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Alone at last. Away from all the noise. If he tried, however, he could still hear the panic if he concentrated hard enough. The boy was not well equipped to be in the woods alone, but he wasn't used to playing games such as FAO. It was a stroke of fate that he would have ended up there at that exact moment. It was all so strange. None of it was real, but everything was so perfect. The leaves brushing against each other with the wind, the birds chirping away with their own business even insects coexisting. Taking a seat down against a tree, Gabriel pulled his hair back giving out a long sigh. In front of him was what appeared to be a cloud of darkness constantly morphing. It didn't scare or surprise the boy in the least. He was already used to it. The Dark Passenger that followed him where ever he went. Even in a VRMMORPG by the looks of it. The two stayed in silence for about a minute just staring at each other until Gabriel decided to say something. "So I guess the system gave you a physical form." Gabriel paused to look at the floating cloud of darkness. "Or at least they tried." He remarked wondering how it happened. It was in his head and the device worked on tricking the mind and creating things that didn't exist. "It doesn't matter if you can see me or not, Gabriel. I am and will always be here." Gabriel wasn't interested in hearing the normal bullshit that day. Too much was happening he had to access many things and the voice in his head pushing him towards the edge was not helping. "Do you realize that I have other things to worry about at the moment?" He asked knowing exactly what the answer would be. At the same time with a mocking tone, Gabriel said together with it. "What will you do when the urge comes back, Gabriel?" The question had weight, but the boy was trying to deny it. Much like the people he called out earlier for denying their reality, Gabriel was trying to deny his own. "When the time come I'll deal with it." Gabriel said having a faint idea of what he was going to have to do. It would be no different than before. He'd wait till night and stalk someone. Except he was in a game. He didn't know if the feeling would be the same.

A notification icon popped up in front of Gabriel. Clicking on it, the digital panel opened up revealing his mostly empty inventory. The only things visible were a couple of starting items and a sword. Clicking on each item would make them appear on his body. "That color doesn't suit you." And with that it was gone. Seemingly for no good reason. Gabriel stayed silent feeling something off about the whole thing. Then the odd rustling started. He was no longer alone in the woods. "Who ever is out there come on out." He announced holding the beginner's sword with a tight grip. Suddenly, three odd looking creatures darted out of the bushes towards Gabriel. They were pretty slow and once he got a got a good look at them determined they were pathetic looking as well. He dodged all three without much of a struggle. The three...Gabriel realized he could find out their names by activating it with his eyes. Locking on to one with his eyes it's name and stats appeared. More info was available, but he had no time to read the creatures lore. "A Narg hmm." He mumbled as the three regrouped to face him. They inched towards him slowly with their wings drawn in a threatening manner. Killing animals did not satisfy Gabriel. It may have at one point when he was younger. The stray cat or dog. But nothing substituted watching someone's essence leave their body. All the hope they had of his last minute change of heart vanishing with a look of pure terror at the realization that they would die. The three Nargs jumped at Gabriel at the same time. He dodged the three, but not before grabbing one by the throat. A look of curiosity on the boy's face. "You're not real yet you squirm as if fighting for your life...Why Is that?" He asked watching the little monster flap its wings hysterically. The sword went through it in one go. The boy could feel it. The blade find it's way into the monster. He felt the rush of killing arouse him once again. It wasn't a human, but for the moment it was different and therefore refreshing. The other two monsters looked at Gabriel cautiously. He had killed one of their own with no effort. That was what separated real animals to virtual ones. In reality they would have run in the sight of a true monster, but these were not programmed for survival. They were programmed to agro and would die by the hands of a true monster.

An update. Gabriel opened it to reveal a system patch update revealing a whole array of entirely new monsters. "hm." Gabriel read through them with interest. More monsters meant more exp and the diversity would break the boredom that would eventually come from mindlessly hacking away at Nargs. The boy decided to head back to the forests to find these new creatures.

