Tension Rises

The next morning, Rina's search in the library didn't yield any useful information. Disappointed and annoyed, we headed back to Stonepatch Village. Our journey passed mostly in silence. We were constantly wary and on edge. Were we being watched? If so, who was watching us? Why was it us that were being targeted like this?

With such thoughts occupying our minds, we travelled. It took us about four days to reach the outskirts of Stonepatch Village. During this whole time, there was this weird, foreign feeling in my chest. It took me a while to notice that I dreaded the time Rina and Alex would leave. I'd grown to depend on them, both in combat and as friends. They were like unshakable pillars; I knew they'd be there if I ever needed help.

But now, they were leaving. Or, more accurately, we were leaving them behind. We would move on to the big Ereth city and try to learn more about our situation, while they were going to stay behind to protect and care for their sisters.

I clenched my fist and took a deep breath as time to say goodbye finally came. Samantha bid her farewells with teary eyes, just barely not crying. Alina was a bit more formal, though she also seemed somewhat saddened to see them leave. Erik and Vincent thanked them for all their help while Joshua remained silent.

"Take care of yourselves." I said after hugging them both. "We'll meet again, ok?" I forced a smile as I asked.

"Of course we will!" Rina said with a sniff, then smiled. "We'll meet again, and we'll get out of this place. All of us. Together." Alex nodded too. "Yeah, so cheer up. We'll see you all soon!" She said with a huge grin.

With those words, they left.

We watched their backs as they walked on the cobble path leading to Stonepatch Village in silence. Only a while later Erik spoke. "We should head off too." Vincent nodded as I just sighed.

We headed off.

It was silent, all the way. With no Rina to tell of us all the interesting facts she'd learned from the books she read and no Alex to lessen the tension, we walked in an awkward silence. It was getting on my nerves, even the chirping birds and the occasional wildlife we encountered weren't quite enough to break the tension.

I took to chatting with Asher, who seemed to be somewhat grateful for the company. Though, he did poke fun at me by saying we were friends now, I didn't mind it too much this time. He read me passages he'd translated from demonic, though they were so disjointed it was impossible to make any sense of them.

Only when the sun disappeared behind the distant mountains, did we set up camp. We put up the tents and dug a small hole for the campfire in silence. As we sat around the little campfire and ate fruit and dried meat, I couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Was it the cheery chatter that was always present in these past few days, or was I just missing home?

"Are you tired at all?" Samantha asked Alina. The blonde girl shook her head. "Not any more than you guys. I told you, I'm completely healed."

"I'd still like you to take it easy for the time being." Erik said with a flat, emotionless voice. "We don't know if that poison had any side effects. Your condition could still worsen, for all we know."

I shook my head. "No, I got rid of the effects of the poison completely." Well, it was Asher who'd done it, but I couldn't say that now, could I?

"You can't know that for sure." Joshua said with a sigh. "It's best if we don't do too much fighting for now." He yawned.

"I don't think that's the best idea." I replied, slightly annoyed. "If we don't fight, how are we supposed to gain levels? How are we supposed to grow more powerful?"

"It's not worth risking Alina over it." Erik said, shooting me a cold glance. "We can farm for experience and loot once we reach the city." Joshua nodded while the others chose to remain silent. I could feel their gazes on me.

"I don't think that's good enough, Erik." I said after taking a deep breath. "I'm not saying we should take unnecessary risks, but we shouldn't avoid fighting completely. It's not like Alina will be in the front lines anyways."

"She wasn't on the front lines when she nearly died." Joshua cut me off before I could continue. "And if I remember correctly, Rina couldn't protect her because she was busy tying to keep you alive." He glared at me. I flinched at his words.

"That's a bit of a low blow, Joshua." Vincent said carefully. He glanced at me before continuing. "Considering you were outside chasing – and failing to catch – spies. Besides, if Kai weren't with us, we'd probably die there. He was the one who killed the monster." He shook his head. "Anyways, that's not what we were discussing-"

"That's exactly what we are discussing." Joshua cut him off. "Kai is powerful, yes. But we are not as strong; he can't expect us to perform at a level on par with himself."

"I'm not expecting anything like that." I finally spoke. "But I do expect you guys to try and get stronger so we can kill the god damned Demon Lord and get out of here."

"Do what now?" Erik said with a surprised expression. "Kai, that's probably impossible. The final boss in a game like this isn't meant to be killed by one group like us. It would take the cooperation of every player living in this game."

"Stuck." Vincent said coldly. "Trapped. Imprisoned. Forced to partake in." He glared at Erik. "I think one of those is the word you were looking for."

Erik flinched. I held my breath, though I wasn't sure what I was anticipating.

"I want to get out of here." Vincent said softly. His gaze was fixed on the ground. "I don't want to live the rest of my life in such a bloody and… awful world like this. I don't want to constantly worry for my life, or the lives of those I care about."

Silence followed his words. The air was tense. I could almost taste the it. With a sigh, I got up on my feet.

"Where are you going?" Erik asked as I walked to the woods. I replied, my gaze fixed to the darkness covering the forest.

"I won't sit and wait when I can fight."