The chest was made from wood. It had an intricate carving of the grove they were standing in on the lid. The carving was inlaid with bronze. Kit ran his hands over the top of the lid. He could feel the indents from the picture created on top of the lid. A soft click was heard. It seemed loud to Kit’s ears because it was quiet in the surrounding area.

Kit felt his hands start to shake. His breathing that had calmed down after the fight, escalated once again. He tried to take deep breaths to calm his tense nerves. Next to him Mars was shuffling from side to side with impatience.

“Quick open it up! I want to see what’s inside!”

Kit took a step back. Mars had done all the hard work, so Kit thought he should be the one to open the chest.

“You open it Mars.”

Mars moved in front of the chest. Kit could see light coming from the small opening of the chest that was visible. Mars lifted the lid and light emerged from the inside. Kit held his breath. He couldn’t wait to see what they had received.

Mars bent down and retrieved the items from the chest. He quickly shared the information with Kit.

[Feet: Swift Feet Boots, rare]

Level 30

Agility + 40

Speed + 100

Defence + 10

5% resistance to wind magic.

[Hand: Swift Feet Gloves, rare]

Level 30

Agility + 40

Speed + 100

Defence + 10

5% resistance to wind magic.

[Red Jasper, fine] x 2

[Silver leaf Jasper, fine] x2

“Flaming sausages! That will be a nice increase to my speed with one of those equipped. I will be able to dodge better in a fight with the increase to speed combined with my agility points. Do you prefer the gloves or boots Mars?”

After saying that, Kit remembered he didn’t contribute much to the fight. He thought Mars should have the contents inside. Kit was happy to have unlocked another skill. He knew without Mars it would have been a while before he could’ve gained such a good skill.

“I can pick first?”

“No. It’s ok, you can have what’s inside. I didn’t help much anyway.” Mars frowned at Kit’s words.

“We are a team. So… we share everything. That’s how a good team works Kit. Well, that’s how I want us to work anyway.” Mars had a firm look on his face after saying that.

Kit was happy when he heard Mars’ statement. He liked that they would share everything. Mars really felt more like a brother than a friend. Kit even thought Kat would think the same when she finally met him.

“Ok then. We are officially a team. So, what’s our name?”

“What?”

“Teams have names, so what’s ours.”

Mars gave Kit a funny look. “Seriously! We need a name?”

“Of course, all good teams have names.”

“I can’t think of one on the spot. I’ll think about it.” Mars had a huge smile on his face. Kit could tell he was happy about their confirmed team.

“So, if we are splitting the loot. What do you want Mars?”

“Are you sure you’re ok with me picking first.” Mars smiling face turned to one adorned with a wary expression.

“Sure, I don’t mind which one I get. Honestly, if you feel you need both you can have them.”

Mars had a strange look on his face. Kit hadn’t seen him with this expression before.

“Can I have the gloves then, I like the look of them.” Mars tentatively asked.

Mars had a slight trembling in his hands after he spoke. Kit frowned at his change in behaviour.

“Sure. Can I have a look at the loot first? I want to see what they all look like.”

Mars handed over the loot so Kit could see them up close. He noticed Mars’ hands were still trembling as he handed them over. Kit ignored it for now he wasn’t sure what was running through Mars head.

The gloves were fingerless and made from a soft black material. The cuff of the gloves had stitching showing the grove. It was the exact same design that was on top of the chest. Kit was a little shocked at the intricate detail of the embroidery. Kit thought they would look nice on.

The Red jasper and Silver leaf jasper were the size of a large button. They both had a cloudy appearance. The red jasper was a bright red colour with a swirling of orange inside, it gave off a faint light. The silver leaf jasper was of course silver in colour, it had a swirl of blue inside. They were both pretty to look at. All Kit could think of though was how much they would get for them.

“Should we keep one stone each?”

Mars nodded his head. Kit offered the gloves and one each of the stones to Mars. Mars tentatively reached out his hand to take the items. He paused before the final moment of contact. He glanced at Kit as if expecting him to do something right at this moment. Kit was perplexed, ‘What exactly is going on?’

“Um, Mars what are you doing?”

Mars flinched then visibly pulled himself together, “Nothing.”

He finished reaching out his hand and collected the offered items. He glanced at Kit one more time, then put on the gloves.

‘Hmm, Mars’ actions were like something was going to happen. Did he think I wouldn’t give him the gloves?’

Mars smile was back on his face. He put the gloves on. The black material stopped before the first finger joint. Mars made a fist then flexed his fingers.

“Nice, these are definitely my style, they go well with my outfit.” Mars had a pleased look.

“Ahh, Mars it really doesn’t go with your outfit. Your appearance is like you slapped your clothes together in a rush.”

