The forest was dense and green with slight rays of sunlight dimming through. Insects of all types, lurking creatures that only caught a glimpse of the mysterious wavering bushes.
"They shouldn't find us here" Miyagi said, still in his concealment just like Banks.
The fleeing pair found a location, it had been Miyagi who led the two of us there.
"I placed a mark in this cave beforehand".
"What is this place?" Banks asked with intrigue; checking up on the realistic cave. Humid walls and myriad stalactites. Deeper inside the cave, the creeping eyes of bats indicated them to not go deeper unless they wished to give it a go.
'Ugh...' Banks grunted and sat down against the walls together with Miyagi as their camouflage receded.
"It is a special cave, mobs won't enter this place..." Miyagi smirked, still with his broken accent before he started checking his map. Banks followed forth and realised that he could see in the map the location of those three demons flickering, a little close to the cave, obviously lurking around and trying to find their cave.
"How do you know?" He sighed, "Why wouldn't they enter this cave? It seems to me that we just reached a dead-end, those demons could come and we have no way to leave as there is no back entrance".
"I have already tried. I was being followed by some monsters in this forest, they stopped right at the entrance and turned around in a daze. I didn't understand what was going on but after trying the same a few times I realised that those monster's patrolling patterns aren't taking this cave into account".
"How is that even possible?".
"Uhm, you know... it happens in every new launch. It doesn't matter how good it is, it is bound to have bugs during the launching period, Evanescence is no different. It seems they didn't take this route into consideration for the AI patrolling algorithm".
"How do they repair those bugs?".
"Obviously, they have to be reported by users first, otherwise how would they know?" Miyagi materialised two potions, he drank one and threw the other one to Banks who caught it.
"I had one, but... thank you. Did you report the bug?"
"Shigaimasu~ (No)"
"..." Banks' eyebrows twitched at the guy's shamelessness.
"If I reported it and it gets patched, how then can I take advantage of it?"
"For a Japanese, you're rather shady".
"Hehe, thanks".
A moment of silence unfolded in which their HP reached the maximum and also, the dots indicating the demon's positions had disappeared, indicating that they had either left the zone... or they were in stealth mode. In any case, Miyagi was not worried that they would get jumped at any time as long as they were within the cave.
"You seem to know a lot about games, this isn't your first time?" Banks inquired. The man was curious about this person's origin, and more so, 'he knows about the game more than I do, it would be useful to ask him some questions that Agatha answers too superfluously'.
"No, I had my first time a long time ago!"
He answered before immediately blushing furiously and waving his hands in front of a confused Banks.
"I-I mean, my first time playing games! n-not anything else!"
"..."
'Eh?' Confusion was reflected in the man's expression. He thought that Miyagi was a little... suspicious, but he still attributed it to the guy's Japanese nature, 'Perhaps they have some other customs that I'm not aware of'.
"Is that...so?"
"Of course! I started playing games professionally more than ten years ago!".
"Ten years, how old are you?"
"Y-You shouldn't be asking those questions!"
'Ah? What's going on with this guy? Is it odd for Japanese people to ask their age?'
"A-Anyway, you tell me how old you are and then I'll answer!" Miyagi was quite insistent, nevertheless, her question did nothing but confuse Banks further.
'You just said I shouldn't ask... and now you're asking me?!'
*cough!*
Trying to rationalise with who he thought was perhaps your average Japanese teenager, Banks decided to show a little maturity since he was perhaps the only adult here.
"I'm thirty-two".
"You're an old man!"
'Ugh!' That one hit Banks right at the Kokoro.
"I'm twenty... to think there is this much disparity, you're the oldest person I have seen playing this game".
'Ugh!! stop...'
"Do you have so much money that you can bear to waste your time like this? W-wait, maybe you're just unemployed" When Banks' expression contorted, Miyagi smirked wickedly, "Sore desu ka?! (So that's it?!)"
"UGH!'
"Could you stop guessing?"
"Ara, I apologise, it wasn't my intention... it is just... I was just curious about you since you didn't move like a new player at all while we were fleeing from those demons".
"I'm just a bit athletic that's all. Enough about me, you said you're a professional player".
Banks desired to scatter to dust the conversation about his professional status. Yes, if his career hadn't finished the way it did, perhaps he wouldn't be playing this game regardless of whether it was profitable or not.
"That's it, I'm a professional player. That's why I have to inspect every corner deeper than your average player. Playing games is my job" Miyagi spoke with pride that didn't quite reach Banks' eyes.
'One of those infamous streamers?' He thought.
"Good for you, I know nothing about games, this is the first one I ever tried".
"R-Really? So you bought the console, the game and the starter pack... just for a whim? could it be... Hontou ni Okanemochi Desu Ka?! (You're really a rich person!?)"
"I'm not! But this is a game where you can make money, isn't it? Look at it as an investment. I can see potential in it, so I'm trying it... if it is not as profitable as I expect it to be, then I'll leave and try something else" The man said haughtily, slanting yet another snicker from the Japanese fellow who approached more than necessary, invading Banks' personal space and creeping him quite a bit.
"So what do you think so far? Is it profitable?"
"I don't know... make some distance".
Seeing how close he was, Miyagi's eyes widened before he made some distance.
"S-Sorry... by the way, now that we're in the area, wouldn't you like to go to the House of Lamentations? let's form a party, I'm sure I can help you level up quickly if we go there. You're under level but I can protect you until you reach me".
Banks recalled the quest and Agatha's words indicating him to never step into that place with his current level, 'I don't mind dying but if I'm going to have my first death... I'd rather it have a purpose'.
"I don't know, that place is-"
He began, but his words and Miyagi's expectations ended with the most chilling of voices coming from the entrance of the cave.
"Hehe, I found two little mice~ you two aren't the only ones with that trick".
!!!
Literally out of nowhere, she materialised in all her lustful self, waving her hair and showcasing her diabolical horns, stopping the path ahead, effectively cornering the pair of little 'mice' she was preying on.
The leading demoness; her eyes looked back in confusion as to why her subordinates weren't following, but after a brief second in which her crimson pupils shone slightly, it was gone.
It was the briefest moment that Miyagi wasn't willing to let go of. He didn't even need to speak, Banks was already activating his cloak again without the slightest intention to fight a foe that was fifteen levels above him.
"Impossible, why is she here?! Quickly, activate the cloak!"
Alas, the cloak could only be used once a day.