《Why Do Only Guys Get To Have Harems!?》 Chapter 1 Jojo finds herself looking in a mirror at someone who isn¡¯t quite her. Sure, the image is close. It¡¯s got her fashion sense. Her curly hair. Her dark skin. Her freckles. But Jojo knows what she looks like. She isn¡¯t quite that tall, her face isn¡¯t quite that sharp. She could never pull off the twin ponytails like the person she¡¯s seeing. She has none of her little blemishes. The pockmarks, the scars, the moles. The signs of a life lived. ¡°It¡¯s a fairly new policy, changing how people look. I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s going to last, to be honest, but only time will tell.¡± Jojo turns towards the other person inhabiting the white void of nothingness she¡¯s found herself in. The other person is¡­ Immaculate. Tall, with a perfectly tailored blue business suit and short-cropped, professional hair. Their sharp, rimless glasses are poised at the very tip of their nose as they look down at a clipboard that their eyes haven¡¯t left since she showed up. ¡°Your appearance is based on an idealized self derived from a snapshot of your consciousness taken at the moment of your death,¡± they continue. Supposedly, this person is an angel, or at least some equivalent to one. That¡¯s what they told Jojo, at least. ¡°The cultures department determined that improving departed souls¡¯ appearances would make the relocation process smoother. I haven¡¯t looked into the numbers to see if their prediction has panned out, though.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to just make people happy with how they already look?¡± Jojo asks. ¡°It would,¡± the angel says, ¡°but the ethics committee vetoed that idea.¡± They wave their hand, and a sparse metal desk appears between them and Jojo with uncomfortable plastic chairs on either side. They take a seat, and motion for Jojo to do the same, so she does. ¡°Anyway, are you prepared to move on to the next step of the process?¡± ¡°I guess,¡± Jojo says. She leans forward on the desk and sighs. ¡°So, I¡¯m dead? And this is the afterlife?¡± ¡°In a sense. This is a processing facility for souls whose soul energy was not fully depleted in life. Most people run through their soul energy long before their deaths, but occasionally one¡ªsuch as you¡ªwill die with more energy left in reserve.¡± ¡°So I died before I was supposed to?¡± Jojo asks. ¡°No, Fate is a separate system,¡± the angel explains. ¡°Soul energy is largely responsible for higher-dimensional workings that have little to no effect on your lived experiences.¡± ¡°What¡¯s it do, then?¡± ¡°The primary example we like to use is time. Consider a second of time,¡± the angel says. ¡°No matter what, that second of time will contain a certain subset of events. Soul energy cannot change that. What soul energy alters about that second is, for lack of a better way to explain it, how long it takes to experience the second. From your perspective, a second is a second, but from an outside perspective there are irregularities caused by soul energy.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t really need to understand it,¡± the angel says. ¡°The point is that you had soul energy left over when you died, and that can cause issues when a soul vessel is reused. So.¡± For the first time, the angel puts down the clipboard and looks Jojo in the eyes. ¡°Current policy is to reincarnate the soul so that they can use up their soul energy. In other words, you¡¯re getting a second life.¡± ¡°Oh! Sweet.¡± Jojo grins and sits up, suddenly more interested. ¡°Is it gonna be on Earth? Am I just gonna get back up? Is that why defibrillators work?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s more like¡­¡± The angel sighs. ¡°I detest this question, but have you heard of ¡®isekai?¡¯¡± ¡°Yeah, I know about ¡®em,¡± Jojo says. ¡°Is that how it is, then? Another world? Ooh, is there magic?¡± ¡°There can be.¡± The angel sighs and picks the clipboard back up, scribbling here and there on it with a pen that they didn¡¯t have a moment ago. ¡°The worlds we have available fall into modern¡ªso, Earth-like¡ªfuturistic, or what you would probably call fantasy. Do you have a preference?¡± ¡°Fantasy, definitely.¡± ¡°Alright. Would you like to go to a world with or without a World System?¡± The angel glances up over the clipboard to explain. ¡°Basically, a World System makes the world work like a video game.¡± ¡°Oh, neat! Yeah, that sounds fun,¡± Jojo replies excitedly. ¡°Gimme the System!¡± ¡°Very well. Finally¡­¡± The angel puts the clipboard on the table with a loud clack and slides it over to Jojo. She sees that it has far fewer pages than it used to, only three or four at most, and it¡¯s all just checkboxes next to short descriptions. ¡°You get to choose an Upgrade. This is to make up for any inconveniences you¡¯ve felt during this process, and also any potential mental trauma you may have as a result of remembering a previous death.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Jojo takes the clipboard and starts looking through the options giddily. There¡¯s all the ones someone might expect: super luck, super strength, super magic, time travel, magic phone¡­ After the basics, they start being divided into categories. There¡¯s an entire category of experience modifiers that give five, ten, fifty, or even a hundred times the amount of experience gained. Similarly, there are options that multiply specific stats by a certain amount. There¡¯s a superpowers section that has basically any superpower you can think of, from ice powers to a touch of death. Then there¡¯s a section of overpowered equipment¡­ ¡°A lot of these seem geared towards worlds with a System,¡± Jojo comments. ¡°Yes, well, Systems open themselves up to a lot of options with this sort of thing,¡± the angel replies. ¡°Those options would be hidden if you had chosen a System-less world.¡± Jojo perks up curiously. ¡°There¡¯s hidden options?¡± ¡°Yes, but nothing you¡¯d be interested in.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°We have a lot of experience with this,¡± the angel replies. ¡°There is a lot of data about what options do or don¡¯t apply to different people.¡± ¡°Well, maybe I don¡¯t fit your data!¡± Jojo huffs. ¡°I wanna see the hidden options!¡± The angel groans. ¡°Really? Surely there¡¯s something in the available options that suits you.¡± ¡°Maybe, but maybe something in the hidden ones suits me better! So gimme!¡± Jojo holds her hand out expectantly. The angel sighs and pulls a sheet of paper out of their pocket. ¡°Fine. I don¡¯t know what you expect to find here, though.¡± Jojo grins and starts looking through the new options. They¡¯re¡­ Okay, most of them suck. A lot of them just don¡¯t apply, like ¡°computers can access Earth¡¯s internet¡± or ¡°you know intuitively how to fly a spaceship.¡± Past those, a lot of them are just downgrades rather than upgrades. Experience dividers, no experience, hard mode, start life as a baby. All of that sounds awful. Jojo is just about ready to admit the angel was right when a particular one catches her eye. ¡°A harem?¡± The angel grimaces. ¡°That one¡­ Well, we got a lot of complaints from certain types of people that it wasn¡¯t an option, so we eventually had to implement it. We couldn¡¯t even make it work how they wanted, because that would practically give the ethics committee cause to mutiny. All it really does it tug at the strings of fate a little to put you in frequent contact with romantically compatible women. It at least made the people who wanted it happy, though, so I suppose it¡¯s not all bad¡­¡± They¡¯re avoiding eye contact, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. ¡°Why isn¡¯t it on the main list, though?¡± Jojo asks. ¡°Especially if the whole reason it exists is to stop people complaining about it not being there." ¡°Well, we¡­¡± The angel tugs at their collar. ¡°Okay, we only show it to young men. Showing it to anybody else is just¡­ Embarrassing.¡± ¡°What? Not even young women?¡± Jojo raises an eyebrow. ¡°What, so only guys get to have a harem? Is that it?¡± ¡°No!¡± The angel protests. ¡°We just¡ª¡± ¡°Just thought women are too chaste to want such a thing, is that it? Hmph.¡± Jojo crosses her arms indignantly. ¡°Or, what, do you not think women can be attracted to other women?Is that it?¡± ¡°Oh, come on, we¡ª¡± ¡°Stuff it! I see how things are here. ¡®Making up for inconveniences¡¯ my ass. You just wanna keep us compliant!¡± ¡°Please, we¡ª¡± ¡°Quiet! You know what? I want the harem option, and I want it to not count as my chosen Upgrade.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can do that¡­¡± ¡°Well, then I¡¯ll¡­¡± Jojo stops to think for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll tell everyone in the new world that angels hate women! And I¡¯ll start my own religion!¡± ¡°We, um¡­ We don¡¯t really care about new religions starting up in the worlds we manage, though,¡± the angel stammers. ¡°Oh.¡± Jojo puts her hand on her chin and thinks some more. ¡°Well, then, I¡¯ll take this to your manager!¡± The angel gasps. ¡°Please, no, not that. I¡¯ll give you the harem option. I¡¯ll even throw in a free dimensional storage power! Just please, don¡¯t tell my manager.¡± Jojo chuckles under her breath. ¡°Good. Now, for my actual choice, I want the hundred times experience! I¡¯m gonna kick this world¡¯s ass!¡± ¡°Y-Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± the angel says, taking the clipboard and checking the boxes for her. They then fill out a few more forms as quickly as they can before signing their name at the bottom and poofing the whole pile of papers and the clipboard out of existence. ¡°We¡¯re, um, we¡¯re all set then. Is there anything else before you start your new life?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ No, I think I¡¯m good.¡± Jojo smiles wide and stands up with her hands on her hips. ¡°Beam me down, Scotty! To my new life!¡± Everything vanishes, and for a brief moment Jojo is plummeting through absolute darkness, darker than anything anyone on Earth has ever or will ever experience. Then she appears in a meadow, stumbles, and promptly falls on her ass. Chapter 2 Jojo takes a quick look around and is relieved to see that nobody is around to have seen her blunder. The meadow around her is almost absurd in how stunning it is. Perfectly lush grass, rainbows of wildflowers, a gentle, cooling breeze. The edge of a forest marks the horizon in one direction, and sparse clouds provide shade from the sun just when it¡¯s needed. Lulled by the breeze and the beauty, Jojo leans back and watches the clouds pass by overhead. ¡°I suppose,¡± she mutters to herself after a bit, ¡°if this is really a video game-y world, there¡¯s probably something like a Status¡ª¡± She¡¯s cut off by a bright blue screen appearing in front of her eyes, blocking out her vision. ¡°Guess there is,¡± she answers to herself.
NAME: Jojo RACE: Human JOB: None
HP: 10/10 MP: 10/10 SP: 10/10
STRENGTH: 1 VITALITY: 1 CONSTITUTION: 1
AGILITY: 1 WISDOM: 1 INTELLIGENCE: 1
CHARISMA: 1 ALLURE: 1 LUCK: 1
¡°Dang, I suck.¡± Jojo laughs to herself. ¡°Gonna have to level up quick.¡± There¡¯s a rustle in the grass. Jojo wills the screen away, and it poofs out of existence to show¡­ A blob. A little blue blob of goo wobbles a few feet away from her. It has no real defining features aside from the slight sheen of whatever sorta-liquid-sorta-solid makes it up. It¡¯s not really doing much of anything, either, just¡­ Wiggling. ¡°Oh, shoot,¡± Jojo says. ¡°A slime. Can I, like¡­ Identify?¡± When she says that, a blue box pops up over the top of the slime:
Slime Level 2
Followed immediately by another box in the corner of her vision:
Skill: Identify has reached Level 2
The skill upgrade even updates the identification above the slime without prompting.
Slime Level 2
HP: 10/10
¡°Ooh, nice. Lots of good stuff I learned there, just gotta¡ªWoah!¡± Suddenly, the slime attacks! Or, well, it moves at least. It kind of slithers forward, sliding in a zig-zag about a foot closer, then compresses itself flat before springing back up and leaping towards Jojo at¡­ Well, at a decent speed. Nothing crazy, but it¡¯d probably hurt a bit if it was, like, a water balloon. Jojo dodges well out of the way far before the attack gets anywhere near her. She stumbles a bit from the unfamiliar movement, but rights herself quickly enough. ¡°Hoo,¡± she sighs. ¡°Not used to fighting. That¡¯s gonna be something I have to learn quick. Like maybe¡­ THIS!¡± After psyching herself up, Jojo runs at the slime and tries to punt it with all her strength. It doesn¡¯t dodge or anything, just accepts the kick, and her foot sinks deep into the goop. The HP above the slime¡¯s head ticks down to 11. Unfortunately, the slime itself doesn¡¯t budge from the kick. In fact, it starts moving forward, up onto Jojo¡¯s foot, seemingly trying to encompass it. ¡°Hey! Get off of me!¡± Jojo yells and stomps the ground, trying to knock the slime away. The stomp does another 3 damage, but the slime remains firmly stuck. Jojo prepares for another stomp, but just as she starts the downswing, the slime suddenly compresses all around her foot. The pressure is intense, and the pain is immediate, enough to make one wonder if they broke something. None of that reaches Jojo¡¯s brain before the stomp finishes, though. She slams her foot down and immediately yelps in pain. Her foot¡ªnow broken for sure¡ªslips right out from under her and she slams down hard onto the ground, sending an extra little spike of pain up through her arm where it hits the dirt. Instinct takes over, and¡ªstill yelling through the pain¡ªshe reaches down and grabs a fistful of the slime, then rips it off of her foot and chucks it as far away as possible. The whole slime stays stuck together, apparently unable to be cleanly divided, and sloughs easily off of her foot before sailing formlessly through the air. It lands a ways away, bounces a couple times, and then rolls to a stop and wobbles dizzily.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Skill: Barehanded Combat has reached Level 2
Skill: Barehanded Combat has reached Level 3
Skill: Barehanded Combat has reached Level 4
Skill: Throw has reached Level 2
Skill: Throw has reached Level 3
Skill: Pain Resistance has reached Level 2
Panting, Jojo waves away the notifications piling up in the corner of her vision. ¡°Well, at least I can tell the experience multiplier is working,¡± she grumbles, then adds ¡°Status.¡±
HP: 2/10
Groaning, she looks over towards the slime.
HP: 2/15
¡°Well, at least I¡¯m winning.¡± The slime starts approaching again, but Jojo isn¡¯t keen on the idea of letting it get another attack off. She glances around herself quickly but doesn¡¯t see anything useful. Instead, she sighs, yanks her shoe off of her still-good foot, and takes aim toward the slime. ¡°Let¡¯s see if that skill is worth anything.¡± She launches the shoe forward, and it rockets through the air. It flies faster than a shoe should even be capable of, spinning at ridiculous speeds, and slams into the slime with a resounding splat. Bits of slime fly everywhere, making an absolute mess of a huge area around where the slime was, and the shoe sticks out of the ground at the point of impact, stuck into the dirt like a throwing knife. ¡°Woah.¡± The bits of slime all over start to vanish into little twinkling pinpricks of light as the notifications roll in.
Skill: Throw has reached Level 4
Skill: Throw has reached Level 5
Level Up! 1>2 HP RESTORED! MP RESTORED! SP RESTORED! ALL STATS +1
Level Up! 2>3 HP RESTORED! MP RESTORED! SP RESTORED! ALL STATS +1
¡°Whew.¡± Sighing from exertion, Jojo first tests out her injured foot to find that, indeed, it seems to be completely healed. She¡¯s a little anxious about what kind of mess she might find inside the shoe, but¡­ That¡¯s a problem for future Jojo. Present Jojo pushes herself up onto her feet and half-stumbles over to where the slime died. She digs her shoe out of the ground and puts it back on, then notices a little gemstone next to it and picks it up. The gemstone is about the size of her fingernail and the same blue as the slime was, although it has none of the bounciness the slime itself seemed to have. It¡¯s just a rock. ¡°Identify.¡±
Slimestone
Skill: Identify has reached Level 3
And again, the identification updates for her.
