An Old Friend
That day, Reina’s party continued leveling with barely any breaks.
They moved from one area to another, searching for Mostro at suitable levels while collecting whatever useful items they could find. Occasionally, they stopped to eat, but food wasn’t much of a problem.
Most of the low-level Mostro they encountered resembled vegetables or animals that could be eaten. When prepared properly, some of their drops could even be turned into fairly decent meals.
Before they realized it, night had fallen once again.
But their determination to keep leveling made them reluctant to return to Belio City just yet.
Krsskkk!
A small object dropped after Tanaka defeated one of the Mostro.
Taka obtained Green Seed ×1
“Hmm?”
Tanaka picked it up.
A tiny green seed rested in his palm.
Yukio immediately walked over.
“Sir, what’s that? It looks rare.”
“I don’t know either.”
Tanaka examined it for a moment before noticing one of the options on the item window.
[EXAMINE]
He selected it.
Information about the Green Seed immediately appeared.
Green Seed
80% chance of evolving into a Magic-type Pet.
10% chance of evolving into a Female Magic Dryad.
Everyone immediately gathered around.
“Magic Dryad?” Hana asked curiously.
Reina, who was standing behind them, suddenly fell silent.
“Ah...”
Tanaka turned toward her.
“What?”
“I forgot the Examine feature existed.”
Tanaka chuckled.
“So there’s actually something I remembered before you did.”
Reina smiled as well.
“This time, yes. You’re more useful than I thought.”
“This time?”
Tanaka shook his head, laughing.
Reina ignored him and called Mina over instead.
“Mina, check your Bird Egg.”
Mina immediately took out the egg Reina had given her earlier and used the same feature.
[EXAMINE]
Bird Egg
80% chance of evolving into a Defense-type Pet.
10% chance of evolving into a Chicken King.
Reina looked at Tanaka’s Green Seed.
Then at Mina’s Bird Egg.
A few seconds later, she laughed.
“You two got the wrong Pets!”
Everyone stared at her.
Reina continued laughing until she realized that no one else was saying anything.
“What?”
Rian slowly shook his head.
“Nothing, Ma’am.”
Hana held back a smile.
They simply weren’t used to seeing Reina like this.
Their teacher, who was usually so strict in the classroom, seemed far more relaxed whenever she talked about games.
Reina finally noticed their stares and immediately stopped laughing.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing!”
All four students answered almost simultaneously.
Reina cleared her throat and quickly put on a serious expression again.
“Taka, trade your Green Seed for Mina’s Bird Egg.”
Tanaka looked at the Green Seed.
“Because I’m a Knight?”
“Yes. A Defense-type Pet will be far more useful to you. Mina, meanwhile, needs Magic and Mana to support her abilities as a Cleric.”
The two followed Reina’s advice.
The Green Seed now belonged to Mina, while Tanaka received the Bird Egg.
“You’ll have to be patient,” Reina continued. “Pets will ask for food when they’re hungry. Once they meet the requirements to evolve, the result will still be random.”
Yukio pointed at the Green Seed.
“So Mina isn’t guaranteed to get a Magic Dryad?”
“Correct. There’s only a ten-percent chance.”
“What if she does?”
“Then, of course, the stats it provides will be much better than those of an ordinary Pet.”
Rian immediately became even more interested in getting a Pet of his own.
But before the conversation could continue, Reina noticed something in the distance.
A player.
The Warrior stood alone in the middle of several Mostro.
Strangely, she wasn’t fighting back.
The Mostro kept attacking her from every direction, but the Warrior simply stood there as though she didn’t care that her HP was steadily dropping.
“Why isn’t she fighting back?”
Reina immediately started running.
“Ms. Reina!”
The rest of the party hurried after her.
As Reina drew closer, she was finally able to see the name above the Warrior’s head.
Her steps immediately slowed.
Lexia555
Reina’s eyes widened.
There was no mistaking that name.
“Lisa?”
The Warrior turned.
Her previously vacant eyes widened the moment she saw the name above Reina’s head.
XOXO
“XOXO...?”
A few seconds later, she ran toward her.
“Rei!”
Lisa threw her arms around Reina.
“Is it really you?!”
Reina nearly lost her balance.
“Lisa?”
