Everything felt different. Real life didn’t matter anymore. Nole woke up looking forward to something, a feeling he hadn't felt in longer than he could remember. It wasn't like he was unhappy before, but now there was an intense anticipation that made everything else pale in comparison. All he wanted was to fast-forward to logging in to Enix again. Nothing else mattered.

  During his shower, Nole didn't run out of warm water daydreaming anymore. He didn't grab seconds at breakfast. Even his mom was skeptical, as she’d usually catch him red-handed in the pantry digging for treats.

  "You can't have those for breakfast," she'd tell him. "Those are for snacks for lunches."

  But not today. Today, Nole finished the bare minimum on his plate for appearances.

  "Love you," he called out, rushing through the door like he was skipping quest text.

  “You forgot your lunch,” his mom replied.

  Nole doubled back and grabbed his tuna sandwich out of the fridge. Then, he zipped off again to school.

  First period was a haze. Making kids learn science this early in the morning felt criminal. Just getting to his seat before the bell was victory enough.

  “Psst,” said Fiona, the girl next to him.

  Nole snapped awake to look at her. She gave him a peek inside her backpack like a merchant showing their shady wares. It was filled with candy as if she'd spent the night trick-or-treating.

  “Lemme see your homework,” she said. “I’ll give you some candy.”

  Nole was too tired to argue. He pulled his science folder from his backpack and produced his blank homework sheet.

  “Oh,” he muttered.

  “You didn’t do it either?” she laughed.

  “I guess not," he admitted, scratching his head. "I forgot.”

  “That’s okay,” she assured him.

  Fiona leaned over to the boy on the other side of her, making the same offer. She was relentless. Shortly, she got her answers. By the time the teacher finished taking roll call, she’d copied it over.

  Nole buried his head in his arms again. He started to drift off as soon as the teacher called his name.

  “Here,” he replied, snapping awake again.

  Next was math. Nole barely thought about Briana. They hadn't spoken to each other for so long that she was just another body to hide behind in class. It was a small room, and everyone sat close together. It was easier to steal some shuteye here than in first period.

  Behind the rows of students, he pretended he was Findrinde, stealthily moving through lanes of trees in Goldywnn. He could almost see the red exclamation mark over his teacher’s head, ready to aggro anyone not paying attention.

  Lunch gave him a much-needed second wind. Nole slapped his brown paper bag on the table and came alive again amid his friends. Hurley dipped tater tots in ketchup while Finn applied ChapStick to his lips.

  “These aren’t even out yet,” Finn declared, showing off his new shoes.

  "I swear,” Hurley began. “You have shoes for every day of the week.”

  "False," Finn corrected him. "It’s more than that. My dad works on the board, so I get to try any new designs before they get approved. If I like it, he tells the board. And if I don't, he tells them to can it."

  “Dang,” Hurley replied. “Sounds like beta-testing shoes.”

  "Pretty much," Finn admitted. "There’s been shoes I didn’t like, and they never saw the light of day. Most of these I wear once, and then they collect dust in my closet."

  Nole finally chimed in.

  “Can I have a pair you don’t want anymore?” he asked.

  "Pfft," Finn scoffed at him. “Sorry, sasquatch, they don't come in your size. And I’m not about to ruin my shoes by lending them to Paul Bunyan.”

  Nole laughed it off as he peeled open his lunch bag.

  “Don’t mind me, keep hoarding your shoes,” he insisted. “All I’m saying is I've never seen a dude with that many shoes. It’s like you’re spending so much time pretending to be a girl that you’re turning into one.”

  “And what do you know about girls?" said Finn. “The closest you’ve been to a chick is your mom packing you that sad lunch every morning."

  “I know plenty about girls,” Nole replied. “I eat lunch with one every day. Sitting across from her right now, in fact. You, with your girl character, your million shoes, and that lipstick you're always putting on."

