“Umm, Noah?” Piper asked, over the chorus of the gusty wind.

“Yeah?”

“What was the melodrama all about?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t act innocent. You go to talk to Eve. She turns about and kisses Drake!”

“What is so surprising about that? Didn’t you tell me that Aces bed their Trinity girls?”

“That’s right. However, I gossiped around with the rookies, and they told me something interesting. Eve had never let the Ace even touch her before today. So, I ask you again, what was the melodrama all about?”

Piper’s revelation took Noah by surprise, but he did not respond. Instead, he twisted the throttle to speed up their motorbike. They were trailing behind the Fellowship squad on their way to Loch Lake. Their vehicle was a garage-built bike, which Piper referred to as Piperwings. Against Noah’s wishes.

Like the mobile trailer-van, the bike had been painted across the side.

PIPERWINGS

“Are you going to tell me what happened or not?” The cyborg could not let gossip slide easily under ordinary circumstances. Girl troubles of his best friend raised the stakes much higher in the realm of gossip.

“It’s nothing, Piper!”

“Well, if it is nothing, why do you look like somebody stole all your credits? You are usually thrilled before campaigns. Correct me if I am wrong.”

“....”

“Listen, Noah. If you like Eve, then you gotta tell her that. Before Drake, you know. Tonight. You know.”

Noah did not reply, but opened the throttle so abruptly that Piper almost fell off the bike.

Vrooooom!!

The Piperwings shot ahead of the Fellowship bike squad, taking the lead.

“Okay! Okay! I will stop asking!” Piper cried out in alarm. He looked behind them at the muffled faces of Drake’s team. They were definitely stronger than the regular players he met on adventures. Noah dwarfed them in raw level, but their equipment and gear would give them an advantage during fights.

It was surprising that a team as formidable as the Fellowship needed help. ‘They must be targeting an impossible boss monster or a deadly swarm.’ Piper knew Noah would protect him in the worst-case scenario, but something about the mission felt wrong. His gut, albeit an artificial one, twisted in anxiety.

Within half an hour, the road meandered several times. Finally, it went through a woody hill pass and opened onto the sandy plains of Licht. The Zanzibar forests ended there, but the Wyrm mines continued underground. Wherever the mines went, it was a barren wasteland. Thus, Wyrm formed a treeless trail through the Zanzibar forests and made its way into Licht.

The bikes sped through a sprawling landscape of sand littered with wine-palm trees.

“If we were on a foraging expedition, this would be a loot!” Piper announced in wonder. Wine-palm fruits were used to make palm wine, a delicious drink with incredible market value.

The vague outlines of a town in the middle of nowhere appeared in the distance.

“Perhaps they are the ones who sanctioned the mission?” the cyborg suggested.

A vast water mass extended to the horizon beyond the palm tree groves and the town. Loch Lake was seemingly endless, fading into the fog in the distance. It was late afternoon, and a cool breeze blew from the lake.

As the adventurers neared the settlement, Drake sped up and took the lead.

Ahead of them, the Ace spied a rider heading towards them. But he wasn’t riding a bike.

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“What in the hell is that?” Drake asked aloud.

The figure appeared to be riding an Equus monster. The Ace raised a fist in the air and lowered it quickly, which was a signal for his team to stop and get ready to fight.

The team members skidded to a halt. Almost everyone booted up Trinity.

Noah and Piper did not. They knew very well what the rider was riding. As it galloped closer, they could see a horse-like creature with scales on its entire surface. It had four saber-like teeth on its jaw. The monster’s tail was a barbed whip, a blow from which could cleave a normal human being in two.

“Drake!” Piper cried out. “It is a Xorse! Residents of Licht tame them to help and use them as battle rides.”

The Ace nodded but did not power down from the network. Eve, Skylar, and Alice parked their vehicles, standing behind him.

The rider reached them and pulled on the reins. His ride neighed and tip-tapped to a leisurely walk. The creature’s sound was more like a thunderous growl than a horse’s whinny. Its hooves had modified claws that cracked the ground with every step.

