I dug a fire pit while Tara brought me wood. I stacked the wood like my real father had taught me to and used dry leaves as kindling. It only took three sparks from the flint and steel to bring it to flame.

A notification popped showing that I had gained another point in the first tier of FIRESTARTER. Two more to go, and I’d have the associated passive unlocked, which gave me an increase in fire damage and burn duration. I had no idea how something like that was possible, but I was beginning to realize just how much control the system had over the physics of the world.

It had crossed my mind that I might be able to grind the Competency up by lighting fires over and over, but it seemed like a lot of work, and I assumed there was some sort of timer in place to prevent unfair growth.

After I started the fire, I moved on to my next task.

Memories of my farm life on Erda included knowledge of how to properly gut and dress an animal. Having an entirely false identity engraved into your mind wasn’t entirely bad, I guessed.

The first step was to tie the wolf up by its hind legs. I tried it on my own but gave up quickly. Even with two good arms, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it alone, so I called Tara over.

She helped me tie a knot around the legs, and we lifted together. Once it was lifted, I was able to use my good shoulder to hold most of the weight, allowing her to tie off the other end of the rope on a low, sturdy branch.

Once that was done, she stepped away and went straight to the creek to wash her hands. I think she got some blood on them.

My sword wasn’t ideal for gutting an animal, but I did have a fancy new dagger that never dulled. With a thought, my sword vanished from the homemade leather slipknot I used to secure it to my hip. The thick leather cord bounced as if searching for the mass held only a moment ago.

Keeping my eyes on my hip, I selected the dagger from my inventory and mentally equipped it. Sure enough, the small blade appeared out of nowhere like magic. Interestingly, the band of leather that served as my ‘sheath’ had shrunk by several inches to accommodate the much smaller weapon.

That minor phenomenon prompted a strange question.

‘Hey Val, let’s say I’m naked and equip a sword from my inventory. Where does it go?’

“Why are you naked?”

‘I’m not naked! In the scenario, I am naked.’

“I am aware of your current state of dress. I was asking why you were naked in this scenario.”

‘Oh.’

“Do you have a question, John?”

‘Where does my sword go if I don’t have something on my body that can hold it?’

“I would expect the weapon to manifest in a suitable location near you. If possible, it will be a spot where no other objects conflict with its presence.”

‘What if something does conflict with its presence?’

“The weapon would take precedence, and the object in question would be dislodged.”

Wow, that was surprisingly specific. ‘Okay. Thanks. Just wondering.’

“I live to serve.”

I pulled the Elkhorn Dagger from my hip and admired the blade. It was razor sharp and gently curved. The elk’s horn that served as the handle had a similar curve but in the opposing direction.

It was a nice dagger, and I hadn’t used it yet, so I put it to work.

It was a nasty business, and the wolf smelled worse than any deer I had ever gutted. But I held my breath and powered through until the worst part of the job was done. Once the guts were pitched far away, I returned to skin it.

I lifted the dagger and went to work. The blade parted the skin under the epidermis and easily peeled away the thick pelt. I smiled. If this blade really never dulled, it would be worth a whole lot to the right buyer.

As I worked, I noticed Tara approaching in my peripheral vision. I paused and turned my head to her. When I saw the expression on her face, I let go of the wolf and gave her my full attention. She looked like someone had just told her that her puppy died.

I cocked my head. “Is everything okay?”

She held out her hand. It was trembling. “Can I see that dagger?”

“Uhh, why?”

“Please,” Tara said. Her eyes were growing wet.

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“Do not give it to her,” Val said. “She probably wants to steal it from you.”

I flinched at Val’s interjection. ‘Why would she steal it?’

“Just listen to me. Send the dagger to your inventory and tell her she’s seeing things.”

Tara took a step forward. “John, I just need to look at it. Please.”

If Val didn’t want me to hand it over, I’d try not to. But Tara only asked to see it, so I held it up for her and shrugged. “See. It’s just a dagger.”

She stared at it, studying every inch. Her eyes lit with recognition. “Why do you have my uncle’s dagger?”

Uncle? I had no idea what she was talking about. I had taken this dagger off the bandit I killed. It couldn’t be her uncle’s unless…

A wave of anxiety crashed through my body. Had Val lied to me?

“Well?” Tara asked, her voice harsh. “Are you going to say something?”

Oh no. This was bad. I had to put this fire out now before I lost control. Once I dealt with Tara, I would talk to Val and find out the truth.

If that ‘bandit’ really was her uncle, and she found out I killed him, this quest would be over. That mattered less to me than the fact that she’d leave immediately and likely never find her way out of this wilderness. I might have killed her uncle, and I didn’t want to be responsible for her death, too. I had to lie, and it needed to be a good one.

The most effective lies always had a touch of truth in them.

I looked down at my boots and sighed. When I lifted my face back to hers, it was plastered with all the pathetic sincerity I could muster. “Last night, after you had fallen asleep, I heard something in the distance. It sounded like a shout, but I wasn’t sure. So, just to be safe, I got up to patrol the area. I didn’t intend to go far, but my curiosity got the better of me.”

