“Might I inquire what the kit consists of, and how much it costs?”

Before Equinox could even do more than think of cursing, Wyntir stepped forward, curious tilt of the head sending her practically braided tresses a-swaying.

He turned away as the guardsman responded, uninterested. Idly scanning the wall protecting Golden Trees Village, he noticed pairs of guards patrolling atop walkways crowning the mostly uninterrupted construction of stone and wood.

What most caught his interest, however, was the grassy stretch of plains racing away from the village’s walls and far into the horizon, gentle inclines blocking him from seeing anything beyond.

People were widely scattered across the area, otherworldly foreigners easy to tell apart from natives of the New Age of Champions.

While he instantly spotted the dirt roads the bored guardsman spoke of, he paid them little mind, more interested in the ostensibly weak monsters harassing those roaming the Hushed Plains proper.

Just at that moment, a group of five vanished under the onslaught of a clucking flock of incensed chickens. Stray feathers and spurts of blood went flying as greyish-silver beaks brightly glinted under the afternoon Sun. Before long, the poultry halted and dispersed; leaving behind a scene of quickly dissipating carnage. Frankly, Equinox was appalled by the players’ pitiful showing.

Blood red fireflies rapidly peeled away from uncensored gore and exposed viscera, swiftly ascending skywards and growing fainter all the while.

The unearthly, macabre sight caused Equinox to idly muse about NAoC’s death penalty. A slender finger was softly jabbed into his side before he could do so for long; Wyntir drawing his attention in a none too subtle manner.

“Pass over 50 of your coppers Nox.” She requested, left palm outstretched towards him in clear expectation. “Both of us are going to purchase a beginner adventurer’s kit from the nice gentleman.”

He shot her a bewildered look. Really? Nice gentleman? All he got was a waggling, upturned palm in response, however; wordless gesture clearly asking him to hurry it up.

Grumbling a bit under his breath, he still complied and quickly took out 50 coppers, trusting she had a good reason.

A bulging drawstring pouch—identical in both colour and design to his spatial pouch except for its copper-coloured strings—instantly appeared in his free hand. He handed it over without any fanfare, relinquishing his grip once she had a firm hold.

Wyntir immediately set the pouch of coins down on the booth’s counter, joining its twin with a metallic clink. The bored guardsman’s more expressive female counterpart picked it up before checking its contents. After a moment, she nodded, satisfied, storing it away underneath the counter after doing the same with Wyntir’s payment.

Without a word, the bored guardsman tossed the pair of leather satchels at Wyntir, forcing her to scramble to catch them.

Equinox arched his brow incredulously, taken aback by the man’s unwarranted gesture. Taking a furious step forward, he prepared to rebuke the guardsman but bit it back when Wyntir tugged at his arm and shook her head subtly.

In the meantime, the rude arsehole had already turned his attention away, focusing on the next persons in the line. The guardswoman, belatedly noticing her counterpart’s curt dismissal, offered them an embarrassed grimace before mouthing an apology.

Wyntir dipped her head in an understanding nod while whispering out of the corner of her mouth, “Time to go Nox. No point in getting into a fight with the Guards.”

“He bloody deserves to get torn a new one.” He furiously whispered back. Nonetheless, he followed along with her wishes after another insistent tug; the pair leaving through the wide open gates, loose gravel transitioning to packed dirt after they were sheltered under a long stretch of shadows cast by the walkway above.

“That is not a good idea, Nox.”

Equinox only replied after the duo made some headway down the empty dirt road. “Why did you prevent me from tearing him a new one? The cunt deserved it for being so Champions damned rude!”

Wyntir stopped walking and turned to face him, forcing him to stop in kind. “It would not have done us any good. We already established an acrimonious relationship with one of the higher-ups in Golden Trees Village’s militia. Doing the same with the Guards is far from the wisest idea.”

“The cunt was asking for it though.” He protested mutinously. Even still, he left it at that, knowing she was right and willing to let things rest.

Accepting the implicit agreement for what it was, Wyntir nodded and decided to switch tracks. “You will hear no disagreement from me. On a different note, here.”

She pushed one of the small leather satchels against his chest and let go once he had affirm hold of it. Slinging her satchel across her torso and letting its padded strap rest between her breasts, she adjusted it until it hung by her side as both shortswords materialised in a hand.

“Make sure to keep the beginner adventurer’s kit safe. It contains a parchment map of the surrounding topography, two rolls of linen bandages, and enough rations to feed us for a week.” Wyntir informed while lifting up her satchel demonstratively.

