"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."

Terry Pratchett

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"You know," Nero began softly, careful not to speak too loud lest he attracts attention. "You are going to have to speak up some more. Once they finish that translation item, I'm not going to be the only one able to talk to you."

"I know," Jorry responded, just as softly. For once the snake wasn't riding on Nero's shoulder. Instead, he was slithering quietly on the ground next to him.

Right now the pair of companions were slowly wandering through the sewers that ran through the hill under Sarah Keep. Nero was surprised there even was a sophisticated drainage system in what was ostensibly a stereotypical medieval city. To be fair, the fact that there wasn't an abundance feces and other such waste on the street, as would be present in most pre-modern towns, should have hinted that either the game creator did not want that feature or once again magic had influenced the development of civilization. In this case, Nero thought it was the latter situation, the tunnels were wide passageways with a channel of filth and refuse floating slowly downhill from the peak of the keep towards the outside.

From what Nero had learned, a few enchanted grates would filter the water back into an underwater source that provided clean drinking water to the city. The rest would be separated into organic matter for compost and non-organic matter for recycling. He had to applaud the keep's ecological awareness, though that did not stop him from almost vomiting the first time his enhanced senses were exposed to the stench of the area.

At the moment Nero and Jorry were carefully sneaking around the area and checking to see if any of the mice they had fought before made their home in these sewers. They were extra quiet to not alert any potential prey and to avoid being noticed by the occasional guards. Being in here wasn't precisely illegal, but Nero did not feel like having to answer any awkward question that would inevitably be asked. Thankfully for his poor stealth skills, the torches that the guards carried were a dead giveaway in the dark of the tunnels, so the pair had advanced warning when to turn in another direction to avoid attention.

With two new levels from the picnic expedition, the extra points going into strength to increase his damage and health, as well as his new spell, Nero felt confident enough to start investigating the mice conspiracy and the 'Venerable' mouse. So long as they weren't taken by surprise like last time, and there were only a few enemies, the pair should be able to deal with a fight. But more important than that was information. Currently, Nero knew too little about the situation, and so the pair were investigating the sewers as a potential location for a mouse hideout.

"Are you scared?"

"A little, I'm not really good at this talking thing. It's complicated."

"How is it complicated?"

"There are a lot of words I don't know. I'm afraid I'll sound dumb." The snake began, and a look from Nero prompted him to continue. "It's not just that, I'm uncomfortable talking. It used to be simple. Eat, sleep, and if I die, revive. It wasn't a good life, but I was used to it. There used to be a few field mice in the park that I would hunt before the bird showed up." Jorry's voice was nostalgic, but then it shifted to a harsher tone. "Now I've evolved, I'm stronger, I get to eat treats and try different food. But I have to worry about mice trying to kill me instead and talking to people."

"Sometimes simplicity is good." Nero nodded in agreement. "There is nothing wrong with wanting fewer worries. Having more knowledge is better though. Whether you worry about future problems, or even know about them, or not, it doesn't change the fact that they are out there. You said there were mice in the park? What would happen if the mice we fought went there recruiting, or just hunted them down like they did the rats? They would have probably killed you too. It is easy to be unaware of the world around us, the tricky part is to gain knowledge. Do you regret coming with me?"

"No," it was dark in the tunnel, but the occasional sewer grate on the ceiling allowed enough late afternoon sun to show the snake shaking its small head in disagreement. "I've had fun, I got to kill a lot of things, and I've gotten stronger. I'm going to keep evolving, and I'll become a great world serpent and fly. I don't want to be helpless against the sky again, so I'm going to follow you until I get there."

"Why do you think I can help with that?" Nero couldn't help but ask, he was a low-leveled newbie, barely starting out himself. He was really curious about where this confidence was coming from.

"Because you'll never stop. You will keep going, keep getting stronger and better. Even if somebody is lost, if they keep walking they'll eventually reach somewhere." There was a nugget of wisdom hiding in the serpent's awkward words.

"You do know that there are likely millions of outlanders like me, right?" Nero couldn't help but ask. "Medea, Claudia or Octavia, they are all much stronger than me, and I doubt they would mind taking you with them. Hell, you wouldn't have to worry about dying at all and, once they finish that translator, you'll be able to talk to them just fine. So why don't you go with them?"