To his disappointment there were none of the promised creatures in the forest or at least none that he could find. "Well this blows." He mumbled leaning back against a tree to check the time. Where would he sleep when night came? Suddenly a noise came from nearby calling his attention. Following it he witnessed a boy struggling to fight against a Narg much like he did when he first had to kill one. Killing one was like a right of passage in FAO. Gabriel decided to watch from a distance what would happen of the boy. Interfering would not help him in the least. "You should help him." The Dark Passenger said beside him. Only Gabriel would see it. "Aren't you feeling like a true hero today?" Gabriel mumbled with his arms crossed still watching the fight. "I mean if you did the boy would obviously be in your debt. You could use it to your advantage. How far can being a solo player take you?" It asked. Not really looking in any direction seeing as it was a black cloud. "I don't think he'll need it." Gabriel added as the boy killed his enemy viciously. "He might have a little of spark." Gabriel saw the madness somewhere in there as the boy stabbed repeatedly even after the creature was dead.

"Hey kid." Gabriel announced walking up to the player.

The Dark Passenger was still beside Gabriel as he stood emotionless in front of the beginner. The boys panic did only enough to irritate Gabriel. Reminding him of the initial offset panic caused by the realization that you could no longer leave the game. With his hands in his pockets Gabriel watched the boy enter a fighting stance with his very own dagger. "He's in shock." The Dark Passenger said before Gabriel nodded in agreement. Even though it wasn't real killing something with so much detail could leave an impression on someone. He studied up the boy for a purely aesthetic understanding of who he was dealing with. The boy's level was obvious. "You still think he's worth our time?" Asked the Dark Passenger. Gabriel hated it when it referred to the situation with our instead of your. Putting his hand up slowly, Gabriel tried to calm the beginner down. "My name is not important." He started before walking around the boy. "For now call me...Kirito." Gabriel thought about the name. A little social experiment to throw out there. If he gained some notoriety people would think that it was the famous Kirito from the original SAO that was making a name for himself. "I am not here to hurt you." Gabriel continued still walking around him. Giving the whole situation an eerie vibe. "I am just seeing a fellow gamer in need of some assistance. Who would I be if I didn't help you." Sitting down on the grass, Gabriel crossed his legs and smiled at the boy. "I am actually a beta tester!" Gabriel lied. He knew the boy couldn't have been a beta tester. His lie was solid. "I know the ins and outs of this place and how to level up exponentially in no time! Maximum results!" Behind Gabriel a loud stomping could be heard. His smile never wavered. "Would you look at that?!" He announced as the steps came closer. The birds flew away and the passive forest animals all ran away quickly. The reason for the commotion was an enormous Fungus Tyrant. A monster of impressive stature and stench. Around it were two smaller Fungus Soldiers just absolutely ready to wreck someone. "You see in this world you need to always be ahead of the curb and you can't see a challenge as something to slow you down. The rules here are different! If it is challenging and takes up your time do it!" Gabriel got up on his feet before finishing his thought. "Stand up and fight so you can live. Do what you did to that Narg to the rest of this world. Stab until it doesn't get back up and the only thing standing is YOU!" The Fungus Tyrant let out an ear piercing screech at the two including the two soldiers around it.

Gabriel equipped his starter sword. Nothing special about it, but what he did with it was. His armor was already equipped. "Ok then." He mumbled looking a the tyrant without showing any fear. The colossal beast lifted both it's massive arms to aim at both the players. Then something went wrong. The monster started to show glitches in it's particles. "Huh?" Gabriel said confused by what was happening. The monster gave out a roar of defeat before falling to the ground apparently dead. "Well that was easy..."Gabriel joked honestly shocked by something in a while. Then soldiers began to crawl out of the Fungus Tyrant. Many of them as a matter of fact. They all rushed towards the two players with killing intent. "Get ready kid." Gabriel said finally entering a fighting stance with his sword.

