Somewhere on Earth
Jeremiah sat at his desk in the police station with a pencil in his hand and a pensive frown on his face. In front of him was the same sheet of paper he had stared at for a few years now. It was a simple thing, just connected circles with words inside, but it helped him think. Or, more importantly, remember.
There has to be something more. Some angle that I haven’t considered. He thought as his eyes scanned over the words “Comic-Con,” “TDL Industries,” “OmniverseEngine,” and even one for “Megan Pope - Internationally wanted thief.”
“Cole,” came the chief’s voice. He was only slightly frustrated, so Jeremiah ignored him and continued.
The Megan Pope lead went nowhere. But there must be someone I missed-
“Cole!” came the voice of a slightly more agitated chief. However, Jeremiah was in the middle of something.
Maybe if I review footage from the surrounding area. Then I could-
“Jeremiah Cole!”
Jeremiah knew that level of irritation meant his time was up.
“Yes, chief?” he replied.
“How many times have I told you not to work on that conspiracy theory?”
Jeremiah thought for a moment. He could tell the question was rhetorical but decided to answer it anyway. “Including this one, I think you’re up to 187,” Jeremiah stated.
Chief Wendsworth scowled. “Then why are you still working on it?”
Jeremiah could have given the rebuttal that his entire caseload was finished or tried to argue that it wasn’t a conspiracy theory. He even had made those arguments before. Which is why he knew that was a waste of time.
“Why am I working on the case of the Comic-Con disappearances?” Jeremiah asked in a flat monotone. “What are you talking about? What Comic-Con disappearances? No important cases happened at the Comic-Con four years ago.”
As always, Chief Wendsworth’s eyes glazed over. Jeremiah quietly put the paper away, just in time for the chief to shake his head.
“What were we talking about?” he asked.
“If you can’t remember, it must not have been important,” Jeremiah replied. The chief stuck around for a few more seconds but eventually left for his office.
Jeremiah waited until he was out of the room before surreptitiously pulling out the sheet of paper.
It had taken him a while to get past… whatever it was that affected anyone he talked to about the case. Jeremiah was unsure how many times he himself had forgotten about the case, and it didn’t help matters that his research often disappeared. Physical, digital, even if he entrusted it to someone else, it still vanished without a trace.
… At least, he thought it did. The only surviving evidence was that single sheet of paper that he always kept with him. From an objective standpoint, that would almost certainly point to Jeremiah going insane, but his psych tests returned negative. At least they came back negative for any issues like that.
Finally, if he was going insane, there was little that he could do about that, whereas if he wasn’t…
The detective stood up, stretched, and then headed for the door.
I haven’t checked any recordings of the surrounding area, according to my notes. That is the next area that I’m likely to find some type of lead.
And so he went. He checked around the area for any businesses that had external cameras. After just an hour of searching, he hit the jackpot.
“Excuse me,” Jeremiah said as he went into the store. “May I speak with someone in charge here?” he asked the store clerk.
“Uhh… yeah. I can get the manager,” the young woman behind the desk replied. “Is something the matter, officer?”
He shook his head. “No. I just had some questions about your security footage. No one here is in trouble.”
He attempted to give her his patented reassuring smile, but given the wide-eyed look she gave in response he knew that he had flubbed it.
I might need to practice my facial expressions again. Jeremiah thought.
People were so hard to deal with in comparison to the law, and that was likely what had pushed Jeremiah to become an officer. The laws made sense. They could be memorized, and in an ideal situation, they would apply equally to everyone.
People were more difficult. If anyone were naïve and said there weren’t rules for how to act or what to say when you were among people, they would be completely and utterly wrong. That would not have been a problem for Jeremiah if not for the fact that none of the rules were written down.
While the frightened young woman ran to get the manager, Jeremiah looked at his face in the mirror.
After a few attempts, he finally got his “reassuring smile” back into place.
The good news was that the interaction didn’t matter. The manager was helpful, and the store even kept their camera recordings for the past seven years just in case.
He thanked them for their help and then began the arduous task of reviewing footage. He was looking for… something.
He fast-forwarded to the day of the Comic-Con as he thought.
I am not even sure what I could find that would help the investigation. Maybe someone entering or leaving that I hadn’t accounted for? Or-
He froze and paused the recording. He rewound it and then played it slowly through again.
It was a simple view of the street. There were dozens of people crossing throughout the day, many of whom were headed toward the convention. There were even several who were in costume.
That wasn’t what captured his attention. He slowed it down.
Right… there. He thought as he paused the recording.
A familiar face appeared on the screen.
Potential victim Jacob Smith. Declared deceased, car wreck.
