~ Chapter Three ~

Me and Shou trained for a whole day, and the next morning we woke up as early as possible. We made our way to the plaza, and bought some healing items with the money we had. I was still shaking from yesterday's news. I was horrified to even go in the dungeon but I knew we had to get out of this game. We arrived at the entrance, and Shou made sure we were good to go.

"Ready?" He asked, looking very scared himself. I nodded hesitantly, and we went in.

It looked like a huge cave, with beautiful pools of water to our sides. There were huge boulders everywhere, and we were careful not to make a noise. I held my sword out, as did Shou. Suddenly I heard a noise coming from deep within the cave. We exchanged glances, but went on. That was a mistake.

From both sides, big, red-furred creatures ran out and almost trampled us. I was ready to attack, and I stood back to back with Shou. These creatures were only level 6, and we were level 10. I lunged at the one in front of me, and attacked its chest. It had big, ugly fangs and long claws that reached out to me. I slashed its arm and its HP went down tremendously. Suddenly it jumped at me, catching me off balance and causing me to fall. It tried to leap on top of me, but I stabbed it in the stomach. Bright red blood pooled on the floor and flowed into the water. The creature fell onto the cave floor, dead. I got up, feeling triumphant. My first real kill went perfectly. I rushed back to the middle of the cave, but there was a sight that horrified me. There, on the floor, was Shou. He lied on his back with cuts going along his face and body. The red creature stood over him. Rage overcame me and I killed the beast in one blow. I kneeled over Shou, tears streaming down my face. My life-long best friend was dead, just like that. All because of a stupid video game. I sat there for who knows how long, hugging his body until the last of its warmth escaped. He disappeared, and I fell onto the cold stone floor.

I knew I had to keep going.

I traveled into the next six rooms, which were almost the same as the first. I was still crying, and I was terrified being alone. The last room, the seventh, was big and dark. It was circular, almost like a battle arena. I waited, wondering what would happen. Fear rose in my throat as I realized this was the boss room. I turned around and there I faced a huge creature. It was red like the others, but had circular white marking on its face and body. It was also about ten times larger than the rest. I stepped back, unable to move. Would this be my last day?

I held my sword out in front of me sheepishly, still stepping backwards. The creature roared and came at me. It grabbed me by my arm and flung me halfway across the room. I stood back up, and my HP bar went dangerously low. I knew I wouldn't make it. Until I saw someone else coming in. It was a boy about my age, maybe a little older, with almost black hair. He wore a long, black, fitted robe that went down to his knees, and black pants with black boots. His eyes met mine and then they shifted towards the boss. He ran at it, his sword out, and stabbed it from behind. The boss growled and turned, and I quickly healed myself and joined the battle. I slashed the creature across the back and the boy began to repeatedly stab it. Together we brought it down, and I made the final death blow.

I looked up, overflowing with gratitude for this boy. He saved me.

"Thank you so much." I said, as the boss disappeared. He put his sword away and shrugged.

"It was nothing. Just remember, you need to be a higher level." He replied. I knew I needed someone to help me in this game, at least until I grew strong enough.

"Mind if I ask you something?"

"I thought you might've. And the answer is yes." He said, smiling. "I realized I need a partner also." He sent me a party request and I accepted.

"We can be in a party together until I grow strong enough to go our separate ways." I told him. He nodded.

"Deal."

We exited the dungeon, which lead into the next city.

"My name is Kazuki." The boy told me as we walked towards the restaurant.

"I'm Aki." I replied.

"If you want to know, my partner died too. I saw your's die while we were coming in."

"Oh." I whispered, not wanting to remember. We entered the restaurant, and sat down. We ordered food, and waited.

"And also, I was a beta tester." Kazuki said. "I'm actually at the 40th floor, where my house is, but I wanted to see if anyone needed help in the lower floors. I don't want anyone to die."

"Yeah, thanks." I said. Kazuki had big brown eyes that made me feel safer than I knew I was. I found myself staring, but the food came and I realized how hungry I was.

"This game is like real life now." I said, taking a bite of bread.

"Definitely." After we ate, we talked about our plan.

"I'll train you in some battle and defense skills, all while moving up the floors. Once we hit the 40th floor, I'll let you go." He explained. I nodded.

"Sounds good."

~Done~

Hope you liked this chapter. Please review! :)