After escaping the scene, I started contemplating on my conversation with Gerard, while of course ignoring what happened later 'Did something happened? No, I don't think so, else I would remember'

'How to fortify my body without losing anything? The answer for that would be a buff. I have [Body enhancement] for speed and power. [Mind sharpening] for reaction and processing speed. [Soul shield] for defense. [Nodes] for soul and life energies.'

All buffs are useful but they have a hard limit: my body. If I fuel [Body enhancement] too much, my muscles would rupture. With [Mind sharpening], my mind would shatter. [Nodes], my body would explode. [Soul shield] by being technically outside the body has no limit, but it can limit your body movement when it is too dense. The body is the limit for how strong buffs can be.

Although, if there is a way to increase the base limits of my body the buffs limit should also go up. My idea, crazy one at that, is to fuse the [Soul shield] and the body on a molecular level and I am thinking that way my body would be stronger and would be able to tolerate stronger buffs without breaking.

I grabbed a twig that was on the ground and started fusing my [Soul shield] with it, I tried to fill everything with the shield like soaking it with the water as much as I can, but the water being my soul energy. The twig didn't have any outside changes, when I tried to bend it though, it was harder than normally but it could still bend so the flexibility did not change.

Considering that this was a first experiment, it was a success. I took the shield out of the twig and watched it crumble into dust in front of my eyes. '...Thank god I did try that on myself. Even if the end result was unexpected, I can tell that I am going on the right direction. I guess the shield broke the connection between the molecules or something like that.'

I was about to try once more but my experimentation was cut short by a Vanguard. He probably just accidentally spoke his thoughts out loud and didn't want anyone to hear it, but I heard it. Thus, I activated all my body buffs, [Nodes] included.

[Nodes] are my original spell, buffs that act as artificial pools for either soul energy and life energy. Furthermore, pathways can be added to the [Nodes] so they can be elemental pools too. I currently can hold 3 [Nodes] in my body before going BOOM. Each [Node] is expensive to create.

I also activated [Sensory amplification] that does what exactly its name says, it amplifies the sense of smell, sight, taste, touch and hearing. I approached the Vanguard, grew my shield on left hand into claws-like ends and put it on his shoulder near his neck. My right hand was ready to take my dagger that was on my back.

That broke the Vanguards journey on his thoughts and tried to look at me but noticed my left hand 'Because I am touching him with the shield, he should have noticed it and even if he tries to run, I will take a chunk out of him'

"Would you kindly follow me to have a talk 'and I'm not accepting no as an answer'" I said softly

He nodded stiffly as he seemed to get the message. I let go of his shoulder and started walking with him following me from behind and put my left hand casually hanging on grip of my sword. If he showed any sing of uncooperating, I would attack him and suppress him immediately. I will not kill him, but he might lose a limb or two.

Even though he's behind me, with [Sensory amplification] I can hear his steps, his breath, the metal clanking of his armor, smell how near he is to me and feel if he tries something like invisible threads on me. [Soul pulse] is on but in large radius, it doesn't help when I have such a close target and decreasing the radius will be noticed so I have to rely on [Sensory amplification].

We distanced ourselves from the marching group and I used [Silent world], a shield like dome that covers an area of effect. Based on [Silent cover] but slightly different. Unlike [Silent cover] that hides the user presence, [Silent world] leaves it displayed but the spell itself is unnoticed by the pulses and it will not let any sound escape. Very useful for secret conversations in plain sight like this one and of course, those that are inside will know when it is cast.

"What do you want?" asked the Vanguard with a serious expression

"First of all, let me thank you for accepting my unreasonable request." 'My professional personality has made its appearance'

"Not that I had a choice 'no, you didn't'. Start talking." He said rather furious

"Well, there is no need to be that… excited. I just want some clarifications."

"Anyone in my position would be. Threatened by that Craven none the less."

"And if you know my prowess, I would advise you to answer my question with no lies whatsoever 'because if you don't…'. I turned my head to him while still walking. My eyes told what he needed to know.

He was silent for a moment "… I need to hear your question first."

