Maya kept gncing at the map as she navigated Fenix's Hoover chair through the crowded convention. The bustling noise around them was almost overwhelming—chatter, ughter, and the occasional shout from booth vendors trying to grab attention. They passed a plushie booth for the third time, and Fenix, getting suspicious, hit the brake button, causing Maya to jolt forward slightly.

  "Why’d you stop?" she asked, sounding more confused than annoyed.

  Fenix turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "This is the third time we've passed this booth. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're lost."

  Maya chuckled, trying to py it off. "Lost? Me? Please!" Then, after a pause, she admitted, "Well, okay, maybe a little lost."

  Shaking his head, Fenix smirked. "How about we ask someone instead of doing ps?"

  "Fine, fine," Maya said, throwing up her hands. She headed over to the plushie booth and asked the operator for directions. After a quick exchange, she returned with a confident grin. "Alright, I know exactly where to go now."

  Fenix gave her a skeptical look. "Are you sure?"

  "Mostly," Maya said, not breaking her stride. "But don’t worry, I’ll get us there in time."

  They made their way through the sea of people, weaving around groups and dodging booths. After about ten more minutes, they finally found the hard-to-find booth tucked away in the far back, almost as if the organizers didn’t want it to be easily discovered. Which, considering the prize, wasn’t too surprising. They probably wanted the odds in their favor.

  The booth had a rustic, woodsy theme, with hanging herbs and greenery decorating its edges. But what really caught Fenix’s eye was the massive gss potion bottle beside it, towering at least twice his height and filled with hundreds of smaller potion bottles. The sign above it read in bold letters: Guess the Number of Mini Potions to Win the VR Pod.

  "See?" Maya said beaming. "Told you I could find it."

  Fenix decided not to mention how long it had taken. Instead, he smiled and said, "Good job. Now let’s sign up before we’re too te."

  They walked over to the booth, approaching the woman behind the counter. She smiled warmly as they stepped up.

  "We’d like to sign up for the contest," Maya said, her voice eager.

  The woman nodded and pointed to a sign beside her. "Three prizes are avaible," she said. "The VR pod is the grand prize. Second and third pce get exclusive in-game rewards."

  Fenix’s eyes flickered to the massive potion bottle behind her, but the woman’s voice brought him back. "It’s 5 to enter," she added, holding out a small scanner.

  Maya quickly pulled out her phone and paid the fee, and the woman scanned both their bracelets with a quick beep. In exchange, she handed them two bnk cards and a pen.

  "You’ve got five minutes," the woman said, gesturing toward the towering bottle filled with mini potions. "Take a good look, then write down your guess."

  They thanked her and moved toward the potion dispy, the gss glinting under the overhead lights as thousands of small potion bottles shimmered inside.

  After a few minutes of staring at the giant potion bottle, Maya gnced at Fenix, her brow furrowed in thought. “So, how many do you think there are?”

  Fenix hesitated, even though he knew the exact number from his past life. He couldn’t just tell her outright, but he’d pnned for this moment when she first mentioned the contest two weeks ago. He’d even watched a video on how to guess items in jars, just to make his expnation sound legit.

  “I saw this video recently,” he began, trying to keep his voice casual, “and the guy said you should multiply the radius by itself, then multiply that by three to get a rough estimate.”

  Maya gave him a ft look. “You know I suck at math. That means nothing to me.”

  “That’s what I’m here for,” Fenix replied with a grin, pretending to run calcutions in his head. He already knew the answer—7773—but he wanted Maya to win, so he’d guess just one number lower.

  After a few moments of fake number-crunching, he said, “I think it’s either 7771 or 7773. I’ll write the lower number, and you take the higher one.”

  Maya raised an eyebrow. “You sound suspiciously confident.”

  “Hey, I’m not completely sure,” Fenix said with a shrug, “but it’s worth a shot, right?”

  “Alright,” Maya said, scribbling down her guess. “Let’s hope one of us wins.”

  They handed their guesses back to the booth manager, who scanned their cards with a quick beep. “Thanks for participating,” she said brightly. “The winner will be announced at the end of today's convention.”

  As they stepped away, Fenix felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. He knew exactly who the winner would be.

  “So, what should we do next?” Maya asked, her eyes darting around the bustling convention hall.

  “I saw some cool figurines at one of the booths we passed earlier. Can we go find it? I want to buy one.”

  “Sure,” Maya replied, flipping open the map. After a quick scan, she spotted a few figurine booths scattered near the front. “There are a few we can check out. We’ll hit them all until you find the one you’re looking for.”

  “Sounds good,” Fenix said.

  They started weaving through the crowd, making their way toward the front of the hall. But before they got too far, Maya stopped abruptly in front of a booth dispying tote bags. She pointed to a cute design featuring a Chibi-style character from Haven Online. “Oh, this is adorable.”

  Fenix scanned the shelves until his eyes nded on one tote with a striking Dryad character on it. Without hesitation, he grabbed it.

  “Of course, you’d pick that one,” Maya teased, grinning. “Buying it because your avatar’s a Dryad, huh?”

  Fenix shrugged. “Well, I gotta support my race. Nobody else likes it.”

  Maya chuckled. “That’s true. I still don’t get why you made a Dryad, though.”

  He just smirked as they paid for their bags and continued on. A few booths ter, Maya slowed again, her gaze locking onto a makeup case shaped like a dark elf’s head. She picked it up, admiring the intricate design.

  Fenix couldn’t resist. “And who’s supporting their race now?”

  Maya looked up, surprised. "How did you know I wanted to be a dark elf?”

  Fenix felt his stomach drop for a second. He’d slipped, knowing her future css from his past life. Thinking fast, he smirked. “You pounced on that makeup case so fast, I just guessed.”

  She gave him a thoughtful nod. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ve been on the forums, and dark elves seem perfect for the treasure-hunting css I want to try.”

  Crisis averted, they moved on, eventually finding the figurine booth Fenix had been searching for. His eyes lit up as he spotted a detailed Dryad miniature, next to a fierce-looking monster figure. Without a second thought, he bought them both.

  “Twenty-five bucks each?” Maya whistled. “I was tempted to get one too, but nah, I’ll save my money.”

  Fenix slipped his miniatures into his new tote bag, satisfied. “Alright, enough shopping. Let’s hit up one of the food booths.”