“Hm?” Isla heard Arthur’s excited voice and turned around to look at him. “A memory gate?”
“Yeah, this is definitely a memory gate up north.” He said as he pointed to his map. “I know it.”
Arthur would never forget when he entered one of these gates as that was still the hardest fight he had fought since he started playing the game. Nothing comes close to it so far. That door had become a core memory in his head.
Isla quickly opened her map too to check what he was talking about and surprisingly, she saw it, up north in a random spot in the forest. It looked seamless and well hidden so she didn’t notice it when she checked the map the first time.
“So, you’re the one that entered one of these the first time?” Isla asked curiously.
“Yes, I did and that was very hard. The thing I had to fight in there isn’t easy at all.” He replied. “If anything, I probably would’ve died if I wasn’t lucky enough.”
“… What did you fight?”
“A creature named ‘Ethereal’. I don’t know what it is or why it’s in there but killing it gave me a lot of good stuff. I’m definitely going to enter this gate too.”
Arthur knew that this could be a far harder battle if he entered that gate, but the gains were naturally too enticing to ignore. Especially when he already has an idea of what he could get from it. But, he quickly realized a big problem.
“Oh, right, I can’t do that without hindering the group,” Arthur muttered. Going in there takes at least an hour or two if he was able to end the fight quickly which was a lot of time wasted.
“Well, I am also very curious about these memory gates. It’s not that far out of our way either. I will ask the others for their opinion. But, this should be a beneficial thing to do.” Isla shook her head.
“Oh, so you’re coming along? That is very helpful.”
‘Actually, this might be a very good idea. If we can actually enter the same gate and not get separated, it would make the fight significantly more manageable.’ Arthur thought to himself.
He was certain that this memory gate was going to be way harder than the previous one he found simply because it was way deeper into the forest compared to the first one which was relatively close to the village.
‘Well, this is definitely going to be interesting. I am far stronger than when I fought that thing, but am I truly strong enough to take this on? Well, we will see.’
Looking up to the sky, Arthur noticed that the blue light had dissipated and the pillar had returned to its lightless state as if nothing happened.
***
The duo then returned to the spot where the camp was set. They found the rest of the group already finished with their roles. There were several tents enough for everyone, a campfire in the middle, and some food being grilled on it.
They were all sitting around the fire, waiting for the food to cook before eating it. The moment they saw the duo, Danny immediately stood up.
“Why did you take so long, leader?” He asked in a very worried tone. “I was about to go search for you.”
“We came across something very interesting.” Isla replied with a casual tone.
Arthur noticed the boy secretly giving him a strong glare. But, he ignored it and simply walked toward the camp. “What are you guys cooking?”
“Deer meat. Have you ever tried it before?” Herculia said with a smile.
“Actually, no. I did try meat jerky though. That was really good.” Arthur nodded.
“Trust me, this stuff is far better. I can’t enough of it.” The big man laughed loudly as he tapped Arthur on the shoulder. “When is the meat gonna be ready, Emmy? We’re starving!”
“You won’t die from hunger in this game, idiot. Be patient.” Emmy replied.
“Something interesting?” Meanwhile, Danny was completely focused on Isla. “What did you find?”
“Actually, it was Arthur who found it. A Lesser Beacon.” She replied as she sat down with a small sigh. “We unlocked a good chunk of the map.”
“A lesser beacon?! There is one of those nearby?!” Hearing that, the other two immediately took interest. “We haven’t come across a single one this entire time.”
“It turned out to be far better than we expected. You should unlock it tomorrow before we leave. We need the map.” Isla said.
“Of course.”
“We also have a small change of plans.” She added. “We spotted a memory gate on our way. I believe we should see what’s inside of it before we move on. Arthur had said that it has some pretty good rewards.”
“A memory gate…” Danny muttered as he instinctively looked up at Arthur. “So you were the one who did it…”
“…” The latter ignored him completely as he was focused on the grilling meat.
“Aren’t those very dangerous?” Emmy asked confusedly.
“They are.”
“What if we get killed? Wouldn’t that waste a lot of time?” Herculia added. “One death and we would lose at least two days’ worth of progress.”
Isla looked at her two friends silently for a second. She was already aware of these risks and she had accounted for them in her judgment.
“That is why we simply need to not die. We have a strong ally with us. If we don’t do any major blunders, we should be fine.” She replied.
“That is still not very convincing, Isla,” Danny said. “We know nothing about these gates or what they might contain.”
“And that is why I’m here,” Arthur replied. “I have seen what’s inside one of these gates and I know what to expect. Oh, this is pretty good. *Nom* Nom*.”
The atmosphere grew darker around the group for a few moments. They felt a little hesitant about this, even though Isla and Arthur tried to convince them. After all, the risk of dying was simply too heavy on their shoulders.
They can’t afford to die, not now at least. There was simply too much to lose if even one of them made a mistake and ended up returning to the village. They didn’t have enough time to actually waste.
Isla saw that in their faces and she immediately understood why they were that hesitant. So, she stood up and looked at everyone. “You three, log out. I want to talk to you.”
“Log out? Now?”
“Yes, I need to tell you something. I hope you don’t mind guarding this place for a few minutes, Arthur.” She said coldly.
“Hm? Oh, no problem here. You can go ahead and leave.” He shrugged casually as he continued eating his food enthusiastically. He really didn’t care what was happening between the four of them as it was nothing of his business.
They had their own motives and goals that he didn’t want to be involved in. So, he decided to leave it to Isla, their leader, to convince them.
With that, the four players logged out of the game one after the other, leaving Arthur alone in the camp. The place turned very quiet except for the sound of the burning fire.
“I like this tranquility. Good food, good weather, good silence.” He muttered as he continued eating.
***
*Meanwhile, in the outside world.*
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