“I thought I’d never find anyone I knew!”
Lisa hugged her even tighter as tears streamed down her face.
Meanwhile, the Mostro that had been attacking Lisa began turning toward them.
“The Mostro!” someone shouted.
Tanaka immediately moved to the front.
“I’ll hold them off!”
Rian drew his sword.
Hana and Yukio prepared their attacks, while Mina stayed in the rear to provide buffs and Heal.
It didn’t take long for them to defeat every Mostro.
Reina then took Lisa somewhere safer.
They sat in an area beyond the Mostro’s reach.
Lisa still wiped at her eyes from time to time.
Lexia555 — Warrior — Level 20
Her real name was Lisa, a thirty-five-year-old woman who had once been a member of Reina’s guild back when they still played Cosmic Online.
And she hadn’t been just an ordinary member.
Lisa had once held the rank of Duke, one of the most important positions in the guild Reina had led.
Yet despite spending years playing together, Reina and Lisa had never actually met face-to-face in the real world.
Until now.
Reina looked at her.
“Lisa, why were you just standing there while those Mostro attacked you?”
Lisa’s smile slowly disappeared.
“I don’t know what else to do anymore, Rei.”
Everyone fell silent.
“Ever since I woke up in this world, I’ve been alone. I don’t know anyone here. I’ve just been wandering from place to place, leveling up because I didn’t know what else to do.”
Lisa lowered her head.
“I don’t even know if we can go home.”
Her hands clenched into fists.
“So back there... I just stopped caring about what happened to me.”
Reina looked at her for a moment.
Then she moved closer.
“You’ve found us now.”
Lisa raised her head.
“From now on, stay with us.”
Lisa’s eyes immediately filled with tears again.
Without warning, she threw her arms around Reina once more.
“Rei!”
“Stop crying.”
“I really missed you!”
“We’d never even met in person before.”
“Well, now we have!”
The students could only watch the two of them.
There was something strange about seeing Ms. Reina so close to someone she had never actually met face-to-face before.
But perhaps that was simply the kind of bond that could form inside an MMORPG.
People could become close friends for years without ever knowing what the other person looked like.
Lisa finally released Reina.
Then her expression suddenly changed.
“Oh, right, Rei!”
“What?”
“I saw Jack01!”
Reina immediately fell silent.
“There’s no way I was mistaken. He’s still using the same name!”
Lisa clenched her fist.
“And just like back then, he’s a pay-to-win player again. Once we’re stronger, let’s beat him up!”
The entire party fell silent.
Rian looked at Hana.
Hana looked at Yukio.
Tanaka, meanwhile, looked at Reina.
“What happened with Jack01?” Rian asked.
Reina didn’t answer.
Lisa looked at her.
“Rei?”
“We don’t need to talk about it.”
“But they’re in your party, aren’t they?”
“Lisa.”
However, Lisa seemed to have only just realized that none of the people around Reina knew the story.
“Jack01 is Rei’s ex.”
“Lisa!”
Everyone immediately turned toward Reina.
Even Tanaka looked surprised.
“Your ex?” Hana asked.
Reina covered her face for a moment.
Since Lisa had already let it slip, she ended up explaining.
Back when she still played Cosmic Online, Reina had created another character named Rein4. She had originally made the character to handle various guild matters without always having to use XOXO.
While playing Rein4 at a relatively low level, Reina met a player named Jack01.
Since they were around the same level, the two began playing together.
At first, they simply hunted Mostro.
Then they started doing quests together.
Eventually, they began talking more and more outside the game itself.
Their relationship gradually grew closer until they finally decided to meet in the real world.
Reina even flew to Singapore to meet Jack.
But what was supposed to be an enjoyable meeting ended badly.
Jack already had a partner.
The woman found out about their meeting and followed Jack, which eventually led Reina to discover the truth.
After that incident, Reina never looked at relationships that began through games the same way again.
Lisa was one of the few people who knew the entire story.
Tanaka finally realized something.
“That explains it...”
Reina turned toward him.
“What?”
“When we met Jack01 earlier, he didn’t react at all when he saw the name XOXO.”
Reina fell silent.
He was right.
Jack had known her as Rein4.
Not XOXO.
“That’s enough.”
Reina stood up.
“We don’t need to talk about the past.”
