Horses pulled the driverless carriage north along a dirt road through the night, allowing four notorious individuals some much-needed rest. As dawn broke, the carriage rolled beneath a canopy of thick trees.

Bing!

“Clemiticuses party has entered: Spongewood Forest!”

A droopy hat shifted as a pirate yawned.

“Master… you’ve just left the first region of Fanswald,” the Fairy announced. “Congratulations, you’ve completed the tutorial.”

The group sat around a long table in the impossibly spacious main hall of the carriage. The magical vehicle's interior seemed to have grown even more extravagant overnight. Spread out before them on the table was a large leather map.

“Tutorial?” Derrick asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Think of it as a basic introduction,” Clem explained.

“Ah, I see,” Derrick replied, though his expression suggested he didn’t quite grasp the concept.

The group exchanged puzzled looks as the Fairy continued. “Successful completion of the tutorial level awards bonus EXP depending on the amount of participation.”

“Clemiticus has been awarded: Rank B.”

“Derrick has been awarded: Rank C.”

“Nuecus has been awarded: Rank E.”

“Melly has been awarded: Rank A.”

As the list of ranks was shared by the floating announcer, Melly felt a rush of pride, noticing the approving nods from her father and the others. But before anyone could utter the words "well done" or "good job," the fairy continued…

“Skittles has been awarded the highest rank, S,” the Fairy announced cheerfully.

Melly felt a sting to her pride. “Really?” she said, throwing her arms in the air. “What did the floof bandit even do?”

The Fairy calmly responded, “Skittles has been awarded: Rank S. Requirements for this grade, complete one Quest—be a parrot. Success rate of quest: one hundred percent.”

“Well done, buddy!” Clemiticus cheered.

“Good job,” added Nuecus.

Melly crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, annoyed that something so silly had frustrated her.

Fairy cleared its throat then continued. “Successful tutorial completion awards EXP based on grade.”

“Clemiticus has reached level 12.”

“Derrick has reached level 10.”

“Melly has reached level 11.”

“Nuecus has reached level 10.”

“Skittles has reached level 10.”

Fairy did a little flip in the air.

“Since you’ve completed the tutorial, this is your last chance to edit your character. After this, your character will be finalised, and no further changes can be made.”

The party members exchanged puzzled glances. Suddenly, a large blue light flashed before each of them, revealing a floating page displaying their essential character information.

“What the hell is all this amazing garbage?” Nuecus asked, baffled.

Melly was just as curious. Before her floated a magical page, showing a miniature version of herself posing as if trying to catch the eye of a handsome, wealthy man. Beside her tiny counterpart was a list of character attributes like strength and stamina, each with numbers attached.

“Ah… this is our character sheet,” Clemiticus explained, grinning. “We can customise our bodies and assign stats. Oh, and would you look at that! It looks like we gain a passive stat point per level!”

Melly looked at her stats sheet:

Melly the furious. Ranger. Level: 11.

Strength: 14. Agility: 24. Stamina: 4. Intelligence: 18. Wisdom: 15. Charm: 15. Luck: 5.

Melly scanned the numbers, trying to piece the information together as if assembling a puzzle of her very essence. But it felt like grasping at straws. Then her eye caught a flashing number in the bottom right corner.

Assignable stat points: 10.

Her stamina stat was noticeably lower than the others, and Melly couldn’t help but remember all the times she’d struggled to keep up with Clemiticus. He was always fresh and ready for more while she was left exhausted. Curious, she peeked over at his character sheet and saw his stamina stat—a solid twenty-two.

How? she wondered, then her eyes bulged at the sight of his luck stat, sitting at a ridiculously high thirty-four.

Determined to catch up, she quickly tapped the plus sign next to her stamina stat ten times in quick succession.

The others were similarly engrossed, poking and prodding at their character stats with deep concentration. Even Skittles was head-butting his own glowing screen with an audible thud and a squawk.

Melly hovered her finger over the "Customise Character Body" button, then glanced up at the glowing helper. “Um, Fairy, what happens when we complete our character?” she asked.

“Your character will be permanently locked into the chosen customisation. You may receive additional cosmetics and stat points later, but your base looks will be set forever.”

“Forever?” Nuecus asked.

Fairy nodded, “forever.”

They all gasped, except for Clemiticus who looked like he had already finished.

Melly pressed the button to edit her body and was immediately bombarded with a full list of customisation options. Large sliders allowed her to adjust her miniature avatar in real time. There were controls for height, weight, muscle tone, and countless other details.

Her fingers hovered over the options, making small adjustments here and there. Parts of her avatar became firmer and slimmer, while others grew more pronounced. She quickly fine-tuned her physique, making herself slightly taller and leaner, with a more toned yet feminine appearance.

