Lucy sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair, legs twitching, elbow on her knees, and cracking her knuckles anxiously as she watched her friend, whom she practically considered one of her best friends, his idiocy and sheer chaotic nature notwithstanding, lie on a hospital bed, unresponsive as several nurses and many more machines made sure he survived.

The moment the call came, she froze, indecisive, not knowing what to do.

Naturally, they discussed almost every eventuality, including medical issues, but handling something theoretically and in real life was simply too different.

Thankfully, by the time she initiated the fail safes, including a memo going out to the inner circle just in case this was a targeted attack, she was already being informed by the security system of his home she gained temporary access to thanks to the situation that a team of emergency responders practically broke down the door and were already pulling her friend out on a gurney.

Idly making a note to herself to have the door repaired, she began to gather her stuff, intent on following Sam to the hospital. Luckily, the automated systems prevalent in their society already informed her, as a person named the primary emergency contact in his files, where the ambulance was heading.

She simply okayed the paperwork, made sure that the hospital knew that Sam was a VIP, and if anything happened to him, she would rain fire and brimstone on them, before leaning back in the plush chair of the self-driving car she kept for occasions where either she was unable or simply too anxious to drive.

Granted, she mostly used it when the friend group went out to have fun and she got a bit tipsy.

And as she continued to watch her friend sleeping off the surgery, she couldn't help but go through all that had happened. She got the all okay signal from everyone else, so this might have been just an isolated attack against Sam, but she would wait until he woke up to pass final judgment. With all the weird shit Sam did daily, there was an equal chance that he tried to summon a demon to have tea with it and accidentally summoned something that Katie would call cuddly, and the sheer unnaturalness caused the stroke.

Then, as her heart started to calm down, her brain began to function.

'It's pretty sus that the medics were so fast…as if they knew it was going to happen,' she thought while her eyes narrowed, watching as suited individuals, their entire demeanor screaming corporate lawyer, approached the room.

'Let the battle commence…' she thought as she slowly stood up, patted down her shirt, and then straightened her back, eyes fixed on the approaching man. 'Let's see what they want…'

Once again, sitting next to Sam as the rest of their team made themselves comfortable around the apartment. She took a long look around, happy to know that her friend was next to her, talking and laughing as usual.

Though she could see a small tightening around his eyes, and a small shake of his hand that wasn't there before. The doctors assured them that with time and some effort, it would go away, and while she hoped, she was also realistic enough to know that while modern medicine was amazing, it wasn't all-powerful.

As the rest of the group started to talk about something that Isabella found while trying to improve her skills in-game, she thought about her options.

'Maybe I could move in with him and keep an eye on him?' she mused. 'Or a communal compound with separate houses for the guild leadership? We have enough capital to buy the land. Leasing it would be even easier…'

She opened her mouth to offer her idea, and Sam just put a hand on her knee.

"We are not setting up a commune, Lucy," came from the exasperated Sam.

"H-how?"

He just smirked. "After all this time, you think I don't know how you think?"

She just glared at him, sniffed indignantly, and took a bite of her food. 'Then why the fuck can't I figure out what he is thinking about?'

Visiting her family was always somewhat exhausting.

In the past, it was mostly because they couldn't really understand her hobby and work – well, mostly her parents – but nowadays it was because all they wanted to talk about was the game.

Clarissa honestly didn't know which was worse.

Though the fact that they finally accepted her chosen profession felt somewhat good. Not that it stopped her sister from asking questions about the game, about Sam, and basically anything. She really wanted to become a great player…

However, today she was not coming home to entertain them. Honestly, she wasn't really sure why her feet took her to her parents' home. And as the door opened, she smiled at her mother, who returned the smile before said smile slid off her face and concern took its place.

"Oh, dear! What happened, honey?"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Within a short moment, she was dragged in, enveloped in a hug that she really needed, and sat in the armchair as her parents and even Cynthia was staring at her with a worried look.

She opened her mouth several times, trying to explain things to them, but she couldn't really articulate the words.

After a few minutes of awkward staring, it was Cynthia who broke the silence.

"Does this have anything to do with the rumors about Solar?"

Her mother let out a gasp, and the grimace on her father's face tightened.

Steeling herself, Clarissa nodded before taking a deep breath and beginning to talk.

They sat next to each other, the car's artificial rumbling under them filling the heavy silence as their fingers weaved together.

"Fucking hell…" Dan mumbled again for the hundredth time.

Lara just squeezed his hand again, reassuring him. The whole medical scare hit her cinnamon roll of a boyfriend a little too hard. Apparently, he was there when his grandfather was taken away after a stroke, similar to Sam's. However, unlike Sam, his grandfather never woke up. Back then, his family couldn't really afford the level of treatment Sam was enveloped in the second he had a medical issue.

"He survived, that's what's important," she spoke, trying to reassure her boyfriend.

