We went out and immediately ran into Nora and Nadir who happened to be passing the spot.

Kiara covered her mouth with her hand. It was her first time seeing two Skhites that were melded together. My guards were all bachelors.

“Who is she?” Nora asked me, looking the human female up and down.

“She is Kiara, my friend.”

“If not for these two, I would be dead,” I said, turning to Kiara.

“Well,” Nadir said. “We would be dead if not for Vicky.”

Nora and Nadir went to their room.

“How can they live like that?” Kiara asked me, as we moved along the corridor. “Like with their bodies glued with each other?”

“I guess that's what true love is all about,” I joked, shrugging.

For the next hour, Kiara and I strolled about the tunnels. Many of the families saw us and were surprised to see another human in their village. Some even looked at Kiara with a good deal of suspicion, so I put my arm around her to communicate that she was no enemy but a friend.

“You are okay with me putting my arm around you?” I asked Kiara.

“Well, I wouldn’t be allowing you if I wasn’t okay.”

“Why don’t you come to the game world and live with me?” I offered. “You said the office is boring anyway.”

Kiara was a bit hesitant.

“But what would everyone think if I just disappeared?”

“Dunno. Maybe apply for some days off, and tell them you are visiting relatives?”

“I will think about it,” Kiara said. “Do you ever plan to go back to the real world?”

“I am working on it,” I said to her. I told her about the supernatural sage and the quest. Kiara found everything too mind boggling and shaking her head frantically declared it was beyond her ability to grasp.

***

Work on the farm kicked off the next morning.

I ordered for a clearing to be made near the village so the farm could be set up. I asked the Skhites and the Hornies to work in harmony, as it was ultimately going to benefit all of them. And then, with some of the monsters, I journeyed all the way to the place where the Zombies lived. The Zombies were surprised to see the monsters arriving at their village, and sought to know what the matter was.

“Can you give us some seeds of the Evil Crop?” I asked the female that was apparently their queen. Her name was appropriate for someone who was the leader of the undead. Queen Dieana. Pronounced Die-Ana.

She was wearing a lot of sparkling jewellery, and despite her rotten face she managed to have a certain air of dignity about her, her head held high. “We are ready to pay you whatever sum you ask.”

The queen took a moment to reflect on my words, and then spoke in an articulate manner.

“The Evil Crop is family for us Zombies,” Dieana said. “We depend on the crop and the crop depends on us. It’s a symbiotic relationship. If not for us there would not be so many plants, and if not for the Evil Crop we would still be brutes. Are you sure you will be able to take care of the plants, if you manage to germinate the seeds in the first place?”

“You can be assured that we will do our best,” I said to her.

Queen Dieana observed me, maintaining a poker face.

“We will give you a handful of seeds,” she said. “If you are able to turn them into plants we will give you more in the future. The Evil Crops require some time to achieve maturity and produce their own seeds, so you will require seeds from us if you want to expand into more farms quickly.”

The Skhites and Hornies mined gold and minted their own coins that they used to trade with other races. The seeds were pricey. For one thousand combined Skhite and Hornie coins, the queen gave us twenty seeds. Each seed coming at fifty gold. The monster who reluctantly handed away the jingling bag might have been happier to donate his kidneys instead.

The zombie queen additionally gave instructions on how to tend to the seeds and even sent one of the zombies with us to oversee the endeavour.

We returned to the village to find that the monsters I had assigned to clear the land had completed the task. The zombie advised me to set up a fence around the plot to protect it from small animals. More trees were felled. By the time a fence was up encircling the farm, the laboring monsters were tired deep into their bones. It was night time too. I let them retire to their quarters.

The zombie was unimpressed, and made a sarcastic comment that their race would work unhindered in the darkness into the next day when setting up a new farm.

Once alone in my quarter, I brought Kiara into the game world.

“I am creating a farm,” I declared to her. She made a face.

“A farm?” she asked. “What’s the point of a farm in a game world?”

“If the farm is successful,” I said, walking around her, “then I will be able to produce this thing called Evilese that the monsters need to survive, and which is the only reason they go to kill players. I will create so many farms that violence between monsters and players will become a thing of the past.”

“So, you are trying to bring peace to this world?” she asked me.

“It’s worth a try,” I said.

Kiara snorted. I was confused.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said, “it’s just that you used to handle farming info at your job in the real world. And now, here too, you are dealing with farms.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Of course it isn’t,” Kiara said, “it’s just a thought. Anyhow, Boss granted me an extended leave for one month today, when I asked… Well, it’s not exactly one month, but there are some official holidays in between, and throw in the weekends, and I can stay in Dharti for almost four weeks.”

Those words were music to my ears.

“Like from now on?” I asked.

“Well, if you have no problem,” Kiara pretended to look up at the slanting ceiling.

“Me? Problem?” I laughed as I threw my arms around her and tried to lift her to the air. It was unsuccessful, and we tumbled down and would have hurt ourselves badly if not for my bed of leaves which cushioned our fall.

“What on earth was that?” Kiara said with a groan, massaging her elbow.

“No idea,” I said, trying to hide with a fake chortle how fearful I felt at that moment. What if Kiara’s head had collided with the stone floor?

Taken by a sudden urge I touched Kiara’s bare stomach with my hand. During the fall, her T-shirt had come up, revealing her belly. I removed a lock of hair from her forehead with my other hand. I noted that she wasn't offended by my finger on her navel.

I caressed the side of her body. She didn’t stop me. In a few seconds, we were entwined together. Before long my lips were running over the skin of her neck. I kissed her passionately a few times on the neck and she moaned softly, a little shy to admit that she was in pleasure.

“Are you sure?” I asked her. She nodded. I pressed my lips against hers, my hand travelling down her back.

***