“Why didn’t you just tell them?” Corban asked when they were further away from the line.

“Tell them what?” Rayna pushed an errant lock of hair behind her ear to keep it under her hood. Even with her glowing hair covered, she could see just fine by the light of the campfires.

“That you’re not technically a human,” Corban clarified. “It would have been a lot easier to get through that gate if you had just shown your name tag. It’s not like it’s a lie.”

“It is,” Rayna said testily. “I’m a human. There’s no point in claiming anything else, and I don’t plan on going and changing everything about myself just to satisfy a few racist assholes.”

Corban frowned. “You’re just going to make things harder for yourself.”

“What do you care? I thought you were just tagging along to learn all my secrets,” Rayna snapped.

Corban’s mouth formed a thin line, but he didn’t say anything.

Rayna shook her head. “Forget it. Let’s just find somewhere to sleep.”

The camp wasn’t very large, and from the number of tents, there were only a few hundred people sleeping there. Rayna wasn’t sure if that meant that this was only a partial group, or if they had lost that many in the trials.

Upon further consideration, Rayna realized she didn’t want to know.

They followed the edge of the camp until they came to an opening in the fence that was guarded by a spectacled man in a dirty set of overalls and a plaid colored tie.

[Jefferey Lenn — Level 10]

[Human]

“Good evenin’,” the man said with a friendly smile. “Are you here for commerce, in search of information or were you lookin’ for a place to stay the night?”

“Good evening… Jefferey?” Corban tried.

“You can call me Jeff,” he said. “We’re pretty informal around here. Just enough organization to keep the chickens from runnin’ ‘round the barnyard, I always say.” He cleared his throat. “That’s to say, don’t worry about offendin’ folks, we’re pretty laid back around here.”

Rayna suppressed her irritation, reminding herself that the man was just being friendly, but she was tired and she just wanted to get this over with.

“So, can we use a couple tents?” Rayna asked. “The asshole at the Ellis gates turned us away.”

Jeff frowned in confusion. “Where?”

Corban pointed toward the capital.

“Ah, we’ve just been callin’ it ‘the city’ on account o’ no one givin’ us a proper name. Right. Well, we have more than a few tents open. Humans can stay for free, Emberians pay a fee of six copper drakas a night to help with our growin’ expenses.”

“We’re both human,” Rayna said, before Corban could rat her out.

“Really?” Jeff said, looking unconvinced. “Forgive me for sayin’ this, but you don’t really look human.”

“I am,” Rayna insisted. “I just have a few… special features. I’m from Chicago. Illinois? In the US.” She cast about for more proof. “Umm… I’ve been living in South Korea for a while. I can say a few words in Korean. ‘Anyounghaseyo. Jonen migook saram imnida.’”

“Is there a reason you’re introducing yourself,” Corban whispered to Rayna.

Rayna blushed. “I’m—oh, the telepathy. I guess using another language wouldn’t work…”

Jeff’s face softened, looking like he would take pity on her, which pissed Rayna off even more.

“What do I have to do to prove it?” she demanded.

“Can you turn on your name tag?” Jeff suggested. “It should have your race on it.”

“Anything but that!” Rayna snapped.

“Right,” Jeff looked uncomfortable. “Perhaps you have a Government ID with your name and picture on it?”

Rayna looked away.

“Do you take trades?” Corban asked after a moment of awkward silence. “I don’t have much, but I have a watch—”

Jeff shook his head. “Sorry, we’re not acceptin’ Earth items at the moment. The people of Ember have no way to appraise them, so they refuse to barter for them. But we can take items that have value on Ember. Monster drops or clothin’ items, also food or anythin’ that might help with survival.”

Rayna ground her teeth together. She shouldn’t have to pay. This was stupid.

She was human.

“Rayna, you have something, don’t you?” Corban asked hopefully, oblivious to Rayna’s sour mood. “You keep pulling things out of thin air, you’ve got to have something in that Inventory of yours.”

“I shouldn’t have to,” Rayna hissed. “I was dragged here along with everyone else. Why am I the only one from Earth who has to pay an entrance fee?”

Corban shook his head. “It’s not that deep. I’ll pay you back later if it bothers you that much.”

“It’s not about the money!” Rayna snapped. “It’s the principle of the thing! I’m a human and humans don’t have to pay.”

“Yeah,” Corban said quietly. “But you’re not—”

“Don’t!” Rayna bared her teeth, a soft growl escaping her throat.

Corban backed up a step and Rayna stopped.

