“Who the hell is this ugly bastard, Elix?” the half-elf asked.

“Don’t know, Don,” said the bestial hybrid. “Looks to be some sort of orc-human hybrid of some sort. This can’t be Carmine, can it?”

The elf studied me with narrowed eyes, peering me up and down. “Although… it certainly looks like Carmine. Same nose, same eyebrows, same shaggy hair. But look at those tusks!” Don proceeded to press his finger on one of my teeth before I slapped his hand away.

Wide-eyed and grinning joyfully, I couldn't help but reach to hug them both. “You have no idea how glad I am to see some faces I recognize. I was thinking you two were across the map and would never get here!”

Don nudged Alex’s shoulder, “We got lucky. I was transported to some Podunk-ass village way south of here called Endrahye. Alex, where’d you spawn again?”

“Falvesh City. And hey, it’s Elixir or Elix now, alright? New world. New me.”

A smirk formed on the edge of my lips. “Couldn’t help yourself? Had to use the name you always use for your RPG characters?”

Elixir scoffed. “Says you, Karnyn. What kind of abyssal name is that anyway!?”

“A name that I’ll be referred to until we get the hell back home,” I said.

“You and every other half-human,” Don said. “But can we talk about this over some grub? We’ve been traveling ever since we saw you on the [Map].”

“Sure. I know a vendor and a nice spot.”

Bright blue of the midday sky shone through the canopy of trees we sat beneath. Puffy white clouds came and went with the tempered winds that blew between the branches. Flickering shadows danced across our faces and gear while we ate meat pies and skewers of vegetables.

My friends looked different from what I remembered on Earth. But in their minds, I’m sure they thought similarly. Don’s dark skin and short curly hair were ever the same. He looked the most ‘normal’ compared to either of us, except for the pointed ears that constantly drew my gaze.

“Quit staring at them!” he exclaimed, putting up the hood of his cloak.

If there was a contest on who looked the strangest between Elix and myself, the award would belong to the half-beast. He had no furry ears nor fuzzy tail like Briar, but feathery arms, modified nails that acted as talons, and large amber eyes. If he had a beak I’d say he closely resembled an owl, his hunched posture only accentuated the resemblance.

“You should really trim your nails,” the beast said.

“Says you, birdbrain!” I said.

Hybrids have been here for over a month now and these two already looked better suited than I. Besides their stats that appeared in the corner of my eye now, their armor and weapons were scarred from battle. Don wore a pine-green cloak with scaled leather armor across his chest. A shortsword and quiver of arrows sat on his hip while his bow laid against a tree.

Elixir wore a blue buttoned vest over a white tunic and gray pants under his diverse set of equipment. A large rucksack leaned against him. He seemed to be ready for anything. A sword at his side, a buckler shield and dagger on his belt, and a variety of swirling potions tied to his chest like a bandolier.

He took a bite from his skewer with an unwavering gaze. “Have you seen any handheld crossbows while you’ve been living in Hubloc?” he asked.

Don tsked, “You have enough shit on your back as is.”

“And I’m not sure if I trust your aim,” I laughed. But let’s see how powerful you two really are.

Donovan Reaves

Health: 30/30

Stamina: 30/30

Mana: 10/10

Monsters Slain: 10

Players Slain: 0

Elixir

Health: 20/20

Stamina: 20/20

Mana: 70/70

Monsters Slain: 7

Players Slain: 0

“Damn, Elix, you have a lot of [Mana]. I shouldn’t be surprised that you went into [Spellcasting]. And let me guess, Don… stealth archer?”

Donovan hung his head low and sighed, “Stealth archer…”

“What’s it like being an orc?” Elix asked with a mouthful of food.

“Are you now strong and mean like one too?” Don snickered.

“Oh, fuck off.”

“See!? He is!” Elixir exclaimed.

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“Keep it up and you’ll be the first player I slay,” I sneered.

“What are you supposed to be?” Don asked. “Like what are you working to specialize in?”

I groaned and looked at my lack of high-level [Skills]. [Firemaking] was still my highest at a meager LVL 4. “Haven’t thought of anything yet,” I wryly laughed. “I’ve just now started messing with magic so… Maybe I’ll get a variety of skills first and then try to level them later.”

“Jack-of-all-trades, huh? No good.” Elix said, shaking his head. “You have to be a master in something if you want to make it far in this world.”

“Oh yeah? And how do you know?”

My grin quickly vanished when I saw his [Mana] begin to dip and his hands begin to dispense a mass of orange arcane particles.

“You asked for it now, Karn,” Don smirked.

Elixir’s hands manipulated the [Mana] into a web of swirling colors. He showed me his outward palms of glittering magic. I swore I saw faint images of figures and beasts moving within until he placed his hands on the side of my head. The arcane filled my vision, my sense, my mind. All was black. All was light. I was transported to a ruined castle of warped flooring and moss-covered stones. Dragons roared above while the half-beast sat on a golden throne. He sipped on a glass of crimson wine while I knelt before him, head bowed, listening to every word he spoke like a king’s servant. I knew not why, but he deserved my full attention and admiration for his abilities.