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As she worked, her thoughts drifted to the spiteful words her mother had spoken so long ago. Melly had never been good enough to meet her mother’s impossible standards of beauty. Gritting her teeth, she pressed "Accept."

Bing!

Melly glanced over and saw that the boys were too absorbed in their own customizations to notice her instant transformation. Her eyes drifted over her enhanced form, and a satisfied smile tugged at her lips. Though she’d never admit it out loud, she was extremely pleased with the results.

Bing. Bing. Bing. Bing.

“All party members' stats and characters have been finalised,” Fairy sang.

“Awesome.” Clem clapped. “What do you all put your stats into?”

“Wisdom!” announced a slightly younger, revitalised Nuecus.

“Intelligence,” replied a shorter yet stronger Derrick with a beard much silkier, richer and redder than before.

“Stamina,” Melly said, crossing her arms and retreating into her seat as the others marvelled at her transformation. “And what about you, Mr. Pirate?”

Clemiticus grinned, giving two enthusiastic thumbs up. “All luck, baby!”

Melly caught a flash of feathers above as skittles flew to a top shelf.

Damn bird. Melly thought. It had an odd gleam in its eye as it nested above the party. Melly clenched her jaw and squinted. She couldn’t help but mistrust the feathered fiend.

“Well, anyway, let’s get back to it,” Clemiticus said, pointing to the map on the table.

The Spongewood Forest was roughly outlined on its surface, with Lobee Village to the east and Bluehill Town further south—two places they had left in ruins. The map also showed the vast ocean and the landmasses they would need to navigate to reach their destination on the other side. It was much, much farther than they had travelled so far.

Their next stop was a town called Anchorside, a port town with supplies and ample room to dock or launch a vessel.

“Fairy!” Clemiticus called out.

As they studied the map, the fairy’s flickering blue light flashed, and the tiny creature landed on it. “Yes, my most wise and handsome master,” the fairy replied, bowing slightly.

“Please give us the full description of that Queen’s quest thingy.”

“Certainly, master. The quest 'Queen of Ashenstone City' lies in the land far to the East. To complete this quest, Clemiticuses party must confront and defeat the evil witch. The story is as follows: A devious and powerful entity known as the Queen Witch of Ashenstone has become aware of Clemiticus and his party. Sensing a minor threat, she sent her zealots to destroy them. However, this plan backfired. Instead of vanquishing her foes, she amplified the threat tenfold. Now, she will stop at nothing until Clemiticus and everyone in his party meet a disturbingly gruesome end."

Melly gasped, Derrick grumbled, Nuecus sighed, and Clemiticus clapped. Three concerned faces turned to their fearless, overly optimistic leader.

"Clem, my boy, you’ve got issues," Derrick said dryly.

"Ahem. I’m not finished," the Fairy interrupted sharply. "If you defeat the Queen here, she will simply be revived and teleported to Ashenstone City. However, if you travel to her tower and confront her there directly, your victory will be permanent."

“No respawns aye?” Clem said.

Fairy nodded "Rewards include ownership of Ashenstone City. The quest chain reward also includes: A million EXP, one million gold and a legendary item for each of you!"

Clemiticus whistled.

Melly couldn’t believe her ears. A flutter of excitement filled her heart as she glanced at her father, who was visibly just as eager. They had lived in poverty their entire lives, and now, this was a chance at the future she had always dreamed of.

"So, we need to get over this ocean?" Melly pointed at the map.

Clemiticus nodded with a grin. "Luckily, one of us is a swashbuckler!" He struck a pose, showing off his pirate garb, then flicked something imaginary off his shoulder.

Melly ignored the poser and focused on the splotch on the map labelled ‘Ashenstone Tower.’ As she stared at it, her mind drifted to thoughts of the future. All her worries could be solved, and a life she had never dared to dream of might be within reach.

"Melly?" Derrick spoke up.

"Ah, yes," she stammered, breaking her from the daydream. "Let's do it."

"Huzzah!" Nuecus cheered, slapping the side wall of the carriage. “Once this baby hits water, we can sail northwards!”

"So, this thing can turn into a ship?” Derrick asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nuecus nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! A big, fat ship!”

“Big? Doesn’t that mean we’ll need a crew?” Derrick asked.

Nuecus shrugged. “Probably.”

At that exact moment, the horses slammed into something solid, and the carriage jolted to an abrupt stop, sending all four party members tumbling to the floor in a bewildered heap.

"Yoo hoo!?" A cheerful sing-song voice echoed outside. It was distinctly male and far too optimistic.

Oh, no. Not another Clemiticus. Melly thought in dismay.

They all poked their heads out of the carriage and saw that a large, felled tree had blocked their way, and the horses had stupidly walked right into it.

"Seriously?" Melly asked.

"I say once more. Yoo hoo!?"

The blue fairy flashed and announced. "A new event has started."

