《Three Quests》 Chapter 1 ¡°I think I¡¯m losing her, man. I think she¡¯s going to break up with me.¡± Andre stared down at the sandwich in his hands, already looking devastated by a breakup that hadn¡¯t happened yet. ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± James said. ¡°I bet she¡¯s just busy. Got caught up with her friends or something.¡± Andre shook his head. ¡°You don¡¯t know Natalie. She hasn¡¯t texted me all day, I just know something¡¯s up.¡± James sighed. Andre had a point. Natalie was up his butt all day long, asking about work and telling him about whatever she was up to ¡ª what romance she was reading or what color she painted her nails or what that bitch Cara said about Stephanie¡¯s new haircut. James found the whole thing exhausting, and he wasn¡¯t even the one in the relationship. Andre admitted once that he knew she could be ¡°a bit much¡± ¡ª but he loved her. That was something James couldn¡¯t argue with. He¡¯d never been in love, so he didn¡¯t understand, though he¡¯d certainly witnessed it often enough to know how foolishly it could make people behave. Love made people do stupid things and tolerate worse. An old friend of his had dated a woman who called the cops on him every other week. The guy was harmless as a lamb, but you wouldn¡¯t know it from his arrest record. Even that wasn¡¯t enough to end what was clearly a toxic relationship. Andre looked up, still waiting for James to respond. Maybe hoping he¡¯d let him go home early to check on her and save his relationship from the dumpster fire it was headed towards ¡ª or at least delay the inevitable. But doing that would only reward bad behavior. It would tell Natalie that if she ever wanted Andre home early, all she had to do was not text him and he¡¯d come running. Even if it cost him his job. James certainly wasn¡¯t going to enable that. ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± he said. ¡°Besides, worrying won¡¯t do you any good. Even in the worst case scenario, anxiety won¡¯t help; it just makes you live it twice.¡± Andre sighed. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Mind if I give her a call though?¡± James waved him away and took another bite of his own sandwich. It was the best Italian sub he¡¯d had in a while, and the shop was just down the street, which officially made Rosewood Hospital his favorite job site. James had a knack for finding the best restaurants in town, no matter where he went, and he had the belly to show for it. He and Andre did acceptance testing on electrical equipment, which mostly meant that they hopped from one construction site to another. Aside from the porta-potties and the consistently terrible parking, it wasn¡¯t too bad. In between bites, James pulled up the work schedule up on his phone. They were slated to be at Rosewood for the rest of the week, but they were ahead of schedule, probably enough so that they could cut out early. Stolen novel; please report. That was by far his favorite aspect of the job: work six hours, charge eight, and as long as the work got done on time, nobody cared. Andre returned looking worse than before. He wrapped up the uneaten half of his sandwich and shoved it into the pocket of his tool bag. ¡°Everything alright?¡± James asked, then pushed the last bite of Italian sub into his mouth. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± his coworker whined. ¡°She says its fine, but I can tell it isn¡¯t. She¡¯s upset about something, I only wish she would tell me what it is.¡± James grunted. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, let¡¯s get one more breaker done and then get out of here.¡± Andre sagged with relief. ¡°Yes! Thank you, James.¡± James shrugged. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The work itself was simple. They disconnected the breaker from the rest of the switchgear and connected it instead to a machine the size of a desk, which generated a shit-load of current. That current caused the breaker to trip, then spat out some data about how quickly and at what current it tripped. If that was all in spec, they could reconnect the breaker and move on to the next. ¡°Ow! Dammit!¡± James jerked his hand away from the breaker and shook it a little, like that would help disburse the shock. He knew better. Early on in his career he¡¯d lost two fingers to an arc flash, so he considered himself to be an expert. ¡°Oh shit, are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± James wiggled his fingers. ¡°A little shock is all.¡± Concern twisted Andre¡¯s features. He was still new enough to the trade to be afraid of current. To be fair, it was a healthy enough fear to hold on to. But the training videos said that 30mA was enough to kill a man, and they were regularly working with far, far more than that. A little fear was good, but too much would make it impossible to do the job. After ten years, James knew enough to balance that fear with knowledge. Current and voltage were far less dangerous than, for instance, a distracted coworker. ¡°At least go see the site doctor,¡± Andre fretted. ¡°Alright, alright.¡± James glanced at the data readout. ¡°This breaker is in spec, anyway. Go home, and we¡¯ll finish the rest tomorrow.¡± ¡°Are you sure? I can stay ¡ª¡± ¡°Get the fuck out of here.¡± He said it gently, with enough kindness that Andre knew he wasn¡¯t in trouble. But he was also annoyed by the shock, and by the whining, and it would all just be easier if Andre left. With one last, worried glance back, Andre disappeared. He was a good kid. He picked things up quickly, and he wasn¡¯t afraid to ask questions. If he kept it up, he¡¯d be ready to work solo soon enough. The only thing holding him back was that crazy girlfriend. Distraction could be dangerous, and she was nothing but. James rubbed his wrist. He could still feel the tingling, and maybe it would be smart to visit the site doctor. He wheeled his equipment cart out of the half-finished building, up plywood ramps and over slabs of concrete, then out onto the dirt parking lot and towards his van. A blue truck turned in to the lot just as he stepped out onto the dirt. James sped up. It sounded crazy, but he could have sworn that truck had been following him all week. It was small, ancient, and powder blue ¡ª hard to miss, not to mention the series of person-sized dents that marred the carriage. Surely he was being paranoid. He didn¡¯t exactly have any enemies. Sure, he didn¡¯t have many friends either; people tended not to feel very strongly towards him one way or another. There certainly wasn¡¯t any reason for someone to kill him, and yet, that¡¯s where his mind went whenever he saw the truck. He looked at it and got this overwhelming feeling of murderous intent. The truck rushed toward him. It came closer ¡ª closer ¡ª it really was trying to hit him! James let go of the cart and dove forward, between two parked cars. The truck swerved. He heard the crunch of steel and the last