The sky overhead was a light crimson, and the few clouds populating it provided little relief from the searing heat of the sun. Even as the wind blew through the thick brush around me, it didn’t help whisk away the sweat from underneath my heavy armor. I ended up blinking the sweat away from my eyes, not willing to lose sight of my target for a moment. A greater velociraptor might be weak, but they were agile creatures. One slip up and they'd sink their fangs into your neck, spelling a game over.

I removed my broad sword from its sheath, light glinting off the tip of the blade, and swung it at the creature. It rolled out of the way, unbecoming of its large stature. With a roar, it picked itself up and charged at me. I held my sword at the ready, waiting for the velociraptor to expose a weakness.

There it was.

The velociraptor lowered its head, intent on biting at the exposed skin below my helmet, and I heaved my sword up through its jaw. After an agonizing cry, it tumbled to the ground writhing. When I yanked my sword out, the monster fell still. Then, it scattered into particles, leaving behind a hide, some bones, and rotten meat. The items were of no use to me, so I left them there, opting instead to take the opportunity to remove my helmet and wipe away the beads of sweat from my forehead. Wearing gauntlets made this kind of difficult to do. I ended up knocking it against my forehead, and the hot metal seared my character’s skin–making the outer edges of my screen flash red–so I pulled my forearm away.

"You suck at this game."

I picked up my discarded pack, swung it around my shoulders, and considered just ignoring the rude rogue-class player. This was a team-based game, though, so we'd have to talk at some point. And Ethan would likely throw a fit if I didn't interact with the girls somewhat.

Might as well get it over with.

"Well, excuse me. At least I was slaying some monsters, while the rest of you were playing around at camp."

Nora smirked. "Let me show you how a pro player does it."

The next thing I knew, she rushed at a velociraptor circling around us from behind. The large creature gave up trying to be stealthy and ran toward her. Her hood flapped around in the wind, as she slid underneath the beast and repeatedly stabbed at its soft underbelly. Needless to say, she dispensed of it quickly.

"How was that?" she asked, the particle effect upon the creature's death making it look like a scene out of an action movie.

I was impressed, but I should have expected that skill of somebody with such high-level equipment.

I crossed my arms. "It was alright, I guess."

She hid away her dagger in her billowing cloak. "You won't know—"

"Hey, guys. Sorry, we're late." Ethan approached wearing leather armor, a bow on his back next to a quiver full of diamond-tipped arrows. I always found it ridiculous how he refused to zip up his jacket and exposed his stomach though. I mean, why make it even easier for the monsters to kill you than usual? Nora must not have felt the same way with how she was ogling him.

"Hey, his eyes are up here." The high-elf motioned above his neck. "He's a ranger. Not a piece of meat."

Amelia didn't lie about being a high-elf. The pointy ears alone proved that. Her choice of attire was an entirely different matter. It was clear she was a priest of some kind from the symbol drawn in the center of her brown robe. Although, with how low it dipped in front, I had to make sure to follow her advice as well.

Nora stomped her foot. "Like I have to listen to some slutty elf! You had your mitts all over him earlier."

"That's rich coming from a filthy rogue! You snuck up behind him and glomped onto him even when he asked you to get off."

"Girls, enough. Can't you two get along for a little bit?"

His plea for a truce works, as both girls looked away from one another with a huff. These girls really didn't seem to like each other, considering this is the second time Ethan had to play peacekeeper. 

He pulled a map out of his back pocket. "I think we should go directly to the boss. Anyone against that idea?"

The other two showed no signs of disagreement, so I spoke up. "We should prep first. We only have so much time, and this monster likes hiding. We'll have to bait it out."

He smacked a fist onto his closed palm. "Good thinking. Let's go with that then."

Having settled on a course of action, our group headed over to the docks.

____________

I always liked to listen to the waves lapping against the dock while fishing. It was a nice, relaxing break from the otherwise life-or-death fights that the game comprised of. There was a tug at the end of the line and bubbles rose to the surface, alerting me to a catch. I jerked up the rod and cranked on the reel. After a well-fought battle, the fish succumbed to its tiredness, and I dragged it to the surface. It was a big one, whiskers and all, so I tossed it into the pile behind me. It flopped around uselessly while I went to see how the others were doing.

Nora proved competent, pulling up yet another large fish. Ethan, on the other hand, was hunched over as a fish escaped him. This had probably already happened quite a few times already. He never was any good at fishing when we went on missions together in the past either.

Amelia struggled to even cast the line, but that could be excused because she was a beginner. She dangled her feet over the edge and kicked at the water with her boots, obviously frustrated. Would it hurt to go over and help her? I mean, I was so far past the point of being involved with them that we were all in a party together playing Monster Slayer.

With a sigh, I laid my rod on its side and walked to the opposite side of the dock where she was. The planks creaked under my feet and alerted Amelia that I was approaching. We stared at each other, nobody saying anything until I cleared my throat. "To cast the rod you need to pull back and release the reel button when you fling it forward. And make sure you cast it into the riptides." I pointed out a rough patch on the otherwise calm surface of the water. "You see what I'm talking about."

She nodded, so I continued giving her instructions. "After that, it's as simple as reeling the fish in. You got all that?"

The girl brushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "Yes, I get it now. Thank you for your help."

I force myself to ignore her nice smile. "If you need any more help, ask Ethan. He may be useless at it, but he can at least explain the mechanics."

"This could be a good chance for me.” She glanced over to Ethan before cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting. "Ethan, could you come here and make sure I cast this correctly?"

He straightened up, no longer looking so dejected now that somebody needed him. "Sure thing. I'll be right there."

When I flipped around Nora was glaring at us, while Ethan gave me a thumbs-up on his way by. I chose to not engage with either one of them and returned to my original spot. Rod in hand, I carried on fishing, knowing we were going to need a lot more fish to attract the massive beast we were hunting.