《My Symbiotic Revenge System》 Episode 1.1 - Unfamiliar Home Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a hero. Ever since the day the dungeons appeared, I wanted to be one of the blessed, fighting alongside my colleagues with the power bestowed to me by the Paragon. The Paragon will bless me any day now, I thought, as I graduated from the fighter¡¯s college with top marks. Any moment now, I thought, as I risked my life for the heroes as an unblessed mercenary, surviving by the skin of my teeth time and time again. Any moment, I thought as I bled out on the dungeon floor. I heard the death throes of the dungeon boss echo through the stone hall as my hero clients finished it off with a burst of blessed light. I heard one run by me. I hoped it was the healer. There was a whoosh of a sword being unsheathed, then a thud as a Lesser Demon was finished off. The hero stopped, then leaned over to look at me, giving me a once-over with a blank expression on his face. I squinted at him through my shock-induced blurry vision. It wasn¡¯t the healer. It was the fighter, Eustice. He started to walk away. ¡°Hey!¡± I rasped. ¡°I¡¯m still alive!¡± He stopped and looked back at me. ¡°I¡¯m only missing an arm¡­I think¡­¡± I breathed heavily as I tried to assess myself. I was eighty percent certain I was only missing an arm, severed just below the shoulder. ¡°Get the healer.¡± He stared at me again. I had a bad feeling about him when I first met the party. He seemed like a spoiled rich kid; his armor was too shiny and his hands were too soft. He took a knee beside me. ¡°Garreth. That¡¯s your name, right?¡± ¡°Get. The. Healer.¡± ¡°Garreth. I¡¯m gonna be honest with you. You¡¯re in shock. We¡¯re not lugging you all the way back to the entrance.¡± I stared at him, mouth agape. ¡°Plus, then we¡¯d have to split the loot with you.¡± He tapped his forehead. ¡°I read the fine print on the mercenary guild contract. If you come back maimed we have to reimburse you.¡± ¡°Clara!¡± I yelled, calling for the healer by name. ¡°Clara, help me!¡± I heard her yelp, then walk quickly across the dungeon floor. Eustice put his hand out, stopping her. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your mana. We might need it on the way back out.¡± To my surprise, Clara listened to him. She stopped, and didn¡¯t lift a finger to help me. ¡°Clara, please,¡± I begged through ragged breaths. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she squeaked. ¡°Eustice is right. I need to prioritize the other heroes. You¡¯re¡­just a mercenary.¡± She turned away. Eustice looked down at me and patted me on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll tell everyone you died heroically.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I spit in his face. He scoffed, and stood up. ¡°I was considering putting you out of your misery, you know.¡± He wiped his face roughly with the back of his hand. ¡°But now, I think I¡¯ll just leave you where you¡¯re at. Have fun with your slow and painful death.¡± I watched him walk away, turning back into a blur as my head swam. They¡¯d just left me there, to die. I couldn¡¯t believe what just happened. How could they be so cruel? How could they view me as so worthless? A quiet voice came from beside me. ¡°Guess you¡¯re expendable too, huh?¡± It seemed that the Lesser Demon that Eustice had finished off wasn¡¯t quite dead yet. It lay on the ground, its shadowy form shifting, struggling to stay in the shape of a demon. That made two of us who were victims of his mercy. ¡°Goating in your last moments?¡± I spat through gritted teeth, trying to hold in the pain. ¡°Pathetic.¡± The demon laughed. It was a cold, rattling sound. ¡°I suppose it is pathetic to find something in common with a human.¡± Its shadowy form flickered, a sign of the last pieces of its consciousness fading from this realm. My own consciousness was also hanging by a thread. I was losing a lot of blood way too quickly. ¡°Two abandoned servants, bleeding out at the bottom of a dungeon,¡± the demon sighed. ¡°Shut it,¡± I snapped, while weakly trying to rip my shirt to form a makeshift bandage. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­¡± I paused to take a breath. It felt like I was running out of air. ¡°I¡¯m not going to die here.¡± I could still make it out, I just had to staunch the bleeding a little bit¡­ It flickered again, then started to fade, ever so slightly. ¡°Let me help you.¡± I didn¡¯t respond to it. I didn¡¯t have time for its nonsense. I tried to unbuckle my breastplate, my fingers clumsy with numbness and slippery with sweat. It reached out to me. ¡°No!¡± I tried to pull away from it. ¡°I don¡¯t¡ªhngh¡ª¡± I was trying to speak through the pain, but it was difficult. ¡°I don¡¯t need your help!¡± Its shadowy hand made contact with my forehead and seemed to suck all the pain out of me. I was left feeling weak, cold, and tired. ¡°What did you do to me?¡± I rasped. ¡°You know we feed off suffering,¡± it said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not enough to heal me. I¡¯m too far gone for that.¡± I slogged through my tired thoughts to find something to say to that, and settled on the only thing there really was to be said: ¡°...thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me,¡± it said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing else I can do for you.