The sky was dark by the time Aya logged out of the game.

  The girl pulled the Revista off and was met with the shrill ringing of her phone. She reached for it, grabbing the phone and swiftly shutting off the arm.

  The arm had been going off but she hadn't heard a thing amidst the fighting aional ses with the NPCs.

  Darkness peaked out from her threadbare curtains. She looked beyond them, watg a dark sky illuminated only by the few street mps within her sullen neighborhood.

  Aya wiped the sweat off her broced the Revista in the box she kept beside her. She hopped off the bed, putting the devi its safe pce like she always did befoing to use the bathroom and deg to make herself a dinner of whatever she had in the fridge.

  It turned out to be more sandwigredients.

  "I definitely have to go shopping tomorrow," she said with a tired sigh.

  As she heated a pan frilled cheese, she sidered verting the gold she had accumuted into funds she would o move out of the apartment run by her insane aunt.

  "I think I have enough, 177 gold is a lot of money, I'm so gd this currency is backed by a bank!" she said as she flipped the toasty bread to the other side for a nice cheese melt.

  ----------

  After dinner, Aya jumped into the bed notig it was already almost midnight, leaving her job meant she no longer o wake up early. The te bedtime no longer bothered her, she wasn't going to wake up to push a mail cart off aor.

  "And that's just the way I like it," She muttered as she snuggled into her pillows. As she y ihoughts of the game began filling her mind.

  Aya started out wanting to be a member of the produ css for financial gain, but all she had done so far was fight and barely leveled up her cooking, crafting, and Alchemy.

  Moon Valley was exg and she just had so much to do. But Aya o narrow it down.

  "You've got to focus a your head in the game," Aya told herself. "There's got to be a banewhere,"

  Thoughts of the NPCs she had met so far swirled within her mind. It occurred to her that some could be befriended while others did not. To Aya, it seemed like a curious design choice.

  As though she was meant to meet them somehow.

  Mars came to her mi, the mysterious girl from Evangels. After listening to the irl's past Aya felt a surge of anger rise withi Mars' former teammates.

  'Some friends,' Aya thought unhappily. The thought of sabotaging anyone made her heart raxiously, and the thought of doing that to a friend made her feel even worse.

  'Just awful,'

  "I 't believe someone would do that," she said with a huff.

  "I should stop thinking so hard it won't do me any favht now," Aya closed her eyes, letting go and drifting off into a peaceful slumber. Tomorrow would be another day.

  ----------

  To her surprise, Aya woke at the first rays of the sun, a time not even her previous arm was set. She cursed in annoyance w why her body would wake her up so early.

  "My internal ust be broken," she said flopping bato her bed, after a few minutes unsuccessfully to get back to sleep she cursed in annoyance.

  It seemed her body still expected work days after she had quit the job and even with how te she slept, it wouldn't keep her down for long.

  "Well, I o go to the store anyway, so let's get up,"

  She showered, then put on some clothes then grabbed her phoo leave the apartment.

  Aya unlocked the door and began peering into the hallway for any sign of her aunt. The coast was clear, with no sign of the hag's preseo be felt.

  Aya tiptoed doweps, keeping her eyes peeled for the woman she was trying to bypass. On reag the door Aya ran out the apartment plex door, smack dab into Mars.

  "Oh Aya, didn't see you there shorty," the girl teased.

  "Mars?"

  Mars lifted a hand to wave as she sipped on a sugary drink in a branded cup from one of the fast food pearby.

  Aya reized the pce but hadn't had a ce to go to a fast food joint in forever with the time she spent always w at Nue Corp and ing home te.

  "Mars, oh it's just you!" a sigh of relief escaped her. "Sorry, I was trying not to let my aunt see me," Aya fessed.

  "I'll bet," Mars said with a smirk. "Where are you off to? It's a bit early."

  "You're oo talk, it's like 7:00 AM why are you out anyway?" Aya asked folding her arms. A cold air blew through the m, ruffling Aya's hair. She pulled her jacket around herself to keep from freezing.

  "Just up and about," Mars said.

  "I'm heading to the grocery store I'm out of food, got nothing in my fridge," Aya said after a moment's pause. Mars pced a hand on her hip gring down at Aya who could only grin sheepishly.

  "It's not like I did it on purpose!" Aya whined.

  "Seriously, you o take better care of yourself, you're a pro gamer noro gamers are always in top shape Aya!" Mars said. Aya blushed, passing the redness of her cheeks off as a rea to the cold autumn air.

  "That's why I'm heading to the store now," she whined. Mars finished her drink and grabbed her by the hand.

  "Well the's go," Mars said dragging her friend by the hand, Aya was taken aback by the sudden pull and stumbled forward as she struggled to keep pace with Mars' quick steps. Mars wao go with her?

