Next day Ricardo woke up with a purpose: he would get to level 20 before his cash shop costume expires. It was obvious all the advantages it gave. If he wasted the chance, he would have to either take more time leveling or spend more money. And he had to get back to his job at the end of the month.
“Ok, today I'll finish with the hogs to get to eleven and then ask about the next challenge!”
And with those thoughts, Milana made her appearance.
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After delivering her last hog extermination, quests at the butcher were over, so Milana returned to the Information Module.
“Hi!” –exclaimed a cat-eared girl.
“Hello Angela.” –said Milana, who was just going to talk to the NPC.
“What level are you now?” –asked Angela, with a smile.
“Just got to level 11.” –answered Milana, not knowing if that was good or not.
“I didn't think you would level that fast, nyan.” –said Angela, laughing. –“But it will work alright. Want to join us?”
At that point, Milana realized there was a tall guy with a sword next to Angela. Even though he was taller than her, he looked young.
“Sorry.” –said Angela, realizing Milana's surprise. –“I didn't introduce you.”
“Here is Kyle, my little brother.”
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“Don't introduce me like that!” –exclaimed an embarrassed Kyle.
“Ok, ok.” –said Angela, laughing. –“Lady Milana, here is my dear brother: the warrior Kyle.”
Milana couldn't help laughing too, even though she knew it was hard on the kid.
“Sorry.” –said Milana, smiling. –“And if I have to say something, you don't look small at all.”
Kyle's face got redder, if that was even possible.
“My name is Milana. I just started playing, so Angela has been of great help to me. Pleased to meet you.”
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After introducing themselves, the group decided to go training. Angela was level 9 and Kyle level 8, but in a party they would be capable to beat monsters several levels higher.
They got out of the city from the north gate, walking 30 minutes towards a rocky formation.
“We are at the lizardman caves.” –said Angela. –“On the first floor there are only melee ones. We just need to be careful to not pull more than a couple.”
“Alright.” –said Kyle, taking out his shield. –“I might be new to Virtual Connection, but I have been playing games forever.”
“Good to know.” –said Angela, pointing to Milana.
Kyle blushed again.
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The lizard grinding at the cave went really well. The tank's job was arguably the hardest, but Kyle wasn't joking about his gaming experience.
He pulled the lizardmen with just the exact distance as to not lose them, but without taking unnecessary hits. When he got them to their designed spot, Angela would start dagger slashing one while Milana helped Force bolting the other one, healing Kyle whenever he needed. As the hours passed, Kyle increased the number of pulled lizardmen.
Thanks to the costume bonuses, Milana could even kill a lizard with Mana bolts, with mana to spare for healing. But she did realize that if she didn't have one, she would need to party like this just to be able to train.
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“Whew, that was quite the workout.” –said Kyle, putting out his shield.
The party had been training for about four hours. For Angela and Milana it wasn't hard at all, but Kyle was tired. Besides, it would be time for lunch soon, so they needed to find a safe spot to log out.
“What do you think about Kyle?” –asked Angela, looking at him sideways.
“I really don't know much about games.” –said Milana, smiling. –“But I do realize he is really good.”
Kyle was in a corner apart from them.
“If you haven't dated yet today, what do you think about dating him?” –asked Angela, with mischievous eyes.
“And what about you?” –said Milana.
“I, too, haven't dated yet today.” –said Angela.
”But dating my little bro is somewhat...”
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The group took their lunch break together. In the afternoon, Angela was going out, but Kyle would relog to do the free daily experience date with Milana.
They had leveled quite a bit. Kyle was now level 12, while Milana got to level 13.
Just when Milana relogged, a pulsing red button welcomed her.
“Hello?”
“Hello!” –exclaimed Amelia. –“Sorry about this morning. I had to do some paperwork for school.”
“Don't worry.” –said Milana. –“I am already thankful for all your help. So just log whenever you feel like.”
“Where are you?” –asked Amelia. –“Shall we meet up?”
“Just now I am waiting for my date.” –answered Milana. –“But we can meet afterwards.”
“Who is he?” –asked Amelia.
“His name is Kyle. He is the little brother of a girl I met on the first day.” –answered Milana. –“He is a really good tank, so I think it will go great.”
“Lucky!” –exclaimed Amelia.
“He just arrived.” –said Milana.
“Alright then, good luck!”
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“Hello again.” –said Kyle. He logged already in his full combat suit. Heavy armor, short spear and a round shield.
“Hello.” –said Milana.
“Angela told me about this experience date.” –said Kyle. –“But let me confirm.”
“She didn't show you the actual date?” –asked Milana.
“Nope.” –answered Kyle. –“She takes this dating thing way too seriously.”
“She won't date her own brother.” –said Milana, laughing.
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“Actually, I don't think she will date anyone besides her boyfriend. And he didn't restart his char, so that will take some time.”
