Chapter 5: Spawn Camping

With a heavy, but not completely unsteady breath, Zach popped his head out of the water, and then with one hand, he hoisted himself up and onto the solid, uneven, and rocky surface of the dark, underground cavern he had been dreaming about all day. He was finally here. After what felt like the longest school day of his life, he had finally returned.

His clothing soaked, he grinned as he dropped the diving bag on the ground near his feet and turned around to wait for Kalana. Unlike last time, they’d come much better prepared today; as soon as school had let out, the two of them had rushed first to a hardware store and then to a specialty shop a half-mile away, before finally hitting up a small supermarket near their apartment building. In total, they’d spent more than 380g on supplies. Still, it was better than the 5 or 600 gold Zach had originally planned on splurging, and 120g of it was spent just on the submersible bag alone.

We got some good stuff for the money, though, he thought, pleased with himself.

Strapped to his forehead was a waterproof, head-mounted flashlight. Now that he could actually see the world around him, it had been easy for him to dive on his own and, following Kalana’s instructions, swim his way here in less than forty seconds. To both his astonishment and intense satisfaction, he discovered that, when fully exerting himself, his increased speed and newfound power in his legs was enough to propel him forward through the water so swiftly that it rivaled the best of his school’s swim team. Even more amazingly, Kalana had sent him through a different underwater tunnel than the path he’d barely made it through alive yesterday afternoon. This one spanned almost twice the distance before it became possible to surface for air, and yet Zach had gotten through with only the slightest bit of discomfort just beginning to turn into an ache in his lungs.

I can’t believe this is really me.

It was a good thing they’d decided not to buy a diving suit and oxygen tank; after talking it over, they’d both concluded that, with sufficient lighting, Zach’s level-up already gave him the strength and speed to cross the distance comfortably with a single lungful of air. It would’ve set them back another 500g that they might not have been able to afford. Of course, this was all just based on an educated guess, since Zach really hadn’t had the chance yet to test himself. If they’d been wrong…it was a scary idea to consider.

Good thing we were right, then, he thought. The alternative would’ve sucked.

By itself, the swim alone was proof enough that he really had become stronger since yesterday, but this had actually been the second test of his newfound power: the first had been the feeling of weight as he carried the submersible duffle bag in his right hand during the several-mile walk to the ferry that boated them across the river. The bag was much lighter than it should’ve been—or at least how living his entire life up until this point had told him it should’ve been. Several times, he’d had to stop, unzip the water-proof seal, and check to ensure that he hadn’t somehow dropped the contents inside, because it just felt too damn light. This…was going to take some getting used to.

And this is with just 2 strength. What would happen if I had 10? Or 20? Or…or even 50 or more? Could I punch through a wall? Could I lift a DEHV?

From the body of water came a splash, and within a half second after, Kalana emerged. Zach squatted down, extended his arm, and Kalana reached out, gripping his hand with hers. Then he pulled, and with an unexpected speed, she was plucked clear out of the water like a bear snatching up a fish, almost crashing into him.

“Take it easy,” she said with a chuckle. “You’re stronger now.”

“Sorry, I’m…this is something I’ve got to get used to.” Zach glanced down, shining his mounted forehead light onto his hands. He inspected his fingers as if expecting to see something different. Visually, his arms, hands, and the rest of his body still looked like it always did—and yet, he was clearly not the same. “It’s still really hard to believe.”

“Yeah, well um, I hope it’s gonna be even harder to believe by the time we leave today.”

“Hell yeah,” Zach said. He nodded, but then with a touch of apprehension, added, “Assuming those three things we fought yesterday respawned. Who knows how long the timer is? I’m not going to lie: part of me expects to just not see them ever again. It just…I guess it just still all seems too good to be true. How do we even know things actually respawn? The history books could all be wrong, and the elites keep all of this a secret. We don’t actually know for sure how any of this works.”

“It’s gonna be fine,” Kalana said, giving his shoulder a pat. With her short, curly brown hair dripping streaks of water down the sides of her face, she looked even cuter than usual.

“I hope so.”

With a playful giggle, Kalana crooked her thumb in a beckoning gesture. “Only one way to be sure, Zach.” And with that, she took off in a hurry. Zach laughed as he quickly scooped up the submersible duffle bag and chased after her. He could easily overtake her if he wanted to, as even before he’d gained an increase in speed, he had always been faster than her—but he thought the better of it, deciding to let her get there first this time. She was too excited and happy to mess with today. Besides, after seeing what she’d done to Pack Dolan…

Seriously, just what the hell was that?