"Right, let's get to business. By coincidence I was walking near you when you were probably contemplating something rather important that you let it escape from your mouth." I paused, stopped on the spot and said with a cold voice "What do you mean by "I did not expect to be a man so soon"?" 'That sentence meant that he is a player and a woman in real life at that, but it is the part "so soon" that bothers me because it means that he was already expecting to become a man. Did he already know this was going to happen? Is he the perpetrator or one of them? All those questions will be answered right now and depending on his answer I might have to put him down'

Realization fell upon him and with an angry face he said "Look. What you heard is true." I held my sword more tightly "But just because a person is transsexual 'Wait. What?' does not mean you have the right to kill them!" He looked at me defiantly and was readying his spear for what seemed to be a last stance against a terrible foe which was me.

'Transsexual…? Then this is just a big misunderstanding!!'

"Wait a second!" 'back to my normal personality'

"There is nothing else to say." He said valiantly 'please stop looking so cool like you're in front of death'

"No, just stop. You cannot beat me and I have no reason to kill you."

For a second indignation appeared on his face when he heard he could not beat me but the next part made him go "What?"

I sighed "Let me ask you this: Did you had anything to do with us being here?"

"What? No! What made you say that?"

"It was the "so soon" part."

He seemed to understand how we got to this situation and declared "… I see. So, you thought that I was the perpetrator that put us in god knows where, huh. But, no, the reason why I said that was because I was going through the transition into a man, but normally that takes years to do…" he sighed "That's why I said that. Because I wasn't expecting to become me." he said while looking at his hands "So, in the end, this was just a big misunderstanding, huh"

"Yes..." 'This is really embarrassing and awkward!'

I could not bear this awkward atmosphere so I started walking beside the group. He too started following me.

"… And you don't have anything against transsexuals?"

"Not really. Rather if you consider yourself a transsexual now, then I am one too."

"Really!?"

"Yes. I was a man before becoming my character."

"Were you one of the closet kinds?"

"No, I did not have any thoughts of becoming a woman."

"Then, why did you make your character a woman?" 'VRMMOs did help some people find their inner person'

"It is a funny story."

"Do tell."

"Actually, it is not that funny."

"Come on, don't leave me hanging after you started."

I sighed "Fine. You see, I used to play old MMOs, the ones that had third person point of view and I always created female characters because I rather watch a woman than a man for hours and hours. Then life happened: exams, first job, bills and all that crap. I did not have time to play, my gaming machine dying did not help with that. So, I could not play the firsts VRMMOs when they launched. Thanks to luck, I got a job at Creo that lets me play games as a job. Obsidian was in fact, my first VRMMO experience, therefore by habit I created a female character."

"… That's it?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you change it? Normally it is uncomfortable to be in the position of the opposite gender, that's why people based their characters gender on their own."

"I found out later that people in my position cannot change their characters because we need to be recognized on sight and Obsidian did not possess User Interface for the sake of immersion so I got stuck with this character. Well, I could write a formal demand to my boss, but I was too lazy to do that. Therefore, I tried to get used to it, then time kept flowing and here we are."

"You do know that you were just torturing yourself by doing that, do you? I know how that is like."

"I changed my VRMMO machine dive setting from full dive to around 40%, so it wasn't that bad and I became numb to the sensation."

He shook his head and looked at me like I was an idiot. "You are one stubborn idiot" 'he actually said it and added stubborn to it!!'

I coughed and changed the subject "More importantly, when did you noticed that you became your character and that this is no longer a game?"

"Ah, that. I believe that everyone has somehow realized it one way or another."

"And no panic, no complaining or screaming."

"I believe that everyone has come to terms."

"How?"

"Like you said, we became our characters, both in body and spirit."

When I heard it, I was so surprised that I stopped and looked at him for a moment with wide eyes. Not because it wasn't expected but because I never realized it. Why am I not bothered that I am a woman? How can I kill without hesitation? The answer for that was because I became someone else.

"So, the only thing that came from our previous lives were memories, huh." I declared and kept walking

"I don't think so."

"Care to explain."

"I can still feel the relief when I realized that I am a man, even if it was somewhat unexpected. So, I believe, rather than becoming our character, our personalities fused into someone else."