Even though the gloves were nice, they really did look awful with Mars current attire.

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. They are functional after all. I know I don’t care much about my appearance.” Kit looked down at his plain clothing, he really didn’t care. He knew Mars liked to look a certain way. That’s why he pointed it out in the first place.

“What are you talking about. You have no fashion sense Kit. This outfit makes me look like I’m a sophisticated noble.”

Kit was mystified on how Mars had come to this conclusion. Kit couldn’t hold it together anymore, after that comment and started to laugh.

“Mars which noble are you trying to impersonate?”

“I’ve seen a couple with these clothes. My dad showed me some screen shots.” Mars was positive he looked stylish.

“Are you sure they wear these clothes together at the same time?”

“Together? No, I picked a piece from each of the stylish nobles and came up with this fantastic combination. I created this myself. Great isn’t it?” Mars was staring at him like he was expecting a complement.

“…..” Kit was stumped on what to say. Mars really was a unique character.

“Ahh, I see, well it does look distinctive.” That was the most diplomatic answer Kit could come up with.

“See, I’m a fashion genius.” Kit just nodded, who was he to say Mars wasn’t a fashion mastermind. He knew nothing about clothes. He just wore simple tracksuits and a shirt at home, he was all about comfort.

Kit hoped the new boots would be comfortable. He really didn’t care if they were stylish. If equipment collected wasn’t from the same style, they would all have a different theme. Maybe he would end up looking like Mars. A mishmash of clothing. His attire would be down to functionality though, not a fashion sense.

He slipped the boots on to see how they felt. The boots came up to the tops of his calf and folded over at the top. They were made from black leather, the tops of the boots had the same pattern as the gloves and the chest lid. The leather was light and flexible. As Kit took a step he could feel a lightness with his motions, it was almost like he was walking on air.

‘These are fantastic. Imagine if I had a whole set. I bet it would feel like I was floating, unfortunately there was only one King of the Apelops.’ Kit sighed with regret.

He then looked at the stones in his hand. He used identify to bring up their information.

[Red Jasper, fine]

Semi-Precious gemstone

Can be used by various specialty sub classes as crafting material.

[Silver leaf Jasper, fine]

Semi-Precious gemstone

Can be used by various specialty sub classes as crafting material.

“Hopefully we can get some money for these. Mars looking at these stones made me realise, I don’t know what sub class you’re wanting. Will you need these stones for it?”

“No, it’s ok to sell them. I’m not sure what my sub class will be yet. I’ll figure it out later, I’m not in a rush.”

“Great then these little guys will be added to my restaurant capital. Should we continue to clear out the grove or do you want to take a break?”

“Let’s stop briefly to eat some lunch then keep going or we won’t make any progress towards Flower Field town today.”

Kit gave Mars a funny look, he couldn’t believe Mars was thinking about food. Mars was covered in blood from their fight. Kit glanced down at his body and realised he looked the same. Kit could feel his clothes were sticky from the body fluid. He tried to run his hand through his hair. It got tangled in the sticky mess.

“Mars I think we need a shower before we eat.”

Mars stared at Kit, then started to laugh.

“I suppose you are right. We look a little gross right now.”

Mars pulled his shirt away from his body. When he let it fall back in place a loud wet plop could be heard. Kit grimaced at the sound. He wanted to take a shower right now.

“Let’s take out the shower and get cleaned. I don’t want to wait until tonight.”

Mars agreed and they both took turns to shower. Kit had his shower with his clothes on. He really needed to get an extra set of clothes once they reached Flower Field town.

They stopped for a short time to eat some lunch then continued their progress through the grove. Kit and Mars cleared out the grove of Apelops in the afternoon. Kit gained another level, and his monkey brain nut collection was looking healthy.

“Mars I am so tied, I don’t think I can move even a little finger.” Kit was sprawled out on the grass after they had killed the last Apelop.

Mars chuckled “You’ll be fine, have some beer. Once your stamina has regenerated, we can make a move.”

“You are such a slave driver Mars. Can’t we just stay here tonight. We’ve cleaned out all the monsters, so it will be safe.”

“No, we should keep moving towards Flower Field town. Plus, I don’t know what the respawn rate is for the Apelops. It could be tomorrow, a week or tonight they respawn. I want to be clear of the area to set camp.”

“Ok.”

Kit took a mouthful of beer so he could recover faster. As Kit was lying on the ground recovering his stamina another problem became apparent to Kit. He was once again sticky from all the blood covering himself from the Apelops.

He could feel some of the blood had dried and was starting to flake off. Kit didn’t realise how messy fighting was going to be until today. Previously he had only received little splatters of blood from the Apelops. This was at a whole new level of gross. Kit was so looking forward to having another shower tonight.

