Syn: <I finally reached Level 5!>
Trist: <Nice! Ha! Still ahead of you. Just got to Level 6. It took a long time this time since I made most of my Orbs Copper.>
Syn: <I’m about to upgrade them as well. I had to grind almost all day yesterday to get enough materials. You definitely level up faster alone, but it’s a lot safer in a party.>
Trist: <I can imagine. Are you still at that Lotus place?>
Syn: <Yep. My caravan leaves for Alvin [City] in a few hours. It’ll take about two days to get there. One of my party members is coming with me. Have you started traveling yet?>
Trist: <Finally, yes. I had a couple of false starts. It’s slow going, so I’m not sure how long it’ll take for me to get to Alvin, but you’ll probably get there before me. I’m actually passing by the spot where we spawned. I’m going to check it out before moving on.>
Syn: <Alpine [Outpost]? Be careful, man. I don’t want to be the last one left.>
Trist: <You know me.>
Syn: <Yeah, and that’s why I’m so worried. By the way, how will you sleep? I can’t imagine it’ll be safe out in the open with all the monsters and bounty hunters after you.>
Trist: <I found a few shards called Travel Crystal. It sets up a small temporary Mana Crystal where I can access my room for a few hours. It has a camouflage feature, so I shouldn’t be seen unless they’re specifically looking for me. I got a bunch of similar goodies from my dungeon.>
Syn: <That’s super convenient. Speaking of dungeons, I’m going to try and clear that one I talked about before when I get to Alvin. I don’t want to spend too much time on it, but I think it’ll be useful in the long run. I’m worried about Ben.>
Trist: <Me too. Let’s hope the others from Mythic are coming, but we can’t count on their help for now. See you in Alvin.>
Syn: <See you there.>
Jade lay on her bed for a moment after she closed the chat. She was going to miss it here. She knew she needed to help her friends, but the game was just so fun! The real danger made it more exciting; she was learning new things about herself. She needed to get moving before she got trapped doing side quests. She had spent the whole day with Zach’s team, Jillhurst’s crew, and going off on her own. Nothing too exciting happened while farming, except she did learn a new Skill:
<[Skill] Pack Mule [Iron]
- Effect: Carry Limit +1>
After getting the Iron Will Skill to increase her Stamina, she started to experiment with ways to increase her other Stats. Carry Limit was her best option since her Weight was above her Carry Limit. At first, she started walking around with all of her equipment with her Speed reduced by half. After three hours, nothing happened. Grudgingly, she started to fight monsters with the debuff. Nothing worked until she fought three crabs at a higher level than her.
She shook her head. Never again. It was torture fighting while barely able to move. Duke carried her through those fights.
Jade stood up and installed the mirror she had just bought. She looked at herself; she was getting used to seeing the young woman staring back. Time to grow up a bit.
Jade leveled up Duke, pushing her level up to 5. She had reached Max with Water Blast a few hours before, but the Cryo Drake had the greater potential. It took longer for Duke to level up because he was Copper rarity; plus, he kept on dying to those stupid herons.
Jade’s body rippled as she aged up to her late twenties; Level 5. Not quite as drastic as before, but aging as a girl versus a guy was odd. Looking at the profile picture, her face matured, changing from pretty to beautiful. Her body also changed slightly, maturing with her curves becoming more defined.
“I could get used to this,” Jade muttered to herself as she looked at her reflection. “If I saw me in the real world, I would totally want to ask her out. Not that I would, but I’d want to.”
Setting aside the Attribute Points, she assigned her new Orb:
<Slot 5 [Feet]: Light Shoes [Level 1 (Low)] – 100 / 100
- [Neutral, Rank 1, Iron]
- Stats: Weight: 1, Speed: +3>
Shoes. Jade smirked; the first Orb she bought as a girl were shoes; the irony was not lost on her. But, now that she thought about it, it was the first Orb she had ever bought. The first three were from the tutorial and Duke was from Wilma.
Irony aside, she did need shoes. Gratefully, they were fairly cheap compared to the other Orbs, only coming in at 15 Copper Chips. Most people usually got them at Level 4 and they were fairly easy to produce. She had a few options with shoes; all shoes increased Speed, but they could also increase Power, Agility, or Stamina to a small degree. Needless to say, she needed as much Speed as she could get.
Jade equipped them. Soft leather shoes with thin soles fit around her feet snuggly. She stood up and moved around; she was amazed at how easy it was to move.
