The world had opened up. Not just a bigger stage for me to be a spectacle of, but a box full of more than I could have bargained for. Much like the handkerchief that never ends despite how much you pull it from your sleeve, conflict and desperation flowed out one after another before us. The New Forest had dazzled me with the veneer of a pleasant and well-crafted world, but the fight against what was soon to be known as the Crimson Shadow was but a taste of what power-hungry sentients could bring to the corner of the playground - kicking sand in the faces of others as they laughed maniacally.
A wave of inertia struck my body, and everything became blue briefly. Like a water slide, it felt like sinking through a tunnel - but was over in apparent seconds despite part of my body feeling like it stretched my core being out across infinity.
I stumbled onto wet sand, sinking to my knees to make sure my stomach didn’t empty itself. Never much for adventurous rides, but glad I didn't crack my head open on anything this time. My eyes scrunched closed as the vertigo swirled around my head, eventually diminishing. The dimming hum in my ears was the final reminder of the completed process.
Then, the sound of waves behind me, lapping at the shore. A cool breeze unhindered by terrain, briefly chilling my body. I opened my eyes to see the shaded darkness of night, the grains of sand briefly illuminated gray by the closest moon’s reflection. There was a blue box, too.
[Party request received. Accept?]
Looking up, I saw the extended hand of the Oathwarden, her face obscured by shadow. I just assumed it was a scowl under there, but I took the offered help and stood to my feet. Her hand was oddly warm, but the amount of damp sand now on my purple slacks distracted me from any further prodding at that thought. I brushed it off and checked the notification again.
[Party Invite Accepted]
“Let’s go be heroes then, trickster.” She turned away, and I followed her gaze.
Cliffs rose up almost a hundred feet off, and a pathway led up between them. Over the horizon, there were darkened shapes illuminated by small dots of amber light. “A town,” I whispered my conclusion out loud.
“More walking.” Ren sighed, but started to set off.
I joined her as I looked around us. In the darkness of night there was little detail across the beach - and it didn’t seem particularly large. More of a staging area to receive the fresh level fives and funnel them to the first point of civilisation. The Lady in Red would have had to come through here earlier in the day. Other than the cringeworthy name, there was something else unsettling about her. About her abilities. Perhaps if I had actually seen her, or it had been a more protracted battle, then I’d know more.
With the potential different classes, knowing what skills the enemy had was invaluable. Now she knew mine. I was at a disadvantage.
Speaking of which, I brought up my skills to look at my keystone.
[Demonic Magician] [Your successful Deceptions can now apply Dazzle to targets, and damage is increased per stack of Dazzle debuff.]
My first thought was, what does Dazzle even mean? As a noun. My heart beat harder in my chest, something akin to wondrous excitement building in my stomach for the reveal. Dazzle was a keyword that I could delve deeper into, to find out more.
“Oh, wow.” I placed my hand on my chin and shuddered. Could this be real? I read it again to be sure.
“What is it?” Ren sounded concerned, and looked me over as if I were about to explode or mutate.
“My keystone. It uh… there’s… if I perform a trick or ability that impresses or confuses an opponent, they get a stack of something called Dazzle - and then I am more effective against them.”
The elf stared at me for a few seconds. “Are you bullshitting me again?”
“No!” It was difficult to hold back the wide grin from forming across my face. “The more prolific a magician I am, the more powerful I am!”
Ren groaned. “Great, like I need the System encouraging you as well.”
I felt energized. Every foe was now my audience and now the better a performer I was, the easier it would be to conquer them. It was as if the System had been setting up dominoes, knowing exactly how I needed them placed, and then knocked them all down. To raucous applause - mostly my own, but still. It was early days.
“What did you get?” I asked, trying not to make the show all about me just yet.
“Nothing so flashy or bizarre.” She rolled her eyes. “You... ass. Defensive things so I can ward my oaths better.”
“No need to be jealous.” I grinned. “Rising tide raises all ships, and all that.”
“Drowns anyone who isn’t a giant, too.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to ride on my shoulders.” In response, she muttered something that I didn't catch, but I smiled. I doubted she was actually annoyed at my Class being more powerful - more likely it was just the nerves of becoming part of the wider world.
