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“Hm… I saw something interesting in your report, Mr. Kim.”
“I-I don’t think I put B-booby in it this time--”
“No, it’s not about number 50. Number 18…”
“Inmate Kim Ha Yoon, character name Crow. We’ve been monitoring her brain signals carefully, and there have been several significant emotional spikes.”
“Yes, yes. She’s the unfortunate one the prison selected as the emotional outlet.”
“What do you mean, Sun Ja-nim?”
“She was already getting harassed and assaulted in her first day here. The prison guards noticed and made a report, and the matter went to the board. They decided to let it be. With the meanest, most frustrated inmates focusing their rage and sexual tension on her, it keeps the rest of the prison quiet and relatively docile.”
“That’s awful…”
“That’s the way it is. Of course, the prison keeps quiet about it and keeps it away from the public. Human rights would be on it in an instant and things could get nasty real quick.”
“I would imagine so. But now that she’s in the experiment, they can’t get at her.”
“Exactly. I purposefully put the ones who frequently harass 18 into different groups to avoid unrelated trauma.”
“I see.”
“She on a chain quest right now, an extraordinary one, and her reflexes and stats are beyond average… If she doesn’t break, she’ll be incredible.”
“If she doesn’t break…”

--

For the first time since her traumatizing debut into the city of Granheim, Crow walked through the main road. If this was to be Jay’s first and last adventure, she would go through the heart of the city. Jay was going through Granheim first.

The unusual group drew a lot of stares. People scurried out of the way squealing when they saw Brutus. He was not in the best of moods, and a resentful 250 pound wolfdog isn't a sight one could just ignore.

“Hey, hey, is that an event?”
“Dude, that kid looks wrecked. And the girl!”
“Damn, she’s hot. Is she a player?”
“Check out the wolf, it’s huge!”

The eyes of players and their excited whispers bored into her and her body screamed to hide, but she resisted with enormous effort and kept walking. Some players followed her, but she resolutely ignored them. She passed Fabulous Florisa's and went to the fountain in the middle of Merchant Square. It was a huge and impressive work of art, the marble sculpture fashioned by some dedicated hand. The sculpture of a noble and beautiful king was on an elevated bed of dandelions and grass, and the water cascaded from the edges of the grass bed into a shallow, circular ring. There was a nice, thick stone rim that served nicely as a bench.

It was one of the focal pieces of Granheim, and although Crow was sure that Jay had seen it before, she wanted to stop for a moment and check on him. She gently slid him off her back and onto the stone bench as Brutus watched with a doleful eye. To her surprise, as she grasped his shoulders and steadied him so that he didn't fall over into the water, Jay's eyes fluttered open and he smiled feebly at her.

"Crow unni..." he croaked, with a voice she had never expected to hear again.

Elated, she almost smiled, but checked herself at the last moment. It was no good to get too excited.

"How do you feel?"
"... Tired. So tired, unni. Did I... did I sleep for a long time?"
"Yes."
"Oh. But I had such wonderful dreams sometimes... with Knights and battles. And you won't believe it, but I heard your voice too..."
"..."
"Yeah. It was pretty crazy. Oh... where are we? Where's mom and dad?"
"We're in Granheim, Merchant Square. We're on an adventure. We could go home if you'd like."

At that, Jay looked a little puzzled but shook his head firmly. "No, not home. Did you say adventure, unni? Where are we going?"

"Outside."

Jay's eyes widened. "Really?! Oh!"

His sparkling eyes had caught sight of the dagger and scabbard strapped to Crow's belt.

"We really are?! Awesome!"

Jay tried to stand up then, but couldn't even straighten himself and fell limply back into Crow's arms. "Sorry, Crow unni. I'm so tired..."

Brutus chose that moment to nuzzle his way into Jay's lap. With his huge head resting on the boy's too thin thighs, the wolfdog's eyes seemed to have found a little contentment.

"Brutus! You're here too? We're all going on an adventure together!"

