Kit started to make his way through the village. He realized they didn’t discuss where they would meet if one of them died. Kit stopped to think of the best place to meet. ‘Should I head back to the forest? What happens if we miss each other on the way?’

Kit decided to see if he could locate Mars on the map. Kit pulled up his map and realised he could see a little dot still in the forest with Mars’ name hovering over the dot. ‘This must be because we’re a party. At least I can easily find him. If he’s still in the forest, this will give me more than enough time to come up with a plan to convince him to keep quiet about my embarrassing death.’

Kit happily started the trek back towards the forest. He found Mars waiting for him in the same place where he had died earlier. Thankfully there was no sign of the neon blue birds. Kit still had not come up with something to say to Mars.

‘Mars must have finished off the creepy birds. Thankfully there are none left or I’m sure Mars would have a field day teasing me.’

Kit decided to just ask Mars out right for his silence.

“Mars, we will never mention this again, ok?”

Kit had a red tinge to his cheeks as he spoke.

“Kit sorry, no can do. That was way too funny. It’s like, begging me to forever tease you about this incident. They were tiny blue birds, you literally could have stepped on them to kill them. Ahh, the look on your face when you saw all those birds. PURE GOLD! Anyone would have thought you were facing a streak of tigers.”

Mars had a huge grin on his face. There was an evil little twinkle in his eye. Right now, Mars really reminded him of his sister.

“Mars has anyone ever told you, you’re a bad friend.” Kit huffed and turned to walk further into the forest.

Mars had a panicked look on his face after Kit told him he was a bad friend. Kit instantly felt terrible, he knew Mars was touchy about friendship.

“I take it back, you’re not a bad friend. Just don’t tease me too much, ok?” Mars instantly looked better after hearing that.

“It’s like an obligation between friends to always remind them about their stupid mistakes. That’s what my dad told me.” Mars spoke as if it was a fact.

“What kind of reasoning is that? Aren’t friends supposed to build each other up? I thought that was more a friend’s motto.”

“Well, I like mine better. Just think, we now have a story that only we know. It will become an inside joke, that’s how people tell you’re good friends.”

“Mars your idea of how friendship works is a bit warped, not wrong, but also not quite right. Friends do have inside jokes. It is usually something they both find funny though. It’s also not how you judge a friendship.”

Kit was not going to complain further though. Mars had basically said he wouldn’t tell anyone about his embarrassing episode. Even if he did bring it up from time to time, Kit thought he would keep it cryptic so other people wouldn’t understand.

“I’ve never had an inside joke with anyone before.” Mars looked like Kit had beaten him with a stick.

Kit instantly felt bad once again. He resigned himself to the fact he would have to bring up his own embarrassing situation again, for Mars benefit. It looked like Mars was really excited about having something only the two of them knew.

“Well, we can always make up our own rules about friendship. So, we can count this one as an inside joke.”

Mars instantly perked up. Kit thought he really did resemble a puppy sometimes.

Kit felt his nerves settle. He didn’t have to worry about becoming a laughingstock from the embarrassing encounter with the blue fairy birds. If only Mars was laughing at him, he could deal with that. Mars was a source of entertainment for Kit. So, it was only fair he gave some amusement to Mars.

Kit and Mars continued further into the forest collecting ingredients. After a while Kit realised, they would need a light source if they continued. The further they went the darker it was becoming. It was as if the light was slowly being sucked out. Kit heard a noise up ahead but couldn’t see anything.

“Mars, I think this is as far as we can go without something to light the way.”

The noise suddenly headed towards where they were standing. Kit felt his nerves heighten, his heart started to pound. Kit pulled out his sword in preparation. ‘I won’t be caught off guard and die this time.’

Kit was filled with adrenalin he could feel his blood pumping around his body in preparation of a fight. Kit slowly turned his body toward the rustling sound he could hear getting closer. When it was almost upon him, he lunged forward with his sword.

“Kit be careful it might be the Fornax boar.”

A loud yelp was heard. A black fluffy object nimbly dodged his sword. The only thing Kit could see was a pair of bright golden eyes. The creature’s body blended in with the darkness of the forest.

“That didn’t sound like a boar. I thought Iris said there were only three types of creatures in the forest.”

“She did, Kit keep your guard up, we don’t know what this creature is.”

