“We might just save this quest!” Lara said and grabbed his hand, then dragged him behind her as she ran around the various groups who were eating. “Captain!” She said, came to a stop a respectable 5 feet in front of him, and let Ren's hand go.
“Yes?”
“We've gone too far.” Lara said. “We need to go back a mile and take a side tunnel down.”
“Why?” The Captain said. “The mages in town said to follow the main tunnel.”
“They're wrong.” Lara said. “We were never supposed to meet the hyena men! We have to go before it's too late!”
“Too late for what?”
“The mole men are making a summoning circle as we speak.” Lara said. “If we don't get there soon, it'll be too late... for all of us.”
The Captain stood up and glared at her and Ren. “You're the blacksmith.” He said when his gaze shifted to Ren. “What do you want?”
“I'm here to punch you in the balls if you don't believe her.” Ren said.
Lara covered her mouth to stop from laughing, and every soldier around them stood up and held their swords at the ready.
“Ha.” The Captain of the Guard said. “Hahahaha!” He clapped Ren on the shoulder. “You have convinced me, young blacksmith!” He said and looked at everyone. “Pack up! We're heading down another path!”
The soldiers bent down to gather up their things and to pack up the camp, and the Captain watched with stern eyes as he gave them their orders. In the commotion, Lara and Ren walked away to gather their own things.
“I can't believe you said that.” Lara whispered really low, and her hand found his again and held on.
“I told you I would.” Ren said.
“You weren't supposed to tell him!” Lara stopped walking and pulled him in close. “You're so bad.”
“So are you.” Ren said and hugged her. “Seeing what you want and then taking it.” He said. “Damn, I want to kiss you again.” He sighed. “I need to carry a box around with me or something.”
Lara laughed and bent over slightly. “I won't always be standing up.” She said and kissed him passionately. “Go gather your things, and lets show these people how to deal with mole men.”
“Yes, Ma'am.” Ren said and saluted, then took off at a jog.
The expedition expressed their displeasure over having to backtrack, until they went down the side tunnel. Then things changed and they were too busy to complain. Giant spiders, giant bats, and giant worms attacked them as they progressed deeper into the cavern. The next creature they encountered was a surprising one. A Howling Banshee knocked half of the soldiers out with a single scream, and 10 of the players.
“Ren!” Tommy yelled. “Do you have holy water?”
“Of course I do.” Ren said and gave it to him. “Who else needs holy water?”
Several players held their hands up, and Ren tossed them bottles of holy water. They all dipped their arrows in it, and everyone tried to shoot the banshee. It was then that Ren had an idea.
“First Rank! Preseeeent shields!” Ren commanded them, and the soldiers in the first rank sheathed their swords and held their shields at the ready. He gained the Command Aura with a 5 foot radius, and shook his head mentally. 5 feet is almost nothing. He thought and replaced the Earth enchantments with Light enchantments. Since the shields were metal, he used his full Enchanting ability of 3 glyphs with 4 runes each.
“Archers, draw!” Ren said and ducked as the second row of soldiers drew their bows and pulled back an arrow. Activate!
All the Holy Light enchantments on the 10 shields activated at once and lit up the tunnel with a bright white light for nearly 100 feet. Three banshees were caught in it's beam and they writhed in pain, which was two more than the one they thought they were fighting.
“Fire!” Ren commanded, and the soldiers and players unloaded their holy water arrows into the banshees. Each arrow ate away at the banshee's ethereal visage, and once each of them took enough damage from arrows, they collapsed in on themselves and disappeared.
“Good work!” The Captain of the Guard said to the soldiers, then leaned down to Ren. “Next time, consult me before commanding my men.”
“Sorry, there wasn't time.” Ren said. “I would suggest interspersing the Earth and Light shields for better coverage.”
The Captain nodded. “Can you turn them off?”
“Sure.” Ren said. Deactivate.
The shields turned off and the cave was a lot darker.
“Say, can we turn a couple of them on?” One of the players asked. “It's really hard to see now.”
Ren activated 3 of the 10 shields, and it lit up the tunnel a lot, but it wasn't blinding.
“Thanks.” The player said, and several people nodded to Ren.
“It's gettin' ta tha poin' tha ya don' need us at ahl.” Clint said and laughed, and Ren chuckled.
“I can't use standard weapons, so I think I'm always going to need a good party around me.” Ren said.
