I'm waiting.

With an expectant smirk on my face and my legs folded, I'm waiting in my reading class for a certain former adventurer to arrive at the school.

Charlie, uncertain of what exactly it is that I'm waiting for, leans across the red plastic table, brightly colored sheets of paper covering it, and whispers quietly, "What is it?"

Smiling pleasantly, I answer, "I just won a fight."

Her eyes widen in surprise. Lowering her voice further, she whispers, "We're not supposed to fight! Mr. Bevins says so all the time."

I frown for a moment and then shake my head. "No, you don't understand. An invader showed up. He came into the school and tried to take a bunch of the mana from the school, and I beat him!"

Her eyes widen further. "A bad guy!? Why didn't you tell me? I would've helped!"

My expression freezes as I consider her words. "I... didn't think about it. Besides, Noodle took care of it."

Charlie smiles widely, her worry disappearing. "Who's Noodle?"

Camouflaging Noodle's scales into a subtle blue that matches my shirt, I peel the floor up and allow him to come through, wrapping around my arm with his tongue slipping in and out pleasantly. Charlie's smile is both massive and infectious, and I find myself smiling in response to her happiness. Reaching her hand out, she makes a motion to pet Noodle, and then glances up at me. "Is it okay?"

I nod carefully, making sure to not let the teacher or any of the other children see, and she starts stroking the back of Noodle's head happily.

Distracted, I fail to notice what's going on, and a familiar voice startles me out of the moment.

"Jason? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Rapidly, I peel the floorboards back, and Noodle dives in without a second thought. Whispering to Charlie, I tell her, "Don't turn around."

Standing, I disregard my own advice and turn to look at Richter, standing in the doorway. He still has his composure and his good looks, but his appearance is flawed by the long white bandage sticking to the side of his face. His smile is relaxed, his shoulders are slumped, and his hands are in his pockets. Despite the casual attitude, it's clear that he's hiding something.

I've seen far too many warriors not to recognize a murderous aura such as his.

Walking towards him with an uncharacteristically cocky grin, I ask him cheerfully, "That looks like it hurt. Did something happen last night? Snakebite, perhaps?"

The corners of his eyes crease ever so slightly, but his voice is still calm as he says, "Let's go to the office for a moment, shall we? We need to discuss some things."

Looking up at the teacher (I can't even remember his name) curiously staring at us, Richter gives him a wide smile. "Is it all right if I borrow Jason for a minute?"

With a shrug, the teacher turns back to his chalkboard, and Richter pulls me out of the classroom. One hand tightly gripping my shoulder, I get the feeling he's trying to make me feel intimidated. Unfortunately for him, I'm literally surrounded by both children and adults, to say nothing of the insects and salamanders following underneath the floor closely.

A minute later, I'm pushed into the same room as before, and I neatly sit down in my chair with a polite smile. "So what did you want to talk about?"

His finger is shaking as he points it at me, the facade dropped. Face wrinkling in fury, he nearly shouts, "What was that!?"

Delicately folding my legs, I sit cross-legged on the chair and tilt my head. "What are you talking about?"

Rounding the table, Richter practically hurls himself into his cushy chair and glares at me. "The snake? We could've been killed! Do you want that on your conscience?"

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

My pretense drops at that, and my smile vanishes. "I wouldn't mind it, no. For one, Noodle wouldn't have killed any of your men unless I asked him to. Consider it a warning. And two, I don't appreciate it when people try to steal from me. It was a bad move on your part."

He rolls his eyes exaggeratedly. "What part of our deal did you misinterpret? We get to charge up once and then we leave you alone. I agreed to it, and so did you."

A brief stab of doubt strikes me, and I dismiss it without a second thought. "Please. Do I truly look like such an idiot that you thought that would work? My body might be that of a child, Richter, but my mind is anything but. I thought my demonstration yesterday would have proved that."

His hands clench into fists, veins popping on his arms, and he seems to be incapable of speech for a moment. Swallowing hard, he settles back into his chair, calmly folding his hands onto his lap. Taking a deep breath, he finally says, "You have no idea who you're dealing with."

