Welcome to your path to Villainy!

What in the world is that supposed to mean?! 

Without so much as a chance to think, the pop-up changes and the accompanying voice reads the next line of text aloud.

You must reach level 100 to complete the game. 

The previous game was similar, ending only when the Hero reached level 100. Which was usually completed during the ascension to the throne. It was nearly impossible to gain enough experience to complete the game otherwise. 

I wonder what the goal will be for this playthrough. 

You have a new quest. 

The words that flashed in the right corner of my vision drew my attention to the new icon symbolizing the quest menu. 

Tapping to enlarge the screen, I have to do a double take at the quests in the list. It started off standard, but…

1. Kill one small animal

2. Reach a village

3. Steal candy from a baby

If the third quest on the list was anything to go by, it seemed that the ‘villainy’ mentioned earlier was in fact, not a bug. 

I must have hit something strange because there’s no way that’s right. There’s no way that the only gamemode is to become a villain. 

A deep breath later, I check my interface for any buttons that would take me to a settings menu or even a restart button. Then I double check… and triple check. 

Another bug.

The first game was polished at release but it seems they’d missed a few crucial things this time. A way to leave the game was essential, yet I couldn’t find a single way to do anything more than pause. 

Going for the first thing I could think of to end the game, I decided to find an opponent that was stronger than me. 

Simply choosing a direction, I walked aimlessly for a few minutes before stumbling upon a small snake. 

The words 'venomous snake’ above its head was more than enough to know that this creature would be perfect for my plans. 

Gripping my dagger, I click “Engage Battle.” The snake makes the first move, lunging and biting onto my leg. The bite caused me to lose 2HP on its own. An icon in the right corner signified the poison effect and was pictured as a fang dripping with neon yellow venom. 

The little pop-up informed me that I’d be losing a further 1 HP with every turn that passed. 

After the snake’s attack, I was presented with the chance to deal some damage of my own. I chose to skip my turn and brace myself for the snake’s next attack. Once again the snake deals another 2 HP of damage and I lost 1 due to the poison I’d been inflicted with. 

With the fresh bite, the poison effect stacked, leaving me with a 2HP decrease per round. 

Choosing to skip the next two rounds, I scan the screen that appeared as my character reached 0 HP. 

Your character was killed while fighting a Venomous Snake. Respawn now?

Even though the message presented it as a question, there was truly no other option to select besides ‘YES.’

Selecting the only option available, the flash of light returned as I found myself once again standing in the starting clearing. 

Reach level 100 to complete the game. You have lost 0 Experience Points. 

I didn’t have any EXP to lose, but it’s good to know that it can’t be negative at least. 

Even still, it seems like restarting the game might be harder than I thought. Reopening the quest panel, I look over them again. 

This time I found a little addition at the top of the panel. 

There are alternative ways to complete all quests. It is up to you how you decide to play the game. 

That was definitely not part of the first game. But it would add a fun element to the game just figuring out the different ways to complete the quests. 

The bigger question is how to steal candy from a baby without actually stealing candy from a baby. 

Even if I’m supposed to be a villain, it feels too cruel to do that to a child. 

Still, knowing that I could choose how I complete the quests would be some added peace of mind, especially since it means I’m not explicitly tied to the path of villainy the game seems set on me following. 

Without a clear way to reset the game, I decided to focus on playing through as much of it as possible. We were being monitored within the game pods, so it was likely they’d manually stop the game once I’d spent too long in the pod anyway. 

Pulling out my dagger, I decide to focus on the first quest for now. It would be a bit difficult to hunt any of the small game in the forest with only a dagger but not impossible. 

Wandering through the forest, I follow a dirt path until I hear the sounds of something in pain. Crouching down I do my best to stay quiet as I creep up to the bush where the noise is coming from. Brandishing my dagger, I prepare to defend myself as I pull away the branches with the other hand. 

I could hardly believe my eyes as I took in the small creature before me. The shimmering wings on the tiny creature would have immediately revealed it to be a fairy, even without the word shimmering above it’s head. 

Fairies had been alluded to in the first game, but in all of my playthroughs I still had yet to encounter one. 

The poor thing was trembling in fear, with an arrow protruding from one of its wings. 

Dropping my knife to the ground, I speak to the creature as I reach in my bag. “Hello, my name is Vera. I’m so sorry someone attacked you, but I’ve got some supplies to help you heal if you’re okay with that.”

Although hesitant, the fairy gave a small nod. 

At the fairy’s consent, I reached out to assess the wound more thoroughly. To do anything, it was imperative that the arrow be removed. “It’s going to hurt, but I’m going to have to remove the arrow.”

“It’s okay. Do what you have to do.” The fairy spoke, words strained with the pain. 

Carefully, I pulled out the arrow. Quickly she gripped the gauze from the first aid kit to apply pressure to the wound. Fortunately it seemed that the fairy’s wings didn’t have much of a blood supply so any blood loss would be minimal. 

Securing the bandage was a bit harder due to the shape of the creature’s wings but I managed it. 

“All done.” 

“Thank you.” The fairy’s small voice sounded exhausted. “I can reward you but I need some time to regain my strength.”

I was busy packing up the first aid kit, but paused at the fairy’s words. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, you’ve saved my life. No tricks, I promise. Even if we’ve got a less than pristine reputation, we know how to repay our debts, and you’ve saved my life.” The fairy continued, standing up carefully. 

Before I could respond, the sounds of people rushing through the brush reached my ears. The panicked look on the fairy’s face coupled with the dire condition I found the creature in was enough to have me apologetically stuffing it inside my pack alongside the first aid kit. 

Quickly I hide the bloody arrow in the bushes and set out in the opposite direction of the sounds. 

Forcing a neutral expression on my face, I reign in my urge to run, sticking to a quiet walk. Watching the ground beneath my feet, I take care to avoid any twigs or dried leaves that would give away my presence. 

With any luck, the group would be passing me by without problem.

But of course, luck would choose this moment to abandon me. 

“Hey you!” a voice called out from behind me.

As much as I would much prefer to keep walking, I had a feeling that they’d continue to pester me if I’d even tried. Turning around, I force a smile to my face as I return the greeting. 

“Have you seen a little fairy around here? The little weasel’s being difficult.” 

Following his words was another pop-up with two options. . 

Tell him you’ve caught the fairy. 

Lie and say that the fairy went in the other direction.

Obviously I wasn’t planning to hand over the fairy so I chose to lie. “I saw something shimmering as I came down the path from that direction.” Using my finger, I pointed back the direction we came from. “I saw it go into the bushes back there somewhere.” 

“Why don’t you show me where you saw it?” His voice now held a hint of suspicion. It seems that my character wasn’t very good at lying. 

“I’m in a bit of a hurry, so I’ve got to be on my way. I hope you manage to catch it.” I say as I get ready to turn back around.

“I don’t think so.” Those four words were punctuated by a few heavy footsteps in my direction. 

In a split second I made the split second decision to run for it. I spared a second of concern for the little creature in my backpack, but I still knew that if we were caught, we would both be subject to much worse.