The person that Bai-ko found, who finally responded to the riddle that me and my friends from real life came up with, is a member of Thanatos? “Ok,” I start, closing my eyes and massaging the bridge of my nose, “That doesn’t prove anything. You’re the information girl, give me more information about it.”

  “Mmm, right to the point, are we?” She teases, a playful light in her ruby eyes, “I like that about you, Aoi. The simple answer to your request is as follows: Some of my informants were following the girl, since we suspected doing so might lead us to Thanatos. They were caught by her, and she didn’t take too kindly to it. Their stats were geared entirely towards presence, so they were throttled by her. Didn’t take a life, but sure gave them a pounding and robbed them blind. Before doing so, she asked both of them your little question about the bluebird. Ergo, a relation between you two seems inevitable, no? And therefore, in order to ensure she’s not in Thanatos,” Bai-ko triumphantly finishes, “Unblock Phantasia and ask her.”

  I sigh, opening my menu and staring at Phantasia’s grayed out username {Phantom_Python}. I really don’t want to. In fact I have no motivation to unblock her, even with this promising lead. I just can’t stand the thought of talking to her. For a moment, her white eyes watching me from between the dark brown oak trees, popping out from the dark like ominous beams, flashes across my mind. “No,” I refuse, “I’ll talk to her myself. What’s her username? What floor was she on?”

  Bai-ko pouts, “Really? I had other questions you needed to ask Phantasia…” She heaves a heavy sigh of her own, “What a pity…”

  “Bai-ko.”

  “Mm? Yes, your information,” she snaps her fingers and a profile is sent to me through the game's messaging system. The username is {Kayama}, and a photo is attached. She’s hooded, but even in spite of that her pale skin seems to glow in the shadows. Her hair, long and pitch black, perfectly frames her face, and bangs come down to cover one of her eyes. The other eye that stares out, looking to the left of the camera, is as dark as her hair. There are only two notes below the profile, those being that she’s suspected of being in Thanatos and that, “She’s a vampire,” Bai-ko assures me, seeing my disbelief. Even though I knew it was an option in the beginning of the game, nobody had selected it for some reason. One would assume it would be far more popular, but maybe the idea of being forced to drink other people’s blood in VR was a hard pill to swallow.

  “What’s the situation with the vampire species?” I ask Bai-ko, unsure of things myself.

  “Well…It’s complicated,” Bai-ko admits, “But to make a long story short, the ‘Vampire’ species operates almost more as a sub-species than a wholly independent species. So, once you choose your species as Vampire, you have to pick another species. You then can ‘awaken’ as a vampire by chance, or by fulfilling certain requirements. And don’t!” She puts a hand up, stopping me from asking my next question, “Even think I’m giving you any more information than that for free. If you unblock Phantasia, I’ll give you all the guild’s information on Vampires.”

  The two of us commence a staring contest, both silently yet stubbornly trying to force the other to cave. In the end, I tsk and turn around, leaving the church, “I’ll find out from Kayama.”

  With a slight trace of annoyance that I didn’t cave, she still calls after me, “You sure you don’t need that information? Vampires are unique! You’re going to regret it if you don’t work with me on this! Just ask Phantasia-” I close the door to the church behind me, and her voice disappears with a snap.

  = = = = = =

  For the first time in what feels like months, I’ve returned to Trestar, the first city of Midgard on the 1st floor. The place is still larger than life, and given the distinctive lack of trains, carts, cars, or even bicycles navigating it has proven to be something I’m less than fond of. But I need to meet Kayama, who’s in district 7…

