Teacher Student Bonding

A darkening forest, illuminated only by light from the setting sun, acted as Daichi's backdrop for his first excursion within Paradise. His new guild had traveled westward outside Outset and found themselves ascending a wooded hill towards their destination. Makoto led the fighters ahead, plowing through thick brush, while Daichi hung back with Sanae. Both were in the midst of casual conversation and getting to know each other.

“Wait, what do you mean you didn’t really save my life?” Daichi said. His mouth was ajar with shock. Did I miss something?

"I didn’t say anything because of Makoto, but Hoppers can’t kill you." Sanae cutely itched her cheek with her finger. "At worst they knock you unconscious. Didn’t you read their flavor text?”

“But there were tons of them! Everywhere!" Daichi looked up towards the eerie trees, afraid Hoppers would be watching from above. "Honestly, I’ll never be able to thank you enough even if I’d only be unconscious.”

Sanae’s grip on her staff tightened. The Cleric weapon was topped with a pointed, blue gemstone that sparkled even in dim light. “These days, being knocked unconscious in that area may as well be a death sentence.”

"Huh?" Didn't seem that bad there overall.

She stopped to pat off debris accumulating on her posh robe. “You’ve heard about the Defenders of Earth, right?"

"Yeah."

"Mm. Everyone calls them Dearths for short. They used to be small time crooks but now they’re a full-blown syndicate. They've started using the forest outside Dominion’s Temple as a trap for new players.”

“Like a literal trap?”

“Correct." Sanae plucked out a stray leaf from her hair. "It’s a Game Law that level 10 or higher players can't hurt level 9 or under players within Dominion’s Temple or the forest outside it. If any Adventurer breaks a Game Law, a Game Warden’s statue activates and comes to destroy them.”

“Oh, Game Wardens!” Daichi said, remembering Dominion's explanations. “You mean that statue outside the Temple, right?”

She nodded. “Game Wardens are demi-gods that address Paradise's exploitations. Imagine if perverts could just wait outside the Temple for new players and have their way with whoever they want?”

“Yeesh. Knowing how weird some guys are, I'm glad devs had enough foresight for that stuff."

The duo continued walking along again. Sanae's blue crystal atop her staff began glowing, illuminating their surroundings with cerulean light. “Crappy part is that Dearths devised a work-around for that forest: they’d recruit sublevel 10 Adventurers, specifically to find and carry back new Adventurers knocked unconscious by Hoppers. At that point the newbie would be shipped to who knows where.”

The gravitas of Sanae’s actions dawned on Daichi. For one single moment, his heart whispered sweet nothings to him. “So that’s why you stuck around while I was unconscious? Because you wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to me?”

“D-Don’t make it sound like I'm a hero!" she cutely blushed. "I had to ditch you because Makoto hates waiting, but I didn’t wanna just leave you in the open either, so I carried you somewhere safer."

"That's still really nice of you."

"Well, I'm a nice person! Dearths might’ve been around so that’s why I looked relieved when we met again.”

Relieved? Didn’t you try to deny saving me? Why is that something worth hiding? "Still, it was a huge help! Thanks bunches!" Daichi flashed his signature, friendly smile. He wasn't trying anything, but it was the same smile he'd perfected for maximum wholesomeness. 

For just a split second, Sanae seemed enamored. She couldn't hide her own attempt at a fluttering smile. "Don't mention it, haha . . ."

The duo had fallen far behind the rest of Lone Star. They both paced up a steep hill as the foliage around them thickened, while light from Sanae’s white staff shone brightly against a darkening, twilight sky.

“So, the Defenders of Earth—why do they call themselves that?” Daichi said to break the silence. “Isn’t it ironic considering they’re the bad guys?”

Sanae shone her staff further ahead, as if trying to see how near the others were. “Not sure. I heard from an old friend it’s probably to honor Tetsuya’s former lover—Tetsuya being the leader of the Dearths.”

“Just Tetsuya?" he giggled. "Wouldn’t a big shot call himself something like ‘Tetsuya the Great’ or ‘Tetsuya the Terrible’?”

