Lady Millicent Nicole Victoria Blackwood-Sinclair woke up in her bed and nearly stabbed someone to death.

By accident of course.

Being able to go from deep sleep to combat was a skill the Blackwood-Sinclair's were expected to train for. If she didn't wake up attacking a possible invader, her trainers rapidly taught her how to sleep with one eye open and a weapon in grabbing range at all times.

Today was the first time her training had actually come into use under a situation that wasn't a drill.

Before her addled mind could really wake back up, she had grappled someone larger than her down off her bed, into the floor and had a knife up to the neck. She had been trained specifically for the most optimal takedowns, wrestling maneuvers and how to fight in a way no sport would ever allow.

That's when her groggy mind finally caught up, and she realized who she had tackled down.

The moonwing elf on the other hand, had been trained to fight with a spear and armor, magic, and mostly against targets that weren't humanoid with preparation ahead of time. She stood no chance against the angry micro-commando already in striking range from the start.

"It's you!" Illy almost shouted. "You're alive!"

Selena lay pinned beneath her, feather tufts disheveled and eyes wide with confusion. The moonwing elf's mouth opened and closed, elvish words failing to form as she tried to process what was happening.

Without warning, Illy tossed her knife away, and pulled Selena into a tight hug, nearly crushing the slender elf against her. "I thought you were dead," Illy mumbled into Selena's shoulder. "I thought the golem got you too."

Selena remained rigid for several moments, bewildered. A moment ago she'd seen her ward be caught and crushed by the golem, in the middle of combat, while she was facing a massive blackrotten spider. And the next moment she was here. In some kind of dark room, that looked absolutely nothing like the Nathir slave units.

Her hands hovered awkwardly at Illy's sides, uncertain whether to push away or reciprocate the hug.

"Sorry I almost shanked you," Illy continued, either not noticing or not caring about Selena's confusion. "Training, ye know? Can't help it."

"Nox'eth melora," Selena murmured softly. The half-elf said a few more words, which Illy could not understand.

"Right. Without the yank to translate for us, we're back to charades now. Feck. Better than you being dead though." Illy pulled back, standing up, then wiped her eyes with her pajamas, sniffed once, and then took stock of where she was.

Home. Well, her old home. She'd been recalled to the Blackwood-Sinclair estate as the family was hosting her step-brother's birthday in about two days. Big thing, lots of staff on hand and family called back. More an elaborate excuse to throw a party and impress people than for Thomas's sake.

She wasn't exactly close with her little step-brother, but she didn't blame the poor lad for the shite between her and the rest of the family. Wee little bampot was probably being held to even harsher standards than she had been.

Her guest room was exactly where she'd left it before this entire nightmare had happened, and if Selena the elf was here in her room, then Illy immediately adjusted and mentally understood her nightmare hadn't been a nightmare at all.

"Stats." She called out. And the status screen appeared. "Ah feck."

Selena was still in her armor. Although the scrapes and dings were polished off again, as well as all the accumulated dirt she'd gotten during the prior fights. Even her spear and shield were on the ground next to her, discarded when Illy had tackled her off the bed.

"Right. This is gonna be one mess to sort out."

How to explain a half-elf paladin straight out of a fantasy book, on the estate grounds?

Family wasn't home right now, but the servants and maids were. Unless she could get the elf to stay in this cramped little room the entire day, she'd be spotted. And security was tight on their estate.

The moonwing elf tilted her head, clearly not understanding a word, but she understood a helping hand when she saw it, and Illy pulled her back to her feet.

What was the play here? Cosplayer? A cosplaying friend that wanted to get some of her costume done right, and Illy knew some stuff in the estate could help get an authentic feel for it. Yeah that'll do. Staff here knew her back when she was a little hellion. She could gaslight them into thinking Selena had just arrived, and they'd happened to miss her arrival.

Or she'd snuck her in without bothering to ring up security since that would be too long of a process.

That one. More in character.

