⚡️ The Lightning Mage: The Game, Part III
May 23, 2022
Word Count: 1,529
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Everyone explodes.
"Can we really not log out of this stupid game?"
"Are we really stuck here forever?"
"I want to go home and eat pizza!"
I pinch my nose bridge. My head is spinning but I need to think. Think about the story, think about other situations like this, think about Sword Art Online and Jumanji and every other story that involves being trapped inside another world. Think, Nia, think!
A revelation hits me.
"Cydney is from our world!" I yell.
The group quietens to stare at me. Ayah and Gabby stop their ongoing destruction of the cave, while Seth, who was rolling on the ground, stops mid-roll to look at me.
"Trying to get back to our world is something Cydney has always wanted to do throughout the book," I explain. "In the book, she left Lyn and joined the Witches and everything to achieve that. Maybe we can find some clues about returning home by looking through Cydney's profile."
All eyes turn to Kitty, who is in Cydney's body. She shifts on her feet as she lets out a nervous chuckle.
"Wh- What should I do, Nia?" she asks, her eyes fixing on me.
I soften my voice. "Don't worry, Kitty. Open up your settings page and compare them with mine. We shall play 'spot the difference'."
Scooting over next to her, we open our settings page together side-by-side. Everyone else huddled behind us, with Seth scratching at my feet. Our stats are extremely different—Cydney's skill list is exceptional, unlike my dreary encyclopedia list of potions, and her stamina and dexterity stats are off the charts. As we scroll through the page together, I spot an interesting disparity.
"Hold up," I say, placing my hand on Kitty's. I try to ignore the way she glances at me and focus on the 'Quest' section. "You have a different quest."
Indeed, my next quest is listed as 'Defeat The Kraken'. It is a quest written in the book as well, so I am not surprised to see it. But Kitty has a different quest.
'Find Sybil the Witch'.
"Don't you all have this quest?" Kitty asks.
One by one, everyone opens their quest pages to check.
"No, I have the same one that Nia has," Gabby says.
"Yeah, me too," concurs everyone else.
"The Kraken quest is the more conventional next quest to do because it follows the timeline of the book. Ants, quest, and then meeting the Witches." I pause. "Or rather, attempting to meet the Witches. All the characters were knocked out in that quest except for Cydney."
Once again, all eyes turn to Kitty.
"Kitty," I say. "You have a different path to take, so that's why your quest is different. And your path may be the path back home."
Murmurs float through the crowd as everyone takes in what I say. Seth is still scratching on my leg so I give him a little kick. Then, everyone's anxious eyes settle on me.
"So what do we do now?" Lorraine asks.
I pull on the straps of my bag and try to look as confident as my new body can manage. "Let's do Kitty's quest. Let's go find the Witches." I glance over at my health bar. "But first, let's take a break to recover our health points."
We teleport to the nearest inn via a simple click of the button, and then a bunch of stupid advertisements appears in front of all of us. We have to sit through the ads to recover our health, and the more health we need to recover, the longer the ads.
Since I didn't participate much in the fighting, I didn't lose that much health. I am done with my advertisement video after ten minutes, and I proceed to do some research on Kitty's quest. I wonder what potions I will need in order to face the Witch.
As I rake my brain remembering details from the book, I feel a gentle tap on my elbow.
Kitty sits next to me, giving me a small smile. "Hey, Nia."
"Oh, hey." My cheeks burn a little as I avert my gaze. "You're already done?"
She nodded. "Yeah. All the others were a bit more reckless than me during the quest, so they still have half an hour of ads to go."
I look over. Gabby, Ayah, and Lorraine have settled onto a couch, sharing popcorn and watching their ads as though this is the Super Bowl. Seth is sitting directly on the popcorn box with them.
"Apparently, you threw him so hard to the ground, it depleted most of his health," Kitty explains.
I do not feel bad about that at all. The man was destroying my ears and he needed to be stopped.