  "You want to e along?"

  "We'll you're hiding from your Aunt aren't you and besides I'm bored what harm could it do?" Mars asked with a smirk. Aya nodded nervously. allowing the taller girl to pull her along.

  Always having to get her groceries alohe suggestion surprised her but, she reasohis was what friends did together, right? They took each other out a grocery shopping and they had fun in each other's pany.

  "Sure," Aya shrugged trying to py it cool, "it's just around the er even,"

  "Oh I know the one," Mars said nodding, she disposed of her empty drink cup and tio pull Aya along with her.

  ----------

  "And that's when I spped her," Aya said reting the ihat led to the termination of her position at Nue Corp. Mars listened with rapt attention holding back her ughter at the thought of Aya smag someone across that face.

  "Good she got what she deserved, if yoing to treat people like shit expect it to e back to bite you," Mars said with a satisfied nod. The friends looked through the grocery isles as they spoke.

  The venieore was a small ohe apartment plex, much like the building itself, the shop was a bit run down, having only a few shelves and a row es at the back to store some cold drinks.

  It was almost always entirely deserted with people preferring to shop closer to the city for its wide variety of products.

  Aya looked at some cereal, searg for her favorite off-brand products. She shook the cardboard packaging and with a satisfied nod, pced it into her basket.

  "You haven't verted yold yet have you?" Mars said suddenly, the girl froze w how Mars khat.

  "Rex," Mars said waving a hand dismissively. "I'm not saying to be nosy, it was just a guess," Mars said. Aya shrugged.

  "I don't right now, I have enough to cover my groceries for this week," Aya said. "I'm saving it for something important,"

  "A egg I see, don't worry I did the same thing. Trying not to spend my fortune all in one pce," Mars smirked.

  She walked over to the row of refrigerators, peering at the limited sele of sodas, alcohol, and energy drinks. Aya watched her select the most artificially sweetened energy drink in the fridge with a shake of her head.

  Mars practically lived off sugar. No way that was healthy.

  After pig up mgs, milk, and different mixes for meals. They walked up to the cashier casually talking about the differences between Axen and Evangels.

  The bored cashier watched Aya walk up with a basket full of things, a loud sigh left the woman's lips.

  She sed them zily, chewing gum as she served them a soulless stare, b right through them as she did her job. Aya, Mars, and the woman stood in an unfortable sileg her s.

  Was this girl new or something? The usual cashier was a bit dead in the eyes but not like this.

  The cashier was a young looking woman around her age, she had short brown hair in a pixie cut ay brown eyes with a sharp angur fad a mole under her right eye. Her clear skin was a healthy brown uhe fluorest lights.

  The cashier wore the grey T-shirt branded with the venieore logo and some ratty jeans showing she wasn't too well off either. On her ag was the woman's name, but Aya couldn't make it out uhe dim light.

  After a few minutes of passing her products under her painted nails, the cashier looked at her puter to prepare the receipt.

  "Will that be all?" The cashier drawled, she blew a rge bubble, popping it with a spt and sug it bato her mouth.

  "Uh...yeah," Aya said, ging.

  The cashier pushed a few buttons on the number pad, then showed Aya her total.

  In the end, Aya's total was 46.8 Lue.

  "Man things are getting pricey," Aya said as she sed her phoo the receiver to pay.

  Mars shook her head with a sigh. Knowing the fault stemmed from Evangels and their heavy tolls on transp goods to Axen city. Price hikes were normal but uhese circumstahey were insane.

  "Nothing we do about the ey kiddo," Mars said as Aya bagged her goods, she helped her friend carry some of it, at least to Mars this looked like a good haul of groceries, she was happy her friend wouldn't starve.

  Looking at Aya, she could tell the girl did much, more so now that she was gaming a lot. Mars shook her head resolving to take care of her new friend, she just hoped the girl wouldn't betray her like her st group did.

  'Aya wouldn't do that would she?' Mars questioned internally she gnced again at the girl standing beside her with a thoughtful expression on her fad smiled.

  No, Aya wasn't like her other team. The girl had the makings of greatness but not the arrogahat came with it.

  ----------

  "Maybe after you put yroceries away we go out?" Mars suggested as they walked back to the apartment plex. Aya's head whipped toward Mars, staring at her in plete and total surprise at the offer.

  "I would love to where do you want to go?"

  "There's this bakery in town and an arcade I want to show you," Mars said tapping on her phoo cheething. "So what do you say?

  she asked.

  Aya nodded vigorously, "I'm in,"

  Annouhank you all so much for reading. Advanced chapters are on Patreon. We are currently 5 chapters ahead of the free release!