The elf looked back at her, and then started looking around the dim room, ears constantly waggling up and down in clear distress. Feathers were also puffed up too, all over her face. Illy had no idea what that meant, but likely the poor elf was clearly half-panicked. Yanked out of her own home into a battlefield, and yanked again into someone else's home. Like the world's worse game of hot potato.

The language barrier would be more difficult. The staff here had plenty that were multi-lingual in order to host people from different nations, and every Blackwood-Sinclair knew at least three or four languages already by the time they were ten. They were expected to fully understand geopolitics and be able to travel around most of the work for business, and the easiest time to learn languages was as a child.

Illy looked over Selena with a hum, coming to a decision. "Hungarian. We'll have ye be from some deeper part of the east. Zakarpattia maybe." She'd been tempted to use Slovakia as the country point, but Slovak would recognizable to a Russian speaker in the same way Italian would be to French or Spanish speakers, due to the common roots. Elvish didn't sound at all like Russian in the slightest.

French, Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Greek, Italian and a few others were all languages she could expect different Blackwood-Sinclairs spoke, so she had to eliminate any options that could be somewhat recognized from those. Hungarian would be too niche and would have been left for a translator on the event they were dispatched to such a place.

Elvish did sound a little like hungarian, if someone were squinting hard. But it could work. "I'll say you have a unique accent from a subregion there. That'll do."

The issue left was how Illy was able to speak to Selena in the first place.

"Feck it. Talking through a smartphone app of some kind." She'd download one and show that if asked. Then say Selena's real shy and that's part of why she's trying to cosplay for the first time. To get out of that bubble. Yes, that's a good one. They'd met and talked online since, the elf had no idea Illy came from such a higher up family.

Just unlucky timing is all, with her step-brother's birthday. Perfect.

She brought out her phone, downloaded the first language translation app she could get, and then hopped on the laptop by her desk.

The elf on the other hand was now looking more relaxed, realizing her ward was alive again, and clearly in her element. If Illy wasn't holding onto her daggers with a deathgrip, then that meant there wasn't any danger here.

In moments, Illy found what she was looking for, yanked her smartphone out and made the call. "Hello, is this Robyns McLean Photography? Great… Illy Blackwood-sinclair… Yes, you heard right… How much for a photoshoot at my estate grounds, in a few hours from now? I'll pay seven thousand for the last second trouble.... No, not a wedding. Cosplay photoshoot. Do you do that?"

They apparently did for seven thousand. Illy would take it out of her stipend, that pile of income was never touched out of sheer pride, but making her family pay for this felt like a good use of the funds.

With that set, she sent off a deposit, and handled the rest.

Because the best way to convince the rest of the staff here about Selena being a cosplayer was to have it be genuine.

"Well. That's done. Time to talk to the staff on hand, and we should be fine. You doing okay knife-ears?"

Selena looked back, clearly not understanding the words but getting the tone right. Her ears waggled.

And then her stomach growled hard.

The butler nodded. "I see. And she arrived this morning then madam?"

"Yeh, photography crew should be coming by later today around five, let the rest of the staff know if you could Mr. Jacobs. We'll clear off a nice spot by the west gardens. She'll be staying here a few days, don't wanna make her travel back and forth with all her gear like that. Told her I'd take care of her."

He gave a small bow, "Of course Lady Millicent. I will have the estate prepared for your guest. Is there anything else you would like?"

Illy turned to Selena, who was gawking around at the full estate around her.

"Yep, I'd like a meal prepared for her if you could, she hasn't eaten for the past few days, trying to slim up for the armor. Told her none of that gobshite here, she's eating or no photos."

The butler frowned deeply at the mention of no food. As if he took it on a personal level any guest in their estate would go hungry like that. "Of course. I will see to it immediately. Does the lady have any special requests?"

Illy looked over to the elf, remembering those fangs of hers. Half-wyvern Wade had said. "I think a good steak dinner would do well, medium rare, keep it simple. Don't know if she has allergies or not, but steak is steak."

That was that. Crisis averted.

