As Ricardo entered the dinning room for lunch, he got surprised by the return of a familiar sight–Amelia and Minerva happily chatting–each with a grilled chicken breast and lettuce salad in front of them.
“Hello!” exclaimed Amelia from her seat. “Sorry that I won't stand up; my legs hurt.”
She truly must have been feeling the strain; her makeup not even close to her usual standards, her hair lazily held by a hair tie.
“Who told you to skip gym for more than a week?” said Minerva. His sister was still clad in gym clothes–though those were the new, fancy ones–not ones she actually used for training.
“Sorry,” said Amelia, lowering her gaze.
Of course, Amelia had stopped going to the gym because Minerva did too. Nobody wanted to point that out, though. It was great that his sister was getting back to her usual routine.
After mom came from the kitchen with her and Ricardo's lunch–creamy chicken stew–they settled into their usual conversation pattern. Minerva was cheerful enough; everything was good.
Having finished eating–mom was already washing the dishes in the kitchen–Ricardo stood up to leave the room; when he heard something that froze him to the core.
“Going into Virtual Connection?” asked Minerva, her lips turning into a smirk.
Ricardo raised his eyes to look at Amelia, who was mouthing a 'sorry' while smiling.
“Yeah, I started about a week ago,” said Ricardo. He looked at Minerva, trying to discern her reaction.
“Don't stare at me like that,” said Minerva, smiling despite herself. “If you want to play, just play; maybe you'll finally get a girlfriend.”
“I'm okay; for real,” said Minerva, since everyone was staying silent. “I'm not playing that game anytime soon but you don't need to tiptoe around it.”
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“She took it better than I feared,” said Ilaria, one-shotting a bat without looking.
“Yeah, I'm so glad she's back to her usual self,” said Amy, mirth in her voice. “Even if she's a pain sometimes.”
Ilaria was hiding in her usual spot in the outskirts of the Everdark Forest–snipping bats–as she waited for Diana and Kyle to get back. Amy was perched on a tree nearby–not that Ilaria could see her–she had her stealth activated so the bats wouldn't notice her. She didn't even need to be close, though; since they were chatting by Private Call.
“How is the leveling going?” asked Amy.
“I'm at level 16, halfway through,” answered Ilaria. “If I do about a level a day, I'll be hitting twenty just in time for Friday.”
“That's cutting it close,” said Amy. “You need to get there before being able to join a guild. ”
“Yeah, but we got a lot of experience defeating the goblin boss in the morning,” said Ilaria.
“You beat the One-eyed Summoner?!” exclaimed Amy, dropping a dagger.
“It was really stressing, and exciting...” said Ilaria, remembering the battle. “We are actually going again this afternoon.”
“Seems like you are enjoying yourself,” said Amy, going down the tree and picking up her dagger. “I guess you are aiming for the One-eyed Wand.”
“Yeah,” said Ilaria, casually shooting a bat. “It would be great if it drops.”
“By the way, are those daggers also a boss drop?” asked Ilaria, just noticing Amy's dagger going up and down. It was even more eye catching for the fact that the rogue wasn't visible at all, only the dagger.
“Yeah; they're from the Winged Reaper,” answered Amy. “The boss of those bats you've been exterminating.”
“I think Diana just started using them too,” said Ilaria, downing a bat without looking.
“The level cap was at 35 for a long time,” said Amy. “Most people who started playing at that time hunted for the boss drop weapons.”
Two daggers went up and down, being withdrawn as they fell.
“They aren't the most powerful, but each one of them has a very convenient ability,” said Amy. “These ones, for instance, have something called Sure throw.”
“What's that?”
“When you throw them at your enemy, they will always land blade-point first. On the other hand, if you throw them to yourself or an ally, you receive them hilt in hand.”
That was a really convenient ability to have. Throwing daggers without assistance must be demanding. No wonder Diana had been more liberal with her throws after she changed weapons.
There was a lull in the conversation–only the bats being felled, and the dagger going up and down breaking the silence–as Ilaria kept thinking about the morning's boss battle.
“Are you telling Minerva about the plan?”
“Are you crazy?!” exclaimed Ilaria, missing a bat for the first time. That one flew straight towards Ilaria's face before dropping down in a swoosh. Amy picked up her dagger and returned to stealth as if nothing had happened.
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“What were you gonna to do if she had wanted to meet you in-game?” asked Amy, in a singsong tone.
“I don't know,” answered Ilaria, downing yet another bat. “That's why I didn't want her to know!”
“Luckily, she doesn't seem eager to return to VC.”
“Yeah,” said Ilaria, getting into her bat-grinding mode again. “How did she hear about it, anyway?”
“I told her. It was the only thing that came into my mind when she interrogated me.”
“Why did she?”
“I would rather not tell you.”
Amy refused to say anything more, and soon arrived the call that Ilaria was waiting for. The mage just left for what promised to be another go at the goblin boss, hoping that Minerva wouldn't want to log into Virtual Connection in the foreseeable future.
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Back in the Goblin Encampment, the grinding had gotten easy, and boring, again. Diana, Kyle and Ilaria worked the goblins like a killing machine, even the tank barely getting hit at all. Every member of the party had gained at least a level–Ilaria already at 16, probably a boss fight worth of experience away from 17– arriving to the boss door in half the time they had made in the morning.
“Ready?” asked Diana, smiling excitedly.