Once his stamina was full, they found Pint and Snowball. Pint was grazing the grass not far from where they had left him, Snowball was still dangling around his neck.

Mars collected Snowball from Pint’s neck and returned him to Kit.

“I thought he would have woken up by now. He must have gone on quite an adventure last night to be so tired.”

Snowball heard Kits voice and started to stir. He popped his head out of the sling and gave a small yip.

“Good morning to you too, you have slept the day away.”

Kit pulled Snowball out of the sling and placed him on the ground. Snowball pranced around Kit making little yips.

“Yes, who is a handsome boy?”

Kit bent down to pat Snowball.

‘Ahh, he is way too cute, look at his little body wiggling as he is prancing around?’

Snowball headbutted Kit’s hand then dropped something from his mouth on the ground. Kit looked down to see a stone covered in drool.

“Is this for me?”

Snowball started to yip excitedly. Kit picked up the stone and cleaned off the drool. It looked the same as the red jasper he had gotten from the king of the Apelops. Kit used identify on the rock.

[Red Jasper, fine]

Semi-Precious gemstone

Can be used by various specialty sub classes as crafting material.

“Snowball how did you find this. You are such a good boy.” Kit picked up Snowball and gave him a hug.

“I have a treat for you too.”

Kit pulled out the left-over fat caps from trimming the meat. He had kept them to give to Snowball. Kit placed the large chunk of leftovers in front of Snowball. He was still not sure if Snowball ate meat. The little black ball of fluff took a deep sniff, then growled and pounced on the fat caps. Kit and Mars stared in amazement as the fat caps disappeared into the small animal in the blink of an eye.

“How did he even fit it all in and why would you even give him that much?” said Mars

“I was just showing him his surprize. I was going to put some away for later. I also didn’t expect him to eat it all.” Kit and Mars continued to stare at Snowball in wonder.

Once he was finished Snowball rolled on his back. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth, he looked like he was going to go back to sleep. Kit thought Snowball really did look like a little fluff ball right at this moment. His stomach was rounded from all the food he had just eaten. It had expanded out past its usual size.

“How is he even going to walk. His legs are too short to carry himself now because his tummy is so large.” Kit went over to Snowball and placed him inside the sling once again.

“This little guy really is a hand full. Ok, Mars I am all set, let’s go find a camping spot for tonight.”

Mars found a good spot for them to camp after they had travelled for a couple of hours. It was like the last spot they set up camp. They split the chores just like they did the previous night and soon there was a fully erected camp standing in front of them.

They both had to take a shower before they had dinner. The blood from the Apelops had dried and was flaking like a bad sunburn. Kit didn’t want to get any of the Apelop body fluids mixed into their dinner. He made sure to scrub himself clean.

Kit made another Apelop brain salad for dinner much to Mars delight and Kit finally got his fluffy dragon head tea.

“I like this tea, but I can’t wait to have some real coffee. The more I play this game the less I feel it’s a game. It has all the necessities from real life. Like the need for food, shelter and water. It is a bit scary. I’m afraid if I play for too long, I won’t want to go back to reality.”

“Well, that’s why the game is so popular. You can create a new reality for yourself. I mean part of the advertising is to explore a new world and become a legend. What kid didn’t dream of having adventures in a new land and becoming a hero? This game can make that a possibility in this world.”

“Hmm true. I wanted to be a superhero when I was younger. But it’s not only that, the fact that you can earn money in game, and it can be transferred to use in real life is also a draw to play. I mean who wouldn’t want to earn money doing something they love. This is also a problem because that helps in making this an alternate reality because you become invested in this reality too.” Surmised Kit

“Well, if the movie characters can live in two worlds so can we. I mean so far, we are doing ok.” Mars grinned.

“Yep. If a movie character can do it, anyone can.” Kit joined in Mars fun.

“What are our plans for tomorrow?”

“Same, collect some ingredients and head closer to Flower Field town. Is there anything you want to do?”

“No, I’m good following your plan,” replied Mars

“Sweet, there is still some light left so I’m going to cut some more steaks and make some monkey brain oil. Do you want to deshell some nuts?”

“Ok, leave the nuts to me. We can practise your sword skills in the morning.”

“Mmm, good plan. I think I’m too tired to learn anything new today. I think we should go through the sword basics in the morning from now on, when I am fresh and alert, by night I’m too tired.”

“Ok, whatever works for you.”

Kit headed to the camping kitchen, made a meal for the pair and then went to bed. The next few days went in the same pattern. Collecting ingredients, setting up camp, preparing ingredients and practicing sword skills. The night before they arrived in Flower Field town, they received a visitor to their camp.