《Antithetic: Spire of Wonder》


 PROLOGUE

    ¡°¡­¡±


    I woke up to the not so quiet sound of roaring waters and birds carelessly harmonizing in the distance, coaxing me to lift my body. My memory was almost as hazy as the all-enveloping mist that surrounded me, yet my body was lighter than I¡¯d ever felt it before.


    I let out a little grunt-moan as I fixed myself into a sitting position.


    ¡°Where in the world¡­?¡± Upon sitting up, I found myself somewhat able to actually comprehend my surroundings. I was on a large tree with leaves that drooped like a willow¡¯s and sturdy branches that reached out into oblivion, attempting to grasp a collective of rushing waters that ran down into an abyss that was just below my position on the tree¡ªI was saddled over one of those many sturdy branches.


    In a way, it was like¡­ like I was sitting on the edge of the world.


    The tree was attached to a nearby cliff, which, itself, was attached to a gargantuan pillar of earth that pierced through the heavens like a spear custom-made for some Greek god or goddess. It was an otherworldly sight. A mountain that extended past the limits of the fluffy clouds that caressed its sides, subsequently blocking the ground from my vision...


    There was nothing like it on Earth.


    ¡°Grgh¡­ what¡¯s going on?!¡± I was at an utter loss, so I bemoaned a confusion driven and irritated inquisition and fluffed my hair, keeping my eyes fixed on the horizon a while before closing them and taking a deep breath.


    Finding some new confidence in the breath, I coerced myself to inquire further. ¡°C¡¯mon, April! You¡¯ve gotta remember what you were doing before you ended up¡­ wherever you are.¡± So, following my own shoddy and cliched words of encouragement¡ªthat were made in third-person, no less¡ªI rewinded my mind in an attempt to figure out how I ended up in my unique predicament.


    ???


    I had a plan that I was expecting to carry out as the rainy days of April were surpassed by the onstarting May blooms. I was going to see the country a little bit.


    I was a recently turned eighteen year-old. Popular, athletic, intelligent¡­ well above average in most aspects. At least, I was all of those things when I was in school.


    I¡¯d dropped out just months before my graduation¡ªjust over a week prior to my current time¡ªand had thrown all of those fallacies away.


    April 22 to be exact. The day of my birthday. The reason why my given name was April. And the day I got fed up with it all.


    If I¡¯m being completely transparent, I had no idea what I was thinking at the time, but looking back on it, I couldn¡¯t really say I regretted my decision. I was sitting in English class, not paying attention to whatever we were meant to be doing, when we were evidently told that we¡¯d have to stand up and recount an experience where we¡¯d truly felt alive. I wasn¡¯t paying attention, of course.


    So, when I was finally called up, I had no perceived other option than to pull out the flustered, bubble-brain act that I relied on all too heavily throughout my school life. Luckily, however, the girl sitting behind me had my back and filled me in on the assignment through a brief fifteen second or so explanation before I headed up to the class and also before I¡¯d have to pull that familiar act. Turned out, I wasn¡¯t utterly screwed just yet.


    I mean, the assignment was easy enough. I just had to talk about what made me feel alive. That was it. But then¡­


    I couldn¡¯t think of anything off the top of my head.


    Sure, I¡¯d probably had something that I could¡¯ve said that would have sufficed, or in the very least, I¡¯d had something I could¡¯ve made up. But something inside me finally clicked into a forgotten place, and for no apparent reason, I found myself questioning a number of things.


    Well¡­ really, it was only two things¡ªtwo questions.


    Question #1 was the way too obvious question of, ¡°Why couldn¡¯t I think of anything?¡±


    However, that question was an easy one that I¡¯d found the answer to in my following question.


    Question #2¡ªthe question that was also the answer¡ªif I¡¯m correctly recalling it, I think I said it out loud. On my way towards the front of the whole class, but still (coincidentally) in a position where everyone could hear me I said...


    ¡°Why the hell am I wasting my time with this crap?¡± School¡­ Conformity¡­ ¡°This crap¡±. It was the reason. The reason I couldn¡¯t immediately answer my first question. It was the reason I couldn¡¯t think of a time I¡¯d truly felt alive. After all, there wasn¡¯t a time. Was there? Everything up until that point in my life was so occupied by planning for a time where I might feel alive that I¡¯d ignored the present time I was living. It was only a normal life I¡¯d had. Society¡­ it likes normal and shuns the strange so, in an essence, I was just conforming like everyone else.


    Up until that point, the only ¡®time¡¯ there was was time wasted doing mundane and pointless nonsense like recalling an experience where I¡¯d truly felt alive for a group of other conformists wasting their lives as well. What the hell would answering such a thing possibly benefit me with? What would it benefit others with? Nothing.


    It was stupid. It was mindless. It was that useless filler that was always carelessly shoved into the plot of so many good shows¡ªthat stuff nobody ever truly liked and that was just used to build up to the supposed ¡®good stuff¡¯ only to inevitably let you down because your blissful ignorance was better than that ¡®good stuff,¡¯ which didn¡¯t even exist and was instead just the same as everything else. And it was the last assignment I¡¯d ever have to listen to at that school.


    I marched out of the room, drove home, and quit high school the following day, then cried about it the following night scorning myself for acting so rashly. I didn¡¯t end up regretting the decision, but I sure did at the time.


    Now, the question arises after someone quits something like school¡ªWhy? Well, the answer was simple. Although I appeared to be a social and athletic run-of-the-mill girl, the truth of the matter was that that image of me was only a facade that I donned around school. The true me didn¡¯t really care about those I was made to hang around, so I didn¡¯t hang around.


    Sure, those people would be nice, reliable, and almost all you¡¯d want from a ¡®friend,¡¯ but they were also artificial. I¡¯d thought about the first time someone approached me to talk, and I¡¯d discerned that I was only approached because of my many merits. If I was an isolated, ugly, and dumb girl, would they have even approached me? Probably not.


    Then again, I guess I shouldn¡¯t judge them. I was likely the fakest person in my school. It was my fault that they all saw me artificially. If I was a good and real person, I¡¯d go hang out with all the ¡®losers¡¯ who sit alone or don¡¯t talk to anyone¡ªwho shelter themselves within a world apart from ours.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    They were losers, but they were true to themselves. I admired that.


    Besides, outside of school, I was basically a loser myself, so why had I even bothered faking it for so long? I just wanted to fit in with everyone else, I suppose¡­


    I¡¯d always hated that about the world. It encourages you to be subservient to social norms and discourages adventurous spirits. What was there to be adventurous about?


    The only things you have even the slightest ability to feel adventurous towards are your hobbies and passions¡ªthe things meant to carve the way into your future. Those things which would likely entail sitting in one place honing your skills or working yourself for eighty percent of your lifespan only to find a worthless end when your body no longer has the ability to function at the conclusion of those many years of relentless working.


    Those things are not adventures.


    The realization of all that stuff¡­ It drove a divide between my soul and reality. Realism was gone, and I only had the ability to view the world through an antithetic lens of optimism or pessimism.


    If I thought optimistically about the world, I¡¯d only find pessimism. If I thought pessimistically about the world, it¡¯d eventually lead back to finding some area to be optimistic about.


    When I¡¯d think something along the lines of, ¡°This world has no opportunity for growth or freedom, it inherently lacks an adventurous spirit,¡± I¡¯d get home and play games or watch shows. Doing this I¡¯d soon think something along the lines of, ¡°This world has people who can create such liberating forms of media and expression, maybe the world isn¡¯t lacking of adventure just yet¡­ there has to be some inspiration that brought these things into existence.¡± I¡¯d think this until my mind reset and the loop continued once more.


    It was this divide between optimism and pessimism that stuck out to me as wholly disappointing. If there was a world¡­


    If there was a world that could meld the two of those contrasting world views together¡ªoptimism and pessimism. Hope and helplessness. Wonder and restriction¡­


    I thought just maybe, if there was such a world, there¡¯d be a point. A point to keep holding out hope for reality¡ªfor realism. So, I went to search for something like that otherworldly mixture in my world. And I determined that on the turn of the new month¡ªon May 1st¡ªI¡¯d have an adventure of my own.


    I¡¯d saved up enough money from helping at my grandfather¡¯s cafe throughout high school, and I¡¯d initially planned on using it to freeload for a few years before being chained into a low paying job and more work.


    However, I¡¯d changed that plan. On May 1st, I¡¯d definitely have an adventure of my own! I¡¯d create an experience that I could say I felt truly alive during! I¡¯d see the beautiful nature of the countryside, visit national parks, find all the cool cultures of the various cities across the US! I¡¯d also blow all my money in one go, but that didn¡¯t really matter as much to me at the time¡­


    It was the day of my adventure. I¡¯d gotten all my stuff ready, my grandfather made me a special breakfast and was getting ready to see me off¡ªdespite how irrational all my actions had been, he was still supportive of me. I rushed out of the house dressed up in a cute little sundress I¡¯d bought the previous day with a matching sunhat.


    And then, I got into my car and went off towards the train station¡ªI¡¯d decided to go by train as it¡¯d allow me both time to relax and time to see the country. I lived in Maryland and my first destination was up in the Maine countrysides. For some reason, I thought it¡¯d be funny if I started my trip up in Portland, Maine and ended it in Portland, Oregon. I couldn¡¯t say why that idea amused me. It was just my form of broken humor.


    After a short drive, I¡¯d safely arrived at the train station, and¡­


    ???


    ¡°And¡­ I can¡¯t remember anything after that.¡± My mind was blank from that point onwards, but I knew there had to be more to what was going on. By all means, my memory shouldn¡¯t have ended at arriving at the train station. Unless, perhaps, I¡¯d passed out when I got there or something, but why would that have happened?


    Normally in situations, like the one I found myself in, people died or something epic happened to trigger waking up in an unknown place oblivious to how you got there, but I had no such luck. It just kinda seemed like it happened.


    Pondering everything over, I stared out into the horizon a while longer, but I was left with no answers, and no new questions either. Well, ¡°What the hell is happening?¡± which was the question I¡¯d been asking myself the whole time, was kind of all encompassing. Not much more to formulate from there.


    ¡°God darn it all! This is all so confusing!¡± Fed up with everything, I aggressively fluffed my hair again and cried out to the sky. I wasn¡¯t entirely used to not being able to figure something out, so I guess it was getting to me a bit.


    But then, as a result of me fluffing my hair, I came to a new realization. It turned out, that I¡¯d dispositioned my hair enough for it to fall over my eyes, but¡­


    I didn¡¯t have long hair.


    I had short, black hair with well-lined bangs that fell on my forehead, not long hair that¡¯d result in me having to push it out of my eyes from time to time.


    So, I grabbed a clump of my hair and held it in front of my face to investigate it¡ªprobably looking really odd in the process¡ªand when I did so, I noticed something else different. Having moved it away from the blurred lens of directly on my eye, I was now able to discern the color of my hair, and it wasn¡¯t black. It was a minty green that blended in with the tree around me, and it was more strandy than my hair had ever been. I then reached to my back, and sure enough my hair ran along it a ways, too.


    It was almost like I was in a different body¡­


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± I suddenly started patting myself down all over, only to find that I¡¯d been dressed up in some sort of brown and black, basic, fantasy-styled rogue outfit¡ªa translucent, teal scarf being the centerpiece¡ªand that various proportions on my body had changed.


    Starting with the most apparent proportional change, as my hair wasn¡¯t the only thing obfuscating my vision as I tried to look myself over, I was no longer flat as a whetstone¡ªnot like I was gonna complain about it, though. My body also seemed to have gotten a bit fitter than it was. While I was fit and athletic before, I definitely showed it more now¡ªI was more toned, I guess would be the way to put it. I also discerned that I might¡¯ve grown a bit taller, too, although I wasn¡¯t entirely sure of it.


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m fine. All these changes seem easily adaptable or even beneficial. Yeah, there¡¯s nothing that seems too incredibly off¡­ WHAT THE DOUBLE HELL?!¡± I thought that I was through the thick of it, but no. As I was feeding myself lines of self-assurance, my hands made contact to a major change that I felt stupid for not coming across earlier¡ªlike that time when I was reaching back to feel my hair, for instance.


    Springing from my back were two, large, white and teal, angelic looking wings, which were very clearly not a normal part of a human body.


    ¡°Wait... then I really did die?! Is this heaven? It¡¯s a lot more bland than I expected... but it does seem to have that whole high above the clouds thing in check, at least.¡± I took a long exhale, coming to the conclusion that I¡¯d lost my life somehow and maybe I¡¯d just forgotten it. I mean, why else would I have angel wings? Still though, I¡¯d have to admit, I was kinda surprised that I ended up in heaven. I wasn¡¯t exactly a devout believer in God or anything.


    ¡°C¡¯mon¡­ this is all too disappointing! I¡¯d expected there might have been some big ol¡¯, ¡°Welcome To Heaven!¡± party or something, not just to end up there¡ª¡±


    Fwoooosh!


    I was continuing to recite my disbelief and dissatisfaction when the wind picked up and a large blade of it crashed into the tree I was perched on, causing it to wobble.


    ¡°Wh-Whoa!¡± I also wobbled a little, and tried to maintain balance on the tree. I didn¡¯t want to fantasize about the idea of falling, and I also wasn¡¯t quite ready to trust my angelic flying capabilities to get me over to the cliff, either.


    Fwoooosh!


    Another blade of wind careened into the tree, causing the tree to begin to wobble even more aggressively than before. It was probably more of a sway at that point.


    ¡°Uuuhhh¡­Okay... SOMEBODY GET ME OFF OF THIS THING!!!¡± Holding my position, I looked over at the trunk of the tree and I found that it was just barely maintaining an upright position by a narrow sliver of wood. It was strongly looking like I was about to get plummeted into the abyss of sky below me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if angels can die, but I really don¡¯t want to find out¡ª¡±


    Fwoooosh! CRACK!


    One last blade of air finished off the tree¡¯s trunk, and I found myself falling with the rest of the tree. Afraid of what was about to happen to me, I clung to my branch like a koala clinging to its favorite eucalyptus tree and closed my eyes, preparing to ride out my descent.

 Chapter 1 - Man of The Mist

    The end was near. I felt the air picking up around me. I must¡¯ve been falling. I was falling. I was falling!


    Even though I was falling, in reality, I¡¯d been excited about my situation, less than I was frustrated or fearful. It was just easier to say I was frustrated or fearful. I mean, for the first time, my life was warranting some form of adventure, so maybe falling into oblivion wasn¡¯t so bad. My adventure as an angel was just starting, so maybe I¡¯d be impervious to harm or something. Yeah, that seemed like something that was possib¡ª


    Smack!


    I¡¯d hit something that felt like ground far sooner than I would¡¯ve expected, and it consequently interrupted my ingenious rationalizing by giving me a face full of dirt. The impact had hurt, so I had to go forward assuming that I wasn¡¯t impervious to harm.


    ¡°Bleh! Gross, gross, gross!¡± I spit out the earthy contents that had collected in my mouth and did my best to wipe my tongue clean¡ªit was likely a rather grotesque display, but why should I have cared about etiquette anyways? I was in the middle of nowhere, it wasn¡¯t likely anyone could¡¯ve seen me.


    Anyways, after making sure my tongue was properly cleaned, I made the effort of getting to know my surroundings, and in doing so, I discerned where I was. The tree had been on an isle amidst two roaring streams that nosedived into the abyss below the cliff which the isle presided, and that was where I now laid. There was an incredibly dense, pale-green mist being produced where the waters fell over the cliff, too. It not only blended in with what the leaves of the tree had looked like, causing me to stumble on the unseen sticks of the tree¡¯s corpse as I squirmed along the ground, but it matched with what my hair now looked like, too. Therefore, I had perfect camouflage.


    It was a relief to find that I hadn¡¯t fallen through innumerable stories of open air, but it also left me with more questions. Predominantly, the question of why the hell a tree that was suspended over open air decided to fall against the will of gravity and backwards onto a cliff.


    ¡°Maybe¡­ Wait, gotta make sure!¡± For some reason I was full of energy, and I jerked myself off the ground, teetering into a standing position. I was a bit off balance, but I just chalked that up to being in a new body, or maybe a change in how my weight was proportioned thanks to my angel wings.


    Once I was fully balanced, I bent my knees to prepare for a jump, only to falter when I was meant to lift off and stumble back onto the ground, gaining another face full of dirt. At the very least, now I knew that there was indeed gravity... Although, in retrospect, that much should¡¯ve been obvious through standing up. I probably didn¡¯t need to test it out.


    After mentally recollecting myself for a few seconds, I found my footing once again, and hastily ran back through the process of cleaning out my mouth, and then I also dusted off my newly acquired long hair. I wasn¡¯t used to having hair that could dangle and accumulate dirt and debris when you fell¡ªwell, not easily.


    Fwoooosh!


    It was after getting up that another blade of wind cut through the air a good ways above my head, dispersing the mist. From the temporarily cleared air the blade created, I could make out a figure heading towards me.


    I braced myself for anything. My day had been so wild up until that point that I had no idea what to suspect; the approacher could¡¯ve been either friend or foe¡­ or even both.


    I say I braced myself for anything, but in reality I did my best to stumble my way into a defensible stance. I was really not used to moving around yet.


    As the figure gradually drew nearer, more blades of wind cut through the air on a periodic schedule. I¡¯d always had fairly decent vision, so I could make the approacher out from a good distance away, but he probably required the mist to be absent in order to properly make me out.


    Now that the figure was, in fact, closer, I could discern that its shape clearly belonged to a human-like being of seemingly male anatomy, but most features that would typically be considered ¡®defining¡¯ were still obfuscated by the ever refilling mist; however, eventually he came fully into view.


    The figure was that of a husky, middle-aged man¡ªa man, not an angel. He had scruffy blonde hair, which contrasted with a well-kept and sharp beard. Through one look into his deep green eyes, you would immediately read that he had a sort of kind but stern fatherly might to him. His outfit, much like mine, looked like it was directly ripped out of a fantasy story, consisting of some worn-down armors that padded his body, and durable cloths. He had a large, rigid axe in his hand, too¡ªlikely the perpetrator that created the blades of wind¡­ somehow.


    I was starting to think that maybe I didn¡¯t die and go to heaven, but instead I was transported to some sort of fantasy world. In truth, as a closet closet shut-in, that prospect excited me far more than, y¡¯know, being dead.


    The man kept waltzing his way up to me. He was very slow and methodical about how he was moving, and it took me a second to realize that he must¡¯ve been wading through the water¡ªI was on a very small island, after all. However, he eventually reached me, and when he did a huge smile lit up on his face as he unloaded a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m not going insane! Booyah!¡± Despite appearing to be a middle-aged man, he had no shortage of energy and¡­ interesting ways of exclaiming his apparent relief, as he pumped his fists and shouted into the air.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Hi¡ª?¡± I tried introducing myself to the man, but he wasn¡¯t actually paying attention to me¡ªthe girl I could only assume he¡¯d walked through thick mists and rushing waters to get to.


    ¡°Ahaha! Do you know how crazy it is to hear someone yelling out in the distance like you were?! Do you? I¡¯ve been exploring this area for countless years and never once have I ever randomly came across someone out here! Not once! I swear, I thought I was having some sort of mid-life psychotic breakdown or that I was hallucinating or something...!¡± The man was now incredibly close to my face, but still managed to avoid spitting on me. How considerate. I¡¯d always considered myself a veritable expert on how to expressly release emotions, and along with that, an expert on the classic self-celebration, but the man I¡¯d just met beat that consideration right out of me. In his presence, I was an inferior emotional shrub being devoured by the all-consuming aura of the man¡¯s own emotional flexibility and openness. And that was all I was.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    So, I found that I didn¡¯t have a choice. I¡¯d regretfully have to be the party killer for once if I wanted anything close to an explanation. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s great and all, but mind telling me what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Oh, my bad. I almost forgot.¡± The man acknowledged that he might have been overly enthusiastic, but that didn¡¯t steer him away from doing what he did next. Without a moment¡¯s notice, the man picked me up like he was carrying a long skinny box, and held me in the air. In response, my body had instinctively converted to a stiffness that could best be compared to a wooden nutcracker or an old Source Engine player model. I was not yet ready for what came next, and I was mentally unable to comprehend what was going on.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, lass, bring it in!¡±


    ¡°Wh-wh-what are you doing¡ªOumf!¡± Delicately but tightly clutching me, the man tossed his axe aside and wasted no time in bringing me in for the biggest bear hug I¡¯d ever received, and that had likely ever been given. The bristles of his finely trimmed beard brushed against my scalp and his large, muscular arms squeezed me tightly¡ªit was a weird array of tickling and tightness, which prompted me to squirm as he grasped me. He was dirty, but I wasn¡¯t repulsed (I was dirty, too)¡ªthe only thing resembling a ¡®stench¡¯ that he carried was a more aromatic version of the minty smell brought about by the mist.


    Although I was pretty sure what he was doing would likely be considered an act of sexual assault in almost every part of the world, for some reason, it didn¡¯t bother me. Sure, I was overwhelmed, but for the most part the whole thing was just wholesome. There were no sexual or projected intents behind what he was doing¡ªhe was just genuinely happy he wasn¡¯t going insane, I suppose.


    After some time of holding me closely, the man returned me back into the air in front of him and then started speaking to me.


    ¡°Alright, lass, sorry about that. Guess I lost my composure.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it¡­ That sort of stuff happens sometimes. Heheh...¡± A visible bead of sweat ran down my face as I tried to reassure the man he had caused me no mental or emotional damage through his sudden embrace, but I could tell it wasn¡¯t the best bluff. My voice was shaky and my eyes were averted. I was never the best liar. Still, he seemed to, for some reason, believe me, though, as he continued on naive to my distress.


    ¡°Well then, ain¡¯t that just the best news today?!¡± The man was talking in a loud, heartily booming voice, despite our close proximity. It was slowly causing my brains to be vibrated into a gooey mush.


    ¡°Glad you¡¯re happy¡­¡± I wanted to ask him to put me down, but I could tell that he had other things planned for me while I was still within his grasp, and it wasn¡¯t long before I was confirmed of this fact.


    ¡°Okay, lass, listen here. I don¡¯t know how you got here, but we really shouldn¡¯t be sticking around for long.¡± The man started explaining to me our situation, and I found the willpower to now once again look him in the eyes. Despite being held away from his body, our faces remained an uncomfortable distance from each other, so I had to persistently readjust my face to mask my restlessness.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you ended up here, but I¡¯ve decided to get you to safety.¡±


    ¡°Uh... safety? Are we not safe here?¡± The isle we were on appeared to be merely a serene outlook over the cliff face, AKA not inherently dangerous. I couldn¡¯t really see anything other than the potential of being swept away by a flash flood that could be enlisted as a possible hazard.


    ¡°Damn, you¡¯re really clueless, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Rather blunt way of putting it, but you could say so, yes.¡±


    ¡°Well then, lass, right now it¡¯s lilydog season, don¡¯t you know? So, how about that? Should be explanation enough, right?¡±


    ¡°That literally tells me nothing¡­¡± Considering I had no idea what a lilydog was, I had no way of confirming the severity of what he was saying. So, it literally told me nothing. I swear, I wasn¡¯t just being a bummer for the sake of it.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, I can¡¯t be explaining everything to you right now! You¡¯ll just have to trust me for a bit, okay?¡± The man¡¯s expression was becoming one of slight discomfort, too, which actually helped me become better adjusted to a more comfortable expression around him. Whatever he was talking about, he sincerely believed that we¡ªor at least I¡ªwould be in danger if we stayed put where we were, and that was enough for me to give him the leeway to do whatever he needed to with me. ¡°Alright then! Do what you need to.¡±


    ¡°So, here¡¯s my plan. I¡¯m gonna chuck you.¡± Except that. I wasn¡¯t gonna let him do that.


    ¡°Permission redacted! What the hell do you mean by you¡¯re gonna chuck me?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna throw you. Toss you. Set you off like a ball of fire soaring through the air, flying off towards its next target.¡±


    ¡°I meant, why are you gonna throw me?!¡±


    ¡°No time to explain! Just deal with it.¡± He was being literal. Before I had time to object further, the man repositioned his grab towards my feet, and got himself into a throwing stance.


    ¡°Hold up! I don¡¯t wanna deal with it! I don¡¯t wanna¡ªAAAAAAAH!!!¡± And then, I was thrown. As I braced myself for impact, I desperately flailed my arms around in the air, but it appeared my efforts were in vain, as my brace was quickly overshadowed by a gust of wind which promptly cushioned my impact to the ground. Just like that, I was over one of the streams.


    ¡°Hey! You¡¯re alright over there, aren¡¯t you?!¡± The man called across to me to check if I was okay. And physically, I was, but in almost every other compartment I had become entirely drained of resources in only a mere few minutes after meeting the man. Everything in life was happening all so swiftly, much swifter than I¡¯d ever expected life could move. It was all too much.


    Still, I found the latent energy that was stored within the deepest recesses of my mind and chidingly called back to the man. ¡°If being alright means being overwhelmed, bruised, and ragged, then I¡¯m the most alright person in the world right now!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Okay, sounds great! I¡¯m coming over!¡± Yet the man didn¡¯t appear to catch on to the ridicule in my voice, and using his axe as a superpowered lever, flung himself over the stream in a fashion that would be impossible for just your average old dude¡­ or anyone, actually.


    He soared through the air in a pose similar to one that you¡¯d see an acrobatic superhero utilize. Knees and head first, arms pointedly positioned behind him, body leaned forward in a way that made him slice through the air like an arrowhead. It was a deeply awe-inspiring feat to watch, but he performed it so casually that it almost lacked luster.


    This lack of luster only further emphasized by the equally inelegant landing that followed the leap, as the man crashed into the ground full force next to me. However, he seemed rather unperturbed by what should¡¯ve been a painful landing, and got up on his feet only a few moments later. Well, thinking on it, he did have armor and padding, so it probably didn¡¯t hurt all that much.


    ¡°Ah, so you are alright! Good thing I didn¡¯t throw you like that, huh?¡± The man quickly found his way facing me and caringly checked me over with his tender eyes. But I couldn¡¯t really find the will to care all that much about what he was doing or thinking.


    Once more, I had a new question to add on to my ever growing list. One that arose from seeing the man jump through the air in such a surreal and superhuman fashion.


    ¡°Who the hell are you¡­?¡±

 Chapter 2 - Rush of The Reckless

    The breeze was filtering through my hair. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins¡­


    ¡°Ack! Ouch! Owie!¡± Sticks were carelessly colliding with my face. The man, holding me by the collar like a battering ram, was dashing through the dense and hilly landscapes of a mist enshrouded woods that mimicked the type of temperate rainforests you¡¯d see in the northwestern areas of the United States. My newly attained wings, which should¡¯ve also been protruding and getting scraped to bits, had somehow instinctively curled themselves around my back, so if there was any consolation to this insanity it was that.


    Why was he doing this? Well, I couldn¡¯t really say, as he gave me the same exact reason that he gave me for why we needed to leave the isle ASAP and also for why he chucked me like I was last week¡¯s newspaper. ¡°Don¡¯t you know? It¡¯s lilydog season.¡±


    ¡°Well I didn¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t want to know. I just wanna be put down!¡± Thinking back on how the man had suddenly yanked me off the ground and took off running, I continued to harbor immense resentment towards being pushed along by life like this. Sure, I guess it was an adventure, but still; I wanted to carve my own adventure, not be dragged around without any input into the manner.


    ¡°Trust me, I get where you¡¯re coming from, but it¡¯s just not safe!¡± The man, as nonchalantly and earnestly as ever, gave me a dismissive but kindhearted response that once more showed to me that he was truly trying to help, but¡­


    I wasn¡¯t gonna let him off the hook just yet.


    ¡°I ask you a simple question, ¡°Who are you?¡± from a place of absolute and awestruck sincerity, and your response is to shrug it off, equip me like some sort of makeshift lance, and charge forward acting like you¡¯re about to storm the fricking Bastille! What the heck, man?! What the actual heck?!¡±


    ¡°Ahaha, you¡¯re certainly something, aren¡¯t you lass? Truth be told, I¡¯ve no idea what you¡¯re talking about, but I think I understand. Next time, I¡¯ll let you know before I pick you up and start running.¡± Clearly unperturbed by the exhaust that should have come with such a long, consistently paced run, the man simply laughed at my tantrum and kept on about his day¡ª


    Wait, did he say next time? What does he mean next t¡ª


    Whack!


    Before I could finish realizing the man¡¯s considerate inconsideracy, I was met with a giant branch making direct contact with my forehead, nearly knocking me out of the man¡¯s clutches. Since I was being carried head first, my face was repeatedly the victim to his failed attempts to proficiently weave through the forest.


    ¡°Hey, could you at least slow down a bit?! It¡¯s not like we¡¯re in any immediate danger yet. Why don¡¯t we just take it easy for now?¡± Realizing that reprimanding the man wasn¡¯t working, I decided to plead with him to appeal to his sense of sympathy and reason, with the intent of regaining even slight control of the situation.


    ¡°So, you¡¯d rather wait for danger to appear and then run? Even though you could¡¯ve just avoided that danger in the first place? Is that it, lass?¡± The man, not even paying heed to my request and utterly lacking the ability to understand where I was coming from, took his turn trying to appeal to my sense of reason, ironically slowing down to more carefully select his words on why we should keep on moving quickly.


    ¡°Well, if we were in mortal danger, it¡¯d make this whole running away thing a lot more intense and fun, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± From my position, scrambling to escape a situation of certain peril was exactly what made adventure stories so adventurous, so naturally I craved a scenario like that. But the man¡­ he was as oblivious to my wants as always.


    ¡°Ahaha! You¡¯re hilarious, lass! What a unique outlook.¡± Yup, he laughed his hearty laugh¡ªlike always¡ªand just kept on going. I was starting to doubt if this person ¡®helping¡¯ me could even hold a serious conversation if he tried. If he couldn¡¯t, that¡¯d certainly become a problem for me, as I planned on questioning him after this whole ordeal.


    ¡°Listen here, guy, I¡¯m not looking for your sentiments. All I¡¯m looking for is my very own advent¡ª¡°


    ¡°Stick!¡±


    Whack! Another stick struck me across my forehead, leaving a huge red mark in its wake.


    ¡°Thought I¡¯d give you a little heads up this time.¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± And with that final and decisive blow to my face, all my rushing optimism, will to reason, and intrigue had been wholly soaked up and replaced with the purest form of sulking one could ever sulk. So, just that one time, I decided to concede to the will of life and just ride out my position in a first person luggage simulator.


    The man kept dashing for upwards of fifteen minutes, never once slowing down in pace or chutzpah. Skillfully maneuvering up and down mountains, in between trees, and around thickets of thorns like it was his day job. Sadly, that job¡¯s requirements clearly didn¡¯t include being a professional jouster, as my face began to look more akin to a kitten¡¯s¡ªno, a lion¡¯s¡ªscratching post with the amount of scrapes and bruises covering its contours.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    But luckily for me and my face, we seemed to be nearing the end of our forest expedition, as we neared the top of an enormous mountain that we¡¯d been climbing.


    With one final hoorah, the man slid down the mountain, yelling his typical thrilled ¡°wahoos¡± and ¡°cowabungas¡± along the way. I was barely fortunate enough to have been angled feet first as this happened.


    Upon touching down at the bottom of the mountain, I realized that the mist had all but dissipated, and I was finally released from the man¡¯s clutches. Staggering to the ground, I became one with the moss, purposefully faceplanting in mental exhaust.


    The man, now slowed to a staggering stop, took a deep breath and declared to me, ¡°And that will conclude our relaxing dash through the woods, how you hanging up over there, lass?¡±


    Still face down, I decided to give the man a half hearted thumbs up, so we could finally continue about our day.


    ???