Crow smiled then. Jay was clearly not strong and healthy, but he was definitely much better. The drug was truly miraculous, to reverse the illness to such an extent. Based on his replies, he had some memory scrambling and didn't remember the past week lucidly. That was probably for the best. She would brew some tea as soon as possible to chase away some of his exhaustion. He wasn’t coughing much, and none of it was bloody.

"Let’s go."

Jay beamed weakly, then shook his head with a frown.

"Sorry unni, I don't think--"

Crow stood before he could finish, leaving one hand on his shoulder, and crouched in front of him. She didn't see his face go beet red as he slowly wrapped his arms around her neck. He was too weak to hold on by himself, so she placed his legs around her hips and supported his weight with her hands, as she had done before. He just hadn’t been conscious to experience it the first time. His feathery weight settled into her, and this time she felt his rasping breath on her nape. It reassured her.

With him securely on her back, she strode out of Merchant Square, but not before buying a hand pie for Jay first. He had said he was a little hungry, so she bought it with the money she had on her, only a few coppers. The stand keeper gave them a warm meat pie at Jay's chirping request. He managed to hold onto it and fed her a few times too. It didn't seem like the pie was good for Jay's digestive system, though, because they had to stop a little afterward so he could throw it all up. Fortunately, it was merely a rejection of the fats and didn't escalate into a fit of coughing.

After that, she resolved to get onto the plains outside the city and make him an easily digestible soup. She moved quickly, leaving the curious players from before behind. Granheim was fairly big, so she chose the route that took them to the closest exit, the western gates. Jay ooed and aahed as he looked at the armored wall guards with starry eyes. He chattered about almost everything-- the spears the guards had, their swords, their shields and helmets and the insignias on their armor. They passed a few horses too, which didn't fail to catch Jay's attention and get him started on an enthusiastic rather one-sided conversation about valiant steeds and some of his favorite warhorses and breeds.

By the time they could see the gates, Jay was strong enough to hold onto her neck firmly and keep himself balanced on her back with his legs. When they were a few steps away from leaving, he asked to be let down.

“I want to step outside with my own legs,” he explained, looking more than a little excited.

When his feet were on the ground, Jay’s knees buckled a little, but Brutus slid in and let Jay lean on him. Jay grabbed fistfuls of the perfectly complaisant Brutus’ fur and took one unsteady step with excruciating slowness, then two.

Crow watched on, a hint of a smile on her lips. It was truly incredible, magical even. What Helen and Jorgen would give to see this…

She swept them from her thoughts and returned her attention to Jay. With each step, he was growing more sure and steady. Crow hovered nearby to catch him if he stumbled, but he didn’t. The boy had been silent for a while, focusing on his newfound legs, but now a steady stream of chatter was burbling out of him again, his eyes alight with joy and enthusiasm.

As they approached the gates, they caught the sounds of a heated scuffle breaking out.

"I told you I need 5 wolf skins! Hasn’t anyone taught you how to count?"
"Five! That's far too unreasonable, you bloody old man! Another guy was taking TWO for the same number of coppers as you!"
"Then take the skins elsewhere, you little no good rascal!"
"Damn it! Cheap old miser! Cancel quest!"

The furious player stormed away clutching his pile of wolf skins, cursing the NPC. The shabbily dressed old man grumbled irritably, scuffing the ground viciously with his foot and muttering about how disrespectful young’uns were these days.

Crow meant to walk past him, but the decision wasn’t hers. Jay walked up to the elder, dragging Brutus along with him.

“Why are you so angry, grandpa?”

The elder looked up sharply and was clearly on the verge of spewing a tirade when he noticed who was talking to him. His piercing eyes caught sight of Jay’s gaunt cheeks, bony hands, and trembling legs.

“Hmph, didn’t your mam tell you to mind your own business, kid?”

