Ashes of the Fallen

"Nah, started with archery then worked my way into axes, picked up lightning just recently actually," I replied honestly. I had no reason not to be upfront anyways, no one knew anything about lightning magic in general, since it was an unpopular proficiency. There was little risk in him or anyone else finding out I was a bit special.

"Right, figured that was the case," said Barik plainly as he turned to walk away with a light wave. "Be seein' ya."

"Likewise, thanks for the group," I followed up as the party disbanded and everyone went their separate ways, not wanting to waste another minute.

It was always funny how abruptly groups disbanded and fell apart once the goal was reached. You could spend hours with some people, develop a short but ultimately temporary acquaintanceship and then when the task at hand was complete, in a matter of seconds everyone would bail as if they couldn't stand to be in the party a minute longer. Heck, the dungeon wasn't all that hospitable anyways, so I couldn't blame them.

But, online relations were certainly strange.

The funny part, was that it wasn't always like that.

In the past, people treated online communication as an extension of normal face-to-face communication, using proper manners and such as if it were required. Then somewhere down the line, as more kids gained access to the net perhaps, acronyms and slang became more prevalent. Now, it was almost weird to see interaction sometimes. Just like the archer in the group who didn't talk, that was considered normal behavior.

It was socially a bit strange, but not online.

Not here, in this game.

Well, we had been pushing hard for around two hours, so even I was feeling a little fatigued after the party disbanded. Not that I was exhausted but, it was just one of the game's strange features to prevent excessive grinding. It was a bit odd that it hit so quickly though. Maybe that had to do with the harsh environment of the dungeon, breathing in this smoke… an added effect for realism, perhaps.

Oh well, it was a good enough of a time to take a break.

Chapter 44: Perusing for Profit

(Saturday, May 29th Game Day / Friday, February 19th Real Day)

After finishing my breakfast and taking care of my, duties, I walked back into the cube and started to connect all of the required attachments. Most of them were sensors but the ones that attached to your head were used to send and receive electrical signals from the brain; those were the important ones. Sometimes, when strapping up, I would get that feeling of déjà vu, as if I had taken the red pill at some point.

If that was really the case, I'm not sure I would want to face the reality.

Well, my reality was what I wanted it to be anyways.

Once I initiated that log in sequence and the room starts to dim until it's pitch black and I can no longer see the hand in front of my face, it would only be a minute before the game state takes over and my consciousness fades to the other realm.

And, that's exactly what I did.

As if life were a dream, I found myself waking up from my nap underneath a tree as the cold night air sent a chill through my body. The silence of the night was a little unnerving but it was also comforting in a strange way.

I could barely make out the sound of voices off in the distance but I wanted to enjoy the serenity of the moment, and pretended not to hear. The stars were shining brightly but the colorful aurora was barely visible from here.

It was a shame.

Even so, it was still a lovely sight while lying on my back, watching for shooting stars and other odd events in the night sky.

I started to wonder how Selene and Katherine were holding up but I had a feeling they were doing just fine. They had a large population of fellow NPCs to keep them company after all, there was no way they could be lonely now. If anyone was lonely, it was probably me, but I was actually pretty content with how everything was progressing.

"Well, time's a wasting," I said out loud to myself while getting up.

A quick walk to the dungeon entrance proved to be pointless as all of the groups that had gathered were looking for members for the first and second floors. I was already beyond that and didn't want to waste my time farming or grinding out floors I already conquered, especially with a new group that didn't have the experience.

I was already entering with an elitist mentality, no longer beginner friendly since I had already been there and done that… it was a pitfall every adventurer fell victim to at one point or another. When you're a beginner, a noob, you want people to give you a chance to prove yourself.

Then once you've proved yourself you change your tune and think to yourself, "I don't want to go with noobs that have no experience." Yeah, that wasn't right. I'll give it a go with whoever is available, once I get my new quests.

It was only the right thing to do.