The next day I went downstairs to find most of the group already waiting. While I had expected Sammie to be late it was odd that Nelson wasn't here. For the moment I decided to focus more on food. Ordering a standard breakfast I sat down with the others.

“No Nelson today?” I asked.

“He left early. From the note seems he will be busy today but told Sammie to find a job for us,” Sarah replied.

“Oh,” was all that slipped out and soon my food arrived.

“It is rare for him to be the one absent, think he went to talk to some people after hearing the news about reduced stock,” Sarah mentioned as I ate.

“That means no leader!” Matt cheered which was quickly met with a scowl from Sarah. As I finished the door slammed open. I jumped slightly but was slowly get use to Sammie's entrances.

“Got us a bandit quest,” Yelled Sammie shaking a piece of paper over head, “oh yeah, also Nelson said that Sarah would be leader for when he is absent this time. Seems like he might not be around for a few days.”

She tossed a small pouch to Sarah and rushed us all out. I was slow to follow still groggy from the night before but once outside we we fairly relaxed with the pace. Sarah and Sammie had been talking about the quest and seemed like the group dynamics would shift a little from the bits I overheard. As we left the hub it seemed like just another day to me now. Odd how much had changed in the last few weeks, from depressed wandering to feeling like I have a place I belong. Maybe that is part of why the game worlds are there, to help ease people into a different form of life. As I pondered over it Matt came to a stop.

“Something wrong Matt?” I queried.

“I have been offered a quest...” he almost whispered. I felt myself tilting my head in a puzzling look.

“Mentor quest?” Sarah asked as if there wasn't much else there could be. Matt simply nodded unsure if to take it or not.

“Well if you feel you are ready for it then we can take a detour for it.” Sarah responded leaving Matt to consider. I considered pulling on Sarah's sleeve to ask about it but decided against it, if it was accepted I would soon find out and if it wasn't well I could always ask when we were back to the inn.

“I think I will give it a go...” Matt decided pressing on a menu in front of him.

“Lead the way then,” Sarah responded giving Matt a slight push to get him in front. We swiftly turned left and marched on.

“Jess, this will likely be a small group fight with a person to save, fight but don't save the person. Matt is the one selected as a mentor so he should be the one to interact with them first.” Sarah explained. I nodded and readied myself for whatever was to come. We walked for about ten minutes before Matt finally stopped just before a clearing. From what I could tell there was a camp fire and some figures by it. Their was also a wooden cage with a figure inside, however they seemed not to be awake.

“Take charge Matt, this is your quest we are just support,” Sarah said encouragingly.

“I guess we move shortly after the person wakes up and clear the bandits then I free the person. Just single them out looks to be one for each of us.” Matt responded deeply in thought.

“I will take the archer in the tree then,” Sarah commented pointing to a bandit on a ledge I hadn't even noticed.

“One to the left,” Emily added claiming her target.

“Far right,” Sammie pitched in, that looked to be the most well armed of them all and didn't surprise me.

“Leader seems to be one nearest cage so I will take that,” Matt added.

“Guess that leave me with the one fuelling the fire,” I commented drawing my sword. The person in the cage stirred and everyone readied themselves.

“Loot from each is your own, lets go!” Commanded Matt finally taking charge and the first to leap into the clearing. We followed suit as Sarah notched an arrow using the trees as cover. I ran towards the one who was fuelling the fire.

We were noticed fairly quickly and I made an attempt to stab my target before he got a chance to prepare. It was dodged with a roll and he drew his weapon. Guess this bandit wasn't like when we did the quest before as a group, they seemed more complex in their movements. I studied my target carefully and he seemed to do the same to me. We were both similarly armed with a single sword so their shouldn't be an advantage either way. Finally gathering my strength I swung down my sword with both hands gripped tightly to the hilt. It met firm resistance and was blocked single handedly. As I considered what to do next a fist hit my side. I stumbled, I hadn't expected it and fell slightly. Using the momentum the bandit attacked and I barely rolled out the way quickly getting to my feet.

I recalled the fights I had seen before, there were many times people had used their surroundings to their advantage. I needed to adapt more so I shifted my sword to my left hand and picked up a stone. With all my might I threw it at my target. It was deflected with the sword but in the moment after throwing I had charged in re-gripping my sword with both hands and swung across under his guard and managed to cut him in two. I picked up the small bag he turned into seeing some coins and pocketed them. The fights had all reached the deciding factor with only Sarah and Matt still going. After a few more shots Sarah won, she picked up her arrows and Matt finally finished his fight.

