I took that moment to walk in pretending I hadn’t heard a word. Darkraven and Arjun looked embarrassed, Ayerelia looked annoyed, but I think it was just that her face was frozen that way.

  “I made a ticket for your predicament,” Copperbeard said, smiling at me.

  “Yes, yes, but we are here to level up, not stand around and talk,” Ayerelia complained and picked up her staff as if she was ready to storm the forest with or without us.

  “I tried to find you on social media,” Arjun said, “Really, truly I did.”

  That was strange. I don’t think any of my socials were set to private. “Even the accounts I gave you? Like what about my ‘The Daily Dekka’ insta?” That was an account I had to strictly share pictures of my dog online. She had a better following than I did, but I wasn’t mad about it. She was more adorable than I could ever hope to be.

  “No, I could find nothing,” he said, shaking his head.

  “How odd,” I said, keeping in step beside him. I couldn’t figure out what this meant.

  Darkraven came over, her glowy purple elf eyes intent on me. “Um, do you remember anything happening to you? Like… maybe, anything bad?”

  “No, I just remember a mind scan, and nothing since that appointment. Why?”

  “Well, you say you have been in here for days, weeks now. And I believe you,” she hastened to reassure me, though I hadn’t been about to protest. “Well, the only people who are permitted to stay in game longer than eight hours without taking at least a six-hour break are people who are allowed to live out the rest of their lives in game.” She looked at me with such sympathy, I thought she might cry just thinking about the concept.

  “Yeah, the game normally boots you if you stay in too long. Something about a lawsuit in a game that used similar pods. They bought out that company, I think, because of the lawsuit. So they don’t let you just stay in here, unless your life doesn’t matter that much.” Ayerelia said with an offhand wave.

  Copperbeard glared at Ayerelia. “What she is trying to say is that this is a new thing. People who have been in terrible accidents and are quadriplegic are choosing to live full-time in games like this one. They just approved to let people in comas be hooked up to a game. Though no one really knows yet if they are in the game or if the AI is helping their characters along, there is a whole conspiracy about it.” He trailed off, realising he was straying from his point. “I do hear it is very expensive.”

  I answered his unasked question. “None of my family could have afforded that. I don’t think they would have put me in a game even if they did have the money, but if they had, you would think they would tell me.”

  “Yes, there is that,” the dwarf agreed.

  Ayerelia was striding off ahead, and we were getting left behind. I whistled to make sure Dekka was on alert as we headed out into the forest to grind.

  Found some more boars, more accurately they found us. This time no snarky songs were necessary as we worked better as a team. Basically, Ayerelia toned it down a bit. We killed five of them before the group decided to log off. I not only levelled up I now had two skill trees filled and had the option to upgrade my class. But it didn’t say what I could upgrade my class too. It was like the armour proficiency.

  I was feeling all kinds of badass and I think I was another inch taller so I decided to wait to see what I could learn about class upgrades. If there was any chance

  I could respec or at least maybe dual class or something other than bash things.

  “We’ve all levelled up maybe we can try that dungeon,” Arjun said as we walked back to camp.

  “I went up two levels.’ Darkraven spun in a circle, “and I am halfway to the next. Though I haven’t tried a dungeon yet.”

  “I wouldn’t mind taking a crack at it, I have a score to settle with those spiders.” Copperbeard strummed an ominous minor chord.

  “Yeah me too,” Ayerelia agreed.

  I glanced at her. Had she tried again after our last attempt? Because if she hadn’t, I wanted to remind her, she left before the spiders got bad.

  “We on for tomorrow?” Ayerelia asked.

  “Can’t,” said Darkraven, “I have a late class.”

  Ayerelia made a face.

  After a bunch of back and forth it turned out it would be a couple of days before everyone was available again.

  “Let’s meet at Bistmore? Has everyone unlocked fast travel to the Adventurer’s Guild?”

  They all nodded.

  Except me.

  What the actual fuck!? They got fast travel.

  I was so freaking mad. But I didn’t say anything. What would be the point? And I didn’t want any more of Darkraven’s pity.

