Chapter 144: A Dream come True

With spirits so high and a sense of excitement permeating the air, the last thing Jimmy wanted to do was spoil everybody’s fun. For this reason, he avoided bitching about his current situation. Instead, he attempted to shove aside his displeasure and bask in the festive, joyous atmosphere. It was difficult, though, as he felt personally snubbed and disregarded. It left him with a general sense of discontent, which was made worse by a separate feeling of ickiness thanks to his equipment becoming once again covered in grime and muck. Still, he chose not to make a fuss about it as he walked through the forest in northwest Whispery Woods with Tena marching to his immediate left and Kalana strolling along to his right.

Here I am again, he thought.

A few minutes earlier, he’d emerged from the lake that him and Zach had swum through a couple of hours prior, and just like last time, there was a brief but terrifying moment where he thought he’d run out of oxygen and die. Only, it was slightly less scary this time around, because Kalana, as if seeing him struggle, grabbed his arm and yanked him through the water and up to the surface. Then she’d dove back down and rescued three other adventurers who would have actually drowned if she hadn’t continuously checked to ensure everyone made it through all right.

Now, as more than two-hundred filthy, yet exuberant adventurers paraded their way through the forest on this late-afternoon summer day, Jimmy tried to keep himself positive. This was going to be a fun evening, after all. And they were off to a bright start, too, because the cloudy, overcast weather that’d been present in Whispery Woods all day seemed to be giving way to something slightly clearer, allowing brief periods of sunshine amid the shade.

“Cheer up, Jimmy,” Kalana said to him, beaming a smile his way.

“Huh? I’m plenty happy,” he said back to her.

“Nope! Don’t pretend you’re not upset.” She pointed to herself. “I can tell.”

Jimmy sighed. “Fine, you caught me. How did you even know?”

“I’ve got the best grumpy radar,” Kalana said with a strange sort of proudness. “So, what’s wrong?”

“It’s…nothing. It doesn’t even really matter.”

“Nah-uh! Of course it matters.”

Jimmy shrugged. “I’m not even that upset. And I’m trying to keep it to myself, anyway, since I don’t wanna ruin this for you guys.”

“You won’t,” Kalana said convincingly. “What’s wrong?”

Relenting, Jimmy quickly explained to her how he felt like Donovan and Zephyr weren’t giving him the respect he felt he deserved, especially since, all boasting aside, he really was great at leading raids. Kalana, however, didn’t seem to find all that much about Jimmy’s circumstance worth getting upset over.

“I really think you should be happier,” she said. “Sure, you might not be a raid leader yet, but you get to be a raid captain!”

“Yeah, of the auxiliary support,” he muttered, his mood deflating as he reminded himself of how badly Donovan and Zephyr were underestimating him. They’d assigned him to BG6, which on this raid, was “off support.” Basically, a category for people who’d face the least amount of risk and thus contribute the least. He should’ve been in BG5, which was main support.

Kalana twisted her lips. “So? Why can’t you be happy about that?”

“I dunno,” he said with a sigh. “I guess it’s because they’re putting me in a position where I might not get to do anything, and it’s like, I should be leading this whole damn raid. But nah, they got me hiding behind everybody else in the loser group.”

“Hey, I’m in BG6 with you,” Tena reminded him. “And uh, based on what you told everyone about this dungeon, it sounds like we’re both too under leveled for it. You’re only in your 40s, and I’m level 37. We’re lucky Donovan’s not gonna make us rope out with the others who’re also too low level.”

Jimmy dismissively waved his hand. “Too low level? Pfft. Don’t forget, Tena, me and Zach cleared an entire damn floor by ourselves, and he’s only in his 20s.”

Tena’s words reminded Jimmy of one of the disagreements he’d had with Donovan and Zephyr back in Angelica’s before they’d all headed out here. Not long after he’d finished describing to them every single detail he could recall from earlier today—as well as answering their many, many questions—they’d decided not to allow an “uncapped” raid after all, which had been their original plan.

Initially, the idea had been to just grab everyone who wanted to come along and then, together, they’d all just steamroll their way through the dungeon. But as Jimmy had elaborated on his experiences, the two had both agreed to instead lead everyone who wanted to come along to the item shop—which was a whole lot of people—and then, once they’d all finished up, all but sixty of them, ten per BG, would be asked to “rope” out of the dungeon, a term that was already catching on to reference the item him and Zach had discovered together.

Hearing their plan, Jimmy had frowned at the both of them. It’d caused him to question their logic and capability to lead, too. And why? Because clearly, with such overwhelming numbers, there was no need to dismiss anybody at all, and he’d told them this outright.

“We should just zerg the elites and the boss,” he’d said to them. “There’s gonna be like more than two-hundred people with us. No reason we got to send anybody back.”

“Zerg?” Zephyr had asked. “I’m not familiar with the term.”

“Ah, sorry, it means to rush in with superior numbers and beat down your enemy with brute force. It’s a common tactic when you’ve got way more people than you need.”

Donovan and Zephyr had looked at one another, and as if both had wordlessly exchanged the exact same thought, they’d then turned their gaze back on Jimmy. “That’s a terrible idea, kiddo,” Donovan had said. “But I’m glad you said it, ‘cause it really helps me understand where you’re coming from and where you need to improve.”

“Improve?” Jimmy had asked, having immediately been put on the defensive. “Me?”

“Yeah you, kid.”

Jimmy had tried to control his temper. Unlike his new friend, Zach, who tended to fly off the handle just a bit too easily, it took a fair deal more to make Jimmy lose his shit. But one of the things that did it was when people tried to question his capabilities.

“No disrespect to either of you,” he’d said, “but I know more than both of you combined, and I’m way better at this than either of you are, and honestly? I should be leading this shit. But like I said, I’ll go along with your plan since I’m not looking to rock the boat.” He could feel his brow furrowing. “But just so we’re clear,” he continued, “I should be the one telling you two where you can improve. Not the other way around.”

Donovan had barked out a dangerous-sounding laugh. “Is that right, Jimmy?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Zephyr had clenched his hand into a fist, and then he’d given Jimmy a gentle bump on the shoulder. “I like your spirit,” he’d said. “But you really do need to trust us. You’re not wrong to believe in yourself, but I promise you that you’re getting ahead of yourself here.”

“Oh yeah?” Jimmy had asked, no longer bothering to hide his temper. “How so?”

“Because,” Donovan had replied, his own temper bleeding through, “in the real world, people feel pain and fear. Based on everything you said about Nolak, it sounds like it gets pretty damn rough once we get to the uh—the fuck did you call them again?”

“Elites.”

“All right. Elites. So, suppose someone gets killed and we’re lugging around a bunch of inexperienced raiders—know what happens next, kiddo?”

“What?”

Donovan had narrowed his eyes. “You get a chain reaction of people shitting their pants and fuckin’ up the entire raid. They become liabilities. They can lead to more experienced raiders getting killed: people who would’a been fine otherwise. Now, I’ll admit I don’t know shit about your simulations, but I can already tell that all the strategies you think you know don’t account for things like pain, fear, and mental stability in their calculations.”

“Exactly,” Zephyr had added. “Jimmy, a lot of the tactics from your simulations only work because the people behind their terminals can’t actually feel what they’d feel if they were really there.”

