Although Alan and Astrid killed twenty of them, it was not enough. The ferocious creatures kept appearing, snarling with sharp teeth that resembled a creepy grin.

And there is this chilling howl coming from the heart of the woods that seemed to summon even more of them! At this rate, we’ll end up…

Alan suddenly grabbed her wrist. There was an intense gleam in his eyes she had never seen before.

“It’s not worth it! We were totally not prepared for this! We’ll call it quits for today, okay?!”

Astrid first stared at the blood running down his forehead before nodding. “Let’s make a run for it then! Follow me, I know the way!”

In their escape, the horde heeled them viciously, throwing bites to their legs and swipes at their backs. The red-furred critters were weak, Alan could drop their HP all the way to zero with just two strikes of his sword, but after a long hour of fighting, the muscles of his dominant arm were burning and his wrist was constantly aching.

“This one almost bit my butt!” he yelled after bashing one of them with his shield.

“This way!” Astrid cried, pointing at a clearing in the woods up ahead. She then noticed a couple of Weasemin ready to pounce on them. “Watch out! Fire Crafting, Flare!”

At her command, a burst of fire came out of the tip of her wooden staff, killing the two rabid creatures on impact. There were still other Weasemin nearby, and yet, she took a moment to look back, distinguishing a large silhouette coming their way.

“What the bloody hell is that?” she murmured as Alan pulled her by the arm.

“Move, Astrid! We’re almost there!” 

“I’m so sorry, Alan! If it weren’t for my stupid--!”

“Don’t finish that sentence! We’re a team, and I was also fine with pushing our luck! So don’t even dare to take all the blame on yourself, got it?!”

At a loss of words, she did nothing but bite her lower lip and let him drag her out of there. Was he angry at her, even though he had said otherwise? 

Because I wouldn’t blame him! I was the one that pushed things too far after bragging about having fought in more than a hundred combat simulations… But ALONE! I’ve always fought alone until now. I’m quite used to pain, so even if one of these stupid creatures ripped one of my arms or cut my chest open, I’d laugh it out! But from the very moment I saw him bleeding, my mind stop--

Alan halted abruptly. Before asking the reason, Astrid pointed her gaze at the naturally-formed fence of thorny bushes blocking their path, not only in front of them but at their sides too.

“A dead end?! No, no, no! I messed it up again!” she cried in shock as Alan tried to cut the vines in vain. “Hold on, let me use my fire magic to--”

“It’s no use. Unless this gets carbonized instantly, the fire will spread rapidly around us while we defend from them.” Alan turned around to confront their pursuers.

Waiting at the backlines of what seemed to be an army of twenty Weasemin, stood a large bipedal monster, with red fur and an elongated neck. Its inhuman musculature told them it could rip their heads off with one swipe of its enormous paws, and its thin body showed it could be agile and catch them with ease. It observed them with red eyes that screamed of cunningness, and its exposed teeth resembled a wicked grin.

“Weasenox, Guardian of the Forest,” Alan read the name and title the System provided while tightening his grip around his sword’s hilt. “Did ancient England really house monsters like this? Incredible…”

“This is completely different from the Slime Chief!” Astrid hissed, pulling his sleeve. “Look at it! It’s waiting for us to make the first move.”

“How’s your mana?” he asked quietly, eyes at the front.

“Low. I can cast three or four more Blaze and that’s it.”

“And that Boss is blocking our only exit, huh?” Alan exhaled loudly before pulling something out of his inventory. “Take this, it’s everything I have.”

Astrid grabbed the little leather bag. Its contents clunk when she closed her hand around it. It’s his gold!

“Wait, what are you--?!”

He grinned innocently at her before dashing forward. “I’ll distract it!” His voice was almost silenced by the collective growl of the nearest enemies. “It’s up to you whether you use the rest of your mana to force your escape or help me kill it!”

Uttering a battle cry, Alan used his shield to tackle everything in his trajectory. Weasemins were violently pushed aside or crushed under his boots while the Weasenox prepared itself. It was only a matter of seconds before they clashed.

And I’m just standing here, doing nothing like an idiot! Astrid held her staff aloft but with no target in her sight. Should she attack the Boss and lower as much of its HP as possible, or get rid of the majority of its minions? What I’m certain of is that I won’t let you alone!

She chose her target out of instinct after watching the Weasenox starting a swiping motion. “F-Fire Crafting, Flare!”

Her good aim bore fruit, successfully burning the Weasenox’ right paw.