Through some miracle, neither of them had gotten into trouble. The teacher, Mr. Oren, had personally intervened on their behalf, telling both school security and the principal that Pack had instigated and provoked the entire ordeal, even going so far as to claim that Kalana had acted in self-defense. Zach had no idea why the teacher would do that for the two of them. Hell, if he was being one-hundred percent honest here, what Mr. Oren claimed had happened technically wasn’t even the truth—not that Zach had any issue with it.

Though obviously not the one who’d instigated the situation, Zach had to admit he’d clearly egged the entire thing on. He could have just ignored Pack’s insult, but he’d chosen—correctly, in his opinion—to become confrontational. Not to mention that Kalana had actually thrown the first—and technically only—punch. Yet Mr. Oren seemed adamant in a way that almost came across as personal, even getting heated at one point when a security officer had asked him to clarify. It was just bizarre seeing him intervene so strongly and passionately on their behalf. Why would he do that? Did he just think him and Kal were cool or something? It made no sense. But, oh well. Whatever the reason, Zach was grateful for it.

More time to spend here.

Thanks to swimming the longer route, the tunnel Kalana led them down did not contain any water for them to wade through. Catching up to her, the two of them jogged, side by side, down a seemingly straight and narrow stretch of the cavern that they could thankfully actually see.

“Remember,” Zach said to her as they excitedly made their way deeper into the cavern, “if they’ve respawned, we’ve got to go for the rat-thing first. I’m probably going to have a scar from where that prick bit me. The other two just knock the wind out of you. That thing freaking hurts. It’s legitimately dangerous.”

Kalana nodded and smiled, and in that moment, she looked so vibrant and alive. Zach was grateful he got to see it, because it didn’t last long. Within two seconds, she frowned and pushed his head away. “It stings my eyes. Don’t look directly at me with your flashlight on, jerk.”

“Sorry! I forgot how bright this is.”

Kalana herself wasn’t wearing one of the head-mounted flashlights, claiming that the light from Zach’s would be more than enough for her to see. It reminded Zach that her eyesight was unnaturally good. He wondered if she’d ever had a vision test. In any case, he was glad, because it’d saved them even more gold.

“We should be there soon,” she said.

Zach knew better than to question her sense of direction—even if he had no idea how she knew where she was going just from a brief survey of this place yesterday while he’d been treading water waiting for her to find him a way out. It really was remarkable. For two years, Zach had been friends with Kalana, and in just over twenty-four hours, he’d discovered like ten amazing and unbelievable new things about her.

As the cavern began to somewhat widen and become less claustrophobic, Kalana held out her hand and said, “Hey, stop for a second.”

Zach came to an abrupt halt, confused. “Why? What’s up?”

Rather than reply straight away, Kalana came into something of a crouch and then tapped her right shoulder three times, bringing up her stats. Just as they were last night, the same numbers greeted Zach’s eyes.

Kalana Vayra: Level 2

(4/100 xp)

1 strength

3 dexterity

1 constitution

3 intelligence

1 speed

1 luck

“Can you turn your flashlight off?” Kalana asked him.

“Uh, sure,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “But why?”

“It’s hard to see my stats with that stupidly bright flashlight. Let me use my own light for now. Also, uh, it’ll save battery power.”

“Well, we bought extra batteries just in case, but if it’s easier for you to do whatever you’re…whatever it is you’re doing, then yeah, I’ll turn it off.”

Zach reached his hand up to the left side of his face and fumbled around trying to find the switch. Once his fingers had settled on it, he flicked it into the off position, and right away, the entire world was submerged into a complete, total, all-encompassing darkness, through which not a single sight could be observed—not even the hand he now held near his eyes. This only lasted a moment, however, as Kalana shouted, “Val En Sha!”

Nowhere near surprised or impressed as he’d been yesterday, Zach still felt at least a small degree of awe as small ball of pure, but soft white light appeared a little more than a foot above the top of her scalp. It was definitely a great deal brighter than it’d been yesterday. Was this because she had higher intelligence now than she’d had before? Regardless of the cause, what most amazed Zach was not so much that the light was brighter and now shined much farther into the distance, but rather just how “soft” the light was. Zach had the sense that even if he held a book so close to the light as to almost touch it, he would still be able to easily read the words on the page. It was like it lacked the blinding qualities of typical light. In fact, even staring directly at it did not hurt his eyes.

