I had spent the better part of the evening glued to my character sheet, poking around with the inevitable gravity of a new hyper fixation. I got sucked in like that sometimes. I’d see a webcomic and idly wonder if I could make something similar. Three days later I would emerge from my fugue with a mediocre comic and three days’ worth of missed meals growling vacantly in my stomach. That’s probably why my level 1 skills list is so long, come to think of it.

I felt that magnetic pull as I dove into my character sheet. The first thing I did was read up on my shiny new power:

Power: Inventory

Allows the user to store and retrieve items using a pocket dimension.

The storage is infinite.

The maximum mass of each individual object being stored in your Inventory is equal to (Inventory’s power level * Self-Awareness + Strength) in kilograms under normal Earth gravity.

Okay, so I was some sort of living, breathing, Bag of Holding? I couldn’t wait to put this to the test, so I began an enthusiastic packing spree. The storage was infinite, but there was a weight limit on what I could place inside. I looked up the relevant stats and had my phone convert from kilograms to pounds. It looked like I could store anything weighing less than 308 pounds. That was pretty great for a level 1 power!

I quickly began to experiment by storing anything and everything I could. My apartment soon looked like I was preparing for some minimalist lifestyle experiment. For a moment, I considered putting the contents of my refrigerator in there too, but then the practical side of my brain kicked in. Did the magical Inventory come with magical refrigeration? Were objects in there stored in a magical stasis?

I decided to test it with something simple: a mug of water I’d heated to boiling in the microwave. If I retrieved it an hour from now and it was still boiling, I’d be in business. If it not, well, at least I wouldn’t have rotten meat stinking up the interior of my infinite storage space.

I tried storing and retrieving things in different ways. I stored a playing card in one hand and retrieved it with the other. I stored things while wearing gloves, confirming I didn’t need to touch things directly to store them. I even swallowed a small ice cube, stored it from my stomach, and retrieved it a second later.

After an hour, I tried retrieving just the mug from my earlier experiment, leaving the water in my storage space. It was hard, and it made my head hurt, but with practice, I was able to do it. When I retrieved the water, it appeared in the air as a perfect cylinder for a split second before splashing into the sink. Seeing that it was still boiling, I proceeded to store everything from my refrigerator in my Inventory.

With most of my apartment safely tucked away inside my pocket space, I turned my attention to another notification I had received after leveling up:

2 Attribute Points to Spend

Apparently, my Quest ability had leveled up, too, and with it came a neat feature: instead of automatically assigning attribute points to whatever I’d been using the most, I got to decide where they went. Naturally, I’d spent the next hour or so using Help to research the best place to put those points.

The obvious choice was Strength. I mean, who doesn’t want to be stronger? I didn’t know how far a single point could get me, but I’d gained a total of 4 points in Strength since this whole thing began, and I could already feel the difference. More than that: I could see the difference!

I had spent about thirty minutes flexing in front of the mirror, admiring my new physique. I didn’t look like a movie star, but for someone who never exercised, any definition was a huge step up. I did wonder a bit about whether the +4 in Strength, the +2 in Attractiveness, or some combination of the two was responsible for the change in my physique.

That got me thinking about Attractiveness. How did Help even quantify that? What would putting points in there mean? Would my teeth get whiter? My jawline sharper? Would I look like a cologne commercial come to life? It was more tempting than I’d like to admit, but I couldn’t justify spending points on vanity just yet.

Ultimately, I decided on Perception. Reading up on the attributes using Help had helped me understand why my vision seemed off this morning: leveling up had slightly improved my eyesight. My goal was to get my vision up to normal, so I wouldn’t need glasses at all. That way I wouldn’t keep needing to adjust my prescription.

With a sigh of satisfaction, I dumped my two points into Perception. My vision didn’t instantly snap into high definition, but I felt a subtle shift. Things seemed a bit crisper around the edges. In fact, though Help still told me I was below average, I felt close to normal. I decided I’d leave my glasses at home tomorrow and see how it felt.

