It turned out that I had less time for navel-gazing after my defeat of the boss and Gertrude than I expected.
As the obelisk appeared in the middle of the courtyard, and my boots appeared on a pedestal next to them, the ground started rumbling furiously.
Let me guess… Load-bearing boss[1]. I grumbled internally as I sprinted to grab my boots. I swiped them off the pedestal, booked it to the obelisk, and put my hand on it.
“Port me out,” I commanded.
System: Are you sure you want to leave special instance, The Time Wastes? If you leave, you will not be able to return
The outer walls of the courtyard began crumbling, and a small fissure opened up just a foot away.
“Yes, dang it!” I shouted at the inert stone.
I felt myself be teleported… and I belatedly realized that I had seen that message before.
It said the same thing when I tried to leave the time wastes, right? I asked myself.
My conclusion was confirmed when I found myself outside… Not outside of the city which had composed the dungeon but outside of the entire zone.
I looked back at the open stretch of plain leading back towards Dryadal and muttered, “Well, hope I didn’t need anything else from there.”
I almost turned to leave, but curiosity got the better of me. The System message said that I couldn’t return once I left, but I was dying to know what that looked like.
“Probably just an invisible wall, right?” I asked as I put my hand forward towards the time wastes.
I instantly regretted that.
My arm went through the invisible barrier surrounding the time wastes, and it… well… gave me the migraine of the century as I suddenly had thousands of sensations assail me. It was as if I was experiencing every moment my arm had been in the time wastes all at once.
“Got it, don’t go back there,” I muttered as I backed away from the zone.
From there, I had a “what now?” moment. Erica would have received notification that the [Demon Lord] had retrieved the boots… which I stopped and put on while I was thinking about it.
That completed the set, and I immediately burst into black flame.
“Oh. Right.” I stated as I looked back at the menacing sight. My gauntlets and helmet were the easiest to remove of my armor pieces, so I decided to doff my gauntlets. I really wanted to keep the extra 200 HP around since it had proved so helpful.
I have the full set. I thought as I sat down on the grass and idly watched my bottomed-out MP and SP recover. I can go ahead and die now. Since Erica got the notification, I just need to enact my plan then.
I chuckled a bit. Just show up as Titus and claim I killed Titania? That should work fine. I’ll even have all the armor to back up that claim. I briefly wondered if that plan of action was a bit cruel, but I didn’t see many alternatives. I don’t know for sure that she will go back unless she has a hand in killing me personally. And without that kind of push, I doubt Erica will have it in her.
However, the only problem was that I had to actually find Erica now that we were split up. I knew she had gone for the 4th dungeon and her 2nd to last piece of armor, but I had no idea if she was still headed there or already at the last dungeon.
… Or if I had come out of the time wastes in the same century that I left.
“[Get Date],” I cast.
System: Current Date is April 5th, Year 395 Age of Adventurers
I breathed a sigh of relief as it seemed that, if anything, my jaunt through the time wastes had taken less time than it should have.
With that figured out, I just needed to find Erica without alerting her that “Titania” was alive. So, next up on the menu? Cast [Scry].
While it wouldn’t be the best way to find out where she was, [Message] would show up as Titania and ruin the charade.
And so, I waited the oh-so-torturous three minutes for my MP to recover before finally pulling out my hand mirror.
“[Scry] Erica Jensen,” I cast. The spell went through. It ate all 50 of my mana. A picture appeared on the screen, and then…
It went fuzzy and faded away.
I blinked in confusion as I felt the spell snap into pieces.
“What the frick?” I asked.
I frowned at my empty mana bar.
Maybe I just didn’t have enough mana to maintain it? I asked myself. And so, I waited until I had a few points of mana above the requisite 50 to cast my next [Scry].
It went pretty much the same.
Something weird was going on. However, I didn’t have anything better to do. So, I waited the full hour to get all my bars topped off.
Let’s try this again, shall we? I smirked to myself.
“[Scry] Erica Jensen,” I cast. As soon as the spell started fizzling, I cast again. Then again. And again.
“I can do this all day,” I muttered as the spell fizzled for the 10th time.
On the 13th attempt, I finally had success. The spell locked into place, and I was greeted by the sight of…an irate Secondavia?
“Fool! Knave! Ne’erdowell!” she shouted as she leaned into the mirror and took up nearly everything I could see. “Doth thee not understand, mortal? Thee art not welcome here! Cease! Leave! Runneth along and continue thine magical games elsewhere!”
There were a few things I got out of that irate rant.
First, the fey were now speaking a different language. That meant my perk kicked in, and I was now getting it fed back to me in English… and much more understandable English than the original version.
