He jolted upright, flared around, and screamed. He rubbed his hands over his chest expecting severe pain, but there was none. Gasping for air, he blinked rapidly a few times. I’m alive? I’m alive! When he calmed down, he looked around and froze. He wasn’t in his apartment, but back in his tent he’d set up in Y.O.W. What happened? Did I dream that I was having a heart attack? The memory of the pain felt too real. How did I log into Y.O.W?

“Status,” he commanded, but nothing happened. He tried again, but nothing. “Um, Inventory.”

Nothing. That’s weird. He scanned his tent and found a large backpack. His staff was leaning against the bag. Why is my staff not in my inventory? He picked up his staff and inspected the rest of the tent. Is this Y.O.W’s way of adding a new penalty? I can’t open status or inventory. He tried the backpack first and dug around in it. There were potions and small items that should have been in his inventory. Plus a small pouch he didn’t recognize. He opened the pouch and found coins in it. Picking up one of the gold coins, he felt the smooth metal in his palm. When did Y.O.W start making their currency physical? That’s a pain. He put the coins back in the bag and inspected the rest of the tent. There wasn’t any useful information.

“Hmm, oh. Log out!” He commanded. Nothing happened. “Emergency Override.”

Silence. That can’t be good. He grabbed his staff and crawled out of the tent. I need to find a game master and let them know I can’t log out. He glanced around what should have been Beast Forest. His brow furrowed in confusion at the sight before him. The trees weren’t their usual green but were in full bloom. A playful breeze rustled the branches and knocked some buds off. Pink cherry blossoms floated down around him. What’s going on? Is this some sort of event?

A growl came from the bushes and an enormous cat like monster with yellow eyes dripping blood from its mouth crawled out. He recognized the monster as a Cat Claw, but its tag wasn’t showing up above its head. Their average level was 10. He sighed and held out his staff. You’re not even worthy of my Death spell. Might as well just freeze it to death.

“Fro—” The weirdest sensation like a massive sucking of his energy occurred in his arm. “Aah!”

He dropped to the ground in surprise. The Cat Claw growled and lowered its haunches before springing at him. In a second, the monster was on top of him. Its sharp fangs ripped into his shoulder. He screamed out in pain as fangs entered his flesh and blood spurted from his shoulder. My pain level shouldn’t be this high! Blood? Y.O.W doesn’t make players bleed! The pain seared through him and the monster bite harder. Help, I don’t want to die again! He struggled to get the monster off him, but it only resulted in the monster biting even deeper. Ren cried out in pain and tears poured out of his eyes. Y.O.W doesn’t do tears either! What’s going on? Is this Hell?

“Idiot boy! Why did you stop your incantation?”

Large armored hands appeared and grabbed the Cat Claw’s mouth. They pried the monster’s mouth open and tossed it off him. Ren looked up at his savior and recognized the familiar silver and black armor of the Amore Guards. The man looked down at him with sharply defined features, too clear for an NPC’s. He had a brown shaggy beard, a square shaped face, and deep blue eyes. Isn’t he the burly guard that kicked me out of Amore last night? How is he talking to me right now?

“Quickly, cast again!” He ordered Ren. “This time don’t stop the incantation!”

Ren flinched. An uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach from being yelled at made him want to run and hide, but he resisted the urge. He tried to grab his staff, but his arm wouldn’t move.

“You’re non-damaged arm, boy!” The guard roared. “I don’t have my sword, so I can’t protect us. Hurry!”

Ren grabbed his staff with his other hand and held it up toward the Cat Claw. He shouted again, this time saying the chant quickly, “Frost!”

The sucking sensation occurred again, but this time Ren held his arm steady and his staff lit up a light blue. His spell instantly froze the Cat Claw. It let out a scream and collapsed to the ground. Ren could hear a strange crunching sound. He watched opened mouthed as the Cat Claw’s chest seemed to cave in on itself. When it lay completely still, the guard walked over and nudged it with his toe.

“Froze it from the inside out, huh? That’s a brutal spell,” the guard mused.

It was just supposed to freeze it, then it should have disappeared. That was way too brutal. What’s going on? Why is its body still here?

“Where’s your stuff at? We need to get you back and treated, idiot boy. I can’t believe she picked you of all people.” The burly guard knocked over his tent, spotted his bag, and grabbed it.

“Hey—ow!” Ren flinched and looked at his bleeding shoulder. “Why am I not healing?”

The guard gave him a funny look. “What are you talking about, boy? Get up.”

He didn’t give Ren time to respond and grabbing his good arm dragged him to his feet.

“W-wait, can’t we treat it here? I have potions.” Ren’s arm throbbed badly, and he felt dizzy. His face was still wet with tears.

“Potions? No potion is going to fully heal that, and monsters are around. Have you lost all sense? Come on, boy.” The man dragged him along, leaving Ren’s tent behind. He wouldn’t stop, no matter how much Ren protested.

Ren couldn’t shake him. The man was strong. The city Amore was close and soon enough they were inside the limits, but something was weird. No tags were displayed anywhere on any of the usual NPC’s and he didn’t see any players he recognized. Where is everyone? The man dragged him to the merchant area.

