《The Light Bringer》


 Chapter 1 - Arc 1 - A New World

    A musky smell filled the air in the darkness as the hero walked deeper into the cave. The sound of his footsteps reverberated against the walls and into the unknown. Stopping every now and then to hold his breath, listen for the slightest noise and peer deeply into the shadows.


    The torch dimmed as if the flame itself was trying to flee the ominous space. As if to signal the torch was correct, the hero heard a sound slowly coming towards him from the unknown.


    Clomp, clomp, clomp.


    The sound of 2 hooves on stone, but with an unmistakable deadly purpose. He didn''t know what the sound was, but he knew it was not what he came here for. It was something much worse, and much larger.


    Slowly he stepped back until the sound of numerous tiny clicks moved in from behind him. Something he imagined to be little claws opening and closing around knee height if his ears were any judge. How many? 10? 20? How did they get behind him? A side entrance he missed?


    Too late now. He pulled the sword free from its hilt. If he died here, then it meant he was never going to succeed in the first place. He put the cold steel against his forehead and said his usual prayer. ¡°Ormak, Please give me the strength to bring light to the darkness¡±. He turned and-


    ¡°Billy! Take out the goddamn recycling. That''s two fucking times I''ve asked you to do it¡±.


    I put down my book. Why is she always yelling at me to do something when I''m at the best parts?


    Getting off the bed, I went to the kitchen to grab the recycling.


    ¡°While you''re up, take this and grab me another bottle from the fridge.¡± She muttered.


    Looking at the recycling, filled with my dad''s empty beer cans and my mom''s empty wine bottles, I tried to think of when I became resigned to this situation.


    I put her bottle with the rest and opened the fridge filled with alcohol, ketchup and three kinds of left over fast food, and handed my mother another bottle.


    She faced away from me and towards the TV to complain about whatever the hell some reality show personality was doing to my older sister.


    She was on her phone doing her best to ignore everything going on around her, and mostly succeeding. It would almost be forgivable if it was just an escape mechanism of some kind. The truth is, she was a self centered cunt.


    Then again, I was a bit of one too. She only had more years of practice than me.


    It would''ve been nice to have a supportive sibling with the pair of parents we had. I wondered if they were living proof that a couple that never fought wasn''t a good thing. In the end, they agreed on all the important issues.


    Alcohol good, democrats bad. As for my opinion on those things; sometimes, and don''t talk about politics so freaking much. It gets annoying.


    I took out the recycling because, god forbid, anyone else do it. I needed to get back to my book. It was just getting to the really good part.


    Thankfully I was able to get in my room and lock the door before dear old dad came home. He never hit us, well just me the once, but his drunken tantrums weren''t fun either.


    I went back to my reading. With the momentum of the suspense disturbed it felt almost like a chore now to read about an exhilarating battle.


    I found myself being more absorbed by all the things that didn''t make sense. Why go in alone? In a world of magic, why is your sword the only weapon you have to fight off 20 monsters? Why the hell would crabs click their claws and give away their position?


    And the most important question of all... why haven''t you hit that hot elven ass yet?


    As I was pondering these and other deep thoughts, a curious static electricity filled my room. It seemed like the source originated from my far wall. I saw a tiny black dot appear out of thin air.


    It opened wide into a blinding white light in the shape of a doorway. I put my hands in front of my eyes. I probably should''ve screamed. But screaming is something you do only when you see something you understand perhaps.


    This situation clearly called for a shocked silence. A form walked through the light and in a flash the light shrank back into a black dot and faded into nothingness behind the shape.


    It wasn''t so much the light that made me think I was crazy. It wasn''t so much the form walking through the light that made me think I was crazy. It was seeing myself standing before me in typical middle age clothing that made me think I was crazy.


    ¡°Hello, I know this seems very strange, but please don''t scream and hear me out.¡±


    It never occurred to me to scream. That was the last thing I wanted to do. I knew my parents would love putting me in the nuthouse. 1 less mouth to feed and they could probably get more government assistance.


    I tried to ignore ''myself'' and grabbed my phone. I needed.... Well I don''t know what I needed. I suppose I needed to see a psychologist and get the best anti-crazy pills money can buy.


    ¡°Hey, don''t ignore me. We have to seriously talk about something and we don''t have all day. What the hell is that thing anyway?¡±He grabbed my phone from me and looked at it like a chimp trying to understand a rubix cube.


    ¡°Hey, don''t steal my phone!¡±


    ¡°Phone? Is that what this is? What does it do?¡±


    ¡°It let''s you talk to people.¡±


    ¡°You seem to talk just find without it.¡±


    Arguing with yourself. We''ve all been there. I honestly could do without being on my phone so much. I took it back from him, or me, none the less.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°You''re not real. I shouldn''t talk to you¡±.


    ¡°The last me I talked to said that. This seemed to help him.¡± He smacked me across the face.


    ¡°Hey, what the fuck?¡±


    ¡°If I wasn''t real, could I hit you?¡±


    ¡°Maybe I''m hitting myself, like in fight club¡±.


    ¡°I didn''t know any guilds were here. I also don''t know of any sparring technique where you hit yourself; but maybe it''s to level up damage resistance, if you get the skill that is¡±.


    ¡°It''s not a guild, it''s... never mind.¡±


    In the end, I was forced to face the facts. Either I was crazy and so far gone I was slapping myself. Or I was sane and this was real. In any case there was no harm talking to him.


    ¡°So, are you really me?¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess it depends on what you mean. Yes and no. We are still individuals who have some differences but in the end; yes we are the same person that has lived two different lives.¡±


    I sat back in my bed. Maybe it was the shock, but I felt an odd sense of calm. It was probably a bad sign I wasn''t panicking as much as I should be.


    I went back to something he said before and he seemed happy to answer my questions. I think he saw it was calming me down. ¡°S-so, you said the other me you talked to... have you done this before?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you''re lucky number four. I knew the first one wouldn''t do for my purposes, and the other two turned me down. I really hope you don''t, as my options are getting limited¡±.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I was curious what options he spoke of.


    ¡°First off, I want to check on something. Do you have any magic here? Any goblins or dwarfs or anything non-human?¡±


    ¡°Of course we don''t¡±. I should have taken the hint after seeing what he just did in front of me, but I dumbly asked. ¡°Do you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, all of it. We even have a leveling system which one of the others was very excited about, even if he turned me down.¡±


    He looked to the side and my gaze went to match his.


    A blue box, almost like something out of a video game, appeared with my name, but it was clearly refering to my other self.


    Name: William Taylor


    Age: 16


    Race: Human


    Class: None


    Sub Class: None


    Skills: Life Swapper LVL 1/10, Chef LVL 3/10


    Level: 5


    Experience: 23%


    Constitution: 13


    Dexterity: 13


    Intelligence: 21


    Strength: 20


    Wisdom: 20


    Charisma: 12


    Health: 40/40


    Mana: 30/50


    Stamina: 20/20


    Attribute Points: 0


    This would have seemed weird if not for all the other stuff that had happened. It really was almost like a video game. He didn''t say anything and continued to let me look at it. His mana dropped to 29/50. He let out a sigh.


    ¡°Mana doesn''t regenerate here, just like in the other worlds, and it seems to slowly drop down. What a pain.¡±


    He closed the status window for now.


    ¡°In any case, let me get to the point. Would you like to switch places with me?¡± Switch places? Like I would go to his world and he would go to mine? What would be the upside for him?


    ¡°Why would you ever want to leave your world?¡± This certainly took a turn.


    He walked away from me and grabbed a weight on the floor. Without effort, he picked it up and began to play with it like a mere toy.


    It wasn''t otherworldly, but his muscles showed no signs of the kind of strength he possessed. It got me thinking, what did his 21 point intelligence mean, and what would mine be compared to it?


    ¡°It''s complicated. In short, I''m tired of it all. The leveling up to reach a higher rank only to level up again. It''s so static and nothing ever changes. That is the way it was for my great great grandfather and that''s the way it will be for my great great grandchildren¡±.


    He swept his arm across my room.


    ¡°But look at all this stuff. No tinkerer or blacksmith has ever dreamed of anything like this. Now this is an adventure!¡±


    He looked at my old TV as if it was some kind of miracle. Which I guess it was, from his perspective. I interrupted his thoughts.


    ¡°What about your family and friends?¡± As I spoke I thought of myself. I didn''t particularly like my family to be honest. As for friends, well, reading was my best friend.


    ¡°I''ll miss my little sister, but my family situation isn''t great. Plus, we have pretty much the same family in the end. You take care of mine, and I¡¯ll take care of yours.¡±


    I didn''t care much if he didn''t take care of mine, but I agreed. I hoped his sister was nicer than my version.


    He kept looking around at all the things in my room, lost in thought. He was an easily distracted version of me it seemed. I needed to keep this on track.


    ¡°Let''s say we were to do it. They will know something''s up, right? I assume my level won''t be the same as yours, and I won''t know anything about the world I''m about to live in.¡±


    ¡°Well, that shouldn¡¯t be too big of a problem. People in my world occasionally lose their levels and skills. It mostly happens to the low level ones when they try to do something against the Mother.¡±


    ¡°The Mother?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think the term you would use is ''system'', judging from my past conversations with other versions. When you try to force the Mother to do something you aren''t allowed to do, and you''re below level 10, it can sometimes knock you back down to level 1.¡±


    It seemed odd to me why the system would only have this penalty for lower leveled people, but that was something to be worried about later.


    ¡°Okay, but let''s be realistic here. You seem smart, but how would you even get by in my world, or me in yours? We lack the common sense and skill set for each.¡±


    ¡°Well, obviously, we would tell each other a bit about our worlds before we switch. We have about 30 minutes before I run low on mana. That should be plenty of time.¡±


    I was not so convinced about that part. He interrupted my retort.


    ¡°They will have no clue. As far as I know, nothing like this has ever happened before. I looked as hard as I could and I never found any examples of anyone being able to leave my world with a spell. Teleport yes, but enter a new world? Never.¡±


    ¡°Well, how did you, a mere level five, manage to do what no one else has ever done?¡± I guessed level five was low.


    With a large smile, he crossed his arms and proudly proclaimed;


    ¡°luck and fate¡±.


    He told me the story of the level ten dungeon that appeared by his town. It was the first time one had appeared in the past twenty years. It brought the strongest legends in the entire world to their small town. That must have done wonders for their economy.


    We were short on time so he rushed through the details but the gist was this: a world renowned adventurer went into the dungeon and didn''t come out. Even among the strongest adventurers, it was not uncommon for this to happen in a high ranking dungeon.


    About a week later just as darkness fell. My other self was getting water at a nearby lake, because his pump broke down. He then saw a bloody mess stumble out of the dungeon entrance, only to drop dead mere moments later.


    It was too late to get any help, and knowing the pockets of high ranked adventures were rarely empty, it would be a waste for him not to take advantage of this chance.


    I wondered if I would''ve felt the same.


    Along with 20 gold pieces, which he told me were hidden in his bed, he found a spell book. He couldn''t read the title, or many words in general, but he knew it was something special.


    Spell books were rare by themselves, but something about this one was different. Even him, without any experience, could sense that.


    After another quick look around, he grabbed the book and accepted the option to learn it. He described it as a rush of knowledge, concepts and ideas filling his head all at once. In a moment, it was his.


    After realizing what he''d gained, he struggled with the choice of if he should use it. After much debate, he figured ''what harm could a look do''?


    He visited a world nearly just like mine, and from that moment on he knew this was the life he wanted. But it needed to be a consensual switch with another version of himself.


    We talked back and forth about our own worlds for a while, he occasionally checked his status screen as his mana slowly ticked down. There wasn''t much time to decide and it sounded so different. I knew even with a basic run down there would be so much I wouldn''t know.


    I gave a longing look to my fantasy book. How many books like these have I read over the years? Wasn''t this always a fantasy of mine? What did I really worry about leaving behind here? Before I even knew what I was doing, I answered.


    ¡°Okay, let''s do it.¡±

 Chapter 2

    ¡°I''m Glad to hear you''re interested. I was worried that I may have to try again. For lack of a better term, our worlds are somewhat close together, which made this trip pretty low cost mana wise. I don''t know what would happen if I didn''t have enough mana to send one of us back.¡±


    With time ticking down, we quickly gave each other any last bits of information we could think of while getting undressed so we could switch clothing. We had nothing the other hadn''t seen before, but it was still a little embarrassing.


    I wondered if I should take anything with me. I didn''t know if the magic would let me, or if that may cause something bad to happen.


    There wasn''t time to bring anything that I could''ve made much use of anyway. My phone would just lose power, and my printer didn''t work, so printing any information was impossible. The only thing I had were my fantasy books on the shelf.


    Well, at least I had my memories, they would do just fine if I needed some obscure knowledge. My other version''s excited tone was getting annoying. His damn positivity was overcoming my pessimism. I wasn''t a fan of it.


    I knew there was a potential down side, and very likely I''d never get the chance to come back. But why worry about it now? This was a once in a life time chance. If I didn''t take it, I''d probably regret it for the rest of my life.


    I knew any objections, no matter how logical I could make, wouldn''t be able to stop me from following through with it at this point.


    The last thing I was told was that the name of the place I was going was called Highmar, and it''s general political system. It seemed not unlike our middle ages, with a few welcomed differences. The ruled, like my other self and now me i guess, seemed to have at least some degree of freedom.


    They worked and paid taxes to their lords, who paid the main houses, who paid the kingdom of Highmar. It sounded pretty straight forward and was a system I was familiar with.


    With everything set to go, and seeing the other me have his mana drop to 21/50 there was no time left. Now or never. The same static electricity appeared and the black dot hung in the air. It sprung open to form a white lighted doorway.


    The last thought I had was not of my family, or the comforts I was leaving behind. It was ''I wonder how Game of Thrones will end''? Without completely understanding the reason, I quickly grabbed the fantasy book on my bed and jumped through the door.


    It felt like I was both falling and floating. It was pure white, than pure black. Then every color, then emptiness. It all happened in a blink, but it was a sight and feeling I''ll never forget.


    I fell on an old wooden floor, book still in hand. I got to my feet, and gave a quick look around at all the things in my new small room. In the corner, It had something like a wooden cot with hay and a sheet cover pulled over it


    A small glassless window stood on the far end facing the woods. Not far from my bed was a tiny table that held a single candle along with something to light it. There wasn''t much else in here.


    I tried to remember everything I was told, so far it seemed to match.


    ¡°Status screen on¡±. I said aloud to no one. Nothing happened.


    I remembered him telling me ''you have to concentrate, not say it''. I focused my mind and willed it into existence.


    Name: William Taylor


    Age: 16


    Race: Human


    Class: None


    Sub Class: None


    Skills: None


    Level: 1


    Experience: 00%


    Constitution: 12


    Dexterity 11


    Intelligence: 17


    Strength: 13


    Wisdom 17


    Charisma 12


    Health 30/30


    Mana 30/30


    Stamina 15/15


    Attribute Points: 0


    Well, there it was. In all it''s unimpressive glory. Not all my stats started at the same amount. At least my Wisdom and Intelligence weren''t too bad. I guess it had to do with the differences in our education system, but I wasn''t sure.


    The door flew open, and in ran the girl I assumed must be my new sister.


    My former 18 year old sister was tall, thin and kind of bitchy looking; but in the way some guys might like. Sadly her bitchy look extended to her personality.


    But this cute as a button angel, with green eyes full of worry, dirty brown hair, a button nose and pale skin, seemed to be the type a big brother could easily dote on. I sincerely hope the personality matched in her case.


    ¡°I heard a tumble. Are you okay?¡± She really did look on the verge of crying, which tugged on my poor jaded heart strings.


    ¡°It''s okay Armilda. I just fell out of bed¡±. I hope I remembered and pronounced her name correctly. I should have double checked that before I left.Stolen story; please report.


    Her eyes wondered to my status screen. She let out a sharp gasp, bringing up her tiny hands to cover her mouth. Crap, I forgot to close my status window.


    ¡°What happened? You''re back at level 1! What did you do? Are you okay?¡±


    Her face became even more of a worried mess. She kept going on about how father would be furious when he came home. He was out at a tavern right now, which probably fit him here just as much as in my world. Some things never change I guess.


    ¡°It will be fine Armilda. Don''t worry about it.¡±


    Remembering my conversation about the family situation really made me feel for Armilda.


    Her mother died in childbirth. It caused a lot of the traditional motherly duties to fall on her. She put in so much work every day from a young age.


    I honestly don''t know how I felt about my mother in this world being dead.


    She wasn''t my real mother, but I did feel a mild sense of loss. My own practically never had a nice thing to say to me back in my world. I suppose I shouldn''t care so much.


    My sister collected herself and changed the topic.


    ¡°Well, I better start dinner now. Father will only be in a worse mood than usual tonight if he isn''t fed a good meal.¡± Her tone told me she didn''t think much of my new father.


    I suppose it''s nice something that feels like home can be here to give me a sense of normalcy. I just wish it wasn''t him.


    I decided to follow her out to the kitchen, as I didn''t have anything else to do. I remembered to turn my status screen off this time.


    She started to prepare all the food she was about to put into the stew, and we just began talking. Not about anything of importance. Just talking. It was kind of nice, I guess brothers and sisters can be like this sometimes too.


    She went on about how hard it was to get good sweet potatoes today at the market, but she was determined to get them because she knew how much I liked them. I really did like them. I guess my other self and I have similar taste.


    She apparently had to haggle with the only person who was selling them today on 3 separate occasions to get a decent price.


    It wasn''t until late in the day that the guy finally gave in, facing the prospect of going home with so many unsold vegetables. Clearly, she wanted me to praise her ability to be a crafty consumer. So that''s exactly what I did.


    It went on like that as we talked and shared some laughs for what I guessed was nearly 2 hours. She even laughed at my bad jokes, sadly most of my jokes were pretty bad.


    It surprised me how full of life my new 12 year old sister was, given her situation. Even with this just being our first meeting, I found that I felt a connection to her. More so than I can remember feeling with anyone from my original family in a long time


    My father burst through the door, with what no doubt were 2 of his typical drinking buddies. They stumbled towards the table and managed to plop down without falling over. But just barely.


    My sister tried to look hard at work, never turning around no matter how loud and rowdy the men got, unless it was to give them a bowl of stew. This scene had obviously played out many times in the past, and she knew what was expected of her.


    My father, with his face already flushed red, pointed at a cabinet in the kitchen. It was the only nice looking piece of furniture I''d seen in the entire house.


    ¡°William, bring us a bottle of red from the cabinet and pour us 3 cup fulls.¡±


    Following my sister''s lead I stayed silent and just followed his instructions. For now, it was better to go along and get along until I had more of this world sorted out.


    I placed 3 glasses down and popped open the bottle. As I began to pour my father angrily pushed the neck of the bottle up.


    ¡°No, not like that you idiot. Use your Chef skill. It makes the wine taste better.¡± He grunted at me and shook his head towards his friends.


    I was told people couldn''t always tell when you were using certain skills or not. But in cases like these where people knew you, they could reliably notice the difference.


    This isn''t how I wanted to bring up the subject. I was thinking of waiting until he and I were alone and he was sober. That may be wishing for too much, with any version of my old man.


    ¡°Can we perhaps talk outside for a moment father?¡± I didn''t know what his reaction would be, but judging from how surprised and sad my sister was, I was sure there''d be one.


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about? Just pour the fucking wine. Don''t make my friends wait you useless sack of horse shit.¡± He picked up the wooden cup and hit the bottom against the table. It was a signal that this was the end of the discussion.


    His friends were having a good laugh at this. They seemed more alike than not when it came to their opinions on getting amusement at the expense of others. Fine, have it your way then, you old bastard.


    ¡°I don''t have it anymore. My chef skill that is.¡±


    He looked at me dumbly. as if I said pigs were flying outside. They might be for all I knew, I didn''t ask my other self about that.


    ¡°What the hell do you mean you don''t have it?¡± His anger went from a general contempt to a seething stare. His friends on either side of him stopped laughing.


    ¡°I lost all my skills. I''m at level 1 again.¡± A long silence followed. I looked to my sister who gave me a quick glance and then looked back down to her cooking. She was shaking slightly. I brought my attention back to my father and his friends.


    ¡°I''ve heard of it happening, but I''ve never known anyone who-", one of my father''s drinking buddies seemed to ponder, lost in his thoughts. A quick glance from my father cut him off mid sentence. He turned his attention back to me.


    ¡°I always knew you were nothing special, and wouldn''t amount to much. But I never figured you''d be such a god damn failure and embarrassment. Get the hell out of my sight.¡±


    I locked my eyes with his for a moment, but I decided against saying anything back. What use would it serve? I put the wine down on the table and went back to my cramped room.


    I didn''t hear much merry making from the kitchen after that. My other self clearly didn''t stress what a big deal going back to level 1 might be. Did he perhaps not fully understand?


    I tried to recall if I left out or didn''t fully get the chance to explain anything on my side that would be as important as this seemed to be. Was it a breakdown in communication due to a time crunch, or was it outright deceit?


    With that thought in mind, I checked my bed. There was a small bag with 20 gold coins hidden right where he said it would be. At least that was true. I should have checked it earlier, but too much happened right after getting here.


    I had a simple plan. Continue to do the job my other self did. Save up, and then with that money, and the gold he stole, I could get some equipment and weapons. I would probably need to pay for some training too.


    I''ve never been in a real fight in my life, and certainly never used a sword, ax or bow. I would likely need to learn a few magic spells on top of it and form a party. Going off half cocked into a dungeon was probably a good way to get myself killed.


    I noticed the boots my other self gave me were a bit too big. I decided I''d make that the new hiding place of my gold.


    I stuffed the small sack in the front of the boot that was slightly bigger than the other. Clearly these were not top of the line footwear, seeing as they weren''t even the same size.


    That was a good thing in this case, It barely managed fit inside my slightly bigger boot with my foot inside it. After checking I could still walk around okay with it like that, I took them off and left them in the corner, with the gold still in it.


    It was late, so everything would be closed. For the first time, I heard the sound of a bell striking 9 times. It was far off in the distance but I should''ve noticed it before. It must be the way this town kept track of time, I¡¯d have to be more observant of that.


    In the morning I''d get up, and go to my job, and put tonight''s bad episode behind me. After I was done, It was off to the local blacksmith. I needed to find out how much all my equipment would cost, and see about finding a proper teacher.


    Overall, it was not the best first day. If anything, my father was a bigger asshole here, if that was possible. I was starting from the very bottom and aiming all the way to the top.


    That would be a bit bothersome, but something about it made it sound even more fun. I took out my fantasy book and started reading it again until I fell asleep.


    Looking back now, I realize how naive I was to think that it would be that easy.

 Chapter 3

    I woke with the sound of the bells ringing. It seemed to be louder in the morning. I assumed that was on purpose. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. On the floor I found a bucket of water and something that looked like soap. There was a large wooden tub and a new set of clothes along with a piece of cloth to dry off with.


    It wasn''t very large but it was enough for me to stand in. I assumed this was my sister''s doing. She really was a sweetheart to have all this ready for me. Was it something she did every morning or just today because she felt bad for me?


    I heard the last chime of the bell from outside. I counted 7, but I could have missed the first few.


    I undressed and got in. It was not surprising that this water wasn''t warm, but at least it wasn''t chilly here today. I realized then I never asked about the seasons or the climate. That would''ve been good to know.


    I assumed a lot of it would be the same, as he said something about our worlds being close to each other which made traveling to it easier. I guess I would just have to find out for myself.


    I dumped the water over my head and made generous use of the soap. I knew during the middle ages in my world bathing was not a common thing. I was glad to see opinions on that here were different.


    I had to be careful with the water because I didn''t want to run out and have soap left on me with nothing to wash it off with. I also used the soap in my hair as I was fairly sure shampoo wasn''t an option. At least for a commoner like me.


    That sounded kind of odd to say. But for now I was just another commoner.


    I washed myself off and grabbed the piece of cloth on the floor. I did my best to keep all the water in the wooden tub as I carefully dried my feet before placing them on the floor. With my new clothes on and boots filled with gold, I was ready for my first day out in the world.


    I went out to the kitchen to see my cheerful sister holding out her hands to take the wooden tub filled with water and soap. If she still felt sad about my current situation she did her best not to show it. She had what I assumed to be, her biggest smile turned on.


    ¡°Hello brother, you don''t need to worry about the tub. I''ll get that for you. Besides, breakfast is ready.¡± She motioned to the stew she had prepared. I shook my head


    ¡°It''s fine, I''ll handle it. Sorry, I¡¯m a little groggy today. Where should I dump this?¡± I hated to ask something that seemed stupid, but I had to get use to it. I would probably need to ask many stupid questions before I was up to speed. She let out a slight laugh


    ¡°Well, considering you''ve never emptied it before I''m not surprised. Thanks for helping me out, finally not too manly to help me with some of the woman¡¯s work are we?¡± She gave me a wink.


    I laughed a bit at that. I considered my sister could have just been more of the traditional type, but it seemed this was a fairly patriarchal society.


    ¡°Take it out back 20 feet behind the pump and dump it there.¡± She went back to stirring the stew and grabbing 2 bowls. I brought it around back and found the pump. I took the time to give my house a look over while I was out here. It was small, but looked solid just like a number of other houses in the area.


    I dumped out the soapy water and brought it over to the pump. I decided to wash it out before bringing it back inside. After coming back inside I realized I had no idea where it went, so I put it in the corner of the kitchen.


    ¡°Father already went off to work and had his breakfast.¡± She placed one bowl down before me and the other in front of herself. She gave me a sheepish look before continuing.


    ¡°I''m sorry I overreacted yesterday. I''m sure everything will be fine. This will all blow over soon.¡±


    The way she was acting, so cheerful and encouraging, gave me the feeling this was not going to blow over easily. As we ate the soup I asked her about what she had been up to recently. Trying to learn more about my new younger sister.


    The more I got to know her, the more I liked her. In the back of my head when I first met her, I thought It might be some kind of act. No one in my family was a genuinely good person, so why should she be?


    Now I felt a tinge of guilt for even having that suspicion. She really was just as she appeared. I guess my prior experiences made me more cynical than I noticed. I stood up, handing her the empty bowl and I thanked her for the meal. I was about to leave before she jumped up and gave me a tight hug.


    ¡°I don''t care what anyone thinks about your stupid level. No matter what, you''re my brother. Just remember that I love you, okay?¡±


    ¡°Sure sis, I''ll remember.¡± I patted her on the head. That tight hug full of love and reassurance made it clear. This was not going to be okay.


    I pulled her off and left for work. I didn''t exactly know which direction to go but the town wasn''t all that big. I was told by my other self to get their in the morning and when I asked for a time he gave me a strange look.


    I guess the question seemed odd to him. Morning probably meant to be there for the breakfast rush, whenever that usually happened. Seeing everyone else just getting up and off into town made me think I was on time. As long as I didn''t get lost that is.


    As it turned out, the first direction I headed in was the right choice. Perhaps it was because this town had very few main roads, but I''m going to say it was just me being amazing. Yay me!


    The sign above the business matched the name I was told. It simply read ''Howard''s Inn'' and had the symbols for bed, food and drinking on it. I liked its straight forwardness. I went inside and tried to look like I knew what I was doing.


    Just after I walked in, a slightly heavy older man, who looked to be in his 50s with gray hair and a mustache, waved me over.


    ¡°Hey William, can you follow me to the back room please?¡± I guessed this was Howard. I agreed, of course, and went with him to the back, away from the customers. Once in the back he seemed hesitant to speak, but eventually the words came out.


    ¡°I heard a troublesome rumor from a customer who was just here. Could you please show me your status screenl?¡±


    Unable to think of a polite way to decline, I focused my mind until my status screen popped up. After glancing over it he gave his head a quick shake while bringing his vision down towards the floor .


    ¡°Damn shame. I''m sorry to see that William. But you can''t be too discouraged! We all go through our own hardships in life, and I always belived we''re made stronger for it.¡± He gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder while at the same time placing a purse in my hand.


    ¡°This is last weeks pay and I tossed in another month as a thank you for all the good work you''ve done for me.¡± He seemed rather generous. A bit too generous. I was getting a bad feeling about this.


    ¡°Listen William. You''ve been a hard worker for me these last 5 years, and I appreciate it. You''re a damn fine cook and the customers like you. But I¡¯m sorry, I''ve never had someone cooking for me who doesn''t have at least a level 2 chef skill.¡±


    Yep. My bad feeling was correct. My plan to save up money was going up in smoke fast. This bonus was nice but if I lost this job with a boss who seemed to really like me and valued my abilities, I didn''t think it was a good sign of my future employment prospects. So I bluffed.


    ¡°I''ve worked here for 5 years Howard. It doesn''t matter what my level says. You know me. You know I''m a good cook and hard worker. I''ll get the chef skill back. It doesn''t make much of a difference in any case. Isn''t the ability a person has more important than what a status screen says after all?¡±


    It sounded pretty good to me, but he gave his head another shake.


    ¡°I don''t disagree completely. The Chef skill does tend to make things taste better and you know that. But even without it you''d still be more than good enough for me. It''s the customers. If they learned I had someone without even a level 1 chef skill make the food they paid good money for...¡±


    He stammered on. ¡°I really like you William. But I have a wife and children. I can''t afford to lose my customers. I''m sorry.¡± My head was racing looking for a solution.


    "Well fine, keep me on as something else. I can do other jobs besides cook. I can serve tables or just clean up around here. There must be something you can have me do." Howard didn''t look at all receptive to the idea.


    "I can''t do it William. Everyone knows you were a cook here. If I keep you on, they will always wonder if I''m secretly having you cook for me to save money. I can''t have any rumors spreading around like that. I''m truly sorry."


    With that, he turned his back on me and walked away.


    Yep, it was definitely not going to be okay. Not knowing what to do, I stood there in silence for a few moments before I realized there was no longer any reason to be here.


    I lwalked back out the front door trying to ignore the sad looks all the other employees were giving me. I turned away doing my best to ignore them. I don''t need your damn pity. It wasn''t even my job in the first place. Still, it never feels good to be fired.


    I headed straight for the busiest part of town in search of a blacksmith. Waiting around and saving up was no longer an option. I needed to get some information on how much all the equipment would cost. Then I could make a plan on how to budget my resources.


    I didn''t intend to make any purchases right now as food, training and traveling cost among other things would need to be factored in before that. I was confident that as long as I was careful with how I did things, I could still make this work.


    As I headed for the hub of the town I heard hushed whispers that went along with reproachful looks my way. I doubted my father would spread unflattering news about me as it would make him look bad as well. But it appeared his 2 friends had no problem doing it, and it was spreading like wildfire


    This was one of the down sides of living in a small town with no radio, tv or internet. Gossip was the main form of entertainment.


    I walked through the square until I found a man who looked to be the only blacksmith in town. I didn''t think of it before when I saw the sign for Howard''s Inn, but everything was in English here. I guess it was one of the benefits of coming from a world that was close, in the dimensional sense at least, to mine.


    The sign had only the single word ''blacksmith'' written on it with sword, hammer and shield symbols all around it. Pictures all over the signs was turning out to be a theme here. There was never more words written than needed and they always use symbols which tended to take up a bigger portion of the signs.


    I got the feeling that literacy wasn''t common, but it would be nice to confirm that.


    I saw a little kid playing a short way down the street with a little red ball. He would do for my experiment. I waved him over while pulling out a copper coin from the purse my former boss gave me.


    The coin looked old and worn down, so it seemed safe to assume it was the lowest value. it would have been the lowest value in my world too and this world appeared to share a good amount in common with mine, so i wasn''t worried that I would be giving away too much.


    ¡°Excuse me young man, I just have a quick question. Do you know what that sign says?¡± I pointed towards the sign the blacksmith had put up. The boy of about 10 or 11 gave it a quick look.


    ¡°It says blacksmith. Don''t you see the symbols?¡± He told me as if it was obvious. I changed tactics and pulled the coin away as he tried to snatch it.


    ¡°Can you spell the word blacksmith?¡± He looked at me confused. He pointed up to the sign.


    "Those letters there spell it, if that helps." I changed tactics.


    ¡°How about spelling a small word. Like dirt?¡± He gave me a look and then gave the coin a look. Trying to think of his best chance to get the copper in my hand. I continued on.


    "Do you have any friends around here? Do you think any of them could spell that word for me? Or maybe read this one?" I picked up a stick and wrote M-O-P into the ground. He seemed unsure of what it was.


    "No, I don''t have any friends that can do that. I can try to find someone if you want though."


    I crossed the word out with my boot and gave him the copper coin.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Thank you, you''ve been very helpful.¡± He took it and ran away with a smile, probably thinking I would change my mind and ask for it back. It looked like I had a few advantages here, the question was, ''how best to use them?''


    I strided over to the blacksmith who stood behind a table sharpening an ax on a wet stone. He gave me a quick look over, sizing me up to see if I was a real customer or just another young man who liked looking at swords.


    ¡°How much for a sword, shield and armor? Nothing too fancy, just reliable?¡± He made it look like answering my question was costing him a great effort.


    "A good sword will cost you 5 gold coins. I have some top of the line ones here for 10. Armor will be 6 or 7 gold coins but if you want it custom built, the price goes up to 15. A strong wooden shield is 1 gold coin. But if you want a metal one that''s 4. It will last you longer and save you money in the long run."


    It was good to know I had enough to at least get my equipment. The question was how much should I spend for equipment and how much on training. The best gear in the world didn''t mean anything if I didn¡¯t know how to use it.


    I thanked the blacksmith for his time. Maybe I should go into a big city and talk to other blacksmiths to compared the prices and then pick the best one?


    With nothing else to do I decided to look around town. There were no guilds or training areas which didn''t suprise me. I figured i may need to go to a more populated area.


    I looked around as I walked. Most people kept their status screens turned off, but I did notice a decent number kept them open for everyone to see. I guess they saw it as free advertisement for their skills.


    The most common level I saw from those who showed their status screen was far and away level 9. It was mostly an older crowd that had reached that level, except for one person who looked to be on guard duty. He was at level 19 and looked to have his hand glued to his hilt as he peered into the crowd for any signs of trouble.


    I remembered the conversation I had with my other self. The dungeons here were ranked from 1 to 10. The higher ranked dungeons seemed to pop out of the ground and were eventually swallowed up by it. The higher the rank the dungeon was the less time they lasted.


    I wondered if that was true for all dungeons and if the lower ranked ones would be swallowed by the ground in time. Maybe it took thousands of years so no one was aware of it. If this world was as illiterate as it appeared to be then any information that concerned the distant pass would be hightly unreliable.  It seemed odd that this rule would apply to only certain ranked dungeons so I thought it was more likely the former was the case.


    In any case, my other self told me that eventually you max out your level, and to go further you need to take a test in a properly ranked dungeon. This happened every 10 levels. If you passed then you could claim some kind of skill or class or bonus or something. I didn''t know exactly how it worked because he didn''t either as he was just a commoner who didn''t go into dungeons.


    These towns people weren''t interested in risking their lives in an attempt to go beyond level 9. Especially since most of them were never trained in combat. Let the guards do the fighting while I cook my pies and don''t get butchered. I could understand the reasoning.


    Most of the people who tried to level up past 9 were soldiers or adventurers that trained for years. That first test to reach level 10 was considered a particularly deadly one. A fair amount of people attempt it believing they''re well prepared, and they don''t get to tell anyone they were wrong after the fact.


    I imagined it was only after taking the first test that you truly understand how difficult they were. It''s easy to underestimate a situation you never personally encountered. The worst part of all was that you didn''t get any help when you took it, all test must be taken alone.


    That was all something I could worry about later. I needed to focus on getting level 2 before I worried about level 10 and beyond.


    The issue was for a towns person like myself who didn''t often go into dungeons, leveling up was a long process of completely mundane task. If you weren''t in combat it took years to level up just once in most cases.


    Almost all the people I saw in town that were level 9 were on the other side of 40. I couldn''t wait and do things the conventional way if I wanted to reach level 10 anytime soon.


    The guard who was 19 looked much younger than any of the level 9 people in the town. That got me thinking about why going back to level 1 may be a big deal for someone like myself, who lived and worked in a town. From the point of view of everyone in this town, I just lost a total of 16 years of experience.


    If you assumed that they believed I would stay in the village and work here the rest of my life I probably wouldn''t reach level 9 till I was 60 at that rate. No wonder they saw it as such a big deal. Of course, I wasn''t about to go that route.


    After I finished exploring the town there wasn''t much else I could think to do, so I came home and went to my room to think about my situation. My sister wasn''t here, I guessed she was out getting food to cook for dinner.


    I took out both small purses. One which had the money my other version stole and the one I was given today. I had 22 gold coins, 10 silver ones and 18 copper ones.


    I didn''t know exactly what that meant, but i knew it was enough to get me started. I divided the coins between the 2 purses and put one purse in each boot with a little more in my over sized boot. It felt more comfortable this way.


    First thing tomorrow I would travel to the next town over. I needed to gather information and get more familiar with the area. I tried to practice a bit of swordsmanship using an empty hand and doing some moves I thought made sense because i saw them in the movies and on TV.


    I was glad there was no one here to see me as I was confidend that I looked incredibly stupid while doing this. I was hoping it would help me learn some kind of sword skill. I was not surprised when that didn''t happen.


    I lost track of the time as I continued what i will politely call my practice. A knock on the door made me jump in surprise and give a quick look around. The very vision of a brave adventurer indeed.


    ¡°Brother, are you in there?¡±


    ¡°Yes, what''s up?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I didn''t hear you come home and the door was closed so i just wanted to check¡±.


    ¡°It''s okay, I''ll be out in just a second.¡± I made sure I looked like someone who wasn''t jumping around like a psycho for the past 2 hours before I left my room.


    I went into the kitchen to see some newly bought unprepared food on the table which my sister was putting aside for later tonight.


    "You''re back early.. Are you feeling okay?" She was putting a few of the items away in an old cabinet as she spoke.


    "Yeah, i''m fine." I hesitated for a moment before I continued.


    "I lost my job today, that''s all." She dropped an onion as she spun around.


    "What? Why?" she picked it back up and placed it on the table.


    "Howard said he couldn''t have me there anymore since I lost my chef skill. Anyway it''s fine."


    "It''s not fine! I''m going to go down there and give Howard a piece of my mind. He''s lucky you decided to work for him in the first place."


    She was looking around for something that I assumed she planned to use to hit Howard over the head. With nothing appropriate handy, she picked up a cob of corn and headed to the door in a huff. I couldn''t help nearly doubling over in laughter at the sight.


    "Come back here and put that down. What do you think you''re going to do with that anyway?" She gave me a frown, but put it down and sat at the table with her arms crossed.


    "Well i''m never going over there again. All the food he served there besides yours was crap anyway." Since this little ball of anger didn''t know what to do with herself, she decided to stare angrily at the pantry door as if it was responsible.


    "Like i said, it''s fine. I wasn''t going to work there much longer in any case. I was getting ready to do something else." She gave me a surprised look.


    "So what do you have planned?"


    "Actually, I''ve decided to become an adventurer. You know, making money hunting monsters." She gave me a worried look.


    "That seems pretty dangerous. People die doing that all the time I hear." She started looking more depressed thinking about the worse case.


    "Well don''t worry about me. I''m going to be extra careful. No way is your big brother going to let some stupid monsters get the better of him, right?" She didn''t look convinced but then another thought crossed her mind.


    "Don''t adventurers need to travel a lot to go to dungeons and stuff? There aren''t even any dungeons that close to town." I rubbed the top of my head at her comment.


    "I guess there will be a fair amount of travel, but that could be nice too. I''ll get to see a lot of the world, which is something I wanted to do anyway."


    She looked away from me for a moment, but then returned her gaze with a big smile.


    "Well, if that is what big brother wants to do, then you should definitely do it! I know you will be the best adventurer there ever was!"


    This kid really had a bad poker face. I don''t think I¡¯ve ever seen a more sad smile in my life.


    "You know, if you want, after I have everything sorted out, would you like to come live with me instead of staying here?" At first I thought I was taking pity on her by helping her get away from my horrible father. It wasn''t until after I said it I realized that I actually wanted her to come stay with me.


    She played with her hands in her lap, looking at the floor.


    "Aren''t you worried I may be a bother?" I got on a knee and put my hands on her shoulders until she looked at me.


    "You''re my sister, you''re never a bother. So don''t think that for a second." She jumped off the chair and threw herself on me with a hug.


    "Yes, I''d like it very very much to come with you." I would like to think that this was all about me. But I couldn''t help but feel it had more to do with getting away from her father.


    How could my other self abandon such a sweet girl like her? Deep down could I really be that cold of a person? Maybe I didn''t know myself as well as I thought.


    For that matter, what did he really know about me? What made him so sure that he could trust me to look after her? Was he that sure, or did he just not care?


    If I was in his place I don''t think I could have ever done the same thing. Or did I already, because he did?


    I refused to believe that. I don''t think I could have ever done that no matter what situation I was in.


    As her hug ended, I thought it really was nice, having someone who cared about you this much. Having family, a real family, what family should be.


    After using her shirt to dry her tears and seeing her real smile, not the fake one she showed before, she turned her attention back to the food.


    "Then lets make this a special celebratory meal about you starting a new adventure!"


    We talked about all the places we would go, she had so many that she wanted to visit and I had no idea what any of them were. Of course i promised we would see all of them eventually. In part, because she made them sound really great, but mostly because she wanted to go there.


    She talked about how maybe she could be an adventurer too. I told her we''d see about that but I didn''t make any promises.


    It went on like that talking about all the things we''d do until dinner was ready.


    This really smelled good. You''d think I''d get sick of stew but she seemed to have so many interesting ways to make it. Right before we were about to begin, my father drunker than I think I have ever seen in any world, stumbled through the door.


    A drink was still in his hand and his eyes fell immediately on me sitting at the table.


    ¡°So, my failure of a son. I heard you lost your job today. What else could I expect?¡± He grabbed a bowl and started to carelessly toss stew in it, spilling some on the floor my sister spent the whole morning cleaning.


    ¡°Now what am I to do? Can you answer me that? I''ll need to pay for all of us to live all by myself. No one is ever going to hire your worthless level 1 ass again.¡± He dropped the bowl on the table, causing more stew to splash out.


    ¡°And getting married? Getting a loan to buy your own home? That will never happen now. What man in his right mind would agree to wed his daughter to you? You expect him to give up his daughter to a worthless man like you and pay a dowry on top of it?¡± He laughed at the thought.


    My sister for the first time managed to speak up in shaky words.


    ¡°F-father, it won''t be so bad. I can get a job to help out in the meantime. B-besides, brother-¡±


    He gave her a look that caused her to let out a small gasp. She brought her gaze firmly down to her lap, going silent.


    ¡°You always stick up for him. You always treat him like he walks on water. Well look at your foolish brother now. And what about me? Where''s my respect, huh? You''ve always been an ungrateful bitch. I put a roof over your head and do I get any appreciation? No!¡± He slammed his hand down on the table.


    Her eyes filled with tears. This wasn''t the look of a young woman being reprimanded. This was the look of someone who has been walked over her entire life. She froze in her seat and stared down into her lap with dead looking eyes.


    She looked even smaller than she usually did, and she was very small for her age. She spoke out in a soft monotone.


    ¡°I''m sorry father, you''re right. I''ll try to be better. I''m sorry for being so useless. I''m sorry for being so stupid. I''m trying my best. I-¡±


    I saw it now. This was probably the real reason the other me wanted to leave deep down. My real father was no prize and a piece of trash. But this... I wouldn''t stand for this one second longer.


    ¡°Maybe if you weren''t such a useless fucking drunk all the time you wouldn''t have to worry about money so much.¡±


    My sister looked up at me, shocked, and then to my father. Her gaze finally ended where it had begun. Back in her lap.


    He slowly stood from his chair a bit uneven on his feet. If he wanted a fight that was fine by me. I always wanted to take a swing at my old man, but it was never worth the trouble. It would be worth it now.


    He might have been thinking of trying just that. But as he stumbled and leaned over the table, he decided against it.


    ¡°You will leave this house tomorrow morning. I will not support a filthy little fucking leech like you. Get the hell out of my sight.¡±


    ¡°I was going to leave tomorrow no matter what you said.¡± But not alone. The original plan may have been to get her once I was all set up, but I wouldn''t let her stay with this man one day longer.


    I walked to my room and closed the door. I''d find a way to make it. Level 1 be damned. I was going to the top of this world and I was not going to waste another day here. I was also going to make sure my sister had the life she deserved.


    I let that thought hang in the air. When did i start to think of her as just my sister, and not my sister from another world? Well, I wasn''t about to take it back. That''s what she was now as far as I was concerned.


    To let off some steam, I tried some more empty handed sword training that was no doubt useless. Eventually I started to feel more tired then angry and called it a night.


    ....


    I woke in the middle of the night to the sound of footsteps nearby. It was dark, and my eyes were still foggy with sleep. I tried to reach for the candle to get some light so I could see what was going on. 3 hands grabbed me and i felt something heavy hit me over the head.


    I was carefully, and quietly, dragged out of bed and to the center of my room. I felt myself being picked up and carried. The hazy semi-consciousness i was experiencing turned into full fledged unconsciousness after I felt myself lifted.


    When I came to, my hands were tied behind my back and my ankles and knees were tied together. I tried to speak but something was stuffed in my mouth. I heard one man whisper to another.


    "Looks like he''s awake. Let''s finish this up fast. I don''t want to be noticed." My vision began to focus and I saw my father walking toward me.


    "Hello son. It seems like you were holding out on me. I found that little gift for me in your boots. You didn''t even think to share any of that with your family? You always were a little ingrate weren''t you?" I shook my head and my vision cleared more.


    I was in some sort of carriage, but not one build for comfort. There were bars on the side that looked very sturdy. My father turned his attention away from me as one of the other men approached him.


    ¡°5 gold coins is the price.¡± One of them said.


    ¡°The going price is 8 gold coins.¡± My father spoke in indignation.


    ¡°That was before he lost all his levels. You''re lucky were offering you that much. Not to mention that you dragged us out here in the middle of the night on such short notice. With him being level 1, we''ll be lucky to make anything off him at all." My father shook his head, feeling cheated. He turned his focus towards me.


    ¡°Even now, you''re a disappointment.¡± He turned back to the other two.


    ¡°Fine, 5 gold coins. Just make sure you take him far away. I''ll tell my daughter he ran off in the night. But if she finds out he was sold off, it could cause trouble.¡± The money was put in my fathers hand.


    They looked around to check if they were being watched. They were on edge. Clearly this wasn''t legal, but it did seem profitable.


    ¡°It''ll be fine. You said he''s never left this town before. No one will know who he is. We''ll just say he was born into it. No one believes the word of a slave anyway.¡±


    And really who wanted to believe the word of a slave? If they told you that they were kidnapped, or illegally sold, would you look into it and gracefully take the loss? Or would you beat them till they shut up and got back to work?


    I tried to scream, but the gag was well made. With the transaction finished, my father didn''t even spare me a look as he headed into the house. I heard the small whip of the reigns, and felt the carriage begin to be pulled along with me inside.


    At this moment I was sure of it, I made a terrible mistake coming here.

 Chapter 4

    We rode through the night. I needed to go to the bathroom after a few hours, but no one asked my opinion on the matter. Eventually, nature won out. I would have felt a little worse about it if I didn''t think I could smell the remnants of former passengers who did the same.


    I tried to count how long it took me to go from my house to where ever I was going. If I ever wanted to see my sister again that would be good information to have. I knew the name of the town, but that was all. For all I knew, any other number of towns could have the same name. If I lost my bearings I may never find her again.


    After what I thought was seven hours of riding, the son came up and we entered an open field. There were a few more wagons that also contained some unfortunate passengers like myself. As I looked them over, I noticed that one of them was a guy with cat ears and a tail.


    I would have been more interested if not in my current situation. In the center of the field was a cart much bigger than the rest. People from the smaller carts were being forced inside as the men in charge of the large cart talked to those who drove the smaller ones.


    Gold exchanged hands as each new slave was inspected. One man seemed to have the sole job of looking closely at each new item that was being brought in. It wasn''t long until he came to stand before me.


    He signaled to the one who seemed to be in charge and whispered into his ear. After hearing what the inspector had to say, he walked over to the kidnappers who brought me to him, not looking the least bit pleased.


    ¡°You brought me a level one slave? How the hell am I suppose to sell that? I guess some people had the ability to look at others and see their status screens without them being opened. A good thing to remember when I got out of this. Well, if I got out of this.


    ¡°Someone will buy him. The mines always need young men don''t they? If worse comes to worse just give him to a brothel. Most men don''t care what level ass they stick their cock inside if it suits their taste, yeah?¡±


    He tried to sound as confident as he could. He knew my value wasn''t much. I was hoping that might turn out to be helpful. It wasn''t sounding very helpful at the moment.


    ¡°Fine! I''ll give you six gold coins for him.¡± He signaled to one of his men to throw me in with the rest.


    ¡°We already paid six gold!¡± The two lied.


    ¡°That''s hardly my problem. Next time bring me better product.¡± After more haggling he threw in two silver pieces for their trouble. He didn''t want them to stop bringing new slaves back to him and it was a small price to pay.


    Once in my new transport, one of the others was kind enough to untie me. I was oddly happy to discover I was not the only one to have wet themselves. I did feel bad for the only one that shit himself, but better you than me.


    The scene looked just about how you would picture it. Some were huddled in a corner looking off into the distance at nothing in silent shock. Some were crying. A few claimed they were kidnapped and were part of a free lineage making this illegal. They were hit with clubs by the slavers and told to be quiet, or their tongues would be cut out.


    As I suspected would happen, there was one person who wouldn''t keep silent. The slavers expected this and were prepared. He was roughly pulled out of the carriage and held down. I thought of trying to make a break for it when the opened the cage, but the points of their spears convinced me otherwise. One particularly nasty looking guy pulled a dagger and some pliers out of his bag. I don''t want to go over the details of what I saw, but they clearly didn''t mean what they said as an idle threat.


    He was put back in with the rest of us. His shirt still covered in blood and a cooked meat smell from were they applied the fire to stop the bleeding. After that, the carriage became as silent as a cemetery. The smell in the air made me feel a little hungry if I¡¯m being totally honest. I didn''t get to eat much for dinner last night, in my defense.


    The way the men moved so purposefully to do what they just did convinced they inevitably ended up doing every time they gathered together. For a moment I pictured a field littered with old decaying cut out tongues. It was better not to think about that right now.


    Once everything was set and all the gold was paid we were on the move. There was no cover from the sun so I took my shirt off to put over my head. A few followed suit, but others just sat as still as a statue. Still not believing that was happening to them. I watched as their faces turned red with sun burn.


    It was late in the afternoon when I arrived at what I will call the holding area. We were all forced inside a large, but not large enough cell. The ones who moved too slow for the slavers liking had whips and clubs generously used on them to quicken their pace. I was surprised how fast I fell asleep that night. Maybe it was being awake for so long or not fully believing this was really happening to me. In any case, a nightmare filled sleep came rather easily.


    In the morning we were woken up with a loud yell and the sound of rods banging against the metal cage. We were fed the worse food I''ve ever seen, smelled or tasted. Then we were sorted by age, gender and race. Most of us were human, but there were a fair amount of beastkin too. They were put in their own group.


    We were told to strip, washed off roughly and handed plain looking clothing. At least the clothes were clean. After we were clothed we were put in chains. Each of us had our wrist chained together. A long chain attached to the left ankle of every person in the group. This forced us to walk slowly in unison. I was surprised when no one tripped.


    We were marched out of the tunnel and then on to a large stage. Slavery look to be big business in this world judging by the crowd. From then on it became a fairly tedious affair. One by one each group was marched up. One individual at a time had his ankle unchained and was made to stand on the block while the auctioneer spoke


    During the time in my cell I contemplated the situation I was in. Clearly it was pretty bad, but that didn''t mean I should just give up. I had to be as proactive as I could given my limited options.


    I knew I was about to be sold into slavery and there was nothing I could do to stop that. That didn''t mean I couldn''t control anything about the process necessarily. I knew being sold to the mines or a brothel would be the worse case scenarios. The brothel was bad for obvious reasons, but the mines would be even worse in a certain sense.


    I had no doubt that if I went there I would be forced to work until the day I died. That I would be guarded heavily along with a large group of other slaves. Escape would be nearly impossible. I had to avoid that at all cost.


    I tried to think of anything I could do to make sure I landed in the best situation possible. I looked into the crowd. I tried to learn something about the people buying these slaves and what kind of businesses they ran. I kept track of who was being sold to whom and what was said about them when they were put on the block.


    The people who bought the pretty girls were the brothel keepers. Those who tended to buy the young men where miners or involved in other physical labor fields. Some slaves who had odd skills were sold to more selective buyers. One slave who had the skills of being a LVL 4/10 flute player and a LVL 5/10 dancer was sold to someone that appeared to work in the entertainment industry.


    That was the kind of owner I needed. The problem was I didn''t have any skills I could show in my status. I was likely to be as a miner at this rate if the auctioneer had his way. I had to make a bold move. It was a risk, but I had to do something. What did I have to lose? Well, my tongue I suppose.


    After looking into the crowd closely, I found my main target. A young girl around my age, give or take a year. She had a severe kind of beauty. Blond hair that had been put up in a very fancy style and blue eyes with a thin but somewhat shapely body, but that wasn''t important. What was important is that her clothes screamed highborn, and the way everyone else acted around her made it clear that was the caseThis novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    She hadn''t moved an inch and nothing had come out of her mouth this entire time, save for a few yawns. Everyone else beside her guards kept a good distance. She was at the very least a lords daughter.


    It would probably mean a fair amount of comfort comparatively to working in the mines or being a prostitute. I may be given opportunities there I wouldn''t elsewhere, which could make my escape more likely. I had to find a way to be sold to her. Well, seeing how bored she looked at the proceedings, I would have to find a way to unbore her first.


    Suddenly, it was my turn. There was nothing to do except to go for it.


    My ankle was unchained and I was led to the middle of the block, My status screen and level was explained to those gathered. A lot of groans came from the crowd hearing I was a level one with no abilities.


    Well, fuck you all too! If you don''t like it then set me free already. Sadly, that wasn''t something it seemed like they were about to do. Just like everyone else before me, the bidding was opened. The auctioneer instead of throwing out an opening price waited for someone in the crowd.


    A representative for the mines begrudgingly offered seven gold coins, that was the lowest bid of the day by far.


    I gathered my courage and stood tall. It was time to make my move.


    ¡°Sold!¡± The auctioneer said immediately after the seven gold coin bid.


    What. The. Fuck. He didn''t even try to let anyone else bid. No other slave here had sold for under ten, and that including the children and elderly. I didn''t even have a chance to say anything. They were all happy to move right along and consider more valuable property.


    I saw a guard coming to pull me towards the poor souls bound for the mines. The shock of it wore off. Fuck it. Let''s do this!


    ¡°Not so fast my kind sir!¡± I yelled to the auctioneer who looked at me, shock plain to see on his face. A slave speaking was clearly not allowed and highly punishable I imagined. I saw him motion one of the guards to make it clear to me that such disruption of today''s events should not be allowed.


    ¡°I find that offer of seven gold coins insulting!¡± I walked towards the crowd to create space between me and the guard. Trying to steal the momentum of the situation.


    ¡°I''m not some low priced slab of meat worth a measly seven gold coins. I tell you all today, my word to the mother herself, that I am by far the most valuable slave this auction has ever or will ever have the privilege of selling, and I demand to state my case!¡±


    I was hoping swearing to the mother was a big deal in this world and it would catch their interest enough to listen. Not waiting for permission I pressed on. The guard slowed down looking confused about what to do to the auctioneer, he couldn''t believe what he was seeing, everyone now had their eyes locked on me and seemed at least curious to hear what I would say next.


    ¡°I have the type of abilities and skills you could only dream a slave you owned possessed. It''s true that I recently lost my levels, but I tell you this, that is the only reason you are not all desperately trying to outbid each other for me.¡±


    I faced the left side of the crowd. ¡°I was educated by only the best teachers. I can read, write and can do complex arithmetic of all kinds including fractions, algebra, statistical analysis and geometry. For instance sir, are you aware that if all sides of a triangle are equal in length than all angles must also be equal to each other?¡±


    The man I directed my gaze at gave me a look that illustrated he had no clue what the hell I was talking about. I turned to the right side of the crowd.


    ¡°Are you ma''am aware, that there are exactly 206 bones in the human body?¡± In her confusion she gave her hand a glance, like it would give her some kind of confirmation.


    ¡°Not only do I have an educational background even a noble would be envious of, I''m also one of the greatest inventive minds of our time. Why, I could tell you a way to produce 100 copies of a book before even the fastest scribe could produce 1 by hand.


    And that is just the beginning of the abilities I have to offer. If you buy me now, I swear to you, even if you were to pay one thousand gold coins, you would think it was the best purchase you''ve ever made.¡±


    No one moved or said anything for a moment. I got the impression no slave has ever gone on stage and tried to sell themself so vigorously. Soon they all snapped out of it and the auctioneer again motioned to the guards. Just before one was about to drag me away, to do god knows what to me, the sound of a young girl laughing turned everyone''s head.


    It was the young noble lady I saw before. She doubled over with laughter at my outburst. She was only visible to me because everyone else had previously given her such a wide berth. She looked at me as she was wiping a tear from her eye.


    ¡°Amusing, very amusing. One thousand gold coins you say? You''re worth that much are you? You must have an ego the size of the entire empire.¡± She managed to get her laughter under control. The auctioneer cleared his throat and spoke nervously.


    ¡°I apologize for his outburst lady Armingtage. I will have him punished severely for his actions if they''ve offended you.¡± She waved her hand as if to swat the apology away.


    ¡°There''s no need for that. But with your permission, I''d like to ask this slave a few questions. He claimed he had the education to make even a noble jealous. I wish to test if that''s the case.¡± She didn''t wish to test me. She wished to humiliate me for her enjoyment. The coy smile on her face told me so.


    Normally you wouldn''t hold up an auction to indulge the fancies of a young lady, but no one in the crowd seemed keen to try to do anything to stop her. The auctioneer gave a nervous look around to see if there was anyone who could tell him what to do in this situation. In the end, he decided to let the lady do as she pleased.


    She started by asking me to spell simple words. She was a bit surprised at my ability to do so. So she made them harder as a challenge to me. I picked up the pace of my spelling to challenge her back. I had her attention now, and I wasn''t about to lose it.


    Foreign? F O R E I G N. Philosophy? P H I L O S O P H Y. I did my best to make her questions seem trivial and not worthy of my effort. Her face reddened. I preformed the arithmetic she instructed me to. After I was done I gave myself harder problems than she gave me and solved them for her.


    She asked me to explain the idea for my invention, so I did. She seemed confused by it but was curious to hear about the details. After several more attempts to show her superiority over me, which I denied her at every turn, she was nearly overcome by a fit of rage before going silent.


    I let the silence hang between us, refusing to speak until she did. I let my gaze hang on her as she tried to stare me down. I wasn''t challenging her back with a stare. I was going for more of a passive watchfulness. Like someone watching snow fall outside of their window. After what seemed like forever she broke her eye contact and let out a breath.


    ¡°Fine. Maybe I can find a use for you. You''d better not disappoint me though, I hate being disappointed.¡± She turned to the auctioneer.


    ¡°I''ll take him for ten gold coins.¡± The auctioneer paused at her pronouncement. He didn''t expect this to happen. Why would he? It never has.


    ¡°My lady, I apologize. But I''ve already agreed to sell him for the price of seven gold coins. I''m afraid I can''t go back on a sale. I beg my lady''s forgiveness.¡± He gave her a deep bow. She shrugged and turned her attention to the man who bought me.


    ¡°I''ll give you ten gold coins for him. That gives you a profit of three¡±. He rubbed his chin looking at her. That was a nice profit for sure, but he wanted to see if he could do better.


    ¡°Many apologies, Lady Armingtage. But after seeing his skills, I don''t believe I could let him go for anything less than.... twenty?¡± She rolled her eyes at him and gave me an annoyed look like this was all my fault. I guess it was.


    ¡°So be it. Twenty gold coins it is.¡± She snapped her fingers and a man rushed over holding a purse. The man who bought me seeing this happen spoke again.


    ¡°My lady, I said I couldn''t give him away for less than 20. But after thinking about it, shouldn''t his real price be more like thirty?¡± She turned her sole attention on him. Clearly, that was the wrong thing to say.


    ¡°We had a deal for twenty. Are you going back on a deal you made with the house of Armingtage?¡± She crossed the distance with him. Everyone else backed away as she moved forward making it clear they had no involvement with him.


    ¡°My lady, I meant no disrespect. You''re right. I''m a fool who misunderstood that our negotiation was over. Please forgive my mistake.¡± He bowed deeply.


    ¡°And how do you plan to apologize properly? You insulted my house. Do you think your words are enough?¡± She gave a smile that indicated she loved nothing more than playing with her food before she ate it.


    ¡°You''re right my lady. Let''s knock the price down to your first offer of ten, Along with my sincere apologies.¡± She didn''t look impressed. She made a motioned to one of her guards. The man''s breath quickened as his mind raced to guess what she may have just ordered him to do.


    Lady Armingtage turned her attention to the clouds, as if she saw something fascinating happening in the sky. The man seeing the guard approach spoke quickly.


    ¡°Sevens gold pieces my lady. Why should I make a profit off him? If the young lady wants him I won''t stand in your way.¡±


    The guard showed his status screen for the world to see. Jameson Carter with a level of thrity nine. His hand went to the grip of his sword as he was mere paces away.


    ¡°I''ll give him to you for free my lady. A gift to go along with my sincere apologies.¡± He fell to his knees with his hands clasped together. She finally took her gaze away from the clouds.


    ¡°Free? Are you sure? You don''t need to go that far!¡± She mocked surprise.


    ¡°Yes, of course my lady! Take him for free and please forgive my foolish words!¡± He bowed so far that his head touched the ground.


    ¡°Well, if you insist I suppose.¡± She walked away without another word, leaving him groveling to empty space. He no longer held any interest to her. She came over to look at me with the same expression on her face I imagine a cat to have as it played with a mouse it just caught.


    I knew then it would be very important that I keep being entertaining to her, if I knew what was good for me.

 Chapter 5

    Everyone had to wait until the auction was over to buy their slaves and be off, with the lone exception of Lady Armingtage. After one of her guards secured the bill of sale I was unchained and motioned by the level 39 guard to follow. I knew trying to run wasn''t an option so I walked with the group towards the lady''s carriage.


    Once we reached the carriage I was ordered by one of the guards to walk behind the precession and if I slowed them down I would regret it. The Lady would of course be inside and all of her guards had a mount they would be riding. With no choice I started to make my way to the back.


    ¡°No, I want to talk to you. Come inside the carriage.¡± The other guards looked to her in surprise and then looked to the man who I assume was the ranking officer; the level 39 guard Jameson Carter.


    An imposing figure who stood well over 6 feet tall and was at least 220 lbs of pure muscle. The light tone of his black skin gave me the feeling he had some kind of mixed heritage, but I wasn''t about to ask. I couldn''t help but think he looked a bit like a smaller version of ''The Rock'' from the movies. Still much bigger than me of course. He gave Lady Armingtage the slightest bow I have seen anyone dare to give her yet.


    ¡°My lady, I must remind you that riding with a slave would be considered highly inappropriate for a lady of your station. Not to mention he isn''t trustworthy. We don''t know anything about him. If you insist on it being so, then I should ride in the carriage as well.¡±


    ¡°I don''t care what others consider appropriate. As for him not being trustworthy; he has proven he''s smart at least. That means he is well aware of what consequences he''ll face if he tries to do anything he shouldn''t.¡± She said the last part facing me.


    ¡°Aren''t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lady.¡± I bowed. She smiled at my response.


    ¡°See, he''s a fast learner. It''ll be fine. I''ll call you if I need anything.¡± The guard certainly didn''t agree it was fine but there was nothing else he could say. He gave me a deadly glare; I felt a strong killing intent push against me. I wanted to yell out to him ''you don''t need to hit me over the head with your killing intent, I get it already''.