“So, what’re you up to, Kal? Why’re you showing your stats?”

She turned to him and winked. “I wanna see something. Can you hand me my dagger out of the bag, please?”

“Yeah, sure, no problem.”

Zach knelt down next to her, placing the submersible duffle bag on the rocky floor. He undid the water-proof seal, then unzipped and opened the bag. The high price had been more than worth paying, as despite literally swimming through a submerged underground passage, every single item contained within was perfectly dry, including the first-aid equipment, the bandages, several pairs of spare clothing, and all the food and bottled waters he’d brought along.

Reaching inside, Zach grabbed the dagger that had dropped here yesterday and handed it to her. Though sharp and appearing in very good condition—actually, it looked brand new, as if it had only been made yesterday, which it kind of had—it was a nevertheless unremarkable and could easily be mistaken for an ordinary weapon; the dagger had a rounded, brown-colored hilt, and a straight-edged blade roughly seven inches in length. There were no engravings or other markings or patterns. It truly was an unexceptional, ordinary-looking dagger that he wouldn’t look twice at if he hadn’t known that it was actually a real piece of “equipment” that’d dropped from an actual mob in an actual spawn point!

I wonder if I’m ever going to be able to believe this is real, Zach thought. That I could be so lucky to be in this situation.

He handed Kal the dagger, and the moment she gripped her left hand around the hilt, she said, “Okay, let’s see what happens.” With her opposite hand, she pointed at her stats.

Zach cheered aloud, impressed, as right before their eyes, the numbers changed. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, honestly. It was obvious that something like this would happen. Even still, seeing it for his own eyes—experiencing what almost no one in the world would ever get to see…it was amazing. Floating in the air before her, the readout of her stats now said:

Kalana Vayra: Level 2

(4/100 xp)

1 strength

3 dexterity

2 constitution

4 intelligence

1 speed

1 luck

At the same time the stats changed, the light above her head began to glow even more brightly, confirming to Zach that the light did, indeed, become more powerful with higher intelligence. If his memory served him correctly, the weapon, aside from being able to create that awesome-as-hell bolt of lightning, added a point to both intelligence and constitution.

“I can’t believe how bad I’m falling behind,” Zach said with a genuinely good-hearted chuckle. Tapping his own right shoulder three times, he brought forth his own stats.

Zachys Calador: Level 2

(4/100 xp)

2 strength

1 dexterity

2 constitution

1 intelligence

2 speed

1 luck

“You’ve really got me beat, Kal. It’s that dagger you’ve got that really gives you the edge. That and the better level-up. What even determines who gets what, anyway? Is it random?”

“I don’t think so,” she said. “My dad told me when I was little that leveling up just brings out your own inner power. What you’re seeing is what’s really in you all along. Or I dunno. That’s just what he said. Anyways, I don’t think I got the better level-up. I got one extra point, sure, but you got an ability. What’s it even do, anyway? You still haven’t told me. I bet it’s awesome.”

Zach shrugged and released a nervous, defeated laugh. “I have no idea. I tried to figure it out before bed last night and ended up giving up. I’m starting to doubt I even have an ability. Like, I don’t ‘feel’ anything different. Meaning, I don’t feel like I have some new ‘thing’ I can do that I couldn’t before. Everything happened so fast when I leveled-up yesterday. And this is kind of humiliating, but I honestly don’t even remember what it was called anymore.”

Kalana tapped her chin a moment, then said, “Um, I think it was…something slash?”

“Yeah, ‘Wave Slash’ I think it was called. I don’t even remember for sure.”

“Why don’t you just check and see?”

“Why don’t I check and see what, Kal?”

She leaned closer towards him then chuckled. “Ya know, what your ability does.”

Zach ran his hand through his wavy hair, which still hadn’t dried. He made a half-smile and said, “What’re you talking about?”

Kalana leaned in even closer now and studied his face in the way that she often did whenever she thought he was playing a trick or a joke on her. Did she think he was lying to her or something for the laughs? He had no idea what she was on about. It was made all the more awkward by the way she tilted her head to the side as if trying to figure something out about him. Did she think he was crazy? Or stupid? Apparently, it was neither, because after another few moments of her uncomfortable staring, she widened her eyes, snapped her fingers, and then exclaimed, “Oh, right! Duh!”

