My work messenger pinged.
[Niamh]: Having fun today?
I groaned and typed back.
[Ryo]: This is a special kind of hell.
She sent a pats your back gif.
[Niamh]: Do you need support? Want to take a few days off?
Did I? I didn't know anymore.
I wasn't sure not knowing what they were saying about me was actually better.
[Ryo]: It's fine. I'll sleep the shift off once I'm done with it and blow off some steam in an Elemental Café.
[Niamh]: Stay safe. Use concealment if you can. We're here when you need us.
A pause.
[Niamh]: And when you feel like sharing juicy details.
"..."
Classic Niamh.
I thanked her.
***
The Elemental Café was busier than usual today.
I'd been avoiding it for a few days, partly because my muscles still ached and partly because I'd spent way too much money during my last competitive frenzy with yeetgeometry. Granted, the System had reimbursed me, but when you're used to living paycheck to paycheck, that tends to feel somewhat irresponsible.
However, I hadn't heard from Llewellyn since the photo leak and I needed to hit something.
I checked the time. Not even 5PM yet, so plenty of time to unwind.
"Is room three available?" I asked the guy at the counter, a different staff member than last time.
Luckily, the concealment artifact worked because it didn't look like he recognized me.
He glanced at his tablet. "Sorry, maintenance. Four is open though."
I paid for an hour, taking the keycard and headset. Room four was slightly larger than three, but the setup was essentially the same, down to the blue neon.
I slipped on the headset and booted up Elemental Stage.
My third place was holding steady. I scrolled through yeetgeometry's recent activity but there was nothing new since our last battle. Either he'd given up or he was plotting his revenge.
Well. Time to focus on catching up with EarthQuack, currently ranked at 2.
The gap was huge, so this was going to take me a few weeks.
After half an hour of grinding, I got bored and decided to swap to something else.
I eyed Café Cleanup Blitz, but I wasn't really in the mood. Café Cleanup Blitz was a time attack game where the player had to cast the correct Elemental combos to clean rooms quickly. However, it was surprisingly hard. It was the kind of game I normally played when I was too mad to focus on anything else, and just felt like zeroing in on strategy and wreaking havoc. My record was 12.4 seconds.
BonsAI Studio was my other regular—an Elemental gardening sim—but it was too meditative for my current state of mind. You shaped a tree using balanced Elemental flows, pairing them with harmonious movements, like some form of Tai Chi. I normally played this when I was wrecked.
In the end, I launched Elemental Slice, a game where you played as a ninja, using your sword to inflict Elemental attacks on flying vegetables.
Fire = Roast vegetables mid-air.
Water = Slice them with pressure arcs.
Wind = Speed multiplier.
Metal = Activates a bottom blade that slices falling vegetables.
Earth = Slam vegetables down on the bottom blade for a heavy smash bonus.
Wood = Sprouts extra vegetables into the air for more points.
It was a good one to unwind, especially for people who liked to focus on combo chains.
By the time my session ended, I felt less twitchy. I grabbed my things, changed into clean clothes, and headed out.
The evening air was invigorating. Penguin seemed to think so too, because he transformed back, abandoning my wrist, and sat comfortably in my pocket looking out. I'd already used an artifact to hide him before I left. Now I just checked that it was still active.
It was, just like mine. I exhaled in relief.
Satisfied, I ducked into an alley in one of Baekhaven's most neon-lit areas and decided to grab some dumplings before going back home to work my shift.
***
For the most part, Baekhaven had more of a cyberpunk reputation than it deserved, likely due to its focus on digital media and Elemental Cafés. Above all else, it was a cosmopolitan seaside city, Innishae's capital, as well as the artistic and cultural heart of the country. It was actually quite luminous and refined.
However, it definitely had moments of cyberpunk flair, especially after dark in the inner districts, and the area I was in now was probably the main example.
The promenade along the coast, where I had met Llewellyn last time, was where the wealthy and tourists gathered—all high-end shops and overpriced cafés—while my neighborhood, Haneve, was further inland, where rent was more manageable. It was quieter there, with narrow streets and green lights. I supposed this area could be considered mid-way.
The tiny food shops, just big enough for people to collect takeaway from, could be found almost everywhere, and were one of inland Baekhaven's best features—a mix of traditional Innishaean dishes with Korean, Chinese, Irish, and Italian influences. You could get kimchi dumplings alongside boxty pancakes and pizza bites, sometimes even combined in ways that would probably horrify purists from either culture.
Well. Not that it mattered to me.
I finished my dumplings and tossed the container in a nearby bin before checking my phone.
Still a few hours until my shift. Too early to grab a pre-shift coffee, but it might still be a good idea to go back. Though I was really trying to resist the temptation to be at home with only social media.
I was about to head home when a System notification appeared out of nowhere.
[System Notification: Attribute Intuitive Drift has activated!]
I frowned. "What?"
Weren't Attributes supposed to be always active in the background?
[Clarification: Intuitive Drift has overridden passive mode. Following guidance is strongly recommended.]
What the hell.
I was shocked. Now that I thought about it, this had happened before. The last time I saw this had been over two years ago, when I'd applied for my current job.
I couldn't remember how it worked though. At that time I knew so little about the System I didn't even register it was an Attribute; I probably just assumed it was a Skill or an Ability.
"Follow what exactly?"
I stared at the notification, waiting for more information, but nothing happened. Nothing looked unusual around me either: the neon-lit storefronts, late-night food vendors, and people hurrying past were all the same as usual.
I frowned and started walking home again.
Except that, suddenly, the itch in my chest flared and I felt the strong impulse to turn left at the next corner instead of right toward home. Huh.
I considered going back, but the itch flared again and I turned another corner.
Then another.
I passed through a quieter section of shops, most closed for the night, though I spotted some 24/7 cashierless shops.
My feet kept moving. I rounded another corner, walking faster now—
—and slammed straight into someone.
"Sorry, I didn't—" I looked up and stared.
Llewellyn stood there, looking as surprised as I felt. He steadied me with one hand.
What was the System up to now?
"What are you doing here?" Llewellyn asked, eyes narrowing.
I blinked, feeling at a loss. "I was about to ask you the same thing. I was just walking and somehow ended up here."
Llewellyn frowned.
I sighed. I mean, if I were him, I wouldn't believe me either.
"I got a notification about Intuitive Drift activating, and next thing I know, I'm bumping into you."
His eyebrows lifted slightly. "Intuitive Drift? Is that one of your Attributes?"
Oh, right. Should I have revealed that?
Well, whatever.
I rubbed my face. "I wasn't following you, if that's what you're thinking."
"I wasn't," Llewellyn said. "However, Attributes don't typically activate without purpose."
Well, what purpose could it have?
Llewellyn checked his watch, seeming to debate something internally, then said, "I was going to grab something to eat."
I blinked. Wait, was he asking me to come along?
"You're welcome to join," Llewellyn added when I didn't respond. "Or not," he said frowning, after seeing my expression.
What?? No, of course I was joining.