The young man’s gaze fell upon the four pairs of bestial humanoids. While they all shared some similarities, such as their bodies being partially covered by fur, or scales in the phryan’s case, each race possessed several distinct features. And although their facial features were more human than beast, their feral nature still stood out.

He couldn’t help but feel drawn by the felis’ catlike eyes. But at the same time, their somewhat slender physique reminded him too much of his actual body. The lycan’s amber eyes, staring straight at him, almost made him take a step back. The wide-framed taur male inspired a similar sort of dissatisfaction as the felis’ body type. ‘The horns are pretty damn cool, though…’ Shifting his attention towards the last half-beast race, the lizard-like phryan, he frowned. ‘Yeah, I really don’t fancy myself as a reptile sort of guy.’

In the end, he turned towards the third figure in the row of half-beasts and nodded. “Okay… system? AI lady? Uhm… What should I even call you?” After a small pause, at the end of which he could’ve almost sworn he heard the AI chuckle, the feminine voice answered.

“I think so, but I’d like to know a couple of things before I commit to it. First of all, can you open up that general system guide for me?”

A large, semitransparent menu appeared before him. “Okay, let’s see. Interface, character resources, chat and system settings… Bingo. Stat points.” He skimmed through their explanations before turning back to face the floating figures. “Aida, which half-beast subspecies gets a bonus to their Agility?”

“Perfect. Then I choose lycan.”

“Let’s just stick with male. No need to overcomplicate things to begin with.”

“Yeah. Can you make the body leaner, Aida? Base it on my frame. And make the face less… round. I don’t exactly think that chubby cheeks and a lean physique go well together.” With the other figures gone, his lycan avatar morphed according to his instructions. “Also… is there any way we could maybe get rid of the tail? Oh, and the eyes. Maybe try to make them… I don’t know, more serious looking?”

A few minutes later, and after the eighth set of changes, Dan’s avatar looked basically nothing like him anymore. “Wait, doesn’t the face look a bit too manly now? I mean, I get that it probably won’t matter, but I’m not really comfortable playing the brooding, mysterious type…”

Brow raised, he looked up and sighed. “Not cool, Aida… But yeah, I might be overthinking this. Can you just revert the face to what it was before we got rid of the tail?”

The bonfire’s blue flames flickered as his character’s figure disappeared. He looked down, expecting to see the clawed hands of his newly configured avatar. Instead, the sight of his regular body greeted him. “So, Aida, I expected to feel a bit more wolf, and a bit less… Dan, if you get my drift.”

Hearing the AI’s words, he suddenly became aware of the four alcoves carved into the stone chamber’s walls. And just beyond the bonfire’s flames, a blue portal swirled inside the alcove adorned with carvings of the game’s mortal races. He approached cautiously, raising his hand towards the shimmering whirlpool of energy. And as he touched its surface, unable to tell whether it was hot or cold, a system notification chimed in front of him.

Dan pulled back his hand, still trying to make sense of the strange feeling. “Okay, no more waiting around! Aida, what’s next?”

“A name, eh?” He paced around the bonfire, crossing his arms and frowning. “Hm, what about the name Exarion?”

“You’re right. It’s too pretentious.” A second later, he snapped his fingers. “I know! Aida, set my name to Banefang!”

Above the bonfire, a map of Enoa’s two continents appeared.

“I assume I have to choose one out of the three blinking dots on the map?”

“Aida, if I give you my friend’s RealID, do you think you could tell me where he ended up?”

“385491.”

“Perfect. Send me there as well.”

Dismissing the window, Dan made his way towards the swirling portal and took a deep breath. “Ok, here we go.”

His vision darkened again, followed by a strange sensation of weightlessness. A moment later, he could feel the sun’s warmth as he opened his eyes to find himself in the center of a massive plaza, right next to a marbled fountain.

He raised his hand to rub his eyes and recoiled, startled by the fur that had touched his face. “Right…” he whispered, inspecting his clawed fingers. ‘This’ll take some getting used to.’

Even though the place was crawling with people, the sheer size of the area made it so that Bane didn’t feel boxed in at all. The tall, colorful buildings reminded him of an old town surrounded by snow topped mountains that he had once visited as a kid.

Armored guards glared at him and every other player within the plaza, brandishing their sheathed weapons. They had boxed every player within the massive plaza. And as Bane looked around, trying to get a scope of the place and the tall buildings surrounding it, he then jerked his head towards the sound of someone yelling.

