“I could swear he was about to tear up,” Daniel said.

Cole chuckled. “I guess the game wants them to be more lifelike.”

Cole shifted his focus to steering the donkey. It continuously threatened to stray, so Cole stayed near its head. The quest detail said that it would take about two days to get to the village. Though he couldn’t die from hunger, he was grateful for the basket of food and fruits. He could use them to replenish his HP if he ever got hurt. But most people ate the food in the game just for the taste of it. The sun was setting when Daniel suggested that they stop for the night. While he was instructing Cole on what to do next, he froze.

Daniel looked around cautiously. He searched for something that Cole couldn’t see or hear. Daniel wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his sword. Following Daniel’s lead, Cole unhooked the ax from his hip and held it with both hands. That’s when the first arrow flew.

Cole heard its whistle before he saw the arrow. By the time it came into focus, it was a foot from his eyes. He expected to see blackness but the next thing he saw was a man’s back. He hadn’t even blinked and Daniel was in front of him.

Daniel’s shield blocked the arrow, but the moment that one landed another followed. This one came from a different angle than the other. When Daniel stepped to the right, Cole saw their attackers. They seemed to have melted from the shadows that stretched across the land. As they solidified, their bodies went from black to brown.

Cole counted six. Not enough to vastly outnumber Daniel and himself but enough to cause a real struggle. From this distance, Cole couldn’t tell if they were players or NPCs. Nevertheless, he knew he had to fight. He couldn’t afford to die again. He couldn’t leave Daniel in a purely defensive position. His hands tightened on the ax. His feet dug into the ground.

“Wait,” Daniel whispered. “I don’t think you noticed, but there are three rangers and the rest are warriors.”

“So, what about it?”

“The moment you run off, they’ll shoot you. I can’t tell how strong they are so don’t take the risk.”

“So what do you— “

A woman interrupted them. “Hey, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’re outnumbered. Leave the donkey with the food, and we can avoid this fight. You might not have the persistence to spare.”

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Her request made Cole curious. Daniel beat him to the question.

“Why do you want the food?”

“None of your business,” she replied. “Just leave it there and continue where you’re going. You don’t need it anyway.”

She knew they were players. Which meant she was one too. She knocked an arrow. One of her men did the same.

“When I count to three you should be gone.”

“If you know we’re players, then you’re one too. Which means you don’t need it either.”

“No, but I know someone who does. And unless you can match their price, don’t try to buy your way out of this. One…”

Cole wondered who would pay her to steal this food. She seemed to be a part of a completely different storyline. From his readings, he knew that thieves usually had two weapons. He figured the other must be concealed somewhere on her. But if he could get close and act fast enough, she wouldn’t be able to switch to it before he got her.

During his musings, he didn’t hear when the girl said three. Cole distinctly heard three whistles; first two, then one. Yet two arrows sailed at them. One was aimed at Daniel and the other was aimed at him. He expected Daniel to move in his aid but he didn’t. Instead, Daniel threw the shield in front of Cole.

Cole caught the shield with one hand but the ax dragged him to the ground. It was meant to be wielded with two hands, not one. Despite that, Cole managed to block the arrow. The impact rocked him back a bit. Daniel grunted beside him. When Cole looked, he saw an arrow halfway into Daniel’s abdomen. Another sound came too. It was the whistle of the third arrow. It zipped past Cole and nipped the donkey's neck. The donkey whined, reeled back, and then bolted. Cole then understood why Daniel didn’t move. The donkey was their target all along.

The three warriors ran for the donkey, and Cole raced them. He threw the shield back to Daniel, heaved the ax, and then sprinted off. One of the warriors noticed Cole coming and stopped to face him. Cole swung, but the warrior turned to dust. The dust then engulfed him and rotated at high speed. The dust sliced into his skin but it felt more like swords than plain dust.

His health was draining fast and it seemed the dust storm would never end. Cole used one hand to shield his eyes as he tried to figure a way out. He soon realized that the warrior's body would pop out of the dust storm every few seconds. He attempted to strike but the man disappeared back into the storm walls before the ax could hit him. Cole then decided the only way he would catch up to the warrior was if he rotated against the storm.

Cole gripped his ax, planted his feet, and then spun in the opposite direction of the dust storm. It would be hard to time the hit exactly so he kept his ax swinging as he spun. Soon he was slowing down but the dust storm was still raging. He spun faster and faster and faster. A notification ran across the bottom of his screen. It was hard to read while spinning but he managed to piece it together.

[New skill unlocked: Whirlwind Level 1 – How fast can you go?]

Cole invoked the skill. “Whirlwind!”

His speed increased until the world became a blur. The ax caught the warrior first in the chest, then the shoulder as he fell, and finally the back of his head. When the skill wore off and Cole stood still the warrior laid dead on the ground. A third of Cole’s HP was left. His stamina was low and he felt extremely dizzy. Despite this, he still tried to chase after the donkey. But the donkey wasn’t there. Nor the warriors who were chasing it.

“Cole!” Daniel yelled.

Cole moved, but the arrows were already in him. When he did manage to turn, the girl appeared in front of him.

“Whirlwind.” Cole tried to invoke the skill again but nothing happened.

The girl stabbed him just below the rib cage and he saw his HP drop to a fraction of what he started with. If she twisted it just a little, if she dug in any deeper, his health would hit zero.

She did.