When it was mentioned that Nadeum and Udepra neighboured each other in the Shalim system, this was based on their distance away from the sun. Udepra and Nadeum were the second and third planet counting away from their star, respectively.

Thankfully, even when we consider the phases of their orbits and the actual distance between them, it still wouldn’t take us more than half an hour to reach the volcanic planet from the oceanic one.

The Wandering 14 cruised on automatic guidance, heading for our destination. The problem was that the waypoint was not set on anything more specific than ‘the planet Udepra’.

“Where did you go last time again, Tim?” I gazed at the navigation window on my personal system, lying on the bed in the crew quarters of my ship.

Turning to look at the Mun musician still seated in the weaponry room,

“Ternaeb, was it? I can’t really find it on the search function.”

“It must have been abandoned, then. Reclaimed by tectonic activity.” He answered. “The settlements on Udepra may be resistant to its volcanoes, but even they can’t stand up to the movements of the lands.”

“Huh,” I pondered, “What a hectic world to live in.”

“Mm.” He nodded, saying nothing more while looking out of the side window.

I got up from the bed and walked over to the bridge. Connecting the transmission channel,

“Do you have any idea where’s a good place to land, Dawon?”

The voice from the ship flying behind us came with an immediate reply,

“Haven’t thought about it, either. Weren’t we going to where Timayther went last time?”

“It’s gone now, apparently.” I replied. “Towns being eaten up by tectonic plates is just a thing over there, I guess.”

“Oh well.” Dawon sighed, “Have you picked out a city then, KC?”

“I was thinking of discussing it with you now,” I brought the topic up. “A decent town with similar features to Ternaeb that won’t be destroyed anytime soon; that’s a good place to start, right?”

“Sure.”

She brought up her own search terminal, and we began discussing potential candidates for where we’re landing once we reach Udepra.

After a few rounds of elimination, we settled on Mavacena, a smaller town a tiny bit south of the equator, not too close to a volcano and overseeing one of the planet’s seas.

“I hope there’s a good hangar there, I don’t know how you’ll land the Steadfast 07 otherwise.” I commented.

“It’ll be fine,” She responded. “Some of the extensions will morph to support it when it lands on the ground.”

Dawon’s starting ship had a very… unique shape, to say the least. The back of the dark brown fuselage tapered to a point, from which eight or nine thick appendages extended outwards. Links to these attachments wound back around to cover half of the ship in a complex, interlocking pattern, while four more of the pseudopod-like extensions served as its wings.

It’s easier to see the Steadfast 07 as a wooden sculpture of abstract modern art, instead of a functioning ship. It is, however, a fully flight-capable spacecraft; all the interior facilities our ships had was present on it as well.

The cockpit was relatively normal, aside from the thin network of nerve-like patterns covering it.

“We can get a simpler looking ship, if you’d like.” I suggested. “We’ll pool the credits for it, it’s not like I have much use for the money anyway…”

“Don’t worry about it, KC.” She reassured me, “This ship has its own way of doing things, unlike any other ship I’ve seen before.”

“Alright then, if you say so.”

I didn’t doubt her words; there was enough trouble trying to figure out how the Steadfast 07 flew without a jet exhaust. Having ‘its own way of doing things’ is an understatement.

Now that we’ve agreed on Mavacena as our new destination, I marked it on the ship navigation and let the automatic guidance alter the course of travel accordingly.

---

At this point in time, the planet Udepra was already in my view from the Wandering 14. The planet had areas covered in ocean just like the Earth did, but the brownish tint of the land was like the soil on Mars. Streaks of a stronger, darker red crisscrossed the planet’s continents, giving it a scarred appearance. Even the water seemed to be a shade of maroon, at least when compared to the seas on Nadeum.

The whole thing looked intimidating to me, to be honest. As expected from a planet that birthed such a mighty race of titans, I guess? Maybe Nadeum was like this as well and I just didn’t get to look at it as much.

There were still a few minutes before we break through the atmosphere of the planet, so I brought up the chat window to check up on everyone.

Bona: You’re doing what, Yeonjung?

Yeonjung: It’s nothing much, unnie. They’ll just send us down to Nillon and exterminate some mirage moths for the people in the affected area, that’s all.

Yeonjung: Only one ship per team, though, so all five of us are in Yeoreum’s ship.

Dayoung: We’re getting along pretty well, unnie. Niania even brought snacks for all of us!

Chengxiao: Hope you’re all ready for the battle, Dayoung.

Chengxiao: Yeoreum’s the leader, right? Listen to her and don’t panic if things go wrong.

Dayoung: Okay 👌

Yeoreum: You can count on me 💪

Seems like they’re doing pest control, from what I heard? Seeing as it’s on Nillon, however,

You: The Schor Tabem family won’t get caught up in the battle, right, Yeoreum?

Yeoreum: It’s pretty much on the opposite side of the planet from Kremur Falls, KC.

Yeoreum: I don’t know if other macebearers or strong monsters will be here, but as long as we don’t try anything dangerous it’ll be fine.

You: Alright. Good luck, girls!

Dayoung: Time to get back the time I lost 💢 🔫🔫

With that settled, I scrolled up to see what else the members were talking about earlier. Reading the messages, I got a general idea of what everyone was up to.

