=== Chapter 1 [Gust]

 

There was nothing but the sand surrounding me, scorching, deserted and wide.

I was running away, from something most frightening, not looking back for a single moment.

Catching my breath, I knew that eventually I would have to stop and rest for a moment.

 

Just a minute ago, I was fighting a boss monster with twenty other players. They were all from the same guild, I think, a pretty confident company with a plan to take it by numbers. I must say, they did very well at the beginning. However, a monster this big can't be simply taken down by standard tactics.

 

By that I mean, I was simply asked by the leader to tag along. His plan was, to save up mana in case the Boss would go into rage mode. That was a standard and simple tactic everyone could follow easily. But even with my help, just as soon they got it low, they all gathered too close to the boss, making it easy for the monster to swipe them all at once. That was their mistake.

 

With most of the companions down for the count, the Boss was free to jump on the supports, making the tanks chase it. Doing so, those on the ground were left unattended. Even if the remaining party focused on depleting the little health it had left, their damage was lacking now. Dying one by one, they couldn't finish the boss. What a pity, it was such a promising attempt from the start.

 

As for me, I noticed the boss changing phases. Its movement gain speed, damage was slightly increased, and most of all it bursted almost instantly. That could only mean one thing, it’s time to run.  I was never told who we were hunting or where we were teleporting to, simply I was asked fill for them.  What can you do? There are times when inexperienced people just don’t know how to take down an event Boss properly.

 

But in any case, as the only Rogue surviving, I bet could have easily take the aggro and kite, at least for some time I think. That’s just maybe, realistically it would took too long for me alone just to finish that big dinosaur.  Hence this is why I’m running now, thinking if it would follow me still. The thing about those event bosses, they don’t really have a limit to their range...

 

[Hey! Stop right there for a second here.]

 

Suddenly someone beckoned me to stop. It was a simply dressed person, probably someone that just started their adventure. At the same time I couldn't tell what archetype he was because he had no weapon equipped. Still was wondering what his problem was, I stopped and greeted him with my gaze.

 

[I hear ya, what's up?]

 

[You look awfully in a hurry, how about you could stop and explain something for me?

Like have you seen any giant monsters around lately? Those are really a pain in the ass to deal with you know...]

 

He said, purposely emphasising his dissatisfaction, giving me a strange look as if I didn't understand a thing. He was correct, I had no idea what that person wanted from me, neither do I had any interested in knowing. Honestly, his words didn't sound like something I was supposed to respond to, hence why I just gave him a cold stare back and shrugged.

 

[I see how it is, stranger, you simply want to take it out the old way?  I'm fine with that,

it’s no fun living in this desert anyway. How about a little duel right now, huh? Gonna run away again?]

 

So he’s was looking just for an excuse to fight? From his voice it seems he had a bad day or something. A friendly duel is always nice at times like this.

 

[Draw your weapon, I rather not pk someone who didn't even fight back.]

 

As friendly as this chat was up until now, his expression changed. He brandished his twin blades, with his eyes focused at me. I knew this adventurer was new, and a lot of things can happen outside the safety of a town. It is not always smart to charge into a fight, but if a fight he wants he will get one. I drew my weapons as well, stood in position to anticipate his attack, but he was still reluctant. I raised my voice, turning just one side of my face towards him.

 

[Very well, but I rather advice you from fighting other players like that. A friendly duel is fine and all though...]

 

Knowing that whatever I said it wouldn’t change his opinion, I had to provoke him somehow. I’m not the type of a person that attacks first.

 

[Are you going to sit there? Fine, I will come at you!]

 

And with that, the time for kind word exchange was over.

 

===

 

In a Rogue mirror the most important thing was position. If you were too close to the enemy, you wouldn't be able to dash. If you were too far from each other, your dash would be intercepted easily. Therefore, instead of a direct confrontation, his first skill to go on cooldown was a ranged poke ability, Dagger Throw. It seemed that we both knew the matchup well.

