“I’m sorry, what?“ Wyn asks, bewildered.

  Elara shoots Wyn a sharp look. “How do you have a spell like that at Whelp rank? That should not be possible until at least Champion rank, if not higher.”

  Wyn shrugs. “Hell if I know. I just have the ability. I spawned with it when I first logged in.”

  Elara narrows her eyes at Wyn before unfocusing. Her eyes dart from side to side, reading an unseen pop-up window. Meanwhile, Rennick, Tilly, and Timnos gather and begin taking out camping supplies from their inventories.

  “The hell?” Elara says. “What is that secondary class?”

  Wyn smirks; Elara must’ve used an insight ability on her and uncovered her error-riddled character details. Judging by Elara’s flabbergasted expression, Wyn’s class is highly unusual.

  She gives the armored woman a placating smile. “Look, I don’t know the details of my class. It shows up as an error on my interface. All I know is the class gives illusion abilities. It’s just illusions, nothing crazy like magical nukes.”

  Timnos snorts. “Yeah. Just some illusions, she says. Ridiculous.”

  Wyn rolls her eyes at Timnos. “And what makes you all-knowing?”

  “Don’t get him started,” Elara says, rubbing her temples.

  But Elara’s words come too late. Timnos glares at Wyn, his cheeks going red hot. Were he any angrier, smoke would billow out of his ears.

  “I’ll have you know I am a prominent figure, and highly skilled! I hold the Runic rarity Blue Flame Wizard class at Novice rank. I have taken down creatures over two ranks above mine with ease and have risen to prominence within the Arcane Consortium. I will not tolerate such disrespect!”

  Wyn tunes out his ranting assertions of grandeur. All she hears is a spoiled child whining about not getting his favorite toy. Even the mild-mannered Tilly rolls her eyes at the overflowing words. But Wyn has her own talent to lord over Timnos, something she can’t wait to do.

  With some effort, Wyn suppresses her excitement at revealing the rarity of her own class, and keeps her face as neutral as possible. Wyn, though, is no saint; concealing her growing smug expression is impossible when dealing with this pompous wizard. While she doesn’t know the full rarity system, or the significance of her class’ rarity, she sure as hell knows it’s far rarer than Runic.

  “Runic rarity? That’s nice,” says Wyn. “But I’ve seen better. My secondary class is Exalted rarity.”

  That statement gathers audible gasps from the adventurers. Timnos’ face falls.

  “You’re joking, right?” Timnos asks, praying Wyn exaggerated her class. His eyes dart between Wyn and Elara, shock plain across his plain face.

  Wyn wiggles her eyebrows playfully at Timnos. “Oh no. It’s exalted, alright.”

  Timnos goes to interject, but Elara’s raised hand stops him. “She’s not lying. It’s true. I’ve only seen an Exalted-rarity item once, a staff held by a Transcendent priest in the capital. And honestly, you’re not supposed to handle an Exalted ability until you reach Transcendent rank, much less have an Exalted-rarity class.”

  Timnos shakes his head in disapproval. “Oh great, we took in someone who broke the game. How nice.”

  Tilly stands up, her squeaky mouse voice taking on a frustrated tone. “Be nice to her, Timnos! Keep this up, and I won’t heal you the next time you almost die.”

  That shuts Timnos up. He shrinks into himself and helps Rennick set up the last of the tents.

  “Quick question,” Wyn says. “What is transcendent rank?”

  Tilly tilts her head in curiosity. “You don’t know about the ranks?”

  Wyn shakes her head. Despite spending over a week in Eden, she’s learned little about how the game works.

  Rennick chuckles as he sets up a campfire. “She’s green as they come. Whelp rank, with an Exalted rarity class, and doesn’t know a lick of this world.”

  “That’s enough. She’s new; doesn’t mean she deserves to get berated,” says Elara. “Timnos, you’re cooking dinner. Rennick, keep watch. Tilly and I will explain some things to the greenie.”

  With the jobs assigned, the group breaks off to their tasks. Timnos stomps over to set up the campfire, fishing ingredients out of his inventory and grumbling under his breath the entire time. Rennick, perfectly content to avoid everyone, melts into the shadows and slips off to scout the area. Tilly and Elara join Wyn near the growing fire. Both women pull out their essentia generators and set them to a slow, steady trickle to refill their pools, and Wyn, still trying to keep up, does the same.

  “Alright, let’s give you the basics of how this world actually works,” says Elara. Her tone carries the sense that she’s said these words many times to many people in Eden. Psai, not wanting to be left out, floats nearby. Elara is about to continue, but is distracted by the floating orb.

  “Hold on, what is that?”

  “It’s Psai. He’s—”

  “I am the Progenitis System Artificial Intelligence and am Wyn’s personal companion!”

  Wyn chuckles. “What he said.”

