Returning to the virtual world, Ryu was immediately on the move. He didn’t need a map because he had something much better.

He wanted to get back to somewhere he knew, so that he could pick up where he’d left off. No doubt his extra levels would let him blast through whatever quest lines he’d been working on.

“Wait…”

Ryu stopped in his tracks and looked down at his clothes. He’d have to make a few stops before returning to town, and he realised how ridiculous it would be for him to try and run back to town given the distance. Maybe there was somewhere closer?

“That’s still too far.”

The bot had only been active for a night, yet it’d travelled more than 130 kilometers with time to spare. How? The only way to travel so fast was with-

“Magic.”

A box appeared before Ryu, showing him his abilities; however, as he’d thought he didn’t have any such skills. Magic wasn’t necessarily uncommon in virtual reality, but not all magics were equally common. Teleportation for instance went into the “extremely uncommon” category.

Just because he hadn’t officially learnt the ability didn’t mean he couldn’t use it though. The difference between using an ability a player had officially obtained, and using an ability they hadn’t ‘unlocked’ was clear but not necessarily simple - they had to perform it themselves. But Ryu wasn’t by himself.

Like when he’d fought an Arctic Wolf, Ryu’s body moved on its own. His eyes closed and he exhaled, emptying his lungs until it felt like his chest was being sucked into itself. Whether it was him moving or the world moving around him was impossible to know, but in an instant he knew he wasn’t standing in the snow.

For a moment the world was silent, but then the sounds hit him.

“WILLING TO BUY GIRLFRIEND!” shouted a shameless soul.

“SELLING STRAWBERRIES! ONE GOLD EACH!”

He took a look around while catching his breath. There were people walking in every direction, some wearing chestplates and others leather, but that wasn’t what caught his eye. No game was complete without a myriad of women in what could only be described as “bikini armor”.

Ryu allowed himself a few seconds to appreciate their clothing that left little to the imagination, before stopping his search and turning around.

Towers of polished stone bricks and marble looking over a tightly guarded fortified wall… it was unmistakable. He’d found his way back to none other than the holy capital of the Irzabet Kingdom - Sanctuary.