The traders sure were optimistic, calling on passers-by to check on their goods.
"Woah!" Derrick exclaimed. His stomach grumbled to a fault, indicating he needed something to eat and fast. The place was filled with different varieties, jewels, food, veggies, name it, but all except actual game stuff. Eiden stopped in his tracks upon seeing a poster with a familiar face. It was painted and attached to a wooden platform. The man on it resembled the one who had saved them earlier. Although there were slight changes. In the painting, he had shiny armor and wielded a sword and shield. It was very well-detailed, almost like it was taken as a picture and not a painting. Eiden sighed out, pondering. He thought of retracing his steps from the very beginning. First, right when he was about to enter the game, the status screen changed its color, and he went through a painful teleportation into the game, something no one who had played the game ever spoke of. Next were the sudden changes in their characters, the 'game' bringing their real selves into it instead of the characters they designed. The rummaging beasts called Hexamyths, a name he had never heard before until now, were saved by an unknown man who was neither a player nor a nonplaying character, and now this market….. No store had in it gemstones or potions, no swords, no shields, plus, the burning sensation of hunger he felt inside. The salivation of his mouth reacting to the freshly baked bread, the way his stomach grumbled...all felt real. He had an inkling but it was too ridiculous. Transmigration and reincarnations were simply legends and myths, things he only saw in movies and anime series which were just products of imaginative animators. What was the case? "Hey, Eiden!" Derrick's voice snapped him out of his imagination. He looked over to see Jason and Derrick both standing next to a store stand filled with freshly made sweets. He hurried to them. "Check these out, don't they look good?" Derrick asked, unable to contain his hunger. Eiden stared at them on display, the more he stared, the more the sensation in his stomach grew. "These are the best sweets you'll ever find here," said the trader woman with a nice smile. "No doubt, they're tasty and can satisfy any amount of hunger you're feeling. Buy one; you'll see I tell no lies," she urged them. Eiden wanted one, but they didn't have any money on them. Did the traders take dollars as payment? Derrick reached out to one, his eyes sunken in hunger. "What about Gabbie, I'm sure she's hungry as well," said Jason. Derrick completely forgot they were four. He looked to Jason, then at Gabbie and a cocky smile curled up on his lips. "I have an idea," he said hastily. He picked up one of the displayed sweets which was still fresh and had on its aroma. He waved it back and forth in front of Gabbie's face. Eiden stared helplessly, "What in the world are you doing?". Derrick, Jason, Eiden, and even the saleswoman watched in amusement how Gabbie's nose wiggled. Derrick kept trying to hold back his laughter. Soon, not just her nose but her mouth as well began to follow the movement of the sweet. Like a lion pouncing on its prey, her eyes snapped open and she swiftly engulfed it, including Derrick's fingers into her mouth. He pulled it out and scrunched up his face in disgust. "Ewww, Gabbie," he wiped it on his clothes. Jason and Eiden chuckled. Finally aware of her surroundings, "Where are we?" She spoke while she chewed. The last thing she remembered was hearing Eiden's voice and receiving a debuff alert on her system before blacking out. "Are we still in the game?" She asked Jason brought her down from his back slowly, and she dusted herself. "Apparently, yeah," Derrick replied. The taste lingering in her mouth forced her to acknowledge. "Gosh, that was super tasty," her eyes trailed to the display of sweets, "are these the same?" She asked; her eyes widened, and they sparkled like tiny stars. "The very same," the saleswoman smiled. "I told you it was the best you'll ever see here. Now, that'll be 2 coins, please," said the woman with her hand reaching out to them. They exchanged uneasy looks and gulped. The woman was asking for payment for the sweet Derrick just fed Gabbie, but they didn't have any money or coins. "Uh…well", they mumbled while taking slow steps backward and pretending to search their pockets. "you see err..", "yeah…well", "it's um…", "...yeah.." they spoke at the same time, confusing the saleswoman. "Hey, where are you going?" She asked suspiciously. "Run!" Whispered Derrick and they moved immediately, swiftly disappearing into the many groups of