Our pitiful stamina forced us to slow from a jog to a walk, and after what felt like an erek, we finally left the cover of the forest. A vast pteau stretched out before us, rolling on as far as the eye could see.

  “I know an exploit here that should still work,” I whispered, leaning close to Lucas. “But be careful—the monsters are around level four.” I stepped lightly to the edge of the forest, feeling the thrill of stepping into unknown dahe st rays of the setting sun glinted off the treetops, but soohat faint light faded, and an eerie, drawn-out whistle broke the silence.

  The night came alive with the brutal sounds of red foxes tearing into their prey. These noal monsters domihe pteau after dark, ripping apart the pray wolves that roamed the area by day. Nodding to Lucas, I motioned him to move, as the wolves’ pained whimpers echoed all around us.

  “Let’s go!” I urged, giving his arm a tug, and we crept forward, tiptoeing. The chilling sounds of age echoed in every dire. “Faster! If we lioo long, the foxes will eat us alive!” It felt nothing like QA testing; back then, dying was insequential. Here, every sound, every danger, felt real. Was this the true draw of a live game?

  The air was icy, biting through our flimsy gear, but finally, I spotted oal—a small clearing, familiar from my test runs. I gestured to Lucas to lie low, and we dropped to the ground just in time. A colossal red fox, easily twice our size, prowled close, sniffing the air. It was terrifyingly close, its fur a deep crimson in the moonlight, its powerful frame moving with predatrace.

  [Frexie Lv.5]Type: 5-epic Boss | HP: 600/600Lucas crept closer than I would’ve liked, his side pressed against mine as he whispered in my ear, “Charlie, you’re insane. My spark spell maxes out at 6 damage—it’d take me two hours to kill that thing, and I’d be out of mana way before that.”

  A triumphant grin spread ay face. “True, my dear mage. You’d need a full party with det gear for this boss. But with my exploit, you take it down, even if it takes a couple of days. Frexie drops some valuable loot, like crafting materials. And most importantly, there’s a special beer recipe. Whoever scores the first kill has a guaranteed ce to get it, and we could make hundreds of gold brewing that beer.”

  Lucas blihen gave me a side hug, chug. “Damn, Charlie, when there’s booze involved, you’re first in line.” Before I could push him off, our whispered scheming was interrupted by intense cries of battle pierg the still night.

  We broke apart quickly, dug low and creeping back from Frexie’s territory, hiding in the cover of nearby bushes. My heart pounded as I felt a surge of instinctive fear. The night air was thick with tension, and my hands shook a bit. I used to be a fearless champion of Izatiel…

  “Ah, two lovebirds at level one, sneaking around the dark forest! How romantic!” A high-pitched female voice rang out from behind us. “But there’s no time for romance, sweethearts. Frexie is ours, and don’t even think about sabotaging us.”

  How had I missed her approach? Me, a former warrior known fince. ht. Level-one priestess. Anger fred up, hot and fast, and I gripped my pitiful staff so hard it bent.

  The girl wasn’t alone—she had a full team with her. From a quick s, I ted two tanks, a padin, two mages — including her —, and two healers. A solid setup for taking down a high-level boss. It was impressive; the game had only been live for a few hours, so they were likely a well-prepared guild. I remembered Ian’s adviever mess with a guild. Wait… wasn’t he also pying the live game?

  I nodded silently, retreating. But not Lucas. He gred at her, his face twisted in stubborn defiance. I shot him a warning gnce, but he’d already started, his voice low and challenging. “Who do you think you are? We were here first!”

  My heart raced again, the familiar panic seeping in. I wao stop him, to say something—anything—but the words wouldn’t e. My mouth opened, but no sound escaped. Why did this game feel so real that I was having a full-blown panic attack?

  Lucas’s remark only seemed to fuel her anger. She stomped ring daggers. “Who am I? You really don’t know who you’re dealing with, do you?” Her voice echoed through the trees, and in the distance, a howl pierced the night. The otion had attracted the monsters. Nice move, genius.

  I shot Lucas an exasperated look, silently pleading for him to back down, but he was fuming, ign me.

  “I don’t care! You don’t own Frexie! What if we pull other foxes over here? What’ll you do then? Kill us?” That was enough. With a loud sp, I grabbed his sleeve, yanking him away.

  Her group looked on with amused smirks, like we were unruly kids. Not the arrogant sneers I’d expect from punks, the kind that sometimes wandered into Patrick’s bar ag like they owhe po, they seemed fident, secure. Maybe she just wahe first kill for her guild? Not that it mattered. I o get out of here before I pletely lost trol.

  “Scram, or I’ll sughter you,” she shough her gaze softened slightly as it met mine. “See, your sweetheart here is the sensible one. Hurry along.” She lifted her staff proudly. “Remember the name Lisa, the Fire Goddess!”

