The sound of birds singing, and chirping indicates that the sun has finally risen.
In the woods where no one usually goes, Kaito was unconscious on the ground. A groan came out of him as he felt the morning breeze hit his skin. After not so long, his eyes suddenly opened as he gasped and sat up abruptly. Images from what happened during the game testing flash through his mind. He could still slightly feel the pain he felt at that time.
"Damn it, if only I listened to that girl..." He mumbled as he remembered what the girl told him. Her glare that was piercing through her glasses as her eyes showed how determined she was to stop him from going inside the building was still fresh in his mind.
'Wait... Where am I?'
He shakes his head and looks around the place to assess what is happening. Unfamiliar types of plants were surrounding him. Some grass has a weird pink hue at its tip, flowers that he had never seen before nor mentioned in books, and trees which has leaves that sparkle though they are dry. He is convinced that he is not in the world he once lived in anymore.
"Am I dead then? Is this heaven now?"
As he was about to stand up, a woman wearing a mask that was covering the lower half of her face suddenly showed up in front of him. She wears a mystical light blue dress with puffed-up long sleeves, and a gold belt that hugs her waist perfectly, her flowy see-through short skirt that has slits on both sides falls to her knees partnered with matching puffed-up pants similar to those in Arabian or Indian clothing.
'Finally another person!' He thought before happily walking near the woman in blue, relieved that he finally had someone to ask.
"Excuse me, do you know when—" Before he could finish his sentence, the woman's hand glowed, and sharp ice shards were suddenly being thrown at him.
As if by instinct he immediately dodged the attack which made the ice shards land on the ground. The area where the shards landed suddenly froze the grass on it, which made his eyes go wide. Well, he is lucky enough to dodge the attack, or else he is doomed.
He looks at the woman thinking as to why she is attacking him. "Miss, I don't want to hurt a lady so if we could ever talk this out — WHAT THE HELL!" He yelled as he dodged another one of her attacks.
The woman continues to attack him as he swiftly dodges them by instinct. He quickly climbed onto a tree and grabbed onto the nearest thick branch and swings himself enough for him to just perfectly land on the branch.
He looks at the lady in front of him as he still stays alert as she might still attack him. "Hey, lady! It's rude to randomly attack people! Like I said stop because I don't want to hurt a beautiful lady like you!"
A snicker was heard behind him which made him turn his head to see who it was. A big wolf with red fur and red eyes walks in their direction as it growls as if asserting dominance. Its gaze is as cold as ice making him feel shivers down his spine.
"Well, aren't you the "just all talk" kind of guy? Why don't you try attacking your enemy and not just dodge them? I didn't know there was a wolf coward enough to attack." The wolf said with a familiar voice as it looks at Kaito.
"Wait, wolf?! I am a human not a wolf like you, as you can see right now!" He retorts back which makes the red wolf stare at him for a few seconds.
"I see how it is, you just arrived in this world. Well, I'll explain later, let me get rid of this Ice maiden first."
The wolf then runs towards the ice maiden and slashes her with its claws. The fight between them continues which only makes Kaito notice how the wolf was avoiding using its teeth, it's like the wolf was trying so hard not to bite the maiden. But why is it avoiding it? It will easily end if it does. He continues to observe the fight between the two only for him to witness something he didn't even expect. The red wolf that jumped to pounce on the maiden suddenly turned into a girl his age in mid-air.
Her long red hair is tied into a ponytail and her wolf's ears and tail are still there. Her black jacket with white fur in its collar and hood flew as she was about to land on top of the maiden. Kaito saw how her hands emitted red-colored mana as she pierced the maiden in her chest. The area where her claws pierced the maiden looked burned and the maiden suddenly vanished like ashes being blown away by the wind.
The girl landed in front of the tree where Kaito is sitting. Her wolf ears, claws, and tail suddenly vanished making him even more confused with everything that is happening.
