Taking a step outside into the open air, Penny felt a bit uncomfortable under the sun, but she didn’t burst into flames like she had seen so many times in the movies and TV. The light prickled against her skin, like stepping into a too-warm bath, but nothing worse. She squinted against it, muttering to herself.
"Okay. So sunlight’s mildly annoying, not deadly. That’s one cliché dodged."
The village outside was alive with activity. Dozens of players rushed between wooden stalls and thatched-roof buildings. Some were shouting about quests.
Others were comparing loot, bartering with NPC vendors, or sprinting off toward the gates like their lives depended on it. A Beastkin boy was clinging to a tree, hollering for someone to get the angry chicken off his back. It was chaos.
Penny took one step down the stairs and nearly bumped into a man coming out of the cabin next to hers.
Glancing at him, her heart would have skipped a beat..if it was still beating that is.
He was tall with broad shoulders and a shirt that clung to him in ways that made her brain skip. His skin caught the sunlight like it had never known the word "pale," and his faint smile was all easy confidence. He looked like he had been sculpted, then told to go win a championship before breakfast.
"Hey," he said with a grin that could probably melt armor. "You just get here too?"
Penny blinked. Her brain tried to reboot.
"Yeah," she said, somehow remembering how to speak. "Woke up in a cabin. No instructions. Slight identity crisis. So the usual."
He laughed, genuine and deep. "Sounds familiar. I got tossed in an arena with a cow headed monster and then made a successor to some giant god."
Penny raised a brow. "A cow headed monster? Do you mean a minotaur? What did you fight it with?"
He scratched the back of his neck like he wasn’t sure if he should be proud or sheepish. "My fists."
She stared. "You punched a minotaur?"
Penny stared at him like he had just told her he wrestled a volcano into submission.
"You killed a minotaur. With your bare hands."
He nodded, completely casual about it. "Yeah. I think that was the tutorial?"
She blinked again. "You know, I was going to be sarcastic, but honestly, I’m too confused to even come up with something clever right now."
He grinned, clearly enjoying her reaction. "Name’s Titan."
Penny raised an eyebrow, then shook his hand before her brain could protest. His grip was warm and solid, and for a brief second, she hated how steady it made her feel.
"Rose," she replied. "Just Rose."
The system chimed softly in her ear.
-Friend Request Sent-
She was tempted to leave it hovering, but for once she didn’t feel like being difficult. She tapped Accept with a sigh and stepped back to take him in again.
"You always come out of cabins looking like a superhero on laundry day, or is this a special occasion?"
Titan laughed. "I just put on what the game gave me."
"Figures," Penny muttered. "Some of us get cryptic castles and artistic rituals and aesthetic trauma. Others get to be walking gym ads."
"Well I mean I own a gym...So thanks I guess?"
Penny rolled her eyes. "Of course you do. That explains the punching-minotaur-with-your-fists thing."
He shrugged like it was nothing. "You learn to improvise."
She glanced down the path, watching players rush toward quest boards and taverns. "So what’s your move now?"
"Find the next fight or quest, maybe meet some allies," Titan said. "You?"
"Looking for my uncle. Username Ouroboros." She snorted. "Yeah, really. I’m already planning how to roast him for the cringy name."
Titan chuckled. "Sounds like a guy worth knowing."
"If he’s half as cool as his name, maybe," Penny said. "If not, I’m calling him Bob."
He laughed again. "Fair. Need a hand finding him?"
She hesitated. Then shrugged. "Could be worse. Sure."
"Deal." Titan extended a fist.
She bumped it with hers. "Rose."
The crowd pulsed around them, the start of countless stories. Together, Rose and Titan stepped toward the heart of the village, ready for whatever came next.
The sun warmed her skin as she stepped into the bustling village square. Players rushed by in all directions, shouting about quests or comparing loot. The air smelled of roasted meat and fresh pine. Banners snapped in the breeze overhead.
Penny scanned the crowd, her eyes darting between faces, until they settled on a tall, lean figure standing near the center of the square. His dark hair caught the light, and his sharp eyes were fixed on the crowd, but they flicked up the moment he spotted her.
With slicked back hair and his trademark amber eyes, her Uncle was waiting for her in a nifty black leather ensemble that was pleasing to the eye.
She called out with a wave of her hand which caused Ouroboros to furrow his brow. She was clearly walking with that massive man and for some reason, he sensed something was off about her now.
"Alright. Spill it! What happened"
He growled with his arms crossed as he quickly closed the difference between them.
"Yeah. I am doing great. Thanks for asking" she quipped back with her words heavily laced with sarcasm.
Ouroboros didn’t look amused. His eyes narrowed, sharp and unreadable. "Don’t joke. I can tell something’s different. You’re not the same." He took a step closer, his presence suddenly overwhelming.
Penny sighed and glanced at Titan, who gave a subtle nod of encouragement. She folded her arms and took a deep breath. "Okay, fine. I met a lady. Violetta. In a castle. She said some weird stuff about bloodlines and legacy. Then, well... apparently I’m a vampire now."
Ouroboros’s eyes widened sharply, his usually calm demeanor cracking for just a moment. He took a half step back as if the words hit him physically. "A vampire? You’re telling me you woke up... a vampire?"
Penny shrugged, trying to keep her tone casual. "Yeah. No heartbeat, sunlight stings a bit, and some lady named Violetta dumped all this legacy stuff on me."
Ouroboros ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tightening. He could only pray that the changes in the game did not translate to the real world.
But even he knew that the odds of that were low to say the least.