That was how I began my journey with two beautiful women. Of course, I was the only other person they met in The World. Sasha and Nelly didn’t know each other before they started playing either. The way they explained it, they met on the road and headed straight to town, only stopping to fight monsters they saw on the way. That meant I probably had several hours’ head start on them.

They quickly grew frustrated with me stopping to smash rocks. It wasn’t until they saw the telltale glow of a level-up that they understood.

Congratulations! You have reached level 11!

“Did you just level up?” Sasha asked. “I thought you were just trying to increase the level of your rock-smashing skill. Is that really a mining class?”

“It’s not mining,” I explained. “I’m excavating. I’m an Excavator.”

“I’m not sure what that means,” Sasha replied, picking up one of the rocks I’d just broken. “You’re holding a pickaxe and you mined a rock. It looks like mining.”

“I’m sure there’s a mining class out there somewhere,” I replied. “But this is not that.”

“What is it then?” Nelly asked. “And why did you take a gathering class? That has to be the weakest of the three archetypes.”

She was referring to adventuring, crafting, and gathering types of classes. While adventuring was the most popular by far, it was debatable which came in second. Crafting depended on gathering, so one could make a case that gathering was second. However, there was no question that crafting was the most profitable of the three.

“I have my reasons,” I wasn’t going to tell either of them what they were. “It’s a lot easier to level up. I just hit level eleven.”

“Eleven?” Sarah gasped. “Wow, Nelly. We need to catch up. Do you think we should find some monsters to kill?”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any,” Nelly replied, frowning. “Not since we entered the mountain pass.”

“They are probably high up in the mountains,” I suggested. “Roads are usually safe in video games.”

“He’s right,” Sasha admitted. “It’s too bad there isn’t a dungeon around here.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

Sasha pulled out a map, the one with the locations fully marked. “I’m sure it would be on this map if there was one.”

We gathered around the map. The first thing I noticed was that the dungeon I cleared wasn’t marked. Also, the mountains near the pass were mysteriously clear of any labels at all outside of the pass.

“I’ve got an idea,” I said. “It might slow us down though.”

“Guys,” Nelly said hesitantly. “I hate to be a party pooper but I have to log off. I have work tomorrow and need to get at least some sleep.”

“But it’s launch day,” Sasha whined. “Couldn’t you have gotten time off?”

Nelly sighed. “I can’t. I just came back from maternity leave so I don’t have any saved up. Just promise you won’t leave me behind.”

“Let’s set out bind points here,” I replied. “That way we can death warp when she comes back.”

“Won’t we lose experience if we do that?” Sasha asked.

Death penalties start at level ten. They get progressively more severe as you level.

“Sucks to be you,” Nelly said, making it clear we all got the same system message.

“I don’t mind,” I replied. “I already died twenty-seven times today.”

“What? How?” Sasha gaped at me.

“It’s a long story,” I said, not sure how much of it I wanted to tell.

“How do I set my bind point?” Nelly asked. Her eyes glazed over and I knew the system was explaining the process to her.

Sasha had a similar look, so I decided to set my own bind point while I waited.

“Well, that’s unique,” Sasha said when she finally came out of it. “You didn’t mention changing our respawn points, I totally would have respawned where I logged in the first time I died.”

“Me too,” Nelly admitted. “Well, now that that’s set, I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

She froze for a moment before dissipating into motes of colorful light.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Wow, that’s pretty,” Sasha said, yawning. “Now I’m kind of tired.”

“Do you want to take a power nap?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t slept since I installed the game.

“Sure,” she replied. “Meet back here when you wake up.”

----------------------------------------

Power naps were a modern marvel. The house AI made sure I was properly hydrated and monitored my brain waves while I slept. Once my body met the government-approved ideal level of sleep, the AI gently roused me with a nutritious breakfast. A lot of research went into what was ideal and the standard constantly changed. The only thing was, it was different for everyone.

After logging out, I made my way to my bedroom. The tiny room, the size of a closet, consisted of just a full-sized smart bed and nothing else. In modern homes, room functionality took precedence over the old ways. Rooms with beds in them functioned similarly to bathrooms, with just the required equipment to get a good night’s sleep. The saved space was given to closets and studies. In my case, I didn’t have a study as I had sole access to the living room. However, if I lived with roommates or a family, my apartment would have a room to give me personal space.

The bed stood upright when I entered the room. Once I situated myself, it rocked gently backward, taking me with it. It then adjusted itself until my knees and head were slightly elevated. The sound of rain falling on the roof came at just the right volume from speakers positioned in the walls. It was my comfort sound.

The temperature of the room went up ever so slightly, and I found myself nodding off. It was hard to sleep with the excitement of the game on my mind, so the house AI reached out to my doctor to prescribe a special drink to help me nod off. After that, I don’t know how long I slept. All I knew was I woke gently to the sound of a symphony playing a gentle rousing melody.