Apparently, Jeremiah could remember the details about the 1001 victims when he was faced directly with one of them, but as soon as he looked away, he struggled to remember once more.
However, Jacob appeared for no more than three frames. Then, there was a brief flash of white for a single frame. After that? An entire minute of missing data. The recording simply jumped past it.
Something did happen. He thought. But the data has been scrubbed.
Jeremiah asked the manager about anyone else viewing the footage but got a negative. Then, he reviewed the store’s other cameras to see if there had been a break-in, but he didn’t find anything there either.
However, for the first time in quite a while, Jeremiah had something to add to his sheet of paper. He jotted a quick note down about Jacob Smith, the cameras, and scrubbed footage and then looked around for other stores that might have leads.
His next two attempts were busts, but he was shocked when he got to the third.
“Hello, mystery VIP,” he murmured as he reviewed the footage of a young Caucasian male walking up to the Comic-Con entrance and flashing a VIP badge.
He had no data on that young man, and he was sure of it. So, the next step was to trace back where he came from.
That effort took the better part of two weeks, but Jeremiah eventually tracked him back to a hotel… that had no record of his stay. Or, rather, they had a record that someone had stayed there, but they could not tell Jeremiah how he paid, his name, or even when he checked out.
It was a complete dead end, but the mystery VIP earned a spot on Jeremiah’s notes as he walked back to his house.
I am getting close to something. Jeremiah thought as he stopped at a crosswalk with not another soul or car around. I can tell. I just need to pursue this lead.
The walk sign turned on, and Jeremiah entered the crosswalk… and immediately noticed the truck that appeared out of nowhere.
Even as his eyes took in everything odd about the truck, the damage to its front as if it had run into a beam, the lack of a license plate, and the fact that there was no driver, he dove back onto the curb.
He never in a million years would have expected the truck to jerk to the right and jump the curb as well.
He closed his eyes and waited for the impact.
It never came.
He opened his eyes and then blinked to adjust to the low light he suddenly found himself in. He was outdoors on a dark night with an orange pillar next to him. His eyes scanned the area, and he took in the city around him that could be best described as “medieval.”
This is an adequate afterlife. Jeremiah thought as he continued looking around. There is much less fire than that irate old woman I arrested claimed there would be.
However, no sooner had that thought finished than several things happened at once.
A red, blue, and green bar appeared in his vision, a shimmering white light came from his hip holster, and words flooded in front of his eyes.
System: A new Hero has been summoned
System: Congratulations! You have been chosen as the new Hero of Placeholder!
System: Your base class has been set to Watch Officer
Jeremiah frowned as he mentally updated his assumption from “afterlife” to “in a coma with delusions of grandeur.”
Jeremiah’s delusions also came with a free video game health bar. He wasn’t sure what to make of that.
When was the last time I saw something like this? Jeremiah asked himself. The red and the green bars at least seemed vaguely familiar. He eventually placed them as health and stamina from… that one game his childhood “friends” had claimed was impossible.
Jeremiah never quite knew what their problem was. The game gave you a roll that made you invincible during it, and the enemies all had incredibly easy-to-spot tells for each of their attack patterns.
He got bored of it quickly, and he was never quite sure why everyone else claimed it was so hard.
He shook his head to clear away those thoughts and focused back on his situation. He was either in a coma, and none of this mattered, or this was some strange type of afterlife, and he should be careful.
Since caution wouldn’t hurt him, he decided it would be best not to test out what exactly the bars meant. That same caution also urged him to find somewhere to stay the night.
Jeremiah wandered around town. He saw some places that looked like stores and was grateful that he could at least read the signs. However, he didn’t see a single soul or anywhere that looked like a hotel or inn.
He wisely stuck to the parts of the city that were illuminated by the streetlights of a strange construction he didn’t recognize, but despite that, he eventually noticed that he had a follower.
He only ever caught them out of the corner of his eye, and they kept quite a distance from him, but it was a follower nonetheless.
Fortunately, he ran across two armored men with glowing lanterns who Jeremiah assumed had to be some type of night watch.
“[Halt] citizen!” one called as they noticed Jeremiah.
Jeremiah suddenly felt his legs lock up as he stood in place. Interesting.
“What are you doing out this late at night?” he asked as he brought the lantern closer.
“Looking for someplace to stay,” Jeremiah replied even as the lantern light washed over the second man, and Jeremiah got a look at his pointed ears. A genetic defect?
“He’s dressed rather strangely,” the other man muttered.
“Are you homeless?” the man ignored his partner and continued the questioning.
