"Your friend is running late?" someone asked from the shadows.

Maya paused just outside the academy entry arch, frowning at the lurking merla. "Sorry?"

"Your friend. You said you'd have him meet me to kill the Overdrile yesterday morning?"

Maya slapped her forehead. Right, she’d been planning to switch to Mayon and finish the Overdrile with him, but with all her other exciting developments... "Oh no, I completely forgot! Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh, why didn't I write it down?"

"You didn't tell him about me?"

"Oh, I did, but it, uh, turned out he had another appointment. I’m so sorry. I should have come back to tell you... what was your name again?"

"Andy."

"Right, Andy. I remember. Andy." She made a note. So many people, she'd never keep track of them all. "Uh, maybe I can help you after all." She didn’t feel like switching to Mayon right now, even if it would be a chance to finish his tier trial. She still had many hours of luck left to play with, after all.

"You don’t have to," Andy said, but she could tell he wanted her to.

"No, it’s fine. I’m sorry I let you down before, I should have kept better track of my schedule."

"You manage your friend’s schedule?" Andy asked, teasingly.

"Well, kind of, yeah. He’s forgetful and a little on the…" she looped her finger through the air beside her head. "If you know what I mean."

Andy grinned. He seemed happy enough to have someone to travel with, any grudge he might have held over Maya ignoring him forgotten. "So you’re his caretaker?"

"Not exactly. We’re just very close. But he’s not available today, and I happen to have a free schedule, so let’s get your quest finished so you can move on with your life."

Maya decided not to collect Hunter just yet, as she wasn’t entirely sure which of her identities she wanted him associated with. Besides, they were working on Andy’s tier trial, which was intended for players several levels lower than her and without the benefits of her luck boost. It wouldn’t be a problem.

"I am definitely ready to be done with this tier trial," Andy said as they left Kalyx behind.

"How long have you been stuck on it?"

Andy grimaced. "Over a month now."

Maya nodded. "I know how that is. So many new players camping the spawn, it's almost impossible to get in."

"It seems to be slowing down now, though, so I hope we can manage. I'd like to get through the next zone ahead of the newcomers. Otherwise we'll be stuck in the same situation every zone."

"The zones get more difficult the further on you progress," Maya said as they exited the eastern gate and headed south toward the drile-infested forest. "I think the noobs should start dropping out by zone three or so."

"Yeah, I hear it's a pretty steep level curve after tier three. Though I haven’t reached it yet myself, obviously."

"Is this your first character?" Maya guessed.

"On this world, yeah. I play a few different classes though. This one is my main melee fighter."

"What other classes have you played? Do you have a mage?"

"I'm not sure this world is intended for magic-based characters. Having magic as a world resource is too punishing for casuals, and I'm not hardcore dedicated to playing a mage. Besides, I prefer things up close, y'know?"

"I like to stay away from the action, myself," Maya said. "Magic is awesome, and being able to stay at range only makes it better."

They fell into silence as they neared Windy Creek, the tiny village perpetually plagued by flooding. A group of low level players currently worked to repair the dam, while another few cleaned up the broken debris of the washed-out bridge.

Maya smiled fondly. Those repairs had been one of the first quests she did when she first joined. It felt so long ago. She was momentarily tempted to steal and hide the workers' tools, just to live up to her trickster name. But with Andy here, it would feel too awkward.

As soon as they reached the forest, they began to encounter the countless drile wandering the area in small packs, just right for a pair of low level players to gain experience and loot with. Often, though, by the time they arrived other players had already engaged them in combat. Maya took that as a bad sign. If this many players were in the area fighting the standard monsters, they'd probably be watching for the boss too.

Sure enough, when they reached the Overdrile's nesting ground, there were already four separate people waiting around for it to spawn.

"Should we come back later, or stay and wait?" Maya asked.

"Not much else to do, is there?" Andy sat down at the edge of the clearing, leaning back against a mossy tree trunk. "I didn't expect it to be easy." He patted the ground beside him. "We can get acquainted while we wait."

"Okay, sounds good. How’s life these days?"

"Well, I live in a game world now. That was a bit of a shock at first." He laughed. "I’m getting used to it now. So, that's the big one. Obviously, pretty life changing." He hesitated before continuing in a lower voice. "Honestly, it's hard to think of what to do now, you know? Like, there was always this urgency, the necessity of rushing from one thing to the next, because life was short and you always had to find a way to pay the bills and steal a few hours here and there when you could. But now..." he shrugged. "I dunno, it's like nothing matters now, y'know?"

