The wooden chest had an intricate carving on its lid depicting the grove they stood in. The bronze details added to its beauty, and Kit couldn't resist running his hands over the surface to feel the indentations of the image. Suddenly, a soft click echoed through the quiet surroundings, causing Kit's hands to shake with anticipation. He tried to calm himself down with deep breaths, but Mars was too impatient.
"Come on, let's open it! I want to see what's inside!" Mars urged.
Kit hesitated, feeling that Mars should be the one to open the chest since he did most of the work.
"You do it, Mars."
Mars eagerly stepped forward and lifted the lid, revealing a faint glow emanating from inside. Kit held his breath, eager to see what treasures lay within.
Mars carefully retrieved the items from the chest and shared their findings with Kit.
[Feet: Swift Feet Boots, rare]
Level 30
Agility + 40
Speed + 100
Defence + 10
5% resistance to wind magic.
[Hand: Swift Feet Gloves, rare]
Level 30
Agility + 40
Speed + 100
Defence + 10
5% resistance to wind magic.
[Red Jasper, fine] x 2
[Silver leaf Jasper, fine] x2
"Wow, these gloves will definitely increase my speed and agility in fights. I'm sure Mars would benefit from them as well. What do you think, Mars?" As soon as Kit spoke, he regretted not contributing more in the fight. He felt like Mars deserved whatever was inside the chest. But he was also happy to have unlocked another skill, thanks to Mars.
"Can I choose first?" Mars asked eagerly.
Kit shook his head. "No, you should have whatever's inside. I didn't do much during the fight anyway."
Mars frowned at Kit's words. "We're a team, Kit. We share everything. That's how it should be."
Kit was relieved when Mars said that. It showed that they were truly working together as a team, more like brothers than just friends. Kit was sure Kat would see it the same way when she finally met Mars.
"Okay then, we're officially a team now," Kit declared with a smile. "So what should our team name be?"
"What? Do we really need a name?" Mars gave Kit a puzzled look.
"Of course! All good teams have names," Kit insisted.
Mars chuckled. "I can't come up with one right now. I'll think about it later."
Kit could tell that Mars was genuinely happy to be part of their team. He had a huge smile on his face. "So, if we're splitting the loot, what do you want from inside?" Kit asked.
"Are you sure you're okay with me choosing first?" Mars seemed hesitant.
"Yeah, I don't mind which item I get." Kit shrugged. "Actually, if you need both items for yourself, you can have them."
Mars had an odd expression on his face that Kit couldn't quite decipher. "Can I have the gloves then? They look cool," Mars asked tentatively.
Kit noticed that Mars' hands were trembling slightly. He didn't think much of it at the time, but it seemed strange.
"Sure, can I see what the loot looks like first?" Mars handed over the contents of the chest for Kit to inspect. Kit first inspected the gloves. They were fingerless and made of a soft black material with intricate stitching on the cuffs. It was the same design that was on top of the chest. Kit thought they would look great on Mars.
The Red Jasper and Silver Leaf Jasper stones were both about the size of a large button, with a cloudy appearance. The Red Jasper had a bright red colour with swirls of orange inside, giving off a faint glow. The Silver Leaf Jasper was silver in colour with hints of blue; equally beautiful to look at. Kit couldn't help but think about how much they could potentially sell these for.
"Should we each keep one stone?" Kit suggested, holding up the stones for Mars to see.
Mars nodded and Kit handed him the gloves and one of the stones. As Mars reached out to take them, he hesitated and looked at Kit as if waiting for something to happen. Confused, Kit asked what was happening. “Aren’t you going to take them?”
Mars flinched but quickly composed himself. “Nothing,” he replied, taking the items from Kit's outstretched hand. He glanced at Kit again before putting on the gloves and smiling.
Kit couldn't help but wonder about Mars' strange behaviour. Did he think Kit wouldn't give him the gloves?
“These gloves are perfect for me. They go well with my outfit,” Mars said with a pleased expression.
“Actually, Mars, they don't really match your current attire. It looks like you just threw on whatever clothes were nearby,” Kit pointed out, he was not lying to Mars. Mars outfit was a mismatch of strange items.