“Yes,” Jeremiah replied. However, that was the wrong answer, given the disgust and annoyance that briefly passed over both of their faces. Jeremiah activated his reassuring smile and continued. “But that is just because I only made it into town tonight. I have been having difficulties locating a hotel or inn.”
His smile must have come out correctly this time because the two men relaxed a bit.
Jeremiah frowned briefly as he realized another issue. “However, I am not certain that I have any of the local currency. You don’t happen to take U.S. dollars or Visacard, do you?”
Unfortunately, the possibly-in-a-coma detective didn’t have much time to enjoy the confused looks they gave him.
His follower was back.
With friends.
“I don’t suppose you called for backup?” Jeremiah asked.
“No, why?” the pointy-eared one replied.
“Ah. Then we may be in trouble.” Jeremiah nodded with his head back to where five figures were slowly approaching them and then ahead on the street where there were six more.
The two night watchmen pulled swords out of thin air and faced the incoming men.
“[Halt] citizens!” they called in unison. The men stopped, but only for a few moments before they continued walking closer.
“Why, [Watch Officers], pleasant evenin’ isn’t it?”
One of the “watch officers” made his lantern disappear and reached for the strange object on his collar.
The man tsked.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he continued walking up. “You see, the man you’re protecting there was stupid enough to walk around with a priceless weapon hanging from his hip. Not 10,000 gold. Not a million gold. Priceless. You know what that means, right?”
“Son of a dave,” the officer said in a tone that indicated it was a swear. “If they have a buyer for that, three counts of murder wouldn’t be much of a deterrent.” He shot a brief scowl at Jeremiah. “And don’t you know it’s illegal to brandish a weapon in town?”
“My apologies, officer,” Jeremiah replied. “I will be sure to pay the fine and/or jail time as soon as this situation is over.”
“So, why don’t you both do us all a favor?” the leader of the most-likely-criminals continued. “Why don’t both of you officers take a walk? Then the rest of us will have a nice, polite chat with your friend over there. Understood?”
The two officers shared a look and then a grim nod.
“We refuse,” the man stated. “We swore an oath to serve and protect, and we won’t abandon a citizen to die.”.
“A pity,” the leader stated. “Then we’ll have to do this the hard way.”
Unfortunately, Jeremiah was unsure that they had done anything illegal yet. He was uncertain of the city’s laws, and he didn’t think standing around menacingly and making implied threats was technically illegal.
However, they looked like they were about to do something that was definitely illegal, which meant Jeremiah only had a small amount of time to confirm something.
“Is it legal to use lethal force against a criminal?” Jeremiah asked.
“As [Watch Officers]?” the pointed-eared man asked. “No. Just non-lethal.”
That put a slight damper on Jeremiah’s plans, but he didn’t have long to consider it.
Three things happened nearly simultaneously.
“Get ‘em!” the leader shouted as he and his men pulled out weapons.
“This is unit 7 requesting all available units-“ the officer screamed into the strange object.
And Jeremiah had his justification.
Illegal brandishing of a weapon.
He took a sidestep so that the officer was no longer in his line of fire, drew his pistol, and aimed with a single fluid motion. He squeezed the trigger and let the recoil surprise him, just like he had trained.
However, he was much less surprised than everyone else as the gunshot boomed out, and the criminal leader collapsed. They all stood in shock as he aimed down his sights at the next criminal’s leg and fired a second time.
He would have greatly preferred to shoot at their torsos as they were an easier target, but the law was the law, and he needed to do his best to use non-lethal force.
Unfortunately, while Jeremiah was the most accurate shot on the police force, he was not the fastest shot. That meant that by the time he was aiming down his sights at his third target, the criminals had all come to their senses and ran for their lives while screaming.
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He had to let them go because he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t hit anything vital with the distance they quickly put between them and him. Also, he had concerns that he may have broken the law after all.
“The men I shot are neither moving nor crying out in pain,” Jeremiah stated to the stunned watch officers. “I believe I may have inadvertently killed them. If so, I would like to turn myself in so that the law can be appropriately applied.” He held his firearm towards the stunned man whose “radio” was squawking.
Fortunately, his partner came to his senses and jogged over to the criminals.
“Nope,” he said after a moment. “Still breathing. No indications of a bleeding condition. Seems like a standard non-lethal takedown to me.”
The man finally answered his “radio” with the reply, “Dispatch, the situation has been handled. Requesting one additional unit for criminal escort.” He took the gun from Jeremiah anyway after making his sword disappear into thin air.
“I will be confiscating this for now, however,” he grumbled. After a brief moment, it also vanished.
