“How come I didn’t get anything for killing that baby spider back there?” I asked, feeling slightly cheated. An army of flying orbs should be raining presents down on me after that nightmare. I’d been replaying the event in horrifying detail as we trekked towards the top of the hill Belial suggested.

  “You did; it was worth 42 credits.”

  “Credits? I thought killing monsters earned me loot from those weird orbs.”

  “They do, if the system deems it worthy of loot, but they always earn you credits. Between that hatchling spider, the vine monster and Waffle’s mother, you’re up to 176.”

  “What about the other spider, the one with the missing legs?”

  “You didn’t get credit for that one.”

  “Seriously?” I asked, shaking my head.

  “It’s likely because you didn’t kill it yourself. Wait, why are you angry, you don’t even know what they’re for.”

  My mouth opened and closed a few times before I decided he had a point. “Okay, fine. What are they for? And why didn’t you tell me about them earlier?”

  “There’s a catalog you can access from your AI, and because it didn’t seem worth mentioning until you had enough to buy something.”

  “Well, do I?” I asked, perking up at the prospect of some magical store in my head. Maybe there’d be something to help me deal with the spiders…

  “You do not,” Belial answered, “or I would’ve mentioned it.”

  “Right,” I sighed, hanging my head as I continued up the steep incline.

  “Want to look anyways? It might cheer you up!”

  “Why would looking at things I can’t afford cheer me up?”

  I cocked my head back as an interface popped up, then again when I walked face first into a branch due to that interface taking up my entire field of view.

  “You little jerk, you did that on purpose!”

  “Huh? It’s not my fault you can’t do two things at once.”

  “I can’t see anything!" I snapped, brushing myself off and spitting out a leaf that somehow managed to find its way into my mouth. “What if something attacks?”

  “Ugh, you’re being dramatic. Here.” Belial said, before doing something to make the interface more see-through.

  Waffle chittered out a series of squeaks from his pocket that made me narrow my eyes. “Are you laughing at me?” I snorted, tussling the fuzz on his head with my finger. He huffed once before ducking back inside his pocket. “Oh no, what’s wrong?” I stuck a finger inside, frowning when he batted it away.

  “I think you embarrassed him.”

  “What? How?”

  “How would you feel if someone a thousand times your size gave you a nuggie?”

  “I barely touched him.” I said, suddenly feeling like the worst person alive as I gnawed on the inside of my cheek. That is, until I remembered Belial had just tricked me into walking into a branch for literally no reason. If anyone was the worst person alive, it was Belial…if he even was a person.

  “I am a person. Now are you going to look at the shop or should I close it for you, since I doubt you know how to close it yourself.”

  I sighed, deciding it best to give Waffle some space as I examined the collection of items still scrolling across my field of view. Most of them were vials, like the one Lucian had injected for my lungs, along with a collection of mechanical looking components, none of which I recognized. Each image had a number underneath that I guessed was its cost.

  The instant I stopped browsing a new window appeared in the center, as if it could tell I wasn’t interested in anything I was seeing. It displayed a collection of weapons, armor and food…along with some other useful looking supplies. Text scrolled along the top of the window, prompting me to attempt sounding the words out in my mind, Sug-est-ed…it-am?”

  “Wow. That was painful to listen to,” Belial said, as if I’d just raked my nails against glass, “It says suggested items. The AI makes recommendations based on what it thinks you need.”

  I tilted my head as one caught my eye. Somehow, focusing on it caused it to fill the entire screen and start playing some promotional video. It showed a cushioned pad unfurling into a big square on the ground before finally inflating into a tent. A silly looking monster gnawed on one of the tent’s corners, making a disgusted face before sulking and marching away.

  “Well, that’s misleading.” Belial commented, “Are they trying to imply that tents normally taste good to monsters?”

  I snorted, continuing to watch as the camera moved inside. I caught myself trying to lean closer, lips parting at what I saw. A bed—A real bed. It was made of some kind of rubber, but still…

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  Before I could demand Belial order it, a price tag exploded onto the screen, shredding any hope I had of sleeping in something that wasn’t a tree.

  “Even if I could get 800 credits, it’s just one more thing to carry.” I said, eying my hammer. “It’s already a pain lugging this thing around.”

  “Good point, I wonder if there’s any kind of storage or inventory—”

  Just then, Waffle shifted in my pocket, breaking into a sudden flurry of motion. I reached down check on him, panicking as I felt his weight disappear. Somehow, he’d managed to pull the zipper open with his paws.

  “Waffle!” I called out, voice cracking as I tried to search for him along the ground despite the shop blocking half my view. “Can you close the shop?!” I snapped, kneeling to sift blindly through the leaves around my feet. “Why are more windows popping up?!” A dozen new items appeared, half of them featuring some kind of animal. “BELIAL!”

  “I’m trying! It’s the stupid algorithm—it’s trying to sell you animal lures now. It won’t let me exit the shop with all these pop-ups open. Just stop wanting things for a second!”

  “Stop wanting things?!” Eyes closed, I took several deep breaths, trying to clear my mind before opening them again to see if it had gone. It hadn’t.

  I was ready to rip out my hair by the time it finally winked out, allowing me to see. My heart sank deeper into the pit of my stomach as I spun around, seeing no trace of Waffle anywhere.

  “Calm down,” Belial said, slowly. “I think I heard him scamper off that way.” He angled the arrow I’d been following up the hill to my right, directly into a thick wall of brush.