¡± We laid in silence for a while, shivering on the dirty stone floor. ¡°I¡¯m not going to make it,¡± I said, the realization setting in. ¡°Me neither.¡± Its voice sounded far away now, as if it was at the end of a long tunnel. ¡°Unless¡­¡± I knew what it was going to say. ¡°...you let me in.¡± It looked at me with silver eyes, a kind of expectant look on its murky face. I knew what it was referring to. It wanted to possess me. ¡°We can stop each other¡¯s bleeding,¡± it said. Possession is a risky thing. Both the demon¡¯s mind and the human¡¯s mind are damaged beyond repair afterward, meaning that, if an exorcism is performed, there are lasting consequences. The partnership this demon was proposing would be permanent. ¡°Neither of us has to die for someone else.¡± Its voice was soft. There was an emotion there. Something like hope. I looked at my bloodied hand, then held it out. ¡°We can help each other.¡± It smiled. ¡°Thank you,¡± it breathed, and took my hand. When I emerged from that dungeon, I would be a different person. Episode 1.2: Unfamiliar Home The act of being possessed was like being melted down. As soon as the demon¡¯s hand touched mine, I knew I would never be the same again. Even if I were somehow poured into the same mold, I would still have visible seams. Scars. The amount of information that flooded into my brain was petrifying. I spasmed, mouth agape, then froze completely as the demon¡¯s mind melded with my own. Visions seemed to flash before my eyes¡ªseemingly random words and numbers forcing themselves into my brain. I could feel when the traumatic, violent part of forcing two minds into the same vessel was over and the two of us could relax for a moment. Some shadowy substance, created by the demon, slithered over the stub where my right arm used to be, sealing off the wound. We lay still for a very long while. It spoke to me inside my head. It didn¡¯t startle me. Somehow I knew that it could do this. Yes, I can hear you, I thought back to it. After some considerable silence, I said out loud: ¡°Did you hear that?¡± I sighed as I mulled this over. ¡°I¡¯m going to look like a mad man, randomly talking to myself on the street.¡± I was apprehensive, but I agreed. It moved the edges of my mouth slowly, making strange shapes one by one, gingerly testing its limits. I grew more unsettled with each movement. It tried to force air through my vocal cords, but coughed instead. ¡°That¡¯s enough. No more, no more,¡± I said, taking back control. ¡°Ugh.¡± I threw my hand over my eyes, feeling overstimulated. ¡°Let¡¯s not do that again for a bit.¡± <¡­Ok. I¡¯m tired anyway.> There was a feeling of indignation coming off of it. ¡°...are you pouting?¡± it said quickly. The realization that I would eventually have to let this creature move me around like a marionette fully hit me. ¡°Just¡­baby steps. Please. This is a lot right now.¡± A strange feeling came over me. Information was shot into my brain like a beam of light. I comprehended it all at once. [NAME] Garreth Collman/Lesser Demon [HP] 8/100 [MANA] 1/10 [PAIN] 3/10 [LVL] 1 [SKILLS] Devour Suffering: (MANA: 1) reduce a target¡¯s PAIN stat and use it to increase your own HP or MANA at a rate of 1 per sec Shape Shadow: (MANA: 1) create any shape out of shadow. Shape must be connected to the body in some way. When shape is dissipated, gain 1 MANA. ¡°This is¡­about us?¡± I picked through the information, surprised to find that I instinctively knew what each heading meant. I even knew that I would evolve every ten levels, although I wasn¡¯t quite sure what that entailed. ¡°What does evolution look like?¡± I asked. It seemed to think for a moment. I hoped it was right. I didn¡¯t want to suddenly grow horns or claws after leveling up. I tucked my elbow underneath me and pushed myself to a sitting position. I felt my PAIN stat spike considerably. ¡°We¡¯ve gotta get out of here,¡± I groaned. ¡°Before more of your friends come along.¡± I finally managed to unbuckle my breastplate and cast it aside. ¡°We won¡¯t survive here.¡± I slid myself onto my knees and stood, wobbling as a wave of dizziness hit me. I was still in shock, obviously, but refused to let myself fall. I took a few zig-zagging steps until I reached the wall and was able to hold onto it to steady myself. it said woefully. I did too. I shivered as I leaned against the cold stone wall. ¡°Any other ideas, then?¡± It stayed silent for a moment. ¡°No one will find us there?¡± I sighed. There weren¡¯t really any other options. ¡°Alright. Lead the way.¡± We made our way through the winding tunnels, leaning against the wall to steady ourselves. At first, the demon would show me where to go by turning my head in the right direction, but after I expressed discomfort with that, it started to lead me by the hand instead, lifting it in the direction I needed to go. The barracks were a series of holes in the wall evoking honeycomb. Some of them had personal items left behind by the demons, all of whom were probably dead now. It guided me into a hole close to the ground. It wasn¡¯t spacious enough for me to spread all the way out, and I had my knees tucked upwards a little bit, but it definitely wasn¡¯t too tight for sleeping. There was a little bit of bedding, too. Not bad at all. ¡°They won¡¯t look for you in here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen this type of structure in dungeons before. I wasn¡¯t aware that they were barracks.