Chapter 10

"WHERE THE HELL DID THIS PERSON EVEN GO?! DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT, HOW WAS I TO KNOW WE WOULD LOSE THEM?!" 

Echoed in the eerie silence of the forest and the leaves whistled while the dark sea reacted to the booming and powerful voice. The three party numbers flinched and looked up before taking battle stances and turning their backs to each other so that they could look out for the upcoming threat. They were looking worse for wear. Their appearance was ruffled and torn and their eyes wide and scared showcasing what they had seen and experienced in the past few days. The blood they had bled wasn't visible due to the coding in the game but their Health Points were below the middle and their Thirst and Stamina Points were dropping. 

That's when the surface of the sea broke suddenly and a muscular arm appeared brandishing the deadliest fantastic sword that caught the light of the midday sun and shone brilliantly. It turned the sword around and drove the sharp edge into the soil to use as leverage. As the gloved palm gripped the handle and the rest of the body started coming out of the murky water, the party took some cautious steps back but they kept their curious and terrified eyes on the unknown entity. 

That's when a wet, snowy snout appeared right next to the hand with a snarling expression. The man pulled himself up and then helped the begrudging wolf that seemed readier to snap at his forearm than to accept any help. They stood menacingly, dripping frigid water and exuding danger. The man was cloaked and the wolf had a haughty expression and what looked like icy blue markings on his fur. The party felt like they were done for. Their weapons were crude and practically useless while their levels could never compete with such a creature. 

Still, the leader of the group, with shaking demeanor but defiant fire in her eyes, moved as quickly as she could in front of the hulking man. Before he could be triggered and attack them, she decided to take advantage of his cooling down effect and rushed to take him by surprise and shave off some HP. Apart from that, she was hoping to get some identification on the creature or even see if it would trigger a quest at her proximity. So she got up on his face and punched him hard. The two men accompanying her gasped and got ready to counteract any debuffs or aggro reactions coming their way but taking everyone by surprise, the man collapsed unceremoniously on his behind and threw his arms up. The wolf huffed in disappointment but following the man's lead, sat on his hindquarters and looked way as if to show he wasn't a threat.

"We surrender!" He shouted and his voice was boyish and scared. The leader of the party looked back at the others perplexed and surprised before she reached out with her spear and undid the man's hood with the stone edge. She cocked an eyebrow and stood there frozen in disbelief. Underneath the cloak wasn't some mighty and legendary man but a messy haired brunette teenager with brown doe eyes and shaking from the cold.

                                ***

Jumping right behind that flickering apparition may have been the dumbest idea I have ever had during my time there. I had definitely done dumber stuff in my life outside this dreamscape so I wouldn't even try to make a comparison. Getting to make a wolf fr-, okay more like acquaintance, out of it was a big bonus but the novelty of our racing and my scales had run off fairly quickly and I was left with endless dark waves in every direction I could look to. My limbs were starting to get really tired and heavy and my health, stamina and thirst were dropping in very concerning bouts. 

My companion was also starting to look worse for wear and his breath was coming harder and harder as he tried to stay afloat while hitting all four legs below the water. He was still endlessly arrogant and a show off, however, so I couldn't tell the exact extent of struggle he was experiencing. 

So if you ask me how or when we finally found land or how had I even managed to maintain my grip on the sword, I would be helpless to answer your questions. I blinked and that very green island was suddenly right in front of me. Right when I was about to start giving up and my heart was beating slower and slower. 

Was I expecting to come across other people the moment I set foot in that foresty landscape? Absolutely not. Was it a good surprise because it meant I wasn't alone in there and I wouldn't have to rely on that asshole of a wolf for interaction? YES. Was it concerning that they seemed to consider me a threat and they outnumbered me? I think that punch was all the answer you should need. I think it broke a tooth or two. Did stuff that break or get cut in the game, regrow or would I be doomed to be toothless for the remainder of my time there?! Seriously, before I even got a cool scar or something, I lost teeth?!

"Do you think he is a boss?"

"Boss?" Okay, I could work with this. These people had obvious perfect taste and recognition skills. I was DA BOSS.

"I don't think so. No name popped up when I punched him and he wouldn't have been so easily thrown" Ouch. Not in a mood for compliments anymore, huh? Did that girl not get satisfied when she bruised my mouth and now she was going for my ego too?! "Also, we are in the very first location of the game. Do you think such a big boss was going to appear now?"

"How can we know? We know nothing about this place! We don't even know if it works like an actual game or if it is a game." Uh uh, my dream people were starting to get self-conscious. Did that mean soon would be the time I would wake up? But it was just starting to get interesting here! 

"What if he's an NPC?"

"NPC?" How could it be that they were talking japanese but I was only understanding a quarter of their interactions at best? I felt a paw on my leg. I looked down and met Lainax imploring eyes. He wanted us to get out of there now that we had the chance. For him, there was no point in this interaction, apart from unnecessary danger. For me, it was the first actual human interaction I had in a while and I really wanted to understand more about what was going on here. Apart from the fact that going into this adventure solo wasn't even half the fun.

"Again, no name popped up. Also, no question mark and he talked before we interacted with him" Why were they talking about me as if I was like Erlong?

"Well, your first definitely interacted with his face" The huge muscular man snickered and even the shorter and leaner grumpy guy cracked a smile at that. Before it quickly got snuffed out as he seemed to consider something.

"If he isn't a boss or an NPC, that means..." The impending sense of doom as they seemed to be judging my fate right in front of me came at its climax when he suddenly looked up from the ground and straight into my eyes with the accuracy of an arrow. "What department are you from?" His voice was cold and suspicious. 

I smiled awkwardly and scratched my head. I had no idea gaming had such formal terms nor what they could mean. I didn't want to feel left out though.

"Department? Like class? Maybe, blacksmith?" I wasn't even sure if I could qualify as that one but it was the only thing I could do. When I had raised both arms in the air, I had dropped my sword and it had disappeared into thin air so I certainly wasn't a warrior. 

"Not another nerd" The grumpy one face palmed and gritted through his teeth. The tall and muscly one came straight into my face with googly eyes behind his eccentric lightning-like glasses and he took my hands in his.

"Finally, someone worthy"