After buying the Orb, Jade upgraded all four Iron Orbs to Copper. After securing her ticket on the caravan and daily entry fee, Jade put most of her energy into gaining upgradeable materials. Luckily, she found most of them while out hunting and bought the rest before coming back to her Room. She sighed at the huge void in her wallet. Down to 5 Copper Chips. She shook her head, grinned, and looked at her Orbs.
<Slot 1 [Spell]: Ice Blast [Level 2 (Low-Mid)]
- [Ice, Rank 1, Copper]
- Mana: 25 | Range: 20 | Cast: 5 | Cooldown: 45
- Damage [Ice]: 80
- Effect: Freeze>
<Slot 2 [Summon]: Cryo Draco (Duke) [Level 2 (Low)] – 100 / 100
- [Ice, Rank 1, Copper (Unique)]
- Mana: 1 | Str: 6 | End: 5 | Agi: 11 | Mnd: 5
- Physical Attack [Power]:
- Bite [Ice, Piercing]: 72 (12)
- Special Attack:
- Frost Shriek [Ice]: 10
- Mana: 25 | Range: 20 | Cast: 4 | Cooldown: 210
- Effect: Freeze
- Death:
- Icy Bomb [Ice]: 100
- Range: 5 | Cooldown: 1600
- Effect: Freeze>
<Slot 3. [Weapon]: Ice Spear [Level 2 (Low)]
- [Ice, Rank 1, Copper]
- Stats: Weight: 2, Range: 6
- Attacks:
- Stab [Ice, Piercing]: 32 (8)
- Swing [Ice, Blunt]: 16 (4)>
<Slot 4 [Feet]: Wind Shoes [Level 1 (Low)] – 100 / 100
- [Wind, Rank 1, Copper]
- Stats: Weight: 1, Speed: +6>
<Slot 5 [Body]: Wind Tunic [Level 2 (Low)] – 100 / 100
- [Wind, Rank 1, Copper]
- Stats: Weight: 1, Armor: +4, Speed: +3>
Jade followed Wilma’s advice: upgrading her Orbs with Wind and Ice. The Wind element would increase her Speed stat; just from her shoes and tunic, her Speed more than doubled. She would move normally in Slow time yet! Plus, it reduced the weight of her Orbs so she wouldn’t need to worry about the Carry Limit for a while. The downside of upgrading with Wind was that it decreased the Armor.
Ice weapons would cause her enemies to slow every time they got hit. It didn’t increase her lethality by much, but the combination would make it easier to escape. Or, if she was in a group, disrupt the enemy formations. Duke being Ice had been incredibly helpful, and she hoped that continued.
Jade equipped everything. The tunic and shoes turned green and felt like it was woven from feathers. The spear turned light blue and felt cold to the touch. Looking in the mirror, she looked much more like a seasoned mage.
After considering everything one more time, she put three Attribute Points into Mind. She really wanted to lean into the Mind Dampener Skill. With her final point, she put it into Endurance. She was constantly taking naps throughout the day, especially when she used Mind Dampener too much. Hopefully, the additional Stamina would help.
<Jade [Level: 5]
- Low Human [Rank 1, Copper], Female
- Attribute Points: 0
Attributes [Stats]:
- Strength: 3 (+0) [Power: 3 (+0) | Carry Limit: 4 (+1)]
- Endurance: 4 (+0) [Stamina: 5 (+1) | Armor: 8 (+4)]
- Agility: 5 (+1) [(Dexterity: 5 (+0) | Speed: 14 (+9)]
- Mind: 21 (+4) [Mana Regen: 21 (+0) | Perception: 14 (-7) | 25 (+4)]
Jade couldn’t help but smile. It was her largest gain since coming into the game. She was finally glad to have a breather to farm out a few items. However, it would be a while before she could make her next upgrade.
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. The moment of truth. She snapped her eyes open and activated Mind Dampener. She could feel the world close around her, but it was barely anything compared to what she was used to. Before, it was up to four times slower, but now it was less than half. A grin spread on her face. She could work with that.
A yawn escaped her as she came out of slowed time. She had been using Mind Dampener almost all day, and it wore her out. With all of the naps she was taking, the days were beginning to blend. Only six days had passed in-game, but it felt much longer. She chuckled; only a little over a day had passed in the outside world. Climbing back into bed, she wondered how Mythic was reacting to the situation.
