Reaching level 20 feels like a milestone.

  Ah, and I still have the three unspent stat points given to me by my love, Tamiel. I’ll use them for a standard level up, two in Constitution, one in Agility.

  [Character name: Revelator

  Level: 20

  Race: Human

  Class: Defender

  Subclass: None

  HP: 1060

  Constitution: 57

  Strength: 8

  Agility: 26

  Intelligence: 2

  Luck: 2

  Skills: Aggrovating Aura (5), Baba’s Sheltering Shroud Aura (6), Blacksmithing (6), Essence Drain (12), Flourishing Physiognomy, Greater Shield Proficiency (9), Improved Block (9), Interceptor, Mining (5), Shieldsmith (10), Tremor Aura (3)

  (total armor 767)]

  Though it’s true I need every Constitution point I can get, and it seems counter intuitive to spend so many points in Agility, sacrificing these points of HP is actually making me a better defender. Blocking attacks requires speed; this lets me utilize the Interceptor skill, which has my shield absorb 70% of all damage, to its fullest potential, especially in a battle with multiple opponents all attacking at once. It also makes my run speed faster, allowing me to kite monsters more efficiently, making me an even better tank. Yes, this is the right distribution of my stat points, I’m sure of it.

  Ari once told me the character Revelator was perfect. I’m starting to think he was right.

  Hm, Ari. Haven’t seen that guy in a while. I wonder what he’s up to. I wonder how many other ‘perfect’ players he’s building up, and I wonder if I’ll get to face any of them in some kind of epic end-game showdown. I guess time will tell.

  “Slow down, Rev! I can’t keep up!”

  Distracted by my thoughts, I guess I’d been running at my natural pace. Having all this agility also makes my travel speed faster in general, so it’s been a bit of a pain, having to slow myself to match Sherbie’s speed. But he’s my healer and my best friend besides, so what can I do?

  It’s a long journey back to Pitola, made frustrating by our slow pace and Sherbie’s inclination to stop and attempt to befriend any animal he sees, no matter how worthless.

  “Look, it’s Timmy Willy!” he declares, showing me a mouse he’s just charmed. I’m starting to feel sorry for all these critters. Just like pokémon, taken from their free lives in the wild only to be stored in a PC and forgotten forever—how many of these pets does he intend to ever let out of the guild stable?

  I wish he’d stash Bobo, that aggro menace. He’s making our trip twice as long as it needs to be by pulling every mob in a quarter mile’s radius, it feels like. And of course Sherbie won’t send the poor little orphan to the pen. He has to travel with us no matter what.

  Just ahead, we spy a herd of wild boars in a forest clearing. I put out my hand to stop Sherbie. “I’m tired of fighting these low level monsters. Let’s go around.”

  “Right.”

  “Easy, now… Quietly…” I say, guiding Sherbie in a wide circle around the boars. But the little bear running just ahead of me glances over its shoulder and gives me a deliberate smirk.

  Don’t you dare.

  BOBO JENKINS!!

  It veers off suddenly, peeling through the underbrush straight for the boars, rounding up every single one of them and pulling them straight to us.

  I start to kick at the cub as it pulls up in front of me, but Sherbie pulls me back.

  “Don’t hurt him, he didn’t mean to! Bobo was just playing!”

  “The hell he was! I’m gonna kill that bear, I swear it! Today’s the day!”

  [-39 HP]

  [-48 HP]

  Dang it! The boars are attacking. There’s so many of them! On my own, I could outrun them, but I can’t leave Sherbie behind. There’s nothing to do but fight them.

  [Essence Drain skill has leveled up.]

  Well, I guess that’s one way to do it…

  Like I said, it’s a long trip back to Pitola, but at last, the city is in sight.

  As we return from our diverting side quests back to the main road, we begin to see more and more players on mounts.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Do you know if riding counts as a skill?” I ask Sherbie, looking enviously at the riders that whiz past us. Sure would have been nice to just ride back to the city…

  “Not a skill, I believe it’s an ability anyone can unlock. There’s supposed to be a trainer in Pitola. I went looking for them at one point, then got distracted by this street puppet show that was going on, then I got mugged by a small child, then I was carried off and sexually harassed by a gang of lesbian orcs for a while, till they found out I was a man, and they almost ripped off my—”

  “WHY ARE YOU STILL PLAYING THIS GAME?”

  “Anyway, I never found the trainer…”

  I shake my head in disbelief. I find it hard to believe this guy was one of the top players in XYZ games. In fact, I find it hard to believe he’s survived at all till now. He’s the kind of honest, gullible person that will definitely be scammed out of his life savings one day, or fall in love with a catfish and move to some godforsaken country, have his passport stolen and his organs harvested… Ho boy. I’ll have to keep an eye on this one…

  It’s dark when we finally reach the city, like it was the last time we came here. I deliberately avoid the street with the guild registration office, the sight of my disastrous first recruiting attempt. As Sherbie pointed out, we need more guild members, at least three more, if we’re to take on a dungeon, but hell will freeze over before I ever attempt to solicit more members to The Whales guild.

  Just then, at the end of a side street straight ahead, I catch a glimpse of a robed, masked figure. Are my eyes playing tricks on me? That looks like Tamiel! But when I blink, she’s gone. Am I hallucinating, now? Ugh…I’ve got it bad.