¡± It sounded proud of itself. I pointed at a small ball of dark green fabric, suspended from the ceiling by some string and glue, with some sticks poking out of it. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± <...that is a¡­good luck charm.>This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I reached up and turned it around. It had two little eyes drawn on it, and two horns protruding from the front. ¡°...is this a doll?¡± I gently tugged it, breaking the glue and bringing it down from the ceiling. ¡°I think we¡¯d better take it with us, then.¡± <...yes. I believe we will need it.> It was easier than I thought it would be to sleep. I thought I would have trouble, because of the pain and the unfamiliar setting, but my shock had long since worn down into exhaustion. I was awoken by a sharp sound, sort of like a bird¡¯s call, being beamed telepathically directly into my brain. I clutched my head and yelped. the demon said quickly. The sound came through my head again. I could feel the demon react to it as well, as if it was perking up its ears like a dog. We waited in silence. I couldn¡¯t hear any signs of life. I leaned forward and peered out of the small entrance of the hole, scanning the room. There weren¡¯t any demons in the barracks at the moment. ¡°What happens if they don¡¯t find anybody?¡± I whispered. A loud whoosh came through the tunnel, and all of the silvery torches lighting the room went out. It was pitch black. I couldn¡¯t see my hand two inches from my face. ¡°Oh! Great! How are we going to get out when we can¡¯t see, genius?¡± <...I forgot that humans can¡¯t see at all in the dark.> I pinched the bridge of my nose in annoyance. ¡°But there might be living demons there, right?¡± I clambered out of the hole. ¡°We¡¯d better hurry, then.¡± The demon directed me through the pitch black tunnels. We navigated with my hand on the wall, occasionally taking it off to measure how wide the tunnel was. It got wider at the forks, so as long as we could figure out where those were, the demon could get us out. We rounded a corner and finally saw light. I picked up the pace, breathing a sigh of relief. At first I didn¡¯t listen. I was too sick of wandering around the pitch blackness. I needed light. The demon seemed to telepathically reach out, doing a frantic scan of the area. [NAME] Lesser Demon [HP] 100/100 [MANA] 10/10 [PAIN] 0/10 [LVL] 2 [SKILLS] Devour Suffering: (MANA: 1) reduce a target¡¯s PAIN stat and use it to increase your own HP or MANA at a rate of 1 per sec Shape Shadow: (MANA: 1) create any shape out of shadow. Shape must be connected to the body in some way. When shape is dissipated, gain 1 MANA. I jumped as the information suddenly came to me. There was another demon up ahead. We waited, concealed in the shadows. It didn¡¯t move from its spot. I gritted my teeth in annoyance. There was no way we would be able to sneak past in a tunnel this small. Fine, I thought. Whatever gets us out of here alive. I nodded quickly. Before I could do anything to protest, the shadow around my stump dissipated, leaving it bare and bleeding profusely again. I gasped, my PAIN stat increasing as the pressure the shadow was putting on the wound suddenly disappeared. The demon quickly shaped shadow around our whole body, including sealing off the stump again. It said frantically. Our HP dropped from 8 to 7. There was a small puddle of blood on the ground. I tried to focus on my breathing. I can chew it out later, I told myself. It was trying to take a soothing tone. Later. Later. I repeated to myself. I looked at my hands, of which I did have 2 now. The left one was controlled by me, but the right one, having none of my flesh inside, wasn¡¯t available to me. They were both clawed, as were my feet. The demon had also generated a tail, two horns, and a strange veil-like shadow for my face, which I assumed made my eyes glow white, but did very little to my vision. I did, eventually, put one foot in front of the other. We emerged into the silvery light of the dungeon with shaky steps. The guard noticed us and rushed forward. my demon said quickly. It sounded slightly different, and somehow I knew it was speaking in a way that both I and the guard could hear. The guard also spoke in my mind, and sounded happy. It made a quick circle around us. It was either nervous, or a great actor. The guard circled around us again. <...I am glad you are ok, comrade.> The guard made a small chirping sound, seemingly a goodbye. I started to walk again, quicker this time, trying to get out of there as quickly as possible without arousing suspicion. There was a prickle on the back of my neck. The guard gasped. my demon yelped. I broke into a sprint, but only made it a few steps. The guard shaped shadow into a hook that caught my ankle and tripped me, sending me tumbling to the ground. The impact radiated sharp pain across my shoulder, skyrocketing the stat up to an 8. I hissed, tried to stand up, and was pinned by the guard. it growled. my demon breathed. The guard¡¯s tail lashed, showing its disgust. It brought us to our feet roughly. I was in too much pain to struggle, but my right arm shot out, grabbing the guard¡¯s neck. It choked for a single second, then shaped shadow around our whole body, pinning our arms to our sides and suspending us a few inches above the ground. The guard coughed. the demon spat. the guard snarled, then started to drag us deeper into the dungeon. ¡°Please,¡± I said deliriously. ¡°Just let me go.