"It is kind of hard to imagine that our characters had personalities."

"Not that hard when take role playing into account." 'Right. I forgot that role playing was a thing in Obsidian'

By being User Interface free as much as possible, role playing became such a huge thing in Obsidian that everyone had a role of some kind. That is the reason to why first names are so natural.

"That explains how I did not notice it."

"Why? Did role playing become natural to you?"

"No. I did not do role playing."

"Huh, I thought that everyone role played."

"There are always some exceptions."

It was not like I hate role playing, it is just too bothersome to do. Once there was a group of role-playing maniacs that tried to force me to role play by saying things like "A lady should do this…" or "A lady shouldn't do that…".

In the beginning, I ignored them as some background noise, but the more I ignored them the louder they talked then I finally snapped and started arguing back things like "Who the hell are you to tell what a lady should and shouldn't do!?jk.". Bad decision, because that started and whole new dispute that did not end with a winner. Afterwards, the men looked at me like I was an unreasonable child while the women looked at me like looking at a role model. 'I was so pissed, but I couldn't do anything because I knew it would bite me back'

"Anyway." I stopped and looked at him. I put my right palm in front of my chest, bowed and said "I am sorry for causing this misunderstanding."

He stood in place for a moment "… And you said that you don't role play."

"I don't, but I do have some manners."

He awkwardly scratched is head, then a light bulb seemed to appear on his head for a moment "I'll forgive you, if you do something for me."

"And that is?" 'Of course, I won't do anything too unreasonable'

"Go out with me." He said while putting, what I assumed to be, his lady killer smile

My thoughts got frozen for a second then I rebooted "You have some balls to ask the person who was ready to kill just a moment ago."

"That I do!" he was oddly happy about that 'understandable, though'

"But I have to decline, because no matter how handsome you might be, I like girls." 'At least this did not change.'

"Damn. Worth a try, though." He looked like he expected it but at the same was hoping for a miracle

I cancelled [Silent World] and my buffs and said to him "Well, if you do that to girls who like men, you should score some."

"Oi, oi. I don't do this to any girl I see. They have to be beautiful in body and personality." He declared

"Good luck with that because you will need it."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll show you." He grumbled 'déjà vu? But there is a good chance of finding one because every character, player and NPC, in Obsidian have beautiful appearances and one of them might the one for him'

"I need to go. I have to get the food from the campsite to this group, so this is goodbye." 'that place really needs a name. I don't know what to call it.'

"Goodbye, for now."

"I won't become your woman, you know."

"That does not mean we cannot become friends. My name is Shibaru."

"Craven, but you already knew that."

"With your fame, who doesn't."

I ignored that and started moving away from the group. Once I was felt I was far enough I activated my buffs and started jumping on top of the trees 'It's not like I mind people knowing that I can move like this, it just because I don't want unnecessary trouble'.

My talk with Shibaru opened my eyes to a lot of details that I didn't pick up at first. Like how I can feel this body so much and not be bothered by it. How my thoughts and acts were oddly calculating considering that I am in a situation where I would have lost my sanity 'probably'. The reason why players were so cooperative and didn't raise a fuss. 'It was because we changed'

This change gives me some mixed feelings. It is welcome because with it that our chances of survival and thrive are good. On the other it means that our previous selves are dead, character and real.

I kept moving in silence, silent in body and mind. Mourning the dead, perhaps…

I reached the campsite and got surprised that some buildings, the low-rise kind, were almost done and were only missing the roofs. 'The power of superhuman free labor' is what I thought while witnessing the Crafters ordering the Vanguards to carry materials from one place to another. I also took note of sprouts in the plantations area.

I went to the cooking area and noticed that they were still preparing the food, so I pulled a chair out of my inventory 'it was mixed in the junk corner' and sat in a place away from the downwind of the food avoiding the alluring smell and to not disturb the cooking.

I grabbed a twig that was on the ground and experimented my idea with it, only for it to crumble again 'What am I doing wrong? The shield cut the connections between the molecules because it was too dense, but if it is not that dense there would be no point to it'. I tried once more, but the result was the same.

