Nolan, Hearthstone tavern.
Joshua was biting down on a straw, the other end of which was stuck in a chilled bottle of Sin Cola.
"Grinding NPC favor again?" Ciri suddenly sidled up beside Joshua and peered at his Magic Web Interface.
Ciri had spent the entire morning attending the Purple-robed One's class. Only now had she hurried to the Hearthstone tavern's Frontline Command Room. The moment she entered, she saw Joshua and Lloydel, the God of Order, seated on the same mount.
"Cough, cough..." Ciri's words made Joshua choke before he could swallow the cola in his mouth. Ciri patted his back, and only then did Joshua recover.
"She... she's a guide. Or rather, a radar." Joshua turned off the voice communication. "This God of Order can accurately tell me where the monsters are in this area."
"Official cheating?"
Ciri found a chair beside Joshua and sat down, logging into World Rift as well.
She had been distracted during class, thinking about the situation in the Rift. Now that class was finally over, she had to make up for the progress she had fallen behind on.
"I'm using an administrator character right now, so it doesn't count as cheating... Besides, I haven't killed a single monster."
After reaching the sixth floor, Joshua had summoned a flying mount—a gryphon. Lloydel, the God of Order, was seated behind him.
"As a qualified administrator, I'm observing the players' progress. They... how should I put it? Their progress slowed down after reaching the fifth floor."
"Who would want to kill monsters that don't drop equipment or experience? Even though merit can be exchanged for equipment, it still feels like something's missing."
Ciri liked World Rift for the same reason as most players: every dungeon monster they killed had a chance of yielding an epic