Later, Mischief and I sort through the loot from the raid. Since the trial not a single monster has dropped a shard of any kind. Instead, we collected their crude weapons, armor, and a surprising number of dimensional bags filled with bronze coins and worthless trinkets.
It’s hard not to be a little annoyed with all the dimensional bags. Why did I get one as a reward in the first dungeon if every single monster that raided our territory had one? Couldn’t I have gotten something more exciting?
I toss another dimensional bag into the growing pile and pick up another to inspect its contents. More of the same. A few bronze coins, some strange looking food that looks like bread but is bright orange. Nothing interesting. I’m about to toss it when I notice the last item.
I click on the item in my status screen. A small, oval locket—worn iron, rough to the touch—pops into my hand. The locket hangs on a worn twine band.
At first glance, it looks ordinary.. I turn the locket over and inspect the back. There is a small clasp on the back that I touch lightly and the locket pops open.
Huh?
Inside the locket, words are etched into the iron, curling letters I don’t recognize. On the other side, a small worn piece of leather with a picture stitched into it. The picture is identical to the green orc monsters I just fought, only the orc in this picture looks younger.
Why would the orc have this? This entire time I have been treating every creature I encounter as NPC constructs that the system was throwing at me. If that was true–what was this locket?
I stare at the stitched image. It’s too detailed to be random. Too… personal. The threads aren’t perfect—whoever made this, they weren’t just following some system template. This was made with care. My fist closes around the locket.
My mind wants to shove it aside, but the thought lingers. If they were just constructs—if they were just enemies—then why would one of them carry this?
I shake my head and stuff it into my pocket. Then pull some deer meat out of my inventory and begin cooking it over the fire.
The fire crackles, pulling me from my thoughts. Footsteps crunch in the dirt—Alex, the kid with the massive axe, is heading my way.
He walks up to the fire, looking nervous, his eyes flicking toward something behind me. I glance back and see he’s watching Mischief, who is lazily licking his paws.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about Mischief. He’s harmless”
Mischief huffs and flicks his tail.
Alex hesitates, still watching him warily. “Didn’t you tell Jared that he tried to kill you when you first met?”
I laugh at the memory. “Yep. Nearly gave me a concussion. Hence the name Mischief. But it was just a misunderstanding.”
Alex doesn’t look fully convinced, but he finally inches closer. “Alright then…”
“He’s a good friend now, and I promise you’re totally safe.” Finally, I see some of the tension ease from Alex’s shoulders. “What’s up? You can take a seat.” I pat the ground next to me.
After one last brief shifty glance at Mischief he takes my offer and sits next to me by the fire.
“Dude. Layton. That fight today? It was like something out of an anime—you were insane. So fast. It was hard to keep up with all your movements.” He hesitates. “Do you mind if I ask your AG stat?”
He’s forgotten all about Mischief now, too busy geeking out. I smirk. “Uhh, sure. Last I checked, my Agility was 95. It’ll probably hit 100 soon—Intelligence too, now that I think about it.”
Alex’s jaw practically hits the ground. “95?! In two stats?! That’s crazy! I’ve literally put every single point into Strength, and I’m only at 81!”
“That’s still really high,” I point out. “You should be proud. You’re actually stronger than me. My Strength is only at 70, though I’ve been focusing on it more lately.”
Alex looks ready to faint. “You’re telling me you have over 90 in both Intelligence and Agility, but you still have 70 Strength?” He stares at me, wide-eyed. “What level are you?”
“I just hit 18 in the last fight,” I say. “I got lucky early on and picked up some nice titles that help balance my stats.”
Alex watches me, then suddenly blurts, “Wait—how tall were you before the induction?”
“Huh?” I blink. “Uh… six feet? Maybe six-one on a good day. Why?”
He tilts his head. “You haven’t grown at all.”
“Why would I?”
“Because I have. I used to be 5’8”, and now? I’m taller than you. The more Strength I’ve gained, the bigger I’ve gotten. But you haven’t changed at all?”
Now that he mentions it, it does seem inconsistent. Mischief has definitely grown. But honestly? I don’t really care. If anything, being unassuming adds to my charm. Still, it was weird.
“Weird,” I admit. “But I’m not too worried about it. Someone out there will figure it out eventually.”
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“Totally,” Alex agrees, though he still looks thoughtful.
After a moment, he shifts gears. “Anyway, I was wondering… do you think I could help with the next raid? I’ll stay out of your way—I just really want to level up and get stronger. Elise already agreed to heal me if things get serious. What do you think? You’re probably barely getting any experience from them anymore anyway, and you’ve already proven you can take them with just the two of you.”
I listen to Alex’s logic. It’s hard to argue. He’s right—I really haven’t been getting much XP from the fights lately. And would it be so bad to have more capable fighters in the group?
I nod. “Yeah, that makes sense. Honestly, you're right I really haven’t been getting much experience points lately.”
Then an idea clicks into place. “Actually, do you think the other fighters in your group would want in too? With two healers keeping the team safe, it should be pretty low risk. And if things go south, Mischief and I can step in.”
Alex’s eyes widen with excitement. “I know they’d be up for it! I’ll go tell them!” He takes off at a sprint toward the others.
As he runs off I dig my hand back into my pocket and rub my fingers over the locket. Still so much we don’t know. For now though? We just need to focus on defending against the raids.
-
The time between raids feels like an eternity. Jared’s group spends each day clearing and stacking trees.