    I walked into the open carriage door and closed it behind me taking the seat across from her. She looked at me in complete silence as if waiting on me to speak first, so I didn''t. This appeared to be some kind of pissing match. I imagined most people usually wouldn''t dare look right back at her as I was doing. But I knew she didn''t want the usual, so I held my gaze and the silence. A smile spread across her face and she finally broke the silence.


    ¡°You have a lot of gall. I''ll give you that.¡±


    Her smile left. ¡°Show me your status screen. I''m going to ask some questions and I expect you to answer honestly. I''m pretty good at spotting liars, and as a word of caution, you really don''t want to lie to me.¡±


    I did as she told me and showed her my status screen.


    ¡°So you really are level 1 with no experience. How odd. You know, they say owning a slave who lost his levels is a bad omen. Fortunately for you, I don''t believe in luck.¡± She leaned back and looked at the countryside through the small window as we rode.


    ¡°You probably think you did well to escape the mines. Be warned that if you get on my bad side you will wish they had taken you.¡±


    The look of surprise at her comment made it''s way to my face. She caught it out of the corner of her eye and raised an eye brow. a bit surprised to see my shock.


    ¡°What? You thought I didn''t know what you were doing up there? I could very well be insulted by that. I hope in the future you give me more credit.¡± She turned her full attention back to me.


    ¡°Being a slave is a tough life. But your better off with me than in the mines. Don''t think for a second I didn''t catch your glances at me before your little display. You were doing everything you could to get me to buy you. Perhaps because you''ve become infatuated by my beauty?¡± She smiled playfully. She wanted to try to push my buttons, so I pushed hers back.


    ¡°It''s true you''re beautiful, but that''s not the reason.¡±


    ¡°I advise you to be careful with your words from now on. You can speak like that if we''re alone, but if you ever speak that way in front of someone else they''ll see you whipped for your insolence.¡±


    ¡°I spoke like that because it''s only us here. You said you didn''t want me to lie to you right? I may not know you very well, but I can say with some confidence that you hate the mundane and when people dress up their words or hide behind niceties instead of speaking plainly. I get the distinct impression that if I didn''t speak this way in front of you it would be as bad an idea as speaking this way in front of others.¡±


    She leaned back seeming pleased with me.


    ¡°You''re right. I certainly don''t want you to bore me and you should do well to remember it. But I didn''t buy you just to entertain me and pass the time.¡±


    ¡°Technically, you didn''t buy me.¡± She paused for a moment at that.


    ¡°Hmm, I guess that''s true. But the point stands. You promised that you would be worth 1,000 gold coins. Were you boasting just to get out of a jam, or do you really believe that?¡±


    I paused thinking of what to say. She told me not to lie to her. Realistically with all the information in my head I''m surely worth much more than 1,000 gold coins. I doubt anyone would believe that though. After debating it internally I decided to go more towards truth than lies.


    ¡°I honestly believe I''m worth that much. I don''t know if I¡¯ll ever get the chance to prove it, or if I want to.¡±


    She gave me a long look after that. She seemed happy I didn''t back down. I''m not sure she believed me but at the least it seemed she didn''t get the sense I was lying to her.


    ¡°You better be right about that. Since I got you for nothing, I wouldn''t care if you weren''t even worth 1 gold coin from a value perspective. I only care that if you say something to me that you can back it up. It doesn''t matter if a slave I own can move a pebble or a mountain. I only care that they do the amount they say they can. I''ll consider your evaluation a promise made to me since you stand by it.


    You may think I was only trying to get a better price on you with the way I tormented that fool who bought you. I want you to know I was very serious with my threats. I don''t tolerate anyone breaking their word to my house, even if it''s a rich merchant representing a mining company. How much worse do you think I''ll do with a slave who breaks his word to me?¡±


    She let that hang in the air between us before continuing.


    ¡°You may think me cruel, but I say this for your benefit. I want to be clear on what is expected of you and what will happen if you fail. I''ll have you know that taking you was a risk on my part. I''m a lord''s daughter and my slaves should reflect that standard. The fact that I bought a level 1 slave who made a spectacle of himself at the auction will cause gossip and reflect badly on me unless you surpass everyone''s expectations.


    I don''t plan to be made a fool of on your account. I could pass you off as a sign of soft hearted charity or spontaneous fancy. It would make me look slightly weak or foolish but it be overlooked and forgotten soon enough. But if I take a risk on you because you promise you can deliver and fail to, I won''t forgive that. However, if you manage to prove me right with your actions you will find me to be very generous.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Tell me how it is you ended up falling to level 1.¡± Of course I didn''t fall to it, I came into this world with it a few days ago. But no matter how sincere I sounded she would never believe that.


    ¡°I honestly don''t know. I woke up two days ago and it was like this.¡± Her face was unreadable.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°I''ve heard stories of how people have lost their levels before. They go from humiliating to horrible. And yet you tell me you don''t know? I think you just don''t want to admit the truth of whatever happened.¡±


    ¡°I''m telling the truth, 2 days ago I was just suddenly level 1. There was nothing I did that caused it.¡± That wasn''t entirely untrue. I didn''t do anything to cause myself being level 1 except coming into this world. She seemed skeptical but let it slide.


    ¡°Where did you learn all the things you mentioned on stage?¡± Again, it was impossible to explain. I''d need to think of a good lie.


    ¡°My mother worked for a lord. She picked up on a lot and even was gifted some books for her services. She taught me everything she learned.¡± She seemed to believe that.


    ¡°You said there are 206 bones in the human body. Is that true or did you make it up?¡±


    ¡°It''s true. Actually there are more when we''re just born but I forget the exact number. I learned it from an expert healer. I don''t recall his name I''m afraid, but I know it''s accurate. I know a few other medical facts too but I''m not sure how useful they are in any practical sense.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get the idea for that invention you mentioned?¡± This one question made her particularly interested. She still didn''t fully understand the invention, but she understood enough of it to see how interesting the idea was.


    ¡°It''s something I just thought up myself. I''m not sure of exactly how to make it, but the theory and idea are sound.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I will hold you to all you said. Personally I wouldn''t mind you riding the entire way back, but my guard is correct. It wouldn''t do to have you treated above your station when we arrive. You''ll have to walk the rest of the way. It will only take about an hour so you should be able to manage fine. Once there I''ll tell you who to report to and figure out what to do with you after that. Since you claim you are worth the risk, I''ll figure out a way to give you a chance to prove yourself. Just as an Armingtage expects others to keep their word, we also keep ours."


    Clearly this was not a suggestion and our conversation was over. I moved to get out of the carriage.


    ¡°By the way, when we''re alone you can call me Madeline. I never liked being referred to as Lady Armingtage. Dismissed.¡±


    I nodded and got out of the carriage. They didn''t stop on my account and I had to be careful not to trip while jumping out with the road moving beneath me. The walking pace was a bit fast but it wasn''t so bad with the mostly flat road. I took in the scenery and tried to pretend I was out on a nature hike for as long as I could manage it.


    I felt a little down until I remembered what I''d accomplished. Step 1 is done. Don''t end up at the mines. The next step is to make myself absolutely indispensable to Madeline and show her how valuable I am. Once I do, I''ll see if I can get her to do something about my sister or if the chance comes, make my escape.


    I moved one foot in front of the other until we reached one of the biggest mansions I''ve ever seen in any world. If this is just the mansion of a lord then what kind of monstrosity does the emperor live in? I knew that not all lords would be equal and the thought now crossed my mind that the Armingtage house may be very high up in the pecking order.


    The 3 guards dismounted their horses and a servant quickly rushed up to open Madeline''s door.


    ¡°Welcome home lady Armingtage. I hope your journey went well.¡± As she gave a small bow she put me in mind of a sweet hearted granny who loved nothing more than spoiling her favorite granddaughter.


    ¡°It went well Susan. I purchased a new slave actually, so I''ll be putting him in your care. Get him settled in and then let my father know I have information about a certain mining company. I don''t think we''ll be wanting their business anymore.¡± So much for forgiveness I guess. She could hold a grudge, I¡¯ll give her that.


    ¡°It shall be as you say lady Armingtage.¡± Once Madeline had entered the mansion followed by the head of guard, Susan waved me over with the least amount of effort possible. Only raising her hand slightly and curling in her long thin fingers twice. She now stood completely straight and gave me a look over.


    ¡°You don''t seem like much. But my lady doesn''t usually buy a slave for no reason, so maybe you''ll be of some use. Give me your hand.¡± I did so only to see her put a single thin metal cuff that locked around my wrist. I guess it was to mark my new position. I saw one on her as well.


    ¡°So you''re a slave just like me? How many slaves work in this huge mansion?¡± I thought it would be wise to try to gain some information from someone who was also in my situation. For my trouble I received a slap across the face.


    ¡°I''m certainly not like you. You''ll remember to call me ma''am when you speak to me. When I tell you to do something you will do it or you will be punished. I may serve the lord of this house but everyone else here jumps when I say and you will be no exception. If you give me trouble or attitude I¡¯ll have the skin flayed off your back.¡±


    I didn''t say anything. The look of the sweet grandmother was gone. I felt my anger rise up but kept it down to her disappointment. She was hoping I would step out of line. She motioned to one of the lower level guards who accompanied Madeline.


    ¡°To cure him of his snarky mouth that speaks without permission, I want you to show him where the garden is. He can pull weeds out until midday. That will help him learn how things work around here.¡± The guard didn''t bow to her but he didn''t contradict her either. He had no metal band around his wrist but here he was, taking orders from a slave. It seems the dynamics here may be a bit more tricky than I thought.


    I already managed to get on the bad side of someone I certainly didn''t want to get on the bad side of. I took comfort in the fact that was probably inevitable. I doubted she had much of a good side. I was marched to the garden and got on my hands and knees to start pulling out weeds. Just as I started I heard a bell high in the mansion ring 11 times.


    I shouldn''t have been surprised that this place had it''s own way to keep time. It probably had just as many moving parts and just about as high of a population than the town my original self was from. Truly this single residence was a small town unto itself. There was never a moment since I arrived that I didn''t see someone doing something.


    Right as noon came I saw the woman I had now nicknamed in my mind as the evil granny emerge from the back slider door. She motion me over with the same motion as before. A slight smile on her face after seeing the cuts on my palms.


    ¡°Do you have anything to say now slave, or have you learned to shut up and do as you''re told?¡± I swallowed my pride. There was no point trying to take a stand right now. Save it for later.


    ¡°I''ve learned my lesson ma''am¡±. She gave me a satisfied grin. I spent my time in the garden trying to think of what I did to make her hate me so much. In the end I came the the conclusion it must be because I called her a slave. She had clearly gained some power here and liked to exert it. Perhaps anyone reminding her of her true position was intolerable to her.


    ¡°Good. Follow me.¡± She turned and walked away and I followed quick on her heel. We took a left turn and then a right one. I tried to remember everything I was seeing and get a layout for the place. I realized that would take a while. A staircase heading down appeared on the left and we descended it.


    ¡°This is where the servants and slaves stay. The servants are on the left wing and the slaves are on the right. I was informed you have no skills so I will put you on washing dirty dishes for now.¡± She pointed to a younger but similarly unfriendly looking woman.


    ¡°This is Helen. She runs the kitchen and will be going there shortly to make sure lunch is prepared on time. You will work for her and do as she says from now on without question. If I hear you''re not preforming adequately you will not get anything as pleasant as weeds duty again.¡±


    We walked to the very end of the long hall, passing several empty and unused rooms until we got to the smallest and least comfortable two at the very end. I was directed to the room on the right.


    ¡°This is where you will stay until I decide you''re worthy of something better. I''ll have new clothes and a bath brought over to get you cleaned up. You must do your job and look presentable at all times as property of the Armingtage House. Remember that.¡± As I was about to go into my new room she grabbed me by the shirt


    ¡°You''d do well to remember this too. Things can always be worse. I''ve had more stubborn lads than you come here and I''ve broken every single one of them. If you do as you''re told and prove your worth something, maybe I''ll consider giving you a better room and a bit more comfort after a year or two.


    The lord of this house has given me free reign to run it as I think best. Everything here works as precisely as clockwork and I will not have some level 1 failure ruin that for me.¡± She motioned me into my new room.


    I quickly got inside and closed the door. There may be just enough space to lay down in here if I didn''t end up growing anymore. I sat on what I generously called a bed and thought over what to do now. Clearly that evil granny was not going to help me toward my eventual goals.


    I found it interesting that there were better and worse rooms for slaves. It was probably something to gain more control over them. Make them worry about their own place in the slave hierarchy and focus on that instead of any thought of escape. They probably received different quality of food and some may even be able to keep a few comforts.


    It somehow made the system seem all the more insidious. Work hard and be loyal to our house and we''ll gift you a nicer room, some comfort, a few possessions and a cushier job. Your freedom? Don''t worry about that silly thing. Oh, you tried to escape? That''s a lashing and it''s back to the bottom of the ladder for you. A good warning to everyone else.


    In the end if you rise up high enough you may not even think it''s all that bad. I shook the thought out of my head. It was something I shouldn''t worry about. I had my own considerations to be occupied with.


    I needed to focus entirely on Madeline. I''d need to first become her personal servant. That would get me out of this shit hole and away from the watchful eye of that crazy old hag. If anyone was going to screw up my eventual escape I was confident she was the most likely one. So creating distance would be important.


    After I accomplished that I could focus on gaining more freedom of movement. I noticed guards everywhere and I was sure there were some that I missed. I would need to learn the layout, guard rotations and overall security of this place. After that I could start working on the best plan and get the supplies I needed together.


    I heard a knock and the sound of a bucket and wooden tub being placed down. I opened the door to see my new clothes and what I would use to wash myself. The tub wasn''t any bigger then the one I used before but I wondered how I''d fit that in my tiny room. I guess I''d find a way cause I sure as hell was not going to wash myself in the hallway.

 Chapter 6

    After washing and dressing I reported to the kitchen. It took a few wrong turns but eventually I managed to find it. Did I mention this place is huge yet?


    ¡°You''re late.¡± Helen said over her shoulder as she inspected the meals. I''m pretty sure she would''ve considered me late if i somehow managed to teleport directly into the fucking kitchen. She pointed to a sink full of dishes and told me to start scrubbing.


    There was nothing else I could do for the time being. I was sure Madeline would send for me sooner or later. She didn''t bring me here to be a the houses permanent dish bitch, even if everyone else thought that''s all I was good for.


    For better or worse, she had bigger plans for me and I would just need to sit tight until she made her move. I figured it would be tomorrow at the latest but I was hoping for tonight. Maybe once we talked I might be able to get her to force Susan to move me to a bigger room .


    As I was scrubbing a particularly stubborn ostain off a pan I noticed a young gorgeous beastkin mopping the floor next to me. If I had to guess, I would say she was a fox type. Somehow she managed to look both frail and strong at the same time.


    She had the typical orange fox color for her hair, which looked more puffy and fur like than the human variety. Her large ears were on top of her head. They were orange with black along the edges, with a white dot at the tip of each ear. Out the back of her dress was a hole where her fox tail stuck out. It was thick, fluffy and reached all the way down to her calves. The tail was covered with orange fur except for the last inch which was as white as fresh snow.


    Her eyes looked almost human. Only under close inspection did you notice a sharpened top and bottom of the pupil. The golden iris in them gave off a mesmerizing glow. Looking at her hands which held the broom they were slightly big for a woman. The main thing which caught my eye were her nails, if you could call them that.


    They were more like claws which had been filed down. The thickness and sturdiness they possessed suggested that if she ever grew them out they would become fierce weapons. No doubt she was ordered to keep them filed. A slave walking around with hands that would give Freddy Krueger an orgasm was probably frowned upon.


    On her wrist i noticed the same metal cuff as mine. Unlike me, she had a sadness and resignation in her eyes that made me want to drop everything and comfort her.


    She stopped mopping and looked up at me nervously. I didn''t even realize I was staring at her. Our eyes locked for a moment in time. I was about to apologize for being weird.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing? Get back to work!¡± Helen yelled. I turned and got back to scrubbing. I just started working in the kitchen and I was already about to get my ass chewed out.


    ¡°Lameria, are you causing trouble again?¡± Helen rounded on the beastkin to my surprise.


    ¡°No ma''am.¡±


    ¡°Stupid beastkin. Why did they even bothered to bring your kind here? Better to have your entire race tossed into the ocean and be done with it.¡± Helen slapped her across the face. Lameria didn''t move or flinch. She accepted the slap head on like it seemed she had done hundreds of times before.


    ¡°You''ll finish mopping this room.. Then you will report to Susan and tell her you''re causing trouble. Don''t you dare think of not reporting to her as I''ll check later. I imagine she''ll think of an appropriate punishment for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes ma''am, sorry ma''am¡±. I took a quick glance at everyone else in the room to see how much hate I was getting for making another slave look bad. Oddly enough, all the dirty looks were focused on the beastkin. Some mumbled as they glanced at her. The word I thought I heard the mumble the most was ''filthy'', but I couldn''t be sure.


    I went back to cleaning. For a moment I blamed myself for getting the fox girl in trouble. But once I let myself stop being blinded by the guilt, I concluded they would''ve found something to blame her with today eventually. From the reactions I saw I guessed that most people here hated beastkin. At some point they would''ve found an excuse to punish her.


    Once all the dishes were clean I spent the rest of my time doing odd jobs till dinner. Then more dishes. It was a full time job in a kitchen that served this many people.


    When dinner was finally over and everything was clean, the slaves were allowed to eat. Sadly for me, the slaves in the kitchen ate last as we had to prepare food for the other slaves in the house. Still, the food was pretty good. They couldn''t use the best ingredients or anything too pricey but they certainly knew how to cook and make the best of it.


    After we were done eating we cleaned up the mess. I had to stay late because dishes took the longest to finish. I was so busy that I only got to eat about half my meal by the time Helen was getting ready to retire. Right before she did she grabbed a bowl, filled with what can only be called slop, and put it next to me.


    ¡°I don''t want any messes in my clean kitchen, finish that in your room and bring it up in the morning. You''re at the end of the hall, correct? Knock on the door opposite yours and bring that bowl with you." She pointed at the bowl and left without any further explanation. Just as she left the bells gave a soft ten rings. I doubted they would ring anymore for the night.


    I grabbed my plate along with the bowl that was full of, whatever the hell it was full of, and made my way down stairs. At the end of the hall I knocked on the door across from me. I wasn''t at all surprised to see the fox girl open it. She gave me an unsure look and then held out her hand. It was cut up in the same way mine was, but more seriously. Weeds duty. Susan clearly isn''t the original type.


    ¡°May I have the bowl please sir?¡± It seems that even I, the worthless level one slave, was above her. I thought about what happened earlier that day and handed her my half eaten plate. Surprise filled every inch of her face.


    ¡°Um, thank you sir, but I¡¯m not worthy of it.¡± She checked the hall to see if anyone was looking. Perhaps she thought I was playing a trick on her, or it was some kind of test.


    ¡°It''s fine. I''m curious to try whatever is in this bowl anyway.¡± She gave a weary look but her eyes soon found there way to the plate. She bit her lower lip slightly and gave an audible gulp in her throat. After another look down the hall she took my plate and quickly closed the door. It would''ve been nice to get a ''thank you'' at least.


    I took the bowl, which was now the rest of my meal for the night, to my room. After a few mouth fulls I was still pretty hungry but gave it up. It was twice as bad as it looked and three times as bad as it smelled.


    I spent what i assumed was a good twenty minutes trying to rearrange my bed''s stuffing to make it as comfortable as possible. To my surprise, I achieved a small success. At least I wasn''t being poked in the ass and back anymore. I laid down and closed my eyes. A soft knock on the door brought me to my feet just as I was starting to doze off. I opened it to find the beastkin holding my empty plate that I was clearly licked clean.


    ¡°Thank you for the food sir, but I don''t think it would be wise for me to hand them your plate back in the morning.¡± I took the plate and held out the bowl. When she saw that I barely touched it, shame filled her face.


    ¡°I''m sorry I ate all your food sir. I shouldn''t have been so greedy.¡± She brought her hands together in front of her. I probably should''ve felt more empathy in that moment, but to be honest it was the cutest thing I¡¯ve ever seen. Her tail went between her legs and her fox ears drooped down, I waved my hand to signal it wasn''t a problem. I pointed to the bowl.


    ¡°If you don''t mind me asking, how long have you been eating that food and living in that room?¡± I saw her doing the math in her head.


    ¡°I''ve been doing both ever since I was brought here when I was about five years old so... I guess fifteen years sir.¡± I couldn''t believe it. Fifteen years of living in that small room and eating this horrible slop. It wasn''t my job to save everyone or solve every injustice in the world, I''m sure there were thousands more who had it as bad as her and many who had it worse. But I decided after hearing that, if it was possible, when I left this place she would be coming with me, assuming I could convince her.


    I didn''t know what to say to her answer. I sure as hell wasn''t going to mention escape right now. she took the bowl in her hands and thanked me again before softly closing the door.


    The next day was more of the same. Except it started earlier. I went to the kitchen to make breakfast for the Armingtage family and the numerous guest they hosted that day. I learned that guest were a very common thing for them. They always had at least a dozen, probably due to this mansion being where most of their business was conducted was my guess.


    As the slaves were eating their breakfast I realized that I didn''t see anyone take out a bowl of slop to give to Lameria. I wondered if I missed it or if someone saw us and she got in trouble. I was relieved to see her in the kitchen around lunch time. She didn''t look like she had been punished again. I suppose that meant we weren''t seen. She mopped the entire kitchen not daring to look at anyone, including me. Just as she left the kitchen an unknown servant walked up to me.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Lady Madeline demands your presence, go directly to her room.¡± He was about to turn away before I stopped him to ask where her room was. I was not about to go opening random doors up stairs.


    I assumed a slave walking in on someone without permission because they didn''t know where to go wouldn''t be a valid excuse to avoid a harsh beating.


    I made him repeat the directions twice to be sure that I had it. From the kitchens I had to go one flight up the nearest staircase, take a left down the hall, when that hall ended I would take a right down the other hall. It would be the 4th room on the left. When I arrived I found the door was already open. Madeline waved me in and motioned me to sit down across from her. There were two comfortable chairs and twocups of warm tea on the table between us.


    ¡°So how have you been doing? Are you getting settled in well?¡± She walked over and closed the door so our conversation could be a bit more private.


    I told her that it was going as well as could be expected. It wasn''t lost on me that so far the only woman who actually had a claim on me was much kinder to me than most of my fellow slaves.


    She wanted to know everything I''ve been up to and what duties I''ve been put on. She rolled her eyes and called it a waste. I wasn''t about to say she was wrong. Thus began our long conversation.


    First she wanted to learn in painstaking detail every single skill I had. What subjects I was versed in and which ones I wasn''t. Obviously history was not a strong suit considering the world I was in but just about everything else was. I didn''t only read fiction, I was an all around nerd.


    She was surprised to learn how complete my education had been once she investigated it. I saw the wheels turning in her head about how best to use the information she gathered.


    ¡°Well, your job in the kitchens will do me no good, and I suppose it''s safe to assume you would prefer something more fitting your abilities?"


    "You very well know I would." She smiled at my comment and leaned back in her chair.


    "As it turns out, I have an idea. A second cousin of mine is staying here. To be totally honest he''s a bit of a brat, but he does need a tutor who is versed on all the basic subjects.


    We have one that we usually use, he''s in charge of my studies and those of many other young ladies and lords of other houses. He claims that teaching children as young as my second cousin is beneath him and he''s refused to do so on several occasions, even when we offered him double the pay. We''ve yet to find anyone else. So how would you like that to be your new job?" She gave me a smile, pleased with her suggestion.


    ¡°It would be better than dishes, but I really don''t like little kids to be totally honest. ¡±


    ¡°Is that all you have to say? It''s a very comfortable job. You get to sit in a nice room. Food is served to you and you get a break until your lunch is over for the same amount of time the young lord does. You''ll even have access to the library. You can take books out if you say you need information to help with a lesson plan and no one will question you. That can benefit you tremendously. It''s a great idea. You should be on your knees thanking me for coming up with it."


    ¡°You already know it''s a great idea. You don''t need me praising you to confirm that. Besides, you said he''s a little brat so I doubt this will be as comfortable a job as you say. Of course I''ll do it in any case, as it''s the best option I have.¡± I swallowed some of the tea. I wouldn''t say I''m an authority when it comes to tea, but it seemed pretty damn good. She leaned forward looking me directly in the eyes.


    ¡°If you spoke to anyone else like that, they''d have you whipped.¡±


    ¡°I know, but that''s part of the reason you like me right? I speak to you like I would anyone else if I wasn''t in this absurd situation I''m in. Besides, didn''t we have an agreement we could talk this way when it was just us? You said that you keep your word and expect others to keep theirs.¡±


    She picked up her tea and gave me a smile. ¡°It wasn''t an official agreement, but I suppose there was a strong implication.¡± She took a generous sip. With my job situation settled i thought the best thing to do would be to find out a bit more about my benefactor.


    ¡°So you know how my time here''s been so far. How about you? Did you get to talk to your father yet about that jerk that tried to get you to buy me for thirty gold?¡± She smiled.


    ¡°I did in fact. It will send a good message to everyone else when his mine loses half its business this year¡±.


    I really couldn''t feel bad for the guy.¡° And to think, if he was less greedy he could have made an easy 13 gold coins. Dumb people will always find a way to ruin a great opportunity won''t they?¡±


    She nodded at my statement. ¡°That they will." As the bells rang she stood up. "Anyway, staying in this room any longer without supervision is probably a bad idea until you''re more established. You''ll need to go back to the kitchens for now. If I can, I''ll have this all set up so you can start tomorrow. The next day at the latest. So just hang in there, bite your tongue, and don''t do anything stupid."


    I nodded and thanked her as I left the room. Here was my first chance to improve my situation since arriving here. I would need to make the best of each chance i had.


    I reported back to the kitchens and continued with the routine I started yesterday. Dinner was served for the house and guest. After we cleaned up dinner for the slaves was prepared. I was still the last to get my food.


    Before I had the chance to eat anything, for the second time today a slave walked up to me I didn''t know.


    "Susan wants to see you immediately." What the hell did that evil granny want? Well, lets get this out of the way and be smart about it. I asked for directions twice, just as before.


    I expected her room to be downstairs with the rest of the slaves, but she was actually on the first floor where the guest stayed. The only slave in the house who held such an honor I was told. I knocked on the door.


    "Enter." She even managed to sound like a bitch with just one word. I didn''t know what to expect before opening the door, but it certainly wasn''t this.


    There was a large comfortable looking bed, beautiful paintings decorating the wall. A window with a lovely view along with various treats and liquors visible. I only saw a bit of the pantry but it looked fully stocked with food that looked much better than the slaves or even the free servants received. She looked to be treated just like any other honored guest.


    ¡°Sit down William.¡± She motioned to the least comfortable looking seat in the room, which was far more comfortable than any other seat I''ve sat on since coming here, besides the one Madeline offered me. She sat across from me on a couch with a drink in her hand.


    ¡°I heard Lady Madeline called for you today. What did she want from you?¡± I almost asked how she heard about that, but no doubt she heard about many things that went on in this house.


    ¡°I''m afraid that''s a private conversation between me and Lady Madeline, on her orders.¡± I added that last part at the last moment. I don''t think she believed me, but I don''t think she could challenge that either.


    The only way to confirm it would be to called Madeline here. Even if given a good deal of authority by the lord of this house, trying to summon Madeline to confirm what i said would be awkward to say the least. After putting down her drink she brought her hands together in front of her chin and leaned forward slightly invading my space. She looked as if she was trying to read my mind as her eyes slightly squinted. She spoke in a curt manor with each word cutting the air as it escaped her.


    ¡°I don''t know what you''re planning, but I didn''t get where I am today by letting uppity slaves like you do as they please. I don''t like schemers, particularly when it comes to the slaves of this house. If you think you''ll be safe from me by getting into the young lady''s good graces, you''re gravely mistaken. Lord Armingtage would be very upset if I told him you were trying to do something inappropriate with his daughter.¡± I feigned shock.


    ¡°I''d never do any such thing of course, nor would I even suggest it. The mere suggestion of such a scandal would be a stain on the honor of Lady Madeline and the Armingtage house. That wouldn''t be very smart for anyone imply. If someone said that and it managed to get out, Lord Armingtage would no doubt be furious at the person who said it, wouldn''t you agree ma''am?¡± She pointed her bony finger at me.


    ¡°You walk a very thin rope boy. Be careful you don''t choke yourself on it. And remember this well, everyone in this house is just another set of eyes for me. Don''t think anything you do escapes my notice.¡±


    ¡°Of course not ma''am." I paused for just a moment looking past the finger into her eyes before continuing.


    "Is there anything else I can do for you at this time ma''am?¡± She didn''t want to let it end here, but she had nothing else she could say. Also, if she over stepped here and I did have some kind of relationship with Madeline, it might not be a smart move for her to antagonize someone her potential future boss favored.


    ¡°Leave me.¡± She waved her hand as if swatting a fly angrily to dismiss me. When I left, in retrospect I thought I may have been a bit too bold. But fuck it, it felt great.


    I went back to the kitchen to get my full plate which was full. Helen again told me to finish it in my room so I didn''t make a mess here. I was also to take the bowl next to my plate to the room across from me. She left the kitchen immediately after giving me the order. I managed to hang behind a few seconds more to make sure the coast was clear. I quickly added a few more items to my plate before leaving, now that I''ve learned where they were.


    People were still out in the hall by the time I arrived. I knocked on the door across from me and handed the fox girl the bowl. She took it and quickly closed the door. I went to my room and waited about fifteen minutes. Once I was sure everyone was in their rooms after peeking out of my door I walked out into the hall.


    Luckily, there were four empty rooms down from me on either side so I was confident we wouldn''t be heard. I quietly knocked on her door. She slowly opened the door and peeked out.


    ¡°Hello, would you care to eat together?¡± Her fox eyes fixed on my plate and i could here her give a very clear gulp. She opened the door and let me in. Once inside, she quickly shut the door behind me and gave me a questioning look


    "Why are you doing this? Um, I mean, Why are you doing this sir?¡± She felt nervous at her mistake and now was worried that she may have offended me and would need to be punished.


    ¡°You don''t need to call me Sir. Just William or Bill is fine.¡±


    ¡°Okay, why are you doing this... William?¡± She paused before saying my name, as if the unnatural act took effort.


    ¡°I was thinking about what you said last night. About being in this cramped room for fifteen years and only eating that slop, and-¡± Suddenly I remembered something about this morning I wanted to ask.


    "By the way. I didn''t see you get any bowls for breakfast. Was there some kind of problem?¡± She looked to the ground


    ¡°I''m only allowed one bowl a day Si-, I mean, William.¡±


    ¡°Do beastkin usually only eat once a day?¡±


    ¡°It doesn''t matter how often a beastkin usually eats. I get fed once a day and I''m lucky to get it!¡± The trained response told me all I needed to know. I decided to go back to the question she asked.


    ¡°Well to answer your question, when I thought about being here for fifteen years in this room with nothing but this slop, I tried to put myself in your place. I imagined what someone offering to share a plate of half decent food would mean to me. When I consider that, how could I not offer to share with you?"


    She shook her head at my response ¡°If they find out we''ll get in trouble. We shouldn''t be doing this.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Well, if you don''t want it then...¡± I held it in front of her face waving it back and forth. The smells of all the delicious food was intoxicating to her.


    She shook her head clearing her head from the daze the food caused and sat up straight. ¡°Well, since you''re here that means the damage is already done I suppose, so I may as well.¡± With no chairs in her room we both sat on her tiny bed and ate next to each other.


    I enjoyed the company and doing something nice for her. But I would be lying if I said that I didn''t have any ulterior motives. . Not that I wouldn''t have done this without them. But I needed as much information as I could get about this place. And she had fifteen years of it.


    And yes, maybe the fact she was incredibly hot played a part. Sue me.

 Chapter 7

    Lameria was tentative to talk at first, but as the night wore on she opened up little by little. Did I use the fact that she''d been lonely for a long time to get the information I needed? Yes. That doesn''t mean that I didn''t care.


    When possible I steered the conversation more towards more practical matters and this enabled me to learn a great deal from her. This house held between 30-50 people depending on the day, not counting the servants which made the number at least double. That number skyrocketed when they hosted parties which were a relatively regular occurrence.


    Most people in the main Armingtage family lived here. That included the current head of the family, his daughter and only true born heir, Madeline, a number of the head''s siblings and their children among a few others with a slightly more distant relation.


    About half of the people who worked here were slaves and the other half were servants who had served the Armingtage family for years. They often worked closely together but the servants did have a rarely spoken of higher standing.


    Then of course there were the guards. The three I saw with Madeline when I was first brought here were only the tip of the iceberg. Lameria told me she thought there were around twenty at all times but so far I''ve spotted less than half that. I imagined many were good at not being seen if they didn''t want to be, which could be an issue for any escape plan, not to mention watch dogs or other security measures I may not even be aware of.


    I thought I''d be relieved knowing a bit more about what I was up against, but I felt worse. Getting the beastkin to come with me was sounding more like a necessity than a kindness. Without her years of insider knowledge this was looking more and more hopeless. The question was could I talk her into risking it?


    To be objective about it, our odds didn''t sound very good unless a lucky situation popped up that distracted everyone. In any case it was something to consider for later. I would make it a point for us to have many more conversations in the future to see what else I could learn. I had no other ulterior motives for wanting to be around her, so don''t even suggest such an improper thing.


    Morning came all too soon to welcome in another day of hard work. I quickly got myself presentable for the day. I need to give the Armingtage house this; the rooms might be small and the beds uncomfortable but they knew how to dress their servants and slaves. Very fancy high end stuff. We must keep up proper appearances for our guest after all. They only deserved the best right?


    I was starting with my typical kitchen duties. The good thing about being stuck on dishes is as long as you did them reasonably fast no one bothered you. Helen could hardly be called a kind woman, but at least when it came to humans as long as you did your job well she didn''t go out of her way to give you crap.


    Right after breakfast was served I was about to have one of my busiest times of the day, a servant told me that Madeline demanded my presence immediately. Perfect timing, have fun doing those dishes whoever else gets stuck with it. Better you than me.


    I knocked on the door and was told to enter. I opened it to see Madeline and another woman I didn''t know sitting on her sofa. I would guess she was about 30 years old and she looked a bit like Madeline. Maybe an older cousin perhaps? On the floor was a young boy who was too busy ramming his toys into each other to take notice of me. I was motioned to sit in the chair across from them. She gave me a look over that indicated she was far from impressed before she spoke.


    ¡°Lady Madeline has told me that while you may not look it, you may possess the ability to be an able instructor to my little Jeffrey. Do you believe this to be the case as well?"


    ¡°Yes Ma''am I do".


    ¡°Before I consider you I''d like to see your status screen.¡± I should have known this was coming. I did as I was told and kept silent. She wasn''t about to listen to anything I had to say anyway. It was up to Madeline now to sell my abilities.


    ¡°What is this?" The woman turned towards Madeline and continued.


    "You said this slave possessed the ability to be an able tutor. Not only does he lack any educational skills but he''s level one. Is this some kind of joke?¡± She pointed toward me the entire time as if she could be talking about anyone else in this room and had to make it clear she meant me..


    ¡°He does have the ability. I know his status screen leaves much to be desired, but I assure you that Jeffrey''s education will be in able hands." Madeline looked to me and then to the woman, she moved closer towards her on the sofa. Whispering just loud enough for me to hear.


    "I shouldn''t be telling you this but..." She hesitated and looked around. That was clever of her. If you want someone to listen to you, start off by saying it''s something they shouldn''t know.


    "But what?" Madeline looked to Jeffrey and gave a look to the older woman. Well, now she was interested. She bent down to speak to her son.


    "Jeffrey, would you be a big helper to Mommy and go to the kitchen and tell Helen that we''d like some tea sent up?" Jeffrey gave an annoyed look and pointed to me.


    "But a slave''s right here. Make him do it."


    "Mommy needs to talk with him for a minute. Go on now and be a big help to mommy won''t you?"


    "Fine." He acted like a quick trip to the kitchen was a monumental inconvenience. Putting his toys down that were on the verge of breaking, due to him slamming them together over and over, he slowly walked towards the door. He really was a fucking brat. As soon as he left the woman asked Madeline to continue.


    "Not long after buying him I inquired about his past to confirm if he had the abilities he claimed. It was highly difficult to discover as the whole event was covered up, but what I found was rather shocking." Okay, where was she going with this? She looked at me quickly and continued.


    "You see, this slave use to be one of the most promising young scholars on the far side of the empire. While not a noble, his intelligence and wits were enough to make him one of the few commoners the empire took an interest in educating. He was groomed from a young age, destined for perhaps a job in the treasury or maybe even one of the assistants to an adviser of the emperor himself! The older woman was surprised to hear this. She looked at me and then towards Madeline.


    "Then how is it he''s here now?" Madeline tried to look embarrassed for what she was about to say.


    "While it''s true he has talent in certain areas, he has weaknesses in others. He couldn''t seem to control his most basic male impulses." The older woman nodded but was unconvinced.


    "That''s unfortunate, but it certainly doesn''t explain-". Madeline interrupted her to increase the dramatic effect on what she was about to say.


    "You''re right of course. But these weren''t... normal impulses." The older woman''s look told me she was even less likely to want me to educate her kid at this point. I hoped Madeline knew what she was doing.


    "What were they exactly?" Madeline faked building up her courage to answer.


    "He.... he seduced and bedded elderly women. Dozens and dozens of them. Maybe even hundreds. The older the better from what I was told." Really Madeline? I''m sitting right here you know. Couldn''t you have made something else up? I couldn''t help but get embarrassed at the look Jeffrey''s mother was giving me. Madeline continued.


    "He liked the Matriarchs of noble houses most of all. Poor old ladies who were left behind by their late husbands. Once he seduced them he would whisper in their ears all manor of depraved acts that he wanted them to perform."


    "W-what kind of acts?" Madeline looked to me before leaning into the woman''s ear with a hand on the side of her mouth. I couldn''t hear anything they were saying but the look on the woman''s face grew more and more pale. Did she really need to lay it on this thick? The woman''s mouth open in shock.


    "He did WHAT with their loose skin!?" The woman shrieked. Madeline brought her mouth closer to her ear and continued to whisper for a while more. Soon the whispering was done and Madeline leaned back on the couch.


    "In any case once this was discovered it was agreed they couldn''t have him in any position of power as the noble houses would be offended by such a thought. And they couldn''t exactly let him walk free either with the potentially damaging information. Execution was thought of as a possibility but that would set a bad precedent and no one wanted a public trial. Assassination was becoming the most likely option, even though it could lead to other problems. Instead he chose to keep his life by selling himself into slavery.


    Seeing as the mother already punished him by knocking him down to level 1 again it was thought as a good solution to be rid of him. No one would believe the word of a slave, particularly a level 1 slave. After that he was sold to the far side of the world and they were glad to be rid of him." Jeffrey''s mother considered the situation.


    "If this is true then I don''t think I want someone like him teaching my son in any case." Madeline laughed


    "You have nothing to worry about, he truly only likes old ladies. Nothing else interests him. Right slave?" She looked to me. I never thought it would come to this. Sigh.


    "Yes ma''am. I only like old ladies. The older the better." Jeffrey''s mother gave me a disgusted look, but Madeline jumped in before she could say anything.


    "See? While he''s a deviant, it isn''t a problem for your son. As long as he''s a good teacher what does it matter in the end if he has an unhealthy obsession with old ladies or not?" That was true and she considered Madeline''s words. She moved in now to seal the deal.


    "Believe me, I checked his background as best anyone could. While he''s odd to be sure, he was always highly professional when he tutored young children in the past. Truly your son could have no better teacher. Why not take the chance? If for any reason it doesn''t work out we can just find someone else and it cost you nothing. You said you would need weeks to find an appropriate tutor anyway. Why not give him a trial run in the mean time?"


    She didn''t seem excited by the idea, but I could tell she saw the logic in Madeline''s points. She looked me dead in the eyes.


    "Because I have such a high respect for Lady Madeline''s opinion, I''ll consider giving you a chance. But if I suspect you''re doing anything inappropriate or trying to corrupt my Jeffrey...." She looked down just below my belt and then back up to my eyes.


    "I will remedy that problem immediately. Do you understand me slave?"


    "Yes ma''am"


    "You''d better. Dismissed."


    I left the room as fast as I could. Part out of fear for her wanting the remedy the situation before it became a problem and part out of sheer humiliation. I could tell Madeline enjoyed that far too much. On the way back to the kitchen I passed Jeffrey in the hall. He stopped directly in front of me.


    "Are you going to be my new tutor? I heard them talking about it before you came in." He looked me over not seeming too impressed.


    "I don''t know yet. I might be."


    "But you''re a slave and slaves are stupid." What the hell was this kid going on about?


    "Some slaves can be pretty smart too."


    "If you were smart then you wouldn''t be a slave would you?" This little prick.


    "Well, the world doesn''t always let people pick-"


    "Shut up slave. I know how this works. You have to do what I say. Those are the rules." Someone''s mommy didn''t teach him any manners it seems.


    "It''s more like I have to do what your mother says. Not you."


    "Nu-uh, you have to do what I say. My mom told me I can give slaves orders if I want. If you don''t do it or if you''re mean to me than I''ll tell mom you hit me, and then you''ll be in biiiiiiiig trouble." He then proceeded to stick his tongue out at me before laughing with a ''ha-ha'' and running back to his mommy.


    Fucking little fucking Jeffrey you fucking brat. I''ll be damned if I let some 6 year old brat ruin my plans. You hear me?The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The next day marked my first time as a tutor, and some 6 year old brat was ruining my plans. Over nearly 8 hours of tutoring nothing was accomplished. He never sat still. He didn''t want to read. When I said I would tell his mother he wasn''t behaving he threatened to tell her I hit him.


    If his mother wanted to ask him what he learned today, he wouldn''t be able to tell her one single thing. I knew she was going to be keeping tabs on my progress very carefully. If this kept up I wouldn''t be a tutor for long. Later that day after the tutoring was over I was ordered to see Madeline. I walked into her open room and closed the door behind me.


    ¡°So how did it go?¡± Straight to the point. I can appreciate that.


    ¡°It didn''t. I''m in a tough spot to be honest. I know I can''t just put him over my knee and if I complain to the mother she''ll take it as a sign of my incompetence."


    We tried to think of what to do about the situation but no good ideas came forth. I told her what Jeffrey said to me as we passed in the hall. She was not the least bit surprised and warned me that his mother would take his side over mine as he had done the same thing to other slaves in the past, even when everyone knew it wasn''t true, but his mother still sided with her little ''angel''.


    We tried to think of an idea to help with my tutoring but nothing came to mind. I would just have to try again. Maybe I could reason with him. 6 year olds are easy to reason with, everybody knows that.


    Tutoring didn''t mean I got to sleep in but it did keep me out of the kitchen for much of the day. I still had to go early in the mornings and after my sessions were over. Susan saw to that due to her insistence that a slave like me shouldn''t be idling around.


    Thanks Susan, you heartless bitch.


    The one good thing to come out of today''s tutoring was I got to eat an extra big lunch. When dinner came around I was able to let Lameria eat her fill off my plate and not go to bed hungry.


    That night after dinner I was thinking about my problem with Jeffrey. I had seen any number of movies where the wise old teacher corrects and guides the young but rowdy student and in the end both gain an appreciation for what they''re missing in life, forming a deep bond.


    That wasn''t in the cards with Jeffrey. He was a fucking pain in the ass the likes of which I''ve never seen. I swear if Dennis the Menace acted like this Mr. Wilson would have buried him in his basement. Mr. Miyagi would''ve crane kicked Daniel-san back to New Jersey or wherever he came from if he acted like Jeffrey.


    There was no enriching relationship to form here. Just my soon to be inevitable failure.


    Then in my wallowing the solution came to me, and with the help of Madeline I would be able to pull it off. It was so obvious that I don''t know why I didn''t think of it before.


    I was able to send a message to Madeline before the lesson started by talking to the slave that I knew attended to her in the mornings. I told the slave I had figured out a way to help Madeline with something. The slave looked at me strangely. Usually the messages only went one way. Masters send messages or summons to slaves, not the other way around. I insisted Madeline would like to be told this immediately and ordered me to try to get in touch with her the instant I had a solution.


    I suppose I could''ve tried to walk up to her room myself but I saw too many ways that could backfire. Not because Madeline would be mad about it so much as other reasons. I thought it was better to let me be summoned to her instead of going upstairs where i didn''t belong.


    10 minutes after the slave went upstairs I was summoned by Madeline. Good, I think we''d have enough time at this rate. As soon as I got to her room she asked me what I''d come up with. Once she heard my idea she instantly agreed it was worth a try and told me she would make sure I had what i needed before the lesson.


    Jeffrey arrived at the Armingtage library for the start of his second lesson. I was waiting for him sitting across the table. Here he was again, looking forward to another day of screaming and goofing off until his mom had enough of him being wasted on a failure like me. But I had other plans.


    Before he could say anything I showed him a plate filled with the most delicious looking treats he may have ever seen. Madeline had Helen personally working on them for the past hour. They finished mere minutes before Jeffrey arrived. His eyes lit up and he ran at me to grab the plate. I instantly put it high in the air and out of his reach.


    ¡°Give them to me!¡± He ordered.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Give them to me now you stupid slave!"


    ¡°Are you suppose to have treats like these?¡± He paused. Jeffrey''s over protective mother was very stern when it came to treats. Only on holidays and special occasions according to Madeline.


    ¡°You have to do what I say. If you don''t I''ll tell on you!"


    ¡°Okay, tell on me. Then I''ll be sent away and you''ll never ever get the treats.¡±


    The 6 year old logic in his brain was working now. There is no way he could get what he wanted no matter what he did unless I let him have some. With me being much taller than him and placing them high out of his reach I''ve completely out witted him.


    I reveled in my accomplishment of successfully out smarting a 6 year old. Check Mate. Flawless Victory.


    I may only be 16 but I knew well that using bribery on a child to produce good behavior could lead to more behavioral problems down the line and was a bad parenting method. But I wasn''t his god damn parent, and frankly I didn''t care how he turned out. I needed results and fast. That means I needed to get Jeffrey to do as I wanted today. Not a year from now.


    ¡°I''ll make you a deal Jeffrey. You want these treats and I want you to study. You can have me fired as your tutor if you want. But if you do then you''ll just get a new tutor and he certainly won''t give you any treats. If you agree to listen to me and do the lessons I tell you then I will give you one treat after each section of lessons we finish. That works out to several treats in a single day."


    He considered my words. I wanted to press my point home.


    ¡°No matter what you''ll have to learn it anyway. You can either learn it with me or someone else. Wouldn''t it be better to get something you want out of it?¡±


    That was very true. He could do nothing about having to do these lessons no matter what he did. He tried to get me to promise 2 treats per lesson to get him to agree. I told him if he wanted we could go down to 1 treat a day. In the end after his threats he relented and agreed to 1 treat per lesson.


    Part of the reason I stuck to my guns was because I couldn''t afford to have him get a stomach ache and tip off his mother. The other was I''ll be damned if I''m going to let a 6 year old set the terms on me. Beat your heart out Anne Sullivan. You may have taught Helen Keller, but you never had to deal with Jeffrey.


    Things started to work much more smoothly from that day on. With Jeffrey sworn to secrecy about our deal he started to make improvements. I would hopefully be his tutor for however long I needed to raise my status.


    I hoped soon that we could work the treats out of the deal once he got accustomed to following my orders. The chance of him losing his sweets probably bought his silence but I hated having to depend on a 6 year old not to slip up, no matter how motivated he may be.


    Jeffrey''s Mother was satisfied when she saw his remarkable progress over the next few days. Soon I didn''t have to go to the kitchens early in the mornings on the days I tutored. I was instead told to spend that time focusing on Jeffrey''s lesson plans for the day. I still had to go to the kitchens after the tutoring was done to help with dinner but getting that extra hour in the morning to relax was a big relief.


    I could have tried talking to Madeline about getting out of it but i decided against it for a number of reasons. Susan would feel better if she had this small meaningless victory and that may keep her off my back a little more. It gave me an excuse to move around different parts of the house and get a better layout. And I got to keep bringing Lameria her dinner every night which would make any other contact we may have slightly less suspicious.


    Overall I felt good about the direction things were going. It was still a long climb uphill but in under 2 weeks I''ve gone from a slave bound to the mines to a dish washer to the tutor of a young noble. I told myself that it would only make my story better to start out as a level 1 slave and climb all the way up to greatness. Of course I would have preferred and easier road over a better origin story.


    That night I wondered about my sister. Not the one from my world of course. I''ve been so focused on recent events and trying to work things to my advantage here that I''ve hardly had time to think about her. She was told by my horrible father that I left in the middle of the night without even saying goodbye. After over 12 years of seeing me, or the other me, every day. What must she be thinking right now after I promised she could live with me?


    And it was all his fault. I''m going to make that bastard pay. Not just for me, but for everything he''s ever done wrong to my sister too. I''ve been In this world for under 2 weeks and I''m already thinking of making a list like Arya Stark.


    Helen was no trophy but I would leave her off for now. She never gave me a reason to think of a nice thing to say about her and often did the opposite. Lets keep it to Susan and father for now with Susan in the maybe category.


    Things were really starting to settle into a routine. Each night I would talk to Lamaria and learn more about this place as well as about Madeline. I probably could''ve asked Madeline herself, but I thought better of that. She seemed pretty open with me but I didn''t want to test just where that line was unless I had to. This felt like the safer option and I could just add my first hand impressions too.


    Ever since I met Madeline I had thought she was about a year younger than me, but it turned out she was around a year older. I didn''t think that she looked that young, it was just the way she acted sometimes. She went from calculating woman to immature girl pretty quickly. I guess growing up in this situation with no outlet and not being allowed to have a real childhood may do that.


    I could say the same for Lameria. She clearly never had the chance for a real childhood but unlike Madeline she didn''t have any opportunities to act out about it. It made her an odd mix of contradictions. At times she acted like a young scared child if she thought she may have done something wrong. She never showed any agency or tried to take the lead. At other times she had complete focus and a no nonsense attitude when it came to details. Both were no doubt beaten into her daily as a child and even now.


    I learned she was about 4 years older than me and clearly looked it. A woman grown and fully developed. With all the time I spent with her it was hard not to notice.


    Trying to be her friend wasn''t easy. Not because she didn''t want a friend but because she had no idea how to act as an equal. Since the day she came here she''d been forced to treat everyone as a superior and it had fully become internalized at this point. Whenever she mention anything and I stated an opinion on it she would immediately drop any opinion she had and side with mine.


    The conversation we had as she just finished eating a moment ago was one of many examples.


    "Which of these foods do you like the most?" I asked her.


    "I like the potatoes the most."


    "I prefer the corn myself."


    She nodded at my proclamation. "You''re right. The corn is better."


    It''s gotten worse recently due to my new position. She still had a hard time calling me William, In some ways more than when we first met. I was a tutor now. A person who was put in a position of authority over a young lord. Even if he''s only a six years old brat, that''s rather prestigious.


    As I looked at her, flashes ran across my mind of us tangled on her bed. Thoughts of my hands running over her. My lips on hers. The delicious mix of firmness and softness that her body promised.


    She almost certainly has never had anyone do those kinds of things with her before. Coming here at the tender age of five and being despised by every person she''s ever met. Most of them couldn''t see her beauty through their hatred of her.


    Even if some of them did see it, they wouldn''t dare take her. Not because they would be told they did something wrong most likely, but because they had sex with a filthy beastkin.


    Having almost certainly never been touched or kissed before, wouldn''t she crave such intimacy if she only knew what it felt like?


    As I looked upon her beautiful face I found myself getting lost in it, My eyes glanced up and down her perfect body that was curved in all the right places. All thought vanished from my mind as I gazed upon this perfect creature.


    Without realizing what I was doing, I shifted closer to her on the bed. My thigh touching hers. My arm went around her waist while my other hand cupped her beautiful face. The heel of my palm was able to feel the edge of her deliciously soft red lips. I slowly leaned forward and pulled her to me, unable to take my eyes off them.


    For one single instant in time, a dark thought crept across my mind. More of an impulsive feeling than a fully formed thought, but to my ever lasting shame it was there. Even if only for single moment in time. As if the devil on my right shoulder whispered into my ear.


    You want her, don''t you William?To make her yours, all you have to do was command it. You know she''ll obey.


    I instantly pushed the thought away. What the hell was I thinking? Why was I trying to justify this? I wasn''t that kind of person was I? Didn''t I always say that I hated those kind of people. How would I feel if someone ever tried to force themselves on my sister?


    As I was beating myself up for being such an asshole I finally noticed Lameria and the scared look on her face. She moved her hands up slightly as if she was planning to push me back but decided to let them drop. She diverted her eyes from me but stood completely still in my hands. Her face went back to the blank and emotionless visage she had when I first met her.


    She was afraid to turn me away. What if I got angry and made her life even worse? I saw the look of betrayal and acceptance of that betrayal in her eyes, like she expected in earlier. I let go.


    ¡°I apologize. I''ve forgotten myself and must beg your forgiveness.¡± I took the empty plate and left to go to my room.


    I sat on my bed red faced. Filled with shame and the memory of her thigh touching mine. Of how good my arm felt around her tight smooth waist. The memory of the moment when I pulled her in and I could feel the softness of her chest against me.


    In the end the shame left after half an hour and those other thoughts won out. I was glad there was no one in the room next to me and I didn''t think Lameria could hear across the hall.


    It''s been building up for over a week at this point. Give me a break.


    The next night I quietly knocked on her door with food in hand but she didn''t open it. I tried to tell myself she just fell asleep early but with me holding her bowl and knowing she hadn''t eaten all day I doubted that.


    The night after that I knocked again. Probably due to hunger since she hadn''t eaten for 48 hours she opened the door, took her bowl and then quickly closed it. I didn''t dare try to talk to her at any other time. It would only cause more trouble for her and that was the last thing I wanted.


    Later that night I heard a quiet knock on my door that woke me. Luckily I was a pretty light sleeper. I opened it to see Lameria.


    ¡°May I come in sir?¡± I wanted to tell her to call me William, but the hallway wasn''t the place to have that conversation


    ¡°Yes, please.¡± It was the first time she''s entered my room, something about that made this feel rather exciting. No, now was clearly not the time to think like that.


    I didn''t know what to say so I said nothing and decided to let her speak first. I figured she wanted to give me a piece of her mind and had the right to do so.


    ¡°I must apologize for the past few nights. I realize now I was being selfish taking your food without consideration of anything you may have wanted. I also resisted you when it''s not my place to do so. This slave begs you to overlook her foolishness and is willing to do whatever is required of her.¡± I stopped her before she could get her shirt above her stomach. It was a perfect stomach by the way.


    ¡°I was in the wrong, not you. I apologize for my actions and I want to be clear that you don''t owe me anything. I shared my food with you because I wanted to. I just got lost in the moment and made a mistake. You did nothing wrong.¡± She gave me a look as if she wasn''t sure she believed me. I continued on.


    ¡°I would still like to share our meals together and I promise I''ll never ask you to do anything you don''t want to do. All I want is your company, but that''s entirely up to you. I don''t know about you, but I don''t have any friends here and I could really use one, if you''re willing¡±.


    She let her shirt drop to cover her stomach as she thought over what I said. I got the feeling she believed me, at least a little anyway. and that was a start.


    ¡°Okay, I''d like that too.¡±


    For the first time since I met her, I think I saw the hint of a smile on her face. But I could''ve just been seeing things.

 Chapter 8

    It''s been one month since our awkward encounter and the relationship between myself and Lameria has only grown stronger.


    As for my own prospects, they have improved dramatically. Word has been spreading around at the progress Jeffrey''s made, and now I''ll be getting another pupil tomorrow. Susan isn''t happy about it but she can no longer justify keeping me in the kitchen.


    It was argued that I needed time to study and form lessons since I''ll have 2 students from now on. I even get my dinner brought to my tiny cramped room. She thinks that she''s managed to keep me in that room at the least, but little does she know that I''m not trying to get moved. It gives me the privacy I prefer and lowers the risk for my late night meetings.


    My dinner''s cold by the time everyone else has gone to bed, but Lameria doesn''t seem to mind and I don''t mind eating cold food as long as we can eat together. We share my plate and talk every night now.


    There''s no longer anything else I can learn from her to increase the odds of my escape. I just need a better chance and hopefully time to convince my new friend to trust me enough to come with me. Now I just eat with her for the simple pleasure of human contact. Well, I guess it would be human-like contact in this case.


    Another upside is that i''m able to spend longer periods of time with Madeline and have it not be looked at with suspicion. People who were questioning her choice of buying such an odd slave are now forced to admit she made a wise decision. Like usual, she''s more than pleased to be proven right.


    Since I started tutoring I¡¯ve been learning a great deal from the books I¡¯ve been reading. The history of this land and the lore they have on monsters as well as dungeons will be particularly helpful. I had a great deal of theoretical knowledge before coming here and much of what I''ve read has refined that. While It''s great to learn this, until i get the chance to apply it the knowledge is meaningless.


    Besides learning about things that will hopefully help my future as an adventurer I''ve also put time into learning how the power structure works in this world, such as the names of a few other famous houses as well as specifics about the empire. There hasn''t been much in the books about this but I''ve been able to use Madeline as a resource to fill in the gaps. She''s always more than happy to answer my questions. It allows her to remind me that there''s still much she''s aware of that I¡¯m not, to her great delight.


    Tutoring has done wonders to raise my position but I''m anxious to move on. I''m quickly running out of things I can learn from these books that will be useful once I escape from here.


    What I need now is to become Madeline''s personal attendant, just like Susan is to Lord Armingtage. There are many benefits such a position would give me, but the most important of all is the vast freedom of movement it would eventually allow. If I could get the ability to move around the way Susan does then my escape would go from a long shot to an overwhelming statistical likelihood.


    As I was considering all of this and finishing up a particularly complex lesson with Jeffrey a number of status screens popped up.


    [Skill Gain: LVL 1/10 Teacher]


    [Level up: LVL 2]


    Interesting, I guess tutoring this brat was worth it after all. I opened my status screen to see the changes.


    Name: William Taylor


    Age: 16


    Race: Human


    Class: None


    Sub Class: None


    Skills: LVL 1/10 Teacher


    Level: 2


    Experience: 13%


    Constitution: 13


    Dexterity 12


    Intelligence: 18


    Strength: 14


    Wisdom 18


    Charisma 13


    Health 32/32


    Mana 32/32


    Stamina 16/16


    Attribute Points: 0


    Thinking back to how my status screen looked at level 1 I was able to figure out the effect the level up had. I gained 1 point in every stat, 2 points in health and mana and 1 point in stamina. I wondered if that might be consistent for every usual level up or if it varied. At least they can''t call me a useless level 1 anymore. Now I''m a useless level 2!


    I figured it would be the case, but just to be sure I gave myself a test to see if I''d gotten any stronger. It was hard to say without any weights around but overall I concluded that the answer was yes. It may have been only a small amount, but I was stronger. That means all the effects from the other stat boost probably worked as well.


    I didn''t have a manual or status screen pop ups which could explain in detail how each stat worked exactly. Would high intelligence make you a genius or was it mostly related with your ability to use spells? Would Charisma make you appear more attractive or just more inspiring? Did Wisdom have to do with mana regeneration perhaps? Was constitution just for health or did it have some kind of defensive multiplier? Could I raise my stats without leveling up just by hard work?


    These were things I needed to learn, but it may be no one knew all the answers I wanted. Maybe the terms I would use, as someone familiar with games, wouldn''t make sense to these people. I would probably just need to experiment and figure a lot of it out for myself to get the answers I wanted. What a pain.


    As I finished the lesson for today, Madeline summoned me to her room with what has now become another part of my routine. She wanted a daily update on my progress and I agreed it was a good idea to keep in contact. I also believed part of the reason she wanted to meet every day is so she could talk to at least one person who would speak to her without being intimidated by her title. Perhaps it had to do with me being from another world, but the title of noble or lord mattered a lot less to me than it did to everyone else.


    As I sat across from her drinking the tea that had been brought, I told her of the level up and skill I gained today. I expected her usual banter and wise crack comments but instead she gave me a simple and sincere congratulations. While getting the level up was nice, that wasn''t want I planned to discuss today.


    I could''ve waited longer to broach being her attendant by building up to the idea over the course of a few days, but the longer a bird stays in a cage the more comfortable and safe the cage starts to feel. I don''t want to be so patient that I get use to this situation.


    ¡°Madeline, I have something a bit more important I want to talk about with you than my level.¡± She gave me a look of surprise but seemed very interested in what I could want


    ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°As far as I can tell, I don''t believe you have a personal attendant. Is that correct?¡± She now knew where I was going with this, but in her usual style she wanted to play along and make me flat out ask.


    ¡°No, I''ve had them in the past, but I''ve dismissed each and every one as I found their abilities lacking. Why do you ask William?¡±


    ¡°I want the job.¡± She leaned back in her chair as she faked deliberating over whether to give me the position.


    ¡°So far you''ve done a great job I must say. If you want to be my personal attendant then you''ll need to do much more. It''ll mean a bigger work load and more skills that you''ll have to learn. If you really want the job I''d be more than happy to give you a chance I suppose. Just know that It doesn''t mean you get to skip out on duties you are currently doing right now.¡± I rolled my eyes


    "Don''t pretend that you believe I might not be able to do it. We both know I can and will do the job better than anyone else you could get¡±. She shrugged letting the game drop..


    ¡°I was starting to get worried that you hadn''t asked me this yet to be honest. For a while I thought you were going to happily stay in your current post. Most may think it''s good enough that I picked you and you were able to climb up to where you are. But I saw more in you and I want what you promised me. You''ve yet to deliver on that you know.¡±


    ¡°I will, don''t you worry about that.¡±


    ¡°Fair warning, you''ll be getting up an hour earlier tomorrow since your training will start immediately. Be ready.¡± I nodded and turned to leave.


    "One more thing before you go William. I have a question I want to ask you. It''s only fair I get my chance now, don''t you think?" I turned around and gave an exaggerated bow.


    "Of course, I''m at my ladyship''s complete disposal." She gave a small laugh at the comment but then her face turned serious.


    "What is it you want William?"


    "What do you mean?"If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Well, I know you weren''t happy being a dishwasher. But you seem to have this compulsion to climb higher and higher up. What is it you''re trying to get?" I shrugged.


    "Maybe I want to be the emperor one day," She shook her head.


    "No, you don''t want power for powers sake. But if you did want to be the emperor I would bet on you before most nobles."


    "Does that include yourself?" She rolled her eyes.


    "Let''s not be silly William. Has there ever been an emperor whose been a slave before?" I crossed my arms and retorted


    "Has there ever been an emperor whose been a woman?" She shrugged at my response


    "There has to be a first time for everything."


    "Indeed, I wonder which shall happen first." She shook her head and playfully flicked me away with her fingers.


    The next day my training to be her personal attendant began. I was woken by a knock on my door. I quickly washed with the bucket and tub placed there by some poor slave who had to wake up even earlier than me. Before dressing I examined the clothing as they were not my normal attire. They were looser and less decorative. Built for movement and utility. At the top of the stairs awaited none other than the captain of the guard. This is an honor I certainly didn''t need. He silently signaled for me to follow.


    As we walked towards the training grounds I couldn''t help but wonder why the captain of the guard himself escorted me. I highly doubted my training would be handled by someone in his position. The reason became clear just as the training ground came into sight. He spoke to me for the first time today.


    "I haven''t the time to hold your hand, from now on you''ll report to the man you see standing in the training grounds. But remember, just because I''m not babysitting you doesn''t mean I¡¯m not watching you. I don''t know what game you''re playing, but ever since you came here I''ve seen you try to sink your claws into her ladyship. If I think for one moment your up to something that might cause others to question her virtue, or you''re trying to cook up some scheme that will put her in harms way..." He put his hand on his sword hilt.


