“If you don’t go with them, then I won’t be here to bother you tomorrow or the day after,” the woman lying next to him on the blanket said, causing Lucas’s eyes to finally shoot open.

“What?” Lucas rolled over and turned to look at her. Resembling a famous Chinese actress with long legs, a petite figure, and long, sleek, black hair, she was the most stunning and beautiful NPC on the entire island—at least as far as Lucas was concerned, anyway. She had encouraged him to do stuff like this before on more than one occasion in the past, but that was simply relegated to something simple like picking up a crafting profession. This type of request accompanied by a threat was completely out of the ordinary for her.

“Don’t be dense,” she scolded, reaching up to tap her head with an index finger. “I spoke clearly. If you don’t go help out these valiant, young heroes, then I won’t be here tomorrow. It’s in your best interest. You’re going to have to do it eventually.”

The whiny-voiced male groaned, prompting Lucas to twist his head around and stare at him. The lanky fellow with spiked hair looked down at Lucas and continued. “Wait, isn’t she—”

“Yeah, I’m confused,” the girl from the group interjected, prompting Lucas to turn his attention to her. She was a willowy, frail-figured Alfar with slightly-pointed ears, and she puffed her cheeks out and stood with her hands on her hips, staring down at them on the blanket.

“Yeah, she’s . . . Dawn is right,” gruff-voice agreed. The large, barrel-chested man that looked like a fat, six-and-a-half-foot-tall Dwarf thumped his chest with his fist for emphasis. “You gotta do this sooner or later, so just man up and get it done. We’ll go finish the quest, and you’ll be back to see the sun in less than an hour.”

Lucas looked over at the woman beside him. “Dawn, are you sure you want me to do this?”

“Of course. I know all about their quest.” Dawn smiled, and her features lit up. As far as Lucas was concerned, she was even more radiant than the still-blocked sun. “It’s important. If you don’t rescue the sages from Xun Guan’s vile dungeon, then . . . I dread to think of what will happen. Without them, the heroes of the next generation will never be trained in the arts and skills needed to overcome the evil forces seeking to dominate our world.”

Lucas’s earlier frown returned as he closed his eyes and tried to process what was going on. He pressed a hand against his forehead and rubbed his eyes as he weighed his desire to remain exactly where he was against his distaste for doing what was being asked of him.