The Spider Queen

The middle-aged man walked away without looking back to see if Sophie was following him.

Truthfully Sophie didn't like his attitude, but it was pretty obvious that this was the first quest or at least a clue to the main storyline, so she had no other choice but follow behind him.

Virtual Reality was basically indistinguishable from reality once inside a game, so Sophie's nose was assaulted with a variety of unpleasant scents.

Piss, garbage, and manure from the horses that travelled down the cobblestone roads combined to form an odour that only be described as gag inducing.

Sophie struggled to keep up with the middle-aged man as he walked through several alleyways and side passageways.

The slums were like a maze.

It didn't help that the residents all appeared to be quite unfriendly and some even spat in Sophie's direction.

The thick phlegm in their saliva and the flecks of blood that stained their lips made it clear that they were not in the best state of health.

Still Sophie found it hard to have any sympathy for them especially when three men leaning against a nearby wall ogled at her body and yelled insults as she passed by.

"Ay bitch! Come see me later?"

"Ignoring me? Fucking whore!"

"Did you see her face? Fuck... she should be paying me!"

Sophie gritted her teeth and was tempted to pull out the rusty knife and drive it right into their necks.

Actually... wait.

This world was so immersive that for a second Sophie forgot that it was fake. A sadistic smile flashed across her face before she controlled her expression.

"Hey handsome..." Sophie walked up to the men with a sway in her hips. This body was thin and weak but there was a crucial advantage that she possessed.

Speed.

"Hehehe... come to dadd... erghh!" the man's voice was cut off as a dagger plunged into his throat was a quick thrust.

Sophie raised up her knee and drove it into the crouch of the second man who doubled over in pain.

She withdrew the dagger and then slashed his throat with a well-placed swipe. The third man stumbled backwards in shock as if unable to believe what had just happened.

Sophie licked her lips and approached the man slowly. The killing intent in her eyes was on full display.

Just as she held up the dagger to stab into his chest, an arrow was shot through the man's heart killing him instantly.

Sophie looked in the direction where the arrow was shot and saw the middle-aged man staring at her with an unpleasant look in his remaining eye.

"Having fun rat? I told you that the boss wants to see you immediately," he said with a low growl in his voice.

He placed his hand back in his pocket and Sophie caught a glimpse of a small crossbow attached to his wrist.

Two translucent windows appeared in front of her, and new information appeared on the screen.

[EXP GAINED!]

[Lvl.1 ---> Lvl.2]

[The Archdemon of Pride has gained an interest in you]

Demons?

Sophie glanced at the windows and then turned her attention back to the middle-aged man who was moving further away.

She quickly ran to catch up with him and discovered that her body felt much lighter than before.

Maybe leveling up also had the effect of increasing her basic stats.

It took around ten minutes for the middle-aged man to finally arrive at a wooden shack at the end of a long alleyway.

The shack was poorly built with a leaking roof, a wooden door barely attached to its hinges and walls that were cracked.

It looked as though a small breeze would be enough to topple the flimsy structure. The middle-aged man gestured towards the open door and then disappeared.

He literally disappeared.

Sophie raised an eyebrow as a cloud of white smoke rose up from the ground to cover her guide's entire body and then he vanished.

She couldn't even sense where he had gone.

Well... should she go inside and meet this so-called boss?

Sophie hesitantly walked towards the door while clutching her rusty knife closely to her chest.

The edge of the blade was still dripping with blood and an aura of death surrounded the weapon as if it somehow enjoyed being soaked in the crimson liquid.

She entered the shack and discovered that the interior was only a single room. There was no furniture inside except for a small wooden chair in the center.

Sitting down on the chair was a beautiful woman with olive skin. She had grey eyes, a lean physique and a horrible burn mark that covered half of her face.

She wore a long black cloak, and a plain longsword was attached to her hip. She looked like a soldier and yet there was an air of decadence surrounding her body.

"Rat... I got a job for you," the mysterious woman slowly spoke as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a metallic flask.

She unscrewed the top of the flask and the heavy stench of alcohol wafted upwards from the container.

Without hesitation the woman tilted back her head and took a large swig from the flask.

"Yes... boss... err... what is this job about?" Sophie asked curiously.

The woman finished drinking and then placed the flask back in her pocket. She leaned back in her chair and let out a heavy sigh.

"This job... I'll give you two gold coins. Should be enough money to get you out of this hellhole and start a new life," the boss calmly spoke.

"All you have to do is kidnap Count Rochella's daughter. Got a client interested in purchasing her as a sex slave."

"No." Sophie bluntly refused.

The last thing that she saw was a flash of silver and then her vision slowly turned to black.

[Game Over]

[Load Last Save Point?]

[Yes] [No]

Sophie tapped the [Yes] option and found herself back in the shack with the boss.

"Got a client interested in purchasing her as a sex slave," the boss spoke nonchalantly as if she was talking about the weather.

Okay... so saying 'no' outright would lead to a death but maybe she could reason with the boss?

The NPCs in virtual reality games were usually controlled by AI so they did not have set behavioural patterns and could adapt to the actions of the players.

"Um... how am I supposed to kidnap the daughter of a noble?" Sophie asked cautiously.

"Don't worry... I have a man on the inside. You just need to go to this place at midnight tomorrow and pick up the girl," the boss replied with a smirk.

She rummaged around in her pockets and pulled out a map which she then threw at Sophie who barely managed to catch it.

"Boss... this is risky business dealing with nobles... maybe we should reconsider..." Sophie's voice trailed off as she saw the mysterious woman's hand drift towards her sword.

"I mean... err... You can count on me!" Sophie quickly blurted out.

The boss smiled and the hideous burn marks on her face glowed eerily. She got up from the chair and approached Sophie with quiet steps.

"I know I can trust you to do the job... right Rat?" the boss softly whispered.

"Because if you don't... that would make me very unhappy, and you don't want me to be unhappy now, would you?"

"No boss!" Sophie quickly replied as she took a small step back. The boss chuckled darkly and then gestured for her to leave the room.

Sophie did not need to be told twice and quickly departed. She could feel those grey eyes staring at her back as she got further away.

She turned around a corner and finally escaped the harsh glare. Sophie took in a deep breath and began to think about what to do next.

She didn't want to do this mission so maybe she should try to run away from the organisation?

But what if that led to another bad end?

This game was not a power fantasy. She may be able to kill men who were untrained and in poor health but would struggle against actual warriors.

Just as Sophie was feeling a bit hopeless, several translucent windows appeared in front of her body with new texts on the screen.

[The Archdemon of Pride gets angry on your behalf...]

[He suggests that you take the bounty for yourself!]

[New Quest!]

[Objective: Rescue or sell the countess' daughter. Do not allow your boss to make even a single cent of profit]

[Rewards: Curse Of Pride]