  "It's called ChapStick," Finn told him. "It’s for dry lips. Something you’ll never have to worry about ‘cus nobody’s ever gonna kiss you.”

  Nole stood up and sat his rear on the table.

  “You can kiss this,” Nole told him. “Grab that lipstick and lather up.”

  “Get your butt out of my lunch,” Finn laughed, shoving him off.

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  The three of them cracked up. They chatted until the bell rang and played handball together at recess. Afterward were History and Physical Education. Then, the final bell let them out and Enix was calling his name.

  At home, Nole rubbed his hands together in a cocktail of excited nerves as he booted his computer. The fans whizzed and coughed dust like it was on its last leg. Whenever he turned it on, it felt like the last time. But it hadn’t failed him yet, and that's all that mattered.

  Dapple messaged him the moment he logged in.

  “Hey, loser!” she said. "You sure kept a girl waiting. I'm still in Redrock, so get your slow-poke butt on over here."

  And so, he did. It was just the two of them, who were now strong enough to head north of the bridge. The day was theirs, and adventure was calling.

  Nole and Dapple started in Laketown, scooping up a few quests from the guards and the Bailiff. They planned to hit the ground running, grinding quests while still fresh so they could take a load off later. Solo progress had begun to slow considerably, but as a team, the leveling pace picked up again.

  The first order of the day was cleaning up the Murkle infestation nearby. Murkles were a cross between a piranha and a frog, with big, sharp teeth and spikes running down their backs. They had slimy skin and hunched over on their hind legs as they gathered in packs around coastlines, lakeshores, and riversides. Like adventurers, they had classes of their own, albeit cruder.

  Fighting one by itself was impossible. When Murkles sense danger, they alert the whole pack like a nest of alarm clocks going off. So, when Dapple pulled a Murkle Shorebeater with a carefully aimed arrow, it didn’t come quietly or alone.

  "Mmrglgllglgl!" it yelled, waving its spear as it hobbled forward.

  The rest of the encampment turned their heads at the two Elves hiding in the bushes.

  "Mmrglgllglg!" they called out, shaking their healy-canes and stabby-sticks.

  Nole dueled the Shorebeater up close while Dapple kited the Fleshmuncher and the Sentry in circles. With her newly acquired Cheetah Prints ability, she could keep her distance while peppering them with shots. However, the increased movement speed came at a price, as a single strike would hamstring her. She’d either be untouched or buried in Murkles, no middle ground.

  Between Moonbolts and arrows, the Shorebeater's health withered down to a sliver. But before they struck the final blow, a green flash of nature pulsed through its body and health bar. Joining the fight was a Murkle Tidespeaker, restoring its brethren from afar.

  “Focus the healer,” Nole called out.

  Dapple nodded. Still being pursued, she turned a corner and loosed an arrow at the Murkle medic. Nole, meanwhile, dragged his current opponents to the healer and fought them both at close range. He parried the Shorebeater's spear and dodged beneath the Tidespeaker's cane, returning a clean shot to the healer, who soon panicked.

  It began casting. Meanwhile, the Fleshmuncher and Sentry had finally caught up to Dapple, hanging off her like rowdy toddlers.

  “Dapple, don’t let it heal!” Nole insisted.

  She glanced at him, dragging one Murkle by the ankle and wearing the other like a hat.

  “Got it!” she replied.

  Dapple urgently shot an Arcana arrow, drawing from mana instead of physical ammunition, making it quicker to the punch without the usual loading process. Her attack landed in unison with Nole's Moonbolt, tumbling the Tidespeaker into defeat before it finished casting.

  “Nice!” Nole cheered. “Good job!

  “You too!” Dapple called out, still covered in Murkles. “A little help now, please!”

  Nole maneuvered to her, peeling them off with melee and Moonbolts. As the Shorebeater, Fleshmuncher, and Sentry wailed on him instead, Dapple staggered away and regained herself.