Second, she didn’t recognize me. And that was obvious for two of its own reasons. The first being that she was irate, but not quite the right type of irate. She was currently “this spam caller just keeps calling me and won’t leave me alone” irate, not “this spam caller just keeps calling me, and she is also the one who is responsible for the near-deathlike state of our [Queen] and the mere sight of her face is enough to drive me into an endless rage and I hope she dies and goes to a pit of burning agony that lasts twice the lifetime of the fey” irate.
… I found it a bit odd that I was pretty sure I knew what that second one would look like.
“Have thee nothing to say, mortal?” Secondavia asked in a mocking tone that jarred me out of my thoughts.
“Ah, yes,” I replied. “Well, you see… I’m looking for Erica Jensen?” I was pretty sure I now knew where she was, but it didn’t hurt to play the part of someone who accidentally dialed the wrong number.
Or, I guess, [Scried] the wrong name?
“There art no one here by that-“
“Titania! Help!” Erica shouted from somewhere off-screen. “They tricked us with all these illusions and urghgmhgmgh!”
I had to assume the last bit was her being gagged.
I simply looked at the second Fairy [Queen] and raised an eyebrow.
She eventually cleared her throat. “It matters not. She art a trespasser who hath violated the laws of sacred hospitality, and moreover, she hath failed the trials of the fey.”
I frowned. That was an unfortunate turn of events. If it had been any other [Hero], I probably could have just left them to the fey. However, that would ruin all sorts of plans, and having Erica lose all of her memories to the fey seemed like such a tragic way to go.
She deserved better than that.
“Alright,” I said. “I’ll make you a wager.”
“A wager?” Secondavia asked.
“I take the trials, and if I win, you let the girl go,” I continued.
“Titania! The rest of the party is here too!” Erica added as she must have fought off the gag.
I paused for a second. “If I win, you let the girl go,” I restated.
“Titania!” Erica exclaimed indignantly.
I tsked. “Fine. If I win, you let the whole party go.”
Secondavia laughed. “Thy wager is lacking in balance. What will thee giveth me when we prevail?”
“You’ll get me as a prisoner,” I replied.
She snorted. “That is what we would already receive upon thine defeat. I doth not accept.”
“Fine,” I growled. “I’ll take the trials and win them all. I’ll be your prisoner if you beat me at a single one.”
“Agreed!” Secondavia said immediately. “I look forward to having another fool join us!”
“And I look forward to kicking your asp,” I shot back.
The [Scry] cut out after that… which led to an awkward realization.
“[Scry] Erica Jensen,” I cast for the 14th time.
“WHAT IS IT NOW!?” Secondavia yelled as she intercepted it again.
“I… uh… Need to know where the Fey Forest is,” I said lamely.
-------
It turned out that the Fey Forest had not moved since Primavia was put into her coma-like state. That meant the forest had just been chilling in Dryadal territory for years a couple of dozen miles west of the Time Wastes.
The good news was that it was only a few days away. The bad news was that it gave me less time to think about my countermeasures.
I was tempted to take my time getting to the forest, but I had the distinct feeling that despite being immortal, the fey were not good at waiting. That conjecture was proven immediately upon me stumbling into their forest.
“Finally, thou hast decided to grace us with thine presence,” she mocked.
I nonchalantly surveyed the forest, saw the entire party bound and gagged by vines, and then shrugged. “Sorry, can’t fly like you can. I got here as soon as I could.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thy tardiness notwithstanding, let us begin! Your first trial shall be-“
“Wait,” I held up a hand. “We’re getting straight into the trials? There isn’t anything to do beforehand?”
“Nay,” she replied flatly. “Now, thy first trial shall be to locate all the members of mine court. Thou hast one hour. Begin!”
Part of me was glad I got to skip all the BS that happened last time, where I had to be a good guest and not offend them. The other part of me was bummed out.
Aw. Dang it. I wanted to try that flaming dish again… It had been the only thing I had been close to tasting to date, and I highly doubted they would be in the mood to feed me after I kicked their butt in all the trials.
“Oh well,” I muttered. “Let’s get this over with.”
Just like the last time, I went around easily finding the fey as they hid behind illusions that I didn’t see.
However, I was struggling to find Secondavia.
Where the frick could she be hiding? I asked as I jogged through areas of the forest again. There isn’t that much room to hide. Unless…
I looked over at where Erica was struggling against her gag and nodding in a specific direction.
Ah. I thought as I jogged over there. The reason that I couldn’t find Secondavia was quite simple once I knew the trick. She was currently in some type of pocket dimension.
However, that worked out pretty well with my plans. I remembered what the second trial was, so I pulled out my staff and started casting a certain spell, even as I pretended that I was attempting to figure out how to get her out of the pocket dimension.
I did that for about 10 minutes as the gathered fey jeered me and told me that I would never locate their [Queen]. Then, once my spell was ready, I promptly [Disrupted] her pocket dimension and forced her back into the forest.
“Found you,” I stated.
She ground her teeth. “Fie on thee! It matters not! Thee cannot fly, and the next trial is a race through the sky!”