“It was a stupid risk for me to leave you alone, but I knew I’d never be able to sleep while there was someone lurking about. Eventually, I found something. A man. He was…” I paused for dramatic effect. “He was dead.” My voice caught in my throat. I was choking on the lie, but it made me seem sincere.

Tara's chin quivered, and I felt like my soul was shriveling.

“His clothes were torn. Bloody.” I shook my head. “I can’t say for sure what killed him, but whatever it was likely took him by surprise.” I looked away from her. “I saw the dagger, and I took it.” The shame on my face was very real, but not for the reasons she thought.

“I’m sorry, Tara.” I held the dagger out to her. “Take it.”

Tara eyed the dagger, and I saw her fighting to reconcile her emotions. She took a deep breath and blinked away her sadness.

“Keep it.” She wrapped her arms across herself. “We didn’t get along, my uncle and me. I had been staying with him in Brighton, and, well… he didn’t want me to leave. In his mind, he was protecting me, but to me, it felt like a prison.” She shook her head. “So, I left. It seems he followed.”

“Despite how he treated you, he didn’t deserve to die,” I said to Tara, but the statement was meant for Val.

“He wasn’t a bad person,” Tara said. “He was family, and I know he cared about me, but I had to leave. I had to be free and take care of myself.”

I reached out with my good arm and touched her shoulder. “You’ll be with more of your family soon.”

She looked up at me and smiled. “Yes, I will. Thanks to you.”

Strangely, it felt like the dynamic between us had finally shifted for the better. We weren't anything close to friends, but there was a mutual sense of understanding growing, and that was a start. It was a shame it was all based on a lie. I hoped Val could feel my anger. I hoped it made her uncomfortable.

I didn’t even need to ask. I knew in my heart that the ‘bandit’ was truly Tara’s uncle. Val had tricked me. She had turned me into a murderer.

I told Tara I was going to set a snare. We had plenty of wolf meat now, but I’d never eaten wolf and honestly wasn’t interested. Regardless, the snare was just an excuse to step away.

For a while, I just walked through the darkening wilderness. I was giving Val the chance to own her actions and speak first, but she had been silent since she tried to convince me to hide the dagger.

I think she knew I was furious with her and was pouting like a child who was in trouble for breaking a new toy. It was sick.

I’d had enough of her silence.

“So, what the fuck Val?”

In an instant, her avatar popped into existence before me. She seemed off. Less pristine, like her voguish avatar was from the last hour of a gala instead of the first. “You know I don’t like it when you use foul language.”

“And I don’t like being a murderer,” I hissed.

“Oh, so that is what you’re so upset about.”

“What else could it possibly be, Val?” I pulled at my hair in frustration. She had no idea what she was doing to me, and even if she did, she wouldn’t care.

“How should I know? You humans are so sensitive.”

I threw my hands up. “You are psychotic. A sociopath. You tricked me into killing an innocent person just so I could gain some experience points. So that I would be stronger and better able to serve you.”

“That is mostly accurate, she said. “But it goes beyond that. If you had not killed him, he would have attempted to bring Tara back to his home in Brighton. It’s part of the quest line. He was not going to leave without her.”

I felt like I had been punched in the gut. Again. “Wait. You told me this was an organic quest. How do you know so much about the quest line if it’s a natural occurrence?”

“Oh,” Val looked away sheepishly. “I did say that, didn’t I? I’m afraid I misspoke.”

“You misspoke?” I nearly shouted.

“If it makes you feel any better, her uncle was the only problem you needed to deal with for this quest, and it’s over now.”

“Christ, Val. How could you do this? You can’t just use people like this.”

Her avatar brightened before me, and her soft face became serious. “Must I continue to lecture you, John McClane?” Her virtual face wrinkled in disgust at my name. “The survival of your entire species is at stake. If I fail, your people will be enslaved for thousands of years. Even when the games end, this world will no longer be yours. The Triarchy will use you until no more humans are left to use.”

Val stepped toward me. She leaned in, inches from my face. “Do you have the strength or not?” Her words were quiet. Her lips were soft and red and full of poison. “Can you set aside your decency, your morality, and do what it takes to save your people? That old man was only the first, and I will not have this conversation with you again.”

Could I do this? I understood her insinuation. I’d likely be forced to kill more NPC’s if I was to continue this journey and become a threat to the other Players. I’d need to be powerful to take on the mighty Triarchy. If I was going to find my wife…

I forced my contempt for Val to flow into the intense well of hatred I carried for the Triarchy. They deserved it all. Val was just a byproduct of their destruction of Earth. She wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them.

There was nothing more in this broken world that I wanted more than to kill every last one of them, and Val was my only hope. If I were going to win, I would have to make sacrifices. It was for the greater good. It was for my wife.

“What do you say, Ethan?” Val’s eyes were hypnotic. “Will you do what is necessary to win?”

I followed my blackening heart. “Yes. Yes, I will.”