Lisa still looked annoyed.
“But if I run into him—”
“Lisa.”
Reina’s tone stopped her.
“We don’t even know why we’re in this world. There’s no point wasting our time on something that happened decades ago.”
Lisa looked at her for a moment.
Reina then gave her a faint smile.
“You should be thinking about what you’re going to do from now on so you don’t end up alone like that again.”
Lisa finally sighed.
“All right.”
“Stay with us from now on.”
Lisa smiled.
“Gladly.”
The four students welcomed her as well.
For the first time since arriving in Cosmia, their group had gained a new member who none of them knew from the real world.
However, there was one problem.
A party could only have a maximum of six members.
With Lisa joining them, there were now seven.
“I can travel on my own,” Lisa said.
“No,” Reina replied. “We just found you. I’m not letting you go off on your own again.”
They began discussing what to do.
Yukio, who had been staring at his hammer for a while, suddenly raised his hand.
“Ms. Reina.”
“What is it?”
“What if I go to Salia City?”
Everyone turned toward him.
“Salia City?”
Yukio nodded.
“I’m a Craftman. If I keep following the party, I can help in battle, but fighting isn’t what my job is really meant for.”
He looked at the large hammer he carried.
“I want to try making equipment and selling it.”
Lisa immediately smiled.
“That’s actually a good idea.”
She pointed toward Yukio’s hammer.
“Since arriving here, I’ve only seen a handful of Craftmen. If most players are choosing combat jobs, you’ll have much less competition as a crafter.”
Yukio grew even more excited.
Reina considered the idea.
Salia City was a major trading hub. If Yukio truly wanted to develop his Craftman abilities, it would be far more suitable than continuing to follow her around hunting Mostro.
“But are you sure you’ll be okay going alone?”
“I’m sure, Ma’am.”
Yukio smiled.
“Besides, we can still use Friend Chat, right?”
Reina finally nodded.
“All right.”
The decision opened up an entirely new possibility for them.
Until now, they had focused solely on gaining levels through hunting. But if Yukio began developing his Craftman abilities, they could make use of the various materials they had previously treated as ordinary drops.
“From now on, don’t sell materials carelessly,” Reina said.
Everyone turned toward her.
“We’ll separate anything Yukio can use for crafting. Potions, accessories, equipment, even services for unlocking weapon stats could become sources of income.”
“And I can sell them in Salia,” Yukio added.
“Exactly.”
Reina could already see their plan beginning to take shape.
They needed 2,000,000 coins, a Diamond, and Reina herself had to reach Level 80 before she could attempt the guild establishment trial.
Hunting Mostro alone would take a long time.
But now, they had someone who could begin building a trading operation.
“Craftmen also gain EXP through crafting,” Reina continued. “It’s not as much as hunting, but you can still level up while producing items.”
Yukio opened his recipe list.
He had now reached Level 15.
Several recipes had become available.
“Ma’am...”
“What?”
“Some of these items can be used by players all the way up to Level 100.”
Lisa looked at the list as well.
“A Level 15 character can already make items for Level 100 players?”
“That’s one of the advantages of being a Craftman,” Reina explained. “Your character level doesn’t always determine the level of items you can create. As long as your skills, recipes, and materials meet the requirements, you can craft items far beyond your own level.”
Yukio’s eyes lit up.
“I’m going to make a fortune!”
“Don’t get too confident yet,” Reina said. “You still need materials.”
Yukio pointed at the others.
“You guys can get them for me.”
Everyone fell silent.
Then Rian laughed.
“So we’re the ones doing all the work?”
Yukio laughed as well.
“You hunt, I craft. Fair enough.”
Hana shook her head with a smile.
The heavy atmosphere that had followed Lisa’s story gradually began to fade.
Tanaka watched them from the side.
Yukio was already talking excitedly about the items he wanted to make. Rian had begun imagining the weapons Yukio might forge someday. Hana was checking on her Pet. Mina held the Green Seed she had recently received. Lisa was talking with Reina again as though they had only parted yesterday, rather than decades ago.
Tanaka smiled faintly.
They were still trapped in a world they didn’t understand.
But little by little, their small group was beginning to find a way to live within it.
And for the first time, their goal was no longer simply to become stronger.
They were beginning to build something.