"You're early." Gem comments while gliding towards me.

"Yeah, well..." I scratch my nose in embarrassment, "So are you."

"Mhmm" She simply smiles in response. She then looks me up and down, while raising her eyebrow. “You’re still in your armour?”

“Ahh,” Embarrassment floods over me. She is dressed in a beautiful pale while dress, while I have my leather and iron armour on. “That is...”

“Don’t worry about it.” She replies after seeing me getting flustered, “You’ll be able to protect me from those perverted gazes.”

“True.” Gem draws attention from others constantly, while I usually blend into the background. "So, where do you want to go?" One month has already passed since we first met, yet despite living together, this is our first actual date. An absolute beauty inside and out, she is perfect in my eyes. If this were the real world, I probably wouldn't be able to find another like her.

"You mean to tell me you didn't plan out the evening? No flowers? No romantic music? No candlelight dinner?" The sarcasm is clearly evident in her voice, and she looks at me with an over exaggerated false disappointment. "No matter. I know the perfect place! I've been wanting to go there together for a while now."

"Oh?" I raise my eyebrows in interest. For a while is it? "Where might this place be?"

"Hehe," She raises her hand to her lips while giggling, "You'll have to find out with your own eyes. Come," She grabs my hand, "Let's explore the market while we're here."

Her hand feels soft and tender in mine. I voluntarily allow her to lead me into the central market. The market area is covered by a curved stone roof reaching from one side of the street to the other. It's located to the south of the plaza we had previously been in, but the market itself spreads out in every direction. The buildings in this area are made of stone rather than wood, and are made on a grand scale.

The road is crowded to a near standstill with pedestrian traffic. It is reminiscent of those touristy European towns and cities. Proper shops sit behind rows of stalls, each full of merchandise. Many of the drops from the second island have wound up here, but player crafted items far outnumber them. Bones, which are the most common drop, can be seen everywhere. So far I only know two uses for them: smithing and farming, but they are bound to be used by other skills such as alchemy. The problem however, is the low quality of the bones. They have become one of those junk items nobody wants. I have been saving up highest quality ones I get for use as bonemeal for farming.

Gem is immediately drawn to a stall selling fabrics. There are fabrics of every colour of the rainbow and all look to be of a high quality. A male player stands behind the stall with his hands behind his back, while his hawk eyes observe the crowd.

"Quinn!" Gem holds up a length of dark black fabric, "What do you think of this?"

I honestly cannot much of a difference between fabrics. As a male, the colours I know are limited to the ones everyone knows, and as for quality of fabrics, I am even further lost when dealing with minute details. "Umm," I run my fingers over the cloth, "It feels soft."

"Just soft?" She looks disappointed, "This is a premium quality silk made from someone with a level 3 looming skill!"

"There's a looming skill?" I am surprised. Why is there is a looming skill, yet not a leather working skill? Leather working falls under the umbrella of tailoring.

"You didn't know?" She stands there with one eyebrow raised, "Well, I guess it isn't a very popular skill."

"It does feel very nice to touch,” I admit, “Almost as if it melts in my hands."

She smiles as if satisfied with my response and then turns to the player selling it and says, "How much for this?"

The seller, the male player in his mid forties, peels his hawk eyes away from the crowd, looks over at Gem, and smiles. "You have a good eye young lady. This was made of high quality spider silk and crafted by an experienced artisan. Let’s see... The total will be 500 Tor."

"I'll take it then." She pauses, "And some elastic as well."

"Ahem." I clear my throat, "So, what are you going to make with it?" I can already envision it. A set of black l-

"That's a secret!" She says with a wink. The purchase is then completed and we move off to the next stall.

We spend the next couple hours window shopping throughout the market. Usually I find shopping a pain and only go once I know what I want to get, but accompanying Gem takes away that monotony. She always has a smile on her face and drags me through different shops that both her and I would be interested in. Eventually, we make our way into a shop that sells crystals of all kinds.

"Good afternoon." The shopkeeper of this guild run shop welcomes us. "Ahh! It's good to see you again Gem. I have your order ready, just one second." It seems she really has planned this out thoroughly. I’m impressed, and touched.  

"Hello!" Gem responds. "Alright, how much will it cost?"

While they are talking, I have a look through the shop's shelves. The shop itself is very small, and everything is placed within glass cabinets. It's split up between the consumable crystals and teleportation crystals. I wonder what she could have wanted from this shop that required an order.

"Quinn!" Gem has finished her business and starts walking over to me. She has a pair of orange crystals in her hands. She passes me a crystal and says with a smile, "This will bring us to a special location. It's a small, not well known village on the edge of the island, but it was recommended by many of my friends."