They looked around, taking in their surroundings. The path was strewn with leaves, and the air was calm and cool. Suddenly, a flash of movement caught their attention. From the left, a man swung from a rope and landed squarely on the fallen barricade.

"Ah, ha! Stand and deliver!" the man bellowed triumphantly.

The cheerful thief wore dusty travelling clothes, a curved blade at his side. He was handsome in a rugged, rebellious way, complete with short black hair and a rather impressive, curled moustache.

Clemiticus clapped excitedly. “Nice landing!”

Above the stranger's head, the word ‘Bandit’ appeared in red text.

“Why, thank you, good sir!” the bandit replied with a grin.

"A new event has begun. Defeat the bandits!" Fairy announced.

"Defeat us?" the bandit scoffed. "What in Fanswald is that sparkly blue thing? And why does it think you have a chance to beat us?"

Melly scowled. Her fear had come true. Yet another Clemiticus character had arrived. This one was a little shorter and seemed to have even more pep in his step.

Clemiticus stepped forward and raised a balled fist theatrically, "Ney villain. We shall be thy ones to vanquish you, sir."

The bandits' head cocked to one side. "Villain? You’re one to talk. Aren't you a pirate?"

"Yaarr!" Clem cheerfully replied.

The bandit shook his head. "Okay. Any-who. I say this once more. Since you seem deaf or stupid..."

“I would never limit myself to just one,” Clem added.

"Shush! Stand and deliver!" the bandit commanded. "All of your valuables now belong to us."

"Shall I attack?" Derrick asked, pulling out his multi-tool.

"I'll help," Melly added, searching for something heavy until she found a hefty mug dense enough to clobber bandits.

"Oh, no you don’t, you little rascals," the bandit said, wiggling his finger disapprovingly. "Ready, boys?"

At that cue, heads began popping out from behind shrubs, trees, bushes, and ditches. There were at least twenty of them, all wearing brown travelling tunics and holding curved blades, ready for a fight.

They were completely outnumbered and needed to come up with a plan as quick as possible. She turned to the swashbuckler. “What do we do?” Clemiticus might be crazy, but with his absurdly high luck, his ridiculous plans somehow always seemed to work. Even in a grim situation like this, she knew Clemiticus would end up on top—undeservingly victorious, as usual.

Clem looked at the lead bandit and flashed a wide grin. "You’re the only one with a name above your head. That means you’re the leader."

The lead bandit looked puzzled. "Well, of course, sir. Who else could lead these fine, loyal gentlemen?"

Clemiticus squinted at the man and read aloud, "Rupert Lowbags. Hmm..."

Melly eyed Clemiticus. All she could see was the word ‘bandit’.

The bandit froze. "How... how did you know my name?"

"Hush!" Clem reprimanded, glancing over his shoulder. "Fairy?"

"Yes, master?"

"Are these mobs hostile?"

"To the other party members, yes."

"And to me?"

"No. They’re neutral toward you because of your current class."

"And that means what, exactly?" Melly cut in. "They’ll kill us and leave you to tell the tale?"

"Nope. I’m a Pirate, and they’re bandits. We’re cut from the same cloth, just different trades. Fairy, can I inspect Rupert?"

"Hey! Listen to me! I’m here to rob you, and I might even let you live!" Rupert shouted, trying to regain control of the situation.

Clemiticus ignored Rubert and poked at a blue box that materialised in front of himself.

"What in the blazing hell is that?"

Clemiticus dismissed the confused bandit with a wave and continued his work. "OK, here you are. Rupert Lowbags. Says you are a level thirteen bandit with leadership skills."

"Would you like to peruse the reputation options?" Fairy asked.

"Yeah, definitely. Oh, look." Another box flashed up, and Clemiticus smirked. "I can contract a bandit as a mercenary, if I wish."

"Like hell I would ever work for a man like you! Right, men?"

Jeers echoed as every bandit swore and bellowed insults towards Clemiticus.

"Costs ten percent of total earnings to hire a leader and a further one per cent per follower. We need a crew. Should I hire these guys?"

Derrick and Melly could only shrug.

“Never!” shouted Rupert.

“Never!” His men echoed.

Clemiticus echoed the shrug and clicked on the accept button.

Rupert's expression instantly reversed, and the sing-song man shouted. "We shall follow this man into the bowels of hell itself!"

Every bandit cheered. “All hail Clemiticus!”

"Seriously?" Melly cried in exasperation.

Fairy beamed. "Clemiticus has formed a temporary contract with the Bandits of Spongewood. Bandits' primary class of bandits can evolve into 'Piracy' once they have mastered the basics of sailing."

Clemiticus turned to his party members and gave them a reassuring smirk. "We’ve got ourselves a crew."

Melly shook her head. "Some people never struggle."