"People matter," Maya said. "People always matter. And as long as we're still human at heart, we'll still need each other."

Andy smiled wryly. "And what if the game has better than people? Does that mean we're obsolete?"

"Better than people?" Maya asked.

"People care about themselves," Andy pointed out. "NPCs don't have anything better to do."

Her mind jumped to sitting with Elaph when she had a bad day, the produce delivery boy she'd rescued in her first quest and one of her favourite NPCs. He never tried to pry and was always available if she wanted to talk.

Andy was right. Sevard had his own life and his own obligations, as did Rion and Tahpa and Venix; Elaph didn't. There was nothing to distract him from Maya if she asked for his time. And, more, she could probably convince him to join her permanently if she wanted. The game was open to that sort of thing; given enough money she could probably hire him on as her full time assistant. Have him soulbound, then he'd always be there, not even the risk of death to separate them.

She shivered, not liking that line of reasoning. It felt invasive and creepy to get that attached to an NPC. It was one thing with pets, another entirely with people.

"I don't think we're obsolete," Andy said more quietly still. "I think we still matter. Our connections, our souls. But maybe that's just narcissism."

"I don't think so either," Maya said. "If there were nothing left to do, there'd be no point to living."

"But saying 'people matter' still doesn't solve the 'what now' problem. I could be the greatest woodsmith on earth and here someone with two hours of crafting training could do the exact same piece as me with equal competence. Skill doesn't matter any longer in a systemized world."

"Not every world is like a game," Maya protested. "Surely some are more earth-like, rewarding effort and mastery?"

"Sure. But on an easily accessible scale that anyone can climb. Nothing we do matters here."

Sounds of fighting broke the silence and Maya looked up. Three of the waiting players had teamed up to take on a small wandering group of driles that had come a bit too close. Nothing important.

"Why bother grinding for levels if that's all they are?" Andy pressed.

"Personal satisfaction, competition, knowing you can do something? I think those are valuable."

"But for how long? Once you've reached the top and proved yourself master of this world, would that really satisfy you? Would it justify all the time spent reaching that height? Or would you immediately find another world to conquer, another leaderboard to climb?"

"It depends on who you want to be, I suppose." Maya frowned thoughtfully. "But perhaps it's more honest. Lots of people on earth don't know who they want to be. They just go with the flow, and if it never flows anywhere, what do they care?"

"That's a more cynical view than I'd expect from you."

Maya glanced over at him. "From me? What do you know about me?"

Andy grinned back at her. "That your answer to 'why are we alive' is immediately 'helping people', for one thing."

Maya leaned back against her tree. "I suppose I have to give you that."

"So if you care so much about people, why would you disparage them so?"

"Because I know how easy it is to exist without purpose." Her voice dropped softer. "How painful, how endlessly difficult."

"We can talk about something else if this is too heavy for you," Andy said gently.

"No, I'm ... I'll be alright. I know my purpose, kind of. I mean, there's a whole universe of people, most of whom..." Maya trailed off, her voice going faint. Most of whom need to hear the truth. But she couldn't bring herself to say it. The moment she started preaching, she'd be labeled a religious nut and that would be the end of it. She never knew what to say, how to present the gospel without sounding crazy, and no amount of good intentions made up for that crucial flaw.

Some Christian I am. Can't even admit it aloud to a stranger, let alone when it actually matters.

"You're lucky, then," Andy said. "Knowing who you are. Because you're right, most people don't have a clue what they're living for."

"And you call me cynical?"

"Reality is harsh sometimes, but that doesn't make it untrue."

Another burst of combat on the far side of the clearing as the noobs fought more wandering driles. Maya watched them absently, wondering if they had purpose to their lives, or if they were running away from themselves and what they knew they needed to do.

She just wasn't good enough. There was no way her meager testimony would be any use to anyone. 'I don't really care about anything or anyone, but I want you to trust your eternal fate where I tell you to'?

Yeah right.

Maybe someday, in the far distant future, once she'd fixed her own problems enough to at least pretend to function in normal society, then she could start thinking about more important things.

