Elizabeth shivered and bundled herself in her coat as they walked further into the mountain. In front of the teenager, Catherine jogged ahead and watched vigilantly for any new enemies.

The brunette was incredibly grateful for this as she was beyond exhausted. In a way that she honestly hadn't believed was possible in-game. It made sense when she sat and thought on how the developers worked their asses off to make everything ultra realistic.

If this were real she would be wet, sleepy and weakening. Catherine however was acting as if this wasn't anything. She had stopped at a body of water and jumped in. One minute ahead was above ground and the next she was sinking into the dark blue abyss.

The poor teenager had screamed at the sight and nearly threw herself in after her. Thankfully, her companion popped back up right as she was taking off her jacket. With soaking wet hair and damp feet she climbed out like this was completely normal.

This was the second time so far Elizabeth almost felt herself faint. Now fresh of blood and with a pep in her step, the elf led the way to their destination. She didn't talk much which left Elizabeth's mind to make up possible ideas of what the land of gummy slimes could be like.

Gummy slimes weren't like regular slimes and resembled shapeshifters more than anything else. They often took the form of animals, trying to gain the attention and affection of humans but failing due to their bodies limitations.

If they weren't so docile they'd be incredibly deadly when fighting them. The brunette figured they must live in an environment with plenty of creatures and plant life to imitate. She had heard that the oldest of gummy slimes could even mimic humans so they had to be there too.

But you'd be unable to mistake a gummy slime for the human they managed to copy. Their movements still were stunted and doll-like how gummy slimes tended to behave.

The level of intelligence was low and they had horrific impulse control. Not to mention that they had colorful, oiled up skin and huge eyes.

It was freaky to think about and made her shudder. This was noticed by her companion who happened to look back her way. “What's wrong?” The elf's voice was as cold as usual but Elizabeth had an inkling she was sincere.

The teenager scratched the back of her head and answered nervously. “I'm just wondering how the mission will go once we get wherever it is that we are going.” Elizabeth sucked her bottom lip, unsure of what else to say.

Catherine nodded and said “Well, there should be a gate somewhere close. Once we reach that you'll see everything for yourself and all those worries will go away.” The elf spoke as if these words should instantly reassure her.

They sort of did but it also felt like a non answer to the girl. She didn't voice that and decided to keep it to herself for now. Right then they came across a stream within the mountains they were walking through.

It looked to be incredibly shallow and ran down the rest of the way. Like a little kid giddy on a rainy day, Elizabeth hopped over. The landing was rough with water splashing up onto her shoes and her legs.

It was cold as ice was floating like little boats in the deep blue water. Her shoes crunched on the wet ground and sunk in as she wiped stray dirt that had gotten on her.

It wasn't noticeable and she was overjoyed that the mud that sat in puddles nearby didn't ruin her skirt. Still, her cheeks turned crimson and her eyes widened as the reality of her actions set in.

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The childish brunette couldn't help but blush when she realized what she'd done but thankfully Catherine didn't care. The older woman just used her staff to help her walk on some rocks that sat above the water and avoided slipping in.

She walked ahead the blushing teen without sparing her another glance and the brunette quickly followed behind. Scurrying with her tail tucked between her legs.

The beautiful scenery was helpful in making her forget the embarrassing display she'd just crafted from the recesses of her brain.

To be honest it was hard to remember that this was all in a video game. That she was just sitting on her bed in her nightgown while Catherine was probably across the globe. It was amazing and terrifying when you really let the reality of it all cook in your mind.

She touched a nearby tree branch and shivered at the sensation of the wet bark. This was all in her head but she actually felt like she had moved her arm and reached up to the plant. The feeling was too vibrant.

Elizabeth looked down at her wet shoes and sighed. “It's as real as any lucid dream would be.” The girl muttered before moving onto the next subject.

Standing in the middle of a sort of fake, somewhat real forest debating whether virtual reality counted as being awake or not wouldn't help her. It would send her into a chaotic doom spiral.

One that would not only make her anxious but cause further humiliation. The brunette checked to make sure that Catherine was a good distance away before lightly smacking herself on the cheek.