Jay looked a bit hurt at that and wheezed a little into his sleeve, leaning weakly on top of Brutus for a moment before he managed to steady himself again. It was a painful sound to listen to, and although Crow was used to it now, the old man clearly looked disgruntled. Jay wiped his mouth and shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t know.” He brightened a little, not to be put off, and continued, “But it’s my first time outside in months. Look, it’s a beautiful day!”

Jay was right about that. It was a crisp fall morning, and the twittering of birds had not yet faded. The sun was shining brightly and the city of Granheim was bustling with activity.

The old man looked taken aback, and then his eyes looked around once before returning to Jay. And then he smiled.

Jay had that power. He could bring a smile to anyone’s face.

“You’re right, boy. It’s truly beautiful today. Sometimes an old man forgets such things. What’s your name?”

“Jay Graystone. And, this is Brutus, my dad’s wolfdog, and over there is Crow unni, the best person ever. Besides my parents of course.” He beamed.

Crow flushed a little, then nodded at the old man who seemed to have just noticed her.

“Well I’ll be. Are you going outside the city, then?”

Jay bobbed, looking ecstatic. “Yup! We’re going on an adventure!”

“What kind of adventure?”

Jay didn’t falter and piped, “Don’t know! But it’s an adventure! Even if it doesn’t have Knights and dragons and magic in it, this is enough. It’s fun, it’s really really fun.”

The elder laughed and stooped down a little to come to eye level with Jay. “Then can you listen to an old man’s request?”

“Sure! Well, if Crow unni says I can…?” He looked uncertainly back at Crow with the pleading eyes of a puppy. Of course she nodded back.

“She says yes,” Jay burbled happily.

“In that case, I need 5 wolf skins to make coats for my grandchildren. Winter is coming, after all. Can you handle it?”

Crow could tell why the player from before had gone away angry. Wolf skins were probably more expensive than goat or rabbit skins. From what she had seen yesterday and from common sense, wolves were harder prey to kill. A player could probably get more money selling the skins to a shop—10 coppers was a paltry sum.

But Jay was unaware of these things, and even if he knew, he probably wouldn’t care. He was more interested in another matter.

“You have grandchildren, grandpa? How old are they? I’m seven!” And then, a little fearfully, “Do you think they would play with me?”

Halton laughed. “They would, I’m sure. The girl is your age, just seven, and the boy is ten, Anna and Martin. But they’re both in school right now, so they can’t play until the afternoon.”

Jay looked so happy and hopeful, the months of sickness almost seemed to disappear from the lines of pain in his face. He extracted his hands out of Brutus’ fur to clap excitedly. “Really? I want to meet them!”

Adventuring was nice, but Jay had never enjoyed friends of his own age. The prospect was clearly more thrilling to him than anything else.

“It really would be a big help to this old man if you brought me them skins, though, young’un. How about you collect the skins with your big sis and come back later? You can come to our home and meet the kids. I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Jay looked back at Crow, his eyes shining with eagerness and his cheeks flushed. “Oh, can we, Crow unni? Please?”

I’ll treat you to dinner… I’ll treat you to dinner…

Crow nodded decisively. There could be bread at stake here.

Halton waved goodbye as Jay practically skipped out of town.

It was a strange party that left through Granheim’s western gates that morning. A boy humming with joy, a beautiful woman wrapped in silence, and a formidable, brooding wolfdog.

Crow was a little wary. She had very nearly died the last time she had left the city. Although Brutus was here to protect them, Jay was very vulnerable and Crow was almost as bad. She had never even drawn a sword before in the whole of her life. She was vaguely more familiar with knives, but fighting? Good grief, she was a Tailor.

That was true, she was just a Tailor, but it was also hard to deny the excitement building in her chest. Last night had been terrifying, but she had trembled for hours in exhilaration afterwards. It was as if the vicious battle had plucked a chord in her. Now, a part of her hungered to feel the rush of adrenaline singing in her veins again, to face the danger and conquer it.

