The Climb

The mountain, which appeared to be twice as tall as Mount Everest, could not be climbed in a matter of hours.

"This mountain sucks!" Aaron exclaimed as he caught his breath.

"Every time I thought we were getting closer, it turned out to be a letdown; how long are we going to hike?" Kaiser asked, using his sword as a hiking stick.

"Stop complaining and look ahead!" Axis ordered.

Everyone complied and turned to face the icy peak.

"We're finally near!" Colleen exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement.

While everyone was talking. Liam remained silent and lost in thought, his brow furrowed. 'Look at this mountain... This is twice as tall as Mount Everest. We've only been climbing for about 30 minutes. This isn't supposed to be possible...'

He didn't realize how different they were now compared to when they were on Earth because he kept getting dragged into difficult situations. They were stronger and faster, and Aaron, who appeared to be a guy who never trained his body and was always in front of the computer, was hiking a mountain twice as high as Mount Everest with no assistance.

Liam then remembered something. 'This must be due to the extrasensory perception that enhanced my physical capabilities and senses as a result of being a lesser species. So the system is attempting to make it fair for lesser species such as humans to compete against...' Liam looked around at Axis, Sharky, and even Colleen and Kaiser. 'Against these higher species from various planets across the vast multiverse. No wonder that thirty minutes here felt like three hours.'

A tap on the shoulder interrupted Liam's thoughts.

"Hey... Uhm... I just want to apologize for our behavior back in the Yellow Zone," Colleen said, rubbing the back of her neck, eager to strike up a conversation with someone as serious as Liam.

"No, I am sorry for your loss... Because of me... Because I couldn't trust the three of you... Alexandria got-"

"It wasn't your fault," Colleen said. She gave an innocent smile. The other players remained silent, uneasy about the subject but attentive to the conversation.

"Alexandria respected your wishes, and we should as well, right, Cowser?" Colleen stated to the man hiding behind her back.

"I'm not a coward, so stop calling me that!" nagged Kaiser. But when Colleen's squinting eyes fell on him, he shrieked and almost jumped in terror.

"I mean, yeah... it's my first time seeing someone stand up to Alexandria like that; I've always wanted to do that but ended up following her orders instead, so well done, my friend!" Kaiser beamed and gave Liam a thumbs up.

"I agree. Other species would be too afraid to stand up to us, Draconians. And Alexandria is one of the bravest women in the Lunargard Faction. She was so keen on being a Player to help our species regain its glory. At least, I saw her smile for the first time after she debated with you before she died." Colleen stared at the void, recalling all of her memories with Alexandria. She came to a halt and dug in front of her.

"Your service to the Lunardgard Faction will not be forgotten..." she said quietly as a spear popped up in her hand.

'Did she pick up Alexandria's weapon?' Liam thought, his eyes widening.

"I admire you, oh one of the honorable officials of Lunargard..." Kaiser added, bowing his head.

Colleen then threw Alexandria's spear into the pit she had dug.

Liam wanted to ask about the Lunargard, but he remained silent and showed his respect as well. The other players joined in and bowed.

The party continued their ascent after observing a moment of silence for Alxandria's soul.

Colleen inquired, "Liam, how did you know the specific location of the Almunian earlier?" after she had grown more at ease conversing with Liam.

"Almunian? Is that the purple plant-looking player from earlier?" Liam asked, raising an eyebrow and looking around.

"Yes."

Before he could even respond, Axis said, "Don't push your luck. As if he's going to tell."

Liam cracked up. Was it that obvious that he wouldn't tell? He cast a glance at Axis, who rolled her eyes at him.

"Well... let's just say I'm a very good detective," Liam said, a smile on his face showed.

"That is correct! In our world, Liam is the best detective; his abilities are unparalleled; his only rivals are his wife and..."

"Aaron, stop!" Liam snatched the teenager's head like a basketball, gripping it tightly.

"Stop, stop, stop! Oh, I get it. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable." Aaron tried but was unsuccessful to remove Liam's hand.

"Hey, Colleen," Liam stated as he approached the draconian woman, tilting his neck sideways like an owl and smiling ridiculously. "How about you, what were you doing with Kaiser while we were fighting the Queen Swamp Serpent?"

"UHHH-!!!"

Colleen and Kaiser both shrieked at the same time. Then a flashback of what they were doing played through their minds. Colleen's face flushed with embarrassment. She wished the big mountain could devour her right now, but it couldn't.

Her embarrassment quickly turned to rage. And there was only one person to blame for all of this accumulated rage. Colleen's menacing stare landed on Kaiser, raising his body hairs. He concentrated on his path, avoiding eye contact with the woman behind her.

"Uhhh... that's...that's... I think you were too tired and going crazy that time, Liam. I honestly don't know what you were talking about. You must be seeing things hehehehe," the defendant explained.

"Alright, if that's what you said," Liam said with a smile, letting Colleen off the hook.