“Huh?”

She crept over to him, so close that their shoulders were touching. Then she tapped him on the chest. “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” he asked with a sigh.

She laughed. “Of course you don’t. None of you humans—ahh, I mean Whispery Woods people—have passive abilities so you don’t know how to check your ability information.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

At this, Zach fully turned so that he faced her. The two of them had at some point these past few minutes shifted from squatting to sitting on the rocky, dirt-covered ground. With both excitement and agitation mixed together in his voice, Zach asked, “Kal, what do you mean ability information?”

“Let me show you.” She again tapped four times on her shoulder, causing her stats to disappear. “I guess it makes sense you wouldn’t know. Use your pointer finger and do this.”

Zach watched in utter fascination as she tapped her right shoulder with her pointer finger four times just like anyone did if they wanted to see their boring, useless, level-1 stats. Only, on the fourth tap, she did not remove her finger—she held it in place for what seemed like five full seconds. Then she removed her finger and tapped twice more in quick succession.

All at once, a word appeared in easily legible black lettering in front of her and just above her head. It spelled out: Torch.

“Now watch,” Kalana said.

Using the same finger that she’d used to bring forward this stunning new thing that Zach couldn’t believe she knew about, she tapped her finger on the word “torch,” which caused it to vanish. Then, taking its place, even more letters began to appear.

(T1 Elvish Racial Ability) Torch:

Three times per day, the user may summon a light to illuminate the darkness around them, the brightness of which scales with the user’s intelligence. This light continues to persist for a duration between 7 minutes and 5 + 2x intelligence (4 x 2) = (8) minutes, whichever value is greater.

“Holy crap,” Zach said with a loud, drawn-out gasp. “I can’t believe this. This…you knew you could do this the entire time?”

“I thought everyone knew,” Kalana said, now suddenly sounding embarrassed.

Zach said nothing in reply to that. He was too busy trying to bring up his own ability information as he trembled with excitement. He tapped his own right shoulder four times, then held it there. “How long?” he asked.

“To hold it? Count to five, but slowly, just to be safe.”

“Okay. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.”

When Zach removed his finger, he tapped it twice more, just as she had done, and then he tried not to squeal in delight, as that would be humiliating. What popped up in the air before him, a few inches above his head, was the name of the one—and only—ability that he had, for which he was grateful. No matter what it did or regardless of the fact he only had one, merely just having an actual ability was like the honor of a lifetime.

Wave Slash.

Overflowing with nervous anticipation, he lifted his shaking, quivering finger and moved it towards the words that had appeared before him. Was he finally going to find out what this ability actually did? Would he learn how to use it? A part of him almost didn’t want to find out just in case it actually was something extremely lame. But, no, he reminded himself: anything, no matter what, was amazing. It would still be something almost no one else could do.

“Here we go,” he said, tapping on the words. “Let’s see what this is.”

As it had been with Kalana, the words briefly disappeared and then reappeared slightly lower but with a great deal more text to accompany them. His heart pounding furiously in his chest, Zach slowly, carefully, and intensely read every single one of them.

(Inner Ability) Wave Slash (UNIQUE)

Requires Sword. User channels energy into their strike, unleashing a projectile that slices anything that crosses its path, dealing damage that scales with the user’s strength. The speed of the projectile scales with speed. Cannot be used with short-swords or daggers. Exertion Level: Moderate.

Nodding along with the words, Zach raised two fingers, shook his head, and then said, “I just want to say these two things. Number one: this sounds like the coolest Gods-damned thing ever. And two: what is an inner ability, what does ‘unique’ mean, and where can I get a sword? And can it be just any sword?”

Having asked three questions, he received three shrugs in a row. “I got no idea,” Kalana said. “Um, I would guess you need a sword that’s also equipment. I don’t…I’m not gonna say I know for sure, but I don’t think you can just buy a sword somewhere and have it work.”

“Damn,” Zach muttered, “that’s exactly what I was thinking, too. But what about the other stuff?”

“No clue,” Kalana said, returning a blank expression. “I don’t know what an inner ability is or what a unique ability is. I guess it’s an ability that’s unique?”