"But the others didn't need to get their health all depleted like that." I shake my head. "How are they going to survive future quests? Like, the way Ayah was throwing around her fireballs? The girl doesn't know how to control it."
"Yeah, I don't think she knows how to." Kitty chuckles. "You would have been a better Irene."
I cannot help but let out a big sigh. What I would give to have that body instead of this scrawny man's. Or anybody's body instead of this scrawny man's.
"Sorry, Kitty."
She blinks. "Sorry for what?"
"Well, sorry that I invited you over for the game. It's sort of my fault that you got stuck here." I gesture around me.
"That's not your fault at all," she chides. "Besides, I got the good end of the stick. I got Cinna as my character."
I smile. "You did. This body suits you. You're cute like Cyd." I sigh again. "But mine doesn't. God, I hate Raph. Of all people..."
Kitty laughs but furrows her brows. "But why? You are so cool as Raph, Nia."
"What? Raph is, like, the least cool person on the team."
She cocks her head and studies me. "I guess I've never thought of him as cool, but he is now. Maybe because you make him seem cool."
I am suddenly at a loss for words. "Do- Do I?"
"You totally do." Kitty gives me the biggest smile ever and my heart warms. "Coolest healer ever."
For the first time since I was pulled into the game, I am slightly happy about my situation. I did not manage to play a couple's game with Kitty, but I did still manage to make her smile.
I clear my throat. "I promise you, Kitty, I'll get you out of here."
Her smile falters. "Nia, you don't have to carry it all."
"Huh? Carry what all?"
"The pressure, Nia. You're carrying it all by yourself." She lowers her head. Her eyes seem to be staring into the distance as she purses her lips. "Like always."
Before I can ask her what she means, the inn erupts in a cacophony. The rest of the team have finished healing themselves and are now marching towards us, popcorn in their mouths.
"All healed!" Ayah exclaims. Seth is perched on her shoulders now for some reason. Good, he will not bother me anymore.
"Awesome." I stand up from my seat. "Let's get to the Witch. Kitty?"
Kitty nods and pulls up her quest page. She taps on the Witch quest and the world disappears. When the darkness clears, we are standing in front of yet another cave. This time, it's a much larger cave under a tall cliff with a giant boulder blocking the entrance.
The hiding place for the Witches. I clench my fists and gulp down the fear in me.
"Let's do this." I gesture at Ayah. "Blast this up, Ayah."
Ayah smashes her hands together. "I'm all healed and ready to do this!" she screams.
Seth on her shoulder, she jumps forward and punches out a fireball.
The boulder breaks and crumbles just as Ayah's health bar lowers by a quarter—and Seth's lowers to half. The girl really needs to learn how to control her own fire powers.
"Let's stick close together," I say as I step into the cave.
We walk for a long time, past a gorgeous, tranquil waterfall and a few streams of sparkling, clear water. According to the books, we should be hit with a sleeping spell any time soon. There's nothing to counter such a spell, but Cydney does not get affected by such spells, so Kitty will be safe.
I am about to tell Kitty to be careful when I spot a silver-haired person in the distance. I frown and focus on them. Quickening my pace, my expression slowly turns to shock.
No way. That's... Sybil Dalman, the Witch we are looking for!
She notices us and stands to face us. Her silver hair is straggly and shiny, curling into a braid around her head. She blinks a few times before her face contorts into an expression I can never imagine on the coolest Witch ever.
"Dude!" she shrieks. "Are you guys players too?"
That is not at all how Sybil talks in the book.
I look at my friends, who are all looking at one another with equally bewildered looks.
"Are you... also a player?" Gabby asks hesitantly.
"Bro, yes! I've been so dang lonely!" 'Sybil' complains. She scratches her crotch in the most vulgar way possible. "And I can't believe I have to say this, but I miss my dick, man."
"Who are you?" I ask, stepping forward. I have a small suspicion but I need to hear it.
'Sybil' cracks a wide grin. "I'm Benji, dude!"
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To be continued...
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