Riley woke to sunlight leaking around the curtains and the faint thud of someone tripping over something in the hallway.
"OW—WHO LEFT THIS HERE?"
Aria. He smiled at the ceiling. Day 4. Dungeon week. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The memories of last night — Mum's stew, the laughter, Aria's dramatic retelling, Sofia's shy happiness — hovered warmly in his chest. And beneath that? A sharp, crystal-clear awareness.
He knew what was coming. He knew how hard the first dungeon would hit unprepared parties. He also knew exactly how to walk his family through it. Riley swung his legs off the bed and grabbed his headset. "Ready?" he called. "Already am!" Aria's voice shot back. "I was BORN ready!"
"No, you were born screaming," Sofia replied, a little closer. "The ready came later."Riley chuckled, settled the headset on, and hit START. The world blinked. Dark.Then—Light poured in, soft and familiar.
The login sequence resolved in a gentle flare, and the starting village formed around him. He appeared in the plaza in a shimmer of blue. Buildings rose in a loose ring — shops, crafting stalls, inns, the adventurer's hall. Morning glow painted everything gold. And waiting by the fountain, bouncing on her feet—"THERE he is!" Aria yelled, waving both arms above her head.
Dot perched on her shoulder, legs tapping an impatient beat. Gobbles sat at her feet, chewing on what might have once been a flower, a shoe, or both. Sofia stood beside her in her Lightweave Mantle, Echo sitting primly at her side. The fox's tail flicked in smooth arcs, bright eyes alert. Riley raised a hand in greeting as his interface confirmed his status.> RILEY — LEVEL 5 Class: Channeler Weapon: Spirit Bow (Tier 1)
Lumi shimmered into existence on his shoulder, tiny body blinking into reality with a soft "pip." "Morning," Riley said. Lumi chirped, bright and clear. "You look like you slept well," Sofia said, smiling. "I did," Riley said. "You?" She nodded. Aria clapped her hands together. "Okay! Adventuring squad, roll call! One: chaotic genius—me." "Self-appointed," Riley muttered. "Two: certified ray of sunshine murderer—Sofia and Echo!" Echo tilted her head, as if flattered. "Three: guy who got us nearly killed by a stone monster—Riley!" "That thing aimed for you," Riley reminded her. "Because I punched it! With courage!" "And bad decisions," Sofia added gently. Aria pointed dramatically at her. "Et tu, healer? "Sofia giggled.
Riley opened the party window.> Party: Riley — Aria — Sofia -- Hayes — Hayley — Kipp (Offline)
"They haven't logged in yet," Sofia said, noticing his look. "Hayes said they'd be on soon," Aria said. "He sent a message last night. Something about 'helping Hayley not burn her breakfast.'" Riley smirked. "Fair."
A soft chime sounded nearby. Two pillars of light flared at the edge of the plaza. Hayes and Hayley appeared almost simultaneously — both armored in basic gear, shields on their backs, swords at their hips. Their Feral Cats materialized by their feet one stretching lazily next to Hayes, the other immediately moving to sit near Hayley's boots like a little guardian. Hayley lifted a hand. "Morning." "Hey," Riley said. Hayes nodded once. "Everyone good?" "Alive," Aria said. "Hungry. Emotionally fulfilled. Ready to commit violence." "That's… concerning," he replied. "Standard," Sofia said softly. "You get used to it."
A third chime pinged a few seconds later, slightly off-beat. A lanky figure flickered into being near the item shop, stumbling a bit on spawn-in. "Ah—whoa—oof. Okay. Logged." Kipp straightened, adjusting his basic gear, his expression already half-distracted by something only he could see in his menus. At his feet, Mossling appeared with a soft little "bmm?" — a lumpy, green creature with tiny glowing eyes and a mushroom hat that did not look regulation. Aria squinted. "Did Mossling grow a new mushroom?" "Yes," Kipp said immediately, and a little defensively. "And no, you can't eat it. "Gobbles looked offended. "You heard him," Aria told her Spirit. "Eat someone else's mushroom."Gobbles tried to nibble Mossling anyway. Mossling scooted a centimeter to the left, unimpressed.