 

In this game you can equip up to 8 different skills, thus the builds can vary greatly between individual players. Even if we play the same archetype, the Rogue, who has mostly melee skills and a few ranged ones, my build didn't depend on using ranged skills. With that, I knew I would only get staggered if I would just stand still, but at the same time I couldn't really fight back at this range.

 

After throwing his first dagger, he was still able to throw 3 additional ones from a single cooldown. I knew it was too early to retaliate, he was basically waiting for me to use my ranged skills and charge in. He knew that his best bet was for me to make that mistake, but I wasn’t naïve. It was simply too obvious.

 

When you use a skill with multiple charges, such as the ability he just used, you are allowed to use it again for a certain period of time. Of course if you didn’t choose to use it, the thing would go back on a cooldown, wasting your potential free damage. Anyone with experience would knew that, hence waiting was definitely a better choice.

 

But then he surprised me took his chances with more ranged attacks to corner me, using the Boomerang Edge and Magic Spike. Both of them are ground attacks, so the easy answer was to jump. However if I did that, I would risk myself becoming exposed to a dagger flying directly at me. At the same time, as much it is dangerous to try to dodge all those ranged attacks, there is one way to make it safe. I decided to take that gamble.

 

The Backstep skill allows you to armour though damage for a period of time. When you use it, you are launched backwards a little. However if you turn around first, you would actually go forward. This was my goal, but at the same time, there was a trick to it. The skill alone is followed up by long recovery time which gave the opponent the opportunity to counterattack freely. To make it safe, you also have to immediately use another skill to cancel those frames. My plan depended on the enemy also knowing that.

 

Executing my plan, I used my Backstep to close distance. Afterwards I would be still able to parry or grab, therefore his perfect answer would be Crescent Swing. Its second activation —abbreviated as S/A — gives armour at a cost of making it a little slower on activation. Still, that would be a good counter against my options, since it’s still a little faster than a grab.  Of course, that is what I wanted him to think.

 

My plan was something completely different. Even without many ranged options I have something that most opponents miss, my Shotgun Blast has a small pushback. It is enough to move away from his S/A launcher, if it was a single activation I would still get hit.

 

And that’s how it went down. He used his ability, launched a bit in the air, while I was pushed back out his range, narrowly avoiding his blade. Now, I am in position to counter attack.

 

With the shotgun hitting this armoured move, I used Blade Thrust to get in, the fastest skill with stagger that Rogues can do. Naturally normal attacks don’t cause stagger, just extend it, so it’s fortunate for this archetype to have something so useful. Closing the distance, he’s too slow to react hence I’m free to initiate a combo.

 

I chain the S/A with basic attacks, then I use a launcher. I dash into the air, using the Boomerang with basic attacks, then dunk. Returning the Boomerang, I finish the combo on the ground. He lands on the sand little away from me, I leave him alone for now.

 

This is enough time so that the enemy player can't burst out. In this game, when you are staggered, you can hold your right click. Holding that button for some time makes the character burst out of stagger. However it cost mana to do so, as your natural regeneration is halted. Knowing so, the players that don't want to get hit by a burst should perform a safer and shorter combo, rather than a long one.

 

At the same time the players that get staggered can risk not holding the button, anticipating that the opponent’s combo will be short. Since in Pvp you can't see each other's mana, you can't really tell if someone is holding the button while doing your attacks. If he is a good player, he would have released after I used the launcher, after my combo route became really obvious. But I don’t know that, hence I got to be careful.

 

Now it was his chance, he stood up from the sand with his skills ready to use again, presumably. If he goes for the zoning again, he would have an advantage. My Backstep is on cooldown, so I have no options to answer his attack in the same way. But I still have one option, to force him into a worse position by holding my right click — the Dash — which is exclusive to the Rogue archetype. This way he needs to be wary not to give me frames that are open to attack.

 

He knows he can't do daggers again, he can’t use the same armoured move again, he knows that I am lower on mana after the attack, and he knows that my build is close range. Therefore, he can do only one thing, bait my charge with his, and then cancel it to a Backdash or something. This way he will be in range to dagger me but I wouldn't be in the range to attack. Even so, I still should have an answer for that.

