The Demon Lord Kiaza cackled, summoning a fleet of monsters. With the snap of his clawed fingers, his demon army rushed down the dark hillside toward the stone-faced hero. The hero’s silver armor glimmered in the crimson moonlight, splattered with grime and blood. As the hoard of monsters came down upon him, he cut them down with his mighty sword, turning them to ash. 

“Ready to give up yet?” Kiaza yelled, baring his fangs as he spoke. 

The hero silently wiped the sweat from his chin, glaring at the Demon Lord’s smirking face. His gaze moved back toward his fallen comrades, their lifeless bodies scattered across the battlefield. As he gripped the hilt of his sword, it began to glow with angelic, golden light. In one swift motion, the hero turned on his heel and raced up the hillside, holding his sword out at his side. He leaped off of an overturned rock, propelling himself straight toward the Demon Lord. With a single tear running down his face, he let out a battle cry and swung his sword at Kiaza’s neck. Just before the blade could pierce his skin, the Demon Lord caught the sword in the palm of his hand, stopping all its momentum at once. Sneering, he flexed his fingers, snapping the blade in half. Before the hero could react, the Demon Lord grabbed him by the throat, suspending him in the air. 

“When are you going to learn?” Kiaza taunted. “No matter how many times you try–no matter how hard you train or how many you choose to bring with you–this is a battle you will never win.”

The hero grasped at Kiaza’s clenched hand, gritting his teeth. 

“I’m going to defeat you someday.” he spat. 

“I have to respect your determination, even if it’s blindly optimistic,” Kiaza said. “Better luck next time~”

The last thing the hero saw was the Demon Lord open his maw, releasing a burst of red flame. 

. . .

Evan stared down at his computer screen; the words “game over” reflected across his octagonal glasses. He pushed his feet against the wall beneath his desk and rocketed himself away from the computer, spinning in his swivel chair. 

“Who does that guy think he is!?” he yelled. 

When Evan moved away to go to college, his father bought him a going-away present: the well-acclaimed and remarkably popular RPG Ragnor’s Reign. It was through the game that Evan found some of his closest friends and created his persona: Eirian the Hero. But every great hero needs an arch-enemy, and to Evan, that was Kiaza. Kiaza was the highest, nationally ranked player in the entire game, with a maxed-out level of one hundred and an arsenal of rare, powerful weapons. The real goal of the game was to defeat a dragon named Ragnor, but after Kiaza took over, players became obsessed with trying to beat him. Evan and his party had been trying to take down the Demon Lord for almost a year and had failed every time. 

“Maybe next time we can set up an ambush and lure him in…” Evan mumbled to himself. A black cat squeezed through his bedroom door and hopped up onto his lap, meowing loudly. The irritation quickly left Evan’s face, replaced by a small smile. “Hey, Dragon,” he said, petting the cat’s back. 

His hand froze as the phone in his jacket pocket began to vibrate. Fumbling, he took out his phone and looked down at the cartoon clock dancing across the screen. 

“I’m going to be late!” he yelped. 

He rushed into the bathroom down the hall, brushed his hair, took a swig of mouthwash, and then sprayed himself in deodorant. As he grabbed his backpack by the door and swung it over his shoulders, Dragon meowed gently by his feet. 

“Don’t worry; I didn’t forget about you.” Evan teased, pouring Dragon a bowl of cat food. 

Evan darted out of his apartment and across campus, weaving through the crowd of moseying freshmen. The trees encircling the school had begun to change colors, brown leaves skittering across the pavement. A brisk wind rippled through Evan’s clothes and hair, forcing him to button his plaid jacket to keep warm. He hiked past the gurgling stone fountain, past the garden of abstract statues, and finally arrived at the science building. His sneakers squeaked against the tiled floors, echoing down the dimly lit hall. He passed by glass shelves decorated with gemstones and animal skeletons, which glittered under the fluorescent lights. Eventually, he came across a door at the end of the hall, which was filled with chattering students. 

Evan tentatively opened the door and snuck to his seat at the back of the class. A young man in a wheelchair was sitting beside him, staring down at his watch. 

“Only a minute to spare–you’re cutting it close,” the man said in a sing-song voice. 

“The only reason you’re here before me is because you got your butt kicked by those goblins.” Evan teased. 

The girl sitting in front of them whipped her head around and glared. 

“Well, not all of us have enchanted armor,” she spat. 

“Or a sword blessed by angels,” the person sitting next to her chimed in.

The three people sitting around Evan were his dear friends and loyal party members. They had all started playing Ragnor’s Reign around the same time and just happened to all go to the same college. At first, they only teamed up so they’d have a better chance of winning, but they quickly became close friends both on and offline.

There was David, who played as the team’s tank, Taro the Minitaur.

Then there was Alma, the party’s mage, who went by the name Mire the Slime Witch. 

