Naturally, the journey was anything but quiet—quite the opposite. Hordes of floaters assaulted us relentlessly, turning the trip into a hellish battle. The fight raged on, and just as exhaustio in, the attacks finally ceased when we he isnd.

  With the st Floater sin, the captai out his favorite line: “I have a bad feeling about this.” I shook my head and shot him an annoyed gre before kig the Floater’s lifeless body bato the sea, mimig his move from the day before. My attention shifted to the distance, where a opaque, smoke-white mist cloaked the isnd. Only the tip of a needle-like mountain pierced through the shroud.

  As I squi the mist, a shadow fell over me. Instinctively, I tensed, but before my worry could bloom, the captain’s rge hand nded on my shoulder. His grin, iious, was now mixed with unease. “We ’t go he isnd. The waters are dangerous. We ’t navigate Love through it without magic aid.”

  “Love?” I stepped back, dodging what felt like the beginnings of an unwanted hug, and turo face him, more disturbed by the ge in his tohan his antics.

  “That’s the name of our ship!” he bellowed, his grin widening before he waved to a nearby sailor. “Take the Briggit. She’ll get ya there safely. Hey, Mason! Briggit down!”

  The sailor, muscles rippling, unhooked a pathetic excuse for a boat from the ship’s side. His silver bounced against his chest as he worked, and the dinghy smmed into the water below, sending salty spray in all dires. Wonderful.

  I jumped into the little boat, with Don close behind. Above us, the crew called down their good luck wishes and a half-hearted apology. You don’t say. I resisted the urge to call them out on their lie—they could have sailed closer. I k, even if officially, I wasn’t supposed to know in this life. Their Love was missing a few sails, after all.

  I wi Don, who grunted in response, and took my pce at the rear. He frowned as I nudged a paddle with my foot. “e on, Don. The boat won’t row itself.”

  The storm in his eyes was almost enough to make me ugh, but despite his simmering anger, he grabbed the paddles and rowed. A teasing “good boy” hovered at the tip of my tongue, but I bit it back, smirking instead as I turned my attention to the system menu. I was turning into a snarky princess-girl from warrior-man John.

  My intelligeat was at fifty-five—not bad, better than most pyers, though the ranked priests were likely pushing a huo even approach their level, I’d least one epic item. What a foolish jourhis is. Sure, the XP was nice, but exceptional items would do more for my growth than any experience. And if all else failed? I’d just exploit the game. Easy, right?

  The momeered the mist, a strange sensation stabbed at my heart. A wave of exhaustion washed over me, as if I’d plunged into icy water in the dead of winter. My chest tightened, and my breath grew heavy. My mind drifted, memories bubbling to the surfabidden. What? Was this… an illusion?

  I was back at the peak of the Mountain of the Shrieks, gleaming bck armor that shimmered faintly uhe crimson-hued sky. In my hand was a legendary dark sword, its obsidian bde emanating an ominous aura. As I stood before the enormous cave entrance, I noticed the ountain air prig against my skin. And, as a guy in this visio’s just say I was well-equipped—thank god I couldn’t trol this dream, or I might’ve gotten… distracted before cheg out the cave.

  The cave’s edges were rugged, as if a colossal creature had forced its way inside, g through the mountain’s heart. The details firmed what I’d already learhis was a dragon’s , and not just any dragon. A nasty one. With fident strides, I approached, my boots g against loose gravel. Subtlety? Nah, not my style. This dragon was a level-200 beast, but I strode iy levels short and alone. You think that’ll stop me?

  As I ehe cave’s shadowed maw, a flicker of movement caught my eye. Suddenly, ten armored knights surged forward from the depths. The dim light revealed their faces—grim, determined, unyielding. I fshed them a wide, cocky smile.

  “Stop, stranger! You have no business here,” barked one of them, his voice eg through the cavern. The man stepped forward, his -mail king with every movement. He was the leader, no doubt about it. “My name is Ry Baradeer, and I and this order. Leave while you still .”

  His men fnked me in a practiced formation, their ons drawn and glinting faintly in the cave’s dim light. I lowered my sword, pretending to size him up while I he state of his gear. His -mail ractically falling apart, a patchwork of metal barely holding together.

  “Ry, if you bite the dust now, your family will be crushed,” I said, my voice calm but cutting. “Don’t waste your life guarding that old, stupid beast. You don’t owe it anything.”

  Despite my fident words, my grip tightened on my shield. Ten knights were no joke, not even for me. Sweat beaded on my forehead as Ry furrowed his brows aed his massive Warhammer of Storms, its ented head crag faintly with energy.

  “My master is the mighty dragon proteg our people! Your insults will not go unpunished!” he roared. Raising his on high, he anded, “Dragon knights! Kill him!”

  The first strike came fast. Ry’s war hammer crashed into my shield with a force that vibrated through my entire arm, nearly tearing the shield from my grasp. Damn, that’s strohan I expected. Staggering back a few steps, I barely had time to recover before the rest of the knights closed in. They moved with incredible coordination, their attacks synized.