“BACK AWAY!” The guard’s eyes narrowed at a young man who wore clothes similar to Bane's.

“Who do you think you are, trying to keep me here?” mocked the man, taking another step forward.

Without another warning, the heavy framed guard drew his sword and aimed it at the young man’s neck. The man screamed, falling on his back as a bright, red line appeared across his neck. He clasped his hands around the shallow cut, his chest shaking as short, haggard breaths escaped through his trembling lips. He then raised a trembling hand, but there was barely any blood on it.

“W-what the fuck are you doing?!” he asked, staring at the sword still pointed at him. The guard merely scowled, his sight fixated at the young man’s rapidly fading wound.

“Captain! I think that’s more than enough, don’t you think?”

From behind the captain, several robed men and women came forward, as the rest of the guards stepped aside. Wearing a pristine white robe, the woman at the head of the group stopped next to the captain, the kindest of smiles strewn across her lips. Her eyes, however, half-hidden by her brown hair, robbed Bane of even the last bit of warmth within his bones as he stared at the priestess that he would’ve described as beautiful under any other circumstances.

“Leave, Preacher,” said the captain, refusing to lower his blade. “This is none of your concern.”

“Oh, but when it involves our dear guests here and the fate of the kingdom, I think it does concern me.” One by one, more people showed up, led by others dressed in the same white robes, until they eventually enveloped the plaza’s outskirts. “And I think the fair people of Alissey agree with me.”

Several seconds passed before the captain finally lowered his sword, at which point the young man shot up and scurried back into the crowd of players. The Preacher then turned to face them, tilting her head ever so slightly as she spoke.

“My dear Strangers, I apologize for the captain’s… needless display. I am the Conclave’s 7th Preacher, Nissa, and on behalf of the people of Xeladia, I wish to offer you the warmest of greetings.” The previous tension lessened, with a few of the players beginning to chat between themselves. “You are free to go,” she said, stilling the crowd, “although I hope that I can instead convince you to follow us. We wish to offer you all a token of our kindness, so that we may let you go about your way better than how we found you.”

As the Preacher finished speaking, four robed men came forward, carrying a large, wooden chest that they then set down in front of everyone. They then stepped back and made way for the Preacher to open the chest, revealing the glistening pile of gold coins inside. “Please, come closer.”

With almost everyone now clamoring and shoving their way towards the Conclave members, Bane stood back and hesitated.

“Not eager to join the fun?”

Startled, he turned around to meet the source of the feminine voice. The slender, raven-haired woman wore the same style of clothing as him, but her muscular frame still managed to shine through. She looked at him briefly before shifting her head towards the gaggle of players swarming the Conclave members. And despite her pleasant features, the two horns jutting out the sides of her head conveyed an air of strength to her. An impression made all the more striking by the taur woman’s imposing height.

“Uhm, no. Wealth unearned is wealth ill-gotten,” he said, noting the rise in the woman’s brow. “Sorry. Just something my dad used to tell me as a kid.”

“Words to live by.”

Her almost immediate answer gave him pause. In a world where the vast majority of people relied on the basic income of their respective social brackets, few ever bothered to work or start their own business. “That’s… not exactly a sentiment shared by most.”

The taur woman simply smiled and extended her hand. “The name’s Valara. Vala for short.”

“Banefang,” he said, returning the handshake. Seeing Vala struggle to stifle a chuckle, he sighed. “Just… call me Bane.”

Nodding, she slammed her palm on the lycan’s back, sending him forward a step. “Well then, Bane, from one Earner to another, how about we see what else this place has to offer, aside from religious charity?”

“Sounds good. Just give me a minute to check up on my friend.”

****

“Any luck?”

A bell rang as Bane shook his head and closed the shop’s wooden door behind him. “None. The shopkeeper took one look at me and then scoffed the moment I asked him for some armor in exchange for work. You?”

“Well,” sighed Vala, “I somehow managed to stop myself from knocking out the creep heading the general goods store. He said he’d love to help out if was willing to, and I quote, ‘do some other type of work’ for him. Fuck… I should’ve just smashed his face in.”

“As satisfying as that would’ve been, it’s probably for the best that you didn’t realign his nose.”

As they strolled down the main road of Alissey’s Trade District, they suddenly heard a rhythmic clanging that seemed to originate from a narrow alley. Nestled in between a pair of large, two-story shops was a cobblestone path leading to an old wooden store. The two approached the doorway above which stood an anvil-shaped sign and were immediately greeted by a wave of sweltering air.