As for the skill points, I decided to sit on them for a while. Who knew what kind of skills I might need in this crazy new world? I might not have even unlocked the skill I’d need to survive yet. Better to wait and see what came up.

After a night of intense character management, I finally hit the sack. My mind buzzed with possibilities as I drifted off. I was ready to face whatever Quests tomorrow threw at me—whether it was fighting another monster or making a killer omelet.

My next Quest was not making an omelet. Nor was it fighting a monster. You see, I had made a huge mistake. A life-alteringly miserable mistake: I told my mom about my Inventory power. I should have known better.

So it was that, instead of lounging in my sparse apartment and experimenting with my magical skills, I found myself knee-deep in her backyard, attempting to root out all the Virginia creeper and poison ivy I could find. Her logic was simple: if I stored the plant, I’d store the whole plant—roots and all. Unfortunately, to me they just looked like green sticks with leafy bits. As it turns out, that was a problem for my Inventory power.

Throughout my experiments the night before, I’d learned that intent is crucial when I used Inventory. I had to focus on storing those specific plants, and only those plants. The first half-hour passed with nothing to show for it. But, once I had my mom show me what each vine looked like a few hundred times, I got the hang of it. Soon, whole plants vanished into my pocket dimension, roots and all. My mom watched with smug amusement.

Eventually, she came out to help. She felt bad about making me do all the work alone. As we worked, she asked, “So, how’s life with these new powers, Liam?”

“It’s a mix, honestly,” I replied, yanking out another vine. “There’s the cool part, like fighting off a monster with a magical box cutter—”

“Come again?”

“And then there’s the yard work.”

“I’m going to need you to back up a bit. Monster fighting? I thought you weren’t going to do any of that.”

“Well, I didn’t really have a choice, mom. The monster showed up in the parking lot and it was either fight or run and let it eat Nate.”

“Nate’s lived a full life.”

“He’s only 17.”

“But it’s been a full 17.”

“Mom!”

“Fine! I guess I’m glad you didn’t let your friend die screaming at the hands of a demon creature from the depths of Hell.”

“Good. Anyways, like I said, apart from the gardening, life’s been pretty good.”

“The gardening gives you something to do.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Quest already gives me things to do,” I deadpanned.

“Ah! That’s right! Your power pays you for this sort of thing! Why in the world did I guilt myself into helping you?”

“True,” I admitted, smirking. “Okay, since you’re here, check this out.” I activated my Help power on one of the plants. At first, it just told me it was a plant, which was hardly helpful. But focusing harder, I got more details. “This Virginia creeper is native to Eastern and Central North America. It has berries that are slightly toxic to humans and can tolerate a wide variety of light ranging from full sunlight to deep shade.”

She looked impressed. “That’s pretty handy. You could become a botanist at this rate.”

“Woah, you’re right!” I said, getting excited. “This power can answer Questions it takes scientists years of study to discover! I could be, like, a consultant or something!”

“If your career as a monster hunter doesn’t pan out, I suppose,” she said with a wry grin, shaking her head as she resumed her battle with the weeds.

After another hour of hard work, a familiar chime sounded in my head:

Quest Completed: Green Thumb

Rewards:

2 Experience Points

$50

Low-Friction Trowel

Rebecca Cole’s Rewards:

1 Experience Point

$20

A sleek, shiny trowel appeared in a notification window before I felt it in my Inventory. I pulled it out with a flourish. “Nice!” I exclaimed. “Check it out, Mom. Low-friction trowel!”

“What are you going to do with a gardening tool?” She raised her eyebrow.

“Good point. Actually, you take it.” I handed the trowel over to Mom, surprise evident on her face.

“Thanks, Li!” she held it to her heart. “Now I have two magic tools.”

“Two magic…hey!” I gave her a shove. “I gave that to you in case any monstrous bunnies show up to threaten you in your garden. That will work on monsters better than anything else you have. Monster attacks are becoming more and more frequent. I want you to be as safe as I can make you.”