The ’99 line is on Nillon, as we heard.

Eunseo’s met up with Xiao on Kamag, and it seems like they’re waiting for Meiqi to join them before they set off to find Gilbert.

Bona’s joined a research collective of sorts, and she’s going back to the megaforest she spawned in to conduct some studies; Xuanyi’s arming herself and her ship to protect her when they’re there.

SeolBin’s still in the Solar system. The last I’ve heard of them was back on Charon, but they talked about going to Pluto or Venus?

As for Exy and Luda, it’s the same story as last time. Exy’s gone back to her trade after a successful expedition to Yomborae, and Luda’s helping move her energy transport company’s project along.

Looks like no one’s come into a real problem, from what I can see. Reassured, I can now focus on Dawon and Timayther’s matter fully.

Eunseo: How was Dawon’s performance, KC?

You: It was fantastic 👍👍

You: Not every day I get to see the soulful voice of WJSN sing with a whole alien in an underwater diner, so I definitely didn’t regret my decision.

Luda: That sounds pretty wild when you say it like that.

Yeonjung: So, what are you two up to now?

You: We’re on the way to Udepra to see what I can do with the Nysertium I mined, as well as to try looking into the Mun Shaen discrimination rumours on our own.

Dawon: KC insisted that we bring Tim, my performing partner, there to see it for himself.

Yeonjung: Alright, unnie. Be careful.

Dawon: 👌

Be careful, huh.

I reminded myself to keep a minimal level of caution about us as we approached our destination. All that I know of the Shaen points towards their loyal, trustworthy demeanor, but there’s always an exception to everything.

I braced on the controls of my ship as it entered Udepra’s rather foggy, orange-yellow atmosphere and subjected itself to the planet’s burning temperatures.

I say ‘burning’, but it wasn’t nearly as hot as Chao was without the protective barrier. The Wandering 14 adjusted itself in no time and flew onwards unperturbed.

“A little hot, isn’t it, KC.” Dawon’s voice sounded through the transmission channel.

“I figured as much from a planet riddled with volcanoes.” I replied with an unsurprised tone.

As the vision cleared from my view, I began to see the earth on Udepra more clearly.

The red streaks visible from orbit came from the soil and rock which had that colour. Arranged in short landforms that meandered gently along the ground, they gave off the appearance of a droughted wasteland. In reality, a sparse amount of shrubbery dotted the more untouched lands of the planet equally, whether in the red or the brown areas.

We saw the flatlands alternate with the more geologically active areas as we coasted along the land towards our destination. Throughout the journey, we didn’t see any of the volcanoes erupt, though plenty of them churned out lava and smog mildly and constantly.

I’ve never seen a volcano in real life, so observing a cluster of them up close was overwhelming, from above in my ship, no less; I couldn’t help staring at them from my pilot seat.

We eventually left the dangerous area, coming into contact with the coastline of the particular landmass we were on.

In the distance, I finally saw a settlement of low-lying buildings, interspersed with a network of streets that arranged them in ordered trellises. The houses and structures were brick-red with black frames, and the roads looked like they were made of sandstone.

There were a few transporters travelling back and forth on the roads, but this small town had an overall appearance far from the futuristic cityscapes of the other places I’ve been.

Looks like we’re here: Mavacena.

---

As expected, Mavacena didn’t have a fully featured hangar for travelers to use, but at least it had a clearing prepared for our ships to park; an expanse of open land that could fit fifty or so personal spacecrafts.

Only seven or eight of the spaces were occupied, so we set down our ships in a suitable spot without much issue.

Dawon’s Steadfast 07 landed right next to my own ship, and I could see some of the extensions move to the bottom of the hull. Turning into a shape resembling a bird’s foot, it touched the ground and supported the ship in place.

It was quite something to see, but I didn’t stay to look as flight control sent me the okay to leave my own ship.

I didn’t hear a sound out of Timayther throughout the trip, apart from our previous exchange. I assumed that he was still tense about the whole thing, but when I left the bridge to move towards the hatch, I saw that he was asleep, upright on the seat in the weaponry room.

Makes sense, if you think about it. It was evening on Meritus Selatan during the performance, so this is about night time for him? I don’t know how many hours in a day Nadeum had, but it’s a plausible explanation nonetheless.

“Wake up, Tim.” I shook the fluid lifeform awake. “We’re here.”

“Wha…” He grogged.

‘Opening’ his crystalline eyes, my face was reflected in them.

“Oh, it’s just you, Mr KC.”

“Yes, it’s me.” I answered. “Time to get some sun.”

I waited for him to collect himself and left the ship together with him. It was afternoon in Mavacena, so the purple-red sun shone nice and brightly on the landing area. Adding to the already warm climate, being under the sun sure felt toasty to us.

I had the Hazard Shield to alleviate some of the strong sunlight, but Timayther definitely didn’t.

“Let’s hurry through the immigration and get you some shade.” I told him.

“I’m up for that.” He replied.

We joined up with Dawon and headed over to the immigration counter, which was a single stall by the exit of the landing area, sort of like a security post. As expected from a small town, the procedures were over quickly, and we walked towards one of the transporters lined up outside the clearing. On most of them, the word ‘Taxi’ was painted in bold red letters on the side.

