“I think I’d rather fight than run. No guarantee they won’t keep following us. I used my stealth skills to escape from the area, so if they’re following me, it means they have a tracker with them.”
Van nodded. It was true that, if these players had a ranger or a hunter with them, they’d be able to find Sang no matter how hard she tried to hide. He gritted his teeth with the conundrum. Fight or run?
“Wait!” Van said, “I’ve got it! They were following you, right? I’m not tagged as a kingdom member, so they won’t attack me on sight. I’ll tell them you went somewhere else!”
Sang nodded emphatically. “Genius! I’ll hide up in the trees; you find them and then, if they turn out to be bandits, you can distract them while I shoot at them from above!”
“Uh, pretty sure me distracting them would involve them stabbing me dozens of times,” Van protested.
“Van… that’s the risk I’m willing to take,” Sang said as she began to scale up one of the large redwood trees.
“Ha ha,” Van grumbled as he walked deeper into the woods. The chirping of the birds in the area and the gentle rustling of the winds created a feeling of calm and peacefulness in him. So far, returning to the game had been pretty fun. Apart from the chaos, it was nice to be back home, in the game that he had loved so very much. Ten long years, he had already been playing this game, and now as he trudged through the forest, feeling the cool air press against his face, he had nearly forgotten how much he’d missed playing it.
Sure, the trip to Asturias had been a fun little vacation, but there were so many restrictions on him in the real world. He couldn’t run endlessly, he couldn’t climb without fear of dying, nor could he grab a weapon and fight a fierce animal. Instead, he had been stuck huffing and wheezing as he had tried to keep up with Sang during a day hike in the mountains. The pain and frustration of living in a world full of consequences had been far too much for him. While Sang had ooed and awed at just about every little thing in the scenic countryside, Van had only been able to compare it to the equally incredible realms that he had seen in Dragon Kings of the New World. To him, the real beauty of life was in being an uber powerful warrior, travelling through the dark realms, and fighting evil—all of which was far more fun than just strolling around taking in the sights. It was funny... for as much as Sang had rambled on about the pleasures of the real world, all his vacation had done was solidify the fact that this game was and forever would be his first choice when it came to fun activities.
“Don’t move!” called a voice from the trees. Van stopped in his tracks immediately. He could see that there were about four people slowly creeping through the woods, all of them armed with bows. They were players, all of them Level 20. One of them, a strong jawed barbarian-looking fellow named Cleaver, stood tall and approached Van.
“Greetings, Semimodo!” Cleaver said, stretching out his arm to shake Van’s hand. Van grasped the strong barbarian’s grip and felt his bones pop a little as the man squeezed it.
“Hi there, folks,” Van replied. He could see that the war party seemed relatively relaxed for being so heavily armed.
“We are seeking out something; perhaps you can assist us!” Cleaver said, clapping a hand on Van’s shoulder.
“Sure, sure, what are you looking for?”
“We are seeking out a fugitive who served the Kingdom of Rosethorn in battle! Have you seen anyone out here? We’ll pay you for the information!”
Van was hurriedly sifting through all of their stats, looking for the scout. Finally, he saw that one of them was a ranger. The character’s skill display popped up.
Name: Ferdinand
Leveclass="underline" 20
Class: Ranger
Sneaking: +10
Foraging: +10
Sniping: +5
Tracking: +8
Spotting: +8
Van grinned when he saw those numbers. The tracking was high enough for them to be able to follow Sang, but the spotting score was just a few points lower than Sang’s hiding ability, meaning that they could follow her, but they wouldn’t be able to see her.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t seen anyone out here. I was killed earlier and was just trying to get back to a decent city,” Van lied.
“I see, well, you’re currently heading west, there aren’t any useful cities over there. Just useless towns belonging to the Rosethorn Kingdom. We’re heading back to our home base. It’s a glorious season, brother! The Season of War and Flame is upon us!” Cleaver said, raising his battle axe high. The others cheered triumphantly.
“Season of War and Flame?” Van asked. “Already?”
“Yup! The devs decided to start it earlier than normal—a great way to shake things up!” Cleaver said.
The Season of War and Flame was a massive in-game event where all kingdoms were considered to be at war, regardless of their ruler’s disposition. It was a huge event that normally happened near the later part of the year, but it seemed that it was happening now. This would drastically change the landscape of the game, as many armies were made up of player characters, and people without allegiances were usually offered large sums of gold to participate in campaigns. This would bring a considerable boost to the amount of opportunities that Van and Sang would have to earn experience and cool magic items. The best part was that, with so much chaos involved in the wars erupting everywhere, the change would give the pair ample cover for traveling around without being detected. Van still wasn’t sure how much Draco knew about them, but with the business of running a war, most pro players would be required to serve in various military campaigns to keep the game interesting.
“So, since we’ve got you here, how about you join our cause? The Ceren Kingdom was one of the top kingdoms last season, and that was without the incredible leadership provided by our brand-new king, Lemuel. Join us, and you will enjoy the spoils of victory! As we speak, our forces are gutting Rosethorn like the weak dogs they are!” Cleaver said with a wide grin.
“Unfortunately, like politics and religion, I don’t like to pick sides during wars,” Van said as he shuffled back half a step. “I’m going to have to pass.”
“Sounds like something a Ceren supporter would say…” Cleaver said, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes. Van could feel the man’s gaze piercing a hole right through him. There was a stilted silence until finally Cleaver let out a big laugh. “Just kidding! The offer is always open; if you want to join the winning side this year, come to the capital of Ceren, Bloodrock.”
“Bloodrock?” Van repeated as he let out a sigh of relief due to the fact that he was not going to be hacked apart by this hulking barbarian. “Isn’t that place insanely dangerous and hard to move through?”
“Oh, it sure is, but King Lemuel is the real deal. A pro player, insanely driven, highly focused and, above all, incredibly organized. Showed up about four weeks ago with an army and a plan. Took hold of the entire area, filled it with pro players, and opened up the recruitment to anyone who’s qualified to join! It’s been packed ever since.”
“Seriously?” Van asked.
“Yeah, it’s amazing. We’ve got at least 14 pros on our side. Never seen anything like it!” Cleaver said with a grin as he shoved a map into Van’s hands.
“Recruitment’s open for another two days before we seal the tunnel leading into Bloodrock up for the rest of the campaign. Tell them Cleaver sent ya.”
“I’ll think about it,” Van said as he pocketed the map. It might come in handy at some point later on.
“Farewell, bard!” Cleaver said as he sheathed his weapon and waved to his team. The rest of them followed after him in silence.
After a few minutes, Van glanced up into the tree line to see Sang watching in silence.
“I think we’re clear,” Van said.