"We could hire other adventurers and get them to storm the base with us," Flower Queen said after some thinking.
"That also requires resources," FBS Fulcron said.
"There's a way to get rid of them without using too many resources. We could lure some bandits at a time and slowly take them out," Scarlet Sunset said. The only downside with this method was that it would require a lot of time.
"Well, that could work. Let's see how it goes before we change our plan or anything like that," Emile said.
"Let's create roles. Who wants to be the people who enter the camp and lure the bandits," Scarlet Sunset said.
"I'll be part of the team who has to lure the bandits out," Flower Queen said. She could sneak into the camp and bring back a few bandits back without alerting others. She was a good choice for this job.
"I want to try it out," Emile said with a grin. He was willing to try new things out.
"Are you sure about that?" Scarlet Sunset said with a grin. She thought Emile had other intentions for being alone with Flower Queen.
"Yeah," Emile said.
"All right. I think two people are good enough for the job of luring," Scarlet Sunset said as she winked at Emile. Emile didn't know what the gesture meant. He gave her look of confusion.
She shook her head before speaking.
"Let's find some place where we can hide from the bandits and jump out at them."
They allowed the bandits to walk after loosening the rope that held their feet together. Now, only their hands were tied by some rope. The party wanted to move them to a closer location so that they could keep their eye on them as they caught more and more bandits.
Nimble Rod headed for the city to buy ropes. They needed lots of ropes for the future bandits that they would tie up.
The party walked to a small trench where they could hide behind the rocks that protruded from the ground.
They placed the tied bandits in the middle of the trench. Lily and Emile walked out of the trench towards the bandit camp that the bandits informed them about.
"It's been a while since we were last together," Flower Queen said to keep the conversation from becoming silent.
"Yeah. All these quests are stressing me out. We travel so much. And when we aren't doing quests we have to grind," Emile said.
"That's what it requires for you to be a top-notch gamer," Lily said.
"I don't want to be a top-notch gamer. I want to be someone who is powerful in the real world. In thirty years it wouldn't matter if I reach level 300 or 3000 since how would it affect me in real life. Could it increase my lifespan? Do I get power in the real world? The answer to both questions is no. I'm thinking of only using this game as a catalyst to increase my strength in the real world without worrying about grinding to increase my level," Emile said his thoughts which he kept hidden deep inside of him.
Lily didn't interrupt him during his speech.
"What do you find fun about Nirvana?" Lily asked.
"Fun? I guess the fighting and all the different mobs with unique skills," Emile said.
Isn't that true for all VR games?"
"I don't know anything else that I consider fun," Emile said with honesty.
"I know that you like growing stronger, right?"
"Of course."
"Don't you grow stronger with each spell that you cast? Think about it, you're increasing the proficiency of your fireball by continuously casting it. Whenever you test out your skill in the real world, you should see drastic improvements from the last time you used the skill. Even though you don't practice the skill in the real world," Lily said.
"That is true. Every time I use my skills, I grow slightly stronger and gain more understanding of the elements. I guess those fights and quests are tempering me," Emile said. He didn't think about the numerous improvements he had while playing the game. All he noticed were the major advances such as getting enlightened twice.
"See, that's why you should continue doing quests. You'll grow stronger, and you'll be with all of us instead of sitting in your room casting the same skill over and over again until you reach mastery," Lily said with a smile.
"Thank you," Emile said. Having someone to talk to helped him out greatly.
"Didn't I say to remove all formalities between us?" Lily asked with a serious expression.
"I keep forgetting," Emile said as he scratched his head.
Lily sighed and continued walking.
"Lily, wait up."
She turned around and gave a quizzical look towards Emile.
Emile had a brief moment of hesitation before speaking. A rush of emotions hit him as he saw her look.
"I uh... really l-like you... will you be my g-girlfriend?"
Lily blanked out for a second before replying. Her heart beat faster than ever.
"Yes! Now let's keep moving and not make the others wait for long," Lily said. She turned back around and continued walking. She didn't want to show the blush that crept up her face.
"Does that mean we're now boyfriend and girlfriend?" Emile said as he caught up to her.
"Yep. You're now officially my boyfriend," Lily said with a smile. Her heart was pounding out of her chest.
"That went a lot smoother than I thought. And it was pretty lackluster," Emile said as he scratched his head. The emotions that hit him caused him to do something drastic and it worked out in his favor.
"Should I have hesitated to add more tension?" Lily said with a teasing tone.
"No. I'm glad you gave a quick response or else my heart would pound more than when I'm fighting," Emile said with a laugh.
Emile grew his affection for Lily ever since they became good friends. She was reliable and would always have a smile on her face. He could pour his thoughts out into her and she would soak it up like a sponge. The previous interaction between them caused his heart to want her more than ever.
"Am I supposed to treat you differently or not?" Emile said. He didn't know much about romance.
"Well, we can now get a lot closer to each other. Holding hands is the first goal," Lily said.
"That's an easy goal. Let me hold your hand," Emile said.
"I'm not ready. We're moving too fast. My mind is still in shock from the previous confession. Give it some time," Lily said with a blush on her face. She needed time to make their new relationship seem normal to her mind.
"All right," Emile said.
They walked in silence until they reached the camp. They quickly circled the camp to see what preparations the bandits made.
"See those guards over there. We need to lure them over, but we need to lure all of them at once so that the other guards don't report it to the head of the camp. There are seven guards walking around," Lily whispered.
"How do you lure people?" Emile asked.
"You need to find their interest and use that to bring them to another location," Lily continued.
"Since they're all bandits, then gold and woman should be the easiest thing to use. It will be easier for me since I'm a girl. You could use gold coins or pretend to be a merchant who's lost," Lily said with a shrug.
"All right, I'll do that," Emile replied as he brought a small bag of gold coins.
"Oh wait. I have a body cloning skill which I can use to clone you, then I'll have someone that looks like you and could lure more of the guards," Emile said. Emile used a time gem to lower the cooldown of the skill. The previous clone disappeared with little action.
"Won't they get suspicious if two girls that look the same appear out of thin air?"
"True. I wasted a time gem on the cooldown," Emile said with a goofy grin.
"You could keep the clone as a backup and we could use it when we enter the camp," Lily suggested.
After hearing her words, Emile created a clone of Lily using {Body Copy}.
The clone would be useful whenever they infiltrated into the camp since it could also lure people over. They set everything up for the plan. Now they needed to carry out the plan.