I felt it too. As we walked up the stone slope and the buildings drew closer, there was a reality that was sinking in to which we were both out-of-place outsiders. Given that she was an elf, I had assumed she had come from a more fantasy-based world—although that was just from my viewpoint of it; I supposed. While it was an unfamiliar setting to my previous lifestyle, Ren had also spent way too long on the small island. It was like we had just had a nice camping trip, and now returned to a land foreign to us because we had run out of cell signal and Sweet Cakes.
The tension in my chest continued as we came to the outskirts of what appeared to be a small, and rather quaint town. Dark wooden houses with thatched roofs were dotted around slim streets. A town square further down the road looked to house a fountain and rows of flowers hiding away from the twilight. The brickwork building further down looked to be an inert smithy, and a stable flanked the far end past the square before nature began once more.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Most important was the first building we came up to - it was only fitting that it should be the tavern of the town. Perhaps the largest structure, too. Amber light pooled from the ground-floor windows, whilst the ones above just had darkened recesses. A sign hung untouched by the breeze, the name written in golden foil - Driftwood Tavern.
Fitting, I supposed. But then again, I wasn’t very good with names. I ascended the three short steps and pushed the door open, eager for rest.
Warmth flooded through my body, causing me to shiver. A roaring fireplace sat at the left end, near the staircase leading upward. Round tables, well-worn from use, seemed sporadically placed,and had barely a tentative grip on where the chairs should be arranged - or how many each should have. Why I wanted to organize them, I had no idea. A glass window filled most of the right-hand wall, looking out to the ocean.
Across from us, the sole other figure in this downstairs area was a portly man with a thick mustache stood behind the bar. He rested his arms on a long counter of earthy brown planks. In seeing our entrance on a slight delay, he nodded toward us as we gingerly entered the tavern. New ground for us both.
“Evening, adventurers. Late one?” His grin was wide but barely made it through his facial hair. There were currently no other patrons on the ground floor, System-created or otherwise, which seemed... concerning.
“Evening, Sir.” I gave him a bow before Ren jostled me forward. “How goes, uh, the business?” We approached the bar, and it seemed the elf was content enough with me being the face of the Party.
“Can’t complain,” he said as he smiled.
Probably because he was System-created, I mused behind my own smile.
“Can I get you two some ale?” His almost equally bushy eyebrows raised as he gestured to the stack of empty mugs lining the wall behind him.
“No, I don’t drink.” - Both Ren and I said the same thing together.
We exchanged a brief glance before I returned to the barman. “What we could do with, however, is room for the night.”
“Ah, not an issue, Sir.” He jerked a thumb back towards a small wooden board that had numbers and keys affixed to it. “We have one room available tonight.”
“Just the one?” I exhaled through my nose and grimaced at the elf. “I’m okay with bedroll on the floor?”
“Alright,” she said with a nod, looking more exhausted than annoyed. “Barman, did a woman come through here today, maybe take a room? Bright red dress and wide hat, dark black hair.”
He rubbed his chin in thought as I tried to paint a mental image of our current foe. A dress didn’t seem like an advisable combat outfit, unless she was a spellcaster of some kind. The few scant details I had created the picture of a witch in my mind - still, she would be as easy to spot as I was.
“No, can’t say I recall, Miss.”
“That’ll be all then.” The elf shrugged and looked back at the tavern door. It made sense that she wouldn't shack up in the first safe place if we may be hot on her heels.
I paid the man and received the key. A paltry five gold for the night. Again, I tried to not question how the economy worked in this world. I supposed the System side of things didn’t need to make sense. The barman would be the barman no matter what he earned and presumably didn’t need to scrape about for food or other necessities.
We ascended the stairs, a squeak resounding every other wooden plank. Well, at first every other—then nearer the top, it skipped to the third. Down the hall, more squeaks from the planks. Small paintings lined the wall opposite the doorways. Scenes of waves and boats, the shore in summer, and seashells. Not masterpieces, but it was clear time and effort had been put into them.
Door three relented to the turn of the key, and I stepped into the darkness. A beam of moonlight filtered in through the window and struck the plain linen on the bed. It was almost claustrophobic after spending a few days out in the open woods. A real building we'd spend more time than just a quick bath in. Ren lit a lantern by the side of the door and the details of the room came into focus under the light.