“I hate goodbyes,” Jillhurst said over a cup of ale. She was a mopey drinker. “Stay here and fish with me more.”
“I won’t be gone forever,” Jade said, patting her shoulder. “I’ll pop back here whenever I can.” Most of her new friends had gathered in the Tavern for a farewell party.
“I’m coming too! You can’t leave me behind!” Zach yelled and stood up. Loud drunk.
Dina pulled him back down. “We went over this. Our Journals are in the opposite direction. After we get all of our Journals, we can party up and move to the next Realm together if we’re still alive. You got everything you need, Edgar?”
Edgar nodded; he was the only one who was coming with Jade. “I’ve got a plethora of cooling drinks to deal with the heat.”
“Wait,” Jade said urgently. “We need drinks to cool us down? Great, something more I need to get. Remind me to buy some before we go, Edgar.”
“No need,” Harvey said. “You can get some here. My treat. Consider it a farewell gift.” He called over to the waiter and ordered ten bottles of iced tea.
“Harvey, you’re the best,” Jade said with a warm smile. Both Hunter’s Guild Managers had been amazing people. She wondered if that was a requirement.
“They grow up so fast,” Darvis said dramatically, wiping away an imaginary tear. “Going off on an adventure.”
“You aren’t that much older than they are,” Riley said.
“But, I’ve found all of my Journals and am preparing for the next Realm. That makes all the difference.”
“Only because they were all in the city where you spawned. You only came out here to level.”
“Shut up!” Darvis said blushing as the group laughed.
Jade smiled at her friends. In the real world, Eric had a hard time connecting with people. He would imagine their expectations of him and get drained by reflecting on the version of him he thought they wanted. He knew it was mostly in his mind, but he couldn’t help it. As a result, he had a lot of acquaintances and very few friends. Ben and Todd were the exceptions. However, in this world, Jade was making friends left and right. Forming friends with NPCs might be a little sad from an outside perspective, but it was the social bonding she craved.
Jade raised her cup. “Here’s to the best friends I could ask for. Thanks for everything. I’ve had a blast since I’ve gotten here. Cheers!”
“Cheers!” the group called back.
They chatted a little more, but the time approached for Jade and Edgar to leave. Jillhurst gave her a big hug, Darvis bowed dramatically, Riley simply nodded, Harvey told her to be careful, Zach was still trying to leave with them, and Dina held him back doing her best to say goodbye. Soon, it was just Jade and Edgar. It was a bit lonesome.
“I guess it’s time to go,” Jade said. It felt like she needed bags for all her luggage. It would fit her mood.
“Yeah,” Edgar said. He was looking around. “I’m going to miss this place.”
“You can always teleport back,” Jade said.
“True, but it won’t be the same. It won’t be my only place. It will just be a place.”
“The place where you’re born, um, I mean spawn will always be special.”
“Where did you spawn? I never found out.”
Jade grinned and gave him a wink. “Every girl has her secrets. Come on, we don’t want to miss our ride.”
They rushed to the west gate in the direction the caravan was gathering. Jade was expecting a traditional caravan with wagons, horses, and lots of luggage. Looking across the river, Jade’s mouth hung open as she saw . . . a bus? Boat? Sleigh? It was a combination of the three. It looked like one of those large ferry boats that carried cars, except the bottom had large skis that held it above the sand. Around 10 people surrounded the boat, and Jade could see people already inside.
As they crossed the bridge to get to the desert side, a plump man approached them with purpose. He was constantly glancing at his wrist at his invisible screen. “Are you traveling with the caravan?” Nods. “Names?”
“Jade.”
“Edgar.”
The man nodded and spoke in a business-like fashion. “Very good. Your accounts have been settled. My name is Robert and I am the caravan master. As per requirement, we need to register as friends to move on. Please.” Robert held out his hand. Jade and Edgar shook it.
<[Social] You have become friends with Robert.>
“I will send you any information you need while we travel. To iterate, in case you are unaware, this caravan travels between Lotus [Town] and Alvin [City]; it’ll take two days. You must stay aboard the Sandboat at all times. If we are attacked, you are to go under the deck and not to take part in the fighting unless your life is in danger or Captain Wren approves it.” Robert pointed at a large man among the people surrounding the boat. “This is not a training or leveling exercise. Our job is to get you to Alvin safely, not for you to gain levels. Do that on your own time. Any questions?”