Jimmy had shaken his head. “I don’t see it that way. There’s a right way to take on bosses and a wrong way. And I’m telling you guys, you’re doing it all wrong. Raiding comes down to math and numbers. It’s all about DPS and group composition. That’s just how it is.”

Donovan had sworn at him. “You’re too smart for you own fucking good,” he’d growled. “Look. All the shit you know is gonna take you far, don’t get me wrong. But there’s a big difference in behavior between someone who knows he can’t really get hurt and somebody whose life can end painfully after a single mistake.” Donovan had leaned in closer to him and his voice had become even more serious. “You need to experience what it’s like to see people under real pressure before you can lead. You’ve got the brains and the heart, Jimmy, but you don’t have the experience.”

Jimmy hadn’t been convinced, and he’d let them know it. “This is some bullshit, man. For all you guys know, I could solo that fucking boss.”

“Maybe,” Donovan had said, following his words with a shrug. “But you ain’t gonna be able to solo every boss, and you’re either gonna wise up or end up dead. I’m hoping it won’t be the latter.” With a hard look in his eyes, he’d poked Jimmy in the chest. “We’re doing this my way or the highway, kiddo. Take it or leave it.”

“All right, fine,” Jimmy had whispered, trying to stave off the resentment he felt within himself.

As he recalled this conversation, he momentarily forgot where he was, and it was only thanks to Kalana yanking on his arm that he avoided walking headfirst into a tree branch. She then made a silly face at him, which he couldn’t help but laugh at.

“Thanks,” he said to her.

“No problem, but umm, you should watch where you’re going.”

“I know.” He breathed out the stale air in his lungs and then drew a fresh breath. “I’m sorry for having such a bad attitude about all this, it’s just they’re treating me like I’m a goddamn noob.”

Kalana tilted her head to side as though unfamiliar with the word, which prompted Tena to step ahead of Jimmy, jog to her side, and whisper something into her ear. “Oh, that’s what it means. It’s a mean way of saying someone’s new.”

“It means they’re bad, too,” Tena said. “Jimmy calls people noobs all the time. It’s like the meanest thing Earth adventurers say to each other in their simulations.”

“But…wait a minute.” Kalana glared at him, curling her bottom lip. “Yesterday, you called me and Zach noobs when we didn’t know what that term you used, umm, ‘min-maxing’ meant.”

The glare she sent his way distracted him, and he almost walked into a cob web as he’d done earlier in the day. Thankfully, this time, Jimmy saw it at the last minute and ducked beneath it. Afterwards, he shot her an apologetic, helpless shrug, and her frown turned more playful, her lips bunching up. Eventually, she seemed to let it drop entirely, deciding to press ahead and exchange words with some of the other adventurers.

Still can’t believe she came along with us, he thought. I wonder if Zach had something to do with that.

Based off what Kalana had said, Zach had returned to her island about fifteen minutes before everyone was getting ready to depart Angelica’s, and seemingly out of nowhere, Eilea had asked her if she wanted to go with the adventurers, telling her that she should feel free to do so. Kalana claimed she’d refused, saying that she would never abandon her duty, but Eilea—according to Kalana—had commanded Kalana to tag along, but only if, in her heart, it was something she truly wanted to do, which Kalana stated it was. Kalana also claimed she’d tried to get Zach to come along with her, but he was too tired, which Jimmy knew for a fact was a lie, as he’d been in the car—or DEHV, whatever—when him and his former teacher had discussed their plans.

He doesn’t want her in the room for the war stuff, he realized. He’s gonna be doing something unpleasant tonight, isn’t he?

Based on Kalana’s explanation, it seemed that Zach had insisted she go as well. She’d apparently told him that she felt guilty coming without him, to which he’d supposedly replied that it was only fair she got to meet Mushkie since he did, and that he really thought she should go if she wanted to. And so, assuming all that was true, then she’d been led to believe Zach would be spending the rest of today—and tonight—resting in bed, when in actuality, he’d be off on much darker errands. It was kind of sad, and Jimmy felt bad for them both.

“So that’s what’s going on,” he told Tena, whispering this all to her as they held hands and strolled their way through the forest.

“He shouldn’t have lied to her,” she whispered back. “But I understand why he did it.” She pursed her lips in a way that came across as sad. “Still, I really think Zach should’ve told her the truth. If you lied to me about something like that, I’d be so upset.”

“He obviously doesn’t want her to get hurt or killed.”

“Yah, but Jimmy, Kalana’s such a sweetheart, and if she finds out—and let’s face it, it’s more like when—she’s gonna be heartbroken.”

“You better not say shit, Tena.”

She shoved his arm with her elbow. “I wouldn’t!”

“Lower your voice.”

“Sorry.”

Jimmy and her continued onwards while Kalana practically bounced from adventurer to adventurer, making happy conversation with all those she came across. Up ahead was the clearing that led out of the forest and onto the road. Something told Jimmy that Donovan wasn’t going to let them comfortably ride a bus this time around. He definitely seemed more like a jogging kind of guy. Jimmy sighed. It looked like he’d have to get sweaty.

As they neared the exit to this damp, bug-ridden forest, Jimmy twitched nervously as he felt a sudden weight plop down on his right shoulder. He became aware that something, maybe even something alive, had just landed right on top of him. He croaked. Reflexively, he raised his right hand to swat it off. But he stopped an instant later as he heard a purr in his ear.

“Fluffles,” he said with a sigh, lowering his arm. “You scared the hell out of me, man. I thought you were a giant spider.”

“I’m not a spider,” the cat said with a meow. “Why humans so afraid of bugs?”

“We just are,” Jimmy said. “They’re disgusting.”

“No! Bugs are fun and yummy.”

Jimmy cringed in disgust, but he said nothing out of fear of offending the cat. Instead, he merely continued on, as he was more than happy to let Fluffles hitch a ride on his shoulder. After all, Fluffles had saved his life yesterday, and that wasn’t something he’d forget any time soon. He owed a lot to the cat. He also deeply missed his own.

I refuse to accept I can’t go back, Jimmy thought to himself. I’ll accept this is real. I’ll accept this isn’t a game or a simulation, too. I’ll do all of that. But I’m not giving up hope.

The sight of Fluffles on Jimmy’s shoulder caused Kalana to break away from an adventurer she was chatting with. She hurried over to pet him and give him chin scratches, which he allowed. Then she again smiled at Jimmy. “I’m glad you decided to choose the raid over meeting with Eilea tonight,” she said in a way that was spookily knowing and deep. It reminded him that Kalana, for all her playfulness and silliness, was deeply empathetic and more attuned to what people were feeling than she let on.

“Heh. I didn’t think anyone would realize that,” he admitted.

Kalana snickered. “Of course I would! Umm, you were making such a big fuss about meeting her, and then you stormed off with Zach when you had to wait. Of course I’m gonna notice it. But anyways, if you chose to be here, it means you’re finally accepting things, right?”

