Chapter 16: Mousing around with my stats

Waking up was rather unusual. For one, I was covered in my own sick, the smell of which made me throw up again. A perfect way to start the day. Secondly, seeing the giant fangs, horns, and brutish nose of an orc glaring back with eyes wide open, was enough to give me a heart attack.

The orc’s eyes were wide open, but as I hopped up and down on the towel that I had slept on, the giant unnerving red eyes didn’t seem to follow. They just stood frozen in place. This must be a trait of orcs; instill fear when awake and asleep. Just to be sure, I flicked a piece of crusty sick at one of the giant eyes… no reaction. It just slid slowly down leaving a brownish trail. The orc didn’t even blink. That was a little unsettling. Now I was sure that it was asleep.

Note to self: never sleep face-to-face with an orc.

Once my heart had settled and I had a better grasp of my bearings, I noticed Liam huddled asleep on the table- in the fetal position sucking his thumb. I can’t say that it was surprising. He was a big blubbering baby after all. Always holding a grudge and whining about forgiving me or not.

I hate you, I imitated in his voice. Don’t talk to me.

In the last 24 hours, he had several shifts in mood toward me. Talk about difficult. At least we were friends now. Well, sort of. There were still a lot of unsaid truths that needed to be aired, and more tears to be shed. Most likely from his side. I just hoped he was over our past lives. We could both do with a completely fresh start.

‘’hrrrr … zzz … hrrr’’

The loud snoring of the orc was enough to snap me out of my stray thoughts. I needed to look forward to a more positive start to the day with a brighter future. What was it that those motivational videos always used to say back on Earth? That’s right: I wake up at 1 am every morning. I’ve done five thousand push-ups while everyone else is still sleeping. I’ve made ten million before lunch and run five companies while feeding the poor and needy. Winners aren’t born, they’re made with clever editing.

That’s it. The mindset of a determined motivational winner. That was exactly what I needed. This world was my cheese ball to conquer. Day two in this new world would be awesome, or so I hoped. I was ready to conquer it all.

While the orc continued to snore and Liam continued to scream and settle repeatedly in his sleep, I decided to freshen up.

Following a quick stretch, I found a cup to bathe in and wipe the dried sick from my fur. It took a while of soaking in warm water and doing my best not to throw up from the smell to finally get as close to clean as possible. I didn’t smell like sick, so I guessed I was clean. After the improvised bath, I headed over to the table where Liam slept. Towards his feet, I found a fruit bowl with a couple of oranges. I climbed up and scratched at the zesty skin. The fresh scent of citrus spread through the air filling my nostrils with the familiar scent of my previous life back on Earth. It was both nostalgic and bothersome, it was a reminder of all the what-ifs that no longer existed. Now though, wasn’t the time to dwell on the past. I reached my armpits over to the exposed flesh of the oranges and rubbed them all over. I gave them a quick sniff after. I smelt great. I just hoped that no one ate the orange after, well except for Liam of course. I saw the way he looked at me sometimes. Who was I to judge if he was into mice? Anything can happen in this world.

Note to self: don’t let Liam watch me shower.

Now that I was freshened up, I decided to check out my interface. I needed to get an idea of how we were progressing.

/Open interface/

Name: Dave

Class: undefined

Species: Mouse

Level: 6 Health: 100% Afflictions: none

Strength: 5

Agility: 6

Intelligence: 7

Dexterity: 5

Charisma: 8

It was interesting to see that the numbers were going up but without knowing how they compared to creatures in this world, I was at a loss as to whether I was making good progress or not. We had defeated a low-ranked demon, so that was a good start I guessed, even though that was completely down to the internal resonance ability. Something told me that I shouldn’t rely on it too much. My relationship with Liam, at least for now, was still volatile. And seeing that internal resonance was dependent on that, it was no more than a saving grace.

