Spring of 346, A.D.

  Unlike everyone else in the sector, Alex lived on the outskirts of the capital. Most people preferred to stay close to the heart of things—closer to work, to the bonfires, to each other. Not Alex. He had chosen to live way out here, at the edge of it all.

  Kai never understood why. The commute alone was a hassle, and if anyone should’ve wanted to stay close to family, it was Alex. Yet he’d gone out of his way to put distance between himself and his sister. Whatever his reasons, one thing was certain—Alex loved it out here.

  Well, at least he wasn’t as bad as Old Seth. That man lived so far off the map he might as well have been a ghost. But that didn’t count. Old Seth was crazy.

  Kai had been roaming the outskirts every night since Alex started missing the bonfires. It took a few evenings of patience, but eventually, he caught sight of Alex slipping through the shadows and followed him to his new apartment.

  He kicked the door open.

  Alex flinched, his hand flying to his chest. “Kai? What’s wrong with you? Don’t you know how to knock?”

  “I’m not the one with some explaining to do.” Kai stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. “I haven’t seen you since you ditched me at the museum, Alex.”

  Alex winced. “Right. I did do that, didn’t I?” He let out an awkward chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “This isn’t funny! Where have you been?”

  Alex sighed. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

  That caught Kai off guard. Apologies weren’t Alex’s style—at least, not ones that came this easily. The sudden humility chipped away at Kai’s anger, but he still kept a close watch on him, afraid he’d vanish if he looked away for too long.

  Alex, on the other hand, looked completely at ease. He crossed the room, hands in his pockets. “Look, I get it. I should’ve told you something earlier. But I need you to trust me.”

  Kai wasn’t convinced. “So, are you going to tell me where you’ve been?”

  Alex looked away.

  “Come on, man. You owe me this. Aren’t we best buds?” Kai folded his arms, fixing him with a glare.

  Alex held his stare for a few moments before finally looking down. “Fine. But you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

  Kai straightened. “Fine.”

  “No. You have to swear.”

  “I swear.”

  “Swear on my sister.”

  Kai hesitated. “S-sure.”

  “Swear on your late parents.”

  Kai’s face turned serious. Alex never brought up his parents. Ever. Neither of them did. For him to say this now... Kai swallowed and met Alex’s gaze. “Alright. I promise.”

  Alex held his stare, then gave a small nod. “Good. In due time, I’ll tell you. I promise.”

  Kai exhaled, and for the first time in days, the tightness in his chest loosened. It wasn’t the full answer he wanted, but he could tell Alex meant it. That would have to be enough.

  *

  353rd Daisy Exams, Round of 128.

  Five minutes before the clock ran out, Kai stretched his muscles. His body was just a mental projection, an illusion cast by Daisy inside the simulator. But even knowing that, the movement felt good.

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  He was one of the last 256 trial runners standing, soon to be split across 128 different arenas.

  “Creativity and logical thinking. Creativity and logical thinking. Creativity and logical thinking,” he mumbled as if saying a silent prayer.

  Opening his inventory, he scanned through the cards he had left, flipping each one over in his hands. Once he had them memorized, he shifted to recalling the cards he had captured in previous rounds.

  After a final mental tally of his score and resources, Kai took a breath and allowed his thoughts to drift beyond the simulation—to the real world.

  Ariel.

  She was probably at the museum, curled up with a book, keeping herself busy. Or maybe she was redecorating one of the nurseries. They had spent years building them, creating places for the future children of the sector. He missed her. There was so much he wanted to tell her.

  Albert. Neil. Sunny. Trudy. Sophie. Seth. Alex. Clara. Ariel. He repeated their names in his mind, each one a reminder of why he couldn’t afford to fail.

  The countdown reached zero.

  Light swallowed his vision, and in the blink of an eye, the new arena took shape around him.

  As Kai materialized in the new arena, the first thing he noticed was the darkness. The sky above held only stars and a thin crescent moon.

  I was right!

  Thank goodness he had come prepared. Just as he was about to reach for his gaslamp, two notifications popped up.

  A [Mystery Box] has been opened. You’ve unlocked [Scoreboard]!

  A [Mystery Box] has been opened. You’ve unlocked [Text Description]!

  What? The [Mystery Boxes] opened?

  He barely had time to process that before numbers appeared in his vision.