  “Civilization!” Sherbie cries, distracting me from my thoughts. He throws up his hands in relief as we walk through the crowded city. “I thought we’d never reach you! Thought we’d be stuck in that forest forever!”

  “You’re really not a very good druid, are you?” I remark, and he laughs with a bit of self-awareness. For some reason, the sound makes me a little sad.

  “Maybe not. I should have made a priest healer after all. Then my character would make sense and I wouldn’t be so worthless…”

  I stare at him a moment, not sure quite what to say. It feels a little awkward to reassure him, but…

  “Nah,” I say at last. “You’re fine the way you are.”

  “But—”

  “Anyway, I’m sure priests can’t adopt bears and butterflies and things. Trust me, you make a much better druid than a priest. Even if you do prefer the city life.”

  He looks up at me, behind his glasses, eyes no doubt shining with tears. I look away quickly, embarrassed.

  “Anyway. We should find Silas and turn in our quest.”

  “Actually, Rev,” I glance back, and Sherbie’s removed his glasses to scrub his eyes with his sleeve. Then he replaces them quickly, before anyone can see his girlish face. “I was thinking. Rather than rushing off to our next quest, let’s take a little break here. I’d love to get some sleep in an inn, and take breakfast in a café. Maybe wander around and window shop for a bit.”

  “Sleep?” I blink at him incredulously. “Why would you sleep when you’re not tired?”

  “Physically, no. Even mentally, the strain isn’t so bad. But, something about sleep, I’m craving it.”

  I can’t understand it. Why would he sleep in a game when his real body is already sleeping inside a capsule? Doesn’t he realize how much time humans lose by sleeping? At least a third of their lives! For the average person, that’s like twenty five years, wasted on sleep!

  Ah, but I have to remember Sherbie isn’t like me. He’s a leisurely kind of guy. Especially after that last leg of our journey, I can understand his reluctance to jump right into the next quest.

  “Alright,” I say. “We can pause the grind for now. Let’s find an inn.”

  After consulting our map, we make our way over to the Pigeon Spire Inn. Only after I’ve seen him safely to the front desk do I announce I won’t be spending the night.

  “You get the rest you need. I’ll meet up with you in the morning right here. What time do you think you’ll be up?”

  “I can set an alarm in the system to wake me at seven.”

  “That’s fine, then. I’ll be here at seven fifteen, so don’t even think of going out into the streets without me.”

  “I’ll wait for you. Night, Rev,” Sherbie says happily, taking his key from the innkeeper and making his way upstairs. I watch him go, worried. Maybe I should have escorted him all the way to his room, after all. But no. Sherbie’s not a kid. He’ll find his own room alright, and sleep peacefully till morning.

  Probably.

  I make my way outside. The system clock says it’s a little after 9 PM. I know time in TC is reversed, so that means it’s 9 AM in Beverly Hills, and most people are heading out to work and school. Not me, and clearly not these players running around the city, completely absorbed in the game. I suppose it is summer break, so all the school age players can afford to spend their time here. But all that will change in August, I think forlornly.

  No use being down about it. Knowing school is on the horizon gives me all the more reason to skip sleep, and play as much as I can, while I can.

  Well, then. Let’s see about finding some odd quests around the city, shall we?

  I start through the darkened streets of the fantasy city.

  From what I understand, Pitola started as a mining town. There are others in surrounding areas, especially the mountains, but this is the principal city with the main highway, and a river running through it besides.

  To me it looks vaguely Victorian, with a touch of old west, and a whole lot of fantasy. The lanterns, I notice, are actually more of Sherbie’s butterflies, though a smaller variety. They gather inside the glass, seeming to feed on something inside, and light the streets with a dull white glow. Those not eating flit about the streets, putting off a little glow as they bob here and there.

  The buildings I see are a curious mix of shabby, rundown affairs and newer pieces, though all of them seem to be done in similar shades of black and gray. Or is that just a layer of coal dust blanketing the whole city?

  Passing another side street, I catch a glimpse once more of the same robed figure from before. I stop in my tracks, and it vanishes again.

  Alright, this can’t be a coincidence. I’m sure that’s Tamiel, and she wants me to follow her. A quest, perhaps? Or a secret lovers’ rendezvous? I’m determined to find out.

  I start down the side street, following the footsteps I hear just ahead. Then I see the figure. It stops and the masked face looks back at me before turning suddenly into a narrow alleyway.

  I go after them, more determined than ever, still following the footsteps. The alley turns into a maze. At certain corners I glimpse the same figure. It’s dark, but I’m almost certain. It has to be Tamiel!

  I’m running now, trying to track her down, heart racing within me. I want to see her again!

  Then at last, as I round a certain corner which leads to a dead end, she’s there, already facing me. Waiting.

  [Heart rate accelerating. 135 BPM. Automatic system shutdown if heart rate reaches 150 BPM.]

  Not now, heart. Don’t log me off now!

  I take a moment to compose myself, but I swear my heart only beats harder.

  Deciding the best treatment is exposure therapy, I take a step towards her. And another.

  It’s dark. So dark. A part of my mind screams a warning to fear this mysterious figure. But my heart screams no. I have nothing to fear. Not from my love.

  Just a little further. One more step. I stop short, only a few feet from her.

  I start to reach for her but she puts up a gloved hand in rejection. I go to speak, and she puts a finger to the bottom of her blank mask, gesturing for silence. Then, I hear a familiar voice that makes my heart race even faster.

  “I’ve been watching you. Revelator.”