"So," the knight looked at the teenager as he stood at the peak of the mountain. "Does your mother agree to the trip?'

Elizabeth hummed as she felt some of the snow beneath her soak her feet. She had told the man about her plan, and he'd been pretty happy for her. Everyone had been, if she was being honest. It was clear that everyone felt she needed to detach herself to spend time with her mother. She smiled, feeling grateful for the people she had met in the game—even the annoying jerks.

Therapy had also been helping her with all of these revelations. She was embarrassed to admit she'd not been the nicest to the older woman she'd been paired with. Even with the measurements the others gave her, she still had her guard up. Assuming the worst of every word uttered by the stranger. It took some time for her to become comfortable enough to bother to listen.

When she did, the teenager found that therapy wasn't like it was depicted on television. You didn't lay on a bed in a bland room baring your soul to someone waiting for their check. You instead had to face parts of yourself that were pretty ugly and left you feeling like you'd been a dummy for years. Then you'd realize everyone was a dummy and you all needed to chill out.

She appreciated that part.

"Yeah. We're going to do it before I go off to college." She said as a large eagle swooped down in the air.

It flew past with the animal looking realistic and perfectly 3D. Despite becoming a veteran player, the brunette continued to be amazed by aspects of Frozen Hearts. The technology was just rapidly advancing around her, and she didn't know how to keep up. The only answer she could come up with was to dip her feet directly into the inner workings of the snowy world.

Elizabeth spared the man a glance and confessed to him. "The school I chose has a program for students who want to work in the entertainment industry, and the developers of Frozen Hearts are involved in it."

Jake's eyes grew big, and he sputtered. 'Wait? I had no idea you wanted to work in game development."

The girl had to admit that she hadn't thought she'd want to either. She wasn't sure she did, but what she was sure of was that she wanted to learn. The battle with the Venus flytrap had left her feeling side effects not only mentally but physically. It left her to think deeply about everything she'd experienced and had participated in.

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With each new thought came a new question she wanted answered. She felt like the only way to find out more about it was to go to the source. So, after some hard inner battles, she decided to take a leap of faith. She would use her academic goals in tandem with her advancing curiosity to learn more about her newfound friendships.

Online friendships weren't unheard of, and neither were friendships in the virtual world as society grew more futuristic. However, that didn't mean that newer games with hyper-realistic graphics and sensations didn't bring up heavy discussion in the masses. Where the right for these games to become so stimulating came into debate time and time again.

Especially when it came to the worlds as detailed and focused on making the player feel at home like Frozen Hearts did. Here they were, standing on a mountain, feeling the cold wind touch their skin and the snow sits underneath their feet. Elizabeth struggled sometimes to remember that she was just in a puddle of code working overtime. It was tantalizing.

"It's more so I'd like to work on the creative side. I'm too impatient to code an entire place like this. But I'd love to know how it all is crafted. What models were used, who created what character, those sorts of things." She explained bashfully.

The knight laughed and had a crooked grin on his face. "I understand that. But are you sure this isn't a rash decision?"

Elizabeth shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. She knew that this was kind of coming out of nowhere, but to the teenager, it had always been there. She'd always been someone who wanted to explore the world. To learn new things about her interests and what made her tick a certain way.

It was just now she was leaving her cocoon and entering the world in full. It wouldn't be easy, and she knew that the college assignments would be hell. But she was ready for it. She had friends by her side, and her mother finally got what she was doing when she logged in. Elizabeth felt more sure of herself than ever before. She was ready to do this even if she failed.

"If anyone could join the team behind this place, it would be you." Jake got up from where he was and cracked his neck.

He gestured for her to follow him back to the guild house. The teenager knew that the others would be overjoyed to hear that she had decided what she was doing with her life. They'd all been at various levels of support and had encouraged her in their little ways. She was incredibly grateful to have them as a part of her life, even if it was only as gaming buddies.

The brunette felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, and she could finally exhale. She took one final look at the land beneath the mountain's peak and took in the steepness of the waves that crashed below. The heavy smell of salt mixed with the wetness of mud filled the air. She sniffled, rubbed at her nose, and turned back to her friend.

"I heard you guys talking about a new game event. Can I join you?"