The human driver greeted us as we approached him and asked where we were going.

As we made ourselves comfortable in the transporter,

“Mavacena Town Centre…” I began, but quickly changed my mind. “Do you know if there are any good music venues around here?”

“Music venues?” He returned the question, “Like full-on music festivals or just gatherings of people playing songs?”

“Gatherings. That’s a good place to start.”

“Then you’re in luck, friend! It’s the weekend right now on Udepra, and most of the streets are alive with music on an afternoon like this.”

He explained, “Mavacena isn’t as big as the cities when it comes to festivities, but we have a pretty active community of independent performers ourselves.”

“I see,” I nodded, looking impressed. “Can you recommend a good place to see them play? I’m sorry, we really don’t know anything about this place.”

“No problem. Travelling blind has its own charms after all.” He reassured us. “I’ll take you to Susan Square: That’s my go-to street for eating out, and the musicians aren’t fussy about trying out new things there.”

“Alright, thanks.” I responded.

The transporter had four seats including the driver’s, two in front and two behind it. I sat next to the river while Tim and Dawon were at the back. I thought that we’d be exposed to the sun in the open-air vehicle, but it had its own shield that shaded us from the sunlight as we set off on our journey.

“Susan Square, huh?” I turned back to look at the two people behind me. “We came at a good time, don’t you think so?”

“I’m looking forward to see what it’s all about.” Dawon shared my excitement. “Li Shaen music, can’t wait to hear it.”

“I guess.” The Mun Shaen next to her was still reserved. “At least I can see them play without having to join in.”

Hovering along, the transporter brought us into the midst of Mavacena. Passing the town centre, it headed southwards and away from the seaside.

“Aw, I wanted to chill at the beach.” I said.

“Not staying long, sir?” The driver asked. “I can take you somewhere closer to the sea instead, if you like.”

“It’s okay, just stick with our original plan.” I answered him.

Thinking about it, I probably won’t enjoy the beach as much with how disturbing the maroon colour of the seawater was.

Which reminds me,

“My friend here doesn’t really have anything to protect him from the heat. Do you know anything that can cool him down or take the sun away?” I told the driver.

Hmm, he thought about it for a while.

“Mavacena doesn’t really have specialized tech outlets, not even downtown.” He finally spoke. “Best you can do is buy a used shield off someone who’s upgraded to a newer version.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks for the information.”

Players had no problem repairing the Hazard Shield when we first started, but that’s only fixing a broken part we already had. The core of the shield itself looks rather complicated and expensive to craft, so I don’t think we could make one from scratch for Timayther either.

We spent the rest of the trip looking at the scenery of the town, as well the volcanoes in the distance away from it. For a planet with such a foggy atmosphere, the air was surprisingly clean.

---

We got off at Susan Square, and I paid the driver with a handshake. The prompt appeared in front of me as our hands gripped each other, and I approved the transfer of credits as the taxi’s fare. He pointed us in the direction of where the venue supposedly was, before driving off.

“You’ll be some tables and chairs placed around a tiled area. It’s a bit like an outdoors café, with parasols and all.”

That was what he said before he left.

Left alone with nothing more than a direction, all the three of us could do is follow it.

“Will you be alright, Tim?” Dawon asked the person drawing short breaths between us.

“It’s just a little heat I’m not used to, give it time.”

He emphasized that he was okay.

Well, he didn’t say anything about the heat when he told us about his previous time on Udepra, especially since he was young back then.

I guess the time spent cooped up in his studio is taking a toll on his body, huh.

Walking on the streets of this particular section of the town, we could hear the muffled beat of a song being played on every other block. A pluck of an acoustic guitar here, a drum performance there; Susan Square felt like a living palette of sound to my ears.

Among the steel encased buildings that lined up the roads, a few of them were dyed in multicoloured murals. Depicting the urban lifestyle and culture of the native Li Shaen, every piece of art was fascinating to look at.

"Is the music scene like this on Nadeum, Tim?" I asked.

"No, it's quite different." He answered, "Like me, most people on Nadeum dream of making it big as a DJ or a producer. Making hit songs, playing for gigantic venues, handling raves and parties..."

"There's a focus on electronic music in the Nadean music industry, KC." Dawon added. “Now that I’m hearing the instruments here on Udepra, I can see the contrast.”

“So that’s how it is.”

If the oceanic Nadeum played with ‘digital’ music… the volcanic Udepra will tend towards ‘analog’ songs, then?

Quite a few genres already popped up in my head. Rock? Jazz? Orchestral?

"We usually start out by performing in smaller underground clubs, trying to get our music out there." Timayther continued. "I haven't gotten much luck in that department these days."

“And the Li will try their luck at open mic performances on days like these, right?” I hazarded a guess.

“That’s what I heard.” Tim replied, as Dawon nodded along.

“Interesting to know.”

Magma and ice, analog and digital, stages and clubs… Finding the differences between the two Shaen races was proving to be a fun pastime for me.

But enough of that, I told myself.

Taking another glance at Dawon, she was wearing the same dress she had during the performance in Hinagakure: A white top covered by a peach-coloured cardigan, paired with a long skirt a stronger pink in colour.