She teleported us into the same pocket dimension we went to last time. A blank void with only two pillars standing up in it. The one we were standing on and-
“Yonder is the end goal of the race. Begin!” she shouted.
She flew at breakneck speed towards the other pillar, but I had been muttering under my breath the entire explanation.
That meant that I won the race with a final word.
“[Teleport]!” I cast. I instantly appeared at the other pillar and won the race.
“How!?” Secondavia shouted. “Thee art not fey. How dost thee know our arts?”
“Oh, don’t be so full of yourself,” I replied. “Teleportation magic isn’t limited just to the fey.”
“Tis true, but good luck to thee escaping this prison, then!” she replied.
All of the fairies vanished from the pocket dimension as I just sighed.
[Disrupt] is still on cooldown for a few more… oh, there we go.
A quick snap later and I collapsed onto the forest floor.
“Alright, what’s the next challenge?” I asked as I got back up to my feet.
“Thou art… nay, it cannot be,” Secondavia muttered. Then, with a shake of her head, she continued. “Thy next trial is located within!”
I once again found myself in a large room with white walls. Just like last time, water was pouring out of the ceiling into a reservoir made out of trees and other plants.
“For the next trial, thou must fill the reservoir before the time runneth out!” Secondavia proclaimed.
Easiest trial yet. I thought. I literally don’t have to do anything and-
“And thee cannot fill it with anything as foolhardy as air!” Secondavia added with a jeer.
Oh. Frick.
“Begin!”
I made a show of pretending to try to keep all the water in, even as I thought desperately of other solutions.
Definitely can’t fill it with water. Do I have anything in my inventory I can fill it with? The container has holes, it would have to be some type of gas, or…
I had my lightbulb moment, and I began gathering mana into an [Overchannel] as the water started to slow down.
“The victory tis mine!” Secondavia declared. “Thou hast run out of water and-“
“Not yet!” I shouted as I hopped atop the reservoir.
“[Hell Blaze]!” I cast, dumping more than half my mana bar into the single cast.
The black flame engulfed the entire reservoir, and I proclaimed. “I have filled it… with fire!”
“THOU MOON-POSSESSED IMBECILE!” Secondavia shouted. “Quickly, mine court! Water or ice! Quickly!”
Moon-possessed?... Oh. Lunatic. Guess the translation isn’t 100% perfect. I thought as I belatedly started helping the fey put out the fire I had created.
After that firefighting emergency was finished, Secondavia turned to me. “Get thee gone! I care not about the trials! Thou art a danger to mine people!”
“But, your majesty!” one of the other fey protested. “Tis ‘gainst our laws to remove a challenger mid-trial!”
“We cannot bear to lose another [Queen]!” another interjected.
The [Queen] flew in place for several seconds as the other fairies started cheering for her. Then, finally, she sighed. “Very well. The trials continue.”
The other fey burst into cheers.
… But for some reason, I had a distinct feeling that they were cheering because the current situation entertained them. Not because they believed Secondavia would win.
It’s rough being Fairy [Queen], isn’t it? I thought as I looked at her with a touch of sympathy.
She took us out of that pocket dimension and then proclaimed. “The fourth trial shalt be a battle of wits! We shall taketh turns giving riddles, and the first that cannot answer shall be the loser. I shall-”
“I’ll start!” I interjected. I had spent quite a few hours on the way to the forest coming up with a suitably impossible-for-fey-to-solve riddle, and I wasn’t going to let that plan be foiled by getting stumped by her riddle in round one.
She gave me a flat look.
“Didst thou interrupt me whilst I was giving the rules?” she asked.
“You were going to let yourself start, but do you really need an unfair advantage like that?” I asked. “You’re the [Queen] of the fey!” I exclaimed while looking around at her subordinates, trying to get their support. “Surely any mortal’s riddle should be nothing before you!”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
She looked like she wanted to protest, but I had won the support of the populace.
“Verily! Surely a mortal cannot best one of us!”
“Let the dimwit give forth the riddle first!”
“Her wits shall be no match for a [Queen]!”
Secondavia gave me a look that spoke volumes… mostly that I was currently giving her the worst day of her entire however-many-centuries-long life.
“Fine,” she stated flatly. “Begin.”
“I take one power of nature and create another,” I started. “Wind into lightning, but with no crash of thunder. I bring no harm, but with many blades, I dance. And should you see my brothers on a hill, you need not fear our advance. Light, heat, and sound are some gifts that I give, but even from afar, you see that I do not live. What am I?”
Secondavia thought about that for a bit.
“Tis magic?”
“Nope.”
“Tis a golem?”
“No.” I mean, I guess if you have a really broad definition of golem, but that’s not the answer I’m looking for.
“Tis… Something thou hast made up.”
I snorted. “Nope. It definitely exists.”