“This creature is all mine Mars, you stay back. I need to redeem some of my pride in killing this.”

Kit’s adrenaline spiked, he was ready to finally be able to use his sword in combat. Kit paused to assess the creature before he tried to strike once again. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness the creature started to come into focus.

It looked like a tiny Pomeranian, it was the cutest thing Kit had ever seen. It had stubby little legs and a body shaped like a ball, covered in black fluffy fur. Its back was speckled with white, it looked like fresh snow had fallen on its fur. Its cheeks were chubby. It reminded Kit of a squirrel with its cheeks stuffed full of food. Big round golden eyes blinked at Kit, his heart immediately melted at the sight.

Kit had always wanted a puppy. When he saw the cute little face, he wanted to keep it, not kill it.

“Hey, little guy, don’t be scared, I won’t hurt you.” Kit really wanted to get some pats off the cute little fluff ball.

Next to him Mars could not contain himself, he had burst out in laughter gripping his sides, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Ha, ha, Kit!” Mars paused to catch his breath.

“Kit OMG, that was even better than the blue birds. It’s not even the slightest bit scary. You will definitely redeem your pride by killing this one.” Mars wiped his cheek, then continued to laugh.

‘I’ve changed my mind, adventuring with a friend, sucks. How will I live this day down, all I can say is I’m glad Kat is not here as well.’ Kit crouched down to see if he could entice the little creature in to letting him pat it.

‘CAL name of creature’

[Not available]

‘What, CAL why?’

[Not available]

‘Ok, ok, I get it! I’ll give him a name then if he doesn’t try to eat me.’

The cute little fluff ball moved its head side to side assessing him. Kit made some kissing noises and patted his leg. He really couldn’t stop himself if it attacked so be it. The cute little fluff ball moved tentatively towards Kit. Its little stubby legs made its whole-body waddle as it walked.

Kit had to hold himself back from picking up the round ball. He didn’t want to scare it away. He was amazed at the amount of cuteness it produced. It slowly made it to Kit’s side. When Kit didn’t move it started to sniff him. Its little body started to shake, and he let out the most adorable little yaps.

‘Ahhh, cuteness overload! I want to keep it. I hope I can have it as a pet.’

“Mars can we have pets, do you know. I want to keep it.” The excitement was clear in Kit’s voice.

Mars was watching the two of them interact.

“Kit this is a wild creature. We can visit a pet store in the city if you want a pet.”

“Mars, look at this little guy. We can’t leave him all alone in the forest, he might get hurt.”

“Kit I’m pretty sure he has been fine surviving on his own up till now.” Mars looked at Kit’s face full of disappointment.

“Look if you really want him, it’s not impossible. Wild creatures can choose a companion. You will have to try to entice him and build a bond with him to have a chance of him becoming your pet. It won’t be easy though. Wild creatures are well known to be hard work to try to tame.”

“Kit, having a pet is a lot of work just like it is in real life. Most people want a self-sufficient pet that can fight alongside them. Usually, they are picked out for their skills. This little guy does not even look like he would have any. I think ones like this mainly little girls have. They get them so they can have something to pamper.”

“I don’t care if it’s usually a little girl’s pet. It is so cute, how could anyone not want it. Just looking at it makes me smile. Plus, if girls like it, they will want to talk to me to pat it.” Kit gave Mars a cheeky grin.

‘I’ll work on making a bond with this little cute ball of fluff. What should I call it? Little cute ball of fluff is too long. It has the most adorable chubby cheeks, so maybe Cheeky? It’s white speckles also look adorable. It really does look like snow has fallen on its back. His little round body adds to the cuteness. Maybe Snowball would suit it more?

The said ball of fluff was sniffing at Kit’s pouch excitedly.

“Oh, you like something in my bag. Let’s see what it is.”

Kit pulled out a petite purple flower and placed it in front of creature’s nose. The little fluff ball avoided the flower and went back to yipping at his pouch.

“Oh, of course it’s probably after food, so maybe you want the snake meat?”

Kit pulled the snake meat out, he was met with the same reaction. Kit then pulled out the small mushroom. Its little body gave an enormous quiver, then he lunged at the mushroom stuffing it in his cheek. He then started prancing around Kit, nudging him with his nose or giving him little licks.

