5 – Trapped

Alan has been trying to contact the developer via in-game chat for over an hour but to no avail. That feature doesn't work at all. He has also tried to access the default browser from his VR device, which has also been unsuccessful.

A wild thought appeared in the young man's brain. Maybe this is better than returning to the world that made him miserable? Even if he died, at least he did what he liked; Explore a fantasy world.

He glanced at Celia, who was sitting with her back to him. All this time, the female fighter had not spoken at all. The reaction surprised Alan a little. He thought that woman would cry like crazy.

"Arrggghhh!!!" Celia suddenly stood up while clenching her fists up. "I can't do this! I can't be negative! It is as useless as the fake health supplements scammers sell!"

Alan, who was even more surprised, was speechless. Normal people wouldn't make such comparisons.

The girl then turned her head to Alan with a determined look. But it only lasted three seconds. After that, she scratched her hair and stuck out her tongue. "Well, do you know what we should do next?"

Alan held back a laugh. "First of all, maybe we should look for other players. Maybe some of them don't get into trouble like us."

"Ah!" Celia snapped her fingers. "We can ask them to contact the outside world regarding our situation."

Alan nodded. "And one more important thing is the water source. Our supplies will eventually run out. I hate to say this, but we don't know how long we'll be here."

"And I idiotically drank a lot." Celia patted her forehead. "I don't want to end up drinking my own piss to survive."

Alan would choose the water element for his initial magic skill if he knew it was like this.

"And hopefully, someone will notice our situation in the real world." She continued. "I live alone, after all."

"Me, too. I also live alone."

That's probably the biggest problem. The deep-dive system of VR devices will put its users in a state like they are unconscious, even though their brains are still working. They won't move unless they log out or receive outside intervention.

It would be ugly if he or Celia continued to be in the deep-dive state for days without eating or drinking in the real world.

"Let's go." Alan jumped onto one of the chunks of ground. "We should move as soon as possible, but if you're still tired, we can still rest."

Celia was the one who moved the most in the fight earlier, after all.

"No." She shook her head and gave her trademark smile, though it was more subtle this time. "Like you said…"

A shriek interrupted the female fighter's words. Celia's and Alan's attention moved to the wyvern trying to stand up. That creature shrieked a second time and fell again.

"Looks like that dragon is dying." Celia grimaced.

"I also feel sorry for him, but we have to…. Hey, where are you going, Celia."

The female fighter jumps from one object to another to approach that orange creature.

"I know this is absurd." As usual, Celia occasionally lost her balance when she landed. "Why did I come to that high-level monster? But I can't bear to see him die while he's alone, Al."

Alan was about to argue back but felt it would be a waste of energy. He chose to follow Celia. The health point of the Wyvern was low and kept decreasing due to the venom effect. Even if that beast attacked, it was highly likely that Celia and Alan could defeat it easily.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help you." Celia knelt beside the Wyvern whose breath was faltering. At first, she was hesitant to touch that creature, but then she rubbed it gently. "At least I'm here, Mr. Dragon."

"It's a wyvern because it's smaller than a dragon." Alan landed beside the female fighter.

"It is possible that he is a child of a dragon. That is why his body is still small." Celia continued to rub the creature's back. "I wonder if his parents would be worried about his whereabouts? Are they looking for him?"

Alan's gaze fell on the wyvern's eyes as they opened and closed. The young felt like something was churning inside his heart.

"Damn it." Alan reached into his starter kit bag at his waist. His mind drifted to more than a decade ago when he had witnessed the death of his dog. Like this beast, the dog was also out of breath, and the traces of life from his eyes kept fading.

"What's that?" Celia asked as Alan took out a small glass vial filled with a sparkling white liquid.

"You don't know this?" Alan handed the object to Celia so she could see it more clearly. "You didn't get this in your starter kit? It is an elixir, a cure for all kinds of ailments and poisons."

The female fighter shook her head, then took out another bottle of the same shape, but the liquid inside was black.

[Berserker potion: increases your strength and speed, but comes with a big risk]

"Looks like each of us got one random item in our starter kit." Alan knelt down.

"But I'm definitely not going to drink this, though." Celia put the potion into her bag again. "Maybe this can give me more power to poop more smoothly. All this time, I feel like I'm not strong enough to push when pooping…. Sorry, I'm used to joking in any situation."

Alan had given up understanding that girl's words and chose to start pouring his elixir into the Wyvern's mouth.

"I applaud you, Al." Celia expresses her respect for the young man. "Perhaps that elixir is very important to you in this world. Who knows, we may encounter even more terrifying poisonous monsters."

It was only a few seconds after Alan gave the elixir to the wyvern and the beast's breathing interval started to normalize.

"It looks good." Celia's smile grew again.

Alan looked again at the wyvern's eyes which were now closed. "But we still have to get out of here. He's a beast. We can't predict his behavior. He might attack us even though we helped him."

"Ah…" There was a hint of disappointment in Celia's voice. "I want to see him fully healed, but what you say makes sense."