For now, she had smaller, easier agendas. Not saving the world, just conquering this one, and catching the attention of the most famous person in the universe.

So much easier.

Maya snorted derisively. And here she'd just gotten over a fit of melancholy. Couldn't she stay optimistic for one day without finding something to be depressed about?

"What are your hobbies?" Andy asked, breaking the empty silence.

"Uhhh, I haven't really thought about it. I suppose for now, my main hobby would be designing new magic spells."

"Have you made anything exciting? The available spell list seems pretty anemic to me."

"I’ve got a few ideas," Maya said evasively. "You should join the mage academy if you’re interested in spell design. We’re making good progress toward figuring out the underlying system." Then she grinned. "Actually, I made something exciting just yesterday. Completely impractical for combat, but very flashy. It's a self-targeted lightning burst."

Before she could get into any further detail, the Overdrile finally appeared. The giant drile hissed and growled as it lashed its scorpion tail at the nearest player who happened to be standing within its reach. Before the unfortunate player could fully adapt to his circumstances as the boss’s primary target, the other players waiting around all leapt at the Overdrile, each vying to claim first strike.

Andy jumped to his feet, equipping a massive club, then charged the Overdrile.

Maya had no idea how credit for the kill would be assigned, but figured that since she and Andy were obviously a group, maybe highest damage could do it? So she shifted into Heart of Magma - she really loved that spell - and before she’d even gotten halfway through her full barrage, the Overdrile gave one final scream and toppled to the ground.

Its waves of summoned minions remained to be cleaned up, so she switched to Magestrike for area damage as the remaining players scrambled to claim as much credit on them as possible. Not that it did much good. Her magestrike was strong enough to oneshot half the swarm and seriously damage the remainder.

Once the last drile spawns were defeated, Andy returned, grinning. "That worked, we got the kill credit. I now have to search for its lair and destroy its brood before it can mature, but that’s a solo instance so I’ll be fine. Thank you! It’s been great getting to know you, too. Would you be interested in getting together another time, maybe? Go into zone 2 once I’m leveled a bit?"

"If my schedule is open, absolutely." She hesitated. "Do you not have anyone else you can level with?"

"I’ve been bouncing around between characters for a while, so I never really settled to anything. But I do like close in fighting. There’s something…" he paused, breathing hard. "Visceral. Powerful. Being in the heart of the chaos is so invigorating. I think I may stick with this character."

She couldn't help noticing he hadn't answered her question, and took that as answer enough. "Well, if you want to partner up for a while, I could always use a close fighter. My build is most effective from a distance, and I’m pretty squishy at the moment." Though the Overdrile had been so trivial to defeat, she wondered if she could have tanked it solo with Hunter. Maybe she should focus on having Mayon finish the Dazzlemurg quest before trying to get him through his tier trial.

"I'd love to. Give me a couple days to finish my tier trial and upgrade my equipment, and I'll be at your command."

"Really, at my command, huh?"

"Certainly, m'lady. I will be your humble barbarian critter-smasher, as you use your mighty magics to strike down all our foes."

Maya snickered. Andy was fun, and it was rather novel to be the higher level player for once. For the first time, she didn't feel like she was imposing on someone else's time better spent elsewhere, but offering her own to someone who needed her help. She thought she understood a bit better why Sevard had stuck around her so long, despite her relative uselessness.

Sometimes, it was nice just to be able to help someone out. Even better when they could help you in return without it feeling contractual. She began to hope she and Andy could become friends. Though maybe that was getting ahead of herself. She might forget about him completely and neglect him. Again. Or he might end up being a Domitian spy sent to pry out all her secret spells. But she was willing to take the risk.

"I have a pretty eclectic schedule," Maya warned. "You can leave a message for me at the academy when you're ready, you don't need to hang around waiting all day."

"I'll find you. You don't need to worry about me."

"I do worry, I feel terrible leaving you waiting for days without remembering to get back to you."

"I wasn't just sitting around waiting for you to come back. I have plenty of other projects to work on besides leveling."

"Woodcrafting?"

Andy shrugged. "Among other things. I’m also looking into the other branches of crafting. After all, we have all the time in the world now. What about you? What are you pursuing with your eternity?"

"Well, at the moment I'm pursuing Domitius's spot at the top of the world," Maya said, laughing. "I want to show him up almost as much as I want to find my brother."