She needed to keep herself together. There weren't any mobs in the area and she wasn't suffering any connection issues so all was good. Her neverending anxiety was becoming absolutely ridiculous at this point.

The silence wasn't helping so the teenager had to speak. “Hey.”

Catherine looked behind with a raised eyebrow. “What's wrong?”

“Oh!” The teenager laughed awkwardly and cleared her throat. “Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to ask if you'd like to do some riddles with me.”

Catherine squinted at her and repeated the offer slowly. “Do some riddles?”

“Yeah, I know a lot off the top of my head. I could tell you some and then you guess what the solution is supposed to be. So we can pass the time.” The teenager knew only basic ones but she figured they'd be good enough.

Catherine turned back around and hummed before speaking. “Sounds like it'll be fun.” She waved her free hand at her. “Go ahead and choose one.”

The meek brunette began to wrack her brain for a good riddle. She didn't want to go too hard and have the elf stuck on one answer for the rest of the walk.

But she didn't want to embarrass herself by giving a baby riddle. Or worse give a riddle that she would forget the answer to or later find out it was incorrect.

That would be absolutely humiliating to realize later on. After what had to be an unusual amount of silence she remembered a couple that she had found online during a particularly bad day at school.

“Okay! What is full of holes but still holds water?” Elizabeth asked.

They came across a pathway containing some oversized lily pads that were big enough to work as recliners. This was perfect as the girls could rest and Catherne could rattle off a bunch of possible answers.

As the teenager sat down she was hit with an overwhelming smell. A bunch of spores flew up from the pad and she coughed.

Thankfully, the planets didn't appear to be poisonous but her clothes would definitely smell like lily pads for the rest of her day. Catherine noticed this and chose to stand during their break.

“I'm thinking of a sponge possibly.” The elf said as she cracked her knuckles and let out a satisfied hum as her muscles popped loudly.

Elizabeth swore that she felt the lily pad beneath her body shift and she looked down only to see nothing. Everything was just how she had found it. The area had become pretty windy so she was comfortable just marking it as being related to that.

She realized again to her further embarrassment that she was acting super paranoid over nothing. All the mobs had been dealt with and since then they'd been walking in absolutely gorgeous forest.

With trees that soared ten feet high with bark that was the color of a mountain top fresh from a blizzard. She needed to enjoy the cold and clean air while she could and relax against the frozen plant life. Freaking out was just pathetic.

“You're right it is a sponge,” The teenager crossed her legs as she asked the next of the many riddles dancing around her empty noggin. “Here's another one. People make me, save me, change me and raise me. But I can't breathe and I'm unable to eat. Do you know what I am?”

Catherine actually showed a new emotion to Elizabeth's delight; total confusion. She stood there, the wind swinging her ponytail around in the frigid air as she tried to find the answer. “Could you give me a little hint?”

The teenager opened her mouth only to close it when she once again felt the earth beneath her shift back and forth. Her eyes were wide as she nearly fell off the pad. She looked over to the ice queen of an elf who looked at her with even further confusion.

It seemed that her companion hadn't noticed anything and she was really going crazy. The movement had been so real that it had to have actually happened.

But she looked at the gigantic plant and saw that it was exactly as it had been before. Nothing was different. The ground also was the same with the mud and snow piles from before.

Nervously, the teenager cleared her throat and spoke. “It's something you use every day and that you can collect physically and digitally.”

“Physically and digitally…” The elf tapped a nail on her chin. “Money?”

The teenager was smiling as she realized the elf had come up with the correct answer. She had thought Catherine would find the riddle idea stupid but in actuality she found it fun.

It made her feel a lot more comfortable and she let her guard down. She was going to say something but that sudden ground movement returned.

And this time she could tell that the blonde noticed by the way her eyes widened. Elizabeth yelled out as she felt the lily pad turn into what had to be some sort of carnivorous creature.

“Help!” The brunette screamed as the lily pad opened wide and swallowed her whole into what she believed to be its stomach. “Catherine! Hurry!”