I belatedly realized that I was also in my own casual clothes the whole time;

It would seem that I have forgotten about my spacesuit, which was still in the laundry machine on my ship at the end of Day 1.

Still, it wasn’t like I’d seen a lot of action in the past few hours. The fabrics are holding up just as well as I thought.

I adjusted the fit on my shirt, then moved over to talk to the WJSN member which was with me.

“So how are the girls doing with their fitness, Dawon?” I asked. “I hear more of them are working out now.”

“Oh, the members?” She responded. “So-so, I guess. The usual suspects slacking off their classes are still there.”

“I see,” I chuckled. “Hopefully the fitness teacher doesn’t chew them out too badly… Or maybe he should!”

Dawon giggled along with me.

“As we continue to promote, the company’s learning about nutritional and physical plans that are more suitable for us as well, thanks to the teacher’s input and feedback.”

“That’s good.” I nodded. “And I assume you’re keeping your body in check as well?”

“Well…” She trailed off.

“Girl, if you don’t—” I began.

“It’s only one cheat day per week!” She tried to explain herself.

“Oh, that.” I sighed in relief. “I was ready to scold you for not taking care of your health.”

“Ah,” She understood. “No problems there, KC. “Of course, we can’t do anything about the flu seasons and all, but we’re staying warm and well-rested these days. You don’t have to worry about us.”

“I hope so.” I cast her a look of faux doubt, but showed a helpless smile soon after.

She returned a sincere smile of her own, saying nothing more.

---

After some time, the street opened up before us, revealing a plaza where quite a few people were. In the corner of the tiled square was a couple of shaded tables, with three or four chairs per table. The outdoors furniture was arranged in front of an elevation, where simple audio equipment was placed. On the stage, someone was already singing to an accompaniment of music.

I felt the lively, acoustic song flow through the vessels of my body, conveying a sensation of carefree excitement.

As I thought. Looking closer, underneath the simple clothes of the singer was a body that glowed the red of magma: A Li Shaen.

I already saw a few of them on the way here, but there weren’t as many of them as I thought in this part of Mavacena.

Did the taxi driver intentionally direct us to a minority community in this town? I wasn’t sure.

We walked over to the venue and seated ourselves at a table, listening to the performance.

The performer looked at us and did a simple greeting, which we returned.

The accompaniment he sang to was a recording, rather than a live performance. Still, the fact that his voice alone was able enough to resonate with my body is proof of the efficacy of the Shaen’s influence.

I turned to look at Tim, leaned on his back on the chair. He’s clearly thankful to the organizers of this event for the parasol above our heads.

…So the umbrella was enough after all.

I could only blame myself for worrying too much about him.

A few minutes passed as we silently listened to the set of songs he performed. I laid back and closed my eyes, trying to pay more attention to the music. It didn’t strengthen the effect the singer’s vocals had on me, merely letting me to pick out the more subtle details on his singing instead. It was nowhere near perfect, but impressive.

We joined in the applause after he was done. Like in real life, the few people that stayed for the performance and some of the passerbys clapped their hands for him.

He bowed to the audience and left, making way for the next act to come on stage for their turn.

As people went up on stage and moved equipment around, I heard someone humming on my side. I turned to look at Timayther.

He was quietly singing one of the songs the Li Shaen sang, although he didn’t quite remember what the lyrics were.

Immediately, I felt whatever worries I had start to melt away into nothingness.

Tim was just casually following along to the song he heard; was that enough to trigger the Shaen influence on his listeners?

Still,

“You felt that in your head, right, Dawon?” I asked the person in front of me, opposite the table.

She nodded in agreement.

“Oh, sorry,” The Mun musician apologized. “Didn’t realize I let it slip.”

“No problem.” I consoled him. “Rather than that,”

I leaned forward, bringing my face closer to Tim and Dawon.

“Your and that guy’s singing affect the people who hear them differently, right?”

“Now that you mention it,” My fellow human realized what I was talking about.

“Ah, that.” Our fluid friend also caught on.

“Of course, there are exceptions to both cases,” He explained. “But generally, yes: The Li music’s effects begin from the body, while the ones we perform take effect starting from the mind.”

“Another contrast.” I commented, “You guys are as different as you are similar, aren’t you?”

Timayther showed me little more than a wry smile.

A song began to play at this time. I looked back to the stage to see a band performing this time.

There were five people on the elevation: Two Li Shaen, a mechanical lifeform I wasn’t sure was Magna or not, and two other people whose race I didn’t know. The Li were on drums and an acoustic string instrument, while the android played from what looked like a grand piano.

Of the other two people, the silver-marked humanoid performed on a cello-like instrument, while the woman with compound eyes took the role of lead vocal.

The song we were listening now was a form of light rock, upbeat but nothing I needed to rave to. The influence of the Li’s parts had a similar effect.

I did like the singer’s clear, mellow tone, though. It fit the genre well and reminded me of an artist I knew in real life.

I stole a short glance at the two people with me, and it looked like the performance had their attention as well.

It was unfortunate that no one served food or drinks for this particular event; I could really use a glass of lemonade right now.

“I’m going to look for something to drink nearby,” I told them. “Want anything?”

“Something refreshing.” Dawon answered.

“Same here, Mr KC.” Tim followed up.

