31 The Stalker Makes Her Move!

"Huh?!"

Right in the middle of the fight between Mitree and I, Mitree was pulled back into the giant worm's mouth. It was none other than Petal. She used a skill to pull Mitree. But for what? Was she scared that I was getting the upper hand?

It didn't take me too long to realize that Roxline summoned a tornado that was shredding through everything in sight.

I used deathly lunge to get out of the way and when I did, the tornado passed me and was heading straight for the Anarchy guild leader.

"Tch. Game over...This pisses me off to no end. I guess I'll have to take my leave-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Meros blocking an incoming fireball from Roxline. Although he blocked it, that wasn't enough for the attack it end. As he blocked it, the attack carried him straight into the tornado and he was quickly taken by it. As the tornado tore through where he was originally standing, I noticed that he was no longer there. The tornado swept him away. It would be wishful thinking to assume that he's dead. People like that don't die easily, after all...

With the enemy forces falling back, I'm certain that I can now say that victory belongs to Diligence. I looked over to see if Aegis was alright and Violet and Roxline were right next to him. Roxline couldn't keep her eyes off of him. She was genuinely concerned for his well being.

"Oho? What's this? What was it you said? 'It's every man for himself,' right? Helping us out was a weird thing to do in that moment, Roxline! I guess you bend the rules for possible love interests. I don't blame ya!" I teased her.

"Can you LEAVE ME ALONE! I just would've felt bad if he died for nothing, so I decided to pitch in just this once! Don't expect my help any time soon!" She snapped at me.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's just go finish this, already. Hey, Lucia-"

I looked over to where I last saw the guild leader and was surprised to find that she was no longer there.

Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Hermes in a while either! Where did they go?! Did they slip away during the fight?

That's when I saw it. In the distance, Large mounds of sand rose from the ground and created a city with various buildings. The buildings weren't anything like the ones back at Jericho. They had round or spherical layouts as opposed to the traditional rectangular or square. It was definitely different from anything I've seen before in this game.

"Lucia must've ran ahead of us and restored the kingdom with Hermes. Let's go." I told everyone and they followed.

As we walked into the city, I quickly noticed it was a ghost town. Now that I think about it, it makes sense. The city was just built after all.

"Welcome to Destra. The city of fun and games. That's how they advertise themselves, at least." I looked to see Lucia and Hermes approach us. In the heat of the moment I couldn't notice, but could clearly see shit got a bit of an upgrade to her armor. It was less bulky than when I originally met her. It must be because of her class's equipment progression. The more technology advances, the less space it takes up, after all.

"How long do you think it'll take for the people from Jericho to move in?" I asked.

"Couple of days." Lucia said.

"COUPLE OF DAYS!?" Aegis and I both snapped. It was enough to make Lucia take a step back.

"Jeez, do you guys want to go to the Blazing Blizzards already? You guys just got here!" Lucia chuckled.

Aegis and I vigorously nodded. I just want to be useful as soon as possible. A moment spent lazing around could be used doing anything else. The pretentious paladin agrees with my sentiment as well.

"Sorry guys, but you got to level up before we can even consider going to the next frontier. And because there's no one to give out quests here, you can't really level up efficiently."

She had a point. I looked at my level and found that I was level 16. I didn't do that much PVE since I left Jericho so it doesn't surprise me.

But what the hell am I going to do if I can't play this game for two days?!

"Don't worry guys! When most of the town's settled, we'll throw that party for Matthew I mentioned! It'll be fun!" Hermes tried cheering us up, but we weren't having any of it.

"Where's the guild hall? I'm gonna go log off..." Aegis said.

"Yeah, I'll follow. I feel like we've been traveling four weeks but it's only been three days." Violet expressed her exhaustion.

"We got a spot right next to Lightspeed's guild hall! I'll show you-"

"Lucia, can I talk to you for a minute?"

...

"Ohoooooooooooo? What's this? You want Lucia all to yourself or something?! You were talking about Aegis and I but it seems like you're pining for the game's top dog!" Roxline was serving what I gave to her tenfold.