Jimmy lowered his voice a touch. “Kind of, I guess. It’s also because I know what she’s gonna say, so what’s the point? I already figured out why I’m here from that vampire guy—the one who looks like a kid. He was right all along. Besides, I can meet with her any time now that she’s here on Galterra.” He averted his gaze and stared at the leaf- and dirt-covered ground. “Thing is, Kalana, if I have to make a life for myself here, I might as well act like it. That’s why I’m here. Because if this was my world—and ya’ll keep telling me it is now—then I’d choose the raid over meeting with her. So that’s what I’m doing.”

“She mentioned you to me, ya know,” Kalana said after a few seconds of quiet had elapsed.

Jimmy once more lifted his head. “She did?”

Kalana nodded at the same time that her pointy ears twitched. “She said she’d talk to you first thing tomorrow, and that she hopes you have fun. Oh! And she said you’re doing even better than she thought you would.”

Jimmy looked over to the front of the formation, where he could just make out Donovan and Zephyr barking out laughs as they told crude jokes to those nearby them. “Maybe Eilea should tell that to those two, then,” he remarked bitterly. “Donovan really pissed me off today. I don’t get why he’s such a hotshot. He acts like he knows so much more than me, but he and the adventurers here would never have the balls to go into this dungeon if pioneers like me and your boyfriend hadn’t waltzed in like we own the place. Why’s he think he knows better than me?”

“Because he does,” Tena said, a consoling, amused expression accompanying her words as if to soften the sting of them.

“He doesn’t, though. Tena, you of all people should—”

“No, no, I get why you think he doesn’t,” she said. “But Jimmy, you’re not giving him any credit—which is the same thing you’re accusing him of doing to you. I’m sorry. I like you so much, and I don’t…the thing is I want to be on your side no matter what, but I have to be honest with you. I really think you’re being too defensive. There’s a lot you can learn from him, and I think he likes you and wants you to be a raid leader. Just not yet.”

“I am a raid leader,” Jimmy said. “I trained on more games—or simulations if you wanna call them that—than you can ever imagine. And Donovan knows this, but he won’t accept me.”

“He’ll accept you when he thinks you’re ready,” a deep, rough-edged, and masculine voice said from behind him. Looking over his shoulder—and brushing his chin against Fluffles’ soft fur in the process—Jimmy felt his nerves rise as he took in the sight of a tall, bald, and well-built man with black skin, dark sunglasses, and a crooked smile plastered on his face. Jimmy recognized him. He was the second-in-command of the God Slayers Guild: a man known only as Spider. Supposedly, he’d whooped Zach’s ass in a brawl in Angelica’s—at least based on the gossip.

Watching such an imposing figure approach, Jimmy felt himself tensing up. Between Spider and Donovan, it was difficult to say for sure who was the more intimidating of the two. Donovan was maybe half an inch taller and had a slightly wider frame, though that could have been due to his black plate armor. Spider, on the other hand, was clearly the more toned and muscular. He also had scars all over his forehead as well as several that ran down both sides of his face. Allegedly, they were from before he’d become an adventurer and couldn’t be healed via the rejuvenation stones. If the rumors were true, he’d been this world’s equivalent of a mob boss in Whispery Woods before a life-changing experience led him down the adventuring path.

He's definitely not someone to mess with.

“Sorry,” Jimmy said to him. “I didn’t mean any disrespect to your guild-leader.”

Spider chuckled, approached closer, and patted the top of Fluffles’ head. “I get where you’re coming from, son. It’s all right.”

For someone so tough with such a deep, powerful voice, Jimmy picked up a genuine sense of kindness coming off him. Having now stepped just outside of the forest and into the open, the sun peeked out from between the clouds and more fully illuminated his scars, including a deep one running all the way across his temple.

“I know you think we’re giving you the cold shoulder, but it’s not like that,” he said. “Donovan doesn’t devalue your knowledge. If anything—and you didn’t hear this from me, son—he’s likely eying you to be an officer in the God Slayers Guild someday. Maybe even taking over Alex’s old role.”

Spider’s words were shocking—and for more than one reason. The substance of what he said was a shock all on its own, but an even greater shock was the fact that he appeared to know things about Jimmy he shouldn’t have known: things that were supposed to have been kept secret for all their sakes. Had someone leaked the truth about him? The possibility of it caused him to swallow nervously.

“My knowledge?” he asked. It was a probing question designed to find out what this guy knew.

Spider grinned, and a few of his teeth were revealed as his lips pulled back. “We know, Jimmy. Everybody knows.”

Jimmy felt terror rush into his heart. “You know?” he asked at a whisper. “What do you know?”

“We know your situation,” Spider answered. “Nobody wants to bug you about it ‘cause we know it’s a sensitive subject you don’t want getting out, so the adventurers are all pretending they don’t know. But trust me: news travels real, real fast in the adventuring world. By now, everybody knows your secret. People were just too curious about you, and it was only a matter of time before lips started leaking.”

“My…secret?” Jimmy asked fearfully.

“Yep.” Spider’s face softened and his voice, though still deep and rough, contained a note of compassion. “We know you’re from an uncontacted colony on Earth that survived the red apocalypse. We know you were part of a small community of people who the Great One, Eilea Vayra, had been protecting on Earth. We even know she fed you thousands of hours of training simulations, which is how you know all this crazy shit that you do. But that’s not all. We also know…” He patted the shoulder opposite the one Fluffles was sitting on, and he exhaled sadly. “We know your parents and your community were attacked by a boss spawn while Eilea was out foraging for food. She only made it back in time to save just you, right? And then she brought you here to Galterra a few weeks ago to start over. It’s okay, son. Nobody’s gonna bother you about it, but you should know that we know.”

Jimmy looked at Tena, then Kalana, then Tena again, before finally staring back up at Spider. He drew a deep breath and released it. “Damn,” he said, nodding along. “It’s just such a sensitive subject. So, my secret’s out, huh?”

“Like I said, it’s all right, Jimmy. Everyone found out today, but they know better than to fuck with you about it. So if they act a bit weird, it’s just them trying not to upset you.”

“Thanks, Spider,” Jimmy said, doing his absolute best to conceal his surprise. He was so bad at lying, but since this wasn’t his doing, he found it easier to simply go along with it. “I appreciate that.”

“It’s all good.” Spider squeezed his shoulder more tightly. “I’m only telling you this to let you know I understand your frustration. In your eyes, you feel like you’re qualified to lead. And nobody, not me, not Donovan, not any of us—nobody doubts your knowledge. But experience? You can’t get that from a sim. It’s what Don and Zeph have been trying to tell you.”

Jimmy darted his eyes around. He couldn’t help but notice the way a whole lot—like a ton—of adventurers were walking just a little bit closer with their heads turned away as if to pretend they weren’t eavesdropping on every word. Goddamn, could they be any less obvious?

Who made up this bullshit? Jimmy wondered. Somebody must’ve. I mean, it’s a useful excuse or whatever, but I wish I would’ve known ahead of time.

Spider, as if having other matters to attend to, released his grip on Jimmy’s shoulder then hurried ahead to the front of the formation, where Donovan appeared to be waiting for him. The two exchanged a few brief words, and then both glanced at Jimmy. Then, as a group, the more than two-hundred of them headed over to the rest area not far from the bus stop that him and Zach had used to get to Pixie’s Point.

