Chapter 2: Elven guardian

5 minutes have passed. The boys are seen pacing around the grassy land underneath the warm fiery heat of the sun with aggressively frowned eyebrows with their hands covering their mouth, causing them to sweat profusely, making them as wet as a wet towel after being used at the summer beach. However, they are too distracted by their current circumstances to pay attention to the burning embrace of the sun.

Banko halts his walking which catches the attention of Nico and Rico who both stop walking as a response. Banko removes his hand from his face and looks at Nico and Rico with narrowed eyes and a serious look on his face as if he had cracked the code to some forbidden secret.

Banko: Gents?

Banko says as he looks at Nico and Rico with a questioning tone in his voice.

Banko: I think… we are trapped in a death game just like in the anime sword art online.

Nico: dude, this isn't the time to be making references to mediocre anime.

Nico retorts with a dissatisfied tone to what Banko just said.

Rico: G-guys let's think for a moment, maybe this all just a dream and we are asleep right now.

Rico says with a soft voice, expressing his disbelief towards the current situation as if it were just some dumb nightmare, a story with a bad ending like a coma theory.

Nico: Then can you explain to me how all three of us are coincidentally having the same dream at the same time?

Nico fires back at Ricos random claim with a cold hard question causing Rico to shake uncontrollably, he breathes heavily as he tightly clenches his fist.

Rico: So you mean?

Rico says with a voice filled with anxiety, worry,confusion,fear and worst of all, anger.

Rico: SO YOU MEAN THAT I'M GOING TO DIE A VIRGIN IN A STUPID DEATH GAME!!.

Rico yells as he grabs a hold of Nicos shirt and lifts him into the air demonstrating immaculate strength stemming from all his “wasted” experience points which surprises both Nico and Banko.

Nico: Dude calm down, that's just a random theory Banko made on the spot, your overreacting!!.

Nico says hoping that this attempt at avoiding getting hurt by the one punch man obsessed, power hungry, loose Canon.

Rico: You think I'm stupid don't you, just because I'm younger than  you doesn't mean that I'm dumber than you,my grandmothers waiting for me to return home damn it!!

Rico squeezes his grip on Nicos shirt even tighter as a response to Nicos failed attempt at calming the boy's inner demon from unleashing itself, tempting Nico to kick him on his hip with all his might so he could let him go. 

Banko chimes in with a statement that caught both the boys' attention.

Banko: The wall is gone!

Rico immediately loses his grip on Nicos shirt and drops him on the floor.

Nico: UGH!!

Nico groans as he rubs his butt to comfort himself from the pain.

Banko: Look, that's the forest full of tall trees we saw in the video game cover, maybe if we go there we could probably get some help.

Banko reminds Rico and Nico about the forest from the game cover with a tone of hope in his voice believing he may have found a way for them to learn about their situation.

Rico remembers the image of the almost naked anime elf girl that was on the games cover, Rico's lips curl into a wide grin and he immediately dashes towards the forest full of colossal trees.

Banko: H-hey!!!

Nico: Dude!!!

Nico and Banko follow Rico in pursuit as they yell at him to slow down his pace.

…

Inside a lush forest full of mountain high trees with giant branches connected to each other as if they are structured to be a bridge for people to walk on. At the very bottom of the tall trees are Nico,Rico and Banko who are seen sitting in front of a tree with displeased expressions. After 15 minutes of running around the forest on a wild goose chase after Rico, they have finally come to the conclusion that they are lost.

Nico: …

Banko: …

Rico: …

A moment of awkward silence fills the atmosphere as none of the three wish to break the silence since they see it as nothing but a hassle. Nico raises his arm then a blue screen appears in front of him. The screen shows him a menu screen. Nico decides to scroll down, looking for something to help with their current situation.

Nico:(maybe there's a map or something)

Rico takes a deep breath and stands, he walks forward with his back straight and his arms stretched appearing to imitate a marching soldier.

Banko:(is he going to punch that tree?)

Banko asks himself as he watches Rico marching closer to a giant tree in front of them.

Nico continues waving his hand in the air as he's navigating the availed menu screens until he encounters a menu button written “quest list”. Nico enters the buttons menu screen and sees a large list, categorized as main quest and side quest. Surprised by this discovery, Nico attempts to show the screen to Banko who was sitting next to him. However, before he could show Banko his screen a loud noise emits from Ricos direction.

