The referee explained the situation to the audience. A level up from sparring had only happened once before in recorded history. That previous one, also a member of the Combat Division, had the habit of training day and night, much like Hei did. It was generally accepted that it took a ton of effort to level up even a single time apart from challenges. And, really, to most people it wasn't worth it. What mattered was how strong you were during challenges, not during everyday life. There weren't many things to fight in Silvercreek, anyways.

"Were you trying to level up?" I asked Hei.

He nodded. "Figured if I trained hard, it'd happen sooner or later."

Tanin walked and gave us congratulatory finger-guns. "Your team is really special," he said to me. "You, with your magical item crafting. Saber being a Platinum MOBA player. And Hei here, surprise after surprise."

"Huh," I said, "we kinda are really impressive, aren't we." I didn't mean that in a braggy way. I always knew we were a strong team, but it hadn't occurred until now just how many one-in-a-hundred, top-tier players were bunched together in our small party of five.

Tanin gave his head a shake of disbelief. "I swear it's like, whoever runs these games, really does play favorites. Some teams are straight-up put together to win."

We've had our casualties, too, but I didn't disagree with him.

"You think it's the distant lady that runs these games?" I asked him.

"The who-what now?"

"You know. The lady that talks to people in the void-dimension, when you first receive your powers. She's got the distant voice. And she also does the announcements during challenges."

He pursed his lips for a moment. "Oh. Yeah. It's probably her. Judging by her tone, she's got head honcho energy."

Jayden, the cultist, came up behind me and tapped my shoulder.

"We can meet tonight outside the soap shop," he said. "Let's aim for 8 o'clock." I whispered a confirmation, and he hurried off.

After a bit more socializing, the crowd began to disperse, and Hei and I slipped out by ourselves discreetly. Hei's fans would've followed us if they could. And while I thought they were pretty awesome to have around, Hei wasn't used to so much public attention. I strode beside Hei with a bit of a pop in my step, savoring how light my heart felt in that moment. After the tension and stress of the past week, I needed this.

"Where do we go now?" I asked him. "We need to celebrate your epic-gamer achievements."

Hei shrugged. "Wanna head home? I've still got $500 cash to store."

"Come on, that's weak-sauce. You can do better than that. Anything you've always wanted to do? Might as well check something off your bucket list today."

"Huh." As we walked he looked down at the path in thought.

"Anything at all?" I checked.

"I want beer," he said simply.

That caught me off guard. "I didn't know you drank."

"It'll be my first time."

"You're 18, right? Isn't that underage?"

"In America, yeah. But we're not there anymore."

Fair point. I wondered if Silvercreek even had alcohol age restrictions. Probably not, considering we didn't even have proper law enforcement, only a Guard's Guild that mostly concerned themselves with protecting people and property from crime, and not much else. I had to admit, Silvercreek was surprisingly stable and safe considering this place's giga-barebones legal system. But then again, this was a small town, where a bad reputation meant being shunned from teams or guilds, and that in turn could be a life-ender. When I first arrived in this town, I had guessed there'd be around 800 people here. But over time I realized the population was closer to 3,000. Still small enough that no one could quite escape their reputation.

Hei and I went to a pretty fancy pub in Ring One, where they sold craft beer by the mug. The menu was extensive, and most mugs were priced quite high at over $10. They had names for alcohols I had never heard of before. Thankfully each one came with a short description, though a lot of the descriptions scarcely cleared things up.

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IPA - Dry and hoppy, with an unapologetically earthy aftertaste.

Um, what did those words even mean?

Hei ordered a "stout," which was described as "tasting like coffee." The waiter then asked if I wanted anything.

"Maybe later," I said.

We had seated ourselves indoors, in a corner by the fireplace that flickered and crackled. The pub was quite vacant at this late-afternoon hour, and we practically had half the pub to ourselves. Our wooden table had been cleaned quite spotlessly. I folded my arms across the surface and put my head down to relax, and I took in the smells of pine and lemon-scented soap. I glanced at Hei from the corner of my eye. This close to him, I could see the white hairs that now peppered his temples. He definitely didn't have those before. I leaned toward him and sighed.