Upon arriving, Kalana broke away from him and Tena and darted over to where Donovan stood just outside the entryway to a small convenience store; several well-dressed men in business suits stood by as though waiting for her. Come to think of it, Jimmy noticed that there were no customers here at all, and the store appeared to be closed. It was as though the area had been put on lockdown or something.

“Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” Kalana asked, raising her voice. Donovan quickly got the crowd under control, ensuring everyone fell silent. Once the adventurers had quieted, she continued to speak. “So umm, since Whispery Woods is an Elvish territory, and since my mom and Donovan made an agreement about adventurers passing through our lands, the five-percent tax that Donovan agreed on with Queen Vayra is in effect.”

Kalana paused for a moment as if to meet everyone’s eyes, a cheerful smile on her face. “But since most of you guys are just going to the item shop and leaving, my mom decided to charge a flat rate of 10,000 gold for passage, which you can pay to one of these three nice humans. Since we think you’ll be coming through here a whole lot, every time you pay, you’ll get a digital pass good for a whole month! Oh, umm, but please remember: every single coin is going to Den of Ziragoth, and we’re not keeping a single piece of it.”

“Well, in that case, I ain’t paying ya 10k,” Reni Sarwin announced, a cocky grin on his face. Jimmy had met him a few times before. He was a decent enough guy. “I’m giving 30!”

“I’ll give 20!” a woman shouted.

“You can do better than that!” a third person hollered. “40 from me!”

One by one, the adventurers approached the men in suits. Jimmy watched as each and every one of them paid more than the 10k that was requested of them. Following this, one of the men would raise a device that looked a bit like a supermarket scanner, and with that, they’d “scan” their face while asking for their name. This, Jimmy supposed, entered them into some kind of database. It also meant there’d likely be some kind of enforcement mechanism in the near future.

I bet the Elvish queen is gonna monitor all the dungeon entrances in Whispery Woods from now on, Jimmy thought. He himself didn’t mind. It was only money. Patiently, he waited for the others to pay and move on, and then he approached with Tena. He decided to give 55k gold. Tena gave the same.

“Thank you, young man,” said an older, silver-haired gentleman wearing a tan-colored suit, who collected his payment. “Please enjoy your activities. Oh, and…thank you.” There was a sadness to his voice.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“It’s not a problem, my guy. I’m Jimmy, by the way. You look familiar. Have I seen you before?”

He made a sad smile. “You might have. I’ve been on the news a bit lately. I’m Barton Darnolomb, the mayor of Den of Ziragoth. Or at least I was. I’ve decided to dedicate the rest of my life to rebuilding it.”

Jimmy opened his mouth to ask why they wanted to rebuild in the same spot the dragon spawns, but he paused when he realized it probably wasn’t that big of a deal, at least not in the short term. One of the things that had become public knowledge thanks to the vampire guy’s “records” was that the dragon wouldn’t spawn again for between 800 and 1000 years. By the time Ziragoth reappeared, this shit wouldn’t even be a memory anymore.

Hopefully they’re at least better prepared next time.

Stretching his muscles, Jimmy waited for the last few adventurers to pay for passage, and then he readied himself for what was sure to be an exhausting, thirty-mile trek to Pixie’s Point. Fortunately, however, it seemed like he’d once again be spared having to make such an arduous trip. Donovan, along with Zephyr, wrangled the raid members into a single-file line on the sidewalk near the street, and within two minutes, numerous buses showed up out of nowhere.

“What’s going on?” he asked aloud, not expecting anyone to answer him. He stood near the middle of their assembled group with Tena to his left and Kalana having returned to his right. Fluffles had hopped off shoulder and was now in the arms of another hugely muscular adventurer known as Maric. The cat was also chatting excitedly with a goth-looking woman named Alixa, who Jimmy recalled being one of the most renown armor crafters in Galterra.

“My mom doesn’t want a big group of us to scare or disturb the human locals,” Kalana said. “So she’s gonna start working out ways to make sure any group of adventurers larger than 5 has ways to get around discreetly—included in the fee.”

Jimmy thought on Kalana’s words. “I don’t know if it’s just because I’m new to all this, but I feel like there’s a damn lot of dungeons in this region.”

“Oh, there are,” Kalana said excitedly. “We’re gonna use that fact to help us rebuild Den of Ziragoth even faster. Now that the Elves are getting the crime under control in the city, a lot of the university graduates who fled to other regions are coming back, and she’s hiring a lot of them to help her figure out all kinds of logistics and stuff. We’ve got engineers, economists, and doctors and all kinds of really smart people working for us.”

Jimmy boarded one of the buses, which were a dark grey in color and didn’t much stand out or draw the eye. Despite six bus DEHVs in total having shown up, it still ended up being a cramped fit. Jimmy, Tena, and Kalana had all squeezed into a single row on padded seats, while Maric, Alixa, and Fluffles sat across from them.

“Don’t I always see you two with another dude?” Jimmy asked them as the DEHV’s engines roared to life and they took off, traveling fast down the forested roadway.

“You sure do,” Maric said. “You’re thinking of Kesten, right? Guy with shaggy blond hair, leather coat?”

“Yeah,” Jimmy said, snapping his fingers. “When I first got here, I used to see ya’ll eating in Angelica’s every day.”

Maric nodded. “He’s busy in Giant’s Fall tending to the wounded. He’s a doctor if you can believe it.” The man’s eyes lowered, and a defeated look came over his face. “He says he’s never seen death like this before.”

Alixa chewed the lower corner of her pierced lip as though agitated. “I wish he wouldn’t shut me out. He won’t even answer his phone. The few times I’ve talked to him, he doesn’t sound like his usual self.” Fluffles fell asleep in Alixa’s lap, purring as she patted his back. “It’s terrible over there right now.”

Jimmy let his mind and thoughts drift away as he, Tena, Kalana, and the other two adventurers chatted away. Given that these bus DEHVs had no other stops to make, it ended up only taking about nine minutes for them to get where they were going, as opposed to the longer ride that him and Zach had faced several hours ago. Even still, it was a nice little reprieve. Jimmy used the time to contemplate how he could convince the GSG, the Explorers Brigade—or hell, any of the adventuring guilds—to let him lead a future raid or two so that he could prove himself. They were seriously wrong about him.

If I can just show them what I can do, I know they’ll see me as being worthy.

Eilea had brought him here from thousands of years in the past, and she’d done so for a reason: a reason he now understood. Therefore, if he was to embrace his new life and his purpose, then he needed to actually be allowed to do the thing he’d been brought here to do. Otherwise, what was the point? He needed to fulfill this new purpose of his. He wasn’t sure why. Yet he felt compelled. He felt like the only way he could cope with his new life was to both have and pursue some greater aspiration—and Eilea had given him one.

While dwelling on this, the bus came to a stop, and there was a slight sinking sensation as the hover mode became disengaged and the vehicle sank down to ground level. Then the doors opened with a fwish, and Jimmy watched as a bunch of excited adventurers hopped out of their seats and seemed to wrestle one another to get off more quickly. They reminded Jimmy of kids during summer camp. It was hard to believe that Lord Oren guy had actually been an adventurer. Even Maric, who looked like he was in his seventies, seemed to leap out of his seat and laugh boisterously as he made his way to the front.

