I also had another notification that needed my attention, and I hoped it was not as serious as the one before.
I read the notification slowly, taking in each word. There was no mention of loot, no promise of rewards. Still, it didn’t feel like a deal breaker—the wording made it clear this quest was for the good of Earth and humankind.
That alone made the choice obvious.
“Accept.”
I was on a time limit, but it wasn’t unreasonable. The plan was to hunt through the morning, meet up with Claire, and then spend the following day on the quest. With any luck, a full day would be enough to make progress.
First things first, though—I needed to eat. I had a new food package waiting: an epic food package. Pulling it from my inventory, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Sure, the ingredients were fancier—raspberry, almond, flax instead of plain oats—but in the end, it was still just a breakfast bar.
Don’t get me wrong—I was glad for the variety. But I’d kill for some bacon and eggs.
I munched on a handful of apple chips as I walked down the stairs, turning over the day ahead in my mind. Truth be told, I wasn’t looking forward to fighting more Kobolds. But I needed the food and water packages, and I wanted to keep advancing. Stagnation wasn’t an option—not in this new world.
I found plenty of lover level Kobolds, but I wanted a Level 4. I wanted higher level packages and shards.
I found one after walking for a while and although not a easy as the Level 3 Kobolds, I defeated it without taking any damage.
I frowned at the so-called epic water package. By nature, I was a coffee person—water was just something I drank to stay alive. The System’s upgrades offered teas and herb-infused variations, which were… okay, I guess. But let’s be honest—what I really wanted was a proper cup of coffee.
I also noticed the XP required for the next level had jumped from 200 to 270. The climb was getting steeper with each step, and I understood why. I was getting stronger, and the System wasn’t about to let that strength come cheap.
I had more than enough time to hunt down another Kobold before meeting Claire. This one felt easier than the last, the fight almost routine.
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Practice makes perfect, I guess.
I got another advanced healing package, which was good and a few other shards.
I made my way slowly toward the meeting place. I was early—very early—but I didn’t feel like going after another Kobold.
Instead, I sat at the barrier, letting my thoughts wander. Before long, my Com Crystal pulsed with an alert: Claire was calling.
I looked up, and there she was, smiling at me. She’d arrived early too.
“Hi Claire, how are you feeling after this morning?” I asked.
She cocked her head to one side. The gesture was simple, but it made her look impossibly cute. “Better,” she said softly, “but I don’t want to even think about it. It still leaves me feeling… unsettled.”
“It was extremely unpleasant. Do you think it had something to do with the parallel instantiations?”
She nodded. “Yes, I do. Somehow the instantiations were changed, but I have no idea what was done.”
“Me neither.” I shook my head, then remembered. “Oh—I got a quest.”
Her eyes lit up. “Well, tell me more.”
I explained the quest in detail. She listened closely, nodding along and asking questions whenever something wasn’t clear. When I finished, she frowned and looked at me.
“Do you think I’ll also get a quest?”
“Maybe when you reach Level 5,” I said. “I got mine the day after levelling up.”
“Another reason to get to Level 5.” She smiled, determination flashing in her eyes.
I thought about it, “You know, we could ask about the realignment if we have shards left, because I really want to know when we will be able to contact our families?”
She nodded, “I would be happy just to know they are okay, even if we cannot yet contact them.”
I had 2 advanced knowledge shards and Claire had a few basic ones. We decided to use the advanced ones on contacting our family and friends and the others on the realignment question.
After some back and forth we got a question and took out the shard.
“The advanced shard gives you one question for one shard or 3 random questions.” I told Claire before, “I want to ask a question. Is there a way to confirm if our family and friends are still alive, other than through upgraded comm crystals?”
Relief washed over me—but frustration followed close behind. When would I actually get my hands on one? And the message didn’t even say how many shards were required.
I shared my thoughts with Claire. She fell quiet, her expression turning thoughtful, eyes fixed somewhere far away.
“Should we ask about Comm Crystals.” I asked her.
She nodded in agreement.
I took out my second shard, “What conditions must be met before comm crystals can be upgraded to allow long-distance contact with all of our family & friends?”
We sat in silence, and I was certain Claire felt just as despondent as I did.
“Should we ask about the… Realignment?” I finally said.
She gave a small wave of her hand, then pulled out a Knowledge Shard. “Ugh, why not? I have a question—what was the function of the Realignment?”
We hadn’t even discussed how to phrase the question.
The irony wasn’t lost on me—that the one question we’d barely thought about ended up giving us the most detailed and longest answer.
I read and reread it, piecing together a few conclusions. First, people were being moved between instantiations—and if we had felt that awful, then they must have suffered even more. Second, as people died, their spaces were being filled from other instantiations. And finally, that meant the total number of instantiations were decreasing.
“I don’t want people to die,” I said hesitantly, “but if the instantiations are reduced, it would increase our chances of contacting family.”
“Yeah, I figured that out too,” Claire replied. “But I also don’t want people to die. Did you notice—that’s only one of the functions? I wonder what the others are.”
“I missed that part,” I admitted, “but I did wonder what else it could mean. And it also confirmed that our areas are six-sided. A hexagon.”
“Who knows,” she said with a sigh. “Speaking of our areas—I noticed something strange. The ones not connected to yours have a clouded surface. I can’t see through them at all.”
“I’ll admit I’ve been slacking on my mapping, but I haven’t come across anything like that. After the quest, I’ll make an effort to see if I can find one too.”
We talked for a long time, both of us keeping one eye on our Mini Maps as the hours slipped by. By the time we finally wrapped up, it was already late. We agreed not to call again that evening—well, it was practically evening already.
“I don’t know how long the quest will take,” I told her, “but I’ll call you when I’m finished.”
“I know the quest said it didn’t involve combat, but be careful nonetheless.”
I nodded. “I will.”
We said our goodbyes, and as I walked away, I realized how much it meant to me that she worried about me.
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