Zach rolled his eyes at her but decided not to deliver anything in retort. Standing back up to his feet, he offered Kalana his hand, which she took. This time, more gently than he’d done earlier when pulling her out of the water, he eased her back up to her feet.

“Maybe something will drop from the mobs. I’m so amped and fired up right now. I hope those things respawned.”

“Me too!”

Together, they crossed the rest of the distance to the wider, somewhat rectangular-shaped area that they had stumbled upon yesterday when they’d fallen into this underground cavern. Back then, they’d only wanted to find a way to escape. Now, however, it was about so much more.

Zach released a sigh of relief followed by a roar of victory as he spotted the three mobs right where they were the day prior. Two were identical to frogs, only they were the size of large dogs and had a red stripe over their mouths. The third was just a gigantic rat with teeth that, Zach knew, were even sharper than they looked. All three had “level-1” floating above their bodies.

“There they are!” Zach cheered. “They respawned. They actually freaking respawned! We’re going to get more experience points, Kal. We’re going to level again.” He raised his fist to her, and she raised one of her own, and the two bumped.

“Should we start?” she asked.

“Uh, I guess so, but remember, Kal.” He pointed at the rat. “That one is the most-dangerous mob of the three. We need to kill it first. When I fought it last time, I kicked it for 2 damage and then it took 10 hitting the wall. That was enough to kill it. How much damage does your dagger’s lightning do again?”

“I think between 5 and 15,” she said. “I have 4 intelligence, but I don’t know any spells or abilities other than the light above my head.”

Zach gave her a thumbs-up. “I have to fight with my fists, so…you’re still better off. Okay, here’s what we’ll do. Zap that rat thing, and then if it lives, I’ll rush in and hit with everything I got. Once that goes down, we can make quick work of the other two.”

“Got it!”

The two exchanged a brief, determined look, and then Kalana stepped forward. Immediately, a light far brighter than the one above her head sprang into existence. It was blue, and it lit up the entire cavern in a flash, but it only lasted for the briefest of moments. Then there was a tremendous boom of thunder as a bolt of lightning struck the rat dead on, leaving in its wake an acrid smell of smoke, which could visibly be seen trailing off the creature’s body.

Zach dropped the submersible bag and charged forward, running far faster than he had ever run before. But he quickly came to a halt as he saw the rat roll over and die. Mere seconds later, it disappeared into a white puff of cloudy smoke that quickly faded, leaving nothing behind but a brief message that faded almost as quickly as the rat had.

+2xp

As if reacting to the death of a friend, the two massive, dog-sized frogs began charging at Zach at full speed. Zach now stood halfway between them and Kalana, which was good. He knew how to dodge their attacks, having burned the way they attack into his memory. He’d even tossed and turned all night fighting with imagine of them in his head.

“RRRRRRRRRIIBIIIIIIT!” the first one roared, angrily.

“RRRRRRRRRIIBIIIIIIT!” the second agreed.

Both came at him at the same time. Zach dashed backwards and out of range of the first, then twisted his body to avoid the second, which sailed across the dimly lit space that he’d just been standing, whereupon it found Kalana’s dagger. She released an angry shout, and then with pure fury, she began slashing at the thing: like, really slashing at it. The dagger in her hand moved so fast it was like a blur that caused an equally fast stream of numbers to appear above its body.

2

4

2

2

4

The creature died before it could even offer up a second attack. Overwhelmed with disbelief, Zach felt his mouth open slightly. “You’re…so, so cool,” he whispered.

“N-no I’m not,” Kalana said, averting her gaze and looking away. Was she blushing?

“Yeah you are. You’re amazing. I don’t give you enough credit. You’re totally—”

“Watch out!” she cried.

Zach’s words came out in an “oomph” as something rough slammed into his back and caused him to land with a rough thud on his belly right by Kalana’s feet. It was the price of being distracted. With a moan, he rolled over and saw that the frog was still coming after him.

“It’s okay, I got it, Kal. It doesn’t hit that—”

Before he could get another word in, Kalana was already dashing straight past him and heading right for the creature. The frog jumped into the air, turned its body, and kicked, but Kalana dodged effortlessly. Then she too jumped into the air, flipped once, and landed behind its back, where she plunged the dagger into its back.

