End Online: Volume 2 (14 page)

"If it's about
Fen, I've already had words with her. And also... I am the one who should be
sorry!"

I finally did it! I
gave her my apology for the kiss. I am feeling extremely anxious at what she
will say back, but it feels relieving to get it off my chest.

"Sorry? Why are
you apologizing to me? *hic*"

She seems to be hiccupping
a fair bit, is she okay?

"The Kiss! I got
caught up in the moment and... Well... That happened."

"W-w-what are you
t-talking about! *hic* P-please don't mention such a t-thing! *hic*"

All of a sudden her
voice becomes frantic. Did she simply want to pretend like it never happened?

"So, please come
with me to Forste!"

I'm not entirely sure
why, but such a simple request sounds like some kind of love confession. My
heart is even beating against my chest and my hands feel like they are sweating
just like it is one too.

"O-Okay, I will
come. Shall w-we meet *hic* at the north gate?"

"Yes, I will be there
shortly."

"A-are *hic* you
sure t-that Fen is okay with me being here?"

"Well... She is
definitely, happy."

I grab Fen by the arm
and drag her along while she still seems intoxicated in her own world. I feel
the hatred of all the male players around me increasing at such a scene.

We head directly to the
north gate to meet up with Verde.

***************************************************
***************************************************

-Verde-

The wolf was
terrifying. I wanted nothing to do with it, even if it meant running away. I
got overly curious about the person from the night at the inn, and it turned
out I was next to her the entire time!

After leaving her with
the money Lost lent me, I went to one of the pubs and ordered a large quantity
of alcohol. At five silvers each, I drank a total of four pints of ale before I
felt the games effect of being 'Drunk' start to kick in.

The only alcohol I had
ever drunk before End Online was small amounts of wine with dinner. I had
never even considered drinking an alcohol such as ale, for the sake of drinking
it nonetheless.

It tasted horrible at
first, but the cheap wine that was served tasted even worse. A few nights and I
gradually got a taste for it, even if I did not drink it very often afterwards. 

Lost sent me a private
message about going to Forste while I was sitting at the bar. I was a little
unsure of what to do. Should I simply ignore it?

Only the alcohol seemed
to also inhibit my decision making in the game. I replied to him and the
conversation got easier from there. I even found out that he has had words with
 
that wolf girl.

Then he brought up the
kiss. With one hand on my neck for the private message I used the other to pull
my hood down over my face, trying to hide.

I didn't think he
thought about it much, but I was wrong. He had clearly been thinking about it a
lot.

After that he asked me
to join him going to the Kingdom of Forste in such a way that I could not
refuse him.

***************************************************

Blushing, I open a
private channel to Sir Laurence.

"Sir Laurence, are
you there? *hic*"

"My lady! Yes, I
am just outside of Iceridge training my dexterity so I can block and parry
attacks better. I won't let you get hurt again!"

"Oh, *hic* that's
umm... Really nice *hic*. But I need you to come with me to Forste."

"Are you okay? You
have been drinking. Did you want to e-elope with me?"

There is
a considerable amount of hope in his voice, but that seems to fade
with the uncomfortable silence that follows.

"Sir Laurence... I
need your *hic* protection on the journey. Mainly from Fen. *hic*"

"T-that wolf?
Don't worry! I will squash it for my lady should she desire!"

"Umm. Please
coin-*hic*-cidentally run into us as we are leaving. I think it would be best
if you just happen to run into us. *hic*"

"As
 
you wish."

I can imagine him
bowing in front of me. The same way he does every time he speaks those words.

I pay my bill and walk
out of the pub, a few more coins in my purse than when I walked in, thanks to a
few unlucky customers. 

Slightly
 
staggering down the road, I walk
towards the north gate.

-Lost-

I arrive at the north gate with Fen in mere
minutes. Although unfortunately, it appears Verde is not here yet.

"Fen, please do at least try get along
with her."

I question whether the two of them in a party
together was a good idea, but it should work out. My biggest worry is this girl
in front of me, giving me a blank stare and refusing to answer.

Turning away from the look she is giving me, I
notice Verde approaching from down the path

She is strangely wobbly on her feet,
almost as if she is... Drunk.

"I-I'm here! *hic*" Verde is also
talking a little loud, most definitely drunk

"Thanks for coming, I'm sorry for the
trouble!"

"N-no not at all!" Franticly waving
her hands in the air, her face turns red.

"Mmm, shall we head off?"

