End Online: Volume 3 (6 page)

Lastly, considering she is
my ‘companion’, I am technically in the same party as her. I would also get the
skull on my back.

However, the closer we get
to Grenton, the weaker the average player was. The worst I receive are the
angry shouts of players as the monsters they are fighting are suddenly tempted
by my aggravation. It stirs up some depressing memories of when I first started
playing the game, but I am long since used to it.

Surprisingly, I have
already been playing this game for over five months. Yet it is only recently
that I have felt this alive, so to speak. Full of energy, I pass through a
small thicket of tall trees covered in small, red flowers. The flowers blow
down and away with the slightest breeze, passing by my eyes as I stare down at
Grenton.

The city itself is
incredible. Twice the size of Iceridge and multitudes more people. There is
constantly people walking in and just as many leaving. There are enormous trees
growing throughout the capital, reaching hundreds of meters in the air before
spreading their foliage in a wide arc.

Most of the city received
a cool shade from the canopy, far enough away to still let enough sun inside of
the city, but taking the blazing sun off everyone’s shoulders.

Buildings are attached to
all sides of the massive trunks. There are even smaller buildings hanging in
between them, along with all the pathways and platforms to suit.

The entire city is like a
multi layered complex, some parts reaching four or five stories high. Each
level appears to be placed about ten meters above the one below, but it is hard
to judge from half a mile away.

Getting closer, I can make
out the platforms are made from a light brown wood while the houses were a dark
oak wood. The contrast is amazing, almost like an art piece.

“You look so surprised. Is
this honestly the first time you have seen Grenton?” Mason stared at me like I
was some kind of stranger.

“Sorry, I never left the
kingdom of Glace before. It is incredible.”

“That’s surprising! There
are pictures of Grenton all over the internet. It is said to be the most
beautiful city in End Online, modelled after the hidden elf village Elfenhiem.”

“Elves?” I couldn’t hide
my astonishment.

“Hah, it is only the
rumours told in books. Most people don’t know these things. I only do due to
reading a lot in order to increase my ‘Literature’ skill.

‘Still, elves huh?’

We enter into the shade
provided by the foliage of the enormous trees and the surrounding temperature
instantly drops. Approaching one of the entrances to Grenton, the majesty of
the capital city leaves me awestruck. I was wrong about assuming the higher
floors were place ten meters above one another, the distance is much closer to
twenty.

Despite how packed the
city appears from a distance, even having levels above one another. The inside
is extremely open and spacious, wide lanes filled with neatly pruned bushes,
some even flowering large colourful rose-like flowers.

I stroll into the city
with everyone else in tow. Fen is once again attached to my arm, her eyes
sparkling at seeing the marvels of the city.

“It truly is incredible.”
I breathe the words out, quiet enough that no one else can hear.

“Verde! I am here! In
Grenton!”

There is only silence at
first, but she eventually gets around to replying.

“That’s great! Can
you meet Sir Laurence and I at the Royal Birch Hotel at sundown?”

“Ahh, yes. I should
be able to meet you there then.”

“Okay, thanks!”

She ends on a cheery note,
her voice still dancing in my head. Guessing sunset is still a few hours away,
I decide to explore the town a little bit and sell the helmet, the one from the
subterranean prison boss
, 
at the local auction house. Hopefully I
can get two thousand for a sale this time!

There is only one problem
with my plan, I have no clue where the auction house is.

Putting it aside for the
moment, I may as well at least enjoy the views of the city. I recall the
information I originally read about finding herbs in local parks originated
from Grenton.

“Lost,” Mason speaks up
next to me, “Matrix and I are going to go report our quest. I assume you have
your own things to do as well. What I want to ask is, will you accept us
joining you on your journeys?”

The question takes me by
surprise. I certainly was not expecting them to ask this.

“Hmm, why would you want
to come with me?”

“Well, as you already know
I make videos and post them on the ‘End Forums’. I think that if I continue to
travel with you, I will be able to continue getting the best material for my
videos. Like from Vexl.”

“Haha, it sounds okay to
me. It is a pleasure to know you Mason.”

“You too!”

We shake hands and
exchange friend requests before the brothers head off to do their own thing.

“Fen, you go off by
yourself too. I want to do some stuff on my own.”

“Don’t… Want to…”

I give her a dry stare
until she looks away pouting. It isn’t that I need to be alone for anything in
particular, but I want to have a peaceful explore of the city.

Fen disappears from where
she is standing, turning into mist. I guess she has returned to my VL for now.
Sighing, I press onwards into the city.

Strolling through the
broad streets I finally find a local recreational park. I can tell that there
definitely are herbs in this park. There is nearly a hundred players crowding the
park, searching the ground to try and be the first to pick each herb when it
regrows. At least they respawn at random locations in the area, giving everyone
a fair chance of getting them.

