“There how’s it look?” I held out my freshly carved staff to Tommy. He was a geek who was really into this. When I told him to make me a staff he had said that the first job of any mage want to be is to make their own staff.

“Not bad, have you tried it out yet?” I shook my head and he frowned. “It’s not finished until it’s been tested out.”

I took the staff from him and ran out side. The staff was as tall as me with two balls of thicker wood at each end. I stood in the open park behind the housing complex and focused on the staff. My skill was fire bolt. Karen had warned us to be frugal with our skill points.

“I am a level three fire mage!” My voice rang out into the open. “All shall fear me!” I could feel my staff heating up. “Fire bolt!”

Both ends of the staff lit on fire.

There was no heat.

I flicked the staff and one of the fire balls flew off into the sky landing in the pond with a hissing sound.

Tommy was rolling on the grass laughing at me. He could use his skill with out any help.

“What did you do to her!” A loud echo that could only be from Duke rang out from the buildings.

Tommy got up in a hurry and ran towards the sound. I followed, my staff hit the ground and the second fire ball faded out of existence.

Duke was punching the guy we found yesterday in the head while holding him with his other hand. The guy was trying to say something but words weren’t coming out of his mouth only speckles of blood.

Tommy had run up to something on the concrete below where Duke was punching the guy. I ran up beside him. A crowd was forming as duke continued to yell. I got down on the other side of the object and saw it was Karen. A small pool of blood had formed where her head met the concrete. I roller her over slowly.

“Phone.” Her voice was weak. I looked around and saw her phone laying at my feet.

Her she bought three skills. Slowly she looked like she was getting stronger. I helped her to her feet. Her eyes were pierced the back of Dukes head.

Her voice rang out louder then Dukes and everything went quiet.

“Karen.” Duke stumbled down the stairs and put his hands on either side of Karen’s head.

The guy was checking his door. He stumbled down the stairs and I caught him. His head was bleeding and he was mumbling about rude guests. I cleaned off some of the blood from his face but he didn’t appear injured at all. He kept walking as Karen started to yell out at everyone standing around.

“What happened?” I looked up at the guy. We were almost to the road.

“Fucken mana sickness.” He was still rambling. “Fucken house guests.” His anger was apparent.

I stopped walking when we got to the road. I needed to leave a mark so that Karen would know where I went. I know she saw me walking with him but I didn’t want to just disappear with a stranger.

I tried to bring out my staff from my inventory.

Nothing happened.

My staff was always in my inventory.

My focal point for my magicka was gone.

The strain of trying to cast a fire bolt with out a focus hurt but one finally appeared. I tossed it at the ground in the direction the guy was going.

The small fire ball left a reverse arrow with a fatter end where he was going. I bent down and drew a proper arrow in the ash.

My nose was bleeding.

I wiped it off on my sleeve then started down the road behind him. Each step made the world twist making me dizzy. I reached out for him and he disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

I hit the ground and started to cough up blood.

Karen rolled me over. She had my phone in her hand saying something. Tommy lifted my head up into his lap. Where was the sound?

My phone was placed in my hand. Karen was using my finger to touch the screen.

I had ten, no nine HP and zero mana. That caused me to laugh a little but with no sound it felt wrong.

She changed the screen to the buy skill screen and spent my two skill points.

I fell asleep.

A moan escaped my mouth, all beds should be comfy.

I wrapped my arms around someone beside me and placed my head on their chest. Boobs. I snuggled against her chest and she started scratching my my head gently.

I purred.

“Rest a bit longer if you can.” Karen’s whisper was soft. This reminded me of the sleepovers we shared growing up while my parents were going through their divorce.

The door creaked open.

“Their back.” Tommy was whispering near my head.

Karen grunted softly. She and Tommy were crawling on the ground. I followed.

People were everywhere hugging the walls in total silence. Growls clicks and grunts were heard from below the patio. The creatures were barely visible with the light of the rift.

We all tried our best to not make a sound. Thirty people in one small house, I could smell the fear from people behind me.

The creatures passed by.

Karen waited about an hour before she got up from her position and started to walk around the place. She was putting her hand on light switches and appliances like there was still power.

"We need to figure out how he ran power to this place." Karen was visibly in a panic.

