Before leaving MCO, I had extracted, after much effort, assurances from Paritor and Melonomi that they’d join hunting Blighted bosses tomorrow. I then left Kezo, Megan, and Nitana messages that we should resume practice. Once the tunnels had been cleared and the village reconnected to the other side of the cliff walls, the Great Hunt was sure to follow.

It’d be soon, from the way Luds spoke. It dented my pride that though I started the world quest, I wouldn’t be the one to end it. Rather than mope about it, I should concentrate on the Great Hunt.

And what better practice than fighting against the very creatures that’d show up during it, like the Cragodon Calf and Fengharl Cub? Albeit, their Arcane Blighted versions. With a complete party, we should be able to take on the adults even if my survivability tanking them was… uncertain.

Maybe I could mix my Totems with Paritor’s hounds and see if that’d work. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

Melonomi was apprehensive about not being a ‘proper’ healer. It’d be the first time since she had returned to MCO to join a proper party, whatever proper meant. She also knew of Kezo’s strength and was concerned he’d have high expectations for support players. I assured her Kezo wasn’t like that at all.

I wasn’t a proper tank, either. If Kezo accepted me, he’d have no issues with her. We were a relaxed group, I told Melonomi several times.

When it came to Paritor, his instinct was to retreat into his loner shell. After more persuading, I managed to crack it. I encouraged him to demonstrate what his build was capable of in a complete party, sliding in a few well-placed mentions of Luds. It was almost divine intervention—expected when I was around—that the chemistry clown showed up to pester Paritor beforehand.

Entirely on brand for Luds to be nosy of other people’s builds. He also bothered Megan about using two wands.

That was enough motivation for Paritor. He didn’t hide his excitement to show off his build. When we parted ways, he mumbled about plans to tweak it.

Likewise, I was also excited about how they’d do with the rest of the party. If everything went well, and my teammates accepted Paritor and Melonomi, our party for the Great Hunt would be complete before tomorrow was over. Then it’d be easier to ask Paritor about his secrets. His Immaterial Counterpoise skill tingled my unboxlike senses. Lots of possibilities!

“And one!” Enrico said.

I released the bar, letting the weights on the other side crash down. Enrico could sue me if he had complaints. My heartbeat pounded in my eardrums, drowning the subtle gym music. My arms tingled like they had fallen asleep, my flanks were burned stiff, and my vision was hazy. I half-expected to see the red tinge whenever my health bar dipped to dangerous levels in MCO.

“Good job, Mr. Herald,” Enrico said, not pointing out the plates I dropped. “Break time. A few minutes, and we’ll move on to another exercise.”

“Break time…” I breathed slowly so it wouldn’t be obvious I was about to pass on to the afterlife.

I swung my right leg over the bench, turning left to face Enrico. He had loaded thrice the pitiful number of my plates on his pulldown machine. He could pull more but was occupied pep-talking me. It was impressive that he could continuously talk, like the most energetic life coach, while working out with weights.

I yanked the towel tucked into my waistband and wiped my sweat. If Eclairs were here, she’d think I fell in the river again. I laid my towel over my knee and ran my fingers through my drenched hair, trying to look collected even though I could already see my ancestors coming to fetch me.

My large dinner sat heavily like a rock in my stomach; I had overcompensated for missing lunch. I wasn’t sure which I’d choose between puking my guts out or fainting again. Both seemed equally bad.

Should I have called this off? I was yet to plan what Goal #171 should be anyway.

Goal #170: Run in a full marathon event with only walking breaks.

Goal #171: Beat Enrico’s personal best in all lifts?

Look at me using terms I had heard only half an hour ago when Enrico explained weight training. I needed a more concrete Goal #171, lofty but attainable, and it’d take a long time to accomplish. If only becoming physically stronger in the real world was as easy as increasing Might in Mother Core Online. I could see why many preferred the virtual world.

“This place has many people,” I said, looking around for a topic. Hadn’t I already mentioned that? I probably have. My brain was only at ten percent capacity. “I mean, there are more people now than when we started,” I quickly clarified.

“The location’s a major part of it, sir,” Enrico said. “We’re at the heart of the city. They say Egret never sleeps. But even if people are busy, they value their health and take time to work out.”

“If the gym is readily accessible,” I added, feeling a sense of déjà vu. “And this place is located at the right spot to catch the young professionals of the business district.” I had said this before too. Dammit, we’re just repeating our conversations. We were running out of surface-level topics.

Time to be the cool Uncle Herald.

“Have you played MCO lately, Enrico?” I asked. “Or is Manuel keeping you busy with the company?”

“The second one, sir,” he replied, shrugging his boulders for shoulders.

“But do you keep up with the news? The war between Victores Sors and the Syndicate seems to have simmered down.”