She threw out several increasingly frustrated answers after that before finally declaring. “Thou hast made a riddle with no answer! I shan’t accept defeat for that!”
Fortunately, I had a plan for that eventuality. “But it does have an answer, and I will prove it to you. Bring Erica here and give her the same riddle verbatim. Should she solve it in less time than it took for you to declare it has no answer, the victory shall-“ I shook my head to try to get ye olde time English out of it and then continued. “-will be mine.”
“Very well! Bring the prisoner here!” she commanded. Then she looked over at me, “And hide yonder challenger behind a veil! We shall allow no hints or trickery!”
She was sure I would try to feed Erica the answer, but that wasn’t the point of the riddle.
It’s one that she’s in the unique position of being able to solve. I thought as I felt, but did not see, the illusions get placed in front of me. I don’t need to lift a finger to help her.
Erica was soon brought forward and given the riddle. She frowned. “Umm… I don’t know…”
The fey jeered, and the [Queen] mocked her, but I held out hope.
Come on, Erica. Think! Back to Earth!
“Wait,” Erica muttered. “Wind turning into lightning, without thunder. Lightning without thunder is just…” She gasped. “Electricity! And then blades, but not hurting people! And then the next line means it doesn’t move! That means it has to be…”
Everyone in the clearing held their breath.
“A windmill!” she proclaimed.
The gathered fey mocked her, but I stopped that as I strode out. “Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!” I shouted as I lifted her hand.
It took a while, but I eventually convinced them, with Erica’s help, that the riddle was valid.
… They promptly led Erica away and bound her again after that, but she had done her part.
“Thee mayest have defeated four trials, but the fifth shall undo thee. Tis a contest of beauty! Whoever projects the most quaint visage shall beest the victor!” Secondavia proclaimed.
I frowned. That was one trial that I wasn’t entirely certain I could win. I still didn’t understand the beauty standards of the fey, and attempting to guess was likely to get me nowhere.
That just meant I had to get the rules changed in my favor.
“A favor, [Queen] of the fey,” I addressed Secondavia. “It is obvious to all present that I will be no match for you in this contest.” The gathered fey jeered me and cheered on Secondavia. “So, to make matters fairer, allow me to bend the rules just slightly.”
She scoffed. “I suppose I will at least hear out thine inane proposal.”
“If I present you with an illusion that strikes you with not beauty but terror in a greater amount than the illusion you present, allow me to be named the victor.”
“Whysoever would I allow that?”
I paused meaningfully. “It could not be that… the [Queen] of the fey is afraid, could it?”
Her scowl deepened, but this time the jeers of her subjects were on my side.
“Fine! I shall allow it! It shall be beauty versus hideousness! And know that I shall prevail regardless!”
She proceeded to put on quite a show for the gathered fey… at least, I think. I still couldn’t see any of it, but the gathered fairies seemed to cheer a lot.
Then it was finally my turn. For my performance, I had only a single spell… but a single spell was all I needed.
“[Disguise Self],” I finished casting under my breath. The gathered immortals looked on in horror, which was aided ever so slightly by my aura, as the person that stared back at them changed.
It went from red-haired Titania to the golden-haired, sneering, enemy of the world-
“Flee! The [Demon Lord] is upon us!” one of the fairies shouted as panic broke out.
Pride. I figured if there was one thing that could scare the fey by being suddenly brought among them, it had to be him. It also turned out that my aura was a bit overkill since several of the fairies fainted right on the spot.
To my surprise, even Secondavia took off flying at top speed.
“Wait! Come back!” I called as I released the illusion and chased after her.
She was fast, but so was I. I managed to stay on her trail as she stopped next to a familiar pink crystal.
“I have failed, mine [Queen],” Secondavia said in tears. “I hast let the [Demon Lord] loose amongst us once again. Who knows what havoc shalt be wrought amongst us.”
“I’m not him,” I stated with a sigh.
Secondavia jumped but then turned to look at me. With a bitter laugh, she continued. “Doth thee think we were born yesterday? I had mine suspicions from the start, but thee hast confirmed them beyond doubt. Titus thou art! It matters not whether thee dons a pair of duckies or changes thine name. Fools we were for not recognizing thee! My lady will be gone soon, but thee shalt bring us down along with her!”
Meanwhile, I finally got a good look at Primavia, still sealed inside the pink crystal. She was somehow sweating, and even I could tell she was not doing well.
Fortunately, I had a spell for that. And before Secondavia could protest, I unleashed it.
“[Restore],” I cast as I put my hand on the crystal.
I was worried it wouldn’t work since I wasn’t touching her directly, but the spell took effect anyway… and ate through all my mana and stamina.
“That’s a bit more than I can heal,” I said with a frown. Though it looked like Primvia’s condition improved a bit. She stopped sweating, at least.
Meanwhile, Secondavia gave me an odd look. “Why?”
