“You don’t have some kind of ‘twin sense’ for where Ken is? Something?” Jay tried again since no one answered him the first time.

Jenny giggled slightly. “That’s definitely not a thing. But before they attacked I heard him yelling about the ring.” She frowned as she followed the train of thought, “He should be here by now.”

She looked around as if the act of scanning the room might force him to appear from his hiding spot. Jay considered the real possibility of Ken having some kind of stealth skill. A stealth skill was even probable. Dismissing the idea, he joined in the search.

When nobody turned up anything, the group set about quickly looting the goblins to clear the room. There were a few animal pelts, which could be sold or used as crafting items. There were a few odd Prints, which Jenny promptly collected and began to divvy up, as well as some low-level weapons and armor of various designs.

The extra gear wouldn’t fit properly into anyone’s inventory. There was too much volume and the quality wasn’t worth the slots. The party would need some kind of inventory boosters to fit them easily, so they left the odds and ends behind. Altogether, there really wasn’t much loot to speak of, since the goblins had just been low-level raiders.

“Here you go. The split of the coins is about one gold and five silver,” Jenny said brightly, her outstretched hand laden with the coins.

“I’m good,” Jay said, waving her off.

Taylor Lynn nodded her head in agreement. “I’m good, too.”

Jenny looked at them in total confusion. Realization dawned on her as she said, “That’s right! Jay had a Founder’s pack. You probably don’t need any gold. I’ll split it with Ken.” Her eyes scanned the room, waiting for one of the prompts to cause him to appear. With a sigh, she added, “Eventually.”

It was a relief she figured it out, sparing Jay the awkwardness of pointing out he was rich. Nobody liked a loot hoarder. He also appreciated how positive she was. Anyone who spared him from awkward social things was a saint in his book.

“So what now?” Taylor Lynn asked.

“Well, since this room is cleared out, we should go find Ken upstairs. He has the ring but the ambush objective isn’t complete. Might be stuck fighting goblins, now that I think about it.” Jay suggested. “I don’t hear any fighting, though.” He hadn’t been a fan of the surprise ambush, even if they had handled it easily enough. He still thought the dynamic quests were kind of cool.

As they prepared to move on, Jay took the time to snag some extra arrows. Taylor Lynn had obliterated another archer in the group she fought with Jenny. Some of the ammunition managed to survive the lightning. Monster Hunters blended ranged and melee attacks, so Jay would need plenty of ammunition. He adjusted the quiver to be more comfortable—there was no reason to tighten it since it was made for Goblins. Then he checked his dagger, which was still snugly cinched at his waist.

As they waited by the door, Jenny helped Taylor Lynn brush off copious dust covering her robe. It was obvious this cabin didn’t see much use, but it was weird for the game to make it dusty. The designers picked weird details to focus on. The only thing it couldn’t recreate with the full-dive gear was the feeling of inhaling dust and getting choked up on it. Jay was absolutely fine with that.

Ready to adventure forth, they went toward the stairs Taylor Lynn had seen Ken make for. But the party never made it there. Jay ran straight into Taylor Lynn’s back. She was frozen two steps into the hall. Peering over her shoulder, his blood ran cold.

He started to walk backward, pushing Jenny behind him and trying to pull Taylor Lynn with him back to safety. The three people staring them down were all level 25, decked in good gear, and completely nonchalant. The smart move was to get out of there before they all lost a level.

Jay and Taylor Lynn exchanged a glance, both of them recognizing precisely what this kind of group was doing here: killing players. All three possessed different classes according to their nameplates: Mesmer, Priest, and Plague Knight. From the look of things, Jay didn’t think he was going to get very much use out of his new bow.

They looked human but something was off with each player. The Plague Knight wore burnished green armor covering everything except his face. His hair fell past his shoulders, long and green. The Mesmer wore hooded silver robes veiling everything except the glowing silver eyes behind his hood. The Priest wore black robes but her face wasn’t covered. The woman, called Katya according to her nameplate, tore through Jay with her piercing black eyes. The part throwing him off was the silver horns jutting from her temples. The horns were a dead giveaway. They were Demon players. Jay didn’t even need Taylor Lynn to tell him that much.

“A bunch of noobs,” Katya sneered, not even bothering to face them as she talked to her companions. “No level twenty abilities. This is boring.”

Jay managed to get the group a few feet of distance, moving slowly. He was hesitant to draw too much attention to their flight. As the weird trio continued to chat, he motioned for Taylor Lynn and Jenny to get ready to run.

“It’s no trouble, Katya,” the Mesmer, named Chris, cut in. “A kill is a kill for our quest.”

The Plague Knight, Seth, joined the argument: “I’m fine to rack up kill count with a few easy targets but Katya’s right. Boring. We could go hunting deeper in their borders.”

“There will be some Elves at level twenty-five, too,” Katya said. She didn’t seem concerned, even when she noticed the party turning on their heels to sprint away. “Could be dangerous.” She paused for a moment, cheerily adding, “Could be fun.”

Taylor Lynn, Jenny, and Jay only made it a short distance before they were stopped in their tracks by two more figures. Standing in the doorway was a pair of level 24 players. One of them, called Erla, was a Champion class. She wore armor similar to Seth's, but with metal that wasn’t burnished, and her face was hidden by a helmet with a metal visor. The woman next to her, called T, was an Assassin. She wore sleek black leather armor. She held two thin, curved blades in her hands, already prepared for a fight. Or murder.

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“I’d love for you to try me,” T offered. She expertly twirled both blades in her hands. The motion was practiced and seamless. Jay’s eyes widened as a chunk of the door frame fell away. He hadn’t even seen her cut into it, despite his elevated Speed statistic. He wondered if Perception was a more important factor. But there were more important questions for the Assassin.

