My mouth still ached, but I knew it would heal soon. My level 1 Heal casting would only take a minute or two to completely alleviate the pain. If I wanted to, I could’ve activated Leash several times, pulling Liam down onto all fours in complete submission. Yet, I hadn’t done so, nor did I want to. It wasn’t me. I wasn’t the type to put others down or make them feel bad. It was the last thing I would ever want to do. I didn’t know how I could ever live with myself. Yet, ironically, that’s exactly how I ended up here—in this world—with another man’s death on my hands.
From the moment I’d woken up, guilt had consumed me. Even the thought of the events leading to our deaths was a blur of pain, confusion, and regret. And as much as I wanted to tell Liam, I knew I couldn’t. There was too much to explain. He’d only seen his side of the story, not mine. It hurt to hold it all in, but I had to. The timing had to be right. Right now, he was too angry. Every interaction, every glance, felt like an explosion waiting to happen. It was best for me to stay strong, tough it out, and let him vent. I could be a figurative punching bag, but as for a literal one? I had my limits.
“Wait up, Liam! How do you expect me to catch up with these tiny mouse feet?” I called as I scampered toward him. It was strange being so small. Every time I neared Liam’s towering frame, my neck would strain trying to look up at him. The guy was a freak of nature—freakishly huge—and each of his steps felt like a mile. Fortunately, my stamina and Adonis-like frame kept me in good shape. If mice could have six-packs, I’d have a ten-pack.
Shut up. Just leave me alone. I hate you!
My mind-reading skill was passive, which had its perks, but some of the things Liam thought about me were downright hurtful. I knew it was just his skewed perspective, but it still stung.
“Ignoring me won’t help either of us,” I shouted again as he took another massive stride. Keeping up with him was tough, especially with the long grass, the worms to jump over, and the army ants to dodge. I tripped a few times and ran through puddles, getting wetter by the second. After five minutes of silence, constant obstacles, and no sign of Liam slowing down, I started to lose my patience. I began considering my options.
I suppose parting ways wouldn’t be the worst thing, I thought. I could probably survive. I had the system and a handful of secret skills. As I kept walking, I slowed to a jog, then a walk, until I finally came to a stop.
“Goodbye, Liam. You hear me? I’m done!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. Enough was enough. If he didn’t want to wait for me, then I didn’t want to stick around.
/Open interface/
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I clicked the icon at the top left of my screen and tapped on Maps. I zoomed in and out a few times to get my bearings and figure out the distance. The nearby town appeared, and I set it as my destination.
From down here, all I saw was grass. Unlike Liam, I wasn’t tall enough to spot the town from where I stood. I closed the interface and saw a glowing arrow appear in my vision. It was a pretty cool way of navigating this new world, and I couldn’t help but be impressed.
A couple of minutes into my walk, I heard rustling to my right. I sniffed the air to check for danger. Nothing. The smell was faint. I opened my interface again and pulled up my skills list.
* Heal
* Resurrect
* Anthropomorphosize
* Heightened Senses
The list seemed endless, but I didn’t have time to sift through it all. I found what I needed. I clicked on it, and immediately, my mind pulsed, and the world around me turned black and white. A wave expanded outward, revealing a 3D map of the surrounding area. And that’s when I realized what had caused the rustling.
Liam was in trouble.
I scurried as fast as I could, my tiny heart pounding and my feet hitting the ground as hard as possible. I must’ve been running 80 in a 30-mile zone… for my size, anyway. I made it there in no time.
Roooooooooaaaaaaaarrrrr.
Before I saw the creature, I felt the ground shake from the powerful roar. It rattled my bones, and I almost passed out from the force of it. But there was no time to collapse. Liam needed me. Without me, he was defenseless. No attacks, no protection. As I’d told him earlier, we were bonded. I had to get to him.
I activated my heightened senses skill and pinpointed Liam’s location. He wasn’t moving. This was bad. I hurried my pace, reaching one of his shoes, and quickly realized he was down. This was worse than bad—it was catastrophic.
I climbed up the shoe and across his pants, getting uncomfortably close. His smell was overpowering. Damn, How long could mice hold their breaths again? But there was no time for that. I reached his face and carefully lifted one of his eyelids. He was out cold. No blood, at least, but he was knocked out. I moved to his mouth and extended a paw. His breath attack was still active. That was something, at least.
Roooooaaaarrrrrr.
Fear gripped me as I felt the creature’s presence grow closer. It was right behind me, no more than ten meters away. I dared not turn around. I couldn’t waste any time. I had to keep moving.
“C’mon, Liam. Stay with me, buddy.”
/Open interface/
* Heal
I tapped on the skill repeatedly. Heal. Heal. Heal. Heal.
Sweat poured down my face, and my body tensed with each tap.
Suddenly, a green aura enveloped Liam.
… But it was too late.
A massive paw seized me by the tail and yanked me into the air. As I spun helplessly by my tail, I glimpsed the giant creature’s massive razor-sharp teeth and slithering eyes. It was over. With Liam out cold, I had no chance. The beast would eat me. There was no question. I hadn’t planned on dying twice in 24 hours, but it seemed like that was my fate.
Just then, I noticed movement. Liam was stirring. Slowly, but he was moving.
“Liam, Steph sends her regards. She always said you were a lazy jackass!”
To my surprise, that seemed to do the trick. As I plummeted toward my doom, I took a chance and tapped the glowing tab on my interface…
Familiar.