[Alex wakes up and looks around for Zach but can't seem to find him in his room. He decides to go downstairs and ask the owner about his companion.]

  Um, hey mister, have you seen Zach, the guy I was with last night? (Alex)

  Yeah, he went out to explore the slums. (Tavern owner)

  Oh, I see. Thanks for telling me... mister? (Alex)

  Oh, you can call me Fernand. (Tavern owner)

  Alright then, Mister Fernand. I'll be heading out. (Alex)

  [Alex then walks off to explore the capital on his own until he stumbles upon a utility shop. He takes a good look at the shop before deciding to enter it.]

  Hello. Welcome to Ember Forge. How may I help you today? (The utility shop receptionist)

  Oh, hi. I'm looking for a weapon, preferably something like a spear with a metal shaft. (Alex)

  We have an orichalcum spear that is for sale. Would you like to purchase that? (The smithing shop receptionist)

  Sure. How much is it? (Alex)

  Two gold coins. (The utility shop receptionist)

  [Alex's face becomes whiter than snow.]

  Wait, sorry. I just remembered something. I'll come back later. (Alex)

  Alright. Bye. I hope you have a wonderful day. (The smithing shop receptionist)

  [Alex decides to continue wandering around the capital before bumping into Zach, who just got back from exploring the slums.]

  Sorry, I wasn't paying attention... wait, Zach? What are you doing here? I thought you were in the slums. (Alex)

  I was in the slums, but now I'm back here in the capital. Does that explain why I'm here? (Zach)

  Whoa, brother, chill out. I was just asking. Well, now that you're here, we should go look around some more. (Alex)

  Let's do that later. I'm starving. (Zach)

  Alright, let's go find somewhere we can eat. (Alex)

  How about a food stall? What do you say? (Zach)

  You know what? Sure. I've always wanted to try eating at one. (Alex)

  Then it's settled. (Zach)

  [Zach opens a portal to the slums right in front of a food stall brimming with people.]

  Wow, this place is extremely lively. The food must be really good. (Alex)

  Only one way to find out. Hey mister, how much for three eggs and a bowl of rice? (Zach)

  Forty-five copper coins. (The vendor)

  Great, I'll be taking that then. What do you want to order, Alex? (Zach)

  I'll just have what you're having. (Alex)

  Very well. Your total is 90 copper. (The vendor)

  The food here is far cheaper than the capital's. It's like night and day. (Alex)

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  That is to be expected. An area full of nobles would have higher prices, as they are able to dish out more coins than common folk. (Zach)

  Thank you for waiting. Here's your food. (The vendor)

  Thanks! (Zach)

  [A portal opens up, dropping one silver coin onto Zach's hand before he gives it to the vendor.]

  I'm sorry, but I don't have any change for this. (The vendor)

  It's fine. Please keep the change. (Zach)

  [Alex looks at Zach in confusion before speaking up.]

  Okay... who are you, and what did you do to Zach? (Alex)

  I am Zach, you idiot. (Zach)

  Oh yeah? Prove it. (Alex)

  You owe me 50 silver coins, which you still haven't paid up to this day. (Zach)

  I'll pay you after we complete another mission. (Alex)

  You said that the last time. (Zach)

  This time, I promise I will pay it back. Anyways, why were you exploring the slums? (Alex)

  I got bored and thought there might be something interesting going on in these parts of town. (Zach)

  So was there anything interesting? (Alex)

  Yeah, this old book. (Zach)

  [A portal opens near Zach, and he takes out an old book from the portal.]

  It may not seem like much, but this book doesn't have any name. What's really intriguing is what's inside. It says there might be other worlds besides our own, with some having slight changes from this one, to worlds that don't resemble ours at all. Yet the author was never able to prove his theory, simply because he wasn't able to find a way to travel to any other world. (Zach)

  I'm just gonna pretend I understood what you just said. Whatever. Let's just eat. (Alex)

  [Zach and Alex had they're first decent meal after arriving at the capital though technically they're not in the capital. many would argue regarding that and because of that both of them just sat there silently enjoying they're meal ]

  Alright, I'm finished. What about you? (Zach)

  Yeah, I'm also done. (Alex)

  That was a really good meal, sir. We will come again if we get the chance. (Zach)

  Alright, now that we've had our fill, why don't we do some more quests? (Alex)

  Sure, why not? (Zach)

  Alright, let's go to the guild to complete some quests. (Alex)

  [Alex and Zach start heading toward the Adventurers' Guild.]

  [Both of them go to the quest board and pick a quest before going to the receptionist.]

  I'll take this. (Zach)

  And I'll take this. [With confident eyes.] (Alex)

  Um, are you sure you can do this alone? (Receptionist)

  Of course. (Alex)

  Alright, if you say so. Just be careful. That place is very dangerous. (Receptionist)

  Okay, I will. (Alex)

  [Both of them say goodbye to the receptionist and go to the city gate.]

