The Slayer stood motionless before the auction house, eyes fixed on the doors. Behind him, Wilson, Gary, Brian, and Shirley chatted about the biology exam they'd taken yesterday.

  Players spilled out of the building in noisy clusters, trading impressions over the lots. At the sight of him, some frowned, others flinched, and a few outright shrieked. A duo walking past gave him a wide berth, whispering something under their breath without breaking stride.

  Do I really look that scary?

  The kind of power he had here... It was fun. Addictive, even. But there was still no sign of the people he wanted to scare the most.

  He’d studied their battle more times than he could count. If it came down to another fight—even gearless—he was sure he’d win. But this time, he’d be in full gear, just for the satisfaction of smashing them like bugs. Especially Jack. There was something about that guy that drove him absolutely nuts.

  Finally, Xana stepped out.

  "Hey, guys," she called as she walked over, her gaze drifting past them to the doors, trying to see what had the Slayer so focused.

  "Hey, Xana," Wilson said. "Get anything good?"

  "Yeah, grabbed a few consumables that'll come in handy next time we face a boss with heavy armor. It’s a brew that boosts piercing damage. Also picked up a new river barge. It has much better carry capacity than our current skiffs."

  "Nice."

  "Oh, and the Moisture Capturer recipe? Sold for 32k—way more than I expected. More than enough to cover the entry fee and what I bought."

  "Told you there’s good money in those," Brian said. "Guilds are always after desert support tools."

  "Any sign of Amari’s crew?" the Slayer asked.

  Xana shook her head, frowning. "Didn’t see them. Come to think of it... I didn’t see them in the auction either."

  "So... are we leaving? Or are you just going to stay planted here?" Wilson asked.

  The Slayer tapped his foot, then turned. "No. Not worth it. They can teleport. They probably already did it."

  "They what?" Gary said, blinking.

  "When they saved Rob from the graveyard, they used teleportation to get away."

  "How on earth could they have teleportation already?" Wilson asked.

  “Isn’t that something only top guilds have?” Brian added.

  Xana spoke up, thoughtful. "Speaking of which, there was this item that got a lot of attention at the auction—one of the top sellers. Sets of four vases that let players retreat back to their homes."

  "Vases? As in ceramics?" the Slayer asked.

  "Yeah."

  The Slayer let out a long breath. "It was them."

  The others exchanged looks but said nothing.

  "You sure about that?" Xana asked. "Could just be a coincidence."

  "It’s them," he replied, voice cold. "Jack’s a potter with a hidden class. Who else could’ve made them?"

  He began to pace, the revelation setting his thoughts into motion. “Now it makes sense. Argh! They’ve always been slippery, but since Jack showed up, it’s gotten worse." He raked a hand through his hair, frustration boiling over. He clenched a fist. "Can’t wait to get my hands on them again. And we will. Our paths will cross. It’s just a matter of time."

  "Yes, yes. You’ll crush them gloriously, I’m sure. But now, can we go?" Xana said to him and the others. "Let’s head back to the jungle. It’s Monday the siege event’s starts at midnight, in-game time—we need to prep."

  “Xana, how much did the teleportation vases sell for?” the Slayer asked.

  “Fifteen sets for 190k,” she replied. “Why?”

  “About 13k per set. Hmmm… That’s some serious money. And who won the bid?”

  “The Basilisks,” she said, brow furrowing.

  As the pieces clicked together, the Slayer began to laugh—not with humor, but with realization.

  The group exchanged confused looks.

  “I have a better idea than siege prepping. Wilson, tell everyone in the guild to start looking for teleportation skills and items. No matter how small the lead, I want them to drop what they’re doing and chase it down."

  Wilson blinked. "All of them?"

  "Every last one. Also, put out a bounty—one hundred thousand gold for any solid intel on teleportation. Spread it to other guilds, mercs, and players. Post it in the forums."

  Xana's eyebrows shot up. "One hundred K?!"

