I was meeting Claire at noon, but before that, I wanted to kill a few kobolds. I needed 185 XP to reach Level 6, and the Level 4 kobolds gave 33 XP each. That meant I could kill two today, then practice against the Level 5 kobolds this evening and tomorrow morning. With luck, that would push me over the threshold.
I had a rule for myself: I didn’t advance a level until I could reliably kill monsters at my current rank. Ideally, I’d manage one level higher, but I hadn’t figured out how to pull that off yet.
With that settled, I got up, brushed my teeth, and ate breakfast. I still hadn’t tried calling my family again, deciding to wait until I could upgrade my Comm Crystal first.
The crystal buzzed. When I retrieved it, I saw Jordy’s name.
“Jordy, everything okay?”
“Hi. Yeah, I’m fine. I just hit Level 5 and picked up a quest. I was wondering if you knew anything about it?”
“I did mine yesterday,” I said. “The World Tree Quest.”
“Oh, no—mine’s called the Leyline Stabilization Quest. I took it, of course. It sounds important—like it’s for the good of the planet and its people.”
“Yeah, that’s why I accepted mine too. When are you planning to start?”
“I was thinking tomorrow. Got any tips?”
I thought for a moment before answering. “Just be patient. There’s no fighting, but a lot of tasks and puzzles.”
“Thanks. Did you have any luck contacting anyone?”
“No,” I admitted. “But Claire and I used Knowledge Crystals and…” I gave him a version of the story. Since he didn’t know about parallel instantiations, I left that part out and simply explained that upgrading the Comm Crystal was necessary, and that Rare Knowledge Crystals could give information about loved ones if you asked the right question.
“That’s… good to know,” Jordy said. “Maybe when we get enough rare shards, we can coordinate who we ask about—so we don’t end up overlapping.”
“Good idea. We will stay in touch.”
We spoke for a bit longer before I wished him luck for his quest and began my day.
I decided to loop around the barrier to the far side, clear out some kobolds, and finally finish mapping my area. I already knew it was six-sided, but I wanted to measure just how big it was and get a better sense of the boundaries.
Keeping one eye on my Mini-Map, I avoided the weaker kobolds wandering nearby. Soon enough, I reached the shimmering barrier and began marking its outline on my map.
I was bent over, sketching another section of the wall, when I felt it—the prickling weight of someone’s gaze. I straightened slowly and looked up into the smiling face of a man.
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He lifted a hand in a friendly wave, and before I even thought about it, I waved back.
He wore the same crisp white system-issued clothing as the rest of us, but what struck me most was him. Tall—easily 6’2”—with the lean, powerful build of someone who trained daily. His shoulders were broad, and his stance relaxed.
Warm brown skin caught the light, his short curls framing expressive dark eyes that seemed to study me even as they softened with kindness. And then there was his smile—faint, effortless, the kind that put people at ease without him saying a word.
I took out my Comm Crystal and waved it to him. He grinned and took out his. Activating the Line of sight ‘add a contact’ feature.
‘Contact, Jason Morales, has been added to your contact list.’
“Call Jason Morales.”
“Good morning my man, it is so good to see another human being. I am tired of the company I have been keeping.”
I grinned, “Yeah, Kobolds are not the best at conversation.”
“How have you been dealing with all this?”
“I have just been doing my best, one day at a time. I got the wizard class, and I am level 5.”
He let out a low whistle before answering. “I chose warrior, and I’ll probably hit Level 5 today—or by tomorrow morning at the latest.”
We talked for a while, and I shared what I could. I left out anything about parallel instantiations and the quests; the first as I knew the System did not want me to tell and second because I did not know him that well, yet. I also mentioned that I’d already met someone else, but I didn’t give any details. I wanted to run it by Claire before handing out her name or contact information.
Jason seemed like a decent man, but you could never be too careful.
We promised to stay in touch, then I went back to my mapping while he headed off in the opposite direction. He gave me a wave before walking away, sword swinging loosely at his side, already moving with the focus of someone gearing up for a fight.
I kept an eye on my Mini Map and when I noticed a Level 4 Kobold walking alone, I moved away from the barrier to ambush it.
I have fought them enough times that I knew how to quickly and efficiently take care of the Kobold. I got my food and water packages for the next day as well as a knowledge shard and an expansion shard.
I decided not to kil another Kobold that day. I would rather practice and kill Level 5 Kobolds. Soon Level 6 Kobolds would be walking around and by that time I need to comfortably kill the Level 5’s.
I slowly walked towards our meeting place. I was very early but I did not feel like mapping the barrier anymore.
I sat down, letting my thoughts drift. The seed in my inventory, the kobolds, and—of course—Claire. A smile crept onto my face before I even realized it.
My Comm Crystal buzzed, and when I looked up, her grinning face was just beyond the barrier.
“Hi. What were you smiling about? You looked like you were thinking of chocolate.”
Heat rose in my cheeks, and I hoped she didn’t notice. Someone sweet, yes—but not chocolate.
“Nope. If I was thinking about food, it would be pizza.”
She snickered, nodding in agreement. “That too. But let’s not talk about food right now. Before you tell me about the quest—I hit Level 5. But…” She pouted theatrically. “I haven’t gotten a quest yet. Maybe the System doesn’t want to give me one.”
“Calm down,” I said with a grin. “If I remember right, I didn’t get my quest the same moment I levelled up. Just be patient.”
Her eyes lit up, excitement replacing the pout. “Okay, I can do that. Now spill—tell me everything.”
So, I did. I walked her through the entire World Tree Quest, from the blossoms to the endless corridors. By the time I finished, she just stood there, silent for a beat.
“Wow,” she breathed. “That sounds amazing.”
“Oh—and I met one of our neighbours. Jason. He seems like a good guy.”
I told her my impressions of him, everything from his easy smile to the fact that I still wanted to be cautious. Claire listened quietly, nodding along as I spoke.
“Also, Jordy called. He also got a quest, but it was called the Leyline Stabilization Quest.”
We talked for a while longer before we said your goodbyes. I made her promise to call me when she received her quest.
It was later afternoon when I reached my apartment.
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first Royal Road chapter of each pair. The second one won’t have pictures. If you want to see all the art together (or earlier), it’s on Patreon with the combined chapters!