“Why?” I echoed.
“Why wouldst thee try to help? Thou art the murderer of time. The one responsible for our [Queen’s] condition. The enemy of the fey.”
“And I would really rather not be,” I stated. “I don’t want to fight you. I would rather have your help.”
She shook her head. “Nay. Temporal magic is a grave taboo. Should we assist thee, we stand to lose even more than we already have.”
Initially, I just thought, that’s too bad. But then I had a realization.
A wide grin broke across my face.
“But this wound is beyond any healing,” I continued with a statement that may or may not have been true. “There is only one true remedy that would fix this.”
“Nay,” Secondavia said, but she looked conflicted. “We cannot and shall not assist thee with thine ritual. Even should it bring back our [Queen].”
“But you don’t have to!” I continued. “I don’t need help with the ritual. I just want to offer some even trades. Stories for mana, teleportation help for other spells. Surely such simple trades are not enough to break the taboo?”
She didn’t reply, so I held out a hand.
“What do you say? Trade partners?”
Secondavia shuddered. “True is the saying that the Devil comes bearing that which you desire the most.”
She reached out and grasped my index finger. “Thou hast a deal, Titus.”
-----
After that was taken care of, I learned several things.
First, I still had to complete the trials. A deal was a deal, after all.
Trial 6 was the infinite maze, and they even sealed up the entrance this time. To win, I simply ran up the wall with a [Flash Step] and was out.
Trial 7 was… a joke since I knew the trick. It was the one where they had the ominous countdown that you just had to stay ‘til the end, and as long as you didn’t give up, you win.
With everyone there knowing that gimmick, it turned more awkward than anything.
The second thing I learned was that the fey had taken some of the party’s memories but were also able to return them.
I made sure to compensate them with some stories of my own for the trouble.
With that, the party was good to go free, except I stayed behind. And that was because of the third thing I learned.
The fey were entering a massive decline in power.
I had assumed they needed help with [Grand Teleport] since they would have moved long ago if they could still cast it, but I didn’t realize how much they needed to teleport around.
To save a lot of fey mumbo-jumbo that I didn’t quite get, they drew power from stories and also from the land (aka leylines). However, leylines needed time to recharge, and they were close to exhausting the one they were on.
That meant that part of my trade would involve getting [Grand Teleport] working, which I assumed would be a piece of cake if I just had Erica help out.
Which led to the fourth thing I learned. Despite her inquisitive nature, and even with her absurd natural talent for casting spells, Erica was garbage at spell research.
After learning that, I kicked her and the party out and told them to get the Hero’s Boots.
… The fifth thing I learned was that the fey were guarding the boots, and that’s why the hapless party entered there in the first place.
Fortunately, that meant that it turned from a boss fight into, “hey, can we grab those so that we can get out of your hair?” which Secondavia was more than willing to oblige. After that, the party journeyed without me for a bit as I struggled with Secondavia and her best subordinates to get a working ritual version of [Grand Teleport] ready.
Yes, a ritual because I hadn’t realized exactly how much spell power Primavia was packing. It was at least an order of magnitude more than I thought.
After about a month of solid research, we had the ritual created… and not enough mana to cast it.
The answer to that was magicite. Not the uncharged, fully intact crystals, but the charged crystals that were ground to powder just like I had seen Gram use in that ritual to cleanse undeath all those years ago… Or was that Vir back then?
Hmm… I’d have to double-check.
Anyway, I didn’t keep much of that on me, so I had to make a quick trip to the nearest gathering of the Embers/the Children of Flame and make a withdrawal for the first time since I started the initiative.
It paid dividends because we completed the ritual, [Grand Teleported] the Fey Forest to the northeast, somewhat close to where the party was headed, and that led to the last thing I learned from the fey.
Magic.
Specifically, I traded my [Spatius] magic expertise and a bunch of powered magicite, and I had them help me with a few spells.
The first spell was [Advanced Message]. I wanted something that Gram wouldn’t be able to crack should they intercept, but I also wanted some extra bells and whistles. Like… the ability to send across dimensions, should I need to send from the dragonlands or the tutorial. Or the ability to change the name that was listed on the message.
… I was definitely going to have some fun with that last one.
The second was a little spell to help deal with all the lightning damage I was inflicting on myself. I’m not going to spoil what it was, but I will say that they helped me even more than expected, as we were able to create my very first wordless spell.
… It still had a gesture I had to do, but that was a small price to pay to allow me to cast that spell at the same time as another.
The third spell was going to be [Major Illusion] so that I could get my plan of having “Titus” murder Titania in front of the [Hero] back on track, but that plan got derailed. While the fairies and I were more than happy to continue with the spell tutoring until I learned my third spell, it had to be cut short. Apparently, Gram’s command wasn’t willing to have the party just sit outside of the final zone for the [Hero’s] armor for months and wait for me.