    I nodded that I understood and quickly ran towards the other guard. Why do so few people here like me? I''m really a pretty good guy once you get to know me.


    As I came into the grounds I was tossed a training sword. I fumbled it in the air but managed to catch it by the blade end. He either shook his head at the failure to cleanly catch it or the fact that I would grab any sword by the blade end, maybe both. Well, if it wasn''t a training sword I wouldn''t have even tried to catch it like that, so there was no need for him to give me that look. But now wasn''t the time to bring up that point. The guard waited until I gave him my full attention before he spoke.


    ¡°You''re job is not to guard her ladyship. That''s our job. You are to do your best not to get in our way if such a situation arises. However, her attendant is considered the last line of defense as you will likely be directly by her side. If worse comes to worse, you will fight to protect her and die for her if need be." He spoke in a tone much more casual than i liked about my potential death.


    "If her ladyship dies and you don''t, then you will join her in the afterlife as punishment for failure of your duties in this world, only it''ll be much more painful that it would''ve been if you just died fighting in the first place. So remember, it''s better to fall on a sword that''s aimed at her ladyship if it comes to that, and get those pesky notions of self preservation out of your head ."


    I understood that it was a good way to make sure any attendant would try to protect their lord. But why did I get the impression the guards don''t get the same treatment? What bullshit! He walked 3 paces away and took a fighting stance with his sword.


    "What level are you by the way boy?" Why is everyone always so concerned about levels?


    "Level 2." He gave a grown but kept his focus.


    ¡°Damn level 2. You probably aren''t even worthy of being a meat shield, but lets at least make you look a little scary if nothing else." The next hour was spent being taught how to stand, hold on to my sword, thrust, parry, counter and move. What I was taught the most was how to be hit by a practice sword till i bled and ached all over, and how to stand back up quickly to avoid being hit harder.


    Even with all that I was happy to finally be learning swordsmanship, but I knew he could''ve been more instructive and less of a sadistic sociopath.


    After the training was over, I cleaned up and changed back into my clothes. Forcing my aching body to keep moving, I somehow managed to make it in time for the start of my tutoring class. I had a new pupil who was willing to do as I told him and without any bribes for a change of pace. I had to hide the deal I made with Jeffrey from him so he wouldn''t get any ideas.


    After the tutoring was done for the day, I was called away to continue my attendant training. This time I was in the care of an older woman instead of a guard. She was to teach me the social protocols and etiquette that must be followed in a room full of nobles, as well as information about the other lords in the area. I was expected to remember their names, business connections and personal interest, and that was just for a start.


    There were several lessons that would take place, each receiving an allotted amount of time. Next would come my dance training, and no, she didn''t care how much my body was hurting. It was unlikely I''d ever be asked by a noble besides Madeline. But as I would be going to these balls, if a partner was ever needed and I was available I couldn''t refuse any lady, and was expected to at the very least possess flawless fundamentals.


    Then came my training on how to assist with dictation and the proper way to offer a suggestion. After that it was the proper way to be an intermediary betweem her and other servants. Then an explanation of how i''m to walk with her if we''re in public. Two paces over and half a pace behind at all times. It went on and on with more absurd rules and regulations that I was sure Madeline would have absolutely no interest in enforcing.


    It goes without saying that not all of this training would be applicable in my life, but I was getting some good experience none the less. I didn''t get a chance to talk to Madeline about what I did today, busy as I was. I doubted that mattered, I was certain she knew perfectly well about everything I''d been put through.


    Due to my new schedule I got my dinner a bit later than even when I worked in the kitchen. At least it seemed a bit warmer than usual.


    The next day was like the previous one, only with more work jammed into the same amount of time.


    The next day they found a way to add even more to my work load. My lunch break during tutoring was cut short to go horseback riding with the guards. My ass and thighs were sore the rest of the day. The difficulty only increased as time went on and more was added. Clearly being a full time tutor and training to be an attendant for a Lord''s daughter weren''t 2 things someone was meant to do at the same time.


    This schedule went on for almost a month. I was barely getting enough sleep to function properly as I had to keep getting up earlier and working later to fit in the lessons. My attendant training wasn''t slowed down or paced in the least just because I had an 8 hour a day blocked of time filled already. We wouldn''t want to be humane or anything right?


    At least I was seeing results. My swordsmanship was still amateur at best, but I was now able to follow the flow of my opponent''s movements. I parried and dodged when I was suppose to, and attacked my opponent when given an opening. It usually turned out to be a trap, but I was told to keep developing the habit of attacking and in time I would learn to tell the difference. I was still pathetically bad compared to the guard, but at least now I had a base to build off of.


    During one particularly great parry I caught the guard by surprise and felt my opponent almost lose his sword. Yes, we''ve cross swords thousands of times by this point so it could be argued something would go right for me eventually. Still, an ''almost win'' is an ''almost win'', and I was proud to have it. It also gave me the nifty [LVL 1/10 Swordsmanship] skill. I can''t over state how important that was to me. My real first step towards being an adventurer.


    Soon my tutoring days were put on hold as Jeffrey and his cousin, who had become my other student, left to spend the season at their summer house with Jeffrey''s over protective mother. Now my training schedule had thankfully been reduced to what a normal person would call merely excessive. Not long after that it was decided that while my training would need to continue for some time to fully earn the title, I was fit to be Lady Madeline''s acting personal attendant.


    We sat together drinking tea in her room. It was the first time in a while we''ve gotten to talk together in a relaxed atmosphere since my training began. Madeline lifted up her cup towards me and took a sip.


    ¡°In less than 3 months you''ve gone from a slave destined for the mines to the personal attendant of the daughter of a powerful lord. I don''t say this often, but I find myself impressed."


    ¡°Without your help it wouldn''t have been possible. Not in under 3 months anyway.¡± She always enjoyed when I made egocentric jokes. She put the tea down.


    ¡°How''s the sword training coming by the way? I want to know you have what it takes to protect me if need be.¡±


    ¡°It''s been going well lately. I recently acquired the swordsmanship skill which is something I''m very happy about¡±. I showed her my status screen. She gave a smile at that.


    ¡°Well done William, I suppose we ought to test it out, don''t you agree?¡± Standing from her chair she walked towards the wall. 2 swords stood on display with one laying across the other as they hung on a very fancy looking mount. She grabbed them both and tossed one to me. These were not dulled in the least. Flesh and bone would easily give before them if force was applied.


    ¡°Madeline, I don''t think this is a good idea. If you want I can go grab some practice swords¡±. She gave me a sweet and innocent smile, one I haven''t see her make yet.


    ¡°Don''t worry William, I won''t hurt you. It''d be a waste to damage you now that you''re finally proving so useful after all.¡± She held her sword towards me. Her footwork and form looked smooth and effortless. It was obvious she had been taught the sword. I wondered how many years worth of training she had compare to my month. Probably since she was a young child.


    I took my stance opposite hers and waited for the attack to come. None came. She just stood there keeping that same smile glued to her face. I faked a lunge to draw her in and then prepared for a counter. She stood as still as a statue smiling at my movements that accomplished nothing except making me feel silly.


    ¡°Are you just going to keep having fun by yourself over there? A lady hates to be kept waiting you know."


    I lunged for real this time. My sword struck only air. I turned the lunge into a side slash. She blocked and parried it over her head. My form broke as the momentum of the sword being forced high and away threw me off balance. I felt her sword at my throat.


    ¡°You''ll need to do much better than this. Try again.¡± She turned her back on me and walked away like she was taking a stroll.


    I lunged and again hit nothing. I pulled back and slashed from the opposite side I did last time as I circled around her. Miss, block, miss, block. Suddenly I saw an opening. I swung down on her sword knocking it free from her right hand and on to the floor. In an instant her left hand was at my throat holding a dagger. She kept the same smile on her face


    ¡°Better, but not good enough. Not yet anyway. One word of advice. If an opponent gives you an opening that looks as tempting as the one I just gave you. Don''t take it. Now drop the sword."


    I dropped it. I expected her to drop her knife in return. Instead she held it there, then softly ran it slowly against my throat while staring into my eyes. Something in hers changed. The look in them became animalistic. She bit her lower lip for the smallest of moments. Suddenly she took it away from my throat and put the dagger back from wherever she pulled it from. She turned her back to me picking up the swords and putting them back on the mount.


    ¡°You may retire for the night, If I have need of you I¡¯ll send word.¡± That was a fairly abrupt goodbye, even for her. I left the room and turned the corner only to see the intimidating level 39 guard Jameson Carter standing there. No doubt he was waiting for me and probably not for any reason I wanted. He grabbed me by my collar and pushed me into the wall.


    ¡°I don''t care if she commands it, or if the mother herself commands it. Mark my words. If you ever use a real sword against Lady Madeline again. I''ll see you dead for it.¡± He tossed me aside glaring at me as I walked away. I guess that explains why no one rushed in when the swords where clanging against each other.


    He probably decided not to interrupt, knowing how bad I was and how unlikely it was that I could hurt Madeline, so as to save her ladyship any embarrassment. Clearly that would not be happening again. I didn''t plan to be here long enough for it to become an issue in any case.


    I went back to my room to spend the rare free time I had reading until dinner came. I was getting good at riding a horse, using a sword, learning to dance and how to act with people of a different status. All good things to learn for once I got out of here. But so far none of that has been much use for actually giving me any help with my escape plans.


    What would give me the chance was something entirely different.

 Chapter 9

    It''s been two months since I''ve been made the acting attendant of Lady Madeline and we''ve grown closer in that time. To the outside world we still present ourselves as master and servant, but that kind of formality has long since disappeared between us in private.


    Lately I¡¯ve been wondering, if I brought up the prospect of my freedom in our conversations, would she be sympathetic or not?


    Part of me believed she may be willing to grant me my wish as we have truly formed a close bond. Another part of me believed she would feel duty bound to not make the house of Armingtage look weak by setting a slave free due to a sob story. There was also the issue of me being the only thing she had close to a friend. Would that make her hesitant to free me due to fear of losing such a connection?


    I decided it was too much of a risk. If she turned out to be against it then I would''ve put her on high alert. That would make my escape all but impossible as I needed the access she''d given me. So I chose to played the part of the happy attendant who was content to be in his position. Not that it was a bad position to be in.


    I''ve gotten to explore the nearby town a number of times. On each occasion I''ve gone out I was able to carry a real sword in my hilt as I escorted Madeline. These were some of my favorite times during my entire stay.


    The more I walked with it the more natural it felt, and I grew to miss the weight and feel of it there when it was gone. When we returned to the estate I needed to hand the weapon back to the guards. That never became less difficult


    Madeline shared my love for sword play, it was one of our favorite subjects to discuss. She insisted it should be necessary for any fighter worth their salt to always carry a backup weapon, as well as 1 weapon on them at all times.


    "Well, I guess you''re not much of a fighter then. Where''s your weapon right now Madeline?" I joked with her as we drank tea across from one another. She shrugged and pulled a dagger out from behind her back. It was the same one she held to my throat in our duel. I was surprised to say the least. Even while in her room drinking tea, she still had the dagger.


    "So let me get this straight, you carry that around with you all the time? Even if it''s just the two of us in this room?" She put it back from whence it came. Maybe a sheath she hid in her cloth belt? All I knew is I''ve never seen the evidence of a dagger on her, even though I¡¯d now seen her pull it out twice.


    "Of course I always carry it with me. It''s not much use otherwise." I wasn''t sure if she was paranoid or really just like the feeling of having a knife on her. I would guess more the second option. Another thought came into my mind as I considered that.


    "You know, I could be insulted by that. It''s just the two of us in this room, yet you still feel the need to have a dagger on you. I''m starting to feel like you don''t trust me." She gave a laugh at that.


    "Oh poor William, don''t be sad. It''s not that I think you''re going to hurt me. It''s just that I can''t rely on you to protect me. After all, how do you plan to do that without a weapon?" I gave a bit of a miserable look to that.


    "I''d love to carry around a sword all the time. Sadly, slaves aren''t allowed to keep them on the grounds." She felt a tinge of self consciousness that she indirectly brought that up.


    "You''re right. I shouldn''t make fun of you for that. The next time I see father I''ll speak to him about it. I''ll try to get him to make an exception in your case. It isn''t uncommon for an attendant to carry a weapon at all times in many houses. We have no such policy here since Susan has no use for a weapon and I haven''t had an attendant whose been able to hold the position for any length of time." I gave her a smile to let her know she didn''t really hurt my feelings.


    "Thank you, I know you''ll do what you can. Even if he says no, I''ll be glad that you tried. Speaking of your father, do you mind if I ask a question?" She motioned me to go ahead.


    ¡°I''ve been by your side every day now for two months, yet I don''t think I¡¯ve seen him even once. Is it that you''re choosing not to include me in those meetings?" She shook her head.


    "I haven''t spoken to my father in almost 3 months. It''s a bit longer than usual, but not the longest we''ve gone without speaking. He''s a very busy man." She took a sip of tea. I understood people can be busy, but 3 months without speaking while living in the same house?


    I knew she didn''t want to talk about it and I realized it would be smarter not to try to force the issue. Even knowing all that, I couldn''t keep myself from asking more.


    "Do you two perhaps not get along?" She looked at me for a long while before putting down her tea. It was the first time besides just friendly banter that I actively went against her wishes. She clearly wanted to drop the subject, and I did not. I knew I made a mistake in asking. The safer thing would be to let her have her way, like I always did.


    This was a clear over step within the dynamics of our relationship. We always pretended to act like it didn''t exist, and we talked so casually to each other. But I always did as was asked and she never tried to force the issue with me. Now the truth would be exposed with how she responded. How did she really see me?


    Was I a slave who just so happened to be her friend, or was I her friend who just so happened to be a slave? The difference was both small and huge at the same time. She gave a sigh and then answered both questions at once.


    "He has a very specific idea of what the daughter of the Armingtage house should be. An idea he''s made clear I''ve failed to live up to on multiple occasions. He''s called my attitude too boisterous, my manor too unrefined, my interest too inappropriate and my mouth far too busy when it should be closed." She sat silently after that with her gaze set downward.


    "I''m sorry, you deserve a father who doesn''t treat you like that." Suddenly her gaze shot back up to me.


    "Don''t get me wrong. My father is truly a great man. Our house has become twice what it was since he''s become the head. While I make him sound cruel, it isn''t like he doesn''t have his own circumstances. He''s had a hard life too. I just wish he..." She put her hand to her mouth.


    "You just wish what?" Tears slowly started to form under her eyes. She tried to get the last words out, but the more she tried the more they got caught in her throat and were replaced by more tears. It seems someone had big time daddy issues. Then again, who was I to talk?


    I really wasn''t good with crying girls. I never knew what to say in these situations. So I did the only thing I could think to do. I got out of my seat and wrapped my arms around her. Now I was positive that I stepped over the line. That was until she grabbed my arm tightly and buried her face against it.


    After the situation passed we both felt a little awkward being around each other. It was still early in the afternoon, but she said I could have the rest of the day off. I was happy to take her up on the offer and give her a little space. Sometimes that''s the best thing you can do for a friend after all. I suppose this meant I had 2 friends now. And both happened to be hot girls. You go William!


    Yes, maybe that thought was a tad bit objectifying. But you must remember that this is a patriarchal society. So really, it''s just me trying to fit in a little better. Also, give me a break. It''s the first time any girls this cute have wanted to be around me in my entire life. Let a man enjoy his god damn mental victory lap for a while.


    With so much time and new found energy, I decided to go to the training grounds to get in some practice. I quickly changed my clothes and walked to the grounds. Picking up one of the two training swords that were always at the site, I went over my movements. After about 5 minutes, a guard spotted me and made his way over.


    "What are you doing here? These grounds are for guards use only unless you have special permission. Do you have such permission?"


    "I''m the Attendant of Lady Madeline Armingtage. I''ve been given permission to use these grounds many times before and regularly have sparring sessions here on most days with one of the guards. I''ll give you his name if you want and you can go ask him yourself." He thought that over before answering.


    "If he isn''t here now then you have to leave." I shrugged and handed him the sword. After he took it I grabbed the other one.


    "Would you mind going a few rounds with me? I could really use the practice," In my limited life experience, and my vast experience as a reader who had a firm understanding of the fictional human mind, that was mostly based on the actual human mind, I had learned that one of the best ways to take control of a situation you didn''t control was to assume compliance. So that''s what I did.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    I decided to throw a few swings at him that he could easily block. With the training sword in his hand he instinctively used it. Before I could do much he interrupted me.


    "Wait! Wait I said you foolish boy. Enough of that. As I told you, you need permission to use these grounds." I walked back to the center of the training grounds and he naturally followed me to try to get my attention.


    "I do have permission. Her ladyship has told me she''s not pleased with my current ability to protect her, and has instructed me to practice. So that''s what I''m doing." I gave him a few more swings that he blocked before pushing me back with the sword. I kept acting like he already agreed to be my partner. Little by little, even as he objected, he was falling into the role out of habit. It wasn''t like guards didn''t train after all.


    "Well, that''s all good and fine. But her ladyship doesn''t have say over the training grounds. That is strictly in control of the Lord of the house, who has given that authority to the guards." I smiled at him as if I only now understood what he meant.


    "Then it''s great you''re here. Now you can give me official permission to use the grounds. I mean, I could talk to her ladyship and tell her that you didn''t if you insist." That put him off balance.


    "Well, I don''t really get involved in whose allowed to use the training grounds you see. So it''s not my fault." I gave him a strange unbelieving look. I took the training sword and ran it across my arm to reveal my perfectly unbroken skin. Then I turned to look at the training ground behind me, which was really just a square of dirt and some wooden post.


    "I believe that you usually don''t get involved in making the schedule. But are you really telling me that you can''t make a decision involving 2 swords that could barely cut warm butter and a mound of dirt? A slave in the kitchen can decide more than that. Certainly a man in such a great position of power and authority as you can take it upon himself to say a mount of dirt that''s not being use currently can be stood on by the two of us."


    I hoped I''d done my job well. I got the impression that he didn''t have the authority to decide anything about the training grounds. But most likely no one ever explicitly said that he didn''t either. If he decided he wanted to let the training grounds be used while no one had any scheduled training time, I doubt anyone would care or question his ability to do so.


    It was a matter of no one having the authority because no one was sure if they should take it. Not that they necessarily couldn''t. They''d all just gotten so use to following orders, if not given an order they had a hard time deciding if they should act, even on something as small as this.


    As he thought it over, I acted like he''d already answered that I could, because that''s the answer I wanted, and began our training again. He blocked out of habit before interrupting.


    "Okay, you can use the grounds I suppose unless someone comes around who has an appointment. I don''t think there are any left today, so I suppose there''s no harm in you using it as long as you put the sword back when you''re done."


    I told him how much i appreciated having his permission, and that I would tell Madeline of this kindness on his behalf. He told me there was no need, but I saw that he was very happy about that fact.


    "Since you''re already here, would you like to continue training with me?" He shook his head.


    "Can''t you see I¡¯m on guard duty?" I shrugged.


    "How much of the place are you keeping an eye on?" He pointed out the back area. It was huge but all clearly visible from where we were.


    "You can see that from right here just fine. I''ll even help you keep an eye out if you want. Aren''t four eyes better than two? Why not get some practice in while you guard the place? I''ll be sure to tell Madeline how much of a help you were in assisting me in following her orders. I''m sure she''ll remember that."


    It took some more convincing, but as I continued to drop Madeline''s name he soon agreed. I practiced with him for a full hour till his shift was over. I still felt a lot of pent up energy even with the beating I¡¯ve just taken. As he was about to leave a friend of his came to inquire about what was going on.


    Using the same tactic I did before, and with the precedent already in place, it was easier to get him to jump in and take over while his friend rested and watched.


    As the day wore on, a small crowd started to form. A few guards came off duty and the ones who were already here attracted them. No one asked if we should be doing this anymore. Since we already were that must have meant it was okay, right?


    They came by to discover what was happening, but what kept their attention was nothing more than little old me. At this point I''d been going 4 hours straight. So long that on a few occasions I''d been forced to use my left arm to give the right one a break. I stopped occasionally for very short periods of time to have some water or take a few breaths while slumped over, only to stand up straight and continue fighting.


    I didn''t usually like going all out when I didn''t have to, but something about today made me want to keep going until my tank was completely empty. The guards stood around having a laugh while I put on a show for them.


    It was the most entertainment they''ve had in a while. They kept subbing in for one another to keep fresh while I stayed in the grounds to face whoever came next. The jeers they gave where a constant companion as I trained.


    "Don''t give up now boy, there''s still some areas that aren''t bruised yet."


    "The only way he can be this full of piss and vinegar is if he hasn''t been with a woman in a while."


    "I doubt he''s had one yet."


    "Well that explains it. Come on boy, keep going. If you actually land a hit we''ll buy you a woman."


    "If he has to wait for that, then he''ll never get one!"


    "Maybe we can get him a sheep in the meantime to take his aggression out on." They all laughed after each joke made at my expense. But as long as they kept coming into the grounds to take their turn i didn''t care.


    I was now at the start of my 5th hour, and I felt completely dead on my feet. I could barely lift my sword above my stomach. The guard I was facing was more mocking me than trying to land a blow. He came at me with a fairly half hearted attack, but it was one I¡¯ve been hit with a number of times today, and one that when i tried to use it I was on the receiving end of a counter just as many times.


    My body moved without thinking. I blocked the half hearted attack as I stepped in. I either fell or dived to the side as I pushed his sword away, I¡¯m not fully sure which it was, and hit my sword against the back of his knee. If it had been a real sword it wouldn''t have killed him, but it would''ve made that leg completely useless.


    The 4 guards on the sideline gave me a small cheer for my perseverance, but were more interested in making fun of their fellow guard who I finally got a hit on. He complained that he wasn''t serious and that it didn''t really count. Not that they were about to let that stop them.


    As for me, I was happy just to lay on the ground and not interested in getting up any time soon. I don''t know what got into me, but once I hit that blow it was suddenly gone. Now I was only just left with the feeling of being completely exhausted, but also rather pleased with myself.


    [Skill Level up: LVL 2/10 Swordsmanship]


    [Level up: LVL 3]


    That''s nice. I grow a little less pathetic by the day. I decided to take a look at my status screen.


    Name: William Taylor


    Age: 16


    Race: Human


    Class: None


    Sub Class: None


    Skills: 1/10 Teacher 2/10 Swordsmanship


    Level: 3


    Experience: 04%


    Constitution: 13


    Dexterity 14


    Intelligence: 19


    Strength: 15


    Wisdom 19


    Charisma 14


    Health 32/34


    Mana 34/34


    Stamina 9/17


    Attribute Points: 0


    The same improvements as last time. So it was consistent for the normal level ups. I still had no idea what happened at level 10 or 20 though. I was told they were different by my other self but he didn''t know the details.


    I hadn''t been too keen to ask anyone around here. Slaves didn''t need to know that kind of information. If I made a point of really wanting to discuss it there would be questions of why I was so curious. Questions I didn''t want, and it wasn''t important to know yet in any case.


    As I laid there I wondered why I''ve been leveling up so fast. The only reason I could figure is that when you level up your skills, you get some kind of experience bonus for it. Between now and the time that I turned level two I''ve added a new skill and upgraded it. That was probably worth a lot. I would need to think about how to use that information later.


    The guards now seeing that the show was over told me to put everything back in place and went off together to get a drink. I soon managed to peal myself off the ground. I grabbed a bucket which I filled with water along with a wooden tub and brought them to my room.


    Strictly speaking this was not allowed as it was not my job, but no one said anything as it wasn''t doing any harm. Not to mention, they don''t want to say anything to make someone who had lady Madeline''s ear angry with them. Thankfully Susan was in her room, otherwise I surely would''ve gone to bed sweaty and dirty.


    Once clean I put my normal clothes on and decided to spend the rest of my time reading. Overall it was a weird but good day. Getting to face different people with different styles was surely a help. Besides the level up to my skill, I felt I grasp something during today''s training.


    Perhaps they were one and the same. I wondered how much better I''d be now that I achieved this new level. I noticed a subtle improvement as soon as I made the jump to level one. Every swing of the sword felt smoother and more natural. Would it happen again? It made the aches in my body feel worth it.


    A knock came on my door just as I felt the burning in my muscles starting to calm down. I answered and was informed by a slave that Madeline demanded by presence.


    That''s odd. I wondered what she could need at this time of day. Only one way to find out I suppose. In any case, I made the trek up to her room. I passed through the open door which I closed behind me.


    She looked to be in a very excited mood. I guess at least that meant this would be good news.


    ¡°William, do you know what happens three weeks from today?¡± I tried to think but nothing was coming to mind. I told her that I had no idea. She was annoyed by that.


    ¡°How is it that you don''t know my birthday?¡± It did seem a strange over sight at this point.


    ¡°No one ever told me.¡±


    ¡°Well you should have asked then, that''s honestly a little rude of you.¡± I laughed at that.


    ¡°Women are strange. On one hand you don''t want us to know your age. On the other hand you get mad if we don''t know your birthday. Seems slightly paradoxical¡±.


    ¡°That''s called a woman''s prerogative. In any case, I''ll forgive that this time as that''s not the main reason I called you up here. I thought it was going to be a fairly small affair, but it turns out I¡¯m being thrown a ball for my 18th birthday, and as the attendant of a maiden, you get to escort me. So I want you to be ready for extra dance clases over the next three weeks.¡±


    And my day to this point was going so well.

 Chapter 10

    My dancing classes doubled in length. I always thought of myself as a guy who had two left feet. But that seems to be nothing that hours of grueling practice can''t fix.


    The next three weeks went by very quickly. When I wasn''t dancing I asked Madeline if she could arrange for more sparring training. I wanted to fully explore the ability of my new swordsmanship skill. I still wasn''t all that good compared to the guards, but I could see improvement.


    Soon it was the day of Madeline''s 18<sup>th</sup> birthday. We didn''t get to see each other at all before the celebration as she was far too busy attending to other matters. As for myself, I was with my older female teacher having a cram session about what I was and wasn''t allowed to do at the event.


    It was stuff we''ve been over before many times by now but I wasn''t about to complain about the refresher. After that I was taken to a tailor that took my measurements about three weeks ago. I was fitted for my outfit. He spent two hours making last minute corrections that I believed were in no way needed.


    I was then taken to have someone do my hair, give me a very unneeded shave, and spray an ungodly amount of perfume on me. The process did not make me feel particularly masculine.


    Once everything was done, I put back on the tailored suit and looked into the mirror. It reminded me of the Beatles on the Sgt. Pepper album. The only difference is the metal around my wrist poked out through the cuff slightly. I hoped everyone would be dressed the same or I would feel incredibly stupid.


    I waited in a chair for Madeline outside of her room. My job was simple, I was to escort Lady Madeline as she walked down the stairs. Once we reached the bottom I was to let go but stay in earshot. If she motioned me to come over, do so. If not, I stay away and keep silent.


    If any lady asked me to dance I would. I was not to ask any lady to dance myself. If I have to make conversation then be short and always defer to the opinions of others. I''m not to ask for any drinks or food unless a guest insist I try it.


    There were 100 other rules as well but I think the general idea has been made clear.


    All the other guest were arriving as I waited outside Madeline''s room for her to finish getting ready. As the young lady of the house, she is to be the second to last to enter, only preceding her father and mother.


    As the door opened I stood to greet her. While I always thought she was pretty I knew she never played it up or tried to dress overly attractive. At heart she was more of a tomboy and I found it to be part of her charm.


    The way she looked now made me reconsider that opinion. Her blond hair which she usually let fall straight down or put up in a simple style was wavy and feminine as it caressed her face. A face which now actually had more than a minor splash of make up.


    Her chest which she almost always kept covered and tucked away was now on display and pushed up. The dress hugged her body all the way down to her waist as tightly as a corset. The bottom of the dress fell gracefully to her ankles while keeping her high heels visible. The first time I''ve seen her wear any.


    ¡°Lady Madeline, you look beautiful tonight¡±. It was what I was told to say. But the way it came out and the look I''m sure she saw me give her was in no way proper.


    ¡°Well someone certainly thinks so.¡± I held out my arm. She put hers inside and we started walking. I Don''t know if it was planned or not, but our outfits matched. I would only know for sure when I see the other attendants I guess.


    We went down the hall towards the stairs that led down to the giant ball room. Lady Madeline was announced, I wasn''t, not that I wanted to be. We walked down the stairs at a painfully slow pace. I''m pretty sure you''re suppose to go slowly, but not this slow. She was taking her time to milk the moment.


    I hated being up on these stairs longer than I had to be. She Smiled as she saw more looks like the one I gave her.


    ¡°What are you thinking right now?¡± She quietly whispered to me.


    ¡°Don''t trip.¡± We had a small laugh at that.


    Finally we reached the bottom. The lord and lady of the house were announced and came down fairly quickly. Probably because they got tired of standing at the top and waiting for their daughter to finish.


    Madeline let go of my arm and started to mingle with a group of young ladies she seemed to be friendly with. I looked around and noticed other attendants like myself trying to stand in the background. I tried to work out who was with who by their outfits but there were too many people.


    Madeline formed another group with a friend of hers and 2 gentlemen. She waved me over. One of the men in turned waved his own attendant in. A cute looking girl about the same age as the rest of us.


    ¡°William, these are lords Timothy Banister, Micheal Addly and lady Arlene Lancaster.¡± I was pleased to meet their acquaintance, of course.


    I frankly didn''t care much for the conversation. I nodded along as did the young attendant lady. I noticed the lord''s hand seemed to wonder to her lower back constantly. She didn''t look to be a fan of it but didn''t say anything or outright show her discomfort.


    Eventually the conversation got to swordsmanship, in no small part due to Madeline. Timothy was talking about how he just achieved level 4 in swordsmanship recently. Very impressive for someone at the age of 17 he told us. I thought a soldier or adventurer may well laugh at that but I had no idea.


    Madeline didn''t talk about her own ability, a proper lady shouldn''t even practice the sword, but she was happy to talk up mine.


    ¡°William has great talent for the sword too. He''s been practicing for under 4 months but already he''s a level 2 swordsman. You better be careful or he''ll pass you in no time.¡± She loved to push buttons, didn''t she?


    ¡°Level 2 in less than 4 months? Very doubtful my lady. He likely practiced before hand. You know how slaves can be. You can''t always trust their word.¡± Timothy waved his hand dismissing her comment. Madeline didn''t care for her word to be questioned.


    ¡°As I said, Level 2 in only 4 months. There''s no mistake. I know for a fact he didn''t learn before hand. Furthermore, I believe he may be getting close to level 3.¡± Madeline crossed her arms as if daring him to say she was lying.


    ¡°I guess anything''s possible. But no matter what his skills say, he''s still just an amateur. It takes years to master the sword. To say something like he has a skill close to level 3 in 4 months is a bit over the top my lady. If you will permit me to say so.¡± She wasn''t in the permitting mood, but when was she?


    ¡°Do you care to test that? Why not see for yourself then if you''re so confident?¡±


    ¡°This is hardly the time and place for that my lady.¡± Timothy tried to laugh off the situation while giving a smile. Madeline was having none of it.


    ¡°You made the claim. Either admit your error or back up your words.¡± The smile dropped for a moment and then came back, but a slightly different kind. It contained a mix of cockiness and condescension.


    ¡°Fine, if her ladyship wants a show, I''m happy to oblige.¡± Was anyone going to ask me how I felt? I guess not. The young lord whispered to his attendant who quickly ran off.


    Our little group walked out towards the back and on to a balcony that faced the gardens. We were now out of view of the ball but close enough to still hear it. A few other groups who were near enough to hear the argument decided to come along.


    No doubt they thought this sounded more interesting than the usual ballroom activities. Soon the young mans attendant was back along with a guard holding a long wooden box. He placed it on a nearby table and opened it. Within were 2 training swords.


    Seeing as I didn''t know what to do in this situation Madeline waved me over to her. She hurried to help me remove some of my more restrictive clothing. As the guard came to hand me a sword I saw Timothy already holding his and practicing with it.


    No one was in close earshot of Madeline and myself so we were free to speak.


    ¡°Thanks a lot for the ass kicking. It''s not like I don''t get enough of it at sparring practice.¡±


    ¡°Stop being a baby! Just do what you''ve been trained to and it will be fine. But you''d better at least win 1 point or I''ll be very crossed with you.¡± I shook my head. He''s a level 4 swordsman, what the hell did she expect? Oh well, I knew levels here helped but it wasn''t like they meant everything.


    I picked it up and tried to get use to the weight. It was a bit heavier than the ones I''m use to. I gave it a few swings. It seems kind of unfair that we had to fight with the swords Timothy used.


    ¡°He''s just a slave so take it easy on him Tim¡±. A friend of his shouted from the small crowd. Tim gave off a laugh at that.


    ¡°Don''t worry. I won''t damage the merchandise, much.¡± He was a bit pissed at first when this situation came about. Now that he realized he had the chance to show off his skills he was in a better mood. Still angry, but better.


    Tim signaled he was ready. I would have liked a bit more practice but I didn''t get much of a say in it. I held up my sword and took my stance.


    The guard who brought the swords now took on the role of some kind of official. He told us that he would over see this duel and make sure that no one got hurt. Or at least Tim didn''t. I was optional I think. He then spoke to both of us to explain the rules.


    ¡°Standard sparring rules. The best of 5 wins the match. If I say stop, I ask that you please stop immediately. Hits are allowed to any part of the body except the head. Are you both ready?¡± He looked to each of us and we nodded we were.


    ¡°Begin.¡±


    Tim wasted no time. Damn he was fast, even with a heavier sword. I blocked and parried but his movements were strange to me. All the guards in the Armingtage house used a similar style. This was far different than anything I''ve ever seen. A hit landed hard on my side.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Yelled the guard. Another hit landed


    ¡°Stop I said!¡±Tim walked away as I held my ribs.


    ¡°1 point Timothy.¡± What a little asshole. He knew it was over but he did it again anyway. I thought of getting him back if I got the chance, but decided against it. I held up my sword to show I was ready.


    ¡°Begin¡±. The guard yelled again.


    He used the same move as before. I saw it better this time. It was just a more angled slash that was designed to slip through a standard side guard. If I wasn''t mistaken, the way he did it put him a little off balance. It was good for a surprise attack, but if seen through it could leave you open.


    I tried to take advantage of it but missed. His sword came down on my arm hard which caused me to drop mine.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Tim laughed at seeing me drop my sword. Well if I hit you like that then you would too Tim you jerk.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°2 points Timothy¡±. Madeline was not happy. I needed to get at least one hit or she would lose face. Well that wasn''t my fault, I didn''t set up this duel. Sigh. Either way, I wanted to smack this asshole at least once.


    I took my stance.


    ¡°Begin¡±.


    Again, it was the same move. How many times was he going to show this to me? Was he stupid or just arrogant? Being confident in a skill is one thing, but you need to mix it up. This time I knew what to expect. The experience from my last miss made sure I wouldn''t miss this time.


    I ducked and parried his sword, forcing it to go downward and across his body. My sword then found it''s way home to his wide open chest.


    He let out a gasp and rubbed where I struck him showing a wince of pain. What a god damn pussy. As he backed up he looked at me like I did something I wasn''t suppose to. I gave him more of a smug look than I should''ve. But fuck him.


    ¡°1 Point...¡± The guard looked at me. It took a moment before I realized he didn''t know my name.


    ¡°William.¡±


    ¡°1 Point William. 2-1 Timothy.¡±


    I took my stance again. At this point he knew I did the same move back to back to counter him. I won''t be a moron like him and do the same thing 3 times in a row. Maybe if I fake like I¡¯m going to do the same counter I can use that against him. It''s worth a shot.


    ¡°Begin¡±.


    Again he started with the same move and I started with the same counter as the last two times. His opening strike was a faint and he immediately countered to where he thought I was going. But my response was a faint too, and I immediately countered to where I thought he was going.


    My prediction was off slightly but I was able to adjust. It wasn''t a good hit but at least I got him in the arm.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Tim''s face showed a look of disbelief. The jovial mood in the crowd was now silent. This supposed one sided match would come down to the last point. The crowd buzzed with anticipation to see the conclusion.


    ¡°2 Points William, 2-2.¡± Tim''s face showed doubt and hesitation. I had no idea what the hell he was going to do now. I''ve managed to out think him but his skills were clearly above mine. The only chance I had was to use his hesitation against him. My thoughts went back to one of my lessons.


    ¡°If you''re in a bad situation, then attack with all you''ve got and hope that creates an opening.¡± I recalled the guard telling me when we trained. Well, Tim has been making the first move all night. It was time to put all the pressure on him and see if I could make him crack under it. We took our stances.


    ¡°Begin¡±.


    I sprung out at Tim like a pissed off jack in the box. Tim, who was about to attack, was forced to defend. I kept using my strength to try to knock him off balance then attacked again. It was so different from what he had seen from our past clashes that he wasn''t sure what to do. More hesitation.


    He wanted to take a swing at me, but I tried not to give him a chance. I kept attacking and forcing him back. He wasn''t someone use to dealing with brute strength as a tactic. While I was on the offensive so far, I hadn''t been able to find any holes I could exploit. His defense was too solid.


    During my all out attack he tripped on a pebble while going backwards and was knocked slightly off balance. That was all I needed.


    ¡°3 points William. Winner William 3-2¡±. Timothy looked at the ground and then to the guard.


    ¡°Hey wait, I tripped on a pebble. You all saw that, right. I want a do over on that last point.¡± The guard shook his head.


    ¡°There are no do overs in a fight. You either win or lose and it won''t always be fair. This is a good time to learn that lesson my lord. Better now than when your life is on the line.¡±


    He looked around at everyone else and then glared at me like it was all my fault. I guess it was. And I was glad that it was, you spoiled asshole. He walked up to me pointing a finger in my face.


    ¡°You dirty little fucking cheating slave. You did that on purpose didn''t you. Who the hell do you think you are? I''ll have you whipped for this!¡±


    ¡°You will do no such thing.¡± Madeline put her arm through mine.


    ¡°Come William, let''s go back to the party.¡± She gave me a sweet smile while completely ignoring Timothy.


    ¡°Yes Lady Madeline.¡±


    [Skill Level up: LVL 3/10 Swordsmanship]


    And I thought I wouldn''t like this ball.


    As we walked back together I could feel Madeline''s exhilarated breathing. She brought me to the center of the floor to share a dance. I tended not to like dancing, but it was pretty fun this time.


    It''s a bit odd to say, but I felt like a victorious lion who just fought off a rival and claimed his woman. Not that I had any deep feelings for Madeline, but it was a nice feeling in any case.


    As we danced she talked more about the match telling me all the things I did that could be improved. Even as she went over my mistakes, there was an unmistakable cheerfulness to her voice. She insisted I try some of the food, which is great cause I was starving.


    After the dance we went to talk to some more of her friends, one of which I was sure saw the match. When Madeline went off to talk to someone else and left me for a moment her friend asked me if I wanted to dance. With the way she looked I would have said yes in any case.


    Once we were done we made small talk until Madeline returned. It would''ve been nice to talk to her friend some more, but she said she had to be off to see another old friend. Checking that we were out of earshot, Madeline spoke softly to me.


    ¡°I think my friend is interested in you. If you want, I can arrange a little meeting somewhere more private. It''s not unheard for someone to loan a slave to a friend that fancies them you know.¡± I would say it was a 50/50 bet that she was serious, but decided to play it off as a joke.


    ¡°I''m just here for the party. Besides, I have enough to keep me busy with you here.¡± She gave a noncommittal shrug.


    ¡°Fine, don''t say I never tried to do anything nice for you.¡± The rest of the party was fairly uneventful. The really eventful parts came the next evening.


    I was with Madeline helping her decide on how to redecorate her room along with another serving girl who was showing samples.


    ¡°Madeline, your lord father wishes for your presence.¡±


    She dropped what she was doing and left the room with me by her side. We entered her father''s room. And who else would I find there but my old friend Susan, looking far too smug for my liking.


    ¡°Hello daughter. You look wonderful today. Everyone thought you were truly the bell of the ball. The event came off as a great success for the Armingtage house.¡±


    ¡°Thank you father. I''m always happy to do my part for the family.¡±


    ¡°It''s good you say that, because that''s why I summoned you here today. It''s about high time you did your part for the family.¡± She gave a confused look. Her father ended the confusion.


    ¡°We have received a proposal from a suitable family.¡± She could hardly get out the words. This was much too sudden. She clearly hadn''t even considered this.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°The Banister house.¡±


    ¡°Timothy Banister?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that young man you talked to last night. His father and I spoke at the party. The Banister house has been doing very well these past few years since that boy''s father took over. He''s even agreed that his son would take on the Armingtage name since he has older sons who are already fathers to carry on the family name. It''ll be a great match for us.¡±


    ¡°Father, I''m not marrying him. He''s a fool, foul tempered and arrogant. Why not just let me choose my own suitor? I could find you a much better son in law than an idiot like Timothy Banister.¡± Her father''s mood changed.


    ¡°Now Madeline. I''ve already turned down one match for you in the past to a very respectable family when you were 16. I will not turn down another. I will not let chance after chance slip to indulge this ridiculous fancy. You''re not getting any younger and our house is in need of direct descendents."


    ¡°So that''s all I am to you? A broodmare to sell off for the best deal you can get? How the house of Armingtage has fallen.¡±


    ¡°You will watch the way you talk to me child.¡± He pointed his finger as his tone turn dangerous. Madeline was about to say something else but under his glare she went silent. He continued on.


    ¡°We''ve been over this. It''ll have to happen sooner or later. It may as well be now. The Bannister house has offered us a good deal.¡±


    ¡°You want the Banister house''s smelting plants to match our blacksmithing operation you mean.¡±


    ¡°Enough! I will hear no more of this. You will be married to him and that''s the end of it. I didn''t bring you here to ask your opinion but to inform you of my decision.¡± He looked at me and then turned back to Madeline.


    ¡°Also, your slave insulted the young lord I was told. He''s no longer to be your attendant and will be reassigned to Susan in the morning.¡± Susan couldn''t hide her smile as she stole glances at me. Madeline looked at me and then to her father.


    ¡°That isn''t possible. First off, he never offended Timothy, he''s just being a sore loser. Secondly, I''ve given my word to him that he can continue to be my attendant as long as he lives up to the standards I''ve set, and so far he''s exceeded every one.¡± Her father flicked the comment away with his hand.


    ¡°He''s a slave. You don''t need to give your word to him. No one cares and he has no say. He will do as he''s told and so will you.¡± Madeline looked daggers into her father.


    ¡°How many times have you told me father, the Armingtage house doesn''t go back on their word or let others go back on their word to us? Do you really believe that or only when it''s convenient?¡±


    ¡°Enough of this. The marriage will happen at the end of summer. You can either go willingly or unwillingly. I suggest you don''t make this harder than it has to be.¡± He turned to me as an after thought.


    ¡°You''re dismissed.¡± There was nothing to be done about it. After all this time and all this planning, it was a damn sparring match that ruined everything. Life really is a fickle bitch.


    I wanted to convince myself not to give up, but that was feeling pretty hard at the moment. I went back to my room and sat on my bed, trying to think of what to do. Nothing was coming to me.


    Hours passed as I sat unmoving until I heard a soft knock. I opened the door to see Lamaria standing there looking concerned. For the first night since coming here I''ve failed to knock on her door.


    ¡°Is everything okay William?¡±


    ¡°No, no it''s not.¡± I told her everything. About my dismissal, how my plan to escape was ruined, how Susan would no doubt plan to torture me for the rest of my life, and how I''ll never get to see my sister again. Then I cried like a baby. I must''ve looked like a pathetic mess. She held me in her arms.


    ¡°It''ll be fine. I always thought you were too special to be cooped up here. And here you were scheming a way to escape all this time without me ever knowing. You''re a smart guy William, I''m sure you''ll find a way out of here."


    ¡°Thanks for the comforting words. But tell me how that''s suppose to happen now?¡±


    She stood there not knowing what to say. We sat in silence for awhile like that, until I heard another small knock on my door. I opened it and there stood Madeline in a brown cloak with a large bag in her hands filled with god knows what. She rushed in and closed the door behind her.


    Only once she was inside did she notice Lameria.


    ¡°Whose this?¡± I shook my head to get over the surprise of Madeline coming to my room.


    ¡°She''s my friend. Never mind her, why are you here?¡± She looked nervously at the beastkin who looked even more nervous than Madeline, not knowing if she should bow or run.


    ¡°Do you trust her?¡± I looked to Lameria then back to Madeline.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Madeline hesitated for a moment but let out a huff and spoke.


    ¡°Fine, I decided I''m leaving tonight. Do you want to come with me? Since I couldn''t keep my word to you I think I owe you that at least. Plus, it be nice to have someone to travel with.¡±


    Everything froze as my brain kicked into overdrive. If she was willing to help me escape then I was pretty sure we''d have a good chance to get out of here. The down side would be that I knew her father would stop at nothing to get her back. After going through the pros and cons, I knew there was no other choice.


    ¡°Yes, I''ll come with you. And so will she.¡± I pointed at Lamaria. She looked at me and then looked at Madeline. Her timid nature started to show as she played with her clothes.


    ¡°I don''t know. What if we get caught?¡± I grabbed her trembling hands.


    ¡°If you stay here you''ll have nothing different than what you''ve had all your life. I know it''s scary, but that''s the price for freedom and it''s worth the risk. It may end badly. I won''t lie to you about that. But if you stay here then you''ll regret that you didn''t try for the rest of your life."


    I expected her to not be able to commit to it. Instead she got control of herself and summoned up a strength I was a bit surprised to see she still had after all these years.


    ¡°Okay, I''ll come with you.¡± With the decision now made we started to move quickly. Madeline opened the bag and pulled out a dagger, a purse full of coins, a cloak and a pair of traveling boots. She also had one set of less eye catching clothes for each of us, I told her to keep them in the bag for now.


    Sadly Lameria wouldn''t get any of those things. There was a question of if Madeline should look to get a few more things for her, but we quickly decided against it. It was best to get moving as soon as possible. I thought of something as I took the dagger and put on the boots.


    ¡°So no swords?¡± She shook her head.


    ¡°They wouldn''t fit in this bag and a bigger one would just look more suspicious and slow us down. If we''re seen we don''t want to be carrying swords around as we would lose any chance to talk ourselves out of it. We can just buy them when we get out of here.¡± True enough.


    We quickly planned our escape. Between us we knew where all the guards would be, how often they rotated, and how long the window would be between those rotations. We''d have to move slowly and silently until we got to the stables and then we could steal a few horses.


    Lameria didn''t know how to ride, so I told her she could ride with me. I thought of Lameria clinging tightly too my back as we rode. Her soft and generously proportioned body being pressed against mine. No no, escape now, fantasize later. With everything decided there was no point in waiting.


    Just as we were about to head out we heard yet another knock on my door. Well, I was all out of friends, so this one couldn''t be good. I opened it to find Susan standing there. She took a small step and stood under the door frame. Her eyes turned to Madeline.


    ¡°And what''s all this? You almost gave me the slip young miss. I thought you were acting suspiciously, it looks like I was right to follow you. But I didn''t expect to see this.¡± She looked at the cloaks and then the boots. She shook her head as a wide smile went across her face.


    ¡°Thinking of going on a little midnight expedition are we? Well, you''re father won''t like the sound of that. No, I think it would be best if he confined you to your room until your wedding day.¡± She looked to me and Lameria.


    ¡°And you two. Trying to run away? Well, I always knew you were a trouble maker William, but I thought at least you knew better you filthy beastkin. I guess all those punishments never got through your thick dumb beast head did they?¡± She focused on me.


    ¡°Oh, I''ve been looking forward to this William. First, I think I should talk to the guards and make them give each of you a permanent limp. That will help keep those notions of ever running away out of your silly heads. Then a good long flaying for you both until you finally learn your place.¡± The smile on her face went wider as she pictured it all in her mind.


    Maybe I should''ve tried to convince her to come with us. Tell her that I understood that all these years of serving have turned her bitter, and that she didn''t need to live that way anymore. Maybe I could have restrained and gagged her. Maybe.


    I grabbed her arm and with a strong pull forced her inside the room. Before she could scream I took out my dagger and stabbed her through the heart.

 Chapter 11

    I was almost surprised by how easily my dagger slid in. Was it really this simple to kill someone? Just a sharp tool aimed at the right spot with a quick thrust? Something about it never truly hit home until that moment.


    Susan''s hands pushed against me weakly. It was as if she thought that if she could just push me off and run away that somehow everything would be alright. Soon her struggles ended and she slumped to the floor. She lay there limply with an unseeing look in her eyes.


    All three of us stood there frozen in silence for a moment at the shock of what I''d just done. It wasn''t until I remembered the danger of the situation that my mind allowed me to react.


    I gave a quick look into the hallway. Thankfully no one had been stirred from their slumber due to the commotion. I quickly closed the door.


    [Skill Gain: LVL 1/10 Assassin]


    [Level up: LVL 4]


    [Level up: LVL 5]


    I guess killing makes for good experience. Well there''s no time to think about any of that now. I gave a look back to Susan to see the blood was quickly starting to spill out of her, and a red circular pool was stretching across the floor. At this rate some would leak into the halls.


    I grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the corner of the room that was furthest from the door. I took my knife out and wiped it off on my bed sheet, then I put the same sheet over her, hoping that it would absorb at least some of the mess.


    I gave myself a quick look over. I was surprised to see I somehow managed to avoid getting almost any blood on me. That was very lucky, I wouldn''t have to spend time cleaning myself off.


    I put my knife back in it''s scabbard as I turned my focus entirely to the girls.


    ¡°I had no choice, you heard her. If she had her way none of us would ever have been able to leave. She even said she would have us lamed and flayed. What else was I suppose to do?¡± I wanted them to agree with me, but instead they kept silent. I noticed then that they were actually afraid of me.


    In my mind I clearly knew I made the only logical choice there was to make, but I still wanted someone else to tell me that they thought I did the right thing.


    Madeline was the first one to snap out of her state of shock. She ran her hand over her face and nodded in agreement. Lameria stood there for a moment longer with her hands bunched up in front of her mouth. Madeline was finally able to speak.


    ¡°You''re right, she wouldn''t have let us go. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.¡± She scooped up her bag and started getting her breathing under control. It wasn''t until then I noticed how hard I was breathing too.


    I looked down at my hands to see them shaking. I forced myself to stop. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered how an excess of adrenaline had that effect. Madeline rubbed Lameria''s back and I too went to comfort her.


    Lameria gave a small nod to show that she was okay after a few moments. I found it odd that with all the violence she had to endure in her life by this woman''s hand, seeing her now like this would cause such a reaction. I guess she was numb to violence inflicted against herself, but not to others.


    Once everyone was ready and in control of themselves we all gathered by the door. We did one last check to be sure that we had everything we needed. It turned out Madeline also put some food and a pouch of water into the bag that i hadn''t noticed before. Seeing everything was in order and that we were ready to go, I quietly opened the door and we began our escape.


    We walked down the hall and towards the stairs. We had to keep forcing ourselves to slow the pace to keep the noise we made to a minimum. After climbing to the top of the stairs we hugged the left side of the wall.


    We got there just in time to see a guard was turning the corner away from us. His pace was slow and relaxed. I guess that means Madeline and Susan managed not to tip off anyone. Madeline came right up behind my ear and whispered.


    "We have 2 minutes before his rotation is complete. We should go now". I nodded and the 3 of us lightly walked towards the back yard garden area. It was were the security would be the most lack as well as where the stables were located.


    We exited through a little used small back entrance and then kept to the shadows as we made our way towards the woods. Another rotation passed which Madeline had warned us about. Just as we were about to make a break towards the woods Lameria grabbed us both by the arm and pulled us down.


    A rogue guard on a random patrol passed by us. This was the trickiest part of the security. Every night a few guards were told to take random routes throughout the property. We would have been caught just then if not for Lamaria. It''s nice to know that those ears weren''t just there to look cute.


    As soon as he passed we made our break into the woods and slowly made our way to the stables. The stables were not heavily guarded at night with only 1 guard who occasionally checked on them. There were easier and safer ways to steal a horse so it wasn''t seen as a high priority.


    We quietly took 3 horses out and walked them slowly into the woods. I could barely see in the dark without any torches but Lameria ably led the way without the slightest bit of trouble. It must be that foxkins had good night vision. As our distance increased from the property I was finally able to let some of the tension out.


    A million things could have gone wrong and thankfully nothing did, besides Susan walking in on us that is. Once we were far enough away Madeline and I picked up some thick pieces of wood. I quickly took off my clothes and put on the ones that Madeline had brought for me.


    Madeline didn''t mind much as she couldn''t see, but I was pretty sure I heard Lameria nervously face the other direction. While I wasn''t any kind of exhibitionist this was not the moment to indulge notions such as modesty.


    Since wearing my old clothes out in public was all but impossible I tore strands of them off and tied them around the sticks. Madeline took out a flint stone from her pocket and soon we had 2 torches lit.


    Madeline and I quickly mounted our horses while Lameria held the torches for us. Once we were on she passed them back and I held out my free hand to pull her up. With the reins of the other horse tied to mine we set out.


    It was actually better than I imagined. She was so nervous that she gripped tightly around my chest and I felt every part of her front push hard against my back with her soothing breath on my neck.


    It would have been more efficient if I told her to hold on with one hand and hold the torch out with the other. But I wasn''t about to give her a reason to hold me less tightly.


    We rode through the night. We stopped every now and then to give our horses sometime to rest and to have Lameria switch from me to Madeline to give my horse a break.


    On one of our short breaks we managed to find some large boulders to sit on. Now felt like a good time to talk about the future as aimlessly running away with no direction in mind didn''t hold much appeal.


    ¡°So what are we going to do now?¡± Asked Lameria in her typical ''not being experienced in making choices'' way.


    ¡°I don''t know about you two, but I''m going to find my sister and after that I aim to be an adventurer.¡± Lameria nervously gave her thoughts to my response.


    ¡°Being an adventurer sounds dangerous. I don''t know if that''s a good idea." It crossed my mind that she might be thinking I would try to push her into being one.


    ¡°Even if you want to stay with me, I don''t plan to make either of you do anything you don''t want or take any risk you feel are too big.¡± Madeline gave me a sideways look.


    ¡°What do you mean ''even if we want to stay''? Are you saying you don''t want us around after were done with our escape?¡±


    ¡°I''m not saying that. I''m just saying I won''t try to force either of you to stay with me. Of course I want both of you to come and help me with this. I doubt I could pull it off alone. But like I said, that''s up to you.¡±


    I didn''t really doubt that I could pull it off alone. Maybe just a little, but not that much. Sometimes when I don''t know what to say I think to myself ''what would the male lead say to the heroine in this situation if it were a movie''? Then I say that. It works out a surprising amount of the time.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    It can sometimes feel a little over the top, but I''ve found it to be effective in times like these. I knew I said the right thing when I saw Madeline perk up immediately.


    ¡°Of course you need me. You''re probably useless on your own anyway. Frankly your fighting skills are still crap and I doubt you could tell a well made weapon from a bad one. You''d probably end up getting scammed and sold cheap goods to fight monsters. How do you expect to survive like that?¡± Lamaria seemed happy too, in her own hesitant way.


    ¡°I''d like to stay around, If it''s okay with you. I don''t know if I''ll be a good fighter but I''ll try to be useful.¡± I saw the way Madeline looked at Lameria. I had a pretty good Idea of what she was thinking.


    She didn''t know how to handle her. If she playfully got mad at her for being a push over; it wouldn''t be fun as Lameria would instantly surrender and ask for forgiveness. If she was comforting and gentle with her, that wouldn''t be interesting either. I saw her focus on me. It seems if she wanted amusement I was her only option.


    ¡°So this is the kind of woman you go for William? You didn''t come off as the traditional type, but you seem to like them meek and obedient. Just remember to be gentle with her or I won''t forgive you!" She walked up and put her arm around me as if giving advice in confidence when it was right in front of the intended target.


    To her delight Lameria and myself both blushed heavily. Lameria for any mention of such a notion and me for the potential accuracy of said notion. I wouldn''t say I truly had a single type though. I pulled her arm off my neck and retorted.


    ¡°She''s just a friend Madeline, and we should get back to moving, we have no time for this kind of talk.¡± That was all correct of course. But something being correct doesn''t mean it isn''t a total and complete lie.


    Judging from the way Madeline was acting, you wouldn''t believe she saw someone murdered a few hours ago. I was surprised by how little I''d thought about it. I guess in our desperate bid to escape it had been pushed to the background of my thoughts. I looked down again to check my hands for blood and the metal cuff caught my eye.


    ¡°By the way, do you know how to get this off?" I showed it to Madeline. She gave it a quick look over.


    ¡°No idea. But I¡¯ll give it a try. We can''t have you keep them on forever.¡± She took out her knife and grabbed my arm. Well, this was going to be a blast.


    After some experimentation and a few cuts my cuff fell to the ground; with my hand still attached to my arm I should add. She was able to do Lameria''s much easier and faster without giving her a single cut after all the time spent practicing on me.


    We got back on the horses and continued riding until we finally came to a town as dawn broke. I had no doubt that by now people knew that the three of us were gone. Riders would be out looking for us as well as birds being sent out with messages attached to their feet.


    Assuming that was happening just now would be the absolute best case scenario. I gave the hooded cloak to Lameria and made sure it was covering her ears and tail. I also told Madeline to put on her hood too. It was possible some people in the nearby towns may know her on sight alone.


    We rode into the center of town and made sure our horse tracks mixed with the other tracks that were already on the road. There were a few signs that pointed to other towns which were close by. We rode in circles a few times to try to get our tracks mixed in with the others and decided on a whim to head to a town that was westward.


    We rode for an hour until we reached it. This time it was only Madeline and I who made an appearence before meeting up with Lameria on the outskirts and headed north to another town.


    At that town it was the 2 cloaked girls who mixed their single horse''s tracks in with the others before they met up with me and we headed north east. We did this a few more times with different combinations of people and a different amount of horses as we tried to throw off any trackers.


    The towns people didn''t take much notice of us, but even if they did none of the stories would completely match what they were looking for.


    I was confident that they would track us to the first town we came to. But I hoped the confusing situation would give us a little extra time. Now we needed to make a hard choice. As we rode to yet another town it was coming up on noon. As I thought over the situation we were in I was coming to a decision. I turned my head back towards the two girls who were riding together.


    ¡°I think when we get to the next town we should sneak our horses into their stables and continue on foot.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? If we sell our horses we''ll lose a lot of our mobility." Madeline was right to point this out. It was a big downside to the idea. But somewhere in my mind I felt a strong certainty that if we didn''t do something irregular their trackers would find us eventually. I gave Madeline a smile.


    ¡°I didn''t say sell them. I said sneak them in. If we sell them it would all but announce we were here. If we just put them in and leave there''s a good chance no one will notice for a few days. People are concerned about their horses being stolen, not someone sneaking any in for free. I heard that stables often loan out horses for rent and keep a careful count.


    Any incorrect count as a surplus would probably be seen as a horse that was loaned out and wasn''t picked up or one that was put back and not recorded. It''s a move no one would suspect, which is why I think we should do it. If they don''t know what we did they will continue to focus on horse tracks. While they waste their time we can escape on foot. Hopefully by the time they realize what we did it will be too late."


    Was I sure about anything I was saying? Absolutely not. I did hear that stables rent out horses constantly but besides that it was all conjecture. I wasn''t an expert tracker and had no idea if I was making the right call. But It sounded like a good idea and I was confident the way to beat these people was to do something that put them off balance. Just like Timothy and that pebble.


    In the end they agreed with my plan. Lameria would have agreed with anything I said of course, but Madeline still had some reservations. Once we got into town I was worried that we''d need to wait for an opportunity. It was actually much more simple than I dared dream.


    We simply walked them into a few open stables and closed the doors behind them. As we walked out i half expected someone to ask us what we were up to, but no one took notice.


    I thought about buying supplies but decided against it. I was hopeful we would reach another nearby town before nightfall on foot and I wanted to hold out until then to talk to anyone. The less contact we had with these towns people the better.


    Even as I knew it was probably the smart thing to do, I felt badly that I didn''t at least buy any traveling boots for Lameria. I hoped she wouldn''t be too uncomfortable. If she was then I would happily carry her in my arms. You See? Chivalry''s not dead after all. At least not when it comes to her.


    We walked for about an hour and rested. We kept repeating the process until the sun started to set. I guess we weren''t going to make that town today. Lameria and I started to set up camp and started a fire. Madeline took out a pouch of water and prepared food she had taken. It was only enough for 1 meal so we would need to buy supplies from now on.


    After we ate all the food and finished nearly all the water we curled up in our tiny shelter using some of my former clothes for a blanket and pillows. I laid in the middle with Madeline to my left and Lameria to my right. Initially we all had a little space between us but in the cool night without blankets or a well made shelter i felt them huddle against me.


    That had more than 1 benefit besides the warmth but being the gentleman i am I didn''t take advantage. We could have been warmer if we made a larger fire but all of us knew that was a bad idea.


    Even a medium sized fire can be seen a long way off in the night. We only made our fire large enough so Madeline and I could see the immediate area.


    I wasn''t able to sleep with these 2 pressing their bodies against me, not to mention the fact I gave them the most comfortable pieces of fabric to lay their heads on, so i told them I would keep watch.


    They were happy for that but vetoed the notion of me getting up and sitting outside the tent near the fire to do it. Nothing much went on that night so I spent much of my time laying there and watching their sweet sleeping faces.


    Lameria was always incredibly beautiful no matter what, but when Madeline slept I oddly noticed she somehow became more attractive. Maybe it was just that her scheming eyes, trouble making smile and smart mouth comments were gone now. Her usually severe beauty turned girlish and soft.


    During the night with just the breathing of the girls and the occasional noise of an owl to keep my company i finally had time to think about everything that happened. I remembered the face Susan made when i stabbed her and the desperate look in her eyes. She was both afraid of me and beseeching me to help her at the same time.


    I always had a morbid curiousity when it came to the question of what it would feel like to kill someone. It felt like I lost something. Not so much a sense of innocence or humanity. It was more a sense of security. Everyone always tells you how fragile life can be, but until you see it and take it first hand you never really get it.


    I looked over to Madeline and Lameria. I felt the dagger on my side and thought of the implications. They just put their lives in my hands so willingly without even a thought. Didn''t they realize how dangerous that could be? How many times have i done that without even thinking? Looking back now, i felt so foolish.


    We would need to be careful with that from now on, especially in this world. We could trust each other but everyone else was a question mark until proven otherwise. My arms which were around them for warmth now took on a more protective meaning in my mind.


    That was only one part of what I felt since I killed Susan. As for the other things I''m feeling; Sorry, I''d rather not talk about it.


    As the first hint of dawn started to break Madeline woke up. I asked her if she would be willing to stay on watch for a while so i could get a few hours of sleep. She was crabby from just waking up but said she was willing. I may have only got a few hours but it was well needed after being awake for nearly two days.


    Soon the light would not let me sleep any longer. I woke just a few moments before Lameria. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the woods giving the air a sniff. She had a normal looking human nose but perhaps it was a bit more sensitive than ours. Smelling nothing of concern, she went back to the job of packing up everything and dismantling camp. Better to leave no traces behind if we could help it.


    Just as we were finishing up I leaned over to Madeline. ¡°I''m glad we didn''t have any issues last night. I was worried about maybe a monster or bear stumbling into our camp.¡± She didn''t seemed too concerned by the thought.


    ¡°There aren''t any bears in these woods. As for monsters, outside of dungeons they are exceedingly rare and moderately weak. We would have to be very unlucky to stumble across one.¡± Soon we were all packed up and ready to depart. The three of us finished the rest of the water Madeline brought along. We were still thirsty but the town couldn''t be more than a two hour walk away.


    Unfortunately It didn''t take more than 20 minutes into our journey before Madeline''s words came back to bite us. What else would we come across but a lone monster in the woods feasting on a deer. It''s blood covered head turned upward from it''s meal as its eyes found us.


    Dammit, I knew we should''ve brought our swords.

