I awoke in my bed. Rising, I saw I was once more in the field I found myself this morning? With all that had happened, it felt a lot longer than just one day. Of course, without having looked at a clock or there being a sun to judge the passage of time, I was assuming it was only one day.

I looked and found that I was lying on my sheets in the clothes I was given. My bed was also perfectly made, which was different for me. Not that I did not make my bed, more that I overlooked it most days. But whenever I slept, I made sure to go under the covers to find the perfect mixture of cold and warmth. I never slept on my covers; my mom would have yelled at me.

The field around me was the same as before. The only notable changes were the addition of the clothing bush and the breakfast tree. As I watched, another set of clothes and more breakfast grew on the branches.

“Just in case you wanted to change.”

I looked at the foot of my bed. Wuinal sat there, already with a plate. Unsurprisingly, it sat on top of my pillow. I smiled as I stretched, enjoying the lack of pain I was sure the training would have left me.

“Has the day reset?” I asked.

“No,” Wuinal shook his head as he continued. “Rather, you’re not actually back here. Think of this as a lucid dream that Magic is providing.” Wuinal did not bother to stop eating during his explanation. I watched in silence as he finished his plate, doing my best to not think.

Thinking use to be a problem for me, until I learned how to stop. After that, most of my problems went away. Of course, they were replaced with brand new problems, but I did not mind as much. With a deep breath, I allowed everything to flow through me. Exhaling, I sent out the emotions that were associated with it. After 10 such breaths, I was left with feeling nothing but peace and acceptance.

A sharp pain broke through my serenity and I felt my eyes begin to water. I looked down at my supposed guide. It had floated over to collect more food. On his way back, its eyes met mine.

“Something wrong?” Wuinal asked as it floated back to its seat.

“You know,” I chuckled, “I might have been one of the best and worst picks for this job. I probably can handle the sudden change better than anyone else.” I frowned as I finished. “Strike that, I just know I can handle this sudden change. I am sure there are better choices.”

“There are. But don’t sell yourself short. You were picked for a reason.” Wuinal replied.

“Would you tell me what that reason is?” I asked.

“Don’t know.” Wuinal’s pithy remark made me grin. Taking a large bite, it continued. “But we’re here for a reason. That I do know.”

“Why are we here?”

“Your boon,” Wuinal answered. It stopped eating and looked as serious it could. I think it was supposed to be intimidating. Instead, I thought many people would fall over from how cute it was.

“My breakfast wasn’t my boon?” I attempted to clarify.

“I might be,” Wuinal replied. “The way it works is that if we offer it right away, one of two things happens. The first is you ask for something way too powerful and we must reject it out of hand. Stuff like bringing technology from your world, being able to see information denied to mortals, skills that would require constant attention by Magic, that sort of stuff. The other boon people ask for is something that would just not be helpful. The ability to resist all disease, never get hungry, or never sleep. Basically, an improvement from what you had to deal with in your old world.”

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“So, a solution was made. We would lie and say your boon was something worthless. Give you a day of experience so you could make an informed decision, then ask you what your desired boon would be. If you ask for something too strong, then your meal would be the boon. Which,” Wuinal jabbed its finger into the bed, “Is something many mortals here would kill for. So, it isn’t worthless as you might think.”

“Summoned Mortal Vee,” Wuinal’s voice filled the valley. The light seemed to dim as I gained the attention of the world itself. Breathing became difficult as each word filled me with the weight of the decision I needed to make. “What would you ask of Magic, the creator, and caretaker of the infinite planes?”

I attempted to open my mouth to ask a question, but it felt as if every muscle was clenched beyond my control. I tried to relax with my deep breaths but found the air refusing the move. Panic threatened my mind but found no foothold. Something held it back, along with any other emotion. I was left alone in my mind.

As I thought, it made sense. I could only respond to my request. I thought of my experience, how limited it was. I wanted more experience to make a more informed decision but asking for more time seemed like a waste. Instead, I thought about what I needed to do in my new job.

Knowledge, for one. I was to end a threat I knew nothing about. And when it said land, did it mean the Empire I was dropped in or the infinite planes that Wuinal just mentioned? There were too many unknowns for me to act effectively. But that would be a waste.

I was essentially Magic’s employee and had been given a task. What I have been given might be all the information I would expect to be given. Everything else I would have to find out for myself. There was other knowledge I could ask for, but I knew knowledge was not the correct answer.

Skills were another thing I needed. Being pushed over and beaten up by toddlers showed how weak and ineffectual I was. If Magic could gift me the skills or abilities, I needed to do my new job, then I could be so much more effective. But I did not just want to be given to them. I loved building things from the bottom up, and skills were not different. I cherished things I worked for and tossed aside things I was given. I knew this about myself.

Which left me in a conundrum. The only boon that I could ask for, for myself, was an opportunity and challenge. Only that would really fill me. I thought about that sentence, about all that I could change. I could ask Magic to change myself, but then I would not be me. Rather I would be whatever Magic decided I would be. While that was not abhorrent to me, that did feel like a larger boon than what seemed reasonable.

I had already been given an opportunity and a challenge. I could reject the boon, but that felt excessive. Instead, I thought back to my life before and I realized what I had to ask.

“Solace for the ones I left behind.” I did not speak it, more became it. Within the attention of the world, my being became my desire. Peace and acceptance for the ones who loved me from the world I left behind. I knew, as my form showed, that my disappearance would only cause them pain and suffering. And if there was something, I could not stand was causing unnecessary suffering.

The world blinked. For one moment I had more attention on me than anyone could ever hope. The next, I was a void. There was nothing around me, and I was nothing. Before I could think much more about it, the world returned to existence.

Before me sat Wuinal. Next to the little monster was a being no larger than my pinky. It had the translucent blue I associated with the hands that appeared when I asked Magic something. But instead of seeing through the being, everything seemed to be emitted from it. It looked at me, and my breath caught in my throat.

“Your request is within my power.” The being who I assumed was Magic given form. “I ask, once more, that your boon shall not be for you nor any in myself. But rather for those that you left behind when you came here.”

I could not breathe. I could not move; I could barely see. But despite that, I focused on shifting my head up and down. As quickly as it appeared, Magic disappeared.

Wuinal looked between me and the now vacant spot. It repeated the process multiple times while I tried to recover from the experience. One question caused me to be all a thought, nothing and dominated in less than a minute. I collapsed and attempted to process everything.

“Well,” Wuinal said. “That was a first.”