“Hey, wake up!”

Had I fallen asleep? I probably didn't. I most likely passed out from the pain.

The first thing I did was open one eye and look around, wondering who had woken me up and brought me back into a life of torture and sadness.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was surrounded by three pretty girls. One blonde, one black haired, and the third one had brown hair. All of them seemed worried about me, judging by their expressions.

One of them, the blonde one, had placed my head on her lap as she held what felt like a rag against my neck. Was she tending to my wounds?

Admittedly, it was kind of embarrassing to wake up in a strange girl’s lap, but I took a good look at her and she was cute as hell. She was incredibly beautiful, more so than I had originally thought. I could imagine a long list of bad places to find yourself after fainting. This was nowhere near the top.

“Rise and shine! I'm user YooTheBest. But, ah, you can call me Jeongyeon. I found you in that forest over there,” the blonde, Jeongyeon, said as she gestured toward the forest behind us, “You were passed out and had a knife in your neck. Hope you're feeling a little better. I used some healing magic on you, but I ran out of MP before finishing, so you're not quite ready to get up and start walking.”

It was shocking to hear that she had healed me. I had no idea who she was, but I was extremely grateful that she bothered to do that anyway. I struggled as it was to not faint again because of the pain, so I couldn't imagine how much more pain I was in before being healed. I tried to thank her, but I wasn't sure if I could talk at all.

“Don't speak, it's okay,” she said, noticing my internal struggle. She grinned warmly. “Your stab wound might open up or something. It's ok. I'm just gonna introduce my friends, alright? That way we get to know each other from the get-go. I’m sure you're a bit freaked out right now, seeing as you just woke up in a stranger's lap, so I hope getting to at least know our names will help with that.”

I nodded, thankful to have finally found people that seemed to be genuinely interested in helping me.

“Ok, so like I said, I'm Jeongyeon! This girl over here, the one with the black hair, that's Nayeon. Her username is bUnnie.” She pointed at the pretty girl and told her to wave. Nayeon waved at me, looking a little awkward, and I waved back just as awkwardly. The awkwardness kind of dissipated when she smiled, as her smile was absolutely adorable. I guessed the username was making a reference to her cute front teeth.

“And this one right here,” Jeongyeon said, pointing to another cute girl with long brown hair, “is Jihyo. Her username is GodJihyo. She's the leader of our tiny guild.”

Jihyo stepped closer to me and waved. The first thing I noticed about her were her eyes. They were so big and brown, absolutely mesmerizing. I was so captivated by them that I almost didn't hear her introduce herself to me.

“Hey, Chaeyoungster. I'm Jihyo. Leader of 3Mix. This is going to be an offhand question, but I'm assuming you're affected by the bug too? The one that somehow connected our sense of touch to the game?” Jihyo asked, kneeling closer to me. Jeongyeon made a small sound.

“Uh, let's not call it a bug. We don't know what it is. All we know is what it does. None of us here have any knowledge in video game programming or developing. I don't want us to look like idiots when it turns out it's not a bug.”

Nayeon spoke up. “Point is, it's clearly not just Jihyo and I suffering because of this...phenomenon,” she said, nodding at Jeongyeon, “since Chaeyoungster here looks like she's actually suffering from the stab. That must mean that there are probably a lot of other players in this server that were affected by it too. Therefore, it wasn't anything that we did, which is what we suspected at first.”

I was going to respond but Nayeon jumped to her feet and pointed somewhere over Jeongyeon’s shoulder.

“Jeongyeon! Over there! An enemy! Go go! Maybe it'll drop a couple potions and more EXP!”

Jeongyeon turned around to look for the enemy and gasped. She quickly but carefully moved my head from her lap and pulled out a sick-looking blade from a small sheath. “Take care of Chaeyoungster, Jihyo,” she ordered, her previously soft expression now replaced with a tough determined one. “We don't want her to die in our care. Nayeon, back me up just in case I lag.”

Nayeon ran into a nearby tent and came back out with a crossbow. She loaded it as quickly as she could and ran after Jeongyeon, who had already made her way towards whatever enemy they were talking about.