  [At the city gate.]

  Alright, Zach, have fun. See you in the evening. Where do you want to meet? (Alex)

  Let's just meet in front of the guild. (Zach)

  Alright. (Alex)

  [Both of them head out beyond the gate toward their destinations. Zach goes toward the Necropolis for his quest, while Alex goes to Cyrus.]

  Man... this place is hot as hell. How do people live here? (Alex)

  Are you okay? (Stranger)

  It's just way too hot, old man. Do you have water by any chance? (Alex)

  You can ask the shop owner right there. (Old man)

  Oh, thanks, old man. See you around. (Alex)

  [Alex starts to walk toward the shop.]

  Hi, how may I help you? (Shop owner)

  Can I get some water, mister? It's really hot here. (Alex)

  It looks like you aren't from here. (Shop owner)

  [The shop owner hands a glass of water to Alex.]

  Yeah, I'm just here for my quest. (Alex)

  [After saying that, Alex starts to drink the water in his hand.]

  Oh, you mean the deathworm quest? (Shop owner)

  Yeah, how'd you know? (Alex)

  Well, look around, kiddo. Do you really think there's going to be that many quests here? I don't know how that old man managed to submit that to the capital. (Shop owner)

  [Alex turns around in shock.]

  Wait, that old man who's sitting under that tree? (Alex)

  Yeah, him. But I'd turn down this quest if I were you. (Shop owner)

  What do you mean? (Alex)

  Well, the thing is that the death worm isn't actually a death worm. It's actually a wyrm. (Shop owner)

  Wait, then why? (Alex)

  Well, that's because it's a juvenile, not a fully grown one. (Shop owner)

  Ah, is that so? I guess that makes sense. Well, I'll just take that anyway. (Alex)

  Why are you trying to get yourself killed, kid? (Shop owner)

  I'm not. I just want to test out how much I've grown. (Alex)

  Just be careful, kid. (Shop owner)

  Okay, see you later, mister. (Alex)

  [Alex walks toward the old man.]

  Are you the one who gave out the quest? (Alex)

  The deathworm one? Yeah, that's me. (Old man)

  Isn't it actually a wyrm? (Alex)

  What's the difference anyway? It's just a bit bigger than a normal one. (Old man)

  Just tell me where it is. (Alex)

  [After a long battle with the wyrms, Alex goes to the well.]

  Well, at least this thing has water. That damn old geezer... this does not look anything like a sand worm, and there were even three of them. (Alex)

  How am I supposed to bring these back? At times like these, I wish Zach was here. Now I have to go get a carriage to bring these back? (Alex)

  [A familiar portal opens up in front of Alex as he is pondering how he could bring the dead wyrms back.]

  Well... speak of the devil. (Alex)

  So I left you for a few hours, and you were somehow able to kill three dragons. (Zach)

  They're still juveniles. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be doing your quest? (Alex)

  I finished earlier than expected and somehow managed to get a pet from the whole adventure. (Zach)

  And what pet is that? (Alex)

  I don't know. It's an egg right now, but I'm hoping it's something strong. After all, it's quite a big egg. (Zach)

  Alright. By the way, can you help me bring these corpses to the old man? (Alex)

  Oh, before I do that, I want to show you some weirdo I found. (Zach)

  A weirdo? (Alex)

  [A portal opens in the sky, and a man wearing strange clothing while being tied up in chains falls through.]

  See what I told you? It's a weirdo. (Zach)

  Did you kidnap that guy because of his clothes? (Alex)

  No, I kidnapped him because he fell from the sky and somehow survived. (Zach)

  ... (Alex)

  One thing I can say for sure: he is a dragon. I just don't know why he looks like a human. (Zach)

  Let's just bring these wyrms to the old man. (Alex)

  [A portal opens below the wyrms and the strange stranger.]

  Well, I'm tired. Do you want to go get something to eat? (Zach)

  Sure, I could use a break after what just happened. (Alex)

  Before they could make another move, the scorching desert sand erupted as a giant earthworm burst out.

  The duo looked at the gigantic creature that was about to crash into them, but before it could, both of them managed to dodge just in time.

  OKAY, THIS WASN'T WHAT I THOUGHT I SIGNED UP FOR! (Alex)

  THEN WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU SIGNED UP FOR?! (Zach)

  KILLING A GIANT WORM, BUT I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD BE THIS BIG! (Alex)

  Suddenly, a giant spike created from compressed sand came flying toward Alex, piercing his body and going straight through him, yet he didn't seem injured.

  "That took a lot of energy..." (Alex thought to himself)

  HEY! CAN YOU STILL FIGHT? (Zach)

  I doubt it. (Alex)

  [Alex's ability is Voltage, which gives him the elemental properties of electricity. But unlike most innate abilities, it is constantly active.]

  [The gigantic earthworm leaps up, crashing down toward Alex at high speed, but it seems to miss.]

  [It then gets back up and looks around only to find nothing]