Morning of the next day. 

 

The calm red of the sun peeks from the window. Chickens clucks out their morning call. The cold air of the night has faded. And there's this innocent clueless indecent young tutorial assistant elf who is laid on me.

 

This is really taxing... If I move, she will wake up. Yet I really want to move around, do some jog, stretches or whatever.

 

. . .

 

. . .

 

. . .

 

THIS IS WAY TOO BORING! I WANT TO MOVE! YET I DON'T WANT TO BE A JERK! AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!

 

Why did I think that sleeping with someone was fine? Curse you past me... You're too mentally weak. Isn't sleeping with a girl that isn't your life partner a bad thing?

 

Wait... Aren't I taking her along..? Wouldn't that mean she is my life partner? This is all fine then..? Technically this is my world now, and she is an inhabitant of this world. I'm taking her along with me so she can continue living.

 

Even if I move her, she should understand right? We are going to be life partners after all.

 

So I gently lift myself up and moved her to the side. I got my sweet freedom and my sweet morning stretches. Yet this whole thing felt so stupid.

 

"The hell was I thinking?" I quietly laugh to myself.

 

I left the room to prepare breakfast. I let Myll get more sleep till the food is ready. From the looks of it she isn't a morning person.

 

After breakfast I asked about the tutorial, yet it's the same silence. She knows things but she can't tell me since she doesn't know how to approach it. So I did a little experiment.

 

When we talk about a subject, she replies with what she knows with full honesty. My death and being dead is still on the blurry side of things. Yet she said "Your body may be dead, but your soul is still alive." 

 

When I asked her what to do, she said cooking. Myll has knowledge, it's just locked behind a condition of it being a question or the topic of the conversation. It'll just come to her.

 

So my first test is if she has knowledge about combat. We went out the the field of slimes and told her we are going to clean majority of them up. When I raised the topic and activity, she answered back with what she knows.

 

"All being has cores. It varies on what they are and what they're made of. A slime has a fragile crystal core, a being with little knowledge has a stone in their center, and human like beings have their hearts and brain. If the core breaks, they will die and you will gain experience according to their level."

 

There are more beings and types, but what she said about cores is all that she knows about combat. I asked her about strength, defense, agility and such too but it was a dead end, those things doesn't seem to exist but levels does.

 

It was all I need to know for now about combat, everything can come else later once I think we need it. Plus, all the slimes here are harmless and can't actually hurt you, they're just slimy and annoying. So my thoughts of saving her from a slime turned into a humiliation that covered us in slime.

 

No longer a single slime in sight but their remains. We didn't level up, or rather we can't. We can only get to a certain amount of XP on the tutorial, only 30% of the XP to get to level 2. The shards of the cores also vanishes if you leave them on the ground. Myll doesn't know why but it might be worth taking note of it.

 

My next test is about living. I asked Myll about it while taking we are taking a bath. It's the normal stuff of eat, drink, sleep, keep healthy, be careful of the unknown, take care, and make life. It's everything you also kind of need to know to stay alive and make a life in the real world.

 

Making life was a bit unclear due to her cluelessness and innocence, but I was able to pick it up. A female player can get pregnant, and a male player can impregnate anyone. There are no limits on this topic, but the development of a baby in the womb halts if the mother logs out.

 

There are much more I wanted to learn. But since Myll is going to be with me from now on, I could ask anytime. Instead of being taught the ropes, I'm looking for them. This is quite a fresh new taste for a tutorial.

 

---

 

After eating lunch, I felt the urge to finally leave this place. It felt suffocating, as if I'm trapped in a building burning down while I refuse to move. Staying here won't really help me face reality.

 

We started preparing for the world beyond. Illdyvia.

 

"Rei, we can bring anything and everything we can carry to Illdyvia. What should we bring?"

 

"Clothes, Medical Supplies and... Food?"

 

"Why do you sound unsure?" Myll giggles. "Well whatever, I also would not think of bringing stuff outside this place."

 

"Is not a matter of wouldn't but couldn't though..." I sigh. "Wouldn't you know everything though?"

 

"A tutorial assistant's only role is to teach not to give advice. I was supposed to know how to teach you and give you all basic information. But since I wasn't able to, I can't really do or teach anything."

 

"Now now, don't be too hard on yourself."

 

"I'm actually grateful for it though. If I knew what to do, probably would have been only focused on my duty."

 

"Myll..."

 

"I probably would have just watched you cook and helped when needed. I probably would have not speak or think my own thoughts. And what scares me the most is... I probably would've not been Myll and stayed nameless."

 

So tutorial assistants are really just disposable tools... I'm now somehow glad of Myll's cluelessness and helplessness. If she wasn't, she would've became one of those tools herself.

 

I'm also thankful for her company and her being her. If she wasn't the clueless elf girl, I would've still been thinking and loathing about my death. All that I need to do now is a simple as she wants. I just need to keep on living.

 

When the preparation ended we found out that Myll only has one set of clothes. Come to think of it, it also look like starting equipment. A white sweater shirt and a knee length skirt. The only difference from our clothes is her clothes are very finely detailed with roses.

 

"I guess the first thing we have to do once we get to the other side is get you clothes."