  "You heard me."

  Xana frowned. "I get that you’re frustrated with how slippery Amari’s crew has been, but is it worth shifting the whole guild for this?"

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The Slayer looked at her, calm and focused. "Xana, you misunderstand me. It’s not just because of them. If there’s one consumable like these vases that allows for teleportation, why wouldn’t there be others?"

  “Okay, but still—”

  “The Basilisks winning the bid is also telling. They’re #9 in the guild ranks. Why didn’t guilds 1 through 8 even try to buy the vases? I’ll tell you why—they already have their own teleportation tools.”

  "Oh," Xana said, finally seeing where he was going.

  “It’s no longer just the Krakens who have TP. All these other guilds do, too. That means there are multiple skills or items that allow teleportation. It’s probably mid-game content, just now starting to surface. This is our chance to grab one before it becomes commonplace.”

  The Slayer rubbed his hands together. “You saw how much money it fetched at the auction. This is a good chance for our guild. If we can get our hands on something like the vases, we can fill our coffers. And if I get to ruin Amari’s crew’s day in the process, all the better.”

  "What about the siege prep?" Shirley asked from the side.

  "Shirley, we’ve done enough drills. We fight all the time. Besides, I’ll be in the siege. How can we lose?"

  No one answered.

  “Let’s move,” the Slayer said as he headed out.

  The discussion was over.

  The group followed, boots crunching against the cobblestones as they made their way to the carriages waiting beyond the square.

  *

  Holly was tutoring her last Tuesday student. She pointed to the diagram in the textbook, tapping a section of annotated force vectors. "So here, you need to account for the angle of the applied force," she said. "That’s why we resolve it into components using this formula."

  Across from her, Stevie hunched over his notes, hand half-covering his mouth, eyes narrowed in concentration.

  "And that’s why we use this equation here. See?"

  "But why do we resolve it that way in this problem," he asked, "instead of using the moment equation directly?"

  Holly smiled, a little impressed. "That’s a good question," she said, glancing at her wristwatch. "But we’ll have to tackle it next time, okay? You’ve earned a break, Stevie."

  He let out a long breath and cleared his throat. "Okay. Woah, today was intense."

  "You worked hard," she said, standing and starting to pack up. "Nice job with the practice problems, by the way."

  "Thanks. I really appreciate all the help." He stretched his arms overhead. "I’m kind of wired after so much statics. And hungry. Can I buy you dinner?"

  The question caught her off guard. Her hands paused mid-pack, and then she gave a polite smile. It wasn’t the first time she had to say this to someone she studied with.

  "Listen, Stevie... I’m only your mentor, okay? I don’t have any other interest here."

  "Oh." His shoulders dropped slightly. "Do you already have a boyfriend?"

  Holly hesitated. "N-no," she said, Jack’s face flashing through her mind. She cleared her throat. "But I’m not interested in dating right now."

  "I’m sorry—I didn’t want to make things weird between us. You’re a great tutor, and I didn’t want to lose our sessions because of this."

  "It’s fine," she said gently. "I just wanted to be clear. Mentor and mentee, that’s all this is."

  He took a deep breath, stood straight, and smiled. "Got it. No problem. Can’t blame a guy for trying, huh?"

  To his credit, Stevie took it well. He didn’t whine or get angry as some did. At least that.

  Holly left the study room and headed for the stairs. She was halfway up before her thoughts caught up to her.

  Why did I hesitate?

  Her ‘no’ hadn’t come out as quickly as usual. And why had she thought of Jack? She wasn’t dating him. They were just friends.

  Her dorm room door was open. Inside, Candice was painting her nails while Nancy sat cross-legged on her bed, a towel wrapped around her damp hair.

  "Look who’s back!" Candice called.

  "Hey, girls," Holly said, smiling as she stepped in.

  "How’d the tutoring go?" Candice asked.

  "It went well," Holly said with a nod.

  "Anything... interesting happen?" Nancy asked.

