Scott and I had arranged to meet in the theater district of Galrinth, where the Wona Company's cut-scenes, montages, gameplay commentary, and new trailers could be viewed. Despite the content being less than classy, the district was designed to look like an ancient, outdoor amphitheater. Unlike everything I had seen in Basetier so far, the marble pillars and statues decorating it gave a different feel to the Renaissance setting.Arriving at the step-seats of the amphitheater, I spotted the Heavy Niche character class that David said he had chosen for his avatar. Despite the massive size of his body, his facial features looked relatively the same as in real life. The avatar's face could be set to something other than the default user's face, but from the look of him, he cared more about utility than spending time on his appearance.Scott was just as I remembered him, personality-wise anyhow. In real life, he was a scrawny, dreadlocked teenager, making his unaltered head look out of proportion on his armored, tank-like body. Being in such a classy-looking area, his gear made him stand out all the more."Stephen!" he exclaimed in his boyish voice, showing his head wasn't the only thing that didn't fit his avatar's body shape. "Hey man. It's been a while since I've seen you!""Funny, I saw you only yesterday," I remarked.He looked confused. "You did? But I don't—""You were busy, like the last three times I've visited," I pointed out.His eyes shifted guiltily. "I didn't know... but yeah, I guess I would have been now that I think about it."He fumbled for an excuse, and I remembered what Datalent told me about the importance of in-game friends. Still, despite knowing how important it was for me to keep Scott around, in order for me to accept him, I had to hear one word.Am I really so petty that I'd let our friendship hinge on whether or not he apologizes?"Sorry man, I just get sucked into a new game when I finally get my hands on it. You should know what I mean. Back in the day, I couldn't get you away from a good MMO," Scott explained, his massive shoulders hunched forward."Anyway, now that you're here with me, I can make up for all of my neglect by giving you the grand tour of Basetier! Where have you been so far?" he offered."I arrived here less than five hours ago. So far I've been to Widows' Forest and got enough Arachnid Silk for a robe," I replied, lifting the hem of my new garment with a little pride, despite the fact that Datalent had done most of the work."And here I thought you paid for it! That's one of the harder dungeons on Basetier!" Scott remarked, standing and stretching his back with a groan. "Ahhh! It's surprisingly realistic how the weight of the armor makes your back feel cramped if you don't have enough strength to wear it. How about I take you to my favorite dungeon then? We can take the Gateway to Toena and go from there to Mishiji Temple."I felt hesitant but I could tell that David was trying to make everything up to me. "Is it on Basetier?""Of course!" he assured me, patting me on the back, which made me stagger a bit. "Not like I'm going to make a noob like you go to Primatier without building up your abilities first.""Okay, sounds good. I think I'll need a new weapon, though," I mentioned as we began climbing the stairs leading back to Galrinth's main street. "I haven't really learned to forge yet, and my latest sword just broke.""No problem. Toena has some of the best weapon shops. Besides, I can see if any of my usuals want to come along. Rias and Keri don't mind the grind. We've done it enough times that it shouldn't be too difficult," Scott offered."Rias and Keri?" I inquired."Hah, they're my groupies," Scott chuckled. "Female Heavies look like those juiced-up woman bodybuilders. They're not very attractive, so most girl players avoid them. But tanks are necessary for parties on the higher-tiers, so I'm kind of a desired commodity for their group. Especially considering their last tank now suffers from narcoleptic spells and has become unreliable.""Was that—""Nah, he had sleeping problems before he started playing the game," Scott clarified, shaking his head. "You really need to stop paying so much attention to E-News. They're all bought off by the old console companies. You can't really trust their biased reports anyway."I laughed. "That's just like you to jump on a conspiracy theory.""Me?" Scott said, placing a hand on his chest in mock outrage. "What about Brock? Back in the day, he said things that made the Illuminati sound like a child's bedtime story."Walking beside a Heavy really changed up the way you