Jihyo, probably noting my desire to see what was going on, positioned me in a way that I could watch the scene unfold. I immediately wished she hadn't, as the enemy that they were about to fight was a giant troll-looking thing. It was massive, much taller than any human I had ever seen. It very easily could smash its giant club into either of the two girls and instantly kill them.

“Are they going to be okay?” I croaked out, dreading the outcome of this fight.

“Yeah, don't worry, we all chose pretty good combat classes. Jeongyeon is a Ranger, so she's swift and good at melee fighting, and Nayeon is an Assassin. She has this perk that lets her land critical hits if she's hidden. Besides, all of us are pretty high level, as you've probably seen. Jeongyeon is level 58, Nayeon is 54, and I'm level 60. They probably won't eve—”

“W-wait, back up! What do you mean by ‘class’? What's that?” It was rude of me to interrupt her but I needed to know everything about this game. She took it in stride, though, and calmly explained it all to me.

“They're kinda like professions that decide a person’s abilities and fighting style in a game,” she answered, still watching Jeongyeon and Nayeon attempt to take down the giant troll. “You choose the class at the beginning of the game when you customize your character. They're a little different than what they're usually supposed to be like, but they still have some similar basic attributes. Jeongyeon chose to be a Ranger, which means she can use bows, blades, and sometimes swords. She prefers a blade over a bow, though. Rangers can also be good at using certain types of magic, which is why she was able to heal you as much as she did before she ran out of MP.”

I slowly started to understand what classes meant. Maybe they were kind of like those geeky Dungeons & Dragons’s classes? Mina had tried to get me to play with her before, but as always, I refused.

“Nayeon, as an Assassin, can do pretty amazing things. See her over there, hiding in the trees?”

I turned to the battle scene and briefly checked on Jeongyeon. She didn't seem tired at all despite running around the giant troll, stabbing and slicing whenever she had an opening.

I looked to the trees but couldn't find Nayeon at all. Was she even there?

“I bet you can't find her,” Jihyo interrupted, smiling proudly in what I assumed was Nayeon’s general direction. “That's because Assassins are masters of stealth and infiltration. They may not be the strongest class out there, but they make up for it with a variety of skills, like lockpicking, the use of status effects, camouflage… all that cool stuff. She's using her camouflage, or stealth ability, right now, which raises the chances of getting a critical hit if the enemy can’t see you.”

I didn't know games were so complex and thought out. I had skipped the character customization screen, so I had no idea what class I was and what cool things I could do. Maybe I could ask Jihyo if there was a way for me to find out later, but at that moment, I was curious about her class. She could definitely be something that focuses on healing, since her smile by itself was super powerful, uplifting and wholesome.

“What about you, Jihyo? What's your class?”

There was a loud roar behind us that kept Jihyo from answering me. We both turned in time to see the troll fall to its knees. It shriveled up and disappeared into nothingness. Jeongyeon howled in delight and ran around in a goofy fashion. It was quite a sight to see, considering she had just fought a monster with such a serious expression. Plus she was drenched in troll blood, making the scene more ridiculous that it had been before.

Nayeon seemed to materialize next to Jeongyeon and both began doing an awfully embarrassing dance. Jihyo looked like she was about to disown them.

After their mini celebration, they went to the area where the troll died and excitedly searched for any rewards. Their excitement died down pretty quickly, though, as they lifted up the only item that they found in the remains.

“It's...another ing recorder!” Nayeon screeched, tossing the instrument across the open field. It landed directly in front of me.

Jeongyeon jogged up to Jihyo and I with a small smile on her face. “Despite the awful drop, something good came of that fight. I leveled up, so my MP was fully restored! I can heal you completely now!” She placed her hands on my head and pulled up a small menu. After hardly a heartbeat’s worth of time, she was out of the menu and her hand started to glow.

The sensation the healing gave me was that of the potion that Mina had given me, except this time it felt like the ants were inside my neck. It was so uncomfortable that I almost screeched, but I held myself together until the end.

When Jeongyeon finally finished, the sensation died down and I opened my eyes slowly. The first one to react was Nayeon.

“Chaeyoungster? Are you feeling better?” Her eyes were full of worry.

“Chaeyoung,” I said, my voice finally clear.