“Good work Jess,” Sarah said patting me on the back as Matt stepped forwards. He looked a bit shaky but with a firm swing he broke open the cage. The rest of us took a seat around the fire. I was following suit with it and couldn't hear the words exchanged between Matt and the new person.

Talk between us arose. Sammie was fairly excited about her fight and clearly eager for more however we weren't foolish enough to offer her what she sought. It didn't take long for Matt to rejoin us with the new person following.

“This is Lance,” Matt explained introducing the new member. We all quickly introduced ourselves. “Sarah, lets get back to the bandit quest,” Matt clearly was taking a more laid back approach and had handed the reins back to Sarah.

“Sure, firstly does Lance have a weapon?” she enquired. He was unarmed but he simply worked towards a small crate, was this the work of the system I considered as he seemed to be acting on instinct. As he opened it a menu appeared and after considering he made a selection and pulled out what looked like a long spear with an axe on the end.

“Interesting,” Sarah muttered.

“What kind of weapon is that,” I asked her.

“It is a halberd, sort of like a spear and axe combined.” She explained, “Need to get use to it?” she called to Lance.

“Nah, I have played a few games with this kind of thing before lets just get going,” Lance replied and with that we were off. The pace was a little slow with Matt sheepishly talking to Lance explaining the basics but he was clearly struggling with the new responsibility. I had tried to help but Sarah had stopped me.

“We need to let Matt do this, if he asks for help it is fine but for now just let him try on his own. This will be good for him,” she had said. While I wasn't sure how he was managing I trusted her and left the matter at that. It wasn't long before we reached what seemed to be a path leading to a wooden hut.

“That the target,” Sammie mentioned pointing out guards and patrols.

“Seems we are at a disadvantage then, looks like most of the fighting will be indoors.” Sarah considered for a moment before adding, “Sammie take charge of Emily and Jess to clear inside, I will keep Matt and Lance since they should interact more. Try not to rush too much, Jess is still new,”

Sammie gave a mock salute and motioned for us to follow slightly to the side.

“Ok when Sarah gives the signal we rush inside, I will take the first wave, Emily you take out any that come from the entrance behind us, maybe block the door a little. Any left overs are for you Jess,” she commanded, it seemed odd for her to command us but also natural. With a nod we waited, it seemed like the others were having a tactics talk. An arrow was sent flying and judging from the others that was the signal. Sammie was first to make a move shooting like a bullet towards the hut, while I considered it a hut from how it looked it was still pretty large. I followed suit noticing how the others were attacking bandits on the way. Not to kill but simply remove them from the path. I tried to copy but my attacks hardly seemed to deter them, Sammie just motioned to keep going and when we reached the windowless hut we simple entered. I was panting hard but Sammie was already engaging with the bandits inside without a second thought and Emily had taken a stance in the doorway. After a few moments to catch my breath I stepped into the fray. After the fight to free Lance these bandits seemed easier, their movements less refined and actions less structured. It was a simply matter of clearing them out. The first room took a bit of effort since patrols of the nearby corridors would often rush in but after a while we were done. I felt breathless but Sammie hardly seemed phased. Sammie offered me a hand helping me up.

“You get use to it,” commented Sammie as I took her hand, “Anyway three paths it seems. Emily left, Jess right, meet you in the boss room.” With that she simply slammed a fist into the other hand and marched down the middle corridor. I simply tried to focus and walked to the right, sword ready and unsure what to expect.

The corridors tended to be quiet but each room had a bandit or two. At first the numbers got the better of me and a few times I was in trouble but due to the rooms layouts and limited space aided me more than the bandits and I pushed on. Considering how the hut looked outside it felt bigger inside but after clearing five or six rooms I saw Sammie and Emily both learning against doorways across from me. I guessed this must be the boss room and with a questioning look from Sammie I gave a nod which was the signal to charge. It was strange, from what I saw was only a heavily armoured bandit with two guards, it seemed anti climatic to me. I drew the attention of one guard while Emily attacked another. The size of this room gave us a lot of space and it still seemed odd, something at the back of my mind was bugging me. As if to answer my concerns an explosion went off removing the back wall showing another room with more bandits who instantly charged.

“Pull back,” yelled Sammie kicking the boss in the head and knocking it over. She ran towards her entranceway without hesitation motioning for us to follow. I made a thrust to make a gap, chasing after her. We formed a triangle in the door way. We were outnumbered now but the formation meant that we could easily cover each other. We kept fighting, the boss seemed to have left the fighting to his guards and sat down watching carefully.