25 (5 base + 20 critical backstab)

The frog squealed in agony before rolling over and dying. A few moments passed, and then it too vanished into a puff of smoke. Zach, getting back to his feet, began to rub his sore back. He opened his mouth, but he coughed a few times. The wind had been knocked out of him. It still hurt a great deal less than it had last time when he’d been hit and only had 1 constitution. Regardless, that was one hell of a shameful display. Especially in front of cute girl who he was slowly coming to realize he was crushing on way harder than he wanted to admit to himself.

“I sucked that fight,” he said plainly. “It’s just the truth.”

Kalana rushed over to him. “Nah-uh, you were great.” This time, she bent down and held out her hand.

Grumbling, he brushed it away. “Stop.”

“You were!”

“Kal…”

She made a sour expression, then exhaled. “Okay, fine. You did suck. But you’ll do better next fight, right?”

“I guess, but…” As if snapping out of a trance, he pointed to her. “How the hell did you do what you just did?”

“You mean the backflip and backstab?”

“Yeah, obviously. Since when could you do something like that?”

“I dunno. Ever since my dexterity increased, I just feel so nimble and light on my feet. I was doing cartwheels in my room last night. I just felt like that was something I could do, so I did it. I just kind of ‘knew’ if that makes any sense.”

Zach looked at her. He was surprised there was no trace of jealousy in him. Well, okay, maybe just a tiny bit, but not like he’d have expected there to be. He knew the usual him would be royally pissed that he was being so badly outdone by Kalana, and yet…? Nothing. All he could feel was pride, admiration, and a growing desire to tell her how much he liked her. He would do none of these things, of course, because this was still Kalana after all, and he could just not think of that goofy girl in such a way. He wouldn’t let himself. He’d snap out of it sooner or later.

But if anything, I’m snapping more into it, he realized.

Dusting himself off and climbing back to his feet, Zach drew a deep breath, held it for a few moments, and then released it. “So, what now?” he asked. “Should we look around the place to see if there are any more spawns? Or should we wait here and see how long it takes? Oh, crap! I almost forgot.”

Zach ran for all he was worth over to the duffle bag, which he then hurriedly unzipped. Since both of them had broken their cell phones and they couldn’t yet afford the high cost of buying a new one, he’d purchased a simple digital timer: a small, cylindrical device that fit into the palm of his hand and was capable of playing music, telling them the time, and serving as a sort of stopwatch. Immediately, he pressed the timer button, and the numbers on the digital screen began climbing in second intervals.

“We’ll have to add a minute whenever they spawn.”

Zach took a seat right next to the duffle bag, and then with a smile, Kalana skipped over and joined him, sitting next to him. Like before, they were now shoulder to shoulder. Was it weird the way he kind of enjoyed the feeling of her shoulder brushing into his?

Yes. This is Kalana. Silly Kalana. Get this out of your head!

His heart actually ached in his chest. That was new. It actually hurt. It was made worse when she closed her eyes and smiled contently at him. There was something so different about her. Zach wasn’t sure what it was or why, but she was so much more than just the ditzy girl who nagged him whenever she was having bad dreams or wanted someone to watch TV with. Twice today, he had seen a side of her that she almost never showed. The first was when she’d beaten the snot out of Pack, and the second was just now, when she’d savagely attacked and defeated all three mobs on her own. During these moments, she almost seemed to be…majestic. Noble. Something more than just a girl living in one of the lower-income areas of an already cash-strapped city.

“Kal?” he asked.

“Yep?”

“Who are you?”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean.” She gave him a dumb look, then twirled her finger around her head as if to say he was crazy. “How hard did you hit your head after that mean frog kicked you?”

“Kal…Kalana, I’m only asking because I really want to know…who are you really?”

She recoiled as if struck. “Why are ya asking me that? What’s that supposed to mean?” She fully scooted several inches away from him, sliding over the rocky surface on her butt as if it burned her. To Zach’s own shock, he felt regret with each inch that separated them.

“Come back,” he said, forcing himself to laugh and appear cool and unfazed, though on the inside, his chest began to sting and he was starting to regret asking her this dumb question. “I was just curious. You don’t have to…do that.”

She glared at him. “You asked me a weird question.”

“I’m sorry. It was dumb. Forget I said anything.”

“No way, nope.” She lifted her chin at him. “Now you have to tell me what you meant by it.”

“It’s just…it’s just today, and I guess a little bit yesterday, you showed…you acted in a way that I’ve never seen you act before. And then you told me about the slave and genocide thing. I just feel like there’s so much more to you than what I always thought. And if I’m being honest, you’re basically my best friend at this point. I spend more time with you than anyone else.”