“Sure.”

---

As Mavacena wasn’t a particularly tourist-heavy town, I didn’t have trouble finding a local to direct me to the nearest shop; the elderly Li I approached was friendly as she gave me the directions to one. Following her instructions, I found a convenience store not far from the square.

I chose three bottles of Picca Clear Lemonade and one distilled water, paid the cashier and returned to the plaza. It looked like the band performed one or two more songs for the audience while I was gone.

I went back to our table and gave one bottle of lemonade each to Tim and Dawon, stored the water in my inventory and uncapped my own Picca. It was as good as I thought it would be, especially fresh from the cooler.

As the band onstage took a short break from playing, the members looked around the crowd of people listening to them.

The vocalist laid her eyes on us, then suddenly looked surprised. As we looked at each other in confusion, she went over to her silver bandmate and whispered a few words into his ear.

Soon after, the two of them got off the stage and approached us.

“Is there something wrong, guys?” I began.

“The person with you,” Glancing at Timayther, the celloist began. “He’s a Mun Shaen, isn’t he?”

The woman peeked at him from behind her bandmate.

“Um,” Dawon started.

Tim looked like he was going to shiver.

“Yes, he is.” I stated firmly. “Is there a problem with him being here?”

If the discrimination against Mun musicians did exist on Udepra, I wanted to see it clearly for myself.

“Oh no, not at all!” He waved his hand, taken aback from my words. He had an expression of being misunderstood, so I kept quiet as I listened to him.

“Maishi was just wondering if he was a Nadean musician,” He continued. Pointing at the case by Tim’s seat. “That’s a hypnogram, isn’t it?”

The grey, patterned case was rectangular, except for an extension in one corner. Based on the shape and the celloist’s question, I could guess that he was referring to the modular board Tim played back on Meritus Selatan.

“It’s a featherend hypnoteal, to be exact.”

Dawon’s producer partner was still hesitant, but he spoke calmly and clearly.

“It’s still a string modular, right?” I could see the silver humanoid lifeform becoming excited.

“This is the first time we’ve seen someone who plays one!” The lady called Maishi added. “The fabled family of digital instruments that represents the face of Nadean music!”

I looked at Dawon in surprise. It didn’t seem that she was aware of the instrument’s popularity outside Nadeum either.

That the instruments themselves are well-known to others must mean something about the reputation of Nadean music in the system, if not the entire Frontier.

“My name is Pari Dowmoto,” He finally introduced himself, “I’m the leader of Cindercoy, the band up there on stage right now.”

He waved to the other three people hanging around on the elevation, and they nodded in return.

“If you don’t mind,” Turning back to face us, or rather, Timayther, he slowly asked, “Can you join us on stage for a song or two? I’d really like to perform with you!”

“Wait, seriously?” I exclaimed on reflex. The opportunity falling onto our lap this easily was something I never expected; I thought they’d ask Tim to show them a loop from his instrument at best.

“What’s wrong?” Still holding on Pari’s shoulder, Maishi asked about my reaction. “Is there a reason why he can’t play or something?”

Dawon and I looked again at each other. The shine in her eyes was probably the same as what she would see in mine.

This is the break we were looking for!

“Tim!” The two of us turned to look at him at the same time.

“…I don’t know.” The Mun replied.

---

Seeing him shrink back in response, I held myself back from recklessly forcing him along like I did last time.

“…Alright then. If you really don’t want to do it, we won’t make you.” Dawon consoled him.

“I’m sorry, guys.” I said to the two members of Cindercoy. “I don’t think he’s up for it this time. Nam Dawon here’s a vocalist, though! Maybe she could join you instead?”

“Wait, me?” She shot me a glance.

“Yeah.” I responded. “You’ve worked on a few songs with Tim, right? If you share the sheets with the band, we can get DT Coastline’s music spread around without having to make Tim perform at all!”

Dawon fell into thought, considering my suggestion seriously.

“DT Coastline?” Pari tilted his head in curiosity.

“That’s Tim and Dawon’s group name. They’re a new duo act, as far as I know.” I scratched my head as I told him about the two of them.

“Excuse me”

“So you’re trying to get your songs out into the crowd?” He reiterated what I said. I nodded in response.

“We’re in the same boat, then!” The silver-marked celloist grinned.

“Hello?”

“Yeah, if Miss Dawon can join us for a while, we’ll be glad to cover one or two of your songs.” Maishi added.

As we were reaching an agreement,

“GUYS”

The voice caught us off guard.

The three of us turned our attention onto the person raising his hand, still shaded from the Udepran sun by the table parasol.

“Oh, sorry. We got too ahead of ourselves.” Pari apologized.

“Yeah, it’s your music after all, Tim.” I added. “You make the call.”

“Um,”

What he did instead broke my expectations.

Standing up from his seat and reaching for the patterned case,

“If you’re going to perform my songs,” He stated, “At least let me show you how it’s supposed to be played.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Fair enough, he is the composer after all.”

“We look forward to your guidance, sir.” Pari jokingly clasped his hands and bowed.

“Please don’t call me that,” Uncomfortable with the title, Tim brushed it off. “Timayther will do.”

Together with Pari and Maishi, he and Dawon walked back to the stage to meet up with the other Cindercoy members.

