Day 1, 3:45 PM
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
— Winston Churchill
I gasp. My throat is tight and my whole rib cage burns. The agony passes, and I realize I’m squatting atop a human. I take a moment to recognize the man.
I didn't start from the beginning? Why? I don't have the time to pursue the thought. I'm just glad I got my second chance.
“Abe?” A smile escapes me. “Fancy seeing you here. What’s your strength score?”
The old man looks at me with terrified, wide eyes.
“Do you know what your strength score is?” I ask again, slower, and he shakes his head.
“No,” is his last word in this run, and I punch him dead. A single fist does the trick.
“F1,” I say, and random squiggles appear.
Shit, I’m illiterate again.
[Name - Aang Ree
Class - slave level 0
Health 11/18, Strength - 17, Agility 16, Physique - 18, Wisdom - 17, Intellect - 16, Willpower - 19, Presence - 18, Charisma - 19, Composure - 13
Abilities - none
Attribute points remaining - 0
To level up, work while starving for ten days
Statuses - malnourished, starved, wounded]
I take a quarter of an hour to read through everything. Opening and deciphering each status takes the most time, but by the time I’m done I get a new pop-up.
[Ability acquired - Literate]
“Thank you!” I loot the corpses, and unlike before, I take two miscellaneous items I ignored before; a thug’s hat and another’s dull shaver. I touch the damn thing with my thumb, and my lip twists.
“Yup, duller than a butter knife.” I glance down at the thug. “Would it have killed you to sharpen it from time to time? What do you even do with a dull razor? Skin yourself?”
I trim my hair instead of shaving it, pack the extra clothes in a bundle, like I did last time, and put on the cap. I bet I look dorky in the loose hat, but at least I no longer look like Aang the porter.
I head towards Princess’s hideout, plucking roots and leaves along the way. I munch on a flower I recall I can eat raw. It’s bitter-sour, but it should be good for my health and stomach gasses. An hour later I am amazed, nothing happened to me, no nausea, no diarrhea. It was perfectly edible.
This is great! I’m impressed with all the things I have achieved and all the advancements I have made. And it’s only my third time doing the exact same thing. I guess repetition really is the mother of learning.
I reach Princess’s hideout happy, sated, and with a plan.
“Whoever is hiding in that cave, come out where I can see you,” I say in a harsh voice as the dim sunlight fades, turning the forest menacingly dark. “I know you’re in there. Come out, and I won’t harm you.”
Princess walks out, her dagger pointing at me in an outstretched, shaky hand. I grab her wrist and squeeze. The dagger falls onto the ground, and I’m half a step away from her, covering her mouth.
“I will not harm you. You will not scream. You will not try to hurt me. Nod if you understand me.”
She does, and I let her go.
“I’m a sellsword. Saw a bunch of dead people, and a woman’s footprints running away from the scene. I guess I can make some decent coin off of you. Someone died covering your escape, by the way. You should make sure their family is well taken care of.”
“What do you want?” Her voice trembles, her barely visible eyes wide.
“I want money. I need it to live, and I disdain robbing people. So, I’ll offer you a deal. You give me half your money, and I help you get wherever it is you want to go. I will protect you and risk my life for your sake. To be honest, I would prefer to enter your household and work as a guard, but after that bastard Gohen, nobody trusts sellswords anymore. So, I will settle for half your money? What do you say?”
She takes too long to answer, and I’m pressed to speak up.
“Look, your life is worth more than a handful of gold crowns. I’m guessing your daddy gave you ten at least. And if I wanted to do anything to you, I could have and would have done it already. Please? I’m just trying to be a decent guy and earn my honest bread. I want to help you, but this situation seems very dangerous, and I’m not risking my neck for free.”
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I can’t see her face anymore. Fortunately, I don’t have to guess for long.
“I can give you five crowns when I’m safe and sound with my family—”
“No. Payment up front. I have no idea what change of heart you may have along the way. I can already rob you, so it’s not like you are risking your money. You keep half and give me half, it seems fair. Right?”
She stays silent long enough for me to wonder, Should I just kill her like last time? Feels disgusting, now that I know the whole story.
Fortunately, she speaks. “I don’t have crowns on me. I can give you a gold bar.”
“Deal. My name is Ree. You may call me Mister Ree, and I promise I’ll keep you safe until you’re home.”
There’s another moment of silence.
“Really, that’s the best alias you can come up with? Mystery?”
I… did not notice that.
Then I realize she must be unnaturally calm around me, or she trusts me and thinks she can joke around. Or maybe she thinks I’m joking to defuse the awkward situation?
My charisma and presence are extraordinarily high. Maybe that’s got something to do with it?
I shelve my thoughts for later, but the question is important. Just how charismatic am I?
“My name really is Ree. You spell it R-E-E, and you seem like a noble lady, so it’s inappropriate for you to call me Sir Ree or Master Ree.”
“You wanted me to call you Sorry or Mastery?” I can hear a hint of amusement in her voice.
“I’m glad you’re relaxed enough to joke around me, just call me Ree. All right? What do I call you?”
