The world AI Coro?en looked over his peaceful and now far more manageable lands. One town stood a legacy of how his world use to be, with a second soon to break ground, and five zones slowly growing as players explored. It had been calm, playful, even cozy for two months now. Luckily… that was all about to end.
Events brought in new players, and new players meant survival. Coro?en was no longer in danger of a slow death by maintenance costs and neglect, but more Cz meant a buffer, a long, healthy life instead of one on the brink of deletion.
He looked at his saviors, scattered across his lands and enjoying themselves, and reassured himself they’d understand. Most of them were players, after all. They knew about DLCs.
---
In the north, two players walked close together for warmth, trudging over rock, stone, and patches of ice. Monsters roamed this land; even the fabled griffins could be seen circling overhead. They needed shelter for the night. One player would have to log off soon, while the other trapped in this world needed comfort or would endure another long, miserable night.
The journey had been hard. They’d almost settled already, but they knew if they kept going, they’d find the perfect place.
A place to put down roots.
To build a home.
To start the second town in the rebuilding of Coro?en.
They found a small copse of trees with enough cover to break the wind. Using tarps and hides, they formed a rough shelter.
The cleric cast a spell, conjuring a steady flame to keep them warm.
“So what do we want for dinner?” asked SisterQuery.
“I’m weirdly feeling pancakes,” Grimmblade said, rolling a log closer to the fire and sitting beside her. “I could cook some boar meat to go with them.”
SisterQuery smiled. “Breakfast for dinner sounds perfect. Too bad we can’t get the girls to bring us eggs.”
“Herbivores and vegans,” he teased. “They just don’t know what’s good.”
He sent a message.
Grimmblade: EB, can you bring us pancakes?
ExpertBunny: Sure thing. Cream, syrup?
SisterQuery: Yes, yes, and berries please. Also a big pot of cocoa.
ExpertBunny: We’re still low on chocolate. How about coffee instead?
SisterQuery: Please, Bunny? It’s cold, and I’ll be alone all night.
ExpertBunny: Fine… but I remind you, until the pods finish growing in the orchard, chocolate is still a rare treat.
SisterQuery: Thank you, Bunny! Mint too, please.
They waited as the smell of fire-roasted pork filled the air.
ExpertBunny: Ready.
From their inventory, they pulled out an scroll.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
.ex Summon Scroll: a scroll that will teleport .ex to within five feet of the summoner. She will give the summoner a hug.
It activated, and ExpertBunny appeared holding a basket, smiling brightly, white fur and blue dress a welcome sight in the rugged forest.
“Pancakes and hot chocolate delivery,” she announced cheerfully.
She handed over the basket. The couple set it down, then retrieved the empty basket from last time and returned it to her inventory. They hugged her, fulfilling the second condition of the summoning scroll.
She stepped back, arms outstretched, wearing a playful smile. “Ready,” she said.
Grimmblade drew his sword, raised it high, and with a fully charged swing brought it down squarely onto the bunny’s skull. ExpertBunny’s HP dropped to zero, and her body dissolved into pixels.
“It always feels weird doing that,” Grimmblade muttered as he sat back down and peeked into the basket.
“It’s way easier than walking, trust me,” SisterQuery said. She popped a fresh berry into her mouth, savoring the burst of flavor, then pulled out a still-warm thermos of hot chocolate and reverently cradled it, soaking in the heat.
ExpertBunny respawned at Starter, perfectly fine. Healthy. She’d lost a bit of XP, but she was the admin, she could level whenever she wanted. With a playful skip, she headed back toward the shop to help her fiancée.
Life was awesome.
---
Grizzlebeard’s bar was packed. The world had even granted him a few hollow NPCs, including an attractive barmaid. He sighed. Nice to look at, but no spark, so ultimately, useless. Still, the help was appreciated; he could barely keep up.
Now that players knew he was what they’d started calling awakened, they wanted to talk. They wanted stories. And they wanted to try his newest bar food.
Today’s special was braised griffin cutlets with a spring green medley and pan-fried root vegetables, each dish enhanced by skill and carefully chosen ingredients. Players returning from the north had sold enough griffin meat to make it possible.
There was a friendly rivalry between him and Noobkitty, her rabbit food versus his real food, and since the world had “nerfed” her levels, the competition was finally fair. Both shops had more customers than they could handle.
“Ey, tomorrow I’m thinkin’ honey glaze,” Grizzlebeard said to a nearby group. “Told Kitty I’d sell one steak for every animal she didn’t eat. She just laughed and said zero times two is still zero.”
Two players laughed so hard they nearly spilled their drinks.
Each customer held a mixed drink. At first, Grizzlebeard had let the world handle the recipes, but lately he’d been grinding his mixology skill. That meant enchantments had started appearing.
+20% chance of forgetting something important
+35% chance of finding any story hysterical
And the infamous one:
70% chance to wake up four hours later in a random location
That last one was weirdly popular. Desert. Mountain. Ocean. Players used it to explore and accidentally discover parts of the new map.
Another group waved him over, asking for something “fun” to drink, and stories about the dwarves who used to live in the world.
It felt good to no longer be ignored.
It was also so much more work.
---
A quest had been issued to a party of three: a dual-class cleric/crafter and two rogues.
Quest: Rings of Eternal Love
Issued by: Admin ExpertBunny ????
Objective:
A wedding is coming, and ordinary bands won’t cut it.
Rumors whisper of a desert dungeon where a wizard of legend hoards shiny loot.
Plunge into the sands. Find the dungeon. Descend to its depths and either:
? Retrieve a pair of suitably epic rings
? …or get creative if no rings end up being there
Reward:
? Warm, fuzzy feelings of family bonding
? Eternal bragging rights for “saving the wedding”
? A Wish Token
Acceptable wishes: loot upgrades, sparkly pets, small aesthetic chaos
Unacceptable wishes: turning Noobkitty’s head into an octopus
They had no idea what they’d wish for. Family bonding and a quest they could do together was reward enough.
At this moment, though,
BOOM!
A bomb detonated beneath the belly of a giant sand scorpion.
“Left!” shouted Deadsilence as she sprinted toward the creature’s right flank.
From the sand, a goblin burst upward in a dramatic leap, landing on the scorpion’s back left side. He scrambled, found his footing, and flexed his way toward the front.
The dark elf ran up the creature’s claw. She met the goblin’s eyes, counted silently to three.... and they backstabbed in unison.
The scorpion collapsed with a heavy thud in front of the unmoving dwarf, who still held a trigger-set bomb, just in case. The tail dropped as its hit points hit zero.
“The sand was unnecessary, Skids. You weren’t getting sneak damage,” Deadsilence told her son.
“But did it look cool?” Skidmark asked, wiping his dagger clean.
“It did,” HelzBom said. “And since neither of you took damage, once again I’m glad I multiclassed.”
“Should we push it?” Deadsilence asked. “I kinda want to find the dungeon entrance before we log off.”
HelzBom nodded. “Agreed. Logging back in mid-desert isn’t great.”
“I do have school tomorrow,” Skidmark reminded them.
“Oh right,” HelzBom sighed. “Kids eat too, don’t they.”
“Killjoys,” Deadsilence said, climbing atop their kill. “Fine. What’s for dinner?”
“Falafel wraps,” HelzBom offered. “You two can make the hummus.”
“I’m good with that,” Deadsilence said.
“What about dessert?” Skidmark asked.
“Berry sorbet.”
“Deal. Let’s log off.”
They logged out just an hour from the dungeon entrance.
They’d find it soon enough.
---
Then there was Noobkitty…
