Chapter 63

Leon woke, sweat dripping all over his body. Trouble whined. She’d placed her head on his stomach and looked up at his face. He could feel her heart beat quicker than normal, and he stroked her head.

“I’m sorry.” He swallowed to wet his throat. “It was just a bad dream.”

In response, Trouble moved her head up to his chest and pressed down hard. It hurt. He hugged her.

“I promise I’ll be okay,” he said. It didn’t seem to soothe her much, probably because his own heart was going a hundred miles an hour. He tried to calm himself. It had been a dream, but why? He’d only been plagued by his worries and fears when awake; he’d never actually dreamed in this world. Sure, he’d suppressed everything that had happened to him so far, but he didn’t think it would come back to haunt him. Now, a new fear had appeared. What if he wasn’t strong enough, mentally, to be able to do this? Leon looked at his fatigue and health. He’d woken before the alarm. That was also a first. But he wasn’t ready to go back to sleep. He swallowed again, then gently pushed Trouble off him and got up.

“I’m going to talk to Crag,” he said. “You go ahead and sleep a bit longer.”

Trouble’s ears shifted. Then she jumped over to him. She laid down and put her head on his feet. Leon smiled and stroked her over her head.

“I promise I’ll be back soon.”

Trouble reluctantly lifted her head and went to her roll, where she sat down and stared at him. Leon smiled at her and walked out the door.

Leon walked into the bar area, which was completely empty and almost entirely dark. The dank smell of wetness from before had gone, replaced by a scent that reminded him of a cellar. It was about three o’clock in the night, and Crag wasn’t there. Leon sat down at a table and leaned his head into his hands. Crag always had an answer, and he wished he were awake now. Considering the time, he would be in about two hours, if the breakfast schedule still held. He knew that what he’d experienced was just a dream, but that didn’t make the images any easier to bear. He couldn’t prevent people or monsters from hurting him, but he could still do something for his family. Or that wasn’t exactly true. Others couldn’t hurt him as much if he just became stronger. But why was it so goddamn hard to do? It felt like he did everything he could to increase his stats, but it didn’t give him much.

He looked out the window at the rain pouring down on the empty plaza. Even though his constant training hadn’t given him much, the only thing he could think of doing was to train even more. That had been his only goal and purpose since coming into this world, and he was scared to stop. Stopping now would be dangerous, and he already felt the clock ticking toward his deadline. He’d need to amp up his game even more, but how could he possibly do that? If he separated from his party, he’d ramp up the experience he needed much quicker, but that would leave Hert in a bad position. He didn’t worry about Ava; Finn would take care of her, but what Red said about him was worrying. Not his problem, Leon reminded himself. Ava could and would choose for herself.

He pressed his palm against his forehead, then shot up to his feet. If Crag wasn’t here, he’d go back to sleep. He just needed to hope that he wouldn’t dream again.

*****

Leon woke two hours later, having no more pictures haunting him. The previous dream still sat in his mind as he walked downstairs with Trouble in his bag, ready to start his day. The dream had gotten too many points right. He’d been in constant danger since he’d come into this world, and it kept getting worse. And it would worsen still when he became level 10. Leon just wasn’t strong enough yet to tackle what he must.

He entered the pub area, which now had lanterns burning on the walls, and the scent of roasted bread and something similar to coffee wafted toward him. Crag stood behind the bar, leaning against the counter with a tankard in his hands.

“Is that coffee?” Leon asked.

Crag raised his eyebrows. “Good morning.”

“Morning.”

“It’s chicory root tea,” Crag said. “Do you want some?”

“I’d love some,” Leon said, sitting on a bar stool. “And a bit of your time, if that’s alright.”

“Sure thing.” Crag straightened himself, put the tankard on the counter, and disappeared into his kitchen. He soon came up with a bowl of porridge, a slice of toasted bread, and a tankard just as his. He placed them in front of Leon, then climbed to sit on top of his ladder with his own cup.

Leon sniffed at the tankard. It sure smelled like fresh coffee, and he took a sip. It tasted like it too, but a little less bitter.

“So, my boy. What makes you wake up at five in the morning?”

“A nightmare,” Leon said.

“Oh? I’ve never had one of those. Never heard of someone having one, either.”

Leon frowned. “I haven’t had a dream since I came here. So why now?”

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Crag shrugged. “Dreams don’t happen very often here. Maybe someone above wanted to show you something?”

Above? Maybe it was a reference to the system? “It showed me I’m not strong enough for what I need to do. For my purpose here.”

Crag smiled, but it wasn’t happy. “Well, I don’t know of everything you’ve experienced so far, but maybe this is an aftereffect. You seem like you fight hard to get stronger, though.”

“It’s still not enough. But I don’t know what more I can do. It feels like I’m stuck in the same place, no matter what I try.”

Crag scratched at his cheek. “Well, there are some ways you can increase your effectiveness with fighting, but that’s only available when you can pass into Bellwater, or Hightown, as they call it.”

Leon nodded. He had suspected as much. But then he’d also be vulnerable, which was a price he apparently needed to pay.

Crag continued, “The school is where you need to go. They have class-based courses, party-based courses, and courses you can take just for the heck of it. I need to warn you, though; it’s expensive.”

“How expensive?”

“I believe the class course is 800 coins.”

Leon kneaded his eyebrows. “Of course it is.” With the poison ring, he’d need 1500 coins. That would take some time.