"Oh?" I receive the crystal from her, "Do you want to go right now? Or shall we wait around for a little longer?"

"Mmm," She raises her index finger to her lips and seems to be considering the options, "Lets go now!"

"Sounds good." We simultaneously activate the crystals and become enveloped by that familiar blinding light. I wonder how much this shop profits from these crystals, because it seems like it would be a useful business in the future as long as they are proven trustworthy.

What I see on the other side is the small village spread out beneath me beyond which is the empty sky. To the left is a large body of water just visible through a ring of trees, while to the right is farmland. The crystal placed me on top of a small hill on the outskirts of the village and the surrounds are silent compared to Fairhaven's bustling market. The only noise is the rustling of the wind brushing through the trees and the sound of my own breathing. I turn my head and see Gem standing with her eyes wide open not too far behind me.

"It's so beautiful!" She says with a smile.

Not as beautiful as you. "Yes it is," I agree, "Shall we head into the village?"

"Mhmm." She reaches out her hand, which I take in mine. I feel the smoothness of her hand as our fingers interlock.

We proceed down the hill while following a small gravel path into the village. There are a few other players in the vicinity, but most are in groups of two. Each pairing consists of one male and one female, exactly like Gem and I. There must be something special about this place.

The village is akin to those picturesque tourist towns. The buildings are in a colourful Tudor style while the streets are a set with paving stones in a swirling pattern. Flower baskets hang off of every building and greenery lines the streets. "I can see why you wanted to come here."

"This is just a small part," She looks at me, "Come, let's walk through the village and find something to eat. Also, I heard there's an absolutely gorgeous viewpoint on the other side."

"Alright." We take a leisurely stroll through the street. There are not as many shops as one might expect from such a visually appealing village, but considering this is a small community on the outer rim, it does make sense.

We stop outside a small cafe style shop that has outdoor seating paired with tables and parasols. Another young couple is sitting outside, over enamoured with each other. The female player, who looks to be 20, is conversing endlessly, while her male counterpart is listening intently, only nodding his head as he stares at her. I take a quick peak at Gem and see her gazing enviously at the couple as if lost in thought. One things for sure, I’m glad Gem is not the type to ramble on senselessly. I wish you well, comrade.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Inside the cafe is a small, vacant seating area near the windows, while the room itself is decorated with a floral pattern. Sitting behind the counter in the back is a middle aged woman. Her hair is done up in a bun, and she is wearing an plain white apron. She notices us come in and a warm smile immediately adorns her face. “Welcome!” She says with a warm voice. “How many I help you?”

Gem takes the lead to speak. “Hello, Can we get two sandwiches to go?” She asks in a polite tone.

“Certainly,” The woman stands up and approaches the counter, “What kind of sandwiches can I get for you?” Now that I get a better look at her, the woman has the appearance of a mother who has recently let her children off into the world. There is pride mixed with worry in her eyes, as well as a seemingly lost gaze, as if she does not know what to do with herself.

“I’ll take a roast chicken sandwich,” Gem replies and then looks towards me, “What will you have?”

“Umm,” I look at the chalkboard along the back wall. There’s not much choice, but that’s to be expected of a small cafe. My eyes drift to a certain menu item. “I’ll have the baron of beef.”

“Alright! One roast chicken, and one baron of beef.” The woman starts calculating with her fingers, “That will be 76 Tor all together.” An expensive price if this were to be the first couple weeks, but it’s not unreasonable. This village is isolated; therefore, supplies wouldn’t come here very often. This is considering a real world type scenario where players couldn’t teleport in using crystals.

The scent of fresh ingredients wafts over from behind the counter, while Gem and I wait in the seating area. The sandwiches are made and wrapped within 10 minutes, so we left the little shop and continued on our way. The lovestruck couple are still seated outside; however, this time I actually noticed the male getting a few words in. Good for you, guy.

It only takes us a few minutes to walk the length of the Main Street where a small gravel path awaits. Off in the distance is a large grassy hill beyond a few scattered trees, while beyond the hill is wide open blue sky. Progressing at a leisurely pace, it takes us around 15 minutes to walk hand in hand to walk to the base of the hill.

The small gravel trail snakes up the hill and is surrounded by lush green grass. While Gem is leading me up the hill, I purposely position myself off the trail just to feel the grass’s softness. Another couple minutes pass by to the top, but already the view is worth it. Standing at the top, my eyes are wide open, awed by the sight. At a mere twenty feet away from us is a sharp drop off where the island comes to an abrupt end. This section of land appears to be on a small protrusion from the island. It feels like we are standing upon a cliff; however, the only thing that awaits beyond the cliff is emptyness. That being said, it is a magnificent view.

