11. Art

Seated before a tree, she gazed at the magnificent park scenery. In her hand, she held a sheet of paper, surrounded by fellow artists, both men and women, each staring into the canvases on their easels. The beauty of the park unfolded before her, she understood why they'd want to paint it, but what would she paint?

She tilted her head, still looking at the oak tree she planned to draw, it was huge and most likely older than her, but it was boring. Painting a tree was boring, no amount of its history could change that fact. "Sweetheart, are you done?" Her mother asked to which she shook her head.

Raised by two renowned painters, her home was a gallery of their creations, spanning from abstract to realistic masterpieces adorning every nook and cranny. At times, it annoyed her, being the child of two celebrated artists, they assumed their passion had seamlessly transferred to her. It hadn't.

Glancing around, she spotted two kids on a bench staring into a handheld console. The game's sound effects echoed, intriguing her. She approached them with curiosity, all the while her parents remained oblivious to her departure.

She didn't ask if she could watch, it wasn't as if they paid attention to her anyway. Slowly and calmly, she strolled behind them, peeking into their game. In that moment, she acquired a core memory etched into her mind for eternity, sword fights, dragons, crafting. A new realm unfolded before her, the world of Grandroad.

After she returned to her canvas, she couldn't help but think about the game, her surroundings, lackluster and uneventful turned into the battlefield of a fantastical world, dragons soared the skies and fire golems melted down the ground with their steps. Her boring life had finally become interesting, she grabbed her brush.

Her eyes lit up as she painted what she saw in her mind, it wasn't the park or anything within it, but the world of fantasy she had peered into moments ago. "Are you done, sweetie?" Her mother asked once again and this time, she nodded.

After that day she hadn't stopped thinking about video games, what once was a brief moment of joy turned into an obsessive longing, her parents stood adamant about not getting her a console, they wanted her to focus on her art classes. She hated them.

Over and over again, she asked, begged. They disapproved, however even though she wouldn't be able to get a console, she resorted to requesting a tablet under the guise of researching advanced art techniques online, a pretext they eventually fell for. Once in possession of the device, she delved into watching the gameplay of Grandroad.

Her daily routine consisted of waking up and watching the game, observing the tactics employed by fellow players day in and day out. One day, she stumbled upon a tournament match.

"Woah, they're getting decimated." She chuckled, sitting up as the final teams went head-to-head. With only one player remaining on the opposing team, it became a one-versus-four showdown.

"Ha... Jun, Hajun. Never seen him before, but either way, there's really nothing he can do here. Hell, not even Enoch could win this." She spoke with amusement, before witnessing Hajun effortlessly defeat each opponent without taking a hit. Sitting in awe, she watched her screen as both commentators and fans of the match went wild.

Who's this kid? Was he Hacking? Ever since that day, she's been following his every move. Even after getting a console, she remained his biggest fan, and he inspired her to dive into gaming tournaments. She admired him so much that she eventually got to play alongside him.

He wasn't much of a talker, but that was fine. She'd continue playing until he opened up. VISIDIA was the perfect spot for them to meet, with its buzzing community and excitement. Their paths were bound to cross sooner or later.

"I'm trapped in here," A man pleaded, arms trembling. "My daughter's alone, her mother passed away a while back. What do I do?"

Although she couldn't help them leave the game, she hoped to bring Falusha into good hands. With the faction now in control, she gripped her blade and charged towards the building. However, when she reached the faction member, she abruptly changed course and made a run for it.

She breathed out as she stumbled through an alley, holding her cut hand as he managed to squeeze through a gap. She was being pursued by the faction, her reputation and skill had put her on their radars and after her ridiculous stunt, it was only natural that she'd be targeted.

"Please."

"Please."

"I'll do anything."

.

.

.

"I'm sorry," Hive shot up from her sleep, in the distance was Harvey who stared into the fire, upon seeing her wake up he smiled. "Nightmare?" He said as he put his hands over the fire, warming himself up.

Hive was confused, still tied subconsciously to her earlier dream, she wiped her eyes as she looked around, it was still nighttime, or dark rather. "You really won't sleep?" She responded.

Harvey returned his hands from the fire before putting on his gauntlets, "I can't..." He laughed as he tapped his head. "My brain doesn't need it anymore I guess, plus. You said the Great Night fed on corpses right? I've been making rounds against the Marsh Dragon and no sign of it yet."

"Oh, that." She yawned before stretching, "They're extremely silent. I mean Great Nights are just giant mutated bats, however, they can completely mask a specific sense."

"What do you mean?"

"During nights like this when they feed, they mask their ability to be heard. Mostly as a defense against predators, it works like an Area of effect debuff." Hive laid back down on the ground, covering her eyes with her wrist. "At daytime, they mask their ability to be seen, which is why no one can really... find... one."

Harvey rose quietly as she drifted into slumber. Using the echolocation skill he gained from the Fraulien bats, he crafted a visual map of the surroundings in his mind.

His heightened senses captured even the faintest movements within the vicinity. Despite the Great Night stripping players of their senses, it couldn't erase its own unmistakable presence. "Hm?" Something was nearby.

Harvey peered into the dark marsh, he could clearly see the marsh dragon's floating corpse in the distance, however when he looked again, this time with his night vision, a giant monster with outstretched wings gnawed on its corpse. A Great Night.

The beast quickly turned its head to face Harvey and when Harvey realized the beast had seen him, it disappeared. Still using his night vision Harvey looked around seeing nothing but in a strike of flash the Great Night slammed into him pushing him into the air.

"You're much faster than you look," Harvey materialized one of his blades, thrusting it into the creature's back as they soared into the air. Both of them vanished into a cloud, the backdrop featuring a grey moon and countless blue stars greeting them. Swiftly, the beast released him, descending back to the surface.

"Misuse of fall damage, I would've reported you if this was a game... it is but you understand!" Using boost, Harvey propelled himself at the giant bat, seizing its wing as they descended to the ground. "Now, now. I didn't make a fuss when you abandoned me up there, so bear with it!" Harvey swiftly pulled away, tearing off the bat's wing in the process, causing it to crash down onto the concrete.

"Harvey," Hive called out as she blew away the dust cloud the creature had created, "Harvey!"

"Got it!" Harvey exclaimed, holding the wing of the Great Night in his hand. "Should I get the second one just in case?"

"Nah, one's enough. " Hive smiled softly, her smile fading away almost as quickly as it appeared. "Let's tie them together with the core. We'll deal with the golems and search for the blumrose tomorrow, hopefully making our way back to Falusha as well."

"Nice." Harvey approached her.

"You're the one on the hunt for the blumrose."

"Sure... what do they look like again?"

"Never mind."