Clint nodded and the expedition moved on. They encountered a few wights, or ghostly knights, and dealt with them in almost the same way. This time, Light enchanted swords were used to deal with them, and Ren stayed busy switching enchantments back and forth as necessary. He had used up a good portion of his stored Health and Mana potions by this point; but according to Lara, they were almost there.
*
“Damnation!” The mole man shaman said in his native language, which was indiscernible from rat squeaks and mouse squeals. “The summon spell almost has enough souls!” He turned to the mole man beside him. “Give me more sacrifices!”
“We've used up the old, sick, and lame.” The mole man said.
“Then get me more Adventurers!”
“We've used all of them up! There is no more!” He said. “No one ever comes this deep into the cavern!”
A mole man came over and squealed in despair. “Soldiers! They've come to kill us all!”
“How many?”
“I don't know!” The mole man said. “They are surrounded by Adventurers!”
The mole man shaman squeaked in pleasure and bared his teeth. “Let them come.”
*
Ren had just reached Advanced Level 5 in his Enchanting skill, which gave him access to another rune in his glyphs, when the expedition finally arrived at their destination.
“This is it, people!” The Captain of the Guard said. “Form up! Prep spears! They won't know what hit them!”
You just told them what was coming, you idiot. Ren thought. “Sir? If I may speak to you for a moment.”
“What? Oh, all right.” The Captains said and looked at him.
“Give me 20 minutes and the best diggers you have.” Ren said.
“Why?”
“If we can sneak around and open up the dam, we can drown the rats without having to fight.”
Several players nodded agreement.
“No.” The Captain said.
“Excuse me?”
“If you open up the dam we will drown, too.”
“With all due respect.” Ren said, but he didn't have any respect at all for the oaf. “We're on the back side of the cavern and on a very gentle slope. We will need to retreat only a short ways, until the tunnel entrance is covered, then the water can't rise any further.”
“Are you sure of that?”
“As sure as I am that a lot of your men and several Adventurers will die for no reason, if you attack head on.”
“Sir, I think it's a good idea.” One of the soldiers said. It was the one Ren had saved from getting his face munched on, and a few more players nodded their heads in agreement. The soldier stepped out of formation and pulled out a collapsible shovel. “I'll volunteer to go with him.”
“Me, too.” Another soldier said. “I like digging.”
Three more soldiers stepped forward and the Captain of the Guard held up a hand.
“All right, you fools.” The Captain said. “You can follow this crazy nut if you want; but, you are going to hear a stern lecture about following proper procedure when we're back in the city.”
Ren grinned and nodded at the soldiers, then walked through the formation and out the back.
“Hey, where are you going?” The Captain asked.
“Shortcuts are overrated, so I'm taking a long cut.” Ren said, and a couple of the soldiers smiled.
“People don't like a smart ass.” The Captain said.
“It's better than being a dumb shit.” Ren responded, and several soldiers laughed.
“He's definitely not a dumb shit, sir.” One of the soldiers said to the Captain, and intentionally misdirected the insult from the Captain back to Ren. The Captain grunted and turned around to face the tunnel entrance.
Teepo? That crack is going to lead us to the cavern, right? Ren thought.
“It sure will.” Teepo said. “It's a water fracture. The only way to get that is if this place was flooded before.”
Ren found the small crack and examined it. “It's going to be tight.” He said and looked at the soldiers. “Give me your armor.”
They handed over the armor without question, and Ren stored it.
“Let's go.” Ren said and stored his own armor, then slipped into the crack. He was thankful to have Teepo around, because when they reached the end of the crack in the wall, Teepo warned him of the mole men that were coming. Ren eased back in the crack and Teepo crawled out to watch.
“They're going to smell you any second now.” Teepo said. “Get ready.”
Ren took a shallow breath and held it. The 2 mole men walked right in front of the crack Ren and the 5 soldiers were in and froze when they smelled fresh meat.
“Now!” Teepo said.
Ren slipped out of the crack, grabbed the two mole men by the back of their necks, and used Iron Grip. Both necks snapped as Ren squeezed his hands into fists, and blood squirted out. They didn't even have time to squeal in pain before they died, and Ren dragged them over to the crack. He waved the soldiers out of the crack, and 2 of them helped stuff the mole men's bodies inside. The other three soldiers cleaned up the blood as much as they could, and covered what was left with fresh dirt.