What was she doing? This was so childish. Corban hadn’t done anything to earn her ire, nor had the extremely friendly and polite Jeff who was still watching awkwardly as he waited for them to come to a decision.

Rayna closed her eyes and took a deep breath, stuffing down her emotions. She would find a way to prove that she was a human later. For now, they needed a place to sleep and that meant, whether she liked it or not, Rayna had to follow the rules.

Rayna pulled a vial of Azutin Mucus out of her Soul Realm and handed it to Jeff. “This stuff will eat through just about anything. It’s worth at least a week.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Rayna wasn’t sure if that was true, but the man took the vial without complaint. He stared at it for a few seconds and a screen popped up.

Azutin Mucus (Rare)

A strong acidic substance that can melt through solid metal. Used in potions and weapon forging.

Your level of appraisal is too low to access more detailed information. Please upgrade your skill to continue.

Rare quality was better than Rayna was expecting.

“The vial will buy you a week for now,” Jeff said with a smile. “Though between you and me, you should just sell it to get the coin for your stay. I think you’ll get a better price from the Emberians.”

“Then give it back,” Corban said. “We’ll trade something else.”

“It’s fine,” Rayna said, waving away his concern. “It’s not my only vial. I just want to go to bed.”

Rayna had over a hundred vials of Azutin Mucus in her Soul Realm, and she would hand them all to Jeff right now if she wasn’t acutely aware of her current lack of funds. For someone who was being sponsored by a noble, she didn’t have a lot of disposable cash.

Rayna would just have to talk to Nali about a stipend or something she could use in emergencies. If Nali wanted, she could trade some items for the coins, just as long as Rayna had something to buy food with in a pinch.

“Seriously, though, don’t let that stuff near your skin,” Rayna said, nodding at the glowing green vial. “It’s not a pleasant experience.”

Jeff nodded seriously. “I’ll be careful,” he promised, stowing the vial in his Inventory. “Jade, we have a couple newcomers! Come find them a tent and make sure it’s a good one.”

A tall Asian woman appeared, holding a clip board.

[Choi Heejin — Level 12]

[Human]

Rayna wondered if ‘Jade’ was a nickname, or if Heejin got tired of people mispronouncing her name and decided to pick one that worked in English instead.

“The rules within the camp are simple,” Jade said. “Respect others and their property. If you are found to be causing a problem, you will be issued a warning. Three warnings and you will be barred from staying in this camp, or any camp affiliated with Earth. Do you accept these terms?”

Rayna and Corban nodded in unison.

“Good. Follow me.”

Jade led the way through the camp, which was much more populated than Rayna had first assumed. Her initial estimate of the tents hadn’t accounted for the fact that the tents were a fraction the size of a normal tent. Most of them were made out of bedsheets propped up on bed posts or shelving. They were crudely made, but it didn’t seem to bother the occupants. Every tent they passed was occupied by a human, a few of them occupied by two or more.

Of all the tents they passed, not a single one was occupied by an Emberian.

“Here we are,” Jade said.

Rayna had expected to be offered a dinky patchwork tent that barely covered her feet—which would have been better than nothing. Instead, she was standing in front of several brightly colored camping tents complete with awnings and sleeping bags.

“Who went to a game opening with full camping gear?” Corban asked incredulously.

“More people than you’d think, actually,” Jade said with an amused smile. “Quite a few players ignored the ‘don’t come early’ rule because they were worried about space. The tents in this section were donated by players who didn’t need them or bought from players looking to get a head start financially.” Her smile faded slightly. “We were hoping to rent them out to the locals to start bringing in the local currency, but they don’t seem interested in fraternizing with us.”

Corban glanced at Rayna.

“Don’t worry,” Jade said. “I heard the whole conversation with Jeff. I don’t know why you’re insisting you’re one of us, but it’s better than spitting every time you hear the word ‘human’.”

She bowed politely and turned to leave. She paused and turned back to them. “Oh, one last thing. There are a few hunting spots around here, I’m told, but we don’t recommend the forest to the West of here. Apparently, a girl was killed by a freak monster attack about a week ago. Since then, they’ve been running patrols, but everyone’s too scared to go near it.”

Rayna looked down at her feet, not sure if the guilt would show on her face. Had one of the others died? It would explain why help never came. She couldn’t have done anything to change the outcome, but she still felt like it was her fault somehow.

“We hope you enjoy your stay,” Jade said cheerfully. “And tell your friends about us. Not that they need telling, but it would be nice for them to stop acting like we’re the scum of the Earth, or the scum of Ember, I suppose.”

With a small smile at her own joke, she left them to get settled.

Rayna watched her go with knit brows. “She seems to be taking all this in stride.”

