As the lights faded, I saw Lucas looking pale… as pale as an empty whiskey glass.

  I gave him a reassuring smile and waved. Besides the pointed ears, there wasn’t much difference between his real-life body and his in-game avatar. But a military-hardened physique on a mage?

  Poor Lucas.

  “Lucas! I’ll do my best, so don’t worry.” My female voice startled me, but I brushed it off and approached him. “I’ll carry you!”

  He took a step back, his face flushing slightly. “Are you sure?” Everything felt so real. No wonder people were choosing to live in virtual worlds forever. Maybe that commie tax wasn’t so bad after all. He stared at me for a moment, then added, “I mean… this whole thing’s gotta be rough for you, right? Charlie?”

  “Nah, I was mad at first,” I said with a smile, a bit of nostalgia slipping into my tone. “But, well, my heart kind of melted after my first kill. There’s just something exhilarating about the rush of taking things down.” I chuckled, then admitted, “But I don’t know how to play a Priest. Like, none.”

  “Hmm,” Lucas said thoughtfully, raising his staff as if about to cast a spell. I watched him closely, hoping to see a master mage in action so we could duo-clear dungeons together. He noticed my stare and blushed. “Glad to hear that… John.”

  “Call me Princess.”

  “What? Why?!” He froze, his spell dissipating as the mana slipped away.

  Whoops.

  “Isn’t it obvious? That’s my name now,” I shrugged. “You’re the one who said I’m stuck with it, so call me Princess or Charlie. Hope I won’t turn girl on Earth. Both sound strange, but I guess people will get used to it. Besides, titles are super important in this game. Princess is not my official title, for now, but I’ll work towards it. Titles define NPCs and players.”

  Queen Irwen could give me princess title. Something to work towards.

  Instead of replying, he went back to casting another spell, though his technique looked completely off.

  Watching him struggle, I jumped in with my hard-earned QA knowledge. “What are you doing, you dork? Haven’t you read the manual? You need to draw the runes quickly, fill them with mana, and shout!”

  I’d watched plenty of mages while testing; at least I knew what it was supposed to look like, and Lucas definitely wasn’t doing that. He snorted, clearly annoyed, and challenged me. “Oh yeah? Think you know so much? Try it yourself, then! You should have at least one spell!”

  I confidently opened my spell menu, selecting a healing spell with a simple rune design. “Easy. Watch closely!” System even left a little animated video under the rune, so I followed along, taking mental notes.

  “This’ll be a breeze.” Clutching my staff, I tapped into my mana, or what I imagined as some kind of warm energy flowing within me. A pleasant warmth surprised me, it felt different from the warrior’s mana I was used to.

  Ignoring the surprise, I focused, drawing the contours of the rune. But halfway through, the mana fizzled out, and I stumbled back, cheeks burning.

  “Haha! Told you so! You’re only human,” Lucas teased, his voice grating as he laughed. I shot him a glare, pouting. He laughed more. “Just like me, Charlie!”

  No… Don’t act like teen girl, John. I’m fourty! But I’ve always wanted that…

  “Hmpf! I took down the toughest bosses; if I had a sword, I’d crush it as a warrior. We don’t depend on mana like this!”

  There had to be a way.

  I thought back to Lucy, my old QA colleague, who’d been an incredible paladin. During breaks, she’d explained that imagining the symbols in her mind first helped her; once they were clear, the system would guide her hand.

  Lucas was staring at me like he’d never seen a girl before, then abruptly interrupted my thoughts with his I’m guilty voice, “Charlie, I need to tell you something.”

  “Can it wait?” I waved him off, too focused on my plan. “I think I remembered something that’ll help! The game must have a guiding system.”

  He nodded and sighed, though I barely noticed. I was too busy picturing the rune, concentrating on it for what felt like an eternity. Lucy said to hold it in your mind until it was practically engraved there.

  Come on, Lucy, help me out here!

  Finally, I felt ready.

  I gripped my poor excuse for a staff, focused on the rune, and took a deep breath. As I looked forward… Yes! A faint outline appeared in the air, guiding me. Carefully, I poured mana into it, tracing the shape with determination. But it failed.

  Again.

  And again.

  By the fifth or sixth failure, I lost it.

  I bolted around the meadow, swinging my glorious stick at anything in sight. My mighty blows connected with trees, bushes, and, most satisfyingly, Lucas himself, who was still chuckling. My staff made solid contact with his skull.

  Oh god, someone help me!

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Somewhere dark, Earth

  Jeffrey sat in front of his computer screen, the dim glow illuminating his face. If John had been there, he’d have mistaken him for a fifteen-year-old punk in a brown coat. But he’d be wrong.

  Jeffrey had just turned twelve.

  “John’s vanished from the simulation of reality, just as you expected, sir,” said a shadowy figure to Jeffrey’s left. “Are you certain you trust this… John?”

  “Yes. I got close enough to our magic background to discern John’s simulation’s unique hash… a one-in-infinity chance. I was not supposed to see it. A flaw in the system you could say.” Jeffrey’s eyes narrowed, a glint of excitement sparking within. “I asked the Seed… The allmighty god for a favor. John. And we returned to Earth. I know this isn’t another prison sim. This is the real deal.”

  He let out a slow sigh. “They think we’re still in sim. Nathan is delusional. And they thought they could stop me by cutting down the time before the game, but they miscalculated. We returned to Earth, and John will be our hero this time, not me. I’ll stay in the shadows, like the other shareholders, and avoid the early scramble.”

  “But why him?” The man stepped forward, his wrinkled hands gesturing emphatically in the screen’s pale light. “You could have chosen many seasoned heroes, especially after the deaths of two of your competitors. There are plenty of openings.”