I paced the place a step behind her trying to figure out what was going on.

we arrived in what looked like a small computer room. There wasn't much in here, a printer a chair and a desk with a computer on it. The pop cans laid on the desk showed the owner was a slob.

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I sat in the chair while Karen closed the door. "What's wrong Karen?" We were alone. I thought now would be the best time to ask her about this.

"Duke is missing, Kyle and Jenny too." Kyle and Jenny were cheerleaders with us back when school mattered.

"What?" How long was I out for?

"When that guy went poof and we brought you back to the house." She had a sorry look on her face. "I used your two skill points to buy skills to try and save your life."

I pulled out my phone and checked. My mana was now slightly over three hundred from being only fifty before. my health was just over one hundred.

"Well I am alive, so no worries." I tried to play it off. I wanted to get the skill Pyromaster but I would need to hold off for a hundred levels at the rate I was gaining skill points.

"We brought you into that guys house, he dropped his keys before he vanished." her sorrow look deepened. I don't know what the two did but it looked like something had changed in Karen.

I spun around in the chair. Being short gives you the privilege of acting like a child from time to time.

"You were out for the last three days." She checked the door to make sure nobody was on the other side and then continued talking. "Duke and Kyle were on night watch the night before after the fight he had with the guy I was trying to punish him by making him sleep deprived. You know give him something else to burn his energy one."

"So you think that Duke and Kyle ran off to do the nasty?" Kyle I knew pitched for our team. I found that out the hard way when I tried to date him.

"Eww no, I think those creatures took them." I stopped my spinning against the desk. My hand brushed against the mouse and the computer turned on.

"Woah, the computer works?" My seat was pulled away. Karen sat on my lap and started looking at the guys friend list.

she sent a message out to all his friends.

[ SOS - Need Help Strange Happenings ]

The computer was silent for almost a minute. The guys friend list had more people on it then I felt like I could count. He was really an online geek.

People got online and went back offline almost as fast as they came. Three messages replies came back.

[ Busy - Real Life ]

[ What the hell I broke up with you don't booty call me at the end of the world ]

[ You are not Kevin ]

Karen clicked on the last one, The guys name take was Stormshadow.

[ He is missing ]

Her replies were short. The computer screen flickered every time she touched the keyboard.

[ Kevin is hunting. ]

The reply was just as short. Karen got off my lap and started to pace around the room.

[ So the guys name is Kevin? Who are you? ]

The screen stayed bright when I typed.

[ A Friend ]

[ And yes. ]

This conversation was going no where.

"Karen, he says he is a friend of the guys." She pressed up against the back of the chair and started telling me what to type.

[ People are missing - 2 guys and 1 girl ]

[ How did the Goblin set off Kevin? ]

[ Donno, Duke shot Kevin and didnt hurt the Goblin... but some girl he was with died by it ]

[ ... ]

[ What I wasnt there... I was trying to carve a staff ]

[ ... This is not the one who sent the SOS... ]

[ No she is behind me pacing ]

[ Whats the SOS for? ]

I looked over at Karen she had gone and sat in the corner.

[ Uhh... she is broken right now can I get back to you on that? ]

[ Is Kevin's printer hooked up? ]

I tapped the little power button on the printer and it started to make noises.

[ Looks like it. ]

[ Do you have somebody who has the faith stat over there? ]

[ Two of us ]

[ We have found a way to increase faith. I am sending you a file. ]

The file transfer was almost instantaneous. I wish that I had net speed like this back home.

I opened the file and it instantly started printing off.

[ Uh, its printing... ]

[ Tell the people who have the faith stat to read it and believe in it. ]

"Karen this thing that is printing is for you... you are supposed to believe in what ever it says."

[ When they actually believe in it they will gain the power to keep unfriendly creatures away. ]

[ Okay mr stormshadow. ]

[ My guess you have seen Goblins around. ]

[ There was about 10 just three hours ago ]

[ Female missing? ]

[ Jenny ]

[ Fuck... ]

Karen was sitting crying in the corner of the room. I could hear her sobbing and I knew she didn't want me to see her.

[ The goblins now probably call her mommy... ]

Jenny was only fourteen, I don't even know if she had her period yet.

[ Is the person reading the pages yet? ]

[ Nope she is broken still... she needs time to reboot ]

[ Okay then. I am going to tell you something and as you read it I need you to say it out loud to her. ]

[ Will it reboot her? ]

[ Its a story. start reading from here...

