My eyes burned with anger as I gred at the mage, wishing my gaze alone could strike him down. “You’re pying with fire,” I growled.

  He only ughed, and then—of course—let out a fart so loud it echoed through the training grounds. The smell followed immediately, an assault on my senses so intense my eyes watered and my stomach ed.

  I nearly smacked him again, but my survival instincts kicked in just in time. Hitting him now would only spread the stink.

  Katherine, ever the opportunist, gnced between us, shook her head, and turoward the training raeer, she was in motion, her sword slig ly through a dummy in one fluid move. Before the dummy could even recover its bance, she spun and attacked again, her footwork clumsy, arikes noobish. But damiful.

  Meanwhile, the farting mage waved his hand and summoned a chair beh his oversized, stinking backside. “Even if your whip were as strong as your words,” he said, settling in with a satisfied sigh, “I wouldn’t regret helping our princess. It was an honor.”

  My attention had been stolen—temporarily!—by Katherine’s stunning dispy of… her skill. John, stop it. She’s not a lesbian, and you’re Charlie. Focus!

  A gentle sp to my cheek brought me back to the versation, and I redirected my simmering a the mage. “Hmpf. Yes, I persuaded the Queen to ate me.” Okay, maybe I was infting my aplishments, but who cared?

  Who were they, anyway, to question my title?

  A thought struck me like lightning—Wait. These two must be strong. Why else would the Queen trust them? Narrowing my eyes, I demanded, “Are you part of her pn too? Will you fight my army?”

  Lily stepped forward, her moal presence almost overshadowing the mage. “Yes,” she said simply, her voice calm and resolute. “The Queen graced us with her wisdom, and reciate your uping sacrifices.”

  Then, to my shock, she lifted her massive hands and performed a bow so low and formal it could have been ripped from an a Asian ceremony. “Your uping perils dishearten me,” she tinued, her voice filled with solemnity, “but to preserve our path of existence, we are ready to py our part.”

  “Stop…” I said, my voice faltering as I raised a hand to halt her. But then I froze, my cheeks heating. “No way…”

  I stared at her, sck-jawed. “But—but—her army…” My voice trembled, struggling to piece together the implication of her words.

  “We do not desire saving,” Lily said with a serene smile. “We’ll fight. And wheimes es, we will bolster her undead battalion.”

  The weight of her words settled heavily in the air. They’re all willing to die. Sacrifice themselves, even.

  Why? This was a mi I never uood. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen it. Men under my and had run toward certaih with smiles on their faces, shouting for their try.

  My and? A quest probably, I don’t remember details… Was this… belonging?

  There had never been a ce I’d risk my life like that. When enlisted in Africa’s wars, I stayed far from the frontline. I am not a hero, and I don’t want to be.

  But these people? They were marg willingly to their deaths.

  “Let’s go,” Katherine said, clutg my hand and pulli of the barracks.

  Her touch, warm and steady, and the way her hair swayed so close to my face, muted any protests I might’ve had. I gnced back at the trainers, a grin creeping onto my lips. Maybe it’s better this way. Less talking with future enemies—o give them ammo.

  “Sorry. Why are you so nervous?” I asked, letting her lead me. Her firm grip wasn’t helping my focus—if anything, it was deepening my grin. e on, Charlie, get it together! “We’ve been pying for over half a day. Do you need a break?” I tried to ge the subject, proud of myself for even attempting to steer the versatioing the hang of this social stuff!

  Katherine suddenly stopped, turning bae, and I walked right into her.

  I barely registered the soft oof of the impact before I realized I was now in her embrace. “No. Third version’s good. I fot…” she mumbled, her cheeks visibly flushing. She hugged me tighter, almost as if trying to hide her embarrassment.

  Was she thinking I didn’t have the same model?

  I let her hold me for a moment before whispering, “Don’t worry. I’ve got Mark Three as well. How much time do you have left?”

  Her grip loosened, and she pulled back just enough to show me her wide, fused eyes. “Wat?”

  “The remaining time before you have to log out,” I crified. “You know, to take the mandatory six-hour break. Ask the system.”

  Turning my attention inward, I called out silently, System, my time?

  [You safely py for another: 32 hours 12 minutes 3 seds]Katherine furrowed her brow, her gaze fixed on some invisible s. Then, as if a switch flipped, she gifted me one of her deep, disarming smiles. “A lot. Thanks. Wat now?”

  “I’m hungry,” I said, already moving out. “What about you? Let’s eat!”

  She sighed but nodded, falling into step beside me. This day wasn’t going the way I’d expected—at all.

  Thanks to Katherine’s impatience, I barely got to enjoy the meal. The moment we paid, she practically dragged me out of the inn without so much as a gnce back.

  Lucas is still offline. Weird.

  “Hey, Kit,” I said, trying to sound casual as we walked. “I o che a friend. What if we each take a ten-minute break?”

  She shrugged, her usual carefree grin lighting up her face. “I’ll edit vids, no prob!” And just like that, she logged off.

  I let out a long sigh, watg her avatar fade into nothingness. “Guess it’s break time for me too.” I opehe menu and logged off.

