Keith's POV:

Keith Monfort, Level 83 [Arcane Sage], also known as Shadow Magician, Evil Overlord, Dark Lord, His Royal Viciousness, and the ruler of the Dark Enchanted Forest of Nilheim, was not expecting to be interrupted.

The magic circle [Animate Large Construct: Golem] that he'd been working on for six hours rebounded in a wave of energy as his skill backfired. He staggered back from the force of the mana explosion as it ripped at the edges of his consciousness, hitting him with an unreasonable amount of damage. He was lucky the construct didn't outright explode into a thousand pieces and finish him off. He was doubly thankful for the extra protective properties imbued in his desk.

Keith ripped off his glasses, massaging his temple and the roaring headache now beating against his skull. He turned his attention to his notifications window.

[Error, Skill: Large Construct requirement Pure Concentration has failed. You take base mana cost x3 modifier damage to Health and cannot attempt another Skill: Construct Creation until Well Rested.]

[Warning, Your Health has dropped below 10%.]

[Warning, You have Mana Burn. You will continue to burn mana until you Rest. Mana burned at 1/3 base rate due to Arcane Sage Perk: Slow Burn.]

[You have 01:28:10 until Death by Mana Burn.]

[You have 01:28:09 until Death by Mana Burn.]

[You have 01:28:08 until Death by Mana Burn.]

Keith closed his notifications tab.

Nothing he did was going to get rid of the [Mana Burn] headache until he crawled into bed and slept until he was [Well Rested]... but he could certainly get rid of the person making that infernal knocking!

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Keith tore open the door and found a petite woman with fluffy brown hair standing there. She was dressed in expensive adventuring attire and she was holding a sheathed sword awkwardly by the body, strap dangling.

"Um." She blushed lightly and looked over his disheveled form. Keith wasn't one to button all his buttons - it got hot making golems - and tight fitting clothes were useless when [Crafting]. He leaned on the door and looked down at the woman expectantly.

She coughed. "Greetings King Keith. I'm the Hero," she lifted up her sword, as if to prove it, "and I've been sent to kill you."

"I don't understand." Keith looked past the woman and found none of his automatons patrolling the hallway. His lizardkin minions weren't allowed in the inner sanctum, but he couldn't see how they would have let her over the moat, through the dark fortress and down the only hallway into his personal domain without any bloodshed. Did she sneak past them? Or were they summoned away and disposed of? Keith would need to summon his necromancer back from holidays early.

"I'm sorry. I've been sent –"

"No. I don't understand how you," He waved a hand at her clothes, dusty from travel but without the telltale sign of blood or guts. He noticed that she also smelled absolutely delicious; like freshly baked cinnamon cookies. "defeated my constructs and killed my–"

"Oh, I haven't killed anyone!" The Hero shook her head vigourously, looking downright appalled at the idea. "No, I just had lunch with your guards while they decided what to do with me. They were wonderful company."

"What?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you hard of hearing? I HAVEN'T KILLED ANYONE!"

"I heard you just fine!" He flinched as her loud voice set off waves of pain through his body. Keith rubbed the bridge of his nose again and waved a hand for her to please stop. He hurriedly asked, "So you're here to kill me? Alone?"

Maybe it was the headache, but nothing she said made sense.

"No, I don't think I'll be able to kill you. You're a titled [Arcane Sage]! A Sage! I'm just a [Sword Master]." The woman sighed sadly. "You must be 20 levels higher than I am, at least."

Keith resisted the urge to say 'I don't understand.' again. Maybe it was the [Mana Burn] addling his mind, but he couldn't think of any words for this ridiculous creature.

The silence stretched on until she said, "So, um, should we fight in here? Or outside? I don't want to damage your property. That would be rude."