  Trestar has been divided by the players into 10 districts. Well, it would be more accurate to say that Private Eye, Bai-ko’s guild, has separated it into these distracts on their maps. The center of the city is the first district, and after our raid on Rapunzel’s Tower a teleport gate to the 2nd floor appeared there. Most of the major guilds have their bases set up there, and small guilds are constantly recruiting players there. The colosseum is in district 1 too, strictly monitored by Yuto’s guild The Northern Star. District separates the city into fourths, connecting district 1 to all 4 major entrances and exits of the city. The other districts all have their attractions and hot spots, but district 7 is one that never ceases to annoy me. It was where Thanatos first set up their home base, and for that reason it’s still rarely visited by players. Even though PvP is disabled in the city, and even though an alliance of The Northern Star and Aegean Shield drove them out, the place is still unnerving.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Tall buildings, all close together but with thin alleyways between each of them, make it feel like something could jump out at any moment. Small arches constantly decorate the main walkway through this part of the city too, so threats could come from above just as easily as from either side. And the main bell tower of Trestar rests here, with gothic architecture and gray stone walls that stretch taller than even the tallest wooden cities here.

  My steps echo through the district, the few players that are here are all furtively and quickly moving through, trying not to stay for too long themselves. The tower bell rings, then again, and again. It continues until it’s rung 7 times. I look up and observe the setting sun. If I wanted to catch a Vampire, the scene was set.

  I activate my tracking skill and investigate the area around me. Immediately the traces of people and animals become much more apparent, the most obvious signs even glowing with a gentle golden coloration. I don’t need to just track down any random person that’s walked through here though, I need to find where somebody’s living here…

  Taking a knee, I reach down and feel the bricks that make up the path, trying to see where the most wear would be. Where it would lead. Steps leave small traces, but in one day the steps won’t leave anything more than some dirt. If somebody traces the same path through a city, for months, then my skill should…

  [Congratulations! Skill {Tracking Rank C} and Class {Bounty Hunter} have synchronized to help identify a target’s location!]

  …Perfect. One pair of footprints suddenly begins to glow a much more prominent golden, the rest fading out completely. I follow them confidently, quieting my steps as I do so. They take me through several alleys, and I end up having to climb to a rooftop. Fortunately, the buildings are so close together that shimming up is no problem. Once on the roof, I notice somebody, who seems not to recognize that she’s being watched. Instead she intently watches the street below us, her back turned to me. Even in the little sunlight dusk provides, she’s wearing a hood, and due to a small breeze her black hair becomes visible.

  I smile, knowing in my heart who this is. I have to make sure of course, but still…I finally found Sukine. Approaching her silently, I end up only one step behind her. “Kayama,” I whisper into her ear.

  With speed only slightly slower than Phantasia’s, the girl whips around and grabs me by the throat. “Who are you?!” She hisses, and when she opens her mouth pearly fangs glisten. Her eye, although it was black in the photo I had, somehow has turned yellow even though every other feature is the same.

  “When the episode of Naruto ends,” I say calmly, acting like her hand’s not even on my throat. With, comes out surprisingly clear. Even though she’s quick, her strength stat must be low. Her weak grip loosens, and her eyes widen. Her eyes grow slightly misty, and she lets go of me completely. I grin, prodding her to finish it, “Well? When the episode ends, what does that mean?”

  “It mean the blue bird starts singing…” She mumbles, on the verge of tears. Her whole body trembles, and abruptly, she dives into my arms, crying.

  “...It’s good to see you, Sukine,” I whisper to her, holding her close and closing my eyes while I enjoy our reunion. But sharp pain interrupts me, pain in my neck. I flinch, and open my eyes. Sukine's mouth is wrapped around my neck, and one trickle of blood falls from it. My HP bar falls rapidly as well, and before I can even react I’ve lost 70% with no sign of slowing down.

  [Debuff Applied: Vampiric Poison!]

  “SUKINE!!” I cry out, shoving her away and stumbling back. “W-What, what are you doing?!”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispers, hunched over and with her bangs covering her eyes. In the darkness, the lower half of her pale face sticks out like a sore thumb. My blood is smeared across her lips and trails to her chin, and two lines of tears fall down either cheek. “But I’m just, I’m so…” she shivers, and suddenly her eyes flash through her bangs, locked onto me. “You have three lives, right? You can, you wouldn’t mind giving me one? I’m so…so,” she charges at me, baring her fangs and roaring, “HUNGRY!!!”