Chapter 1 – A Peaceful Village
Ahead of Ambrose and his companions lay the Grassy Plains. It was a picturesque place with a soft morning breeze that carried the sounds of a nearby stream and chirping birds. At a glance, it was ideal with crystal-clear waters and delicate wildlife. It’s too perfect. Ambrose, a max-level Vampire Lord, wore the disguise of a wealthy merchant while leading a small group.
Alongside him was Ruby, a young NPC, who had been a non-player computer-controlled character in-game. Ambrose had rescued her at Bolo’s insistence, his dwarf Vampire Hunter companion. However, he saw no use for her, as she was a measly level one with no special abilities. He had only saved her to keep favor with Bolo. Despite his annoyance, Ruby had taken a liking to him and was clutching his hand, blissfully unaware of his true nature.
Like several others, Ambrose was a gamer stuck in the world around them from playing a virtual reality game called The World of Fates. Something mysteriously whisked them into it when the servers shut down. It resembled the game but had unique differences. Trapped, they had taken on their character’s appearances and abilities.
“How much further?” Bolo asked. “I always wanted a larger map, but this is freaking ridiculous. We’ve been walking forever.”
“We’ve only been doing so for three hours and thirty-nine minutes,” Nova, the max-level Paladin, corrected.
Back in their world, people classified Nova as a player, but she was really a software program. Her creator had used artificial intelligence to design a bot that gathered resources and items to sell. However, in this world, she had become just as real as everyone else, like all NPCs had.
“This will take several days on foot.” Ambrose looked around. “It’ll be faster once my carriage arrives.”
“Good thing we’re not in any hurry.” Bolo crossed his arms.
“It beats being stuck in an office, and it’s not like there’s a way back anyway,” Ambrose answered, trying to conceal relief.
“How long do you think it’ll take Angel and Clara to return?” Bolo wondered.
They were player-support NPCs whom Ambrose had sent ahead to retrieve his carriage. Angel was Nova’s, whose unimaginative name matched her character. While Clara, a demon succubus, was Ambrose’s.
“Angel and Clara!” Ruby clapped her hands happily.
“They should return in another day or so,” Ambrose looked upward. “It depends on whether they have to go to the castle or if they catch up to it before.”
“Is that even possible?” Bolo asked.
“Should be. Bandits stopped it once before. Besides, it has a driver.” Ambrose paused. “His name’s Otto.”
“Loading screens do not allow for interaction or interruptions,” Nova asserted with an authoritative look.
“It’s a real carriage. I’ve seen it,” Bolo countered.
Nova said nothing and kept walking. Bolo and Ambrose exchanged a glance. Ambrose shrugged, determining it wasn’t worth trying to convince her.
“At least Angel and Clara can fly,” Bolo grumbled. “My feet are killing me.”
“I wish I could fly,” Ruby said with childish whimsy.
Bolo, picking her up, put her on his shoulders. Ruby immediately extended her arms. Unconsciously, Bolo patted a Ring of Flight in his pocket. He had stolen it when they completed the jungle dungeon. A fortuitous find he wasn’t yet ready to reveal.
In-game, each area had dungeons where players could earn rare treasure and gain experience to level their characters. They had different themes, reflecting their location, and presented unique challenges. The jungle one had mainly contained traps and puzzles.
“Down!” Ruby demanded.
Bolo obliged, and she walked next to them for a few steps before stopping and holding her hands up to Ambrose.
“Carry!”
Ambrose looked down, annoyed. Since rescuing her, she had been clingy.
“Fine,” he grumbled, figuring they could travel faster.
Scooping her up, Ruby wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
“You look like her father, Ambrosy,” Bolo snickered.
Ambrose shot him a glare, causing Bolo to laugh harder. Looking ahead, Ambrose spotted a split in their trail. He expected the others to mention it, but they didn’t. I must be the only one who can see that far.
“The road branches ahead. Which way should we take?” he asked.
“What?” Bolo squinted, straining his eyes. “I don’t see it.”
“Which direction depends on where we’re going,” Nova replied matter-of-factly.
