Independence

I awoke in the morning with a start. Staring at the surroundings of the living room, forgetting what had happened. The clock on my menu read 9:30 A.M. I sighed and sat up, pushing the blanket I'd thrown on myself in the night off. I folded it neatly and placed it over the top of the couch where I'd found it. I stretched and went to the window, gazing out at the busy street before me. Players were running around, chatting to each other. Guild halls were pouring with people. My stomach growled.

I went to Vane's kitchen and opened the fridge, not expecting to find much. Surprisingly, there were a few packaged sandwiches in there, I helped myself to one. I noticed a coffee machine on the counter, and I dared to hope. My heart raced in my chest as I ran for the machine, looking through the cupboards for beans. Alas! Success! I pulled the can of coffee beans out of the upper cupboard. I set about making myself a cup of morning coffee. I took my cup over to the window and sipped while people watching.

I made it until 11 AM before I got bored. I was pacing the rooms, antsy to get a move on. Vane said I could explore town as I like, but not to leave town. When have I ever been a girl who does what she's told?

My first stop was the armourer, I noticed in my account it says I have 50,000 Ren. That must be where my investment went. I almost laughed at the dark humor. They gave me the 50,000 in game!

I bought the highest-level equipment available for my level 5 standing. Which turned out to be a sleek black metal armour, it was thin and flexible, it fit to my curves and had intricate ironwork detailing. I replaced my leggings with plated black mail leggings of the same material, and also purchased gloves and boots. The total purchase set my account down 7,000 Ren. With my sword strapped to my back, next I went to the apothecary. I purchased a large number of healing crystals. Just in case. Without a healer, I was going to need lots of items. Next, I decided to take my sword to the weapon smith and get it appraised and see what they can do for me.

The bell tinkled as I walked into the small shop. An elderly man turned to face me, he smiled as he saw me come in.

"Welcome! I am Ferrin, I am the local weapon smith for Vale." He announced and reached out his hand, I smiled and shook it.

"Fayre. I wanted to know if you could have a look at my sword and tell me about potential upgrades." I asked him. He nodded. I pulled my sword off of my back and handed it over the counter to him. He whistled and ran his hands over the metal lovingly. I struggled not to bristle, for some reason I was very protective of this sword.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see one of these in my career. The self-levelling items are premium, can only be bought at exceptionally high prices on the market boards. I've never seen someone have one as a starter weapon before." He raised a brow at me. I shrugged and reached for the sword. He pulled it back.

"Don't worry, lass. I won't be taking it from you. Let me have a look at what we can do here." He waved in front of the sword and brought up his menu. I saw him hit a skill button, which I'm assuming was "appraisal".

"This sword has incredibly high damage potential! It has no limits except for your own. I would bring it in periodically for a sharpen and cleaning, but you shouldn't need upgrades from me. Now if you want a second weapon, I'd be happy to help you." He waved to his wall of large great swords. I shook my head but smiled at him. Placing my sword back on my back. I reached over and handed him a few coins.

"Thank you, for your time." I said placing the coins in his palm. He smiled and pocketed them.

"Anytime, lassie. Take care of that sword." He said.

"I will" I waved and exited the shop.

I wandered towards the outskirts of the town, beside a path that led back into the forests I had been in the day before. I sighed and planted my feet, taking a deep breath. I looked around to make sure Vane wasn't watching me and walked out of the safe zone.

As I wandered through the forest, I saw animals running around. It was nice to admire the wildlife that hadn't been driven away by the enemies. I continued forward as the brush got denser. I heard a snorting and a hiss, and I smiled. Perfect. Something was rustling in the bush ahead.

I stalked forward, pulling my sword off of my back and holding it in the ready position. As the boar stepped out from the bushes it saw me and hissed. Turning toward me, it stomped its hooves. I smiled and deftly held my sword, raising it high. I lunged forward sweeping my weapon in an arc and plunging it into the side of the beast. It squealed and fell. I saw it burst apart on the ground. I smiled and jumped in success. I heard another growl behind me and turned to see what looked like a leopard. I spun to face it and jumped in the air, spinning in an arc and slashing the large cat across its back. It growled and jumped away from me. I didn't hesitate, I rushed forward and slashed, the cat fell to the ground with a final wail and exploded.

I continued on in this fashion for what felt like hours. I took down weak enemy after weak enemy, sweat fell from my brow. Finally, I stood to run my hands through my hair, feel the cooling wind. I looked at my experience bar. Level 8! I smiled and stood straight. Not bad for a hard day's work. No significant injuries. The crystals had come in handy, although I'd only had to use a couple.

I heard clapping from behind me. I spun holding my sword, to roll my eyes when I saw Vane casually lounging against a tree. He had a long sword strapped to his waist. His silver hair shone in the sunlight. His grey eyes narrowed at me.

"So much for staying in town." He chided. I smiled and shrugged.

"I've never one to be a kept woman. How did you find me?" I laughed. His lips quirked up in a smirk.

"I underestimated you. You found a great area for practice. I was still a bit worried when I showed up at the house and you were gone. I have my ways of tracking." He mused mysteriously, giving me a wink. I frowned. How had he found me? You can't teleport directly to another player in game. He would have had to have been looking for me.

"I'm quite capable, I've found in my life." I smiled. He gestured for us to start walking back towards town.

"How was your day?" He asked, looking at me as we walked. I shrugged and gestured around us.

"It was a bit disorienting waking up here. I spent most of the day out here after visiting the shops. I did wait until around 11 or so before I completely defied your orders." I smiled. He shook his head.

"You don't know the area; you could have been killed." He said. I nodded.

"But I wasn't." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. I laughed and placed a hand on his arm.

"Don't worry, I was keeping an eye on the levels of nearby enemies, if I saw anything out of a reasonable range I was going to turn back." He nodded and continued walking, clearly questioning my sanity.

"We'll hit up the easy quest markers around town tonight. That should boost you some levels as well." He said. I enjoyed the views of the scenery as we walked back to town. Vast fields spread out in all directions, surrounded by expansive forests. The trees were lush green pines, oaks and willows. The sun was beginning to set, the sky lit a pale orange. I paused in walking to stare out down the field toward the large city that was Vale.

"It's beautiful." I said. The medieval stonework of the buildings was clearly visible in the light of the dusk. A beautiful spider web to catch victims in, to lure in those who will pay a high price to be entertained by the competition amongst the dead and the criminals. Vane turned to stare at me in the light of the sun, his expression was unreadable.

"It is." He said, but he was looking at me. I blushed and started walking again. We walked in companionable silence, listening to the birds and the wind, all the way back to town.