「… I understand now. That makes sense.」

「… Yeah, it was confusing at first but I got the hang of it!」

Two distinct voices spoke through a deep white fog. I couldn’t concentrate, but shortly after, a face came into view. Hurried breaths… Blonde hair…

「Agnelov!」 I exclaimed, and opened my eyes.

I was back in the carriage, bumping and rattling as it continued down a rubble road. My cheek felt soft, and I grazed the white and black cotton surface I slept on.

「Glad you’re awake, Lady Yokalen.」 Agnelov said with a smile, as she looked down at me.

I shot up from her lap and glanced to the side while covering my mouth.

「A-ah, yes! Thank you.」 I murmured, taking glances at her arms and legs.

She followed my gaze and lifted both limbs for me to see. The scrapes and scars were gone, with small drops of blood on her socks and a torn sleeve being the only evidence of our encounter.

「You’ll want to thank her for finding you.」 Evonika said, not looking up from her book on the opposite bench.

A young woman with short lilac hair and round eyes, as vivid as a grape orchard, sat directly in front of me. Her silver armor construed with blue sparkling fabric clinked as she leaned forward with a grin.

「That’s super! You’re alright! I’m glad I got to you two when I did.」

Agnelov folded both her hands in her lap with a nod. 「It’s true, Lady Yokalen. A few moments after we collapsed from the poison of those animals, she came and treated us. I don’t think we would’ve lived if it weren’t for her.」

The woman rubbed the back of her head with a nervous chuckle. 「Ahaha! Don’t give me too much credit! I think anyone would’ve done the same thing, and as a knight, it was my duty anyway!」

「Oh, you’re a knight.」 I said.

She blinked before chuckling under her palm. 「My mistake! I’m suuper bad with introductions. Here, let’s restart.」

She then raised her hand with a tilt of her head and a beaming smile. 「My name’s Miinareen. Glad to meet ya!」

Her altruistic and outgoing attitude led us to talk about a few things with little secrecy from her. Even Evonika, who was meticulous by nature, opened up after a few laughs.

She too, was a player, however, her «Starting Point» was a small town named «Fanglor» on the outskirts of «Phoenia». Her dream was to become a knight for the Royal Phoenian Guard, and train under the well-respected «Knight Hyrinee». Or so, that’s what a diary of her preceding character read. She was traveling by foot through the woods, attempting to find some wild beasts to train on when she found us.

「How did you heal us? Magic, I’m assuming?」 I asked.

「Oh, no, no. Apparently in this world, it’s rare for someone to have magic or whatever it's equivalent to.」 Miina answered.

She whipped out a few empty capsules with a clear liquid residue sliding down the glass. Evonika stated that back in the game’s beta, most inventory «Items» were kept in a digital pocket, and the two-fingered motion from before could retrieve and store those «Items». However, now, some things have changed.

「Yeaah, I played a bit with my brother before the launch. It’s harder now not having any GUIs or stuff.」 Miina said with a sigh.

Regarding magic, she couldn’t explain much, as most people in her town knew very little. However, she met a knight and their family who were helpful enough in getting some supplies for her journey to the capital.

「It’s still bizarre how realistic they all are… I actually couldn’t tell them apart… Well, not until I met you guys,」 Miina said.

「The AI is a lot more advanced. Some NPCs have distinct personalities and languages, it’s a whole new world.」 Evonika said in agreement.

I looked over at Agnelov, glancing out the window, crooning. The scraps of fabric on her sleeves and leg held my gaze.

「So, about that thing… in the woods.」 I started.

Evonika closed her book and crossed her legs. 「Yes, now that you’re awake, I want to hear everything. Apparently, Agnelov activated your «Bokhita» instead of you. Why didn’t you use it?」

「I… I don’t know.」 I whispered.

It’s true, as hard as it was to swallow the truth. I froze up when she needed me to act, and because of that, she got hurt.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

I balled my fists close to my sides and bent my head. 「I’m sorry for my inability to act. It’s just… that wasn’t something I was prepared to do, so…」

Agnelov rested both her hands on my fist with a smile. 「We were both in that situation together, and you gave me the strength to fight… to protect you, so… you did nothing wrong. Don’t be too hard on yourself.」

「T-thank you… at least it didn’t hurt, right? It’s still a game after all.」

Agnelov held onto her arm and shook her head. 「N-no... unfortunately, I felt everything.」

Evonika’s eyes widened. 「What? That’s impossible. The game has pain limiters that inhibit us from feeling any discomfort. Maybe it was just shock.」

I leaned over and flicked Evonika’s nose. She fell back, covering her nose with an irritated gaze.

「Why the hell you do that for- Wait, I-I felt that!」

Miina leaned back in her seat. 「During my training I felt some blows from my instructor. So yeah, the game doesn’t have a pain threshold anymore. I wonder why they’d remove it.」

I turned over to Agnelov and rubbed her torn sleeve fabric. 「Are you… are you okay? You had to go through all that for me, so...」

「Ah! No, no… I’m fine! Honest!」 Agnelov said and patted her arm.

「Uhh, don’t get mad but I kind of… watched.」 Miina murmured, shuffling her hands together.

