The Mert invited Yvlena into the caravan so she could listen to what she assumed would be a tale of woe.

  Ricardo let down the back steps with in the caravan so she could climb up into the living room while the shop downstairs was temporarily closed.

  Yvlena pced a tentative hand on the railing and asded the staircase to be met with a charming little living room.

  The tubal design didn't allow for the same amount of room as the Rose Manor but the entire caravan was bathed in a cozy afternoon light.

  It was all dark wood, with two seats held to the wall and delicate cushions and pillows arranged for beauty and fort.

  A little kit sat at the back of the room and Ricardo had already put on some tea in his eborately designed por kettle with an oral brass handle.

  "Please make yourself at home." He said to her, busying himself with preparing the tea for them.

  Yvlena nodded and took her time looking around the spad most especially his shelves.

  She was amazed by what she saw. The caravan's wall shelves and hangings were full of baubles and tris. Some were there for decoration and others brimming with magic.

  Yvlena lowered her head to see a snow globe that seemed to replicate a legendary battle between a hero and a long serpentine dragon. The dragon's body moved and twisted within the globe, r as the hero jabbed at it with a miniature sword.

  There were herbs too, small oral boxes, and much more. If Yvleo ask about everything she saw, she would no doubt be there for aire week

  The kettle began whistling, letting them know the tea was ready.

  Ricardo carried the tray of tea in a hand-carved wooden tray towards the seating area. He pced the tea on a small table that seemed to appear as soon as he , the out a saucer with a small pile of biscuits.

  Yvlena's gut told her the mert's tale would be one involving a quest and she could not wait to hear it.

  It probably had something to do with the Miasma and how he had e to Bloom Haven.

  Yvlena took a nibble out of the biscuit and noticed it icy, but her taste buds were still numb within the game. The Revista had it's limits after all. She wondered how defihe taste would be within the Zephyr or even within a gaming Pod like Mars'

  "What did you want to tell me about?"

  Ricardo began with a long and suffering sigh, his shoulders sagged and his head drooped.

  "It's a long story but it all began in my city far away from Bloom Haven."

  Slowly the mert's tale began to unfold within Yvlena's mind, as if she was staring at a s watg a cutse like any ame.

  [Game CutSe Pys]

  Ricardo was outside tending to a new shipment of goods being pulled in by a carriage, he ughed jovially as he always did with the driver and whilst they exged stories, the atmosphere ged.

  "Look!" the delivery man said, they watched a beam of pure darkness shoot into the sky and dissolve in the winds.

  Ricardo and the carriage driver stared at each other in astonishment.

  "Y-You don't think..." the delivery driver began, but Ricardo already knew what he was going to say.

  The Miasma west of their city had been cleared but that didn't meah was areacherous. It just meant one of the towns previously unavaible to the Aruergo Mert family was now open.

  His younger brother who was tending to the Aruergo family shop burst out of the double doors in a panic.

  "Brother the sky!" he said. Ricardo nodded. Already the skies around them were a lighter shade of blue, more blue than they had seen in close to a tury.

  "Pedro wait by the house, there's something I have to do," Ricardo said pg a hand on his brother's shoulder. The young teen saluted and ran bato the family shop.

  He went to check it out with one of his camels and found other merts there, two others from the three great Mert Families of Moon Valley.

  Aruergo, Fortuna and Allegri.

  They had all ridden to the entrance of what used to be a barrier and found the darkness of the miasma gone.

  Michaelis Fortuna greeted him with a smirk. The tall blonde man's eyes saw right through Ricardo's iions. The two meheir families in particur were rivals and so it would be a petition of who would get through the darkness first.

  Alyssa Allegri stayed silently . The heiress soon spun around without another word.

  "It's clear that as merts we all haven't been able to plete the mertile trials the same as our older brothers and sisters. The way is clear, we will cross paths with each other soon enough," she said.

  Alyssa got on her horse, a white spirit stallion. It neighed powerfully and galloped bato the city.

  ----------

  "It vanished!" Ricardo excimed, He ran through his family's shop a straight into the hall where his mother and father would be eaining the other merts in the family.

  The others immediately erupted, running about to get back to their shops.

  "Let the mertile trial of Ricardo begin!"

  ----------

  With the blessings of his friends and family, Ricardo set off to make his fortune, but all was not well.

  The roads were filled with peril, Ricardo did not expect. He'd entered many things in the wilds, bandits, wild goblins, and creatures of all sorts but his biggest challenge awaited oskirts of Bloom Haven.

  Oskirts of Bloom Haven, Ricardo heaved a sigh of relief once he id his gaze on the abandoned outpost entrance of Bloom Haven. He was attacked.

  [Game Cutse Ends]

  "I don't know who or what attacked me, but my caravan lost a huge shipment," Ricardo said sadly.

  "What as in it? The shipment I mean?" Yvlena asked.