  The transition was as annoying as always. The moment I exited my capsule, reality felt heavier, colder, and far less fiving. That faint disect, like I wasn’t quite anchored ba my body, lingered as I y dowo the capsule, closed my eyes, and tried to ter myself.

  “Miss Charlie, wele home,” came the crisp, metallic voice of Tin-.

  “Good evening-m. Or… whatever it is,” I mumbled, waving a hand vaguely in the air. Anh escaped me, the weight of the day’s frustrations bubbling uhe surface. “Tin-, could you please tact Lucas?”

  “ive, Miss Charlie,” Tin- replied smoothly. “I attempted to ect, but all his devices are set to do not disturb mode. He must open the els first.”

  I groaned, rubbing my temples. “Stupid Lucas,” I muttered, rolling onto my side. “I wonder what is he doing? I hope not borrowing another million…”

  As the familiar tang of my sweat hit me, I winced. “Ugh. Better than that mage, but still…” I muttered, wrinkling my nose.

  Dragging myself up, I shuffled toward the bathroom. The hot water pounded down on me, washing away the grime and, with it, some of the frustration ging to me. For a moment, the world felt less suffog.

  Fresh and a bit more clear-headed, I returo the capsule. With a deep breath, I slid ba, ready to reenter Rimelion.

  “Level up!” was the first thing I heard when I logged in. Katherine was waiting and dragging me already. “So close!” was her excuse as we now stood at the edge of the vilge. The dense forest loomed before us, its thick opy casting a shadow over the dirt path that stretched into the wilderness.

  “Sure,” I said, pointing toward the trees. “But we o go there. You up for it?”

  Her smile faltered for a sed, and she stood silently, waiting for me to take charge.

  “You’re so predictable,” I said, shaking my head with a small grin.

  As we left the vilge, the bustling noise of pyers faded. Many of them cluttered the path’s sides, shouting the usual nonsense about f parties. Though we needed a mage, the thought of pig a random one from this lot didn’t sit well with me.

  Katherine, less wary of strangers, didn’t share my reluce. She approached a man sitting on a cheap wooden fes frame so thin it seemed a miracle the fence hadn’t already colpsed. The man wore a red, baggy robe a his face hiddeh a ridiculously rge hood.

  “You mage,” she said simply, her toter-of-fact. “Need mage. arty?”

  The man tilted his head slightly, her in silehen, finally, he shrugged. “Yeah, why not? Where are you headed?”

  My ce! “It’s far,” I interjected quickly. “You probably don’t want to py that long.” Before Katherine could say anything, I pced a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “We’ll fight along the way, but it’s hours from any vilge. There’s a hidden dungeon, but it might not even have good loot.”

  My disdain robably written all over my face. Please, just say no and walk away.

  “Fine by me,” he said, standing with surprising energy. Dusting off his robe, he pulled back his hood to reveal short blonde hair and sharp features. “Pying with cute girls is always fun.” He grinned as if he’d just handed us a pliment.

  “Tramar, at your service! I’ve got fireball and fire floor spells, so I’ve got you covered. I’m level seven.”

  “Fine,” I muttered, moving closer to Katherio vent my irritation. I tried squeezing her arm to calm myself, but her armor only left me with a sore hand. God, my strength is pathetic.

  “We ’t take horses,” I added, trying to refocus. “The forest will be too deo navigate on horseback.”

  We trekked through the forest for about an hour before the derees and humid air slowed our pace. The thick green opy above us filtered out most of the sunlight, casting the path in shadow. The only versation we’d had was introdug ourselves by name. Katherine wasn’t much for talking, and I… I was thinking.

  Since when do I think so much?

  My uping fight with Irwen haunted me, a stant presen the bay mind. The stress felt like an invisible weight pressing against my chest. Is this what stress feels like?

  When people talked about stress, I never uood. If I had a problem, I avoided it. Simple. But now… Now, there are more problems than drinks.

  The NPCs’ willio throw their lives away wasn’t my . I couldn’t do anything about it, could I? Even with the seal suppressing Irwen’s power, she could probably kill me effortlessly.

  I sighed, shaking the thoughts away. Focus on the present.

  Our formation was straightforward: Katheriook point, and Tramar and I followed. I hated to admit it, but Tramar’s athletic build rivaled Lucas’s. Despite having just met him, I found my eyes wandering—stupid hormohe way his biceps stretched his robe was… distrag. I prefer girls!

  “Hun, haven’t you mentioned monsters?” Tramar’s voice broke my thoughts. “We’ve seen nothing so far. But now…” He trailed off, looking into the derees. “I sense something faint.”

  “So what?” I snapped, a his tone. He wasn’t wrong. The jungle should have been swarming with monsters, but we’d entered nothing. “It is strange,” I admitted grudgingly.

  A low growl reached my ears, sending a chill down my spine.

  “Wait,” I said, pausing. “I hear it too.”

  Before anyone could respond, the growl transformed into a deafening roar. A powerful gust of wind surged through the forest, clearing the white mist that g to the ground.

  [You are stuime remaining: 6s][??? Lv.15]Type: 5-epic Boss | HP: 1800/1800“We’re toast.”