Aya smiles at Mars' words, a warmth blooms in her chest.
Since coming to Axen City all she had focused on was her survival. There had been no time for friends or social outings, only the steady grind of work.
Moon Valley was the first thing to change that.
"But we just met." Aya points out, Mars shrugs.
"Can't put a time limit on friendship Aya." Mars smirks. The girl frowns suddenly pouting.
"Or don't you want to be my friend?" Mars asks in a pitiful tone. Aya laughs.
"It's not that." Aya says. "I've just never had anyone do this stuff for me, I've been alone for so long you know?"
Mars nods in understanding.
"Lucky you, I'm in the unique position to understand you Aya dear."
"Friends do this kind of stuff for each other I guess." Aya says under her breath. Mars nods.
"That's right." The other girl says with a wink. Mars takes a seat, leaning back on the wooden chair.
"Honestly it's been a while since I've been able to call someone a friend." Mars says bitterly. Aya notices the sour tone, focusing on the girl's frowning face she asks.
"What happened?"
Mars shakes her head, leaning forward to rest her chin on her hand.
"It's nothing to worry about, and who knows maybe someday I'll tell you. You just gotta focus on winning that PvP match we agreed on." The dark haired girl says.
"Gotten your first summon yet?"
"Yeah, it's a rare grade." Aya says. Mars laughs.
"Letting your opponent know your skill set? Not the best move Aya." Mars teases.
"But how often is your opponent your friend?" Aya retorts with a laugh of her own.
"Smart girl." Mars says. "I'll trade you a piece of info, Rare grade summons can be evolved, they have levels just like players, only hidden."
"Oh, I see." Aya says taking note.
"I don't know much about summons, not many people play em. The rest you're gonna have to figure out for yourself." Mars says.
Aya's face falls.
"Then why did I pick summoner?!"
"Because I know you're going to be a great one." Mars says unwaveringly. The resolve in her icy blue eyes is enough for Aya to believe her.
Mars suddenly sits up, smacking herself lightly on her head she whips out her phone.
"Let me add you as a friend on Moon Valley, we can even trade items. I'll let you buy some summon stones off me before I take 'em to the auction too." Mars says grinning.
"You're really trying to make money off me huh?"
Mars' grin grows wider.
"A girl's gotta eat and besides I'll always give you a discount." Mars says.
Aya shakes her head fondly, taking out her own phone and adding Mars to her friends list within the companion app.
"Now go fix up your headset." Mars says.
"You bet!"
----------
Aya leaves Mars' apartment with the thrill of excitement running through her veins. The rush from playing with in the headset was unlike anything she had ever felt before.
'I see now why everyone plays with them, it's a total escape.'
Within the headset, she was no longer just Aya the mail room girl, or the mail rat as Viviana put it. No, in Moon Valley she was Yvlena the elf, Harvest Guardian.
The game already felt real when she played on her laptop but now it was even more phenomenal.
"I have to fix the headset." She says walking down the old dusty steps.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
On her way back to her apart she spots her aunt walking up to her own apartment whilst on a phone call.
The woman speaks in hushed tones as she runs up the stairs. Her disgruntled expression gives away the unpleasantness of the call.
"Of course, she's still here!" The woman says. Aya could not hear the rest as the woman walks into her own home, slamming the door and rattling the building.
Aya sticks out her tongue, knowing the woman couldn't see her.
"Nasty hag! If my rent goes up to 450, that's for sure when I'm leaving." Aya says.
It was only the second week of the month, two more weeks before she would get paid.
'Thank goodness for Moon Valley.' Aya thinks.
"Tomorrow would probably be a good day to get groceries and see what was left over from the cash." she mutters.
'I'll put some money towards the headset, I can actually afford that now. I wonder what Mars does for money.'
Opening the door and heading inside, Aya places the PacBook on the table and wonders if she would still be able to game tonight.
Checking her phone she sees it's only 10:30 pm, usually, she'd be logged in by now.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to play some more, not like I have work tomorrow." Aya says.
However, before she does that, Aya decides it's wise to go and check on the old VR Headset Daichi had gifted her.
Heading over to her closet she squats down to pull out the cardboard box Mrs. Lutz had given her before she moved.
Taking out the Icarus gear, she examines it to get a feel for what could possibly be wrong.
"Would I even know what to look for?" Aya asks herself.
The device is a bit bulky, looking more like a set of rectangle goggles than a headset like Mars'
While the Zephyr was sleek in shape, design and could be strapped to her head for ease and comfort.
The Icarus could only go over her eyes but had two wired pods that would go into her ears for sound and mic.
Currently, the audio pods were missing, along with the piece that would go on over Aya's head.