Given that his pistol had just disappeared with no fanfare, and the officer’s body language indicated that it was nothing special, Jeremiah finally decided it would be a good time to ask about that.
“How did you do that?” he asked.
The officer gave him a strange look. “Do what?”
“Make my firearm disappear.” Jeremiah paused. “Speaking of, where did it go?”
“Into… my inventory?”
The confused officer and Jeremiah stared at each other until the officer finally caved.
“Look, it’s just in my inventory. See?” the officer started motioning with his hand but froze. “The Hero’s Pistol,” he stated. “You’re the [Hero]?”
Jeremiah thought for a brief moment. The strange text in his vision had said he was a [Hero], but he wasn’t exactly sure what that entailed. He needed more information. “Possibly?”
“What am I even saying?” the officer seemed to ignore Jeremiah’s answer. “You have a Hero weapon. You showed up in town the same night System told us you were summoned, and you don’t seem to be from around here.”
The pistol reappeared in the officer’s hand.
“Here,” he said. “Can’t have a [Hero] without his weapon.”
“I refuse,” Jeremiah replied. “I have not yet paid my fine.”
The officer chuckled. “Don’t worry about that! You’re the [Hero]! And you came from a different world! We don’t have to go through with the fine. I’m sure that-“
“I insist,” Jeremiah stated flatly.
The officer chuckled… until he saw that Jeremiah was serious.
Very serious.
-------
Jeremiah learned a lot about the world that he found himself in just in the short trip to the station. He learned the world’s name, about levels and skills, but most importantly, he learned about his inventory and was finally able to put his pistol away and pay his fine (his inventory came with 100 gold and a health potion, apparently).
The surprising thing was that the information about him coming from another world was kept under wraps. He initially assumed that it was because that might cause panic, but it turned out that it was more for his safety.
Level 1 [Heroes] are not terribly strong, and there were those out there who would try to kill him. That, in turn, led to the creation of a cover story for him where he was from a remote city, moved to Jenkins, and joined the Watch. The last part was due to Jeremiah insisting that the “System” had set his base class to [Watch Officer].
None of them had ever heard of a [Watch Officer] [Hero] before, but it didn’t seem to be too much of a stretch since they had never really had a repeat [Hero] before. They had a [Warrior], a [Cleric], a [Ranger], and several others without a single repetition yet. In fact, one of them may have even been a [Janitor].
Jeremiah said that a [Janitor] [Hero] didn’t sound very strong, but the look they gave him said that was a social taboo. He quickly apologized and then wondered whether or not he would be waking up from the strange dream any time soon.
After that, he was given a tour of the station, and he thought things were relatively advanced for their tech level. They had “radios,”… which ran on magic rather than actual radio waves. They had standard-issue armor as their uniform (which Jeremiah changed into immediately). And they even had separate rooms that they used for criminal interrogation.
Overall, he was impressed, at least, until he came upon such a poor excuse of an interrogation.
------
“I see that our assailant is being questioned already,” Jeremiah stated as they watched from outside the room. Given that the criminal looked over at them, it appeared that they didn’t have one-way glass figured out yet. They also were unable to hear any of the proceedings in the room from outside.
“Yes,” the [Watch Officer], who Jeremiah had learned was named Scott, replied. “Though, it’s not looking like we’re learning much.”
Jeremiah mentally agreed. The officer in the room was frowning and kept looking at a crystal after every question he asked.
The distraction made him miss that the man was hiding something, if not outright lying.
“I have not yet examined the legal code for Jenkins,” Jeremiah stated. “Is there any law prohibiting me from joining in on the interrogation?”
Scott scrunched his eyebrows as he thought. “Uhh. No. At least not that I can think- Wait!”
The last exclamation was due to Jeremiah striding over to the door and letting himself in.
“Jeremiah Cole, officer of the Jenkins’ Watch. I assume you have already been told your rights, and I will join in asking you a few questions.”
“I already have this interrogation under control, officer. Go back outside-“
Jeremiah dismissed him with a shake of his head. “That is clearly false. You are more interested in what that crystal is doing than interrogating the subject.”
“But the truth stone-“
“Is inadequate,” Jeremiah stated flatly. He hadn’t been sure what the device was for, but it seemed likely they might have a polygraph equivalent if the Watch had something equivalent to a radio.
That meant that it was likely just as reliable... Barely at all.
Jeremiah placed his hands on the table and stared at the criminal. “I am not so easy to beat.”
Jeremiah stared at the man. It was not exactly the most intimidating thing, but Jeremiah had been told that the way he made eye contact was unnerving… or, less politely, creepy.
He stared for several seconds until he could see the man starting to squirm.