 Chapter 12

    Blood and gore dripped from its mouth as the creature took the measure of us. It reminded me of a badger, except for the fact that it was over three times larger than any badger I¡¯d ever seen. Its horns and blood red eyes gave the beast an air of menace that was not found in the animal kingdom.


    The books of the Armingtage library made clear the difference between animals and monsters. The one trait every monster shared were the blood red eyes. Most of them had horns and multiple rows of razor sharp black teeth among other nightmarish features.


    When it came to a higher ranked monster there was no need to look closely for such details. If you were unfortunate enough to come across one of those abominations, you would have no doubt what you were facing.


    It gave a high pitched scream when it saw us. It''s mouth opened a full 180 degrees displaying row upon row of black razor sharp teeth. As it screamed, chunks of the deer it was consuming, sprayed from its mouth. It charged at us without closing it''s jaws as if it was trying to give us a preview of our fate.


    Judging by its speed there was no way to run from it. Madeline and I pulled out our knives with no other choice left. With Lameria unarmed I yelled at her to get back. The monster changed its course from a charge in our general direction to one directly aimed at Madeline.


    She backed up, unsure of how to attack the beast head on as the gap continued to close. Seeing her in trouble I did the only thing I could think to. I picked up a near by rock with my free hand and tossed it at the head of the monster. It didn''t seem to have much of an effect, but I got it''s attention. It was now coming towards me.


    ¡°Madeline, we need to attack it from behind. While it''s focused on me see if you can get a few strikes in.¡± I picked up a large thick branch and jabbed it at the creature. I kept my knife in my other hand but I didn''t want to get that close if I could help it.


    Madeline froze in panic for a moment with this being her first life and death experience. But she quickly heeded my words and jumped into action. I tried to keep it''s attention on me as Madeline snuck up behind it. With each bite of it''s mighty jaws my branch shortened.


    Madeline stabbed the monster from behind. It was too far to get the neck so she focused on the back and the rear legs. She got 3 deep punctures in before the beast turned on her. It would have no doubt killed her right then and there if she hadn''t done her job well.


    Her attacks managed to cripple one of its legs and slowed the monster down considerably. I came up from behind it and stabbed down numerous times with its back towards me. It turned on me faster then I expected. I was able to avoid it''s teeth but it''s claws found my right arm.


    The knife was knocked from my hand and deep gashes appeared where the claws struck. The injuries wouldn''t be life threatening, but it still hurt like hell. The force of the hit caused me to lose my balance.


    Seeing me down it charged in for the kill as best it could with it''s lame leg. Madeline stabbed the monster as it came towards me, but it''s focus was fully now on taking my life, not protecting its own. I still held the branch in my hand and pointed it towards the monster.


    As I was thrusting the stick at it''s face to slow it''s momentum, Madeline fiercely stabbed down over and over. It''s oily black blood spilling out as it chomped up my branch inch by inch. Lameria came up from behind me with a long branch of her own to help push it away from me.


    Madeline''s dagger finally came down into the monster''s red eye. It gave a large spasm and then went limp as a puppet with its strings cut. Even it''s death felt unnatural. I slowly got to my feet to examine it''s corpse. We gave it a few more stabs for good measure, you can never be too safe.


    I tried to thank the girls for their help but their focus went immediately to my arm. I told them it was fine but Lameria went right to work dressing the wound without even hearing my thanks. As for Madeline she was suddenly distracted by something else. She gave us both a wide smile.


    ¡°It says that I just reached level 7. Did either of you get any levels or experience?¡± I shook my head as I spoke with a slight grunt through the pain of my wound being dressed.


    ¡°Only the person who actually gets the kill gets the experience. Nothing else matters. It was in one of the books in your library. I thought you would have read all about that.¡± She gave me a sour look.


    ¡°I read some of them. I thought I would have plenty of time so I was never in a rush to get through them all.¡± My wound was dressed and the bleeding stopped. The thought of Madeline leveling up made a thought cross my mind that I''m surprised I over looked till now.


    ¡°By the way, I think it would be a good idea to show each other our status screens. Unless you two have any objection that is?¡± Seeing no reason not to, they both did as I asked while I showed them mine.


    Name: William Taylor


    Age: 16


    Race Human


    Class: None


    Sub Class: None


    Skills: 1/10 Teacher 3/10 Swordsmanship 1/10 Assassin


    Level: 5


    Experience: 08%


    Constitution: 16


    Dexterity: 17


    Intelligence: 21


    Strength: 18


    Wisdom: 21


    Charisma: 17


    Health: 37/38


    Mana: 38/38


    Stamina: 19/19


    Attribute Points: 0


    Name: Madeline Armingtage


    Age: 18


    Race: Human


    Class: None


    Sub Class: None


    Skills: 6/10 Swordsmanship


    Level: 7


    Experience: 24%


    Constitution: 16


    Dexterity: 22


    Intelligence: 22


    Strength: 16


    Wisdom: 22


    Charisma: 18


    Health: 37/37


    Mana: 50/50


    Stamina: 21/21


    Attribute Points: 0


    Name: Lameria Vulpes


    Age: 20


    Race: Foxkin


    Class: None


    Sub Class: None


    Skills: None


    Level: 7


    Experience: 23%


    Constitution: 18


    Dexterity: 19


    Intelligence: 19


    Strength: 27


    Wisdom: 19


    Charisma: 13


    Health: 50/50


    Mana: 30/30


    Stamina: 25/25


    Attribute Points: 0


    The main differences I noticed, besides them both having a higher level than me, were how Madeline seemed physically weaker but had more mana, while Lameria lacked mana but had more stamina and strength. I wonder if it was the same for all beastkin.


    A thought cross my mine as I looked at their status screen. That man who was there when I was first sold into slavery; he could read my status screen without me opening it. No doubt some kind of appraisal skill. No matter what we did to hide, I''m sure her father either had people like that or would hire them. I shared my concerns.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°There are people who can see our status screens without us showing them. That means they can just look up and see our information without us being able to do anything to stop them. Hiding from such people is impossible, even if we change our appearance. Is there anything we can do about that?¡±


    ¡°Like what? The status screen can only show the truth. That''s what it''s for, isn''t that obvious?¡± Madeline was always surprised at the little tidbits I didn''t know. I figured this may be the case but the wheels in my head kept turning.


    ¡°What if it''s a nickname? Something that isn''t an outright lie but just not the most obvious and literal thing. Is that possible?¡± They looked at each other as they thought it over. Trying to think of cases in the past where that might have happened. Madeline answered.


    ¡°I guess, as long as it isn''t something completely made up and it''s in some way derivative of the root name. I''ve seen people who''ve had short hand nicknames in there status screen because that''s what everyone called them. I don''t think it was a conscious choice though.¡±


    I started to pace as I thought. William would be easy but could it be done with the last name too? I worried this might be a bit of an overstep. Something like this may end up bringing me back to level 1 if the ''Mother'' thought I was over stepping the rules of the system. But I had to chance it considering the situation.


    ¡°Okay, from now on I want both of you to call me Bill Mitchell. Mitchell is my middle name by the way. Also, make sure it is the name you use from now on unless we agree to change back.¡± They both agreed and said my new stated name out loud.. It wasn''t the first time in my life anyone called me Bill but it wasn''t common for me.


    I couldn''t exactly take out a pencil to erase my old name and write in the new one. Instead I tried to picture my name change and said it over and over again in my mind while watching my status screen and willing it to change. It took a little while but it worked, my name in the status screen now read Bill Mitchell instead of William Taylor.


    I waited to see if anything bad would happen. After a little while when no negative effects occurred, I figured it was safe to have Madeline and Lameria do the same.


    Madeline dropped her full first name to Maddy, which she used to be called when young, and changed her last name to Rose, which was her middle name. The new name really didn''t fit her personality in my opinion.


    I was confident no one would remember Lameria''s last name. I doubted anyone cared to get to know her well enough to ask about it. Her first name was the issue. I doubted this world had all that many foxkin and even fewer ones named Lameria. She wasn''t called any nicknames when young like Maddy and myself, so I was a bit nervous that this wouldn''t work.


    Luckily it worked with no penalty given. Lameria Vulpes was now Meri Vulpes. Hopefully it would be enough to fool someone if they were looking for us and didn''t know our faces. With this done the three of us decided to continue towards town. We had no idea what to do with the monsters body so we left it. As we continued our walk I spoke.


    ¡°From now on these are the names we will go by, even in private. I don''t want to cause any kind of penalty or have an untimely slip of the tongue that could get us caught. The best way to avoid that is to totally commit to them.¡± They agreed that this was the best idea. It did make me a little sad that it had to be like that as I preferred their full names.


    We kept walking for about an hour longer until we finally reached the town. With the money Maddy had we could easily afford anything we wanted, but it wouldn''t do to be wasteful given our situation. We paid to have my wound tended to and for Meri to finally get some traveling boots of her own. We also purchased a new set of clothes for her as the ones she had seemed out of place, even covered by the cloak.


    We bought some food, water canteens and camping gear. I wanted to buy some swords as well but this town was fairly small and didn''t have a blacksmith. We all wanted to pay for a room but we knew that it would be safer to camp in the woods.


    So far we had done well to avoid any capture, but constantly running in the woods would not be a long term solution. We needed a place where we could hold up for a while and not be found. I also needed to get my hands on a map of this entire area and see if I could get the location of my sister''s town. I learned that the only place where both could be done was in one of the larger cities.


    I asked the towns people to name a couple of the cities that were within a few days walk from here. I wanted somewhere that had a diverse populace and cultural make up. Some place that a group like ours would be less likely to stick out. After they named all the nearby locations I asked Madeline what she thought would be the best one while keeping in mind the things I was looking for.


    ¡°Northwood would probably be the best choice out of the cities they named. Besides the things you mentioned, it also has a reputation for being a place where people don''t tend to ask a lot of questions.¡± That sounded just about perfect for what we needed. After making all our purchases we continued on foot towards Northwood.


    On the way we would pass by a few more towns to buy new supplies as needed and maybe take a rest at an inn, if it seemed safe. When we needed to get supplies the girls always wore their cloaks and hoods. It was important to keep their faces hidden for now until we got to a major city. Maddy for obvious reasons and Meri because a foxkin would attract too much attention in a small town.


    The journey turned into a repetition of walking, resting, camping and buying supplies. Half way through our journey we decided to stay at an inn one late night. I paid for a room on the bottom floor and slipped Meri and Maddy through the back. It was nice to get a chance to wash off and sleep in a real bed, for them at least. I slept on the floor while they shared the bed.


    The night before we were to arrive at Northwood we camped in the woods. I hoped that we could make it by nightfall but sadly we were still a few hours away by Maddy''s estimation when it got dark. We sat around a fire enjoying our food and drink. I was happy to see that slowly but surely Maddy and Meri had been getting closer.


    It looked like the old saying about how opposites mixed was true. Maddy, while 2 years younger, a few inches shorter and with a smaller build, had clearly taken on more of the big sister role when it came to Meri. She seemed determined to slowly but surely pull her out of her shell.


    Maddy almost never bit her tongue with anyone she spoke to, but I noticed when she talked to Meri she was careful with her words and tone. She had learned by now that if she ever told Meri to do anything that she would do it without question and that if she made fun of her or told the wrong kind of joke, instead of returning the jab in kind, Meri would sincerely ask for forgiveness. It would take a long time for the damage to be undone.


    It occurred to me that considering Meri''s role within the household that it was very possible that Maddy had never seen her before the moment she ran into my room. The thought of serving someone you never even got to see for over 15 years was something I had a hard time wrapping my head around.


    With all these thoughts about years and age differences something came to mind. I realized that in all the commotion I had lost track of the days here, but I was pretty sure it was today. I opened my status screen to see if I was right. It turned out I was, my age was now 17. Happy Birthday to me i guess. Maddy and Meri both looked up to see my screen.


    Maddy wished me a happy birthday in her usual robust way while Meri gave me a quiet but very sincere happy birthday. Maddy muttered that it simply wouldn''t do to have a birthday without getting a present. She perked up as a mischievous thought came to mind.


    ¡°It''s customary on someones birthday to give them a birthday kiss you know.¡± Maddy prodded Meri a little with her elbow. Meri looked nervously at Maddy and then to me. Nodding her head she slowly stood up and walked over while Maddy had a big laugh at my reaction. I shook my hands out in front of me to signal her to stop.


    ¡°That isn''t a custom of mine Meri. Don''t worry about it, but thank you for the offer.¡± She gave a sigh of relief and sat back down. I gave Maddy an annoyed look and she gave me a playful one back.


    ¡°You just need to ruin all my fun, don''t you Bill? I guess in the end you are just far too pure a guy. Wait a minute, would that have been your first kiss?¡± I tried not to give away if it was or wasn''t. As a matter of fact it would have been my third kiss, and only the second one that a girl ended up hating.


    ¡°If you think it''s so amusing then how about next time you volunteer yourself instead of someone else?¡± I said the comment without really thinking about it. At first she gave a peculiar look, but then a coy smile spread across her face.


    ¡°Fine.¡± She stood up and marched towards me keeping the same expression.


    ¡°Hey, hold on. I didn''t mean for you to actually-¡±. She grabbed me by my shirt and pushed her lips forcefully against mine. This wasn''t a soft sweet kiss. It was overtly aggressive. almost combative.


    I tried to back away but in response she put her hand behind my head pulling me tightly towards her. She pushed her tongue deep into my mouth which caught me by surprise. It went on for what I would guess was about 10 seconds before she finally let go.


    ¡°Happy Birthday Bill.¡± She quickly walked back to where she was sitting and looked a bit surprised and embarrassed at her own actions. Eventually it gave way to a laughing fit. One that we all joined in on after the nerves wore off.


    It was honestly kind of funny. I also had to admit something about it was very sexy.


    We arrived at Northwood the next day early in the morning. I already worked out in my head what I wanted to do here. Meri as usual went along with what was decided but Maddy took some convincing. Not because she didn''t agree it was a good idea, but because she found it distasteful.


    And that''s exactly why I wanted to do it. We had to go to a place where they wouldn''t think a young lord''s daughter would hide. If someone like Maddy didn''t want to be there, then clearly the mere suggestion of searching such an area would be insulting.


    After asking around a bit I found just the place we needed. While it was technically an inn open to anyone, it was primarily used by nearby prostitutes as a makeshift brothel. As I walked in I couldn''t help but think that the inside of this establishment looked exactly like I pictured it; run down and dirty. We walked up to the counter to see the man that I assumed was the owner.


    ¡°How can I help you?¡± The unsavory and unwashed middle aged bald man asked while giving me a suspicious look. He certainly didn''t recognize the girls next to me and they didn''t figure for the usual type that he saw here.


    ¡°We want 2 rooms and some jobs.¡± He gave us a look over before answering curtly.


    ¡°A room is 2 silver by the hour, and I''m not hiring¡±. He grabbed a ledger to get the transaction ready.


    ¡°We aren''t paying by the hour, we want 2 weeks. We''re willing to pay in advance for a discount rate. Also, with all the mess around here I doubt you couldn''t use a little labor¡±. He didn''t appreciate my tone, but the 2 weeks in advance caught his interest.


    ¡°I''ll give you 2 rooms for 5 gold coins. As for hiring you, I''m not interested, I have enough useless lazy asses around here. I certainly don''t need more.¡±


    ¡°Make that 3 gold for 2 weeks along with 3 jobs, and you got yourself a deal.¡± He laughed at my offer.


    ¡°I can make 2 silver coins an hour for a room. Why would I take 3 gold for 2 rooms to be booked for 2 weeks?¡±


    ¡°Because you won''t have to change the sheets every time someone leaves for one. That''s laundry and labor cost you won''t have to pay for. As a bonus you''ll get 3 employees who will be right here at your inn, so at the very least we''ll show up for work on time.¡±


    He considered my words. It was true a lot of the money they made went right to cleaning and labor. It wasn''t like he ever filled all the rooms in the first place. Even on the busiest nights he had a number of unused rooms. The 3 gold coins was more than he could make from renting those rooms out for a month. If he didn''t like how we worked then he could just kick us out and wouldn''t lose anything on top of it.


    ¡°What can you do?¡±


    ¡°We can clean this place up for one. On top of that you will find no better server than this young lady right here.¡± I pointed to Meri before continuing my pitch.


    ¡°Not to mention I''m a pretty skilled swordsman and should any trouble arise I can handle it for you.¡±


    I didn''t mention the swordsmanship skill Maddy had. That would invite too many questions and get her more attention which is what I came here to avoid. The fact we didn''t have a sword right now made my swordsmanship skill useless. But he didn''t need to know that. He rubbed his cheeks as he considered. Finally he dropped his hand and spoke.


    ¡°Deal, but if you''re not up to snuff I''ll fire you all on the spot and you''re still on the hook for the rooms. The 2 up in the corner on the left are the least used ones. They aren''t that nice but they''re clean at least. Work starts tonight around dinner, that''s when business really picks up.¡±


    Meri and Maddy took the keys and gave the man 3 gold coins. I took the purse from Meri and told them I''d be back in about an hour, and that I was going to by some basic goods. Maddy wanted to come but eventually agreed it would be better to be seen around the city as little as possible for now.


    The first order of business was to buy the daily necessities of food, water and a few more pairs of clothing. I didn''t want to make any major purchases without all 3 of us there, but I thought it would be nice to buy some cheap practice swords as well I needed to find out where the hell I could get my hands on a map. The next time a fight broke out, Maddy and I would be prepared with our swords in hand. But if we came across trouble again what would Meri do?


    It was well past time I started thinking about what kind of weapon to get her.

 Chapter 13

    Shopping was an uneventful affair. I decided to buy 2 cheap training swords, a bow, arrows, clothes, food and water. I tried to find out where I could get my hands on a quality map but no one I talked to seemed to be able to give me a clear answer. I would just need to try again later I suppose


    After getting back I brought everything up to the girls room and we had a long discussion. We now had almost all the items we would need for traveling.


    The only things we currently lacked were a map and some real swords. In either case we decided the best thing would be to stay here for 2 weeks and keep our heads down.


    I asked Maddy about my town to see if there was any hint she could give me. As I suspected, it was too small and out of the way for her to know anything about it.


    If there was a silver lining when it came to coming from a hole in the wall town, It was how difficult that would make it for the Armingtage house to find out about me.


    I probably didn¡¯t leave much of an impression on the people who took me or the ones who brought me to the auction. I don''t think any of them were around when I made my big speech so there is a reasonable chance that my origin would be impossible to discover.


    Assuming that was the case, there wouldn''t be any guards in my town waiting for me. At least that was my hope. Meri had no roots to go back to either. I don''t think she even remembered where she lived before she was sold into slavery.


    Maddy obviously wasn''t going to see anyone that she knew. They would just hand her over to her father. While the lack of options for help was unfortunate, in a way it did give us an advantage. They had no idea where we may be heading.


    I may not have even needed to change my name. Besides Maddy and Jeffrey''s mother it was unlikely that anyone knew it, and I would lay fair odds that Jeffrey''s mother forgot it five minutes after she saw it. I was just another slave in her eyes.


    Dinner began and we went down stairs in our new clothes to start our jobs.. I would be changing the sheets and putting them in the washer. I did my very best to avoid any love stains by keeping to the outside and rolling inwardly. I wasn''t about to make either one of the ladies do it.


    The next 5 or 6 hours became very hectic. The owner was right that everyone else he hired seemed to be useless. This wasn''t the kind of place that attracted the best, brightest or most motivated.


    Meri swept and mopped the floor as well as cleaned the tables and chairs. She didn''t seem to have much experience as a server but she did it well. They only wanted more drinks in any case.


    Maddy wasn''t all that useful. She tried to pitch in with the cleaning but kept missing obvious spots. When she took an order she was often short with the customers which I was worried would get us in trouble. If anything, it seemed to make us less suspicious and allowed us to fit in better with everyone else here.


    It was late by the time business stopped. I took the smaller room with Maddy and Meri sharing the bigger one. It may have just been a room at a shady inn, but it was one of the best rooms I¡¯ve slept in since I arrived in this world.


    We woke up later than any of us had since the day we first started our escape. To no ones surprise the place was dead. Clearly breakfast wasn''t a big attraction at this establishment.


    We all had to get our own buckets, tubs and soap, but those kinds of things were easy to find here. After washing ourselves and our clothes we set out to find a quiet place to do some training in the woods.


    We came across a nice secluded spot not far from the inn. Meri sat on a rock as Maddy and I took out our practice swords. It was the first time I''d gotten a chance to train in a while.


    Maddy was still much better than me and tried to make it look like sparring with me was as easy as carving a turkey, but the effort she showed on her face betrayed that. I practically never landed even a glancing blow on her, but I was now at the point where she had to go all out to make me look bad.


    We agreed that it would be a good idea to take out our daggers and fight with those while our swords still clashed during critical moments in our spars. It was important to get use to handling 2 weapons at once in case the need arose.


    We had to be careful with them, as unlike our practice swords they could easily cut flesh, but if we were to fight monsters in the future, not to mention other people, we needed to practice so that when the time came we could fight with all we had.


    You can''t entirely avoid risk in life. If we tried to avoid all risk in our training that would just end up putting us in danger at a more critical moment. Best to face a sharp weapon now in a controlled situation than to fight someone with a sharp dagger unprepared.


    I coaxed Meri into getting up and asked Maddy to lend Meri her sword so I could practice with her a bit. Between the two of us giving her instructions she started to learn how to correctly wield her weapon and work through the attack forms correctly.


    With her strength she had a chance to be better than either of us, but when it came to live practice the theory broke down. I would swing my sword at her, only to see her step back and cower.


    I had to promise I wouldn''t hit her before she stood her ground, and even then I had to swing lightly and was just aiming at her sword. Maddy wanted to step in for me but I shot down the notion. She would push her too hard. While that was good for some people, I could tell it would only hurt Meri''s training.


    Between Meri needing practice and Maddy wanting more, I didn''t get a break. After we were spent we traveled back to the inn. It was clear that if Meri wanted to fight with us than close combat would need to be put on hold for now.


    I worried about them both, but particularly Meri. They were only going down this path because it was the path that I chose and they didn''t know where else to go. The thought crossed my mind, what if they weren''t cut out for this and I was leading them to their deaths?


    Well, for now it wouldn''t be something I needed to worry about. First I had to find my sister. Maybe once things settled down I could convince them to take up safer jobs while I took the risk alone.


    The next 2 weeks went by pretty quickly. Maddy wanted to buy some real swords so I brought her out with me once I felt it was safe. I had to admit that she did know a good sword from a bad one.


    We didn''t buy their absolute best swords, but we got a good deal for the quality we selected. She even haggled them down from 10 gold coins to 8 for both. It didn''t have any pretty designs on it like the others but the blade, grip and guard were all well made.


    We didn''t use them much as we were worried they may be damaged and we had the practice swords for that anyway. We only train with them enough so we could get use to the weight and feel.


    Meri wasn''t getting on well with her swordsmanship training so we decided to drop it and let her focus on the bow. She picked it up like a natural. Maybe because of all that discipline being beaten into her over the years. In a more calm situation, where she could aim and shoot a target from a distance she came into her own.


    Maddy gave her a few tips on her form, but Meri seemed to find much of the correct form just by instinct. Maddy borrowed the bow to take a few practice shots but quickly gave it back.


    The shots were okay but not amazing. While she looked to have been taught the bow she had no love or natural skill for it. I took a turn with the bow myself, but I decided the sword was a better fit for me.


    I could feel myself getting closer to my goal of being an adventurer with each passing day as I made small improvements. When I finally did go into a dungeon it would be nice to have a team with some more experienced people.


    If worse comes to worse I can just pay someone to come with me. It may be a waste of money if it turns out they aren''t needed, but better safe than dead.


    It would also be nice to learn a few basic spells so I wouldn''t have just the power of my sword to depend on. I don''t know if that was strictly needed for a level 1 dungeon. But If I were to take the test to achieve level 10... Well, It''s better to not get ahead of myself.


    It took almost the entire first 2 weeks but I was finally able to find a comprehensive map. Sadly there were a few other towns that shared the same name as mine. It took a bit of guess work and some logical inferences before I could find it.


    I was able to estimate the distance and general direction of my town from the slave market where I was sold. It looked like from the town we were in that it would be about a 7 day walk. If I picked the correct town that is.


    As a bonus the map also marked the locations of all the level 1, 2 and 3 dungeons in the area as well as along with the more safe and unsafe forest. Before leaving I asked if there were any guilds or people who sold magic.


    It turned out this city and every other major city usually had at least 1 place. It didn''t sound like it would be cheap or easy to learn unfortunately. I thought of making a stop just to take a look, but there would be time to learn magic later.


    We decided against buying armor and shields before we were ready to actually go into a dungeon. It would''ve just been more to carry and a 7 day walk sounded tough enough without all of that extra weight.


    We finished buying supplies that included a few items we went without last time. You didn''t realize until they were gone how big a difference a few minor comforts could make.


    With everything packed we set off toward what I hoped was the correct destination. We decided to take the most direct path. It would lead through some forest that might have a few monsters, but that as all for the best.


    I was tired of taking things so slowly. You don''t get anywhere if you never take any risk. Besides, I felt a lot more comfortable with a sword.


    I kept grabbing the hilt of my sword as I walked. The feeling of walking through an untamed wilderness with nothing but a sword at your side was thrilling. I actually found myself smiling dumbly, and took care not to show it to Maddy or Meri.


    We went through the woods at a steady pace. Better to take an extra day and be able to fight at all times than try to get there a day sooner, only to be killed because we were too weak to deal with what came our way. During our breaks Meri set up a target and practiced her archery.


    She practiced whenever we stopped for meals, whenever we went to a town to buy supplies and whenever we set camp for the night. She seemed to find a sense of peace in the repetition of the actions.


    I thought it was starting to get a bit obsessive, but I wasn''t about to tell her to stop. Not when she finally found something she enjoyed in her life.


    We alternated between sleeping at inns and camping out. Every night we camped out we needed to take shifts to keep watch. Doing that too many nights in a row would only make us tired and sloppy.


    When we arrived in a town I always asked about any news that had come in recently. No one ever mentioned anything about Maddy going missing.


    I took that to mean the Armingtage family was keeping the matter quiet. They could have had the entire empire on alert if they wished it. But if we were found by any agents of the empire it could be troublesome for them.


    Not only would Maddy proclaim that she wasn''t kidnapped, but we could argue the death of Susan was in self defense. With the word of a Lord''s daughter on our side, it would be difficult to convict Meri and I of any wrongdoing.


    That would cause more issues and further embarrassment, to go along with the embarrassment of them being forced to claim that 2 mere slaves managed to kidnap the lords daughter right off his own estate. That would no doubt signal a high level of incompetence and a loss of face.


    It meant we probably had less people looking for us than we would have otherwise, but that the ones who were looking would be more dangerous and weren''t bound to follow the laws of this world, whatever they were.


    During camp on our 4<sup>th</sup> night Meri managed to gain the Archery skill. We both gave her a hardy congratulations for her accomplishment. Instantly it made her shots a bit more accurate. I was glad to see her training was paying off. I hope that would lead to her gaining more confidence in herself.


    I still asked her to do some training with the sword and dagger. You never know what situation may pop up, and it was always good to be prepared. As bad as she was with the sword, I was worse with the bow.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    I still forced myself to do it anyway, as one day it may be that a shot from a bow would be the only way to save my life or the life of someone else, and a snowballs chance in hell was better than no chance.


    On the 5<sup>th</sup> night we finally ran into a monster. It was a bit smaller than the last one we saw and looked a little like a goat mixed with a pig. When it saw us with it''s blood red eyes it charged.


    Meri let loose 2 arrows in the time it took the monster to closed the distance. The first one missed, but the second one hit its front leg, causing a limp. Maddy and I charged forward with our swords in hand to finish it off.


    Maddy got the final hit in but didn''t level up. Her experience barely went up to boot. I guess the higher your level gets the less these weak monsters can help you. During the 2 weeks in Northwood our group learned a bit about how to properly prepare animals and monsters for food.


    Meri took the lead as the butcher of the group without looking the least bit squeamish. Maybe it was her foxkin nature, but she didn''t seem to mind cutting the beast up or the sight of blood and guts, as long as they weren''t human or any species close to human.


    With it being a monster we had to roast it extra well. But we were told the monsters in the wild are the closest ones to animals, so they were fairly safe to eat in most cases.


    Two days later we found another monster. It was like the badger one that we first saw. It charged us again but this time Meri put it down with a single arrow to its red eye and received all the experience points.


    We cheered her on but she didn''t seem to get excited by the victory and moved right along to the business of carving it up. I think I even saw her licking her lips. She never got to eat much meat before, but she was starting to really get a taste for it now.


    I got to thinking. If I slayed both of those monsters myself I may have been level 6 by now. Don''t mind me ladies. I''ll just sit here being level 5 while you rack up experience that barely helps you.


    The next day of travel we went through one of the most dangerous stretches of the forest. I was very pleased to see another monster on our travels.


    This one looked like a giant rat besides the blood red eyes, horns and oversized teeth. While I say it looked like a giant rat, it was the smallest monster we had seen so far.


    I didn''t wait for it to come at us. I told Meri and Maddy to get back and to let me handle it. I tried to play it off as wanting to protect them, but honestly I was tired of being 2 levels behind them. To be honest, it felt a little emasculating.


    This was a damn fast rat. My first swing missed and it sprung towards my left leg. I avoided the attack with a quick jump to the right. It was awkward as hell to fight something with a sword that was so low to the ground.


    I had to bend my knees more than normal or my swings would never hit it. The position made it hard to move quickly and allowed it to keep escaping me swing after swing.


    Meri readied her bow and arrow, but politely waited to see if I needed help. Going after it was proving difficult. I needed it to run towards me.


    I lunged forward leaving my left leg open on purpose. It instinctively went for the opening, as I hoped. I swung my sword down and finally managed to hit home. I swung a few more times until it stopped moving.


    I tried to kill it without attacking the eyes. We knew by now that the eyes were their weak point, at least for these kind of monsters, but I wanted to find out if it could indeed be killed without destroying them. It took a lot of damage to get the job done, but eventually I confirmed it was possible.


    I hoped that the rat would give me enough experience to level up to 6. No such luck. Still level 5 and still two full levels behind the others. Maddy gave me a sarcastic applause.


    ¡°Well done Bill. You go off and steal all the experience for yourself, but can''t even level up. That must be sooooo frustrating.¡± She knew what I was doing all along then? Well it''s not my fault these monsters aren''t worth much.


    ¡°Go wonder off a cliff Maddy.¡± I cleaned my sword before putting it away. She seemed please to know she irritated me but she also seemed to have a sense of when enough was enough. Something I find is often lacking in others.


    During this time I checked the map again with Maddy looking over my shoulder. I didn''t think we were far now. We would probably make it by tomorrow night at the latest. Since it was getting dark we set up camp and practiced as usual. I probably went a bit harder than I needed to, but Maddy didn''t complain about it.


    Part of it was because I was still ticked off at her for pointing out I was still just a level five, but the other was I had a sense of excitement about getting to see my sister after so long. There was a lot of energy in my body that I needed to work out.


    I also wanted some pay back on my father too. I wondered if it would be going too far to chop anything off. I guess I would see how I felt when I saw him. You didn''t need two hands to be a worthless drunk after all, did you?


    The next day of travel felt like the longest one so far, at least to me. I was pretty sure we were on the right path but it was hard to keep my sense of direction in the woods. Had we perhaps taken a wrong turn? It wasn''t impossible.


    Maybe when we got there it could turn out to be the wrong town and then I would have to start all over again. If this was the wrong town then I would have no idea where it was. This was by far my best guess. Would I just need to check all the towns with this name? And what if it wasn''t even on the map?


    Most concerning of all was the worry that it would be a trap of some kind. Well it wasn''t like I wouldn''t go even if that was the case, but I certainly didn''t want to lead anyone else into it and have them pay for my actions.


    We finally arrived at our destination just as dusk came. To avoid any chance of being seen in case the town was under observation we hugged the tree line and stayed in the shadows. This was definitely my home town. Well, my other version''s home town.


    It gave me a feeling of relief as well as made me anxious. Everyone here knew my face and if I was seen it could ruin absolutely everything. For the first time in our entire journey, I felt my anonymity taken from me. It gave me a keen insight into the pressure Maddy and Meri had felt at times during our escape. I didn''t fully appreciate it until now.


    We slowly moved along the outer perimeter of the woods until we found my house. We watched it silently as the sun set looking for any activity inside or in any of the nearby homes where a guard could be posted. It wasn''t until well after dark that my father came home with a drink in his hand.


    We stayed where we were until the candles in the house went out, and we continued to stay still a good while after. We waited until the entire town was asleep for what seemed like a good hour before we made our move. I didn''t think anyone could be watching when it was this pitch black, but it was impossible to know for sure.


    Meri''s eyes saved us from having to stumble around and risk making a noise. We had grown to depend more and more on her vision in the night during our travels. We were astounded to learn that even on the darkest of nights, she could see just as clearly as in the day.


    Maddy and I could barely see anything even a foot in front of us right now. We both held on to her shirt from behind and followed in her wake. She moved slowly for our benefit and turned back to whisper updates on our progress and warn us of potential obstacles on the ground.


    Finally we reached the walls of my house. The original plan was to have us move as one as we checked all the windows, but seeing how much of a chore it was just to move from the woods to the house as 3 people I decided to ask Meri to quickly check them all by herself.


    I didn''t want this to take longer than it had to, and with 2 of us moving blindly behind her it only increased the chance that we would make a noise. She agreed and told us that she would be right back. She left Maddy and I against the wall in the dark.


    For Meri it may have been just a quick look around the house, but without her here there was now a since of dread as we waited in the dark with small noises all around us that we couldn''t identify.


    Not only was there no moon tonight, but the clouds had all but blocked out the stars. You could still see your hand a few inches in front of your face, but that was the extent of the human eye''s ability at the moment. While I was comforted with how well that would keep us hidden right now, I felt nothing but unsettled in my current predicament.


    I felt Maddy''s hand fumble on me and then lock onto my shoulder. For some reason it calmed me for her to be more worried than I was. I couldn''t help but wonder how silly we might look to Meri when she saw this sight.


    As if on cue, a voice spoke out in the dark a few feet from us. I felt Maddy give a small jump that I matched. Thankfully it was just Meri. I had no idea she could be so stealthy


    ¡°I checked every window. I couldn''t see everything but I''m pretty sure no one is awake.¡± We could have left and watched the house for another 24 hours just to be sure that the house wasn''t being watched.


    However, something like that would carry it''s own risk. We wouldn''t get a night darker than this to work with again, and we may as well take advantage of it.


    ¡°Okay, sneak us around to the door. We can try to use our daggers to break in. If that fails I''m afraid I''ll have to ask you to climb through a window.¡± I think she nodded but I couldn''t be sure. We grabbed on again and we crept towards the door.


    My drunk of a father made it easy on us and didn''t even lock the door when he stumbled home tonight. Why did I think it would be any different? He was always a screw up. The fact he got one over me will be hard to live down.


    I slightly opened the door with my other hand holding my dagger. I was hoping there wouldn''t be a problem as I didn''t want to stab blindly into the dark. Meri looked inside and all of us listened. After a few moments I opened it the rest of the way and we hurried inside as I silently closed it behind us.


    Now that we were in the kitchen, we were through the worst. Meri grabbed the candles that were located exactly where I told her they''d be, and gave one to me and one to Maddy. I told Maddy to light hers but I kept the one in my hand unlit.


    As long as we didn''t get too close to the windows the light from these small candles would be hard to notice and no one would know we were inside.


    I put the dagger away and pulled out my sword. Maddy decided to keep her dagger in hand while holding the candle. We quietly walked past Armilda''s room and went straight to my father''s.


    We slowly crept in and checked the blind spots to be sure it was safe as he laid passed out. Once I was sure it was clear, I moved closer until I stood over him. What an uninspiring sight he was.


    ¡°Wake up you rotten drunk bastard.¡± I poked him with the sword, maybe harder than I had to. A few drops of blood formed on his shirt while he recoiled and came to.


    ¡°W-what. Who the hell? William?¡±


    ¡°I''m actually going by Bill for the time being.¡±


    ¡°Impossible! There''s no way.¡± I put the sword by his throat.


    ¡°I''m not going to give you a long drawn out explanation of how I got here. The important thing is I¡¯m here now. There''s no need for you to get up, I''ll be leaving here soon, but I¡¯ll be taking my sister with me, as well as the gold you stole, the amount you didn''t spend on booze yet anyway¡±.


    I held out my candle for Maddy to light and then I motioned her to go to my sisters room. Pointing it out with my hand holding the candle while I kept my attention on my father. He gave me his best drunk snarl.


    ¡°You little shit. You''ll never leave me alone will you? You troubled me when you were here and even when I do everything to get rid of you, you still trouble me. I never wanted you in the first place.¡± I laughed at that.


    ¡°Well I guess there had to be at least one thing we had in common. I never wanted you as my father either. ¡± Maddy rushed back in.


    ¡°She''s not there.¡± I turned to her slightly and asked in a confused voice.


    ¡°What do you mean she''s not there? Check the other rooms then.¡±


    ¡°I checked them all Bill. There''s no one else here.¡± I turned to my father.


    ¡°Where. Is. She?¡± I emphasized each word with a poke of my sword. My father was still drunk even now. He looked up at me with an accusing glare.


    ¡°It''s all your fault. It''s always been your fault. All of it. She never treated me as well as she treated you. You turned her against me. When you left she wouldn''t stop crying. Every fucking day.¡± I cut him across the cheek with the flick of a wrist.


    ¡°When I left? I didn''t leave, I was taken away from her, because of you.¡±


    ¡°It was your smart mouth and disrespectful attitude which caused that. I had to teach you a lesson. You got what you deserved.¡± I grew tired of his ramblings. I brought my sword down to his pants.


    ¡°If you don''t tell me what happened to her in 5 seconds, I''m going to start cutting things off.¡± His hate only gave way to his fear..


    ¡°She could have chosen to let it go and move on, but she just wouldn''t. She believed something happened to you and she wouldn''t stop whining about it. She stopped cooking, she stopped cleaning, she was being a lazy little cunt just like her mother.¡± I gave him a stab in the leg.


    ¡°You will never talk about my sister like that again. Understood? Now, where is she?¡± He grabbed his leg. The pain motivating him to get the words out.


    ¡°A man came a few weeks ago. He said he might be looking for you but wouldn''t say why. He only told me that they were looking into any recently sold male slaves around your age and description in the area.


    When I said that I had no idea what he was talking about, he told me he wasn''t here to arrest me, and that he would pay me a good price for any information I had. He stayed in town for well over a week, but after it didn''t looked like you were coming, he got impatient and decided to move on to check somewhere else.


    I told him if he wanted, just in case you were the one they were looking for, he could have my daughter. If you were the one I assured him that you''d come for her no matter what.


    I told him if he gave me 15 gold coins, I''d tell everyone that she went to live somewhere else with a distant relative. Even if you didn''t turn out to be who they were looking for the, price wasn''t bad.¡± I opened my mouth in shock. I couldn''t believe it.


    ¡°You sold her to them?¡± I finally got out in a shaky voice.


    ¡°She was no good to me anymore. Always crying, not doing anything she was told, just another damn leech feeding off me. No matter what I said or how much I tried to teach her to not be so damn lazy, she would just go to her room and cry all day. She was useless, just like everyone else.¡± My anger sprung up.


    ¡°How exactly did you teach her not to be lazy, father? Tell me.¡± I pressed my sword hard against him. He paused at that, but I didn''t need or want an answer. Then with a scowl he pointed to a cupboard.


    ¡°Your gold is there. Now go! Leave me alone. I want nothing else to do with any of you. I never wanted anything to do with any of you in the first place.¡±


    This wasn''t like Susan. My life and freedom weren''t on the line. He didn''t even know who that man worked for. By the time he had any chance to contact them, we would be long gone.


    There was no way to spin this as self defense. This would be murder, plain and simple. Was something like that in me? Could I really murder someone in cold blood?


    I pulled my sword back and with a mighty sideways swing I cut through him at cheek level. Everything below the bottom row of teeth was still in place. Everything above was now laying on the bed next to his leg. His body slumped back against the wall.


    I guess I could.


    [Level up: LVL 6]


    [Level up: LVL 2/10 Assassin]


    <table style="border-color: grey">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <th style="padding-bottom: 8px" colspan="3">


    <h2>Bill Mitchell</h2>


    </th>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Age</td>


    <td>17</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Race</td>


    <td>Human</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Class</td>


    <td>None</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Sub Class</td>


    <td>None</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    <h4>Level</h4>


    </td>


    <td>


    <h4>6</h4>


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Experience</td>


    <td>34%</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Constitution</td>


    <td>17</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Dexterity</td>


    <td>18</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Intelligence</td>


    <td>22</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Strength</td>


    <td>19</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Wisdom</td>


    <td>22</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Charisma</td>


    <td>18</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="padding-bottom: 8px">


    <h4>Health</h4>


    Mana


    Stamina</td>


    <td style="padding-bottom: 8px">


    <h4>40/40</h4>


    40/40


    20/20</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Attribute Points</td>


    <td>0</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="padding-bottom: 12px" colspan="2">


    <h3 style="padding-bottom: 6px">Skills


    1/10 Teaching


    3/10 Swordsmanship


    2/10 Assassin</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I cleaned my sword off on the bed and walked into my sisters room. Meri and Maddy didn''t follow me inside, but stood in the door way. I don''t know what I was looking for or why I bothered to enter her room. It was like I was still hoping to find her here against all reason. I put my hand over the cold sheets.


    I felt something under them. Opening them I found the fantasy book I brought with me to this world. Did she find it in my room after I was taken, and sleep with it every night since I left?


    What must she have been going through then? What must she be going through now? I grabbed the book and held it tightly to my chest to try to stop the pain I was feeling there. It didn''t work. Nothing would ever work again.


    I fell to my knees and started to cry.


    End of Arc 1

 Chapter 14 - Arc 2 - First Steps

    A comforting hand was placed on my back. I didn''t look up to see who it was. Instead I kept my head tightly pressed against my sister''s bed as I cried into it. What the hell were they doing to her? Why did this have to happen? I made the choice to come to this world; not her.


    Yet now she was suffering for my actions. All because I wanted to live out some silly notion of being a hero and journeying through a fantasy world. Now she was put into slavery, and once they realized she was really my sister, what would they do to her then?


    Worst of all, I knew there was no way to get her back. Even if I gave myself up to them, even if I convinced Maddy and Meri to give themselves up too. They were never going to let her go. Why would they let a witness to a crime they committed go free? They''d kill her before that.


    The thought of trying to get her out using force was even more laughable. How many dozens of guards would I have to kill? Each one was stronger then me. Even if I managed to grow a bit stronger what difference would it make?


    I laid crying against the bed feeling nothing but self pity and hopelessness. Why did I ever think I could be some kind of adventurer? What have I ever done that was heroic in my life? Nothing. The only things I could do well was run away, kill an old woman and unarmed drunk. The comforting hand on my back started to turn more insistent as Maddy spoke.


    ¡°Bill, I have the gold. Come on, we can''t stay here. For all we know there may be someone watching this place. We need to get away as soon as possible.¡± She was right, but I just didn''t care. I wanted to give up. Maddy was determined to force me on with her constantly annoying prodding.


    ¡°We have to go. You won''t be able to help your sister if we''re all caught.¡± I didn''t believe I could help anyone, but I eventually got up with her insistence, still holding the book to my chest as I walked.


    My feet seemed to move by themselves as Meri led the way. Maddy put one hand on her and one around my wrist, pulling me on. I walked aimlessly with her pulling, no longer caring where we were going.


    Once it was determined by Maddy that we had walked far enough away the two girls quickly set up a camp will I sat on a rock, as still as a statue. Not really watching them but not looking away either. I continued to go over the days events in my head.


    They tried to convince me that everything would be alright and we would figure something out. I ignored their lies, sitting silently by the fire they had made. They tried to coax me into laying down and going to sleep, but I sat straight up on the rock as the night started to go into the early hours of the morning.


    Seeing that it was useless and being tired, they told me that tomorrow they would help me figure something out, and turned in. I kept sitting upright on the rock the entire time without saying a word as they gave into an uneasy sleep.


    Soon I was left with nothing but silence as I watched the fire. On a whim, I took the book that I had held tight too my chest and opened it, turning the pages to the passage I finished not long before I came to this world.


    He pulled the sword free from its hilt. If he died here, then it meant he was never going to succeed in the first place. He put the cold steel against his forehead and said his usual prayer. ¡°Ormak, Please give me the strength to bring light to the darkness¡±.


    I read it over and over again. It wasn''t a well written passage. Clearly not something that Tolkien or any other fantasy writer worth his salt would pen. It was cliche as hell. Who would put a sword to their head and speak to no one? It seemed rather silly when you thought about it.


    I looked at my sword. The one I just killed my father with not long ago, and read the passage again. It really was stupid. There were no heroes and there were no overarching evil entities that wanted to rain down indiscriminate destruction on mankind. There were just people.


    There was just the way of the world, and the small and large injustices that happen in it every day. One person couldn''t fix it by simply slaying the evil lord. And even if someone could, I knew that person certainly wasn''t me.


    That''s fine. I don''t need to fix this broken world. I didn''t cause things to be the way they were here and I don''t feel the need to try to save any of you from the cruel system that you brought upon yourselves. I just need to fix the small bit that concerns me. The rest can go piss off as it pleases.


    I managed to find a peace within myself, now knowing what I had to do. Closing the book I finally turned in and decided I needed to get some sleep. Tomorrow was the start of what would be a series of very long days.


    The next morning I woke to find Meri and Maddy already alert and ready to go. Now that I''ve managed to pull myself out of that bout of self pity, I was able to notice that they were acting very tentatively around me. They wanted to talk, but couldn''t figure out what to say. That''s fine. I had something I needed to say first anyway.


    ¡°I''m okay now. I want you to know how grateful I am for what you both did for me last night, and everything else you''ve done for me. I''ll never forget it. I''m now seeing things clearly and I know what I have to do. From here on out, it''s going to get a lot more dangerous. I don''t plan to take things slow. I''m not willing to wait 20 years to get my sister back.


    I''m sorry to say from this point on we will be going our separate ways. I won''t let either of you travel down the path I¡¯m going. To be totally frank, I''ll probably die in the process, as will anyone who tries to follow me, and I won''t allow anyone else to suffer on my account. So this is goodbye and I wish you both the best of luck.¡±


    I stood up and started to pack. It was better this way. I was going well beyond any semblance of prudence. I would estimate at best I had a 1 in 100 chance of succeeding on the time line I had planned in my head, and the time line was non negotiable.


    I had come to the cold conclusion last night that the only way to save my sister was to take her back by force. For that I would need to become stronger. Much stronger. So strong that even all of the guards in the Armingtage mansion couldn''t stop me if that''s what it took. And I wasn''t about to let my sister stay a slave for years and years before I freed her.


    No, this was going to be a mad desperate dash to get stronger in a short amount of time. If I could reach my goal even one day earlier by pushing my self to the edge of my breaking point, it would be worth it. It would be one less day my sister had to suffer due to my mistakes. Maddy looked to Meri and saw the uneasiness on her face, then she turned her full attention to me.


    ¡°Look at you, talking big all of a sudden. Who do you think you are? What the hell gives you the right to make that decision for us?¡± Maddy clearly was having none of my tone. but I didn''t care.


    ¡°I''m not interested in your complaints. I''m telling you this is the way it is. You don''t get a choice this time. End of discussion¡±


    ¡°Well we''re not leaving you. If you''re going then so are we. Right Meri?¡± Meri looked nervously at Maddy and then at me. She hated situations like this when she was put on the spot to make a choice. But in the case of me leaving her behind, she was able to muster the courage to speak up.


    ¡°I-I don''t want to leave you. If you go, then I''m going too... please.¡± She almost managed to sound decisive, but she couldn''t help but put that please on the end. It only made me want to push her away to protect her more.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m leaving you. Let me make this clear. I''m not trying to get reassurance that you''re both happy to risk your lives. I''m telling you both to leave me the fuck alone, and that I will not let either of you come with me.¡±


    ¡°Well fuck you too Bill! I''m coming with you and you can''t stop me.¡± Maddy spoke back equally forcefully. Meri couldn''t bring herself to say anything, let alone curse at me. So she simply nodded her head as if to say she concurred with Maddy. I pulled out my sword.


    ¡°Actually, I can stop you. And I will if you make me. But I hope you don''t try to make me.¡± She gave me a coy look, almost as if she was unconcerned that my blade was pointing at her.


    ¡°What are you going to do Bill? Kill me if I come with you to keep me safe? Don''t be silly.¡± I gave her the same smile she was giving me right back to her. I was tired of these games of hers.


    ¡°No, I won''t kill you, but I''ll injure you so you can''t follow me if I have to.¡± I looked her dead in the eyes. I wanted to let her know I wasn''t joking. The smile fell from her face and she pulled out her own sword in response.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°In that case, I''ll disarm you and make sure you can''t stop me. Then I''ll beat you til you come to your senses.¡± She pointed her sword at me. Meri took out her bow but didn''t notch it. She seemed unsure of what to do and her hands were shaking. I doubt she trusted her self to loose an arrow in this situation.


    ¡°Have it you''re way.¡± I quickly closed the distance to her looking for her leg. I needed to miss the main arteries, but put her down for a while. Something like cutting a leg ligament would be ideal.


    After that it would be an easy matter to outrun her. If Meri tried to come after me then I''d just have to do the same to her. I hoped that she wouldn''t, the poor girl didn''t need any more pain in her life. It would hurt like a bitch and leave a scar, but at least they would both be alive afterwards.


    I kept going for Maddy''s leg, but she continued to move out of my range just a hair each time before I could reach it. To my surprise, she went for mine, but I was able to parry it. I didn''t think she would be willing to go that far.


    But that didn''t matter. I was willing to go farther than her, and that gave me an advantage. While she was focused on her legs I went for her sword hand. I didn''t want to make her a cripple, but it was better than her being dead.


    Her response was quick and I missed by only a hair. She had a shocked look on her face at my attack, but recomposed herself quickly. With more areas to be weary of it was harder for her to defend against me than for me to defend against her.


    We left our vitals open on purpose. There was no need to protect them. She wasn''t trying to kill me, just as I wasn''t trying to kill her. While she still went for my leg she didn''t try to go for my sword hand. With more to guard than me and less targets to attack the skill difference between us was completely erased.


    Dammit, why didn''t she get it? Even if she injured me I would just try again. There was no point to any of this. Even if she won 9 out of 10 times, all I needed to do was win once and it wouldn''t matter. I would be gone and she would never see me again. Didn''t she understand I was only doing this for her benefit?


    I realized that this was my first time crossing blades in a real fight. We weren''t trying to take each others lives, but the threat of serious injury hung in the air. The sound of 2 real swords clashing was different than the practice swords. It set my teeth on edge. When they connected, I felt the reverberations deep in my bones.


    Everything felt much sharper. My eyes focused more, my hearing seemed sucked in every sound and isolated each one. My sense of touch with the sword in my hand appeared to give me a new found degree of control over it.


    Through it all I had a sense of time slowing down. It felt like my body had unlocked something that was held deep in reserve, and brought out only in key moments in which life, death or mortal injury was on the line. For the first time in my life, I started to force Maddy backwards with my attacks.


    [Level up: LVL 4/10 Swordsmanship]


    As I swung my sword, I noticed a new sense for distance and angles that now seemed obvious. How could I''ve not noticed it before? The misses I had that I thought were near misses, really weren''t all that close. She avoided even my most accurate attacks by at least 2 inches.


    I adjusted my attacks to better match her movements and brought my sword down to her leg. This time it left a shallow scratch on the skin. I pushed her back as multiple cuts started to appear. She was barely hanging on now. It was only a matter of time before I got the hit I needed.


    It was all she could do to defend, attacking was out of the question at this point, unless she was willing to go for a killing blow that is. The advantage I had was too big for her to over come. I was mere moments away from getting her Achilles. Sorry Maddy, you may hate me. But at least you''ll be alive.


    A moment before I was about to land the fateful blow, she used a move I''d never seen before. Stepping in, she blocked my blade using hers. The odd position threw me off. Her blade was actually pointing more at herself than me at this moment. What an odd position to be in. Why did she do it? When she backed up she would leave herself wide open.


    At that moment I saw the hilt of her sword slam into my chin. My body wasn''t listening to me anymore. I felt numb and weak all of a sudden. She knocked my sword out of my hand and kicked me onto my back. Her foot stood on my left hand so I couldn''t get at my dagger and her sword point pushed against me slightly under my shoulder.


    Damn, I really thought I had her. Feeling was returning to my body slightly, but it still wasn''t listening very well. I let out a sigh and then looked up to Maddy.


    ¡°What the hell was that move?¡± It was all I could think to ask.


    ¡°It''s something Jameson Carter once taught me. He said to only use it if I was in a real pinch and needed to gamble. It''s kind of like an ace in the hole, to use your term, whatever that means.¡± I nodded as much as I could.


    ¡°It''s a pretty good one. I really didn''t see it coming. Why wasn''t I ever taught that?¡±


    ¡°He never taught it to anyone but me.¡± I gave a small laugh at that.


    ¡°Maybe he has a crush on you. How unprofessional of him.¡±


    ¡°Don''t be a wise ass.¡± We stayed like that in silence for a long time. I looked to Meri who was torn between wanting to help me and scared of letting me up, only for me to attack them again. I turned back to Maddy.


    ¡°You don''t even know the first thing about me. Neither of you do. I''m not who you think I am.¡±


    ¡°Who are you then? We agreed to be honest with each other, didn''t we? Tell me.¡± She tilted her head.


    ¡°You wouldn''t believe me.¡±


    ¡°Try me.¡± I hesitated for a moment. I don''t know why I was even bothering to do this. They would never believe any of it. But maybe if they did then they would see that I wasn''t someone they should be concerned about. I didn''t even belong here. So I told them the truth. All of it. I left some minor details out, but I didn''t leave out anything important. I found that once I started, that I couldn''t stop.


    I told them that I was from another world. That I never had a family that cared about me. How I had only known my younger sister for a short time. But that she was the closest thing to a real family I''ve ever had. So I was going to risk everything to get her back. Because I couldn''t go back to living the way I did before. Being with her made me realize something I had managed to hide from myself for a long time.


    I was lonely. I read all those fantasy books, and lost myself in them to try to hide it, but the truth is I was always so fucking lonely. I was desperate for anyone to care about me, to love me, but they didn''t. Nobody did.


    Then I suddenly got the chance to come here, and I jumped to take it. Because to me, it symbolized more than an adventure. It was the promise of filling the hole I felt in myself. The vague notion I had that there was something missing from my life. Even if I wasn''t exactly sure what it was.


    Once I met my sister, I realized how much I had been lying to myself all those years. Telling myself that I didn''t need anyone else. How everyone else was useless and stupid, until I believed that I would be better off alone. But I needed it. I needed it so badly. And when I finally found family that loved me, that cared about me, all those repressed emotions came to the surface.


    I started to feel alive again. I didn''t need to live my life through characters in a book, to feel something vicariously through them.


    And then someone took her away from me. That was something I couldn''t accept. I wouldn''t live that way. Never again. I would die before I let that happen.


    That''s who I am. I''m not some guy on a noble quest. I''m just a coward whose scared of being alone. A psychologist would probably have a lot to say about me. How forming such an intense bond so quickly probably had more to do with some deep seeded issues I had than a healthy genuine connection.


    Even if we did share the same blood, it wasn''t something a normal person would do. I was probably more akin to an addict looking for a fix. I didn''t care about any of that. I felt the way I felt and fuck everyone else''s opinion on the matter.


    After finishing everything I had to say, I took my eyes away from a tree I had fixed them on so I wouldn''t need to look at anyone during my little confession, and brought them back to Maddy. Her eyes were filling with tears. Not just tears of sadness; they were also tears of anger.


    ¡°You think you''re the only one whose been alone? You think I don''t know anything about that? I was surrounded by so many people, but none of them really saw me for who I was. Not one.


    I was a prize to be married off or presence to be feared, but never befriended. You think you''re so damn special? You''re not. I don''t care what world your from or what dangers we''ll face. We''re sticking together because we''re all we have. You agree too, right Meri?¡± She hesitated at first, but with the encouragement of Maddy she spoke up.


    ¡°I don''t remember my parents. I think their probably dead by now. It makes me sad to think about. I can''t even mourn them because I never knew them. It would be better if I could remember them, then at least i could feel the real loss instead of the emptiness.


    I was sold and then resold until I went to the Armingtage house, and for 15 years no one treated me like anything close to a friend. I almost preferred when people were cruel to me. At least they didn''t ignore me then. I have no one else and nowhere to go. If this ends with us three not being together... I can''t go back to that feeling again. I''d rather die fighting together than split up.¡± I shook my head at her.


    ¡°You two need to stop being so damn melodramatic.¡± These troublesome women. I still know what I have to do, but they''re zapping my will to do it.


    I think of the moment in the future when I end up getting one or both of them killed. I will look back right now and say to myself ''you idiot, you should have held firm. You should have pretended to agree and then broke their ankles in their sleep. You knew what was going to happen, and you let it happen anyway. And now it''s all your fault. Because you were too weak to see the damn thing through''.


    ¡°Okay, let me up.¡± Maddy kept her sword on me.


    ¡°You''re not going to try to do this again are you? Knowing you, you might attack us in our sleep thinking it would be all noble.¡±


    ¡°Actually I thought of that. But no, I won''t do it. I promise. I''ll almost surely regret not doing it when one of your deaths is on my conscience, but there is a 1 in 3 chance I''ll die first. Then maybe both of you will lose interest. So I just have to hope for that at this point.¡± She let me up. Meri looked hesitantly at me before speaking.


    ¡°Are you really from another world?¡± Meri asked.


    ¡°I knew neither of you would believe me!¡± I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°We believe you!¡± Maddy claimed, not very convincingly. I showed her my book.


    ¡°Tell me if you''ve ever seen anything like this. It''s not much proof, but it''s all I have. Even if you don''t believe me I guess now your stuck with a crazy guy. So the jokes on you.¡±


    She gave my book a very careful examination. She felt all the pages and inspected the binding. She ran her fingers over the material on the cover and then gave it back to me.


    ¡°If you''re crazy, then you sure went to a lot of trouble to prove it. For now, let me get back to you on that ''other world'' part.¡± Meri stood next to me.


    ¡°I don''t need to see the book. You''re word is good enough for me.¡± I smiled at that.


    ¡°Joseph Smith would love you.¡± Meri gave me a confused look.


    ¡°Whose Jos-¡±


    ¡°Never mind. We need to find a blacksmith. I want to move fast but not die meaninglessly. We will be all geared up and ready for a level 1 dungeon by tomorrow morning."


    We also needed to get someone to come with us. Hopefully someone worth a damn.

 Chapter 15

    Maddy and I looked over the map. Finding the closest level 1 dungeon, we set out for the town beside it. They were the most common variety, but only slightly more common than level 2 and level 3 dungeons. By the late afternoon, we had reached our destination.


    We had moved at a brisk pace to arrive before nightfall. It would have taken 2 days of walking to reach here at our usual pace. But as I warned them before we headed out, I was in a rush and from now on we would be moving faster. To their credit, neither of the girls complained.


    While we moved fast, I was actually hoping to get here a little sooner. There wouldn''t be much time to find everything we needed before the morning. Besides the weapons and armor, I was still insistent on finding a capable fighter to come with us. If a healthy share of the loot wasn''t good enough, we still had a fair amount of gold coins.


    We hadn''t spoke much since our ''little disagreement'' this morning. We all felt a certain sense of awkwardness about the whole affair. Maddy and I shared an uncomfortable silence most of the day. Meri on the other hand seemed very comfortable with the lack of conversation. Lucky her.


    As the small town started to come into view it became clear the silence we had wordlessly agreed on wouldn''t due anymore. It was time to move past the events of this morning and focus solely on the task at hand.


    ¡°Okay Bill, we''re here. So what do you want to do first?¡± Maddy spoke up. While I knew what I wanted to do. It wasn''t like I had a step by step plan with everything thought out.


    ¡°Well, before it gets too late we''ll need to see a blacksmith. We need to buy a lot of equipment before entering a dungeon. Besides that, I was hoping to find a guild, but seeing how small this town is, I don''t think it''s very likely that they have one. Do either of you have any ideas?¡± Maddy shook her head. Surprisingly, Meri was the one to offer a suggestion.


    ¡°I don''t know how much it will help, but I''ve overheard conversations from servants, slaves and guards throughout the years. A lot came from small towns like this one. A few of those towns even had dungeons nearby. I remember one of the guards mentioning to another that every town that boarders a dungeon has a business that exchanges dungeon loot for coin. But I don''t know the details.¡±


    That was a good piece of information. I wish she would''ve mentioned it sooner. I wondered how long I should wait before pushing her to be more vocal when it came to offering up ideas and information. I let the subject drop for now, but tabled it in my mind as something to address later.


    ¡°Well in that case lets walk around a little.¡± I said. ¡°We will look for a blacksmith and a business of the kind Meri named. Whichever we see first.¡± The girls agreed. As we moved deeper into the heart of the town our conversation began to pick up more. Maddy inquired about my plans for our stay. So I told her what I had in mind.


    ¡°I was thinking of making this place our base of operations until we passed the level 10 test. We need to get that done as soon as possible. Within a month if we can manage it. That is if you two really want to go into the dungeon with me. I would actually prefer if you changed your minds on that.¡±


    Maddy was clearly surprised by my bold proclamation. ¡°First off Bill, we already told you. If you''re going in then so are we. But don''t you think it''s too soon to be thinking about the level 10 test? We aren''t even level 9 yet. Aren''t you getting ahead of yourself?¡± Maddy wasnt wrong. Usually a level 6 person worrying about a level 10 test would be jumping the gun. But this wasn''t the usual case.


    ¡°If I don''t start thinking about it now, it will take too much time to reach my goal. I need to think multiple steps ahead from now on. As for passing that test, I''m also considering the things I''m lacking. I will make it a point to develop those in the next month.¡± Maddy reflected on my words as she tried to think about her own weaknesses.


    Meri was the one to ask the next logical follow up question. ¡°So what did you come up with for the things you''ll need to improve?¡±


    I thought about how best to explain my thoughts before answering. ¡°I need 3 things... I think.¡± I pulled out my sword and pointed it in front of me. I walked for a few paces to make my point before putting it back in its sheath. After my demonstration was complete I continued.


    ¡°That''s the limit of my range. I''m worthless with a bow and even with a spear my range won''t improve much. I need something that can attack enemies from a distance.¡± From the look on Maddy''s face I could tell that she never thought about that. But if I needed it, then so did she. After a slight paused I continued on.


    ¡°The second thing I need is a more powerful attack. The best attack I have is the swing of my sword with my full strength. But there''s no telling what I may face in the future. I could come across an enemy with a hard shell or that''s so large that even swinging my sword with everything i have won''t do enough damage.¡±


    None of us had the answer for that one yet. Meri was particularly deficient here. I finished my thoughts and listed the final thing I believed I needed to achieve. ¡°Finally, the last thing I need is more experience¡±


    Maddy gave a smile at that remark. ¡°Well, I have the solution for that. We can spar as much as you need.¡± I shook my head. She didn''t understand.


    ¡°That''s not what I mean. Take for instance my fight with you just now. I lost because you showed me a move I''ve never seen before. Now I¡¯ve seen everything you have to offer. You can help me hone that which I already know. But I won''t be able to learn anything new from fighting you.¡±


    She had a number of sword masters in the past, so she probably couldn''t see things from my point of view.. Her and the single guard who trained me made up nearly all of my fighting experience. The rare times that I had the chance to fight against others is when I grew the fastest. I gave her a case in point to hammer the idea home.


    ¡°Take my duel with Timothy for example. Most people would say I won 3-2. In reality, I clearly lost. He got the first blow and it was a lethal one. In a real fight, I''d be dead. It was only when I saw him do the same thing repeatedly that I came up with an answer. In real life you don''t get 3 chances. But it was because of that experience that I now know how to deal with such an attack. I need to put myself in more situations that are new to me, so that when the real fights start, I don''t get myself killed.¡±


    Maddy considered my words. She was no doubt thinking about what she needed to improve herself. I knew she wouldn''t stand for being left behind while I went on ahead of her.


