A thunderous boom shattered the calm of eastern Virmion Forest and sent the birds scattering, the smoke visible all the way from Unus Town. One Fire Spell had just taken down a once-feared Boss.
The Weasenox stumbled forward, dead on its feet, its chest carbonized, before the System finished the job, dissolving the corpse into glimmering, vanishing pixels.
The hunter pulled out a red potion into her right hand and took a quick sip. The damage to her palms, hidden under leather gloves, healed in an instant.
Congratulations!
You have discovered the Fire Spell, Spitfire!
"Oh, so it already exists. Figures. A giant ball of fire? Sure, that's a classic. Maybe I can put my own spin on it later. Yeah. I'll do that."
Despite her upbeat words, her tone came out flat.
She collected the materials the boss had left behind and opened her Map. With her index finger, she drew a cross over her current location. Five other crosses already marked the Beginner's Area, one at Caeruleum Mountain and four more scattered around it.
There was nothing left in this zone that could challenge her one-on-one.
"There's still something, but…" she muttered, then started back to town at a lazy pace.
There was no hurry to go back to a place where nobody was waiting for her.
The Moonlight Inn pub was quieter than usual. For the last week, people had rarely visited it, just like the town in general. One month into The Novus, and the vast majority of Users in the Eurola region had already moved on to the next town.
By now, the Beginner's Area had lost the variety and excitement people craved. On top of that, a group of six had cleared Dylak's Mansion, the first dungeon in the Eurola region, in less than a week. That lit a competitive fire under many Users.
Even those who were not interested in fighting understood they had to move on eventually. Simply put, nothing was chaining Users to Unus Town, also known as the Beginner's Town.
Except for one person. A stubborn girl who refused to leave, even though she now had the highest level of anyone left.
She entered the pub without looking at anyone, even ignoring the NPC who welcomed her warmly. She walked straight to her favorite table in the farthest corner while the waitress rushed to take her order.
A group of five noticed her. How could they not? She wore a vibrant red riding hood, the kind Users had learned to associate with novice Pyromancers.
"What do you think?" the tallest of the group, a young man with curly brown hair, asked the others.
"We already have long-range attacks covered, don't we?" another boy said, nodding toward the girl in the blue mage cape beside them. She flinched when the leader's gaze landed on her.
"But what if we don't have the firepower? You've seen how much HP these bosses have. Besides…" He shot the petite girl a cold look that made her sink even lower in her seat. "Do you really trust this bum's aim after what happened yesterday?"
"I'm so sorry…" the brunette said in a small, squeaky voice.
The other three boys exchanged looks, then nodded.
"It's decided, then," he said, rising from his seat. "We'll talk about your performance later, K."
The leader walked toward the other table, making sure his sword was on full display on his belt. He stopped in front of the red-hooded girl and deepened his voice.
"Good day, my lady."
The unsuspecting girl raised her head slightly. A pair of clear blue eyes and strands of gold peeked out from under the cloth.
Whoa. Didn't expect her to be pretty.
He straightened up to look even taller.
Her face showed a clear lack of sleep, and her bangs were a mess. But with a bath and some rest, this girl would be way better eye candy than his current teammate. Especially with a figure like that. Unlike K, who was flat as a board. The neckline of this girl's dress dipped just low enough under the red hood to show off a full chest, and Earl's eyes stayed there far longer than they should have. He dragged them back up. Then he looked at what hovered above her head. A large 10, with the title "Monster Slayer" in bronze letters.
Somehow, she was two levels above him. He could handle that.
Cute and skilled? I want her on my team even more!
He smirked. "Hi, thanks for giving me a minute. I'm Earl, and those are my friends." He pointed at the distant table, where everyone stared back. "We were just getting ready to take on—"
"Not interested," the blonde said, cutting him off and looking away.
He froze.
What the hell?
He glanced back, hoping the others had not heard.
Earl did not let that first reaction deter him. He gathered his patience and smiled again. "Tell me, my lady. Have you heard of Dylak's Mansion?"
"What about it?"
She had answered. Good.
Earl could have taken the chair across from her to talk at eye level, but he did not want that. He wanted to establish who was in charge from the very beginning.
Besides, in a one-on-one, a mage is always at a disadvantage against a quick draw.
Earl grazed the hilt of his sword as he continued. "As I was saying, we're looking for another magic user to take on the challenge. You've surely heard how brutal it is." He paused to let that sink in. "We could use all the help we can get. Especially from someone as experienced as you."
The girl exhaled loudly, rested her chin in one hand, and squinted at him.
"Sorry, but I don't have a staff."
"That's no problem. We can all chip in and get you a new one from the weapon shop." He looked back at the girl in blue. "We also found one recently. Rare tier. My teammate could lend it to you. She hardly ever uses it. If you prove to be better with it, it's yours."
"That's a good offer," the girl said in a raspy voice. "What about the spoils?"
"Split equally. We're all equal on my team."
"Even that mage girl? The one you're so ready to strip of her gear?"
Earl frowned, mouth hanging open.
Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this bimbo?
He sneered. "Hey, don't act like you know shit about how we run things. We're all about meritocracy, all right?"
The blonde lowered her head for a moment, then snorted and cackled. A sudden, high-pitched, mocking symphony.
"If that's the case, you really don't want me on your team! I'd end up replacing you as leader by the end of the day. And you'd hate that, wouldn't you?"
Something raw bubbled up from the pit of Earl's stomach.
The NPC waitress stepped in, balancing a tray of food. "Here's your order, Ms. Bradford."
"Hold on," Astrid said aloud. "I don't want it to spill."
Earl finally acted, planting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Stop acting so cocky just because you're level—"
Astrid was already moving. She caught his wrist and twisted it, wrenched his arm forward, then drove a heavy shove into his nape.
Earl never saw it coming. Before he could process what was happening, the right half of his face was already pressed against the table. A napkin holder toppled and clattered to the floor.
It happened so fast.
With his right cheek kissing the cold wood, he had a perfect view of his team's table. His teammates were scrambling out of their seats, all except that useless mage in the blue cape. She just sat there, sunk in her chair, watching him get humiliated.
Was that a smile on her lips?
"As I said, I'm not interested," Astrid said behind Earl. Her grip and strength were not what he would expect from a magic user.
But that was Earl's mistake. This early in the game, the stat gap between Magic Users and Physical Attackers was minimal. Class selection had not even been unlocked yet, so there were no perks for anyone's preferred fighting style.
"F-Fine! I get it. Let go!"
The blonde obliged. Earl scrambled back, glaring at her as she calmly sat back down.
The NPC waitress then set the meal on the table while a stunned Earl watched.
That had hurt. A lot.
He flinched when a teammate grabbed his good shoulder. "Let's go."
Earl spat to the side and stomped all the way to the exit. His team followed. Only the girl in blue stopped to glance in the blonde's direction.
Astrid looked back. "When are you going to start looking out for yourself?"
The brunette frowned and puffed out her cheeks, clearly offended, and slipped outside.
Astrid exhaled. "Fine, keep being their pack mule, then," she whispered, grabbing her fork and knife.
She was ready to eat, but just then another uninvited guest sat down in the chair beside her.
"That was cool."
This time it was a girl, her complexion even more ghostly than Astrid's under the black hood attached to her leather jacket.
"Oh, come on." Astrid groaned, rubbing her forehead in irritation. "Seriously. The emptier this town gets, the more people want to ruin my peace."
"I… didn't mean to bother you," the girl said in a quiet, dry voice. "Not like that guy, at least." She pressed her lips together, staring at the empty space in front of her. "I just wanted to say hi to a fellow hunter."
Astrid narrowed her eyes and finally took a good look at her. Level nine, one below her, and yet she already had the Monster Slayer title. Astrid had only gotten hers that morning. She checked the girl's outfit and recognized it at once: the full leather armor set sold in town. Astrid had considered it for herself before settling on just the gloves and boots, since the red riding hood gave her Mana Recovery as long as she wore a dress.
The girl's face looked drawn, her skin drained of color. Astrid half expected her to pass out any second. Seriously, when was the last time this girl had eaten? Was this her excuse to beg for food?
Not my problem. Besides, if she dies, she'll respawn anyway.
With that, Astrid focused on her steak, determined to finish it before the girl could ask for a bite.
The girl in black was indeed staring at the steak, but not for the reason Astrid assumed. She was just dumbfounded by its size. That was definitely a dish only meatheads ordered.
"Okay, you said hi. Do you need something else?" Astrid asked, cheeks full, already hacking off the next big piece.
The girl watched in silence for a moment, her bony fingers brushing her stein. "You've been hunting all the bosses in the area. I've watched you. Sometimes I show up right after you've already taken one down." She glanced at Astrid shyly. "Can I ask you a question?"
"I'm not—munch—sharing."
"Are you really not interested in Dylak's Mansion? That'd be the next step, right? You…" She paused to take a sip from her stein, as if it gave her courage. "You don't have to team up with people like that. But…"
"What? Should I team up with you instead?"
The girl's somber eyes lit up. She leaned forward, suddenly full of energy. "Yes! Just think about it. We're lone wolves. We don't need assholes like that slowing us down. We both know how to solo bosses. We could do this. Just the two of us!"
Her small smile faded when she saw Astrid's plate was empty. Shocked, she wondered when that had happened.
Astrid grabbed her mug, gulped it down, and rose from her seat with a loud scrape of the chair.
"We'd stop being lone wolves the second we teamed up, wouldn't you say?" She scoffed, already heading for the exit. "Good luck with your endeavor, fellow hunter."
Just like Earl before her, the girl felt heat boil up from the pit of her stomach.
Astrid sure had a talent for making people mad.
The girl stormed past her in a blur. "Fine! I'll take the dungeon myself!" She shot one last glare over her shoulder. "Whatever skeletons you've got in your closet, Miiiiss Bradford, deal with them fast! Before they end up burying you."
