2 EMERGENCY LOG OUT

Once they reached the top of the hill, Astrid still had the energy to jump and twirl like a child. "See? I told you the view would be fantastic from here! Look at that clear blue sky and the super green fields!"

**Her HP is in the red… How can she move like that?!** Alan thought as he tried to catch his breath.

"J-Just give me a moment, p-please."

"Ah! I told you there was a river nearby." She beamed, stretching out her arms. "Come on, Alan, fill your lungs! The air smells especially good around here!"

The panting Alan followed her gaze, finding a top view of the region. Apart from the Beginner's Town, 300 yards away, and the Virmion Woods at their back, he could admire a magnificent blue mountain on the horizon.

The place from where they started their adventure a week ago. And after all this time, I still can't believe that I'm here, he thought, pursing his lips.

**Long gone are the sights of sterile lands, gray clouds, black seas, and the dry rivers of the old Earth, huh. This is just like the Alvearium Enterprise's advertisements said: 'The Novus is a new beginning! Do and be whatever your heart desires!'**

**Yeah, sure, at least until the Santa María arrives at its destination…**

"Do you like what you see?" Astrid asked tenderly, locking eyes with him.

"I do..." he absently replied, staring at her cute, impossibly-immaculate perfect face, beautifully-enticing plump lips, and at her strikinging blue eyes, features enhanced by the Novus' avatar rendering. Even her golden bob made her look like a runaway princess.

**Who knows? Maybe she secretly is one. She comes from the country of kings and queens, after all.**

"Alan?" she called, giving him a funny look. "I'm talking about the scenery. Do you like it?"

He corrected his posture. "Y-Yes! A truly astounding view! It really warms your heart to experience what Earth was supposed to look like hundreds of years ago. Am I right?!" He then laughed out loud, hands on his hips.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "But what's with the gloomy face you had just a moment ago? Were you thinking about something negative again, Mr. Warden?"

**Come on, Astrid, what do you want me to say? Should I tell you that although I had a blast fighting monsters with you every single day, I consider this a waste of time? Look at us! We're all caged in a semi-medieval setting, learning swordplay and roleplaying as mages, instead of learning how to use a gun, repair solar panels and maintain our home ship!**

"Astrid… I…"

She suddenly grabbed his hand. "Have I told you before that I find your sulky expression especially cute?" She said in a serious tone before grinning. "Come on, let's go to the Town Hall and retrieve our bounty!"

As they ran down the hill, Alan could feel the wind hit his face and fill his lungs with pure air. **Not only that. I can feel the muscles in my legs working and my heart thumping like crazy... And just like pain here feels real, the hand I'm holding… Hers… feels like the real deal too.**

Unus, The Beginner's Town, was up ahead, designated to welcome every new inhabitant of the Eurola region. Its shops and restaurants were small, and the only two-story buildings were the Town Hall and the Moonlight Dream Inn.

Although most people had already parted to more advanced areas, downtown still looked as lively as the first day, and there was still a waiting line to get inside the Town Hall.

"I hope this doesn't take long. Because I'm starving."

"We've already explored Caeruleum Mountain and Virmion Woods, so what's next?" he asked, prompting her to raise her chin with pride.

"Dylak's Mansion, obviously! Let's show those guys that belittled you yesterday that we can beat that whole dungeon on our own. We don't need them!"

"Wait, haven't we heard that place is, like, hardcore?"

"So what? After today's battle, I truly think we can take on anything the Novus throws at us. You said I always find a way, didn't you? Besides, I'll have you by my side."

"Which reminds me, are you still up for starting a guild with me?"

"Absolutely! Have you come up with a good name for it yet?"

"Well, I was thinking about that spell you improvised to save me, and it's kind of inspiring, you know? So let's become the 'Shooting Stars' and soar the skies!"

Astrid grimaced. "Rejected. It sounds lame and girly."

"What?! No, it doesn't! And didn't you tell me you loved astronomy stuff? Astronomy… Astrid… Get it?"

"I have a much better one! We could become the 'Death Bringers'!"

"Pass. Do you want to scare everyone we meet? What about 'Snakes of Power'?"

"Nothing could stop the 'Army of the Dead'!"

Alan frowned. "You want a grim-sounding name? Fine! 'Callers of the Void'?"

"'Black Tide… of the Dead'!"

"'Time Slavers'. 'Titan Hunters'. 'Defenders of Insanity'!"

"Oh, oh, you like romantic names, right? Hear me out: 'Lovers of the Goddess of Death'..." Astrid intoned in a macabre voice, opening her eyes wide and putting both hands against her cheeks.

"What's with your fascination with death?"

"Well," Astrid began, puffing out her chest, "if I'm going to worship something, what could be better than the Old One herself? The one that visits us all when our time comes."

"What's with that logic?"

The Town Hall's interior looked more like a bank than a local government building. Female employees wearing victorian-inspired dresses helped visitors from their reception desks with constant transactions of gold and valuables. The woman that received Alan and Astrid had a long blue ponytail and fox-like ears. The title, Unus Town Mayor, could be read above her head.

"Good morning, aspirant heroes! What can I do for you today?" she intoned in a sweet voice.

"We got rid of your pests problems," Astrid said proudly, putting a blood-stained fang over the desk.

