The group emerged from the fog-ridden maze of trees and caught a glimpse of the forest's edge. The morning sun rose over the horizon, stretching long, dark shadows over the grassy plateau.
The smooth "swish" of grass gradually replaced the rustle of fallen leaves as the party continued walking out of the forest.
As they stepped out of the reach of the forest, a distant murmur of voices could be heard in the breeze.
A girl's voice, with a hint of irritation, was discernible from across the plains: "You said the place was here, but it doesn't look like it. Just admit that you got us all lost."
A retort came from a male voice, which sounded exasperated: "No, I'm pretty sure this is the place. And can you get off my ass for one second? Your constant backseating is driving me insane."
"Backseating? Are you kidding me? I was carrying your ass! I swear to God, I would have left your sorry excuse of a man by now if it weren't for my low stat points in navigation skills."
"Yeah, that's right—admit you need a man to bail you out." Ji-Soon quipped.
"Who the hell needs a coward like you?!" The girl snapped back.
A calm, steady, but deep voice intervened, appearing to want to diffuse the tension.
"Can you calm down, please. You know, getting mad is the quickest way for a woman to lose her charm. After all, you can't catch flies with vinegar."
"Shut up! And stay out of this asshole!" The girl yelled.
Tang-Ji exchanged glances with Kazami, and a silent understanding passed between them. They turned their attention towards the source of the voices, only to find their schoolmates Emiko and Ji-Soon.
"What the hell?! Kang? Is that you? What are you doing here?" Kazami said, astounded by this chance encounter.
Ji-Soon squinted towards the source of Kazami's voice before staring into the horizon. His eyes went wide in shock as he was greeted by a familiar figure.
"Well, I'll be damned. What are the chances of that? I knew my luck hadn't run out," Ji-Soon chuckled as he jogged towards his friend.
Emiko exhaled sharply.
"For the last time, enough with the bullshit luck thing, and-" she said before meeting Tang-Ji's eyes.
Her mouth hung open for a moment, and with a sudden burst of emotion, she ran towards Tang-Ji and enveloped her in a warm, tight embrace, letting out a sigh of relief.
"My god, you two look awful. What happened to your clothes?" Emiko said, pushing herself off of Tang-Ji.
Having recently escaped death, Tang-Ji sported a long coat that was ragged and torn, which sat above her damaged grey combat skirt. Her matching long-sleeved blouse from days of constant fighting was dirtied and worn.
Kazami was no different; there were multiple holes and tears in his coat, and his shirt was covered in frequent spots of dirt and what appeared to be sweat.
In contrast, Emiko, who stood like a figure from another time, was an elegant antithesis to the surrounding wilderness. Tang-Ji was surprised at the fact that her outfit seemed completely new; not even a speck of dust could be seen on the fabric.
Her kimono was adorned with intricate patterns that evoked tradition and grace. Her brown hair framed her face, and the vibrant colours of her outfit swirled on the folds of the fabric like a living canvas.
The sense of awe faded when Tang-Ji began tapping Emiko's arm softly. "Too tight…" she choked. "Can't… breathe..." Her face became purple from Emiko's bone-crushing bear hug.
"Oopsie! Sorry about that. Hehe!" She let out a cheeky laugh before releasing her grip.
"God. I missed you, girl. It's been lonely being the only girl in this group of barbarians. Men, right? You know what I mean—always so annoying," she added with playful seriousness, her voice holding a hint of teasing camaraderie.
"That's a little sexist, and thank you for blaming your idiocy on us," a husky voice rebuked.
"It's not like we were the victims of your nonsense the entire time. You and your constant yapping almost had us killed." The voice came from besides Ji-Soon.
The source was a man with a striking dark complexion who wore a business suit. The man was tall and broad, with a stark juxtaposition to the rugged surroundings. His braid swung gently as he stepped forward, a testament to both his composure and his class.
"And who are you?" Kazami asked.
"Who's asking?" The man replied, obviously on guard.
"The name's Kazami Lynn," he said, frowning.
"Kompto," the man replied.
"Not your player's name, your real name," Kazami said as if it were common courtesy.
"And while you're there, tell me why you're here."
Kazami shifted his body and prepared to get some answers the hard way.
'A middle-aged-looking man hanging around us a bunch of high schoolers can only mean trouble.' He thought to himself before Ji-Soon jumped between them, stopping the situation from escalating.
"Woah. Hey, calm down," he chimed in.
"Kompto saved the both of us. Without him, we wouldn't be able to make it out of that forest alive." Ji-Soon continued to explain, trying his best to clear up the misunderstanding.
"These two are my classmates. Tang-Ji and Kazami, and... wait," he hesitated. "Who is that?" Ji-Soon pointed at the individual accompanying them.
"Oh, this is Ukiyo, our NPC travel guide. We found her before leaving the Shrine of the Beginning." Kazami replied quickly as he directed stern glances back at Ukiyo, who was trying to avoid eye contact with everyone.