To Zach’s relief, she actually slid back closer to him. “You’re my best friend too,” she said. “And…I guess I’m gonna be honest and just say that, um, there are things about me you don’t know. Like a lot.”

“How come?”

“Because this”—she pointed at herself—“is the only me that matters now.” She smiled. “The other me that you saw…that’s an accident. This is my life. Or was, anyway. I dunno what’s gonna happen now that we’re camping spawns like it’s eight-hundred years ago. But even then…I’m just a person like you trying to, you know, have fun and live.”

Zach wet his lips then hesitated before asking the question that was burning on his tongue. Calmly, he whispered, “And who is the other you?”

“Do you really wanna know?”

Zach, without hesitation, gave an immediate, firm nod. “Yes. Absolutely. One-hundred percent.”

Kalana turned her head away a moment so that she stared at the floor. Just then, her light went out, and now once more, the world around them was bathed in complete darkness. Oddly, Zach had the sense that maybe she’d chosen to put it out at that moment. But there was no way he could ever prove that or even really be sure himself. Either way, when it appeared a moment later, the expression on Kalana’s face was one that almost made him slide on his butt away from her.

She looked fierce, determined, grim, and resolute. Her eyes were narrowed, and there was fire in them that burned brighter than any flashlight, torch, or bolt of lightning. “Kal,” he whispered.

“I’m Kalana Vayra,” she said, her words coming across as both a whisper yet also somehow firm and commanding. “I’m the daughter of Fylwen and Eldora. And I’m not part Elvish. I am Elvish. I’m not a human. My hair isn’t really brown, either. It’s a shade of gold distinct from anything found on a human head. I’ve been dyeing it for years. Oh, and my ears are not really this round. It’s painful making them look this way, but even still, they look pointed no matter what I do.”

Zach wanted to reply. He wanted to say something, anything. But his voice caught in his throat. There was nothing he could do or say even if he wanted to. His body would not obey him: it would not allow him to speak. All he could do was sit perfectly still in a state of abject shock as Kalana studied him with a far more intense gaze than he’d ever seen from her before. Then, she released a sad laugh and continued speaking.

“I’m also a princess and technically heir to a throne that your kin destroyed because you feared us. That’s why I hide what I am, and so does my father and mother—assuming my mother is even still alive.”

“I…I don’t know what to say,” Zach whispered. He was in such a state of shock he almost felt numb. What was she saying? That she, Kalana, was actually a full-blooded Elf? Could that even be possible? Everyone knew they went extinct thousands of years ago. And yet…she could do things no human could do, like hold her breath under water for half an hour. She could see clearly with just the tiniest bit of light. She had those cute little pointed ears that he’d taken for just being an odd little physical quirk.

“That look in your eyes,” she said. “That’s why I never told you. Now you’re never gonna look at me the same way ever again, right? You’re never gonna—”

“No!” Zach shouted at her, finally snapping out of his thunderstruck trance. “How can you even say that? I…I could never think that way.”

She regarded him skeptically. The way she looked at him…it was as though she didn’t believe him. But why? Sure, what she’d just said was a hell of a lot to take in and process, and it would likely take some time before he could actually absorb it all, but what did that matter?

“Just tell me this, Kal. You and me being friends…was that real? Hanging out and everything—was that just an act for you to…to I don’t know, blend in?”

“Of course not!” she shouted. Now, the heat in her voice matched his own. “Everything you know about me is true. It’s really who I am, Zach. I never pretended to be someone I’m not. I know you don’t wanna believe that after what I just told you, but it’s true. I came here to start over. That’s what I did.”

“So then…let’s make a deal, okay?” he asked her nervously.

“Deal?”

“Yeah, a deal. I’m going to believe you about you being the same-old Kal, and you have to believe me when I say I don’t think worse of you or anything. Hey, it’s only fair, right?” The slightest beginnings of a smile crept up on her face. But it dropped immediately as Zach asked, “Hey what did you mean when you said my ‘kin’ destroyed your…your throne.”

“I meant humans,” she said, speaking the word as though it disgusted and revolted her.

“I would never hurt you, though. Why…why do you say it like it’s something I did? I don’t even really know what happened to you.”

“Do you want to?”

“Sure.”