She'd escorted the elf around the estate mansion, letting her see the outside garden. It wasn't the flowers or the lovely arrangements that Selena freaked out about this time. Instead, the elf started pointing at the blue sky the moment she stepped outside, looking all around her in panic.

"Yeah, little different than back home, eh?" Illy said, nodding. "I talked with yer goddess. You're looking around thinking 'Where's the sunrings?' Well, that's cause Earth don't have none of those or your floating rocks."

She reached a hand out and grabbed the armored hand. Gently, she guided the elf's attention up and around.

To the sun behind them.

Selena spent the next ten minutes watching that little ball of gold light far above her. She kept trying to talk to Illy, but elvish was not among the languages she knew about. The sight both amazed her, and made her clearly demand answers of any kind.

The only other thing that seemed to take the elf by complete surprise after were the birds flying by. She kept pointing at them, as if asking questions.

Then the lunch bell rang, and Illy helped shepard the stunned culture-shocked elf back into the estate.

By then the maids and staff knew better to gawk, but Illy could see them still stare from the corner of their eyes. Especially since Selena kept twitching her ears, or puffing out her face feathers at every other corner. Mentions of how excellent her costume was and how life-like it seemed started floating all over the mansion.

When they finally got to the massive empty table, two plates had been setup, along with forks, knives and the rest she'd expect. Illy didn't often visit her estate home, sticking to her own little condominium, keeping herself as independent from the main branch as possible. But living in luxury was something this house could do well, and all the food was on their expense, which was the best kind of expense. Half the reason she even agreed to come when they begrudgingly call her up.

Selena approached the ornate dining chair with visible apprehension, examining it as if it might be a trap. Her movements were stiff, partly from her armor and partly from being completely out of her element.

But then, something in her composure cracked. And she froze in place.

Illy saw the elf's nose twitch, then she started looking left and right before firmly locking eyes on the kitchen entrance. Where the steaks were being completed, likely resting at this moment.

Of course she had a better sense of smell, she's like, part-dragon or something.

The growl from her stomach was even louder than ever. And the elf doubled over, holding her stomach, face going red.

"So you do blush. Lighting was so bad in the other… place, never got to see it right." Illy laughed, then patted the seat. "Go on then knife-ears, it's just you and me for lunch today."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The moonwing elf lowered herself with deliberate care, wincing at the creak of the chair beneath her armored weight.

A maid stepped forward, hands extended toward Selena's armor, then stopped midway. Clearly confused on where to even start. "Perhaps madam would be more comfortable if I helped remove some… err, pieces?"

Before Selena could react with what looked like mounting alarm, Illy cut in. "Nah, leave it. Takes hours to properly fit that getup. Moving around in it is key to breaking the parts in, getting them to settle right. It's a cosplay thing. She wants to be completely accurate with it, make it look lived in and used."

The maid nodded and stepped back, though she cast a doubtful glance at the chair's upholstery. That armor wasn't made out of foam, and it was clearly harder then the delicate wood.

Of course it would be. That was the real deal, built for actual combat, and probably enchanted with magic or something.

When the first course arrived, Selena sat rigid, watching the staff with the wariness of someone expecting an ambush. But as the main course was presented - a perfectly seared steak, the center pink and juicy, accompanied by roasted vegetables and a rich wine reduction?

Illy could see the elf staring at the steak, then up at her, then back to the steak.

"Go on you numpty," Illy rolled her eyes, then took her fork and knife up and started cutting into her own food, showing the elf specifically how to eat. And that her plate was obviously for her. Including the food on it.

The elf's eyes still did a few take backs, growing puffy and red. She blinked rapidly, looking down as if ashamed of her reaction. One hand moved to her stomach unconsciously.

Illy had no idea if the elf knew how to use a fork and knife, or if there was some more cultural quirks about a shared meal she was stepping over like the barbarian her family thought she was. But the elf tried to mimic Illy to the best she was able to, eventually giving up trying to hold the fork the 'proper' way and held it more in a full fist like she would her spear. The knife was easier to use, and Illy could tell the elf must have had some practice with small knives in a kitchen before. Some things must be universal then.

