The Transience of Her

Re-awakening

Nighttime.

It's pitch dark.

She is walking home from a friendly gathering, awaiting the coming of a brand new day.

She is all smiles, despite her obviously tired disposition.

She is gaily carrying her bag full of gifts and other physical memories of that occasion.

And then...

Something in her stopped beating.

She loses consciousness.

She falls to the ground.

A loud thud can be heard.

Within seconds, her glasses also fall to the ground, shattered into minute shards.

Within seconds, the sidewalk is painted dark-red.

Within seconds... she's gone.

Literally no one else bore witness to her sudden passing, until...

A roving policeman eventually finds what was left of her.

He inspects the scene.

He rules out murder or suicide, but he has to confirm that to the coroner.

Soon after, onlookers see the poor girl's remains.

Some of them even cry, cursing the heavens why someone so young and beautiful like her had to be taken away.

And I...

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

I hastily wake up from my bed, heavily heaving.

Checking the clock, it's 3:55 AM.

I try to reorient myself from the chaos that stirred me seconds ago.

“Haaah... haaah... kh... Why this now...”

This nightmare has been plaguing me for five days now.

The nightmare of my best friend, Lianna Riversdale, dying of an apparent heart attack.

As I stare at the many posters of my favorite alternative rock bands that decorate my room, I guess...

...nothing right now can console me anymore. Not even the bands' awesome tunes.

I can't even go back to sleep, either.

So what else can I do?

This swimming into the stream of thoughts makes me recall another significant event not long after this chaotic blur in my life.

All decked in black, I give a simple eulogy for her.

Her ashes are stored in a simple marble urn, decorated with flowers and a laminated picture of her. The urn is then guarded by an ornate glass and gold-plated aluminum cabinet.

“I, Soren Orr, am taken aback to what happened to our good friend Lianna, like all of you gathered here in this wake. To think that one day, she's the liveliest woman I've ever met; and in the next, she's nothing but lifeless ash. But as they say... no one has the ability to turn back time and reverse her death.

“We are kindred spirits, as we both share the same interests. We love alternative rock, we are both interested in headphones, and we're also avid gamers. In fact, a few days ago, we were both playing Skypaths Online, and she gave me a valuable gift that would later prove useful in one of the most difficult quests I've ever embarked. And that thing was... a Restoration Poultice.”

In Skypaths Online, the Restoration Poultice is an item that can only be obtained by gathering the rarest raw materials and paying the town alchemist 50,000 yesos (the in-game currency). Even then, the chances of the Poultice actually materializing is at best 25%, as alchemy in this game is a game of chance in itself. But then, its benefits outweigh the labor- and luck-intensive lengths one must take to get the Poultice, as it's the best healing item one can get. It fully restores not just the user's HP and MP, but it also removes all negative status effects and gives temporary attack and defense buffs too. It's an invaluable tool for the toughest of boss raids.

“I simply asked her, 'How'd you get this?' She answered, 'Oh, from a player who was retiring from the game for good. He simply gave away his high-tier goods and equipment for free, since he knew the money he would get would be useless once he's out for real. What a good Samaritan he is.' I pardon those who are not gamers, but that item was valuable to me in more ways than one. Besides being the best and rarest healing item in the game, that one Poultice she gave me carried sentimental value. And I cherished it.

“One day, I embarked on a quest whose details are scant due to changes made to it to prevent exploits that can lead to cheating. I knew the quest would involve taking down a formidable foe. And man, that foe was indeed formidable. He truly tested my skills despite me being a high-leveled Dark Knight back then. I was cornered, and the quest's high difficulty level meant that dying would take off so much experience points I've worked hard for. And so, I had to make a necessary sacrifice: use the Restoration Poultice seconds before my apparent KO. With that, I became the comeback kid, and whooped the boss eventually.

“Imagine the glory and the gratitude I felt when I finally defeated that boss, using the item I should've kept as a remembrance of her, but necessities always outweigh mere sentimental nothings. I could've just taken a screenshot of the item, anyway; and I actually did, right before the boss battle.

“And when I've heard the tragic news, I was understandably devastated. One of her close friends broke the sordid news to me on social media, and she explained everything about it, in gruesome detail. I was in a depressive funk for a while, and thus I didn't log onto the game.

“Now, we're here. We're here to celebrate her life, and I've done my part. And in a few days, she will be buried underneath the cemetery's lone cherry blossom tree. What a noble gesture. Every time the tree will bloom, a single petal is equal to a shed tear of happiness from her. I know you're crying, and I am, too; but please remember: No tear goes to waste, even as it falls to the ground. Same thing with petals. Thank you, everyone.”

I still remember the eulogy I gave, because the details in it are still fresh in my memory. Oh, that reminds me...

Since I can't sleep, and I want to shake off those harrowing thoughts, might as well play Skypaths Online once more.

The MMORPG has some pretty high system requirements. Fortunately, my PC is fully equipped to run it at 1080p, high settings, and 60+ fps: A 16-core, 32-thread processor, 64GB of 3000 MHz DDR4 RAM, a high-end graphics card with 8GB of GDDR6 SDRAM plus ray-tracing, a high-end gaming motherboard, custom water-loop CPU and GPU cooling, a 480GB NVMe M.2 SSD, two 1TB hard drives, a 1000W power supply, and RGB case fans – all inside a lovely full-tower ATX case.

