The wild beast roared in the distance, freezing the player party in fear.

Claire quickly shook off the effects and mobilized her group. "START SHOOTING, VAIL!" she yelled.

The elven ranger started unloading her quiver of arrows at the fast approaching lion.

"Protect us, Johan!" Claire commanded.

The human paladin quickly stepped in front of his comrades and held up his shield. He had doubts as to whether the shield would hold up against a brutal swipe from the powerful lion. After Johan cast a personal blessing, the brave warrior readied his sword.

"Deloira~," the words died on the leader's lips as she observed the thief silently moving behind the lion, while the predator was distracted by the hail of arrows.

The enraged lion closed the distance with its prey and leaped at the paladin!

Johan was too encumbered by his steel plate armor to move out of the lion's path; he soon found himself under the full weight of the lion! When the vicious beast tried to bite down on his head, the paladin used the pommel of his long sword and slammed on the lion's nose to force the head back.

Suddenly, the lion roared in pain, as Deloira's backstab scored a direct hit on its thick neck.

With the momentum swinging in favor of the players, the party pressed their assault against the beast until its health points finally dropped to zero.

The lion took its last breath and its body slumped on top of the paladin.

The other party members tried to push and roll the body off their comrade. It took several precious minutes to accomplish the task. Thankfully, the lion was hunting alone and its pride did not appear.

Johan cocked his head, as if hearing a sound in the distance. He sighed and looked sheepishly at the party. "My alarm clock just went off. I have to tuck my kids in to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow." The paladin quickly logged off the server.

"We did good today," Claire praised her party. "Let's continue tomorrow." She logged off as well.

The other party members quickly left the server, leaving behind the already forgotten body of the lion.

The lion opened its eyes slightly and looked around, while remaining still. Seeing no player was in the vicinity, the beast got off the ground as its health was completely restored.

"How long do I have to keep this up?" It complained out loud.

A black sparrow left its perch from an overlooking branch and landed on the lion's head. "Patience, Ji'trg."

"Patience my eye, Somt'ew. You're not the one being hacked to death by these stupid humans in their silly games," Ji'trg growled.

A brown hare hopped up to the lion. "This is our mission; we must interact in order to open communication and develop an understanding with these Earthlings," it said.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"But that doesn't mean I have to be the one to interact with them, Lji'cx!" Ji'trg roared in frustration.

"We drew lot. You lost. Get over it," Lij'cx replied smugly.

"There must be a better way to open communications with Earthlings, though," Somt'ew noted.

"And create mass hysteria amongst these humans? Our high command will never allow it!" Lij'cx replied. "These humans have spent many of their Earth years sending signals into space. Our drone ships picked up these signals while exploring this so-called 'solar system,' and our investigators started downloading all the available movies, books, and music to understand how these humans would react to the existence of 'aliens' like us. Suffice to say, our high command was horrified. Many of our Agh-meoi wanted to erase the drone logs and pretend that we never encountered these technologically backward, psychotic Earthlings. However, another group decided to give these humans another chance, by slowly infiltrating human media and paving the road for a 'first contact' with humanity. In fact, the three of us have received great honor in being among the first Andromedians to interact directly with Earthlings."

"Look, I'm getting tired of interacting with the humans in their virtual reality games. If you feel so ‘honored,’ then switch places with me for the next game," Ji'trg pleaded.

The bird and hare looked at each other.

Finally, Somt'ew relented. "I'll play the lion next time," it volunteered.

#

[Meanwhile, at Earth Defense Force Headquarters in Roswell, New Mexico.]

A middle-aged officer hovered behind the soldier's station. "Status report?"

"Uh, yes sir!" the young soldier snapped off a crisp salute to his superior. "Company D5a1 engaged with the Andromedians inside Server Alpha8Z. The team has confirmed that the aliens remain in captivity inside the server," he reported.

"Very good, private," the captain nodded and left the station. EDF will continue to fool the Andromedians for as long as possible. And if those aliens ever tried to leave, they will be summarily executed.

#

[Meanwhile, at Centaurian Forward Base on the Far Side of the Moon.]

"Status report?" the large purple slime shaked.

"The Andromedians are still alive, but remain in captivity at the human base in Roswell, Exalted One," the small, yellow colored slime quivered.

"If the foolish humans end the existence of those Andromedians, then we will be permitted to send our fleet down to destroy Earth under Article 31B9e of the Charter of the Galactic Union,” the large slime shaked happily. After the humans are destroyed, Centaurians will claim Earth as its permanent base in this part of the universe.