¡± Its head whipped around. It stared at me with something like curiosity, the way a cat stares at a bug. ¡°Let you go?¡± it said with its mouth, seemingly unaware that I could hear it telepathically. ¡°You will be lucky if you are simply served for dinner.¡± I barely heard its threat. I was distracted by the fact that my demon had just used our last MANA on devour suffering when our opponent¡¯s PAIN stat was at 0. I was confused, until our own PAIN stat started to decrease, and our MANA started ticking up. my demon said. ¡°Don¡¯t just sit there, get us out of here!¡± I snapped. The guard cocked its head in confusion. In a flash, my demon shaped shadow into a long needle point that sprouted from our mouth and pierced its eye. It whipped its head back, spraying silvery substance onto the walls, and my demon generated a blade that grew from our chest and cut away our restraints, landing us back on the ground. I started to turn tail and run, but the other demon reached a shadow tendril towards us blindly, grabbing at my arms and ankles, tripping me up. It flicked the silver from its eye and gave chase, bounding after us with a horrific, screeching war cry. The surface wasn¡¯t far. The tunnel sloped upwards, and I could soon see daylight streaming in from the end. The guard used shape shadow to extend its arms, grabbing hold of our tail. My demon responded by dissipating all the shadow around our body, leaving the guard holding nothing but air. My stump spewed another puddle of blood as my demon reformed shadow around it and siphoned off the pain into our HP. We stumbled out into the daylight. The guard was still following. I drew my sword and, clumsily, with my non-dominant hand, swung it in the guard¡¯s direction. It balked, taken by surprise, and my demon used the opportunity to swipe its legs out from underneath it. I slammed down on top of it, pinning it to the ground, and raised my sword, aiming for its throat. I felt my muscles stiffen. My demon was holding my arm back, preventing me from ending the fight. ¡°Let go of me,¡± I said darkly. It sounded distraught. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t give you the same mercy! Let go of my hand!¡± The guard wrenched its arm free and raked its claws over my leg. We jolted in shock, my demon let go of my hand in its surprise, and I brought my sword down onto the guard¡¯s neck, spewing cold, murky shadow all over the ground. The guard let out a guttural wail, flickered once, and disappeared from underneath us. my demon whispered. I wiped my blade in the grass and stood up. ¡°The sun will set soon. Let¡¯s go find some firewood.¡± Anger started radiating off of it in blistering hot waves. I shrugged. ¡°Killing demons isn¡¯t fratricide for me. It¡¯s a Tuesday.¡± It went silent for a long, long time. I smiled to myself. I could finally enjoy some peace and quiet. Episode 1.3: Unfamiliar Home The environment we¡¯d emerged into was prairie-like. I hiked away from the dungeon entrance for a good while, so that if any demons decided to come out, they wouldn¡¯t find us immediately. I drank from a stream I came across, and gathered sticks from scrub brush and bushes as I went. I cleared a space in the dirt, arranged the sticks into a pyramid, found two straight sticks to rub together, and ran into a problem. I sighed, long and hard, then said: ¡°Hey. Wake up.¡± It didn¡¯t respond. ¡°I need your help. If we don¡¯t start a fire tonight we¡¯ll freeze.¡± I pinched the bridge of my nose. ¡°I just need you to give me an arm¡ªand this time, don¡¯t¡ª¡± It dissipated the shadow around my stump and made an arm in its place. ¡°Prick,¡± I muttered through gritted teeth. It snickered, and siphoned my pain into our HP. I grabbed my right arm with my left and positioned it to hold the stick in place. I was able to get the fire started with some difficulty, just as the sun was setting. I cleared the rocks and grass from the ground next to the fire, took my scabbard off my belt, and laid down. I was exhausted, despite having rested earlier in the day. I closed my eyes, but a thought occurred to me. ¡°Hey demon, do you have to sleep when I sleep?¡± A chill ran up my spine. ¡°If you do anything while I sleep I¡¯m bringing us both straight to the asylum for an exorcism.¡± Its answer satisfied me, and I closed my eyes again. ¡°That¡¯s what you are.¡± ¡°I thought your people didn¡¯t have names. What should I be calling you instead?¡± ¡°What if I gave you a real name? Something unique to you?¡± It seemed offended. ¡°Why would you do that?¡± ¡°Well, just to differentiate you from every other demon¡ª¡± ¡°I am not different from them, though. I am the same as every other Lesser Demon.¡± I frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t really believe that, do you?¡± It paused for a moment. ¡°There must be something unique about you, something that no other demon has.¡± ¡°It is a symbol of equality,¡± it said with defiance. ¡°Identical names and identical units.¡± ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll call you ¡®it,¡¯¡± I said, expecting it to protest. It did not, and actually seemed pleased with my response. ¡°No. I want to sleep.