"It's the third time already." Arya said in an exasperated tone.
"Growl"
"How many times are you going to stop to fish for your meal?" she asked the griffin while they were perched on a rock in the middle of the ocean.
She named him Sandor.
He reminded her of that crazy old dog.
He also had a bad temper.
"Tsk"
30 minutes
This was the flight time written in the forum.
She had never been more grateful than when she discovered this treasure trove of knowledge about the game.
But on some points they were wrong.
She had been trying to reach the front for three hours now.
Later she would look back on this moment with frustration. She didn't know that the mount's flight speed and motivation depended on the status of their relationship and its level.
So it took her 3 hours to make half the journey.
She loved watching the ocean. But 3 hours was a bit much.
She had even encountered mermaids who had mocked her as they passed her.
Mermaids...
Sometimes she had this moment.
This moment during which she realized that she was no longer in Westeros.
It was like a start.
She was far from the little girl who had disguised herself as a boy to escape.
Hell, in this world, no one gave a shit like him.
She sometimes forgot what kind of world she came from. It had been so easy to put on this new face. Easier than being Arya Stark of Winterfell. If her mother or father had survived, if the war had not happened. Would she now be the wife of one of her father's vassals? Would she have given birth to five or six children? The idea gave her chills. She reassured herself by telling herself that she would certainly have fled with Nymeria, she would have crossed the Wall or hidden in a ship heading to Essos. But she remembered her father's solemn look, the notion of honor that he had wanted to instill in her. Would she have really fled or would she have given in to their expectations to the point of losing what made her Arya Stark.
She would never have the answer, and felt guilty for having acquired her freedom at the cost of the lives of those close to her.
"Growl"
"Ready to go again?"
Instead of responding, the animal took flight.
3 hours later the griffin was engulfed in a black mist. Her visibility reduced, Arya became more attentive. When suddenly, something fell at high speed in front of her.
"What was that?" she worried
Before she had time to think about it further, the fog parted and her eyes widened.
Hundreds of objects fell like rain. It was when she heard the cries that she understood.
They were people. They were people falling.
The sky darkened and when she looked up at the sky. She saw them.
Those eyes. They were filled with malice.
They belonged to gigantic monsters and their bodies, the color of darkness, were covered by thousands. They were floating in the sky. They were surrounded by hundreds of flying mounts. One of the creatures raised its tentacles and struck. The mounts dispersed but some did not have time to escape. Their passenger fell with her into the void.
Suddenly she heard a growl. A light appeared in the black mist and a jet of flame burst out and struck the enemy. Touching one of its many eyes the creature screamed. His bloody eye was soon followed by another. The flames had targeted the eyes. After what seemed like an hour the creature screamed one last time before falling into the void.
Where the flames were coming from a mass appeared. It was a gigantic island. In the distance, houses were visible and on its highest mountain sat a gigantic cannon. She had arrived at her destination.
"Nova…" she whispered in wonder.
"Rookie, give me 100 push-ups! Come on, come on, nerves!"
"Yes sergeant!" Shouted the new recruits before starting the exercise.
"Not Nova..." Arya muttered sweatily as she did push-ups.
"Start from the beginning. You can all thank Rookie Northblood for this gift."
The other players glared at Arya at these words.
Of course, she ignored them.
Arriving on the island had been less pleasant than she had expected.
She had been greeted by a recruiter and then taken to a training camp. It had been explained to her that she could only join the other soldiers after rigorous training and a final exam.
Unfortunately their coach was hellish. Every time one of them stopped, they all had to start the exercise again.
It was endless. She didn't understand how it was possible to be so tired in a virtual world.
"10 laps on the obstacle course!"
"Imbroke911, faster!"
"Climb this wall 50 times or I'll throw you into the mist!"
"BaconChocolate, throw away this health potion immediately!"
24 hours later
"It is with great honor that I can now say that you are a true soldier. Proudly wear this badge that I will give you."
"Imbroke911, BaconChocolate, RealMILF, Northblood..."
Arya took the badge and threw it into her inventory. Her eyebrows twitched desperately as her comrades names were called.
The ceremony finished, she immediately jumped on Sandor.
Unfortunately, she couldn't fly on the island yet and had to make do with traveling on the ground.
However, she reached Endtown quickly.
She had never seen so many players since she started the game.
She was going to have to participate in a few missions to reach level 100 and submit her application to the guild.
The Mission Center was therefore his next destination.
"Arya, is that you?"
She turned abruptly to find a beautiful elf. She had long silver hair that gave the impression of lunar light. The face did not seem familiar to her but soon she met the player's gaze.