thing he saw was the parked car getting pushed by the truck ¡ª hard enough to squish him against its neighbor. There was a brief, all consuming moment of intense pain, then everything went black. Chapter 2 James jerked awake the way you do when you¡¯ve dreamt of falling. Only, he wasn¡¯t dreaming ¡ª it had been far too real to be a dream ¡ª and he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he should never have woken again. And yet. He touched his chest, his legs, his face. He was alive. He was alive. He paused, then stretched his hands out in front of them and flipped them over. He counted each of his fingers. Then counted them again. Five on each hand. Ten total. Two completely whole, functional, never been blown up by switchgear, hands. He looked down and made eye contact with his toes. No belly in the way. He patted the space where his gut used to be and found ¡ª abs? The fuck? Never in his life had he worked out enough to have abs. A quick flex of his arms showed him he had bigger biceps, too, than ever before. He still looked like himself, as far as he could tell, but a younger, more muscular version. Was this heaven? He looked down again and snorted. His shirt and pants, though perfectly tailored, were made of some sort of homespun cotton fabric. He even had a short sword strapped to his side. It didn¡¯t look to be anything special, but it was certainly more sword than he¡¯d ever handled back home. The outfit would have blended perfectly in the crowd of a ren faire, and James somehow doubted that heaven was an elaborate Medieval Times. Not to mention¡­ he looked around. He was in a forest. Oak trees stretched higher than any he¡¯d seen back home, and there was a thick layer of leaves outside of the circle that surrounded him. James looked closer. He was surrounded by three interlocking circles. They were set into the ground, and they were inscribed with symbols he¡¯d never seen before. The symbols glowed silver against the stern gray stone, and within the circle was only grass. He reached slowly out to touch the stone. The air around him began to hum; the thick, unmistakable hum of a shit-ton of voltage. He jerked his hand back. Definitely not heaven. Where could he be, then? Had he traveled in time? Or was he on a different planet? Dreaming? A scream pierced the air. Before he could think about it, James was running. He leaped over the circles like they were nothing, and the hum only briefly touched his ears. Crossing the threshold felt like stepping through a veil, and then it was gone. The trees were so large that the space between them was accommodatingly vast. James ran quickly. He¡¯d heard that kind of scream before; it was pure terror. He slowed when he started to make out the heavy breath of a large animal. He stepped lightly; he wanted to know what he was walking into before he charged in. There, with its back to him, was a bear. The beast was large and fluffy brown. Its fur looked deceptively soft, and its thick claws dug into the bark of a near tree. Soft sobbing came from above. It took James a second to locate the source. A small girl, no more than ten years old, was crouched in the branches. How she¡¯d ever gotten up that high, James couldn¡¯t imagine, but somehow she had. She was safe from the bear, for now, but she was treed. Depending on the patience of the bear, she might never get down. He weighed his options. The girl was defenseless. James had a short sword, but he didn¡¯t really know how to use it. He gritted his teeth. Hell of a time to learn. But what choice did he have? He couldn¡¯t abandon a little girl to death by bear. ¡°Hey! Come pick on someone your own size.¡± The bear turned. It growled, it¡¯s lips curling over long teeth and black gums. It reared up onto its hind legs, and James flinched. It was easily twice as big as him. Still, he unsheathed his sword and hefted it, trying to get used to the new weight in his hand. A bell rang. It sounded like the kind of bell you hear at the start of a boxing match, and the sound seemed to come from all around. Time slowed. The girl froze in the tree. The bear snarled, and James could see it continuing to breathe, but it remained otherwise motionless. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Welcome to Grimora! You are in COMBAT with a level 5 bear! (next) James stared at the words, then reached out to touch them. His fingers passed through with barely a ripple, until he reached the word (next). That one felt solid, like rounded glass. As soon as he touched it, the words disappeared. Three bars appeared at the bottom right of his vision, one red, one green, and one blue. Beside them, in small text, was a number 1, which he assumed was his own level. These bars represent your HEALTH, STAMINA, and MANA points. Don¡¯t run out! (next) James tapped (next). It was surreal, but¡­ it worked. A red bar appeared over the bear. It flashed once but didn¡¯t merit a text explanation. Then his sword glowed brightly in his hand. Use this to deal damage! James waved at the text, but it didn¡¯t budge. There was no next button. There was nothing to do, except¡­ well¡­ fight the bear. He took a deep breath and adjusted his grip on the sword handle. Okay. He could do this. Fight a bear with a sword, no big deal. The thing wasn¡¯t even moving. Still, he approached cautiously. Just because the bear hadn¡¯t moved since this¡­ tutorial? ¡­had started didn¡¯t mean it wouldn¡¯t. The bear snarled but otherwise stayed in place. James hefted the sword, took a wide stance, and plunged it hard into the bear¡¯s neck. There was a lot of resistance, but was able to cut through almost to the other side. The animal let out a pained noise but otherwise didn¡¯t move. ding! Critical hit! When James pulled the sword back out, he was surprised to see that it wasn¡¯t covered in blood. There wasn¡¯t even a wound on the bear¡¯s neck. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he would think he hadn¡¯t attacked at all. The red health bar above the bear told a different story. The red coloring steadily bled away until the bar was 25% red and 75% gray. Shit. That didn¡¯t kill it? Enemy turn. Suddenly, James couldn¡¯t move. He was trapped in a sort of stasis, and he realized why the bear had allowed him to approach: there wasn¡¯t any other choice. Fortunately, the bear didn¡¯t draw it out like James had. It didn¡¯t circle him or look for the best way to attack. It lunged without thought. It swiped a paw the size of James¡¯s head straight across his chest. Claws dug deep furrows into his skin ¡ª and dear god in heaven, that hurt. His health bar dipped dramatically. It was just a swipe ¡ª not even a critical hit like the one James had landed ¡ª but there was a big difference, he supposed, between level 1 and level 5. Direct hit! End ENEMY turn! The bear settled back into its two-legged stance. Its nostrils flared and swayed comfortably, but otherwise didn¡¯t move. The pain in James¡¯s chest faded. He looked down to see that his shirt was un-torn, and there was no blood from an attack that should have splayed his chest wide open. Before he could think too long on that, a new bar appeared, this one looking more like a series of boxes towards the bottom of his vision. In one box, he saw a glass bottle filled with red liquid and stoppered with a cork. In the top right corner of the box, there was a small number 3. Use a HP Potion to restore Health! It didn¡¯t seem like something he should be able to touch. The bottle was two-dimensional and cartoonish. Nevertheless, James reached out, grabbed the bottle, and pulled it into reality. As he did, the potion became three-dimensional and realistic, and the number in the box ticked down to 2. He closed his eyes. ¡°Good lord, I¡¯m in a video game.