Bolo rolled his eyes while Ambrose sighed. She was trying to be helpful, but came off stiff and inhuman.
“You said we were going to the Dark Marsh. If so, we should take the stone road east.”
“Then I guess we’ll go that way,” Bolo shrugged.
“How do you know?” Ambrose questioned.
“That’s true; we don’t have maps,” Bolo commented.
“East is Woodbine, south is Temple Mound,” Nova informed.
“But how do you know?” Bolo stared at her.
“I have the main map memorized,” Nova replied. “Everywhere except random areas. I save only the patterns.”
“All of them?” Bolo raised an eyebrow.
“There’s only twelve,” Nova answered.
Bolo shook his head. He had meant the game locations, not random areas.
“It would have been nice to know that,” Ambrose muttered.
“I guess she solves our problem of not knowing where we are,” Bolo concluded. “So, what’s a Woodbine?”
“It’s a village,” Nova answered.
“People!” Ruby exclaimed, looking around. “I don’t see them.”
“That’s because we’re not there yet,” Bolo patted her head.
Arriving at the fork, they took the path that turned onto a paved road. Travel was easier along it, and soon, they were passing small farmhouses whose pastures alternated between cattle and crops. As they moved closer to the village, groups of houses replaced them.
“That must be it,” Ambrose pointed.
“Really?” Ruby stared. “I still don’t see it,” she puffed up her cheeks, her shoulders dropping.
“That’s alright. I can’t either. Ambrosy, that vision of yours is really something,” Bolo commented.
“Woodbine Village,” Nova stated. “It has one church, one inn, a blacksmith shop, and one side quest.”
Side quests were jobs in-game that weren’t part of the main storyline. Developers added them to increase the game’s length and enhance the world’s realism. Though unnecessary, they often gave valuable experience and decent rewards.
“I don’t remember it,” Bolo scratched his beard.
“Me neither,” Ambrose agreed. “Too many villages scattered across the map.”
“They all looked mostly the same, too,” Bolo recalled. “Just tiny stops to heal and buy things.”
“What’s the side quest?” Ambrose curiously asked.
Nova was about to answer when Bolo interrupted, “Since they have a church, we could drop Ruby off.”
“What?” Ruby turned.
“They have one,” Nova confirmed.
According to the game’s lore, churches took in orphans. However, Ambrose didn’t view Ruby as a child, but as his property. He had rescued her to keep Bolo with him. I don’t give away my things that easily.
“There would be other kids there for her to play with, Ambrosy,” Bolo added, sensing Ambrose’s hesitance.
“NO!” Ruby shouted. “I want to stay with you.”
She hugged Ambrose extra tight, her eyes filling with tears.
“She doesn’t seem agreeable,” Ambrose smirked.
“I just want what’s best for her,” Bolo replied. “I mean, you know, you’re a…” he stopped and forced a cough.
“A Vampire Lord?” Nova filled in his missing words.
“I was trying not to say that in front of her,” Bolo scolded, shooting her a dirty look.
“What’s a Vammer Lord?” Ruby asked.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” Bolo assured.
“It’s a powerful undead monster,” Nova informed. “Stronger than a Wraith or Litch.”
Ruby looked at Ambrose for clarification. When none came, she shrugged, as if Nova had just been playing.
“I think we should leave her in the village,” Bolo pressed.
“Shouldn’t she have some say?” Ambrose countered.
“Ambrosy, she’s just a child.”
“Please don’t!” Ruby pleaded. “I want to stay with you.”
“Adventurers aren’t proper parents,” Bolo added.
A tense moment of silence fell.
“There aren’t monsters nearby,” Nova informed. “We could leave her here.”
“See, even Nova agrees,” Bolo asserted.
“No, she doesn’t,” Ambrose snapped. Turning, he asked, “Did you mean leaving Ruby in the village?”
“No. Right here on the road,” she elaborated. “As long as the bot stays on it, it will be safe.”
Ambrose grinned.
“You can’t leave a child here! You mindless machine,” Bolo shouted.