"How did you manage to misplace your brother?"

"Well, we were separated when I died, and he went on to... well, he saved me and had me uploaded here, but due to tech reasons I was only added recently, while he's probably been here for hundreds of years. So I probably slipped through the cracks, and he forgot to come get me, but if I can just remind him that I exist, I'm sure we can go back to being partners."

Just imagining the worlds they could build together in this new virtual universe was enough to make Maya grin, excitement hastening her heartbeat. "I've always wanted to build games with him. It's something we were going to do someday even as kids. We spent hours and hours writing out plans in notebooks, figuring out what our favourite games did well or did badly, what we'd do differently. Storylines, lore, systems, progression systems, all of it. But... I died, and he went on to do it with someone else."

Andy's fishy face furrowed in confusion. "You want to make games?"

"I’ve always wanted to design games, it’s one of my oldest ambitions. And I’m sure I still can, someday, If he hasn't replaced me entirely. I always assumed he’d do the back end while I’d help with concept and figure out balance. He’d build the framework, I’d build the levels. But, well, here I am. No Drew."

"You know you don't have to wait, right?"

Maya frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we can do anything now. No point in limiting ourselves to one craft. It’s not like before, when you’d have to focus on one thing to the exclusion of all else. You can be a master of all trades now, no time trade-off to worry about. So what if it takes a hundred years to master them all? Who’s counting?"

"That’s… that’s true." Maya hadn’t been here long enough to spend much time thinking about the broader implications, but… she could do anything. And more than that, she could do everything. Andy was right. She didn’t have to wait for him to come back. She could learn coding, which she’d always put off because Drew could do it for her, and do it herself. She could try her hand at concept art.

However long it took, she had the time to figure it out. She could build her world from the ground up; no, even deeper than the ground.

Before she quite realized what she was doing, she had her folder of blank pages out and was starting a quick concept document. Her world would have a liquid core, veins of water running through the world like leylines. Ooh, and an air-filled balloon in the very center of the inner lakes, a bubble full of floating islands. Would it be the central gathering place, or a hidden secret locked away? Would players start at the core and only discover the surface later, or start at the surface and delve slowly downward? She put down both options, already gaining enthusiasm for the project.

When she next glanced up, Andy stood watching with a fond smile. "I see you’re a creative after all."

Maya tucked away the notes a bit self-consciously. "Maybe a little." Then she sighed. "But it’s all just theory. Anyone can come up with a fun idea, it’s the execution that makes or breaks it. I don't know if I can pull it off, even if I spent decades on it."

"But that's no reason not to try."

"I might mess up."

"And then you can try again."

Maya huffed out a breath, unconvinced.

"I'm not saying it'll be easy. Learning a new skill isn’t easy, and mastering it harder still. But I believe in you."

Maya snorted. "You barely know me."

"And yet I already know that you’ve done things here that everyone else had given up on as impossible."

"Only because I’m too stupid to know better," Maya grumbled, but she was smiling. She couldn’t help it, his obvious sincerity warming her heart.

Andy hesitated. "Why are you so focused on finding your brother? I mean, I understand that family is important, but you seem a bit more hung up on this than is entirely healthy. Even if you had plans to work together that were interrupted, I don’t see how that justifies this… obsession."

"Well, he's the only thing I have left of my old life, for one thing," Maya said, trying to figure out how to articulate her reasons and resisting the urge to snap at him for being rude. "But, more than that, he's... he's my partner, my best friend. And from what I can tell, he built all of this just to save me. So it seems, well, wrong to just ignore that. Even if he has moved on and forgotten me, I haven't forgotten him. And even if I can never match the grandness of his gesture, I'm going to try. And he'll know that he means as much to me as I mean to him."

"Not to judge, but… you don't think that's a little... childish and clingy?"

Maya shrugged. "What does it matter if it is? As you said, we have all the time in the world. There’s plenty of time in the future to be reasonable adults. Why not enjoy our freedom while we can?"

But even as she said it, it felt like a lie. Hadn't she decided she wasn't going to keep running from reality? That she'd face it, even if it hurt; face and conquer herself?

She'd been willing to jump off a roof to overcome a physical fear, again and again. Maybe... maybe there were some emotional roofs she needed to jump off of too.

Just… not quite yet. She would think about it, but this wasn't the kind of decision she could make on a whim.