“Yes, I did,” I said. “Just in time for the world quest.” I didn’t reveal that I had started it to not give an air of a showoff. And it might be better interaction-wise if Eclairs thought I was struggling as a beginner Mardukryon—she’d be more inclined to give tips to me. Not that I particularly needed tips; I just wanted her to be nicer to me. “There’s also this upcoming event they call the Great… something. I forgot what it is.”

“Great Hunt?” Eclairs offered. “I’ve picked up a thing or two with the buzz about Mardukryons.”

“That’s it.” I snapped my fingers. “Talk about coincidence, right?”

“Maybe you’re like a lucky charm? It’s been ages since there was progress with the Mardukryon storyline. But you switched over, and then there’s this big thing going on.”

“If that’s the case,” I said, “I hope my luck doesn’t run out until we find a way off the mountain.” No luck involved here, I snidely thought. It was inevitable from the moment my hooves touched snow that I’d be the savior of our horny people. They should appreciate how much of a blessing I was to their lives.

“Very possible,” Eclairs said, eagerly nodding. “I’m not bullshitting—oops, sorry. Cursing again.”

“I don’t mind it.”

“But I do,” she pressed. “I don’t want you to get the wrong impression of me.”

“And what impression should I have of you?”

“A prim and proper lady,” she said, doing a curtsy. Her voice cracked before she broke into laughter like pealing bells. I joined her in laughing. “That reminds me.” She held up a finger. “Wait a sec. Don’t leave, okay?”

Eclairs hurried inside the convenience store. I placed my foot to stop the door from automatically swinging shut. Herald Stone, the Eavesdropper Extraordinaire. The voice of Eclairs was barely audible because she was by the counter three meters away, and the hum of the air conditioner above the door was too loud.

“Krisha, I’ll be out for…” Eclairs said. “Derrick’s friend…”

I didn’t fully catch her words, but I could piece together what they were about. Likely, Eclairs told the cashier I was Boady’s friend instead of hers. She made the same excuse the last time I was around, explaining that she didn’t want employees gossiping about a guy visiting her at work. I know it was professionalism, but part of me wanted her to say I was her friend.

I withdrew my foot before Eclairs turned around. I stared at the bicycles on the street, waiting for her.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” Eclairs said, stepping out the door. “How about we go around the block? I don’t want people seeing me in this uniform, chatting around during work hours, and getting—”

“The wrong impression?”

“Yep, yep. Impressions, impressions,” she said in a sing-song way. She raised a brow. “You’re not too tired for a walk, are you?”

“Of course not,” I said. She was talking to Herald Stone, the God of Fitness.

I could walk the whole circumference of the Earth and not get tired. Perhaps that was too much of an exaggeration. I bet I could walk half of it. How many marathons would that be?

“Speaking of impressions…” I cautiously said. “Shouldn’t I have come here?”

“Hmm?” She gazed up at me, her grey eyes piercing mine. “Why not?”

“You don’t want people talking about your love life—”

“Or lack of it,” she cut in.

“If me being here would make the sort of impression that you don’t want, then I should—”

“I thought you didn’t come here specifically for me?”

“I-I didn’t, that’s right,” I hastily said. “But we were talking about impressions that—”

“Just alternate between Vanguard Gaming and here,” she said, almost whispering. She faced ahead as we walked. From the side, her cheek quivered, pulling the side of her lips into a hint of a smirk.

I blinked, processing that sentence. Did she just…?

Before I could respond, she spoke louder, “What were we talking about before I went inside the store?”

I cleared my throat. “I think it was something about Mardukryons escaping our mountain.”

“I wasn’t bullshitting you that it’s possible now,” she said. “The more players pick a race, the more chances someone will find an important clue or solve part of their storyline, stuff like that. Kind of like the reverse happened to the Mardukryons and Aviarii way back.

“Those two hadn’t Linked their areas to the Hierakon Warp Gate when other races and variants were found. People flocked to the new options to try them out, drying up the player base of the Mardukryons and Aviarii. If players see others are changing races and their community is shrinking, they’d follow along.”

“A downward spiral,” I said.

“But now, with their progress, you can look at the Mardukryons and Aviarii as the ‘new’ races. Only a matter of time until someone, um… finds something. Pretty vague, but you know what I mean, right?”

“I understand,” I said, nodding as we walked.

With Bawu’s storyline becoming a world quest, it wasn’t a one-man show anymore. Though I triggered the beginning, it was very possible that someone else would progress and even conclude it. Stronger players could venture deeper into the tunnels below the village or explore areas with the ingredients necessary to clean the Arcane Blight.