'I know that I have the right idea, but it is the implementation that is wrong. Maybe rather than soul energy, life energy is the answer'

I grabbed another stick and this time I used my life energy as the shield source and fused it with the stick. The result: Immediate explosion. 'What the hell happened? The stick squirmed for a moment before exploding into dust. Applying life energy on a molecular level can do that? Was it because it was trying to grow so fast that it could not maintain its shape? That's good to know, but it won't help me in my endeavor.'

I used air discharge to blow away the dust and contemplated 'I have the answer, but it's not quite there yet. Applying the shield with soul energy will cut the connections between the molecules when it is too dense. While doing it with life energy will make the molecules use the energy to multiply themselves too fast and will explode. How do I solve this…? On one side we have disconnection due to weakening effect the soul energy does to the connections between molecules when it is too dense... On the other we have an explosion thanks to rapid multiplication of molecules by using life energy... Disconnection between the molecules and explosion due to rapid multiplication... Disconnection and explosion... Too less and too much… Weak and Strong… Two opposite forces… Is that the answer…? Not one, but two…? Worth a try.'

"Craven! The foods ready! You can come to pick it up now" 'Alas, not today'

"Coming!"

I quickly grabbed the food and started making my way to the travelling group.

'Now that I think about it, I only ate once today and that was hours ago. I feel a little hunger but not enough to have a meal. Do I require less food now? Or, is it because of my life energy is inexhaustible and feeds my body automatically…? More questions that I cannot answer…'

I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts and concentrated on getting to my destination. A few hours later I arrived. I greeted the Vanguards guarding and ignored the one making puppy eyes for some food and went to the rear of the group where the captain should be. This time I did not find the captain but the mayor was there, so I approached him.

"Excuse me. I have the food with me. Who do I give it to?"

The mayor looked at me and answered "Captain Neos is the one doing the allocation of the food, so you'll have to wait for him. Right now, he's making his rounds of reports, he should be back soon."

"I understand."

I decided to wait with the mayor for the captain.

"How are things going over there?" the mayor asked

"I did not spend much time in the construction site itself, but from what I've seen it is going well. A few buildings should be done by now and if we use the space as much as we can, I think we can accommodate somewhere around 50 people. However, that is my personal calculations and I was never good measuring stuff with the naked eye."

"That's good to know. We've been lucky with the weather so far, so we're thinking about allowing people to sleep on our next break."

"You still haven't slept?"

"No, we feared the weather would turn for the worse during the night and cut the sleep and as a consequence would make the first day progress not as much as we've done today. A few hours without sleep is not a problem to our people, we've been through worse."

"I see"

A moment of silence fell upon us.

"I've been meaning to ask you something but there hasn't been an opportunity yet." The mayor face's switched to an expression befitting a mayor 'how does he make that glint in his eyes shine brighter?' "What are you planning?"

Understanding that this would be a serious exchange I activated my buffs.

"I do not understand your question. Can you reformulate your it?"

He narrowed his eyes "You've always been a loose cannon, a rather strong one at that, but you've never showed any interest in other affairs no matter the times. So, you helping us is a little surprising. Therefore, I would like to know what are you planning." He said with a slight smile but his eyes aren't laughing

'I see what's happening. He did not bother putting a [Silent World] dome because he has some guards listening nearby and ready to strike if I do a wrong move. He also could not do it because I would notice that the guards were included'

"First of all, threats do not work on me, so I would like you to tell your guards to keep their hands in check if they don't want to lose them." The guards readied their weapons in a way not too obvious way to not inform the others of our little conversation.

"Maybe not directly against you, but what about your friends."

"I would like to see you try and witness the consequences yourself. I will inform you that there are limits you should not cross."

The mayor inspected my face, looking for something, but in the end, he shook his head and raised his hand, telling the guards to back away. The guards got to their original positions, but kept a wary eye on me.

The mayor sighed and said with a bitter smile "You're not making this easy for me."

"I just acted appropriately for someone being threatened."

"You look more like someone who is already used to being threatened though."