Teepo climbed back onto Ren's shoulder and led the soldiers over to the small but deep river. Ren slipped into the water and eased over to the other side to hold on, and the soldiers followed him. Ren nodded to them and they made their way up the river and into the main cavern where the ritual was being held. They tried their best to not make any noise as they moved through the water, and made it past without incident.
What a relief. Ren thought.
“Stop moving.” Teepo said. “Mole man coming.”
Ren held a hand up to the soldiers and sank lower into the water, and the soldiers all stopped moving and did the same thing. The mole man half-walked half-hopped by them, then stopped. One of the soldiers eased a sword out of the water and prepared to strike; but, the mole man sneezed and kept going.
The soldier almost laughed at the absurdity of the scene as the sword disappeared, then they moved on up the river and came to the dam a couple of minutes later. Ren slipped up onto the side of the river and rolled over to get out of the soldier's way, then stood up and looked at the dam.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Damn, that's a big dam.” Ren whispered. He felt, more than heard, the soldiers' whispered chuckles. “Okay, you're the experts here.” He whispered to them and took out a mining pick. “Show me what to do.”
“No picks.” The closest soldier whispered. “Too noisy.”
Ren nodded and switched to a shovel, and the soldier pointed. “Shallow dig there.” He said, moved over a foot, then pushed hard to get the shovel into the dirt. He pried a small chunk out, then did the same thing beside it. Ren did the same thing where he was told to dig, then after a few digs, joined his hole with the one the soldier had made.
“It's only 15 feet thick.” A soldier whispered and slipped out of the water. “I couldn't see the top on the other side.”
The other soldiers smiled as the last soldier joined in their efforts to dig a good portion out of the dam wall. They got almost 10 feet in when they heard the first resounding crack.
“That's it, boys!” One of the soldiers said in a normal voice when a stream of water shot out from where he had stabbed the shovel. “Let's get out of here!”
The soldiers hooked the shovels on their belts and started to run.
“Someone wait for me at the main cave!” Ren said and kept digging. For some reason, he knew that one little break wasn't going to do it.
“Are you crazy? Let's go!”
“Make sure you catch me!” Ren said and switched to his mining pick. He didn't really know how to mine, so he just swung randomly at the wall. Cracks upon cracks appeared, several water jets shot out, and he heard an ominous rumbling. “Now it's enough!” He said and started to run.
“Go, Ren! Go!” Teepo chittered in delight as Ren ran, and then a huge chunk of rock shot past him.
“Oh, CRAAAAAAAP!” Ren said as a torrent of water followed it and picked him up. “AHHHHH!” He screamed as he was pushed faster and faster along the river, and as he approached the main cave, a hand shot out for him to grab. He reached out and grabbed it just in time, and the force of the water flung him around and he landed beside the soldier he had saved. The other soldiers had braced him so that the force of the water wouldn't drag him along with Ren.
“Thanks!”
“Less talk! More run!” The soldier said, and the 6 of them ran for all they were worth across the cavern.
*
“Why haven't they attacked yet, and what is that rumbling sound?” The mole man shaman squeaked in his native language, and then froze as a small group of soldiers ran through their religious gathering. “What the...” He looked at the other mole men. “Don't just stand there! Get them! I need their souls!”
Two groups of mole men ran after the soldiers, and the mole man shaman felt happiness for the first time in his life.
Soon I shall control a Minor Demon, and this world will remember the name of- “Glllurrrgghhhh!!”
The shaman's thoughts were cut off as the torrent of water rose faster than anyone could have imagined; then he and his fellow mole men drowned before their bodies were pushed towards the Lost City that he and his entire race lived in.
The Aurora Expedition was quite fortunate that the flood of water had distorted the summoning circle just enough to break the ritual, since it had just acquired enough souls from the drowned mole men.
*
“We're being chased by mole men!” One of the soldiers said.
“Forget them! Get to the tunnel!”
“Run faster then!”
Ren was falling behind because his legs were shorter and he was exhausted; then he thought this might be it. I'm... I'm not going... going to make-
His thoughts were cut off as a hail of arrows flew past him and killed all of the mole men that were chasing him and the soldiers, and he saw a large group of Adventurers and soldiers were in an archery stance. The front row knelt and the second row stood so everyone could shoot without blocking anyone.
