It was another typical day at Brownbag Groceries. I was restocking the cereal aisle, enjoying the mindlessness of the task. It was welcome. I had a lot to think about.

I was thinking about how weird it is that tiny dogs and giant dogs are still the same species, but nearly identical birds aren’t. I knew it was because the dogs can breed with each other and the birds can’t, but it still seemed odd. What’s more, any Pokemon can breed with any other Pokemon in its egg group. Does that mean Dugtrio and Rapidash are the same species? Do humans lay eggs in Pokemon? Are they the only animals on their planet that give birth to live young? How did that evolve without leaving an evolutionary trail?

These were the questions weighing on my soul when a group of people walked in, all wearing matching fur vests. I couldn’t help but snicker to myself. They looked ridiculous, like they were part of some bizarre fashion cult or trying out for a low-budget movie about cavemen.

Then, without warning, one of them kicked Luke, one of my coworkers, so hard that he flew backwards into an endcap, sending boxes of cereal scattering everywhere. The store fell silent as everyone turned to look at the group in shock.

“Keep calm, everyone,” one member of the group said. “Nobody has to get hurt—”

“What about that kid I just kicked, boss?”

“Right. Good point. Nobody else has to get hurt. Empty the registers and put the money in a to-go bag. Then we’ll be on our way. No fuss. No muss.”

“What’s ‘muss,’ boss?”

The leader just sighed.

I felt a cold knot of fear in my stomach. These guys weren’t messing around. They moved with a predatory grace, and there was a dangerous glint in their eyes. Just as the tension in the store seemed to peak, a customer near the back of the store pulled out a gun. I guess that’s what happens when you try to rob a store in rural Tennessee.

“Freeze, scumbag!” the man with the gun said.

He aimed at the leader and fired, but the bullet barely pierced the man’s skin. The leader picked the bullet out of his flesh like it was a splinter and set it down on the nearest counter.

“Wrong,” he said, nodding at one of his gang members and making a sweeping gesture towards the man. The gang member he’d nodded at knocked the gun out of the customer’s hand and kicked him to the ground. The man did not get up.

I heard a chime in my head and a translucent screen popped up in front of my eyes.

New Quest!

Predator Robbery

A gang called “The Predators” has decided to rob Brownbag Groceries.

Objective: Defeat the Predators

Bonus Objective: Incur zero casualties.

So they were called “The Predators?” How did Quest know? I glanced at the five of them, sizing them up. They had powers—probably enhanced physical strength and speed. Their nails were long and claw-like. I doubted I could take one of them, let alone all five; especially not without putting everyone else in the store at risk.

It was too bad. After nearly a month without a level-up, I was only 8 experience points away from level 6.

I took a deep breath and decided to comply. I walked over to the nearest register and started taking out the money. The leader walked up to me, watching closely.

“Hurry up,” he said, his voice still calm but with an edge of menace.

As I handed over the cash, I brushed my fingers against his hand and activated Help. A screen popped up with detailed information about him, but I didn’t have time to read it now. I kept the screen active in my peripheral vision while continuing to empty the registers.

The other workers followed suit, moving quickly and quietly, their faces pale with fear. The gang watched us closely, ready to react at the slightest provocation. I focused on the task at hand.

Why couldn’t they be normal robbers? Or elderly robbers? Or supermodel robbers? Or elderly supermodel robbers? Wait. Scratch that last one.

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As we continued handing over the money, I managed to open a help screen for two other members of the gang. When the last of the money was handed over, the leader gave a satisfied nod. “Good. Now everyone stay calm and no one gets hurt. We’re going to leave. Feel free to call the police if you haven’t already.”

They backed out of the store, still watching us closely. As soon as they were out the door, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. The tension in the store slowly began to dissipate, replaced by a buzz of nervous chatter.

I glanced at the Help screens still floating in my vision, eager to see what I could learn about these guys. But that would have to wait until I was sure they were truly gone.

“Is everyone okay?” I called out, looking around at my coworkers and the shaken customers. Luke was still lying on the floor. He was breathing, but he looked like he was in pain. I pulled my last healing potion out of my inventory and had him drink.

