The sun seemed to disappear completely the moment we entered the Gongon Forest. The only light we had to guide our way were the tiny, dim Christmas-y glows of Blue and Pyra. After a few moments, I let out an impatient sigh.
“Where are all the monsters?” I wondered aloud. “Shouldn’t we have run into one like...immediately?”
“It is strange…” Melani agreed. “Maybe a group cleared this area already and it hasn’t respawned yet…”
At that moment, the thwacks of weapon against gooey flesh sounded up ahead. Melani and I looked at each other before taking off. Soon, we came upon a lean figure wielding dual short swords, with a line of daggers strapped to the loose belt on his waist. Though we could see the numerous fading corpses of the goopy red monsters he’d just defeated, the silver-haired guy didn’t have a scratch on him.
There’s no way this guy is a lower level player, I thought. What’s he doing in the Gongon Forest?
“Hey, Melani—” I turned toward my friend only to see she’d disappeared from my side. She was already steps away from the other player.
“Excuse me!” Melani called.
“Huh?” The guy turned around and blinked his blue eyes. “Uh...yeah?”
“Who do you think you are?”
“What?”
“Who do you think you are, soaking up all the XP meant for lower level players when you’re at least…” she scrutinized him for a second, “Level 10?”
A smirk spread across the guy’s face. “So you were also in the beta. Then you should know exactly why I'm farming up here.”
“It's unfair to new players,” Melani insisted.
“But it's not illegal, is it?”
I could almost see the steam escaping Melani’s ears. I contemplated intervening, but I was already shocked by the seemingly sweet Melani’s sudden burst of passion, and I wasn't about to get in her way. Besides, the guy seemed like a dick.
So instead, I turned to Blue.
“Do you have any idea what they're talking about?” I asked. “How does Melani know that guy’s level and why shouldn't he be here?”
“He’s not breaking any rules by being here,” Blue shrugged. “But Miss Melani is probably frustrated that she'll have to wait for the monsters to respawn to gain XP. This guy is definitely above Level 10 because that's when you get to choose your class. No beginner player would have so many expensive-looking weapons without playing for a while, either.”
“I see…”
“Normally it would be a waste of time for higher level players to hang around low-level areas, because the amount of XP you gain is smaller. But I guess it’s faster for players with AOE abilities.”
“Or maybe he's too weak to fight monsters his own level,” Melani huffed.
Now the steam was coming out of his ears.
“Hey now…” I said slowly. “Let's just go someplace else, Melani…”
“Yeah, run along,” the guy waved us off. “If you girls were a bit nicer, maybe I would've let you leech some XP, but now you can forget it.”
He did not just go there.
Ding!
The guy raises his eyebrows as a window appeared in front of him. He looked at me.
“You want to friend request me? Did you miss the ‘block button’ or do you really want to leech off my kills?”
“I want to keep track of you,” I said, narrowing my eyes, “so that when I'm a higher level, we can duel. And I'll get there without leeching or using any other underhanded methods you think us girls would use.”
“Unlikely,” the guy smirked. “I'm already nine levels higher than you. How could you possibly catch up?”
“Are you scared?”
He frowned. “Not in the slightest.” He lifted his hand before the window and it disappeared, triggering a small window in front of me.
[Lee Accepted Your Friend Request]
“I guess I should at least give you a chance then,” the guy said, stretching his arms as he began to walk away. “Congratulations. The forest is all yours, though I can't guarantee another one of the hundreds of thousands of players online right now won't swoop in and steal your precious kills.”
I shook my head as he disappeared between the trees. “What a butt.” I turned back to Melani and noticed she looked particularly troubled. “It's ok, Mel, if we work hard, we’ll get to a high enough level to kick his ass.”
“It's not that, it's just…” Melani fiddled with the end of her dull starter shirt.
“What is it?”
“Well, you friended that guy before you even friended me…”
“...I mean...I can send one now…”
***
Two hours passed before Melani and I called it a day. We’d spent a good portion of our time slicing up monsters in Gongon Forest Because Melani’s fire element was strong against the monsters of the forest, she had been able to make it to Level 5, while I was still a measly Level 3.
“You need to find river monsters to fight!” Blue explained. “You can’t expect to level at the same rate as a fire user in a forest full of flammable things, you silly girl!”
I almost crushed Blue in the palm of my hand in that moment but resisted the urge.
“Okay, then where’s the nearest river, wise guy?”
Blue contemplated for a moment. “Ten miles away.”
“Are you kidding me?!”
“There’s a town nearby, though,” Melani intervened. “Why don’t we take a break there?”
“Yeah, I’m hungry!” Pyra agreed.
The town, Westworth, was a fifteen-minute walk down a path from the forest. We stopped by a clothing store and sold a few green boar hides for coin then settled down at a cafe to recharge our health bars with strawberry lemonade. The NPC barista was also kind enough to offer a few cubes of sugar for Blue and Pyra. As we sat outside on the patio, the sun set in the distance, and I couldn’t help but admire this game’s attention-to-detail to the pinks and purples spilling into each other.
Idly playing with my straw, I asked Melani, “What's the name of your soulmate?”
“Ah...someone named Darius. But we only have 80 percent compatibility, so I'll probably just wait it out until the game finds me a better match…”
“Did you have a match during beta?”
Melani stared into her cup. “Y-Yeah…we had a 98 percent match.”
“Seriously?!” My eyes widened.
“Yeah, but we never found each other…”
“Shouldn't he be playing now? Why are you matched with 80 percent guy?”
“Maybe he didn't like the game enough...but he was online pretty often during beta,” Melani said thoughtfully, then she waved her hand. “A-Anyway, I'm sure there are plenty of people to get higher matches with. The game just needs to understand us better.”
“Hah...what a great incentive to keep playing,” I sighed. “And spending money.”
“Most of the real cash items are just cosmetic,” Melani winked. “So it's not so bad. But I guess it's like real life...You’ve gotta look cute to increase the chances of your soulmate noticing you.”
“Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a soulmate?” I scoffed.
“It doesn't hurt!” Melani huffed. “Anyway, what about your match?”
“We’re 76 percent compatible,” I grumbled. “If it's that low, doesn't that mean we'd only be good as friends?”
“That is...pretty low,” Melani admitted. “I guess that means you just have to play more, huh?”
“Eh, finding my ‘soulmate’ isn't really my main goal here anyway,” I shrugged.
“What is it then?”
“Right now...it’s to defeat that arrogant Lee guy!” I declared.
Melani giggled. “You know, it’s totally possible for him to become your soulmate as well, right?”
I stared at her. “Don’t even joke like that.”
“It’s true!” Melani teased. “Preferences are part of the algorithm, but they also take into account how you react towards people you meet along the way. The more you think about him, the more the game will think you like him. If he’s also thinking about you…”
“Ugh, stop!” I groaned, triggering Melani’s musical laughter. “How do you know so much about the game mechanics anyway?”
Melani shrugged. “Don’t you read up on games before you buy them?”
“Uhh…sure.” More like impulse-buy and never look back. “Anyway, I shouldn’t stay up too lat. Got class tomorrow.”
“Ah, me too.”
“Are you logging off now?” Blue asked sadly.
“Yep,” I replied, “But don’t you worry, I’ll be back.”
Blue’s face immediately brightened.
“If you play tomorrow, just message me and we can meet up!” Melani smiled brightly.
“Will do,” I nodded. And with that, I pulled up the menu window and logged off.
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