 

I release my dash, in hope that he doesn't challenge it. What happens if two Rogues dash at each other at the same time? Well, they clash and return to neutral position, relatively close to each other. Depending on his other skills it might be beneficial for him. However, now that he got hit and that I used my mana for the combo, he is certain that he needs to get even. That was my read on him at the moment. Of course, I might have been mistaken but...

 

When I released my button, he decided to use Backdash and instantly cancelled it with ability. He wasn't quite in range for a Blade Thrust, but he was in a perfect range for a Boomerang Edge, hence that was his choice. Considering the distance between us now, I would be hard to dodge it vertically, so it was almost graduated for him that I would jump. But I wasn't done yet.

 

I quickly used Katana Draw, and even if I wasn't in range, I would still be able to move during the animation. Because I was able to advance freely, I jumped over the boomerang and landed next to him. I wanted to challenge him, I knew he would not attack me back, because of the parry state, but he did something unexpected.

 

He moved back, just a little bit, and activated his boomerang again, hoping to hit my parry. His plan was to force me into the parry animation, while he would safely out of its range.  That situation would have been beneficial for him for sure, but I still had a surprise he didn't know about. The unique property of my katana forces me to do a micro dash, which extends the hitbox quite a bit.

 

When he activated my parry with his boomerang, it was already decided. I smacked him good, forcing him into a stagger stage. Because I didn't have too much mana at that moment, since the parry skill itself cost some on itself, I had to make a small combo. I couldn’t go too much ham and use up all my supply there but at the same time...

 

[GG]

 

He said while I finished my combo. It seemed like it was just the beginning of our duel and he resigned. As a person that respects the rule of dueling, I had to stop when the other party threw the towel. It was honestly disappointing as well, since the fight was getting more and more interesting.

 

[You and your pay to win shit? Where did you get that? I hoped it gets nerfed.]

 

He was complaining about the weapon I was using, my Katana and Shotgun. It is a minor redesign from the Rapier and Pistol weapon. The stats are the same, but the skills are different. I don’t usually do a lot of PvP but I don’t think personally that they are that strong.

 

[Yea sure, but anyway, good match. Let this be a good practice for you in the future.]

 

I answered with a straight face. He was perplexed to hear that I was actually sincere about that. And why?

 

[So you come out of nowhere, you train a monster to my house, then you actually stop running just to fight me,

and now you say words that supposed to make me feel better? Oh come on man, who do you think you are?

Having like this wolf-man like attire, long black hair and shades. You are nothing but a bandit, sir.]

 

Are those words are supposed to make me feel bad for something I haven't done? I don't remember passing a hut or anything. If what he says is true, then the monster was no longer chasing me. That is a relief, those boss monsters... They have a very long reach, you never know if they are still following you or not. In any case, it’s time.

 

[If we meet again, call me Wolf.]

 

And then I left, waving with my hand with my back turned, knowing that nothing more could be done here. While on my way, I started to think all this trip to the desert was a huge waste of time. I didn’t get to finish the boss, nor did I find anything else to hunt. Maybe I should get something to eat?

 

===

 

As always, I simply wanted some food from the convince store, and the darkness was simply most favourable for me. When the street lamps shined, it was the middle of the night. I walked towards the store without thinking much. Sometimes I am bothered with hunger, but I guess I can’t help it. I’m a human after all, and I require food to survive.

 

Saying so, if I wasn’t actually forced to, I would probably not waste time on trips like this. The sliding door opens. Inside there is a familiar face and the same products on the shelves. Even if this person is trained to say “Welcome”, I don’t answer. I simply grab my grub in hand and check out before any conversation would start. Simple as that, and with the transaction over I leave without saying a word back at the “Thank you for your patronage!”. Jeez…

 

 But in the end this seemingly empty and quiet space, the Moon today is in full bloom and the wind is gentle. The occasional car sound heard in the background, and the buzzing of electronics, that’s all the traffic I need. And the truck...

