While Cordelia harvested the slain Dire Bear, Manco gave her some brief advice on preparing for long trips: topics such as picking out gear, camping, or cooking.

"… So about equipment, where are you headed next?"

Opening her map, she said: "I've asked about the surrounding settlements. I'm torn between going east, to these cluster of towns, or heading south-east up the mountains. These mountain villages seem interesting. I'm not sure if I could survive either trip, though."

"Mmm… " Manco nodded, "You do need to upgrade your weapons at least. And gain a few more levels. How's your weapon masteries?"

"My dagger's at 17, and my bow's at 6. I don't use it that much."

"Yeah. Up both of them to a multiple of five, then grab a few techniques."

"I stopped by the barrack," she scratched her head, "but the guard kept turning me away!"

"Ah, that! Complete a few bounties to improve their attitude, after that they'll train you."

"Oh, I see! This bear skin is sure to come in handy, then!" She grinned.

"As for which path to take, I'd recommend the mountain villages. At least one of them had training and equipment for your class."

"Cool! So I'll need to add climbing gear to my shopping list!"

"Yes. And some warm clothes as well!"

They chatted for a few more minutes until she eventually finished harvesting the Dire Bear, which turned into a pile of bones and entrails.

"Ack! You want some of these bear meat? I can't carry it all back!" She groaned and slumped to the ground under the weight of the added items.

"Sure,…" He replied. Opening her trade screen Cordelia transferred half the meat to him.

"Whew!" Exhaling, Cordelia stood up, brushed herself and took out another waterskin and a pack of cookies.

They began to slowly walk back to town. While walking, Cordelia ate the cookies and washed them down with water.

"What about you, what are you up to?"

"I'm waiting for Reg… I mean, your acquaintances."

"To team up with them, I suppose?" She asked, drinking from it.

"To kill them and loot their corpses."

"Pfft!" Surprised, she spat out the water. "Sorry!" she said, hastily wiping her mouth with her hand, "I thought…"

"That's my plan," he shrugged. Then to his surprise, he realized his right hand was gripping the handle of the dagger on his grip. 'What is with me? She's not an enemy!' he told himself. However, his right hand stayed in place.

"So you're after their items?" She had stopped walking, her eyes staring at him.

"Yes."

"The Beta Test rewards?"

"Yup."

"If I'd got one of those, would you have killed me as well?"

"Maybe."

"What do you mean?"

"If you were a stranger, I might have."

"Oh! But you 'knew' me, so I was off your hit list?"

"Probably," he said, holding her gaze but paying close attention to her hands.

"I see…" she looked away, then looked back at him, "Normally I'd be upset. But for some reason, I don't. Strange."

"Does that have anything to do with what they did to you?"

"Some of it, maybe. But I think it's because I just got kinda… numb. From all the recent 'revelations'."

Manco had nothing to say to that, so he kept silent. A chipmunk poked its head out of the nest on the tree trunk and quickly retreated as it saw him

"Don't you think I'll tell them about this?" Cordelia put away the food and drink as she resumed walking. She brushed a branch out of the way.

"It'll make things a little harder for me. So, please don't!"

"Aren't you a modest one! Alright, since you've asked nicely, I won't tell them." She looked at him with a smile.

"Thanks!"

"No problem," she shrugged, "This is just something you do in this game, huh?"

"Yes. Take things from people and do your best to hang on to your own stuff."

"I'm not too fond of that aspect. Messing with people to benefit me. I just want to have fun, make friends, explore, that sort of things."

"I'd love to be able to do that as well, but I can't."

"…You're trying to make money from this game?" She asked after a few moments.

"You could say that." He had other goals as well, but she didn't have to know that.

"Oh…" They walked in silence as Cordelia processed this information.

"What's it like, doing what you do?"

"Pretty stressful, to be honest," he replied, "Lots of questions to be answered. Where to go, what to do, how to make the most of my time…"

"Speaking about time," Cordelia pointed out, "you spent an awful lot of time helping me. Doesn't that go against your policy?"

"Haha…," chuckling dryly, Manco answered, "I can't be grumpy and goal-obsessed all the time, can I? I need some distractions or I'll go crazy!"

"So that's all I am to you?" she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "A distraction?"

"That's not what I meant! What I mean was, uh…" he paused, searching for words, "you know…"
"It's okay, I get it! You don't have to explain!" she pouted in jest.

"No, I mean…" he sighed "…I have a soft spot for distressed damsels, I guess," he gave a self-deprecating chuckle, "And something about this game just brings that out in me."

"Ah, a knight in shining armor underneath that cynical shell!" Cordelia smiled, "It'd be nice if I could find one of those!"

"… Also because I don't like bullies."

"Bullies, huh…" her smile faded and she was lost in thought.