And lastly, there was Casey, who played Red, the fox-eared bard. 

Together, they ranked as the second-strongest team in the entire game. 

“I’m assuming that Kiaza burned you to a crisp again?” David said, resting the side of his head in his hand. 

Evan closed his eyes and nodded. 

“What’s with that guy?” Alma snarled. “He practically has every weapon in the game, but he hasn’t even tried to kill Ragnor once. No one’s beaten the game yet, and if there’s anyone who could, it’d be him–but for whatever reason, he just fights with other parties.” 

“We’ll get him next time for sure, right Evan?” Casey said, punching their fist into their palm. 

“Knowing him, I’m sure he already thought of a new plan on the way over here,” David said. 

Evan smirked, pushing up the bridge of his glasses. “What if we lured him down into one of the higher-level dungeons? Then, while he’s distracted taking down the regular enemies, we attack him from all sides?” 

“Let’s do it,” David said, determination growing in his eyes. “Are you all free tonight?”

Evan, Casey, and Alma all nodded their heads in unison.

Silently, the science professor walked in front of the whiteboard and began to scribble notes with a Sharpie marker. The entire class jolted, whipping their heads back toward the front of the classroom. Evan dove into his backpack and pulled out a thick science textbook, thumbing through the pages. 

“Is today the day?” David whispered, leaning in close. 

“The day for what?” Evan whispered back. 

“The day you finally ask out Jasper.” 

At the mention of his name, Evan blushed bright pink. “I can’t do that. We don’t even know each other,” he said. 

“You’ve had a few classes together, plus you buy coffee from him like every day,” David said.

“But…what if he says no?” 

“Then he says no. And you can finally move on to your next college crush.” 

Evan fiddled anxiously with his hands the rest of class, mulling over David's words. The second the class ended, the room filled with the sounds of shuffling paper and zipping backpacks. Before walking out the door, Evan turned back toward his friends. 

“Tonight. Eight o’clock. We’re finally taking that Demon Lord down.” 

. . .

Evan stood outside the cafe window, anxiously tapping his tennis shoe against the sidewalk. Every day since he’d started college, he’d gotten coffee at the same place from the same barista. With a deep breath, Evan pushed open the cafe door and stepped inside, a pair of golden bells jingling above his head. The smell of baking pastries and brewing coffee filled his nose, making his stomach growl. 

Standing behind the glass cafe counter was Jasper. He had straight black hair that was shaved in the back but long in the front. His eyes were the same reddish brown as the cinnamon he was sprinkling over a freshly poured latte. A pair of silver, sword-shaped earrings dangling from each of his ears, encrusted with rubies. 

Evan gulped and began to walk toward the register, feeling sweat grow across his palms. “Can I get a—" he began to ask. 

Before Evan could finish, the barista held out a hot chai latte. 

“You remembered my order?” Evan said with a little chuckle.

“Well, you do order the same thing every day.” Jasper chuckled back.

Evan went to speak, but as his eyes met Jasper’s, he hurriedly closed his mouth and looked away. His heart pounded against his ribcage, drumming in his ears. His hands were shaking so violently that he nearly spilled his drink. But then, he remembered his friends and their encouraging words, feeling his anxiety lessen. 

“Hey…would you maybe want to go somewhere…with me?” he asked. 

“I’d love to,” Jasper said. 

Evan’s eyes widened with surprise. He stared at Jasper, unable to believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. 

“W-When would you want–?” Evan stuttered. 

“My shift ends in a few minutes. We could grab dinner?” Jasper said. 

“Yes, that’d be amazing,” 

“While you wait, would you mind helping me with something?” 

“What is it?” Evan asked.

Jasper ducked beneath the counter and pulled out a small, red laptop covered in stickers. 

“My computer has been acting up for a while now. The screen keeps glitching, and it’s making it hard to do my homework. I hate to ask, but you’re the only person I know who’s good at stuff like this.” Jasper explained, shyly rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Yeah, I can take a look at it for you,” Evan said, grabbing the laptop. 

“Thanks, I really appreciate it. I’ll pay you back by buying you some dessert after dinner.” Jasper said with a wink. 

Evan walked over to a small booth by the window, clutching the laptop to his chest.

He’d finally done it! He’d asked Jasper out! And he’d said yes!

Evan took a seat and worked his tech-wizard magic. As the laptop was rebooting, Evan brought the chai latte to his lips and took a sip, warmth filling his already rosy cheeks. He paused mid-sip as the laptop powered back on, displaying Ragnor’s Reign across the screen. 

“He plays RR, too?” Evan thought excitedly. 

As Evan’s eyes wandered down to the username, he choked on his drink. In the corner of the screen was the name “Kiaza the Demon Lord” next to a golden “Level 100.”

Jasper stepped out from behind the counter, untying his barista apron. 

“You ready to go?” he asked.