The whole group paused for a moment. The mainland was filled with a ton of competitive, hard-to-defeat guilds. It wasn’t easy to make a mark there. Some guilds had over a thousand players and fielded joint armies that were counted in five digits. Compared to life in the starter zone, it would be far more intense and brutal.

“Well,” Viola said, “I believe I’ve spent enough time on this island. My part is done; the curtains are closing. A bigger stage suits me well.”

“I suppose there is only so much money we can make killing the noobs here,” Bonnie said with a smile as she brushed her tail.

“Nnn,” Katie agreed.

“I’ve been with you from the start,” Nick added. “No reason to change that now.”

“Will the master be needing a maid on the mainland, too?” the girl from the tavern asked from the door.

“My new boss shouldn’t argue too much if I decide that Xun Guan needs to move to the mainland,” Liu said. “I’m getting credit for this renewed interest in the game. The user spike, my doing!” She laughed and then added, “But don’t worry. The beers are on me tonight as thanks for your help.” Smiling, she leaned into Lucas.

Since that night when he had come to her defense against her creepy manager, the two had grown a lot closer. They still didn’t interact in the game as much as they used to before Lucas became a villain, mainly because she wasn’t part of the boss room fights, but when the night started winding down, she’d come over and eat and drink a few beers while they talked about the game.

“Sounds fine,” Lucas said. Then, remembering that it was Sunday, he threw a question at her. “Wait, you remember the thing tonight?”

“Yeah, how could I forget! It’s why I’ll be buying twice as many beers as usual,” she said.

“What thing you two up to, boss? Wait, are you two dating?” Bonnie asked, a look of disappoint on her face.

“No, nothing like that. Just a personal day. So, I might be on later than usual tomorrow, and when I’m on, we can plan our assault on the mainland then.” Lucas took a swig of the cold beer that the maid had brought him. Tonight, he planned to bring Liu to Yu Hua’s grave with him. He had gone to it multiple times since the incident, and from what he understood, so had she, but this would be the first time they’d go together. This would be the first time that Lucas would not be alone as he visited Yu Hua.

About the Author

Charles Dean has an English Degree and an MBA. He's worked in multiple service and sales level jobs.