The woman turned back to the man, leaving me to cower behind her shadow. Even that looked strong. "Step number one: face them head on," she said, lowering herself into a stance. "Step two: don't blink. Ever."

"What are you going on about, chick?" the man yelled, lowering his sword and charging. "Stop getting in my way!"

He was fast, reaching the woman with just a few steps. The woman blew a breath—the sound loud enough to float above the fur-man's screaming and the noisy clacks of wheels and chattering people in the main street—and clapped her hands.

Everything stilled, even Fur-Man.

The woman turned back to me. "Step three: take their toy from them and use it against them," she continued. The other two steps had long flitted out of my mind, because, holy mother of cows, she had just caught a broadsword between her hands. Before her, Fur-Man squirmed and attempted to dislodge his sword from her grip. It didn't budge a millimeter.

What...was this woman?

"Step four," the woman moved her attention back to Fur-Man as if she couldn't be bothered to look like she was struggling. "Make them bleed."

With a grunt, she pressed her hands harder against each other, the muscles on her arms and shoulders tensing. With a shriek, the sword—the metal and heavy sword—cracked before exploding into a shower of shards.

A collective gasp rang from the gathered crowd. Upon further analysis, most of them wore dark clothes coupled with pelts of different colors and shades. How many animals did they kill to be able to dress that many? Even the roofs lining this alley were full of black blobs silhouetted by the sunlight.

The woman, aware of how many of them were against her after attacking their leader, rolled her shoulders and faced them. "Anyone else?" she asked.

As an answer, they dropped their weapons and scampered off. Fur-Man couldn't have looked more desperate and betrayed. "Come back here, you fools!" he shouted after his comrades-turned-deserters. "I will hunt each and every one of you and make you suffer. I—"

His words were cut off when the woman's boot slammed against the side of his face. He slammed into the ground with the other cheek. Slowly, I scrambled backwards with my palms. I didn't want to be on the wrong side of that boot.

"Worry about your own ass before swearing to beat another," the woman crouched next to the man and gave him a tap on the arm. "Give your Captain my regards. Tell him Dragnasand would be giving him a summon one of these days."

Fur-Man's eyes widened, seemingly aware of his predicament and the meaning implied by the woman's words. He stumbled to his feet and, within seconds, was gone. The alley had never been this silent.

The woman kicked the shards that once had been Fur-Man's sword. Her eyebrows were drawn together, lost in thought. Or emotion. Either way, she wasn't to be bothered. I pulled myself to my feet, bracing the alley's wall. Her attention shifted to me.

"What brings you to Mystriae, blue boy?" she asked.

My spine turned rigid. Was she working some magic on me? "Uh...just visiting?" I held my palms up in a surrendering gesture. "I was lost in the forest on the way to town and these guys jumped on me, demanding my stuff and all."

The woman blinked before chuckling under her breath. "You talk weird. Came from afar?" she asked. Before I could reply, she pushed past me and jerked her head in the general direction of the main street. "Come on. I'll treat you. Just a drink, though. Cav will kill me if I overspend the bulk this month. Again."

"Thanks for helping me out there," I blurted just as she started walking. She paused to look back at me. I gave her a sheepish smile. "Let's just say I would've been a goner if you didn't step in."

The woman returned my smile, but hers showed a hint of pointed canines. And when I say pointed, I meant pointed. They're almost like fangs, but not quite. Must be a pain whenever she bites her tongue or her cheek.

"Enough chivalry, blue boy," she reached out and closed a hand around my arm. This was the second time I've been yanked around, but since this was my savior, I let myself be dragged.

As we joined the flow of traffic, both on foot and with horse-drawn carriages and carts, she sucked in a breath between her teeth before turning to me. "Say, are you an adventurer?" she asked. "Not everyone can withstand Harnath and his strength and skill. You must be an adventurer. I'm sure of it!"

I stuck my bottom lip out as she pushed me out of the way of a pair of people with brightly-colored hair and huge, huge swords. My eyes latched on to their glorious blades, each one more embellished and shiny than the last. Their armor mixed with their capes were something straight out of a fantasy movie, with their elaborate carvings and sleek metallic sheen. I would bet my untradeable shovel that these would absorb almost all the damage inflicted by at least a mid-dungeon beast. That, and they probably cost a fortune. In-game purchases for those items were already sky-high. Imagine if it's in the real world, even if it's still technically inside the game.