    ¡°Basically, there¡¯s a giant snake-like creature called the Rapiter that lurks in those mists. Although they¡¯re typically crepuscular, during lilydog season, they come out to hunt during the day. I¡¯m not exactly well versed with the art of fighting while someone¡¯s in tow, so I just figured I¡¯d get us out of there as quickly as I could.¡±


    It had been a good hour of additional walking since our delightful jog through the woods. On that walk, I adjusted to my body and after only a couple of dozen stumbles and tumbles, I got used to it. The whole time we followed a nearby stream that was a good amount smaller than the ones we¡¯d encountered previously.


    We were heading to the man¡¯s home to camp out for the night when me and my horribly bruised face finally demanded answers. So, now positioned on a log by the stream, we sat next to each other talking.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I kind of think it would¡¯ve been pretty cool for you to have fought it¡­¡± Somewhat let down by the idea that I missed not only the opportunity to see a giant snake, but the chance to see a brawl with a giant snake, I idly kicked my feet around in the air in deflated anticipation. ¡°Ugh¡­! I¡¯m certainly starting to hate that I can¡¯t genuinely grill you about making my face the wood¡¯s personal punching bag, though.¡±


    ¡° I totally get where you¡¯re coming from. I should¡¯ve been more careful. Sorry about that, lass, I truly am.¡± The man bowed his head in apology.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know you are, but that just makes it that much worse, y¡¯know? Like I said, I can¡¯t even be mad at you.¡± With only the briefest moment of lament, I soon regained my energy and decided to pursue onwards. I wouldn¡¯t let a few scratches and bruises deter me from experiencing this other world to its fullest extent! No, I needed to press onwards.


    So, I derived a scheme. ¡°You really feel bad about it, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°O-Of course! How many times do I gotta say it, lass? I feel bad, I really do!¡± In a mild frenzy, the man once more apologized; however, it was apparent from how he unintentionally averted his gaze that he was kind of getting sick of reiterating that he was actually sorry¡ªhe was, despite how he tended to act, a fully grown man, after all. I knew all of this, but I still wanted to hear it one more time.


    ¡°Perfect! Then to make it up to me, you can help me out for a bit, can¡¯t you?¡± Standing up with a resolute finger pointed at the man, I stated my question as a pseudo-order. That was my scheme¡ª


    ¡°Well isn¡¯t that great? Our two objectives are the same then!¡± With a big, almost mockingly huge, grin the man leaned forward and reached out his hand to me. ¡°I planned on helping you from the start. So, c¡¯mon now, let¡¯s head back to my place, grab some grub, and we can go over our plan of attack. How about it?¡±


    ¡°How about it, you say? I feel like you just ruined my master scheme, that¡¯s how about it!¡± Upset that what I¡¯d figured would¡¯ve been one of my first (successful) attempts at deception, I took a quick second to pout and ridicule the man, before turning my head to face his and flashing him a coy smile. ¡°But whatever, I¡¯m hungry, so let¡¯s do it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the right spirit! A good meal always brings people closer together, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    And with that, we, as two strangers from different worlds¡ªtwo people who didn¡¯t yet even know each other¡¯s names¡ªtemporarily intertwined our paths through life via the vessel of a firm handshake. Both now standing, we stared at each other, faces coated with the call of adventure, letting camaraderie soak in¡­


    ¡°Welp, since you¡¯re so hungry¡­ I¡¯m gonna make this quick, alright, lass? Let¡¯s go!¡± The man¡¯s grip suddenly tightened around my hand, and I saw a childish look of mischief appear in the backs of his eyes.


    ¡°Eh? What are you¡ª¡± Before I even had a chance to inquire his intentions, my fate was sealed. It was happening again.


    ¡°Forward charge!¡±


    ¡°No. No. No! Put me down! Put me down!¡± I was once more equipped as the man¡¯s woodland luggage, as he took off sprinting.


    ¡°Onwards, to dinner!¡±


    It took a second for me to realize. To realize that through this whole thing¡­ I was really having fun. No, I was having the time of my life.


    Despite saying I wasn¡¯t making my own adventure. Despite my repertoire of minor injuries that I¡¯d acquired. Despite sulking, pouting, growing irritated, and being an overall bummer of a person¡ªoverall being unlike my usual self¡ªI was having the time of my life.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Onwards, to dinner! We¡¯ve gotta beat the night!¡±


    ???


    ¡°Psst, April! You¡¯ve just gotta tell the class an experience that made you feel truly alive.¡± My classmate told me the assignment, and it seemed simple enough, so I gave her a thankful nod in response.


    But when I stood up, I couldn¡¯t think of anything. Was there anything I could say that wouldn¡¯t be a blatant lie? Was there a single experience I could relay? That I could even think of?


    ???


    ¡ªYeah, there is. There was this one time a barbaric mountain man¡ªor rather manchild¡ªused me as a battering ram.

 Chapter 3 - Peak of The Peaks

    By the time we¡¯d arrived and the man had prepared our dinner, it was already getting to be sunset¡­ or should I say, something that looked like sunset.


    I hadn¡¯t noticed before¡ªprobably because of the thick mists and neverending canopies my day had been made up of¡ªbut it appeared the world didn¡¯t have a celestial body exactly like the sun. Instead, it had a single, unmoving moon, which regulated the day/night cycle through transitioning radiance. It was a crimson red, which gave it sort of a foreboding air, but it still emitted white light and warmth like a sun would, so I guess it wasn¡¯t all that different.


    We¡¯d gotten to the man¡¯s ¡®house¡¯ sometime in the evening, but as the man hadn¡¯t had any food stockpiled, I¡¯d had to meander around his place for a solid hour before anything was ready to be cooked and served.


    He, true to his childish nature, didn¡¯t live in your traditional home. No, he lived in a quaint little, two room tree house that he¡¯d seemingly constructed on his own. Given that this world apparently had stuff like giant snakes, it made sense you wouldn¡¯t want your house on the ground, but in my mind, it was childish nevertheless. Therefore, I liked it.


    Anyways, his tree house was situated along the stream we¡¯d been following up until that point, which lead to a cliff face with many very small but pristine waterfalls coming out of some crevices. We were sitting on an attached patio that stretched over the stream, so it created an amazing scenic view of the landscape that surrounded us, or at least, it would¡¯ve if my eyes weren¡¯t laser focused on something else.


    ¡°Is this really food? Like really, really?¡± In front of me was a plate full of atrocities other worldly delicacies that the man had tracked down for us to eat. And while it looked like he had spent a sincerely admirable amount of time in the preparation and presentation of the meal, he would¡¯ve had no way of knowing that, as a person from another world, the course wouldn¡¯t seem the least bit appetizing to me.


    ¡°What¡¯s up? Don¡¯t tell me this isn¡¯t up to par with a Seraph¡¯s divine palette?¡± With a slight chuckle the man poked fun at my clear disinterest in consuming the meal set out in front of me.


    That ¡®meal¡¯ primarily consisted of: a viscous pink fluid that was captured within something that looked like a recently picked plant stem as a drink; a large amount of light blue herbs speckled with oxygen-choking, yellow spores, garnishing what appeared to be a distinctly odiferous and criminally tough piece of meat from a recently felled animal the man must¡¯ve hunted during my downtime; and two large, barbed insectoid legs that were likely meant to be eaten like a crab¡¯s¡ªsucking out the insides like some alien monster.


    Maybe the meal would be acceptable for someone who¡¯d been more adventurous in the culinary world to consume without a second thought, but for me, a sheltered girl who came from a household that stuck with our very limited cafe menu for meals, it was incredibly intimidating. But even then...


    ¡°Grr! Screw it! I¡¯m too hungry to be worrying about these types of things!¡± In no time flat, I caved and opted to consume this foreign feast.


    I didn¡¯t merely consume it, however, I shoveled it into my mouth in such a rushed, inelegant fashion that my initial hesitation seemed almost trivial and nonexistent. Well, in reality, what I was doing was only trying to prevent myself from thinking about what was going into my mouth, by getting every last morsel in and down before logic could find its place to kick in. That, and I was starving.


    ¡°So, how is it?¡± After my first wave of chaotic consumption, though, the man butted in, causing me to slow down my pace and actually taste the food.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess it¡¯s pretty much as disgusting as I expected it to be. Yeah, absolutely repulsive.¡± When my mind finally comprehended what was being forced down my throat, a gag reflex rose to the surface of it and almost caused me to break my steel-willed composure, but I was effectively able to spit out a casual, but brutally true remark, and find the will to continue scarfing down my dinner.


    ¡°Ahaha, that hurts! I don¡¯t know whether to be amused or ashamed.¡± Surprisingly, despite its blatant harshness, the man was still able to laugh off my jabs at his food. Although, the way he talked hinted to me that he might¡¯ve been a bit disappointed that I wasn¡¯t truly enjoying the dinner he¡¯d spent so long preparing¡­


    ¡°Dammit! Now I feel guilty and stuff¡­¡± Not able to look the man in the eyes, I muttered to myself just quiet enough that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hear me.


    Oh well, I¡¯ll just make it up to him later.


    Dinner went by, and I felt like a football player had just tackled my gut. It wasn¡¯t the food¡¯s fault, either. Okay, it was partially the food¡¯s fault. For the most part, though, the feeling was a consequence of my own frustration and an equal repulsion at myself for acting in such a brutish way. Sure, it was nice to let loose and slob out, but I figured it¡¯d probably be best if I kept some kind of minimum standard for myself.


    Plus, I acted that way in front of a stranger who was offering his help to me. ...Well, he didn¡¯t seem to particularly mind, so I found it wasn¡¯t worth worrying about. I was just being myself.


    After dinner was sufficiently cleaned up, we both sat in silence as the red moon was gradually growing dimmer. I didn¡¯t know every bit of detail on how this world¡¯s time system worked, but I rolled with the assumption that it was probably only a few short minutes until night.


    ¡°Welp, I guess it¡¯s just about that time then, ain¡¯t it?¡± The man was the one who broke the silence, standing up and stretching out his arms like he was preparing for something.


    ¡°Time for what exactly¡ª¡±


    ¡°The name¡¯s Elklin Peakswill! Put it here, lass, because this will be the official start of our partnership going forward, you got that?!¡± Full of an energy that repudiated his age, the man¡ªElklin Peakswill¡ªfinally got around to introducing himself in a rather eventful manner, ending the introduction with one hand prepared for a handshake and the other with its thumb pointing at a wide smile.


    While I was impressed by his dedication to our blossoming partnership, my face immediately morphed into one akin to the type that would be born if a serial killer was about to round the corner, and I meticulously recoiled, shaking my head and shivering.


    ¡°Uh¡­ lass, what¡¯s wrong?¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Your hand is that of a demon. As soon as I grasp it, you¡¯ll pick me up and subject me to relentless pain! I¡¯ll be used as your forest plow again! ...No, you¡¯re not gonna get me this time!¡± I was, of course, joking with Elklin to make him feel bad, but some of the hesitation was real. Up until that point, every time I reached for his hand, I was met with a hazardous trip through the woods. And yes, while I found the ability to take those trips with a grain of salt, it was the end of the day and I was tired. I wasn¡¯t going to take any chances.


    ¡°H-Hold on, I actually wanted a hand¡ª¡±


    ¡°Anyways~, it¡¯s my turn to introduce myself, isn¡¯t it?¡± I blew Elklin off and got started with my own introduction with a single goal in mind: to surpass his introduction in almost every possible category. All day he¡¯d been beating me in charisma and moxie, so for once, I refused to fall short.


    In order to do this, I hoisted myself up upon the wooden guard rail that lined the patio and stood, using it as a pedestal for my announcement. After a moment or two of flailing and almost falling over, I gained my balance and with all of the energy left in my body I spoke.


    ¡°It¡¯s April Fallow! A-P-R-I-L Fallow. Lost and ignorant, I have no idea what the hell is going on right now, or where I¡¯m at! But I do know where I¡¯m going. I¡¯m going on the adventure of a lifetime, the likes of which I¡¯d previously thought impossible. The likes of which I¡¯d always dreamed of. And you know why, right? It¡¯s because, I am April Fallow, an envoy from¡­ ANOTHER WORLD¡ªWh-Wh-Whoa!¡± As my introduction concluded so did the patio rail¡¯s stability, as it detached and, still as one whole piece, began to fall over the edge. Unable to react in time, I blinked in dumbfoundment before plunging into the stream along with it, unintentionally earning myself a much deserved bath. One that would, hopefully, wash away the embarrassment of flubbing my introduction so hard, and the overall cringe that resulted from it.


    I wasn¡¯t upset though. Not only had this world ripped the ability for me to become upset at it right out of my soul through the happenstances of precisely half a day¡¯s time, but in the end, I succeeded. I beat him in both charisma and moxie. It was an introduction of unmatchable energy, and I was proud of it. The embarrassment was a small price to pay for that.


    Now, all I had to do was swim to the surface and see Elklin¡¯s reaction¡­ I mean, the stream wasn¡¯t moving that fast, so it should¡¯ve been easy. That was, if I didn¡¯t have two protruding wings amplifying the strength of the current on me. Two protruding wings that were actively going against my ability to survive. Why did I even have them anyways?! Why did I¡ª


    Fwoosh!


    Before I knew it, a familiar blade of air cut through the water, parting it enough for me to regain the ability to think clearly. In that time, I scrambled up to the stream bank and flopped down on my back, gasping for air. Once I¡¯d fully recovered, I stayed laying there, gazing up at the beautiful night sky and appreciating just how different this world really was. There wasn¡¯t even a single star I could recognize.


    The moon¡¯s color had changed: it was a dazzling, cool blue.


    ¡°Another world, huh?¡± After awhile of laying there, Elklin caught up to where I was and equipped with his signature beaming smile, extended his hand to me for the fourth and final time of that day. This time, I didn¡¯t hesitate in grabbing it. ¡°Well then, April, let me be the first to welcome you to this gloriously messed up world of Creation.¡±


    ¡°Creation¡­ That¡¯s a rather unoriginal name, isn¡¯t it?¡± Finding my bearings as the man pulled me up, I stopped for a second to mull on the world¡¯s name then shook my head. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m glad to be here.¡±


    ¡°Of course you are, after all, if you¡¯re looking for an adventure, there¡¯s no better place to be than Shelter Spire! ...Although, that¡¯s a rather controversial opinion.¡±


    ¡°Shelter Spire must be this giant mountain we''re on, right?¡± At being given a name of our location¡ªno, at having my ambitions affirmed¡ª excitement rose within me.


    ¡°Yup, for the most part. To be more exact though¡­ Shelter Spire is the dungeon that resides within this mountain.¡± The man gave a knowing nod to me with a sly look on his face. He was purposefully hyping me up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just shut up about it! Tell me more!¡± A dungeon within a fantasy world meant monsters and puzzles and most of all, adventure. It meant that I¡¯d have the ability to work towards an immediate goal, and despite not knowing any details whatsoever, it meant my resolve was solid. Without needing any further information, I¡¯d decided. ¡°Nevermind, don¡¯t spoil it for me¡­ I¡¯m gonna conquer the Shelter Spire¡ª¡±


    ¡°Thought you¡¯d say that.¡± Elklin¡¯s hand swifty touched down upon my back, making me choke on my words. ¡°Look, I¡¯m just as excited as you, maybe even more so, but we¡¯re gonna have to slow our roll. Let¡¯s head back and review some stuff, then tomorrow we can start getting you prepared to take on the world, okay?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re seeming a bit too quick to believe everything I say.¡± Something about Elklin¡¯s enthusiasm made me realize that he¡¯d never once doubted anything I said. Surely, if someone came to my world and said they weren¡¯t from Earth, I¡¯d think they were insane. So, why then? Why was he so insistent to believe me.


    Well, I suppose the answer shouldn¡¯t have been too hard to figure out.


    ¡°Listen here, if you go through life doubting and mistrusting every which way, you¡¯re never gonna get anywhere. So, I chose to trust you.¡±


    It just wasn¡¯t in his nature to doubt people.


    ¡°Besides, people have been told to be summoned to this world all the time. It¡¯s not exactly an unheard of oddity.¡±


    ¡°¡ªEh?¡± To the veritable bombshell Elklin just dropped on me, my brain failed to register a proper response.


    ¡°Considering how incredibly inept you appear, you weren¡¯t exactly making it a hard sell, either.¡±


    ¡°¡ªEh?¡± To the hastily inserted jab at me, my brain failed to register a proper response. However, the man started walking back to his house.


    ¡°So you coming or what? It¡¯s getting late and¡ª¡±


    ¡°Stop moving so fast! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!¡± But I couldn¡¯t contain it. Everything that day had been so sporadic, so rapidly stupid, that I finally got fed up with it all and reverted to the mental age of a child.


    ¡°¡ªEh?¡± This time it was Elklin who responded with befuddlement.


    ¡°Give me a moment to process everything, okay? Stop moving so fast!¡± My infantile distress continued, yet Elklin seemed unphased.


    Sigh... ¡°Guess I¡¯ve got no other choice.¡± As always, without any warning, Elklin picked me up. I felt like I knew what was going to happen: he was going to take off, with me under his arm, and forcibly drag me out of my stupor and to his house. However, even that expectation was betrayed. I was soon found lifted over him with one of his hands on my stomach and the other grasping onto my legs.


    ¡°Hm¡­ this is a new way of carrying m¡ª¡±


    ¡°Fly! Fly like the Seraph you are!¡± I was launched. Sent flying like a spear piercing the night sky. My target: an open window up on Elklin¡¯s treehouse. Throw accuracy: 100%. Throw strength: maybe a bit too much.


    Not long after being tossed, spinning through the sky, I felt my back make contact with a wall, which I soon slid down only to land on a bed. My reaction was a mixture of being impressed, relieved, and a growing resentment at being thrown again. But more than that, my body¡ªmy everything¡ªwas undeniably exhausted. So, at the end of the day, I stole Elklin¡¯s bed and prepared for some much needed rest. I almost missed Elklin vaulting his way into the house.


    ¡°Elklin, I hope you know this bed is mine now.¡± Mustering up the last of my energy, I prodded Elklin, my expression an unchanging beacon of fatigue.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine but¡­¡± Elklin trailed off.


    ¡°But what?¡±


    ¡°Call me Peak, everybody else does. I¡¯m known as Peak of the Peaks.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ alright. Peak it is. That¡¯s much easier to remember than Elklin, anyways.¡± I was a bit thrown off by the fact that Peak knew other people¡ªI thought he was alone up here¡ªbut it wasn¡¯t any pressing matter for me. In just a few seconds, I was off snoring, anyways. Sleeping people can¡¯t exactly worry, can they?

 Chapter 4 - Quests of The Beginning

    ¡°So, Peak, what¡¯s the first thing we need to do in order to conquer this ¡°Shelter Spire¡±?¡± Morning had rolled around, and I¡¯d immediately tracked Peak down to begin some more proper questioning, and to finally take him up on his offer of help. When I found him, he was by the stream cleaning off some of his wardrobe with a wooden washboard. So, I sidled up next to him and plopped my feet into the water as I began.


    ¡°Whoa, hold on a second, lass.¡± Peak momentarily paused his washing to look at me. ¡°As much as I¡¯d love to conquer the dungeon with you, I just can¡¯t.¡±


    It took a moment for it to register with me, but when it did, I felt rightfully betrayed. ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t come with me! How are you supposed to help me then?¡±


    A look of shame and guilt washed over Peak¡¯s face. He clearly didn¡¯t mean to lead me in the wrong direction. Maybe, I¡¯d just jumped to conclusions about what his help would entail. ¡°Well, lass, there¡¯s a number of reasons why I can¡¯t come with you. Primarily, though, I have a job I needa keep up with.¡±


    ¡°You have a job? What kinda game you trying to pull here, Peak?¡± To Peak¡¯s response, only doubt filled my mind. After all, he was a man. Who lived alone. In the densely forested mountains. With no semblance of society around him. And he. Has a job? I was hard pressed to believe it.


    ¡°Ahaha, I get your reaction. I totally get it, but I really do. I have a job.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes. ¡°What job?¡±


    ¡°Well, you see. It¡¯s a rather important job actually! It¡¯s my duty to manage the woods around here, and to keep the concentration of dangerous creatures about to a minimum.¡± In a frenzy of hand gestures meant to somehow contribute towards the force required to convince me, Peak made his case. But the whole foundation of his reasoning was shaky, as it all fell apart with one simple question.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    As a result of my question, Peak¡¯s frenzy heightened. ¡°Why indeed?! Well¡­ umm. You see¡­ Uh¡­ Sigh, guess the jigs up.¡± And just like that, Peak conceded his point.


    ¡°Then, you really don¡¯t have a job! Wow, I never expected you to lie to me¡­¡± I spoke in a weird fit of betrayal and slight embarrassment for Peak.


    ¡°N-No, that¡¯s not it! I really do have a job! It¡¯s just that¡­ I¡¯m not the only one out here. Well, actually, I¡¯m the only one out here, but not the only one up here, if that makes any sense.¡± Peak explained in an anxious rush that made me believe that there was more to the story, but I suppose, I had no choice but to trust him. If he was lying, I¡¯d just have to respect his effort of doubling down on it.


    In this new world full of things to learn and places to fall flat on my face, I felt Peak could be the one constant. He was easy enough to read, at least. Even for me.


    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll take your word for it. But answer me this, why were you so hesitant to tell me this info?¡± I asked this question expecting the typical cliche of him wanting me all to himself or whatever, so the response I got just reaffirmed me of Peak¡¯s character.


    ¡°I¡¯m just not welcome where they are, okay? It¡¯s a little village named Shelter. There¡¯s people there who¡¯d rather not see me, and things I¡¯d rather not deal with.¡± Peak gazed off into the stream as he talked. ¡°But even still, I know I¡¯m gonna eventually have to bring you there, so I don¡¯t know why I even bothered hiding its existence.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s whatever. If you don¡¯t wanna bring me there, you don¡¯t have to¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, I do have to!¡± Peak interjected before I could finish offering him an out. I wasn¡¯t typically the type to let someone go, especially when it was to my disadvantage. I knew this about myself, too, it was one of my equal charms and flaws, but something about how distraught Peak looked¡­ it made me sympathize with him in a way I hadn¡¯t previously thought possible.


    Somehow, everytime I tried doing something different than my norm, Peak found a way to unintentionally shoot it down. It must¡¯ve been a secret talent of his or something.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to lead you. Going to Shelter¡¯s the only way you¡¯re gonna be able to start your adventure. That¡¯s where the entrance to Shelter Spire is.¡±


    ¡°You know, I should¡¯ve caught onto that naming trend sooner.¡± I was decently intelligent at remembering trivial stuff¡ªlike the type of useless knowledge they cram into your head for multiple choice tests¡ªbut when it came to making connections, even obvious ones, it would sometimes go right over my head.


    ¡°Ahaha! You never fail to break me out of a bad mood, April!¡± Peak stood up with a hearty laugh, and then nodded his head.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to break you out of a bad mood! I was just being stupid, you dork! Let me be stupid!¡± Something about being praised for messing up irked me to no end.


    ¡°Well, April, there¡¯s some prerequisites that you¡¯re gonna have to meet before you can enter the dungeon, anyways, so we¡¯d better get you started on those! I won¡¯t be able to go with you into the dungeon, because I have my job, but I¡¯ll do all I can to help you out, as promised. After all, you¡¯re the first person I¡¯ve had a chance to chill with for awhile. I¡¯m gonna help you however I can.¡± Peak, revitalized and full of his usual energy, stretched like he was getting ready to take on the day. I stood up too, sensing that we were about to head out.


    ¡°Figures, it wouldn¡¯t be as simple as running in there and beating it, huh? Of course there¡¯d be prerequisites...¡± My ambition was both deflated and sparked at the same time, just in different areas. I wouldn¡¯t be able to take on the dungeon quite yet, but there¡¯d be other adventures to be had up until that point.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about it, you¡¯ll have me helping you along the way! Besides, the first thing should be pretty easy to get done. You won¡¯t even have to do anything.¡± Peak began walking back to the treehouse as he attempted to recollect my adventurous spirit for me.


    ¡°Wait, what is the first thing, then?¡± I rushed to keep up with him, as he kept on walking, ignoring my question. Whatever it was, he wanted to keep it a surprise.


    We¡¯d gotten back to the house, and Peak got right to work, hammering and melding a whole bunch of seemingly random materials. While he was otherwise occupied, I had no other option but to laze around and wait for Peak to finish... whatever he was working on¡­ which meant I fell asleep within a minute or two. I never really had the most patience or the greatest capability to deal with boredom. Sometimes, sleep was the more entertaining option.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Rise and shine!¡± After some time, I was shaken awake by a Peak bearing the world¡¯s proudest smile on his face.


    Still a bit groggy, I did my best to reply to Peak. ¡°Mmm¡­ are you done with what you were doing¡­?¡±


    ¡°Sure am! Check it out! The first step towards getting you ready to take on Shelter Spire is complete.¡± Clearly unable to contain his anticipation, Peak bolted his hands out in front of me, holding something wrapped within a worn, white cloth.


    Seeing that what he¡¯d been making was for me immediately blew away any sleepiness that lingered and made my heart start beating faster. Not even taking the courtesy to reaffirm with Peak that this item was, in fact, for me, I hastily unwrapped it to see what it was.


    ¡°Hey! April, be careful unwrapping that¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ouch! What the hell?!¡± Peak¡¯s warning came a tad too late as a small cut surfaced on my finger.


    Underneath the cloth was an item essential to any fantasy adventure¡ªa weapon. More precisely: a hand-made dagger. Its base was rather generic, made from some sort of hard, carved out stone. However, its blade was where it became a true spectacle.


    With a tad of green stained into it, the knife¡¯s blade was the result of centuries upon centuries of primal hardening. A blade made of a strong, petrified wood. Sturdy as steel, sharp as iron. Its natural pattern still engraved into its very design. In one way or another, the years only refined the wood, instead of imbuing it with frailty.


    ¡°Pretty cool, huh?¡± The widest, most child-like smile must¡¯ve been painted on my face, as Peak gave me a knowing nod and a thumbs up.


    ¡°Peak, it¡¯s awesome! Thank you so much!¡± Unable to contain my glee, I leapt forward at Peak for a hug of appreciation. If his help continued to be like this, I had no doubt our partnership would work out perfectly.


    That was, before he sidestepped me causing me to crash face-first into the floor.


    I plucked myself off the ground with more than a little irritation , holding my bruised head. ¡°What the heck was that about!¡±


    ¡°You jumped at me with a knife! What did you expect me to do?!¡± Peak, understandably put off, retorted.


    ¡°Oh, I did, huh? Oops, that could¡¯ve been bad.¡± Realizing my mistake, my anger subsided.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ That could¡¯ve been bad, indeed. Anyways, you like it, yeah?¡± Peak, still recovering from the assassination attempt, tried redirecting the conversation back onto its proper course.


    ¡°Mhm mhm, it¡¯s great! No, it¡¯s better than great! It¡¯s the best!¡± I wasted no effort in showing Peak my thanks.


    ¡°Alright, good. I was really betting on the idea a dagger would work for you. You seem to have the gear for a rogue class, so I just went from there.¡± Peak¡¯s comment made me remember my attire. I suppose, it was sort of decided that I was meant to be some type of rogue in this world. Who decided this, I don¡¯t know, and honestly couldn¡¯t care. Rogue classes were always the coolest, anyways.


    ¡°Thinking on it, it¡¯s perfect. I should be pretty alright with handling a knife, and a dagger¡¯s not too far off from that, is it?¡± I¡¯d helped out at my grandfather¡¯s cafe for a long time, so I was, at the very least, confident with holding a knife. There were some people I knew who got flinchy at the thought of even cutting with one.


    ¡°They¡¯re basically the same thing, yeah. Only real difference is that knives are more meant for throwing than daggers. That¡¯s all.¡± Peak confirmed my hypothesis. ¡°Now then, is it time to move onto the next prerequisite?¡±


    ¡°For sure, but first¡­¡± I had one little hurdle I¡¯d like to be passed before moving onto our next step. One very very little hurdle.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Prerequisite is such a lame and wordy term. Let¡¯s call them quests! Quests and adventures: the definition of a fantasy world experience.¡± One very very very little, silly, stupid, little hurdle.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how I feel about my world being called a fantasy world, but I¡¯m game! Quest it is!¡±


    ¡°Alright, what¡¯s next?¡±


    We¡¯d traveled a ways away from Peak¡¯s treehouse, up onto the plateau of the mountain where the stream ended and the many waterfalls collected into. Peak had ushered me close to the edge of it, and for some reason, began explaining things about this world.


    ¡°In this world, there¡¯s something called a Crystal Tree. It¡¯s basically what enables you to use abilities and stuff; abilities like those blades of air I make.¡± He started.


    ¡°Okay, okay, and what¡¯s that got to do with this.¡± I cautiously peered over the long drop from the plateau¡¯s edge. If Peak¡¯s whole purpose for leading me on the long hike was only to tell me this information, then I was gonna be peeved. Luckily, the information he was telling me was to my liking, though.


    ¡°The thing is, not just anybody can use it by default. No, there¡¯s a certain prerequisite¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªQuest.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a certain quest that must be filled first.¡± Peak went on with his explanation, and as he continued I suddenly grew apprehensive.


    Before we headed up here, Peak implored me to leave my dagger and anything else I might¡¯ve had on me of any value behind. That coupled with Peak¡¯s random bit of information he was dropping, caused me to develop a bad feeling.


    ¡°So¡­ Peak, what might this quest be¡­¡± I nervously eyed him, from the peripherals of my vision, keeping my vision, essentially, locked over the horizon.


    ¡°You need to have a dream. A blank dream. I¡¯m assuming you haven¡¯t had one yet?¡± Peak¡¯s reply, however, temporarily put me at ease. I just needed to have a dream, was that it? Did he bring me up here just because the scenic view could lull me to a better sleep?


    ¡°Phew, so it¡¯s nothing crazy or insane that¡¯ll get me hurt. Nice. So, Peak, how do you have this ¡®blank dream¡¯? Oh, and what is a blank dream?¡±


    ¡°A blank dream¡¯s exactly how it sounds, it¡¯s a dream without, or with very minimal, content. As for how you have one¡­¡± Peak trailed off, probably to consider what he was going to say next, and that uneasy feeling I had appeared once more. Peak was a guy so assured of himself and so full of energy that everytime he trailed off was always a bit off putting. It typically meant that he was about to say something that I wouldn¡¯t like. ¡°You have to overcome some form of adversity.¡±


    That was it. That was the cause of this bad feeling. And I had an additional feeling that I¡¯d be able to discern what came next. But just in case, I decided to check with Peak.


    ¡°Hey, Peak, what did you have in mind for this ¡°adversity¡± I¡¯d have to overcome?¡± A nervous, almost twitchy, half-smile forced its way onto my face, as I checked with Peak through stuttery laughs.


    ¡°Ahaha! April, you know what I have in mind. Don¡¯t try to fool yourself, it¡¯ll only make it worse.¡± A demonic grin forced its way onto Peak¡¯s face, mocking my own.


    We both stood there for a moment, staring at each other, the wind picking up and blowing our hair to-and-fro. It was like a stand-off, and contrary to the norm, I wish my back was up against the wall. Then, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about plummeting to my doom.


    But no, I wouldn¡¯t go down without a fight. I wouldn¡¯t let Peak toss me around. I¡¯d take him on, and that¡¯d be the adversity I¡¯d overcome!


    ¡°I like to live life and take chances, Peak. So, right now, I¡¯m gonna do both, and you can¡¯t stop me!¡±


    To live life and take chances. That was what I¡¯d determined, my mantra to live by would be. After throwing behind my previous life, I¡¯d decided to move forward in this other world with that simple goal in mind.


