“I hope you give me somewhat of a challenge, please?” Ren asked politely as the giant dragon opened its mouth and spat fire at him.

Ren didn’t bother dodging. A screen popped up in front of his face stating that he was taking fire damage at .00087 percent a minute. Incidentally, his self-healing spell automatically recovered ten percent of his health every second. He yawned as he walked over to the dragon. Rolick swiped at him with a clawed paw. Ren had wanted this development.

He held out his staff and as it connected with the Dragon’s paw, he chanted the spell, “Death.”

Rolick froze, one of his claws just inches from Ren’s face. The dragon’s red leather skin turned a murky black. He burst into flames and disappeared. Where the dragon stood, a large wooden brown chest dropped to the ground and an opening in the wall appeared along with a staircase leading up. Well, that was the last Death spell I can cast for the day. Guess I’ll have to use something else going forward. Ren walked over to the chest and opened it. Inside was some gold and a tiny silver ring with a sapphire on it. He inspected the ring.

“The Infinity Ring! Great. I didn’t even need to go through the whole dungeon.” Ren picked up his prize and deposited it in his inventory. He turned back the way he came and tried to head back to the entrance, but a barrier blocked him. A screen popped up in front of his face, stating that the only way out was to beat the dungeon or die. Teleportation spells wouldn’t activate. It also added insult to injury by stating that if he died, he forfeited all his treasures. “What! What bullshit rule is that? If I die, I’ll lose the ring! Screw it! Speed, Speed, Speed.”

Ren’s triple spell made him faster than a race car, but only for three minutes. He headed for the stairs that had appeared after the dragon had perished and burst into the next level where even stronger monsters were ready to greet him. Holding his staff behind him, he shouted, “Mine, Mine, Mine!”

As he ran through the throng of monsters while dodging their attacks, he left his presents behind him. He could hear the screams but didn’t look back as he continued to ascend. Within the three-minute time limit he ascended to the tenth and final floor. Sitting on a throne of fire and skulls was a large red orc with the title: Forlick the Flame Emperor. The orc stood at Ren’s entrance and howled.

Ren didn’t give him time to pull his giant flaming sword from his back. He held out his staff, angry at how annoying the dungeon was, and let off one of his best spells. “Gravity!”

A giant blue ball of void magic slammed down on Frolick and pinned him to the ground. Ren walked up to the growling orc. He raised his staff, his eyes burning with anger as he stared down the Flame Emperor. “If you’d just have let me leave, then this wouldn’t have happened. No one stands in the way of my love for Mary-chan. Reaper.”

A large black scythe extended from Ren’s staff and cut off the Emperor’s head, causing instant death. Reaper was his most powerful spell, but he could only use it once every earth day, not once every game day. The orc’s body disappeared, and Ren quickly collected the reward, not even looking at the contents before heading to the portal circle that would take him back to the entrance. He paused before he went through and looked back at the throne. Screw this shitty dungeon. Just for kicks and self-satisfaction, he held up his staff, letting off another spell. “Large bomb plus amplify fifty-fold.”

Ren hopped through the portal before the bomb went off. When he was back at the entrance, a bunch of pop-ups appeared in front of his face. He ignored them and pulled out a teleport scroll, but before he could rip it in half, he heard a massive boom. He turned back to the mountain and his mouth dropped open when he saw that the top was gone and large boulders were falling from the sky, heading right for him. Quickly, he ripped the scroll in half before the falling rocks could bury him. A white light engulfed him and the next thing he knew he was in the city of Amore in the heart of the merchant district.

“Grief man, what did you do?”

Ren turned to find William behind him, staring at something in the air, most likely a screen only he could see.

“I can’t believe you broke the record for one of the hardest dungeons by yourself in under an hour. Rockstars one of the top guilds. They aren’t going to be happy about this.” William scratched his head and sighed. There must have been another message because William paused to read. A look of horror appeared on his face before he turned to Ren, baffled. “Did you seriously blow up a mountain—”

Ren ignored him and ran away, heading for Mary’s stall. William followed behind him. There were no other players at the stall. Pulling out the Infinity Ring, Ren got down on one knee and held it out.

