Lixin's heart sank in his chest at the sight of the small skeletal hand grasping the bag. He could scarcely believe that this was the body of the ghost girl he met in the library, which made it all the more horrifying.

No wonder children under the age of sixteen were not allowed to play this game; such a sight could be overwhelmingly distressing when the game world seemed so lifelike.

Berry Fairy who had been rubbing her hand against her outfit after seeing the skeleton let out a gasp of realization. It was as though a light bulb had turned on in her head.

"Is... is this Zinnia's body? The girl you told me you were doing the quest for?" Berry Fairy asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I think it is," Lixin replied softly, slowly lowering himself into a kneeling position and carefully taking the torn purple bag out of the skeleton's hand.

Digging through it, he found what he was searching for - Truth and Discovery volume two - and pulled it out reverently. Upon opening it, a handmade card tumbled out onto his lap.

This was what he needed to take back to Zinnia's mother; confirmation that it was indeed the girl's body lying there before them.

"Those game developers! They have no heart," Berry Fairy exclaimed in exasperation. "It's one thing to know the child had perished, but to show her skeleton is horrible!"

Lixin nodded sympathetically as he put the card back in the book and closed it. However, he also understood why they made such an intense addition; the DEVs probably wanted players to feel emotionally attached to the non-player characters (NPCs) so that they could relate more to the game.

Surely it worked because he couldn't stand leaving the girl's body there. He wanted to give her back to her bereaved mother. "Let's dig all around it until we expose it," Lixin proposed solemnly.

Berry Fairy stared at him in disbelief, and then her eyes softened as she accepted his suggestion. "Yes, let's get her out of here." 

Working together, the two began by picking the Whooselit flowers that littered the area where her body lay buried. Once the area was cleared they carefully dug up the rest of her skeleton.

Once it was uncovered, Berry Fairy moved out of the way so there was enough space for Lixin to lift up the small skeleton. However, as soon as he touched her a familiar ding sounded in his ear followed by a notification screen.

[Cora:] [Party Quest has been created!]

Zinnia's Remains * (Recommended for levels 5-8)

Zinnia didn't want to ask since she believed it would be too much effort for you. However, in addition to assisting her mother in moving on, she wishes to be able to do so as well. She hopes you will deliver her body to her mother so she may be properly buried, but there is a dilemma. Her bones have been infused with the aroma of Whooselit flowers. Because this is the Glaber's food source, they will be drawn to the fragrance and pursue you.

Objective: Get out of the tunnels and reunite Zinnia with her mother.

Reward: 5000 EXP & 1000 Bronze Coins

Item: ??

[Cora:] [Do you accept the quest? Yes or No?]

"Should we accept it?" Berry Fairy asked, glancing at him.

Lixin could tell that she wanted to but wanted his opinion. When he first came up with the idea of bringing the body back he thought it would be a simple task but now the risk has increased.

Even though he still wanted to attempt it he was worried about Berry Fairy. What if these Glabers were too strong and they died in the process of getting Zinnia's body out of here?

"Are you sure you want to do this? It wouldn't be safe and we could die," Lixin replied, putting the book and bag away.

"Although I might not look like it, I'm a level 7 player," Berry Fairy puffed out her chest before continuing. "Plus I really want to return her body to her mother."

Lixin smiled at her words. "Alright, let's do this. We'll try our best to get the body out but if things turn south and we are nearing death we'll just drop it and run. Is that okay?"

Berry Fairy nodded vigorously, before looking back at the skeleton. "Yes."

[Cora:] [You accepted the quest!]

"Let me grab some of these flowers," Lixin told her as he set the body back down. "They will be effective light sources plus they are needed for my quest."

"Ok, but why didn't you put the skeleton in your inventory before doing that?" she asked.

Shaking his head, Lixin said, "Initially, I thought I could add the body to my inventory, but it appears I can't."

"Geez whiz, they aren't giving up any leeway in this quest."

"Don't worry, it shouldn't impact my combat style," Lixin told her as he gathered the discarded flowers on the ground and put all but one of them in his inventory.

He wrapped the flower's stem around his wrist before gathering Zinnia's skeleton back into his arms. Even though it was in an awkward location, it would suffice.

"Are you ready?" Berry Fairy asked.

"All set, let's go."

~

The two of them trudged through the dark and dank tunnels searching for an exit. Even though they weren't seeking monsters, they knew sooner or later they would stumble across some. Which they did exactly ten minutes later.

"Crap," Berry Fairy whispered as she moved behind a large rock, gesturing for Lixin to follow. "There are two of them up ahead."

Peeking out from behind the rock, he saw two large mole rat-like creatures sporting mottled armor plates. They had large metal claws and beady red eyes that moved rapidly around as they scoured the area. Lixin shrank back behind the rock in shock.

Their auras were dark red. He knew there would be no way he would be able to fight them head on. Glancing at Berry Fairy he saw that she was somewhat worried as well.

Lixin furrowed his brows. "Do you think you will be able to take them? They look pretty dangerous."

"Yeah, I think I might have a chance," she replied hesitantly, "but I'm not sure they have a yellow aura."

Lixin's mind raced with possible solutions when he remembered the Dextrim tea skills he learned from Peter. He smiled confidently and said, "I know a way to stack the odds in our favor."

"Really? How?" Berry Fairy exclaimed softly.

"With tea."

Lixin smiled when he saw the panda girl's confused expression. But he knew that once she saw his skill she would no longer doubt him.

~

Author Says: Good Luck!