Plus, it was time that she learned more about this world and its denizens. What creatures lurked here, what magic was out there? Perhaps it was just an effect of reading Jay’s stories, but she was genuinely curious. Were there really dragons? And fantastic sculptures made of water, did they truly exist? And other races, too… not only Humans and Lycans, but Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs?

As she stepped outside of Granheim, leaned a hand on a nearby tree, and saw the plains stretching before her, it really hit her. There was… there was a whole world out there. A whole world with all of its wonders, inviting her to come explore. She was free here. Free! Truly free!

The revelation threw her into a state of slack-jawed shock, and she sank to the ground. It had been so long. There were no walls here. She was not in a cell, or a home, or a city, or enveloped in the darkness. She was in the bright and the open, the cusp of a new path that could branch off to anywhere.

Was it okay to believe that she was free here? Was it okay to think that she could be… happy?

For a moment, just a moment, she felt like she was truly breathing; she felt liberated. But then it passed as terror slammed into her relentlessly.

It could be taken away.

This, this could all be taken away. This world, Jay, and even Crow the Tailor, they could all be taken from her.

Her real body was in a capsule right now. That capsule was inside a white room. And that white room was within the Kang Prison complex. In Kang Prison, there were the imprisoned and the free. And among the imprisoned, there were winners and losers, the rapers and the raped. Among the free, there were the lowly workers, like the Miss, and the higher ups, like that sharp-looking woman who had introduced them to Royal Road. These people had always been too far to reach Crow. They sat in a shining, clean room, far away from her filth. They had never been able to hurt her more than the Harpies could. But now…

Crow had done something terrible. This was all a horrible, horrible mistake.

She had let this place become precious to her. Those higher ups, that woman, could wrench her from here in an instant. She might never, ever walk on the plains, or see Jay’s smiling face…

Happiness is meant to be taken away.

“Crow unni? Are you okay?”

No, stay back. Stay away. Don’t.

“Unni! What’s wrong!”

NO, DON’T COME CLOSER!

“Unni!!”

Before she knew what she was doing, her hand rose as if to throw Jay back. Worried, caring Jay. Jay, the one who loved her.

“… and over there is Crow unni, the best person ever.”

WHAT? WHY?! HOW?! NO!

A scream burst from her and her arm jerked violently—

And then she was on the ground, all the weight of the world on top of her. Something black and musty and enormous was crushing her, knocking the air from her lungs.

Brutus. Brutus had protected Jay. From her.

With a shocked snap, she came back to herself. When she blinked dazedly and saw the world clearly again, the first thing she saw was Brutus, who yawned and was the very picture of boredom as he sat on her. The second thing she saw was Jay’s face, full of nothing but concern and love.

What… what was that? A fit of madness? She… had almost hit Jay. Jay. If Brutus hadn’t stopped her, she would have definitely hit Jay.

Yet the boy was still there, still loving her despite her attempt to strike him. He was shouting something, but it took a while for her scrambled brain to put the words together.

“Unni, unni! Are you okay?”

No, she wanted to say, no, I’m not okay. I hated you. For a moment, I hated you. Why are you still here? Why are you crying? Why?

Why do I love you?

“I… I…”

For the first time in years, she wept.

She cried for a long time. Brutus got off her at some point and Jay pressed himself close, hugging her tightly as she trembled and even cried with her. He was silent when her hiccupping wailing finally stopped. He asked no questions, simply wiped her tears with a bony hand and leaned back, looking at her with a face that was not that of a seven year-old.

“I remembered something just now, unni. From that long sleep, that darkness… and pain. Too much pain, I couldn’t… But then I heard your voice. For hours, and hours, your voice reached me. It came through the darkness and gave me strength. It was your voice that kept me here. You saved me.”

And then, before she fully registered his words, Jay leaned in and did something he had seen Helen and Jorgen do countless times to show their love. He kissed her, his cracked lips gently brushing hers. Briefly, before he pulled away again with a flushed, beet-red face. It was just a small peck, the kiss of a young boy who has not yet learned how.