“Mary-chan, my love, will you marry me?”

There was silence as Mary stood there looking at him blankly. That’s odd? Am I out of her field of vision?

Finally, she spoke, “Yes, what would you like to buy or sell today?”

Ren almost dropped the ring, his face turning bright red. “Sh-sh-she said yes!”

William stood there looking dumbfounded but quickly recovered. “Did they update her text? Hello, Mary-chan.”

Mary looked at William and spoke, “What would you like to buy or sell today?”

Ren stood up, his hands shaking. “They didn’t change her text! She said yes. She really said yes!”

William looked at him doubtfully. “It could have been a glitch.”

“Nonsense! My Mary-chan said yes! She does love me.” Ren spun around in a circle, feeling super bubbly inside. This had to be the best day of his life.

“Right… So, how are you going to get the ring on her? You know if you touch an NPC the town guards will kick you out of town again. Also, didn’t you try before and anything you put on her disappeared?” William eyed the ring that Ren was holding.

Ren looked at the ring, feeling a sense of unease. The Infinity Ring was infamous. The stats were total garbage and once it was equipped, the ring wouldn’t come off unless the player died. It really is a glitchy ring, maybe it will work that way for Mary-chan as well? He took a deep breath before stomping around to the other side of the stall and kneeling next to Mary. She didn’t move and kept looking forward. Her ring hand lay gently overtop her other. Slowly, he held the Infinity Ring by the stone and inch toward her ring finger. Carefully, so as not to touch her, he slid the ring onto her finger and let go. Out of fear, he closed his eyes. He’d tried this many times before, but the ring always disappeared. Though this is the first time she’s said yes, so maybe… If this one disappeared too, then he’d really have to give up.

Slowly opening his eyes, his mouth dropped. The ring was still there. Mary hadn’t moved, but it was still there.

“It… worked,” he said breathlessly, then bounced to his feet, pumping his fist in the air. “It really worked!”

William stood there stunned at this turn of events and shook his head. “I guess it really is a glitchy ring.”

“NO! It’s the ring of our love! It really, really worked!” Ren spun on one foot before heading back to the front of the stall. Mary stood there unmoving. “William, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“What? What are you talking about? It’s not even the middle of the night yet. You always play until morning.”

Ren leaned over the table and gently placed his lips on Mary’s.

“You idiot!” He could hear William shouting.

Mary didn’t move, and he couldn’t really feel anything from her other than a slight pressure. When he pulled away, a red warning screen popped up in front of his face. Warning: You have attacked an NPC. For 24 hours you are banned from the city of Amore. If you return before the penalty time is up, you will be attacked on site. A couple of giant invincible guards in red and black armor ran out from a building near the market, grabbed his arms, and dragged him away. He could hear William shouting at him he was an idiot, but Ren couldn’t care less.

“I love you, Mary-chan!” He shouted at the top of his lungs and laughed manically as other players looked his way. Most ignored him, but a few new players watched the scene, fascinated. The guards dumped him at the edge of Amore. Picking himself up, he grinned at the guards proudly.

“You’ll never stop my love for Mary-chan!” Ren shouted, feeling more hyped than he had in years. The stouter and huskier looking of the two guards paused before he turned to head back into the city. Ren spun around and laughed as he skipped off to Beast Forest, a low-level monster forest where most beginners hunted. This is the best day ever.

He found an area with no monster spawn rate and set up his tent to spend the night in. He spent the rest of his time crafting and maintaining his inventory. When he finished, he crawled in and laid down on the bedroll. He grinned like an idiot as he relaxed. “Log off.”

The wind rushed out of him and he opened his eyes, finding himself back inside the FBM machine.

He grinned from ear to ear as he covered his face. His cheeks where hot and his breathing rapid as he whispered, “Mary-chan, I love you…”