Lying on a feather-filled mattress, staring at the wood-lined ceiling of her space, a young woman was contemplating inside an improvised hut-like structure called a “Room”.

The fine young woman has a slim frame, but the pronounced curvature in her waist and the perkiness of her bottoms inside her tight leggings suggest her athleticism. Her mid-length silky hair is scattered across the linens as she lay flat on her mattress.

The lady was reminiscing about a nostalgic scene from when she was a child. A certain act kept playing in her mind like a broken cassette. This series of memories consists of lectures and reminders that she heard when she was young.

“Mikaila… as you grow up and continue living your life, there will come a time when you’ll have to make important decisions. Some will be easy - yes, but what you need to watch out for are the ones that can change your life in an instant.”

The sermon continued in her head,

“Then, you’ll realize that to live is to make meaningful decisions. That’s the Game of Life, after all. But whatever you’ll face, whatever you’ll need to decide to, whatever life throws at you… you should always remember…”

“To choose the right thing to do,” this line she whispered in unison to the repeating memory.

She sighed deeply as she covered her face with her arm.

“But what is right and what is wrong in a world where survival is all that matters?” she recited.

This question she recalled from a recent experience that surely gave a deep impact on their lives. An event so impactful that it triggers these old memories of her. Then she loosened the stiffness of her shoulder, and she relaxed her body, attempting to sleep away the chaos in her mind.

As she was about to fall into slumbers, the shine of her wristband alerted her eyes again. She peeked at the accessory and saw that it was glowing a blue color.

“A Trigger Event!?” she uttered in surprise.

She rose and sat at the edge of her bed to check what was happening. With a silent command in her mind, a holographic User Interface suddenly popped up in front of her. The User Interface shows a Notification signifying that there’s a Game Event currently taking effect. By seeing the color of the wristband’s glow, she knew right away that it was a Trigger Event type of Game Event.

Quickly, she read the details of the Event. While the lady was reading the contents of the Event, an incoming rushing footstep was heard outside her Room.

KNOCK-KNOCK! KNOCK-KNOCK!

“Mika!? Mikaaaaa!?” a voice was heard knocking on her door.

“Arii, is that you? You can come in! The door is open,” the lady replied.

The door opened and another fine young lady appeared in the doorway. The lady who came has the same features as the first lady, and if you were not to look closer, you might mistake them as twins. Though their beauty has the same value, some differences can still be seen between the two ladies: the second lady’s body is much more petite than the first lady’s. This structure of the second lady suggests that her body was not used to physical activities. Her fairer skin also hinted the privileged life she used to live outside the game.

“Mika, have you seen it?” the second lady asked.

“Yes. I’m still reading the details,” Mika replied.

Together, both of them examined the blob of texts in the holographic Interface.

“‘Defeat the Slime King to dispel its followers’,” Mika read. “These creatures, again!?”

“Oh noooo… This is bad,” Arii’s reaction.

“We should go and talk with the others.”

Arii nodded her head as a sign of approval.

The two ladies left the Room. They traversed the aisles of a Settlement situated on the canopies of the bridging trees. Shortly after, they arrived in an area that had mixed characteristics of a Smithery and a Workshop. There, they found three players already conversing with one another.

These people are communicating with each other using different languages. One of them, a young man, is talking in a mixed Hindi language. Another young man is talking in a language that seems to have a Southeast-Asian origin. The last is a lady who is talking in the same dialect as the second lad.

Despite the differences in their languages, they were still able to understand one another because of a certain technology embedded inside their bodies.

Mika and Arii approached the three players.

“Raft, have you read it?” Mika asked the lad who is using the Hindi language.

Raft is the Master Crafter in the Settlement. Currently, there is still no known player that can outmatch his skills and talents in Item Modification. His friends trust his knowledge and experience in the game.

“Yes,” Raft answered. “But why are they here in this Forest? They’re supposed to be wandering in the Plains,” he wondered. Then, he faced the woman speaking a Southeast Asian dialect. “What’s your hunch, Lumine?”

“Hmm… I also wonder,” Lumine replied.

Lumine is the typical nerdy-but-beautiful type of person. On the outside, it looks like she’s in the same range of age as the people in the area. But in reality, her years are more than that. Because of the life-saving modification that was done to her body years before they entered the game, her body’s aging process was also altered.

Also, because of the said Technology, Lumine has a more accelerated Stat Growth than the other normal players. She’s like a superhuman in this world. But what makes her remarkable is her extraordinary intellect that even surpasses that of Raft’s.

Lumine looked at the other lad with the same language. “Hmm… Marco?” she uttered as if she were asking for the young man’s suggestions.

“I also don’t have clear answers. What I know is: this is trouble,” Marco responded.

Marco is Mika and Arii’s classmate in their college. There are no striking features that can be noticed from Marco when you look at him at first glance. But his burning passion overpowers that of his physical plainness.

The players continued assessing the situation. Their silence was broken when two more players came to the scene.