“What are you talking about? I look absolutely dashing!” Mars said outraged, the man looked down at his clothes in confusion at Kit’s words.
“I’m sure you do to someone,” Kit laughed, thinking about how his friend always had a unique style.
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“What do you mean? This outfit makes me look like a sophisticated noble,” Mars declared confidently.
“Which noble exactly? I've never seen anyone wearing these clothes together,” Kit couldn't hold back his amusement any longer.
“Well, not all together. I picked pieces from different nobles and created this amazing combination myself,” Mars explained proudly.
“Oh...I see. Well, it definitely stands out,” Kit replied diplomatically.
“See, I am a fashion genius,” Mars beamed, clearly expecting praise from Kit.
“Sure, let's go with that,” Kit chuckled, knowing nothing about fashion himself.
The boots in his hand stole his attention from Mars, he hoped the new boots would be comfortable. Style didn't matter to him; as long as they functioned well, that was all he cared about.
With each piece of equipment they collected, Kit had a feeling their outfits would became more and more mismatched. Maybe he would end up looking like Mars - a mishmash of different styles. But as long as it was functional, that's all that mattered.
Kit slipped on the boots and felt a lightness in his step. The leather was soft and flexible, and he could imagine if he had a whole set of gear, it would feel like walking on air. But unfortunately, there was only one King of the Apelops and Kit couldn't help but feel disappointed.
He looked down at the stone in his hand and used an app to bring up their information.
[Red Jasper, fine]
Semi-Precious gemstone
Can be used by various specialty sub classes as crafting material.
[Silver leaf Jasper, fine]
Looking at the information Kit noticed that the stones could be used for crafting, he wondered if Mars specialty would utilise these gems. “Do you want to keep these stones for your specialisation?”
“No, it's fine to sell them. I haven't decided on my specialisation yet. I'm not in a hurry." Mars didn’t sound like he was in a hurry to decide on a specialisation.
"That's great, then we can use the money for my restaurant funds. Should we keep clearing out this area or take a break?" inquired Kit.
"Let's take a quick break to eat lunch and then keep going, or else we won't have time to find a good camping spot for tonight." Mars said observing the sun in the sky.
As they stood there talking Kit started to frown, now that they had stopped constantly fighting monsters he noticed a change in Mars appearance. He was covered in blood from their earlier fight. He looked down at his own clothes and realised they were stained and sticky. Trying to run his hand through his hair only resulted in it getting tangled in the mess. "Mars, I think we should shower before we eat."
Mars stared at Kit for a moment, then burst into laughter. "I guess you're right. We do look pretty gross."
He pulled his shirt away from his body and let it fall back with a wet plop. Kit winced at the sound and thought about how much he wanted to shower right now.
They took turns using the shower. Kit had to shower with his clothes on since he didn't have any clean ones left. He knew he needed to get new clothes once they reached Flower Field town.
After eating a quick lunch, they continued their journey through the grove, killing Apelops along the way. Kit levelled up again and had a healthy collection of monkey brain nuts.
"I am so tired, I don't even think I can move a finger," Kit said as he collapsed onto the grass after their final battle.
Mars laughed. "You'll be fine. Have some beer to replenish your stamina, and then we can continue on."
"You're such a taskmaster, Mars. Can't we just stay here tonight? We've cleared out all the monsters, so it should be safe." Kit complained, he really didn’t feel like moving.
"No, we need to keep moving towards Flower Field town. We don't know how long it will take for the Apelops to respawn. They could come back tomorrow, next week, or even tonight. I want us to be far away from this area before we set up camp," stated Mars.
"Fine," Kit sighed as he took a swig of beer to speed up his stamina recovery. Lying on the ground, he noticed that he was once again sticky from all the blood and grime. He couldn't believe how messy fighting was; in the past, he only got a few splatters of blood. This was a whole new level of grossness, and he couldn't wait to take another shower.
Once their stamina was replenished, they found Pint and Snowball. Pint was grazing nearby, while Snowball was still sleeping on his neck.
