Jade was not really surprised to discover that his new friend, with the elaborate name Skyheart Snowsong, was an elf. It suited her somehow.
Even if Harmony hadn't played this game recently, she had obviously put some time into it in the past, because elves in this world were a half dragon, half human race. Half dragon characters were something of an investment, given the amount of Karma required to create one.
Jade composed a reply, then watched with a smile, as the little fairy dragon he had set as his own messenger flitted merrily off. Despite its tiny size, it wasn't hampered by the message that the game displayed as large as itself, clutched within its foreclaws.
He closed the large doors on his smithy and paused before starting up his sandskimmer. As he had predicted, her snowcat came bounding back with another message seconds later.
Harmony's message began with exclamations of excitement, "Wow, wow, wow! Your messenger is so cute! Where did you get it?"
The fairy dragon flitted off again a moment later, carrying Hisui's words back to Skyheart Snowsong, "It was a special quest reward from the Sky City expansion. The one that featured all those pixie halfs three years ago. Do you want to try it?"
Jade finally launched his skimmer. He didn't chase directly after the messenger, instead he guided the skimmer in the direction of the closest portal. Within less than a quarter of an hour, he reached the town listed as Snowsong's current location.
It took them another quarter of an hour to find each other, which sounded like a lot, but was actually remarkably quick. If they had been trying to navigate a city of similar size in the real world it would have taken another hour or two.
The quest issued by the fairy dragon, a species that had existed long before the expansion, sent them chasing through the skies on borrowed wings. The sand skimmer, as versatile a vehicle as it was, wasn't suitable for chasing clouds.
Clouds within 'Living Jade Empire' were almost living things themselves. Hisui and Skyheart Snowsong had been asked to collect more than a few seeds, which took some rather tricky maneuvering, and a lot of bargaining. It was almost impossible to find an unoccupied cloud in the sky.
The elementals and the smaller dragons were actually some of the least dangerous occupants.
--
In class the next morning, Jade's own System popped up a new subquest as soon as he arrived. It instructed, very specifically, "Tell Eric about a recent adventure in 'Living Jade Empire'."
Jade eyed the quest with suspicion. He found himself sneaking glances at Eric whenever he thought Eric wasn't looking, but he couldn't figure out how to bring it up. Eric caught him looking a few times, and returned the glances with an easy smile.
A few minutes before the class ended, Eric caught his glance again and leaned over to ask teasingly, "Something you want to ask me Jade?"
Jade was sure that he blushed, as he asked hesitantly in return, "Um, do you play 'Living Jade Empire'?"
Eric looked away, and even shifted uncomfortably in his seat, before giving Jade a short nod and replying, "Yeah."
Jade drew a deep breath and glanced around before explaining quickly, "I'm in the middle of helping someone who just returned to the game, after a few years away, through the quest that gives the fairy dragon messenger."
Eric turned back to Jade and replied with sudden intensity, "Oh that one! That was as tricky as ferrets! Are you stuck?"
Jade blinked at Eric. His earlier discomfort seemed to have completely evaporated. "Uh, no. I've done it before," Jade assured him. "It's just long. Right now we're collecting the cloud seeds," he explained.
The soft chime of a quest completed sang in Jade's ears, but only within his own head. Before he could react, another instantly popped up to replace it. This one also targeted Eric with the demand, "Invite Eric to join you."
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"Do you…" Jade began.
Eric caught the teacher glaring toward them, and interrupted quickly, but softly, "Let's talk more after class?"
Jade nodded silently.
He gazed at the new quest a bit worriedly. The system had always been there, but it had never really interfered in his social life before. His mother complained that he was too cold to people sometimes, but the system hadn't ever seemed to care.
The only times that people had ever been named within a quest before, had been instances when it told him to do things like, "Catch the rare butterfly sitting on Tom's lunch box." Or perhaps there had been quests such as, "Take a picture in front of the fountain with your mother before you leave the park." This might be similar to that.
On the other hand, Jade had no real objection to trying to interact more with Eric. He was friendly, likable, and undemanding. Jade snuck another glance at him.
After the class ended, Jade gathered up his courage again and asked, "Want to go shopping with me after work?"
Eric gave Jade a look that he couldn't interpret, and asked a little sharply, "Shopping?"
Jade almost replied, "I have a quest," but stopped himself in time. Instead he explained, "I need to get a few clothes, and that's a thing friends usually do together right? " He pointed to a group of girls still clustered near the door chattering among each other, and added, "At least, they are always talking about doing that."
Eric covered his eyes and muttered, "Why do I even…" He straightened and said authoritatively, "Fine. I'll help you out, but then you have to go to the VR movie I was planning to watch tonight with me instead of going home to play games."
"Okay," Jade agreed cheerfully.
Eric flashed him a grin and raised his phone as he asked, "When do you finish tonight? And where do you work?"
Jade covered his eyes to show his embarrassment, and then texted all of the information Eric would need to find him for the project.
--
When Jade arrived for his shift, he found that Emily was back at work that afternoon. She sniffled constantly as she stood listlessly behind the register. Jade's mother would have disapproved.
Jade himself wondered whether or not it might have been better if Emily had taken another day to rest. Even if a medical examination had cleared her of carrying any serious illness, she looked like she still needed rest. When his system popped up the list of cleaning subquests without any encouragement, he did all of the cleaning again without complaint.
When he finished Jade asked her, "Has it been long enough that you can take more medicine?"
Emily frowned at him and explained authoritatively, "Medicine isn't something that should be used lightly. You become reliant on it, and then you can't get well on your own anymore."
She sniffled again, but straightened herself as the door thumped, and another customer walked in.
Jade never got sick so he couldn't be sure, but he thought that cold medicines were probably not as bad as Emily claimed. The kinds they sold here in the store weren't even restricted items.
--
When Harmony dropped by for her usual snack purchases, Jade told her, "I'm doing offline stuff with a friend from school tonight. You should be able to keep collecting cloud seeds on your own, but I can help more tomorrow."
"Sure, no problem Jade! Enjoy your time with your friend tonight," Harmony replied, and then winked at him.
Emily gave Jade the strangest look after Harmony left.
"What is it?" he asked. "Are you feeling worse?"
Emily sniffed again, and just shook her head. She didn't linger when her shift ended, so Jade was relieved when the next person showed up on time.
--
Jade met Eric at a fast-food place near the shopping district.
Eric asked, "So… What do you want to get?"
Jade looked at his quest list and replied, "Pants, a couple of shirts, underwear, and socks."
Eric gave him a look and then shrugged. "Okay, shouldn't take too long. Do you want to get anything to eat first?"
"I'm not really hungry, but we can get food if you are," Jade offered.
"Just a quick snack then," Eric said agreeably, and entered his order. It popped up in the dispenser a few moments later. He grabbed the carton and the cup, took a drink, and said, "I can eat while we walk."
"Okay," Jade agreed.
He thought that things were going well until the system popped up yet another new subquest, "Ask if Eric wants more food after completing at least 2 item acquisitions."
Jade flicked a glance at Eric, who was currently chewing a large bite of the crumbly fried item in his carton. His eyes flicked back to his subquest. It suddenly seemed disturbingly similar to the first mission you received after acquiring a pet in 'Living Jade Empire'.