    While it was my path that she was walking down now, she always had the heart of an adventurer. During our talks at her estate, one of her favorite things to discuss in our free time was swordplay and adventurers of the past. I think she still had an overly romanticize notion of the whole thing. But who was I to criticize someone for that?


    Meri realized during my explanation that she had the biggest issues of all. Her skills were good as part of a party, but the worst as an individual. She looked down at her fingers and saw she hadn''t cut her nails since she left with us.


    They were strong enough to be weapons and would only grow longer and more dangerous. Maybe a sword wasn''t for her, but she had other ways to attack in close combat. They almost had a claw like quality to them. Maybe she could figure out how to use them effectively, If she could work up the nerve to do so. The more i thought about her the more worried I became. Maddy might have the right temperament for this life. But I was far from convinced that Meri did.


    We passed the entrance of the dungeon on our way into the town. It wasn''t even a half mile between the two locations from my guess. It didn''t look intimidating, yet. But when I tried to imagine what it would feel like going inside of it I could help but notice my heart rate increase and the start of a cold sweat down my back. People died in dungeons all the time. Even level 1 dungeons.


    I thought of all the fantasy novels and online stories I read over the years and recalled the scenes involving people adventuring into their first dungeon, only to be killed, ripped apart and raped. Usually they didn''t happen in that preferable order. Going from what I''ve seen of this world so far, it wouldn''t be any different here.


    Now that we were in town we officially began our search for the things we needed. It didn''t take long before we saw a business with a sign that had the face of a dead goblin, along with coin on it. Under the symbols it simply read ''dungeon outpost exchange''. At least that part was pretty easy.


    We looked at each other before we entered, with no one knowing what to expect. It didn''t look much different from the few taverns I¡¯d seen. The only things that would make someone realize this wasn''t a tavern was the lack of beer barrels and the bored looking boy who stood behind the counter.


    i thought that it was understandable why the boy was so bored. The place was completely empty and didn''t have the look of a business that was frequented much. The kid had badly cut dirty blond hair, cheap clothes and the look of a 50 year old who had been stuck in a dead end job for the last 25 years. He gave us a look over, not seeming very impressed by our merry band.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    The actual words he said were, ¡°Can I help you?¡± But it came out sounding more like ''what the fuck do you want?'' I had to tell myself that trying to teach him a thing or two about courtesy would serve no purpose. I answered the words and not the tone.


    ¡°We want to learn about how you''re business operates. We''re also looking for a member to join our team for a dungeon raid tomorrow, if there''s anyone you can recommend.¡± He let out a sigh and an annoyed look. If I didn''t know any better, I would say he was acting like we asked him to do something that wasn''t part of his freaking job. Damn brats.


    ¡°We operate with a system based on fix rates, no bartering. You hunt monsters and bring back the desired parts. Some monsters have valuable parts and some don''t.¡± He grabbed a piece of paper from under the counter and showed us a list of items with pictures on it. There were various monster parts listed. I guess we would need to cut them off and bring them back here. I could understand how some people might be bothered by the idea, but no one in my party looked to be. At least we weren''t squeamish, so we had that going for us!


    The monsters were marked by level. I imagined that level 1 dungeons either had mostly or exclusively level 1 monsters. The items we could get in a level 1 dungeon didn''t look to be worth all that much.


    No wonder more people in this world didn''t choose to go into dungeons. You didn''t make much until you got to a higher ranking dungeon. To risk your life for this amount of money would only make sense if you had very few options or were confident in your ability to rise through the ranks and make it a profitable venture. The boy continued his explanation.


    ¡°If you have any paper you can copy this, but I can''t just hand out free copies. Also, don''t make any marks or spill anything on it. If you do, then you''ll be charged a replacement fee. As for people to join your party there''s only one guy in town right now that I know of. He tends to be a regular here.¡±


    Well if he was a regular that means he at least had experience.


    ¡°Do you know where he''s staying right now?¡± We would need to move quickly to the Inn to see him. We still needed to see the blacksmith before he closed up for the day unless we wanted to have to wait around for him to open up in the morning. The boy answered while taking the paper back and placing it under the counter.


    ¡°Yeah, I know where he is. He''s at the tavern on the other side of town getting drunk and hitting on a barmaid old enough to be his mother.¡±


    Meri chimed in, trying to be friendly with the boy. ¡°That must have been a funny sight to see. What was he wearing when you saw him there?¡±. I noticed that she seemed more comfortable with kids. Maybe because in some ways, she was still like a child herself.


    He put his head in his palm and yawned as he placed his arm against the counter. He was now looking in the opposite direction of where we were standing. ¡°I haven''t seen him in the past two days. But that''s where he is and that''s what he''s doing.¡±


    This didn''t sound like a promising situation. But it wasn''t like we had a lot of options. If he wasn''t any good to us, maybe he could point me to someone who was. We crossed the town in less than 3 minutes by my count. Luckily, it was the only tavern in town and easy to find. Even before we entered, I heard loud rowdy voices coming out of the tavern.


    ¡°Come on June, how about I take you out tonight? You''ve never even given me a chance.¡±


    ¡°Where the hell would you even take me out? This is the only place that is open at night in the whole town.¡± The barmaid shook her head. The man paused at that before answering.


    ¡°What''s wrong with here? If you work here then you must like it.¡±


    She rolled her eyes at his remark. ¡°No woman would ever consider going on a date at a the tavern she owns. On top of that, I''m the only one who works here, so who would serve us? Besides, I can''t go out tonight. I need to stay and fix up some things.¡±


    He looked at his beer and then back up to her. ¡°How about I come by at 8 then, since you''ll already be around?¡±


    ¡°To come by later would mean you have to leave. Are you going to leave? Please tell me the answer is yes.¡± She tried her best to ignore the drunken lecher as she rubbed down the bar top.


    He looked down at his empty mug. ¡°One more for the road.¡±


    ¡°You said that two drinks ago.¡±


    He laughed loudly with a red face. ¡°Well it''s a hell of a long road.¡± He shook the empty mug at her. She filled it and then hurried to the other side of the tavern to wash tables. In part to be farther away from him I was sure


    I was already doubting how useful this guy could be. Well, beggars can''t be choosers. I should at least explore the option. I whispered to the girls to stand back by a table. I was worried they would become more of a distraction than an asset with the way this guy was acting. They were more than happy to comply with my suggestion. As they moved away, I sat beside him.


    ¡°Hello, We''re going to be entering the dungeon tomorrow morning and are looking for a competent fighter to join us. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?¡±


    He gave a half laugh and half ''tch''. ¡°No can do friend, I''m on vacation.¡± He drank half of his cup before putting it back down and smacking his lips. I didn''t care for the dismissive attitude from a guy who looked to be a useless drunk. I pushed my anger down and continued to be polite, for now.


    ¡°How much longer are you going to be on vacation for?¡±


    He brought his hand to the purse tied to his waist and felt the weight of it in his hand. He shrugged. ¡°Three more days; give or take.¡± He took another drink. Well if this guy would be no help, then maybe he could point us to someone that was.


    ¡°Are there any other people around who would be willing to join our party? This is a very important matter and we need to get going as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡± He took another drink.


    I freaking hate one word answers. At least act like you think we are worth the time it takes to say a complete sentence. My anger was getting the better of me as I felt my eyebrow start to twitch. I stood up quickly and mumbled as i was about to take my leave. ¡°Fine, a drunk like you will probably just get in our way.¡±


    He laughed at that as he finished the rest of his drink and then turned towards me. ¡°Some greenhorn like you has balls to talk to me like that. I could beat you and your damn whole party with one hand tied behind my back, even if I was twice as drunk as I am now.¡± He showed his Status Screen.


    <table style="width: 80%; border-color: grey; border-width: 2">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <th style="padding-bottom: 8px" colspan="3">


    <h2>Malik Turing</h2>


    </th>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="width: 50%">Age</td>


    <td>22</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Race</td>


    <td>Human</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Class</td>


    <td>Dark Ranger</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Sub Class</td>


    <td>None</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>


    <h4>Level</h4>


    </td>


    <td>


    <h4>19</h4>


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Experience</td>


    <td>100%</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Constitution</td>


    <td>28</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Dexterity</td>


    <td>33</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Intelligence</td>


    <td>31</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Strength</td>


    <td>38</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Wisdom</td>


    <td>30</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Charisma</td>


    <td>26</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Quickness</td>


    <td>20</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="padding-bottom: 8px">


    <h4>Health</h4>


    Mana


    Stamina</td>


    <td style="padding-bottom: 8px">


    <h4>80/80</h4>


    70/70


    42/42</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Attribute Points</td>


    <td>0</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="padding-bottom: 12px" colspan="2">


    <h3 style="padding-bottom: 6px">Skills


    7/10 Swordsmanship


    5/10 Archery


    5/10 Tracking


    4/10 Lightning Cutter</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2"></td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I had to admit, those stats were pretty impressive. I changed my mind. I wanted him in my party. It wasn''t like I had any other options if I wanted to start tomorrow. And now that he showed me he was worth a damn I wasn''t about to let him get away. For now, I needed to keep him talking. ¡°Why do you have Quickness in your status screen? None of us have that.¡±


    ¡°You don''t know shit, do you greenhorn? In my level 10 trial I gained the class of Dark Ranger. Among other benefits, it allowed me to add the stat of quickness. For example.¡±


    In the blink of an eye he grabbed his dagger and stabbed the bar top, right in front of where my hand was placed. If he had tried to stick it into my hand I wouldn''t have had a chance to pull it away in time. I don''t think I''ve ever seen anyone move that fast in my life.


    ¡°Hey Malik, don''t stab my bar! I''m charging you for that now!¡± The barmaid screamed, seeing what happened.


    ¡°Sorry my love!¡± He pulled the dagger out of the bar and slid it back in it''s holder. ¡°The skill works pretty well for swords too, but it''s just not as effective with a heavy weapon like that when compared to a dagger. It helps with loosing arrows too. I can get 4 good shots off in 5 seconds now.¡±


    I wanted to keep him talking. I was hoping as drunk as he was, if I kept him talking long enough he would forget why we started talking and just be happy that he made a new friend. ¡°What about your Lightning Cutter skill?¡±


    ¡°As for that, I''ll let you imagine.¡±


    He seemed fairly talkative right now. I had to keep that going. ¡°I see you maxed out level 19. Do you need to max that out before taking the test for level 20?¡± He nodded his head. Too drunk to remember he was suppose to be mad at me.


    ¡°You can take it as soon as you max out the level below the test rank. Most people wait a long time after maxing out before attempting the test so they can be sure they''re ready. There''s nothing more dangerous than a dungeon test after all."


    I smiled and thanked him for the information. ¡°That''s good to know. I''ll be taking my level 10 test in a month.¡± He nodded.


    He lifted his empty glass at me in a toast. ¡°I wish you luck. How long have you been level 9 for?¡±


    ¡°I''m only level 6 right now.¡±


    He put down his drink and gave me an odd smile. ¡°Look at you. Aren''t you just a little ball of energy? Well, at least you''ll make some lucky undertaker''s day.¡± He laughed at his own joke.


    ¡°I''m not going to bore you with the details, but I need to get stronger fast and it can''t wait. I want to go down to the dungeon tomorrow. I''m willing to pay you, provided your sober.¡±


    ¡°I make enough money doing what I do now, thanks.¡± He raised his cup back up into the air to try to signal the owner to pour him another.


    I scoffed at his comment. ¡°You mean that you make enough to allow yourself to stay drunk most of the time?¡±


    He gave me a big smile. ¡°That''s exactly what I mean.¡±


    It looked like shaming him wouldn''t work. That means it was time to try bribery. Thanks for the lesson Jeffrey. I leaned towards him and whispered. ¡°What if I can get the barmaid to agree to go on a date with you?¡±


    He turned his head. ¡°And how exactly would you do that?¡±


    ¡°I''d tell her you''re helping me out with my gallant quest, among other things. But I''ll need to tell her that you''re not getting paid anything extra, and doing it for only an even split of the loot. It would be best if we didn''t lie about that. She seemes like the type that would be able to catch on to a lie quickly.


    ¡°What do you mean? Why would I do that when I can just go myself and keep it all? If I were to agree to go with you then you should at least pay me a few gold coins for costing me my time.¡±


    I shook my head at his comment. ¡°If you''re paid then she''ll know you did it for selfish reasons. I doubt she agree to even consider going out with you if that''s the case. You need to change how she sees you if you want a chance with her. You''ll still get 1/4<sup>th</sup> of our loot. That''s not bad coin for easy work. You won''t need to do any fighting ideally. Just make sure we don''t get killed is all I ask..¡±


    I read on his face that he was considering it. He gave me a questioning look while he clarified my proposition. ¡°So, you do all the fighting, I get 1/4<sup>th</sup> the loot, and you get me a date. Is that right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but you need to be sober when you go with us or no deal.¡±


    Being sober would be a pain in the ass for him, but I could tell he thought it was a pretty good deal all things considered. If I didn''t get him a date, he could just take his loot and go back to the bar. As far as he could tell it wouldn''t cost him anything but a days drinking. Not bad for the potential gain. There seemed to be no downside.


    Of course I was tricking him, and there would be a downside. He should know by now that nothing in this world is ever too good to be true.

 Chapter 16

    With our deal struck, Malik agreed to meet our party outside the dungeon at sunrise. The plan was for us to bring all the supplies needed for the outing, and hopefully spend the entire day fighting in the dungeon.


    The next stop was to the local blacksmith. Already having our swords and bows, we decided to buy 3 sets of armor. Freedom of movement was more important to us than a stronger defense. So the armor had a healthy mix of leather and chainmail to go along with the solid plate armor that covered the chest and back.


    We wanted to be sure we could practice our moves and techniques properly. Having secured an experienced adventurer to go with us, I felt more comfortable sacrificing defense for offense, as did everyone else.


    The helmets felt a little weird and would take some time to get use to. Meri in particular hated wearing her helmet. It pushed her ears down which impaired her hearing, and became uncomfortable very quickly. Sadly, they had no helmets for beastkin, so this one would have to do for now. At least they weren''t too heavy.


    After adding in 2 small sturdy shields for myself and Maddy, as well as a short sword for Meri, we felt as prepared as we could be. We were running low on gold coins with only 10 left. But hopefully we would make enough hunting monsters from now on.


    The remainder of the daylight was used for sparring in our new equipment so we could try to get use to the weight and feel of it. With each sword swing, or pull of the bow in Meri''s case, it started to feel more natural.


    As agreed, we met Malik at daybreak outside the dungeon. He looked to be nursing a pretty nasty hangover, but was as clear eyed and focused as we could hope for. He gave my group a look over and lightly rubbed his head in an attempt to sooth his migraine. I was happy to see that he didn''t leer at the girls when sober. But he did give Meri an extra look over. One of the few men I''ve seen do that to a foxkin. I wasn''t a fan of it, but Meri didn''t seem to notice.


    Malik coughed into his hand before he started to speak. ¡°First things first. Have any of you ever been inside a dungeon before?¡± I wordlessly gave him a shake of the head, with Meri and Maddy being only a heart beat behind me. He wasn''t surprised by the news, but was still disappointed. He extended his index finger and brought his hand down in a chopping motion as he spoke to us.


    ¡°Let''s get one thing straight, you damn greenhorns. I may have agreed to go with you, but I''m the one calling the shots. If you don''t like it, I''m happy to go back to the tavern and leave you all to fend for yourselves.¡± He stood there as he silently looked us over. Maybe he was even hoping we would object to this so he could get back to his drinking.


    We were all quick to agree. Why not? I can honestly say I didn''t know what the hell I was doing. And I knew Maddy and Meri were in the same boat as me. Better to let the one with experience be the leader.


    Malik continued. ¡°You may think that a rank 1 dungeon isn''t a big deal, but if you think that, then you''re idiots. Make no mistake, everything in there will be trying to kill you. If you endanger yourself needlessly by not doing what i tell you, then that endangers me too. If that happens, I''ll leave you all to die without giving it a 2<sup>nd</sup> thought. And don''t any of you think I won''t do it. But as long as you do as I say, and don''t take any stupid risk, I''ll uphold my end of the bargain. Does anyone have a problem with that?¡±


    He waited for us to all agree before he would continue. As for myself I would have preferred to be saved even if I did something stupid, but i guess that wasn''t in the cards. If I was in his shoes I can''t say I would have done anything different.


    Malik took in a deep breath before going on. ¡°Since none of you have entered a dungeon before, I''m going to give you a quick summation of how they work. Once we enter, we''re trapped until we complete the floor. Any parties that enter before or after us will go inside their own separate version of the dungeon. In case you''re slow, that means we''re on our own, and help isn''t coming.


    Once you finish a floor you can continue down or leave. Needless to say, the further down you go the harder it gets. If we leave and enter again we will need to start all over on the first floor. If we beat the third floor of any dungeon then we can all attempt the test, but each person must face their test alone. Any questions so far?¡±


    I didn''t have any, and neither did anyone else. With that out of the way, we turned and entered the mouth of the dungeon. After reading so many fantasy books which involved dungeons like these over the years, I had a number of ideas floating around my head of what it may be like to actually go inside one.


    The first thing I noticed when entering the cave like opening that led down into the ground was how claustrophobic the atmosphere became. We had to descend single file at a 45 degree angle. After going about 2 stories deep it leveled off into a tunnel like cave with a bit more space to walk. With the light from the outside barely reaching us now, Malik lit a torch.


    It wasn''t long until we came to a strange looking crude door made out of stone and rock. While I couldn''t actually sense any magic, I could tell that no human had made this door. Something about it just seemed so... off. It was eerie. Maddy and I lit our torches and held them in our sheild hands. The straps around our arm held the sheild firmly in place as we let go of the hand hold.


    He opened the door and signaled us to follow. Before closing the door Malik spoke. ¡°Once this door closes behind us, there''s no going back. Now is your last chance to back out.¡± He gave us a look over. After seeing none of us would be changing our mind he closed the door.


    I heard a small click. All light from the outside world was completely cut off. We were now in a small room that looked like it could fit no more than 10 people. It was already pretty cramped with just the four of us.


    There was now a single door behind us and a single door ahead of us. Both doors looked exactly the same. I noticed a sensation similar to the one I felt when transported into this world. The things I remembered the most about that were the floating and falling sensations. But there was also the feeling that I was being moved while not physically being pushed or pulled.


    Malik stood before us demanding our full attention. ¡°The door ahead of us leads to the dungeon. It''s impossible to open it unless the door behind us is closed. Once the door we entered through closes, it''s impossible to open again, no matter what you try. You can give it a shot yourselves if you want.¡± None of us bothered to attempt it, which slightly disappointed him. I think he wanted to laugh at our struggles. He continued on.


    ¡°When I open this door you need to be ready for anything. We could see an empty cave and have to search a labyrinth, or a horde of monsters may try to burst in if they happen to be close to the entrance. Believe me, we don''t want to get trapped in here with no room to fight. So once I open this door, move your ass and get through it.¡± We nodded that we understood.


    Malik finished by saying the following. ¡°Remember, stay close together, but also give yourself some room to fight. Once your through, if you need to fight instantly, toss your torch on the ground. Don''t worry, the ground is almost never wet, and I¡¯ll keep a hold of my torch so there will be enough light. Any questions?¡±


    We all gave him a quick shake of the head. He walked over to the door and grabbed the handle. I felt my heart rate climbing. I started to jump around slightly on my toes. I held my sword and shield a little tighter and my breath quickened. I got in position to rush through the door behind him with Maddy right behind me and Meri behind her. Malik counted backwards while looking at us. "Three. Two. One."


    He pushed open the door and ran through torch first, ready to strike any monsters with it if they were too close. I ran in behind him and Maddy ran in behind me. Meri brought up the rear with her bow. She was the only one of us without her torch lit yet. It was still securely strapped to her back.


    The dungeon looked like a large cave with a wide opening. Several small tunnels in the distance led deeper inside. Two skeletons at the edge of the the wide entranced noticed us. Their glowing red eyes seething with malice. They drew their swords and began to charge. Malik yelled out orders.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Maddy and Bill, take them. Meri, put your bow at the ready but hold your fire for now.¡± We moved towards the skeletons. My heart was pounding in my chest with each step I took.


    Malik called out. ¡°You''ve both gone too far from the group, take a few steps back.¡± I didn''t realize we had moved such a distance. My adrenaline must''ve gotten the better of me. We moved back with our shields and swords still facing the monsters. We tossed our torches to the side as we put our hands around the grips of our shields.


    With the skeleton now before me I could see it''s body in detail. The empty eye sockets looked to have the red glow of hot coals. The bones were more gray than white, and had some skin and muscle still attached to them. The stench of the rotten flesh made me gag slightly. Its large, rusty sword swung down from above. I deflected it with my sheild and cut off its other exposed arm.


    It disregarded the damage entirely, and kept swinging it''s sword at me as if nothing had happened. This was not swordsmanship, this was the chopping of a mad butcher with no thought of defending itself. It didn''t have it''s own life to defend, it only knew that it wanted to take mine.


    I knocked it''s blade aside with my sheild, leaving my opponent open. With a slash across the neck its head fell with its body joining it soon after. Its head still looked at me with those eyes of burning coal. It''s teeth were chomping madly, as if it would love nothing more than to bite my throat out and tear the flesh away, until I choked on my own blood.


    I brought my sword down upon its skull, shattering it into a dozen pieces. The red faded from its eyes and the chomping ceased. Maddy finished up before me, and had already taken a few steps in my direction, ready to come to my aid if need be. I''d been so absorbed with my fight that I hadn''t noticed. That wouldn''t do. I needed to learn to keep an eye on my surroundings at all times


    ¡°Are you hurt anywhere Bill?¡± Maddy gave me a quick look over. With this being our first real fight to the death, her usual joking nature was gone, and replaced by genuine concern.


    ¡°I''m fine, how about you?¡± She gave me a nod to signal she was okay.


    Malik interrupted our conversation with a shout. ¡°Meri, there!¡± He pointed to a group of large red bats with long sharp fangs. They had tiny horns on their head but the same red eyes that looked of burning coal.. He waved us to come closer to him and Meri.


    Malik yelled out orders. ¡°Keep closer together for these. They can get behind you if your not careful. Use small compact swings when dealing with them. Meri, try to pick some off and leave one each for Maddy and Bill to deal with if you can. It''s okay if you miss. If too many get through then I''ll take care of it.¡±


    Meri let her first shot go. It missed by a wide margin. She hurried to ready another arrow. Malik spoke to her in a calming voice. ¡°Take your time. Don''t rush. There''s no need to panic.¡± Malik had his sword at the ready if need be. Meri slowed down, going back to her natural pace. She hit one of the bats right through the left eye. It fell dead instantly. She managed to kill one more and destroyed the wing of a third, causing it to flop around on the floor uselessly.


    Only three of the bats were still air born. Malik took a few steps forward and with a quick strike took the head off of one of them. ¡°You two finish the others. Make sure to watch out for the fangs.¡±


    With how easily he managed to get his, I thought this would be simple. But these things were damn nimble. I didn''t feel like I was in danger for my life fighting against a single bat, but I was growing frustrated as my sword missed time and time again. As it flew to my left I was able to smack my sheild into it. With the bat dazed, my sword came down and finally was able to hit home.


    Maddy took a bit longer than me, determined to use her sword to kill it in a single clean stroke. She didn''t want to use my rough methods and could be stupidly prideful and stubborn at times. I kept an eye out for other monsters, but allowed myself a slight smile. This was the kind of experience I needed. So far I''ve fought two opponents that were completely different from anything I''ve ever faced before.


    With no other monsters coming to meet us, we would now need to hunt them by going inside the small tunnels. Maddy and I picked up our torches with our sheild hand. Walking side by side we manned the front, with Malik behind us and Meri taking up the rear. We worked methodically going down the tunnel furthest on the left and working our way to the right.


    We moved slowly. Keeping our eyes out for any side passages so that nothing could suddenly jump out from behind us. If they came from the cavern, then at least they would need to run down the long cave and we would have plenty of warning.


    There were a small number of stragglers in the cave, but none of them were grouped in unmanageable numbers. We finished clearing out around half the caves; only skipping the one directly opposite from the door from which we entered. That was done on Malik''s orders. We made it back to the cavern after clearing out another tunnel, and decided it was a good time for a break.


    We put one of the torches out to save the light. But stuck the other two, which were still burning, into the ground. We sat in a circle, passing around a canteen. After taking a sip, Malik went through the bag he had and counted the bat fangs he''d pulled from the slain monsters. They were the only thing we had manage to get so far that possessed any value. Malik wasn''t happy with the haul so far, but there was nothing to be done about it.


    Meri took a big sip from the canteen and leaned against the cave wall, trying to relax. This would be one of the rare occasions she would actually initiate a conversation . ¡°So ummm... how much more is left to do? Before the level is done I mean.¡±


    Malik rubbed his eyes and stretched his body. ¡°We still have about half left. I hope these next caves are more profitable. Down that cave right in the middle, which I told you to avoid for now, is probably the floor boss. Once he''s taken care of, we''ll have officially cleared this floor. I should tell you now, you three will probably need to fight together to beat him.¡±


    Meri subconsciously reached for her bow in alarm. ¡°Floor boss?¡±


    Malik was annoyed to see her surprise. ¡°Don''t tell me you three didn''t know. Each floor has one monster that''s stronger then the others. Usually he''s in the deepest part of the level. Sometimes if your unlucky, you''ll have to face him along with a swarm of other monsters. Thankfully, most of the time that''s not the case. They tend to be loners and often hunt the other monsters here. So the weak ones tend to steer clear.¡±


    Maddy was cleaning off her blade while she listened. ¡°Any idea how strong it''ll be?¡±


    Malik shrugged. ¡°They''re pretty strong. They can be hard for even experienced level 9s to deal with one on one. Usually you don''t win by just over powering them. That is unless you''re a much higher level than them, like myself. For you lot, It''s better if you can spot them first, then come up with a plan of attack.¡±


    We rested until our strength was fully recovered. Once we were ready, we stood and went about the business of clearing out the rest of the dungeon. It was mostly more skeletons and bats that we had to deal with, as well as a horned weasel that tried to impale Meri


    After killing it, Malik cut off the horn and tossed it in the bag with the bat fangs and let out a heavy sigh. This half of the dungeon had even less than the first one. ¡°What horrible luck. We got a bad draw as far as loot goes. I hope the boss makes up for it.¡± No one really paid attention to Malik''s complaints, or cared. We were all too focused on fighting these strange monsters for the first time.


    After clearing out the other half of the dungeon, we took another short rest. We talked and made our preparations for the final fight on this floor. With everyone ready, we finally traveled down the tunnel that stood directly opposite from the door we entered through.


    I don''t know how Malik knew that was were the boss would be. Maybe it was just a guess. But soon we came across a closed wooden door with light peering through its holes and cracks. Malik got down on one knee to peek through a hole in the shoddy wood. A smile slowly stretched across his lips as he turned to us whispering.


    ¡°Not bad, not bad at all. That''s a devil goat. The horns and hooves will fetch a nice price.¡± He backed away and encouraged us to look through the other holes in the door. Inside stood a large muscular goat. It walked upright on its hind legs and stood just over six feet tall. It had a wide chest and thick limbs. From it''s head, two large sharp looking horns protruded that slightly curled inwardly.


    Several torches hung high upon the walls around the room. It picked up an unlit torch between its 2 hoofed limbs, and touched it to a lit one. After placing the newly lit torch into the last vacant holder, the beast walked to the table. Splayed in the middle of the table laid a horned weasel, similar to the one that attacked Meri. Its guts already spilling out of its dead carcass.


    The devil goat smiled, showing row upon row of long black razor sharp teeth. It violently brought it''s head down towards its meal. Ripping flesh as it pulled away. Swallowing large chunks of meat as blood and gore ran down its mouth. I don''t know if I found the sight more terrifying or disgusting.


    Malik spoke quietly. ¡°Bill and Maddy, rush in once the door opens. Bill, you go to the right, Maddy will go to the left. Move forward slowly and together. Don''t try to fight it head on. Meri, hit it with arrows while standing by the doorway, as many as you can. Don''t think that putting one arrow through it''s eye will kill that thing.


    If it charges any of you, try to wait until the last moment to dive to the side. It''s hard for a devil goat to change directions once it''s going at full speed. That room looks pretty wide and well lit, so you should try to fight it in there. If things get too hairy, I''ll step in. Does anyone have any questions about what your job will be before we start?¡± We replied that we didn''t.


    For the first time ever, I would be facing an opponent intent on killing me that was stronger than myself. I put my sword at the ready and sheild up. Maddy did the same as Meri drew back on her bow with an arrow nocked.


    Giving us one last look, Malik picked up his leg and kicked the door wide open.

 Chapter 17

    Bill and Maddy rushed inside the room while I held point just inside the doorway, Malik already by my side. The Devil Goat looked up to investigate the commotion as I let loose my first arrow.


    It landed on the bottom of its neck, pushing his head and body back ever so slightly. It ignored the arrow, and focused all of its attention on me. Its dark red eyes stared into mine. This was not like the mindless beast we''d faced before. This was something much darker. The sadistic and sinister nature I felt radiating from it shook me to my very core.


    I felt my tail tuck between my legs and my ears slightly angled downward. As its eyes bore into mine, I took a step back, not even realizing I had done so until I heard the click of my boot on the floor. What was I even doing here? I wasn''t strong like Bill and Maddy.


    I was just a weak foxkin. I learned long ago that the only way i could survive in this world was from the grace of others. I was a stupid weak filthy foxkin. How could I forget that? When Bill first spoke to me, and offered to share his food, I believed it to be some kind of ploy. A test for me set by my betters to see if I would give in and reach for something that I had no right to.


    But I was so hungry, and the food looked so good. I couldn''t help myself. My greedy foxkin nature got the better of me. When I took the food and closed the door I couldn''t believe what I had done. Had I learned nothing in all these years? Surely now I would be dragged out and whipped once he told Susan. I waited for over an hour without touching the food for the punishment i rightfully deserved, but it never came.


    I hoped that if I didn''t eat the food that the punishment would be less severe. That I could beg for forgiveness and not be hurt worse. But as time went by, my gluttony won out. It was the most delicious meal I¡¯d ever tasted.


    The next day, even after being assured by Bill that it was purely an act of generosity, I expected to be pulled aside and punished. When that didn''t happen, it occurred to me that this might be some other kind of test. Maybe they wanted to see if I would report my own treachery. How was I to know? I was nothing but a stupid foxkin.


    Over the next few days as Bill continued to share his food with me, I still suspected there may be some ulterior motive. When he made his advance on me, I was petrified. I had been told before that if I ever acted the least bit ungrateful, that I would be sold to a brothel. No one had ever told me what happens when a man and woman lay together, but I had the impression that the experience would be extremely painful, at least for me.


    When Bill put his arm around me, I was sure that he meant to use and hurt me. I even resisted slightly. Something I knew would only make things worse. Two nights later when I tried to make amends, in hopes that he would let my transgression slide, he showed me another kindness. He apologized to me! A human apologizing to a foxkin?


    The day Bill offered to be my friend, I could hardly believe he meant it. What human in their right mind would ever choose to be a friend with an inferior foxkin like me? I thought that truly, there must exist no one else in the world like him.


    The night that the lady of the house barged into his room, while I was trying to console him, I was taken aback. I was sure that I would be punished for not being in my own room, where I belonged. But when she told Bill she meant to escape, and asked him to come with her, I didn''t know what to think.


    When Bill told her that he wanted me to come too, I felt my heart freeze in fear. I knew that the punishment for attempting an escape would be incredibly harsh. Not only that, but the very idea seemed impossible to me. A slave could never escape. How many times have I been told that?


    If I tried to go with them, I would just ruin their plans. I was nothing but a clumsy foxkin after all. Why was he asking me to make a choice? That was not my place. That had been the first thing I was ever taught.


    It was only with Bill''s emphatic encouragement that I could bring myself to agree. And even then, I was shocked to hear the words come out of my mouth. I didn''t honestly believe I could ever be free. That was not the rightful place for a lowly foxkin like myself. But if Bill could be my new master, that would make me the happiest slave who ever lived.


    I didn''t think he would ever mistreat me. While he still carried a silly notion about me being free, I knew not to contradict him, even though the idea was preposterous. It would only make him angry and I certainly didn''t want that. He deserved the kind of slave that would not only be useful to him, but would also cause him as little distress as possible. I only hoped the young lady of the house would be as kind to me as he was.


    Having a fellow slave as a friend was a joy I never thought i would receive. Now having my new master be that same friend would be a gift from the Mother herself. As I thought of it more, my fear slightly faded. That was until Susan discovered their ploy. When she caught us, I gave up all hope. I was ready to accept any fate she decided for me. What else could this powerless foxkin do?


    Bill acted so quickly and violently, I froze where I stood. I was horrified at first. This was the woman who had held sway over every aspect of my life for 15 years. I could only grovel and beg forgiveness before her. I was nothing but a weak foxkin. But Bill? No. He was a man who could take action and determine his own destiny. Something that I knew was beyond me.


    For a few seconds, I was sure that Susan would somehow come back to life and do every horrible thing she ever threatened to do with me and more. Once I saw that would not be the case, I felt a weight removed from my shoulders. Now was no time to fret. Now was the time to make myself useful to my new master, like I had been taught to do since as far back as I could remember.


    I would make him recognize my usefulness. Even if I believed he would never toss me aside, that made me all the more determined to show him my undying loyalty. I did my best to be on the lookout for guards and offered my sight, ears and everything else that I had to aid him. It was all this talentless foxkin could do, but I would do all that I could.


    Once we had made our escape, I was always at the ready for any orders I may be given. I was so happy to be free from my past master, that I wanted to show my new one my gratitude with impeccable service. But no orders ever came. He kept asking me what I wanted to do and what I thought. I did my best to answer the way I believed he wanted, but I could tell my answers, and even my silence, didn''t make him happy. I felt a great failure in that


    Did he not know it was a slave''s job to stay silent unless spoken to, or unless she had information that she was sure her master wanted? I thought of trying to explain that to him, but such an act would show far too much hubris. He probably just needed time to accept the way of things. It took me years to become a proper slave. It was foolish of me to expect him to learn to become a proper master in a few days.


    I expected Maddy to take the lead in these matters, she had experience with handling slaves. To my surprise, it was her that took Bill''s lead and not the other way around. She even went so far as to offer me her friendship, just as Bill had. One day in private, she apologized for past offenses against me. I didn''t know what to do when she said that.


    Should I fall on my knees and beg forgiveness for causing her to be troubled? Not knowing what to do, I simply stayed silent and nodded. I wasn''t good at knowing how to act in most situations without being told. She responded with a hug and assured me that any friend of Bill''s was a friend of hers.


    Maddy started to take a more active role with me in our travels. While she never ordered me to do anything, she did give me some direction, which made me feel relieved. She would rearrange my hair when it got out of place, rubbed dirt off my traveling garments and even helped me pick out my clothes when we shopped together.


    She even went out of her way to teach my foolish self many things about the way of the world. While she was always brash and confrontational with Bill, she was gentle and patient with me. I felt blessed to have such kind owners taking care of this useless one. I knew It was more than any filthy foxkin like me deserved.


    As time went on, things became more clear to me. While I was theirs to command, they never did so, and I came to the conclusion that they never would. Could such a thing be true? What was I to do with myself if not given orders? That was my only purpose in life. If I could not be of use to them, then how could I pay them back for all the grace they had bestowed upon me?


    If I was not to be their slave, then what purpose did I serve in this life? Why was I even alive if I could not be of use to those who had saved me? That day I made a vow. If they would not use this lowly one as their slave, then I must make myself of use to them in any way I could.


    I would be a tool to help them reach their ambitions. It was something I was prepared to dedicate my life to. Not just to pay them back for all they had done for me. But also because without that, what use was I?


    After I learned that Bill meant to be an adventurer, I was prepared to follow him down that path and support him in anyway I could. I knew that without them, I would be alone and useless. I had no other family or friends. If I couldn''t be by their sides, then I''d have no place in this world.


    The night that Bill found out his sister had been sold into slavery, my heart broke under the weight of his pain. She didn''t deserve that. She wasn''t some useless cowardly foxkin like me. That was not the station she rightfully belonged to. When I saw Bill''s determination to rescue her I decided to make that my mission as well. I would do all that I could to help. I knew then, the only path forward was to go into the dungeons with him.


    Finally, I could be of use to those who freed me. I could finally have a purpose again. But once I looked into that creatures eyes, I felt something which I thought was gone from me after my pledge. I was terrified for my life. I knew I shouldn''t be so selfish, but I didn''t want to die. At the sight of Bill and Maddy moving towards the beast, I was jostled awake from my memories.


    I realized I''d been frozen for the last few seconds as the past flashed before my eyes. I began to grab for another arrow with a shaky hand. The black teeth of the Devil Goat that looked like razor blades smiled at me while I did so. As if they were welcoming me into my new home.


    I pulled back and let loose the arrow. My shaky hand affected it''s course, causing the bolt to pierce its stomach, instead of the eye that I had aimed for. The beast didn''t even flinch at the impact. It stood up, and with its hoofed leg, kicked the table into the air, The pure strength of this monster was terrifying. The table flew just to the right of the doorway.


    ¡°Watch out Bill!¡± I heard Maddy scream as I saw where the table was flying towards. He managed to put up his shield just before it hit, as dodging was impossible. I heard the sound of wood hitting metal as the table struck him.


    Bill was knocked 10 feet backwards into the wall to the right side of the doorway. The sound of metal hitting stone echoed in my ears. If Bill hadn''t been wearing his armor, I knew with certainty from the sound of the impact he would have been killed.


    ¡°Bill!¡± I shouted as I started to move towards him. He put a hand up to indicate he wanted me to stay where I was, and got to his feet. He moved slowly and favored his ribs slightly. He motioned me to get back and yelled out.


    ¡°I''m okay, keep shooting.¡± He readied his sword and shield and began to approach the monster.


    The beast turned its attention towards Maddy, who was now the closest. She held her sword and shield out towards the abomination, but for the first time since I''ve known her, she hesitated to step forward while locking eyes with an enemy. I saw the fear on her face. If the expression of the ever brave Maddy looked like that, then what look of horror was etched on mine?


    It charged at her. She took a few steps backward as it rapidly picked up speed and closed the distance.


    Malik yelled at her. ¡°Remember what I told you Maddy!¡± When it was merely 6 feet from hitting her, she dove to the side. The Devil Goat crashed into the wall behind her, completely obliterating it. Debris exploded outwards in all directions.


    One missed my head by only an inch. There was nothing I could''ve done to dodge it had I not been so lucky. If I had been hit, there would be nothing to do except depend on the uncomfortable helmet I wore to save my life. In my heart, I again thanked Bill and Maddy for getting such equipment for the likes of this lowly one.


    Slightly behind me and to my left, I heard the sound of a loud impact, and a scream of pain filled the room. Malik was holding his head as blood poured out from a gash above his eye. He fell backward, holding the wound and bleeding profusely. Could even Malik not dodge such an attack, or had my head hid the projectile out of his line of sight until it was too late?


    I saw him try to get up and fight through the pain, but his eyes seemed to be unable to focus and his body wasn''t listening to his instructions.


    The beast who ran through the wall had lost it''s balance when the walls came down, but was now back on it''s feet. The grin filled with razor sharp teeth returned as he saw the small pool of blood. It looked down at Malik, and just like any other predator, it would go for the most vulnerable one first.


    It dashed toward him. Malik tried to pick up his sword, but his clumsy hand couldn''t grab ahold of it, only knocking it further away. He settled for his much smaller dagger that was tied to his waist. Barely managing to hold it with two fumbling hands. It looked like he was trying to decide which of the many Devil Goats he was seeing to aim for.


    I wanted to do something to help him, but as I saw the Devil Goat charge in, I stayed as still as a statue. My bow held loosely in my hands and a cold sweat full of fear sliding down my face.


    Bill came charging in from the side. With his shield, and all the weight and strength he possessed, he pushed it slightly off its course and into a wall just to the left of Malik. Bill was knocked to the ground due to the impact and appeared to come off worse in the exchange.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Maddy ran out of the room to join us after scrambling to her feet. They both saw Malik on the floor, and knew just as I did, he wouldn''t be able to help us, at least not until his head cleared. Maddy yelled out as she dragged Malik to the side of the room. ¡°Focus Meri! Keep shooting!"


    Her words broke me free from the paralysis that had taken hold of me. I shot two arrows into its back before it could finish pulling its horns free from the wall. They didn''t have the slightest effect on the monster. I reached for a third arrow from my quiver, empty air greeted my fingers. I tossed my bow aside and took out my short sword. At this moment, I felt ashamed for not practicing more with it.


    After Maddy placed Malik down against the wall, she drew her sword once more from its sheath and turned to face the beast.


    The Devil Goat now had it''s eyes locked on Bill. He was the one who denied him his prey. It charged him in a rage with eyes full of bloodlust. Bill moved to counter the charge and cut the beast as he dived out of the way at the last second. The Devil Goat, having seen Maddy already dive out of its way before, was prepared for this.


    Bill landed a deep cut in its arm as he dived to the side at the last moment. In response, the Devil Goat picked up its leg while passing by and gave Bill a hard kick. It couldn''t get all its power into the attack, but it was enough to send Bill a few feet into the air. I saw the metal plate of armor bend inwardly with the force of the kick. Bill fell to the ground with a loud thud.


    Clutching his chest, he coughed up blood as he laid on the floor. His ribs, which before may have only been cracked, where now clearly broken. Perhaps he even had severe internal bleeding. While one of the Devil Goat''s arms would not be useful anymore, Maddy was the only one left who could still fight.


    Maddy, seeing what happened to Bill, charged towards the beast. She didn''t intend to let it get up to ramming speed again. She slashed her sword at it, aiming for it''s head. The goat dodged each attack bobbing its head and neck deftly. It''s hoofed arm came straight towards Maddy''s face, but she diverted it with her sword.


    Seeing it focused on Maddy. I ran up behind it, my short sword in hand. I plunged the sword into its back so deeply that the point stuck out through its front. Maddy, seeing my attack, moved in to try to finish it off, believing it to be vulnerable. But even a sword through the chest couldn''t stun this monstrous entity.


    In her rush to finish the Devil Goat, Maddy left herself open. A hoofed arm hit her in the head. If she had not managed to see the attack in time, and move her head back and to the right ever so slightly before it connected, it would have crushed her skull.


    The blow sent her helmet flying off, along with a small part of scalp. Blood flowed out from the top of her head, soaking her golden hair as she landed on her back, knocked unconscious.


    ¡°Maddy!¡± I screamed at her motionless body on the ground. I pulled my sword out of the beast and its dark blood gushed all over my plate armor. It turned around, swinging its good arm at me.


    I raised my sword up instinctively. The force of the swing was still enough to send me flying backwards, but at least I managed to cut about half way through his arm. The inside of my mouth was cut up due to the impact.


    Its other arm also hung at its side. Completely unconcerned about any damage it took, the beast walked towards me, sure of it''s victory and drooling with anticipation. It again displayed its razor sharp teeth, almost as if it was trying to give me some kind of horrible smile.


    I got to my feet, only to realize I didn''t have my sword anymore. The force of the impact had knocked it far away from me. Not that I was any good with that sword anyway.


    Malik had shakily gotten to his feet, still holding his dagger. A lightning current began to run through it. He stumbled towards the beast until he fell on one knee. Forcing himself back up, he walked slowly towards the beast, wobbling from side to side.


    He spoke to me. ¡°Get out of there Meri, let me handle this. I''ll be fine.¡± He wouldn''t be. At best he would take it down with him. Taking a quick look at the state he was in, that didn''t seem likely to happen.


    Why was I always so weak? Bill, Maddy and Malik had the look of true warriors who had been through combat. I shot at it with my bow and stabbed it in the back. What was I even doing here?


    I came with them because I wanted to be of use. Thinking if I could do this for Bill and Maddy, that I could perhaps change my useless foxkin nature. I knew that Bill and Maddy wanted me to have more confidence in myself. To believe in my strength and ability to keep up with them.


    These are things that long ago I was taught would be forever out of my grasp. There was a time I wanted to believe I was capable of being more than a useless tool that followed the orders of my betters. But the days of allowing myself to believe that was possible were over. At least I thought they were.


    Ever since our escape, Bill and Maddy had been trying to convince me that I could be strong. That I could accomplish more than menial task. That being a foxkin wasn''t something to be ashamed of. Bill had told me once after seeing my status screen that I had more strength than even him.


    How could a weak foxkin be stronger than a human? Such a thing must be impossible. But as far as I knew, Bill had never lied to me before. It wasn''t that I didn''t want to be strong. I would have wanted that if it were possible. Then I could be of more use to those that I owed everything too.


    If that were the case, then I could stop this monster and protect those who have protected me time and time again. Now, more than at any point in my life, I wished I could be like other people. If I could be strong and defeat this monster, then it would be possible for us all to go home.


    Everyone else has already fought so hard to protect each other. I was the one sitting in the background and shooting arrows from a safe distance. When I said that I would do anything to help Bill on his quest, was that really all I was prepared to do? Was this all the conviction I had?


    Was I just going to stand back and let those that saved me from that life of misery die? Especially Bill. He had already risked so much for me. What have I ever risk for him?


    I imagined the pain of losing both of them. I couldn''t stand the thought. If I wanted to help them, then I couldn''t allow myself to be a useless foxkin anymore. Now that I had finally found some happiness in my life, was I about to let it slip away? Why can''t I be happy? Even if just this once?


    Why are you trying to take everything away from me you damn goat? I can''t allow that. I won''t allow that. I would allow anything else in this life, but this one thing I will not allow. You''ve already hurt them so much. You will not touch them again. I will make you pay for hurting them. I will make you suffer.


    You are nothing but a stupid goat. Since when did you think you could raise your horns against me? I will bite you. I will claw you. I will kill you. I''ll rip the flesh from your bones and feast on it!


    Something was happening inside me that I wasn''t fully aware of. My emotions had been suppressed my entire life. I had been tamed by the slavers and my instincts and natural predatory nature had been locked away in my mind. In the weeks since I had escaped, I had hunted, skinned and feasted upon the blood of my natural prey.


    My walls had slowly began to crumble in the past few weeks. In this desperate situation, for the first time in my life, I finally allowed my anger to spill out. Why should I be afraid? I was the hunter and this goat was the prey. It was time to hunt.


    I spread my fingers open and bared my teeth at the creature. The nails that had not been filed down since my escape were almost fully grown. They formed the sharp razor like claws which the foxkin where known for. I ran straight at the beast. I could feel the fox blood pumping through my veins. The excitement of the hunt. This intoxicating sensation which started to feel more natural by the second.


    All my senses sharpened. My body felt loose and light. Ever since I could remember, I had been told to move slowly and carefully. I never dared run or jump. Who knew this could feel so amazing? For the first time in my life, I think I understood what people spoke of when they talked of freedom.


    The fox wasn''t a mere scavenger that licked scraps off the ground. The fox was a hunter that chased and pounced on its prey. I ran towards the Devil Goat and slashed at it, making four gashes along its side. It tried to return my attack with a kick, but I quickly jumped to the side. The fox was an agile hunter.


    I ran around the Devil Goat in a circular motion. discovering a speed and quickness I never knew I was capable of. Could I always run this fast? Could I go even faster? Let''s find out. You may be able to move fast in a straight line you stupid goat, but you can''t move like me. I pushed my legs harder to increase my quickness and felt my body was up to the task.


    While we fought, we started to slightly move to the left. This moved us further away from Bill and Malik, but closer to the unconscious Maddy. After backing away to avoid it''s counter attack, the monster gave a quick look to the unconscious form on the ground. Drool dripped from its chin. ¡°Get away from her you ugly goat!¡± I screamed.


    With the Devil Goat distracted, I came up behind it and gave it the most powerful kick I was capable of. With as much as the beast weighed, I was only able to knock it a few paces away and make it fall to one knee. I quickly picked up Maddy and ran to Malik as fast as I could. I set her down as gently as time would allow and dashed back to fight the monster.


    I saw it look over my injured party. No doubt seeing them as a tasty and easy meal. I yelled at the monster as I clawed at it in anger. ¡°Your fight is with me you disgusting goat! Don''t you dare look at them!¡± It brought it''s full attention back to me as I tore at its flesh. It struck out at me in anger, but the attack was a split second too late.


    This goat wasn''t nimble and couldn''t turn around quickly. I managed to get to its side and suddenly changed directions. I clawed it across the throat, but not deep enough. Its hide and muscles were too sturdy for my claws to do any real damage. Its kick grazed my side and left a small cut on my stomach.


    Was it already starting to match my movements? What else could I do? Wasn''t there something I could do to beat it? Something I had that it didn''t? The answer became obvious. I shouted. ¡°Malik, put all of the torches out!¡±


    Malik had managed to stay on his feet but was still wobbling. He answered back. ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡±


    Before I could explain, the goat''s attention was back on Malik. ¡°No you stupid goat! Here!¡± I slashed at him again. It let out a grunt of frustration and kicked at me. This time it only hit air.


    I heard Bill yell out, up on his feet and leaning against the wall. ¡°Just do it Malik. I think I know what she wants.¡± I gave him a quick look, which was the only type I could spare at the moment. He didn''t look like he would be able to move much. But he seemed to understand my plan.


    After Bills encouragement, Malik did as I asked without further comment. Of those in our party, he was the only one who could still move reasonably well. He quickly snuffed out the torches next to him. He then moved as fast as he could on his still unsteady legs into the Goat''s lair.


    One by one, he took the torches off the wall and rubbed each of them into the ground. It was the only place in this entire dungeon where any of the monsters put up lights. Maybe it just liked how the lit torches looked, but I didn''t think that was the case. Unlike the other monsters, this Devil Goat may not have the ability to see in the dark.


    They needed to hurry though. My body was starting to feel tired and heavy. I was not use to this speed, and the strain of keeping it up was starting to wear on me. I turned to see Malik put out the last torch in the Goat''s room. Yet there was still light.


    He forgot one of the torches on the far side of the cave that our group put down. He tried to get out of the Goat''s lair, but he moved too quickly. Unbalanced as he was, he allowed his foot to get snagged and tripped. Dammit, how much longer was he going to take? This goat was getting used to my movements.


    Thinking that I may have to risk making a dash for the torch myself before I tired out, I saw Bill had managed to reach it. No doubt with a mix of limping and crawling. He gave me a smile as he grabbed the end of it and pushed the lit end of the torched into the ground. The cave fell into darkness.


    But the darkness is for the prey to fear, not the hunter. The only light that was left were from the tiny embers that were still burning. It would have been impossible for almost anything to see. The goat looked around in confusion, no longer sure of what to do. I watched him swing his limp arms stupidly, and bite at nothing but air. After taking some time to catch my breath, I began my attack.


    It turned to face the sound of my boots on the floor, but the echos in the cave made tracking my movements from sound alone nearly impossible. I clawed him across his back. It swung wildly at me, but I had already disappeared back into the darkness.


    I slashed at it again, and again, and again. Tearing off small chunks of flesh with each attack. Even though all my attacks were landing, they were not doing enough damage. I clawed it at the side of it''s neck and just barely managed to avoid its teeth. How many more attacks would this take? Even in the darkness, it may guess right eventually with one of its bites. At that moment, I saw something pop up in front of me.


    [LVL 1/10 Foxclaw]


    I looked down at my hands. Was it just me, or did they seem sharper? Maybe I was just getting the hang of how to use them? I realized how crude my methods of using them had been so far. They should be able to cut much deeper than this. I just needed to change my angle slightly, flick my wrist more suddenly, and a few other minor adjustments. I knew it was possible.


    I moved in, careful to avoid its maw which opened and shut wildly in the air, hoping to catch me with its razor sharp teeth. I slashed it across the front of its throat and quickly pulled my hand back. A large chunk of goat flesh flew into the darkness. Black blood poured out of its neck as it gasped for air. I wasn''t going to wait around to see if it would suffocate. I snuck up behind it while it was distracted. With another swipe of my claws its head fell to the ground.


    [Level up: LVL 8]


    I fell to my knees from exhaustion, beside it''s head. I looked to Bill who was peering randomly into the darkness, trying to figure out what was going on. I spoke. ¡°You can light the torches now, it''s dead.¡±


    Bill took out his flint rock and lit the torch that he had put out previously. Malik came toward him, holding a torch of his own, and touched his to Bill''s. He looked to be moving a little better now. Still not normal, but better. A notification appeared before us.


    [The first floor of the Dungeon has been cleared. Floor two is now open]


    A door appeared behind where the goat was sitting when we first saw him eating at the table. We all ignored it and moved over as quickly as we could to check on Maddy.


    She had a nasty head injury and was still unconscious. We did what first aid we could for her, but she may not wake up for a while. Hopefully there wouldn''t be any lasting effects. It didn''t seem to be too bad and looked mostly superficial, but you could never tell until they woke up, if they woke up that is.


    ¡°I''ll carry her back¡± Malik said. He started to bend down to try to pick her up before I stopped him. He wasn''t in any condition for that.


    ¡°No, I''ll do it. But thank you for the offer. Please see if Bill needs a hand.¡± I bent down and easily picked Maddy up. I was surprised by how light she felt in my arms. Were normal humans always this light? Why have I always thought myself so weak?


    Come to think of it, when have I ever felt that anything I lifted was too heavy for me? If I could do this so easily, then I should have been doing more all along. From now on I needed to start pulling my weight. Maybe I won''t be so useless anymore.


    ---------------------------------


    If Foxkin like Meri were native to my world, I don''t see how we could ever make a single one of them our slaves. If anything, it would probably turn out the other way around, with them becoming the dominant form of life on our planet.


    While she had fought the most out of all of us, she avoided major injuries. I knew she had the potential to be stronger than us, but what I just saw exceeded my expectations. I was even more stunned to see the change in her character as she continued to fight.


    Now with the fight over, I noticed that whatever had welled up inside her started to fade, and she had began to act like her usual self. But there was a change that I saw in her now. It was slight, but something had finally broken through. I knew she had taken the first major step to putting her past behind her. The small smile she allowed on her face as she easily carried the unconscious Maddy was proof of that.


    Malik collected the horns and hooves from the devil goat and put them in his sack. Our first venture into the dungeon had shown us a lot about ourselves, and about how difficult this path would be. I wasn''t about to give up on getting my sister back because of a single brush with death, but I knew that I would have to face death many times before I ever got the chance to see her again.


    All I could do now was learn from this and grow stronger. While I may have to face several more situations like this, I would try to see to it that Meri and Maddy faced far fewer. I wrapped my hand around my slightly caved in breastplate and tried to match the pace Meri and Malik had set. I lost my balance and was forced to grab hold of Meri''s shoulder to steady myself.


    She barely budged, even while carrying Maddy and supporting some of my weight. Foxkin were just too damn strong. It didn''t seem fair. I would need to catch up to her soon. If not, how would I ever protect anyone in the future? She gave me a look of concern but I quickly straightened myself.


    ¡°Sorry about that Meri, I just tripped a little. I''m fine now.¡± She gave me a quick look over, clearly worried about the state I was in. When she stood up straight, I noticed she was only a bit shorter than me. I had no idea she was such a slouch. She gave me a small smile.


    ¡°It''s perfectly fine Bill, I promise I''ll do a better job of supporting you from now on. This one apologizes for her earlier failings and shortcomings. If you need to, feel free to grab hold of my body as much as you require.¡± She turned her attention back to Maddy as she let out a small moan, but didn''t wake up.


    Wait a minute, what did she just say...? Dammit Bill. Get your mind out of the gutter. This is hardly the time for that.

 Chapter 18

    I sat on the foot of Maddy''s bed as the healer tended to her. Meri stood on the other side of the small room while Malik sat in the spare chair. After wrapping and cleaning the wound, the woman placed her hand on Maddy''s head. A soft blue light emitted from her palm. Everyone in the room watched the process silently over the next few minutes. She took her hand away and checked the bandages. Seeming pleased with her work, she turned to Malik.


    They talked as if old friends while she examined him. Malik had used this same healer multiple times in the past, which made convincing her to see us on such short notice easier. Not to mention, she was the only healer in town. While she busied herself taking care of Malik, I inquired about Maddy. ¡°Is Maddy going to be alright?¡±


    My interruption during her examination annoyed her, and she wasn''t shy about showing it. Her bed side manner could use some work. ¡°Do you really think I''d be acting so casually if that wasn''t the case young one? I poured my magic into her, and didn''t find any traces of brain damage. When she wakes up she''ll probably feel nauseous and dizzy, but it will pass."


    She finished wrapping Malik''s head and placed her hand over it. The same soft blue light appeared. I pushed her for more information. ¡°So when will she wake up?¡±


    The healer shrugged. ¡°It could be two minutes or it could be two days. She''ll wake up soon enough. I could easily awaken her right now if I so desired. So there''s no need to be concerned about that.¡±


    ¡°If you can wake her up then why haven''t you?¡± I figured that it would be the obvious thing to do.


    She laughed as if I asked what color the sky was, or some other equally stupid question. She replied. ¡°We heal more quickly when asleep. Healers can''t perform miracles you know. Even the most skilled healers in the world have their limits. All I did was use my mana to direct her body to repair the most critical areas and sped up the healing process. The longer she sleeps the less pain and dizziness she''ll feel. I recommend you let her sleep, she''ll wake up when she''s ready.¡±


    After taking her hand away from Malik''s head she examined him one last time. ¡°You may experience some blurry vision within the next forty eight hours. If that happens, come see me. Besides that, rest up and don''t do anything strenuous.¡± She gave him a stern look until he finally nodded in agreement.


    To think, even someone as strong as him could be foiled by a stray brick. I guess it went to show, no matter how strong someone may be, they weren''t immune to a freak accident.


    She turned her attention to me and spoke in a curt manner. "Take off your shirt".


    At least I was starting to get a little definition. Sadly, I doubted anyone would find my bruised skin attractive. She lightly touched around my chest and ribs as she inspected each one. ¡°Does it hurt when I do this?¡± She lightly pushed on each individual rib.


    I cringed and let out a quick breath. ¡°No, I''m making this face for fun. Can''t you tell?¡±


    She was not amused by my cheeky comment. The force she put into her tiny fingers increased a miniscule amount. That was still enough to double the amount of pain I was feeling. ¡°This isn''t the time to speak brashly. I don''t want to be here all day you know."


    Doesn''t anyone in this damn world have a sense of humor? I swallowed my follow up zinger. Too bad, it was a really good one. ¡°They all hurt. I''m pretty sure everything on the left side is broken. My right rib cage is hurt too, but not as severely. It might just be fractures or bruising. That''s my guess anyway.¡±


    She nodded while continuing to feel every rib individually. ¡°You got lucky, or someone picked out some very good armor for you. In either case your organs seem fine.¡±


    She put her hands to my ribs. The same blue light came out, only this time she use both hands. I guess it was due to the size of the injured area. At first there was only a minor tickling and burning sensation. Then a few sharp stabs of pain. I could actually feel my bones moving within my body. I tried not to cry out as they were adjusted back into their original position.


    After being set in place, I could feel them being tentatively mended together. I sat still while taking slow and shallow breaths. Only the ticklish and slightly burning sensation remained. She finally took her hands away and slumped, ;etting in a deep breath. I guess I used up a lot of her mana.


    She rubbed her eyes while she spoke to me. ¡°Absolutely no combat until you''re fully healed. I would recommend another healing session tomorrow morning and the morning after that. There''s nothing else I can do for now. You''re body needs time to recover from the stress of healing. If you decide you don''t want to pay for the sessions, it will take about four weeks to fully heal by yourself. The choice is yours.¡±


    She gave Meri a cold glance. ¡°I take it your beastkin is alright?¡± I didn''t like the way she said beastkin. Maybe she didn''t detest them, but I got the impression she wouldn''t touch her if she didn''t have to.


    "She''s fine." I tried to keep the displeasure out of my voice. There was no reason to go out of my way to piss this woman off just to make some silly point.


    ¡°My price for healing your group is five silver pieces. If you want two more sessions with me that will be 5 pieces more, paid in advance.¡± I took 10 silver pieces out of Maddy''s purse. It would save us money and time in the long run. Plus, my ribs still hurt. I don''t consider myself a wuss, but I¡¯m not one of those macho idiots that bares with pain when I don''t need to. With our money in hand and appointments set, the healer excused herself from the room.


    With Meri assured that Maddy and I would be okay, her exhaustion finally won out. While she didn''t have any serious injuries, she used more energy than all of us combined. She slowly climbed into her bed, looking ready to pass out. Seeing how tired she was, her willpower to have stood up for all this time must be amazing.


    I would never say it to her face, but I thought she would be the one to get seriously hurt first. The way she moved was incredible. I told the girls not to come with me. Yet now I was the one feeling left behind.


    Back in the dungeon, when she told Malik to put out the torches I instantly knew what she was planning. As I crawled over to extinguish the final flame, a chilling feeling came over me. I''ve never felt so helpless in all my life. Not when I was auctioned off and not when I was a slave of the Armingtage house.


    I wasn''t in fighting condition, but I had my sword nearby and I could still see and move a bit. It was unlikely I could''ve done much, but I could have done something at least. No matter how small, I clung on to a single shred of self determination.


    Once I put that torch out, I had no choice but to leave everything up to Meri. We would all live or die depending on her alone. Being able to trust in your friends is a great thing, but I have to be honest, I hated that helpless feeling. The feeling of waiting in the dark for either a friend to save you or a monster to kill you. I made a promise with myself to never be that helpless again.


    If I had to depend on others, then I''d never be strong enough to save my sister. Putting the burden of the task on someone else was not an option. No, that would be my cross to bare alone. I would make sure that from this moment on, I was the one who would face the biggest dangers.


    All that being said, I couldn''t let my frustrations get the better of me. It was best to just consider it a part of the learning process. I got bailed out this time. Accept it and move on. I''m sure everyone on the path to power that survives has a similar experience at some point.


    Malik stood up from the chair and stretched. "I''ll be on my way. I still have that sack of loot that we need to exchange. You lot feel free to rest up. You can pick up your coin at the outpost whenever you''re ready." He turned to leave.


    ¡°I''ll go with you.¡± I stood up, moving slowly.


    He gave me an exasperated expression. ¡°You trust me to watch your back in a dungeon, but not with a small amount of coin? That seems a bit paranoid.¡±


    I waved away his concern. "Its not that. I need to get out of this room in any case. Since I''m getting up I may as well go with you. I''m curious how much we were able to make today. I also need to fulfill my end of the bargain when it comes to getting you what we agreed upon, right?"


    Malik looked into the distance, which was a little odd considering we were still in a small room. No doubt he was picturing June and himself doing something. A small indecent grin formed on the side of his face only to vanish just as quickly. When he looked at me, it was as if he was remembering I was still there.


    Malik picked up the sack full of monster parts. I turned to say goodbye to Meri, but she was already starting to doze off. I quietly closed and locked the door to their room as I left. I tried to keep up with Malik''s pace as we walked towards the outpost. I failed several times and had to ask him to slow down more than once.


    We entered the outpost to see the same bored young man, just as I left him last time. If it wasn''t for his clothes being a slightly darker shade of dreary gray I may have thought that he hadn''t moved from that spot.


    Malik dumped the bag full of monster parts on the counter without saying a word. I got the feeling he didn''t get along with this kid anymore than I did. Barely bothering to give either of us any acknowledgment, he slowly sorted out the loot in front of him. ¡°That''s ten pairs of Red Bat fangs, three Demon Weasel horns and a Devil Goat''s hooves and horns. How would you like that back? As sixty silver coins or two gold and ten silver coins?¡±


    ¡°Sixty silver coins.¡± We said those words at the exact same time. I noticed that like me, Malik didn''t add a please at the end. This little brat didn''t deserve it. The boy carefully placed the loot in a box and then counted out sixty silver coins. He left us at the counter as he took the box to the backroom. I was curious how this whole system worked, but this boy wasn''t about to tell me and I wanted to deal with him as little as possible in any case.


