I was already regretting this. Nathan and I were deep in the woods, wrestling with a creature straight out of a fever dream: an araxulo, a spider made entirely of wood. Its eight wooden legs moved with eerie smoothness, creaking like old branches. Amelia, our fire-wielding ally, was off dealing with another crisis, leaving just the two of us to handle this arboreal nightmare.

Nathan charged in close, his skin shimmering as he activated his Invincible power. Electricity crackled around him as he activated one of his newer powers: Shock Cloak. He had to actually touch the creature for it to be affected by this power, but the tradeoff was that the strength of the power was pretty intense. We were pretty sure he’d be able to shock araxulo into submission. Unfortunately, the electricity barely fazed the creature. Wood, it seemed, was a poor conductor. I couldn't help but think how much easier this would be if Amelia were here to scorch the spider to cinders.

I ran in close, taking some of the creature’s attention away from Nate.

"Hold on, Li!" Nathan shouted, throwing up a shimmering shield around me just as the araxulo lunged. The creature's wooden fangs clanged against the shield, giving me a precious few seconds to act.

I quickly painted a portal on the ground near the araxulo. Taking out my Frost Fang Dagger, I made an experimental swipe at the monster. The blade scored a solid mark across its wooden body, and I felt a small surge of hope.

"Alright, time to test this out," I muttered, hopping through the portal. I emerged a few feet away where I'd painted another portal on a tree. Nathan was trying to keep the monster at bay, his skin shimmering in quick bursts as he tried to use his Invincible power more judiciously to absorb the araxulo's relentless attacks.

From my safe vantage point, I reached through the portal at the monster's legs, slashing with my dagger. Each cut made the araxulo twitch and screech, but it wasn't enough to bring it down. Eventually, Nathan’s Invincible power began to show signs of fading.

"Time to retreat!" he yelled, jumping through the portal to join me. I quickly dismissed both ends of my portal. We watched as the creature turned, its glowing eyes locking onto our new position.

"Nate, you need some time for your mana to recharge," I said, thinking fast. "I've got an idea."

With a thought, I pulled a frisbee from my Inventory.

"Throw this at the araxulo." I said, painting a portal on the frisbee and handing it to Nate.

He looked dubious but complied, throwing the frisbee with all his might. Meanwhile, I painted the other end of the portal on a nearby tree. My goal had been to stick my dagger out of the frisbee as it flew so I could strike the monster. The portal, however, completely messed up the aerodynamics, sending the frisbee veering wildly off course.

By this point, the araxulo had zeroed in on our new location and began skittering after us.

"Well, that was a stupid idea," Nathan panted as we bravely ran away. "Why would that have been helpful?”

"I thought it would look cool," I grumbled, glancing over my shoulder at the approaching monster.

With Nathan's mana still recharging, I turned to face the araxulo, racing in close, dodging its swipes and lunges. After we’d both successfully avoided hitting each other for a while, it grew even more agitated, spitting out a vine-like web that wrapped around me, tying me to another nearby tree.

That didn’t hold for long. I quickly stored the web in my Inventory and painted a wide portal along the tree. Dancing past the monster’s guard, I painted another portal on the ground.

When the araxulo turned to follow me, its legs fell into the portal, leaving it stuck and confused. Taking advantage of its predicament, I moved to its other side and retrieved some ropes from my Inventory, focusing so that they materialized already wrapped around the monster’s legs. Making its predicament even worse was the fact that I’d had the presence of mind to set these ropes on fire before I stored them, so when I retrieved them, they were still ablaze.

"Li, you're going to burn the forest down!" Nathan warned.

"Don't worry," I called back, dodging another vine-web. "By this point, I've got enough water stored in my Inventory to fill a small lake. We can drown that bridge when we come to it."

Just as we were about to launch another attack on the araxulo, a figure descended from the trees, landing gracefully on the monster's back. It was a young woman with dark hair and a familiar looking fur vest. With a feral scream, she began raking the araxulo with her clawed hands, sending splinters flying.

Three more figures emerged from the woods and the four began engaging the araxulo with coordinated attacks. With the four of them working together, using their magically enhanced speed and strength, they made short work of the creature. Pretty soon it was fluorescing away before us.

A notification appeared in front of me:

Quest Complete!

Araxulo Hunt

Rewards:

11 Experience Points

$100

1 pair of hiking boots.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Quest then proceeded to list out the rewards the others had gotten for their participation. I did some quick math and figured these guys had just poached 42 combined experience points from Nate and me.

Huh. My quick math skills had gotten better. I realized it must have been my Critical Thinking attribute steadily increasing.

Nathan and I shared a look before confronting the Predators. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked. "Aren’t you guys normally busy knocking over convenience stores or something?"

The woman in the fur vest smiled. "You’ve met with our pack before? Yes, some of us are tasked with acquiring wealth from weaker creatures. Others acquire power. We have been tasked with eliminating monsters as we are able and taking the power to make our pack stronger."

I scoffed. “You’re not making your whole pack stronger, though, are you? Half of the magic you absorb is going to whoever gave you your power in the first place. Did you know that?”

She eyed us up and down. "Lie all you wish. We have no quarrel with you. We're after the same thing. This community is kept safe from monsters and we gain strength from their deaths. It’s what you’d call a ‘win-win.’"