In battle, Gabriel felt like he did when he punctured the lungs of his victims in the middle of the night. Plastic wrapping the entire room to avoid any evidence splattering on the floor or walls. At that moment he was peaceful and oh the joy when the victim woke up wrapped in plastic wrap and could only look at him. Not even squirm. Gabriel would wonder what they were thinking based purely on their eyes. That was him in battle. The Fungus Soldier exploding as it bled to death due to Gabriel's passive which caused anything he attacked to bleed. There were more spawning from within the tyrant. He couldn't stop. The rush of carnage was filling his mind again. "This world." He mumbled as he cut his way through several fungae. "This world is mine." He continued stabbing his blade into what appeared to be the stomach region of the Fungus soldier. He could feel the blade rupturing what ever it was that resided in that disgusting creature. Pulling his sword out, Gabriel noticed that he was becoming surrounded by them. "Heheehe. HAAHAA..." Gabriel began laughing and couldn't control his mentality. "Keep it together idiot." The Dark Passenger advised returning the boy to his normal self. "Do not lose focus. You are not a savage." Then he was gone. Gabriel, once he regained his cool, returned to hack and slash at the Fungus Soldiers even weakening some of them for the other boy to finish off. Gabriel hadn't been hit once by a single soldier. Unlike his previous fight with the Nargs he had more points invested In Dexterity and speed. He was becoming a monster step by step and could tell. Hopefully he could get the boy before him to the same height.

Remember, when disarming an armed opponent lock their arms and render their free movement useless. Never show them your back. Gabriel thought in regards to his self training during his early killing days. Back then he had no idea what he was doing nor what he wanted to actually do. He simply knew he had an urge which needed to be sated how and with what methods he'd use to sate it was the tricky part. A Fungus soldier slashed at the boy's face his reflexes just barely dodging it. He could see the fungus infest, jagged nails almost grazing his skin returning him to reality. Ducking and sweeping the legs of the creature it fell immediately to the ground. Just as the boy was about to send his sword straight into it for an execute two Fungus Soldiers grabbed him by the arms from behind even with his reflexes being relatively high for the current situation he had invested too much movement into the execution. "Hmph." He let out trying to free himself except his strength had not seen much investment although it was enough for him to kick one of the soldier in the stomach region and free an arm. Looking over at his arm he looked at it to see if he had been scratched or poisoned in any way. "Everything checks out." He mumbled looking at the two Fungus Soldiers that had grabbed him and the fallen Fungus Soldier that got back up instead of being executed. "You are slacking." The Dark Passenger pointed out behind Gabriel. It was true the boy couldn't deny it. While he was in fact level 5 it was not an extremely high level for him to be taking on a horde of enemies without pause. "How come you don't make an avatar and play?" Gabriel mocked wiping away digital sweat from his forehead. The darkness of his subconscious actually laughed somehow before vanishing again. The Fungus Soldier that had fallen before and escaped execution rushed towards Gabriel once again only to be cut down quickly. The other two Fungus Soldiers apparently left to go fight the lower level player leaving Gabriel alone to rest. Then something weird happened. The Fungus Tyrant was getting back up.

Gabriel had to compose himself for the potential life threat to come. A Fungus Tyrant from what he had read in the PATCH UPDATE earlier before reaching the forest was a creature with a certain set of abilities and relatively higher stats than other creatures by a very, VERY sizable gap. It shot out poisonous spores and something else he couldn't quite remember at that moment. "If you fight this you might die." The Dark Passenger warned spinning around Gabriel. The boy sighed waiting for the battle to start and tried to ignore it. "Stop doing this to yourself. It's clear you want to gain more power, but this is counter productive. Finally, Gabriel replied to the annoying thing. "If I die I'll lose a couple of crap items. I am willing to make this gamble." He said as the Fungus Tyrant got one foot planted on the ground. It would proceed to gain balance. "Stop this, Gabriel." It ordered. "STOP THIS AT ONCE!" It's shouting pierced through the boy's mind causing a mini-migraine. "You don't know when to shut up." Gabriel said with a much more gruff voice than usual. The Dark Passenger floated silently for a second before ultimately dissipating. "Finally." He mumbled as the Fungus Tyrant finally got back up completely. It looked down at him silently before picking one leg up and moving it so to stomp Gabriel into a gooey mush. It was far too slow, however and he quickly jumped out of they way. Gabriel tried slashing at the legs, but it proved to deal nothing or at least show nothing. The bleed did, however stack on the Fungus Tyrant, but one stack would get the boy nowhere. "What are we going to do about you?" He asked himself as a fist came flying towards him. The boy dodged again, but this time climbed on top of the arm and began to run up the arm length to finish the trek on it's shoulder. The view was so amazing from up there, but it would go unnoticed to the serial killing psychopath. He only wanted to get his god damn XP. A massive hand came up to swat at the boy as if he was a fly, but before it could end Gabriel's adventure the boy jumped away towards it's back and stuck his blade into the back of the monster. There were so many mushroom caps growing on the back of the monster that he could pull out and fall safely on one of them. The monster couldn't reach Gabriel from that angle and the boy could tell. It's arms could bend enough. "Looks like I'm going to be here for a while." He mumbled before beginning to stab repeatedly at the monster while sitting.

