"Come to Mericross?!" Aya said suddenly. She stood from her chair looking back at Mars unsurely.

"You mean leave Axen?"

"There's nothing for you here, you're constantly in danger and your Aunt is a psycho!" Mars reminded, she folded her arms gesturing to Aya how serious she was, was obvious from her body language.

Aya paused, swallowing. Mars was right, there wasn't even any reason to stay in this hell hole. She had quit her job and the only thing keeping her here was her cheap apartment but now with the money she had made from Moon Valley plus the fee from Atlas...

And wasn't this always the goal? To make enough to live comfortably. To leave Axen to the dogs? Aya looked into Mars' determined eyes. Dark brown eyes burned with passion as Mars waited for Aya to give an answer.

Aya had made up her mind.

"You're right, the further away from Axen I am, the better!" Aya said. She would have more freedom out from under her Aunt's watchful eyes.

The thought of not having to deal with the daily checks on her apartment made her heart soar freely.

The tenseness between the two dissipated, Mars grinned.

"That's what I like to hear," Mars stuck out her hand. "So you'll come with me to Mericross,"

"But I haven't even beaten you yet. Are you sure I could be helpful right now?" Aya said hesitantly.

"I'm sure when the time comes, we'll fight. Right now we need to get out of here and give you a safe place to figure out what your mom left you in the game and you can't leave Bloom Haven to find me right now," Mars said.

Aya took Mars' hand and held it.

"I'll go to Mericross with you," she paused. "But Mars I don't know can afford the rent there, The rent is like 2000 Lue at the least you know,"

"Did you miss the part where I basically have a fortune? Rent's on me Aya. Consider it a favor, you can pay me back in game,"

Aya's eyes sparkled. She would be leaving Axen after all, finally, she would be away from her Aunt and the dangers of getting mugged.

With a clear mind, she was sure she would get to the bottom of the game, Mericross would be closer to her Grandmother too. The only reason she came to Axen was to be with that miserable hag she called an Aunt.

Moving to a better City would give her swift access to the countryside, on the city's bus system.

"When do we find an apartment?" Aya asked. "And how do we move both our stuff, I have a lot of things,"

Mars scanned the room of Aya's small apartment, shaking her head.

"You really don't..." Mars said after considering her words, she didn't want to offend her new roommate. "A moving truck can come by and pick up both our things,"

"How much would that cost exactly?" Aya asked, her head was spinning. If it's one thing she knew, it was relocation was expensive, even if she converted all her gold it might not be enough to afford the moving costs.

"Aya, you've got to calm down. I will take care of it," Mars said slowly. "If you keep looking a gift horse in the mouth, sooner or later it starts to bite,"

Aya sighed.

"I'm sorry, I’m just used to worrying about money,"

"I've been there, it won't always be like this you know," Mars said brushing Aya's hair behind her ear. "You have to trust that you can change things," Mars said grinning.

----------

Aya locked the apartment door behind Mars as she left, she put her ear to the door listening for Mars' footsteps. Eventually, they retreated up the stairs and disappeared.

"What a day," Aya said to herself. With her new groceries, she made herself some canned soup and paired it with a side of fresh bread.

"Delicious,"

The sun was setting and painting the sky in shades of pink and orange by the time she had done her dishes and put the rest of her groceries away. Aya took a step back to look at her fridge now.

The small rectangle was fully stocked, bursting with the freshest groceries she could find at the nearby convenience store.

The shelves and cupboards were full too, stacked with snacks and dry foods.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

When had she ever thought she'd reach this point? Gazing at the snacks she saw a touch of Mars in the random junk food she had decided to get.

In a way, this was her parent's blessing from the afterlife, taking care of her after all this while. Moon Valley seemed to be their creation after all.

Something straight out of her mother's mind, and she was meant to find it.

"I should have an evening gaming session. I still need to finish The Cry Of The Dead quest," Aya said.

----------

Yvlena was once again on the grounds of the Rose Manor, she smiled, lifting her head as a refreshing breeze whistled past her, ruffling her hair as it did.

"Firstly we've got to equip that Willow Dress," She said snapping her fingers, after retrieving it from her inventory, she donned the pale green, knee length dress, twirling around in it.

"Wow, I feel nice wearing this, could it be because of the material? I'll have to use the specs to examine it later," Yvlena said. She took off towards the Artisan District eager to swing by Risel's shop, the only other alchemist she knew.

She wanted to know if there would be some type of tincture or potion that would remove the rust from Thomas O'Leary's watch. Once it was open maybe a family member or friend would be able to recognize it.