“But who keeps them safe from your people?”

“What exactly do you mean? My side of our pack keeps the people safe from monsters, and the others ensure they pay for the privilege, whether they want to or not.”

Nathan and I exchanged glances. Truth be told, they had a point. If what Amelia had said was true, there should have been a lot more problems from monsters than we were seeing. The news was full of other small towns that had found themselves overrun. Maybe part of why Ashton Ridge was so safe, despite its isolation, was this gang of Predators. It seemed we had more in common with the Predators than we thought. With a nod, we all walked away peacefully, leaving them to collect whatever items the araxulo might have dropped behind.

As we headed back, I couldn't help but think about how much more complicated things had just become. Fighting monsters was one thing, but dealing with rival groups and their agendas was another challenge entirely. What were we supposed to do about a group of people who were both menacing and saving our community? Maybe Amelia would know, but Nate and I found ourselves walking out of the woods more confused than when we came in.

Later that week, I was lounging on my couch, controller in hand, working on solving a particularly tricky shrine. It was a rare moment of quiet in my new, chaotic life. I could feel my slightly increased Focus and Critical Thinking working together to help me as I tried to figure this puzzle out. I’d just figured out what the solution must be when my phone buzzed.

I sighed, pausing the game and picking up my phone. The message was from a number I didn’t recognize.

"Hey, Liam. My name is Matthew. I’m a friend of Nina’s. She said you might be able to help me with a problem."

Curious, I responded, "Sure, what’s up?"

Matthew quickly replied, asking if we could meet in person to discuss it. I agreed, and we set a time to meet at a nearby coffee shop. I saved my game and prepared to head out.

As I grabbed my keys, I realized the old me would have found some excuse to back out. Quest hadn’t even chimed and I was already heading out the door to help a complete stranger.

I smiled as I turned the ignition on my Honda Fit. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I liked the person I was becoming.

At the coffee shop, I spotted a nervous-looking guy in his mid-twenties sitting by the window, fidgeting with a napkin. I walked over and introduced myself.

"Matthew?" I asked.

He stood up and shook my hand. "Yeah, thanks for meeting me."

We sat down, and after a bit of small talk, Matthew got to the point. "I’m in a bit of a bind. A while back, I was desperate for money and pawned my grandfather’s watch. I’ve got the money to buy it back now, but the shop owner won’t sell it to me. He says he’s ‘grown attached’ to it. He doesn’t even keep it on display! Every time I see him he’s wearing it."

Matthew looked down; his expression pained. He continued: "My grandfather passed away recently. He wanted to be buried with that watch. It…means a lot to my family."

I nodded, understanding the weight of his request. Just as I was about to speak, a familiar chime sounded in my head.

New Quest!

Who Watches the Watchmen?

Objective: Retrieve Matthew’s watch from Pawnography.

I shot Matthew my most confident smile. “It shouldn’t be too hard to get that watch off that old snake’s wrist.”

Matthew’s eyes lit up with hope. "Thank you, Liam. Really."

“Don’t mention it, dude. But I will need a ride.”

I had set up one end of a portal in my apartment and had Matthew drop me off a block away from the pawn shop. Luckily, shortly after unlocking Inventory I had the foresight to “borrow” some very expensive clothes from a local boutique. Dressed to impress, I made my way to the pawn shop.

The bell above the door jingled as I walked in. The shop owner looked up and immediately sized me up, his eyes gleaming at the sight of my expensive attire. Glancing at his wrist, I saw what must have been Matthew’s watch.

"Good afternoon," I said, flashing a charming smile. "I’m looking for something special today."

The man’s demeanor shifted into salesman mode. "Of course, sir. What can I show you?"

I spent some time browsing and asking about various high-ticket items, feigning interest in a few. Jerry—that was the shop owner’s name—was practically salivating at the thought of a big sale. After a while, I casually mentioned how much I appreciated his help and extended my left hand to shake.

"It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Jerry. I didn’t expect to meet someone of your refined taste in Ashton Ridge."

He grinned and shook my hand firmly. With his attention on the handshake, I activated Inventory. With my increased range from level 2, I felt the watch slip from Jerry’s wrist into my little, infinite, pocket dimension.

"Do you mind if I use your restroom before I finalize my decision?" I asked, keeping my tone light and friendly.

"Of course, right that way," Jerry replied, gesturing towards the back of the shop.

I followed his directions and entered the restroom. Quickly, I painted the other end of the portal on the dirty wall. With a final glance around, I stepped through and found myself back in my apartment. I changed back into my regular clothes and waited a few minutes before heading back to the coffee shop to meet Matthew.

Thirty minutes later, we were sitting back at the coffee shop. I pulled the watch out and handed it over to Matthew. His face lit up with joy as he took it, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Thank you, Liam. You have no idea how much this means to me. I’ll pay you back someday, I promise."

I waved off his gratitude. "Don’t worry about it, Matthew. Just glad I could help."

A notification appeared in my mind. I was startled to discover that Matthew had only received one experience point for his role in the quest. I made a mental note to get the people I helped more involved next time. The more people had power, the safer the town would be.

I couldn’t wait to tell Amelia and Nate about my little adventure during training the next day.