 

…

 

But to my surprise it appeared that the desert had one more encounter for the day, and furthermore a very rare one. In the middle of nowhere I find a party that attempts to finish off the problem I had trouble with before. Saying so, I'm sure they tried their best at the boss, but just like the first party, but they also not doing great. The second I had I a clearer view, I also noticed something else...

 

From beyond the sand dune there was only one person still struggling against the Boss, the rest was laying on the ground. As if not wanting to admit defeat, that player gave their best to keep damage going. Even though it was just auto attacks, sooner or later the boss would catch up to finish off the last challenger... It would, if I was to allow it. By no means would I leave a person fighting a Boss this strong alone.

 

[Hey, wait up. I'm going to save you!]

 

I shouted as hard as I could through my microphone, enough loud for that person to hear. I still couldn't get a good view on that guy, the model was obscured by the gigantic dinosaur. If this was really the same boss I fought earlier, it should be close to death, low enough for us two to finish it off. Without deep thought, I dashed from behind and started attacking it as fast as I could.

 

For monsters with this size, it is expected that whichever direction they are facing, there is always an angle they can hit players. Right after I got into the range, the boss would instantly tail sweep back at me. But I anticipated that of course. Learning from before, it had two tail attacks, the one that swings horizontally, and the one that swings vertically. I was lucky enough to get the first one.

 

With an attack that only hits the ground, it was obvious that the evade method was simply to jump up. Doing so, I started a combo with Boomerang in the air. Jumping down to the ground, I was open to do all the damage that a Rogue can do naturally. And by that I mean, since I had to change my skills to do pvp a little before, I unfortunately forgot to change them back. This is bad, I thought, as I realised my mistake just now.

 

The combo didn't last long; I only did a couple of hits. But that was enough to get the attention of the boss. I had to Backstep, fearing that a parry would not be enough. That was a good choice. In an instant, it turned towards me all of the sudden, and lashed its claws at me. Without taking any more chances I had to spend a Parry to not get staggered. It was painful though.

 

The searing pain of being clawed by such monstrosity, my hp must have lost a big chunk. But at least I could run away now, that was my reward for that gamble. I moved quickly, knowing it will swing again at me, knowing just how hard the Boss hits. Fortunately, it was recovering from the last attack, so I had enough time to move away from its range.

 

It was me and Boss, both engaged in an unfair combat, both extremely low at hp. The only difference was that, when I get hit, I get combed and probably will die, unlike the big dinosaur which has stagger protection. What I should do in this situation, I wondered. I could surely try to run away again, but I felt that wouldn't work again. If only I had different skills...

 

But then in my awfully dumbfounded moment, I seemed to forget about something important, I wasn't fighting alone. A giant meteor came down from the sky, hitting the Boss for a pretty huge chunk of hp. What was that skill, I wondered. I couldn't tell exactly from where it came, but I also could not stop running. If I was to stop I would have surely died.

 

I tried to keep my vision on the boss, not to lose the sight of the angle it would attack me from. If anything, I could not see any opening for the attack. It kept slowly approaching me menacingly, without using any abilities. And then, it happened again, the meteor fallen on the same location. Is this how that skill works then, I wasn't sure, but the snippet of blazing aura told me, it sure does hits hard.

 

If I were to take advantage of this turn of events, I had to keep the boss in the range of that meteor. To do so however, I would not only need to stop running, but actually turn around and face the dangerous Boss head on. Risking my own life for something like that was out of the question, but if that was the only thing I could have done...

 

In that moment I have decided, I would not leave someone who is trying the beat boss alone—this is for the best of all. Although it was not something I would normally do, I turned back to the Boss, trying to get as close to it as possible. This way at least I had a chance to evade the moves by running around it, thought it would likely fail, I worried.

 

Then the third meteor landed, at the same time when the boss was making an attack against me. Before finishing it however, with a fearsome roar, it leaped away from me. I was no longer a target for it. However, for my plan to succeed, I had to become the bait. I had to do something desperate and fast, and I had just the skill to do it.

 

I charged my dash and again struck its tail. But now my intention was not to deal damage, my skills were on cooldown anyway. I used Vault in order to delay the attack against my mysterious ally, and this is something that Rogues aren't supposed to do. I got instantly countered, as expected, pushed back and knocked on the ground. That’s why you usually want the Tank to do the grabbing move instead...