Jade raised her hand, then lowered it slowly as Robert looked confused at the action. “Um, are we going to be driving the entire two days?”
“Yes, except one stop at a Byth [Outpost] for eight hours,” Robert answered promptly. “There are hammocks below deck if you wish to sleep.”
Edgar asked, “What monsters will we encounter?”
“Sand Worms, Sand Sharks, Bronze Monitors, and Harvesting Vultures are the most common. Do not worry, we have counters to each of them, and you’ll remain safe. Any more questions?”
Jade and Edgar looked at each other. Jade answered, “No, I think we got it.”
“Please board as soon as you can. We leave in half an hour.” With that, Robert waltzed away to manage something else.
Jade and Edgar looked at each other and shrugged; they walked toward the ramp. However, one of the men surrounding the boat walked over. He had a large sword strapped to his back and walked with confidence. Level 9. “Aren’t you that new girl who came in a couple of days back? Right before we left to hunt that bounty? Leaving Lotus [Town] so soon?”
Jade nodded at him. “Sounds like me. Nice to meet you, I’m Jade. Yeah, I’m moving on to find my next Journal. I’m hoping my previous self left me something nice.”
“Thought I recognized you. You stand out a bit with your red hair. I’m Taz. Just got back from raiding that bandit [Outpost]. Total waste of time.”
“Really?” Jade asked. “No leads on the bounty then?”
Taz shook his head. “We captured a couple of the bandits. They claimed they had no idea who we were talking about. They had a team that went missing; maybe something to do with that. We questioned the bounty’s old escort but couldn’t find anything new. The bounty’s still up, so maybe he survived or his Journal got taken to a nearby dungeon. There were talks to take out the Slicing Spider dungeon by the time I left. I want no part of that, thank you very much.”
Jade caught herself in a nod. She didn’t want to give away that she was in Jin [Village]. “So, you’re a guard for the caravan?”
“Yep, it’s a good stream of money,” Quinn replied. “I’m saving up to move on to the next realm. Not only do we get paid to be a guard, but we get to keep any of the loot from the monsters we kill. Captain Wren runs a good company. Speaking of which, we’re about to leave. I better get in position. Take care now.” Quinn jogged back to the other guards, but he glanced once back at Jade.
“That was a little odd,” Jade commented as they walked up the ramp. Inside the Sandboat, they found about 20 people sitting in cushioned seats. It looked like the inside of an airplane or those long-distance buses, though they couldn’t recline. A staircase led up to the deck and down to a lower level. Jade took the seat next to the window near the back, and Edgar sat next to her.
“I’m about 75% sure he was trying to catch your attention,” Edgar said, continuing the conversation.
“My attention? Why? I’m no one special. If anything, it’d be the other way around, since he’s a way higher level.”
Edgar gave her a flat look. “You can be dense sometimes. I’ll spell it out. He was flirting with you. Jade, you are beautiful and got more so after leveling up. You draw people’s eyes just by walking into the room. Do you think that Harvey acts that nice to everyone who walks in?”
“Oh.”
Eric’s mind blanked. His mind struggled to process that detail. He had accepted becoming a girl, but to be sought after by guys? He wasn’t quite willing to adjust that far. It also begged the question again why people were attracted to each other despite not having reproductive organs. Parts of the game made no sense. Eric’s mind swung back and forth between intrigue at the inconsistencies of the game and repulsion of being attractive to guys.
Jade on the other hand considered how best to use her looks to her advantage. She pushed the Eric part of her mind down. She batted her eyes at Edgar and pouted. “Guess my charm doesn’t work on you.”
Edgar made a sign. “Back, foul witch! Your evil sorcery and beguiling good looks will not work on me!”
Jade giggled, “Shh, don’t give away my secrets.”
Edgar smirked. “Well, it’s not just your looks. You’re also quite intelligent. You learn concepts quickly and think outside the box. You . . . carry yourself different than most. I think it fascinates the higher leveled people.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jade said. “You know, you’re different than you were with Zach and Dina. You were always quiet like you were solving a difficult puzzle.”
Edgar smiled sheepishly. “Dina made me nervous. I always got tongue-tied around her.”
“Ah! There it is!” Jade laughed with delight. “The only cure to my devious charm is to fall in love with someone else. So, will I have to play matchmaker?”
Edgar blushed. “Oh, goddess, please no. With how dense you are, you’ll completely ruin it.”