could travel through a town. Crowds simply parted so they wouldn't be jostled aside. It seemed a common rule for two Heavies to avoid each other in the street, for a collision could affect more than just the two of them. On the other hand, if two Heavies were to fight, it would take a long enough time for the two to meet that people could get out of the way before the fight broke out. We moved past the first shops Datalent had ignored earlier and climbed the steps to the glowing Gateway in the bustling town square."Have you heard of any decent Spellcaster weapons?" I asked."Toena has some of the best smiths in Basetier. Although they're better for Warrior class weapons, their Monks and Shaman Forgers can whip up a decent staff or set of specialty armor," Scott explained as the Key Trigger for the Gateway popped up."Alright," I nodded, considering my options.I didn't know how Data would feel about me taking the initiative of buying a weapon without his say, but I didn't think he expected me just to sit on my butt and wait for him to get back. As the window popped up before me, I knew I had to be careful when touching the menu because the Logout option was right there alongside the Transfer option to move from place to place.Among the many fantasy settings in Basetier, I picked Toena. The sudden, forceful teleporting made me feel like I was being pulled up from deep underwater. My vision narrowed, and the sensation made me feel nauseous."Hey, Stephen, are you okay?" I heard Scott ask, sounding concerned.I looked up at the red sky and studied my surroundings. I spotted someone in the distance, but it was hard to make out at first. The person wore black leather garments specifically designed for quick movement. My first assumption was an assassin, although I didn't remember that Niche being an option in the tutorial.Where Keri had a generic white staff with a crystal at its end, Rias had a black throwing knife everywhere within convenient reach on her dark clothing."Oh, you're a Range Niche!" I blurted out as the throwing knives suddenly made sense to me.Rias's scowl turned on me, her arms crossed. "What's that supposed to mean?""Well, your garments make you look like an assassin, which didn't make sense to me at first because that wasn't a Niche option when I chose mine. It looks cool," I said, hoping a compliment would nullify her cold expression."Flattery will get you nowhere," she said and turned to Scott. "What's this about doing the Mishiji Temple again? We've done it five times already!"Scott raised his gauntleted hands. "There is a reason for that. I mean, we know it so well, and there's a less likely chance for things to go wrong so...""So," I decided to back him up. "I'm really new, and I would consider it a huge favor.""Tourist," Rias spat as though it were a slur.Keri walked over and pulled Rias to the side. She began whispering in Rias's ear, and her eyes widened before rolling in exasperation, but then she nodded."You're lucky, Keri thinks y—""Shut up!" Keri shouted and then smiled at me. "We're more than happy to help you out. But that doesn't mean we're not going to call on you when we need some firepower." I noticed the curious way she was looking at me, and I smiled with a shrug. "Okay, that sounds fair.""Alright, let's go!" Scott called.We followed him down a red-tiled pathway in the direction of the high walls around the city, where NPC archers wearing conical hats marched along the top.As we journeyed, Scott regaled me with tales of past adventures, his enthusiasm infectious. He spoke of narrow escapes, epic battles, and valuable loot. But amidst the excitement, my mind kept drifting back to the encounter with the dragon."That reminds me," I interrupted. "I encountered a dragon earlier."Scott stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening. "A dragon? Are you serious?"I nodded. "Yeah, it was in Widows' Forest. It was tough, but I managed to defeat it.""Wow, that's incredible!" Scott exclaimed, his voice filled with awe. "What did you do with it?""I used its material to make a dragon gauntlet," I replied, holding up my hand to show him the gleaming armor.Scott whistled appreciatively. "That's impressive. Dragons are no joke. You must be pretty skilled to take one down."I shrugged modestly, feeling a swell of pride at his praise. "It was mostly luck, I think.""Either way, it's a great accomplishment," Scott said, clapping me on the back. "You'll have to tell me all about it on the way to Mishiji Temple."With renewed excitement, we continued on our journey, the anticipation of new adventures filling the air.