They were silent the rest of the way, except for the brief exchanges as they kill monsters. Eventually, the forest was behind them and Broken Hill's south gate was in sight.

"I'm calling it a day now," Cordelia announced, "I'm selling my stuff and log out. You're still playing?"
"I'll log out in a bit and come back later" He had eight more hours before his targets were supposed to be back in, and the north and east areas still need to be scouted.

"Thank you…" she said, looking up at him, "… for being honest with me, I mean. I don't think anyone I know would admit without hesitation that they might kill me and loot my corpse for valuables, in-game or not."

"Uh… You're welcome?"

"And I'm glad we don't have to part on bad terms. Let's keep in touch, okay?"

"Sure."

"Strange. I tried adding you to my contact list. It didn't work!" she said, fiddling with her interface.

"Ah, it was me…" When he first logged in, Mahn Li had habitually disabled the messaging and new contacts functionalities. In the old account, he had been bothered too much by people trying to message him or adding him to their contact list. Most of the top players did the same thing.

Mahn Li reactivated the functionalities.

*Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-…*
[New message! Subject: How did you do that?]
[New message! Subject: You cheat!!!]
[New message: …]
…
[Contact Request: BobTheBard]
[Contact Request: KallMeKat]
[Contact Request: …]
…

He was instantly swamped by thousands upon thousands of messages, which were either recruitment messages from fledging guilds, accusations of using hacks or cheats, requests for him to help level up, or asking for tips. Most of the messages were dated from 7 days ago, when he killed the Corrupter, leveled up to 20 and jumped to the top of the level leaderboard. Since then, he had consistently stayed at the top spot, with the closest player at level 23.

Sighing, he deleted all the messages and request.

"Try sending a request again," he told Cordelia.

[Contact Request: Cordelia.]
[Accept][Ignore Player][Delete]

He selected "Accept" and her name showed up in his previously empty contact list.

"You're my first contact," he said to her.

"I'm your first? Really?" she chuckled, "Too bad I can't say the same!"

They bid each other goodbye. As Cordelia headed to the craftsman's quarter, Manco briefly looked at her retreating figure then headed the other way toward the town center.

Checking his quest list, he found out that he had fulfilled half a dozen bounties while running around in the forest earlier. This should be enough to improve his reputation with the town guard.

Stepping on the edge of the street to make way for the dozen recruits jogging in full gear, he made his way to the two-story mansion next to the town square.

The guard at the front door sternly nodded at him.

"I'd like to turn in some bounties."

"The office's inside, just follow the red line on the floor," the guard replied and stepped aside. Nodding at the guard, Manco step through the door.

Entering the building, he found himself in the foyer. The marble-and-stone support columns were decorated with what must be elaborate patterns but were now coated in layers upon layers of dirt and grime. The walls were still adorned with fancy-looking picture frames and the less dusty sections betrayed the absence of hanging tapestries. On the vaulted ceiling was a large chain that at some point must have supported a large chandelier.

The mansion had obviously seen better days under a wealthy owner. Now, it had been stripped of everything valuable and converted for civilian and military use.

Directly in front of him, nestled under the massive dual staircase was the general public reception area. A giant strip of red paint on the floor led from the main door straight to it.

"Can't be more obvious than this!" Snorting, he approached the row of desks.

A row of three long tables made of rough-sawn lumber formed the lobby. Each table was manned by two people in uniform. Behind them were several large shelves stacked with books, scrolls, and wooden boxes. The shelves served both as a storage place and a divider to a small area behind which was used for storing more documents or resting.

About four people were sitting on the benches on the other side of the tables, talking to the officers. Half a dozen more were standing around, awaiting their turn and making small talks. These people were probably mercenaries like him, here to claim a bounty, or citizens filing complaints or making requests.

When it was his turn, the pair in front of him was a woman in her forties and a young man.

"Good afternoon," the woman said, "What do you need done?"

Within a minute, they verified his claimed bounties, handed out the rewards, and said their thanks.

"Can I get any training here?" He asked.

"The training area's that way." She said, gesturing to the door to his right.

Thanking the officers, Manco left the lobby and made his way to the training area.

It was a spacious room, partitioned into two areas. The first one, occupying most of the room, was lined with straw mats. The second area at the far back had a few weapon racks with wooden weapons and about a dozen dummies.

Manco approached one of the instructors, a medium-height, lanky man with sinewy muscles and an alert face. He was sitting and observing the recruits training in hand-to-hand combat.

"Good afternoon. I'd like to learn dagger techniques."

Sizing him up, the man nodded, "Long or short lesson?"

"The short one, if you don't mind." A long lesson would involve a lot of talking and explaining. As Mahn Li already had nearly a decade of experience in using daggers, he no longer needed it.

"Alright, come!" the instructor said, stood up, and walked with a slight limp toward the dummies at the far end of the room.