A wide double-bed was the key feature, with a cupboard, dresser, and small table with a chair arranged around the edges of the rest of the room. All made from the same wood, a simple and plain design that at least gave the impression they’d come from the same woodworker. Certainly wasn’t the worst hotel I’d had to sleep at.
Ren moved around me to glare at the room herself, inspecting it for anything untoward. “You can take the bed. It was your desire, after all.”
“Nonsense.” I was already half-way through my Inventory to remove my bedroll. "You take it."
“Because I’m a woman, because you think I’m a princess, or because you put your suffering before others as you can’t stop people-pleasing?” She crossed her arms and glared at me.
I worked my jaw to chew on the answer. “…yes?”
The elf sighed and rubbed her face. “There’s enough room for us both. A hero that puts everyone else before them ends up a dead hero.”
As much as I would have liked to argue further, I was actually exhausted, and an actual bed would be divine. “I relent to your wisdom, Ren.”
“Less relenting and more thinking for yourself. You prefer the right or left side?”
My brow furrowed. The times I had needed or allowed myself the luxury of a double-bed had been scarce the last few years, but… “Right side?”
“Good answer.” She went and placed the lantern on the nearby dresser.
I walked around to my side of the bed and the room was plunged into darkness once more. Before my eyes had the chance to fully adjust to the gloom, I removed my hat, jacket, and shoes. Anything more than that would have been more comfortable, but I would wait until I had my own room to disrobe any further. Under the covers I went, facing the wall, and the bed shook as Ren repeated the same process on the other side.
As much as my brain was spent from the day, I relented to doing a little bedtime reading to soothe out my nerves before the darkness could take me. Although I had nothing but begrudging disdain for my natural prowess being defined by numerical values, it would at least be a good idea to have a grasp on the inner workings so I had a base amount of knowledge to work from. Eyes narrowing to focus on my menus, I brought up my Stats. Seems they showed the total, and then in brackets it was split between base and bonuses.
[Stats]
Strength - 5
Constitution - 6
Agility - 5
Dexterity - 12 (11 +1)
Intelligence - 17 (11 + 6)
Wisdom - 5
Luck - 9 (8 +1)
My equipment was pulling some weight for my Intelligence. With my energy sapping away, it looked as though I received an average of 1.5 increase per level for Int and Dex, 1 Increase to Luck, and 0.5 for the rest. Enough to ballpark my progress, I shouldn't have to keep tabs on this every five minutes. Just pump my two main Stats and everything would be fine. Although, some more health and Constitution would be nice for the times Luck couldn't save me from injury. With a sigh, I closed the windows down.
Despite the plain nature of the bed, I relaxed and sunk into the softness of the mattress and melted from the warmth of the thick sheets covering my tired body. So much better than my bedroll in the tent. With my brain now accepting it needed to shut off, all the hardships of the day washed away like the distant sound of the shore from the open window. Almost immediately, I fell asleep.
Squeak.
My eyes fluttered open. The gloom of the wooden wall opposite me stared back impassively. This was a common thing, my mind reminded itself as confusion slunk away into the darkness. Sleeping in a new place was often difficult. Just a part of the brain that kept-
Squeak.
I held my breath as I regained control of my waking thoughts. Floorboards from outside the room. Light breathing from beside me - Ren was still asleep.
Squeak.
Every other step. Slowly approaching. My heartbeat raced. It was still dark out; the moon having left our room in near complete darkness. Another squeak, ever closer, dried out my mouth.
Just another patron heading back to their room? The barman moving through an on-rails patrol route through the night?
A final squeak just outside our door. I turned in the bed slowly to glare at the open darkness gradually coming into some focus. The closed door told no tales, but my senses ached for a continuation of the movement. I needed to know either way whether my panic was justified or the days of slaughter were catching up to the sane part of my subconscious.
Silence.
My blood pulsed in my head, a rhythmic thumping that threatened to override any more important sounds that may arise. From beneath the covers, my hands withdrew, fingers flexing in anticipation.
With a brief crack of displaced air, our door opened an inch.