“That’s sweet, Li, but I don’t know how much protection a magic trowel can offer.”

“That’s a fair point,” I said, smirking, “But I see you also earned an experience point from helping me. It only took two for Nate to get a power. You might be one more Quest-assist away from being able to protect yourself.”

“I activate St. Joel’s Fire!” I declared, placing a card down with an unnecessary flourish.

“Seriously? Again?” Nate groaned. How have you drawn that card at exactly the right time seven games in a row?”

I shrugged, trying to look innocent as I concluded my turn. “I’m just lucky, I guess.”

Nate looked at me suspiciously. I hadn’t told him about my experiments using Inventory with cards, and for now, he didn’t need to know.

We were playing “Igan’s Cards” with Nate’s high school club, and despite my initial reservations, I was actually enjoying it. The game was surprisingly fun. I knew it could be a money-sink if you got too into it, but most of these guys weren’t that competitive, so I figured I might keep playing with them. Besides, the ones who were competitive made me feel less guilty about cheating.

“You’re getting the hang of it,” one of the club members, Jason, said. “But be careful with fire cards; they need more support than you’d think”

“I’m pretty good at bringing that support when its needed,” I replied, smirking.

As we played, another club member, Sarah, turned to her friend Audry. “Hey, would you be willing to trade your Lotus Eater card for my Queen of Rhapsody?”

Audry’s face fell. “I don’t have it with me. I…left it at home.”

“Oh,” Sarah said, and the whole room’s mood cooled by about 10 degrees.

Nate looked confused. “No worries, right? You can just bring it next time.”

“Wrong, dude,” Jason said. “Audry’s house got taken over by some panther-sized frost monster.

“We’ve been living out of a hotel for the past week,” Audry added in a small voice.

“I didn’t even know monsters could get that big,” Sara interjected, “Didn’t y’all put out a contract with one of those private firms from the city?”

“Yeah, but they’re all booked out for weeks.”

“I hate that all the people with combat powers move out to the city,” Jason punctuated this by slamming his fist into the table. “When they leave, they make sure that no one is around to protect small town folks from things like this.”

A heavy silence fell over the table. Nate glanced at me, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. I knew what he was thinking, and I didn’t like it one bit. Sure enough, a second later I heard a chime:

New Quest!

Frost Felid’s Lair

A frost felid has turned the home of your friend Audry into its lair.

Objective: Defeat the frost felid.

I sighed, feeling the weight of the decision pressing down on me. “I guess a weakling like me should avoid the area, huh? Where exactly is your house, Audry?”

“Li, do you see that?” Nate whispered as we crouched behind a bush outside Audry’s house. A big cat-like creature covered in fur like shimmering icicles, was prowling around the yard, its cold breath visible in the hot, humid air. Every step it took left the ground covered in a tiny layer of frost.

“That must be the frost felid,” I replied, eyes wide.

“It’s huge!” Nate whisper-shouted.

“It’s exactly as big as they said it was.”

“They said it was as big as a panther!”

I looked at the monster before us as it laid down and began to lick itself. “That looks panther-sized to me.”

“Well, what am I thinking of?”

“How should I know? Is it really important?”

“You use them in gardening? Flowers go in them? You know?”

“Planters?”

“Yes! That thing is way bigger than a planter!”

“Right. Which is why they said ‘panther.’ Don’t worry dude, I’m pretty sure panthers are more scared of you than you are of them.”

“What? No they’re not!” Nathan looked incredulous.

“Oh. What am I thinking of?”

“Bees, maybe? Or snakes?”

“Right. Well, maybe it applies to frost felids too.”

“No. There’s no way. Nothing has ever felt more fear than I feel for this thing.”

Looking at him, I was inclined to agree.

“Well, there’s no backing down now,” I shrugged, accessing my Inventory. In an instant, I was wearing the biker leathers I’d bought for situations just like this. Nate’s jaw dropped. “How did you do that?”