“What?” she asked, confused at my response. Jihyo elbowed her.

“That's her name,” Jihyo said, rolling her eyes, “Right?” That last part was directed at me, so I nodded in response.

“Good!” Jeongyeon got up and clapped her hands together. “Let's get moving! We have to find a checkpoint for Chaeyoung! She needs to save any progress she's made, just in case, so Jihyo, Nayeon, let's go.” She started walking towards her tent, but Jihyo stopped her.

“Wait,” she whisper-hissed at Jeongyeon, “we don't even know if she wants to join us!” Jihyo turned to me and gave me a shy smile. “I'm so sorry, Jeongyeon loves to jump into things without thinking. Do you wanna join our guild, Chaeyoung? We would love to help you level up and learn new skills. Everything is easier if you do it with a team.” She outstretched her hand and the other two girls followed.

I stared at the three hands that welcomed me into their group. This was exactly what I needed. People that had the desire to help me get better at this game and improve my chances of doing what Mina required of me before taking her back to the real world: to beat her in a battle.

My stupid eyes welled up with tears and Nayeon teased me about it. “We’re not asking you to marry us or anything, Chaeyoung! There's no need to cry!”

I laughed through the tears. “You're telling me not to cry but you're already crying too!” I pointed at her watery eyes and laughed louder.

“You guys are weird,” Jeongyeon said, covering her face. “We’re literally just asking Chaeyoung to join the guild and you both start crying randomly… pfft, children.”

Jihyo grabbed Jeongyeon's hands and pulled them away from her face.

“You're crying too, you hypocrite.” She hugged Jeongyeon tightly, looking like she was fighting tears too. Once she was done comforting Jeongyeon, Jihyo took a deep breath and looked at me.

“Why did you start crying? You have all of us crying over here for no reason at all.”

Awkwardly, I ran my hand through my hair. “Well… it's a long story, kind of.”

Nayeon patted the seats we’d sat on earlier. “We have time. I mean, no we don't. But I wanna hear your story anyway. What about you guys?”

Jihyo led me to a seat and sat next to me. “I totally do. But first I want to know: do you want to be in 3Mix, our guild? I'd like to know that first.”

I nodded, elated to be in a group of incredibly kind and skillful girls.

“Good! Welcome to 3Mix, Chaeyoung! After your explanation, we’ll officially add you, okay?”

“Sure thing, boss!” I said, making Jihyo blush.

“Gosh, you ladykiller…” she mumbled, looking at Jeongyeon and Nayeon. “Ok, everyone, get comfortable. Let's hear Chaeyoung’s story.”

The three girls waited patiently for me to start, but because their eyes were solely on me, I was self-conscious. I didn't even know where to start.

“Well… I think I'll preface this whole thing with this fact: before entering this entirely new world, I had never really played a video game.”

The other 3Mix members’ mouths all formed an ‘o’ shape.

“Really?” Nayeon asked, her eyes full of curiosity.

“I mean, I've played Tetris and that weird snake game on Nokias. But besides those, never. Not even those Mario-the-jumping-plumber games. I thought they were stupid and pointless. And I did so until very very recently. But my friend… my dear dear friend Mina… she was obsessed with video games. She has been, even before I met her in 9th grade. She had so many consoles and so many games. She took me to a convention about five months ago, one that was showcasing Paracosmos. She played the demo and loved it. She bought it once it came out. Problem is, we were broke. Two broke- college aged students shouldn't be wasting their money on a console, but she did it anyway and put us at risk. She felt so guilty that she basically trapped herself here. She left me a letter telling me that she was going to stay here for two weeks so that there'd at least be enough money to feed myself. She wanted to play and starve while I thrived. I didn't want her to do that. So I came in here, a complete newbie to anything that has to do with videogames, just to rescue her and convince her to return to the real world and eat.”

Jeongyeon raised her hand. “Have you found her yet?”

Jihyo shook her head saying “Probably not. This game’s map is massive. No way she's managed to find one specific person in the time since she's been here, which can't be more than a week, since that's how long the game has been out.”

“Actually,” I said, looking up at the sky in dread, “I did.”