    Malik quickly counted out fifteen silver pieces and put them in his purse. I place the other 45 inside of Maddy''s purse which I still had on me. For all the trouble we went through, it would only be 15 silver pieces per person, and that was before expenses. Not a very high amount for risking your life. I guess that''s why there aren''t more adventurers wondering around.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    To make any real money you either had to go solo like Malik or level up enough so that you could go into the more dangerous dungeons. I got the strong impression that neither of those were the norm as far as the usual adventurer goes. With our business here finished, Malik and I took our leave and headed to the tavern.


    Turning to me as we walked Malik asked. ¡°By the way Bill, you never told me exactly how you would get me a date. Care to share that information?¡± I motioned him to stop and readjusted the bandages around his head so a little more of the soaked up blood could be seen.


    ¡°Just let me do the talking and agree with whatever I say.¡± I patted him on the shoulder as we continued on. As we walked into June''s tavern I played up the pain in my side slightly. I didn''t need to pretend that much, it was still tender. As we went to sit at the bar, I gave out a very noticeable wince as I took my seat. Seeing where I was going, Malik tried to copy me and play up his own injury. The barmaid didn''t care much about Malik''s, but did show concern over me.


    ¡°Jeez young man, are you okay?¡± She stood across from me with genuine worry on her face. I think I needed to take it down a notch. She looked as if she was about to run out of her tavern and track down a healer.


    ¡°Thank you miss, yes I''m fine. My party is okay too. We got pretty banged up down there, but we''re all going to make it. Thank the Mother. It was more horrible than I could''ve ever imagined. I saw things that even my nightmares couldn''t prepare me for. There is only one reason we made it out alive, this man sitting by my side.¡± I gave Malik a slight nod.


    The barmaid didn''t seem impressed. ¡°Well, I always knew he was pretty strong. I''m glad your group is okay.¡± She went back to wiping the bar. So that wasn''t enough for you June? Fine. I continued on with my prepared story.


    ¡°I tell ya, its funny June. You don''t mind if I call you that do you? I never wanted to be an adventurer. I would''ve been happy to stay with my loving mom and dad along with my sweet little sister. We didn''t have much. Only the small bakery, but we were happy. Luckier than most I knew. But then...¡± After a long pause to increase the effect, I started crying. I went all out turning on the water works. It made me glad there wasn''t anyone else here.


    She had no idea what to do. Drunk customers hitting on her were an easily dealt with and common occurrence. A customer crying their eyes out was not something she had to deal with often. She fetched me a clean rag and put her arm on my shoulder. ¡°There there, it will all be okay. What happened?¡± I remembered the old saying, ''the best lies are mixed with truth''.


    ¡°A man from a powerful house came. Don''t ask me which house, its better you don''t know. In any case, he told us my uncle, who recently passed, owe the lord of the house money. Since he died, they claimed that the debt was ours. Being a man of great principle and courage, my beloved father told him that he refused to pay.¡± I rubbed my eyes with the rag and continued.


    ¡°The next day, coming home late from the bakery, I found my mother and father had been killed, the house had been ransacked with everything of value stolen and my sister was gone. Since that day, I''ve decided to go into the dungeons until I''m strong enough to get her back.¡±


    I got my ''crying'' under control. ¡°When I told my story to Malik, he offered to watch over our group in the dungeon. When I tried to pay him to show my appreciation for his kindness, he insisted that all he would accept was a fair share of the loot. He made a solemn pledge that he would go with us as many times as we needed. We tried to refuse, surely we could never accept such a generous offer, but my dear friend Malik would have none of that.¡± I turned to Malik to see the shocked expression on his face.


    I faced June. "He even promised to stop drinking too, just to make sure he''d be ready to go with us to the dungeon every morning. I know I¡¯m taking advantage of his generous heart. All I can do is ask the mother to bring my sister back to me quickly, so that I can start making it all up to him. I know he''ll refuse, being the man he is, but I¡¯ll try in any case.¡±


    I gave Malik a pat on the shoulder. ¡°I never knew there would be another man I could look up to the way I did my father until I found him. At least he is allowing me to buy him a drink of what ever non-alcoholic beverages you have. That is all the thanks he will allow for saving three lives. Actually, make that two June, if you would be so kind.¡±


    Malik stare daggers into my soul, as much as he could with June stealing glances at him. I knew what he was thinking. What the fuck was all this? I never agreed to that. Stay sober? Go down into the dungeon as much as we wanted with nothing but an even split? The deal was for him to help me once and I would get him a date. This little lying manipulative bastard.


    I could see he was about to tell me where I could stick this load of horse shit, but June interrupted his thoughts as she stood directly in front of him. Bending down slightly to match the height of her face with the two of use sitting on the bar stools. ¡°I never knew you had this side to you Malik. In that case, these next two drinks will be on the house.¡± She poured what smelled like a fruit juice into two cups and placed them before us.


    Before she could leave, I waved her closer to me. ¡°June, I know it''s shameless to ask this, but I noticed before when I was in here Malik was asking you on a date. Has he done that before?¡±


    She gave me a coy look. ¡°You''re not going to start too now are you? While you aren''t terrible to look at, I don''t go for guys as young as you.¡±


    I laughed and waved her concerns aside. ¡°You are a beauty to be sure, but I was going to ask something different. I have no money or ability to repay Malik for everything he''s done for me. I know no matter what I try to do, I will never be able to help him like he has helped me. I feel great shame in that. You rightly turned him down of course. He was drunk at the time and you deserve a man who has his wits about him so that he can treat you the way you deserve¡±.


    I took a drink before I continued. ¡°I know it''s shameless of me to ask you this, but please take him up on his offer. My father always told me, we should do whatever we can to repay our favors. I have been trying hard to be as good of a man as he was. I know what I ask is improper, but there''s nothing else I can do to pay him back. So I ask, no I beg. In memory of my dear father. Please just this once, go out with him."


    I bowed deeply. I was ready to fall to my knees and beg while I started up the water works again if that''s what it took. I was laying it on a bit thick, but sometimes it needs to be laid on a bit thick. I needed to get my sister back and I needed Malik''s help in the dungeons to do it. So I''d do whatever it took to get it. If I had to stoop to this level, then so be it. It was inconsequential if I could accomplish my goal.


    I saw that June felt trapped. With me begging her on behalf of my dearly departed parents and missing sister, it was exactly how I hoped she would feel. The news of Malik showing such a heroic and generous side of himself didn''t hurt either. June let out a sigh. ¡°Okay, one date. But no promises after that!¡±


    I gave June a tight hug. Partly to stay in character and partly out of pure joy. Joy at the thought of soon having Malik exactly where I wanted him. ¡°Thank you so much! I''ll be forever in your debt! I swear someday I¡¯ll make it up to you if I can!¡± That last part was true. I would try to make it up to them both if I could.


    I was manipulating things to get what I needed. That didn''t mean I felt good about it. If possible, I would like to make it up to them once I got my sister back. She lightly pushed me off her, but she couldn''t fully hide the small smile on her face. After telling me that making it up to her would be unnecessary, she left to clean some tables on the far side of the tavern.


    Once she was gone Malik turned his full attention on me. Not looking the least bit pleased. ¡°What the hell was all that? I never agreed to do that for you.¡± I could tell Malik was considering beating me to a pulp, injured or not. The only reason he didn''t was now that he''d finally gotten a date with June he didn''t want to blow it.


    I shrugged. ¡°Well, I got you your date didn''t I? Not just that, if you play your cards right you could get a few more. The only reason she hasn''t taken you up on your offer is due to your vices and personality. It isn''t like there are a lot of options in this town. She''s probably starved for a date. Just play it cool and don''t be too needy.. Act like all the heroic stuff you''re doing and will continue to do for us is no big deal.¡± I purposely emphasized the ''will continue to do'' in that sentence.


    Before Malik could say any more I finished my drink. ¡°Spend less time being mad at me and more time thinking about what to do on your date.¡± I thought of adding in that if he didn''t show up with us to the dungeons every day that I would tell June the truth and ruin this for him. Some things are better left unsaid, as long as they are understood.


    With this matter sorted out I went back to the Inn, leaving June to get to know the sober Malik. He seemed like a decent enough guy. Rough around the edges but decent. I hoped it would work out between them. If Malik somehow blew it I would lose all my leverage. Whatever, it wasn''t like he was going to come with me again in any case if I didn''t do this. I had nothing to lose.


    With nothing else to do, I decided to go back to my room at the Inn. A nice meal and some fresh water would be welcomed. Since I couldn''t practice like this, I laid in my bed and went over all the fights I had been through. I tried to think of all the things I could have done better. I pictured them in my mind over and over again.


    My first venture into a dungeon didn''t go as well as I hoped, but at least my whole group made it out. We would be out of commission the next few days. Malik and Meri could go alone and probably be okay, but I wasn''t going to let her take a risk unless I could do it too.


    No, what I needed was to use these next few days effectively to increase our strength. I had an idea that had been floating around in my mind for a while. Now would be the perfect time. It was something we would need to do anyway before taking the test in all likelihood. I slept throughout the day. Waking only to eat and do some light movements so my body wouldn''t become stiff.


    After dinner had been finished I went over my plans for tomorrow in my head one last time before turning in for the night. I heard a soft knock on the door and sat up in my bed. ¡°Come in.¡±


    Meri opened the door and quietly closed it behind her, as if she was still nervous someone might catch her doing something that wasn''t allowed. ¡°Hello Bill, sorry to bother you. If I am intruding please tell me.¡±


    I motioned for her to sit on the chair next to my bed as I sat up. ¡°It''s no bother, what''s on your mind?¡±


    She gave me a depressed look. ¡°I was thinking about today. That if I had acted sooner instead of froze like a scared child Maddy and you wouldn''t have gotten hurt. I wanted to apologize for my inaction and assure you that it will never happen again. I beg you to please overlook my failure.¡± It isn''t often that someone apologizes for not saving your incompetent ass better.


    I held up my hand as I spoke. ¡°In the first place, I owe you an apology, not the other way around. I was the one that wanted to go into the dungeon, and in a rush to go I was completely unprepared. In the second place, I don''t believe in that kind of thinking. We should learn from the past, but wallowing in regret never made anything better. I''ve had my fill of that already. My only focus is how to do better next time.¡±


    Meri looked relieved that I wouldn''t scold her and considered my words. ¡°Do you have any ideas for how we can do that? Whatever you come up with, I shall try my best to accomplish it.¡±


    I gave a slight chuckle at her earnestness. At least she was willing to talk more now. Baby steps. ¡°We clearly won''t be able to go back inside the dungeon as a group tomorrow. Even if only you and Malik went in, we can''t be sure Malik is fully healed yet. There''s no point taking a needless risk. We will need to take enough needful risk as is. In that case, I was planning on traveling tomorrow to the nearest magic guild. There''s a large city close by that''s sure to have one. I think it''s time we all learn a few spells. That will be a safe way to increase our power while we''re out of commission.


    Meri tried to not show any emotions except for those which had to do with subservience, but even she couldn''t hide a hint of excitement at the thought of learning magic. ¡°Do you have any idea how the magic guilds work Bill?¡±


    I nodded my head. ¡°Malik told me a little about them. They make a lot of money selling their magic knowledge. Obviously no guild would ever sell their most powerful spells, but we don''t need those right now anyway.¡±


    I saw Meri pondering. No doubt imagining all forms of amazing magic. A thought came to mind. ¡°Would you like to come with me Meri? If you don''t have something you want to do here that is.¡± A soft smile appeared on her face.


    She nodded. ¡°I promise not to be in your way and shall do my utmost to be useful. Thank you for allowing this one to come with you.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and shook my head. ¡°You''re never in the way Meri. Also, I¡¯m not allowing you to come with me. I''m asking if you want to. Not only is the choice yours to make, but it isn''t like I could stop you from going if you wanted.¡±


    Meri looked nervously before answering. ¡°Then I thank you for believing this one is worthy of inviting, and I would be happy to come if it pleases you.¡±


    Remember Bill, baby steps.

 Chapter 19

    As Meri and I walked into the city, I couldn''t help but laugh inwardly at the expressions she made. Her experience in the outside world was limited to our treks through the forest and small towns for the most part. The only other city she had seen was the bleak and derelict looking place we held up in when we first made our escape.


    While some parts of it were slightly appealing she never had the chance to see them with most of her time spent cooped up in the hotel or walking through the run-down back alleys to find a spot to train.


    This city was something altogether different. The marvelous stone work was awe inspiring while the energy of the inhabitantss permeated in the air. Truly this was a city in its golden era. Not to mention the sheer size was at minimum twice that of the former one she had seen. Her ears twitched with every strange new sound and her fox tail wagged as she attempted to contain her excitement.


    She turned to me wide eyed. ¡°This place is just so... big. I don''t think I''ve ever seen so many people. Have you ever seen anything like this before?¡± She asked me in a soft voice.


    Since we''ve entered the city she''s moved closer to me than usual. Not only to avoid hitting other people, but because of the strangeness of the situation. At times like these I noticed she became more childlike and hesitant while her slouch returned with vengeance. Acting even more meek and unsure than usual as she followed my lead. On the bright side, when she walked alone together on the road she managed to keep her back straight. Some progress is better than none.


    It was almost hard for me to believe the woman in front of me only a mere twenty four hours ago had battled so fiercely with that Devil Goat. The powerful warrior who stood against her foe with a speed and strength that was beyond me. With a face that looked intent on her objective and even betrayed a hint of enjoyment. It made me wonder. If she could ever get past the trauma she experienced, which of those two Meri''s was the closest to the one she would become?


    I realized then that I had been lost in thought and had completely forgotten to answer her question. ¡°Not since I''ve come to this... not since I¡¯ve come here.¡± I didn''t think it was a wise move to talk about how I wasn''t native to this world when so many people were around. I felt my ribs as we walked through town. I had a healing session in the morning before setting out. My ribs were still pretty sore, but I now managed to walk at a normal pace with no problems.


    I thought back to the events of this morning. I was glad to see that Maddy managed to wake up before we left. She wanted to join us, but the healer insisted she rest for the day. Maddy claimed she would be fine, but I could tell she didn''t fully have her balance back yet. It was best to not take a risk. We didn''t want her to fall and hit her head.


    She was disappointed with the situation, but with the prospect of learning magic she couldn''t stay in a dour mood for long. She made me promise to bring her back something amazing. I sure as hell was going to try.


    We wondered down the streets and had to ask for directions from three separate people. The first person we asked knew exactly where the guild was. The detailed directions he gave of the thirteen turns we would have to make while also giving us landmarks for each street was helpful, but ultimately it was just too much to remember. On the tenth turn I realized that I had messed up somewhere along the line.


    We went back to the last location that I knew we had gotten right and asked someone else. Sadly, they weren''t sure of the exact location, but were able to tell us enough to get us into the general area. Did I mention this city was enormous yet? Of course, the third person we asked had the distinguished honor to simply point down the road at the sign less than five hundred feet away.


    The building was large, but not as fancy as I thought it would be. The sign on the door simply read ''United Magic Association''. It was the only sign I¡¯ve seen so far in this world that didn''t have any symbols carved on it.


    I walked inside with Meri following quickly on my heel. I wasn''t sure if beastkin would be welcomed here. It was possible that those who walked the path of magic may have a different set of ideals and principles than most people. I wasn''t sure if that was for the better or worse in our case, but it was something I would need to be prepared for none the less.


    Besides a few paintings on the wall and how clean the building looked compared to everything else, it was rather bland and unremarkable. Plain white walls with doorways evenly spaced out from each other on either side. The hallway was long and rigid in its shape. We soon came to the unassuming front desk. Seeing the person there put my mind at ease.


    The beastkin who appeared to be of bear heritage gave us the standard customer service smile and motioned us to come forward. Seeing his large canines gave me pause to be totally honest, but I wasn''t about to tell this very large beastkin that.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± His eyes gave me a glance and soon fixed on Meri. I saw a deep blush forming on his face. I hadn''t seen many young female beastkin, so I''d wondered if all of them were as beautiful as the absolute goddess who stood by my side. The look the bear beastkin gave made it clear that wasn''t the case.


    My first thought was ''I need to get together with her before she realizes how hot she is and I lose my chance''. I quickly reprimanded myself for being an asshole who put his dick before the rehabilitation of this poor woman. My second thought was ''quit staring you stupid bear''!. I spoke louder than usual to get his attention. ¡°We''re looking to get a magic lesson or purchase some books on magic, if that''s possible.¡±


    He snapped out of the trance Meri put him under and brought his attention back to me. ¡°Yes! Ummm... Do you have any prior experience with magic?¡± He grabbed a nearby folder and opened it as he took down notes. He asked for our age, affiliation if any, race, magic experience and level among other things.


    Judging from the sign on the building which contained only words and the way this beastkin was writing, I assumed that literacy among those in the magic community must be one of the exceptions to the rule in this world. That made me a little concerned. I knew that Meri didn''t know how to read. I hoped that wasn''t going to be a problem.


    I worried slighty about giving out so much information to these people, but most of the information they wanted was nothing our status screens didn''t display. It wasn''t like that was something we could hide from them. I would bet that more than a few people here had the ability to see a status screen without you opening it if they wanted. So it wasn''t like that information was truly private. Nothing we told them would give us away in any case.


    He handed us a piece of paper and told us to take a seat in the waiting area. I didn''t expect a Harry Potter level of whimsey in this building, but I expected something more magical than this. It was like waiting around at the DMV or a clinic, only more boring. I imagined this is what a bureaucrats wet dream would be like. After being forced to wait for an inappropriately long amount of time, it was finally our turn.


    An unenthusiastic young looking elven creature approached skimming the contents of what was no doubt our folder. He glanced up at us. ¡°So I take it you are Bill and Meri, correct?¡± We agreed that was the case, but I would have agreed to be any number of people at this point if it could have moved the process along. He motioned to the paper I was holding which I subsequently handed to him, only to watch him take a painstaking amount of time to review it.


    He sighed and put the contents of the paper in our folder before closing it. ¡°Please come with me and we''ll go over your various options.¡± We followed him down a long plain looking hallway as we went deeper inside the building. Seeing how uniform everything was, I wondered how possible it would be to get lost in this maze of halls and rooms which all looked exactly the same. There weren''t even numbers or name plates to tell one room apart from the others.


    Finally we came to what I would call, for lack of a less generous word, his office. It was a tiny room with a small desk and two chairs in front of it. He invited us to take a seat while he closed the door behind us. Around his table were shelves filled with various tomes. Where they spell books or just the same boring books one would see in any office? Papers and letters covered part of his desk along with a few items of a personal nature.


    He put the papers and letters aside before setting our information down. Considering the youth of this elf, the amount of time we had to wait and the size of this office I could only come to one conclusion. They weren''t taking us seriously. Yes, they would take our business, but they didn''t think much would come of it and so sent someone low on the ladder to handle it. I wanted to be mad about it, but I honestly couldn''t blame them when I thought about it.


    The elf spoke. ¡°I see here that you are both low rated adventurers that have no experience with magic to date. Allow me then to explain our options. For customers that are new, we have a strict policy of teaching only rank one or rank two spells. The higher the rank the more expensive the spell becomes of course.¡± He took a sip of water before continuing.


    ¡°As your level grows and we build a relationship with you, our guild offers the chance to purchase rank three spells. If on your journey you ever find an item that we have particular interest in, we can negotiate perhaps going beyond rank three. Are there any questions so far?¡± He wanted to move right along, but now that I finally had someone in front of me with answers, I wasn''t about to let that happen.


    I sat up straight in my chair and leaned in. ¡°Yes, I do have some questions. What''s the highest spell rank your guild is in possession of and what is the highest spell rank you know to exist?¡± He was clearly disappointed that I actually wanted to ask him something. I guess that even for him who appeared to be low on the totem pole, we didn''t come off as very promising clients.


    ¡°I''m afraid that''s not information I¡¯m able to disclose with people who aren''t official guild members. I''m only allowed to say that we have spells that go beyond rank three.¡±


    So there was at least rank four spells in the world. I wondered how high the ranks went and how such a thing was even determined. What was Malik''s lightning cutter spell rank for instance? I wanted to ask, but I doubted I would get any answers right now and I didn''t want to piss the little guy off. Best to just get down to business. ¡°So what are the prices for your spells?¡±


    He smiled seeing that things were back on track. ¡°For a rank one spell the price is two gold coins each. For a rank two spell the price is six gold coins. If you are unable to read, we offer lessons which are one gold coin per hour for rank one and three gold coins per hour for rank two. It is worth noting that the lessons end up being more expensive but you do get excellent one on one tutoring.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    There was no choice at all. Lessons would be too expensive. Meri didn''t know how to read. but between Maddy and I that could be worked out. We should teach her to read in any case. It would help give her more confidence and independence. Things she still desperately needed.


    I looked to see if Meri had anything she wanted to add but her lips were sealed shut. She listened intently but kept looking to me to make decisions. So I did. ¡°I think we''ll just purchase the books.¡± After saying that, I whispered to Meri that I would help her with learning whichever spell she chose.


    The elf interrupted me. ¡°In that case, I''ll give you a small warning. The books we give you have an unbreakable magical charm on them. The writing is only legible to the opener of the book. The person who first opens the book is recognized as the book''s owner. If the owner of the book tries to copy down or share the knowledge with someone else, the book will turn blank. So keep that in mind.¡±


    Well that sucks. I was hoping I could buy a few books and we could learn all the spells together. I could see how it made sense though. Once a book was out in the world, if the knowledge was not contained, the book would lose its value. I could still see some potential ways around this system but none were easy. I had to ask. ¡°If that''s true, once I master a spell what''s to keep me from teaching it to someone else without the book?¡±


    He laughed a bit at my comment. ¡°Even for a true master of magic, it takes years of training to be able to understand every concept of a single spell. If a person who wasn''t qualified tried to teach someone the spell, it would likely be either incomplete in some way or perhaps even dangerous to the wielder.¡±


    He turned more serious as he continued. ¡°Assuming it was the case that a person were willing to teach someone else that spell, I doubt they would do it for free. Why take the risk that someone is teaching you a bastardized version of a spell when you can pay us a very reasonable price. In any case, that is why we only share rank one and two spells with the general population, and rank three spells are reserved for those we have built a relationship with.¡±


    It made sense. Even if you could find someone who completely understood the spell and was willing to teach it to you for free, the legwork likely wouldn''t be worth the effort for the gold you''d save. Better to just come here and be sure of what you were purchasing.


    My hand made its way to Maddy''s purse and felt the lightness of it. We had a little over ten gold pieces left and I wanted all of us to learn at least one spell. For now we had no choice except to restrict ourselves to the rank one spells.


    With all that in mind I asked for a list of every rank one spell they had. He grabbed one of the smaller tomes on the bookshelf behind him and put it on the desk and turned it to face us. To say the book was not short on details would be an understatement. Each page contained the name of a spell, a few small pictures to demonstrate its appearance and a list of features.


    It didn''t take as long as i thought it would to get through the book as over half of the spells clearly fell under non-applicable for anyone in my party. Some required the use of spears or only really made sense with a certain ancestry which none of us had. I took my time on the ones that were relevant to Meri as i read the important information out loud to her.


    I was disappointed to see there was a fair amount of redundancy between spells. Every spell had their own strengths and weaknesses that extended from their minor differences, but many of them accomplish the same function. I recalled that what I needed was something for range and something to increase my overall power. Maddy had the same weakness so that made picking a spell for her easier.


    I asked Meri what kind of spell she wanted. In typical Meri fashion, she wanted me to pick while promising she would be happy with whatever I chose. I couldn''t continue to allow her to keep this up forever. If I did then she would never get better. No, I wouldn''t just pick a spell for her. But looking over all the options I could imagine her getting completely overwhelmed.


    We would be here all day if i tried to force her to pick without any direction, so i decided to go with a compromise. I picked out two options that complemented her archery skill and asked her to make the choice from there. With her fox claw and natural strength I concluded that close quarters combat was not the most pressing area of concern for her at the moment. The two options I had picked after careful consideration were called Wind Ripper and Mana Arrow.


    Wind Ripper allowed one to use mana to amplify the destructive power of any arrow you fired several fold. Mana Arrow would allow her to use mana to actually create an arrow. Eventually it would become more powerful than a regular arrow, but not as powerful as the Wind Ripper amplified arrows. That was according to what I was reading anyway.


    Both had their benefits, but in the end she decided on Wind Ripper. I agreed that was the correct choice, though a number of arrows only limited to your mana would be a nice skill to learn too. The reason I believed Wind Ripper was superior came down to one simple question. Which spell would have helped more with the Devil Goat? Wind Ripper was clearly the answer. While more shots is great, unless they can do real damage they''re useless.


    Picking out the spells for myself and Maddy was a bit trickier. Considering Maddy''s style, I decided to go with Weighted Sword. It made the blade feel lighter to the user but heavier to the one receiving the blow. This would increase both the speed and power of her attacks while it was activated. That was something I''ve come to realize that she desperately needed if she was to continue down this path.


    As I improved with the sword I was noticing Maddy''s weakness. She refused to use a smaller sword, but with her frame and size she moved slower compared to me. She had managed to hide that truth from me with her more efficient movements, but as my skill increased that was no longer the case. Against an equally skilled opponent she would be at a disadvantage.


    Men of an equal level would always be able to put more weight behind each swing of their swords. Even if both had the same level of strength the extra weight behind each swing would give her opponent an advantage in power. If she happened to face someone like that she would be in trouble. This wouldn''t just erase that advantage, but completely turn it around.


    Against monsters it could also be a powerful attack. It would make her swing strong enough to cut through even something as sturdy as a Devil Goat. Truly it was a perfect fit for her.


    As for myself, I couldn''t seem to find anything I liked. That was until i was on one of the final pages of the book. Burning Blade is it? A spell that allowed me to transform my mana into heat while pouring it into my sword. The idea of my sword being a hot knife that would cut through my enemies like butter certainly held a special appeal to me.


    If the sword got hot enough I wonder, could it actually cause the blade to be set entirely ablaze? Sadly the page gave no information on that matter. It did mention the blade would glow red with the brightness depending on the level of the spell. Not only may that one day save me the trouble of having to carry a torch, it sounded totally bad ass.


    With our choices made the young elf excused himself from the office to gather the books. Judging by what the elf said, these books didn''t give you the option to learn them with a menu option only to then disappeared from existence like the book my other self found. Clearly those books were not the norm. Exactly how rare were they?


    Should I ask him about such things or would asking such a question put me under scrutiny? It was possible their existence was virtually unheard of by most people and knowing of them could cause others to wonder how I knew such a thing. Since I wasn''t sure, the best move was to keep my mouth shut about it.


    I was worried the elf would make us wait a similar amount of time as before. I was happy to see that was not the case. The elf returned setting down three books on his desk in front of us. They had a leather strap that was sown into the back of the book and attached to a button on the front. holding each book tightly closed.


    I wanted to ask some more questions to see if there was anything else I could learn. He wasn''t having any of it. After we handed him the six gold coins he quickly ushered us out. I wondered if all elves were that rude. I could have taken a stand of some kind and promised to never come again after being treated like that, but why bother? I considered it likely nearly all the magic guilds we could have gone too would have treated low level new comers a similar way.


    With our business concluded, we left the building and the city as quickly as we could. Finding our way out seemed a lot simpler. We were able to retrace the steps we took before. I took mental notes of everything so that finding our way back to this building wouldn''t be such a damn chore.


    As we left the city I couldn''t help but notice Meri eying a delicious looking meat skewer. Being too shy to ask for one, she left me no choice but to march over and get it for her myself. After getting close enough to smell it, I decided to make that two. I felt a little bad with Maddy being excluded from our spending, I would need to remember to get something for her later.


    On the walk back to town I decided to attempt Meri''s first reading lesson. Not much was accomplish as what she really needed was to sit down with pen and paper in front of her, but it was better than nothing. I hated the idea of wasting all this time on the road. With our packed schedule we needed to take advantage of any time we could. From now on during every break in the dungeon and over every meal I decided that either myself or Maddy would tutor Meri


    As we got back into town I caught a glimpse of June. She was wearing a form fitting but unrevealing blue dress as she strolled down the street with Malik. Even at her slightly advanced age she was still a beauty to be sure and had a maiden''s figure. Her dark brown hair and blue eyes complimented her simple but elegant dress.


    As for Malik, he looked like the cat that caught the canary. If the Canary was a sexy MILF minus the children that is. On second thought, lets keep that MILF term to ourselves. There was no need to pollute this reality with poorly thought out slang terms. Most importantly he was sober and on his best behavior. I was very much rooting for their date to go well. It would give him more to lose if a second and third date occurred. Not to mention that i was all for the typical story book happy ending.


    Not wanting to ruin the mood we were careful not to be seen as we slipped into the hotel. Just as I had expected, Maddy wasn''t following the healer''s orders. Why did she need to be so stubborn all the time? I stood behind the closed door and listened to the unmistakable sound of sword practice. She grunted as she swung and the rhythm of her steps were a dead give away. I knocked on the door with Meri at my side.


    "Just a minute!" I heard her yell as she obviously put the sound away and jumped into bed. If I was in her position I would have most likely had done the same instead of being laid up in bed all day.


    I only teased her for a few minutes. We had much more important matters to discuss. I showed Maddy the spell books we bought and explained to her everything that had been told to me. Without my prompting it, she brought up the difficulties this would cause Meri and came to the same solution as me. While I wanted to make teaching Meri an equal job for the both of us, I knew that more would fall on Maddy as they were roommates.


    Since she was already up and moving, we may as well make plans to go to the dungeon tomorrow. I would tell Malik about it after his date, assuming he was alone. If not then I would just need to get up early and make sure he was ready, unless he wasn''t alone then either.. if that was the case I would just need to figure something out.


    We spent the next few hours having a hardy dinner and giving Meri her first official reading lesson. At least the first one in an appropriate setting.


    I wanted to get started on learning my new spell, but that would wait until I got back to my room. I was anxious to get started. That didn''t mean I could dump the responsibility of teaching Meri onto someone else. I expected after I was done in here I would be reading late into the night.. Not just tonight but every night from now on if I wanted to learn this spell quickly. On the bright side that was something I was use to as a self proclaimed fantasy book nut.


    It should have felt amazing to be in this world and living the dream i''ve had for so many years. Fighting monsters and learning magic with a pair of beautiful ladies. But the reason I''m doing this now hasn''t left my mind for a single moment.


    Armilda, your father told me that no matter how much time passed, you always believed I would come back for you. Even as the months went on you never stopped believing that. That fact angered him to no end I¡¯m sure. Well done my little sister! I''m sorry I wasn''t there when you needed me the most, but at least I made sure that he can never hurt you again.


    Part of me couldn''t help but feel like a fake. Your real brother that you had all your faith in let you down. He left you with your horrible father in this unforgiving world to live in mine. I know that all those nights believing that your brother would come back for you, that you really meant him. Not me.


    I''m sorry he disappointed you. Seeing as we were basically the same person, I couldn''t help but feel in some way responsible for his actions. I promise you, I''ll be the brother that lives up to your expectations. The one you deserve.


    What are you going through right now Armilda?

 Chapter 20

    I wanted to rip up the parchment to sooth my rage. Of course, such a thing was an impossibility. Lord Armingtage would demand to see every word of this report himself. As Jameson Carter, captain of the Armingtage guards, it was my duty to see this letter delivered without fail. I took a few deep breaths and slowly slid the letter back into the envelope.


    The fact they had a guard stationed at the correct house, only for him to leave days before the boy arrived was indeed a cruel joke played by fate. It was true that no one could prove it was the boy who killed his father, but I didn''t believe in coincidences. A temperament forged by the harsh realities of battle had rid me of such notions


    Worst still, they lost all trace of the group. This was the only lead we had, and now it had vanished like smoke in the fog. I berated myself for not putting someone else in charge of these matters. I would no doubt be blamed for the failures of these incompetents.


    All of that aside, there was one question I couldn''t help but ask myself. How is it that thingsreached such a state? Year after year I''d seen nobles trying to dig their claws into Madeline. Only for her to give a cold shoulder to each as she saw through their intentions. It was one of the things that I admired the most about her young ladyship.


    While most young noble woman are concerned with how beautiful their dresses look or presenting the perfect facade to the world, Madeline was smart enough to focus her attention on studying the actions and motives of others. She had never been taken in by the flirtations of devious young men trying to use her to move up.


    That was until the day she met that boy. From the first moment he stepped into the lady''s carriage, I''d known the boy was trouble. A snake who slowly wrapped himself tighter and tighter around Madeline.


    Quickly moving from a mere kitchen slave to tutor to her personal attendant. Whispering deceptive poison into the lady''s ear as he slowly gained more of her confidence. I would have never believed it to be possible that someone could manipulate her to such a degree. Perhaps I''d gotten too close to see the truth. In the end she was just a young woman. She needed to be protected, even from herself.


    Ever since Madeline had left with that villainous boy and the slave fox girl, I worked tirelessly to cut the flow of information on the orders of Lord Armingtage. The death of Susan was covered up as a horrible accident, and a tale was spun of Madeline being sent abroad to study with her personal attendant with the fox slave accompanying her.


    It wasn''t hard to convince others of such a lie. Our slaves were well trained and knew better than to ask questions. The room had been found by some of the Armingtage guards, and they were men I could trust to keep their mouths shut. We had been able to keep the information to a very small trusted inner circle of guards and key family members.


    Lord Armingtage had decided to keep the whole thing quiet for a number of reasons. No matter what version of the story we told, the results would be disastrous. If we reported that Madeline ran off with some slaves of her own free will then no noble worth a damn would be willing to marry his son to such a woman. The best they could hope for was some fledgling upstart house.


    If we instead reported that the lady was kidnapped, that may lead to an even worse outcome. The display of utter incompetence would signal weakness. Other houses believing the powerful Armingtage house was vulnerable would move in on their business interest and attempt to seize their political connections. After all, if a few slaves could kidnap the lady of the Armingtage house under our noses, what would any of them have to fear from us?


    While the Armingtage house was more than capable of crushing a few lesser houses trying to encroach on its territory, the sheer number of fronts they would be attacked on would simply be too great. A proud lion could only hold off a pack of wolves for so long. It didn''t matter if we were actually weak. Simply being perceived as weak would spell their doom.


    The best option was to keep quiet and handle the situation themselves. At least they had the boy''s sister. He would come for her sooner or later. Of this I had no doubt. The young girl had warned them time and again that when he came for her they would all be sorry. Nothing but empty threats of course, but even empty threats can be illuminating. Clearly there was a strong bond between the two. That was valuable information.


    They needed to figure out a way to use her to force him out of hiding. If they could, then it was only a matter of time before they would find Madeline. The question was how to do it? It wasn''t as if they could go to every village within a ten day ride and announce they would be executing all their slaves next month.


    Nothing was stopping them from doing it legally, but it would cause too many questions. A horde of spies from other houses would descend upon them to discover what was afoot. They key was to get a message were it needed to go and no where else. I had no idea how such a thing could be accomplished.


    Hearing the clock strike noon and knowing lunch would soon arrive for the young lady, this would be a good chance for me to try to gather more information. Even the most insignificant thing could turn out to be all I needed to find Madeline. I hoped I could get something useful out of her. Any good news I could report to off set the disastrous news in the letter would be welcomed.


    I traveled to the lowest level of the Armingtage estate where the holding cells were located. Any major house had such a place where it could do its dirty work unseen from the world. While I didn''t care for such things, I was not naive. Gold and titles alone were not enough to hold onto power.


    The stones here were thicker than in any other part of the estate. The air here tasted dry and lifeless. It was the only place in the estate besides the slave and servant corridors without windows. At least the air seemed to flow regularly through those locations. Here the air smelled stale. As if it was also a prisoner that was trapped. Even the screams that took place in this room from time to time were held prisoner here. Forever locked away.


    Every time I entered this room I couldn''t help but look at the old blood stains on the floor. Memories of a few stains I had put there myself flashed across my mind. I remembered the names and faces of the people they belonged to. People no one else would ever know were here.


    I always looked over the older blood stains on the floor. Spilled there decades or maybe even centuries before I arrived. Every time i saw them I couldn''t help but wonder. Who were they? What were their stories? Such answers were now lost. As would be the answers to the blood stains I had placed. Only the stains would remain.


    I greatly preferred the rare situations where blood was not spilled on this cursed floor. Most of those people were allowed to leave with their lives, though not without learning a harsh lesson before hand. I let out a relieved breath as I saw no new stains. I Ordered my guards to be gentle with the young lady. But if the lord of the house lost his patience, there would be nothing that I could do to save her.


    Arriving just in time to see the guard stationed here preparing to bring a tray of food into the only occupied cell. Needless to say, slaves and servants were not allowed to enter, most didn''t even know this place existed. The lone exception being that unnerving old woman. The fact that she actually enjoyed coming down here on occasion to see the proceedings put a bad taste in my mouth. I was thankful that disgusting woman was dead to be totally honest.


    Motioning for the guard to stop what he was doing and give me the tray of food, I unbolted the lock and pulled open the door. I kept the door open after entering. If I closed it, there''d be hardly any light. I wanted to be able to clearly see the face of the person I was talking to. It made it easier to catch her in a lie.


    The girl, whose named I learned was Armilda, sat in the corner. Her legs tucked into her body with her arms wrapped around them. She looked up at me and then to the far wall. A small act of defiance. The only act of defiance she was capable of doing at this time. I couldn''t help but mentally commend her in my mind for the courage she showed. How many full grown men have I seen bawling their eyes out in this very room over the years?


    Placing the tray down a few feet in front of her, I took a few steps back to appear non-threatening. ¡°I hope you like the meal we''ve prepared. I hear our cook made this lamb particularly well, but I haven''t gotten the chance to try it yet.¡± She didn''t make a move for the food or the cup of water on the tray. Keeping her eyes on the far wall.


    ¡°What do you want with my brother?¡± She spoke in a soft voice.


    I gave her my kindest smile. ¡°We''ve told you, he''s a criminal. We''re looking for him before he does anything worse. No one wants to hurt him. We just want to get back something precious he stole from us.¡±


    She pulled her legs toghter to her body. ¡°I don''t believe you. My brother isn''t a criminal.¡±


    I bent my knees to get closer to eye level with the girl. ¡°I know it can be hard to accept. Personally, I don''t think he''s a bad guy. That''s why we want to find him before things get out of hand.¡±


    She finally bothered to give me a look. ¡°You must think I''m stupid. Why would I believe a kidnapper over what I know of my own brother?¡±


    She was going to be a tough nut to crack. Perhaps a more stern tack was needed. ¡°Well, did you know your dear brother killed your father? If you knew him so well, then did you know he could become a murderer? That''s why we need to find him. Before he does anything like that to someone else.¡±


    She smiled at the news. ¡°My father deserved it. He was a mean man and a drunk. I don''t know exactly what happened, but now I¡¯m sure he had something to do with my brother going missing. He''s probably a reason why I¡¯m here too.¡±


    I couldn''t help but be a bit surprised by her insight. ¡°You''re a clever little girl, but if you were as smart as you think you are, you''d help me find him. Not everyone wants your brother to come out of this in one piece. If you tell me something that helps me find him, I promise you I''ll make sure-.


    ¡°If you don''t want to end up like my father, you''d better let me go. My brother is coming for me, and when he does you are all going to be sorry.¡± She looked like she really believed that.


    ¡°For your own sake, you need to start cooperating and get silly notions like those out of your head. Not everyone here is as keen to be as kind to you as I am. Besides, you''re brother lost all his levels. We have a lot of people here much stronger than him, not even mentioning myself. Yet you think he''s going to kill us all and set you free? You need to start being realistic about the situation you''re in. If you don''t, you would be making a foolish mistake. Just like he did.¡±


    Her gazed turned threatening and her body tightened with anger. ¡°He told me he''s going to be the greatest adventurer in the world. When he gets strong enough he''ll come save me, and teach all of you a lesson!¡±


    I responded to her with a mock look of fear. ¡°When that day comes please tell your dear old brother to have mercy on me. Until then, I''ll just have to quake in fear of his fury.¡±


    She gave me the biggest frown she could muster. Picking up the lamb, she tossed it on the floor in front of me. ¡°You can go ahead and try the lamb now. I don''t think you''ll mind. Dogs are used to eating things off the floor, right?¡±


    I had tried to be kind to her. If that didn''t work, then I would need to be cruel. She needed to learn the seriousness of the situation. If she didn''t start cooperating, This would only get worse for her. I quickly crossed the room and grabbed her by the throat. Easily lifting her off her feet and pushing her against the wall. Squeezing just tightly enough to cut off her air.


    ¡°You better watch who you call a dog. Remember, a dog can always bite. If you don''t start telling me what I want to know. Perhaps I''ll toss you in with some of our guard dogs. They''re a vicious lot and always hungry for fresh meat.¡± I dropped her and stood over her small frame. She grabbed her throat and coughed as she tried to catch her breath. I kicked her cup of water over. Much of it disappearing between the cracks in the stone floor.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    While she was still catching her breath I spoke. "The next time I see you, I want you to have something useful to tell me. If you don''t, I might not be in such a friendly mood." I walked out of the cell and locked the door behind me. The other guard who watched my conversation had a disgruntled look on his face. Needing a break, I walked over to the table on the other side of the room and took a seat. My subordinate sat across from me with a tray of food for himself..


    He ate and spoke at the same time. Not only a disgusting habit, but a clear indicator of a lack of discipline. I had to remind myself that half of these guards were no better than thugs. Very few of them were worthy of my respect, particularly the ones I put on this detail. "Ya shouldn''t let dat little cunt talk to ya like that. If ya want, I can put her in the stretcher and teach her some manors."


    I leaned back slightly to avoid the food flying out of his mouth. "No torturing. Shes just a girl. Let her throw her little fits if she wants. I will question her in my own way and wear her down over time. We don''t need to resort to those methods."


    He clearly didn''t like the answer. A true sadist who enjoyed his job far too much. To get such a young and unblemished peach to work on would be a first for him. It was an idea I could tell he was excited about in more ways than one. He drained half his cup before he spoke. "The lord of dis here house wants answers. He ain''t gonna wait forever ya know. I''ll be gentle with her if ya want. Won''t even leave any permanent marks." He gave me a chilling smile.


    I shot to my feet with an expression on my face which caused his smile to fade. "Unless the lord of the house says otherwise, you will follow my orders. No torture, and if I find out that you touched even one hair on her head without my approval or the approval of lord Armingtage, I''ll put you in the stretcher myself and discover its maximum length. Is that understood?"


    "Ya sir, captain Carte.r" He muttered and then looked back down at his food in disappointment.


    I had enough of being in this depressing place. I honestly believed that human dungeons were worse than the monster filled variety. I walked of out not sparing that animal another look and decided it was time to make my way to Lord Armingtage. Now all I had to do was deliver the bad news about how his daughter slipped through our fingers.


    On my way to the Lord''s office I recalled something the girl said about how her brother wanted to be an adventurer. Most boys usually claimed they were going to be one at some point. It likely didn''t mean anything and was probably just the girl making idle threats about how strong and dangerous her brother was. Then again, it wasn''t like I had any other leads to go on, so what could be the harm in looking into it?


    If he wanted to get strong enough to rescue her, that would be the only way to do it. I doubted the boy had the backbone to ever go into a real dungeon. He advanced himself with sweet words and seducing young ladies. Only a real man advances himself through the sword, something that boy clearly was not. Still, it was better than doing nothing. I''ll order some of my least valuable guards to poke around a few low level dungeons. It was probably a fools errand, but I had to look into every possibility.


    My thoughts went back to the little girl I left in the cell. I shouldn''t have let my anger get the better of me like that. The frustration of this whole situation has been wearing on me. There was no need to choke her. On the other hand, she has a big mouth and would do well to learn when to keep it shut. At least now we knew we had the right hostage and I could pull the men off the other houses we were watching.


    The thing that probably had me most on edge is how much I hated doing this sort of work. A level thirty nine such as myself, reduced to chasing around and interrogating children. When did my life come to this? Wasn''t I meant for greater things?


    I was one of the youngest people to achieve level thirty nine this century. Due to my own natural talent, but also in part to my benefactor Lord Armingtage. The Lord had taken me under his wing from a young age and saw to it I received the best equipment, training and companions to fight along side me.


    I had been groomed for the position of captain of the Armingtage guards since the time I was a mere seventeen years old. Even at that age, I had managed to develop a reputation as a natural in terms of fighting and leadership. My early days in the empire''s army made me one of the more sought after youths among the well informed elites of the empire. Dozens of offers for a guard placement or a job in the elite corps fell into my lap.


    While I did have a good reputation back then. It wasn''t until I came here and received the help of Lord Armingtage that my reputation began to sore throughout the empire. In only five years I had managed to go from level nine to level thirty. Passing three test in such a short length of time was a virtually unheard of achievement.


    Since then my progress had slowed down greatly. I had risen to level thirty nine over the years, but much of my time had been filled with handling the day to day duties of being the Armingtage guard captain. While I hated that my progress was slowed, I know I needed to show loyalty to the man who made it possible for me to rise up to where I was today. While I wanted to demonstrate my appreciation, there were parts of the job I could barely stomach.


    I was aware going into this what some of the duties would entail, but I never thought part of it would involve scaring a young child in a cell or hunting down two slaves. Such endeavors would bring no honor or glory to me. Not to mention little sport once the group was found. Madeline wasn''t happy with the situation she was in with the betrothal, and dragging her back would pain me greatly, but since that is what my duty called for, I would carry it out.


    As I marched ever closer to the lord''s office my dread started to build. Since the death of his prized pet at the hands of that boy, the lord had been in a foul mood. He wanted his daughter back, but he also wanted vengeance on the slaves who were responsible for killing Susan. I''d hoped that he would at least let the fox girl off with nothing but a quick death.


    Alas, I knew that was not to be the case. He would never let such a slight go unanswered. Blood was spilled and blood would need to be shed and screams would need to be heard before the lord felt this matter was closed. While I wanted to beat the boy to a bloody pulp before taking his head from his body, I never understood the point of torture that went on for weeks on end. Just take their lives and be done with it. Sadly, lord Armingtage was not a merciful man.


    There was another problem I saw now as he walked down the hall to the lord''s room. Once we finally captured their group, what about the sister? In his rage would he demand she be tortured to increase the boy''s agony? I would make sure that wouldn''t happen. Perhaps I couldn''t save her life, but I could slip some poison into her food. She would pass in a painless sleep.


    I just hoped it didn''t come to that. It may be possible due to my years of loyal service I could convince the lord to listen to my plea. We could just make her a kitchen slave. It wouldn''t be a good life, but at least she would be alive and perhaps manage to have a few happy days. There was not even a question of letting her go anymore. She knew too much.


    Before I realized it, my feet had carried me to my destination. I knocked upon the door three times, as was the protocol. ¡°Enter!¡± the Lord''s powerful booming voice commanded from behind the expensive ebony wooded door. I did as ordered, entering and saluting before holding out the letter in my hand.


    ¡°Word on the search efforts lord Armingtage.¡± He pulled the letter from my hand using only his middle finger and thumb, slowly opening the contents. He never liked to rush anything. I stood in silence as the lord carefully read over the letter twice. His face holding a cold and unreadable mask as he did so.


    Upon finishing his reading, he slowly walked over to the lit fire place, and tossed the letter inside. ¡°I want the man who was suppose to be guarding that house brought back here and whipped. Then be set to duties he''s more suited for. Like digging latrines.¡± His cold anger filled the room, but his voice and tone almost never changed no matter the situation.


    He kept looking into the fire to watch the letter burn as he spoke. ¡°I trusted you with this matter Mr. Carter. So far I must admit, I find myself disappointed in your performance.¡± Taking his eyes from the fire, he walked over to the bar and poured himself a Brandy. He still was not bringing his eyes to mine. That usually wasn''t a good sign.


    He took a small sip and continued to face the bar as he spoke. ¡°I''m beginning to believe you may not be giving this situation your full attention. That or I misjudged the level of your competency Mr. Carter.¡±


    ¡°I assure you, all that can be done is being done. As you''ve ordered, we''ve moved cautiously to keep this matter quiet and have been successful in that endeavor. It''s only a matter of time before we find them.¡± I kept standing at attention while speaking.


    He finally turned to face me. ¡°I do hope that''s the case, for your sake. I have been a good lord to you Mr. Carter, have I not?¡±


    ¡°Yes my lord, I''m very thankful for all you''ve done for me.¡±


    He walked back to his desk. ¡°A lot of time, energy and treasure has been invested in you Mr. Carter. I did this because I believed I saw within you the potential for greatness. Because I''m rarely mistaken, for now I''ll choose to believe I was correct in what I perceived and give you more time to handle this matter. But I expect to see tangible results soon. Dismissed."


    I quickly excused myself from the room. What a pain this entire matter had turned into. I had hoped to prepare enough to take the test to reach level forty this year. For too long I had been stagnant. All of that had been put on hold with my current duties.


    Reaching level thirty was considered a particularly special mile stone. Once you''re level reached thirty, you were one of the elite fighters in the empire. People would pay large amounts for your services as a guard. The military would pay you to take up key positions in the army. You were guaranteed a lucrative life of relative leisure. Even people at level twenty or above had few complaints.


    Most warriors stopped trying to get any stronger at that point. What purpose would it serve? Why risk your life over and over again once the world had opened up to you?


    The trials to pass each successive test only became more difficult. Already having lived through various life and death encounters as well as three separate trials, why not take the easy life? There was no shame in it. You accomplished more than most men ever have. Why go on like the other fools had when you would almost certainly die in the attempt?


    That wasn''t the way I saw it. I could stay and live comfortably in my station, but why take the life so many others have? Why not attempt to touch greatness and stand at the peak of all existence? Those who''ve reached level ninety had names which lived on in legend thousands of years after their deaths. So few that they all could be memorized in a single day.


    Regnar the black sword, Lena the swift foot, Goran the gods eye, and all the others. Each of them with their own styles who struggled up to the foot of the summit, but never achieved it. Some of them knowing they didn''t have what it took to take that last step while some tried, only never to be seen again.


    I remembered as a boy when my mother told me stories of the great adventurers who braved the dungeons and protected the empire. She never liked those stories, but I begged her to tell them to me over and over, long after I had memorized them by heart.


    All alone in this world, she worked and struggled to raise me. Seeing to it that I would never go to bed hungry, though in hindsight I suspected she went to bed on an empty stomach often. When I lost her to a bandit attack at age ten I couldn''t forgive myself. Maybe I could have done more? But those are just the ramblings of a child. What could a ten year old have done?


    In any case, with no one to take care of me I decided to join the army as a squire. I had hoped to start training immediately, but most of my time was spent moving supplies, digging ditches and cooking. At least it put food in my stomach. I learned as much as I could about fighting over the years. Once I was a little older and they believed I was worth the effort, they finally put a sword in my hand. I put my entire soul into training.


    I gained a fierce reputation as a young beast, besting boys even two and three years older than me. I came at them with all the hate and vengeance in my heart. Knowing that each fight I won would bring me one step closer to revenge. So I won every fight, against the other young recruits at least.


    At the age of fourteen I managed to become a regular in the army. I was the only fourteen year old allowed in the regular army in all the empire at the time. Quickly distinguishing myself in battle, I rose up through the ranks, reaching level nine days just before my fifteenth birthday. I spent two more years in the army before leaving, none of that bringing me closer to the revenge I so desperately wanted.


    That was until the great lord Armingtage''s men captured the bandits. He planned to have them executed for crimes which occurred in a region he managed on behalf of the empire.


    After hearing the news, I snuck into the cells where the bandits were held. After restraining the guard, I opened each cell door one by one until I had executed all eight men by myself. I knew it was not the way of things, but I didn''t care. I would happily face whatever punishment was required, even death. It was all worth it for that one moment.


    Lord Armingtage having learned of this, instead of punishing me, decided to commute my sentence to a fine he would pay on my behalf. As long as I decided to join the Armingtahge guards that is. The empire was not pleased with the situation. They didn''t want to send the message that young men going into prison cells to exercise their own brand of justice would be tolerated. But a fine of one hundred gold coins to be paid to the empire and assurances from the Armingtage house was enough to assuage their anger


    By the age of twenty two I had already reached level thirty. By the age of twenty four I had been named captain of the Armingtage guards. Now at age twenty six I was starting to feel impatient. I had no plans to leave my current post, but my ambition was far from fulfilled. I recalled the report on a fateful incident about six months ago.


    Malcolm the lightning hand''s body was found outside a rank ten dungeon. I never met the man, but his death hit me hard. The only man alive with a level in the nineties was now dead. He had even reach level ninety nine and there was much discussion over if he would attempt the test to try to reach level one hundred. No one knew exactly what happened when it was reached.


    Each reward gained after passing a new test was better than the last. The rewards for level ninety were absurd enough as it was. What Godly power would the mother bestow upon you if you managed to reach that height? Some even believed that you may become a god yourself. No one knew. Which is why people loved to speculate.


    I remembered a part of that report that indicated the legend''s pockets were picked clean of gold. Some disrespectful little shit dared to pick his pockets. If I ever found the person who did it, I would happily slice them from throat to groin.


    That was the first rank ten dungeon to appear in the past twenty five years. Who knows when the next one would come? If I missed it, then how long until the one after that? I may be an old man before I ever get my chance if I wasn''t level ninety by the time the next rank ten dungeon appeared.


    I needed this business concluded so I could move forward. If no one else was going to stand at the summit of mankind, then why not me? For all time they would speak tales of the legendary Jameson Carter. A lion among men and the strongest who ever existed under heaven.


    But first things first. I may as well send out orders to start searching the local rank one dungeons.

 Chapter 21

    As I awoke from a deep sleep, the first thing I became aware of was the dull ache on the top of my head. It was still sensitive where that damn Devil Goat''s hoof hit me. That moment would forever be burned into my memory. The strike came out so quickly I barely had time to react. I tried to move out of the way, but at that distance it was impossible. The next thing I knew, I awoke in my bed yesterday morning.


    Reaching under my bandages I felt for the spot where the attack connected. My skin didn''t have any scarring, which meant that the healer did her work well, but the loss of scalp had given me a small bald spot. I was told the hair would grow back in time, but it made me feel self conscious none the less.


    As I sat up in bed I looked over to see Meri still soundly asleep. The light had only just started to shine in through the window. It could barely be called morning. I looked at the small table by the bed to see a candle and the spell book Bill picked out for me. I wish I could''ve traveled with them and chose my own.


    I lit the candle to give myself a bit more light and picked up the book. I still had no idea how to use this spell. The concepts within were completely foreign. I tried to feel my mana last night, failing multiple times. I found the meditation and visualization techniques the book covered in painstaking detail to be completely useless. Why wasn''t it working? I was sure I followed every instruction perfectly.


    Frustration built as I tried the techniques again and again. It wasn''t like I was pushing against a heavy wall in my mind. At least I would have felt something. This was more like pushing against air and being told you failed to move it. It felt like there was absolutely nothing there. I took a breath and tried to force myself to relax. It wasn''t working. I needed to let off some steam.


    Rising out from under the covers I grabbed the practice sword at the side of my bed. The familiar sensation of the rough grip along with the weight of the blade never failed to calm me. If I went too long without holding a sword, I couldn''t help but feel anxious. While practicing the forms I allowed my mind to clear. Visions of the past danced before my eyes as I began.


    I remembered when I was alone in my room as a young girl. No slaves, servants, guards or family. Often I found myself taking a sword off the wall mount and trying to ingrained the lessons I had been taught into my very soul. Those were the times when I felt the most at peace.


    It allowed an escape from the day to day pressures of being the heir of Armingtage. To let go of all my titles and responsibilities even if just for a while. Focusing everything I had on nothing but the swing of the sword cutting down the imagined enemies before me. Whenever I did, I couldn''t help but think, is this what it feels like when a fish swims or birds fly? As if they were preforming the action they were meant to?


    Sometimes I wondered if the Mother had made a mistake. Was there some young lady in the army or adventuring into a dungeon who felt as if her true place was as the lady of a noble house? As I grew older, I tried to banish those thoughts from my mind. What good would dwelling on them do?


    I was the rightful heir of the Armingtage house. I couldn''t afford to day dream about a life filled with excitement and freedom. I had to focus on my academics and doing my duty for the betterment of my honorable house. So I played my part. I attended balls and social events. I helped manage the affairs of my household.


    I threw myself into doing everything I could to assure my house rised to a level of glory it had never seen before. It was difficult work, but the challenge made it interesting. It also distracted me from the feeling in the pit of my stomach. The feeling that this wasn''t where I belonged.


    The worst of it is when I was forced to attend the social events. The other young noble ladies often spoke about music or marriage or whatever famous designer created their dress. It was during those moments of boredom that I most strongly felt the sense of something missing. Was this what my life was truly meant for? Was this all there was for me?


    As time went on, that feeling became a constant companion. I tried to grab that feeling and choke the life out of it, but no matter what I did it wouldn''t die. Persisting like a ghost that would forever haunt me. In the past few years things had started to change. I was slowly but surely being pushed out of managing family affairs and pushed towards more dances and making the acquaintance of young lords.


    I wasn''t foolish, I knew the reason. It felt the walls were closing in. Once I took that final step there would be no going back. The first time my father announced he had found a suitable match, I couldn''t manage to even get out a question. I had known it would happen eventually, but this was far too sudden. I had never even met the young lord before.


    After getting over the initial shock, I begged him to reconsider. How could I marry a man I''ve never met? Ignoring my objections he ordered me to my room. For the first time in years, I couldn''t help but sob deeply into my pillow as I tightly pushed it against my face.


    Why did it have to be this way? If father allowed me to pick my own husband, not only would he be someone I could find happiness with. He would surely be a man capable of taking our house to new heights. He would also be completely devoted to me, a great swordsman and look rather dashing atop a mighty steed.


    I pulled myself away from the pillow and practiced with my sword for hours on end. The familiar motions were calming. I had planned to run away that night, but where would I go? Could I really leave behind everything? Worst of all, I would be completely alone. I already felt so lonely. That paralyzing fear of being alone is what kept me from acting.


    The following week, a miracle occurred. My father, who never changed his mind about anything, canceled the engagement. He never explained why. I wanted to believe that he did it for me, but in the back of my mind I couldn''t fully believe he would do something against the interest of the Armingtage house to spare my feelings.


    I never learned the truth of the matter. My life in the Armingtage house simply went on. The boredom and never ending prattling of those around me being all that distracted me from the dread of being forced to marry someone I hated, or the feeling that this was not where I was meant to be.


    That all started to change on the day that I met Bill. He started out as merely another of my slaves. An interesting slave perhaps, but a slave none the less. A person whose purpose was nothing other than to make my life easier.


    Every slave I''d ever seen before him had the same look in their eyes. The look of acceptance. While others may talk tough or display small acts of defiance, deep down in their eyes you could always see it. Bill was the first slave I''d ever met whose eyes didn''t contain even a trace of acceptance. As if he was an actor putting on a show or a child playing make believe when he obeyed my orders.


    Before I met Bill, I never questioned the natural order of things. Just as I could be nothing but a noble and the heir to Armingtage, a slave could be nothing but a slave. We may dislike our lot in life and wish to be something we weren''t, but there was no getting around the laws of the world.


    Even as I had the feeling this may not be what I was meant to do with my life, I couldn''t escape my fate. It similar to the acceptance slaves showed in their eyes. We knew our place in the natural hierarchy.


    That didn''t mean I went out of my way to treat my slaves badly. Very much the contrary, I felt pity for them. So I always did my best to treat them fairly. Bill was the first person I met who never acknowledged his rightful place in the world. It was as if the idea of a world where your position was fixed seemed utterly preposterous.


    It drew me to him. It made me want to spend more time around him. He was the first person I ever met who didn''t look at me as his owner, or the heir of Armingtage or a stepping stone to use for his own ambitions. He simply saw me for the person I was. A true equal.


    Our talks became much more personal and open. I found myself without even realizing it, expelling all thoughts of the master slave relationship. The idea of ordering him around as time passed started to seem ridiculous to me. I couldn''t help but start to think of Bill as anything but a confidant. As if we were in on a secret that no one else new. That Bill wasn''t truly a slave.


    The day after my eighteenth birthday when I learned I was betrothed yet again, and this time to such a repulsive and spiteful boy, I couldn''t contain my anger. Not only that, my father told me to break my word. The Armingtage house had suffered periods of decline and enjoyed periods of prosperity and power over its thousand year history. One of the only major houses that could trace its ancestry back so far.


    While its condition and situation had changed over the years, there was one constant. When an Armingtage gave their word, they kept it. It was a well known fact around the empire. Our word has been the most valuable currency of our house for a millennium.


    Even during our greatest periods of decline, the fact that the Armingtage house could always be a trusted partner allowed us to make it through those periods while other great houses fell and died upon the long dirt road of history, only to watch as we continue to march on during their final gasp. To tell me to break my word to a friend was to spit into the eye of the core of my identity.


    I don''t know when I started to think of Bill as a friend instead of anything else. I only knew that I did. To ask an Armingtage not only to betray their word, but betray it to a friend was not a possibility in my mind. I decided in that moment; if my father didn''t care about doing his duty as an Armingtage, then I wouldn''t care about doing my duty as his heir.


    Since that night I started to question so many things I had never thought to. I had seen Meri slowly transform. She was still a long way from throwing off the shackles that had been placed on her, but I was starting to see such a thing was possible. Did that mean all the others slaves I had determined where in their proper place had the ability to change? I started to see the world as being less rigid than I had been led to believe.


    At first I had thought myself foolish for not considering the possibility sooner. Then again, could a person whose seen nothing but rocks thrown into a pond all their life believe wood could float before they saw the evidence?


    The thought struck me. If I had never met Bill would I ever be able to think of Meri the way I do now? Guilt filled me as the answer presented itself. Of course not. I would have done the same thing I did for over seventeen years. I would have made demands of her and saw to it she was punished if she failed to carry them out.


    I had to accept the fact that I was part of a system that kept this girl, and others like her from being all they could be. It made me unsure of how to act around her. While I wanted to help her when it came to understanding the workings of the outside world, I worried that one of her former masters pushing her too hard could be counter productive.


    I didn''t like the idea of taking the background. I had always considered myself a natural leader. I knew more about this world than either Bill or Meri. However, in the interest of helping Meri and blending in better, I decided to let Bill take the lead. It would be considered odd to see a young woman barking orders at a man of equal station. That would only bring us attention we didn''t want.


    I snapped back to reality, finding myself out of breath. The tip of my sword dragging across the floor as my arms grew tired. How long had I been practicing? I looked at the window seeing substantially more light shining through. I put the sword back against the foot of my bed and decided I may as well head downstairs to get something to eat.


    I descended the stairs of the inn and made my way to our usual table. I was unsurprised to find Bill already sitting there. Fully dressed and enjoying his plate of eggs as he read his spell book. I considered myself an early riser, but Bill had me beat in that regard. His eyes darted up to me. Ever since he learned about his sister, his eyes had a different look in them. They were so focused and purposeful. He closed the book and set it aside.