This was one of the reasons I focused on helping new players. I’d get to stay in the limelight longer and cultivate my own fanbase independent of the world quest.

“Since there’ll be lots of Mardukryon players,” Eclairs said, “you’ll have more people to party with. Like it’s hard to form a party with players whose levels are way out of your range. Also more stuff for sale in the auction, and more Contracts, and…” She continued about changes I had noticed these past days. It was amazing how fast the Mardukryon player community had changed.

“Anyway, Eclairs,” I said, slightly stressing her name. The conversation shouldn’t focus on me. She flicked her eyes at me. “How are things in the ‘outside world’? What happened to that big war between the top two guilds?” I felt like Healer Gula asking about what was happening outside prison.

“It’s pretty much a stalemate at this point. Neither the Victores Sors nor the Syndicate could gain new ground.”

“Doesn’t the Victores Sors have those… those Ghrazgals?” I said, searching the depths of my memories for the name of the secret variant of giants that the strongest guild in MCO had discovered, unknown even to the Expeditionary Legion. Enrico Armand, my business partner’s son, mentioned them when he visited me at the hospital.

“Maybe Victores Sors is holding back? I dunno.” Eclairs shrugged. “I heard rumors that they only wanted the lands east of Aderenthine Fortress, newly discovered by the Syndicate, but continued the war to cover up their real plan. With smaller battles everywhere, the Syndicate couldn’t gather enough forces to retake Aderenthine Fortress. It’s like super far away from everything.”

“It’ll be hilarious if Mardukryon mountain is over there,” I said.

“Oh, I’ll spread that rumor!” She turned to me, impishly scrunching her nose. “It’ll go nicely with the rising popularity of Mardukryons.”

“Why would you do that?”

“If enough people believe it, the war might get going again. Sales of food buffs are starting to slump.”

“Hey, don’t be evil. I thought you’re a prim and proper lady?”

“I just want to give that impression,” Eclairs said. “I’m not actually that.” She stuck her tongue out at me before adding, “I can be plenty evil too.”

Various responses flooded my mind, each creepier than the last and could lead to violations of the Bro Code. I settled with chuckling as I looked left and right, wary that the Bro Police might be peeking from corners, waiting to arrest me and lock me away in Bro Dungeon if I made a misstep. My ready excuse—to myself—was that I just wanted to talk about MCO, and Eclairs was the only person I could talk to outside of the game.

While I didn’t spot the Bro Police, I did notice that the guys we passed would check out Eclairs and then look at me before moving on. They probably assumed we were together. I understood why she was snappy with me when we first met.

Eclairs followed my gaze. “If you’re not here,” she mumbled, “I’d probably get at least one guy approaching me.” I gave her a look of mild surprise as if I wasn’t thinking the same thing. “By the way, I’m not bragging or anything—just making that clear.”

Several dialogue options appeared. The safest would be steering the conversation to a different topic. Not only would it show that I wasn’t like other guys by purposely ignoring talking about her looks, but it’d also make her wonder what I did think about her. Furthermore, I couldn’t control how she’d interpret other dialogue options; there was a chance she’d think I was being creepy.

“If only this were like MCO, where we can teleport away,” I replied with a knowing smile. I was making clear that I was only interested in MCO—for now. Let her make out of it what she will.

“But you Mardukryons are stuck in your starting location,” she said. “You still can’t warp to other places.”

“In the future, that’ll change.” I jabbed a thumb at my chest. “Lucky charm here, remember?”

“Sure, Mr. Lucky Charm.”

“Is that your new nickname for me?”

“I’ll stick with Herald,” she said. “Herald, if you can use the Warp System someday, go to the Danube Coral Kingdom. It’s under the Seventh Sea… which may be far or near your location. I guess we’ll just have to wait to find out. I’ll show you how fun it is underwater. A dozen times better than flying.”

“Won’t I drown?”

“Got a spell that’ll allow you to breathe, don’t worry. It’s going to be funny seeing a Mardukryon swim.”

I was about to offer a handshake but pulled back, making it an awkward thumbs-up. “That’s a scheduled appointment, then.”

“Huh? Schedule what?”

“Scheduled appointment. A planned social meeting. A set arrangement to see each other.”

Eclairs cocked her head; her brows furrowed increasingly with each sentence I uttered.

“A particular day of the month or year…” I continued. “Um, a fruit?”

Then her eyes lit up as she understood, brightening her abyssal glare. “Are you trying to avoid saying ‘date’?”

“Your words, not mine,” I casually replied.

“It’s an underwater date,” Eclairs said, meeting my eyes. “That is if you can leave your mountain and find my sea.”

If there ever was a time for that's what she said.