The tavern lights flickered over our avatars, the fake bard looping the same melody for the hundredth time. After that short "Ouch. That sucks," I expected silence, maybe another joke about farming. But then, a longer string of words filled the chatbox.
[Mr.Pen67]: Y'know… people treat love like it's a quest. You grind, you level up, you think eventually the boss will drop what you want. But sometimes? No matter how many runs you do, the item just isn't coded to be yours.
I blinked at the screen. For a guy who spent his life logged in, he suddenly sounded like a philosopher with a keyboard.
[Az69]: Wow, are you secretly a monk NPC in disguise? Should I bow and ask for enlightenment?
[Mr.Pen67]: I'm serious. Maybe stop grinding the wrong dungeon. Some loot just isn't meant to drop.
I snorted, nearly choking on my drink.
[Az69]: Okay, okay, wise master Pen. But listen, if my love life is RNG, then I demand a re-roll. My luck stat must be bugged.
[Mr.Pen67]: Haha. Maybe you just need better gear. Or a different party.
That made me laugh harder, For once, the sting of rejection didn't feel like it was gnawing at my ribs. Instead, it was just another story told over pixelated ale, softened by the company of a stranger who felt, in some ways, less like a stranger than anyone else I knew.
I leaned back in my chair, my avatar idly spinning the empty mug on the tavern table. My fingers tapped on the keyboard as I typed.
[Az69]: You know, you're way too wise for someone named Mr.Pen67. Don't tell me you're actually experienced in relationships or something?
For a second, I imagined him smirking behind his screen. The reply came quick.
[Mr.Pen67]: Nah. I learned all this from anime.
I froze, then burst out laughing so loud I nearly knocked over my drink.
[Az69]: Anime? Wait, so all this time you were quoting "Waifu Philosophy 101"?
[Mr.Pen67]: Hey, don't underestimate anime. Some of the deepest truths of life are hidden between beach episodes and giant robots.
[Az69]: Right, right, Next thing you'll tell me is that my tragic love life can be solved if I get hit by a truck and wake up in a fantasy world.
[Mr.Pen67]: …Not the worst option, honestly.
I chuckled, shaking my head. Somehow, his ridiculous honesty hit harder than any fake sympathy I'd ever gotten in real life. Maybe that was why I kept logging in. Because in this place, even advice stolen from anime felt real enough to make me laugh.
I leaned my avatar back in the tavern chair, mug still spinning in slow circles.
[Az69]: So what you're saying, I typed, is that my love life is just a side quest with bad drop rates?
[Mr.Pen67]: Exactly. You're farming the wrong mobs. Maybe the real loot is in a hidden dungeon you haven't found yet.
[Az69]: Great. So I'm basically that clueless NPC wandering around with a fetch quest nobody wants to accept.
[Mr.Pen67]: Hah. More like the main character who doesn't realize he's in the tutorial stage.
[Az69]: Tutorial? Bro, I've been alive for twenty years. If this is still the tutorial, then where's my damn skill tree?
[Mr.Pen67]: Maybe you picked "Hard Mode" without realizing.
That made me laugh out loud, nearly choking on my drink.
[Az69]: Figures. Everyone else is playing "Casual Mode" with cheat codes, and I'm here stuck grinding rats for pocket change.
[Mr.Pen67]: Hey, at least rats always drop something. People? Sometimes they don't drop anything at all.
I raised an eyebrow at that line, grinning at the absurd wisdom of it.
[Az69]: Wow. That's deep. Did you get that from anime too?
[Mr.Pen67]: Nope. That one's original.
[Az69]: Oh no, Mr.Pen has transcended anime and become a philosopher. Next patch note: he evolves into "Pen-sama, Sage of MMOs."
[Mr.Pen67]: Don't tempt me. I'll make that my new username.
The tavern's light was starting to blur my eyes. I rubbed my face and sighed, fingers tapping the keyboard.
[Az69]: Alright, I'm calling it a night. It's late, and my stomach's starting to riot. Gotta grab some food before I collapse.
[Mr.Pen67]: Hah, fine. I should log off too.
I smirked at the screen.
[Az69]: Yeah, right. Don't lie. I bet the second I log out, you'll still be here farming wolves until sunrise.
[Mr.Pen67]: …You think I'm that jobless?
[Az69]: Bro, you reply faster than Google search results. Don't tell me you've got a busy life when your soul literally lives in this game.
[Mr.Pen67]: Tch. You caught me. But still, I'm not that desperate. Maybe.
I chuckled, shaking my head.
[Az69]: Sure, sure. Anyway, don't hog all the rare drops without me. Save some RNG luck for tomorrow.
[Mr.Pen67]: Deal. Same time?
[Az69]: Same time. Night, Pen-sama.
[Mr.Pen67]: Night, unlucky Az-kun.
The last thing I saw was his ranger raising a mug in a pixelated cheer before the screen faded to the logout menu. The glow of the monitor vanished, leaving me in the dark silence of my room.
I leaned back, stretching until my bones cracked. For a moment, it was strange, how logging out of a fake world could feel lonelier than leaving a real conversation.
But then my stomach growled, dragging me back to earth. "Alright, food first," I muttered, grabbing my wallet. Tomorrow, the game would still be there. And so would he.