“I guess so,” answered Ilaria.
Even with the close call in the prior battle, there was no way she could say 'no' to that face. Besides, if they could beat it before–now being higher leveled and having the experience–it wasn't that reckless to try again. Still, they probably had no business trying the boss as a trio at their current levels, it being only possible because of a loophole expertly exploited by their rogue.
“Don't worry; last time I was rusty,” said Diana, crossing the threshold ahead of the party. “Now I'll show you!”
The three goblin waves that started the battle were slightly more than an annoyance–being felled as soon as they appeared–the party waiting for the real duel to start.
When the One-eyed Summoner opened its right eye for the first time in the fight; Kyle was already set in place, the girls covering behind him. The shot went directly towards them, Kyle resisting it stoically while Diana prepared to sprint.
Just after the red light began to dim, the catgirl jumped right ahead and started towards the dais. Ilaria set herself two steps back and to the left.
“Shoot!” yelled Diana, as she stepped onto the raised dais.
As the shadow of the dagger-wielding goblins started to materialize, Ilaria shot the centermost pair one after the other. The goblins grunted and went directly towards the room's center, where Kyle was waiting. Diana engaged the summoner successfully, spinning and slashing with her daggers.
Ilaria and Kyle got into their familiar rhythm, the later taunting the goblins and evading or blocking most of the attacks. Ilaria paced herself, shooting the goblins whenever she could get a clear shot, and healing Kyle as needed. The mage–being already in auto mode–could spare the attention to watch the boss duel over the dais.
Diana was even more impressive than last time, her movements mesmerizing in their simplicity. She twisted and turned, a smile on her face, as she evaded the wand and made opportunistic attacks. She couldn't step back though–that would let the boss shoot at her–Diana could only move around in tight quarters, the wand passing millimeters from her body.
It seems like she won't need any help this time.
As the battle progressed, Ilaria got more and more engrossed in Diana's duel. She hadn't even been hit once! Soon after the mage realized that, Diana took her first hit of the battle, her face twisting. It was gonna happen eventually. Still, Ilaria couldn't help thinking it was a pity.
“Please,” said Kyle, who had been hit by a goblin.
“Sorry,” said Ilaria, touching Kyle's neck to heal him. She refocused on her battle, having been distracted enough.
The boss fight ended soon after that, Ilaria and Kyle finishing at the same time as the boss took the killing blow. Diana had been hit a few times after the first–her HP bar was at half-point–she had never been in risk, regardless.
All in all, it had been a comfortable victory. Ilaria looked towards the back of the room–Diana covered in shadows, in a blind spot behind the throne chair–the mage waiting for the rogue to face her to say her congratulations.
The catgirl turned around–getting under the light filtering from the roof– her expression now visible to the rest of the party. She was pissed.
Diana stomped down the dais, so unlike the first time they had beat the boss.
“Dammit!” exclaimed Diana, her face twisting into a smirk. “I was so sure I had timed the turns perfectly.”
Ilaria got frozen in her tracks, looking sideways at Kyle.
“It didn't drop the wand this time either,” added Diana, approaching the group in her not-quite-wrecked clothes.
“Don't worry about that,” said Ilaria, taken aback at Diana's outburst. “If you want to train in some other place, we don't have to stay here on my account.”
“You're so sweet,” said Diana, walking towards Ilaria with a serious face.
“Sorry; I didn't want to scare you,” said Diana in a low voice, touching Ilaria's cheek while showing a forced smile. “I think I should log out now. See you tomorrow!”
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Ilaria remained standing in place, with her sights still focused towards where the rogue had been before logging out. She had thought she knew Diana–a cheerful and always helpful Virtual Connection expert–who, even though she appeared to be young, had taken the newbie mage under her wing without asking for anything in exchange.
Now Ilaria realized she actually didn't know anything about Diana–not even her age or where she came from–their characters being companions in an RPG didn't amount to much. Of course, she wasn't going to complain; ultimately she was the one who was probably hiding the most among the group.
After what felt like hours–but was likely less than a couple of minutes–Ilaria heard the voice of the other party member Diana had left behind.
“Were you surprised?” asked Kyle. Ilaria didn't know if that had been the first thing he said; it was the first she registered, though.
“I guess I was.”
“She wasn't mad at you; my sister's really hard on herself and gets easily frustrated.”
“She has always been so nice and cheerful,” said Ilaria, trying to smile. “It seems she can get angry too.”
The mage felt like crying, and she really didn't want to cry. Maybe the real Ilaria would cry at this point; it didn't matter if she was breaking out of character; I won't cry.
“Maybe I shouldn't tell you this,” said Kyle, in a soft voice. “Diana doesn't really have any close female friends in real life. Being the only girl in her group of gamers, she has always had to prove herself through her skills.”
Ilaria didn't know what to say to that, opting to remain silent. It felt like taking a peek through the curtains, sneaking a glance at Diana's real life.
“She looks really happy when she talks about you,” added Kyle, looking at Ilaria pleadingly. “I hope you can still be good friends with her, even if she's brash or uncouth at times.”
“I will,” said Ilaria, not bearing to look at Kyle.
“Today was our last day of winter break,” said Kyle. “Diana and I have school tomorrow.”
“Then you won't be able to play?”
“We can log in the afternoon, around 4:30. I'll be there for sure; Diana probably would too, if you're okay with that.”
“Yeah, I'll be waiting for you.”