It was largely dark inside, with only very little light sneaking in through small holes in the trunk.

Suddenly a bright glow fell on my face. It was a ball of flame, moving towards me. It abruptly stopped and zoomed into the depths.

Catch the ball and receive an extra life! Be quick!

I imagined myself to be a player and pursued the ball.

Deeper and deeper I ran. Every time I thought that I had lost the ball, the ball would peek from a turning along the tunnel, encouraging me to keep up the chase.

Finally we reached a point that pretended to be the end of the tunnel.

The light from the ball illuminated a sparkling object. A skull-sized ruby. I was mesmerized.

I disregarded the ball of light and instead went for the ruby. I bent down and touched it. The moment I did so, the ruby grew. In fact, it grew on me.

My fingers and then hand were stuck within the ruby, and it only kept growing.

You mustn’t touch objects that you are not asked to touch!

I forgot that this was just a test quest and panicked. The ruby consumed my arm and then the rest of my body. My heart was thumping. But there was nothing I could do. The ruby just kept on swelling.

Within a couple of minutes my entire body was inside it, save my nostrils. I couldn’t move a single part of my being. And then the ruby grew over my nostrils too.

I couldn’t breathe!

My health dropped an insignificant percent. A rectangle popped up.

You do not deserve my immense treasures for you are greedy! Be gone!

The next second everything dissolved. I found myself back in the forest.

Kiara was standing with her arms crossed. I took deep breaths of air, thankful to be respiring again. Kiara rolled her eyes.

“You are the king of two clans of eviluns. I expected you to do better,” she said. “But I guess, all my effort has not gone to waste. The ‘amusement park’ works!”

I relaxed my breathing and got back up from my knelt position.

“You can call it a ‘horror house’,” I said. “It would be a far more appropriate name.”

I recalled the chills I had experienced as the ruby had consumed me. I was sure I would never get out of it. It was a scary and hopeless situation.

“So what got you?” Kiara asked.

“The ruby,” I told her. “You can cook up some terrifying things in your mind.”

“Well, it's your fault you touched it!” Kiara said.

“But I didn’t just touch it,” I said, “Something about the ruby made me lose all sense of time and place. I forgot everything.”

Kiara grinned.

“Just one of the little things that bring the odds in our favor,” Kiara said.

The tree was devised in such a way that every time if offered a brand new quest. Kiara achieved this by asking Pook to create multiple quests, and allowing him to mix them and produce new quests as long as he adhered to some basic rules.

I visited the monster tree multiple times the rest of the day.

Every time, the tree would provide me with new quests and temptations and I would “die” in different ways. One time I was killed by Fono, another instance the monsters got me. They were provoking me from behind a net of electricity which I had failed to see in the dim light and you can imagine the rest.

Kiara accompanied me once. She had mocked me when I had fallen for the ruby. But she herself ‘died’ because of it. While I immediately closed my eyes and swung my head away at the first glance of the ruby, Kiara failed to resist its attraction.

It was a fun day despite the many ‘deaths’. By day end I had lost a total of ten health, which was such a meagre amount that I didn’t even bother to replenish it, despite possessing multiple health vials snatched from victims of prior quests.

The next day we spent brainstorming on the safest way to transfer Pook to the bridge without coming under the scrutiny of players.

Midnight won the vote. Pook would take time in establishing himself as the tree, since it was a complex procedure, and the shadows would cloak his activities.

We left the palace a few hours after sunset. I took Nora and Nadir with me. Pook’s stone was in my hand, and the troop of Skhites and Hornies were already in Pook’s world. My pockets bulged with health vials. They gave me confidence.

Whenever we heard any voices of players we would lay low and wait for them to pass. Cicadas hummed relentlessly and occasionally owls complimented the insects’ jungle orchestra with their hoots. There was a scent of uncertainty in the air. Nora and Nadir were alert and grim, their eyes darting every time there was a sound. After a long trek we reached near the bridge.

Even during the dead of the night, there were a few groups crossing the bridge. The players were from all parts of the real world and came from different time zones. They logged in whenever it was suitable for them, regardless of the game world time.

My heart rate quadrupled every time I imagined Pook being caught when he was establishing himself as the monster tree.

“I think we must create a distraction,” I said to Nora and Nadir. “So that Pook has time to set himself up.”

A crazy thought swooped down onto my head. If I had lacked health vials, I would have never dared to entertain such a thought.

“Listen to me very carefully,” I told Nora and Nadir, wiping my moist face. “I will go and create a distraction. Once Pook has established himself, you two can return to the palace. If despite my distraction, somebody still sees Pook, then ask him to turn back into the stone. You two can take him and flee.Do not worry about me, I will meet you at the palace.”

“But—” Nora said.

“No,” I shook a finger. I took out a couple of health vials and gave them. “No buts. Just take these if you are injured, all right?”

“We usually prefer to rely on our own medicines,” Nadir said. Only then did I dwell on why the monsters never took health vials of players while hunting. Did they consider the vials some kind of lowly untouchable objects because they belonged to players?

“Sure,”I said, “and I am indebted to your medicines for saving my life twice. I am not asking you to take these vials unless you are injured. Remember, we are doing this for the greater good of the clans. In case players attack you and you sustain wounds, take these health vials. Don't hesitate.”

I bid bye to the fused couple, and strode for the bridge.

Interestingly, most of the player groups that I passed did not even care to turn at me as I was a human and looked no different from themselves. However, I did catch a few bits of conversation between group members saying they sensed something evil nearby.

As I walked along the bridge, the feminine face of the elf king flashed in my mind. Bloody bastard. But then I recalled the words of the sage. The elf king had only been doing the rational thing on his part. I was the one guilty for seeking a discussion.