So far, our adventurers have escaped Eldenhaven! However, the tutorial is not over because every tutorial needs a final boss! I wonder what they will encounter once they reach Silvergate, but they are fatigued and need to rest for now.

“I don’t want to go to Silvergate,” Brett says as they gallop, “Thalia told me it’s dangerous, full of perils.”

Cenvin, who had been woken by Durand shortly after they made their escape, chuckles and responds with a threatening tone.

“You’re coming with us, bud. Deal with-”

Durand swings at Cenvin with his longsword but misses.

“Brett is a friend! He is under my care, so you will consider his opinion,” he whispers to Cenvin, “you don’t want his loyalty to wane, eh? If you

don’t mess with him, he won’t backstab us. NPC behavior.”

Cenvin nods in understanding. Durand turns to a confused Brett.

“You can stay outside the gate, watch our stuff,” he assures. Brett smiles and nods.

After a while, the weary riders dismount their horses and begin to set up camp. Brett offers to make a campfire while Durand and Cenvin go into the woods to hunt for something to eat. Cenvin initially doubted going against Thalia’s advice and trekking into the woods, but his hunger and

Durand eventually persuaded him.

“It’s going to be fine,” Durand says as they shuffle through the dense vegetation. Cenvin seems to be nervous.

“Yeah. You’re going to stay next to me the whole time and we will not get lost.”

Durand’s voice loses its body as trees cover the moonlight, “Don’t kill yourself over it! Just get some squirrels and we’ll have dinner.”

“Yeah…” Cenvin whispers as he tries to find his way with his hands, “Durand? You still there?”

“Yes. Be quiet, you’re going to scare all the animals away.”

They stealthily find their way through the woods. After a few minutes, Cenvin asks again, “Still there?”

“Of course, now shut up.”

“Hey Diem, can I have some night vision?” Nearby, Durand scoffs.

No lol.

“You have to ask God to give you cheats?”

“Shut up, it was worth a try.”

Durand starts shouting but his voice gets muffled. Sounds of a struggle can be heard, but it slowly melts into the deadly darkness of the forest.

“Durand?”

“I’m good,” Durand says as he attempts to stand up, “Something attacked me, but it was feeble.”

Lighting a torch, Cenvin casts his gaze on a black bunny, almost blending in with the dark environment. Durand kicks it into a boulder. It bounces off the rock and leaves a slimy dark residue on it.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I don’t think I wanna eat this thing,” Cenvin comments.

Abruptly, Durand shouts, “Behind you!”

Cenvin hastily turns around, swinging his torch and catching another bunny in midair. It falls to the ground and he finishes it off with a shortsword. Even Durand by now seems fearful.

“Let’s get outta here!”

“I can’t agree more,” Durand says as he takes off in the general direction of the road. Cenvin follows swiftly.

So, Brett, how’s your day been?

“Couldn’t be worse, thanks to you,” Brett mutters. “When are they coming back anyway? It’s been three hours.”

He points at the turkey roasting on the cackling campfire.

“You put that there, didn’t you? I blink and boom, miraculous turkey. They don’t even exist in these parts.”

Woah, NPCs had never talked back to me before. Gotta fix that.

“Wow! A turkey just launched itself onto a stick and roasted itself! How nice of it to provide us with dinner!” Brett exclaims.

That’s much better!

“BRETT!” A voice as hoarse as sandpaper blows through the air. Durand and Cenvin come crashing out of the woods, breathless. Cenvin seems particularly furious.

“Thank the lords! You know what we had to evade in there? Wraiths! Spectrals! Dark, shadowy cursed bunnies! WE KILLED SO MANY OF THEM MY CLOTHES ARE INK-BLACK! TALK ABOUT HYGIENE!”

“Turkey!” Pushing the fuming Cenvin aside, Durand walks next to the fire and sits, reaching out his hand for warmth. He gives Brett a proud look. “Did you catch it while we’re gone?”

Staring into the abyss, Brett nodded. He makes eye contact with me. Good job!

“What a squire!” Durand laughs. “Better than Cenvin! Hey, did you hear that? An NPC’s better than you!”

“Wait until I level up,” Cenvin groans, messaging his cramped legs. He looks at the roasting meat, the smell of food coming into his nostrils.

“This turkey is cooked now, right?” He tears a piece directly from the body and begins chewing. “Could use more salt, but I’ll take anything.”

Without another word, the three begin a very late dinner. They eat ravenously as if the unseasoned, barely cooked meat were some dish from a king’s feast. It’s making me hungry. Hold on, be right back…

…made myself some instant noodles! Anyway, have they finished their meal yet? They’re talking about something; let’s zoom in.

Bellies full, Cenvin lies in a half-sleeping position, picking his teeth with a sharp bone. He had just stabbed his tongue with it accidentally and wasn’t in a sociable mood. Durand sneaks a peek at him, which he caught.

“Did you always tend to go into comas?”

“Uh, no? It’s very weird to me too.”

Brett furrows his brows.

“Maybe it’s a dormant disease in you that has finally woken?” He offers. Cenvin waves that thought away.

“Nah, that’s stupid!”

“Or perchance-” Brett started again, but Cenvin cut him off.

“Why is this all about me? You never told us your backstory, why don’t you do it now? We can’t fully trust you unless you talk, eh?”

Brett sighs and cups his head. Durand did not react. He wants to hear it too. Finally, under the silent peer pressure, Brett bends, albeit a bit unwillingly.

“Let’s see… I was born in Italica City. Two days after my birth, my family was cut off from each other. I lost both of my parents and my older sister. Why? You know, the war and everything. My aunt carried me out of the city. We lived on the outskirts of a small town and worked random labor for a living. Everything was going great, and then it became hell.

“Invisible monsters. I woke up one day to my aunt clawing at a bush outside. She had been driven crazy and she threw herself to poison ivy. It was a special kind, a kind that decayed your flesh as fast as a spider would crawl on its webs. I ran through town, seeing people getting smashed by an invisible force, witnessing a child eat his father alive- he was dead too, just some cruel entity playing a puppet.

“I escaped. I went for over a month without food. I was really at the end of my rope when you kind sirs found me. I can’t be more grateful,” he bows.

“Interesting, about the same of what you told me,” Durand observes, “but one new thing. You never told me you had a sister.”

“I didn’t know I had an older sister!” replied Brett. “She told me herself, or something like that. It just appeared in my mind.”

Cenvin claps his hands.

“Thalia Bright!”

Brett nods sheepishly. Cenvin, initially happy for Brett, then remembers what they saw happened to her.

“I’m sorry that you didn’t have a longer reunion.”

Brett laughs hoarsely.

“Can we just sleep now?”

Cenvin and Durand nod and begin making a comfortable place to sleep. They soon fall into a deep slumber. Actually, I think Cenvin fell into a coma.

Cough, cough, ahem.

TO CENVIN - THE ABILITY OF POCKET DIMENSION, YOU CAN ENTER A POCKET DIMENSION AND TRANSPORT ANYTHING INTO IT. THE ONLY LIMIT IS YOUR MENTAL ENDURANCE.

TO DURAND - THE ABILITY TO CHANGE STATES OF MATTER, YOU CAN CHANGE ANY MATTER INTO THREE STATES: GAS, LIQUID,

AND SOLID. IT IS NOT PERMANENT AND YOU CAN ONLY CHANGE A SMALL AREA OF SPACE.

TO LENNY - oh wait I forgot, he’s not here yet. Oh well!

The next day, an arching silver gate rises amongst the trees.