In no particular rush, Jimmy got up last and then exited while still holding Tena’s hand. Climbing down the three steps, he found himself just before the gate that led to the old, disused, and decrepit school, inside of which the entrance to the dungeon awaited.

“Sure am glad I ended up buying the property to preserve the entrance,” Jimmy heard Zephyr remark as he opened the creaky-sounding gate. He turned around and looked at Jimmy, then beckoned with his chin. “You want to lead so bad, right? You’re in luck. You can lead the way into the dungeon.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes. That wasn’t exactly what he wanted. He wanted to lead the raid, not serve as some kind of glorified tour guide. “Tena, Kalana, you two wanna come with?”

“Sure,” Tena said. Kalana nodded enthusiastically. The two followed along with him, while hundreds of eyes followed his movement as he made his way through the fairly large crowd and headed to the front, where Donovan and Zephyr were waiting for him.

“Don’t you know where the entrance is?” Jimmy asked Zephyr. He was surprised that he needed to be led at all given that he was the one who’d bought the property.

Zephyr, whose most notable features were his stunningly charismatic eyes and his breathtakingly beautiful, glistening sword, which contained a large assortment of multi-colored gemstones running up and down the blade, made a half-shrug at Jimmy. “I have an idea. It’s in the basement somewhere, right? That’s as much as I know. I’ve never actually been in Trials of Nolak. As of right now, the only two people alive who have been are you and Zach.”

A young adventurer wearing a red bandana and a chainmail breastplate clapped her hands and let out a cheer. “To Zach and Jimmy!” The rest followed suit, and Jimmy tried not to let the flattery overcome his disappointment at being relegated to such a bland role in the upcoming boss raid.

“Just out of curiosity,” he said as he walked through the gate and onto the chipped, cracked sidewalk that had withered grass and dead leaves to both sides of it, “where’s the first floor to this dungeon?”

“No idea,” Donovan said. “Zeph, do you know?”

“Nope.”

“There you have it,” Donovan said with a laughing grunt. “If Zeph doesn’t know, nobody does.”

This, Jimmy found surprising. “Wait, you mean that nobody knows how to begin this dungeon properly?”

“That’s right,” Zephyr confirmed, his feet making a soft tapping sound on the old, badly damaged concrete pavement. “If this dungeon turns out to be as important as you say, we might go looking for it. I mean, we at least know where to start.” He extended his arms widely around him. “If this area we’re in represents what used to be the 27th floor, it means that the 26th floor must let out here somewhere.”

“What about the 32nd floor?” Jimmy asked.

Once again, Zephyr shook his head. “We know that F31 begins in the grand library in the Slopes of Dal’Zarrah, but after that, we don’t know anything until F74, which is in a small farming village in the Arid Dunes of Bastia.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of missed floors.”

“That’s how it is sometimes."

Pushing open the old, discolored door that led inside, Jimmy saw Kalana shudder as she and Tena entered with him into the very dark, very creepy-looking school. “Spooky!” she said aloud. “You and Zach came here all by yourselves today?”

“Yeah,” Jimmy said with a laugh. “And it gave us both the creeps. But it was way worse, because it was much quieter when it was just us two.”

If anything, his words were an understatement. As dozens upon dozens of adventurers swarmed their way into the school’s front entrance, the level of noise gradually picked up, and a party-like atmosphere completely drowned out the eeriness of the place. Though, even still, the inherent, unsettling nature of the place did not go unnoticed.

“Gods be damned! If I was a ghost, this is exactly the kind of place I’d haunt,” an adventurer Jimmy didn’t recognize said from behind him, causing about a dozen others to snicker.

Another adventurer he didn’t know, but whom he took to be the man’s wife, made a disgusted grunt and said, “If you don’t do something to fix your snoring, I might just turn you into one.”

Even more laughter arose as a result of the comment. Looking over his shoulder, Jimmy saw two more adventurers entering, and these two he did recognize. Hell, everyone would recognize them. Though they weren’t quite “famous” among adventurers in quite the way Zach or Grundor were, they were probably the two most well-known adventurers in all of Galterra outside of the guild leaders. They also happened to be the oldest people Jimmy had ever seen in his life: including his life on Earth.

They were Mister and Misses Britethorn: the oldest living adventurers other than maybe those vampires, but that was a bit of an unfair comparison. Each of the two silver-haired folk were said to be nearing two-hundred years of age, yet they moved briskly, carried heavy weapons, and wore even heavier armor. It was really an astonishing sight. They were also such kind, really nice people. The first time Jimmy had discovered Angelica’s, they’d taught him all about it. Apparently, it was something they were known for. Any time a new adventurer or group of adventurers made their way to Angelica’s, the Britethorns, who lived there, would invite them for tea and teach them all they knew about the infinite hall of rooms.

Their armor clanking as they moved their way farther into the school, the two Britethorns whispered quietly to one another about whether or not they should use their points to redecorate the living room of their home. Wherever they walked, any nearby adventurers politely moved out of the way—even Donovan and Zephyr. There seemed to be nothing short of reverence for the two of them. Jimmy thought he could understand why. He felt a protective instinct towards them despite the fact they could likely handle themselves. Even Fluffles seemed to love them.

“Hi Frederick. Hi Eetna,” the cat said, running over to them.

“Oh, Fluffles,” Frederick Britethorn said, bending down and petting him. “Hey there.”

“I can come for milk later?”

“Of course you can, cutie,” Eetna said. “You’re always welcome.”

Once the last few adventurers had filed their way inside, the door was shut behind them, and now, Jimmy felt like a guest in an amusement park visiting a giant haunted house. At once, all eyes turned towards him, putting him on the spot. “It’s this way,” he said, turning his body around and then pointing at the door that led down to the basement boiler room that also served as storage for maintenance equipment.

“Just be careful. There’s only enough room for one person to head down at a time. Uh…oh yeah, and like, don’t freak out about the dungeon’s entrance. It’s a weird one.”

“Weird how?” someone asked. Jimmy couldn’t even see who it was amid the large crowd of adventurers.

As he turned to face the speaker, he almost felt like he had truly stepped into one of his games. Clad in various types of armor, and wielding an uncountable variety of weapons, what should’ve been an incredibly dark hall was partially lit up by any number of various weapon and armor effects. There was smoke, fire, lights, streaks of energy, as well as things that flickered, blinked, or made slight sounds. Some things flipped, flapped, and rotated. Others seemed to grow or shrink in size. One adventurer had spikes coming out of his shoulder guards that spun around like little radar beacons.

“So, the dungeon’s entrance is inside of a boiler, but the thing is you end up in like this silvery world or whatever, and uh, you’re not gonna be able to see your own hands in front of your face. Just keep walking forward, and eventually you’ll just fall and slide down into the dungeon.”

“Fun!” Kalana shouted out. Since the place had gone totally quiet while Jimmy spoke, her voice created a loud, reverberating echo that made the word “fun” repeat three or four times as she clasped her hand over her mouth and blushed. This then resulted in nearly two-hundred adventurers cackling with laughter while Kalana made a squeak as though embarrassed.

Proceeding onwards, Jimmy made his way over to the stairwell’s door. “Remember, only one person can fit in at a time,” he said. “So try to be patient or you’ll fall down the stairs.”