  “We’ve tried that route, and it failed. He is the key to connecting Earth with the Rimelion for good. A promise to my father. Let’s just hope he’s started building his own ship by now.”

  “Sir,” the man interrupted gently, “this time Rimelion is a pure fantasy, not sci-fi with magic. Don’t forget our prison simulation had less than a 10% probability. Nathan successfully persuaded everyone Rimelion is a game and not an alien universe, but we don’t know for how long that can last, especially as the Seed is trying to undermine our connection and protect native Rimelionians.”

  “Oh? Fascinating.” Jeffrey leaned back, considering this. “I haven’t been keeping up. But perhaps this might even the odds. Let the others exhaust their resources. Do we have an invitation to Riker’s Luck?”

  The man scrolled through his holo-tablet. “We do. What do you plan?”

  “What?” Jeffrey’s lips curled. “I’ll just tell Riker the truth and that John is key to everything. He’ll ally with him on his own.”

  Back to Charlie…

  My hand moved fluidly through the air, tracing the rune, which glowed with a warm, golden light. “Heal!” I shouted as I completed the symbol, directing the energy toward Lucas.

  A soft, golden mist spiraled from my fingertips, drifting toward him with a graceful flourish. I held my focus steady, guiding the magic until it wrapped around him and settled gently into his form.

  As the light faded, Lucas glanced at the golden glow with awe. “It worked! That was… beautiful,” he said, offering a hesitant smile.

  “Yeah! Let me help you!” I hurried over, grabbing his hand. “Do you have the rune in your mind? Can you picture it clearly?” He stared absently into my eyes, as if lost in thought, and didn’t answer until I gave his cheek a light pinch. Was he drunk already? Or was I that hot?

  He shook head and said, “Yeah, I think I can.”

  “Focus! Just because I have boobs now doesn’t mean I’m any different, and a weak answer like that won’t cut it!” My determined glare spurred him into action.

  He opened his menu, gave the rune a quick glance, then turned his back to me, clearly flustered.

  “Lucas?” I teased, watching him stiffen up like an empress when I turned in the imperial quest. Ha! My presence still presented intimidation factor. “Good. Now focus on that rune. Picture it, and the outline should appear soon. I may not have the fortitude of a warrior, but I won’t let you down.”

  He sighed, but turned his attention back to the spell, mumbling something under his breath. I joined in, practicing alongside him. Despite his best efforts, he still struggled, failing most of the time. But I decided it was enough practice for now… our mana was nearly depleted, and time was ticking.

  “The game’s fun this way, isn’t it?” I said, looking up at the canopy of branches overhead, their thick leaves weaving a soothing shade over us. “You have to work for it, but the rewards feel earned.” I caught him glancing at my chest and rolled my eyes.

  I let the moment pass, enjoying the cool breeze that tousled my hair. After a while, he shook his head and muttered, “No, it’s insane. Why is it so hard? Aren’t games supposed to be fun?”

  “Is it really a game?” I said with a grin. “But I disagree. This is amazing! Without a real challenge, what’s the point? The system was way more forgiving for warriors; I could jump meters high and smash through walls!”

  A mischievous grin spread across my face as I remembered one exploit where I’d broken into a vault with a single punch. “Aren’t you excited to see what magic can do? I’m dying to find out how our first boss fight will go. Faster spell casting could make all the difference. You need to work on that.”

  He nodded thoughtfully.

  “Yeah… this game feels… real.” Rising, he tapped his staff against the nearby trees, listening to the satisfying clink it made. “More real than the world we came from. It feels like this is the future. Anyone who stands against it might just… disappear. Vanish, without a trace. Actually, I think that’s already happening. Charlie, the truth is—”

  His words took me by surprise, and I gently put a hand up to stop him. “Lucas, please. I understand.” He was right… everything was moving in that direction. “People vanishing without a trace…” Is that what happened to him? Did he meddle where he shouldn’t have? “Hey, Lucas, have you heard of the Ring of Smiling People? Someone mentioned it—”

  Before I could finish, his face twisted in horror.

  He clutched the frayed edge of my pitiful robe with a tight grip. “Where the hell did you hear that name? Were you snooping around my place?” He joggled me, as if trying to snap me out of a trance, though as mage he thankfully had little strength. “Don’t joke about it, Charlie. These people are dangerous!”

  I slipped out of his grasp, stepping back cautiously. “It was some punk at the bar who mentioned them. He said to reach out if I wanted to learn more.”

  “Of course. The bar.” He threw his hands up in frustration. “Where else? Just… don’t. If you value your life, stay away from them.”

  “All right! Relax. Damn Lucas, I was only asking!”

  “Even asking is risky. People have died over it. Charlie did—” He softened, his voice trailing off as his eyes filled with something between worry and sadness. Then, almost abruptly, he changed the subject. “You… wanted to play badly, didn’t you? You look so alive here. Happier than usual. You’re only ever like this after a fourth whiskey.”

  I felt my cheeks flush because he wasn’t wrong.

  Since I’d entered the game, I felt different, like my entire brain was rewired. But that was nonsense, right? The capsule would not rewrite me into a girl in reality, right? Maybe it was just the excitement of a second chance at life, courtesy of that punk.

  I jumped up and glanced at the sky, noting the sun’s position. Nightfall wasn’t too far off. “Lucas, focus on what matters. We’re poor, level-one noobs, and we need a plan.”

  “So? What’s the grand scheme, oh eminent expert?” He looked less than enthusiastic, standing there with no intention of moving.

  Time to act my new age.

  “Hmpf!” I grabbed his hand and started running, dragging him along. “Onward! My job was to find bugs, so let’s do just that. Why play by the rules? Let’s exploit our way to the top!”