“It turns out, If I’m wearing the clothes when I put them in my Inventory, I can wear them when I take them out,” I explained, trying to sound casual.

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Nate argued. “You’re not in exactly the same position as when you put them in, right?”

“Don’t think about it too hard,” I said, pulling out a katana, “It might stop working.”

“You bought a sword?”

“’Bought’ is probably the wrong word. I’ll get it back on my brother-in-law’s wall before he notices it’s gone.” I gave it a few test swings.

“Are you sure it works?”

“I’m sure it works better than nothing.”

Nate gave a shaky shrug, conceding the point. It looked like the banter had taken some of the teeth out of his fear, but he was still clearly terrified.

“Dude. You’re Invincible, remember?”

“Yeah, for, like, two seconds at a time,” he grumbled, taking the box cutter sword out of his pocket and extending the blade.

We moved closer to the house, hearts pounding. The frost felid noticed us, its icy blue eyes narrowing. It was definitely not afraid of us. Nate activated his Invincible power, and his skin shimmered faintly. He charged forward, aiming to draw the beast’s attention. The felid snarled and leapt at him, but Nate stood his ground, the creature’s claws scraping harmlessly off his magical armor.

I used the time he bought me to rush around to the felid’s flank, tapping one of its hindlegs and bringing an item out of my Inventory. Heavy ropes materialized around the felid’s leg, tied to a few 45 pound weights I’d “borrowed” from the local YMCA. I was a little surprised it had worked! I’d been practicing retrieving pre-tied ropes in such a way that they were tied around whatever I touched, but it took a lot of focus, and I didn’t think I’d manage it in the heat of the moment.

The frost felid lunged at Nate once more, but the rope brought it up short and it fell prone. Nate took advantage of the situation to disengage and wait for his mana to recharge. Meanwhile, I had pulled out a ladder and climbed to the top. Once I reached the ladder’s summit, I began retrieving more 45 pound weights from my Inventory and dropping them on the prone felid. I hoped that whatever magic was in my Inventory might linger on things for a bit when they were taken out.

It looked like my guess was right as each impact had a noticeable effect on the monster, but it wasn’t enough. Rising to its feet, the felid turned to look at its restraints and casually took its foot out of the rope. I had tied them too loosely before storing them in my Inventory, so it had no problem slipping them off. It snarled, looking from Nate to me.

“Uh oh,” I said as it lunged for my ladder. I didn’t have time to get down, so when the monster rammed its full weight into the ladder, it came down with a clatter. Luckily, it seemed falling damage was counted as non-magical, so it didn’t hurt me as much as I would have expected. Unfortunately, the icy claws ripping through my back as I ran to safety hurt exactly as much as I would have expected.

Nate managed to get its attention again with a well-timed slice from the box cutter. He activated Invincible again and did his best to inflict some damage while he had the thing’s attention. When I saw the shimmer of his power begin to fade, I knew it was, once again, my turn for a distraction.

I wasn’t fast enough to keep the felid’s elongated teeth from slicing into Nate’s shoulder. He let out a pained scream as his wound was immediately covered over in a thin layer of ice. I came in as soon as I could with a cut from my brother-in-law’s katana.

That worked.

Well, it didn’t do much damage but it sure did make it mad!

I swung the katana again, landing a solid hit, but this time the sword blade shattered against the felid’s icy hide. “Are you kidding me?!” I muttered, throwing the broken hilt aside.

The frost felid pounced on me, knocking me to the ground. Its jaws were inches from my throat. It reared back to deliver the killing blow when, suddenly, a flaming fist slammed into the monster’s jaw, sending it sprawling to the floor.

It slowly got to its feet, and as it did, I saw a girl about my age step between me and the monster, both of her fists wreathed in ruby flames.

“Don’t worry, kid,” she said without bothering to look back at me, “I’ll take it from here.”