people. "Thieves! Thieves!" The woman screamed at the top of her voice. It alerted so many people, but Eiden and his friends were long lost in the busy market. "Where are they?" A man took it upon himself to help her. She scrutinized him before waving him off; she knew men like himself who couldn't afford proper jobs; they would take up opportunities like these and ask for rewards later … or at least, that's what she thought. "Don't bother," she hissed in frustration. ….. Panting, they found themselves in an alley, they collapsed there on the bare ground, catching their breaths. Derrick exhaled deeply, "Jason this is all your fault" he started Gabbie intervened, "Hey! Don't you blame this on him, you were the one who stuck your finger in my mouth" "When did you become so perverted huh?" He asked "Perverted? How dare you!?" "I didn't stick my finger in your dirty mouth" Derrick sneered Gabbie stared at him, amused. "Did you just call my mouth dirty?" She asked him, her eyes went dark. Before things would escalate, Jason had to step in. Sometimes, he felt like a third wheel always coming in between the two, but it couldn't be helped. "Enough, you two; people might still be after us; besides, it's indeed my fault. I told everyone that you might be hungry so that's why Derrick tried to feed you. Don't fight here, for god's sake," he pleaded.Gabbie let her anger dissipate and averted her eyes to Jason "Don't apologize In his stead, to me he's still the one at fault" she pouted and mumbled under her breath "douche bag" Eiden recollected Jason's words, 'People might still be after us'. Eiden had thought of a way to prove that they were still in the game but he couldn't bring himself to decide. Whenever a person, be it a player or an NPC, dies in a game, their bodies disappear, leaving behind colored fragments. If he were to stab a person to death now, will they disappear as such or will they bleed to death? He wanted to share his thoughts with the others but wasn't it too ridiculous? "Eiden!" Gabbie called for the fourth time. His mind snapped back to reality, he looked at them, their faces filled with worry. "What's the matter?" Jason asked "Yeah, you've been seeming lost lately," Derrick added; the same thing happened minutes ago at the market. Running his hand through his hair, Eiden sighed. "It's just...I don't…
"I don't know how I did it; I only thought of my system, and it just appeared. Maybe we're able to summon it voluntarily through our will instead of speaking". What he said made quite the sense. "Let me try," said Derrick. They watched him. He closed his eyes and centered his mind on calling forth his system. Afterward, he opened his eyes to peek, "Did it work?" He asked and opened his eyes fully. To his satisfaction, it did. Which meant Jason was right. "Wait, Derrick, you have a quest," said Gabbie, her eyes searching all over the status screen. "Oh, this?" He let out a dry chuckle. "It popped up as soon as that Crystal thingy took you," he explained, though it sounded shabby. Her brows creased. "Why didn't you perform the quest?" She asked "My limitation, remember?" Derrick recalled, She sighed and leaned back on the wall. She was still quite lost, and the fact that they escaped the stampede didn't make much sense, but she trusted them. Back to Jason, "Is there a logout i
They spread out to different parts of the broken temple and minutes later, met back at the front yard."Couldn't find anything" Gabbie reported"Me neither," said Eiden, and the same with Jason and Derrick. The place was a total mess, debris here and there, almost like a nuclear energy was released there."What's going on here?" Someone spoke.The gang turned to face the voice, and a hint of familiarity and annoyance flashed in Derrick's eyes. "You guys again?" He sneered.The ones who bumped into him and blamed him. There were four then but now they're missing a member."You must have not learned your lesson before; this place belongs to us; it's our territory, and I'll forgive you if you apologize and leave," said the guy who stood at the front."That's a whole load of crap—" Derrick moved forward but Eiden blocked his path. Derrick must have forgotten, these weren't NPCs but actual people. People who threatened to have them hanged."We're not here to cause trouble, we'll leave calm