Selena cut a small piece of steak with exaggerated care, as if afraid it might disappear, then forked it, and lifted it in her mouth.

The change was immediate. Eyes going wide open. A happy chirping humming noise coming out of her, even catching the elf herself by surprise. And then Selena was off to the races.

Illy didn't need to know elvish to recognize happy munching noises when she heard it, and the elf was seriously attacking the plate like it owed her rent.

One steak wasn't enough. Selena went through three entire plates before she was finally completely sated, eating not just the main dish but every scrap of side items too, even the garnish. If Illy hadn't interceeded, the elf would have been licking the plate clean of any sauce.

The cooks had come out to watch at the second plate, taking clear pride in seeing someone destroy their food like it was the single best meal she'd ever eaten in her life. Well, that's a few less among the staff Illy would have to worry about. The cooks all clearly loved her now.

While the elf finally got all the food in her belly, using the napkin to clear off her face and some sauce dripping on her metal armor, Illy was more contemplating on what to do next.

She'd met Nox. After she died, she'd been tossed into some kind of liminal space, where the goddess greeted her warmly and apologized for dragging her into all this. Speaking in full english, finally. It was apparently something with the System, as Nox explained she didn't have any dominion over languages, only few gods had something that esoteric under their domains.

The discussion had been… enlightening. The yank hadn't been lying about the state of the world. It was falling apart, quite literally as it so happened. Heroes had come and go, all of them trying to fight off the different calamities. Many succeeded in banishing the darkness or repairing some part, but just as many only half-made it; their solutions fixing something at the cost of breaking something else. And many had just flat out failed, even with the backing of several nations all working together in the attempt.

All of these would eventually be lethal, but some problems were far more pressing than others. In Azdrial, a dead archangel's sword wielded during the old divine wars left behind in a crater, now slowly spreading an aura of death for miles around it, was considered a minor local issue. Easily solved by walking around it.

To the people of Azdrial, just marking a few warnings on the maps was all the fix that was needed for that kind of issue. Nobody was going to spend the time and effort to seal that sword up when life could just keep going.

So an attempt by twenty two gods working together to dive into a Nathir shelter-city wasn't a fluke, it was them trying to fix a critical situation to save the entire world. A desperate gamble on their part.

And with the way Nox spoke about the System, Illy had a nagging suspicion about Play. That dial-a-god two bit peanut gallery had been far too comfortable with the entire thing, as if expecting it. While all the other gods like Nox had been caught flat footed, struggling to understand what this game was or how it was even supposed to be played. None of them had ever even heard of a video game, or the conventions about it.

Either Play was excellent at rolling with whatever came, or that god had something to do with all this, somehow.

Illy had a better sense of games than Nox did, already parsing through and figuring out what was the best course of action with the storefront. The dagger boon she'd got was the first thing she bought. That left her with two more coins, which she decided to spend one on Early Access Boon first and save up the other for now.

That upgrade had immediately handed her what she'd be getting next time she stepped into Azdrial:

Animal Charmer (Common) - Allows you charm any animal with a lower level than yourself. Charmed targets are loyal to you and will obey any command. Only one target may be charmed at a time.

Technically useless on Azdrial, there was nothing in that deathtrap world that was lower level than herself. Except for other humans. Who were considered animals. Illy felt the boon in her mind, ready to be used on just about anyone here in the world.

This wasn't a boon for surviving Azdrial. It was a boon best used on Earth.

And even more dangerous to consider all the others she'd met would be coming back to earth with similar destructive abilities. Some of those were kindhearted folks, sure. But others were already assholes.

And none of that changed the ultimate destination of all this.

The world was going to change rapidly, Illy knew. They had perhaps two or three months before some of these events would start leaking out into rumors.

Half a year at absolute best before governments were hunting them down and sniffing for any sign of them in secret. Another half year before it got so out of control, they'd be officially announced to the world.

Earth as she knew it was effectively over, it just didn't yet know it. Fortunately, she had resources and training to prepare for this during the calm underground period. Not a perfect one to one fit training wise, but close enough.