  I had plenty of time to walk to Bistmore. It would be many days before they would arrive.

  “Oh hey,” the dwarf said his eyes going all unfocused. “I just got a response to the ticket.” He paused, his eyes flicking back and forth, reading something only he could see. “Seems they will be investigating it and getting back to me.”

  “Boring,” Said Darkraven. “Sounds like they don’t care.”

  Copperbeard looked at me and shrugged. I shrugged back. He could only do so much. I would just have to hope they were going to look into the issue. The issue that was my existence.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  The party eventually all went to their bedrolls, laid down and logged off.

  I spent my evening poking around my HUD, trying to find an option to fast travel or more information on class upgrades. Frustrated at finding nothing helpful I went to sleep.

  I was walking down the road, not thinking of anything in particular. If anything at most, I was wondering if it would rain on me later, as there were large clouds on the horizon, the sort that look like they were piled high like whipped cream on pie.

  All of a sudden, a person popped into existence in the middle of the road.

  I stopped dead, startled. Dekka, who had been trotting around sniffing at the grass freaked the fuck out. She started barking her head off, She wasn’t afraid of the newcomer, but more insulted that this stranger had the nerve to startle her.

  “I’m sorry,” I started to apologise when I noticed the person didn’t seem to notice my dog. How can you not notice a small terrier making rabid raccoon noises right at your feet?

  Now that I really looked at them, this person seemed out of place; they were generically and androgenously smooth. Their clothes didn’t even quite look like fabric. Almost like they hadn’t been completely rendered.

  Standing in the middle of the road bemused, I watched as they looked around and remained oblivious to the terrier circling them. Dekka had calmed down and was just growling under her breath. Their gaze passed though where I was standing with no recognition.

  This person, whom ever they were wasn’t behaving like a foe, so I walked up. “Hi,” I said and waved my hand close to their face.

  The figure’s oddly blocky features squinched up, and they started typing with one hand in the air. It didn’t look like they were poking at a HUD, more like they had an invisible keyboard hovering at shoulder height off to their side.

  Dekka stood up and put her paws on the person sniffing with interest now that she had forgiven them for giving her a fright. I don’t think the person, if it was a person, felt the pressure. They didn’t look down, but they did look around and type more rapidly.

  I got closer and still they acted like they couldn’t see Dekka or me. I waved my hand just under where their fingers were typing. Nothing, just air. This, however, caused the figure to frown deeply and mutter. “These readings make no sense whatsoever.”

  They moved up and down the road a bit looking around. What was going on here? I was invisible to them. Wait, was this a game-person?! A game GM? Come to investigate the ticket?

  I ran over and stood in front of them. As they walked forward, I put my arms out to stop them by their shoulders. I needed them to see me. There were so many things I wanted to ask them.

  Touching them felt weird and I almost let go in surprise. Their shoulders were solid. Not flesh over bone just… like they were made out of firm putty.

  They kept trying to walk for a moment their feet sliding smoothly across the road like was smooth ice not dirt and gravel.

  “Hey hey can you hear me?” I said right into their face. “I’m stuck in here!” My voice rose in desperation. A little voice in the back of my head told me to hit them. To see if they could ignore that.

  They just tried walking again then stepped backward, a confused look on their simplified face.

  Then they popped out.

  And it was just the road, my dog and I.

  Dekka looked around like she was trying to figure out where the person had gone. Then looked at me expectantly. I stood waiting to see if they would come back. But nothing happened. The wind blew in the leaves, the birds sang and the big storm clouds moved closer.

  “That was weird huh?”

  Her tail gave one single wag.

  I narrowed my eyes at her, but she just looked away. I had always suspected she understood me far better than her level of obedience would have indicated. Now I think she understood way more. The game was changing me, why not her?

  I felt a pang. If she got smart, would she still be her? Would she still be my dog? I sighed.

  She was sitting on the road almost on my foot. She always worried I would disappear if she didn’t keep tabs on me. Back in the real world she used to sit right outside the shower to make sure I couldn’t make a secret escape. “No I am not going to just pop away,” I told her.

