Monday morning came around and Marty, Emma, Greggory and James departed from their homes to head to school wishing they were departing for Carria instead to enjoy their new second life instead. The weather here in the real world was wet and terrible, the bus was crowded and smelly and they were living in a world without magic or adventure. In their eyes the real world was inferior in every way to their world of fantasy. They sat in morning registration thinking of all the exciting things they could be doing if they were back on Carria but thinking about it only made it worse.

“Clement?” The registration teacher called out in Emma’s class before marking him absent. Emma glanced at Clement’s empty seat wondering if he had done what she wished she had done. Without a computer she had no way to find out but the reality was her guess was spot on. Right now Clement was practicing his magic in Carria with no intention of attending school that day.

That afternoon when the last bell finally rung all four of them were out of their seats immediately and rushing towards the doors. Even though they all had to wait for a bus to get home they all couldn’t wait to get out of school. It was torture to think they had another four full days of school to go through before they got a day off to enjoy themselves. James was the first to arrive home and the first to see that Clement was already in the game world. He felt he had a duty to warn Clement about the dangers of playing too much but he knew he was hardly in a position to criticize. Without changing out of his uniform he activated the program and resumed his identity as the cute heroine Lily. The last person to get home was Marty who like the others ran straight to his computer.

“Everyone is already in… dam my bus driver is slow.” The wait for the bus to arrive had been antagonising. He fired up the program ready to jump in but instead of going white the screen suddenly went pitch black.

“Huh?” He pressed a button on the keyboard but nothing happened. He checked to see if his computer was actually still on and discovered to his horror it wasn’t. He didn’t know why it had suddenly shut down. He had to get it back online fast. He pressed the power button but absolutely nothing happened.

“Fuuuck.” Something was wrong with his computer and he had no idea how that would affect the game world that his friends were inside. His computer was the host so this situation was potentially disastrous for them. He prayed they were okay and hit the light switch so he could get a better look at the computers cables but again nothing happened. It wasn’t just his bedroom light, he soon discovered every light in the area had gone out due to a power cut. Marty’s worry turned to anger and frustration at the power company. He tried phoning James on his mobile to see if he had maybe been logged out of the game when the power went out. He couldn’t get through for James’s phone had been in his pocket when he virtualised himself. Cold sweat ran down Marty’s back as he feared that right now his friends could be in a lot of trouble. Meanwhile inside the virtual world James was smiling as he looked around the reorganised general store. He had no idea what was happening in the real world and even Emma, whose home had also been hit by the power cut, had no idea something was wrong as she cut her way through a group of giant rats.

It would be four hours before the power was restored which was four hours of absolutely worry and frustration for Marty. When his computer finally came back on he discovered everything was fine. He had still lost four hours he could be spending in the virtual world and decided that he would get back at the world by skipping school tomorrow. First he sent an email to the others letting them knowing what had happened. With no school and thus no homework to consider Marty jumped back into Carria. He discovered everything as he had left it. The power cut hadn’t had any effect on the world or the people inside it. With that worry gone Marty decided it was time for an extra-long training session with Marisa.

* * * * *

Under blue sunless sky of the cool evening Marty aimed his bow and let fly, striking the bullseye from a distance of a forty metres. A vast improvement on what he had been able to achieve before and was mostly in thanks to his new tutor. It was really a case of trial and error, the target he had just hit was covered in a dozen arrows that hadn’t made the mark.

“Impressive but your posture is a bit off,” Marisa explained. She got close to Marty and placed one hand on his hip and one hand on his shoulder to adjust his stance.

“Try again,” she whispered into his ear. Her touch however had made Marty nervous and his hands were so shaky he missed the target completely.

“Shush, you need to relax.” It was hard to relax with her whispering in his ear. He could feel a growing sensation in his pants and hoped his instructor didn’t notice. He told himself to calm down but it didn’t help and his next arrow also missed completely.

“Maybe you need a break, let’s go inside for some refreshments.” She let go and Marty breathed a sigh of relief. She had never invited him inside before so he was eager to see what was what. The small building had just a single large room which looked like a kitchen, dining room and living room all rolled into one. It wasn’t that surprising really; this was a fantasy period after all. The lack of any bed brought his attention to a hatch on the floor which he presumed lead downwards. Marisa put on some tea and sat down on a cushioned chair and beckoned for Marty to sit next to her.

“So where’s the kids? I heard you…” Marty paused. Nobody had mentioned Marisa’s kids to him in this life.

“They’re with their fathers.”

“Fathers?” Marty sputtered and realised immediately that was probably very rude.

“Yes… I must confess no single man… or elf ever keeps me interested for very long. I’m the type to sample all the wine yet never buy any you could say.” A gentle hand landed on Marty’s thigh. Was she implying what his raging sex drive hoped she was? No he had fallen for this trick before. The correct response to this was to be cool and patient.

“Ah I can admire that. As a traveller I like to keep on moving and not stay in one place for too long, but I admit such a life can get lonely. I have found myself in the arms of strangers once or twice or maybe more times than I should admit to.” Marty was taking his words straight from a novel he’d read. He had no experience with women other than when he had briefly felt a girl’s boobs once but never gotten any further. Marisa was smiling seductively so whatever he was saying must have been working.

“I’ll get the tea,” she declared standing up and approached the kettle that was boiling over the fire. “Whoops,” she blandly said before jumping back as the kettle spilled and water that hadn’t even reached boiling yet splashed across the wooden floor.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“You alright?” Marty quickly got to his feet to help her pretending to ignore the suspicious behaviour.