I continued to explore my skills and understand as much as possible about my interface. Discovering more than 20 skills, I quickly realized that some were useful while others, were not so much. I had been given a real mixed bag. Tail hop and flame were useful, although, at level 2, they still seemed a little weak. I had a gut feeling that my skills would only level up when used. Other skills, like ‘look convincing’ and ‘distance slap’ seemed more like taunts than actual skills. They would still need a field test just to be sure, and as it so happened, it was about time that Liam and his orc friend woke up.

I found a hiding place in the far corner of the room and poised myself before tapping the distance slap. The skill allowed me to choose a target. A white glove appeared and slapped the sleeping orc who immediately sat up and looked around confused. For a moment, I thought that she would fall back asleep. She almost did but then suddenly blinked twice and roared. She seemed sad and teary. She noticed Liam sleeping on the tail. I was out of direct sight, but surprisingly she made eye contact with me and stared for a long second. I felt pressured to use my second skill.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

I tapped on ‘look convincing’ and instantly my face started moving of its own accord as the words, ‘’It was him,’’ flew out of my mouth.

Liam, who now sat awake, looked at me confused as he rubbed the corner of his eyes. The orc’s face reddened as her gaze shifted towards the sleepy human.

‘’What’s going on?’’ enquired an innocent Liam as he stood up scratching his backside.

‘’You wake me, puny human.’’ Mumbled a teary, red-faced orc.

‘’Liam, you have about 3 seconds,’’ I said.

3

Realization dawned on him.

2

Liam was out of the door like a Bolt of lightning.

‘’Why you wake me, Puny human?’’ The orc roared as giant footsteps followed through the door.

The door slammed shut with a loud thud.

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Breakfast at the Cat’s Ear was a pleasant cheese board and a selection of soft, freshly baked bread served to me by none other than my old friend Bodger the Badger.

‘’I didn’t know you worked here?’’ I enquired with a shifty smile as the Badger lay the board down and glared at me.

‘’You promised that you would pay for my dinner.’’ He growled in a threatening tone.

‘’I said no such thing. We offered to take you out for the three-course meal, just like your vision suggested. There was no mention that I or Liam would pay. Did your vision not show you?’’

‘’Why, what… It was implied.’’ Hissed Bodger as he raised a paw and readied his claws to take a swipe at me.

Before he could strike, I was saved.

‘’That is no way to treat our guests,’’ interrupted the cat-eared waitress from the previous night.

She ushered Bodger away and smiled at me apologetically.

‘’Will your friend be joining you for breakfast too?’’ she enquired with a blush.

I wasn’t sure. ‘’He’s just running a little late,’’ I said. Technically that wasn’t a lie. I was sure that he was running, but I had no idea where.

I ate in silence for a minute enjoying the different varieties of cheese and bread that were laid out before me. The waitress hovered around awkwardly like she was waiting for Liam. The place was empty, so she wasn’t exactly rushed off her feet. I began to grow a little curious too, wondering how late Liam would be. Just then, the entrance door swung open, and the orc stomped in carrying a bruised Liam by the back of his trousers. She sat him down on the chair and pulled out a seat for herself, and without a word sat and began to stuff cheese down her throat.

‘’Guess he likes it rough,’’ remarked the waitress as she left with a shallow sigh.

Liam and the orc didn’t say much for the rest of breakfast. The orc ate silently, and Liam just pushed a round piece of cheese looking forlorn. He seemed healthier with more colour in him than the day before. That was a good sign; he was rested. After a while, he too began to eat and his mood took a full swing in the opposite direction. Added with an order of a couple of ciders, the Orc and Liam, were in a merry mood in no time.

I noticed that Elaine, although merry, wasn’t very forthcoming about herself. She shot down several attempts by Liam to glean some information. There was no rush. For now, we didn’t even know if we’d see her again after breakfast.

Following breakfast, I decided to make an announcement. I walked up to an uneaten bread roll and climbed to stand on top.

‘’Liam, Orc lady.’’