Before another minute had come and gone, three adventurers and a cat had fallen down the stairs—and unless Jimmy was mistaken, they’d probably done it on purpose. Of all things, it reassured Jimmy that he, not Donovan, was right about leading raids. For as wacky and rowdy as the adventurers happened to be, it was nothing new to Jimmy, because this was how he and all his friends behaved on raids, only this was in real life. Much of the playfulness, banter, and overall good times were being recreated right here in front of him. He knew what he was doing. He understood this shit.

As Jimmy watched adventurer after adventurer pour into the basement-level boiler room, which was quickly starting to become cramped, he realized that, if this dungeon ended up becoming as popular as it used to be, they were going to have a problem. “There’s no way this school’s gonna be able to handle the constant activity,” he muttered.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Kalana said, her cheeks still just a touch red.

“Huh?”

She lifted her hand and then gestured at the walls around her. “My mom knows this place is gonna be really active. We’re buying the deed from Zephyr and rebuilding it from scratch into a much nicer administration building.”

Jimmy shrugged. “Sounds fine to me.”

As more adventurers descended the stairs, with most—but not all—doing so on two feet, it quickly became clear that there was not enough space in here to accommodate the more than two hundred of them. “Okay, follow me,” Jimmy said, turning around and moving towards the specific boiler that led to the dungeon, the entrance to which was still left open from when Zach and him had come earlier. Jimmy reasoned that people would be able to figure out where to go by watching those in front of them.

Getting down onto his knees, he began crawling inside of it until eventually reaching straight through to the other end. He continued from there, moving beyond the opposite end of the boiler and into another world entirely. Immediately, everything became awash in pure silver, which made it impossible for him to see anything around him—including himself. Now, he stood up, and calmly, he began to walk forward, dreading the moment the ground would vanish beneath him.

“Okay, so, be ready to watch your step,” he called back just in case someone was behind him. “There’s gonna be a—gah!”

Someone slammed right into him, blasting him forward. And then he—and they, whoever they were—began tumbling down the slope, bouncing and spinning. At some point—and Jimmy wasn’t even sure when—the spinning stopped, and he found himself once more face down on the soft, royal-red carpets in this fancy, clean, dimly lit, and palace-like dungeon floor.

“Owe,” he said. Then he scrambled out of the way as one tumbling form after the next began appearing behind him. Then came another, and another, and another. With the sole exception of Kalana, who cheered and laughed as she deftly rolled down, not a single adventurer managed to slide down gracefully. They were all pushing each other down into the depths. At some point, the adventurers even seemed to become aware of exactly how far into the silvery passage the drop appeared; but rather than use this to reduce the overall level of chaos, they seemed to delight in shoving one another just before hitting that point.

Jimmy laughed, loudly, as he watched these goofy but lovable thrill-seekers arrive one by one. He did wince, however, when he saw the spinning forms of the Britethorns come tumbling down the one-way slope that led to this dungeon. Thankfully, in complete odds with their somewhat frail appearance, they both laughed and shot up to their feet.

“Which one of you fuckers pushed me?” Donovan asked, a grin on his face as he finally came down the slide, which ran through a hatch above. His plate armor made a bang that actually caused a slight vibration beneath Jimmy’s feet. “Fess up. Was it you, Reni?” he asked, picking himself and staring at the man behind him.

“No way,” Reni said, now also returning to his feet. “Do you think I’d dare push the great GSG leader?”

“Yeah, I absolutely do.”

Reni lifted his shoulders. “Okay, well, in that case, it was me.”

“Hah! I knew it, ya bastard. You’re buying me a beer for that.” Donovan released another mighty laugh.

It was interesting how Donovan could be so strict when it came to certain things, and so lax when it came to others. Jimmy supposed that, as long as nobody was doing anything that could actually hurt a member of the raid, he didn’t mind a little disorganization and playfulness. Certainly, Jimmy couldn’t begin to imagine that someone like that “Lord Oren” person would allow people to launch each other down a slide into what was likely a portal to another planet.

No way he’d let that happen, Jimmy thought. Despite having only met him twice, he was sure that the man wouldn’t tolerate it. Was that guy really an adventurer? Jimmy wondered. I can’t even picture that in my damn head. It’s impossible to think of him ever being one of them.

Due to their eagerness, it took the adventurers a lot quicker to get down here than Jimmy had been expecting, and once they’d all arrived, he cleared his throat and raised his voice. “There’s real danger in the next room,” he said to them. “These are the traps I told Donovan and Zephyr about. Ya’ll need to be very careful where you step.”

To demonstrate this, he led them all beyond the door labeled F27->F28 and then pointed to one of the raised, square-shaped elevations in the otherwise flat floor. Then he pointed at the wall directly across from it. “Anyone here with a good shield feel like they’re brave enough to do a demonstration?”

Maric stepped forward. “What do you need?”

“Okay, so can you like, uh, get into a defensive position?”

Maric nodded. He bent his knees and lifted his large, octagonally shaped metal shield. With that, Jimmy stepped on the tile then hurried out of the way as a magical dart zipped across the room and collided with the shield, making a loud clank in the process. What sounded like fifty of the adventurers cheered just at the sight of him guarding against the dart, with many shouting out things like “nice catch.”

“Hey, honey,” a man said to his wife. “Can you do me a favor and step on that tile.” More raucous laughter came from the crowd, and then even more as she told him she’d be happy to do so as long as he went first. But following their banter, Donovan did put an end to all the silliness.

“All right, folks, no more fuckin’ around!” he roared; immediately, all fell silent. This meant Jimmy had judged him correctly. As soon as real danger was around, he shifted gears and became stricter and less flexible. Jimmy, on the other hand, tended to be more relaxed throughout, knowing that stress often made people play worse.

Unlike his earlier trip here, this time around, it took considerably longer to navigate their way through the floor. This was because Donovan was no longer willing to let people proceed unguided and at their own pace. Now, in a complete reversal of things up until this point, he began to operate with a vastly increased level of organization, calling upon his raid captains to begin guiding small groups through one at a time. Since Donovan and Zephyr were both leaders and battlegroup captains, this meant that they, along with Jimmy, Kalana, Spider, and Maric, began preparing groups of five on how to proceed and when. Interestingly, the adventurers had also become a lot more attentive and displayed a great more seriousness, too.

“Make sure you don’t forget anything you learn here,” Donvan said loudly enough so that everyone could hear him. “If what Jimmy told us is correct, we’re gonna all be coming here a lot, and I ain’t holding yer damn hands every week.”

One group after the next, the raid captains would lead five adventurers at a time—not including themselves—over the traps, and then through the spinning, bladed wall obstacles. Then the raid captain would hang back and instruct the adventurers to sprint as fast as they could down the hall. Each time, a fresh, new boulder would appear and cause the entire floor to shake and rumble as they dove into the hole that would likely not repair itself until the dungeons reset next week. Even from where Jimmy was standing, he could then hear laughter, cheering, and finally, a loud splash.

“Next!”

Due to the methodical, careful nature of their progression, it took a lot longer than Jimmy expected to get everyone down into the rounded puzzle room, where to his amusement, there were still clumps of sand all over the place from the dead imp mobs him and Zach had slain earlier. Bragging, he pointed around the room. “That’s right, we killed all of those by ourselves.”