Nero wasn't devaluating himself, he was just incredibly self-aware. Right now he was like all other beginner players. His advantages were his higher play time, higher than average intellect and education, as well as connections to a few influential players. There were probably thousands of other players with those same advantages. When it came to playing time, others could play twenty-four seven due to using the capsule if they were on a retirement period. There were as many people with important connections as there were powerful people. Nero was smart, he wasn't ashamed to admit that he was almost certainly more intelligent and more cunning than 95% of the population. But that remaining 5% of 22,000,000,000 was still 1,100,000,000. There were bound to be many people more clever than him playing.

Furthermore, Nero was hampered by some other factors. First of all, he lacked when it came to formal education. Just imagining what somebody with advanced knowledge of chemistry or physics could do with Medea's powers sent a shiver down his spine. He was also incredibly young, he wasn't even thirty. Other players were most likely way older and more experienced than him. It was like he was a six-year-old playing cards against a fifty-year-old, the older you were, the more tricks you have accumulated. Finally, and most damning in Nero's eyes, he was woefully ignorant about games in general. Formal education could be overcome with self-learning and dedication. Age could be combated with energy and creativity. But in a game where everybody has the same starting point, it was those who made the best use of their resources which would prosper.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Nero was slowly learning about gaming in general. But he was behind those who had spent centuries in this industry, who played professionally, who knew tonnes of tricks from other games, who analyzed data for years and poured over spreadsheets all to create their perfect character. Just the term min-max, the idea to minimize disadvantages and maximize advantages, was something that Nero had no idea even applied to games before reading about it on a forum. He had always thought of games a hobby, recreational activity for those who wanted something more interactive than books and movies while not being interested in physical activities. Nero had severely underestimated gamers and their industry. The only good thing about this was that because Gods' Nature was the first immersive virtual reality game, as opposed to an augmented reality game, and nobody had reached or even knew if there was a max level, many professional gamers were as blind as him when it came to 'endgame' content.

"Besides the fact that I don't like talking to other people, you mean?" Jorry deadpanned, shaking Nero out of his introspection. "I could ask you the same question. If you asked those girls, they could have solved this issue quickly, and we wouldn't be here. So how come you didn't?"

It was the afternoon after the trip, and the girls were hard at work finishing up the item that would allow them to imitate Beast Tongue. Nero had decided to use this opportunity to commence his investigation without telling them. But Jorry was right, those girls could probably solve this problem in half a day with little issue if Nero explained the situation to them.

"Probably for the same reason as you," Nero admitted. "I think we can do this on our own and depending on other people's strength can backfire in the long run. It is okay to use any means to accomplish a goal, but one shouldn't sacrifice long-term growth for short-term solutions."

"There you go, I do not want safety. I want to exceed my limits to continue to evolve. I won't be able to do that if I never worry about dying. I know that if I follow you, I'll probably die hundreds of times, but that is fine if you help me grow." Despite being young and shy at times, Jorry could be quite blunt when he wanted to be.

"Fair enough, I guess we'll be working together for a while then. Do you have any idea how to keep evo-"

Nero stopped talking when Jorry halted beside him and went still. This had happened a few times before. Once had been a false alarm but the other two times had been a guard approaching from out of sight. The snake remained still for a few seconds, tongue flickering in and out as he tasted the air. After a few seconds, Jorry looked Nero in the eye and nodded his little head to the left, indicating that a nearby path was where the enemy was coming from. If it were a human or a false alarm, the snake would have just said something, so this meant it was another animal. Nero tried to taste the air as well but, apart from the foul taste of the sewers that he had become used to, he couldn't notice anything different in the air.

Nero frowned, a bit fed up with his inability to match the senses of his snake companion despite theoretically possessing the same mouth, tongue, and sense of taste. He would have to investigate a way to improve it later. For now, to be safe, Nero crouched down and snuck his way to the corner of the nearby intersection. Peeking around the corner, Nero couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but he remained patient and did not move from his concealed location. His patience paid off not even a minute later.

Casually walking down the pathway of the tunnel not a hundred feet from his hiding place, illuminated by the nearby manhole cover, were a pair of rats and on their backs, with tiny needle-like swords, a couple mice were ridding. The pair did not seem to be in a hurry, and they reminded Nero of the patrolling guards he had seen a few times. They were likely doing the same thing, patrolling their territory. At the moment Nero had a few choices. He could try and follow them, but the advanced senses of the other party made him doubt whether his pitiful sneaking could really hide him for long. Besides, Nero had already spent a few hours down in these tunnels, and it was fast approaching the time he had to leave for Ground Sheer.