¡± At least that was better than being dead? Either way, he didn¡¯t exactly have a choice in the matter. Besides, that little girl was still stuck in the tree. He¡¯d have to save his existential crisis for later. Was he dead, was this even real or was he in a coma somewhere, etc etc¡­ This wasn¡¯t the time. James uncorked the bottle and tossed it back. It tasted sweet, like ice cream that had been allowed to melt. As soon as he swallowed, his health bar ticked back up ¡ª but not all the way. HP +25 He focused on the red bar, and a fraction appeared: 77/100. So, the health potions wouldn¡¯t restore all his health. That was good to know. Use this to deal damage! Another helpful message appeared, along with a large diamond above his health bar. Each point showed a cartoonish elemental symbol: earth, air, water, and fire. At the center of the diamond was a blue circle, and when James focused on it he saw the word Mana Bolt. He reached out to touch it, but his hand passed right through. Okay¡­ Magic worked differently. Maybe a verbal command? He probably only had one chance, like he had with the sword, and he didn¡¯t want to waste it out of ignorance. Feeling a little foolish, he pointed at the bear and said, ¡°Mana Bolt.¡± A pure white laser shot from his finger tip and into the bear¡¯s chest. The animal¡¯s health bar depleted completely, and the bear toppled over, lifeless. James stared at his finger. What the hell? Defeated lvl 5 Bear! EXP +500 Level up! Level up! View STATUS to allocate stats and skill points! Use a MP Potion to restore Mana! James blinked at the onslaught of notifications. A new image appeared in his inventory, of a bottle filled with blue liquid and a 3 at the top right corner. Three MP potions, presumably. He resisted the urge to top off his mana pool, which was dangerously low. If this was some kind of game, he knew enough that tutorial items were often really valuable and difficult to replenish. Just in case that was true, and in case there was a cheaper way to restore mana, he left it alone for now. The next thing was¡­ the Status sheet? Before he could figure that out, the little girl came scrambling down the tree and barreled into him. For a brief, terrifying second he thought he might be thrown right back into combat, but then he realized that she was just hugging him. ¡°Thank you! Oh, thank you! You¡¯re a hero!¡± HERO class is now available. Accept? Chapter 3 TWENTY YEARS AGO James ran as fast as he could. He knew the streets of his town better than anybody. By all rights, he should be able to outrun his pursuers. But he¡¯d been running for a while, and his strength was fading. Shane and Dylan were older and bigger than he was, and each of their strides was worth two of his. James ran across the street and onto a park. If he could cut through the grass, he could make it to the library and ¡ª Shane tackled the younger boy to the ground. They rolled in the grass a few times, then Shane sat up and pumped his fist. ¡°Got you!¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re under arrest for all those bank robberies!¡± ¡°Aw, man,¡± James cried. Dylan came huffing and puffing up the hill. ¡°Did you¡± pant ¡°get him?¡± ¡°Sure did!¡± Shane crowed. Dylan nodded and collapsed beside the other two boys. He was always the slowest of the three, but Shane always picked him anyway as his partner. After a few minutes to catch their breath, James asked, ¡°Can I be the cop this this?¡± Shane shook his head. ¡°Sorry buddy. Dylan and I would make terrible robbers, so it has to be you.¡± James sighed, but there was nothing he could do. He¡¯d tried before, but Shane¡¯s word was law and if he didn¡¯t want to change it up, nothing could convince him. It wouldn¡¯t do any good for James to tell him that he was tired of always playing the bad guy. Once ¡ª just once! ¡ª he wanted to be the hero.
PRESENT DAY James accepted the Hero class without question. The notification exploded in a shower of golden sparks, which then swirled around him in a beautiful vortex. The vortex tightened around him until the golden sparks touched his skin. They sank into him, and he felt the class become a part of him. He was a Hero. He felt it in his bones that his duty was to protect those around him and fight against evil wherever he might find it. Congratulations, Hero! The world needs you! [+] Quests The little girl looked up at him with wonder in her eyes. ¡°Whoa,¡± she said. ¡°Did you just level up?¡± ¡°I got a class,¡± James answered. ¡°I¡¯m James, by the way. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Hi James. I¡¯m Desiree.¡± She stood tall as she introduced herself, and James saw that she was similarly dressed in ren faire attire. Her blouse hung loose on her thin shoulders. She had a short knife strapped to her hip and a series of pouches. ¡°What are you doing out in the woods?¡± she asked. James laughed. ¡°I was just about to ask you that!¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m, uh. Traveling.¡± Desiree narrowed her eyes at him. She was definitely suspicious of that answer; maybe they didn¡¯t get many travelers out here in the middle of the forest. But then she seemed to remember that he had saved her life, and she relaxed again. ¡°Well, I¡¯m out here because Mrs. Fitz needed wild fennel for one of her creepy potions and everyone else was busy. I was on my way back when that stupid bear found me.¡± She kicked at the bear, and her little foot was so small compared to the bear¡¯s leg that she barely made an impact. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Let¡¯s get you home, then,¡± James said. ¡°Which way?¡± Desiree looked aghast. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to get the loot first?¡± ¡°¡­loot?¡± She gave him another weird look, this time like she was wondering how he laced his own boots in the morning. ¡°You killed the bear,¡± she said slowly. ¡°Touch it and get the loot.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ alright.