If anyone knew anything about potions it would certainly be Risel.

"Where are you off to this fine morning," A gentle voice said to her. Yvlena turned around to see Tom, the carpenter she'd first met at the beginning of the game.

He was no longer the grumpy old carpenter, Yvlena could tell from his tone that laughter came a lot more freely to him now that the town was healing.

"Just running some errands Tom," Yvlena replied.

[Affinity with Tom increased +1]

"I know how that can be, let me not keep you, if you ever need any blueprints on that manor, you just let me know," Tom said as he walked away.

"Could he have been the one to design it?" Yvlena wondered as she continued to sprint towards the Artisan District. She put the thought aside for now, no doubt it would come in handy when she wanted to rebuild the Foyer and the furniture.

She found the Apothecary not too long after and stepped inside to find Risel attending to a customer. Yvlena waited her turn but noticed the customer's unfamiliar attire.

In her mind, they looked similar to Ricardo, the merchant who had stopped in Bloom Haven for the week. Yvlena listened to the customer speak and noticed the gallant lilt in the woman's tone.

Risel smiled brightly as she packaged the potion for the customer and waved her out the door.

"Wow Risel, it looks like the shop's picking up," Yvlena said to her friend. The blonde elf maiden turned to face Yvlena with a wide smile across her face, She nodded ecstatically brimming with joy.

"Can you believe it, Yvlena? A traveler! This is the first one we've had in ages," Risel said.

"Really?"

"The town is healing and it's all thanks to you!" Risel said, nearly leaping off over her counter to trap Yvlena in a hug. She almost fell from the weight of Risel’s body falling unto her all at once.

Yvlena patted her friend on the back.

“I’m glad then,”

"The Miasma and whatever it was blocking the Outpost is all cleared up!" Risel said. “I never thought this day would come,”

"I'm just doing my best as the Harvest Guardian Risel," Yvlena said modestly, It was amazing how much the town had begun to flourish. With travelers begging to appear would players start showing up as well?

"I came to ask you about something," Yvlena said. She took O'Leary's memento out of her inventory and showed it to Risel. "It's rusted shut. Do you have anything that can remove it?"

"As a matter of fact, I do, but Yvlena...your alchemy skill is a bit too low to brew such a potion, you've got to take it to at least LV. 3 and have a bronze cauldron at least," Risel said apologetically.

'I knew not focusing on crafting was going to come back to bite me one way or the other,' Yvlena thought. She hung her head making Risel giggle.

"Don't worry Yvlena, the more potions you brew and use in battle, the higher your alchemy level grows," Risel explained. The blonde elf folded her hands.

"Have you even brewed a potion recently Yvlena?"

"Yes! At the abandoned Outpost I brewed the Explosive Potion," Yvlena whined, she didn't know why but Risel's face right now was reminding her of Mars.

"Well, you have to brew more and use them in battle Yvlena!" Risel said, holding her hand up to Yvlena's face in an admonishing manner.

"I promise! Do you have any more potions I can brew?" Yvlena asked with puppy dog eyes. She stuck her lip out and wobbled it for extra effect.

"Aww," Risel cooed, caving to the other elven girl's cuteness. She went back under the counter to bring up her shop.

"Of course, I have a bunch of potion recipes you can try, battle potions as well as restorative potions, enhancement potions are pretty popular too! And of course, I sell them ready made!" Risel said proudly.

Yvlena walked up to the counter allowing a familiar window to pop up.

[Buy/Sell]

She clicked Buy and browsed through the potions, she noticed a column of recipes and materials blacked out of her. She tried touching them to examine but like a ghost, they slipped through her fingers.

‘Has that always been there?’ she wondered, pulling back her hand.

“Risel, what's wrong with this selection?” Yvlena asked. Risel blinked and noticed what Yvlena was pointing at.

“Well those are the things I can’t sell you until you advance in level,” Risel said bluntly.

"Geez it's going to be like that huh?" Yvlena said with a laugh. Her attention left those not available to her and focused on the potions she could brew at her current skill.

"Speed Potion, Freeze Potion, Entanglia Potion," Yvlena said. She placed her hands on her hips. Each potion recipe cost a thousand Moon Points each, it wasn't like she didn't have the points for the purchase.

"Alright Risel, I'll take those three," Yvlena said. She glanced at the rest of the stock, seeing bottles and Vials both big and small. “And ten of each bottle and Vial please,”

"Pleasure doing business with you!”