I can see the symbols of
all three kingdoms mixed in the crowd. Everyone coalescing into the one city
for herbs must be extremely strenuous, clearly nobody has told them of other
places you can acquire herbs. I am not interested in trying my luck here when I
can find places outside of town when I need. There are bound to be a large
number of these parks around the city, but surely they are all going to be as
packed as this one.

I had best keep the other
harvesting locations a secret, there are always players who go around
harvesting everything like robots.

Passing onwards through
the crowd of players walking down the lane, a strange sense of foreboding
overcomes me. Something inside of me screams to run, but I don’t know what it
is or why.

Out of the crowd, a middle
aged man appears. He is dressed as some kind of underground bouncer with a long
leather overcoat on top of some kind of cheap clothing that clings to his
figure. What intrigued me the most is that even though his eyes were closed, He
seemed fully aware of me. Almost as if he was waiting there specifically for me.

“Excuse me sir. May I have
a moment of your time.” The mysterious man somehow closes the distance between
us with a single step, the air around him vibrating as he stands directly in
front of me.

The person has dead
straight black hair, sitting well below his shoulders.

Something about this
person sets off danger alarms in my mind and I try to get away.

“I’m sorry, but I have
some business to attend to. If you will excuse-“

I try to walk around the
person and continue on my way, but he grabs my arm and prevents me from going
any further.

“Oh, but I must insist. It
will only take a moment.”

As if taking my silence as
a ‘yes’ he starts walking to a gap in between two houses, completely out of the
public eye. He drags me by my arm, his grip getting tighter to ensure I don’t
escape. I give a few nervous tugs, but they can’t shake loose his iron grip.

He enters the small alley,
barely two meters wide, with me in tow.  With a flick of the wrist, he
casually tosses me forward. I land flat on my back on the hard-packed dirt
ground.

It may be a game, but my
heartbeat is straining inside my chest. As much as I am aware that this world
is fake, the fear I am feeling is real.

The man stands over me and
looks down, his eyes still closed.

“Lost? Yes, I hear that is
your name. Do you happen to remember a certain dragon’s lair you entered a few
weeks ago?”

I try to speak but when I
open my mouth, I feel a fear that erases all thoughts from my mind.

“Ahh, for some reason I
get rather excited seeing you. All I want to do is pummel you into the ground.
But, we have more important matters. From there you entered a treasury room and
stole a particular red orb.”

“…” I try to speak but
once again I find myself unable to get the words out.

“Oh, sorry. I have
carelessly been letting my bloodlust out. Allow me to mask it again. Now, where
is the orb?”

The pressure on my chest
lessens and it becomes easier to breath.

“I-I don’t know w-what
you’re talking about.”

At least I can finally
speak, but I still do feel a more natural fear, it just no longer has an
overbearing oppressive feel behind it.

“Don’t play games with me.
Where is 
my
 ‘Draconic Ember Essence’?”

The man opens his eyes,
revealing a pair of slitted violet pupils. The same eyes as that dragon.

‘No way! This is the
dragon!? Is it the same kind of NPC as Fen!? Oh ****’

I curse at realizing the
situation in front of me. Also, what am I going to do if I get another wierdo
downloaded into my VR headset. If he is the same as Fen and she could do it, he
must be able to as well.

I summon up all the
courage in my body to deal with this issue and prevent further interest in me.

“Why exactly should I give
it back to you? Speaking of which, what even is it?”

I see some irritation on
his face. He squats down and sits on my stomach.

“The ‘Draconic Ember
Essence’ is a reagent I created by placing my flames inside a gem over a long
period of time. When I require, I can call upon all that stored power and use
it. If you do not give it to me, not only will I kill you and take it from your
dead body, but I will kill all those friends of yours that also came with you.
The knight, the sneaky woman, even that other lady that was there.”

“NO!”

Back in a panic, I cannot
let him do that. If Verde and that prince receive this kind of retribution,
then it would be fine. But if Fen dies…

“Then it is simple. Give
it back.”

I have no use for this
item anyway. According to his description of what it is, I can’t use it
regardless. I open my inventory and then remove the strange orb, which seems to
even light up the immediate area with a red hue.

“Much better, I had
suspected this would be more difficult.”

Grael’s expression seems
to relax once getting his item back. He even gets off me and stands up.

“You are very compliant,
aren’t you. I actually may need someone like you in the future to do my
bidding. One can’t let such a person past them.”

Grael leans down and
grasps my forehead with one of his hands, slowly gripping harder and harder
until the pain became almost unbearable.

“Mph, that will do. Now I
will always know where you are.” He speaks like he is proud of whatever he did.

Before I notice it, a
window appears in front of me.