¡± James knelt and buried his fingers into the fur of the bear. It was surprisingly soft and thick, and he found himself wishing for a bearskin rug. He¡¯d never been the hunting type. He¡¯d never seen the appeal. But here, with the bearskin plush against his palm, he thought it might be a nice reminder of what he was capable of. The bear dissolved in a shower of black and brown sparks, and then on the ground in its place was a bearskin rug, exactly as James had pictured it. He reached out hesitantly, and when he held the rug in his hands another notification appeared. Add to Inventory? (yes) (no) James selected yes, and then the rug disappeared into the row of boxes beside the mana potions. Desiree¡¯s jaw dropped open. ¡°Oooh, you¡¯re a Traveler!¡± she squealed. ¡°Ooh, it worked, it worked, it worked!¡± James was startled by her sudden outburst. ¡°What do you mean?¡± he asked. ¡°What worked?¡± ¡°The summoning!¡± she explained. ¡°I told you I came out here for fennel, and I did! But I also came out to visit the three rings, which according to all the stories can summon a hero from another world, only it hasn¡¯t been done in centuries, so nobody hardly even tries it anymore, but the Demon King is going to come and kill us any day now and so I thought it was at least worth a try ¡ª¡± ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. What¡¯s a Demon King?¡± She stopped, stunned, then grinned widely. ¡°Gods, you really don¡¯t know! What¡¯s your world like? Do you have birds?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got birds,¡± he said, feeling a little lost. ¡°Do you¡­ not?¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s so cool!¡± she squealed. James ran a hand over his face and took a deep breath. Desiree was clearly far too excited to give him any useful information ¡ª at least, not in an order that made sense. There was far too much for him to sift through already. He needed to learn how his character sheet worked, what it meant for him to level up, what his quests were, and apparently what the Demon King was all about. That last one, to be fair, was probably obvious. Big bad Dark Lord, hell bent on destroying all that¡¯s good. ¡°Why don¡¯t we get you back home? You can fill me in on the way.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± She skipped just slightly ahead of him, staying close enough to pepper him with questions. Did birds really live forever? Did they all have two legs, or were there some with four? Or none? Did any of them know how to swim? Were they intelligent? Could they talk? James wouldn¡¯t have considered himself particularly knowledgeable about birds, and he was a bit baffled by her interest, but her questions were simple enough. He knew just enough about penguins to really blow her mind, to the extent that she accused him of messing with her. ¡°If a bird can swim but not fly, is it even a bird anymore?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± James tapped his nose. ¡°Now you¡¯re asking the right questions.¡± ¡°What¡ª? But¡ª What does that even mean?¡± she spluttered. Fortunately, James was saved from trying to explain the core essence of bird-ness (because what was that, anyway? Why were penguins birds? Did they even have feathers? He¡¯d never thought about it, and all he could remember were pictures of them looking round and smooth and a little bit shiny). The forest ended gradually. The trees shrank down to normal size, congesting at first and then thinning down into nothing. A wheat farm came into view, and beyond it James could see the rest of the village. Beyond that was a larger city, still far enough in the distance that all he could make out were the shapes of large buildings. Stark against the wheat field stood a woman leaning against a massive scythe. She came running at the sight of them, and when she approached James saw the resemblance between she and Desiree. The woman was at least a head taller than him. Her shoulders were broad and her arms crossed, which emphasized the bulge of her biceps. She glared at him. James swallowed. The term muscle mommy came to mind. She could break him in half, and he would like it. ¡°Mom! It worked! I summoned a Traveler!¡± The woman blinked. ¡°I told you to stay away from the rings.¡± Desiree bounced on the balls of her feet, too excited to be chastised. ¡°James saved me from a bear! And he taught me all about birds! And he¡¯s here in time to stop the Demon King and we might not all die!¡± H frown deepened as Desiree spoke. ¡°Is this true?¡± she asked James. ¡°Oh! Um, yeah,¡± he stammered. The way she looked at him made him feel like there was a spotlight on him, or like he was interviewing for a job that he really really wanted. ¡°I¡¯ll help out as much as I can.¡± Her glare finally softened, revealing the curiosity underneath. ¡°Come on then, we¡¯d better get you fed. You can tell me about birds over dinner.¡± She whirled around and strode back to the farmhouse, her long legs easily taking her across the wide field. James and Desiree followed after. ¡°Um, yeah, sure! I¡¯d also like to hear more about the Demon King if that¡¯s alright. He sounds, ah, pretty important.¡± Chapter 4 Desiree¡¯s mom (whose name turned out to be Inara) put together a hearty meal of steak and vegetables. The whole time she was cooking, she refused to answer any of James¡¯s questions; she actually pretended not to hear them, which was incredibly frustrating. Instead, she let Desiree teach her everything she had learned from James about birds while the little girl helped chop and prep the vegetables. When Inara finally set a plate in front of James, he was starving. He took a big bite of steak and closed his eyes to savor it. It was perfectly cooked, seasoned just the right amount, and it was incredibly tender. He¡¯d been to some top tier chop houses in his day, but this steak put them all to shame. It could have been something Inara did to it or some magical quality to the creature it came from, but the why didn¡¯t matter. ¡°This is incredible,¡± he said to Inara. ¡°Thank you.¡± It was hard to tell with her ¡ª she did such a good job of keeping a straight face ¡ª but she seemed pleased by the compliment. They ate in silence after that, all too focused on enjoying the meal to speak. James took the longest; whenever he had a truly delicious meal in front of him, he took care to take small bites and savor each one. When at last he pushed his empty plate away, he saw that Inara was looking at him curiously. ¡°Do you truly come from another world?¡± she asked. James nodded. ¡°I was killed in my world, but then instead of dying I woke up in the forest. In the three circles. I heard a scream, and that¡¯s how I found Desiree treed by a bear.¡± Inara looked sharply at her daughter. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m fine!¡± Desiree shot an exasperated glance at James. ¡°It wasn¡¯t even a very big one. Anyway, I think it was only there because of him! Tell her the rest!