Slimestone
An F tier monster gem that once contained the Darkforce of a slime
¡°Darkforce? Guess that¡¯s something to ask about when I find a town,¡± Jojo muses to herself. ¡°First, though¡­ Status!¡±
NAME: Jojo RACE: Human JOB: None
HP: 90/90 MP: 30/30 SP: 90/90
STRENGTH: 3 VITALITY: 3 CONSTITUTION: 3
AGILITY: 3 WISDOM: 3 INTELLIGENCE: 3
CHARISMA: 3 ALLURE: 3 LUCK: 3
¡°Woah!¡± Jojo gasps at the change in stats. That¡¯s a huge increase in HP, way more than she was expecting. Maybe¡­ Maybe it was kind of stupid of her to fight that slime at level 1? She chuckles under her breath. ¡°Whoopsie¡­¡± She lets the moment linger a bit, then shakes it off and thumps her chest reaffirmingly. ¡°Whatever! I lived, and I got two levels from it, so what¡¯s done is done! Plus, I even got loot!¡± Jojo eyes her shiny new rock for a moment, then goes to put it in her pocket before remembering something else the angel said. Something about a dimensional storage? She imagines putting the stone in an ¡°inventory,¡± and sure enough, it vanishes. She tries to think about the contents of her storage, and can picture the stone clear as day in her mind. She tries taking it out and putting it away again a few more times, just to make sure she has it all sorted out, and it really is just as easy as thinking. ¡°Another win for Jojo!¡± She pumps her fists in the air, grins wide, and then skips off towards the horizon. Next stop: Anywhere else! Chapter 3 Jojo starts towards the forest first, since it''s the only landmark she can make out. She only makes it about halfway to the forest''s edge, however, before she finds something even better: A road. For the most part, it looks about how she''d always imagined fantasy dirt roads in her mind. Densely packed earth, a shade darker than the soil under the nearby grass, stretches about wide enough that four or five people could stretch out their arms and stand side by side without touching. There are vague divots where the wheels of passing carriages tend to be as they travel along, but it''s nothing extreme, and certainly not enough to make the road bad to walk on. As she starts walking along the road, however, she does notice one oddity. Every so often¡ªabout every ten minutes or so as she walks¡ªshe''ll pass by a set of strange metal pylons arranged just off of either side of the road. They glow with ethereal blue light that flows through channels along their surfaces, occasionally lighting up strange runes that she can''t make heads or tails of. At first, she has no clue what to make of these odd structures, but after an hour of two of walking without incident, she puts together one theory: They could be keeping the monsters away. After all, she was attacked by a slime pretty quickly after arriving in this world, but since reaching the road she hasn''t seen a single one of the hateful little balls. Of course, that could just be the natural randomness of life tricking her mind, but it''s a good enough theory for her until something new presents itself. The only reason she''s thinking so much about weird pylons in the first place is, well... She''s bored. She''s really bored. Jojo was never exactly one for stuff like hiking in the first place, but that''s just made all the worse by the fact that she''s literally in another world. It''s supposed to be an epic adventure! Swords, magic, girls! Why is she just... Walking? So, of course she''s bored! Anyone would be bored in this situation, it''s not her fault, she''s just¡ª "A town!" Jojo jumps in joy at the sight on the horizon. A tall, sturdy stone wall stretches from the forest deep into the meadow before eventually curving away out of sight. Behind the wall, she can make out the peaks of rooftops, plus a few tall spires that likely belong to important buildings. She takes off running down the road, cheering as she does. The cheering calms down pretty quickly, though, and the running peters down to a jog, and then back to just a regular, sluggish walk, because, well... The town isn''t really getting closer very quickly. It practically isn''t getting closer at all. As it turns out, the horizon is very far away. The sun is soon directly overhead, and Jojo is still just walking. Then, the sun starts to dip. It falls more and more, seemingly approaching the town in the distance even faster than Jojo herself is, and all she can do is just keep walking. And walking. And walking. It takes a few more hours for Jojo to finally reach the town, and by that time it''s nearly dusk. The sun barely hovers over the town, nearly blinding her as she follows the road towards the massive gates that stand propped open to allow people in and out. Nobody else seems to be using the gates at this hour, so the only other people are two guards in heavy armor who Jojo just manages to notice before one of them waves at her and calls out. "Hello there, missy!" The guard calls, his voice deep and gravely. "Just in time to avoid camping out overnight, eh?" "Uh... Hi!" Jojo replies awkwardly. "Um, sorry if this is a weird question, but... Where am I?" The so-far-silent guard, who Jojo now sees is a very young looking guy who can''t even be out of his teens, makes a strange face at the question. The talkative guard, though, who looks much older and is sporting a rough, messy beard and mustache, just laughs. "Confused, are ya? Happens to the best of us," the older guard says. "I''m guessin'' you''re an adventurer? Well, welcome to Petal Run. I know, I know, name makes it sound smaller. Entry fee''s three copper, but adventurers get it waived, so you should be good. Just let me get a quick peek at your plate, yeah?" "Um... I don''t actually..." Jojo pauses as a thought hits her. How much is it even safe to say? Should she just tell people she''s from another world? What if she''s not the first, and it gets her imprisoned, or worse? No, that''s way too dangerous. Better to just come up with something on the spot, and quickly, because she can see the friendly smile wavering on the older guard''s face. She puts on her best lost-looking frown and continues. "I don''t know if I''m an adventurer, actually... I don''t remember anything." The young guard visibly scowls, and Jojo thinks she can see him tighten his grip on his spear. The old one, for his part, hides his reaction much better, but he still frowns. "Nothing, eh? Well..." He sighs. "Have you got a little plate with your name on it on you? That''d be an adventurer plate." Jojo shakes her head. "Nothing like that, no..." "What about money? Depending on what you can spend, we could send you somewhere to get help." Jojo slumps her shoulders. She pretends to dig around in her pockets, despite knowing they''re empty, and as she does so she pulls the slimestone out of her storage. "All I have is this rock I got from a slime that attacked me when I woke up." "Just a slimestone, huh? Hmm..." The older guard scratches his chin in thought.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Well, it''ll cover the entry fee, at least," the young guard says, speaking up for the first time. The older one shakes his head, though. "No, no, we''re not gonna take this poor girl''s only possession." "Oh, come on! She''s clearly¡ª" The young one starts, but the old one puts up a hand to shush him. "I''ll tell you what, missy," he says. "I''ll let Barry here tend the gate for a bit, and I''ll take you up to the adventurer''s guild since it''s so late. They''ll let you sleep there¡ªyou''ll be sleeping on the floor, but there''s a roof at least¡ªand then in the morning they can scan you and see if you''re registered. From there... Well, we''ll see what happens in the morning, alright?" Jojo screws up her face in thought, but she can''t think of anything wrong with any of his suggestions. They''ll be hard for her in the morning, but it''d just be suspicious to turn them down at this point, so... "Yeah, alright," Jojo says. "Thank you for the help." "Of course. I''m Gareth, by the way." He smiles and holds out his hand, which Jojo shakes. "Nice to meet you." "I''m Jojo." Gareth waves for Jojo to follow and leads her into the town. It''s probably nothing special by this world''s standards, but Jojo can''t help but be rapt by everything around her. The old stone buildings, the cobblestone streets, the tall lights just now being lit by hand by workers. It''s all so... Fantastical. She loves it. It doesn''t take long for them to reach the adventurer''s guild. The gate led right onto the town''s main road, and it''s only a few minutes of walking to reach the huge two-story building that houses the guild. Lights are on in every window, and the sounds of talking and laughter emanate out onto the street. It''s clearly one of the more active places in town, especially at this time of day. Jojo can''t help but gape at the sight of it. It takes Gareth a moment to notice she stopped following him, at which point he laughs and waves her forward. "C''mon, missy, let''s get you situated," he says. "Oh, uh, right!" Jojo replies, and scampers in after him. The main floor of the building is mostly taken up by a single open room split up into three parts. In the center is a general area, mostly just empty space, which is broken up by a few square pillars that have large bulletin boards on each side of them. The boards are covered in little slips of paper, and a few people dressed in heavy-looking armor are browsing them idly. Those must be the jobs the adventurers take, Jojo thinks to herself. To the right of the entrance, about a third of the room is cordoned off by a long counter. Two people are sitting behind the counter with bored looks on their faces, waiting in case they need to help anybody, while a handful of others scurry around behind them doing this or that. Finally, the left side of the room seems to be some kind of tavern. This part of the room is by far the most populated, with all sorts of people filling the tables. There''s armor-clad brickhouses, tall, gangly mage types, lithe, shady people who look liable to take a stab at anyone around them, and everything in between. A few waiters and waitresses swing through the crowds, carrying drinks to and fro and supplying the general air of merriment that fills the air. At the very back of the tavern area, there''s another counter, behind which an absurdly tall woman in a sharp suit is wiping down a mug as she eyes the crowd critically. For just a second, the tall woman''s eyes meet Jojo''s. A jolt seems to go down Jojo''s spine, and she can''t help but avert her gaze as quickly as possible. Gareth doesn''t seem to notice. He just leads Jojo up to the main counter and towards the nearest guild worker. Behind the counter is perhaps the most bored-looking woman Jojo has ever seen. One hand is holding her head up over the counter, while the other taps manicured nails rhythmically on the countertop. Her eyes seem purposefully unfocused on anything ahead of her, as if she''s willing the world to ignore her if she ignores it. Despite the aura of boredom, however, Jojo can''t help but feel like this woman is... Kind of adorable? She''s short and mousey, with tousled silver hair and small round glasses. Her professional-looking purple shirt fits her nicely, and even slouched over as she is she seems absolutely cute as a button. "Evening, Frankie," Gareth says as he approaches the counter. The woman¡ªFrankie, apparently¡ªsighs and allows her eyes to focus on Gareth. She doesn''t bother to take her head out of her hand as she talks. "Gareth." He doesn''t bat an eye. "Got somethin'' down at the gate that felt like it could be guild business." "Great," Frankie groans. "See, this girl," Gareth motions towards Jojo, and Frankie seems to notice her there for the first time, "showed up at the gate with nothing and nobody. Says she''s got no memories. Now, you know I ain''t one to arrest a girl just for bein'' lost, so¡ª" "You want me to vet her," Frankie finishes for him. He chuckles. "Well, I wouldn''t put it like that." "Uh-huh." Frankie lets out a long-suffering sigh, then pushes herself up to her feet. "Well, come on then, girl." Jojo gives a quick, uncertain glance towards Gareth, who nods at her, so she shrugs internally and follows Frankie behind the counter. Frankie leads her back to a door hidden away in a corner of the room, then opens it and ushers her into... A storage closet? Frankie walks in after Jojo and shuts the door, drowning them in darkness. A moment later, she presses something on the wall, and magical light suffuses the room from a gemstone on the ceiling. Taking it in, it really does seem like they''re just in a tiny storage closet. Between the shelves full of tools and the myriad boxes, there''s hardly room for the two of them to even stand side by side, let alone anywhere for them to sit and get comfortable. "Amnesia, huh?" Frankie asks as she pushes past Jojo, not caring whatsoever about personal space, and starts rummaging around for something. "Uh... Yeah," Jojo answers uncertainly. She tries to make herself as small as possible so Frankie won''t have to push her around in her search, but she''s largely unsuccessful. "Haven''t heard that one in a while," Frankie says. "Ah, here." Frankie pulls a small white orb out of a box full of stones and gems, and hands it to Jojo. "That''s a truthstone," Frankie says. "Lights up red if you lie." "Ah." Jojo tries not to let her expression sink, but it''s easier said than done. Frankie just rolls her eyes. "Alright, let''s get this over with. Name?" "Um, Jojo." The stone doesn''t react at all, so Jojo can only assume it didn''t detect any lies. That, or it''s broken. "Good start," Frankie says. "And you have amnesia?" "Y-Yeah." At that, the stone lights up a sharp, vibrant red. It also grows faintly hot to the touch, though not too hot to hold. Frankie sighs. "Figured as much." Jojo frowns deeply. "Sorry, I just¡ª" Frankie puts a hand up. "Save it. Are you a spy?" "No! Of course not!" The stone goes back to its neutral white, and Jojo lets out a sigh of relief. "You plan to hurt anyone in town?" Frankie continues. "No, not at all!" "Are you a criminal?" "No." "Do you plan to become a criminal?" "No!" "Do you intend to act in any way that would be a detriment to this town or its inhabitants?" "Of course not!" The stone stays white throughout the questioning, and eventually Frankie lets out yet another sigh and takes it back. "Okay, look, uh... Jojo," Frankie says. "You seem clean, but a word of advice? The amnesia line is very suspicious. Everyone''s entitled to their secrets, but in the future, if you don''t wanna say something? Just say that. Kay?" "Right..." Jojo crosses her arms tight across her chest and looks away from Frankie. "I just... I didn''t know what to do. I don''t have any money, or anywhere to go, so I didn''t think they''d let me into town, and... I don''t know if I can survive a night out in the woods. Not yet, at least..." Frankie frowns. "You an adventurer?" "No, but I''d like to be." "What level are you?" "Three..." "Geez." Frankie grimaces. "You''ve got a ways to go. You know you need a Job to be an adventurer, right?" "How do I get one of those?" Jojo asks. Frankie raises an eyebrow. "You sure you don''t really have amnesia? You get a Job at level 10. Everyone knows that." "I don''t... I don''t really know anything about this world," Jojo says quietly. "I can''t say why, I just... Don''t." Frankie gives her a hard look for a long, silent moment. Eventually, though, she just sighs and shakes her head. "Fine. You can sleep here tonight. In the morning, we... Ugh. I guess I''ll give you some pointers on how to get your level up. Sound good?" Jojo''s face lights up with a brilliant smile. "Really!? Oh, thank you, Frankie! You''re so sweet!" Frankie groans and walks out the door. "Just don''t forget I helped you out." Then she shuts the door before Jojo can follow her out. Chapter 4 Jojo can hardly sleep through the night. Partially because she''s sleeping in a closet, yes, but mostly out of excitement. She''s in a fantasy town, in a real, actual adventurer''s guild, about to start her own adventure! How could she not be excited? So, of course, she wakes up as early as she can, probably earlier than she''d woken up in years in her old life. She yawns and stretches, working out all the kinks from sleeping curled up on the hard wooden floor, and steps out into the bustling morning. Cool early light streams in through the windows, brightly illuminating a much busier guild than last night. Workers sit all along the counter, helping lines of rowdy adventurers as they grab papers off the bulletins and bring them up to take on jobs. Even more workers scurry back and forth in the area behind the counter, carrying papers or sacks of money or any number of random objects. Jojo is almost overwhelmed by the crush, but before that can happen, Frankie walks up and frowns at her. "You''re gonna have to get used to waking up earlier than that if you want to be an adventurer," Frankie says. "What!? It''s so early, though!" Jojo protests. Frankie rolls her eyes. "Dawn was over an hour ago. See all those guys over there?" She gestures towards the throngs of adventurers. "They''re coasting. Grabbing whatever mid-tier job they can get their hands on, just making enough for the day''s boar meat and booze. Is that what you want to be? Or do you want to actually be successful?" Jojo huffs and crosses her arms. "I''m gonna be successful, of course." "Good answer. Now come on." Frankie waves for Jojo to follow, and leads her out of the guild. The streets are overfull now, crowds of people all rushing to get to work and do what needs to be done for the day. Jojo struggles to stay close to Frankie, constantly at risk of being separated by someone practically shoving past her in their hurry. "So, uh, where are we going?" Jojo asks as they walk. "Outside," Frankie answers. "It''s my day off, and you seem..." She''s about to say something, then changes her mind and shakes her head. "You clearly need all the help you can get, so I''m gonna show you what it''ll take to get to level 10." "Woah, seriously!? Frankie, you''re so nice!" "Oh, be quiet."
