Raine VS The End of the World by Joseph Choi Page A

valley near a massive wall, its limestone turned salmon by the descending sun. With any luck, they could make it to the lodgings by sunset.
    Going by her first impulse, Raine set off down the red path, and didn’t look back.
     
    Ω
     
    At dusk, Gerrit left his guild’s private lodge, where the merry platoon heartily engaged in drink and the local entertainment, and hobbled over to the ramparts of the Castle Town’s outer wall to munch on some tangerines. There were too many women angling for his attention, and for all the wrong reasons. They seemed to desire nothing more than to watch his sword tricks and pick his infamous mind for battle strategies. Maybe he was too desperate, or too awkward. A part of him regretted not having partied up with that girl he encountered, perhaps guiding her towards a few quests. He’d heard a saying somewhere, third time’s the charm, and thought it quite sound.
    This was his third guild on this server since his last memory wipe, and it had been quite a lucky one – at least in terms of spoils, if not companionship. He’d had vague memories of being rejected by pretty girls twice. So this would be the third, as well.
    Not to mention he’d saved Raine twice now; maybe one more time was what it would take. Just one more time , he realized, but it’s risky . He caught one or two of her glances at him, but damn if he knew what any of them meant. Was she just toying with me?
    If this third time wasn’t the charm, that would disprove his entire theory. It might be months before he felt bold enough to chase a woman again, or he might just give up and wipe his slate clean, resetting his confidence level to default like most everyone else.
    It was never fun, playing these mind games and expecting them to end in something concrete, but it was certainly more exciting than anything the Metaverse had to offer. He wondered how thorough the memory cleanses were, for every other pursuit seemed to bore him.
    The next day his guildmates who spent the night would return to home base under Helrang Mountain with the battle spoils. There would be maybe one or two days’ rest before their rivals, Ioan’s guild, would invade their castle and try to take their loot.
    “Lance’s got the place completely outfitted, mate, there’s no worries about an invasion while we’re gone.”
    Gerrit turned to see the squat, rugged dwarf Peter lounging on a hammock, picking dirt out of his nails with the tip of his axe. As Staff Sergeant, Pete was second in command, but he wasn’t the kind to pull rank over his good friend.
    “Peter,” Gerrit said, after being initially alarmed. “Aren’t you afraid a quake might strike or a packet of data will lag and you’ll snap a nail off? We’re on a sixty-foot wall.”
    “Eh, you can’t be so paranoid. Life happens. In fact, I kind of wish something exciting would happen to me,” Peter replied.
    The dwarf jumped suddenly as a spider crawled up his arm, and a spurt of blood emerged from under his nail. It looked painful, but Peter just stuck it in his mouth.
    “Careful what you wish for, man!” Gerrit laughed.
    Peter mumbled something urgently, motioning to his friend.
    “I can’t make it out, dude. Type it.”
    Rolling his eyes, Peter flicked his wrist, pulled out a virtual pen, and drew a bandage in mid-air.
    “Gotcha.” The swordsman tossed his buddy a bandage from his pack. Peter wrapped it around his finger nonchalantly, and applied some healing salve from his own stash. Gerrit raised an eyebrow.
    “Thanks. It’s fine. Doesn’t hurt.”
    “Tampering with your nerve settings, eh?”
    “Don’t tell Lance on me, mate. Please.”
    “Of course not,” Gerrit said, a little offended that Peter would even presume that of him. “Hell, you know as well as anyone I do the same thing on a regular basis.”
    For a while, the duo sat quietly. Then Gerrit pitched a tangerine into the air and clove it in two, catching the pieces with his blade on their way