New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

As they walked back toward Sunpeak, Astaroth asked Violette how she managed to get the killing blow. He had been itching to ask her in party chat, but since he wasn't sure how much of the functions could be seen by high-level NPCs, he didn't dare try.

But now that they were alone, he asked her directly. Violette answered honestly, and Astaroth was almost sad he didn't get to see the lance.

A weapon that strong had to be at least at the legendary rank. Astaroth thought about all the exp he got from the event and smiled.

Even though that last hit from Violette had shot her all the way into first place, he was still happy with second place. And Phoenix had managed to get back up to third, too.

This made the three of them the top three damage, which also meant they got the most Exp. Violette had levelled up twice from this, since she was the lowest in all of them, but neither he, nor Phoenix had levelled.

He looked at his status window and saw he was close. He was disappointed when he looked at the status window of Genie and his soul companions.

They had received no Exp from the kill. It was like the Exp was split up to the players taking part, and the killing strike was worth nothing.

Then again, with what they received already, he wasn't all that sad. But his soul companions were being left behind.

He kept thinking about that while they walked back to town. He was still conversing with Phoenix and Violette, but his mind wasn't fully on them.

Once back, Astaroth noticed they were receiving weird stares from the NPCs. After paying closer attention, he realized it wasn't them they were looking at, but Violette specifically.

He scanned her for the first time since they had killed the dragon and started laughing loudly. It startled Phoenix and Violette.

"What's gotten into you?" Phoenix asked.

"Scan Violette," Astaroth responded between two bouts of hysteria.

When Phoenix scanned the girl, she stifled laughter, too. This made Violette curious, and she opened her status window.

What she saw there made her face drop.

"Why is it already equipped?! I don't want that title!"

Her current name showed up as 'Dragon-slayer Violette'. Even if it had a catchy ring to it, anyone who would see that title on a petite nine-year-old girl would laugh, too.

The only ones not laughing were the NPCs, since the title was awe-inspiring for them. Astaroth had noticed that titles affected how the NPCs interacted with him.

Now, Violette would suffer from the same change. Although hers would probably be very positive, since slaying a dragon was a heavenly feat.

"Stop laughing!" Violette complained, stomping her little foot.

Astaroth had to exert every ounce left of his strength to contain his laughter. Phoenix had an easier time, since she was already containing it well.

The trio started walking again, with Violette pouting, as they made it to the inn they had rooms at. With all the gold Astaroth still had, he could easily have bought his own home in the game.

But he didn't want to be constrained to one place, so the idea repulsed him for now. As they entered the inn, a slow tide of clapping started.

The patrons in the inn were clapping for their victory against the dragon, oblivious to the fact they were the ones who provoked it in the first place. The trio walked to the counter to pay for their rooms.

Phoenix said she didn't need a room, and Violette was exempt from paying forever by the owner. Astaroth almost felt insulted that he still had to pay.

They walked up the stairs, amidst the continuing acclamation, until they disappeared around the upper corner. Astaroth's ears were buzzing.

He wished Violette a good night, before heading to his own door. He was about to wish Phoenix a good night as he opened his door, but she pushed him inside the room.

She followed inside, closing the door behind her. When she spun around to face him, she was wearing a naughty grin on her lips.

"What are you doing? Didn't you already have a room?"

"I do. It's right here," she answered, waving her hand around.

Astaroth gulped nervously.

"But we are going to disconnect, anyway. What's the point of sharing the room?"

Phoenix looked at him incredulously.

'Is he really this dense?' she wondered.

Then she remembered who she was talking about.

"How much time does Violette usually sleep when she logs off?"

Astaroth was confused.

"A few hours. Four, maybe? Why?"

"Then that leaves us four hours."

Phoenix started taking off her armour, leaving her with only her clothes underneath.

"I want to test how well this game emulates the feeling of skin on skin," she said, winking at him.

Astaroth finally understood what she meant, and his face went red. He hadn't thought they would do this again this soon.

His body ached all over and his mind was a mess, but Phoenix didn't look deterred. She undressed right before him.

She went to the corner of the room to wash herself off in the wooden bath. Once she was done, she pushed him toward the bath before going to the bed.

Astaroth had never washed in front of anyone before, aside from his mother when he was a child, and he became extremely nervous. Phoenix laughed at his every reaction.

"C'mon, tough guy. I've seen you naked already. Hurry, before I change my mind."

Although Astaroth was currently super nervous, that didn't keep his body from accelerating subconsciously. He was on autopilot, and before he realized it, he was already clean and in bed next to Phoenix.

He gulped nervously, looking at her lips as they parted into a smile. When she stretched her hand to caress his arm, the two of them became pleasantly surprised at the realism of the sensations.

"Not bad," Phoenix muttered, as her hand slid on Astaroth's abs.

Every touch felt just as real as they had a few days prior in his penthouse bed. They lost themselves to the pleasure, enjoying what little time they had together, forgetting they were still inside a game.

After making love, they cuddled up, whispering soft words to each other. What pulled them away from each other was the blaring notifications that their pods were out of IV.

They separated, although reluctantly, to go back to their respective lives outside the game.

Phoenix was the first to disconnect, leaving Astaroth with a promise.

"I'm free for the next week, and I would like to come back to your place, assuming that is ok, since you left me the key. I will arrive tomorrow. Goodnight."

Astaroth watched her pixelate and disappear, a smile hanging on his lips.

"Log out."