    ¡°How are you feeling Maddy? You look better.¡±


    I pulled out a seat and sat beside him. ¡°There''s still a minor ache in my head, but I feel like my old self.¡± As the waitress approached I simply motioned to Bills plate. She nodded and made her way back to the kitchen.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Bill took another bite before continuing. ¡°That''s good to hear. Are you having any luck learning your spell?¡±


    I gave an exasperated sigh. ¡°Not even a little. When I try to feel my mana absolutely nothing happens. I can''t figure out what I¡¯m doing wrong.¡±


    Bill''s index finger and thumb pinch the bridge of his nose before he looked back up to meet my eyes. ¡°I know how you feel. It would be so much easier if we could learn magic after passing the first test . I hope we get that option.¡±


    I perked up slightly at his words. At least I wasn''t the only one having trouble. ¡°It all depends. Sometimes you get that option and sometimes you don''t. No one really knows much about the nature of the test or why it offers the rewards it does.¡± The waitress returned with a plate of food and a cup of water


    Bill quickly swallowed the final bites of his food. ¡°Since you''re feeling better, I''ll go find Malik and tell him we''ll be going back into the dungeon today. Make sure you don''t forget to bring your book so you can read between breaks.¡±


    I gave him a small smile. ¡°You sure sound pretty calm about going back in there after what happened last time.¡±


    He gave me a shrug. ¡°I think last time was just a fluke. What were the odds a stray brick would knock Malik out of commission? Besides, we''re more experienced now. It may have been only one trip into the dungeon, but I think facing a floor boss once before will make a world of difference.¡±


    While I thought he was being a bit too blas¨¦ about the situation, I had to admit that I agreed with him for the most part. I knew I would fight better this time around. Seeing Malik and Bill hurt threw me off more than I cared to admit. As did the panic of my first life and death battle. I failed to fight to my full potential. If I was more patient and didn''t recklessly attack the first opening I saw, I''m confident I would''ve worn down the Devil Goat.


    I nodded at his words and added some of my own thoughts.. ¡°We should teach Meri how to read during our breaks. I think the best idea is to alternate. That way we both get a time to read our books and she gets the benefit of two different perspectives.¡±


    We quickly went over our plans for the rest of the day. After we finished, Bill went off to find Malik and buy some torches and arrows while I brought up a plate to Meri. Luckily, but the time I got up there she had just woken up. I handed her the food and told her about the plans Bill and I had discussed. She expected as much.


    While Meri ate I told her that I would see about getting something to clean ourselves. It only took a few minutes to secure what i needed. By the time I was back Meri had already finished. I reprimanded myself for not telling her she didn''t need to rush. I set down the tub in the room and brought in the 2 buckets, towels and soap bars. I was about to leave to give Meri some privacy. Before I could get out the door Meri had already stripped everything off and began washing herself.


    I did a double take before turning to face the wall. Opening the door would be impossible now, unless I wanted to risk giving a passer by a free show. I guess she wasn''t shy around other women. I sat down on my bed and grabbed my spell book and tried to focus on reading.


    No matter how much I tried to focus on the book, I couldn''t help but picture the image of Meri in my head. Okay, maybe everything underneath her clothes was exactly as advertised. So what if she had perfect curves, a luscious full figure and perky... well perky everything. It wasn''t like that was all that mattered! I wasn''t so bad myself.


    Wait, why was I doing this? I hated when women compared themselves. Didn''t I roll my eyes at the young noble ladies that made fun of another woman''s dress or hair style behind their back to hide their insecurities?


    I''d never done it before, so why start now? Maybe it bothered me that the only man we traveled with saved all his subtle glances for Meri. Why should that matter? It wasn''t like I had any romantic feelings towards him. Sure, he was well built for his age. As well as brave and clearly an interesting guy.


    So what? I was one of the most desirable bachelorettes in Highmar before running away. It isn''t like I couldn''t have my pick of any man I wanted short of the emperor. I received so much male attention that I had honestly grown sick of it. So why did I suddenly care about not getting any of it from a guy who I only saw as a friend? Was my ego so fragile?


    I shook my head and tried to refocus on my reading. I needed worry about my training, not silly things like this. Even while I tried to read, it wasn''t easy with Meri washing herself behind me. Thankfully she didn''t take long. After drying off she quickly pulled on her clothes and armor. I had to admit It was pretty impressive how fast Meri got ready.


    I wondered if I should ask her to leave while I cleaned herself. Would that be discourteous after Meri did it in front of me? I never had to find out. As soon as Meri picked up her bow and stuffed her short sword into its sheath she quickly made her way out of the room to meet up with the rest of the party. I let out a small sigh of relief.


    Wait a minute, did this mean everyone would be waiting for me? I washed, dried and got dressed in record time. If anyone from my house saw the state I was in when I rushed down the stairs they would have disapproved. The very thought of the heir of Armingtage appearing in public with wet hair tied in a crude ponytail without a single trace of makeup or decoration was offensive to them.


    I ran out of the inn with sword and sheild in hand to see the group had already formed. I was happy to see Malik was just finishing getting all his equipment ready. He seemed in a fairly miserable mood. I imagined that had to do with Bill''s blackmail. Well, if he didn''t like it then he could confess the truth and be done with it.


    We were still giving him a quarter share for doing less work than the rest of us. As far as I was concerned, he needed to stop being a baby. Not only had this tentatively helped get him a girlfriend. The lack of drinking had done wonders for his complexion, health and odor. His odor most of all.


    With everything prepared our group set out towards the dungeon. This time when we opened the door we were greeted by a maze of caves. We didn''t find our first monster until nearly five minutes had passed. It would have been hard to keep track of where we already went if Malik didn''t bring along chalk. Overall everything went much smoother this time around.


    We learned to work together as a unit during our last foray and built upon that experience. Bill and I handled the front line while Maddy thinned out the big groups with her bow. Occasionally she would use her fox claw skill to dispose of opponents that got too close, but she preferred to focus on archery.


    I watched her carefully to spot any signs of the warrior woman I was told about from Bill. All I saw was the normal calm and composed Meri. The only change I noticed was the occasional small smile on her face when she made a particularly good shot.


    We had better luck this time in the dungeon when it came to the loot we were able to gather. We took the thick pelts off the night wolves and the sharp claws off the demon cats, along with a few more bat fangs. Malik''s mood improved as he looked at the haul of goods we collected.


    During our breaks we passed around some food and water. Bill took the first shift as Meri''s tutor while I buried my face in my spell book. I couldn''t help but noticed that Malik looked over Bill''s shoulder as he instructed Meri, while he tried not to seem the least bit interested. Throughout the morning while we switched off giving Meri lessons it never escaped my notice that Malik''s interest increased.


    I imagined like most of the people in Highmir, he only knew the few words that he dealt with on a daily basis. At least it gave him a starting point, something Meri lacked. After I caught him looking over my shoulder during Meri''s third lesson I turned to him, fed up with his antics. ¡°Can you stop looking over my shoulder? It''s weird! If you want to learn then just sit down next to Meri already!¡±


    He didn''t say anything, but slowly made his way to sit beside Meri. Well, this would require more work. But hopefully this would lead to him pouting less about being tricked by Bill. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see Bill trying to hide the hint of a smile on the side of his face as he held in his laughter.


    He only gave that specific laugh when I got so angry that my face started to turn red. I wanted to yell at him for laughing, but that would only cause my face to grow a deeper shade of red and make him to laugh louder. Instead I took a breath to calm myself and promised I would make him pay for that later. For now I needed to focus on the task at hand and rest. This would be our last break before we faced the boss of the first floor


    Part of me hoped it would be a Devil Goat and part of me wished that it wouldn''t be. I honestly wasn''t sure which I felt more strongly. It didn''t matter, what I felt was irrelevant. The monster would be whatever it was and nothing I hoped for would change that. We slowly made our way into a wide open cavern. This was good. There would be plenty of space to move around and no stray projectiles or objects to get in my way.


    As we entered I heard the sound of something scratching against stone and dirt. The sound slowly grew closer to us. We moved fast to stick our torches into the ground and brought our weapons to the ready as the enemy drew near. The torch light reflected back as if hitting a metal shield. As I heard it drawing closer I looked to the right and left for the enemy, seeing nothing. It wasn''t until I looked down that I finally saw our opponent.


    ¡°It''s a Devil Snake.¡± Malik cried out. The fangs were worth a good amount of money. The poison if distilled enough was a valued spice. While not as intimidating as a Devil Goat, it was still very fearsome and deadly. It was over 40 feet long and as thick as a horses neck. At some parts even thicker. It''s red eyes, horns and shiny dark black scales added to the intimidating aura.


    Malik for the first time today yelled out orders. ¡°Be careful of it''s fangs. This snake is large and thick. It can lunge at you surprisingly quickly. The scales are hard to cut through. Try to get it on the head or neck where the scales are the thinnest.¡±


    Meri put one arrow in each of its eyes. It made the beast flinch back in pain, but did little to stop it. After seeing a few more arrows harmlessly glance off its scales she kept her bow at the ready, waiting for the snake to open its mouth. Trying to hit its soft fleshy insides.


    Bill and I used our shields to defend against the snake as it struck at us with its deadly fangs. Before it could pull back we tried to land a counter blow on it, but the snake was too fast. It put considerable forced behind each lunge but it was only enough to knock me back a few feet. This was an opponent where quickness was more important than strength.


    Slowly but surely we started to get the timing of our strikes down. The sturdy scales stopped all but our most powerful and precise swings. If my angle was off even slightly, the sword would harmlessly glance off the snake, leaving nothing but a few minor scratches on the scales. Even when I hit the Devil Snake cleanly, it only managed to go about an inch deep before stopping.


    If only I had the ability to do that damn weighted sword spell I was sure I could have ended this by now. My swing was too weak for a monster that had this kind of armor. I grumbled at my inability to do any real damage. I would tire out before I landed a fatal blow at this rate.


    On the top of its head I noticed a small gash where Bill''s sword connected a few moments ago. It wasn''t deep, but it got me thinking. Could I use it as an opening? I walked forward slightly inviting the snake to lunge at my sheild. It happily complied, fangs scratching against the surface of the metal. It took every bit of skill and concentration I had, but I was able to bring my sword down right atop the gash Bill left.


    My sword went 3 inches deep into the Devil Snake''s head. For the first time in the entire fight, it pulled back with a hiss. It darted at me in a fit of rage. Bill tried to step in from the side with its attention drawn to me. It slapped him away using the side of its head. He was knocked off his feet for a moment but rolled with the force along the ground and quickly got himself into a crouched but defended position, ready for any follow up.. None would be coming.


    When the snake turned it''s attention to Bill it left it self open to me. I stabbed my sword with all the force I could muster down through the very deep cut in its head. The tip of my sword poking out through the bottom of its mouth. The snake gave a wild death spasm before it slumped on the floor. Dark black blood leaked out through its head.


    [The first floor of the Dungeon has been cleared. Floor two is now open]


    A door appeared in the wall not far behind the snake. I looked up to see a status box. A wide smile spread across my face.


    [Level up: LVL 8]


    ¡°It says I reached level 8. I guess no matter how much we fight the enemy, only the one who delivers the killing blow gets the experience.¡±


    Bill wiped the sweat from his brow. ¡°Don''t mind me everyone. I''ll just stay level six forever while you all level up.¡±


    I scoffed at his pity party. ¡°Don''t be such a baby. I''ll let you get the next one.¡±


    ¡°Promises, promise.¡± He got to his feet and put the sword in its sheath.


    ¡°So what now? Do you want to try the second floor or call it a day?¡± Malik said while walking over to the snake with a knife. No doubt prepared to carefully extract the fangs.


    I smiled with reassurance. Now that I had finally taken down a floor boss, I felt a boost of confidence. I fought much better this time. I was able to stay composed and didn''t rush or panic. This confirmed it. I wasn''t out of my depth. I could do this. Now I was curious to see just how far I could go.


    Bill gave our group a look over. ¡°I think we should do neither. Let''s head back into town and get some supplies. Then we come back and repeat this floor all over again. I think that is the best idea right now. We should try to conquer the first floor multiple times a day. Until each of us is capable of beating the first floor boss alone. Only then will we move on to floor two. Then we repeat the same process.¡±


    We were all surprised to hear this proposed. I was curious what he was thinking. Why do it that way? Wouldn''t getting experience against tougher monsters be better? I walked up to him and asked. ¡°So you want to enter the first floor over and over again? Exactly how many times do you want us to do it in a single day?¡±


    He gave me a wide smile. ¡°As many as we can. We all need to get to level nine as fast as possible and gain battle experience. Even after just one trip, we already did much better. If we do the usual thing and go to the next floor that would only increase the chances we''ll get injured. Next time we get hurt, it might bedridden us for weeks or even months. We have to avoid that at all cost.


    Malik shook his head and spoke. ¡°I''ve never heard of anyone else doing it like that before. Your a pretty interesting guy Bill. A manipulative asshole, but interesting.¡± With the snake fangs secured, along with the rest of the spoils, we left the dungeon to sell them and resupply ourselves


    We made three more trips to the dungeon day. Bill finally killed his first dungeon boss. It was a relatively unimpressive looking Devil Mole-Rat. Compared to the last two bosses we faced, this one was much less difficult. After defeating it Bill looked around expectantly for a pop up proclaiming he made level seven. None came. I doubled over in laughter as he threw his sword on the ground and kicked a small rock across the cave in frustration.


    That''s what you get for making fun of my red face! The rest of the day I addressed him as ''Mr. Level Six''. It may have gotten old to everyone else, but not to me, and not to Bill. We rotated who dealt the killing blow to the floor boss.


    Bill wanted to go back for a fifth trip, but it was getting pretty late at that point. I knew he mostly wanted to go because spending another night at level six would annoy him to no end. He also suspected I would bring it up multiple times over dinner. Which I did.


    I told him how lucky he was to be in a party with two level eight teammates looking after him. He viciously attacked the steak on his plate. Muttering to himself. ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯ll make level seven, definitely tomorrow.¡±


    Overall it was a good day.

 Chapter 22

    The next day we took four trips into the dungeon. Everything was starting to work out as I hoped. For one thing, I finally made level seven, and it was about damn time! More importantly, we had begun to work like a well oiled machine. The floor boss fights were tricky, but with our jitters gone and confidence building we were able to defeat them without any help or instruction from Malik.


    The day after that we went inside the dungeon four more times. I was gaining valuable battle experience fighting all manner of monsters. None of them came at you the exact same way. Depending on the type they either flew, jumped, ran or crawled. In size and style they ranged from small and quick to large and sturdy with everything in-between.


    The more I fought the more I realized how little my practice mattered without experience. I was rarely able to land attacks how I''d been trained. The structured sword play that was core to the training now had to bend to the reality of unpredictable battle. Not to say the training wasn''t useful.  Without it I surely would have been unable to cope. The fact of the matter was that nothing could fully prepare you for the chaos of combat.


    The next day we managed five trips to the dungeon. Our increased efficiency in battle allowed us to clear the floor faster.  I was glad to see our progress, but there was clearly still some room to improve.  While the sheer size of the dungeon no doubt caused a bottleneck as far as clearing speed, I estimated that it could be done in about an hours time if we improved enough.


    I check my status screen constantly to see how fast my experience increased.  I was happy to see that at this rate I would be reaching level eight in another day or two.  The monsters that generally populated the dungeon gave me little experience at this point. It was only after defeating a floor boss that i saw a substantial uptick.


    It got me to thinking.  Why had the Devil Goat and the Devil Snake given Meri and Maddy such a huge boost of experience, but when I defeated a floor boss it gave me so little?  Both of them instantly rose up to level eight after those fights.  I tried to piece together everything I knew about this world and how the system worked to come up with some kind of logical reason.  After considering for a short while, the answer became clear.


    The first time you complete an action you seem to gain bonus experience.  This includes the first time learning a skill, the first time winning a duel or the first time killing a monster, among other things.  It wouldn''t make sense if the bonus was a consistent value.  That would make it so that your first time cleaning a dish would give you the same experience as your first time killing a floor boss.  It clearly didn''t work like that, otherwise non-combatants would receive level nine as easily as fighters.


    No, the bonus probably worked as some kind of multiplier. Everything I knew of this world indicated that answer made the most sense.  That meant to get the full benefits of such a bonus you were better off achieving something difficult on your first success. Meri had bested a Devil Goat and Maddy had defeated a Devil Snake.  I''d beaten by far the weakest floor one boss we''d encountered so far.  Of course he would be worth less experience than the others.


    If that''s true then that means I completely wasted my bonus multiplier effect.  Shit. Why didn''t I think of this before? Well, there was nothing I could do about it now.  I just had to make sure I didn''t do the same with the second and third floor bosses. If I screwed up like that again, I''d need to wait forever until I had the chance to take the level ten test.


    While comparing my own experience gained to rate that Meri and Maddy were gaining experience I was able to confirm another suspicion I had.  The higher your level the more experience that''s needed to reach the next.  I doubted this would be a revelation for anyone here, but it was nice to know.


    As far as my condition to graduate from the first floor, that seemed to have hit a snag.  Meri with the use of her fox claw was the only one of us who could defeat a floor one boss without help.  Maddy and I had struggled to try to achieve the same result but it was just too difficult.  We kept ending up having to help each other out.


    At least it wasn''t the life or death struggle it had been before. Now It had turned into more of a slow and calculated dismantling process until we could finally deliver the killing blow.  Besides the weak Devil Mole Rat that is, but you couldn''t really count those.


    At least we had avoided being injured badly, so that part of the plan was working out.  Mostly it had just been fairly minor scrapes and bruises the last few days.  When we journeyed back to the town to resupply ourselves we would see the healer as needed. For such injuries she only required a few copper coins.  I didn''t see the point in pinching pennies when it came to such matters.


    Rather than Maddy and I closing the gap with Meri, it was only increasing. During our last few trips she managed to reach level 2/10 in both her archery and fox claw skills. To think I was worried the most about her. During our breaks we continued to teach Meri, and now Malik, how to read.  It''s hard to say for sure, but i think they learned faster with me than Maddy.  Perhaps my tutoring skill was coming in use. No bribes were even needed this time.


    Thinking of Meri as my student sent thoughts racing through my mind that were in no way helpful. ''Were you paying attention during my lesson? I didn''t think so... Then how should teacher discipline you? Maybe if you promise to be a good student and do as teacher says from now on, I won''t be too cruel with your correction''. NO! NO! Go away indecent thoughts! At least wait until I''m alone in my room again.


    I refocused my mind back on teaching the sweet, intelligent, generous, brave woman in front of me, and Malik too I suppose. She was beginning to become quite the pro with two letter words. By now she had learned the sounds every letter made, or made most of the time, and could sound the words out.


    The learning to read English language was rather tricky. I think I heard somewhere back in my world that depending on the person in question, it could take between a few weeks to a few months to get a handle on reading. Assuming the person in question was illiterate due to lack of exposure and not some other reason.


    We were starting to make good progress on the three letter words. They still gave the duo a bit of trouble, but they could sound most of them out. Once they started to understand those I predicted it would be the start of a snowball effect. Then I could write down complete sentences using small words for them to read.  Once they reached that point, it wouldn''t be long till they could start teaching themselves.


    All these trips to the dungeon were making us a decent amount of money. So much so that I was told the small outpost couldn''t afford to pay us. In cases like ours I learned that it wasn''t uncommon for these small outpost to open up a paper based account.


    The owner''s signature was needed to certify all the information was accurate, so I was finally able to meet that little brat''s father. He surprised me by having a cheerful and bubbly personality. He was more than pleased when I asked him to explain in detail how all of this would be handled. If his son was any indication he was starved for good conversation.


    Outpost like these were the norm when it came to these out of the way level one dungeons. Almost none were independent. The task of getting all the monster parts to the specialty buyers in different regions of the empire proved a formidable task. Most outpost were a subsidiary to a coalition of major companies. They made a small percentage off every item they sent to one of the main trading hubs in the close by cities.


    I imagined that this was the reason this was one of the only businesses I had seen with a fixed rate that could not be negotiated. I thought of the many cracks in this system and all the possible ways one could commit fraud, but since this was such a lucrative business that had been going on for centuries I assumed they must have their ways of handling it.


    We were told by the owner that we could still exchanged a fixed amount per day for instant coin, but from this point on we would have to access the bulk of our profit from a main site in one of the major cities. He handed each of us our own identification card.


    We were instructed to poke our finger with a needle and spill a single drop of blood on the card. After doing so, the card gave off a slight glow.  The name ''Bill Mitchell'' appeared on the card along with a series of numbers. Everyone else did the same and it achieved a similar effect.


    With these identification cards in hand, all we needed to do to get our money was travel to a nearby city and show them to an associated establishment. Such a system could only work due to the empire''s well maintained postal service.


    Theft almost never happened in these matters as the punishment for it was very severe. And if some unfortunate accident befell anyone who was charge with fraud, the empire didn''t tend to investigate those matters closely. This was told to me by the outpost owner as equal part reassurance and warning.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The empire depended on the people who entered dungeons not only for precious materials, but to one day fill the ranks of their elites corp when the survivors grew strong enough. To not do everything possible to ensure things ran smoothly was intolerable. The empire went so far as to consider it a national security issue.


    While that was all interesting, I wasn''t worried about the politics. As long as our gold was in the city and I could get to it that was the only thing I cared about. It wasn''t even an inconvenience. There was only one thing I was looking to invest any gold in at the moment. Making our group stronger. That required better equipment and magic spells. Both of which could only be bought in a major city.


    With our new cards in hand and our day of venturing into the dungeon behind us, Malik and my group decided to part ways. After a tasty filling dinner we got into our nightly routine. Maddy and I did a little bit of sword training and then alternated between tutoring Meri and reading our spell book.


    My shift with Meri had finished for the night, so I retired to my room so I could focus on my magic. It was exactly the same as the last few nights. I felt nothing. I have read the instructions and meditations so many times that I practically knew them by heart. I tossed the book on the bed in frustration. After an hour of meditation and not getting anywhere I needed a break. While I wanted to work quickly, I knew pushing yourself too much could be counter productive.


    A change of scenery would do me good. On a whim, I decided to go to the tavern for a drink. Drinking wasn''t something I did often in my past world. The reason wasn''t because no one ever invited me to a party if that''s what your thinking. But yes, no one ever invited me to a party.  The true reason was I had a general aversion to alcohol, probably stemming from seeing how my parents dealt with it. However, after all our hard work over the past few days I was in the mood.


    Upon entering the tavern I half expected to see Malik by the bar talking to June, but besides her the place was empty. I guess since I had made him take it easy on the booze he had less reason to be here all the time. Not to mention, sometimes the best gift to give someone your dating is space. Since he was seeing June socially, it would only be a bother to hang around the bar all night.


    I realized this would be the first time I''d talked to June since I told her my partly true sob story. After taking a seat, June slowly made her way to the bar until she stood across from me. ¡°Hello Bill, I was wondering when I would see any of you again. What can I get for you?¡±


    Not knowing much about alcohol I went with the safe route. ¡°Could I have a cup of red wine please?¡± It was my mothers favorite. If I was going to take after an alcoholic in our family I suppose I should pick her.


    June came back with a cup of wine and brought me a few roles of bread. ¡°The bread is free. You''d be surprised what it saves on clean up cost for young-ins who can''t hold their liquor¡±


    ¡°I don''t think that will be a problem. I come from a line of very accomplished drinkers.¡± I took a sip.


    ¡°Have some none the less for my own peace of mind. I just cleaned this place up.¡± She inclined her head to a bucket full of rags.


    I wasn''t sure what people were suppose to talk about at bars. I was only good at talking when it came to the matter at hand. I wasn''t skilled in the art of casual conversation. ¡°So, did you buy this bar yourself or was it left to you?¡±


    ¡°It was my fathers. He bought it from the previous owner who turned into a useless drunk and couldn''t pay his taxes. Not an uncommon story for tavern owners. He got a great deal on it.¡± The place looked in good shape. I guess things were built to last back then, or now. I still got confused about that sometimes. While this may be more like my world''s past, I had to remind myself it was the present.


    ¡°Your incursions into the dungeon must be going well. Malik complained he would have to go to the city to pick up most of his money since you were making more than that little out post could handle.¡±


    ¡°Well, I guess if you need to complain about something, being inconvenienced to pick up a relatively large sum of money isn''t so bad.¡± I took another sip.


    She refilled my glass. ¡°I think you''ve all been a good influence on him. No matter how much he tried to talk to me he never once told me about his life. A little odd for someone in my profession. Most people can''t wait to tell you their life story once you put a few drinks in them. I don''t know what caused him to have to escape into the bottle of a mug, but I''m glad he found you when he did.¡±


    I took a larger drink and was starting to feel the wine take effect. ¡°If anything its you who are the most responsible for his change.¡±


    She leaned closer. Bringing her green eyes level to mine. ¡°So Bill, exactly how much of that little story you told me is true? I can tell it wasn''t entirely fake, but I know it wasn''t entirely genuine either. This job tends to give one a knack for separating fact from fiction."


    Damn, and I thought I was a good liar. I considered doubling down on the lie, but if that didn''t work this could turn out badly.  ¡°It really is mostly true. I''m doing all this to help my sister. I want you to know Malik was prepared to fight to the death to help us before. He really isn''t as selfish as he let''s on. All that being said, he''s mostly doing it for you .¡±


    I went into a bit more detail about my story. I left out a few key facts that were just too sensitive to repeat. The parts I did tell her were completely true though. I think she believed all of it, which was a relief.


    She gave me a small smile and refilled my drink. ¡°Thank you for telling me. You know, once Malik puts down the mug he''s not so bad, and dating a young man in good shape has its benefits. It isn''t like a lady doesn''t have needs either. As long as he''s trying to turn over a new leaf I''ll keep him around, but don''t think I won''t kick him to the curb if he acts up. Regardless of your situation.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That''s fair. I''m sorry I wasn''t honest with you and tried to trick. I wouldn''t have done it if it wasn''t important.¡±


    She gave me a coy look and lifted her eyebrow slightly. ¡°Since you lied to me, that means you owe me. Wouldn''t you say Bill?¡±


    I didn''t like how this sounded. ¡°I guess so...¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry so much, it''s nothing serious. I¡¯m just curious about something. You know a lady in a small town like this gets starved for good gossip. Anyway, I was wondering. Between the two ladies in your party, which one are you courting?¡± I Coughed up my drink while she kept her eyes confidently locked on me.


    I put my drink down and waved my hand. ¡°I''m not courting either. We''re just friends that are traveling together.¡±


    She wasn''t about to settle for that answer. She kept up the silence and looked expectantly until I gave her a bit more. ¡°If I had to say which I was most interested in, it would be Meri the foxkin girl, but that''s kind of complicated at the moment.¡±


    She gave a small laugh at my answer. ¡°So you are the type that has a thing for beastkin is it? Not usual, but not entirely unheard of either. Most people either hate or fear them. Now I have another question for you. If you like the girl then why aren''t you going after her?¡±


    ¡°She....¡± I signaled her for a refill and tried to think of how to answer. I can''t tell her that Meri has been a slave all her life, and if I put the moves on her I''ve no doubt she wouldn''t have it in her to protest. Or worse, she''d agree just to make me happy and avoid any conflict. Not to mention her mentality was like that of an abused child in many ways. Then add on the lack of any real life experience.


    ¡°She''s what?¡± June was a bit miffed about me trailing off and not answering what would usually be a simple question.


    I shrugged. ¡°She''s complicated.¡±


    ¡°And all other women in the world are simple, is that right Bill?¡±


    ¡°You have a fast tongue June, I''ll give you that. In any case, I''m still getting to know her. Once I know who she is, who she really is as a person, then I''ll decide what to do.¡± I could''ve also mentioned that Meri is still learning who she is, even if she didn''t realize that yet. Such a statement would only bring on a much longer conversation.


    She poured some wine in a cup for herself and gave me a toast. ¡°Well look at you. I didn''t think there were any real romantics left in the world.¡± She swallowed it in one gulp like a seasoned pro. I didn''t see myself as a romantic, but I didn''t try too hard to insist otherwise. If she liked me that would only make her more likely to help keep Malik on the track I needed for the time being.


    We talked a  while longer as I turned down the refills. The idea of getting drunk didn''t sit well with me. After the nice long break I decided I may as well try to get in a little more training before bed. I bid her farewell and retired to my room. I started to see why Malik was so interested in her. A kind, intelligent, beautiful woman full of life along with a hint of mischief.


    I read the book while I sat on the floor with my legs crossed.  I set the book aside, putting my hands on the knees as I tried to follow the instructions. Controlling and slowing my breathing, I focused on my center and listen for my heartbeat. All I felt was emptiness.


    I thought back to the first time I experienced any magic. The feeling of falling through space as I came to this world. There were so many sensations at the time it was hard to pick out the exact one I wanted. Eventually I found it in my memory. The warm constant feeling that was in the background of everything else at the time. I tried to remember how it felt and recreate it within myself.


    I pictured the movement of mana within my body. I tried to push it all into my center of balance and energy. I imagined calling forth my mana. I felt the rhythm of my heart, the rhythm of my breath. My mind repeated the chants over and over. It started to have an odd calming effect.


    In my mind I pictured a well that went down so deep into myself that I couldn''t see the bottom. This would be the well that would contain my mana and allow me to access it. The mental projection would aid in the manifestation of that which was already in every living thing.  In its blood, in its bones, in its flesh, in its will.


    As I pictured the well I felt a small amount of liquid fill it. Then a tiny surge of mana within my body. I tried desperately to hold on to this feeling. I started to lose focus and the power began to slip from me.  I refocused as hard as I could. Trying to get into the same state of mind as before.


    I opened my eyes and quickly grabbed my sword. I felt my hold on the mana starting to fade. Before I lost my grip entirely I had to do this. I willed the mana into my blade. After feeling it spill into the sword through my hand I quickly tried to manipulate it.  I made the mana in the blade move and rub against itself.  I could feel heat starting to come off the blade.  I tried to speed up the pace as much as I could.


    The blade of the sword now had a slight tinge of red. The red of the blade lit up the room just a tad more than the single candle. I opened my status screen to see my mana was draining. I relaxed everything and saw the red tinge quickly disappeare from the blade. Putting my hand close to the balde I noticed that I couldn''t feel any heat coming off it. I gave it a quick touch and pulled back. Nothing.


    All the heat just left in an instant? How was that possible? Whatever, now was not the time to worry about it.  I put the sword down and focused my mind again. I had to repeat the process while it was all fresh in my mind. I knew I wouldn''t be getting much sleep tonight. I saw the status pop up just before I started my meditation again.


    [LVL 1/10 Burning Blade]

 Chapter 23

    Throughout the night I started to get the hang of calling my mana forward. I still had to close my eyes and focus, which was obviously a bad idea in the middle of a fight. On top of that, I needed about three to four seconds to channel the mana into my blade. I could tell there was still room for improvement in those areas.


    Turning the spell off was a simple matter. All I had to do was cut off the flow of mana. I estimated that at most I only had enough mana to use this spell for one minute. A thought crossed my mind. If a rank one spell used this much mana, then how much would a rank two or three spell use? I theorized that even for strong warriors in this world, lower ranked spells must be use judiciously.


    I was curious what would happen when my mana reached zero. In some stories, people sometimes pass out or die. As my mana slipped into the low single digits I carefully monitored how my body felt. My heart rate didn''t seem disrupted and I didn''t feel faint. That was probably a good sign, right?


    I stopped when my mana only had two points left just to be safe. It would be better to talk this through in the morning with someone who had more experience. No point in taking an unneeded risk. Before going to sleep one final thought entered my mind, was it now possible for me to defeat a first floor boss?


    Upon waking, the first thing I did was check my status screen. I had a full mana bar. I doubt I slept for more than six hours after being up so late. That meant that it took six hours or less for my mana to fully recharge. Good to know, but I wanted a more exact figure. I tossed on some clothes and grabbed my sword. It was time to do some experimenting.


    I left the inn and took a trip into the nearby forest just as dawn broke. It wasn''t long until I found the perfect target. A sturdy looking solitary tree in the middle of an open field. Unsheathing my sword and taking my stance, I swung my sword with all my might into the behemoth''s trunk. Upon Inspecting the cut I concluded It was just a hair over an eighth of an inch deep.


    I took my stance again, closing my eyes and focusing my mana. With Burning Blade activated, I swung again with all the strength I could muster, aiming a few inches above my previous mark. I quickly canceled the spell after impacting the tree to conserve my mana. It was deeper than the first cut. A bit under a quarter of an inch.


    I sheathed my sword as I considered the nature of Burning Blade. When something got hot, it usually became flimsy. That wasn''t the case here. My sword retained all its sharpness and sturdiness. The heat in the blade caused my attack to cut a bit deeper, but it didn''t instantly melt everything in its path like a light saber. It clearly wouldn''t be able to cut through steel in a single swing. At least not at its current level.


    A thought crossed to my mind. What If I kept the blade in the tree and tried to push it through? It was worth a try at least. I took my stance again and activated the spell. The cut went just as deep as my last attempt. Instead of canceling the spell, I kept pushing the blade against the tree. It was working! I made it about a quarter of the way through before the wood caught on fire.


    Stupid! What did you think would happen? I quickly cut off my mana and put the fire out. Smokey the Bear, you taught me well. When I thought about it, that was a terrible name for a bear whose mission was to stop forest fires. It would be better suited for a bear that worked for the tobacco lobby. You missed your calling Smokey.


    I checked how much mana I used up. It was now at 36/42. I would need to keep an eye on it and figure out how quickly it regenerated. So what did I learn about my new spell from that? It couldn''t cut through objects instantly. If kept activated and pushed against an object it would eventually start to cut through it. That could be useful when fighting certain kinds of enemies.


    While it didn''t appear to be a massive power up, it increased my strength none the less. Maybe it would become more impressive as it leveled up? I headed back to the inn to prepare for the day ahead. I finished getting ready just in time to join Maddy and Meri at the tail end of breakfast.


    We developed an unwritten rule to not talk about training or dungeons first thing in the morning. So much of our day to day life was filled with those thoughts that it was nice to wait until breakfast was over to broach the subject. I ordered and ate quickly to catch up.


    Just as we were finishing our meal Malik walked through the door. He had the look of a man who was very pleased with himself. The kind of look a man only gets for one reason. I guess that meant June wasn''t too upset after our conversation last night. If anything, hearing how much of the situation was true probably put her mind at ease.


    Malik sat down next to us at the table. ¡°Hello, I hope you''re all having a fantastic morning. Your ol'' buddy Malik is ready to do some dungeon raiding today.¡± His arm went around my neck. Jeez, could you be a little less obvious about it? Maybe the emperor still hasn''t heard that you got laid last night.


    Maddy chimed in with her usual blunt manor. ¡°My morning has been just fine. I can tell yours has gone well, but I wonder how the morning was for June. A woman of her years and experience is likely not easily impressed.¡± Malik gave her a glare while she nonchalantly sipped her drink.


    Malik shrugged while keeping the hint of a smile on his face. ¡°I''m confident we both had a good morning, if you must know. ¡±


    Maddy laughed. ¡°Oh, I''m sure! No woman would ever lie about having a ''good morning'' just to avoid an awkward conversation. I''m sure shes jumping for joy at this very moment.¡±


    Malik stood. ¡°Just because Bill isn''t looking to make you his woman, that''s no need to take your frustration out on me. I''ll see you all outside when you''re ready.¡± Malik stormed out of the Inn. Maddy tried to laugh off the comment but I saw a hint of blush on her cheeks.


    I wasn''t sure exactly what to make of her reaction. In a normal situation she would pile on a joke like that. Right now she tried to distance herself from it. A very un-Maddy thing to do. Was it that she actually liked me, or was she just itching for a little fun and I was the obvious choice? I never got the impression Maddy was in love with me. Unlike most guys I''m pretty sharp about those kinds of things.


    I was starting to get the feeling she wouldn''t be entirely opposed to something happening at the least. Could it be she was just a young woman looking to explore her knew found freedom and that I was the most convenient option, or was there more to it? In either case I didn''t need the complication. Right now we needed to level up. Adding unneeded drama would just be a distraction.


    We went outside to meet Malik in silence. Maddy seemed unwilling to get into a war of quips for the first time in a while. Today our goal was to clear the first floor six times. That was a number I really wanted to hit. If we could clear the first floor six times then theoretically, if we continued to move at that pace on all floors we could clear the second floor of the dungeon three times or all three floors of the dungeon twice in a single day.


    Sadly, there was no way to get straight to floor two or three of the dungeon without completing the first floor. However, if we got strong enough we could potentially breeze through the first one. With all our supplies gathered everyone was ready to head back into the dungeon.


    By my estimation, it took about five minutes for me to recover one mana point. That meant it would take somewhere between three to four hours to fully regenerate my entire mana bar. It would be smart to keep that in mind. I thought about telling everyone about my burning blade skill before using it, but it would be too much fun to surprise everyone.


    It wasn''t long after entering the dungeon that my first opponent rushed towards me. A single skeleton with a dagger and no shield. This would be a good chance to show off. It was far enough away that I had plenty of time to activate my spell. Closing my eyes and calling forth the mana inside me, I forced it into my blade and manipulated it to cause the needed friction.


    Having finished, I opened my eyes to see the skeleton was a mere fifteen paces away. I quickly closed the distance, not wanting to waste too much of my mana. I swung my sword through the arm carrying the dagger and then through the rest of the skeleton''s upper body. It felt a little easier than normal, but it was hard to tell against nothing but bone. Deactivating the spell, I walked over to my fallen opponent, crushing its head under my boot.


    I turned to face Maddy, who couldn''t hide the mix of jealousy and admiration in her eyes. She finally managed to get the words out. ¡°When the hell did you learn that?¡±


    I gave an amused smile as I looked her over. ¡°Just last night. I practiced into the early morning until I got the hang of it. The spell still needs a lot of work, but it makes cutting things a little easier.¡± Malik didn''t say anything. Overall he seemed rather unimpressed by the skill. And he was in such a good mood earlier too. At least give me some credit you dick.


    At least Meri had something nice to say. ¡°Great job Bill. I knew you''d figure it out.¡± I thought she might have wanted to say a bit more, but once everyone''s eyes were on her she lost her nerve and went silent.


    After a short pause we settled right back into the business of clearing this floor. I didn''t use the spell against any of the other monsters I faced. I wanted to have a full mana bar for when I finally faced the first floor boss. Hopefully this would be the day that I could finally defeat him alone.


    During one of our breaks, I pulled Malik aside and inquired about what happened when a mana bar hit zero. Without realizing it, my anxiety had been growing over this ever since I became able to use my mana. I was almost disappointed to hear that almost nothing happened. Your body would feel a little lethargic until you gained your mana back, but that was about it.


    He told me that without knowing it, people constantly used a little mana all the time. It was just such a small amount that most people didn''t know about it. That little bit of mana allowed the person to used the enhanced stats and skills they gained throughout their life. For instance, a person with a strength at ninety who used all their mana would temporarily have only their original strength of fifteen or so for a very short time.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Such a state wouldn''t last long. It only took people a matter of seconds to gather enough mana to reestablish their connection to the mother''s blessing, but those few seconds could be the difference between life and death. So long story short, try not to let your mana hit zero.


    Today we cleared the dungeon quicker than we ever had before. It gave me hope that my goal to clear the first floor six times would be achieved. There was only one obstacle left. We walked down the final passage to see an eerily familiar room. As I peaked through the holes in the door I was entirely unsurprised to see a Devil Goat feasting on a plate of demon bats.


    There would be no mistakes this time. We would lure it out so that I could fight in the open. I asked everyone else to stay back and let me attempt to handle this beast alone. They agreed to do so without complaint. Well, Maddy complained a little, but she agreed in the end. Once Meri gained her fox claw skill she easily defeated this beast in a matter of seconds. If I couldn''t accomplish the same feat in less than sixty seconds, then what have I been doing all this time?


    I checked my mana one last time just to be sure it was full. Seeing that it was and with all the torches placed down there was no point in delaying any longer. Okay Bill, you got around sixty seconds before you run out of mana. Make them count! I closed my eyes to call forth my mana. Instantly after activating the spell I kicked the old rickety door wide open.


    The Devil Goat brought its eyes up to mine. The rectangular pupils filled with malice unnerved me. A feeling of despair came as memories of my last clash with this beast entered my mind. I pushed them aside. I couldn''t let myself be held hostage by fear. I had grown by leaps and bounds since then.


    With my emotions bubbling over, it felt as though my blade had turned even hotter. Did things like emotional state impact the magic? If the blade was getting hotter, did that mean I was burning through my mana faster?


    My opponent didn''t give me any time to worry about it. The Devil Goat tossed the table to the side and began its signature charge. Picking up more speed as it headed towards the open doorway. I backed up and waited for the right moment. I had seen this charge over and over in my dreams. I had broken down every aspect of it.


    I didn''t need to wait until the very last second to dodge. Once it was up to full speed, even at ten paces away it couldn''t do much to change its direction. At least that''s what I thought. It was time to see if I was correct. Once it was within ten paces I darted to the side and put my sheild at the ready. Anticipating the Devil Goat would strike as it charged pass me.


    I swung at its front leg but only managed to hit air. It countered with a kick which I easily blocked. The impact knocked me back a few paces but it was weaker than I remembered. It was then that I realized I had taken too great a distance when i darted to the side. That was why my sword failed to even scratch the Devil Goat. Had my fear subconsciously made me take an extra step back? Dammit, I just let my best chance to finish this quickly slip through my fingers.


    The last Devil Goat we fought was a fast learner and I doubted this one would be any different. Not to mention with every second that ticked by my mana was decreasing. I couldn''t just sit back and wait for it to charge all day. I closed the distance with the larger stronger foe.


    I remembered the way Maddy look when she fought this beast toe to toe. Now I knew how she felt. Nothing this big and strong had any right to be so nimble. It dodged my blade and counter attacked with what could be called its arms and legs. The force itself was incredible but the rock hard hoofs turned every strike into a potentially lethal attack.


    Not good. This was a stalemate with time on the enemies side. Neither of us were able to land a single strike. I had no other choice. I left an opening for him to attack. If I knew exactly where the attack was coming from, then I could cover it with my sheild in time to counter. Probably. Seeing the opening in my defense the Devil Goat''s black razor sharp teeth formed in a smile.


    While this fucking Goat may learn fast, it couldn''t help but stumble into a trap it had never seen before. I blocked the incoming blow, quickly moving my sheild into place only an instant before the attack landed. The force of the head-on blow knocked me on my back. I rolled with the impact and shot up to my feet.


    I looked at my sword. Smoke was rising as the dark blood boiled then evaporated on the hot blade. You could hear a soft sizzle that put into mind the sound of bacon cooking in a frying pan. My eyes went to the Devil Goat''s front left leg which had been my target. The heat of the blade had actually kept the wound from bleeding as much as it should have, but I was able to sink my blade in about another inch deeper than I would have otherwise.


    While a sword through its chest may not be enough to kill such a monster, it still needed limbs to move. Whatever muscles or ligaments the monster used had clearly been severely damaged by the attack. An impressive feat considering how hard it had been to do the same to this monster''s arms the first time I faced it. The legs were thicker and more bulky. Was it just a lucky strike or did that one extra inch the spell allowed make a difference?


    There was no time to wonder about it now. I checked on my mana, seeing it was at 14/42. I ran forward looking to press my advantage. Weary of my blade its attacks came less frequent now. I was pushing it back and forcing him into a corner. It wanted to strike out at me and counter my attacks but it was forced to keep most of its weight on its right leg.


    The beast went off balance and exposed its neck to me. I launched forward to land the finishing blow. About half way through the attack I couldn''t help but feel something was amiss. This opening was big. Far too big. I pulled back and prepared myself for the counter. If it didn''t come that would mean I just lost a golden chance to finish my opponent.


    The counter came. A hoofed arm attacked exactly where my head would''ve been. Its left arm was now exposed. I was able to put all my weight and strength behind my next attack. I cut in a downwards motion, adding the weight of my sword to the attack for good measure. Before I had only been able to cut as deep as the bone. Those slashes had come from the side and weren''t aided by my burning blade.


    The arm of the Devil Goat separated at elbow and fell to the floor. In a rage the Devil Goat charged me, forgetting that its left leg was all but useless. There was no need to hesitate this time. It was in no position to counter attack, having forgotten itself in a fit of rage. I swung my blade sideways to cut half way through its neck.


    The Devil Goat tried to strike me, but I had repositioned to its now useless left side. I continued to push the blade through as the heat and the metal cut through flesh. It was about five seconds after the blade went into its neck that the head finally fell to the floor.


    [The first floor of the Dungeon has been cleared. Floor two is now open]


    I deactivated my burning blade and checked my mana. I only had a few points left. Part of me couldn''t believe that fight had really been less than a minute.


    [Skill Level up: LVL 2/10 Burning Blade]


    I decided not to share that bit of information. At least not until Maddy learned her own magic. While poking fun is great, to completely trample over her pride was something I wouldn''t do. Plus when she caught up to me, which I knew she would sooner or later, I didn''t want to have my own words thrown back in my face.


    Maddy insisted on trying to beat the next first floor boss alone, but she simply didn''t have the capability yet. Without the assistance of magic or a skill like fox claw such a task was barely out of reach for her. To my delight we managed to clear the first floor six times today. I only hoped that once our group graduated from the first floor we could keep up the same pace on the second.


    After our day in the dungeon was done Malik parted ways to go see June. No doubt he was hoping to have a fantastic early evening. I considered that unlikely, she wouldn''t be closing up shop for at least a few more hours.


    The three of us were finishing up dinner when Meri excused herself to use the facilities. The instant she did, Maddy leaned forward and pulled me in. ¡°From now on, you''re going to be doing all the tutoring. I refuse to fall any further behind you. Don''t think yourself all high and mighty just because you learned your spell first. In a few days I''ll definitely be more than your match. Remember that!¡±


    She let me go and sat back in her chair. Her look almost dared me to protest or refuse to do as she said. I had no intention to do either. I was a bit surprised to see this side of her, but it was welcomed. For most of our journey she was clearly the strongest of the three of us and no doubt considered herself the guardian of our little group.


    Having Meri surpass her must have been hard to stomach. To have me now do the same appeared to be too much. To go from strongest to weakest couldn''t feel good, whether among enemies or even friends.


    While I took on all the duties of tutoring Meri, that didn''t mean I stopped reading my spell book. It only meant I waited until late at night until Maddy and Meri had fallen asleep. Giving up precious hours of sleep was a pain in the ass, but I had gotten use to pushing myself. I would just need to learn to function on five hours a night. No problem.


    Now that I was finally able to feel my mana and use the spell, some of the more complex concepts started to make sense to me. Not only that, I could actually practice them. There was still so much more room to improve.


    It took three days before Maddy was able to make any progress with feeling her mana and another three before she could actually use her spell. There was no reason myself and Maddy shouldn''t have progressed at about the same rate when it came to magic. I theorized It was only my own very intimate experience with magic that caused the difference.


    I gave her whatever pointers I could to help her along. Careful to not say anything that would erase my spell book. I kept my advice solely to the feeling I had when traveling to this world. I could tell she was still skeptical about the whole thing, but she took my insights to heart.


    Maddy, now with her ability to use magic, was finally able to beat a first floor boss on her own. Besides the Devil Mole Rats which we didn''t count I mean. She was quick to point out that she did it in less than half the time it took me. What else could I expect? Meri went over to give Maddy a sincere congratulations.


    Maddy hugged her, lost in the excitement of the moment. Meri couldn''t help but looking adorably awkward during the process. Maddy quickly let go and apologized. It was the first hug anyone had ever given Meri and she didn''t know exactly how to process it.


    Meri nodded at Maddy''s apology and spoke. ¡°Y-you just caught me by surprise. I''m sorry for causing you to feel bad. Please don''t take offense to my reaction. The hug was... nice.¡±


    Maddy gave a wide smirk at Meri. ¡°In that case, would you like if I hugged you more often?¡±


    Meri blushed, rubbing her hands in front of herself. ¡°If that''s what you wish, then I have no objection. I mean, of course do as you please in either case. If it makes you uncomfortable, please don''t feel pressured on this ones account. Whatever you decide, I will-.¡±


    Maddy tightly wrapped her arms around Meri. ¡°You don''t need to be so damn indecisive. Just say what you want already.¡± Maddy''s look darted to me and she showed a devilish grin. ¡°For instance, how would you feel about Bill giving you a nice big hug too?¡± Meri quickly took a glance towards me, then blush filled her face as she cast her eyes downward.


    I put my hands on my hips. ¡°Come on Maddy. You know you shouldn''t tease Meri like that.¡±


    Maddy rolled her eyes at me. ¡°I barely tease her, and look how much she blushes when I do. You have no idea how hard it is for me to resist sometimes. In any case, you coddle her too much. She''ll need to get use to these kinds of interactions.¡±


    For a few minutes, Maddy and I argued like an old married couple over the best way to raise our young daughter. No doubt a very weird position for Meri, who kept silent for the whole argument. Malik seemed happy to ignore us and collect the loot. We soon exited the dungeon and exchanged the loot at the outpost.


    After all of our incursions into the dungeon we now had enough gold for Maddy, Meri and myself to each purchase a rank two spell. We decided to take tomorrow off from the dungeons and go into the city and buy some new magic. Malik said he would tag along. Not because he wanted to buy a spell, but because he needed to get his money.


    We set off with such hope and optimism. I should have stopped to think that was usually a bad sign of things to come in the future.

 Chapter 24

    The trek into the city was a welcomed departure from our daily repeated descents into the dungeon. I worried that we may get lost in this damn city again, trying to find the business affiliated with the outpost. I needn''t worry. The United Dungeon Exchange, to which our outpost was associated, was one of the biggest and most frequented businesses in the entire city.


    We picked out the shortest looking line of the bunch. Unlike the magic association this line moved along quickly. This was a place where dungeon loot was quickly bought and sold. It didn''t display any of the bureaucratic and slightly snobby atmosphere of the magic association. Their interest was only in serving as many customers as possible.


    Upon reaching the front of the line we met a kindly looking plump middle age woman. She had a real salt of the earth sensibility. A welcomed break from most of the people I''ve had to deal with. Upon explaining our situation and showing her our cards she waved over a kindly older woman. The first thought that came to my mind by her look and demeanor is that this was Susan''s long lost friendly cousin.


    That was almost certainly not the case. Yet I couldn''t help but picture them side by side. Maybe I just have a weird fascination with doppelgangers and was trying too hard to make them seem alike. This woman, who I didn''t get the name of, and so I decided to mentally dub ''nice Susan'', picked up each card one by one to inspect it. I had no idea what she could be looking at. An old meme popped into my head, ''it''s magic, I don''t got to explain shit!''


    After looking at each card and then examining us she handed them back to the plump woman. Facing us, nice Susan spoke. ¡°Your identity has been confirmed. The balance in each account is six gold coins, twenty silver coins and ten copper coins. Is that correct?¡±


    I had no idea if it was or wasn''t. I probably should have been keeping track of my finances better. I looked around for help. Malik was the one who chimed in. ¡°That''s the right amount, but why didn''t we receive any interest on our holdings?¡±


    Kind Susan smiled. ¡°I''m afraid that''s not a service offered in the general account set up for you. I suggest you take that up with accounting.¡± I saw Malik was about to throw a fit. I quickly stepped in to defuse the situation. Suggesting while our trio goes to buy some magic that Malik should deal with this problem for all of us. It wasn''t like we lost much with such small accounts.


    He begrudgingly agreed. Each of us made a withdrawal of six gold coins. I was a bit surprised by how Malik acted. I didn''t know there was that side of him. Maybe I should make more of an attempt to get to know him outside of a dungeon setting. While he went to handle the financial situation, the three of us headed off to the United Magic Guild Association.


    With Meri and I leading the way, we only got slightly lost. Only one wrong turn. I''m calling that an accomplishment. As we made our way to the front desk, part of me was relieved to not see the bear beastkin today. We updated the information we gave last time. I wondered if being repeat customers and no longer being completely green would lead to better service? At least it couldn''t be any worse.


    As we waited, we had a mini debate on if we should use our gold to buy three rank one spells or one rank two spell. It was a bit of an oversight to not talk about it before hand. I just assumed we would all pick a rank two spell, but now that I thought about it I could see the appeal of doing things the other way. Having four different spells to depend on would give your attack patterns more flexibility as opposed to just two.


    Maddy''s argument for buying a single grade two spell was hard to ignore. ¡°Everyone can do as they please, but I plan to buy a rank two spell. Quality is more important than quantity as I see it. It takes time and hard work to level up a single spell. If I buy a bunch of rank one spells it will only take longer for each to reach their potential and they will be weaker when they do.¡±


    I was coming to a similar conclusion, but Maddy beat me to it. Sometimes I allowed myself to forget how clever she was. I needed to remind myself just because she let me call most of the shots didn''t mean that she wasn''t as capable of leading our trio just as well, if not better than me. I reprimanded myself for not asking her opinion more on matters in the past few weeks. I had been so consumed with getting stronger that I failed to consider that.


    To my surprise, we had only been waiting a mere fifteen minutes before a young pretty elf came to see us. She was tall and thin with skin almost as pale as the moon. There was not a single blemish or freckle on her. Her silver hair flowed straight back with each hair perfectly in place. Her pointed ears reaching up to just below the top of her head.


    I would say she was beautiful, but something was missing. There lacked any clear distinguishable feature you could call beautiful. As if her face was a perfectly structured blank canvass with nothing upon it. The only thing that was noticeable on her face was the slight smile she wore that didn''t reach her cheeks, much less her eyes. ¡°Hello, this one is called Nessa, would your group please follow me?¡±


    We did so until we finally came to a much larger and luxurious office than last time. There were more seats than needed, so we plopped down in the ones closest to her desk. On the desk facing us were 3 cups filled with a liquid that smelled both earthy and sweet.


    While the set up was nice, it only made me more ticked off with how we were treated last time. Leveling up and being repeat customers had me expecting a change, but something this drastic? If they had these kind of resources they would do well to make a better first impression.


    A glance towards Meri made me feel less alone. One of the rare times I recall her showing even a slight annoyance on her face. So slight that unless you had gotten use to reading he facial cues you wouldn''t have been able to tell what she was thinking.


    ¡°Please make yourselves at home, and do try the drinks we prepared for you. It''s something elves have been making for thousands of years and perfected.¡± I took a sip. Dammit, it was good. Not unlike eggnog, but not so sweet that it took away from the mix of flavors in it.


    Nessa seated herself. It was fast but I caught glance towards Meri and a crinkling of the elf''s nose. So I guess even this well practiced and refined elf was a little racist, at least towards beastkin. As I looked at her and recalled the younger male elf I saw when I first came here. I had a hard time squaring that in my head. This is more or less how I expected an elf to look and act. Was such a difference common?


    Where they more different from each other than the books in my world and here had led me to believe, or was that first elf more of an exception. Perhaps why he only dealt with the lower level adventurers? I wanted to get to the business at hand, but it was hard for me to pass up on this chance to ask a few questions.


    ¡°Excuse me Nessa.¡± The elf looked up at me just as she finished putting all her papers in order. ¡°I hope you don''t mind, but I was born in a small village I''ve lived in all my life before recently. Having never seen elves before, I wonder if you wouldn''t mind me asking a few questions.¡±


    She gave me the same small smile as before that didn''t touch any other part of her face. ¡°Of course young warrior, I''m use to such questions. I assure you they are no trouble, so please don''t be shy.¡±


    If I¡¯m any judge, she did consider it a bit troublesome, but screw her. If she thinks my beastkin friend is too smelly to be worthy of being in her presence than I don''t mind imposing. ¡°Well, from everything I¡¯ve read about elves, you seem very much like I pictured them to be. However, the last time I was here we were waited on by a young male elf who seemed to be less... elven like.¡± I raised my hand up uselessly in the air. Unsure of how to not ask my question rudely.


    She nodded, seeming to understand. ¡°I apologize for our young ones. They can be impulsive and impatient. Ruled by their emotions. That changes as they gain more life experience. How old would you guess he looked in human years?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I would say about fourteen or so. It''s a bit hard to tell. He looked older in the eyes than he did phyisically which threw me off.¡±


    Nessa gave a knowing nod. ¡°Until they reach the age of maturity, we tend to age at about half the rate humans do. Once we reach the age of maturity the aging process slows down and is closer to one tenth when compared to yours. It takes decades of meditation and discipline to learn how to be a proper elf.¡±


    I sat up in my chair for my next question. ¡°If you all have such long life spans, then why is it that there aren''t more elves that achieve high levels in the dungeons?¡± I imagined an elite group of high level century old warriors taking over the world. Surely such a thing was in their capabilities, wasn''t it? They had all the time in the world to train compared to humans if they aged so slowly.


    Nessa for the first time showed emotion. She let out a small laugh at my words but quickly recovered. Putting her hand to her mouth and clearing her throat. ¡°I apologize, its just that this is such an obvious question. Besides dungeons being disgusting and malodorous, we don''t tend to seek out something as ungraceful as combat. We prefer the innate beauty of magic.¡±


    She was no longer addressing me anymore as she spoke. ¡°Magic is nature''s most beautiful and complex art. The intricacies lead to both profound understandings and endless depths of contemplation. To say one has truly comprehended even a single spell can take decades of vigorous dedication. It''s something that no other race on this earth is more suited to accomplish.¡± She turned to face me, as if realizing I was still here. ¡°What''s the spell you purchased last time you were here young warrior?¡±


    That took me a bit off guard. ¡°Ummm... Burning Blade.¡±


    ¡°Ah, a very interesting spell. Depending on the circumstances, it can be one of the weakest or one of the strongest rank one spells. Would you mind handing me your sword young warrior?¡± I gave a confused look, but handed her my sword.


    She took the sword in her hand and carefully examined it. Without any effort or concentration shown on her face, the blade turned a dark shade of red. "I''m only a novice when it comes to the Burning Blade, but let me give you a free piece of advice. You should wait no longer than level seven to get a new sword. This metal isn''t designed to have magic easily flow through it. If you don''t buy a new sword by the time your spell reaches level seven you''ll be working harder for less of a return.¡±


    She ended the spell and handed the sword back to me. She again looked over her papers and then back to us. ¡°So, what kind of spells are you looking to purchase today?¡±


    I couldn''t say anything after that. Seeing how easily she surpassed what had taken me so much concentration and effort had me dumbfounded. Luckily, Maddy was there to pick up the slack. ¡°We''d each like to purchase a rank two spell.¡± Nessa smiled and grabbed a book from the shelf directly behind her.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Maddy led the discussion on what we looking for while I sat there dejected. ¡°We''re looking for two spells that have long range capability. As for the third spell.¡± She looked to Meri who didn''t look inclined to speak. ¡°We''re open to suggestions on what you think may be a good option.¡±


    As Maddy talked with Nessa, I shook the cobwebs out. It was no time for moping. I needed to focus. Maddy was now excitedly talking about a spell known as Ice Javelin. Since it was called Javelin it was clearly meant to be thrown. It wasn''t all that heavy, which made the range reasonably long.


    Nessa stressed the benefits of being able to call on the ice element. In a pinch it could be melted and used as water. Not only that, if your weapon broke it could be used as a spare one. Not as sturdy as steel, but better than fighting empty handed. It also complimented our group dynamic. I could use fire and she would be able to use ice. We could cover the weakness of the other.


    Meri was a much more difficult case. She had her arrows and she already had a spell to make those more powerful. Her fox claw made her dangerous in close combat. She was clearly the most balanced fighter of the three of us. I looked to Maddy who was having just as much difficulty as me when it came to trying to help her find the right choice.


    Meri surprised us both by speaking up. ¡°I-I think I would like to learn the healing spell please.¡± After getting the words out she fixed her eyes on her lap. She rarely asked for anything. Clearly something about this was very important to her.


    I turned toward her and spoke softly. ¡°You can pick any spell you want Meri, but aren''t you worried about not getting stronger?¡±


    Meri took a deep breath to work up the courage to continue. ¡°It''s okay if I¡¯m not strong. I just don''t want to see either of you hurt again and be unable to help.¡± I guess that first fight with the Devil Goat and seeing our injuries left a bigger mark on Meri than I thought. Poor girl. I was about to give her a comforting pat on the shoulder before Maddy jumped in.


    ¡°That''s our Meri! You''re just the sweetest thing ever!¡± Maddy, never one to be shy in front of others, got out of her chair and partially lifted Meri out of her seat while giving her what would have been a bone crunching hug. That is if Meri wasn''t much bigger and stronger than Maddy due to being a beastkin. Meri''s eyes darted around as her face turned red, but she never resisted the hug.


    Mercifully Maddy eventually let Meri go. She sat back down in her chair looking sheepish, but did nothing to illustrate she wished for Maddy to take her arm off of her shoulder. Nessa clearly didn''t care for the public displays of affection and did her best to hide it.


    Eventually the focus came to me. I still didn''t know what to do. My second spell should be used to balance me out, but the more I thought about it the more I couldn''t get the idea out of my head that too much balance would lead to weakness. Like the old saying goes. Jack of all trades, master of none. If I focused on one particular type of magic and became very proficient at it, wouldn''t it make all my other spells that much more powerful?


    I looked over the spell called Fire Sword. Unlike Burning Blade, which heated up the sword itself, Fire Sword encompassed the blade in flames and allowed you to manipulate those flame. Depending on how much mana you put in, the fire around your blade could extend far out at the higher levels. On top of that, its shape wasn''t fixed. With enough skill it could even be bent around corners going by the description in the book.


    The heat from the fire was not as intense as the heat and destructive power of the burning blade. That didn''t mean it was weak. It would still get plenty hot enough to burn enemies alive. The fact that the flame stayed connected to my sword meant that I didn''t need to depend on a throw or shot to hit a mark.


    If I missed I could just redirect my flame with relatively low mana cost. Since I was already getting use to using burning blade, I could most likely pick up this spell quickly compared to something completely new.


    I looked to Nessa. ¡°I think I''ll take the fire sword spell.¡±


    Maddy chimed in. ¡°That doesn''t really make sense Bill.¡± You already have fire. Shouldn''t you learn something else?¡±


    Nessa considered. ¡°Not necessarily. Specializing in one type of magic has its benefits and drawbacks. While you lack variety in your attacks, through enough pure power and skill its possible to overcome that weakness. Some of the strongest people who have ever lived have been specialist well others have also been the most varied. There isn''t a single path.¡±


    I didn''t care if it would make me stronger or weaker in the end. I wasn''t interesting in being the strongest who ever lived. I needed to get my sister back. Fire may not work against every monster, but it worked against all humans. Logical arguments aside. Something about using fire just felt right. It felt natural. I achieved 2/10 burning blade in a single day. If that wasn''t a sign to go down this path I don''t know what is.


    Nessa brought us our requested books and gave the same warnings we receiving last time. After collecting our eighteen gold coins, she escorted us to the front desk and promptly got rid of us. In what would be considered a perfectly polite way for a elf I''m sire.  ¡°Please grace us with your patronage again and safe travels young warriors.¡± Between my questions, Meri''s beaskin nature and Maddy''s display of affection, I don''t think she was sad to see us go.


    We made our way back to the United Dungeon Exchange. Malik had already finished up his business and was chewing on something rather delicious looking. I asked him to point out where he bought it so I could grab three more. ¡°My treat.¡± I told Meri and Maddy. After a long walk to the city there weren''t any objections from either of the ladies about letting me pay.


    We conversed about all we''ve done as we made our way back to town. Compared to being in a dungeon all day, this didn''t even qualify a tiring. A nice breeze and shade from the trees along the flat dirt road made the hike very pleasant. Not unlike a fun nature walk. Since we didn''t have to wait around for too long in the magic association this time we made it back to town with a couple of hours of sunlight left.


    There was enough time for a quick trip into the dungeon, but I could tell no one was keen on the idea. Instead we agreed tonight would be about celebrating our progress. We''d been working so hard lately it would be nice to relax for just one evening. We all needed to recharge our batteries for the journey ahead.


    We had rank two spells to learn and would being going deeper into the dungeon tomorrow. Thinking about it now, Malik had really come a long way since we met him. He still was pretty standoffish, but his time with June and us had made him much more social and friendly. We decided to meet at June''s tavern at dusk. If I was going to have a few drinks I didn''t want to do it with the sun up. They couldn''t see you do anything stupid in the dark, right?


    Maddy and I sat together giving Meri a joint reading lesson. She has come a long way with her reading. The reports of beastkin being stupid were clearly exaggerated. She was already starting to read parts of her spell book. It wouldn''t be long now until all of us could use magic.


    The time got away from me a little. The sun had already started to set. We didn''t want to be late. I turned to the ladies. ¡°Well, do you want to head out to the Tavern now?¡±


    Maddy jumped up. ¡°Not like this! Come on Bill, isn''t this suppose to be a celebration? I say we dress up a bit.¡± Meri didn''t show any indication of agreement or disagreement. I may as well let Maddy have her way. Why not? I guess she was right about it being a celebration in any case.


