Mars disengaged his sword from Twix's weapon and took a step towards Kit, still holding it at the ready. "Don't trust anything this person says Kit. That village is filled with dangerous individuals. I just encountered more members of Red Splash not too far from here, and they also attempted to attack me."

Twix put away his staff and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I am not a member of Red Splash village. I was simply passing through when your friend here attacked me," Twix said, nodding towards Kit.

"You claim that Kit attacked you. That seems highly unlikely," Mars replied coldly, his eyes flashing with anger. But Kit quickly defended Twix.

"It's true, Mars. I ran into him while I was in town and we accidentally collided. He then helped me find Pint and eventually led me to you. He has been nothing but helpful since I met him. And I don't get the same sense of unease from him as I did from the brothers."

Kit genuinely felt that Twix was only trying to assist them, and he never once felt threatened by him. Even when Mars had just attacked him moments ago, Twix had only acted in self-defence; he didn't try to harm Mars in return.

"You felt uneasy around the brothers, yet you never told me?" Mars asked, feeling hurt Kit hadn’t said anything to him.

"I thought you knew about it since you hired them. When I tried to bring it up, you were preoccupied with something else. After a while, I assumed it was just my own lack of trust in others that was causing these feelings." said Kit.

"Next time, please tell me if you feel uneasy about someone. Even if I am distracted or absent-minded, if you are uncomfortable, let me know," Mars responded sternly.

"Okay, I will," Kit promised. "And Twix really has been great to me since I met him, Mars."

Mars still gave Twix a wary look as he sheathed his sword. Kit was relieved that Mars believed his words, and when Twix made no move towards them, Mars seemed to relax.

"I'm sorry for attacking you. It was a misunderstanding on my part. Our experience in Red Splash village hasn't been the best so far. This is our first time in the Forgotten State, and it has been quite chaotic," Mars apologised to Twix.

As the tension dissipated, Mars turned his attention to Pint and started praising the horse excitedly.

"Who's the best horse ever? You are, my little Pint! Looks like you're following in my footsteps and becoming a skilled fighter. I'll have to reward you with some beer later," Mars exclaimed, causing Pint to nuzzle him affectionately.

"Don't give him any more now; I just gave him two bottles," Kit reminded Mars.

"Right, I'll save it for tonight when we stop. But first, let me apologise again for my earlier behaviour," Mars said, turning back to Twix as if just remembering he was there. "We haven't had the smoothest start here in the Forgotten State."

Twix's expression shifted to one of surprise. "Thank you for the apology. But why did you start in Red Splash Village when you're clearly at a low level? Everyone knows that place is infested with bandits."

Kit let out a frustrated groan. "Well, it may be common knowledge for locals, but we had no idea."

"So what's your plan now?" Twix asked.

"We're going to try and find Spartan Fire. Please tell me it's not another bandit camp." Kit couldn't bear the thought of being on high alert all the time, constantly in danger of being killed.

"To answer your question," Twix chuckled, "Spartan Fire is actually known for its safety from bandits. It's a small village, but the elders are strong fighters. Lucky for you, I happen to be heading there myself. You can come along if you'd like."

Kit's eyes lit up at the thought. Twix was their saviour - not only did he help them find their companions, but he would also lead them to Spartan Fire. Kit eagerly accepted the offer. Mars raised an eyebrow at Kit's quick agreement before shrugging his shoulders. Kit took this as his approval.

The group made their way through the forest at a steady pace. Twix advised them to be quiet so as not to attract any unwanted attention from powerful monsters in the Forsaken state. The walk was silent, allowing Kit to take in all the new sights around him until they reached their planned camping spot for the night.

As nightfall approached, Twix led them to a small cave on the side of a hill. They left Pint outside with some beer and Snowball, who seemed too excited exploring the new territory to pay attention to their journey. Kit assumed he would find his way back when he got hungry.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"It should be safe for us to rest here for the night," Twix explained. "I apologise for the silence during our hike, but it's necessary to avoid any confrontations with high-level monsters. You can ask me any questions you have once we stop for the night."

"Thank you, Twix. We really appreciate your help," Kit said gratefully. "Can you tell us what level the average monster is in this area?"

"Well, I wouldn't say there is an average level since it varies," Twix replied thoughtfully. "But the most common monster here is a Rinbull at level 180. They travel in large packs, so they can be quite troublesome to deal with. That's why we'll be avoiding them at all costs. It would be difficult for me to keep you safe in a fight against them."

Kit was taken aback by Twix's statement - he couldn't believe that a level 180 monster was considered low. "Are there any other dangerous creatures we should watch out for?"

"There's also a population of spiritual Tadeo mountain cats in the Black Gnarled Forest," Twix continued. "They usually leave us alone if we don't provoke them, but they can be tricky to handle even for experienced players like myself. That's why we'll have to remain quiet during our daytime travels."