“Why? The tiny bot should no longer exist,” Nova responded. “She was to be eaten by a cave worm. In failing that task, she no longer has a purpose.”
“I don’t want to be eaten.” Ruby buried her face in Ambrose’s clothes.
“Of course not, and nobody is going to be,” Bolo assured. “We just want to find a safe spot for you.”
“But I want to stay with you,” Ruby whispered into Ambrose’s ear.
Bolo opened his mouth to say something, but Ambrose cut him off. “Shhh… We can talk later. I hear footsteps.”
Reaching over his shoulder, Bolo wrapped his fingers around the butt of his crossbow. “How many?”
“Three children,” Ambrose answered.
Hastily, Bolo pulled back his arm. “You should have said that part sooner.”
“More bots,” Nova noted.
“Are you adventurers?” Asked a wide-eyed boy.
“We sure are,” Bolo replied.
“You shouldn’t talk to strangers, Billy,” a girl running up scolded.
“You’re not my boss, Cindy.”
Billy looked about twelve. His clothes were shabby and a tad small, leaving his arms and legs awkwardly exposed. Ambrose guessed Cindy to be a couple of years younger. Her dress, though plain, was clean and fit her well. It showed she likely came from a more prominent family.
Are they vulnerable? In-game, players couldn’t kill or even harm children, regardless of the weapon or spell. Supposedly, it was because of legal regulations. Only scripted cut-scenes, such as the Giant Cave Worm designed to eat Ruby and her mother, could kill a child character.
Seeing Billy’s attention focused on Bolo, Ambrose reached over. Gently, he ran the edge of one of his fingernails down the boy’s cheek. He did it gracefully, as if brushing something off, but the trail of crimson left behind delighted him. I can hurt them. He grinned as the boy’s hands sprang up to cover the injury.
“Ow!” Billy exclaimed.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Ambrose lied. “I must have accidentally scratched you.”
Bolo squinted suspiciously at him, but pivoted his attention back to the boy. Bolo pulled Ambrose’s hand back and looked at the cut. Thankfully, it was a tiny scratch and not deep.
“You need to be more careful, Ambrosy.”
“Does it hurt?” Cindy asked.
Billy sniffled, nodding.
“Nova, heal him,” Bolo instructed.
“Why? It would be a waste of mana. He’s a bot,” Nova obstinately replied.
“The boy’s hurt. Just heal him.” Bolo insisted.
“No,” Nova crossed her arms.
“We’re not in a game anymore. Just do it.” Bolo fumed.
It looks as though they might get into a fight.
“It was my mistake. Let me,” Ambrose spoke up.
He reached into his inventory, the children’s eyes widening with delight as he retrieved a bottle out of thin air.
“You’re a mage!” Billy exclaimed.
“Something… like that,” Ambrose answered.
Opening the potion, he splashed a tiny amount onto his fingers and rubbed them against the boy’s cheek. Billy grimaced, but the wound closed.
“There. All better,” Ambrose announced, playing it up for Bolo’s sake.
He re-corked the container and put it away.
“It’s all gone,” Cindy observed, astonished.
“Was that a healing potion, mister?” Billy asked, running his fingers up and down his cheek.
“It was,” Ambrose answered.
“Real magic!” Cindy remarked. “Aren’t they expensive?”
“It only took a splash,” Ambrose downplayed its cost.
“Hmph… It’s the least he could do,” Bolo grumbled, shooting Ambrose an unconvinced look.
“I told you they were adventurers!” Another boy, around Ruby’s age, ran up, his words spoken between long gasps for breath.
“They sure are, Sam,” Billy shared.
“Do you fight monsters?” Cindy tilted her head.
“Of course they do!” Sam shouted.
“Occasionally,” Bolo punched the air as if fighting an invisible person.
Matching the party’s speed, the kids fell in beside them, their eyes sparkling with admiration.
“What village is this?” Ambrose asked, checking Nova’s accuracy.
“I told you it was Woodbine,” Nova answered.
“It is,” Cindy confirmed.
“Looks like she was right,” Bolo admitted.
“Of course I was,” Nova replied. “I told you, I have the game locations memorized.”