“We got them!” One of the soldiers said as the 5 soldiers and a very tired Ren flopped down at their feet, then the water level rose to almost 4 feet in an instant and they grabbed on. “Pull!”
The entire group was pulled back by ropes up the tunnel as it filled with water, and then the rising water covered the tunnel entrance. There was several bubbles and gurgles as air tried to equalize on both sides, then the water stopped rising.
“Well, you made it.” The Captain of the Guard said to Ren, when they got everyone out of the water and onto dry land. “Right at the 20 minute mark, too.”
Ren nodded, because that was all he could do at the moment; then Lara appeared in front of him and covered him in kisses.
“Go, Ren! Go!” Teepo said, and chittered in laughter. Some people clapped, a few whistled, and several soldiers congratulated him. It was then that everyone received the popup that said the quest had been completed and to return to Aurora for the reward. They all cheered and hollered, then congratulated each other.
After a short rest, so that everyone could recover a good portion of their Stamina, the expedition headed back the way they had come. Since all the hard things had already been defeated, the players actually had fun on the way back hunting down all the creatures they had skipped on the way through the first time.
Ren on the other hand, gave the soldier's back their armor and then didn't have much else to do after that, since the quest was over and he had already repaired everything. The players still gave him all of their junk drops, even though they didn't need repairs or things enchanted.
Ren smiled because he was getting stuff for free, then let the smile fade when he caught a glimpse of Tristan. His clothes were ragged, his gold-trimmed bright white armor was dull and cracked, and his sword was pitted and scratched. Even his hair was a mess.
“Excuse me for a minute, Lara.” Ren said and let her hand go, and he moved through the crowd to walk beside Tristan.
“Go ahead and say it, pipsqueak.” Tristan said. “I've been waiting for it.”
“Okay.” Ren said.
The conversations around them died down, so that everyone could listen in.
“I want to repair your stuff.” Ren said, and he heard a few people gasp.
“Yeah, I figured you'd call me an asshole for the way I... wait, what?” Tristan looked at Ren like he was crazy.
“You're an arrogant, blustering idiot for not coming to me for repairs right away.” Ren said and saw Tristan's eyes squint and his mouth turn from a sneer to a scowl. “We're heading back into town, probably for a parade and a hero's welcome... and you look like something the Captain of the Guard would scrape off the bottom of his boot after he stepped in it.”
“Why you little...” Tristan started to lift his sword, and a soldier's sword darted out and touched his neck.
“Until the quest is over, Ren is still the asset that is needed to complete it.” The soldier warned Tristan. “You've already lost Fame for abandoning him with the ogre. Don't lose more over something like this.”
Tristan stared at the soldier, then turned the sword in his hand and handed it to Ren handle first.
“Thanks.” Ren said, and used his blacksmith hammer to repair the very damaged sword as the soldier removed his sword from Tristan's throat. “Now your clothes.”
“I'm not going naked just to get them mended.” Tristan said, crossly.
Ren chuckled and took out a folded piece of cloth. “Equip this.” He said. “It's a dressing gown that I use to mark patterns in my shop.”
Tristan looked at it for a moment, then sighed and equipped it. It stored his armor and tattered clothing, he handed over the clothing to be repaired, then heard several chuckles.
“What's so funny?!?” Tristan asked and whirled around. No one said anything, and no one told him that there were different color frills, pieces of lace, and ribbons scattered all over the back of the dressing gown as sample pieces. Teepo chittered in delight as he got an eyeful of it, and Tristan turned back to face the front.
Ren hid his laughter as he used his Master Tailor Sewing Needle to repair the clothing, then handed it back. Tristan equipped the clothing and handed him the dressing gown, and Ren stored it before Tristan could get a good look at it. The armor pieces were next, and Ren repaired everything and Tristan equipped it all.
“I hope you don't think I'm going to thank you for this.” Tristan said when Ren was done.
“Of course not.” Ren said. “I didn't do it for you. I did it for me.”
Tristan looked at Ren and knew he was crazy. Ren slowed his pace slightly to get out of his reach.
“We're going to meet Lord Eric to finish the quest.” Ren said and smiled. “I couldn't have you show up with us and not look pretty.”
Several people, and even some soldiers, laughed out loud at that.
“You are so dead when this is over.” Tristan said and clenched his fists.
“Only if you think your Fame can take it.” Ren said and moved back through the crowd.