 

"I think I'll be fine for now though."

 

"I don't think you will."

 

"You only have 10 silver right? I think it would be best to not spend it on me right on the start. I can bear with it. I hope..."

 

"See, even you are unsure about yourself." I pat Myll's head. "No need to push yourself. I'm sure it will be all okay."

 

"Rei..."

 

When we were halfway from the edge of this world. I turned around and looked at the farm and the shack. Looking at it at this distance is a mixed feeling.

 

"I'm going to miss this place, but I guess this is goodbye." Myll looks too and said her farewell to the place. "I hope we get to live on a place like this again."

 

"Who knows? We might even find a more comfortable place." I commented.

 

"Anywhere with you will be comfortable for me though."

 

"Your words are very dangerous..." I whine as Myll's words stroke a string in my heart.

 

"My words are dangerous?" She looks worried about it.

 

"Nevermind what I said." I continued walking down the path.

 

"How could I not mind that my words are dangerous!?" She yells as she followed suit.

 

"Just think properly on the message you want to deliver before you say it, okay? Especially if you're talking to other people."

 

"Is it wrong to speak my mind?" She sounds confused.

 

"Not really... It just might cause a misunderstanding."

 

"Ah, I understand."

 

"Good."

 

"Is that a praise?"

 

"You could say that."

 

I almost let out a laugh about saying good is being taken as a praise. She seems happy about it though, so it's not necessarily really that stupid nor bad. 

 

When we got closer and closer to the edge of the world, Myll becomes more and more anxious. And when we were just a couple of steps away, she just froze on her tracks.

 

"Rei... I'm scared..."

 

Myll slowly started trembling. She attempts on making small steps forward, it all feels forced though.

 

"Would you like to go back? We could try tomorrow if you wa-"

 

"No!"

 

It was a surprise that Myll shouted as loud as she can. I guess her will isn't as weak as I see it. It's just her body and mind holding her back.

 

"Here." I held Myll's hands and lightly tugged her. "Just look at me and think about nothing else."

 

When you look at someone important to you while attempting to do something anxious. There's a chance that your body will be more willing to do that task by just seeing them. For Myll, I might be her one and only pillar of support. I probably also might be her strongest one if I am.

 

"Rei..." She was able to take a few more steps till she froze again. "Please... Don't let go..."

 

"Don't worry." I slightly tighten my grip. "I won't."

 

"Keep pulling me..." She sounds like she's really pushing herself. "Please..."

 

"Is it that bad?"

 

She just trembles as she doesn't give an answer. I changed my method of approach and just embraced her.

 

At first she was surprised, but she still didn't calm down. When she closed her eyes shut, she slowly started to loosen up. Her body felt more and more relaxed as she controls her breathing.

 

"Do you feel better now?" 

 

Myll responds with an "Mmn" while she kept herself in check.

 

"Want us to step back a bit?"

 

She thought about it for a couple of seconds leaving me with the silence of the wind. She replied with an "Mmn", and we stepped away from the world edge still in locked in embrace. She kept at it for another minute or two before she finally let go.

 

"Sorry, Rei." She apologized while staring at the edge of the world. "I don't know why, but when I get near the edge, I feel very scared."

 

"We are not in a hurry though, we could try again some other time."

 

"Time still moves even if we are here. Time waits for no one, it never will. If we stay here when you already decided to leave, I feel like I'm wasting your time."

 

I lay down on the grass thinking how philosophical Myll's words was. She follows and continued what she was saying.

 

"I also want to see the outside world. I'm wasting my time too if I don't do anything."

 

"Well... Baby steps."

 

"Baby steps?"

 

"Oh, right." Her words made me forgot that she's actually clueless. "It's.. another way to say take your time to be comfortable with it."

 

"I see... Baby steps..."

 

Myll spreads her arms and lightly playfully flails it around. She then stops when the wind picked up it's power and just stared at the sky.

 

"In my world, there's only a few places to do this in where I live." I started a conversation.

 

"Your world?"

 

"The one where I came from before I got here."

 

"Oh, that world."

 

"Yes, that world has too much structures, roads and facilities that the greenery is almost an uncommon thing."

 

"Structures? Facilities..? Greenery...?" With one line off my mouth, Myll can't follow anymore.

 

"Structures and Facilities are like the cottage and the barn. While the greenery is the green around us right now, the grass and plants."

 

"Are those ster-rak-tures and uhhh... The other thing. Are they comfortable?"

 

"The answer depends on who you're talking to. But if I had to answer, this place right here is more comfortable than my world."

 

"How come?"

 

"Sorry, I don't want to talk about it yet."

 

Being asked about why I'm more comfortable here made feel discomfort deep inside my gut. I have my reasons, and I don't want to share them to someone I just met. Myll may be my life partner from now on, but that topic is still sensitive to me.

 

I saw Myll glancing at me, trying to read me again. She just sighed and looked back at the sky. I could immediately tell that she wasn't successful. Her continuous attempts and failure made me chuckle.

 

"Just being with you makes life a bit more comfortable to be honest."

 

"Eh!? Why?" Myll sat up in surprise and with a bit of embarrassment.