¡± James explained the tutorial he¡¯d gone through. Desiree gasped in all the right places ¡ª she hadn¡¯t known his point of view through the ordeal ¡ª while Inara remained completely stoic. When he got to the part about turning the bear into a rug and adding it to his inventory, Inara steepled her fingers. ¡°I see,¡± she said, but did not elaborate. James waited awkwardly for a moment, expecting her to continue. When she didn¡¯t, he said, ¡°It¡¯s pretty obvious that the next thing I should do is check my quests and my character sheet. Is there anything I should know before I do either of those?¡± Had he been alone, the decision would have been easy. With an audience however, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that she might know something he didn¡¯t. Inara considered the question. ¡°Level up!¡± Desiree interrupted. ¡°Put all your stats into strength and you can punch the next bear in the face!¡± Inara gave her a look. ¡°What have we said about min-maxing?¡± Desiree slumped. ¡°Don¡¯t do it.¡± James had to hide his smile at the exchange. That definitely wasn¡¯t the sort of conversation mothers and daughters had back home. To James, Inara said, ¡°Check the quests first. The nature of them might influence how you want to allocate your stats.¡± ¡°Right! Good thinking.¡± [-] Quests [-] Keep the Doctor Away! - Mrs. Fitz needs six tomatoes, and for some reason she doesn¡¯t want to do it herself! Maybe she¡¯s allergic to gardens? Maybe she¡¯s lazy? Either way, better hurry before she needs a seventh! [-] No Stone Unturned - Dungeon clear! That means kill every monster, loot every chest, and leave no suspiciously loose brick untouched. If there¡¯s still a single rat scurrying around by the time you''re done, you¡¯ve failed. [-] To Rule or To Ruin - The Demon King awaits, brooding on his big, evil chair. Defeat him in battle and bring peace to Grimora? Or maybe¡­ that throne looks comfy? No judgment. (Okay, maybe a little judgment.) If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. James read the quests aloud. By the end, his hands were clenched into fists and he felt some tightness in his chest. That was one hell of a difficulty jump from the first quest to the second, and the finality of the third made it sound like these were the only three quests he was going to get. The last quest in particular set his teeth on edge. He almost didn¡¯t read it all; he was afraid they might think he really would become the next Demon King and choose not to help him. At the very least, it added a layer of suspicion, like helping Frodo get to Mordor but worrying that he¡¯d take the ring for himself instead. ¡°See! Put all your stats into strength so you can punch the Demon King in the face!¡± Desiree crowed. Her enthusiasm cut the tension, and everyone laughed. James shrugged. ¡°I guess I really am here to save the world, huh?¡± ¡°And to help Mrs. Fitz with her groceries, apparently,¡± Inara added. Desiree wrinkled her nose. ¡°She is lazy. She makes me get fennel for her all the time, and apples are easy!¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s a good place for me to start, anyway,¡± James said. Inara waved her hand dismissively. ¡°We can do that tomorrow. She¡¯s not going anywhere, and we still have more to talk about. Let¡¯s see that level up.¡± James brought back the Level Up! notification and focused in on it. A status sheet appeared in his vision. Name: James Race: Human Class: Hero Level: 3 HP: 100/100 MP: 100/100 EXP: 10/100 Stat Points Available: 20 STR: 10 AGI: 10 INT: 10 WIS: 10 CON: 10 Skills: NONE He rattled off the numbers. Desiree clapped her hands in delight. ¡°You¡¯re so strong!¡± she said. ¡°That must be your Hero class, that¡¯s why you get so many stat points every level!¡± Even Inara looked impressed by the number. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of someone gaining so many points every level,¡± she said. ¡°Most classes award two or three, and the highest I¡¯ve heard of was five.¡± James winked. ¡°I¡¯m just that good.¡± Inara rolled her eyes. ¡°Your class is just that good.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do this.¡± James rubbed his hands together. It had been a while since he played a video game, but the stats were familiar and they always meant basically the same thing. STR was strength, AGI was agility, INT was intelligence, WIS was wisdom, and CON was constitution. Each of those meant exactly what it said on the tin, with CON being the only wildcard. Sometimes it was straight HP increase, but sometimes it granted improvements across the board. Inara looked impressed when he asked her, and that little bit of validation settled like a warm ember in his chest. ¡°It¡¯s an overall improvement,¡± she said. ¡°As a result, HP increases much slower than MP. That¡¯s the downside of it.¡± ¡°Got it. In that case, for now, I¡¯ll just keep things balanced.¡± Ten points per level meant two points per stat, which meant an overall increase of four each. Name: James Race: Human Class: Hero Level: 3 HP: 120/120 MP: 140/140 EXP: 10/100 Stat Points Available: 0 STR: 14 AGI: 14 INT: 14 WIS: 14 CON: 14 Skills: NONE Laid out like that, it felt like a smaller increase than he¡¯d been hoping for. The math lined up, but¡­ well, 20 was just a much bigger number than 4. He shook his head. Saying something like that out loud would only sound stupid. Instead, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t feel any different.¡± Inara raised an eyebrow, than seemed to remember that of course he didn¡¯t know how any of this worked. ¡°Stat changes don¡¯t take effect right away,¡± she explained. ¡°When you wake up tomorrow, you will feel the difference.¡± ¡°Huh. Is that like¡­ Would I feel it tomorrow no matter what, or does it happen in my sleep? Would sleeping sooner make it happen quicker?¡± She blinked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone who has ever tried, but if you could sleep earlier and get the increase sooner, I imagine that would be valuable.¡± James¡¯s mind immediately went in a darker direction. If you could lock up an enemy and prevent them from sleeping, you could prevent them from ever accessing their gains. Aside from the obvious benefits of having a sleep deprived enemy, there were very few instances where that would be helpful. You¡¯d have to know they just leveled up significantly and get to them in time. The more he thought about it, the more the logistics of it stopped making sense. Maybe it didn¡¯t matter. Either way, he¡¯d had a long day. He¡¯d woken up at 5am to go test breakers, dealt with Andre¡¯s drama all morning, then died, then fought (and killed!) a bear, and learned that he was the Hero chosen to fight and kill the Demon King, which sounded, let¡¯s be honest, real fucking dangerous, and the craziest part was ¡ª he wasn¡¯t afraid. He wasn¡¯t even a little bit scared, and that worried him more than anything. He was in a new body ¡ª a younger, stronger, hotter version of the one he was used to, and now maybe it turned out that his brain wasn¡¯t working quite right. He should be scared. It would make total sense to be scared. Instead, he felt determined. He had a purpose. He was made for this. James leaned forward. ¡°Tell me everything I need to know about the Demon King.