The monster would fall after a good 15 minutes of Gabriel just stabbed it non stop with his sword. His passive proved to be very useful in the situation and it was his luck to find such a sweet spot on the colossal beast. He was panting. How long had it been since he actually felt that way? Utter helplessness. "Well you did it." The Dark Passenger said appearing again next to Gabriel who was sitting against the carcass of the dead Fungus Tyrant. The boy didn't respond. Only sat there watching the sun go down. Fungus spores filling the air. "Do you think the boy managed to kill them all?" Gabriel could literally not care for the moment being he was extremely spent front all the non stop fighting and stayed quiet. A notification popped up in front of his face revealing the reply from Splatter Party member Divinity. Sure. Whatever. Meet in the Center Plaza. You will see me and a green haired girl. We will evaluate you there. If you are below level 5 we will just use you as a meat shield for the boss.

Gabriel disliked Divinity's disrespectful attitude, but shrugged it off. Getting up from the ground he limped over to the boy and added him to his friends list. "I'll see you around kid. Gotta go save the world or something."

Several notifications cluttered the front of Gabriel's face all at once almost giving him a small seizure. "What in the hell?" He shouted shutting his eyes in an attempt to block out the notifications. Without looking he clicked on one of them opening up simultaneously all of them. Opening his eyes the boy would see several updates about the games which not only included the monster of which he already faced, but apparently there had been area expansions. Gabriel had planned on grinding once again since the crew of people deciding to take on the floor boss didn't seem to appeal to him and they also had a decently sized team. "What are you going to do?" The Dark Passenger asked manifesting by the boy's side again. "Seems like you can find more opportunity there and if you look at the notification correctly you will be rewarded for finding this area." The Dark Passenger explained. Gabriel did not respond. He would only look at the mission description contemplating his future actions like usual. A decent reward of XP with a potential monster along the way which he was more than equipped to take on. "Ok." He said closing the digital panel in front of him. "I'm heading back to The Wilderness." And with that he was off.

The wilderness was just as he left it. Teeming with life spanning from insignificant insects to the newly spawned Fungus Monsters. Grass Imps waddled around everywhere now. The boy got close to one once and felt himself being watched by something. Something dangerous and decided to leave it be. The XP he would gain from it would be insignificant. The Tree Ents were so kind to the players and it was rare to find them being killed for XP and when he did find someone killing one the death scene was horrifying even for Gabriel. The serial killer actually felt odd watching it. Almost as if their soul turned into pure darkness and went somewhere else. He tried not to think too much into it.