    It was a spur of the moment philosophy¡ªone that I¡¯d developed right there and then¡ªbut I was a spur of the moment person, and my resolve was resolute. To live life and take chances, was there any better way to spell out a surefire path towards adventure?


    Going forth, I¡¯d trust myself, Peak, and that philosophy to overcome any adversity this new world could dare throw at me.

 Chapter 5 - Dreams of The Adverse

    ¡°You know, I really don¡¯t know how else I thought this would turn out.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t even had the chance to charge and make a move on Peak. Well, I had the chance, I¡¯d just flubbed it so amazingly terribly that it was almost like I hadn¡¯t.


    Who would have thought that charging headfirst at a man taller than me, in my already taller than average new body, and more naturally built than Mount St. Helens, would¡¯ve only ended up with a solid Thud sound reminiscent of those you¡¯d get when bumping into practically anything in a game? Logically, almost anyone else.


    Much to my chagrin, I wasn¡¯t the most logical person brought into this world.


    So, as a consequence of my actions, the metaphoric blood that was rushing to my head was swiftly replaced with a more literal rush as my ankles were grabbed, and my body was dangled over the cliff face.


    ¡°Welp, now that we¡¯re through with that, I have some safety instructions for you!¡± Peak¡¯s casual dismissal of the event that just transpired only dug its futility deeper into my soul. It¡¯d been one swift action that¡¯d undone all the hyping up I¡¯d worked for in less time than a coin flip.


    The whole ¡°live life and take chances¡± mantra I¡¯d so delicately created wasn¡¯t working out how I¡¯d expected it to thus far.


    ¡°Avoid spinning out of control¡ªyou might snap something. Avoid landing flat on your back and/or stomach¡ªyou¡¯d probably end up breaking just about every bone in your body if you did. Avoid entering the water like a wedge or a ball¡ªit¡¯s not the deepest, so you¡¯d probably fold up like a Slinkertoad and cease to exist.¡± Peak explained the safety encyclopedia to me in rapid succession, like he was reading a ToS but didn¡¯t really care enough to slow down and comprehend it. Luckily for him, he wasn¡¯t the one who had to comprehend it.


    ¡°Hey, Peak¡­ HOW DO I SURVIVE THEN?!?!¡± I was slow to connect the dots, sure, but somehow my mind was gradually adjusting to Peak¡¯s quick paced nature. He was altering my brain, and I didn¡¯t know how to feel about it.


    Compared to when we first met and I suffered a mental overload, I was finally starting to handle myself better. I¡¯d never really opened myself up to anybody enough to allow them to change me, so I was left bemused.


    ¡°How do you survive¡­? That¡¯s the question isn¡¯t it?¡± If it was anybody other than Peak, I¡¯d think he was mocking me, but since it was Peak, I felt there was a legitimate chance he hadn¡¯t thought out the plan that far ahead. Well¡­ it¡¯s not like I would¡¯ve either. ¡°Meh, they don¡¯t call it conquering adversity for nothing. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s get this rolling! Here we go April!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this goes a bit further than conquering adversity?!¡± I tried my best to talk Peak out of it. Realistically, though, I thought I¡¯d be fine¡ªI¡¯d seen way crazier cliff jumping scattered around social media.


    ¡°Meh, maybe.¡± I heard Peak respond, just as I felt the air pick up beneath my wings. I¡¯d been dropped.


    I guess, it was just the natural progression of life. I¡¯d fallen onto a cliff from a tree. I¡¯d fallen from a tree into a stream. It only made sense that falling off a cliff into a stream would be the next step.


    ¡°Damn, you gravity! Damn you!¡± In the moment of falling, I¡¯d forgotten everything Peak had told me. Therefore, I flailed, I spun, I went every which way before making contact with the water and¡­


    Splat!


    Landing in the water flat on my back, sinking under with almost comedic timing. As I went under, I realized a new sensation¡ªI had a feeling in my useless, instinctually moving wings¡­ Immense searing pain.


    Still, the impact hadn¡¯t magically given me the ability to effectively swim with those wings spread, so I was stuck there at the bottom of the water, meaning I¡¯d have to find another way out.


    Opening my eyes, I¡¯d determined to crawl out of the stream, as it was relatively calm where I was at, and I¡¯d be able to move without picking up enough of a current to whisk me away against my will.


    Kicking off with my forearms and my legs, I struggled against the ground bit after bit, maneuvering up the riverbank before finally surfacing my head above the water.


    After resting my head against the grass on the bank, body still half emerged, my trance was broken by the sound of Peak¡¯s approach.


    ¡°April, please tell me you¡¯re alright! I¡¯m sorry! I swear, I¡¯m just trying to help!¡± Peak called out and rushed up to me, visibly worried about my physical state. However, he stopped right before reaching me, giving me my space.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m never the better~!¡± Despite my recent hellish encounter, I was actually really proud of myself. What I¡¯d experienced was kind of fun. No wonder people liked cliff jumping. It was a rush!


    After I¡¯d given Peak a stupid smile meant to mimic his usual, he scratched his beard and with a sigh resumed to speak as if nothing had happened.


    ¡°Ahaha, I can tell! You¡¯ve even made a new friend.¡± Peak reciprocated my sentiments and then pointed at me.


    ¡°A new friend¡­? Where?¡± I couldn¡¯t tell if Peak was trying to make a dumb joke, but nevertheless I ended up frantically looking around.


    Through this process, I deciphered the truth: I had actually made a new friend, after all. Peak wasn¡¯t pointing at me, but above me. And I wasn¡¯t heavy-headed just from a lack of oxygen, there was something on it making it heavy.


    Epiphany realized, I shook my head to get whatever it was off, and a fuzzy brown ball rolled to the ground.


    It was the cutest thing I¡¯d ever seen. Stumpy little legs, fluffy brown body, and a¡­ weird stemmy thing that attached to some sort of lilypad on it. Yeah, not everything had to be perfect.


    ¡°Huh, looks like I missed one this morning.¡± Without hesitation, Peak pressed the little creature against the ground and readied his axe.


    ¡°Hey! What do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± Also without hesitation, I jumped out of the water and then latched onto his axe holding arm.


    ¡°Calm down, I¡¯m not gonna hurt the thing. Just let me¡­¡± Ignoring my grasp on him, Peak proceeded to lift me along with his axe and then bear it down on the little fluffball.


    Whatever he was doing, I couldn¡¯t see it as anything other than hurting it. My eyes inadvertently averted themselves, trying to hide from a potentially gruesome sight. I trusted Peak, but I trusted my eyes more, and what my eyes had been telling me was that he was definitely going to hurt the puffball.


    ¡°...And done. Hopefully, that¡¯s all of them.¡± Curiosity eventually won over my will and my eyes made their way over to the site of the puffball.


    When they arrived, they saw something unbelievable.


    ¡°You made it cuter!¡± The puffball was now joyously jumping around, and it was missing its one detracting feature, the plant-like stem that grew from its back.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t necessarily the goal, but I guess I did!¡±


    ¡°Hm? If that wasn¡¯t the goal, what was?¡± In a world full of foreign things and foreign creatures, I still knew next to nothing. That being said, I also thought Peak should¡¯ve gotten the memo that I¡¯d need more info than your average Joe.


    ¡°This little guy is one of those lilydogs I was talking to you about.¡± Peak, realizing after witnessing a number of my carefully enacted eye gestures meant to indicate I¡¯d need him to proceed with more explanation, obliged my request and provided some.


    ¡°Those are the things that those Rapiters or whatever eat, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but they aren¡¯t preyed on without their stems. You see the stems have this really sweet nectar that attracts Rapiters, and without them these little guys get to live on! Oh, and I don¡¯t have to worry about a giant snake showing up at my front door.¡± Peak continued his explanation as he scratched the lilydog¡¯s belly. For a wild animal, it seemed rather tame. Stupidly cute. That¡¯d be the best way to describe the things.


    ¡°I see, so these are the types of duties your ¡®job¡¯ entails, are they?¡± If all Peak had to do to keep dangerous creatures at a minimum was pseudo-gardening, then his societal role suddenly seemed less cool.


    ¡°Sure are! I can even keep the nectar for myself that way. You¡¯ve had some of it, remember?¡± Peak had ceased petting the dog and moved onto wrapping the stem up in one of his many white, but not quite pristine white, cloths.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t remind me of that dinner. I¡¯d rather not think about what I ate¡­¡± I could tell that as I was speaking, a distant look grew apparent in my eyes, as I gazed off into the sky.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Ahaha, I¡¯ll try to make the next meal more accommodating to your tastes, or better yet, you could even give me a list of things you like with descriptions, and I¡¯ll go foraging for the closest things to ¡®em.¡± Peak then concluded our conversation by pushing the dog into the woods¡¯ underbrush and then turning my way. ¡°But first things first, we gotta get you some sleep. Gotta make sure the whole cliff jumping thing worked.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah¡­ I almost forgot about that.¡±


    So, as always, Peak lead the way as we headed back to his place. And, after compiling a list of Earthen entr¨¦es, and finding various means of expending energy around Peak¡¯s place, I was finally able to crash on his bed for a quick nap.


    I woke up later that evening with an eager Peak waiting by my¡ªno, his¡ªbedside.


    ¡°So, any luck, lass?¡± The words burst out of his mouth, he obviously had been anticipating the results for awhile.


    ¡°Quick question, how would I know if I have this ¡°blank dream¡± if it¡¯s not meant to have much in it? Doesn¡¯t that seem kind of contradictory?¡± I hadn¡¯t recalled having a dream that past sleep, but seeing as it wasn¡¯t meant to have stuff in it, I couldn¡¯t really tell the results. However, it seemed Peak could instantaneously derive the answer from my question alone.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ guess you didn¡¯t have one then. That a bummer. I thought for sure that cliff jumping thing would work. Maybe the adversity wasn¡¯t strong enough?¡± Peak¡¯s attitude inverted quicker than a humming bird¡¯s wing could flap, as he bemoaned his disappointment. Leaving me confused¡­ As always.


    ¡°How can you be so sure I haven¡¯t had that blank dream thingy? Wouldn¡¯t only I know?¡±


    ¡°¡ªWell, did you have one?¡± Peak, more perturbed than me at the idea of our efforts being all for naught, crudely reiterated his original question.


    ¡°How am I supposed to know?¡± I felt I had no other choice but to become defensive as I responded? The conversation had the air of an interrogation.


    ¡°You see, that¡¯s the problem.¡± Peak shifted in his place as he spoke, scratching the back of his head. ¡°If you had one, you¡¯d just know. There¡¯s no other way to explain it.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I think I get it¡­¡± I totally didn¡¯t get it, but I sure as hell could play along like I did. ¡°So, we¡¯ll just have to try something else then, right?¡± I snapped my fingers at the start of my sentence to try and brighten the mood.


    To be honest, I¡¯d figured from the start it wouldn¡¯t work. He had no way of knowing this, but back on Earth we had carnival rides like drop towers to simulate falling to our doom, and water slides to simulate a similar experience but into a pool of water. The cliff jumping probably didn¡¯t leave as big of an impression as it could¡¯ve because of this.


    ¡°I suppose so¡­¡± Peak cracked his knuckles and then continued with a familiar demonic grin on his face. ¡°I have the perfect idea for our second attempt, so you¡¯d better eat up all that food I got specially for you, April, because your life will be utter agony soon enough.¡±


    I knew I should¡¯ve been put off by Peak¡¯s threatening not-threat, but I couldn¡¯t help but ignore the bigger picture. ¡°¡ªYou already got my food! Heck yeah! I¡¯ve been wanting a good meal for awhile!¡±


    ¡°I got the closest things I could, but¡­ Didn¡¯t you hear what I just said¡ª¡±


    ¡°I heard you, but I¡¯m hungry and could care less. ...To me, all this adversity stuff is like getting a shot. It¡¯s best not to dread it, because soon enough it¡¯ll pass and you¡¯ll be better off afterwards. Besides, it¡¯s all about living life and taking chances. And boy, have I felt alive recently or what?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, alright then, let¡¯s get down to business, shall we?¡±


    And so, the next three days were torture. Yes, three days.


    After a solid five attempts at getting a blank dream to trigger, our failed exploits were slowly but surely wearing on us, as no results were found.


    Firstly, following my meal that day, Peak had walked me into a net trap he used for hunting and left me there for a day with no food, water, protection from the elements, or anything. According to him, it was meant to simulate an adversity of endurance and survival.


    In the end, all it did was make me really tired and thirsty.


    Later that day, after the first new attempt concluded, Peak and I sparred. Although, it was more like Peak was viciously hunting me down as I hid throughout the woods. Yet, even then, as that day concluded there was still no dream.


    I¡¯d had to go a day without eating and drinking once before for medical reasons, and I trusted Peak enough that i could wholeheartedly believe that he wouldn¡¯t really hurt me. Therefore, no adversity.


    The third day, Peak upped the ante, and decided to go a bit more intense on his adversity simulations, but not intense enough, evidently.


    We started the day with a long trip through the forest to a section called the Wailing Wood, once we¡¯d arrived Peak abandoned me and left me there for an hour. The catch: that woods was home to a species of giant cicadas which chirped so loudly that it was equivalent to some levels of internet earrape. They were docile, so it wasn¡¯t scary, just utterly disgusting as they attempted to land on me.


    It was madness inducing. It was terrible. It was the longest hour I¡¯d ever had. But, it wasn¡¯t adverse. At least, not according to this world¡¯s messed up rules.


    Then, as attempt five, I was never actually picked up, so I had to find my way back to Peak¡¯s home before sunset. Fortunately, the woods were rather docile, likely due to Peak¡¯s intervention, and it only took five mundane hours for me to arrive back at his place.


    And yet¡­ one sleep later, lo and behold, still no blank dream.


    ¡°What the heck?! Why is none of this working...?¡± Just like the previous two times, Peak had been eagerly waiting for me to wake up and equally let down when I didn¡¯t have a blank dream.


    ¡°I dunno. You¡¯ve put me through unfun situation after situation, couldn¡¯t tell you bud. Maybe, they¡¯re just not adverse enough.¡± These trials were becoming guilty pleasures of mine, as I lived a semi-adventurous lifestyle now, but I, too, was starting to get sick of this.


    We were doing this so I could use special powers and stuff. I wanted to use special powers! The premise alone sounded dream fulfilling. So, why couldn¡¯t I have had this blank dream, already!


    ¡°Peak, what caused your blank dream?¡± I finally snapped, and asked him the question that¡¯d been on my mind. I¡¯d assumed that he¡¯d probably already tried what worked on him, but I also knew what people said about assumptions, so I went ahead and asked.


    ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s a good question. Give me a second to remember¡­¡± Apparently, Peak¡¯s blank dream hadn¡¯t even been something eventful enough to instantly remember. That irked me, as I had no doubt that whenever I encountered a blank dream, I¡¯d remember without a problem. I was going through hell and back to have one of these things, so I was gonna treasure it.


    ¡°I think it must¡¯ve been when I¡¯d met my wife.¡± Peak talked still distant in thought. However, I couldn¡¯t stay quiet.


    ¡°You have a WIFE?!¡± I jerked myself up and held Peak by the collar of his shirt. I¡¯d been the victim of his underarm grabs multiple times, but not once had I felt a ring on his finger, nor had I thought Peak mature enough to marry.


    ¡°Sure did. I remember when we first met, she¡¯d attacked me out of nowhere, just because she thought it¡¯d be funny¡ª¡±


    ¡°I can already tell you two were made for each other.¡± I narrowed my eyes at Peak. I¡¯d decided to focus on the content of what he was saying, instead of his usage of the past tense. I was sensitive enough to not allow my curiosity to dig up any bad memories.


    ¡°What do you mean?!¡±


    ¡°Nothing, nothing, just continue.¡±


    ¡°We had a short and intense tussel in the middle of Shelter. She was new in town, an adventurer who¡¯d came to take on the dungeon, so I¡¯d no idea what to do. At the time, I was just your normal town carpenter. But our little scuffle in the street changed all of that. For some reason, that, above all other hardships I¡¯d faced throughout my life, was the one that¡¯d caused me a blank dream.¡± Peak had stopped looking distant when he recalled the memory, and instead smiled as he talked. It was clear that however he felt about his wife, it was nothing but good things.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ then doesn¡¯t that seem a bit different from what we¡¯re doing?¡± I took a while to stretch and interpret the content of Peak¡¯s story. ¡°You¡¯re certain that it does happen after facing some sort of adversity, right?¡±


    ¡°Sure does, that¡¯s the one common link that all people who¡¯ve had their blank dreams share. They all happened in a time of adversity.¡± Peak confirmed my thoughts.


    ¡°Then maybe there¡¯s a second factor, like impact or natural happenstance? I¡¯m not the best thinker around, but that seems like it¡¯d be possible to me.¡± I thought I¡¯d figured it out.


    Even with how slow I was, I could tell the glaring differences between Peak¡¯s story and our little experiments to induce a blank dream within me. Peak¡¯s adversity he¡¯d overcame had a major impact on his life¡ªmeeting his wife¡ªand happened naturally, without the safeguards that Peak was constantly giving me.


    Either one of those factors could¡¯ve been the reason why our attempts had been failing, but I didn¡¯t want to elaborate it any further with Peak.


    If I was right, then I¡¯d have to progress without him.


    ¡°Anyways, you got some grub prepared for dinner or what?¡± I hastily steered the conversations direction away from blank dreams, and towards something simpler.


    ¡°Ahaha! I totally forgot, but you must be hungry, lass! My bad, we can pick up on our attempts tomorrow. For now, let¡¯s chow.¡± Peak taking the cue, accepted the redirect.


    ¡°...Yeah, tomorrow¡­¡± I¡¯d never not suck at bluffing, and much to my favor, Peak would never not be oblivious to lies, so my shoddy affirmation served to hide my true intentions.


    Through all these trials, these 4 days I¡¯d been stuck in this new world, there was only one thing I could think of to awaken me to a blank dream. One adversary that time and time again I¡¯d wanted to face, after hearing so much about. And I knew exactly how to find it.


    The Rapiter¡ªthe giant snake that lurks in the mist¡ªI¡¯d sneak out in the middle of the night, and make it my first claim on my path towards being an adventurer. After all, I couldn¡¯t be one without this blank dream thing, so it was seeming like a rather important requirement.


    The blue moon hung high in the sky as I prepared for my exit. I¡¯d no idea about the dangers I was about to face, but I was certain that, worst comes to worst, I¡¯d find some way to squeak my way out of it. Half-assing life was an April specialty, and to live life and take chances was my new motto.


    Peak was a heavy sleeper, and a loud snorer, so he was fast asleep out in his main room, and completely oblivious to me collecting my materials as I prepared.


    Over the past three days, Peak had hooked me up with a few additional pieces of adventuring equipment: a pair of gloves to prevent my hands from getting blistered while using my daggers, a small satchel which hung at my waist, and a sheath for my daggers, also hanging at my waist. I grabbed all of these things, then opened Peak¡¯s pantry for one last crucial item.


    ¡°Apparently, Rapiters are attracted to lilydogs because of this, right?¡± I quietly muttered to myself while holding a small, wooden container full of the nectar that Peak harvested during his morning duties.


    ¡°Should be no problem to attract one myself then.¡± I stuffed the container into my satchel and then headed down from Peak¡¯s treehouse.


    My resolve was solid, I¡¯d finally face a sufficient adversity to acquire a blank dream. I¡¯d force myself to face a Rapiter. No safeguards. No forgettable trials. Just me and a giant man-eating snake.


    Now that sounded like an adventure.

 Chapter 6 - Rivalry of The Stubborn

    I¡¯d made my way downstream in an effort to get back into the mist. If I recalled correctly, although not following it directly, we¡¯d stayed near this stream to get back up to Peak¡¯s place. Therefore, it fell into reason that following it back should lead me into the mists in which the Rapiter supposedly lurked.


    It was dark out, but not so dark that I couldn¡¯t watch my step. The bright blue moon never seemed to wax or wane, giving off an ample, full light no matter the night.


    After only a while of walking, however, I quickly realized the true impact that Peak¡¯s presence had on the forest.


    Where Peak¡¯s house was a sanctuary, safe from harm and attack, the rest of the woods wasn¡¯t so fortunate. Frankly, I¡¯d been sheltered¡­ and naive.


    I¡¯d never once questioned why I was safe to be tied upside down for nights on end or thrown into open waters, but as the stalking eyes of the night crept their ways in and out of vision, it became clear.


    The Rapiter wasn¡¯t the only creature that lurked in this forest.


    It was like visiting a jungle. The Rapiter was merely the lion¡ªa figurehead of all the dangers that made the vast wilderness their home¡ªbut so many more, less infamous, threats still existed.


    Jungles have frenzied piranhas, deadly insects, and equally dangerous jaguars, too. Yet, when I think of a jungle, I fear the king¡ªthe lion.


    I was met with a similar conflict now. I was aiming for what I¡¯d heard so much about¡ªmy king¡ªthe Rapiter, and I¡¯d failed to assess the possibility of other threats emerging.


    ¡°Whoa! You are not what I¡¯m looking for!¡± And thus I was caught off guard as I was attacked by some sort of yard tall, spiked frog with coils for legs, bounding towards me with a mace-like barbed tongue.


    I hadn¡¯t even had the time to draw my daggers as its tongue grazed my arm. A shallow cut was left in its wake.


    For a sneak attack, the damage was rather minimal.


    ¡°Hey, you dumb frog, don¡¯t you know it¡¯s rude to sneak up on people! If you wanna fight, announce yourself first!¡± For some reason, my intrinsic response to getting injured by a wild animal was to chastise it. Not to prepare for a fight or run away.


    Nope. I stayed perfectly planted in place, pointing and yelling at a frog.


    The frog recovered from whatever cooldown its previous attack may or may not have had, then unleashed its tongue once more. This time, I was prepared, so I weaved out of the way of its tongue and¡­


    ¡°Screw it¡­! Fly you dumb frog!¡± Without using any weapons or any other conventional method for dealing with pests, my reflexes kicked in and I was punting the frog like it was some big kickball.


    The frog spiralled through the air, landing back in the stream from whence it came. With my abrupt victory, I silently and excitedly congratulated myself. Yet, just as abruptly, more enemies showed up to take the last one¡¯s place. Out of the water hopped 5 more frogs, all pissed off and ready to get a piece of me.


    I didn¡¯t have enough to go around, so I cut my positivity party short and fled the scene, as barbed tongue upon barbed tongue launched towards me. As satisfying as it¡¯d be to teach them all a lesson, 5 was a bit too much for me. It¡¯d suck if I got wiped out before the final hoorah.


    The night continued to grow wilder, and quieter, and wilder once more. With the crescendos of the night, I met an ensemble of other monsters ready to try and take a piece of me, but for better or for worse, they were all fleeable. I was perfectly fine to keep pursuing the Rapiter.


    After some more time of following the river, the moon started to transition into its twilight hues, spelling out the eminent arrival of dawn. But, thanks to the added light, I could finally see it.


    A way over through the woods, there was a clearing by the stream in which thick mists were present. That would be my target destination.


    So, naturally, I charged straight into the mist, full of my signature reckless abandon. There wasn¡¯t anything good that¡¯d come from me just sitting around and thinking about going, I just had to get up and do it.


    And then¡­ I did it. I breached the mist.


    It wasn¡¯t a climactic moment, it was actually quite the opposite. No different than opening the door to a new room, one second I was very clearly standing out in the middle of the wilderness, the next I was in the mist shrouded territory of the Rapiter.


    Trying to find some familiar ground on which to begin my plan, I followed the now much larger stream further until I reached the cliff face on which I¡¯d first woke up. Then, I waded over to the little isle where I¡¯d met Peak to use as a waiting point, and plopped myself down on the ground, mildly worn out by my walk.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ it¡¯s a pain enough just getting here, but now I really do have to fight something, don¡¯t I? No running away this time.¡± A second of rest later, I opened the container full of nectar I had on me and started to spread it around the perimeter of my isle.


    Believe it or not, I had some semblance of an idea of a thought for what a plan could potentially be. Although, ¡°plan¡± may be the wrong way to describe it. Basically, I had a theory that staying on this isle, in the middle of two forking streams, surrounded by either shallow water or open air would be safest.


    It gave me two advantages I wouldn¡¯t otherwise have. One, I¡¯d be able to see where and when the Rapiter was coming, no exceptions. It could only come from either side of the stream, and I was looking hard for it.


    And two,it was familiar territory. I could rely on it to give me some comfort in a fight.


    Once the area was sufficiently baited, I simply drew my daggers and stood there, in the center of the isle, waiting for the Rapiter to draw near.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°...What the heck, man?! Hurry up already you big stupid snake, what¡¯s taking you so long?!¡± It felt like I¡¯d been there forever without any sign of the Rapiter. I couldn¡¯t exactly tell the time, because of the mist surrounding me, but It had to be nearing the end of twilight soon. If twilight came to pass, I¡¯d be all out of luck with finding the Rapiter.


    Either that, or I¡¯d have to track down the hole it lived in to give it a little surprise welcoming¡­


    ¡°Peak¡¯s probably waking up around now, isn¡¯t he?¡± My mind was all over the place. It was early in the morning and I¡¯d been without any decent sleep for more than a day. ¡°Poor dude¡¯s probably freaking out that I¡¯m not there, I¡¯ll have to apologize to him later.¡±


    An image of Peak being distressed at my disappearance popped into my mind, filling me with a pang of guilt. I didn¡¯t know why, but I felt like Peak might¡¯ve had issues with abandonment. While he didn¡¯t seem necessarily clingy, the lengths he¡¯d went through to try and help me might¡¯ve indicated that he was really starved for social interaction.


    At least, that was my take.


    ¡°Stupid early morning April, thinking about stupid serious stuff. Stupid snake. Stupid mist. Stupid everything¡­¡± I was finally about to release my guard and drop down on my knees to get some R & R when I noticed something out of the peripherals of my visions.


    There was a light. No, two lights. Two unmoving lights across the stream on my left.


    And they were tracking my movement.


    I¡¯d move left, the lights would shift left. I¡¯d move right, the lights would shift right. I¡¯d jump, the lights would jolt upwards. It was like watching a cat lazily follow a laser pointer. Wherever I went, the lights would follow.


    The question was: Why?


    I edged my way closer to the lights, caution in each step, when it happened.


    Out of nowhere, something crashed into the ground beside me. No, not just something, a distinctly large needle.


    Pebble after pebble pelted me as the needle lodged and dislodged itself from the ground, and dirt was kicked up, stinging my eyes.


    Wait¡­ eyes?


    Taking a moment to waver my attention from the threat in front of me, I scanned my surroundings once more only to realize that the red lights were growing larger with added proximity.


    They weren¡¯t just lights, they were predatory eyes. Eyes that had been watching me, waiting for my guard to drop. Odds are, if I hadn¡¯t noticed them, that needle shot wouldn¡¯t have been merely a warning to get my butt into gear.


    The needle returned to its sender and was fired once more, this time with more precision. It was heading straight for me, but I was fast enough to evade it. Still, just barely, and countless pebbles bruised my body once more.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    I watched the needle, preparing for its return when another needle came breaking through the mist right at me. No, not just one, but two other needles. Each aimed at my weak points, my wings.


    Whatever my enemy was, it had a higher level of intellectual processing than I¡¯d initially expected. Each of its moves were calculated beyond even my capabilities.


    First a shot to test my vulnerabilities. Second a shot to lower my guard. Then two shots aimed directly at my weak points.


    My mind could hardly process the speed things were going, and my wings were as insubordinate as ever, so I was only able to dodge out of the path of one of the needles. The other would have to take one for the team.


    Things played out in slow motion as a football sized needle clipped my left wing. It¡¯d disturbed my feathers and took a very minute chunk of wing-flesh with it, but other than that, I was fine. It wasn¡¯t anything that¡¯d cause any permanent damage. It just hurt like hell.


    I¡¯d just have to adapt to the situation and quickly. I was fine with the pain¡ªI¡¯d broken more bones than I could count throughout my life¡ªbut if this kept up, I¡¯d be buried before I knew it. All to an enemy that I couldn¡¯t see.


    I had to not only stay on my toes, but derive a plan at the same time. It was a bullet hell of boomerang needles. I¡¯d have to dodge each of them twice. Once on their way to me, and once on their way back to my foe.


    Normally, when under fire, I¡¯d heard that you¡¯d want to lay flat on the ground, but in this scenario, that tactic didn¡¯t exactly apply too well, unless I wanted to become a skewer.


    No, I needed to get the upper hand somehow, as running was no longer an option. Turning my back would only end with me flat against the ground, pinned like a voodoo doll.


    I¡¯d have to run at it.


    Running away from it wasn¡¯t an option, hiding was an impossibility, and evading could only last me so long. I¡¯d have to run at the shooter.


    So, following another volley of needles, I took off. My legs¡ªalong with the rest of me¡ªwere already raw with bruises, but it was my only choice.


    I¡¯d just have to remember where the needles landed, otherwise I¡¯d be screwed on the return.


    Unless¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s so crazy, that it probably won¡¯t work¡­ But I¡¯ll do it anyways!¡± For some reason, despite the pain in my left wing. Despite this being a literal life or death situation. I couldn¡¯t stop it. I couldn¡¯t take it seriously.


    I was freaked out. Scared out of my mind. But more than that, I was¡­ I was excited, gleeful, and fulfilled. A long standing craving was finally being satiated, and put simply, I loved it.


    I kept dashing forward, as another volley of needles came, once more, aimed at my wings. Predicting this, I spun to my side, avoiding both needles, and stopped my advance.


    Then, as the needles flew back towards my enemy, I did the most idiotic thing I could think of in the moment. I grabbed onto one.


    My hands were protected by Peak¡¯s gloves, and the needle¡¯s momentum was ceaseless. For the first time since having my wings, I was properly flying.


    My opponent¡¯s figure soon seeped into my vision, and I was met with an additional swell of satisfaction.


    Aquamarine in its long, slender body. A split end tail from where the needles were launched. Two red, mocking eyes. And a head flat as a plate. My opponent was a giant viper. It truly was, the Rapiter.


    However, I hadn¡¯t the time to bask in my satisfaction, as I was bucked off the needle by its reentry into the viper, and my continued kinetic energy sent me careening headfirst across the river, faceplanting into the dirt. At that moment, an overwhelming sense of deja vu flooded through me.


    The battle was laid out with me now across the stream, and the Rapiter in the middle of the stream. My progress was reverted. I was now just as far away from it as I had been, and I was gradually becoming worse for the wear.


    There was only so much pain tolerance could do. Sooner or later my body would give out and when that happened, I¡¯d be done for. So, I¡¯d just have to find a way to stop that from happening.


    I¡¯d have to keep going on the offensive. Or I would¡¯ve if my opponent hadn¡¯t first.


    When I¡¯d recollected myself and turned to face my opponent, it was directly in front of me, body extended no less than fourteen feet high. It was ready to strike, and done playing with its food.


    It started with launching its needles, as per the routine, I skitted out of the way, but that wasn¡¯t a guarantee of safety anymore. Its tail crashed into my stomach, sending me flying in a coughing fit, and causing me to drop my daggers.


    ¡°Dang it, Peak. I never even got a chance to use your daggers¡­¡± My ability to stay on the offensive was immediately stripped from me.


    No, I was never truly on the offensive. I¡¯d never even gotten close enough to land a blow.


    Even still, I staggered into a standing position. I¡¯d have to either hold it off until it gave up and left, or I¡¯d have to find an outlet to escape. I wasn¡¯t smart enough to derive some intricate scheme like protagonists from action flicks, nor was I strong enough to kill a ginormous snake with my bare hands.


    I was no more than an average girl who¡¯d been thrown into a bizarre and complex scenario, the likes of which were only seen in movies, novels, and anime. Although, I might¡¯ve tried to believe I was something more than I was.