"Because I am."

Being an unofficial boss made me encounter all kinds of hostile parties. The majority used more direct means to defeat me, while there was a minority that used some more underhanded methods to break my will to fight back.

"Ah, right. What makes people even want your head? If I was them, I would not dare angering someone with your prowess."

"Who knows. Promises of money, perhaps power, or just for fame, or all of the above. I don't bother asking. As for your question, I am not planning anything."

"Then why are you helping us? Normally you would not raise a hand for others." he asked confused

"Because I can and I'm willing to do it. And because we are in an abnormal situation."

"I heard it from Garamis. Another world, huh?"

"I might be wrong, though."

"Yet, it is the most plausible answer. You were not the only one who witnessed our world, Obsidian as you call it, breaking on the eve of a new dawn."

"So Garamis told you everything, yet you still doubt me."

He shrugged "It is my job to be skeptical of everything. It is because of that that Green Wood and everyone living in it lasted this long, because the mayor is protecting it."

"That is nice way to put it. However, you leave most of your job to your subordinates."

The mayor coughed awkwardly "How do you know about that?"

"It just so happens that your secretary complains rather loudly about her boss that leaves unnoticed and does not complete his papers in the bar near the east gate each night." I stared directly at his eyes

"…" He averted his eyes

"…" I kept staring at him

"… I still do my work, ok. It's just that, I leave the more bothersome stuff to my subordinates. That's all."

"Right…"

"Anyways, you said you're not planning anything?" 'He changed the subject'

"That is correct. Maybe not entirely, because I do plan to become an enchanter because technically, I just lost my job." 'They took my job!' I held my chuckle remembering a certain scene

"It is such a waste for you to become an enchanter. Why don't you become a teacher at the training grounds or a guard?" The mayor proposed, oblivious to my thoughts

"A spar is ok with me but I don't really like fights." That made him and the guards listening look at the me with a weird look

"… Are you lying? Because if so, you are a damn good liar."

"It is the truth, though."

"… Then, why are you so strong?"

"To end fights faster."

"So, you do not enjoy fighting?"

"I did not say that. I enjoy fighting but I don't like fights."

"Is that not the same?"

"No."

"I don't understand."

"I do."

"Ok… Do you have an answer to my proposal?"

"Yes: it is too bothersome, so I decline."

We ended our conversation there. Since the guards were not showing any suspicious actions, I decided to put my buffs into the minimum just in case. The captain appeared some minutes later.

"Craven, you're back. Do you have the food?"

"Yes. Should I bring water next time?"

"Then give the food to the three over there and take the empty boxes. As for the water, we have enough for the moment but just in case you can take an empty barrel and bring it filled tomorrow." I did just that

"Anything I should know?" the captain asked while I was transferring the food

"Everything is progressing at a remarkable speed. Some buildings were almost done when I departed and sprouts have grown on the farm area. That is all I know." I answered

"I see. How is the progress of our group to the destination?"

"I will say that you are about 35% of the way until there."

"That is some good progress, more than expected for the first day."

The captain approached me after I was done with my task and asked me with a low voice "By the way, did something happened?"

"What makes you say that?" I replied with the same voice volume

"I know my men and they have a tense feeling while looking at you."

"You'll have to ask the mayor." Then I spoke with my normal voice "I am done here, so I'll do some hunting for the night and will come back tomorrow."

The captain had flashes of complicated feelings cross his face before returning to normal "Understood."

Before I left, I turned to the mayor "Mayor Krislaw, can I request something from you?"

"That depends on your request."

"Can you think of a name for the new town, because it is quite hard to refer to the place without a name?"

"Yes, I can do that. I will share the name when we arrive at the site."

"Thank you."

I turned and starting heading to different direction than last time to hunt.

'Another exhausting day almost over…'

Silent_Crow

Normally, Craven's thoughts, the ones like 'thought' would be in italic for more distinction from the normal text. However when I copy paste, it does not copy the style. It is a pain in the butt to go over the chapter and put it in italic.

Anyways, another chapter down.

I feel that I should increase the rate of the publishing up until chapter 10. What do you, readers, think?