A magician that summoned demons. It seemed simple on the surface. Even from day one I seemed like an odd mix of capabilities. Summoning demons was one thing, but to have a classical magician slant to it was another. The real question mark was my ability to manipulate my Inventory to move things around at will. That almost seemed like a potential Class of its own, yet the System had accidentally slid me something more powerful than intended. Of course, the real trick was that this was all a distraction from what I really was. What I could really become.
We had looted the remains of the Crimson Shadow and left the area as quickly as we could. Some small equipment upgrades, but no information. Other than the Lady not being here.
[546 Gold]
[Shoulder Pads of the Wise] [+2 Int]
[Bracers of Hope] [+1 Int, +1 Dex, +1 Luck]
[Forest Leggings] [+2 Dex]
[Blade of Shadow] [+2 Str]
More bandages, a few Health potions that I put away with a grimace. Ren and Wolf had their pick of other items. If you ignored the hardship and stress of the attack, it had been a truly efficient way of increasing our own power. Still, what I craved even more was an end to this. I had opened the Map maybe a dozen times as we were walking, to see where the river was. The distance we had to cover to find her.
Even beyond the dampness from the persistent drizzle, I felt cold. Completely drained of any strength and emotion. Short scenes played in my mind. Snapshots of the battle still aching in my muscles. Most of them were of Ren. Her pained panic when she had been grabbed. The calm and determined glare when she told me she trusted me. The uncertainty in her eyes as she held the demon-killing arrow aimed toward me.
She hadn’t said that's what it was, but I could read between the lines. We had been dripping the paint for a while, and the resulting picture should have been no surprise. The vague mention of the ability. The promise to end each other should we fall into darkness. How ironic for her radiant powers to fight alongside my demonic ones. I wasn't a demon myself, though. Felt like one, for the low I had sunk to craving satiety through violence.
There were several other realities, or splits in time, where we all died there. Where I failed or the plan went awry. Our lives gone in an instant. I tried to clench my jaw and will the what-ifs away. We were here now, and we had survived. There was no elation about it, though. It hadn’t been a fairly fought duel where the noble victor had just been the better combatant. I had risked it all. Everything. If I hadn't practiced my aim so much with the cards, or had overdone the power and gone through the both of them...
“Don’t beat yourself up so much.”
I startled slightly at Ren’s soft voice beside me, so lost in my own head I hadn’t been concentrating on much else.
“It’s what I do best.” I grinned, but my heart wasn’t in it.
She didn’t seem to want to jostle me from my pity party, which was fair. But they hadn’t brought the cake out yet, and I wanted to snuff out those candles that burned deep inside me. Until then, I would stay a mirror of the gloomy skies that continued to pelt us with light precipitation.
Did I become a demon? It was the elephant in the room that my mind was keen to ignore. Ren had said there was something different about my eyes briefly before the battle abated. And during it I… if I were honest, I felt like I was acting like Roger. Sure, I used my tricks and Inventory manipulation to kill people in pragmatic and uncaring ways before… but I’d never showered myself in the fresh lifeblood of an enemy. Perhaps I was just having a bad day. Needed more coffee.
I kept telling myself the Crimson Shadow deserved worse. They did. The images of the outpost flashed through my mind, and I knew it twice over. Did I intend to lose myself and become worse than they were? It was due to my mana exhaustion; I was mostly sure - along with my physical exhaustion. It weakened the barriers to whatever lurked within. Unabated and uncaring. Willing to be the worst to save those close to me. Could I guarantee I could bounce back after the fact, every time? That was the crux of it.
“I’m sorry,” I said out loud, unsure if that was to myself or not.
“We’re alive because of you. What you can become is a problem, but we can work through it if you trust us.” Ren wasn’t even glaring at me, her expression neutral.
Wolf turned his head and nodded. “We need to be stronger. Less sleepy.”
If I trusted them? My understanding was they should have to trust me for this to proceed. The tired marbles clacked around inside my head as I tried to make sense of everything.
“We’re at the town,” the bear noted.
Immediately, I felt some relaxation hit my bones, to be near something normal and not in the depths of the wilderness. Would have run toward it, even, were my legs capable of that currently.
Despite the gloom, there were plenty of System-created wandering around and facilitating the function of the small town. There was the temptation to try talking to some of them, but sleep was calling for me. I looked at Ren, and she had the same look. We scoured the surroundings for any hint of either Crimson Shadow, or any unaffiliated Players. None.