Alex is the designated tree chopper. With his strength and oversized axe, he makes easy work of the trees—and he loves it. If you get too close, he’ll start going off about how insane his stats are, how he downed a tree in one swing. ‘Just call me Alex the Ax Man,’ he says at least twice a day. ‘Because I love Ax. Not sure what that means but it suits him.
By nightfall, most of the group gives me space. There’s still a bit of unease—not hostility, just people feeling out their place.
Well at least most give me space. Alex is another story.
He’s younger than I am but we get along pretty well. But it’s become a bit of a ritual—him joining Mischief and me by the fire each night. We just relax and talk about life before the induction. Alex is basically an open book. He has a casual way of talking about everything that makes him easy to like.
One night, we’re kicking back, relaxing. He asks about college, and I, in all my wisdom, bestow upon him my most valuable lessons—mostly about college women. Naturally, I embellish my victories.
As we talk, laughter drifts from the other campfires—muffled voices, the sound of someone telling a story. I glance over at Alex.
Now that I think about it… I’ve never really seen him with that group. Maybe in passing, but he mostly works all day and hangs out with me at night.
“Hey, Alex—how come you never spend time with the others? Don’t you have someone you came here with?”
Alex rolls onto his elbow and looks up at me. “Yeah… I haven’t really talked about it. Everyone else was already together at the campground, so I just sort of played along.” Alex confesses, then leans back against the dirt and rocks by the fire.
“Wait—you weren’t at the campground during the induction? Like, at all?”
I stare at him, stunned. What does that even mean? I always figured the induction just picked you up, told you some stuff, gave you a class, and dropped you back down. But if Alex’s experience was different…
My change in demeanor makes him pause a bit. “Uh, no… not even close. I was in my dad’s basement playing Apex Legends. Next thing I know—POOF. Tutorial starts, and suddenly I’m in a random campground with a bunch of strangers.”
My mouth falls open. I have to physically shake myself back to reality before I respond.
“How have you gone this long without telling someone about this?” I raise my hands exasperated. “Where was your dad’s house? Before the induction, I mean.”
To his credit Alex seems genuinely confused by my outburst. “I mean, everyone kept talking about the campground, so I just sorta figured that’s where they started. No one mentioned anywhere else, so I just didn’t bring it up.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “And your dads house?”
“Why do you care about that prick?” He asks defensively.
I exhale sharply. The system was supposed to be picking people up from the same place. It was supposed to be consistent. But Alex? He wasn’t even close to the others. That meant—
My stomach tightens. How many others aren’t where they’re supposed to be?
“Alex where is your dads house?”
Alex frowns. “Dude, why are you freaking out?”
I stare at him. He shifts uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck.
“My dad’s house?” He exhales. “It’s in Vancouver, man. Geez.”
He forces a chuckle, but it feels off. “I don’t see what the big deal is. Not like I care.” He shrugs. “If anything, I’m glad to be out here—away from that asshole.”
The information hits me like a truck. I had based the rules of the system on my own experience so far. But this was new information. My whole understanding of the system just cracked. I laugh at my own thoughts. What did I really understand anyway?
“Alright Alex get up, come on.” I stand and offer him my hand. He eyes my hand suspiciously.
“No…”
“No?”
“Yeah, you’re acting weird man I don’t wanna.”
I shake my hand in his face. “Just come on man. I want to check something out. You're not in trouble or anything.”
He stares at my hand a bit more before letting me pull him to his feet.
“I still don’t understand what the big deal is.” He huffs.
I grab Alex’s arm and haul him toward the group. A few heads turn. Jared looks up from where he’s sitting, mid-conversation, frowning as I wave him over.
Alex pulls his arm free, scowling, glancing around, suddenly aware that people are watching.
“Dude, seriously, what’s the big deal?”
Ignoring Alex’s complaints, I turn to Jared instead.
“Hey Jared. Sorry to barge in on you.” I glance at the group I interrupted, they are speaking in whispers not hiding their attempt at covert glances our way.
“It’s not a problem.” He eyes Alex. “Is there something I can help you with?”
I scratch my head not really sure how to broach the topic so in very Layton like fashion I just dive in. “Did you know Alex was from Vancouver?”
He blinks and shifts his weight like he misheard before responding. “I mean, I didn’t really ask where everyone came from, but—why?”
I shake my head. “No, Jared. You don’t get it.” I glance at Alex, then back at him.
“Alex wasn’t at the campground when this started. He was in Vancouver. And after the tutorial, he got dropped with you guys.” I let that sink in.
Jared stares at Alex. Then at me. Then at Alex again. I can tell he is processing so I keep going.
“Alex didn’t bring it up because he just assumed everyone else was from the campground. As far as you know, was everyone else from your group ALREADY at the campground pre-induction?”
He still doesn’t answer right away looking back at his group. “Layton… that is a great question.” He runs his hands through his hair. Then without another word he walks back to the group, who at this point is already all watching our conversation.
“Hey Everyone. Can I get your attention real quick?” a hush falls over the group as all eyes move to Jared. “By a show of hands, is there anyone here that was not actually in the campground when the induction happened?” To my left Alex’s hand shoots up. Alright then–I guess he has made his peace with it now.
The Group shares glances nobody moves. Then–slowly a hand raises, it’s the healer Elise. Seconds later another, it's one of the archers, Nick I think.
Jared looks over the group no more hands raise. “Well. That is interesting.”