“You obviously do not know the power that the [System] offers, Karnyn! A realm of endless possibility, yet your mind is hollow. Think not of what you can do, but what you can’t. With failure comes discovery. With discovery comes experience. With experience comes leveling. And leveling… is power! What I cast upon you now is a concoction of evocation and illusionary magic. I have hardly trodden my own venture of the arcane, but I pray to our newfound gods that you find your own path to magical prowess.” The glass he held shattered on the stone. The fabrication faded. My vision returned to the shaded field we sat upon, albeit with me kneeling in the dirt.

Elix was being scolded by Don while he sipped on a vibrant blue potion. His [MP] trickled upward from the scarce 5/70 points he had left. Sweat dripped from his brow and his compressed feathers.

“Dammit! I almost leveled-up my [Psychoturgy]. ‘Twas no easy spell to cast,” he panted.

I could tell… I put my knee out of the dirt and gained my balance against a tree. My mind raced as it tried to readjust to reality. I could never imagine a spell so dangerous. Bastard could’ve made me do anything and I couldn’t stop him. Just one more thing to be cautious of in this world.

“How’d you learn that?” I asked with a breathless sigh.

Elix shrugged, “I practice.”

Better than meditating, I thought.

“Yeah, he ‘practices’ on me!” Don said. “Every damn day is some new spell or illusion he’s crafting.”

The beast waved him off, “I don’t do anything too harsh on you.”

“I’m glad you don’t! Karn, last time this mage and I were in a dungeon I saw him make goblins fall on their own swords! The guy is a menace!”

Elix shook his head but I saw a smirk form on his face. “Goblins are easier to torment than hybrids. Just don’t let a spellcaster get close enough to manipulate you and you’ll be fine.”

“We’ll keep our distance from you, trust us,” Don laughed. “C’mon Karn, show me around this grand city of hybrids.”

“Wait up!” the mage exclaimed.

The three of us explored the streets and perused the wares offered by the full-bloods. I didn’t visit many specialized stores on account of my dwindling coin purse. A rucksack, sickle, pelt, and 17 shining silvers with two pieces extra was all I had to my name. I couldn’t afford steel plating or a great axe, but my friends seemed adamant that we sought a blacksmith.

“You need something better than that sickle, man. It’s bent to hell,” Don said.

“And what’s with the pelt?” Elix asked. “That your blankie you snuggle with?” he snorted.

“Hey, this sickle claimed this pelt. Carved it from a direwolf myself.”

Elixir raised his chin as if he examined my worth. “What of the other two monsters you slew?”

“Mimics,” I said sternly. “I had help with them. Speaking of… you two know Taro, right?”

* * *

Fires from the forge burned bright while the songs of the steel squelched and singed in buckets of well water. A muscular dwarf, draped only in an apron, approached us at the front of the workshop.

“What’d ya’ need?”

“We need sharpening. And do you have any breastplates for the half-orc?” Don asked. He took my sickle from my hip and placed it on the counter. “Can you repair this? I think he’s been grinding his tusks on it.”

Irate, I gritted my teeth. “I’m grinding my tusks on your throat next!” I shouted.

The dwarf was wide-eyed and baffled at the ruined sickle. Dull, bent, chipped, and stained with the viscous of dead foes, he sighed. “A breastplate is 20. The sickle is 3 but it won’t be ready ‘til tomorrow. We’re busy as is.”

The jingle of Don’s coin purse caught my ear. “Fine with splitting it?” he asked.

“Why do I have to pay for his shit?” Elix said with a furrowed brow.

“He can only fight hand-to-hand. I’m sure we’d all appreciate it if he had some armor.”

“Wait, armor for what? I don’t plan on dungeon-dwelling anytime soon.”

Elixir huffed, “It’s the only form of fortune we can earn right now. I’ll cover the pieces but that’s it!”

I handed over 12 coins while my friends gave the rest to the smith. Leather straps of the breastplate tightened around my tunic as we left. The metal was thin, but enough to glance a blow from any blade that yearned for my heart.

As the heat of the desert rose to its highest in the winter months of Carrion, Elixir led us to scour for a magic shop. But before we could explore the antiquities of the arcane, we were interrupted by the cries of a small child. Her sorrow echoed through the streets that others eagerly ignored.

Elix hurriedly passed her by. Don and I slowed our steps and looked back at the half-orc kid. Red-faced, puffy-eyed, and snot-dripping, she was pitiful to see.

“We gotta do something, Don.”

“Agreed. You go up to her, same bloodline and whatnot.”

Tsk. I went to the sobbing child. She was fearful as I approached but she quickly wailed her woes as I knelt beside her.

“I want my m-m-m—”

“Your mom? Do you know where she is? What does she look like?”

The child sobbed and mentioned riding on a ‘pony’ before being given a bundle of food and left here.

Don leaned into my ear, “She was probably taken here and dropped-off by the caravans.”

I looked around for any resemblance of the orc child in the crowd of strangers. Elves, beasts, orcs, dwarves, the parents could’ve been either one of them. The parents would have trouble even trying to recognize their own kid. Our only option was to teach her how to use her [System] and look in the [Party Members] menu. But between the wails, the mucus-choking coughs, and the sun falling beneath the horizon, our odds weren’t looking too hot.

Shit.