Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1
[User 156789: Enoki, level 44.]
[User 156126: Anubis, level 57. ]
[User 157521: Padisarah, level 42.]
[User 157259: Mehrak, level 40. ]
"One more session," he told himself. "Then I'm done for today.". The moment he got home from university, he dropped his bag by the door, hurried to his desk and turned on his computer.He hadn't been able to think about anything else all day. He'd only started playing two weeks ago, yet he'd already reached level 44. Most people thought his progress was ridiculous but to him, it was nothing. He simply attributed it to his quick-learning nature. Once he focused on a goal, nothing could stop him until he was satisfied.
As his computer hummed to life, he eagerly launched the game he had patiently awaited. Like every day, he started with his daily quests before spending his remaining energy on leveling materials. He'd spent hours creating his character, investing way too much time in sculpting the perfect, adorable character. Unlike him, however, his character was female. He didn't like the male character models. Besides, it was just a game. Accuracy hardly mattered.
Pouring his heart into the design process, he gave her long, beautiful white hair, big red eyes, tanned skin and far too many golden accessories. He still hadn't unlocked many of the available outfits, but he was already more than happy with how she'd turned out.
After several hours, he finally checked the clock.
...
Shit.
He'd completely lost track of time.
He still had exams to study for, a report due the next day, and yet he'd managed to spend the entire evening playing.
He should stop.
...
One more round.
Just one.
Then he'd actually get some work done.
Without giving himself the chance to reconsider, he clicked on the multiplayer button, waiting for the matchmaking to find him a team.
[P1 Anubis LVL 57, P2 Enoki LVL 48, P3 Padisarah LVL 42, P4 Mehrak LVL 40 joined the world.]
【P1 Anubis】
Hi there!
【P3 Padisarah】
Hiii!
【P1 Anubis】
No need to worry, my dear noobs. I will carry you. ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ
【P4 Mehrak】
Oh thank you…
Tighnari stared at his screen, chuckling at the cute little emoji.
【P2 Enoki】
Hey guys, I’ll be joining for one round and then I’ll have to leave again! Thanks in advance.
One after another, the other three players gathered around his character, jumping around until he moved to the domain entrance.
Tighnari smiled.
The party quickly fell into place.
One DPS.
One sub-DPS.
One buffer.
And himself.
The healer.
His favorite role.
Ever since he'd started playing, he'd poured nearly all of his resources into keeping other people alive. His healing build still wasn't perfect, but he'd spent enough hours farming equipment that he was confident in what he could do.
The domain began.
Almost immediately, Anubis charged ahead.
Way too fast.
Enemies disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared, but with that came another problem.
His HP bar.
Tighnari barely had enough time to react before it dropped again.
And again.
Every heal he had went straight to P1.
For the next several minutes, his attention never left Anubis' HP bar.
Only when the final enemy collapsed did he finally look around.
P3 and P4 were lying on the floor.
Oh.
In his determination to keep Anubis alive, he'd completely ignored everyone else.
【P3 Padisarah】
Woow! You guys were amazing! (๑ ˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و
【P4 Mehrak】
Yeah, you did good. Thanks.
【P2 Enoki】
This was fun! Thank you guys.
Then another message appeared.
【P1 Anubis】
Hey P2.
Tighnari blinked.
...Me?
【P1 Anubis】
You're level 44, right?
Your heals weren't bad at all. I'm surprised, ngl. ( ◡̀_◡́)ᕤ
But you should try to heal everyone, not only the DPS.
Tighnari smiled.
Coming from someone over ten levels above him, the compliment felt surprisingly rewarding. He'd spent countless hours improving his healing build, and hearing someone experienced acknowledge it made all those hours feel worthwhile.
【P2 Enoki】
Thank you.
Your HP kept dropping so fast that I got scared and focused entirely on you.
I'm sorry to the others. (╥_╥)
【P3 Padisarah】
No need to worry!
You guys were a good team.
I didn't mind watching! ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ )✧
【P4 Mehrak】
I have to leave. Thx.
P4 Mehrak left the world.
【P1 Anubis】
How about this?
Your heals are good, but you're lacking in skill.
I could be your teacher for a while.
This way I have a personal healer and don't have to bother with healing myself, and you can level up while being protected by an OP DPS.
Tighnari read the message twice.
A teacher?
The offer wasn't bad at all.
He'd be able to focus entirely on healing instead of constantly worrying about fighting himself, and having someone experienced to guide him through the game would probably make leveling much easier.