    Wait, no. That wasn¡¯t right. I never believed I was something more than I was. I just wanted to be something more. I wanted to be like those protagonists. I wanted to overcome adversity. Not just those premeditated ones that Peak made for me... I wanted to triumph.


    ¡ªI wanted to abide by my motto. Because that was who I was. I lived by the second. Because of that, I never thought about the future or what was ahead of me. That stuff didn¡¯t matter. It didn¡¯t matter whatsoever!


    ¡°Ahaha!¡± I did my best to imitate Peak¡¯s hearty laugh. ¡°Give me your all, Rapiter! Right now, I¡¯ve got no choice! No choice but to live life and take chances! And I¡¯m gonna take a chance, right now!¡±


    I knew it myself, I was being a fool. Out of my two remaining options: run away or wear out the Rapiter, I¡¯d gathered the scraps of my previous one and chose it. I¡¯d go on the offensive.


    And so, I braced myself for the Rapiter¡¯s next attack, which came in the form of a ridiculously fast, headfirst lunge towards my wings. It wasn¡¯t the type of attack I could just flitter my way out of, either. It was undodgeable, no matter which direction I jumped, one of my wings would get hit.


    Yet, I wouldn¡¯t let it. and as if it was accepting my steeled resolve, I finally broke through the last hurdle of my new body, and used up an immense amount of strength to bring the wing under my control for the first time ever.


    And then, I moved it out of the way.


    The Rapiter, expecting the last attack to be the last attack, smashed into the ground where my wing once was.


    While it was temporarily disoriented, I seized the moment to give the Rapiter one fair kick to the gullet, before it retracted its head and sneakily launched more spikes my way.


    The Rapiter, though confused as to why it missed, didn¡¯t look any worse off than it was before.


    I¡¯d landed something that could be considered a blow, but it did nothing to it. Other than maybe¡ªno certainly¡ªpissing it off more.


    From that point on, the frequency of the Rapiter¡¯s attacks picked up to a lethal haste. Needles were being fired without an interval of time between them arriving back to the Rapiter and being launched. When it wasn¡¯t sending needles my way, the tail was being swung at me, knocking me around, and further bruising my stomach.


    The only thing that wasn¡¯t out for blood was, surprisingly, the Rapiter¡¯s head, which was now retreated back with the rest of its body. After all, it wanted to beat me down. It was upset that I¡¯d gotten the better of it, even once.


    I tried my best to avoid its attacks, but it was at the point where it was a game of give and take. I¡¯d have to take any blows that were nonlethal that way I could give myself the time to avoid the lethal ones. That meant getting smacked into the air by the Rapiter¡¯s tail more often than not, and allowing the needles to graze me where they¡¯d otherwise pierce me.


    I was completely outmatched in every facet but one. Both the Rapiter and I had an equal amount of stubbornness which prolonged the battle. Even through near zero stamina reserves, I continued to dodge and fight for my life, and the Rapiter continued sporadically flailing its weapons at me.


    It was about grit. Whoever had more, would be the victor. No matter the outcome. The Rapiter likely had more than one way to end me once and for all, but it enjoyed toying with me, and in return, I enjoyed playing with the incredibly smug snake¡ªI wasn¡¯t gonna let some smirking, slithering, reptile get the better of my will.


    In a way, there was a sort of rivalrous camaraderie between the two of us. Sure, it wanted to consume me, as I smelled of the nectar it craved so much, but hey, I¡¯d heard of worse rivals.


    The battle continued on for about another fifteen or so minutes before we were finally starting to tire out. I was rather impressed with myself. I wasn¡¯t typically so dedicated of a person. For some reason, in this situation that should¡¯ve been the scariest, most painful, and insurmountably dreadful experience of my life, I was satisfied.


    To signify the battles end, the Rapiter and I both stared at each other for awhile out of pure respect for one another. For a giant man-eating snake, it was rather chill. And then, I plopped back onto the ground and accepted my fate.


    ¡°That was fun, Mr. Piter. Fun, for sure.¡± I was trying not to think about what came next, that wasn¡¯t my forte, but despite that, remorse plagued my body. I¡¯d just came to another world, and it was over so soon.


    I was probably a bit too hasty in my decision making. It wasn¡¯t like I really thought this whole plan through, but it was too late now. I just had to accept it. So, I closed my eyes, and waited for the end. More accurately, I was wiped and fell asleep.


    I hadn¡¯t expected to come to again, but when I did, I was met with an unfamiliar voice beckoning me to wake up, and I felt someone yanking on my collar.


    ¡°Is that an angel?¡± I struggled out the question, before opening my eyes. I was exactly where I was before, the exact same spot. I hadn¡¯t moved a bit. I guess, I just had a bad habit of thinking I was in heaven around this place.


    ¡°I ain¡¯t no angel. Now c¡¯mon, you¡¯ve got shit to explain to me.¡± There was a girl in front of me who spoke as curtly as she did rude.


    I took the time to get an eyeful of her. She looked as though she was around my age or older. Her hair was a blazen red with a spiky motif to it, and tied back in a jagged ponytail. Additionally, her body was even more lithe and built than the one I¡¯d been transported into, and her clothes were like Peak¡¯s¡ªa mixture of armor and cloths. Her most distinguishing feature, however, wasn¡¯t her dark blue eyes or chokingly strong grip, but rather it was the giant metal sword that rested on her back, freshly coated in the red goo of life.


    Then, I looked over the girl¡¯s shoulder to see that my rival was no more. Or more accurately, he was fileted into delicately cut little pieces, as though someone was about to feast on him. He wasn¡¯t even recognizable anymore.


    ¡°Hey, thanks for the save, miss!¡± Even I could tell what happened. This girl must¡¯ve heard my struggle and came to save me at the last second. ¡°You got here in the knick of time, y¡¯know that?¡±


    Despite having been about to die only a few minutes prior, I was in a good mood. I really felt as though I¡¯d had my first adventure.


    ¡°Nah, I didn¡¯t. I was pretty much watching that whole thing happen.¡± As if there was nothing wrong with what she¡¯d just said, the girl just brushed off my sincere thanks, and went on with her agenda. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ yeah, sure¡­ but might I ask something?¡± I wasn¡¯t easily perturbed, but the lack of care in the stranger¡¯s voice was really starting to tilt me. It was like the opposite impression I¡¯d first had with Peak.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ If you must. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m in any rush.¡± The girl waved her hand in a signal for me to speak, and my face temporarily broke its composure at her blunt attitude. My poor snake friend, might¡¯ve been killed by the fire in her words alone.


    ¡°So, where exactly are we going?¡± My question was about what would be expected, but it needed to be answered nonetheless.


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re heading over to see Elklin. Now, are you ready? We¡¯re going.¡± She didn¡¯t give me the time to respond before heading forward towards Peak¡¯s house. For what reason she was heading there, I didn¡¯t know. There was a certain aura to the girl in front of me that screamed not to mess with her, and yet, I was stuck following her.


    The day was still young, and I¡¯d experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, but right now, all I was experiencing was annoyance and pity.


    Annoyance at the girl¡¯s attitude and pity towards my Rapiter rival. He died to her hands, and probably swiftly, too.


    It was a day of adversity, and at the end of it. I¡¯d came out bruised, broken, and cut open. But even then, life kept moving. So, I mustered the energy to stay on my feet, and limped after the girl, who didn¡¯t once slow down her pace to consider my injuries.

 Chapter 7 - Retorts of The Tempered

    It was a ways into our walk back when we¡¯d emerged from the mist and the girl finally stopped to address what she wanted. ¡°Are you gonna give me an explanation, or what?!¡±


    I¡¯d been a few yards behind her by that point. It¡¯d been a struggle to keep up to her speed, but I was still managing to stay nearby. I was, at the very least, within a close enough proximity to hear the boom of her voice resound throughout the forest. So, upon catching up, I got the chance to respond.


    ¡°Explain what exactly¡­?¡± Exasperated, I struggled to truly process her impatience.


    ¡°Mind telling me why some weak ass chick like you was out there fighting a Rapiter? ...I mean, there has to be an explanation, doesn¡¯t there?¡± It must¡¯ve been partway through her sentence that the girl realized she might¡¯ve been too harsh and tried to remedy her behavior through forcing a front of concern and shifting into a shaky half smile¡ªher twitching eye only served to further foil the already shoddily constructed ruse.


    In a way, it looked as though she¡¯d already had an answer in mind, and she was just trying to lure me into saying it. However, I was just gonna be honest, and if I ended up saying what she wanted me to, I¡¯d deal with it then.


    ¡°I¡¯m game to give you the full rundown, that is, if you¡¯ve got the time.¡± Preemptively expecting a yes, I¡¯d already began the process of situating myself comfortably on the ground. The brash girl followed suit and also sat down, laying her giant sword next to her either as a sign of peace and patience, or simply to get into a more relaxed state.


    ¡°Alright, out with it. What¡¯s going on?¡±


    With the go ahead given to me, I wasted no time in spilling out the whole story about the events that had transpired since I¡¯d gotten to this world. Everything from how I¡¯d met Peak, how I wasn¡¯t from this world, and how I¡¯d gotten around to fighting the Rapiter. I laid it all before her.


    I didn¡¯t know if she¡¯d truly wanted the whole story, but I¡¯d needed an excuse to be settled for a bit, and a reason to properly vent. In the end, she had probably only wanted a brief synopsis on why I was fighting the Rapiter, but as I went further into detail about my situation, she seemed increasingly more interested and willing to listen.


    And when it was all said and done, she was perfectly chill in a way that betrayed my first impressions of her.


    ¡°Sigh, it always comes back around to that goon, doesn¡¯t it...?¡± She spoke while scratching at her head as a final signal that she understood my position.


    ¡°Hm¡­? Peak?¡± It hadn¡¯t crossed my mind until that point, but I¡¯d finally realized that this girl must¡¯ve came from that village Peak had talked about¡ªShelter. And if that was the case¡­


    ???


    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll take your word for it. But answer me this, why were you so hesitant to tell me this info?¡± I asked this question expecting the typical cliche of him wanting me all to himself or whatever, so the response I got just reaffirmed me of Peak¡¯s character.


    ¡°I¡¯m just not welcome where they are, okay? It¡¯s a little village named Shelter. There¡¯s people there who¡¯d rather not see me, and things I¡¯d rather not deal with.¡± Peak gazed off into the stream as he talked.


    ???


    ...Then it wasn¡¯t outside the realm of possibility that she held some resentment towards Peak. For what reasons, I still didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Yup. Elklin¡¯s always making my job a freaking nightmare! I swear, next time I see him, I¡¯m gonna let him have it!¡± A devious light flashed through her eyes as the fire in her voice lit itself anew, before dying down again as she addressed me. ¡°Oh, yeah. Sorry, about that¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s April. April Fallow.¡± Taking the cue from her trail off, I gave the girl my name and attempted to point at myself and smile with my usual charisma.


    In the end, her resentment towards Peak went no further than being annoyed at his slacking¡­ How underwhelming.


    ¡°Huh, weird name.¡± I hadn¡¯t thought about it, but my name really would seem foreign in this world. Not because the names here were super fantasy as heck¡ªeven if they were still very foreign and fantasy¡ªbut because my name didn¡¯t have any grounds to exist. April was a month in my world. As far as I knew, they didn¡¯t have those here. In a way, it probably made my story more believable.


    Although, people here already seemed relatively quick to believe it, anyways. Just like Peak, this girl hadn¡¯t even questioned me when I said that I was from another world. Not even for a second. She¡¯d just accepted it and continued on listening to my story.


    ¡°Well, sorry about that, April. Truth be told, I thought you were some lackey Elklin snagged coming out of the dungeon through an attempt to lighten his workload. Although, on second thought, that doesn¡¯t seem like something he¡¯d do. Plus the dungeon¡¯s entrance is a good ways away, right next to the village¡­ Eh, whatever.¡± Submitting to a calm, rational mind, the girl finally eased off the gas and returned to a neutral attitude with me. It seemed that when she wasn¡¯t yelling or jumping to conclusions, she could actually be quite courtly.


    ¡°So¡­ what is your job, if Peak¡¯s making it so hard for you?¡± The girl, assuming our conversation had come to a close, had already began to get up and dust off her leggings when I asked her my question.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Guess I should introduce myself. I¡¯m Infierna Bustort, Shelter¡¯s village guard. The pleasure¡¯s mine.¡± Unlike Peak, she didn¡¯t extend her hand upon introducing herself, but she still held herself in a manner that made her appear reverent and open. If you could get past the temper and impatience, you could definitely tell that she was raised to be a respectable guard.


    That being said, it made sense that Peak¡¯s job as the forest guardian and her job as the village guard were closely correlated. If Peak failed to zone the monsters away from the village, she was the one who had to deal with them. If she was all the way out here, it wasn¡¯t unlikely she was hunting down Peak to chastise him. Since I got here, Peak probably hadn¡¯t been spending as much time working. However, my mind only subconsciously drew these conclusions as my conscious mind was focused on something much more trivial.


    ¡°Infierna Bustort¡­ wow that¡¯s a complicated name. Let¡¯s settle with something else, okay?¡± Almost immediately upon hearing Infierna¡¯s name, my mind vetoed calling her by it. It was just too wordy, even if it was kinda fun to say. No, I needed something more simple and snappy.


    ¡°What do you mean settle with something else? Infierna is my name¡­ What else could we settle for?¡± I couldn¡¯t tell if Infierna talked in a way that indicated her as more confused or perturbed, but either way, I¡¯d already came up with an answer to her question.


    ¡°Fi. I¡¯ll call you Fi. Nice, simple, not three syllables that seem to meld together. Just one little sound: Fi.¡± I was proud of the nickname I¡¯d settled on, and was having fun saying it.


    ¡°Fi¡­ I suppose that¡¯s better than Elklin¡¯s nickname for me¡­¡± Shaking off her apprehension, Fi sighed and accepted her nickname. ¡°Anyways, put some of this on you, and let¡¯s head out again.¡±


    Fi tossed me a bottle of some kind of green salve, and then, as she had before, started walking without checking to see if I was following her.


    ¡°Wait up! What is this?!¡± I called after her, and she called back without slowing her pace.


    ¡°It¡¯s a healing salve. It¡¯ll stop you from getting an infection. Put that on real quick and then make haste to catch up.¡± Fi called from over her shoulder.


    ¡°Wait you¡¯re not gonna slow down?! And, hold on, why didn¡¯t you give this to me earlier?!¡± I rushed to lather my wounds in salve, as I continued to cry out to Fi.


    ¡°Heheh¡­ Well, if you were some lackey Peak had picked up to do his work, I was gonna let him take care of you and not waste my materials.¡± With a smug look of pride at her harsh rationalization, Fi waved off my question and pressed forward.


    ¡°Yikes, that¡¯s kinda mean spirited...¡± I muttered to myself and then, finishing the application of my salve, I hurried to catch up with Fi. When I did, I looked over at her face to see that she had something on her mind. ¡°Whatcha thinking about?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Oh, I was just curious. You did all that stuff because you needed to have a blank dream, yeah?¡± Fi was apparently thinking back through everything I¡¯d told her, and was now taking the initiative to dig deeper into my words.


    ¡°Mhm, pretty much. Although, I won¡¯t lie. Wanting to fight a giant man-eating snake was definitely part of it, too.¡± I decided to be completely open about it. While, I wanted to have a blank dream and use cool abilities like Peak, I also really wanted to fight the Rapiter. It had just sounded so cool.


    ¡°Well, then, did you?¡± Fi held a finger to me, imploring me to talk further.


    ¡°Eheheh¡­ did I what?¡± And I had no idea what she was asking me to talk about.


    ¡°Did you have a blank dream, you nimrod? When I found you, you were asleep. If you were going to have one, that¡¯d be when.¡± Impatience shining through and then subsiding like the reoccuring beast it was, Fi pressed me for answers about a question that, by all rights, I should¡¯ve already asked myself.


    Then again, I was very tired. I wasn¡¯t exactly asking myself much of anything.


    However, when Fi prompted my recollection, I¡¯d come to find that she had a point. I had been to sleep. Had I had a blank dream? How would I know? When I¡¯d asked that question before, all I¡¯d been told was that I hadn¡¯t had one. That it was something I¡¯d intrinsically know.


    If that was the case, then I hadn¡¯t. But for some reason, after all the attempts I¡¯d given to have that dream, I was no longer distraught by its absence. I was left with indifference. I wanted the abilities, but it wasn¡¯t like I was surprised that I didn¡¯t have a blank dream. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I don¡¯t think I had a blank dream.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°Damn, that sucks¡­ Guess you pulled that stupid stunt for nothing then, didn¡¯t you?¡± Fi pulled no punches when it came to saying stuff how it was. To be fair, I was like that, too.


    My stunt was stupid. I knew that. I was utterly unprepared and it put my life in danger.


    ¡°Yup, guess so.¡± I didn¡¯t want to press that I¡¯d gained a memorable experience out of that fight with the Rapiter¡ªthat I enjoyed the rush of the fight. So, for once in my life, I conceded. I was too tired to explain.


    We walked the rest of the way back in awkward silence. We didn¡¯t have much in common to talk about, and Fi was terrible at conversation, either ending everything in a mild rage or a dismissing comment.


    ???


    ¡°Apriiiiilllll!¡± Peak bolted up to me and squeezed me so tight that various wounds of mine opened and started to ooze and burn. It was likely a rather grotesque sight. Like a juice box of painful welcome. ¡°I¡¯d been looking all over for you! Where¡¯d you run off to?!¡±


    ¡°N-Nice to see you t-too, Peak. I-I¡¯ll explain later.¡± I was struggling for breath as I felt my ribs restrict around my body in a dangerously unnatural way. He was liable to break my back if he kept it up.


    Luckily, I had a savior with me, though, and Fi kicked into action uppercutting Peak square in the chin. She was a good half a foot shorter than me, and I was a good bit shorter than Peak, so it was a rather comical sight to have seen as I fell out of Peak¡¯s grasp.


    ¡°Ahaha! I see Busty is here with you, too! What brings you around these parts?¡± Peak, not the least bit put off by the assault on him, lit up upon seeing Fi¡¯s presence with me. Although, he was still rubbing his chin from her fist¡¯s impact.


    We¡¯d arrived at Peak¡¯s land sometime, presumably, around noon. And the current scenario had played out near instantaneously after arriving. It was always that way here. Things happened very quickly. I liked that.


    ¡°So¡­ heheh... he calls you Busty, does he?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but show my amusement at Peak¡¯s horrible nickname. It was almost unbelievably bad of a nickname, especially to give to a¡­ erm¡­ well endowed chick like Fi.


    ¡°Quiet. I have business to settle.¡± Fi tried to shrug off my remark, but I could tell through a mixture of her awkwardness and short temper that it had further irritated her. So, as she strutted up to Peak, I feared for his being.


    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s up Bust¡ª¡± Peak was naive and optimistic. He had no idea what was coming. In a matter of seconds he was sent flying by the blunt edge of Fi¡¯s giant blade. For some reason, I felt satisfied. Like all the times Peak had chucked me around were finally being repaid. As much as I liked the guy, it was justice.


    ¡°That¡¯s for shirking your work, you big oaf!¡± Fi, red in the face, put more energy into a fearsome bellow than her actual hit, but Peak wasn¡¯t about to get off easy. Before he could land, Fi moved at superhuman speeds to get below Peak, shouting ¡°Inferno Fury¡± then leaving a trail of flames in her wake. It was like watching her move with motion blur, just instead of blur, it was a fiery aura that enveloped her body. As her body radiated with fire, a radiant red glow fought through the cracks in her armor. Then, as Peak was about to touch down, Fi batted him back up into the air.


    ¡°And that¡¯s for being such a bad influence!¡± I winced as I saw the bulk of mass that was Peak soar through the air a second time, sympathizing with him under the assumption that the second comment had been about him in relation to me. I was always the reckless way that I was, but to Fi, it might¡¯ve seemed like Peak had rubbed off on me too much. After all, it wasn¡¯t like Peak and I were all that different.


    But Peak¡¯s misery wasn¡¯t done just yet, as Fi rocketed off the ground¡ªstill leaving flames in her wake¡ªorbited him, and spiked him back down to the earth. He landed in a Peak shaped crater, stuck within a twitchy daze.


    ¡°And that one was for that horrible nickname that you continue to use.¡± Fi gave the stunned Peak a sidelong glance, sheathed her oversized weapon, and then clapped the dust off her hands like she was signifying a job well done.


    I stood slack jawed in awe, looking worriedly over at Peak. However, my fears were put to rest, as I was met with a staggered thumbs up and a full smile. I guess, even after being beaten into butter, Peak wanted to calm my nerves. I didn¡¯t know whether to be flattered or freaked out at his dedication to my mental stability and safety.


    I felt like I¡¯d just seen a real life superhero fight unfold right before my eyes, even if it had only lasted roughly fifteen or so seconds. The one thing that made me upset was that I, in fact, hadn¡¯t had a blank dream. If what I knew was true, then I couldn¡¯t use kickass abilities like the ones displayed in front of me without one.


    ¡°Phew, I used up a surprising amount of soul there. Damn it, Peak, why are you always causing me problems?!¡± Fi, despite being the one to initiate the fight, blamed her fatigue on Peak. No matter what happened, it appeared Fi would find some way to blame it on him.


    ¡°That¡¯s kinda messed up to blame him. Aren¡¯t you the one who just beat him¡ª¡± I tried interjecting on the behalf of Peak, but Fi cut me off.


    ¡°He deserved it. Now, c¡¯mon April, let¡¯s rest in Peak¡¯s place while he recovers.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s even more messed up! Shouldn¡¯t you at least help him out before welcoming yourself into his house?¡± I once more tried to argue for Peak, only this time to get cut off by the man himself.


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. I told her awhile back that she was free to come by anytime. Y¡¯all go on ahead, I¡¯ll just be laying here...¡± Peak, no longer stuck in a pained daze, had now repositioned an arm under his head and was lackadaisically staring up at the cloudless sky. He showed a bit of pain on his face, but for the most part he appeared relaxed.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve finally realized just how insane both of you are¡­¡± Coming to the realization that both Peak and Fi were so out there it was almost unbelievable, I blinked in an attempt to reevaluate my previous ideas on the world. Then shook my head.


    Nothing needed reevaluating. I¡¯d always wanted to live in an insane world.


    ¡°Hold still! Stop squirming!¡± Fi was berating me with commands as I fought back against her operating. After we¡¯d retreated inside, she and her no nonsense attitude¡ªthe one that had a tendency to lead to nonsense¡ªinsisted that we address my wounds further.


    ¡°But it stings! And it hurts when you press down on it!¡± At the time she was trying to bandage my wing with some salve soaked cloth, and I was fighting back against her, flapping it to push her away. Honestly, I was just enjoying my newly acquired ability to manipulate my wings.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just fight a frickin¡¯ giant snake?! Why are you just now complaining about pain!¡± Fi shot words back with a line of reasoning that made too much sense.


    ¡°That was then, and this is now! This is a battle!¡± I kicked a bare foot at Fi¡¯s shoulder as an attempt to separate myself from her. I¡¯d taken off my mud caked boots and hole covered jacket and gloves upon entering Peak¡¯s home, leaving me in only my undershirt and shorts.


    ¡°If this is what you consider a battle, what were you doing earlier?!¡± Fi, poking holes in my illogical logic, retorted and grabbed hold of my leg.


    In response, I stopped squirming for a split second, looked Fi dead in the eye, and messing with her I gave my answer. ¡°It was a competition.¡± ...Then, I went back to fighting back against her help.


    ¡°Grr... screw it. If you¡¯re not gonna let me help you through your own volition, I¡¯ll let me help you myself.¡± Fi, fed up with my fighting back, let go of me.


    ¡°What¡¯s that even supposed to¡ª¡± Then chopped me in the back of my neck, knocking me out.


    When I woke up, I was all patched up and she was talking with the now indoors Peak about me. I laid for awhile, feigning unconsciousness and eavesdropping on their conversation.


    From what I was able to overhear, Fi had¡ªas I¡¯d expected¡ªcome in search of Peak to tell him to do his job better. When she¡¯d arrived at Peak¡¯s place, he¡¯d been out searching for me, so she went out searching for him. She walked what she knew as his regular routine, and eventually encountered me about to fight the Rapiter.


    Intrigued by not only who I was, but by who other than she and Peak would be brave enough to take on a Rapiter, she watched my endeavors, and swooped in to save me at the last second.


    However, it also appeared that she had a tertiary reason for seeking Peak out. One not of her own will, but the village¡¯s.


    Evidently, they had a yearly holiday in Shelter called Talon Day, where they celebrate a worshipped deity¡ªor something like that¡ªwith a festival. She¡¯d been asked to extend an invitation to Peak while she was in the area.


    ¡°So, you coming or not?¡± Fi pressed Peak for an answer about his attendance.


    Based off her looks, Fi couldn¡¯t be any older than her early twenties, yet she carried herself with an authority that exceeded her age. Listening to the conversation, I could tell that when she was pressing Peak, she was really pressing for him to bring me with him. I could also tell Peak wasn¡¯t exactly catching onto it.


    ¡°Uh¡­ I mean, do I have to?¡± From my knowledge, Peak was a hermit. I didn¡¯t figure he¡¯d jump on the idea of going into town, especially when I hadn¡¯t had a blank dream. But, I wasn¡¯t gonna let him say no.


    I jerked myself up from my position on the ground, and with a resolute grab of Peak¡¯s shoulder I made his decision for him. ¡°Fi, sign us up. We¡¯re going!¡±


    ¡°Sigh. Figures you¡¯d be listening. Eavesdroppers die horrible deaths, you know that, right?¡± Fi took an exasperated breath and warily looked me in the eyes.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want a boring death, anyways. Now, sign us up!¡± Back to life, I pressed further.


    ¡°A-April, you didn¡¯t even have a blank dream, what¡¯s the point of going?¡± This time Peak was the one to ask me a question, but I¡¯d prepared an answer while laying down.


    ¡°Hey, if I was brought into this world, maybe I already have the ability to use that Crystal Tree thingy, you ever thought about that? Or maybe, I had a blank dream in my world, and just don¡¯t remember. We should go just to try it out, shouldn¡¯t we?¡± Truth was, I was just throwing down any excuse to go to a fantasy world village and experience a fantasy world holiday.


    ¡°April¡­¡± Peak was talking almost in a whine at this point.


    ¡°Besides, I lost your daggers, and I¡¯d feel bad if I had to get you to make me another pair. Maybe we can find someone there to hook me up with some, you know?¡± I¡¯d left my daggers at the scene of the Rapiter fight. Realistically, we could go back and find them, but Peak didn¡¯t need to know that.


    ¡°Busty¡­ But I don¡¯t have money!¡±


    ¡°You know BC would be down to cover the costs if it¡¯s a request from you. So, you¡¯ve no need to worry about the price.¡± This time, Fi came in with the assist for me, confirming her allegiance with a wink. If I were to take a guess, she was helping out due to a mixture of genuinely wanting me to have the experience, spite for Peak¡¯s slothful nature, and potentially some other reason.


    ¡°But my job¡ª¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t doing it, anyways.¡± Fi tagged in with another assist.


    ¡°But your injuries¡ª¡±


    ¡°Pfft, I just walked all the way to your place, partway without any salve. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I reasoned again.


    ¡°But my home¡ª¡±


    ¡°Will be fine.¡± This time, both Fi and I delivered the finishing blow together. And with that, Peak was out of excuses.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going, Peak! As much as I appreciate what you¡¯ve done for me and respect you as a person, I¡¯m not missing out on this.¡± Despite having already won the argument, I decided to give Peak one final bit of reason and awaited his response.


    ¡°We can go¡­¡± Defeated and¡­ scared? Peak had conceded to let us participate in Talon Day.


    ¡°Wahoo! Victory for April!¡± I jumped and struck a celebratory pose, before keeling over in pain from my wounds¡ªI¡¯d reopened some of them through the sudden motion.


    As I fell to the ground, I heard Fi sigh once more. ¡°Seems like this year¡¯s Talon Day will be rather interesting. Good luck, Peak. There¡¯s no more running away from him.¡± With a signature sidelong glance and a mimicking smile, Fi turned and raised a hand goodbye as she was about to head out.


    ¡°Hm? Going so soon, Busty?¡± Even though her back was turned, I could feel her eyebrow twitching as Peak called Fi by his nickname for her.


    ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, I¡¯ve done all I had to do here. Keep up with your work, and we won¡¯t have any further problems, alright?¡± Upon concluding her sentence, she began walking towards the exit before stopping once more.


    ¡°Oh, and Peak, you¡¯d better show up to Talon Day next week. Otherwise, I¡¯ll never let you live it down. Remember, you¡¯re not going for yourself. You¡¯re going for April there, okay?¡± She motioned over her shoulder to me, still sprawled on the ground like a child, and then resolutely exited.


    As soon as she left, the tension in the room cleared and Peak fell to his knees and started pounding the ground, repeatedly cursing the world. ¡°Crap! Crap! Crap!¡±


    ¡°Peak... uh... you gonna be alright?¡± I was starting to worry about him. He was acting uncharacteristically loathsome.


    ¡°Crap! Crap! Crap!¡± Peak ignored me and continued to pound the ground in his despairing fit.


    ¡°Seriously, what could be so bad¡ª¡±


    ¡°CRAP!!!¡± Before I could finish asking my question, Peak returned to his normal self. Why? He punched a hole in his floor. ¡°April! Watch out, don¡¯t come anywhere near here. I¡¯ll repair it in a jiffy.¡±


    And just like that, Peak rushed out of his house to grab wood to repair his mistake. It was almost as if he hadn¡¯t been upset at all.


    ¡°Yup. Some things never change¡­¡±

 Chapter 8 - Partners of The Second Start

    ¡°Here you go, April, should all be sufficiently mended.¡± It was the next day, and Peak had mended my roughed up pieces of clothing and returned them to me.


    I wasted no time in slipping back into my full outfit. For some reason, I felt really bare without my jacket, and I was the type who¡¯d always wear her shoes indoors, so I was also glad to get my boots back on.


    ¡°Good work, Peak! Now I¡¯ll actually look presentable come next week!¡± I commended Peak while giving a reverent nod. ¡°Actually¡­ come to think of it, this isn¡¯t exactly formal wear, is it?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think you look pretty festive. You are a Seraph, after all. You don¡¯t needa plaster your outfit with a bunch of feathers like everyone else.¡± Evidently, I was a race known as the Seraph on this world. Peak had mentioned it a few times before, and explained it to me awhile back. This world had four main lands. On each of those lands, there were five races, each under the denomination of a certain god or goddess; according to Peak, we were in territory under the rule of the goddess of myth, Mythos.


    The Mythos races, if I recall correctly, were made up of the Sprites, Nymphs, Hollows, Oni, and of course, the winged Seraphs.


    ¡°Hmm, then what are we gonna do about you, Peak? What are you gonna wear for Talon Day, or whatever?¡± I pointed an accusatory finger at Peak and then morphed that point into an imploring hand gesture. It wasn¡¯t unlike Peak to think through everything with me and neglect himself.


    ¡°W-Well, I was just kinda hoping to stay inside for the day. Preferably, I¡¯ll be abstaining from the festivities¡ª¡± Peak weaseled some more, he still was hesitant to go. I just looked at him with eyes full of shame then asked the one question I¡¯d been wondering.


    ¡°Peak¡­ just how long has it been since you¡¯ve had genuine contact with, y¡¯know, society?¡± He¡¯d been so excited to see me, and yet so scared to go into the village. Peak was clearly a social being, so why was he so hesitant to visit the village? He said he had people who¡¯d ¡°rather not see him,¡± and things he¡¯d rather not deal with? Could what he was avoiding really be so impactful that it meant distancing himself from society so completely?