‘I thought for sure it would want some meat, but from this reaction he loves mushrooms, maybe it’s an herbivore?’ Kit gave the fluff ball more mushrooms until his little checks were bulging.

“Mars look, he got even cuter.”

Kit picked the little fluff ball up and gave it a pat. He was happy the little fellow allowed him cuddles. Its fur was softer that it looked. It was silky to the touch. Its large golden eyes gazed at Kit adoringly.

‘It’s so cute Snowball suit’s him more than Cheeky.’

“Look at how docile he is, Snowball is not even moving.”

Snowball was happily sitting in Kit’s arms. He was gazing at Kit as if he was the only thing in the world right now.

“Snowball? You’ve named it already! Kit don’t get too attached it might have a family here.”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that. Ahh, ahh, ahh, more little fluff balls, I could adopt the whole family.”

Kit had the same silly look on his face he had after watching the magic equipment in Iris’ kitchen. Mars could tell he was dying to keep this animal. If there was a whole family of them Mars could already picture a trail of little fluff balls following Kit.

“You have a thing for cute fluffy animals don’t you.”

“Yes, but who doesn’t, most people can’t help turning silly when near puppies or kittens right?”

Kit placed Snowball on the ground. Snowball turned to Kit, yipped then walked off towards the deeper part of the forest. Kit quickly lost sight of Snowball.

‘I guess he didn’t want to become my pet. I know where he is now, so I can come back tomorrow and try again.’

Kit was disappointed the cute little fellow didn’t want to stay with him. Kit was about to turn to Mars when he heard little yipping again. Kit hurried after the sound.

‘Maybe he wants me to follow?’

“Kit don’t follow blindly, what happens if it’s a trap. We don’t know anything about this creature.” called Mars.

“I’ll be on alert, but what if he leads us to a whole pack of cuteness.”

Kit couldn’t stop himself following even if he wanted to. The thought of more cute creatures had him hurrying to catch up to the little fluff ball.

Kit followed the yipping sounds from Snowball. The surrounding darkness limiting his eyesight, he could only see the ground in front of his feet. The further he went in after Snowball, the more the distance he could see in front of him shrank. The yipping sounds stopped, and Kit finally caught up with Snowball.

Kit felt like he was blind at this point. He was feeling around in front of him with his hands, so he didn’t collide with anything.

“Hold on I have a light stone.”

A soft light emerged from Mars hand. It lit up the surrounding area. Kit was surprised how far the soft light reached.

“Why are you only bringing it out now?”

“I wasn’t planning on going this far into the forest. You can’t see outside the light field. It is very easy for a predator to find us and attack while we are unprepared. Only idiots go this far in with light.” Mars was looking straight at Kit when he said this.

Kit realised he had made a mistake, but he didn’t regret it. He really was a sucker for cute little creatures. Snowball had led them to a hollowed tree. There was an entrance at ground level, big enough for the cute little ball to fit.

Kit crouched down to look inside what he assumed was Snowball’s home. Inside was filled with mushrooms of all shapes and sizes. It was like he was hoarding food to go into hibernation. Nestled in amongst the mushrooms were some glittery items.

“Snowball, you’re a little hoarder, look at all your belongings soon you won’t fit inside.” Mars crouched down next to him to look inside.

“I think your little Snowball found a treasure cache. Look at all those items amongst the food. We should see if he will trade.”

“Good idea, Snowball my adorable friend, want to trade some things for mushrooms?”

Snowball gave a loud yip. He then dived inside the hole. Kit could see him rustling around inside. Snowball returned with something in his mouth. Kit held out his hand, Snowball dropped a dull red stone the size of his palm, covered in slobber into his hand.

‘Eww, I could have done without the extra coating of drool. This stone is bigger than his head, how on earth did he carry this stone out?’

Kit wiped the stone clean. It was warm to the touch, as if it had been heated to a perfect body temperature. It was smooth and glossy. With the limited light he couldn’t fully see its colour properly.

“CAL identify”

[Unable to identify]

“What is it, Kit?”

“I can’t identify it Mars. I must have to upgrade my skill. Do you know how to do that?”

“The skill upgrade system is a little tricky. It’s different for all skills. Some skills upgrade from repeated use. Others can upgrade by finding a skill trainer to teach you. Skill books can be found at stores or from monster drops. Evolving skills is even possible and so gain a better skill.”