They bantered back and forth until the ramp was pulled up and the door slammed shut. Robert called from above, “We are leaving!”
The boat jerked once, twice, and then the vehicle was sliding across the sand. Jade looked out the window and could barely make out a large creature near the front of the boat. Jade couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “I’m going up to check things out.”
“Have fun,” Edgar said as his face turned slightly green. He pulled out a book, but Jade doubted he’d get much reading in.
Jade climbed up the circular staircase leading up to the deck. Warm wind buffered against her face. The deck of the Sandboat was a flat platform with railings around it. The boat had no sails, but it had a single mast with a person at the top as a lookout. The front part of the boat held a wall with a piece of glass to act as a windshield. Captain Wren stood behind the wall holding a steering wheel. Four people were patrolling around the deck, each looking out across the sand; Jade saw Taz, but he was too distracted to notice her. Two winged creatures flew near the boat: a dragon-like monster and a large eagle. Awe radiated through Jade as she stared at the majestic creatures, then extreme fear. They were under attack! But Mind Dampener hadn’t activated, and she saw people riding on top of them. She saw two lizard creatures with riders running on the ship’s flanks. Mounted riders. Jade felt a pang of jealousy and wondered if Duke would ever get large enough to ride. Probably not.
The thing that drew the most attention was the front of the ship, or rather, the thing in front that pulled the ship. Jade’s mouth hung open until she got a fistful of sand blown into her mouth. She spat it out and continued her stare. Jade could see a portion of a large sand-colored worm undulating across the surface of the desert. While most of its body was beneath the ship, she could see parts of the worm’s body breaking the sand’s surface; she guessed it was at least twice the length of the ship but not quite as wide. The sand around the worm liquified, which made it possible to thrust through the surface.
“Coming up to look at the sights?” a voice said next to her. Jade jumped as a very unmanly squeak escaped her throat. The voice laughed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Jade turned, trying to calm down. An older man in an old-style suit stood next to her; it was the most complex outfit she had seen, and she wondered how he got it. He had silver hair, and his posture was ramrod straight. Jade thought she recognized him as one of the passengers. Level 10.
“Ah, yes,” Jade murmured. “First time seeing something like this.”
“Indeed,” the man nodded. “I’ve seen something like this in a past life but not in this one. Are you journeying to find your Journal? You do look quite young.”
Jade nodded. She was glad there was an easy lie to explain why she was traveling. They stood in silence as they watched the sand pass by. Not an awkward silence but a nice relaxing one.
The town quickly faded from sight as they crossed rolling dunes. The sandworm seemed to prefer staying within the valleys between the dunes as much as possible, so Jade had a hard time seeing too much of the environment.
Time slowed. Wilma’s training flared to the surface as Jade dropped to the deck and prepared Ice Blast. A reptile-fish-like creature burst out of the sand towards the boat, but one of the guards on the deck shot it before Jade could release the spell. The creature halted in a daze. The two ground riders slowed down and finished it off before catching back up.
“Seems like they got this covered,” the old man said, nodding in approval. He lowered his hand and dismissed the crossbow Jade hadn’t seen him summon. He nodded at Jade. “You have a good reaction; keep it honed. It’ll keep you alive. It’s been a pleasure, miss. Take care.” He walked below deck.
Jade stayed out on deck for about an hour longer. She saw about a dozen creatures try to attack the boat, but none of them got close. One time a dragon rider called out that there was a large monster ahead, so they changed course to get out of the way. Every once in a while, a passenger would come up to look at the sand, but none would stay up long, probably due to the heat and sand on their face.
A sense of surrealism enveloped Eric. He was in a game traveling through a desert. It felt so real and not at the same time. The warm air and stinging sand felt real, but not as hot as it should have been. He could also occasionally see structures in the distance, like a large rock cave or an oasis. Probably dungeons.
Jade broke out of her mulling as one of the crew approached her. “Please get below deck, miss. We’ve caught the attention of a larger beast and need to make evasive moves.”
Adrenaline pumped through Jade. “Will we be alright?”
The crew member laughed. “We’ll be fine. Just a precaution.”
Jade nodded and went below deck. She sat in her seat and looked out the window. The boat began to make sudden turns, but she could only see sand. Except, for a short moment, she thought she saw a gigantic lizard through one of the dune valleys before they sped on through.
TheXtra Path 
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