Dave's eyes widened in incredulity as the words tumbled from Cedez's lips. He could scarcely believe the request.

"You want me to kill the God-Emperor?" he sputtered, as if the concept alone was enough to induce a mild form of existential vertigo. "A madman who, I might add, can summon heroes with but a mere word right into my body?"

Cedez, for her part, maintained a stoic visage that belied the storm of emotions churning within her. She could feel the weight of Dave's gaze upon her. "I understand if you're worried," she said. "It's not an easy quest."

Dave crossed his arms. "We've just made up, like two minutes ago," he protested. "And now you want me to go on an impossible quest? Yes, I admit, I swore to kill the bastard myself when I saw what he did… but I’m just one man and a few months isn’t anywhere enough time to prepare!”

Cedez sighed. "You've offered to help me," she reminded him gently, her words infused with fragile hope. "This is what I really need help with. I cannot even leave Shandria as my soul is fully tied to the ward.”

"Well, I guess I walked myself right into that one," Dave chuckled. “Fine, you got me.”

"So you'll do it?" Cedez asked, her eyes wide.

Dave hesitated. "I don't know how I would do it," he confessed. "It seems exceptionally suicidal."

"It's a legitimate quest, by my authority as the Ward," she said. "Put on your bracelet."

Dave clipped his bracelet back on.

[WARD OF SHANDRIA -

QUEST: Defend Shandria from the Invading horde amassing at Citadel D-114.

QUEST: Kill the Dragon God-Emperor.]

[Accept: Y/N?]

A notice immediately flashed on it.

"Can anyone just give quests out?" Dave asked curiously.

"No. Only an authority of great power such as a Guild or a city leader can offer legitimate Quests," she said. "Even if you simply help defend the city, it's a lot of experience that will flow from the Ward to make you stronger, help you level up."

"Yes," Dave answered, accepting the offered Quest. "I will do it... just let me think of how to not screw this up."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

His mind became a whirling maelstrom of possibilities as Dave tried to conceive of a way to accomplish such a Herculean feat. The vast emptiness of his thoughts echoed back at him like the cold silence of the cosmos. It was then that he decided to seek the counsel of the part of his psyche that housed the essence of the clever detective from the world of tomorrow.

"Any suggestions, old chum?" Dave queried inwardly, his mental voice a reverberating whisper that seemed to echo through the hallowed halls of his subconscious.

In response, a violin stirred within the depths of his soul, its somber melody weaving an intricate tapestry of introspection and deduction. The voice of Sherlock spoke a single enigmatic phrase: "Touch the fox."

"What?" Dave thought back.

Sherlock's reply glided through the fog of uncertainty that clouded Dave's thoughts. "If the absolute charisma visions permit us to see the future," the detective explained, his words a cascade of crystalline logic, "information gathered from such visions can be weaponized."

Dave's gaze settled on Cedez, an unspoken question etched across his features. "Will I have a vision of the future every time I touch your hand? Is this something I can do forever until we arrive at a solution on how to take down the God Emperor?"

Cedez sighed, the sound a delicate whirlwind of regret and concern. "You're only level four," she reminded him gently. "If you do it too often, your soul will tear asunder or become lost in the ward. Right now, we should only attempt it once a month. If your soul becomes stronger, it can be done once a week."

Dave's brow furrowed in consternation. "How do you even know my level?" he demanded, his voice a blend of curiosity and challenge.

The dark vixen hesitated, as if weighing the wisdom of revealing her secrets. "I can sort of see your first name and how bright your radiance is through the ward when I am her Divine Shadow," she admitted, her voice a hushed murmur. "When my absolute charisma tore through your defenses, I could definitely determine your level. It took four and a half seconds for the spell to take hold of your soul."

Dave's eyes widened in surprise. "Ah, the absolute charisma thing isn't instant?" he asked, recalling the time Cedez had hugged him briefly at the market.

The foxgirl shook her dark mane. "No, it takes several seconds or more for the ward to focus on a person's soul and then even more time to pull the soul through the ring of the ward towers and thrust it back into their body," she explained.

Dave's eyes grew round with incredulity. "So absolute charisma pulled my soul out through you, flung it across the entire bloody ward of Shandria, and shoved it back in?!"

"Yes," Cedez said, her expression solemn. "That's why it should not be relied on often. If your soul is weak, it might not return."

"Gee, thanks for the heads up," Dave muttered.

Cedez merely shrugged, unapologetic. "I only did it once," she replied matter-of-factly. "Nobody died from touching me once."

The ex-programmer rolled his eyes.

After a deep pause, Dave rubbed his chin in contemplation, his thoughts a swirling vortex of possibilities. "So, I need to level up," he concluded.

Cedez nodded her agreement, her eyes alight with the fire of a thousand distant stars, the power of the Ward locked deep in her soul.

"Fine. First… let's go buy Svenn," Dave said. "I'll need your charisma to lower the price on the moldkin."