The System was not just being more active than usual where Jade's friends were concerned.

Upon his safe arrival at his home, it awarded him another point of Karma. It even popped up an extra long list of small quests to be accomplished before bed. It made Jade feel that the System's generosity with mini quests recently was a little worrisome, but at least his Karma balance would replenish fairly quickly this way, as each tiny quest awarded another point.

Normally there would be one small quest that included each of the little tasks. The fact that each small task gave a reward instead was not exactly abnormal, but usually indicated that the activity itself held some significance, or the system was preparing him for something. It was the same during class the next day, and again at his job. Everything was broken down into mini quests, with each step outlined.

When he finished up at the convenience store, Jade returned home without trouble, to his relief. The quick Karma replenishment didn't seem to have been because the System had predicted another dangerous incident, but that made him even more curious about why it was being more active.

--

When Jade logged into 'Living Jade Empire', he flicked over to his friend list. After describing the scene that had forced Appella to restart her character, to Eric the day before, he had been feeling guilty.

He hadn't been in contact with Appella for a while. Ever since they had met, at the bottom of a slime mine, they had usually gone on a quest together at least once a week, but recently neither of them had messaged. His list showed that Appella was currently online, so he sent her a message.

Skyheart Snowsong was also online, but before Jade could compose another message to send to her, she pounced on him.

"Hisui-kun!" she exclaimed.

"Your name here is too long," Jade complained as he disentangled himself from the elf's grasp. "You don't have to add to mine to make it the same length."

Harmony laughed and suggested cheerily, "You can just call me Sky if you want?"

A plump squirrel with tufted ears came bounding up to them and delivered a message to Jade that read: "I'm good. Want to meet up since we're both in Sky City?"

Jade told Harmony, "Okay then, Sky. One of my friends is nearby, do you mind if I add her to the party?"

Harmony laughed and shook her head. "Girlfriend?" she asked teasingly as Jade flicked the menu again to send the invitation.

He just rolled his eyes. They meandered companionably along the market, and each purchased several small items from players who were set up as vendors.

Skyheart Snowsong snickered and turned to observe Jade's friend with interest a few minutes later, when a cute girl called out to him and waved.

"Hisui!" Appella exclaimed as she approached. The smile of greeting that she directed at Jade was warm, but she raised her eyebrows inquiringly at the slender elven woman standing beside Jade's dwarf.

Jade made abbreviated introductions, "Skyheart Snowsong, Appella." The two women had both given their characters blue hair, although one was light and the other dark, and both grinned at his short introduction.

"How do you do?" Appella asked cheerfully.

Skyheart Snowsong laughed again and exclaimed, "Such an old fashioned greeting!" She winked and added, "I'm doing well. You can just call me Sky, and yourself?"

"Okay Sky. I'm good," Appella replied easily, slanting a look at Jade. "I haven't gotten to play with Hisui so often since I reincarnated."

"Oh?" Skyheart Snowsong asked with interest. She reached out and ruffled the hair of Jade's short sturdy dwarf. "Has this brat been discriminating against you because of the level difference?"

Jade made a face at her and protested, "Both of you are currently the same level!"

Skyheart Snowsong looked surprised, and demanded, "How long have you been avoiding her?"

Appella grinned and replied easily, "It hasn't been that long! But Jade is at over 300 now, and with so many high level skills, the quests I'm getting would mostly be boring for him."

Jade protested, "Hey, I have never refused to go on any quest with you because it was boring!"

Skyheart Snowsong laughed and asked with interest, "How long ago did you start this incarnation then?"

Appella told her seriously, "Just a few months ago. It might look like I gained a lot in that amount of time, but when you know that accumulated level just means the total of your skill points, and you know where to pick up skills, level isn't as impressive."

Jade spoke up, "I bet you don't just have a lot of different first level skills."

Appella winked at him. "I won't tell," she replied laughingly.

--

It didn't take the three of them long to finish Skyheart Snowsong's quest, and when they were done Appella suggested, "I've got a puzzle type quest that I've been ignoring in the country that's below us at the moment, do you two want to tackle it with me?"

Jade agreed promptly, "Sure."

After she finished setting the little fairy dragon she had won as her messenger, in place of her mountain snow cat, Harmony finally responded, "I don't mind, but how do we get down?"

Jade opened his mouth to offer his airship's services, but Appella interrupted enthusiastically, "Let's jump! I've got enough enchanted feathers for us all."

Skyheart Snowsong laughed and agreed, "Okay!"

Jade objected, "Hey, wait, if we get the timing off we'll have to revive!"

Both women stuck their tongues out at him in response. Harmony laughed, and Appella assured him, "It's ok, I've got more Karma than levels at the moment!"

"Me too," Skyheart Snowsong agreed.

Appella handed them each a feather and then walked over to the low city wall. She jumped up onto it and called out, "Come on, Hisui and Sky! Last one to the ground has to pay the firecat's bribe!"

Appella's feet had barely left the wall when Skyheart Snowsong sprang after her. After a moment, Jade shook his head, kicked his heels to ignite his boot boosters and launched himself over the wall into the sky after them.

--

Over the next few days, the three of them did several quests together.

Outside of the game Jade's own System reduced the micromanagement of his daily quests a little, and he decided that either he had accomplished whatever it had been trying to coax him into, or that his Karma balance had been bolstered back to a level it found acceptable.

Then Jade logged in one evening to find that both women were online before him, but greeted his arrival with identical messages that said: "Busy tonight."

Jade returned to his smithy and pouted for a while before laughing at himself. He knew that he should be glad that both of his friends liked each other. He resumed his work on his pudgy little airship in a more cheerful mood.

--

Harmony asked him teasingly when she stopped at the convenience store the next afternoon, "Did you go somewhere and pout after reading our messages? You didn't even ask what we were doing?"

Jade grinned at her and admitted, "Maybe?"

"Where did you go?" Harmony asked.

"Just back to my smithy to work on my airship conversion," Jade admitted. "What were the two of you doing?"

Her eyes sparkled as she blew him a kiss and winked. "Sorry, I can't tell. It's a secret," she confessed laughingly.