“So we stay and fight, huh?!” Alan cried invigorated, targeting the monster’s left paw. His blade was not sharp enough to sever it clean, but it left half of it dangling and leaking large amounts of blood.

Enraged, The Weasenox violently leaned forward trying to bite Alan’s head, but he raised his shield at the last second. From her safe spot, Astrid could only watch how the towering monster fell over him.

“Alan!” she cried, running forward, but a couple of Weasemin stood in the way, biting her legs. Their sharp teeth drew blood immediately. “Get off, you--!”

“This is your chance!” Alan yelled from the top of his lungs as he struggled under the weight of the Weasenox. His shield was the only thing preventing the Boss from closing its maw against his arm. “Kill it now! Fire everything you have at it, now!”

Astrid watched half of the Weasemin horde gathering around its partner and the monster, wailing desperately as if they were cheering on their boss. A thought crossed her mind: Even if Alan managed to kill the Weasenox on his own, the surrounding Weasemin would retaliate immediately. The probability of seeing those pests ripping the skin off his face made her shiver.

I won’t mess it up this time!

“Minor Fire Crafting, Flare!” she intoned, sending forth a burst of fire that suddenly exploded halfway through. A second after, the lifeless corpses of two Weasemin plummeted into the ground before disappearing in a brief spectacle of glimmering pixels. Wasting no time wondering what had happened, she cast another Flare, getting the same results. This time, she heard a faint squeal. “Are these buggers sacrificing themselves to protect their boss?! W-What kind of sick joke is this?! Get out of my way, you bloody blighters!”

Despite his struggle, Alan could be heard laughing out loud. “Woah, Astrid, your British is showing!”

“How can you joke at a time like this?!”

Alan’s laughter suddenly changed into a guttural growl, accompanied by the sound of wood breaking. Alan’s shield had finally lost the endurance battle against the monster’s powerful jaws.

In a state of shock, Astrid observed his partner’s HP gradually decreasing, as another pair of Weasemin bit the hem of her ‘Apprentice Witch Robes’. She absently glanced at her MP bar. She would not be able to save him or herself with that low amount of mana.

Unless…

Fervently focusing on the oppressing feeling overwhelming her chest, she held her staff aloft and began channeling. Unless I make a sacrifice too…

She initiated the process as usual, and when a System notification told her she had no mana left, she ignored it, feeling a slight ache in the tip of her fingers. Another annoying virtual window popped up inside her sight of vision, warning her of the danger, as her mage staff started to grow hot.

A piercing pain ran through her arms, making her grunt. Sweat formed in her forehead. Her vision became blurry. Dizziness overwhelmed her. This is nothing!

Astrid continued powering up although the increasing pain almost dropped her to her knees, and even though her HP bar was reaching the dangerously red threshold. 

Not yet, not yet!

The Weasemin restraining her realized something abnormal was happening and desperately pounced to bite her arms. One managed to hang from her right forearm, and despite the added weight, Astrid did not falter. Just as she felt like fainting at any moment, she glanced at the tip of her staff which looked incandescent and bursting with energy, making her smirk.

“You beat me to it, Guardian of the Forest,” she whispered to herself. “I’ve always wanted to be on top of him.”

The staff exploded, violently releasing the accumulated energy like out-of-control fireworks that quickly became a rain of fire. The Weasemin waiting for a victor were the first victims, breaking lines and running in circles. Even the ones biting Astrid hurried to shield their master but it was too late, the Boss received the majority of the damage to the point that all of its fur got burned.

Just as the last ball of fire impacted an unfortunate Weasemin, Astrid dashed forward, holding what was left of its staff in hand and stabbed the Weasenox's left eye with it. Blood sprouted, staining her cheeks.

The agonizing monster let out a wail, and stretched out its long neck to bite her, but Alan pierce the side of its head with his blade, finally killing it.

For Astrid, the virtual message congratulating them for killing the hidden boss of the Virmion Woods seemed too patronizing after all of that extenuating effort.

“Alan, are you okay?!” she cried, kneeling by his side as soon as the monster’s corpse disappeared into thin air. “Y-Your arm! Can you move it?”

“Nope, it’s wasted. It’d be better if I died and respawned back in Unus--”

“NO WAY! Absolutely not! Don’t even joke about it!”

Alan observed her watering eyes and quickly shook his head. “O-Okay, okay! That was a totally bad idea! Do we still have a Red Potion?”

