The village gate swung shut behind them with a soft wooden thud.
The meadow stretched out ahead—bright, colourful, and deceptively peaceful. Tiny critters hopped through wildflowers, sunbeams filtered through drifting dandelion fluff, and the whole place looked like a cheerful children's cartoon.
Aria placed her hands on her hips and inhaled deeply.
"Alright," she said with full seriousness. "Most important question of the day: How do we get coins? Because I want more Spirits, and apparently we're so broke we can't even buy a pebble."
Riley took a slow, deep breath. "We grind."
Aria blinked, then pointed dramatically toward the meadow like a general before battle.
"CHARGE!"
Sofia burst into a giggle. "Aria, wait—maybe we should plan first—"
Too late. Aria had already sprinted ten meters into the grass with her tarantula bouncing on her shoulder like a gleeful furry backpack.
Riley rubbed his temples. "Here we go…"
He jogged after her, Lumin Whelp clinging nervously to his neck.
---
Their First Victim (Who Never Stood a Chance)
A tiny Sproutling hopped out from behind a bush—round, green, and making bubbly squeaks like a broken kettle.
Aria pointed.
"There! Kill the vegetable!"
"It's called a Sproutling," Riley said.
"It's called DEAD," Aria corrected. "Venom—GO!"
Her Venom Webling launched forward like a furry missile, pouncing with all the enthusiasm of a toddler thrown into a ball pit.
Sofia's Lumen Pup darted in next, quick and elegant, tail glowing.
Riley crouched down.
"Alright, Lumin. You've got this. Hit it with… something."
The Whelp puffed up proudly.
Then tripped.
On flat grass.
It rolled twice, got up, charged bravely…
…and softly head-butted the Sproutling with all the force of a polite handshake.
Aria actually fell over laughing.
"Oh my god—did he just boop the monster? Riley, your Spirit BOOPED it!"
Sofia covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking with suppressed giggles. "He's… trying really hard…"
The Sproutling squeaked, confused, then tried to run—only to get body-slammed by the enthusiastic tarantula.
Ten chaotic seconds later, the monster dissolved into sparkles.
A soft chime sounded.
YOU GAIN: 3 COINS
The trio froze.
Aria stared at the number like it was personally insulting her.
"…Three," she whispered.
Sofia's hopeful smile wilted. "Well… three is still better than zero…"
"WE NEED FIFTY COINS FOR ONE BIND STONE!" Aria shouted. "How many vegetables do we have to slaughter to get one Spirit?!"
Riley sighed. "Welcome to early game grinding."
---
Fight after Fight after Fight…
They moved deeper into the meadow.
More monsters appeared—none of them threatening, but all equally annoying.
They fought:
Two more Sproutlings
A Puffbug that squeaked like a rubber toy
Three Grass Runners
A floaty Mushmote that tried to hug Aria and made her shriek
Another Sproutling because of course
Each battle was a mess.
Aria was either screaming, laughing, or threatening a monster to "drop coins or else."
Sofia apologized to each creature she knocked out.
Riley kept trying to land shots, but his bow felt like it had been assembled by blind squirrels on a budget.
Lumin Whelp… well…
It waddled.
It tripped.
It head-butted things softly.
It glowed when nervous.
At one point, a Mushmote slapped Riley with a leaf and knocked him flat.
Aria laughed so loudly that two other players turned to look.
Finally—after twenty exhausting fights—
COINS: 34
Aria collapsed backwards into the grass, limbs flopping dramatically.
"At this rate… we'll be elderly. We'll retire before we get one Bind Stone. My soul is leaving my body. Goodbye, cruel world."
Sofia sat beside her, panting. "Aria… breathe…"
The Lumin Whelp flopped onto Riley's head upside-down, panting like it had run a marathon.
Riley let himself flop beside them.
"Okay," he muttered. "We need to level up our Spirits at least. Then we can try bigger monsters."
As if on cue, soft glows surrounded each of their Spirits.
Venom Webling — LEVEL 3
A cool chime echoed.
Above Aria's spider, glowing text shimmered:
NEW SKILL LEARNED — WEB BIND
A sticky web-shot ability that immobilizes enemies for a short time.
Aria SCREAMED like someone had handed her the keys to a tank.
"OH MY GOD YES. YES. THIS IS WHAT PEAK PARENTING LOOKS LIKE! VENOM IS A QUEEN!"
The spider proudly clicked all eight eyes.
