In Search for the Carpel

A loud sound pounded in her head as her foot stepped into what felt like mashed bananas. Her eyes went wide as she looked around her. "So this must be it." The sound in her head was rudely contrasted to the beauty in front of her eyes. Tall, bright trees shot upwards around her from which little fruits dropped down gracefully, ripe and threatening to fall.

A small stream trickled in front of her and she giggled as she wiggled her small toes inside the ripples. She let out a joyful sigh and sat down, dipping her legs further. "This is the prettiest swamp ever. Why would Dramons hang out in a place like this?"

A scream cut through the air and she whipped her towards the right to see a Player jump out from the bushes and run towards her at full speed. Tiara immediately scrambled onto her knees and got up. She instantly remembered that she didn't have any weapon or a protection spell to save herself from death. Her eyes left the Player and fixed on something behind him. It was growing larger by the second. It was black and like a swirl of raging black clouds moving at an even faster speed than the Player.

Tiara's heart lurched uneasily. "That Dramon is bigger than the other one," she whispered to herself.

"RUN!" The Player's voice cut through her thoughts and whizzed past her. The Dramon was approaching fast. "I have to kill it!" Tiara shouted and took a step forward. Her body was moving before her brain could process what was going on.

The Player shut his eyes in annoyance and turned back. "That one's a Grade 2 Dramon! There's no killing it easily. Your best option is to run!" And then he took off again. "Follow me if you want to get to safety!"

Tiara's gaze shifted between the new Player and the Dramon. A loud roar filled the place and it rang in Tiara's head heavily. She took another step, but this time backwards and ran towards the Player. Her brain was finally kicking into action and she decided to follow him to safety for now.

"Who are you, how are you playing this game?"

Tiara squealed lightly as he grabbed her hand and swung her into the thick bushes nearby. "Don't let it see even an inch of you," he snapped. He dove into his inventory and took out a spray bottle and sprayed it all over himself and then Tiara. She broke out coughing. "Eugh, that smell-"

"Bear with it, it repels Dramons to some extent, they hate the smell more than you do right now."

She sniffed her sleeves and giggled. "Smells like petrol."

"Seriously."

Tiara looked up with innocent eyes and then her smile dropped. "You didn't answer my question."

He tensed and locked his fingers together. "I should be asking you the same."

Tiara narrowed her eyes. If it was anyone else, they might have kept mum but Tiara believed that if she wanted him to open up, she would have to do the same. It was just the way nature worked. So without hesitation, she said, "I'm a test Player from the Project Dream System research wing of country X."

The other Player tensed up even more. "Research wing? There are more?"

Tiara tilted her head. "What do you mean?" She had thought this might be some sort of in built character of the game, but things seemed different.

"I… I'm also a test Player, from the research wing of Project Dream System of country Y." He finally admitted. "Why are you here anyway?"

Tiara hesitated. She didn't expect to come in such a dire situation, but the opportunity in front of her eyes beckoned to her. The Dramon was partly covered from her vision by the dark leaves of the bushes, bushes could see it raging clearly, trying to pick out on the scent of the Player and also trying to avoid the stuff the other Player sprayed.

"I came to kill a Dramon."

"Why?"

Tiara opened up her screen and showed it to him. "You're a Player too, right? Shouldn't you know that you need to complete the three tasks to level up?" She pointed towards the floating screen.

The other player puckered his lips and looked all around her in confusion. "Eh, what are you pointing to and what tasks? This is a game and all, but not a levelled one."

Tiara took a step back in her mind. What was going on? He can't see the screen! "Then… then what is the goal of the game you are playing?"

"When I entered into this Dimension Zero, my only goal was to find the Carpel and protect the Carpel. My other friend is somewhere in this game too. Her job is to find the Stamen and protect the Stamen." The Player's eyes fidgeted around, staying alert and keeping his eyes on the Dramon's movements while he talked to Tiara. He sprayed more of the repellent around them.

Tiara seemed to be lost in thought. "So the other Player is your Partner, right? You both dived in here together with that injection."

The Player's gaze fixated on her. "Injection, I understand. That red liquid?"

"Yes!" Tiara agreed, finally finding something in him that she related with.

"But no, I came in here alone. My friend came in later. She came late to the research wing because of the roadblock caused by the festivals."

"Oh…" Tiara pulled at her lip unconsciously. She couldn't get the head or tails of it. The Dramon's piercing roar cut through her ear and she turned around to see the Creature bounding towards them.

The other Player hollered and sprayed more repellent but the last pump came out in a sad fizz. "Shit! It ran out! Run, girl!"

Tiara's legs trembled. But they didn't move either. "I… I want to kill it. Please." All she wanted was to get this over with and go back to Percy, the only person she knew in this strange world. Out here, she realised that she felt horribly insecure and scared, just like a kid.

The Player halted and looked back. Sweat was starting to form on his head. "What? Are you for real? That thing. It's a Grade 2! Didn't you hear what I said? I'm going to go, stay here and get slaughtered if you want."

Tiara's eyes widened in fright. "No, no, no…" She clutched her heart as it hurt. The Dramon was slightly disoriented by the spray in the air but she knew that she didn't have much time. The creature's eyes went black in annoyance. "I'm the Carpel!" she blurted out of desperation. "Please protect me."

The other man finally stopped running, his shoes digging into the mud. "What did you say?"