Jeremiah broke eye contact and looked at the other [Watch Officer].
“Go ahead and repeat the questions,” he stated. “And this time, I’ll judge whether he’s lying or not.”
The other [Watch Officer] seemed like he was going to protest, but Scott had decided to enter the room. With a sigh, he said, “Go ahead and humor him, Jarod.”
“Fine,” he grumbled. “Not paid enough for this dave jelly,” he muttered in a tone that he must have thought was too low for Jeremiah to hear.
“Please state your name,” Jarod asked.
“Nathan Williams,” the criminal replied.
“True,” Jeremiah replied.
“Of course it is,” the criminal snorted. “Why would I-”
“But that doesn’t mean it was the full truth,” Jeremiah interrupted. “You’re hiding something. Is Nathan Williams an alias?”
The man’s eyes widened slightly.
“So, Nathan Williams is an alias. What name were you given at birth?” Jeremiah pressed.
“Nathan Williams,” the man replied. However, gone was the confident and smug attitude that his body language had betrayed even from the other room.
“Lie,” Jeremiah said.
“Now, just a minute!” Jarod objected. “The truth stone hasn’t picked that up as a lie!”
“Do you have any skills, spells, or magical items that would allow you to beat a truth stone?” Jeremiah asked the criminal.
“No,” he replied.
“Lie!” Jeremiah stated as he slammed his hands on the table.
He was not truly upset, but he was leaving his options open to establishing himself as the bad cop of a good cop, bad cop routine. That interrogation tactic did work much better against people who hadn’t heard of it before, after all.
The criminal was shaken. “I… I already answered all your questions. And this maniac doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”
That is not good. Jeremiah thought. If he can convince the others, I may be-
His concern was unfounded. Scott held up the no-longer-shining stone. “It would seem the ‘maniac’ does know what he’s talking about.”
Three pairs of eyes bored into the criminal.
The man swallowed. “I… would like my [Lawyer] now.”
------
It turned out that what they had assumed was a simple mugging was just the surface of something much more sinister. At least, that was the direction Jeremiah saw it taking. However, he didn’t get to spend all of his time focused on the new case. He did have some duties as a [Watch Officer] and a [Hero].
His duties as the latter included…
“What are those green blobs, and why did we come out of town to kill them?” Jeremiah asked Scott.
“We’re out here to get you some levels,” Scott replied. “You’re only a level 1 [Watch Officer] right now-“ he gave Jeremiah an unnecessary look that told him to keep his mouth shut about that particular lie. Then he continued. “-so we need to run you through a dungeon and have you kill a boss as soon as possible.”
“And this Dave Paradise is a dungeon?”
“Yes, now shut up and get back to fighting, or we’ll be here all day.”
Jeremiah was still not very comfortable with a sword, but he made do. He could have made much shorter work of any of those strange monsters if he was willing to use his pistol, but Scott had warned him that he should only use that when absolutely necessary.
Either way, he picked up some levels, letting him buy some skills. Scott recommended that he pick up [Swordsmanship], [Halt], [Detect], and then if there was a skill for his firearm, he should get that.
There was no skill that Jeremiah could see that seemed related to his pistol. However, he picked up the first two skills without issue. The problem came with [Detect]. He hadn’t understood his status page as thoroughly as he thought and he received different messages when he tried to purchase that one.
System: Cannot purchase already owned skill. Would you like to upgrade instead?
He didn’t have any other skills he needed, so he figured he might as well. “Yes.”
System: Applying experience retroactively for Detect
System: New Achievement. Skill Master. Class Perk Points Gained 5
“Scott, what do I do with these perk points?” Jeremiah asked.
“Oh yeah, you should have got 5 for clearing the dungeon. I’d pick up some extra health. You never know when you’ll need that on the Watch.”
Jeremiah did so.
“And with my other… 6?” he asked.
“What achievement did you get that gave you 6 perk points?” Scott whispered furiously.
Jeremiah paused. “How do I check?” he whispered in response.
“Look at your stats and then go to the achievements tab.”
Jeremiah followed his directions but was slightly confused. He had received one achievement for getting a skill to level 5… and another for getting a skill to level 10.
He checked his skill page and saw that the skill in question was [Detect].
“I got the perk points for getting a skill to level 10,” Jeremiah stated. He had a follow-up question that was answered purely by Scott’s expression. “Ah, so that is good.”
“Good?” Scott continued whispering. “Good!? Level 10 is unheard of! That’s something that people devote their entire life to achieving, and then only the greatest ever make it! That’s something that [Heroes] do or-“
Scott trailed off.