Lumen Pup — LEVEL 3
Sofia's fox-Spirit wagged its glowing tail and sprang in joyful circles.
NEW SKILL LEARNED — BITE
A clean, fast attack that actually did respectable damage.
Sofia smiled softly. "Good girl… You're doing amazing."
The Pup yipped and rubbed itself against her leg.
Lumin Whelp — LEVEL 3
Riley held his breath.
Come on. Something good.
Something strong.
Something—
A tiny spark shot from the Whelp.
Text shimmered:
NEW SKILL LEARNED — FLASH
Emits a small burst of light.
Deals no damage.
Aria blinked. "…Did you just unlock a flashlight?"
Riley stared.
Sofia attempted optimism. "Maybe it… blinds monsters?"
Aria leaned in, whispering loudly: "Or maybe it is just a glowstick."
The Whelp made a wounded squeak and buried itself in Riley's shirt like it had been deeply wronged.
Riley sighed heavily, patting its head. "Don't listen to her. We'll figure something out."
But inside?
He felt that sting of disappointment again.
Flash.
No damage.
No usefulness in a fight.
Not yet, at least.
"Alright," Riley muttered. "Back to grinding."
---
The Longest Hour of Riley's Life
They fought more monsters.
And more.
And more.
The fights blurred together.
Aria screamed battle cries that made no sense:
"For glory!"
"For honour!"
"For five coins!"
"For snacks!"
"For my future army of spiders!"
Sofia apologized gently with every attack:
"So sorry—
Please hold still—
This won't hurt, I promise—
Oh no it did, I'm sorry—"
Riley kept trying to aim and shoot, but his arrows bounced off things like he was firing toothpicks.
"Riley, you missed," Aria giggled.
"It dodged," Riley said flatly.
"It's… literally a mushroom."
Riley inhaled. "A very agile mushroom."
Finally—after a strenuous final brawl with a very angry Puffbug—
YOU GAIN: 3 COINS
Aria leapt into the air.
"YES! THAT'S IT! WE DID IT! WE'RE RICH! WE CAN FINALLY BUY ONE BIND STONE!"
Riley checked the total.
COINS: 52
He exhaled slowly.
"Okay," he said. "We hit the goal."
"Goal?" Aria scoffed. "THAT WAS A QUEST FOR MY SOUL. I WANT A MEDAL."
Sofia flopped down on the grass, exhausted. "We… really did it…"
Riley sat beside her. The Whelp climbed onto his lap and collapsed like a pancake.
He stroked its head gently.
"You did good," he said softly.
Aria sat beside him, spider on her head like a fuzzy crown.
"Okay," she said. "So now we can get one Bind Stone. Exactly one. One Spirit. One."
Riley didn't smile.
In fact, he went very still.
Aria noticed. "Uh… Riley?"
He looked up.
The meadow spread around them—beautiful but limited. They had fought and fought…
And they had barely scraped together 50 coins in an hour.
They needed:
better gear
Spirit food
healing items
Bind Stones
essence crystals
equipment for Aria's spider
and upgrades for Sofia's staff
Fifty coins wouldn't get them ANYWHERE.
Riley stood slowly.
Sofia blinked up at him. "Are you okay?"
Riley gazed toward the treeline at the far end of the meadow. The forest beyond cast long shadows, darker and quieter than the gentle fields around them.
He pointed.
"We can't stay here."
Aria followed his finger. "There? Riley, that's the forest. The spooky forest. The 'level three monsters don't play nice' forest."
Riley nodded.
"That's where the real coin drops are."
Sofia frowned nervously. "But the forest is dangerous…"
"That's why we'll go together," Riley said. "And because…"
He exhaled.
"We can't stay weak. Not here. Not in this world. If we want anything—new Spirits, better weapons, gear, survival—"
He looked at both of them.
"We need more than fifty coins. We need hundreds. And the meadow won't give us that."
Aria stood instantly, fire in her eyes.
"Finally! A REAL adventure! Let's go!"
Sofia hesitated… then nodded firmly.
"We'll be careful. We'll support each other."
Riley adjusted the Whelp on his shoulder.
"Then we move."
He took a step toward the forest.
And the three of them—two sisters, one stubborn brother, a spider, a fox, and a glowing fluff-ball—headed toward the shadows.
Toward danger.
Toward reward.
Toward the unknown.
Riley didn't look back.
"If you want those Spirits," he said quietly,
"we're going to need a lot more coins."