"Ohhh, I see; those are really rare for players to find. You are one lucky bastard, Kaz." Ji-Soon laughed obnoxiously in an attempt to lift the heavy atmosphere.
"Hey! Kompto, was it?" Kazami's voice was sharp, his gaze never leaving the man. "Tell me your real name and how you got into the game. Everyone here knows each other in real life, so if you want to team up, we need to know who you really are." His tone was edged with suspicion.
'What benefits does he get from teaming up with non-experienced players? Besides me being a beta tester, the rest of the people here have little to no gaming experience.' He thought to himself.
After a long pause, the man finally exhaled, his shoulders slumping slightly as if the tension had become too much to bear.
"Alright, fine. My real name's Creed," he muttered, shifting his stance. " I've spent the last decade working in various company around the world, but recently, I'm back to a more... boring gig—tax accountant." He leaned in, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret.
"Don't tell anyone, but I've been slacking lately. And this game? It didn't exactly help me focus." He gave a sheepish wink, his peace sign awkwardly half-raised in the air.
The rest of the party cringed collectively.
"You're gross, dude. Making my skin crawl with that." Emiko said it with disgust plastered on her face.
"Ugh! Fucking hell, this game is stupid. I just want to go home already," she whimpered.
"When I get back to the real world, I'll be flooded with text notifications. And my Snapstalk streaks!"
"My streaks… NOOOO!!!" She continued, screeching loudly in the background as Ji-Soon tugged at Kazami's coat.
"Hey man," he whispered.
"Something's not right," Ji-Soon muttered, his voice low, almost like he was speaking more to himself than to anyone else.
He glanced around, his eyes narrowing. "Why are so many foreigners here? V.I.R.M. said Dusk Protocol was supposed to be exclusive to Japan for the first year. How is it that no one's questioning this?" He shook his head, a frown creeping onto his face.
"Even the die-hard fans probably didn't know; otherwise, you'd have seen tweets of it for days."
He stopped, his expression turning more tense, as if something in the air was too thick to swallow. After a moment, his eyes flickered back to the group, his voice dropping lower.
"And about that system announcement earlier... that was definitely Kyushu's doing," he said, a sharp edge in his tone.
"But why? Why is he trying to stop us from clearing the game? He never explained his true motive from the start. So what's he really after?"
"All we got was the classic 'clear the game or death' ultimatum. If he truly wanted to kill us, a single command would have been way more efficient than this."
These questions were also on Kazami's mind, but one thing was obvious. This was a worldwide threat, and there was no way this occurrence wouldn't be airing all over the globe right now. V.I.R.M. single-handedly trapped players not only from Japan but also from across the world within a game.
He was certain that hundreds of armed soldiers would have been sent by Interpol and other law enforcement organisations to apprehend the person responsible. He was skeptical, however, since Kyushu Aiuchi, a well-known scientist who had been considered dead by the media for many years, was the guy behind this.
There is little question that he would have foreseen every possibility that might have derailed his plans if he had been able to avoid death itself.
His train of thought continued before a loud thud came from behind everyone. Kazami shifted his attention towards the multiple giant boulders that decorated the ordinary plain field. He could hear angry voices behind the tall rock.
—————————————————————————————————————————--------------------------------------------------------
"Fuck this. I'll just pull the steel claws off, like... so!" One tall figure with blonde hair shouted before jumping into the air.
He fidgeted, throwing his arms around as if there was something crawling under his skin; it was like he was trying to grab onto some invisible force.
"Hey, dumbass. It doesn't work that way. The SSD disabled all our motor functions, so we don't move around while playing. Plus, even if you were able to escape from the game, I doubt the pod would willingly lay down a red carpet for you," said another figure who was sitting on a small rock not too far away.
"Heh, I'll just smash that shit open," the tall figure said with confidence.
"Are you mentally ill or what? That's metallic glass we're talking about."
"And? What's your point?" He spun around multiple times before slamming his body once again into the boulder, creating a loud clattering sound.
"You moron!" The one on the rock yelled.
"That thing is made from the same material as the one people use for spacecraft construction, meaning it is literally indestructible to humans' hands or feet. So good luck with breaking every single bone in your body."
"Lay off, shitbag. At least I'm trying to think of a way to escape, unlike you, who's wasting his time waiting for survivors. Who knows if there are even any left here? They probably all migrated below along with those pigs," he replied, obviously irritated by his friend's smug reply.
"You know as well as I do that we need an alliance. After that crazy system announcement, people are turning against each other. Everyone blamed each other over nothing and went off in their own little factions. This is a total disaster," the figure said, touching his palm to his face.
"At the start, our only concerns were the mobs. Now we have to watch out for players who are coming for our heads too."
"Ughhhh!!!" The tall figure groaned.
"Hey, what are the chances of this whole thing being a prank? I mean, it's not like we know for sure that people are actually dying in the real world."
"Prank my ass!" he snapped, his voice rising in frustration. He slapped his hand hard against the rock beside him, the sound echoing through the air as if to emphasise his point.