“No you don’t.”

“Kal, I said I do.”

“You think you do, but you don’t.”

“I do!” Zach said, more forcefully than he’d intended.

“All right then, fine.” Kalana now came even closer to him. So close that if he bent over just a little bit, his forehead would bump into hers. Unlike other times she’d come close to him, this he did not enjoy. She fixed him with a cold, intense gaze that gave rise to a strong desire to look away. Still, he continued to meet her eyes. Something told him if he looked away she’d never forgive him.

“There’s a lot I don’t know about my people on account of how many of them humans murdered before I was even born, but for thousands of years we’ve been hunted. Somehow, though, there were still some of us left in the world. We still had a few villages. Even though you humans have been trying to eliminate us for hundreds of years, we survived, protected the royal family, and almost managed to rebuild—until King Peter IV betrayed us.”

“Betrayed you?” Zach asked, somewhat in disbelief of the conversation he was having. This felt less real than the spawn point, and that still felt like a dream. Even still, he couldn’t shake the sense of impending doom that crept into his stomach as she continued to speak.

“I’m one of the last of my people in existence. Do you know why, Zach?”

He shook his head. “No. Why?”

“It’s because your kin—humans—decided to come into our forests, burn our homes, decapitate our fathers, rape our mothers, and throw our infants into pits of fire. Have you ever seen a newborn child scream in agony? I have. It’s the only thing I can see or hear when I dream.”

For nearly a full minute, Zach could do nothing but repeat her words in his head over and over and over until a nauseating sensation crept into his belly and he had to fight off the urge to vomit. It was a disgusting, creeping feeling of absolute despair that made him want to scream and cry all at the same time. How was a person even supposed to respond to what she’d just said? What words could he possibly offer?

“I’m sorry,” Zach managed to say, overcome with sadness and a sense that this was way beyond something he had the capacity to truly understand or appreciate without witnessing it for himself. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else I can even say.”

She smiled at him, though it was sad and seemed forced. “Hit the button, Zach.”

“The button?” He blinked in confusion.

“Yah, the button,” she said. As she continued to speak, with each word, she seemed to perk up and become livelier, as if slipping back into the Kalana he knew. “The mobs respawned, you dork! Now we have to take off a minute. Just stop the timer.”

She was right. The rat and both frogs were right where they belonged and far, far sooner than Zach had ever anticipated. This was great. This was beyond great! Reaching across from him, he slammed his palm down on the timer. “It’s about thirty minutes. We’ll call it thirty. Which means…” He beamed at her. “We’re going to level up today after all!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s simple.” He jumped back up to his feet, then pointed at the three mobs. “If these things spawn every half hour, and we’re getting 6xp a spawn—two for each of them—then that means we’re looking at 12xp an hour. We need a hundred to level-up, and we already have 10xp each, so…we’re looking seven-and-a-half hours.”

“Yikes, that’s a long time,” she said, her expression an eerie cross between a smile and a pout. “We won’t get home until the middle of the night. Maybe the early morning. And I can’t call my dad because you broke my phone. So both our dads might be worried.”

“Not mine,” Zach said. “He won’t even know we’re gone. He’ll be too passed out drunk to notice. But if you need to run home and come back, we can always—”

He stopped speaking as she held out her palm, gesturing for him to stop. “No, I’m staying with you.”

He grinned at her. “Of course you are. No one can miss an opportunity like this. We might actually level up again, Kal. In fact, not even might: we will!”

Kalana shrugged, of all things, which confused the hell out of Zach. As if noticing his confusion, she asked, “You really think I’m here because I care about leveling up that much?”

Her words were so strange that Zach had to repeat them several times in his head just to process them. “Well, yeah, of course.”

“Then you’re a dummy.”

“Huh? How so?”

“Because, you dork, my world is bigger than leveling and being powerful. I only want to do this ‘cause you want to. I don’t want to be super powerful and lord over people and control cities and prey on people who’re weak. That’s what they do, you know? Jerks! I just…I was only just hoping to go on the adventure with you.”

“Well, we still can. What’s stopping us?”

“Nothing,” she said, readying her dagger. “Now let’s kill these already so seven-and-a-half hours doesn’t become eight.”

“That sounds good to me, Kal.”

With that, a bolt of lightning struck and killed the rat, and the two frogs roared angrily and charged. This time, Zach would make sure he got them both.