“It just might be worth it.” Tristan said.
Lara took Ren's hand when he was close enough. She sighed and then smiled. “My mother has a saying about poking bears with a stick.”
“Make sure it's a boomstick?” Ren asked, and she laughed.
“No, silly.” Lara said. “They have a tendency to eat the things that poke it.”
“Hey, that reminded me of a joke.” Ren said.
“Oh, I can't wait to hear this.” Lara said and he smiled.
“A bear and a rabbit were taking a dump in the woods, and the bear asked the rabbit if he had trouble with it sticking to his fur. 'No trouble at all.' the rabbit said. So the bear picked the rabbit up and wiped his butt with it.”
Lara burst out laughing, and several of the soldiers nearby laughed, too. “Ren, that's awful!”
“Yeah, it's crap.” Ren grinned and she laughed again.
The expedition made it back to the large bridge that had spanned a very deep pit, and saw the water level was almost up to the top of it.
“Would you look at that.” One of the players said. “I guess that's why the bridge was here in the first place.”
“Just imagine how hard it would be to cross back if it wasn't here.” Someone said.
Ren and Lara exchanged glances and smiles, then went with everyone across the bridge. They didn't stop on the other side to rest, like they had on the way down, because they weren't trying to rush back. Everyone took their time and didn't push themselves, so you would think it would take longer; but, since they didn't have to stop to rest for extended periods of time, they made it back out to the mouth of the cavern much faster than they had when they entered it, and stopped at the entrance.
“It's still several hours to get back to the city.” The Captain of the Guard said. “I leave it to you, Adventurers.” He said. “Camp for a rest, or go on.”
“Go on.” Everyone said at the same time, and the Captain chuckled.
“On it is.” The Captain said and turned to the soldiers. “Move out!”
The expedition made it back to the city several hours later, and Ren had been right. They were greeted with a parade, cheers, and a hero's welcome. The townspeople ushered the Adventurers and soldiers through the city streets and to the town square.
Ren kind of turned off Lord Eric's blustering over how grateful he was that they had succeeded in the quest, and then pretty much ignored the rest of the long speech.
Get on with it. Ren thought. Even though we took our time, we're still tired.
Lord Eric finished his praise for them, and declared the quest finished. Several players gasped as they got popups for ending the quest, and Ren smiled when he received his.
The Aurora Expedition Congratulations! Lord Eric of Aurora praises you.
Your party has successfully completed their assigned task.
Rewards: 5,000 XP
Ren dismissed the level popup he received after that, because the points were assigned automatically anyways and he didn't need to read it.
“Now, as per the conditions set before you left.” Lord Eric said. “Rewards for contribution points. Since there are too many variables to impart to you I won't give you the full run down; but, my mage accountants have assured me that the numbers are completely accurate.”
Contribution Award Congratulations! Your contributions were well received and quite numerous.
You have gained an additional: 10,000 XP
“Whoa.” Ren said and dismissed the level up popup. He was tempted to ask Lara how much XP she got, but he knew she wouldn't talk about it.
“Ah, and there we go.” Lord Eric said and smiled. “You've all been awarded in accordance to how much you helped the expedition. Now, for the extra bonus award for the most contribution points! I know you've all been waiting for this!”
Lord Eric reached over to one of his staff who passed him three bags. One small, one medium, and one large.
“In third place, with 342 points... Healer Montegue!” Lord Eric announced. “Come, come! Don't be shy. It's just gold.”
The crowd gasped because Lord Eric was giving out gold coins as prizes. A figure wearing traditional healers robes separated from the players and got up onto the stage. Lord Eric handed him the smallest bag.
“There you go! 10 gold for your efforts on the city's behalf. Spend it well!”
Healer Montegue took the bag without a word and left the stage.
Only 10 gold? Ren thought. I can make that in less than a day in Sally's Shop.
“Hmm. You're welcome.” Lord Eric said under his breath, but everyone could clearly hear him and some people laughed. “Well... now on to the second highest contribution point total. In second place, with an astounding 897 points... Selene, The Mistress Of Dance!”
Selene had stood near the stage the whole time, almost as if she knew she would get an award. She haughtily leaped up onto the stage, did a little pirouette, two skips, and a half twirl to end up right next to Lord Eric with a dazzling display of sparkles behind her. Lord Eric lifted both eyebrows briefly, but didn't comment about her entrance. He handed her the mid-sized bag with a bit of flourish.