  In the top-left corner: 51. He recognized it immediately—his remaining points from the previous round. On the other side, 81. His opponent’s score.

  Kai gulped.

  I’m losing by 30 points!

  How in the world had his opponent scored that high? He had no time to dwell on it. Keeping his eyes on the map, he broke into a sprint. Find the center. That was all that mattered.

  Even with the faint glow of the stars and crescent moon, all he saw were shifting dunes. Every step he took sank slightly, the grains shifting beneath his feet, threatening to steal his balance. Where was the upgrade he had spent so many coins on?

  “Gaslamp!” he called. Nothing.

  “Inventory!”

  A floating window appeared, revealing an object beside his cards. He reached in, grabbed the icon, and a gaslamp materialized in his hand. It resembled the ones he’d seen down in the quarry mines.

  The first thing he confirmed: There was sand everywhere. Was this a desert? A dune field? Hard to tell in the darkness.

  His momentum abruptly stopped as he collided with an invisible wall—the arena’s boundary.

  Good.

  Instead of covering a large section of the map’s edge like before, he traced only the barest stretch of the boundary—just enough to estimate the center. The method wasn’t as precise, but it saved time, and right now, speed mattered more than accuracy. He refused to arrive second to the arena’s treasure trove again.

  With one hand on the barrier, his mind drifted back to the notifications. He checked his inventory—the [Mystery Box] cards were gone. He grinned. He hadn’t expected them to grant free upgrades.

  How many upgrade coins had he just saved? The [Scoreboard] feature alone had to be expensive. If he were Daisy, he wouldn’t sell it for anything less than 100 UCs.

  As for [Text Description]? He had no idea what it did, but he was looking forward to finding out.

  He glanced at the scoreboard again. 89.

  His opponent had gained eight points in minutes.

  Kai exhaled sharply. He needed to move—fast.

  At the edge of his lamp’s glow, slightly to his left, something stood out against the endless sand—a woody bush. Likely a common card. He’d leave it.

  Reaching the map’s treasure trove was paramount. Every second mattered. Still, he took a mental note of its location. If necessary, he’d come back.

  This time, he wouldn’t let his opponent beat him there.

  Just as he took off running, his muscles locked up.

  Your opponent has used a stun bomb. You can’t move for 30 seconds.

  What?!

  Kai’s breath hitched. His legs stiffened mid-stride, his weight shifting forward. A second later, his muscles locked entirely.

  Not now. Not now!

  He tried to move his fingers—nothing. Even blinking felt sluggish. His body refused to obey, frozen in place like a statue.

  What kind of mechanic was this? Can trial runners really target each other?

  His opponent had invested in a tool that disrupted his gameplay—and hadn’t hesitated to use it at the worst possible moment.

  Right when I got my bearings. Right when I was heading for the center.

  That meant his opponent was likely running the same strategy.

  Kai clenched his jaw. The seconds dragged on like hours. Finally, the stun effect lifted.

  Kai checked the scoreboard—his opponent hadn’t gained any more points. That meant they hadn’t reached the center yet.

  There’s still hope.

  Without wasting a moment, he sprinted up and down the shifting dunes, pushing forward. Reaching the crest of another dune, he rushed down the slope, gravity pulling him forward. Holding the gaslamp high, he scanned the valley ahead, searching for anything worthwhile.

  From the corner of his eye, he spotted something other than sand.

  He veered toward it. As he closed in, what had been blurry, dark silhouettes sharpened into distinct shapes. His heartbeat quickened.

  There it is. The treasure trove.

  Without the gaslamp, he never would’ve spotted it so quickly. Even with the stars above, the surrounding dunes kept the area hidden in deep shadow.

  He glanced at the scoreboard. His opponent still hadn’t gained points. He’d arrived first.

  Kai smiled, pulled out his camera, and raised the gaslamp higher.

  What he saw made his breath catch.

  The wind rustled through tangled grass, the sound almost foreign after so much silence. It was a place of life—hidden in a world of sand.

  He had found an oasis.

  [Anticipation ??] + [Bargain ??]

  ?? | HP: 1 → 1

  ?? | HP: 1 → 0

  Crafting successful! You’ve crafted [First Edition Buff ????].

  Snag the pre-order while it's hot (and cheap)—your early support makes a real difference.

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