Frankie leads Jojo out the gates she entered the night before¡ªneither of the guards are the same, and they don''t stop them from leaving¡ªand then follows the wall in the direction opposite the forest. They walk for about an hour, Frankie staying silent unless prompted, and generally answering as briskly as she can, until eventually reaching a spot that, to Jojo, seems entirely arbitrary. "This''ll do," Frankie says. She reaches down to a pouch hanging from her belt and starts fumbling around in it. "Where are we? Is this like¡ªWOAH!" Jojo gasps as, completely without warning, Frankie pulls a full sword out of the little pouch. It''s nothing special, probably iron or something similar, but it''s still surprising to see it come out of nowhere. "W-What the heck!?" Jojo stammers and takes a step back. "Where''d that come from?" Frankie gives her a weird look. "From my carrying bag? Do you seriously not know anything?" "I... I guess not?" Jojo frowns. "It''s just a cheap enchanted bag," Frankie says. "It holds about thirty pounds of stuff without actually weighing that much or taking up that much space. It''s basic space magic, you know?" "Really? That''s... Basic magic?" "As basic as, like... A fairly big fireball, I''d guess?" "Woah..." Frankie groans and hands the hilt of the sword towards Jojo. "Here," she says, "take it." Jojo gasps. "Really!? You''re giving me a sword?" "I''m lending you a sword," Frankie corrects. "Unless you''re hiding a weapon somewhere or you plan to punch everything to death, it''s pretty necessary." "I mean, I did kick a slime to death yesterday," Jojo says, chuckling. She does take the sword, though, and gives it a couple of practice swings. It feels strange and heavy in her hands. "Yeah, I bet that worked out great," Frankie says. "You''re lucky it didn''t crush your foot." "Oh, it did! I just leveled up after." "Great. Good for you." Frankie rolls her eyes, then pulls something that looks like a whistle out of her pouch. "You ready?" "Ready for what?" Frankie doesn''t answer. She just blows the whistle, although no noise comes out of it. Jojo stares at her for a moment, confused, before her attention is drawn by a rustle in the grass nearby.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. She snaps her head towards the noise and sees a slime, green instead of blue this time, but otherwise seemingly identical to the last. "Ooh! Identify!"
Slime Level 3
HP 20/20
"Good instinct," Frankie says. "Now kill it." "On it!" Jojo springs forward and thrusts the sword at the slime, skewering it near the edge. In response, the slime quivers a little, contracts, and then spits a little ball of goo at Jojo. It speeds through the air and hits her right between the eyes hard enough to knock her head back and leave a red spot. "Gah! Jerk!" Jojo fumes and waves the sword around wildly with the slime still stuck on the end of it. It holds out for a second, but very quickly is overwhelmed by being whipped back and forth and splits cleanly in half. The two halves of the slime splat down onto the ground, then start dissipating into motes of light, leaving behind a slimestone that Jojo pockets.
Skill: Swordplay has reached Level 2
Skill: Swordplay has reached Level 3
Skill: Swordplay has reached Level 4
Level Up! 3>4 HP RESTORED! MP RESTORED! SP RESTORED! ALL STATS +1
Jojo jumps up and down, cheering about her victory. Frankie nods approvingly. "Good work," Frankie says. "I thought I saw something in you." "Heck yeah! And I hit level 4!" Jojo says. Frankie gives her a strange look. "Didn''t you say..." She shakes her head. "Nevermind. Another?" "Yeah!" Frankie blows the whistle again, and this time two slimes appear, one blue and one red. "Mm, yeah, this can happen," Frankie mumbles. "You think you can handle two?" "No problem!" Jojo jumps back and forth in place for a second to psych herself up, then leaps towards the red slime in a sudden burst of speed. She slices cleanly through it, bisecting it like it wasn''t even there, and then carries the momentum into a twirling slash that easily dispatches the blue slime as well. "What the..." Frankie mutters under her breath.
Skill: Swordplay has reached Level 5
Level Up! 4>5 HP RESTORED! MP RESTORED! SP RESTORED! ALL STATS +1
"Yippee! Level 5!" Jojo cheers and dances around happily. Frankie, though, can''t keep quiet any long. "What? No, no, hang on." She stomps over to Jojo and prods her in the chest. "What are you talking about? The gap from level 4 to 5 should take dozens of slimes. You... Have you been lying to me? Identify!" "Huh?" Jojo gapes as Frankie glares at something only she can see. "You can identify people?" "Yes, idiot!" Frankie groans and walks a few steps away with her head in her hands. "It''s rude, and it''s usually not very useful because almost nobody has a usable Identify level, but of course it''s possible! And it says you''re level 5, so what gives? Were you level 5 the whole time and just messing with me? Do you have some kind of artifact to change how Identify shows you? What is it? Huh?" "I-I... Um..." Jojo shrinks in on herself and stammers as she struggles for words. "I don''t..." "You couldn''t fool the truthstone, so it''s probably not an artifact, and you haven''t killed me, but¡ª" "I wouldn''t kill you!" Jojo interrupts. "That''d be terrible!" "Then who are you!?" "I''m just Jojo! I..." Jojo frowns deeply and hugs herself. "I don''t know, Frankie... Can I trust you?" "No! What!? You don''t know me!" "But you seem nice! And... I mean, maybe this is naive, but I''m so new here, and I just... It''d be nice to have a friend I can trust to help me." Jojo looks down at the ground and starts to turn away. "You''re right, though, I''m being stupid. I''m sorry for roping you into all this." Frankie sighs. "Look, I guess if you really want to trust some woman you just met, it''s your life. Come here, let''s have lunch, and if you want you can tell me what''s up." Frankie leads Jojo over to the stone wall and they make themselves comfortable against it, sitting side by side under its shade as a gentle breeze tickles the grass under them. She pulls two canteens of water and two sandwiches out of her pouch, and hands one of each to Jojo. "Thank you," Jojo says quietly. "Sorry I freaked out like that." Frankie snorts out a laugh. "Please. We were both freaking out. So, what''s up?" "I''m..." Jojo takes a deep breath, then decides to just let it out. "I''m not from this world. I was just brought here yesterday by... I guess a god?" Frankie raises an eyebrow and looks at Jojo for a long moment. Just quiet, contemplative studying. Then, eventually, she sighs and nods. "I guess I hadn''t considered you might be a dang Traveler." "Huh?" Jojo''s eyes go wide. "Is... Is that a thing in this world?" "Supposedly," Frankie says. "It''s all old legends. People who show up who are crazy strong and change the whole world." "Yeah, that... That sounds like it could be me," Jojo says. Frankie nods. "Yup. You were right to not tell anyone, though. That kinda thing is real trouble." "I thought as much..." "I mean, for one, every kingdom in the world would wanna grab you so you can be their legendary hero. Then, anyone who couldn''t get you would want you dead. Lots of people would just want you dead regardless because you''re too dangerous." Frankie laughs dryly. "I mean, the legends say the last one is why the moon is cut in half!" "The moon is cut in half?" Frankie laughs, livelier this time. "Yeah it is. Just two big half circles up there. I''ll show you tonight if I don''t forget." "Tonight? So..." Jojo swallows hard, trying not to let hopefulness creep into her voice. "So we can still be friends?" Frankie sighs. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess we can. Someone''s gotta show you around this place and keep you out of trouble, and I guess I can at least trust myself to do that." They''re both silent for a long minute, just processing everything, before Jojo finally finds it in herself to speak up again. "Thank you, Frankie. Really." "Aw, shut up." Chapter 5 Slowly but surely, the requirements to level up do rise. It takes five slimes to reach level 6, and then closer to twenty to reach 7. Plus, in all that time, Jojo''s Swordplay skill stays firmly stuck at 5. It hits 6 soon after, but it isn''t until late in the afternoon, when Jojo is deep into level 9, that Swordplay finally makes it to 7. Jojo takes that as an opportunity for a break. She wipes the sweat from her forehead, pockets the monster whistle, and wanders over to where Frankie is watching her from the shade of a tree. "Finally got swordplay to 7," she sighs out as she slumps down against the tree. Frankie hands her some water, and she chugs it down. "Certainly doesn''t go up fast." Frankie snorts out a laugh. "Seriously? You''re complaining about it being slow? That would be a good skill level for an adventurer after a year on the job." "Seriously?" "Well, assuming their Job doesn''t give them any bonuses," Frankie adds. "What a pain." Frankie rolls her eyes. "Just don''t go whining back at the guild, or you''re liable to get in a fight, even if they don''t know you''re cheating. Anyway, I''ve got a question." "Go ahead," Jojo says. "What''s with the space magic?" Jojo looks at her blankly. "The what now?" "C''mon," Frankie says plainly, "don''t act all coy at this point." "I seriously don''t know what you mean," Jojo tells her. "I''ve been watching you pretend to put slimestones in the same tiny pocket all day," Frankie says. "You''re using space magic, and you''re really bad at hiding it." "Oh." Jojo flushes red. "I, um... I guess I wasn''t thinking of it as magic? The angel called it a ''dimensional storage'' or something. It''s... Another cheat." "Lucky you," Frankie says sarcastically. "Well, be careful with it. It''s pretty obvious you''re using it, and it looks like some pretty high level space magic. Things could get bad if you''re caught, so... Yeah, just be careful, alright?" "Okay, okay, I''ll be careful!" Jojo puts her hands up in mock surrender and chuckles. She leans back against the tree, sighs, and stares up through the leaves overhead. "So, magic, huh? How''s that work?" "What do you mean?" "Well, we didn''t have magic back in my old world," Jojo says. "Like, at all. So I guess the idea of it is exciting! I wanna know more about it." "Alright. Hmm..." Frankie makes herself comfortable in the grass and leans forward to explain. "Well, I can''t exactly tell you what magic is or why we have it, because I don''t know, but I can explain the basics." "Please!" Frankie nods. "So, to start, there''s Basic and Advanced magic. Basic magic comes packaged with Jobs, so you''ll probably see some of it when you hit level 10. It''s got seven different types: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light, Dark, and Life." "Life is Basic?" "Yup. Good thing it is, too, because otherwise adventurers wouldn''t get healers for their parties until they started upgrading their Jobs at level 25. I mean, a level 10 cleric can''t do much, but they can be the difference between a week of bed rest and a day, and in the grand scheme of things that helps a lot." "That''s lucky." Frankie laughs. "Yeah. Whoever set the whole thing up probably did it on purpose, but that''s getting into theology, and I don''t really know anything about that." Jojo nods. "So, what about Advanced magic?" "That''s where things get complicated," Frankie says. "Advanced magic can be basically anything. You get Advanced magic skills by thinking up a combination of Basic magics and getting the world to agree with you that it makes sense. So, you take Earth and Water magic, and you can make, like, Mud magic, as long as you get just the right amount of Earth and Water in there."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "How do you know what makes what?" Jojo asks. "Honestly?" Frankie shrugs. "I''ve got no clue. You''d have to go to a magic school to learn that." "I guess that makes sense," Jojo says. "How many kinds of Advanced magic are there?" "As far as I''m aware? It''s infinite." "Woah... That''s awesome!" "If you think so, you should consider taking a magic Job when you level up," Frankie says. "Healers are always in high demand, and it''d be a lot easier for you to pick and choose people you really trust to work with." "That makes sense," Jojo agrees. "If I become a healer, can I team up with you?" Frankie snorts. "I''m no adventurer." "You seem so good at this stuff, though!" Jojo argues. "I just know a lot of basic stuff because I work for the guild," Frankie says. "I''m no good in a fight. I''m only even up to level 8 because, unlike you, I actually lived my whole life in this world." "Wait, you''re only level 8?" Jojo gasps. "Isn''t that dangerous?" "Not really. Nobody really seeks out levels unless they''re gonna be fighting or doing some kind of specialized magic work. Or they''re nobles, I guess." "But a bad adventurer could, like, rob you and there would be nothing you could do!" Frankie laughs. "If I spent my whole life worrying about what thieves in the night could do, I''d never get any sleep. If you''re that worried, then why don''t you just get strong enough to protect me, huh?" "I- uh-" Jojo flushes red and turns away to hide her face. She quickly gathers up the sword and springs to her feet. "I have been on break too long. Don''t wanna be out here too late, after all!" Jojo runs off to fight more slimes, and Frankie laughs, taking her spot up against the tree and settling in to watch her train. About an hour later, it finally happens. Jojo puts down the umpteenth slime¡ªshe''s lost count by this point¡ªand a notification fills her vision.
Level Up! 9>10 HP RESTORED! MP RESTORED! SP RESTORED! ALL STATS +1 New Jobs Available!
"Yes! Finally, I get a Job!" Jojo cheers, jumping and dancing in place as a huge new box pops up in front of her.
Congratulations on reaching level 10! You now have the option of selecting a Job, defining how your future adventures will unfold! Be careful, as this choice cannot be undone. Whatever you choose, it will be with you forever! Available Jobs:
SWORDSLINGER Requirements: Swordplay Level 5 Stats per Level: +3 Strength +3 Vitality +2 Constitution +1 Agility +1 Free Stat Bonuses: +50% Exp to Sword and Shield Skills
ELEMENTALIST Requirements: None Stats per Level: +1 Vitality +1 Constitution +3 Wisdom +4 Intelligence +1 Free Stat Bonuses: Fire Magic Proficiency Earth Magic Proficiency Water Magic Proficiency Air Magic Proficiency
THAUMATURGE Requirements: None Stats Per Level: +1 Vitality +1 Constitution +4 Wisdom +3 Intelligence +1 Free Stat Bonuses: Light Magic Proficiency Dark Magic Proficiency
CLERIC Requirements: None Stats Per Level: +2 Vitality +2 Constitution +2 Wisdom +2 Intelligence +2 Free Stat Bonuses: Life Magic Proficiency
JACK OF ALL TRADES Requirements: Level 5 in one combat skill Level 3 in two other combat skills Stats Per Level: +3 All Stats Bonuses: All Magic Proficiencies Capable of learning any skill Demerits: -50% Exp Gain
"Ooh, that one sounds awesome! Jack of All Trades, please!"
Job obtained: Jack of All Trades
Grinning, Jojo skips back over to Frankie, singing to herself, "I did it, I did it!" Frankie chuckles under her breath and stands up to greet Jojo. "Good job. Now, let''s talk about what kind of a Job you actually want. I know you probably didn''t get many options, but that''s just because we focused on levels today. We can get you some skills next, and that''ll really open up your options." "Oh, I already took one!" Jojo says excitedly. Frankie''s smile drops. "You... You what?" "Yeah, there was a really cool looking one called Jack of All Trades, so I took that!" Frankie slaps her forehead. "You idiot! Jojo! That''s a joke Job! It''s useless!" Jojo gasps, taken aback. "What? But it sounded so good!" "Did you not see that it cuts your experience in half!?" "But that still leaves me getting fifty times what everyone else does," Jojo argues. "Plus, it lets me use every magic type!" "Barely! It¡ªyou¡ªugh! If you had actually come and talked to me, I could have warned you!" "Warned me of what?" Jojo frowns. "Try it! Try to summon up a fireball! Any fresh Elementalist can conjure up a fireball the size of their fist, so why don''t you see what you get?" "Okay..." Jojo looks into the difference, points out a finger, and concentrates. She can feel the power well up inside of her, swirling around through her blood and concentrating at the tip of her finger. It swells, heats up, and then bursts out into... A single spark. A little, tiny spark flies forward and winks out of existence before it can even hit the ground.