[ Appraise Monster ]

[ Species: Xorse ]

[ Licht Xorse: Level 20 ]

“What business do you have here?” the rider demanded. The voice belonged to a boy no older than fifteen. His Xorse grunted, and saliva dripped from its saber tooth. Piper reminded himself that Xorses were carnivorous.

“We are the Fellowship team from Providence! I am Drake Ace, the leader, responding to a B-class mission.”

Monster infestations had become quite common after the WTN was launched. The authorities classified missions based on the monster concerned, the time consumed in the tasks, the potential loot to be recovered, and the rewards offered by the party making the request. Often, general residents of towns and cities raised missions with rewards in credits or kind. The Mayors had direct contact with Providence helplines.

“Apologies for my tone, sir,” the boy responded, making his steed trot in a circle. “I am Peter. We get a lot of looters from other regions. They come in vehicles like yours to steal our wine palms. Therefore, we are wary of outsiders.”

“I understand that,” Drake replied, his eyebrow twitching. “Then is the B-class mission to battle looters?”

“Of course not, sir. We can hold our own against looters and raiders.” Peter whistled at his pet monster. The Xorse wagged its tail and threw it against the bole of a tree.

Crack!

A mound of solid wood was gouged clean from the stem. The Fellowship team murmured in astonishment. “Cool!” Nadja exclaimed.

“This is Rex,” Peter said, patting the beast on its flank. “We have Xorses and other tamed monsters in our stable. They help us defend Licht from outsiders.”

Piper was curious about how they tamed the creatures. Did they use the Trinity System? He was about to pose a question when Drake spoke up.

“What is the B class mission, then? Our Asst. Director had conveyed to us that the client requested security and privacy. The mission would be revealed on reporting at the location.”

Peter scratched his head apologetically. “I’m afraid I don’t have the authority to share the information, sir. I’ve been asked to guide you to our town, where our elders will brief you about the mission.”

“Very well,” Drake replied. He logged out of the WTN. “You look like a brave kid. But next time, be careful before raising your voice to others. You might end up dead before you have time to explain.”

“Understood, sir. Please follow me.” Peter snapped the reins; his Xorse spun around noisily and galloped away.

“Psst,” Piper whispered to Noah. “Why do you think Fellowship needs us when it’s just a B-class mission? I think with their levels and Providence labs’ equipment, they could complete an A-class mission with ease.”

“No idea. But the kid seemed anxious. Something seems fishy.”

Piper nodded in agreement. He was scared quite easily.

The Fellowship party revved up their bikes again and sped along the trail. On either side, the branches of Wine-palm trees hovered like arms reaching out to grab travelers.

Beyond the trees, there were thorny bushes, and beyond the frontiers, there was a wasteland trail. Noah had observed a pack of animals had been running along the party for a while then.

“Crocottas,” Piper informed Drake and the others. A crocotta looked like a hybrid between a wolf and a hyena.

“Are they dangerous?” Skylar asked. Peter slowed down and galloped abreast their motorbikes.

“Coycoytas. Or as you city-folks refer to them as Crocottas. They are the scavengers of both the forest and the desert. These creatures will keep their distance at most times. They are wary of us advanced beings as well as of other monsters. They look for scraps and abandoned carcasses to feed on. Crocottas are harmless to a crowd but can be deadly to a lone traveler as they surround and hunt their prey as a pack. Please be careful if you choose to venture out of the city at night.”

[ Appraise Species ]

[ Licht Crocotta: Level 10 ]

The party exited the boulevard and found themselves looking at a city's borders. The moss-covered walls were high, but seemed old and about to collapse.

Peter reared his horse at the gate and spoke in Lichten up the tower. Noah looked to the side; the crocotta pack was gone.

The gatekeepers raised the metal gate. Fellowship and party entered the town premises.

Noah and Piper exchanged glances. What sort of adventure awaited them inside?