To Thomas, Seras was a close friend, and like them she was a social outcast: someone from the old world of Earth.

Their bond was not romantic but purely stemmed from a mutual low tolerance for bullshit and their subtle disagreements with society. They both felt that everything was in some way pointless: the constant social comparisons; the number of random assholes that seemed to appear from nowhere; people trying to act important; being political to the point of losing their own identity; or just the idea that drinking copious amounts of alcohol was a good way to end a normal week.

They didn’t fit in with society, and in that way they understood each other. More than anything, it made them enjoy each other’s company.

Seras grabbed a drink and Robert mindfully kept his eye on his as Thomas sipped at water.

“So, how are you finding Snowball?” Seras asked.

“Well, we died, got infected by wolves and then found a pub. Which honestly, is pretty much like what happened when we took shrooms in Ireland. But, you know…less sheep.”

Seras laughed. Her voice sounded like it had always sounded, and it brought Robert and Thomas a warm feeling like home.

“You know, the guards said they saw the weirdest, blood-covered, half-burnt guys walking up to the gate. And then saw one of them passed out in the centre pool.”

Robert smirked into his drink. Seras chuckled, genuinely delighted. “I don’t know why, but I knew it had to be you guys.”

The others in the bar appeared to have left, and the bartender was putting out the luminous crystals that lit up the space.

"Put the glasses on the side when you're finished," the bartender said to Seras, and she gave a thumbs up in return.

When the tavern was finally empty of strangers, Seras looked at her two companions with a glum expression.

“So… this place. It’s not as sophisticated but this new world. It’s better than what we left behind.”

Robert and Thomas shuffled a bit, unsure how to address what ahe said.

“We don’t remember much.”

“You don’t what?”

“Our memories, its like a cloud, if we try to remember anything, it gets painful.”

There was a brief pause, silence between the group.

“its best you don’t remember for now,” Seras stated.

“What happened?”

“Bad things.”

“This is a fresh start. A way to get away from it all, you remember a bit of the old world, even before things kicked off you never liked it. We never liked it.”

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

“I guess, but what about the people we left behind?”

“There are no people. I don’t mean that because we didn’t have anyone back there, but now… I know it might not seem like it, but you are better off not remembering.”

There was a darkness behind Seras eyes, as if she was holding a burden that she new realised she would have to on her own as she tried to hold things together.

Thomas pouted, then, ignoring him, turned back to Seras. “Seriously though, we were killed by the first thing we met, then nearly died on our way here, and you're already a captain?”

“Twice,” Robert added.

Thomas turned to him. "Twice?"

"Nearly died twice. The dogs attacked again when you slept.”

Thomas put a hand through his hair as he remembered seeing the new wolf corpses when he woke up.

“Turns out fire attracts monsters at night. I was up for hours trying to fend off the wolves, and they came pretty close to getting me.”

“Thanks, and sorry…for drinking too much." He took another sip of his water, silently resolving never to drink again.

“Well, I did get us killed by goblins. And shot fire into your open wound," Robert replied casually.

Seras rubbed her hand over her face in exasperation. "What the hell, guys? I’ve only died twice and I’ve been here for months before you."

“What?” Thomas looked at her, trying to asses her stats and see how far off he was. They were partied up, and so he could look through the interface when everything fizzled together.

Name: Seras Status: Tipsy

Level: 8, Physical average (18) Mental average (9)

Race: Human (Earth)

Title: Captain

“Killed by the fucking goblins,” she stated glumly. It didn’t sound like she was insulting them — more that she had a deep-seated hatred for the creatures.

“Goblins are the worst scum this world has,” she added.

Thomas took another sip of water. He didn’t feel that much anger towards them, even though they had killed him. Still, as he thought about it, he could imagine the feeling of their blade cutting into his neck.

”Well, I guess we know what we’re doing tomorrow,” Seras declared, earning a look of confusion from the other two.

“We will get your revenge!” She exclaimed.

“We just got out, and you want to send us back?” Thomas asked.

“Not you, all of us. We can go together.” She took a sip from her beer.

Robert and Thomas looked at each other and back to her. They realised it would probably count as work for the guards, and knew it was better than picking berries in the forest.

“I’m game,” Robert said, creating a small puff of fire In his right hand. A smile from Seras was illuminated in the fire.

“Yeah, that sounds…great”, Thomas replied with a half-hearted smile. Privately, he wasn’t sure if killing was what he wanted to do, but if no one else had these abilities he definitely had an advantage in it.

“Great. You can stay at mine, we’ll sort everything else in the morning.”

Seras took them down the street and into one of the winding alleyways. They went into a tall building illuminated inside by candlelight. As they walked in, they got a nod from the person at the door and an awkward look from Seras. Fuchsia curtains were scattered overhead, and scantily dressed women seemed to greet anyone who came in. For the group, however, they just smiled and nodded at them as Seras lead them through.

They had entered a brothel, apparently Seras had her respawn point set in a cave system underneath. She had bought a section of the establishment with her earnings and now had a comfortable way to hide what happened after she died. Apparently within the guards she had a reputation of holding of overwhelming odds and making it to the brothel before they had returned.

As they stepped further in, a large man with an unbuttoned shirt was strolling through the corridor. His pleased expression quickly grew fearful when he saw Seras. He sprinted away. Seras blew a strand of hair off her face and grimaced. They carried on through the surprisingly large building and found a couple of rooms just past a dining hall, seemingly more or less shut off from the rest of the brothel.

“You can sleep in this room, both of you. I’ll be in the one next to it…But please, clean yourselves up before you go to bed.” She pointed to a bath on the other side of the room.

“See you in the morning,” Robert said, smirking at Seras.

“Rest now, for tomorrow we hunt!” She smiled at them from the doorway before leaving.

As they got into bed, they began to discuss the day that had passed, but a bang reverberated on the wall from the room next door.

“Go to bed,” shouted the muffled voice of Seras.

They quietened down.

“We should probabl-“, A sword was plunged through the wall. The blade shone next to Thomas’s head. After that, it was a silent night.