Knowing nothing about music, I stayed at the table and took another sip of lemonade.

As the four of them went in front of the crowd, however,

“…Wait, is that a Mun Shaen?”

Someone in the audience began,

“You’re right!”

“That box,” Another voice added, “It’s a string modular!”

“A Nadeum musician!”

“What’s he doing here?”

I could hear the crowd rile up seeing Tim’s figure on the elevation.

Uh oh,

I tried to calm myself down.

…If things go wrong, run and grab Tim with me, use the emergency summon on my ship and tell Dawon to do the same, try not to get caught until it arrives, get in the ship and fly away.

I summarized the plan in my head.

As long as no one starts using Guardian powers on us, we should be fine.

When the Li band members saw him, they also put away their equipment and approached him straight away.

Here it comes…!

“Are we finally going to actually hear Mun music live!?”

“Oh man, my friends at work are going to be so mad they missed this!”

“Bro, where are you? Come to Susan Square now! We have a Mun Shaen with us!”

…Huh?

When they crowd was getting heated, it was because they were getting excited. Things were heating up in anticipation instead of resentment!

I looked back onto the stage and saw the Li drummer and acoustic shake hands with Tim enthusiastically. The look of joy on their faces was just like that on Pari and Maishi. The mechanical pianist wasn’t as thrilled, but he still smiled politely at our producer friend.

The audience I was in began to cheer for Tim and the Cindercoy members. I saw the look of confusion on their faces turn into surprise as they began to understand what was going on.

The shocked look on Tim’s face was probably something I won’t forget for a long time.

“You can do it, Dawon! Tim!” I shouted towards the stage. “The people want to see you perform!”

Tim remained speechless while Dawon raised her fist at me in victory, a gesture which I returned.

The seven people on stage hurriedly took the copies of music sheet Timayther and Dawon passed around, and studied it.

They said something to the Mun musician, to which he shook his head at first. However, after continued persuasion from both the band and his vocalist partner, Tim finally gave up and agreed.

After a few minutes, they were ready to perform. Well, ready as a band with music sheets still in front of them was, at least.

The crowd quieted down as Pari took the microphone.

“How are you enjoying the afternoon, everyone?” He began,

Sweeping his gaze across the people listening, which was gradually growing in size as the news spread,

“As you might have figured, we will be joined by a special guest for the next few songs! Please show your hands to…”

Gesturing towards the Mun Shaen producer and Human vocalist standing side by side on the stage,

“Timayther Gerrinie and Nam Dawon, DT Coastline!”

The audience broke into applause as they welcomed the duo onstage. I didn’t forget to throw in a few cheers of my own.

---

On the elevation by the square that was turned into a stage for this music event, seven people and two music groups stood before the crowd, the eager eyes of the people all on them.

Front and center, the Mun Shaen musician, Timayther Gerrinie, glanced at his partner beside him: The Human vocalist, Nam Dawon. She returned a confident gaze in response.

The lead vocal of Cindercoy, Maishi, was beside her, while the band’s leader, Pari Dowmoto, set himself on the cello-like instrument behind Tim’s position.

On either side of them were the Li acoustic player and drummer, as well as the android by his grand piano.

Only the murmur of the lands could be heard, as Mavacena’s Susan Square went silent in anticipation for the performance.

I could see Tim take a deep breath…

And then it began.

I had no idea how Cindercoy was able to do it in such a short amount of time, but they came up with an arrangement of Sunset Flower that was suitable for their musical instruments.

As the acoustic strings and chords played their version of DT Coastline’s debut song, Timayther conducted the synths and pads from his hypnoteal along them, as if guiding them through the music he composed.

The resulting performance of the song was a great showcase of the synergy acoustic and electronic instruments could achieve. Though, if I were to say it myself: As an Ujung, I already knew.

However, this was only from the musical standpoint.

A few seconds into the unplugged Sunset Flower, the warm rays of the sunset and the smell of the flowers came into my senses.

My mind was clear, undistracted by the cheers of the crowd and the heat of Mavacena’s afternoon.

Other than the feeling of tranquility coming over my whole body, nothing more happened as the song continued.

Dawon looked at her partner as she finished the first chorus, coordinating her vocals with his performance.

As if basking in the moment, Tim worked a flourish of his own into the song, supporting her golden voice.

Pari and the rest literally beamed from ear to ear as they followed along to the two’s lead, overjoyed at finally getting to play with a Nadean musician on the stage.

The three- or four-minute number finally finished, and what it left wasn’t a feeling of wanting more from the band.

It was… satisfaction. Completion. The relief that came with a worthwhile closure and a happy ending.

---

“How was it, everyone!?”

This time, it wasn’t Pari who shouted into the microphone. It was Maishi, who literally jumped in excitement in front of the audience.

Everyone cheered in response, not least myself.

“Give it up for Timayther and Dawon: DT Coastline!” She continued.

For the amount of people in the crowd, the resulting applause was roaring, drowning everything else I could hear from the city.

I guess that was why we didn’t see it coming.

“Please say a few words to everyone, Tim!” Pari added, gesturing our fluid friend to stand forward and speak.

With small steps, he reached for the mic Maishi gave him.