Skill: Novice Fire Magic has reached Level 2
"...Novice Fire Magic?" Frankie sighs. "Yeah. Novice." "I''m... Guessing the other magic Jobs don''t get ''novice'' versions?" "No, Jojo. They do not." "Oh." Chapter 6 ¡°Ugh. Great.¡± Groaning, Jojo slumps down against the tree. ¡°So I screwed myself then?¡± Frankie sighs. ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. You¡¯re honestly still is a really good place, I just didn¡¯t want you to get carried away.¡± ¡°But no magic,¡± Jojo huffs. Frankie sits a couple of feet away from Jojo, facing her, and looks her in the eye. ¡°You can still use magic. You¡¯ll just have to work for it.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m stuck with the novice stuff,¡± Jojo says. ¡°Right, you don¡¯t know. Jojo, skills don¡¯t just level up forever. They have a maximum level, usually between 10 and 30, and once they hit that, two things can happen. Either their level changes to ¡®MAX,¡¯ at which point they¡¯re as strong as they can get, or they evolve. The novice magic skills evolve at level 10.¡± ¡°Meaning what?¡± ¡°Meaning that you just have to get any magic skills you actually want to use to level 10, and they¡¯ll turn into the regular magic skills that other classes start with,¡± Frankie explains. ¡°It¡¯s a real pain, but that¡¯s the price you pay for your Job. You can technically do anything, you just have to work really, really hard for it.¡± ¡°How hard? How long am I gonna have to work to get to the base level of everyone else?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Hard to say.¡± Frankie purses her lips in thought. ¡°Your bonuses don¡¯t help in giving an estimate, but honestly, I just don¡¯t know for sure. Nobody takes that Job. People joke about how you¡¯d have to use up all your MP every day for ten years, but¡ª¡± ¡°Ten years!?¡± ¡°BUT that¡¯s just a joke! Nobody knows for sure! And even if it was true, your bonuses would turn that into, like, a month.¡± ¡°A month I wouldn¡¯t have to wait if I wasn¡¯t so¡­ Ugh.¡± Jojo thumps her head back against the tree in frustration. ¡°Now what do I do?¡± ¡°Do you want my opinion?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± ¡°Well, for one, I do actually think you¡¯re in a very unique position to make use of this Job,¡± Frankie says. ¡°I may not have recommended it, but it has such extreme downsides for a reason. Being able to learn any skill is powerful.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?¡± ¡°Do I seem like that kind of person?¡± Frankie scoffs. ¡°Like, okay, just off the top of my head, there¡¯s a skill some classes get called Meditation that lets them focus themselves to restore their MP. That¡¯s a very rare thing for skills to do, and if you learned it, you could reduce your time training a new kind of a magic from a month to a matter of days.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Jojo sighs and leans forward as her initial frustration fades. ¡°Yeah, alright, I get it. So, how about advice for, like, now?¡± ¡°Well, I think you should start training your life magic skill immediately.¡± ¡°Why life?¡± ¡°Because I was serious when I recommended you become a Cleric. It¡¯s a fantastic career choice, and honestly, nobody will bat an eye at you focusing on non-magical adventuring for a month or so if you just say you want your healing to be more reliable before people are betting their lives on it.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jojo thinks on it for a minute, then nods her head. ¡°Alright. Yeah, actually, I kinda like that. Healing people¡­ It sounds nice. Plus, if I get super good at it, maybe people will see me as some kind of saint!¡± Frankie puts her head in her hands. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I¡¯m not religious, or I¡¯d slap you for that.¡± Jojo laughs. ¡°Got it, got it. Alright, any idea how I can use my baby life magic?¡± Frankie shakes her head. ¡°No idea, to be honest. Maybe try just¡­ Growing some grass?¡± Jojo shrugs and glances around until she finds a particularly weak-looking piece of grass. It¡¯s half-eaten by bugs and close to wilting, so she figures it could be a good way to test her powers. She leans down close to the blade, cups her hands around it, and focuses. She can feel the magic inside of her, can sense it swirling between her hands, almost a whirlwind of pure magical power that only she can feel, dousing the grass, swarming it, until¡­ Nothing. Nothing happens to the grass. If anything, it twitches a bit, but that could just as well have been the wind. However, something does happen to Jojo:
Skill: Novice Life Magic has reached level 2
Skill: Novice Life Magic has reached level 3
Jojo pumps a fist. ¡°Yeah! Two levels!¡± ¡°Good to hear,¡± Frankie says. ¡°How¡¯s your MP?¡± Jojo looks up into the air as she checks her stats. ¡°Uhh, looks like I¡¯m down to 90 out of 100.¡± Frankie nods. ¡°Alright, so taking into account your spark from earlier, we can probably assume novice ¡®spells¡¯ cost 5 MP.¡± ¡°Guess I better get to spending it,¡± Jojo says. She leans down to start casting more magic, then stops herself and looks back up at Frankie. ¡°Uhh, I¡¯m not gonna, like, die if I run out of MP, right?¡± ¡°What? No, of course not. You just won¡¯t be able to use magic anymore.¡± ¡°Okay, good.¡± It doesn¡¯t take long for Jojo to work through the rest of her MP. After about an hour of constant casting, she sits back, wipes her brow, and sighs. ¡°Well, seems like that got me to level 5,¡± she says. ¡°Not bad, I think.¡± ¡°It only gets harder from here,¡± Frankie tells her, ¡°and channeling magic into a blade of grass is going to start giving diminishing returns.¡± ¡°What else can I do, though? I doubt I can actually heal anything.¡± Frankie shrugs. ¡°Diminishing returns are still returns. I think you¡¯ll just have to accept that it¡¯ll take a while.¡± Jojo sighs. ¡°Ugh. Alright, well, what about Meditation? Any clue how to do that?¡± ¡°You could just try meditating,¡± Frankie says, ¡°but if that doesn¡¯t work, you¡¯ll probably have to find somebody with the skill to teach you.¡± ¡°Figures.¡± Jojo takes a deep breath, then pushes herself up and brushes her pants off. ¡°Well, it¡¯s about to get dark. Should we head back to town?¡± Frankie nods and joins her, and the two start the trek back to the gates. The sun sets, and faint, blue-ish moonlight settles on the world around them. The leaves of the sparse trees rustle in a gentle breeze. Faint voices drift over the town¡¯s walls, but everything is otherwise quiet, peaceful. Eventually, Frankie stops and points into the sky. ¡°Oh, right, look.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Jojo follows her finger and looks up. The night sky is beautiful, scattered with stars and painted with swirls of faint magical light. Blues and purples dominate, but faint splashes of greens and golds and reds can be made out here and there. Some highlight constellations that probably hold deep meaning somewhere in the world, while others are simply there, light and color existing simply for the sake of being there. To the East, above the forests, floats the moon¡ªor, perhaps, the moons. It¡¯s clear it was once one body in the sky, but somehow, it seems to have been cleft in two. The two halves of the moon stand together, slightly offset, with a ring of debris following the cut that tore it apart. Perpendicular to the ring of rock is another ring, much cleaner, of bright blue magic, lending the whole set the air of being barely held together. ¡°The stories say the blue ring is a magic circle put there by the Goddess of Magic, Alara,¡± Frankie explains as Jojo stares into the sky. ¡°I guess if she didn¡¯t do anything, it would¡¯ve crashed down onto us and, I don¡¯t know, killed everybody or something.¡± ¡°Why would somebody cut the moon in half, though?¡± Frankie shrugs. ¡°Who knows. Maybe he was evil. Maybe he was just stupid.¡± She puts a hand on Jojo¡¯s shoulder and makes sure she has her attention. ¡°It¡¯s why you have to be careful, though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gonna do something that dumb,¡± Jojo protests. ¡°But you could. And people would kill you for that possibility.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Jojo frowns and kicks the dirt at her feet. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep it a secret.¡± They¡¯re silent for the rest of the walk back to town. Jojo never takes her eyes off of the moon. Chapter 7 The next morning, Jojo is on her own again. Frankie has to go back to work, so she suggests that Jojo go out and get acquainted with the town and maybe run a few errands while she¡¯s at it. First stop? The adventurers guild! Well, kind of. As it turns out, the guild actually owns both of the buildings that neighbor it as well. One, a rather large but plain two-story building, is apparently a cheap lodging for adventurers while they¡¯re in town. It¡¯s pretty much just one big communal room, so it¡¯s loud and there¡¯s no privacy, but it¡¯s always there if you need it. The other building is smaller, and just as nondescript. Its footprint is about half the size of the guild, and it¡¯s only one story, but it also has access to a decently-sized fenced-off outdoor area in case it needs it. That¡¯s the building Jojo has her sights on. She steps inside to find a small, somewhat cramped room with a heavy door off to one side and a window right in front of her. On the other side of the window is sitting an old but still fit man going through stacks of paperwork. He looks up as he hears the door swing open and waves Jojo over when he sees her. ¡°Mornin.¡¯¡± The man keep shuffling through the papers as he addresses her, occasionally signing or stamping something. ¡°Um, hi,¡± Jojo says, stepping awkwardly up to the window. ¡°I¡¯m a new adventurer, and I was told I could sell some things here?¡± ¡°A newbie, huh?¡± The old man gives Jojo a fresh look over. ¡°Got your card?¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± Jojo grins and pulls her new Adventurer¡¯s Plate out of her pocket. It¡¯s nothing special on the surface, just a little copper plate with her name on it, but apparently it¡¯s ¡®soulbound¡¯ to her, meaning it can never be lost or stolen. She presents it proudly to the old man. ¡°Right here!¡± He barely glances at it before nodding. ¡°Good. So whatcha selling?¡± ¡°Just some slimestones,¡± Jojo says. She grabs the pouch at her waist¡ªborrowed from Frankie¡ªand pours out her hefty cache of loot from her grinding. ¡°All the ones I got from my, um, last push to reach level ten!¡± The man eyes the stones disinterestedly. ¡°Three silver,¡± he says after a moment. ¡°Huh? But¡­ But Frankie said they should sell for five copper each!¡± ¡°Yeah? So?¡± ¡°So, there¡¯s definitely over a hundred here! That should be at least five silver!¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ Nah.¡± The man shakes his head and loudly stamps a piece of paper. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like a hundred to me.¡± ¡°It¡­ But¡­¡± Jojo pouts. ¡°Surely this many is at least worth four silver.¡± ¡°Maybe. Call it a service fee.¡± The man shrugs. ¡°Three silver.¡± ¡°I¡­ Ugh.¡± Jojo huffs. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll take three.¡± The man doesn¡¯t even bother confirming past that. He just drops three coins on the counter, scoops the stones into a satchel, and promptly ignores Jojo as though she was never there. She frowns, takes the coins, and stomps out of the office loud enough that she¡¯s sure he can hear. Outside, she takes a second to recenter herself, then sets off to her next destination. She follows the main road deeper into town until it brings her to a large square. People mill about, weaving around each other as they go about their day. Stalls are set up here and there, selling hot food or fresh fruits. In the center of the square, a crier shares the news of the day. Jojo stays to the edge of the crowds and heads into a humble little store not far from the main street. The door sits open, letting a pleasant breeze in to waft through the aisles of shelves stocked with all sorts of things, from rope to paint to spices. Frankie recommended this general store highly. Supposedly, its owner is¡ª ¡°Well, you¡¯re a new face! Welcome, welcome!¡± A high-pitched voice comes from one of the aisles. Jojo follows the sound of the voice and at first sees nobody, until she looks down and spies the miniscule person standing before her. The woman can¡¯t be more than a foot tall. She¡¯s wearing a sharp gray suit, and streaks of white pepper her short-cropped hair. Her smile is businesslike and practiced, not marred even a little by the scar that runs across her upper lip. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. According to Frankie, this woman is a gnome. Jojo smiles politely and nods her head. ¡°Hello! I¡¯m a new adventurer in town, and Frankie from the guild suggested I stop by here,¡± Jojo says. ¡°Well, ain¡¯t that sweet of her,¡± the woman says. ¡°I¡¯m Ash, and this is Ash¡¯s Batches, best general store in Petal Run. Here¡¯s to a long and fruitful relationship!¡± Ash thumps her chest and nods in some sort of affirmative gesture. ¡°So, didja need anything in particular?¡± ¡°I did, actually. I don¡¯t have much money just yet, but I was hoping to get one of these magic storage pouches for myself. Do you sell them?¡± ¡°Sure do. Smallest one will run you two silver.¡± Ash leads Jojo over to a shelf holding all sorts of bags, from simple cloth pouches to extravagant purses to hefty backpacks. She grabs the smallest, plainest one hidden away on the bottom shelf and hands it over. Jojo purses her lips. ¡°Dang. Well, I guess it¡¯s a necessity, so¡­¡± Ash grins. ¡°Tell ya what, sweetie. You seem like a promising girl, so if you say you¡¯ll think of us first whenever you need some supplies, I¡¯ll cut it down to one and a half silver for ya. How¡¯s that sound?¡± ¡°Would you really?¡± Jojo smiles wide and hands over two silver, and Ash gives her five large copper coins back as change. ¡°Wow, thank you Ash! You¡¯re so nice,¡± Jojo gushes. Ash chuckles. ¡°Think nothing of it. Anything else you need?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jojo thinks for a second, then has an idea. ¡°Oh! Um, it¡¯s a long shot, but would you happen to know of a really good, really cheap alchemist in town?¡± ¡°Good and cheap, huh? That¡¯s a tough one¡­¡± Ash frowns in thought. ¡°Well¡­ I suppose there is one place. Girl doesn¡¯t get many customers, but she does have the skills. Just¡­ Be careful. She¡¯s in a seedier part of town.¡± Jojo nods. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can handle myself fine!¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Jojo gets directions, and soon she¡¯s on her way. As she walks, she sticks Frankie¡¯s bag in her storage and ties her new bag tight to her belt to make sure it won¡¯t be easily stolen. From an outside point of view, the girl skipping gleefully down side streets and cutting through back alleys with a grin on her face probably seems woefully naive. Maybe some rich merchant¡¯s kid who thinks she owns the town, or a noble who doesn¡¯t realize she¡¯s gotten separated from her guards. In reality, Jojo is perfectly aware of how she looks. It just doesn¡¯t bother her, because her dimensional storage means she has nothing on her to steal. Plus, she¡¯s an adventurer. Surely nobody would be dumb enough to mess with her. Unfortunately, the real world is unaware of her interiority, and eventually, as the streets empty out and opulent shops are replaced with dingy stoops, she takes a wrong turn. She heads down a shady alley, and she¡¯s only halfway through it when someone steps out of the shadows in front of her. The man who appears is tall and gangly, with knobby joints and clothes that are more patches than whatever material they started as. He¡¯s got a tiny, crooked knife in his hand, and he holds it loosely as he looms over Jojo. ¡°Well, well, lookie what we have here,¡± he whistles. ¡°Someone didn¡¯t listen when their mommy told them where was safe to play.¡± Jojo gasps. ¡°Woah! Are you a thief?¡± The man gives a raspy laugh. ¡°Thief? Now, that¡¯s just rude. I¡¯m just a guy hoping for a little¡­ Donation, is all.¡± ¡°You are a thief!¡± Jojo grins and hops in place. ¡°Ooh, this is exciting! Identify!¡±
Human Level 8
Skill: Identify has reached Level 4
¡°Heyyy, didn¡¯t nobody tell you that was rude?¡± The man sneers. ¡°How would you like it if I went around identifyin¡¯ you?¡± Jojo shrugs. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t really bother me. Maybe you should try, actually. You might realize something.¡± He gives her an odd look, then snorts. ¡°Fine. Identify.¡± After a second, his eyes go wide. ¡°Wait, ten? But you look like a kid!¡± Jojo laughs. ¡°So, about that robbery.¡± ¡°Robbery? I-I told you, I¡¯m not a thief! I¡¯m just hanging out in this alley, honest!¡± The man puts his hands up in surrender and backs away a few steps. ¡°Seriously, I don¡¯t want any trouble!¡± ¡°Well, looks like trouble found you anyway.¡± Jojo smirks and cracks her knuckles, then shoots forward faster than the man can react. She kicks him in the shin, making him yelp in pain and fall to one knee, then she delivers two quick punches to his face. The man crumples to the ground, unconscious. Jojo dusts herself off as notifications roll in.