  Holly raised an eyebrow. "Stevie asked me out."

  "Ooh," they chimed in unison.

  "And I said no."

  Nancy poked Candice with her elbow. "Told you!"

  "What? You two knew?" Holly asked.

  "Kind of," Candice said, shrugging. "Stevie and I are in the same class. He asked me the other day if you had a boyfriend. I said no."

  Nancy added, "We figured he might ask you soon. But we didn’t want to say anything in case it made things weird."

  "You could’ve warned me," Holly said.

  "And ruin the suspense? Come on, how’d it go?"

  Holly dropped her bag near her desk. "I let him down gently. He took it like a champ."

  "Still," Nancy said, "why’d you say no? He’s cute."

  "And he’s such a good dancer! He was killing it on the dance floor at Jay’s party," Candice said.

  "Girls, I’ve told you—I’m not interested in dating right now."

  "Yeah, yeah," Candice said, waving a hand. "Miss All-Business."

  "You act like you’re eighty. It’s always work and study with you. When’s the last time you did something fun?" Nancy asked.

  "Hey, I came to university to learn—not party like you two."

  That earned a round of laughter.

  "Touché," Candice said, capping her nail polish. "Want to go next?"

  Holly glanced at her nails and then at her watch. "Nah. I’m gonna log in early tonight."

  "Don’t forget—it’s your turn to cook dinner tomorrow," Candace said.

  "Roger that," Holly said with a small salute.

  After a quick bite in the shared kitchen, Holly returned to the room, changed into her comfiest pajamas, wiped off her makeup, and brushed her teeth.

  "Good night!" she said to Candice and Nancy.

  "Nightie-night!"

  "Night, Holly."

  She lay back on her bed, pulled the helmet over her head, and exhaled as it hummed to life. The chatter of her roommates faded, along with the thrum of music from the room downstairs.

  She was back in her virtual bedroom.

  The quiet was nice. It gave her the space she needed to think.

  She opened her message log and scrolled through her chats with Jack. They’d been texting. A lot.

  But people who were just friends did that. Right?

  Her rational side pointed out the facts: Jack liked her company because she helped him think through problems. They talked about engineering, his dad's situation, and other things. In return, he let her study within the Time Field, giving her more hours at night. It was just a pleasant and practical friendship.

  But her emotional side wasn’t convinced. Not entirely.

  He made her laugh. He had a way of making her feel special by noticing things about her no one else did, or wishing her good luck before her tests.

  She swallowed. So which was it? Just friendship, or something more?

  She rubbed her temple, restless, and stood to pace, unsure where her thoughts were taking her. She didn’t want to date.

  And yet, the memory of tonight’s tutoring session drifted back. The moment when Stevie had asked if she had a boyfriend and her hesitation.

  What if Jack asked me out the same way Stevie did?

  The question made her dizzy.

  He wouldn’t, she told herself quickly. He’d told her how committed he was to come up with the money for his dad. He didn’t seem to be thinking about dating either.

  But what if he did? Would I say yes?

  She didn’t know, and that scared her.

  A ping broke the silence. It was a message. From him.

  "Hey, Holly. You logged in early."

  She took a steadying breath and typed out a reply.

  "Yeah. I finished work sooner than I thought."

  It wasn’t exactly true, but it was easier to say than that she'd logged in earlier to spend time in her VR room thinking about their friendship.

  "Nice! I’m in the workshop. Want to come hang out? We didn’t get the chance to yesterday."

  Her heart fluttered again. How was this any different from what Stevie asked? Instead of food, it was in-game time. On the surface, it felt less real because it was a game—but it wasn’t.

  She typed slowly. "Sure. Can I get some studying done in your time field, too?" She asked, just to subtly hint at how there was also a practical reason for her to come.

  "Of course."

  She stared at the messages. Her thoughts were still tangled, warning her to take a step back. But her fingers moved anyway.

  Despite the signals in her head, she logged into New Earth.