Upon further inspection by Selene the corpses averaged a rough 100lbs which would generally prove difficult for the two women, except for the fact that Roth had provided them with a way to a means.
As Selene dragged the bodies together Katherine had returned with a makeshift sled that Roth had built for the two of them, allowing them to stack all of the bodies without issue.
After loading the six nearest bodies there was only the male [Northern Tundra Alpha Wolf] all the way at the back and both women decided to walk the roughly one-hundred and fifty yards from the sled.
Though once the two of them arrived at the location they were startled by what they saw, a white wolf pup barely a month old playing in the snow by its lonesome.
* * *
Chapter 28: Working Through the Days
(Thursday, March 11th Game Day / Sunday, January 24rd Real Day)
The sun had set a few hours before as I continued to dig through the night, with the intent to cease whenever Selene and Katherine had returned. Well into my second stint of digging and shoveling dirt, I had made considerable progress but was still incredibly far from being finished. Working well into the darkness of the night wasn't something I would normally want to do, especially on such a moonless evening, but Katherine and Selene had yet to return.
I was beginning to worry and started to question myself; maybe I shouldn't have sent them to hunt after all.
Selene and Katherine had been gone for nearly seven hours before they finally appeared at the edge of the forest. They were a sight for sore eyes with a large sled piled high with the corpses of seven wolves, nineteen foxes, and thirty-seven rabbits.
I left my shovel and jogged over to where the girls were, relieved that they had made it back, but more curious as to what had taken them so long. Though that thought was fleeting, as I was soon overcome by surprise at what was in Selene's arms.
I slowed my pace and spoke openly, "Ah? Selene? Katherine? What's that?"
To which Selene was the first to reply, "Just as it looks, we found a wolf pup and I intend to raise it as a pet."
It was a straightforward reply that left little room to respond so I ended up ignoring it while pointing behind them, "Is that the sled in the distance there? Did everything go smoothly?"
Selene replied again, "Kind of, sled's all yours," and then walked off to the cabin.
She was a bit solemn and even if it didn't show on her face I could tell she was upset over something.
I would have to figure that out later.
Turning my attention to Katherine who looked completely exhausted and ready to collapse, I walked over and decided to pick her up and carry her like a princess.
As I grabbed her and hoisted her up she quickly objected, "Ah! Wait! Master what are you doing?!"
"You've worked hard, I'm just rewarding you. And what's this 'Master' word I keep hearing?"
"Mm…."
Katherine had gone silent but had put an arm around my neck and seemed to be silently enjoying it.
I figured it was a good time to tease her, "Oh? What's this?"
"Hmph you're so unfair…."
"Hah, yes mi' lady, I'm quite unfair."
While carrying Katherine to the cabin I couldn't help but laugh at the situation, only to receive a light hit on the chest for it.
The lady doth protest too much.
Especially when she's blushing crimson red and smiling with her face turned away from me.
Once we entered the cabin I set her down and she bowed her head while performing a curtsy as she quickly turned around and sat next to Selene, covering her face with her hair at the same time. I had previously admitted that I was attracted to Selene's personality but I was quickly warming to Katherine's as well. They both had their charms, even if they were Artificial Intelligences.
Actually, I almost forgot they were NPCs for a minute there… add in that I'm sleeping in this room with both of them and there is only one large bed. There were two women, one man, and one bed in the only cabin within ten miles.
There was either trouble brewing or there was trouble brewing.
In an attempt to tackle things head on I started the difficult conversation first while we ate dinner at the fireside in the center of the room, "So, for sleeping arrangements…." As I trailed off Selene and Katherine's ears perked up and their eyes intently stared on.
It was a little nerve racking.
But, it had to be done, "Well, there's only one bed-."
Before I could continue on Selene had cut me off, "We can sleep on the floor. That black bear pelt isn't the most comfortable but it will suffice."
…I had planned to share my bed but I realized it was a bit sudden. Strangely, it wasn't long ago that Selene had taken the initiative with me when we were lying together in the Earl's lodge.
A woman's mind is a curious thing.
I decided to chalk that incident up as a momentary indiscretion in the heat of the moment and squashed any notion of future romantic intent so long as it was just the three of us in this cabin. It wouldn't be fair to the other girl, whoever the other girl ended up being… because even if I started with Selene I couldn't discount Katherine's extreme beauty.
Katherine was simply too attractive to ignore.
After dinner had been completed and the wolf pup had fallen asleep curled up in a cute little white furry ball, I stepped outside for a moment to let the girls change out of their dirty clothes and wipe themselves off. While they did that I went and pulled the sled over towards the cabin… and to put it lightly, it was heavy.
Returning to the cabin I found the two of them prepping the floor to sleep on and couldn't accept it. "Hey, take the bed you two. It's not much, but it's better than the floor. Once we fall asleep I'll be transported to the Adventurer's Realm after all."
It sounded strange saying it out loud, but since the NPCs all had Artificial Intelligences there were obvious disconnects between some of the functions of the world, such as how players disappeared after logging out.
The attempt to solve that confusion ended in programming all of the AIs with the information that Adventurers were summoned by the Gods to a different realm at times and wouldn't always have a corporeal body in this realm. It was also a part of the explanation for why the Adventurers could die and resurrect while the NPCs would face permanent deaths.
If anything, Dragon's Wrath was their real world and their life and we were just playing in it.
Sometimes, if it weren't for the system messages, I questioned whether I was actually in a game or if I was indeed transported to another world.
What is reality, anyways?
Eleven days passed in the blink of an eye as I spent at least twelve hours a day digging away; some days were spent mindlessly, others I read the news or listened to music. Either way, nearly a month in-game had passed by the time I finished my excavation project and April in-game was nearly at an end.
I still had hope that I could finish the lodge before April turned over to May but the real crux of the matter was that I was now in my fifth real-week of playing the game and was sharply falling behind in the leaderboards.
The first three real-weeks were spent working the land, toiling in the dirt, laboring with the trees, and scaling a mountain. By the fourth week I was able to get some real leveling in with the absurd quest bonus I received from rescuing Selene, but now by the fifth week I had stagnated.
AIcorps' projections were that the fastest levelers would hit level 50 in about three real-months of play. I was almost at the halfway point and was only level 26.
The highest current level amongst all players was 37 and there were quite a few in the low 30s as well. As an unemployed addict, I was woefully behind the others and that was simply unacceptable. In all honesty, I was barely above the average gamer in levels and without the support of a large guild I spent far too many hours attempting to build a village… I could only hope that the NPC-Recruiter would be usable.