【P2 Enoki】
Sure, why not?
But aren't my heals too low?
Wouldn't that be annoying for you?
【P1 Anubis】
That's still better than having to heal myself.
Besides, your heals are good enough.
With a teacher like me, they'll improve in no time.
A small notification appeared in the corner of his screen.
Friend Request.
Then another.
P1.
P3.
Tighnari accepted both before returning to the chat.
【P2 Enoki】
I accepted both your requests.
I had a lot of fun, so thank you again.
Hope we can do this again!
【P3 Padisarah】
Me too!
Good night! (❛ ֊ ❛„)♡
P3 Padisarah left the world.
Tighnari moved his cursor toward the Leave-World button.
Another message appeared.
【P1 Anubis】
Wait!
Don't go yet!
Tighnari paused.
...Hm?
【P2 Enoki】
Okay.
I'm here.
【P1 Anubis】
Should we do a few more runs?
I'm in the mood to play and carry you a little.
His eyes drifted toward the clock.
...
He really should say no.
He still had a report to finish, exams to study for and only a few hours left before he'd have to sleep.
Just a few rounds.
That wouldn't hurt.
【P2 Enoki】
Okay.
But only a few.
I still have to study.
【P1 Anubis】
Yay! ( ◡̀_◡́)ᕤ
A few rounds became several.
Several somehow became hours.
The two of them wandered across the map together, searching for treasure chests, defeating enemies and completing domains whenever they stumbled across one. Playing with someone else turned out to be far more enjoyable than wandering through the world alone, and before Tighnari realized it, another level had quietly passed.
Level 45.
Even his healing had noticeably improved.
At one point, he'd casually mentioned that he'd only started playing two weeks ago.
The reaction came almost instantly.
【P1 Anubis】
Nah.
There's no way you've only been playing for two weeks.
It took me almost six weeks to reach level 40.
How did you manage that?
【P2 Enoki】
Oh well...
I don't really sleep much.
So I had a lot of free time.
【P1 Anubis】
Guess that makes two of us. (｡•́︿•̀｡)
Tighnari smiled faintly.
【P2 Enoki】
Aw...
Sorry to hear that.
At least we can play together at night then haha.
【P1 Anubis】
That's true.
By the way...
What does your name mean?
Tighnari looked at his own username.
Enoki.
He'd never wanted to use his real name online. The thought of someone from university recognizing him in a game like this felt strangely embarrassing. Instead, he'd picked the name of his favorite mushroom. It sounded cute, tasted good and had seemed like a perfectly reasonable choice at the time.
【P2 Enoki】
It's my favorite mushroom species.
I like the name.
【P1 Anubis】
I see.
No wonder you're such a fungi.
Tighnari stared at the message.
What?
A second message appeared.
【P1 Anubis】
Don't you get it?
Mushrooms are fungi.
And you're a fun guy.
It's funny.
Tighnari blinked.
Then blinked again.
"...What the hell."
He laughed more about that than he wanted to.
That had to be one of the worst jokes he'd ever heard.
【P2 Enoki】
That was by far the worst joke I've ever heard.
But I have to admit...
It made me laugh.
I'll give you a 6/10.
【P1 Anubis】
Really?
Usually people don't laugh at my jokes.
I'm glad you found it funny. (*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)
Tighnari's eyes drifted toward the clock in the corner of his screen. 3:00 a.m. A quiet sigh escaped him. He had to be up again at six, and his report was still waiting on his desk. As much as he would've loved to stay, he couldn't keep putting it off any longer.
【P2 Enoki】
Alright.
Thank you for your time.
I had a lot of fun, but I really have to go now.
Good night.
I hope you can get at least a few hours of sleep.
【P1 Anubis】
Aww alright.
Good night to you too.
See you tomorrow?
Tighnari smiled.
【P2 Enoki】
Yes.
【P1 Anubis】
Hell yeah.
See ya!
P1 Anubis & P2 Enoki left the world.
The room suddenly felt much quieter. Tighnari leaned back in his chair for a moment before closing the game. His report was still waiting for him, and with only three hours left until he had to get up again, finishing it was still possible. If he focused. But no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts kept drifting back to the strange player he'd met only a few hours earlier. He'd had so much fun that the evening had disappeared without him even noticing. Why didn't I ask for his name? He sighed quietly. ...well too late now. Shaking the thought from his mind, he opened his report. It wasn't going to write itself.