“You may address me as Noble Lady.”
“Is Noble your first or last name?” I jab right back.
“First.”
I bite my lip and take a moment, but I guess I can work with this.
“Fine, I’ll call you Noble from now on. Could you give me my payment now, Noble? And do you have food, or do I have to feed you as well?”
I’m sure she had more witty remarks lined up, but her stomach jumps to my aid and growls.
“I’ll feed you all the way for an extra gold bar.”
“That’s a blatant robbery! I can buy twenty roasted chickens for a gold crown, and a gold bar is worth twelve and a half crowns!”
I don’t point out that she can’t in fact buy two hundred and fifty chickens for her money, since there are no chickens for sale in the middle of a hostile forest. Instead, I speak magnanimously.
“Fine, I will feed you free of charge, since you are so poor. It would take too long to light a fire, and I can’t see what I’m doing. I’m having old karaak bread and dry jerky. It’s good for your character, but hard on your jaw. Do you want some?”
“Are you a runaway jester or something?”
That’s another valid question. What am I, exactly?
“F1,” I whisper and smile.
“No. I’m a bonafide bodyguard. And our circumstances are ideal for that job. I promise you’ll love my profession by the time we leave this forest.”
[Name - Aang Ree
Class - bodyguard level 0
Health 12/18, Strength - 17, Agility 16, Physique - 18, Wisdom - 17, Intellect - 16, Willpower - 19, Presence - 18, Charisma - 19, Composure - 13
Abilities - Literate, Select Principal [selected]
Attribute points remaining - 0
To level up, suffer a light wound while protecting your principal
Statuses - malnourished, starved, wounded]
She has no idea what I’m talking about, but that’s fine. She hands me a small, warm metal bar, and we have dinner. Amazingly, she doesn’t grumble about how tough the food is. I’m kind enough to give her water to soften the karaak bread, and my starved status disappears, increasing all my attributes by two.
My health also increased by one, turning white, and the wounded status is gone. I’m stuck with malnourished for now, but its description says it’s only a minus one to physical stats, and I can live with that for a while.
“You should sleep in the cave, Noble. I’ll stand watch.”
She doesn’t say anything, but I can hear her fumble her way to the shallow cave.
“Good night,” I say a moment after the vine leaves rustle.
“Good night.”
I lean against a tree and plot out our future course based on the two previous forest walks.
I’ll abandon the extra clothes. They offered some protection against the wolves, but I can do without them. And carrying so much spare clothes is suspicious. I don’t want her thinking I’m a looter, nor should she ever consider that I’m prepared for the wolves’ attack. What else?
I mull things over before letting myself fall asleep, enjoying the soft snoring coming from Noble’s nook.
The sun isn’t out yet when I wake up, and we aren’t in a real hurry, so I let her sleep while I do my stretches.
“Good morning, Noble,” I say without turning when I hear her stir. The sun is still rising, and the forest is getting brighter by the minute.
“Good morning,” she says, pain clear in her voice.
“Rough night sleeping on a rock? Earth is much more comfortable, just as cold, though. If we find a blanket or something, you can have it. Do you want to eat, or would you prefer walking without breakfast?”
“Breakfast first,” she grumbles, but sounds more miserable than angry. I don’t care one way or the other. I have her gold in my pocket. Enough for most of the plans Manuella and I cooked up. Everything else that happens, such as leveling, is only a bonus, which will make me stronger for the main event, once I reach Amplegord.
For some reason, though, I think I would prefer to escort this girl home alive. After Manuella’s story, I felt a smidgeon of guilt for killing Noble. I eye her once more, now that there’s light.
She’s slightly different from what I remember. She is still pretty, she’s got curves in all the right places, but I’m no longer drooling over her like some hungry wolf. Something changed inside of me, I guess.
“So, where do you want us to go?”
“Towards Amplegord.”
I close my eyes for a second, pretending I’m picturing the map and gathering my bearings. “South.”
She nods.
“It’s that way,” I point southwards. “But we won’t go there straight. I saw the massacre that was once your caravan. Whoever attacked you most likely has more men blocking your path. We’ll move in an arc, keeping southward, but not straight there. It will cost us about a day, but we should be much safer than heading straight at them. What do you say?”
She stares at me.
“You’re just a kid aren’t you? You’re younger than me? And you don’t even have a sword!”
Ah, she noticed.
“You scammed me!” she says, her voice bordering a shout.
I snap to my feet, and she flinches back.
“Don’t scream, the bandits might hear you, and then we will be in trouble.” I empty my sack and start wrapping it around my wrist. “Not much trouble, but I prefer to fight as little as possible.”
I pull the sack tight and walk over to a tree.
“I’m not afraid of trouble, but every fight means I’m risking my life.”
I smash my fist into the tree’s trunk with a grunt. The rough brown bark bursts and wood chips fly.
“I am a professional, and I will protect you.” I inspect the mark I left and find it impressive enough, so I turn around and look at her shocked face. “What does age or having swords have to do with anything?”