It was all because of that blasted girl! That Ice, or whatever the hell she called herself now.

I scrambled through the alleyway, bumping against boxes and garbage cans - loudly crashing to alert them to my presence - turning right at the end, pushing my way through people, knocking over NPCs. Everything was absolute chaos.

Shooting a fearful glance over my shoulder, it confirmed the already-obvious fact that I was still being chased by the soldiers. My speed stats were impressive, but this guy at the front, somehow he seemed to be gaining on me. I couldn't resist them if I was captured! Despite it being a no-PvP area, my attempts to struggle would be futile. And also, I had not the slightest clue why they could be chasing me. I wouldn't even be able to equip a weapon.

Just then, I remembered something - the teleportation stone. I wasn't familiar with the interface of this game, but maybe it would work here. I pulled up the inventory menu as I ran, nearly flattening some players up ahead as I barreled through, and began scrolling through the options. The soldier was only a few feet behind me now.

"Not armor, nope, ingredients? Not here... Damn it, show your face, you flipping rock! Here!" I mashed my finger onto the button on the menu, the stone appearing in my hand. The soldier's fingers began circling my neck. Before even dismissing the inventory menu, I used the teleportation stone.

With an uncomfortable lurch, I appeared at the main world gate. Luckily, there weren't any guards around. I caught my breath. I didn't need to, after all, this run was just pixels, but my heart rate was too high. Slipping into the shadows, I began heading for an inn.

Sorrowfully, I glanced at my balance on the menu in front of me, which I then closed. My sparse earnings were not enough. Nobody wanted mercenaries this early into the game.

Just then, I saw a large crowd of maybe ten to twenty players surrounding a post. The group kept attracting more people. They were shoving each other, trying to see the center. Pushing and elbowing my way through, I pulled my hood over my face. When I saw what was in the middle of the crowd though, I froze. A picture of someone looking over their shoulder and the words:

WANTED:
Kai Everwood

CAPTURE OR KILL.

Me.