“I can’t believe you even suggested that,” she was muttering while tapping her User Interface. Then, a bottle with red liquid materialized in her palm. “Here. Make sure to drink it all.”

“Just half of it, for your HP is also--”

Astrid’s aqua-colored eyes shone intensely. “I SAID, drink it ALL, or I’ll get mad at you.”

“Cheers, then.” He nervously smiled, and gulped the thick liquid. Then grimaced. “Seriously, one can almost taste the iron.”

“Do you still think it tastes like blood?”

“It’s blood! Mixed with onions, tomatoes and garlic...”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” she said, observing the immediate results. The marks of fangs carved in his forearm slowly closed, leaving no scars, and his HP bar slowly replenished to a secure orange. “Try opening and closing your hand.”

He tried, but he could barely do it. “Damn…” he muttered, wincing, as she ripped off a piece of cloth from her robe. “It’s not necessary, Astrid. I bet that by tomorrow morning…”

“Until we pay a NPC priest, then,” she interjected, bandaging his arm. When she finished nursing him, she seemed upset. “Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“You know exactly what I’m referring to. Why did you face the boss like that and force me to choose?”

He shrugged. “You looked as if your head was a mess, but I knew you’d come up with a good solution.”

“But what if I had decided to run away?”

“That would have been a win too. You’d have been safe, and we could have met back in town once I was revived, right?”

“Is that why you gave me your gold, because you were ready to die?” she murmured, looking away. “There was also the probability that I could have fucked it up, you know?”

“Nah, you’re too awesome to fail. You’ve shown me that, time and time again. Look at you! Have you noticed you’re level 8 now? And by the way, what the hell was that?! That spell was awesome! What is it called?”

“I-It doesn’t have a name. It’s just something I improvised and the System rolled with it, that’s all.”

“Oh, come on! It’ll be a waste not naming something that awesome! At least give it some thought.”

“F-Fine. What about: Astrid’s Last Resort: ‘Death from Above’?”

He grimaced. “Rejected. Something more romantic would fit it better, like: ‘Shooting Stars of Justice’, hmm?”

Astrid stared deep into his green eyes. She had always thought they gave him an innocent persona, which was contrasted by his auburn hair that screamed of mischief.

A combination I’ve grown to love…

“Whatever,” she whispered before leaning toward him and kissing his cheek. His first reaction was to dumbfoundedly stare at her with his mouth ajar, making her blush. “Why are you looking at me like that? You’re my b-boyfriend, aren’t you? S-So signs of affection like these should be a common occurrence, r-right?”

“Sign me up for ‘common occurrence’, all right! But next time, give me a quick smooch on the lips, yes?”

“I’m not mentally prepared for that just yet!” She rose and turned around to hide her red face before a thorny bush on fire caught her attention. “Let’s put out that first and get back to Unus, okay?”

***

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*

*

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***

Once they reached the top of the hill, Astrid still had the energy to jump and twirl like a child. “See? I told you the view would be fantastic from here! Look at that clear blue sky and the super green fields!”

Her HP is in the red… How can she move like that?! Alan thought as he tried to catch his breath.

“J-Just give me a moment, p-please.”

“Ah! I told you there was a river nearby.” She beamed, stretching out her arms. “Come on, Alan, fill your lungs! The air smells especially good around here!”

The panting Alan followed her gaze, finding a top view of the region. Apart from the Beginner's Town, 300 yards away, and the Virmion Woods at their back, he could admire a magnificent blue mountain on the horizon.

The place from where they started their adventure a week ago. And after all this time, I still can't believe that I'm here, he thought, pursing his lips.

Long gone are the sights of sterile lands, gray clouds, black seas, and the dry rivers of the old Earth, huh. This is just like the Alvearium Enterprise's advertisements said: 'The Novus is a new beginning! Do and be whatever your heart desires!'

Yeah, sure, at least until the Santa María arrives at its destination...

“Do you like what you see?” Astrid asked tenderly, locking eyes with him.

“I do...” he absently replied, staring at her cute, impossibly-immaculate perfect face, beautifully-enticing plump lips, and at her strikinging blue eyes, features enhanced by the Novus’ avatar rendering. Even her golden bob made her look like a runaway princess.

Who knows? Maybe she secretly is one. She comes from the country of kings and queens, after all.

“Alan?” she called, giving him a funny look. “I’m talking about the scenery. Do you like it?”

He corrected his posture. “Y-Yes! A truly astounding view! It really warms your heart to experience what Earth was supposed to look like hundreds of years ago. Am I right?!” He then laughed out loud, hands on his hips.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “But what's with the gloomy face you had just a moment ago? Were you thinking about something negative again, Mr. Warden?”

