A New Voyage Awaits

PriceOfFreedom accepted your request to join the party.

Frustration seeped through that nickname. I hated how much I related to Daiki’s feelings. Freedom was pretty much unattainable these days. He had risked jail time by deserting, and here I was, about to take his freedom back from him. Even though it was the right thing to do, it didn’t feel right. I felt like the worst person in the world.

It was an open-world RPG where the players could team up and defeat the bosses together. I never played this game, so I skimmed through the guide and tried to get the gist of it as fast as I could while they discussed strategies. Memorizing the controls and map was nothing compared to military history.

The account that Sergeant Nishi had borrowed—I was sure he had hacked the account—was loaded with top-tier paid equipment. This would make the game easier to breeze through. Had the original owner of the account splurged on all of it? Or had Sergeant Nishi hacked his way into getting everything? Then again, it was better if I didn’t know. A guilty conscience could easily weigh me down. And to catch a Drifter, I needed to stay sharp before he slipped away.

Our party consisted of three: Daiki as a mage, Hideo as a priest, and me as an archer. It felt odd that the party was limited to just us. Surely there were other archers and priests who would have wanted to join him. Why us? What made us stand out? Was this setup part of Sergeant Nishi’s plan too?

Then I saw the reason, displayed in bright yellow next to my nickname: Rank 3. The account I was using was ranked in the top three on the server, with Hideo’s at Rank 2. Was this another one of Sergeant Nishi’s brilliant ideas? Borrowing two of the top three accounts to make Daiki want to team up with us?

Sergeant Nishi was asking too much from us. What made him think that we could pull off acting like players ranked second and third?

A few dungeon runs later, Daiki hadn’t commented on our plays. The bow I had equipped allowed me to hit targets without really aiming. It had a somewhat auto-target feature, which worked in my favor. This weapon should have not been allowed in the game. It was basically cheating. Selling a gear like this at high price would tip the balance way too far between low spenders and high spenders.

I looked up from the holographic screen and noticed that there were fewer players than earlier. Several rows of tables were empty. Enma must have started evacuating them one at a time so that Daiki wouldn’t notice. As I scanned the room, I caught Daiki’s piercing gaze fixed on me. My breath hitched.

PriceOfFreedom: Hey, guys. How’s life in the military?

Most men our age were soldiers, except for those lucky enough to get exemptions. It was only natural for him to assume we were in the army as well, just taking a day off.

Calm down. Don’t panic.

PriceOfFreedom: I know you guys are coming to get me.

Shit.

My first thought was to notify the others. I quickly spoke into my earpiece in a low voice, “Target is on alert. Enma, block the exit.”

Less than a minute later, Enma responded, “Done. I’ve notified all the gamers still inside. Figured this might happen. Try to keep the damage to a minimum.”

Since this was my first mission with so little instructions, my mind was racing. I didn’t have a weapon to subdue him. Rummaging aimlessly through my pocket, I found only my handcuffs and ID watch. What good would the handcuffs be if I couldn’t restrain him first?

With his expertise in hand-to-hand combat and solid build, Hideo could take him down easily. If only he would cooperate with me. But saying anything would just piss him off. He didn’t like to take suggestions, especially from me. So the best thing I could do now was buy time for Hideo and hope that he would handle this. He sat right next to him, anyway.

GhostArrow: What gives us out?

I tossed out a random question. Anything to slow him down. Looking up from my screen, I met Hideo’s eyes. He nodded, signaling me to keep Daiki occupied. I knew him well enough to sense the threat beneath that look.

PriceOfFreedom: I heard his handcuffs clanking in his pocket.

GhostArrow: We’ll take note of that. Do you want to share with us why you chose to desert?

PriceOfFreedom: You’re new at this, aren’t you?

A loud bang erupted from the corner. Hideo had made his move, snapping one cuff onto Daiki’s wrist. But before he could secure the other, Daiki slammed the table to the ground, vaulted over it, and bolted. While Hideo chased after Daiki, I sprinted to the exit to cut off his escape. Other gamers ducked under their tables to avoid getting caught in the chaos. Even if some were soldiers on their day off, they weren’t keen on helping us do our job.

Daiki’s lean frame and quick reflexes allowed him to weave easily through the aisles and dodge Hideo’s tackles. After maneuvering Hideo into a tangle of tables, he reached the exit in no time, stopping face-to-face with me.

“Please come with us calmly, Daiki. We don’t have to do this,” I said, trying to stall just long enough for Hideo to catch up. Taking him down alone wasn’t an option.

“Tell me, do you like it there? Why don’t you just come with me?” Daiki said, his gaze locking at the door behind me.

An idea struck me as I followed his gaze to the door switch. Enma had blocked the exit, so it wouldn’t open even if he tried to.

“Of course not. Who in their right mind would like it?” I stepped aside, pretending to be tempted, though it was actually hard to resist. “Fine. Let’s get out of here.”

Daiki tapped his hand on the switch that would automatically slide the door open. The moment his hand reached it, I grabbed the cuff dangling from his left wrist and cuffed myself to him. Then I dropped to the ground, pulling him down with me. By the time I hit the floor, Hideo had caught up and helped pin Daiki with his weight.

“Target secured,” I announced.

“On my way,” Enma replied through the earpiece.

Daiki no longer showed any will to resist. I let myself relax and caught my breath. The chase hadn’t really exhausted me, but the anxiety had drained all my energy. All of this from one mission. So many more awaited us, and I wasn’t thrilled.

“You guys are lucky,” Daiki said while the three of us stayed lying on the ground. “You’re not on your day off, yet you can still go out and play games. We all have to work incredibly hard just to earn one day off. You will never understand how the rest of us feel.”

Before I could say anything, Hideo beat me to it. “If you feel envious of us, then what do you think about the rest of the soldiers in the military? Do you think they would sit back and do nothing? Trust me. I understand.”