 

But now, it was the start of the countdown for me. After thirty seconds from being downed, I would be officially dead, if not helped by anyone. Although, being quite hopeless, the battle wasn't over yet.

 

===

 

My valiant effort allowed for another meteor to make its way to the boss, yet it still remained alive. I was sure that would be the last... yet it stood nevertheless. Maybe I was mistaken, maybe this wasn't the same monster, maybe my intervention was pointless in the end? Those dismaying thoughts troubled my head while I was downed in the sand, with strength escaping my body by the second.

 

Though that wasn't the case for everyone, there was at least one other person who was still fighting. I was rooting for them, and even if my face was on the ground, I saw their determination. Going seriously against a boss like this, and without a proper party, I can respect that. I am mostly a solo player myself, I know how hard is to face against something seemingly impossible.

 

Though I did wonder, how would be possible for a Wizard to solo this boss till the end? I honestly don't know much about them. All the time I did spend on the internet I only read up on the Rogue, I have just a vague idea about the other skill sets. From what I learned playing the game, their tactics are to stay away from the monsters and cast AoE spells. They don't have a lot of hp after all.

 

But as the show unfolded before my eyes, I was pleasantly surprised that this Wizard was playing their archetype not conventionally. Before the monster could reach that player, there was a blast of energy from the ground, in a shape of a circle. It seemed to prevent the monster from advancing, like an invisible wall. The only choice it had was to claw its way through.

 

Yet, before that would happen, it was shot by a beam of negative energy. It shook the monster a little, not enough to slay the beast, but enough to leave a gleaming mark above one of its knees. The boss enraged, broke out of the cage and charged forward towards its opponent. But that didn't hit the mark, his adversary was ready.

 

The Wizard teleported behind the lizard with several bright shapes dancing around them. Those lights were...I assume they do something when you touch them. For that purpose you have to be close to the enemy, and so the Wizard was, right behind the boss. A blast from their staff brought the attention of the boss as it turned towards the foe to swipe at them.

 

However, the Wizard knowing very well of that one coming, evaporated into a cloudy matter of gas. At the same time, as the boss’s claws reached the gas mass it became more sluggish, as if something was hindering its movement. As much as it tried to continue its onslaught, it couldn't connect hits against the cloud that continue to move spontaneously.

 

The magician spell ended however, and the Wizard's body was reformed back to flesh. At that time, in order to squish the little bug below, the dinosaur jumped up to the sky. This attack would surely hit, if not for another hidden card that was revealed. Due to my grab from before, the boss had now no counters to answer with. The Wizard was also aware of this fact, although that was a mere assumption.

 

A shadowy hand rose above the ground, and reached for the lizard's tail. With a swift movement, it threw the foe away. Even if this was just a mere step away, the Wizard had enough time for just one more spell. An icy bolt formed above their head, cold enough to freeze the air around it. It was launched with great speed at the monster and exploded into countless shards.

 

But even so, the icy spell was not enough to finish the boss. I bet it was down to very pixel of hp remaining, even though I wasn’t allowed to see it physically. Both the Wizard and the lizard was looking beat, as if they wanted to call a truce and resume the fight another day. Thought we all knew this wasn't going to happen. Only one of them could survive in the end, in this empty desert.

 

The dinosaur charged, thought slower than before, it still had some will to fight. The Wizard on the other hand wasn't as prepared, I assume they had very low mana or ran out of cooldowns. Instead of facing the foe head one, they kept distance, using their basic attacks at range. This wasn't to continue for a very long time, eventually the monster would catch up with them.

 

As soon the monster gained speed, the Wizard used some kind of spell that covered the monster with a frosting, making it slower again. This gave them some additional time, but for how long? Now that I think about it, I surely didn't have much time either. You can only really stay downed for thirty seconds before you actually die, and that time was almost up.

