Spell 25 : The Mix

From where my study table was, I could see rain pelting against the glass windows that looked out from my room into the outside world. The pitter-patter of the rain did no better to improve my mood as I looked up Aeryssya's data log from the game website.

The game had only recently released a new feature to the game, which was the NPC log. In light of the massive number of NPCs that had spawned up in the game's AI, many players find themselves unable to locate the NPC that they need to find when they log in the next day, either to turn in a quest or to buy or sell something.

All I could see from her profile was just 'Current location : Unknown'. Nobody had seen her. Nobody had heard anything about her. 

I closed my laptop in frustration and sipped my coffee in silence. 

No kidding, she was just an AI, but I could see so many human qualities in her than in so many other human beings I know combined together. In truth, I see her more as a real life person than most of my so-called 'friends' in school. Not saying that I'm turning myself over completely to the virtual world, but I can only say that it is regrettable that we cannot be the type of people that we ourselves can produce.

I received a text from Vanessa earlier this morning, requesting to meet up at a cafe near our school to discuss our next course of action in the game. For some reason, Connor and Kiry had blatantly refused to give us any of their personal contacts, only agreeing to meet up in the game itself.

I had mixed feelings when I saw the text on Whatsapp. On one hand, I was insanely pleased that she's perfectly agreeable with letting herself be seen in public with me. But yet on another hand, I was feeling a forlorn that she had mentioned nothing else in the text. I mean, I can't even call it a proper 'date'. The whole purpose of this 'meet-up' was just for work purpose only.

And judging from her 'last seen', I doubt she had even seen my reply saying that I'll be there.

I walked over to my cupboard and opened it up. Apart from the various event t-shirts that I had gotten from the school, I practically had nothing else to wear. 

I used to think that Spongebob shirt was cute, but now... Urgh.

I had a sudden idea.

Quickly, I went down to my brother's room and opened his closet. There were heaps and heaps of stylish wears inside. They all had to be branded, judging from the colours and designs. I hastily picked one with an unfamiliar brand on and tried it on.

Luckily, my brother's built was slightly bigger than mine, but with all the workout that I had been doing recently, it fitted perfectly. I opened another drawer, and inside were layers upon layers of sleek pants. I quickly picked one that matched the shirt, and closed both cupboard doors with a silent prayer of thanks.

Hopefully, he doesn't catch up on this. He really hates people using his things without telling him.

WIth everything on, I checked myself against the mirror and hastily combed my hair. 

I knew I was probably being the biggest hypocrite in the world because I keep telling myself this was not a date, but my actions have proven otherwise. But facing someone like Vanessa, logic never seemed like the proper thing to have around. 

And so, it was with a heavily-scented body, heavily gelled-up hair as well as with a heavily-loaded suitcase that I left my house. My mother had actually thought that I was my brother, and not me. My neighbours all thought that I was going to fight a law case when they saw me. Amidst all the staring and gaping, it dawned on me that I had perhaps gone a little overboard. Especially when I saw Vanessa's expression at the cafe. Her widened eyes while sucking her straw told me that I was really overdressed for the occasion.

She recovered quickly though, and began to laugh. And that laughter kept on ringing in my ears as I sat down opposite her with my cheeks all red. The smiling waitress came over and asked if I wanted anything. Her amused expression led on to show that she had caught on to Vanessa's mirth.

'A matcha latte would be fine. Thanks.' I said with an abashed expression, trying to look nowhere in particular.

'Coming right up. And if you don't mind me adding this, fine attire, sir. Your girlfriend may be amused, but I can tell deep down, she's pleased to see a fine young man like yourself gracing her presence.' The waitress said, before turning around to go back to the coffee bar.

Vanessa and I looked up at each other, and almost yelled out at the same time, 'We're not together!'

Heads turned around to look at us and we quickly looked down together at the same time, our expressions both flushed. 

Well, this turned out super awkward...

I stole a look at her. She was still sucking on her iced coffee with her cheeks still a little red. The noise I could only hear were the murmurs of conversations around us and the sucking noise that came from her straw. 

I'm the guy, so I should take the lead.

'So... Do I really look that weird?' I decided to go with the situation, and instantly regretted it. When I played this out in my mind, I did not think my voice would sound this squeakish. And furthermore, I did not expect her to look up again into my eyes.

She seemed to have recovered somewhat and said, 'well, I thought we were here on a casual date, but I did not expect you to dress like a businessman to attend your dates.' As if to mock me further, she put down her cup and leaned forwards to sniff the air. She giggled again, 'y'know, you really should dress like this more often. It suits you.'