  Elara and Tilly exchange uncertain glances; Psai’s presence inside the game world is unexpected. They’d only met his avatar during character creation and level point allocation; no one they knew had ever seen him manifest physically. Given the strict laws on artificial intelligence, it’s a surprise he was allowed to take form at all.

  After a tense pause, it’s Elara who finds her voice first. “You really are breaking the game.”

  Wyn shrugs. “It wasn’t on purpose. Psai decided to join me in Eden, and I got this weird class during the demo period. It all just sort of happened.”

  Elara shakes her head, eyes narrowing as she studies Wyn. There’s clearly a lot she isn’t saying; the strange class must have thrown her off. Wyn can’t tell what conclusion Elara reaches, but whatever it is, Elara refocuses on the task at hand.

  “Alright, where was I?” Elara begins again. “Right. The basics. Eden is built on the idea of carving out your own path. There are about a million ways to play, though most people focus on combat. There’s also a sizable community of merchant and craftsman players, mostly because Progenitis allows you to convert in-game gold into real-world money.”

  “Wait, what?” Wyn cuts in. “You can do that?”

  Tilly giggles. “Have you not opened the store page yet? Mine unlocked the moment I picked up my first gold piece.”

  “I, uh…” Wyn avoids her eyes. “I haven’t gotten any gold yet.”

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  Tilly bursts into louder laughter. “You really are new to Eden! How have you not earned even one coin? Didn’t you do any odd jobs in your starting town?”

  Wyn shakes her head.

  “Back on topic,” Elara says, shooting Tilly a pointed look for derailing things. “You can pursue almost anything in Eden, as long as it’s not criminal. Progenitis signed a legal agreement with the world government and the Radiance to hand over anyone caught committing crimes, so don’t go around murdering people.”

  Wyn shudders at the thought of being handed over to the Radiance. If Elara is right and Progenitis had to sign a strict legal agreement with the world government, then any player who breaks certain rules risks being forcibly recruited by the Radiance. For Wyn, that’s a terrifying prospect. To be taken by them means slavery, a total loss of freedom, and disappearing into a life she can hardly imagine, far removed from the grey zones she calls home.

  Sure, it would be a cushier lifestyle, living in the lavish halls of their floating cities. But Wyn would leave everything behind. Rohn, Mom, Elsie, they would have to go on without her. Wyn would never do that to them.

  Lost in her own thoughts, Wyn fails to notice Elara’s voice until Psai pulses nearby, drawing her attention back and letting her pick up pieces of the conversation.

  “From what I’ve seen, the primary way people improve their rank is by joining one of the major factions. The factions also have a lot of game knowledge, so most people learn all of these details through their chosen factions. Timnos mentioned the Arcane Consortium. There are also a few merchant guilds, Gilded Legion, the Explorer’s Guild, the Thieve’s Guild, and many others. Given your spellcasting, I’m guessing you’re joining the Consortium?”

  Wyn nods, trying to absorb all of this information.

  “Good. The Consortium is a good one, and one of the largest guilds. It’s one of the few that spans across the different nations of Eden.”

  Wyn tilts her head. “Different nations?”

  “There are many nations, usually tied to one or more races of the game. Humans have the Arazid Empire, which is the largest by far. There’s also the Orc Conclave, the Elven Kingdoms, the Dwarven Kingdom and many more.”

  “I’m from Rodentia,” Tilly adds.

  “How do you keep track of it all?” Wyn asks.

  Elara chuckles. “That’s the thing, you don’t. It’s easier to focus on the aspects of the game you’re interested in. In that way, Eden is just like real life. It’s impossible to know everything about the real world, and it’s no different in Eden. You can spend years of time in game and only see a tiny fraction of this world. It’s just too big.”

  Wyn nods, absorbing the information. “I think I understand. But what was the rank thing you talked about?”

  “I was just about to get into that,” Elara says. “Ranks come with different perks, mostly in how many level points you earn each time you level up. Whelps get just one point per level, but higher ranks can get way more. I’m a Champion, so I get 25 points per level. Sounds awesome, right? But the upgrades cost way more too.”

  “How many ranks above me is that?” Wyn asks.

  “Good question. The ranks are: Whelp, Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Veteran, Champion, Heroic, Paragon, and lastly Transcendent. I’ve heard rumors that there are ranks beyond Transcendent, but I’ve never seen someone above Transcendent.”

  Wyn nods. It’s no wonder Elara felt so much stronger than the others; she’s five full ranks higher than herself. And if their group is like Timnos, the rest of them are Novice rank.

  “Why are you helping me and the rest of them if you’re so much higher in rank?”

  “I help out lower ranks because my class levels up faster when assisting others. I have the Bulwark Steward class, which is mostly a tanking class. It’s designed to give me bonus XP whenever I help players of a lower rank. The lower their rank, the bigger the bonus.”

