Akumi sighed, unequipped the poisoned daggers, and wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. Multiverse Online was exhilarating, for sure, but it was way too realistic at times.

Then she remembered.

She ran to where she'd last heard her horse screaming, somewhere among the giant trees.

She found the body.

It was horrible.

Whirling around, she stormed over to the clearing in front of the cave, where Emma was looting dead goblins. ‘You killed my horse!’

Emma shrugged. ‘You said you wanted a distraction.’

‘You could have thrown a stick!’

Emma rolled her eyes and took a copper coin out of a goblin's pocket. ‘All I want is the money; you can have everything else.’

Akumi turned her back on the disrespectful girl. 'Humph!'

She decided to teach Emma a lesson by giving her the silent treatment. Turning her full attention to looting, she systematically plundered the goblins of all valuable items. There were iron melee weapons, hide armour, some minor healing potions, and even a healing miracle scroll. She stored it all in her Inventory. Akumi and Emma avoided each other until their looting inevitably led them both back to the Ogre.

They stood over the body, avoiding one another's gaze.

Emma sighed. 'I'm sorry I killed your horse.'

Akumi smiled and nodded. 'And for using me as bait.'

Emma winced. 'And for using you as bait...I guess.'

'And for pretending you didn't know who I was.'

Emma scowled. 'Don't push it.'

Akumi shrugged and held out her hand. 'Good enough.'

Emma shook it. 'I'm...not used to working with other Players. How do you want to divide up the loot? I can't use this “orichalcum plate armour,” but I'm sure I could sell it at the hub area for a good price.'

Akumi bit her lip. Blade and bullet-proof armour would work well if she were to use it as an Ogre Girl Tank. She crouched down and rifled through the ogre's pockets to see if there was anything Emma would take in exchange for the armour. There was a pouch of 100 gold coins (“working man” her ass), a recipe for 'Goblin Curry', and—Akumi gasped—a Fortune Die!

She held up the 20-sided black die to Emma. 'Look!'

Emma squinted. 'What is it?'

'Duh! It's a Fortune Die! Don't you know anything about Dungeons & Drakes Online?'

'No, I've had sex.'

Akumi scowled. 'Shut up. It's a magic die which determines the success of any action you want to take. The higher the number you get on a roll, the more successful you'll be. It's dangerous, though: if you get a low enough roll, it could kill you. That's probably why the Ogre didn't use it.'

Emma took the Fortune Die and inspected it. 'And it's valuable?'

'Sure! It's a Legendary-level item! Much more valuable than the armour!'

Emma's eyes glittered. 'Alright, smooth-talker. You can have the armour. I'll take this and the gold.'

Akumi felt like she was being taken advantage of, but as a Japanese person, she couldn't help but be accommodating. At least she got to keep the Goblin Curry recipe. She handed over the items and turned her attention to the Ogre. Equipping an iron dagger, she cut off one of his fingers, ate it (it tasted like greasy bacon fat; yuck), and transformed into a Ogre Girl Tank. Her skin turned pale green, her body grew giant and muscular—and her breasts swelled to D Cups!

'Hey!' She flexed her new Amazon physique. 'I could get used to this!' She pulled the orichalcum plate armour off the Ogre, put it all on, and hoisted his giant meat cleaver over her shoulder. 'Awesome!'

Emma was exploring the cave with a flashlight. Akumi joined her. The cave interior was bare save for a medieval-looking door at the back.

'Huh,' said Emma. 'When I came upon this cave and all the goblins rushed out, I assumed it must have been their lair, but it looks like they were preparing for a raid'—she opened the door to reveal a torch-lit tomb—'on a Dungeon.'

A howling wind blew out of the tomb.

A shiver ran down Akumi's spine. 'I don't know about this, Gun Girl. We're both still noobs. Shouldn't we at least go to the hub area first?'

Emma shrugged. 'I never asked you to come with me. Besides, if we went to the hub area, the other Players might have already raided the Dungeon by the time we got back. Personally, I want to find the Holy Grail as soon as possible.'

Akumi tensed.

This was the reason most of the Players had agreed to beta test Multiverse Online in the first place. Somewhere in the vast game world, Kazuo Kayaba, the CEO of Nanosoft, had hidden a mysterious item. Kayaba had promised that whoever found this Holy Grail would be granted the title of Monarch of the Multiverse—and any wish they desired would be granted. Akumi didn't doubt the validity of the claim; Nanosoft was the richest megacorporation on the face of the planet. She herself didn't want a wish granted, though. She had agreed to take part in the beta test solely to test her mettle against the 99 other VRMMO world champions. She would prove that she was not only the world's greatest Dungeons & Drakes Online player, but the world's greatest VRMMO player period.

Akumi balled her hand into a fist in front of her. 'Alright! I'll do it!'

Emma gave a slight smile. 'Well, that was easy. You're an odd duck, Monster Girl.'

Akumi blushed. 'Yeah, well, odd ducks become swans. Are you aiming to become the Monarch of the Multiverse, too?'

Emma shook her head. 'No, I don't care about that. I need a lot of money for something I'd rather not go into. I can convert any in-game currency I find into real world cash via crypto, but I'd rather just find the Holy Grail itself.'

'Oh, I see....'

Something groaned outside. It was the goblin rogue. He must have played dead while they were looting the dead goblins.

Akumi went outside and stood over him. 'Jesus, you're like a cockroach.'

The goblin rogue looked up at her with pleading eyes. His voice was weak. 'Please...spare my life.'

'Why? You suck.'

He coughed up blood. 'While I may not be as strong as you, I am still a skilled Assassin, Thief, and Spy. If you were to spare my life, I would serve you for the rest of my days.'

Akumi put her hand to her chin. Having a follower to act as cannon fodder in the Dungeon would be useful, and she did have a healing miracle scroll. 'Hmmm...okay!' She equipped the scroll, opened it, and read the contents. 'Curatio!'

The goblin rogue shined with yellow light. When the light dispersed, his wounds were healed.

He stood up on shaky legs and bowed. 'Thank you, mistress. I am forever in your debt.'

'You sure are! You're my slave now! What's your name?'

'W-weasel.'

'I hope you like Dungeons, Weasel!'

Akumi lifted the goblin by the scruff of his neck and carried him over to the Dungeon entrance.

Emma made a face. 'You're kind of twisted, aren't you?'

Akumi grinned. 'My friends and I used to get picked on in Dungeons & Drakes Online for being an all-monster guild. We tried the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them done unto you,” but it didn't work, so we decided to live by the Melian Dialogue instead.'

'What's that?'

Akumi eyes flashed red. 'The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must!'

Emma shook her head and turned around. 'Twisted.'

Together, the three of them entered the Tomb Dungeon.