"Eve? What are you doing here?"
The elf approached her, and gave her a look full of exasperation.
"I told you, two days ago I passed an audition to play one of the game's characters for the next expansion. But my new boss asked me to familiarize myself with the game to understand my character."
Arya frowned
"I bought you pizza to congratulate you and we said you'd join me when you reached my level." Said Arya confused
"And I'm level 90" Eve retorted.
" How?"
Eve had started playing after her. Had she found a cheat code ?
"Arya you don't look at developer emails, do you?"
"Why would I read advertising?"
Eve then sighed.
"Because buying all the expansions gives you the ability to advance a character to level 90 immediately."
Arya felt like something inside her had just broken.
Slowly she opened her interface and pressed a flashing envelope.
Dear Customer
Congratulations on your purchase! Exhausted by the thought of having to work hard to reach level 90? Don't worry. This ticket allows you to go from level 1 to 90 in one click. A flying mount and equipment are also offered to you! The Game of the Golden Throne team wishes you an epic adventure!
Arya slowly closed the interface, then stared into space for a moment.
Eve tried to hold back her laughter. In vain.
"You have certainly become an expert at this game."
The old gods laughed at her. They were laughing in their domains.
At the same time in an unknown dimension
"Ha,ha,ha! my champion, you bring me so much entertainment."
After long seconds of staring at Arya blankly, Eve took her by the hand and guided her to the nearest inn.
Arya barely heard her ask the innkeeper for a room, a bath, and a hot meal for her.
It was only when she was in front of her dish that she came back to her senses.
"We'll never talk about this again." she said in a final tone.
Eve nodded, a smile on her lips.
"So where do we start?"
"I need to reach level 100 to join the guild."
"I've already looked at a few missions that might do the trick."
"On the left, near the blacksmiths."
"Arya, I'm not sure this is a good idea."
"Do you have another one, because this is the third time this guy has teleported."
" But."
"Eve, he doesn't know you, try it and if it fails, we'll think of something else."
"Fine, but you get me a pizza for that."
Eve went down an alley and began to cry.
"What am I going to do without him."
A man wearing a hoodie then enters the alley.
"Miss, is everything okay?" he asked in a worried tone.
"No, my boyfriend left me for a player with more money. He told me I was just another conquest for him. He told me no one would want me anyway on his team."
The sobs redoubled
A hand then rested on his shoulder
"Don't worry, you're not alone, I'm sure we can be on the same team." he said
" Really?" Eve said in a hopeful tone.
The man then licked his lips.
"Of course, but you will have to make some concessions." he said, bringing his face closer to hers.
When he was inches from her lips, Eve heard a loud noise.
The man fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Did we have to use my acting skills like that?" Eve said in an exasperated tone to Arya who had sneaked up behind their target moments earlier.
"You're here to better understand your character, right?"
"My character wouldn't do something like that. She's a brave elf looking for a way to save her people."
"Okay, take this as practice." Arya said before lifting her victim onto her shoulder.
"Capturing PKs, making myself look like a damsel in distress is not my idea of good acting."
"There's only one left to capture." Arya said.
Eve then sighed.
"Fine, but you'll be bait for the next one."
Arya understood that she was expecting her to complain and smiled.
" Alright."
Eve widened her eyes in surprise
Ten minutes later in a tavern
Arya was sitting at the bar when the target approached her.
"Can I offer you a drink, miss?"
Arya nodded without saying a word
"A glass of spiced mead for the fair maiden."
At these words Arya blushed to the man's great pleasure.
"What is such a pretty woman doing alone in a bar" he said.
Arya ran a hand through her long brown hair and sighed. Her dress gave her the appearance of an elegant, cold woman.
"Drink to my sorrows, what else?"
"A woman as beautiful as you should have a line of men looking to serve her. Look, all these men are looking at you, and just waiting for a gesture from you to approach." He said, turning towards the other customers of the bar who had their eyes fixed on her.
"You're the only one who had the courage to talk to me." She said with a slight smile.
A broad smile appeared on the player's lips.
"Maybe we could go somewhere more private?" Arya said, with one eyebrow raised.
The man was trembling with anticipation.
" I follow you." he said
She took his hand and led him outside the tavern.
They barely had time to slip into an alley when the player fell to the ground.
"So, did you like my performance?" Arya asked.
Eve then looked her up and down.
"This dress doesn't suit you." She says
Arya smiled at these words
"I don't like that style, either." She said shrugging her shoulders before removing the medallion that was around her neck.
Immediately she returned to her original appearance.
She had done well to chase away this crook, she thought.
She did not see the slight redness of Eve's cheeks.