“Excuse us!” yelled Vala, her voice competing with the loudness of the hammer’s strikes. Save for the crackling of the forge’s flames, silence fell over the smithy as its owner, a bulky gray-haired dwarf, got up from his anvil.

“What… can I do for you, youngsters?” asked the blacksmith, weariness dripping off of every word.

“I’m Banefang and this is Valara. And we were actually hoping that there was something we could do for you, in exchange for a couple of weapons…”

The dwarf examined the two before turning around to fan the forge’s flames. “The Conclave’s ordered up every new weapon that leaves my shop for the next few days. Why don’t you grab some from them? They’re basically handing them out for free to any Stranger that crosses their path.”

“You can call us silly,” said Vala, “but we didn’t want to owe them anything.”

“Good on you, miss. Though that still doesn’t change the fact that I’ve got no new weapons to give you. However,” said the dwarf, his eyes wandering towards a large chest in the corner of the smithy, “you can pick up anything you like from in there and then be on your way.”

The chest creaked open as Bane opened it. The sight of various weapons and shields greeted him, all of which had various imperfections ranging from chipped blades to bent handles. “We couldn’t just take these, mister…”

“The name’s Loke. And look… I can’t really sell those,” he said, stepping on the forge’s bellows as he waited for the rough blade to heat up. “The steel’s a far cry from proper and, most importantly, I don’t want you two kids on my conscience. If I just let you leave empty handed and then you somehow get yourselves killed.”

The blacksmith, having picked up his hammer, returned to the anvil. A moment later, a small, semi-transparent window chimed into the corner of Bane’s view.

When he turned to face the taur woman, he saw her eyes shifting from side to side. She then met his gaze and nodded as she came closer. The two rummaged through the chest, with Bane deciding to take two long daggers and Vala instead opting for a mace and a shield.

Once they had finished equipping their new items, the lycan opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.

“Mister Loke,” said Vala, pulling Bane back, “you have our sincere gratitude.” With his back still turned to them, the dwarf simply waved them away as he then brought down his hammer, sparks flying in every direction.

Finally out of the blistering heat, the capital’s air sent chills down the lycan’s back. With Vala already a few steps in front of him, Bane hurried to catch up to her. “What the hell was that?”

“What? Oh, you mean me stopping you from making a scene by insisting we pay him back somehow. That was what you had in mind, right?”

“Well, yeah but–”

“You saw the item descriptions, didn’t you?” she asked, sighing and shaking her head before continuing. “So then you should know that that excuse of his was bullshit. Now, why would he lie about it, unless that’s exactly what he wanted: to help us save face, and to retain his pride.”

Her words made sense, but at the same time, Bane couldn’t shake the bitter taste in his mouth. “Okay, I’ll give you that much, but we’ve got to find a way to pay him back.”

She nodded. “Also, we should maybe create a party. There’s this little notification floating in the corner.”

Indeed, he hadn’t realized it but right below his heads-up display was a small flashing icon.

As soon as he launched the invitation, a small portrait of Vala appeared right below his, displaying her level and her current Health, Stamina and Mana.

“Neat. There’s even a small marker over your head,” he said, opening the game’s social settings to see what else he could find.

“Where to now?” she asked, looking around when suddenly, they heard someone screaming.

“THIEF! SOMEONE CATCH HER!”

Before Bane could even react, Vala had taken off in the voice’s direction.

She ran into an alley and hurled herself over a wooden cart blocking the way. She landed on her feet, not losing any momentum as she saw a small figure darting left behind a building. She turned to follow, but stopped when she saw no one in front of her.

To the side, a door shut itself. Cautiously, Vala tried the handle and entered, pushing the door open with her mace. She found herself inside a dark, dusty room filled with furniture and some crates. Closing the door behind her, she waited for her eyesight to adjust as the old floorboards creaked beneath her feet.

Shield raised, she turned the corner, only to see a blonde, female player with her hands clasped around her mouth. Outside the voices seemed to be getting closer.

“I saw her heading this way!”

Vala stared at the young woman, her mace still raised, as the door swung open and Bane entered the room.

“Conclave members,” he whispered, gesturing outside.

“Please…” said the blonde woman, “hear me out. I’m just trying to help…”

Requizition

Hello. Hope you enjoyed the chapter along with the POV change (it was about time for us to start introducing the other party members)!

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Thanks for taking the time to read this.

-Req-