There was a cracking sound, like metal on stone. Draven’s head and brain were a mess, so he did not immediately process what the noise was. It took several long minutes and the continuation of the noisy metal on stone for him to finally realize that it was actually a sword grinding on a stone. Only a sword could grind and make such a high pitched sound. He wouldn't have continued lying down there if his body hadn’t automatically tensed, ready to spring. In one second, he jerked up from his sleeping position; his action was more instinct than concern. His brain was still fuzzy, but he processed his thoughts as quickly as possible. Draven knew now that this was a virtual video game and it was so very brutal. For all he knew, someone might be sharpening that sword to kill him.“Welcome, Mr. Draven.”He jerked around, startled. He hadn’t even processed where the noise had come from, much less behind him. Now he could see that it was his virtual sword trainer, but his brain was still fuzzy

It took a while for Leo to notice him, and when he did he screamed. Draven abandoned the jar in his hand and rushed to cover Leo’s mouth with his hand.“Shut the hell up,” he said. “You’re going to wake up some ghosts.”Leo pulled back away from him and pointed a shaky finger at him. “You’re a ghost!”Draven scoffed with a laugh. “Are you serious right now? You’re the one who died right in front of me and disappeared.’“Oh.” Leo coughed self-consciously and cleared his throat. He dusted some imaginary dust off his shoulder. “Yes, I did die.”“So like, are you the ghost?”“No! I thought you died too! I was sure she would have killed you immediately if she killed me.”“I escaped before she could do anything,” Draven said. “And I’ve been barely alive since then.”“What happened?”“Man, a lot of things have happened. I’m at level two now.”They looked at each other, examining one another. Finally, Leo burst into a laugh and Draven joined him. They hugged each other, as brief as a hug can

They both sniffed the air desperately. Draven was sure he had never felt such gnawing hunger until that very minute. Back in the real human world, when he starved of hunger, he already knew how to control it and plan his next move. Here, however, hunger felt real and uncontrollable. The discomfort and churning of his stomach only drove him insane with the need to feed, and feed, and feed. When he looked over at Leo, he saw that he too had the same expression on his face.“We shouldn't," Draven bit out with great effort. “We really shouldn't."“I know,” Leo bit back. “But damn it I can’t control it.”“It feels wrong.”“It is wrong.” Leo bent over and wrapped an arm around his stomach. “Fuck, if I don’t eat it I’m definitely going to die.”“Let’s try to walk back out.” As he said this, Draven looked back at where they had come from.The distance seemed so long and unending. How had they come this far? Draven’s stomach churned at the thought of walking back without satisfying the craving

Draven’s sword was nowhere near him. He panicked, patting the sides of his trousers to realize that it really wasn’t on him. The kidnappers had probably taken their weapons off them, Draven knew, yet he did not feel comfortable knowing that the sword could be anywhere in the room and they could easily be killed by the now rising numbers of killers. If only he could find his weapon…“What are you doing?” Leo yelled at him. “Let’s get out of here!”“I can’t find my sword!” Draven yelled back, pushing someone off him and standing to his feet. “I need to find it. It should be around somewhere!”“We’ll get another one!”“No, that was a very sharp sword!”“Are you serious right now?”“Yes, I’m very much serious!” Draven pushed someone off him yet again and ran about, searching for his sword among the chaos.Leo seemed very upset about this, but he didn’t know what to do as more people rushed towards him. He picked up a sword on the ground and started slashing mercilessly, screaming while at

They walked a long distance, Draven following Leo’s steps. Ever since he agreed to find monsters on their own so Draven could increase his Mana level, Leo had been pretty hyped up. Draven understood the need, of course, but at the same time he felt skeptical about searching for something that wasn’t searching for him. All he wanted to do was calmly follow the route that would be easy for him and get it over with this game, that was all. Leo, however, was riding on the desperation of wanting to relieve himself; which was completely understandable, of course.“We’re here,” Leo said.“Where?” Draven asked a little too loudly.“Shh!”He instantly kept quiet. They were hiding behind a large rock big enough to crush them to death. When he walked around the corner of the rock, he saw that there was a sort of house strewn together with leaves and tree bark. It wasn’t exactly a house, but you could call it one since it was housing some monsters within. Draven craned his neck forward, as if he