They went in without me… and they were losing, based on the health bars that I was seeing from them since I was still in party.
So, instead of learning [Major Illusion], I asked to trade my final spell for a casting of [Grand Teleport] instead.
Secondavia and her court, empowered by the fresh leyline, were more than happy to oblige. They cast the ritual, and I was teleported right into the thick of it.
-------
Once again, Erica regretted going after a piece of her armor without Titania.
It started well enough. They had information about the boss monster and knew they would face an enhanced version of “The Grasping Willow.” Based on that info, they developed a plan of attack and were more than ready for whatever would come… at least… they thought they were.
When they entered the boss fight, they were greeted by not one health bar but two. Each was titled “Grasping Willow Twin.”
[Commander] Lee took charge of the situation and determined that their best course of action would be to focus one of the trees down first, so that is what they did.
A salvo of all their best spells, including Erica’s [Shining Barrage], and one health bar was dropped to empty instantly.
From there, things swiftly went downhill.
Just like they’d been told, the boss started capturing party member after party member and dragging them underground.
However, it didn’t stop doing that. It captured Stephen and Eric on the frontlines first, but it followed up by capturing Alex and Axel… Then Joseph and Kai.
Last, it came for Joel and Erica, and only the [Commander’s] quick thinking was enough to save the party.
He shoved Erica out of the way and was captured in her place, leaving her alone against the boss.
The [Commander’s] orders came through loud and clear, though. Just take out the last boss.
And Erica tried. She cycled through all of her spells while waiting for the minute-long cooldown of her [Shining Barrage] and even drank foul-tasting potion after potion to continue casting.
She lowered the boss to half of its bar and was preparing to finish it off when the final nail was hammered into the party’s coffin.
The other tree’s health bar jumped back up to half.
Erica now had two targets, and she didn’t know what to do. She aimed at the closest one and prepared to fire but stopped short as she felt the ground beneath her tremble.
She barely managed to leap out of the way as a tree root burst from the ground and tried to drag her beneath like it did to all her party members.
She rolled away as it tried again and then unsteadily got to her feet and started running.
I can’t be captured! she thought in a panic. She sprinted zig-zags as the boss tried to catch her, and at the same time, she tried to prepare her next spell.
And then she tripped. A simple uneven stretch of ground spelled death for her and the party.
She wasn’t fast enough. The grasping root reached up and clamped around her. It started dragging her under and-
It was suddenly cut off by a familiar snapping noise.
“Good frickin’ gravy, how many times do I have to bail you guys out?” Titania asked as she reached down a hand to help Erica up.
“Titania!” Erica shouted in reply.
Then her next words mostly just stumbled over themselves.
“The health bar went back up! Did you know it could do that? And it captured everyone else and I’m almost out of mana! We need to kill it fast, or they’ll die! And when did you get here!?”
“Questions later, we’re killing both at the same time,” Titania replied.
“Right,” Erica said, calming down as Titania went through the familiar motions of her strongest spell.
Titania knew what she was doing. There was no need to fear. Erica used [Limit Break] and pumped every ounce of mana and stamina into the spell.
With a nod from Titania, the two cast together.
“[Lightning Spear]!”
“[Shining Barrage]!”
The twin beams of light seemed brighter than the sun, and just like that… the boss was no more.
Erica collapsed to the ground, while Titania…
“WOO! Eat that, you stupid piece of bark!” she shouted in a very unladylike manner. “Get rekt!”
Erica looked up at Titania with a puzzled expression, and Titania cleared her throat. “I mean, well done, my star pupil,” she stated as she offered Erica a hand up.
Erica took it and then laughed. “You’re strange, Titania,” she said.
“Takes one to know one,” Titania replied as she ruffled Erica’s hair.
Then Erica belatedly remembered the elephant in the room… Or the 8 elephants in the room.
“Everyone else! They’re below 0! We need to-“
Titania put her hands on Erica’s shoulders. “Calm down. [Survivalist Party] perk, remember?”
“Oh,” Erica replied. “But they could still be hurt and-“
A quick roll call through the party indicated they were all fine. Not able to move, and maybe not in the best of shape, but not currently in danger of dying.
“I’ll check on them,” Titania said when she realized Erica was still concerned. “Why don’t you go claim your prize, [Hero]?”
Erica did just that. She walked over to the base of the trees and picked her helmet up off the pedestal. Without further ado, she shuffled it on and then turned around.
She was about to ask Titania what she thought of the finished outfit when she got some notifications.
System: Quest completed. “Reclaim the Hero’s Regalia!”
That wasn’t the important one. No, the important one was next.
Compulsory Quest.
“Defeat the Demon Lord”
Quest details - With the full suit of the Hero’s Regalia, you are now well-equipped to defeat the enemy of Placeholder! Track down the Demon Lord and slay-
As she read the last word of the details, she froze.
No.
It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible.
