Side Quest: Retribution by Travis Bagwell

Author:Travis Bagwell [Bagwell, Travis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, litRPG
Published: 2017-10-31T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16 - Mercenary

When Riley logged back into AO later that day, she once again found herself in the earth guild. She was still standing on the balcony overlooking the large cavern where Ethan had undergone the challenge. Her thoughts were dark as she looked down into the row of rooms below her, anger boiling in her veins.

Not for the first time, that anger was directed at herself. How could she let those girls do that to her? Why didn’t she do something to fight back? Even her parents had told her to stand up for herself.

She had no qualms with defending herself inside Awaken Online – but the real world felt different. How was she supposed to retaliate against Carrie and her awful group of friends? What could she do? Feeling helpless and trying to escape the painful emotions that swept through her brain, Riley summoned her dark mana and the chill energy swiftly clawed its way up her spine. The cool power immediately blunted the edge of her anxiety and anger.

As Riley considered this, she realized that maybe her dark mana explained the difference between her real-world and digital reactions. Inside the game, her mana washed away all of her fear and hesitation, allowing her to act on what she wanted. In the real world, those emotions were still there, preventing her from acting and allowing her to question herself and the consequences of her actions.

Riley sighed. Not that this revelation helped solve her problem. She shook her head, trying to focus on her quest. Maybe she could at least make herself forget the embarrassment for a few precious hours. She pulled up her friends list and saw that her teammates were already online. Riley sent them a message and said she was heading over to the fire guild shortly. Within a few minutes, the others replied and explained that they would meet her there.

Riley scanned the area around her, the polished walls of the cavern were illuminated by a faint green glow from the floating lamps. “Now I just need to figure out how to get out of here,” she muttered.

It turned out it only took her fifteen minutes to navigate the maze-like earth guild and find the exit. She only had to ask for directions three times. She was getting better. Another ten minutes passed, and she was standing outside the rough-hewn wooden gate of the fire guild. The weather had worsened in the game world, a thin sheet of rain falling continuously and pattering against the heavy leather of Riley’s hood.

“About time you showed up,” Emma groused when she saw Riley approach.

“Oh? Did I cost you a whole five minutes?” Riley snapped. Her hood fell back slightly as she leaned forward, and Emma flinched as she caught sight of her dark eyes.

Ethan looked at Riley in surprise. Then he interjected before Emma could start a fight, “They could afford to install some signs in the earth guild. It took me forever to find my way out of those caves.

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