“You just remembered I am a [Hero], didn’t you?” Jeremiah asked.
Scott shook his head, not to say no, but out of frustration. “I swear the [Hero] class is unfair,” he finally grumbled. “If it wasn’t needed for taking out the [Demon Lord], I would go to church just to complain to System about it.”
“[Demon Lord]?” Jeremiah asked.
“Oh, son of a dave,” Scott cursed. “Yeah, that’s the other thing we’ll need to explain to you-“
This sounded increasingly like a children’s story where a chosen hero was called to battle the forces of evil.
“I’m not interested,” Jeremiah stated flatly.
Scott looked at him in shock for a moment.
“My priority as a [Watch Officer] is to uphold the law-“ Jeremiah continued.
“The [Demon Lord] is wanted on innumerable counts of… just about everything,” Scott interrupted.
It was Jeremiah’s turn to pause. “Understood. Where do I find him?”
-------
Scott, of course, didn’t have an answer to that question. He did, however, have a place where he could get a brief glimpse into the mind of the [Demon Lord]… or at least the previous ones.
And that was how a living [Hero] ended up in the Hall of [Heroes] and [Demon Lords].
Not that Jeremiah was interested in that other hallway.
Titus the Traitor. He read as he came to the first statue of a [Demon Lord].
The statue was taller and had horns and additional facial features, but that wasn’t enough to fool Jeremiah.
“Hello, mystery VIP,” he stated softly.
He was now on the trail of his most significant lead. It had only taken him being transported to another world, and the lead would only require him to catch an elusive criminal mastermind who had evaded everyone else for decades.
-------
“Are you sure this is the place?” Scott asked Jeremiah as they stood outside a building on the outskirts of Jenkins. There was a consistent ringing of hammer on metal coming from inside.
“Yes,” Jeremiah stated. “The man going by the alias Nathan Williams gave up that they were working for an unknown man disguised as an elf. They had also tried to rob him of a staff. The staff was made by a master [Enchanter] known as Elnil and was sold to Filarion Silverleaf at auction. Filarion is the key to their organization.”
“If he’s an [Enchanter], then why are we at a [Blacksmith’s] house?” Scott asked.
“This was his last known address,” Jeremiah stated. He knocked on the door.
There was no response.
He knocked louder, but the same thing happened.
He was about to go for round three when Scott sighed.
“They probably can’t hear you from in there,” he said. “One second.” Scott cleared his throat and then bellowed. “Jenkins Watch! We have some questions for you. Please open up!”
The hammering stopped after a moment, and Jeremiah was impressed.
“Was that a skill?” he asked.
“[Project Voice],” Scott said sheepishly. “I… kept my [Actor] levels when I became a [Watch Officer].”
That seemed like a strange pick to Jeremiah, and he was going to ask about it when the door opened and a short woman- no, a female dwarf answered the door.
“This better be good,” she stated gruffly. “I was in the middle of making mithril gauntlets, and you’ll be paying for them if they’re ruined.”
“Apologies,” Scott interjected before Jeremiah could. “We were actually hoping to speak to Elnil?”
She rolled her eyes. “Elnil!” she called into the house. “Elnil!” she yelled louder. Then she sighed. “One second. That stick carver probably has his headphones on. I’ll send him out to you.”
The door shut, and they heard the woman stomp away. The officers then heard what sounded like a slap and a brief heated discussion.
After that, a male dwarf opened the door.
“This better be good,” he stated gruffly. “I was in the middle of enchanting a staff of fireball, and if it’s ruined, so help me, you’re going to pay for it.”
“Elnil Mastercarver, correct?” asked Scott. The dwarf nodded. “We have some questions for you regarding a certain Filarion Silverleaf who may-“
That was as far as he got. Even with Jeremiah’s perception, he only caught the barest hint of panic in the dwarf’s eyes before the door slammed shut in their faces.
Jeremiah and Scott looked at each other before Jeremiah knocked on the door again.
“Go away!” came Elnil’s voice. “I don’t know anyone by that name! And if you interrupt my crafting again, I will press charges!”
That was as much of a lead as any. Not because Elnil was lying, in fact, Jeremiah could sense that he was mostly telling the truth, but because he could barely discern the panic that was in Elnil’s voice upon hearing that name.
There were several options for what he could do as a [Watch Officer], but Jeremiah decided on none of them.
“Sir, I am the [Hero] of Placeholder,” Jeremiah stated. “I can protect you from whoever has something on you, but I will need your cooperation.”
“Are you sure you should be telling them-“ Scott started to ask but was interrupted as the door opened again.
“You’re the [Hero]?” Elnil asked suspiciously. “Prove it.”