She pulled up her map and zoomed in on the marker for the quest.
It had to be a mistake. There was no way that-
“Everything alright, Erica?” Titania asked as she started walking towards her.
Track down the [Demon Lord] and slay her. Erica thought in horror as the quest marker moved in tandem.
There has to be an explanation. Erica reasoned. “T-t-titania,” Erica started. “I j-just got my next quest.”
“Oh, what is it?” Titania asked, still coming closer.
Erica flicked her screen over to her, and then Titania finally paused.
“Ah,” she stated. “And the quest marker… I don’t even need to ask, do I?”
Erica remained silent.
Titania sighed and pulled two unfamiliar gauntlets out of her inventory. “Well, do you want to do this now or later?” she asked as she put them on and suddenly burst into black flame.
“Neither,” Erica said in a hoarse whisper. “I don’t want to fight you.”
“Well, then it’s time to learn your final lesson from me, kid,” Titania replied. “Life. Isn’t. Fair. Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to. So, get that wand up and prepare to-“
“I WON’T fight you!” Erica interjected as the tears started falling. “We’ve been together too long! You’ve saved our lives too many times! I know it wasn’t just an act!”
Titania scoffed. “You wouldn’t be saying the same thing if you knew what I’ve done.”
“It doesn’t matter!” Erica shot back. “People can change! If we just talk it out, I’m sure that-“
Titania’s laugh cut her off. “Oh, how I envy your naivete! After everything, you seriously think it would be just as simple as talking things out!” Her laugh turned bitter. “If only I had been given the same task. Slay the [Demon Lord] and go home. If only I had been named [Hero] instead!”
“Titania,” Erica said as she reached out toward her. “You don’t have to-“
“Why couldn’t I be given what you were!?” Titania shouted as she rounded on Erica. “If I had half the random BS the [Hero] does, I wouldn’t have lost to even Admin! Or if I had even a quarter of your spellcasting talent, things would have been fixed by now! Why do I have to be the one to struggle and-
Mid-rant, Titania suddenly paused and then sighed. “Well, I needed to die anyway,” she muttered in a voice barely audible to Erica. “I guess this works.”
Then Erica watched in horror as Titania’s back arched painfully, and she let out a terrible scream in multiple voices.
Her vision that was just recently free of the boss health bars had a different one added to it instead… Demon Lord of Envy.
Erica stood frozen as Titania’s form shifted, and her voice broke out in maniacal laughter that sounded like…
Her.
“Well, not quite the way I would have wanted to become the [Hero], but what are you going to do?” Titania asked with Erica’s voice as she finished shifting.
She looked at her black-clad version of the Hero’s armor and shook her head. “Black really doesn’t suit you, does it?”
“T-Titania?” Erica asked.
“[Ice Bolt]!” Titania cast in Erica’s direction, and she barely ducked out of the way. “Come now, [Hero]! Time to face yourself!”
She followed it up with several more bolts, even as she taunted. “What’s the matter, [Hero]? Can’t fight back?”
“I won’t fight you, Titania!” Erica replied, even as she took a [Fire Bolt] to the chest. “Please! Stop this! Come back to us!”
Titania paused. “Still not willing to fight, eh? Well, I suppose I just have to provide more incentive. [Ice Shards]!”
The miniature lances of ice appeared in mid-air and pointed in Erica’s direction. She prepared to dodge but had no idea what was coming.
With an evil grin, Titania pivoted and fired toward Erica’s downed party members.
Erica could only watch as the others were speared by the spell and brought even closer to death. But she breathed a single sigh of relief after that.
They’re all still alive. We can still fix this. We can-
“Still not enough? How about this, then,” Titania said. “Why not bring out a [Hurricane]?”
“Stop!” Erica yelled. She sprinted forward and grabbed Titania’s. “Please! Don’t do this!”
A heavy backhand immediately sent her sprawling, and she rolled a few times before coming to a stop.
I’m going to die. Erica thought in terror as she looked up at Titania striding over to her.
“Ugh, so weak, so scared,” Titania shivered. Then her body morphed, and she was back to normal. “To think I ever envied you.”
She continued approaching until she loomed over Erica. “Don’t worry, [Hero]. I’ve made up my mind. It turns out I won’t kill you! Weak [Heroes] are hard to come by, after all,” she said with a laugh. She continued in a stage whisper, “Really, the only thing I would be scared of from you would be if you pushed that [Limit Break] just a bit farther and gave up your entire life. A Heroic Sacrifice skill. But, after spending just a few minutes in your head, I now know there’s no danger in that.”
“[Power Strike]!” [Commander] Lee yelled from behind Titania. Erica watched his sword crash down with all his might… only to bounce off harmlessly.
Titania batted the sword away with an [Air Strike] and then punched the [Commander] 3 swift times in the gut with [Fire Strikes].