"I know, I know…" Dan answered, looking out of the window. "It's just… You saw his hands."

Lara had indeed seen his hands. Hell, probably everybody noticed how hard it was for Sam to hold certain things after a time. Though nobody had the heart to point it out.

"What if it is permanent?"

"It's not like that would make him an invalid…"

"But…"

She reached over and placed a finger on his lips, silencing him.

"No buts, dear. He is our friend, and it's our job to support him. If it is permanent, then we're going to support him with that in mind. If not, then we'll simply celebrate. There is no need to worry needlessly."

He leaned back in the seat, resting his head on the headrest, staring at the roof of the car.

"I still hate it…"

"And I love you for it…"

"How is the situation in the north?"

He looked at his boss, his face hidden under a red hood, just like his, and began to report. Not his favorite part of the job. But it paid well, and he could say he was in the upper echelons of the game's world. Well, he could say that, and most people believed him, but even he knew that compared to the top players, he was nothing. Thus, it really felt great to plan their defeat.

"We've established the planned strongholds, sir."

His boss nodded, idly looking at something on his system screens. "Good. Logistics?"

"Still being set up," he replied, hoping it wouldn't garner a negative reaction.

"Can we do anything to speed it up?"

He let out a relieved sigh before answering. "I don't think so, sir. It would need money that we don't have currently."

"Hmm… One of the scout teams recently found those new fractures, right?"

"Yes, sir. In a heavily contested area," he replied, but inwardly he could feel the panic rising. They were so not ready to tackle that one.

"I don't care. Take them!" came the expected, yet hated, order.

"But, sir! If we do that, there is a chance Chrysalis is going to fight us for it!" he tried to explain in a way that wouldn't land him in hot water. When in doubt, blaming Solar's people always worked with the leadership in the Blood Cult.

"Solar is out of commission for a while. Perfect time for shenanigans, I think…"

He resisted mightily to roll his eyes. Everybody and their mother knew that Solar was somehow sent to the hospital. Nobody really knew why or how. Most people, optimistically, expected that the man would stay there for months, unable to play. He was more realistic about it. The man made bank, which ensured that he would get the very best of medical care. "What about the rest of his team?"

"Bah! They wouldn't even know how to wipe their asses without that cheater's instructions," he mightily resisted the urge to point out that his own boss couldn't even do anything without the true leadership approving it, and instead tried to redirect the conversation.

"O-of course, sir. What about yourself?"

"I'm off to the auction. I want a few things from it, and I don't want to leave it up to some idiot."

"Understood," he stated, inwardly wondering who was the true idiot.

Sadly, they didn't really allow him to ask important questions.

Tim adjusted his tie, made sure that his clothing was clean and sharp, before opening the door leading to the balcony overlooking the auction hall where thousands of players and hundreds of guilds gathered to bid on a variety of items his guild had found over time.

Honestly, at first he was surprised when he found out they had so many unopened 'treasure' containers, but then he began to read the descriptions. Sometimes penned by Sam or Lucy, but mostly by people who dedicated themselves to identifying artifacts.

Most of them were duds, or cursed, or contained something useless that looked valuable. Or they truly had something valuable, but owning it was not really worth it. Sometimes, they were part of a quest chain, and sometimes they started quests.

The number of urns containing spirits who had some kind of unfinished business was staggering…

Beyond the door, he was met with a bevy of beautiful ladies, all dressed in their best, looking rather stunning.

Except for Clair, who was wearing her usual maid dress, though her hair looked like a lot of time had been spent on it.

Tim didn't really know why his friends wanted to attend the auction with him, but he didn't really care.

Watching people yelling at each other alone would have been rather boring.

He smiled at them, then walked toward the lone empty seat next to Liz, who, for once, exchanged her usual work overalls for an elegant off-the-shoulder dress in the color of her eyes. Tim smiled at her and took a seat.

Instantly, Clair was next to them, offering him a glass of chilled tea. He shot her a grin before accepting it. "Thank you!"

She smiled in response and then retreated to the back of the balcony.

Tim took an appreciative sip of the drink, placed it on a small table next to his chair, and leaned forward, taking in the entire hall.

In the middle were the random people, or guilds, who couldn't afford the private booths. The hall they rented for this event had several floors for balconies, which grew much more luxurious as one went upwards.

He and his friends were right at the top, in the most luxurious room, able to see everyone, yet nobody could see them. Both because of the height and because of the countless obscuring magics and enchantments that prevented it. Plus, some he had added.

A small hum distracted him from his observations as a lone drone rose from Liz's side before stopping in the air in front of them.

She leaned closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Smile for the camera!" she said softly. He put his hands over her shoulder and smiled while resisting the urge to shake his head. Liz really liked to take pictures.

The photo was taken, and before he could return to his attention, the rest of the people in the room surged forward, also demanding pictures.

He could understand why. They did look really pretty in their dresses. They would probably like to record it for later…

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