“I’m not sure how CAL determines how each skill is upgraded, but there are multiple ways to upgrade. So, it is hard to give a definitive answer on how to upgrade. Basically it’s trial and error to find out how to upgrade your skills.”

“I feel like this game’s rules are very hard to understand.”

“You will get used to them.”

“This is hurting my head. Mars can you identify this stone?”

“My Identify skill is probably as high as yours right now, so I don’t think I’ll be able to identify it either.” Mars picked up the stone out of Kit hand and examined it.

“I was right. I was unable to identify it as well.” Mars handed the stone back.

“See if he’ll trade anything else, hopefully he has something we can use in there.” Mars had an eager look on his face.

Kit pulled out some more mushrooms to try his luck again. Snowball dashed back inside his hollowed tree and returned with a pouch. Kit was a little surprised to receive a bag, hopefully it was still usable. Kit and Snowball continued to exchange items until Snowball stopped dashing inside his tree.

“Wow, Snowball found or collected quite a bit of treasure. As well as the pouch he traded me numerous coins, stones and surprisingly a shoe. Though I don’t know what I can do with one shoe.”

Kit held the shoe up for closer inspection. It was a plain brown colour and from the looks of it Snowball had been using it as a chew toy. It was a little sticky and was covered with little teeth marks.

“Snowball, I think you should keep this one.” Kit handed the mangled shoe back to him.

Kit added the coins up. They came to a total of 8 silver and 5 bronze crowns. Kit was very happy with the boost to his finances. There were six stones of different colours shapes and sizes none bigger than the first stone though. Kit was quite happy with the trade, he hoped Snowball was too.

Kit picked up the pouch, it was just as ordinary looking as his own. Maybe even poorer quality than his. It has a few patches sewed into the side for repair. Mould was growing on the bottom of the bag. Kit tried to open the pouch, but it stayed closed.

‘Maybe it just looks ordinary. I can’t open it so it might be rare. Ahh, now I’m excited what if it holds a brilliant treasure.’ Kit started to imagine piles of treasure being inside the pouch. His excitement grew with his imagination.

“What’s inside?”

“I can’t open it, so hopefully, a rare treasure. Where do we need to go to open it Mars?”

“We are in a low level area so I don’t think it will be anything too good. I think you hit the jackpot with the coins. From what I have learned getting 1 silver crown in a starter area it is amazing let alone what we have already collected. Did you ask CAL to open it, or did you just try to pull it apart?”

“Umm … just tried to pull it apart.”

“Kit it will have an inventory just like your own pouch so you will have to look inside the inventory to pull out items.”

“Oh, I did not realise!”

“Ahh that’s a little disappointing, I was really excited for a minute there.”

Kit felt his building excitement disappear. He wasn’t too disappointed, he had already gotten more than he thought would be possible from Snowball.

Kit tried again to open the pouch.

“Open inventory.”

This time an inventory screen popped open. There was only one item in the pouch, a single scroll. Kit was a little disappointed at only one item being inside that bag.

“There is only a scroll inside.”

As Kit was looking at the scroll, he noticed the number of slots available in the bag. Kit’s excitement went into overdrive.

“Mars this pouch is incredible it has a total of 5000 slots.” Kit rubbed his eyes and looked at the total amount of slots once again in case his eyes had been deceiving him.

Ding!

[Credula’s Pouch, Epic item]

Credula was an exceptional fabricator known throughout Fornax for his beautiful creations. Kings and queens from all over the world would seek his favour to have one of his creations. Credula made this bag for his loyal friend Monak the great adventurer.

Bind to player Kit.

Yes/No?

“YES, CAL yes please”

“Holy crab apples! It was an epic item, this is amazing.”

Kit started to laugh he could not contain his happiness. His eyes sparkled with his delight. Kit didn’t understand how this was even possible. They were in a low level area, something this incredible shouldn’t be here at all.

“CAL, can I share the pouch information with Mars?”

[information shared with player Mars]

“Fuck me! Kit, your little fluff ball came through for the win. Congratulations Kit, your first big treasure. Ahh, even I’m excited now, what does the scroll say? Hurry, hurry I can’t wait.”

Kit pulled the scroll out of the pouch. ‘My hands are shaking I’m that excited, if the pouch is this good what’s going to be in the scroll.’