Rico: HEEEEELP!!!!

Rico: HEEEELP, HEEEEELP SOMEONE, ANYONE!!!!

Both Nico and Banko are startled by Ricos stunt, questioning if being stuck in a the game has made him lose his mind.

In the far distance hidden in between the darkness resting behind the colossal trees, Rico spots a yellow vibrant flash of light. Ricos face full of hope, makes a dash towards the light hoping to encounter someone even if they are not the elf girl as long as its someone, another living, breathing person in this game world.

Nico: NOT AGAIN!!

Banko: I SWEAR I AM GOING TO PUNCH THAT FOOL!!

Banko and Nico spit at Rico with their voices filled with anger and irritation as they charge after Rico with all their might hoping they can be fast enough to catch him. Rico dodges all the colossal trees like obstacles making it more difficult for Nico and Banko to catch up.

Surprisingly, the distance between Nico and Rico begins to close as Nico gets closer and closer to Rico. Nico stretches out his right arm and opens his palm in an attempt to grab Rico by the shoulder and punch him in the face with his left hand to let out his frustration towards Ricos behavior.

Suddenly a scene appears before the boys, causing them to slow down their pace as they are captivated by the scenery. A large pond full of sky blue water with glowing fish hovering over it. Rico falls to his knees with a face full of displeasure.

Rico: You know, I could eat some sushi right now.

Nico and Banko remain silent as a response while looking down at him with eyes full of disappointment.

The boys walk closer to the large pond as they stare at the glowing fish hovering over the water's surface, taken by the beauty of the game's graphics . Banko notices above the fish is a transparent bar written “Glowfin Glimmerling(level 3)”.

Nico: Are those monsters?

Nico asked

Banko: I think they're too weak to be considered monsters.

Nico looks at Banko who also has a transparent bar above his head with his name written and next to it states “(level 1)”.

Nico: (Really?)

Rico, completely uninterested in Banko and Nicos conversation walks closer to one of the floating fishes. Rico stretches out his hand and opens his palm to touch the fish while wondering if the fish taste good.

At a high, unpredictable velocity an arrow flies past Ricos face, close enough to almost graze his cheek.

Rico: Woah!!?

Banko and Nico flinch at Ricos sudden death cry, they notice the arrow stuck to a tree behind Rico . An unfamiliar voice rings through their ear, the boys look at the direction of where the source of the voice is coming from.

A figure wearing a green cloak with leaf patterns covering them from head to toe, brown leather boots with peach coloured fur attached to it, green tight pants, equipped with a long bow on their hand, arrows on their back and a sword covered in vines on the hilt sheathed on their hip. The figures face, lacking discernment due to the hood almost covering their entire face. 

???: who are you people, are you intruders, bandits, what's your business here?

The figure places their bow on their back and grabs the hilt of their sword.

The boys stay silent as their hearts race with fear and anxiety, finding out whether or not they truly trapped in the video game by fighting this mysterious character is a risk they are not willing to take especially after they've remembered that Nico felt the pain when he bumped his head against the invisible wall as the only thing they can think about in their minds right now is-

Banko,Nico and Rico:( we need to get out here)

???: Won't talk fine then, I'll just force you to answer me.

???: since you're clearly not elves, it won't matter if I kill you.

The figure begins to exude an aura of intimidation and pure killing intent. Shaking the boy's spirit, feeling as if they just started a boss battle beyond their level of power.

Banko: (Damn it, is there anything I could use right now?)

Banko pats himself on his body in hopes of finding a solution to help them in their current situation. Banko eyes beam as he opens his inventory screen and sees a level 1 wooden staff. Banko immediately equips the wooden staff, blue particles appear around his hand as the wooden staff materializes into existence, shocking Rico and Banko who are standing behind him.

Then suddenly, the figure charges towards Banko at blinding speed and proceeds to kick Banko in the face, thrusting him into the air as his body spins like a yoyo. Banko's body falls deep in the giant pool of water.

Nico: Ban-!!

Before Nico could finish, the figure draws their sword from its sheath and swings it at Nicos neck.