  One of her priests sighed, shaking his head as he whispered something to her. Meanwhile, Lucas opened his mouth to fire back, but I quickly cmped a hand over it and dragged him away. Lisa. The name rang a bell. I heard of her in the game’s pvp tours; maybe she was more famous than I remembered? She used to be quite strong, but then fell out of the glory.

  Once we were safely out of earshot, Lucas fumed. “Charlie, what was that? You just stood there and then pulled me away like a coward!”

  I avoided his gaze, still pulling him along as the sounds of spells and battle echoed through the forest. The foxes were swarming around Lisa’s group. “You know why. Remember that girl we met at the bar in high school?”

  He let me guide him, still grumbling. “Fine, fine. I know you get nervous around people. But this is a video game, Charlie! If you ’t stand up to bullies here, then where you?”

  “We don’t need Frexie,” I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper. I couldn’t meet his eyes, so I focused on moving ahead. He gnced back toward the clearing, where he could see sparks flyiweerees. “Please, let’s just go.” With a long sigh, he finally followed. “Don’t worry, Lucas. We’ll find something eveer.”

  “Yeah, I know, I know. You’re right—they’re stronger and outnumber us.” He hesitated. “I just… got excited. What you said about the drops… Thing is, I’ve got debt collectors breathing down my neck.”

  “You realize we’re not making much money in the beginning, right?” I replied, trying to ground his expectations. If I’d been a warrior, I’d already be charging through level-tes. “I ’t promise anything as exg as Frexie, but trust me—Goolems are fun to catch, and they drop det loot. You’ll see!”

  Lucas kept moving forward, driven purely by willpower. They’d been pying for over four hours, and under normal circumstances, he’d have cracked open his third energy drink by now. But could he afford to quit with her beside him? Charlie, as cheerful as ever, was hopping from boulder to boulder, her energy unfgging as they passed through the rugged mountains.

  Not only does he look like Charlie, but she acts like her, too. That same lively spark… well, John needed a few whiskeys to get there, but it’s close enough. He wrestled with his thoughts. Should I have let her memo, buried my feelings along with her? Am I just being selfish, holding onto this? He watched her, pain and longing swirling within him. But he—she—is my friend. I risk losing her again?

  They entered a new region, and she stopped, leaning against a rock, gring at the ground. “e on, Lucas! Ground trol to captain Lucas! What are you so lost in thought about?” She poio the ground, swaying her head to get his attention. “So, you dig here or not?”

  “Dig here? Why the heck would we dig?” Lucas raised an eyebrow, half-w if it was a good idea to keep following her. Not just because of his feelings, but because Dexter had messaged him, excitedly reting his own dungeon advehe normally clumsy, game-i Dexter had already reached level 2.

  “I told you earlier!” she said, rolling her eyes. “Or were you too busy daydreaming about energy drinks?” She squatted, iing the dirt with her small hands, then shot him a mischievous look. “Or maybe you were ogling my boobs again?”

  Without waiting for an answer, she started digging, usiaff and even her bare hands. Lucas stood frozen, half-sidering ditg her to catch up with Dexter. This whole digging p insane. Was something weird about the ID transfer? He needed money, or he’d be as good as dead in real life.

  She dirtied her robe in the process, and the staff looked like it might snap at any moment. “Lucas, if you don’t help me, this’ll take forever. Damn Nathan, damn stamina—I ’t even dig a hole without feeling exhausted.” Seeing her like that tugged at his heart, and he finally nodded, sinking to his ko dig beside her, the ground soft and cool beh his fingers.

  It took over an hour, but eventually, they had a hole over three feet deep. Somehow, the simple act of diggi strangely fulfilling. Probably because I’m with the girl I love, he thought, though he brushed it off. She mentioned wanting the hole deeper, and he rolled his eyes, flopping onto the grass as she wandered off to “pull something in.”

  A faint rumble woke him from his light doze, and he blirying to focus on the figure sprinting toward him in the distance. What the—? He scrambled to his feet, readying himself for a fight.

  It was Charlie, sprinting barefoot, pursued by strainy figures. They looked like stone-skinned children, barely three feet tall, with oversized, round heads and bck stones for eyes.

  “Move!” she called out, not daring to gnce back. Lucas leapt out of her way, and she unched herself gracefully over the hole. Her three pursuers, uo stop, tumbled in after her.

  “There you go! Monster-catg, as easy as impressing Empress!” she cheered, then colpsed onto the ground, panting. “But that run… absolutely exhausting.” The creatures below thrashed against the hole’s walls, their limbs scraping with a grating, ro-rock sound each time they moved.

  [Goolem Lv.9]Type: 3-rare mini-Boss | HP: 480/480Lucas felt a shiver run through him. Level nine mini-bosses? He turo Charlie, voice shaking. “Mind telling me what exactly these things are?”

  Charlie, still sprawled on the ground, pointed up at the sky with a grin, her eyes gleaming. “Our feast!”