I felt like I couldn't keep this up for long. I was tiring fast. My movements starting to get sluggish. My breathing uneven and fast. As I tried to block an attack my aim missed and it hit my new shoulder guard deflecting. Before I had a chance to react Sammie grabbed my collar and threw me into the corridor behind.

“Rest, you are no good dead,” Sammie called filling in my space with rapid movements and never stopping her fights. I had let the team down was all I felt as I took a moment to recover. If not for Sammie I would have likely died. The feeling of disappointment and shame made me feel heavy. The clashing of Emily's sword and Sammie's fist echoed as I regained myself. When I felt able I stood up taking my spot again. I would try harder, I didn't want to be the weak link of this team. I wanted to get stronger. Every attack had to be better, every movement more controlled. I must become stronger. With that thought I fought. Every block I tried to push against. Every attack I tried to put in more strength.

It was drawn out but finally we had managed to clear all but the boss. He stood up wielding his large hammer and took up a stance. My breathing was harsh once again but I followed after Sammie. His thick armour was resisting all our attacks. Sammie was drawing his attention but I felt like all my attacks were worthless. Just as I felt like we should rush Emily put a palm on the armour and with a shock-wave that knocked me off my feet the armour shattered.

What was that …

It didn't matter I needed to get up and with that I charged in. The boss was still tough, our attacks seemed to be more annoying than hurting it. Red marks covered him when he finally swung his hammer around forcing us back then slammed it into the ground. I was knocked off my feet again as the hammer exploded and he fell.

“Dam it, run everyone,” Yelled Sammie rushing towards the doorway. Emily helped me to my feet and we rushed after her. The room shook as parts of it exploded. Fire spread and all we could do was flee.

“What is going on?” I shouted running as fast as I could.

“Bad info, this is designed for bigger groups, normally we don't have bosses on our quests,” Sammie called back, “just run for now hopefully the group outside are still managing.”

With that I kept running often stumbling as explosions echoed around me and the ground shook. My lungs were on fire, breathing was hard but finally we reached the doorway. The sight that greeted us was not much better. Sarah was behind Matt and Lance pushed up against the wall.

“Move everyone,” shouted Sammie as she cleared a path for them to escape. We just managed to clear it in time as the rest of the hut exploded knocking everyone down. We regrouped in a circle with only Sarah being in the centre.

“Dam it Sammie what kind of quest did you get us,” she yelled as the bandits attacked in force.

“Bad intel, this is designed for more people, just focus on defence we should be able to survive!” she called out, attacking non-stop as she did. We were struggling. While we had managed to cover everyone's backs and Sarah supported us from the centre easing the pressure where needed, we couldn't keep up. I tried mostly to repel the attacks with little chance to counter attack. Most of the others were not managing much better. The hut exploding had signalled more bandits and we were hopelessly outnumbered.

“Everyone, rush outwards and split up. Gather at the tree line, we have more chance there.” ordered Sarah and with that we made a break for it. She however didn't and drew the attention of as much as she could buying us time. Just as I reached the trees and turned around to defend myself she fell. It was expected yet hit me hard. Her lifeless body simply collapsed and the bandits attention turned to us. While we had a rough formation with the trees against our back we continued to defend ourselves. While Sammie and Emily were holding their own Matt, Lance and I were struggling to hold ground. It was clear to see that the three of us were fighting a losing battle. I pushed against an attack but finally an attack hit me in the back and I fell.

I saw Sarah's spirit form watching nearby from a stump and went to join her.

“You fought well,” she commented watching the others fight. I didn't know what to say, I doubted myself and felt I had let the team down. I took a look at to see my revival timer however their wasn’t one. I panicked.

“Our timers are tied to the others, win and we revive instantly, lose and there will be the normal timer and we will revive nearby with the others.” she commented, still watching . I wanted to say something but couldn't find the words so all I could do was watch. It was still chaotic, the numbers were too great and it didn't take long for Lance and Matt to fall. They sat elsewhere and seemed to be talking. With the limited forced the last two split up. Sammie had charged forwards disrupting the flow of the battle. Emily however charged at a nearby tree almost ran up it for a few steps before jumping, full speed at an enemy piecing it through and ran towards a clearing of enemies. They regrouped back to back and fought on but it was clear to see they were not going to last long. I still couldn't find the words to say. I wanted to apologise for being weak, for not being able to help out when it was needed but something about Sarah's face seemed to make my words unable to form. It was just so calm, as if nothing had happened.

