"Aw man, I don't wanna fucking learn this shit-ass dance, bruh. For a fact, I can't even dance!"

  Lavapup cursed, falling back onto the rge, soft sheets of the bed that had been provided to her. The mattress barely made a sound as it caught her weight.

  I, on the other hand, took a seat at the pristine crystal tea table across the room, carefully lowering myself into the chair like I actually belonged there.

  "Tell that to the devs or something," I said, lifting the cup, "but you can't seriously tell me you can't dance when you fight the way you do."

  She groaned, rolling onto her side and burying her face in a pillow.

  I took a sip of the tea, fully expecting it to be decorative nonsense.

  "Oh... that is good."

  A fvor mix of mint and berries coated my tongue, tingling through my entire body in a comforting path-from head to toe.

  "Bro, fighting and dancing are like two completely different things, man. Fighting is like..."She paused, her hand stuck midair, frozen in the motion.

  "I don't know what it's like, but it's different from dancing."

  She finished mely, letting her arm slump down as I sipped on the tea once more. Setting the cup back onto the saucer, I turned toward her.

  "I get what you mean, pup. If I had to learn a dance, I'd cry too. But think about it..."

  I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, the golden chair scraping across the crystalline floor.

  "Look at the quest menu. It's called a world quest."I scooched even closer, the chair screeching louder and leaving behind bck streaks. "Do you have any idea what kind of crazy-ass rewards we could get from this?"

  My tone was dead serious.

  "Back in Cssic Adventure, a world quest was something that affected the entire game-most of the time it changed the whole map completely."

  I tried to expin, but she just squirmed in her bed, shoving pillows over her ears like that would save her from my rambling.

  "W?h, w?h, w?h! I don't care!"

  She whined like a little child, kicking her legs and completely destroying the carefully made bed.

  I sat there in silence, one hand covering my mouth, genuinely questioning whether this was really my party member-and what terrible life choices had led me here.

  "Anyway," I continued, "the loot from those quests? Sometimes it sold for millions upon millions of gold. Some people even bought items for real money-thousands of dolrs on the marketpce."

  Like I'd flipped a switch, she stopped whining instantly and shot upright, staring at me with a shamelessly money-hungry gaze.

  I leaned back, a smug smile spreading across my lips.

  "Finally interested, huh?"

  She just shrugged and got out of bed, letting her bare toes graze through the soft fabric of the carpet.

  "Money rules the world," she said. "It helps you stay alive, gets you fed, gives you a warm, comfy pce to sleep..."

  Her fingers traced slowly over the silky sheets of the bed.

  That was the first time I had ever heard her say something genuinely smart and reasonable.I didn't even know that was possible for her.

  "You're right," I muttered. "It really is the elixir of life..."

  Silence settled between us.

  She stayed seated on the bed, gazing around the room, while I calmly drank my tea.For a while, neither of us said anything.

  Then Pup finally broke the quiet.

  "I'll do it."

  My pointy ears perked up.

  "Hm?"

  "I said I'll learn this stupid dance and become the Bellmaiden or whatever," she said, still unsure-but firm.

  "I mean, the loot is probably worth it, so why not? And it can't get that bad..."She hesitated.

  "But-"

  She hesitated, fingers tightening slightly in the bedsheets.

  "-if this turns me into some weird bell nun or spirit statue, I'm bming you."

  I raised my hands like I'd just been caught by the police and smiled.

  "That's fair. I respect that."

  I finally pushed myself out of the noble chair, groaning like an old man as I did.

  "Alright then, Miss Bellmaiden-wanna go see what this mystic pace has to offer?"

  I stretched zily. The brown-haired girl shifted toward me, her ember eyes carrying something I hadn't expected.

  Disappointment.

  It sat there quietly, wrapped in a faint, almost sad frown.

  "No, I'm sorry..." she said. "I gotta get off for today. I'll be back by tomorrow though."

  Her gaze stayed fixed on the menu floating in front of her. I couldn't see it, but the way her fingers moved through the air told me enough.

  "Oh, I see. Well... see you tomorrow, I guess."

  She winked at me, and a second ter her body dissolved into blue particles, fading away.

  My smile dropped instantly.

  So did my motivation to keep pying.

  It's not like I hate pying solo-but I'd been partied up with this chipmunk for almost the entire game. And yeah, she's a pain in the ass most of the time, but she lightens the mood just by existing.

  To put it bluntly, she's a funny pain in the ass.

  And somewhere along the way, I'd gotten used to having her around.

  You could say, even tho I only know her in game, she became a good friend to me.

  "Guess I'll log off too..."

  I sighed. Unlike Pup, who used the menu, I went with the other method. I tilted my head up and shouted,

  "Log off!"

  Bright blue light swallowed my vision, blinding me completely.

  When I opened my eyes again, I was staring at a dark ceiling-and listening to the annoying ring of my arm.

  Heavy bags hung under my eyes as I shifted in bed and grabbed my phone.

  7:10 a.m.

  My school arm.

  I dropped my head back onto the pillow and let out a long, tired sigh.

  "Fuck... don't tell me I accidentally pulled an all-nighter."