“I know you’re concerned about the people here, but the orcs escaping was probably just a fluke. We shouldn’t just destroy a dungeon. That dungeon did give out good rewards. Oh, which reminds me, we thought you’d probably be interested in this item.”

Heilong handed Freya a fancy potion bottle. She stared unfocused at it.

“Oh, and there’s this!” Heilong continued, “It’s a card that allows for extra fast-travel. It’s just what you need if you’re ever called to your shaman duties again. This way, you can get past the twice-daily fast-travel limit.”

Freya mechanically took the card. The items weighed heavy in her hands. She stood numbly looking between the objects, knowing she should read their text boxes, but couldn’t.

“But we could prevent the high orcs from respawning if we disturb the runes,” Freya said, half realizing she already said that.

“Well, first we should make sure exactly what the runes say,” Infamous Biscuit said, glancing between them. “With the screenshot, we can ask some other wizard players what they mean.”

Heilong looked up from sorting the contents of her inventory. After a silent facial expression conversation Freya couldn’t fully see, Infamous Biscuit and Heilong turned towards her.

“We should check out exactly what the ancient runes mean,” Heilong said. She adjusted the collar of her shirt, “Actually, I need to repay the wizard that helped make these arrows, so we can go see them.”

She tapped her foot against her quiver and started typing in the air.

Infamous Biscuit spoke to Freya, “I think we should stop the respawning if we can. I’m just worried about messing with things in the game we don’t understand. What if those runes are what’s partially keeping the orcs in the dungeon? We can’t know for sure until we decode it.”

Freya loosened her grip on the potion bottle.

“It’s also possible whatever wizard wrote those runes could have cast some kind of trap or protection over it,” Diviner Houkyu said. He crossed his legs and patted Pekkae on his shoulder.

“That’s true,” Freya said. “Especially with complex lines such as these.”

Still, a bitter twinge nagged at Freya.

“I sent the screenshot, but they want to meet to discuss a trade,” Heilong announced.

“Who is this wizard you know?” Infamous Biscuit asked.

“Their username is Mecha Terminator 3000.”

“Hm, never heard of them. Well, let’s go meet ‘em.”

...

The familiar smell of pine trees and an incoming storm filled Freya’s lungs. For a moment, she thought she was back in her birthplace. But the quaint brown and white buildings and the mountains that overshadowed them looked different.

Still, the mountain air made Freya relax.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Infamous Biscuit asked.

“They said Chikelu, Oyosi.”

Heilong scanned the small town square. Freya didn’t see anyone who looked like a player, much less one who would choose the name Mecha Terminator 3000. She was unfamiliar with the terms in their name, but after asking Infamous Biscuit what they meant, her opinion of the wizard had dropped.

“Oh, they’re running late,” Heilong said, swiping up in the air. “They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

Freya eyed the shops around them, “I’m going to get a hot chocolate. Anyone else want one?”

“I’ll go with you,” K13 said.

Infamous Biscuit and Heilong declined, but Freya thought she saw a bit of jealousy on their faces when they saw their hot chocolates. Topped with a mountain of whipped cream and curled chocolate shavings, the drinks were worth the pricy three bronze coins, in Freya’s opinion.

A good helping of sweetness balanced the bitter dark chocolate. Freya stirred most of her cream topping in to create a slightly foamy texture to the drink. She wasn’t exactly sure where Chikelu was but judging by the familiar taste of their hot chocolate, it probably wasn’t far from her childhood home of Lisek.

As Freya and K13 enjoyed their hot chocolates, a small girl approached the group.

“Where did you see those runes?”

The child stared up at Heilong. Her short bob haircut framed a young but scowling face. She didn’t look older than ten. Above her head, a text box appeared.

[Mecha Terminator 3000]

[Lvl 40 Wizard]

“We saw them in a dungeon,” Infamous Biscuit answered.

“The screenshot looks like it’s from the top of a building.”

“Ah, well it’s actually taken from a literal bird’s eye view. The writing is on the tallest tower.”

The little girl scratched her chin. Then she looked back up at him. She pointed above his head.

“What kind of name is Infamous Biscuit?”

Taken back by the enmity in her voice, it took him a moment to retort back, “What kind of name is Mecha Terminator 3000?”

She shrugged, “I want to create a mecha suit in this game. You can call me Mecha for short.”

“Okay… Well, I’m Bis. This is Freya and K13.”

Mecha nodded to them, “One of you figured out Meridian Manipulation, right?”

“Ah yes, I guess you figured that out when you took Heilong’s request?”

“She said she didn’t want any mana stones to attach, and I needed to leave the connections open. Weird request. Nobody else understood what she meant.”

Holding her head high, she smiled with self-satisfaction, “But I made just what you wanted, right? You’re fueling them with your own energy, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Anyway,” Heilong said, “What do the runes say?”

“Hold up,” Mecha said, wagging her finger, “First, I still haven’t been repaid for those arrows.”

“You said you just wanted a simple favor.”

“Yes, it should be simple for you. I want you to act as my mana stone.”

“....What?”