Just as their bellies were full with their second helping of dessert, a soft 'ding' rang in Luke's ears. He drew the symbol that summoned his Blue Box and it swished into the air in all its reddened glory.

"What is it?" Nikola questioned.

"Looks like a message from the group chat I'm in with..." Luke trailed off, unsure what to call his group of friends now. Were they still buddies now, when they had been rendered effectively strangers?

He navigated over to the [Messaging] section without finishing his sentence. Waiting for him was an array of messages from Violetmist4, the archer in their squad.

Violetmist4: Heya, Luke. Sorry we haven't been responding until now o.o

Violetmist4: I know it sounds crazy, but there was a huge amount of lag on our respawn and we just kind of sat in a black space for a long time with nothing to do

Violetmist4: It was nothing personal!! We just couldn't access our menus in there

Violetmist4: I don't know if you saw the big announcement message but I'm kind of still trying to process it all, and so are a lot of people in our group

Violetmist4: I think it's pretty obvious but v.v I hope you didn't think we would all be partying together for the whole game or anything

Violetmist4: Sorry, but everyone else already left the inn. I think they're all just in a bad place right now, mentally. They told me to tell you they say bye and that if they see you in the future they'll be nice, and they hope you'll extend them the same kindness.

Violetmist4: I'm still at the inn waiting and I'll be here until the end of the day, so come find me if you want but I'll understand if not

Violetmist4: Oh!!! Also, who is the girl in your bed? o///o

It looked like he was right to think that he and the people in his squad weren't exactly buddies anymore. They had left the inn and even the group chat itself, which now showed himself and Violetmist4 as its only members.

Oh well. At least they seemed keen on not stabbing him if they ever crossed paths again.

"Looks like our next stop is the inn. You ready to head out?"

Nikola looked up from the Red Box she had just pulled up. "I wish to explore the new options added to our menus once we arrive. Why are we returning to the inn?" She dismissed it shortly after her sentence and stood, her cloak swishing out behind her as she made herself fully vertical again.

"One of my old party members just messaged. The others all left, but she's still there waiting." Luke pushed himself to his feet as well, sliding his chair in so it returned to its place underneath the table.

"Do you mean one of the ones I killed? Do you suspect she holds a grudge?" Nikola was surprised to see that Luke was holding the door open for her. She didn't know much about the gesture and what it meant, so she just let it pass without incident.

With all their buzzing back and forth through town, she was getting to know the layout, so she led the way back to the inn.

"Doubt it. If she does, it's not like she can do much about it - and we can just tell her you bargained for her back, too. That should clear things up." Luke shrugged and joined her on her path back to the room where Violet was waiting for him. Of the four others in their party, he had never expected the dreamer to be the one who stayed. Her head was up in the clouds so often he wasn't even sure he'd made an impression.

They reached the homey building that held both Violetmist4 and the red-haired girl efficiently, and without incident. Things had calmed significantly in the bustling city, so much so that it would have felt eerie hanging out there had they not made themselves scarce already. The streets were dead silent.

Violetmist4 was sitting on the left-most bed when they opened the door, her fittingly deep purple hair illuminated from one side by the orange light next to her. Part of her face was obscured by the red box she had up, her fingers busy as she tabbed from one section of the interface to another.

"Hey," Luke said.

She hadn't looked up from her reading when the door thudded against the wall, but at the sound of a human voice, she craned her neck so she could see past the edge of the rectangle. A soft, welcoming smile graced her face. "Hello there."

When she saw Nikola pass through the doorway, some of the warmth in her face disappeared.

"We've got some catching up to do. Nikola, why don't you go check on Angelica and look through the menus like you said you wanted to?"

The Awakened NPC just nodded, and crossed the room to where the red-haired girl was sleeping in the exact same position she'd left her in. She let the others' voices fade into the background as she sat in the free crook of space between her knees and head, and then swung her red box into being.

She was eager to look through it all now that not everything on the screen was fragmented and unreadable. She reached out and poked the [Character Info] button, and while her screen did split apart into two sections, one was infinitely more legible this time around.

Username: Nikola Brightdark

Level: 0

Race: Human

Class: Rogue

Weapon Specialization: Dagger

STR: 5

DEX: 5 +5

CON: 5

WIS: 2

INT: 1

CHA: 2

Class Skills:

You must be at least Level 1 to choose a Class Skill. Why not go kill some slimes to level up?