They were silent for a long while, the woman and the boy and the wolf.

It was painful, really painful. Crow knew that it would never cease to be painful, in reality or in Royal Road. But… even so, beyond that pain, there was something far more promising and precious. Even if this pain were to stay with her forever, she would endure it all just for this moment.

She loved. She was loved. It was okay. Such a bond couldn’t be stolen from her, not ever. She squirreled it deep in her heart, treasuring it, wrapping her whole self around it and anchoring her spirit to it. She loved. She was loved. It was okay.

What? How could this be? The game recognized feelings that Crow herself had struggled to understand?

It was almost a relief to have something, even just a system, to tell her that it was okay for her to love Jay.

Nothing more needed to be said. Crow smiled at Jay, a real smile. It came from a place deep within her. It lit up her face, transforming her into something truly beautiful.

If any players had been there to see it, they would have instantly fallen in love with her. People called her pretty, but that was merely an aesthetic observation. Her nose had been broken before, but her facial bones were nicely shaped, her skin was unblemished, her figure slim and lithe. Now, she was something else. She glowed. It was like cracking open a seed and finding a magnificent world inside. She was overwhelming. Not pretty, but beautiful.

As it were, they were under a tree next to the city walls, and no one but Jay was there to see. Jay’s was entranced.

The spell was broken, of course, by Brutus. The wolfdog had no eyes for the physical features of humans. He had tolerated the girl’s noisy antics for long enough and was ready to move on. Brutus butted gently into Jay, not hard enough to knock the boy over but just enough to demand attention. And then he sneezed, so vigorously that the wolfdog seemed more surprised than anyone else.

“Pffttt…”

“…”

Jay and Crow met eyes again, and they both broke into laughter.

It was like some kind of demon seized them both. After wailing uncontrollably for nearly half an hour, now they were clutching each other trying not to laugh themselves to death. Brutus looked thoroughly offended and was pointedly looking away at the mass of degrading human.

Crow wiped her eyes and a flutter of a smile coasted across her face again before it disappeared. It made you long for more, to grab the end of that smile and tease it back onto her face, where it belonged.

But habit was king, and many years of grimness, of gritting her teeth and enduring, of being empty so as not to be hurt; many years were guarding that pristine face, dashing away smiles out of habit. Crow’s face returned to stillness, and she stood up, brushing off the dirt and grass on her pants.

“Let’s go,” she said, pulling up Jay

Jay nodded, a huge grin on his face, and they set off again. The target was a wolf. The plan? Set Brutus on said wolf and let the killing begin.

Other players were in the fields. They didn’t go too far from the city walls, but she had already seen two parties and one solo player. She noticed how one party sent out a beefy looking guy to lure monsters and drag them all back to the party. It was seemed like a good tactic for a stronger party. The soloer, on the other hand, was careful and snuck around, waiting until one creature was separated from the others and drawing that one away to a safer place to fight.

It seemed that caution was only necessary around the wolves. From what she had seen yesterday, only the wolves attacked on sight. They were dangerous foes. There were foxes too, but they weren’t as vicious or as strong.

So they went low to the ground, sneaking. Jay was short enough that he could hunch over a little and feel like he was still “sneaking,” so the posture didn’t require too much effort from him and he seemed to be enjoying himself enormously.

On the other hand, Crow was a full 5’7” and had to crouch as she walked. After a few minutes of this, her thighs were burning. But she endured to keep up the act, which really wasn’t very successful at all because Jay’s “whisper” was actually very loud. It was a miracle they hadn’t been attacked by several foes already. But Jay was having fun, which was all that mattered.

And then, when she transcended the burning thighs and just felt numbness—

Another stat? She had already gained a few from reading to Jay, and that True Love stat from earlier.... She had never needed them, but now that she might have to bet her life and Jay’s on them, she decided to try and figure out what they were. She vaguely remembered how.

She motioned to Jay to stop for a moment. “Stats,” she whispered to the air, feeling silly.