I pushed up my glasses and looked at her. 'Really? You think so?' I asked. This was the first good look I had of her ever since entering the cafe. She had her auburn hair tied up into a sassy ponytail. She was wearing a polka-dotted blouse with those blue denim shorts that girls liked to wear nowadays. 

She merely smiled and said nothing. Her attention had turned to the suitcase I was carrying. With a start, I realised she was waiting for me to introduce its contents. 

In truth, I had done up a lot of research recently regarding the Battle of the Three Kingdoms, including the infamous conquests that we would no doubt be a part of if we participated as well as the various key figures that we had to look out for. I took out notes and pictures from my suitcase and placed them on the table. Vanessa took some at her own liberty and perused them in silence, only pausing occasionally to ask me about words she had never seen before. My matcha latte came, carried by the cheeky waitress, who looked every moment wanting to interrupt. I sent her away with a tip.

After Vanessa had put down the papers she was holding, I looked at her and asked, 'Well? What do you make of this?'

She frowned for a while, evidently deep in thought before answering.

'At the rate I think we're going, we won't have much of a chance against Wei and Wu. If they decide to team up and take on us in skirmishes, we'll be obliterated before we even know it. Our soldiers are close to 10 levels lower than the Wei or Wu soldiers, simply because they are all mere peasants.'

'So you think that we should suggest giving them training, to bring up their levels and skills?' I asked, sipping the green broth that I had ordered. I raised my eyebrows in surprise; I had no idea the coffees served here were this good. It was no wonder that this place was packed to the brim.

She called the waitress over again before answering, 'training won't be enough. I think we need something better.' The waitress came over and Vanessa ordered some sandwiches. She turned to look at me questioningly.

'Oh, and some bagels for me. Thanks.' I said. The waitress turned around again with a smile and bounced her way back to the kitchen. For some reason, her cheerfulness was off-putting when placed next to someone as perfect as Vanessa.

'Training requires time, and we need enemies for them to bring up their levels. If they die, and get revived, they lose all their experience while enemy soldiers become stronger. If this happens, we'll have a never-ending cycle of leveling up the Wei and Wu soldiers instead. No, we need stronger fighters of our own.' She continued, before taking out her phone.

'Look,' she said, showing me her phone, 'these are the members of my guild. Plus some of these other friends of mine in the school, I think we can beef up the fighting prowess of Shu. The only hard part is getting the Shu leaders to accept them. And also, how are we-' Before she finished speaking, I broke her off without looking up from her phone.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

'Wow. You really do have a lot of friends and admirers huh.'

She just sat there, transfixed on the spot. I could feel her gaze burning into me. I think what I had just commented without thinking had made things awkward again, and instantly regretted saying it again.

This time however, it was she who broke the silence.

And her words were spoken so shyly that I was taken aback and I could not resist the urge to look at her.

'Yeah, I do get a lot of attention from these guys in the school, but d'you know something? They all pretty much look the same to me. Or at least they give me the same kind of vibes that really do not set them apart.' She sighs a little, before putting down her phone and leaning back in her chair. 

'Everyone looks up to me simply because they want to make use of me somehow. I've got excellent grades, my dad's rich and I know, at least based on all the flattery I receive on a daily basis, that I am pretty somewhat. All these combined together has given me fame and attention in school in a way that I had never wished for. You want to know why someone like myself immerse myself so deeply in gaming? You want to know why I chose to be a knight, instead of some other feminine role in RoyalRoad?'

She looked so serious that I had to nod my head and said nothing. She gave another sigh and rested her head on her palm.

'Because I want to escape this reality that I am trapped in. Everyone expects me to be famous and popular someday, something which I dread and fear constantly. That's why I prefer the life I lead in RoyalRoad. WIth you, Benedict, Keith and Jay as well as with Dennis. You guys are so fun to be with; not all like the suffocating lifestyle that I have to lead in reality. Being with you guys is like freedom; I don't have to care about my image at all. I can do what I want, and not care about anything at all when I'm with you guys.' She smiled a little as she looked into space.

I continued to drink my coffee in silence as I could not believe my luck. The 5-time voted 'Prettiest Girl' in the school, Vanessa, was actually confiding her genuine thoughts to me, an unpopular twat that belongs to the drains in the very same school?