Jeremiah opened his status and then flipped it over to the old dwarf.
“Thorgrala!” Elnil shouted back into the house. “The [Hero’s] at the door! Quick! Get the armor!” He turned and looked at the officers. “Stay right there, and I’ll… No, what am I saying? Come in, come in!”
Jeremiah followed behind him. “Sir, I still have some additional questions about Filarion.”
Elnil continued as if he hadn’t heard Jeremiah. The [Enchanter] continued yelling for the dwarven woman, even as Scott pulled Jeremiah aside.
“I’ve seen this before,” he whispered. “He’s under a [System-Bound Oath]. Likely a strictly worded one to not reveal anything. We’re probably on the right track, but we won’t get much from those two.”
As Scott was speaking, Thorgrala came back into the room and scowled. “That tallfolk is the [Hero]? He doesn’t look like one to me.”
“I saw his status, you stubborn old mule!” Elnil replied.
“Well, I won’t believe it until I see his weapon! Where’s the [Hero’s] weapon, you codgy old stick carver?”
Without another word, Jeremiah pulled out his pistol, dropped the magazine, racked the slide, and handed it over to her.
She humphed as she looked it over. “Well, it certainly looks like a [Hero’s] weapon, but what does [Appraise Weapon] have to say about…” Her eyes popped open in shock. “This would tear through even my best armor like I was an apprentice fooling around with copper! What is this thing!?”
“A standard issue weapon for the [Watch Officers] in my world,” Jeremiah stated as he took the weapon back. “Though, it may have become stronger on my arrival here.”
“Remind me never to try to make armor for a war against Earth,” Thorgrala muttered to Elnil. Then she shook her head. “Well, that’s enough proof for me. Here, this is for you.”
She walked up to Jeremiah and opened a trade window. He accepted, she passed an entire suit of armor over to him, and then Jeremiah paused.
“This is not a bribe, is it?” he asked.
“By Pumil’s beard! No!” Thorgrala replied. “We just wanted to make sure that the [Hero] would be as safe as possible.”
“Very well,” Jeremiah said. “I accept this in my official capacity as [Hero] and not as an officer of the Watch.”
The three others stared at Jeremiah expectantly.
“Is there something else?” Jeremiah asked.
“Aren’t you going to try it on?” Scott asked.
Jeremiah shook his head. “I am currently on duty and must remain in uniform.”
Everyone but Jeremiah groaned.
“Stop being such a stickler for the regulations,” Scott said. “They went to the trouble of making you armor, so try it on!”
“As I said, I am on duty-“
“Nope, now you’re on a break!” Scott said as he shoved Jeremiah into another room. “Try the armor on, and stop being rude to the two masters who made it for you!”
Jeremiah did suppose that he was technically allowed to change during a break. So, he did so.
Then, he walked back into the other room wearing the complete set of white and gold plate armor.
“This is lighter than I expected,” Jeremiah said.
Thorgrala nodded. “That’s because we set the base mode to be mithril. Go ahead and say ‘activate adamantium mode.’”
“Activate adamantium mode,” Jeremiah stated. The armor shifted dark… and significantly heavier. “I am not sure I like this mode. What other modes are there?”
“As many as you would like,” Elnil stated. “Pull out your Watch armor for a second.”
Jeremiah pulled it out, piece by piece, and one by one Elnil touched the pieces to their counterpart.
“Now, try activating Watch Officer mode,” Elnil said.
“Activate Watch Officer mode,” Jeremiah stated.
His armor reconfigured… and then he was standing in a near replica of his standard-issue Watch armor.
“That is so unfair,” Scott grumbled.
“There’s also an everyday mode for casual wear and a formal mode in case you need to go to a party with some fancy-pants [Noble] or something,” Thorgrala added.
Jeremiah switched between all of them before settling back to Watch Officer mode.
“The only thing you must remember is that your resistances will change a lot based on what you pick, so make sure to pick the right set for the job,” Elnil said.
“Thank you. I will make good use of this,” Jeremiah stated. “However, I also have some additional questions for you.”
There was a brief moment of panic before both of them started tidying up and ignoring him.
“Have either of you done something illegal?” he asked.
“No!” Thorgrala answered truthfully.
“But you have done something that you regret.”
The two master crafters held hands and then nodded. “Yes. Yes, we have,” Elnil replied.
“Thank you, that is all. I will make good use of the armor you’ve given me,” Jeremiah stated.
Jeremiah left the house with a stunned Scott following behind.
“We’re leaving just like that?” Scott asked. “They almost admitted to something!”