Level Up! 9>10 HP RESTORED! MP RESTORED! SP RESTORED! ALL STATS +3
Skill: Barehanded Combat has reached Level 5
¡°Well, that was easy.¡± Jojo chuckles. She reaches down, picks up the man¡¯s knife, and stores it away. ¡°I¡¯ll just be taking that. Seems a bit dangerous to be playing around with! Heh.¡± Jojo gingerly steps over the man and walks out of the alley, then looks around carefully to make sure he didn¡¯t have any friends waiting for him. When she¡¯s sure she¡¯s alone, she shrugs and continues on her way. ¡°To the alchemist!¡± Back in the alley, a shadow reaches out and drags the unconscious man away. Chapter 8 ¡°Is this really it?¡± The sun is high overhead when Jojo finally finds the place she¡¯s looking for. At least, she thinks it¡¯s the right place. It¡¯s an old, decrepit shack pressed right up against the outer wall of the town, walls made of stones that barely fit together and only barely stacked high enough that Jojo wouldn¡¯t have to duck to walk in. The only real sign that she¡¯s in the right place, aside from the fact that the road ended and it¡¯s the last building, is the faint image of a bottle crudely carved right into the wooden door. She almost considers turning away, but she doesn¡¯t. Instead she takes a deep breath, steels herself, and knocks politely. Silence answers her. After¡­ Probably too long waiting around awkwardly, she knocks again, louder this time. From somewhere inside, a scratchy voice barks out ¡°door¡¯s open,¡± so Jojo pushes her way inside¡ªgently, as the door feels like being too rough on it would send it toppling to the ground. The inside is a cluttered mess. Shelves line all the visible walls, and they¡¯re all filled to the brim, either with unlabelled bottles filled with strange goop or gross bins full of the ingredients needed to make the concoctions. Stacks of books are piled here and there on the floor, evidently not important enough to merit shelf space, and most of them double down on the impression of disuse by having a thick layer of dust on their surfaces. The whole building is just a single small room. In one corner is a work station, where several fresh potions are precariously strung up over open flames. Another corner has what could generously be called a ¡®bed,¡¯ if you were to go off the thick blankets covering it, and on that bed lays a scrawny, disheveled woman. She doesn¡¯t react to Jojo¡¯s entrance, instead choosing to continue what she was doing¡ªnamely, staring at the ceiling and picking at her fingernails. ¡°Um¡­ Hello?¡± Jojo says quietly as she steps inside. She¡¯s exceedingly careful not to bump into anything as she does so. The whole place gives her the feeling that a single wrong move could bring the whole building down on their heads. ¡°Hey,¡± the woman replies. Her voice is flat, monotone, and sounds like she¡¯s been on the wrong end of a pipe for more years than she¡¯s been alive. She sits up and stretches, and her loose clothes flop awkwardly across her body. They look like they might once have been fancy, but years of overfamiliarity have beaten any of that out of them. ¡°So, you here to buy something or to rob me? Fair warning, last guy who tried that fed my mushrooms for weeks.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Jojo glances around awkwardly. She doesn¡¯t see any mushrooms, but still can¡¯t help but wonder how true that threat is. ¡°I-I don¡¯t have much money, and Ash at the general store said you were good for your prices, so¡­¡± ¡°Well ain¡¯t that sweet of her.¡± The woman stands up, though she has to hunch to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling, and walks over to Jojo. Piles of trash rustle as she kicks them aside. A perpetual gloom seems to settle around her as she walks, and wafts over Jojo when she gets close. The woman doesn¡¯t smile. She just stares down at Jojo for a second, then extends her hand for a handshake, which Jojo reluctantly takes. ¡°You can call me Gouge. So what do you need?¡± ¡°I, um¡­ Hm¡­¡± Jojo takes a second to figure out how exactly to word her request. ¡°I guess I¡¯m looking for a really weak poison?¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Gouge narrows her eyes sharply. ¡°You said Ash sent you here?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Jojo frowns. ¡°Um, if it¡¯s a problem, I can¡ª¡± ¡°No.¡± Gouge waves a hand through the air to quiet the protestations, then wanders away and starts rummaging through a random pile of what Jojo had assumed was garbage. Eventually, she pulls out a little, thumb-sized vial of some cloudy white liquid and holds it out towards Jojo. ¡°Here.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Jojo hesitantly takes the vial and peers at it closely. The clouds in the mixture don¡¯t seem to move quite right. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Weak anxiety poison. Useless thing. Makes you feel bad. Drink it.¡± ¡°Is it safe?¡± ¡°It¡¯s poison.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Jojo uncorks the vial and smells it, but it¡¯s completely odorless. She takes a deep breath, then another, then downs the bottle as fast as she can. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The effects are immediate. It¡¯s like a lead ball lands in her stomach, weighing her down, pressing against her spine, making everything feel¡­ Wrong. Her neck feels hot. Her legs itch. Something isn¡¯t right, something¡ª And then the feeling is gone.
Skill: Poison Resistance has reached Level 2
Skill: Poison Resistance has reached Level 3
Jojo coughs, shakes her whole body to get rid of the last remnants of the awful feelings, then straightens herself out and sighs. ¡°Wow. That was¡­ Weird. What a strange poison.¡± Gouge, for her part, was watching the whole thing keenly. She never even blinked, watching Jojo¡¯s reaction like a hawk, and her eyes widen imperceptibly after she recovers. She lets out a quiet ¡°hm.¡± Jojo doesn¡¯t notice anything odd in Gouge¡¯s reaction. ¡°So,¡± she asks, ¡°how much would I owe you for that one?¡± Gouge shakes her head. ¡°Nothing. It was trash. Do a favor for me instead.¡± She turns around, and this time takes a vial out of a drawer in her work table. The drawer is packed to the brim with identical vials, although only about half of them seem to actually be filled with the purple liquid they¡¯re apparently designed for. She carries it back to Jojo and hands it out to her. ¡°Drink this.¡± Jojo takes the concoction and eyes it. The liquid is solid purple, too deep to see through, but looking at it closely makes it seem like it¡¯s somehow swirling around on its own. ¡°What is it?¡± She asks. ¡°Same thing, just stronger,¡± Gouge says. ¡°I want to see how it reacts to the weak stuff.¡± ¡°Huh. Do people actually use this stuff?¡± ¡°Like you wouldn¡¯t believe. Now drink it.¡± Jojo hesitates. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¡°Drink it, or I¡¯ll turn you in for poisoning yourself.¡± ¡°W-What!?¡± Jojo jumps a bit in shock and takes a step back. ¡°What do you mean, turn me in?¡± Gouge rolls her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you didn¡¯t tell Ash you were planning to buy poison to up your resistance. If you had, she would have told you that it¡¯s illegal.¡± ¡°It is!? Why would that be illegal?¡± ¡°Well, if it was legal, people like me could rob people like you blind, kill you, and get away with it by saying we were just trying to do what you wanted.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Jojo puts her head in her hand. ¡°I¡¯m such an idiot.¡± ¡°Yes. Now drink.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Jojo sighs. ¡°Fine.¡± She uncorks the vial and swallows the liquid. It goes down slowly, slower than it probably should, and she can feel it swirling the whole way down. It doesn¡¯t make her feel strange, though. She feels completely normal.
Skill: Poison Resistance has reached Level 4
Skill: Poison Resistance has reached Level 5
¡°Good.¡± Gouge¡¯s voice comes from behind Jojo, making her jump. Apparently, while Jojo was focused on the drink, Gouge circled around behind her to block the door. ¡°Now. Who are you?¡± ¡°What? I¡¯m just Jojo.¡± ¡°Alright. What level is your poison resistance?¡± ¡°It¡¯s five, now,¡± Jojo answers. ¡°And what was it when you came in?¡± ¡°Um¡­ I guess it was one? W-Wait, I mean, it was one. No, one!¡± Jojo claps a hand over her mouth. ¡°What did you do!?¡± ¡°Truth poison. Lasts about an hour. Or until your resistance maxes out, which seems like it might happen first.¡± Gouge leans forward and peers hard at Jojo. ¡°So, why are you getting levels faster than you¡¯re supposed to?¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡± Jojo slams both hands over her mouth, trying to hold herself back from talking, but something inside her fights back and pulls her hands away enough for her to choke the words out. ¡°I¡¯m a Traveler.¡± Gouge¡¯s eyebrows raise up. ¡°Interesting. Seems like I¡¯ve stumbled upon quite the valuable person.¡± Jojo glares at Gouge. She pulls Frankie¡¯s sword out of her storage, and it appears ready in her hand. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t let you turn me in and¡­ And ruin my life! I just started this life!¡± Gouge shakes her head. ¡°Bad idea. You might want to take a look at my level before you threaten me.¡± Jojo purses her lips. ¡°I-Identify.¡±
Human Level 25
¡°What!? Why are you so strong?¡± ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not the one with the truth poison in their system. Don¡¯t worry, though, I¡¯m not evil. I¡¯m not going to ruin your life. I¡¯m just not one to let an opportunity slip away.¡± Jojo glares at her for a minute before finally sighing, putting the sword away, and slumping in on herself. ¡°So, what, you¡¯re gonna blackmail me?¡± ¡°More or less. I have some¡­ Theories I¡¯d like to test, and you just so happen to be the perfect test subject.¡± Jojo groans. ¡°Fine. If you¡¯re not gonna turn me in or anything, then let¡¯s just¡­ Get this over with, I guess.¡± For the first time since Jojo walked in, the slightest smile cracks across Gouge¡¯s face. ¡°Good,¡± she says. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± Chapter 9 ¡°Go ahead and sit on the bed,¡± Gouge says. She walks past Jojo¡ªapparently unconcerned about the possibility of her running away¡ªand starts rummaging around on shelves, looking for something. As if in an afterthought, she adds ¡°Oh, how much HP do you have?¡± ¡°Um¡­ 260?¡± Jojo frowns deeply as she sits gingerly on the messy bed. It creaks precariously under her. ¡°Is that going to be important?¡± ¡°If you want to survive these tests, it¡¯s very important,¡± Gouge tells her. She grabs a bottle hidden away near the back of a bottom shelf, then heads over to her workstation. She pulls out an empty vial and one of the potions bubbling over a fire, and starts carefully measuring out drops of it. ¡°See,¡± she says, talking as she works, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be here all day, and the fastest way to raise someone¡¯s resistance is via poisons that simply damage the victim.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t complain. You came here for this. Be happy I¡¯m doing it for free.¡± Gouge finishes her measurements and walks over to Jojo holding two poisons. One of them, the one she had pre-made on a shelf, is a noxious-looking grey goop in a heavy bottle. The other is a tiny amount of violent, see-through red liquid in a small vial. She holds the grey one out to Jojo. ¡°You probably wouldn¡¯t be able to afford these, anyway. Drink.¡± Jojo takes the bottle and swirls it around as she peers at it. ¡°Is this going to hurt?¡± ¡°Not this one. Drink.¡± Jojo frowns. ¡°There¡¯s no other way to get you to keep my secret?¡± ¡°Not unless you¡¯re very rich.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ I can¡¯t believe I do these things to myself.¡± Jojo shakes her head, then plugs her nose and downs the poison as fast as she can. It¡¯s completely tasteless, but swallowing it is a laborious process that feels like drinking a slug. She has trouble getting it down completely, and goes into a coughing fit the second her airways are free.
Skill: Poison Resistance has reached Level 6
Skill: Poison Resistance has reached Level 7
Gouge nods. ¡°I suppose I should explain a bit. What you just drank was a high-grade poison known as an evolution suppressor. It prevents skills from evolving, and lasts for a week after ingestion.¡± Jojo¡¯s eyes go wide. She coughs a few more times, then glares up at Gouge. ¡°A week!?¡± ¡°Calm down. It will not last that long for you.¡± Before Jojo can ask what that means, Gouge¡¯s arm jolts forward in a flash and splashes the red liquid onto her face. ¡°Gah!¡± Jojo clutches her face as pain sears through her. The liquid evaporates as soon as it touches skin, but anywhere it hit feels like it¡¯s on fire, and it¡¯s all Jojo can do to fall back onto the bed and hold back further screams.
Skill: Poison Resistance has reached Level 8
Skill: Poison Resistance has reached Level 9
¡°Ah, I forgot to mention,¡± Gouge says in her still monotone voice, ¡°your resistance goes up even faster if you¡¯re attacked rather than ingesting the poison yourself.¡±
Skill: Poison Resistance has reached Level 10
Skill: Poison Resistance has evolved! It is now Poison Reversal
And then, just as suddenly as it came, the pain vanishes. Only the ghost of it remains, and even that disappears as the seconds pass. Jojo, panting, still clutching her face as though her arm hasn¡¯t yet processed that the pain is gone, stares up at the ceiling. ¡°What¡­ What did you¡­¡± ¡°And that¡¯s step one complete,¡± Gouge says. She crosses her arms and looms over Jojo as she explains. ¡°Everybody who is ever put in a position to use an evolution suppressor is told one thing: Do not, under any circumstances, let the victim evolve their poison resistance while under its effects. I¡¯d like to know why. So, tell me, Traveler: What did it evolve into? Because I would be willing to bet it wasn¡¯t poison immunity.¡± ¡°Immunity?¡± Jojo shakes her head. ¡°No, it says it¡¯s called Poison Reversal.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Reversal? Hm¡­¡± Gouge thinks for a minute, nodding along to whatever conclusions she must be drawing in her head. ¡°Interesting. Very interesting. Here¡¯s an idea: Can you lie? You should still be under the effects of the truth poison.¡± Jojo shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Well, try. What level are you?¡± ¡°Um, 30?¡± Gouge¡¯s eyes go wide, and she nearly falls over. Her gaze flicks up above Jojo¡¯s head, then she shuts her eyes tight and puts a palm to her forehead, her other arm out as if to keep her balance. ¡°I¡­ Wow. Okay,¡± Gouge says as she recovers. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s¡­ Dangerous.¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous that I can lie?¡± Jojo asks. ¡°No, no, not the lie. I¡­ I believed you,¡± Gouge says. ¡°I knew you were going to lie, I can see your level, and I still believed you.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°That¡¯s a very dangerous level of compulsion. In fact, I probably shouldn¡¯t have even told you about it. You¡­¡± She trails off, lost in thought. Jojo frowns. ¡°That does sound dangerous. I, um¡­ If it helps, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the kind of person who would abuse something like that.¡± Gouge sighs and nods. ¡°That does help, it¡ª¡± She cuts herself off and holds a hand out to preemptively shush Jojo. ¡°No. Quiet. It just happened again.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°No more statements out of you until that poison is out of your system,¡± Gouge says. ¡°I¡¯d give it three hours. Until then, be very, very careful about what you say.¡± Jojo nods. ¡°Okay, I¡ª¡± She starts, then cuts herself off, puts a hand over her mouth, and just nods again. Gouge sighs deeply. ¡°Anyway. It seems like your new skill will actively reverse the effects of any poison used on you. Definitely a very powerful effect, and I can see why it¡¯s kept so secret. If any nobles found out about this¡­ Well, that would be disastrous.¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Gouge glares at Jojo as she speaks up, and Jojo puts her hands up placatingly. ¡°I-I was just wondering¡­ If the new skill worked backwards on the truth thing, do you think it¡¯ll also effect the evolution thingy?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Hm.¡± Gouge puts a hand to her chin. ¡°That¡¯s a good question. I¡¯ll tell you what: We¡¯re about done for today anyway, and like I said, the evolution suppressor sits in your system for about a week. Why don¡¯t you try to evolve something in that time, and then come and tell me what it turned into?¡± ¡°I have to come back?¡± Jojo asks. Gouge glares at her. ¡°Of course you do. You and I are going to have a healthy business relationship from now on, after all. I mean¡­ I wouldn¡¯t want to have to go asking my other friends if they¡¯ve seen the Traveler that showed up in town recently, would I?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Jojo huffs and crosses her arms. ¡°That¡¯s mean.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a mean person.¡± ¡°Ugh. Fine.¡± Jojo glares back at Gouge, then gets up out of the bed and marches over to the door. ¡°You better give me good prices when I buy things, though!¡± With that, she leaves. She almost slams the door shut on her way out, but she doesn¡¯t quite trust the door or the building itself to hold up to that, so she refrains. On her way back to the guild, she runs into a familiar sight: A dark alley. Shadows all around. No witnesses. And a vaguely menacing, scraggly man with a crooked knife. She laughs to herself. ¡°Identify.¡±
Human Level 14
Skill: Identify has reached Level 5
Identify can now be used silently!