In truth, I could empathize a little with all that she had said, but being in a completely different position as her, I knew that I could never fully comprehend the kind of life she's really leading, but that did not make me any less sympathetic; I gave her a smile and said, 'don't worry; if ever one day you do something unglamourous and your fame crashes to zilt, remember you still have us.'

She laughed softly, and beamed. 'Thank you, Julius. I really like being with you. It's been fun knowing you.' 

At that, I could feel my heart stop. For like a second. 

And so, for the rest of the afternoon, we talked about other things. Like how Kiry and Connor must be dating or something; their relationship in a suspiciously close situation. Like how Aeryssya had been a great mentor and help to me in the game.

It was about 4 in the afternoon before we decided to leave the place. The little door chimed as I pushed it open to let Vanessa through. It was still cold and windy after the rain, the petrichor permeated our noses as we walked side by side along the pavement. In a way I was thankful I was in the huffy shirt and pants; at least it was keeping me warm.

Though Vanessa's thighs were exposed, she did not complain about the cold one bit. We reached the pedestrian crossing and she stopped there, turning to look at me.

'Well, it's still early before dinner. Wanna catch a movie? She asked, looking at the expensive watch on her wrist. 

'Movie?' I asked, utterly flabbergasted that she actually suggested such a thing.

'Yeah. How about that new Spongebob animation? Man, I really love Spongebob. You wanna watch it with me?'

'Sure! Let's go then!' I said, silently cursing myself for putting away that Spongebob shirt that I had. 

Well, no matter. I could still wear it the next time I see her...

I reached home at about 8pm, just in time for dinner. The movie was incredible; for every moment in the movie, Vanessa and I were reliving our childhood memories as our beloved cartoon character Spongebob and his friends did their epic moments on the movie screen. There were many occasions that I had wanted to grab her hand in the movie and laugh and cheered along with her, but I did not want to push my luck. This was afterall my first date with her.

After dinner, I immediately logged into RoyalRoad, and just in time to see the Shu forces had already packed up their belongings. I asked around the troops, but they knew nothing of what was going on. One of them pointed east, where they said they had last saw their commanders. I summoned my horse, and rode swiftly, looking for Zhao Yun or Pang Tong.

Sure enough, they were still locked together, in deep discussion over what appeared to be a missive of some sort. They saw me coming and greeted me. I saluted them in return.

'What's going on?' I asked, looking at the missive as Pang Tong stowed it away.

'We've got new orders', said Zhao Yun as he stowed his spear behind him, 'we're to head south, where we are to regroup with one of our lord's sworn brother, who is also one of Shu's finest general, Guan Yu. Most of Shu's generals and leaders are in disarray and scattered because of the mysterious curse that has befallen us. When they die, they appear in another location and have no recollection prior to their deaths. We have to find and help them.'

'Excuse me. I have to speak to the junior commanders.' He continued, before rushing off.

Pang Tong looked at me with an apologetic expression. I knew what he was going to say next, but I put my hand on his shoulder, shaking my head and putting on a smile. He returned the pat and walked off as well, sighing as he did so.

As I watched, the soldiers were all rushing to the center of the camp, where they were about to be briefed. I myself sighed, and followed behind them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The camp was in ruins. Flames licked the air as tents continued to burn and bodies littered the ground in masses. There was not a sound around except for the cackle of burning firewood. The Wu camp had became a graveyard for the soldiers that it had previously housed. 

As the body count amounted to a number of close to 2,000, the still bodies of the two Wu generals that led this camp, namely Huang Gai and Gan Ning, laid close to each other. Their horrified expressions had not left their faces as they lay unmoving next to a sitting form of a lean Night Elf, who was evidently shaking a little. She was not dead, but in a matter of speaking, she was not truly alive either.

In fact, when she lifted her head to look into the distance, her face was parted into two sides. One still held her perfect visage of lavender skin and eyes that shone like the moon. The other half of her face was also beautiful, but in a way that resembled death in a cold and mystifying way. She stood up slowly, her bow hung across her shoulders. 

As half of her face began to transform back into her Night Elf self, she whispered to herself.

The wind carried her words back to herself as she turned and walked away, away from the direction of where the Shu forces were marching towards.

'They must not know. All of them, especially my beloved Crow, must not know that the Green Ranger is half-Night Elf and... Half-Undead.'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Chapter?

Sorry that this chapter took so long to come out! I've been busy recently with work and other matters, and therefore did not really had time to write. 

But anyway, I've finally found time to continue the chapter! Hope you guys like it! :)