We stood in the middle of the desert at the crack of dawn. Well rested, eyes sharp, senses alert for any trouble.

  Sparks took her usual position, circling around my upper body, ready to defend me or use a potion if needed. Nefa had just begun to step forward, leading us on the leg of our journey to the place where I would face the trials.

  She thanked me for the satisfying dinner the night before, pressing a stern hand to her chest to show her respect. No smile. No hidden gleam in her stare. Nothing that hinted at the quick kiss she had given me.

  Apparently, Nefa was standing on business.

  Sparks and I drank more Saheer tea as we marched farther east, trying to stop Linuux from infiltrating our minds. Nefa’s protection wasn’t strong enough to keep the snake out of our dreams, and last night I saw his figure hulking in the background of a couple of dreams I had.

  I didn’t notice him or talk to him like before, but his being there was a sign that Sparks and I needed to bolster our defenses just in case.

  Once we finished the herbs, we were back to cutting down whatever beasts blocked our path. Mostly Guttergrowls, and the plan we devised yesterday still worked like spellcraft.

  But in Orbralis, I learned to never get too comfortable, because before long, a new stone enemy emerged, the Colossal Sandsweeper, and this one was a doozy.

  Colossal Sandsweeper — Elite Monster — Level 35

  It stood eight feet tall with laser sights that froze you for ten seconds, then pummeled you into oblivion. If the bulky, concrete monster couldn’t reach you, smaller versions of itself would explode from an opening at its feet and finish the job.

  These were called Sentient Sentinels.

  The second the freezing lock released, I roared and unleashed Havoc Maker, cleaving the larger stone enemy in two with a satisfying crack.

  What made these enemies tricky was that they didn’t appear on my map. Just like the Sand Worms, they could ambush you at any time, forcing you into a fight without warning.

  Our stamina was low at this point, and not far from us stood the foot of a mountain we would have to climb to continue on our way. Breathtaking would be an understatement when describing this majestic piece of nature. To be frank, I had never even seen colors this deep and rich.

  Blue, jagged stone rose from beneath the deep purple sands, with light green foliage scattered along the monstrous mountain. Its peak was hidden beneath dark clouds, and the sight rivaled the best video games I had ever played. And to think—I was about to climb it. The thought sent spikes of adrenaline through my body.

  When we reached the foot of the mountain, Nefa revealed a rope and a bow. Her face was as serious as I had ever seen it.

  I provided us with buffs that restored our stamina and enhanced our strength for two hours.

  Nefa placed the bow and rope on the ground and removed the cap and drank her potion, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “There’s a cave up the side of Mount Keaga, about a hundred feet up. Once we reach the mouth, we’ll travel through the dark, killing all creatures inside, and if we’re lucky, we’ll emerge on the opposite side.

  Once there, we scale down, and then it’s a day’s journey to Fort Laishava. Judging from the sun, we have no time to waste. If we are inside the cave at nightfall, the ancient spells my people placed over Mount Keaga will lock us inside and drain our souls from our bodies.”

  My mouth dropped. “Are you serious?” I asked. “Ancient spells that can drain our souls from our bodies? This shit just keeps getting more hectic by the minute.”

  “Do not darken your mind,” she said. “I have been here many times and know what I am doing. If you are afraid, we can wait and hunt more Stone Sentinels for supplies and walk around the formation. That would take a week’s time.” She picked up the rope and bow. “But that is not respectable. Among our people, we have a saying. ‘Spilled blood must be wiped clean before it stains the earth.’”

  I stared at her with no clue what it meant.

  She smirked and continued. “Anything that can be done now must be done now before it makes things worse. To delay is shameful, and the fact that Linuux is after you, so we must hurry.”

  While she prepared the rope and bow for whatever gods knew she had planned, I pondered my situation.

  The longer I played this game, the more ridiculous it got. Draining our souls? That was something I never wanted to experience. Hell, my soul liked my body just fine and had no plans of separating if I had any say in it.

  But that was not my main concern. What mattered was keeping the scaled-faced freak out of our heads.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Sparks and I were running low on Saheer herb, and we still had a long journey ahead before reaching Linuux. No herb meant relying on the mantra Nefa had taught us, and neither of us was advanced enough to build strong resistance against the white lizard. With him hunting me, I dreaded what might happen if he slipped back into my dreams.

  Last time, I had nearly fallen under his influence. Next time, I might lose myself completely.

  I bit my lip and looked at Nefa. “If we’re going to do this, you need to hurry up because wasting time only makes things worse,” I said, giving her a smile.

  “Respect,” she said, tying the rope to the end of an arrow. “You’re an ardent learner.”

  She let the other end uncoil across the ground, then aimed up at the mountain.

  Narrowing her eyes, she muttered, “A little to the right,” and shifted her arm an inch.

  “Pray for the best,” I muttered.

  “Sanity is fluid, Lamont,” she answered. “It all depends on who’s pouring.”

  After a few more seconds of aiming, she twitched her wrist. “There,” she said.

  I waited, my breath caught in my chest. Then, in an instant, she released the string.

  I paused, watching the arrow fly, the rope attached to it uncoiling at an alarming rate.

  While all this was happening, Nefa unequipped the bow, grabbed the end of the rope, and extended a hand toward me.

  “Hold on.” She snatched my arm. “And whatever you do, do not let go of me.”

  The next instant, I jerked free of the sand and shot up the mountain, dangling from Nefa’s grip.

