Chapter 3

Light pierced through the rocks of the cave's entrance, though it illuminated only the a small area. Dark gray rock formed a massive wet tunnel into the earth. The smell was heavy and gross. For a moment I wondered how the game knew what the cave should smell like.

We walked together carefully. Sindred had cast a Torch spell that created a small orb of light which floated directly over his head and lit the way for us. It revealed how jagged the stone was around us. Forgotten Caves...

"How old are you?" Mili asked Sindred.

The wizard chuckled, "Old enough."

"I'm ten."

"I'm nineteen," I added.

Sindred stared at Mili for a moment until he began to speak hesitantly, "Forgive me for asking, but are you not a bit young to be playing this game?"

"My older brother wanted me to play it with him. We always were a great team," her expression darkened to sadness.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Sindred said, " I have lost many friends to this game. I was very close to many of them. I know your pain very well."

I stopped for a moments, listening intently. A small echo moved through the cave and I detected it coming from further in.

"What is it?" Mili asked.

"Did you hear that?" I continued to listen. "What is the rating for this area?"

Mili looked puzzled, "Rating?"

"The rating," Sindred responded, "is the aapproximate level that monsters in a certain area will be. And to answer your question, Aquosin, the rating is very low."

The sound had faded into silence. I laughed, "False alarm."

"Ah, here we have it," the wizard said excitedly as he pointed forward. Further into the cave was a small hole in the ceiling, allowing a small amount of light to fall in. Directly beneath it was a pile of rock reaching only two feet night. At the top grew a small purple plant. It looked much like a fern, with leaves opened to receive the gift of the sun from outside. Around it there seemed to be a silver aura.

I stared curiously at the little fern, "What is it?"

Sindred seemed pleased by the question. He smiled widely as he spoke, "That is a Lunar Root. It only grows in the day before a full moon, and it is rarely ever found. But I did my research."

"What can it do?" Mili asked.

"It is such an invaluable item because it has the ability to revive a fallen player. People in these days would kill for this." The mage smiled for a moment, but I could see a small hint of something else there. Regret?

Sindred stood and gazed down at the plant for a moment. He knelt beside it and ran his finger along the side of a leaf. He pulled up a menu and with the press of a few buttons the plant vanished into a section of his inventory. "Mission accomplished," he said.




Realitas was released only two years before the virus happened. Six long months have gone by since then. Thousands of player deaths have been reported. Some live as normal of lives as they can. Others fight to get stronger in hopes that one day the game can be beat. We do what we have to.