Jackson put a comforting hand on Trevor’s back as they both stared at the clay jar. To the young man, it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. The contents sloshed as he shook it back and forth, and he could feel it wasn’t only liquid inside. Still, he looked at the old elf, who had the twinkle of well meaning mischief in his eyes.

“We call it the Quest Master,” Jackson explained. “I know, I know, it’s a little on the nose, but all Summoned in this world have access to it. You can shorten it to QM, if you prefer. It doesn’t seem to mind.”

“It minds other things?” Trevor asked, bemused.

“Some. I’m sure you’ve noticed that it can be a little sassy at times. Overall, though, it’s helpful. It gives out the quests required to level up, like this one. If you ask it to explain a monster, object, or Power, then it will, and if you ask it to show you your stats, it will oblige. Where it came from is hotly debated amongst scholars, but most people accept it as a matter of fact.”

“That does seem helpful,” Trevor murmured, though he didn’t sound sure of his own words.

“Completing quests allow you to level up, giving you access to better stats and increases to your Power,” Jackson continued. “There’s no level cap as far as anyone has seen, but it’s rare to see anyone too high a level. You see, you level up by completing quests. No monster killing required unless, of course, that’s what you were requested to do. Let me see here, you have the Quick Growth skill for being a human, right?”

“I think that’s what it said,” Trevor confirmed.

“That’s a good one,” Jackson said, nodding sagely. “Every race has a pool of racial skills, and the one you received is almost universally agreed to be one of the best. Why don’t you ask the Quest Master what it does?”

Looking from the jar to the elf, Trevor was urged to speak. “Um, Quest Master? Could you please tell me what Quick Growth does?” he asked, feeling embarrassed about asking thin air about his abilities.

[[The Quick Growth skill is a Human skill that allows you to grow quickly.

But that’s the obvious answer, so let me get to the nitty gritty. Whenever you complete a quest, you level up. However, this is not always the case. As you get more and more powerful, it will take you several quests to level up. For the first few levels, it will take you one quest. Then, it’ll take two. As you can probably guess, this upward trend continues. It’s called Milestone Leveling and, not to toot my own horn, it’s awesome.

What Quick Growth does is lower the amount of quests required to level up by 10%, with a constant minimum of 1. So even when it takes two quests to level up, you’ll only need to complete one. This is a rare skill and you’re lucky to have it, so feel free to thank me for being so magnanimous.]]

“Oh, uh, thanks for being so magnanimous, Quest Master,” Trevor managed to stutter out.

“Good answer, I take it?” Jackson asked.

“You can’t see the response?”

The old elf shook his head. “I cannot. Asides from certain circumstances, everyone will receive a different message.”

“Gotcha, sorry. Well, the Quest Master said that it’s based on something called Milestone Leveling,” Trevor said as he read through the message again. “And I take fewer quests to level up than everyone else.”

“That is correct,” Jackson affirmed, beaming. “Now, I understand this is a stressful event. Being summoned to another world, ripped from what you know, it can be anxiety inducing. I’ve seen a lot of people break down for a short time before they get their bearings. You’ve done a wonderful job so far, but if you need something to occupy your time, then I recommend focusing on this.”

The young man simply nodded. He wasn't sure if a panic attack was off the table just yet, but the forecast was looking clear. “That’s good advice, thank you.”

“The Quest Master has events every year that people can partake in to become Quest Givers,” Jackson continued explaining. “For the most part you’ll see them being captains of the guard, nobles, scholars, or merchants, though anyone can be accepted. They live up to their titles as those who give quests. When they do so, the QM takes the reward from a location they specially designated for that purpose in order to give to the adventurers at the end of the quest.”

That caused Trevor to perk up. “I get a reward for this?” he asked, surprised. “It wasn't mentioned.”

“No, it generally doesn’t unless it’s something very important,” Jackson answered. “But you can always ignore a request if the Giver doesn’t tell you what the reward is or if you don’t think it’s worth the time. In this case, it’s both money and a map of the town. Our currency is separated between copper, silver, gold, and platinum coins, with silver being the standard.”