“My former guildmates share MCO happenings with me. But these past few weeks have really been a slog at work. I can’t spare the time to meet with them—some Gummy Lions are Eyriesians, you see. We usually have a weekend get-together here in Egret or at Old Dunlin.

“That busy?”

“My father always reminds me that I’m his only son, so I must learn the ropes for when I’d take the helm.” Enrico shrugged again, staring at the floor. “I tell him that won’t happen for a long time. But he’s adamant, rushing me to get ready now.”

That made me pause.

Pops had told me to be prepared for when he was gone, but I had assumed that was decades later. Pops likely did too. Certainly not as early as when… it… happened. Perhaps Manuel had similar thoughts about his son after partnering with our company and knowing my family’s story.

“Manuel has long years ahead of him,” I said. “It’d do him a lot of good if he exercised in his gym with you as the instructor.” I patted my belly. “I noticed he’s steadily packing a pouch.”

Enrico hesitantly grinned, his head still bowed. “I can’t get my father to do that, sir. It’s like he’s too focused on my far future that he can’t see the present connected to his own immediate future.”

“Is that so?’ Wise words from Enrico, but too serious for gym talk. My ragged breathing became more pronounced in the awkward silence that followed. MCO topics were safer grounds.

Enrico had the same thought. “Mr. Herald, when I visited you at the hospital, you mentioned making a new MCO character—a tank. Did I remember correctly?”

“That’s right. You recommended I try human for a good all-rounder base.”

“How did it go?”

“Didn’t feel right with me. I agree that humans are good tanks. Extremely customizable, with a ton of discovered paths because they’re the most popular race. But my first character in MCO was also a human, and it somehow felt stale returning to it.”

Enrico chuckled. He finally looked up, though his eyes remained glum despite his smile. “Too passé for you, Mr. Herald?”

“I want something different. Hierakon is a fantasy world; being a human in it is a waste. I also tried making a tank out of an ice gnome.” I told random stories from the new Mardukryon players I had helped, twisting the tales of their former characters to be mine. By dragging this out, I stretched my break time. I also made myself appear like an experienced player.

No, this isn’t about me. This was for Enrico.

I was trying to get him out of his slump—an act of compassion and empathy from yours truly. Clear as day, he was burnt out, and I could relate to his experience, recalling my past. I was extending him a lull from serious business matters. If he couldn’t hang out with his friends, then Uncle Herald was here.

This was definitely not to delay my workout.

“How about picking a Mardukryon, sir?” said Enrico.

I raised a brow. “Mardukryon?”

“Many streamers are making content on them because they have a major world quest.” Enrico then explained things I already knew, like how Mardukryons were one of the first available races but fell out of popularity because no one could leave the mountain.

Should I tell him? Tell him that I picked Mardukryon, not that I started the world quest—it’d have more impact if he discovered the other part himself.

“Funny you mentioned Mardukryons,” I said.

“Sir?”

“Because I ultimately settled on making a Mardukryon character.”

“Fucking no way!” Enrico eyes widened. Then he immediately dipped his head, his right hand on his chest to indicate sincerity. “Apologies for my language, sir. I was just… it’s surprised me that you chose to make a Mardukryon character.”

“There’s no prob—”

“Just the other day, I chatted with my friends who had taken a break from MCO about returning to it. One suggested we pick Mardukryons because of the buzz around them. I’m not making this up, Mr. Herald.”

“I wasn’t saying you were. I believe—”

Enrico wasn’t done yet. “Rumors are that big guilds are ordering some members to switch to Mardukryons. Establishing a foothold, exerting influence over there, and so on. Oh, not a rumor. A friend of mine confirmed it. The actual rumor is that Victores Sors and the Syndicate know where the Mardukryon starting area is, and it’s the cause of their war.”

“Interesting rumor,” I said, nodding. I had heard whisperings about it.

“My friends and I thought, why not return to MCO as Mardukryons? That is… if I’ll be able to find the time.”

“I’m sure you can.”

“Hang on, sir. Have you picked Mardukryon, or only planning to?”

“I already have a Mardukryon character. I made it before the world quest.”

“Can I see it?”

“What?”

“Can I see your character?” Enrico repeated. I had perfectly heard him the first time, but I was on the fence about sharing details of my character. It wasn’t exactly something to be proud of. He continued, “If you connect your WeeCee to—”

“Oh, you meant that,” I said. Wait, I shouldn’t be ashamed of my character.

It wasn’t a whale, decked out in the best equipment. Nor was it a typical meta character, neatly tied with a bow. It was an unboxlike character made by my unboxlike mind. And I should be proud of it!

“Of course, you can.” I tapped on my WeeCee to open my Mother Core Online account.