Come on, Astrid, what do you want me to say? Should I tell you that although I had a blast fighting monsters with you every single day, I consider this a waste of time? Look at us! We’re all caged in a semi-medieval setting, learning swordplay and roleplaying as mages, instead of learning how to use a gun, repair solar panels and maintain our home ship!

“Astrid… I…”

She suddenly grabbed his hand. “Have I told you before that I find your sulky expression especially cute?” She said in a serious tone before grinning. “Come on, let’s go to the Town Hall and retrieve our bounty!”

As they ran down the hill, Alan could feel the wind hit his face and fill his lungs with pure air. Not only that. I can feel the muscles in my legs working and my heart thumping like crazy... And just like pain here feels real, the hand I’m holding… Hers… feels like the real deal too.

Unus, The Beginner’s Town, was up ahead, designated to welcome every new inhabitant of the Eurola region. Its shops and restaurants were small, and the only two-story buildings were the Town Hall and the Moonlight Dream Inn.

Although most people had already parted to more advanced areas, downtown still looked as lively as the first day, and there was still a waiting line to get inside the Town Hall.

“I hope this doesn’t take long. Because I’m starving.”

“We’ve already explored Caeruleum Mountain and Virmion Woods, so what’s next?” he asked, prompting her to raise her chin with pride.

“Dylak’s Mansion, obviously! Let’s show those guys that belittled you yesterday that we can beat that whole dungeon on our own. We don’t need them!”

“Wait, haven’t we heard that place is, like, hardcore?”

“So what? After today’s battle, I truly think we can take on anything the Novus throws at us. You said I always find a way, didn’t you? Besides, I’ll have you by my side.”

“Which reminds me, are you still up for starting a guild with me?”

“Absolutely! Have you come up with a good name for it yet?”

“Well, I was thinking about that spell you improvised to save me, and it’s kind of inspiring, you know? So let’s become the ‘Shooting Stars’ and soar the skies!”

Astrid grimaced. “Rejected. It sounds lame and girly.”

“What?! No, it doesn’t! And didn’t you tell me you loved astronomy stuff? Astronomy… Astrid… Get it?”

“I have a much better one! We could become the ‘Death Bringers’!”

“Pass. Do you want to scare everyone we meet? What about ‘Snakes of Power’?”

“Nothing could stop the ‘Army of the Dead’!”

Alan frowned. “You want a grim-sounding name? Fine! ‘Callers of the Void’?”

“‘Black Tide… of the Dead’!”

“‘Time Slavers’. ‘Titan Hunters’. ‘Defenders of Insanity’!”

“Oh, oh, you like romantic names, right? Hear me out: ‘Lovers of the Goddess of Death’...” Astrid intoned in a macabre voice, opening her eyes wide and putting both hands against her cheeks.

“What’s with your fascination with death?”

“Well,” Astrid began, puffing out her chest, “if I'm going to worship something, what could be better than the Old One herself? The one that visits us all when our time comes.”

“What's with that logic?”

The Town Hall’s interior looked more like a bank than a local government building. Female employees wearing victorian-inspired dresses helped visitors from their reception desks with constant transactions of gold and valuables. The woman that received Alan and Astrid had a long blue ponytail and fox-like ears. The title, Unus Town Mayor, could be read above her head.

“Good morning, aspirant heroes! What can I do for you today?” she intoned in a sweet voice.

“We got rid of your pests problems,” Astrid said proudly, putting a blood-stained fang over the desk.

Although I’m pretty sure they’ll all respawn by tomorrow morning, Alan thought, half-smiling.

“That’s wonderful,” the young lady said, smiling brightly. “Congratulations on defeating The Weasenox. As a reward, you can choose a weapon from this list.” With that said, she waved at the air and a System window popped up in front of them.

“Only one weapon? We’re two here, you know? But whatever!” Astrid said, annoyed, exhaling loudly. “Could you also give us a form to register a new guild, please?”

“Right away, Ms. Bradford,” the fox-eared woman with a permanent grin said, materializing a second window.

“Let’s review the rewards first, eh, Alan? Let’s see… Beginner’s Staff, Beginner’s Sword, Bow, Dagger… A hammer? Ugh! Who’d carry that to a battlefield? That has no finesse. What do you think?” she asked, turning her gaze to him. To her surprise, Alan was consciously observing the female NPC, who did not seem to mind. “W-What are you looking at, you creep?!” Astrid hissed, glancing at the NPC’s stacked bosom and curvy figure. Or was he entranced by those cute animal ears?