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He stored away the scimitar and opened the kit, seeing all the things she spoke about.

“I’m sure we could have gotten the bandages and rations somewhere else and, hopefully, for a cheaper price. Actually, why didn’t you just ask to take a look at the map? I’m sure the Minimap would have copied the information once you’d caught a glimpse.”

Equinox rooted through the kit’s contents even while he spoke. After a moment or two, he pulled out a neatly rolled up piece of parchment, unfurled it, and rapidly studied it.

“Do you really think I did not try to do just that?” Wyntir let out with an offended huff. “The guard refused to let me see it before I handed over the money. I think the NPCs have an inkling about the kind of abilities us ‘otherworldly foreigners’ have access to.”

His eyes briefly flickered to the corner of his vision as Wyntir was speaking. Seeing that the map’s contents had been fully transferred onto his Minimap, he started rolling it back up while sending her an arched brow.

“Really? Colour me surprised.” He commented while stuffing the scroll back into the satchel. “I don’t think NPCs have ever been so… perceptive in any previous VRMMORPGs I’ve ever played.”

She nodded sharply. “That was my reaction, exactly. Anyway, now that you have looked at the map, shall we get going? I want to start collecting Gems, Shards, and Fragments as quickly as possible.”

Readjusting the kit until it lay against the small of his back, Equinox hummed agreeably and summoned the Training Scimitar back out. The instant it appeared in his left hand, he swapped it over to his right; making a mental note at the back of his mind to relocate his spatial pouch after re-entering Golden Trees Village.

“Let’s go then.” He said, stepping off the dirt road, springy grass crunching underfoot.

Turning back slightly to hurry Wyntir along, he was just in time to see her eyes widen even as her pink lips parted – before a trio of hot claws swiftly sliced across his unguarded left side, leaving searing lines of pain in their wake.

“Look out Nox!”

It’s a little too late for that, Iona, Equinox grumbled internally even as he whirled around to properly face his ambusher, pained grimace twisting his features. In the next instant, he locked eyes with a hunched, yellow-spotted civet.

Barely spending a second to look his adversary over, he stalked towards the coiled feline while brandishing the Training Scimitar, getting it to bare its fangs and aggressively hiss at him.

It retreated as he advanced, leaving crimson streaks behind on shrivelled blades of grass depressed under its front left paw.

A tiny part of Equinox’s mind couldn’t help but wonder where the civet had come from, but he wasn’t given much time to do so. With a gentle flash, the yellow spots all across the feline’s coat lit up dimly just before it sprung at him.

Remember! To attack, slash! To deflect, slash! And to defend, slash! Captain Annie’s voice echoed in his mind.

Bringing the Training Scimitar upwards into an arcing slash, he intercepted the civet’s glowing claws with a metallic, ringing clang; fiery sparks scattering in all directions from the multiple points of impact.

After a fleetingly brief contest of strength, he continued through with the slash and tossed the feline backwards ass over teakettle with an aggravated yowl.

He followed hot on the civet’s airborne heels but was forced to stop and shield his eyes with a raised forearm as a blinding flash of light unexpectedly pulsated out from it.

Black dots blurred his vision, Wyntir immediately asking if he was alright with a shout.

Reassuring her that all was fine with a backwards thumbs up, he rapidly blinked, attempting to regain clarity of vision as soon as possible.

By the time it had cleared up, the civet had landed back on the grass, crouching and preparing to pounce while visibly looking no worse for wear. With an even angrier hiss, it rapidly loped at him; shredded grass and clods of dirt sent flying in its wake.

Unwilling to be outdone, Equinox dashed to meet it, Training Scimitar raised high overhead in a two-handed grip. As it leapt at his torso, he slashed down like a guillotine, slamming it back into the dirt before its claws could even graze his tunic.

Without an iota of hesitation, he stomped his foot down on the civet’s sprawled frame, causing it to yowl in pain as a sharp crack came from its spine.

Making sure it was pinned in place, he instantly started hacking at its expose nape, blood sent spraying with every severing slash.

Even as flesh then muscles then bone was exposed to the afternoon air, the civet didn’t stop struggling for even a moment, hissing and spitting while trying to regain its footing. Its diminutive size proved to be no match for Equinox’s full weight.

Four slashes in, its struggles weakened. After reaching seven, its strength drained away. By the time he hit ten, the civet was feebly pawing at death’s doors.