"Hehe," Gem softly laughs at my reaction, "I told you it was a gorgeous viewpoint."

"I can't argue with that." I admit.

"Come," She pulls me towards one of the larger trees, "Let's sit under the tree!"

The tree she is headed toward has many branches reaching out that forms a thick canopy of leaves. I don't know enough about trees to place a name on it, but it seems fitting for the location. It is standing alone at the peak of the grassy hill, while facing the cool winds by itself. At the base there is an old wooden bench carved with depictions of rose vines.

Gem quickly takes a seat on the bench, while I sit close by on her right. We take out our sandwiches and eat in silence. No words are said, but none are needed to be said. There is only a quiet calm as we look out at the sky. This day has been a nice change from the usual fast paced lifestyle of EndGame Online. It’s almost as if we are not in a game. When she finishes eating, Gem gently rests her head against my shoulder. Her bright red hair flows down my arm, tickling my skin while also bringing warmth. Her hair feels very soft as I lean my head against hers. I sit there listening to the sound of her breathing, while inhaling her sweet aroma.

“Quinn?” Gem’s harmonious voice breaks the silence. “Do you think we’ll ever make it out of here?”

“Mm. As long as we never stop fighting, then one day we will be free.” If it’s anything like that old story I read, perhaps it will be two or three years. That’s assuming it’s possible to break the game.

“I guess so,” She says with a sigh, “But, do you ever think of what is happening to our physical bodies?” Our real bodies are probably wasting away, while being supported through artificial means. I wonder how long a person can be reasonably artificially sustained in this comatose like state.

“I try not to think of it too much.” I reply, while my gaze drifts upwards, “We should make the most out of this experience. Just because this is a virtual world does not make it any less real. While our physical bodies may be countless miles apart, our minds have brought us here together.” I pause and look down at Gem, “And I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything.” With that said, I kiss the top of her head.

“Neither would I.” Her voice is soft, and fades into the wind.

The time flies by like this and soon it the sun begins to set. When I am with her, I feel a happiness that stems from my inner being. Maybe it’s love; however, outside of family, I have never experienced the feeling before in the truest sense of the word. Although, I imagine this must be what it feels like.

“Let’s go for a walk by the lake before it gets too dark.” Gem lifts her head off my shoulder and looks at me. Her hair is in a bit of a mess, but it only adds to her beauty.

She gives off a pleading look and I immediately give in. “Alright.” As soon as my voice leaves my lips, the corners of her mouth raise. And so, hand in hand, we walk towards the trees surrounding the lake.

The grassy hill soon turns into forested terrain as we walk along a gravel trail. I activate my night vision to get a better view of our path ahead. As I do so, I feel an eerie tingling on the back of my neck. There are no other players around, but I cannot help but feel like we are being watched. We are about 10 minutes out of the village, but at this time there should not be many people out. In this world, the NPCs don’t stay up like those in our modern world do with lights everywhere. Even the players largely prefer to stay inside at night, because at night the monsters receive a 1.5x buff. In addition, it is also easier for player killers to get away with their crimes.

I squeeze Gem’s hand and slow down my pace, which she quickly matches. Any sudden movements could alert whomever, or whatever, is tracking us, so I lean in towards her and whisper in her ear: “Don’t make any sudden movements. I don’t think we’re alone anymore.”

She looks in my eyes with a sense of worry and responds: “What are we going to do?”

“Equip your armour, and ready your bow.” I reply while darting my eyes back and forth along the path. There is movement 20 feet to the right, and 15 feet to the left. A pincer attack perhaps?

“Okay.” She replies with a serious tone. As she equips her armour, I bring out my swords. These iron swords are the best that I have smithed so far. Both are short swords, but the offhand one is 2 inches shorter than the typical sword, while the main hand one is 1.5 inches longer and has a slightly curved blade. My personal symbol is engraved near the hilt on each blade along with the corresponding smithing number.

“You can come out!” I yell towards the movement, while taking on a defensive stance. Taking two enemies head on is easier than dealing with one hidden; therefore, I tried calling them out. These types of players should be vain enough to show themselves, because they like to toy with their victims.

“You’re very perceptive.” A voice comes out on my left hand side, “For future reference, how could you tell?” Slowly a male player in his mid twenties with short black hair and a sinister grin on his face comes out from the bushes.