The city felt alive in a way that made Alexis slow his pace and study it. Not because he was overwhelmed, but because he could feel the weight behind the noise. The hum of a place forced to grow up too quickly, suddenly filled with thousands of bodies who breathed, argued, bargained, and bled inside its walls.
Green Veil Gate wasn't large, but it was dense. Streets bent in imperfect lines, the stone worn in some places, freshly laid in others. Buildings hugged the lanes: low timber structures with narrow windows, heavy shutters, clay rooftops. Half the doors stood open, heat and smells spilling out. A forge hammered somewhere to the right, each strike crisp and sharp, like someone hitting a nerve.
Lyra moved ahead of him by a step or two, weaving through the flow with practiced ease. She watched people without seeming to look at them. When someone walked too close, her shoulder dipped just enough. When someone stood still, lost in a status screen, she never brushed them. It was subconscious, the old survival instincts of someone who had grown up needing to stay unbothered and unnoticed.
Alexis had none of that subtlety. He simply walked with enough confidence that people gave him space. Not authority. Just focus. His training sword hung at his side; his steps were even. Lyra eyed him once, as if cataloging the difference.
They were heading toward a small plaza where smoke curled from under a canvas roof stretched between two buildings. The smell hit before they reached it—thick broth, vegetables, savory herbs—and Alexis' stomach responded, even though he had eaten before logging in. Hunger in AR wasn't real, but the neural aug made it close enough.
Mara stood behind her pot like a general behind a cauldron. The cook's arms were bare to the elbow, the skin lined and sun-darkened. She had that presence older people sometimes had, the kind that said she'd seen more strife than most players here would ever know.
Her head lifted as Lyra and Alexis approached, sharp eyes scanning the two wolf pelts Lyra had tucked under her arm.
"You brought them," Mara said, as if she hadn't been expecting it. "Most of you young blades run out, get scratched once, and run back home crying to the healers."
Lyra dropped the pelts onto the counter. "We ran into something worse than scratches."
Mara raised a brow but pushed the pelts aside with a ladle.
[SYSTEM]: Mission Complete — "Warm Meal, Cold Woods"Rewards:• Basic Stew x1 (Stamina Recovery)• 35 Silver• Minor Favor with NPC: Mara
A bowl manifested in each of their inventories with a soft chime.
"Eat it before it cools," Mara said. "Cold stew tastes like regret."
Lyra almost smiled. Almost. Alexis wasn't sure Mara noticed.
He stepped aside to let another pair of players collect their own reward. One of them had blood smeared across his vest—realistic, even if not entirely real—and kept poking it like he still couldn't believe he wasn't actually injured.
Alexis opened the stew bowl and inhaled. Steam rose, warm and rich. When he took a spoonful, the flavor hit with surprising depth: onion, root vegetables, some kind of slow-cooked meat. His HP nudged upward.
HP Regen increased for 10 minutes: +4 HP/secStamina Regen increased for 10 minutes: +3/sec
Lyra ate more slowly, her attention still filtering through the crowd.
"You keep watching people like they're about to rob you," Alexis said.
"They might."
"Here? In the middle of a city?"
Lyra tilted her head. "I've seen people robbed in live-stream lobbies. Cities aren't safe just because they have walls."
He shrugged. Fair.
They finished the stew by the time the plaza's noise had risen to a steady rumble. More players trickled in, some wounded, some laughing, some shouting into the air because they'd forgotten how proximity chat worked.
Then came the first ripple.
A small, sharp chime overhead.
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]:New Party Achieved Level 2: "Silver Pathfinders"Members gain Title: "Early Blade."
A wave of cheering rose nearby—someone jumped up, nearly knocking over a produce stand. Lyra watched it with the blank neutrality of someone checking the weather.
"Level two in under an hour," she said. "They have a plan."
"Probably came in with a group. Maybe practiced in the Stress Tests."
"Or they just enjoyed being hit," Lyra said.
Alexis snorted.
She glanced at him. "What now? Rest? Or back out?"
He opened his status window first.
[ ALEXIS — Level 1 ]HP: 300 → 244 (stew regen active)Stamina: ModerateSword Durability: 34 / 50Inventory: 32 / 50
Silver: 137Gold: 0Materials: assorted D-grade pelts and fangs
He switched to Lyra's panel through the party share.
[ LYRA — Level 1 ]HP: 280 → 266Stamina: Low-ModerateKnife Durability: 43 / 50Silver: 104
He closed the window.
"We finish the mission," he said. "One more wolf."
Lyra nodded once, satisfied.
The healer's hall sat just two streets away, a long building with woven rugs hanging over the windows and the faint smell of herbs spilling out into the street. Inside, the light dimmed, replaced by the soft green glow of lanterns.
Players moved in slow lines, some hobbling, some pale. In the corner, an elf-like NPC—not an elf by fantasy standards, but with sharper features and long, pale hair—sorted bundles of herbs.
A healer with sleeves rolled to his elbows waved them forward.