The first was a well-endowed woman with a slightly-taller stature. The elegance of her ebony complexion is so captivating and the charm of her wavy shadowy hair is so alluring. She is wearing a revealing attire, one that resembles that of a Battle Dancer. Hanging on her back is a large Special Circular Blade that has a comparable feature of a Chakram.

The other one is a lad with almost the same height as the woman. His physique is slightly more built-up than the rest of them - this is because of the Western bloodline running through his genes. Despite his mature appearance, immaturity and childishness can still be observed just by feeling his aura. This lad has a Special Warhammer that is almost the same size as his body.

“Orixa! Mario!” Mika greeted the players who arrived.

“Hey, Mimi!” Orixa greeted back. She has a habit of calling people nicknames.

“Any leads about this Trigger Event?” Raft asked.

“We found something interesting!” Mario answered enthusiastically. Excitement can be seen in his eyes as he explained the discovery. “We spotted the hordes of Slimes rampaging in the entrance of the Bridging Forest. And it seems like the Slime King is also there!”

“Yeah-yeah-yeah, Mario - we already know about that. But what we need to know is why they are here,” Raft replied.

“Apparently, they were lured into this place,” Mario stated.

“Lured? By whom?”

Orixa butted in, “I don’t think ‘lured’ is the right term to use, Mario-Buddy.” Then, she started explaining to the others, “When we observed the horde’s movements, we noticed that they seemed to be chasing something. They were following a group of players entering this Forest.”

Their curiosity peaked. More questions were asked.

“But who are these players? Did you happen to recognize them?” Arii questioned.

“They are too many - almost like a whole community. Most of them look like casual players, but some of them I can clearly recognize,” Orixa replied. I’m very sure that they are the players from the Plain Settlement. If I have to be particular, they are the players from Aize’s Gang.”

Everyone was surprised.

“But what are they doing here!? Are they here to mess with us again?” Raft uttered.

Mika and Lumine looked at each other as if they had a secret understanding between them.

“No. I don’t think that’s the case,” Marco stated.

The others looked at Marco, expecting him to explain further.

Marco stared at Mika and Lumine. “I saw the two of you talking with these people before we left the Plains. I believe there are things that you aren’t telling us.”

Mika and Lumine looked at each other again, they felt obliged. But then, they had no choice but to confess.

Lumine sighed, “Yes, we talked to these people,” she replied in a defeated tone.

“Huh!? Why!?” Raft’s angered reaction.

Mika explained, “After the incident with Aize, these people realized that they are following the wrong person. They were asking for refuge, and we realized that our Camp still has lots of space to accommodate them.”

“What!? Mika!... You’re well aware that these people came from the group that kidnapped Tommy and Tusha, right!? The same group that almost killed us!”

“But as I said, they were just following orders from Aize”

“And don’t even mention that name to me! He is a shameless traitor!”

“Rafty, you need to calm down. Aize is still our former Guild Leader in Gaia’s Awakening. He is still our friend,” Orixa said to pacify Raft.

“I don’t care! That man is hideous! He became corrupt! Heartless! You can’t talk any sense with that man! His ears and heart are closed, and he doesn’t care about anyone!”

“And you’re starting to sound like him, Raft” Mika rebutted.

And with that very line, the atmosphere in the place changed. Raft was silenced as he clenched his fist in irritation. He felt a sudden realization in his heart. He let out a deep breath to calm himself.

“But these players are none of our concerns,” Raft said. Now, in a much more composed manner.

“Uhm… We forgot to say, those players were being owned by the Slimes. I saw some of them severely injured. Heck - do I know if they’re still alive,” Mario stated.

After hearing Mario’s words, Mika remembered the repetitive sermons that were keeping her awake at night. Her heart was bothered; she knew she had to choose and needed to do something. After a short silent evaluation, she finally made her judgment. She turned her back to leave the place.

“Where are you going, Mika?” Arii asked.

“I’m going to help them,” she answered as she continued walking away.

“Wait! I’m going too!” Lumine said. For a Scientist - who only stays in her research place in the Camp most of the time - to join Mika, it was understandable that this mission was a serious one.

Mika returned to her Room. She grabbed the pair of Special Armbands lying on the top of a wooden desk. Without further ado, she equipped the gear and prepared herself for battle. She left her Room and met Lumine outside.

Just before the two of them were about to descend from the Treetop Settlement, Orixa and Mario also came to join them.

“We’re going too, Mimi.”

Mika appreciated the assistance. “Thank you, Ori. Your help will be pretty much needed and appreciated.

Orixa let out a genuinely charming smile.

“You too, Mario. Thanks a lot.”

“Welp! You know me! Where there is battle, I go! And whenever there is an opportunity to use my Ultra-Cool Hammer, I smash!” Mario uttered enthusiastically.

“Marco and Lily will be staying to patrol this place. The camp’s safety is still our number one priority. They also need to look after Papa; he’s still in an unstable frame of mind,” Orixa informed. “But they said that they’ll just be one signal away if ever we needed a backup.”

“That’s great.”

“So, what are we waiting for!? Let’s go slay those damn Slimes!” Mario excitedly declared.