    ¡°Let¡¯s see... uh¡­¡± Peak held his hands in front of his face and started counting on his fingers. ¡°That¡¯d be five years!¡±


    ¡°FIVE YEARS?!¡± It was no wonder Peak was surprised to see me. If he was without any meaningful social contact for five years, no wonder he¡¯d think he could¡¯ve been hallucinating or something.


    Even if years in this world were dictated by the passage of seasons, as dictated by the chromatic moon, and not a monthly calendar, that was still an insane amount of time. At minimum, it had to have been around a thousand days.


    ¡°Hey, it''s not like I¡¯ve been completely isolated. Busty comes by to yell at me once or twice a year.¡± Peak tried to appeal to my sense of reason, but it only made him appear more pitiful.


    ¡°Peak, that¡¯s not real social interaction. Not at all!¡± I attempted to scold Peak...


    ¡°Ahaha, is it not?¡± But all he did was laugh it off, arm behind his head as usual.


    ¡°Seriously, what could you be avoiding that requires holing yourself away for half a decade?¡± I bent over to look Peak right in the face. While he was still sitting down, I had been standing from where I¡¯d changed.


    ¡°W-Well, there¡¯s just someone I don¡¯t wanna see, okay?!¡± Peak shot off another worthless attempt. This one, especially, was bad!


    ¡°SOMEONE?! I thought you said people not a person. And what¡¯s with all that crap about not being welcome?! Clearly, you¡¯re welcome if they¡¯re inviting you to their festivals, so explain, man! EXPLAIN!¡± By this point, I was violently shaking Peak around as I stated my demands, and Peak¡¯s face had turned pale as all of his BS excuses slowly crumbled to his feet. Maybe he hadn¡¯t been lying, but he for sure wasn¡¯t telling the whole truth either.


    ¡°People can be singular, too, can¡¯t it?¡± Peak averted his eyes. He¡¯d been called out, and he wasn¡¯t good with confrontation.


    ¡°Not in that context, it can¡¯t! Not in that context!¡± The shaking accelerated. ¡°And what about not being welcome? Hm? Was that another lie?! Hmmm?¡±


    ¡°The person I¡¯m avoiding wouldn¡¯t welcome me¡­¡± Peak¡¯s words squeaked out in a choppy burst. I was now shaking him to the point where he sounded like he was sitting on a vibrating chair when he responded.


    ¡°THAT¡¯S DIFFERENT!!!¡± Finally fed up with our conversation, the back of Peak¡¯s chair broke off and he fell backwards onto the ground.


    When we were both a bit calmed down, we stood up on the patio, looking over the river as we talked.


    ¡°Sigh. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m going. I did say I¡¯d bring you there eventually¡­¡± Peak scratched his beard and looked at me with reassuring but distant eyes.


    ¡°That you did. But you also said all that other stuff.¡± I jabbed at his lies.


    ¡°Look, I already apologized for that, didn¡¯t I?¡± Peak cast his gaze in guilt.


    ¡°Actually, you didn¡¯t, but it''s whatever. I wasn¡¯t exactly looking for apologies, anyways. Just tell me why you hid the truth in the first place.¡± Peak wasn¡¯t a liar, at least, I didn¡¯t consider him one. So, when speaking to him, I made sure to beat around the word lie.


    ¡°Truth is, I figured that if I said that I messed up and sealed myself away out here to avoid someone, you¡¯d think I was being trivial.¡± Peak, as he grew more anxious, switched his scratching from his beard to his hair.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°Duh! It is trivial! If you¡¯re the one who screwed up, just own it and move on.¡± I honestly never understood that sentiment. No matter how many times someone could fall down. No matter how many mistakes someone could make. To me, there was never anything worth running from.


    Running from mistakes¡­ doing that only had a tendency to make matters worse.


    ¡°See! That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t wanna tell you! I knew you¡¯d say that!¡± Peak jumped to life as he reversed the blame onto me.


    ¡°Look, buddy, I just say it how it is. Now that I¡¯m in this new world, I wanna reinvent myself. Never run away from my problems or what I wanna do.¡± I started on what seemed like a tangent. In reality, it was a lure. I was gonna bring Peak in and trap him.


    ¡°I suppose, that¡¯s rather admirable. Good on you, April! Ahaha! That¡¯s really cool!¡± Peak grabbed my head and brought me in for a one armed hug, or a noogie, or something. But against his expectations, I pushed back.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you think so!¡± After he¡¯d defused so many of my attempts to be sly, I was glad I¡¯d finally pulled one over on him. It turned out, whenever Peak was in a bit of a down mood, that was when I could catch him off guard with one of my schemes. ¡°Because right now, what I wanna do is help you out, Peak!¡±


    ¡°Help me out?!¡± At the sudden change in my demeanor from open and sensitive to devilishly plotting, Peak leaped away from me in a weirded out shock.


    ¡°All the quests of April Fallow have been completed. Well, except for that whole blank dream thing, but that was a dud! So, now we¡¯re moving forward!¡± I struck a pose and pointed at Peak.


    ¡°Actually, we didn¡¯t really get anything done¡­ You lost your weapons, the blank dream was a flunk, and because of that, we can¡¯t register you with a Crystal Tree¡ª¡±


    ¡°Lalala! Don¡¯t care! You¡¯ve helped me out, so now it''smy turn to repay the favor. And in classic Peak style, it¡¯ll be against your will.¡± Even though I was speaking in the most declarative voice I could muster, my arms were somehow saying even more as they went place to place.


    ¡°Ahaha¡­ What¡¯s that supposed to mean, lass?¡± Peak had no idea how to react, so he¡¯d responded with a mixture of his anxiousness from earlier today and his usual energy.


    ¡°This whole time, you¡¯ve been helping me under your own will. Elklin Peakswill! But no longer! Now it¡¯s time for you to be under my discretion.¡± I continued my proclamation.


    ¡°Your discretion¡­ with what?!¡± Peak was finally starting to catch hold of what the words I was throwing around meant, and when he did, I could hear his blood pressure spike through his voice alone.


    ¡°Out with Peakswill! It¡¯s now time for you to Fallow my lead! After all, I was pretty darn popular in high school. When it comes to social stuff, I¡¯m pretty much a deity¡ªa second feathered deity to bless this beautiful mountaintop. That is, if I¡¯m right and the deity, y¡¯all worship for Talon Day is feathered¡­¡± Realizing partway through my frenzy that I had my wings manipulatable, too, I started to implement them into my nonverbal talking. Then, as I neared the end of my statement, I waited for an affirming nod from Peak before continuing. My guess was right, Talon Day probably worshipped some feathered deity. Thank god for context clues. Without them, I would¡¯ve ended up ruining my whole mojo and looking stupid.


    ¡°Hear me now, Peak! I, April Fallow, will reintroduce you into society, and solve your problems! I¡¯ll remedy your relationship with that avoidable someone, and repay my nonexistent debt to you!¡± And with one, final pose, I did a take two of my introduction, stood up on the recently repaired patio guard rail, and intentionally leapt off into the sky¡­ falling right down into the stream.


    My reason was convoluted in procedure, but simple in concept. If I did this, I could strip Peak of all ability to argue back or protest my help. After all, it¡¯s impossible to argue with someone half-drowning in a flowing stream.


    Peak¡ªabundantly energetic, dangerously altruistic, socially exiled, and confrontationally anxious. When it came to dealing with other people¡¯s problems, he was as adept as they came. When it came to dealing with his own, he only had two routes he could go. He could laugh it off like he did with Fi¡¯s anger, or run away like he did from Shelter.


    ¡°Ahaha! Fine then!¡± I was yanked out of the water that I was still unable to properly navigate through, despite my movable wings, and when I¡¯d resurfaced I was met with the embrace of a gleeful, teary eyed, Peak constraining my ability to retrieve oxygen. ¡°If you¡¯re so adamant about it, I can¡¯t refuse it.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯ll let me help you¡­?¡± My heart fluttered as Peak¡¯s face morphed into a familiar smile. He then wiped his tears from his eyes and conceded.


    ¡°I¡¯ve realized for awhile that I couldn¡¯t run away forever. It¡¯d been eating away at me for so long, yet I¡¯ve done nothing. So, thank you, April... I¡¯ll embrace your help with open arms!¡± It¡¯d turned out, he was crying because he was moved. For a guy as altruistic as Peak, it probably felt pretty nice¡ªhaving someone who wanted to help him.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s great. But can you do me a favor before I help you¡­¡± Through the last remnants of my breath, I pleaded to Peak for one last favor. ¡°Can you actually embrace it with open arms. You¡¯re starting to choke me.¡±


    ¡°Dang it! I always do this! There you go!¡± I was immediately released and dropped to the ground, only to find Peak¡¯s hand right in my face. ¡°We can look after each other, okay? You¡¯ve got my back, and I¡¯ll have yours.¡±


    I was once more getting deja vu. It was like these past two days had happened before. I¡¯d retraced my steps since day one.


    Encountering that waterfall filled with mist, then exiting that mist and meeting someone new, and now being hauled out of a stream with Peak¡¯s hand spread in front of me.


    It¡¯d happened before, yet this time it felt completely different. I¡¯d grown and experienced so much, more than I ever had back on Earth. I had battles that fulfilled my sense of wonder¡ªmy need for adventure. I met people who would inspire me to do cool things with my life. And most importantly, I was about to form a real partnership.


    Not one where one of us was exclusively helping the other. No, we¡¯d look after each other, even if it was only until I went to the dungeon. Helping one another when we could, and making up for the other¡¯s weaknesses. That was what a partnership was.


    I¡¯d thought this once before, but now I was certain¡ªnow it felt sure. Peak and I... We were officially partners.


    I was, and would likely always be, selfish and self absorbed¡ªI¡¯d repeatedly taken from Peak without offering anything in return. I was overly prideful and rushed into things without thinking about the ramifications towards myself or others¡ªmy Rapiter stunt, in reality, had almost certainly stressed Peak out more than myself. But if it was for Peak, I could fix those flaws and throw all that aside.


    I¡¯d realized I was delaying my adventure, but in a way, I was going forth into an adventure of my own. One different from the typical hack and slash fiesta of kill monsters and profit. My adventure would start by helping out a middle-aged oaf become less socially recluded. A unique start, for sure, but it was gonna be mine.


    I saw a lot of myself in Peak, despite our differences in culture, age, sex, and origin. That must¡¯ve been why I wanted to help him. It was like¡­ like I was helping myself by helping him.


    So, I took Peak¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Yup, I agree! We have to have each other¡¯s backs from now on¡ª¡± My hopeful declaration of friendship was cut short. My bandages had all but washed away in the stream, and as I reached for Peak, my wounds reopened.


    ¡°¡ªAnd we¡¯ll start by patching you up!¡± Peak, unphased by my leaking, concluded my sentence for me.


    ¡°And we¡¯ll start with patching me up!¡± I copied his conclusion and then, as he offered me a shoulder to lean on, we headed back to his treehouse to reapply my bandages.

 Chapter 9 - Plans of The Path

    Five days passed and we were getting ready to head out, considering we¡¯d need a day to walk and an additional day to get situated before the festivities started. Peak had went into overdrive on his work in order to not only remedy his previous slacking, but also to get stuff done in advanced, as he¡¯d be absent.


    I¡¯d been asleep when I was startled awake by a cacophony of staggering stomps piercing my eardrums. It was, of course, Peak. So, shaking myself awake, I sat up from his bed and watched him toss stuff around his room, like some sort of crazed madman.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Peak, what are you doing?¡± I attempted to blink away my tiredness and readjust my eyes, as if it¡¯d magically inject some strain of understanding into me. I must¡¯ve worn the blankest most dumbfoundedest expression possible as I wearily spoke to Peak. It was meant to be the day of our departure, but I still felt like it was too early to be getting up. The moon was just barely radiating.


    At hearing my voice sound, Peak nearly jumped out of his skin and then turned to me with a dreadful expression on his face. ¡°April! I forgot to pack our stuff! C¡¯mon help me out!¡±


    There it was. I¡¯d started to think Peak had been all too thorough the past few days. Not even leaving room for our collective scatterbrain syndrome to interfere with his almost suspiciously carefully thought out plans. He was reliable when it came to having my back, but when it came to being consistent or well thought out in his actions, that all fell off a cliff quicker than I could.


    ¡°Now that I think about it¡­ Packing was left out of the plan, wasn¡¯t it? Yaaaawn¡­ You leave out the most simple of details, Peak. Fine then, let¡¯s get this show on the road!¡± I yawned away the very last of my sleepiness and pumped myself up for the day, helping in Peak¡¯s scramble to get us prepared. As I packed, I recalled Peak¡¯s plan and just how impressed I¡¯d been by its apparent forethought.


    ???


    It¡¯d been four days ago¡ªthe evening after we¡¯d decided to go to Shelter¡ªthat Peak had sat me down at the patio table to explain our course of action. He¡¯d even had a large map of the plateau spread out and everything. It was a truly baffling display.


    ¡°Listen here, April! We can¡¯t just go rushing into this trip, you hear me? So, look here: I¡¯ll show you the path we¡¯ll be taking and the potential hardships we might face. That way we can prepare for anything.¡± It must¡¯ve been Peak¡¯s attempt at a leader voice, as he talked with an authority I¡¯d never heard from him before.


    ¡°Do we really have to¡­? I¡¯d rather just rush into it and hope for the best. It¡¯s more fun and adventurous that way!¡± As I stated, it was the evening. It wasn¡¯t necessarily my prime time for thinky situations. So, I bemoaned the idea of having to actually think out a plan of attack.


    ¡°No can do, April. Not only are you wounded, but you¡¯re reckless, too. Even with me with you, there are dangers that can rear their heads at any time. Even if it is unlikely, you¡¯ve gotta be ready for anything.¡± Peak tried to reason with me, but my eyes must¡¯ve been plastered with disinterest. So, he pulled out a book and turned to a page, before holding out an illustration of something in an effort to further persuade me.


    ¡°Like look at this, it¡¯s a monster called the Wall Flower. If you wandered off and fell prey to one of these, there¡¯d be very little I could do for you.¡± The page had an illustration of an oddly cute crustacean-like creature with a shell that sprouted into a vine. The vine ended in a bright red flower. ¡°In order to get to Shelter, we¡¯ll have to pass through many tunnels that house these little guys. And, while they don¡¯t commonly lunge at you or anything, one brush with its flower, and it¡¯ll strangle you within seconds.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I get it. I¡¯ll stick close and follow the plan. Now tell me, what is the plan?¡± Not caring enough to argue any further, I conceded my will and went with what Peak was saying. It was hard to fight with someone when he had your best interests in mind.


    Then, I took an eyeful of the map and got a lay of the topography we¡¯d be traversing as Peak started explaining our route and key places to avoid.


    He started by pointing at an area to the far left of the map marked with dense forests and winding streams that sprouted from cliff sides. ¡°As you can see, we¡¯re over here. Now, I patrol an area up to around here.¡± Peak then used his finger to draw a line about two thirds of the way horizontally across the map.


    ¡°Seriously? I didn¡¯t know you looked after so much¡­¡± The area Peak had indicated was rather large, especially when I saw how close in proximity the drop off by where I arrived was.


    ¡°Ahaha, it¡¯s nothing really. As you know, I get around quickly, so it¡¯s no big deal.¡± Peak, modest as ever, just laughed off my awe and got ready to continue before I cut him off.


    ¡°¡ªHey, if you get around so quickly, why will it takes us a whole day to get there? After all, you can just luggage carry me and run full speed like you did that one time.¡±


    ¡°Running at that speed it¡¯d still take at least half a day to get there, but that isn¡¯t the problem. As you can see, where my patrol stops there¡¯s a big body of crags that we¡¯ll have to push through.¡± Peak returned his finger back to where he¡¯d said his patrol stopped, and I saw that it was indicated to have mountainous terrain. Even more noticeably, though, I picked up on that I¡¯d underestimated Peak¡¯s speed. He didn¡¯t directly say it, but he¡¯d implied he could move even faster than I¡¯d seen. I¡¯d never really thought Peak¡¯s speed was the most impressive feature of his running¡ªrather his stamina was¡ªbut if he could move faster, then I might¡¯ve needed to overwrite that conclusion.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to cross over the crags, though. There¡¯s tunnels that weave through them, but you can¡¯t rush through those or, like I said, you might end up victim to some horrible something or another.¡± Peak continued his explanation, and I was starting to understand the difficulty of our trip.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Peak continued his explanation going over an arsenal of different things to look out for and places we¡¯d be passing through. I sort of zoned out part way through and just started to take in the jist of what he was saying instead of the whole.


    Basically, we¡¯d make our way to the tunnels with Peak swiftly depatching anything that approached us along the way. The further away we¡¯d move from Peak¡¯s house, the more dangerous it was likely to become. He wasn¡¯t superhuman, he could only hunt down what he could find, so as we¡¯d reach the outsides of his patrol range, it was more likely that we¡¯d encounter something dangerous.


    Then, we¡¯d pass through the lightly patrolled zones¡ªthe tunnels. According to Peak, he and Fi took turns dealing with the dangers within them every month. So, while they wouldn¡¯t be teeming with monsters and things of the such, they were much less controlled. Plus, Peak wouldn¡¯t be as acquainted with every little thing that could approach us, meaning we¡¯d have to be much more on our guard.


    Once we¡¯d get through the tunnels, it¡¯d likely be nighttime. Despite that, it¡¯d probably be safe for us to progress to Shelter. On the other side of the tunnels was Fi¡¯s patrol range, and she was a stickler for getting every last thing exterminated. Traveling at night, wasn¡¯t likely to be a problem.


    And that was the plan; however, Peak had more on his agenda for me.


    Seeing as last time I¡¯d gone off on my own into the wilderness, I was dragged back to him half dead, Peak had me accompany him during his work to ¡°learn from him¡±.


    We were waiting to get a weapon from a person in Shelter, so I was given a large stone chef¡¯s knife to use as a supplementary weapon. While, I was certainly more used to handling a knife like a chef¡¯s knife, especially more-so than the daggers I had, it wasn¡¯t the most effective at taking out enemies¡­ and Peak, unsurprisingly, wasn¡¯t the best teacher. Although, he tried his heart out giving me useless tips and instructions.


    Either way, though, it was sort of a fun week, and it beat laying around Peak¡¯s house.


    ???


    After recalling the plan, I let out a storage of held breath that contained a mixture of my initial feelings of being impressed and my subsequential let down. ¡°Welp, Peak, are we all good to go?¡± I called out that I was finished with my own packing.


    ¡°One second, April! I¡¯ve still got a couple of things to put together!¡± Peak had migrated into the main room, and was now packing additional supplies for the trip. I kept everything that I deemed mine under Peak¡¯s bed, so I honestly didn¡¯t have much packing to do.


    Peak was incredibly versatile in his skill set and he¡¯d put together a variety of bags for us to haul our stuff in for the trip. At first, I¡¯d figured he¡¯d made an excessive amount that could never truthfully be used, but when I stepped out into the main room to check on Peak, I realized that Peak might¡¯ve thought the opposite.


    ¡°What the heck are you doing?! Packing your whole house?!¡± Everything was everywhere it wasn¡¯t supposed to be, and a giant bag was almost over filling with items.


    Peak¡¯s house wasn¡¯t big. I hadn¡¯t seen half the stuff he was packing. Where¡¯d he get it all from? I might never know.


    ¡°Huh? Oh, of course not! That¡¯d be crazy!¡± Peak was oblivious to my criticisms. I suppose, in his mind, it probably didn¡¯t seem like he was packing a lot. In reality though¡­


    ¡°Peak, we¡¯re going to be gone for like three or four days, five tops. Why in the world do you need every single piece of your kitchen equipment and your whole library of books?!¡± It was insane. His whole house was a husk of what it was. And Peak, he had no idea how to respond. He couldn¡¯t logically account for his actions. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re sitting down and putting some of this stuff back.¡±


    ¡°Mmm¡­ are you sure we won¡¯t need it, though?¡± Peak was hesitant, but it was clear that it wouldn¡¯t take much further convincing to make him concede.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. Now, let¡¯s unpack, then pack up, then get our butts moving! Or else, I¡¯m throwing your whole bag into the stream.¡± I ended my threat with a wink to clarify I was joking. However, Peak still became worried enough by it that a rain of stuff, some of which was sharp or heavy, came pouring down around me, making me dodge the onslaught like some cartoon anvils.


    ¡°Phew, alright then, Peak, are you ready to head out?¡± Half an hour after we were supposed to leave, most of Peak¡¯s possessions were returned to their rightful places, and we were finally prepared to leave.


    ¡°Sure am! Although¡­ I feel like we could¡¯ve packed a few more things. Just to be safe. But, oh well.¡± Peak was a bit wary about leaving his house behind, and it was understandable. He¡¯d worked on this place for five years without end. Whether it was normal or not, I couldn¡¯t say, but I could tell Peak had a profound connection to his house and the things in it.


    ¡°Nah, we¡¯ll be fine. The less stuff we bring, the more stuff we can bring back¡­ and the more real the journey will feel! So, let¡¯s get gogogo going already!¡± I was practically pushing Peak out of the treehouse, trusting that he¡¯d pull out some catlike maneuvers, and land on his feet if he were to fall, which he did.


    Once we were on the ground, I raised my arms up in the air, instinctively curled my wings around my body, closed my eyes, and signalled for Peak to lug me under his arms.


    ¡°April, what are you doing? Is that a new stretching technique?¡± Although, Peak didn¡¯t catch onto the cue.


    ¡°Just pick me up! The worst part is the initial getting lifted up part, so get it over with! ...It¡¯s kinda humiliating.¡± I quickly grew impatient, and without changing my pose, more aggressively signalled Peak.


    ¡°Maybe, some time I¡¯ll have you lift me up as compensation¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d break my back.¡± Without any change in expression, I retorted to Peak¡¯s less than clever idea of compensation.


    ¡°Ahaha! Well, I¡¯m sure that maybe one day you¡¯ll be able to, just have faith.¡± As Peak spoke optimistically of my future, he went through the procedure of picking my up under his arm, and without skipping a beat, launched from the ground.


    Our day trip had begun and Shelter was soon within our grasp.


    In the five days of our preparation, the weather had grown noticeably cooler. Where it was Spring back on Earth, it was Creation¡¯s equivalent of fall¡ªNecromoon¡ªso a pleasantly cool bite of wind struck at my cheeks, making them a flush red. The weather had a tendency to alter quickly up on top of the mountain, and where it was already cool due to our altitude, it was bound to become far more than freezing in the upcoming days.


    Luckily, most of my wounds had adequately healed before our trip.


    Other than that, everything was pretty much what I was used to. Become a plow through the woods, get scraped up and bruised by trees¡ªalthough Peak had gotten better at getting around with me in tow ¡ªand eventually arrive at our destination with, fortunately, few interruptions.


    On the way, I¡¯d discovered a cool few new critters about, and aneat looking tree or two, but nothing of true value. It was no different than hopping into a car for a trip. I just had to wait out the boredom until we got to the interesting part. And, in no time, we did.


    We¡¯d left in the morning and it was a bit past midday, probably two-o-clock or so, when they came into view. Giant spikes that stretched off the ground. Spikes that would be next to impossible to travel over. An ominous fog floating around their tops. This was where our trip would become less of your average, chaotic family getaway, and more of an other world excursion.

 Chapter 10 - Impulse of The Immature

    ¡°Heeerrre you go.¡± Peak handed me a sandwich¡ªor at least something like a sandwich¡ªfull of food that I still had very little knowledge of. At this point, I¡¯d just accepted that I¡¯d have to eat a bunch of stuff without second guessing it. Fortunately, Peak had been considerate enough to try and alter his recipes to stuff more towards my Earthly tastes.


    We¡¯d stopped on some rocks in a clearing by the tunnel entrance to refuel with a quick lunch. As always, I inhaled my food at a speed that left me mindlessly fidgeting as I waited for Peak to catch up.


    ¡°You know there¡¯s no need to rush, right? It¡¯s not like the food¡¯s going anywhere.¡± With a mouth full of spewing, half-chewed food, Peak tried to condemn my haste.


    ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk. Peak, you clearly don¡¯t understand. It¡¯s not that the food is going anywhere, or anything like that. The issue is where it could go if I ate it at a paced speed: namely, out of my digestive system, back up my throat, and all over the ground, as my taste buds would cue my body to reflexively expel the seemingly toxic materials you¡¯ve fed me.¡± In a leap of reasoning that bounded so far that it would put even olympic gymnasts to shame, I stated my retort with an unfittingly proud look on my face.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ anyways, I¡¯m done eating now. So, I¡¯d say it¡¯s about time to go over our actions henceforth in more detail.¡± Disregarding what I said, Peak shifted the conversation¡¯s focus.


    ¡°Urgh¡­ more planning? We already went over a bunch of stuff like a week ago or whatever. Can¡¯t we just go in and hope for the best?¡±


    ¡°Ahaha, I figured you¡¯d say that. No need to worry, though, April. I¡¯ll make it quick. I¡¯ve already sketched out our route on the map¡ª¡± As Peak was talking, he started shuffling through his bag, before coming to a sudden halt.


    ¡°Hm¡­? What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Welp, it seems we left the map at the house¡­ But it¡¯s no big deal, because I remember the route like my beard remembers its signature edge. I mean, I have ran it every other month for five years. Just stay close to me and you¡¯ll be A-OK.¡± Despite his¡ªor potentially my¡ªmess up of leaving the map behind, Peak, true to form, bounced back in no time and concluded with a plan that both did and didn¡¯t satisfy my need for adventure.


    ¡°Hold on a second, just how close are we talking? One of those fancy retractable dog leashes that cost way too much for what they¡¯re worth close, or step siblings in anime close? Because there¡¯s a big difference between the two.¡± If there was one thing I hated, it was the idea of having to dote on someone in, what would arguably be, the coolest place I¡¯d see yet. Merely looking at the mountain skyline sent my heart aflutter with excitement towards the trek.


    ¡°Firstly, what? Secondly, you shouldn¡¯t have to be all that close. I¡¯d say within an arm¡¯s reach should just about do it.¡± There it was. Said more casually than jeans on a Friday. A single, innocent statement that inflicted more emotional damage upon me than any of the life threatening scares I¡¯d encountered thus far.


    ¡°That¡¯s too close, Peak! Too close! I don¡¯t even keep my family that close! At the smallest possible interval of closeness, they¡¯re a holler¡¯s distance away.¡± Much like a large amount of my excitement, I¡¯d snapped and shattered, instinctively hitting the rock below me to try and prove some sort of point. I tried my best to keep my composure as a shot of pain coursed from my hand and throughout my body, only slightly wincing from it.


    For a moment after my display of utter immaturity, Peak looked nothing more than perplexed. However, it wasn¡¯t long until he sighed an admission of defeat, and started talking again. ¡°Look, just¡­ stay safe. Okay, April? I¡¯d never be able to live it down if you¡ªor frankly anybody¡ªwere to get seriously injured under my watch. ...But if you promise not to do anything reckless, then I can settle for keeping you within eyeshot.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I call a bargain. You have yourself a deal, Peak.¡± I gave Peak a thumbs up, then popped up into a standing position. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m getting a bit overzealous here, so can we go ahead and get go-go-going?!


    ¡°One last thing, what are the rules I gave you earlier this week?¡± Peak, now also stood up, proceeded to ask me to recite something from our previously established plans. The plans that I sorta just sat and nodded my way through.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Steer clear of strange flowers, moving lights, unknown liquids, and distinct odors. Don¡¯t approach random holes and crevices. And¡­¡± Abusing my above average memory for all it was worth, I struggled to recall the countless warnings Peak had told me.


    ¡°And if we somehow get separated, stay still and wait for me to find you.¡± Peak finished the review for me, and then went to put his classic ear-to-ear smile once again. ¡°Every time we¡¯ve done something like this before, I¡¯ve known the risks and how to help you get out of trouble if it were to arise. So, if I¡¯m seeming overly cautious now, that¡¯s why. Thanks for cooperating.¡±


    ¡°No problemo, Peak. We are partners, after all. Even if it is only a temporary arrangement.¡±


    ¡°Ahaha, I suppose you¡¯re right! I won¡¯t keep you waiting any longer. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    And just like that, full of energy and excitement, we took off towards the tunnel¡¯s entrance¡ªdashing straight into the maw of the ominous, but admittedly cool looking, caves.


    Once we were inside, however, we had to slow down as the tunnels became pitch black, blocking all light. Although I had better than average vision, I still found myself walking blindly into Peak¡¯s back as he stopped ahead of me.


    ¡°Owie! Lemme know if you¡¯re gonna randomly stop in front of me.¡± I rubbed my recently hurt nose.


    ¡°Sorry about that. Just figured I should get us some light, don¡¯tcha think?¡± Peak stayed turned around, as he whispered something under is breath. I wasn¡¯t able to make out what he said, but afterwards a gentle breeze brushed through the room.


    ¡°What was that about¡ª¡± As always, I was left in the dark about what was going on, and was gonna look to Peak for answers. However, that was interrupted as I saw a multitude of spots on Peak¡¯s body blotch over with a radiant green light. ¡°Peak! ...Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Oh yeah, I¡¯m just fine. Why do you ask?¡± Clueless as to why I was worried, Peak turned around at me inquisitively.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Why do I ask, you ask? Because you¡¯re lit up like a glowstick on Halloween night! That¡¯s why I ask!¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that all? This is just kinda what happens when a Sprite makes contact with external magic. Convenient, eh?¡± Peak waved off my shock like it was nothing and continued on¡­ meaning I had to run up to him to ask further.


    ¡°Sprite¡­ that¡¯s one of those races or whatever, yeah? You¡¯re a Sprite? Since when?!¡± Still staggering to keep up with the briskly walking Peak, I pointed an accusatory finger as I demanded answers.¡±


    ¡°Since always¡­ Wait, what did you think I was?¡± Finding what I was saying amusing, Peak finally slowed his pace to match mine.


    ¡°Well, I thought you were human, dingus! You look human enough.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ That¡¯s a fair mistake for someone who¡¯s not from around here to make. My bad, I didn¡¯t even think about how confusing that might be for you. To be fair, though, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d know what a human is, either.¡± Peak and I were just nonchalantly talking, as we walked through the starting corridor of this supposedly hazardous place.


    ¡°Ah¡­ That¡¯s a fair mistake that someone who¡¯s never been to Earth could make. Oh, Earth is my old planet¡¯s name, by the way.¡± As I spoke, I could see Peak grow more interested in the conversation. Despite knowing each other for over a week now, I¡¯d never really talked about my life back on Earth. ¡°My world¡¯s society is of exclusively humans. We don¡¯t exactly have anything unique or interesting like you guys do.¡±


    Peak stopped for a second, stroking his beard in thought before saying. ¡°Yeah, I guess that makes sense.¡± And then he just continued on, completely accepting what I said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just walk on! Now it¡¯s your time to spill some info! Like, what even is a Sprite, other than a refreshing beverage to be enjoyed with a meal of your choice?¡± Peak was acting weird. Normally, he¡¯d be down to goofily stand around and talk about whatever came to his head, but now it was like he was in a completely different mode. Whether it was because we were in a dangerous place, or because he was growing increasingly apprehensive the nearer we drew to Shelter was unknown to me. Maybe it was a mixture of both?


    ¡°Oh, Sprites are a race of creatures with bodies made out of deeply stored magic. Other than that, they¡¯re pretty much like humans. Besides, y¡¯know, the whole body glowing thing.¡±


    ¡°Yup. Don¡¯t understand at all.¡± Everything Peak was saying was no more than gobbledygook to me. It was like if you tried explaining how the human body worked to some extra terrestrial race, but you just went ¡°Yeah, the heart pumps blood and stuff, and it makes us live.¡± ...Actually, somehow Peak¡¯s response was even more barebones.