Soon, Hei's order arrived. The stout-beer was a dark-brown liquid, served in a glass goblet and capped with froth. It did look like foamy coffee. Hei took a shallow sip, then put the cup down. I waited for him to drink more, but he did not.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't like it," he muttered.

I pouted. "You were the one that wanted beer. That's why we're here!"

"I guess I just wanted to try," Hei said. "It's not as good as I thought."

"Nerd," I teased. "What, want me to finish it for you?"

He pushed the goblet over to me. "It's yours if you want."

Taking his offer, I raised the goblet to my lips. This was my first time drinking as well. Both of us were relatively sheltered teens, I supposed. I shut my eyes and took a cautious sip.

It tasted…weird. But not bad. It really did remind me of coffee. I drank a couple more gulps.

"This is alright," I said. "You're missing out."

Hei cracked a wry smile. "It's all yours."

Hei ordered some pub food for us – piping hot fries with ketchup, and tiny burgers with fried eggs inside. As I ate and drank, the buzz and dizziness began to set in.

"Where's your old hat?" Hei asked me.

"Sitting around in my drawer. Do you prefer that one?"

"Just curious," Hei said. "I like this one better. It makes you look…uh, badass."

I could help but smile. "You bet your butt it does."

I took my hat off to examine it. I thought it looked pretty. The dark, velvety fabric took on hues of violet and gold in the candlelight. It was simple yet dignified. And the translucent ice crystal attached to the side of the hat pulsated with a cold aura. If I really paid attention, I could notice faint glowing waves, like polar lights, dancing and refracting within the facets of the crystal.

When we finished everything off and went back into the streets, the sun was only beginning to set. So it wasn't too late, considering sunsets happened early in winter. The air was refreshingly cold, and the alcohol heated me up from inside. I began to walk home, but heard Hei chuckle behind me.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"You aren't walking straight anymore."

"Am too," I rebutted. I began walking along the edge of the pavement, just to prove my point. But after a few steps, I began to swerve, and had to squat down before I lost balance. I laughed at myself, freely, as if no one were watching.

Hei came to help me stand back up.

"Guess you'll have to carry me home," I said. "Piggyback ride?"

Hei looked me up and down. "Really?"

I put a hand on my hip. "You can handle me, right? Do you even lift bro?"

"I –"

"You got a strength boost ever since we started the game, didn't you? Actually, how much do you lift?"

"What kind of lift?" he asked.

"I dunno, the normal kind – hey, don't you roll your eyes at me!"

"Sophia, you're shouting…"

"Well yeah," I dismissed. "How much can you normal-lift here?"

"840 kilos bench press," he muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Cool, I'm basically weightless then." I positioned myself behind his back. He squatted down the tiniest bit to let me on.

"...You owe me $10 for this," he said in a low voice.

"Yeehaw!" I shouted as I jumped on board. I strapped my arms around his chest like a backpack, and he supported the rest of my weight by wrapping his arms under my thighs.

We embarked on our journey home.

I couldn't remember much from the trip, besides the gentle sway, and his warmth, and my woozy intoxication. At one point or another, I fell asleep.

When I came to, I was laying belly-down in my own bed, tucked under blankets. Night had fallen. I still felt a bit woozy, and now I had a slight, pulsating headache.

…Dang it, I guess this was my first hangover.

Oh shoot. Wasn't I supposed to meet the cultists by the soap shop? What time was it now?

I checked the clock on my bedside table. I bought it not too long ago for $390.

Oh no. Half-past eight.

I ran downstairs, leaning on the rails for want of balance. Crap! Would Jayden have left by now? I hate my life –

I let out a shallow gasp.

In our living room, sitting on the couch, were both cultists from last time. The boy, Jayden, and the young lady that had accompanied him.

In between them, there was a tablet of stone.