“What was in that, Li?” Luke asked as he got to his feet. “I could have sworn my ribs were broken.”

“It was a magic healing potion I found. Don’t worry about it.”

He looked at me askance, but eventually nodded.

“Alright,” I said, “let’s call the police and let them know what happened.”

As I started to dial, I couldn’t help but glance again at the Help screens. Whatever information they held; I hoped it would give us a way to stop these guys for good. But for now, the priority was making sure everyone was safe and getting the authorities involved.

The scene in the store slowly began to return to normal, but I knew this was far from over. Next time, I had to be ready.

The barn gym, with its rustic charm and faint scent of hay, had become our regular spot for training sessions. It was a perfect blend of old-school grit and modern necessity. Today, though, the atmosphere felt different. I’d told them about the incident at Brownbag Groceries, and I could see their concern growing worse as my story went on.

“Super villains,” Nate said, almost spitting out the words. “I mean, that’s what they are, right?”

Amelia snorted. “I guess you could call them that. I just don’t get it…aren’t the monsters bad enough? Like, don’t people have a sense of responsibility or whatever?”

I laughed, “It’s not like the world was perfect before, Amy. People always had power and used it selfishly. But that doesn’t have to be us.”

“I guess so,” she grunted. “It just makes me mad.”

I sighed, “It makes me tired. Anyway, I used Help on a few of them. All of them were level one, and all had the same power—Predator (Blessing). It enhances all their physical attributes and lets them turn their nails into claws. But here’s the kicker: it’s a power that was given to them, and half of all their experience goes back to the person who gave them the power.”

Nate’s eyes widened. “So, someone’s out there creating these guys and getting stronger by the minute?”

I pulled out a small notebook from my pocket and handed it to them. “I wrote down the names of the people from their Help screens. We can look into them later.”

Amelia took the notebook, flipping through the pages. “Good thinking, Li. But we need to prepare ourselves better if we’re going to go up against people like that.”

Nate nodded. “If that’s the case, we need to learn how to fight. Physical conditioning is great, but it’s not going to be enough if there are bad guys with abilities out there.”

Amelia stood up and stretched, her expression serious. “I’ve been focusing on getting you guys in shape, but I suppose it’s time to get you ready for real combat.”

Nate looked skeptical. “You were only training for a couple of months, Amelia. No offense, but are you sure you’re qualifi—"

With a swift, fluid motion, Amelia’s foot moved from the floor to within an inch of Nate’s temple. He flinched, stumbling back.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, rubbing his head even though she hadn’t made contact.

Amelia grinned. “I guess you didn’t notice the trophies inside. I was the National Women’s Kickboxing champion for my weight class. I’m pretty sure I can show you a thing or two.”

Nate’s eyes widened, and he nodded slowly. “Okay, point taken.”

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of what was coming. I knew I needed to be better prepared, so I opened up my character sheet and dumped half of my skill points into Fighting (Knife) and the other half into Fighting (Hand-to-Hand), moving both skills to level 2. Instantly, I felt a rush of knowledge filling my mind and skill flowing into my body. I was still a beginner, but I felt considerably more competent than I had a second ago. I could see more specialized skills on my sheet, like Fighting (Shotokan Karate) from that one month I’d spent in class when I was ten. But I hoped a more general skill in fighting would be more helpful.

Amelia clapped her hands, drawing our attention. “Alright, listen up. For striking, I’m going to give you a basic repertoire of strikes. You’re not going to learn a thousand punches from me because, honestly, you only need three. Same goes for kicks, knee strikes, elbows, etcetera. These are the bread and butter of any good fighter, and we’re going to drill them until they’re second nature. Then we’re going to keep drilling them. Grappling is more complicated, but we’ll worry about that later.”

“Do we get to learn that kick you just did to Nate?” I asked hopefully. With my Agility increases I was pretty sure I was finally flexible enough for that.

“No, Li. It’s silly, slow, and a waste of motor-memory.”

“Didn’t feel slow,” mumbled Nate, still rubbing the side of his head.

“Nothing is slow when I do it,” she grinned. “Alright, let’s get started.”