A window appeared in front of her. Jay didn’t seem to notice and was just looking around, making his hands into little binoculars to try and detect the wolves.

Crow was staring at the numbers and foreign words, trying to make sense of them, when Jay suddenly nudged her.

“Crow unni! I see a wolf!”

He spoke a little too loudly, because his excited voice rang out and alerted everything in a 10 meter radius to their presence. The wolf’s ears perked up. Its head rose slowly as its nostrils flared. Then it turned to look at them, long and hard.

AWOOOOO!

The wolf, finding them crouching in the brush, howled and came at them, a vicious glint in its eyes.

“Brutus!” Crow cried, grabbing Jay’s shoulder and pushing him behind her.

Brutus just stared at the wolf, then gave a blank stare of indifference to Crow and proceeded to place himself deliberately around Jay.

So that’s how it was going to be… Brutus was only going to protect Jay.

Command of Brutus is being transferred to you for the duration of the quest?! BULLSHIT!

‘Command my ass! DAMN THIS WOLF PRICK!’

Crow whipped out her dagger. She’d never used a sword before and wasn’t about to kill herself trying.

The wolf dashed in until it was five feet away and leapt at her, fangs bared. Crow didn't have time to think about it-- she found herself ducking, then driving the dagger upwards. As the blade sank into the fleshy armpit of one foreleg, red light spurted out, carving off a chunk of the wolf's HP. Crow immediately disengaged; those fangs and claws were too close. As she hopped backwards, the wolf snarled and charged again, favoring its leg. This time, she wasn't fast enough-- the wolf dealt a bite wound to her leg and sliced off a quarter of her HP.

Crow skittered back again, panicking. Why was this thing so strong?! What level was it, anyways?!

As she thought that, a window popped up in front of her. She didn't have time to examine it-- the wolf was advancing again-- but she saw the Feral Wolf was level 5. Holy crap. She was only level 2! She didn’t know much about the game mechanics, but that was definitely a considerable disadvantage!

What she didn't know was that the wolf would have dealt far more damage to her if she didn't have such good equipment for her level equipped. Helen's Shadow Tunic, the leather traveling pants she had crafted, her fingerless cotton gloves, and her shoes were excellently made and gave her very decent defense and stat bonuses. The Iron Dagger in her hand only gave +2 to damage, but her Handicraft boosted her attack power. And the power of True Love was with her…

The wolf pounced again, aiming for her other leg. Crow sidestepped and kicked the wolf in the side. Surprisingly, her movements were fluid, her body adjusting slightly to each attack. She had no combat experience in Royal Road, but she had been beaten hundreds of times. With a stunned revelation, she realized that facing one enemy was nothing. Her body was used to five or six Harpies ganging up on it. Any sign of dodging or resistance simply earned her more pain. After years of abuse, a hard, quiet instinct was branded into her. Unconsciously, her muscles knew where to contract to prevent damage to the internal organs, when to suck in a breath and when to let the whole body go limp, the slight rotation of the forearm to let the blow hit the flat of the bone, not the edge, how to move the muscles of the butt in a nearly imperceptible way that let the blow strike the fleshiest portion. Her body was honed in this respect-- it knew how, where, and what to bend and yield. With the Harpies, she had to be careful to be very subtle about it.

But this place was different.

She could move however she wanted to. Making blatant evasive movements would not bring another punch or kick flying towards her. Her body was free to avoid pain. She had glimpsed this truth after barely killing the Six-blood, and it had been made abundantly clear to her earlier. Here, she was free, free to be powerful.

The wolf was getting up again, nursing its cracked and bruised side. Crow didn't give it a chance to leap at her again. She knocked it down with one foot and mercilessly crushed the windpipe with the other.

Oh. How she longed it was Harpy One that was there instead.

A few more dagger strikes to the immobilized wolf ended it. Quickly. Violently. Silently.