After some time walking the boy stumbled upon an area his map did not represent correctly and it almost seemed bugged out. He didn't immediately consider that to signify him approaching the new area, but he had no where else to go so he just kept on walking. Upon entering the area the boy would receive a notification rewarding him for discovering the new Wilderness level expansion area. "Hmm." He hummed sitting down with his legs crossed. He observed the land for a brief minute. Stayed completely silent to hear the call of the wilderness. Once he found himself ready to proceed the boy continued.
"What was that?" The Dark Passenger asked appearing next to Gabriel while floating around the boy slowly. "Since when do you meditate?" It asked with curiosity in it's eerie voice. "I wasn't meditating you idiot." Gabriel replied without looking at it and walking through the new area. "Then what was it?" It asked again. Gabriel sighed trying to ignore it, but it just did not seem like he would be able to free himself from the nuisance that was the Dark Passenger. "You shou-" Gabriel had invested in dexterity and that would save the boy from getting hit in the head by an arrow. He grabbed it just before hitting him and looked towards the direction where it came from. He was in an open field surround by dense forests. What ever attacked him was hiding itself. "Isn't this something?" The boy mumbled walking in the direction where the attacker was hiding. Another arrow swooshed past his head. This time dodging was not needed. It was off. Who or what ever was shooting at him was clearly scared. "Sword." Gabriel commanded. Apparently, manually selecting a weapon was not needed as one could voice command it to materialize. He could it see it now. A hooded figure hiding atop of the trees with a bow aimed at him. "You going to shoot me?" He asked waiting to dodge the Elven Archer. They were level two monsters that attacked and travelled in squads of three Gabriel remembered reading about them. So far they seemed very weak and insignificant to him. Then when he stepped forward and felt his foot trigger something he remembered. "They set up traps..." He mumbled before flying up in a sac. His vision completely blocked.

"Why are you kidnapping me!" He shouted from inside the sac. To his surprise the Elven Archers had not killed him once he fell into their trap. Instead they took him down and started dragging him away with them. That was not written in their description. "This is so stupid!" Gabriel shouted completely unlike himself. The calm and collected boy did not like losing control of the situation. He had no power. The sac they put him in simply would not break. "I WILL KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU DO YOU HEAR ME!!!" The Elven Archers all giggled while two dragged and one led. Then something happened. He could only hear the Elven Archers whispering to each other in something that was definitely not Japanese or English. Then he hear them run away. "WHAT?! GET BACK HERE!!" He shouted jumping up and down in the sac. After some struggle he managed to get on both feet and hop. Then something hard blocked his body. It smelled foul even from behind the sac. "Oh crap." He could hear it. Pleading for him to kill it. Pleading for Gabriel to end it's suffering. Then the gargling began. Like some zombie movie. It began to mercilessly attack the boy ripping at the sac with it's bare hands and actually managing it. Once it ripped it up Gabriel could see what he was dealing with. A Corrupted. "********." It screeched grasping at his head to spread it's infection. The Dark Passenger would appear just at that moment and say, "You should really get out of the bag." It said casually watching the confrontation go down. "You think?!?!" Gabriel shouted keeping the Corrupted back with his arms from behind the sac, but he could only push so much. Eventually he would use his shoulder and shove it away in order to gain some time to get out of the bag completely. Just as he was about half way through freeing himself he heard a noise. Like something getting stabbed and dying. Looking over to where the Corrupted should have been, Gabrel saw an Elf like female standing over the monster with a blade. It looked down at Gabriel with scorn. Gabriel was out of the bag at that point and pointed his sword at the Elven Queen. It only attacked if provoked and at that moment, Gabriel was very upset with how the Elven Race had treated him. "You die here." He stated just before the Dark Passenger vanished. The Elven Queen's look of distaste only grew with the challenge, but her stance proved his acceptance.

The two would dash towards each other. The Elven Queen would send a bolt of lightning at Gabriel who would dodge it and continue towards it. Their swords would not clash as Gabriel's speed was too great for the Elven Queen to block or counter. With this Gabriel would attack it with a frenzy of slashes stacking bleed on the Elven Queen five times. It fell to one knee as it's hp slowly drained away before looking up at Gabriel. "You kidnapped the wrong player." He stated bringing the blade down into it's skull. XP flowing through Gabriel. It was the second level 3 monster he took down. Much easier than the Fung Tyrant.

Gabriel left the new area behind. He grew tired of the Wilderness area and if his notifications were correct there were several more exploration missions to exploit. The Dark Passenger would appear as he walked alone and ask, "Where will you head now?" Gabriel contemplated where or not to answer and also, where he in fact would go to. Then another thought. "Why do you ask questions you know the answer to?" Gabriel asked before it disappeared again.