System, are you messing with me?

Ark 4 - Meeting up again

A few days later, Shu Ning descided to look for 'your_knight_in_shining_armor'. He was walking around the forest with 'Potatosoup' at his heels, who had joined up with him often lately, when he asked Alpha to find their target. He didn't inform his companion about it ahead of time and just redirected their path towards the red dessert. Based on the system, that was the place they would find the male at. 

They didn't have to go far as the person in question sat on a sand dune close to the border. His short brown hair was disheveled and a forlorn look was etched on to his face. When he saw the two people approaching, the dark mood was instantly broken by his happy smile. He jumped up and skidded down the small hill to meet them halfway.

"Hello there my friends. It's been quite a while. I hope you still remember me. Though I can't quite remember your names, mind telling me again?"

"I'm 'Black_cat' and this is 'Potatosoup."

Shu Ning smiled politely at the male. He already felt exhausted by the other's overactive nature, his companion didn't appear bothered by it though. 'Potatosoup' raised his arm to shake hands with the guy, but got pulled into a hug instead. With a startled laugh, he extracted himself again and huffed in amusement. Those two seemed to be getting along very well.

"Listen, 'I'm_your_knight_in_shining_armor'. There was something I wanted from you. Do you want to have better equipment than you have at the moment? I'm a blacksmith and might be able to create somehing more fitting, based on your stats and skills."

The guy's eyes widened in surprise before his brows knitted into a frown. He sceptically looked at Shu Ning. 'I'm_your_knight_in_shining_armor' wasn't stupid. He may appear naive or overly trusting, but he knew about the dark side of humanity. No one would just offer to help a complete stranger without asking anything in return. Especially not inside of a gaming world, that could cost you your life at any second. His mouth set into an apprehensive line as he voiced the question that was whirling inside of him.

"Why? Why would you offer to do that? What do you need from me."

"It's simple. You will help me gather the supplies that I need and in case you ever come across any spices, you will give them to 'Potatosoup'."

"That's all? Really?"

"Yup. Propblem?"

"Seems a bit too easy."

"'potatosoup' ist able to cook meals that boost certain stats. For most of the higher level recipes, he needs a lot of spices though. For you they are useless, but for us they are relevant. Without them, we would rather not fight against the endboss." 

"Alright. That does make sense. When shall we start?"

"Now?"

"Then let me contact 'Ice_Prince' first. He was busy with another quest, but maybe he is done by now."

That explained why 'I'm_your_knight_in_shining_armor' was sitting in this wasteland like a lost puppy waiting to be picked up. Shu Ning bit his lips to stop himself from giggling at the mental image of a dog with big blue eyes and drooping ears. He hoped that 'Ice_Prince' would agree to join them on this task as well. That way he could get closer to both of them at the same time. For him the spices were just a great bonus.

With a bright grin 'I'm_your_knight_in_shining_armor' looked up from the screen and nodded at them. Shu Ning smiled back and signaled the others to follow him. Together they made their way over towards the misty meadow where they met up with 'Ice_Prince'. The latter still wore an indifferent expression that warmed up mildly when he laied eyes on his best friend. The two of them clapped their hands together in a complecated handshake and inclined his head towards the remaining two in greeting.