¡± Chapter 5 Sydney was the first to wake. She blinked against the light of the sun, and when she moved, her body ached from sleeping on the ground. She looked herself over, careful as twinges of pain shot through her body. She was still wearing her full adventuring gear, bow and arrows included, but there was a large gash that stretched from her collar to her hip. Shit. Her health was barely hanging on by a thread. It was a wonder she wasn¡¯t dead yet. The last thing she remembered was being dragged away by a team of demons. She and her team had fought with everything they had, but they were too heavily outnumbered. Why was she alive? And not just her¡­ Two health bars, equally weakened, rested above hers at the corner of her vision. Sydney sat up carefully. Frederick and Philip lay next to her, their arms splayed awkwardly out like dolls that had been thrown to the ground. Beyond them, demons guarded the area. She shrank back into herself, but the demons didn¡¯t seem to notice that she had stirred. Or didn¡¯t care? It was hard to tell with these ones. They had craggy faces lined with magma, and aside from their general humanoid shape, there wasn¡¯t much human about them. Either way. There were only three of them, but in their weakened state her team wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. Frederick shifted and let out a low groan. Sydney scooted to his side and clamped a hand over his mouth. ¡°Quiet,¡± she hissed. ¡°Demons.¡± She waited for him to nod before she released him. He sat up slowly. He wore heavy armor, and Sydney winced every time the plates scraped against each other. The handle of his axe was clenched in a death grip in his hand. Still, the demons didn¡¯t move. Frederick looked at Philip. The healer was the most fragile of the group, and laid out like that, he looked it. His robes were enchanted to boost his skills, but they were made of thin white cloth. He swore up and down that white held the enchantments better, and maybe it was true, but Sydney couldn¡¯t help thinking that they made him look even thinner, paler, and more scuffed up than he already was. Philip¡¯s eyes blinked open. He raised a palm to his forehead. ¡°Whaat the hell ¡ª oomf!¡± Frederick clapped a hand over the other man¡¯s mouth. ¡°Look around!¡± he whispered. Philip¡¯s eyes darted left and right, then widened. Frederick removed his hand. Sydney gestured helplessly at Philip in what she hoped was a ¡°Can you heal us?¡± motion. He looked at her confused for a moment, then his eyes widened again when he realized how low everyone¡¯s health was. He muttered a spell, and Sydney recognized the familiar feeling of magic seeping into her skin. Philip chose the smaller of his two spells. Whether that was because of the mana cost or strategic thinking, Sydney didn¡¯t know, but she was glad of it. A boost to regeneration was far less detectable than a straight health increase, and there was no telling what it would take to set off the demons. It didn¡¯t make any sense that they were alive. It made even less sense that their guards were allowing them to sit up and move around. There had to be something else at work. And there it was. Her eyes lit on the three stone circles which surrounded them. Once she saw it, she realized that the demons were all standing outside of the interlocking rings. They really had to get out of there. Sydney tapped Frederick on the shoulder and pointed. He stiffened, then nodded curtly. Summoning circles were bad news. In the demon camp especially, they only meant one thing, and Sydney was not interested in waiting around to watch a demon summoning and be its first meal. Frederick gestured to Philip, and Sydney clenched her teeth. If they jumped out of the circle too quickly, they¡¯d be too weak to fight off the demons. Philip realized the same thing. He cast his regeneration spell again. It was still the same soft spell, but doubling the cast would speed it up. Sydney split her attention between the red bars, which filled with agonizing slowness, and the demons, which remained staunchly immobile. Until at last, they were ready to go. Sydney fired off two arrows in quick succession as Frederick charged in. They¡¯d perfected this maneuver long ago: as long as she fired before he charged, and as long as he made first contact, those two shots didn¡¯t count as her turn. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Frederick¡¯s axe collided with the demon¡¯s leg. Your party has entered combat! The world seemed to slow. Frederick¡¯s axe cleaved all the way through the leg. Bark-like shards of demon flesh sprayed outwards and smoldered where they fell. The leg fell to the ground, and though the demon¡¯s balance didn¡¯t waver, its health dropped by a third. Then the two arrows thudded into its chest, and its health sank below half. A little hourglass appeared at the top of Sydney¡¯s vision, and she felt in her bones the start of her five second time limit. Double shot. With the assistance of her skill, she nocked two arrows and released the string. They flew true and buried deep into the demon¡¯s neck. Another chunk of health, gone. Just a sliver remained. Her timer ran out, and Philip sprang to life. He cast Mana Bolt, the basic attack that every mage learned. It was one of precious few attack spells a healer could learn, not as flashy as Firestorm, but it was better than nothing. The demon fell. EXP +5000 Philip used his last two seconds to run between Frederick and Sydney, and then his time ran out. He barely made it. It was better for him to be well behind Sydney and Frederick, safe from any direct damage, but the other two demons flanked the group. There was no ¡°behind.¡± Then it was the demons¡¯ turn. Monsters were dumber and weaker than humans of an equivalent level. They received their skills at random rather than being able to choose them and find synergies between them. The flip side was, unless there was a significant disparity in their levels, they took their turns in tandem. Both demons charged the group. One went straight for Frederick, while the other targeted Sydney. That was ideal ¡ª neither targeted Philip ¡ª but it still wasn¡¯t good. Sydney¡¯s armor was better than the mage¡¯s, but it was heavily damaged. The demon was smart enough to hit her where it hurt: right in the chest, where her armor was weakest. Claws shredded what was left of her chest plate and raked across her skin. They burned where they touched her, and Sydney screamed with pain. If she made it out of this alive, she was going to invest in some serious armor. Forget saving for the future; she wasn¡¯t going to have a future if she couldn¡¯t stay alive in combat. Her health drained dangerously. She would be able to continue fighting, but another hit like that would kill her. The enemy turn faded, and with it went the pain. Sydney sighed with relief. Her armor was in tatters, but at least the pain was over. Philip should get another turn before the demons, and he¡¯d give her a boost. Besides that, her regeneration was still running strong. Regeneration was next to useless mid-combat, but even a few points could make all the difference. She just had to keep fighting.