“Ren, is it really…? REN!”

He froze when he heard his real name. No one in Y.O.W should know it. Looking up, his mouth dropped at who’d called out to him. Mary was running toward him, a look of sheer joy on her face. Mary was running, she was out from behind her stall, and she was calling his name! When she made it to them, her eyes slid to his wound, and she gasped. Her pretty features turned dark and angry as she turned to the guard.

“This is your fault! He wouldn’t have spent the night outside the city and gotten hurt if you weren’t so overprotective!” She screamed at the guard. “And why don’t you have your sword with you? You know it’s dangerous outside the city.”

“What? I was in a rush and forgot it. Also, how was I supposed to know the boy would get hurt? He’s one of the strongest in the city, yet he made a foolish mistake and—” The guard floundered, trying to defend himself.

“Father, enough with your excuses!” Mary cut the man off and turned to Ren, her eyes burning. “And you! Stop with the public flirting from now on. You can do whatever you want at home now, so stop doing that in front of everyone. It’s really embarrassing.”

Ren stood there with his mouth open. Mary-chan’s talking to me and scolding me. Seriously, what in the world is going on? A searing pain shot through his shoulder and he bent over, clenching it. He ground his teeth as his vision blurred from the pain.

“Ren! Father, go get the healer, now!” Mary shouted at the burley guard who obeyed and rushed off.

Another merchant who sold food came over and helped Mary lift Ren. They took him over to the tall building that was behind Mary’s stall. His mouth dropped open again as they opened the door to a building he’d never seen open before. They helped him up to the top where Mary opened the door to a small, humble, but cozy apartment. It only had one room with two small windows, a double bed and a small eating area in the kitchen. There was a tiny door he assumed was a closet, but no bathroom. The other merchant helped Mary seat him on a bench under the window and left. Mary flitted about the apartment readying a bowl of water and a cloth. When she finished, she came over and set the bowl on the bench next to him. She reached forward and started to untie his shirt. Ren’s heart nearly shot out of his mouth and he grabbed her hands to stop her.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Ren asked, his face turning bright red.

Mary frowned at him. “I have to get at the wound. So, take off your shirt.”

“Wh-why do you n-need to remove my shirt? C-can’t you just treat it like…?”

She brought her face close to his and smirked. “Why are you being so shy?”

His heart pounded in his chest. Too close. While he was distracted, she untied his shirt and slipped it down around his waist. What? How did she do that? How did my clothes unequip? He looked down at his bare chest, confused. His nipples were clearly defined. This has to be a dream. That’s it. This is a dream. He cried out in pain as the damp cloth met the gouges in his skin.

“I’m sorry. I’m trying to be gentle.” Mary looked guilty as she cleaned his wound.

This… can’t be a dream. It hurts too much. So, I have to be in the game, right? He clenched his teeth and let her work. She cleaned up his wound and bandaged it, and by the time the healer came Mary had finished and was washing the blood out of her bowl in a bucket. The healer, an old coot who could barely see through his spectacles, inspected Ren’s wound and prescribed him some pills for the pain.

“Can’t I just drink a potion?” Ren looked at the strange green pills, confused.

“No!” Mary turned to him, her eyes a blaze. “Those are expensive, and they can be addicting. Don’t use them unless your absolutely about to kick the bucket.”

The healer chuckled. “The miss is right. Besides, a potion wouldn’t heal all of this.”

“Even if I drank multiple?”

“That would probably kill you from overdose,” the healer explained. “You seem to be in excellent hands. Keep the wound clean so infection doesn’t set in. I’ll call on you tomorrow to see how you’re doing.”

The healer left, leaving them alone together. This is crazy. None of this make sense. Is this really Y.O.W?

“Ren, are you feeling alright? Does it hurt?” Mary walked over to him, looking concerned.

How does she know my name…? I mean, I whispered it into her ear once in the game, but still! He stared at her and then stood up. A sharp pain shot through his shoulder and he had to bite his lip to stave off the pain. When he was finally standing her looked down at her. There was one tried-and-true way to test this. If this was real and not Y.O.W he’d need to break a rule.

“Mary-chan… M-May I kiss you?”

The young woman blushed and glared at him. “You must be feeling fine if you’re already flirting.”

“P-please?” His heartbeat loudly in his chest. In his 35 years, he’d never had a girlfriend or kissed anyone. It was true he’d kissed Mary the NPC, but Y.O.W cut off any feeling for lewd acts to discourage it in the game.

She fidgeted and played with the ring on her finger. The Infinity Ring! She still has it. Butterflies in his stomach made it hard to concentrate.

“Yes…” She looked up at him and closed her eyes, slightly puckering her lips.

Really? His hands were cold and sweaty as he leaned forward. He swallowed hard before putting his lips on hers. They were soft, warm, and a little wet. I can feel her. Pulling back, he felt a little dizzy and had to sit down.

Mary looked at him, surprised. “Are you all right?”

She’s real. Mary-chan is real.