As the lights faded, I saw Lucas looking pale—as pale as ay whiskey gss. Silly Lucas! I gave him a reassuring smile and waved. Besides the pointed ears, there wasn’t much differeween his real-life body and his in-game avatar. But a military-hardened physique on a mage? Poor Lucas.

  “Lucas! I’ll do my best, so don’t worry.” My female voice startled me, but I brushed it off and approached him. “I’ll carry you!”

  He took a step back, his face flushing slightly. “Are you sure?” Everythi so real. No wonder people were choosing to live in virtual worlds forever. Maybe that ie tax wasn’t so bad after all. He stared at me for a moment, then added, “I mean… this whole thing’s gotta be rough for yht?”

  “Nah, I was mad at first,” I said with a smile, a bit of nostalgia slipping into my tone. “But, well, my heart kind of melted after my first kill. There’s just something exhirating about the rush of taking things down.” I chuckled, then admitted, “But I have no idea how to py a Priest. Like, none.”

  “Hmm,” Lucas said thoughtfully, raising his staff as if about to cast a spell. I watched him closely, hoping to see a master mage in a so we could duo-clear dungeons together. He noticed my stare and blushed. “Gd to hear that… John.”

  “Call me Princess.”

  “What? Why?!” He froze, his spell dissipating as the mana slipped away. Whoops.

  “Isn’t it obvious? That’s my name now,” I shrugged. “You’re the one who said I’m stuck with it, so call me Princess or Charlie. Both sound strange, but I guess people will get used to it. Besides, titles are super important in this game. Princess is not my official title, for now, but I’ll work towards it. Titles define NPd pyers.”

  Instead of replying, he went back to casting another spell, though his teique looked pletely off. Watg him struggle, I jumped in with my hard-earned QA knowledge. “What are you doing, you dork? Haven’t you read the guide? You o draw the runes quickly, fill them with mana, and shout!” I’d watched plenty of mages while testing; at least I knew what it was supposed to look like, and Lucas definitely wasn’t doing that.

  He snorted, clearly annoyed, and challenged me. “Oh yeah? Think you know so much? Try it yourself, then! You should have at least one spell!”

  I fidently opened my spell menu, seleg a healing spell with a simple rune design. “Easy. Watch closely!” Nathan had eve a little animated video uhe rune, so I followed along, takial notes.

  “This’ll be a breeze.” Clutg my staff, I tapped into my mana, or what I imagined as some kind of warm energy flowing within me. A pleasant warmth surprised me—it felt different from the warrior’s mana I was used to. Ign the surprise, I focused, drawing the tours of the rune.

  But halfway through, the mana fizzled out, and I stumbled back, cheeks burning.

  “Haha! Told you so! You’re only human,” Lucas teased, his voice grating as he ughed. I shot him a gre, pouting. He ughed more. “Just like me, Charlie!”

  “Hmpf! I took dowoughest bosses; if I had a sword, I’d crush it as a warrior. We don’t depend on mana like this!”

  There had to be a way. I thought back to Lucy, my old QA colleague, who’d been an incredible padin. During breaks, she’d expihat imagining the symbols in her mind first helped her; ohey were clear, the system would guide her hand. Lucas was staring at me like he’d never seen a girl before, then abruptly interrupted my thoughts with his I’m guilty voice, “Charlie, I o tell you something.”

  “ it wait?” I waved him off, too focused on my pn. “I think I remembered something that’ll help! The game must have a guiding system.”

  He nodded and sighed, though I barely noticed. I was too busy picturing the rune, trating on it for what felt like ay. Lucy had said to hold it in your mind until it ractically engraved there. e on, Lucy, help me out here!

  Finally, I felt ready. I gripped my poor excuse for a staff, focused on the rune, and took a deep breath. As I looked forward… Yes! A faint outline appeared in the air, guiding me. Carefully, I poured mana into it, trag the shape with determination. But it failed. Again. And again.

  By the fifth or sixth failure, I lost it. I bolted around the meadow, swinging my “glorious” stick at anything in sight. My mighty blows ected with trees, bushes, and, most satisfyingly, Lucas himself, who was still chug. My staff made solid tact with his skull.

  [Critical hit! Target lost 1HP.]Oh god, someone help me!

  Somewhere dark, current simution.

  Jeffrey sat in front of his puter s, the dim glow illuminating his face. If John had been there, he’d have mistaken him for a fifteen-year-old punk in a brown coat. But he’d be wrong. Jeffrey had only just turwelve.

  “John’s vanished from his previous sim, just as you anticipated, sir,” said a shadowy figure to Jeffrey’s left. “The assassin has breached his old simution. It’s only a matter of time before he picks up the trail and eliminates him. Are you certain you trust this… John?”

  “Yes. I major simution, I got close enough to the seed to dis this simution’s unique hash—a one-in-infinity ce.” Jeffrey’s eyes narrowed, a glint of excitement sparking within. “They thought they could stop me by cutting dowime before the game, but they miscalcuted. John will be our hero this time, not me. I’ll stay in the shadows, like the other shareholders, and avoid the early scramble. No more hustling around space stations three years after everyone else started.”

  “But why him?” The man stepped forward, his wrinkled hands gesturing emphatically in the s’s pale light. “You could have chosen many seasoned heroes, especially after the deaths of two of your petitors. There are plenty of openings.”

  “We’ve tried that route, and it failed. He is the key to winning the game and seg the seed. Let’s just hope he’s started building his own ship by now.”

  “Sir,” the man interrupted gently, “this time, the game is a fantasy, not sci-fi. More like the third simution, though the setting’s different.”