  I debated abandoning my hammer while I searched, going as far as to prop it against a tree before deciding I was being reckless. I would need it we ran into trouble.

  Arms out in front, I pushed through the wall of leaves, keeping an eye on the ground to make sure I didn’t unwittingly trample him. A small path opened up on the other side, cutting into the hillside and rounding the to the left.

  “Why would he run off like that?” I asked, one hand kneading my sternum as the other steered branches aside with my hammer.

  “I’m not a zoologist but maybe he smelled one of his kind or something.” His suggestion made me feel weak, like a piece of me had been torn away. The feeling surprised me. Was I already that attached to the little wombat? “Then again, I’m sure he’s just—hungry—or uh, twerking somewhere,” He added, nervously.

  I nodded listlessly, half-listening as my eyes pored over every inch of ground.

  On one hand, I wanted him to be happy, but he was just a baby. How was he supposed to survive on his own out here, surrounded by giant monsters, and gladiators trying to cash him in for credits? Would he even know how?

  Not seeing any reason Waffle would’ve gone further into the vegetation on either side, I followed the path, calling out for him as I rounded the corner. The trail ended a few steps ahead, dropping off into a cliff. Roots had grown above the dirt like veins, marking the edge.

  “Are you sure you heard him go this way?” I turned in place, trying to imagine where he might’ve gone as I chewed the inside of my lip.

  “I’m pretty sure,” he replied, doubt creeping into his voice.

  My heart sank as I turned in the direction we came from, only to freeze when I spotted something—a half-eaten leaf. Crouching, I picked it up to examine it, feeling hope bottling up in my chest as I turned it over to see its stem, still wet with tiny bite marks.

  Another lay a few steps ahead, then another. Each of them different and lightly nibbled, as if something had been sampling them. I followed the trail towards a small sapling, noticing teeth marks around the base of its shaft.

  “Is that why you ran off? You were hungry?” I whispered to myself, remembering the wall of leaves I walked into when Belial accidentally blinded me. Waffle must’ve decided they looked tasty when I pushed through them, then got frustrated when he couldn’t grab any with his arms stuck inside his pocket.

  My shoulders sank. Had I known, I would’ve given him all the leaves in the world...Instead, I just teased him.

  Belial let out a heavy sigh before surprising me with a genuine attempt at consoling me, “There’s no way you could’ve—”

  He trailed off as we both heard a faint sound. It came in spurts. A quiet rustling, like rain tapping on a roof, only it was far away and muffled somehow. I went still; breath lodged in my throat as I listened.

  “Waffle?” I asked finally, holding a hand against my chest.

  The rustling stopped, followed by a faint, uncertain ‘eehp’.

  “Waffle!” I blurted, rushing towards the sound and stumbling as a wave of relief washed over me, the weight of it folding my legs.

  The squeak came from a tree just beyond the sapling, this one about as thick as my thigh. I circled behind it, noticing a spot where the ground had given way, revealing a web of roots. Some of them had been gnawed down to barbs, their jagged ends sticking from the soil on either side. I knelt closer, feeling a spike of panic when I couldn’t find him in the darkness. He rasped out another chirp, this one almost pained.

  I cast my hammer to the side, hearing it plop against the ground as I dropped to my stomach, hands cupping my head directly over the hole. Tears welled in my eyes as they adjusted to reveal a tiny, purple wombat staring up at me from twenty feet below.

  It was nearly a straight drop down, steep enough that I wasn’t sure I could climb back out. A pile of loose soil had collected at the bottom, explaining the rustling noise I’d heard.

  “You can’t,” Belial warned, stopping me from sliding in after him. “The soil’s too loose. If the walls can’t support his weight without crumbling, then they can’t support yours.”

  Waffle seemed determined to reach me on his own. He snuffled in short, heavy breaths, as he tried to scramble up the wall, only to slide back down when the dirt gave way. He panted for a moment before trying again. I pushed my arm between the roots, reaching for him as he clawed upwards, his little arms working faster with every inch he slipped.

  It was no use. He barely made it halfway before his body gave out, landing on the loose soil below with a puff. I held my breath, about to drop down there until he rolled back onto his feet. He looked exhausted. Even in the dark, I could see his little body trembling as he tried to stand. He lifted his head, rasping out a mournful chirp before flopping on his belly with all four arms sprawled out at his sides.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out,” I said, lifting my head from the hole to search for something I could use.

  “Does the shop thing have rope?” I asked.

  “They do,” he answered, raising my hopes before crushing them completely. “it’s 1200 credits.”

  I cursed out loud, desperation leading my eyes to the sapling from before. It was almost the perfect height, if I lowered it to him, he should be able to latch on. “I’ll be right back,” I promised Waffle, standing and sprinting towards it.

  Nodding to myself, I wrapped both hands around the trunk, heaving and arching my back as my heels dug in on either side. I was surprised how sturdy it was, given its size. My muscles burned as the first roots began to snap, each muffled pop freeing it a little more.

  “I’m not sure this is a good idea—” He trailed, nervously.

  I roared with the effort, the labored cry shutting Belial up as I twisted to the side. My hands were raw by the time the last root snapped, sending me onto my ass with a thud—the sapling resting beside me. I pushed myself up, bending to pick it up when I felt something shift.

  “Fuck,” I said, suddenly understanding Belial’s warning as the ground began to crumble beneath my feet.

  Mangled roots raked across my body as I fell into darkness.

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