It wasn¡¯t easy to summon a demon. The cost at even the lowest tier was a human soul, and many of the stronger creatures cost more. More souls, or souls with relationships to each other, or any number of nuanced requirements. Raising a demon army was devilishly difficult. Pun intended. Malachai stood at the edge of the cliff. Wind whistled through the cracks in the mountain behind him and tore at his hair like an angry lover. He glared down at the valley below. He had expected to see a demon lord. He had expected to see the bodies of his sacrifices splayed out within the summoning circle, the demon lord feasting on their hearts. This one had presented a particularly difficult challenge. It required the light of a full or half moon, as well as the souls of an entire, balanced party: tank, range, healer. The longer they had fought together, the stronger the demon lord would become. Finding a party that met the requirements was difficult enough; capturing them was another challenge in itself. It had taken a force of ten demons to bring them in, and the mage had nearly died in the process. The summoning should have happened overnight. The team was drugged and left in the circle for the demon lord to devour at midnight. And yet - no demon lord. No summoning. The drugs wore off in the morning, and the adventuring party was wreaking havoc on the lesser demons. Verrin thought the whole thing was hilarious. ¡°That¡¯s what you get for bringing heroes behind enemy lines!¡± he cackled. His laughter was high pitched and hysterical. Edged with insanity. The doll-sized faerie hung from a chain at Malachai¡¯s belt. He was locked in an iron cage which swung nauseatingly whenever the Demon King took a step. ¡°They¡¯re not heroes,¡± Malachai growled. ¡°Fledgling adventurers at best.¡± Verrin just laughed. Not for the first time, Malachai considered gagging the faerie. If the creature wasn¡¯t so gods-damned useful, he just might. As far as Malachai knew, Verrin was the last of the fae to remain in Grimora. The rest had fled when Malachai uncovered the summoning circle and absorbed the Abyssal Thorn. Verrin had been¡­ optimistic. Naive? Perhaps he¡¯d hoped to unbalance the scales by remaining. But Malachai knew how the fae worked. As a child he¡¯d explored the forests. He knew how to call the faeries, how to dance with them and return whole in the morning. He also knew that the fae could not lie and that when provoked could reveal deep secrets. Such as how to summon a demon. Malachai watched the adventurers fight. It was tempting to step in. A single Deathbolt per adventurer would put a quick end to the battle. That would, unfortunately, defeat his purpose. He still needed them alive, and none of his spells were weak enough to allow that. He crossed his arms and sighed. Perhaps he¡¯d better think of it as a training exercise. Demons could be taught, albeit slowly. Whichever ones survived this encounter would be better fighters. It would cost a few lives, but as a training exercise, it might be worth it. ¡°But why didn¡¯t it work?¡± he wondered aloud. That was the real issue. It was one thing to recapture the party and try again in two weeks ¡ª frustrating but manageable ¡ª but what if the problem persisted? ¡°Only one summoning per day,¡± Verrin giggled. ¡°I know that,¡± Malachai snapped. He gritted his teeth. It was the most irritating limitation. The longer he waited to invade the Aurorian kingdom, the more time they would have to prepare themselves. But there was nothing he could do, no way to speed the process. The second demon fell, and the party converged on the third. ¡°Enough of this.¡± With a wave of his hand, the Demon King called a group of five to join the fight. He whirled and stomped back to his castle. He had worked to do. Chapter 6 James sat cross-legged on the thin sleeping mat Inara had been able to provide him. Desiree creeped across the living room floor. Her steps were light, and she avoided creaky floorboards with the expertise of someone who¡¯d been doing it all their life. She reached out curiously and poked the Hero in the cheek. James¡¯s eyes flew open and he jerked away, slamming his back into the wall. ¡°Ah, what the hell?!¡± Desiree giggled. ¡°Does everyone sleep sitting up in your world? That¡¯s so weird!¡± He glared at her. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sleeping, I was meditating.¡± She cocked her head to the side. ¡°What¡¯s meditating?¡± ¡°It¡¯s where you sit in one spot and try not to think about anything.¡± Desiree copied his sitting position and closed her eyes. She wrinkled her nose. ¡°That¡¯s hard. Why were you doing that?¡± ¡°It is,¡± James chuckled. He hesitated then, not sure how to explain that he¡¯d read a book once where someone could improve their magic by meditating and focusing on the flow of mana through their body, but the book had actually been complete fiction, and the only reason he thought it might work was that this world still felt like fiction, too. ¡°Some people in my world believed that meditating could help people understand their personal magic better. Sort of like working out to strengthen a person¡¯s muscles.¡± Desiree cocked her head. ¡°What¡¯s working out?¡± James sighed. Right. In a world where people increased their strength through stat points, maybe they didn¡¯t do that. ¡°Breakfast is ready!¡± James and Desiree both scrambled to their feet and practically raced to the table. Inara laid out a spread of oatmeal and fruits. It wasn¡¯t the kind of thing James at much of back home, but as soon as he took his first bite he knew that that was about to change. He wondered if Inara had system-aided Skills in cooking, or if the food in this world was just that good. Either way, he devoured his meal. Once they were done eating, Inara leaned back and fixed him with a calculating gaze. ¡°Remind me what your first quest is?¡± James pulled the information up. [-] Quests [-] Keep the Doctor Away! - Mrs. Fitz needs six apples, and for some reason she doesn¡¯t want to do it herself! Maybe she¡¯s allergic to trees? Maybe she¡¯s lazy? Either way, better hurry before she needs a seventh! [+] No Stone Unturned [+] To Rule or To Ruin Inara¡¯s mouth flattened into a thin line. ¡°Desiree, go around town and see if anyone has any apples they¡¯re willing to part with.¡± The little girl pouted. ¡°Aw, mom, can¡¯t I go with you?¡± ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Her tone brooked no argument. ¡°You nearly died the last time you went apple picking.¡± ¡°I was just a kid, then!