  “Oh? Fasating.” Jeffrey leaned back, sidering this. “I haven’t been keeping up. But perhaps this might even the odds. Let the others exhaust their resources. We’ll tact him wheime is right.”

  The s shifted, casting a brief, flickering light on the room as a profile summary appeared.

  [John - Employee Profile (15th year after the start)]

  [John is an exceptional individual with a rare talent for unc exploits within our systems. Despite the iion of AI-driven onit, which has stymied other testers, John has sistently revealed numerous bugs and vulnerabilities, demonstrating his unparalleled ability to detect fws invisible to others.]

  [In light of John’s talent, the AI has been tasked with developing a system capable of on-the-fly fixes during John’s gamepy to minimize exploit risks. It is critical that John’s expertise and unique skill set are irrepceable. Any disruption to his employment would impair the on-the-fly system’s funality, and thus, termination is strongly advised against.]

  My hand moved fluidly through the air, trag the rune, which glowed with a warm, golden light. “Heal!” I shouted as I pleted the symbol, direg the energy toward Lucas. A soft, golden mist spiraled from my fiips, drifting toward him with a graceful flourish. I held my focus steady, guiding the magitil it ed around him aled gently into his form.

  [Pyer Lucas healed for 3HP.]As the light faded, Lucas g the golden glow with awe. “It worked! That was… beautiful,” he said, a hesitant smile.

  “Yeah! Let me help you!” I hurried rabbing his hand. “Do you have the rune in your mind? you picture it clearly?”

  He stared absently into my eyes, as if lost in thought, and didn’t answer until I gave his cheek a light pinch. Was he drunk already? Or am I that hot? He shook head and said, “Yeah, I think I .”

  “Focus! Just because I’m a girl now doesn’t mean I’m any different, and a weak answer like that won’t cut it!” My determined gre spurred him into a. He opened his menu, gave the rune a quice, then turned his bae, clearly flustered.

  “Lucas?” I teased, watg him stiffen up like an empress when turned in the imperial quest. Ha! My preseill has some intimidation factood. Now focus on that rune. Picture it, and the outline should appear soon. I may not have the fortitude of a warrior, but I won’t let you down.”

  He sighed, but turned his attention back to the spell, mumbling something under his breath. I joined in, practig alongside him. Despite his best efforts, he still struggled, failing most of the time. But I decided it was enough practice for now—our mana was nearly depleted, and time was tig.

  “The game’s fun this way, isn’t it?” I said, looking up at the opy of branches overhead, their thick leaves weaving a soothing shade over us. “You have to work for it, but the rewards feel earned.” I caught him gng at my chest and rolled my eyes. So, this is the new normal, huh?

  I let the moment pass, enjoying the cool breeze that tousled my hair. After a while, he shook his head and muttered, “No, it’s insane. Why is it so hard? Aren’t games supposed to be fun?”

  “Bme it on the evil creator, Nathan,” I said with a grin. “But I disagree. This is amazing! Without a real challenge, what’s the point? The system was way more fiving for warriors; I could jump meters high and smash through walls!” A mischievous grin spread ay face as I remembered one exploit where I’d broken into a vault with a single punch. “Aren’t you excited to see what magi do? I’m dying to find out how our first boss fight will go. Faster spell casting could make all the difference. You o work on that.”

  He houghtfully. “Yeah… this game feels… real.” Rising, he tapped his staff against the nearby trees, listening to the satisfying k it made. “More real than the world we came from. It feels like this is where the future lies. Anyone who stands against it might just… disappear. Vanish, without a trace. Actually, I think that’s already happening. Charlie, the truth is—”

  His words took me by surprise, and I gently put a hand up to stop him. “Lucas, please. I uand.” He was right—everything was moving in that dire. “People vanishing without a trace…” Is that what happeo him? Did he meddle where he shouldn’t have? “Hey, Lucas, have you heard of the ‘Ring of Smiling People’? Someoio—”

  Before I could finish, his face twisted in horror. He clutched the frayed edge of my pitiful robe with a tight grip. “Where the hell did you hear that name? Were you snooping around my pce?” He joggled me, as if trying to snap me out of a trahough he thankfully had little strength. “Don’t joke about it, John. These people are dangerous!”

  I slipped out of his grasp, stepping back cautiously. “It was some punk at the bar who mentiohem. He said to reach out if I wao learn more about simutions.”

  “Of course. The bar.” He threw his hands up in frustration. “Where else? Just—don’t. If you value your life, stay away from them.”

  “All right! Rex. Damn Nathan, I was only asking!”

  “Even asking is risky. People have died over it.” He softened, his voice trailing off as his eyes filled with somethiween worry and sadness. Then, almost abruptly, he ged the subject. “You… you always wao py, didn’t you? You look so alive here. Happier than usual. You’re only ever like this after a fourth beer.”

  I felt my cheeks flush because he wasn’t wrong. Since I’d ehe game, I felt different—like my entire brain was rewired. But that was nonsense, right? Maybe it was just the excitement of a sed ce at life, courtesy of that punk.

  I jumped up and g the sky, noting the sun’s position. Nightfall wasn’t too far off. “Lucas, focus on what matters. We’re poor, level-one noobs, and we need a pn.”

  “So? What’s the grand scheme, oh emi expert?” He looked less thahusiastic, standing there with no iion of moving.

  “Hmpf!” I grabbed his hand and started running, dragging him along. “Onward! My job was to find bugs, so let’s do just that. Why py by the rules? Let’s exploit our way to the top!”