Caster lowered his mitten hand, allowing the amber rays of the afternoon sun to shine down on his face.

“Hello?” He mumbled.

“Well, I’ll be. You are alive! I figured you were a goner after you fell headfirst onto the floor when they shut The Arena off.”

“What?” Caster's head slowly toward the source of the voice.

As his blurry vision began to focus, he realized he wasn’t on the battlefield anymore. His new environment was sleek, dignified, and serene.

Dangling from the ceiling was a modest chandelier, all of its 24 candles were lit. The floor was draped with a sprawling rug that intricately laced all strands. At the foot of the lounging couch Caster lay on was a short, marble-white pillar that carried an onyx vase. The walls were ashen stone and stood perfectly smooth and flat. The floor was a deep and dark brown wood. A soothing incense aroma flowed into the room from the doorway that connected the room to a long, unseen hallway.

Caster’s eyes froze as they locked onto what was standing inside the room’s oaken doorframe.

Leaning there, with hands in her pockets, was a female titan.

She was wearing armor, though it wasn't as much as the last titan wore. From neck to toe she was covered in dozens of smaller steel plates that were laced onto an underlayer of hardened leather armor. The leather underlayer itself seemed thick enough to easily absorb most knife attacks. Combined with the dozens of shining steel plates that generously overlapped the leather, and the half-crescent pauldron on her left shoulder, she could deflect even the fiercest swordsman’s strikes just by standing still. Caster couldn’t tell what kind of weapon she kept sheathed in an upright position on her back; he could only see its long handle wrapped in anti-slip bandages, most of the lines were covered in grime and blotches of blood.

Her face was covered in freckles and her green eyes stood in stark contrast to her frizzy mess of ember-colored hair that was tied back in two pigtails.

“Did you giants kidnap me? Why I am here!?” Caster exclaimed. He tried to swing his feet out and onto the floor, but his tiny body was simply too exhausted and his head was still throbbing.

“Woah there, I’m not gonna kill you for yer gold.” The woman approached Caster. She casually picked up a huge wooden chair from the corner, placed it within an arm’s reach of Caster’s seat, then sat, staring down at him.

She raised her right hand, palm facing toward Caster with her fingers close together. A textbox appeared over her hand.

Elenore Amberkirke Total Level: 110 Status: Peaceful Info: It's not her armor, she's just holding onto it for the Hero.

“And I’m not a giant. I’m a lady. A lady that just so happens to be only slightly taller than most other ladies. You, on the other hand, little fella, are a knee-height Minion.”

Again, Caster tried to move. His body responded this time, although weakly. His short torso crunched; his scrunched proportions were too close together to fully bend his upper body. But after a few seconds of struggle, he managed to sit upright. He felt like a child as his feet dangled from the couch. Everything seemed so huge. Even the onyx vase was taller than him.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Level Up! Strength Increased +1!

My... strength? What? This is all some kind of trick. I must have been dreaming… or am I dreaming now? Why do these titans keep calling me a Minion?!

In a desperate bid to free himself from the titan's torture, he reached back, ready to cast a Scaling Strike against the giant named 'Elenore'.

But his staff wasn’t in his hands. It wasn't in his inventory. Caster snapped his head left and right, but his items were nowhere to be seen. He couldn’t cast anything. He was completely at the mercy of this hulking monster.

“Look, I know you’re probably confused out of yer noggin, but it's safe here. Well, at least you are with me. The Agency might say otherwise when they finish their meeting, but I wouldn't worry about them too much.”

“What’s going on? I don’t know what’s happening.” Caster mumbled, lowering his head to once again bury his face inside his mittens.

“Oh, you poor thing. You don’t know what happened do you?” Instead of mocking him, the giant woman’s tone carried genuine empathy. Caster shook his head but kept his face buried.

“Well, how do I explain this… You fell out of a minigame simulation. That wouldn’t be weird if you were a person since it's people that get sent in and come out. But the thing is, they only sent two people into the Arena. So, it threw everyone off when you fell out with them. Since you’re a Minion and all. You’re not really supposed to… exist, I guess. So, congratulations on becoming alive!”

“I'm not supposed to exist?” Caster asked. “But I feel real - and I’m not a Minion! I’m a person, and I always have been!”

“Okay, okay! If you say so then I believe you bud. I’m on yer side.”

“Where am I?”

“You’re in Mainhelm, at The Agency Headquarters. The break room, to be exact.” The woman spread her arms wide, motioning around the room. “Oh, where are my manners. I showed you my card and forgot to introduce myself. I’m Elenore Amberkirke, I’m from the Blasted Hills. I’m an intern here at the Agency. I mostly do errands for my town’s Legends when they don't want to.”

Caster stared at her; a blank expression washed over his face.

I have no idea what she’s talking about. Do I even want to keep asking questions? I’ve never heard of any of those places before. Did I fall into crazy land?

“What about you, short stuff? What’s yer name?”

“I’m not short, I’m average height,” Caster grunted.

“Well sure, fer a dwarf.” Caster glared at Elenore for a moment.

“My name is… I’m…” Caster stopped. It was on the tip of his tongue.

What’s my name?

Caster sat, dumbfounded. “I can’t remember my name. But I know where I’m from! I live in B... B…” Again, he couldn’t remember something so simple. He loved his hometown. The memory was right there in his mind, but it was gone now. Eclipsed by a void of forgetfulness.

“Maybe when you bonked yer head yer mind got all jumbled. I’ve seen it happen plenty. I’m sure they’ll come back to you soon enough. Maybe I should just call you by a nickname for now? It'll be nicer than calling you Minion all the time.”

“Nickname? Like what?”

“Well... yer a mage-type right? At least that's the technically correct name you got in the Arena. But where I’m from, we call ‘em casters, since the way y'all cast spells looks a lot like how we cast our fishing lines. So… how about Caster?”

Caster thought about it for a moment. The way he would reach his arm back to cast Scaling Strike did look identical to the classic fisherman’s cast. He shrugged.

“Caster it is.”

Ability Learned! Say My Name!

This Ability allows the user to Taunt an opponent. When Taunted, an enemy will become Enraged, dealing 2x Damage and taking 2x Damage until out of battle. Level 5 Occult Requirement. Costs 20 Mana. 3 Second Casting time.

Nobody likes a bragging taunter, especially one that uses the 'Point Down' emote!

Equip Ability? [Yes] No

Error! Occult Stat Requirement Not Met! Ability Not Equipped!

What's this? A new Ability?! What do you mean I can't equip it!? Well, I guess I'll just have to level my Occult Stat after I figure out what the hell is going on!