Friendship was something that didn’t come easily to me, despite the charm and manners I liked to ply to most that I met. I had been solitary in my life before. But this world required actual firm connections, not only to survive the horrors and challenges of the System’s design, but also to retain your sanity and will to go on. Some relationships weren’t meant to be. Betrayal or differing paths separating those that were once close. And some stood the test of time, became pillars of who I was, of who I needed to be to ascend.
We sat down at one of the benches opposite each other. She rested her bow beside her and caught me giving it an eye-over.
“Rare.” Her singularly worded sentence was meant to fill me in with all the questions I hadn’t asked.
It looked nice, and I hadn’t seen a bow in the flesh for… maybe a decade? It was hard to remember where or when I had actually last set eyes on one, but it had definitely not looked as well made or ornate as Ren’s. A vibrant wood with blue and silver detailing, small shapes resembling flowers in bloom along the body of the weapon.
Not wanting to frustrate the elf further, I swung through my Inventory to check out the Adventurer Kits. They seemed to be some sort of pack that I was able to open from within this nether-space, which seemed handier than making a mess all over the table. I tapped the Open All pop-up.
[45 Gold]
[Rope (2)]
[Bandage (4)]
[Random Armor Box (3)]
[Sweet Cake (6)]
“I received five cakes.” I smiled at her.
“That’s pretty lucky.” Her resolve briefly faltered before her eyes narrowed at me again. “I think the drop is zero-to-two per Kit.”
I chose to ignore the rest of the items for now, and focus on the problem that lay before me. Information needed gathering. “I’ll give you three now, and then the other two, depending on how much I like your story.”
“What?” She bared her teeth. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“I realize now I have the advantage in bargaining power, and the house always wins.” I smiled and withdrew three of the cakes, amused to see the elf with a plate at the ready before her mouth could argue any further. They were a simple pastry in an almost cylindrical shape with white icing along the top. She seemed eager enough to get a taste that my transgression could slide.
She exhaled from her nose. “Alright, close that trap. My side of the deal still stands. Interrupt me or disrupt my enjoyment of the cakes in any way and I’m leaving, shrewd ass.” She pulled the full plate towards herself as she struggled to keep eye contact with me.
I nodded and allowed her the space she required.
The elf picked up the first cake in silence and bit into it. I averted my gaze to watch the Hellhound, now content with whatever it was able to eat from the fallen assailant, patter over to me. It sat on the ground beside me and whined.
Unsure what it really wanted, I patted it on the head and nuzzled around its jaw. In my previous life, I had only a few animal companions in my shows over the years. Some days, it was hard enough for me to stand before the light and raucous cheers. I didn’t want to force that on others who didn't have as much choice as I deluded myself into believing I had.
“It doesn’t burn you?” Ren asked, peering over the table as she was onto the second cake.
I hadn’t thought much about it, but I suppose it didn’t for whatever reason. The hound still flickered in dark crimson as if he was permanently alight, and other than some human gore wetting my hand, I felt nothing. With a glance at the elf, I shook my head.
“You can answer direct questions.”
“No, just feels like a normal dog.” As I withdrew my hand away from him, an arcane circle spun up underneath him and he faded away into mist. None of the dogs I had known had done that before, but from an outside perspective, I had maybe played similar illusions. That gave me ideas.
I frowned up at the thought of the System I was now bound by. I had some questions for it when I wasn’t so otherwise engaged, and could find some manner of putting the words forth somewhere that would get me an answer. Another time, perhaps.
Ren picked up the third cake and wagged it at me. “Why do you keep looking up into the air?”
“Thinking about how I can learn new tricks.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You mean abilities?”
“Those too.” I rubbed at my chin as she continued to scowl, perhaps trying to decide if I had suffered some kind of concussion... I now realized that my visible head wound was on her side in regards to that idea. Silence fell between us as she tried to read my vacant face.
“Alright.” She took a bite of the long cake and deflected with a sigh. “I came here a while back through a portal of pink energy. My memory is hazy. Nothing unique there, right?” She raised an accusatory eyebrow at me. “Probably similar to your own story? That seems to be the common theme for all the Players.”
I nodded slowly. I couldn’t fully remember the circumstance that led me to entering a portal, and the thought that this place was some melting pot of people who stumbled into the wrong dimensional doorway was odd. Like a net being dragged through the pond of existence.
“There’s a reason why I’m still Level Four - and those two mangled corpses are part of it.” She pointed the nub of the end of the cake towards Red and Green. “They were part of a gang who… are a problem here. So I’ve been trying to track them down and kill them. They deserve it, believe me.”
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She put the last of the cake into her mouth and paused to savor it. She closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. “Hard to get Adventurer Kits often.” She returned to scowling at me, possibly remembering I had two more waiting if she gave me sufficient information. “Thing is, once you hit Level Five, you’re out of here.” She jerked a thumb backward.
Out of here seemed pretty vague, and the twist of excitement in my stomach was soon quelled when my sensible brain considered she meant the area rather than the System itself.
“This place is called New Forest.” She rolled her eyes at the basic name. “It’s a small island for the newcomers to get to grips of the System and world. Then the Quest at Five takes you over to the main island.”
I nodded again and bit my tongue. If she leveled up, then she would be whisked away from her revenge plot and there would probably be no way of getting back. I admired the tenacity.
“With these two in the ground, it still leaves eight alive. Might sound like I’ve been resting on my laurels, huh?” She narrowed her eyes at me.
Despite it being a direct question, I shook my head to be on the safe side.