“Looks like we might have a chance after all,” Sarah commented dully pointing to the side away from the fight. I squinted and could make out a banner and some figures. The banner had a strange pattern. It looked like frameless glasses with a thick nose and moustache. It was white on a blue background held up by a single man with light armour. Following it was a small group of armoured soldiers, their equipment the same dark blue of the banner with the symbol on each of their chests. They numbered maybe twelve or thirteen but when they reached the clearing they attacked making short work of the bandits. I had little idea what had just happened but as the last bandit fell I was pulled back and revived. I sat up and just watched the group, they were in perfect formation and looked as if nothing had happened.

“Bandit attackers, form up!” the banner carrier barked and following the lead of everyone else I walked in front of the now placed banner.

“It seems the information broker you have used has provided false information, we of Doctor Gerald's Information Command have come to write the wrongs of poor information. Recover your strength while we stand guard.” he firmly commanded. With that they spread out and we sat down. Sarah shared out some bread and water with the rest and talked with the banner carrier. When we had recovered enough according to the banner carrier they simple grabbed the planted banner and took their leave without saying another word.

“Wouldn't have guessed he would get involved with this bad information,” commented Sammie, “must have been multiple cases of assigning dangerous quests to smaller groups.”

“Who were they?”I asked.

“Part of a faction. Most will try to win the game but someone called Gerald didn't. He made it to officially group his followers together. He is consider the ultimate information trader and is based right at the centre of the hub. He makes huge amounts of trading information but when false information has been spread he will step in with his forces to help out,” Sarah explained, “They are going to seek out groups like ours that need aid and help out hence why they left when we had recovered.”

“And Gerald's the kind of person who lets the ones given the false information take the loot from the quest they were doing instead of claiming it as payment for saving us,” said Sammie rubbing her hands together at the though of finding something interesting.

“Judging from the quest should be a trapdoor somewhere with a bonus, otherwise all the pouches nearby will be split,” Sarah said searching the area till she found a pile of leaves leaves she moved aside. Sammie and Emily had already collected most of the pouches by the time Sarah cleared the leaves and pulled open a trapdoor.

“Everyone over here,” she called and we followed her down into a small room. It was lit with torches. There was a large chest against the back wall with some gold coins piled around. I watched carefully as Sarah interacted with the gold and it quickly condensed down to size into a large set of pouches. We kept watch as she opened the chest, instantly we each had a menu. I glanced at it.

“Reward selection screen” was at the top and I glanced at it. It ranged from sums of gold to weapons to even lumps of materials. I was trying to decide when Sarah come over and glanced at it.

“Unless you want a second weapon or have plans for the materials it is best to just select gold,” she told me still looking at the list.

“However if you are still unsure can offer to share the items and maybe get something else you want, generally people get different lists and it can be interesting to share them out,” She added. I noticed she still had the menu open and I saw her list was vastly different to mine. Only Emily had selected an item and had a pouch appear in her hand which she stowed away. I took another look at my list and noticed something interesting. I decided on it and quickly selected it getting a long thin box. Everyone else was starting to compare and decide on trades between the lists. I walked over to Sarah and bowed a little handing her the box.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“A gift,” I replied nervous at the idea. She carefully opened it and picked out the item inside. It was a beautiful quiver that seemed packed with arrows. She examined it unsure if to take it before bowing and thanking me. With some hesitation she put it over her shoulder noticing how light it was and smiled. After a few moments she scrolled down the list to get a large backpack that looked heavy which she strapped over her other shoulder. It wasn't long before everyone else had selected most had simply taken from their own list but Sammie and Matt had exchanged items.

“Anyway lets head back, we can split the gold at the inn,” she stated as she climbed out of the basement. As we finished leaving it the trapdoor vanished to my surprise but we simply walked away.

It had been a tiring day and we walked slowly. Our energy drained and the sky darkening. Talk was almost non-existent. Mostly just between Lance, Matt and Sammie. Either about fights or information and sometimes I heard talk of other worlds. I couldn't really follow it, too tired to take information in. As we entered the outskirts of the hub night had fallen and the darkness was only broken by the moonlight and the lights of buildings nearby. We shuffled to the inn and sat down at a table almost collapsing. Sarah ordered some items from the bar and divided the gold, considering how we were almost wiped out we had earnt a large amount. Almost six hundred each. Likely due to how it was for groups of around twelve instead of six so we had gotten double the reward because of it. What was spread on the table shortly after was a selection of food ranging from breads and fruit to pieces of meat. We ate fairly slowly without much comment before people started to retreat upstairs. Sarah knocked on the door behind the bar and after a few moments of entering I heard a call from below but couldn't make it out. It wasn't something for me anyway. With that I simply went up stairs to my room and slept.