I dodged the Kobolds and wandered the streets. It was still too early to meet Claire, and I had already mapped out the area around our meeting spot.

  I passed through a few shops, aimlessly browsing. It struck me as ironic—back in my old life, when money was tight, I wanted everything. I had to work hard for every little thing I needed or desired. Now, the stores were open and abandoned, and even with some items wiped out by the system, there was still so much left on the shelves.

  I thought about my apartment—everything it had once held. Yet only a handful of those things had ended up in my inventory. Now, I had to be realistic. With food needing to be earned daily and no way to store or cook it, most kitchen gear was pointless.

  One set of clothing made wardrobes and laundry obsolete.

  And I wasn’t studying anymore, so all the books and supplies I once needed? Useless now.

  I missed the internet—a little. But I was never big on social media, and I wasn’t the type to keep my phone glued to my hand. It was amazing, really, how little you actually needed to survive.

  I walked past the meeting spot for the third time before finally deciding to just sit and wait. I was way too early, and Claire hadn’t arrived yet.

  I must have waited an hour or two before my Communication Crystal started buzzing. When I looked up, I saw Claire’s smiling face.

  She really was a sunny, cheerful person—and I was genuinely glad she was the one I’d met. Somehow, she made this whole shitty situation feel a little more bearable.

  “I did it! I got a mannequin—only found one—but I used that, a PS5, and a game. Some LitRPG with a rogue class option… I transformed them, and I got the crystal! It took me a while to find everything, so I haven’t tested it yet, but I’m really optimistic!”

  She managed to say all of that in one breath without passing out.

  Yep, she was something else.

  “I’m glad you got it,” I said. “I’ll be practicing later too. I don’t like how the Kobolds keep getting stronger with each level.”

  She sobered a little. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that too. We can’t let them get too far ahead.”

  We both fell quiet, each of us lost in thought. There wasn’t much we could do about it, and I had no ideas on how to change the situation. Claire must’ve felt the same—because she changed the topic.

  “So… any news?”

  I chuckled softly. “Yeah, someone actually answered the Communication Crystal. An acquaintance from college.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Really? Does he know anything more?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “He’s just as clueless as we are. He chose the warrior class, and he is adjusting, just like us.”

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  Then I told her everything I’d been thinking about—the apartments, the Communication Crystal, the 'out of bounds' messages. All of it.

  “I’d like to know too,” she said. “None of my family or friends have answered yet. Some are listed as ‘out of bounds,’ and others just don’t have a Communication Crystal.”

  “I’ve got two Knowledge Shards,” I offered. “We could ask the system.”

  Claire sat cross-legged just in front of the barrier on her side, facing me. I was half-leaning against it, still facing her—one leg curled underneath me, the other stretched out in front.

  What struck me was how close we’d be if not for the barrier between us.

  And I liked that.

  “That’s a good idea. I also have two, so we’ve got enough for follow-up questions,” Claire said.

  “So… how should we ask?” I said. “I don’t think just saying ‘Where is everyone?’ is going to give us the answer we need.”

  She shook her head. “Yeah, maybe we should treat it like talking to an AI—you had to be super specific with your wording.”

  “So, we want to know if people are still alive, and if they are, where they are…”

  “Yup. So maybe… ‘What is the situation,’ or…”

  “Status?” I offered, hesitantly.

  Her face lit up. “Yes! ‘What is the current status of all people who lived… on Earth?’”

  “I think that should do it.”

  I took a Crysal out of my inventory and watched the message pop up,

  “I would like to ask a question. What is the current status of all people who lived on Earth?”

  We were both silent for a while.

  What I took from it was this: they were in parallel universes. My family and friends had their own space—sealed inside a barrier, in a universe far, far away.

  “That could explain why we can’t contact them,” I said eventually. “Their universe might just be… farther. I did get an upgrade to the Comm Crystal—extended range—but I was still thinking in terms of distance, not entire universes.”

  “I want to ask about pets… if that’s okay?” Claire said, a bit uncertain.

  I grinned at her. “You earned your crystal, Claire. You can use it however you want.”

  She nodded, then focused, going through the system prompt. After a brief pause, she asked hesitantly, “What happened to pets and other animals during the Translocation?”

  Claire looked genuinely happy, and I couldn’t blame her.

  Still, I found myself wondering about the animals that weren’t registered as companions—like wildlife. What happened to them? Would farm animals count as registered companion animals?

  Maybe… maybe not.

  “Did you see the end of the message?” Claire asked. “‘Should both parties desire it.’ I’m glad animals won’t have to go back to an abusive owner.”

  Yeah… I decided not to mention my thoughts about cows. Pretty sure that’s not something she’d want to think about right now.

  We spoke for a while longer and decided to use the Knowledge Crystals together to get more information about the system and other stuff we needed to know about. It just seemed logical to work together.

  We reluctantly left and I asked her to call me later because I wanted to know how her training crystal worked.

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  first Royal Road chapter of each pair. The second one won’t have pictures. If you want to see all the art together (or earlier), it’s on Patreon with the combined chapters!