The group of five and Pudding all made their way out of the Pub and to the TRAVELERS STATION. This was a place to rent and purchase boats, sleds, and carriages to travel the world in. Frozen Hearts were composed of snowy mountains and ice-covered tundra, so simply walking could become futile.
Jake explained that he and Yuki had gone ahead to rent a carriage for them all to use so they didn't have to wait in line. Which was incredibly long, with NPCs and players alike trying to exchange coins for transportation.
Men, women, and humanoids stood in an ongoing snowstorm with varying degrees of irritation on their faces as NPCs accepted their payment. They moved robotically, communicating with baseline forms of human emotion.
Elizabeth was impressed by how in-depth the developers had gone with making the world feel realistic. Sometimes, she forgot she was in a virtual reality game until a menu popped up or she got a notification. There had to be hundreds of players and a couple dozen NPCs moving about the town.
The ground felt real under her feet, her shoes hitting against the hardened black ice that sat atop the brick slabs that served as a road. The teen found herself wishing that she could live in the world temporarily. It felt that real to her.
This opinion she was happy to find was shared by her guildmates. The topic came up naturally in their various conversations. Jake had been telling her about his struggles to find a job after finishing college.
Apparently, with all the technological advancements going on way too many people were trying to pursue a degree in development. This left a thousand people applying for the same internship and double that for an externship. The knight had only bagged a temporary position in the past two years and he was exhausted.
“That's why I spend all my time here. The real world is a pain.” Jake said to which his veiled companion nodded and squeezed his arm comfortingly.
She had a smile on her face that soon fell apart. “I feel the same. It's not like I'm struggling for work. I'm quite comfortable. It's just…besides, when I'm beta testing or playing competitively I have no one in my life to talk to.” The woman squeezed herself in a pathetic attempt at a hug and sighed.
There was a silence that filled the air as they walked into the TRAVELERS STATION'S lobby that left Elizabeth feeling hollow. It was like they all shared the loneliness that Yuki had but was too chicken shit to voice it. Thankfully, the brunette became preoccupied by the lobby itself to dwell on her feelings of depression.
The room was large and spacious, with there just being an NPC receptionist sitting behind a glass panel. She had a comforting appearance that reminded the teenager of a stereotypical grandmother. The type that baked you cookies after school and warmed up soap when you had a sore throat.
The elderly NPC greeted them with a croak of hello before asking for their order number. Jake and the woman began to do the usual song and dance of giving the number, accepting a key, and user instructions.
The grandmother then got up and led them to the garage of the station. Inside this modern-looking garage were a dozen sleds that could fit four people with wooden seats and belts built in. Besides this, stood five large carriages that had beautiful horses attached to them.
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The horses had small eyes with thick lashes and acted docile despite them walking up close to them. Even when Yuki walked eerily close to one of the horses' hind legs they stood still and merely blew air out of their massive nostrils.
Their assigned carriage was one of the larger ones and had fully furnished seats on the inside. Once you unlocked the two doors, you were met with a cushy carpet, cushioned booth seats, and manually controlled windows. They were left alone and the group was given some time to decide who was driving.
Selene bowed out first. She put her hands up and looked at them with wide eyes. “Sorry, but I have a massive phobia of horses.” She shuddered at the sight of the creatures breathing with blank eyes. “I have to be inside.”
“That's understandable,” The quiet elf said with an equally low tone. With a shrug, she walked over to the carriage's reins and picked them up. “I'll take these but somebody will have to sit next to me since there's two to hold.”
The elf directed her attention at Elizabeth who froze and blushed. “Um…” The maid was stumbling over her words as the girl was put on the spot.
Thankfully, her new veiled friend came to save her. A yelp left her lips as the tall woman ruffled her hair and laughed. “Don't worry kiddo. I'll ride with Catherine and you can go relax with your cute little Pudding cup.”
Elizabeth was turning bright red from the childish nickname. It was clear that everyone else was slightly older than her. Catherine and Selene were college students and Jake had admitted he was in his late twenties. But the seventeen-year-old couldn't help but feel teased by the acknowledgment of her age.
The comment felt like the beginning of being given the designated baby role. But she kept these thoughts to herself as Yuki's sisterly behavior was pretty harmless and made her feel butterflies. The woman walked to their horses, rubbing them and cooing as they happily responded to her.
This made Selene shudder some more before hurrying to get out of the view of the massive animals. Elizabeth watched with sympathy. It must suck to be confronted with a huge anxiety in a world that serves as your safe space.
Pudding juggled and she held her pet close with a smile. “Don't worry. The ride won't be too bunny and you can rest your eyes.” The slime made a cute chirp before closing its eyes once again. It's body slumping in satisfaction.
The giant silver-outfitted knight gestured for her to get in the carriage first and she smiled at him gratefully. The carriage was built out of metal but was painted to look like tree bark. The door handle was cold and the floor felt plush as she climbed in.
Selene patted the seat next to her with a cheeky glow dancing in her eyes. The fox had taken one of the free quilts inside the carriage and draped it over her legs.
Elizabeth did the same by wrapping the heavy blanket around her front so it covered the sleeping Pudding. The door to the carriage slid closed as Jake sat opposite the woman. She noticed him wince as he sat and realized that he was too tall to sit comfortably.
He had to hunch over which left him in pain, wincing every couple seconds as the girls began to goad the horses into moving. It was a slow ride as she heard the reigns snap in the freezing winter air and hooves thunder on the ground.
“Is the little guy comfortable?” The chainmail wearing asked her as Selene began to fall asleep, somehow, beside the distracted teenager.
She smiled and nodded at him. “Pudding has had a rough day so I'm happy that he's finally getting some rest.” Her attention became directed at the blob in her lap which juggled about her lap without a care in the world.
“He is like a pudding cup,” Jake said laughing at the sight, wiping at his sweaty forehead. “Are you going to try and level it up as you play?”
Elizabeth nodded with a grin as hugged her pet. “I want Pudding to become strong enough to stand on his own. I won't be with him all the time so I want him to be able to not only protect himself but take care of his needs.”
They shared a look and Elizabeth sat back in her seat in silence. Everyone knew the fragility of slimes. She had gotten lucky that Pudding hadn't been snatched by one of those bats or fallen when they'd been lifted. If she was serious about keeping the baby as her companion she needed to level it up.
Not doing so would be careless at her best and cruel at her absolute worst. She held Pudding close to her body, feeling anxious. In a short amount of time, she had grown incredibly close to the cute fellow.
Elizabeth believed that its design and kitten behavior made it come off as helpless. The teenager was worried for any slime's wellbeing, they were so fragile and absent-minded. Pudding needed to be properly trained soon. There was no reason to argue.
The carriage came to a stop and the trio all nearly fell from their seats. The fox woman at her side opened her eyes with a fearsome scowl as Elizabeth looked around. Jake also was startled with his hand suddenly moving to his belt which held an unidentifiable weapon.
The horses at the front made a loud noise that reminded the teenager of a scream. Before any of the group could speak, one of the doors slammed open to reveal a panicked Yuki. Her eyes were wide as she panted and had one hand on her broadsword handle.
“We've got a problem.”