"You there..." The girl turns her head facing toward him, her glowing red eyes glaring at him. "You can come down now, the enemy is dead." She walked towards the tree and suddenly slumped down to sit beside it. She leaned back to the tree's trunk making it seem like she was completely worn out.
Kaito, on the other, hand jumped down from the tree landing beside her. He turned his attention toward the girl whose eyes were now closed while trying to calm her breathing down.
"Wait a minute..." Too tired or lazy to speak, the girl opened her right eye looking his way confused as to why he said that as if he just realized something. She sighs sitting up straight and glaring at him now while raising one of her eyebrows.
He leaned towards her making his face just 5 inches away from her. "What the fuck are you doing?!" She grimaced and scrambled away as she yelled at him.
"Ah! You are that girl! In front of that game company!" He exclaimed after recognizing her. "Min? The man called you Min that time! By the way, where are we? The last thing I remembered was testing the game and I suddenly felt like being electrocuted. Come to think of it, was it a mistake? An Error?"
"It's Minyoung ... It wasn't a mistake nor an error; it was their plan all along." She stood up and stretched her arms as she walked following the path behind him. "And as for what they are planning, I can't explain it by myself. So, do you wanna go with me while I tell you all about this world of the game or be on your own from this point onwards?"
"Why can't you explain it here? wouldn't it be faster?" Kaito muttered, earning a glare from Minyoung. She then sighs as if trying not to let her irritation get the best of her.
"You would understand it better when she is the one to explain it to you." She grumbled before walking away. Kaito was confused but eventually followed her running.
"HEY! WAIT UP!"
—
"MinMin!!! Geez where on earth is she?" A girl called out as she walked around the empty halls of the modern building hidden in the forest Minyoung stealthily made during the creation of the game. Her peach-colored hair swayed along as she strode through the halls while her silver eyes roamed around looking for Minyoung. She groaned and went back into the control room looking at all the cameras installed and waiting for her friend to come back.
The building was highly protected and safe as it was designed that way until they were ready to open the guild. They can start now but that will only make them stand out from the so-called owner of the game. Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought of that ambitious man, her blood boils at the thought of him. She may usually have long patience but with him, it's like it quickly dissipates.
Her eyes wandered to the table where the blueprints Minyoung and her made were placed. It was a blueprint for the buildings to expand their guild territory which they planned, it's better to be ready than never. A sketch of an artifact and weapon caught her attention and made her right eyebrow raise.
"Did she make another type of weapon or something?" she chuckled and shook her head. She now knows where her friend went, of course, to test her newest bomb disguised as an artifact. Whenever Minyoung makes a weapon or gadget they can use, she always goes out to test it out, avoiding blowing up the entire building. She placed her hand on her hips as she scanned through the sketch and read the description written beside it.
"CALI!!!! OPEN UP THE GATES! OH! AND WE HAVE A GUEST HERE!" Minyoung's voice echoed throughout the building as she screamed to catch Calista's attention. Calista sighed as she walks out of the control room while shaking her head.
"This girl always forgets to bring her master key," she muttered before clicking her tongue and walking towards the gate to open it up.
As the gates slowly opened, Calista formed a little dream cloud on her finger to make the "guest" sleep for a while.
"Welcome back, and who is this vermin you have brought--" she stopped talking as soon as she laid her eyes on a man that has dark blue hair, with his deep blue eyes, wearing such simple clothes, she can tell that he was new... and that they have met before.
She dispersed the dream cloud and crossed her arms.
"He doesn't look useful Minyoung."
"I saw him flirting with an Ice Maiden that clearly showed her killing intent. He knows nothing of this world." Minyoung walked inside the gate and suddenly disappeared.
"Hey, I wasn't --"
"Nobody allowed you to speak."
He couldn't see it but he could feel the space surrounding his throat getting distorted, turning into something sharp.
He held his breath and thought to himself...
'Did I have the chance to run earlier?'
---