“I’ve been wondering for a while,” Alan began saying, without taking his eyes off the fake woman. “Can these NPCs be considered some kind of advanced AI? They’re part of the System, after all, but what kind of special programming do they have? Do they repeat the same things over and over again after a prolonged conversation? Are they closer to our real-life automatons than ‘digital people’? Or perhaps…”

“Here it is again,” Astrid said, folding her arms. “Curious Alan. No, wait, I have a better one. 'Alanytical'.”

“S-Sorry for zoning out, Astid, won’t happen again. You were saying?”

She sighed loudly, hiding a smile. “Help me choose a reward from the list while I fill out the guild form, okay?”

After nodding, Alan skimmed through the list, but the constant loud voices around him caught his attention.

“Man, this place is awesome. Who would have thought this place would be like a videogame?”

“I know right? I wouldn’t mind becoming a frozen vegetable for the rest of my life. Everyone here looks hot as hell and we’re practically immortal.”

“I hope the Santa María finds nothing but poisonous planets during its whole journey so we get stuck here forever.”

“Yeah. Who in his right mind would want to return to the real world? Especially if we end up stranded in a lame ass rock in the middle of nowhere.”

Great… Just freaking great.

Alan formed fists and tensed his jaw while his gaze kept absently pointing at the reward list.

That’s what I was talking about. Should we really be wasting our time playing here while our families and the rest of the ‘not-qualified’ are literally awaiting death? We all left a dying Earth just a week ago, and we’ve been doing nothing but eating and drinking to our heart's content and fakely satiating some sense of accomplishment. This… This feels wrong!

Those thoughts incited him to turn around and give a piece of his mind to those Users, teens just like him, but Astrid grabbed his arm and looked deep into his eyes.

“Don’t,” she said quietly, faintly smiling at him. “I knew something has been bothering you lately, so listen, don’t feel bad about living in a utopia. We gain literally nothing from worrying about what we left behind, instead of looking at what’s ahead of us. We’ve already said goodbye to all of our relatives, right? So keep proud of their sacrifice and live every day to your fullest for them. That’s what a shooting star does, right? Keep going forward no matter what?”

“Astrid… How did you know…?”

She chuckled, gently tapping his forehead. “Because I’ve been thinking the same since we logged in, silly. Tee-hee. So! Have you made your choice yet?”

He smiled at her, and tapped on the reward screen.

“Here’s your new Beginner’s Elemental Staff, Mr. Warden,” the NPC in front of them said, placing the item over the desk, which Astrid stared at, frowning.

“Take it, Astrid. So you can save me again in the future,” Alan said, as the girl grabbed it with shaking hands and embraced it.

“D-Deal!” she replied with flushed cheeks before hurrying her way to the exit.

Admiring the way her short blond hair danced left and right at her every step seemed to ease the pressure in his heart. Although I’m not totally convinced, I can’t deny that living here, by your side, will make it all worth it.

As he stepped in her direction, the NPC urgently called at him: “Mr. Warden, before you go, would you kindly sign the guild’s form? Just press your thumb on the red dot and the process will be complete.”

“Ah, sure,” he said, following her instructions, and before the window could disappear, he caught a glimpse of the registered guild name: ‘Shooting Stars’.

In the blink of an aye, the oppressing and bitter feeling in his chest was swapped for a warm and tingling sensation filling him whole.

“Hurry up, Alan, I’m starving! Let’s get some pizza!”

“Yes!” he replied aloud, waving goodbye at the Mayor.

What am I doing worrying about a future so ahead of us? Astrid is right. Instead of bashing my head against the wall, thinking we’ll screw this up before it even starts, I should focus on taking care of what's in front of me now. This blond beauty that believes in me as much as I trust her.

Smiling about the possibilities of a bright future awaiting him, Alan Warden hurried his steps while promising to look at the good side of things, just like her, before a red system window blocked his sight of vision.

 

WARNING! COMMUNICATION WITH THE NOVUS SYSTEM HAS BEEN LOST.

His legs stopped working and reality froze around him, as a static image of Astrid, waiting for him at the door got carved in his brain.

And it may be my imagination, but I think I can hear her voice in the distance, screaming my name….

NOTICE: User #29318, ALAN WARDEN, YOU HAVE LOGGED OUT OF THE NOVUS SYSTEM...