It took him a minute to process what was happening, chiefly because she was the main reason that he had never taken the quest and advanced in the game. Yet, here she was, the driving force pressuring him into doing it. Her face was both a lure and a curse in its own way: he hated how she looked nearly identical to Yu Hua and loved the familiar presence that she brought with such a similar attitude and appearance.

No, even if she’s not the one asking, I need to do this for myself. I really do need to move on, at least a little, and here is as good a place to start as any, he thought, relenting at last. “If you guys need a fourth for the class selection quest, I’ll do it. Just share the info.”

“What? Really?” The short girl’s eyes widened in surprise. “This worked? Are we going to be the first people to group with Negative?”

“Thank you so much!” The gruff man extended a hand to pull Lucas up from the ground. “I’m Malik, this is Nick, and this is Valerie, and we’ll make sure this quest goes smoothly for you.”

As Lucas stood up, Nick also extended his hand. “Yeah, thanks a lot for joining us. I’ll share the quest info right away. Do you need the equipment set to do it?”

Nick was referring to the basic starting items, the wand, sword, shield, bow, scepter, daggers, and staff that were required to finish the class-selection quest. Every person was given the items as soon as they started the game, but since Lucas had been playing for seven months in real life, or over twenty-one months in game time, it was natural to assume that he might have pawned them and bought something else with the money—or merely forgotten where he stashed them.

“I have the gear,” Lucas answered. He dusted himself off as he got to his feet and looked at the quest that had just been shared with him. “I can pick them up in town if you don’t mind our swinging through.”

Quest: The Teachers of Old.

The Chieftain of the Were-Rat Tribe, Kulako, believes you have the potential to overthrow the Imperium’s tyrannical grip on Hesse. He has sensed great potential in you but worries that you will never be strong enough to break the shackles that have enslaved and tormented the non-Human residents of Hesse without the proper training.

The only trainers worthy of such astounding potential have all been locked away by the Imperium, and their skills as educators are no longer available to the younger generations as they have been left to rot within the dungeon of the oppressive Lady Xun Guan. You must rescue them, earn their trust, and convince them to teach you. Without their knowledge, the power to save the people of Hesse will forever elude you.