The game Ygdrassil started out as a simple fantasy RPG. Many players joined the bright-colored and exciting land of pixelated magic with just as simple hopes of escapism.

They did not expect to be trapped inside it though.

Not unlike that of Sword Art Online, this RPG also had headsets and whatnot. The players were trapped inside the game for one whole year now and everyone had a sense of normality in this game’s setting, forming parties and getting various jobs to exchange materials. There didn’t seem to be a Kirito insight to save them from this fantasy game, though.

Instead, there was a…

“Stop it! That’s my loot and you know it.” screamed a small girl avatar with pink hair, hugging her catalyst and scowling as if looks could kill. She was quite the brave one in spite of her low level. She stepped back into the mossy woods, trembling more from anger than fear. 

“Oh yeah?” asked a berserker, flipping her hair and leaning on her huge claymore. “I would like to see you try and keep it, cupcake,” she purred. “You are just a healer, there are slimes that deal more damage than you do on a good day. Just give up the book so that the mage can use it, you know, as an actual damage dealer.”

“You would be lost without me!” shouted the young healer. 

“Oh? Why don’t we see then, who would be lost without who,” said the berserker before turning back and starting to walk “Come on boys, this healer needs to learn a lesson.” 

“... Huh?”

“Keep the book, you can bring it back to us once you give up and come back to the inn.” said the berserker with false cheerfulness. “Till then, try not to die wontcha?” 

“HUH?!”

And that was how dear readers, Vi the healer was left all alone on the outskirts of a cursed forest. She could try to get back to the town or catch up with the rest of the party. 

But… she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to face the smug look on the mage’s face as he snatched her book away, taking her first actually useful weapon. So she did not.

Instead, she looked at the dark center of the forest and took a small yet determined step, knowing she was risking her life just because of her ego. But, damn it all, she would rather die than get back to those idiots.

She took a step and then another. It should be twilight according to her pocket watch, yet she had a hard time seeing any sunlight under the dense leaves of the forest. It only got darker and darker until she started hearing whispers and ominous shuffles of creatures dashing in the shadows. She flinched and hugged the book tighter. Even though it wasn’t leveled yet, its firmness gave her an artificial sense of grounding. She held onto it with her dear life as she walked deeper and deeper into the cursed forest.

Until she saw the yellow glowing eyes of a bear-toise. 

It had the glimmering dark brown fur of a bear, protected by the sturdy shell of a tortoise. While the shell slowed down its movements, Vi had heard enough stories from the NPCs to know that a single from this beast could diminish twice her whole hp bar. Her healing would have no use so she took what was the most logical course of action to take.

She ran.

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Running from many old and dark trees, she felt damp branches cut through her libs and cheeks. She didn’t stop, feeling the virtual air burn through her lungs. While this was only a fake stimulus, in theory, it sure hurt as much as the real thing. She kept running and running until her feet tangled to a branch of the vine and she fell face-first into the ground, feeling the tremors on the ground made by the bear-toise. Trying to stand up to keep running, she realized the sting in her leg, rapidly reached for the book and started murmuring healing chants to heal her leg. The warmth of nature's mana was healing but that did not stop the beast from approaching her. 

She looked up to see the bearnaise standing up, its wrinkly claws in the air ready to attack.

Then saw a feathered arrow pierce right between the bright yellow eyes. The beast froze with shock to fall to the mossy ground with a thump.

“Waaaaah~ Dinner!” cheered a high voice from behind her. Vi had heard no sound prior to the arrow hitting its target. From the side of her eye, she saw an optic white aura and thought she might be seeing one of the evil forest spirits. She slowly turned behind to see a girl hopping down from a tree’s branches with two dead geese hanging from her belt, instead. She tucked her bow behind her back and ran next to her. So fast…  Thought Vi. 

“Are you hurt, kid?” asked the girl. Cherry red eyes devoid of sparkle scanned through her broken leg and winced. “That looks nasty. I have some healing herbs but it might take a while to- oh.” 

Vi kept on helping her leg until she was only left with a bruise, barely visible from her boots. She looked into the crimson eyes of the stranger and realized this wasn’t a forest soul no. Just an albino player avatar. She was an archer and a quite skilled one too. She wondered what level her talents were. One shotting a bear-toise wasn’t that easy, they were basically minibosses. She wondered what her name was, where her party was, and if she knew how she could be strong like her. 

Among all these questions “Are those bunny ears?” was the only one that escaped her mouth, though. 

“Yeah!” said the archer, flicking one of the ribbons ends that stuck from her short hair. “Haha, well you see, my hair is quite messy so I use this ribbon to keep them out of my face. Then one day I tried styling it like this and don’t they look adorable?” asked the archer hoping in her place excitedly. 

Vi deadpanned at her. Never fucking mind, she had to have better options than this weirdo.

“That’s ridiculous.” 

“Mean! So mean!~” cooed the archer, chuckling.

“It is the truth.” 

“What a thing to say to your savior,” said the bunny-eared girl, pouting.

“Do you want me to lie, because you saved me?”

The archer started laughing then. What a weirdo, indeed, thought Vi.

“Well, do you have a name, ‘mean healer kid’?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Then give me something better to call you.”

“Vi. You can call me Vi.” 

“Hmm, nice name.”

“...”

Vi looked at her expectantly. “Won’t you tell me your name?”

“Nope.” 

“Why.”

“Because you are a mean bunny hater, Vi. Until you learn to love the cuteness of bunnies I won’t tell you.” 

Vi’s single eyebrow twitched with frustration. “Why you-”

“Oh no!” said the bunny-eared archer. “It’s getting dark. You should get going, you know. Your party should be worried about you.” 

“I don’t have a party,” said Vi, barely moving her lips.

“What?”

“I DON’T HAVE ONE,” shouted Vi, exasperated and embarrassed. So much for defending her pride. 

A flash of terror passed through the archer’s crimson eyes as if remembering an unpleasant memory. “What happened to them?”

“They ditched me,” huffed Vi, standing up and kicking the branch of fine that made her fall before. Revenge felt good. 

The archer blinked a few times blankly and sighed. “That is kinda messed up, huh?” she said with an understanding yet slightly relieved voice. Vi just nodded. Her throat was aching with something ugly trying to crawl up. She felt like sobbing after the abandonment and the long day in the forest. She gulped and tried to hold her tears back. This was embarrassing. She was embarrassing.

“Hey, hey, hey…” said the archer hesitantly patting the healer’s head. “It’s alright, you can find a better party than them! Why not help me clean this bear and cook it meanwhi-”

“I am a vegetarian.”

“Or not! Or we can eat berries and nuts!”

“That.. that sounds nice,” said Vi, following the archer slowly through a pathway only visible to the archer apparently. She was moving with the confidence of a person living there, knowing each tree and branch on her way regardless of the now dark forest. Vi focused on following the red ribbon on her head and tried not to trip on anything. They settled down in a small cavern with few animal skins and firewoods. The archer took off her gear and overcoat to reveal her loose shirt. Starting a fire with an enchanted stone, she sat crosslegged on the ground and started cleaning her bow. 

“Home sweet home,” she chuckled. “Feel free to take a seat, I don’t get many visitors here.” 

And so Vi did just that. She sat down by the fire, blankly staring at the cavern wall and clinging onto her catalyst still. She watched the archer girl clean all her arrows meticulously and put them aside. She looked at most 20 years old; yet, there was something with the speed and boldness of her moves that made Vi think she maybe was an ancient forest spirit. She dreamed of a white bunny spirit running around the cursed forest in her sleep.