The man smiles wickedly and takes a few steps closer. ¡°Hello, girlie. You sure it¡¯s safe for you around here?¡± He laughs dryly. ¡°Friend of mine just got his lights knocked out earlier today.¡± ¡°O-Oh, did he? That¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m sorry to hear that,¡± Jojo says. She tries to back away, but the man just advances further. ¡°I¡¯m sure you are. If you¡¯re really sorry, though, I¡¯m uh¡­¡± He casually flicks his knife through the air. ¡°I¡¯m taking donations for his wellbeing.¡± ¡°Well, I would, but uh¡ª¡± Jojo starts, but then she gets an idea. ¡°A-Actually, um, you¡­ You know you¡¯re not supposed to be doing this routine with me, right?¡± A confused look passes over the man¡¯s face, and he takes a step back. ¡°I¡­ What?¡± ¡°Yeah, remember? Your, um, your boss said I was off limits,¡± Jojo improvises. The man seems to think for a moment, then lets out a gasp of realization. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right! He did say that! What am I doing!?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± Jojo tries to smile kindly at him. ¡°Actually, he, um¡­ He said I¡¯m supposed to hold on to all of the money you¡¯ve made today!¡± ¡°Yeah? Usually Joey takes it, but¡­ Huh.¡± The man shrugs. ¡°If the boss says so.¡± He grabs a heavy-looking pouch from his waist and hands it out to Jojo. She takes it and looks inside. It¡¯s full to the brim with copper and silver coins, and she thinks she sees one or two gold coins in there, too. ¡°Wow, is this the kind of take you get every day?¡± ¡°Yeah, more or less,¡± he says. ¡°I was just about done for the day, just figured I¡¯d stay out a little late for¡­ Some reason. Can¡¯t really remember.¡± He shrugs. ¡°Anyway, make sure the boss gets that, yeah? Last time he thought a guy was stealing from him¡­ Well, you know how he gets.¡± The man waves and starts to walk away. Jojo frowns, uncomfortable at that last comment. ¡°W-Wait,¡± she calls out, and he turns back to her. ¡°I, um¡­ I actually just remembered, I was only supposed to check how much you were getting. Make sure everything is square, you know? You can¡­¡± She takes one more look down at the money, then hands the pouch back out to the man. ¡°Take it to the usual place, alright?¡± The man gives her a funny look, but he takes it without arguing and heads off. Jojo waits a bit, then heads out herself. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ A problem for a different day,¡± she tells herself. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll figure it out.¡± Chapter 10 Darkness sticks to a city. It wants to spread, to encompass, like an obscuring mist, a comforting blanket. But it can¡¯t. A city is too tight, cramped, all buildings and crowds and angles and sharpness. It forces the darkness into hiding, into alleys and corners, behind dumpsters and in broken or abandoned places. And it sticks there. Like an old wound. Easily overlooked. Forgotten. But always there. Always in need of the attention it abhors, because otherwise¡­ Otherwise it festers. Jojo looks out through the glass doors of her office building and sees darkness. Dark streets, punctured here and there by flickering streetlights, the same streets that greet her every day after she finishes work. The wind outside whines as it scrapes against the buildings. The darkness remains unmoved. ¡°Looks like rain,¡± comes a voice from behind her. She recognizes it vaguely, but has forgotten the name and face it belongs to. ¡°Need a ride?¡± Jojo squeezes the umbrella in her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Her leg throbs. ¡°Suit yourself.¡± The voice leaves. Jojo pushes the door open and walks into the darkness. The wind pushes her along as she begins her walk. She does her best to ignore how it chills her to the bone, how it makes her aging joints creak. Her leg won¡¯t be ignored. She tries anyway. Left at an intersection. The streets are mostly empty at this hour. Sometimes headlights blind her as they speed past. That¡¯s fine. She knows where she¡¯s going. Some days, there are ones that don¡¯t blind her. Their lights are low, or off, and they drive slow. Quiet. None of those tonight, though. It¡¯s a good night. Left again. Her apartment building is in sight now. As always, her eyes drift to an alley she passes. It¡¯s all darkness, shadows that seem to morph and roil if you¡¯re not looking at them head-on. At the far end of the alley, she can just make out her office. She doesn¡¯t see anything in the alley. She never does. Only the sticking darkness. Jojo has never been afraid of the dark. She walks on. She knows better than to take the alley.
Jojo wakes up from the nightmare in a cold sweat. She sits up, panting, and rubs at a phantom pain in her leg. Soon the pain leaves, and the dream with it, and she pushes herself up and out of the rickety cot that has served as her place of rest. It¡¯s been a few days since her visit to Gouge¡¯s shop, and she¡¯s settled into something of a rhythm. She wakes up early in the guild¡¯s lodgings, heads into the guild proper, says hi to Frankie, and finds herself a simple job. Something like picking herbs or cleaning litter, just enough to pay for the bed and cheap food for the day. She gets the job done, and then she trains. Unfortunately, that training has yet to pay off. She spends every day¡¯s MP on life magic, which has gotten her up to level 8 for that skill, and then she meditates. Or at least, she tries to meditate. She¡¯s no stranger to the idea, it¡¯s something she would do now and then in her previous life, so it wasn¡¯t exactly hard to finish out her days in meditation. The problem is that those hours of effort don¡¯t seem to have accomplished anything. She never unlocked the Meditation skill, and it never restored a single point of MP. She tried asking Frankie for her thoughts, but she drew a blank. Because nobody ever actually takes the Jack of All Trades Job, nobody knows how the Job is supposed to gain ¡®any skill¡¯ as it advertised. Jojo was hopeful that it would just be a few hours of work with her boosted experience gain, but if it is just a matter of effort, it¡¯s clearly more effort than she expected. Not that Jojo minds putting in effort necessarily, but she¡¯s on a deadline. The week nears its end, and it¡¯s clear that at the rate she¡¯s going, she¡¯s not going to evolve her life magic skill before the poison leaves her system. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. So, unfortunately, Jojo once again finds herself deep in the back alleys of Petal Run, at a dingy shack up again the town¡¯s wall. ¡°So, what do you want me to do about it?¡± Gouge asks after hearing out Jojo¡¯s predicament. ¡°I can¡¯t teach you to Meditate.¡± ¡°Well, I thought, maybe, since you¡¯re interested in seeing how this turns out, you could maybe¡­ Give me some poisons?¡± Jojo asks. ¡°I mean, if there even are poisons that would make somebody lose MP. I can¡¯t imagine they would be that useful for the kinds of people who actually use poisons, but I thought maybe that¡¯d mean they¡¯d be cheap and easy to make, so¡ª¡± Gouge puts a hand up to tell Jojo to stop talking. ¡°I have some, yes, but I don¡¯t give them to you for free. Can you pay?¡± Jojo frowns. ¡°Um¡­ I don¡¯t have the money right now, no¡­¡± Gouge thinks for a moment. ¡°Well, we are on a time limit. You can simply be indebted to me.¡± She gets up from her bed and wanders over to a shelf. She starts grabbing random potions, mixing some together haphazardly, as Jojo watches. ¡°Go ahead and find somewhere to sit and work,¡± Gouge tells her after a second. Jojo glances around. She assumes ¡®find somewhere¡¯ means the bed isn¡¯t an option, so instead she finds a mostly-clear spot on the floor and just kind of pushes the junk around until there¡¯s a spot big enough for her to sit down. As she waits, Jojo pulls the little potted plant she¡¯s been using to practice out of her storage. It¡¯s little more than a wilted stem with a couple of drooping leaves, but it perks up noticeably whenever she pours her magic into it. ¡°Here.¡± Gouge sets an array of bottles down in front of Jojo. Inside them are liquids of various hues and shades, some bubbling, some swirling, but no two seemingly alike. ¡°These all drain MP in one way or another. Use what you need, and I¡¯ll figure out what you owe me later.¡± Jojo sighs and picks up a poison at random. ¡°It¡¯ll be worth the price,¡± she mumbles to herself. Then she drinks it as quickly as she can. Gouge doesn¡¯t bother watching her, instead heading over to her own workstation and noisily getting to work making potions and poisons. Jojo follows her lead and starts pouring her fresh MP into the plant, watching as the leaves twitch and tremble under the deluge of life. She settles into the work easily. The world around her almost vanishes as she focuses on what¡¯s right before her, and she settles into a simple cycle. Magic, potion, repeat. Over and over. Hours pass like minutes, until finally:
Skill: Novice Life Magic has reached Level 10
Skill: Novice Life Magic has evolved! It is now Essenceweaver
Jojo, entranced in her workings, doesn¡¯t notice the notification at first. She feels a slight hitch in her magic output, but chalks it up to still learning the ins and outs of using magic. Rather than worry about it, she just refocuses herself and resumes her magic. Suddenly, the plant explodes into life. It quadruples in size in a second, growing massive leaves and wicked thorns all over the stem, and at its tip a huge flower blooms. The vibrant blue petals seem to glow with livelihood, almost dancing with magical life. ¡°Woah!¡± Jojo gasps and reels back from the plant. She checks her notifications and lets out a cheer. ¡°Woo! I did it!¡± Gouge is looming above her immediately, peering down like she¡¯d been watching the whole time. ¡°So it would seem. What skill did you receive? This output seems above what would be expected from level one life magic.¡± ¡°The skill is called, uhh, Essenceweaver,¡± Jojo says. ¡°Sounds cool.¡± ¡°Hmm. I haven¡¯t heard of it.¡± Gouge leans down and examines the now-lively plant. ¡°This is quite impressive, though. If this is just at level one¡­ I may have a way for you to pay off your debt earlier than anticipated. How would you feel¡ª¡± Suddenly, there¡¯s a knock at the door. Gouge doesn¡¯t react, but Jojo jumps and quickly stores the plant in her storage. ¡°Door¡¯s open,¡± Gouge calls out. The door swings open, and on the other side is¡­ Somebody tall. That¡¯s all Jojo can really tell. Whoever it is, they¡¯re wearing a clean, crisp suit, and they¡¯re tall enough that their head and shoulders are out of view above the roof of the little shack. It doesn¡¯t help that they¡¯re standing ramrod straight, their arms folded neatly behind their back. They give the impression of a statue placed in front of the door as a prank. ¡°Quentin,¡± Gouge says, apparently recognizing the person. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I have anything for you to deliver today. Did you need something?¡± In slow, stiff movements, the person slides one arm out from behind their back and holds out a slip of paper in a gloved hand. Gouge goes and takes it, looks it over, and says ¡°Huh.¡± She turns to Jojo and hands the paper out towards her. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve been invited to meet the Shadow.¡± Jojo frowns. She walks over and takes the paper. All that¡¯s on it is her name in big, blocky letters, above a symbol of a star casting a long shadow. Jojo looks at Gouge suspiciously. ¡°Did you tell somebody about me?¡± Gouge shakes her head. ¡°If he knows about you, it¡¯s your own fault. Nothing to do with me.¡± Jojo looks between the tall statue of a person and Gouge, weighing her options, and then sighs. ¡°This¡­ Isn¡¯t the kind of invitation I can say no to, is it?¡± ¡°It is not,¡± Gouge says her. ¡°Great.¡± Chapter 11 As Quentin leads Jojo wordlessly through back streets and sketchy alleys, she takes the opportunity to get a better look at him. He really is absurdly tall, probably closing in on nine feet, and though the finely-crafted suit hides his musculature somewhat, she can tell he¡¯s built to match his height. His face is square and solemn, with his brown hair cropped short and evenly, and a neat, rectangular mustache. His eyes are easily his sharpest feature, focused intently forward at all times. She takes the chance to Identify him, as well.
Half-Giant Half-Human Level 32
She manages not to show her shock at his level, and makes a mental note to ask Frankie later about how the system classifies people. Without warning, Quentin starts descending a set of stairs in an alleyway deep in the city. From the outside, Jojo would have assumed the stairs just led into the cellar of the building they¡¯re attached to, but apparently that isn¡¯t the case. Instead, the door at the bottom of the stairs opens into a long, dark tunnel lit by dim gemstones placed too infrequently for her liking. It¡¯s a proper passageway, with brick walls and a paved floor, but it still feels like descending into some kind of catacombs. The tunnel system is like a maze, and Jojo quickly gives up hope of mapping it. Every hall branches out into dozens of others, turns happen seemingly at random, and it all looks exactly the same. All she can hope is that Quentin knows where he¡¯s going, and that he¡¯ll lead her back out once this meeting is over. Eventually¡ªafter long enough that Jojo starts to suspect they¡¯re going in circles just to disorient her more¡ªQuentin opens a door just like any other, but instead of more hallways, there¡¯s some kind of office. It¡¯s a cramped room, mostly taken up by the ornate wooden desk that must have been built inside the room, since there¡¯s no way it could have fit through the door. Other than that, it¡¯s very sparse, with no shelves or pictures or¡­ anything. On the other side of the desk, sitting with his feet up on the table, is an absolute mountain of a man. His leather boots strain against his calves, his pants seem like they¡¯re in a constant struggle not to tear, and his shirt has clearly lost that battle long ago, resting in little more than tatters against his muscles. His face is clean and freshly shaved, and his hair billows out in a wavy cloud behind him, looking like it probably goes down past his waist. Getting into the habit, Jojo Identifies him.
Human level 48
She gulps. The man catches her gaze flicking up towards the display. ¡°Good instinct, girl, but you¡¯ll have to learn to hide it.¡± He grins wide, and his teeth almost sparkle. ¡°Why don¡¯t you have a seat.¡± Jojo lowers herself into the rickety wooden chair on her side of the desk uneasily. The man waves his hand, and Quentin shuts the door, leaving the two of them alone. ¡°Um¡­¡± Jojo starts. ¡°I¡¯m The Shadow,¡± he says, cutting her off, ¡°and you¡¯re the new Traveler in town.¡± Jojo¡¯s eyes go wide. ¡°What? I-I¡¯m not¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± he says, ¡°my info¡¯s rock solid. I know who you are.¡± Jojo purses her lips. ¡°What do you want from me?¡± ¡°See, now, that there¡¯s the big question.¡± The Shadow makes a big show of tapping his chin like he¡¯s thinking. ¡°New traveler in the world, and I¡¯m the first big player who knows? Honestly, most people would say I¡¯d be an idiot to pass up that kinda opportunity.¡± Jojo frowns. ¡°Thing is,¡± he continues, ¡°I ain¡¯t most people. I actually bother to look ahead, see what my moves will bring me down the line. And playing too rough with the new Traveler, you know what I see that getting me?¡± He pauses, but Jojo doesn¡¯t give him an answer. After a moment, he goes on anyway. ¡°I see it bringing me trouble. Big trouble,¡± he says. ¡°The kinda trouble I don¡¯t come back from. So, instead, I¡¯ve got a proposition for you.¡± ¡°I probably don¡¯t want it,¡± Jojo says. ¡°Aw, come on, at least hear me out!¡± He says, acting hurt. ¡°Look, it¡¯ll be good for us both, and it¡¯ll leave us even. I¡¯ll be outta your hair, and I¡¯ll keep you being here hush hush. Sounds good, right?¡± Jojo stares hard at him for a long moment, then sighs. ¡°Let¡¯s hear it, then. What do you want?¡± He claps and sits up in his chair. ¡°Good! It ain¡¯t no big deal, just¡­ Well, I have a daughter. About your age, if I had to guess, and she¡­ Well, she ain¡¯t big on my business. Wants no part of it. Says it¡¯ll just get in the way of her goals, and I respect that! Everyone¡¯s gotta have goals! I just, well, I can¡¯t give her what she wants. But you! You could.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Jojo narrows her eyes. ¡°What does she want?¡± He laughs. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the funny part! Of all things, of everything, this girl? She wants to be a hero! A real, proper hero, with the Job and everything.¡± ¡°I¡­ Don¡¯t understand. How can I help with that?¡± Jojo asks. ¡°Right, right, you¡¯re new. See, Hero is kind of a special Job,¡± The Shadow explains. ¡°It can override whatever Job you already had, but the only way to get it is, well¡­ You gotta be given it by a god. You know, for doing¡­ Hero stuff.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know any gods,¡± Jojo says. ¡°But you could! Travelers do hero stuff all the time! So just, you know, let her tag along and share in the credit!¡± Jojo crosses her arms. She thinks for a long time. She tries to think of every possible way this could go wrong. And, eventually, she sighs. ¡°Well, I guess I do need an adventuring party.¡±
An hour later, Jojo finds herself in front of a small manor on the outskirts of town. It¡¯s a fairly nondescript place, at least as far as manors go, but it¡¯s still opulent in comparison to how the majority of the populace lives. It¡¯s got two stories, a large plot of land surrounded by a tall iron fence, and even a small retinue of servants keeping the place together. ¡°I thought you said she didn¡¯t want anything to do with your business,¡± Jojo says. Beside her, The Shadow chuckles. ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer on giving her a place to live. I can¡¯t have my daughter living out of inns, after all. Those places are dangerous!¡± He laughs harder, then waves for Jojo to follow and heads up to the house. None of the servants bother him, and he doesn¡¯t knock on the door, instead just walking in like he owns the place¡ªwhich he does. The inside of the house is clean but sparse, giving the impression of a place hardly used. There are closed doors leading off to several other rooms, but the majority of the main hall is taken up by a wide, fancy staircase that splits off at the far wall before leading up to open landings on either side of the second floor. ¡°Penelope!¡± He calls out in a booming voice. ¡°Dad?¡± A high-pitched voice comes from upstairs. A door opens, and a small, slight girl steps out onto the landing and scowls down at her guests. Jojo quickly Identifies her.