“For you, dear lady. 25 gold coins. Both the city, and I, thank you.”
Selene graciously accepted the bag and bowed to Lord Eric. She spun on her heels, flipped off the stage in a cartwheel and landed right back where she had stood before, as if she'd never left the spot. Lord Eric lifted his eyebrows again brielfy, then turned back to his waiting audience. That's what they were... an audience... and they had witnessed quite a spectacle so far. People in the crowd whispered about how she must have killed a lot of monsters to get so many points.
“Last, but not least... the holder of the highest contribution point total. In first place, with a total of... wait, is this right? Hold on...” Lord Eric put the last sack of gold on the podium, turned away from the crowd, and walked over to the other three people on the stage. They conferred with each other for a few moments, and then Lord Eric pointed at one of them. The person held out a scroll of parchment that he read intently. The crowd's noise level picked up as people talked among themselves. Something weird was definitely going on. Lord Eric chopped his hand sideways to cut off the people he was talking to, handed back the scroll to the one that he got it from, and walked back to the podium. He stood there for a moment and took a deep breath before he spoke.
“I'm not sure how it was possible for someone to get contribution points of such a high amount on so short a quest, but my mages have assured me again that the numbers are correct. I've seen the actual numbers myself now.” Eric shook his head in disbelief.
“Well... without further ado... the first place winner, with a surprisingly high grand total of 12,546 points...” Lord Eric paused dramatically, then spoke. “Ren.”
Silence filled the town square for a few moments, and then someone hollered his name.
“Ren!”
It was soon followed by a few players around him.
“Ren!”
Lara joined in this time, and so did all of the soldiers that had been on the quest.
“REN!”
Ren looked around at everyone. Is everyone crazy? He thought, and Teepo chittered in laughter.
“Well, come on up here.” Lord Eric said.
“Go on, Ren.” Lara said. “Give them a show.”
Ren smiled at her, and she bent over and kissed him. A few people in the crowd whistled and someone even hollered for a kiss. Lara broke the kiss and chuckled, and Ren walked towards the stage.
“Since he's coming up now, let me explain how the contribution points worked for this quest.” Lord Eric said. “There were various levels, in fact. You got points for killing monsters, healing party members, repairing weapons and armor, dealing the most damage, shielding party members, for assisting outside of battles, for assistance in each kill, for keeping as many soldiers alive as possible - thank you all very much for that by the way - if you help soldiers level up, keep the morale of the expedition up, and inspiring others.”
Everyone got really quiet when the long list of requirements was finally revealed for them all to hear. Ren's pace slowed down and he looked around. They all had a contemplative look on their faces, and Ren thought about the list, too.
I'm a little surprised it's not higher. Ren thought in amusement, but only showed a blank face as he walked to the stage.
Lord Eric explained that Ren had made repairs on people's armor and weapons half a dozen times, and did just as many enchantments on them. He told them Ren did the most damage, his enchantments hit the most and killed the most creatures, and how he had led a small band of soldiers to finish the quest. Ren climbed up onto the stage to dead silence, and he slowly walked to the center where Lord Eric waited for him.
“I haven't gotten all the details yet...” Lord Eric said, and gave Ren a glare that said he would get the details. “...but because of his actions, the evil was stopped and the goal of the quest was completed.” He said. “So... for coming in first place in contribution points, I present to you, Ren...” He took the large bag from the podium and passed it to Ren. “...my eternal gratitude, a party at my mansion tomorrow night, in your honor of course... and 100 gold coins.”
Notice! Fame Increase! You have gained 1,000 fame.
Fame XP and bonuses Unlocked! While your Fame is above a certain level, additional XP and special bonuses can be gained from doing quests for those that know of your exploits.
Cool. Ren thought and stored the sack. He looked out at the crowd, saw Lara's smile, and took out a small vial. “Time to go!” He lifted it above his head and threw it down to smash it at his feet. He was immediately engulfed in a big puff of smoke, and several people gasped. He stood there for several moments, then the smoke dissipated and everyone saw that he was still standing there.
“Well, that didn't work.” Ren said and someone laughed, then someone else joined in, and soon everyone was laughing. He dismissed the Fame increase popup, turned and walked calmly off the stage, then went through the crowd to stand beside Lara again.
“That was cool.” Lara said and took his hand.