Lua turned around at the semi interesting conversation going on between Kai and Sunny.
The archer lingered for a few moments, and then cautiously said. "But Sunny… you still haven't told me what exactly that deal entails. Is it a deal for customers you consider friends or are you trying to sell me your "friendship"? Or wait, do you want to buy mine? Or both? Ah, I'm confused."
As if waiting for that response, Sunny nodded energetically. "Yes! I'm glad that you asked. In fact, I have an incredible item that I want to sell. It's so incredible that I am even reluctant to part with it. But since you are my friend, I am willing to give it away. Practically for free. Full friendship discount, just for you. No need to thank me, really."
'Is he trying to swindle him?' Lua raised a brow, noticing that everyone else was watching the two. Effie got distracted from preparing meat and was now observing the circus with an expectant grin.
Kai sighed. "Alright, I'll bite. What is that incredible item you want to sell me?"
Sunny remained silent for a few moments, and then suddenly stopped smiling. "Oh, just something I had gathering dust in my Soul Sea. It's a Memory that can serve as an endless supply of arrows. As long as you don't miss."
The beautiful archer's eyes suddenly lit up. He glanced at his quiver and said. "Wait… really? You really have such a Memory?"
'Similar to Eventide?' Lua cocked her head to the side.
"Yes, I do have such a Memory."
Then, he casually added:
"Oh, did I forget to say? It can provide an endless supply of arrows, and also all those arrows will be of the Ascended rank."
Lua smirked slightly, ascended memories were highly rare and valuable on the Forgotten Shore after all. Lua possessed four, but she'd only received two of them within the Forgotten shore.
Knight's Crest she obtained during her first nightmare and Sky's Gift was a present from her mother for completing the first nightmare.
So it was only natural that ascended memories be viewed as the rarest rank, after all, only two people possessed transcendent memories or echoes in the whole zone.
"You… you're in possession of an Ascended Memory?" Caster asked, slightly disbelieving.
Lua looked at Kai for confirmation. And given that the gorgeous archer wasn't reacting, told Lua that Sunny was telling the truth.
Sunny shrugged. "Oh, I have a couple. Why?"
'The armour?' Lua thought
"Only the best wares in the Sunny's Astonishing Emporium! Wait, uh… was it astonishing? Ah, who cares. You get the sentiment."
Caster shook his head. "How did you get an Ascended Memory? You?"
The grin froze on Sunny's face. When he spoke a few moments later, all humor was gone from his voice, replaced by coldness. "Well, if you have to know. I got it by killing a Fallen Beast. Before you ask... this time, I didn't have to shake my finger or spit. I just looked at it, and it died."
Then, he turned his head and looked straight at Caster. "I am very proficient in killing things, you know."
Lua burst out into a fit of laughter at the group's reaction. Caster was dumbstruck, Kai pale as a ghost and Effie grinning maniacally. Nephis and Cassie barely redacted, seemingly used to his stories.
***
The group happily finished the wonderful breakfast Effie made for them. Sunny sprawled on the ground and smiled happily. "You know, guys. These past few weeks made me realize something. Actually, it was all thanks to Kai, who introduced me... introduced me... uh... to Stev."
Effie stretched, making Sunny stutter, then smiled with satisfaction and glanced at him. "Really? And what is that?"
'She has too much fun with him' Lua shook her head.
Sunny hesitated for a few moments and said, "When I was a little kid, I loved reading webtoons about the Awakened. You know, the ones where they always explore ancient ruins, battle Nightmare Creatures, and grow more powerful with each victory."
He chuckled. "The hero and his cohort decide on an adventure, vanquish evil, gain mighty Memories, then return to the real world and sell their spoils at the adventurer shop. They spend their money to upgrade their equipment, and immediately set out on a more epic and dangerous adventure."
Cassie smiled. "I loved to read those too."
Sunny proceeded to tell the group how he'd like to open a memory store or maybe write a report for his mentor at the academy before turning to Kai. "What about you? What is the thing you really want to do if you return to the real world?"
Kai suddenly turned away with a look of embarrassment on his face. "Oh... I don't know. I haven't really thought about it."
But after several seconds, he suddenly said in a shy voice "...Avatar Singer."
"That singing competition?" Lua asked.
Kai nodded then realised the others didn't know what they were talking about. "Avatar Singer is a music competition show. Popular singers compete with each other, but the twist is that they are all using the stock VR avatars to perform. So the judges can only evaluate their voices and skill. They only learn the singer's identity after."
Effie giggled. "Why would you want to hide your pretty face, Night? It's your best feature!"
Turning to Effie, Sunny asked. "What about you? What would you do in the real world?"