 

However, just a while after, in my astonishment, the boss stopped moving. I could only see, I could only hear so much, since my consciousness was fading. But definitely I could no longer sense its heavy footsteps. It was all over for me too, I felt but then... I felt a gentle, warm hand. It reached for my shoulder, pulling it upwards. If my fate was destined that day, I was not to go out meaninglessly.

 

===

 

Near the entrance to my apartments there was a small alley, typical doors and trashcans as far as you can see. Yet there was something strange happening there that night, even for me who is quite disinterested with things.

 

In the middle of a small puddle, away from public eyes, there was a light reflected all the way from the Moon. On the silent surface there was a white shape of a human, a small and gentle face, tiny hands and bare feet. As she floated a little above the surface, I watched stupefied with my hands rubbing my eyes. It was truly what I saw, this was not necessarily a dream, I thought

 

I only remember conversing with her, yet she didn’t answer. It wasn’t clear whenever she heard me or she simply didn’t have a voice but... All in all, this unnatural encounter will remain engraved my memory. There had to be a reason why she had appeared for me.

 

…

 

[Are you okay? You should be fine now I think.]

 

A tender girl's voice opened my eyes. In my vision, a rather small lady with fair green eyes, pinkish hair with a flower braid on the back of the head. A white flowery looking dress was on her chest, with a small comfy cardigan with long sleeves over it. She also had white tights with flower prints with girly shoes. Wherever you looked, this image screamed cute inside my heart. But I'm not so good with cute stuff, therefore I backed a little.

 

[Oh did I startle you? I'm extremely sorry for startling...]

 

[Right, don’t worry about it. What about you? Can you tell me what happened?]

 

I asked trying to ease the tension. She was also a little bit surprised, quite understandably. While I awaited her reply, I also noticed the corpse that was laying just a few steps away from us both. It was the boss that we managed to defeat. That alone was really enough to explain the situation to me, which was that I now needed to loot the boss before the body disappeared.

 

[Oh okay, the boss is down, we should loot him right now.]

 

I said as I beckoned to the ever so slightly speaking girl. Obviously she somehow managed to finish the boss, and that’s all I really want to know. Therefore, without a further ado, I started moving toward the lizard in order get some loot out of it. The girl without a single word followed me feet by feet. Her movement speed was the same obviously—it’s the same for everyone.

 

[Oh come on... let me finish at least.

Did you not just say you wanted to know...?]

 

[You can talk all you want, I don't need to listen.]

 

I followed a more pressing matter at hand, looting the boss. Collecting stuff from any monster defeated requires you to bring tools. You can create the tools yourself of course, like anything in this game, but what is so special about bosses is that even with regular tools they drop a lot of materials. Every single material is worth a coin, and this right here is a gold mine.

 

On top of that, materials that come from monsters are needed to increase the stats of your weapons. It is the most sought out item in the world, which also became the currency for this game. Additionally, because more or less rare materials are needed only at certain times, they are much more expensive than usual commodities.

 

[You must be really happy for this really a rare occasion, don't you think?

A short while ago, I was supposed to share this loot with like 20 other people.

I don't think I would have gained anything from that hunt. What a waste it would be.]

 

[A waste, you say? Taking all for yourself, how fitting for a random thug such as you.

I came here to help them finish the boss. But their efforts were a waste now, I suppose...

Yet, nevertheless I must have been lucky that I managed to survive, thanks to you, so...]

 

Yea, I know that feeling, random comrades that can't be trusted due their lack of skill. One false move, one Tank that doesn't pay attention to mana, one Priest who doesn't deal with projectiles, everything can turn upside down if people are not willing to get actually better at the game.

 

[I feel you, I had the same thing happen to me today.]

 

[Yes, quite frankly I have heard that the first attempt ended in a failure.

At least we finally managed to finish the job in the end. Aren’t you glad?]

 

[And all this loot yes, you can take half of it by the way.]

 

She frowned upon that reply, as if I didn't plan to take it all for myself from the beginning. It would be a waste if no one looted it while it was there, but since she helped me, I think fifty-fifty is fine.

 

[No, that's not... do you always act like a hero and then a bandit?