“I bet Calador did all the work,” one of the adventurers taunted. Jimmy didn’t take it personally, though, as busting each other’s chops was just something adventurers did. He also didn’t deny the accusation, either, because he knew that, if he did, it would make it seem like he was desperate for them to think otherwise, which would invite them to pick on him even more. He merely laughed and shrugged.

Now that they were all down safely, Jimmy again raised his voice and addressed the raid. “There’s nothing dangerous between here and the item shop,” he said. “Ya’ll just gotta follow me and I’ll take you right to it. Don’t go through the door at the end of the next passageway, though. That’s not it. That, I assume, goes straight to the next floor.”

Without waiting for a reply, Jimmy turned around and began making his way down the path just as he’d done earlier. This time, he walked with Tena’s hand in his own and Fluffles once more perched on his shoulder. Behind him, he heard the loud, energized, and excited crowd following behind. Closest to him were Donovan, Maric, Zephyr, and Kalana, and Kalana in particular seemed so giddy she was practically bubbling over with excitement.

“I can’t wait, I can’t wait!”

A thought came to him—one that was closer to a concern. He came to a halt when they were around three quarters of the distance down the passageway, and he turned around to face the adventurers, who all glanced back at him with confusion in their eyes as he stopped. “Sorry, I just gotta say one thing.”

He wet his lips and thought on how to word things. “So…I’m guessing Donovan or Zephyr told most of you guys this already, but Mushkie is kinda like Angelica. He’s sentient and he has feelings, but uh, there’s a pretty big difference between them, too. This is something I don’t think I told any of you yet. I don’t even think I told Donovan. I guess it kinda slipped my mind since there was so much stuff going on.”

Donovan grunted, and now Jimmy could visibly see the adventurers moving closer to him as if eager to hear his words. Pausing yet again, Jimmy opened his mouth to speak, but it ended up being at least another five or six seconds before he managed to get out the words. “Okay, so, it’s like this. The dude who runs the shop…he’s been alone for a really, really long time. Like really long. Actually, he told us he hasn’t spoken to nobody in five hundred years. So you gotta imagine what that feels like: to be all by yourself with no one to talk to for centuries.”

Jimmy took a breath before continuing. “He’s a bit…weird because of that. But I was hoping you guys could be nice to him. All he wants is to meet new people.” Now that they were nearly there, Jimmy took his time to more carefully explain his experience with Mushkie and what the other adventurers should expect. “…anyway,” Jimmy concluded, having fully recounted his and Zach’s interactions with the NPC. “When he sees all of you, he’s probably gonna cry. Please don’t be a dick to him, all right? He’s gonna be really strange, but I gotta ask you guys to be chill about it, okay? Can everybody be chill, please?”

“Of course!” one of the adventurers replied immediately, those nearby her nodding.

“Poor NPC,” Miss Britethorn said. “That’s such a horrible thing to suffer through.” The other adventurers seemed to agree. Donovan and Zephyr looked at one another, and both nodded. Kalana, on the other hand, actually wiped her eyes with her shirt.

“Poor Mushkie,” she whimpered. “It’s too sad!”

“It sounds like he could use some company,” Donovan said. “What do you boys and girls say we make a good first impression?”

Jimmy was reassured by their cheers. Satisfied that they understood his concerns, he turned back around and began walking the last bit of distance down the passageway until finally he paused at the spot where he saw a discoloration in the rocks in the general shape of an entrance. Interestingly, the rocks had “respawned,” so to speak, and the entryway was once more sealed.

With an embarrassed laugh, he said, “Ah, so, it’s through here, but I don’t have the strength to blast this thing down.”

Donovan casually brushed him aside and sank his fist through it even before Jimmy had finished speaking. Then, together, they all continued on their way through what, at first, was a straight passage, but soon gave way to the winding, turning, sloping path through a very dark tunnel that eventually ended with the door. Given the small width, the more than two-hundred adventurers were now all lined up single file, and it was only here that Jimmy was finally able to understand why this might’ve caused adventurers to fight—or kill—each other in the past. Although he had no doubt that up to three-hundred people could comfortably fit inside the store, any more that that would simply be too much. It must’ve therefore driven people crazy to have to stand in line for what might’ve been hours at a time in this dark tunnel.

“Okay, here it is,” he said, opening the door.

Immediately, he was refreshed by a cool blast of air-conditioned air as he took several steps into the homely, bright, and well-kept item shop. Mushkie, who was seated in his stool behind the counter, immediately hopped up to his feet and widened his eyes, a smile lighting up his face.

“Jimmy!” he cried out. He hurried around and then moved in front of the counter to meet him. “You came to see Mushkie again! I’m so happy!”

“It’s not just me, dude.”

Mushkie made an O-shape with his mouth. “Zach?”

“Nope. Not this time.”

Rather than explain, he stepped aside, and Kalana strode excitedly into the item shop. “Hi, Mushkie!” she said, smiling at him.

“ANOTHER PERSON!” he shouted as though his mind was blown.

“Hey there,” Tena said, entering immediately after her. “I’m Tena. You must be Mushkie.”

“Th-three people?”

“So, this is the shop,” Zephyr said, walking in after Tena. He waved at Mushkie. “I’m Zephyr, leader of the Explorers Brigade. You’re Mushkie, right?”

Mushkie’s eyes began to glisten with tears. “F-four people,” he whispered.

Then came Donovan and Maric with Fluffles sitting on top of his head. After that were the Britethorns, and then a bunch of adventurers Jimmy didn’t know or recognize.

“There’s even more!” Mushkie cried. Now, he began to weep. He fell to his knees, his palms laid flat on his clean, spotless carpet. “I’m so honored and thankful! Please don’t go. Please talk to Mushkie! I am at your service.”

He became even more emotional as Kalana picked him up off the floor and gave him a hug. “I cant wait to start shopping here,” she said, releasing him.

This caused him to break down into an emotional mess, weeping as if it had all become too much for him to handle. His eyes ran like faucets as one adventurer after the next began filing into his shop, and all called to him by name and introduced themselves.

Jimmy had never seen someone cry so hard from tears of happiness. Mushkie eventually lost the ability to speak as he seemingly became overwhelmed by all of it. His lips moved, but no sound came out. Yet from the way he stared at Jimmy, and from the motion of his mouth, Jimmy was pretty sure he was attempting to repeatedly speak the same two words: thank you.

Eventually, every adventurer found their way inside, turning the place into something as lively as Angelica’s. Jimmy had suggested to them that, once everyone was inside, they wait for him to explain how things worked before shopping, as it seemed to bring him a lot of happiness to do so. He was glad to see that the adventurers were willing to be patient with him, as he attempted several times to address them and failed each one.

Slowly, however, he appeared to regain his composure, apologizing over and over for his poor manners. Yet just when he seemed to finally pull himself together, he buried his face in his hands and began to cry even harder. “I was going mad!” he shouted, his voice muffled by his hands. “I couldn’t take it anymore!”