    I nodded. ¡°Well, since your going to take twice as long as me, how about I meet you there? I don''t want to keep Malik waiting too long.¡± Maddy agreed and quickly ushered me out of the room. Did I say ushered? More like a polite bouncer. I guess commenting on how long she takes to get ready wasn''t the smartest thing to say.


    I went to my room, setting my sword next to the bed. The clothes I had on wouldn''t do. I didn''t have much in the way of stylish but I had clean and presentable. I pulled them on. Thinking about it now, I could really use a hair cut. Oh well. This was as good as it was going to get. I hurried down the stairs and made my way to the tavern.


    I was the first one to enter. Another slow night. June waved me over. ¡°Hello Bill, you look almost presentable. Not in those dirty dungeon clothes I see.¡±


    Where they really that dirty? I sat down in front of her. ¡°Well, as it turns out June. We''re going to be having a little celebration on our recent progress. Malik and my companions will be here shortly. So you''ll be in for a pretty busy night. Fair warning.¡±


    She gave me a smile and poured a cup of red wine for me. ¡°Well, ever since Malik went off the booze my pockets have been hurting a bit. I could use the business. There aren''t nearly enough drunkards in this town for my taste.¡±


    I took a sip. ¡°So Malik really hasn''t touched a single drop since you two started seeing each other?¡±


    She gave me a coy smile. ¡°What, you don''t think I''m worth giving up a vice or two for?¡± She added a little wink for good measure.


    I couldn''t help but laugh at that. ¡°Of course you are, I would never think that. It''s only too bad Malik got to you first. Is it too late for me to swoop in?¡± I gave her the same coy smile back.


    She shook her head and laughed. ¡°Put some hair on your chest first. Then maybe I''ll think about it.¡±


    I lifted up my drink. ¡°That''s what I''m working on. Top me off and help me out?¡±


    She did so. ¡°So Bill, how are things going with that beastkin lady friend of yours?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°It''s going fine. She''s getting a little better everyday. Still complicated though.¡±


    Sitting back on her chair across the bar she looked me dead in the eye. ¡°You know, maybe you should just give up on her then. Some people aren''t meant for each other. There''s that other young lady you travel with after all. You two sound like you get along. Is something stopping that from working out?¡±


    Well, that is a tricky question. Maybe it would be a better idea to not get too drunk tonight. Remember Bill, no drama. Before I could answer her, two men walked through the door. Large and strong looking with swords at their sides. Their eyes had something in them I didn''t like. They sat next to me and ordered a drink. My hand subconsciously felt for my sword. It wasn''t there. Why would I bring it? This was a celebration, right? Well, there was nothing to be worried about. Yet.


    After ordering their drinks the slightly older one spoke to June. ¡°Hello Mum, seems like this here is a place that gets frequented on the regular, maybe ya can help us. We''re on official empire business. Lookin'' for a trio of youngins. Might even be going into da dungeons around here. A young man with dark hair, a girl with golden hair and a foxkin girl. Ya see anyone like that?¡± Now it was time to worry.


    June gave me a glance and saw the panic on my face. She was quick on the uptake. ¡°Nope, can''t say I have, and I would''ve heard. Adventurers are my demographic. Haven''t even heard anyone mention a group like that.¡± She gave them a big friendly smile which revealed nothing. I needed to get out of here and warn them, but I couldn''t make it look suspicious.


    June turned to me. ¡°And you there. That''s your last drink. I don''t want you spilling your dinner on the floor like last night!¡±


    I quickly downed the cup. Spilling half of on myself as I staggered. Maybe I oversold it. I put the cup down. June took the guards attention off me and brought it back to herself. She was recalling a story she heard of a foxkin girl a few towns over some weeks ago. Just a few more steps was all I needed.


    Malik burst through the door, giving me an up and down look. ¡°Started the party a little early I see Bill.¡± He laughed and put his arm around me, leading me back inside the bar.


    ¡°Malik, I want him out. Can''t you see he can barely stand?¡± Malik wasn''t picking up on her hints. Not that she could be obvious about it


    ¡°Come on June, He''ll be fine. I just wanna have one drink with all of us here.¡± Malik sat me by a table and went over to the bar to buy a round.


    The men turned to him. ¡°Ya have da look of a man who goes into da dungeons. That correct friend?¡±


    Malik put two silvers on the counter. ¡°That''s right, why you asking?¡±


    ¡°We''re looking for a group of youngins. A boy, a foxkin girl and woman with golden hair.


    Malik gave him a strange look. ¡°Whose asking?¡±


    The man straighten up. ¡°I am. That''s all ya need concern yourself with.¡±


    Malik looked him dead in the eye. ¡°I don''t like your tone, ''friend''.¡±


    June motioned me to go outside while their attention was focused on him. Just as I was making my move, Maddy and Meri came through the door. It wasn''t until they were half way towards me that they noticed something was wrong.


    The two men turned to see her. ¡°That''s the girl!¡± The taller one called out. Madeline froze where she stood, eyes darting between me and the two men. ¡°Madeline, we need ya and ya friends to come with us. Don''t give us no trouble now .¡±


    Malik spoke up. ¡°They aren''t going anywhere. Who the hell do you think you are?¡±


    The shorter man spat out. ¡°Shut ya fuckin'' mouth. This is Highmar business. If ya know what''s good for ya then you''ll leave and never speak of this.¡±


    June saw the situation was getting out of control. ¡°How about we all sit down, have a drink and talk this over? There''s no need to do anything drastic.¡±


    The taller man whispered to the shorter one. The shorter man nodded his head mumbled. ¡°Okay, no witnesses then.¡±


    The shorter man faced June, taking his sword out in a flash. She put her hands in front of her, as if to plead with him to stop. It was too late. The tip whistled through the air and cut her across the belly. Her mouth opened in surprise, matching her stomach. Blood poured out from her stomach along with her entrails. She tried to push them back inside as she collapsed onto her back.


    ¡°JUNE!¡± Malik yelled, as if saying her name would somehow reverse what happened.


    The taller man pulled out his sword and turned on Malik. ¡°TAKE THE GIRL, KILL THE REST!¡±

 Chapter 25

    Turning on Malik, the taller man put his sword at the ready. Malik retreated while pulling a dagger from his hip, the same spot he pulled it from when we first met. He backed away while diverting the blade from its course as best he could, trying to keep the longer deadlier weapon at bay. At this rate he wouldn''t last long, but I had my own problems to deal with. My glance went to the man pointing his sword at my heart as the distance between us vanished.


    With no sword or dagger, I reached for a nearby stool out of desperation. This was absurd. How the hell was I suppose to fight without a weapon? When we started out, didn''t I promise to be careful and suspicious? Wasn''t I always going to keep my guard up? How could I have gotten so complacent? Beat yourself up later Bill, right now you need to focus on the task at hand.


    I held up the stool against the oncoming sword. A single strike shattered the thin wood in my hands. With nothing between him and I, he moved in. Intent on taking my life with the next strike.


    Maddy ran towards us, gripping the dagger she carried at all times, letting out a scream of rage as she charged. The range of the dagger was short, forcing her to get much too close. A heavy, study boot kicked her stomach, snatching the wind from her. As she fell backwards she somehow managed to slide the blade across his leg, only to be met by the leather and light chainmail underneath.


    They came prepared for a fight. If the other man was dressed the same than the light slash of a dagger would do nothing. You would need to stab with all your might to do any damage. That or the weight of a sword or ax would be needed to break through. With Maddy coughing while splayed on the floor, I again had his full attention.


    He brought his sword up while i backed away. A piece of the broken stool found itself between my foot and the floor. I fell backwards, hitting the hard floor with a loud thump. I looked up, seeing only the sword as it flew towards my head.


    Using a speed I had almost forgotten she was capable of, Meri appeared between us just in time to block the sword with her fox claw. A grimace of pain filled her face. While they may be deadly weapons, they weren''t meant to stop the swing of a steel sword. Blood dripped from where the nails met the fingers as the soft tissue attaching them ripped.


    She used her other hand to slash at his face. He raised his arm to stop the attack. Her claws scraped against a mix of metal, leather and flesh. The gashes weren''t deep, but at least she managed to give him some pause. Meri closed in on the opponent forcing him back. Attacking with her good hand while cradling the other. After regaining his composure, a few swings of the sword forced Meri back.


    This wasn''t the kind of place where Meri''s agility could be utilized to its full potential. There were far too many objects in the way. As Meri had yet to learn any magic, she was not use to picking up on the subtle movements and aura one gave off when gathering mana. I could spot the almost imperceptible tell tale signs from this man while Meri stood between us, unaware of the impending danger.


    ¡°Back up! He''s going to use magic!¡± The words rushed out of my mouth, giving Meri just enough warning. As he pointed his left on towards her she jumped back. Something which reminded me of a Japanese throwing star came into existence. It flew at Meri with great speed, barely slower than an arrow. She dodged to the right, the metal nicking her left arm. It buried itself deep in the wall and faded back into nothingness.


    I was worried about another projectile being launched, but it looked like a slight break was needed between castings. I thought of trying to close the distance to take advantage of the window in attack, but without a sword trying to charge him recklessly would be foolish. We didn''t have any good options.


    Maddy had gotten her breath back and was on her feet. Part of me couldn''t help but think that she would be great to use as a sheild. Clearly they didn''t want to kill her, but that didn''t mean that accidents couldn''t happen. I''ll be damned if I was going to put her in danger to save myself. She clutched her dagger and pointed it towards our opponent.


    It was no good. It would just lead to the same outcome. To make matters worse, Meri was down to one useful hand. We needed our swords. It was that simple. One of us would need to get them. Meri was the fastest, but she was the only one who could be useful without a dagger. ¡°Maddy, toss me your knife and get our swords. If you run you can be back here in ninety seconds¡±


    ¡°But I can-¡±


    ¡°There''s no time! Trust me and just do it.¡± She hesitated for a moment before tossing me the dagger. The town was small and the inn was just down the street. She could make it back even faster if she really moved it. While this was the best option, I couldn''t help but think it would most likely be over by the time she returned.


    As Maddy bolted towards the door the man moved in to attempt to block her escape. I grabbed another nearby stool and tossed it at him. Upon seeing the flying object coming at him he instinctively stopped and covered his face with his free hand. The interruption was just long enough to give Maddy time to rush out the front door. A Murderous glare was etched on his face as he looked in my direction.


    He raised his left hand up towards me. The signs of mana being gathered were clear. I wasn''t like Meri. I knew I didn''t have any chance to dodge something moving that fast. I flipped over a table to my left and dove behind it. A thunk hit the wood. I looked up to see a piece of metal lodged half way through the table top before it disappeared.


    I got up from behind the table to see Meri had close the distance once more. Not only that, she managed to get to his side. Did he really let himself become so distracted by Maddy running out of the tavern and his anger towards me that he completely ignored Meri? Could he really be so stupid?


    It was possible. When this started he was the one who attacked first, and he went for June instead of Malik. Malik may have been able to block the surprise attack, but he was clearly the one he should have targeted first. Anyone with half a brain would have known that. The fact that he didn''t do that and went for the closer more convenient target was imbecilic.


    He yelled as Meri''s claws dug into his side. The armor he wore saved his life and prevented major injury, but the pain was still there. He swung his sword to force her back. Sneering in disgust. ¡°Ya fucking filthy lil'' beastkin cunt. How dare ya! I''ll strangle ya with ya own entrails for that.¡± He pointed his sword at me. ¡°I heard what ye said about getting ya swords. Ye dare think you''d be a match for this here great Samwell with a sword in ya hand?¡±


    He spat on the floor. Seemingly unable to think of a suitable insult. He gave me a murderous grin. ¡°I''ve already passed da first test. Yet ya dare to think ye be my match? Let me show ya what a fool ye be!¡± He put his sword away as a great amount of mana gathered around him. So much so that even Meri noticed it and backed up to stand by my side.


    Seeing my opponent was focused on whatever he was doing, I spared a quick glance towards Malik. His opponent looked stronger and far more cunning than ours. Maybe just a bit weaker than Malik in a fair fight, but this was hardly fair. Malik was being forced into a corner, both figuratively and literally. He had taken a few injuries and had managed to survive with a dagger against an opponent with both a sword and armor, but time was running out. Once he was forced into a corner he would have no way to dodge.


    I wanted to help, but I couldn''t dare turn my back on this man. Meri, after seeing the situation Malik was in, acted rashly. She closed with our opponent, trying to end the fight. The man''s calm cool smile with Meri approaching didn''t sit well with me. It hit me. He wanted her to attack. He stood there unmoving as he watched her get ever closer. Looking more pleased with each step she took.


    My instincts screamed at me as I yelled. ¡°MERI, STEP BACK!¡± This was one of the few times I was thankful for her instilled discipline. She immediately did as instructed. Like a bolt of lightning, a sword came down through the ceiling. Hitting the floor in the exact spot Meri would have been had her charge continued.


    The man let out a short laugh before taunting us. ¡°What? Why don''t you try to attack me again you filthy lil beastkin?¡± He moved towards us slower than a tortoise. The way he walked had become odd. Like a man who moved while balancing many spinning plates on his head and hands. A strained look of concentration was clear to see.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Meri looked to me. ¡°What''s going on? Where did the sword come from?¡± She stood between the two of us. Appearing ready to dive back in, but kept an eye towards the roof. Her normal hesitation had disappeared just like last time. The fox blood in her veins causing her to become bold in the heat of battle. I put my hand on her shoulder to calm her. I didn''t want her to do anything before I knew what was going on.


    I was only just learning about magic in this world, but I had vast theories from the many fantasy stories I¡¯ve read over the years. Combining that with what i knew of this world, I tried piece everything together.  All magic had a nature and had to follow certain rules and exist within its specified limits. Everything this world had shown me so far led me to believe that was the case. I just had to figure out how his spell worked. Then I could deal with it.


    We looked at the blade stuck into the ground. It soon faded away just like the throwing star. I recalled reading in one of the Armingtage books that only magically materialized things could do that. The only things you could make from magic that wouldn''t fade was elemental magic. I still hadn''t learned why. Perhaps because it existed in nature or was simpler in composition? That wasn''t something to be concerned with now. The blade faded, that means it was created with magic.


    Meri looked to me with a confused expression on her face. ¡°How did the sword fall from there? Don''t you need to be in direct contact with magic?¡± I''m glad to see she has been listening during our trips to the Magic Association.


    I didn''t know for sure. So I took a guess. ¡°It''s probably connected to him somehow. Maybe wires that are too thin to see from this distance. I think that''s what he''s concentrating on.¡±


    I was just shooting from the hip. So I continued to do so. ¡°It must have been a spell he learned after completing the dungeon. I didn''t see anything like it in the books the Magic Association showed us. Judging from the way he''s moving, I would say he''s trying to hold everything up around him.¡±


    Meri looked up, seeing nothing. ¡°There aren''t any blades.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°They''re probably just slightly above the roof and already fully formed. He pulls on his little string and down it comes on your head. If they weren''t fully formed already that would mean he''d need to create and launch them at the same time. I doubt someone like him can do that.¡± Meri looked up ready to dodge and expecting an attack. I gave her a reassuring smile.


    ¡°Don''t worry. If he could control them freely and send them anywhere he wanted we''d already be dead. How straight that blade came down the first time suggest his spell only works within a certain radius of himself . Not only that, the blade came straight down. He probably can''t have them come at us from a sharp angle. As long as we keep our distance I don''t think he can attack.¡±


    The short man stood stock-still. Gawking stupidly in disbelief . ¡°How da hell did ya figure that out?¡±


    ¡°I wasn''t sure until now you fucking moron.¡± I guess in this world my special power is that I''m a hardcore fantasy nerd. After reading over one thousand books it was doubtful I would see anything that took me by surprise. As I learned more about this world, I could refine my knowledge. That was my gift. Well that and the gift of pissing people off.


    He spat on the floor, unable to fight back in a war of words. ¡°It don''t matter none anyway. Even if ya know how it works, ya still can''t beat this here Samwell. I''m gonna cut off ya wee pecker and shove it in ya smart mouth before I¡¯m done with ye.¡± He was right. I couldn''t beat him. If I tried to attack I would just get myself killed.


    I whispered to Meri. ¡°I want you to get close to him, but not too close. Try to get a feel for how far out his spell reaches. I would do it myself, but honestly I''m not fast enough to dodge the attack. Sorry to ask you to do this, but there''s no other way.¡±


    She nodded, showing no hesitation or fear. Darting in and out towards him. Working her way ever closer. Each time a sword didn''t drop she went in a step further. The first sword came down approximately eight feet from his position. I needed at least one more attack from him to confirm my theory. A sword struck the ground were Meri had just been. With her expecting it, she was easily able to dodge. ¡°About seven feet.¡± I muttered to myself.


    He wasn''t clever enough to hide his range. He''d go for the first opening he saw, just like he did with June. I figured that his range couldn''t be any longer than ten feet at most. ¡°Meri, fall back.¡± She stopped what she was doing and came to my side. As long as we stayed about ten feet away he couldn''t do anything. From a safe distance I took the opportunity to close my eyes and focus my mana, turning my dagger red.


    My eyes shot open, intent on killing my target. ¡°Follow me!¡± I ran straight at the shorter man. When I was near the edge of his range I made a sharp cut and ran around him, Meri on my heel. He stood in shock as he watched us run around and away from him towards the taller man.


    ¡°Where the hell are ya going? Come back and fight ya damn cowards!¡± I ignored his pointless proclamation and charged towards the man fighting Malik, my dagger at the ready. He''d pinned him in the corner of the tavern and was looking to land the finishing blow. Seeing us coming, he backed away from the injured Malik and turned sideways towards us, attempting to keep his focus in both directions.


    The taller man pulled a small dagger from his waist. Using the sword to try to keep Malik at bay with one hand and the dagger to block mine with the other. He shouted at his subordinate. ¡°Do something you idiot!¡±


    I wasn''t going to give him the chance. Malik used his dagger to hold the sword back while my dagger cut into the taller man''s with the use of burning blade. With both hands occupied he was left wide open. Meri''s fox claw slashed him across the neck where there was little protection. His hands dropped the weapons and went around his throat in shock. He slumped to the floor, blood gushing from the wound as he choked to death on his own blood.


    Malik looked down at the dying opponent. Picking up the sword and deciding to let him helplessly bleed out. He looked to the shorter man who was afraid and confused by what just happened. Malik walked forward, stalking his prey. ¡°He''s the one who killed June. Move aside, he''s mine.¡±


    The nervous look in the short man''s eyes soon faded and turned to confidence as he jeered. ¡°What are ye gonna do? Ya can''t attack me while I have this spell!¡± Maddy ran through the door with a loud crash while holding two swords. She looked exhausted but ready to fight. Stopping dead in her tracks, she took in the sight before her, unsure of what to do. This situation was much different than the one she pictured.


    I yelled to her. ¡°Just stay there Maddy, let Malik handle this.¡± Malik either didn''t notice her or didn''t care. Not so much as sparing her a glance. He stood at the edge of the spell, somehow able to figure out where it was without me telling him. Could he have been observing the whole time while fighting for his life or was there a way he could detect magic? I wasn''t about to ask right now.


    An electric current covered his sword. The Lightning dancing around the blade. With a look of disgust Malik eyed the man up and down. ¡°What a cowardly spell you use. It suits your character well. Hiding behind it like the scared pathetic little vermin you are.¡± He swung his sword. Lightning flying off his blade in a crescent moon shape towards the man.


    Cutting him at the waist, the two halves of his body fell at the same time. Landing face up, screaming in horror in agony. His screams were cut short as the swords he''d been controlling above fell, impaling him in several places. Malik was disappointed by the result. He wanted the suffering to last.


    The cold and distant look behind Malik''s eyes vanished as soon as he heard a small moan behind the bar. June was laying on the ground, gravely wounded, but still drawing breath through gasp of pain. Malik shouted. ¡°Get a healer!¡±


    Maddy was already spent. Meri being the fastest one rushed out to bring the healer. We did all we could for June in the mean time, but the blood kept spilling out no matter how many pieces of cloth we used.


    June looked to Malik, mustering the best smile she could. ¡°The wounds too deep. Even I know that.¡± She placed her bloody hand softly on his face.


    ¡°The healer is coming. She will get you all fixed up.¡± Malik grabbed her hand and kissed it.


    June Smiled. ¡°She''s a small town healer. Even if she wasn''t, it''s too late.¡±


    Malik shook his head. Tears filling the corner of his eyes. ¡°Don''t say that. You''ll be fine.¡±


    June looked him in the eyes, hardly seemly to feel the pain anymore. ¡°You''re good looking when you clean yourself up, did you know that? These last few weeks have been some of the best I can remember. Even though you made me feel like a cradle robber.¡± She gave a small laugh which caused her to cough up blood.


    She pulled Malik''s hand towards her and kissed it. ¡°Don''t go back to the way you were. I remember the first day I saw you. Even then you were a drunken lecher that made advances on me. I always had a good sense about you. I knew you could be a good man if you applied yourself. I''m glad that you finally proved me right.¡± Malik couldn''t think of the right thing to say. So he held her hand tighter.


    ¡°Don''t disappoint me now. Remember, there are plenty of fine looking adventurers in the mother''s keep. I''ll not wait for you if you go back to your old ways.¡± She turned to look at me and Maddy. ¡°Help these kids out for me, will you? They seem like a good lot. And get yourself a woman your own age. I won''t hold it against you. A young man like you deserves a nice young lady. Not an old maid like me. Just remember, when we meet again I''m going steal you back.¡±


    Malik shook his head. ¡°You''re the one I want. Those young silly girls are nothing compared to you.¡±


    ¡°A smooth talker to the end eh? I Can''t say I hate that about you.¡± She smiled at him. Then her eyes went out of focus. A few gasped escaped her as her body finally went limp.


    Meri arrived with the healer. she went to see June but it was far too late. It was always going to be from the moment that sword slashed through her. Malik held on to her hand in silence. Looking down at her now peaceful face. After a while without saying a single word, he stood. He grabbed a half empty bottle of red wine. Pulling the cork out he drank directly from the bottle until there was nothing left.


    He tossed it on the ground and grabbed another. I nervously approached him. ¡°Malik, I''m so sorry. I-.¡± He grabbed me by the throat and pushed me against the wall. Lifting me into the air.


    ¡°It''s all your fault! They were looking for you three. If it wasn''t for you this would''ve never happened to her!¡± He pointed his sword towards me. I could see the debate raging in his mind on what to do. After a few anxious heart beats, his eye contact broke and he let me drop.


    He stood over me pointing his sword in my face. ¡°What the hell are you mixed up in? Tell me everything. If you lie to me, I swear to the mother I''ll cut you down.¡±

 Chapter 26

    The four of us walked in an uneasy silence in the early morning light. Myself on the far right with Malik on the far left, Meri and Maddy between us. With nothing else to distract me the last seven days flashed through my mind yet again.


    The life and death struggle during the fight. The death of June. The uneasy conversation we had back at the Inn. Under the weight of guilt and the very real threat of death we told Malik everything.  Well. everything except for me coming from another world. Maddy added in important bits of information when she felt appropriate while, as usual. Meri sat quietly.


    Malik''s face was an unreadable mask as he listened. For the first time since making his threat, he spoke. ¡°You shouldn''t have kept this from me. You knew powerful people were after you, and you got June involved. You put our lives in danger for your own selfish reasons, and now she''s dead.¡±


    I foolishly tried to find some justification for my actions. ¡°No matter where we went they would have hunted us. Someone would have been put in danger just by being in the same room with us. What were we suppose to do? Hide in a hole for the rest of our lives or turn ourselves over?¡± I saw the flash of anger in his eyes, and quickly back tracked. ¡°I''m sorry June is dead, I am. I didn''t know her as long as you, but she seemed like a wonderful woman. If I could-.¡±


    Malik didn''t care to listen to my apologies and regrets. ¡°You''re right, you didn''t know her. That''s why you didn''t mind putting her life in danger if you benefited! I''ve known her a long time. I''ve seen her give free food to vagabonds and help drunk women get home safely at night while sexual fisnds made threats warning her to mind her own business. Since I''ve come to this town I''ve seen her do one kind act after another. That''s why I loved her.¡±


    He shot me a deadly glare before continuing. ¡°I guess this time she tried to help the wrong person, didn''t she?¡± He looked about to strike me, but instead collapsed into a near by chair. He rubbed a the back of his hand against his eye. Preventing his tear from having enough time to form. ¡°The empire''s guards have already been sent for.  They''ll be here by midday tomorrow. I won''t even get to send her off on a pyre. Oddly enough, I may be the closest thing to family she has, and I can''t even be there.¡±


    His words didn''t make sense. Sure, he would need to answer some questions, but there was no reason that he couldn''t stay for the funeral. I stole a glance into his eyes trying to gauge his thought process, but nothing was made clear. Receiving no help, I opted for the direct approach. ¡°Why can''t you stay for the services?¡±


    He gave me a look as if I were an idiot. ¡°If I¡¯m going to avenge her then it would be foolish to give the empire information about myself. The first thing they''ll do if I stay is determine my identity with magic. Then they''ll take a written statement of my account of events. Even if I declare the Armingtage house guilty, nothing will come of it. All it will do is expose me. We''ll disappear and after a hefty bribe the empire will look the other way. A good relationship with the Armingtage house is too important to them to risk it over the lives of just four missing or dead commoners.¡±


    He gave a small shrug before continuing. ¡°Even if I don''t declare the Armingtage house guilty, they''ll still have an official record of my identity. Once I take my vengeance, with that in their hands it would make it nearly impossible to evade them. The empire is unlikely to do anything when a major house is attacked, that would set a bad precedent. They''ll look for whoever did it. Without an official record on file all they''ll have is hearsay and vague descriptions. Hopefully that''s all they''ll have at least.¡±


    Malik stood and headed towards the door, causing me to jump up in my chair as I stepped towards him. ¡°You don''t plan to go there now do you? You''d never even get past-¡±


    He interrupted me holding a hand up to call for silence. ¡°Don''t be stupid. Of course I don''t plan to go yet. I''ve been level nineteen for a while. I could''ve taken the test for level twenty whenever I wanted. I just didn''t see the point of taking the risk, but I have a reason now. I know full well that at my current ability getting revenge isn''t possible. I aim to correct that.


    I''m going to pack up my belongings and move on from this town. The Armingtage house will figure out what happened here by tomorrow night at the latest and have dozens of men combing the area. So I''m getting away from here. If you''re smart you''ll do the same. I know a little area down south that has a rank one, two and three dungeon in close proximity to each other. That''s where I''m heading. You can come along if you want. For now our interest are aligned. If I can use you as a distraction all the better.¡±


    While I felt sympathy for his plight, I had to admit I was thinking the same thing. If Malik wanted his revenge he could have it. It was clear that any relationship or goodwill we had built was certainly gone by this point. All we had was the grudging understanding that if either wanted to achieve our goals, we would be helpful to each other. Part of me considered that after Malik got revenge on Lord Armingtage, he may turn his sword on us. While a concern, I was confident that probably wasn''t the case. Probably.


    Realizing I had yet to respond, I gave a quick glance to Meri and Maddy. Meri betrayed nothing in her demeanor accept a willingness to go along with my choice. Maddy on the other hand clearly seemed disturbed by the situation. Helping me free my sister was one thing. Helping a man assassinate her father was an entirely different matter.


    While they weren''t on the best terms, i doubted she wanted him dead. Then again, as long as he lived she would never truly be free. Not to mention she saw the effects of her father''s orders first hand. She wasn''t naive. She knew the the power of the houses had to be demonstrated on the tip of a sword from time to time. However, this wasn''t some upstart encroaching on their territory or another house looking to steal their business away. This was an innocent barmaid.


    There wasn''t anything close to a justification. Even if the men acted out of turn and exceeded their authority to act, these were ultimately her father''s men. He had to share some responsibility. However, to place all the blame at his feet and go along with a plan that could condemn her own father to death was something she could easily stomach. Nor could she bring herself to defend his actions.


    I saw the struggle written on her face.  Before she said anything that might make matters worse I spoke. If he thought we planned to stand in his way, he wouldn''t let us leave this room alive. ¡°As you said, our interest are aligned. I see no reason to not use that to our advantage.¡±


    Malik nodded. ¡°In that case, I''ll meet you outside in fifteen minutes. I suggest you pack lite and take only what is needed. I''ll not slow the pace for you.¡± Without bothering to spare us a look back, he exited the room, closing the door voilently. As if it had done him wrong in a past life.


    Not even a moment after he exited the door Maddy turned on me. ¡°Bill, I agreed that I would help you get your sister back. No one said anything about killing my father!¡±


    I grabbed her by the shoulders and silently implored her to keep her voice down as I listened for footsteps by the door. I opened it to have a quick look outside just to be sure Malik was gone before closing it. ¡°We don''t need to kill him. That''s Malik''s agenda, not ours.¡± I paused for a moment trying to think of the right words to say. How do you tell someone that we would probably be better off with their father dead?


    As it turned out, I didn''t need to say a thing. My pause and attempt to gather my words spoke volumes. Maddy gazed at me, wanting to object, to curse me, to threaten me. Yet she didn''t. Doubt crept into her eyes and her mind. Her father hadn''t been good to her. Even at this very moment he plotted to take away her freedom and sell her off for the best price he could get. Part of her she hated him for it. The truth was that she wasn''t sure what she wanted.


    In any case, that would be something we could talk about later. I motioned to their traveling bags. ¡°We need to make ourselves scarce. I''m going to my room to pack. Leave behind anything you don''t need. Make sure to take your identification cards from the outpost. I don''t know If we''ll ever be able to use them again but we certainly don''t want them being found.


    With nothing else to say, I headed for my room to pack. This would be a tougher trek than the last one. Between my armor, magic books and clothes I had twice as much to carry. That was before buying anything we would need for the road. I put my two magic books together along with the fantasy book and wrapped them in a shirt before packing them away. An extra layer of protection to keep them dry if it rained.


    I didn''t have many possessions. It took me all of five minutes before I was ready. I left my room and stood at the foot of the stairs awaiting Maddy and Meri. I had to wait all but a few moments before they were finsihed.  After exiting the Inn for the last time I turned my head to my left to find Malik was marching towards the Inn. I gave Maddy one final look to make sure she wasn''t going to say anything. She gave the subtlest of nods to assure me that the subject wouldn''t be brought up. She knew as well as anyone Malik was not in the most reasonable state of mind at the moment.


    Seeing us all packed, he didn''t even bother to finsihing walking towards us. Instead he turned right as proceeded down the road heading south. We caught up and silently fell in behind him. Close enough to offer assistance if an ambush  occurred, but no closer. There was no reason not to give him the maximum amount of space we could.


    We continued to travel well past sunset, torches lighting our path as best they could while the thick woods blocked out the stars and moon above. Right as I was thinking of putting a stop to this pointlessly dangerous exercise, Malik stopped and for the first time spoke since he left the end.  "We''ll camp here".  I offered to keep watch the entire first night. I didn''t think I would get much sleep anyway knowing a seething Malik was only a few paces from me. Thoughts of him losing his temper and slitting my throat in my sleep worked much better than any cup of coffee.


    Over the next week of our travels things became more routine I was confident Malik wouldn''t spontaneously lash out at us, which allowed us to walk in formation. After the first night I saw the rage of mad vengeance leave his eyes and become replaced by a rage of cold vengeful determination. While I was not sure If he would kill us when the time came, I was confident he was in the state of mind to wait until our usefullness ran out. While the thought made me weary of the future it certainly was helpful in the present.


    We were so tired from the pace we kept that we didn''t do any physical training during our breaks. Instead we spent that time on reading lessons and magic training. By week''s end Meri was virtually literate. Malik still ltunred into the lessons but only from a distance. He couldn''t deny the knowledge was useful, but he refused to sit in front of us.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Maddy had started to get the hang of Weighted Sword starting to adapt a fighting style just for when the spell was activated. While using the spell she could attack at angles or from stances that could take an enemy by surprise. As I predicted may happen, she struggled when it came to learning ice Javelin. Part of that was most likely because a level two spell was harder to learn, another issue was that the concept was completely different from weighted sword.


    On the other hand, I was already starting to make some headway with Fire Sword. I was still having an issue mastering the more complex manipulation of mana, but at least I was able to figure out what I was doing wrong with enough experimentation. It was frustrating but I could tell it was  matter of time. I was fixing my issues one by one as I discovered them.  Each failure brought me closer, while each failure of Maddy''s only led to more frustration and confusion.


    Meri made limited progress with Wind Ripper. Since you needed to shoot arrows to practice the spell I could see how it would become a pain in the ass. Constantly walking back and forth between targets. Each arrow that broke meant more trips to the target and more delay''s between practice. As for the heal spell, She hasn''t even looked at the book yet. I saw her eying it earlier, eager to learn the spell. It was only my suggestion against it that stopped her


    After looking at the way Maddy was struggling I knew she would be much better off learning the level one spell first. Once she could actually control her mana consistently, then it may be worth trying to learn the heal spell. If she tried to jump right into that more complex spell without any foundation built up, it would only delay her progress further.


    As far as increasing our strength, this trip was turning out to be beneficial to us. The focus on magic was no doubt something we needed to do anyway. While gaining actual battle experience is important, it''s important to not get stuck into one single way of doing things either. We had already managed to pack what a normal adventurer would call months of dungeon battle experience into a very short period of time. Traveling allowed our bodies a needed rest.


    On the last day of our travels, I found Meri sitting alone beside a lake washing her hands furiously. As I walked over to her, I was surprised she didn''t hear me coming. That had never happened before. Clearly something was distracting her so much that even her superior she didn''t notice me. I stood next to her, trying to sound reassuring and comforting. I probably was failing at both. ¡°Hey Meri, what''s bothering you? Want to talk about it?¡±


    A slight jump accompanied a turn of her head.  Seeing it was only me, she calmed herself.  ¡°N-no thank you. Sorry for making you worry. I''ll do better not to cause you concerns in the future.¡± She quickly dried her hands on her pants as she looked away from my glance.


    ¡°Meri, if something is on your mind then you shouldn''t shoulder it alone. Please don''t think you are being a bother by talking about it.¡± While we had slowly been pulling her out of her shell inch by inch, she was still hesitant to share even her minor burdens. Somewhere it was ingrained in her mind that if she stopped being useful or hindered us that she would have no worth and be cast aside. Had I been deluding myself about the amount of progress she has made?


    Perhaps, but she was clearly making progress. However slow and tedious it may be. I wanted to give her the chance to express herself, but after realizing she wouldn''t do it voluntarily, I decided to be more proactive. Seeing how she was desperately washing her hands didn''t make it hard to guess what was on her mind. ¡°We never talked about that man you killed right? A lot was going on at the time and we never got the chance to discuss it.¡±


    Meri straitened up slightly. It looks like I hit the mark. She paused for a moment. Trying find the words she thought would please me. ¡°It was this ones duty. It will be done as many times as is required to keep you and Meri safe. Please forgive my foolishness.¡±


    While sitting quietly beside her, I searched for the right words to say. A delicate matter like this should have been handled by someone else. I took a deep breath and spoke. ¡°There''s nothing wrong with feeling bad about killing someone. It''s a horrible thing. It doesn''t matter if it''s justified or not. Before coming to this world I''ve never so much as been in a fight. Now in the past month, I''ve killed two people.¡±


    Meri paused for a long moment after that before speaking. ¡°If I may ask, what do you do to not feel like it has tainted you in some way?¡±


    While I said there is nothing wrong with feeling bad about killing someone. There was probably something wrong with not feeling bad about it. At least a little bit bad. Susan and my father both deserved what they got, but I should feel something, right? A general feeling of guilt or a loss of innocence. Yet I felt nothing. Seeing the way Meri was acting, I hadn''t stopped to realize how abnormal that may be. The initial shock when both actions were carried out was there, but in the last few weeks I had barely spared them a thought.


    That was something to ponder about later. For now I had to think of how a more normal person might respond to Meri''s question. So I did the only thing I could. I told her what I thought she needed to hear. ¡°Killing people is never a good thing. It causes a pain deep inside of you. Even if you know you did the right thing, it still hurts. There''s nothing wrong with feeling that way. I feel the same way too you know.


    I keep telling myself over and over again that it was their bad choices that led to their deaths. Not mine. You weren''t the reason that man died. His choices and actions brought him to that end. He forced you to choose between his unworthy life or ours. I''m happy that you did what you did. It saved all of our lives. Never for a second have I thought of you as anything but a good person. Your actions don''t change that. They enhance it. You risked your life again for ours. I''m sorry it pains you so, but I want you to know that I''m grateful for what you did.¡±


    Hearing that cheered her up slightly. I wish I could have given her a more honest heart felt answer to her question. She deserved that instead of this. I felt like crap lying to her when I probably should have felt that way about killing Susan and my father.  Well, I couldn''t help that. Sorry, not sorry.


    It may have been worth more examination, but frankly it just wasn''t that important when it came to the things I had to worry about right now.  When all this is behind me maybe some day I''ll lay on a nice soft couch and work through my feelings with someone charging an exorbitant amount of money. For now I have a sister to save and two other ladies to keep safe while I try to keep a lot of other people from killing us.  One of them who may be no more than a short walk away. Speaking of that.  It was time to get back.


    Meri and myself joined the others on the road as our break ened. Maddy reading her spell book and Malik sharpening his sword. There was no acknowledgment from Malik, but Maddy gave us both a small nod before putting her book away. We continued down the road for a couple more hours until mid afternoon.


    It took a hair under seven days, but now we were finally reached our objective. Malik would be going on ahead  to the next town down the road. That town was in close proximity to a rank two and rank three dungeon. All we had to do was go down the road a few more hours. I thought of asking him about us coming along, but I recalled an odd  fact I read about. No one could enter a higher ranked dungeon unless you passed the test of the lower ranked dungeon.


    No one knew exactly why it worked that way but it made sense. If you can just bring random people into a high ranking dungeon there was nothing to keep the truly strong from subduing monsters only for the weak to land the final blow and claim the expereince. In a high enough ranked dungeon it was probably possible for a person to reach level nine in a single kill.


    There may be nothing keeping people from hiring guards to take them into an appropriately ranked dungeon to do the same, but at least it would be a hassle. It was possible to cheat up to level nine, but no one could take the test for you. A final barrier that stopped people from gaming the system.  As if someone intentionally designed the world with the fail safe in mind


    The more I lived in this world the more I felt that may be the case. I wasn''t much for religion. I wouldn''t say I didn''t believe there was a god. I just decided it wasn''t provable either way. If one did exist, I doubted a man on TV asking for money while flying around on his private jet had anything of importance to tell me.


    It was best to worry about things that could be objectively proven. Like how Mistborn is one of the most underrated fantasies series of all time, and that those Wheel of Time fans needed to come to terms with the mediocrity of their sacred text. If you''re going to spend your time reading and crowing about that a series that long at least give me Malazan Empire. Those fans tend to be a silent but proud people.


    In any case, the point still stands. It could be things worked that way here ''just because'', but the more I learned about this world the more unlikely that seemed. Maybe there was more to this ''mother'' than I previously gave credit for. I still didn''t really believe she was some kind of all powerful goddess, but something about this place had been tinkered with by someone.


    I made a mental note of it and put it aside. While worth looking into there was nothing I could do about it with the information I had. Besides I had other things to focus on. After seeing Malik off we turned our attention to this small town. There was still a few hours of light left and even after our journey we felt strong and invigorated. Eager to test out how far our magic advanced.


    Not only that, the Armingtage guards would sweep the whole area. It was unlikely they would come all the way out here first, but I was confident once they searched the closer dungeons they would make there way  outward. No doubt they had long ago managed to piece together what happened. Now that they knew for a fact that we were going into dungeons, hiding and running would only become harder.


    Seeing no point in wasting time, we quickly secured a room to drop off our things and bought supplies. This time there would be no babysitter. We were on our own. I had never been the the second or third floors of a level one dungeon so I had no idea how much of a difference there may be. Well, there was only one way to find out.


    After all the preparations were in place, we lit our torches and headed down into the dungeon fully armored. I tried to note any difference with how this and the otherdungeon looked. Honestly I was surprised with how similar they were. Upon entering the first floor the only thing I found odd was the minor green tinge of the rock on the cave wall as far as appearances. The monsters we fought looked slightly different but were equally weak.


    We conserved our strength. The original plan may have been to each beat the floor two boss first, but we were all anxious to see the third floor. If things went well on the second floor then we may as well push to the end. We cleared the first floor out with relative ease. We had done this so many times that it had become routine.


    When it was time to fight the first floor boss Maddy demanded the honor. She had greatly improved her weighted sword and wanted something to test it on. She would have a difficult task this time. A Devil Bear stood before her. Its weight and size would make it one of the opponents most able to deal with the weighted sword. At the same time it was both a good and bad development.


    Maddy stepped forward taking her stance, while Meri and I moved back against the cave wall. Ready to jump in if needed. The Devil Bear charged her with a ferocious roar. Looking upon the scene I could already predict what would happen. Maddy would wait until the Devil Bear charged close to her, then she would move to the side to counter. With all that weigh behind it, the Devil Bear would find it difficult to change directions.


    All of our fights up to this point had taught us how to quickly evaluate and attack different opponents. For the large ones use your quickness, for the quick ones use your strength, for ones that stood still attack from a distance, and for the ones that charged in use the strength of their charge against them. It had all become second nature. I knew how Maddy would react. What I didn''t know was how much damage she would be able to inflict on the first strike. That would dictate how the rest of the fight progressed.


    When only five paces between them, Maddy jumped to the side. Aiming for the arm which landed on the ground in  before her. A smart choice. That didn''t surprise me. What did surprise me was that the sword nearly cut through the entire arm around where the wrist on a human would be. While technically still attached, it may as well have been severed for all the good it would be now.


    She managed to land a decisive with the first attack. Even if the Devil Bear changed tactics, it was only a matter of time. Carefully dancing just out of it''s range, Maddy lunged in, only to pull back before the Devil Bear could turn on her. As soon as she disabled a second limb the weight of the Devil Bear made any kind of movement nearly impossible. She ended the monster soon after that.


    [Dungeon Floor 1 Cleared. Floor 2 is now open]


    it was Time to move to the second level. Maddy got to show off. Now it was my turn.

 Chapter 27

    The second floor wasn''t much different from the first. There were monsters we hadn''t seen before but have heard of. The Spiderlings and Demon Lizards were stronger than the monsters we faced before, but it wasn''t too large of a jump in difficulty. When fighting the lizards you had to be weary of their tongues which could shoot out quickly. As for the Spiderlings, they left sticky webbing all over the floor which robbed you of your movement. While troublesome to deal with, they weren''t overbearing.


    Once we''d gotten use to the new attacks, they weren''t problem except for when in large groups. We conserved our mana in preparation for the fight with the boss of this floor. The size of the second floor wasn''t much larger. The overall population of monsters increased by about half when compared to the first floor as far as I could figure. It was a credit to all of our work up to this point that none of us were close to running out of stamina.


    We soon reached the lair of the second floor boss. Standing behind the cave wall, we took turns spying on the opponent. It was a monster we had yet to encounter. A large, green, disgusting, smelly Orc. To say it smelled was an understatement. The stench could even be considered a special attack of some kind, foul as it was. Why did it smell so bad in the first place? Didn''t all these monsters just pop into existence when we entered? If that was true and it smelled this bad after an hour, what if it lived for a full day?


    Then again, I was assuming monsters in these dungeon popped into existence. If not, that would lead to a lot of hard questions. Did this world have doors to multiple dungeon dimensions that just kept replenishing themselves? Did they live here forever waiting for us without doing anything? Even if they don''t eat or drink, entropy should still matter right?


    Woah Bill. Too much thinking! Not enough killing monsters. Puzzle out questions you''ll never get an answer to on your own time. As we agreed, they allowed me to face the Orc alone. I could see that they were nervous by the prospect. Both looked ready to jump in at a moments notice. I can''t say the feeling of apprehension wasn''t mutual. This was the first time any of us faced a second floor boss. I had no idea what to expect.


    I closed my eyes as U stood behind the wall, focusing my mana. With the spell was activated, I immediately turned the corner and charged the Orc. The beast stood over seven feet tall and appeared to be composed entirely of bulging muscle. If I had to guess, I would say it was around five hundred pounds. It carried a large club that looked like it weighed as much as I did in as ingle hand. If I was hit by it, then best case scenario I would be down for the count.


    As I got closer, the Orc finally turned its attention on me. I stopped running at it once I was a mere ten paces away. Even with the gap, when you consider its long arm and weapon, I was only a few feet out of its range. While I didn''t want to waste my mana I couldn''t rush in. I needed to feel out my new opponent. Clearly blocking its massive club wasn''t an option. I would need to dodge and figure out the Orc''s attack pattern and then exploit it.


    It yelled out in a rage, taking a few steps towards me and brought the club down upon the spot where I had just stood. It seemed to move and act like a stereotypical Orc. By that I mean stupidly and clumsily. It couldn''t have telegraphed its attack any more if it wanted to. I was able to easily side step and back away gaining the same distance before the attack hit the ground. So far the information I was getting matched the hypothesis I was working off of. Large and powerful but slow and crude.


    I let it attack a few more times and watched carefully as each one came. It was always the same attack. Once I finally moved in close who knew what it would do though? I just needed to be careful when I closed. I avoided the weapon while staying clear of its free hand. If it managed to grab me that would mean my death. As the weapon came down yet again, I finaly stepped towards my foe, I cutting him across the side of his stomach and quickly backing up.


    A sideways swing came at me. By the time it arrived I was already out of range. The monster looked at me as if I were an annoying fly it couldn''t swat. It came at me again with the over head attack. I did the same thing as before. This time when a swing came from the side, I predicted it. Ducking under the swing and cutting him at the knee while backing away.


    While much thicker than the Devil Goat it had a less tough body. The muscles were bulging but not overly dense. That was a good thing. If the muscles and skin were as hard to cut through as a Devil Goat there was no chance I would be able to kill it before my mana ran out.


    Dodge, slip, step in, step out.


    I repeated the process over and over landing more attacks. Luckily for me, by this point the Orc was in such a fit of rage it couldn''t help but continuously attack me with one swing of its club after another in quick succession. Well, as quick as it could. I realized that a thousand small cuts would take too long to kill it, so I decided to aim for the same spots again and again. Focusing on the right knee and the right elbow which I hit with my third attack.


    I was confident I could dodge all these attacks, but having to constantly dance on the knife''s edge was taking a toll on me. As black blood spilled out of the Orc I was careful not to lose my footing on it. Even as I knew the attacks were coming I kept having to dodge them by mere inches if I wanted to get close enough to counter. This was the kind of opponent that forced you to get into its range over and over.


    While perhaps less physically demanding than the Devil Goat fight. at least that offered the chance at a quick win if you landed a perfect strike. For this opponent there was no way to avoid a longer drawn out fight where I narrowly had to escape death repeatedly.


    It felt akin to walking a thick balancing beam over a large distance with jagged rocks one hundred feet below. You know you can do it if you just stayed calm, but step after step doubt creeps into your mind. You lament at how long the path distance seems. Is the beam getting thinner or is that my imagination? Did I just feel a small gust of wind on my back? Is that a spot of water on the beam? Now I need to step over it and change the entire rhythm I had build up.


    I continued fighting the Orc. Each pass of its mighty club that came at me caused a slight gust of air at my face as it barely missed. Each drop of blood spilled was a new variable. As the position changed I searched the floor for a pebble or dip that would cost me my life. My mana was now running low. I wanted to finish this before it ran out, but I simply couldn''t afford to rush.


    Just as I considered saving my mana and fighting without my burning blade, one final cut to the knee connected. The Orc turned on me to counter attack but the weight and pressure its large frame caused its heavily injured knee to buck. It fell face first on to the ground. Unable to maintain its balance with the large club it held. I dove in seeing my chance to finish it, aiming for the back of the neck.


    One chop. Two chops. Three chops.


    In a few moments, it was all over. I deactivated my burning blade and caught my breath. I needed to master this spell so I could keep it activated longer and cut deeper. I cleaned off my sword on the Orc and walked to Meri and Maddy. Sadly the Orc had nothing we could sell. At least the experience and the fact that I knew I could beat a second floor boss made it worth while.


    [Dungeon Floor 2 is Cleared. Floor 3 is now open]


    The door appeared next to where the Orc lay. After taking a rest we had a discussion on if we wanted to proceed to floor three. This floor was a bit more challenging than the last one but not too much more. If the next floor made a comparable leap in difficulty we were confident we''d be fine. As for the third floor boss, it might be impossible to defeat it alone, but there should be no reason to believe the three of us couldn''t do it together if it came to that.


    The decision was unanimous. By that I meant Maddy and I agreed and Meri went along with our decision. Even while she did that, I was getting use to reading her face and facial cues. I could tell that she was curious to see what the third floor would be like and didn''t consider it likely that we would meet anything the three of us couldn''t deal with. Not only that, she knew it would be her turn to fight next. The tiniest bit of excitement cam to her face at the prospect. We went through the door and continued on to the third and final floor.


    A large open cavern was there to meet us with only a single tunnel on the opposite side of where we entered. Inside the cavern stood an enormous group of various monsters. We would have no choice but to face them all at the same time. We started our attack even before all of them noticed us.


    Meri fired arrow after arrow as dozens of monsters began their charge. If I had time to count I would estimate we had about fifty opponents to deal with. I realized then that we may have underestimated the difficulty of this floor. That or we got dealt a bad hand.


    Fortunately, we already discussed what we would do if such a situation arose. We didn''t plan to do it without Malik, but there was no choice but to stick to the plan we made. Maddy activated her weighted sword while I made sure nothing could sneak up behind us or to the sides. After the spell was ready Maddy and I charged towards into the group of monsters that was the closest to us. At the same time, Meri focused her arrows on the next closest group to us.


    We cut down everything in our path and quickly fell back towards Meri and dealt with the group that was the next closest. We repeated the process to try to lower the numbers while they were still spread out and closing on us. We made our way back to Meri as we intercepted more opponents. If they were intelligent they could have attacked us all at once. We would have been overwhelmed easily. Thankfully these low level monsters didn''t have that kind of thought process.


    Only the floor bosses seemed to do anything close to thinking. These low level beast charged recklessly. If they had any thoughts at all, it was only of bloodshed and murder. With each group Maddy and I faced we dropped the number of the horde down two or three at a time before moving on to the next group. We were half way back to where we left Meri when I realized she appeared at my side, short sword in hand.


    Had she already loosed the fifteen arrows she had left? With her short sword in hand and the fox claw ready to attack in her other hand there was nothing to do but work as a group side by side. We already made a large dent in the horde by this point, but were forced to keep retreating towards the wall. After each encounter I looked over my shoulder to see just how much distance we had left to give.


    Twenty feet soon turned into fifteen. Fifteen feet soon turned into ten. The number of the horde was dwindling, but it seemed unlikely we would finish enough of them off before our time ran out. It would be impossible to block or dodge three or more on coming attacks with no where to move. If we only had 10 more feet to fall back to I think we could make it out of this okay. Sadly, we didn''t have any more ground to run to.


    There was only one option left. I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it right before coming into the dungeon today. I hadn''t successfully activated the spell yet, but it was just like a word stuck on the tip of your tongue. Something you almost knew but it hanged tantalizingly out of your reach as your finger tips knocked it away as you tried to grasp it. The idea was close enough to Burning Blade that I felt I should have learned it by now, yet there was some part of Fire Sword that eluded me.


    This was no time to have doubts. I retreated until my back hit the wall. ¡°Hold out as long as you can. I''m going to use my new spell!¡± I tried to sound confident. I closed my eyes and focused the little mana I had left. If I failed to activate it on this attempt I wouldn''t have enough mana left for a second try. Not that we had time for a second attempt in any case. Ignoring the clashing of steel that drew ever closer, I trusted them to keep me safe and focused all my mind on the task at hand.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    I made a desperate mental push to finally achieve what had eluded me for over a week. My focus was as strong as Iron. I gathered the mana and forged it to my will. Pushing past all barriers in my path that threatened to make my spell fail. When I felt something was off, or that it was getting out of control I ignored the feeling and pushed forward even harder. Screw it. If I blew us all up in a ball of fire we would be just as dead.


    I felt my hands burning as the hot steel and gripped my sword even tighter through the pain. Gritting my teeth I used all my focus to force the flames messily around the blade. I opened my eyes. Ignoring the pain in hands, my mind and mouth both screamed out the same words at the same time. ¡°Get down!¡±


    The horde was only a few feet from the wall and stacked closely together. There was no time to think. I swung my sword in a wide arc at chest level. Maddy and Meri barely managed to get down a moment before the steel and flames sailed over their heads. After finishing my swing, I couldn''t hold on any longer. I dropped my sword and fell to my knees in pain. My hands mostly red but also generally discolored with swollen fleshly bumps all over them.


    I looked up expecting to see my on coming death. Instead, the horde was ablaze and writhing wildly in the flames. Maddy and Meri quickly got back to their feet and cut down the disorganized horde. I tried to grab my blade to help but even the slightest touch was pure agony. I put the back of my hand against the metal just to check if it was my hands or the grip. As I expected, the grip was cool to the touch.


    After finishing the horde, Meri and Maddy came to check on me. Still kneeling pitifully on the floor cradling my hands. Maddy took out our last water skin and poured everything that was left over my hands. The sweet relief was welcomed but only temporary as once the water stopped the burning sensation returned. Though less intense. Not trusting my hands to hold the skin I allowed her to pour the last remaining drops into my mouth.


    I used my forearm to whip the tears of pain from my face. The ladies were kind enough to pretend not to notice. Without saying a word, Meri picked up my sword and carefully slid it back into my sheath. The look in her eyes actually seemed more pained than mine. I could tell she felt as if she had failed us again. I gave her a reassuring smile as a pat on the back was clearly not an option right now. She knew what I meant, and some things were better left unsaid.


    For now there was nothing that could be done about my hands until I saw a healer. I told myself if need be I could still gut my way through it and use my sword if we were in a pinch, but I soon learned that wasn''t the case. The bumps on my hand and fingers only got bigger as time went on. Closing my hands firmly would be tricky. Not to mention fine motor skills would be impossible.


    Even if I found a way to completely block out the pain, swining a sword with these hands would likely end with losing my grip and sending it flying in a random direction, which may or may not be near Meri or Maddy. I had no choice but to accept for now there was nothing I could do to help with the fighting. We emptied the room of everything valuable and took a well deserved break.


    I could tell Maddy wanted to ask about my level two spell, but with my burnt hands she found the timing inappropriate. It really couldn''t be called a successful first usage in the first place. On the other hand I had to admit I learned a lot from it. I believe that after being healed the next time I tried to activate the spell I would be on the verge of doing it correctly. I waited for the acknowledgment that I had learned Fire Sword to pop up, but it never came. I guess even the system judged that as a failure.


    At least the result wasn''t bad. The three of us were still alive. As far as coming back to the third floor of a dungeon again, I wasn''t so sure about that. It could have been we got an incredibly unlucky set up with having to deal with so many monsters at once. It may well have been every monster in this dungeon save for the floor boss. I eyed the suspicious cave entrance across from us.


    In any case, tomorrow I would worry about that. If I can heal and properly learn the Fire Sword in the morning then even if we find ourselves in the same situation it will work out just fine. If not, we would probably have to stick to the first two floors until I learned it. After some time passed we stood. The girls were anxious to get out of here and get me back to healer. I can''t say I wasn''t either too. While I didn''t want to rush, we had used the last of the water on my hands and our torches wouldn''t last forever either.


    We needed to get moving sooner rather than later. We headed to the only cave entrance there was and made our way down in.. Maddy and Meri both holding weapons while I, under my own instructions, I had a torch tied off to my arm. It looked rather silly, but it made me a little more useful than I would''ve been otherwise. At least now they would be free to fight. There were no side entrances in this long cave. It simply went in one straight path towards our destination. It was rather ominous to be honest.


    It seemed my hunch was right. Every other monster in this dungeon besides the floor boss was in that room and now dead. We finally came to the end of the cave and saw what would be the final boss of this Dungeon. Meri took the lead as it was her turn to fight, and a fitting opponent it would be. I have seen this one in a book before. The Red Devil Rabbit. While not particularly intimidating to look at, only a fool would let down their guard down against it. It stood at the peak of the all demon rabbits.


    While it weighed a mere forty pouds, its teeth and claws could cut sharper than razors blades. However, that is not what made this opponent dangerous. What made this particular beast scary is how quickly it could move, or so i read.. Tne of the quickest monster you would have to face before the high tier dungeons. It could move almost as fast as a Devil Goat in a straight line, but the instant change of direction and acceleration could easily overwhelm even multiple opponents.


    What the Orc was in power this Rabbit was to speed. Meri put her short sword away and opened her hands exposing her fox claws to the rabbit. The short sword wasn''t her ideal weapon in the first place and would only slow down her attacks. Maddy and I stood off to the side, putting our backs against the cave. She stood slightly in front of me with her sword pointed outwards and ready to block an oncoming attack. This was truly an opponent Meri was best suited to handle.


    The Rabbit launched a charge at Meri pointing its long sharp red horns at her core. Blood lust filled Meri''s eyes as she looked over her prey. The anger and frustration she felt over my injuries spurring her into that predator head space. Not to mention, she had not fully come down from the fighting she''d done in the cavern. It was for the best that her head was into this fight instantly. It needed to be.


    Right before they clashed, the Rabbit quickly darted to the side. Meri followed not even a heart beat behind, but it was already well out of her range. She ran toward it trying to catch up, but the distance only increased. It was the first time I''ve ever seen Meri lose in a contest of quickness. The Red Devil Rabbit circled around and closed in on her with an irregular pattern. Meri who was forced to back up unable to predict and match its movements.


    She barely dodged and attack and slashed at empty air as it dashed away. She was always behind the pace of this opponent. Maddy and I watched the fight closely but were unable to do anything. Even if Maddy and I could both join in, we''d be more likely to get in her way than help. For humans like us, fighting in the open against such a opponet was impossible. We would need to fight near a wall and play defense until a chance presented itself. At least at our current levels.


    Trying to think of something I could do to help, It was Maddy who was the first to yell out to Meri. ¡°Some of its jumps are bigger than others. Back away and try to get it to take a big leap towards you. When its in the air it can''t dodge.¡± Looking at the fight I realized she was absolutely correct. Chasing the rabbit only caused it to hop away or take small zig zag hops to the side. pursuit was pointless and would only exhaust you. If on the other hand you could tempt it into coming at you in a big jump it would be defenseless.


    Meri immediately did as Maddy suggested. Attack while retreating, running backwards faster and faster causing the rabbit to move faster to close the distance and take longer jumps. Meri craftily made it use to jumps of that distance and then forced it to take even longer ones by creating even more space with her retreats. She was now moving backwards as fast as she could. She faked another giant leap backwards to tempt the rabbit.


    The rabbit in response took a large leap towards her. Meri quickly charged towards the rabbit with all the force and speed she could muster. Seeing what was happening, the rabbit panicked in midair. The reaction speed of it was beyond amazing. It reached out its leg for any purchase or footing, but found none. Instead it only was able to twist around in the air as if trying to swim away from the coming onslaught. It may have thought it found a reprieve as its foot finally felt ground beneath it. By then it was too late..


    The foxclaw came down.. The back legs carried out the last command sent to them and jumped away, leaving the front half of the rabbit behind. Meri delivered the final blow to the head to end the high pitched and devilish squealing. The back legs continued to twitch for some time after as if still trying to run away. Meri collapsed on the floor as she caught her breath. I''ve never seen her so worn out. Then again, I have never seen her keep up that speed for that long. A box popped up in front of us.


    [Rank 1 Dungeon Cleared. Dungeon Test unlocked]


    I remembered that twenty five days ago I promised Malik that I would complete the first test in a month. For the first time after making that boast, I finally had the chance to back up my words in front of me. Of course I wasn''t about to take it now. Still, the milestone of what we had just accomplished wasn''t lost on me. Maddy and even Meri after seeing the option pop up had a smile on their faces. We had cleared a rank one dungeon all by ourselves.


    There was no point in discussing the test.. We all knew what the answer would be. We quickly gathered all of our items and exited through the other door. After making our way back to town we split up to get everything we wanted done as it was getting late. I went back to our Inn to put ina food order. Maddy took the sack of monster parts to exchange for money and Meri went to find a healer and bring them back to the Inn.


    We were quickly parted and quickly reuinted at the Inn. The healer didn''t seem so pleased to be called out this late. I''d probably need to pay him extra, but at this point I didn''t care. You don''t want an unhappy healer patching you up. While he was more expensive than the last one he was also better than her. My hands were no longer in pain by the time he finish beside dull ache. His orders were a good night''s sleep and see him in the morning if the swelling didn''t fully go down.


    Since we had just left the dungeon and Meri had been through a difficult series of battles her usually shyness had yet to resurface. She still acted reserved, but it was nice to see this side of her again. I was sad to know it wouldn''t last long as the years of rigorous training she had been through slowly chipped away at her adrenaline high. I couldn''t help but chuckle when she ordered an extra helping of rabbit stew. Maddy and I followed her lead for good measure. She gave one of her rare grins in that moment. It was subtle and frail, but it was there.


    This being the first time Maddy had seen Meri act so bold I found she came on a little too strong and pushed too hard for more. I couldn''t bring myself to tell her to tone it down. Besides, it might do Meri good to be pushed like this a bit. When we started this journey the only connection Maddy and Meri had to each other was myself. They got along but you couldn''t truly call them friends. Watching them now I was pleased to see that such a tight bond had formed.


    In celebration of our first successful trip through an entire dungeon Maddy ordered us a couple goblets of wine each. Meri had one but refrained from the other. I decided it wouldn''t hurt to have both of mine, but I kept out a weary out for anything that seemed out of place while doing so. All of us getting drunk could lead to a bad situation and two was the most I could have and keep my wits about me.


    Maddy complained about us being party poopers and quickly down the one Meri declined to drink and with the two she ordered for herself. I was worried she might reach for a fourth one but she was able to excise enough judgment not to. I couldn''t blame her for wanting to indulge. She was a woman who was forced into the spot light at a young age. Commanded to act properly at all times and do her duty. The minor games she played with people and jokes she had at their expense were the closest she could come to cutting loose in her life before we left.


    Unlike Meri whose instinct to do reach for those things was completely beaten out of her by force at an early age, Meri still had the urge but not the chance. As odd as that may sound, in certain ways it made her circumstances were more depressing. All that being said, I couldn''t berate her for one night of letting loose. She had been through so much and deserved it. I would happy see Meri do the same, but she needed to get to the point she would allow that of herself.


    With our celebrating and merry making done, we retired up to our rooms for the night. I watch Meri and Maddy enter. Maddy still being a bit unsteady on her feet, but I doubted she would feel sick. I reminded Meri to lock the door and waited to hear the bolt close before heading into my own. Before entering, I took one last suspicious look over the crowd. Trying to spy anyone who seemed out of place or overly interested in us.


    I promised myself I would never drop my guard again. After what happened to June, and I planned on keeping that promise. I wanted to practice my magic before going to bed, but with so little mana and feeling exhausted, I decided to take the healers advice and have a nice long rest.


    I woke some hours later to a soft knock on the door. Picking up the dagger I now kept on me at all times, I slowly walked over without making a sound. Opening the door in a flourish with dagger at the ready, I saw Maddy standing there. Alone in a thin simple white clothing holding a candle. The flame in the otherwise dark Inn caused her smooth skin to give off a sexy glow.


    A hint of her bosom showed slightly through the thin white fabric. The first time I had a chance to see it since the ball. It brought back the memory of the feeling of having her pressing against me as we danced. As well as her teasing and indecent proposal when she offered to set me up with one of her cute friends away from prying eyes.. I put the knife down at my side. I was about to ask her if something was wrong or maybe she was in fact feeling sick from too much drinking.


    Before I could say anything she softly asked. ¡°May I come in? I want to talk with you about something.¡± I shook my head slightly to clear the cobwebs out. Before stepping aside to let her in.


    Remember Bill, you don''t want any unneeded drama!