I woke up this morning in anticipation of my trip to the capital. Last night I messaged Alex and told her we were on our way to the capital to meet up. I got myself ready for the day and threw on some yoga pants and a loose shirt. I walked into the kitchen only to find Yuki was already there making breakfast.

 

“Morning, mom. I was excited about finally making it to the capital today, so I couldn’t sleep. I decided to make breakfast for us; I hope you don’t mind.”

 

“That’s fine. Just glad you’re awake. Now, if only you could get up like this when you were in school.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Once my suspension is, it will be time for finals and then graduation.”

 

“You could have graduated earlier if you weren’t held back the year.”

 

“I know…but you needed me more than I needed school.”

 

I think back to those days where Yuki missed days of school just to take care of her drunk mother. I try my best not to cry, but I still feel the tears forming.

 

“Mom! Don’t you dare go blaming yourself now! You are not a bad mother. It was a minor hiccup. I am still going to graduate, and I will go to college. Don’t worry about me.”

 

“You’re right. I am proud of you. Now move over and let me, help cook. No arguments.”

 

After a happy breakfast, I climbed back in my pod back into the virtual world. Walking out of the inn, I spot both Emiko and Lenora, as I decided to call her in-game, ready to go waiting for me.

 

“About time you show up, slowpoke.”

Lenora said with a big grin.

 

“All right, you two, let’s hit the road if we plan on getting to Riadence before night.”

 

---

 

We had been traveling for a few hours when we stopped for a small break. The road we were on went through a forest. We started eating a small lunch since it was just a little before midday.

 

“You know. Have any of ever wondered, if eating a meal in-game before logging out, if it ruins your appetite in the real world?” Emiko said in-between bites of her sandwich.

 

“I never really thought about it, but I don’t think it does. Mom and I always have dinner after logging out, so I’m sure there was a moment where we ate in-game before logging out.”

 

“I suppose your right, but I am a little envious of you, Len. You get to play this game every day with your mom.”

*Sigh*

“My parents are… let’s just say they are a little extreme with duty and profit. They wouldn’t join me in this game unless it benefits them. They never really supported me much when it came to my hobbies. Anyway, sorry for saying something depressing. We have an adventure ahead of us!”

 

I can’t but feel a little pang of sadness for Emiko. But now I think I understand a little why she acts the way she does. As we were finishing up our quick lunch, my ears caught a barely audible noise.

 

“Shh! You guys hear that?”

 

Lenora and Emiko stopped talking and looked around, trying to listen. Emiko’s ears moved around as if hearing the same thing I did.

 

“Yeah, I hear it too. Sounds like footsteps. A lot of them, and they sound close.”

 

“Must be nice having enhanced hearing. Halflings get a bonus to stealth and evasion.”

 

Just as Lenora finished her sentence, a pack of wolves with small green creatures riding on top of them burst into our makeshift rest stop. The wolves stood at about half my height and were equipped with saddles. The green creatures on top of them, most likely goblins, were dressed in various leather armor types and used a sword or spear combination. There were a few that had bows too.

 

I quickly draw my sword as I don’t have enough time to use my bow, plus they are too close for that anyway. I don’t have time to look over at Lenora as one of the creatures is in front of me.  I step to the side as the wolf’s jaws snap shut where I once stood. However, I felt a stinging pain as I realized that the goblin had attacked me.

 

I made a note to pay more attention to both rider and mount. I attack the wolf, trying to kill it or at least disable it, trying to get some of this pressure off me. I glance over to my left and notice Emiko had killed two wolves and a goblin and was squaring off against the other.

 

The wolf in front of me charged at me again. I ducked under it just as it attacked and cut its front leg. With its momentum and my slash, my sword managed to almost sever the leg. The goblin, sensing how badly the wolf was injured, drove its sword into its skull and dismounted, ready to fight me.

 

I pull out a bottle of poison I made the other day and coat my sword in it. The goblin quickly charges at me, swinging its sword wildly. I use my swords crossguard to help deflect the blow and counter by striking its face with my pommel. While it is dazed, I follow a quick cut from my sword, which does what I want. The poison takes effect, and the goblin falls over paralyzed and howling in agony.

 

I notice more riders arriving, and I rush over to Lenora and Emiko.

 

“More of them are coming; what should we do?” I manage to pant out to Emiko.

 

“Let’s try and retreat back to town. While dying isn’t pleasant, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Worse case, we just respawn back in town anyway.”

 

“Sounds good. Lenora! We are going back to town!”

 

We fight off a few more goblin riders before making a run for it back to town. Which is most likely useless as we had already walked a few hours away from town. As we ran, I looked behind me and saw about fifteen or so riders chasing after us. They seemed to be toying with us was the wolves could definitely catch up to us easily.

 

Several minutes later, and my theory turned out to be right. A separate group had run ahead of us and cut off our escape. Looking at our situation, I could laugh as Emiko spoke.

 

“Well. I guess I’ll see you guys back in town.”

 

I didn’t feel like dying, but I also knew that I would just respawn back in town. So, I chose to go all out and kill as many as I could just to see how well I could do.

 

I don’t know how long we were fighting, but these riders seemed endless. A yell brought me out of my thoughts, and I looked towards the sound and saw Emiko with two wolves on her. I saw her HP bar drop to zero and knew she had just died. Damn it, I guess that leaves Just Lenora and me.

 

I see she is busy with two riders and saw a third one trying to join in. I charge at the third wolf as it is in mid-jump toward her, and body slam it. We are rolling across the forest floor, and I am trying to stab it with my sword. I should have listened to Urlgan better when he said to carry a dagger since sometimes the sword is too long.

 

Suddenly the ground beneath us gives out, and I feel myself falling with the struggling wolf. Both of us hit what I can only guess is the bottom before I blackout.

 

---

 

My eyes slowly open, and try to adjust to my surroundings. My body aches all over, and I feel stiffness from my back. A quick look shows that my HP is sitting at 5/30. I notice my level has gone up from 7 to 13 too.

 

I roll over onto my knees, and that’s when I notice that the wolf I was with broke my fall and is lying dead on the floor. I stand up and look around me, and that’s when I discover I am in some kind of ruin. I am in some kind of fountain garden area, except all the flowers are dead.

 

I see I ray of light shining on the fountain, and following it up, I see a hole in the ceiling. Looking through the hole to the sky, I notice it is now night. I had enough adventure for now, so I open my menu and logout.

 

[Error: Dark forces are preventing dimensional transportation. Please leave the affected area.]

 

What the hell! I can’t log out of the game? I send a message to Yuki, letting her know my situation.

 

[Error: Dark forces are blocking all forms of communication. Please leave the affected area.]

 

What the fuck is this?! Why can’t I log out or send messages?

 

[Answer: Due to current Location. Dungeon: The Ephialtes Tribulation.]