Surprisingly, Wolf got no odd looks, despite being a giant bear. Even as he struggled to squeeze into the tavern behind us, he was greeted by the barkeep the same as any other Player would be.
“I’ll just sleep down here by the fire,” the bear grumbled after one glance at the stairs. There were a few System-created patrons in and drinking, but he shuffled them out of the way to collapse beside the crackling fireplace.
I scrunched up my eyes a few times before addressing the man behind the bar. “Ah, do you have any rooms to rent?”
“Yes, indeed. All rooms are vacant at the moment.”
With a nod, I readied to bring out my gold. “Sure, we’ll have two-“
“Just the one, if that’s okay?” Ren interrupted, working her jaw as she stared at me. “Safety, after last time…”
“Of course, one room - with a bathroom?” Pragmatic of her. I had expected she maybe wanted more space, but with potential assassins about perhaps it was safer.
“That’ll be room one then, sir.” He placed the key down, and I paid him. The en-suite was apparently an extra two gold, but I would literally murder for a hot bath - so it was a good deal all around. I imagined the gold came from the stash looted from the Crimson Shadow, for petty reasons.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
I gave Wolf a pat on the head. “Any trouble and I’ll send a dove down to you? If you get any trouble… just roar and break everything.”
“Don’t tempt me,” he muttered, keeping his eyes closed.
Ren and I went up the stairs, and I locked the door behind us. The room looked practically similar to the one we had previously slept in, except for the door presumably leading to the en-suite. With narrowed eyes, I slowly pushed it open to reveal a plain tub - not unlike the one from the old man’s house in the New Forest. Nothing lurking in shadows.
“You go for it first,” I gestured toward it and slunk back into the room.
“Sure?” she asked, but was already halfway through the door, closing it before I had the chance to answer.
I grinned and palmed at my eye sockets. It can’t be that late in the day, but I was fully spent. Even some of the rougher tour weeks didn’t shatter me this badly. Then again, I didn't often have a sword jammed through my side, or have to avoid being crushed by living trees. The sound of running water was comforting, and I exhaled, sitting on the edge of the bed. As much as I wanted to lie down, I didn’t want to dirty up the bed with my soaked clothes. It would be nice to get them fixed up.
Interestingly, as my STAR menus came up, I saw I was able to hand in the thief hideout Quest from where I was sitting.
[Quest Complete]
[120 Gold]
[Uncommon Chance Box (3)]
My soul felt like I had done enough gambling for one day. Well, at least this kind didn't threaten death over my head... so I relented to giving in the the System's demands. I'd never hear the end of it, otherwise. They'd just be there, waiting for me, every time I opened up my Inventory.
[Ring of Regeneration] [+10% Mana Regeneration Rate]
[Ranger's Gloves] [+2 Dex, +1 Agi]
[Boots of the Brave] [+1 Str, +Con]
Not as terrible as I thought it would be. The ring went into the second slot. Apparently I could only receive the Stats from two at a time, despite the physical limitations not being so restrictive. I'd ask Ren about the gloves, and the boots might fit Wolf... which was an amusing thing to think about. I sighed and closed down that menu.
The experience received from the turn in was enough to push me over the edge, and the STAR glowed a bright gold.
[Level Up - 7]
[Stats Increased]
[New Passive:
[New Passive:
[New Ability:
I closed the windows without even looking at the descriptions. Too tired for whatever the System wanted to labor me with right now. My palms hid my eyes again, before I relented to covering the window with one of the blankets from my Inventory. Despite the overcast sky, there was enough daylight left to burn away inside my skull. Soon, I promised myself.
Time must have flown while I existed in agony, as Ren opened the door and stepped out. Radiant once more, her clothing and hair pristine. Still the worries of the day playing on her eyes. But if a simple bath could wash away the horrors we endured, then this world would be that much more palatable.
“Better?” I asked, with a grin.
“Heavenly. I could have stayed in there for hours, but I didn’t want to be rude.”
I tilted my head and paused as my legs willed me toward the bathroom. “I just realized your Cosmetic outfit is what you’d of worn in your old world too, right?” The muted shades of browns and greens of her leather and linen outfit just seemed to make sense for a ranger-adjacent Class.
“Hmm? Oh. Yeah, it’s not exactly ‘battle gear’ but it’s what I wore when out… it was an expected look. A uniform, in a way.”
“Certainly more appropriate for adventuring than this.” I gestured to my purple suit, realizing that it was torn to shreds and soaked with dark reds and browns.