"No, no," she giggled with him. "We call everyone by just their first names here, since the Playercard doesn’t display last names—for better or worse.”

“Extra privacy sounds nice, but I’d imagine bad actors get more from it than us.” Daichi nudged a branch out of his way.

“Depends. But yeah, it takes some getting used to—calling people you just met by their first names.”

"I mean, Sanae is a pretty name though . . ." He looked down towards the ground, as if flustered by his own words. I'm just being polite but I'm sounding creepy as heck! "You don't mind being called Sanae, right?"

"N-Not at all!" she cutely stammered. "Don't worry about honorifics either. No one uses them here, haha."

Daichi let out a sigh of relief, afraid he'd been doing something insensitive. “Got it. That works out perfectly for me and my sister.”

“Hmmm? Sister?”

Crap, did I say too much? But it might've been an opportune moment to mention it. “Yeah, my older sister, Kyouko. She was part of the first wave of people brought over here, when everyone's Dominion chips first started acting up.”

“Really?" Her eyes lit up. "Then she’s probably a Day One! Have you met up with her?”

Day One? "Nah, I was actually hoping Lone Star could help me find her. If not, I’ll level up as much as possible then leave the guild. My sis' means a lot to me so I gotta prioritize helping her."

Sanae stopped in her tracks. The azure light shining on her face gave off a melancholic glow. “Lone Star isn’t—Makoto isn’t a good person like that. Convincing him to do anything for free won't be easy."

"No harm in trying though." Daichi turned around to face her. "Probably, maybe?"

"I don't know. . ." she replied. An air of unsure nervousness surrounded her. "Either way, it’s gonna be a long time before you find your sister even with help.”

“Why is that?”

She stared deep into her staff’s shining crystal, as if trying to see an uncertain future. “If I’m right about her being a Day One, then she’s likely high-leveled by now. Experienced players don't hang around the southern parts of Paradise. Most move up north where the better farms and Raids are.”

“But aren’t we heading to a Raid Dungeon right now?”

Sanae tilted her head away from Daichi—a signal to keep moving. “Yeah. But this Raid is famous for bad rewards. High-level players aren't interested in hard work for little profit, so they keep away from here mostly."

Ironically, Kyouko likes hard work, Daichi smiled to himself. But she's not the kind of girl to just sit still for long either.

Sanae's explanation continued. "There’s dozens of regular Dungeons scattered around Paradise, but only six are “Raid” Dungeons—which are Dungeons with three floors instead of one, divided into three difficulties. The hardest floor is always the third and it houses a Raid Boss—the strongest enemies in Paradise.”

Daichi suddenly had second—no, third thoughts about their adventure. His pace slowed down just to process the information. “Makoto isn’t expecting us to actually fight the Raid Boss is he?”

Sanae's conflicted face was more telling than her response. “Makoto’s mind can change at the drop of a hat. If you’re not ok with that you should leave. Right now.”

"Huh?" He looked at her, hurt. “Are you kicking me out of the guild?”

“No! I’m just—I'm just worried about you. That’s all. You’re still so new but you’re already taking on the hardest Raid in Paradise."

We all gotta do things we don't want to. Daichi walked ahead of her. “I don’t like the idea much either. But like I said: I’m prioritizing finding my sister, and I gotta level up fast for that. Right now I’m almost useless, so I’ll do anything to earn my keep and convince Makoto to help me, good person or not.”

The sound of quaint, feminine steps approaching from behind him emerged, followed by a gentle tug on his sleeve. Daichi's head turned back and saw Sanae gripping his beige robe. Her bangs were drooped over, hiding her face as she trembled slightly.

“Is something wrong?” Daichi asked. He could read the worry on her face.

“Just run. Please.”

“What?”

Suddenly, a green flash and then an explosion rocked Daichi’s feet, knocking him aside. Sanae shrieked as debris bounced off her face. Dust scattered everywhere, obscuring their vision and blocking out the moon. Only two bright, green rays of light penetrated the cloud as something shambled forward.

“Woah, woah! Bloody heck! Sorry 'bout that! Hope I didn’t scare y'all too hard, ahaha!"