“…Good afternoon, everyone.” He began. “My name is Timayther Gerrinie, and this is Nam Dawon.”

The human girl beside him slightly bowed to the audience in response.

“I really couldn’t have done it without the talented, enthusiastic members of Cindercoy.” Tim continued, “To be honest, I didn’t think anyone on Mavacena or the entire planet would let me play in public.”

Almost everyone reeled back at his words.

Who gave him that idea!?

If I find that bastard, they’re gonna catch these hands!

However, Tim wasn’t able to finish his next sentence.

“That’s why, the kindness everyone showed me today is something I’ll nev—”

“BBBOOOOOOOOMMMM—!”

A deafening explosion erupted in the distance.

Immediately after, similar explosions resounded throughout Susan Square in succession, continuing throughout the rest of Mavacena.

I could see lava spurt out of the cracks in the ground around us. Molten rock violently ejected themselves out of the breaches that appeared throughout the plaza, threatening to burn everything they touch.

I jumped away from my seat with my clear lemonade in hand, barely avoiding the lump of lava that melted through the chair I was on.

The people in the crowd got out of the way as well, with a few panicked shouts here and there.

What in the world was happening!?

I remembered what Timayther said back on my ship.

Is this the day Mavacena is claimed back by the lands?

That was what I thought.

On stage, the two Li Shaen bandmates moved quickly, standing back and forth covering the other five people behind their backs.

“The cracks are coming from the ground, not from the volcano or nearby any tectonic plates.” The drummer announced loudly, his voice calm and deep.

“This isn’t a reclamation; it’s a challenge!” The acoustic player continued.

Everyone in the crowd understood what they were saying. The rest of Cindercoy nodded their heads as well.

Dawon and I looked at each other, clueless. Even Timayther groaned in response as if he knew what was coming.

What happened next was akin to a form of evacuation, but I saw an interesting pattern form. No matter their age or appearance, the Li Shaen stayed back and calmly assisted the people from other races out of the square and… away from Mavacena?

One of them, a young child of the Li, directed me to an escape route, asking me if I got hurt by the lava anywhere.

“Just let me get to my friends and then we’ll escape.” I told her.

Wait, I thought. These people are civilians, aren’t they? We weren’t.

Rushing over to the elevation, I yelled to the two Li Shaen moving with the rest of the band.

“The two of us are explorers!” I explained, “Me and Dawon! Can we help?”

As I joined up with the seven people moving north from the plaza, one of them answered.

“Explorers!”

The acoustic player didn’t hesitate to recruit our help. “As long as you don’t interfere with the main engagement, you can help other people in town escape!”

The other Li nodded his head in agreement, his obsidian eyes staring straight at me.

“Main engagement?” Dawon asked. “What do you mean?”

Trying his best to run, it was Tim who answered.

“The Shaen is descended from the forces of our planets, Nadeum and Udepra, but that doesn’t mean that those forces are gone.”

Between short pants of breath, he continued.

“As they continue to wreak their havoc across the earth, various sentient races come forth in their wake, the same way we did.”

“And these races,” The acoustic player Li Shaen added.

“They vie for the top of the food chain, the highest rank in the hierarchy… The title of ‘dominant race’ which we hold.”

I began to understand the situation that was unfolding around us right now.

“Hence, the challenge.” He concluded. “The rulers of the planet must answer this call and respond to their invasion in kind.”

“This is also why only the Li Shaen can participate in the main engagement here on Udepra.” Timayther commented. “Even I’m not allowed to do a thing.”

“RUMBLE—”

A spire of glowing rock suddenly rose between the emptied buildings, on the opposite side of the street we were running on. It was glowing brighter and redder than any of the other breaches around us.

“That’s—!!” Maishi exclaimed as she looked at the protrusion.

“Looks like it’s chosen us, hasn’t it?” The drummer spoke.

“That is has, brother.” The acoustic player replied.

Facing the towering rock, the two Li Shaen urged us to move away.

“Find a good place to hide that isn’t in a building!”

“We’ll hold it off until the others come!”

Heeding their warning, we scattered away from the spire into the other streets.

Pari, Maishi and the mechanical lifeform ran to one side, while the three of us travelers rushed to another.

As we got away, I could hear them shout at the spire.

“Taran Reciaja of the Li Shaen answers your challenge!” The drummer announced.

“Eretham Reciaja of the Li Shaen answers your challenge!” The acoustic player proclaimed as well.

Almost in response, the spire shone much brighter, before it exploded. I closed my eyes as the flash of light blinded everyone that looked at it.

When the flash subsided, I opened my eyes to see a burning figure standing on the crater where the spire should have been, its furious eyes set onto Taran and Eretham.

It was a muscular, topless person wearing only a trouser. However, where a human head should be was instead that of a lion. The entire body of the challenger was clad in a ruby-like lustre, and the mane of his lion head flowed gracefully, glowing bright orange from the fire that burned within.

The two Li Shaen brothers merely snorted in response.

“A Flagrant Roar dares try to establish his territory here in Li land just because it is small and away from the cities?”

“We’ve faced armies of thousands that rose straight from the depths of hell; your barbarity is but kindling to us.”

The lionhead lifeform let out a terrifying roar towards their provocation. At the same time, rumbling could be heard and the ground around us began to shake.

