Chapter 28
Rohan
Now that I’m mostly positive Tyson is still somewhere in the game, my heart feels lighter and a lot less like someone’s shredding it with their bare hands.
However, every nerve in my body feels like they’re firing off all at one time.
Because while he’s still in the game, something is definitely not right.
It’s been almost four days since we’ve been apart.
With my head now more level, I go check to see if I can locate him through our party interface again.
The first time I tried, his location wouldn’t ping anywhere on the map, but maybe something has changed.
Nothing still.
Same as when I first checked, it’s completely blanked out.
The sun is almost setting at this point as I’m walking the stone road towards the weaponsmith.
I should definitely prepare for whatever it takes to get back to Tyson.
I’m glad I went ahead and upgraded my lance because I have a feeling whatever is going on will go way beyond what I can handle at my current level.
I may even have to employ some help.
And I have the perfect idea as to where I’ll be getting it.
The bell rings again upon me entering the shop, and the weaponsmith greets me the same as before, giving me a small nod. “You’re back, I got your lance all ready to go for you.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” I say as I walk over to his workstation where he’s holding out my new weapon.
It’s beautiful with new black and gold embellishments adorning it around the spearhead and handle.
It’s also lighter in my hold, making for quicker and better attacks. My agility, strength, and dexterity all increase when I reequip it back into my armor.
“This feels amazing, you did a great job,” I say, giving him a wide smile.
“Ah, really, it was nothing. It was pretty easy with that special metal your friend got ya.” He chuckles, “You should be thanking him.”
My cheeks burn looking down at the lance. “Yeah, I should. I’ll tell him when I see him again,” I mutter.
“I should get going. Have a good day.” I nod before heading out back into the town’s merchant alley.
I never thought I’d ever be thinking this in my life, but I’d love to be able to thank Tyson.
I need to get moving on finding him. The afternoon breeze picks up, brushing a little chilly air past my ears.
I walk through the alley and toward Leon’s garden.
When I reach the entrance, I can see him sitting underneath one of the trees, his hood still fully covering his face.
I pad over to him, tilting my head as I approach cautiously.
“Tryna sneak up on me?” His smile peeks through beneath his hood.
“Not really. But I need your help with something.”
“Oh? Now that’s interesting, seeing as you’re usually the one helping me.” He grins.
“Yeah, well, as you can see, I’m alone.”
“Ah, so you are. Where’s your friend?”
“That’s the thing I need help with. I don’t know.
He disappeared a few days ago, and some strange monster approached me in a creepy alleyway saying…
” I stumble around the last words, not knowing if I should mention anything about getting out of the game to a NPC.
Though the monster had mentioned it to me first, which now, looking back, I find odd.
But what isn’t odd about this fucking place?
“And…” Leon says, standing up.
“Oh, it was saying Tyson had … left me here.”
“What did it look like?” He tilts his head, putting his finger to his chin. But it doesn’t seem like he’s really thinking all too hard about any of this.
“Creepy and dark, like something out of a nightmare.”
“Ah, sounds like Jax!” he says, clasping his hands together.
“A … what?”
“A Jax. It lures you in by showing you something you fear. Then they feed off said fears and your dread afterwards. Looks like they got your lover.”
“Lover? He’s not … ugh, never mind,” I sigh, shaking my head at him. I suppose this all makes sense because how else would it have caught Tyson so off guard in the middle of town? He’s always very aware of his surroundings. Unlike me.
“But worst fear…”
Is that really what happened to Tyson?
It doesn’t seem like he fears anything most of the time.
“Yeah, yours is being left by your friend, I suppose.”
“What? No, it’s not.”
“Well, I’m just telling you that’s what it does.”
“Okay, so what now? Where does it take you?”
“I don’t know,” he says, shrugging.
I sigh, pinching my brows together. I want to say some help he is, but this is more information than I had about ten minutes ago.
Besides, what I really came here to ask him isn’t even exactly about the monster itself.