"I thought he would have woken up by now. He must have had quite an adventure last night to be so exhausted," Mars commented as he removed Snowball from Pint's neck and handed him back to Kit.
Snowball perked up at the sound of Kit's voice and gave a little yip. "Good morning to you too! You slept through the whole day."
Removing Snowball from the sling, Kit set him down on the ground. The little dog jumped around excitedly, barking happily. "Who's a good boy?" Kit cooed, bending down to pet Snowball.
"He's just too adorable," Kit thought as he watched Snowball wag his tail and prance around. Suddenly, Snowball bumped his head against Kit's hand and dropped something onto the ground. Looking down, Kit saw a slobber-covered stone.
"Is this for me?" he asked, amused by Snowball's antics. The dog continued to yip excitedly in response. Kit picked up the stone and wiped off the drool, noticing that it looked like the red jasper he had received from the king of the Apelops. Curious, Kit used an identification spell on the rock.
[Red Jasper, fine]
Semi-Precious gemstone
Can be used by various specialty sub classes as crafting material.
“Snowball how did you find this. You are such a good boy.” Kit picked up the small animal and hugged him with gratitude.
"I have a special treat for you, Snowball," Kit said, reaching into his pocket to show Snowball the leftover fat caps from trimming meat. He had saved them specifically for Snowball, though he wasn't quite sure if the little black ball of fluff ate meat or not. To everyone's surprise, Snowball eagerly devoured the food in no time.
"How did he manage to eat it all? And why would you give him that much?" Mars asked in amazement.
"I wasn't expecting him to finish it all, I just wanted to show him his surprise. I was going to save some for later," Kit explained as they continued to watch Snowball roll around on his back, looking like a ball with his round belly.
"His legs are too short to carry him now," Kit observed as he lifted Snowball and placed him back in the sling.
"He's quite a handful, this little guy.” Kit patted the fluffy head in affection. “Alright, Mars, let's find a spot to camp for the night."
After a few hours of travelling, Mars found a suitable spot for their campsite. They split up the tasks just like the previous night and soon had a fully functional campsite.
Before dinner, they both took showers to clean off the dried blood from the Apelops. Kit didn't want any of the Apelops body fluids mixing into their meal. Dinner consisted of another Apelop brain salad - much to Mars' delight - and finally, Kit got his fluffy dragon head tea.
"This tea is nice, but I can't wait to have some real coffee," Mars commented. "The more I play this game, the less it feels like a game. It has all the necessities of real life - food, shelter, water. It's a bit scary. I'm afraid if I play for too long, I won't want to go back to reality."
"That's part of the appeal of the game," Kit agreed. "You can create a new reality for yourself. I mean, who hasn't dreamed of going on adventures and becoming a hero in a new world? This game makes that a possibility in this world."
"Yeah, and the fact that you can earn real money in the game is also a big draw. Who wouldn't want to make money doing something they love?" Mars added.
"True, but it also blurs the lines between fantasy and reality," Kit mused. "It's almost like living two lives at once."
"Well, if movie characters can do it, why can't we? So far, we're managing just fine," Mars grinned.
"Yes, if a movie character can do it, so can we," Kit chimed in with excitement about their adventure. "What's on our agenda for tomorrow?"
"Same as today, gather ingredients and move closer to Flower Field town. Is there anything specific you want to do?" Mars asked.
"Nope, I'm happy to going along as we are now," replied Kit. "But I would like some help before the sun sets.” Kit handed over a large stack of nuts to Mars with a grin. “Can you handle shelling some nuts while I slice some steaks?"
"Sure thing. And tomorrow morning, we can focus on practicing your sword skills." Mars grinned and stuck a knife into a shell.
"Sounds like a plan. I don't think I have the energy to learn anything new today anyway. Mornings will be better for training when I'm more alert." Kit guessed.
"That works for me." Said Mars as he pulled apart the shell.
Kit went to the camp kitchen to prepare a stack of steaks, to store in his pouch for future use, before heading off to bed. The next few days followed a similar routine of gathering ingredients, setting up camp, preparing food and honing sword skills. On the last night before reaching Flower Field town, they received an unexpected visitor at their campsite.