Eretham turned to me and Dawon, ordering,

“The Flagrant Roar is summoning his underlings to destroy the houses and shops around the area! Take them out and rescue anyone that may still be trapped in the buildings!”

“Got it.” I nodded.

I shot a glance at Dawon, who was already readying her blaster. I took out the riot shield and saber from my inventory and held them in either hand.

Just in case… I sorted out a jar of Assaudine Solution ready for deployment.

The ground trembled once again, and we finally saw the crimson demons emerging from the breaches in the roads.

“Amber Lynxes.” Behind the two of us, Timayther informed. “I’ve learned about them in school. Agile and aggressive hellcats, but not very strong. They’ll target innocent civilians more than buildings.”

Before we could affirm, the dark red felines disappeared from the cracks in a flash, a few of them rushing towards us and others scattering into different directions.

Three Amber Lynxes ran forward and leaped on us, two on me and one on Dawon. I underestimated the weight of their impact and fell back onto the ground.

The Hazard Shield lessened the damage from both the cats’ attacks and the fall, so I wasn’t too injured to respond quickly.

I held one of them at bay with my riot shield and swung at the other with the saber. As the second one leapt out of the way, I rolled sideways and got up in the span of a few seconds, before lunging straight onto the first.

The lynx predicted my movements and moved to another position. However, it didn’t expect the shield I held to disappear from my hand with a blaster in its place.

Instant item switching; it was a trick many games with inventories could do, and Hyperspace Frontier was no different.

Unable to cope with the sudden development, the lynx couldn’t avoid the laser blasts and was knocked down prone onto the ground.

Giving it no chance to recuperate, I ran over to it with the saber pointed towards its neck, and finished the job.

The inhuman shriek behind me caught me off guard, but it was something I foresaw.

Slamming onto the riot shield I switched the saber in my hand with was something the second Amber Lynx didn’t.

Without turning around, I estimated the direction of the sound and positioned my other arm accordingly.

It was a risky move, and I’m glad it paid off. The Hazard Shield would have protected me if I failed, but I wanted to save as much of the shield as possible for future fights.

As the hellcat staggered from the collision, I rammed into it again with my shield, switched my blaster with the saber, and swung down on it as hard as I could.

The two Amber Lynxes I felled disappeared into ash, and I quickly turned my attention to Dawon.

Laid down on the ground, I could also see the ashes in her arms disappear into nothing, while she remained uninjured.

It seems like she was able to restrain the lynx in a choke hold, allowing her to lay it to rest with a shot across its head.

Utilitarian way to fight, but I don’t hate it. How she could pull that off in her current outfit was something I couldn’t figure out, though.

Smooth as the battle went, however, the adrenaline still took a lot out of me. I dropped onto the ground and took a few deep breaths.

Dawon didn’t get up from her position too quickly either.

Riot shield, saber and blaster. Considering I had only these things on me, winning the fight was already impressive in my book.

I landed in Mavacena expecting to pass the time with music and good vibes, after all. Not getting caught up in an invasion.

I looked around and couldn’t see the Li Shaen brothers and the Flagrant Roar they were fighting with. The other Amber Lynxes were nowhere to be seen either.

“What about Pari and the rest!?” I exclaimed, looking at Dawon.

“They should be following along the escape route, hopefully.” Timayther spoke, coming out of a postbox by the corner of the street.

“Glad to see you’re safe, Tim.” I called out to him. “Why didn’t the lynxes attack you?”

He explained. “Whatever the lynxes were, they still came from the fires beneath the earth.”

Holding up his cyan fluid arm, “The Mun Shaen deal with ice and water, remember?”

Hearing his words, I wanted to rebuke him for not helping out with the fight earlier. However, I remembered the Guardian ability ban under the Ne-Dangsa pact and held my tongue.

Hm? That would mean…

“Wait, are Taran and Eretham not going to use their powers against the Flagrant Roar?”

Tim nodded in response.

“Agreements must be upheld, no matter the situation we’re dealing with.”

I began to worry about them, but Tim went over to our side and shook his head, telling us that it wasn’t our place to concern ourselves about them.

“Let’s look for the other lynxes, KC. Eretham trusted us with that task, after all.” Dawon urged me on.

“Mm.” Agreeing to her suggestion, the three of us set out in the direction I last saw the Amber Lynxes were.

Along the way, I began to devise other tactics to use against the crimson demons we’ll be facing very soon.

My repertoire was severely limited. The shield I crafted back on Day 1, the blaster already on me, the PBS that was given to me that morning…

The PBS that was given to me that morning!

I finally remembered an important detail I missed in the game.

“Uzzu!” I spoke to no one in particular. “Where’s my daily login bonus!?”

WJSN’s alien mascot appeared before us in the air.

“I thought you’d never ask, Astronaut!” It announced cheekily.

As the window appeared in front of me, I yelled back at it. “I thought there are notifications for these things, you know!”

The mascot only smiled in response.

Ah, whatever. Please let me choose a good one!

The three selections arranged themselves on the window in front of me. As always, I could only see the items’ appearances and their names.

I have no time to waste, so I’ll go for the:

A) Pyresine Cards

B) Spined Rake

C) Waterdrop Ring