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± A dull, cold feeling came out of my head, as if it was slithering out of my brain and over my skin. I flinched as the feeling gathered on my stomach. I sighed, exhausted by its antics. ¡°That¡¯s a belly button.¡± ¡°In the womb, there¡¯s a sort of¡­tube, and it connects a human to their mother. It breaks off when they¡¯re born and the belly button is left behind.¡± It circled the area once, then went lower. ¡°Stay out of that!¡± I snapped, blood rushing to my cheeks. The demon bolted all the way back to my chest. ¡°That¡¯s¡­sensitive.¡± A sudden wave of astonishment came off of It. ¡°Just shut up and steer clear of that area.¡± ¡°What makes demon reproduction so clean and pure, then?¡± I smirked. ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re like termites?¡± It went silent as indignation pulsed off of it. I rolled over, satisfied at having gotten the last word. ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed now, It.¡± When I awoke, I was standing knee-deep in a pool of blood. My sword weighed heavy in my left hand. My right hand was clawed and shadowy. Bodies were strewn all around me. I recognized them. Friends. Family. People I¡¯d fought for and protected. All floating, dead, in that lake of blood. I was in my hometown. I didn¡¯t know how I got there. It was barely recognizable. It was razed to the ground.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. It said. I¡¯d done it. Or rather, it had done it, using my body. My sword slipped from my hand, quietly disappearing into the red liquid. I sank to my knees, the blood soaking up into my shirt. I shook my head, slowly and repeatedly. ¡°Why? Why did you do it?¡± it said slowly. My eyes shot open, returning me to the real world with a jolt. The campfire smoldered beside me, and each frantic breath I took smelled like smoke. It said, waking up suddenly. I clutched my head. Its voice was the last thing I wanted to hear right now. It seemed to do a quick telepathic scan of the area, and upon finding no other demons, turned its attention back to me. <...did you have a nightmare?> ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said quietly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry already, please just leave me alone.¡± It paused. I tucked my head between my knees, trying to block out the world. It stayed silent for a long time. The fire burned down to its coals, and birds started to chirp in the trees. The sky turned from black to navy blue. I stood up and brushed the dust off my clothes. I sighed long and hard. ¡°You haven¡¯t done anything worthy of being kicked out yet.¡± The thought that it could was nerve-wracking, but it hadn¡¯t actually borne any ill will towards me yet. Petty spite, occasionally, but no actual evil intentions. <...thank you.> I picked up my scabbard and tried to put it back on my belt, struggling with the clasp. After a moment of observation, the demon helped, moving our shadow hand to hold it in place. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being so¡­flippant about killing the other demon yesterday. That was out of line.¡± ¡°I know. But I should¡¯ve been more sympathetic. That must have been¡­difficult for you.¡± I started to walk, making my way north. I knew there was a road that way that we would eventually hit. My plan was to find it and follow it to the nearest town. Maybe I would even find a wagon I could hitch a ride with. Speaking of, there was a slight problem. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to find another way to cover up this stump. This¡ª¡± I moved my shoulder, moving our shadow arm up and down. ¡°Is a dead giveaway.¡± The demon brought our stat block to the forefront of my mind to show me. [NAME] Garreth Collman/Lesser Demon [HP] 25/110 [MANA] 11/11 [PAIN] 0/10 [LVL] 2 [SKILLS] Devour Suffering: (MANA: 1) reduce a target¡¯s PAIN stat and use it to increase your own HP or MANA at a rate of 1 per sec Shape Shadow: (MANA: 1) create any shape out of shadow. Shape must be connected to the body in some way. When shape is dissipated, gain 1 MANA. I took note of all the changes. I could infer that our level increased after killing the guard, which boosted our HP and MANA stats. Resting seemed to have replenished our MANA and HP by about 10 each, as well. ¡°Do you think we¡¯ve healed enough that we can go without a wound covering?¡± It seemed to feel around the wound with its shadow, making me wince. ¡°Based on your experience, how much HP do you think we''ll need before it closes?¡± I frowned. That was more than I was expecting. ¡°Alright. Can you dissipate the arm? But don''t¨C.¡± It dissipated the shadow arm, keeping the wound covering in place. ¡°...Thank you.¡± I stopped walking, took off my shirt, and held one end in my teeth to tear it into strips. Then I wrapped those around the stump, on top of the shadow covering. My shirt had already been soaked in blood, so it actually looked very convincing. ¡°Now if we run into anyone else they''ll have less questions.