The Isekai Game

I Found You... Again

The lizard wobbled its fat gut over. Vanessa cried at the thought of her pain ending. Maybe it was true that she let herself get carried away with the skins. Having armor on reduced damage regardless of avatar skin. But having an exposed skin allowed for the environment to act as such. She could hear Logan complaining in her head that she should've thought twice about that. 

Still, it was a good run. Confusing? Absolutely. Made her head and body hurt? Definitely. Gonna cause a problem between the boys? Likely. But it was fun. And that's what mattered. 

The lizard stood over her body, opening its mouth towards her when a spear was flung into its throat. 

"Crap," she thought, "Now I have to actually live through this". 

But in that thought, there was a strange feeling of numbness that blocked the pain. It was when she turned her head that a tall fit man wielding a katana dashed towards the lizard, striking a spare javelin into the creature's bottom gums.  

His back muscles flexed like the grin on his face. He enjoyed pushing back this opponent. Even by just a few feet, the lizard was held away, allowing the doves to eat the gooey substance away from Vanessa's body without actually harming her. 

He spoke up, "Don't worry... I got this". 

The lizard broke past the javelin, swinging a claw right into the man, only for him to brush in with his katana ramming through the creature's throat until it cracked the collar bone.

Blood poured out, leaving the lizard to topple over without a drop getting on the man. The way he grinned, l*****g his teeth was reminiscent of Logan with a lot of muscles and dark skin. Same energy and hopefully better intent, she hoped. 

He walked up to her, standing there with his sword now sheathed, "So, it looks like I found you... Again".

The muscles in her neck twitched like a frog as she stuttered, "W-who... as-are, you"?

His smile froze for a moment of silence that was only interrupted by a crow cawing by, "You literally posted a video of me on your i********: fighting Jaivva"!

She sniffled her little runny nose, "E-eh, Mmmmmm, I don- re-member". 

He buried his face into his hands, rubbing his cheeks, "You seriously don't remember me? The infamous Impulse who won the hearts of many"?

As she shook her head, blood splattered across the plant's mouth. She hadn't realized, due to the numbness, but her arms were both free. 

"Eh- I don't remember". 

Impulse froze methodically in various positions while staring into the air, "How... Does she... Like... Not know me? I don't get this". He stared down at her, "You literally run the team's social media handles. You literally see all of y'alls battles". 

She rose up, beginning to heal herself, "True. But I have bad memory". 

Impulse spun around to squat and belligerently walked off with his fists rising with his legs on each step. He cursed out loud as Vanessa yelled for him to get back and help her. 

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"I hate this game," cried Vanessa, walking next to Impulse. 

"You say that. But you love the thrill," he answered. 

Her hands were clasped, to focus on healing, "Is true. I like how I can basically be any anime I want. Aaand then I can run around, do whatever I want without being in real trouble". 

He nodded, "I feel you. I'm the same way". 

"Really?" she asked. 

"Oh yeah. I love running around, swing from trees and ropes. Racing an avalanche downhill. I just love the thrill. It's my love for adventure that assigned me to the sin of l**t". 

She turned her head, "Isn't 'l**t' like s*x"?

He blushed a bit, shrugging his shoulders with a smile, "Well, sure. l**t is often referred to as an intense s****l desire. Or an intense sensual desire. But if you do a little more digging, you will find that the whole l**t concept started as merely an intense desire". 

"Is interesting". 

"It actually is. You have to be careful not to let commercialization take away from core concepts. People l**t every day and never realize it because they've attached the word exclusively to s*x. And that becomes a problem". 

She was more confused before, "How"?

"Well, let's take our desire for a thrill for example. What happens when we cut off our family and friends for the sake of chasing this thrill along with other potential substitutes? Essentially we're left alone or even dead at heart. You'll turn around and find that people are dead and you never said your goodbyes. You become completely unbalanced as a person and is left to crumble"

As she nodded, he leaned in, "Wanna know a secret about the things you l**t? There's always a new high. A new d**g. A new s*x partner or activity. A new thrill that you have to find. It never stops... But, if you enjoy your thrills, and whatever else you desire, and keep your life balanced between family and friends, I promise not only will your thrills be high. But also that you will live and die happy with the things no thrill can ever give you". 

Vanessa's smile glowed brighter than any lolli, "Is sweet". 

"Yup," he affirmed before coming to the shrine, "But be warned. Many people won't accept your habits. They'll try to stop you even when you're doing absolutely nothing wrong. Be careful of those people. They'll pretend to be your friend and a firm supporter. But in reality, they're oftentimes jealous or have a bitterness to them that they use to keep you away from the fun". 

Vanessa walked up to the shrine, "Yes. Everybody keeps telling me this. But I don't get it". 

He laughed, "Well Vanessa, those people are oftentimes jealous. Maybe the one in your way is jealous. Or maybe not. Who knows"?

As she spoke, a light from the shrine came into her body, "I need help. This is so confusing". 

"You'll be surprised by how much help you get. Just gotta look hard enough". 

Vanessa looked around, "Where's the angel"?

"You're friend probably already killed it. He's a fellow thrill-seeker, that's for sure".

Vanessa looked around for a letter, shaking her head, "But it's bad. You can't just kill angels. How are we going to beat the curse"?

"I mean, you can still beat it," said Impulse, "This battle against the curse is never-ending. For as long as humanity exists, they will sin. And those sins will-... Are you even listening"?

Vanessa hummed while looking around the shrine for the letter. Shocked by her ignorance, Impulse weighed out his options to leave her. In the end, he decided to do what was right for the land.

She found the letter under a rock and read it, "Vanessa, I'm confused. None of this makes sense. I woke up one day to gunfire and realized, I just need to relax. Take it one single day at a time. Nothing I was experiencing was new. It was all the same. I remember when I did cheerleading it was the same. Even my other friends say it was the same for them in their teams. So I relaxed. You should do the same". 

Vanessa nodded, "Yes, I will relax". 

"You're a weirdo," said Impulse. 

She nodded again, "Yes I am". 

"Okay, time to go," he said with a hand held out East, "You will head that way to reach the north city. I will keep my illusions up to help you get out safely. But fair warning, The monsters over there are worse than any other part of the island. Try to be stealthy once you pass the last large tree". 

She nodded, "Got it. And thank you for the help". 

"No problem," he smiled, "Oh, but when you make it inside, try to visit the last shrine inside the ruins". 

With her body fully healed and her entire back and arms exposed, Vanessa smiled before running out into the forest.