I felt relieved that I beat the Kobold, but I knew how very close I came to dying.
I checked my Mini Map and ate some snacks, while calming down a bit more. I began walking to the area where I normally meet Claire.
She was not yet there, but I did not mind waiting. The Mini Map was filled with wondering red dots, and I continued keeping an eye on them.
My Comm Crystal buzzed.
“Hi, Claire. How are you?”
She smiled, and I felt that familiar lift in my chest. She always looked happy — even though I knew she worried about her family… and their cat. She just never let it drag her down.
“Hi. I’m good. You?”
I shrugged. “I’m doing okay… Did you level up yesterday?”
“I did.” Her eyes lit up. “I got my quest too.”
“That’s great.” I hesitated, then added, “I have to be honest — the dungeon wasn’t easy. But I learned a lot about the kinds of monsters we’ll probably face. The night monsters were especially rough. The Nachtgeist is not something I ever want to fight again—”
Claire’s expression shifted to confusion, and I stopped mid-sentence.
“Danny, I only got a few words. The rest was just… silence.”
Right. I remembered Jason saying the System muted certain information.
“I think the System doesn’t want you to know about the monsters yet,” I said. “I’ll try to explain what happened, but some parts might get muted.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
So I started explaining. Luckily, the choices she’d been given for monsters weren’t muted.
“I really don’t think you should take the current-world night monsters,” I said. “They’re extremely hard to kill.”
She shook her head gently. “I’m not going to die permanently. That means I can gather more information about them. And I’m guessing once I finish the quest, we’ll be able to share what we’ve learned.”
I didn’t have much of an argument against that. I just felt protective of her — even though her logic made sense. And it wasn’t my place to make decisions for her.
“I understand,” I said quietly. “I’m just… a little worried.”
I felt my face warm, and Claire noticed immediately. She giggled.
My face only got hotter.
She started laughing outright. “I appreciate your concern,” she said softly. “Really.”
I laughed too, and the tension eased as we drifted into lighter conversation.
Claire decided to wait a day before starting her quest. That meant I wouldn’t see her again until it was over — and I didn’t expect that to make me feel this sad.
I made it home in one piece, but I had to take a detour avoiding a Level 7 Kobold.
At home I ate and looked at my inventory.
The Crystal I won sat in its slot and I only had one slot left to complete my quest. I took out the spell + token.
Shockwave sounds like Area-of-effect spell, and I wanted one but if I could get plus sign on the dice, I can increase one spell, maybe Mana Shield or Mana Lash to Advanced, or get a combined spell, but the question mark was not fun.
I do not like puzzles.
I decided to just go with it and hoped for a plus.
“Chance.”
I rolled and it landed on Minus sign
I could think of one spell – Stun. I used Freeze and rarely had any need for it.
“I choose Stun.”
I rolled and it landed on 3
I clicked on the spell and felt a quiet surge of satisfaction. It was still limited, but every upgrade would make it more potent.
It was still early, so I checked my inventory. Ninety-nine upgrade shards. I started going through my apartment, upgrading everything I could find.
That included my desk and chair — or ‘sanctioned,’ as the System liked to call it. I even sanctioned my spare linens and towels. All of it together used just over forty shards.
I realized I didn’t actually own very much. Strangely, that didn’t bother me.
I still had a lot of shards left, but nothing to enhance or transform. There was nothing left to upgrade, and I didn’t want to update my Comm Crystal anymore.
That made me think about why I’d stopped.
Lingering on the very small chance of ever being able to contact my family wouldn’t be good for me. At least I knew they were alive… that would have to be enough.
That reminded me that I hadn’t contacted Jordy — and we’d promised to share any news.
Damn.
“Contact Jordy.”
“Hi, Danny,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t contact you sooner. Things have just been so hectic…”
He trailed off, and I took the opening. “No, I’m guilty too,” I said. “I did my quest, and like you said — things got hectic.”
“Yeah,” he replied, “but we said we’d keep each other in the loop. I found out about my parents. They’re alive… I used a Knowledge shard.”
“I’m so happy for you,” I said. “I found out my parents and Lila are alive too.”
“Dude, that’s fantastic,” he said, sounding genuinely relieved. “I also got in touch with a few acquaintances — and you wouldn’t believe who I managed to contact.”
“I have no idea,” I said. “Aunt Natalie? One of your cousins?”
“Nope,” he said. “Aunt Laura.”
I winced. Jordy never really liked his dad’s new wife. She was kind of a “Karen.”
“Sorry,” I said. “I know you two don’t get along. Hopefully the end of the world as we know it will change her for the better.”
“No chance of that, I’m afraid,” Jordy said. “She spent the whole time blaming the government, the president, the WHO, the media — basically anyone she could think of — for the System taking over. Then she complained about how the System wasn’t even handling its own takeover correctly, and how if she were in charge…”
He trailed off with a short, humourless laugh.
“I don’t know what my dad sees in her, honestly,” he added.
I nodded. I’d met her a few times — and they were a few times too many.
“Did you get the third part of your quest?” I asked, mostly to change the subject.
“Yes, it’s a dungeon challenge,” he said. Then he grinned and added, “I imagine you already finished yours. So, what can you tell me about it?”
I already knew what I could and couldn’t tell him, but I explained how the System edited certain information anyway. He already knew about it — he’d met one of his neighbors and experienced the editing firsthand.
We talked for a while longer before we both decided we needed some sleep. We promised each other we’d be better about keeping in touch.
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