“I’m going to assume that means the dollars I have in my wallet are useless, aren’t they?”

Jackson chuckled. “I’m afraid so,” he confirmed. “But I’ll make sure that you have everything you need for two weeks. That should give you enough time to get a hang of everything and become self-sufficient.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jackson,” Trevor said.

“It’s fine. After all, I’m the one who snagged you from your world, so it’s up to me to do at least this much.” Jackson gestured towards the clay jar. “Why don’t you complete the quest?”

“Oh, sure, yeah. Sorry, I really should have started that sooner.”

Trevor grasped the lid in his hand and attempted to pull it open. His hand slipped off. Next, he attempted to twist it. The glue held tight. Scraping the glue with his fingernail, the rubbery adhesive proved resistant to peeling it off little by little. It was stuck tight.

His next thought was that his Strength stat was three, which seemed really high considering his physique. If the jar was made of clay, then it should be easily broken.

That would be incredibly rude, though, and Trevor dismissed it. It may have been the right call, but if it wasn’t then he had just destroyed the elf’s property for nothing.

With pursed lips, his mind wandered back to what the Quest Master had written. Why not try your Power?

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Sorry, Mr. Jackson, but how do I activate my Power?” Trevor asked, looking up from the jar apologetically.

“I told you that you don’t have to apologize, young man,” he chastised gently.

“Yeah, it’s just a habit, sorry.”

“You should feel the Power in the back of your mind,” Jackson said, not bothering to correct him this time. “Activating it should come instinctively to you once you reach out for it.”

Nodding, Trevor closed his eyes and tried searching his mind for his Power. To his astonishment, he realized that the feeling he was reaching for had been waiting for him to do so. Mentally grasping at it, the young man smiled.

The Power of Inventory was small, but he could feel how vast it could grow. It seemed ready to accept whatever Trevor sent its way, so long as it was able. It was warm and welcoming, like a small room with a fireplace and a couch to snuggle up on while a blizzard raged outside. As he mentally poked it as if it were an actual construct, he had the distinct impression that it was pleased.

This was a far cry from what he imagined. The Power didn’t strike him as an ever hungry void waiting to consume eternity and chew on the ashes of infinity as it gobbled up everything it could hold and still want more.

Trevor blinked as his expectations were subverted. Perhaps he was ready for that anxiety attack, alone or not.

Shaking it off, he willed the clay jar into his inventory. In a flash of light that didn’t seem to illuminate anything, the item disappeared into thin air. For a moment he panicked before reaching out to that feeling, and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that the jar was sitting there inside that small, vast feeling.

Not only was it safe and sound in Trevor’s inventory, but he could make out the various components. The clay jar was one item, but so was the pickle juice and the four pickles that had been inside. He found it odd that everything could be separated like that, but then realized that he hadn’t even known this existed ten minutes ago and decided that oddity just must be the flavor of the day.

Prodding around in his own mind, he barely noticed as Jackson watched him. The elf’s expression was one of contentment and satisfaction. Watching people explore their power for the first time was almost always a great joy to witness, and this was no different. While the Power of Inventory wasn’t one the elf could see working, the ever changing expressions on Trevor’s face as he experimented were well worth it.

Holding out his hand, Trevor took a breath and looked at Jackson. “I’m not sure how this is going to work,” he said.

“It’ll work as it does,” Jackson replied. “As long as you’re trying, that’s what matters.”

Trevor hesitated, but then nodded. He willed the pickles to emerge from his inventory and onto his hand, coaxing it like a kitten unsure if it wanted to leave its hiding place. A moment later, his hand was covered in a dark olive colored liquid. Most of it fell to the ground and splashed the two men’s feet, masking the sweet air with the scent of pungent brine and vinegar.

“No, I meant pickles, not the juice,” Trevor lamented, shaking his hand out. “Sorry about the mess, Mr. Jackson.”

“It’s fine, it really is,” the elf laughed. “Try again. You’re already almost there.”

Holding up his hand, Trevor made a face at the sticky juice clinging to it. He had always hated being dirty or wet. Something about the feeling of being touched by something that wasn’t supposed to be touching him threw him off. This was no different.