Nayeon gasped. “Wait, what? Where?” She leaned forward into her chair, as did the rest of the guild, wanting to hear the rest.

I sighed. “She's the one that left me dying in the forest.”

After the gasps died down, I continued, this time in a quieter voice.

“It was after I died the first time. Two girls killed me and looted my dead body. After I respawned in the forest, it looked like it was going to rain. I found a shed to hide in, but the storm was getting really bad, so when I was about to enter it, a great big bolt of lightning struck me. Or- well, actually, it would have, if Mina, my friend, hadn't pushed me out of the way—”

“Wait,” Jihyo said, confused. “Didn't you just say–”

“—Trust me, it'll make sense.” I gathered my thoughts and spoke again. “She saved me from the lightning, but once I mentioned that I could feel things inside the game, thanks to this Phenomenon... Her entire demeanor changed. She shoved me into a tree with all her might, almost breaking my back. She kicked my head, too. Mina told me to leave and go back to where I ‘belonged’, as in, back to the real world, where I know how to handle myself. I tried telling her to come back with me, but after she stabbed me in the neck, she told me she'd only leave if I did one thing.”

Jihyo looked like she was about to fall off her chair, she was leaning forward so much. “What was it?”

“The one condition was I beat her in a one-on-one battle. I still remember her exact words. ‘I'll leave when and only when you become stronger than me and best me in a one-on-one battle.’ I… I’m not sure why she wants me to do that. Why beat her? It felt so random, like something she'd never ever do. Nothing makes sense..." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "The only things I've experienced in this game are pain and confusion. I've died once and almost died many many times in such a short span of time. I'm scarred for life, you guys.”

I choked up and the rest of the 3Mix members crowded around me, patiently waiting for me to finish.

“You guys… you guys are so nice, and even though you just met me, you're asking me to join you and-and… you're willing to teach me how to play this game. That's why I cried. That's why I'm crying right now. Because you guys are so unnecessarily kind to me.”

Jeongyeon gave me a teary-eyed smile and ruffled my hair. “You’re so cheesy. What will we do with you? But don't worry, we’ll help you become a great fighter, beat your best friend, and take her back to get some help.”

Jihyo pulled me away from Jeongyeon and held my face in her palms. “Don't worry, Chaeyoung. Like Jeong said, we’ll help you. Maybe in the process of teaching you, we can become friends too.”

My tears were flowing like a faucet now. Their kind words were really getting to me.

“I'd like that. I'd like to become friends with people like you.”

After our little sob fest, we took some time to compose ourselves before deciding on what to do next.

I noticed that Nayeon had grown uncharacteristically quiet. I didn't think much about it though. I had just met her, after all. Maybe I wasn't aware of the fact that she sometimes needed some time to herself. It was possible.

I planned on dismissing her behavior, as I didn't know her and her personality, but she walked in my direction, looking like she had something to say. She stopped a couple feet away from me and looked behind her real quick, checking to make sure that Jihyo and Jeongyeon weren't looking.

“Listen,” she whispered, looking back at me, “I think I met your friend before. Mina, right?”

I hadn't expected her to talk to me about that. There wasn't anything in particular that I expected, either, but this seemed very out of the blue.

“Yeah, that's her name. Mina.”

Nayeon nodded. “Follow me. I don't want Jihyo and Jeongyeon to hear this.” She began walking towards the back of the camp but I stopped her.

“Whoa, wait, I'm not sure this is a good idea. I don't want to keep secrets from everyone else. Why can't we talk in front of the rest of the guild?” I really didn't want to lose the trust I had earned so easily.

“Listen, it’s important. It's nothing that will harm them. What I wanna tell you is something pretty humiliating and I would hate for them to hear about it.”

She sounded sincere, albeit a little sketchy, but I motioned for her to continue anyway. We made our way to a secluded spot that was out of earshot.

Once we arrived, Nayeon paced around me, looking nervous.

“God this is gonna be so embarrassing. Hopefully this doesn't change the way you think of me,” she said, biting her virtual fingernails.

“What is it? Don't worry, if it's nothing that will put us in danger, then your secret is safe with me. Just tell me– when have you met Mina?”

Nayeon pursed her lips. After giving it some thought, she began her story.