Walk and Talk

As we walked, I explained my Talents to Valentia.

“Are you shitting me?” she asked. “That’s like fifty percent more experience for all skills!”

I nodded. “It’s actually double experience for magic. I need to find a teacher. I don’t want to keep fumbling around like this. Granted, I’ve only been here one day, so maybe I’m jumping the gun.”

“You speak strangely,” Valentia said.

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Probably. Completely different world and all.” I shrugged. “You probably don’t even know what a gun is.”

She shook her head.

“That’s probably good. They’re dangerous weapons.”

“Why would you jump one?”

I chuckled. “There’s a non-lethal version called a starting gun. People shoot it into the air to start foot races. If you jump the gun, it means you start running before the race starts.”

We settled into an uncomfortable silence for several moments.

“Hey.” I looked over at her as we walked. “You’ve got a Talent for teaching. Would you be willing to teach me?”

“I don’t have any novice skills,” she said. “We’re both untrained in almost everything. And you’re a novice in Magic Theory, so I can’t even help you with that. I’d be a useless teacher.”

“I don’t believe that.”

She looked at me.

“You have a whole lifetime of knowledge. I’ve been here for a day. You know way more than me, even if the skill levels don’t show it. Tell me about your magic. You’re probably better at Healing than I am since I only learned it from you last night. And I barely know anything about Transmutation. I’m sure you know more about the Lutins - I only learned they existed yesterday. You know Alchemy and-”

“Alright, I get it.” She laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

And so began my lessons about the Five Realms.

We talked about everything. Basic history. Magic. Medicine. Alchemy. The creatures that lived in the forests. The kingdoms and empires. How adventurers were trained. How the System worked. Or at least, how Valentia thought it worked.

We were even able to rope Ami into the conversation every once in a while.

I still didn’t think she liked me, but maybe - just maybe - she was starting to warm up to me.

That evening, we stopped early to make camp.

I was nearly asleep on my feet by then. I’d been awake for almost thirty-six hours of game time. Granted, that was only about eighteen hours for my real body, but I’d also spent six hours or so waiting for the game to arrive.

No matter how you sliced it, I’d been awake for at least a full day. Possibly more.

Valentia woke me the next morning.

It took me a while to figure out where I was and what was going on. I didn’t remember falling asleep the night before. Or eating dinner.

Camp had already been broken down. It looked like they were just waiting for me.

I yawned and stretched. “You should have woken me up to keep watch or something,” I told her as I got to my feet. “I can help out around camp.”

She laughed. “You weren’t capable of eating dinner last night. Having you keep watch wouldn’t have been much different from letting you sleep through the night.”

She smiled. “You needed the rest. But now we need to hit the road and try to get you to your real body.”

I nodded, gathered my few things, and joined them on the road.

That day, it started to rain. The rain became a downpour. The downpour became freezing rain. And the freezing rain became sleet.

It was an altogether unpleasant day, made worse by several sections of damaged road. Nothing was insurmountable, but in places, collapsed culverts forced us to climb down into gullies or ford streams. Each detour only left us wetter and colder.

By the time we made camp, everything was soaked.

There was no chance of getting a fire started, and none of us knew a fire spell, so I used Warmth on a rock and set it in the middle of camp.

I took the first watch, trying to keep the rock warm enough to provide as much heat as possible.

It took a little more mana to maintain than I regenerated, so I was down to about half my Mana by the time my shift was over.

Luckily, Ami had been smart enough to gather some wood. The heat from the rock had dried it enough that she was able to start a small fire when it was her turn to keep watch.

The next morning was cold, though at least it was somewhere above freezing. The rain had slowed to a steady patter that filtered through the trees.

The fire had burned low, giving off the faintest warmth. My cloak was still draped over me, but that didn't account for all the heat I felt.

I opened my eyes.

Valentia was sitting beside the fire, staring absently into the forest. The gray, early morning light caught her golden hair and seemed to bathe her in a soft glow, only enhancing her beauty.

My movement drew her gaze.

Her emerald eyes twinkled mischievously.

Something shifted beneath my cloak. Something warm pressed against me.

I lifted the edge of the fabric just enough to see a mass of auburn hair shift as two beautiful violet eyes met mine, squinting against the light spilling in.

Confusion gave way to embarrassment. Ami suddenly threw the cloak off us and jumped to her feet, rushing toward Valentia. Her face had gone bright red as she glared first at me, then at her girlfriend.

I sat up and rolled the cloak as neatly as I could before getting to my feet. “I’ll be back,” I said with a grin.

It was probably best to give her some time to collect herself and talk to Valentia.

I had no idea when she’d cuddled up to me during the night, but I wasn't complaining. After the cold and miserable day we'd had, her warmth was a pretty welcome thing to wake up to.

I headed into the trees to relieve myself. Halfway through, I stopped. Was I pissing myself in the real world?

Exit.

Wait. What? No external user instance detected? What the hell did that mean?

My heart began hammering against my ribs. I tried again.

A moment later, another window opened.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, FUCK!

What the fuck did that mean? No external user. Was I already dead?

I couldn’t be dead. I wouldn't be here. There had to be another explanation.

Maybe the Aegis had crashed and wasn't responding. Maybe one of the sensors had broken. Maybe it had somehow lost the ability to receive information and was now just broadcasting blindly into my brain. Maybe-

I dropped to my knees and screamed in frustration.

A moment later, Valentia and Ami came crashing through the forest, panic written across their faces.

It took me a moment to realize they'd come because of my scream.

And not only was there no danger… I was kneeling there with my pants open and my dick out.