“Do you have some kind of ability that hides your name?” Jay couldn’t help but ask. If there were ways to conceal your identity, especially to hide his status as a Monster Hunter, he needed to know about them. T grinned without answering his question directly. Instead of speaking, her nameplate shifted until it read: Jay Miller. Her class name shifted, reading: About to Die. That was cute.

System Message: You have been afflicted by the Blood Plague disease. You are taking 25 damage per second for the duration.

The Assassin, T, glowered at one of her teammates over Jay’s shoulder. “Seth, I was talking here. Interesting guy. Looks like a cowboy. Besides, what’s a Monster Hunter?” She leaned closer to inspect him like a keener eye would reveal more information.

“Monster Hunter?” the man in the burnished green armor echoed. “That’s a new one for me. Never heard of it. Katya? Chris?”

Both of his companions shook their heads.

He approached Jay, who was searching for a new way out. Taylor Lynn and Jenny were equally trapped, both exits blocked. Both other players were still regenerating mana from the previous fight. They could all run for a window and likely get shot in the back. Jay steeled himself. He could try to escape alone, relying on his Speed, but there was a strong chance of respawn either way. The obvious player killers seemed to have a quest to kill Elves, after all. What he needed was information.

“What’s a Monster Hunter?” Seth asked as he closed the distance, paying no mind to Jay’s personal space. People were way too comfortable with the fact that Tumultua Online was a game. Everyone ignored his space and it was getting aggravating. He forced himself to give a measured response, sensing an opportunity.

Jay laughed derisively, then he shot back: “What’s a Plague Knight?”

Seth regarded Jay intensely. He was close enough for Jay to see his pupils. They weren’t normal. The pupil was shaped like a cat’s which begged plenty of questions. For now, Jay wrote it off as Demon player shenanigans.

“Heal him,” Seth suddenly barked at Jenny. With a start, Jenny slapped one of her healing tags on Jay’s back, despite her low mp. She didn’t even consider fighting back. The fact disappointed him a bit even though he understood the three of them were quite outmatched.

Jay’s health was still dropping but she had bought him a few extra seconds. Seth continued, “You’ve got thirty seconds maximum before my ability takes you out. Reciprocate my information and maybe we can trust each other next time we meet.”

Seth cleared his throat to run out Jay’s ticking health. It grated his nerves, which was probably the effect Seth wanted. “The Plague Knight is a rare class combining heavy armor and weapons with Disease and Plague magics.” Seth waved his hand, muttering under his breath, casting more spells to make his point.

System Message: You have been afflicted by Bone Rot disease. Your strength is reduced by 50% for the duration.

System Message: You have been afflicted by Mana Leak disease. Your magic is reduced by 50% for the duration.

Seth watched his reaction with interest, so Jay tried not to react. He waited three seconds for Jay to start speaking about his class. Jay kept his mouth closed. “The others,” Seth said simply. Without further prompting, T sliced through Taylor Lynn, sending her to respawn in a single strike. Katya hurled infernal black flames at Jenny, which spurred her on to the same fate. Their character deaths spanned less than two seconds.

“Don’t anger me, Jay,” Seth said without a hint of frustration or malice. Seth was comfortable in a player killer scenario which told Jay he was used to it. His party had most likely been player killers in previous games.

Jay didn’t want to be hunted down, so he reciprocated a little information. He spoke in a rush, trying to seem like he was fighting the clock. He wasn’t. Not really. “Monster Hunter is a class with jack-of-all-trades abilities. It uses magic, melee, and ranged. The main focus-”

The timing worked out exactly as Jay wanted. He wasn’t able to finish explaining before he respawned at the pool. His other party members were already waiting outside the pool, sharing a similar dour look. All the time and energy devoted to that quest brought them nothing. A system message was waiting.

System Message: My Friend’s Hut quest failed! Your party did not survive the ambush. This quest was created outside the normal system and cannot be reattempted. It will be removed from your log.

Jay was focused on the bizarre part about the quest being created outside the system. The idea didn’t sound like something a game should allow. It read like the system allowed for player-created quests. He needed to learn more about those.

“Let’s just go,” Ken growled, interrupting Jay’s thought process. He walked stiffly, taking off in the general direction of Ilra. Jay wanted to explain the events with the higher-level players but Ken wasn’t in the mood yet. It could wait.

The trek back to the trade city was easy enough, although it was long. Even though they had respawned in a different pool from before, the party spent the time chatting about their fights with the goblins. They discussed future tactics and admonished each other for splitting up, though they were good-natured about it. The player killers didn’t chase them if they even could.

Jay did fill in Ken on the events with the higher leveled players. The Scoundrel took it as a goal for them to strive for: beat the Demon players. Ken seemed to be a little more amenable to Jay. It was more of a five-foot pole than a ten-foot one. He wasn’t friendly but he was more accepting. Jay could only speculate on the reasons. Either way, progress was progress.

Jay was glad the party was considering sticking together. All they needed was a tank and they would really have something going. The level one hundred adventure was going to be a lot more fun with other players. The adventure was for Sarah but he might as well enjoy the time.

When they reached Ilra, the party heard a couple of players talking among themselves at the gates. Both of the players were level 20 and wore purple leather armor. One carried a flintlock pistol on his belt, the other a short sword. Their listed classes were Scoundrel and Gunslinger.

“Did you hear about the group of level 25 players who are luring people into ambushes? They use fake quests.” the Gunslinger said, disgust clear in their voice. The words caught Jay’s attention immediately. It sounded like the player-created quests weren’t even real. If players couldn’t even trust their quest log, that was a serious flaw in the quest system.

Instead of answering his companion, the other player pointed to Jay, drawing attention to him and his friends walking through the gates. “Isn’t that the Monster Hunter?”