He could also just leave, now that he knew the mice could be found here, Nero would inevitably be able to encounter them in future if he kept looking. Nero decided to take the third option, however, to fight. This was an excellent opportunity try his new found strength against a future foe. Nodding at Jorry to get ready, Nero whispered a quick 'evolve' to deploy his claws. He wouldn't wait for the mice to get too close, they would inevitably sense him long before that, but so long as they were close enough, he could rush out and surprise them.

"What do you think the Venerable One will do tonight, Drain?" Suddenly one of the mice spoke up, its squeaky voice echoing off the walls of the tunnel.

"The same thing he does every night Blinky." The other one responded in a deeper voice. "Try and take over the world."

Nero really wanted to deadpan at the pair about the likelihood of a mouse, probably no higher than a level twenty creature or it would have evolved, taking over the world. But he held it in, waiting for a few more moments for the pair to approach.

"I want a new rat, this one is dumb," Blinky said, drawing a sigh from Drain.

"I've told you a hundred times, no new rats. The other rat group ran away, so we need to work with what we have. Just wait till we can ride birds, then you can get rid of it."

"But its dumb," Blinky whined.

"You're dumb!" Drain yelled at his companion. Nero decided that the pair were close enough and took this opportunity to dash out of his hiding place and attack the pair. He tried to not to make a sound as he rushed at the pair, hoping to get closer but it took him a few seconds to speed towards the mice, giving them the time to notice him and spur their rat mounts at him with a cry of 'enemy!'

Nero tried to kick one of the mice away, something that shouldn't have been a problem given their difference in stature, but to his surprise, the mouse/rat combo did not go flying. Instead, they merely skidded back a foot with a squeak and red -23 over their head. Despite his surprise at the resistance, Nero lashed out with his claws at the other mouse, and he managed to clip it slightly, doing five damage, but not without getting briefly stabbed by the small creature's sword. The loss was minimal, only twelve points of health, but it still stung slightly. Clearly, his improved stats had made Nero a lot less vulnerable since the last time he had faced these rat riders.

The mouse had spurred its mount back towards him, but Nero ignored it, focusing on trying to slash the closest one. The reason was Jorry, who had rushed behind him unnoticed, had finally arrived and, with a hiss, launched himself at the rat. By now the black rat snake was almost a foot and a half long, much more prominent than its foe. The rat rider barely managed to maneuver its mount out of the way of the lunging serpent but ended getting smacked by the tail and sending it skidding further away. While this was happening, Nero managed to land a direct hit on his enemy while it was distracted by Jorry's appearance. The claws passed through the leg of the mouse and continued to carve its way through the flank of the rat, taking a large chunk of flesh with it. The red number that floated over the creatures as they squeaked in pain was a whopping -58, the highest amount Nero had been able to deal so far in the game.

Missing one leg and thus unable to control the rat accurately, on top of bleeding profusely, the vermin were easy to kill with two more slashes. The fight ended up being much easier than Nero had expected. Without the elements of surprise and numbers, the mice's low defense and vitality proved no match for Nero's sharp claws. Jorry had a more difficult time of it, acting the part of the dragon to the rat rider's knight. The mouse would dart in, land a few pokes on the serpent and dash away again. The damage was minimal due to Jorry's tight skin and the sword's inability to penetrate it entirely but if it managed to keep it up the mouse had a chance of killing the snake through a death of a thousand cuts. Unfortunately, Jorry wasn't dumb enough to keep the same pattern and, during the next lunge by the rider, rather than try and bite his attacker Jorry swept out his tail and knocked at the mouse knight. With its momentum ended, Jorry managed to wrap himself around his foe and with a few applications of Bind the mouse and its mount met their ends with a final cry of 'Narf.'

The fight, if you could call it that, hadn't even lasted a minute. Nero was honestly a bit underwhelmed, expecting a much more difficult struggle.

"Well, that was easy." He couldn't help but sigh in a bit of disappointment even as Jorry was busy swallowing the bodies of both rats and riders.