Lixin wanted to tell the ghostly child that her thanks weren't necessary. Despite it being a quest, a part of him wanted to help the girl's mother receive the closure she desperately needed in order to move forward.

However, before he could respond, the girl vanished, leaving him staring into thin air. He wasn't surprised by her disappearance; instead, he smiled softly, knowing what he needed to do next.

He made his way back through the book aisles until he was at the front of the library. Tom, who was standing next to Mrs. Mayflower at her desk, halted him on his way out the door.

"There you are. I was about to go and look for you!" the boy exclaimed, walking over to him.

Mrs. Mayflower made a shushing sound. "Thompson Gale, what did I tell you about yelling in the library?"

"Sorry, Ma'am," Tom apologized before turning back to face Lixin. "I heard from Mrs. Mayflower that you're looking for the second volume of Truth and Discovery."

"That's right, it's the only book I can find with the information I need."

The boy scratched his chin before saying, "I see. Well, I can ask my father if he has it, but I doubt he does since he only collects science and history books."

"Thanks for the thought, but a friend contacted me and told me where I might find a copy. I'm on my way to check it out now," Lixin told the boy.

"That's wonderful! There was only a 0.5 percent chance my dad had it anyway," Tom chuckled. "Well, I'll let you be on your way."

Lixin gave the boy a friendly nod and smile, then departed without any further conversation.

~

As soon as he was outside, he opened his map function. Using the Quest Locator feature he selected his newest quest. Once it had been highlighted, the map pinpointed exactly where he needed to travel next.   

It was only a matter of seconds before a large green circle in an area outside of town appeared on his screen. From what Lixin could see, the location was somewhere deep in the woods.

One thing that gave him pause was the size of the circle, which was bigger than he had ever seen it. It appeared to span at least two miles. He couldn't help but wonder why that was.

Despite this, he dismissed any concerns he had, believing that it was a way to make the book harder to find. After all the townspeople and Zinnia's mother searched for any traces of her and weren't able to find any after so long so the game shouldn't make it too easy.

'It might take me a while to find it though, and who knows what I might run into? Maybe I should stop by Earhart Tailory and get my armor first,' Lixin pondered before deciding against it.

Although there would be some risks going into the forest, all he was going to do was grab a book. It wasn't as if he would actively fight monsters. He should be fine as long as he stays on the route. If he runs into any creatures, he may use his racial skill, Bubble Flight, to fly out of there.

With that thought in mind, he headed into the forest. As he walked he checked out his surroundings. He could hear the rustling of leaves and see sunlight filtering through the trees. He felt a sense of peace and tranquility as he traveled to his destination.

Looking up, he saw an orange glow on the horizon. Opening his status screen he checked the in-game time. When he saw that it was 5 pm he knew he had to get moving.

From his previous research, he knew that players shouldn't be in dangerous zones after 7 pm unless they are prepared. That's because 7 pm is when the sun goes down and monsters turn wild. In other words, they become twice as strong and twice as fierce as before.

Lixin definitely didn't want to be caught after dark so he picked up his pace. 'I'm not dying at the claws of some random creature today.'

~

While Lixin walked along the leaf-strewn forest path, he opened his inventory. He wanted to organize things so that his potions and food were close to hand. He was almost done when a sudden rustle caught his attention causing him to tense.

Although monsters rarely ventured out of the depths of the forest and onto the path, it did happen. So he extended his arm, ready for anything.

After a couple of moments of not hearing anything, he was about to let his guard down when he heard it. There was the rustle again, louder this time, followed by a desperate scream.

While looking around for the source of the scream, Lixin thought, 'Someone must be chased.'

He hoped it was an NPC so he might get a chance at another interesting quest. However, his wish was dashed when a girl hurtled into Lixin's view, her bright black eyes wide open in terror.

She was obviously a player judging by the diamond under her left eye. A unique one at that.

She appeared to be a panda beast woman with the body of a human, but with appendages that were more animal than human. The girl had shockingly white skin and stark black hair with two small bear ears on top of her head.

Her arms and legs were covered in dark black fur, and her paws were tipped with dangerous-looking claws. Claws that were sharp enough to tear someone apart. 

However, this was offset by a flowing black dress she had on with cartoon pandas on it. Which took the focus away from her deadly nails.

“Get that slimy critter away from me!" She shouted as she darted behind him.

Lixin felt his stomach lurch when he saw what was chasing her. It was a horrifying bug. A cross between a snail and a spider.

Even though he wasn't afraid of insects, this one was terrifying. He was glad it had a green aura and he would be able to kill it quickly.

Without thinking, he yelled out one word – “Steep!” – and after confirming the red tag above the monster’s head he served it with his special tea.

~

From behind him, the girl watched as a floral pattern teacup appeared out of thin air. Before she could wonder why he was summoning tea the cup shattered and the liquid flew through the air changing shape as it did.

She was astounded when it transformed into a heart-shaped flower and planted itself into the spider creature, even more so when vines erupted from its body, wrapping around the monster's body, and subduing it.

"Wow," she murmured, gobsmacked, getting over her entomophobia because of the sight in front of her. 

She turned to the little boy who was watching as the heart flowers sucked the life out of the monster nonchalantly and couldn’t help but think that players these days are truly desensitized. But she had to admit that it was eerily beautiful. 

Turning back to the scene she continued to watch as new blossoms sprouted from each vine. 'Why does it smell so nice?' 

~

Author Says:

MomoCatt: It seems you met a friend.

Lixin: It’s too soon to tell.

MomoCatt: Whatever, give her this as a meeting gift.

Lixin: What is it?

MomoCatt: Braised Bamboo Shoots.