"I don't know what your idea of a prank is, but trapping millions of people in a digital prison? That's a damn crime." He paused, glancing at his partner before continuing, his voice hardening.
"And like you said, we don't really know what happens to those who die in here. But I sure as hell am not risking it."
As the conversation continued, Kazami approached quietly, trying not to alert or scare off whoever was talking. However, as he crept closer, the conversation seemed to stop altogether, with only silence remaining.
'Why'd they stop?' Kazami thought. 'Did they hear me?' then it hit him.
Before he could react, Kazami was forced onto his knees with a small, sharp knife against his throat. "So? What've we got here?" said a familiar, angry voice.
His partner emerged from the boulder just to his left, wielding a small, handheld device.
"Who are you, and what are you trying to do?" the boy said. His simple, youthful features were now in clear view. The boy was unremarkable, unlike his partner, and was definitely shorter and weaker than Kazami was.
"Hey, hey. I'm not here to hurt you," Kazami explained. "I was just, uh..."
"Eavesdropping?" finished by the boy holding him at knifepoint. "You've really got to learn to mind your own business."
"Name and why you are here," said the other one, who was towering over Kazami. He was now staring coldly down at his restrained victim.
"Wait, wait, wait!" cried a voice from behind Kazami. It was Ji-Soon running towards the trio. "Stop! We don't want any trouble!"
In response, the angry one kicked Kazami down and turned around to face Ji-Soon. "I assume this one is yours?" he said, raising his eyebrows. "Whaddya want with us?"
"Alright, so... me and some of my group heard you and your, uh… 'friend' arguing, so we decided to check it out." Ji-Soon explained.
The unremarkable one stepped forward before the other one could say anything: "Sorry for the disruption. I'm Junyo, or Junya; call me whatever." The boy extended his hand, as if expecting something to happen.
"Hey, what're you doing, Junyo?" The other boy asked.
"We should be the ones asking questions, not these bozos." He walked over to Ji-Soon and sized him up before showing visible disappointment at his lack of spine.
"Fine, since my friend here has already self-snitched, I guess I have to too. The name's Decker, and no, I don't want to be called anything else."
"Nice to meet you, Junyo, Decker. I'm Ji-Soon," he replied. "That guy you kicked to the floor is a friend of mine, Kazami, and I would appreciate it if you kindly helped him up."
"Sorry about that; we just weren't sure what his goal was in sneaking up on us," Junyo uttered as he moved to help Kazami up. "So, why did you decide to come over here?"
Kazami slapped away Junyo's hand and pushed himself up off the ground. "We came over because we thought someone was going to get hurt because of your argument," he grunted.
"Well, I guess someone got hurt, but it wasn't either of us," Decker sneered, tucking his knife into his backpack.
"Sorry about that, by the way. Is your face alright?"
"No, of course not; your friend almost cut me. Anyway whatever."
Upon closer inspection, the name
'He's the same boy at The Shrine of Beginning. The one that gave the potions to me and Tang-Ji.' Kazami thought to himself as he stared down at Junyo.
'He must have forgotten, but this is definitely the same guy that saved us.'
"You said you were with a group of friends, right, Ji-Soon?" Questioned Junyo.
Ji-Soon nodded softly.
"I have something to discuss with Decker; we will be right back," Junyo said, grabbing and pulling Decker behind him.
"Hey, what the hell? You could've just asked me to follow you, idiot."
"Listen. Remember how I said we needed to group up with some people?" Decker nodded but seemed unimpressed with where the conversation was going.
"Ji-Soon and Kazami seem like reasonable people. I'm sure if we ask him nicely, we can join him. In exchange for information, of course."
Decker sighed.
"I would rather not group up with the guy who I just held at knifepoint. It causes tension in the group, you know," he said sarcastically.
Junyo gave him a serious look, and after a moment of thinking, Decker agreed.
The pair walked back to Kazami and Ji-Soon, who were conversing at the boulder nearby. They stopped and turned as they saw them approaching.
"Kazami, Ji-Soon," Junyo began.
"We're terribly sorry for ambushing you back there," Decker muttered, rolling his eyes and frowning as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, it was just a matter of self-defense."
Junyo stepped forward, flashing a strained smile.
"Additionally, we were wondering if we could perhaps join your group. I mean, it's far better to be in a larger group than just a pair, right?" He glanced at the others before continuing, his smile becoming a bit more awkward.
"And besides, I'm sure all of you got that system message too. You'll definitely need more people if you want to make it out of this game alive."
"I don't see why not…" Kazami shot him a glare.
'It might be risky, and we might potentially get double-crossed by them. However, this might be our only chance of forming a guild. This is the only way to beat this game, not to mention that it would be far safer and quicker to travel in groups.
'It would make clearing bosses and hordes of mobs way more efficient. At least I know now that he's a decent person.' Kazami thought deeply about his decision.
"I'll let my group decide first. As for me, I think it will take some time to get used to you guys, but I'm sure we can come to some sort of consensus."