I bolted up in my bed, ready to fight. A lantern glowed through the gap in the door to my room. My eyes adjusted and I saw Darya cautiously peeking into the room. She knocked before pushing the door open to stroll in with the lantern raised high. Darya didn’t come alone but with Amelia following close behind her.

“We got us ten minutes before midnight to get ready,” Darya said.

I shielded my eyes from the bright light. “Uh-huh, yeah.”

Off to the side, Gregor peeked his head through the wall and looked around with a frown on his face. He sneezed loudly, wiping his nose with the sleeves of his bathrobe. I was ready for the girls to freak out and to run screaming for the exit, but strangely they didn’t seem to have noticed it one bit. I could sort of understand why [Keen Eye] allowed me to see him, but I didn’t have an equivalent for my ears. Maybe he was a hallucination in my head?

Amelia rubbed her arms from the chill air in the room, turned and stirred the sleepy embers in the fireplace with a wrought-iron fire poker. She added a couple of logs, and blew the flames awake. The fire crackled, adding a warm glow to the room.

“Is Amelia going to be joining us?” I asked.

Darya gave me a meaningful look. “No. She’s here in case we need a heal between dungeons.”

I got off the bed and stretched my legs. I really needed better pants. The ones I had were way past their expiration date. Given their shredded state, I looked like a bum, or a rock star. Some kind of a shirt and a sweater would have been great too. And boots.

“Does the boss ever drop any clothing items?” I asked.

“What’cha mean … drop?” Darya asked.

“What I meant was, do the gods ever grant any clothing items for killing a boss in these dungeons?”

She shrugged. “The gods are a fickle bunch, but sometimes they deliver exactly what you want.”

Amelia cleared her throat. “They’re certainly not fickle, dear. The purpose of their gifts may not be fully apparent at first, but one must have faith in their greater wisdom.”

Darya didn’t reply to her sister with exception for the rolling of her eyes which spoke volumes.

“And what gifts are you hoping for?” I asked.

“Gifts?” Darya sighed. “Oh, it’s too soon to hope for what we really need.”

“And what’s that?”

“A restoration potion for our father. I ain’t sure how much longer he can hang in without it.”

“He didn’t look well, what’s-”

“He’s got the Cursed Ague.” Gregor stuck his head through the wall, interrupting me. “A nasty malady, and by the looks of him, the poor man doesn't have much longer to live.”

“Hmm?” Darya asked, and glanced in the same direction as I was looking, to where Gregor’s head was sticking out the wall. But again, it didn’t look like she saw him.

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“Uhm, where do you get the restoration potion?” I asked.

"The gods might toss one your way in a tier five or higher dungeon. If they ever feel so gen-" Amelia’s cold look to Darya stopped her short.

“Ahh, I see,” I said. “So, the sooner we climb up in tiers, the sooner he could be cured. Just how much harder is a tier five in comparison to a tier one?”

"Well, thank the gods it's not five times as hard, but maybe two or three times the trouble?"

“I’d be more than happy to help, but it’s doable, right?”

Darya nodded. “For some people, yeah. Luck's been on our side lately with the last two dungeon orbs. They are granted as a higher tier only half the time.”

I was pretty sure she was talking about me, and was glad that she referred to me as part of ‘people,’ and not a monster, or an animal this time.

“A-And uhm.” Amelia stammered, rubbing the back of her neck. “What manner of payment for this undertaking might you consider sufficient?”

“For what? The potion?” I waved my hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. I always say, helping others is its own reward. You told me that this community was generous and pulled together when needed, right? Besides, you have given me this warm room to stay in.”

The two blinked, looked at each other incredulously. Perhaps this village wasn’t so charitable and generous after all? Which reminded me, I needed to return the bow because I was using wands now, but did the bowyer expect something in return? Guess I’ll find out in the morning.

“All favors and debts yearn to be repaid,” Amelia said.

“No, I get that. But we don’t have-”

Midnight must have arrived because I felt a sudden itch between my shoulderblades. It quickly spread in every direction, engulfing my body.

I panicked. I hadn’t considered the effect of sudden doubling of attributes on my body. But it was too late now. Heat and pain followed. A sudden blow to the stomach brought me down to my knees, leaving me breathless. I gasped for air as though I was winded.

The terrifying process ended abruptly with a surge of powerful energy coursing through my veins. I felt a vigor unlike anything I had ever experienced before. A monstrous instinct to hunt seemed to take over my mind, almost as if a demonic force had awakened within me. It frightened me. I couldn’t wait to get inside the dungeon and tear the place apart. I almost felt bad for the bosses and any monsters that got in my way. I checked my status screen and couldn't help but smile – all my attributes had skyrocketed from 300s into 800 plus. Strength was a whopping 960 now.

That’s more like it!

The wood in the fireplace crackled with such clarity that I began to question if my ears had been clogged before. Everything around me was more distinct, the colors were vibrant. The smells had grown rich too, of the burning wood, the flowery scent from Darya, and the smells of cooked dinner still lingering on Amelia’s clothing.

Time seemed to have slowed down as well, or maybe my perception was heightened. My threadbare pants stretched at my waist, feeling tight. I feared they would come undone. I looked up to see Amelia and Darya staring at me with eyes wide, and mouths open.

I grinned. “That’s one way to wake up.” It was far stronger than coffee.

Earlier, Gregor had explained a bit about attributes to me. An average adult human had about a hundred average across the five attributes. Someone with two-hundred would be twice as strong, fast, tough, perceptive and have twice the mana along with doubled mana regeneration.

I took it to mean that if an average adult could bench press 60 kilos, then someone with 200 strength could bench 120. My 960 in strength would allow me to bench a staggering 567 kilos -- which was still less than the world record back on Earth.

Skills were proportionally affected by the attributes. He wasn’t entirely clear on the math, but from what I understood, for [Power Shot] my strength and agility attributes were averaged out, then divided by a hundred and used to multiply the damage from the wand. Plus multiplied by whatever damage bonuses I had from my [Wandcrafter] and [Power Shot] upgrades.

Still, he explained that it mattered a lot more where you hit a monster. Some damage could be deflected, or completely nullified. There was little sense in targeting the shell of a turtle. Go for the eyes, the neck or the head, he told me.

I hopped up to my feet with uncanny agility and a wide grin on my face. “Alright, let’s do it! Open up the first one.”

“Y-Yeah,” Darya said nervously as she hastily fumbled in her backpack with trembling hands.

Toward the back of the room, Amelia had retreated into a corner, beads of sweat forming on her pale forehead.