¡± the kid whined. ¡°I¡¯d do way better now, come on!¡± Inara acted like she hadn¡¯t heard. ¡°Start with Mr. Harding, he usually keeps one or two on hand.¡± Desiree stomped out the door. ¡°And be polite!¡± Inara called after her. She sighed. James chuckled. ¡°Kids, right?¡± He¡¯d always wanted to be a father. Back home, he¡¯d liked the idea of settling down with someone and having a child that reflected his personality traits, mingled with the traits of a person he loved. It must be an incredible experience to raise a child; to know someone for their entire life, to teach them the very basics of what it meant to be alive, then to watch them grow and change and make their own decisions. James thought it must be very confronting. Being a good father would require a deeper understanding of right and wrong and being able to articulate that to a brand new person. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The trouble was, bringing a child into the world was a team effort, and James had never felt that pull with someone else. There had been a few women he¡¯d been attracted to over the years, and there had been women he respected, but the one time those two feelings overlapped, she¡¯d been married already. No luck there. ¡°Have you been apple picking before?¡± Inara asked. She watched him carefully. ¡°I have,¡± he said quickly. As a child, his mom had taken him every fall. Her favorite pie was apple, but she insisted on only ever eating it homemade. Inara nodded. ¡°Good. We should get going before Desiree returns.¡± ¡°I¡ª what? Didn¡¯t you want to know if Mr. Harding had any apples, first?¡± Inara was already strapping on some light armor, and she slung a pack over her shoulder. ¡°No,¡± she said simply. ¡°That was a distraction.¡± ¡°Oh! Um. Alright, then.¡± Definitely a different parent/child dynamic than James was used to, but he wasn¡¯t in a position to argue. He didn¡¯t have any armor besides the clothes on his back, so while Inara got herself ready he focused on reattaching his sword to his belt. Inara opened the front door carefully, then poked her head out to verify that the coast was clear. She waved James along, and the two crept out of the house and around the back. Inara didn¡¯t relax again until they reached the forest. James looked around. He hadn¡¯t seen anything resembling an orchard the day before, but he also hadn¡¯t explored the area very much. ¡°You know, I haven¡¯t gone apple picking since I was a boy,¡± he said conversationally as they walked. He felt nostalgic about the activity, and he realized with some surprise that he was glad to be going with Inara. She looked at him, surprised. ¡°Is that so?¡± The orchard wasn¡¯t far. The randomness of the forest trees gave way to the orderly lines of an apple orchard, and as they approached, James instinctively scanned the trees for the best, brightest, roundest apples. He frowned. In his experience, apple trees were overflowing with apples and the ground littered with fallen fruit. In this orchard, however, he could barely pick out two or three apples per tree. The trees themselves looked like they might have been pulled from a storybook; they had squat brown trunks and round bushy crowns. Right, he reminded himself. Magic world is magic. Inara lowered herself into a crouch and readied her scythe. James followed suit, although it looked like they were alone in the orchard. When nothing else moved, she plucked a rock from the ground and threw it as hard as she could at the nearest tree. The tree shivered. Leaves trembled and branches shook. Bark cracked open to reveal two eyes, a protruding nose, and a gaping mouth. It leaned back as far as its trunk would allow and bellowed up at the sky. Your party has entered combat! Ohhh, James thought. Several curiosities clicked into place, chief of which was why they¡¯d left Desiree behind. Inara had known they were going into combat, and she didn¡¯t want her daughter involved. Inara was a higher level than James, so she took her turn first. He watched in frozen, not-your-turn stasis as she hefted her scythe and ran at the tree. She slashed at the trunk, and her blade was so sharp it sliced cleanly through. Then, she had just enough time to dart away. The tree¡¯s health bar lowered, but not by nearly enough. It would take several more hits to kill it, and James wasn¡¯t sure what it was capable of. He considered his sword. It wasn¡¯t bad, but it wasn¡¯t the kind of thing he¡¯d want to swing at a tree, either. Instead, he pointed at the tree and said, ¡°Mana Bolt.¡± A blue-white laser shot from the tip of his finger and landed directly onto the tree¡¯s left eye. It screeched and waggled its limbs. Critical hit! The tree lost another large chunk of health. Enemy turn! The tree shook itself. Its limbs reared back as far as they would go, looking like someone had taken a giant hair dryer to it ¡ª then flung forward. Leaves shot from the tree like a gatling gun. The cloud of leaves was too wide for Inara to dodge completely, and there was nothing to hide behind. But she¡¯d clearly done this before. She turned to her side so only her profile was in line with the attack. Sharp-edged leaves whipped against her side like ninja stars. They sliced through the fabric of her clothes and left thin, bloody gashes. Where they hit her straight on, they embedded into her skin and stayed put. James grimaced. That had to hurt. She shook it off. James knew well enough that the pain faded as soon as the enemy turn was over, but he was still impressed by how quickly she was able to make the mental shift towards attacking. It was her turn next, and she didn¡¯t hesitate to repeat the scythe attack that had served her so well before. James noticed that she held her scythe low to the ground. It made sense that that was a comfortable way to wield the weapon, but if she lifted it a few feet higher, the blade would line up with the face of the tree and give her a critical hit. Did she not care? Or did she not know? Your turn! There wasn¡¯t time to talk about it. He hadn¡¯t noticed it on his last turn, but there was a significant difference between this battle and the tutorial: a time limit for each of his turns. That was terribly disappointing. James had imagined the strategic benefit of infinite time between turns. Then again, it wasn¡¯t so nice to imagine the enemy having that kind of time. Either way he had to move, and he¡¯d be lying if he said the tree¡¯s face didn¡¯t freak him out. ¡°Mana Bolt.¡± Nothing happened. ¡°Mana Bolt!¡± Again, nothing. James checked his mana. Shit, it was too low! He grabbed his sword and yanked it from its sheath as he ran. Or tried, anyway. The angle was wrong, and the sword stopped halfway out. He yanked again, nearly tripping over his feet in the process, and then it was free. James closed in on the apple tree. He reared back to swing with all his might ¡ª And time slowed. The tree¡¯s eyes gleamed with vicious delight. Enemy turn!