‘’Elaine.’’ Grunted the orc

‘’Liam, Elaine.’’ I corrected. ‘’I’ve been thinking, we need a source of income. We can’t survive here if we don’t have a profession. And Liam, I know you’re not the sharpest blade in the set.’’

‘’Haha, very funny.’’ Said Liam as he rocked the table to unbalance me.

‘’As I was saying. I want us to register us as an adventurers party.’’

Liam looked at me surprised.

‘’Are you sure? Don’t you think it might be a little dangerous?’’

‘’Well, it’s up to you. You can be a dishwasher like Bodger if you’d like.’’

Bodger glared at me as he just so happened to be waddling past our table.

‘’No, Puny Mouse right. Adventure good strong work. Puny man become not so puny man. Elaine help too. Then Elaine Bunga Bunga with not so puny man.’’

‘’Well, it looks like your plan has bought me some time.’’ Liam nervously smirked, relieved that he was safe from the orc for a little longer.

I wasn’t too keen on the orc joining us. She seemed harmless enough. Although, if she wanted to stay, she’d have to open up around us. There was a lot we didn’t know about her. And adventuring meant putting our lives in her hands.

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The adventurer’s guild wasn’t far. As it turns out, it was 5 minutes behind the ‘Cat’s Ear Inn and Tavern’. Away from the central path that cut through the city, towards the left-most side of the town shadowed slightly by a large mountain range not far from the outer wall of the town.

The guild was a lavish building with a dome and wooden pillars that preceded the pathway leading to the entrance. Inside there was a vast hall filled with quest boards, cat-eared women working behind counters, and dozens of adventurers of all sizes roaming around the place. It was alive with the sound of chatter. The buzz of excitement sent shivers throughout my tiny body. We were going to be adventurers.

Not wanting to stand out too much, we proceeded to one of the counters.

‘’You seem new. I take it you’re here to register.’’ Said the blonde-haired human as she looked us up and down. ‘’My name is Ma M… I mean Lara. Yes, Lara.’’

Was it just me or did she forget her name? Who forgets their name? I eyed her suspiciously while Liam eyed her in an altogether different manner.

‘’Nice name.’’ Liam blurted in a slightly higher pitch than he had intended. Once again, he was enamored. The orc over his shoulder noticed and grunted in annoyance, kicking his heel.

‘’We’d like to join the guild,’’ I stated.

Lara looked confused as if she had zoned out for a moment, but then quickly returned to us with a smile.

‘’Oh, Ok, that’s not a problem. You can join our guild. We just need to carry out a few assessments to see your current abilities and your future potential. This will allow us to grade you. The first is an easy enough quest. It’s an unranked beginner’s quest. Complete it and we’ll proceed to the next assessment.’’

‘’what kind of quest?’’ I enquired.

Her eyes darted around several times as if she was thinking up an answer.

‘’Nothing special just a simple item collection quest. There’s a mountain range just North of here. At the base of the nearest mountain, you’ll find a cave leading into a dungeon. Just defeat 5 mountain bats and return here with their wings and we’ll then proceed to the second round of assessments.’’

Lara's behaviour was strange but no one else seemed to notice anything unusual.

I projected a thought into Liam’s head but was met with static and radio silence. Just my luck.

Suddenly my interface blinked as a notification appeared.

Quest received:

Find the beginner’s hunting cave and bring back for 5 bat wings.

Accept Y: N?

‘’Wait, how did that happen?’’ I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

‘’Oh it’s nothing, I just sent you the job request through your interface.’’ Replied a nervous Lara.

‘’But how did you link with mine specifically?’’ I asked.

‘’Maybe you’ve been here before.’’ She smiled at me widely.

‘’Ok, enough talking.’’ Interrupted Elaine. ‘’I bored, we do quest now. Accept puny mouse so we be done.’’

I tapped on my interface and located a blinking envelope icon in the top right. The message appeared again.

Find the beginner’s hunting cave and bring back 5 bat wings.

Accept Y: N?

Something was off. There was only one way to find out what, and that was to play along.