    We kept walking until we reached the end of the first corridor. It was incredibly long and straight¡­ and anticlimactic¡­ and boring¡­ But when we reached the end, it started to pick up more. Not because there were suddenly rampant monsters scurrying about, but rather, the next area we entered. It was¡­ ¡°Beautiful¡­¡±


    It was like I¡¯d crossed into a completely different realm. A small indent at the end of the starting corridor led into a crystalline world of shine and sparkle. While still too dark to navigate safely without a light, there were random sections of glowing stalactites dripping silver droplets of water, collecting them into an arsenal of glowing pools. Moreover, there were speckles of glowing dust flittering through the air, systematically weaving in and around the room.


    ¡°It really is, isn¡¯t it? It leaves me in awe every time I come here. Still, don¡¯t drop your guard. Stay exceedingly vigilant, April. Remember: steer clear of distinct odors, strange flowers¡­¡± Peak started his reminder to me, expecting me to finish it.


    ¡°Unknown liquids and moving lights¡­¡± I looked around the contents of the room once more, now looking at it as Peak was: a room full of potential dangers. No wonder he was tense, even not knowing what there was to fear about these things, I could tell that this room was exceedingly hazardous.


    ¡°This is where I¡¯d ask you to stay close to me and proceed slowly.¡± Peak was on a whole other level of careful. He was taking this seriously, so I figured I should, too. But¡­


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense! Why would you proceed through a dangerous area slowly? Wouldn¡¯t you want to get away as quickly as possible, like we did with the Rapiter?¡± To me, going slow just gave you more chances to get hurt. Prolonged exposure to dangerous areas wasn¡¯t necessarily the smartest thing, in my opinion.


    ¡°Hey, normally I¡¯d agree with you, but not now. This is just the first of many openings in the tunnels, and sure, there might not be any monsters or hidden dangers, yet that doesn¡¯t mean you should throw caution to the wind.¡± Peak, sensing my eagerness to step forward past him, preemptively held out his arm to bar me off as he spoke.


    My view on the room¡¯s danger level had done a complete 180. Where before I¡¯d thought the room was scary and hazardous, I now only thought Peak was overexaggerating.


    ¡°Well then what is there to look out for?! Clearly, if something had the chance of jumping us, they would¡¯ve done so already! I mean, seriously, look how loud I¡¯m being!¡± I gradually crescendoed my voice as I talked until it echoed off the walls and reverberated right back at us.


    ¡°April¡­ I¡¯d really appreciate it if you¡¯d listen to me. Now¡¯s not the time to be goofing around, really. Right now, we¡¯re in a zone¡ªan area uninhabitable by a majority of sentient races. While monsters may not live in this room, it still has its fair share of dangers. Think of it like you were in the dungeon already, and act accordingly.¡± Peak, his voice both becoming more weary and more sharp as he spoke, persisted to try and wane me from doing something he deemed foolish.


    ¡°Our agreement was that I¡¯ll stay within eyeshot, so I¡¯m just gonna bounce from spot to spot staying near enough to light where you¡¯ll be able to see me, sound good? Okay great.¡± Without waiting for a response I took off. The room didn¡¯t appear that big, and I¡¯d seen some of those little lights flicker past a clear exit multiple times. All I had to do was move across a room that could be no longer than thirty yards, resting within the lights without being touched by them. I¡¯d take periodic stops to alert Peak that I was fine, and continue.


    ¡°April, hold up! Those lights are really not something you should be hanging around! Even if you¡¯re aware of where they are, they could suddenly move and you¡¯d be screwed!¡± Peak, throwing all of his prior intricacies and conscientious duties as my guard aside, dashed after me in an attempt to reclaim me.


    I¡¯d just reached the first area of light in the stretch and peeked around the corner enough to get a glimpse of him running after me. The ground was slippery, but thanks to my wings, I always had enough drag to quickly stop. ¡°These things don¡¯t even look alive, how are they dangerous? Are they poison barbed or something?¡± I tossed out a question before continuing to sprint through the room.


    Meanwhile, Peak slid into the area by where I¡¯d just left. ¡°No, the lights themselves aren¡¯t dangerous, neither are the puddles. It¡¯s what interaction with them leads to that¡¯s dangerous!¡± And then he took off in my direction as I stopped once more. He was catching up to me.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s the big deal?! What¡¯s dangerous?! Can¡¯t you just tell me that?!¡± I took off again.


    ¡°If I did that, you¡¯d probably run into them on purpose! Our goal is to get out of here tonight, so we can¡¯t take any risks!¡± The pattern in which we were running was like a zigzag, extending the forty yard sprint into something more like sixty to eighty.


    ¡°Why the hell would I do that?! That makes no sense! Unless they happen to give me superpowers or something, there¡¯d be no reason to! ...Wait, they don¡¯t give me superpowers, do they?¡± Caught up in my own imagination, I stopped for a moment to think, as Peak was about to catch up to me.


    ¡°No, they don¡¯t¡ªApril look out!¡± Not expecting me to remain stopped, Peak hadn¡¯t properly adjusted his speed and skid once more on the ground¡­ directly into me, sending me tumbling towards a puddle of crystal water¡ªmy wings just barely making contact with the liquid, being an oversized nuisance as always¡ªand veering him into one of the many floating lights near where we were standing.


    All of the sudden, my head started to spin. No, it wasn¡¯t that my head was spinning. The room was warping, twisting and turning in unnatural directions. Was I hallucinating?


    The next thing I knew, I was laid on the floor, but it wasn¡¯t the same floor I¡¯d fallen on. It was a new floor, in a new place. And¡­ Peak was missing.


    We¡¯d been separated.


    When I lifted my head up to get a better look at my surroundings, I realized that I was in a place that I¡¯d never been. I was somewhere completely different from where I had been before.

 Chapter 11 - Ways of The Wistful

    Once my head had stopped spinning, I mustered an attempt to get up from the ground. For some reason, I felt a bit more fatigued than I had been before, but it was no biggie. I¡¯d learned that if I used both my arms and my wings to lift myself off the ground, it was way easier.


    ¡°Huh, what a cool place.¡± Now standing, I updated my initial scan of the surroundings. I was in a lush, earthy cave covered in mosses and vines, completely different than the stone tunnels we¡¯d been traversing before. The room was lit by some kind of a lantern hung from one of the vines.


    Curious, I walked up to the lantern to get a better look. Although, it was definitely a lantern, it didn¡¯t contain a fire. Instead, it was lit by some weird, glowing, turquoise light, bouncing around within the glass casing. It was strange but oddly entrancing, like watching an old Windows screensaver.


    I was watching this light when I felt something tap me from behind.


    ¡°Eek! ...Huh?¡± For a moment, I jumped out of my skin and instinctively pulled out my chef¡¯s knife for defense, but when I turned I met eye contact with a person.


    It was a boy with scraggly blond hair, dressed in a well-worn, but clean, cloth outfit, highlighted by a long teal cloak that matched the colors of his weary eyes. Along his waistline was a belt consisting of many different flasks of multicolored or clear liquids.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re blocking the light. Could you do me a favor and move?¡± With a deadpan expression hinting at slight irritation, the boy signalled for me to move. Then, once he confirmed that I was no longer blocking it, he turned and knelt down in a corner, toying with an outcrop of extra poofy moss growing there.


    However, he remained perceptive, and caught my gaze once more. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll rid you of the need to spy anymore. I¡¯m Will, Shelter¡¯s town apothecary. Right now, I¡¯m working. Got it?¡± He spoke curtly and plainly, giving off the notion that although he carried no ill-intent towards me, he¡¯d much prefer me to bug off. Of course, I didn¡¯t.


    ¡°So¡­ you make potions or whatever?¡± Intrigued, I inquired further.


    ¡°That is what an apothecary does, isn¡¯t it? And what do you do? Get lost in dangerous places and pester people about their occupations?¡± Without batting an eye, the guy, Will, quipped back at me. Still, despite the edge on his words, it didn¡¯t feel as though he was speaking maliciously.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I get it. I¡¯ll be on my way, and let you get back to your¡ª¡± I turned face, and prepared to head out when I was interrupted by Will.


    ¡°Here, catch.¡± Not waiting for me to be ready, I got tossed two flasks. I jumped into action and nimbly caught both of them, but only just barely. ¡°I can tell. You¡¯re a wannabe adventurer who bites off more than she can chew, right? We call that the Adventurer Jitters. It¡¯s not all that uncommon.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Confused about what he was going on about, I tilted my head.


    ¡°The more foolhardy adventurers tend to have this idea that, no matter what, they¡¯re invincible. Well, you¡¯re not. Train your skills and proceed with caution. If you can do that, with your reflexes and body, you could even achieve something one day¡­ probably.¡± Even when giving me advice, he seemed totally attuned to his work gathering specific pieces of moss. It kind of made what he was saying lose its effect. ¡°Also, get a better weapon. You¡¯ll never achieve anything with that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ thanks for the advice. And how are these meant to help me?¡± Much like Will, I was mildly perturbed at him inserting his advice without my consent¡­ but only mildly.


    ¡°Oh. In your left hand is an elixir that, when exposed to air, will cause a fire to light within that flask. Shake it up then unplug it, and you should have light. In your right is a potion to help mend your mangled wing. Just cut it open¡ª¡±


    ¡°Cut it open?!¡± Upon hearing him telling me to reopen my wound, I had no choice but to butt in. However, he kept going despite that.


    ¡°Just cut it open, and pour the potion into the reopened wound. It healed improperly. It could become an issue down the line.¡± Concluding his statement, Will sighed, scratched his head, and mustered one last sentence out of his mouth. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    ¡°Thanks! I¡¯ll do my best!¡± I didn¡¯t even question what he¡¯d told me, and without a seconds delay I wandered into the depths of the tunnels with the goal of reconvening with Peak.


    ¡°So, I just shake it and¡­ Oh, sweet!¡± As soon as I was in the dark depths of the following tunnels, I did as Will told me and used the elixir. Sure enough, a flame grew within the flask.


    The tunnels were just like the room I was just in¡ªfull of moss, vines, and a strange array of different and unique looking plants.


    I kept a consistent, brisk pace as I traversed the tunnels, staying on guard for any enemies that might approach. I figured that I wasn¡¯t likely to encounter anything until a bit further in, though, seeing as how Will was here.


    However, the simplicity of my travels was soon blown away as I was met with three distinct tunnels, and in turn, a choice to be made. I never had the best sense of direction in the world, but I felt fairly confident in my choice of tunnel. ¡°To the left we go! Nobody expects you to choose the first tunnel!¡±


    I made my choice off of instinct, as I wasn¡¯t the type who could sit down and examine the possibility for a wind current or discern directional info based off of how the plants were growing or anything like that. Instinct was basically all I had going for me.


    Yet, this instinct immediately stabbed me in the back. Upon my first step into my selected tunnel, I was met with an ear piercing, beastial GRAWR! that pretty much told me to screw off in the most aggressive way possible. So, I turned on my heel, stiff as a corpse in rigor mortis, and marched back into the previous corridor.


    ¡°What I meant to say was¡­ Nobody expects you to keep going forward. That¡¯s right, the middle tunnel it is!¡± Trying my best to reaffirm my instinct, I made up my mind and went down the central tunnel.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ that¡¯s no good.¡± After walking in the center tunnel for, maybe, five to ten minutes, I was met with a marshy part. Assuming it to be nothing to fret, I persisted forward only to find my right foot being swallowed up by the goopy muck.


    I stared at my sinking foot for a few moments, before realizing that I should stop its consumption into the floor, and yanked it out. Then, I took a squishy step back to look closer at the tunnel I was in. It was narrow and straight without a clear path around the marsh; however, there was one solution I could come up with.


    Above the marsh were a series of vines that, if I maneuvered myself properly down the tunnel, could all be reached within an arms length from one another. And while the prospect of cartoonishly going from one vine to another sparked my childlike intrigue, I knew in reality that was entirely impossible. In order to climb the vines, I¡¯d need both my hands, and one had to be occupied by the elixir, otherwise I¡¯d be stuck in the dark.


    So, I had to come up with another plan, and the plan I landed on was¡­ well¡­ unique. Since the tunnel was narrow, all I needed to do was to put force from my upper and lower body against the walls of the tunnels, then I could awkwardly shuffle myself over¡ªwhile suspended midair¡ªto the other side of it in a jumping jack like position.


    And while this would be an issue for a normal person, I had not four, but six appendages. Which meant I could hold the elixir in my hands, and use my wings as my upper body leverage to get to the other side¡ªI even had an extra appendage if things ever got hairy. So, jumping into place, I sidled my way over to the other side.


    Touch down. For once one of my ¡°So stupid it just might work,¡± plans actually worked. Although, it left me more fatigued than I had been, so I embraced the mossy ground with my face, instead of landing gracefully¡ªI kept my arms in the air to avoid shattering the elixir.


    I laid there for a bit, before plucking myself off the ground and continuing through the tunnel. From that point onwards, the tunnel began to curve and turn, ending in a meaty thicket of vines which blocked the path.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ I went the wrong way?¡± I wearily eyed the vines, my heart sinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind told me that I should just give up, but my soul¡­ my gut... they screamed at me to keep moving forward. So, I slapped my cheeks, shocking life back into me, then pulled out my knife and began hacking away at the cluster of vines.


    It was like sawing my way through a thick steak with a plastic butter knife, irritating and utterly inefficient, but it¡¯d get there eventually. I¡¯d just have to find the optimal route through the fortified weaving.


    It was thirty minutes later. Thirty whole minutes, before I sawed through enough to squeeze through. There hadn¡¯t just been one layer of vines. No, there¡¯d been three, each as frustrating as the last.


    Proceeding through was a bittersweet experience. I¡¯d claimed victory, but I¡¯d lost so much of my drive. The whole process had been so stupidly tedious that I almost passed out from boredom alone. Worse yet, if I was still with Peak, he probably could¡¯ve cut through them in a split few seconds.


    Something so, so, so, so, so, idiotically needless¡­ was that the adventure I wanted to go on? The adventure that I¡¯d went against Peak¡¯s guidance for? That I¡¯d rushed ahead to see? All these questions buzzed through my head, and I was left just standing there. Reflecting on my choices, and the path I¡¯d gone through in the tunnels. Then I slumped down onto the floor, as the vines rapidly regrew next to me.


    Rushing forward, it got me nothing other than lost with a muddy boot. My ambitions weren¡¯t misplaced, either. At least, I didn¡¯t think so. I didn¡¯t blame myself for wanting to go on an adventure, or even for misconstruing what a true adventure would be like. I was new to this world and irredeemably naive. A brat. I¡¯d had the ¡°Adventurer Jitters¡± or whatever, since I first arrived on Creation.


    In some ways, I wasn¡¯t treating everything like a real world. I was an adult¡ªalthough just barely¡ªyet I was acting like a kid running through a funhouse, treating this world like some imaginary game¡­ because it was like a game, but also not. Time and time again, I neglected the guiding words of Peak, my partner, and then I had the audacity to ask him to believe in me.


    And even still, he did.


    ¡°Sigh, I guess I acted like a real butt face.¡± I let my body loosen, as I remembered the last word of Peak¡¯s advice that I¡¯d failed to abide. If we were to get separated, I was meant to stay still and let Peak find me. That was our agreement.


    So, I picked myself off the ground, one last time, and then looked at my newly accessed area. It was a large, stone, circular opening with four branching paths leading out from it, including the one I came from. It felt like an intersection.


    It was unlike the room I¡¯d just came from, too. It was more like the ones we¡¯d started in. A default cave themed room. It wouldn¡¯t be as comfortable to rest on, but it would do. So, I sprawled out on the ground, rested the elixir next to me, and waited for Peak.


    Of course, I fell asleep. Waiting never sat well with my consciousness. I could sleep anywhere


    ¡°April, don¡¯t move an inch, and whatever you do, do not sit up.¡± As always, I was woken by the sound of Peak¡¯s voice. My fire had been spent up and I was turned on my side away from him, but I knew it was Peak. He¡¯d found me. And while I wanted to spring up and give him a big hug, his words warned me not to. ¡°Now, do as I say. Roll to the side, and do not under any circumstances raise your body.¡±


    ¡°Roger that.¡± I followed Peak¡¯s orders and made a hard roll to the side. As I did, I heard a blade of wind shoot out, and a following squealing sound.


    ¡°Okay, you¡¯re good now. You¡¯re free to sit up.¡± Peak gave me the go ahead, so I sat up, and when I did, I saw a crustacean-like creature on the ground in front of me. Then, I looked over to Peak to find him holding a bright red, iris-like flower. The creature was a Wall Flower, the monster Peak had warned me about. ¡°And that¡¯s why you don¡¯t fall asleep in the tunnels.¡±


    ¡°Welp, that was a close call! Thank god you got here in time.¡± As I spoke, I sprung into life and jumped forward at Peak to hug the man. Normally, he was the one who¡¯d embrace me, so he was rightfully bewildered. It was because of this normality that I thought that this would suffice as my sorry.


    ¡°Aww, crud. Now I can¡¯t even chew you out.¡± Peak¡¯s face softened, but not into his signature smile. No, this smile was different. It wasn¡¯t overjoyed or relieved, it was appreciative.


    ¡°Look, I screwed up, I know. I¡¯m sorry, okay¡ª¡± I tried to apologize, but before I could, the hug tightened to the point where I couldn¡¯t even breathe. It wasn¡¯t until a few minutes later that I was released and Peak once more had a composed look on his face. ¡°Nah, to be honest, I sorta expected you to do something stupid. Some way or somehow on this trip. I¡¯m just glad it all worked out in the end.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? You expected this?!¡± I unintentionally exclaimed my surprise. Peak wasn¡¯t typically the one to plot out intricate schemes. A plan, yeah sure, a scheme, no.


    ¡°I once knew someone a lot like you, April. A whole lot, actually. So, that being said, you¡¯re pretty easy to read you know?¡± Peak let out a hardy laugh, and then returned right back to serious. ¡°I¡¯m just glad you learned this lesson now rather than later. If you¡¯re planning on tackling Shelter Spire, you¡¯re gonna need to get used to sticking to a plan. Otherwise, you might get lost in there for weeks, if not months.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I get it. I learned my lesson, no need to rub it in. Let¡¯s just get out of here. I wanna see Shelter already.¡± I was happy to admit when I was wrong, but I didn¡¯t like it being brought up again and again, so I pushed for us to move.


    ¡°On the double, lass, let¡¯s head to Shelter! The path¡¯s right through those vines over there.¡± Peak pointed to where I¡¯d came from and I learned one final lesson that I¡¯d take to heart more than anything.


    It¡¯s always right. Always take the right path. Screw anything your gut says, just go right.

 Chapter 12 - Village of The Cliffs

    ¡°Freedom!¡± I bounded out of the tunnel and embraced the grass. Peak had diligently led us out without any problems. He¡¯d made everything look so effortless that I felt embarrassed by the futility of my earlier struggles. We¡¯d even encountered some cool looking monsters I¡¯d never seen before, only for Peak to dispatch of them moments later.


    I then rolled from my stomach onto my back and stared up at the purple night sky. Sure enough, it was still night when we exited the tunnels, despite the extra time added by my¡­ excursion¡ªprobably just later into it than planned. I didn¡¯t know any concise way of telling time in this world, but I could only figure it was sometime past 12AM. Everyone in Shelter was most likely asleep by now.


    ¡°Tell me about it. I hate it in there¡­ it¡¯s all cramped and musty. But that doesn¡¯t me we can stop for a break. We¡¯re almost there, though, so let¡¯s keep pushing through.¡± Peak dampened my enthusiasm towards our exit, as he helped me off the ground.


    ¡°I know, I know. I was just¡­ appreciating the grass. But for curiosity¡¯s sake, would you mind telling me precisely how much longer we have until we get there.¡± I teetered as I stood. I was very much a daytime person; therefore, the combination of being up late and downright exhausted gnawed away at my consciousness. Although, I knew it was my fault we got out so late, so I did my best to muster up some will to continue.


    ¡°No need to worry about that, we¡¯ll go in our classic traveling formation.¡± Without waiting for my consent, Peak drew me under his arm and took off. The area we were in was much more open than the forests where Peak lived, and I was able to get a good look at it through the pale light of the always-full moon. Just hills, grass, and a sparse collection of trees. Nothing that Peak could accidentally run into and cut and/or bruise me with.


    When I realized I would be relatively safe for the first time when traveling with Peak, I allowed my body to go limp and relaxed¡ªmy mind drifting through the events of the day. Allowing me to distract myself from the time the trip took.


    As we neared the vicinity of Shelter, fields of crops, flowers, and more started to come into view, and not so long after I could start to see multicolored, fluorescent lights in the distance. Seeing all these things woke me right up and excited my lust for exploration.


    ¡°Ah, are people still up?!¡± I implored Peak for an answer, my anticipation breaching through the simplicity of my question. However, Peak didn¡¯t initially notice. So, in order to gain his attention, I tapped him on his shoulder.


    ¡°¡ªOh, it¡¯s always like that at night. If you pay attention, you¡¯ll see that the lights are slowly moving around. That¡¯s because they¡¯re wisps, magical little balls of light. Friendly little creatures that are attracted to areas of dense magic. Since there¡¯s so many Sprites that live there, Shelter¡¯s sorta like one of those areas of dense magic. Pretty much, all they do is make for handy lights.¡± Peak looked distant as he replied, as though his worries were caging him within his own mind. Although, I could tell that he was also ready to get there and sleep already.


    ¡°That¡¯s really cool! What do they feel like? Are they fluffy?¡± The wisps peaked my interest, so I asked more as we neared even closer to the town. It was almost to the point where I could see it through the cloak of the night.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know quite how to answer that. I guess, I¡¯d say they kinda give off a tickly feel if you try to touch them. They¡¯re not really touchable, though. They just phase through things.¡± Peak screwed up his face thinking of the best way to explain the wisps to me. It made me happy. My question, at least momentarily, distracted him from his worries.


    Then, after a bit more walking, it all came into view. Through the luminescence of the wisp¡¯s lights, I could make out the village of Shelter in vivid detail. It consisted of wooden architecture that reflected that of a nicer early colonial America, and I could make out totem-like objects scattered around the town. Styles I expected from the abundance of woods in the area.


    However, the more interesting features of the village came from its topography. It was against the front of a large mountain, and because of this, it was steep in nature. Although, the land wasn¡¯t settled on your typical rolling hills or peaking cliffs.


    Instead, it was like it was on a shelf with various flat sections of land all at differing elevations. Flat plateau¡¯s with steep dropoffs in front of higher, flatter plateau¡¯s with even steeper dropoffs. It was like someone had taken a grid and raised the city at different intervals according to it, with your occasional creek or waterfall sprouting up here and there. There were rope bridges connecting some of the high points together, likely to make it easier to traverse.


    From the distance, I could make out an abundance of flowers and a number of landmark silhouettes: a large tavern, a windmill and some watermills, a church, schoolhouse, another large building, and a street market¡ªalong with lots of other unidentifiable house-like building. For what was supposedly a small village, it looked rather developed.


    ¡°So, this is Shelter? It¡¯s a lot bigger than I expected.¡± I tried to strike up conversation with Peak as we made our way into the village. There wasn¡¯t a defined border to the town, nor was there your typical guard post or anything. Although, there was still a defined entry point that we went through to get into the village.


    ¡°Same here. It¡¯s really expanded in the past five years¡­¡± Peak was equally in awe, as our heads skirted back and forth between the buildings of the town. It was obvious which ones were old and which were new, so we had a fun game to play as we walked the empty, stone paths. The village was large but not dense, meaning it still had an open feel to it.


    I looked at Peak, indicating that I wanted him to say more about it. So, he did. ¡°Adventurers come to Shelter to take on the dungeon, but when they fail, they can¡¯t go home. The dungeon¡¯s entry point is on top of this mountain, and the entrance point to mountain is a teleporter up to the dungeon¡¯s entrance¡­ but there isn¡¯t a way off of the mountain, other than, presumably, beating the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°But I thought Shelter Spire wasn¡¯t all that dangerous.¡± Recalling what Peak had said, the dungeon was relatively tame. When compared to most other dungeons, it was evidently harmless.


    ¡°It¡¯s not¡­ It¡¯s just convoluted and weird. I¡¯ve never been in there myself, though, so that¡¯s just the impression I¡¯ve gotten through talking with those who attempted it. ...Anyways, there must¡¯ve been a lot of adventurers who came and failed since I left in order for it to have gotten so much more populated.¡± Peak scratched his beard to calm his nerves, as he continued to inspect the village.


    ¡°If it¡¯s not dangerous, then they should¡¯ve just pushed through! Who cares how much time it might take!¡± It didn¡¯t make sense to me how someone could give up so easily, just because they couldn¡¯t do something. It was the struggle to achieve that I found fun.


    ¡°Well, there are other hardships you can face, y¡¯know, April? For instance, if you run dry of food or water, there¡¯s not much you can do to explore, is there?¡± Peak tried to reason with my thoughts.


    ¡°I suppose¡­ but then why not just try again?¡± Our trip had begun to weave up a stone staircase as we continued our conversation.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Most of the times they do, and meet the same results. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s in the dungeon, but it must be confusing. I¡¯d heard from some people that they couldn¡¯t even get past the first room.¡± Now we were moving over one of the rope bridges. On the other side, was a single run-down home with lots of felled logs located beside it. I could only assume it was Peak¡¯s. Before he patrolled the woods, he must¡¯ve been the town lumberjack or something. Yeah, I could definitely see that.


    ¡°You know that just makes me even more pumped to take it on, right?!¡± My soul ignited at the thought of solving some unsolvable dungeon. That was the type of adventure I was looking for.


    ¡°Ahaha! I figured you¡¯d say something like that, but you¡¯ll have to settle your enthusiasm for the night, since we¡¯re finally done with our journey.¡± Peak stopped and opened the door to his house. It creaked open in an effortless swoosh and revealed the contents of the inside.


    The layout looked like it was just a larger, more up-to-date rendition of his treehouse, just with more detailed decoration and an extra room tacked on. The whole place was rather dusty, and cobwebs had settled their ways into the corners of the main room.


    ¡°Whoa, this place is totally neat! It¡¯s like I just walked into a haunted house!¡± I was comfortable about anywhere, and I could sleep about anywhere, too, so the condition of the house didn¡¯t really bother me. Therefore, I did my best to make light of it.


    ¡°Not really the feel we were going for when making it, but I¡¯ll take it. Now about sleeping arrangements¡­ You can take the big bed in my room, and I¡¯ll sleep on the couch.¡± Peak had already begun dusting off the couch cushions while speaking, and pointed towards the room in which I¡¯d be staying. Initially, I thought the other room would¡¯ve been a second bedroom, but I decided not to ask any more questions for the night. We were both tired.


    ¡°Okie dokie, sounds like a plan! I¡¯m gonna head off, then. I¡¯ll see you in the morning to begin our Shelter extravaganza, yeah?¡± I said goodnight to Peak in a way that would reaffirm his agreement to take me through Shelter.


    ¡°Then on the day of the festivities when everyone is in a good mood, I¡¯ll help you mend your relationship with whoever you¡¯re avoiding. At least, that¡¯s my goal.¡± I reminded Peak of the second goal of our trip to Shelter, and after getting a distant nod from him, I headed into his old bedroom to go to sleep.


    I didn¡¯t even bother looking around the room. The only mental note I made for myself was that it was a good bit less dusty than the main room. I was just tired, so I threw down all my stuff, crashed on the bed, and immediately went to sleep.


    ???


    ¡°Hey, April, get up!¡± I was shaken awake by Peak earlier than I¡¯d expected.


    ¡°Not long enough¡­ need more sleep.¡± I turned on my side away from Peak, trying to ignore that shaking. I may have been excited to explore the night before, but when I was in bed, the last thing on my mind was getting up.


    ¡°Ahaha, of course. That¡¯s fine, I just had something to ask you real quick.¡± A hearty laugh erupted from Peak, albeit, a bit more forced than normal. He¡¯d been anxious since we¡¯d arrived in Shelter.


    ¡°Urgh¡­ What is it?¡± I turned back around and looked at Peak with partially opened eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s been awhile since I was last here, so I figured I¡¯d get Busty to show you around. In return, I agreed to take over her patrol today.¡± At the time, I didn¡¯t think more into Peak¡¯s actions, but it was likely he was trying to avoid the public eye of the town. However, barely awake and yearning for more rest, I could have cared less.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ yeah, whatever. That¡¯s fine¡­ just let me sleep.¡± I was a morning person if I had enough sleep. Peak always got up freakily early to do his job. Considering when I¡¯d went to sleep, I definitely hadn¡¯t rested enough.


    ¡°Alright, perfecto! She said she had an errand or two to run before she could show you around, so you can probably sleep some more. I¡¯ll be heading off, now! Bye, April!¡± Taking my indifference with stride, Peak bolted before I could catch on.


    ¡°See you later¡­¡± And I went right back to sleep.


    ???


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!¡± A sharp, piercing pain awoke me from my second slumber, and I felt blood rushing out of one of my wings. It was like someone was sawing away at my flesh.


    ¡°Oh, you woke up¡­ and I was trying my hardest to be as delicate as possible.¡± My eyes shot towards the voice that sounded, and they were met with the face of Fi, leaning over me with a bloody knife.


    ¡°Fi?! What the hell are you doing¡ªtrying to kill me?!¡± I tried to get myself up off the bed, or to kick Fi away. However, with a single hand, she was restraining me completely.


    ¡°Hey, April, where did you get this potion?¡± When I realized the impossibility of escape, I took deep breaths then examined the situation more clearly. She was holding my knife, and holding the potion I was given. She must¡¯ve seen my stuff scattered all over the ground, and decided to apply it, but still¡­


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter! Why didn¡¯t you wake me up before you decided to cut into me?!¡± I was fuming. She had cut into my flesh without my consent. Who wouldn¡¯t be completely pissed off?


    ¡°Last time I tried tending to your wings, you incessantly squirmed and screamed at me. This way, I could constrain you, and it¡¯d be easier.¡± As she talked, Fi popped the cork off the flask, and after some subtle swishing, dowsed my wounded wing with it.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you can¡ª Grr¡­ It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!¡± My body instinctively recoiled as the liquid made contact with my wing. It stung worse than hand sanitizer getting into a cut, and completely overrode the pain from the incision into my wing. I had a tolerance for dull or tearing pains, but stings always hurt worse than anything.


    ¡°See, squirming and screaming. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter now. We¡¯re done. Let me go get something to wrap your wing in.¡± Without even checking to see if I was alright, Fi walked away to go and find a cloth to wrap my wing in, leaving me and said wing staining Peak¡¯s sheets in crimson red.


    ???


    ¡°Hmph.¡± Right after the wake up fiasco, I was rushed to get ready, and we headed out into Shelter. Peak had left me a bag on the counter, presumably full of money to obtain supplies, so I¡¯d grabbed it on my way out. Then, we¡¯d headed back across the bridge, down the stairs, and into the more populated sections of the town. The streets were busier than I¡¯d expected, and people were coming and going everywhere¡ªlikely due to the upcoming festivities.


    I made sure that as Fi and I traversed the streets, we walked in silence. I was still upset at her, and admittedly, being a bit childish about it.


    ¡°Can you quit with the pouting already? It was a necessary action, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Fi was an overly logical thinker, someone that, when her temper was kept under control, would view actions through a severe lens of practicality and underlying smugness. She wasn¡¯t so disconnected with emotion, however, that she didn¡¯t understand where I was coming from. She just didn¡¯t understand why I was holding a grudge.