The huntress grinned. "I don't even have to think about it. I would go eat chicken wings… the real ones. And then start preparing myself for the Second Nightmare. Pretty simple."
"Is it because…." Lua trailed off, already knowing that Effie was disabled in the waking world.
Everybody grew silent. After a while, Cassie said. "Are you sure that you want to challenge another Nightmare?"
Effie shrugged. "I have my reasons. So yes. For me, that is the only choice."
The blind girl was quiet for a bit, and then said. "I would go and spend time with my mom and dad. That's the thing I want to do most in the real world."
Caster glanced at her and courtly nodded. "I agree with Cassie. Family is the most important. When I come back, I will greet my father and look him in the eyes with pride, knowing that I did not let our clan down. Then, I will try to do everything in my power to grow as fast as possible, to relieve him of his worries and propel our bloodline to new heights."
Caster looked at Lua for her input. "Ugh. fine i guess i want to be back with the clan, but i'll eventually get forced into some kind of responsibility. Too much work."
Effie laughed. "What, you'd rather spend all your time fighting."
Caster sighed. "I can see why they call you a 'free spirit' now." He shook his head.
Sunny looked at Nephis. "How about you, Neph? What are you going to do when you return to the real world?"
Nephis was silent for a while, looking into the distance with a calm expression. Then, she sighed and answered in a quiet voice. "I would go visit my mom, too."
Everyone grew silent. Sunny blinked, a little confused. "Wait. Your mom? I thought she was dead."
Nephis lingered for a bit, and then turned her face away. "She is. Technically."
Lua and Caster looked away at this, both knowing what she meant.
Looking at them, she said evenly. "My mother is one of the Hollow. She became Hollow while pregnant with me, actually. So I never really met her. Just her… body."
Nephis grew silent. After a while, a strange smile appeared on her face. "It's funny, really. When my grandmother was still alive, I made a point of treating that body as nothing but a corpse. But once she passed away and we were the only ones left… well. I found myself getting a bit confused."
Nephis shrugged and turned away once again. "Anyway, before leaving for the First Nightmare, I used what little money there was left of our estate to buy her a VIP spot in a specialized Hollow care facility. They are treating her really well. But still… I don't like the idea of her being alone there. So when I return, that's what I'm going to do. Visit her."
The group was utterly silent, everyone looking down for what felt like an eternity before Nephis glanced at them and smiled darkly. "What? Is this your first time meeting a hollowborn? Well, I can't blame you. Creatures of my breed are pretty rare. In fact, I have never even met another one."
Then, she sighed and stretched her legs, moving them closer to the fire. "So yeah, that and dye my hair. These are the things I would do in the real world first."
Lua watched Sunny's confused exchange with Nephis about her hair colour.
Kai eventually spoke up. "Actually, I thought that it's natural too. Ah… it suits you very well, Lady Nephis."
Nephis turned to him with an expression of utter surprise. Then, she glanced at Effie with a silent question.
The huntress nodded. "Yeah, me too. I mean… who knows what you Legacies are even made of?"
Lua looked at Effie with slightly annoyed eyes.
Nephis blinked a couple of times, then shook her head in bewilderment. "Well… no, it's not natural. It became like that after my First Nightmare."
Kai leaned forward with curiosity. "Really? What color was your hair before?"
She shrugged. "Black. A normal human color."
The charming archer stared at her, and then smiled. "That would suit you very well too, Lady Nephis. Ah, I can just see it."
***
Lua sat next to Nephis and watched as the others played tug of war. On one side was Effie. And the other had Kai, Sunny, Cassie and Caster.
The four pulled desperately, whilst Effie just stood there.
Lua leaned over to Nephis. "They stand no chance."
Nephis nodded.
After a while, the huntress simply pulled on the rope and sent the entire team to the ground. With a satisfied grin, Effie walked over and towered above him, her arms akimbo. Looking down directly at Sunny, she smirked. "Weak. When did you lose your spirit, shorty?"
Then, she winked and said in a mischievous tone. "Back at the cathedral, you were able to perform better. Not to mention last longer…"
"What?" Lua's head shot up, causing Sunny to go bright red.
"Shut up! People will misunderstand!"
The huntress looked at him with a shocked expression. "Mis—misunderstand? What are you… oh!"
Then, she pretended to be horrified and covered her mouth with one hand. "You… what kind of a degenerate are you?! Training! I meant while you were training!"
The rest of the afternoon was rather boring, Sunny tried to play a game of riddles with them but both Lua and Nephis didn't take part. The former was concentrating on essence manipulation whilst the latter was simply meditating.
Even just practising daily would raise her efficiency when it comes to manipulating it without direct concentration.