As I turn on the PC and the lights immediately dance and the fans whir, I am still having reservations about logging onto the game, because I know she's gone. No one controls her avatar now. But it's too late to turn back and turn it off, right? Even though this PC boots up and shuts down almost instantaneously due to the presence of the SSD?

Once I log in, I wonder what sort of adventure awaits me. Some say undergoing the same old quests and grinding for levels are boring and repetitive, but I digress. Sometimes, in the midst of something routinary, I find something new.

And here I am. Back in the hub town of Tulyasi.

Like all other towns in Skypaths Online, this town sits above a piece of floating land, with brick-and-mortar houses and opulent mansions standing side-by-side. It is known for its fair treatment of anyone who wants to settle in or rest, as long as the settlers and travelers abide by law never to harm anyone. For that reason alone, all kinds of adventurers treat Tulyasi as the central hangout spot. The plaza right in the center is especially packed at peak play hours.

In this realm, I am known by the name of Melchor Kam'arin, a level 67 Infernal Gunner. This job is the combination of Dark Knight, which was my first job, and a Gunner, which is a supplementary job. The reason I opted for that is its innate immunity to the Confusion status effect.

As an RPG fan, words can't express my eternal hatred for that dreaded status effect. In turn-based RPGs, Confusion means attacking oneself or other allies and wasting their HP, casting random spells and wasting MP, and randomly using items and wasting the stock. As someone who values efficiency, such status effect annoys me the most, and it's not easily cured by mere antidotes and panaceas.

And it gets even worse here in this game. Once I'm hit with it, not only do I waste previous HP, MP, and items, but I run around in random directions, which means I can be spotted by aggressive monsters and be easy pickings for an ambush.

After sifting through the crowd of chatting adventurers, I step into the adventurers' post. This is where adventurers like me sign up for various quests.

The pretty receptionist welcomes me.

“Good evening, Sir Kam'arin! You can check through our exhaustive list of available quests just for you.”

I peer through the huge tome of quests, each with their own brief descriptions, rewards, and difficulty levels.

OK, I have to embark on a broken-record “twenty bear butts” item gathering quest, only without actual bear butts involved. Because I need something boring to cure my boredom, kinda like fighting fire with fire.

“Alright, miss. I'll go for the Animal Bowl quest.”

The Animal Bowl quest is of medium difficulty, with the reward being the Animal Bowl itself, which is a colorful painted bowl made of sturdy darginwood. To complete this quest, I must first obtain ten Fresh Noodles, which are dropped by Noodlekin monsters; before delivering them to an NPC named Bayushi Katchiko located in the nearby town of Foubar. Simple enough, right? Actually, yes.

“OK, then. Please step into the portal to begin your quest. Good luck!”

I follow the instructions like I always do, and off I go!

Once the teleportation finishes, I'm here in this familiar place.

Familiar to high-level players, that is.

This is the Muelle del Blanco Pastures, a peaceful-looking patch of land that hides something sinister.

And by “sinister”, I mean “littered with high-leveled monsters that can wipe the floor with inexperienced players”.

I draw my weapon, the Musket of Precious Grace, assume my battle-ready pose, and begin the hunt for the Noodlekin.

And before one makes fun of the weapon's name (more so because the name doesn't match my appearance and job), this gun can be equipped by anyone affiliated with the Gunner job, has a respectable attack power, and can sometimes cast a random high-tier magic spell with every shot.

There it is! My first Noodlekin!

I fire the first shot, and the shot makes a dent on the monster [725 damage]. Of course, as any MMORPG veteran should know, a monster that has been attacked will track down its assailant.

Before the Noodlekin can do real damage with its trademark noodle whips, I fire more shots.

[827 damage], [804 damage], [784 damage], [812 damage].

And it's down for the count.

Cool. Now I have the first required Fresh Noodle drop.

[Acquired Fresh Noodle.]

As I pick my loot, I sense a faint presence of a player character.

Judging by the long, flowing hair, the character should be female.

For some reason, she evades the monsters without any hassle.

Just what is she? Some enigmatic assassin with her trademark switchblade?

Nope, wrong game.

I wanted to go to the next Noodlekin to whoop, but the distraction brought about by the mysterious woman is derailing my quest so bad.

OK, if I want to go back to a distraction-free quest, I should follow her.

Deftly dodging the monsters in my path (which is another perk of the Gunner), I follow her swift trails.

And those trails lead me to an abandoned wooden shack that is surprisingly in good shape despite being in a monster-infested area.

As I prepare to enter the shack, I can feel a light tap on my shoulder.

And a mischievous whisper, too.

“Knock knock! Who's there?”

I turn my back to see...

...a girl wielding a Standard Bearer's Polearm, dressed in a Prismatic Casque, Spidersilk Gambeson, Valkyrie Skirt, and Valkyrie Longboots, with a Sulteos Charm worn around her neck like a pendant.

It's just like I last remembered her when she logged on not too long ago!

“L-Lianna?!”

Also known by her in-game name, Linnia Beferia. A level 65 Holy Dragoon.