¡± We came across the road and started to walk along it. As the hours wore on, however, I started to be keenly aware of my empty stomach. It was unlikely that I would be able to walk all the way to town. Luckily, I soon heard a cart coming down the road, headed in my same direction. [NAME] Saul Bure [HP] 100/100 [MANA] 0/0 [PAIN] 0/10 [NAME] Sandy Bure [HP] 100/100 [MANA] 0/0 [PAIN] 0/10 I jumped as the stat blocks of the two humans driving it were beamed into my brain. I waved down the driver, catching the attention of the woman sitting next to him as well. They looked like farmers. ¡°Woah!¡± the driver exclaimed, pulling on the reins to stop his horse. ¡°Are you all right over there?¡± ¡°No, not really,¡± I called back. ¡°I need a ride to the closest town. That¡¯s Saybrook, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s where we¡¯re headed.¡± The woman, seemingly his wife, spoke up. ¡°Careful, Saul, he might be a bandit.¡± ¡°Lookit ¡®im, Sandy. He¡¯s obviously not a bandit.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a mercenary,¡± I said. ¡°I was dungeon-delving on a job and it all went wrong.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen ¡®im around the town, Sandy.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± She crossed her arms. Saul motioned me forward and I climbed into the back of the wagon. It was empty, aside from a satchel and a little girl who looked to be about 5. ¡°Hello,¡± I said. She waved to me. Her mother was watching me like a hawk. The wagon started to move again at a good pace. I would probably be able to make it to Saybrook before I passed out from hunger. The little girl took a roll from the satchel and bit into it. She noticed me looking at it like a starving dog and produced another one to give to me. I thanked her and took it, despite her mother giving me an evil eye. We crested a hill, and were greeted by the sight of two bodies, hanging limp from a tree branch. Scrawled just below their dangling feet was a sign: ¡°mimics beware.¡± Fear and revulsion radiated from a corner of my mind¡ªa symptom of my demon reacting to a scene it hadn¡¯t been expecting. The little girl stared, eyes wide. Her mother gently turned her away from the scene, cooing ¡°Look away dear.¡± I¡¯d seen this sort of thing before. Mimic demons sometimes infiltrated towns disguised as humans, and only the harshest of punishments awaited them when they were eventually rooted out. Saul shaded his eyes from the sun to get a better look. ¡°Do we know those two?¡± he muttered to his wife. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think we do. They must not have been in town for very long.¡± ¡°Well. Gives me confidence in our clergy¡¯s abilities, at least, to have ¡®em sniffed out so fast.¡± ¡°Seems they¡¯re very good at it,¡± she said, and took the opportunity to smile back at me with narrowed eyes. A pit formed in my stomach. Saybrook was a frontier town, the type where the only thing made out of stone was the well. There was one street, lined with a general store, a mercenary station, a smithy, a watchtower, and a sanctuary. Today, it was packed with people, all listening to one man standing on the sanctuary steps. I stood up to look at the crowd and was immediately hit with a wave of information, overwhelmed with the stat blocks of about fifty people at once. I grimaced, biting my tongue, and tried not to sway on my feet. I got off the wagon by sitting down and sliding onto my feet on the ground while the preacher¡¯s words wafted over the congregation. ¡°---and we simply cannot allow evil to infiltrate our ranks, as it has been so desperately trying to do since the beginning of time itself. But I have good news, brothers and sisters; we are living in a time when the Demon Queen is awakened! You might not see, right now, how this is good news, but I am here to tell you that you are lucky to be able to witness the Paragon¡¯s Chosen Heroes fighting against the forces of evil. There are no other people that have more faith than those who live in the time between the Demon Queen¡¯s awakening and her sealing by the heroes.¡± A murmur of ¡°amens¡± rippled through the crowd. I remembered a time when I would go to my town¡¯s sanctuary for every sermon, eagerly listening to the preacher extol the virtues of the Paragon and her heroes. I couldn¡¯t remember when I¡¯d stopped going so often. Perhaps when I graduated from the Fighter¡¯s College and started spending more of my days out in the field, nowhere near a sanctuary. I thanked the Bure family and made my way towards the mercenary station. I heard suddenly. I nodded silently in response. Episode 1.4: Unfamiliar Home The mercenary station was a squat building. The front room consisted of a few square feet of standing space and a counter. The clerk wasn¡¯t present, so I rang the bell hanging down from the rafters. I saw her peek out from the other room, turn white as a sheet, and run over to me, slamming her hands on the counter. ¡°Garreth Collman, I was told you were dead!¡± ¡°Joan Sadler. Disappointed to see me?¡± ¡°No! Very glad, actually, just¡­they told me that the demons ripped your heart out!¡± ¡°They exaggerated,¡± I said, gritting my teeth into a grimace. Her eyes were drawn to the bloody remains of my arm. ¡°Come into the living quarters, so I can dress that properly and you can tell me what actually happened.