She paused briefly, as if trying to recall the taste of the cakes - or perhaps deliberating on whether she should even be sharing this information with me. “It’s difficult as they don't often travel alone, and the System isn't well balanced for Player on Player attacks. It gets deadly, very quick.”
Most likely why she was waiting and using me as bait. A little illusory trick where the true ploy was playing out in secret while all eyes were upon me.
“So I take what I can get, no matter how long I have to spend. So… I appreciate your help even if you weren’t party to the decision, and… I also appreciate the cakes.” She crossed her arms and glared out to the forest. It looked like she was ready to leave, but was allowing me to get a word in first.
Oh, more likely she was waiting for the extra cakes. The plate sat empty before her even as her gaze was looking away as if trying to avoid the obvious. Certainly that was plenty of information - more than I had expected, and while she hadn’t told me what the dirty dozen had done to earn her ire, some secrets were allowed. That was part of the magic.
“Fair trade, I thank you, Ren.” From my Inventory I withdrew two further cakes and placed them on her plate. I then withdrew the final one for myself.
Her eyes went to her plate and then up to me. “Fucker. Either you’re terrible at maths or there’s something going on behind that silver tongue.”
I shrugged. “Life has enough hardships without hard words.” I took a bite of the cake. Maybe it was just that I hadn’t eaten since my arrival - but it was delightful.
Ren gave a brief snort. “Good, right? Can only get them in the Kits on this island - and they’re either a rare drop or from Quests.”
“And you can do neither as you don’t want to level.”
She nodded, somehow already halfway through the second cake. “So, what about you?”
“Same really. Weird portal, loss of memory. Unique Class-“
“Unique Class?” She actually paused her meal to stare at me. “You’re not bullshitting?”
I shook my head with a smile. “I’d never bullshit you, Ren.”
Her scowl could have cut me in half. “You literally just did with the number of cakes, you asshole. Unique is… something, though. I’ve seen a couple of summoners, but none with demons.”
My cake was now finished, and I was somewhat sad I hadn’t tilted the scales a little more in my favor. Still, I could now add finding more of them to my to-do list. “So my goal is to get as powerful as possible, put on a good show, and escape the System.”
I was surprised that she nodded in return.
“You and most that come through here. Well, apart from the 'show' bit. A few change their tune before even leaving this island, but I have no idea how good or bad life is on the mainland.” She was finished with her cakes now and had stowed her plate back in her Inventory.
I worked my jaw. Never had I been very proficient at asking for help. Not that I needed help, as such - I was sure I was competent enough to overcome anything… but it took more than one person to run a show. I could use an assistant. Although, I made the mental note to never call her that.
Instead, I had to offer her something she wanted. “Would you like some help with killing the eight?” Murder was a foul word, but I would dazzle all into the grave if it meant I got to dance upon it rather than rest below it.
Although she looked antsy to leave, she raised an eyebrow. “I told you I work alone.”
“I can bribe you with further cakes if you please, but I’m offering you a far greater meal in getting your revenge sooner. Wouldn’t that be sweeter?”
Ren clucked her tongue. “What’s in it for you, trickster?”
“It’s simple, m-Ren” I stood and avoided calling her ‘my dear’ in case I was added to her kill list. “Allow me to assist in your revenge and prove my worth as a combatant. When we reach the mainland, I would then ask you to consider joining my Party to adventure further if it suited your ambitions.”
Her jaw was clenched, and she slowly exhaled through her nose. “I’m… still not sure why you’d want to…”
“I admire your tenacity and strong will, and you have great taste in cakes.” A little honesty could go a long way, even if I was laying it on thick. Briefly, I wondered if the System considered this Deception - even if I was being earnest.
Ren rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “Fine. Can’t believe you talking me into this, you ass. But I have some ground rules.”
“Naturally,” I nodded.
“First, all dropped loot is shared equally. Secondly, you have to pull your own weight - so get to Level Four before making promises you can’t keep.” She drummed her fingers on the wooden table. “And third, no flirting with me, or I’ll pin you to a tree.”
I opened my mouth.
“With an arrow.”
“Got it.” I grinned. My effective power had at least tripled with my new ally, and the prospect of carving a path through this world seemed all the more doable. I could almost see my name in lights from here, down in the mud.
“Try not to smile so much, too.” She sighed and shook her head. “If the System sees that you are too happy, it’ll find a way to ruin your day.”
I pressed at the notification to see what Quests I now had available to me; the light illuminating my wide smile.
“Well then,” I shot a brief glance toward my displeased companion. “We’d best stock up on cakes to cheer us up from that eventuality.”
She shook her head, but her expression didn't seem to disagree. "What we need to do is go loot those two." Her eyes gestured over to the corpses I had a hand in creating.
It was something inevitable that I hadn't really let sink in so far. Sure, it stood to reason that Players could be looted the same as the monsters I had been erasing from this world, but there was a thin curtain of my prior morality that dimmed my view of the process.
[32 Gold]
[Leather Bracers]
[Apple (1)]
[Bandage (4)]
I stopped for a moment, looking down at the shocked face with an arrow in the back of his head. There was an uncomfortable feeling, and not just because the System didn't seem to allow me to strip them completely. Perhaps it would be even more uncomfortable if I could. As much as I could have spent hours deliberating over what was worth taking, I chose to be pragmatic and not delay the elf further.
"Here." She stood from the thug with the torn out throat. "Some linen trousers with damage absorption. You'll need that."
The sinking feeling in my stomach told me that was underselling the truth.