Any other day, Astrid would have spun around and smacked that girl in the back of the head. But those last words had stopped her cold.
The girl had no idea what Astrid was going through. She had spoken only in the broadest terms. And yet it had landed like a slap.
Astrid lowered her head and bit her lower lip hard. "Skeletons? Look at yourself in the mirror first," she muttered.
That night, she could not sleep. She tossed and turned so much she wondered if the bed would collapse.
The ceiling above gave her no answers. Nobody could.
I can't take on Dylak's dungeon. It was supposed to be our next objective. Alan's and mine. As a couple.
She hugged her pillow and lay on her side.
Was she putting too many shackles on herself?
Not using a staff until he returned.
Not leaving Unus Town in case he came back.
Not beating Dylak's Mansion unless it was with him.
Could one person really live with so many restrictions?
A few, maybe. But all of them?
I don't have many skeletons in my closet. Just one. And it's not just any skeleton, mind you.
For the next couple of days, she stuck to her routine. It kept her mind busy and her instincts sharp. Or it would have, but the Beginner's Area bosses could not help with the latter anymore.
Every now and then, she spotted the black-haired girl sprinting across downtown, heading northeast. She must have just respawned at the fountain after another failed attempt.
"Good luck, I guess," Astrid muttered the second time she watched her go, before getting back to her own business.
The third time was late at night, five days after the pub encounter.
The girl sat on the edge of the fountain, hunched over, her messy black hair hiding her face. How many times had she tried already?
Astrid did not know what pushed her to walk over. Had some evil spirit possessed her and forced her to feel empathy for someone besides him?
"Hey, how's the hunt going?" Astrid asked, and the girl lifted her head slowly, wearily.
Only when their eyes met did Astrid notice she was finally level 10. But the sight of her face made Astrid flinch.
The girl's eyes were sunken, her cheeks hollow like a specter's. Seriously, did she think of nothing but fighting monsters?
"Oh, it's you…" she said weakly, as if delivering her last words. "Do you even care? Whatever, I'll tell you. Terrible. It's been a complete disaster."
"That bad, eh?" Astrid said, grimacing.
The girl scoffed. "It's been days, and you're still level ten. What's up with that? Have your precious bosses stopped giving out XP?"
Can a person really live with so many self-imposed shackles?
That question lingered in Astrid's mind as she crouched in front of the girl. She opened her User Interface and materialized a chocolate muffin.
"Here. Eat this."
The girl eyed it with narrowed eyes. "Why? Do I look that pitiful to you?"
"Pretty much. You've been blowing all your gold on red potions, haven't you? You can't get all your nutrients from that alone," Astrid said, holding the muffin at eye level. Then she exhaled. "Just take it, will you? Or I'll eat it in front of you."
The girl's expression finally softened as her eyes watered.
"Free of charge right?"
She snatched the pastry and ate it in three bites.
Astrid smiled and stood up. "That alone won't do for dinner. Let's grab a proper meal at the pub. And while we're at it, we could…" Astrid paused, turning her face away to hide her flushed cheeks. "…plan a strategy for that bloody dungeon?"
The girl swallowed loudly. "Does that mean you're teaming up with me?"
"Yes, you win. It's a repeatable dungeon, right? I just realized I could do it with him later."
"Him?"
"It's nothing," Astrid whispered.
The girl noticed the sudden shadow on Astrid's face, but she was too ecstatic to care. She squealed and threw herself at the blonde, tackling her to the ground.
"Yes, yes! Let's do this, partner!"
"Hey, that hurt!"
"Why don't we go right now? That muffin gave me enough energy to clear three dungeons in a row!"
"Forget it, you freak! I need my eight hours of sleep. And get off, you stink! When was the last time you showered?"
That was the night Shooting Stars got its first recruit, even if Helen Reed did not know it yet.
"We haven't properly introduced ourselves, right, 'Ms. Bradford'? I'm Helen Reed."
"Don't call me 'Ms.' Ever," Astrid hissed as she got to her feet. "I'm Astrid. Astrid Bradford."
"Nice to meet you, Bradford!" Helen smiled brightly, then looked Astrid over from head to toe. Something about her seemed off. "Hey, did you lose your weapon or something?"
"I don't have any."
"Oh, that won't do. If we're going to do this, we have to come prepared." Helen opened her User Interface. "So, to thank you for the muffin, let me give you this staff I got at—"
"None of that," Astrid said in a grave tone. "That's my only condition for teaming up. I fight bare-handed. Non-negotiable. No matter how hard the challenge gets, I won't touch a staff. It's the one shackle I refuse to take off."
Helen stared at her, stunned. It was as if she had touched some kind of taboo.
"Is that, like, a self-imposed handicap? Trying to squeeze out more thrill? Okay, okay. I get it. You might be even more hardcore than me!"
"Don't you ever shut up, Reed?"
"Are you always this cryptic, Bradford? 'Shackles' this, 'him' that."
Astrid rubbed her forehead, frowning. "Five minutes into this, and I'm already reconsidering…"