I laugh easily. "Of course I do. I'm dealing with a man named Richter, a man who once went by the title of Plague of Winnetka." His eyes widen, and I press on. "My problem, however, is that I quite literally couldn't care who you were once upon a time. As it currently stands, I am a far more powerful person than you, in nearly every way that comes to mind. I possess mana, an actual army, and intelligence far surpassing yours."

He opens his mouth to speak, but I interrupt before he can get any further. "Now how would I know that I'm smarter than you? It's quite simple. I genuinely was planning to uphold my end of the deal, you know. That anatomy book would have been greatly appreciated. But I'm not going to trust someone who skulks around like the lowest level of rogues. I mean, really. You didn't even try to be subtle."

Richter stands abruptly, slamming his hands on the table. My only response is to infinitesimally widen my eyes. Staring at me with a vein bulging in his forehead, he growls out, "You've made an enemy today, Jason. I hope you find out one day just how much you'll regret that. Look over your shoulder, and sleep with one eye open. Because I'm coming for you, sooner or later."

He sweeps out of the room before I can respond.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I should probably be asleep right now.

Sitting on my bed, eyes well-adjusted to the darkness at this point, I'm waiting for some reaction. For the first move.

Even when the Mother had come to pick me up, I hadn't said a word on the whole return journey. My split mind is focusing on the dungeon at home, on Dillon's house, and on the school. Keeping the minions going, seeing how Theory is doing, ensuring that Minion can find enough food, getting Noodle to stop trying to eat the salamanders - it's not a short list of responsibilities.

Even seated on the comfort of my bed, my mind is still elsewhere, on a rather critical piece of information. Richter saw me being friendly with Charlie. What if he tries to go after her in order to get at me? What would I give up to ensure her safety? Would I do anything at all?

A breeze brushes up against the side of the house, whistling faintly, and the miniature crossbow in my hand snaps up. From her position underneath the window, Theory is silently chewing on a grub of some kind, ensuring that nothing happens.

The crossbow is a well-designed one, with powerful limbs despite its light frame. Unfortunately, it's not my design. I'd copied it off of some long-gone adventurers - it's one of the only weapons I'm capable of wielding. The crossbow bolts are tipped with some of my very nastiest poisons, although my only intentions are to use it to threaten.

Not for the first time, or even the fourth, I wish that Richter would just go ahead and attack. It's an odd sentiment, but I'd prefer it to the suspense of waiting.

Perhaps that's his plan? Forcing me to stay up later than my body can handle until I'm too tired to stay awake, reducing my defenses? He can't possibly know about my dungeon core, or most specifically that I don't need sleep from its perspective.

With a sigh, I lower my crossbow, the moonlight shining through the window. I don't know what I was expecting. Why would Richter attack my house? Moreover, how would he even know where I lived? Follow the Mother's vehicle? It'd look suspicious - I'd notice from a mile away.

My thoughts are distracted instantly, a sudden motion from the exterior. Eyes snapping up, I stare at the window cautiously, ready for whatever might be coming. It's accompanied by the distinct aura of mana, and not a small amount of it either.

Something touches the outside of the house.

Taking a deep breath, I stare at Theory, and she nods at me, her legs tensing. There's nothing I've seen in this world faster than Theory at the moment, and I'm confident in our ability to hold off any attackers for the moment. If nothing else, the crossbow should take down several of them before they can even react.

Whatever it is, the unknown entity begins to climb up the side of the house, and I begin taking shallow breaths. The more surprised they are, the better. I will not be found with my defenses down!

They reach my window, but I still can't see what exactly they look like. I'll have to settle for a body shot and interrogate them later - it's their own fault for trying to catch me off guard.

The window begins to slide open, a distinct pressure pulling it upwards, and both Theory and I tense, prepared for the attack.

But nothing could have prepared me for what crawled through the window. In silence, I allow the crossbow to drop out of my suddenly limp hands. I don't notice, too taken with the situation unfolding before me.

Two of her eyes are scarred over, and she's missing a leg. A large, opaque orange ball hangs from her stomach. She's quite a lot larger than I recall her being, but no change could ever make me forget my first boss.

My voice is a hoarse whisper as I say her name.

"Thesis?"