Nico:(OH CRAP, OH CRAP, OH CRAP!!)

Nico thinks quickly and opens his inventory to equip a dagger that's missing the top half of its blade, Nico parrys the sword's blade with the blade of his dagger but the force the figure puts behind the strike of their sword pushes Nico backwards, disrupting his footing.

Nico: Ngh!

Rico charges at the figure from behind them to land a punch on the back of their head. The figure quickly moves their body like an acrobat to dodge his fist , grabs Ricos arm and thrashes his entire body against the ground.

Rico: Gah-ugh!

In too much pain to move Rico gets pinned against the ground by the figure.

The figure repositions their sword, wielding it in a stabbing position while aiming the tip of the sword at Ricos neck. Nico recalls back to when they warned Rico about how he could easily be killed by a powerful opponent after he wasted all his points on his strength stat.  Nico attempts to run towards the figure to push them off of Ricos body.

Nico: Ack!!

Nico experiences a sharp pain on the wrist holding the dagger, the figure is clearly not a novice fighter.

Nico: (what do I do, what do I do, if Banko's theory is correct, if that person stabs Rico then what happens to him in the real world!?)

Nico expresses deep concern for Rico's wellbeing with the potential chance of him dying in the real world being stuck in his mind. The figure begins to close the distance between Ricos neck and the tip of their sword.

Nico: Nooooo, Ricooo!!!

Nico lets out a desperate cry for Ricos life as he's about to helplessly watch his best friend get killed in front of him. 

Cracking sounds emit beneath the surface where Rico and the figure are, the figure stops their sword from moving as a sharp thick piece of wood emerges from the ground and thrusts towards the figure. The figure jumps off Ricos body to dodge the attack.

???: Do not fear, for I the green mighty dragon is here to save the day

Rico,Nico and the figure quickly turn their heads to find where the voice is coming from.

Standing atop a wooden pillar above the large pond, holding a wooden staff in the air with a green vibrant light emitting from its tip, with his long green tinted hair swaying in the air , stands Banko the green mighty dragon.

Rico: W-What the?

Nico: B-Banko!?

With shock and confusion in their eyes, Nico and Rico watch Banko stand on top of the wooden pillar like a majestic being. The figure changes the position of their sword to its original state.

Banko aims his staff at the figure, multiple pillars of sharp tipped wood emerge from the ground and charge towards the figure. As swiftly as the air, the figure Successfully evades all of the pillars and even cuts a few of them in half. 

Banko reshapes the remaining pillars into spears and thrust them at the figure. The figure quickly kicks away one of the spears and destroys the rest with their bow and arrow.

Banko jumps off the pillar and stands in between Rico and Nico.

Banko:( Damn it, I'm out of mp, what do I do?)

Banko: ( I'll just scare them off with empty threats, surely that will work…I think, I hope)

Banko says to himself, hoping that lashing out meaningless threats would work on a clearly experienced fighter. Banko aims his staff at the figure.

Banko: Give up, leave us alone if you don't want to get hurt.

Nico:( I don't know how but Banko figured out how to use magic, thanks to that we might actually have a winning chance here)

Rico and Nico stand next to Banko with an air of confidence completely ignorant to Bankos bluff.

???: answer me this time, who are you people?

The boys glance at each other and exchange a nod. The boys enter their power rangers like-pose they used back in the video game store.

Rico Raises his arms in a unusual manner

Rico: We!!

Banko bends his knees and raises his arms above his head

Banko: Are!!

Nico crosses his arms.

All three: THE THREE MIGHTY DRAGONS!!!

The boys yell while posing like superheroes out of a poorly made kids show.

???:*gasp*

The figure exhales a breath of shock as their intimidating aura slowly disappears. The figure puts their sword back inside its sheath and places their bow on their back.The boys raise one of their eyebrows as they watch the figure put away their equipment.  Their expressions quickly turn from confusion to unparalleled shock as the figure removes the hood from their head.

Long smooth golden hair ending at the bottom of their chin, ethereal emerald green eyes, clear smooth skin reflecting the sunlight and long ears that taper at the tip. The figure is-

Banko,Rico and Nico: WHOOOOAAAA!!

The figure is the elf girl from the video games cover illustration.

Chapter 2 End.