When Last Night Didn't End

1.3

The air was warm to the point of being humid. I wiped my forehead against my sleeve, cursing when the hard edge of my arm greave slammed against my hairline. God, that hurt. My fingers rubbed the sore spot as I picked my way down the street so early in the morning.

Contrary to my theory, night did fall on Suprana, but only for a few hours—or at least it felt shorter than what I was used to. Now that I was thinking about it, it was hard to tell the time in this world. How did these people manage?

Then again, it's not like they're not a bunch of codes bundled up together by ultra-real graphics and other shticks I haven't been able to get my hands into. None of these people really existed, unless, of course, there were other users like me, who were trapped inside the game. What happened to our bodies? Was I really transported inside the game, soul and all? That's...

I might think of suing the developers once I get out of here.

My mind flashed back to the skirmish I've lived through last night—a dragon dude almost bashing my face in because of some deep-rooted prejudice, me bashing his face in with a spell I didn't know I was capable of, and the fact that I almost died inside a game. Right. I would sue the developers if I get out of here in one piece.

I blew a breath, the hot gust coming out of my nose scalding my lips. Ugh. What's up in this weather? Couldn't the game have dropped me somewhere with a temperature closer to what I was used to in Whiteridge?

The name of the city I've lived in since I was a child flashing through my head made my stop in my tracks. A breeze picked up and blew strands of my impossibly-long silvery hair in the direction it went. Whiteridge. It's amazing I haven't forgotten about it during my time here. When I squeezed my eyes shut, every bit of my memories of the outside world were there.

I remember the house I grew up in when we were overseas. The day we migrated and arrived at Whiteridge, the day I started and graduated highschool, my first day of university—they're all there. Including that basement room with stuttering lights where the sounds of keyboards clacking, mice clicking, and freshmen shouting in victory or in suspense. It's where I met a certain someone I'd rather not think about now, especially when my morning hadn't turned out to be one of the best ones I've had.

That's right. The reason why I was out in the streets this early was because I woke up wasted in a dingy bed space, and when I realized I've spent most of my money on booze, I had nothing to give to the landlady besides a small piece of copper that couldn't even be called coin. Yup. My first day in, and I was already someone I swore I would never become.

I shook my head and sighed. It's been a while since I last touched this game so I didn't know how much money I had in my inventory. Apparently, it was enough to pay for four bottles of liquor, a bowl of green goop with pieces of mystery meat bobbing inside, and minor repairs around the tavern. I was still moping about that last item in my receipt. It's not my fault that the dragon dude used me to lay waste in Lion-Head's shop.