Facing Fear | ✓ ONC 2023 Honorable Mention

4 | Duo

A quick sweep of the surrounding meadow didn't reveal any creatures, but night did seem to be looming closer along with the infinite wall. Strangely, even after walking for hours, Mori didn't feel tired. Her boots hadn't chafed her heels and the fresh air passed through her lungs without effort. "Do we have to sleep here?"

"No. We don't need it."

Mori did her best not to let her mind wander to unwanted topics, which meant she found herself reminiscing over the days when she had gamer friends. Maybe she should have told them she was quitting. How long did they wait for her thinking she'd come back? But maybe it had been better as it was, with her pulling the cord when her family moved and never plugging back in.

They reached the wall.

"This is the entry to the second ring of seven," Ronin explained. When his fingers touched the stone, the surface rippled like water.

"Are we going through?" Mori asked when he hadn't moved.

Something about Ronin seemed like the wall to her, appearing solid but with subtle shifts beneath. Besides the color of his hair and eyes, his appearance never seemed to settle—sometimes he looked old and rugged, other times the sharp, clean planes of his face testified to a man in the prime of his youth. "Not yet," he said.

Mori waited and watched as the sun dimmed and sank beyond the horizon. Night arrived in a methodical manner, with darkness sweeping over the landscape like a curtain being pulled shut and the stars being lit like candles. Then the clouds parted to reveal the full moon in glory, with the howling of wolves to greet her.

"At times like this, I don't even want to go back," Ronin whispered.

Mori didn't answer and after a moment, he stirred beside her, as if awakening from a dream. A notification appeared before her in a window. "A party request?" she asked.

"A temporary one. You won't be able to damage me that way." Equipment dropped as Ronin slung an extra sword at his waist and added on armor beneath his cloak.

"I've never shot at my friends...after the first time." Mori laughed but Ronin leveled a serious glance at her. "Fine. Fine." Mr. Grumpy Pants can't take a joke. She accepted the request and another window popped up about a will and inheritance laws if she died in-game. After a second of skimming, Mori accepted its terms as well.

Another set of bars appeared in her left field of vision. Unlike hers, all seven were consistent at the mid-to-high range. "Are these your stats?" Mori asked.

"Yes, but keep your voice down." Ronin stepped closer to hover over her shoulder and their stat views merged. "We'll start with your best ones. See how this grey one fills five dots of the bar? That's what we call a five star stat." He pointed to her longest bars. "Grey is accuracy and blue is defense. You may not have the highest strength" —he tapped the golden bar which hovered around the first dot— "but with that aim, you can still one-shot monsters. Your level shows at the top and the higher it is, the more buffs to your equipment you'll receive."

Mori's head swam with the info. "I think I've got it."

"Mind over matter." Ronin patted her shoulder and pulled away. "Now get out your rifle and shoot some wolves. I'll take down any that come too close."

Taking deep breaths, Mori pulled her rifle from the inventory. The grey weapon shimmered before materializing. The number of rounds still in the gun registered as another block of data, with the scope switching to night mode on its own. Mori peeked through it, both eyes open, and swept the grasslands before finding a wolf pack. Identify.

Timber Wolf - 1.1 miles

Red bars appeared over the beasts' heads. Their ears swiveled and mist rose up from quivering muzzles.