Evening Game

A boar ran through the woods, desperately trying to escape. It tripped on a branch, crashing down to the ground.

It never got up.

A merciless strike sliced it straight in the center, an ax struck the ground. The boar let out a final scream before breaking into small shards. It floated away into the skies, never to be seen again.

The game would probably make another copy of it, but for Ethan, it was as good as gone. Ethan brought his sights back from the fading shards to Chione, who pulled the beginner ax off the ground, Calista slowly clapping behind her. She sat on the ground not far from Ethan.

“Nice strike.”

“Thanks.”

Ethan leaned back on a tree, refusing to say anything.

“What do you think?”

Chione directed the attention toward him.

“Next.”

He uttered. She opened the inventory and switched weapons. Ethan had been asking her to continuously swap weapons and swing them at a tree. She had tried a couple of weapons before. By the time it got to the ax, a boar passed by, unaware of the fate that would fall upon it.

Unlike Ethan, Chione didn’t know about the weapon switch feature. Monsters in the game had an understanding of the weapons players use. Like the lion that he defeated, it could understand that a bow meant a long-range weapon with slow reloading speed. It jumped at Ethan, hoping to catch him when he was still in the process of loading the second arrow. The weapon switch allowed Ethan to switch weapons into his spear at the final second and catch the lion off guard. In essence, it was basically a system that allowed a player to call their weapon in advance and let it appear in their desired hand at an exact time, a technique that would catch their enemies by surprise. Not only was it effective against monsters and NPCs, but skilled players also used it against other players.

It was a skill that was not registered in the game’s database, its existence kept secret from the public. He only knew of it after overhearing a conversation when he waited in line in the guild, and would later ask his sister to teach him. It took him time to practice, as it required not only an understanding of the game’s mechanics and timing, but also an understanding of the weapon, so despite Calista insisting that he taught them how to do it, he refused.

Chione, meanwhile, went through her inventory, swapping her ax for her last weapon, a bow. The beginner’s bow, like all other beginner’s weapons, was made almost entirely from wood. But unlike the other weapons, It didn’t have any metal piece on it, and the arrows that came with it had sharp wooden tips. They fare well against low-level monsters and could deal damage to medium-level ones, but they could do little against high-level monsters.

Chione walked back toward where Ethan was standing and put an arrow on the bow and pulled. She aimed at a small hole in a birch tree that stood twenty meters from her. It had endured several strikes from her different weapons. She let go of the string and the arrow zipped through the air, landing straight in the center of the hole, sticking itself to the tree. Calista gasped as she saw the scene unfold.

“Nice one!”

She excitedly said.

“So, which one?”

Ethan asked, although based on what he saw, he could already tell which one she would choose.

“The bow.”

The marksman.

Ethan then turned toward Calista. Calista wordlessly got up, her finger going through the empty air. She brought out the beginner’s sword. She stood before the tree, which still had the arrow stuck to it. With her first swing, she started her trial.

“Whew, I’m beat.”

The girls sat on the ground, taking a sip from Ethan’s untouched drinking bottle, one he kept for emergencies. They didn’t even have water bottles, so Ethan would need to take them both on a shopping trip after this. The game didn’t necessarily simulate thirst, but it did simulate the feeling of freshness after chugging down an entire bottle of water.

Ethan stood guard, looking at the surrounding area for enemies. Both of them had chosen their respective weapons, so the next enemy would be theirs. The time continued to tick, showing that it was already past nine, so it seemed like for today he wouldn’t be able to turn in any of his quests.

He didn’t expect Calista to be joining them, after all. He decided that the schedule for tomorrow would be a shopping trip and some more training. The guild had a forty-eight hours limit to the quest, so time shouldn’t be a problem. He wouldn’t be fined if he failed anyway.

“By the way, do you know anything about Technologia?”

Calista asked out of the blue. She closed the cap to her bottle and wiped her mouth off any leftover water.

“I know.”

He thought about explaining but decided to wait for her.

“Can you take me there?”

Calista’s response was entirely unexpected, and he nearly blurted out his surprise, but he managed to keep the shock within him. He blinked his eyes before looking back at her.

“Sorry?”

He asked, pretending to not understand her.

“My friend played in Technologia, but I made a mistake and spawned here.”

The southern nation, Aevimedii, being a region that banned the use of both magic and technology, was among the hardest nations to play in. It provided the most money, hence why most of the players here were high-level players. Technologia, the eastern country, as its name suggests, was the nation of technology.

It allowed modern weapons, and most of its mobs were designed to be faced with guns and modern weaponry. It also had some science fiction theme applied to it, and offered energy weapons instead of physical weapons. Physical weapons could still be used, but they were almost useless. Ethan had experiences with both an energy sword and a gun, while Chione’s skill should translate well to guns. Calista had bought the clothes because they looked nice, wasting all her money on them. It did give her extra agility, which should come in handy in handling an energy ax, a lighter version of her weapon of choice. With all said and done, there shouldn’t be an issue with moving there.

Except for two small things, money and time.

A one-way journey took two entire hours. He usually played after dinner at around seven, and since he needed to sleep by ten, he would spend a night there, costing him both accommodations and the tickets needed to get there.

Aldhia was a game that allowed the players to exchange in-game currency for real-life money, and the costs of traveling weren’t cheap. He could take a quest, as quests pay for the trip fee, but not for lodging. He didn’t feel like leaving either. The weapons there also cost more, so while he was willing to buy the two some medium-level physical weapons, especially for Calista who wasted her money on clothes, the same couldn’t be said for guns or energy weapons.

“I’m not going.”

“Huh, why?”

Calista asked him.

“Costs.”

Ethan said frankly. As FireRock, he only offered help because he felt like it. He had no reason to go further than he already went.

“Sorry, but I’m not going, either.”

Chione said while standing up.

“Really? Why?”

“No particular reason.”

Chione answered with a smile, but Ethan could read the meaning behind her repeated smiles. When she said no particular reason, he knew that in fact, she had.

The tower?

Ethan knew that there should be a lot more reasons to stay in Aevimedii like money, for example. She would make more here for the same time she spent in Technologia, after all, but it didn’t seem like something she needed to lie about. If anything, trying to make money while still in school could be considered praiseworthy, through legal means no less. She had the same tone as her usual self when she said those three words, but it felt weirdly off.

Even if Ethan wasn’t close with her, he still felt that something didn’t click.

He returned his attention to the matter at hand. At the end of the day, her reasons for playing, or staying around didn’t concern him. He would soon part ways with her without any intentions of sticking together. What she chose to do after this would be entirely her choice, and he didn’t want any part in it.

“Let’s head back.”

He said while turning his body back to the town, the two girls followed in his footsteps.