Half-Dwarf Half-Human Level 16
The girl¡ªPenelope¡ªis tiny, probably just under four feet, and very thin. She has none of the absurd muscles of her father, instead seeming gangly and wiry. Her clothes are thick, loose, and seemingly purposefully nondescript, sort of just masses of brown and beige cloth that hang loosely off of her body, and her brown hair is cropped short and messy, sticking up in random spikes. Her face is sharp, almost gaunt, and made all the sharper by the piercing glare she aims at her father. Penelope stomps down the stairs, crosses her arms and puffs out her chest, squaring up against her father despite not nearly matching his height or size. ¡°Who said you could come here? And with some dirty thief, no less.¡± She glances briefly and hatefully at Jojo before returning her attention to her father. ¡°I should kick both your butts right now!¡± The Shadow holds his hands up placatingly and laughs. ¡°Now, now, there¡¯s no need for violence. I¡¯m here with a present!¡± Penelope doesn¡¯t stop glaring, but she does let her stance get a little less aggressive. ¡°...A present?¡± ¡°Yup!¡± The Shadow grins and gestures out towards Jojo. ¡°It¡¯s her!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I appreciate being called ¡®a present,¡¯¡± Jojo says. Penelope turns her full attention to Jojo, looking her up and down appraisingly. ¡°Hmm¡­ So? Who are you?¡± She asks. ¡°Some weakling, it looks like.¡± Jojo smiles weakly. ¡°For now, maybe.¡± She takes a moment to explain the situation to Penelope, including her status as a Traveler, and assures her that she doesn¡¯t work for The Shadow. As Jojo explains, Penelope¡¯s grim expression gradually fades. Then, it grows into a smile, as bright and radiant as her father¡¯s, but purer, kinder. More sincere. It¡¯s a bright, energetic smile that seems to light up her whole face and fill her with a kind of hopeful, giddy life that was completely absent when she thought she was just dealing with her father. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re serious?¡± Penelope asks after the explanation is over. ¡°You¡¯re gonna help me be a Hero?¡± She says the word ¡®hero¡¯ with the kind of weighty importance that only someone truly invested in heroes can give it. ¡°Yup.¡± Jojo smiles back, glad to see the change that¡¯s come over Penelope. She can¡¯t help but find it endearingly adorable. ¡°It¡¯ll probably just be regular adventuring for a while, but I don¡¯t exactly plan to be evil, you know?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Penelope jumps and cheers, and gives her father a quick hug in her excitement. Then her face burns up with a blush and she pushes him away. ¡°Thank you, dad. Now, um¡­ Get out.¡± The Shadow laughs. ¡°Okay, okay, I won¡¯t overstay my welcome. Thank you for this, Traveler. I know you probably don¡¯t trust me, but I will keep up my end of the bargain.¡± ¡°You better,¡± Jojo says. ¡°I¡¯ll have a Hero to point at you soon if you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I have no doubt you will.¡± The Shadow bids the two of them farewell, and then leaves. Once they¡¯re alone, Penelope bounces over and wraps Jojo in a sudden hug. Her grip is much stronger than it should be based on her appearance. ¡°I¡¯m so glad my journey can finally start! Our journey! You and me, we¡¯re gonna change the world!¡± Jojo laughs awkwardly and pries Penelope off of her. ¡°I guess we are. We should get to know each other first, though.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah!¡± Penelope dances over towards the front door and grabs a bag off of a hook. ¡°My Job is gonna be Hero, but for now it¡¯s just Clobberer. Nothing too special, but I¡¯m pretty good at it, if I say so myself!¡± She spins back around towards Jojo, reaches into the bag, and starts pulling out something long and heavy. She pulls, and keeps pulling, and it just keeps coming out, until finally the end of it pops out and she drops the empty bag on the floor. It¡¯s an absolutely massive club, easily six feet long and thick to match, made entirely of iron and tipped with wicked flanges at the end. Jojo¡¯s eyes go wide as this tiny girl poses with her club over her shoulder like it weighs nothing. Penelope laughs, loud and boisterous and full of life. ¡°Pretty impressive, huh?¡± Chapter 12 ¡°So you¡¯re gonna drink that suppressant thing, like, all the time now, right?¡± Penelope asks. After showing off her own skills, Penelope naturally got curious about what Jojo was capable of, and that led into Jojo regaling her with the tales of her adventure so far¡ªfew though they are. As they talked, Penelope showed Jojo around the house, though it was mostly just empty rooms or servants¡¯ quarters, until finally they found their way to the dining room and settled down at Penelope¡¯s small table to talk. ¡°Ehh, I don¡¯t know,¡± Jojo responds. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s probably expensive, and also¡­ It was really gross.¡± Penelope scoffs. ¡°C¡¯mon, seriously? It basically gives you superpowers! You can¡¯t pass that up just because it¡¯s gross.¡± ¡°Sure I can.¡± Jojo grins. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll just make you drink it!¡± Jojo rolls her eyes. ¡°Drink it yourself if you¡¯re so worried about me missing out.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, let me just go poison myself for months so I can improve the skills I don¡¯t have. Because I don¡¯t have the ¡®take any skills¡¯ job.¡± ¡°Look, there¡¯s more to life than being as strong as possible. I just don¡¯t¡ªOh!¡± Jojo¡¯s argument is cut off when a door opens and a girl in a maid outfit walks in. The girl looks young, probably sixteen at the oldest, and carries herself with a grace one might expect from a servant who¡¯d been working for a noble for decades. Her face is soft and round, and her gentle eyes are somewhat magnified by large, round glasses pushed high on her nose. Jojo can hardly focus on those small details, though, because what she notices most of all is the soft brown fur that covers the girl¡¯s body, leading up to two pointed ears at the top of her head.
Beastkin Level 14
¡°Oh, hey Pips,¡± Penelope says. She gestures between Jojo and the catgirl. ¡°This is Jojo. Jojo, this is Pips. She¡¯s kinda the head maid or whatever.¡± ¡°Oh, um¡­ Nice to meet you, Pips,¡± Jojo says. ¡°I¡¯m going to be adventuring with Penelope, so I suppose we¡¯ll probably see quite a bit of each other.¡± Pips curtseys elegantly. ¡°Good evening, Madame, and it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss Jojo.¡± ¡°Just Jojo is fine, really,¡± Jojo tells her. ¡°I am sorry to interrupt,¡± Pips continues, ¡°but the evening is growing late. Are you and your guest dining here today, Madame Penelope?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± Penelope says like she forgot all about the concept of food. ¡°Tell the chef about Jojo, too, will ya? She¡¯ll be living here, so he¡¯ll have to cook a bit more for dinners.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Jojo says, ¡°living here? I thought¡ª¡± ¡°Thought nothin¡¯!¡± Penelope cuts her off. ¡°We¡¯re a party! Partners in crime! Er¡­ Not-crime! Hero-dom! Of course you¡¯re gonna live here!¡± As Penelope talks, Pips curtseys again and takes her leave. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Jojo frowns. ¡°I mean, I appreciate the offer, it just¡­ I¡¯m basically a stranger to you. Should you really let me live in your house? I can¡¯t even pay you anything.¡± ¡°Pfft, you don¡¯t gotta pay anything. And yeah, you¡¯re a stranger, but if this is gonna work I gotta trust you some time! May as well be now, while I¡¯ve got a few levels on you in case I¡¯m wrong, right?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Jojo sighs. ¡°If you¡¯re sure, then I¡¯m very grateful, thank you.¡± ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s no problem.¡± ¡°If you say so. Anyway, I, um¡­¡± Jojo glances at the door Pips left from. ¡°Can I ask you kind of an awkward question?¡± Penelope chuckles and leans back in her chair, putting her boots up on the table as she relaxes. ¡°You curious about her level?¡± ¡°Well, that too, I guess,¡± Jojo starts. Penelope keeps going before Jojo can continue. ¡°Yeah, she used to be one of my Dad¡¯s street toughs. He and I have kinda an agreement, ¡®cuz he wants me taken care of up here, but I don¡¯t want criminals skulking around ¡®cuz I¡¯m supposed to be a hero. So, if anyone wants out of that life, or they just can¡¯t cut it, he sets ¡®em up with a job working here on the condition that they give up the criminal stuff for good. I think he probably scares ¡®em real good, ¡®cuz not many take him up on it, but it¡¯s worked out so far.¡± ¡°Huh. Well, that sounds pretty¡­ Beneficial,¡± Jojo says. ¡°It¡¯s actually not what I wanted to know, though. I actually¡­ Ugh, it¡¯s really awkward to ask about.¡± ¡°Just spit it out.¡± ¡°Okay, you know I¡¯m a Traveler, right? Well, in my last world, all the people were just human. We didn¡¯t have, like, elves, or giants, or beastkin. At least, not outside of fictional stories.¡± ¡°Huh. Weird. What¡¯s your question, though?¡± ¡°I guess just¡­ Can you try to, like, catch me up? It seems like there¡¯s a lot I don¡¯t know that could get me in trouble. I mean, I don¡¯t even know how to describe the idea of there being different kinds of people! Are they called, like¡ª¡± Jojo is cut off again when the door swings open and Pips walks back in carrying two heavy-looking plates loaded with food. Penelope lets out a boisterous laugh as she readjusts herself to make room for the food. ¡°Yeah, I can be your teacher.¡± She catches Jojo glancing at Pips and waves a hand through the air. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her, she ain¡¯t gonna let any of your secrets out.¡± She takes a long sniff of the food, then grins at Pips. ¡°Thanks, doll. Let Starlet know he did a good job, yeah?¡± ¡°Of course, Madame.¡± Pips curtseys and leaves the two of them to eat. The food looks¡­ Normal to Jojo. Some steaming vegetables, slices of a meat she doesn¡¯t recognize that doesn¡¯t look particularly juicy, and a starch that she¡¯d easily call potatoes if she was back on Earth, all covered in a thin gravy. She tastes it, and it¡¯s fairly bland, but certainly not the worst thing she¡¯s ever eaten. It¡¯s mostly just¡­ Fine. ¡°So.¡± Penelope shovels a forkfull of food into her mouth as she begins her lecture. ¡°Humans, elves, beastkin, whatever, they¡¯re all different races people can be. Around here you¡¯re mostly gonna find humans, but this country is pretty open, so in the big cities you could find just about anyone if you wanted.¡± ¡°How many different races are there?¡± ¡°Lots. Honestly, I wouldn¡¯t bet on me knowing all of ¡®em.¡± Penelope shrugs. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal if you run into, like, a gnoll or something and you didn¡¯t know they were a thing. Just, like, don¡¯t attack them or whatever, you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Like I said, around here. If we¡¯re gonna go to different countries, we¡¯ll want to look into things first. Like¡­¡± She thinks for a moment. ¡°Oh, like Gartia. That¡¯s a mountain-y country off to the west. Last I heard, they still consider a bunch of people like gnolls and goblins to be ¡®monsters,¡¯ so if we have a bigger party we¡¯ll have to be careful who we take there, y¡¯know?¡± Jojo frowns. ¡°That sucks, but okay.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the kinda thing I just file away as ¡®Hero stuff.¡¯ Like, I don¡¯t like it, but I can¡¯t do anything about it right now, you know? So, I just make sure I remember it, so when I¡¯m a Hero I can go back to it and decide what I wanna do about it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty ambitious.¡± ¡°Which is why we¡¯ve gotta be big players in the world!¡± Penelope grins wide and points her fork at Jojo excitedly. ¡°Me, a Hero. You, a Traveler. Whoever else we might pick up. We¡¯ve gotta get strong, and we¡¯ve gotta be important. Starting¡­ Well, it¡¯s pretty late, so starting tomorrow! Got it?¡± Jojo chuckles. ¡°Sure. Hearing you say it¡­ Yeah, it doesn¡¯t sound so bad. Let¡¯s do it.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Penelope pumps her fist in the air. Little bits of food fly off of her fork and splatter on the table. ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡± Chapter 13 The next morning, Penelope wakes Jojo up at dawn and drags her out of the city and into the neighboring forest. Gentle sunlight pours through the leafy canopy like a watery soup, coating the dew-kissed ground. Morning birdcalls pierce the crisp air, and gentle breezes whistle through the spaces left behind. Jojo yawns and stretches as the two walk deeper into the woods. ¡°So, what are we doing out here? I kind of thought we¡¯d take some work at the guild or something.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get to that soon enough,¡± Penelope says, ¡°but first I wanna see just how strong you are. Plus, you need a weapon!¡± ¡°I have a sword, though.¡± ¡°A sword you borrowed from someone. And you wanna act like a healer, right? What kinda healer hangs out on the front lines?¡± ¡°I guess that makes sense,¡± Jojo admits. ¡°So, what did you have in mind?¡± ¡°This!¡± Penelope spins around grandiosely and grabs her carrying bag. She reaches deep into it and pulls out a fairly small wooden bow, along with a quiver and a bundle of arrows, all of which she hands out to Jojo with a proud smirk on her face. ¡°Uh¡­ Yeah, I guess that works,¡± Jojo says, taking the equipment. She slings the quiver over her shoulder and tests out her grip on the bow. ¡°Why this, though?¡± ¡°I have my reasons,¡± Penelope says. ¡°First, though, we should test out how well you shoot! Try hitting, um¡­ That tree over there.¡± She points to a random tree some thirty feet away, fairly skinny but far from an impossible target. Jojo nods and readies an arrow. She¡¯s never fired a bow before in either life, but it always looked simple enough. She notches the arrow on the string, pulls it back, points the arm holding the bow out in front of her, and tries to aim. She closes one eye, maneuvers the bow so it looks like the arrow is pointed towards the tree, and lets go of the string. A sharp twang rings out into the air as the bowstring snaps forward. The arrow goes absurdly wide and low, embedding itself in the soil a few feet away from where Jojo stands. Jojo doesn¡¯t even notice that, though, because she¡¯s too busy rubbing the welt on her arm from where the string scraped against her uncovered skin. ¡°Gah! What the heck!?¡± Jojo rubs her arm a bit more, then remembers she has magic and tries piping a bit of healing magic into the sore spot. The pain vanishes instantly, along with a few points of her MP.
Skill: Archery has reached level 2
Skill: Essenceweaver has reached level 2
A few feet away, Penelope has her hands clamped over her mouth to hold back laughter. ¡°Y-Yeah,¡± she stammers, ¡°that¡¯s about what I¡¯d expect from someone with no experience. Did you get anything for it?¡± ¡°Yeah, a rash,¡± Jojo grumbles. Then, she sighs. ¡°I got the Archery skill up to level 2.¡± ¡°Not bad!¡± Penelope coos, sounding genuinely impressed. ¡°Y¡¯know, for a single totally missed shot, at least. Try it again!¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Not nearly as enthusiastic, Jojo hesitates a little before pulling out another arrow. She prepares it like before, and¡­ It feels different. Simpler. It¡¯s like her body just knows things it didn¡¯t know before. It¡¯s small things, where to nock the arrow, how to hold her arms so that she doesn¡¯t hurt herself again, but it makes a major difference. This time, when she releases the arrow, it actually flies where she wanted it to. It sails gracefully through the air and lands in the tree she was aiming at with a satisfying thunk.
