I woke too early the next day. Before the System, I used to have weekends to sleep in. Now, I wasn’t even sure what day of the week it was — and honestly, why find out? It wouldn’t make a difference if it were Sunday.

  I ate something simple, then made my way down to the A.C.S.C. Chamber. I chose the same simulation settings as the day before.

  Before activating it, I took a moment to review my fights from yesterday — what I’d done wrong, what I could improve.

  Determined to do better, I entered the simulation.

  The first fight went well — clean, no injuries. The second didn’t. I technically won, but it felt like a loss; I’d killed the Kobold, but it had nearly taken me down with it. The third was different. I applied what I’d learned and walked away with a decisive victory.

  Was I ready to face a Level 6 Kobold in the real world? I wasn’t sure. I needed to think carefully before committing to that fight.

  After a long shower and a second round of breakfast, I left my apartment. I still wanted my streaming service, so I kept an eye out for electronic stores.

  I dodged a few Kobolds along the way and even spotted a Level 6 on my Mini Map. I decided to avoid that one completely — for now. I planned to start the second part of my quest tomorrow, and then I’d kill my first real Level 6.

  A block ahead, I found an electronics store. I hadn’t visited one since arriving in New York; I’d brought my computer and phone from home, so there’d been no need.

  Inside, rows of televisions, laptops, and gadgets filled the space. I stopped at a massive smart TV on display — sleek, new, and perfect as a centerpiece. No way was I carrying that anywhere. I’d bring the upgrades to it instead.

  I found a surround sound system and placed it beside the TV. Next came a Wi-Fi router. I wasn’t sure if it would do anything, but it couldn’t hurt. Then I grabbed gift cards for all the major streaming services and placed them near the router.

  What else?

  I wandered a bit more and spotted shelves of DVDs — old movies and series box sets. I picked a few, hoping the System would understand the intention. I added a remote too; with luck, the System would handle the control problem.

  Just as I was about to take out my shards, I noticed a row of virtual reality headsets. Perfect. I grabbed one, added it to the pile, and pulled out my one advanced transformation shard and a basic one.

  I wanted to cheer out loud, but the last thing I needed was to draw more Kobolds my way. So instead, I pumped a silent fist and mouthed, Hell yeah.

  As I stepped out of the store, a thought struck me. The Crystal mentioned it had fifteen percent of recorded movies and series. I wasn’t sure how much that actually was — but it sounded like a lot.

  A grin tugged at my lips. Nice.

  Then I remembered the woman I’d seen briefly the other day. Maybe I could find her again.

  “Shit.” I smacked my palm against my forehead.

  Jason. I’d completely forgotten to call Jason. I made a mental note to contact him that evening.

  When I reached the barrier, I knew his area was just beyond it. I didn’t have much hope of spotting him, but when I saw a hand waving in the distance, my chest lifted.

  “Hi, Danny! How are you?”

  Jason looked good — better than I expected. I nodded and smiled. “I’m doing well. Sorry, man, I was planning to call you the other night, but…”

  He waved off the apology. “Don’t worry about it. I was busy with a quest anyway. Though I’m guessing you’ve already done one too?”

  A flicker of guilt hit me. Maybe I should have warned him. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t.

  Jason must’ve seen my expression, because he shook his head.

  “It’s fine. I get it. I met a young guy next to me — Malik — and for some reason, I didn’t mention the quest to him either. No idea why.”

  I nodded slowly. “Yeah. I just had this feeling the System wouldn’t want us to talk about it. And no offense, Jason, but… I didn’t really know you.”

  “I felt the same,” he admitted. “But I think we should give each other the benefit of the doubt. I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be seeing each other a lot.”

  I tilted my head. “What makes you say that?”

  “The barriers at the back of my area can’t be seen through, and it’s the same for Malik. That tells me the System wants us to interact.”

  I nodded in agreement. “Claire’s next to him on the other side, and she can’t see through her barrier either. The areas are six-sided, and mine’s in the middle. Oh — and I saw a woman two areas over from you. She didn’t see me, but I’m going to try to make contact.”

  “That would be wise,” he said thoughtfully. “We should stay in touch and share information — but carefully. There’ll always be people who’d sell you out for a little advantage.”

  “I agree,” I said. “How’s Malik holding up?”

  Jason grinned. “He’s young — sixteen — but he gets the gaming side of this better than I do. I’m keeping an eye on him. He picked rogue.”

  “I’ll look out for him too — and I’ll ask Claire to do the same. It must be rough handling all this alone, though I guess it could’ve been worse. We used our Knowledge Stone to ask the System; the minimum age allowed is fifteen.”

  “Yeah, I had a few questions for the System too,” Jason said, shaking his head. “The whole instantiation thing just blew my mind.”

  I caught his look and raised a brow. “Damn, I’m glad you said something. I’ve been careful about mentioning that — it feels like the System doesn’t want that knowledge shared. One of the answers Claire and I got said we only received it because we already knew about it.”

  He waved a hand. “You don’t have to worry. When I mentioned it to Malik, the System muted that part of the conversation.”

  “That’s good,” I said with a short laugh. “I wasn’t looking forward to some penalty or debuff.”

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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!