I am thankful for your assistance of course, so do as you please.]

 

[Yup, it's a free world baby, I don't need to be someone's pulley horse.]

 

As wild as it sounded, it did improve the mood of that girl. She even giggled a little. This wasn't of course meant to be a joke—I was quite serious about the whole situation. I don't usually stay in one place for too long, so there is no need to make friends. But at the same time I don't want to force my ideals upon others, she is free to take her share and tribute others who died.

 

[So you say... perhaps I should introduce myself? My name is WRose,

I play a Wizard, though with my staff I could play as a Priest as well.

I am currently... on an adventure towards a certain town.

Are you perhaps antiquated with the name Maremoda?]

 

[I am a traveller too, but I go where the wind blows.]

 

It is true, I don't have a home, I don't settle down, I don't have time or the will for such trivialities. Even now, I think I did overstay my allowance here, even if I did profit from this endeavour. In any case, this conversation is also… tiring very much. Thus, finishing my looting activity here, I take out my mustang and prepare to pick a course further down the horizon.

 

[Ha? Where did you get this bike? Is that a mount?

Also your weapons, they seem like... backers only?

You are like um... a person all way back from the crowdfunding?

That's really cool, this is the first time I saw something like this!]

 

She was practically entranced by those small items I had. I don't need her adoration, thus I didn’t even look back. But seriously, this weapon is just an unfair advantage they say. It seems everyone forgot about the history of this game. We had a lot of patches, just to put it short. It threw out a silent sigh after thinking that.

 

[Hey mister, you still didn't even give me your name,

Are you going to say something or what? I saved your life so...

at least don't act like you really didn't care either way.]

 

[My name is Wolf, young miss, I'm sure we will never meet...]

 

[Let me go with you, I am sure...]

 

She said hasty, almost fumbling on her words there. She closed the distance between us and raised her head. Her gaze now met mine, a fierce look full of determination. I knew she wasn't lying, when she said those words. But I also knew what a pain it would be to have her tag along.  I simply prefer solo play. Well, there is also the matter...

 

[I am sure we can do more if we team up together!

I mean, we already did a great job at the boss, didn't we?

You shouldn't just depend on your own strength alone,

your backers whatever... it looks like a fancier toothpick to be honest.]

 

It’s actually not, you can upgrade its star rank using the same materials as you would be using for creating a higher star weapon. The major difference is that with a normal weapon, you can’t do that. Once you get a higher star weapon you have to upgrade it all over again. I can surely see why everyone is complaining about that, but for me it’s just the part of the game you have to accept.

 

[Say, you must be clueless about many things, right? It’s not a toothpick.

My dear white rose princess, I just ain't your prince you know?]

 

[Then allow me, my good sir, I will become yours.]

 

She took me by surprise and tried to envelop her hands around me, with her warmth starting to reach me. Her impulsive but serious tone left no doubts—she was in no hurry to let me go. I guess this is the first time, for someone to be as pushy as she was. She must be having her own reason but is it really okay for anyone to follow me? I mean she is basically just tagging along for the ride, but she has no idea what she...

 

[Whatever...]

 

[I mean... princess is fine, but I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.]

 

She responded with her normal gentle voice rebounding after a brief silence. Yes I guess I can't force my ideals upon others, so I’m going to allow myself this one special exception today.

 

[You leave really no space for me to argue here,

so at least let me drive and hop on the back.

I hope you won't regret the bumpiness of this here sand dunes.]

 

[Oh... really? Is it okay? Then yes, gladly,

I was really getting bored from walking this desert,

thus I don't mind if I... well this is fine.]

 

[And remember I’m only going to give you a ride to the camp, understand?]

 

[Of course, it’s your bike after all.]

 

She reluctantly hugged close to my back—I could feel her warm material snuggling against my coat. It was unclear why in the end I did agree to have party members come with me on this adventure. However, I don't know what would have happened, if I didn't accept their help. All in all, much like Rose, I'm also tired of this place. I only wanted some monster materials, and now I have a full bouquet of flowers behind me. A very lovely one I might add.