The girl pouts, placing the 'headset' and wires back into the box.
"You'll be fixed in no time." Aya says, more to assure herself than anything else.
Heading back to the computer she takes her usual set and boots up Moon Valley.
Spawning in the town of Bloom Haven once more, this time within the compound of Rose Manor.
"I miss the headset already." Aya whines. "But at least I don't have to worry about my stamina." She mutters.
Rose Manor was still a bushy mess, but the area beside the gate seemed to be better than the rest of the overgrown area.
"I might be able to plant something there soon." Aya says.
"Might have to check out the shops but first of all."
Aya pulls up the menu and scrolls through the items in her inventory until she comes across the Carrot Sword from her battle with the Horned Rabbit Queen.
[Carrot Sword
***
Type: Weapon
Imbued with the Strength of the ancient Rabbit Lords
+15 STR]
"Ancient Rabbit Lords?" Aya says "I wonder." She muses as theories begin to form in her head.
She examines the crown wanting to know more about the Rabbit Lords or even Rabbit Society.
[Rabbit Queen Crown
***
Type: Rare Item
Artifact from the bygone era of the Rabbit Kingdom.
Once a symbol of power, it is little more than a relic now.]
Aya is suddenly saddened by what she reads. The fallen kingdom of rabbit society piques her curiosity but looking up more information was futile, the forums wouldn't really have much to say about it and a lot of players didn't really care about the lore.
[There Once was a Kingdom 1.5% completion]
"I see, some stories can only be unlocked through weapons and items." Aya says. The crown wasn't equippable but the sword certainly was.
"What's next?"
[Rabbits Foot
***
Type: Accessory
A symbol of Luck throughout the various regions of Moon Valley.
Made from silken fur and woven by the Bunny Maidens of the Kingdom, it has become quite rare since their disappearance.
+20 LUK]
This item was equippable too.
Aya ends up replacing her Starter Sword with the Carrot Sword and equipping the Rabbits Foot too.
[STR]: 35
[LUK]: 32
Aya didn't know much about luck, only that it helped with critical hits and enemy misses. The rabbit's foot would come in handy and it was nice to have two items that boosted her stats.
"Fighting foxes is about to get a whole lot easier." Aya says.
"I only have to try the summon stone now." Aya says going back to her inventory.
"I wonder if it has any lore, it's a Rabbit Knight after all." She clicks to read the description and finds she's right about the lore.
[Rabbit Knight Summon Stone
***
Type: Summon
Once a member of the Rabbit Kingdom's forces, now preserved in essence through the magic of Moon Valley]
"Preserved through magic? Does that mean a summon is only a copy? A copy created through magic?"
[There Once Was a Kingdom 1.7% Completion]
"It went up, just by a little though." She says.
"I'll check the Cake later, I bet it used to be a delicacy over there or something. That's enough info."
Her character runs out the gate towards the main area of Bloom Haven.
Aya finds herself in Bernard's shop again. The man smiles at her, waving enthusiastically as she steps through the door.
[Affinity with Bernard Increased+1]
Aya remembered him from the first time she logged into the game to buy a weapon.
"Hello." Aya says approaching the shop counter to get a look at his wares.
"Hello Yvlena, a pleasure to see you again." He says with a bright smile.
"Likewise Bernard."
A menu pops up
[Buy/Sell]
Aya hits 'buy' allowing a row of weapons to come up. After looking through some of the weapons, she finds nothing she's interested in.
After a bit of looking her eyes fall on something that catches her attention. A summon stone.
Bernard only had one of them, she clicks on it to find out more.
Forest Sprite (Common) x1: 2500 Moon Points
"My level one summon skill allows two slots right? It's probably best to fill them up." Aya says purchasing the summon stone.
"I'll head to the meadow to try it out. My forest Sprite won't be able to evolve though since it's just a common grade. Pretty expensive for a common though."
As if hearing her Bernard says.
"Summon stones are quite difficult to find, I was only able to acquire this one through the help of a mysterious traveler." He says.
"Wow." Aya gasps. More world lore?
Just as she's about to leave the shop, something else catches her eye.
Forest Elemental Soul Shard X1: 1000 Moon Points
Taking a gamble, she buys it too to study later. After a few more examinations in case she missed something Aya exits the buy menu.
[Affinity with Bernard Increased+1]
Much like the other NPCs it appears the merchants could be won over too. Aya wondered if she would get future discounts once she and Bernard became friends.
"Thank you, Bernard, I'll see you again soon." She says as she exits the shop. The man waves her goodbye as she leaves.
"He didn't have any tools for the Manor so I guess I just have to keep exploring the town."