Raising his arm once more, Equinox brought the Training Scimitar’s gore-splattered edge down on the barely twitching civet and severed the last bits of muscle and sinew connecting its head to its frame – killing it without any doubt.

Even as its head rolled away, a softly shimmering prismatic ‘!’ appeared in the corner of his vision, eye-catching yet unobtrusive and located exactly opposite the Minimap. Ignoring the new symbol for now, he stepped off the corpse and dragged it backwards, leaving its severed head behind as he rapidly retreated back to the allegedly protected dirt road.

Those close by and unoccupied watched as Equinox carried on with his grizzly task, most gazes belonging to other players with the rare few natives sprinkled in.

Wyntir, having been waiting a way’s away from the spot Equinox left the road from,, hurried over to him once he was fully on safe ground; copiously bleeding carcass in tow. “I have not seen you kill in such a sloppy, hands-on manner since Gladiators of Yore.”

As the last word left her lips, she regretted it – well aware what his reaction would be even before she saw a momentary flash of pain in golden and silver eyes.

Hearing the name of a time in his past he hoped would remain just that—in the past—Equinox squeezed his eyes shut, painful throb reemerging in his chest like a long-lost companion.

Seeing this, Wyntir immediately put away the longer shortsword in her right hand before slipping her free extremity into Equinox’s own and gently squeezing, getting him to reopen his eyes when cool skin touched his own. “I am so sorry for talking about GoY. It slipped out before I could stop myself.”

Squeezing back, he slipped his hand from hers while flashing her a brief, strained smile. “It’s… okay. S’not your fault. Anyway…”

Unsubtly deciding to change the topic, he looked down at the civet’s corpse while mentally focusing on the prismatic ‘!’ in the corner of his vision. Instantly, it unfolded into a hovering translucent panel even as a gentle chime rung in his ears.

“…a rainbow exclamation mark appeared in the corner of my eyes after I killed the civet. There’s a panel in front of me now, and this is what it says.”

¡Dingdong!

Player Equinox has slain a Sunspot Civet.

Generate an Essence Condensate? | ⟨Yes/No⟩

Thankfully, the information entering his ears matched those displayed on the panel, allowing him to recite the words verbatim. While doing so, it let him fully quash down the long-buried feelings Wyntir’s unthinking comment brought up.

“That is quite interesting.” Wyntir offered, an apologetic look still in her eyes. “I suppose that is what the guardsman from the Hall of Ascension meant when he said we needed to kill monsters for Gems, Shards, and Fragments.”

“At least it’s straightforward.” He agreed with a weary smile, wordlessly reassuring her not to worry. “I’m just wondering if I should try and generate one and what will happen if I do.”

She shrugged delicately. “It is up to you. Your kill, your choice. I will be right back, however. I wish to test myself against one of the monsters.”

With a last, apologetic look, Wyntir left the dirt road and unhesitatingly jogged off into the Hushed Plains. A mere second later, a small kit with a verdant coat of fur shimmered into existence like a desert’s mirage before pouncing.

Equinox only watched for a moment before focusing back on the hovering panel, confident she could hold her own without issue. Reading the panel over one more time, he made his decision.

He reached out and tapped on ⟨Yes⟩, slightly surprised when his finger made contact. Instantly, the pane shattered into prismatic fragments while a blood red fire ignited across the sunspot civet’s decapitated frame; flames of an identical colouration bursting to life where he recalled the civet’s head rolled, broadcasting its matching fate.

With how close the carcass was, he expected to feel warmth or some heat, at least. Strangely enough, there was none. Shimmying closer to the flaming corpse to test it out, he quickly realised the blood red flames only resembled fire.

While bright and radiant, it didn’t prevent him from watching as the decapitated civet broke apart, failing to leave behind any residue in the face of the raging not-fire.

After what must have only been a handful of seconds, the heatless flames winked out, leaving absolutely nothing behind where the carcass once lay.

He blinked, thinking his eyes were playing a trick on him. Unfortunately, even after doing so several times, nothing changed. Sliding his boot over the scuffed up patch of dirt to check also revealed nothing.

It looked like the generation of an Essence Condensate had… failed? To confirm his guess, Equinox dashed off the dirt road and sprinted to the other spot where blood red flames had ignited.

Unfortunately, nothing was there too. Even the trails of blood he expected to be there were gone; flattened blades of grass the only testament to something having existed there previously.

“…Champions dammit!”