The photographers arrived soon after, and Illy had some fun with it. The staff were now fully aware and gossiping about the exotic cosplayer who'd been so dedicated to her craft, she even ate with her fangs in. Not to mention her 'costume' had left small cuts in the wood, meaning it was actual metal plate armor.

One maid had gotten into Illy's guestroom to clean and make the bed, finding the spear and shield there. It was now confirmed among the staff that her prop weapon was sharp.

None of them even considered asking how Selena had snuck into the estate out of nowhere with no sighting of her at all. The talk was all about who she was and what she'd brought with her, or how high-tech costume design had grown to have fully movable ears and feathers like hers.

Illy pretended she could understand Selena's hasty elvish comments, and her extreme bewilderment at what was going on was swept aside as just her being shy.

It turned out all okay in the end. She'd been worried the turnip would get rowdy and need some corralling, but food had somehow domesticated the paladin. Now she didn't seem to mind she was in a completely different world with a functional sun and strangers everywhere gossiping about her. So long as there was food in the pantry and she was served that kind of lunch again, she'd probably do anything Illy asked.

She had an entire half-dragon elf paladin, paid in snacks.

Posing for the camera's? After a bit of 'look what I do, and do that.' She got the picture.

The poor saps who'd come for the shoot clearly had never done a cosplay photoshoot, likely more used to formal events. But Illy got them to loosen up and they'd started taking more dramatic pictures, toying around with their settings. Making a good show of it for the entire staff to discreetly watch.

Illy would pay extra for the actual SD card within the cameras, and tell them she had a different contractor in charge of post-processing the film footage. That way nothing would leave this estate ground, or leak out in the future. She'd done covert lookup on the camera being used before they'd even setup their tripod or the surrounding gear, and double checked with the net it had no wireless capabilities. Nothing, which meant no automatic saving to some uncontrolled server cloud. Just a direct SD drive.

The crew weren't too happy about it, but neither were they shocked, and the additional money greased palms easily.

The paladin was… surprised and far more shy for a few minutes once she actually learned what the crazy humans were having her do when they showed her the test pictures they'd taken. Her ears started going haywire, to the point Illy had to take her aside and tell the people around that the props were malfunctioning. That went down well.

That's when she got a notification ping on her smartphone. A new friend request over facebook. She checked the name.

Leon Davoski.

Lives in Las Vegas.

She'd never accepted a friend request faster than she did just now, instantly starting a flurry of texts that rapidly turned into a video call.

Yes, he was fine. He'd also met his sponsor, who turned out to be some garden god that liked to grow things. A little senile. He'd been dragged along with the other gods in sending Leon with the rest, mostly because he was easy to bully around and the gods needed every man and women on deck possible.

No, he hadn't found Wade. Looking for Michael Wade on facebook had gotten him a few dozen hits that clearly weren't their yank. But he was out there somewhere, in LA. Probably working at his beloved retail shop, the poor money-traumatized bastard. Someday that mania debuff would be healed up, but that would likely take some time to unlearn two years of daily beatings.

Both she and Leon confirmed they weren't able to bring anything from Azdrial or the storefront back to earth. Nox had told her that the only doorway out in her liminal space simply led back to Azdrial. There was no way to move things from one world to the other. And so had Leon's sponsor. That meant none of the other players out there could do that. They had less to worry about.

Just people with super-human stats. Swapping powers each day. Running around on Earth.

The world might end up looking like a fucked up version of a western comic book. But at least they wouldn't need to worry about a magical arms race out here on earth.

And fortunately, there'd be one less asshole running around already. She remembered the prompt she'd gotten when she killed the little gobshite, right before the golden lootbox was given as a reward. A prompt she didn't want to share with the others lest it start a trust issue among them all precisely when they couldn't afford to mistrust one another.

Because in the end, the core of the game was player vs player.

Your deliberate actions have slain Logan Liam Jackoby and eliminated him permanently from THE GAME.

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