Nikola was happy to see that her weapon specialization read 'dagger'; hadn't Luke said that her Cleaver was both an Axe and a Dagger? She reached into her bag and pulled out her neatly wrapped weapon, unraveling its cotton cocoon and revealing the metal beneath. When she did, a soft gasp came from behind the crimson sheet in front of her.

"Are you planning to stab me again over there?" Violetmist4 peered at her from across the room, her mouth open in jokingly scandalized shock.

"Only if you stab me first," Nikola replied, rolling the cleaver over in her hand, enjoying the weight of it.

"I was just joking. I didn't even get a stab in the first time. I'm sorry for not saying anything until now, I was kind of discombobulated. Luke tells me that you can understand me?" She spoke a little louder than she needed to, enunciating each word.

"She's an NPC, Violet, she's not deaf."

Violet pssh'd and her face reddened. "Luke, shhh-- don't embarrass me in front of the AI person. She might literally remember this forever. Nikola, I'm Violet. Pleased to meet you."

Nikola could tell she was putting a concerted effort into speaking more evenly. "I am Nikola. Luke, I have just navigated to the [Character Info] section again and it appears that my menu is performing more efficiently."

Luke's eyebrows perked up. "Does that mean you can read what Class the computer chose for you?"

"Yes."

Luke waited for her to continue, but when after 30 seconds she still had not, he prompted her. "Nikola, this is the first ever instance of an NPC entering into World of Wills and you're just going to leave me hanging here?"

"You would not be the first one I've left hanging," she returned with a dark smile, just barely holding back a giggle.

"Oh, yeah. Murder. Funny. Now spit it out."

"It appears I am a Rogue."

The Warrior gave one hearty clap, followed by a couple of softer ones. "Awesome. That's one of the best Classes you could've gotten, honestly - fits right in with your Cleaver. Rogues can Prestige to Assassin or Hunter later."

Nikola clicked over to what she deemed the next most important section of the menu; the newly added Dungeons and Challenge Rooms section. As soon as she opened it up it flashed an eye-burning pink colour.

***ALERT!***

One [Beginner] Class Dungeon will be touching down to the East of the Copper Citadel in 14 minutes and 31 seconds. Players who are within a 50-foot radius when the Dungeon touches down will be eligible to compete for the Reward at the end - but be warned, you will be able to be killed as soon as you enter the Dungeon, by Monsters and Players both.

REWARD: 1 Ultra Rare set of Medium Armour.

"Luke, navigate to the Dungeons and Challenge Rooms section," she demanded with haste.

The navy-haired male did so, and so did Violet. Angelica let out a soft, inhaling snore.

"Fuck. Nikola, we have to go. With your early game advantage, we can't pass up an opportunity like this. I wish we'd had the chance to show you the ropes but you'll have to learn as we go. Violet, you coming?"

Violet's lavender eyes were quivering when he leveled his gaze with them. "I was, um. I was kind of hoping to have some more time to adjust to all this... I could go if you really needed me to go, but I was planning to just sit here and cry like a little bitch for a couple more hours."

Luke put a hand on her shoulder. Now that he was focusing on her, he saw how puffy the rings under her eyes were. "You'll be a liability if you don't want to come with us and come anyway. Just watch over Angelica for us - that cool?"

"That's cool," she said gratefully.

Nikola put down the bag she had been lugging around, nestling it to the left of Luke's rented bed. Her shirt dress was feeling suddenly inadequate for the job, but she certainly didn't have the Coin to purchase anything more reinforced. Her knees were bare, and her arms were too.

"Please ensure that she is fed and watered. She does not seem to have a distinct preference for any particular flavour or texture. Tell her I will be back, and read to her while I am absent," Nikola instructed. She rifled through her bag for the book her father had been reading to her the night he left and placed it on the end of Violet's bed. Hopefully, she would be coming back for it.

She picked it up and started leafing through it right away, seemingly eager for a distraction.

"Let's go," Luke said, but he was already standing by the doorframe with the door open.

"Let us go," Nikola agreed, and joined him outside the safety of their room, pushing off toward the Dungeon. It described itself as Beginner level, and she was certainly a beginner herself - the question was, was everyone else?