Dust slowly cleared. Makoto trudged down the wooded hill towards Sanae and Daichi, with green-glowing revolvers in each hand. His cowboy coat fluttered about within dusty winds as he spat out something to his side.

“Wh-What was that for?” Daichi coughed from the ground. A lingering dirt cloud prevented him from seeing the extent of his injuries. Is he a Dearth after all?

“Hey, hey! Clear the sand outta' your vagina! It's just a prank, bro! Prank!" Makoto smirked before holstering both revolvers. Their green glows faded immediately as if on cooldown.

"Prank?"

"Yessir." He popped another Wombat into his mouth and stood high over Daichi. Obnoxious chewing sounds followed. "Y’all were taking long so I came to investigate. Ain’t nothing out here our darlin' can’t handle, but ya' never know.”

Daichi looked back towards Sanae, who'd managed to stay standing. She was still using her robe's large sleeve to hide her face, but it couldn't hide the fact she was quivering. A deep breath and then an exhale preceded her sudden calm demeanor as she lowered her arm.

“Sorry for making you worry, Daichi. I'm fine." The new smile of hers was lovely, reassuring, and pleasant, but Daichi knew better than anyone when a smile was forced.

“Shit, you better be fine, girl," Makoto replied with a gruff. "I didn’t spend all that effort raising you for nothing."

Daichi's green eyes turned rabid and glared straight up at the cowboy. Acrimony sparked by animosity invigorated their surrounding air.

“Hey, what's that look, kid?" Makoto glared right back. The brim of his cowboy hat cast a sinister shade over his eyes. "Got an issue?”

As Daichi prepared to speak, he winced from the pain in his leg that absorbed most of the earlier blast. Blood soaked through his trousers and under his robe.

“He’s hurt!” Sanae yelled from the side. She got on her knees and activated a healing spell near him. Her staff’s crystal gently hummed as it took on various hues of blue, casting soft healing glows all over him. 

Daichi's HP and MP bars appeared again in the corner of his vision. He watched his health return to max then felt the bad leg wound close up. Everything was good as new, though his trousers were still a bloody mess.

“Crap! I swear I shot the ground bro!" Makoto panicked as if genuinely concerned. "My other guys can tank blasts easy but I forgot how fragile you are! Here, no more pranks from me—pinky promise!” He hunched over and offered his right pinky.

Screw off. Daichi lifted himself off the ground and ignored the cowboy's truce offer. Instead, he just patted himself off then let dust clouds puff in Makoto's face.

"Uhhh, kid? Ya' blind or something?" He still had his pinky out.

Daichi sent him one last annoyed glare. "Let's just keep going."

"Tsk." Makoto's face hid a quick scowl. He retracted his pinky then tilted his cowboy hat down to hide his eyes. “Well, just came to check how y'all were. Since you’re both fit as fiddles, why don’t you run ahead, kid? I wanna have a little chat with Sanae.”

Huh? Leaving her alone with this impulsive man felt worse than mutiny. Even in the short time he'd known Sanae, Daichi already nurtured a special attachment to her. Not only did she save his life, she was also the first person he'd bonded with since arriving in Paradise. More than other reasons though, Sanae had probably tried warning about Makoto's antics before the explosive prank. In fact, it seemed like she’d been warning Daichi to stay away from Lone Star in general right from the beginning.

But Kyouko. I need to get stronger for Kyouko . . . His fists clenched as he faced another conflicted decision.

“It’s fine, Daichi. I’ll catch up with you.” Sanae smiled warmly at him.  Her faint radiance soothed most concerns away. “Don’t worry about me.”

But Makoto came up to her face. Even with her above-average height, the cowboy still stood almost a whole head taller than her. “That’s right. We're gonna have a babble about everything you’ve told our new friend. Hope you haven’t mentioned anything problematic."

Daichi turned his back on them. Regrets welled up inside him with every step he took away, but he wouldn't let guilt be born—he couldn't. There was too much weighing him down as it was, and too much he needed to do.

Through the dark forest, he marched onwards towards the fabled Raid Dungeon.