I need to figure out where this thing would take Tyson.
It’s so strange that I can’t use our party feature to see his location when that’s usually how the game works.
You can always see where anyone in your party is as long as you’re both on the same map.
And I’ve already confirmed Tyson is still somewhere in Halia.
The only way I wouldn’t be able to see where he is on a map is if I had never explored that part of the map myself. It would just stay dark because it’s undiscovered. But there’s no part of the town’s map I haven’t been to.
It’s the main town in the game…
The only place neither of us has been to is…
“The castle,” I whisper.
“What was that kid?” Leon asks, pulling me out of my own string of thoughts.
“I need your help taking on the castle map.”
“I think I could help you, for a price, of course.”
“Yeah, obviously.” I roll my eyes, digging out the gold and handing it to him. Thank God Tyson had transferred me some of his gold. I didn’t have much till we started playing together.
My sugar daddy, you could say.
I’m losing it.
“Nice, when do you wanna head out?” Leon asks, pocketing the gold and joining my party I just invited him to.
Holy shit.
He’s way stronger than I thought.
Why the fuck does he have us running around doing his useless quests if he’s high enough level to do it himself? NPC shit, I guess. Tyson and I couldn’t even take this guy together if we tried. So much for fighting his hood off to see his face.
“Now, preferably. It’s been way too long and…”
I’m worried.
“He needs help,” I say, biting my lip.
“Aw, we’ll get him out of there no problem. Let’s head out then.” Leon smirks, walking ahead of me toward the castle gates.
I hope Ty is holding on okay.
* * *
The castle seems more daunting up close, its stone exterior has a cold beauty to it.
I’ve also just noticed all the lights are slightly dimmer suddenly.
I scan over the structure, trying to see if there are any other sources of light coming from any of the windows that can be seen from the outside.
Even as night falls, there are no signs of life from here.
“You don’t have much to worry about,” Leon chuckles next to me.
Of course I don’t.
I’m sure this guy could take the map by himself.
Leon is already walking through the castle’s gates before I can even catch up.
I follow in behind him. The greeting room is huge, it’s just as beautiful inside with its large archways and ethereal chandeliers hanging from above.
But there’s definitely something about this place that makes my skin crawl.
Fog forms at our feet as we trek deeper into the castle’s corridor.
Some of the hallways are very dimly lit and some almost completely gone dark.
Monsters appear out of this darkness, and Leon summons his weapon, the air shifting around him.
It’s so overwhelming, I can’t help but cringe as black thunder from his sword cracks around us.
He strikes down most of the monsters in the entire sector of the map.
This guy is no joke.
The next corridor is finally one filled with rooms; we’ve already searched three by the time we’ve reached the end. I’m starting to feel a slight panic coming along. Where the fuck could it have taken Ty? I mean, this castle is big as hell, but all of it can’t be functional, right?
Then again, we’re trapped in a game that’s obviously gone haywire.
Leon has cleared the map for the time being, so he’s split off and started looking into other rooms so we could cover more base. Hopefully nothing pops out of the dark and attacks me. There’s only so much my lance can do. In here anyway.
“Hey! I think I found your buddy.” Leon’s mouth spreads into what I think is a grin from here.
“Tyson!” I choke out, running past him.
The room is completely dark save for the night sky illuminating it.
It’s honestly a strange place for a captive to be in.
Tyson is lying on the floor of what seems like a small personal library.
With my brows pinched together, I approach him.
“Ty…” I can finally see him in the user interface again.
His HP is dangerously low, his breathing shallow and harsh.
“Ty … hey, I’m here, okay?” I whisper, grazing my fingers across his cheek. He’s so cold. His body feels so heavy as I pull him into my lap.
“What happened to you?” I croak quietly, sniffling my tears away.
I lean down to heal him with my kiss. He cracks his eyes open a little before grabbing my cheek to stop me. “No, Rohan. You need it for the map.”