**Although I'm pretty sure they'll all respawn by tomorrow morning,** Alan thought, half-smiling.

"That's wonderful," the young lady said, smiling brightly. "Congratulations on defeating The Weasenox. As a reward, you can choose a weapon from this list." With that said, she waved at the air and a System window popped up in front of them.

"Only one weapon? We're two here, you know? But whatever!" Astrid said, annoyed, exhaling loudly. "Could you also give us a form to register a new guild, please?"

"Right away, Ms. Bradford," the fox-eared woman with a permanent grin said, materializing a second window.

"Let's review the rewards first, eh, Alan? Let's see… Beginner's Staff, Beginner's Sword, Bow, Dagger… A hammer? Ugh! Who'd carry that to a battlefield? That has no finesse. What do you think?" she asked, turning her gaze to him. To her surprise, Alan was consciously observing the female NPC, who did not seem to mind. "W-What are you looking at, you creep?!" Astrid hissed, glancing at the NPC's stacked bosom and curvy figure. Or was he entranced by those cute animal ears?

"I've been wondering for a while," Alan began saying, without taking his eyes off the fake woman. "Can these NPCs be considered some kind of advanced AI? They're part of the System, after all, but what kind of special programming do they have? Do they repeat the same things over and over again after a prolonged conversation? Are they closer to our real-life automatons than 'digital people'? Or perhaps…"

"Here it is again," Astrid said, folding her arms. "Curious Alan. No, wait, I have a better one. 'Alanytical'."

"S-Sorry for zoning out, Astid, won't happen again. You were saying?"

She sighed loudly, hiding a smile. "Help me choose a reward from the list while I fill out the guild form, okay?"

After nodding, Alan skimmed through the list, but the constant loud voices around him caught his attention.

"Man, this place is awesome. Who would have thought this place would be like a videogame?"

"I know right? I wouldn't mind becoming a frozen vegetable for the rest of my life. Everyone here looks hot as hell and we're practically immortal."

"I hope the Santa María finds nothing but poisonous planets during its whole journey so we get stuck here forever."

"Yeah. Who in his right mind would want to return to the real world? Especially if we end up stranded in a lame ass rock in the middle of nowhere."

**Great… Just freaking great.**

Alan formed fists and tensed his jaw while his gaze kept absently pointing at the reward list.

**That's what I was talking about. Should we really be wasting our time playing here while our families and the rest of the 'not-qualified' are literally awaiting death? We all left a dying Earth just a week ago, and we've been doing nothing but eating and drinking to our heart's content and fakely satiating some sense of accomplishment. This… This feels wrong!**

Those thoughts incited him to turn around and give a piece of his mind to those Users, teens just like him, but Astrid grabbed his arm and looked deep into his eyes.

"Don't," she said quietly, faintly smiling at him. "I knew something has been bothering you lately, so listen, don't feel bad about living in a utopia. We gain literally nothing from worrying about what we left behind, instead of looking at what's ahead of us. We've already said goodbye to all of our relatives, right? So keep proud of their sacrifice and live every day to your fullest for them. That's what a shooting star does, right? Keep going forward no matter what?"

"Astrid… How did you know…?"

She chuckled, gently tapping his forehead. "Because I've been thinking the same since we logged in, silly. Tee-hee. So! Have you made your choice yet?"

He smiled at her, and tapped on the reward screen.

"Here's your new Beginner's Elemental Staff, Mr. Warden," the NPC in front of them said, placing the item over the desk, which Astrid stared at, frowning.

"Take it, Astrid. So you can save me again in the future," Alan said, as the girl grabbed it with shaking hands and embraced it.

"D-Deal!" she replied with flushed cheeks before hurrying her way to the exit.

Admiring the way her short blond hair danced left and right at her every step seemed to ease the pressure in his heart. **Although I'm not totally convinced, I can't deny that living here, by your side, will make it all worth it.**

As he stepped in her direction, the NPC urgently called at him: "Mr. Warden, before you go, would you kindly sign the guild's form? Just press your thumb on the red dot and the process will be complete."

"Ah, sure," he said, following her instructions, and before the window could disappear, he caught a glimpse of the registered guild name: 'Shooting Stars'.

In the blink of an aye, the oppressing and bitter feeling in his chest was swapped for a warm and tingling sensation filling him whole.

"Hurry up, Alan, I'm starving! Let's get some pizza!"

"Yes!" he replied aloud, waving goodbye at the Mayor.

**What am I doing worrying about a future so ahead of us? Astrid is right. Instead of bashing my head against the wall, thinking we'll screw this up before it even starts, I should focus on taking care of what's in front of me now. This blond beauty that believes in me as much as I trust her.**

Smiling about the possibilities of a bright future awaiting him, Alan Warden hurried his steps while promising to look at the good side of things, just like her, before a red system window blocked his sight of vision.

+++++WARNING!

COMMUNICATION WITH THE NOVUS SYSTEM HAS BEEN LOST.+++++

His legs stopped working and reality froze around him, as a static image of Astrid, waiting for him at the door got carved in his brain.

**And it may be my imagination, but I think I can hear her voice in the distance, screaming my name….**

++++NOTICE:

User #29318, ALAN WARDEN, YOU HAVE LOGGED OUT OF THE NOVUS SYSTEM…+++++