"Bro, it's almost midnight."
Amber pointed toward the large wall clock. She stretched lazily, the soft fabric of her pink and white pajamas rustling as she moved.
"Jade and I came to check how your quest is going," Amber continued. "We're about to head to bed."
"Yeah, Marcus," Jade added, gently tugging his sleeve with playful insistence. "We're almost done with the Newbie Village already. Do you know when you'll finish the Four Spirits' Guard quest?"
Marcus blinked, finally pulling himself out of the lingering rhythm of battle still echoing in his mind. Hours spent grinding monsters inside the Mystic Turtle's Tomb had swallowed his sense of time completely. The maze on the first level alone had cost him far longer than expected, and only now did he realize how late it had become.
He also noticed, perhaps a little too late, that both girls had already changed for the night.