"So, Twix, if you don't mind me asking, what level are you?" Mars asked curiously.

Twix's cheeks reddened slightly. "Well, truthfully, I'm still relatively low-level compared to other people in the forsaken state. That's why I've been traveling around and completing quests to raise my level. Currently, I'm at level 240."

Kit couldn't believe his ears - Twix's level was almost double his own! He felt discouraged and small compared to this NPC who looked no older than himself and Mars."

Mars simply nodded, as if he wasn't surprised by Twix's answer. Kit couldn't believe how calm his friend was, considering they had just found out Twix's level. It was abnormal for someone to reach level 240 at such a young age, even for NPC's who had been levelling up since birth. They may have started earlier than Kit, but this was still absurd.

His curiosity got the best of him and he had to know Twix's secret to reaching such a high level. "Twix, how did you manage to get to level 240 at your age?"

"I forget that you're not from here," Twix replied with a slight blush. "In reality, I'm actually behind where I should be. The townspeople spoiled me growing up, so I didn't put much effort into levelling up. I'm one of the few young people in my village and now that I'm over 18, the elders have decided it's time for me to raise my level in order to protect the town during monster attacks."

"To answer your question, my family and I hunted monsters around Spartan Fire to raise our levels. I started later than most in the Forsaken state - not until I was 16 years old."

Kit couldn't help but feel embarrassed after hearing this. "You started hunting monsters at 16? And I've only just started recently... Where is the nearest hole for me to crawl into?"

"There's no need to be embarrassed," Mars chimed in, trying to comfort Kit. "We've only been focusing on our fighting levels for three weeks now. We won't think any less of you for starting later than others."

Twix gave Mars a grateful smile while Kit's stomach rumbled loudly. He could feel both their eyes on him and flushed with embarrassment once again.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to stop for food today," Twix apologised. "You're probably not used to it. Here, take these to fill your stomach. It's not much, but it should hold you over."

Twix handed each of them three large, dried chunks of meat. Kit eyed the unappetising brown lumps with dread. He hated dried meat, but didn't want to offend Twix so he took a small bite from his leathery stick.

To his surprise, it didn't taste as bad as he expected. He saw Mars struggling to choke down his portion with a look of disgust on his face. Kit had to hold back a laugh - Mars had transformed into a foodie since they started playing together.

"Kit, you can cook tomorrow!" Mars declared suddenly, spitting out his last bit of meat. "We'll find some new ingredients along the way and Twix can tell us what's safe to collect."

"No problem, I'll point out some things for you," Twix eagerly agreed. "You can cook, Kit?"

Kit couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm. "Yes! I became a qualified chef not too long ago."

"Well this is unexpected," Twix exclaimed happily. "The people in Spartan Fire will be thrilled to meet you. Chefs don't often come to the Forsaken state - it's quite a rare occasion."

Kit was taken aback by this response and it only piqued his curiosity even more. "Why don't chefs come here often?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Twix admitted. "But my dad thinks it's because most chefs don't have high fighting abilities and are easily killed in the Forsaken state. They usually just buy their ingredients instead of harvesting them themselves."

"Well that makes sense," Kit nodded in understanding.

Kit considered Twix's response and agreed that it could be a possibility. He knew that many players who chose a daily living skill as their main specialty would only focus on levelling up that specific subclass. But Kit was determined to excel in both his subclass and have some adventures in CAL.

His thoughts were interrupted by an excited yip, and he turned to see Snowball racing towards him. Kit held out his arms, catching Snowball safely and giving him a pat.

"Hey there, Snowball. Did you have fun exploring?" Kit asked with a smile, to which Snowball responded with a series of enthusiastic yips. Kit then noticed the new member in their group, Twix, watching them in amazement.

"This is Twix," Kit introduced. "He's taking us to Spartan Fire." Twix was amazed at Snowball's friendliness towards Kit.

"I've never seen such a rare creature interact so freely with someone." Twix exclaimed with admiration. Kit felt slightly uncomfortable with the attention but decided to ignore it.

He told Twix how he found Snowball, leaving out the embarrassing death part. Mars gave him a knowing look but said nothing about it.

The next six days passed quickly, with Twix successfully avoiding any dangerous monsters while Kit kept them fed and collected ingredients for his cooking experiments.

However, despite his efforts, Kit had yet to discover any new recipe or see a blue sheen in his dishes.

It was the seventh day when Twix announced they were almost at Spartan Fire, and Kit couldn't wait to see the village. He hoped Snowball would join them soon; the little fluff ball had disappeared after their first night in the forest.

As they travelled, Kit excitedly shared his restaurant ideas with Twix, as Twix was asking Kit a question Mars suddenly drew his sword from its sheath.