Yawning, and remembering I was supposed to meet Sasha, I shot out of bed and plopped down in my chair in the living room before logging back in. Sasha’s name was still greyed out so I whooped at my victory. It was short-lived as she appeared beside me.

“I was still first,” I said defensively as she gave me a smirk. “It counts as a win.”

“No it doesn’t,” she replied. “I already went to the bathroom and ate breakfast. I’ll bet you logged straight in from bed.”

“That’s not true!” I balked at the accusation. “Well, not entirely true. I did walk to the living room.”

“You’re one of those types that goes to the bathroom while gaming and tries to hide it, aren’t you?” She asked.

“N-no!” I stammered.

Sasha laughed and changed the subject. “So, what was this idea you had? I couldn’t stop thinking about it and it took forever to fall asleep.”

“Oh, that,” I replied. “First, I want to try something.”

I turned my back to her, so she couldn’t see what I was doing and shuffled through my Card Battle deck until I found a specific card.

Imbue Card

Card Battle Card

I discreetly slipped it into my heart deck. My chest felt warm and extremely full like I’d just grown a second heart. I turned back to Sasha. “I want to try copying one of your skills.”

“Copying?” She asked, her eyes widening. “How does a miner get a skill like that?”

I shrugged, trying to avoid the question. “It’s just a skill I picked up in a pub.”

“The one you met us at?” She asked, looking back over her shoulder in the direction of Homestead.

“Will you let me try?” I asked, trying to focus her on helping me.

She sighed and replied. “Sure. What do you need me to do?”

“Did you get any spear skills with your Pikeman class?” I asked.

Her eyes glossed over as she pulled up her menu. “Yes. I have Spear Proficiency and a skill called Power Thrust.”

“I already know I can’t copy proficiencies but let me see Power Thrust,” I replied, eager to learn the skill.

Sasha took out the spear I gave her and looked around. “I don’t know how to use it without a target.”

I pointed at a nearby boulder. “Can you use it on that?”

She rolled her eyes. “No! You’re the miner.”

We ended up settling on using me as a target. While it was true she might kill me, I was bound five feet away and wouldn’t have to travel far.

“Aren’t you worried about losing experience points?” She asked.

I chuckled. “Sure but I can always just smash that boulder and get it back.”

“Your class is overpowered,” she replied. She was laughing though, so I assumed it was a joke. “Are you ready?”

“As ready as I can be,” I replied, about to take an attack on purpose for the first time.

Holding the spear at her side, Sasha reared back and then lunged at me. She brought the spear forward using her momentum and skewered me in the shoulder. My HP dropped but not as much as it would if she scored a core hit.

HP: 763/1100

“Ow!” I said reflexively.

“Did I hurt you?” She asked, pulling the spear back. “Why do you have pain turned on?”

“It’s not,” I replied sheepishly. “That was just a sympathetic response.”

It was common in VR games for the brain to compensate when it expected pain. In my case, it was a muscle spasm in my shoulder.

“Don’t be a baby,” Sasha said, even though it was clear she was relieved. “Did you learn the skill?”

“It doesn’t work like that,” I replied, sitting on a rock and taking out the blank cards.

“What are those?” She asked. Sasha hadn’t learned Card battle from Anna since she’d been out searching for a class with me.

“Watch,” I replied, inking the name Power Thrust onto the card.

I held my breath and said a silent prayer for it to work. Slowly, the image of a person thrusting a spear appeared on the card. Several lines were drawn coming off of the card to signify motion.

Power Thrust

Card Battle Card

“Wow,” Sasha gasped, peeking over my shoulder. “That’s neat. Did it work?”

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “First, I want to try something else.”

I took out the Break Stuff card and handed it to her. “Try to put this in your heart.”

“My heart?” She asked, turning the card over in her hands. “What do you mean?”

I stood and pointed to her chest. “Find a slot and slide it in.”

She gasped dramatically. “Is this a trick to get me to take off my shirt?”

“No!” I replied. “Besides, I think that costs real-world money.”

“Really?” She asked. “How much?”

“It tried to take off my shorts earlier and it cost a hundred,” I explained. “And it said if we want to both be naked at the same time, we both have to pay.”

“Wait, does that mean we can…” she let the question go unfinished.

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Do you want to find out?” She asked.

My heart thumped in my chest. Was she flirting or just messing with me? I decided to go with a safe answer. “Um, maybe later.”

She giggled and stuck her tongue out. “Just kidding! Now, seriously, how do I put this in my heart?”

“Just put it near your chest,” I continued. “Do you get a system message or an error?”

She held the card up to her tunic and frowned. Then, to my surprise, she took it off, revealing a basic bra underneath. She tried again and groaned. “Nothing. No error or anything. Are you sure you aren’t leaving anything out?”

“No,” I replied, frowning.

It must have been the Imbue Card card but I couldn’t tell anyone about that.

“Turn around,” she said after a long pause.

“What, why?” I asked.

She blushed. “Because I’m going to pay the stupid fee.”