An Invitation (re-written)

A few days had passed and I was doing some daily challenges again.

If you do all of them you'll get a small bit of premium currency and a decent amount of XP.

The way XP works in Arcadia is a little different than most games; the XP stores itself in your inventory to be used on weapons, armor, levels, or other things like that. The XP also can't be sold or traded, but items enhanced with XP can.

A little mailbox icon appeared in front of me.

I opened my HUD and noticed it was a system-wide message that talked about balancing changes and a new upcoming event; it says this event will be huge compared to some of the other ones.

They always say that, but I can't help but believe them every time.

The message didn't say when it'll start, but from past experience, events tend to happen within at most a month of being announced. I'm sure they'll give us a date soon.

I should probably grind a little more and stock up on potions. I let out a small sigh as I realized the long hours ahead of me.

-Later-

I was in the guild lobby, lounging around on a chair in the empty building.

I'm getting bored. I can't do any big missions without other party members, and all the people I like to play with are offline. Plus, playing games solo is fine from time to time, but too much is just boring, especially with online-focused games.

I opened my menu and looked at my friends list again. To my surprise, someone was online this time. The screen read, "~Olivionic~".

I wonder how far she's gotten. I thought about joining her, but ultimately decided against it. That was until I received a notification. I opened a submenu to take a look at it.

[~Olivionic~ Has Invited You to Join Them]

[Accept] [Decline]

I know I just decided against it, but it's not like I have anything going on. Plus, I did say I would help her if she asked. Maybe I can twist this and have Mike owe me another favor. I smiled a little before clicking [Accept]. A blue light encompassed me and the processes of teleporting and joining her group started.

When the light faded, I was standing about ten or so feet (3 meters) away from her.

Her avatar was different from before. She had the default presets on back in the starter town; she looked very generic, you know, average face, brown hair, blue eyes, standard clothing, stuff like that. But now, she looked much different; I guess she got around to customizing her character.

Her eyes looked like amber, and her hair was white. The outfit she wore complimented her figure, and it seemed like she had two layers of clothes on. The bottom layer was made of some dark or blackish material, and the top layer looked to be white. It Seemed as if she had chosen to either be a scout or archer, possibly even a druid under certain circumstances, but from how she played when I was watching over her, I doubt she would pick something like that. She had armor on her shoulders, forearms, knees, and thighs, while also wearing gloves. There was also a short green cape that reached about halfway down her back, and finally, she had a pair of goggles on her forehead.

I wonder if they have some benefit or are just there for cosmetic reasons.

Sure, she looked beautiful, but I know better than to judge someone based solely on their looks, especially when online; that's a good way to get scammed. This is a game after all, and most people make their avatars based on their ideal selves rather than how they actually look. It's trivially easy to pretend to be someone you're not.

When I finally looked around it seemed like we were in the capital of Enjuhar; somewhere between the market and the adventurer's guild. I don't come here too much anymore, but I should still know where most of the major areas are.

I turned my attention towards Olivia and we exchanged pleasantries for a moment before she got down to business.

"I need you..."

"Yes?" I said in an indifferent tone.

"...to help me level up before the event"

She put both her hands together, formed a smile, and had a pleading look on her face.

"..."

"I'll help you, but don't make that face again."

"Alright, you got a deal"

I then began to look around while asking her...

"So how far have you gotten? You know, in the story."

"Well, I started siding with En- uhh Enhjar?"

Close enough.

"They want me to do something to prove myself, I think."

Oooooh... I remember this part. She has to kill a boss monster of rank D or higher. You know, she actually got pretty far in just a couple of days. There are lots of things we can kill to finish that quest. A wyvern, vampire, lich, even certain golems and ghosts. Actually, there are some materials I need from certain bosses, maybe I can get something out of this.

"Yeah, I remember that quest, and I think I know just the thing to complete it."

"Really! What is it?"

"We're going to slay a dragon."

"..."

"I don't think I'm ready to fight a dragon."

"That's why I'll help. The harder the boss the better the rewards for that quest after all. You should get a good chunk of XP, some dragon parts, a decent amount of gold, and some reputational benefits with Enjuhar."

Olivia agreed with what I said but was still hesitant. I just need one more push.

"If you kill the dragon, you'll be closer to joining Mike's guild... Plus, I'm running low on dragon parts, and the only time they're guaranteed to spawn is during events or missions like these."

She gave me a bit of a stern look, seeming to understand my intentions, but this would benefit both of us, especially her.

"..."

"Okay, I'll do it."