“Hi…” Kyle mumbled as he stepped inside. The dust, the burn marks and any battle mark on the ground and walls had vanished. The marble floor was pristine, as if it was laid down just a few hours ago.

“MOST OF MY POWER IS RESTORED NOW.” The Lich kindly informed him, by nearly blowing his ears off.

“Please keep your voice down. I know you like shouting, but it genuinely hurts me.” Kyle reminded him as he let go of the hilt of his sword.

“SORRY…” Cacophus replied with a surprisingly little voice. His green eyes’ glow dimmed as he covered his mouth with his skeletal hands. Kyle couldn’t help but chuckle upon seeing him like that.

“It’s fine. As long as you’re careful, it’s fine.” He said, almost feeling bad for the Lich. “So… what now?”

“MY RESEARCH IS MOSTLY DESTROYED.” The lich shot him a hurt look. Green mist escaped his mouth as he spoke and flowed towards the ground. Was that… a form of crying? Kyle really had no way of knowing, but it sure felt so.

“I NEED TO START FROM SCRATCH. IT WILL TAKE A WHILE BEFORE IT WILL BE OF ANY USE TO YOU.” The lich explained. He floated towards a stack of papers and tapped on them with his skeletal finger. “I CAN STILL HELP YOU THOUGH! JUST DON’T DESTROY MY SOUL, OK?”

Kyle couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the lich. “I, uh. Sure. Look,” He forced a smile. “I’m not going to do anything to the phylactery unless you try to kill me or something ok?” he tried to reassure the Lich. He bit his lips as the Lich sighed a puff of green smoke.

“What’s that research about anyways?” He asked as the quest he had received came into his mind.

The Lich paused. “MANA CORES.” Was the only answer he gave after a moment of hesitation.

“Right…” Kyle furrowed his brows. While that answer was absolutely useless because it explained nothing, the name ‘mana core’ alone piqued Kyle’s interest. He was planning on becoming a spellcasting class anyways, so it only made sense to help this Lich out.

“So…” Kyle folded his arms. “How about this? I’ll help you with your research, and you’ll help me get stronger.”

The Lich’s eyes glowed brighter as he turned to look at Kyle. “WOULD YOU REALLY HELP?”

Kyle shrugged. “Why not? I’m getting something out of it too. Now, what do you need? How can I speed this up for you?”

‘Quest Accepted: Cacophus’ Plea’

He shot a quick look at the notification. Good, he had succeeded in accepting the quest. He couldn’t help but wonder what the rewards entailed.

The Lich tilted his head. “WOULD YOU REALLY HELP?” He asked again before the glow of his eyes turned a softer, warmer, more serene green. “IN THAT CASE, I NEED SOME RARE RESOURCES. I WILL GIVE YOU A FEW SOLDIERS TO HELP CARRY THEM.”

The Lich raised his skeletal hand, and three skeletons entered from the door behind Kyle. Two of them carried spears, while the other one had a massive sack thrown over its bony shoulder.

“I NEED CRYSTAL FRUITS. ABOUT THREE HUNDRED OF THEM.”

Kyle’s eyes widened. “Three hundred?!” He exclaimed.

The Lich nodded. The creaking of his bones sent a chill down Kyle’s spine. “PLEASE.” Cacophus added after a moment’s hesitation. His eyes glowed a sparkling, hopeful green. Kyle’s shoulders dropped. “Yeah, ok. Three hundred crystal fruits. I’m off then. Take care till then.” He waved and walked out of the Lich’s room.

As he made his way through the tunnels that were once filled to the brim with dumb, but strong skeletons, he noticed a distant sound. The rhythmic sound echoed across the tunnels. Kyle furrowed his brows, and pondered whether he should go and check it out.

Something tapped on his shoulder, startling him. As he turned around quickly to see who, the skeleton carrying the sack wordlessly pointed towards the exit, then at the sack.

“Ah.” Kyle mumbled. “Right… Crystal fruits. Uh, lead the way?”

One of the skeletons carrying a spear was quick to do as he said. It led him out the cave, towards the distant plains he had always watched from his small house.

As they walked along a dirt path, Kyle opened his status panel, then tabbed over to the quests to check up on what exactly this quest entailed.

‘Cacophus’ Plea:

The Lich Cacophus has asked you to bring him 300 Crystal Fruits.

Rewards: 1500 exp, 300 gold

The Lich’s mana reserves will increase.’

Kyle shot a quick glance at his own stats and started grinning. That much experience was enough for him to level up. And at level 20, he would get to choose his own class. Considering he basically had a Lich in his service, it made even more sense to pick a magic based class. He started going though the available classes in his mind as he followed the skeletons.

A clacking sounded a while later, startling Kyle. He blinked a few times and turned his gaze from the system overlay to his surroundings.

“Oh, we’re here.” He muttered as he looked around. They had arrived at a small, but beautiful orchard. He could see several elves around, and to his relief, none of them were players. He narrowed his eyes. There was so much to take in already, he didn’t know where to begin.

He started with the elves. They were tall, slim, and slender. They had traditional pointy ears, and nearly all of them had bright blue eyes that immediately caught his attention. Their clothes were all similar; a mic of green, grey, and brown, with a hint of dark blue once in a while.

They all carried bows and blades. Some of them also had spears in their hands.

“Yeah, we are not fighting those.” Kyle immediately stated. There was absolutely no way he could hope to win, or even survive a battle with them. “Ok, wait here.” He pointed at the ground and glared at all three skeletons.

Once they all nodded, he took a deep breath, and started walking downhill, towards the elves.

“Stop there, human!”