¡± She invited me behind the counter and we withdrew to the back part of the building, which was set up as a living space for mercenaries¡¯ guild members passing through the town. It had a few beds lined up against the walls, a small fireplace, and some chairs and a table on a rug. There was one mercenary asleep in a bed¡ªI remembered him as being part of the watchtower crew, the one with the evening shift. Joan was good at dressing wounds. The demon dissipated the shadow around the stump just before she took the wound covering off, so she was none the wiser of my new demonic condition. I spun her a tale while she worked; one about getting knocked out by the dungeon boss and assumed dead by my clients, then waking up and making my way back out by myself. ¡°Are the heroes still in town?¡± I asked warily. ¡°No, they left pretty soon after coming around here to report you dead. It seems they had some other business to do.¡± On the one hand, I was happy that I wouldn¡¯t have to see them, as I didn¡¯t know if I had it in me to be civil. On the other hand, I would¡¯ve liked to see the looks on their faces when they saw I was alive. ¡°I didn¡¯t get around to clearing out your things yet, so they¡¯re all still in that chest over there. Do you have another shirt?¡± ¡°Yes, I own more than one shirt.¡± ¡°Good, because all of this is getting burned.¡± She picked up the mess of bloody fabric and tossed it into the unlit fireplace. I went over to the chest with my belongings and picked out clean clothes. Joan left the room while I changed. I never thought it would feel so good to wear fresh clothing. She was holding a few papers when she returned. ¡°So, you have a few options here. I know which one I would pick, but I¡¯ll let you read it all over first.¡± I furrowed my brow in confusion and took the papers from her hand. Stamped at the top were two words that hit me like a falling boulder: ¡°exit procedures.¡± ¡°Hold on, hold on,¡± I said agitatedly. ¡°I never said I would¡ªI don¡¯t have to stop being a mercenary, right?¡± Pity came across her face like a shadow. ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°I can still fight. Maybe not as good as I did before, but there¡¯s no reason I can¡¯t do less combat-oriented jobs, like scouting, or¡­¡± I trailed off. The pity on her expression had deepened. Being pitied was a new feeling for me. She clasped her hands together. ¡°There are certain injuries that disqualify you for membership with the guild. Unfortunately, losing an arm does fall under that umbrella.¡± She paused, looking away from me. ¡°But, it¡¯s not all bad. There are things the guild will do for you so that you¡¯re not just out of a job and out on the street.¡± She tapped the papers. ¡°All in here.¡± I looked down at them again. The stack of papers was thin. There couldn¡¯t have been that much. The bell at the counter rang, and Joan stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it.¡± I watched her make her way to the door and stop to look back at me. ¡°You¡¯ll be alright, Garreth. This happens to plenty of mercenaries.¡± I always thought I would die on the battlefield. To say I always wanted it wouldn¡¯t be right, but I¡¯d always expected it. Most mercenaries don¡¯t exactly live long and fulfilling lives. If I was well and truly honest with myself, I was expecting to be Blessed by the Paragon and thrust into a life of heroism before dying in battle protecting people from an insanely strong demon, and having a statue erected in my honor. In the event that I died before being Blessed, I expected it to be in a blaze of glory, while protecting a hero that would go on to tell the story of my sacrifice far and wide. Now, I was staring down a document with the title ¡°10 good career choices for the maimed/paralyzed/mentally infirm.¡± I tossed the papers to the side and buried my face in my hand. the demon in my head piped up. ¡°No, she didn¡¯t,¡± I said quietly. ¡°Not really. She¡¯s just doing her job.¡± ¡°Same goes for us humans.¡± ¡°Sure, we can work in¡­¡± I picked up a paper off of the rug. ¡°City waste sanitation.¡± <...Joan was not insulting us, but I believe this paper may be.>Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. There was a groan from the bed in the corner, and the mercenary who¡¯d been sleeping there sat up groggily. He greeted me with a grunt and a nod, then did a double-take. ¡°Hey¡­¡± he said, then pointed at me and squinted. ¡°You¡¯re the guy who died.¡± I put on an obviously fake smile. ¡°Yep. That¡¯s me.¡± The demon responded by pulling up his stat block; a well-meaning but useless action on its part. [NAME] Andrew Wenn [HP] 100/100 [MANA] 0/0 [PAIN] 0/10 ¡°Interesting,¡± Andrew said, pulling the blanket off of himself and getting up. ¡°Congrats on surviving death. How was it?¡± ¡°Oh it was terrible. A total nightmare.¡± I held up the paper and my nonexistent arm. ¡°Still living that nightmare, actually.¡± He pulled up a chair and sat backwards in it, resting his arms on the back rest. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s rough. I had a buddy in a similar situation not too long ago. Lost his left foot in a dungeon. Got it bitten off by a demon.¡± ¡°What did he end up doing?¡± He pantomimed wrapping a rope around his neck. ¡°Wow. Thanks. Wonderful advice.¡± He threw up his hands defensively. ¡°Not saying that¡¯s what you should do. I¡¯d hate to see it, actually. You look like you could still make a living just fine.¡± ¡°Got anything helpful to say, then?