End Online: Volume 5 by D. Wolfin Page A

which may cause some people to become dizzy with vertigo.
    Once I reach the ground, I slip into the nearby shadows and
change my equipment to that of dark grey cloth to further evade any wandering
eyes. I slip behind a building and into an unlit alley, rapidly escaping from
the guild headquarters.
    My informants let me know of Lost’s party logging out and where.
This is possibly the best news so far as it will let me catch up to them quite
easily. All that is left is to somehow integrate into the group and conduct my
investigation into the party leader and that strange ‘Companion’.
    Reaching the spot where they logged off, I also leave virtual
reality and rest while my informants keep an eye on that location from a
distance.
    I start to become restless, expecting the call that they have
logged back in at any moment. As a result, I end up having a poor night’s sleep
and drowsiness affects me greatly the following morning.
    They finally log back on, and I wait another hour before logging
on and following them, using my spies to track them.
    Lost’s party eventually reaches the coastal town of Trope, an
area where it is much easier for me to spy on them from a close distance. I had
once shown my face in front of Lost, when Mr. Lee confronted him in the
outskirts of the Kingdom of Dalbe, so I make sure to cover it with a helmet
that hides my appearance. It was only momentary, but I can’t risk him
recognizing me by chance.
    I follow them closely along the docks as they search for a ship
to take them to some southern island. As an employee of Idea Imagine, I have a
vague concept on the place, but I have never seen it.
    Listening to others describe it as an island, I inwardly laugh.
Being the size of a kingdom, I would hardly describe it as an island. It is
closer to being a continent.
    Following my targets into an unknown inn, I sit at a table
nearby without letting my focus waver from them. When a pirate enters and
eventually ends up taking up their commission to sail across the ocean, I
finally see my opportunity to integrate with the party. It is almost like the
opportunity is presenting itself on a silver platter.
    I am outraged when the pirate asks for twice the amount of gold
from me than anyone else, but that doesn’t last long. A hand clasps my
shoulder, and a chill runs up my spine even before I recognize her voice. It is
Moonkite, the leader of the original party who took note of my special skill
and played a large role in the creation of the guild, ‘Hero’s Vanguard’.
    The rest of the party is with her, plus another who I don’t
know. This golden opportunity suddenly feels like the entire thing was one big
trap to start with. While I was tailing Lost and his party, I never had the
slightest inclination that I, too, was being followed.
    Everything seems to go downhill from there, Moonkite adding me
to their party and keeping a closer watch on me than ever before. It is only
when we set out to sea, where I can’t possibly escape, that her eyes aren’t
firmly affixed upon me.
    Our voyage turns out to be full of strange surprises for me. The
iron plating on the boat and the strange cannon and other
crafted inventions are things that I, an employee of the game’s
creator, have never even thought possible.
    I have a conversation with Henry, my boss, about the situation.
I hope he will interfere and separate the rest of my party from me so I can get
closer to Lost and his companion, but am met with stubborn refusal. According
to Henry, I simply have put up with it as outside interference could create
needless suspicion from my targets. As such, I am once again trapped within the
clutches of the guild.
    I do quite enjoy the battle with the sea monsters, relishing it
even more when one of my party members perishes. Looking in from outside the
game versus actually being in it create two completely different sets of
experiences.
    I don’t need to worry about the attacks of the sea monster,
since my real life