“The Rose Ore came into my possession a long time ago, passed down to me by my father of course.” Soren said eventually downing his cup of tea.

  “And I assume he got it from the previous Harvest Guardian then?” Yvlena asked curiously. Soren nodded.

  “A man named Rael.”

  [Story of the Harvest Guardian 18% completion]

  Yvlena gasped, it had been a while since she had increased what she now knew as world quests. The next stage was almost done too, what would be her reward when she completed it?

  “As you know I’ll require two pieces of ore to upgrade your weapon, but I only have one at the workshop.” Soren said.

  “Where can I find the other one?”

  “You could search the Rose Manor or…” Sore took a great fearful gulp as he proposed the other solution. “you could defeat the creature at my father’s old warehouse.” Soren said, his lips trembled and he held a hand over his head.

  “I don’t know if the Miasma brought that beast upon us but we haven’t been able to get rid of it.” He cried.

  Yvlena nodded.

  If it was a Miasmic entity, it’s unlikely the towns people would be able to get rid of it by themselves. But just how strong was it? It didn’t matter, she needed the Rose Ore and the Manor was in no shape to be searched just yet.

  “I’ll help clear out the warehouse, Soren. Just show me where it is.” Yvlena said.

  [The Creature In The Warehouse

  ***

  For many years Soren’s father has operated the warehouse on the far side of the Artisan District’s Smithing Quarters but due to the influence of the Miasma, a foul creature has begun to nest within the area.

  Help Soren clear it out and in turn give the blacksmiths of Bloom Haven a place to store their ores and equipment other than their small workshops.

  ***

  Rewards

  Rose Ore x1

  ***

  Moon Points x2000

  EXP x700]

  [Do You Accept?]

  [Yes/No]

  Yvlena hit the 'yes' button without hesitation, this would be another way to help Bloom Haven, now it made sense why it seemed like the Smithing Quarters were so crowded.

  If the warehouse where most of them stored their things happened to be occupied by some entity it would seriously slow down production.

  But just how big was the warehouse?

  Soren stopped sniffling and lifted his head to look at Yvlena with large puppy dog eyes. Yvlena giggled finding his antics adorable.

  “Of course I’ll help my friend out, besides I need to clear out those creatures wherever I can find them, it’s my duty as Harvest Guardian after all.” she said.

  “Thanks Yv.”

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  “You’re welcome, Soren.”

  ----------

  Aya was roused from her game by Mars who shook her gently. She sat up rubbing her eyes a bit, and blinked her eyes open to find many of the passengers milling about the train.

  “What’s going on?” Aya asked, yawning. The sounds of murmuring roused her fully out of the semi-conscious state the game put her in.

  “It’s lunch time, the stewardesses will be passing soon, of course, there’s always the option to venture into the dining area but I doubt you’d want to do that.” Mars said smirking.

  Aya shook her head, besides there was nothing better than Mars’s cooking in her opinion and the price tag was free. She looked around, finding Mars had already gotten them some bottles of water in preparation for their meals.

  Aya smiled fondly.

  “I’ll just have whatever the complimentary meal is.” Aya said, now sitting up fully to gaze out the window. There were still miles of country side to look through, she wondered if she would be able to see her grandmother’s cottage from there.

  Amongst the cities in their country, rural areas and villages lay scattered on the paths to large cities like Axen and Mericross.

  Right now all Aya could see were the tops of chimneys hidden in dense foliage.

  “I guessed as much, same honestly. It’s too much of a hassle heading down to the dining area.” Mars said flopping into the seat.

  A few moments after she had said that, a gentle knock came from outside their cabin. The girls turned their heads toward it and Aya got up to open the door.

  A beautiful pale woman stood before them with a trolley, she peered inside and quickly flashed Aya a wide, saccharine smile.

  “Your meal is here courtesy of the Nile Express!” she said.

  Aya smiled back and allowed her to move the trolley inside, she gasped as she noticed it had no wheel and simply levitated a few meters above the ground. She wondered how easy her job at Nue Corp would have been if her mail trolley had been this model.

  Instead, she had wrestled with squeaky wheels on rusted hinges.

  The woman placed their meals on the retractable table and gave a quick curtsy before she left.

  “Enjoy your meals.” She said before closing the cabin door behind her.

  “A hover trolley.” Aya said still delighted by the sight of the tool the woman had used to deliver her food.

  “Oh yeah, you used to have one of those didn’t you?” Mars said recalling Aya’s previous job. The brunette bobbed her head eagerly in affirmation.

  “I always suggested the company get one, but they never listened to me.” Aya said popping the stasis wrap off her food to begin eating.

  Her meal was rice with a spicy beef sauce and optional coleslaw set off to the side. She sniffed it before snapping open the wrap containing her utensils.

  “Let’s eat!” Aya said cheerfully.

  Aya and Mars chatted as they dug into their food, it didn’t take long for either of them to finish and gulp down their relaxing bottles of water. There may have been food in the game but it didn’t compare to having a full stomach outside of it.

  Aya laid back with a contented sigh and resumed staring out the window, Mars followed her gaze wondering what was so interesting about the trees and unfinished construction her friend was staring at. She left it alone, assuming the girl was deep in thought.

  “So how’s the new Revista?” she asked.

  Aya’s brown eyes lit up at the question and in excitement, a stream of words tumbled out of her mouth faster than Mars could catch what she was saying.

  “Slow down and start from the beginning.” Mars said laughing. Aya could be so adorable.

  “It’s awesome, I feel like my senses have sharpened or something. Everything tastes better which means my low quality potions are going to taste even worse! But somehow I’m looking forward to that.” Aya said.

  “Have you fought something yet?”

  “Not yet but I’m about to do a quest for the local blacksmith so I can upgrade my weapon.”

  Mars whistled.

  “Nice! I love weapon upgrades but sometimes it’s better to cut your losses and just buy something with better stats.”

  “True but this is a key item.” Aya said.

  They continued talking until each girl was ready to head back into their respective areas of the game.

  ----------

  Yvlena woke up sitting across from Soren in the Tea House. He beamed at her.

  “Dozed off did you?” He asked.

  She nodded, knowing that was what happened when she logged out. Another thing that made her hesitant to leave the safety of Bloom Haven, in an area populated by other players, would she get robbed when she logged out?

  Only one way to find out.

  “Let’s head to the warehouse.”