Alan’s group made their way to the front of the hall, where all the other recruits had gathered around a few tables lined with refreshments, which consisted of multicolored blocks that looked like gelatin to Alan. Still, they seemed like a step up from the dull, tasteless grey blocks that Alan had grown used to eating. Everyone began to disperse into different groups, mostly along the lines of species or alliances, as far as Alan could tell. He didn’t think it was likely there would be any other humans from Earth here, but who knew.

Someone who had apparently seen one of Kitana’s fights began to strike up a conversation with her. She actually responded somewhat animatedly when talking about various fighting styles and swords. Alan stood to the side for a few seconds, awkwardly, before muttering something about feeling hungry and walking towards the tables of food. This sort of thing really wasn’t his thing. He generally avoided large gatherings, and usually spent most of his time on his phone when he did find himself at a party.

Alan grabbed a bright blue block and bit into it. He was pleasantly surprised by a fruity, cool sort of taste that filled his mouth, reminding him of a mix between blueberries and cherry. A message popped up as well.

Feeling suddenly refreshed, Alan gazed about suddenly bright eyed. He noted that his energy bar had completely filled for the first time, as even when fully rested it usually hovered one or two points short of full. He began wondering if he could grab a few of these blocks stealthily and store them for later, when someone caught his eye.

It was the girl. The girl that he’d run into getting off the lift into the Undercity. She had on a beautiful black dress, rather than an assassin’s outfit, but Alan was sure that it was her. The same stunning blue eyes and long blonde hair, the same pointed ears. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. He began to walk towards her, to try to strike up a conversation, scrambling for something to say, only to find his path blocked by a boy a bit shorter than him. The boy had pointed ears like the girl’s, green eyes and dark hair. He was wearing what looked to be a black spandex suit and a pair of gloves with pulsing green veins of energy running through them.

“A bit out of your league, don’t you think?”

“What?” Alan asked, a bit surprised.

“The girl you were staring at. You know she’s Aurora, the daughter of guild leader Elissandra, right?”

“Oh, um, I didn’t know that.”

“Right, well, you’ll stay away from her if you know what’s good for you.”

“What do you mean? Did I do something to you?” Alan said, a bit taken aback.

The boy haughtily looked over Alan’s armor, then scoffed while staring at the blasters at his side.

“You’re obviously either a complete imbecile or one of the Administrator’s charity cases. You’re wearing Revenant armor in one of the places where they’re most hated, and are carrying blasters worth far more than any beginning player could reasonably afford. You have the bad manners of hiding your name and level among potential guildmates and attached your recruit’s emblem to your shoulder like some sort of guard’s badge. I could go on, but it would probably be a waste of both my time and yours.”