Kaldalis was unexpectedly waylaid before the quests dropped. He’d almost made it to the gate, too. But Balrim and Myrin emerged from the crowd of adventurers around the crafting center, approaching him at speed.

“What happened?” Kaldalis said reflexively. “Is everything alright?”

“Oh yeah, yes,” Balrim said quickly, apparently realizing how it looked with the two of them running up on him. “Reno and Ess are turning in some quests right now. But we needed to find you. We’ve got a lead on something big.”

“Alright,” Kaldalis said, arching a curious eyebrow. “What is it?”

“Someone saw something north of us,” Myrin chirped excitedly. “Way north, on the mountainside.”

“Something useful?”

“Hard to say,” Balrim said with a smirk. “I heard the words ‘world boss’ so probably not. Only immeasurable fame and fortune, you know. Nothing major.”

“Oh,” Kaldalis said, sounding far more disappointed than he intended to. “Oh, okay. I mean, that sounds like a good time, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea right now.”

The Talsar’s body language immediately grew stiff. “What do you mean?” Balrim said, his lizard-like face falling in a way that looked quite aggressive.

“I mean that we’ve got bigger fish to fry,” Kaldais said, lowering his voice. He ran a hand through his hair. “And those ‘fish’ might get spooked if we start snapping at the smaller ones. Once we’re ready to dislodge the Contender, I don’t want him to see us coming. The more we color outside the lines he tried to draw around us, the more prepared he’s going to be for whatever we can come up with to stand against him.”

“Smart,” Balrim scoffed, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “Announce loudly in the cafeteria that you want someone to kill him off, and then balk at every opportunity to have some fun because it might piss him off.”

“That’s not what I said,” Kaldalis snapped.

Before he could continue to argue, he stopped and took a breath. He didn’t need this fight to escalate.

Balrim was a good friend, and someone he trusted with his life.

But sometimes… sometimes he was just as bad as Reno.

Kaldalis took another breath. “That’s not important right now,” he continued, his tone even and lacking the defensive whine. “But that’s exactly why you can count me out of a big monster hunt right now. What’s important and what’s not. Only two things matter to me right now: protecting our foothold on the islands, and getting the Lataxinans back. If you can tell me how a world boss helps with either of those, I’ll be leading the charge. But until then, I’d rather build watchtowers and plan the Contender’s downfall.”

“When did you decide to stop taking things seriously?” Balrim snapped, clearly invested in having this argument. One spike-ridged brow arched skyward. “We’re trying to build our streams and progress our characters. When did that stop being as important as being a homebody here in town?”

“It’s precisely because I’m taking things seriously that things need to change,” Kaldalis said, forcing himself to stay calm instead of raising his voice to match Balrim’s energy. “I’ve been spending all my time since I arrived in this world running around like a wannabe hero, and all it’s gotten me is grief and enemies. I’m just one man, and I need to focus on doing one thing at a time, and doing it right, instead of throwing myself at every random opportunity with blind enthusiasm.”

“Is that what you’re doing with Heluna?” Myrin asked with a smirk. “Growing up?” She made air quotes with her fingers and waggled her brows as if she were a cartoon character.

“Frankly?” Kaldalis said, putting his hands on his hips. “Yeah. I want to do right by this world, and all the people in it, and my feelings for Heluna are an influence on that. Not because of her, but because of what being with her has taught me.”

Myrin laughed as if caught off guard. “I was just fucking with you, Kal. I don’t need an anatomy lesson.”

“What I mean is that she’s a whole-ass person,” Kaldalis continued. “And so is everyone else! This isn’t about me and Heluna smooching under the moonlight. It’s about everything.”

He gestured around himself, specifically looking for NPCs around them. He pointed to Bangen, and then to Sivima, both of whom seemed to have no idea what was going on.

“It’s about Autistic-Coded Researcher enjoying her lunch in peace and safety. It’s about Merchant Number Three living to retire and start a family when this is all over. Because they aren’t Autistic-Coded Researcher or Merchant Number Three. They have names. They have lives. They’re real people. They’re Bangen or Sivima.”

Balrim and Myrin went quiet, but not before sharing a pointed look with one another.

Kaldalis wasn’t sure if they thought he’d gone mad or if he’d gotten through to them. But he knew how to twist the knife.

