I wake up back in the missing aisle. The grip of the sword in my hand, the blade sheathed. The stress ball in the other. I forgot I had this. I could have used it to, you know, not die.
I am lying on my back, staring at the ceiling. Kurt floats up to me, laughing. He almost falls off his platform. Maybe if i push it with my sword, it will tilt over.
KURT
That was hilarious. You only took
one down, and it almost killed you.
RYE
I almost died, and all you can do is laugh.
KURT
I laugh because I know
you won’t die. Still, I’m proud.
RYE
How are you proud?
It took everything I had to beat one,
and all I have to show for it
is you yucking up a storm.
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KURT
For the past few months,
you felt your best solution was running.
Well, now it''s different. You may not know it,
but you have made the most progress
you have ever made all this time.
RYE
The strength I need to beat this is unreachable.
KURT
Let me let you in on a few little secrets we
wizards have. The first is never to trust a rat with
an iron tail unless it wears an eye patch.
That rat you can trust with your life.
God is real and weirder than anything you can ever conceive. Water spirits are bad tippers. All of them, culturally, don’t believe in the concept. They think it''s the company''s responsibility to pay for the worker''s livable wages. Ask one if you ever see one.
Lastly, strength alone doesn’t make power.
RYE
Where am I going to meet a water nymph?
KURT
In your sink. Now focus on that last line I said.
Becoming powerful enough to be in the trial
is possible. You are the one who needs to
make the choice. Nothing in your life will change
unless you take the steps to do it. Even the tiny
holes at times feel like you are stepping
over canyons. Then comes the question,
how will you get over this canyon?
It feels like a ten-pound weight is on my chest. My wounds always heal after the Dungeon Run, but the pain lurks. I think the gashes on my back. There is a pounding in my head. Then why do I feel so relieved?
I get back up as my body screams in agony. I look at the shelves. I found a fanny pack that can hold anything and not get heavy.
RYE
My payments go up with every
item I get, something new. Though, if I
beat the run, the debt is gone.
KURT
If you beat it.
RYE
When I beat it.
I placed the sword and stress ball in my fanny pack and headed home. Today, I decided to make the necessary changes in my life to beat the Dungeon Run. On my way home, I saw a car on the side of the road. The engine is on fire.