  "A lot of things, equipment, ons, and even some rare items. I know some items would probably be damaged but I would like to salvage them if possible," Ricardo said.

  Yvlena thought it over, knowing that whatever had attacked Ricardo was most likely a boss. She stared at his downcast face as he drank his tea and ate the spicy biscuits.

  Ricardo was a man who absolutely did not know how to hide his emotions. Yvlena gave him a warm smile.

  "What do you need me to do?"

  As soon as she asked a quest popped up.

  [Special Quest: A Mert's Plight

  Ricardo from the great house of the Aruergo mert family entered some difficulties on his road to Bloom Haven.

  Iigate the creature that attacked him and try to recover the mispced shipment.

  ***

  Rewards

  ????

  ????

  ***

  Moon Points x1000

  Moon Gems x100

  ***

  EXP x500]

  Yvlena accepted in an instant, knowing by now where the rewards were unclear it was usually something rare. She knew by now she might have had an unfair advantage.

  Bloom Haven was an area made from the works of her mother. She smiled sadly.

  "I'll find your shipment and bring it back to you, so don't worry about it," Yvlena said. Ricardo gasped dramatically. Holding his hands to his face.

  He nodded eagerly.

  "You will be handsomely rewarded!" He said, lifting his hands in glee. Yvlena nodded.

  "Before you go take this," he said.

  [Yvlena Acquire

  ***

  Aruergo Afternoon Special Tea (Recipe)

  Aruergo Afternoon Special Biscuits (Recipe)]

  The elven girl grinned wide, happy that she got some new recipes too, something told her they would require herbs fn to Bloom Haven.

  ----------

  Yvlena walked into Risel's shop to find the other elven girl sulking. Yvlena tilted her head and walked up to the ter.

  "What's the matter Risel? Are your shelves dirty again?" she giggled. Risel sighed, nearly falling forward from the way she hung her head in despair.

  "It's that fn mert taking all my ers Yvlena!"

  "Aell he's only here for a week Risel, so up," Yvlena said fshing the elven alchemist a wink.

  "Oh, you," Risel said with a blush. "What do you need?"

  "I need a bcksmith to upgrade my sword, do you happen to know of any withiisan District?" Yvlena asked. She figured Risel would be her best bet if she wao find someohiisan district.

  The Elven girl's head perked up.

  "Well, there is one around here, not too far from the shop," Risel said. She pced her hands on her hips and tapped her foot as she tried to recall the dires.

  "Exit the Apothecary and go West all the way down. The g of iron should let you know when you've made it. Look for Soren, he's one of the best!" Risel said.

  Yvlena nodded and rushed out the door.

  ----------

  Aya logged out of the game for the day, she held the Revista breathing hard. She rested the headset on her chest and took deep breaths as she tried to calm her rag heart.

  "Pying the game is so physically intensive even when I'm just lying down," Aya said. Her stomach rumbled and seemingly all at once her bodily funs erupted in a series of disfort.

  She rose from her bed in a panid rushed to the bathroom.

  Aya returned once more to her tiny kit to make something quid easy. The game made her think the tea and biscuits were a substantial snack but being out in her real world, her body reminded her it needed something a bit more...tangible.

  "Omurice sounds right and I have the ingredients too!" Aya said, she picked up her phone and opened a simple recipe on the BooTube app.

  She took the ingredients out of her dingy little fridge and got to cooking. Soon the smell of fresh omelets came wafting through her house.

  A knock echoed on her door, followed by a voice.

  "Aya it's me," Mars said through the thin wood. The girl lowered her stove and crossed the room speedily to open the door for her friend.

  "Hi," Aya said with a warm smile. Mars greeted her by resting a hand on her head and ruffling it around.

  "Something smells good." The taller girl said as she stepped in. She speime looking around the small one bedroom apartment if it could even be called that.

  Mars wrinkled her nose and thought Aya did a good job of keeping the apartment . But it couldn't be fun to live like this. Things were held together by shoddy carpentry or tape and it was clear the only things that worked were things Aya might have fixed herself.

  The pce was falling apart.

  "You're lucky I actally made more than I could eat," Aya said serving the food.

  Mars raised an eyebrow at her brazenness.

  "You don't even know if I've had dinner?"

  "Have you?" Aya asked with a cheeky smirk, she pushed the pte fain sliding in a cute animal themed fork resembling a wolf. Mars leaned forward, closing her fingers around the pte's edge.

  "No Aya I have not," She said slourposefully. Aya blushed to the tips of her ears. Her friend could be so weird.

  "W-Well that's good then, uh enjoy the food," Aya said, turning atly to get some water and soda from her fridge.

  Mars chuckled at the girl's red fad obvious attempt to hide it. She made herself fortable i chair.

  "Cute," She said in regards to the fork

  Soon Aya sat down for dinner and the two girls, in pleasant pany, began to eat and talk about their day.

  AnnouUp to chapter 44 now on Patreon! Thank you so much for reading!!!