“Oh I’m fine but the tea is… not to worry. I have something else we could drink.” Her something else was a bottle of mead. Marty’s experience with alcohol could be summed up by that one time his uncle had given him a bottle of beer so he wasn’t sure what to expect. Marisa poured him a cup and he took his first swig of the beverage.

“Shit that’s good!” he exclaimed. It tasted of sweet strawberries which just happened to be his favourite fruit. He took another gulp of the sweet liquid and heard Marisa giggle a little.

“First time anyone has ever been so enthusiastic.”

“Forest fruits are like honey to us tree elves.” Was that even true? He had no idea but it sounded good so he stuck with it. He couldn’t resist taking another sip.

“You said you travel; tell me where have you travelled to?” That was an easy question to answer.

“Where haven’t I been? I’ve seen the north, the south, the east, the west, the underground and even the island regions.”

“You’re lying,” Marisa accused playfully.

“Maybe such a feat is impossible in a human life-time but I am an elf. Ask me a question about anywhere and I’ll tell you about it.” Marisa immediately questioned him on her birthplace, the swamp town of Shadegloome.

“Ah yes, Shadegloome, a town practically grown out of mushrooms.” Most of the buildings in the town were hallowed out giant mushrooms and had been preserved using fairy magic. It was a heck of a lot easier than building a house, especially in the poor weather conditions Shadegloome was well known for.

“Unfortunately my stay was made uneasy by a rogue fairy who was using her magic to turn some of the swamp’s residents evil and directing them to attack the town.” Marisa hadn’t heard about the evil fairy problem although it had been several years since she had been in contact with anyone who lived there. Marty’s description was spot on confirming he wasn’t lying when he said he had been there even though he technically was. He was also beginning to get tipsy from the alcohol as he moved onto his second cup while telling the story of his stay there.

“Out of all the men I’ve had the pleasure of spending the evening with, you are certainly the most interesting,” Marisa complimented. “But alas it grows dark. You’ll need to depart now if you wish to get to the inn before nightfall… unless you wish to spend the night here.” Marty had been hoping for that offer and had no intention of refusing. He didn’t care that this woman was a computer program with several children. If she was hinting towards what Marty thought she was then he would be overjoyed to comply.

“I have nowhere else I’d rather be tonight than with a beautiful young woman,” Marty flirtatiously replied. He maintained his cool guy act acting like there wasn’t a throbbing penis in his trousers although the poor state of his attire made the condition of his manhood very visible. A hand slipped across and began stroking him on the thigh, getting closer to his erection. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind what Marisa planned to do with him tonight but he continued to subdue his sexual urges and play it cool. If she got a glimpse at what was beneath his elven mask she would no doubt be turned off. He continued to be cool as he followed Marisa down into her bedroom which had a comfy double bed waiting for the two of them. His shirt was already off when he reached the bed and Marisa’s top was flung onto the floor soon after. First they kissed then they got naked. Soon the inside of the isolated cabin was filled with the sounds of an elf having his first sexual experience with an older woman. Neither of them showed any restraint as their voices leaked into the surrounding woodland as the horny teenager inside Marty took over and he kept on going until both of them were exhausted.

* * * * *

Mr Granger the business studies teacher looked suspiciously at Marty who was staring out the window with a stupid smile on his face.

“Marty you’re smiling like a drug addict, pay attention.” Marty had originally planned to skip school today but something about waking up in the arms of a lover changed that. It may have just been in a game but it felt real and boy did it feel good. To him he really had just had sex for the first time, sex in a body he wasn’t ashamed to show off.

“Sir how did company stock work in the early days?” James asked. Business studies was one of the few classes James and Marty had together. It was also one the few classes James actually did well in.

“That’s a difficult question as the way companies were run back then was different from how they are run today. Although some historians argue about it, the first…” James began taking notes as Mr Granger went through a summarised history on how public companies operated several hundred years ago. By the end of the lesson Mr Granger had forgotten what he was meant to be teaching. He was now having a one on one conversation with James about the loopholes early companies used to rapidly increase profits. Not that anyone was complaining; the other students just used the time to do homework that was meant to have been done last night and Marty continued to smile out the window thinking about last night.

At lunch Greggory heard James calling out to him.

“Hey how much money you have?” James suddenly asked.

“Enough to buy lunch,” Greggory replied unsure of why James was asking him that.

“No not here, I mean in Carria.” James was aware that Greggory had been ‘earning’ more than the rest of them with his illicit activities.

“What’s it matter? You need a loan?”

“Hahaha but no. Listen I’ve got this business plan but I need some cash to help me get it started.”

“So you need a loan?”

“No, I’m offering you an amazing investment opportunity.” James was confident in the business plan he had. The people of the game world had no idea how to run a proper business so were easy pickings for someone was educated as him.

“I’m not interested in running a business. If you want a loan then just say so.” James was hesitant to take the risk. If it was his money and the business failed then he would end up owing a lot to Greggory with no easy way to clear it.

“No thanks, it’s your loss.” James tried one last time to entice his friend into investing.

“I think you’re missing the point of living in a fantasy world,” Greggory commented but it didn’t deter James. He was still determined to find an investor for his business venture. Emma had no interest, Clement was absent again and Marty just smiled stupidly when the topic of the fantasy world was brought up. His friends weren’t going to be off much use so he would have to find potential investors on Carria instead.