    ¡°Hmph.¡± So¡­ I continued to pout.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ Here.¡± Fi spread her arms open wide and stared me dead in the eyes. ¡°Let me have it. Punch the stuffing outta me, and let your anger out.¡±


    ¡°¡ªWhat?! No! Why would I do that?¡± It made sense to me that this was how she¡¯d see to solving our feud. When she was upset at Peak, she had beat the ever living shit out of him. It¡¯d be a fair exchange, just not the exchange I was looking for.


    ¡°You¡¯re upset aren¡¯t you? Let it all out on me. I can take it.¡± Fi seemed perplexed. She saw no oddities with what she was asking me to do. It really turned me away from being upset with her. It was kind of a sad sight.


    ¡°Uh¡­ How about you apologize and we call it a done deal? I don¡¯t think we¡¯re quite close enough to be having friendly tussles.¡± She didn¡¯t do anything so wrong that it warranted punching her. I thought an apology would suffice.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯m sorry. I should¡¯ve woke you before cutting into your wing. That good?¡± Although curt as always, Fi¡¯s apology sounded genuine. She put forth an honest effort to sound kind and repentant during it.


    ¡°Apology accepted! Now, wanna tell me where exactly we¡¯re going?¡± As I was rushed out of the house, I wasn¡¯t told any details about where we were going.


    ¡°Currently, we¡¯re not going anywhere. We¡¯ve actually arrived where we were going.¡± Following my question, Fi stopped at a nearby building¡ªthe large, unidentifiable building I¡¯d seen in the distance coming in. It was situated on top of a hill in the center of the town and had a unique emblem of a bird cresting its top. ¡°April, welcome to Shelter¡¯s Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡±

 Chapter 13 - Dreams of The Dreams of The Adverse

    ¡°Whoa¡­¡± Without hesitation, Fi had kicked open the doors, blinding me with the light that spilled out from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and what I saw was unbelievable. ¡°...This place is a total dumpster, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Inside the large wooden building that was the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was a large empty foyer, dust covered dining tables, and a cobweb cloaked ceiling. I¡¯d imagined a bustling building with rows upon rows of people dining, recruiting and doing their own stuff, but instead I got the barren wasteland that was Shelter¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    ¡°What the heck is up with this? For such a huge and intricately designed space, there sure is a whole lot of nothing going on in it.¡± The place was well decorated, just not well maintained. Clearly, it was created by an architect who¡¯d been overly ambitious about the building¡¯s looks compared to its actual demand.


    ¡°Sure is. Some diehard adventurer who¡¯d failed the dungeon set this place up expecting that people would congregate and take it on once more. Or at least, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been told. That all happened before my time in this world.¡± Fi took the opportunity to explain the guild¡¯s state to me as she scanned the room with her own disappointed look. ¡°...As you can tell, things didn¡¯t exactly turn out how he¡¯d planned.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s kinda sad¡­¡± I felt bad for the guy. I could sympathize with wanting something so bad that you¡¯d do even the most foolish, naive acts to achieve it.


    ¡°Meh, it doesn¡¯t really matter. The dudes dead. What can he do about it now?¡± Fi spoke these harsh words with a shrug before striding up to the guild¡¯s counter.


    ¡°That only makes it even more tragic! Poor guy¡­¡± I hung back for a second, thinking about the poor soul who had poured his heart and soul into making this place, before catching up with Fi.


    When I reached her, she slid her way over the counter and motioned for me to follow, so I crawled over after her. Then Fi kept moving. Behind the counter was a hall. At the end of the hall, a door. Behind the door, I encountered a downwards leading staircase. And at the end of the staircase, yet another door.


    We stopped in front of the door, and I¡¯d finally decided to ask what we were even doing. ¡°Hey, you haven¡¯t told me much of anything. What are we doing here? I figured you just had something to do real quick.¡±


    ¡°I asked the local bookworm about your situation.¡± Fi sat down on a nearby stool.


    ¡°And¡­ what is my ¡°situation,¡± again? I have a lot of situations, right now.¡± I squatted down into a more comfortable position to prepare for the conversation at hand.


    ¡°About how you couldn¡¯t have a blank dream, you dolt. What else? I thought there was something weird about it all. After all, you¡¯ve had a number of near death experiences, most people would¡¯ve had one, already.¡± Fi¡¯s words carried the annoyance she must¡¯ve been feeling thinking through the situation, but it did my heart well to know she was actually thinking through everything. Despite all her flaws, she always tended to do what she thought was best for people.


    ¡°Aww¡­ Fi, you were worried about me! C¡¯mon! Bring it in!¡± Overwhelmed with a warm fuzziness, I lunged at Fi for a hug only to be pushed back down to the ground.


    ¡°Gushy feelings aren¡¯t going to help you conquer the spire. You need to be able to protect yourself.¡± Fi shot down my enthusiasm. Thinking on it a bit, it was likely in her nature as a guard to worry about people¡­ until they pissed her off that is.


    ¡°Alright, I get it. So, why are you bringing this up? Wait, don¡¯t tell me. Did you find something out?¡± My heart skipped a beat. I more than anything, wanted to beat the dungeon and go on adventures. I¡¯d do this with or without cool abilities. But, if I could have cool abilities while doing those things, it would totally make it like three times better, minimum.


    ¡°Who knows¡­ All I got from him was a bunch of nonsense about legends. It was like a history lesson. I sat there for a solid hour of hypothesizing, so allow me to spare you. To sum up what he said, it was ¡°Meh, just go for it, and see what happens.¡±¡± Fi¡¯s face remained a screwed up mess as she tried to decipher through what she¡¯d been told.


    ¡°Okie dokie! Sure, why not?¡± Seeing Fi giving it a shot with me encouraged me to get excited at the possibility as well. Then we both got up and entered the door in front of us.


    On the other side of the door was a ginormous room filled with tons of little lights, and a single bud-like rock placed within the ground at the center of the room. It was made of some kind of purplish, gray substance and a fluorescent magenta core in its center that illuminated the room. Wisps of all colors were flying around the enclosure, giving it an atmosphere similar to the room I got teleported from in the tunnels.


    ¡°So, is this the Crystal Tree? It doesn¡¯t really look like much...¡± I eyed the rock at the center of the room skeptically.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t, at first, no. It¡¯s only when you make contact with it that it grows.¡± Fi defended the tree. It was a staple of Creation, so it¡¯d only make sense she¡¯d feel a bit of pride about it.


    ¡°Okay then, touch it for me! I¡¯m curious to see what it looks like¡­ You know, so I can be prepared for what happens if it works.¡± I tacked on the last part in assurance that Fi wouldn¡¯t just write my words off.


    ¡°Fine. Stand back a bit, though. It grows quite a lot.¡± After making sure that I¡¯d moved far enough away from the tree, Fi stepped forward and put her hand on its core. When she did so, it glowed even brighter and the tree began to grow, spindling around and out to form large branches and painting itself in red and orange, crystalline leaves. At the end of those branches were giant gems of differing shapes, some glowing, some pale. On the core appeared the number thirty one, written in bold purple. ¡°That¡¯s what it looks like.¡±


    ¡°Whoa¡­ I wanna do that!¡± I was awestruck and my heart fluttered. It was a truly incredible sight. It was magical. It was inspiring.


    ¡°Trust me, I know.¡± Fi¡¯s eyes shot daggers at me, telling me to not get my hopes up. Then, she placed her palm on the tree again, and it returned to its original state. ¡°Now go ahead and try. If it works, you¡¯ll fall asleep and have a full dream. If it doesn¡¯t we¡¯re back to the drawing board.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s a full dream?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like the opposite of a blank dream. It¡¯s super abstract and you¡¯re fully conscious during it. It only ever happens when you first make contact with a Crystal Tree, though. I mean, if you make contact with one after having a blank dream. It lets you choose your starting class out of the four options best suited for you¡­ So, you¡¯ll probably have a lot of Rogue options.¡± Fi explained my query.


    ¡°And what if I have an allergic reaction to something? Like, maybe I¡¯m allergic to vibrant magentas or something.¡± I was only joking with Fi, but I could tell that my joking around got on her nerves as she pushed me face first into the tree¡¯s core.


    ¡°You won¡¯t. Now put your palm on it.¡± Fi demanded that I do what she told me, so I complied.


    ¡°I know! I get how it works. You don¡¯t needa be so mean about it¡­¡± I inched my hand towards the core, its glowing light coating my palm in magenta, and then I touched its shockingly warm surface.


    ???


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m so so sorry!¡± The next thing I knew, I was watching something. No, more precisely, I was watching someone.


    She had deep golden blond hair that was tangled and matted. Tattered clothes that were just barely wearable in their state. Pale skin deprived of all nutrients. But most noticeably, she had a yellow fog that surrounded her, hiding the carnage in the plains around her.


    I figured that if she cleaned herself up, however, she could be the very image of lust. Beautiful gold hair, a perfect body, an almost divine maturity to her¡­ I could see the men flocking to her from all over the globe. But not in her current state. In her current state she could hardly even pass as a hobo.


    Painted on her visage was an unmistakable image of somehow elegant guilt and remorse.


    ¡°Please, somebody, be alright!¡± The girl began to sift through the piles of burning rubble around her. The way she moved was like a broken wind up toy, jerking back and forth in a sporadic, unhinged way.


    I couldn¡¯t quite make out where she was, but I could tell it was the site of some major accident.


    ¡°This is all my fault, I should¡¯ve known something like this would happen. It always happens!¡± She started beating herself down even further. I didn¡¯t know what happened or what she could¡¯ve done, but I needed to comfort her. However, I was cut short as somebody else approached her and did the same thing.


    Her face was masked by the fog, but I could still hear her voice. A familiar voice. My voice. ¡°Hey, umm¡­ you wouldn¡¯t happen to have a bandage would you? I got kind of roughed up just a second ago.¡±


    It was shaky and inappropriately light, but undoubtedly mine. I was trying to comfort her, play it off as a joke. Then, my figure came into view. It was me, but the me from before I was brought to Creation. The me from Earth.


    My arm had a pretty wild gash on it, and I was also covered in debris and soot, but it was obvious that I was a bit better off than the girl before me. I just couldn¡¯t get passed it, though, I was watching me. Me¡­ Was this what a full dream was meant to be?


    ¡°Wait¡­ if its not a full dream then is this¡­¡± A memory. It had to be.


    ¡°Oh, somebody is alright, after all! Thank G¡ª¡± The girl cut off the end of her sentence, as she turned to the me before me.


    ¡°Here... This should make it better.¡± A small yellow light flew from the woman¡¯s hand and landed onto my wounded arm, healing it completely. I had no doubt about it. It had to be some sort of special ability¡­ on Earth.


    ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s one crazy cool trick you have there, ma¡¯am. You¡¯re like some sort of superhero¡­ some sort of really dingey superhero.¡± Hearing myself speak made me reel a bit. I took pride in my uniqueness, but from the view of a spectator, I felt how cringeworthy I probably came off.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°How can you¡­ how can you be so nonchalant? At a moment like this, how are you smiling?!¡± The lady jumped up and grabbed me by the shoulders, a deadly serious look on her face. However, I evidently couldn¡¯t handle it, and ended up falling backward, hitting my head pretty hard on the ground.


    ¡°Oww¡­¡± I stayed on the ground, clutching my head. It looked like it hurt a lot. I¡¯d always hated dull pain.


    ¡°I am so terribly sorry! Here let me¡ª¡± The woman got ready to help me out again, but I waved her off.


    ¡°Heheh¡­ don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m not no peach. I¡¯m not gonna bruise from something like that.¡± I could tell the other me¡¯s head was throbbing. I was likely only playing it off, because the woman seemed unstable.


    ¡°You¡­ You truly have a soul that can persevere through tragedy, don¡¯t you?¡± The woman, a look of admiration in her eyes, asked me for a personal judgment of my character. I couldn¡¯t quite tell, but it almost looked as though she was crying. The fog was growing even deeper. So deep, that it masked even the words from my response.


    And then, there was nothing but fog.


    My vision wavered for a second, and then four markers appeared all at different sides of me.


    ¡°I guess, this is a full dream¡­ Which means, it worked! I can use cool abilities, and pick a class, and become an awesome adventurer!¡± I jumped to life in excitement at the unexpected success. It was the fruits of my motto. I took a chance, and it paid off.


    ¡°Alrighty then, time to see what options there are to choose from.¡± I had no idea what classes there were, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯d like at least one out of the four.


    I headed towards the marker that was in front of me and investigated it. When I arrived, an icon showed above it, signifying the class options, and a description resided on a stone monument that rose below it:


    Category ¡ª Swordsman


    Class ¡ª Adventurer


    A class of versatility, which employs both sword fighting and magical abilities alike. Although being in the swordsman category, it is a rounded class that can get abilities for the sword along with nearly any other class¡¯ weapons.


    I took note of the description¡¯s contents then ruled it off. While I liked the flexibility of the class, I tended to be too indecisive when given too many options. Being able to use anything would be both a gift and a curse for me. I had to make the mature decision and not pick it.


    I then headed around clockwise and viewed the other classes one at a time.


    Category ¡ª Rogue


    Class ¡ª Ranger


    I didn¡¯t even bother reading the description. Rangers were archers, which implied having to be patient. Not my thing.


    Category ¡ª Warrior


    Class ¡ª Barbarian


    A class that utilizes large, blunt objects and heavy polearms to assault foes. Attacks and abilities typically knock back or stagger opponents, doing large amounts of crushing damage.


    I¡¯d decided I¡¯d feel too guilty choosing a class like barbarian, and that while it was fun to imagine me holding a giant club and whacking people, it wouldn¡¯t be the most practical.


    Then, I landed on the type of class I¡¯d been conditioned for, and much like the Ranger, I didn¡¯t even bother reading the description. But this time, it was because I picked it immediately. I knew that if I didn¡¯t, I¡¯d be thinking my choices over all day.


    Category ¡ª Rogue


    Class ¡ª Thief


    ???


    The next thing I knew, I was awake again on the ground in front of the Crystal Tree. Fi was standing above me with a distraught look on her face. ¡°April, I think you¡¯re allergic to the Crystal Tree.¡±


    ¡°What?! Ow¡­¡± I jerked myself up off the ground only to find that my body was hurting all over with dull pain. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Well, normally when you do this, you remain standing during your dream. But you fell over and hit your head on the tree, and your back flat on the hard ground. Basically, you failed even at something as simple as standing.¡± Fi snickered a bit as she said the last bit of her explanation. The way she teased me wasn¡¯t that mean, though. It was more like how you¡¯d tease a colleague or a friend. It made me feel a little warm on the inside.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, well it worked. The whole full dream thing, I had one¡­ and rather strange one at that. I still don¡¯t know how I had one, though. Unless¡­¡± I thought back to everything weird that happened in the full dream. That whole incident... was that the adversity I¡¯d overcome?


    ¡°Unless what?¡± Fi peered into my soul looking for answers.


    ¡°Nevermind, I was being stupid¡­¡± Normally I was fine with sharing everything I knew, but I didn¡¯t even know what I knew or what I learned¡­


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get started then. Hurry up, and put your hand back on the Crystal Tree.¡± Fi pushed for me to get everything over with already.


    ¡°I must¡¯ve been out for a good bit, huh? But are you really not even curious what I chose? I thought that¡¯d be the first question.¡± I was a bit upset that I couldn¡¯t fawn about my amazing class choice.


    ¡°You chose Thief. No doubt in my mind. Now, hurry up already! We¡¯ve got other stuff to do today.¡± I was also upset that I was so predictable.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Defeated, I put my hand on the tree, expecting it to spring to life, but instead of the amazing mess of spiralling and growing it¡¯d done for Fi, all it grew for me was a couple feet, spreading out to have only one branch with a gem on it. The number zero was lit on the core.


    ¡°Welp, I guess I have to explain how this works now, huh? My bad if I get anything wrong, I¡¯m not the best at this type of stuff.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be no problem! I have pretty alright memory, if I do say so myself, just explain it and I¡¯ll remember.¡± I tried to reassure Fi.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the issue. You¡¯re not the best at putting two and two together, that¡¯s all. I have no doubt you can remember what I¡¯ll say.¡± Fi shrugged off my kind, yet boastful words.


    ¡°Anyways, how this whole system works, is that on the tree¡¯s core there a number will display. This is your rank.¡± Fi pointed to the zero illuminated on the core.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even start at rank one?! What¡¯s up with that?¡±


    Ignoring me, Fi continued. It was a rather lengthy explanation. I tried my best to remember what she was saying without getting distracted and when all was said and done, I had a rudimentary understanding of the world¡¯s ranking system.


    Pretty much, the Crystal Tree was a literal skill tree. It¡¯d grow a limited number of ¡°fruit¡±¡ªthose funnily shaped gems I¡¯d seen¡ªat the start of each rank. These fruit, when picked, provide the user with special abilities, and a person¡¯s class and experiences determined what type of fruit would grow. Each split in one of four ability types. Magic, rituals, skills, and passives. I wasn¡¯t told the difference, nor did I really think I needed to know.


    Experience would be needed to pick these fruit, and you could tell if you had enough for a fruit if it was ¡°ripe,¡± or easier put, glowing. According to Fi, experience was accrued through¡­ experiences, both physical experiences like training and stuff like mental growth. Basically, it was really obscure. From what Fi told me, the world didn¡¯t have a system of stats or anything, so a person¡¯s skill and ability to use their skills and abilities was typically the main deciding factor in bouts.


    Lastly, I was told that the tree went up to a maximum rank of fifty, and that once every ten ranks a person would obtain a purely unique skill tailored to them, a Special. These skills would be just unique, not overpowered ultimate moves or anything like that. They were, as Fi stated, ¡°A testament to the adventurer¡¯s soul.¡± As long as an adventurer was alive with a certain Special, nobody else could get that exact Special.


    ¡°Urgh¡­ so much information. Can I pick a fruit yet?¡± My mind was nearing its breaking point as I turned to Fi with pleading, puppy-dog eyes.


    ¡°Every person starts with zero experience, but luckily Special¡¯s don¡¯t require experience, and rank zero¡¯s only fruit is a¡­¡± Fi led me on to put fuel back in my engines.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Special?! Which means that glowing fruit right there is¡­?¡± I looked on at the gem in elation.


    ¡°A Special ability only you can use. Now, go ahead and pick it.¡± Fi seemed happy for me as she pushed me to take hold of the forbidden fruit, and I wasted no time in grabbing it.


    It was big, bigger than a lot of the fruit I saw on Fi¡¯s tree, but it dissipated into a flurry of sparkles in an instant when I held it in my palms.


    ¡°Wha¡ª What happened? How can I tell what Special I got?! Did I break it?¡± My heartbeat skyrocketed as I stressed that I might¡¯ve flubbed my only shot at getting a cool special ability.


    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re fine. Look at the core, it should tell you what you got. You can also look there before getting an ability. If you just touch the fruit, it¡¯ll display the description. Heh, it¡¯s oddly entertaining to see someone go through this for the first time.¡± Fi¡¯s words passed through my head as I was already laser focused on the tree¡¯s core, reading my newly acquired Special.


    Break ¡ª Spirit of Adventure I


    Your ambition leads the way to new horizons.


    When making contact with paper using ink, Spirit of Adventure will map the current area, showing all visible rooms, terrain, and paths. These maps can only be used by the creator, transference of the map will clear the paper.


    ¡°What the crap?! That¡¯s totally lame! I was hoping for a mega cool fireball or something...!¡± I was someone who liked to take dumb, dangerous chances, so I was hoping for some glass cannon final effort type attack. Not an attack that¡¯d help with¡­ planning. ¡°Hey, Fi what the heck is up with that?! I thought you said that the abilities I get are meant to reflect me and my class!¡±


    ¡°Heh, they are meant to. It probably just gave you what it thinks you need.¡± Fi had the dumbest look on her face as she basked in my distress.


    ¡°It¡¯s not funny¡­! I don¡¯t need a map! That kills the thrill of the adventure.¡± If there was anything I hated more than being told what to do, it was having my plans mapped out in advance. ¡°Then again¡­ I guess it makes sense. Since getting here, I¡¯ve been nothing but lost.¡±


    ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Fi just nodded along with what I was saying. She obviously didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°By the way, what¡¯s up with the one at the end and the ¡°Break¡± at the beginning?¡± I¡¯d remained eyeing the Spirit of Adventure ability I¡¯d gotten and its icon¡ªa picture of someone with a striking similarity to me, looking down at a map and walking¡ªwhen I took notice of the things inserted before and after it.


    ¡°Break is the type of Special it is. Basically it¡¯s the Special equivalent of a Ritual. There¡¯s also Bursts for Magic abilities, Breaches for Skills, and Bounds for Passives.¡± Fi nodded her head thinking through everything as she explained. She obviously didn¡¯t familiarize herself with the semantics of it all.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s just a different name¡­¡±


    ¡°Pretty stupid, right? But there¡¯s not much more to it. As for the number at the end, that¡¯s its level. As you rank up, you may find the same ability appear on the Crystal Tree over and over. Each time you choose it, it increases in level and becomes better, up to a max of level three.¡±


    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s an upgrade system, got it.¡± I mimicked Fi and nodded my head reverently.


    ¡°And¡­ on that note, I think it¡¯s time we get going and finish our chores for the day, don¡¯tcha think? Now that we know you can use the Crystal Tree, we can get you a fitting weapon that¡¯s not a kitchen knife.¡± Fi pushed for us to move, drawing my eyes away from the tree.


    ¡°Wait, how do I rank up? Or am I gonna be stuck at rank zero?¡± The core had gone back to say zero and I was fixated on it, expecting it to increase.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fret over it. You¡¯ll be rank one next time you activate the tree. You rank up when you get rid of all the Crystal Fruit it has on it. Like I said, you don¡¯t start with any experience, so there¡¯s no need to do that now.¡± Fi pushed even harder.


    ¡°Oh¡­ I see! I was hoping I could get some other abilities, but if there¡¯s nothing else to do, then lets get a move on! I¡¯m excited to get a badass weapon to swing around.¡± Both sad I couldn¡¯t do more at the tree, currently and looking forward to getting a weapon to start accruing experience, I wasted no time dashing past Fi, now as the one pushing her to get a move on. ¡°C¡¯mon pick up the pace! We needa get a move on. The day is short and the goals many!¡±


    ¡°Grr¡­ don¡¯t just run ahead of me! You don¡¯t even know where you¡¯re going, you brat!¡± Fi, red at the head from being left in the dust, dashed after me. Our destination, to finish our daily chores.

 Chapter 14 - Tour of The Town

    ¡°The Cat Shack¡­ Not the name I expected for a weapon shop.¡± After heading through Shelter¡ªwhich was growing ever more festive as the day went on¡ªwe arrived at the weapon shop Fi had wanted to take me to. There was a big sign on top of the building with a cute smiling kitten wearing a helmet and holding a sword on it. It was very unfitting.


    ¡°BC¡¯s an idiot through and through, but he makes quality products. Can¡¯t knock him for his questionable naming choices. And¡­¡± Fi trailed off, averting her eyes.


    ¡°And what? That was a very reluctant sounding ¡°and¡±. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Did ¡°and¡± commit some kind of crime?! How could he do such a¡ª¡± It was rare for Fi to hesitate with saying something. Therefore, I decided to capitalize on it, and poke some fun at her. ...Only to receive a quick chop to the back of my head. Despite being much smaller than me, Fi had no trouble reaching my head.


    ¡°And he¡¯s my father, okay?!¡± Fi was now red in her face from a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. After taking a deep breath to cool herself off, she grumbled under her breath and headed in.


    For once, Fi opened the door normally. It felt ominous. I¡¯d grown accustomed to her usual process of slam and then go. I could only imagine that she wanted to enter more stealthily, in an attempt not to alert her father. Sadly for her, it didn¡¯t work one bit.


    Not even a second after the door opened, a middle-aged man with spiky red hair, a spottily shaven face, and a chiseled build came waltzing over to us, absolutely beaming. Fi¡¯s body visibly tensened at his approach, and her face grew an even brighter red.


    At first, I didn¡¯t understand the issue. Her father looked like a pretty average dude. Nothing to get embarrassed over. If anything, he dressed a bit weird, but other than that, nothing. It wasn¡¯t until he spoke up that I understood what was bothering her.


    ¡°Ay-hey-hey! Did my daughter actually come to visit her old man? On a work day, no less? I¡¯m on top of the world! The BC¡¯s utterly overjoyed that his daughter missed him!¡± He was the complete antithesis to Fi. Words flooded out of his mouth like second nature, and he didn¡¯t seem to care about seeming respectable. Furthermore, he¡¯d throw in a third person statement or two every now and then. It was clearly an unintentional behavior, but an odd one, nevertheless.


    ¡°Hold it, pa, don¡¯t get ahead of yourself. I actually have an order for you, that¡¯s all.¡± Fi put her father¡¯s enthusiasm to an immediate halt. However, my mind wandered elsewhere.


    ¡°Pa?¡± I hadn¡¯t expected Fi to use such an abnormal term for ¡°dad¡±. I guess it kinda fit thought.


    ¡°Can it.¡± Fi¡¯s eyes shot daggers at me, and I instinctively shut my mouth. Fi was scary when she got upset.


    ¡°Now, girls, settle down. Just tell the BC your order and I¡¯ll take care of it immediately. And because it¡¯s something for my daughter¡¯s pal, I¡¯ll even give you a discount on a custom order. Pretty generous, aren¡¯t I?¡± BC instantaneously shifted from loving father mode to businessman mode. His eyes already intent on analyzing me.


    ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s very kind of you, thanks!¡± I didn¡¯t know how much money I actually had, so I¡¯d take any discount with stride. Fi just nodded, she seemed to be thinking over something her father had said.


    ¡°Now let it spill free. Tell me all the juicy details about your order!¡± BC was pumped up and pushed for information. I really didn¡¯t know what to ask for, so I let Fi take the lead.


    After a moment of thinking, it was obvious Fi had a clear idea for the weapon in her mind. She unleashed all the information at a rapid speed, and somehow kept up. Taking notes, nodding his head, asking questions¡­ Despite how embarrassed Fi might¡¯ve been of him, they played off of each other well.


    As for me, I had no idea what was going on. I was a social person, but I was also slow. No matter how much I tried to stay on top of the conversation, I couldn¡¯t. The only things I caught were stuff that I already knew. Two daggers made for quick attacks, flashy (presumably so I wouldn¡¯t lose them again), and then just a whole bunch of design stuff. Fi¡¯s sword was incredibly simple in design, so her ability to talk to such an extent about my daggers shocked me. Maybe, she just preferred the simpler design, or perhaps, BC couldn¡¯t balance such a big sword properly if he added too much intricate details. Either way, it fit Fi.


    When all was said and done, BC gave us an estimated price. ¡°500 Thrintel. Add on the daughter¡¯s friend discount, and that¡¯d make it¡­ 350. Take it or leave it.¡±


    ¡°Not happening. This is a special request. I want it for free, father.¡± Fi chimed in without even giving me a chance to respond. I didn¡¯t know how much 350 Thrintel was, but I knew I didn¡¯t have it. The pouch left on Peak¡¯s counter was full of coins, but it couldn¡¯t have contained any more than 100. From my knowledge, Peak was next to broke, so 100 was likely a lot.


    ¡°The BC doesn¡¯t do freebies, not even for his family. Even if it¡¯s for my daughter¡¯s pal, I can¡¯t go lower than 300. Setting the base price at 500 was already being generous.¡± BC was growing visibly agitated. For a craftsman of any type, having your work undervalued was likely insulting.


    ¡°Pa, I understand that. However, this request isn¡¯t mutually exclusive to me. This request actually comes from your best friend, too. Your poor old best friend who¡¯s been out in the forest working for the town for the past five years, without pay or camaraderie. I¡¯d told him you¡¯d cover the expenses. You wouldn¡¯t let him down, would you?¡± Fi wasn¡¯t the smartest, but she knew how to work her way around a deal. That skill almost definitely came from her father. It was a classic case of the student surpassing the master.


    ¡°Wait, are you talking about Peak?! Since when did he ever have any part to play in this transaction?¡± BC was rattled at hearing Peak mentioned. Evidently they were really good friends. As Fi said, best friends.


    ¡°Eheheh¡­ maybe this is where I should step in and introduce myself. My name¡¯s April Fallow. Peak¡¯s been looking after me for the past couple of weeks¡­ There¡¯s a long story to everything, but if you have the time, I¡¯d be happy to tell it.¡± I figured it was my time to interject. I went forward to clear the air and explain my situation to BC like I¡¯d done for Fi. It didn¡¯t need to be kept secret, nor did I want it to be.


    Plus, the more I explained it, the easier it became to do so, and the more interesting my storytelling became. At the end of it all, BC was thoroughly invested, nodding his head and prodding me with questions about stuff from Earth. Weapons, vehicles, places¡ªhe was curious about them all. I made sure to appease every last morsel of intrigue that spilled out of his mouth. I had a hunch that if I did so, it¡¯d prove useful in getting the daggers¡¯ price lowered.


    ¡°Phew¡­ that was a lot to take in. It¡¯s been quite an eventful few weeks for you, hasn¡¯t it, Ms. April?¡± BC seemed at ease as he spoke. This had to lower the price. ¡°Still, the BC can sniff out tall tales from world¡¯s away, so I know you¡¯re telling the truth.¡±


    I let out a deep exhale of relief. So far, I was three for three with people believing my story. I was truly lucky the people of Shelter were so open minded. ¡°Thank you, BC! So¡­ about the price.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Toss me that pouch of yours, okay? Let me take a gander inside.¡± I did as BC told. He then proceeded to poor the pouches contents out on the counter and sort them into groups of five. When all was said and done, he rattled off the amount of money I had. ¡°That makes 88 Thrintel¡­ Geez, Peak, how broke can a guy be?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still going to do the order, aren¡¯t you, old man?¡± Fi glared at BC with the might of a lion.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I will. Considering it¡¯s a favor from you and Peak, that¡¯ll make it 100 Thrintel. With the addition of the information I was able to pry out of Ms. April there, I¡¯ll take 60 Thrintel for the order. Make me go any lower, and I¡¯ll hang you out in front of the store front as an example to all the other pesky hagglers of Shelter.¡± BC¡¯s words were harsh, but his soul was soft. He could¡¯ve asked for all 88 of my coins, but he refrained from doing so. He was a good man.


    ¡°That¡¯s perfect! Sounds like a deal!¡± I held out a hand towards BC, and after some slight hesitation, he took it and shook it.


    ¡°So, pa, when do you think the daggers will be done?¡± Fi broke the mood and stayed as objective focussed as always.


    ¡°I get what you¡¯re trying to say. You need them as soon as possible, correct?¡± BC sighed. Fi just wouldn¡¯t let up on him, even for a second. ¡°Leave it to me! The BC is a master of the crunch! Give me until tomorrow. I won¡¯t rest until they¡¯re done. ...It¡¯s not like I needa prepare and stand for tomorrow, anyways.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much, BC! For everything!¡± I tried to flash the man my most charming, thankful smile. One that I¡¯d been training for an occasion just like this one.


    ¡°Aww¡­ shucks. It¡¯s no biggie. Anything to help someone out.¡± BC rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. My charm worked perfectly.


    And with that, Fi and I turned tail and left The Cat Shack.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t so bad. Certainly nothing to get flustered over.¡± Outside of the store, I decided to address Fi¡¯s hesitation from earlier.


    ¡°Well we caught him with his business face on. He¡¯s normally like¡­ that.¡± Fi pointed to the storefront window, her face red once more. When I looked in, I saw BC joyously dancing around his store, rearranging weapons in a careless and carefree fashion. It was a completely different side of him that I hadn¡¯t seen while negotiating.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean. I think that¡¯s kinda wholesome.¡± Seeing a man so far into life still filled with childish joy and energy¡­ It put a smile on my face.