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After reviewing the mob waves, they planned their strategy and went off to the date.
First wave: Ten rabid rabbits.
Milana killed them singlehandly, and without wasting any mana. As she was now, they weren't any challenge.
Second wave: Nine frenzied hogs.
Milana killed most of the hogs, but a couple got to the center, where Kyle took care of them.
Third wave: Eight crimson bears.
This time Milana could only kill three of them, but Kyle pulled the rest all the same. He started going in circles, to minimize the damage taken. Milana only had to cast healing touch once.
Fourth wave: Seven twilight bats.
This round was tricky, since the bats were fast and difficult to aim. And Milana wanted to save her mana for later rounds, so she had been forcing herself to only use Force bolt.
“It's ok, I got them” –said Kyle, being followed by five bats. The other two were already corpses under Milana's feet.
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Bats had taken their time, but they were finally disposed of, just before the next wave.
Fifth wave: Six cursed lizardmen.
The lizardmen were actually easier than bats. Kyle pulled them like a pro, and Milana could take her time frying them with Force bolts.
Sixth wave: Five blood-eyed lizardmen.
This was the wave for which Milana had been saving her Mana bolts. Just as they appeared, she killed them starting with the right side. As she was doing that, Kyle ran to the left side to aggro those. Their plan was to prevent Milana from being targeted.
And it was successful. She evaded the lone stone that came to her just at the beginning of the wave.
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Seventh wave: Four goblin fanatics.
Goblins were smaller than the lizardmen, but way faster. They attacked with daggers, but they could also use they teeth and claws if they saw the chance.
Kyle pulled them as fast as he could, relying on Milana's Healing touch. She wanted to save the last of her mana for the next wave, but the priority was not letting Kyle's hit points lower too much.
Eighth wave: Three goblin shamans.
They heard the next wave's announcement as Kyle finished the last fanatic.
Inmediately, Milana shot a Mana bolt to one of the shamans, while Kyle got to the other ones. Fortunately, the Mana bolt was a critical hit, which dealt more damage and left the shaman stunned. Then, Milana shot again to kill it, switching to heal Kyle just in time.
Thankfully, the shamans were weak to physical damage, so Kyle could kill them with Milana's backup.
“Just two waves to go!”
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Ninth wave: Two troll guardians.
With Milana's mana almost depleted, she would need to focus just on support.
Kyle pulled the trolls with ease, but their defense were really good. And the level difference meant that Kyle would need healing everytime he got hit.
They killed one with a combination of Spear attacks and Force bolts, but the boss wouldn't wait much more.
Final wave: The Troll King.
The last guardian was still at half health, but the King appeared anyway. He had a massive tower shield and a spiked club.
If they killed him, they would gain tons of experience, and even a leissure date ticket. But Milana and Kyle weren't thinking that far, they were just having fun immersed in the heat of the battle.
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“That was amazing!” –exclaimed Milana. She was panting, but happy.
“Such a pity we couldn't beat him in the end.” –said Kyle, who couldn't help smiling.
When the King arrived, both started to run in circles, trying to hit the guardian whenever they could afford it. Sadly, the King had good range, so there was a point in which they couldn't flee anymore. They realized it and made a last ditch effort, killing the guardian.
Out of stamina and mana-depleted, they just embraced death by clubbing.
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They reappeared at the safe point next to the cave's entrance. Milana got to level 15, halfway towards 16. The date amounted to more than a couple of hours of grinding.
“Now I should go, my virtual body is really tired.” –said Kyle. –“I hope we can have another go at the King someday.”
“Of course, I would be glad.” –said Milana, still smiling. –“Thank you, and see ya!”
And then Milana took out a return scroll to get back to Torinelo.
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“You got to see the King?” –asked Amelia, excited.
“Yeah, got to see him, and got beaten to a pulp with his club.” –answered Milana, laughing.
“Anyway, for just having started playing a few days ago, you have done quite a lot.” –said Amelia. –“Maybe you are a genius at this game afterall!”
“Haha. The genius is Kyle.” –said Milana. –“His tanking is a thing of beauty.”
“Did it make your heart flutter?” –asked Amelia, teasingly.
“Don't even joke about that.” –answered Milana, laughing.
“Anyway, you should keep dating him.” –said Amelia.
“You might even clear the level 20 date before the end of the week.”
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After their short meeting, they decided to log out and rest for a bit.
Amelia would visit in the evening, to spend time with Minerva. Ricardo could just hope for the best, while he prepared a few games they probably wouldn't get to play.
Meanwhile, Amelia was out buying some sweets. And window shopping. Even with Virtual Connection, she felt like going out for a bit in the real from time to time.
Contrary to their expectations, Minerva did play for a bit. And even flashed a half-smile against her will.
Some progress.