As if sensing his thoughts and discomfort, the Power of Inventory activated again, and the pickle juice that remained on his hand disappeared in a flash of light. Trevor could feel it floating around, unseen yet still reachable, in the pocket dimension attached to him. Flexing his fingers, he winced as he tried again.

This time, he was successful. His eyes widened as he looked at the four blue, bulbous pickles that had appeared out of thin air. They were dry on the outside as all of the juice had been separated inside the inventory space.

“I did it!” he exclaimed excitedly as he held out his hand for Jackson to see.

[[Quest complete! You have managed to summon pickles!

Please remember that your Power isn’t one of Pickles, but Inventory. If you attempt to summon pickles again, and they are not stowed away in your pocket space, then you will fail and be sad because you have no pickles.

Rewards! A map of the town of Tosa and a set of coins have been added to your inventory.

Level up! You have gained one (1) stat point. It has been added to your bank like the others. You have four (4) stat points banked.]]

Without taking a look, Trevor could tell that he had two gold coins, fifteen silver coins, and thirty copper coins in his inventory space. He wasn’t sure what the exchange rate was, or how much things cost around here, but he found himself trusting Jackson when the elf said it would be enough to keep him going for a while. Before he could ask, however, the other man spoke.

“Excellent work, my boy,” Jackson said jovially. “You only have a limited amount of space now but, as you increase your Capacity stat, it’ll get larger. I won’t tell you how to spend your points, but it would be wise not to neglect it.”

The elf took three of the four pickles and motioned for Trevor to eat the last one. The young man stared at the strangely colored fermented cucumber. Generally, things that were this shade of blue were not meant for consumption. However, Jackson once again gestured for Trevor to eat, and had already begun biting one of the others, so he complied.

To his surprise, it tasted exactly like a normal pickle. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the texture, or the crunch when he bit it, or the juices that flowed into his mouth. This was, to everything except the eyes, just another pickle.

“As much as I’d love to celebrate with you, I really must return to my duties as the mayor,” Jackson said as he finished his first pickle. “If you check that map, it’ll show you the way to your place of residence. The townsfolk have taken to calling it the Hero House, but it’s a small compound where the other Summoned live. Should be easy enough to find.”

“Oh, you’re not going to take me there?” Trevor asked.

Jackson simply shook his head. “I assure you, you’ll find that Tosa is as safe as any town in your world.”

“I’m not sure if that’s as reassuring as you think it is,” Trevor said with a grimace. America was America, after all.

“Safer, then,” Jackson replied. Turning he gestured towards a stairwell in the back of the room. “Head downstairs and follow the map. Spend some time exploring, if you like. You have around eight hours until night falls, but there’s lamps lining each of the main roads. Try new foods, meet new people, and get used to your new, temporary home.”

Trevor nodded. “Okay, thanks.”

“You are truly welcome, my boy.”

As Jackson raised his hand, Trevor suddenly blurted out. “Oh, wait, before you go. Um, why did you ask me to start with 3 Strength?”

Jackson’s hand stopped, and he chuckled. “Why, it’s so you look more like you do on the cover.”

Trevor tilted his head. “What?”

The elf’s chuckle transformed into a laugh, and he shook his head. “Don’t worry about the mess, it’ll clean itself up eventually. But, please enjoy your stay, Trevor.”

Jackson finished raising his hand, and a book much larger than either man emerged from the ground. Trevor jumped back, but it didn’t do anything to him.

Curiously, the cover did have a depiction of Trevor, and the young man found himself staring.

The Trevor Anderson on the cover was as muscular as he was now. He wore a tank top and khakis with a backpack on his back. In the background was a town or city that he didn’t recognize. Whatever his circumstances, he seemed to be having a good time.

“Bye, Mr. Jackson,” the young man said absently.

The book opened to a random page near the middle, and the elf stepped inside with an amused smile on his lips. He disappeared into the paper, and the book returned to the ground as if it hadn’t just been carefully studied by Trevor.

The young man’s eyes widened as he looked around for any sign of his elderly friend. “… What?”