“Well, it’s not like we were expecting anything else,” Corban said with a shrug. He pulled off his shoes, opening the tent flap to inspect his accommodations.

“We weren’t?” Rayna asked, sitting on the mat outside her own tent. The one she had been assigned was bigger—probably because Jade was trying to make a good impression.

“Of course not,” Corban said. “As soon as we got the Tutorial Leaders to open up to us, we realized how bad the situation really was. The System screwed us over big time and we’ll be fighting an uphill battle for the people’s approval. Step one is coexistence. Step two is cooperation.

“I’m not sure what comes after that. Mutual respect, maybe? That woman, Janet, had a lot of bullet points, but with my broken System I had to read over people’s shoulders, and no one wanted to stand still long enough for me to get the whole plan.”

He snapped his fingers. “Hey, wait, you were group 384, weren’t you? You might actually know her. Janet Lindale? The organized one who speaks, like, fifty languages.”

“Yeah, I remember her,” Rayna said. “Though I didn’t know her long.” She paused as a realization hit her. “Wait, you all know? About the Dark Age; the System; all of it?”

“I don’t know about ‘all of it’,” Corban said. “But a good portion, I think. Janet flooded the forum about a week ago with a full report of the situation here on Ember. She put up guides and plans; I don’t think she slept all week. It’s a shame we didn’t hear about it sooner. I only got through half my attempts before the tutorial kicked me out.” He yawned. “I’m gonna hit the hay. I walked at least five times my normal distance today and I think my feet are going to fall off.”

“Right, sorry,” Rayna opened her tent. “Oh, Corban?”

“Yes?” he asked, poking his head back outside.

Rayna hesitated. What was she going to say? Thank you? For what? Following her for miles? Maybe she just hated the thought of being alone again…

“Good night,” she said instead.

Corban smiled. “Good night.”

He zipped up his tent, leaving her in silence.

Rayna sighed and retreated into her tent. It was a semi-translucent gray tent with enough room for her sleeping bag and a small table and chairs. On the table sat a solar powered lamp. Rayna turned it on and sat down on her sleeping bag.

She forced herself to stay awake a little bit longer. There was something she had been pushing off since exiting the dungeon and she didn’t know how long it would be before she had another opportunity to do it in private.

Rayna pulled Phira’s necklace out of her Soul Realm, inspecting it for damage. Every time she had considered pulling it out in the last week, she had been promptly faced with another near-death experience. She didn’t want to risk Phira’s life on her own clumsiness.

Rayna pulled the necklace over her head, shivering as the cool chain touched her neck.

“What took you so long?!” Phira snapped, appearing inside the tent.

Rayna shushed her. She didn’t really care if anyone heard her—except that she might have to pay for two people instead of one—but it was the middle of the night and people were trying to sleep.

“Oh really? You trap me in your Inventory for System knows how long and now you pull me out and shush me immediately?” Phira’s tone hadn’t changed, but she lowered her voice to a more reasonable volume.

“I had a situation,” Rayna said. “It just spiraled out of control. I didn’t want to risk breaking your stone, so I kept you in the only safe place I had.”

Phira rolled her eyes. “My stone has existed for thousands of years. You think a few minor monsters are enough to break it? What am I, some Level 15 Mage with a cursory knowledge of runes?”

Rayna shook her head. “It’s been a long week.”

She told Phira about everything that had happened, keeping her voice low so the other people in the camp wouldn’t overhear. She didn’t say anything about becoming Administrator or Ronari’s existence, but she told her all about the dungeon and the sheer number of times she had almost died.

“Oh…” Phira said, looking a little green. “Well, yes, I suppose maybe leaving me in your Inventory was… understandable…”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get you out of there.”

“No, no,” Phira said. “I’m glad to hear you’re all right.”

All right? Was Rayna all right? She bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to hold back tears. She was exhausted, scared and completely alone except for an incorporeal alien that she could only see for fifty minutes a day.

She had Corban.

The thought made Rayna laugh, but the watery sound broke the dam she had built around her emotions. Tears streamed down her face as she chuckled angrily at the absurd idea that her only friend was a socially stunted hacker following her around to uncover her secrets.

“Oh dear. Umm… I was never very good with children.” Phira looked around as if someone else might appear to comfort Rayna.

“I’m not a kid,” Rayna snapped, wiping her face. “I’m just tired.”

She crawled into her sleeping bag and turned off the light. “I’ll talk to you in the morning. You can come out whenever you want. I don’t really care if anyone sees you.”

It would just be one less secret for Rayna to keep.