“Background Adventurer Questgiver wasn’t a replaceable cardboard cutout,” Kaldalis said bitterly. “His name was Haldir, and I failed him. He was a person with a family. He had hopes and dreams and because I was obsessed with writing my name in the history books, he’s gone now. And until now, I’ve been sprinting full-steam-ahead towards the same mistakes.”

Balrim kicked at the dirt. “Jesus, Kal,” he muttered quietly. “When you put it that way…”

“It’s fine,” Kaldalis said, forcing himself once more to calm down. Letting his emotions carry him away was what made him push Haldir away - indirectly leading to his untimely death. “I just want you to understand. You may have just asked me to run off into the jungle chasing glory, but what I heard was a big fat warning sign. I don’t want another Haldir to carve into the memorial wall. I don’t want another Dalgaard building a new cult that hates me. And I definitely don’t want another Contender. Or more of the one we already have, for that matter.”

“You’re right,” Balrim said at last, though he grimaced as he said it. “We can leave this mystery for another day. If ever.”

Kaldalis smiled. “You guys can do what you want. I’m not your dad. My priorities don’t have to be your priorities. But I’m keeping my priorities in order from now on, and fame and fortune aren’t high on that list.”

“I already told you you’re right,” Balrim said with a smirk. “I think you’ve given us a better perspective on things going forward.”

“It was probably bullshit anyway,” Myrin said, her characteristic smile coming back. “What are the odds that now, of all times, a world boss would spawn and it be something good?”

Kaldalis nodded at that.

It was a concern he hadn’t considered. This might have been another distraction from Monsoon to try and stop him from breaking their money-making scheme. Or bait from a yet-unseen revenge from Onirioago. Or the aftermath of the Jormongumo’s escape from extinction. Or, even if it was a world boss, it might have been out of their league.

What if it was max level, and their attack only riled it up, bringing it down on Cotanaku, just as Kaldalis had done when he saw the first Syncoresi?

He shuddered at the thought.

“So, if you two are joining me, we then have two objectives,” Kaldalis said at last, trying to keep his thoughts reined in. “Right now, we need to shore up our defenses. As soon as the quests come down the pipe, I want us front and center, just like we did in Panbu. Make sure everyone feels safe doing the quests by watching out for each other. Push the progression and build the town.” He gestured up at the walls. “Once we’re sure we can stand up to any attack, we can hunker down and make a plan.”

“I’ve been thinking about it,” Balrim cut in, heaving an arm around Kaldalis’s shoulder in a companionable gesture to pull him in close and lowering his voice. “I think the best plan for this is no plan at all.”

“That does sound like a plan I would come up with,” Kaldalis said with a smirk. “But please, explain.”

“It’s easy,” Myrin chirped, sidling up close on Kaldalis’s other side. “The best opening we can get against the Contender is the one he makes himself.”

“We just keep on trucking,” Balrim added with a wide grin. “Keep a close eye on his activity, maybe do a little rabble rousing like this morning, but don’t oppose him directly. We make him think that our best revenge is living well, and he won’t be able to stand that. Eventually…” The Talsar raised his other hand, showing off his natural claws. “He makes a mistake, and we’re right there to run him out of town for it.”

“I like it,” Kaldalis admitted. “But I’m afraid we’ll need to be more proactive than that. It’s a better plan B than a plan A.”

“Yeah,” Balrim grumbled. “I was afraid you’d say that. I just figure we have almost a whole week to get this done. If we’re really devoted to annoying him, then-”

“Then he’ll realize what we’re up to,” Kaldalis said firmly. “You’re definitely right that the best outcome would be the Contender fucking up and us being ready and waiting for the chance to strike. But the more desperate we are to force that error, the less likely he is to think that we’re ignoring him.”

It was the most diplomatic way to reject their plan, and Kaldalis hoped that it might spare their feelings. Balrim and Myrin had been his biggest supporters since he got into this world, and the last thing he wanted was to drive them away. They weren’t even wrong. It was just far longer of a game than they could afford to play.

Before the conversation could continue, though, they were interrupted yet again.

“Kal,” Garyung said, rushing up to the trio. “Hey. Uh, sorry. I’ve got good news, bad news, and worse news. And I don’t think you’re gonna like any of it.”