rat, which they must have brought down with a third volley.

“Are you done yet?” asked Belladonna.

“I taught him that,” said Daphne who punched a one two combo into the air. “Good job, Edge. You were really cool.”

“Don’t forget to loot it,” nagged Sakura. “And Daph-”

“I know. I know. Skinning knife, skinning knife.”

Women. Didn’t they know that he was just fighting for his life? A little help would have been nice. They were pretty amazing, though. Who would have guessed that their group would get this strong so fast? It felt like he was falling behind. Was he the party’s anchor, the weight that would sink the group, just like in real life? These were not unfamiliar feelings for Eugene, and a big part of him wanted to wallow in them. But Edge wouldn’t let him. He put away the thoughts of his mom, and school, and other things that crept in whenever he began to think too much, or feel too much. By now his body was probably in a hospital somewhere attached to a bunch of IV’s. Would there be anyone to visit him?

This world was a game. And when it came to gaming, grinding, leveling, questing, Eugene was better than good, he was the best. He just needed . . . to become stronger, to forget about the problems and come up with solutions. Why the heck had he hesitated in choosing a weapon for so long? This was life and death! And unlike the real world, there were no human limitations here. What had been impossible at home, he could accomplish now. “I’ll do it,” he whispered to himself, staring at the ceiling. “I want to get stronger.” He took another look at the girls, each working hard in their own way. “I need to be the strongest,” he promised. He even threw a couple more punches with the brim of his shield. The attack seemed to do pretty decent damage, for now it would have to do.

The rats were more difficult than geckos, but their trip into the sewer gave them some decent [EXP]. The drops were poor, only a few emeralds per mob. It was clear that giant rats were better for experience farming than for money farming. In a city this big, it was going to be hard to find the right quests that might give them a boost to one or both. They’d need to ask around anyway, Edge supposed.

They climbed the ladder out of the sewer, Sakura headed up first. Edge tried to go second, and was met with a double punch from Daphne. “Pervert!”

“What was that for? I didn’t do anything.” At first, he found the girls antics to be a little amusing. These sort of interactions had been so new to him. But now . . .

“You were gonna look,” Daphne accused.

“I don’t mind. Edge can look if he wants,” said Sakura, from up above.

“I wasn’t going to look at anything!”

“I’m next, and Bell’s gonna keep an eye on you, so no peeking.”

Belladonna shrugged her shoulders, and nodded. “Both eyes,” she purred.

“I wasn’t going to look,” he shouted upward. “I wasn’t,” he complained to Belladonna.

“I think I’m starting to understand why they both like you,” she replied. “I’m next . . .” she whispered provocatively into his ear as she passed by, “I don’t mind if you look.”

Edge swallowed. It didn’t matter if it was okay. He still wasn’t going to look. Absolutely not.

They found another more respectable inn not too far away from the Watering Hole. It was a three story structure with a slanted red tile roof, and narrow glass windows on the upper floors. The main floor was half open to the outside, and steam erupted from behind a tall fence that encompassed half the structure, and more. This wasn’t an ordinary inn, it was a Japanese onsen (a hot springs inn)!

Edge paid for his own room tonight with crystals he'd held back from today's farming, and kept the key locked away in his inventory, where light fingers couldn’t get at it. He was suddenly glad that none of the girls were rogues.

The inn’s kitchen offered private dining, and so they ordered off a menu with real choices, in a real dining room for a change. Mostly, their conversation focused on Levia, different tactics they might use in combat, and where they should go next. Eugene remained silent for most of the meal. He noticed that, for some reason, no one wanted to talk about home. It was particularly awkward because some part of him wanted to talk, to share. What would they think of their leader then? A bullied high school kid with mommy issues. A coward who thought about committing suicide. A useless depressed little boy with nothing to offer.

“Good night,” he said, halfway through the meal. The real world was becoming a taboo to share only when necessary. Edge made a hasty retreat, heading upstairs and bolting his door closed behind him. Was it selfish of him, that he hoped they would charge upstairs and confront him, comfort him? None of them did, of course. How would they know who he really was inside? As much as he was fond of his new friends, he needed to get away. It was a close call today, a brush with death. Yet everyone ignored it as if it was perfectly natural. Was this what their life was going to become, one brush with death after another until . . . He ran into the washroom and vomited into the toilet. It was disgusting and sickening, but he felt better when it passed.

Eugene took off his shirt and examined himself in the stand mirror. The avatar wasn’t unpleasant to look at, certainly better than his real world form. He flexed his arm in the mirror, and squeezed his muscles. Even here, even with this improved body . . . it wasn’t strong enough. Though, whether or not his avatar would or could change in appearance was a lot less important than the tiny numbered statistics in his character profile.

The fights today had taught him a hard lesson about the direction he was going with his character. If the [Adventurer] class didn’t have special abilities-then somehow, it had to have something that balanced it with the rest of the classes. So far the only real clue had been his lack of restrictions. There was no weapon he couldn’t wield, no armour that he couldn’t wear, no skill had been denied to him-so far. And unlike the others, his stats weren’t increasing with levels. But they did rise with effort, with using skills, with training.

Edge took out a book he’d borrowed from Sakura and laid it on the floor. He cracked the spine open to the first page and dropped into a push-up position. If he was going to raise his stats, he might as well do two at once. He pushed himself until he was on the verge of collapse. Sweat dripped onto the bound parchment under him, and he was having trouble reading the words. He wouldn’t stop. There was no way he was going to let this game beat him. He’d made real friends here, and they were going to follow him into danger. This wasn’t about his own survival. Eugene stopped caring about his own survival a long time ago. It wasn’t really true, he realized. Fear made him care. When his arms and chest could take no more punishment, he switched to squats, and propped the book up on the dresser. His life had a purpose now. Those grating girls didn’t need someone like Eugene as their leader. They needed a hero. They needed Edge. Eugene was weak, pathetic, a loser. But he didn’t have to be Eugene anymore . . .

A knocking interrupted his exercise. He unbolted the door, and swung it wide. Belladonna stood in the doorway. Not the person he expected.

“Edge.”

“Belladonna.”

“Working hard I see. Daphne was wondering if something was wrong with you.”

“I’m fine.”

“I can see that.”

“Is that it?” he asked, pulling his shirt back on.

“If this is about what I said before . . .”

“Hmm?” What did she say, about what?

“I didn’t mean to offend you. We don’t know each other that well. I shouldn’t have teased you like I did.”

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“You’re intimidated by us, aren’t you?”

Yes, didn’t sound like a very good answer. “I’m the leader. It’s a lot of responsibility,” he said instead. “I’m not really used to being . . . you know.”

“The person in charge.”

“Yeah, I guess. It doesn’t really feel like I’m in charge of anything though.”

“I heard that’s a sign you’re doing it right,” she smiled. “You know the others will follow your lead, but I just wanted you to know, I will too.”

“Why?” he asked, truly desperate to know the answer.

“Because you have the heart of a hero, whether you realize it or not,” she responded. “And you’re cute. Sort of innocent, you know? It's easy to trust a person like you.” Belladonna patted him on the cheek and left, not bothering to close the door. “You should relax, try the hot springs. They might do you some good,” she shouted from down the hall.