"Karen I am going to talk for a while... Listen to my voice.

There were Seven heroes of old

The healer, pure and white, the heart and soul of them.

The shield protecting from the greatest of foes.

The sword slashing away at the strongest.

The Arrow who guards the heart.

The Mages crossing elements.

and The Leader guarding them all."

... ahh fuck it. just tell her to have faith in Kevin ]

[ Uh, he has been gone for three days. ]

[ Did he take his weapon collection? ]

"Karen did the guy have any weapons in his inventory?"

A faint no came out so I replied back with that. There was a dust shadow where a giant sword would of been mounted on the wall above the computer.

[ Looks like there used to be a sword on the wall tho. ]

A picture was linked to me from some website. the shape fit the dust sword well.

[ Kevin is probably going to need you to find his weapon stash and bring it to him. You know how to use the inventory right? ]

[ Duh ]

[ ...well you are a child I wont get mad at you... ]

the printer finally stopped. I looked over and Karen had already grabbed the stack of paper.

[ Since you are at the computer for this long I need to know... what skills do you have? ]

I pulled out my phone. My skill list had gone up by three.

[ Fire bolt, Health Regeneration, Mana Regeneration... and I am suffering from Mana depletion sickness... ]

I didn't feel sick.

[ Okay, Now mage I need to to tell me your stats ]

I flicked through the phone until I found the page he was looking for.

[ Level 3, 130 stat points, 10 constitution, 10 dexterity, 10 strength, 10 intelligence, 10 wisdom, and 10+5 charisma... woo I gained thirty more in stat points what ever that is. ]

I could hear the pages being flipped through behind me. the chat had gone dead.

[ stranger danger are you still there? ]

[ ... you have never played any games before have you? ]

[ Like the sims? ]

more pages were flipped. this conversation had stopped progressing.

I started to browse through the files on the computer.

"Ohh, Pictures!"

The picture folder was full of beautiful scenery and strange creatures. There were pictures of seven people hanging out around a campfire dressed like they were doing something that Tommy would of found Interesting.

"They are screenshots from a game." Tommy made me jump in my seat. "That screenshot was named a final party. The characters in it are Storm shadow, the blue mage. The shield knight, Wither. The Undefeated sword, Valentine. Neko Diva, the Storm. The unremarkable one, Greg. His sister the sharp shooter, Heavens Arrow. and their leader. The Impossible Wodahs." He pointed them out one by one. The screen shot was centered around the man dressed in white making it look like he was the one who took the screenshot.

I flipped through the screenshots and Tommy was talking about them like he knew the story of each of the people in them personally. He told the story as if they were his idles, his personal heroes.

"And then the impossible happened. The heroes were sitting in a bar before their grandest fight, recalling the days of old. The bar went quiet as each of the heroes told stories about the strangest adventure they had ever come across. The each story was more and more impossible. Finally the bar all turned to the leader the shadow and waited to hear his strangest tale."

Tommy and I looked at Karen as she talked. The screenshot on the desktop was of a man dressed in black sitting in a bar with everyone looking at him. Tommy had pointed out his own character in the screenshot before Karen had started speaking.

"The shadow started of slowly, recalling the tale of an archer that sat on the cliff and didn't help him when he was being chased around. not only that but he even had to save her in the end. He then told the story about how he was trying to get a girl back her ribbon and it blew up a cliff side and how some knight started calling people over and chanting for him to fall for two days and nights. The third story he told was of a mage who watched him try to get his dagger after it had been knocked away by a huge ogre but wouldn't help him. One by one his stories told the other side of what each of the other heroes had said was their strangest person. The shadow then let out his voice and walked out of the bar alone in anger."

[ ... you are still on... ]

[ She rebooted ]

"Its all about a game... how is this supposed to give anybody faith?"

[ Good... does she believe in the scripture or Kevin? ]

[ The pages about a game? ]

[ ... yes... but... fuck is she able to read the computer screen right now? ]

[ I can, This is useless... ]

[ ... Have faith in Kevin, The creatures already have a fear in this world... they named it the shadow man... ]

Karen blocked my view of the screen while she conversed online. Tommy was walking around the room looking at the artwork and some action figures that fit right in with the geeky vibe of the room.

I got up from the chair and started to feel weak.

The room went dark and I fell to the floor.