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give up. There are plenty of people out there looking for the type of work that mercenaries do, and plenty of them have great reasons to hire from outside the guild.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I never went to the fighter¡¯s college. I joined the guild after doing work outside of it for a few years. Was trained up by some folks who were working out in the far-frontier, so they just took who they could get.¡± The far-frontier was known for its harsh environment and increased number of demons on the surface. Frontiersmen were often social outcasts, living on the fringes of society. It was an interesting suggestion, but not one that I latched onto right away. ¡°Or you could take one of the suggestions that the guild gives.¡± He took another piece of paper off the floor. ¡°Looks like they even have a station in Callingston specifically for people in your situation. You could stay there while you figure everything out.¡± ¡°I might do that,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°I definitely don¡¯t want to stay out here in the middle of nowhere.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be worried if you did.¡± He dismounted the chair and stretched. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go get something to eat before my shift starts. Good luck. And¡ª¡± he looked me in the eye and pointed at me. ¡°Never kill yourself.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± I gave him a half-hearted salute as he left. It said. I didn¡¯t know what I wanted to do with my life yet, but I did know that I couldn¡¯t stay in the Mercenary Station all day. I took some dried meats from my chest of belongings and an apple from the communal cupboard and set out for a walk. I didn¡¯t stay in town, instead simply picking a direction and heading out onto the plains. I knew it would be easy to find my way back; the terrain was so flat that Saybrook could be seen from fairly far away. It started. I decided to humor It. I was tired of thinking about what to do with my life, anyway. ¡°In boats. Is there some other way to do it that I¡¯m not aware of?¡± I nodded in thought. This was a fascinating nugget of information. When the Demon Queen awoke and the Hero Cycle began every two hundred years, the demons would emerge from the earth¡¯s mantle wherever there were humans. What It had just said meant that the demons here were separated from the rest of their kind; a mirror image of the humans on this continent. There was only one Demon Queen, however. Was she hiding in a dungeon on this continent, or the other one? Maybe I could ask. ¡°I¡¯ve got a question for you now. Where¡¯s the Demon Queen?¡± It was silent for a few moments. Of course it wasn¡¯t that easy. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I don¡¯t know what I would do with that information anyway. It¡¯s not like I can go and kill the Demon Queen myself.¡± it said, but still didn¡¯t tell me. We reached a lone tree, standing tall on the plain. I enjoyed its shade for a moment, finishing my food, then drew my sword. I ran through each standard defensive position, taking extra care to hit them precisely. It wasn¡¯t easy, having to do it with my non-dominant hand, but it wasn¡¯t impossible by any means. I went through each standard offensive thrust next, and those were a lot worse. I was sloppy, and had trouble transitioning between them. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It seemed to sense something amiss too, and did a scan of the area. [NAME] Scout Demon [HP] 200/200 [MANA] 15/20 [PAIN] 0/10 [LVL] 10 [SKILLS] Invisibility: (MANA 5) Make yourself translucent. Gain 5 MANA when the effect is canceled. Long-Range Telepathy: (MANA 5) Send a message telepathically to one other demon within a 20 mile radius. Increase Speed: (MANA 5) Double your movement speed for 20 seconds. Devour Suffering: (MANA: 1) reduce a target¡¯s PAIN stat and use it to increase your own HP or MANA at a rate of 1 per sec I gripped my sword tighter and turned in a slow circle, looking for signs of an invisible enemy. There was a rustle from my left, and I quickly turned that way, eyes scanning the ground for footprints and ears pricked for any sound of movement. my demon said to the air. Scout demons weren¡¯t known for their fighting ability, and it seemed they had no skills dedicated to it. Even though this one was LVL 10, I thought I could take it. Leaves rustled behind me. I whipped around, swinging my sword through the air, but didn¡¯t hit anything. I started to make a circle, swinging my sword back and forth as I went. My foot caught on something firm and I stumbled, but managed to catch myself. I started to back away, towards the town. ¡°What do you want from us?¡± It sounded a low, rhythmic growling in my mind, something akin to a snicker. ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± I sneered, but there was no response. I continued to move towards the town. ¡°There are reinforcements in Saybrook. If you attack me, they¡¯ll come running.¡± The Scout¡¯s voice was low and slimy. My demon sent out multiple telepathic impulses, searching for anyone else in the vicinity. Nothing came up. There was no answer. It shouted, but now its telepathic impulses weren¡¯t even sensing the Scout in the area. I turned and ran, sprinting back to Saybrook as fast as I could.