  Wyn smirks, an idea forming in her head. “So what you’re telling me is that helping me would give you more XP than helping your current troop.”

  Tilly gasps before her mousy face scrunches into a deep frown. “Don’t poach our mentor! We have to do our quest too!”

  Elara rolls her eyes at the two women. Her disapproving glance alone is enough to silence their argument before it begins. “We’ll take care of your goblins, don’t worry. I suspect these quests are related. Your boomfrogs, and the goblin issue.”

  Tilly perks up, relieved that Elara won’t abandon them. Judging from their fight against the elder boomfrog, the group relies heavily on Elara to tank damage. After all, Timnos went down with a single blast. If the others are that fragile, they’d be completely lost without her. It’s no wonder Tilly was so nervous about their leader leaving.

  “Why do you think it’s connected?” Wyn asks.

  “Simple,” Elara says. “The first Elder Boomfrog served as a mount for a shaman we encountered. Goblins aren’t smart enough to tame goblins on their own usually, which tracks given our quest. Here, take a look at their quest.”

  A window appears in Wyn’s view, the font different from her own interface.

  You have been offered a Quest by: Elara Benith

  Region Quest: The Goblin Threat

  Sub-quest: Know Thy Enemy

  Requirements: Rank - Apprentice

  Requirement waived due to: Allied Class - Bulwark Steward

  Description: Over the past few months, the goblins of the Arazid Mountains, near the town of Lethisburg, have increased their activity. Signs of vile magic, unusual behavior, and a cult-like reverence for an unknown figure calling themself “The Dead Queen.” If they continue their dangerous acts, they will present a grave threat to the Empire, and could cause the deaths of hundreds of lives. Learn the nature of the enemy and report back to the Region Commander Virtus Nijana.

  Objectives:

  Learn the nature and identity of “The Dead Queen” — 0/1

  Locate the Goblin Stronghold within the Arazid Mountains — 0/1

  Rewards:

  Increase Reputation with the Arazid Empire

  Increase Reputation with the Arazid Empire

  Decrease Reputation with the Rebellion

  3,200 Gold Pieces

  Accept Quest?

  Y / N

  It takes Wyn a moment to read through the full quest. It’s quite a bit more detailed than the quests she’s gained so far, even listing rewards. Despite the obvious rewards and importance of the quest, Wyn is hesitant to accept. From the start, she’s been wary of the Empire. The Gilded Legion didn’t give the greatest impression, and while Captain Drell seemed nice enough, she got the distinct impression that the leaders in charge of Captain Drell were less than ideal.

  “That’s a fascinating quest. Before I accept it, I’d like to ask a few questions,” says Wyn.

  Elara nods, gesturing for Wyn to continue.

  “First of all, what’s the deal with this rebellion?”

  “Just some upstarts. They think the Empire is doing horrible things, and keep claiming it’s disappearing people. It’s all lies, so you don’t need to worry about losing reputation with them.”

  Wyn nods on the surface, but inside, her suspicion deepens. “Right, that makes sense. Is this quest tied to any specific faction?”

  Tilly shakes her head no. “It’s a region quest, so is different from faction quests. Region quests are much longer, with many parts to them. Each major faction in the area contributes to the quest, but the region quest-giver is the only genuine source for the main region quest.”

  “This one looks more important than the other region quests,” Elara adds. “I’ve heard whispers that this might be the start of a nation or world quest.”

  “And this Virtus Nijana guy? He’s the quest-giver?” Wyn asks.

  Elara nods. “He is the regional commander, best understood as a governor with significant military authority, a blend of general and governor. He is an extraordinary man, and I consider myself fortunate to have both learned from him and served under his command.”

  There’s something in Elara’s tone that unsettles Wyn. The reverence she shows for Virtus feels unnatural, almost forced. If Virtus were a god or a religious icon, Wyn could understand the depth of her veneration. But for a glorified government official, Elara’s intensity seems out of place. Still, knowing Elara could easily overpower her in a fight, Wyn keeps her thoughts to herself. She wouldn’t be surprised if Elara to smite people for not believing in the glory of Virtus.

  “Getting back on topic, would you be willing to help me finish my boomfrog quest? I have to kill a dozen or so warriors, a few elders, and the matriarch before I turn it in,” Wyn says.

  Elara doesn’t answer immediately, considering it carefully. Tilly gives a pleading look to Elara, giving her best impression of puppy dog eyes.

  “C’mon Elara! She’s really nice. And don’t you want to learn more about her little orb friend?” Tilly says, eyes gleaming in the firelight.

  Psai gives Elara a big smile. “I would be more than happy to assist this group in any way I am able!”

  Elara glances between Psai, Tilly, and Wyn. The air is tense while she thinks, the uncertainty sitting on their chests like an elephant.

  “Fine. We’ll help. But only if you agree to stick with us for awhile and help with our quest.”

  “Deal!”