"Please stop teasing him, Roxline." Lucia said to her vice leader.

"Sure thing. Hermes can lead the way."

"FOLLOOOOOOOOOOW ME!" Hermes announced and marched onwards.

As everyone followed, Lucia and I stood on the brick road alone. The moonlight glared on the street as silence filled the area. It was a ghost town in every sense of the word. Regardless, there's something that has been on my mind since I met up with her again.

"You look good!" Lucia broke the silence.

"T-thanks. You too..." I responded to her.

"Reeeeeeeeeeeally? What do you like about me the most?" Lucia got within my personal space as she asked.

Her blue hair shined in the moonlight. Her features were breathtaking and she was rubbing it in. She's dangerous. We've only chatted twice and I admire her more and more every time.

Yeah...It's admiration...and nothing else...

But I have to stay focused! There's something I've been trying to ask her.

"Lucia...What happened to your other teammates? Draco and Deltalock. You were in a tight spot and if Aegis and I didn't make it, you probably would've died."

"Oh...they died in the battle with the second demon general."

Did I just hear that correctly? They died? There's no way.

I'm reading Lucia's facial expressions, and it doesn't look like she's messing around with me. But I thought she knew pretty much everything in this game. So how could a demon general fight go so awry?

"Was that all? Because if so, I'm gonna go to the guild hall and log off." Lucia turned around and starting pressing forward.

Lucia must be putting on a brave face over her fallen comrades. Those guys were with her even before this game, right? I can only imagine the pain she must be feeling right now. After all, when I lost Faye, I was feeling downtrodden as well. I wonder, what could I do to cheer Lucia up?

I quietly followed her to the guild hall and we found that Aegis, Violet, and Roxline already retired to their rooms. We said our goodbyes and logged off for the night.

===

I sat on the coach of the living room and waited silently as the clock ticked. This is my first day without playing MFO for quite a bit. It's only been around four days, but it feels like its been forever. What did I even do before playing that game?

Right...I was subconsciously searching for ways to die...

But then I was steered into a more positive direction by her...

Lucia's warm smile in the moonlight quickly flashed in my mind. Her back turned to me, closing me off from any conversation flashed quickly afterwards.

I shouldn't be lazing about. I should be looking of a way to cheer her up. She's going through it right now and needs someone! But how do I go about giving her my support? The way that others showed love in MFO is different from how my parents loved me. What if platonic situations are different as well? I don't want to mess this up.

Should I ask Walter for help? No, he's hiding something. I don't know what, but I just can't trust him as much as I could.

I have no other choice...

I HAVE TO ENROLL INTO COLLEGE!

No...that's stupid...

There's a park nearby. I'll just go people watching.

"Hey, Walter. I'm going out to the park. I'll be back in a couple of hours probably."

"Sure thing, sir. Just be careful. Cameras have picked up this young lady around the mansion. She broke in a few times, but security stopped her. She may try to hurt you, so if you see her, come back as soon as possible." Walter showed me a picture that the cameras got of this girl.

She was wearing all black, had short black hair, and black eyes. Not only that, but it looked light she was sneaking around the mansion. She was definitely a suspicious character.

"Duly noted, Walter. Thank you for the warning." I nodded to my butler as I left the mansion and began my walk.

As I walked into the city, I quickly began to get the feeling that someone was following me. I made twists and turns through the crowds and past buildings to confirm. When I glanced behind me, I saw a hooded figure behind me. That's when I decided to dash into a nearby alleyway and when I did, surely my stalker followed.

As I ran and made my rounds around the alleyways, I did a quick turn and waited for them. As soon as they bolted around the corner I pinned them to a wall. I took off the stalker's hood to reveal it was the same girl in the picture Walter showed me.

"OW!" She yelled out.

"Why the hell are you following me?!" I interrogated her.

"Can you let go of me please?! This is really uncomfortable."

"Fine." I let go of her and she gave me a stern glare.

"I've been looking for you for a long time, Matthew Porter."

"Matthew...Porter?" I questioned her.

I questioned her because she called me a surname that wasn't mine...