Chapter 3: Departure
Alexander and Allana added each other as friends and, for the next week, would meet to play.
For students still in high school, the playing limit was set to 4 hours on weekdays and eight on weekends. There was a time when there were no time limits, but a significant problem began where people would only want to play and not contribute to society at all. Thus, the World government appealed to the Ludere Corporation to establish a maximum playtime.
Although the two would have loved to play longer, this time was still more than enough for them.
Within a week, they had thoroughly explored Camelot Castle and gone through all the tutorials. Many people skipped these timely quests; however, Allana refuses to let this happen. Ultimately, her reasoning became clear as they received 10 Skill Points each for completing the process.
Skill Points were precious as they could be added to one's stats such as Strength, Defence, and Intelligence. As one Stats increases, as would one's abilities. With enough strength, one could jump over buildings, or with enough Agility, one could run a mile in less than a minute. These were incredible feats beyond the capability of ordinary humans, but within Eden, one could not only achieve it but feel it as well. Typically, one only gained Skill Points by increasing one Level, but a few rare quests offered them as rewards as well.
The boy felt much more knowledgeable after the tutorial stage; however, at this point, he and Allana arrived at a crossroads. At the gates of the city, the girl stood in a couple of pieces of armor and a sword, which she had bought with the 100 gold the game gave them to start with. She was beaming with excitement to start a mission to hunt Wild Rabbits; however, her friend was much less energetic.
She tried to pull him along and happily blurted, “Come on, let's go.”
Alexander didn't move at this and instead responded glumly, “I can't.”
Allana looked back at him and blurted, “Why can't you, scared of fighting.”
Alexander shook his head and responded, “I promised I'd meet with someone…” His eyes grew full of emotion as he explained, “We have plans to go exploring for a while in the Green Mountains.” Looking back to his friend, he finished, “I know there aren't a lot of Mobs there, but you can come with us if you want.”
The girl appeared startled at this but soon countered, “How about your friend come hunting with us instead.”
Alexander sighed at this and explained, “They're from an older server. The only places they can visit are the Castle, the Golden Fields, and the Green Mountains.”
In order to ensure the game was fair, Eden started a new server every ten years. This helped keep people of similar ages together, which was shown to strengthen social bonds. It also helped prevent veteran players with decades of experience from helping their younger friends and family too much. However, knowing that playing as a main was important to people, some special regions were created. Campolt Castle was one such place where guests from other servers could arrive, be it in a non-combative fashion. The Golden Fields and Green Mountains were another situation, with the latter being the vast and supposedly the most dazzling; however, both regions were almost void of any Mobs, which one could hunt for Experience Points, which one needed to increase their Level.
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Allana’s complexion grew sad, though, in the next moment, she hugged her friend and asked, “You’ll keep in touch.”
Alexander was surprised but soon hugged back and responded, “Of course.”
The girl squeezed tighter and added, “Every day.”
The boy hesitated and said, “That's a bit much, isn't it.” The intensity of the hug grew several fold stronger till he yelped out, “Yup, every day. Promise.”
Allan released him, her eyes looking wet, though there was a smile on her face as she blurted back, “Good, now go have fun with your friend.” She began to turn away and waved before adding, “Farwell, you dumb elf.”
The next moment, she began to sprint off towards the rising fields beyond with a rising sun beating down upon her raven hair. Alexander felt bad he couldn't continue to play with his friend but silenced this worry as he waved and shouted, “So long, Demon Girl.”
Allana’s pace was disrupted as she heard this, but she didn't turn back. She had a dream of being the strongest player on the Server, and Alexander knew this well. They were lucky, due to their age, to be some of the first players in a new Serve, which gave them a considerable time advantage. However, with each passing day, more and more new players would arrive and start to fight for opportunities. There was no time to waste.
Alexander could appropriate the girl's feelings, but he, too, had a dream in his heart, and this one was far more time-sensitive.
Like so, he trended around and quickly darted to the end of the city, which had the path that led to the Green Mountains. The Castle of Camelot was already at the farthest edge of the Kingdom of Eropa, with the only thing further south of it being the Green Mountains. At the end of these beautiful peaks it was said that one could find the Edge of the Map where Eden ceased to be.
Alexander couldn't care less about reaching the Edge of the Map. Instead, all he wanted to do was spend some time with the most important person in his life. He opened his Chat feature and quickly sent out a message. Not even a minute later, a bright light appeared in front of him as a tall female Elf with platinum blond hair appeared. With eyes full of excitement and tender affection, she darted over to him and hugged him even tighter than Allana had, “Alex darling, you finally called for me.”
A bit embarrassed, the youth tried to resist the hug but soon gave up and hugged back and muttered, “Hi, Mom.”
The woman released him but then grabbed onto his hands, her eyes burning with curiosity. “So, how's it been? Tell me everything.” She looked around, then began to tug him along as she added, “As we walk, of course, we can't let anyone else beat us to the first peak.”
The boy began to be tugged along as he blurted, “Wait, why are you in such a rush.”
His mother smiled at him and responded, “ Eden rewards the bold, those who try new things. Everyone who discovers a new region gets a reward. But the Green Mountains are special in this regard. It's made up of 99 mountains, and each counts as a unique region. It’d be epic if we were the first to climb all of them.”
Alexander took this in and wanted to object. It would probably take them a couple of days of playing just to reach the first peak. However, he calmed this voice inside him and let his worries wash away. He smiled and responded, “Yeah, that would be epic.”
The woman looked back at him with all the love and affection in the world glimmering in her eyes.
They hurried off together, and the boy began to recount his last two days as his mother dug in and asked all sorts of questions. His father had filed for divorce just after his birth, not wanting to be a father, and they had never met since. Like so, it had always just been the two of them, mother and son, against the world.
Alexander was undoubtedly a rebellious teenager but also knew this was something special he would hold onto for the rest of his days. After all, the doctors had said his mother only had another two years to live at most. These days in the Green Mountains would be his last time to spend with her, and he intended to make it count.