    ¡°He¡¯s owns a weapon shop. He shouldn¡¯t be ¡°wholesome¡±.¡± Fi shook her head and then continued on throughout the town. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve got the two main things out of the way, I just want you to stop me whenever you find something that interests you. I told Peak I¡¯d show you around town, so that¡¯s what I plan to do.


    We spent the rest of the day wandering around town and window shopping. I only had 28 coins left in my pouch, but it didn¡¯t deter me. Sadly, most stores were closed and replaced with stalls in front of them. Stalls for Talon Day that wouldn¡¯t be opened until the next day. Still, I managed to snag a small bottle of ink, a unique quill, and a few sheets of some old yellowed paper, leaving me with roughly 15 coins.


    Regardless of how lame it was, I wanted to try out my new ability. Just knowing I had the capability of doing something special, it filled my stomach with butterflies and my mind with dreams. So, as the sun set and Fi and I settled at a small outdoors cafe for dinner¡ªa cafe with much more normal sounding food items than the ones Peak had been able to make¡ªI whipped out the materials and went to work.


    ¡°So¡­ how do I do this again? I just needa make contact with the paper and¡­¡± I dipped the quill in some ink, and drew it towards the paper, pressing it down on it. I didn¡¯t yet know proper calligraphy with an old fashioned quill, but that shouldn¡¯t have been a problem. From the sounds of the ability, it should¡¯ve acted automatically. Yet¡­ ¡°Nothing¡¯s happening.¡±


    ¡°Well, duh. You have to make a conscious effort to use it. Otherwise, you¡¯d never be able to write on paper ever again, you¡¯d just be able to make maps.¡± Fi, who was previously leaned back in her chair and looking up at the night sky, leaned forward and reprimanded me. Then she went on to instruct me. ¡°I guess, now¡¯s as good of a time as ever to explain how Rituals work. Unlike Magic or Skills, you don¡¯t needa say anything for them to activate. You just need the materials and the thought to use the Ritual. Which means, as long as you focus on using Spirit of Adventure, it¡¯ll activate.¡±


    ¡°That seems pretty obvious! You think I was just putting the pen to the paper, and not thinking about using my ability? Of course, I was thinking about using it!¡± Fi¡¯s unnecessary instruction tilted me a bit. I was oblivious, but not stupid.


    ¡°Sheesh calm down. You¡¯re a pretty distractible person. Perhaps, your mind wanders too much if you try focussing on something. Just keep at it, and you¡¯ll probably get it. Worst case scenario, we buy more paper and try a few more vain attempts.¡± Fi had returned to leaning back in her seat as she spoke. She¡¯d stopped really caring.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ I got it. I just need to stop getting distracted! C¡¯mon, April, you¡¯ve got this.¡± I slapped my cheeks to ensure focus and got to work. Attempt after attempt I blew through paper. Failing, failing, and failing. Our food had even come, but I didn¡¯t bother letting up. I¡¯d make a map.


    ¡°I¡¯m paying for this food. Eat it, already.¡± Fi¡¯s eyes were narrowed and devoid of hope. She clearly just wanted to get going. Something about that pissed me off and got my blood boiling.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying my best, you see?! The least you could do is wish me luck!¡± I was still trying as I snapped at Fi, my hand shaking from my irritation.


    ¡°Good luck, then.¡± Fi didn¡¯t care. She did as I told and went back to watching people pass by on the street.


    ¡°That. Didn¡¯t. Even. Sound. Genuine!¡± I only grew more irritated. As a result, as I put the quill to my last bit of paper, I clenched it too hard and it snapped. However, the impossible did happen. From the snapped quill ink splattered on the paper, and from that ink appeared a highly detailed map of Shelter. Complete with a title, building layouts, paths, and everything. I could even make out the route we¡¯d taken today.


    ¡°I-I did it! I made a map!¡± On my very last attempt, I¡¯d succeeded. I¡¯d collected all my anger from the previous attempts and put them into the quill, and the result was a map. My outcry caused Fi¡¯s attention to jolt back to me, and for a select few bystanders to look at me with curiosity. I was new around town, so I¡¯d gotten plenty of curious looks throughout the day, anyways.


    ¡°Holy shit, you really did it. Damn, didn¡¯t think you had it in you.¡± Fi¡¯s expression was filled with surprise, and my stomach uproared with pride. It was nice to put her in her place. It showed her for doubting me. ¡°And this thing¡¯s really detailed, too. Can I see it?¡±


    Fi reached for the map, but I quickly yanked it away, remembering what the skill had said. ¡°No! Don¡¯t touch it! I can¡¯t give it away, or else it¡¯ll clear itself, remember?¡± I¡¯d just narrowly avoided a tragedy.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. That would¡¯ve sucked.¡± Saying ¡°That would¡¯ve sucked.¡± was about as much of an apology I¡¯d get from Fi. She was respectable but not the most polite. ¡°Now hurry up and eat. I¡¯m ready to turn in for the day. You¡¯re a hassle to be around.¡±


    Not bothering to object, I scarfed down my food¡ªactually enjoying it for once¡ªand got ready to go. By the time we¡¯d paid and left, it was already night, and the skies were filled with wisps. It wasn¡¯t until heading home that something came back into mind.¡°Oh crap! I totally meant to ask you something!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­?¡± Fi looked up.


    ¡°About that medicine you used on me earlier¡­ where can I find the guy that made it. I wanted to thank him.¡± It¡¯d just occurred to me that I hadn¡¯t found an apothecary throughout all of our day¡¯s travels, and there wasn¡¯t one listed on the map either.


    ¡°How do you know him, April?¡± Fi dodged my question. For some reason, she seemed hesitant to tell me anything. Normally she was the type who liked to get things over with and move on, so I was a bit taken aback.


    ¡°Uh¡­ I got lost in the tunnels heading over here. I ended up running into him and he threw me that potion along with a special elixir for making light.¡± I told Fi all that I knew.


    ¡°I see¡­ If that¡¯s it, then there¡¯s no problem.¡± Fi paused for a second before nodding then continuing. ¡°He works down in a windmill at the base of the village. He¡¯s not typically up during the day, so if you wanna catch him. I recommend visiting him now. I¡¯ll let Peak know that you went to meet someone if you want to do that.¡±


    ¡°I probably should, shouldn¡¯t I?¡± I was tired, but also full of life. I had no reason not to go ahead and go. So, I pulled out my map and located the windmill Fi was talking about. ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna go, so can you do that for me?¡±


    ¡°Mhm, no problem. Will¡¯s a decent friend of mine, and I owe him a good few favors, so try not to get on his nerves too much.¡± Fi was more relaxed now, as she got ready to see me off.


    ¡°Gotcha! Then I¡¯m gonna head out! See you at tomorrow¡¯s festivities, Fi!¡± I wasted no time in dashing off. My destination¡ªthe apothecary¡¯s windmill.

 Chapter 15 - Man of The Mill

    ¡°So¡­ what do I do? Knock? But on what¡­? The wall maybe? No, that¡¯s stupid. Just how does this work? Is there a secret door or something? A hatch maybe?¡± I arrived at the mill in a short amount of time. Despite this, it was an awful trek.The mill was located at the highest point in Shelter, on a plateau filled with some grain crops, and lacked any clear entrance. So, I found myself scanning my surroundings for a way in.


    I tried everything. Pressing against the wall in the hopes some secret mechanism would proc, monitoring the ground for a trapdoor, looking around for a ladder to get into a rooftop entrance or something, anything. I even tried getting in through a window, but it was locked and I probably couldn¡¯t have fit myself through it anyways. I would¡¯ve probably gotten stuck and only realized that halfway through. My map only showed visible rooms and how to get into them¡ªanything hidden was fair game... and a pain.


    When all was said and done, I got irritated and started kicking at the side of the building. The idea was that the ruckus would signal for the apothecary¡ªWill¡ªto come outside and greet me. There was no way he didn¡¯t know I was there at that point. And yet¡­ nothing changed.


    ¡°Grr¡­ what the heck! Why can¡¯t anything ever be simple?!¡± Eventually, I gave up and slumped down against the mill. Nothing had worked. However, when I lifted my head, I saw the object of my plights standing before me. There Will was, wryly basking in my struggles with both an amused and cool look on his face.


    ¡°That was quite a show to come back to. I figured I¡¯d just watch.¡± When Will saw my accusing eyes, he had finally decided to speak up. He was carrying a bag with papers spilling out of it and a teal hemp sack with all manners of herbs in it.


    ¡°...¡± I was left in a dumbfounded daze. I didn¡¯t know how to respond to such a statement. I could¡¯ve, of course, gotten angry at Will for not speaking up sooner, but I was there, after all, to thank the dude. Not exactly the best route to segue that into. So¡­ I decided to play it off. ¡°Hey Will¡­ lovely night we¡¯re having.¡±


    ¡°If your intention is to get me to move past what I just saw, then forget it. Something that entertaining only happens once or twice a year.¡± Will completely dismissed me and moved right past where I was and to the mill wall. Then he grabbed ahold of my scarf, and proceeded to walk through it, tugging me along with him. Once we were in, Will stopped and spoke once more. ¡°Oh, by the way, that¡¯s how you get inside.¡±


    ¡°...What just happened?! Did we just walk through the wall?! Why didn¡¯t my hand fall through it while I was letting it have some?¡± I was in awe at what had just occurred and demanded some explanation.


    ¡°It¡¯s a semipermeable membrane. It only allows those who fit the right parameters through. It was fun to watch your futile attempts though.¡± Will waved me off, dropped off his cargo, and pulled me back outside of the mill. I hadn¡¯t even had time to examine the inside. I was out again just like that. I must¡¯ve had a cold glint in my eyes, because when Will looked back over at me, he felt the need to explain himself. ¡°...I¡¯m heading out again. Didn¡¯t want you to get stuck in there.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s fine, I guess...¡± I was trying to keep my cool and avoid a childish outburst, but everything was moving so fast.


    ¡°You appeared to have business with me, so we can chat when I get back, alright? My work is very time sensitive, and I haven¡¯t a moment to spare anymore.¡± Will laid the groundwork for his departure.


    ¡°Anymore?¡±


    ¡°I typically leave myself a few spare minutes, but I ended up wasting those on watching some bimbo trying to enter my house.¡± Will smirked as he answered my question. He was very tongue-in-cheek in the way he carried himself. A tad snarky and sarcastic, but not mean. It was like innocent teasing.


    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be off.¡± Once discerning that I¡¯d understood what he said, he turned tail and headed back out to work. By instinct, I began to follow him. I was liable to fall asleep if I waited.


    When Will realized my trailing, he just shrugged and went on. ¡°I suppose you can come with me if you¡¯d like. Just know, if you get in the way of my job, I¡¯ll have to fine you. Time is money, and I don¡¯t have much of both to spare¡­ Although, it¡¯s not like I particularly need more of either, anyways.¡±


    ¡°Sounds fair to me! I just needa say thanks, and then I¡¯ll be on my way, anyways.¡± As I talked, I sped up my pace to be walking beside Will.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just do that now? It shouldn¡¯t take long.¡±


    ¡°Not if you¡¯re me, it shouldn¡¯t! I¡¯m what some would call complicated.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I kind of had that feeling.¡± At the conclusion of our banter, Will merely scratched his head¡ªthere¡¯s not a lot one can say to someone boastfully admitting her own flaws like they¡¯re nothing. Then, we carried on through the town.


    Despite it being nighttime, the town was still busy and riddled with people preparing for Talon Day. In a way, it was like I was experiencing a whole other town. While walking with Will I had hoped to interrogate him about his work and where we were going. However, contrary to my expectations, Will appeared to be very popular, and every time I thought I¡¯d have a moment to pick his brain, some civilian would interject his or herself into our walk before I got a chance.


    Around literally every turn some vendor or townsperson would call out to him asking how he was doing, or how work was, or about a potion prescription, or if he was excited for the festival tomorrow, or about some random trivia that logically nobody else would know and that they were too lazy to find in a book. Like, why the heck did someone need to ask Will¡ªthe town apothecary¡ªwhat type of rock was best at enduring erosion?! Surely one of the many store owners outside could¡¯ve been more qualified to answer such a question. It was all getting intensely grating. Especially since all of Will¡¯s responses seemed ingenuine and artificial¡ªlike he was just giving them away as some half-hearted amenity and that he didn¡¯t really care.


    After the accumulation of all my irritation, I gave up trying to remain couth. ¡°Gee, you sure are popular, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Heheh, I wish. They¡¯re just trying to be courteous. It¡¯s rather exasperating, isn¡¯t it?¡± It was refreshing hearing Will give an actual response instead of one to keep up face. Thinking on it, maybe that¡¯s how he felt about me finally letting out my frustrations.


    ¡°Yeah, but you don¡¯t have to engage in a full blown conversation with every single person. Just nod, wave, say ¡°We¡¯ll talk some other time,¡± or do a grand mixture of all of those. You¡¯ll find it¡¯s much more efficient.¡± I was speaking from experience. If I hadn¡¯t mastered doing those things, I likely would have struggled way more throughout my schooling.


    ¡°It would be, yes, but¡­¡± Will¡¯s thoughts seemed to have scattered. His eyes made it clear that his personal wants and his ideology were at each other¡¯s throats. ¡°Listen, I¡¯m the town apothecary. If I turn down someone being concerned about me, how are they supposed to believe I¡¯m concerned about them when it comes time for me to help them.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why you let me come along with you, even though I¡¯m nothing but a hindrance, am I wrong?¡± I was into it now. I wanted to probe Will.


    ¡°Not particularly. You just seemed dimwitted enough that it might be amusing. I don¡¯t really care about how some outsider thinks about me.¡± Will with a cheeky look on his face spoke his blunt, honest words. His words made me realize that it was likely pretty strange. I mean, there was no way that in a small-ish town like Shelter people wouldn¡¯t notice that I wasn¡¯t native.


    ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s nice to know.¡± I brushed off his provocation and kept on walking next to him.


    ¡°Wow, is that the thanks you made me wait all this time to receive? I¡¯ve gotta say, I¡¯m a little let down.¡± Will spun my meaning in an attempt to push my buttons.


    ¡°My thanks are like collectors¡¯ items. There¡¯s all different types you can nab, and they¡¯re not really worth the effort you put into getting them. You just so happened to get the uber rare Verbally Ironic Thanks.¡± Ignoring his attempt to rile me, I spilled off a classic nonsensical response.


    ¡°Ah, I see. Unfortunately, I¡¯m more of a ¡°sorry¡± collector myself, so I don¡¯t know how much use I¡¯ll get out of it...¡± It got to the point where we were just bantering for banter¡¯s sake. I think we both realized that, now that we were engaged in conversation, people weren¡¯t stopping us as much.


    ¡°Hey, stick around me long enough, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get plenty of both. It¡¯s not like I have anything else I can give.


    ¡°It does appear that way, a person as broke and helpless as you is something almost mythical in origin. It¡¯s very impressive.¡±


    We just went on and on until we were at the lower far end of Shelter in front of one of the surrounding peaks. There within the wall was the entrance to a tunnel, which I could assume we were about to travel through.


    My body likely tensed up without me noticing, because when Will looked over at me he felt the need to affirm that it was merely a path, and not a maze like the one I¡¯d met him in.


    Then without warning, he took off running down the tunnel.


    I wanted to yell out something like ¡°What the heck are you doing?! Why are you running?!¡± However, the shock from having to suddenly take off sprinting after him knocked the air of me, making my words a jumbled mess of wheezes and stutters.


    ¡°We¡¯re running short on time. I¡¯d say we only have a bit longer to reach our destination.¡± Since Will was the one who started sprinting, he had no trouble calling back to me. I hadn¡¯t thought about it, but all the encounters on the streets really had sapped our hustle.


    So, I put all my effort into chasing after Will through the well-carved tunnels. Past lantern after lantern of wisp-lit lights. All the way until we arrived at our destination¡ªan open cliffside absolutely teeming with unique flowers of all types¡ªa botanist¡¯s utopia. Or in Will¡¯s case, a veritable pharmacy for apothecaries.


    ¡°Hey, Will¡­ what now?¡± Now that we were at our destination, I didn¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°You can just stay out of my way while I do my job, okay? I don¡¯t know how long this will take, so why don¡¯t you go look off of the cliff side or something? Enjoy the night.¡± As soon as we arrived, Will no longer cared about my existence. He became hyper focused on his job and nothing else. It was almost scary how easily he could concentrate.


    I ignored Will¡¯s suggestion and instead watched as he went around picking a unique white tulip-like flower with a large pink pistol sticking out of its center. It was the first flower I¡¯d seen where the center part was taller than the petals.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Then, I directed my attention to all the other different kinds of flowers surrounding us. Despite its luster, in a way, it seemed like Will was picking the least interesting of the flowers. So, to pass the time, I went about collecting my own flowers and assorting them into a bouquet the likes of which had no comparison to anything on Earth.


    When I was done, I looked over to see Will going around more frantically, picking every last white tulip-y thing he could get his eye on. It looked as though the pink was spreading further into the flowers, and that was what was causing the increased haste from Will.


    Then, after an hour of nonstop moving and picking, he was done. The flowers he was trying to pick had turned completely pink. He let out an exhausted sigh as he settled down against the side of the mountain behind us, and closed his eyes. He must¡¯ve been done working for the night, which meant¡­


    ¡°Tada!¡± I slipped a flower crown I¡¯d made onto his head. He promptly swatted it off. ¡°Hey, I put real effort into making that, you know?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just lucky that there¡¯s nothing poisonous up here, you foolish weirdo.¡± Will¡¯s sidelong gaze caught my eager eyes and he let out a sigh as I sat next to him.


    ¡°Anyways, thanks for helping me out the other day in the tunnel¡­ oh, and for the medicine.¡± I ripped off the band-aid, and got right to the thanking.


    ¡°Is that all? I thought you said it¡¯d be more complicated than that.¡± Will seemed a bit disappointed. Maybe he was hoping to be rewarded somehow?


    ¡°Nah, I just said I was complicated. There has to be at least a couple of hoops for me to jump through if I¡¯m gonna do anything.¡±


    ¡°A lackluster thanks and an almost nonexistent amusement factor. Why did I bring you along again?¡± Will sounded genuine in his inquiry. It kinda hurt my feelings.


    ¡°Aw, shut it. It¡¯s not like I made it any worse, did I?¡± I argued my case.


    ¡°That¡¯s debatable.¡± He shot me down.


    Then the conversation died down for a second, before Will continued it.


    ¡°How about this? Why don¡¯t you thank me by telling me a bit about where you come from?¡± Will laid it all out front and it took me aback. He¡¯d asked the one question that was hard to explain.


    ¡°Uh¡­ about that¡­¡± I tried to think of how to word it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it too much¡ªI just wanted a way to lead into this. I already know your story. Busty told me¡­ well I¡¯m 99.99% sure what she told me was about you.¡± Out of nowhere Will dropped a bomb on me, and I felt a boulder hit my gut. I hadn¡¯t told her to keep it a secret, but it still felt like my trust was betrayed.


    ¡°Huh, you call her Busty too? I just call her Fi. Well then, I guess that means...¡± Will blushed at my observation, as I racked my brain and thought back to something Fi had said.


    ???


    We stopped in front of the door, and I¡¯d finally decided to ask what we were even doing. ¡°Hey, you haven¡¯t told me much of anything. What are we doing here? I figured you just had something to do real quick.¡±


    ¡°I asked the local bookworm about your situation.¡± Fi sat down on a nearby stool.


    ???


    ¡°Yeah, totally. You definitely fit the bill of local bookworm. I mean, put some glasses on that dorky, sleep-deprived face of yours, and you¡¯d fit the description to a T.¡± I scanned Will up and down as I spoke, and his eyes narrowed like he didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°Yeah, that is something she¡¯d call me. Anyways, at first she¡¯d only told me cursory information, but I did my best to milk all the information I could out of her. Although, she¡¯s not the best at retelling things, so there might be holes. Plus, it seemed like she was purposefully holding some stuff off. So, tell me a bit more about yourself.¡± Will pressed me further for more information.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe you should tell me what you know before anything else. Don¡¯t want to repeat any unnecessary material and whatnot.¡± I liked talking about myself, but it¡¯d be weird doing it to someone who already knew what I was going to say.


    ¡°I guess I need to word this more directly. Your name. What is your name? We¡¯ve been together all night and you haven¡¯t even bothered to introduce yourself.¡± Will was frustrated as he spoke, but not enough to come off as overbearing. ¡°I know that you¡¯re some chick likely brought here from another world, who went through attempt after attempt after attempt to have a blank dream, going as far as to seek out a fight with and accept your own death at the hands¡ªor more accurately maw¡ªof a Rapiter only for them all to fail. I also know that you plan on tackling Shelter Spire, despite having no experience as an adventurer and being hopelessly naive and impulsive. I know that you don¡¯t act your age, and have a childish root for your confidence. But I do not know your name. So please, tell me already.¡±


    ¡°Fine, jeesh, I get it. I just forgot to, that¡¯s all. Normally I introduce myself to people when I meet them, but I didn¡¯t with you due to my circumstances. I hadn¡¯t thought about it.¡± Will¡¯s long and drawn out verbal assault broiled some quickly quenched rage within me. Once the flame in my stomach was extinguished, I lit one anew, stood up in front of Will and (finally) introduced myself. ¡°My name¡¯s April Fallow! And as you know, I¡¯m a completely hopeless wannabe adventurer from another world. Does that suffice?¡±


    ¡°Wow! Woohoo! She finally did it! It only took¡­ forever.¡± Will made a big deal of clapping and hollering at my introduction.


    ¡°It¡¯s just as much your fault as it is mine. You never asked.¡± I reasoned with Will, but as always, it didn¡¯t work out.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s different on your world, but where I¡¯m from, it¡¯s common courtesy to introduce yourself without having to be asked.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m sorry, all right? Can we drop it already.¡± I was sick at Will¡¯s pestering.


    ¡°Ooo, a ¡°sorry¡±! My favorite. Oh, and yeah, we can drop it. Now that I¡¯ve officially met the elusive April Fallow in the flesh, I have a number of questions. Do you mind alleviating my curiosity? I am a ¡®bookworm¡¯ as you said.¡± Will¡¯s mocking banter had returned and we got to talking.


    He asked me questions about all manners of things, and I did my best to appease his thirst for knowledge the best I could. Luckily for me, I got to avoid most of the tedious topics, as there were apparently books on the subject of Earth. If I recalled, Peak and Fi could believe I was summoned from another world so easily because of the fact others had been before me. Anyways, I enjoyed talking about myself, so I didn¡¯t mind answering some questions.


    The Will-April Q&A¡ªHighlights Only Edition


    Q: Just to make sure you¡¯re really from another world, what¡¯s the name of the world your from?


    A: It somehow has a less lame name than your world of Creation. It¡¯s called ¡°Earth¡±.


    Q: What are apothecaries like on Earth?


    A: I dunno. I don¡¯t think we really have apothecaries anymore. Potions don¡¯t exactly work the same way there as here¡­ or if they ever worked at all.


    Q: What are the people like on Earth?


    A: I¡¯d probably say they¡¯re boring. Everyone here is much more colorful. There¡¯s certainly not as many colorful races. Just humans.


    Q: We¡¯ve supposedly had people summoned from various places in your world. Where are you from?


    A: The good ¡®ol U. S. of A. or as some call it America¡­


    Q: What year is it on Earth?


    A: The year is 2019, and it¡¯s just as boring as all the other years.


    Q: I suppose a lot has changed since the Hero¡¯s Journal was published, then. How different is the world now compared to the late 1800s?


    A: I didn¡¯t know this would be a history lesson! I guess I¡¯d say, completely. Yeah, I doubt it¡¯s even comparable.


    Q: Do you like it here in Creation?


    A: Mhm, more than anything. I¡¯ve always wanted to go on a grand adventure in another world. We actually have an absurdly large amount of media about situations like mine on Earth.


    Q: If you¡¯re so happy to be here¡­


    ¡°...Then why did you accept your fate to the Rapiter so wholly? Busty said she found you laying on the ground, belly-up in defeat¡­ pitifully smiling. Shouldn¡¯t you have struggled to the very end? Wouldn¡¯t you want to live and experience this world with all your might?¡± All of the sudden, the topic had changed and Will appeared more serious. The subject was now actually about me, and not about his fascination with Earth. And Will, he was looking at me with intensely judging and judgmental eyes.


    ¡°Umm¡­ why does that matter?¡± I was put off by the sudden shift in tone, and I tried my best to deflect the topic.


    ¡°It just doesn¡¯t make sense to me. You went to fight the Rapiter because you wanted to have a blank dream¡ªin order to become an adventurer, correct? Then why did you give up?¡± Will¡¯s face made it clear. This had been on his mind for awhile, likely ever since hearing Fi¡¯s account of my story. And despite how much he¡¯d probably thought about it, he just couldn¡¯t wrap his mind around a potential reason.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ That¡¯s a tricky one isn¡¯t it?¡± I acted like I was really thinking over my answer, when I knew it, deep down in my heart. I just didn¡¯t know how to word it best for Will to understand. ¡°By the way, you¡¯re dropping a rather heavy question on someone you just met.¡±


    ¡°When I first saw you in the tunnel, I had the impression that you¡¯d do anything to escape it. Even if it was dangerous or frustrating, you¡¯d push through it and leave. That¡¯s why I gave you the medicine and the light, because I had faith in that. And look at you. You¡¯re standing here, so I must¡¯ve been right.¡± Will went on about when we first met. ¡°So, when Busty told me you¡¯d given up just a few days prior, I couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of it. Why would this girl, who seemed so persistent in reaching her goal, lay down and accept defeat?¡±


    ¡°Urgh¡­ you¡¯re so persistent. Well, then I guess I have no choice but to try and put this into words. Will, I have a motto: I like to live life and take chances. It¡¯s something I came up with on the fly after first arriving in Creation. So, as I see it, I took a chance with the Rapiter. I lived life. I pursued my dream. I did all I could. I¡¯d lived life and taken a chance, and it didn¡¯t pay off¡ª¡± I started my explanation, but was interrupted by more question from Will.


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t do all that you could¡¯ve? You could¡¯ve tried running. You could¡¯ve kept fighting¡­ but you laid down and accepted it? That just doesn¡¯t make sense to me.¡± Will seemed only more confused than he had been at the start.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think my reasoning makes sense. I¡¯m the type of gal who will do anything to pursue her dream, even if it seems impossible. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t run. If I ran from the Rapiter, I¡¯d be running from my dream. And as for why I didn¡¯t keep fighting¡­¡± I thought over what I was gonna say for a second, but settled on the most conclusive answer that popped into my mind. So with a dumb smile and a wink I merely gave the explanation of, ¡°I woke up waaaaaay too early to go fight the Rapiter, and I was like half asleep by the time I fought that big snake.¡±


    ¡°Eh? That¡¯s it?!¡± Will¡¯s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets with the simplicity of my answer.


    ¡°Look I was, of course, really bummed out about failing to beat the Rapiter. More than you could ever understand. But yeah, I was probably just tired. In the moment, I was satisfied with the fight I¡¯d put up, and was ready to catch up on some Zs.¡± And with that last bit, my explanation was concluded.


    ¡°Aheheh¡­ That¡¯s so stupid. What¡¯s wrong with this chick¡­?¡± Will, in disbelief, started laughing to himself with a bewildered smile on his face. I could tell that he finally, truly understood me as a person.


    ¡°Hey, nothing¡¯s wrong with me! I just live in the moment! I want what I want when I want and I don¡¯t typically plan! That¡¯s the April Fallow way!¡± I grew offended by Will¡¯s reaction and attempted to defend himself, but his laughter only crescendoed.


    ¡°Aheheheh! I take back what I said earlier, you were definitely amusing to bring along on this trip!¡± Wisps gathered around Will as he continued to bellow. Perhaps they were concerned with him, or maybe they wanted to join in the fun. It made for what would be quite a mystical sight.


    ¡°Grr¡­ Cut it out already!¡± Will¡¯s laughter was really getting on my nerves, but for some reason, I think I was smiling as I continued to try and curb Will¡¯s amusement.


    ¡°Sorry about that, I lost my composure.¡± Time passed and Will was finally calmed down. After apologizing to me, he stood up and stretched. ¡°That was a good chat, April, thanks. I didn¡¯t get as much work done as normal, but I¡¯m fairly sure it was worth it.¡±


    ¡°Mhm, no problemo! I¡¯m both the world¡¯s greatest stress causer and stress reliever. The antithetical realms of my talent can¡¯t be held to any one side.¡± I gave my goofy declaration, and Will reciprocated with his own statement.


    ¡°You know, you¡¯re not the only one with a dream. One day, I wanna get off of this damned spire and peddle my potions all across the world. So, please, beat Shelter Spire and find some kind of exit, will you?¡± Will was looking to the sky as he spoke. This dream of his must¡¯ve been why he asked that final question to me. He probably thought that if he could understand my ambition, it¡¯d help him get a better grasp of his own. After all, I was what he¡¯d call hopeless. If I could do my best and still enjoy life as I worked towards my dream, then so could he.


    ¡°Well that was the plan. I don¡¯t need you tell me to do what I was already gonna do.¡± I clapped the dirt off my hands and ridiculed what Will said.


    ¡°You¡¯re the person who always knows the absolute worst possible thing to say, aren¡¯t you? Well whatever, I need to head back and get on some brewing, and I¡¯m sure you need some sleep, so let¡¯s kick dirt and get heading back to Shelter already.¡± Will sped up to a brisk speedwalk, and we headed back.


    Thus concluded my first full day in Shelter. It was rather uneventful in the grand scheme of things, but I was pretty sure I enjoyed it, at least.

 Story Update

    Alright, so it has been a good while¡­ almost a third of a year now, I think. Firstly, I realize that I¡¯d said I¡¯d be back on my schedule and then I just vanished. My bad. So, I guess I¡¯ll go ahead and give an update on the story and where it¡¯s at¡­ because I just realized that¡¯s a thing I¡¯m able to do.


    After about 2-3 hours of writing this, I scrapped the long essay I wrote and will just give a large paragraph to explain what¡¯s happening.


    Basically, I wasn¡¯t comfortable with how Antithetic was playing out, I feel I wrote it in a way that the climaxes I had planned didn¡¯t feel organic enough and came too slowly¡ªhence why I stopped posting the chapter before a big climax (albeit a more melodramatic climax than your typical action-filled one). I feel like I did this because I had a weekly schedule with no backlog to fall upon if I felt that I needed more time to flesh out a chapter. I¡¯m the type that rewrites everything he writes 6-7 times to get it the way he wants. That being said, Antithetic is and isn¡¯t going anywhere. I¡¯m planning on rewriting Antithetic under the name Antithetic: Live Life and Take Chances eventually. And by eventually, I mean after I get into a solid flow of writing and have ten chapters of the new Antithetic stockpiled and am comfortable with weekly uploads (minimum) and have started posting another story I''ve been working on since long before Antithetic. When all that happens, I¡¯ll make the final post on this¡ªAntithetic: Spire of Wonder¡ªsaying where to find the rewrite and I¡¯ll consider this iteration of Antithetic dropped.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    With this all said and out of the way, thank you to everyone who was reading and enjoyed this version of Antithetic. It was my first time making anything I¡¯d written public, and I really enjoyed seeing people¡¯s responses, both positive and negative. I posted the start of Antithetic on a whim hours before a vacation and with only the prologue and first chapter written, so I¡¯m glad people ended up enjoying it, even if it was just a select few. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s been too long, or if anyone other than me particularly cares about this story anymore, but if you did read all of this, thank you once again.


    Lastly, if any of you are curious about something, feel free to pop any questions in the comments, by the way. Whether it be about the story or just about what I didn¡¯t like about how I¡¯d written Spire of Wonder and what I want to improve upon, I¡¯ll be happy to answer them. ^-^