“For starters,” she said, taking a seat in the grass. This might take a awhile. “Do you know what an accountant is?”
He gave her a strange look.
“That’s really what you want to know? Out of all the myriad questions you could ask me? Not where am I, Volo? What is this foreign place, Volo? Who are you, Volo, illustrious villain hunter?”
She clenched her jaw. “I thought you were supposed to be helpful. Unless that was just a ruse.”
She brought her metallic fingers to his nape, brushing them across his chin. He squirmed.
Intimidation Check (Medium)
Success!
“Err—right, right. I know of accountants. Not a class I’ve taken myself, but I know they’re one of the few classes that come in both villainous and neutral variations, although I'm not much of a class scholar, so don't ask me for any detailed comparisons.”
She frowned.
“There’s a neutral version of the class? What does that mean?”
“Exactly as it sounds,” Volo mumbled, his eyes affixed to the blade under his chin. “They’re completely different skill trees. I've never personally encountered any villainous accountants, but the neutral variant is quite common in larger cities—many merchants choose to take a level or two in it. Helps with things like business acumen, mathematics, bartering, the like.”
“I see.”
Her variation of the class had so far provided none of those things. Thankfully. That would have been dreadfully boring. She much preferred growing knives out of her hands.
“Okay. We’re getting somewhere,” Akemi said, lifting the blade from his throat. “You’ve earned the right to breathe a little.”
He took in a shallow breath, relieved.
“Now,” she continued. “Tell me, where can I get some new shoes? I’d take yours, but your feet are bigger than boulders.”
He just gawked at her.
“You’re unbelievable. Just completely without dignity.”
“What’s unbelievable is you’re still wasting my time.”
He glared at her, but complied, answering her question. “The closest village from here is Agnor’s Rest. If you can keep your murderous tendencies to yourself, you’ll probably be able to purchase some shoes from a vendor there. But the place is run by a hero—Agnor the Mage Killer—and if he or one of his lackeys sniffs you out, you’re done for. The average person can’t read your reputation straight off, but a Hero Squire can.”
“Right. Like your sniveling pal Gio.”
“Don’t talk about Gio like that,” Volo growled.
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
“Oh oh oh – careful, or you’ll make the vines angry again.”
His cheeks grew red with rage, but he eventually deflated. His ankle was starting to bleed, the thorns digging deeper into his skin.
If he upset the plant any further, he’d be in the market for a new limb.
“Okay. Agnor’s Rest. Got it.” She made a mental note. “Which direction does it lie?”
“North of here. It’s where the rest of the hero recruits are likely headed.”
“Mm. And those Planes you were talking about, what are those?”
“The Emberheart Plains,” he explained. “It’s the name of this region—and it’s where I grew up. Of course, when I was a boy, it was a rougher place to be. Lots of crooks and burglars. Villains abound. But the Runic Duke cleaned all of them up. He shed Kyndra’s light over this place, cleansing the land and banishing the Dark Lady’s followers to the shadow’s edges.”
A grin spread over his face as he talked, obviously enamored by the fairytale. The smile fell as soon as Akemi started to snore loudly in front of him.
“Ah—sorry, I thought you were telling me a bedtime story. An incredibly boring one,” she said, glaring. “This Runic Duke sounds like just the kind of guy I’d like to spill the innards of. Happen to know where he lives? An address, phone number maybe?”
“Enough! You can demean me, villain, but you will not threaten the Duke!”
He knocked his skull against hers, taking her by surprise; his temple was surprisingly hard, like a rounded boulder slamming against her forehead. Her vision doubled, and she fell backwards.
"Agh!" he cried out, using brute strength to free himself from the vine.
Through her blurred vision, she could make out his ankle bleeding profusely as he limped away. She groaned, summoning her [Orb of Pestilent Bloodlust].
"Don't think you're getting away," she seethed.
She flung the orb forward, but her aim suffered from her dizziness. The orb crashed through a sea of trees, causing birds to scatter from their nests. Her head throbbed relentlessly as she desperately swung the orb around, but there was no cry of defeat, only more falling branches and wailing wildlife.
“No,” she groaned softly.
The swarm of unhoused animals made it even harder to pinpoint his movements. She forced herself to move forward, attempting to stalk him, but with each step, the rush of blood to her ears grew more pronounced. She placed a hand on her forehead, and to her dismay, felt the warmth of blood. He had managed to land a solid blow.
“Damn it.”
She pulled up her System, checking her health. The consequent screen was blinking rapidly.
HP: 15 / 80
Tutorial Tip! You should seek a healer.
“How helpful,” she mumbled, a dark rim forming around her vision.
Defeated, she came to a halt and knelt in a pile of leaves. She sat there for a brief moment, clutching her head, until her vision cleared. The pain still throbbed, but the vertigo had subsided.
As she looked around, it astonished even her to see the extent of the havoc she had wrought in the forest. Half of the trees had their tops sheared off, and several creatures lay lifeless where they had collided with the orb.
She noticed a combat log blinking in the corner of her UI screen. It had been muted while she had been suffering from the migraine, but now came into full view.
*You have defeated a level 2 pigeon - 5xp gained*
*You have defeated a level 2 pigeon - 5xp gained*
*You have defeated a level 2 pigeon - 5xp gained*
So it looks like I can get experience purely by killing things, not only by getting achievements.
That was good to know. She scrolled back up to see if she got any experience from killing the chef back at the hall. Indeed, she had.
*You have defeated a level 15 Chef - 200xp gained*
Nice. It’s a lot less than what I got from the achievements, though. So it seems best to go after unique targets that might provide both experience and achievements if I want to optimize my growth.
Closing out all her tabs, she rose to her feet once more. She had most definitely attracted unwanted attention to herself with all that orb ruckus, and there was a high likelihood that Volo would come back with reinforcements to hunt her down. She had pretty royally pissed the guy off. All that was to say—she had to get moving.
The good news: Volo was a big guy. Big enough to leave noticeable footsteps on the muddy forest floor.
Despite the radiating pain in her head, Akemi grinned.
I think it’s time to make a visit to Agnor’s Rest.