 

"Everything feels so new, yet it's so relaxed." I laugh. "These past 2 days have been so entertaining and different."

 

"But I didn't even do my role properly, I don't even know things..."

 

"Then you have something to look forward to."

 

"Something to look forward to?"

 

Her attention has suddenly been caught even though I wasn't really intending to catch it. And yet she's seems focused on what I'm about to say.

 

"If you can't do something right now, you can probably do it in the future. Like being able to cook more things, and learn more words."

 

"Something to look forward to."

 

She lays back down and stared at the sky as she thinks deeply. I do the same without the thinking, just feeling the surroundings and listening to the song of the wind.

 

---

 

A while has passed and I was almost mentally dragged to sleep. Laying down on the grass was relaxing, and the sweater shirt is keeping me warm.

 

"Rei..."

 

Myll was sleep talking while she rolls on the grass. It was adorable but I can't just leave her there, she might roll on a rock or something. She also doesn't want to go back.

 

My mind presented me two options. Let her rest in my lap, so I could at least control her movements and she won't move as much. Or take her to the other side while she is unconscious.

 

I moved Myll on my lap to think about my options. I really don't want her rolling around even when I'm thinking about my options. If I choose the first option, I'll just leave her here with me. Two birds with one stone.

 

The first option seems to be the best one of the two. God knows what will happen if I bring her to the other side. Her fear of the edge of the world shows signs that it's something dangerous for her. But then again, it could just be a safety mechanism to keep them in.

 

One can't really know how they're gonna end up if they went through. If I've done my research before I got here, I could've thought this through properly.

 

Still, Myll's words earlier slightly contradict what I say. "We can bring anything and everything we can carry to Illdyvia." So what if I carry her? Will she be safe?

 

There's only one way to find out. I don't even think that a tutorial assistant can lie. She may have got her own personality, but she still tries her best to do her duty. But... It can also be a lie. I may be overthinking things, but she might've said that to make me feel okay with all of this. When we got to the edge, she felt fear was crawling at her back.

 

Can she even get out?

 

I cut a very small piece of her hair out to and did a test with it.

 

First, I tried to put my hand through the boundaries of the edge with her hair. It worked fine and there wasn't any force stopping me. Myll's hair is not Myll entirely but the next test should answer my question.

 

I pulled my hand back and threw her hair at the wall. To my surprise, the boundary stopped it and forced it back. I tried the same with other small objects. Rocks, grass and even one of my daggers. They all got stopped.

 

It seems I have to be in some way of contact with whatever I'm bringing. Myll wasn't lying when I can bring anything out. I just have to be the one that brings it.

 

When I looked back at Myll, it seems that she rolled quite far. It shocked me since she didn't seem or feel like a restless sleeper. We did sleep on the same bed last night. The sight made me chuckle a bit, and it also pulled me out of my critical thinking.

 

I picked up and carried Myll and our things off the floor. If anything goes wrong, I'll just regret it later. It kind of worries me that I'm putting someone's life on the line, but it's better than leaving them here to just disappear.

 

When I passed through the edge with Myll in my arms. It was like and feels like the white empty space from where I started. I looked back beyond the edge and the world was literally fading, exactly like dust being blown away.

 

After it all vanished and not a single thing was in sight. There was a bright and blinding flash. When I was able to see again, Myll was still with me. I breathe a sigh of relief and looked around where we ended up. I was worried that she could've vanished or died. Yet she's still in my arms, sleeping soundly.

 

From the looks of it, it feels like dusty wooden church. To be exact, it felt like the church was made in a tree.

 

The back of Myll's neck suddenly flashed light. It caught my attention but it also felt like my legs were giving out. Myll and our stuff isn't exactly heavy but it felt like I was giving my all to keep them up, almost stumbling as I tried to get my footing back.

 

The sudden movement woke up Myll. She quickly glanced around with her eyes wide open and stared at mine. She quickly got off my arms and looked around restlessly.

 

"Rei, where are we?"

 

"Beyond. You could say, we are finally at Illdyvia..? To be exact... We may be at Floracliff." It felt like my conscience was fading as I answer Myll's question.

 

"We really are through?"

 

She couldn't believe it and ran around. After running for a short while, she was starting to enjoy herself.

 

"We really are through!" She playfully laughs.

 

"Thank god she is okay." These were my last thoughts before I passed out.

 

It felt like a long time before I came to, it felt like slept through lunch. When I open my eyes, Myll was there staring at me as if she's waiting for me to wake up.

 

"Don't worry me like that you dummy..." Tears started to form in her eyes.

 

"Sorry."

 

Dummy... How did she know this word? I don't recall teaching her this. Would a tutorial assistant know this word? No use thinking about this now. More importantly...

 

"What happened?"

 

"You just suddenly fell asleep. I was so worried and I don't know what to do." Myll wipes her tears away. "Then these two people came out from nowhere. Their clothes were weird, but they helped us. They said you were just fatigued, and that means you're just sleeping."

 

"I see..."

 

Looks like a lot happened.

 

"I'm so glad you're okay Rei." Myll hugs me.

 

"I'm glad you're okay too."