"Quick check?" he asked.
Alexis nodded. The healer placed two fingers on Alexis' wrist and a soft white pulse ran up Alexis's arm.
[SYSTEM]: Minor Injury Check — Passed.No additional treatment required.
He did the same to Lyra, then scribbled something on a piece of parchment that glowed for a moment before fading.
"You two look like you have sense," the healer said. "Unlike some of the others. Keep your pain feedback under twenty. Any more and you'll start making stupid choices."
Lyra shot Alexis a sideways look. "Told you."
"I'm at twelve," he said.
"That is eight too high for your first day," the healer said. "Ten if you insist. And remember—your brain believes what it feels."
He waved them away, already calling the next in line.
Outside again, the light had changed. The sun was lower in the simulated sky, casting long shadows across the city square. Alexis could almost feel the clock ticking—more people were heading toward the forest now, forming parties, setting up basic formations.
He and Lyra crossed the square, passing a cluster of players arguing over loot rules. One of them kept stabbing at the air, likely toggling menu options. Another pointed at a third player who kept insisting he deserved "first pick because he found the cave."
A guard walked by and called out, "Settle loot disputes before you enter the forest. The wolves will not arbitrate your nonsense."
Lyra's lips twitched.
They reached the gate again.
Alexis paused, flexed his fingers around his sword, and rolled his shoulders. His muscles felt better than earlier, the lingering soreness fading with the stew's buffs and time.
Lyra glanced at him.
"You nervous?"
"Always," he said honestly.
"Good," she replied. "You stay alive that way."
They stepped through the gate and the noise of the city dropped behind them, muffled by distance and walls. The forest greeted them again: quiet, green, patient.
This time, they followed a different path, cutting left along a narrower route. Tracks marked the ground—hoof prints, claw marks, the drag of something heavy moving through brush.
Alexis kept his sword low and ready.
Lyra walked ahead, lightly, almost soundless. Every few steps she paused, eyes scanning the canopy or the ground. She wasn't just cautious—she was reading the forest.
After several minutes, she stopped and raised two fingers.
Alexis froze.
A rustle. A low growl. Off to the right.
Lyra pointed to herself, then curved her hand around a tree, indicating she would flank. He nodded.
She slipped away, steps melting into the undergrowth.
Alexis waited, breath steadying.
Then the wolf stepped out.
Not a pack hunter. Not injured.
A Forest Wolf (D), healthy and alert, fur bristling, eyes fixed on him.
This one wasn't distracted by wounded players or chaos. It had picked him through the trees, tracked him, and approached with deliberate steps.
He brought his sword up.
The wolf paced left. Alexis mirrored right.
It lunged.
He met it with a slash that angled down, the blade grazing fur but not biting deep. The wolf twisted mid-air, jaws snapping for his shoulder.
His body moved faster than he expected—a quick drop, a pivot, his left arm braced for balance as the wolf sailed past him and landed hard, claws skidding.
He stepped in, driving his blade toward its flank.
The wolf recovered sharply, spinning and snapping. His blade struck fur again, this time deeper.
[HIT]Damage: 19Forest Wolf HP: 101 / 120
Not enough.
The wolf lunged again, low this time, aiming for his calf. Alexis shifted just in time, but its teeth raked across his boot.
[MINOR HIT]Damage: 10HP: 234 / 300
Then—
Lyra came from the side like a shadow slipping between trees.
Her knife sank into the wolf's side, angled upward into the ribs.
The wolf howled, stumbling, turning toward her, but she was already out of reach, moving light and fast.
She didn't finish it.
She backed off, giving Alexis the line.
He stepped in and delivered a clean, committed cut across the back of its neck.
[SYSTEM]: MONSTER DEFEATED – Forest Wolf (D)Loot:– x1 Wolf Pelt (D)– 15 Silver[EXP]: +18Mission Complete: "First Blood in the Green Veil"
A small rush of warmth spread through him—mission reward, experience, the system's subtle reinforcement for progress.
Lyra wiped her blade and looked at him.
"That one was cleaner," she said.
"Because you stunned it."
"Because you didn't panic," she countered.
He let the compliment sit.
They moved back toward the path, the mission window closing itself.
When they reached the tree line, the city lights flickering through gaps ahead, Lyra slowed.
"You fought well," she said.
"So did you."
She nodded once.
The system chimed again.
[SYSTEM]: Party bond strengthened through cooperative combat.Passive bonus unlocked: +1% Stamina Efficiency (party only).
Lyra raised a brow. "Even the system approves of teamwork."
Alexis exhaled.
"Think we should keep this going?" he asked.
"For today," she said with a small shrug. "Tomorrow… we'll see."
But there was no hesitation in her tone. No dismissal. Not the walls she had shown earlier.
They stepped back into the sunlight by the city gate.
Behind them, the forest waited. Ahead, the city buzzed under the sky of a world only an hour old.
And somewhere far, far above, a floor they couldn't imagine stirred in its dark, ancient sleep.