Riley opened the party chat.> [Riley]: Morning, everyone.[Hayley]: o/[Hayes]: Morning.[Kipp]: hi, sorry if I'm late ^^'"You're good," Riley said out loud. "We're all here.""So," Hayley asked, glancing between them, "what's the plan today? I assume you have one." Aria pointed at Riley with both hands. "He always has one. "Hayes raised an eyebrow. "You sound proud and worried at the same time." "I contain multitudes."
Riley took a breath. "Okay," he said. "Here's what we're doing. "They naturally formed a loose circle near the fountain, Spirits clustering around their feet and shoulders. Lumi settled calmly, glowing like a small lantern. "We're three or four in-game days from the first dungeon opening," Riley began. "When it does, a lot of players are going to rush in under-levelled and under-prepared just because it's new." "That sounds stupid," Hayley said. "It is," Riley agreed. "But they'll do it anyway." Aria shrugged. "Gamer brain. 'Door open? Go in.'" "Exactly." Riley nodded at her. "What we're going to do is different. We're going to get ahead of the curve quietly."Kipp's eyes lit up. "Ahead… how?" Riley brought up his map and pinged a region to the west. A forested area with stylized leaf markers and a faint blue icon shimmered into focus. "The Gathering Woods?" Sofia read. "Yeah," Riley said. "I was reading through some forums before. "Half-true. Mostly memory, wrapped in an excuse. "They were talking about this area as an early hotspot. Decent XP, but more importantly, it's got ingredients that alchemists can use to make defensive and regen potions."Kipp straightened, fully attentive now.
"Potions," he repeated. "Specifically ones that help against sustained damage," Riley continued. "The first dungeon, from what people were speculating, is more attrition-based than pure burst. Lots of smaller hits, environmental effects. If we go in with nothing? We'll probably still clear it, but it'll be messy." "So we get potions," Hayley said slowly. "Good ones." "And levels," Hayes added. "And," Riley said, "we try to catch more Spirits. The kind that actually synergize with what we want to do." Aria threw her hands up. "Yes. YES. Spirit shopping.
"Sofia looked at Echo, who met her gaze and tilted her head slightly."I… wouldn't mind another partner," Sofia admitted. "As long as Echo doesn't get jealous." Echo yipped once, as if to say: I will allow one assistant. Hayley grinned. "I'd like something airborne," she said. "Something to scout or harass from above." "Tank buddy," Hayes said quietly. "Either something that can draw aggro or something that can hit hard while I hold things."Kipp raised a hand halfway. "Something… uh, small and plant-y," he said. "And nice. Like Mossling. Or something that smells like mint. I wouldn't say no to mint." Aria nodded solemnly. "Respectable." Everyone glanced at Riley.
He hesitated. What he wanted was something that felt like it belonged at Lumi's side. Not just strong — but… right. Something unique. Something that would change everything later. "I'm not looking for anything specific," he lied gently. "Just something that works well with Lumi and my bow. Utility, maybe. Or support." Sofia watched him for a moment longer than the others, like she could sense the edges of the truth he wasn't saying. Then she smiled. "You always say that," she said. "But you somehow find exactly what we end up needing. "Aria narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, suspicious." Riley shrugged. "I read a lot," he said, leaning harder on the lie. "People theory crafting. Talking about zones. It's not all that secret." Hayley nodded slowly. "Forums are useful," she agreed.
Hayes, practical as ever, cut in. "Do you know what ingredients we're actually looking for?" Riley nodded. "Based on what they were saying? Things like Prism Petals, Dew cap Mushrooms, Vine Resin. Probably some stuff we haven't seen yet. I don't know exact recipes, but—"Kipp coughed politely. "I… might," he said, eyes drifting to the side. "I mean, not all of them. But some combinations make sense. If we find them, I can experiment. "Aria clapped her hands. "Yes, our potion goblin speaks!" "Please don't call me that," Kipp said weakly. Mossling made a soft, sympathetic "mmm." Riley smiled. "So that's the plan," he said. "We head to the Gathering Woods, fight what's there, level up, gather ingredients, and keep an eye out for rare Spirits along the way." "And bosses," Aria added. "We like bosses." "Mini-bosses," Riley corrected. "We're not ready for anything raid-level." "Yet," Aria said. "Yet," Riley agreed pleasantly.