Jeremiah shook his head. “As you stated, they have sworn an oath that keeps them from revealing important information. That was the last key I needed.”
He paused and let Scott catch up.
“The newly discovered zone north of the town that was made by the [Demon Lord]. The unknown magic used by Filarion that is likely more powerful than what he showed to his subordinate. And finally, the oath that he was able to convince those two to swear so that they won’t tell us anything about him when they have done nothing illegal.”
“All that means?” Scott asked.
“They unknowingly aided the [Demon Lord]. That means that Filarion and [Demon Lord] are connected if not the same person,” Jeremiah stated. “It also means that he has backers. Come with me. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
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To say that Jeremiah did a number on my operations would be an understatement. If not for the compartmentalized nature of what I’d been doing, everything would have folded like a house of cards.
Instead, they folded like a house of cards that were encased in… I dunno, molasses or something. Still falling in a terrible and irrecoverable manner, but at least you could kind of try to stabilize some parts as it fell if you let your hands get sticky.
… I think that analogy got away from me a bit.
Anyway, it was [Hero] versus secret organizations, and the [Hero] was winning by a landslide. A majority of the Syndicate’s presence was uncovered, and many loopholes in the law we’d been exploiting were closed up.
The children of flame fared better, but not much. Thanks to the [Hero’s] efforts, the Watch captured and interrogated three of the nine [Speakers of Flame] that I had leveled to 25.
The only reason that was faring better? The class… kinda… well…
It had a suicide skill.
[For the Demon Lord].
It instantly killed the user and immolated the surrounding area in black flame.
I had kinda been hoping one of them would get a lucky break and kill the [Hero] with it, but I quickly received word that he had received some shining white and gold armor that seemed to make him immune to the flames.
That put a damper on my mood.
Anyway, those two organizations managed to make it through by having them essentially suspend what they were doing while the [Hero] was out looking. I even stopped my attempts that I had been marking to expand into Jenkins and Dryadal (not Pumil because I still didn’t think I had a good way to impersonate a dwarf).
It wasn’t all bad news for me, though. The Embers were still going strong. In fact, they even got quite a huge reputation boost when they used some of their magicite stockpiles in a ritual to cure a section of Gram that had been zombified by a Heart of Undeath.
Yes, I was the one that caused it. No, no one got hurt. It was basically just a harmless PR stunt.
… Probably.
However, the [Hero] was quickly becoming a problem, and I needed to come up with a solution. That meant I needed to meet him in person to make him a valid target for [Scry].
The plan was simple. Just meet in the same city, pass by him on the street while [Disguise Self] was active, and boom. Mission complete.
I should have listened to the part of me that was nervous about the plan.
--------
June 10th, 324 AA
Approximately 35 years after respawn, approximately 17 years left on the survival quest
I stood on the busy streets of Gram and pretended to window shop for a bit. I knew the [Hero] was in town, and he would be headed my way soon.
I was in my full armor set, excluding my helmet, but I was disguised as a young male human. A feat that I could pull off much better than in the past decades because my body seemed to have finished its reverse aging process.
There was no reason to suspect that I was in Gram, and no one had managed to see past my illusions yet, but I still couldn’t shake the nervousness I felt.
I should back out. Part of me said. I don’t really need to be able to [Scry] him, do I?
However, I beat that treacherous part of me down with cold logic.
If I don’t know where the [Hero] is, I can’t tell when he’ll be coming for me. Better a threat I can see than one I can’t.
Speak of the [Hero], and he appeared. He rounded the street corner with a contingent of other [Watch Officers], and I returned to studying the flower display in front of me.
My heart hammered in my chest as he walked down the street… and past my position.
I let out a breath I didn’t even need to hold and then walked away.
I made it. Now, I just need-
“You there, [Halt],” I heard a voice call to me.
There was no chance to play clueless. His skill had stopped me specifically.
“Is there a problem, officer?” I asked as I turned and faced the [Hero].
We locked eyes for the briefest of moments, but it felt like the entire world slowed down.
He knew.
I took off at a dead sprint and pushed through the crowd.
Even if he can see through illusions, he still has to catch me. That means I just have to-
My thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a gunshot.
Normally in that scenario, a simple sound like that wouldn’t have been enough to stop me. I would have just kept going while taking into account that his [Hero] weapon happened to be several centuries advanced of anything I’d encountered yet.
There was just one problem.
By the time you hear a supersonic round, you’re already hit.
It’s hard to remember what I registered first. The excruciating pain in my chest where I’d been shot, or the empty health bar that sat on my screen.
However, I do remember what came next. It was my body falling limply to the ground and then nothingness.