Wizard Of Cosmos

11 - Stay Here

“I thought there would be more people.”

They only saw about ten people outside the Western gate. The guards at the gate also warned them of the dangers outside, but Logan expected to see daring players trying their luck here.

“I guess they are still trying to find weapons. Besides, some might be looking for quests.”

Jason didn’t care much about them. 

“The distance is 30 units. It is roughly thirty miles or forty-eight kilometres. I don’t wish to stay on the road in the dark.”

“These guys, some of them want to follow us.”

Logan was keen to notice it. He already disliked this woman latching onto them, but he had no choice. The instructions were clear, they shouldn’t engage in meaningless conflicts. Besides, he admitted Jason was the one with the final say.

“If they can keep up with us, I don’t mind. Huh?”

He was on the ground, trying to cut off a piece of cloth from the bottom of his trouser using the sword. He realised the material was quite tough, and he barely managed to rip it. 

“Can you help me cut this?”

He had no choice but to ask for help from Logan.

“Sure. But why?”

“The road isn’t good. I am not used to running barefoot.”

The road leading to the Light Shone was the only road out of the western gate of the town. There were farmlands and open fields in the surrounding area, but the narrow dirt road wasn’t maintained much. Besides, he didn’t think these fields would reach all the way to the Light Shone. The size of this town was too small for that.

He didn’t expect to see a great road all the way to this small village.

“Aren’t you taking this roleplay too seriously?”

“Right!”

Jason looked at the woman, he noticed several beads of sweat on her forehead. 

“And you are not sweating.”

“Huh?”

She touched her forehead and looked at Jason with amazement. 

“How?”

“I don’t know. But my skin feels all the texture and feelings, including pain. I am not going to try my luck.”

He didn’t know what exactly happened when access to Yuriel was still a game, but he felt everything would have been real. It explained why most players failed to gain real strength; in his previous life. 

“Damn. So tough. But we can still cut them?”

Logan looked at Dawn instinctively. This could be a problem for women, even for men.

“The anti-harassment system will protect your underwear. So, use it.”

Jason read this on the website, and he already activated it. Because it could protect one of his vital areas.

“Can you help me, bro?”

Logan decided to follow his instinct. Until now, only this guy managed to do things properly. The people behind him needed accurate information as fast as possible. Besides, the video he already uploaded to the group brought him praise from his captain. 

He didn’t know why they had to play a game, but he started to understand the basic possibilities.

“Do you also need help?”

Jason looked at Dawn, and she nodded her head in a hurry. 

She tried pinching her arm, and the pain was real. She knew the consequence of running barefoot without training for a long period of time. As for whether it was real or not, she wasn’t planning to learn it in a painful way. 

She had her own objectives to fulfil.

The clock on the armband showed it was already 7.30 am and Jason had no thought of wasting twelve hours to complete this distance. 

“Let’s keep going.”

…

“Isn’t this too real?”

Logan couldn't stop himself from asking. 

He was sweaty with his uneven breathing. As Jason said, no one was able to keep up with them.

‘He is good.’

Logan didn’t expect Jason to have this much endurance. He was the one that held the lead from the beginning. Even if he could overtake Jason with ease, they had a tactical understanding of who should be the leader. 

As for the woman named Dawn, Logan didn’t like her at all. It was obvious that she had training similar to his. Besides, her looks didn’t belong to another US force. 

He was impressed by Jason’s brain. He saw several people that tried to follow them get injured due to rocks and other things on the road. 

He even felt the pressure and energy in his muscles. He started to wonder if it was even possible to create a game of this level. 

‘Is this the way to play it? Treat it as a real thing?’

He wanted to check the group chat to see what the others found, but they didn’t have any break until now. 

“Keep the sound low.”

Jason, on the other hand, became wary. 

After travelling about five kilometres, the open surroundings slowly turned into the tall grass and small trees, but soon it turned into a massive forest that was even harder to traverse. Even in the daytime, the surroundings were dark, and he didn’t feel at ease. 

He wasn’t ready to confront a large predator, much less a mutated beast. 

They were about twenty kilometres away from the Light Shone, and he didn’t want to drag trouble before they got there.

“Is there some….”

“Stop!”

Jason suddenly stopped, lowering his voice as much as possible.

“What is it?”

Logan didn’t feel a thing.

“Listen!”

Jason listened to the wind, trying to clarify the sound he was hearing. 

It was a low growling sound coming from ahead of them. 

‘No. We are still too far from it to hear.’

“What… What is that?”

Dawn was the first to hear the growl.

“Shh… It is ahead.”

Jason tried his best to clarify what the creature was. Whatever it was, the animal was ahead of them, and it was closer to the road. 

“Should we turn back? Brother, what is the reward for your quest?”

“Not sure. I think it is a payment.”

Jason didn’t bother with the payment at all. He did need the money, but meeting a Wizard was way more important to him.

“How about we turn back?”

“I will go forward and see.”

If he had a chance to pass through, he would rather take the chance.

“Wait. This is a game.”

Logan’s words even lit up Dawn’s face. 

“How did we forget that?”

“Don’t make noises. If you guys want to get killed, it is not my problem.”

Jason didn’t like this attitude at all. This was the same attitude that would get these people killed after five years.

“I get it. You are not afraid to die, but what about pain?”

His question made both Logan and Dawn hold their breath. With everything they felt so far, they could imagine the pain they had to go through if something happened.

“It can’t be real, right?”

“Care to go and find out?”

Jason looked at Logan with amusement.

“I would rather follow you.”

… 

‘Damn.’

Jason cursed in his heart.

‘Why is my luck so bad?’

The relatively flat road gave them the vision of the creature that made the sound. It wasn’t one, but three young wolves. 

He could already guess the reason that only one growled while the other two made no sound at all. The growling wolf was larger than the other two and its grey fur had a hint of purple mixed within.

On his first day here, he had to meet a mutated wolf.

There was a heavy bag on the ground, and the three wolves were circling a tree. He saw the plump man in the tree, trying to hold on to his dear life.

“He could have screamed for help.”

Dawn wondered about the stupidity of this man. If he screamed, they wouldn’t have thought about turning back. Luckily, Jason wanted to move forward. 

“If he screams, he might attract something worse.”

Jason knew the rules of the jungle too well. This road wasn’t something used by people frequently, and it was far from both the city and the village. Screaming here might be more of a suicide. 

If there was someone brave enough to come and save this man, he was close enough to the road in the first place.

“Should we attack?”

Logan picked up a dried branch along the way, and Dawn did the same. 

“Do you see the tree?”

“Huh? Damn… How strong is that thing?”

Jason didn’t answer back. The mutated wolf was actually nibbling away at the tree bit by bit. 

‘Is this thing too hungry or did this man do something?’

He didn’t think anyone with a brain would have the courage to make a mutated wolf angry. However, he knew mutated animals were much more violent and intelligent compared to the others. 

“Stay here.”

He whispered before moving forward.