  Below me, the desert shrank into a purple blur. The world was spinning so much, I shut my eyes.

  “What the fuck is happening, Nefa?” I shouted.

  “Please be still before you cause us to plummet,” she said.

  “Be still—”

  She cut me off. “Any unnecessary movement might cause me to lose my grip, and that is something neither of us wants to happen. Try breathing through your nose while I get us to safety.” She began to swing while still gripping the rope.

  “Just how strong are you?”

  “Strong enough to throw you in that direction,” she called down to me.

  I inched open my eyes and saw a cliff not far from where we dangled. Seeing the ground so far below made me dizzy, forcing me to shut my eyes again.

  Movement. More adrenaline spiked through my body. Momentum. My pulse hammered. I opened my eyes again. My fierce screams filled the air, and the wind pushed against my face. Panic seized my limbs.

  She tossed me. I flailed my arms, felt myself hit hard concrete, and rolled onto my back. Gravel pierced my skin, scratching up every part of me that had been exposed.

  Seconds later, a thud shook me.

  Standing over me, Nefa wore a smile. “See. Strong enough to throw you and get us both to this cliff,” she said, breathing rapidly. “Next time, trust me,” she thrust her hand in my face.

  Sparks flew to my side, first sending anger and then relief. Her luminescent body glowed brighter.

  I took Nefa’s hands in my grip and rose from the earth. “It’s okay, little lady,” I said to Sparks. “I’m in one piece.”

  The battle fairy flew around me and inspected my body. After seeing that I was unharmed, she darted in a straight line toward Nefa, aiming for her stomach. Before she hit, though, I jumped in front of Sparks, forcing her to slow down.

  More anger surged through the bond.

  “Sparks, I got this,” I said to my tiny friend, turning to face Nefa. “What the fuck was that?” I shouted. “We could’ve both been killed just now, and you’re smiling as if nothing happened. Give me one reason I shouldn’t let Sparks tear you a new one, and I might forgive you.”

  The smile she wore slowly faded. “To climb the mountain would take too much time, Lamont. And to reach the fort in the time I promised, I had to forge a way. Yes, I should have told you, but the means justify the reasoning.” She placed her hand on her chest. “Do you still respect me?”

  The Flish’ar and their damn respect.

  I glanced at Sparks, and even she had softened. “I mean, time is valuable, and I did arrive here safely, so I guess we’re cool. Next time, though, don’t put my life in danger without telling me.”

  “Do you still respect me?” She repeated, not moving an inch.

  “Yes, Nefa, I still respect you.”

  “Thank you,” she said, standing near the edge of the cliff.

  This was the first time I had looked at where I was since being thrown to safety, and seeing the land below from this height left me breathless.

  Through my display, every time I turned my gaze to a different area, a name appeared in green lettering. The area where I could see Nefa’s caravan was called Sun Scorched Dunes. Just beyond it, off in the distance, I could make out other areas I had already visited. The ones I hadn’t visited were hidden under heavy clouds. A game mechanic I remembered from back when I played RPGs.

  Fog of war—or some other term designers would use. Something to keep your mind fixed on the current objective.

  The Makers, as Nefa called them, had some serious horsepower behind this world to make everything so lifelike. Yet it was still a game, with rules and stipulations in place. The whole thing was amazing. Dangerous as hell but filled with a magic I had never experienced.

  Standing there, looking out at the landscape, I appreciated where I was and the people I had met so far. Even Cashius’s old rotten ass.

  It felt good with Sparks perched on my shoulder, her clear eyes taking in the world alongside me. This beautiful but deadly woman played the role of guide. Her taut muscles and graceful frame drew in the same thin, high-altitude air as I did. The moment burned itself into my memory.

  That was when Nefa interrupted my reverie with a cough and stern look. “We must move, or else getting us this high will be for naught.”

  The two of us turned toward the mountain and walked along the path. I opened the map and set a marker for the cave Nefa had mentioned.

  [Cave to Fort Laishava]

  Ahead, a yellow path illuminated before me. Though Nefa already knew the way, the overlay made following the route much easier. It was also a reminder that, no matter how real everything felt, this was still a game—at least until a battle began.

  Along with the location of the cave, there was a gang of red dots littering the area—large clumps too. At the cave itself, however, nothing appeared. Only a dark opening, waiting for us to enter.

  My instincts told me things were about to get hectic inside this mountain. And since hectic times called for serious measures, I slipped inside the werecat gear, claws included.

  As for Nefa, I switched to her regular skin-tight leather outfit and equipped her with Fang and Viper. Those blades worked well in close quarters, and her scythe was still slotted, too.

  For myself, I planned to use Black Tusk and the claws in tandem at first, switching to the boomerang or Slugthrower when needed.

  Maybe changing Nefa’s outfit had been a mistake, because walking behind her, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her dangerous curves. The heels she wore struck against the gravel, her legs brushing together, catching my attention.

  I licked my lips, watching her figure, imagining myself holding her body close in my arms. She turned, caught me lusting after her, and smiled—biting her lip too, inviting me to keep staring at her beautiful body sashaying ahead.

  I tore my eyes from her heavenly form and forced myself to focus on the objective. I didn’t have time to be thinking about her like that when we were about to walk into a war zone.

  Nope.

  I concentrated on the deadly blade attached to the chain at my waist, and on piercing the enemy with my electric claws, looting their bodies, and making sure neither of us died.