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Fortunately, even when filled with water, each bucket still only occupied a single slot in the inventory.

However, Fia’s gaze shifted slightly. “You’re… the Wishkeeper?”

Although he was technically a fake, the class itself was real. Zane gave a small nod.

Fia fell silent after hearing that.

The cooldown for Blazing Fire was 20 seconds, and its duration was only 5 seconds, so the window for collecting water was very short. Eventually, after half an hour of work with all five of them helping, they successfully filled fifty buckets of Saintbloom Water. That should be more than enough.

It was time to return to Elna. But Zane noticed that Fia’s already faint spirit form had become even more translucent.

She smiled gently. “Young Wishkeeper… with you here, I believe the Spring of Life will see rebirth.”
“Are you leaving?”
“I’ve long since died. Now that my wish has been fulfilled, remaining here would only prolong the pain.”
“If… you could be resurrected, would you want a new life?”

She was stunned, as if the question caught her off guard. But then she said, “Yes, I would. But I’m more worried about that foolish knight of a brother. I’m truly grateful to have met you, brave adventurers.” With those words, her fragile soul began to fracture.

“I see…” Zane watched as Fia’s spirit scattered into fragments and faded into the world, overcome with mixed emotions.

“Let’s stop here for today. It’s already quite late.”

…

Shaking off the lingering heaviness in his heart, Zane crushed the Return Scroll.

Even in the late hours of the night, Wynwater City’s plaza remained bustling. Hawkers and party-seekers shouted over one another.

“Big sale on Gray Wolf pelts—just one gold coin per piece! Don’t miss this one-time deal!” A mature-looking swordsman was shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Come on, they’re just one silver at the shop. Who are you trying to fool?”

“Small business, fair prices, honest trade! Come take a look!”

“Need a healer for Cloudshadow Valley! Tank and DPS ready, just waiting on support! No gear? No problem. We’ll carry you!”

“…”

The chaotic cries filled the air like a real night market. The realism of the game was something else.

Zane hadn’t yet checked the notifications from hitting level 20 earlier. He found a quiet corner and opened his system messages.

First came Starry’s.

‘It’s not an Evolution Stone?’ Zane quickly checked the pet egg’s attributes.

‘A Unique-grade pet egg!? Its stats completely outclass Lordsey’s by a wide margin. And that skill… maybe it’ll unlock more as it grows..’

A short notification was sent throughout the server, but it instantly caused an uproar in the plaza. Everyone exploded in chatter.

Out of caution, Starry immediately equipped her gray cloak to hide her ID.

‘Perfect timing to go to sleep. With forced maintenance in effect, no one can pull an all-nighter to close the gap.’

Starry took out the pet egg. A clear, icy-blue orb materialized in her hands. She pressed her palm lightly against the shell, but… nothing happened. Wasn’t there supposed to be some kind of blood-bond ritual?

Then, the egg began to tremble. So that wasn’t necessary after all. The shell started to crack open on its own.

The creature had pale blue fur and a round, chubby head. It looked incredibly shy, peeking out with one eye through a crack in the eggshell to cautiously observe the outside world.

There wasn’t even a trace of a tiger’s majesty, it looked more like a rare blue kitten.

Starry extended her index finger into the egg.

“Mmf.”

Something soft and slick clamped down on her finger. It seemed like the little one had bitten her.

It really worked? “Hmm… how about… Starlet?”

‘Forget it. Starry will kill me for that. Skyfang? No, way too aggressive. Starmew! That sounded about right. This is it!’

“Starmew!”

A confirmation message popped up: Naming successful.

The little guy seemed pleased with the name. It broke out of the rest of the eggshell and climbed onto Starry’s Agile Shoulder Pads.

Now it was time to check Zane’s own reward.

A ticket to a hidden map!

It seemed that early level-20 milestone rewards were randomized. No evolution stone, which was a bit disappointing, Starry’s level 10 Autumn Moon Sword was already falling behind.

‘Right—Starry still has one evolution stone left.’

Zane clicked “Use” on the Autumn Moon Sword.

‘Insufficient?’ Gritting his teeth, Zane traded the two evolution stones he had earned from unlocking his hidden class over to Starry.

“Gulp…” Zane stared at the Autumn Moon Sword’s stats in disbelief.

He hadn’t even finished collecting a full set of Epic gear, and this weapon had already been upgraded to Unique tier. If Starry raised the Frostfang Tiger’s level as well, she could probably defeat most players with ease, even without class advancement.

Just as Zane was still in shock, half an hour passed. All online players were forcibly logged out of the game.

“Whew…” Zane removed his gaming helmet. It was already past 11 o’clock.
“Late-night snack?” asked Shiu.
“Sure. Let’s go out and grab something. I’ll sleep once I’m back,” Zane replied cheerfully.

…

As they walked down the road, Shiu’s brows were furrowed deeply.

“What’s wrong? You look like you just got dumped.”
“Zane… you…” Shiu hesitated.
“Just say it. We’re not strangers here.”
“…Then I’ll say it.”
“Go ahead.”

“Zane, you’re acting way too suspicious,” Shiu said seriously. “At first, I thought you just got lucky and managed to join a top-tier party by chance. But after spending the whole day together, I realized that wasn’t the case at all. That girl called ‘Stardust’ hardly ever speaks. She listens to everything you say and follows your lead on everything.”

His expression grew tense. “Not only that… her ruby eyes, purple hair, and those graceful, sword-like movements… she matches exactly the way you always describe that girl you’re obsessed with!”

‘…I should’ve seen that coming. Shiu is one of the few people who truly know me. It would’ve been strange if nothing had slipped during the whole day. Maybe it’s time to come clean. About everything.’

Seeing Zane fall silent, Shiu placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “Zane, don’t keep going down the wrong path!”

“…Huh?” Zane was stunned. ‘What is this guy talking about?’

“Don’t play dumb, I’ve figured it out! You must have something on that girl, right? That’s the only way you could know her so well, and get her to obey your every word. You even dream about her, don’t you?! You just won’t let her go!” Shiu accused, full of righteous indignation.

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