“You make it work,” she said, averting her gaze. “Thanks for covering the window.”
Too late to continue that conversation, I was already in the bathroom and closing the door. Hit the taps to allow the spray of water to start filling the tub. Stripped the old-fashioned way.
There was a mirror in here, and I allowed myself a glance. Despite the healing, a lot of my body was bruised or had bright red lines of fresh scars. I had taken a beating and wasn’t sure how I had survived the blow to my side. That place was especially sore and unhappy looking. Taps off and I stepped into the water.
I clasped a hand to my mouth to avoid groaning out loud. Heavenly was putting it lightly - Ren had really undersold it. There was a chance I might melt and become part of a Max soup. The screaming of my healing wounds just made it a little bit more exciting and stopped me from falling asleep. It was a slippery slope to start tempering my mood with pain, but I allowed it in this instance. I deserved it.
In fact, sleep was probably an actual concern, as I felt my eyelids sag even despite the protesting wounds. Instead of being bested by the tub, I gave myself a quick scrub down. Stepped out of the beckoning warmth to sit, steaming, on the edge of the bath. Clothed myself and set it to repair, returning to my underwear. Had a dig around and finally found my Sleepwear slot of equipment, and changed to that. A simple beige linen top and trousers. Modest, comfortable, and other descriptive words my lagging mind couldn’t parse.
With one last longing look to the emptying bath, I exited back into the bedroom. Ren was already under the covers, the light of the lantern low.
Funny how earlier I had risked it all to keep my life, but at this scene, I would gladly slip into the abyss. Around my side of the bed, I lifted the covers and slipped in. Yes - between these soft covers, completely relaxed and clean - sleep could take me forever. I'd allow it. No regrets.
“Heavenly,” I noted, grinning at the plain wall at my side. There were a few moments of silence, where I considered she may have fallen asleep already—I could hardly blame her when I was in danger of drifting away almost immediately myself.
“Max?”
I turned onto my back. She was on her side facing away, but had turned her head to talk. “Yeah?”
“I… I’d like to call in that favor you owe me, now.”
Not so relaxed now, was I? “Of course. What is it?”
“Could you put your arm around me?” I could see her jaw working. “This isn’t an invitation to-“
“I know,” I interrupted. “And, sure.”
I shuffled a little closer to her and put my arm over her in the most platonically appropriate way I could muster. She leaned toward the side table and turned the lantern off before settling down.
“I just… need to feel like everything will be okay.” Her voice was soft, sad almost. One bad decision away from having her throat slit, I understood her feeling a little vulnerable.
“It will be.” I honestly didn’t know that it would be for certain, but it seemed like that best thing to say. She had lost so much, a lot more than I had. Yet we were both struggling to keep hold of our past normality. Both showboating in front of our more fragile selves, just in different ways. Even the brief impasse where we butted heads felt years ago after the more traumatic afternoon that we had just endured.
She had wanted me to fit the gap that her previous life had lost. Strong and decisive warrior, disciplined. I wanted her to be an adoring and encouraging equal, bringing her radiance to my constant need to perform. We had agreed to meet in the middle, and both be better for it. It was a weird juxtaposition to go from having almost nobody, to baring my heart, killing and risking my life, for someone I had only recently met. I didn't dislike it, however.
After ten minutes, it seemed as though she had fallen asleep. I waited another ten to be sure, then slowly rolled away to the other side. Took a deep breath of air that wasn’t thick with hair and tension.
Perhaps Looking at my Stat sheet will help clear my mind of thoughts I wasn't sure I wanted to dwell over.
[Stats]
Strength - 6
Constitution - 7
Agility - 6
Dexterity - 19 (14 + 5)
Intelligence - 24 (14 + 10)
Wisdom - 6
Luck - 12 (10 + 2)
Yeah, that helped. It didn't count the stats from any of my weapons while I was in my sleepwear, which made some sense. I now had +20% Mana Regeneration, which seemed useful, given my apparent disregard for how to properly use that. Satisfied with the numbers for now, I closed my eyes and relaxed.
Ren's mood reminded me of the sun and moon story from the other night. During the day, the elf was stoic and stubborn, headstrong. At night, the darkness allowed her to show her softer, emotional side. Nothing like a near death experience to remind you how fragile you truly were.
And what of me? Had I learned anything?
Before my brain had a chance to gather up the script for an already-prepared response, I let out a deep sigh and sunk into a well-earned sleep.