"If you're referring to people who are members of a party, then I'm not," I said. It was an honest answer. Even when I was playing from the web-based client, I wasn't keen on signing up for those, even when the dungeon yields were higher and better. There were some things that were better off being done alone, and my brain has lumped playing Legends of Solarlume into that list.

The woman hummed, craning her neck up at the source of the shadow coming to loom at us from the horizon. "That's the Ivertale," she pointed with her thumb, gesturing towards a flat facade of wooden planks and open-cut windows. It was a cross between a barn and a two-story residential house back in the city. "The team should be inside if we're late. It's a long day of patrol, after all."

I followed her as she tackled the distance between the main street and the tavern. Carriages and carts ran perpendicular to us, stopping every now and then to let us pass. Every time, the woman ducked her head at the people seated on the coach. Well, just from the pencil-thin whips they bore, I would duck my head in thanks and respect too.

"Is that why you're out there when you found me?" I asked. "Are you an adventurer yourself?"

We got to the other side of the street, just in front of the tavern. I mean, I was assuming this was a tavern judging from the endless array of tables and chairs arranged like one back in the real world. Inside, all sorts of armor, weapons, and strange people ripped from every video game and fantasy media crowded over small tables in groups ranging from one to twelve. Were all these...adventurers?

The woman braced her hips. It has now come to my attention how she wore fancier clothes than me. Apart from the half a breastplate covering most of her neck and heart, she sported a tight dress ending in frilled skirts just above the knee.

"Listen up, blue boy," she said, shifting her weight from one metallic boot to another. It's ironic how she called me a blue boy when, in fact, she was the one who's covered in varying shades of blue from head to toe. Even her eyes resembled the bright, morning sky. "This is an exclusive adventurer's tavern, just for the members of the Dragnasand Guild. I'll say you're a friend and you're visiting, but you must never stray away from me."

I glanced at the patrons making cups and silverware clatter. "What would happen if I did?" I stepped backwards when she gave me a pointed look. "I mean, hypothetically. Wasn't planning to disobey you or whatever, but you know...things happen."

As if seeing the reasoning, she crossed her arms, making the braces covering them clink and clank against each other. "You'd either end up as entertainment or have your behind kicked by a drunk adventurer. Your pick."

I swallowed against the growing lump in my throat. "Got it," I raised a finger just as she began stalking inside the tavern. No heads turned to look at us, but I could sense being watched from various peripheries. So long as there was a blue figure in front of me, none of them made a fuss. "You mentioned meeting people. Do I need to be here when they do?"

"Two bisers of terribean ale please," the woman held up two fingers at a...something from behind the chest-height counter. She huffed when she perched on the tall stool and tapped her hand on the wooden surface. "To answer your question—you're welcome to stay once they get here. You need to leave when Cavya, our leader, gets here though. We would be starting our mission briefing by then."

I followed her example and took my seat. A wooden cup of steaming liquid slid into my view. I raised my head to thank the bartender when my mind blanked. Staring at me was a fox head attached to a human's body. Judging from the shape, it's a man's body, but I could be wrong. Very. There's so many things I didn't know about this world that I began to wonder if this was still the same game I knew since my childhood.

"Um...thank you," I turned the cup's handle towards my right hand and noticed the size. I turned to the woman who flipped two pieces of copper hexagons on the counter. A paw swiped them and was gone within seconds. "This is liquor, right?"

The woman was already downing hers. She hummed. "Why? Can't hold your ground against it?" she asked when she finished her gulp, wiping the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand. I didn't mean to peek, but I saw she had drained hers until half. Just like that. "It's okay, blue boy. I'll finish what you can't. Cav would rather me be drunk than let his money go to waste."

I pursed my lips. She had been so kind as to treat me to something—the first person to do that since I got here—so I couldn't brush it off by saying some bullcrap like liquor is not my thing. Instead, I shrugged. "I can manage fine," I took a tentative sip, and the bitter but sweet flavor exploded in my tongue. I winced. "Damn, this has a kick."

The woman grinned. "You'd get used to it."

"I hope so," I hummed and took another sip. If I was going to be stuck inside here for much longer, I better. As it was, there weren't any quests or spells I've encountered that involved escaping the game itself. And now that I was in that situation...what was I supposed to do?