Skill: Archery has reached level 3
Skill: Archery has reached level 4
¡°Woo!¡± Penelope cheers behind Jojo. ¡°Yeah, that was great!¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Jojo says, ¡°that was a lot easier. I was expecting to struggle more.¡± Penelope laughs. ¡°Yeah, well, archery would kind of suck if you had to be, like, level five to hit anything. A hammer hurts at level one, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°Yeah. That makes sense,¡± Jojo nods. She goes and pulls her first arrow out of the dirt and stows it away in her quiver. When she tries to retrieve the second arrow, though, the arrowhead snaps off and remains embedded in the tree. ¡°Oh, dang. Am I gonna be needing to buy arrows nonstop if I want to use a bow?¡± ¡°Actually, that¡¯s part of why I wanted you to try the bow,¡± Penelope answers. She skips up beside Jojo and digs the arrowhead out of the tree, examines it, then shrugs and slips it into her pouch. ¡°Archer Jobs get a passive skill that keeps their arrows from breaking. I was wondering if you¡¯d get it if you used a bow.¡± ¡°Hm. Well, no sign of it yet,¡± Jojo says. ¡°Maybe if I get my Archery level up or something? Or I might just have to break more arrows.¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± Penelope shrugs. ¡°It¡¯s time for step two, though, and the other reason I gave you a bow.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Yeah, see, archers also get, like, a bunch of active skills. So, it seemed like a good way for you to figure out how to get those!¡± Penelope grins wide. ¡°Good idea, right?¡± Jojo smiles back. ¡°Yeah, not bad. Did you have one in mind?¡± ¡°Yup! It needs a target, though, so let¡¯s go find something for you to shoot!¡± Penelope struts forward into the woods, and Jojo chuckles and follows after her. It¡¯s all quiet for a few minutes, both of them keeping silent and watching out for prey, until suddenly Penelope stops in place and shoots an arm out, signalling for Jojo to do the same. She points off towards a tree in the distance, and Jojo follows her hand with her gaze. A fair ways off, sitting on a branch and chewing on some kind of nut, sits a fat red squirrel, blissfully unaware of their existence. ¡°Okay,¡± Penelope whispers, ¡°try and use Sure Shot to hit that thing.¡± Jojo nods and readies an arrow. She isn¡¯t really sure of what she¡¯s supposed to be doing, so she just tries to focus on the idea of a skill, and on what it might feel like to activate one. She tries to visualize the idea, and pictures a vague, nebulous energy swirling through her body. She pictures the energy flowing into her arms, then her hands, then into the arrow itself, and that¡¯s when she fires. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The arrow flies forward and slams into the squirrel, knocking it backwards off the branch. It lands on the ground below with a soft thump.
Skill: Archery has reached level 5
Gained Skill: Arrow Saver
Jojo frowns. ¡°Was¡­ Was that it?¡± ¡°Whaddaya mean ¡®was that it?¡¯¡± Penelope growls and smacks Jojo¡¯s arm. ¡°You didn¡¯t even try to use it!¡± ¡°What? I totally tried!¡± Jojo pouts. ¡°I tried, like, picturing myself using a skill, then let the arrow go.¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Penelope huffs and pinches the bridge of her nose. ¡°Right. You¡¯re new. Look, Jojo, forget all that¡­ Whatever you were just making up. Skills are easy, okay? If you wanna use a skill, you just say it! Like Identify! You say it, and it happens. Easy peasy.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Jojo looks at Penelope blankly. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s really it.¡± ¡°So¡­ Wait. Hang on a second. I need to try something.¡± Shaking her head, Jojo walks over to a nearby tree and sits against it. She crosses her legs, gets comfortable, and clears her mind. Like every attempt before, nothing happens, until¡­ ¡°Meditation.¡± And her mind goes blank. It¡¯s like her senses all just shut off, leaving her in a perfect void, bereft of thoughts or stimulus. An eternity passes, but at the same time it¡¯s only a second. Then, she opens her eyes again. She checks, and her MP is back to full.
Skill: Meditation has reached level 2
Skill: Meditation has reached level 3
¡°Wow. I feel dumb now.¡± Jojo frowns and looks up at Penelope, who doesn¡¯t seem to have moved. ¡°How long was I meditating for?¡± ¡°Were you meditating? You just kinda sat down and blinked.¡± Penelope shrugs. ¡°It was, like, five seconds maybe.¡± ¡°Huh. That¡¯s going to be useful, then.¡± Jojo stands up, brushes herself off, and starts wandering over to where the squirrel landed. ¡°Hey, why hasn¡¯t the squirrel disappeared like slimes do?¡± She asks. ¡°What? Oh, it¡­ Only monsters do that,¡± Penelope says. She jogs after Jojo, grabs the squirrel, and shoves it haphazardly into her pouch, arrow and all. ¡°Hey, you gonna explain what just happened?¡± ¡°Oh, right!¡± Jojo laughs awkwardly. ¡°Sorry. I figured out why I couldn¡¯t get the meditation skill before. I didn¡¯t know you had to say the name of the skill!¡± ¡°Ohh, that makes sense. Well¡­ Mission accomplished, I guess.¡± ¡°Yup! I got that passive arrow skill when I hit level five on archery, too, so I think that solves that mystery!¡± Jojo grins wide and puts a hand on Penelope¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Thanks for all the help. This partnership is already working out great, if you ask me!¡± ¡°Uh, yeah¡­¡± Penelope averts her eyes. Under her breath, she mumbles, ¡°don¡¯t really feel like I helped all that much, but¡­ Yeah.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up? I couldn¡¯t quite catch that,¡± Jojo says. Penelope shakes her head. ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s just do some hunting, get your archery skill up. Sound good?¡± ¡°Oh, sure!¡± The next few hours go smoothly. They wander the woods, looking for squirrels and birds that Jojo can use to train. She unlocks Sure Shot, which more or less guarantees her arrow will hit as long as she can see her target, and it isn¡¯t long before her archery skill reaches level seven, leaving it on par with her swordplay skill. They even bag enough animals that, according to Penelope, selling them would put the two of them on par with a brand-new hunter¡¯s income. It¡¯s not much, but it¡¯s something, and it leaves Jojo feeling proud and confident for the days to come. In fact, it might have her a little overconfident, because she completely misses when Penelope freezes in her tracks and frantically motions for Jojo to do the same. ¡°Jojo, stop!¡± Penelope hisses as quietly as she can manage while still being heard. ¡°What?¡± Jojo asks, whirling around to see Penelope with a look she hadn¡¯t yet seen on the small girl: Fear. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°CAW!¡± A high-pitched call shoots out through the woods like a bullet, slamming into the girls like a sudden heavy wind. Penelope crouches down and braces herself, but it knocks Jojo straight off her feet and face-first into the dirt. ¡°Guh!¡± Jojo groans. She pushes herself over onto her back and looks at where the noise came from. In front of her is an old, wide, dying tree. No leaves still cling to its branches, and its bark is ashy and falling apart. The only reason she didn¡¯t notice the tree before, standing out against the lively forest around it, was that its branches are covered in something else: Birds. Hundreds of them, a massive flock of black and brown birds stuffed so thick that out of the corner of her eye they looked nearly identical to the shady underside of a tree at dusk. Looking closely at one of them, the bird almost looks like a normal crow. Sleek black feathers, keen, beady eyes, and a wicked-sharp black beak. However, these crows have straw woven between their feathers in intricate patterns, thicker in places a crow would typically be weaker, layered almost like padded coats worn for armor. Jojo Identifies one.
Crowscare level 8
HP: 185/185
¡°Get up,¡± Penelope whispers harshly. ¡°We need to get out of¡ª¡± ¡°CAW!¡± Another crow calls out, slamming the two of them with another wave of force. Penelope clamps her hands over her ears, but Jojo, looking right at the source of the attack, takes the full force of it. It¡¯s like a mental battering ram, the force of a migraine in a single pounding strike, and for a moment her ears ring and her vision goes white. Jojo covers her ears after that, but she can feel blood already dripping down. When her vision clears, she sees Penelope frantically waving for her to move. She tries. She pushes herself to her knees, then her feet, and takes a grueling step away from the tree. It¡¯s too late. ¡°CAW!¡± ¡°CAW!¡± ¡°CAW!¡± More cries slam into them, and both girls crumble. Penelope curls into a ball, instinctively trying to cover herself, but there¡¯s little she can do to stop the sounds coming at her. Jojo sees Penelope curl up, and it drills into something inside of her. She can¡¯t help her mind spinning up. It¡¯s my fault she¡¯s out here. She¡¯s here to help me. If she dies, that¡¯s my fault, too. I killed her. More crow calls slam into her mind, but the flood of thoughts almost pushes the cacophony out. She coughs and tastes iron, but she knows she can¡¯t stop. If she stops, she dies. If she dies, Penelope dies. She can¡¯t let that happen. She glares up at the flock of birds, straining to even look at them through their barrage of attacks. She struggles to think of what she might be able to do, how she could possibly stop them. Then, she has an idea. She looks down, at the tree. The decrepit, dying tree. And she pours out her magic. As much as she can, all she can give, she pumps life magic out and across the expanse between her and the tree to give it what it needs. For a long, agonizing moment, nothing happens. More noise pounds against her brain, and she feels like she¡¯s going to lose consciousness if it goes on any longer. Then, the tree explodes. Green life shoots up from the ground and into it, past its bark, through the soft fleshy wood, and suddenly it¡¯s alive, it¡¯s thriving, and it grows. In an instant shoots up ten, twenty feet, and all the birds sitting on the branches are slammed from below with the force of its growth. At the same time, new branches grow, and stretch, and split, and the thousands of little tiny spikes of life stab out into the birds pretending to be the leaves it now flourishes. All at once, the crowing stops. Instead, the sound of gentle wind and peaceful leaves fills the air, washing over the girls like springwater. Then, a thump as a battered, perforated crow hits the ground. Followed by another. And another. And, totally spent, surrounded by the sound of raining bodies, Jojo looks back at Penelope. A few feet away, she can see the girl stirring, starting to rouse herself up off of the ground. She¡¯s shaky, clearly injured, but¡­ She¡¯s alive. Jojo smiles at that as unconsciousness finally takes her. Chapter 14 Jojo¡¯s eyes flutter open to the sounds of singing birds and rustling leaves. A gentle breeze tussles her hair, and strands of grass tickle her skin. She yawns, rubs her eyes, and pushes herself up into a sitting position as the world comes back to her. Then, she remembers where she is, and what just happened. ¡°Penelope!¡± She bursts to her feet and looks frantically towards where she last saw the girl. There¡¯s nothing there but grass. ¡°Penelope?¡± ¡°Over here.¡± Jojo whirls around and sees Penelope, bloody and beleaguered, wandering around the once-dead tree and stuffing feathers and magic stones into her bag. Jojo gasps and rushes over to her, barely needing to think about it before releasing a wave of healing magic and curing her wounds. ¡°Penelope, are you okay?¡± Jojo asks. She grabs the other girl¡¯s shoulders and tries to look into her eyes, but Penelope averts her gaze. ¡°What are you doing up so quick?¡± Penelope shrugs off Jojo¡¯s grasp and goes back to collecting feathers. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I didn¡¯t take all that much damage, and this stuff needed to be picked up.¡± ¡°Are you sure? You can rest if you need to. Here, let me¡ª¡± Jojo reaches a hand out and imagines gathering up all the monster drops that still litter the area, and a second later they¡¯re all gone, stored safely away in her inventory. Even she jumps at that, not expecting her ability to be so wide-reaching. ¡°Oh. Heh, didn¡¯t know it was that good.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Penelope looks around at the empty ground, then down at the sack she¡¯d been gathering stuff in. With a sigh, she ties the bag to her belt and wanders off a ways. ¡°C¡¯mon, we should get back to town.¡± ¡°Oh, okay!¡± Jojo says, hurrying to follow after her. ¡°If you¡¯re sure. Just let me know if you need a break, though, okay?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± They walk in silence for a while as the gloom of dusk descends over the forest. The birds around them gradually stop singing, and the wind gains a biting chill. ¡°Geez,¡± Jojo says idly, ¡°it really changes out here quick. The forest seemed to inviting earlier.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± ¡°Now it¡¯s, like¡­ Almost spooky.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I wonder how much more dangerous it is at night.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Jojo frowns and grinds to a halt. ¡°Okay, stop.¡± Penelope slows to a stop and turns to Jojo. ¡°What?¡± Jojo narrows her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Penelope looks away. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°You¡¯re acting weird,¡± Jojo says. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong.¡± ¡°Something is clearly wrong.¡± Penelope scowls. ¡°No, nothing is wrong. I¡¯m not some kid who¡¯s gonna throw a fit just because not everything worked out how I wanted, okay?¡± ¡°What? What do you mean, not everything worked out? Did something happen while I was knocked out?¡± ¡°No! I just¡ª¡± Penelope sighs and runs a hand down her face. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is going to work out.¡± ¡°What isn¡¯t?¡± ¡°This. Us. You and me working together.¡± ¡°Wh-What? Why?¡± ¡°Oh, c¡¯mon! Look at your level!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Jojo checks her status.
JOJO Level 16 Human JOB: Jack of All Trades
¡°Oh, huh. I didn¡¯t even realize.¡± Jojo shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t see the problem, though.¡± Penelope scoffs. ¡°Didn¡¯t even realize¡­ You realize it takes most people years to get levels, right? And you got up to my level in a day.¡± ¡°Okay, but that doesn¡¯t mean¡ª¡± ¡°And you¡¯re gonna keep getting levels! Way faster than I will. So, what then? I¡¯m just some level 16, maybe 17 girl in a party with a level 50? 100? Some girl who can¡¯t actually join you on anything you go to do because I¡¯m too weak, so I just get left at home and forgotten?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯d get me killed instead!¡± ¡°No! I wouldn¡¯t, I¡ª¡± ¡°Forget it! Just¡­ Forget it, okay?¡± ¡°But Penelope¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± Penelope shakes her head and takes a few steps away, looking off into the woods. ¡°Look, I¡­ I¡¯ll talk to my father. Get him to stay off your back. So you don¡¯t need to worry about me.¡± ¡°But I¡ª¡± ¡°Stop. Just stop.¡± ¡°No! I want to talk about this, I¡ª¡± ¡°Seriously, just stop it. You¡¯re not gonna¡ª¡± ¡°PENELOPE! STOP interrupting me!¡± Penelope turns back towards Jojo, somewhat shocked by the sudden shout. Jojo is standing there, fists clenched, shoulders heaving as she pants, face flushed in frustration. Neither says anything for a long moment. Jojo takes a few deep breaths, and calms herself. ¡°Sorry,¡± she says, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Just¡­ Just hear me out, okay?¡± Penelope frowns. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Jojo nods. ¡°Look, I¡­ I get what you¡¯re worried about. I do. But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s as likely as you think. I mean, honestly, I don¡¯t want to be pushing myself to always be as strong as possible. I know you have big ambitions, and I think that¡¯s great, but I don¡¯t have those same ambitions. I just want to have an easy, nice life. That¡¯s why I took those cheat powers in the first place! Not to be super strong, but just so I could be normally strong and focus on, like¡­ Helping my friends. That¡¯s why I wanted to be a healer, too! To help my friends! So¡­ Can I do that? Can I help you? Can¡­¡± Jojo glances away, then takes a deep breath and locks eyes with Penelope. ¡°Can I be your friend?¡± Penelope breathes quietly as she takes it all in. She closes her eyes after a moment, crosses her arms in front of her chest, and thinks for a long, slow moment. Eventually, she opens her eyes again and looks at Jojo. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to just trust someone to have my back like that.¡± Jojo frowns. ¡°I know.¡± Penelope sighs and turns around. ¡°So you better not let me down.¡±