Mysterious Minstrel

Chapter 4

I follow Aileen, passing by some newbie players who are testing out their abilities on the slimes. "Hey!" one of them shouts out, a boy with ruddy cheeks and ginger hair. "Nice outfit, miss!"

Aileen blushes beside me. Her voice exudes shyness yet confidence. "Thank you so much. I hope you become a great warrior someday too."

The boy waves his wooden sword in the air, smiling brightly.

And then I get it. I get why Aileen loves this game so much. Because she's become someone who's strong and worthy to be admired. She's making a name for herself here, in a fantasy world far away from the dismal situation of earth.

Aileen has always stood up for me. But like me, she's shyer and afraid to take risks. We often push each other to get out of our bubbles. In the times we're able to meet up in real life, I sometimes convince her to go to outdoor parks or the few social events that pop up. Here, she's the one taking the lead. She's beautiful, almost radiant in her warrior outfit.

I follow Aileen into the forest. We walk past meandering slimes, and the darkness begins to take hold. Shadows near our path begin to look like monsters, and I'm embarrassed to say I hide behind my friend most of the time.

"Oh my gosh!" I jump as a monster takes guard in front of us.

"Relax," Aileen says, pointing her sword at the pig with ruby-red eyes. "It's just a hog. They're almost as weak as slimes." She eliminates it quickly with one swipe of her sword. It scatters like shimmering dust in the air.

We walk for nearly an hour, and the whole time I'm amazed at the game world, at all the lines of code that must've been implemented to make this feel like I'm wandering through an actual forest. I feel like time moves in a strange way under the coolness of these shadows. It isn't until Aileen looks backward, tension on her face, when I realize what's happened.

"Are we lost?" I ask.

Aileen coughs as if something's stuck in her throat. "Um... no?"

I roll my eyes. "Are you serious? I thought you knew the game world."

Aileen turns around, holding a hand to her chest in defense. "I know this world. I just haven't been to this particular forest."

"But it's so close to the beginner town," I argue. Now that I look closer, the trees of the forest look gnarly. The larger roots grow above the ground, offering many places where we could slip and fall. The foliage has somehow grown even thicker. Even though it's day time, we can barely see each other. I swear I hear growling in the distance, a promise of more powerful mobs.

"I've never been here," Aileen says. "I went in the opposite direction to train. I know the places near the mountains much better. Let's just try to retrace our steps. We'll get back to Star Town in no time."

I let myself trust my friend, even though doubt swirls in my gut. A few minutes pass, and we turn ourselves around even more. Yellow eyes glow in the surrounding bushes, and howls cut the silence.

"Okay," says Aileen. "I'm lost. I would get Simba out, but I think this space is much too narrow for him."

"Shouldn't the game have an option for lost wanderers?" I ask, shrinking back from a pair of eyes. "Like, a return to town button?"

"I mean there are scrolls for that," Aileen says. "But funny story. I used my last one yesterday."

We wander a bit more, toward an area where the sunlight manages to cut through. We enter a large clearing where the howling and eyes fade. I finally feel a bit safer. The trees part to form an open circle, and the sky appears once more.

My relief lasts only a moment. Because soon enough, a massive slime materializes in the center of the clearing. It bounces once, towering over us as tall as an oak tree. Aileen shrieks and jumps backward, and I follow suit. The thing looks like it can eat us alive, or at least absorb us into its massiveness. Its name hovers over the top of it, and although partly translucent, its body's still massive and monstrous.

Slime King.

Aileen, after a moment to gather herself, lets out a warrior cry and charges forward. Although her sword's sharp and polished, it bounces right off of the slime's body. In turn, Aileen falls backward and lands on the grass with a thump.

"Does that hurt?" I ask, my voice strained.

"I can feel it, but it doesn't hurt," Aileen says, standing. Above her, her health bar wavers and decreases. "Why don't you give it a try?"

I gulp, taking one look at the gigantic monster. "Well, here goes nothing." I brace myself. "Play."

With my harp, I play a melody that sounds like something a beginner piano student would muster up. The slime barely moves. It seems like my weapon has no real effect on it.

Aileen screams as the slime jumps straight on her. She eats the ground and lets out a gasp. "This thing's way too powerful!" she says.

I grit my teeth. "Trap." I place a spiderweb trap on the ground, not knowing how I'll lure this beast toward it. The slime ignores me and hops toward Aileen again. "Aileen!" I yell. "Use one of your skills, hurry up."

"Sweep," I hear her say. She cuts at the bottom of the slime, but once again it shows no real impact. The boss barely moves, and its form seems healthy and unscathed. I'm beginning to feel that we'll both die out here.

This time, the slime turns its attention toward me. It deflates before getting ready for a giant leap. I look toward it with my mouth agape, my life flashing in front of my eyes as the massive ball of jelly prepares to crush me.

"Blizzard."

A hailstorm forms from the sky above, shooting toward the slime king with all the force of mother nature. Frost covers the slime king's body, and when it hits the floor beside me it shatters into a hundred pieces. Just like that, a fearsome boss—defeated. The ice melts away, and soon all the evidence of the beast that was about to destroy me disappears.

I turn around. A handsome boy, about my age, faces me with a smirk. His hair gleams with a sheen of midnight blue, and his smile bends charming and a bit mischievous. Tall. Nose and jaw chiseled as if formed from marble. His skin holds a healthy tan, and with my judgment he must come from Chinese descent as well. His eyes wander, searching and curious. His brows frame his face in the fashion of a model.

I look at his icon above his head.

Nathan. Mage. Level 84.

"Well," he says. "Are you going to thank me?"

Hey! This chapter reminds me of my scary boss encounters in various video games. Have you had any? One that comes to mind, and probably the first in my memory, is Bowser in Super Mario. His castle always gave me the creeps.

Do you have any guesses about Nathan? I can't wait for you to see more of him!

As it's almost October, the weather is getting colder (at least in Hawaii). Enjoy the spooky season, everyone.