“Oh, don’t be like that, lad!” Crag said. “It will be worth it. There’s also a bank that offers loans for those who want to study. And loans for anything else, really.”

A bank? He supposed it made sense in a way, but how did that work? “Do a lot of players go to school?”

“There are some who would spend their whole life there, if they could. And some do.”

“And how do those people pay for their education?”

Crag shrugged. “There are those with loans, but the school sometimes offers quests you can take as well. But I’m not certain how most students deal with their payments. I’m just a simple innkeeper.”

Leon chuckled and took a sip from his drink. “We both know you’re more than that.”

Crag winked at him and climbed down onto the floor. “I hope you suffer no more nightmares. I’m heading into the kitchen to prepare for today, so call on me if you need anything.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Leon ate his breakfast, thinking about what Crag said. It would be hard to finance his studies, and he wasn’t sure he’d want to take a loan, but that would be something he’d need to consider. If many people took them, it would hopefully mean that the terms weren’t that bad. And then, if the training worked out, he could get money more easily than before. It might be worth a shot.

He rose from his spot and left the empty plate and tankard there. He considered taking Trouble out and carry her on his run, but the reason he hadn’t in the first place was because of how people had looked at her when they came out of the tower. No one knew what the surrounding people would do, but now that the rain prompted most people to stay indoors, it could be an option. But then there were players. Players who would be out and about, and that was even more dangerous. Leon sighed. No, if he’d carry someone for his strength training, it would be Red. And it was time to see how many laps he could complete before he met with her.

*****

Leon came to a stop outside the Laughing Bard. It was almost seven now, and a lap took him about twenty-five minutes to complete. In some ways, the bridge had made his run a little easier, where he didn’t need to follow the street layout in the Slums. Red gave him a hesitant wave from the top of the stairs.

“Good morning,” he said and approached her.

“Good morning.” She cleared her throat, and a redness creeped up her face. She’d tucked her hair into her collar again, and she’d chosen to wear the purple hat with a feather. “I… This is what we said.”

“I’m glad you didn’t change your mind. You ready to get going?”

Red gave a curt nod, then sucked in a deep breath, which she slowly let out. “So, how do we do this?”

Leon smiled at her and got down on one knee. “I’ll take you on my back, just like we did in that forest. That work for you?”

Red walked to stand behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. Then she awkwardly pressed her legs to his side. Leon grabbed them and stood.

“This is so fucking weird,” Red mumbled.

Leon chuckled. “Well, at least no one’s out to see us.” He took a step forward, and when it went okay, he started walking. It was less heavy than he remembered, and soon, he increased his speed to a jog, feeling her body bounce slightly against his back.

“You doing alright?” he asked, huffing as they passed Hert’s workshop. “Or do you need to rest?”

“I’m alright,” she said. “You’re the one carrying me.”

Leon continued down the street and had to slow down a little to not topple over as the street slanted even more. They approached the bridge, and Red ducked, pressing her burning face onto his neck.

“You never cease to surprise me,” the guard, Gerald, said as they passed. “This some new sort of training?”

“Yeah,” Leon panted. He didn’t stop. Sweat already ran down his face, telling him it could help.

Red didn’t lift her face until they had come a decent way in on the bridge.

“You seem to have a reputation for doing this sort of thing,” she said, her voice disbelieving.

“It seems that I have,” Leon puffed. “I told you. I don’t mind weird looks. As long as I get stronger.”

Red leaned her face closer. “Do you want to rest? You seem to sweat a lot.”

“No. No rest.” Leon focused on the bridge, trying to calm his breath. This was good training.

“Aren’t you worried you’ll get exhausted before meeting with your group? Because that’s what you’re going to do, right?”

Leon swallowed. “Yeah. But this doesn’t cost fatigue.”

“So why are you sweating?”

“Dunno.” Leon wanted to wipe his brow, but let the drips run down his face. His back was getting really warm, too. Damn it, he’d wanted to make this at least two laps. He wasn’t strong enough, even for this?

The guards positioned by the other arch muttered something as Leon jogged past, but they said nothing directly to them. Leon kept his eyes straight ahead and continued on. Not much further to go.

As he saw the inn’s sign, he pressed himself to run. He stopped at the stairs, bent his knees to let Red off, and then collapsed onto the stairs, breathing hard.

Red sat down beside him. “Wow, that really took something out of you. Am I really that heavy?”

Leon licked his lips and took a few deep breaths. “No. I’m just not in the shape I want to be.” He swallowed to wet his throat. “What did you think of our first run?”

Red emitted a soft laugh. “Embarrassing. But I’ll live.”

“That’s good.” Leon leaned his elbows onto the stairs, staring up into the murky sky. “So you won’t mind doing it again?”

Red shuffled behind him. “Well… No. But why are you doing it in the first place? Has it actually resulted in anything?”

Leon tilted his head to look at her. “Yeah. It’s not much, but I’ve received a point in agility, and as you know, strength. But somehow, I also feel less winded when fighting, and that seems to better itself outside of any stat.”

“Hm. Are you going to run any more today? Can I join you?” Red stared straight ahead. “Unless you want to carry me for one more lap.”

Leon thought of the laps he’d done before he met her today and was tempted to say no. But one more lap wouldn’t hurt. A look at the time told him that he’d have thirty minutes to meet with the others, meaning that this run had taken him ten minutes longer than normal to complete. But without the extra weight, there would be enough time. If Red could keep up.

“Sure. Let me just wash up, first. I feel disgusting.”