Aya took the Revista off and rested her back on the mattress of her new room. She lifted her phone up and turned her alarm off then looked up at the dingy ceiling to stretch her neck and back.

At the sight of the ceiling, she shook her head and let out a humorless chuckle.

It looked like no matter what Lydia charged, the quality of the building was still the same. Small cracks ran along the room's ceiling and Aya knew if she checked the corners she would see shoddy work done to keep the walls together.

"How can she stand to be such a...terrible person?" Aya asked, she set her gaming equipment aside and rose from the bed to check if Mars had returned.

The living room was empty. Aya huffed and decided to load the groceries from her apartment onto Mars' shelves.

The two of them would have more than enough to eat now.

As she reached for the cupboard, a handwritten note caught her attention. Aya plucked it from the surface of the board and read.

'Make sure you eat something, you look malnourished,' the note Mars had written was signed with a doodle of her face.

Aya smiled fondly and placed the note to the side to get started on some rice for lunch. She didn't know when her roommate would return and only made a small serving for herself.

"Where ever she is, I hope she's not getting into too much trouble,"

----------

Yvlena awoke standing by the corrupted Verdant Lake. She jumped as a live vine jerked to life, nearly wrapping around her ankles.

"Okay, that wasn't the best place to log out,"

Yvlena walked closer and stood cautiously at the edge of the lake bed, peering into the murky depths of the water.

Something swam by quickly beneath the lake's surface, forcing Yvlena to focus her eyes on the darkness of the water. The thing swam by again just as fast, leaving bubbles and ripples in its wake.

While staring, Yvlena noticed a singular lidless eyes gazing up at her. She squeaked, stumbling back and away from the lake bed.

Whatever creature that was had been big, easily the size of Commander Addison.

"Is that the creature polluting the lake?" She asked. From the quest details, defeating it would weaken the Miasma's hold on the forest.

But would it be enough to weaken the next Miasmic Guardian?

"I can only hope," Yvlena said, turning to face her summons.

Beside her, the summons stood waiting for instructions as they talked to each other about in-game events.

"I still have a free summon slot," Yvlena said to herself. A third slot would allow her to grow stronger as a summoner and maybe her class would level up after a while.

She looked through her inventory and read the reward she had gotten from the Merchant's Quest Ricardo had sent her on.

"Giant Teddy Summon Bell?" She read out loud, she tried equipping it into the slot but found she could not.

"That's strange it's not a summon stone like the others,"

She put on her Adiri specs and read through the description of the item.

[Giant Teddy Summon Bell

***

Type: Summon Bell (Epic)

The ringing of the bell summons the celestial spirit to deliver an attack action before disappearing.

The Celestial Spirit of Elio the bear, a gentle protector of those weak and small.

One of 5 Celestial Spirits (Toy Land Set)

(Story uncovered with each piece added)]

"An attack action? Toy Land Set?" Yvlena asked in confusion as she read through.

The Celestial Spirits being part of a set might make it more valuable and strong, it would be nice to collect them all.

"Might have to check for some in-game notes, I can't find much about the set with the Adiri specs," 

"I still haven't decided whether to return to Bloom Haven or not, I could always come back. I need to know if there are any purifying recipes," Yvlena said, scratching her head.

"On the other hand, I can try to find the next barrier and go through that,"

After a bit of thinking she nodded to herself and decided to keep going until she found what was on the next path up ahead.

"Let's go," she said to her summons, immediately snapping them out of idle mode and setting them on the path to the next area.

As she walked Yvlena noticed the ground sink the closer she got to the entrance of the next area, it began shifting under her feet and the smell of rotten leaves and stagnant water wafted past her nose.

"Even with the lack of sensation from the Revista, I know what's up ahead stinks," Yvlena said, pushing past leaves and branches to find herself in a swamp.

"Blegh," Sprite said beside her, Rabbit Knight tentatively put a foot down on the green swampy ground and quickly retracted it.

"Avaresh Swamp," The game told Yvlena, the swamp was a large dark green area with barely any light shining through. The thick trees that lined the swamp grew in clusters, banding together to form large masses.