What are you planning to do?" Jason asked with furrowed brows.Gabbie gave him a sideways glance, her eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief. "You know exactly what I'm planning to do," she said, a sly smile spreading across her face.Jason's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. "You can't be serious! You're going to use your special skill, aren't you?"She smirked. Her system wanted her to bruise three people….almost like it knew their current situation. She just happened to have a skill, one where she could take control of people's minds and turn them into her puppets…how convenient."You know it. I'm going to teach these knuckleheads some lessons."Eiden's eyes narrowed. "Gabbie, that's not a good idea. You haven't even mastered it yet, how are you sure it'll work?."Gabbie was undeterred. She had a score to settle with these guys for embarrassing Eiden, and she was going to enjoy every moment of it."You can't!" Jason objected, "w..what about your limitation?"Gabbie's eyes t
With one thought, her system disappeared. She faced the three and pouted, "Alright, alright, I'll let them off this time easily."She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly. A fist hung right above Zhiheng's face, they stopped fighting and the glow in their eyes vanished. Disoriented and in excruciating pain, they tried to recollect themselves. They couldn't remember anything right after Gabbie took a position in front.She couldn't have done this, they reassured themselves; she was just a woman, after all. Women had no right to stand before men, more or less beat up three.They stared at her with fright. The mischievous look that lingered in her eyes spoke of her evil nature and cruelty. They were fine minutes ago, how did they end up in bruises?Without being told, they ran away frightened.Gabbie waved them off while grinning, "Bye-bye, little piggies." She had fun, yes but she never forgot her skill limit."This might not end well" Eiden sighed."Derrick", Gabbie
"Um…who are you?" Gabbie asked.The girl stood gracefully, adorned in traditional Chinese maiden attire that betoned her delicate features. Her long brown hair was braided and swept to one side, revealing a porcelain complexion and striking crimson-red eyes that showed excitement.Her slender figure and calm demeanor evoked a sense of vulnerability, yet, those eyes carried a hint of wisdom and hidden potential.She bowed slightly, "Pardon me, my name is Kora, Kora DoHyun".Gabbie exchanged glances with the other before looking at DoHyun. "Nice name," she said. "What do you mean by 'I'm just like you', I don't get it"DoHyun smiled widely. "You and I, we are products of the goddess's compassion. Just as the goddess gave me the power to control fire at will, she gave you the power of mind control. You and I are the same, do you get it?" "Uh-huh…" Gabbie nodded while squinting, she understood nothing."What do you mean by that?" Jason asked, Gabbie's mind manipulation was a special play
They glanced at each other, "a flower maiden?" Gabbie repeated her words. 'Is that why she keeps emitting flower scents?' Eiden asked inwardly. DoHyun nodded "Flower maidens aren't supposed to leave the night bloom garden for whatever reason but I can't train inside so I created this secret passway" "Creative", Derrick nodded with an acknowledging smirk. "Outsiders apart from nobles and the imperial family are not allowed in" she added "And if we get caught?" Jason asked She stopped smiling "If we get caught, I'll be hanged, and you four will be decapitated for encroachment." Her words changed their expressions, but she assured them, "But that won't happen; I'll make sure it doesn't." Still feeling uneasy, Derrick forced a smile. "Haha, we trust you, flame princess." the rest nodded in agreement…. the rest except Jason. One at a time, they went through the secret passage. DoHyun kept her word, although they kept running into guards and other maidens of the garden.
Minutes later….. "May we come in now?" Asked DoHyun as she stood outside of her dressing space. Gabbie was beside her, beaming with excitement. She couldn't wait to see them. There weren't any males in the night bloom garden; the flower maidens were all females, and they had to wear pretty dresses if they valued their lives. Leaving them unattended in DoHyun's chambers wasn't an option, servants who clean up every now and then might come in and find them. Pretending they're maidens was the only way. The door creaked open slowly; once it opened, there was a short silence before Gabbie snorted….."HA!" Gabbie pointed and laughed out loudly upon seeing them. Their faces turned red as she laughed uncontrollably, holding her stomach and pointing. "HAHAHA…!" "Gosh, Gabbie," Jason folded his arms. Jason in a blue bob wig, Derrick wearing long wavy red hair, and Eiden in shoulder-length yellow hair, the three of them stood in shame; their red faces were covered in a way only their eyes