  "You're coming back, right?" Nole joked, struggling to stay afoot as the three Murkles wailed on him.

  His health plummeted faster than he could heal, running his mana pool dry. But arrows filled the air. As they hit their mark, Nole threw the Fleshmuncher off his back and onto the ground, where it gurgled one last time before shattering into dust.

  Next, he choked up on his staff and stumbled the Shorebeater with a strike to its head. An arrow to the chest knocked it to its back, sealing the deal. In a fit of sea-speak, the creature exploded into dust, leaving only one remaining.

  “Mmrglgllglg!” cried the Sentry as it tucked-tail and ran.

  Its froggy arms waved behind it like streamers as it hobbled toward another Murkle encampment for help. But just in time, roots tore through the ground and bound the creature in place, courtesy of Nole.

  “Mmrgl?” it muttered, turning back around.

  A well-placed arrow struck its head, and only experience points remained.

  “We did it!” Dapple cheered, rushing over to Nole.

  “Great job,” he admitted, high-fiving her.

  He was pleasantly surprised at how well it went. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with. He couldn’t imagine going back to playing solo at this point.

  After a short rest, they went to work on the rest of the coast. A few packs of Murkles later, they reached their count and returned to the Bailiff for their reward. First came repairs. Then came the journey north.

  In the hills above Laketown, a gathering of Gnolls had gotten comfortable, pitching tents and lining the corridors of the northern Redrock territory. They lurked just outside settlements, preying on passersby coming in and out. Nole and Dapple began their conquest on the edges of their stomping grounds, working inwards.

  Gnolls traveled in pairs, matching up well with Nole and Dapple for a fair fight. The Barbarians carried two-handed Warhammers clothed in steel like gladiators. Meanwhile, the Occultists wore cloth robes and feather headdresses, utilizing nature magic to attack and heal like Druids.

  Nole took the Barbarians head-on while Dapple targeted the spellcasters in the back row. The Occultists dropped quickly to her barrage of arrows, and it was two-on-one in due time. Rinse and repeat through a few twists and turns deeper into the ridge, and soon they stood before Howler, the leader of the Gnoll encampment.

  The campfire crackled before him, littered with bones and scraps of meat. His jagged saber and sharp teeth were his weapons, relying on his ferocity to protect him more than the tattered harness around his torso. He turned to Nole and Dapple with a crazed look in his eyes before howling in the firelight one last time. Then, he charged.

  Howler's blade was sharp, and his savagery exceeded any Gnolls before him, giving testament to his place atop their pecking order. However, he lay face down in the dirt when all was said and done as just another pile of bones by the fire.

  Nole and Dapple emerged from the hills, returning to Laketown with Howler's severed paw. After completing their quest, the magistrate would’ve sent them immediately back into the field had Dapple not intervened.

  "WAIT," she insisted, dragging her heels in protest.

  Dapple wrapped herself around a nearby mail post and anchored down, holding Nole by the sleeve.

  They were leaving the town hall, and he instinctively began walking towards the road for the next leg of quests.

  “Huh?” he replied obliviously.

  “Please,” she begged, collapsing to her knees. “No more questing. I am melting here, Nole. I need a break.”

  Willpower billowed out of Dapple's body like the smoke from Howler’s campfire back in the hills.

  "Oh," Nole scratched his head. "Sure. Yeah, we can do something else."

  “Thank you,” she told him, shedding tears of joy.

  Dapple sprung to her feet, already feeling her batteries charge again. First, she limbered out, twisting this way and that. Then, she surveyed the lake, squinting with her hand over her brow like a visor.

  “Hmm,” she said, rubbing her chin.

  Nole sat back, humoring her.

  "HMMM," she said again, louder.

  Nole couldn’t help but crack a smile.

  "I’ve got it!” she declared.

  "After all that, I hope so," Nole insisted.

  But Dapple turned to him, grinning with a mischievous look as she rubbed her hands together.