  “And here I thought I found a bug…” I muttered, my voice dry with resignation as I prepared for the iable. Their strikes rained down like an uing storm. My armor absorbed some blows, but not enough. The pain wasn’t unbearable—it was swift. In a fsh, everythi bck.

  “Princess!” Don’s voice shook me awake. “What happened? Why are you sleeping?”

  He kept firing questions, oer the other, but my brai like mosses—hazy and sluggish. What the hell? Why was I asleep? And dreaming about a random test run, of all things? With a sihought, I summohe interface, its familiar gloing into view.

  Ah. I’ve been pying for aire day, that’s why. My eyes flicked to the cloo way it glitched, right? It revealed I’d slept for two hours, though it felt like seds.

  While I was busy reliving old test runs, Don had been hard at work, rowing us closer to the isnd. The sight that greeted me was stark—a white beach that shimmered like bone in the eerie light, a massive mountain rising behind it, casting craggy shadows that merged with the ever-present fog. The isnd seemed to shiver with mystery, veiled and unreachable beyond the mist. Only the fai outline of the peak broke through the dense, smoky gray.

  “So, how are you enjoying our trip so far, Don?” I asked.

  No response.

  I shrugged, watg as he dragged our little boat onto the beach with a grunt, tying it to a nearby rock with a practiced hand. He then flopped down onto the sand, muttering, “Princess… not funny,” before closing his eyes as if the world had defeated him.

  Leaving him to his well-deserved rest, I plopped dowo him and opened my minimap. That’s strahe map showed nothing—just an expanse of blue. Acc to it, we were still in the middle of the sea. No isnd. No beach. Just water. What the hell?

  What’s a seasoned gamer to do when things turn strange? Keep going, of course! “Don, stop wasting time. Let’s go. Somewhere on this isnd is an army of undead soldiers. Let’s find it.”

  He groaned but rose to his feet, casting a tired gnce around. “Where? With this damn fog, I ’t even see your butt.”

  Sp. My hand ected with his face, the sharp sound eg through the mist. Ign his shocked expression, I stomped toward the mountain, kig sand up with every step.

  Did I mention the heat? It was unbearable. My clothes g to me like a drunk to their dignity—barely hanging on and pletely unfttering. The heat, the malfuning minimap, the relentless fog—it was all so damn annoying. But I was a veteran gamer. These were minor inveniences.

  Or so I told myself.

  The reality was far less noble. My frustration boiled over, and I kicked the sand hard enough to send it flying in every dire. “What the hell is wrong with me?” I muttered under my breath, shaking out my hands as if I could cast off my irritation with the motion.

  The mountain loomed ahead, its uneven peaks hidden by swirling mist. Somewhere up there, undead soldiers awaited. Just another day, right?

  Maybe I’d overestimated myself. There wasn’t a dungeoran sight—no trees, no pnts, nothing but barren, rod stretg endlessly before us. Alright, maybe it’s time to stop thinking like a gamer. Mais, after all, don’t follow the usual rules.

  If I were arance, where I would be? Likely at the base of the mountain, where pyers could grind their ward, battling their way through to the peak. Desperation g me. I even tried bashing the rock wall with my sword. Predictably, nothing happened.

  No way.

  “Don, how good are you at climbing?” I asked, fixing my gaze oeep, almost vertical mountain.

  He blinked a few times, following my stare. His face turned ghostly pale. “Bad? Look!” Without warning, he sprioward the rocky surfad hurled himself at it. Naturally, he failed, crashing down in a heap at the bottom.

  I gaped at him in disbelief. “Did I sp you that hard, or are you just trying to impress me with how stupid you are?”

  “You’re the stupid one!” he snapped, brushing himself off. “You ’t climb that. I just wao show you. Now, let’s go back to the ship.” He turned fidently, already making his way dowh.

  And then it happehe grouh us trembled, the low rumble reverberating through my feet. It reminded me of the time I’d stumbled onto an active volo. The mountain’s rock wall groaned and cracked open, shards of stone scraping and shifting as they revealed a hidden passage.

  That easy, huh? In a few blinks, the entraood before us. How could I fet? This was a low-level mai, not some end-game epic side optional puzzle.

  Don stopped mid-stride, gng over his shoulder with his mouth hanging open.

  “Look at that, knight Don!” I teased, stepping toward him. “Your heroiust’ve sliced open the rod cleared a path for us!” I winked and caressed his cheek mogly. “Good job. I mean it—you ope.”

  Snapping out of his stupor, Don straightened up and rushed to staween me and the entrance. “Perhaps I did something. Perhaps not. Either way, my promise stands: I’ll protect you.”

  His fideed about two seds. As we drew closer, we realized what y ahead. A pitch-bck barrier blocked the passage, swallowing every trace of light as if it were a bck hole. The surrounding air was heavy, oppressive, making our skin crawl. The thought of monsters lurking beyond it sent shivers rag down my spine.

  “Let’s go,” I said, my voice steady despite the chill biting at my resolve.