“[Commander], [Commander],” Titania tsked as he fell to the ground. “So brave. So strong. So gullible.” She laughed. She ground her foot into his back as she continued. “And if you’re wondering if it was all fake, yes, yes it was.” She shook her head. “That was the one good thing about this miserable life. A pretty girl bats her eyelashes, and suddenly idiotic men are lining up to save her.”
“You can’t have faked everything,” Lee croaked from the ground, back below 0 HP once again. “The cultist attacks. Saving our lives. Surely you can’t-“
“I could, and I did,” Titania said as she waved him off. “It’s simple, really. Tell some of those lunatics to die for me, and they’ll practically jump on a sword. It’s a wonder any of them are still alive.” She leaned over and shoved Lee’s face back into the dirt with her boot. “And I needed you all alive to get my armor back. It’s not like I had the quest markers.”
“Were we… was I truly nothing to you?” he asked quietly.
“You weren’t nothing. You were a helpful tool. I mean, I don’t know how else I would have fed Gram so much misinformation.” Titania laughed. “I’m sure that’s eating you up inside, but don’t worry! I’ll be sure to make this quick.”
Erica felt Titania gathering mana, and she was up on her feet before she knew what she was doing.
“Let him go!” Erica said as she pointed her wand at Titania.
Titania paused and looked over. “Or what?”
“O-or I’ll do it! I’ll use my life to take you down!”
“No, you won’t,” Titania stated and pointed at Erica’s shaking hand.
“Yes I will!” Erica replied. She tried to do it. She tried to sacrifice her life. It even gave her the skill. But…
“[Heroic Sacrifice-… [Heroic Sacrifice!... H-H-,” Erica’s attempt at calling out the skill devolved into hiccups as she began crying in full force again. “I can’t! I don’t want to die!”
“It’s okay… Erica,” Lee coughed out. “Just run. As long as you live, there’s hope. All of us here are willing to die for you. So, you need to live. Run!” And then, when Erica paused, he yelled again. “RUN! We’ll try to delay her however we can!”
Even though he could barely move, he grabbed onto Titania’s boot.
Meanwhile, Erica fled.
She couldn’t do it, even though they were all willing to sacrifice themselves for her. Even though they had saved her life multiple times.
Her mind flashed back to all the times she had been saved since coming to Placeholder, and her feet slowed to a stop.
I need to save them.
I’m scared!
I have to use it!
I don’t want to die!
They’ll all die if I don’t do something!
Just run and save yourself!
Meanwhile, Titania’s spell was building up again. Lee would be gone in just a matter of moments.
Erica stopped and spun in place. “[H-… [H-“
“Time to die, [Commander]!” Titania shouted.
“[HEROIC SACRIFICE: SHINING NOVA]!” Erica shouted.
------
I have battled many [Heroes] in my time. Some were strong, some were wise, and all were brave in their own way. And if you were to ask me who I thought was the most courageous of them all, it wouldn’t be the answer most would expect.
It wasn’t Jake who was willing to stare down dragons. It wasn’t Garrik who was willing to fight Pride 25 different times.
No. The most courageous [Hero] of them all was a little girl with shaking hands and snot on her face who stood up to her greatest, most rational of fears, and didn’t back down.
As the wave of light shot out of her skill, even the Demon Lord of Envy couldn’t help but be impressed.
“Not bad, kid,” I stated. “Not bad.”
And those were the final words of the 6th [Demon Lord] of Placeholder. Titania the Cruel.
And that was also the end of the 8th [Hero] of Placeholder… but not the end of Erica Jensen.
-----
“You’ve got her?” the shadowy figure asked.
“I do. Now be quiet and let me focus,” the disembodied voice replied.
A long pause passed between them before the voice spoke again.
“There. I was able to recover everything. She’s back on her way to Earth,” it stated.
The shadow sighed. “That’s a relief.” Then after a brief pause. “There won’t be any side effects, will there?”
“Oh, maybe one or two,” the voice replied.
--------
“Hey, pipsqueak! Stop zoning out!” a familiar bully yelled.
“Huh?” Erica replied. She felt like she had just been somewhere strange… and done something sad.
“You won’t be needing this!” one of the other boys said as he grabbed her backpack.
“Hey! Give that back!” Erica finally replied as she was now fully back in the present.
“Or what?” the leader asked as he went to shove her. “You think you can-“
And that was the last word that he got out.
For years to come, Erica would look back on that as the day when she finally resolved her bullying problem… and developed an interest in martial arts that would propel her to become world-class.
She still felt like something was missing, and she occasionally teared up at the most random of things, like the Fairy Queen in a Midsummer Night’s Dream, but that faded slowly with time.
Her life was changed for the better, and it was all thanks to her saving a world that she would never even remember.
----------------------------------------
[1] Load-bearing boss – A boss that when defeated causes their own lair to self-destruct (often inexplicably)