"Yes, I think that would be best, the
Swords of Light guild are probably on a search for us *hic* as we speak."

"Isn't that just great," Kneading my
temples I still have the headache from earlier, and the thought of those
guys chasing us did it no favours, "Do you know the way? I remember you
saying that you had been up north before."

"I actually have a map from when I went
there last!"

"Then please, I will leave you to lead the
way."

Our conversation started off a little stiff,
but it eased off and we gradually became more natural talking to each
other. 

My initial opinion of this girl was like a
goddess. She walked passed me in the bazaar and it was like everything else was
gone except her. And then she disappeared, as if she was merely a fragment of
my imagination.

After that, she appeared in front of me once
again. My impression of her changed, she seemed like she had ulterior motives.
Then, the kiss happened and an awkward tension separated us.

As of right know, the awkwardness is still
there, but it is slowly fading away. I am happy that Verde is coming with
us. She is, after all, the closest thing to a friend I have in this game.

Opening my menu, I know exactly what to look
for this time, initiating the party invitation in only a moment.

I would have enjoyed spending more time in
Iceridge, at least to restock my herbs. However, Verde has a point
about the Swords of Light finding us. The only method of losing them is to get
far enough away that if they do use a locate spell on me, I will be far enough
away and they won't bother chasing me.

With Verde taking the lead, the three of us
casually stroll out the north gate, putting Iceridge behind us. There
is a small sense of loss, like when moving house, but there is also the
excitement of exploring new areas.

We walk through a wolf hunting ground full of
new players, one that holds some rather nostalgic memories for me. A few wolves
break off from the new players to come attack me, sensing my intimidating aura
and feeling like I am the biggest threat that needs eliminating. 

Players shout at me for using an 'Aggro' skill
on the wolves they are fighting, but I pay no heed to them. Any wolves
that attack me receive one of my blades flashing through them.

Most players shut their mouths after seeing me
easily kill a wolf in one strike, yet there are a few that continue making a
racket. Sorry, but this skill of mine did not come with an 'off'
button.

Looking at Fen next to me, it seems she has not
even deemed the players worth her attention. Following suit, we pass
through the area with no complications, only a few yells trailing behind us.

Verde didn't seem to notice them much at all,
still a little drunk. Considering one of this game's alcohol inhibition
features, she is still a little off balance on her feet. She is most likely
simply concentrating on walking straight.

A little past the field I pick up a glint of
silver coming from the trees in front of us. A player exits the particular
dense crop of trees in question as we get closer, walking directly towards us.
For some odd reason, Prince Charming has appeared directly in front of us.

"My Lady," He spoke, going to one
knee in front of Verde, "I was just heading back to Iceridge when I saw
you. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Oh," She tries to sound surprised,
but doesn't seem to be in the slightest, "Lost and I are currently
going to the Forste, would you like to come?"

"My lady, it would be my honour. I would
happily go anywhere if it was with you."

"Well, I guess that should be fine? Is it
okay with you, Lost?"

Verde turns to me, waiting for an answer.

"It's fine, just give me a moment to send
the party invite."

I get the feeling that this encounter is
not as coincidental as it may first seem. I only wonder because the entire
conversation between Prince Charming and Verde seems scripted.

Far too scripted. 

However, I will let Prince Charming into the
party anyway. He seems rather obsessed with Verde and would probably follow us
regardless. At least he can be useful as a good meat shield against the
enemies.

The prince shortly spots Fen, who is currently
slightly behind me. I glimpse a strange light enter his eyes
upon seeing her. Actually, it makes me feel a little scared.

Faster than I have ever thought he could move,
he circles us and approaches the wolf girl.

"Princess," Down on one knee again,
his head facing the ground with one hand clenched and held to his chest,
"It is my honour to be in your presence. May I have the pleasure of
knowing your name?"

Verde and I are both stunned and gaping at the
sight. I am shocked at how this guy has the nerve to shamelessly hit on two
women at once. I assume Verde feels the same, who wouldn’t be after seeing such
a sight?

Fen walks around behind him, gently placing a
hand on the back of his head.

"...Idiot..."

A small flurry of snow is raised as Prince
Charming's pretty face plummets into the snow, a soft 'thud' marks his face
connecting with the earth beneath. With considerably more force than when
she attacks me, the victim’s health visibly drops by twenty percent with a
'stunned' status next to it.

'No mercy!' 
The thought resounds
through my mind.

