Direction

2 Months Later

I don't know why it took me so long to piece it together, but I wound up in the world of Bident Online. Thinking back on it now, it’s crazy how it took me two whole weeks of traveling with Jordan and the rest of his party before I picked up on it. The towns are identical, many of the quests are straight from the game, and I recognized many of the monsters we encountered along the way. The guild placard glowing on my first night here should have been a dead giveaway. Since then, I’ve picked up a class and some skills.

“Hey Jun, are you done writing? Everyone else is done resting, and we're ready to dive deeper,” Jordan asked.

The rest of the party was waiting just outside, adjusting their gear and doing last-minute checks on supplies. Jun and Jordan were in a room known as a safe room. It was a space where monsters can’t spawn and normally avoid. It serves as a space where adventurers can find some respite.

“Let's aim to all hit level 40 before we head home tonight,” Jordan said.

Jordan was a tall, well-built man with medium-length scruffy purple hair, ash-red eyes, a metal breastplate, and a sword at his hip. He acted as the party's frontline warrior.

…

I recognize this path from a video tutorial I watched when I was still fairly new to Bident Online. There should be a drop overlooking a courtyard up ahead and to the left.

As the group dove deeper into the dungeon, they encountered a balcony overlooking a massive room. The drop down was far enough that once they climbed over, getting back up wouldn’t be possible. Jun took the lead and jumped over without a second thought. After collecting himself, Jun looked up and made a callout to his partymates.

“Hey Tonio, I want you to stand on this ledge and cast spells to target the monsters that spawn near the edges of the room below,” Jun ordered.

“Once attacked, they'll swarm us, but if the rest of us are down there, they'll struggle to even land a blow,” Jun further explained.

Without a second doubt the rest of the party, aside from Tonio, vaulted over the balcony to assist Jun. Jordan took the front-line position alongside Jun before the undead could march any closer. Amber lifted her mace into the air, and a light filled the wide courtyard. The light flew towards her party members and into their weapons. She had just cast an area-of-effect buff that strengthened everyone around her.

Wave after wave, the monsters were shot down, struck, sliced, and blown to bits by magic.

A few more waves of this and we’ll get out of here much stronger than before. At this pace, it’ll be a couple of months until we hit the level cap.

…

Elysia, Hopelea, Dusk

“I’d like to dedicate this toast to Jun!” Jordan belted while standing with one foot on the table.

“If it weren’t for Jun’s formal education, we wouldn’t have progressed as quickly as we have,” Jordan added.

Saying formal education kind of overvalues what I studied in school. It was just basic math, science, and literacy… Everything else was just knowledge I got from playing Bident Online.

“Jordan, I didn’t learn anything special in school,” Jun replied.

“You’re a walking encyclopedia dude. I’ve been adventuring with my sister and our friends for five years now, and every time we encounter a monster we’ve never faced before, you’re already rattling off what it’s weak to.” Jordan

Ahh he’s already flushed, and he’s already downing another ale. I’ll never understand the appeal of drinking here. The cola back home tastes a million times better anyway. I guess I haven’t given home much thought since waking up in town a few months ago.

Jun sinks into his seat and hunches over.

I’ve thought about it over and over again, but it’s still unclear what I have to do in order to get back home. I wonder if Mom and Dad are doing well. The only thing I’ve thought of that makes sense is to beat the “campaign” of Bident Online.

“Hey man, is everything alright?” Tonio shot back while looking Jun up and down.

“Yeah, I’m just thinking about my folk back home. It’s been a couple months since I’ve last seen them,” Jun replied with a pained expression.

“I don’t think I’ve told you, but my parents disowned me a couple of years back,” Tonio replied while putting a hand on Jun's shoulder.

“They hated the idea of me joining Jordan and Amber’s party. They wanted me to continue smithing to inherit my father's business.” Tonio added.

Tonio looks down at his cup of ale.

“It’s been a few years since I’ve seen them, but I still send letters back home regularly.”

The only way I can think of to get out of this rut is to beat the game.

Jun slammed his fist onto the table. “Everyone, can I have your attention?” Jun said.

“We've been bouncing around from town to town, clearing dungeon after dungeon without an end in sight.”

“So this is where we're heading next. Once we get strong enough, build up our network and reputation, we’ll behead that bastard of a demon king!” Jun yelled out loud.

The group roared in applause in celebration of their newfound purpose.

“All right, we don’t need you getting just as wasted as Jordan, Jun,” Amber said in a sarcastic tone.

The party of young men and women settled down and got back to chatting as usual.

…

Elysia, Hopelea, Night

Jun sat at the table in the tavern he stayed in for the night. The room was fairly small and had enough space for him to stretch out. Jun was thinking, sitting back, in just an undershirt and shorts. The room was only illuminated by a gas lamp that ran for short periods and put off an orange light.

I really need a better light asap,

Jun opened his journal, flipped to a clean page, and dipped his quill in ink in anticipation of writing.

We’re in the autumn season of 329, I really can’t recall what year the main questline takes place. The fact that I’ve overheard discussions about the Demon King and his antics, but not a peep from the Hero, makes me think I’ve been transmigrated sometime before the story started. This is a massive damn advantage, and I need to exploit it. The Demon King gains strength during the story at the same time the Hero does, so if I confront him well before the Hero can, hmmm.

Knock Knock!

Amber knocked heavily twice before letting herself into Jun’s room. It seems like her knocks were more of an announcement rather than an ask to be let in. Amber strode over to Jun's bed and took a seat facing him.

“Hey Jun, I came in to ask what the plan is for the party tomorrow?”

“We’ll be mapping the ‘hell mound’ dungeon. We’ll get a lay of the routes we’ll take before setting up our grinding spots for the days after.”

Amber looked up and scratched her neck.

“It sorta feels like you really stepped up as our leader,” Amber said with hesitance.

“No way. Everyone knows you and Jordan are our leaders.”

“If you say so,” Amber said while twirling her hair.

Amber leaned forward and let out an exhaust.

“After I brought the items we gathered tonight, we have more than enough to gear everyone further. More importantly, we hit B rank.”

“That’s nice to know, we’re progressing at a good rate.”

“Don’t you think we’re progressing too quickly? I mean Jordan and I spent the better part of five years getting up to C rank, and ever since you joined, we all became magnitudes of times stronger.”

“You’re dwelling on it too much. We have a bigger goal, and we’re going to do everything within our power to achieve it.”

Amber lets out another sigh, gets up, and lets herself out.

“Don’t stay up too late, Jun. Good night.”

Without paying Amber any mind, Jun went back to writing in his journal.

Tomorrow, I’ll guide the group in order to get everyone accustomed to the precarious obstacles. After we run the route to the first grinding spot, we’ll head into town and upgrade everyone's gear. Everyone should have access to higher-tier equipment. We’ll enter the dungeon the following day, and we should be able to hit fifty fairly soon…

Author's Note:

Thanks for all the support on the first chapter. Having 700 people read the first-ever work I published was insane to me.

I do see there are some technical issues with my writing, namely that I use archaic phrases, struggle with consistency in tenses, and struggle with punctuation. I will do my best to improve these pain points in my writing. I appreciate that readers are willing to disregard all of that to consume the story I’m trying to tell. Thank you.