As the wolf began to fade with grey light, it left a mass of fur and a few round, glinting objects that she quickly recognized as coins. After scooping up her spoils, she returned to Jay, whose eyes were alight with excitement.

"Unni! That was awesome! How did you do that?"

She shrugged and handed him the wolf skin.

"One."

"You’re the best! Let's get another!"

She dispatched the second wolf with the same surprising ease. After the third, she gained a level. Then they stopped under a tree a little ways off from Granheim and had lunch.

They had been walking for nearly an hour while chasing after wolves, so Jay was understandably tired. His breathing was slightly shallower and his face looked more drawn than before. She felt his body tremble the slightest bit when she helped him sit down and leaned him up against the tree, where he sat with his eyes closed and a smile on his face. Brutus plopped down beside him, laying his enormous furry head next to Jay’s knee. Jay put his arm on the space between Brutus’ ears, his hand looking smaller and weaker than ever on the wolfdog’s head.

Crow opened the rucksack Helen had given her. Quite a few things were packed inside. She pulled out fist-sized brown package, curious of what was inside. When she peeled the layer of paper back, she almost cried out. It was cooked chicken meat.

In Granheim, chicken was a luxury. Rabbit, goat, and deer meat were obtained easily enough, even though it was still costly. Merchants bought the meat from adventurers and sold it back to the townsmen at ridiculous prices to make a tidy profit for themselves. But chicken meat was harder to obtain because it had to be raised or imported; there weren’t wild chickens in the fields. For the Graystones, it was a luxury they could not afford.

But it was also probably the only meat that Jay could stomach. Red meat was too fatty for Jay’s weakened stomach. That was part of why he hadn’t been able to keep the hand pie down earlier.

Crow left it in the package as she used the hatchet to gather a little fallen wood, built a small fire, and filled a pot with water. She was quick and sure, her movements flowing with a fluid grace that spoke of the countless times she had performed these tasks in Helen’s kitchen. A few herbs went into the pot and a good helping of chopped vegetables. Crow took out the chicken almost reverently and put it gently in the water. She also took out a teapot and brewed Jay’s tea.

Jay chatted for a while, talking about Anna and Martin and how much he wanted to meet them. He trailed off, and they shared half an hour together in silence, the wind caressing their cheeks and the sun kissing their brows through the branches of the tree. Crow watched from the side as Jay dozed. His condition seemed to have dropped a little since leaving the city, but it was still remarkable that he could be here with her.

He was sleeping so peacefully that she let him rest for the better part of another hour. To her great relief, when he woke up again, his breath was even and free of painful rasping. He still took his tea from her eagerly, but it seemed more like a force of habit rather than necessity. When Crow ladled out the soup into their wooden bowls, he managed a few spoonfuls of soup before he declared he was perfectly full. It wasn’t that the soup wasn’t tasty, but that his stomach had shrunk over months of sickness.

“That was great, Crow unni! Almost as good as Mom…”

Jay darkened a little, his thoughts obviously drifting to his parents, who were still in Granheim.

“Do you want to see them? We can go back.”

He smiled a little and shook his head. “No, I miss them and wish they could be here with us, but it’s more fun to be here with you.” Then he frowned, his brows furrowing. “I feel like something bad will happen if I go home.”

Brutus whined as he rubbed the top of his bushy head into Jay’s thigh. Laughing, Jay said, “Sorry, Brutus. You’ll be with Dad again soon. Let’s have some more fun together until then!”

With that, Crow snuffed out the fire with dirt and quickly packed up. Brutus helped haul Jay back to his feet, and they were soon off again.

Crow dispatched the fourth wolf with brutal efficiency. She gained another level, but it occurred to her that she didn’t feel much of a difference from before. It had to do something; it was clear to her that level was a numerical representation of overall strength. It had to be significant somehow. But how…?

The game seemed to read her thoughts, because soon after her level gain, another window popped up.