He opened the party interface and checked everyone's stats one more time. They were behind where he remembered some guilds being, but ahead of the average player mass. They had gear, a budding alchemist, two tanks, a healer, utility, and Lumi's broken loot passive that nobody knew about but them. They were… strong. And they'd only get stronger.
Riley closed the interface. "Any questions?" he asked. Aria raised her hand. "Yes, Aria?" "Are we beating someone up today?" "Yes," Riley said. Aria lowered her hand. "I'm good." Sofia raised her hand more gently. "Do you think the area will be very dangerous?" she asked. "It'll be a step up from what we've fought," Riley said honestly. "But we'll be fine. We've got better skills now. Healing. Damage. Crowd control. "Echo's tail swished proudly. Hayley flicked the edge of her shield with her fingers. "I suppose worst case," she said lightly, "we die horribly and get sent back to town." "Kind of want to avoid that," Hayes replied dryly. Kipp nodded vigorously. "Dying is bad. For business." "Exactly," Riley said. "The less we die, the more we stay ahead. Early levels are forgiving. Later? Death gets expensive. "He felt again the phantom ache of loss — late-game penalties, long corpse runs, being inches away from a clear and watching it all slip through his fingers. Not this time.
Aria slapped her cheeks lightly. "Alright! Enough talk. Let's do this." "Let's set roles properly before we move," Riley said. He pointed around the circle. "Hayes — main tank. You pull and hold the biggest threats. Hayley backs you up, covers flanks, and peels anything that slips through. "Hayes nodded once. "Got it." Hayley gave a salute. "Sofia — you focus on keeping us alive and buffed," Riley continued. "Use your Light Bolt when it's safe, but don't stress about damage numbers. "Sofia smiled. "Okay." "Kipp — stay between Sofia and me," Riley said. "You're support and backline. Mossling can keep you safe if something breaks through, and we'll cover you too. If you get any potions made today, we'll test them in small fights before we rely on them. "Kipp adjusted his glasses. "That makes sense," he said. "I'll, um… try not to panic." "You're doing great," Sofia assured him."Kinda adorable when you panic," Aria added. "Please stop saying that," Kipp whispered. "And I," Aria declared, "will be artfully punching everything. "Riley sighed. "You'll also set up traps with Dot to control crowds, use Gobbles' heals when Sofia needs backup, and try not to explode us, yes?" "I mean. I can try." "That's the most I can realistically ask for," he said. Lumi pressed a little closer to his neck, warm and steady.
Riley looked around at them — his sisters, two new allies, one nervous alchemist, and a cluster of spirits that had started to feel like part of the group rather than tools. "Alright," he said softly. "Let's move." They turned as one and started toward the western gate, boots tapping against stone, Spirits padding or hovering or squishing along behind. As they left the plaza, Riley flicked open one last window — a simple notification hovering in the corner of his vision.
WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT:The First Dungeon of the Valley will open in 3 days. Rows of text below it speculated on rewards, difficulty, recommended level. Riley dismissed it, gaze fixed forward. Three days. Enough time to get stronger. Enough time to prepare. Enough time to make sure none of them repeated the mistakes of his first life. Aria was already rambling about teaching Gobbles to roll over. Sofia was quietly discussing defensive positioning with Hayley. Hayes was asking Kipp what kind of potions would help a tank the most. Riley walked beside them, Lumi's glow at his shoulder and the faint, familiar tug of memory leading him west. The Gathering Woods waited. And somewhere in its shadows, new Spirits, new recipes, and new chances were waiting too. He smiled, just a little. "Round two," he murmured, too quiet for anyone but Lumi to hear. "Let's do it right this time."Lumi chirped softly in agreement. They stepped through the gate together, out of the safety of the village and into the wild, where the next part of their story was already unfolding