Based on the size of the silhouette itself, Asher already had a bad feeling. He was aware that the figure behind the mist surely had strength beyond those of the orcs they'd fought before and it must be very risky if that figure managed to see them all.

"Chronos, we need to find a place to hide. Going against this monster is like going for death."

"Alright, but now where can we hide?" Chronos raised his eyebrows. "Damn, there's only thick fog all around us, how can we find a place to hide?"

"Uh, but it looks like we can hide there." Persea tugged on Asher's sleeve. "Come on, come with me."

They soon followed Persea until they reached a group of bushes about half the height of Asher's body. Needless to say, they jumped into the bushes at once, and just a few minutes later, the figure flashed past them.

"Oh my, that was a close. Luckily that thing only passed by." Persea wiped the sweat from her forehead. " if we're even a little late, we might die for sure."

"Yes, just look at it. That monster's green legs are so big, much bigger than I imagined, it can easily stomp our bodies to pieces." Chronos patted Asher's shoulder repeatedly. " It's a good thing I listen to what you say, Ash."

"Never mind, I think we can get out of here now. That big creature seems to have gone somewhere." Asher slowly walked out of their hiding place "Hurry up, we should hurry back to Altaria village and ask the fairy elder about this."

"Yes, I agree."

After hearing Asher's words, they immediately left the mist forest and returned to Altaria village to ask the fairy elders about the large creature inside the mist forest, hoping that the fairy elders might know something about the creature.

"Fairy elders, we managed to rescue all the fairies lost in the mist forest."

"Yes, Persea, thank you." The fairy elder smiled. "And to you two as well, without your help the fairies would not have survived. Thank you for everything."

'You have completed Quest 7: Searching for the missing fairy (2/5).

'Earned 1800 Exp.

'You have obtained 1300 gold coins, 2x fairy shoes, 3x bombs,'

[Fairy shoes: fine fabric shoes used by fairies for traveling and believed to bring good luck to the wearer. increases luck by 10%]

"Oh yes, fairy elder I have something to ask you. When we were in the mist forest, we saw a large silhouette there." Asher pointed his index finger at a tree near the village. "It was probably about- no, no. It was double the height of that tree. Do you know what that figure is?"

The fairy elder was silent for a moment. "It seems that you nearly met the orc king-the leader of all the orcs in the fairy territory. It's a good thing you didn't meet the creature directly because if you had, the creature wouldn't have hesitated to kill you all."

"Wh-what! Ki-kill us?" Persea swallowed her saliva followed by her face tightening. "Gosh, th-that sounds horrible."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Yes, the orc king does enjoy killing because of his barbaric and bloodthirsty nature." The fairy elder sighed. "Alright, enough about the orc king. I'd better see how the fairies are doing now. Once again, thank you for your help." The fairy elder walked away leaving them all behind.

"Uh, Asher, Chronos I should help the fairy elder, she might need my help." Persea immediately chased after the fairy elder who was a few meters ahead of her.

"Alright, Ash I think-" Chronos' alarm suddenly sounded. "Oh my, it's already midnight. Damn, we need to get out of the game now because our online class starts at 8 am tomorrow."

"Yeah, I agree with what you said. Alright, see you tomorrow, Chronos." Asher pressed the log-out button of the game.

***

During the online class, Ethan kept his head down without moving an inch. His snoring sound was so loud that all the students who heard it could only laugh at it. No wonder he was still sleepy because he had only slept 4-5 hours yesterday, which was much less than his usual sleeping hours.

"Ethan, Ethan" The old man snapped his fingers repeatedly. "Hey, Ethan! Wake up!" The old man's shout woke Ethan up in an instant.

"Uh, no Sir. Not at all." Asher shook his head. "I, I'm not asleep at all."

"Asher, once you fall asleep again you will never attend my class again!" the old man shouted, causing the class to fall silent. "Alright, that's enough class for today, I hope you keep studying. Remember, the final exams are starting soon and you need to prepare yourself if you want to get into the university you want."

"Yes, Sir!" Shouted simultaneously all the kids in the class.

One by one, Ethan's friends left the online class, and so did Ethan. Honestly, his teacher's words were still ringing clearly in his mind and if he was expelled from the class, he would have a hard time getting into the university he chose.

"No, no I can't make this mistake again. I can't let Aunt Luna and Mom be disappointed in"

Suddenly the landline in the living room rang, making Ethan pause. It felt quite strange because, since the pandemic, it rarely and nearly never rang, so he decided to pick up the call since it was probably an important one.

"Hello, who is it?"

"Eth, it's me. Aidan. Turn on your television right now, I have something important to show you."

"Aid, why are you calling me on the landline? Why not just use my cell phone?"

"I'm charging my cell phone in the room and it will take some more time to get it. Never mind, don't ask too many questions, turn on your television now, before the news passes by."

Ethan quickly took the television remote lying on the table and then turned on the television. His face immediately tightened when he saw the news that the owner of the medical company where his mother worked was the same company as the creator of this game, Ali-Stair Biotech Corporation.

"Wait, but how?"

"Hey, the Ali-Stair family is so rich that they can buy anything they want. If they manage to find a vaccine for the virus, their wealth will continue to grow. But as of now, they haven't found a vaccine for this virus. I just hope it's not Ali-Stair who finds this vaccine because there are rumors that if they do, something bad will happen. "Aidan whispered. "But, I don't know, that's just a rumor too."

"Hemm, about the vaccine there is something I want to show you."

"Huh? What do you mean by that Eth, I don't understand at all?"

"Come into the game and I'll explain everything there."

"Oh, well, I'll be going then."

***

"Holy shit! Is this for real, Ash?" Chronos rounded both eyeballs when he saw the message Asher received.

" I, I also don't know if this is true or just a hoax. Just look, the location says The 8th floor of the Ark Tower, I haven't heard that name before and it sounds quite strange doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I've never heard that name either. But for now, don't tell anyone about this, Ash" Chronos patted Asher's shoulder, a serious expression on his face. "Just you and I know this thing, okay?"

"Yes, you're exactly right. But I'm still curious about the sender. Athena08, who is that? Asher stroked his chin repeatedly. "I'm completely lost."

"Well, maybe that person is someone you know, Ash. " Chronos shrugged his shoulders. "Try to remember it." He scratched his head followed by a look of confusion.

Asher immediately fell silent after hearing Chronos' words. It all made sense. The sender must be someone Asher knew, but who? He didn't know, not even a single name came to mind. Strange and why the sender sent this message to him, is there any reason the sender sent this to him?