Finally, he at last reined himself in, and just as Jimmy had suspected, he became ecstatic as he described the intricate working of his shop in great detail to a chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs.” His eyes swollen and red, the NPC spoke a bit more slowly than he had when it’d been just him and Zach, but Jimmy didn’t mind, because he was an entertaining little dude, and he was thorough in his explanation.

“And that’s how everything works,” he said, sniffling. “Thank you! Oh, and of course, there’s also the special items. Sorry, I forgot to mention those.”

“Special items?” Donovan asked.

“Yes-yes-yes! Unlike the weekly ones, I have a bit of control over when those go up and how. If only I’d have known there’d be so many of you, I would’ve held a contest for Inn Room 8, which was what I was supposed to do!” Very quickly, he added, “So I gave it to Zach.”

His words set off an explosion: an absolute explosion of surprised, confused, and outraged shouts that he clearly wasn’t expecting as the words “Inn Room 8” traveled from person to person until Mushkie found himself surrounded by an inquisitive mob of startled, amazed, and even angry adventurers.

“INN ROOM EIGHT?” the adventurers shouted—and in some cases screamed.

“ZACH TOOK IT JUST LIKE THAT?” another roared.

“Is that why Eilea said Zach felt so greedy?” Kalana asked, her hands on her hips.

“Calador cheated!” someone else cried. “This isn’t fair. There should’ve been a contest. He’s…he’s doing greed before need! Donovan, say something!”

Donovan grunted. “Kid pulled a fast one on us.”

Jimmy couldn’t help but chuckle as the adventurers lost their mind over this discovery, which was another thing he’d forgotten to tell everybody. Mushkie again dropped to his knees, but this time, it was to beg for forgiveness and not to be shunned and left all alone again. This prompted more than a hundred adventurers to call out to him that they’re not mad at him at all, with many of them giving him pats on the back or affectionate shoulder squeezes.

“Kalana, this isn’t fair!” others shouted, appealing to her as if she could somehow undo what’d already been done.

“Yeah, it is fair, actually,” Rian said, sticking up for his friend. “He and Jimmy discovered this place, and they were the only customers at the time, so he got it by default.” This caused dozens of envious eyes to glare at him. But he stood his ground. “Hate all you want, but you know I’m right. Zach got it fair and square. He found it first.”

“That’s not how we do things!” a teenaged adventurer snapped at him. She looked a bit younger than he was, maybe fourteen or fifteen, and she scolded him like she was twice his age. “It’s against the spirit of adventuring! If you find a rare thingy that’s supposed to be done with a contest, you’re not supposed to sneakily grab it like some political guilder!”

“That’s right!” someone shouted in agreement. “Kid’s spending too much time with that filthy turncoat, Alex!”

“Exactly,” the teen replied. She seemed to be the youngest adventurer on the raid, though it appeared her father was accompanying her. “It was a contest, and this is, like, so cheating.”

“Relax, Ishina,” Rian said to the young girl, rolling his eyes. “I doubt he even knew it was meant for a contest.”

“He knew,” Mushkie said matter-of-factly in a neutral tone of voice. “Mushkie told him.”

About three seconds of silence followed his words. Then came another explosion of noise.

“RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!” the crowd screamed. Jimmy was no longer able to understand their words. Rian, despite their anger, still refused to change his view.

“Hey, it was still fair and square. Right, Jimmy?”

“Well…I wouldn’t exactly say it was fair, at least not to me,” Jimmy grumbled, causing all eyes to turn his way. He hadn’t even meant his words to be overheard by everyone else, and he had no idea how the raucous crowd could even hear him, yet upon speaking, everyone now stared at him as if expecting an explanation. He sighed.

“Zach didn’t give me a chance to roll for it. He just happened to be the first to get to the counter, and when Mushkie showed it to him, he bought it immediately. We actually got into an argument about that.”

“Do-over!” the adventurers roared. “Do-over! It’s not fair!”

Jimmy turned over his hands and lifted his palms. “There’s no way you’re gonna convince him to participate in a contest for it. You guys know how he is, right? Ya’ll got a better chance convincing a turtle to fly.”

Mushkie cleared his throat. “Maybe I can help make things better,” he said, once again causing him to become the center of attention. Setting down the rainbow-colored umbrella he was holding, he hurried back behind his counter and then returned a moment later with a piece of a paper, which he held close to his chest as if worried someone might see whatever was on it.

“The special items are meant to foster community events,” he began. “I get twelve of them a year, and I decide when they go up, in what order, and what contests I do to let people earn the right to buy them.” He stopped speaking a moment as he read over the list in his hand. “There are two other inn rooms up for grabs this year. Inn Room 20, and Inn Room 5. Oh, wait, no. Inn room 9, too. So Mushkie has…three inn rooms!”

As Mushkie spoke those words, Jimmy learned with absolute certainty that there was no sound associated with the widening of eyes, because if there was, he surely would’ve heard it as the adventurers all looked ravenously at Mushkie. “Contest!” they cried. “We want another contest!”

“Wouldn’t it be more fun if we at least waited for—”

“No waiting!”

Mushkie smiled as if loving the energy. “Okay. How about this! Are all of you doing the boss on F30 after this?”

“Some of us are,” Donovan said. “Why?”

“How about I add Inn Room 20 to the loot table? Guaranteed drop.”

Almost sixty of the adventurers, Jimmy included, let out a cheer of excitement and agreement. The rest, however—such as those who were either too low level, not qualified for another reason, or not willing to participate—gave the opposite reaction, shouting how that wasn’t fair because then they had no chance to win one. Mushkie seemed to have a solution to the matter, though, and he appeared both eager and proud to present it.

“Okay, okay! How about this, my new friends? I’ll put Inn Room 20 on the boss loot table, and then next week, on Monday when the store resets, I’ll hold a very special contest for Inn Room 9 that anyone level 10 or up can participate in. My contests are usually pretty safe for anyone meeting the level requirement.”

A consensus rapidly formed around this suggestion. There did, however, appear to be one question that a great many people all seemed to ask in unison: what about room 5? At this, Mushkie gave an honest answer that he likely didn’t intend to be as upsetting as it was.

“I’ll hold onto that for a later contest so I know somebody will see me again and I won’t be alone forever!” he said merrily.

The adventurers calmed down a bit at the desperation in his words. Jimmy wondered if it was starting to dawn on them—as it had with him and Zach—how strangely…how unusually cruel this was. It was impossible not to question why the Great Ones allowed this kind of suffering for one of their creations. There was simply no sense to be made of it.

Over the course of the next few minutes, many questions were asked of Mushkie, and most of them were the same questions that he and Zach had asked when they were here earlier: such as why he hadn’t just left and gone to Angelica’s, which led to them wondering why he wasn’t allowed to leave if she herself could roam freely. Jimmy hadn’t been certain earlier today, but he’d thought he detected a hint of resentment from Mushkie whenever it came to Angelica. Though he claimed to have never met her, Jimmy was beginning to doubt he was being truthful. Even still, it wasn’t his place to pry.

Whatever the case, the adventurers became wild with glee as Mushkie held up the certificate to Inn Room 20. He then extended his arm, raised his hand as far above himself as he could, and before everyone’s eyes, it vanished. “The inn room is now with the boss on F30,” Mushkie said. “Good luck, everyone!”