As soon as he can move again he stands up,
pretending nothing at all happened. However, Verde whispers something into his
ear and his composure breaks, a look of shock coming over his face as he looks
at Fen.

After the drama, we decide to simply continue
our journey. Encountering various animals along our walk, I remember
to analyse every single one. After a few kills, I even manage to gain more
information about some of them. 

They were not very strong and dropped next to
no experience,. A single throwing knife from a discreet location was usually
enough to kill one.

While I did try and cut off some Thèr Deer's
antlers once the information of their value was revealed to me, I could
not even manage to remove a single one. They were not only incredibly tough,
but more so they were classed as shields for the deer. Meaning, no amount of
speed to negate their defence, I needed brute strength to break them off.

I was quite surprised at first. In the loot
menu of these animals, I had the option of using my cooking skills to
harvest the corpses for meat. Eventually, I had managed to secure a
decent amount of both 'Snow Rabbit Meat' and 'Thèr Deer Venison'.

We crossed paths with only a few players. Some
were in parties that offered for us to join them and form a bigger party,
discouraging any potential player killers. Others practically begged to join
our party, after seeing Verde and Fen that is. 

Prince Charming was always alert of these kinds
of people and would usually chase them away, shouting out ridiculous lines such
as, "You should be beheaded, laying your filthy eyes all over my lady in
such a way!"

Fen on the other hand, didn't even notice them!
Sticking relatively close to me, I did not see her spare each any more than a
glance. Occasionally, while hanging off my arm, she would gaze up at me with
hungry eyes. 

As the sun begins to sink on the horizon,
vibrant hues of red and orange lighting the sky, I spot a small thicket of
trees together. There is nothing different about the trees themselves, but
something about how they were placed seems to attract my attention.

'That's it! It has a similar feeling to
the parks back in Iceridge!'

Leading the party to the spot, I inspect the
area by brushing the snow aside at various spots. Fen joins me in brushes aside
snow in random spots and surely soon enough, I find a green medicinal herb.

Delighted at my find, I got Fen's help with
finding a large amount of various herbs in the area. I am forced to prevent her
from actually pulling out the herbs from the ground, considering she destroys
them every time she tries.

Behind a tree, I also discover some kind of
strange blue berry bush. It only stands about half way up my shins, and
has a mere three bunches of berries attached to it. From the bush, I
collect a total of forty five berries.

 "Analyse!"

'Orange! It's a rare item!'

I tried eating one to test the effects and I felt
like there was a cube of ice travelling down my throat. Coughing a few times, a
chill spread throughout my body, freezing me from the inside out. 

Fen puts one in her mouth too and also
starts coughing shortly after swallowing it.

"Analyse!"

The amount of information revealed by eating a
single berry was incredible, although I did just experience the effect of the
berry with my own body. Placing the rest in my inventory I decide to try the
rest of my unknown herbs.

In turn, I broke into a fever, suffered a full
body paralysis, and the 'Black N' herb has caused my vision to corrode for a
full five minutes!

Having herbal proficiencies in a legendary
skill is definitely devastating when even eating herbs raw. A single green
medicinal herb would currently heal about forty health in ten seconds,
just as useful as my original potions.

Verde and Prince Charming come over as the
sky fades into night.

"Lost," Verde spoke to me first,
"it's about time for dinner. All of our hunger should be pretty low now as
well. Sir Laurence has a large amount of bread we can eat for tonight. I doubt
it is very nice but it's something."

"Actually, thanks to all the meat I
collected today, I thought we could have something cooked."

"Oh, you managed to buy the cooking
skill?!"

"Mmm, well, not exactly. I kind of got it
elsewhere."

"You must tell me where!"

"Forgive me, but it would be useless to
you."

Apologizing to Verde, she and the prince
silently agreed we would have proper cooking tonight. 

Nearly Every production skill, from
crafting weapons to creating potions, was extremely simplified in order to
avoid teaching actual skills people may be able to use outside of the game to
harm others. 

Other skills, such as tailoring, were more in
depth and often requiring manuals to learn how to do properly.
Cooking was possibly the most advanced skill in that regard, aiming to imitate
real life cooking in the game. It not only taught fantastic skills, but allowed
people to bring their skills in to the game as well.

In the real world, I am quite the formidable
chef

Opening my inventory, I place a few wooden
boards down on the ground. Removing a large portion of each meat out of my
inventory, I begin cutting them up into slices and laying them out on the
boards. Naturally, I ensure to cut off the excess fat as I go.