Her stat table appeared magically in front of her eyes again, and this time she could take a moment to examine it. There were arrows going up and down next to each stat. When she reached her hand out to try and touch one of them, Agility, in curiosity, the table responded by adding 1 to the stat’s value.

So that’s how it worked. Now that she thought of it, it usually worked that way in games, but the sheer reality of the game in other aspects had distracted her from that simple concept. Before her first level up the night before, Crow had only obtained stats from reading book after book aloud to Jay. Now, she could choose which stats she wanted to invest in.

The stat building concept reminded her that this was indeed a game, and the person named Crow was actually a character. Jay and Brutus were both NPCs, artificial intelligences. To any other person, they would be no more than AIs. To Crow, they were indispensable.

Jay was tugging on her sleeve, so she absentmindedly swept the table aside with a flick of her hand. Only afterwards did she realize that the table had disappeared, responding accurately to her body motion.

“Unni, unni, there’s another one over there. Let’s go!”

Her fifth target was not alone. When she attacked it, another wolf jumped out and landed a nasty bite wound to her leg before she kicked it away. A third wolf emerged from the brush, a hard, hungry look in its eyes.

The three wolves growled and measured her party. Brutus had his hackles up; now that there were three Feral Wolves rather than just one, he was clearly more aggressive. Despite the enormous wolfdog’s ferocity, Jay’s hand was resting fearlessly on Brutus’ neck. The boy looked worried, but it was more fear for her sake rather than his. Brutus had slowly positioned him protectively in front of Jay.

That left Crow, the Tailor.

Needless to say, the wolves leapt at her like children grabbing candy from a broken piñata. As expected, fighting three enemies was far harder than one. One of the wolves leapt in and she instantly stepped back, the powerful jaws snapping in the air where her leg had been. She tried to deflect another incoming wolf, but it was quick and managed to deal a blow to her wrist. The dagger in her hand fell to the ground, and a wolf dashed in before she could pick it up. She hastily moved back.

Well, shit.

There was no time to think about it. Crow awkwardly pulled out the sword as fast as she could, hopping away from the slathering wolves. The sword wasn’t as heavy as she expected it to be, and she quickly saw the advantage in a weapon with a longer reach. With her dagger, she had to get close. That was fine with one opponent, but three made that endeavor much more dangerous. Closing the distance would leave her back too vulnerable. With the sword, though, she could stay behind the sharp blade. As she wildly swung the sword, the wolves scattered, but she was like a toddler armed with scissors—dangerous, but not threatening. She couldn’t control the momentum of the sword and was swinging at empty air in her attempt to hit all of them.

The wolves easily dodged and watched for an opportunity to dart in and destroy her. Her HP was down by half. At this rate, she would die…

Then, she caught sight of Jay, whose small frame was dwarfed by Brutus. He was shouting encouragement.

Of course she couldn’t leave Jay out here!

Crow adjusted her grip on the sword and pounced onto one of the wolves, slashing downwards. The sword cut a deep gash in the fleeing wolf’s rump, and it yelped as she dealt another blow. And then, it was fading away.

Only two blows! She had killed it with two strikes! This sword was that much more powerful than the dagger.

The two remaining wolves closed in on her with vengeance glinting in their eyes. She kicked one down and let the other recklessly maul her as she focused on killing its companion.

Reduce the numbers no matter what! That was how you had to deal with a mob!

The last wolf was tearing her leg to shreds. There was a grim hint of a smile on her face as she coldly stabbed down, impaling the wolf’s head with a critical hit. It too faded away, leaving her with just 20 HP. Another few seconds, and she would have definitely perished.

Jay ran towards her. “Unni, unni! Are you okay?”

“Mmn. I’ll be fine.” Her leg was a mess, but unless there was another group like that attacked, she wouldn’t die. “Got them all now.”

Crow limped as she picked up the loot and found her dagger, slipping it into her pocket.

“Yay! Success!” Jay shouted excitedly with the skins in his arms. “Let’s go meet Anna and Martin!”

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