「And you decided to help at the end? Wow, how knightly of you.」 Evonika said.

「No! I-it’s not like that! If you’d seen things from my perspective, you would’ve been hesitant too. It’s not like she needed any help really.」

Evonika looked over at me. 「Her… perspective? What does she mean?」

I closed my eyes and thought for a second. Then I remembered.

Agnelov was a completely different person at that moment. Her aggression and ruthlessness were out of character for sure, but then it was the grin she had as if she enjoyed the carnage. I looked over compared to her now timid expression, barely able to keep eye contact as she played with her short bangs.

「It was… something else for sure.」 I said.

「Okay… I’ll take your word for it. Anyway, how did the «Bokhita» function?」 Evonika asked.

Agnelov dug into her dress pocket, took out the gold double-knuckle ring, and handed it to Evonika.

「All I did was slip it on and it spelled out some words in my head… or rather, it spoke to me,」 Agnelov said.

Evonika tried on the ring and closed her eyes. She then took it off and threw it back over to me with a shrug.

「I didn’t see any words. Lord Ramazayunov said it would only react to you. Maybe you did something in the moment to trigger it.」

I slid on the knuckle ring. The cold steel made me flex my fingers, then grip them into a fist for a better view. My eyes closed, and I saw the words «Rage Incarnate» form from a jittering set of hieroglyphic letters. The words then dispersed into smoke, with a single word appearing in the black fog.

— «Not Worthy»

The ring burned my skin, and I slipped it off, throwing it onto the ground. I held my fingers with a wince, looking down at the reddening metal as if it just came out of a fiery furnace.

「It said that I wasn’t worthy… what does that even mean?」 I said.

Miina picked up the ring and looked at it with a pondering glance. 「Maybe it needs a certain «Class» or prerequisite or something.」

She extended it back to me, and I pointed over to Agnelov. 「No, no. I’m done with that thing. Agnelov, you take it.」

Agnelov took it from her hand and slid it back onto her fingers with a smile. 「Thank you for giving me such an important item… I’ll hold on to it with my life.」

I turned my head to the side and covered my mouth.

She’s… she’s just too much!

The carriage bolted as if it had switched terrain. Its once jotting bumps became smooth as the forests outside became long rows of wheat and grazed grass. We passed through the city's gates, which were several meters tall and made of thick white bricks that glinted in the sun. Four guards, knights with longswords, sat on horseback, watching us pass through with dubious gazes.

One of them stopped in front of the carriage and held up their hand. He exchanged some words with the carriage driver up top and nodded in agreement, moving out of the road to let us pass. The wheels then clicked as cobblestone was paved below us. I looked outside the window to a long cylindrical beam of white light shooting high into the sky.

「That’s… the, uh… «Tennoberu»! It wards off monsters and evil spirits and stuff!」 Miina said with a puffed-out chest.

I rolled my eyes.

Annd, no one asked.

「Did you also learn that from your diary?」 Evonika asked.

「No, I sort of just gossiped with a bunch of the residents in Fanglor. They talked nonstop about Phoenia and how grand and powerful of a nation it was. But looking at it for myself… I actually believe them.」

The skies darkened, with a hint of orange on the western horizon. Street lamps flickered on down the long city roads, revealing the long rows of wood and stone buildings on both sides. Most of the passersby on the sidewalks were knights, some with light-weight armor while others wore heavy sets with broad chest plates and helmets.

A few of the knights had distinct items on their hips and backs. Hammers infused with enchanting blue mists and swords surrounded by blue smoke and orange electric currents. The claymore of a young female knight shone with a sparkling orange light.

「Oh wow, the military district is cool! Look! Look!」 Miina said, pointing beside me through the window.

She seems… genuinely interested in this stuff. I guess becoming a knight was possibly the best thing for her.

She glanced over at me and bashfully scratched her cheek. 「I’m… I’m sorry. I’m invading your space. I’m just excited to finally be here, haha…」

I sat back down in my chair and crossed my legs. 「No, it’s fine. You have passion and a genuine fondness. I see nothing wrong with that.」

Miina smiled and plopped back in her chair. 「I really do like knights. Well, that may be a bit of an understatement. People sometimes call me weird, but… It’s nice to meet someone who understands.」

Yeah, I don’t give a shit about you or your weird kink over knights. You just seem like someone who may be useful later.

We began passing by a large citadel made of metal and stone. Its layered exterior grew outward like a cake, with open windows that began flicking with candlelight and some dimmed to sleep for the night.

「Oh! Oh! This is my stop! The Colstrum Strategy Building!」 Miina said, then gently tapped the top of the carriage

The wagon stopped, and she opened the door. We locked eyes, and she lunged at me, wrapping her arms around me with a giggle.

「W-what are you doing?」 I asked.

「I’m a hugger, and this is goodbye, so… Goodbye!」

She jumped out of the carriage and closed the door, stopping by a group of knights and pointing at their armor in awe before rushing into the citadel.

「Well, she was odd. But at least she was a good source of information. Now we just need to find out how to log out.」 Evonika said.

「Next stop, the royal district!」 The carriage driver said.

Maybe we’ll find some answers there.