Despite their height, the trees did not have many leaves, only branches that grew together in knots forming a wooden canopy above.

The swamp's water was the same murky color as the lake in the previous area showing a contamination of the Miasma, Yvlena imagined the water would have been a pale green shade before the advent of the corruption.

Giant lily pads floated just out of her reach. Yvlena wondered if they would be able to bear her weight at all.

She took another step forward, feeling her foot dive into the watery soil. Yvlena yanked her foot out watching as the grime clung to the sole of her boot.

Up ahead she could make out a hut. Moss and thatch covered the building and fell off to the side, a smoking chimney rose above the foliage.

Light shone from the two circular windows on the side, letting her know someone occupied the far off hut.

Yvlena blinked as a memory from so long ago floated into her mind. She recognized this swamp, it was a part of her mother's story.

"Bavga, the witch of Avaresh Swamp," She whispered. "The witch of bone," 

Yvlena looked at the hut once more, its lights the only thing penetrating through the dim atmosphere of the Swamp.

Did she want to encounter the witch so soon? Would she be evil? Yvlena only faintly recalled the character as neutral, an obstacle the main character faced in the original novel.

Another step forward had Yvlena sinking into the swampy ground. The girl yelped, flailing around until her summons helped pull her free.

"Well I can't cross the soil for now, I'll need better shoes," 

Out of the windows Yvlena made out a figure gazing at her. As soon as the figure was noticed it disappeared from sight retreating into the hut.

A chill raced up Yvlena's spine. She would need to be careful if it was really the old witch from her mother's tale.

[Quest: A Figure In The Swamp

Avaresh Swamp has been taken over by the Miasma but a friendly face might dwell yet within it.

Investigate the figure in the window, it may be a boon to your journey.

***

Rewards

????

????

***

Moon Points x2000

Moon Gems x50

EXP x500]

[Do You Accept]

[Yes/No]

Yvlena accepted.

"That's the third quest I've gotten in the Verdant Woods," Yvlena said. The area seemed to want her to level up quickly and she couldn't help but wonder why.

The next Miasmic Guardian would be stronger than Viseli, of that she was sure and it would take more than her current skills to beat it.

"I'm not going to worry about it now I haven't even seen any spiders," Yvlena said. She turned around and left the area with her summons.

Returning to the Verdant Lake she passed by it and looked into the water once again knowing something was waiting for her.

"I'll visit Bernard then Risel and plant the rest of the Ever Blooms, I have a feeling I'll need a lot of them," Yvlena said.

----------

"Ah Yvlena, long time no see!" Bernard said, greeting the girl cheerfully.

[Affinity with Bernard increased+1]

"It's nice seeing you again," Yvlena said politely. She looked around the shop with interest, her eyes lit up in excitement the moment she noticed the changes.

Bernard's shop was no longer as bare as it was the first time Yvlena had visited the shop to buy some items. 

Shelves were full now, brimming with weapons and equipment he'd gotten from other merchants and travelers that visited Bloom Haven from the Eastern path.

"Ever since the Miasma cleared up I've had great luck with travelers, how many I help Yvlena?" 

"I need to get in Avaresh Swamp but my boots keep sinking through the land," Yvlena said.

"You need something water resistant to get through…Did you say Avaresh Swamp?”

Yvlena nodded.

“By the gods, that means the Western path is slowly clearing up!” He said in excitement.

“Excuse me,” Bernard said, waving away his excitement, “Anywho you'll need it to get to the docks,"

"The docks?" Yvlena didn't recall seeing a wood structure around the area when she had gone there with her summons.

'I guess I wasn't looking closely enough,' she thought.

"Don't worry I have just the thing," Bernard said as he opened the shop menu for her. Yvlena looked through, eventually coming across an item highlighted for her.

"Adventurer's Boots," she read.

"It offers just the amount of water resistance you need to make it to safer ground within the swamp and offers better defense than what you currently have," Bernard explained.

"2000 Moon Points," Yvlena whined, Bernard only gave a cheeky grin in response.

She paid and equipped her boots before she could grumble about the price of the item. All that mattered was her progress and besides she would make the money back.

"Pleasure doing business with you,”