  She looked up at me and immediately went back to trotting down the road.

  Suspiciously smart, but at this moment still my dog.

  We made it to Bistmore without further excitement. I couldn't wait to talk to the party when they arrived to see if they had an idea about that figure. Was that how DMs showed up in this game? Maybe Copperbeard had got a message. Maybe we could tell the GM to try again.

  At the gates I had to go through the same deal with the guards, even with Dekka’s big bow.

  I let her lick the guard again. It was just as funny the second time. Actually, I think Dekka particularly enjoyed the joke this time.

  There was no sign of the duck lady, so I was less worried about Dekka murdering livestock and I let her trot at my feet vs carrying her. Though now I was so strong that I barely noticed her weight.

  There were a few massive oxen pulling trader carts, but in her current form, she couldn’t do much damage, even to one of their ankles.

  We got to the Adventurer’s Guild, I registered and paid for a room for a week. It was later in the evening so Dekka and I got dinner from a cart in the city. More meat and veggies on a stick. The vendor gave me a deal as he was closing up for the night. Cheap food is the tastiest of food. Dekka magnanimously let me eat all the veggies.

  Instead of going to bed, I stayed down in the main hall to drink with the NPCs. I was hoping to see Rory or one of the others from the last loop. I didn’t see them, but as adventurers, that made sense. There was no reason they would be here every time I showed up. They might have side jobs or be off on a job.

  I sat down beside a cowled figure with an unstrung bow across her back.

  “Lookin for work? Or lookin for a team.” She asked me as she turned to face me leaning her elbows back on the bar top. She had a long thin scar that ran across her face.

  “Neither, just waiting for the rest of my party to catch up.”

  “Och, never split the party.” She smiled slyly when she said it though.

  I grinned back. “Wasn’t my idea, names Elizabeth.”

  “Violet,” She said. “Idiots for party members? Who hasn’t been there.”

  “They aren’t so bad. They just,” how did I explain, should I explain? “We just have different priorities.”

  She nodded and ordered another drink. “This your first time at the Guild?”

  "Uh, yeah. I just joined." I looked around at the gathering crowd. This was a popular watering hole in the evening. I overheard conversations about jobs, fights, comparing armour, and the going rate of crafting items.

  "Hey I was told to check in on someone if I was ever in Bistmore," I said casually.

  "Oh yeah?" She said, seeming bored.

  "Yeah, do you know a Rogue, Rory, I think his name was?"

  I don't know what I was expecting, but what I wasn't prepared for was the person before me to immediately look like they were going to cry.

  "Oh,' she said, a catch in her voice, "I am sorry to tell you Rory is most certainly dead."

  Dead? How can an NPC be dead? I had respawned, so shouldn't he have also?

  "Oh I am so sorry," I said, a bit at a loss on how to handle this and what it meant. "Did you know him well?"

  "You might say that. He was my brother."

  Well, fuck me. I had killed this person’s sibling.

  Wait, maybe it had nothing to do with me or the dungeon. Maybe this was just one of the randomly generated differences? Though now that I thought about it, how can there be differences if there are other non-roguelike players? Wouldn't they expect consistency? That and the time thing were weird…

  I had been quiet too long; she was giving me an odd look. "I am so sorry. Can I ask what happened to him?"

  Violet's jaw tightened. She took a long drink before answering. "He went into the dungeon. About a week ago now. Joined a party." She gestured vaguely toward the back of the hall in the general direction of the dungeon entrance. "None of them came back."

  A week. For her, it had been a week. For me, it had been days, maybe? It was hard to keep track. I needed a pocket calendar.

  I thought back to the afternoon in the dungeon. Those screams in the dark. No amount of time would erase the horror of dying slowly, listening to others’ pleas for mercy.

  The only thing that had made me feel slightly better was the idea that I would wake up on the stones in the plains, and that the NPCs would be reset and have no memory of that horrific event.

  Now I had to live with the knowledge that those really were their last moments.